,from ,seven to ,seventy ,illustration3 ,,edward ,,simmons3 ,,in #ahic ,,from ,,seven ,,to ,,seventy ,memories of a ,painter and a ,yankee ,by ,edward ,simmons ,with an ,interruption by ,,oliver ,,herford ,,fully ,,illustrated ,illustration ,publishers ,,harper ,,brothers ,,new ,,york ,,and ,,london ,,from ,,seven ,,to ,,seventy ,copyright1 #aibb ,by ,harper ,brothers ,printed in the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,c-,y ,,contents ,,chap4 ,,page ,,interruption ix ,,introduction4--,a ,,yankee ,,heritage xiii ,i4 ,,making ,,my ,,early ,,history4--,,concord1 ,,massachusetts #a ,,ii4 ,,finding ,,my ,,wings4--,,harvard ,,college #bd ,,iii4 ,,in ,,search ,,of ,a ,,career4--,,out ,,west #dc ,,iv4 ,,on ,,being ,a ,,tenderfoot4--,,north ,,of ,,california #gf ,v4 ,,adventures ,,in ,,stheticism4--,,paris ,,and ,,student ,,days #aag ,,vi4 ,,the ,,middle ,,ages4--,,brittany2 ,,spain #ada ,,vii4 ,,from ,,breton ,,to ,,briton4--,,st4 ,,ives1 ,,cornwall2 ,,london #afb ,,viii4 ,,summer ,,adventurings4--,i4 ,,carri,,re ,,st4 ,,denise4 ,,ii4 ,,barbizon4 ,,iii4 ,,montreuil4 ,,iv4 ,,grez4 ,v4 ,,stuttgart #ahd ,,ix4 ,,first ,,decorations #bjb ,x4 ,,democracy ,,and ,,the ,,fine ,,arts #bai ,,xi4 ,,stanford ,,white #bcg ,,xii4 ,,fine ,,arts ,,in ,,relation ,,to 8,a ,,number ,,of ,,things0 #bef ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,players #bgi ,,xiv4 ,,american ,,humor #cjc ,,xv4 ,,paint ,,and ,,painters #cba ,,xvi4 ,,in ,,retrospect #cdb ,,illustrations ,,portrait ,,of ,,the ,,author ,frontispiece ,etching by ,will ,simmons1 from a photograph by ,benjamin ,kimball ,,the ,,old ,,manse ,,at ,,concord ,facing p4 #b ,,sarah ,,alden 7,,bradford7 ,,ripley #aj ,,edward ,,simmons ,,at ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,seven #af ,,mary ,,emerson 7,,ripley7 ,,simmons #bb 8,,the ,,carpenter',s ,,son0 #agh 8,,justice0 #bab 8,,the ,,three ,,fates0 #bah 8,,melpomene0 #bcf 8,,january0 #beh 8,,the ,,return ,,of ,,the ,,flags0 #bgb 8,,cleansing ,,the ,,soil ,,of ,,the ,,bad ,,elements0 #ccj ,,edward ,,simmons ,,at ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,seventy #cdj ,interruption ,if some curious reader1 chancing upon this foreword to the narrative of the life of ,edward ,simmons1 should require my reason for calling it an ,interruption instead of an ,introduction1 ,i might reply with the obvious evasion that so distinguished a painter as ,edward ,simmons needs no introduction4 ,the recipient of medals innumerable1 and the most flattering mention in every ,european capital1 surely should need no introduction even in his own country1 many of whose public buildings and galleries are enriched by examples of his work in decoration1 portraiture1 or genre4 ,but this1 as ,i have said1 would be an evasion and not my true reason for calling my preface an interruption1 and since the curiosity that can drive a reader to the perusal of matter that is essentially deterrent1 wholly superfluous1 and probably dull must be of a persistence that will brook no gainsay1 ,i will make a virtue of compulsion and narrate for that reader's private enlightenment a story of a very personal nature concerning ,mr4 ,simmons1 the telling of which ,i had rather hoped to avoid4 ,the story1 in so far as it is related to the title of this preface1 speaks for itself1 and since it bears upon a personal characteristic of the painter1 inherited1 ,i am told1 from generations of oratorical forebears1 a characteristic which also speaks for itself1 ,i must ask the reader to regard it as strictly confidential and to allow it to go no further4 ,picture then1 ,curious ,reader1 a ,boston dinner party at which ,mr4 ,edward ,simmons as guest of honor is exercising without let or hindrance the lingual accomplishment bequeathed to him by generations of eloquent forebears1 and demonstrating to a fresh audience that the supposed 8lost art of conversation0 was not so much lost as cornered4 ,a dinner party1 however1 even a ,boston dinner party1 has in addition to its social and intellectual side a practical1 alimentary aspect not to be ignored by anyone1 particularly an artist4 ,and since the act of obtaining nourishment employs the function of swallowing1 and the function of swallowing cannot be successfully synchronized with that of speech1 there were of necessity occasional brief pauses in the flow of oratory4 ,it was at the moment of one of these unavoidable pauses that a lady 7to be remembered1 as was the 8clergyman0 who interrupted ,dr4 ,johnson1 only by her temerity7 seized the opportunity to get a word in edgewise4 ,now the traffic laws that regulate the respective movements of the human pharynx and larynx are as inexorable as those that govern our public highways1 and at the same instant that the lady opened her mouth to speak1 the ,edwardian larynx resumed its right of way4 8,oh1 pardon me1 ,mr4 ,simmons1 ,i interrupted you10 was all she could manage to gasp4 8,madam10 replied ,simmons1 with the ,chesterfieldian smile the gift of which many an ,academician would give all his decorations to possess--8madam1 no one can speak without interrupting me60 ,and that is why ,i have chosen to call my impertinent preface to a narrative which for human interest can 7to my thinking7 be compared only to that of ,benvenuto ,cellini1 an-- ,but pardon me1 ,mr4 ,simmons1 ,i am interrupting you6 ,,oliver ,,herford4 ,introduction ,a ,yankee ,heritage ,for years ,i have wanted to make two cartoons--the first1 dated #ahjj1 to be simply a lovely woman holding a baby1 and called1 8,new ,england with ,her ,child ,america40 ,in the second1 dated #aijj1 the mother1 ,new ,england1 is grown old and1 clad in a poke bonnet and mitts1 is sitting in a carriage with her son1 ,america1 who is now a bearded man smoking a black cigar4 ,he is driving1 the horse is running away1 and she is trying to grab the reins4 ,he yells3 8,ma1 if you don't stop that there will be trouble60 ,i was born in the middle of the last century1 when this bearded man was still a youth1 and ,i have watched his struggles throughout the years1 until1 without his mother's realizing it1 he has slipped quietly from home to go out and mingle with the rest of the world1 leaving her1 a toothless and old grandma1 to sit by the fire and dream that she is still the young mother of the cartoon4 ,my ancestors were the ,pilgrims1 that first group of adventurers who embarked upon the ,mayflower in search of a far-off land where they might worship in peace4 ,they had not the qualities of the ,puritans who came later4 ,the ,pilgrims were the impractical dreamers1 and in one year were lectured by their backers because they spent too much time in prayer and too little in trade4 ,the blood of nineteen different people who made that voyage flows in my veins and1 try as hard as ,i may1 ,i have never been able to find that this pure ,english lineage had been broken during the first hundred years in ,america and certainly not for centuries before that in the old country4 ,from them has come to me a want of deference1 bred in them by a hatred of kings2 a lack of rhythm--the nasal twang began by a desire to ridicule the ,mother ,church and ended by becoming a virtue2 and an intense hatred of restraint in any form4 ,from my father ,i must have received whatever artistic leanings ,i possess1 although ,i believe them to be only a form of ,yankee handicraftsman-ship4 ,he was a better carpenter than a preacher1 and his sketch book is filled with careful copies of many old masters which he saw abroad4 ,i owe a deep debt to some one for curbing his imagination in one instance1 however1 for he wrote to an intimate friend on the day of my birth3 8,i have waited to reply to your letter that ,i might announce the name we had chosen for the bouncing boy whose voice ,i can now hear upstairs4 ,but1 since this year they have seen fit to take from us ,daniel ,webster and the ,duke of ,wellington1 ,i think ,i shall name him ,duke ,webster40 ,my father died before ,i was old enough to know him1 but ,i got quite a vivid picture of his side of the family from a distant relative whom ,i met by accident one day4 ,he said3 8,the ,simmonses have always been a long-legged set of lazy galoots4 ,we have had great success with the other sex4 ,we have been able to do one thing a little better than other folks and stick to it until we have about a thousand dollars--then we sit down and loaf until it is gone40 ,mother was different4 ,when she was a girl she had a serious talk with her dad1 telling him it was foolish for her to study piano or music of any kind4 8,what is your ambition80 he asked4 8,to scrub a kitchen floor better than anyone else10 she replied2 and he succumbed1 his ,new ,england nature realizing that1 after all1 it might be well to have one practical person in the family4 ,mother's thrifty streak came in very useful1 for a young widow with four lusty children to feed did not have an easy time in those days4 ,the sun never rose upon her asleep and her small economies were ever her own pride and the butt of our selfish derision4 ,after her day's work was over1 it was my delight--little brute that ,i was--to lie in bed and listen to her voice1 reading to me from some story of delicious adventure4 ,when her head drooped and the book fell from her hands1 ,i1 still wide awake1 would whine and finally yell1 until she pulled herself together and went on4 ,mother's day was an endless round of doing something for others4 ,from the land where these first ,american ancestors of mine settled so long ago1 ,i get the shape of my body and the contour of my face4 ,i look more like an ,iroquois ,indian than an ,englishman4 ,some historian has remarked that the change in the ,yankee is due to intermarriage with the redskins4 ,imagine the spectacle of a staid ,governor ,bradford wedded to an ,indian squaw6 ,two hundred years of the same climate1 the same food1 and the same life produced the same type1 that's all4 ,from ,seven to ,seventy 8,mon verre n'est pas grand ,mais je bois dans mon verre40 ,,alfred ,,de ,,musset ,chapter ,i3 ,making ,my ,early ,history ,concord1 ,massachusetts ,there may have been much distinction in living in ,concord1 ,massachusetts1 in the 'fifties1 but to me1 as a boy1 the whole town was only a delightful playground and the people who lived there merely 8home folks40 ,to be sure1 ,i invested some of the great ones with halos of romance4 ,this was not because ,i knew anything about their literary or artistic attainments1 but rather because of the lack of heroic characters in the town4 ,had there been a ,jesse ,james or a ,charlie ,chaplin anywhere round1 ,i should probably have woven my dreams of adventure about them4 ,but the jail was always singularly empty1 and the movies had not been invented4 ,i was forced1 therefore1 to pin my youthful imaginings upon a ,hawthorne1 an ,emerson1 or a ,thoreau6 ,i have always felt ,i was greatly cheated4 ,i lived in the ,old ,manse1 from which ,hawthorne plucked his mosses4 ,it was built in #agfj by the ,rev4 ,william ,emerson1 the grandfather of ,ralph ,waldo1 and was a delightful house for a boy to grow up in4 ,there was a long hallway running from east to west1 and from the stairway a line of grisly divines1 framed in black1 looked down4 ,they were mostly ancestors1 and they gave a terrible air of austerity to the interior2 but below and above were many redeeming features4 ,one was the swing shelf in the basement1 always covered with fascinating goodies4 ,here on ,saturday night one might cut with one's jackknife a hunk of juicy meat roasted ready for ,sunday's dinner1 and wash it down with cream from the shining pan of milk next to it4 ,here were preserves1 jellies1 cakes1 and pies just cooling from the oven2 while over in the corner barrels of apples were stored away for winter consumption4 ,i shall never forget the delights of the swing shelf4 ,the ,old ,manse was built in the manner of the eighteenth century--entirely of wood1 the oaken timbers being held together with oaken plugs4 ,we boys found it quite easy to draw these from place1 and we used them for tholepins in our dory4 ,fortunately1 the grown-ups got on to us or ,i believe the house would have eventually collapsed4 ,there was a gabled roof with chimneys at both ends1 and1 of course1 all sorts of wonderful nooks and crannies to hide away in4 ,it was up in this attic that my grandmother ,ripley was found by a caller rocking a cradle with her foot and holding a book in her hand which she was intently reading4 ,it was written in ,sanskrit6 ,she apologized because she needed a dictionary to read this language4 ,this was not so of ,latin and ,greek1 as she read them fluently2 but she used to say1 8,i cannot think in ,sanskrit40 ,she whom the name1 8,peasant ,princess10 fits better than any other1 was the wife of ,emerson's father's half-brother1 and therefore older than ,emerson4 ,he used to spend a great deal of his time with her at the ,old ,manse1 and she had much to do with influencing his life4 ,one can see this from his letters as a boy4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old ,,manse ,,at ,,concord ,at the window--,edward ,simmons's mother2 ,under the umbrella--his sister ,elizabeth2 ,standing--his first cousin1 ,sarah ,alden 7,thayer7 ,ames2 ,seated--one of his cousins of the ,bradford branch4 ,my grandmother's sitting room was the delight of my life4 ,there was a broad chimney shelf1 and low down on the left-hand side a framed bit of handwriting1 an invitation to ,lieutenant ,bradford to dine with ,general ,washington4 ,over that was a big hornet's nest1 a stuffed owl1 and1 strangest of all1 a copy of the 8,beatrice ,cenci0 and ,titian's 8,tribute ,money10 brought back from ,italy by my father4 ,i always thought1 as a child1 that the head of ,christ was a family portrait and that the ,jew with the tribute money was a tradesman4 ,why the tradesman was giving one of us money instead of vice versa1 ,i did not know4 ,here in this room ,i used to dream until most likely interrupted by some caller upon grandmother4 ,then ,i would retire to the corner and listen to their conversation about antislavery1 human freedom1 states' rights1 etc4--understanding not a word1 but fascinated by the fervor of the speakers4 ,i have seen gathered together in this parlor ,emerson1 ,frank ,sanborn1 ,charles ,sumner1 and ,john ,brown1 the last short and squat1 his great beard upon his breast1 and spreading his coat tails before the fire like a pouter pigeon4 ,something that occurred years later1 when ,i was a student at ,harvard1 made me appreciate my grandmother more than ever4 ,prof4 ,asa ,gray1 a man of seventy1 and the first botanist of the world at that time1 met me in the ,yard one day and stopping me said3 8,i understand that your name is ,simmons and that you are the grandson of ,mary ,bradford ,ripley80 ,i replied that ,i was4 ,he took off his skull cap and bowed low to the ground1 saying1 8,allow me to do honor to the offspring of one of the ablest botanists ,i have ever known40 ,i remember her looks well4 ,her features were very marked and her nose big and straight4 ,her hair was then white and she had blue-gray eyes4 ,there is a photograph of her sitting under a grape arbor1 looking very absent-minded1 with the little finger of her left hand hooked in the corner of her mouth--a habit of my sister and both of my boys6 ,grandfather's salary as a ,unitarian clergyman was the munificent sum of six hundred dollars a year1 and on this my grandmother managed to bring up a large family of children--doing all the cooking and sewing herself--marry off three of the girls1 and send the two boys through college4 8,as big as ,sam ,ripley0 was the saying throughout the countryside1 and1 although he was lusty and hail1 my grandfather died when he was in his prime--in fact1 before ,i was born4 ,the circumstances of his death1 which ,i heard when a youngster1 made a deep impression upon me4 ,it was the day before ,thanksgiving4 ,the ,old ,manse was full of guests and relatives when he took his daughter ,elizabeth and1 filling his buggy with goodies1 drove out to distribute them to his poor parishioners4 ,the last gift delivered1 they turned upon the road home1 he remarking that the ,widow ,hall would certainly enjoy the two chickens he had left her4 ,it was a rainy1 bleak ,november night and ,lizzie1 snuggling into the robes1 almost went to sleep1 when1 looking down1 she noticed the reins were slipping4 ,she spoke to him1 but he did not answer4 ,even then she could not realize what the matter was1 until1 reaching to gather in the lines1 she felt his hand cold beneath hers4 ,he was already dead4 ,i often used to think of that drive--the tragedy of the young girl guiding the horse over miles of muddy road in a blinding rain1 and the arrival at the brightly lighted house1 full of laughter and merriment1 with the sad burden by her side4 ,how did she tell them8 ,did she call from the road1 or did she leave him there and go into the house8 ,how could one tell what to do under such circumstances8 ,perhaps the joyous crowd ran out to meet her and there was a great hush--they never told me that part4 ,but ,i liked to believe that it was my grandmother ,ripley1 who1 all alone1 was watching from the doorway1 and knowing intuitively that something was wrong1 took the whole situation into her strong1 capable hands4 ,like all boys1 ,i was intensely interested in birds and animals4 ,one day ,i was playing in the grass in front of the ,old ,manse1 when ,i suddenly looked up to see a short man with a blond beard leaning over me4 8,what have you there1 ,eddie80 8,a great crested flycatcher's egg10 ,i replied4 ,this was a very rare find4 ,he wanted me to give it to him1 but ,i would not4 ,then he proposed a swap4 8,if you will give it to me1 ,i will show you a live fox10 he said4 ,this was too much to resist4 ,we made a rendezvous for the next ,sunday4 ,although descended from a line of parsons1 ,i had already learned that ,sunday was1 for me1 merely a holiday1 and it was evidently the same for him4 ,this man was ,henry ,d4 ,thoreau4 ,accordingly1 the following ,sabbath ,i trudged down to his place at ,walden ,pond1 and he1 who had 8no walks to throw away on company10 proceeded to devote his entire afternoon to a boy of ten4 ,after going a long way through the woods1 we both got down on our bellies and crawled for miles1 it seemed to me1 through sand and shrubbery4 ,but ,mr4 ,fox refused to show himself--and worse luck than all1 ,i never got my egg back6 ,i have always had a grudge against ,thoreau for this4 ,concord was a town utterly without crime4 ,there was no gazing into the jail windows to catch a glimpse of the hideous offenders against the law4 ,i never really heard of but one prisoner in my life1 and he was so mild that he hardly made an impression4 ,during my time this man was the only inhabitant of the jail and1 technically1 he did not belong there4 ,a number of years before he had been imprisoned for some offense1 and1 after being released1 returned and begged to be taken in again1 as he was lonely and had gotten used to the place4 ,so1 one could see him 'most any summer evening sitting out on the steps of the jail4 ,he was a great pet of the ,emerson family1 and was hired to play the violin for all the dances4 ,one of my memories of the ,old ,manse is that of the ,thursday-afternoon visits of ,ellery ,channing1 the poet4 ,i never saw anything written by him until ,i left the town4 ,he was always asked to supper and always stayed1 becoming thereby a part of the mental furniture of the place4 ,he was old1 fattish1 disorderly1 absent-minded1 and to me so unsthetic1 that ,i knew he could not be a good poet4 ,i don't believe he was4 ,a humbler than ,thoreau1 who practically occupied the same position in the estimation of the ,emersons4 ,i remember with what was then for me horror1 but now extreme sympathy1 that years before1 his wife had left him because she had insisted upon his having a carpet in his study4 ,this he kept patiently removing until1 returning from a camping trip1 he found it firmly nailed to the floor2 so he pulled it up1 tore it in strips1 and hurled it out of the window1 thereby ruining the carpet and both their tempers4 ,another frequent caller upon our family was ,charles ,sumner4 ,i remember him most vividly upon one occasion4 ,he had come in for luncheon4 ,mother1 who left the intellectual part of the life to others and always said1 8,i find philosophers have just as hearty an appetite as other people--especially for pie10 was in the kitchen1 making this delectable dish4 ,i was playing upon the sitting-room floor4 ,suddenly ,i felt a hand upon my head4 8,my boy10 he said1 8when you grow up you'll find out two things4 ,one is that all men have mothers1 but ,i don't think you will ever meet any other man who has ever had a mother like yours40 ,my father died when ,i was three years old and ,i had always taken mother more or less for granted1 and ,i thought him very silly at the time4 ,i once asked mother how she came to be married4 ,my father1 who had almost been tarred and feathered in the ,south for his antislavery sermons1 had fled ,north and finally became the fashionable young preacher of ,boston4 ,mother was one of five sisters1 and said she was astounded when he asked her to marry him1 as she always supposed it was ,lizzie he wanted--,lizzie being the intellectual one4 ,it was that way with mother4 ,brought up in an intellectual atmosphere where learning was considered the only thing of account1 she was always surprised when anyone showed a preference for her--a woman who would rather scrub a kitchen floor than write an essay6 ,mother's democratic tendencies spread in every direction4 ,there was a pew in church that was supposed to be reserved for the poor4 8,no one in the poorhouse is any poorer than we are10 said mother1 and marched us into it every ,sunday4 ,the ,old ,manse pew was farther up the aisle1 and1 besides1 one had to pay for that4 ,although she was such a housewife1 she had a great independence of thought4 ,a woman had come to ,concord1 with no husband1 and given birth to a child4 ,this1 for ,new ,england at that time1 was a terrible scandal4 ,the boy was my age and went to school4 ,all the other boys whispered behind his back as if he had been in jail1 although by this time his mother was properly married to a young farmer up on ,barret's ,hill4 ,no one ever spoke to her in church or bowed4 ,my mother1 very quietly1 every summer1 put on her best clothes and walked the mile or more up the hill to call4 ,to me ,hawthorne always typified the haughty ,southerner4 ,i did not know what haughty ,southerners were like1 but ,i had heard them talked about and supposed they were very superior creatures--an idea my worthy relatives would have promptly squelched had they known it4 ,hawthorne was a hero to me1 and whenever ,i read a romance1 such as ,ivanhoe or the 8,iliad10 ,i pictured the conqueror as tall1 broad1 dark1 and spare1 with a dark mustache4 ,this was the way ,hawthorne looked to me4 ,i would never have dared speak to him1 and do not remember having seen him at the house2 but1 of course1 the ,old ,manse was filled with memories of his presence4 ,i remember staring for hours at a time at the words he wrote on the window of the dining room1 and wondering how he did it4 ,it read3 8,on this day my daughter ,una was born1 while the trees are all glass chandeliers40 ,what a sentence for a boy to dream about6 ,it is still there1 and there are many other windows with his name only4 ,i had never seen any diamond rings2 none of my womenfolk wore rings1 and it seemed strange to me how anyone could write on a pane of glass6 ,hawthorne1 contrary to public opinion1 did not own the ,old ,manse1 but only rented it from the ,ripleys4 ,in fact1 he lived there only a year or more4 ,it was a great disillusion to find later that the grown-ups of my family did not consider him a great hero1 and in fact thought his writing on the windows a horrible defacement of the house--especially as they had had some difficulty in collecting the rent4 ,my most vivid memory of ,hawthorne is during the time ,i was attending the intermediate school4 ,in front of the building was the town square1 separated from the school by an iron fence4 ,here we boys used to play baseball1 and upon going home1 ,i1 forgetful as always1 would invariably leave behind my dinner pail or my jacket4 ,i was invariably sent back to fetch it4 ,by this time the shadows had begun to fall1 and very often ,i saw ,hawthorne and his wife pass by1 arm in arm1 she in white and he dark--dark as the coming night4 ,they spoke in low tones and seemed to be oblivious of any passers-by4 ,i was told that he went out only at night1 and this made him all the more romantic to me4 ,the truth was that he was very shy1 and so1 in the daytime1 went only into the woods in back of his house4 ,he was a great lover of children1 but so fearful of meeting them that he concealed himself in a hollow tree in order to see the festival that the school gave once a year4 ,mr4 ,channing told me that once he was rowing with ,hawthorne on the ,assabet ,river1 the north branch of the ,concord4 ,he remarked that the reflection of the hemlocks in the water was unusual4 8,which is the reflection80 said ,hawthorne1 pointing first to the hemlocks and then to the picture in the water4 ,this seems to me to be very characteristic of ,hawthorne's method of thought4 ,concord was an historical spot1 and in the summer was overrun with tourists1 who1 not content with viewing the scene of the 8shot heard round the world10 etc41 would invade the ,old ,manse4 ,these gangs were allowed to go all over the house in which ,hawthorne once lived1 much to the discomfort and derision of the occupants4 ,one day1 when ,i was still quite a young man1 there was a party of people upstairs nosing around1 and my uncle ,gore 7,judge ,ripley7 and ,i were in the sitting room4 ,my sister had brought in1 not long before1 a long1 draggly bit of ,spanish moss and put it on the chimney shelf4 ,while the tourists were upstairs1 my uncle rose and1 taking the moss1 went to the front door1 where1 climbing upon a chair1 he hung it4 ,it trailed down three or four feet4 ,when the party came down and started to go out1 the moss was evidently in the way4 ,lifting it up so that the door would open without catching it1 my uncle bowed and with his best manner as chief justice of the ,minnesota ,supreme ,court1 remarked3 8,the moss--of which he wrote60 ,illustration3 ,,sarah ,,alden 7,,bradford7 ,,ripley ,grandmother of ,edward ,simmons 7,from a pencil drawing by ,edward ,simmons7 ,every jaw fell2 their eyes rolled upward and in dead silence they marched to their carryall4 ,a little old woman with mitts and poke bonnet appeared at the ,emerson house one day and begged for a piece of 8your dear father's clothing40 8,i am making a rag carpet of poets' garments10 she said4 ,she was refused4 8,is that field yours80 she asked1 pointing across the way4 ,she was told it was4 8,do you mind if ,i trespass8 ,you see1 ,i am also making a collection of crickets from poets' homes40 ,i should like to have seen the crickets stuck up in a row on their pins1 but ,i fancy the rag carpet would have been more amusing4 ,imagine walking on ,mr4 ,longfellow's red flannel shirt6 ,every remembrance of my boyhood seems permeated with the ,civil ,war4 ,it is hard for me to remember when it began or when it ended4 ,we were always having holidays at school1 either for a victory or for a defeat4 ,the flag was constantly up or at half mast at the town pump1 giving us the idea of 8goin' fishin' or somethin'40 ,there comes before my mind a ghastly figure 7bearded7 in a box in the church4 ,a dead man6 ,the first ,i had ever seen6 ,he had been shot in the ,south4 ,one day under the red dogwood bush in the ,southeast corner of our place1 ,i found the cap and jacket of a conscript4 ,after escaping1 he had evidently changed there4 ,i pictured him 8shot at dawn0 if caught1 so ,i never told4 ,i have heard that the ,old ,manse was an underground station for slaves1 but ,i never saw any evidence of it myself4 ,i remember that ,frank ,sanborn stayed at our house for awhile when he escaped from the ,southern people1 who tried to carry him away out of the jurisdiction of ,massachusetts4 ,if there were negroes there1 ,i should have known as much about it as ,i did about childbirth--always being sent away on the latter occasions4 ,in fact1 ,i had never seen but one negro in my life4 ,he was an escaped slave1 very old1 who took care of our garden1 cow1 etc4 ,he limped badly from rheumatism1 and my uncle ,charles had given him some liniment4 ,one day ,i heard my uncle ask3 8,john1 did you really try that liniment80 8,oh1 yes sah60 said ,john4 8,did it do you any good80 ,john assured him that it did1 but uncle ,charles was not quite convinced that he was telling the truth1 so he persisted3 8,did it turn your knee black1 ,john80 8,no blackah dan it was befo'1 sah40 ,suddenly1 ,i realized that ,john's legs were the same color as his face6 ,it seemed to me that every day after school ,i was nailed by my grandmother and a bunch of old women and made to sing war songs4 ,i can see them now1 sitting round in a circle1 pulling lint and crying 7for invariably some one they cared for had just died7 and listening to me bellow3 ,say1 darkies1 hab you seen de massa wif de muschaf on his face ,go long de road sometime dis mornin' like he gwine to leab de place8 ,he seen de smoke way up de ribber whar de ,lincum gunboats lay ,an' he took his hat an' lef' very sudden1 like he gwine t' run away4 8,oh1 de massa run1 ha6 ha6 ,de darkies stay1 ho6 ho6 ,for it mus' be now de ,kingdom's comin'2 ,it's de year ob jubilo60 ,i tried to enlist at the age of ten as a drummer boy4 ,i was told ,i would be taken when ,i had learned to beat a tattoo on a drum4 ,delighted1 ,i ran home to tell the news1 only to find that the orderly had been sent up the back street to tell my mother1 and instead of being received as a hero ,i was severely reprimanded4 ,this only increased my disgust with the war4 ,one of the most picturesque figures of ,concord in those days was ,a4 ,bronson ,alcott4 ,i knew him well as a friend of the family1 but on looking back ,i visualize him in two places4 ,he was very long1 slab sided and lean1 and what you would call pasty faced1 with hair that fell to his shoulders4 ,i can see him sitting in his abominable rustic chairs--with a disease that happens to trees making lumps all over them4 ,he made this furniture himself and used to be very proud of it1 but ,i used to run by like mad for fear of being asked to go in and sit on one of those benches1 which ,i felt might make lumps all over me4 ,the other picture is ,mr4 ,alcott sitting beside our teacher1 a woman1 at school4 ,it was one of those first afternoons of spring when all outdoors is calling to boyhood and you can think of a thousand interesting things to do4 ,but this strange creature took up a whole afternoon in reading ,bunyan to us6 ,needless to say1 ,i have sidestepped ,bunyan ever since4 ,they tell a story of ,mr4 ,alcott being accosted1 in his youth1 by a farmer in ,bellows ,falls1 who asked3 8,what do you do for a living1 ,mr4 ,alcott80 8,i write40 8,hell6 ,what80 8,thoughts40 8,what for80 8,for posterity40 ,exit farmer4 ,i have always thought that if the good ,bronson had lived in the twentieth century he would almost certainly have belonged to that colony which inhabits the district west of ,washington ,square4 ,louisa looked very much like her father--pasty and lean1 with a very large nose4 ,to me1 as a child1 she seemed a very unattractive and a most unkissable person1 probably because she was quite a masculine type4 ,her sister ,may was very different4 ,she was tall and good-looking1 with lots of beautiful blond hair4 ,she painted1 and later went to ,paris to study4 ,it seemed to me she was always lying in a hammock1 being rocked and read to by my brother or ,julian ,hawthorne4 ,louisa may have been impressed with this picture1 as ,may is the ,amy of ,little ,women1 and these two boys are supposed to be a composite hero4 ,i have been told ,i was the little boy who rolled downstairs in his nightgown1 in the story of the ,pickwick ,club entertainment1 but do not remember the actual occurrence4 ,louisa was evidently quite awkward1 and in many ways not house broke2 also absent-minded and careless1 as is the traditional author4 ,it seems that her manners at table were commented upon once too often by other members of her family4 ,she decided not to stand it4 ,so one morning she managed to be the first at breakfast1 and when the remainder of the family turned up in the dining room they were greeted with a strange sight4 ,louisa had pinned the ,new ,york ,tribune around her head and was wearing it like a great helmet4 ,the pages reached the table and completely covered her plate4 ,only her hands were visible4 ,at intervals they would come out1 take something1 and retire behind the paper again4 ,for weeks she kept this up and no amount of pleading would stop her1 until there was a general abject apology from the whole family4 ,none of the second generation appreciated the ,concord atmosphere4 ,louisa tells of her astonishment1 when grown1 to learn that no society was so fine or intellectual as that of her childhood4 ,the saddest results of this strangely intellectual atmosphere was the number of spinsters it produced4 ,the ,misses ,blood were always a curious sight to me4 ,their house1 way up in the woods1 was chair to chair and bureau to bureau1 completely around the rooms1 with priceless old ,colonial furniture1 but their economies were a revelation4 ,every ,sunday they would stop in front of the ,old ,manse at the foot of the avenue and1 retiring into a niche in the trees1 put on their shoes and stockings1 which they had carried during the three-mile walk4 ,they always stayed for second service1 and one of my amusements1 when the sermon was dull1 was to watch them begin their lunch1 which generally consisted of ,bent's water crackers4 ,in and out1 in and out went the hard1 round objects1 in their attempts to bite with their one or two remaining back teeth4 ,the sight almost hypnotized me4 ,their death1 which occurred after ,i was grown up1 was one of the unspoken tragedies of life4 ,one day a farmer passed and noticed there was no smoke coming from their chimney4 ,he went in and found one of the sisters dead at the bottom of the cellar stairs1 having fallen down and broken her leg4 ,the other sister1 who had become paralyzed and deaf1 was sitting in a chair upstairs1 also dead4 ,the one had not been able to move after her fall1 and the other could not hear her cries4 ,both had died from starvation4 ,i was brought up as a young duke--without the estates6--and ,i was never allowed to earn money4 ,i recall being severely reprimanded by my mother and made to walk back three miles to return a nickel a man had given me for running an errand4 ,i was told ,i should have been glad to do it for nothing4 ,i remember my surprise1 years later1 when ,i was in ,europe1 to hear that ,americans were 8commercial40 ,the desire for great material gain was either astonishingly developed in one generation1 or did it1 as ,i suspect1 creep in a little as the emigration from the ,old ,world increased8 ,certainly there was none of it in that truly ,american town of ,concord1 ,massachusetts4 ,illustration3 ,,edward ,,simmons ,at the age of seven ,in ,concord it was no disgrace to be poor--nearly everyone was--and until ,i was nearly grown ,i never had a new suit of clothes4 ,my brother's and my breeches were made from the old army uniforms1 the cloth having a wearing quality that was almost like iron and would pull a nail out of anything rather than tear4 ,we were called 8,blue ,legs0 until we were quite grown up4 ,my cousins1 the ,emersons1 represented affluence1 in my childish mind4 ,their house was a square wooden one1 set among trees1 mostly pines and chestnuts4 ,there was a solemn1 gravelike quality to it4 ,i remember going down alone on errands1 and always had a feeling of awe upon approaching it4 ,i think this was because the trees were so close to the house that the grass would not grow and everything was damp around it4 ,the door was always open1 and ,mr4 ,emerson generally came into the hall when anyone approached4 ,this was a wonderful relief to me1 as ,i was terrified by the women and servants4 ,the inside gave me the impression of wealth and spaciousness4 ,it may have been the reflection of the talk ,i heard at home1 but it seemed very impressive and august4 ,no amount of grown-up talk could make me fear ,mr4 ,emerson1 however1 or feel the slightest embarrassment in his presence4 ,he seemed1 like my grandmother1 to be a perfect example of serenity4 ,he received me as an equal and entertained me as if ,i were a young prince4 ,he had reached that extreme height of simplicity where he could be interesting to a boy1 and1 while ,i preferred him to any of the others1 ,i was quite sure he did not count for as much4 ,mr4 ,emerson's study was to the right of the hall4 ,there was a large fireplace1 and what were to me magnificent red-velvet chairs on either side4 ,there must have been hangings of the same material1 as ,i got the feeling of crimson everywhere4 ,from the floor to the ceiling1 the walls were lined with books--books that had been read and reread until the bindings were very much worn4 ,of my early memories of ,mr4 ,emerson1 two are most vivid4 ,the first in his garden1 where he often took me1 walking slowly about and telling me of each flower and plant as if it were a particular friend4 ,i never read his ,days that ,i do not visualize him in his 8pleached garden10 showing me his pear trees4 ,the second memory is of ,thanksgiving time4 ,every year on this day there was a gathering of the clan at the ,emersons4 ,there were the ,thayers1 ,jacksons1 ,emersons1 ,simmonses1 ,bradfords1 and ,ripleys1 but no others4 ,the dinner was the traditional ,new ,england affair1 the table heaped with food2 and the conversation consisted of the usual family gossip4 ,i remember there was always a discussion among the women as to whether one said ,mr4 ,emerson or ,cousin ,waldo4 ,as soon as dessert was served and the nuts and fruit brought on1 there was a little ceremony that was invariably performed4 ,mr4 ,emerson would look down from the head of the table and1 pretending not to see me1 say3 8,where is that little boy who likes figs80 ,this was my cue to march up to him1 and1 taking me on his knee1 he would pop into my mouth1 one by one1 these delightful and expensive fruits1 until ,i could not contain another one4 ,of course1 my mother protested all the time1 but he paid not the slightest attention4 ,after dinner1 in the evening1 we played all sorts of games such as dumb crambo1 and then everyone had to perform4 ,it was a pet theory of ,mr4 ,emerson's that everyone should learn self-expression1 and he demanded a recitation from the children of four and five up to those of the marriageable age4 ,there was absolutely no way to get out of this4 ,despite the protests of the women1 ,mr4 ,emerson would have his after-dinner cigar4 ,in fact1 he almost always got his way1 although he was never dictatorial4 ,sometimes it was with a gentle remark4 ,when his wife asked him if she could have a spiritualistic meeting in the front parlor1 he answered her with ,hotspur's words3 8,certainly1 for well ,i know thou willst not utter what thou dost not know and so far will ,i trust thee1 gentle ,kate60 ,on another occasion1 when ,aunt ,mary was visiting the family1 he happened to be in ,boston4 ,aunt ,mary slept in her coffin4 ,she was very small1 so purchased it before her death to be sure she had the right size and would not rattle6 ,mr4 ,emerson wrote to his wife in ,concord1 telling her he was going to bring some notables home for a visit1 and begged her to persuade ,aunt ,mary not to wear her shroud at breakfast4 ,emerson's sense of honor and justice were two of his most important qualities4 ,the farmers used to come to him to settle their legal quarrels4 ,whatever difference of religious opinion the community held1 they refused to allow him to be criticized in any way4 ,when the ,rev4 ,grindell ,reynolds--an excellent but limited divine--got up in the ,unitarian church and referred to the street upon which ,emerson lived as 8,atheist ,lane10 the congregation rose in a body and filed out4 ,another instance of his very highly developed sense of justice is the case of ,general ,loring1 who was supposed to be a traitor to the antislavery movement4 ,the lesser minds raved and swore they would never speak to him again4 ,whittier wrote a poem about him4 ,emerson gave no tongue1 but one evening after a ,lyceum lecture in ,salem he saw the general in line with those who wished to congratulate and shake hands with him4 ,speaking very distinctly so that everyone about could hear1 he said1 taking the proffered hand3 8,general ,loring1 if what ,i hear of you be true--,i shake hands with you under protest40 ,the last time ,i saw ,mr4 ,emerson was in #ahgi4 ,i was in my twenty-seventh year1 had just returned from ,california1 and was spending some time in ,concord before going abroad4 ,charles ,h4 ,davis1 the painter1 was visiting me at the ,old ,manse1 and we both went over and supped with him4 ,he seemed much older1 but was still that example of perfect serenity ,i had known as a boy4 ,his memory was beginning to fail him1 which made him a bit querulous1 but his daughter ,ellen supplied it whenever she could4 ,for example1 he forgot that he had ever seen ,tom ,taylor's tribute1 or apology1 to ,lincoln1 in ,punch--in spite of the fact that it is included in the ,parnassus--and read it to us1 at my request1 with astonishment and delight4 ,he read beautifully1 and his voice retained all of its old hypnotic quality4 ,while his memory failed in the detail of names and places1 he still retained1 in most cases1 his fascinating mode of expression1 and the process of thought was still there4 ,he said the night ,davis and ,i were there-- 8,last week1 it was the day 444 the day that 444 who was it was here8 ,ellen1 can you remember8 ,oh6 ,it was our religious friend40 ,he referred to ,whittier4 ,he asked1 upon going out for a walk1 8,where is that thing everybody borrows and no one ever returns40 ,he meant an umbrella and had forgotten the name4 ,this story was told me by my mother4 ,they knew 7the women7 that ,emerson's opinion of ,longfellow was the same as theirs--the ,bromides--and that the two men1 of course1 loved and admired each other--which they did not4 ,of course1 ,mr4 ,emerson must go to the funeral of the poet4 ,accordingly1 the poor man was pulled up1 himself more dead than alive1 and brought down to ,cambridge4 ,he sat at the church1 seemingly unconscious of the raison d'tre of it all4 ,then he rose 7holding on to his coat tails was not effective7 and joined the procession about the body4 ,on crossing the ,cambridge ,common later1 he suddenly stopped1 faced around toward the church1 and then looking at them1 said3 8,i do not remember the name of our friend we have just buried1 but he had a beautiful soul40 ,in some people the loss of memory can be a blessed thing4 ,i cannot write a biography1 and my opinion is of no value1 but ,emerson was one of the supermen ,i have met4 ,he seemed to glorify everything with which he came into contact4 ,like all great men1 he was surrounded with a lot of worshipers1 most of them inferiors1 and1 as ,henry ,james says1 these ,concord figures were not so interesting in themselves as that ,emerson thought them so4 ,he was the kind of man who 8rendered the commonplace sacred40 ,he was always a teacher or a preacher1 whether he remained in the ,church or not4 ,he spoke of ,shakespeare as 8our man0 and ,homer as the 8old man10 showing that by training his mind he stood with one mental foot on ,homer and the other1 with us1 on ,shakespeare4 ,he could have been a great lyricist1 but1 as ,henry ,adams remarks1 there is no rhythm in ,new ,england2 the climate will not permit it4 ,emerson was ashamed of his love of beauty1 rhythm1 and lyricism1 as being not quite true to ,new ,england4 ,like ,renan1 he blossomed the more fully when surrounded by beautiful women4 ,he married two4 ,to me he seems a very shrewd ,yankee4 ,look at the depth of his thought in 8,lovers1 preserve your strangeness40 ,it was because he talked to a great number of his own ilk that he penetrated ,america's thought so easily4 ,i agree with ,matthew ,arnold that ,emerson was the first essayist of the nineteenth century4 ,illustration3 ,,mary ,,emerson 7,,ripley7 ,,simmons ,the ,concord literati are gone1 the town has completely changed1 but the ,old ,manse is still there1 holding many secrets4 ,not the least interesting of these was uncovered in about '#ha1 when the house was torn up to put a bow window in the corner of the southeast parlor4 ,the wall paper1 undoubtedly hideous in color when placed there1 had mellowed to a lovely ,whistlerian tone4 ,this1 of course1 had to be removed4 ,to the astonishment of everyone1 it was discovered that the pattern had been printed upon the back of ,french newspapers of the period of the ,revolution4 7,this economy in paper will be understood by our experience in the last war47 ,there were editions with the speeches of ,mirabeau and many other of the patriots of the time4 ,think of ,frank ,sanborn1 my uncle ,george ,bradford1 and ,mr4 ,emerson1 to say nothing of my grandmother ,ripley and ,john ,brown1 gathered about the fireplace in this room1 discussing the problems of the ,civil ,war1 while from the walls cried out to them ,mirabeau1 ,robespierre1 and ,danton3 8,,con-,,citoyens6--,,con-,,citoyens60 ,chapter ,,ii3 ,finding ,my ,wings ,harvard ,college ,when ,i passed the examination for ,harvard ,i had a ,french turned-up nose1 two spindle legs1 and weighed only #aad pounds4 ,everyone called me a 8barrel on straws10 until ,i cried myself to sleep night after night for fear ,i was going to be a little runt4 ,i developed very late and very quickly2 ,i did not shave until ,i was eighteen years old1 yet only one year later ,i measured six feet in height and weighed #afe pounds4 ,my mind was as undeveloped as my body1 and my proudest brag was that ,i knew the name of everyone who lived in ,concord1 ,massachusetts1 and that ,i hadn't an enemy in the world4 ,i had no taste whatever--if ,i had been crushed under the tongue1 ,i would have given out nothing4 ,i was proud of the first nicknames they gave me1 most of them being 8,wimba10 8,wambat10 8,winnie0--all of them being derived from that flattering title1 8,wamba1 son of ,witless40 ,i was proud1 also1 of being able to make a louder noise than anyone else1 due to my training in the public school1 where we were taught to go to the back of the room and shout one another down4 ,it never occurred to me to refuse to go to college4 ,i went because ,i was told to1 and had no particular desires about it one way or another4 ,my expenses of something under nine hundred dollars each year were furnished me by my family and again ,i never gave a thought as to where or how they were obtained4 ,money1 ,i was taught1 ,i should not work for1 but gifts were to be freely taken--probably this was due in some measure to the inherited ideas of parsons1 who are always supported4 ,i could easily have led my class1 but ,i saw no reason for excelling4 ,i was considered a pretty second-rate person at home2 they didn't expect anything from me1 and to win1 for my own sake1 things ,i had been surrounded with ad nauseam as a child1 held no attraction for me4 ,in fact1 ,i had not really learned to care for books as such1 and college opened up nothing new to me except in the line of ,english and botany4 ,my power of judgment was poor1 as ,i had not been required to use it before4 ,i was conditioned in algebra1 in which ,i was expert1 because ,i devoted nearly all of the time allotted to it in the examination to ,greek composition1 and could not finish the answers to the questions in algebra on time4 ,holworthy ,hall1 the old ,colonial building1 was as full of inconveniences then as it is to-day1 but the rooms were just as much sought after4 ,the old-fashioned grates2 the window seats whose yearly coats of paint formed a covering over an inch thick1 of a lovely ivory color2 the leaky plumbing and general disrepair--gave an interesting atmosphere1 and the traditions hung round about as thick as the cobwebs on the walls4 ,my suite1 a sitting room and two bedrooms1 was given me by ,professor ,cutler for my service rendered the parietal committee who governed the private acts of the students4 ,in this capacity ,i was called the 8,last of the ,parietals10 as the next year the summonses were sent through the mails4 ,i do not remember much about my duties except that ,i had to report to the committee every morning to see if there were any papers to be served that day4 ,the freshmen and sophs generally took the summons kindly enough1 but the upper classmen were sometimes rather disdainful of the messenger1 and ,i remember only once being treated in an undignified manner4 ,i had to order a senior who had disregarded the rule about snowballing to appear before the committee4 ,he was very rude to me1 seemed to blame me personally1 and at last tried to kick me down the stairs4 ,i told my chum about it that night4 8,who was the chap80 he asked4 8,i think his name is ,cabot ,lodge10 ,i replied4 8,oh1 you must be mistaken60 he laughed4 8,i know ,cabot ,lodge1 and he would never have the nerve to kick you downstairs40 ,the pranks of those days took the same forms as they do to-day--lawlessness1 vandalism1 and kicks against authority in general4 ,the ,commons1 where we boarded for the munificent sum of five dollars a week1 was run by the students2 and sometimes they showed a surprising lack of originality 7or was it extravagance87 in the choice of food4 ,i couldn't stand the meals from the first2 but when we had mutton every day for a week the whole crowd struck and1 rising at a signal and holding our plates in our right hands1 we deposited the contents on the floor1 singing3 8,oh1 ,lord of love1 look from above ,upon this leg of mutton2 ,once it was sweet and fit to eat1 ,but now1 good ,god1 it is rotten60 ,any jokes on the authorities were allowed to pass if put over in the right way4 ,old ,doctor ,peabody1 who was the clergyman in the chapel when the pulpit was not occupied by a visiting preacher1 was given a class in ethics to teach4 ,it was considered the thing to worry this large1 plain1 worthy divine whenever we could1 and putting asafetida down the radiator1 causing a nauseous stink to permeate the room1 was the act of some student's fertile brain4 ,if the intention was to bother the doctor1 however1 this act failed of its purpose1 as he took pains to announce to all the class that he was entirely lacking in a sense of smell4 ,the old doctor led prayers each morning1 and it was a tradition of the college that if the bell failed to ring we could plead ignorance of the time and not appear4 ,alas6 the man whose duty it was to call chapel was far too reliable for that to happen4 ,he had been ringing the bell for years and had grown old and white in the service--incidentally1 he was beloved of all of us1 and our friend4 ,one morning1 however1 there was great silence4 ,nobody went to prayers1 and as the bell did not even ring for classes1 of course we stayed away4 ,it seems that some brave student had climbed up on to the metal rod that joined the roofs of ,hollis and ,harvard ,halls and1 managing in some way to haul up a bucket of water1 turned the bell over1 fastening the clapper to a beam1 and filled it with the liquid4 ,when the bell ringer pulled the rope1 nothing happened4 ,the water had frozen and it was some four hours before he managed to thaw it out4 ,sometimes the pranks took the form of really righteous criticism4 ,outside the college boundaries1 and in the town1 was a huge statue of a soldier1 a memorial of the ,civil ,war4 ,he was clothed in a uniform and trappings1 including an overcoat with cape1 but1 incongruous to us1 he wore no hat4 ,a student passing a shop saw an enormous gold hat--it must have been three feet in width--placed outside as an advertisement4 ,the next morning1 to the amusement of the townspeople1 the soldier appeared no longer bareheaded1 but wore a chapeau that came way down over his ears1 completely covering his face4 ,the police tried to get it down1 with no result except a great slipping and sliding on the sides of the monument4 ,we boys formed a cordon around it and did all we could to impede the recovery of the trophy4 ,at last the fire department had to be called out with hook and ladder1 and amid much good-natured joshing brought down the hat1 which we promptly pounced upon and bore away4 ,the police would not be satisfied until we told them how it got there4 ,a student1 who was a ,texan1 threw a lasso over the statue's head1 and one of the boys climbed up hand over hand4 ,we never heard anything from the sculptor1 so our criticism must have gone home4 ,even ,president ,eliot was not free from gibes and witticisms4 ,he is a tall man and has a large red birthmark on one side of his face which1 instead of disfiguring him1 really adds much distinction to his looks4 ,of course1 this was the cause of the origin of many nicknames4 ,i remember the visit of ,duke ,alexis of ,russia1 the uncle of the late ,tsar4 ,doctor ,eliot1 in showing him the college1 brought him to my room4 ,of course1 ,i was excited1 and after they left ,i watched them from the window until they disappeared from sight4 ,the duke was the most magnificent male ,i ever saw--six foot two or three1 blond beard1 dazzling uniform of white2 he represented the ideal type of warrior4 ,beside him was our president1 lean1 sharp faced1 almost as tall1 walking with not quite so military a tread1 but holding his own in a remarkable fashion4 ,the students who had come out to watch them drew back--you can always trust them to behave1 if necessary--but a crowd of 8townies0 followed on behind4 ,then two little 8micks0 with shirt tails flying1 detached themselves from the crowd and one yelled to the other3 8,say1 ,tommie1 which is the juke--the feller in white or the feller with the red face80 ,one day a grinning boy presented himself at my door and asked if ,i would take him for a roommate4 ,i had two bedrooms and was glad to have a companion4 ,we became the heads of the sign-stealing crowd4 ,the police commissioner of ,cambridge had announced that he would jail the next offender in this line1 and this was enough to set us madly at it4 ,we stole business signs and street signs1 tore the name plates off doors1 wagons1 and horse cars4 ,my roommate's father was horrified to see on the outside of our door1 when he visited us on ,class ,day1 the sign1 8,h4 ,h4 ,crocker and ,co410 which had been missing from his place of business for four years4 ,when ,i came home from ,europe in '#ia1 my mother asked me to throw away some trophies4 ,among them were eighteen signs of ground glass upon which was printed in black 8,harvard ,street10 and a policeman's badge which ,i had been very proud of getting in a fight4 ,i always hated to lie2 but at that time was content if ,i kept to the letter of the truth and disregarded the spirit4 ,i was afraid of flunking a certain examination1 and knew ,i could pass if ,i only had more time to work up the subject4 ,thinking up every kind of excuse1 ,i finally decided that only a physical disability would let me off4 ,consequently1 ,i did something that required more courage for one who has always been afraid of physical pain than it is easy to imagine4 ,making a deep gash in my thumb1 ,i told the professor ,i couldn't hold a pen1 as ,i had 8cut myself with a razor0--which was perfectly true4 ,of course1 he let me off4 ,out of our poverty and desire for a good time grew some interesting things4 ,a crowd of us who cared for cheap vaudeville went in weekly1 on ,mondays1 to the ,howard ,athenum1 incidentally the smuttiest and most improper show ,i have ever seen anywhere--and this in ,boston6 ,we pledged ourselves to spend only fifty cents on the evening's entertainment1 and this sum was generally divided as follows----ten cents for car fare1 thirty-five cents for a standee ticket1 and five cents for a beer1 making it necessary to walk back if we failed to beat our way on the street car4 ,whenever anyone had what we called a 8find0--earned something or had a check outside his allowance--we allowed him to treat1 never otherwise4 ,the feed generally consisted of a barrel of beer and several dozen oysters which we put in the coals of the fireplace1 and1 as they popped open1 threw in salt and pepper1 and then squeezed their noses together when they were ready to serve4 ,from this we began dining together once a month1 and somehow came to be known as 8,the ,ring40 ,there were ,james ,duane ,lowell 7nephew of the poet71 ,ned ,higginson1 ,ned ,walker1 ,frank ,childs ,faulkner1 ,waldo ,reed1 and others ,i can't recall2 but although many sought to join us1 we never increased our number1 and ,i think therein lay our success4 ,we met each time in a different member's room1 the host of the occasion providing two roast chickens and bread and butter4 ,the others contributed something strictly limited to a dollar in price1 which usually turned out to be a bottle of whisky4 ,each one of us could bring in his chum as a guest1 and as we sat around the table1 our bellies full and the alcohol sending a glow over our beings1 the songs and stories that passed around that board would have been epoch making1 could we have preserved them4 ,indeed1 a desire to keep some of them did crop up1 and it was here1 at one of these dinners1 that the ,harvard ,crimson was born4 ,we called it the ,magenta then1 as the ,civil ,war was too recent for cochineal to be cheap1 and crimson was not to be had4 ,the ,advocate was the college paper of those days1 and we decided it was much too stuffy and needed a rival4 ,i was entirely too crazy to be allowed an editorship1 so had to be content with sundry contributions4 ,i remember being received at home with freezing looks after publishing my first--and last--8poetry10 a translation of one of the ,odes of ,anacreon4 ,the family objected to3 ,when ,i drink wine1 etc4 ,in my curving arm ,i hold a maiden4 ,no one at home referred to it4 ,the art of it had no appeal to them whatsoever1 and they were ashamed of me4 ,if ,i had had any ,swinburnean tendency1 or like ,keats1 who gave out eighteen-year-old slush of appalling indecency1 ,i would have been squelched4 ,another group of us--,august ,belmont1 ,herbert ,wadsworth1 etc41 who cared for paintings--started the ,art ,club4 ,there was money in this crowd1 and ,i was taken in only because they thought ,i could draw and could be useful4 ,this was the first indication of a desire for the fine arts in the college4 ,i was much disappointed when ,i got back from ,europe in '#ia to find that all the first books1 records1 and lists of members that ,i1 as secretary1 had started1 had been either lost or destroyed4 ,but the club had increased in outward show1 even if it had lost its traditions1 and had housed itself quite fittingly4 ,a club to which ,i did not belong and one of which the membership was kept strictly secret was the ,med4 ,fac4 ,it was supposed to have originated as a take-off on the medical faculty and to it were ascribed all the very foolish pranks that were committed around the yard4 ,the authorities could never get hold of them1 and ,i do not believe any one of them was ever punished1 although some of their antics were dangerous to human life and only the pleas of youth could have excused them4 ,one man placed a stick of dynamite down the sewer1 fortunately resulting in no harm2 and in my own case a skyrocket suddenly went off between my legs one dark night4 ,this made me think my chum was a member of the crowd1 but1 of course1 ,i never could prove it4 ,it is said that the ,med4 ,fac4 once sent a letter to the ,tsar of ,russia announcing his election to the organization4 ,he1 thinking to add one more honor to his already numerous ones1 took the invitation au serieux and sent them a present of a very beautiful set of surgical instruments4 ,there are one or two pleasing incidents or traditions of ,harvard that ,i like to remember--things that help one to a greater appreciation of humanity in general4 ,one was told me by my uncle by marriage4 ,when he was a student in the college he was given fifty dollars by an old 8grad0 who like him had struggled through poverty to get his education1 and told to buy himself an overcoat1 the man saying3 8,it isn't ,i who give it to you1 but a former graduate who gave it to me2 and when you get out in the world and make good on your own1 you are asked to pass it on40 ,no one knew the identity of the first donor and only one person will know whether it is going on to-day2 but ,i do hope that some mischance has not occurred to break the chain--the recipient being too unsuccessful1 or dying before he could return it4 ,another pleasing occurrence of a quite different character happened during ,commencement4 ,at this time the authorities chose certain men1 who had distinguished themselves during their course1 and gave them 8parts40 ,i remember ,fenollosa of my class1 who afterward became the ,imperial ,commissioner of ,arts for the ,japanese government1 was one of these selected1 and delivered an essay on ,leibnitz4 ,the students always held fake ,commencement and caricatured the parts4 ,a boy can be disrespectful or irreverent1 and a thing is generally no good if he does not make fun of it2 but every now and then something hits him and he is serious4 ,one of the students1 ,frank ,low1 had made himself so beloved by his fellows that they did not guy him1 and ,i shall never forget how his mock part ran3 ,frank to all1 ,low in his own esteem4 ,i wonder if this is not the kind of a mock part that ,america would write for ,theodore ,roosevelt8 ,arthur ,bartlett ,maurice1 a ,princeton graduate1 once contradicted my statement that ,harvard played the first game of intercollegiate football in ,america1 claiming that honor for his own college4 ,as ,mr4 ,maurice is a much younger man than ,i1 and must have it on hearsay1 ,i am going to doubt his knowledge4 ,besides1 ,i like my own story better4 ,it was in my sophomore year1 in #ahgb4 ,previous to this time1 my class had started what later developed into the modern college yell4 ,each class had a cheer1 generally ending with the usual1 8,hip1 hip1 hurrah60 ,but1 we being very personal1 decided to give ours in a different way4 ,so we would begin the following slowly1 gradually increasing the speed and making it staccato at the end3 ,whoop her up for '#gd ,whoop her up1 whoop her up1 ,whoop her up for '#gd ,whoop her up1 whoop her up1 ,whoop her up for '#gd ,whoop her up1 whoop her up1 ,whoop her up for '#gd-- ,rah6 ,rah6 ,rah6 ,hurrah became 8rah10 and in order that the men should keep together1 one of us would beat time1 which ,i believe was the origin of the 8yell leader40 ,returning from the athletic field one day1 ,harry ,grant1 ,coe ,taylor 7captain of the baseball team71 a man named ,herrick1 ,harry ,morse1 myself1 and others saw a crowd of ,cambridgeport boys--hoodlums--kicking a football about4 ,we took it away from them and started kicking it ourselves4 ,some one suggested that it would be fun to have a real football--this was a round rubber one--so we all subscribed and sent into ,boston for an egg-shaped one made of leather4 ,to our consternation1 we found we could not handle it at all4 ,however1 we were interested2 some one found a book of rules and gradually we learned the game4 ,then it was a question of finding a team to play against4 ,no college in ,america knew the game at the time1 so we sent a challenge to ,mc,gill in ,canada1 and to our surprise we beat them to death4 ,they came down for a return match1 and we beat them again4 ,swiftness of foot was of more importance than strength then1 and ,i was allowed to be one of the team1 but could not go to ,canada1 as everyone paid his own expenses and ,i did not have the money4 ,i did not realize that our amateur attempts had amounted to anything1 and when ,i came to ,america in #ahia ,i asked a young woman ,i met about the ,harvard baseball scores4 ,she seemed rather vague on the subject and1 looking at me as if ,i were an antediluvian1 said3 8,oh1 baseball is old-fashioned4 ,football is the thing40 ,there is a tradition in ,harvard that1 although football was not actually born until #ahgb1 the first seeds were planted long before the ,civil ,war4 ,the sophomores and freshmen--always enemies--used to take this round rubber ball out on the field as an excuse for a fight4 ,by #ahei this resulted in so many minor accidents1 that finally1 when one boy's leg was broken1 the authorities stopped it altogether4 ,one evening after this rule was enforced1 a queer gathering of people proceeded to the ,delta 7athletic field74 ,it had the air of a medival funeral procession with its priests carrying tall candles1 chanting solemnly1 and preceding a small bier borne by draped figures and followed by mourners of every description1 weeping and wailing their sorrow at the departure of a loved one4 ,in this case the dear departed was a football1 red in color and looking suspiciously like a large toy balloon1 which rested lightly in its casket4 ,with all the ceremony of a real funeral1 it was solemnly interred4 ,three nights after1 a very different procession went forth along the same way4 ,there was a clash of cymbals1 bright lights1 music1 gayly decorated banners1 and maidens dancing joyously4 ,again they proceeded to the burial ground where1 after curious incantations had been performed over the grave--to the astonishment of everyone who saw it--the soul of the football detached itself from its resting place and rose grandly and sedately to the heavens6 ,it seems to me that we cannot overestimate the importance of eating and drinking1 for out of these desires of the human body have come most of the clever ideas of the world4 ,conviviality stimulates the brain1 and1 while the viands may be of ever so simple a quality1 the atmosphere in which they are partaken means everything to sensitive genius4 ,from a general poverty of purse1 if not of mind1 sprang the ,stomach ,club of ,paris1 and likewise1 if ,i may compare them1 the ,hasty ,pudding ,club of ,harvard4 ,it began when two or three clever men found it necessary to economize1 and they made up their minds to live on that delectable ,new ,england dish--cornmeal mush4 ,probably1 having only one kind of food to cook1 they became proficient in the art1 for in my day it was certainly good to eat4 ,the three or four men had developed into a large number1 and the meetings came to have a very different purpose from that of the economy of food2 but never had they varied in any degree from their first idea1 and not a single dish was added to their fare of--hasty pudding4 ,a certain quality of cohesion is necessary to make a crowd of fellows stick together through so many years1 so gradually1 a number of tests came into being1 and a novice must pass these before becoming a full-fledged member4 ,as these tests vary in every case1 but all are based on great principles of truth1 honor1 and manhood1 ,i am not giving away the secrets of the organization if ,i tell a few of the amusing incidents of my initiation into the ,hasty ,pudding ,club4 ,for two weeks before his final acceptance1 the candidate is required to run everywhere he goes1 and he must not speak a single word to anyone except the member appointed to be his keeper4 ,i had faithfully kept this rule of silence--hard as it was for me--when one night at dinner ,i tried to attract the waitress's attention1 with no result4 8,speak to her just this once4 ,i won't tell10 said ,ned ,higginson1 who was my keeper4 ,i argued ,i mustn't1 but he assured me it would be all right1 so ,i did4 ,when it came to the final reckoning and he was asked if ,i had kept the rules1 he told on me4 ,i don't believe ,i was ever so righteously angry in my life4 ,disregarding the fact that it was a formal party and ,i was in evening clothes1 ,i turned and would have knocked him down had they not held me4 ,then ,i heard laughs and cries of3 8,yes1 he's the kind of a man we want40 ,you must be the type who trusts your friends by doing 7while blindfolded7 anything that he swears on his honor he has done before you1 but if it is proven that that friend has deliberately gone back on you1 you must show that you resent it4 ,for example1 my anger at ,ned was pardoned2 but a son of one of the generals in the ,civil ,war went through all the requirements until he refused to put on some article of clothing which seemed to him filthy 7his eyes being bandaged71 in spite of the fact that all of the others swore they had gone through the same experience without harm4 ,he never became a member of the ,hasty ,pudding ,club4 ,one of the requirements is an essay which is taken very seriously by the patient neophyte1 but is really of no importance4 ,mine1 on the subject of 8,public ,insane ,asylums vs4 ,private ,mad ,houses10 was never read1 for the reason that it was stolen by a ring within the club who called themselves 8,owls of the ,night0 and thought it very funny to reduce the size of the new man's head by destroying his work whenever possible4 ,i was sure ,i had hidden my essay where no one would find it--in the bottom of the spittoon1 covered with layers of newspapers1 then melted candle grease1 and lastly1 the remaining space filled with water and cigar butts4 ,but my roommate told2 and ,i had to lie1 when asked for it1 so as not to go back on the gang4 ,one of the most interesting possessions of the club was the ,crocodile ,book1 or the record kept by the secretary since the beginning4 ,at the end of one of the chapters was a charming drawing by ,washington ,allston1 of a fat boy gobbling mush from a pot4 ,i used to stare at this and wonder about the man who did it4 ,alas6 when ,i went back1 some twenty years later1 there was no trace of the drawing and no one could be found who had ever heard of it4 ,these acts of vandalism are found more often among the educated classes than otherwise4 ,i often think of the clergyman who was found with a hammer in his hand1 having just knocked a piece off a tomb in ,westminster ,abbey1 which dated back to the days of ,edward the ,confessor--the only one that had never been cracked or harmed6 ,the judge very wisely did not punish him1 but left him to the tender mercies of the newspaper reporters4 ,he is still running4 ,we have not the right to destroy the labor of some one else4 ,the beautiful things of ,greece1 the wisdom of ,rome1 music of ,germany1 and the ,cathedrals of ,france and ,italy have been inherited from the past1 and if we deface them we are defacing our own property4 ,i have my small triumphs4 ,one occurred in the ,hasty ,pudding ,club4 ,when ,i went back for a visit after coming home from ,europe1 ,i was shown a fine building1 positively shaming the rooms we had had in ,stoughton ,hall4 ,i went in with a somewhat bewildered manner1 feeling like a stranger in a strange land4 ,then something struck my eye4 ,where had ,i seen it before8 ,there at the end of a hall was a drawing--a playbill for a performance of 8,the ,rivals0--of two cocks1 one black and the other of the yellow barnyard type1 fighting over a little white hen4 ,looking in the corner1 ,i saw it was signed with my name6 ,it is better than money1 family1 or friends when a whole generation embraces you4 ,my personality was not there2 neither is that of the man who made the ,venus di ,milo--but she's there4 ,there are contests as to who wrote the plays we ascribe to ,shakespeare1 but there are no contests over ,hamlet4 ,it's great to see that what you have tried to do has been kept4 ,there is a poem by ,arthur ,macy 7probably not published7 about a ,common ,councilman who in walking down the street and1 happening to look up at the ,boston ,public building1 sees a shield and upon it the design by ,saint-,gaudens1 of two little naked boys4 ,it runs something like this3 ,what nameless horror meets his modest eyes8 ,there1 reared aloft in perfect equipoise1 ,two very small1 unexpurgated boys4 ,hurrying down to the meeting hall1 he has the ,council pass a bill that after this 8boys shall be born in pants40 ,the only difference in the opinion of my rival fraternity at college--namely1 the ,alpha ,delta ,phis--would have been that they should be born clothed2 but after talking it over1 they would have decided it should be in 8trousers40 ,this substitution of a good old ,anglo-,saxon word for one of ,latin slang would have been due to the influence of our beloved ,professor ,child1 whom we all called 8,stubby40 8,stubby0 ,child represented a natural revolt against ,bostonianism--the practice of putting pantalettes on piano legs4 ,to him his language was a faith or a religion1 and ,i know that all ,america would speak and write much worse ,english to-day were it not for the disciples that this man scattered throughout the country4 ,the secret of his influence was that he cared1 and therefore he produced a result4 ,he was unimportant to look at1 had no voice to speak of1 and exercised no hypnotism1 but he managed to imbue us all with a permanent love of our own language4 ,i am sure he would as soon have thought of using a foreign word in place of an ,anglo-,saxon word or its derivative1 as he would of dishonoring his own mother4 ,his influence was more powerful1 because it was subtle1 and although he does not seem to be well known1 ,i have met men in many parts of the world who immediately fell on my neck when ,i said ,i had been the the pupil of 8,stubby0 ,child4 ,my grandmother said1 8,the law of love is higher than the law of truth10 and ,i think she was right1 for love is unalterable and truth changes4 ,christ's statements may not be true to us to-day2 ,einstein with his 8relativity0 may have upset ,newton's theory of gravity2 but these men remain just as great as they ever were1 for in them we see their passionate love for what they thought to be true4 ,somehow1 ,i can never think of ,harvard that ,i don't see 8,stubby0 ,child1 with that row of yellow curls around his head like a halo1 hurling a copy of ,chaucer's ,canterbury ,tales out of the window and shouting to the class3 8,this man is an ,oxford graduate and1 according to ,england1 is a scholar1 and yet he has substituted the nauseating adjectives #8gay' and #8blithesome' in that immortal description of the ,friar in the line which runs3 8,as hoot he was and lecherous as a sparwe40 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,in ,search of a ,career ,out ,west ,harvard had taught me this--that ,i did not know a thing--not even the meaning of human life4 ,somehow ,i think a college education is of benefit to two classes of people only--those who desire to acquire a social position and those who want to get training in a certain subject4 ,i have not the battle instinct and could never see any use in competition4 ,if ,i had not come of good people ,i might have wanted to fight to get with good people1 and that is about all college can give4 ,i can remember getting only one real thrill to go out in the world and do something1 and that was after a sort of valedictory talk by old ,doctor ,grey4 ,i had always cared for the out of doors and it appears ,i stood well in botany4 ,when the venerable professor told us that it takes fifty years to make a nutmeg orchard1 and that a million dollars was waiting anyone who would walk into ,boston with him the next day and prove to certain capitalists that he could tell the difference between the male and female nutmeg1 my commercial instinct was aroused and a gleam of ambition came to me for the first time4 ,i resolved to find out about the male and the female nutmeg4 ,there was no way to learn anything about beauty in ,harvard--no instruction in it and no honors for it4 ,taking their cue from the ,pilgrim ,fathers and1 since then1 the ,church1 they did not believe in the value of any of the senses of the body1 but only in the quality of the human mind and the power to ratiocinate4 ,any expression or feeling for beauty1 except that made by sacred music1 was common1 vulgar1 and to be repressed4 ,if ,harvard could manage to produce one ,corot1 one ,beethoven1 or one ,michael ,angelo1 her name would be known longer in future ages than it will be for all the small imitation ,shakespeares she has sent out over the country4 ,even ,mr4 ,emerson1 in my opinion1 was half ashamed of his lyrical gift2 and the elder ,story1 the sculptor1 is more honored in ,boston for a law book he wrote1 before thirty1 than for any of his statues4 ,one day in ,mr4 ,story's studio1 in ,europe1 was a group of ,american business men who always made it more or less one of their loafing places4 ,of course1 they had all been well bred enough to wander around and see what the old man had been working at lately1 but it was not long before they were settled down over their cigars1 discussing the business of stocks and bonds--what they were all thinking about and all they really cared about4 ,story stood it as long as he could1 walking nervously up and down in silence4 ,finally he whirled1 saying3 8,gentlemen1 gentlemen1 gentlemen1 ,phidias built the ,parthenon4 ,who in hell were the stockholders80 ,after my graduation1 it was a question of a career4 ,i had spent four years to find out that ,i did not know anything1 and was to spend three more to find out what ,i wanted to do4 ,all my ancestors had lived by talk4 ,i had inherited the 8gift of gab10 but there seemed to be no market for it in my generation4 ,it had turned from the pulpit to the stage and novels1 in order to get an audience4 ,rhetoric and fiery oratory is not an honest way to teach1 as it hypnotizes the listeners4 ,reading a speech coolly the next morning in the newspaper is the only fair way to judge it4 ,my father felt this and changed his preaching into a dry1 matter-of-fact style1 not caring to influence by his personality4 ,he immediately lost his audience4 ,groping for an occupation1 ,i went to ,new ,york and1 with a half-formulated idea to become an architect1 called on ,russel ,sturgis4 ,he was a blond-headed young man1 about thirty-five1 and seemed to me to be quite old and efficient4 ,looking at me very keenly1 he said3 8,do you know anything about the bearing power of bricks80 8,no40 8,do you care anything80 8,no40 8,have you any rich relatives to back you80 8,no40 8,you don't want to be an architect4 ,you want to be a painter40 ,this quite astonished me1 for ,i rather thought ,i did1 although ,i had never formulated the desire in my mind4 ,besides1 to be a painter was not an occupation--but rather on par with a strolling player1 a tinker1 or a mountebank4 ,mr4 ,sturgis told me that my ideas were all wrong and that the painters of the day were real people and1 furthermore1 making a lot of money4 ,of course1 ,i could not start in then1 but resolved to hold the thought in the back of my mind4 ,in the meantime1 my ,new ,england coat was feeling so tight as almost to burst the seams if ,i did not get out of it4 ,i wanted to get away from something4 ,i knew not what4 ,but freedom lay away from home1 so1 starting out with two hundred and fifty dollars1 ,i went as far as ,i dared1 which was ,cincinnati1 ,ohio4 ,there was a ,boston colony in ,cincinnati and ,i landed among friends1 keeping the plunge from being as bad as it might have been4 ,i remember nothing of the trip out except the foundries of ,pittsburgh4 ,this wonderful display of great columns of fire1 shooting up to the sky1 seemed to represent1 as ,i had never seen it before1 the ,spirit of ,flame4 ,upon arrival1 ,i was seized by ,jim ,perkins and not allowed to spend a night in a hotel4 ,his brother was married to a relative of close friends of ours on ,milton ,hill near ,boston1 and this was enough introduction for him to take me into his home4 ,afterward1 ,i lived with ,chap ,dwight1 whose mother had been an intimate friend of my father's1 and it was here that ,i got my first taste of a ,european influence4 ,he was a wealthy bachelor and lived like one1 but had very cosmopolitan ideas of life--a new change for me4 ,my first job was an agent for an oil firm which had its main office in ,pittsburgh4 ,it may have been the only one ,i could get1 but ,i rather imagine that my droolings and dreamings over the wondrous flames of the foundries of ,pittsburgh invested the work 7in my mind7 with romance and took away 7in the minds of my relatives7 the sting of my having to be called a salesman4 ,the first month ,i made one sale4 ,overjoyed at getting an order for a thousand barrels of oil1 ,i signed a contract to deliver them at a certain time f4 o4 b4--,cincinnati4 ,harvard ,college had taught me many things1 but had neglected to give me any idea whatever of those letters1 8f4 o4 b40 ,my salary was fifty dollars a month1 the freight was sixty1 so ,i quit at the end of the month1 owing my boss ten dollars4 ,i considered the matter closed and that ,i had learned a good lesson2 but1 unfortunately1 ,i had had a large amount of business stationery printed4 ,thinking my young cousins could use it to draw on and desiring never to see it again1 ,i sent it home4 ,but ,i had reckoned without my dear mother's sense of economy4 ,for years ,i was forced to receive letters from her with ,,edward ,,simmons ,,agent ---- ,,oil ,,co4 at the head of the page4 ,after this not very profitable occupation ,i turned my attention to tutoring1 fitting a boy for ,west ,point1 and another for the ,yale ,scientific ,school4 ,the former was the son of an ignorant ,irishman and had got a limited amount of information at the ,jesuit school4 ,i taught him geography1 history of the country and states1 of which he knew nothing1 and ,i made him learn the ,declaration of ,independence and simple mathematics4 ,he went in with flying colors4 ,i found that my business career did not interfere in any way with my social life in ,cincinnati4 ,i was still anxious to be an artist and was painting in my bedroom every night4 ,the city was1 even at that time1 beginning to be an art center for the ,middle ,west4 ,nicholas ,longworth1 grandfather of the husband of ,miss ,alice ,roosevelt1 had shown a particular aptitude for making money and a better one for spending it the right way4 ,as a young man he had climbed the hills of the town and1 looking from them across the water1 decided it would be impossible for the city to extend in but one way4 ,accordingly1 he put his savings into land1 always keeping one lap ahead of the spread of population4 ,caring for beautiful things1 he began to encourage the fine arts1 and it was at his home that ,i saw my very first collection of oil paintings4 ,concord was the home of the steel engraving1 and the copies of oils that my father had brought back with him from ,europe and hung up in the ,old ,manse swore at everything else in the house4 ,the ,longworth collection was mostly ,german pictures--by ,koeck-,koeck1 ,meyer von ,bremen1 and two by ,lessing of the life of ,huss1 the martyr1 which were evidently worthless1 but so aroused my decorative instinct that ,i remembered them for years after4 ,wandering up the main street of ,cincinnati one evening1 ,i saw a name plate on a doorway--one ,i had never heard--and after it the magic word 8,artist40 ,i was thrilled4 ,there was actually some one in this town living and having his being and spending his time painting4 ,i used to pass back and forth before this sign1 which was at the bottom of a stairway1 like a dentist's or a photographer's2 and finally1 one evening just at dusk1 ,i got the courage to go up4 ,knocking timidly on the door1 ,i was greeted with loud roars of 8,come in40 ,the dingy room was a holy of holies to me--,i had never seen an artist's studio before4 ,in the far corner was a man in a khaki apron1 using the blackest of soft soap to wash what were1 in my eyes1 enormous brushes4 ,heretofore1 my own experiments in oil painting had been made with the usual small brushes and a tin box used by maiden ladies4 ,the bigness and boldness of this establishment took my breath away4 ,when ,i got the courage to look about ,i saw that1 besides this big ,norse viking with the tumbled hair1 there was a sculptor in the corner1 modeling--think of the daring6--a figure in the nude6 ,i must have presented a ridiculous figure1 for there was a laugh behind my back1 and1 turning1 ,i saw a woman almost naked1 sitting on a stool6 ,they asked me why ,i had wanted to come in1 and ,i told them ,i tried to paint1 but that ,i had never seen a studio before4 ,i looked with wonder at the big canvases on the wall1 and even then realized that here was a sense of color altogether different from that of the ,german artists1 and that the capacity for brushwork was a marvel--for this painter was none other than ,frank ,duveneck1 who had just returned from ,munich4 ,when ,i went up to ,west ,walnut ,hills and told them that ,i had found a real artist in ,cincinnati1 ,i was laughed at in a very pitying way2 but later on1 when this same ,duveneck gave a showing of his work in ,boston and was hailed as the 8new ,american ,velsquez10 ,i felt a great satisfaction1 although ,i was no longer in ,cincinnati and could not enjoy my triumph4 ,after an experience as a casket maker's assistant1 where ,i was expected to board with him and sleep in the manufactory1 and eventually--great stress was laid on this--become a partner in the business1 ,i decided to accept an offer my cousins had made me to go farther west and become a clerk in a department store they had started in ,san ,francisco4 ,i had previously received a proposition to become a salesman of cheap jewelry1 for1 so this man told me1 my line of talk would be a sure-fire success for making sales to 8servant girls at the back door40 ,my ticket as far as ,chicago was given me by ,chap ,dwight1 who was connected with railways1 and for the rest of the way ,i paid for a first-class fare and no ,pullman--in those days it was possible to sit up in the smoker4 ,this ,i did as far as ,cheyenne1 where my troubles began4 ,i was told that the train would stop for an hour1 so ,i alighted to take a look about the town and get some dinner4 ,the only thing that aroused my interest was a sign marked 8,simmons0 over a doorway with steps leading down to it and quite evidently a dive4 ,there were two baize doors above which shone bright lights1 with reams of smoke rising above the heads of men4 ,i went down and started to push open the door1 but just at that moment loud voices were raised inside and something whizzed by my head4 ,i looked up1 and1 not six inches from my outstretched hand was a clean bullethole through the door4 ,i never opened it4 ,trying not to hurry1 ,i made my way back to my train and started to get aboard1 searching in every pocket for my ticket4 ,it was gone4 ,i begged clemency from the conductor and tried to make him remember that ,i had got on at ,chicago1 but ,i had no berth1 and there were too many deadbeats trying to get to ,california in those days for him to have any pity whatsoever for me4 ,in desperation1 ,i spoke to the baggageman4 ,he advised me to go as far as my money would take me and then telegraph home for more4 ,anything was better than being left at midnight in this city of careless bullets4 ,out to ,rawlins1 ,wyoming1 was as far as my pocketbook would take me1 and ,i would have two dollars and fifty cents left for a bed and telegram4 ,imagine a town eight thousand feet above the sea1 freezing cold1 again the middle of the night4 ,how ,i got off the train and over to the hotel1 where shown the only light1 ,i do not know4 ,i do know1 however1 that ,i put a chair under the handle of the door1 candle and matches and my pistol beside the bed1 before ,i went to sleep4 ,daylight showed no improvement1 but only took away the air of dark mystery and bared to the eye a bleakness indescribable4 ,to have been told that there was no telegraph office would not have surprised me a bit1 but to learn that it was 8not a money order station0 was almost worse4 ,sitting on a stone in front of the hotel1 ,i tried to think out my problem4 ,the temperature was twenty or thirty below zero1 nothing grew in the ground1 and all the ice and snow was blown away by the terrible winds as soon as it fell4 ,that morning two men had been found frozen stiff within a hundred yards of the hotel4 ,they had not seen the light1 which was on the other side of the house1 and had simply lain down and decided to stop4 ,to see the dead bodies of these men who had given in a hundred yards from safety was one of the greatest lessons ,i ever learned--,,never ,,stop6 ,i soon became acquainted with the population1 which consisted of mine host and his ,chinese cook1 the storekeeper and sheriff1 two hundred men in the roundhouse1 and two women who earned their living in a questionable manner at night and spent the daylight hours sewing and mending for the workmen4 ,although these women were undoubtedly under thirty1 they looked aged and worn1 and their hands were calloused from the needle4 ,every vestige of attraction had departed long ago1 and ,i wondered how they could be so kindly and cheerful amid such surroundings of hopelessness4 ,at last ,i formulated a plan and1 going to the storekeeper1 who was sure to have cash on hand1 ,i asked him if he ever lent money and at what per cent8 ,he said1 8yes10 but what security could ,i give8 ,two or three hundred tramps passed through the town every day1 and my word that it would be sent to him was no good whatever4 ,again ,i went out to my stone4 ,a ,yankee is seldom in so tight a place that he can't wiggle out1 and ,i knew if ,i could only think hard enough ,i could solve the problem4 ,going back1 ,i said to my friend1 the storekeeper3 8,if you knew that there was a sum of money deposited in your name in a certain bank in ,cincinnati1 would you give it to me80 ,he answered1 8,yes40 ,i telegraphed to my friend ,harrison1 who must have sensed that ,i would have trouble on the way and had told me to be sure to call on him for anything whatever4 8,place one hundred dollars to the credit of ,sam ,atkins in the ,first ,national ,bank of ,cincinnati40 ,he understood1 for after a cashier's confirmation for the careful ,mr4 ,atkins1 ,i received my hundred1 less five per cent1 and was on my way again4 ,we were in the real ,west now4 ,all along1 beside the tracks1 were huts built of piled-up abandoned railway ties4 ,here men had tried to spend the night crawling in over a fire1 many having been burned to death this way4 ,it was surely an example of the survival of the fittest4 ,constantly1 from the car window1 could be seen the former emigrant wagon trail1 and everywhere were the bleached bones of bison and oxen4 ,every time a hill rose high enough to count1 there was a little white cross1 marking the graves of a baby or perhaps a wife whose ashes were scattered1 like those of the engine1 ,god knows where4 ,no calvary could have shown more evidences of pain and suffering than the trail of these first argonauts across the plains4 ,a fat man on the train took an interest in me1 and it flattered me greatly4 ,i have since met his type all over the world3 he is what is called in gambling parlance1 a 8capper40 ,i was dressed well and he probably thought ,i was wealthy1 for he turned and asked me if ,i did not want to get off with him in ,green ,river and go to a place where we could get beer and free lunch 7then unknown to me7 for one 8bit40 ,this idea pleased me1 as the meals at the stations1 which included bear meat and all sort of luxuries1 were one dollar4 ,the town was nothing but sagebrush and hills1 with one little straight street down to a dive4 ,while we were eating and drinking1 in came a man whose type ,i had been warned against in ,cincinnati1 where all the talk was of the ,west4 ,he was a handsome1 sharp1 keen1 inbred ,yankee with a fur coat down to his heels1 and kept swinging a bunch of mink skins while simulating drunkenness4 ,i should have known that he was the three-card-monte man1 as he fitted perfectly the description that had been given to me2 but he was such an artist that1 in my youthful ignorance1 he convinced me that he was the real drunk that the three-card-monte man imitated4 ,swaggering around the room1 he fished in his pocket for some money and1 pulling out a roll of bills1 threw it on the floor in disgust4 ,taking out a lot of gold1 he indicated that it was the only money he cared to use4 8,i've been in the land of ,mormons10 he cried1 producing a pack of cards1 8and ,i learned a new game which ,i'll show you4 ,it's called #8,find the ,mormon4'0 ,all the men1 including a crowd of my acquaintances from the train1 who had come in1 crowded around him1 myself in the front row4 ,my friend1 the capper1 tried his hand and won several times1 making a great haul4 ,then he urged me to bet and1 upon my telling him ,i was broke1 thrust a twenty-dollar bill into my hand4 ,i bet it and won1 paying back my debt1 and then held out the other bill to the bartender to change so ,i could divide with my 8pal40 ,he reached his head down below the bar and ,i suddenly felt the atmosphere change4444 ,i turned to my friend4 ,he was gently fingering a gun4 ,with a cold1 steely eye1 the three-card-monte man stood1 a pistol in his hand1 with one end lying on the bar1 casually pointing my way4 ,in front of me the 8barkeep0 had risen with another4 ,i looked behind for help1 and all the men from the train had silently melted away4 ,leaving the twenty on the bar1 ,i turned and walked slowly out of the place1 not daring to increase my pace by one second until ,i reached the train4 ,i told my story to the conductor1 and he said if ,i had carried off any winnings these men would have followed me to the ends of the earth and taken it from me4 ,if ,i had been killed1 they would have hitched my body to a horse and dragged it out into the sagebrush1 leaving the coyotes to do the rest4 ,as an unpleasant sequel to this1 ,i read in one of the first papers ,i picked up in ,san ,francisco an account of two brothers from ,vermont who got in with the same men4 ,the first lost all of his money and borrowed all of his brother's1 finally getting into a row with the gamblers1 and was shot dead4 ,the other brother escaped and somehow got to the train1 going on to ,salt ,lake ,city1 where he telegraphed home for more money4 ,watching his time1 he went back to the saloon1 shot the 8barkeep0 and capper dead1 and left the three-card-monte man dying on the floor4 ,i carried a pistol on this trip1 but up to this time ,i had had no chance to use it4 ,however1 since ,i had looked down the barrels of several myself1 ,i was beginning to feel very brave4 ,that romantic idea of 8avenging one's honor or that of one's women0 had quite got into my blood4 ,the train broke down at ,winnemucca1 in a country covered with six feet of snow4 ,a crowd of us had been having a good time amid much good-natured talking and chaffing1 when ,i saw one of the trainmen1 evidently drunk1 sitting beside a woman passenger1 with his arms about her1 kissing her violently4 ,her husband was standing beside the seat1 protesting1 with no effect4 ,instantly ,i was at the head of a crowd that took the offender by the neck and threw him off the train4 ,without my counting the cost1 ,i became the hero of the hour4 ,but all was not finished4 ,our intoxicated friend came around under the window and raged threateningly until there was nothing for me to do but go out to meet him4 ,drawing my pistol1 ,i strode on to the platform4 ,the minute he saw me his hand went to his pocket and drew out his gun1 but ,i had him covered4 ,it was just a question of who dared to shoot first4 ,my blood ran cold2 but just at that moment four hands came round the corner of the car1 two had him by the back of the neck and two had taken his gun away4 ,then slowly but surely he was withdrawn from view4 ,the conductor asked me not to report the occurrence1 as the man was a fireman1 a family man1 and all right when sober4 ,i was so glad to get away with my life that ,i would never have told a soul4 ,furthermore1 ,i sold my pistol as soon as ,i reached ,san ,francisco1 and have never carried another4 ,the rarest sight ,i ever saw was the sudden change from six feet of snow to the southern slope of the ,sierras4 ,with a plunge from winter into summer1 the whole character of the landscape changed4 ,the air was balmy1 the sky was a soft blue1 and looking like orchards of apple trees of enormous size were the live oaks that covered the slopes of those mighty mountain sides4 ,but best of all1 beside the tracks1 and almost denying the month of ,february1 was growing tender young green grass6 ,i picked some of it1 put it in my buttonhole1 and cried4 ,i had fallen in love with ,california4 ,after that every shanty station saw me out of the car1 smelling the atmosphere and feasting my eyes on the beauty of this big1 good-natured1 sweet1 mild country4 ,at one of these mountain stops1 feeling hungry1 ,i bought a large slab of custard pie4 ,beside the tracks was a cage on wheels in which lay a big female grizzly whose owner was taking her to ,san ,francisco to be sold4 ,the man was nothing loath to explain his prowess in capturing such a fearsome beast1 and we all crowded about1 myself1 of course1 in the front row4 ,looking at us while talking and gesticulating1 his hand went fairly well within the bars1 whereupon the lazy grizzly1 seemingly dozing1 closed her mouth over his fingers and backed slowly to the rear of the cage1 pulling his arm in with her4 ,with that he whirled1 fed his arm in between the bars and1 quickly looking around1 grabbed my pie and slapped the bear in the face with it4 ,of course it splashed1 and she immediately let go of him to lick her chops1 but his hand came out with the mark of every tooth upon its back4 ,in spite of its lack of humor1 ,i truly believe that this is the original custard-pie story4 ,san ,francisco was a very different city in those days from what it is to-day2 the sea came almost up to ,montgomery ,street1 and beyond ,van ,ness ,avenue there was nothing but sand dunes shifting and changing every minute4 ,this is practically all new now1 as the great fire of #aijf swept it away4 ,i remember the ,bay and the ferryboat1 the long pier at the ,oakland ,mole and passing the romantic and lonely ,goat ,island4 ,the water seemed strangely quiet and strangely blue to me1 whose only experience of the sea was the coast of ,maine4 ,the ,chinese and ,mexican quarters of the city were a marvel1 for both of these peoples had managed to take bits of their own countries in their entirety and transplant them on this sandy soil4 ,san ,francisco is unique 7as ,american cities go7 in being able to keep within her bosom the civilizations of foreign peoples1 in their original state1 long enough for them to fertilize and bring forth the best of themselves4 ,visitors to her shore do not immediately change their manners and customs to agree with hers--perhaps for the very good reason that she hasn't any to agree with--but if it were no uncommon sight to see a ,mexican sombrero1 it was no less a common one to see a ,chinese woman in native costume1 feet bound1 in high-stilted slippers1 looking for all the world as if she had stepped down from an ancient vase1 and propelled up ,market ,street by her big-footed 8amah40 ,this thoroughfare seemed to fade away at the old city hall1 which was then only in the process of construction4 ,in fact1 the only landmark which appears to have survived conflagrations and the march of progress is the ,cliff ,house4 ,although it has burned down several times1 each new building immediately takes on the air of the old1 and whether1 by the intention of its builders or the architectural limitations of the rock upon which it is built1 it looks the same to-day as it did when ,i first saw it in '#ge4 ,however one may deplore the mushroom existence of his familiar landmarks downtown1 one has only to take a trip--now shorter many minutes by the change from horse to gasoline--out to the ,pacific ,ocean and1 from a little table1 sheltered by glass from the might of the winds1 look out upon the same horizon1 the same calm blue of the waters1 and1 best of all1 the same ,seal ,rocks with their brown-coated inhabitants 7grown woefully smaller in numbers now71 sunning themselves and teaching their young that protection lies in remaining near at home4 ,the most characteristically ,western survival of the 8days of forty-nine0 were the ,san ,francisco bars--not speaking of the smartest ones1 for those ,i seldom invaded4 ,there was nothing less than ten cents in the town2 nickels they gave away and pennies were thrown down the gutter4 ,everything was sold in terms of 8bits40 ,of course1 there were two- and four-bit coins1 but a one was the survival of the mixture of currency that had gotten into the land4 ,mexican1 ,canadian1 ,french1 etc41 small silver coins were all bunched together as 8bits10 and eight were called a dollar1 making one the value of twelve and one-half cents4 ,a drink theoretically cost a 8bit10 but if you gave a quarter in payment1 you received ten cents change4 ,they were bound to take ten cents if you offered it1 but too many deals of this kind in the same place elicited some such muttered remark as1 8,tight ,easterner10 or1 8,why don't you take some of the furniture along with you when you go80 ,the free lunch1 which was really free1 was served by gorgeous big men in clean white aprons1 and for the price of one drink1 you could have such a repast as boiled mutton and caper sauce1 salmon and cream gravy with mashed potatoes1 all sorts of biscuits1 apple pie1 fruit1 and coffee4 ,should you dare offer a tip to this husky waiter 7or1 indeed1 to anyone in all ,california at that time71 you ran the risk of a strong right arm or1 worse still1 a tongue-lashing such as you had never heard in the effete ,east4 ,the price of a newspaper was also vague1 but you were on the safe side if you offered ,willie no less than a dime2 for silver and gold were the only metals this child cared for4 ,coppers and nickels he threw into the gutter and made you a present of the paper1 remarking that if you were so poor as that he would give you one4 ,willie was a character4 ,we never knew where he came from or where he lived1 but he had a face like one of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's angels and must have been the model who sat to the ,lord for the type of 8,mother's ,darling40 ,he was under ten years old1 slight and rather tall1 with great blue eyes and curly yellow hair4 ,his occupations were selling matches by day and newspapers by night1 and when business was slack he amused himself by calling ribald verses--parodies on such popular songs as 8,pop ,goes the ,weasel0--at the bankers who passed by without buying4 ,he stammered badly1 adding much to the effectiveness of some of the lines4 ,his passion was gambling1 and his first utterance on meeting an acquaintance was1 8,m-m-m-m-match you for a dime80 ,one day one of the clerks1 a ,southerner1 and myself put up a job on ,willie and offered to show him 8three-hand matching40 ,each choosing a different side of the coin1 we won all of his cash in about ten minutes4 ,still in the game1 he bet his matches1 and1 of course1 we skinned him again4 ,his lip began to tremble1 but he pulled himself together and1 saying1 8,b-b-b-busted1 by ,god10 stalked out of the place as pretty a gentleman as ever there was4 ,we called him back to get his matches1 and tried to explain4 ,at first he was furious at our daring to think he was no sport1 but finally he saw the joke and a light came into his eyes4 ,that was at noon2 at six o'clock1 passing the ,chronicle building1 ,i saw what appeared to be a pile of boys1 all absolutely absorbed in something going on in their midst4 ,in the center was ,willie1 beside him a pal1 and between them one of those formless caps that boys affect1 entirely full of dimes and quarters4 ,he looked up and saw me2 not a muscle moved in his face1 but after a second1 his left eye slowly closed as if in sleep4 ,in spite of its being wide open1 ,san ,francisco was then one of the cleanest towns ,i have ever known4 ,the ,french spirit had invaded it1 and here again the ,western civilization had taken the best from these foreigners--in this case1 their cooking4 ,the ,poodle ,dog and ,marchand's were already flourishing with their ,cabinets ,particuliers and for the first time in my life ,i saw wine drunk everywhere4 ,the prostitutes were kept to themselves in one section of the city1 and any woman who stayed out on the streets alone at night dared not stop and look in a shop window or loiter on a corner1 as she would be taken by the arm by a large policeman and sent to ,dupont ,street4 ,this street led up the hill to ,chinatown1 and all along its sides were rows of one-story buildings1 divided into small cubicles1 each with one window and a swinging door that led directly in from the sidewalk4 ,everyone walked here1 and it was the thoroughfare for one of the most fashionable churches1 even though1 sitting at the windows or leaning on the swing gates1 were women of all nationalities1 addressing the passers-by in the language of their country4 ,everywhere were the earmarks of a populace plunged suddenly from hard work and poverty into riches greater than they could conceive of1 and with no time to make the necessary adjustments4 ,there were some attempts at making social distinctions1 but it was difficult under the circumstances4 ,mrs4 ,so-and-so1 who lived on ,nob ,hill1 was probably only one generation removed from the washtubs of ,cripple ,creek1 while ,i1 a poor assistant salesman in a department store1 was a graduate of ,harvard ,college4 ,the father of one young woman upon whom ,i used to call had been so busy counting his recent millions that he had not had time to build himself one of those mansions with a drawing-room1 but still stuck to a 8parlor10 and used to retire gracefully to the kitchen and allow his daughter to entertain me1 uninterrupted1 in the front room of the house4 ,in fact1 he never made his appearance1 and ,i saw the mother only once1 both evidently departing to the nether regions at the first ring of the doorbell4 ,such a situation would never have been allowed in ,new ,england unless the young couple were engaged1 but out ,west the second generation held full sway4 ,one home1 now devoted1 ,i think1 to an art institute1 had1 in the front hallway1 a terra-cotta dado with ,greek heads running around it2 and1 lest there should be no mistake1 the name of each hero was painted below4 ,but the artist was no ,greek scholar4 ,many words were misspelled1 and in several cases 7worse still7 the feminine article was placed1 instead of 1 before a masculine name4 ,what cared the lady of the house for a small thing like that1 when she could take me up in an elevator 7almost an unknown thing at that time7 and show me1 stowed away in her attic1 fifteen bales of ,oriental rugs8 ,and ,i had tried to sell her one6 ,quite in contrast with this residence was that of ,david ,colton--pure white marble of ,greek architecture1 with a beautiful lawn sloping down to a hedge of enormous calla lilies4 ,some months after leaving ,san ,francisco1 ,i heard of ,mr4 ,colton away up in the ,shasta ,mountains4 ,i was working out my poll tax by mending roads1 when an ,irishman1 working with me for the same reason1 stopped and1 leaning on his shovel1 asked me if ,i knew any of 8the bloods0 in ,san ,francisco4 ,dave ,colton had started when he did and far outstripped him1 but had never ceased to be his friend4 ,the ,haggins' was another of these homes where one felt the evidences of good taste and refinement4 ,i shall never forget one party ,i attended there4 ,one of the family had been to our store in the afternoon and purchased some merchandise1 placing special stress on the necessity of having it delivered that day1 as it was needed for the reception in the evening--the same to which ,i had been invited4 ,in the rush of closing the store1 it was noticed that these things had been overlooked1 and1 as the ,haggin house was on my way home1 ,i agreed to deliver them myself4 ,accordingly1 ,i proceeded to the back door and handed these sundry brooms and saucepans to the butler1 who received them from me in shirt sleeves as man to man4 ,later in the evening1 with a friend from ,harvard whom the young ladies especially desired to meet1 ,i alighted at the house from a carriage1 this time at the front door4 ,the butler1 who was ,english1 received me with a suspicious air1 but let me get into the drawing-room1 when all of a sudden1 with the light of memory in his eye1 he made rather a threatening movement toward me1 but1 thinking better of it1 made his way up to ,mr4 ,haggin and1 drawing him aside1 whispered excitedly in his ear4 ,that gentleman burst out into loud guffaws of laughter and could not refrain from telling the joke4 ,the butler had whispered the awful news that ,i was a tradesman6 ,no ,britisher1 even a servant1 could possibly be expected to understand the ,californian of that day4 ,the bigness was not confined to the natural characteristics of the country1 but seemed to have invaded the spirit of the people1 making them pleasure-loving and easy-going1 and1 above all1 gave them a magnificent1 even if childlike1 sense of humor4 ,then the richness of the land and the abundance of everything made them careless of property4 ,imagine a city where every humble clerk owned a horse and carriage2 imagine1 if you can1 that same horse and carriage to be absolutely at the disposal of anyone--a friend or stranger--so that if you came out of a building onto the sidewalk1 and your own vehicle had disappeared1 you simply hopped into the nearest one and proceeded to your destination4 ,think of the president of the ,stock ,exchange being driven out of his seat by beanshooters operated by the members6 ,business was slack that day1 and this was merely a form of amusement4 ,bring them any sort of a new toy1 and they were ready to play with it immediately4 ,we had an oversupply of ice cream freezers at the store1 so ,i made up my mind to get rid of them4 ,every day at a certain hour ,i gave a demonstration out on the sidewalk1 lecturing all the time ,i was freezing the cream1 and handing out free samples of the stuff to the assembled crowd4 ,these same members of the ,stock ,exchange thought it a great joke to join the antics and chaff me1 while trying to force me to accept five-dollar gold pieces for the ice cream4 ,of course they bought out the entire stock of freezers2 ,californians are always eager to pay for their fun4 ,every once in a while there were earthquakes4 ,the small ones were ignored1 but the large ones would send everyone tumbling out of the buildings onto the sidewalks4 ,it was excitement1 and we lived on it4 ,during the ,sunday sermon in one of the churches the building began to shake1 and it is told that the clergyman rose and said3 8,remember that you are in the hands of ,god here in church as well as outside44440 ,at that a piece of plaster fell on the pulpit and he finished3 8,but the vestry is good enough for me60 ,it was through the store that ,i met ,laura ,fair4 ,hers was a tragic life4 ,one of those women born to be a companion to men--she was not strong enough 7or was it hard enough7 to withstand the buffeting of manmade laws4 ,up in ,virginia ,city1 where she lived when young1 it was said that 8the front of her house always looked like a country funeral10 so many one-man teams4 ,it was here during the ,civil ,war that she got into her first trouble4 ,wrapping herself in the ,stars and ,bars1 she paraded the streets1 daring anyone to stop her2 and over her house1 which was the resort of the leading ,secessionists1 she flew the ,confederate flag1 saying she would kill anyone who attempted to lower it4 ,one day a ,union man pulled it down and she shot him dead4 ,a4 ,p4 ,crittenden1 a lawyer from ,south ,carolina1 then championed ,mrs4 ,fair's cause1 and she was acquitted1 due to his passionate and eloquent appeal at the trial4 ,a close relationship between the two ensued and they moved to ,san ,francisco1 where she was known as the attorney's common-law wife4 ,after some years1 ,crittenden decided to send ,east for his legal wife and family4 ,laura ,fair told him directly that she would kill him if he did4 ,walking up to the family group as they stood on the ,oakland ferryboat1 she quickly drew a revolver from beneath her cloak and shot him1 saying3 8,you have ruined the reputation of myself and daughter40 ,the state of ,california has never executed a woman1 and1 while ,mrs4 ,fair was sentenced to be hanged at her first trial1 at her second one she was set free4 ,during the 'seventies1 she was living quietly1 and ,i had only vaguely heard her mentioned1 when one morning my boss came to the back of the store1 saying3 8,you must go out in front and wait on ,laura ,fair40 ,i went out to serve this person1 who looked more like an elderly aunt than a murderess1 and ,i marveled that any man would be afraid of so mild a creature4 ,she seemed to have no charm whatever4 ,the bill for her purchases amounted to about eight dollars1 and shortly after1 just as a joke1 ,i was sent to her house to collect it4 ,the same thin1 sallow1 worn-looking woman greeted me at the door4 ,she showed1 contrary to my expectations1 not the slightest touch of impropriety or dissipation1 but--wonder of wonders--when this woman spoke1 the sound was liquid music1 and the words were followed by a smile so dazzling that one could not help imagining a withered bud suddenly opening into a beautiful flower4 ,she called me ,mr4 ,bill ,collector and bade me sit down and have a glass of sherry2 then she questioned me about my life4 ,i have been told she lived on1 neglected by her daughter1 and once attempting suicide1 to a drab and commonplace old age2 but ,i prefer to think of her as she was that day1 calm and beautiful by some expression within1 sitting in the quiet of her drawing-rooms1 and showing the most enthusiastic interest in the absurd aspirations of a callow youth4 ,laura ,fair was one of the few superwomen ,i have ever met4 ,my clerk's salary was augmented in small ways1 and one of the most pleasant was taking the place of the literary and dramatic critic of the ,chronicle while he went away for a two months' vacation4 ,after the performances ,i used to sneak up to a saloon near the ,city ,hall where ,market ,street tailed off into nothing1 and write my criticisms of the plays over a glass of beer4 ,i remember my chagrin when some of the members of ,mrs4 ,oates's ,opera ,bouffe ,company hunted out my lair and burst in upon me almost nightly4 ,it was my good fortune to hold down my job at the time of the opening of the ,baldwin ,theater1 and also my good fortune to have saved that structure from burning on the day before its opening4 ,strange to say1 not in my capacity of critic1 but that of clerk in the store1 ,i went back of the stage of the new theater to deliver some packages1 when ,i saw a naked gas jet1 which was jammed against the wall1 with a flame ten feet long running up against unplaned boards4 ,i yelled for the stage hands and ran for a bucket of water4 ,in ten minutes it would have been a roaring holocaust and certain to have destroyed--not only the theater1 but the hotel above4 ,the opening of this playhouse 7named for ,lucky ,baldwin7 was quite a social event1 and everyone of importance was there4 ,i was very anxious to show some attention to a certain young lady whom ,i admired greatly1 so ,i decided to send her some flowers to wear on this night4 ,my eyes lit on lilies of the valley growing in pots which were quite common and inexpensive in the ,east1 and seemed unpretentious enough for the pocketbook of a poor department-store clerk4 ,the florist assured me they would be twenty-five cents apiece2 so1 with my usual haste1 ,i purchased a dozen pots1 picking off the blooms myself in the shop 7wondering at the sudden obsequiousness of the man who waited upon me7 and ordering them delivered to the young lady's home4 ,it was a beautiful present and a much-envied one1 but a good lesson to me4 ,the lily of the valley is about the only flower that does not grow prolifically in ,california4 ,instead of being twenty-five cents a pot1 they were twenty-five cents a bloom1 and my rashness cost exactly forty-five dollars4 ,determined to get my money's worth1 ,i carried the despoiled plants out to my cousin2 but even here ,i was doomed to disappointment1 for she informed me that the lily of the valley was a biennial and the plants would not bloom again for two years4 ,speaking of theaters1 an amusing story is told of the earlier days in ,san ,francisco when there was a semaphore on ,telegraph ,hill which signaled the approach of the weekly or monthly steamer4 ,it was the habit of the citizens to drop whatever they were doing and run down to the wharf to meet the incoming vessel4 ,one night there was a performance at a theater1 and the heroine of the play was required to rush in crying3 8,my ,god6 ,what does this mean80 ,this particular lady had gestures all her own and accompanied these words by waving her arms up and down like the handles of two pumps1 and looking1 at least to one member of the audience1 like a human semaphore1 for a voice from the gallery shouted3 8,steamer in sight60 ,with that1 every person in the theater grabbed his hat and coat and ran swiftly onto the street and down to the steamer dock1 leaving a much-astonished actress on the stage4 ,my job as a critic had brought me in touch with the literary and stage folk1 but ,i was eager to meet the painters4 ,alas6 they were woefully few4 ,perhaps nature1 in this part of the land1 was too overwhelming2 but ,i think it was because new countries seldom produce artists4 ,however1 besides ,hill1 there was almost no one but ,william ,keith putting upon canvas the beauty of the ,california landscape4 ,he was much more the traditional painter person than ,frank ,duveneck1 and1 although he really had money1 he preferred to give the impression of the wild-eyed genius starving and striving to get along4 ,i was still using my rattly old tin box1 and it fascinated me to steal into his studio and watch this tousle-headed1 pallid man put enormous quantities of paint upon large canvases in the most extravagant manner4 ,an artist who expected to live by his painting had a hard row to hoe4 ,these rich miners cared not a whit for art1 and any pictures they bought were purchased through ,eastern or foreign dealers who took occasion to get rid of a great number of spurious 8old masters0 on the unsuspecting ,californian4 ,most of the fortunes had been made quite unawares by illiterate and uncultivated men whose taste was vulgar to the extreme4 ,these were the days of terrific financial excitement of the silver mines of ,nevada1 of the almost overnight millionaires such as ,flood1 ,mackay1 ,o',brien1 and ,fair4 ,the ,comstock ,lode1 purchased at about two dollars a share from the poor prospector who discovered the vein1 was selling1 when ,i was out ,west1 at something like #cejj for one-fourth of a share and paying a twenty-five per cent dividend quarterly4 ,is it any wonder they sometimes lost their heads8 ,speculation ran riot1 and the gambling instinct 7which is almost a disease in ,california7 had a chance to spread itself over an entire population who would almost sell their souls to bet upon what the deep1 dark earth would yield on the morrow4 ,in my small way ,i was affected2 but ,i can remember being in only one real deal4 ,my cousin ran into the store out of breath one day1 saying3 8,have you any money8 ,don't ask me why1 but give it to me40 ,i had diligently saved about sixteen dollars1 and it amused me to try the gamble4 ,in a few days he returned and spilled two or three hundred dollars in gold on the counter4 ,my winnings6 ,as secretary to ,adolph ,sutro he had got a tip before the ,stock ,exchange heard of it4 ,this sort of thing was happening every few days4 ,adolph ,sutro was one of the few educated men of the time4 ,he was a black-bearded1 serious1 learned ,jew1 and more of an artist in his line than the others4 ,he carried out many plans for beautifying ,san ,francisco1 built the ,sutro ,gardens and the large baths out by the ocean1 and tried to encourage an interest in the fine arts by sending students abroad to study4 ,i have sat many a time in his downtown office and heard him talk about his plans for the ,sutro ,tunnel4 ,he had seen the suffering of the men in the mines on account of heat and bad air1 and the troubles that occurred from the water that had to be constantly pumped out4 ,so he worked out a theory for the construction of a tunnel into the ,comstock and other mines1 which would begin at a low level and run deep into the mountain1 meeting the mines1 draining them1 and forming a passage through which the ore could be brought out4 ,after encountering many difficulties in financing his project1 he obtained his capital from the ,east and even from ,europe1 but the hardships had just begun4 ,the first attempts were failures from an engineering point of view1 but the final result was of inestimable benefit to the country4 ,mr4 ,sutro helped personally with the work1 and could be seen with coat off at the head of a gang of laborers1 helping with his bare hands to make his dream come true4 ,hospitality stretched to its utmost limits in ,california during the 'seventies4 ,anything the state produced belonged to the meanest of ,god's creatures4 ,i remember being invited to visit at a country place and1 walking over the estate1 hesitated to pick any of the fruit4 ,i was laughed at4 8,the fruit grows on the trees for any man to pick10 said my host4 ,it was literally true3 but the memory of being whipped1 in ,concord days1 for climbing a wall and picking a pear1 was too recent for me to understand this point of view4 ,one of the most lavish entertainers1 and a man to whom the city of ,san ,francisco owes a great debt1 was ,william ,ralston4 ,he started numberless civic enterprises1 one of which was a hotel which was to make her famous the world over2 and he imbued that hotel with a spirit1 a hospitality1 and an atmosphere which have endured to the present time4 ,into every detail of this hostelry he put the most loving care4 ,after the fire of #aijf1 which completely demolished the inside1 the walls remained as stanch and firm as they ever were and completely earthquake proof--due to their enormous thickness4 ,the rooms were built around a central court1 very much like a patio4 ,horses and carriages drove right in here1 depositing guests almost at the office desk4 ,the furniture for all the rooms was made of solid mahogany which ,mr4 ,ralston brought all the way from ,south ,america in a big white fleet sent down for the purpose4 ,nothing more completely ,western or completely comfortable could be imagined4 ,if you stopped at the ,palace ,hotel1 you were certain to get the feeling that you were somebody's personal guest and that that somebody had taken a great deal of trouble for your ease and enjoyment4 ,in his own home at ,belmont1 ,mr4 ,ralston was an extravagant host4 ,the immense house was always crowded with guests1 and from a specially constructed gallery he looked down 7like an ,emperor of ,rome7 upon these numbers of people1 each one amusing himself according to his own personal desire4 ,but emperors fall1 and there are always people jealous of a dictator1 no matter how just he may be4 ,ralston lived for others and consequently trusted others2 therefore1 the blow must have been harder to bear when it fell4 ,i saw him the day he was asked to resign from the presidency of the ,california ,bank4 ,it was right after he had left the board of directors4 ,he did not act in any way unusual1 but came out of the building1 went straight to his carriage1 and drove away4 ,that was in the morning4 ,the evening papers had the account of his suicide4 ,he had gone out to ,north ,beach to have his daily swim1 and1 contrary to his usual habit1 left his watch and valuables in the life saver's hands1 waded into the water1 and was gone4 ,one could hardly pass over the dreamers of the ,west without telling of the greatest of them all--the ,emperor ,norton4 ,his was a vision worth having1 for he believed himself the deposed ruler of the vast kingdom of the ,united ,states4 ,foully ousted from his throne1 he was only biding the time when he would come into what was rightfully his4 ,i suppose 8the few faithful subjects10 who stuck to him were the citizens of ,san ,francisco4 ,at any rate1 they furnished him with a living and the few luxuries he deemed necessary in his exile4 ,they called him a 8natural10 but ,i often suspected him of being more clever than they knew4 ,the ,emperor looked very much like ,general ,grant1 perhaps because of his bushy beard and long blue army coat4 ,in his top hat he wore a feather and elaborate gold epaulets on his shoulders1 while across his breast were rows and rows of medals4 ,he was in no way shabby1 and1 in spite of his costume1 gave the impression of mighty dignity4 ,no one laughed at him1 no one interfered with him1 and he went his way1 receiving everything he wanted without paying a cent4 ,charity8 ,not at all4 ,he took it as his right4 ,the street cars belonged to him2 therefore1 he rode for nothing4 ,he always looked neat1 with his boots beautifully polished--again gratis--by any bootblack in the town4 ,many times he came into our store1 asked to see some articles of merchandise1 looked them over carefully1 and selecting what he wanted1 said ponderously3 8,i am the ,emperor ,norton4 ,i will settle for this when ,i come into my throne40 ,no one ever knew where he lived4 ,he never asked to have anything sent home1 and his purchases were never extravagant4 ,his imagination was slow when it came to material things1 or he may have been sly enough to know just how far to go4 ,if he needed a little small change1 he sold1 at a discount1 beautifully made out drafts on his future exchequer4 ,many a time ,i have seen him walk into a restaurant with measured tread--he never hurried4 ,the head waiter would rush up to greet him respectfully4 ,the ,emperor would ask3 8,is my food ready80 8,right away1 ,emperor40 ,he would be seated at the best table and given the best the house afforded4 ,having finished1 he would walk out majestically without paying1 of course4 ,the ,emperor ,norton never got out of his part4 ,this could never have happened in the ,east4 ,in ,concord1 ,massachusetts1 people would have lifted their eyebrows and given him food and raiment as if he were a tramp1 but indulged him in his whimsies--never6 ,in ,new ,york1 those smart society women who send their daughters out upon ,fifth ,avenue to beg money for various charities would most certainly have had the ,emperor ,norton put in an institution for the insane4 ,chapter ,,iv3 ,on ,being a ,tenderfoot ,north of ,california ,twenty miles from ,water1 ,thirty miles from ,mail1 ,forty miles from ,hell1 ,girl ,wanted--,inquire within4 ,rudely printed and stuck at a rakish angle upon a tree1 hundreds of miles from civilization1 or indeed from any visible touch of human habitation1 this sign greeted the astonished eyes of the passengers who traveled on the stage line from ,redding to ,shasta in the north of ,california in '#ge4 ,leading from it1 off into the woods1 was a tiny newly trodden path--an invitation that any adventurous young woman could hardly fail to take--had any come that way4 ,but there was the joke--few did4 ,these ,westerners made jests of everything1 their loneliness and misery in particular1 and the characteristic is not dead yet4 ,for just thirty years later1 in the city of ,san ,francisco1 people forced to rush from their homes by a great conflagration1 leaving all their worldly possessions behind them1 put up outside their improvised tents and shacks such ridiculous signs as these3 ,old clothes for sale4 ,beer1 five cents4 ,fortunes told4 ,dew ,drop ,inn4 ,rooms ,to ,let4 ,and while the fire still raged within the walls of that hostelry of which they were all so proud1 there appeared over the poorest and most tumble-down shelter of all the words3 ,,palace ,,hotel4 ,california still may be young1 but1 better yet1 ,california is still brave and unspoiled4 ,the distance to ,redding by railway seemed to take hours and hours4 ,there were no fences1 no divisions of property1 no irregular stone-wall separations1 as in the ,east1 and no parti-colored plaids of green and brown denoting 8this is mine and that is yours10 that ,i was to see in ,europe later on4 ,it was my first view of large acreage--miles and miles of it--and in the distance 7real distance in ,california1 which you soon find out if you start to walk it7 great hills of red and purple1 while right beside the tracks1 unprotected from the weather1 were endless stretches of sacks rammed full of wheat4 ,most of the towns took the name of the first settler1 and ,redding was called for the father of ,joe ,redding1 who has distinguished himself in many ways--one being to write the libretto for ,victor ,herbert's opera1 8,natoma40 ,one unsuspecting village named 8,dorris ,bridge10 after its founder1 had this changed to 8,alturas0 by a representative whom the voters had sent to the state legislature4 ,when the populace heard that they were forced hereafter 7by law7 to be called by a classic name1 they took their guns and prepared to meet that assemblyman as soon as he got off the stage4 ,needless to say1 he never returned home4 ,from ,redding on was a stage line1 winding in among the immense hills1 with turns in the road so sharp that the leaders of the six-horse team would have to climb the bank in order that the coach might go around the corner4 ,on one occasion an animal which ,i took for a big collie dog1 but which was in reality a coyote1 ran behind us for quite a ways4 ,by this time ,i took any kind of a job--took it1 and learned how to do it afterward2 so at ,bayley's1 my first stop1 ,i did many things1 from picking blackberries to running a mowing machine--only knocking two teeth out of the scythe before ,i got the hang of it4 ,old man ,bayley1 being a democratic soul1 played cards with his help at night1 thereby taking away from them regularly what he paid them during the day4 ,life was profitable to no one but ,bayley1 so ,i decided to move on4 ,let me say that on my return trip ,i stopped again at ,bayley's4 ,i was greeted joyously4 ,but ,i had learned a new game up in the country4 ,i taught ,mr4 ,bayley seven-up1 and before ,i left that place ,i had won back all the money he had taken away from me when ,i worked for him1 and fifty dollars 8velvet0--incidentally paying my trip back to ,san ,francisco4 ,having no funds1 ,i walked to my next stop1 which was the ,united ,states ,salmon ,hatchery on the ,mc,cloud ,river4 ,livingston ,stone1 who had been sent out by ,baird of the ,smithsonian ,institution to run the place1 was a retired parson1 but very wisely shed his religious ideas before going west4 ,i'll never forget when he let me into the secret of the drink he gave the workmen every hot summer afternoon4 ,a huge washtub full of cold water into which was put a quart of raspberry shrub and a quart of pure alcohol4 ,the men did not realize what they were drinking1 as it looked like pink circus lemonade4 ,mr4 ,stone knew the government would not ,o4 ,k4 large bills for rum1 but pure alcohol might be used for anything4 ,to anyone who has not seen a fish hatchery it is a fascinating place4 ,the big fish came up into the ,mc,cloud ,river to spawn1 and from here most of the rivers of the world were supplied with their eggs4 ,exhausted from the trip up1 for they never touch food from the time they leave their homes1 an expert can simply reach down and catch them with his hand4 ,the eggs of the female are pressed out into pans where the milt of the males is squirted over them1 fertilizing them in water--the unimpregnated ones being sorted out4 ,they are then ready for packing in cracked ice and swamp moss1 some traveling as far as ,new ,zealand4 ,nature hatches out twenty-five per cent of her salmon eggs1 but it was considered a failure if we did not produce ninety-eight per cent in living fish4 ,if we could only do the same with the human race1 we could make perfect children and just the number the ,government needed4 ,the ,indians were of the tribe of ,wintoon1 called 8,digger40 ,they were dirty and lazy1 and1 although some of them had been educated in the public schools1 they very soon lapsed into their original state4 ,even then it was against the law to sell them whisky1 but ,i have seen a young ,indian boy take a quart1 sit down in the sand and knock off the head against a rock1 clap the hole to his mouth1 and drink the whole thing without stopping4 ,needless to say1 he fell over as if stunned with a blow1 and would have rolled into the river if he had not been rescued4 ,the ,indian women were certainly not attractive4 ,in the winter they wore thickness upon thickness of old sacks and rags wound around themselves1 principally their legs1 and these never came off until they rotted or the summer heat drove them to take knives and cut the dirt-caked and incrusted stuff away4 ,along toward spring they were objects to keep away from1 but in summer they were more bearable1 as they bathed in the river almost daily4 ,i remember venturing into their particular swimming pool one day and being taken by the arms and legs and almost drowned1 they thinking it a joke4 ,i believe the ,indians were the originators of the ,turkish bath in ,america4 ,they had a religious ceremony very much like it which was about as good a way of getting rid of the unfit as ,i know of4 ,on the hottest summer day 7and the temperature1 like everything ,californian1 was generous--#aad degrees in the shade being not at all unusual7 they would strip themselves of all but their war paint and feathers1 build a fire in a cave1 and dance around it4 ,these convolutions began slowly and rhythmically1 gradually getting faster and faster1 until1 at the height of the ecstasy1 with wild war whoops they would dash into the water of the ,mc,cloud ,river1 whose average temperature was forty degrees4 ,one day1 during work1 a crowbar was needed4 ,george ,campbell1 a ,yankee whom ,i had heard was married to an ,indian woman1 came to me and asked if ,i would walk up to his home in the woods1 a matter of nine miles1 and fetch one down1 telling me ,i could take my time and have breakfast with his family4 ,i should have remembered one or two of ,george's characteristics and been wary4 ,he used to come in to meals1 look his hands all over1 and say3 8,well1 what won't rub off won't eat off40 ,also1 ,i remember one day noticing him scratch his thigh4 ,i asked1 8,got a flea80 ,he answered3 8,flea8 ,think ,i'm a ,digger ,injun8 ,no1 it's a louse40 ,however1 ,i disregarded these small pleasantries and went for the crowbar4 ,there on one side of the tepee was a dead fire1 and in it sat the ,indian grandmother1 ninety years old1 entirely naked1 and spilling the ashes over her ugly1 brown shriveled legs4 ,some distance away was the wife1 rather good-looking1 cooking salmon at another fire4 ,when it was done she rubbed it up into meal which made a sort of pemmican when dry4 ,in the large bowl1 into which she put this when ground1 sat a naked and very dirty baby1 quietly amusing himself in the midst of the family dinner6 ,i took my crowbar and departed breakfastless4 ,henry ,casey1 a young architect from ,richardson's office in ,new ,york1 was the cause of my going to the north of ,california4 ,we met in ,san ,francisco1 where he was building some houses1 and as the doctor had ordered him to lead an outdoor life1 we planned to make a camp in the wilds4 ,i went up in the spring and he joined me in ,august4 ,casey was suffering from tuberculosis1 and the rough life and high altitude were supposed to be his only salvation4 ,we were two foolish tenderfoot boys1 and our amateur attempts were dramatic and almost disastrous--for ,casey4 ,the camp--no tent or cabin1 but only a brush shelter--was pitched in a curve of the falls of the ,mc,cloud ,river1 which flowed through a gorge1 making the volume of water deeper than it was wide4 ,we planned to live by hunting and fishing1 with the addition of one or two staple foods1 and helped by the large bloodhound ,i had purchased in one of the towns4 ,all went well for awhile until it began to rain2 ,casey came down with a violent attack of pleurisy1 and our hunting dog proved to be the type that would run back three weeks into the past unless we pointed his nose in the right direction4 ,poor ,casey6 ,what he must have suffered1 lying on that damp1 improvised pallet with that terrible pain in his side6 ,the rain did not stop for days4 ,it streamed through the shelter1 keeping everything eternally wet and all but put out the fire4 ,i did the best ,i could4 ,first ,i painted him with iodine1 then1 taking the gunny sacks in which we had brought food1 ,i hung them 7damp from the rain7 on stakes about the flames1 and clapped them steaming hot to the side of my pal until ,i absolutely scalded a square piece of flesh off his body4 ,the doctor told me afterwards that it was the only thing that saved him4 ,for days the rainfall kept up1 and it seemed as if the heavens were soon to fall4 ,we were exhausted4 ,except for one partridge and a rabbit ,i had managed to kill1 our food had been bacon1 coffee1 and bread of my manufacture4 ,the wood was wet1 and it was one man's job to keep the fire going4 ,life to me was becoming a serious matter4 ,if it had not been for abounding youth1 ,i think ,i should have thrown up the sponge4444 ,then without any warning1 the rain stopped4 ,i shall never forget the morning it cleared4 ,i had been up for two nights and had snatched only an hour of sleep before dawn4 ,waking before six o'clock1 ,i went down into the river caon1 unable to get the customary mental reaction from ,nature's vagaries4 ,i was pretty tired and the sunlight did not cheer me4 ,sitting down on a rock in the river gorge1 ,i gazed into the water4 ,then something turned my attention and1 looking up quickly1 ,i saw the picture4 ,snowcapped ,shasta1 which had shrunk like a corpse in the graying weather1 suddenly towered like a giant1 to meet the rosy dawn1 and1 proud in its setting of the river of low oxidized silver1 it rose 7as do certain flowers71 seeming to unfold on their stems to say 8good-morning0 to the sun4 ,those lines of ,tennyson came back3 ,and on the glimmering limit far withdrawn ,god made himself an awful rose of dawn4 ,we do not get these sensations often in our lives1 and when we do we do not always recognize what they mean4 ,a ,bach prelude in its rhythm1 accord1 and beauty of sound2 a dancer who at moments seems to reach that perfect co-ordination of movement and balance2 and certain color combinations--always put a stop to light thinking1 and there is--a pause4 ,if we touch the realm of high beauty1 we enter the realm of high thinking1 and no matter if the effect is produced by the hind legs of a dancer or the thumb of a sculptor1 if we get there1 we are at the edge of the goal and something whispers3 8,be careful2 tread slowly2 you are on sacred ground40 ,i had felt and realized my first artistic harmony1 and it was in the realm of color4 ,the sun was high in the heavens before ,i began to think of ,casey's breakfast4 ,walking out on a huge log that lay across the river and in some past time had been leveled off1 making a bridge wide enough for horses to pass over1 ,i gazed into the water4 ,it was clear as a crystal and far down--too far for a line to reach--,i could see the lazy fish moving languorously in their glassy pools4 ,all of a sudden1 upon the improvised bridge1 which was decayed and sagged into the water in spots1 appeared a female otter1 her coat as sleek as a wet seal's1 her long tail dragging after her1 and in her mouth she held the most beautiful silver two-pound trout you ever saw4 ,what a perfect breakfast dish6 ,it all happened in an instant4 ,i was out upon the log with a loud cry of1 8,wow60 ,the little animal snapped into the water and1 before ,i could think1 the fish1 gills between my fingers1 was flapping in my hand4 ,casey was asleep when ,i carried the steaming dish and put it under his nose1 crying3 8,wake up1 old man6 ,the sun is shining4 ,here is a king's breakfast for you1 and to-night you are going to sleep between dry blankets60 ,that day1 resting much along the way1 ,i carried ,henry ,casey on my back five miles to the nearest cabin1 belonging to a man named ,scott4 ,the next day he was driven to the stage1 went to ,san ,francisco1 took the boat for ,panama1 and arrived in ,new ,york to spend just three weeks with his family before he died of tuberculosis--not pleurisy4 ,sissons was four or five miles from the base of ,mount ,shasta in ,strawberry ,valley1 and here it was that ,i went1 after the departure of ,casey4 ,i wanted human companionship and ,i needed a job4 ,as usual1 the place was named for the first settler2 and in this case ,sisson was the hotel proprietor and owner of practically all the worth-while land about4 ,he was a small man and very pugnacious1 but he had been in the woods for twenty-five years1 and that he had managed to keep his equilibrium for so long was pretty good testimony as to his strong character4 ,most everyone went to pieces before that time4 ,this was the country of which ,bret ,harte wrote4 ,overlooking the valley1 where nestled the homes of twelve families1 stood that strange sentinel--,mount ,shasta--snowcapped1 but inside1 a seething mass of fire and lava causing bubbling springs to burst forth in many places1 and one at the top so hot that an egg dropped in it would be perfectly boiled4 ,out of her sides 7no paltry spring forming its source7 rushed the ,mc,cloud ,river1 full born1 as ,minerva leaped out of the brain of ,jove4 ,here we were fifty miles from the ,oregon border1 and no way to get there but by sea4 ,one day while looking down the side of ,shasta through the vast cathedral of trees1 ,i saw1 about a hundred yards off1 what looked like a rabbit4 ,it proved to be a man on horseback1 a half a mile away4 ,a red-headed woodpecker1 which is about the size of a robin in the ,east1 is as large as a pigeon in the north of ,california4 ,all nature is in scale1 so that one does not realize the immense size of the trees and mountains4 ,we mowed a field of timothy1 and it was so tall that ,i constantly lost sight of the head of the man who went before me4 ,the stems were as large around as my thumb4 ,the northwest slope of ,shasta looked like a great big beautiful lawn1 and ,i had planned to go up and make a sketch from there some day4 ,what ,i had thought to be soft grass proved1 on close inspection1 to be brush1 fifteen or twenty feet tall and so interlaced that a deer could walk on it in summer4 ,one loses one's sense of proportion completely4 ,even the snowfall1 not to be outdone by the other elements of nature1 was prodigious in its generosity4 ,one winter ,i made a notch upon a tree1 and the next spring1 when the snow had melted away1 it was so far above my head that ,i could not touch it--a matter of eighteen feet or more4 ,the health of the community at ,strawberry ,valley was greatly benefited by the numberless springs that gushed out of the sides of the slope1 bringing cold water of the first purity4 ,some of these formed streams which ran under the houses1 and if a busy housewife had neglected to prepare anything for dinner1 all she needed to do was to open a trap in the floor1 put in a colander with some meal scattered on the surface1 and pull up one or two flapping trout ready to clap into the frying pan4 ,the hotel was the stopping place for teamsters1 and very rough4 ,the main room held a bar1 a table for poker1 and a fireplace lined always in winter with these men who drove horses or mules all day and played cards and told stories all night4 ,as ,i remember ,sisson's family1 it consisted of his wife2 ,ivy1 about five years old2 ,joe1 of two years--and 8,lizzie40 ,lizzie was a short name for 8lizard10 and she was taken for granted1 the same as one of the members of the family1 by the hotel boarders4 ,they would speak about her much as if she were a maiden aunt1 and she did not seem to be a particular pet or noticed much4 ,one night a number of these men were sitting in a circle around the great open fire after supper1 when a man1 new to these parts1 came in and joined them4 ,they were chewing tobacco and swapping yarns1 when all of a sudden ,lizzie ran out from her hole onto the stones of the hearth and played around fearlessly1 as she did every evening4 ,the new man grunted and1 taking careful aim1 spat a squirt of tobacco juice on the little animal4 ,instantly the others were upon him4 ,the air was blue with oaths1 and he was punched and clouted ten feet4 ,ashamed and very much abashed1 he picked himself up without offering any resistance1 and the group reassembled as if nothing had happened4 ,these men did not cease to be poets just because they carried guns and had never gone to school4 ,justice was administered quietly1 and each man was his own judge4 ,the theft of a horse was punishable by death1 as a horse meant a man's whole existence4 ,i remember a man who lost his brace of mules out of his wagon as he was sleeping under it4 ,he borrowed a team from ,sisson1 but returned them the very next day4 ,he had met the thief on the ,ridge and had calmly shot him4 ,my duties were varied at ,sissons4 ,i was general help on the farm2 ,i waited on the table at meal time2 tended the bar--under which ,i bunked2 and was village postmaster4 ,in the last capacity it was necessary for me to get up at four-thirty in the morning1 meet the coach1 and change the mails4 ,i shall never forget this4 ,six feet of snow1 the moonlight1 and away down the road1 a half mile or more1 from amid the great trees came the weird cry of the stage driver calling for me to get up4 ,then with rattle of harness1 loud screeching of brakes1 the unwieldy vehicle came to a stop1 still swaying and swinging on the leathern supports1 like a ship at sea4 ,and the effect upon the occupants was very much like that of a sailing vessel4 ,the men rode outside1 but if there were women and children they were within1 and the memory of the smell of musty seats1 close air1 sweat1 and stale vomit that issued forth upon the opening of the door has remained with me ever since4 ,it was my business to have whisky ready for these poor1 suffering souls1 and it was certain that some of them could not have finished their journey without it4 ,there was always some new job presenting itself for me to do4 ,quite unexpectedly1 on the day and night of the #bdth of ,december1 twenty-five hundred merino sheep began to lamb4 ,it was dry1 cold1 with a heavy snow4 ,the mothers1 showing the quality of inbreeding1 did not want their lambs1 would not nurse them unless we tied them together4 ,the ,cotswold1 of far less value1 is a perfect mother1 but the high-priced ,spanish merino would1 on a drive1 walk behind a bush1 lamb1 and go on without it4 ,there is everything non-aristocratic in being a perfect mother4 ,another one of my occupations--and1 indeed1 one in which all of the help about the house joined--was keeping track of ,sisson's glass eye4 ,he had a beautiful fifty-dollar eye which he wore to market and down to ,san ,francisco1 but this one we rarely saw4 ,his cheap ten-dollar one was constantly slanting in the wrong direction1 and then ,mrs4 ,sisson would say1 8,sisson1 northwest40 ,back it would go at its proper angle1 and all would be well again4 ,but the great excitement was when it was lost entirely4 ,everything stopped until it was found1 which was generally in the wooden gutter that led away from the washbasin under the pump4 ,coming down in the morning1 with it in his mouth1 he would place it temporarily on the shelf while washing1 and it would roll down the gutter1 where it remained--gazing fixedly with mute and silent reproach at the diligent searcher4 ,sisson1 being small and of a combative temperament1 was the butt of many a joke4 ,old ,andy ,gregg passed one day just after a new and beautiful sign had been put up1 announcing that the place was3 ,,sissons4 8,hello1 ,andy6 ,bet you never seen a name with so many s's in it10 said the hotelkeeper4 8,oh yes1 ,i have60 said ,andy4 8#8,ass6'0 ,any intellectual job--of which there were few--was given to me4 ,i was called 8,boston10 and was supposed to have a great amount of book learning1 so it was my extreme pleasure to be the clerk of the polls at a ,presidential election in ,strawberry ,valley4 ,there were seven voters1 and six voted early4 ,they were ,republicans4 ,after casting their ballots1 they stationed themselves at different positions1 one hundred feet from the polls1 and1 cocking their ,winchesters1 sat there all day4 ,the one ,democrat rotated about that voting place until the sun had fairly set1 but it was no use2 he was not allowed to vote4 ,i was forced to turn in a unanimous majority for ,rutherford ,b4 ,hayes4 ,one ,sunday there was nothing to do4 ,i was loafing around the gateway in my working clothes when the stage arrived4 ,i noticed that the driver looked cross4 ,the passenger--8a dam' ,britisher0--who sat on the seat beside him1 had evidently 8got his goat10 for1 contrary to his usual habit1 he unstrapped the trunk from the back and dropped it into the dust of the road4 ,the ,englishman1 looking hopelessly around1 spied me1 and said in the manner he obviously kept for service3 8,my good fellow1 give me a hand with this luggage80 ,i was perfectly willing1 so ,i hoisted it on my shoulder and carried it upstairs1 where he fished in his pocket and handed me a quarter4 ,to give a tip in ,california in those days was an insult1 but ,i was an ,easterner and it only amused me to take it and thank him in a respectful manner4 ,after staying long enough to try all his ,british contraptions for hunting and fishing 7with no result71 he gave up in despair when the salmon refused to rise to a fly1 but could be caught in myriads with the old-fashioned bait--their own eggs--and left1 seeming to feel a personal injury4 ,some time later ,i went to ,san ,francisco to be at one of the celebrations of the ,harvard ,club1 when who should sit next me at dinner but our ,englishman4 ,i had an important part in the evening's doings and he asked my name1 saying he was ,sir ,rose ,price4 ,then giving me a searching glance1 he said3 8,i've met you before some place8 ,in town80 ,to an ,englishman1 8town0 is ,london4 ,i said1 8,no1 ,i met you in ,siskiyou ,county1 in the north of the state40 8,oh1 but you are mistaken4 ,i met no gentlemen there40 8,nonsense60 ,i replied4 8,i carried your trunk upstairs in the hotel and you gave me a quarter40 ,he stared1 got blood red1 and turned his back on me for the remainder of the evening4 ,great news in town--the 8schoolmarm0 wasn't coming back6 ,i resolved to apply for the job1 which paid seventy-five dollars a month4 ,the board met in ,yreka1 which was thirty-seven miles north of ,sissons1 and ,i went in to see ,mr4 ,jenkins1 who was president1 treasurer1 and seemed to be the whole boss4 ,seated in his office1 which was in back of his grocery store and had a door leading into the bar1 he put his feet upon the table and heard my request4 8,i want to teach the school at ,strawberry ,valley40 ,i told him my name and that ,i had been educated at ,harvard4 8,oh1 ,i don't know2 you might lie about that10 he replied4 8,have you ever been in jail80 8,no10 ,i said4 8,well1 how do ,i know that80 ,searching around for some credentials to prove my honesty to this most suspicious man1 ,i pulled out a letter from ,john ,forbes1 who was very influential and owned railways in the ,west4 ,he looked it over and said3 8,yes1 ,i remember hearing something about him1 but how do ,i know you didn't write it yourself80 ,i was nonplused4 ,it was harder than ,i thought1 but ,i had a last suggestion which ,i put very timidly indeed4 8,i have a letter from ,mr4 ,emerson40 ,he was adamant4 8,which one80 ,my voice almost disappeared in my throat1 but ,i managed to stammer1 8,ralph ,waldo40 8,what60 he yelled1 flinging his feet to the floor4 8,let me see it60 ,i handed it to him1 and he turned to the end first1 reading not a line of my recommendation from the ,concord sage4 ,but taking one look at the signature1 he ran to the door of the saloon1 shouting3 8,say6 ,boys6 ,come here and meet the new #8schoolmarm' of ,strawberry ,valley6 ,the drinks are on him60 ,that was my examination4 ,and who can say that art is not more universal than riches1 when an illiterate saloonkeeper recognizes the signature of a writer1 but does not know the name of a wealthy railway president8 ,the schoolhouse was a half mile from ,sissons1 and some of the pupils came a distance of five or six miles4 ,the building was situated in a heavy growth of pine and fir trees1 and through this mass of great columns could be seen the fourteen thousand feet of ,shasta4 ,four sugar pines growing in a square had been chosen as a basis and cut down so that the stumps made a foundation4 ,on this the schoolhouse was built of the newly cut trees1 leaving a space below which at once became the favorite hiding place of truants4 ,the pupils1 of which there were thirteen1 were of all ages1 ranging from ,ivy ,sisson1 five years old1 to ,dick ,white1 a ,hat ,creek ,indian of twenty-one4 ,there were six ,sullivans--girls in their teens1 and ,sammy1 about eight4 ,the first day's examination proved that ,i had a class of varied accomplishments4 ,dick ,white could draw1 paint1 and play the violin well enough to be the musician at all the dances1 but had no capacity for book learning and would not obey orders4 ,in the midst of the examination he calmly walked out of the room and went home4 ,the rest of the pupils were at various stages of 8readin'1 writin'1 'rithmetic10 until it came to ,ivy4 ,she piped up3 8,i know letters1 read words1 and can spell4 ,i know my ,primer to ,o4 ,o--x 7looking at the picture72 that spells #8cow4'0 8,no1 no1 ,ivy10 ,i said4 8,look again and tell me what o--x spells40 ,she pursed her lips1 searched in the book1 and then1 with the most cherubic expression on her face1 looked up at me and said3 8,damned if ,i know40 ,these children of nature had never seen a bible1 never went to church 7in fact1 there was not a place of worship within forty miles71 and yet they came to school dressed in the latest fashions--gowns made of material and patterns that had come from ,new ,york4 ,sitting on the rough pine seats of this rustic1 primitive school1 these girls seemed like little princesses of some fairy tale--that is1 until they spoke4 ,i made up my mind that it was my duty to teach them--no creed--but a knowledge of the ,bible4 ,the announcement was made by me that those who chose to give up the ,wednesday half holiday would be told stories and shown drawings of people who lived thousands and thousands of years ago4 ,the first week they all stayed out of curiosity1 and after that nothing on earth could have kept them away from such things as3 8,a long time ago a king of one tribe got into a fight with another tribe4 ,on one king's side was a boy named ,david40 ,then the story of the challenge and pictures of each one4 ,continuing3 8,what do you suppose they had in the way of guns8 ,david had a pouch tied around his waist1 and a sling40 8,what's a sling80 ,not one of those thirteen children had ever seen a sling2 so1 of course1 the rest of the afternoon had to be devoted to making one out of an old shoe4 ,the next morning they all had slings1 and before ,i arrived one of the boys had become expert enough to kill a woodpecker4 8,god0 had been nothing but an oath to them before2 8,christ0 was a little more familiar2 but ,i resolved to stick to the ,old ,testament4 ,the girls were interested in ,judith1 and understood her1 too1 but ,i was obliged to suppress the profanity that was hurled at ,delilah when ,i told the story of ,samson4 ,that these tales produced a definite result was proved in the case of little ,sammy ,sullivan4 ,after recess1 on a certain ,thursday1 everyone came in but ,sammy4 ,when ,i asked where he was they all giggled1 so ,i went outside to find him1 carefully locking the door behind me in order to keep my scholars from departing in a body4 ,i had not gone far when a something made me realize that ,sammy was not out there4 ,there was no brush1 and fifty feet away ,i saw a slight motion among the trees4 ,stalking him from the back1 ,i heard weird sounds1 and there1 stuck up against a yellow-pine tree1 was a small boy's cap1 and standing off from it1 with a sling1 was the boy himself1 taking careful aim at this imaginary adversary4 ,sammy was fighting over the battle of ,david and ,goliath and fighting it like a male1 but the flood of oaths that came rippling from his rosy lips would have shamed ,satan himself4 ,learning is acquired in various ways--at times1 better outside the schoolhouse than within4 ,i tiptoed away1 never letting him know that ,i had seen him1 for ,i felt that ,sammy was getting his education4 ,a new school was to be opened with a grand celebration lasting from #g ,p4,m4 until #g ,a4,m4 ,everyone for twenty miles around would be there1 the men with rum and pistols in their pockets1 and the women in their gowns of latest ,new ,york style4 ,the stage driver's wife invited me1 her husband having to be on duty and so could not take her4 ,she seemed very old to me--over thirty1 at least--and ,i was inclined to be flattered at the invitation--until ,i discovered the reason for it4 ,her baby of eight months had been brought to the party1 and ,i was supposed to take care of it4 ,at the height of the merriment this frivolous woman1 instead of devoting herself to me1 as ,i had expected1 thrust her crying child into my arms and went off to dance with all the beaus of the place4 ,i was a 8tenderfoot0 and 8schoolmarm10 and now had become 8nurse40 ,i did not like it4 ,i sat in the dressing room1 a sorry figure1 for every time ,i put my charge down he began to let out unearthly yells4 ,something had to be done1 ,i cared not what4 ,gathering together a heap of women's shawls and putting them in the bottom of a box1 ,i laid the child upon them and1 looking about for something to give him to play with1 ,i saw a flask of whisky on a table4 ,it might kill him1 but ,i was past caring4 ,i poured a little down his throat and rushed out of that room4 ,a few hours later1 daring at last to peep into my improvised nursery1 ,i saw my charge sleeping as peacefully as an angel4 ,the business of being a teacher embraced more than drilling the children in their ,a-,b-,c's4 ,i was supposed to be the arbiter of morals1 family counselor1 and was in at the births and deaths4 ,in one or another of these capacities ,i was kept very busy by the ,sullivan family4 ,these children--there were six in the school--were the offspring of perhaps the poorest stock ,america has produced1 the parents being part of the flotsam and jetsam which the swirling eddies of the mining times caught up in their mad rush and left high and dry with the lowering of the tide4 8,doc0 ,sullivan1 so called because his uncle was an apothecary in ,yreka1 had a brother in the state asylum for the insane at ,stockton1 and he himself had spent some time in that institution4 ,his wife1 who was the washerwoman of the town1 was addicted to drink4 ,the day before ,christmas ,mrs4 ,sullivan had stopped at the shop of ,mrs4 ,barlow1 where ,i boarded1 and asked for whisky4 ,she was refused--in fact1 she was never able to get liquor unless some traveling salesman 8hit0 the town and took her on a spree4 ,seeing a case of ,jamaica ginger on the shelf1 she asked what it was1 was given a bottle to taste1 drank it all at one gulp1 and immediately bought the dozen4 ,in the middle of the night ,i was awakened by a frightened voice calling outside my window4 ,snow had fallen and about five feet of it was lying on the ground in that calm1 big-sided way it has in ,california4 8,mr4 ,simmons6 ,oh1 ,boston6 ,oh1 ,schoolmarm6 ,oh1 come60 was repeated over and over1 and dancing first on one foot and then the other1 in her nervousness1 was ,sally ,sullivan1 a girl of sixteen4 8,ma's actin' so queer10 she cried4 8,i can't wake her up60 ,sure enough4 ,we rushed to the house1 and there was ,mrs4 ,sullivan lying on the floor1 stone dead4 ,by her side were the twelve empty ,jamaica-ginger bottles1 with another smaller bottle1 smelling of camphor or some such drug1 which in her stupor1 she had reached for and drunk4 8,doc0 behaved himself at the funeral1 swearing only at the end of the ceremony4 ,that was ,christmas ,eve4 ,on ,new-,year's night there was a full moon and the same snow4 ,the whole town was again sleeping peacefully1 when it was awakened by a loud and barbarous noise4 ,there was 8,doc0 ,sullivan standing in his wagon--he was the head of a road menders' gang--beating his horses with an ax4 ,he had stopped at every milepost along the highway and clipped off the number1 saying that he wanted no lies on his road4 ,he had gone suddenly raving mad6 ,there was a man named ,charley ,williams living near by1 and he and ,i followed up to the ,sullivan house4 ,charley was old1 but he was fearless4 ,i once saw him walk right up to a man who was pointing a loaded pistol at him and take it out of his hand4 ,he always said3 8,there ain't no danger in a gun40 ,when we arrived at 8,doc's0 we saw a strange sight4 ,there he was1 kneeling on the floor1 praying1 with ,sammy in his arms1 and every time he uttered 8,o ,lord60 he jumped1 with the strength of a giant1 six inches in the air1 coming down upon his knees again until they were nothing but a mass of huckleberry jelly4 ,while ,charley went for help ,i promised to keep watch over this maniac1 and it took all of my mental powers to control him4 ,he seemed to realize1 in his subconscious mind1 that his children had a terrible heritage1 so he decided to destroy them4 ,first he started to lug all of the things out of the house1 smashing them1 as he did so1 with the ax4 ,his intention1 he confided to me1 was to burn it and then start out after his children4 ,all the time he kept muttering about 8those chains at ,stockton--you bet ,i'll keep the kids away from those chains at ,stockton40 ,on the promise that ,i would marry ,sally and take him ,east he gave up his ax1 and by the time ,charley had come back he was quite willing to go down to ,sissons4 ,charley had got the one physician of the countryside to go on ahead and say we were coming1 and1 although the men had all promised to help1 there was not one in sight when we 8hit0 the town4 ,from here 8,doc's0 nephew1 a puny kid2 old ,charley ,williams1 who was brave but physically weak1 and myself1 started to drive him on to ,yreka1 the physician going ahead once more to make the arrangements and warn the police4 ,the thought of that trip is one long nightmare4 ,his mind worked so fast it was almost impossible to keep up with him4 ,i was his especial friend and pal1 and1 getting it into his head that ,i had a cold1 nothing would do but that ,i must have some mountain balm4 ,this we procured after much trouble1 and my whole journey was enlivened by eating whole bunches of this herb and washing it down with gallons of water4 ,his chief amusement was to jump up in the air1 kick the horses1 and land with both feet and with such force that he finally knocked the bottom out of the wagon4 ,all of a sudden1 without the slightest sign1 he was over the dashboard and rushing across the fields toward a farmhouse we were passing4 ,when ,i got up to him1 there was 8,doc10 kneeling beside the pump1 drinking water1 while beside him stood ,mrs4 ,hall1 the farmer's wife1 stroking his head1 petting him1 and talking to him in a low1 controlled voice4 ,strange is this power of women to realize a situation4 ,i got him away1 but we learned afterward that when her husband came back home1 an hour later1 ,mrs4 ,hall was lying at the pump in a dead faint4 ,we arrived in ,yreka at six4 ,the police showed up at nine4 ,we tried to keep 8,doc0 in a barn1 but his spirits were rising every moment1 and ,i decided to tire him out2 besides1 ,i had a grudge against the police and citizens for being such cowards and deserting us4 ,i had to play the game with 8,doc10 and ours was certainly a tour of destruction4 ,every place we went into was wrecked--bottles broken and bars smashed4 ,it looked as if a cyclone had hit ,yreka4 ,finally1 he said he was hungry1 so we found a restaurant4 ,as soon as we went into a place it was ours1 as everyone faded away4 ,there was no waiter in sight1 so the proprietor waited on us himself1 bringing in a huge steak and--,i had hard work to keep my balance--an enormous butcher knife to carve it with6 ,but 8,doc0 did not want to cut his meat4 ,he merely grabbed it up in his hands and wolfed it4 ,just then ,i saw faces pressed to the window 7his back was toward the door71 and for one moment my mind left his4 ,this was my only danger2 but there was a sudden feeling of reaction at the thought of relief and ,i let go4 8,say1 ,boston10 he said1 8you're goin' back on me60 and taking my nose in one hand1 he picked up the butcher knife with the other and pressed it against my ,adam's apple4 ,instantly1 my mind was back and controlling his again4 8,don't be a fool10 ,i said--it sounded calm--8and kill the only friend you have left40 ,he subsided4 8,oh1 all right40 ,i made an excuse to go out in the back1 and a sicker youth than ,i could not have lived to tell the tale4 ,but ,i had to finish my job4 ,although ,i am very much afraid of any physical hurt1 ,i am not a coward mentally1 and you can control any drunken or crazy man if you stay just 8one think0 ahead4 ,he was looking at the faces and ,i knew it had got to end4 ,i said3 8#8,doc1' they're after us4 ,i think it's me as well as you4 ,we'll go through 'em like a dose of salts4 ,you go ahead1 walk slowly1 and when ,i say1 #8,now6'--then1 #8,doc'--rush60 ,we started for the door1 ,i saying all the time3 8,slow--slow40 ,and then when he was ten feet away from the crowd ,i cried3 8,now1 #8,doc'60 and put my foot in front of him to trip him up4 ,by the time they got to him1 there on the floor1 he was unconscious and frothing at the mouth4 ,the next morning ,i was so bruised from his affectionate handling that ,i could hardly walk1 and there was a cut on my ,adam's apple2 but ,i went around to the jail to see 8,doc40 ,he was back in the terrific chains that he had so dreaded in ,stockton4 ,as soon as he saw me he lunged forward1 yelling and screaming4 8,yes1 they got me0--ripping out a thousand oaths--8but they didn't get you4 ,i'd like to eat your black heart out40 ,they took him to the state asylum1 and ,i don't know what happened to him later2 but ,i shall never go back to ,sissons unless ,i am sure 8,doc0 ,sullivan is dead4 ,walter ,scott's cabin was twenty-two miles from ,sissons in ,huckleberry ,valley1 and here ,i went during vacation time to help him tan hides and smoke venison4 ,scott was over six feet tall1 with bright red hair1 a straight ,greek profile1 and absolutely illiterate4 ,but a more joyous creature never lived4 ,with him was a man named ,peter ,klink--a silent ,german who had been a miner in the days of '#di4 ,one day ,i was out hunting for the camp1 and on one of the benches that ran down from ,shasta1 with brooks between1 ,i started a doe4 ,i let 8rip0 and must have 8creased0 her1 as she went down like a shot4 ,dropping my gun1 ,i went for her1 knowing that if ,i could close with her before she got up1 ,i could knife her4 ,in my mad rush ,i suddenly took a header4 ,this was unusual in that country1 as the ground was free from stones or small brush4 ,rumpling up the pine needles1 ,i found a pick head2 the handle had rotted out1 showing that there had been mining there once4 ,near by--a very uncommon sight--was a large stone4 ,that night1 after the guns were cleaned1 the dogs fed1 and a brisket of venison hung near the fire1 ready for each one of us to cut off a slice with his hunting knife before we went to bed1 ,i told my experience4 8,that's ,benny ,russell's stone10 said ,peter1 and by the light in his eyes ,i knew1 if ,i kept very quiet1 there might be a story4 ,taking his pipe out of his mouth and giving me a searching glance1 he said3 8,you didn't heist that stone over1 did ye80 8,turn it over1 ,peter80 ,i replied4 8,how could ,i8 ,think ,i'm a young ,hercules8 ,besides1 what would be underneath80 8,yes10 he said1 ignoring my question1 8it's nigh onto twenty year since ,benny ,russell died40 ,never taking his eyes from the fire1 but pausing to take long-drawn pulls at his pipe1 he told the following tale3 8,minin' camps are queer places1 and sometimes the folks that comes ther' are the kind--wal1 you wonder why they come1 that's all4 ,it was 'long 'bout the year '#ee1 a crowd of us fellers was livin' in a central camp and goin' out prospectin'1 each one for hisself1 when 'long one day in spring comes a young feller1 rosy cheeks an' soft hands1 and asts if he can jine us4 8,i'll never fergit the way he looked when he rolled in on us--more like a play actor than ennythin' else--all got up in new minin' clothes1 high boots and all1 and luggin' with him the darnest lot o' pickaxes1 ropes1 and contrapshions that ever you see4 ,we was all fer laughin' at him1 at fust1 but he was so young an' so soft like1 that it would o'bin jest like makin' fun o' a gal1 an' we didn' hev the heart4 ,so we jest give him the nickname #8,bub' and tuk him in4 8,he was 'bout twenty-two year1 but he didn' look sixteen4 ,that boy could work1 tho'--and l'arn8--l'arned quicker'n lightin'4 ',twarn't mor'n two days till he had off his store togs and borryed a pair o' overalls4 ,an' he was so happy-like an' joyous1 singin' 'round all day like a canary in a cage4 8,seems like luck was ag'in' him from the first1 tho'4 ,nothin' he teched turned out right4 ,thet boy would give up a claim he'd bin workin' fur months1 with never a sign o' color1 when 'long would come some feller the very nex' day and strike it rich with one turn o' the shovel4 ,yes1 ,bub was allus jest one shovel o' dirt away from vict'ry4 8,he didn' 'pear to mind1 tho'--not as long as ,joe ,bascom rode up ev'ry month or so with the mails and brung him one o' them big fat envelopes writ on baby-blue paper4 ,bub used to walk down the road1 sometimes five mile1 t' meet ,joe--he was that anxious to git that letter4 ,we all knew 'twas a gal1 and used to josh him 'bout it1 but ,i didn' guess how serious 'twas till he come to me one day an' said3 8#8,peter1 ,i've got to strike it soon1 and ,i've got to strike it rich4' 8#8,wal1' ,i answered1 #8this is one deal where yer cain't stack the cards4 ,if you got luck1 you'll hit it1 and if you 'ain't1 you won't4' 8#8,but ,i must hit it1 you see4 ,he was more serious 'en ,i'd ever seen him4 #8,fact of the matter is1 ,peter1 ,i'm in love1 and she won't marry me till ,i can show her twenty thousand dollars4' 8#8,whew6' ,i says4 ,then to cheer him up3 #8,bub1 don' be scared2 if she loves you she'll take you without a cent4' 8#8,maybe1 ,peter1 maybe1 but that's the sum she named1 and ,i'm a-goin' to git it4' 8,he was allus that way after a talk--seemed to raise his sperits4 8,long 'bout spring things changed4 ,he come in a whoopin' one even' 'bout sunset1 and nearly turned the camp upside down4 ,he'd struck it at last4 ,not much1 but gold--real gold--and in this game you never kin tell what's layin' jest 'round th' corner4 8,a few months later he come to me agin4 8#8,peter1' he says1 #8my pile's gittin' big4 ,it ain't gonna be so very long till ,i have twenty thousand1 and ,i want you to promise me this4 ,when ,i leave ,i ain't gonna say good-by to no one1 but ,i'm goin' to slip you somethin' for a celebration1 and ,i want you and the boys to have the rousingist farewell party this camp has ever seen--after ,i'm gone4' 8,not long from that a trader come into camp--the kind that carries 'round all sorts o' dam'-fool trinkets and changes 'em fer 'most ennythin'--nuggets1 dust1 er even skins and hides4 ',mong his pack was a passel tied up in newspaper4 ,we all grabbed fur it at onct1 then decided we'd play cards fur it--not fur what was inside1 understan1' but ev'ry feller wanted to git the first chanct at that thar newspaper4 8,bub won it4 ,we lost heart in playin' against him when we seen how anxious he was4 8,he tuk it and begun readin' us the diff'runt items of int'rust1 laugin' and commentin' in between--when all of a sudden his eye lit on somethin'4 ,i never seen enny human bein' change so in the same len'th of time4 ,he jest stared--seemed to be readin' it over and over ag'in4 8,after what 'peared to be a half hour1 but ,i guess was 'bout five minutes1 he looked up--an' when we saw his face he had changed from a boy to a old man4 8,we was standin' quiet1 not darin' to ask what happened4 ,most of us thought his folks was dead4 ,but then he threw that paper down on the ground and laughed--the kind o' laugh as ,i could believe the devil would give ye if ye was goin' down to hell4 ,then we knew 'twarnt no act o' ,god had upset him1 but some dam' trick that could only be thought out by a human bein'4 8,that was the last we saw o' him4 ,he went off into the woods4 ,joe picked up the paper and said he couldn't find ennythin' on thet page to disturb a body--mostly women's fashions and one piece 'bout a gal elopin' with a feller4 ,i didn' say nothin'1 but ,i guessed it4 ,that gal had sent him up to the mines to git a fortune and then gone and chucked him4 8,we was all nervous at supper 'cause ,bub didn' come in1 and 'long 'bout ten we set out to look fur him4 ,the woods is dark at night1 an' we couldn't find a trace till ,joe1 searchin' up at ,bub's claim1 come on that thar bowlder you seen to-day1 and1 curious to say1 he stumbled over somethin' same as you done1 but 'twarn't no pickax head--'twar a human bootleg4 ,puttin' his lantern down low1 he seen ,bub's foot a-stickin' out from under that rock1 and the whole plumb thing had let down and flattened the life out o' him4 8',twas a long time afore ,i went up to examine the place1 and when ,i did thar was nothin' to see but ,i figgered it out fur myself1 and this is how it must 'a' bin4 8,bub had most likely bin diggin' under the rock and gitting out the pay dirt1 and when he'd git so fur in he'd put in a plug to shore up the thing and keep it from fallin'4 ,that day when he read that paper and he felt the whole world crumblin' 'round his head1 he jest made it literal by goin' up to his claim1 crawlin' under the stone1 and kickin' out the plugs40 ,there was a pause4 ,peter rose2 cutting a piece of the roasting brisket1 he started for his bunk1 but stopped before climbing in4 8,that's why ,i ast you if you turned over the stone--but ,i hoped you didn't40 ,scott had been fifteen years in the woods and wanted to settle down1 saying he would like to see some little ,scotts running around4 ,so when the summer camp broke up he looked about for a location4 ,he found a log house that had been built by a man named ,carrick1 who was hated in the community1 principally because he held mortgages on nearly all the farms for twenty miles around4 ,carrick did not have a right to this particular homestead1 as he did not live on it1 so ,scott went in and jumped the property4 ,knowing ,carrick would try to use the land1 ,scott was ready for him1 and when he tried to put his sheep in1 ,scott1 who was waiting in a hole in the ground1 rose with his gun in his hands1 saying3 8,don't touch them bars60 ,like all crooks1 ,carrick was a coward at heart1 and1 instead of settling in the usual way of this part of the country--as man to man--he took ,scott into court4 ,with no money in back of him1 ,scott won his case1 his extreme honesty and simplicity impressing the judge4 ,for instance1 ,i remember there was a question as to whether he was an ,american citizen or no1 and he answered3 8,wal1 ,jedge1 the first thing ,i remember is livin' in a town about a half a mile over the border into ,canada1 but my mother allus said ,i was born in a little red house that we could see across the line1 an' ,i took her word for it40 ,and so did the court4 ,i had left ,scott and ,peter ,klink and had gone back to ,sissons1 when one morning a man we called 8the ,texan0 came racing down the town's one street on horseback1 yelling3 8,scott's shot6 ,scott's shot60 ,scott had been beloved of all1 and everyone was aroused4 ,it was quite awhile before we could get the story out of the ,texan1 but it finally came to this4 ,he had come across a wagon standing all alone on the road1 filled with the groceries ,scott had bought in ,yreka4 ,it was turned around1 with the horses facing downhill1 the whole weight of the wagon bearing upon them4 ,they were nosing toward home and evidently had been there all night1 as they were covered with snow4 ,looking about1 the ,texan had seen a trail into the bushes and1 going in a half mile or more1 he found ,scott's body4 ,there was a rope around the neck and he had been dragged into the woods4 ,the memory came to me of one night when ,i was camping with ,scott4 ,the conversation had turned on death4 8,how would you like to die80 ,i asked him4 8,shot in the back and never know who done it10 was his quick answer4 ,scott had had his wish4 ,death meant nothing to these men4 ,it was all in the day's happenings1 but to me1 at this very moment of writing1 visualization of ,scott's body1 as it lay on the rough pine bed in a back room in ,sisson's ,hotel1 is as clear as it was in #ahgg4 ,the rope had been taken from his neck and had left an impress1 above which rose his purple head1 looking like an eggplant1 with the shock of red hair1 the pale blue eyes wide open1 and the rows of perfect teeth showing1 his mouth drawn into a snarl4 ,his body was green-white1 the blood having all gone to the head1 and under the left arm1 where the bullet had gone in1 was a little blue spot4 ,but under the right arm1 where the bullet had come out1 was a ghastly hole through which protruded torn pieces of flesh4 ,i did not know that men died that way4 ,a few minutes after the body was brought in a woodsman was found who had passed the wagon--it must have been while the murderer was disposing of the body in the bushes--for he said that a ,ballard rifle was leaning against the wheels4 ,he had thought the driver of the wagon was off in the woods and would be back presently1 so was in no way surprised at the sight4 ,the minute the woodsman mentioned the gun ,i was convinced as to who had committed the murder4 ,i had seen ,carrick's ,indian with a ,ballard rifle4 ,it had a broken extractor1 and he had to use a withe to poke out the empty shell4 ,sure enough1 beside the road we found a withe covered with powder4 ,an ,indian tracker told us1 from his examination of the trees1 that the murderer had worn a red tippet and was riding a sorrel horse with a white star4 ,the evidence was conclusive enough for us to start out for ,carrick's ranch4 ,we were a posse of four--the ,texan1 who had been in the ,civil ,war and was a real leader2 ,joe ,johnston1 a friend of ,scott's2 one of ,joe's hired men2 and myself4 ,we were prepared for a fight1 for1 as ,carrick hated ,scott and was probably implicated in the affair1 we figured he would protect the ,indian4 ,the way lay over fertile1 grassy country1 and on the road we passed bands of sheep and cattle4 ,one herder rode several miles with us and1 on hearing our errand1 said3 8,if you help me git these cattle together ,i'll tell you something ,i know40 ,it seems that the night before he had been at ,carrick's house4 ,it was getting quite late when he heard a mysterious whistle under the window4 ,making an excuse1 he went outside and looked about4 ,there in the corral was a horse--sorrel in color with a white star on its forehead--evidently just returned from a hard run1 as it was covered with lather4 ,at that moment he heard a sound1 and coming out of the kitchen door was ,carrick's son1 carrying something in his hand4 ,he disappeared into the barn4 ,creeping up to a crack in the building where a light shone out1 he peeped through and saw the boy giving food to an ,indian4 ,our evidence was piling up4 ,along toward sunset we rode up to ,carrick's place4 ,the sheep ranch extended for many acres to the north1 while the house1 barn1 and corral were on the banks of a low willow creek4 ,carrick was sitting on a bench out in front4 ,going directly up to him1 the ,texan said3 8,scott's bin killed--shot40 8,the hell you say60 8,we think your ,injin ,jim done it40 ,he pretended great anger4 8,well1 if he did1 ketch him and string him up for it4 ,he'll be back in a little while40 ,we waited4 ,it was not long until several horsemen appeared and rode up to the gate4 ,joe ,johnston's hired man1 who was a fool and easily excited1 marched up to ,injin ,jim and said3 8,we're here to arrest you40 ,i have seen a prestidigitator work the most astonishing disappearances of material things1 but ,i never saw a human being take himself off into space as quickly as this one did4 ,jim gave one flick and was flying into the woods4 ,i was off and under my horse in an instant1 but my pistol missed fire4 ,he had disappeared into the willow creek1 which was overgrown with grass1 with here and there patches of water covering treacherous quicksand4 ,our only hope was to close round him and ride him out4 ,i was in a bad way4 ,my horse had poll evil1 and my pistol would not shoot without the use of an oaken plug4 ,i had seen ,jim kill rabbits on the run many a time1 and1 adding this to my grief at my friend ,scott's death1 ,i was working up a great case of true tenderfoot fright4 ,i was so scared that ,i would not have recognized ,jim if ,i had seen him1 but ,i kept on4 ,finally1 the ,texan saw that ,i was rattled and stopped and drew me behind the others4 ,to think of anyone noticing my condition drew the tears of mortification to my eyes4 8,go up the hill10 he said1 handing me a ,winchester1 8and watch and see that ,jim does not leave the valley40 ,this was a diversion1 and ,i was certainly glad to get away from the others4 ,i must have stayed up there several hours1 and all the time the hunt was going on there was an accompaniment of wails from women and children of the ,indian camp near by4 ,they would moan and cry to an even rhythm1 and then all of a sudden there would be a pause4 ,the silence was extraordinary4 ,at last the ,texan called me to come down from my vantage point4 ,jim had sent a deputation of squaws to say that he would give himself up if we would promise not to lynch him4 ,an ,indian is afraid of hanging only because he believes--as the ,greeks did--in the ,animus4 ,the breath is the soul1 and he will never get to the happy hunting grounds if he is killed by cutting it off4 ,we accepted his surrender and began the journey to ,johnston's4 ,jim's legs were tied under his horse1 and ,i can see the procession now1 the ,western sun hitting them as they rode on ahead of me4 ,the smell of sweat1 saddle leather1 and alkali comes back to me as pungent as if it were yesterday4 ,the two ,carricks seemed to be loath to leave us1 and the old man kept crying repeatedly3 8,there is a good hill4 ,hang him now4 ,what is the use of waiting8 ,hang him to onct40 ,he tried to be jocular1 but he overdid it4 ,he was talking too much4 ,i1 being the scribe1 was delegated to take down ,jim's confession4 ,his hands were tied and lying listless on the table while ,i rolled him cigarette after cigarette4 ,in a corner of the room sat his sister1 who was a girl of the town1 lolling back on a cot and looking over the whole scene with a contemptuous curl to her lips4 ,jim told his story with the utmost composure4 ,it was no more to him than killing a deer4 ,he was a chief of his tribe and had been educated1 but the seventy-five dollars and a horse which ,carrick had given him to commit the murder were more than he could withstand4 ,he told how he had sneaked up behind ,scott1 shot him1 and1 taking his own boots off1 ran away4 ,gaining courage after a while1 he crept back4 8,he wasn't bawlin' no more10 so he took the trace from the harness and dragged the body into the woods4 ,all this time the boys were outside1 making ready for the hanging--it was impossible to keep him from them--so ,i was truly relieved when ,i heard the loud beat of horse hoofs and a deputy sheriff arrived on the scene1 saying3 8,christ6 ,i'm too soon60 ,a party of us went out to ,carrick's that night4 ,there was a white blanket of snow gleaming in the moonlight4 ,we formed a cordon around the house while the sheriff went up to the front door4 ,there was a wild scream when ,mrs4 ,carrick opened it4 ,she had sensed our errand4 ,in a little hotel away up in the redwoods1 many miles off1 the father and son were taken next morning before dawn4 ,they had stopped1 in their flight1 to have breakfast when the sheriff came up to them4 ,i did not see the trial1 as ,i had left ,california before it came off1 but the papers stated that ,carrick and the ,indian were hanged and the son was sentenced to twenty years4 ,over the grave of ,scott1 however1 who had been my bunkmate and friend1 ,i placed a headstone1 the navete of which ,i am afraid ,i was unaware at the time4 ,in #aiae ,i was told by a woman ,i met in ,california that in her early childhood up at ,sissons1 she used to sit for half a day at a stretch and wonder what it could mean1 this piece of redwood1 carved with the words3 ,,walter ,,scott date1 etc4 ,,murdered666 ,r4,i4,p4666 ,certain types thrive on rough life1 and others deteriorate4 ,they might be likened to iron and steel4 ,the true frontiersman is like the common iron as it is dug from the ground4 ,his feelings and sensibilities have never been refined2 therefore1 contact with the elemental things of life has no debasing effect upon him4 ,the educated person is more like steel--something produced by being subjected to a great heat and which must be tempered to the climate4 ,hard steel breaks at a low temperature2 so does human intelligence break under rough handling4 ,place a gentleman back in the primitive life and he is pretty sure to become a squaw man or a crook2 only a person of refinement has the will and cleverness to be criminal4 ,i was getting scared4 ,the murder of ,scott had given me a jolt and ,i decided ,i had had enough of ,california4 ,i had been playing poker every night until ,i owed the ,chinese cook so much money that ,i had to sleep with him for two months and let him collect my pay4 ,i thought this was about as low as ,i cared to go2 so1 picking up my traps one day1 ,i started for ,san ,francisco--and home4 ,a third-class ticket was sixty-five dollars--we called it the 8emigrant train40 ,peddlers sold pieces of canvas and straw mattresses at the station1 and these we stretched across the seats in such a way as to make a fairly comfortable bed4 ,the rule was that if sixty people got together they could go through as a 8car0 and be a law unto themselves4 ,so we 8fired out0 the married men1 the women1 and the children1 and made up our own crowd4 ,we had neglected to get the full number1 however1 so the authorities put in twelve ,chinamen1 and ,i remember sleeping with my feet against the bald head of one all during the trip4 ,it had taken me seven days to get out ,west1 but the trip back was thirteen4 ,we were never certain where our car was to be from day to day4 ,a freight train would come along and we would be hitched to it1 jogging along slowly1 only to be dropped at some ,god-forsaken flag station1 with no way of knowing how long we were to wait4 ,then1 of a sudden1 would come on the express1 whisk us up and whirl us along for several hundred miles4 ,at every stop a line of boys and girls passed through the car with cans of fresh milk1 pies1 cakes1 etc41 and1 augmented by a basket ,i had brought from ,san ,francisco1 my food cost me only ten dollars for the whole trip4 ,a passenger was rude to one of these children1 knocking him over and spilling all of his milk4 ,we promptly put him out of our car1 back with the women and children4 ,we were a motley crowd--all nationalities4 ,there was the usual 8bad man from ,texas40 ,he talked loud1 swaggered1 and bluffed1 and kept the car in a general uproar4 ,his food for the trip--as far as we could see--consisted of several feet of bologna sausage which he had hung from the rack above his seat4 ,when he deemed it time to eat1 he would take out his vicious-looking knife and 8hit it a lick40 ,however long or short the slice1 he would eat it1 saying3 8,the ,texan only eats what he can get by the might of his right arm40 ,every once in a while his 8might0 would get beyond all control and he would knock a hunk of the sausage in among the crowd of poor chattering ,chinamen1 frightening them almost out of their senses4 ,then1 to make matters worse1 he would dive for it with his dangerous-looking knife4 ,i used to argue with him about this action until the bald-headed ,chinaman in the seat in front of me knew ,i had saved his life4 ,every morning a pot of tea1 made hot by the stove at the end of the car1 was on the floor beside my bunk4 ,it was the ,texan who told the other men not to play poker with me1 as my hands were 8too soft0 and ,i must be a card sharp4 ,when ,i accosted him with it he only said1 8,well1 how did you get those hands80 and was much amused when ,i answered1 8,painting pictures40 ,we never left the train that we did not encounter some strange adventure4 ,at one station1 in a shed for horses1 we saw the body of a negro with sixteen bullet holes in it1 a sight that would have been carefully guarded from the eyes of first-class passengers4 ,at ,ogden ,city we bribed the trainman to tell us that we would have several hours to spare4 ,there was a camp of seventy-five tramps on the border of the lake1 and their antics had been terrorizing the citizens4 ,these men of the road accepted us as bosom companions1 told us stories1 and finally fed us a wonderful dinner of chicken and all sorts of delicacies1 cordially inviting us to join them permanently4 ,instead of being a bore1 the trip was one of the most delightful ,i ever made and1 except for one small aftermath1 marked the closing of a definite chapter in my life4 ,i had been back only a short time when ,i was walking along ,howard ,street in ,boston1 my thoughts everywhere but out ,west4 ,noticing a crowd in front of a house1 ,i drew up to see the excitement4 ,it was nothing unusual for those days--a gang of toughs were wrecking a ,chinese laundry4 ,standing at the door1 uttering most horrible sounds and brandishing an ax in his hand1 was an old ,chinaman4 ,just then he saw me1 stopped yelling1 dropped his ax1 and1 to the astonishment of all1 fell on my neck4 ,all ,chinamen looked alike to me1 but there could be no doubt about it--it was my friend of the emigrant train4 ,of course ,i appealed to the police and the toughs were dispersed2 but ,i had an awful time explaining to this frightened ,oriental that ,i was not his savior4 ,chapter ,v3 ,adventures in stheticism ,paris and ,student ,days ,my first trip to ,europe cost me forty dollars and my faith in human nature4 ,the former was the price of an emigrant ticket on the boat and my food from ,london to ,paris2 the latter was caused by my lending a fellow passenger--a ,frenchman--my best overcoat and never seeing it again4 ,as he taught me a great deal of ,french1 however1 ,i may have been repaid4 ,there was never an idle moment in the steerage4 ,every noon we were all hustled up onto the deck--even to a man with a broken back--and our bunks washed out with chloride of lime4 ,this was before the days of wholesale fumigation1 and the company was taking no chances4 ,at mealtime were brought in huge baskets of bread and large cans of coffee2 we produced our own dishes and were fed much in the fashion of a barbecue1 with hunks of meat4 ,after two days ,i was invited by the purser to sit at his table1 and so dined in splendor with the cooks1 steward1 and 8barkeep0 on virtually the same fare as the first cabin4 ,one night we arranged a mock marriage between a giggling ,irish girl and rather a crazy fellow with a gray beard4 ,i was the high priest4 ,the barkeeper had given us some whisky and the noise of the merrymaking must have reached the upper deck1 for just at its height the leading lady and some members of a well-known opera company that was crossing came down with the captain to see our show4 ,i knew that this would mean the dampening of all our fun1 so ,i stopped them1 saying that we had not been invited to their entertainments1 and demanded that the privacy of the emigrants should not be broken4 ,the captain seemed amused1 but agreed1 and they went away1 much to the annoyance of the opera star4 ,i remember being very much impressed with the shore of ,ireland which showed once through the fog1 looking so like a large emerald that ,i immediately saw where the island got its name4 ,this dark1 dark green1 soaked in rain1 was very extraordinary4 ,a brief stop at ,liverpool1 where a pretty barmaid drew me a tankard of stout that was the nearest thing to ,god's nectar ,i ever tasted2 then on to ,london2 directly to ,paris2 the ,hotel de ,londres and--,julian's6 ,off the ,passage de ,panorama1 which is just off the ,boulevard1 is the ,galerie ,montmartre4 ,here1 up one flight of stairs1 over a public cabinet d'aisance1 in the dingiest place imaginable1 was the ,acadmie ,julian4 ,the room was dirty and dark1 despite the skylight above2 at one end a platform1 and near it a soiled bit of drapery behind which the women models stripped4 ,on a hot ,july day1 what with paints1 dirty ,frenchmen1 stuffy air1 nude models1 and the place below1 this room stank worse than anything ,i can think of4 ,not much calculation for comfort1 but possibly an enormous inspiration for genius4 ,julian had his office below1 but was not there with any regularity1 generally coming in to loaf or to see new girls4 ,he was a ,hercules and quite a romantic figure1 about whom there were many stories4 ,they say he was the ,masked ,man who used to wrestle on the stage and at county fairs4 ,this hulking fellow had been rather a good painter and had become a most successful business man4 ,born an ,italian peasant1 he had spent the early years of his life as a goatherd4 ,to me he always looked exactly like a great big orangutan4 ,the three hundred francs a year he received from each one of us seemed a small sum2 but the models were paid only a few cents a day1 the rental of the studio must have been negligible1 and such men as ,lefebvre1 ,boulanger1 ,bougereau1 ,tony ,fleury1 and after him ,tony ,robert ,fleury1 gave their instruction gratuitously4 ,so it was not such a bad business deal after all4 ,one of the older students was the massier1 or boss4 ,he chose the model for the week or had one voted upon from the crowd of poor devils who lined the stairway every ,monday morning in hopes of a job4 ,this day we grabbed our places2 first come1 first served4 ,if anyone came into the room1 other than ,julian or an ancien 7old student71 there were hurled at him paint tubes1 stools1 cigar butts1 oaths1 and comments upon his appearance and clothing4 ,this was a tradition of the school and had to be lived up to4 ,some of the pupils were old men with gray hair who had been there fifteen or twenty years1 still working away1 ,i suppose1 like some men who stay in prison after their terms are up1 having got used to the place4 ,one day a tall ,englishman--,i think he called himself ,vernon--turned up4 ,he was about fifty-five years old1 hollow cheeked1 with sad eyes looking out from under great brows4 ,he came every day and worked hard1 but his painting was not very good4 ,he always made a pretty model's legs look like twisted rope4 ,one morning he called me over to criticize his drawing1 and ,i asked him why he was doing this4 ,he told me he was an art lover1 owned a great many pictures1 and thought he would get a far greater appreciation of them by doing the actual work4 ,he stayed about two months and some time after we learned that he was ,lord ,dufferin1 who had just come from the post of ,governor-,general of ,canada and was on his way to ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,imagine the shame of a certain pupil from ,england who had constantly boasted in a truly ,british manner 7and1 indeed1 in 8,mr4 ,vernon's0 very presence7 of his close friendship with ,lord ,dufferin6 ,but all the students were not old4 ,most of them were quite young1 and some very unsophisticated4 ,i remember a blond fellow1 green1 and straight from the country1 who had received a hundred francs a month from the citizens of his home town to complete his art education4 ,one day he came running into the studio1 breathless1 stammering out a most amazing story4 ,he had been staring in a jeweler's window when a beautiful woman1 8an angel10 approached him1 saying3 8,who art thou80 8,your servant40 ,she took him by the arm to her barouche1 and he drove with her to a magnificent house on the ,champs lyses4 ,there servants took charge of him and arrayed him in fine clothing4 ,the details of the next three days were very vague1 but he lived in a dream4 ,one of the things he did was to drive with her into the country at #d ,a4,m4 to drink milk fresh from the cows4 ,it was another story of ,diana and ,endymion1 but all he could say was3 8,she was a goddess40 ,we were inclined to disbelieve his tale until one evening we took him to the ,varits1 whose back door opened into the same galerie as ,julian's4 ,there1 on the stage1 he discovered his 8goddess40 ,she was ,judic1 a famous actress of the day1 well known for her curious amours6 ,most of us students were poor4 ,i had fifty dollars a month allowance1 but ,i roomed with a fellow who had only twenty for everything--and he made it do4 ,we lived in the rue de ,douai in ,montmartre4 ,the room1 six flights up1 with a trapdoor for a window1 was furnished with two iron cots and very little else4 ,i remember we used champagne bottles for water ewers4 ,for all this we paid thirty francs a month4 ,no heat1 of course1 and in winter the cold was unspeakable4 ,one night ,i got an idea1 and1 taking my blanket1 started across the icy red-tiled floor to get into my roommate's bunk4 ,in the middle of the room ,i ran into something4 ,it was he coming to sleep with me6 ,we laughed and went out and bought a roast chicken and a bottle of wine4 ,it did not take much to start a party in those days4 ,we could not afford the theater1 but would go now and then to sit on the boulevards over our beer4 ,the wicked thing was to go to the ,caf ,amricain and drink with the girls4 ,here one night ,i saw an amusing thing4 ,a little fellow with varnished boots1 loud clothes1 and a gay tie1 showing every outward vulgarity that some ,americans can show1 was sitting on the balcony with two large1 fat women4 ,suddenly1 a row started below--bad words and then loud oaths in ,english--and a blow4 ,the ,french do not do this2 they slap the face1 but do not use the fist4 8,un coup de poing ,anglais60 ,we looked down4 ,five or six ,frenchmen were upon two ,americans2 and then one yelled3 8,any ,americans here80 ,the little fellow got up4 ,he was terribly drunk1 but1 stepping on his chair1 he climbed upon the railing of the balcony1 balanced himself a moment unsteadily1 and then leaped wildly into the crowd1 shouting3 8,i don't amount to much1 but here goes60 ,when the calm was restored it was seen that his action had had the desired affect1 for several arms were broken and one or two ,frenchmen were completely knocked out2 but for an exhibition of true heroism and ,americanism1 it was gorgeous4 ,a great event was the ,bal ,bullier--the students' ball2 everyone went1 and it was 8artist0 all through4 ,things always went well unless some one broke one of the unwritten laws4 ,for instance1 all the women who amounted to anything wore masks1 and to take them off was an invitation to everyone4 ,one evening at one of these affairs ,i suddenly heard3 8,any ,americans here80 ,in the middle of the floor1 surrounded by dozens of ,frenchmen and fighting with his fists1 was an upstanding male in a cowboy hat--a fashion then unknown in ,paris4 ,some one had broken the rule and taken his girl away from him4 ,in a flash ,i recognized him as ,charley ,white1 a man ,i had known in the north of ,california4 ,i looked about me and yelled to each corner of the room3 8 moi1 ,julian6 moi1 ,julian60 ,instantly dozens of men sprang from all sides with cries of3 8 toi1 ,simmons6 toi1 ,simmons60 ,in a second they were upon their brother ,frenchmen1 had downed them1 and had hustled ,charley ,white out of the room4 ,no matter where one is in ,france1 he can always call his class to his side2 architects stick to architects1 actors to actors1 painters to painters1 and so on4 ,i could never convince my friend1 however1 that ,i did not employ private police4 ,these nights of revelry were few and far between2 our evenings were spent in the studio1 and ,i always see them in 8black and white40 ,black were the shadows in the recesses not reached by the big gas flame1 black were the heads of the ,europeans1 strange beings to me at that time1 some of them with beards2 while the body of the model1 the straining faces of the students1 and the paper on the easels before us were a gleaming1 glaring white4 ,we did drawing alone at night4 ,up to this time there had been one and only one real influence upon my artistic life1 and that was ,doctor ,rimmer4 ,while at the ,boston ,art ,museum ,i used to go over to the ,institute of ,technology to his classes in art anatomy4 ,dr4 ,william ,rimmer1 who is only to-day being given any recognition1 probably occupies in the artistic world somewhat the same position that ,samuel ,butler does in the literary world4 ,rimmer's work is being dragged out of obscurity to-day by men like ,gutzon ,borglum1 as ,butler's was by ,bernard ,shaw4 ,he was a large man with a foreign accent1 a crank1 but an enthusiast and very excitable4 ,his absorption in his work was that of a crazy genius1 but his knowledge of the structure of the human figure1 combined with his delicate sense of beauty and vigor of execution1 was of inestimable value4 ,in his life he was absolutely impersonal and cared for no man4 ,doctor ,rimmer did me more good than any other man except one--,boulanger4 ,i had been told by ,crowinshield1 in ,boston1 that ,i had something that would be of great value in the future1 but was very dangerous then--chic4 ,with the conceit of youth1 ,i thought it meant something1 so ,i began to paint as soon as ,i joined ,julian's4 ,my first work was the head of an ,italian2 it was very bad4 ,boulanger stopped in back of me and said3 8,if you go on this way1 you might as well go home and make shoes40 ,a thing like that had seldom happened to me2 ,i couldn't help showing off1 and it hit hard4 ,i realized that the criticism was right1 but ,i thought that he should have told me how to cure myself4 ,so ,i left the room and waited on the stairs for a half hour before he came out4 ,seeing me1 he tried to push by1 but ,i stopped him1 saying3 8,i admit everything you said4 ,i do not know anything1 but ,i came here to learn4 7,by this time the tears were streaming down my cheeks47 ,you shall not leave here until you tell me what to do40 ,he thought for a moment4 8,well1 have you seen the outline drawings by ,grme80 ,i thought them the finest things ,i knew of1 and said so4 8,go back and make one1 and mind you1 young man1 see that you take a week over it4 ,good morning40 ,these drawings were larger than the academy paper1 so ,i got a three-foot stretcher and put wrapping paper on it4 ,they wouldn't let me in the front row at school because it was too large and obstructed everyone else's view2 ,i had1 therefore1 to go in the back of the room and stand up to see the model4 ,in two days ,i had finished it1 and ,i started it over again1 rubbing out so much that ,i wore holes in the paper4 ,after one every week for three weeks1 they came easier4 ,boulanger was away on a vacation1 and when he came back he passed me by as though ,i did not exist4 ,july1 ,august1 ,september went by and still he ignored me4 ,i was too scared and miserable to speak to him4 ,finally1 one day he walked in back of my easel and halted as if shot6 ,turning to the whole school1 he said3 8,none of you could do a drawing like this1 and ,i doubt if any one of you could copy it40 ,then turning to me1 8,let's see you make an academy40 ,i switched from being a loafer and chiquer from that moment1 and realized that only by eight hours' daily work and hard digging could ,i become a painter4 ,the next week there was a prize offered of a hundred francs for the best drawing--and ,i won it4 ,my first showing was at the ,salon of '#ha4 ,we students used to congregate at the ,palais de l',industrie and watch the four or five thousand pictures arrive for selection4 ,from these only about two thousand were chosen4 ,we were a great crowd1 lining the grand stairway or sitting on the balustrade1 and it was everybody's business to be funny4 ,first would come vans and wagons from which would issue twenty and sometimes forty pictures2 then messengers2 poor artists with their one creation2 and last the commissionaires who carried the canvases on the easel-like thing they had on their shoulders4 ,of course1 the barnyard pictures brought forth loud cackles and crows--this being my special accomplishment4 ,every now and then some girl would arrive with a portait of 8,mother0 7too poor to have it sent74 ,everyone would weep copiously4 ,up the stairway1 with great ceremony1 would come a portrait of some high official2 we would all assume a manner of awe1 but as it turned the corner--loud shouts of 8,merde60 ,i remember mine 7,i was so ashamed of it7 in a big frame so large that it had to be borne by two men4 ,it was a portrait of a ,scotchman in kilts4 8 biens l'horreur6 ,it is of our friend ,simmons4 ,shame6 ,shame60 7for the bare knees74 ,up it went1 and a big red-headed man from ,julian's rose and said3 8,silence for a while and tears40 ,at last a wave of quiet--serious this time--and whispers all up and down the line4 8,sh6 ,it is the master60 ,a ,jules ,lefebvre had arrived4 ,pictures accepted and hung1 varnishing day was the next excitement4 ,everyone of importance and all fashion turned out4 ,new ,york society cannot conceive of what a place the fine arts have in ,france4 ,women of note at the gates with their quteuses1 soliciting money for charity2 inside1 great masses of people go through the galleries together1 with some such person as ,sarah ,bernhardt at the head and the lesser following4 ,i remember seeing ,madame ,de ,gautrot1 the noted beauty of the day1 and could not help stalking her as one does a deer4 ,representing a type that never has appealed to me 7black as spades and white as milk71 she thrilled me by the very movement of her body4 ,she walked as ,vergil speaks of goddesses--sliding--and seemed to take no steps4 ,her head and neck undulated like that of a young doe1 and something about her gave you the impression of infinite proportion1 infinite grace1 and infinite balance4 ,every artist wanted to make her in marble or paint1 and1 although she has been done innumerable times1 no one has succeeded4 ,at one ,salon1 in the early 'eighties1 two ,frenchmen1 with flowing ties and low collars1 stepped in front of me to look at a landscape by ,boutet de ,monvel4 ,one said3 8,there is a girl in ,england named ,kate ,greenaway who is doing some very clever work4 ,she doesn't know anything about drawing or color1 but her idea is certainly original4 ,some day some man will take it and get a great name by it40 ,i never forgot this1 for the speaker was ,de ,monvel himself1 and he certainly did scoop the idea4 ,one who always attracted a crowd was ,rosa ,bonheur--she who was made famous and wealthy by ,american dollars4 ,she looked like a small1 undersized man1 wore gray trousers1 ,prince ,albert coat and top hat to these affairs4 ,her face was gray white and wizened1 and she gesticulated1 speaking in a high1 squeaky voice4 ,i have never seen anyone who gave a more perfect impression of a eunuch4 ,the ,salon was not all fun2 there were many tragedies4 ,one day ,i called on my friend ,renouf1 a first-medalist1 who was painting a decoration in the ,palais de l',industrie4 ,the ,salon had been closed a month1 but there were hundreds of rejected canvases standing outside that had never been called for4 ,some were not even framed4 ,he hauled out several pathetic attempts2 then1 coming upon one1 said3 8,did you ever hear of a painter named ,g----8 ,he has just been locked up2 crazy40 ,the picture was about six by ten feet1 had no frame1 but it was signed in large letters4 ,it was a scene of a long corridor1 with two barred windows on the side and a man crouched against the wall1 with the most maniacal expression on his face4 ,i never have forgotten the horror2 he must have painted it when he was going crazy4 ,i often think of poor ,de ,maupassant1 whose extreme intelligence warned him of approaching insanity and who1 having a gun1 desired to take his life4 ,of course1 the gracious ,christians surrounding him preferred his earthly sufferings to his heavenly happiness1 and so prevented him from doing it4 ,ten years after a man of prominence in the artistic world dies the ,french give a showing of his work4 ,this places him historically as an artist4 ,some of his pictures are purchased by the government and1 after this exhibition1 if the authorities deem him great enough1 pictures by him are moved to the ,louvre4 ,i remember the ten-year show of ,courbet4 ,he had been an anarchist1 also one of the leaders in the ,commune1 and his work was considered frightfully 8modern40 ,he was the brutal sort of painter that our present-day young men try to emulate1 but1 though he died many years ago1 ,courbet was a far abler painter than any man now alive in ,america4 ,of course1 this realism of execution brought forth much criticism from the members of the so-called old-school artists1 and among the leaders in denouncing ,courbet 7while alive7 was that classic authority1 ,tony ,fleury4 ,he considered this type of art worthless and all wrong and1 if ,i mistake not1 expressed his opinion of the modern man in the newspapers4 ,on the opening day of the ,courbet show 7there was a smart crowd1 as there always is at these affairs7 ,i noticed the attention was suddenly turned in one direction and people seemed to be following some one4 ,sure enough1 with his hands behind his back under coat tails was that notorious enemy of the dead painter1 the venerable ,tony ,fleury1 pottering around the room and examining each picture with great care4 ,then a striking thing happened--so theatrical and so ,french4 ,whirling and facing the audience1 he spoke3 8,gentlemen and ladies1 for many years ,i have said that this man was a bad painter4 ,i was mistaken4 ,he was a genius60 ,whistler was a well-known figure at all ,salons1 but ,i first met him in ,london1 where ,i visited him with a letter of introduction from my aunt ,fanny1 who had trotted him on her knee when he was a baby4 ,he was charming1 said there was something he had to do1 and1 if ,i could wait for him1 the day was mine4 ,he handed me a portfolio of drawings to look at while he was gone1 saying3 8,some things ,i picked up in ,italy40 ,when he came back ,i told him1 with the arrogance of youth1 that ,i hadn't cared at all for some of the etchings and wondered why he had bought them4 ,he was very curious to know which ones ,i meant1 but never told me1 what ,i found out later1 that they were all his own6 ,the well-known ,venetian etchings6 ,we lunched at the ,hogarth ,club and back to his studio to look at his work--me to drink in fountains of knowledge and he to be much amused at my untrained conversation4 ,the studio was large1 dignified1 and very bare4 ,i remember multitudes of little galley pots in which to mix colors4 ,his painting table had a glass top1 and ,i made a mental decision to have one like it4 ,whistler always had his own canvas made for him and was extremely careful about all his materials4 ,his accent was very ,english and he was full of mannerisms1 constantly fooling with his eyeglass or the lace at his throat4 ,he asked about ,paris1 and ,i told him of the first show of the ,impressionists1 held on the ,boulevard des ,capucines2 of ,monet1 ,sisley1 etc4 ,the pictures had looked crazy to the people of the day4 ,whistler said3 8,oh1 ,i know those fellows2 they are a bunch of ,johnnies who have seen my earlier work40 ,considering that his earlier work looks pre-,raphaelite or stuffy ,german1 this was a curious remark4 ,a large manservant in full livery brought out the pictures to show us4 ,he wore white gloves and was careful not to touch the surface of the canvas4 ,i remember the portrait of ,sarasate2 it was very large and the servant acted as an easel1 holding it on his toes1 with his two hands at the sides4 ,our conversation became quite interesting at the moment1 and his master left him standing in that position for more than half an hour while we talked of other things4 ,i thought this very inconsiderate1 as we had never treated servants that way4 ,it was this same portrait of ,sarasate that ,i later saw finished in the ,salon4 ,whistler had kicked up a great row1 because it had occupied only the central position of the left-hand room instead of the right1 which was more popular4 ,he spoke to me about it1 and ,i told him that he should not care1 as the poor fiddler looked as if he were trying to commit suicide in the ,metropolitan subway4 ,he tried to get angry and wanted to know why4 ,the figure was all black1 with the signature 7a gold butterfly7 looking like the headlight of an engine1 about to dash it into oblivion4 ,whistler could always find plenty of adorers to sit at his feet and let him use them as a doormat4 ,the ,claimant in ,lemon ,yellow told me that he was hurrying home with him one evening in the rain1 when the master spied something that pleased his sthetic taste4 ,it was a little lighted grocer's window4 ,he stopped like a pointer dog1 ordered the ,claimant to go home1 a mile or more1 and get his box4 ,then he started painting like mad in the dark1 and for more than an hour the ,claimant held his umbrella over him and handed him his materials4 ,truly1 the man had an hypnotic power4 ,whistler was all heart and all pocketbook to any poor unknown and1 for all his arrogance1 the servants loved him2 but he could never resist a chance to rap ,authority4 ,he sent his 8second-class thanks0 for a second-class medal awarded him at the ,salon4 ,considering the fact that this is the highest honor a foreigner gets1 it seems1 for once1 that the little man lost his sense of humor4 ,he couldn't resist getting in his knock at the ,english1 either4 ,i remember a phrase in a letter written by him to a friend of mine4 8,yes1 ,sid1 here ,i am again in ,paris and gentle ,peace seems at last to be inclined to take up her permanent abode in my little pavilion2 but ,i shall drop back across the ,channel1 now and again1 just to see that too great a sense of security may not come upon the people40 ,they reveled in it2 he was master then1 and the ,british love to be patronized by some one who has arrived4 ,i once rented a studio that ,whistler had used1 and the decorator1 who had a shop below1 told me that he had changed the color of the wall to agree with every new picture he painted4 ,on one side of the room was a large space filled with palette scrapings4 ,when ,i think of ,abbott ,thayer1 ,i know ,i must have missed a good business deal by not cutting them off to sell to his admirers in the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,mr4 ,thayer was giving an outdoor lesson to a number of girls and1 wishing to sit down1 and also having on a new pair of trousers1 he went over to a near-by barn and got a shingle4 ,when he left he heard a sound like a football rush4 ,the girls were fighting for the shingle6 ,there is a letter of ,whistler's1 written in the 'sixties1 to ,fantin ,latour1 which ,i am going to quote1 trusting there may be some young artist1 in however remote a land1 who1 reading it for the first time1 will say3 8,i will profit2 ,i will learn my trade40 ,,dear ,,fantin--,i have far too many things to tell you for me to write them all this morning1 for ,i am in an impossible press of work4 ,it is the pain of giving birth4 ,you know what that is4 ,i have several pictures in my head and they issue with difficulty4 ,for ,i must tell you that ,i am grown exacting and 8difficile0--very different from what ,i was when ,i threw everything pell-mell on canvas1 knowing that instinct and fine color would carry me through4 ,ah1 my dear ,fantin1 what an education ,i have given myself6 ,or1 rather1 what a fearful want of education ,i am conscious of6 ,with the fine gifts ,i naturally possess1 what a painter ,i should now be1 if1 vain and satisfied with these powers1 ,i hadn't disregarded everything else6 ,you see ,i came at an unfortunate moment4 ,courbet and his influence were odious4 ,the regret1 the rage1 even the hatred ,i feel for all that now1 would perhaps astonish you1 but here is the explanation4 ,it isn't poor ,courbet that ,i loathe1 nor even his works2 ,i recognize1 as ,i always did1 their qualities4 ,nor do ,i lament the influence of his painting on mine4 ,there isn't any one will be found in my canvases4 ,that can't be otherwise1 for ,i am too individual and have always been rich in qualities which he hadn't and which were enough for me4 ,but this is why all that was so bad for me4 ,that damned realism made such a direct appeal to my vanity as a painter1 and1 flouting all traditions1 ,i shouted1 with the assurance of ignorance1 8,vive la ,nature60 8,nature10 my boy--that cry was a piece of bad luck for me4 ,my friend1 our little society was as refractory as you like4 ,oh1 why wasn't ,i a pupil of ,ingres8--,how safely he would have led us6 ,drawing6 by ,jove6 ,color--color is vice4 ,certainly it can be and has the right to be one of the finest virtues4 ,grasped with a strong hand1 controlled by her master drawing1 color is a splendid bride1 with a husband worthy of her--her lover1 but her master1 too1 the most magnificent mistress in the world1 and the result is to be seen in all the lovely things produced from their union4 ,but coupled with indecision1 with a weak1 timid1 vicious drawing1 easily satisfied1 color becomes a jade making game of her mate1 and abusing him just as she pleases1 taking the thing lightly so long as she has a good time1 treating her unfortunate companion like a duffer who bores her--which is just what he does4 ,and look at the result6 a chaos of intoxication1 of trickery1 regret1 unfinished things4 ,well1 enough of this4 ,it explains the immense amount of work that ,i am now doing4 ,i have been teaching myself thus for a year or more and ,i am sure that ,i shall make up the wasted time4 ,but--what labor and pain6 ,one advantage in not having money in ,europe is that it forces one to live with the natives and not mingle with transplanted ,america1 vulgar with luxury1 that exists in every large capital4 ,we had a good chance to learn the ,french nature1 bear with its eccentricities1 and appreciate its wonderful charm4 ,they never miss a chance to make a witty remark4 ,i remember a girl about twenty-five1 but looking sixteen1 with bobbed hair 7unusual in those days71 conspicuously short skirts1 and woolen stockings1 looking distinctly the poor gentlewoman1 walking down the boulevard one day entirely alone4 ,under her arm was a violin case1 looking exactly like a coffin4 ,each caf has its character1 and as she passed the ,caf de ,madrid1 with its gathering of literary people1 a perfectly dressed ,frenchman1 lavender tie and all1 at one of the outer tables rose1 raised his hat and said3 8,ah1 ,mademoiselle6 ,tu vas enterrer la petite80 78,you go to bury the little one807 ,there was dead silence until she was out of sight1 when every man in the caf rose and lifted his hat to the speaker4 ,we1 in ,america1 are not in consonance with wit and beauty as they are4 ,if you make good in ,paris1 it is all right4 ,the students once carried a nude model all over the city1 and the citizens respectfully bowed to ,beauty4 ,again1 conversely1 an actress who appeared in a play in the nude was madly applauded--until she made the fatal and inartistic mistake of taking a curtain call4 ,she was hissed off the stage4 ,i remember ,rochegrosse1 a fellow painter1 picking up a red-velvet-and-gold hat of the ,louis ,onze period1 one day in the studio4 ,it made him look exactly like a medival page4 ,without thinking1 he wore it out--the whole length of the boulevard4 ,no one thought to laugh1 but all stopped and said 8,admirable40 ,you must not be ridiculous in ,france1 but you are not necessarily ridiculous just because you differ from the crowd1 as you are in ,america4 ,my only meeting with the haut noblesse of ,france did not leave me with a very good impression of that society which it is practically impossible to penetrate4 ,i had been asked by a friend of mine1 in ,colorado1 to play gallant to the beautiful singer1 ,marie ,van ,zant1 to whom he was betrothed4 ,my first act of friendship was to try to protect her from a marquis who had been forcing his attentions4 ,the marquis had bet forty thousand francs that he would make her his mistress1 and wrote1 asking her to be a party to his game and share the money4 ,receiving no answer to this proposal1 he sent a bouquet to ,miss ,van ,zant's dressing room in which was a note stating that if she did not accept his offer he would publicly insult her as she left the theater4 ,then she appealed to me4 ,i had a carriage waiting at the stage door that evening1 into which ,i quickly bundled both singer and her mother and1 in order to avoid any further scandal1 sent them off alone4 ,but ,i was mistaken4 ,the marquis must have been before me and bribed the coachman to go to a different address4 ,before they knew it they had stopped before a brilliantly lighted restaurant and the young man was running down the steps to meet them4 ,marie succeeded in avoiding him by threatening the coachman with arrest if he did not take them home4 ,but some woman got hold of the story1 and there was a scandalous article in one of the papers in ,america4 ,twelve days after it appeared my friend was in ,paris and1 coming to my rooms1 asked me to meet him at a certain hour as he was going to shoot a ,frenchman4 ,he asked me to be one of his seconds and ,i carried his challenge to the marquis4 ,the nobleman was a mere boy and pleaded that he was too nearsighted to use pistols1 and1 as my friend did not know the use of swords1 the duel came to nothing4 ,i did not know enough to ask for a ,jury of ,honor or he would have been forced to go on the field4 ,one very characteristically ,french thing came out of the affair1 however1 when the marquis tried to pooh-pooh my overtures for a fight on the basis that no 8actress0 could be insulted in his country and that it was only because we were ,americans that he would consider the matter at all4 ,we sometimes went to the ,closerie des ,lilas1 at the corner of the ,boulevard ,st4-,martin4 ,this was quite in the country1 in the days of ,henri ,quatre--a sort of road house where the young bloods went to drink4 ,the women of the court discovered this and used to go out there1 disguised as milkmaids1 and flirt outrageously with the tipsy members of the nobility4 ,alas6 the lilacs are gone now and sportive milkmaids no longer frequent the place2 but the ,cafe des ,lilas still has its stories1 and in my day there was at least one interesting habitu4 ,he was a major whom everybody knew and spoke to familiarly4 ,he was gray bearded and must have had his title from the ,franco-,prussian ,war4 ,he and his cronies had the same table1 played piquet1 and sat for hours over their coffee4 ,his was a mazagran4 ,the first time ,i saw him ,i noticed he had a funny trick which he repeated every night4 ,for a mazagran the waiter leaves three lumps of sugar2 he always used two1 left the other in his saucer1 and became exceedingly annoyed if1 by any chance1 it got wet4 ,in his right-hand waistcoat pocket was his watch1 with a great fob that went across4 ,with the utmost deliberation1 he would reach into the left-hand pocket1 take out a piece of brown paper1 beautifully cut into a square1 and fold into it the extra lump of sugar1 carefully putting the package back in his pocket again4 ,for many nights ,i watched this proceeding and made up my mind that1 being a thrifty ,frenchman1 he used it for his morning coffee4 ,but not so4 ,some time after1 ,i read in the ,figaro that ,major ,p---- who lived in ,montparnasse 7there was no mistaking the name and place71 had died suddenly1 leaving no estate and no personal effects2 but behind the door of his small bedroom had been found--a cubic yard of sugar6 ,verlaine sometimes came to this caf--,paul ,verlaine2 ,i often paid for his beer4 ,a plain1 hairy1 dirty figure1 seeming physically very feeble2 you would not think to look at him twice except to marvel at his ugliness and disorderly appearance1 unless you saw his eyes4 ,if he looked at you1 you knew you were in the presence of your better4 ,he was worshiped by all1 and they fought to pay his check1 hovering about him like crows around dead carrion1 waiting to snatch at anything that dropped from his lips4 ,i was not a good student of character in those days and in no way realized his importance1 but ,i could not help feeling his charm4 ,one night ,i had a dispute with a ,frenchman as to what was the meaning of courage4 ,one of us argued that it was an admirable quality1 and the other that it was vanity and stupidity--therefore1 idiotic4 ,at the height of the discussion ,verlaine came in and was appealed to to decide the question4 ,he first demanded beer and then listened carefully to one and then the other4 ,looking at me1 he said3 8,i decide for the young ,american40 8,well1 why80 asked the ,frenchman4 8,because you are right and he is right2 you are wrong and he is wrong4 ,but he believes what he says40 ,to him1 truth was of no importance--the question was belief--and this seems to me to be the secret of his whole philosophy4 ,there is a corner in ,paris where ,arthur ,cosslet ,smith says1 if you sit there long enough1 you will meet everyone of importance of your day--the corner of the ,caf de la ,paix4 ,here one day ,i was sitting1 having an apritif before lunch2 at a table in the corner was gathered a group of jeunesses dores and a little farther back ,i noticed ,barbey d',aurevilly4 ,the young men began to discuss literature with that cocksureness that is the quality of youth the world over4 ,victor ,hugo was still alive1 and it was the fashion to 8knock0 him1 which they proceeded to do1 outrageously4 ,finally1 one said1 so the whole caf could hear3 8,oh1 your ,victor ,hugo1 he is stupid40 ,at that ,i felt a figure rise behind me and come forward2 then ,i saw this wonderful vision4 ,about seventy1 handsome1 tall1 dressed with the most exquisite care1 lace at his sleeves and neck2 ,d',aurevilly was a count and noted duelist and distinctly of the old school4 ,looking as if he had stepped straight out of a book of ,dumas'1 he walked up to the young men4 ,instantly1 their conversation was hushed4 ,he did not present himself1 but said3 8,my young friends1 ,i also care for literature2 and that is my excuse for speaking to you4 ,i heard your talk of ,victor ,hugo and ,i came to tell you that ,i agree with you in your estimate of him4 ,alas6 he is stupid--stupid as the ,himalayas60 78,il est bte----bte comme les ,himalays607 ,we are fond of saying that things are not the same as they were when we were young1 but ,i fear we are wrong4 ,the change is in ourselves4 ,when ,i went back to ,paris in #ah---- ,i visited some of the old familiar haunts4 ,one was the little caf1 where ,i used to breakfast every morning when a student4 ,everything looked the same--the dingy walls1 dirty floor1 but spotless tables--as the ,french tables always are2 the waiters calling out the orders for their well-known patrons as soon as they showed their faces in the doorway2 the poor1 half-starved grisettes eating their sou's worth of bread--,i could hardly believe ,i had been away for so many years4 ,but why did the food taste so strange8 ,the croissons were soggy1 and the coffee1 with its abominable taste of chicory--bah6 ,was it possible ,i could once have lived on this fare and actually liked it8 ,i could not even call back one old thrill4 ,after such a disappointment1 ,i was almost afraid to visit ,julian's1 but with rather a sinking heart ,i turned into the ,passage de ,panorama1 around the corner to the galerie1 up the still dirty stairway1 and opened the door4 ,instantly ,i was greeted with ,french oaths and comments1 and ,i found myself running a barricade of paint tubes and what seemed to me all the furniture in the room1 hurled at my head4 ,i stopped and swore in every language ,i knew1 crying3 8,if anyone here is as old an ancien as ,i1 ,i'll kneel to him1 but if not1 get down on your knees1 the whole crowd of you60 8,who are you80 they asked4 ,i pointed to the wall where hung a drawing--the very one which had won me the hundred francs in the contest4 ,instantly everyone in the room was on his knees4 ,the tears streamed down my cheeks2 ,i was not disappointed4 ,my old ,paris had come back to me6 ,chapter ,,vi3 ,the ,middle ,ages ,brittany2 ,spain ,america is a country without tradition1 and the large cities of ,europe are too cosmopolitan to impress one with the fact of fixed manners and morals4 ,but not so in the provinces4 ,from '#ha to '#hf1 ,i lived in ,concarneau1 on the ,breton coast1 and made a trip of several months into ,elche1 ,spain4 ,i felt as if ,i had suddenly plunged back into the ,middle ,ages4 ,the superstitions1 manners1 customs1 and dress1 as well as ideas1 of both those places1 were unchanged from centuries ago4 ,around the part of ,concarneau where the poor live is a wall built by ,vauban2 inside is a fortress with the sea making a moat4 ,the bridge1 which could originally be drawn up1 is now stationary1 but the doorway for a passage is still there4 ,on the other side is the ferry to ,pont ,aven4 ,inside the inclosure the streets are narrow and paved1 with little houses on either side4 ,outside is the smart part of the town4 ,the beauties of the sea1 and1 as usual1 the low cost of living1 brought the artist to ,concarneau4 ,my studio was a wheat loft1 and any peasant was a model for a few cents4 ,we painted them in their native dress1 which was picturesque enough1 and1 besides1 no virtuous ,breton woman would allow you to see her hair1 so that it was obvious that the coif stayed on4 ,these headdresses gave them a distinctly medival air1 and each town has a certain style1 more fixed than the laws of the ,medes and ,persians1 so that you can tell immediately where a woman comes from4 ,underneath this white coif1 which is always beautifully laundered and starched1 is a tight cap which holds the hair1 and this1 ,i think1 is seldom removed4 ,the remainder of the costume 7which makes them look like ,noah's ,ark women7 is a heavy woolen skirt and a double-breasted blouse4 ,this is held together by a huge shawl pin of brass1 and under no circumstances can they be persuaded to use buttons4 ,of course there are stockings and sabots4 ,blanch ,willis ,howard wrote her book called ,guenn in my studio and it afterward became one of the popular novels of the day4 ,i think she greatly exaggerated the romantic quality of the artist who fell in love with his model1 however1 as all the ,breton peasants ,i ever saw washed below the chin only twice in their lives--once when they were born and once when married4 ,the peasants dance all day long4 ,every day seems a fte day1 and the celebrations are always held in the market place4 ,the dance starts with a procession1 with a man at the head playing a biniou1 an instrument 7the same in every ,celtic country7 very much like a bagpipe4 ,they serpentine1 as do the college boys of to-day1 and whirl madly1 couple by couple1 with nothing but a clatter of sabots4 ,the virtue lies not in the grace or time1 but in keeping it up the longest4 ,the ,bretons seine their fish 7sardines7 in a long net with large corks at the top and weights at the bottom4 ,myriads of forty-ton boats start out before sunrise1 making a picturesque sight with their few feet of deck and large fore and aft sails1 originally dyed brilliant colors1 but always faded to lovely tones of rose1 gray1 and tan4 ,the sails drop at the fishing grounds1 they let out their nets1 and the men begin to row1 while one1 the boss1 stands in the stern to throw the bait4 ,this imported egg of cod is called 8rogue10 and as he throws it from side to side the play of his body in action is more beautifully ,greek than anything in all ,europe4 ,whenever ,i saw this ,i wondered if ,christ might not have performed his ,miracle of the ,fishes in somewhat the same way4 ,the catch is enormous4 ,i have seen a net sink1 breaking a manila rope the size of my thumb4 ,when the boat comes in it looks as if it were entirely full of shiny fifty-cent pieces in a flutter1 and every scoop of the bucket is one of pure silver4 ,when cooked in that flapping condition1 in beef drippings1 and served with a boiled potato1 they come nearer to being perfect human food than anything ,i know of4 ,georges ,pouchet1 the ichthyologist1 used to come to the ,vivier in ,concarneau to study the fish forms4 ,he was a friend of ,pasteur1 and they were studying mammals as a basis for the investigation of the human body4 ,i lunched with him in his bachelor lodgings during the ,salon every year4 ,he had an original way of entertaining4 ,the invitations were always written and very formal4 ,i was always received by the same manservant2 lunched with him alone and upon the same menu4 ,we had but one dish4 ,the servant brought in a bowl fully two feet across1 full of crevisses2 then bread1 wine1 and a basin with a towel and fresh water4 ,he said it was necessary to wash while eating these shellfish4 ,of course we finished off with coffee and a smoke4 ,pouchet was an intimate friend of ,alfred de ,musset and told me much about him4 ,the poet had many fads inherited from the days of swords1 pistols1 snuff1 and powdered hair4 ,for instance1 he would under no circumstances accept copper money2 in fact1 he would not touch the metal in any form4 ,toward the end of ,musset's life he frequented a certain caf in ,paris--used it as a club4 ,he would go there to write his letters1 read his paper1 etc41 and with him would be a quiet man in plain clothing whom you would not notice4 ,at a certain time in the evening he would make a gesture to the waiter1 who would serve him with two carafons--one of brandy and one of absinthe4 ,he would pour them together in one glass and1 looking at them1 take out of his buttonhole his button of ,general of the ,legion of ,honor1 and put it in his waistcoat4 ,he would then down the mixture at once2 the quiet man would approach and take him to his carriage4 ,no one but a ,frenchman could have done this2 he would not get drunk as a member of the ,legion6 ,sitting one time with ,pouchet and a well-known authoress1 discussing sex1 he said3 8,you make a mistake1 mademoiselle1 there are four sexes4 ,male--,mr4 ,simmons2 female--your charming self2 neuter0--pointing to a stuffy judge way down the room2 8and potentially male or female4 ,this sex can be recognized by the human hair4 ,it is long in the men and short in the women4 ,let us call it the professorial sex40 ,women's rights1 divorce laws1 etc41 were then unknown in ,france1 so this was quite an advanced idea4 ,the last time ,i saw ,pouchet was in ,new ,york4 ,he was about sixty-three years old4 ,we were lunching at the ,players and ,i asked3 8,what brings you to ,america80 8,to study the question of tonsils40 8,are ,american tonsils different from ,european80 ,i asked4 8,oh no6 ,we are interested in the tonsils of other mammals--of the whale40 ,just before he went back to ,france ,i asked him what conclusion his investigation had brought forth4 8,a matter of great importance10 he answered4 8,the fact that the tonsil is of no importance40 ,i have since heard this disputed1 but ,i thought it very interesting that these learned men should work so long and so hard for such a result4 ,the ,british artists passed by ,concarneau and went on to ,pont ,aven1 where there were ready-made landscapes for the water-colorists4 ,truth to tell1 they were frightened by the bigness of the coast and left it to the ,french and ,americans1 who formed a very happy crowd1 all living at the ,hotel des ,voyageurs4 ,there was ,thaddeus ,jones1 who has since painted a portrait of the ,pope2 ,alexander ,harrison1 the famous marine painter2 ,frank ,chadwick2 ,howard ,russell ,butler2 ,m4 ,brion2 ,emile ,renouf2 ,paul ,dubois1 the sculptor2 and ,bastien ,le ,page4 ,bastien was the first in importance in the ,concarneau older set1 being almost the father of the ,realistic movement4 ,he was a quiet1 well-bred person1 swift at repartee1 and could write as corking a letter to the press as ,whistler4 ,one day ,i caught him painting a sketch of the little stone church on the shore at the edge of the town1 something we had all tried4 ,he was drawing and painting1 with meticulous care1 every slate on the roof1 each with its little lichen4 ,i brought the subject up1 after dinner1 when we were sitting on the sidewalk having our coffee4 8,m4 ,bastien10 ,i said 7no one ever called him ,le ,page7 8we have all been taught by ,le ,febvre1 ,boulanger1 ,cabanel1 and ,durand to ebaucher our subject broadly and put in only the details that are absolutely necessary4 ,i saw you to-day painting every slate on that roof for its own sake4 ,how about it80 ,he laughed4 8,i have tried all these different methods1 but none of them got me what ,i saw2 so now ,i do everything as truthfully as ,i am able1 then take my picture to ,paris1 where1 in my studio1 away from nature1 ,i can consider it broadly and remove all the unnecessary detail40 8,yes10 said ,harrison1 8but when we younger men see your picture in the ,salon we don't think you have done what you say you do40 ,he threw his hands in the air4 8,helas6 ,helas6 ,sacr ,nom de ,dieu6 ,vous avez raison4 ,i am so much in love with it when ,i see it in my studio that ,i cannot bear to touch it40 ,bastien was born in ,domremy1 which was probably the reason he made such an admirable painting of ,jeanne d',arc1 now in the ,metropolitan ,museum4 ,he told us the details of the work4 ,there was no one model1 except for the body1 and he used several to carry out his ideal of the head4 ,you feel that she is a working girl and not a pretty peasant by ,bougereau4 ,albert ,wolff wrote a stinging criticism of it1 commenting on the charm of the figure and the excellence of the drawing and painting1 but saying that the visions in the air were idiotic4 ,bastien replied that the visions were not supposed to be those of a learned man like ,wolff or1 indeed1 his own1 but those born in the brain of ,jeanne d',arc1 an uneducated girl of sixteen1 whose only knowledge of kings and queens was of the figures of the saints she had worshiped in church4 ,he handled this canvas in quite an original way1 and not a very successful one4 ,it was painted in two pieces1 so that it could be easily carried to the orchard where he worked4 ,when finished1 he and the village cobbler sewed them together by hand1 with the best linen thread and cobbler's wax4 ,they then stretched it and hammered the joining1 which was filled with white and siccatif and scraped down4 ,when it was firm and dry1 he went over it so there should be no question of the surface1 and repainted it1 and1 as he said1 8,i wager anything that that crack does not show in a thousand years40 ,alas1 it is plainly evident in the ,metropolitan to-day1 and the repainting must have changed1 as the color and tone where the crack is are all wrong4 ,bastien was one of the most lovable men ,i ever met1 bright1 smiling1 with a certain undercurrent of sadness--the mark of tuberculosis was upon him then4 ,i remember one day attempting to tell him the meaning of an ,american negro song he had learned from one of the boys1 but he refused to listen1 not wishing to be disillusioned4 8,no1 no1 ,simmons1 ,i do not wish to have it explained4 ,i know what it says4 ,it is a pathetic song of a lover mourning for one he has lost40 ,and he rendered it in a voice that would have brought tears to the eyes of the average audience4 8,ze lobstere in ze lobstere pot ,ze bluefish in ze panne2 ,zey suffere1 oh1 zey suffere not2 ,what ,i suffere for my ,marie ,anne40 ,poor ,bastien6 ,he was gone the next year4 ,it is almost impossible to speak of ,bastien without mentioning that young woman1 made famous by the remark of ,gladstone that she had written the best book of the year1 the woman who meant so much in his life--,marie ,bashkirtsev4 ,fresh from the hands of her maid1 she was a fascinating blond 8vamp10 but in about twenty minutes the charms began to go4 ,her hair became unruly1 buttons refused to do their duty1 and slipper strings burst4 ,she had beautiful feet and was inclined to wear her shoes too small4 ,i once sent her a message saying that ,i would give her a sketch for one of her slippers4 ,she replied3 8,i know the value of a new pair of slippers1 but ,i do not know the value of one of your pictures40 ,on the apartment mantelpiece of ,bojidar ,karageorgivitch was a semicircle of shoes1 a slipper in the center1 and two bell jars covering riding boots at either end--all belonging to his cousin ,marie4 ,borjidar was a charming person2 the son of a king1 his mother a ,russian princess and second in line for the ,serbian throne4 ,his brother ,nicolas was a weakling1 and ,peter1 the king1 was no good4 ,slight1 pointed beard1 and aquiline nose1 he looked more the fashionable ,frenchman than anything else4 ,like ,pierre ,loti1 he was smitten with the divine ,sarah1 who visited him at ,concarneau and left her painting materials behind4 ,borjidar always seemed to be surrounded with a halo of romance4 ,one day we were sitting out on the pavement and some one mentioned thumb-nails4 ,it is said that the larger the white moons1 the greater the aristocrat4 ,this royal prince had no moon at all1 thus indicating no ancestry2 but if the sign is true1 it is not strange1 since his grandfather had been an ignorant butcher who had jumped the throne4 ,through his mother he had a delightful touch4 ,years later ,i met ,bojidar in ,paris1 and what do you suppose he was doing8 ,such a brave1 fine thing6 ,he was selling jewelry1 which he designed himself1 to the ,english snob and really making good at it4 ,many people like to buy from the son of a king4 ,there came to ,concarneau a young girl1 wide eyed1 eager1 temperamental1 thirsting for a knowledge of life1 but knowing about as much of it as the bird just out of the egg4 ,she was alone and studying ,art4 ,she asked of the women folk the meaning of marriage1 and wanted to be chaperoned until she had made up her mind whether to take the big step or not4 ,not so long after her enlightenment1 she announced her wedding1 and with none other than the now well-known writer--,havelock ,ellis4 ,ellis seems to me an example of a man who took up one subject1 stuck to it1 and absorbed it thoroughly--a procedure almost always destined for success when accompanied by brains4 ,some years after1 ,i visited the ,ellises in ,england4 ,there had been no children from the union1 but the one-time timid and childish wife had developed into a charming woman1 and1 strange to say1 a full-fledged raiser of blooded stock4 ,she it was who tended the wants of the baby bulls and colts1 was in at the births and deaths of the animals2 while ,havelock sat by the warmth of his very delightful fireplace1 smoking his pipe and probably mulling over the psychological effect of all this on the feminine mind4 ,anyway1 ,i had a delightful time and1 upon his refusal to help her1 ,i held the head of a baby calf while she slipped a dose of oil down its throat1 oblivious to the fact that ,i was ruining a beautiful new pair of white flannel trousers4 ,halfway between ,concarneau and ,pont ,aven 7that place of predigested food for artists and ready-made motifs7 at the summit of a rise in the road1 is the ,rocking ,stone4 ,it is twenty feet in diameter1 almost spherical in shape1 and so poised by the glacial period upon another buried stone1 that1 if pressed at a certain angle1 it rocks4 ,the legend is that the stone gained this quality at the hands of the comtesse of the chteau1 whose husband went to the ,crusades and left her1 a bride1 to his dearest friend to take care of4 ,this he proceeded to do by trying to make her his mistress2 he was rebuffed and became her enemy4 ,upon her husband's return from the wars1 this so-called friend rushed ahead to meet him and told him his wife had betrayed him4 ,the count drew his sword1 walked ahead to meet her1 and accused her of the infidelity4 ,she placed her hand on the stone and said3 8,god is my witness that it is a lie and1 if ,i am chaste1 will move this stone40 ,thereupon1 she touched it ever so lightly1 and it rocked6 ,it was a habit of the peasants and fishermen to take their sweethearts to this place to see if they could move the bowlder4 ,on such superstitions does the virtue of a woman hang4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was very dramatic1 the way ,i first saw ,spain4 ,a cold and beastly night1 changing into a hot day2 third-class carriage and no coffee2 the first sight out of the car window in the morning a dusty plain4 ,it could have been an alkali desert in the ,west4 ,in no sense like the ,italians or ,french1 the ,spanish are haughty1 silent1 laconic1 dignified1 morose1 and lonely1 like their plains with every now and then a brilliant patch of green4 ,here and there would be a castle and1 clustered around its feet1 tiny houses4 ,human beings lived there6 ,farther on1 bands of sheep or goats1 and a herder whom one could imagine a ,moorish horseman with a tall spear4 ,there was a ,don ,quixote at every turn4 ,at last1 the plain stretched and widened until there was a hill line like the horizon of the ocean4 ,suddenly1 the two horns of a snail stuck up1 getting larger and larger1 until the animal seemed to be creeping toward us out of the distance4 ,a cloudless sky1 vast stretches1 with no sign of human habitation anywhere--and the horns of the snail suddenly changed into the towers of a building--the ,cathedral at ,bourgos6 ,at ,madrid ,i saw ,titian for the first time2 the ones in the ,louvre are of no importance4 ,on one side of a narrow gallery in the ,prado will be a ,titian1 and on the other side a ,velasquez4 ,the former looks five hundred years old1 and the latter very modern1 the difference being due1 apparently1 to the surface of the canvas2 also the movement in my day was toward ,velasquez--the free brush work and the blond note4 ,there is one marvelous canvas of his here2 no one ever did anything like it4 ,he had painted ,phillip1 the king1 dozens of times1 and did the dwarfs and ladies of the court4 ,evidently the queen was tired of these1 and said to him one day3 8,i want a picture for myself4 ,do just as ,i say4 ,paint my daughter in her new gown1 the fool1 dog1 and parrot1 and the king and myself looking at you while you do it40 ,a large order1 but see what he has done6 ,he stands in the center with his canvas2 at one side the infanta1 a squat dwarf1 and the dog1 while the king and queen are seen at the back in a doorway1 with the background of a garden4 ,of great value to us is his palette1 which he is holding in his hand1 plainly showing what colors he used--red1 yellow1 black1 and white4 ,upon arriving at ,elche 7from the ,roman ,illici7 under whose walls ,hamilcar ,barca1 the uncle of ,hannibal1 died fighting1 ,i realized ,i had quietly stepped back four or five hundred years in the history of the world4 ,one could almost forgive the superstitious and general ignorance of the ,medival ,age when one realizes the beautiful things that have been bequeathed to us4 ,nothing could be more fascinatingly romantic or more un-,yankee than the ,sereno--the man appointed by the city to go about at night announcing the time and the weather4 ,his name1 meaning 8serene10 comes from the fact that the weather is nearly always clear4 ,in fact1 during all the time that ,i was in ,spain there was only one day when ,i saw a cloud in the sky1 and ,i am afraid ,i should have missed that if my attention had not been called to it by a proud native4 ,on these clear blue evenings you would go to bed amid a profound silence and just be dozing off into a half dream1 when away down the street would come to your ear two or three weird little notes1 faint and far away1 seeming to be part of a song or the cry of a bird4 ,perhaps you would go back to sleep1 and again it would seem only five minutes1 but in reality it would be a half hour--would come the sound1 this time nearer and much more distinct4 ,each repetition would be louder1 until you would hear the 8toc1 toc1 toc10 of his stick1 stopping now and then as he banged on the door of some heavy sleeper who had paid the ,sereno to wake him4 ,perhaps he wanted to make a train--or was it 8reasons of love08 ,then right under your window would come the song1 8,eleven o'clock--,serene10 beginning loud and finally disappearing into the night4 ,illustration3 ,las do-ze y ,me-di-a ,se-ra-no4 ,the ,spanish nature is a mixture of politeness and cruelty4 ,there is something to excite the blood every day4 ,i have seen them gather together all the stray dogs and give them poison1 then heap them up at the corners of the street4 ,those that are not dead escape and run away howling1 and the great sport is to jerk them up on a rope1 hurling them high in the air4 ,everyone thinks this a splendid game and the children yell with glee4 ,but as to the manners--those of an illiterate farmer are better than the average clubman's of ,new ,york4 ,if a ,spaniard offers you anything three times1 you must accept it1 and then offer him something three times so that he may accept4 ,i remember a farmhand hailing an old-fashioned coach which ran from ,elche to ,alicante4 ,boarding it slowly1 he raised his hat to everyone1 saying3 8,good morning1 ladies and gentlemen4 ,will you permit me80 ,rolling a cigarette1 he was suddenly struck with a thought1 and1 turning1 offered the tobacco to the coach in general4 ,in a caf1 if you sit down beside anyone--peasant1 priest1 or dude--he offers you a drink4 ,the third time you are obliged to accept4 ,the same formula is gone through with in every situation in life 7like the ,arabian who must always walk with a guest to the limit of his property71 but ,i rather think democracy is doing away with it4 ,there is no art among the provincial people of ,spain4 ,in fact1 ,i do not know any place where there is such an utter indifference to it4 ,once the hotel keeper came into my bedroom and saw a water color ,i had done hanging on the wall4 ,it was a careful rendition of the passageway in front of my room4 ,there were the tiles on the floor1 the plaster walls with the door halfway down1 and1 at the end1 beneath a window1 stood a large jar 7exactly like the one in which ,i imagine the ,forty ,thieves were concealed7 full of pampas grass4 ,i should have thought a child would have recognized it4 ,but mine host said1 politely3 8,one of your artistic results from our river80 8,no10 emphatically4 8,oh1 then it is the cathedral80 ,i gave it up4 ,had ,i been a sensitive man1 ,i think ,i would have stopped painting then and there4 ,the ,church is the doctor1 lawyer1 teacher1 amanuensis1 and theater4 ,the festivals are more beautiful than ,i have seen anywhere4 ,from ,may to ,october there is never a cloud in the sky1 and during this time is held the ,fiesta de la ,vieja ,negra4 ,the ceremony takes place in the public square1 and at midnight of that ,july night the roofs of the town are crowded with people while the sky looks like an inverted bowl of black over their heads4 ,the legend is that the little ,virgin1 only three feet high and carved out of dark wood1 landed in a boat on the shores of the ,mediterranean4 ,in her hand was a scroll which directed that she be drawn inland by two white oxen and that where they lay down must be built a temple4 ,this is the ,cathedral of ,elche1 the roof of which is of blue tiles and glitters like an amethyst or turquoise4 ,the procession of the fiesta begins at twelve o'clock and proceeds in stately fashion to the square4 ,everything connected with the ,virgin herself is black--black-robed priests1 black casket and draperies--with all else a blaze of light and color4 ,i was much affected and ready to fall on my knees and become a ,roman ,catholic4 ,the mayor1 in evening clothes1 awaits her1 carrying in his hand a black velvet flag about ten by twelve feet1 with no insignia4 ,when the procession stops he walks solemnly forward1 all alone1 across the square4 ,when directly in front of the ,virgin he raises the flag in his hands and1 amid dead silence1 waves it slowly in her face1 back and forth4 ,the third time the staff snaps and down falls the flag at her feet4 ,there is a wild yell of3 8,fiesta6 ,fiesta60 ,everyone believes a miracle has happened4 ,the story is that when the ,vieja was first installed1 a ,moorish ,chieftain jeered at her and waved his flag in her face1 wherefore she caused it to break in his hand1 and he fell down converted4 ,now year after year the miracle is repeated4 ,i was told that the flagpole is cut to the center on one diameter and gauged1 when turned1 to break at the right moment4 ,the fiesta of ,elche takes place within the cathedral4 ,i was fortunate enough to be able to witness the ceremony from a small window just below the dome and hundreds of feet above the people4 ,the first part is the cleansing of the temple of the ,jews4 ,a large crowd in rags and gabardines1 with beards1 evidently false1 attempt to come in1 but are fallen upon by the audience1 flagellated1 and flung out of the church4 ,all having quieted again1 a most dramatic thing happens4 ,suddenly1 seemingly1 the whole dome 7a part twenty-five feet in diameter7 begins to move and slowly come down4 ,from my seat ,i could now and then see the operation of the windlass1 but to the people below it must have looked like the petals of a water lily detaching themselves and opening into a golden flower4 ,the stamens held two men angels with golden wings and wearing costumes hundreds of years old1 so beautiful that ,i did not notice the colors4 ,i have never seen any fabric so wonderful except the old ,breton communion lace and the costumes of the ,javanese dancers4 ,the pistil had1 for a stigma1 a cherub--as far as they could see below--in empty air4 ,he was a beautiful ten-year-old boy held only from behind by a gilded shaft of steel with two little places for his feet4 ,as he descended and came about opposite me1 he fainted away1 but the two men's arms flashed out to hold him1 so that it was not noticed below4 ,then the angels scatter the pollen--little bits of gold leaf--all over the church1 and as this is supposed to be very holy and of great curative value1 everyone strives to pick up a piece4 ,the boy angel1 supposedly come down from heaven1 delivers to the ,virgin the palm branch which is symbolic of a productive year4 ,just at this moment a tiny sparrow 7not on the program7 circled our heads like a soul in flight4 ,the angels begin to rise1 are carried to the dome1 the petals of the huge flower close1 and the whole ceremony seems to have been but a figment of the imagination4 ,one's point of view of the human race out of doors becomes exactly reversed upon going from ,brittany to ,spain4 ,in the former country one sees the head1 with the coif1 as a white spot against a background of green2 and in the latter the head is black against the landscape4 ,the ideas of modesty are also exactly reversed2 for a ,breton peasant to show her hair means that she is not virtuous1 while the ,spanish constantly go about with the head uncovered4 ,the ,spanish have no sense of privacy2 they stare on every occasion and do not hesitate to go into anyone's home without knocking--there are no locks on the doors1 so one cannot prevent this4 ,they never pull down the shades from any desire of seclusion1 and rather think it taking away their privileges if anyone else does4 ,a beautifully dressed woman and daughter will pass you with downcast eyes1 but if you turn quickly you will probably see them standing perfectly still1 facing you and gaping4 ,the children go about naked1 and used to climb upon the grill of our veranda to stare at us and beg to taste our food4 ,a few days after my son was born ,i noticed something peculiar in the actions of the midwife and the women about4 ,they kept wailing3 8,poor little heathen4 ,he will not live4 ,he will not live4 ,seven-months child4 ,condemned to the fires of hell40 ,to tell you the truth1 ,i did not care much at that time whether or not he did live1 but for the sake of the nerves of the household1 my own included1 ,i was forced to ask them to explain4 8,why1 he is a heretic60 they said4 8,what do you mean80 ,i asked4 8,he is not baptized40 8,do you want to baptize him80 ,i asked1 rather jokingly4 8,will you let us8 ,oh1 ,medica1 ,medica1 run1 run6 ,we will baptize the little heretic60 ,i was in for it1 so went to my friend ,don ,paco1 who was a very wealthy and influential man1 and asked what ,i had to do4 8,oh1 you have nothing to do10 he replied4 8,you do not count4 ,only the godfather matters1 and that will be ,i40 ,his duty1 besides officiating at the ceremony1 was to promise to do his utmost to keep the child in the ,catholic faith4 ,well1 ,i got into the church by fighting1 to see one of the worst-looking babies you ever saw held up1 entirely naked1 by the medica1 while four or five big priests crossed the different parts of his body with holy oil--changing a ,concord ,unitarian into a ,roman ,catholic6 ,truly1 the reclamation of a heretic4 ,after the baptism they did acknowledge my existence1 for ,i rode in the carriage with ,don ,paco and the medica1 who held the baby4 ,the godfather had to get us out of the church by striking women right and left--a woman does not count for thirty cents in ,spain4 ,we rode in a four-seated carriage with two horses1 and a brass band going before us4 ,the crowd was so dense 7more than twenty-five hundred people on that small street alone7 that we could proceed only at the slowest walk1 and at that we broke the arm of a small boy who was pushed under the horses' hoofs4 ,back at the hotel1 the landlord was so overcome at the advertisement that he almost lost his head1 giving us a wonderful feast--downstairs for the band and upstairs for the dudes1 priests and contessas1 the last having been invited by ,don ,paco and come from far away for the occasion4 ,i learned afterward that one of the reasons for all this excitement over my child was that ,don ,paco had told that both parents lived in ,california 7their ,el ,dorado71 and somehow they had gotten the idea that ,i owned most of the state4 ,one little touch that reconciled me for all the trouble the baby's christening had caused me--the doctor1 one of the first in ,spain1 who had brought him into the world presented me with a bill charging ten cents a visit and five cents whenever we called upon him4 ,my exit from ,spain was not so romantic as my entrance2 in fact1 it was in the nature of a flight4 ,walking into ,alicante one day1 ,i was grabbed by the ,american consul1 who said3 8,get your family and bring them here as quickly as you can2 ,i cannot explain1 as ,i must not speak ,english any more40 ,cholera had broken out1 in spite of every precaution to keep it from coming over the border from ,france1 where there was an epidemic4 ,if we did not get out immediately1 it would mean three months in ,elche1 surrounded by troops1 and the possibility of contracting the dread disease4 ,i shall never forget the misery of that journey4 ,as usual1 ,i had very little money4 ,it took us sixty hours to make the trip1 and we landed at ,concarneau at #c ,a4,m4 in a blinding snowstorm4 ,i think ,i spoke of the politeness of the ,spanish farmer4 ,not so the dude4 ,we had started third class1 but had been driven out by the number of people to the second and finally the first class4 ,upon changing to the last1 ,i saw the train was about to start and was all crowded except one compartment1 marked 8,reserved10 which ,i opened and entered4 ,there were four well-dressed ,spaniards lying down with their feet upon the seats1 occupying the amount of space legally allowed for eight people4 ,they looked up1 saw the woman and baby1 rolled over1 and did not move4 ,i explained politely and asked for a seat4 ,not a move4 ,i then pushed one of them over and stood on him while ,i made room for my family1 folded my arms1 and waited for these people who kill1 assassinate1 and duel to come forward4 ,there were many oaths and much talk about 8wishing ,i had my sword10 etc41 but not a shut fist4 ,just before we got to ,irun1 which is the last town before you cross the border into ,france1 ,i got into conversation with a very well-bred ,spaniard4 ,he pointed to a little house at ,san ,sebastian1 way below on the seashore1 and told me it was his and that he had just arrived home from ,south ,america and had seen his family for the first time in three years4 ,he then spoke of his impatience at having been kept such a long time in quarantine in ,france4 8,but you are going away again80 ,i asked4 8,oh1 ,i left an important parcel in ,irun and am going back to get it10 he answered4 ,then1 pointing to a bit of red worsted tied to his umbrella1 he continued1 8,this was put on by my wife1 who knows how forgetful ,i am1 so that ,i may be sure and not pass the border40 ,while we were talking1 he suddenly looked out of the car window with a wild exclamation3 8,my ,god1 we have passed ,irun60 ,in spite of the red worsted reminder1 he had gone over the border again into ,france and would have to spend another three weeks in quarantine6 ,chapter ,,vii3 ,from ,breton to ,briton ,st4 ,ives1 ,cornwall2 ,london ,going from ,concarneau to ,st4 ,ives was like moving up from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century4 ,no more thatched roofs1 no more floors of beaten earth1 no more manure piles in front of the houses4 ,the roofs are of slate1 topping little stone houses1 with quite proper floors2 the front yards are clean1 and the ,cornish farmer is most likely a ,wesleyan1 but he may belong to one of the other thirteen denominations that flourish in this town of five thousand inhabitants4 ,it is true that there is a circle of stones which archologists say was placed before the time of the ,picts2 there are some customs handed down from centuries before2 but most of the 8ancient laws0 are no earlier than ,henry ,,viii1 and the old traditions are so changed that the original makers would not recognize them1 for the ,englishman will think for himself1 even though he thinks badly4 ,the waves that come to ,st4 ,ives ,bay are straight from ,america1 and there is nothing to equal the beauty of the cliffs and sand except the coast of ,maine4 ,the climate is five degrees less than that of ,naples and never goes over eighty degrees in summer or much below freezing in winter1 so that vegetables and flowers flourish4 ,in ,january are growing violets1 dahlias1 and fuchsias for the markets of ,london4 ,south of ,st4 ,ives are five miles of flowers blowing in the breezes4 ,the real beauty of the country is the constant storm1 shower and sunlight4 ,if it is not raining1 it is shining1 and there is a rainbow almost any day--a little ,legion of ,honor wandering around by itself4 ,of the different religious denominations1 there were the ,christian ,brethren1 ,temperance ,wesleyans1 ,plain ,wesleyans1 ,lady ,huntington's ,chapel1 ,church of ,england1 and the ,catholic4 ,the butcher1 grocer1 and carpenter were all preachers on ,sunday4 ,perhaps the most interesting of the sects1 however1 were the ,primitive ,christians4 ,they do not believe the altar or the pulpit is any more holy than other parts of the church1 so you will see them kneeling with their faces to the back1 to the sides1 or any way whatever1 while the minister is hard at work preaching at one end4 ,right in back of my studio1 which was a storehouse for pilchard nets and consequently on the sea1 was the old graveyard4 ,here the stanch ,cornishmen were buried four or five layers deep1 and occasionally the tide would wash a hole in the wall1 scattering the bones1 and rolling skulls up and down the beach4 ,the new graveyard was much more modern1 with a careful division between the ,church of ,england and the ,dissenters1 the different entrances separated1 as ,i think my dear mother thought heaven was--one gate for the ,unitarians and one for the remainder of the world4 ,i remember a carpenter who accidently cut off his thumb4 ,he was not nearly so worried about the pain as that he might go through all eternity thumbless2 so he anxiously saved the piece and1 waiting until there was a funeral1 dropped it into the grave1 being very careful1 however1 that it was on the ,dissenter side of the cemetery 7he being a ,wesleyan preacher on ,sunday74 ,the picture of any part of his body wandering around in a ,church of ,england heaven was something he could not bear to contemplate4 ,the ,cornish have some peculiar uses of the ,english language1 some of the expressions going back to the ,elizabethan period4 ,they never use an objective1 but say 8to ,i0 or 8for we02 then there is 8on0 for 8in0 and 8coolth0 and 8dryth40 8,minching0 means stealing or playing hooky and comes from the same source as 8,miching mallecho0 of ,shakespeare4 ,nearly the entire life of these people is spent in the fishing industry1 as it is in ,concarneau2 only here the pilchard takes the place of the sardine4 ,all along the shore are built little whitewashed cabins1 glistening in the distance like seagulls4 ,here1 during the fishing season1 men sit all day long1 watching for that unmistakable faint purple ruff on the water that indicates the run of fish4 ,at the first sign they stand upon the cliff and wave the branch of a tree4 ,everyone quits work2 children rush up and down the shore1 waving green branches and shouting the fishing call at the top of their voices4 ,if you look out upon the water you can see a place where the 8hair of the animal0 has been rubbed the wrong way4 ,there is great rivalry as to which company gets the best schools of fish1 and they row madly to beat one another1 sometimes having very serious fights4 ,the costume is very different from that of the ,bretons1 the men wearing tarpaulins and high boots2 but the catch is just as large1 sometimes taking three days to empty the large circular nets that have been drawn up like a purse4 ,when ,i went to ,st4 ,ives it was unknown as an art colony1 the place where they gathered being ,penzance1 about ten miles away4 ,whistler had been there two years before1 but ,robinson was the sole representative of the clan upon my arrival4 ,when ,i left1 five years later1 there was an ,art ,club of one hundred members4 ,the term 8,cornish school0 came into being from a remark of ,stanhope ,forbes to ,whistler's enemy1 ,harry ,quilter1 the critic1 who asked3 8,why do all you men of the ,cornish school paint alike80 7,they were all painters who had studied in ,france and learned their trade47 8,we use the same model10 answered ,forbes4 8,ah1 that's it6 ,who is she80 8,nature40 ,seeing this colony form in ,st4 ,ives made me study out how such things happen4 ,the artist finds a place that is beautiful1 undiscovered1 and suits his pocketbook4 ,he goes there for two years4 ,the third year other artists follow him2 the fourth year come the retired ,british admirals and 8vamps02 the fifth year the artist leaves2 the sixth come the wealthy people who spend a lot of money on it1 making it as ugly and dear as possible1 but soon tire and go away4 ,then the artist comes back again and begins all over1 picking the bones of what the ,money ,bags had killed4 ,the home of ,leslie ,stephen1 in ,st4 ,ives1 was the gathering place for all sorts of interesting persons4 ,he married ,thackeray's daughter1 knew many notables1 and was the biographer of most of them4 ,he entertained such men as ,e4 ,w4 ,gosse1 the critic and brother-in-law of ,alma ,tadema1 the famous painter of finished ,greek subjects4 ,it always seemed to me so extraordinary to see one of his ,greek slaves with manicured toenails1 leaning up against a marble column upon which you could see the polish1 with a truly ,bostonian expression on her face6 ,curious to say1 ,i met ,lowell here1 and1 although he immediately called me 8,edward0 and spoke of my mother as 8,mary10 ,i did not remember him at ,concord1 and was ignorant enough not to know much about his work4 ,one day ,stephen remarked that music1 like eating1 should be done in the bathroom4 ,it always sounded to him like an infernal din4 ,he was the ultra-literary type1 who wished to be rid of all things physical2 he even envied ,harriet ,martineau1 who had no sense of taste4 ,lowell said3 8,edward1 this foolish friend of mine really has some excellent ,scotch whisky4 ,come away with me4 ,if you listen to him you will surely be contaminated40 ,mental corruption for a young man was much worse in his opinion than teaching him to drink ,scotch whisky4 ,i remember walking with ,lowell and my uncle when the conversation drifted to walking sticks4 ,my uncle said he had cut his on the grave of ,wordsworth4 ,i sniffed and said it was not half so good a stick as mine and that if it had been cut on the grave of ,shakespeare it would have no added value for me4 ,lowell turned and said3 8,my boy1 you are like most of the great men of the world--lacking in one quality1 that of deference--and all the fools40 ,considering that ,i had heard of this poet in his youth1 marching through the streets of ,cambridge with the young woman to whom he was betrothed1 draped in white1 with wreaths upon their heads1 and the people in the procession cheering1 as a tribute to virginity1 ,i could not help but think3 ,is it better1 ,i wonder1 for a young man to be lacking in deference or a sense of humor8 ,leslie ,stephen was an editor1 and used to get his friends to look over some of the manuscripts submitted to him before he gave his final opinion4 ,one day his friend1 ,robert ,louis ,stevenson1 ran in1 on his way to ,scotland1 to say good-by1 and he asked him to take some poems by an unknown writer along with him and give his criticism of them4 ,r4 ,l4 ,s4 wrote a most enthusiastic letter1 saying he was so interested that he had hunted up the author1 in the hospital1 and taken along his best beloved book1 ,the ,viscount de ,bragelonne4 8,if he did not like that1 ,i did not want to know him10 he said1 8but he knows it better than ,i do4 ,publish his work at once40 ,this was the first the world ever heard of the ,hospital ,sketches of ,henley1 who showed his gratitude after ,stevenson's death by coming out with a statement publicly criticizing him for his debts4 ,anders ,zorn and his wife1 who was the daughter of a wealthy merchant of ,stockholm1 came over from ,spain to ,st4 ,ives4 ,he was known principally as a watercolorist before this1 but had painted portraits of some of the royal families of ,europe1 and was patronized by the king of ,sweden4 ,zorn had a disposition of sweetness and light1 and1 although he had inherited a great charm and delicacy from the paternal side of his family1 he cared nothing for society and manners1 and thought like a simple peasant2 therefore1 like a child4 ,he was large1 fattish1 built on a small skeleton--a man who would break easily--and had the head of all the colorists--that is1 a square forehead1 delicate but square jaw1 slight aquiline nose1 and enormous pale-blue watery eyes4 ,his drooping yellow mustache was long but not thick1 and his hands were of the softest1 most personal and interesting character4 ,he was a man with a great hypnotic quality who did not talk much1 but dominated without speaking4 ,when he got into a tea fight1 he would stand around a short time1 listening1 then saying1 8,yes1 ,i agree10 saunter over to the window to the light and1 taking a ring off his finger1 begin to carve4 ,he had many of these in all states of completion1 and one ,i recall as especially clever was of two little girls with feet twisted and hands holding the jewel4 ,zorn loved beautiful women and the human body from an artistic standpoint4 ,his wife understood him as no other being could1 and his unrestrained1 childlike disposition and natural manners were never misinterpreted by her4 ,in fact1 she took care of him as of a most valued property1 and added much to the success of his career as an artist4 ,she and his mother seemed to be the two great influences in his life4 ,every year he sent a lovely sealskin wrap to his mother back in ,sweden1 and the dear old woman had chests in her garret full of these coats which she evidently delighted to take out and show to her less fortunate friends4 ,i never knew ,zorn to get angry2 he was as smooth as cream1 but always gave his absolute opinion when asked for it1 and always expected others to do the same4 ,quite a contrast to a well-known ,american artist who wanted to turn me out of his house because ,i did not praise everything he showed me4 ,i asked3 8,what did you ask me here for1 to give you compliments80 8,yes10 he answered4 ,the first thing ,zorn painted in oils he did out of the window of his little stone house on the embankment overlooking the bay and island4 ,i helped him set his palette1 and he jokingly called himself my pupil 7,i had told him what materials to buy71 being as peevish as a child when ,i dared to criticize the fact he had put the moon in the due north4 8,but don't you think it looks well80 he said4 ,this canvas was bought by the ,french government and now hangs in the ,luxembourg4 ,zorn was one of those artists who are always showing much originality in the use of their materials and combining this with a sense of humor1 which often produces fine results4 ,i went into his back yard one day1 and he had a six-foot water color leaning against the house1 and was throwing pails of water on it--8bringing it together40 ,he had a great success at the ,grosvenor ,gallery with a picture of boats1 sails1 masts1 and the seashore sand1 with a fat fish-wife walking toward one4 7,in those days he thought the only beautiful women were fat ones47 ,he laid this on a box hedge in the garden when a thunderstorm came up4 ,we all rushed out and it seemed to me ruined4 8,now ,i can make a fine picture10 he said4 ,he painted out the smudges from the sails and fixed the dirty sky1 but in the foreground1 in the sands1 were large spots of raindrops4 ,these he turned into footprints1 and their naturalness has been commented upon more than once4 ,one of the most exquisite things he ever made1 and one of the greatest works of art1 considering its size and sentiment1 was a little carving of poplar wood about four by six inches in size4 ,a feather bed1 in the center of which1 as if she had been dropped there1 was a tiny naked figure1 sitting up1 playing with her wedding ring--the most eerie1 fairy creature1 with not a touch of the salacious4 ,zorn never really got over the sin of water color4 ,he was an all around artist1 but hung next to ,sargent's his portraits had all the life taken out of them4 ,he did not seem to go beneath the skin except in his etchings1 which are perfect1 but had a wonderful dexterity and absolute truthfulness combined with an artistic eye that refused to see anything ugly4 ,he once did a portrait of a woman seated on a plush sofa1 which looked like the traditional boarding-house affair--thumbed wood1 worn1 and not pleasant in color4 ,the picture gives you an idea of a beautiful piece of furniture4 ,i said3 8,you did not harm the sofa any1 did you80 8,mine is a copy10 he replied4 ,he would not deny the truth1 but being a gentleman1 did not call names4 ,it would not be fair to leave ,st4 ,ives without mentioning ,mr4 ,knill4 ,it is true1 he lived many years before my time1 but he left a permanent money legacy and a personality so redolent with humor that he will never be forgotten4 ,he was not serious1 even in death1 and built his tomb long before his demise--a large crypt and granite sarcophagus with his coat of arms--upon the top of a hill as a landmark for his smuggling fleet to get into harbor4 ,having completed this1 he made his will4 ,he directed that every five years there should be given ten pounds to the oldest widower1 ten to the oldest widow1 ten to the town fiddler1 and ten each to ten young virgins1 provided they all joined hands and danced around his tomb 7led by the fiddler7 to the tune of 8,old ,hundred40 ,this celebration had developed into a pathetic thing4 ,they selected the poor who needed the money and the dinner1 which originally was to cost two pounds a plate1 but had been reduced to two shillings1 even the ,cornish not being above a little unpardonable economy4 ,the whole thing was very ,english1 and just like the lichen which comes on a tree when it is old4 ,one of the greatest jokes ,mr4 ,knill played upon the populace was to go to ,london and die in a hospital1 so that his body was dissected by the medical students4 ,i was telling this to a crowd of ,londoners1 saying that it was such a joke that he should have painted as his motto on his tomb3 ,,nil ,,desperandum4 8,yes10 they said1 8but you see his name was spelled with a #8,k4'0 ,london is a male1 a great1 gloomy being1 sitting up on his island1 rough1 unshaven1 besmeared with cinders and smut1 and glowering across at the courtesan ,paris as she graciously smiles back at him with every wile4 ,for ,paris is a woman4 ,in ,london nobody wants to see you4 ,there is a 8get out0 sign on the side of every wall1 and broken glass on the top4 ,even the weather frowns on you1 making you feel that you are not wanted4 ,but in ,paris1 the very first man you meet1 from the cab driver to the waiter in the caf1 is very glad to see you and gives you the impression that you are his personal guest4 ,on the north side of the ,channel1 the ,atlantic ,ocean roars like an infuriated bull1 while on the south side it hurls itself against the coast like an angry woman4 ,in fact1 all the male characteristics are those of ,london--dignity1 strength1 coarseness1 and brute force--but in ,paris there is never a trace of these4 ,there is only charm4 ,paris never shocks you4 ,there is much low life and there is crime1 but it is treated in an artistic way4 ,every so often they have a wholesale raid to get rid of the undesirables4 ,at a stated time1 on a summer evening1 suddenly will come marching down all the streets which lead to the tenderloin district hundreds of police1 walking four abreast and making a dragnet which sweeps everything before it4 ,everyone who cannot tell his business1 any solitary woman1 is caught in its meshes and brought up before the authorities4 ,i was sitting in the ,caf ,amricain one night1 with a drink before me1 when a woman in an evening gown rushed frantically up to my table1 saying3 8,you are my brother40 ,nothing loath1 ,i took the cue1 but asked1 8,what is it you want to do80 8,oh1 don't you know what is happening80 she said4 8,it is the cordon40 ,she took my arm and ,i escorted her to the door1 she all the time protesting her eternal gratitude4 ,if she had been seized alone by the police1 that last shame would have been hers4 ,she would have been 8put on the card0 and become automatically a registered prostitute4 ,nothing like this happens in ,london4 ,there1 in the first dusk of evening1 little girls hardly twelve years old walk past the ,criterion ,bar and the ,haymarket1 dressed in long skirts1 smirking and smiling and proclaiming their profession to any male they happen to meet4 ,these children are unmolested1 and no one seems to object to it in the least1 although their manner and language are disgusting as well as pitiable4 ,then again there are the old women1 drunken1 disorderly creatures1 always ready to engage a chance loiterer in conversation and taking the opportunity to whisper vulgar remarks in his ear2 their flabby bodies and flying wisps of coarse gray hair and the ages of vice in their countenances almost denying their human origin4 ,but to all of this ,london is blissfully unconscious--it is merely the gross side of a male--and1 as such1 is ignored4 ,my first visit to ,london was when ,i was still a student in ,paris4 ,i was given one hundred dollars by a patron1 evidently with the best intentions1 to go across the ,channel and paint a portrait of the last of the old-fashioned tallyho-coach drivers4 ,i was a stranger in a strange city2 ,i had never felt the frosted shoulder before4 ,every other place ,i had been1 even in the north of ,california1 ,i had been able to make myself at home almost instantly1 but here in the country of my ancestors1 where every man was as near to me in blood as the people of ,concord1 ,massachusetts1 ,i was as much an alien as if ,i had been of ,oriental origin4 ,i managed to locate the coachman and found him an interesting character1 but ,i could not make any arrangements about painting him2 it was impossible to do it in his house4 ,i could not find a studio1 and before ,i had hardly turned around ,i found my pile reduced to about thirty-five shillings4 ,i decided it was about time to go back to my friends4 ,choosing the longest and the cheapest trip across the ,channel1 ,i found ,i could just about get to ,st4 ,malo1 third class1 if ,i did not have a stateroom4 ,i had a right to occupy one of the berths in the downstairs cabin1 but1 upon finding it filled with about eighty seasick butter merchants1 drinking and yelling1 ,i decided to escape the vile odors and bluff it out on deck1 with my ulster to keep me warm4 ,i have never been sick on the water before or since1 but the whole situation and my worried state of mind drove me to it1 and ,i shall never forget the pathetic picture ,i must have made curled up in the scuppers1 trampled on by the crew1 my greatcoat covering myself and a cabin boy who was making his first trip and was also in a very bad condition4 ,there was a blinding snowstorm1 and we lay to the leeward of the ,isle of ,guernsey1 making the crossing last eight hours4 ,upon landing1 the cabin boy recovered first and carried my grip1 while ,i went across the gangplank on all fours and just managed to reach a hotel and telegraph my friend ,frank ,chadwick1 who was down in ,concarneau1 to bail me out4 ,after such memories1 ,i was rather loath to go back to the great capital of my ancestors1 and have never made long visits to ,london4 ,but the ,english are gentlemen1 and1 as gentlemen1 have a delicate sense of humor4 ,punch will be stupid for six months at a time1 and all of a sudden will come out with some witty picture or saying that will ring around the world and be remembered for years4 ,london is the center of the ,english-speaking race1 and its opinion goes for all of us2 but it seemed like a foreign land to me every time ,i entered1 and ,i was glad to see that ,i was not alone in my feeling4 ,i never read the travels of ,robert ,louis ,stevenson that ,i do not realize that when he went to ,england he instantly felt himself among strangers4 ,be that as it may1 they do not treat us as they do colonials1 toward whom1 if they do not ignore them1 the shoulder is always hunched4 ,they1 at least1 do us the honor to scrap with us1 which shows they consider us worthy of much consideration4 ,in all these arguments1 it is best to get in the first blow and then you are all right4 ,only once do ,i remember feeling perfectly at home in ,london1 and that was the first time ,i visited ,westminster ,abbey4 ,i must have been in a prophetic mood or else the atmosphere of so many dead warriors influenced my mind1 for the friend who was with me wrote to me in #aiag--more than thirty years later1 saying3 ,we went to see the historical sights of ,london1 and you were particularly moved in ,westminster ,abbey4 ,as we stood in the corridor outside1 you made a solemn prediction to this effect3 8,twenty or thirty years from now1 when ,germany conquers ,france1 as she surely will unless ,england has the sense to step in in time--she will then try to conquer ,england4 ,this she can do1 unless ,america comes to the rescue4 ,when ,americans face the destruction of ,westminster ,abbey1 they will come to the rescue4 ,then at last the war of #agge will come to an end40 ,on one occasion1 while entering the city by the railway 7,i was feeling fine from a reinforcement of several real old ,scotch whiskies71 ,i took out a coin1 a penny1 and said3 8,this is a wonderful country4 ,i no sooner get here than for a couple of our copper cents 7with a picture of an ,indian1 badly done1 upon the face7 ,i receive this large1 weighty1 and dignified coin of pure bronze upon which is a bas-relief of ,her ,gracious ,majesty1 ,queen ,victoria40 ,from the other side of the compartment leaned forward a retired ,british major--a man you could see had evidently conquered with difficulty his childish habit of dropping his aitches4 ,in a gentle1 deprecating voice1 he answered3 8,my dear young sir1 permit me to hope that during your stay with us here you will refrain from any desire to make a mock of our holier institutions4 ,do not1 ,i pray you1 carp at ,our ,gracious ,majesty40 ,he did not get down on his belly on the floor--only mentally--but ,i had the awful feeling that he was longing to do so4 ,queen ,victoria 7and that was long before the admirable book by ,lytton ,strachey7 could never produce such an effect upon a sane ,yankee4 ,speaking of aitches1 ,i once told ,leslie ,stephen that every ,englishman was careless with them1 even himself4 ,he roared and insisted that only the lower classes dropped them or added them4 ,i then asked him to say1 8,white witch which ,i met on the ,isle of ,wight40 ,of course he stumbled4 ,this softening of the aitch to a point where it seems to disappear is a habit peculiar to the inbred ,britisher--just as the 8r0 is to the ,bostonian and the 8d0 to the ,spaniard4 ,i once discussed this with an educated and learned ,englishman from the commoner class4 ,he was only a graduate of the ,college of ,london1 but knew his ,latin and ,greek better than any ,american and had been spending his time teaching the children of the vulgar rich of ,pittsburgh4 ,he insisted that the habit of dropping the aitches was prevalent in those parts of ,england where the ,romans had permanently settled--all along inside the ,wall4 ,he cited a poem of ,catullus which mocked at the fashionable dudes of ,rome for the foolish habit they had taken up of dropping and adding their aitches4 ,if this were the fashion in the mother country1 it would certainly have penetrated to the ,roman settlers of ,england4 ,my later attempts at an artistic invasion of ,london were no more successful than my first poor effort to paint a cockney coachman4 ,in the year #ahhh ,i sent two pictures to the ,royal ,academy which were duly accepted and hung4 ,imagine my joy when a large and formidable communication found its way to my studio in ,paris1 asking the price of one of my canvases and signed by the ,chantry ,bequest4 ,this was a well-known fund created to buy pictures for the government to place in its permanent galleries1 and everyone knew that1 once the price had been asked1 it amounted to the same thing as a sale4 ,in fact1 according to the ,british precedent--which is generally iron-bound1 a request was a sale4 ,i replied1 as they expected me to do 7this was also according to rule71 that my price was four hundred pounds4 ,the picture1 which ,i called 8,the ,carpenter's ,son10 was a simple pose of one of my children in my studio4 ,a blond boy with a light shining over his head sat dreaming1 instead of sweeping out the shop1 while his mother1 in the back1 told his father what a worthless son he had begotten4 ,the shavings had accidentally fallen in the form of a cross1 and the light seemed to be a halo4 ,the ,scotsman came out with a scathing denunciation of the work 7not at the idea1 mind you7 but because1 as they said1 ,i had been sacrilegious enough to paint ,christ in the costume of a ,french peasant boy6 ,of course1 the ,chantry ,bequest did not buy--for the first time--after asking the price4 ,it was very amusing to hear that when the picture was afterward exhibited in ,america1 a woman of the old ,new ,england type was seen standing before it and weeping1 saying between sobs3 8,oh1 what a terrible thing6 ,they have crucified our ,saviour again60 ,this was more than a ,concord ,unitarian could understand4 ,the next year ,i took courage and sent another canvas to the ,academy--this time an inoffensive thing of an old man kissing his wife good-by--which ,i called 8,darby and ,joan40 ,through some mistake1 it was marked 8sold0 in the book which is left on a table to give the record of sales4 ,some of my friends seeing this1 and having it confirmed by the person in charge1 telegraphed me congratulations1 ,i being away down in ,cornwall4 ,it was customary to notify the artist as soon as a sale was consummated and1 as ,i heard nothing1 ,i wrote to the secretary 7whom we always called 8,pants ,exclusively10 on account of his tradesman instincts7 and asked him to confirm it4 ,he answered that one of the officials had marked the book by mistake and that the picture was not sold4 ,i wrote and asked him to take it off the book and to advertise it as 8still for sale40 ,no answer4 ,all through that exhibition my picture was hung and marked 8sold10 thereby preventing anyone else from buying it1 and this in spite of the fact that ,i wrote to protest about it three times4 ,then ,i did a terrible thing6 ,i issued a writ against the ,royal ,academy6 ,british honor was sullied1 ,british institutions had been assailed4 ,never before had anyone dared to invoke the law against that august and distinguished body--the ,royal ,academy6 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,carpenter',s ,,son0 ,hitherto unpublished photograph of the painting by ,edward ,simmons1 now hanging on the walls of the home of ,miss ,amelia ,jones1 ,new ,bedford1 ,massachusetts ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print1 ,copyright by ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston ,my final letter ran something like this3 ,,dear ,,sir--,in my country1 when dealing with gentlemen1 ,i get an answer4 ,in dealing with you1 ,i do not4 ,i appeal to the law4 ,i received a most pathetic letter from 8,pants ,exclusively0 and a large1 formidable parchment apology from the trustees of the ,academy4 ,in the meantime the ,london papers burst out with indignant articles against the person who had dared to sue the ,academy1 calling him all sorts of names and saying it was a bit of 8cheap ,american advertising40 ,immediately a flock of reporters came down to ,cornwall1 all ready to start a beautiful fight4 ,i produced my parchment apology1 resulting in the gentle fading away of newspaper representatives and a lovely article about me in the next morning's papers4 ,this carelessness of the ,academy had been going on for years4 ,i had known of several similar cases where the artist supposed his work had been sold and was afterwards told it was a mistake4 ,one year a friend of mine1 with true artistic optimism1 gave a large dinner party to celebrate his good luck1 and1 of course1 expected to settle for it with the check he was to receive4 ,he was months paying for that dinner4 ,at that he may have been lucky4 ,he at least got his picture back4 ,there were many lost and never returned1 and any protest from the painter only met with indifferent silence4 ,the ,english are sentimental1 though--especially where they do not understand--and1 yes1 ,i shall have to admit it1 so are we of ,new ,england4 ,sitting in the drawing-room of a prominent ,british woman1 ,i was astonished to hear her say1 upon the announcement that a pianist was about to play a well-known selection of ,mendelssohn3 8,songs ,without any ,words6 ,what a pity60 ,in painting they prefer canvases that have some literary significance2 a story with a heart appeal frequently attracts more attention than a far greater work that is more abstract4 ,the year after ,sargent had exhibited his 8,el ,jaleo0 in the ,salon1 his close friend1 ,ralph ,curtis1 was bothered to death by all the busybodies who wanted to know what the next picture would be4 ,one day ,curtis answered3 8,i'll tell you4 ,sargent is painting1 for the ,salon1 a circle of naked women sitting on red velvet cushions1 called #8,daughters of ,sin4'0 8,but he can't send it to the ,academy afterward10 they cried4 8,oh yes1 he can60 replied ,curtis4 8,he'll just change the title to #8,waiting for the ,omnibus1' and they will never think to look at the painting40 ,there was always a great deal of talk about ,sargent's titles4 ,at ,paris in '#hi1 ,i was dining at ,stanley ,reinhart's with a number of men when some one spoke of the portrait painter's ,academy picture of that year4 ,it was a beautiful thing of girls hanging ,japanese lanterns in a garden of flowers at twilight4 ,they said he had called it1 8,carnation1 lily1 lily1 rose40 ,i said at once1 8,damnation1 silly1 silly1 pose40 ,they thought it quite a joke1 and some one wrote to ,abbey about it1 who answered that ,luke ,fildes had made that remark three weeks ago4 ,his thought must have been almost simultaneous with mine1 he in ,england and ,i in ,france4 ,this shows how people may be falsely accused of plagiarism4 ,of my own pictures1 there was one of an old man with two children gazing out to sea1 which ,i had named 8,low ,tide40 ,my mother called upon the ,english tailor who bought it1 as she had never happened to see it4 ,he was very polite and treated her with great reverence1 and then proceeded to explain her son's work to her4 8,you see1 the old man has just returned from sea and the little girl has laid her hand on his arm1 telling him that his daughter and her mother--has passed away during his absence4 ,it is called1 #8,mother's ,dead4'0 ,and this in spite of the metal plate on the frame which announced the title in large letters6 ,another time1 a ,yankee girl--dripping with sentiment about my poetry of mind and deep thinking--told me of the sad picture she had seen of mine of the poor mother who1 having lost her first child1 was mending its little shoe in expectation of a second4 ,i was puzzled until she mentioned the title1 8,no4 #b40 ,in my earlier days1 ,i started numbering my pictures--as a musician's 8opus0--until one of the members of my family insisted that ,i give it up4 ,i had gotten as far as #a and #b1 then stopped4 ,it was a picture of a girl in a blue calico jacket with a darker blue skirt1 mending a child's little blue varnished boot4 ,just a peasant ,i had seen2 she was about ten or twelve1 but ,i had evidently made her look older4 ,what an astonishing explanation for my simple harmony of blues6 ,frank ,millet used to say1 8,put a ,bible on the table or a letter bordered in black on the floor if you want to sell your picture at the ,royal ,academy10 and ,i think this is borne out by an incident that happened to a friend of mine in ,cornwall4 ,he was a bully fellow from a titled family which objected to his artistic tendencies4 ,he came to me one fall1 asking me what he should paint to send to the ,academy1 saying that it was very important that he should have a picture exhibited and sold1 as his family had given him one last chance4 ,i asked him to show me the canvas he had sent the year before4 ,he fetched out a thing1 remarking indifferently that it had been refused4 8,give me five minutes and some paint10 ,i said1 8and ,i'll bet you ,i can fix it so that it goes in and is sold40 8,what will you bet80 he asked4 8,two guineas40 8,done40 ,it was a fairly good landscape of two tall poplars reflected in a pool in the late afternoon4 ,i put a dab of rose on the tops of the trees and on their reflections1 making the effect of a sunset light4 ,then ,i got a gold panel for the frame1 painting on it in most artistic ,old ,english lettering1 these touching words3 8,the last sad kiss of dear departing day40 ,it went to the ,academy2 it was sold for two hundred pounds2 ,i got my ten4 ,of course1 everybody knew where the verses came from--either ,thompson's 8,seasons0 or ,wordsworth1 etc4--and ,i was perfectly willing to let the dead poets have the credit for such sentimentality4 ,chapter ,,viii3 ,summer ,adventurings ,i4 ,carrire ,st4-,denis ,i have often wished ,i could have the faith of some ,christians in the power of the ,holy ,book and1 when ,i wanted to decide anything of importance1 just open it to any page1 put my finger on a spot1 and proceed according to the instructions thereupon given4 ,i have the gambler's instinct1 but perhaps only for little things1 and while ,i have never gone to the ,bible for material guidance1 ,i have many times employed the childish quotation1 8,my mother says that ,i shall do this0--pointing a finger at each word--and following the lead4 ,this does not always prove a happy method of selecting one's future1 but ,i think it is as near as one can come to it4 ,there is only one case where ,i am certain it cannot fail1 and that is for a very good reason--there is a prize package at the end of every string4 ,if you stand in the center of ,paris and start in any direction toward its environs1 you will end at a place more charming than you can imagine4 ,i have tried this experiment many times and have never been disappointed4 ,carrire ,st4-,denis was discovered quite accidentally by two of my painter friends1 and it was only after a long time that they let me in on the secret4 ,having traveled out of the city on the railway as far as ,nanterre1 you take your courage in your hands and get off at this place1 which seems to have nothing more interesting than endless fields of vegetables4 ,despair not2 cross the tracks and walk steadily on until you come to a canal4 ,here is a wooded island whose banks look like nothing so much as the old fishing place on the ,concord ,river at home4 ,all is quiet1 with no signs of human habitation until you come to a post across from which a boat is tied4 ,here you must stop1 put your hands to your mouth to form a trumpet1 and cry3 8,passeur60--0,passeur60 ,after about the second call will come the answer1 8,attendez60 and down the path from his little hut1 which is entirely concealed by the trees1 comes an old man bearing upon his shoulder a pair of oars4 ,without speaking a word1 he comes over1 you get into the boat1 and he rows you across the canal1 where1 very gravely1 he leaves the skiff and1 again carrying the oars1 he walks with you across the island4 ,here you are at the ,seine1 but a part of the river that you have not known before4 ,another boat is waiting1 again the old man rows you over1 but this time you land upon a gravelly beach flanked by a cliff so steep that you despair of ever climbing it4 ,at first glance this falaise reminds you of the familiar ,palisades1 only made of ,caen stone1 but on closer examination1 you are astonished to find that there are doors and windows cut out of the solid rock6 ,the blacksmith shop is a former quarry1 as are many of the homes of the humbler and poorer1 their people having taken up their habitations in the same manner as the hermit crab--in the shell of a former owner4 ,on the other side is the village1 looking like an old-fashioned jewel in a rough setting1 while farther along1 on the outskirts of the town1 are the fields of cabbages and beets4 ,you must be very careful in wandering over these stretches of growing vegetation1 for at any moment you may come to a hole like a rabbit burrow almost concealed by the grass4 ,if you have the ,alice in ,wonderland instinct 7and you will certainly have acquired it by this time71 you will plunge down this rough tunnel to see what mysteries the underground holds4 ,men have dug out this rock1 from which ,paris has been made1 leaving a labyrinth of paths and chambers4 ,every once in a while there are flashes of light very much like the glimpses of the sky that one gets from the train when going out from ,new ,york at the ,grand ,central ,station4 ,over the edge of these openings hang blackberry vines1 and the singing of birds can be heard4 ,you are reminded of that story told by ,wells1 of the race of people that lived under the earth and came out at night to feed upon those who lived on top4 ,there is one long tunnel which leads to an amphitheater larger than the ,hippodrome4 ,it is dark as the night1 and you feel as if this must be the cathedral of these underground men4 ,all at once1 out of the dampness comes a new odor1 something of the earth1 but not of the deep earth4 ,it is as if the plowshare had just turned over a bit of sun-warmed humus1 and as your eyes become accustomed to the darkness you see that this vault1 so much like a stage setting of ,gordon ,craig's1 has small apertures in its sides where beds of mushrooms are pushing their way out of the ground4 ,it is in places like this that the supply for ,paris is grown4 ,turning to the left1 you will find a continuous passage1 and if you have the courage to traverse its three miles of length you will come out to the light at the site of another red-roofed village--this one called ,montessan--and strange to relate1 there again is the ,seine1 which has coiled itself around like a snake and met you at the other side4 ,across the river at this point is a large and formidable building which seems by its modernity to deny the facts of all you have seen1 for this is the ,pavilion ,henri ,quatre1 and ,paris is but twenty miles away4 ,my hotel at ,carrire ,st4-,denis was above a shop where pig meat in different forms was sold4 ,m4 ,perdrielle1 charcutier1 was a genial host1 and his wife's cooking did ample justice to his artistry as a butcher4 ,we often went out there for a few days1 and once ,i spent a month with these people who lived the life of the ,france of a hundred years ago4 ,i was always called 8,m4 ,edouard le ,dessineur10 which is not ,french1 but peasant argot1 and they did not see anything at all generous in including cigarettes1 billiards1 and drinks in the two hundred and fifty francs a month they charged for board4 ,berthe1 the daughter of the household1 was married while ,i was in ,carrire ,st4-,denis1 and ,i had the extreme pleasure of assisting at a true rural marriage4 ,her husband-to-be was a wine merchant and1 wishing to do him great honor1 she begged me to wear my evening clothes4 ,a merchant de vin is on about the same social level with that of the owner of a corner saloon in ,america2 but ,i was perfectly willing to show off for ,berthe's sake4 ,the banquet began in the evening and was enlivened by many old customs4 ,at a certain time a small boy came in with a giggle and ran away with the bride's garter1 which was twenty yards long1 and was immediately pulled this way and that by all the men1 who fought for the pieces4 ,one ceremony1 which must have been a survival of the ,rabelaisian period1 was carried out by the bridesmaids1 who came in singing an old ,french song 7one of those delightful things whose meaning could be taken either of two ways7 and holding aloft a pot de chambre filled with dragees1 or sugar almonds1 which they distributed to the company4 ,the procession of young men followed with a pair of candy horns for the groom4 ,at the end of many toasts they all were sufficiently tipsy to begin their long pilgrimage1 for it is the custom for the bridal pair to spend the first week of their married life visiting all their friends1 taking all the bridesmaids and groomsmen with them4 ,at each home they eat and drink1 and on the seventh day an exhausted pair of lovers return home1 dirty and forlorn1 with their clothes--and their nerves--in tatters4 ,every change of season has its corresponding duties to nature1 and each one is made the occasion of a festival by the simple folk in all lands4 ,let the foreigner who wanders into peasant ,france in the autumn beware of letting himself loose among the grape gatherers4 ,the 8vendange10 as it is called1 is the ceremony of picking these little fruits out of which the native wine is made1 and it is during this season that the peasants let themselves go1 like children4 ,they dance and they sing and they play practical jokes1 the most common being to catch the unwary bystander and rub him with the juice of the tenturier1 the ,spanish grape4 ,there are a certain number of these in every vineyard4 ,they are called the 8dyer0 grape1 and are used to give color to the petit vin1 and assuredly give a lasting color to the poor victim4 ,after the harvest they all come home in a tumbrel1 the noise and laughter in no way indicating the former gruesome use for that vehicle4 ,when you have managed to tear yourself away from this interesting and strange suburb of ,paris1 and crossed the ,seine1 should you look back upon the scene of your former pleasures1 you will see nothing of the villages with the red-tiled roofs1 nothing of the cabbages and beets1 indeed1 nothing to indicate any human habitation4 ,as far as you know1 there is only a solid cliff of ,caen stone--the same of which the ,louvre is built--pale cream in tone and gray when the air touches it4 ,i once dug my finger-nail into a soft piece of the rock and found it was made of an infinite number of seashells1 a veritable paste of dead animals4 ,,ii4 ,barbizon ,on the fringe of the woods of the forest of ,fontainebleau is ,barbizon4 ,we used to go out here whenever we could1 where1 at the ,hotel ,siron there were always dozens of artists gathered together1 hoping to pick up one of ,millet's paper collars4 ,most of the old ,barbizon group were dead by the time ,i got there1 but among those left were ,frank ,o',mara1 ,naegley1 and ,hawkins--all ,englishmen--and ,jameson1 brother of the doctor of ,south ,african fame2 my friends1 ,ruger ,donoho and ,charles ,h4 ,davis2 ,butler1 who married a daughter of ,monet2 and ,jaques1 the well-known ,french painter of sheep4 ,jaques was the last of the original ,french colony4 ,babcock1 an ,american painter1 had lived there for twenty years4 ,he was one of those beings who had been soured by time and had come to know that the world was all wrong4 ,he almost always went out of his back door1 and if ever he emerged from the front it was in the dead of night4 ,he had sat at the feet of ,millet and had a portfolio of twenty or thirty drawings that the great artist had thrown away4 ,he told me with joy that ,millet would crumple up his self-condemned work and throw it into a box behind the stove4 ,every once in a while ,babcock would fish out one and open it up1 ,millet yelling at him all the time4 ,nothing daunted1 he would retreat like a dog with a bone4 ,even the garbage can is not sacred to some people4 ,in ,boston1 ,millet has been overrated 7,w4 ,m4 ,hunt did it74 ,once he sold a picture for two thousand francs1 the highest price he had received up to that time4 ,he was most human and1 like all artists1 optimistic1 so he immediately hired a professor to come out from ,paris and tutor his children1 and hired saddle horses for them to ride upon in the park4 ,of course1 this period of affluence did not last1 and when he died1 at about fifty-nine years of age1 he was supposed to be a poor man1 cursed by fate2 yet he had received an order from the ,pope and decorations from his own government4 ,this is not a case of neglected genius4 ,i was still under thirty when ,i met ,mrs4 ,millet4 ,she immediately asked3 8,you paint8 ,then might ,i1 as an older woman1 give a bit of advice8 ,remember you run the risk of making any woman you marry unhappy40 7,i can hear her voice now1 as we sat at the table d'hte47 8,a woman who marries an artist must realize beforehand that he will never care for her alone4 ,she must look forward always to playing second fiddle to something else4 ,if he is a true artist1 it is his painting1 if not--but she will always be second fiddle just the same4 ,if she has the capacity to adapt herself to that position1 she will be happy4 ,i1 myself1 have been a happy woman40 ,robert ,louis ,stevenson had just left ,barbizon a short time before my first visit4 ,i was avid to hear about him and tried in vain to get them to give me some details of his character and personality4 ,but all the boys said1 indifferently3 8,oh yes1 he writes1 but his cousin is much the cleverer author40 ,and they had read the ,lodging for the ,night6 ,not a very good recommendation for the literary acumen of painters4 ,we led a lazy life out there1 with rarely a tinge of excitement4 ,we were all in the same financial class and1 ,i imagine1 in about the same state of blissful innocence and ignorance of the world4 ,i remember a very pretty girl of the ,paris gay life1 who was advised to go to ,barbizon for a rest and to freshen up a bit4 ,we were thrilled at her appearance and entertained her as if she were a grande dame4 ,she was evidently in no way pleased1 but very much puzzled1 when she went back to ,paris and told a friend3 8,crois tu1 ma chere1 pas un de ces cochons la m'ont offert le sous60 ,we made most of our own good times4 ,one favorite game at ,sirons was to go out1 each one of us1 and lean a sketch against a tree1 retire to a hiding place1 and watch4 ,of a lovely afternoon1 myriads of carriages would come out from ,fontainebleau1 the occupants leisurely lying back and gazing from side to side4 ,some of them would spy the painting there on the ground4 ,if they looked at it1 it counted one point2 if they examined it carefully1 it was two2 but if they carried it off with them it was a sign that the painter was one hundred per cent perfect and he had to pay for a bottle of wine for the crowd4 ,i once had one of my sketches taken away and it cost me two bottles of fizz1 but ,i was a very happy man4 ,some one had liked my work and had stolen it6 ,and what was one sketch8 ,it was so easy to make another4 ,a man1 perhaps not so well known as the ,barbizon painters1 but certainly much more interesting than the majority of them1 was ,professor ,lainey4 ,he looked an old man when ,i knew him1 white haired and a chatterbox4 ,for years he had taught drawing in the schools of ,fontainebleau4 ,in his youth ,professor ,lainey had hoped to become an actor and had joined a class to study for the stage4 ,among the pupils was a little ,jewess1 fourteen years old1 plain looking and poorly dressed1 and as it was his fate to take the same omnibus with her1 politeness demanded that he escort her to her door4 ,this he hated to do1 as she was a most hopeless-looking creature and he was cad enough to be ashamed to be seen with her4 ,one day in class1 the teacher asked her to deliver a line of ,racine1 and said3 8,shall ,i give it as ,i was told to1 or as it should be rendered80 ,very amused1 he replied3 8,mademoiselle will be good enough to give it first as she has been told to give it1 and afterward the class will be delighted to hear her improvement40 ,she obeyed1 and ,professor ,lainey added3 8,for the first time ,i understood ,racine40 ,continuing1 he said3 8,i saw no more of her until ,i was an art student in ,paris4 ,one night ,i went to the ,thtre ,franais1 and there upon the stage appeared the little ,jewess of my class4 ,she was none other then the divine ,sarah60 ,poor1 plain1 and of a despised race1 even as a child her brain had begun to work4 ,like ,christ1 as a boy before the elders1 she told them1 not they her4 ,professor ,lainey had been in ,fontainebleau during the ,franco-,prussian ,war and remembered the invasion of ,barbizon4 ,the franc-tireurs 7citizen troops71 of which he was a member1 were a constant bother to the ,germans4 ,one of their pranks was to stretch a wire across the road1 just the height of a rider1 and they finally succeeded in decapitating an orderly4 ,the ,germans decided that some one must hang for it1 and1 being unable to find the guilty one1 they chose a dozen men and told them to draw lots4 ,not liking to kill one of the prominent citizens with whom they had been playing cards all winter in quite a friendly manner1 they put on the list a man whom we call a 8natural10 then winked and walked away4 ,but they reckoned without the ,french nature4 ,these men refused to sacrifice the poor half-wit1 and said3 8,hang all or any one of us4 ,we will not choose40 ,france is still covered with the evidences of monarchs1 and one of the best reasons why kings no longer rule and the ,third ,empire went to pieces still remains in ,fontainebleau ,forest4 ,in walking about1 one has to use the utmost care1 as one is constantly catching his foot and taking a 8header40 ,all around1 underneath the brush and now entirely covered by it1 are paths of asphalt1 miles and miles of them1 literally riddling the whole woods4 ,these were laid by her generous spouse so that the ,empress ,eugnie could follow the boar hunt in her ,parisian shoes and not wet her feet on the grass6 ,,iii4 ,montreuil ,the history of ,france could be told by the wall which surrounds the village of ,montreuil4 ,originally encircled by a ,roman structure 7the bricks of which still show a few feet above the ground71 every succeeding dynasty has added its touch1 each a different material1 until the wall has become as expressive of the past as a patchwork quilt4 ,there are several layers of soft stone1 one of granite put on by ,vauban2 the top must have been added many years ago1 for there are large trees growing upon it4 ,the town was besieged thirteen times by the ,english1 but was never taken4 ,during one of these sieges1 there was a drought inside the wall1 and they were forced to brave the enemy and get their water from one of the many springs out upon the hillside4 ,thinking it better to save the fighting men for sterner duty1 it was decided to let the clerks and those who wrote in the books go for the supply4 ,there was one petit clerc1 noted for the beauty of his singing in church1 who was beloved of a girl of high birth4 ,these two met but seldom1 as their affair was not approved by the young woman's family4 ,one night the clerk's name was on the list of those who must go outside the gates4 ,his sweetheart found it out and1 stealing the message before it was delivered to him1 she put on boy's clothing and took his place4 ,that night the ,english lay in wait and killed a dozen or more water carriers1 throwing the bodies into the spring4 ,this was supposed to have stopped the flow of the water1 and to-day the inhabitants will show the sink in the side of a hill which used to be this spring4 ,i have always wanted to dig down and see if a girl's skeleton were there4 ,standing on this wall1 ,i could not help being hypnotized by the surroundings into a feeling that it was not the nineteenth1 but the fifteenth or sixteenth century4 ,i could see1 with my mind's eye1 coming up the valleys toward the walled town1 a long line of men and laden beasts1 a troop of soldiery returning to their nest with the spoils1 the loot raped from the countryside2 for as neither printing nor powder had come to their aid1 the countryfolk were robbed of everything they had but their shift and their pickax4 ,led1 perchance1 by ,sieur ,johan or my lord high bishop1 they bore upon their saddlebows beautiful maidens with streaming hair1 their heads drooping and their hands tied behind their backs4 ,at the end of one of the streets of ,montreuil1 quite a distance down1 there is a church which seems to be covered with lichens1 but on nearer approach they are seen to be bullet holes--mute testimonials to the sufferings the people have endured during the ages--for example1 the result of the ,french ,commune4 ,i slept in the inn made famous by ,laurence ,sterne4 ,it was here that he stopped near the beginning of his ,sentimental ,journey and hired his valet4 ,on its wall in large copper letters were the figures #afdj1 indicating that it had been built in that year4 ,it was a fitting place to stop on a quest of romance1 and1 indeed1 one could not be surprised at any strange adventure that might overtake one in such a memory-laden setting4 ,even the bedroom 7,i wondered if it were the same that ,sterne occupied7 was of a charm and quaintness that was conducive to the most extravagant dreams4 ,the furniture and fixings breathed of the long ago1 and all about in convenient nooks and crannies were bits of old brass for which any collector would give a king's ransom4 ,but best of all 7and these were evidently placed so that they would be the first things upon which the sleep-laden eyes of the lodger would rest when he was awakened by the early morning noises71 was the decoration around the foot of the bedroom wall4 ,in solemn procession1 and reaching to a height of about five or six feet1 were illustrated the gods and goddesses of ,olympus6 ,i have always wanted to do a room like this4 ,,iv4 ,grez ,grez has been immortalized by the artists that have stopped there4 ,the bridge1 built over the river ,loing1 which was so much like the ,concord that it was a constant delight to me1 has been painted times innumerable1 but it is so charming that we never tire of seeing it on canvas4 ,the story of ,grez is the story of nearly every ,french village1 and one has only to notice the way it is laid out to visualize its history4 ,there is one central street upon which the houses face so close together as to form a solid wall on either side4 ,in the back of this phalanx of stone the whole life of the community goes on4 ,here are the gardens1 many of them sloping down to the river1 where are the stones upon which they wash their clothes2 here the children play1 protected from all harm4 ,the cultivated fields lie away up on the hillsides1 as do the pastures1 but in olden times1 before the last ray of the sun had left the sky1 every evening would see each inhabitant of the village back in his home1 close to his neighbors1 protected not only from the roaming wild animals1 but from the lord upon the hill as well4 ,the wolves were the scavengers and nightly used to clear the little street of all its refuse1 so that anything thrown out of the window 7and everything was7 had disappeared in the morning light4 ,i passed many months in ,grez4 ,here again ,i met the trail of ,stevenson1 only too late4 ,he had started the habit of going there1 and ,i saw the actual garret room which he speaks about in the ,treasure of ,franchard4 ,it was here that the mummer died--while the big shadows were dancing about the walls--and left the boy to the doctor4 ,the same landlady was bustling around the inn1 and during my stay1 as business was none too good 7or else she was a generous provider and therefore a bad manager71 we had to give her our money beforehand or there would be no dinner4 ,john ,runciman was one of the bright1 particular lights at the inn4 ,he was a very unconscious man with a brave brain and would quietly say anything he pleased4 ,he was also a musician of no mean attainment and could sit at the piano with his back turned to the keys and play ,chopin well enough to suit me4 ,he had the audacity to write the musical criticisms for the ,saturday ,review 7,frank ,harris being the editor at the time71 and all the time he was living in the ,fontainebleau ,forest6 ,i asked him how he could manage to satisfy his readers without having heard the concerts4 8,oh10 he replied1 8one conductor always plays too fast1 and a certain soprano invariably breaks on her high ,c4 ,besides1 ,i know all the music1 and the public does not want anything new in the way of criticism40 ,runciman once showed me a magazine which he had saved1 with an article by ,stevenson telling how he had written ,treasure ,island4 ,he was down in ,bournemouth for his health1 and at the same place was a little boy who was dying of tuberculosis4 ,stevenson composed the tale for him and got him to draw the map of the island as he had imagined it4 ,this he sent with the manuscript1 to ,london to the publisher4 ,through some carelessness in the office1 the boy's drawing was lost1 and1 although ,robert ,louis ,stevenson tried to do it from memory1 he declared it was greatly inferior to the nave child's fancy4 ,i hesitate to tell about something that ,i have always thought very beautiful1 and that is the song of the nightingale1 but ,i remember some typical ,gopher ,prairie people coming to ,grez and1 doubtless1 being disappointed at the abandoned street1 the dogs1 and the hens1 when remaining up especially to hear the songbird1 said that they had been awakened many times by that sound1 but had 8always thought it was the croaking of frogs40 ,however it may have sounded to the ,middle ,west1 it was sufficiently beautiful to my untrained musical ear to make me journey back to ,grez twenty years later to hear it again4 ,you can take a scientific or sentimental view of the flight of the queen bee1 and ,i prefer to hold with ,maeterlinck4 ,no birds in the world make real music except the nightingale and the wood thrush4 ,the remainder whistle4 ,shelley's lark is the ideal of the going to heaven and disappearing1 but there is no song4 ,this little bird in our dark wood coppice used to come out and sit on a garden post at night and commit suicide from love in such a way as nearly to tear his throat apart4 ,look out how you take it seriously1 though1 for the next minute after you are sure the life has gone out of his body he is fooling you by gurgling such sentimental poppycock as 8,i took you away and made you love me40 ,all the way from ,hamlet to ,pierrot1 it is music burbling through blood and tears4 ,v4 ,stuttgart ,it is a far cry from ,paris to ,stuttgart1 but my only experience of ,germany is in this town1 and there are several things about it that ,i like to remember4 ,the greatest impression left to me is the music1 everything was permeated with it4 ,i have never been able to perform on any instrument1 and my only claim to singing is that ,i could yell louder than anyone else in school1 but some how ,i have always felt the rhythms inside1 and the wonder to me was to see a whole race of people who were musicians4 ,in the later afternoon the workmen come home from their work in the vineyards1 fifteen or twenty of them in one group4 ,they fall into singing quite naturally1 each one taking the part best suited to his voice1 while away down the road another group will take up the melody1 fitting in perfect harmony1 until the whole has formed a large chorus1 singing in accord4 ,i often think it is a pity that we do not have something like that1 but ,i suppose that these songs must be the growth of the soil--and we are too young4 ,many years ago--,i do not know how many--a citizen left a sum of money in his will1 providing for music to be played from the cathedral tower at twelve o'clock noon4 ,i do not know if he directed the kind of music it should be1 but in my time it was provided by four stringed instruments4 ,just after the clock had struck the hour1 proclaiming that the weary worker might pause and rest1 this music would come down from the sky1 as if some heavenly chorus were singing4 ,my host in ,stuttgart was a scion of one of the aristocratic families1 and ,i had a chance to peep into the gay ,german life of the period4 ,we used to lunch quite often at the officers' mess of a certain smart cavalry regiment who were noted for their daring and bravery as well as for lavish entertaining4 ,a most amazing habit that these genial souls indulged in struck horror to my very marrow4 ,at regular intervals1 as a test1 they were required to ride a distance of twenty miles4 ,tied to the saddlebow was a magnum of champagne1 and they must drink this on the way1 the one reaching the end of the journey first being considered the real male of the crowd4 ,this was not so bad1 but they did not hesitate to run down peasants and kill them without compunction4 ,their foolhardiness and utter indifference to the lives of the country people was an ingrained part of their natures1 and no one seemed to think anything about it4 ,it was considered a huge joke if one of the cavalry officers was found later thrown from his horse into the bushes and dead drunk4 ,employed by my friend as a tutor for his children was an unfrocked ,french curate1 and he was always arguing that the ,german women were plain4 ,i was asked as an artist to judge4 ,at four o'clock in the afternoon1 we went out to the promenade and watched the beauties of the city pass by4 ,from that motley crowd ,i was able to pick out only eight who were at all pretty4 ,of these1 they told me that two were ,american1 two ,english1 one ,swedish1 and two ,viennese1 while only one of the whole galaxy was from ,stuttgart4 ,chapter ,,ix3 ,first ,decorations ,coming home--somehow it did not seem as if it could be a reality4 ,i had begun to feel quite ,american when my fellow passengers started calling me 8,colonel ,cody40 ,in ,europe ,i had passed easily for an ,englishman and sometimes a ,swede1 it being very foolish to admit a residence in the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 unless one was prepared to be cheated on every hand4 ,but as the boat neared ,american soil ,i felt my patriotism rising every minute4 ,thirteen years is a long time for a man to be away from his native land4 ,a ,canadian on board the ,english ship became a kindred spirit--we 8,westerners0 finding it necessary to form a close alliance4 ,he and ,i played bridge every day with two men1 one from ,glasgow and one from ,liverpool4 ,during a heated conversation1 one of them made the remark that we were getting quite cocky over in the ,states1 adding that ,england would 8have to be sending some ships and men over to settle ,america before long40 ,at that1 a little voice piped up 7the ,canadian's7 saying3 8,what6 again80 ,the steward was sent for and drinks ordered1 for the ,british do know how to pay when they are beaten4 ,at ten one morning1 when the first pilot boat loomed into sight and ,i leaned over the rail and saw these men in oilskins busying themselves about the craft1 my calm1 joyous attitude suddenly deserted me4 ,the thought had burst into my mind that this boat must have put out from ,new ,york and these men were ,americans4 ,my heart came up in my throat and ,i had to go below4 ,at four o'clock that afternoon we docked1 and as ,i walked away from the ship1 all the familiar sights and sounds coming upon me with a rush2 ,i stopped and1 utterly unmindful that ,i might be run in for a lunatic1 kissed the post of the ,ninth ,avenue ,elevated4 ,homesickness and love of my native land1 qualities ,i did not realize that ,i possessed1 had taken hold of me4 ,new ,york had never been my home before1 so ,i did not know it well enough to recognize much change2 but from '#ia until the present day the city has altered beyond recognition4 ,a ,dutch banker once told me that if the money that his countrymen paid the ,indians for the island of ,manhattan had been put out to interest1 it would be sufficient to purchase the land to-day4 ,i wonder if that be true8 ,most of the life of those days centered about ,union ,square1 with tentacles reaching down to ,washington and up to ,madison ,squares4 ,on the ,seventeenth ,street side of ,fourth ,avenue was the ,clarendon1 and1 opposite1 the ,everett ,house1 that famous rendezvous for politicians4 ,on ,twenty-third ,street was the ,academy of ,art1 which housed itself in a building evidently copied from the ,doge's palace in ,venice1 while next to it was the ,lyceum ,theater1 upon the stage of which most of the famous actors of the day played at one time or another4 ,niblo's ,garden1 in what would be downtown ,broadway to-day1 was another famous amusement place1 but of a different character4 ,the owner had a large private box which was always filled with parties of friends4 ,it was practically on the stage1 and one could reach down and touch the shoulders or heads of the chorus girls4 ,behind it was a reception room1 and a bathroom with a stairway which led to the green room1 and here many gay suppers took place after the show4 ,a little beyond ,seventy-second ,street near where the ,natural ,history ,museum was being built1 ,i picked mushrooms on the hills occupied by squatters and goats4 ,up at ,nineteenth ,street and ,fourth ,avenue1 near where the ,unitarian ,church now stands1 was an open lot which was used for a circus1 and ,i remember at one time it was occupied by a panorama of the ,siege of ,paris4 ,on the corner of ,nineteenth ,street and ,broadway1 in the midst of one of the busiest parts of the town1 was a quiet dwelling1 occupying almost a whole block of land4 ,here were green trees and shrubbery with grass1 and in the 8back yard0 they still kept chickens and a cow6 ,this was the home of the ,misses ,goelet1 who had lived here all their lives1 and even the influx of business1 theaters1 etc41 could not make them sell and give up the home they cared for4 ,delmonico's was on ,twenty-sixth ,street4 ,it was one of those landmarks that always kept pace with the trend of the times4 ,i can remember only one very distinctive restaurant at that time2 it was named the ,au ,petit ,vefour and was run by ,henri1 who used to cook for the ,stomach ,club in ,washington ,square4 ,like all ,french places1 it was not particularly smart1 but the table and service were always immaculate4 ,henri went down to the markets every morning at six o'clock1 digging down to the bottom of the boxes of fruit and vegetables1 and feeling of the chickens until he managed to bring home the raw material which he and madame between them prepared in a style fit for a king4 ,calories1 vitamines1 etc41 had not become popular1 and ,i do not believe ,henri ever heard of them1 but he could serve1 by instinct1 a balanced ration accompanied by the proper wine4 ,when you got through1 however1 it cost as much as ,delmonico's4 ,it is hard to picture ,new ,york without subways1 and to think of the tired workingman reaching his home after a hard day's work by the aid of a lumbering horse car4 ,it seems almost incredible that so many changes have taken place in thirty years4 ,the horses of the ,fifth ,avenue buses were the butt of many a joke in ,life4 ,one crossed by ferry to ,brooklyn1 and the city was just beginning to dig the trench on ,broadway for the cable car1 announcing with a loud voice that it was the first cable in ,america4 ,it did no good to tell them that ,i rode on one in ,san ,francisco in the 'seventies4 ,of course1 there were no traffic laws1 as these are quite recent1 and this made the streets seem more crowded than they are to-day and therefore harder to cross4 ,there were one or two policemen at the most prominent corners1 but these seemed to have been chosen for their great physical beauty rather than to aid traffic2 vehicles could go right1 left1 or backward if they desired4 ,the ,tenderloin 7which word originated from the remark of a police captain that he would take it as his beat--8the best part of the animal0 from the point of view of graft7 was in one section4 ,due to some misdirected effort it is now scattered over the city4 ,the days of ,chicago ,may are gone--she with golden hair1 pale-blue eyes1 looking fourteen1 but really twenty-five--dear1 pathetic creature for whom everyone was sorry4 ,no longer does she beg the unsuspecting clubman to 8take her home and let her warm herself for a while by his fire10 only to bawl him out in the vilest language if he did not recognize her when1 dressed in his 8long and high10 he dallied up ,fifth ,avenue1 making ,sunday calls4 ,these days are gone1 yes1 but is it any better1 ,i wonder1 to have a gambling den1 a blind pig1 or a house of prostitution tucked safely away behind the portals of one's most respectable apartment house8 ,william ,a4 ,coffin originated a plan for the improvement of ,new ,york which was said by prominent architects to be practical and paying1 but could not be carried through in a democratic country--there are many arguments in favor of dictatorship4 ,the human race will not economize for its grandchildren unless forced to1 and it will seldom vote 8yes0 for a project that will not benefit the present generation4 ,to fill in the ,east ,river from ,brooklyn ,bridge to ,fiftieth ,street was the idea1 and so broaden the land and make a space to spread4 ,the ,fall ,river ,line would have to unload farther ,north1 but there is no particular reason why the shipping should concentrate itself at the ,battery4 ,another argument against it was that the good health of ,new ,york was due to the fact that it was surrounded by water4 ,this may be true1 but it does not seem to me that the ,east ,river carries away any refuse4 ,the development of the airplane will most likely make this unnecessary1 however1 as mankind will take to the hills and the valleys will cease to have value4 ,new ,york is always symbolized for me by the steam that rises from the housetops and looks so much like the plume of ,henry of ,navarre4 ,it is not black and dirty as is the smoke of so many ,european cities1 but diaphanous and variable1 like the ,latin races of which one element of the population is composed4 ,however1 it is always and steadfastly anchored to as solid a foundation as ever existed--that of the ,english-speaking peoples4 ,i had hardly had time to renew my acquaintance with the greatest metropolis of my country when ,i was called away to another large city4 ,to ,chicago must be given the credit for the first public mural decorations in ,america1 and with her1 ,frank ,millet 7in whose brain was born the original idea71 backed by that most unusual genius--,daniel ,burnham4 ,millet was the director of fine arts for the ,exposition of #ahib1 and one day1 after a meeting1 the whole committee went over to the ,manufacturers' ,building1 where he was asked what color he wished to have the ironwork painted4 ,he wanted to know what the matter was with the present color--it was that reddish gray1 or crushed strawberry1 the color of iron as it comes from the foundry4 8,do you1 as color man1 stand for it as it is80 said ,burnham4 ,he said he did4 8,well1 you have saved us twenty thousand dollars40 ,at the next meeting ,frank arose and demanded the money he had saved the committee1 saying that he would bring eight of the foremost painters of ,america to the fair and have them decorate the domes of the ,manufacturers' ,building4 ,and so came the change from ,italian workmen1 who had formerly smeared the walls with bad copies of their old masters1 to ,american artists 7not experts in mural work1 it is true1 but full of enthusiasm and fresh1 original ideas74 ,i was on the point of starting back to ,europe after doing a stained-glass window for my class in ,harvard1 when ,i received a hurried call1 and in spite of the fact that ,mr4 ,george ,b4 ,post1 the architect1 upon being asked which of the ,chicago decorations he liked best1 said1 8,simmons's--for if my building will hold that up1 it will hold up anything10 ,i feel that my career as a painter was entirely changed at ,chicago4 ,olmstead originated the plan of the fair grounds--that charming idea of letting in the waters of the lake to form canals instead of streets and making a modern ,venice4 ,in the moonlight it was a veritable fairyland4 ,but the guiding hand in all things was ,daniel ,burnham1 the director-general4 ,this able1 handsome1 and dignified man1 always undeniably a male1 was as representative an ,american of the period as one could imagine4 ,he was large1 of the ,grover ,cleveland type1 but with unbounded energy1 one who worked while he worked and played when he played4 ,he could accomplish more in a day than any ten men1 and one reason was that he began early4 ,much to the consternation of some of the directors1 he used to call the meetings at seven o'clock in the morning1 and there was a great row if everyone was not there4 ,these directors were not an easy group to handle1 and the presiding genius was often in need of a high hand to keep them straight4 ,for example1 one of them1 much puffed up by his position and thinking to give it a fitting setting1 bought an old-fashioned tallyho and four1 with all the appurtenances1 and came to the meetings 7the great horn announcing his approach7 but--riding inside his coach6 ,cockroach ,ranch--called so because they indulged in the best ,north ,american manner of spoiling food--was the dining and meeting place of the artists of the ,exposition4 ,here1 in a big1 bare room1 looking like a railway station1 with a long table in the center presided over by ,elihu ,vedder as our doyen1 we met and talked of all manner of things1 while such people as actresses and diplomats on a visit would sneak in to listen to our extravagant conversation4 ,in fact1 we bragged so much at night about our work and then at lunch the next day admitted it was rotten1 having seen it in the 8cold1 gray dawn of the morning after10 that ,bauer1 the sculptor1 said to us one day3 8,you fellows remint me of a painter-man ,i used to know in ,chermany4 ,he vas joost like you4 ,he vould paint anythings1 nothings--for money4 ,one day a fellow1 he comes and says3 8#8,vill you paint me somethings8' 8#8,yes1 ,i vill paint you somethings4' 8#8,i vant a sign--a white horse for my inn4' 8#8,i vill paint the sign1 but you better haf a red lion4' 8#8,i don't vant a red lion4 8,white ,horse0 is the name of my ,inn4' 8#8,then you had better change the name of your inn1 for if ,i paint you a white horse1 it vill look like a red lion4' 8,now my frient he could paint nothings but red lions40 ,which all goes to show that you cannot escape your personality1 no matter how much you try4 ,for years after would be heard coming from a group of painters3 8,when ,i got to my studio this morning1 there was a red tail sticking out of the door and ,i was afraid to go in40 ,it was ,robert ,reid who started us making caricatures4 ,when ,elihu ,vedder left us to go home1 he drew a picture of a dodo with these verses underneath it3 ,there was an old dodo of ,rome ,who said1 8,if ,i'd but stayed at home ,with my ,omar ,khayyam ,such an artist ,i am1 ,i'd have painted a hell of a ,dome40 ,the result was that everyone started to imitate him1 and we had over a hundred humorous drawings4 ,i remember one of ,proctor1 the sculptor1 sitting on a dead grizzly with the caption1 8,he shoots 'em1 he eats 'em1 he models 'em40 ,a wealthy man1 whose name ,i shall not mention1 offered to buy the whole collection4 ,we told him they were not for sale1 but that we would give them to him for the drinks and smokes1 promptly bundling up the whole lot and sending them to him4 ,but we reckoned without our donor's ,scotch blood1 and the forty or fifty of us were presented with two bottles of rye whisky and one box of poor cigars6 ,not to be outdone1 we set to work and made a far better set of drawings1 giving them to ,daniel ,burnham4 ,the millionaire felt greatly outraged4 ,one visitor to ,cockroach ,ranch whom ,i remember very well was ,eugene ,field1 the writer4 ,i first met him in a ,chicago club1 and upon presentation he greeted me with these words3 8,you get out of this town2 you are spoiling my game4 ,everywhere ,i go1 ,i am taken for you40 ,he was slightly shorter than ,i1 and bald-headed1 so that ,i could not see the resemblance4 ,but as ,i have been mistaken at various times for ,sol ,smith ,russell1 ,forbes-,robertson1 ,maffit the clown1 and ,william ,gillette1 nothing surprises me4 ,i once told ,gillette about some one taking me for him in ,london4 ,he said3 8,that is not the worst of it4 ,by ,god6 ,i have been mistaken for you60 ,the truth is that ,i am a perfect ,yankee type and might have posed for the original ,uncle ,sam4 ,when ,robert ,reid was painting his decoration for the ,boston ,state ,house1 he had a portrait of each one of the judges to put in it1 and ,i could have posed for any one of them4 ,the army officers who were stationed at one place or another about the fair grounds or who came to ,chicago as visitors always managed to drift in with us artists4 ,they were a jolly crowd1 and there was one or more in at every one of our frivolities4 ,there was one colonel--,i cannot think of him by name1 but as the man who always began a story or an address with1 8,as ,i was about to remark when rudely interrupted by the gentleman on my left44440 ,we had a joke which we tried on each newcomer--namely1 that of seizing our chairs1 straddling them1 and running madly around the table striving to ride him down4 ,we tried it on the colonel only once4 ,he immediately grabbed his chair1 did not join us1 but jumped with it upon the table1 riding down the middle and smashing everything as he went4 ,one officer1 an impulsive1 big creature1 had been colonel of an ,indian regiment1 and another was the commander of the ,buffaloes4 ,i asked them to compare the character of the two races as soldiers4 ,i was told that the negro was perfect1 if led by a white man1 but an officer could never make an intimate friend of one4 ,on the contrary1 the ,indian was not perfect until he was in a fight1 and then the white man must know enough to let him alone4 ,an officer always made intimate friends among them1 and he could eat and sleep with them as he would with his brother4 ,the ,indian is an inbred man and can be the friend of any other inbred man 7aristocrat74 ,one night ,i went with ,captain ,maney to the ,electrical ,building2 he had charge of the comfort of the ten thousand troops quartered there4 ,as we entered1 three noncommissioned officers came up1 saluting1 to ask for instructions4 ,one was an ,irishman--an alien2 one was a negro--a freed slave2 and the third was an ,indian--an aborigine4 ,the colonel himself had been an officer of the ,south in the ,civil ,war and was a pardoned rebel4 ,this could never have happened in any other army in the history of the world1 unless perhaps in ancient ,rome4 ,they might have had the freed slave1 the alien1 and ,cataline 7the rebel71 but ,i don't think they could have produced an aborigine soldier4 ,we artists of the ,exposition were given a very smart banquet by the ,chamber of ,commerce of ,chicago4 ,this brought to mind a story which ,i told to ,mr4 ,armour1 much to his delight4 ,a young girl calls on a woman friend and talks to her little boy1 who is taking care of his baby sister in the carriage4 ,she says to him3 ,illustration3 8,,justice0 ,center ,panel by ,edward ,simmons1 ,criminal ,courts ,building1 ,new ,york ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print ,copyright by ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston 8,won't you give the baby to me and you can come and see her at my house80 8,no10 he answered1 8she'd starve to death4 ,your dress buttons behind40 ,to me the baby is the fine arts1 and it has always seemed that ,america's gown buttons behind4 ,heretofore1 the guilds of ,europe and certain business men have done so1 but ,i believe that this banquet was the first time in the history of mankind that commerce has ever honored the fine arts4 ,often after the day's work was done we would go out to the ,argo--a club in a real ship tied to the end of a long wharf4 ,our hosts were the brains of ,chicago--a famous architect1 great manufacturers1 a noted editor1 and among others a banker who afterward sat in the ,cabinet at ,washington4 ,one started down the railway tracks--no path--cars shunting across the way4 ,finally1 one saw the ship looming up4 ,as one neared1 noises came of the tackle2 they were evidently coaling4 ,once close in under the belly1 a big port opened very much like the holes in the bows of the lumber vessels at the wharf in ,bangor4 ,a stair before one1 stewards1 a warm welcome from the hosts4 ,then a great waxed floor1 a perfect table1 and a perfect dinner4 ,music1 dancing1 when some one would say3 8,how about the lake80 ,all would start for the bulwarks1 and there below lay the 8detachable ,argo10 a small clipper steam yacht4 ,the moon1 dancing lights1 coming and going 7,chicago was the biggest port in tonnage in the ,united ,states71 there was never anything like it6 ,this fair at ,chicago1 of which ,besant1 the writer1 said1 8,no ,roman ,emperor ever saw such pomp10 was for the world at large an advertisement of what we had to show them2 but the ,argo1 with its pleasures of sight and sound1 good wine1 beautiful women1 congenial company1 was an expression of our hosts' 7the ,argonauts7 private pleasures4 ,one would meet a band of foreign commissioners1 their decorations gleaming on their breasts1 bowing over the hand of the daughter of a ,senator1 ,governor1 or humble voter4 ,no ,european country with its years of bacterial history could have produced this group--an emanation of the humus of our great virgin forests with a soil as yet undefiled4 ,for me1 coming1 but for a short time while in ,new ,york1 straight from ,france and ,england1 and who had not seen my native land for thirteen years--for me1 blue and lonely1 five thousand miles from family1 ,chicago had been a shock and a horror4 ,and then from it this flower1 this ,argo4 ,i felt as if ,munkittrick must have had the same situation in mind when he wrote his quatrain 8,to a ,bulb40 ,misshapen1 black1 unlovely to the sight1 ,oh1 mute companion of the murky mole1 ,you must feel overjoyed to have a white1 ,imperious1 dainty lily for a soul4 ,incidentally1 the ,argo had its right and proper shipwreck1 ,i am told4 ,one winter a boat1 driving before the storm1 ran into its bowsprit and was very thoroughly destroyed4 ,chicago gave me a taste of the joys of decorative painting1 and ,i resolved in my mind the idea of devoting all my energies to it4 ,painting pictures to be hung on the wall by strings1 generally badly placed or in the wrong light1 was not satisfactory4 ,also1 one had to be subsidized in order to wait for sales4 ,but given a certain space to beautify1 a space one knew about beforehand 7the light1 height1 and color of the wall71 and where one was reasonably sure his work would remain permanently--that was worth doing4 ,while ,i was pondering on the subject1 the news came of the competition for a prize given by the ,municipal ,art ,society1 in ,new ,york1 for the decoration of the ,criminal ,court room4 ,there was no money prize except the payment for the work 7#e1jjj71 but the proposition was very unusual and one to be sought after4 ,i heard of the competition only on ,friday1 after everyone else had sent in plans1 and the contest ended ,monday4 ,two days and three nights6 ,i never slept from the time ,i 8hit0 my studio ,friday afternoon until three minutes of nine on ,monday morning1 when ,i ran from ,fifty-fifth ,street to ,fifty-seventh ,street with my sketches in my hand to present them to the jury4 ,at the last minute there were complications4 ,i had to have the drawings photographed and reduced to the correct scale1 and then there were the frames4 ,at eight-thirty the latter were not ready1 so ,i took the workman's tools out of his hands and finished them myself4 ,all this time ,i had kept my faculties going by a combination of green tea and absinthe1 drinking first one and then the other while working at a feverish heat4 ,thomas ,dewing had said that a criminal court was a butcher shop and could not be decorated2 that the only thing was to put a crucifix over the head of the judge and say to the prisoners1 8,there1 damn you1 look at that60 ,it was a ticklish business1 for these poor devils come there1 go over the ,bridge of ,sighs to the ,tombs1 and we never hear of them again4 ,i decided that that being so1 no brilliant color scheme was quite fair2 one could not flaunt before these men roses and sunshine1 so ,i adopted the theory of purple and white4 ,not all the contestants thought my way1 however1 and when the sketches were assembled and exhibited1 there were one or two ridiculous ones4 ,one man had suggested the first execution in ,new ,york ,city--three ,indians hanging by the neck to a gibbet4 ,cheerful prospect for one expecting a sentence to the electric chair6 ,a woman from ,brooklyn sent in a bright little thing of birds1 fountains1 and babies playing about4 ,just as indecent as the one in the opposite direction1 although ,i suppose the poor lady's idea was to show the condemned man what he was leaving behind4 ,next1 was the question of composition4 ,i decided to have three panels1 the one in the center the tallest1 so that it would not be obscured by the judge1 and that the subject should have to do with ,his ,honor and not the prisoner before the bar4 ,consequently1 ,i put ,justice in the middle1 and what a fair-minded judge should be thinking of on the two sides4 ,artists have many limitations put upon them and are not always the free creatures often imagined4 ,in this case1 my classifications were as clear as any botanist's4 ,as to family1 she was a ,justice of ,america and carried the flag4 ,in the ,middle ,ages she was always represented as being blind1 but in a glorious democracy she should be clear-eyed4 ,as to genus1 she was of the state of ,new ,york and therefore should bear its coat of arms2 as to species1 she was of the city of ,new ,york and should bear its emblem4 ,in one hand1 she carried the scales for weighing the facts offered1 and1 as either innocence or guilt must predominate or there is no decision1 the pans were uneven4 ,in the other hand she carried the crystal ball1 emblem of truth1 surmounted by a cross1 for she was a ,christian ,justice4 ,in order to complete the scheme and carry out the composition1 ,i placed two little boys to the left and right below and looking up at her2 one was offering her pigeons for innocence1 and the other the sword1 if she needed it1 for condemnation4 ,behind her was a bronze door4 ,the ,temple of ,janus opened its doors when war was declared--also the feeling of a closed door suggests that unfortunate companion of ,justice--,punishment4 ,the left panel was my idea of the mental qualities that a judge should consider4 ,they are called to-day--,liberty1 ,equality1 and ,fraternity1 but ,i did not so name them4 ,i meant to suggest two people thinking of themselves and one thinking of the others4 ,the first was ,liberty1 who had broken his chains--the physical2 the third was the ,scientist who was absorbed in facts only--the mental2 and the second1 between the two1 was ,brotherly ,love1 who was bringing them together4 ,the judge should think to what class a man on trial belonged4 ,a free1 thoughtless soul should not be condemned for not remembering facts1 a scientist for lack of imagination1 or the middle figure for forgetting himself4 ,on the right ,i put the ,three ,fates because the judge also was born and must die4 ,michael ,angelo 7if he made the panel--there is a question as to the artist7 has painted them as old women2 ,hesiod has stated that they were of different ages4 ,i figured them as ,birth1 ,life1 and ,death4 ,in the laughing young woman's lap ,i put a child playing with the thread of human life which issues from his navel2 next a grave1 middle-aged woman who measures the thread2 and third an old hag who cuts the cord--,clotho1 ,lachesis1 and ,atropos4 ,the color scheme of the whole room was left to me and ,i did the best ,i could with it1 also outlining the panels with gold bands4 ,alas6 as years went on1 some politician1 instead of leaving time to mellow it to a beautiful tone1 has seen fit to retint the walls and--worse and worse--he has large plates with labels to each picture4 ,you may as well write 8horse0 under a drawing of the animal as to put 8,justice0 under my panel4 ,if a decoration is not intelligible to a ,chinaman1 there is no reason for putting it up4 ,the ,municipal ,art ,committee had a grand unveiling of the work1 with ,joseph ,choate to make the address of presentation and the acceptance for the city by the ,district ,attorney4 ,mr4 ,choate arrived early and got quite a few data from me4 ,it may have been something about my manner1 but ,i think it was his own disposition--which encouraged1 became malignant1 like the clown that slaps the face of the little boy who cries when his red apple is stolen from him2 he spied me in the farthest corner1 where ,i had retired to be out of view4 ,then1 in his oiliest and most oratorical manner1 he declaimed3 8,greece had her ,apelles1 we have our ,simmons2 ,rome had her ,michael ,angelo1 we have our ,simmons2 etc40 ,the crowd applauded1 but he knew that ,i would get the sting2 it was as if he were speaking to me alone and ,i never forgave him4 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,three ,,fates0 ,right panel by ,edward ,simmons1 ,criminal ,courts ,building1 ,new ,york ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print1 ,copyright by ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston ,chapter ,x3 ,democracy and the ,fine ,arts ,money1 commerce and the ,protestant faith have been drawbacks to the progress of the fine arts in ,america--the last do not believe in beauty1 as do the ,roman ,catholics4 ,better than ,mohammedanism1 though1 whose ,koran does not allow the right of man to copy even the meanest of ,god-made creatures1 the ,eastern art is a constant struggle between religion and the desire to make representations of living things4 ,autocracy's motto--0v victis10 or to the devil with the hindmost--is the proper one for the fine arts4 ,the taste of a whole community is the dead level of mediocrity1 and a proof of the scant attention paid to art in ,america is the place given it in the newspapers--before the fashions and after the dog fights4 ,last week a statue of ,general ,grant was unveiled with much celebration4 ,although the sculptor who made it had spent fifteen years of his life doing the work1 there was no mention of his name in the account in the papers1 but the wives of the ,senators and ,congressmen present were featured by photographs in the ,sunday supplements4 ,in ,france it is different4 ,the committee would probably be mentioned first1 but the artist's name would come second4 ,public opinion rules1 and the arts will come back when the people want them2 and then the fact will be recorded on that thermometer--the newspapers4 ,most of our organizations1 in my opinion1 have been a complete failure1 due to this democratic idea4 ,i was in at the beginning of the ,institute of ,arts and ,letters4 ,holbrook ,curtis came to me one day1 telling me of the proposition and that ,i had been chosen as the member of the initial committee to represent painting1 sculpture1 and architecture4 ,the little group who met to start the society consisted of ,william ,dean ,howells1 ,charles ,dudley ,warner1 ,marion ,crawford1 ,johnson of the ,century1 ,doctor ,curtis1 and myself4 ,alas6 the literary element prevailed6 ,i was asked to hand in a list of those whom ,i thought worthy of becoming the first members1 so brought into the next meeting the names of ,whistler1 ,sargent1 and 7ex officio7 myself to represent painting2 ,charles ,mc,kim for architecture2 and ,augustus ,saint-,gaudens for sculpture4 ,to my astonishment1 a list of more than a hundred writers was offered to me4 ,i objected on the ground that to belong to this ,institute was a prize1 to be given for extraordinary merit2 therefore1 the greater the number the less the honor4 ,there was much talking and arguing1 during which ,i could see ,i was becoming exceedingly unpopular among those who believed in the 8,american advertisement0 point of view4 ,finally1 ,marion ,crawford1 who had hitherto kept silent1 said3 8,oh1 ,simmons1 leave these people to stew in their own juice4 ,our host here has some very good ,scotch whisky4 ,come with me and we'll sample it40 ,later ,i was given a list of more than a hundred names of painters1 to mark those of which ,i approved4 ,i refused and stuck to my theory1 that only a few should have the honor--and ,i automatically became an outcast4 ,i never had anything more to do with them until ,i was invited to read a paper on the fine arts at one of their meetings4 ,but1 if asked to-day1 ,i could not tell whether ,i belong to the organization or not4 ,this experience being so disappointing1 ,i was always loath to join any group of artists4 ,it seemed to me that it was impossible to have it work out successfully1 as the purpose on the surface of things was never the real underlying one1 and it was impossible to mix democracy and the fine arts4 ,the ,ten ,american ,painters was started quite by accident1 and when the too-human elements began to enter1 it died a natural death4 ,we never called ourselves the 8,ten02 in fact1 we never called ourselves anything and it was our purpose1 at first1 to have twelve4 ,we were just a group who wanted to make a showing and left the society as a protest against big exhibits4 ,at our first exhibition at the ,durand ,ruel's ,gallery1 we merely put out the sign--8,show of ,ten ,american ,painters0--and it was the reporters and critics speaking of us who gave us the name4 ,in the original group were ,twachtman1 ,dewing1 ,metcalf1 ,reid1 ,hassam1 ,weir1 ,benson1 ,de ,camp1 ,tarbell1 and myself4 ,after the death of ,twachtman1 ,chase was voted in to take his place4 ,we had asked both ,winslow ,homer and ,abbot ,thayer to join us4 ,homer replied that he would have been mighty glad to be a member1 but that he never meant to paint again1 that he was tired of it all2 and as far as ,i know he never did4 ,thayer accepted with enthusiasm1 but later wrote3 8,tell the boys ,i must decline4 ,the poor society needs me too much40 ,the first few years we divided the wall into equal spaces and drew lots for them1 each man having the right to use it as he saw fit1 hanging one picture or a number of pictures4 ,as long as we adhered to that idea all went well4 ,but then objections came in4 ,i1 being a mural decorator1 had large work1 and those members with small canvases naturally did not want them hung next to mine4 ,this1 of course1 restricted me in my showing4 ,at last1 to save controversy1 we left the hanging to the dealer1 and he placed those which sold the best in the choice parts of the room and the others elsewhere4 ,we left the society as a protest1 not believing that an art show should be like a child's bouquet--all higgledy-piggledy with all the flowers that can be picked4 ,we were accused of starting as an advertisement1 and1 indeed1 it proved a big one1 but there was no such idea in the mind of any one of us4 ,many others took it up1 and a group followed us1 calling themselves 8,the ,eight0 in an attempt to boil the egg over again4 ,when the wives of our members 8butted in0 and made the proposals of sandwiches and tea and finally wanted us to have music at our openings 7music with painting is like sugar on oysters71 we struck4 ,the 8pep0 and enthusiasm of youth started the ,ten ,american ,painters and age has finished it4 ,peace to its ashes6 ,it is years since ,i have acted on a jury for the choice of pictures for an exhibit4 ,i do not understand the politics of the affairs and always get myself much disliked1 for one reason or another1 so ,i gave it up long ago4 ,american juries never have full authority4 ,they are always dominated by some bugbear of politics or obligation1 and ,i always found them very disgusting affairs4 ,in ,paris1 in #ahhi1 ,i was chosen as a member of the jury for the ,world's ,fair4 ,the ,united ,states government1 through our ambassador1 issued a statement that our acts would be absolutely final1 and we had every hope of making this show a beautiful affair4 ,we had the money and we had the painters1 but we reckoned without democracy and--,rush ,c4 ,hawkins1 the commissioner4 ,as ,whistler afterward said1 8,how intensely ,american to appoint a colonel of dragoons at the head of art60 ,the first thing that he did was to beautify the room--without asking the advice of any of us1 of course--and the result was a triumph4 ,the pice de rsistance of the occasion was a great big ripe red-plush tomato1 or rather something that looked like one tomato on top of another1 plunked right down in the center of the room1 ostensibly for the people to sit on4 ,it must have cost thousands6 ,mr4 ,hawkins's next act was to 8invite0 a number of prominent painters to exhibit their work and then send them before the jury4 ,whistler was one of these4 ,he had been invited by the ,prince of ,wales to send to the ,british exhibit1 but had been patriotic enough to prefer to be represented in the ,american section4 ,when he found that he had to go before the jury1 he promptly withdrew his pictures--a portrait and twenty-six etchings4 ,the voting was such a farce4 ,we had handed the black-and-white section over to ,stanley ,reinhart1 telling him to do as he pleased4 ,when the question of the ,whistler etchings arose1 a prominent member of the jury insisted that we all pass on them4 ,i objected1 as ,i could see that the etchings had been carefully chosen as a group and all should go together4 ,a half dozen men were on my side1 but we were overridden1 and the spectacle of those artists having these etchings by ,jimmie ,whistler passed before them1 one by one1 and choosing five or six from this priceless collection 7when they had accepted all of ,abbey's and ,reinhart's without discussion7 was ludicrous4 ,the result was that ,whistler sent all of his work over to the ,english show1 where it was one of the cards4 ,i was so ashamed of my country6 ,speaking afterward to the prominent member of the jury who had insisted upon this farcical voting1 ,i forced him to give me his reason4 ,he said that he did not like ,whistler1 and would not vote for anything by him1 anyway6 ,there were many other reasons why we did not have a good show4 ,one was the number of jurymen who had favorite pupils and must have a place for their work4 ,most of these we succeeded in eliminating1 but they crept in in spite of us4 ,i remember one man telling us of a beautiful girl1 one of the capital ,f's of the ,f4 ,f4 ,v4's of ,virginia 7whose family had been stricken with poverty by the ,civil ,war71 now supporting her invalid mother by her art--not a word about the merit of the work4 ,we had rejected a portrait by the young lady1 but took it back1 not on account of the story1 but because it was so offensive to see this particular juryman weep about it4 ,then there were the indignant ,american citizens who appealed to the ambassador over our decisions4 ,the ,united ,states government had given us the final power of acceptance or refusal1 but overrode us in a number of cases4 ,a noted ,american sculptor1 whose position socially was unimpeachable1 but whose work was fundamentally 8rotten10 had gone so far as to have his several groups of large statuary placed where he thought they should eventually rest1 and there was consternation when we refused them4 ,a member of the jury tackled ,alexander ,harrison and myself on the subject one night with the argument that we were in duty bound to recognize the work of a man so highly placed socially4 ,harrison replied3 8,you may think that in talking to ,simmons and me you are speaking to two gentlemen with social position4 ,but you are not2 you are only talking to two ,puritans4 ,we do not think it is right40 ,but the ,american government stepped in and the sculpture was duly accepted4 ,in another case the ambassador came to us with a pathetic appeal for protection1 asking us to reconsider our opinion of a portrait we had rejected4 8,the lady who painted it sleeps on my doormat10 he said1 8and she's got to be removed40 ,with laughter we took it back4 ,once in ,philadelphia ,i was one of a committee that was to decide a competition for the decoration of one of the public buildings4 ,it was a great plum1 for in addition to the actual payment for the work1 the winner was to get a prize of two thousand dollars for his proposition4 ,all through our meeting ,i felt a strange and subtle influence at work1 although ,i must confess ,i was not approached or asked to use my vote in any way for any contestant4 ,edwin ,abbey had sent a sketch1 very good1 but the charming part of it had been done by a young architect in ,london and it was very doubtful that it would keep its beauty if carried out in a large design4 ,the majority decided for a younger painter1 and the award was given to him4 ,right after the decision there was a large reception at the home of ,george ,w4 ,elkins1 who1 if ,i mistake not1 had given the prize4 ,i shall never forget his look of surprise and then chagrin as we filed in and announced our decision4 8,why10 he said1 8,i thought it had been all arranged that ,abbey was to have it40 ,needless to say1 the young artist never got a chance to carry out his work1 although they were obliged to give him his prize money4 ,speaking of competitions1 ,i once entered one for the decoration of a prominent ,new ,york hotel4 ,there were three members on the jury4 ,i lost1 in spite of the fact that all three of them came to me1 separately1 and told me in strictest confidence that he had voted for my proposition4 ,some of my most humorous experiences have happened when working for women4 ,two or three things almost always occur4 ,women either insist upon having the kind of work their social set considers the fashion for the moment1 or they try to control the color scheme1 or the composition1 and always the meaning4 ,a well-known interior decorator and ,i spent the better part of two years in attempting to make beautiful the reception room of a magnate's wife1 only to have our efforts frustrated at the last moment4 ,she hung up two pairs of very handsome damask curtains of a deep orange color lined with cold pink4 ,the windows faced to the south and the light coming through them made an effect of rotten eggs--for the rest of the room was lilac1 ivory1 and old gold4 ,when we remonstrated we were met with3 8,now ,i have you artist men6 ,at the sale1 when ,i bought these1 ,mr4 ,whistler bought an identical set4 ,i suppose that his taste is as good as yours80 ,it was useless to explain that ,whistler had a very different setting for his4 ,this same lady was almost inclined to treat me as a workman and seemed rather put out when her husband invited me to luncheon4 ,the only reference she ever made to my painting was to say that it was a pity my name was not 8,simoni40 ,it would make such an interesting signature6 ,once ,i was directed by a spirit as to how to paint a portrait4 ,it was out in the ,middle ,west4 ,not quite so bad as the woman in ,london who used to have interviews with one of her children born dead4 ,in this case it was the ouija board that operated every night and gave me my instructions for the next day as to how to get the right expression upon the face of this elderly woman who was sitting to me4 ,a brother1 born four years before herself1 had died at the age of five1 and in that other life1 8over there10 he had kept in touch with the march of events down here4 ,when his sister journeyed1 he journeyed with her1 miraculously learning the language of each country in which she happened to stop1 so that he could send her messages with a foreign flavor4 ,he told her what to do when she was ill and how to meet every problem of life1 but with all this vast knowledge he could not1 or did not1 tell her how to keep young2 and ,i had just as hard a time disguising the wrinkles on her cheek and the cords in her neck as if she had been an ordinary human being with no little brother guiding her from another world4 ,i could not but think--what a dull heaven to live in--so irrevocably tied to this earth4 ,this spirit was at the beck and call of his sister1 doomed to follow her every thought and action1 with far less freedom than if he had remained a poor mortal4 ,i would rather sit on a cloud with a ready-made halo about my head1 and at least have time for contemplation4 ,now that ,i am on the subject of women--,i do not mean to criticize harshly 7,i have loved them all my life71 but one thought leads to another4 ,there is the case of ,mrs4 ,mc,allister4 ,of course1 that was not her name1 but it will do as well as any other4 ,virgil ,williams and myself were once invited to her house in ,san ,francisco to see a statue she had made4 ,we were told beforehand that this woman was one of the few beings who disproved the theory that starving in a garret was necessary to be a success in the fine arts4 ,the death of her husband left her enormously wealthy1 and she decided to show her talents4 ,first she wrote a best seller2 then she composed a concerto2 then she painted and finally1 probably holding the belief that all the arts are interrelated1 she tried her hand at sculpture4 ,this1 a statue of ,eve1 was the object we were asked to view4 ,williams1 after looking at it awhile1 said3 8,happily1 ,mrs4 ,mc,allister1 we have both been married1 and so ,i can speak most freely4 ,you have evidently forgotten one thing which is more important than you think4 ,you have neglected to put in the navel40 8,oh1 not forgetfulness1 ,mr4 ,williams10 cried this ultramodern woman 7psychoanalysis and sex discussion were not so free as they are to-day74 8,in consulting with my spiritual adviser1 the ,reverend ,mr4 ,mc,cann1 we decided that as ,eve was not born of woman1 a navel was unnecessary40 ,it has always delighted me to see ,william ,hunt's hesitation about that sort of thing in his fine work for the ,capitol at ,albany4 ,if he did really put breasts and a navel on the figure at the stern of the boat1 they1 like the decorations by the magician painter of the story1 are not to be seen by vulgar eyes4 ,oh1 those inhibitions of ,boston6 ,as my uncle ,george used to say1 8,edward1 anything but the physical or the material40 ,i was too young then to realize that in talking so much about it he proved his taste for it4 ,but ,i am unkind2 blind men should not be called to account for the spots on their clothing4 ,women are generally utterly ruthless where their vanity is concerned--equal suffrage is doing away with this1 however--and will sacrifice the poor artist to its desires4 ,the ,ten ,american ,painters were having a retrospective show in ,philadelphia4 ,naturally1 we were trying to get hold of all our good work1 so ,i asked a society woman who owned one of my best paintings to lend it for exhibition purposes4 ,she replied that she was having a tea that week and it would make a spot on her wall to take it down4 ,this was quite a contrast to ,andrew ,carnegie1 who not only gladly lent me a marine he had purchased some years before1 but had his agent box it1 insure it1 and send it all at his own expense4 ,portrait painters have the hardest time1 though1 as every woman wishes to see herself idealized or as she was twenty years before4 ,poor ,meissonier was asked to paint in ,paris1 a portrait of the wife of an ,american millionaire well known for having made his money in the gold-strike days of ,california4 ,i knew the lady and ,i saw the portrait4 ,it was admirable in the sense of being a perfect likeness and bringing out all of her limitations4 ,she looked like a cook and he painted her like a cook4 ,she refused to pay for the work1 saying that it was utterly worthless2 consequently1 ,meissonier took her into the courts4 ,in ,france1 the artist has a better show than here1 and he won4 ,the lady paid the bill1 but announced that as soon as she got home she intended to burn the portrait4 ,whereupon ,meissonier's counsel asked that the court forbid this1 as such an act would establish a bad precedent4 ,it would lie within the power of a wealthy man1 wishing to revenge himself1 to buy up all the work of a client more than seventy years old1 and1 by destroying it1 render the artist's life a vain and useless thing4 ,the court took his view and forbade the lady in question to injure the portrait4 ,in spite of the fact that she declared she would disobey1 ,i saw the portrait twenty years after4 ,when the fine arts and literature meet1 many interesting things happen4 ,we have our critics4 ,some of them are wise and some of them are dull1 but not many of them have the slyness of ,mr4 ,emerson when he answered ,daniel ,french's question as to what he thought of the bust the sculptor had just finished of him1 8,that is the face ,i shave40 ,a queer thing--the literary mind4 ,i objected once to ,gilder because he was criticizing a picture1 saying that it was not fair1 as he was not a painter4 ,he replied that he had heard me discuss a sonnet4 8,yes10 ,i maintained1 8but ,i have used the ,english language since my earliest years4 ,i am therefore a professional4 ,you are not a painter4 ,you may say that you do not like a picture1 but you may not say what is the matter with it1 as you did40 ,every time ,i think of ,gilder ,i recall something he once told me about the dead ,lincoln4 ,he had gone to view the body and was one of a long line of people passing about the form as it lay on its bier1 and was much impressed by the august and noble smile on the dead ,president's face4 ,so much was he affected by it that he turned to a man standing beside him and mentioned it4 8,yes10 the man replied1 8,we rather flatter ourselves on our smiles40 ,it was the undertaker4 ,it was surprising to see1 after that1 a sonnet by ,gilder on ,lincoln's smile4 ,sometimes an editor's sense of humor becomes a trifle dulled4 ,i sat and heard a number of them discuss perfectly seriously whether the word 8hell0 should be allowed in its entirety1 printed 8h--l10 or cut out altogether4 ,i was once foolish enough to contract to make some covers for a well-known magazine4 ,all went well as long as ,i was allowed to choose my own subjects1 but when the editor got the brilliant idea of taking characters out of the ,bible and drawing them as modern men1 ,i struck4 ,take ,david1 for instance2 what financier would care to be represented in such fashion8 ,if the gentleman were alive to-day he would be in jail4 ,the editor threw up his hands and said1 8,but he is in the ,bible40 ,of course it ended by my displeasing him4 ,i was called up on the telephone one day by ,mr4 ,j----1 editor of one of our yellow publications4 ,he said his magazine was considering an article on ,decoration and told me to forward1 without delay1 permission to publish a reproduction of my 8,justice10 upon which there is a copyright4 ,i asked what there was in it for me4 ,he was astonished that ,i did not realize the enormous advertisement it would mean for me4 ,i answered that as ,harper's1 ,scribner's1 ,century1 etc4 7at that time7 always sent me a check for seventy-five dollars when they reproduced anything of mine1 ,i though a thousand would just about pay me for dropping to the level of his magazine4 ,this same gentleman had1 in addition to his other interests1 once owned a string of grocery stores4 ,guy ,wetmore ,carryl told me this4 ,it appears that he sold a story to the magazine1 and this thrifty editor 7later finding no use for it7 wrote to ,guy and asked him if he would take it back and return the cash he had received4 ,guy refused4 ,then the editor wrote and asked him to try to sell it to some one else and 8cash up40 ,this was too much4 ,stopping at one of the editor's grocery stores one afternoon1 he bought a can of tomatoes which he took home and opened1 chose a tomato1 bit into it and put it back into the can again4 ,then wrapping it up1 he left it on the editor's desk with this note4 ,,dear ,j----3--,i bought this can at your store and do not like it4 ,won't you be good enough to try and sell it for me and send me the money8 ,needless to say1 they did not speak after that4 ,the ,american idea is frequently to honor a foreigner because he is a foreigner and not because his work merits the praise4 ,change a good old ,yankee cognomen into something that sounds like ,italian or ,russian1 and the singer is assured a far better hearing4 ,the same in painting4 ,if a third-rate ,italian should be in competition with ,sargent for a public decoration or a portrait of a ,president1 the ,italian would probably get it4 ,about the year #ahid ,charles ,mc,kim1 the architect1 was getting ready to beautify ,washington and have it cleaned of all its horrors4 ,he died before he accomplished his purpose1 but he made a beginning1 and that was to decorate the interior of the ,library of ,congress4 ,there was a great question in mind as to whether ,i should join the group of men who were doing the work4 ,the ,united ,states always paid less than anyone else1 and ,i was tempted to take more profitable work4 ,i could have accepted any number of orders and hired assistants to carry them out1 but ,i have always felt this was unfair to myself as well as to the public4 ,a decoration is a creative thing and1 as such1 can be carried out only by the mind that conceives it4 ,in the ,library of ,congress ,i was given one of the rooms to the left of the doorway on the first floor of the building4 ,it is called a curtain corridor4 ,there were nine semicircular panels1 nine feet in width at the bottom2 therefore the radius was four and a half feet4 ,all such tympanums are stilted1 making this radius in reality about four feet ten inches4 ,the argument was1 how to get the human figure into a space so low4 ,i did not want to make them half size or even under life1 and my decision proved very wise4 ,elihu ,vedder made his figures undersize and the result was that the rest of us dwarfed him4 ,my choice of subject was the ,nine ,muses1 and ,i resolved to make them sitting down4 ,terpsichore1 the ,muse of ,dancing1 sitting8 ,i contrived to bend her over so that she just squeezed in4 ,there is an old work of the early ,greeks in bas-relief of ,terpsichore that is one of the most beautiful compositions ,i know of4 ,she is bending down and arranging her sandal4 ,if ,i had not been fundamentally opposed to that class of theft1 ,i would have used the idea2 but a copy of anything1 no matter how great1 is never so good as one's own conception4 ,it is always unwise for an artist to have the classics about him at any time1 and he should never have any of them near by to influence him when he is doing compositional work4 ,there were thirty-six pendentives in the domes of the ceiling1 which ,i decorated with little figures1 using no models1 but painting directly upon the walls1 composing as ,i went along4 ,i shall never forget this experience4 ,it was in the summertime1 and a hot spell struck ,washington4 ,anyone who knows the capital will realize what this means4 ,i was under contract to finish it at a certain time1 and here ,i was working in these little sealed domes 7which never were and never could be ventilated71 while the thermometer was so high that eighty people died one day from sunstroke4 ,it was mephitic4 ,i was so terrified that ,i almost lived on milk and limewater4 ,right here ,i would like to say something about health4 ,it is important1 perhaps even more for an artist than for any other class of person1 to keep himself in trim4 ,burning up tons of nervous energy1 living perhaps a precarious existence1 it is necessary that he take himself in hand early in life and learn about his own body4 ,we are not all constituted the same and what is one man's weakness is another man's strength4 ,in my own case1 ,i was practically an invalid up to thirty1 when ,i made up my mind to overcome my ailments4 ,artistic effort needs a tremendous amount of vitality back of it to carry it out1 and the sensitiveness which accompanies the creative temperament is easily a prey to small discomforts4 ,learn your limitations and you can correct them beforehand4 ,knowing my stomach was my weak link1 ,i treated it with care during the heat at ,washington and came out with no disaster4 ,several amusing occurrences of that summer come to mind1 showing how many contacts an artist has with different walks of life4 ,i was approached by the delegate of a trades-union--a man with dirty fingernails and collar1 black sweeping mustache1 fat1 sweaty1 and insolent--who asked me if ,i were a member of the union4 8,what union80 ,i inquired4 8,paperhangers40 ,my assistant did belong1 and the other four men working on the walls were furnished by the ,united ,states government4 ,he looked rather foolish when ,i suggested that he call them off the job4 ,he started to leave1 when he turned around and asked3 8,why don't you belong to the union80 8,i've never been asked10 ,i replied4 8,well1 ,i ask you40 8,i accept10 ,i said1 8but ,i will not lose money by joining1 though4 ,i am making forty dollars a day4 ,what class can ,i go in80 ,he departed4 ,another day1 ,i was up on my scaffold1 when my assistant came up and whispered in my ear that there was a man down below who wanted to 8lick0 me4 ,i called down to him and he said he would like a word with me4 ,he was a burly ,irishman1 and ,i was not anxious to start anything with him4 8,did you do that picture80 he said1 pointing to my figure of ,melpomene1 8and who is it80 ,i told him that one of my relatives had been the model1 and something in my manner made him see that ,i was telling the truth4 ,then he broke down and almost wept4 8,it's the image of a daughter of mine who went wrong two years ago40 ,when my work was all finished except a little varnishing on one panel and ,i was feeling very proud of the effect1 ,i was honored by a visit from ,mark ,hanna4 ,he was showing some ladies around the building4 ,rushing in at the head of his party1 he gave a cursory glance up and down1 and then hurried out1 saying3 8,come on2 there's nothing here40 ,just so much notice does politics give the fine arts4 ,illustration3 8,,melpomene0 ,panel by ,edward ,simmons1 ,gallery ,of the ,muses1 ,congressional ,library1 ,washington ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print1 ,copyright by ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston ,chapter ,,xi3 ,stanford ,white ,the slow but steady progress in ,america toward a sense of beauty is due more to the architects than to any one class of people4 ,the definition that an 8architect is a business man with a slight artistic leaning10 is not such a bad one1 and the combination of the two qualities has proved most happy in many cases4 ,i think we must grant some of them more than a leaning toward the arts1 though1 and give them credit for a certain 8taste0 developed in our country during the last part of the last century4 ,i have heard a prominent architect declare the ,woolworth ,building1 built by ,cass ,gilbert1 to be the most beautiful example of the ,gothic ever done in ,america1 and yet it is also a good business building4 ,this shows that any type of architecture can be made practical4 ,as to the interiors1 we might still be in the ,victorian ,age1 if it had not been for these men showing us how ugly it was4 ,as soon as ,i returned from ,europe1 ,i was put up at ,the ,players1 and after my two weeks' card1 given me by ,alexander ,harrison1 expired1 ,i was proposed for membership and duly elected4 ,my sponsor1 besides ,harrison1 was ,stanford ,white1 and during my time as a guest of the club1 ,i got to know this very simple person 7who was a child and an artist and never became an adult7 as well as ,i did in later years4 ,the three men of the architectural firm of ,mc,kim1 ,meade1 and ,white fitted together perfectly4 ,i once asked ,meade what he was doing in that gallery1 and he said that he was the water which makes the chemical reaction of acid and alkali lose its power for harm--he kept the other two from being crazy artists4 ,stanny always looked to me like ,vercingetorix4 ,i used to say that his proper clothing was a wolfskin and a battle-ax1 and that he should let his hair grow long4 ,this hair1 which was bright red1 was accompanied by the usual white skin of that type of person1 so that in swimming he looked 7he was very tall7 like a great white tallow candle4 ,he was as strong as a prize fighter1 but1 like most men of that character1 he never used his physical power4 ,unlike most big men1 he was always in a hurry1 dashing about here and there and with his body always slightly bent forward--he took very short steps--trotting along the sidewalk like a busy little girl4 ,red hair1 of course1 means a violent and ultra-passionate disposition1 but ,stanny never lost his temper4 ,a delicate sensitiveness combined with a tenderness that would not be understood by the ordinary human being4 ,i have seen him turn the color of castile soap if he had to do with any deformity or suffering4 ,we had a mutual friend1 a lovely boy1 a humpback1 who died never knowing that he caused horror to ,stanford ,white4 ,to shake that thin wasted hand would cause him to turn away his face with a green1 seasick expression1 but he would do anything rather than hurt the boy's feelings4 ,one day ,i went out of the club with ,stanny--or rather1 ,i rushed out--he did not go out of anything1 but ran and slammed the doors--when we came across a professional beggar who was well known to both of us as always being just a 8quarter0 shy of the fare he needed to get to ,new ,rochelle4 ,he had probably been on his way to ,new ,rochelle for the last twenty years4 ,stanny1 as was his custom1 grabbed a handful of silver from his pocket and thrust it into the astonished beggar's hand in an embarrassed way4 ,i said3 8,i suppose you know that you are not really doing him any good4 ,they say he is rich40 8,oh10 he answered1 8you don't understand4 ,do you suppose ,i was trying to do him good8 ,i was only trying to justify my own existence40 ,of the most impetuous1 impulsive1 lovable nature1 with him to think was to act4 ,i once tried to chaff him about the way his child was being brought up4 ,my boys1 about the age of his1 were always out in ,gramercy ,park4 ,they had said3 8,we are always together unless it rains1 but if ,larry ,white gets his feet wet1 the nurse makes an awful fuss and takes him home4 ,and she never lets him go on the grass40 ,i told his father4 ,there was a roar and a bang1 and ,stanford was gone out of the door4 ,in a few minutes he was back1 saying3 8,he'll play with your boys to-morrow40 8,what did you do1 scold the nurse80 ,i asked4 8,no2 ,i fired her40 ,stanford ,white was a real artist1 one of the kind that could no more help doing beautiful things than he could help living4 ,practically a boy when he did it1 ,i saw a frame in his home that he had carved for ,mrs4 ,white during their engagement4 ,it was a most delicate and complicated pattern--,i have the impression that it was of flowers and figures--but it gave the effect of one of those ,chinese openwork ivory carvings1 and formed the most exquisite setting for a small portrait by ,thomas ,dewing1 something that ,meissonier could never have done1 as he had not ,dewing's sense of beauty4 ,i believe that ,stanford set the fashion here of building to our latitude4 ,we had formerly copied the ,british in our homes1 using red brick or brownstone1 with small windows1 reps curtains1 and nailed-down carpets of warm dark brown and scarlet--the stuff of the north for ,new ,york ,city1 which is the latitude of ,madrid4 ,the change was to blond brick1 marble1 or ,missouri limestone for the outside2 and stone or polished floors1 ,turkish rugs or mats for the inside1 with a decided lightening of the color scheme1 so much so that a great 8gag0 was to call the firm 8,mc,kim1 ,white1 and ,gold40 ,to show that most of their tendencies were for light interiors1 a remark of ,stanford's can be quoted4 ,he told a woman1 for whom he had just finished an ivory-colored room1 when she asked him what to put on the walls1 8,oh1 any color as long as it is red40 ,any painter knows that1 given white as a background1 the only color one can trust the average citizen with is red4 ,it takes an artist to put blue and white or green and white together2 and some one with a ,whistlerian feeling to put black and white together2 but a child can use red and white4 ,nothing could be more different in style than the buildings ,stanford designed--the ,madison ,square ,garden1 the ,metropolitan ,club1 ,doctor ,parkhurst's ,church 7which has now been torn down71 or any of his business buildings1 are each made for the things they were to house4 ,his personal tastes were absolutely under the control of his artistic feelings1 and his sensitiveness was so great that he could lose his own personality4 ,when he fitted up his own house in ,gramercy ,park1 the music room was not his1 it belonged to his family and their friends1 and he made it more beautifully classic than anything ,i have seen in ,north ,america4 ,a flight or two up was his own room4 ,vercingetorix in his cave with all his spoils piled up around him6 ,everything he cared about 7and he wanted it at once7 and a heterogeneous mass of priceless books1 paintings1 draperies1 all in a careless disorder1 was happiness to him in his own den4 ,i was in ,the ,players when ,stanny returned from his trip to ,virginia1 having been asked to restore the principal building of the university1 which had been designed and built by ,thomas ,jefferson4 ,as we sat together over something to drink he seemed to be puzzled1 confused1 and silent4 ,i asked him what was the matter4 ,he started and came out of his mood1 saying it was the job down ,south4 8,i've seen his plans10 he said1 speaking with great deference4 8,they're wonderful and ,i am scared to death4 ,i only hope ,i can do it right40 ,this left me with a conception of the greatness of ,jefferson in another rle of which ,i was ignorant--his architectural side4 ,he is constantly impressing me as our first ,american--an artist and1 like all the big ones1 a true democrat4 ,he represented the ideas of to-day and was farsighted enough to know they were coming4 ,i saw the ,metropolitan ,club built2 in fact1 ,i painted the library ceiling4 ,i remember1 in looking it over one day1 ,i threw a lighted match among some shavings and1 in a panic1 ran to stamp it out4 ,i was told ,i need not be afraid1 as everything was fireproof4 ,stanny had bet a large amount with ,ogden ,goelet that he would have the club finished on the specified date4 ,just at the last moment the workmen struck4 ,the mantelpieces1 of which there were a large number1 had not been polished in the state of ,new ,york and the unions demanded that they be done over again4 ,there was no time the night before the limit expired1 but ,i knew ,stanny had a plan1 so ,i went up to see the fun4 ,stanny and the contractor had a line of boats filled with the necessary materials waiting at the ,north ,river1 and another line of carts and workmen to bring them up4 ,a thousand men and women were waiting in the street--masons1 handy men1 scrub women1 and what not4 ,at six o'clock sharp every trades-union workman had left2 then in came the army4 ,the first ones1 bearing huge rolls of paper1 unrolled them on the floor from the door to every fireplace4 ,women with mops stood at attention1 to clean up if anything dropped4 ,out on the street1 the carts came up to the door1 one by one1 each in solemn rotation1 depositing its contents of the grates1 cement1 bricks1 or some material necessary to the completion4 ,these were whisked up by the workmen and borne in to their rightful places4 ,a continuous procession upstairs and downstairs which reminded one of an army of ants building themselves a new home4 ,all this time the women with mops were waiting1 lest a bit of something drop on the new polished floors or splash against the walls4 ,so carefully was the whole affair planned1 however1 that not a thing was marred1 and at #i ,a4,m4 the next morning ,stanford ,white handed over to the committee a finished building4 ,he won his money from ,mr4 ,goelet1 but with his customary generosity bought a beautiful piece of tapestry and presented it to the club4 ,stanford was accused of shamefully copying when he built the ,madison ,square ,garden4 ,it was supposed to be an exact replica of the ,giralda1 in ,spain4 ,i have never seen the ,giralda1 but ,i have seen on the right and left of a page1 in juxtaposition1 a photograph of both buildings4 ,i do not see a resemblance striking enough to comment upon4 ,when one thinks of how ,shakespeare and ,dumas1 and1 in fact1 almost every great man1 has borrowed1 the question for the fair minded is whether the thing borrowed has been changed by the personality of the borrower1 which1 if he be of any value1 must overlay and extinguish that first personality and give an entirely new impression4 ,remember the lines1 8,he winked at ,omar down the road44440 ,mrs4 ,van ,rensselaer wrote a long article somewhere about the ,madison ,square building and gushed about that rare quality in the architects who would go so far as even to vary the color of their bricks in constructing the tower1 so as to give it variance of tonality4 ,this seemed to me improbable1 and one day ,i asked ,meade about it4 ,he said it was 8rot10 that if one of the brickmakers had not gone bankrupt1 the tower would have been the same color all the way up4 ,i commented upon the hideous color of the combination of brickwork and terra cotta produced both in this building and in the ,herald ,building at ,thirty-fifth ,street4 ,stanny told me not to be silly1 but to wait until they were twenty years old4 ,remembering it the other day1 ,i looked1 and1 behold6 the tonality and color in the ,madison ,square building had come together like smoothing velvet4 ,the first attempt at the statue on the top failed by reason of the fact that the drapery which flew from the shoulder1 and served as a tail or rudder1 did not accomplish its purpose of turning her arrow into the eye of the wind4 ,saint-,gaudens 7the sculptor7 and ,stanny spent some thousands of dollars in taking it down and making a new one4 ,the second worked as a weathercock1 but1 alas6 it was not half so beautiful4 ,to-day the drapery over which they spent so much time and money is gone4 ,so much does ,america care for its art and its artists6 ,one should not judge ,stanford ,white's ability as an architect by the ,washington ,arch which stands at the foot of ,fifth ,avenue4 ,the temporary arch which preceded this one was put up in lath and plaster--staff--to celebrate a memorial occasion1 and was rarely beautiful in structure and proportion4 ,the city fathers asked him to reproduce it for permanence in marble4 ,he told them it could not be done1 but after much argument he gave in4 ,i suppose it was a question of bearing power or stress1 but he did not succeed4 ,very few men have ever been able to alter--to their own satisfaction1 or to that of the public--their first inspiration4 ,a 8dub0 can2 an artist can't4 ,the ,washington ,arch stands to-day1 as many other buildings in ,america do1 a monument to the interference with an artist's dream4 ,trinity ,church in ,boston is another example of the same thing4 ,richardson's original idea might have been a masterpiece1 but1 long after it was wise to change his plans1 the city authorities decided1 either from economy or from some other good reason1 that1 as the building was situated on made land1 it would not stand the weight of the tower4 ,they made him cut out fifty feet in height4 ,you might as well cut out two inches from a woman's neck4 ,also1 it is not fair to criticize our own ,grant's ,tomb4 ,the architect's plans were1 ,i am told1 that one should see a building of stone capped by a great mass of bronze figures on the top and one group on each of the four corners4 ,the best modiste in ,paris might plan a hat with four large bunches of blue flowers4 ,it is not fair to call the hat her creation if you remove the bunches4 ,those in power1 again probably from economy1 considered the tomb of the ,president good enough as it was and did not add the bronzes4 ,now in the days of the great men in art such things were generally in the hands of a dictator--pope1 king1 or ,mcenas--and the people had nothing to do with them--except like them4 ,whistler says that the warriors1 on returning from battle1 did not care pro or con whether the artist-man1 who stayed at home1 had carved their goblets or not1 as long as they were just as good to drink out of4 ,i suppose one worships in the ,trinity ,church just as well1 but ,i do not believe that ,grant receives the honor that the building as it was planned would have given him1 in the mind of either laborer or lord4 ,this time was quite a social period in my life4 ,good plays1 good music and much of it--there was a spontaneity in the ,new ,york folk that has never touched me at any other time in ,america4 ,i was strong1 though never muscular1 with the vitality of five men2 and to work all day1 run to the club in the late afternoon1 dine well1 and then be in the company of congenial friends most of the night1 did not put a dent in my surplus energy4 ,stanny was the great driving force of all our entertainments1 and as he was the type of man who always paid for everything and shoved anyone aside who tried to get in first1 my lack of money did not make much difference4 ,it was in #ahic1 ,i think1 that he made me a member of the ,vaudeville ,club4 ,in those days1 that large space to the left1 in the second tier of the ,metropolitan ,opera ,house1 was given up to men only1 and behind was the bar1 a set of rooms1 and a small stage4 ,here a member could meet a friend1 have a drink1 go in and hear what he wished of the opera1 and come out when he felt bored4 ,after the performance there would be a supper and a show given by the leading vaudeville people from ,broadway4 ,relaxation after the music1 good food and drink1 and much talk and fun4 ,such entertainers as ,vesta ,victoria would be on the program1 and once we were honored by the presence of ,mr4 ,sandow4 ,the latter was quite a lion for a time4 ,i remember him1 in evening clothes1 coming into the box of a lady very highly placed socially4 ,he seemed to be paralyzed by the attention given him4 ,when he said good-by1 and evidently wishing to return his social obligations1 he handed each feminine occupant of the box a ticket to his private performances out at his quarters1 where they 8could see more of him40 ,i remember one dinner party which was much criticized1 but in reality how very moral and dignified it was6 ,the guests1 all men1 were socially and artistically of the best set of the town4 ,we wanted a 8blowout0 and we did not propose to be limited by ,new-,englandism1 politics1 or anything else4 ,there were fifty men2 everything was in perfect taste1 arranged by the best artists in ,america4 ,there was remarkably good music1 made by a colored orchestra1 and--mirabile dictu6--no talk1 no speeches1 and no toasts4 ,every man at that dinner knew that his next-door neighbor would be a treat to talk to and a man on his feet would be an interruption4 ,two girls--models--in exquisite costumes1 one blond and one brunette1 poured the drinks1 each one serving the colored wine which corresponded to her complexion4 ,at the dessert1 solemn servants came forward1 bearing a huge six-foot pasty which was placed in the center of the great horseshoe table4 ,the negro musicians began to sing1 in that inimitable manner and rhythm of their race4 8,sing a song of ,sixpence1 pocket full of rye1 ,four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie--0 ,at the next words1 8,when the pie was opened--0 one of the artists leaned forward and skillfully broke the crust1 and myriads of canary birds 7blackbirds not being obtainable even by ,monte ,cristo7 outpoured and flew to every corner of the room1 just as a charming young figure of a girl1 draped from head to foot in black illusion1 with a stuffed blackbird upon her head1 arose from the dish4 ,it was so new1 original1 and pretty1 that comment upon it is absurd4 ,the society of these men was so good1 so envied1 and so far above the average 8low-brow0 that it was preyed upon 7probably more than other class at any other time in the social history of ,america7 by the jealous and the criminal1 and blackmailed to an extraordinary degree4 ,it just naturally broke itself up2 ,beauty is sensitive and would rather disappear than run the risk of unwelcome publicity4 ,referring to the character of ,stanford ,white1 his right hand never knew what his left was doing4 ,i think he more nearly fitted ,emerson's definition of the word 8gentleman0 than anyone else ,i have ever known4 ,it runs something like this3 8,a gentleman is one who never brings his mental or physical troubles from his bedroom2 if he cannot leave them behind1 he stays with them40 ,if the word can be divided into its two constituents--8gentle0 and 8man0--,stanny was certainly both1 and ,i think 8gentleness0 7the opposite of 8weakness07 is possibly one of the words which implies that we are now some distance from our ancestors1 the cave dwellers4 ,he may have had troubles of his own1 but we never knew about them1 for he was always so busy doing something for some one else that he hadn't time to talk of himself4 ,he pulled me out of many a financial hole1 doubtless sometimes with much work for himself4 ,it is not always easy1 even for rich men1 to get sums of money on the spur of the moment4 ,once he lent me three thousand dollars on an order ,i was carrying out1 and when ,i paid him1 he returned me the interest money the next day1 with the words3 8,i give you this on one condition1 that you use it to go over to ,europe and visit your family4 ,you need a vacation40 ,dear old ,stanny1 it wasn't the money help that he gave his friends that made him so charming1 but it was the little things that require so much delicate thought4 ,i do not think he spent ten minutes a week thinking about himself4 ,one memorable ,easter ,sunday 7the ,ten were to open a show next day1 and we were hanging our work7 ,stanny appeared4 ,i had two marines which he liked1 but he was greatly taken with a portrait of my grandmother which was not yet framed and was leaning against the wall in the corner4 ,i had intended to get some inch-and-a-half molding for it4 ,he could never bear to have a work of art improperly dressed4 ,i can see now how he looked1 beautifully groomed with top hat1 frock coat--evidently on his way to some smart affair4 ,he looked at me a moment1 then grabbed the portrait and rushed from the place4 ,needless to say ,i followed4 ,outside was a fine equipage1 his own1 and1 taking it1 we ended at his office1 where he had a floor stored with all kinds of valuable antiques1 draperies1 frames1 statues1 which he had chosen in ,europe--not because they were old or only one of a kind in existence1 but because they were beautiful--and brought over here4 ,keeping up his two characteristic gestures of scratching his head and rumpling his hair with one hand1 and slapping his thigh with the other--his office force knew that if he ever did the two together it was time to flee--he dove into dozens of frames which were piled for at least fifteen feet away from the wall4 ,ignoring his clothes1 he dashed in and was covered with dust in two seconds4 ,in five minutes he had tried all the frames and found two that fitted the portrait4 ,telling me to take my choice1 he turned around and was gone4 ,i had barely made my selection and turned to go when a flunky from his ,gramercy ,park home ran in1 out of breath1 and grabbed the picture4 ,when we got to the street there was no sign of ,stanny or his carriage1 but a large hired vehicle was waiting1 ready to take me back to the gallery4 ,he was doing that sort of thing all the time1 but would have been very cross if anyone had mentioned it in public4 ,may ,i tell of a small matter which1 until the death of both men1 ,i have kept to myself8 ,once ,stanny came to me acting rather strangely1 and asked me if ,i would take a trip uptown with him4 ,when we alighted at a studio building where many of my friends lived he asked me to show him the way to ,x's rooms--an artist ,i remembered leaving behind us at the club4 ,it seemed strange that ,stanny intended calling upon a man he knew not to be at home1 but ,i kept still4 ,kneeling down on the floor1 he shoved under the door a roll of bills which looked big figured to me1 and we fled4 ,in the cab outside1 ,i inquired what it meant4 8,you know he needs it4 ,i have it4 ,why shouldn't ,i give it to him8 ,but you must never tell40 ,i asked how much it was4 8,oh1 ,i don't know40 ,the next day ,i heard ,x telling a friend that he had gone home the night before1 ready to pack his things1 as he was to be kicked out of his studio in the morning1 but a most miraculous thing had happened4 ,he had found a roll of bills under his door4 ,i never told1 and he died without knowing who had helped him4 ,one could hardly tell about the work of ,stanford ,white without including something of ,augustus ,saint-,gaudens1 for ,america is richer by many works of art which are the combination of the genius of these two men4 ,saint-,gaudens was the son of a cobbler4 ,i believe that if an exhaustive history of the clever people of the world were written1 it would be found that a large percentage had been sons of cobblers4 ,as a boy1 ,i used to be fascinated by a certain cobbler of the town1 and while listening to his words of wisdom ,i learned to make1 entirely with my own hands1 a pair of boots4 ,he was a socialist and1 ,i suppose1 an anarchist1 but the joy of life was in his heart and ,i am sure that fashioning a beautiful covering for the human foot is as near making a statue as anything could be4 ,it was funny to watch the ,french or the ,irish crop out in ,gussy4 ,the ,french was always on the alert for something beautiful4 ,i remember being taken by him and several architects up to a place in ,cornish4 ,they had found a charming view4 ,after climbing away up to the top of a hill--mulleins1 granite stones1 and not much else in the foreground--,i was told to look off over the landscape and rave4 ,they called it 8,too ,good to be ,true40 ,i can visualize a farmer1 an old resident of the place 7call him ,haskins71 coming in with the wood which he throws into the woodbox1 saying to his wife3 8,there1 ,mother1 ,i bet you can't guess where that wood come from40 8,no4 ,where did it1 ,jake80 8,from that piece o' land yer uncle ,ezra left yer that ,mr4 ,saint-,gawdeens and them dudes calls #8,too ,good to be ,true4'0 ,great laugh from both4 ,but every year or two with ,gussy the ,irish would get on top4 ,a day would arrive when the work he was doing would disgust him too much4 ,then he would fire his assistants1 helpers1 and everyone out and smash everything in the studio4 ,he would spend two or three days loafing in the club and with his friends1 then back again1 clean it all up1 and begin work1 saying1 8,now we can get ahead40 ,the year that he was forty-nine he came to me1 feeling very blue4 8,simmy1 ,i'm out of it4 ,i caught the model we had to-day in class winking at the fellows when ,i exclaimed a little too enthusiastically about her charms4 ,the same thing happened to my master in ,italy when ,i was a student1 and ,i remember wondering how he could be so silly at his age40 ,then he told me how he had always jumped upon the platforms of the cars while they were in motion4 ,that day1 as he did this1 the driver said1 8,peart for yer age1 ain't yer80 ,in the future he intended to wait until the car stopped and get on properly4 ,when he got these blue streaks he had the habit of coming down to ,the ,players1 finding me1 and saying3 8,now1 ,simmy1 you must help me4 ,order anything you want1 on me1 but stay right here and talk to me40 ,i suppose the sound of my voice was1 for him1 like ,vergil's bees in the lime trees--a susurrus4 ,the talk was anything and everything4 ,sometimes a discussion about a college education--as to whether ,lincoln would have been the same if he had had one1 etc41 etc4 ,i told him once about my discovery that every man1 secretly and in his own soul1 thought himself the ideal type of human being4 ,an art class in ,boston had been given as a subject for ,saturday afternoon an ideal head of a young ,greek4 ,the results were placed on easels1 and ,i easily picked out the author of each drawing from its resemblance to himself4 ,then ,gussie remembered that in ,italy there was a humpback in the class with him who made everything deformed4 ,in ,chicago1 where ,i went at one time to consult ,daniel ,burnham1 ,i met ,saint-,gaudens and ,mc,kim4 ,to my astonishment1 they had come to collect money to start an academy at ,rome4 ,they raised about one hundred thousand dollars1 ,i believe1 and this was the beginning4 ,i always have been and still am opposed to formal organizations1 and an academy seemed to me just another of the same kind4 ,i couldn't see ,gussie in this position and asked3 8,que fais tu donc dans cette galre80 ,his reply was very logical4 8,no1 ,i don't1 but when ,i was a boy ,i wanted to learn sculpture4 ,if there had been an academy in ,rome at that time1 ,i could have gotten studio1 materials1 models1 and all that ,i wanted for nothing4 ,let ,chicago and everybody subscribe4 ,who are they1 anyway8 ,after one hundred years1 the money will have been well spent if only one artist--say a ,michael ,angelo--is helped to get what he needs40 ,he was willing to sacrifice the whole pig-killing town if one genius could be helped4 ,all the oil wells of ,texas would not be worth1 to our descendants1 one poem like the 8,ode to a ,grecian ,urn40 ,if ,i had the task of taking to ,europe one thing as the best work of art of ,america1 ,i should take the tomb from the ,rock ,creek ,cemetery in ,washington1 which was created by those three artists--,saint-,gaudens1 ,stanford ,white1 and ,henry ,adams4 ,nothing we have made in this country as yet1 whether paint1 carving1 or architecture1 can equal it4 ,this figure1 an expression of the idea of death1 marks1 ,i am told1 the last resting place of the wife of ,henry ,adams1 but there is no name and no commemoration to any individual1 no signature of artist or architect2 it is universal and might belong to any one of us4 ,a pilgrimage to this monument of a man's respect for the woman he loved is1 of necessity1 a sacred rite4 ,one cannot pass gayly by in a motor car and give a careless nod of approbation1 but one must alight 7let us hope from one of those old-fashioned rickety open barouches1 driven by the last of the negro coachmen7 and proceed up the narrowest1 most delightful little path1 overgrown with shrubs and bushes1 where at the top of a knoll and carefully concealed from common gaze is the ,sphinx4 ,like the pilgrims to the ancient shrines1 one wishes one had courage to go back and approach this beauty of all time and no time1 upon one's bended knees4 ,and her surroundings6 ,how wonderfully the loving architect has framed her2 no word and no talk about death4 ,there she sits and speaks to everyone1 and the message is the secret of his innermost thoughts--so much as he brings1 so much does she tell1 and no more4 ,one day in ,paris the ,figaro started a reporter out to get the opinions of different intellectual men upon death4 ,some gave a column1 some a half column1 but when it came to ,alphonse ,daudet1 he said3 8,my idea of death8--la mort8--psutt6--0 ,there is nothing to say1 and all ,i can think of when looking at the ,rock ,creek ,memorial1 are the words of ,shakespeare1 ,the ,rest is ,silence ,chapter ,,xii3 ,fine ,arts in ,relation to 8,a ,number of ,things0 ,it was during this period of my life that ,i did my best work2 ,i had a good studio in ,carnegie ,hall1 freedom from money worries1 and abounding spirit4 ,also1 my imagination was still fresh from the influence of ,europe1 and the ,old ,world was enough in retrospect for me to realize its worth4 ,one of the most interesting orders ,i received at this time was to decorate a room in the new part of the ,waldorf ,hotel1 that addition called the ,astoria4 ,it was a long1 narrow hall1 the ,astor ,gallery1 with boxes all around a dais at one end4 ,the room was an attempt at the ,french of ,louis ,seize--bastard architecture1 ,i think--fancy work and rococo with curves and bends everywhere4 ,after my work was all finished ,i had to get up and paint over again the ribbon held by one of the ,cupids4 ,it was taut and ,i changed it to wavy1 as it proved to be the only straight line in the whole room4 ,after ,i had submitted my sketches and they were accepted by the architect1 ,i had to go and sign my contract at the offices of ,john ,downey ,son4 ,there was a large room full of stenographers and bookkeepers1 with a glass place on one side for the boss4 ,john ,downey came out to greet me4 ,as we sat at a big table1 he pushed toward me a long document1 saying3 8,there's your contract4 ,if you'll read it over and it is satisfactory1 you've only to sign it and get your first payment40 ,i read it and reached for the pen to sign4 ,he must have seen some doubt upon my face4 8,is it satisfactory10 he asked4 8,no1 but ,i'll sign40 8,why1 ,i drew that contract myself6 ,what's the matter with it80 8,there is not enough time10 ,i replied4 ,his eyes narrowed4 8,mr4 ,simmons1 you have lived a long time across the water8 ,yes8 ,let me tell you something about ,american business methods4 ,never complain over here that you haven't enough time4 ,if the job suits you1 wade in and do it4 ,if you can't finish it yourself1 put on more men and work nights60 8,but there are things that can't be done that way10 ,i insisted4 8,sir1 ,i've been a contractor for twenty years in ,new ,york ,city and if there is anything you cannot do that way1 ,i should like to hear about it40 8,well10 ,i said1 8,i admit your business position1 but ,i still believe that if you wanted a son and heir you would have to respect the old rule to wait nine months1 and not put on more men and work nights40 ,sensation among the blond typewriters6 ,the working of a business man's mind can never be guessed at beforehand4 ,i painted two decorations for one of ,america's foremost financiers4 ,in making the sketches ,i was mindful of the fact that he was a pillar of an orthodox denomination of the strictest type1 and1 while ,i suggested a group of dancing figures1 ,i was very careful to drape them sedately with several layers of chiffon4 ,what was my surprise when the criticism came3 8,mr4 ,simmons's idea is very delightful1 but the figures are not nude enough60 ,the late ,andrew ,carnegie was a good old-fashioned type of man who thought the ,god-given power to amass a large fortune was indication of an all-embracing good judgment and taste4 ,i never met him but once4 ,it was in '#ia1 at a show of pictures of the ,society of ,american ,artists4 ,i was presented to this short1 stout little man4 8,mr4 ,carnegie0 meant nothing to me1 as ,i had just come straight from ,england1 and his fame had not managed to penetrate the shores of ,cornwall4 ,he was most indifferent1 did not like the exhibition very much1 and announced that he has purchased the only good picture1 pointing to an unimportant landscape4 ,abbot ,thayer's 8,madonna0 7which ,clarence ,king said should have buckets under it to catch the dripping sentiment71 a charming ,thomas ,dewing1 a beautiful thing by ,theodore ,robinson1 and others were all about him1 so ,i ventured to tell the doughty ,scotsman that he must be deeply ignorant on the subject of art4 ,that naturally closed the interview4 ,for the ,astor ,gallery ,i chose as subjects women--which ,i like best to paint--representing the twelve months of the year and the four seasons1 sixteen panels in all4 ,how ,i labored over the color of the room1 changing the tone every three feet all the way up1 until it looked all the same6 ,my idea was to make a background that would seem to be white1 but against which a woman's complexion would be beautiful and a man's shirt front would tell4 ,they have painted the whole thing over now1 of course4 ,my decorations are untouched1 but it is no longer my room4 ,illustration3 8,,january0 ,panel by ,edward ,simmons1 ,astor ,gallery1 ,waldorf-,astoria ,hotel1 ,new ,york ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print1 ,copyright by ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston ,people do not realize what these little things mean4 ,the architects had given me the whole control1 but even at the time ,i was doing the work ,i was greatly restricted4 ,there were four little panels that were not in the contract1 but sadly needed to be decorated4 ,i offered to do them at my own expense and also to change the terrible red-velvet railing that ran around the balcony1 but do you think the hotel authorities would let me do it8 ,no2 the opening was on a certain day and all the workmen must be out before then4 ,business before art every time4 ,i had to insure the panels twice--once to the contractor and again to ,john ,jacob ,astor1 whose lawyer1 by the way1 demanded that all the artists working in the building hand over their copyrights to him1 which they 8had improperly taken out on ,mr4 ,astor's property40 ,we had a meeting1 and the others decided not to do anything to antagonize him4 ,i was furious and asked my friend1 ,luther ,lincoln1 what to do about it4 8,oh1 come away and take a walking trip with me to the ,delaware ,water ,gap10 he said4 ,i went and ,i still have my copyright4 ,to show that my rights in the matter are recognized by the authorities1 the architect once wrote to me and1 saying that ,mr4 ,boldt had asked for permission to reproduce my panels in the ,hotel ,guide1 and commanded me to grant the same4 ,i answered and gave him permission to buy the photographs of my work from ,curtis and ,cameron1 relinquishing my royalties4 ,mr4 ,astor1 therefore1 paid for the reproductions1 so establishing my case4 ,this question of copyright is one that crops up all the time and never will be really settled until some artist has money enough to carry a case to the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states4 ,anyone who writes a book1 a play1 or music1 and even those who make etchings and engravings1 are protected1 but the law does not apply to the painter or the sculptor4 ,i do not believe that the ,supreme ,court would decide in our favor1 for over here we are more apt to follow the ,english law1 where the buyer1 unless otherwise stated1 retains the copyright1 and not the ,french law1 where the artist always has it4 ,after the decorators had been chosen for the work in the ,appellate ,court1 the chief justice asked me to bring in some of my former contracts that he might see the form and make one for us to sign more or less like them4 ,then1 later1 he asked me to make one which ,i thought would serve4 ,as the question was then vitally at issue about the copyright1 ,i slipped in a small clause--8artist to retain the copyright40 ,it came back to me blue-penciled1 so ,i saw it would be no use4 ,later1 the chief justice gave a talk at a lunch to which ,i was invited1 and remarked that ,mr4 ,simmons was 8not only an able painter1 but a keen lawyer40 ,if it had not been for an accident1 he would not have noticed a certain line that ,i had put into my contract1 and ,i would have obtained a decision of the ,appellate ,court for nothing4 ,that line would have established a precedent for the state of ,new ,york1 and from that time all artists would have had and owned their copyrights4 ,james ,lord was the architect of the ,appellate ,court4 ,there was great trouble because he signed out the triptych to three men when it should have been given to one4 ,he evidently wanted to give everyone a chance1 for in the other part of the building he gave one frieze to five men4 ,our triptych was done by ,blashfield1 ,walker1 and myself4 ,we were to do ,justice in three forms1 and as the work of ,blashfield and myself was more nearly alike1 we put ,walker in the middle4 ,i waited until ,blashfield had determined the composition1 the color scheme1 and even until he had actually painted his background1 and then1 as far as ,i could1 ,i followed him4 ,after the canvases were completed and on the wall1 ,i found that my two figures of small boys in the foreground were not in the right place1 so ,i painted them out and moved them up four inches higher4 ,blashfield went even farther4 ,he took out a woman's figure with her back turned and changed her completely1 because he did not think she agreed with the general composition of the three4 ,these changes were very difficult1 as they were done under a different light1 in a different place from the original work1 and1 of necessity 7as the building was then in use71 without the assistance of models4 ,a remark of ,richard ,canfield's on my panel is worth quoting4 ,i have1 in the foreground1 a symbolism of a child pushing away the nose of a vulpine animal with his right hand1 to protect a rabbit at his left4 ,the great gambler said3 8,by ,george6 ,simmons1 ,i did not know you had so much intelligence as that4 ,that symbolism of yours is very apt3 ,crime1 ,ignorance1 and ,stupidity4 ,is that what the ,appellate ,court stands for80 ,at my first interview with ,canfield ,i got a taste of the man ,i was to deal with4 ,clarence ,luce was the architect who made the gambling house on ,forty-fourth ,street1 next to ,delmonico's1 and he came to me with a proposition to decorate it1 saying that ,i was to talk the matter over with ,mr4 ,canfield himself4 ,i1 of course1 decided he would know nothing of art and it would be rather trying4 ,i was mistaken4 ,a short1 fattish1 powerful man greeted me and said1 only3 8,i want your best work4 ,you know what that is and ,i shall know it when ,i see it4 ,we'll talk the money over later40 ,this did not seem extraordinary to me at the time4 ,sad experience has since taught me to do nothing without a contract1 but ,i have always found that with men of the character of ,richard ,canfield1 nothing of the sort is necessary4 ,in working for ,john ,dunston1 proprietor of the famous 8,jack's0 ,restaurant1 ,i would paint a panel in my studio1 take it down to the room1 and put it upon the wall1 go directly to the office and get my money--no criticism of my work and no arguments--just a man's word1 and as to the artistic part of it1 he considered my judgment better than his4 ,like ,napoleon1 when ,canfield wanted anything done1 he employed the best men and told them to go ahead4 ,he became a great friend of ,whistler's and has written one of the most interesting accounts of the painter that ,i have read4 ,whistler painted ,canfield's portrait and doubtless found him a congenial companion--as who would not8 ,he knew life1 he knew human nature1 he was an expert on guns and firearms and had killed his man or ,i miss my guess2 and yet ,i must say that ,richard ,canfield was a man in every sense of the word and as much a gentleman as one who lives outside the law can be4 ,he was the god of all the smaller gamblers and had helped more than one over the rough spots4 ,the house where fortunes were made and lost is standing to-day1 and from the outside resembles nothing more than the ordinary1 narrow1 three- or four-story1 brownstone dwelling place4 ,in ,canfield's time1 ,clarence ,luce had managed to transform the interior until it was quite a gem in its way4 ,entering by the big swing door1 one stepped into a small vestibule done in ,numidian marble4 ,in the ceiling were five rhomboidal panels of thin jade behind which were lights casting a soft glow1 ,oriental in its effect 7one might imagine it to be ,cleopatra's bedroom71 and giving a thrill of mystery right at the start4 ,before one was a solemn door and the usual grill with a bell4 ,upon ringing1 a huge negro peeked through1 and one was admitted if one were a friend4 ,behind this was a reception room1 and here ,i painted ,pandora and her box with a great smoke1 interspersed with figures1 coming out of it2 while over the mantel of the room behind were ,hospitality and her attendants4 ,the gambling room was on the next floor1 and on the newel post of the stairway was a charming little reproduction of the 8,bacchante0 by ,frederick ,mac,monnies1 of which ,anders ,zorn said to me3 8,for the first time ,i see this lady where she should be--in a gambling house40 ,the architect had scaled everything down to undersize1 so that in this narrow house things might look large4 ,there must have been extra chambers in the walls1 as in the daytime there was nothing to be seen of the tables or the wheels1 and for aught one knew1 it was a private home4 ,the back room1 where was served any kind of drink or food 7even to cold partridge7 that human ingenuity could conjure1 was dark1 of the dull colors of ,spanish leather1 and this formed a contrast to the room where the playing went on4 ,this was light1 with a carpet on the floor of terre-verte plush so thick that one's feet sunk into its depths without making the slightest sound4 ,i saw that the only color must come from the faces of the men1 the red spots on the table--and my decorations4 ,the spaces to be painted were two of those difficult cat-claw panels 7spandrels7 at one end of the room1 and these were also undersize4 ,i could not use a male figure1 so made my 8,night0 and 8,morning10 taken from ,swinburne's lines1 ,when haughty ,day represses ,night's cold and faint caresses1 both from women models4 ,along toward the beginning of my work things were not going well with me financially2 so late one night ,i dressed in evening clothes and went up to see ,canfield4 ,he received me in the supper room1 called the waiter to bring a decanter of rye 7which he never corked1 but simply covered with a fine linen napkin1 thus allowing the fusel oil to evaporate71 and then asked me if ,i had come to play4 ,i answered that ,i should not think of doing so indelicate a thing while working for him4 ,at that he nodded his head saying1 8,i thought not40 8,i'm in great trouble10 ,i said4 8,well1 a man can't do his best work in that state4 ,what is it80 ,i made a clean breast of everything4 8,the answer to all that is money10 he said1 calling his secretary4 8,bring me a check for a thousand dollars10 and then to me1 8,now run away and do your best work40 ,in regard to questions of gambling debts1 ,canfield was inexorable if he was dealing with crooks 7which are not always to be found in the lower strata of society1 by any means71 but for a young man who had made his first mistake he had nothing but kindness4 ,a friend of mine was taken 7when a bit alcoholic71 by an older man1 to ,canfield's one night4 ,after a short time he found himself in debt to the house for several thousands of dollars4 ,he wrote out a check for the amount and went home4 ,in the morning he realized what he had done and that he did not have anything like the amount to meet it4 ,bracing up1 he groomed himself carefully and called upon ,mr4 ,canfield4 ,that gentleman had not yet breakfasted and seemed in no hurry to do so1 for my friend waited several hours in the reception room4 ,i suspect that the astute gambler was giving him a chance to show his mettle4 ,when ,canfield appeared1 the boy 7for he was very young7 made a clean breast of affairs1 saying that neither himself nor his family were in a position to meet the obligation1 but that he was there to offer all he had--his skin4 ,canfield listened attentively1 turned to his desk1 picked up a paper1 and said3 8,is this the check80 ,my friend nodded4 8,well1 don't ever do this again10 he advised1 tearing it up and throwing it into the fire4 ,i once asked ,canfield about an account in the papers of a young man in one of our western cities whom he had sued for the payment of a bad check of #de1jjj4 ,it seemed to me foolish1 for of course he could not collect4 8,oh1 ,i just did that to let you fellows know what a rotter the boy was1 that's all10 he said4 8,the night he lost it he had turned up at my place with his older brother and the manager of his father's business here in ,new ,york4 ,when the young fellow began to lose heavily1 my man came to me for instructions4 ,i asked his companions what to do4 ,they said to let him plunge1 that the firm was good for it4 ,of course1 the next day they refused to pay4 ,that is why ,i sued4 8,but a few weeks later they needed me4 ,the young man had got into serious trouble which required a large amount of instant cash4 ,it was early ,sunday morning and there was at that time no place in ,new ,york where one could get money after banking hours4 ,so the manager and the young man's brother turned up at my house1 bringing with them a man whose name1 on paper1 was good for millions4 ,here was my chance4 ,they needed #be1jjj cash4 ,i gave it to them in exchange for a check1 signed by the brother and backed by the rich man1 for #gj1jjj40 ,i rather imagine that certain people had to leave for ,montreal that morning and did not stay upon the manner of their going4 ,when politics and the fine arts meet1 there is sometimes a clash4 ,senators and aldermen may be good lawmakers1 but they are not always judges of decorative painting4 ,the funniest time ,i ever had was in trying to decorate the ,baltimore ,law ,courts building4 ,la ,farge and ,vedder had both refused the order1 and ,i could easily see why1 after my own experience4 ,there were seven rhomboidal panels in the entrance4 ,the first suggestion made to me was to have a representation of ,francis ,scott ,key finding that the 8flag was still there40 ,as he must have been below deck in a ,british war vessel at that moment1 looking out of a porthole1 the only way to do him would have been from the back view1 while in the distance the flag would have been about the size of one of his ears4 ,i might have been able to vary this seven times1 but ,i doubt it4 ,then they suggested ,religious ,liberty as a subject4 ,my argument against this was that it is an idea of the mind and not for the eye4 ,pope ,hildebrand1 a most wicked man1 would be a far more decorative proposition than ,bishop ,potter1 though not representing ,religious ,liberty nearly so well4 ,i tried to make a composition1 but failed and gave it up4 ,i did propose1 however1 that it could be done by taking the color red for the ,church of ,rome1 raising the tone to a lively pink for the ,church of ,england1 then a very faint rose shade for ,unitarianism4 ,in this way the idea might be made to last out the seven panels1 the last being one where only the pure in heart could see any color at all4 ,brander ,matthews once gave me the best illustration that ,i know of a purely literary subject that could not be painted4 ,the ladies of ,new ,york presented a flag to a ,negro regiment4 ,the color sergeant stepped forward1 as in duty bound1 to accept it4 ,he then should have stepped back1 but1 being a negro1 had to say something4 ,so1 saluting1 he remarked1 8,i'll bring these colors back or ,i'll report to ,god1 the reason why40 ,now this is a fine tale1 but how to paint it8 ,one would have a negro and a flag2 the remainder would have to be printed underneath4 ,mistaking the subject for the artist is a great failing of a certain type of mind4 ,this was true of ,freddie ,remington4 ,he was a darling and we all loved him--one of those rare beings1 a man without an enemy4 ,when he began painting he was lucky enough to stumble upon a new field1 one of great size1 that had not been touched1 and one that all ,america cared for4 ,the ,west1 the cowboy1 soldier1 and miner were virgin soil1 waiting for his touch4 ,roosevelt1 who did not know as much about painting as he did about roughriding1 wanted to have a statue erected to him as the greatest ,american artist4 ,i do not believe the ordinary politician ever considers the fine arts seriously4 ,to him beauty is something for ,sundays or holidays1 and he lets the women attend to it4 ,at least1 when we were in ,washington some years ago1 making an attempt to have the tax on art removed1 ,i had a chance to judge the mental weight of one ,congressman4 ,i was asked to be one of the party 7as one of the minor speakers only71 for ,i could tell what ,i knew of the same matter in ,france and ,england4 ,i was fool enough to say1 in the course of my argument3 8,this may not go down with the woolly ,west1 but it should in the ,east40 ,instantly a long young man1 with a shock of dark hair falling over his forehead1 rose and said3 8,what's that1 ,mr4 ----0 7turning to his neighbor to ask my name7--8oh1 ,simmons8 ,what do you know about the ,west1 if ,i may ask4 ,how far west have you ever been80 ,i think he took it for granted that ,i was born 7like ,sargent7 on the other side4 ,i answered3 8,three years under the shadow of ,mount ,shasta1 ,mr4 ,bryan40 ,i knew ,william ,jennings by sight and judged that he had not ventured so far from his home town as ,i had4 ,he was silenced by the chairman and there was a chuckle4 ,anders ,zorn told me two stories about ,grover ,cleveland1 showing the extraordinary penetration and understanding of this statesman4 ,while he was doing a portrait of the ,president1 at one time he took the canvas and turned it upside down to look at it4 ,to ,cleveland's questioning he replied that he was doing it to see if he had painted the book too high in value1 adding3 8,what do you think80 8,i suppose you painters use the word #8value' to mean the importance a thing holds in its effect upon the eye of the beholder4 ,yes1 ,i think it is too high but why do you turn it upside down80 ,zorn was interested4 8,why do you think we do80 8,it must be to see it from a new point of view4 ,to get a new conception of it all40 ,it was1 but how keen of him to have thought it out6 ,zorn asked ,mrs4 ,cleveland what her husband's friends thought of the portrait4 ,she replied that she did not know anyone who fitted that description1 that he had many acquaintances1 but no one that she could call his friend4 ,it seems that the higher a man climbs1 the farther behind he leaves his associates4 ,shakespeare must have been very lonely away up there on the mountain top4 ,there were two humps in the ,monument ,land near the ,old ,manse which were supposed to be the graves of ,british soldiers killed in the ,revolutionary ,war4 ,hawthorne tells the legend of a boy who chopping wood there at the time of the battle of ,concord1 saw one soldier fall1 and went over and finished him with his ax4 ,when my dog ,cuff used to start digging at this place1 ,i always wanted to let him go on1 just to see if one of the skulls was split4 ,during this period of my life1 no doubt aided by the usual school history1 ,i formed a definite idea of the battle of ,concord1 and it was not until ,i tried to paint it for the ,boston ,state ,house that ,i found out the real truth of the matter4 ,and my enlightenment came from a ,britisher6 ,i naturally started out with a composition of men in red coats1 but1 thinking it over1 decided to be sure1 so ,i wrote to ,trevelyan1 author of that wonderful history of the ,revolutionary period1 asking him where ,i could get information4 ,a very courteous reply told me that he was in the country and that he did not have his books of reference with him1 but added1 8,why do you not go to that excellent library of yours1 the ,boston ,athenum1 and consult the ,gentleman's ,magazine for ,june1 #agge8 ,you'll find what you want there40 ,i did find what ,i wanted1 and a lot more4 ,for instance1 only one out of ten ,british soldiers at ,concord were redcoats4 ,those who fought at the ,bridge were the ones who afterward formed the 8,king's ,own0--a flying wedge of two hundred men in dark-blue-and-black uniforms4 ,another little error of the poet ,longfellow's is that ,paul ,revere may have been a very good silversmith1 but he never got to ,concord4 ,he was only one of a group of men sent out to warn the countryside1 and he1 with many others1 was caught by the ,british and sent back to ,boston4 ,and then the flag6 ,despite ,betsy ,ross1 ,i shall have to confess that the ,stars and ,stripes turned up the first time at the siege of ,boston and were carried by a body of ,connecticut militia4 ,one of our well-known illustrators has made a drawing of ,washington reviewing his troops under the famous elm at ,cambridge 7again the flag floating proudly in the breeze71 the soldiers being carefully clothed in ,colonial uniforms4 ,according to the statement of the ,rev4 ,william ,emerson1 we find a blacksmith of ,concord1 during the siege of ,boston1 which was after the battle at the ,bridge1 carrying his own gun and wearing his leather apron4 ,also1 ,washington made a pathetic appeal to ,congress for some form of shirt that should distinguish his soldiers from the citizens1 saying that the only way he had to mark his officers was a red1 white1 or blue ribbon which they wore in their coats4 ,about this point in my reading ,i stopped and changed my entire composition1 taking my cue from the letter which remains for us1 from the ,american commander at the ,bridge4 ,he says3 8,i then sprang to my feet1 crying1 #8,fire1 fellow citizens6 ,fire6'0 ,sprang to his feet8 ,where must he have been8 ,lying behind something4 ,i had shot1 fished1 and traveled over this land all my life--it was only just across the river from our house--and there was nothing there in my boyhood behind which a man could have hidden4 ,i looked this up and found there had formerly been a wall so that the market women during the spring freshet could walk dry shod in the days of the ,concord ,river's overflow4 ,considering the fact that ,i had never seen green grass anywhere near ,boston on the #aith of ,april1 it may seem strange that ,i put it into my decoration4 ,of course1 ,i preferred it for my color scheme1 but ,i actually found a letter from a woman of the period and of that date1 saying1 8,i saw green grass waving out of my window this morning40 ,it appears that that year they had an unusually early spring4 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,return ,,of ,,the ,,flags0 ,panel by ,edward ,simmons1 ,boston ,state ,house ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print ,copyright by ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston ,when ,i painted my second panel1 ,i thought of the order that the ,pope gave to ,raphael to paint him putting out a fire by the power of ,god4 ,the ,pope naturally saw himself the principal figure and was disgusted when he found that ,raphael had made him a little figure on a balcony in the distance1 the artist preferring a group of maidens rushing around in the foreground with jugs of water as being more interesting to paint4 ,now my subject was ,war1 and when ,i chose as my other panel 8,the ,return of the ,battle ,flags into the ,custody of the ,state after the ,civil ,war10 many people naturally expected that the governor and officials would occupy the prominent place on the canvas4 ,the governor was an admirable man and did a great deal toward winning the war1 but in actual fact he was about five feet high1 8pot-gutted10 bald headed1 and not an attractive object from a painter's point of view4 ,i did not wish to do a group of portraits1 but a decoration1 so ,i imagined myself in the park1 looking up at the ,state ,house1 with a line of color sergeants marching up the steps to present the flags to the governor and officials waiting above4 ,as they were two or three hundred feet away from the gate1 ,i had to reduce them to twelve or fifteen inches in height1 thereby making lifelong enemies of several who were still alive4 ,when the ,g4 ,a4 ,r4 found ,i was not to do the officers1 but the color sergeants1 my trouble was by no means over1 for the wives and relatives of more than a dozen sent me photographs of their beloved ones1 some of whom were dead1 some of whom had lost an arm in the war4 ,many of the likenesses were of the individual thirty years later than the day he carried the flag6 ,all1 of course1 expected to be represented in the decoration by a life-sized portrait4 ,i obviated this difficulty by making them march up the stairs away from one1 as they naturally would have done1 and a back view is not a good portrait4 ,the ceremony had taken place on a day in ,december1 and it had snowed the night before2 so the next question that arose was that of the army overcoat4 ,i had seen many of them in my boyhood2 all of the farmers wore them in the fields4 ,i took it for granted that it would be easy to get one4 ,i appealed to the ,g4 ,a4 ,r4 of ,boston1 the ,g4 ,a4 ,r4 of ,new ,york1 and the ,g4 ,a4 ,r4 of ,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 ,there were none to be had4 ,finally1 ,i wrote to ,sanger1 a classmate of mine1 who was the ,assistant ,secretary of ,war1 and found that there were some in the army archives and that all ,i had to do was to go to ,washington and look at them4 ,they would even have them taken out for me to examine thoroughly4 ,this1 of course1 would do me no good whatever4 ,i must have one in my studio so that a model could pose in it4 ,my home and studio were at ,east ,hampton1 ,georgica ,pond1 at the time1 and ,i was walking around my garden one day1 feeling very low in my mind1 when my man of all work asked me what the matter was4 ,i was blue enough to tell anyone my troubles1 and explained to him1 with no idea that he could help me4 8,why1 old ,jackson wears a coat like that10 he said4 ,i had no faith1 but we harnessed up1 drove several miles out1 when1 sure enough 7,i spied it at a distance71 there was old ,jackson weeding out his flower garden and wearing an original ,civil ,war army overcoat4 ,it was a beauty1 stained by time and faded by the sun2 a real work of art1 but he thought me a great fool to give him an entirely new coat for it4 ,the last trouble was the flag4 ,i found out that the maker of the flags carried in the war was still alive and had one in his possession4 ,it was all battle worn and just what ,i wanted4 ,after the panel was up the ,boston ,transcript published a letter from an indignant woman stating that ,i had no right to monkey with ,old ,glory2 that as an artist ,i might have thought the flag would be better with gold stars1 but that ,i had no right to paint them so4 ,the original flags were upon the wall of the ,state ,house1 about ten feet under my panel1 and ,i replied to her1 asking that she take the trouble to go and look at them and see that the stars were gold4 ,also1 as they had been given to the regiments by the ladies of ,boston1 the question was 8up to them40 ,this ,united ,states flag is one of the most undecorative things that an artist has to use4 ,made like a crazy quilt1 absolutely without an sthetic excuse1 even the ,barbarians do better4 ,it is based on the ,washington shield1 but is an exceedingly ugly arrangement of the colors4 ,at a distance it looks like a sweet pea2 pretty1 but never dignified4 ,we love it--not for its looks--but1 as ,desdemona loved ,othello1 8for the dangers he has passed40 ,i never understood ,boston--or1 in fact1 ,new ,england--until ,i went back there after having spent years in ,europe4 ,there are many delightful qualities about the ,bostonese type of mind1 but their comprehension of the senses only through abstract matters limits their personal enjoyments4 ,however1 we cannot quarrel with them on some scores4 ,their love of music1 for instance4 ,i have heard music in three places in my life in such a way as to approach the indulgences of the ,mad ,king of ,wrttemberg4 ,if one is not alone1 one must have the sense of being alone2 there must be no rustling of programs and no talking4 ,therefore the perfect way to listen to music is to have an audience composed of one's friends4 ,you cannot tell a stranger to 8shut up10 but you can a friend2 and you can also ignore him and thus establish solitude4 ,in the ,vaudeville ,club1 in the studio of ,augustus ,saint-,gaudens1 where every year he used to give a ,sunday concert in memory of his dear friend ,welles's birthday 7as a rule it was a stringed quartet72 and in the ,st4 ,botolph ,club of ,boston1 ,i have really enjoyed music4 ,we had the ,kneisel and the ,adamovski ,quartets--the most wonderful music ,i ever heard4 ,the man sitting next to me might have been anybody from a prince to ,paderewski4 ,i learned more about music and fell more in love with it than ,i had in all the remainder of my life because ,i got it under congenial surroundings4 ,paderewski ,i never knew well1 but have had the pleasure of playing many a game of pool with him4 ,it was said that he ate nothing and drank only water during the day1 if he was to play at night1 a habit ,i can understand2 for whenever ,i have had the problem of making what was to me a great composition1 ,i have found it necessary to train for it by exhausting my nervous forces1 thereby rendering myself simple in thought4 ,so ,i imagine him drawing himself fine4 ,after a performance he would arrive at the ,st4 ,botolph ,club1 wanting much food and1 when he had fed1 much fun4 8,now let's play poker2 now let's play pool40 ,it was not the game1 it was the sociability he wanted2 because1 once in it1 he never knew when it was his turn to play1 never could remember to ante1 and talked all the time4 ,paderewski comes nearer to being the traditional genius than any other modern--all the eccentricities with the real stuff underneath4 ,they say he kept1 in his younger days1 a pet poodle to supply the requests he received for locks of his hair4 ,and then the story of the cherry stones which a woman found lying on the corner of his mantelpiece one day and appropriated1 and which she had set in a pin of clover-leaf pattern4 ,upon her calling the artist's attention to it1 he remarked3 8,that is one of the carelessnesses of my valet4 ,it must have been he who left them there4 ,personally1 ,i loathe cherries40 ,one of the drawbacks of ,bostonians is the lack of a true sense of humor4 ,the assistant professor of mathematics at the ,technological ,school once told me that he comprehended infinity4 ,a large order1 but he was perfectly serious4 ,while they are willing to claim such an advance in one direction1 they sometimes seem to have no realization of the advance of the civilization of this earth4 ,one of the younger members of my family--upon moving to ,richmond1 ,virginia1 two or three years ago--was admonished by an elderly spinster of ,boston to 8be sure and be kind to those poor heathens in the ,south40 ,she meant the negroes60 ,boston is a city apart4 ,it has nothing to do with the rest of the country4 ,twenty years ago my mother1 like all good ,bostonians1 stopping at the ,murray ,hill ,hotel here in ,new ,york1 said3 8,only think1 ,edward1 there are thirty ,cabots sailing to-day on the same steamer40 ,she was much shocked when ,i remarked1 8,i hope it is a strong ship40 ,dr4 ,samuel ,cabot's house was always a revelation to me4 ,it was full of stuffed birds in glass cases4 ,he was not without a sense of the ridiculous1 however1 for when he was persuaded to go to see a picture by his brother ,edward 7whom all the women worshiped for his artistic tendencies71 he said about this painting--entitled 8,peace0--of two birds building their nest in the mouth of a cannon3 8,that's just like ,edward2 both his birds are male40 ,this desire of ignoring sex was paramount in many learned and otherwise delightful folk4 ,i remember ,william ,ware and had great respect for him1 but ,i had to laugh at him4 ,he was an architect of ability and a professor at ,columbia1 loved by his pupils1 but the kind of man who had no respect for any idea that was not fifty years old--so that it was certain to be absolutely true before he taught it4 ,he told me once that he had never been able to see any reason for women's existence4 ,it must have been this side of his nature which caused him to go about with a small hammer and eliminate all evidences of sex from the newly arrived ,greek masterpieces for the ,boston ,art ,museum4 ,he could not see anything incongruous in the fact that the fig leaves 7cast by the workman in the ,museum7 were of a different color from the statues4 ,strange type of mind--and yet he had cleverness and a certain wit4 ,my aunt had asked her husband to invite ,professor ,ware to dinner1 but1 thinking my uncle might forget the message1 wrote a letter in addition4 ,the professor answered both4 ,the letters are records of brevity4 ,dear ,sophy3 ,yours with pleasure1 ,w4 ,w4 ,dear ,james3 ,yours as to your wife1 ,w4 ,w4 ,chapter ,,xiii3 ,the ,players ,the mad progress of ,big ,business can almost be likened to a mighty cyclone which sweeps across the countryside with destruction in its wake1 but here and there leaving1 quite untouched1 a farm1 a fruit tree1 or a windmill--delightful oases--which serve as the only record of a struggling civilization4 ,big ,business in ,new ,york has wiped out the homes of the people and sent them in a frantic rush hither and thither in search of a place to live4 ,always there is that uprooting1 due to the steady march of the threatening skyscraper up the island of ,manhattan4 ,as in the case of the cyclone1 however1 verdant places are left behind in this barren desert of commerce1 little green spots which remain an eternal blessing and evidence that there were once normal human beings here who thought and had time to care for beauty4 ,one such place is ,gramercy ,park4 ,i started one day to try to guess the origin of the name 8,gramercy40 ,samuel ,ruggles1 the son of the maker of the park1 told me that when his father had bought the land the squatters called it 8,grommercy ,crick0 7there was then a small stream of water flowing through it7 and the only word that sounded near enough to that was 8,gramercy40 ,i asked ,carl ,arendt1 a well-known actor1 what ,grommercy meant in ,dutch4 ,at first he said1 8,nothing10 but later stopped me and said3 8,you may have been aiming at ,kromme ,zee1 which means ,crooked ,creek40 ,like ,zuyder ,zee1 ,i believe this is the origin of ,gramercy4 ,the ,park reminds one of certain places in ,london more than anything else4 ,in fact1 ,i have often seen moving-picture companies taking films down here which were afterward to be represented on the screen as taking place in the ,british metropolis4 ,the garden is perfect in its miniature representation of the different seasons4 ,there is one lilac bush at the southwest corner that always tells me of the approach of spring4 ,one year it did not blossom and ,i felt as if ,i had lost a friend4 ,the same gardener has been caring for the growing things for a number of years1 and many a child has been intrusted to his care while the nurse or parent was busy elsewhere4 ,he teaches them to love the flowers1 to play on the paths so that the grass may grow1 patches up the quarrels and broken heads1 and is tsar in his little domain4 ,the plot of ground1 with enough money to keep it going1 was presented to the residents who live about the square1 and most of the provisos have been kept1 except that the donor required that no buildings more than four stories be allowed1 and no house of other than brick or stone 7barring wood1 evidently74 ,one or two taller ones have managed to creep in1 but in general everything is almost the same as it was in the 'nineties1 when ,i first landed in ,new ,york4 ,one ,sunday in winter the son of the maker of the park was out walking with his dad1 when along came a man with a gun1 dragging a big animal4 ,it was a wolf1 and the man took them to the spot where he had shot it4 ,there was a big patch of blood upon the snow4 ,this is the place where ,the ,players now stands4 ,edwin ,booth gave the house to the club1 with the condition that he be allowed to make it his home as long as he lived4 ,it is well known how the idea started on the yacht of ,commodore ,benedict and how that nucleus of clever folk grew into the institution we have to-day4 ,it was not to be essentially an actors' club1 but a place where the actor could meet his equals4 ,one must be an artist or a patron of the arts to belong and1 of course1 this includes writers1 architects1 sculptors1 and painters4 ,it is a very beautiful club4 ,stanford ,white is responsible for the architecture and gave his services gratis1 as he did for ,the ,lambs4 ,men coming from the ,old ,world say that it is the only place in ,america that reminds them of home4 ,the tonality of the rooms is like that of the very old houses of ,europe2 time has mellowed the walls as it does a bit of lace or tapestry4 ,one of the ceilings that was a pale robin's-egg blue in '#ia is now an exquisite velvet khaki4 ,no man could paint it4 ,whistler would give up in despair the idea of even copying it4 ,like the quality of the hair and skin of a dear old face1 it gives an air of good breeding1 calm1 and quiet over all4 ,the halls and stairways of the house are lined with photographs and playbills1 with1 here and there1 a painting4 ,over the fireplace hangs that admirable portrait of ,edwin ,booth by ,sargent which gives one an entirely new conception of the actor4 ,on one of the walls is a drawing by ,tom ,nast1 whom ,i knew well and loved dearly4 ,it is a political cartoon which was the original1 ,i am told1 of the 8,tammany tiger40 ,tom is the illustrator who disposed of the ,irish-,american question forever by drawing a banner flying over the ,capitol at ,washington1 on which were the words1 8,erin go unum pluribus bragh40 ,there are a number of unusually valuable mezzotints and wood engravings scattered about1 and the biggest collection known to exist1 twenty-six portraits in all1 of the painter ,naegle4 ,altogether there are five ,sullys1 an average ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 a remarkably good ,gilbert ,stuart1 a beautiful ,gainsborough in the earlier manner1 while on one wall are two small panels by ,benjamin ,west4 ,as to the books1 there is a veritable treasure house--all the knowledge of the stage that one could possibly desire1 with many valuable autographed copies and rare editions4 ,the most unusual possession of the club in the way of printed stuff is the second1 third1 and fourth folios of ,shakespeare's plays4 ,the library room1 arranged for ease and comfort1 runs the whole length of the house4 ,in the center are soft chairs and couches1 with lights close to one's elbow4 ,there is an air of rest and quiet which has often been found more conducive to sleep than weighty reading by certain of us who are in the habit of staying up till the 8wee sma' hours40 ,one memento that has always cheered me in my moments of financial stress--for misery loves company--is a letter1 written by ,oliver ,goldsmith to ,doctor ,johnson1 trying to borrow three pounds1 which he promises will be repaid as soon as ,the ,traveller shall be published4 ,the letter is probably worth twelve hundred dollars to-day6 ,gifts flow into such a place1 some appropriate and some ridiculous4 ,the costumes of ,edwin ,booth1 for instance1 are of great interest to all1 but the back tooth of a comedian--a molar--which the wife of one actor presented to us after his death1 is not a very great treasure4 ,but there it is in a glass case by day1 and locked up in a steel safe at night along with the paste jewels of the stage4 ,my earlier friends are the most vivid to me--those who are now gone4 ,descriptions of them are futile and have been done too many times by others far better equipped in a literary way than myself4 ,i remember them only as they came into the club--some peculiarity of looks1 some small joke1 some story around the long table at luncheon where we were brought together for a fleeting instant1 each to depart the next moment and go his own way4 ,the stories1 the wit1 and the necessity of competing with the best brains of ,america in ,the ,players was an education to me4 ,there were the ,aldriches--,louis and ,thomas ,bailey--no relation1 except ,louis was named after the writer4 ,as a boy he was very poor1 did not know where he came from1 only that he was called 8,louis40 ,having the job of running errands around a theater out west1 he was accosted by the stage carpenter one day1 who was a great admirer of the writing of ,thomas ,bailey4 8,your name from now on is ,aldrich10 he said1 8,louis ,aldrich4 ,don't forget it or you will catch the devil from me40 ,louis ,aldrich it was1 and when he had made his way in the world and was successful enough to go in the same society with ,thomas ,bailey1 he had reached the goal that the carpenter had unwittingly marked for him4 ,the poet always rather resented his existence1 however4 ,thomas ,bailey ,aldrich wrote delightful verse and was a charming man1 but little things sometimes irritated him greatly4 ,i remember him coming into the club evidently as cross as two sticks4 ,the publishers had had the 8cheek0 to refuse a poem of his4 ,i asked why4 8,oh1 ,i suppose they found it too meter-icious40 ,and this was long before the days of free verse4 ,louis ,aldrich made a fortune from the play 8,my ,pardner10 taken from the ,bret ,harte story called ,tennessee's ,pardner4 ,when ,louis ,aldrich was chairman of the house committee of ,the ,players1 ,i saw him one noon standing at the door of the dining room1 talking to ,walter1 the head waiter4 ,presently1 in a loud voice1 he said3 8,walter1 what is the lunch to-day80 8,pork chops and sausages1 sir40 8,an insult to the house committee40 ,then later at the table3 8,walter1 bring me some of that damn ,christian food40 ,henry ,e4 ,dixey and ,louis were in a war play together1 and ,i heard the latter pray ,harry 7who had the part of a ,new ,york policeman7 to spare him when he gave a long speech about the flag4 ,i was one of the first-night audience1 and at that most pathetic climax about ,old ,glory1 etc41 the policeman suddenly fell dead4 ,many actors have a ready wit4 ,jack ,wendall became quite famous for his excellent portrayal of the dog in ,rostand's 8,chanticleer40 ,one of these silly1 satisfied business men was a guest at ,the ,players and1 meeting ,jack1 insisted upon his giving an example of his bark right then and there4 ,after much persuasion and1 in order to silence the man1 he did so4 ,whereupon the man proceeded to bark much louder and much better than ,jack4 ,the actor was worsted at his own game and by such a fatuous creature1 but he turned and said1 with the most cunning inference3 8,it is fine1 but you see1 sir1 ,i had to learn40 ,speaking of ,rostand1 ,i am proud of a translation of mine of two lines of 8,cyrano40 ,mark ,smith had challenged my statement that it could be done in ,english verse and gave as a test3 8,qu'est-ce qu'un baiser8 ,c'est le point rose sur l',i du mot aimer40 ,i gave him3 8,what is a kiss8 ,the rosy dot upon the #8,i' of bliss40 ,mark was an actor and the son of an actor4 ,i saw him first with ,mrs4 ,leslie ,carter4 ,it is told of him that just before his birth his parents were in ,paris4 ,his father1 being very patriotic1 went to the ,american embassy1 got some earth from the cellar1 and1 filling four saucers with it1 placed them under the legs of the bed where his wife lay4 ,with ,old ,glory over the bed1 ,mark was ushered into the world as near an ,american citizen as his father could make him4 ,one of the most interesting stage families of my time was the group of ,hollands4 ,e4 ,s41 whom we called 8,ned10 was perhaps the best known throughout the country and was a finished actor of the so-called old school4 ,it was the father of these boys who made that immortal remark which named a house of worship and made it famous4 ,holland1 with others1 approached the pastor of a large ,fifth ,avenue church to get him to read the burial service for a dead actor4 ,the minister refused1 saying that actors could not be buried from his church4 ,seeing their despair1 he repented a trifle and suggested that they try the little church just around the corner4 ,the elder ,holland raised his hat and said3 8,god bless the ,little ,church ,around the ,corner40 ,joe ,holland is the only member of the family alive to-day1 and he retired from the stage a few years ago4 ,he became very deaf and finally paralyzed1 but he has in no way let it ruin his life4 ,with grit and persistence to a degree that should be an example to everyone1 here is this man1 no longer young1 learning to read and1 although totally deaf1 to speak a beautiful ,french1 sailing a boat better than most professionals and becoming the commodore of the yacht club of the seaport town where he lives in the summer1 leading a full life where most people would have given up the ghost long ago4 ,joe used to ask one or another of us to go out for a drive with him in the evening4 ,i often wondered what pleasure it could give him and once wrote on his paper 7which he always carried71 8,why do you do this80 ,a most pathetic look came into his face4 8,i know you are all just being good to me and you can't keep it up long1 but somehow1 if ,i can get you to drive in the moonlight where you wouldn't want to talk1 anyway1 we are just as much companions in those moments as if ,i were not deaf40 ,such delicacy of feeling could not help but come out in his actions1 and something ,joe did once impressed me very much4 ,frank ,worthing1 the actor1 was going to ,england1 and1 although it was not mentioned1 he was going to die4 ,joe bought half a dozen calendars and sent a sheet to everyone of ,frank's friends1 asking that they write a note1 a poem1 or music1 and1 if they were artists1 make a sketch4 ,these he collected1 had beautifully bound and put in the stateroom of the steamer so that 8every day when ,frank wakes up1 he will receive a good morning from a friend40 ,there is something very fine about a man who thinks that way4 ,the ,players sets aside one day a year for the ladies on ,shakespeare's birthday1 when the feminine friends of the members are allowed to invade the house between the hours of two and six in the afternoon4 ,here the stage-struck young girl may come in hopes of meeting her favorite matinee hero1 but ,i am afraid she is often disappointed1 as the young actor is generally timid and stays away that day4 ,it is left to the older gallants to offer a substitute and1 if it did not seem like boasting of my own generation1 ,i should say that a ,john ,drew1 a ,francis ,wilson1 or that dean of the ,american stage1 an ,f4 ,f4 ,mackay is still just as capable of holding his own with the modern flapper as he ever was4 ,every ,american or visiting actress of importance has been entertained at these receptions1 while special days have been given1 on rare occasions1 to a few4 ,there was one for ,clara ,louise ,kellogg1 one for ,mrs4 ,forbes-,robertson1 and one for the divine ,sarah4 ,sarah is easily the one person alive to-day who knows how to give a personal thrill to everyone with whom she comes into contact4 ,i remember seeing her a year or two ago1 driving in ,new ,york in an open carriage4 ,i did not recognize her at first1 but some subtle influence compelled me to raise my hat and bow in homage to--,i know not what4 ,i got in return a thrilling smile4 ,when ,madame ,bernhardt was guest of honor at ,the ,players1 she chose the landing of the stairway upon which to hold her court of honor1 thereby stopping all progress up or down4 ,it required all the tact of ,mr4 ,booth to get her satellites away from her and finally move her to a more remote spot4 ,how fine to be a queen and calmly acknowledge it to the world6 ,once ,i was standing with ,stanhope ,forbes1 the ,royal ,academician1 and his brother at the ,victoria ,station4 ,the brother was then the head of the continental affairs of the ,chatham and ,dover ,railway4 ,all of a sudden an official rushed up and asked what he should do about the next train for ,dover1 saying that there was a lady who was stopping everything by insisting that she must have her dog with her4 8,well1 she can't10 said ,forbes4 8,but she insists1 sir1 and she is making an awful row4 8,that's no matter4 ,who is she80 8,she says her name is something like ,sarah ,bernhard10 said the man4 8,good ,god60 said ,forbes1 wilting4 8,give her the train40 ,in my student days there were two 8gags0 on ,sarah4 ,one was1 8,yesterday an open carriage drove up to the ,thtre ,franais out of which got ,sarah ,bernhardt40 ,the other was a caricature of ,sarah and ,sarcey1 the critic2 she taking fattening1 and he anti-obesity1 pills4 ,while he is interviewing her one of his pills falls out of the box and is eaten by ,sarah's pet tiger1 which is crouched beside her on the floor4 ,the tiger immediately becomes a rug4 ,sarah screams and gives it one of her pills2 it becomes a tiger again4 ,duse is a direct contrast1 at least to an outside observer1 to ,sarah4 ,i was walking in ,union ,square1 approaching the place where ,tiffany used to be1 when out of the door came a somewhat elegant1 but modest-appearing figure in black1 moving swiftly toward a private carriage at the curb4 ,something about her seemed familiar and ,i recognized ,duse4 ,then ,i saw1 to my astonishment1 that she was lame4 ,she did not impress me at all on the street1 but on the stage she is the finest woman actor ,i have ever seen4 ,just realize the physical handicap--you never see it behind the footlights4 ,what a marvelous quality she gets out of that death-bed scene in 8,camille0--her simple nightgown1 her expression while waiting for the nurse to leave the room that she might reach under the bolster and get a letter from 8him10 the tragedy of her face as her fingers do not find it1 and the breaking of the sky after the storm4 ,her hand had touched it6 ,my respect rose for the great simplicity of this ,italian actress4 ,duse's ,armand throws everything at her when he begins to think she cares for material things alone4 ,i was telling this in ,the ,players1 when an actor1 since knighted by the ,british government1 said when he was acting ,armand1 he threw the bag of gold at her4 ,imagine a 8bag0 of gold4 ,in my first days in ,paris ,i saw the effects of the woman ,dumas used for the heroine of 8,camille0 sold at auction4 ,duse seemed to me a failure in 8,magda40 ,it had a northern humor that required a ,modjeska to sense4 ,the second meeting with the former lover1 the country baron1 which has always been such a tragedy to most actresses1 produced in ,modjeska nothing but amusement and a sense of irony4 ,she had the most beautiful hands and arms ,i ever saw4 ,i once sent her a sonnet about them1 and1 although it was ten years later before ,i met her1 she remembered it1 saying that ,i was the only man who had discovered the secret of her appeal to her public4 ,even when she was old and played 8,la ,bataille des ,dames10 her arms spoke to the audience and expressed what she wished4 ,i have met few actresses and have been behind the scenes in the theater only once or twice in my lifetime4 ,aside from paying my respects to that superb raconteur1 ,madame ,yvette ,guilbert1 painting a portrait of the fascinating ,nazimova1 meeting ,ellen ,terry at tea1 and being kissed by the beautiful ,maxine ,elliott for saying she was a better actor than her husband1 ,i have come into personal contact with only one other--an ,american4 ,one rainy ,march day1 while walking down ,thirty-sixth ,street when ,the ,lambs was in that delightful house that ,stanford ,white built1 a closed carriage stopped between me and a ,dutch stoop and a young woman got out4 ,she looked up in the air1 annoyed1 and was going to scuttle up the steps1 when ,i stepped forward to put my umbrella over her4 ,i would have done the same for a washerwoman4 ,she took my arm like a thoroughbred1 and ,i saw her to her door4 ,i had hardly gotten back to the walk when a boy from ,the ,lambs1 opposite1 came up1 saying1 8,some gentlemen in the club wish to see you1 sir40 ,i crossed over and went upstairs to confront a line of men drawn up in martial order4 ,there were twenty of them at least1 who saluted1 chanting3 8,we wish to congratulate you on your skill as a professional masher4 ,you are the first man who has succeeded in picking up ,maude ,adams40 ,this was my first and only meeting with her1 but she must represent a type that ,i think beautiful1 for one of the figures in a decoration that ,i made entirely out of my head resembles her so much that ,i have been asked many times if she did not pose for it4 ,miss ,adams is one of the women who have helped to bring the stage to that position among the arts which men like ,booth hoped it would reach4 ,besides women1 who always come first--who is it who says1 8,a man and his wife are one1 and she's the one80--,the ,players have entertained many notable men1 both local and foreign4 ,i met ,theodore ,roosevelt there for the first time4 ,not long after1 ,i was in a ,broadway car1 when ,i saw him hanging on to a strap4 ,the talk turned to war4 ,i had been back from ,europe only a short time and argued that ,america was not like ,england1 a cuttlefish with a vulnerable body needing long arms to get its food and protect itself against its enemies2 but rather like ,china1 an oyster covered by hard shell4 ,the large navy necessary to the first was superfluous to the second4 ,i was met with a hurricane of abuse1 to the amusement of the whole car4 ,i did not know that ,roosevelt had just been made ,secretary of the ,navy at ,washington4 ,he told this story to us at the club4 ,two young ,englishmen once turned up at his office and he sent them out to visit at his home in ,oyster ,bay4 ,after some ,saturday night festivities1 when the women had all retired from the table1 one of the young men started to give his impressions of ,america4 ,he had been here two weeks4 8,mr4 ,roosevelt10 he said1 8do you not feel that one arriving in a foreign country is often shocked by things that the people living there have gotten used to8 ,now we have been horrified by the ,american habit of lynching4 ,cowardly1 you'll admit2 subversive of all law and barbarous80 8,oh yes10 said ,t4 ,r41 8that's only natural4 ,now1 for instance1 ,i am always shocked1 when ,i land in ,england1 at your habit of knocking down your womenfolk and kicking them in the stomach4 ,subversive of all law1 cowardly you'll admit--0 8,of course1 that happens only among the lower classes10 replied the young man1 laughing mightily4 ,roosevelt then showed all his teeth in a grin and said1 8,well1 ,i don't think you boys will be asked to meet any lynchers at dinner40 ,literature and the stage meet in ,the ,players1 but the stage generally gets the better of it4 ,brander ,matthews was talking to me once about a play by him and ,bronson ,howard that was to open shortly4 ,i asked him about its possibilities4 8,oh10 he said1 8if it goes it will be called another of ,bronson's successes1 but if not it will be just another failure of mine40 ,tarkington was one of the successful writer-playwrights even in those days4 ,he is one of the few who have borne out their early promise1 a man if there ever was one1 with a joy of life that is abounding and a tremendous interest in his fellow beings1 however humble4 ,this natural curiosity about life and living seems to me a necessity for anyone who is to do big work in the world4 ,he was modest about his writing4 ,i went with him to the first night of ,richard ,mansfield in 8,monsieur ,beaucaire40 ,we were in tweeds and sat up in the 8nigger heaven40 ,on the stairs ,i said1 8,i suppose you dramatized this80 8,oh no10 he answered1 8,mansfield found a coat of mine he liked the looks of and ,i cut it over to fit him40 ,tark4 thinks so artistically and so cleverly4 ,here is a quotation from a letter written to me in #aiad4 ,he tells about ,arnold ,bennett criticizing the writing of a well-known author as being 8too adult10 then goes on to say3 8,adults make everybody uncomfortable2 they want to4 ,most of the surprises saved for the startling tags of stories by ,guy de ,maupassant and ,o4 ,henry are merely little bursts of naturalness--some boyish thing4 ,we recognize the truth of them at sight--and are surprised for the reason that a boy or an artist always catches us off our guard40 ,there was a galaxy of playwrights1 among them ,bronson ,howard and ,clyde ,fitch1 now gone as is that dear1 kindly1 clever man1 ,william ,dean ,howells--one ever to be missed4 ,i dined somewhere beside a charming girl1 and the conversation drifted to the usual topic--marriage4 ,i noticed across the table1 just opposite me1 the head of ,mr4 ,howells twisting to right and left and trying to follow our talk1 so ,i said rather maliciously3 8,one of our cleverest writers has said1 #8,man1 even after eighteen hundred years of ,christianity1 is only imperfectly monogamous4'0 ,applause from across the table4 8,oh1 that is fine1 ,simmons6 ,do you remember who said it80 8,why1 ,i found it in a book ,i have just been reading1 called ,indian ,summer40 ,he suddenly drew back behind the flowers4 8,oh1 really60 ,a few days afterward a short figure crowded up to me in the elevator of a large building with an3 8,oh1 ,simmons1 ,i looked that up4 ,i did say it40 ,kipling was not a member of ,the ,players1 on account of his book about the ,united ,states4 ,he was not well known when he first came here1 and no one was prophet enough to guess that he was to become the greatest name in ,english of his time4 ,many of the older men would not 8stand for0 his criticism of ,america4 ,i heard old ,edward ,bell burst forth to ,edwin ,booth3 8,if that cussed young ,englishman ever comes into this club1 ,i'll boot him out of it40 8,yes10 said ,booth1 and immediately left for his own room1 as he always did if anything seriously disturbed him4 ,in spite of these prejudices1 ,kipling was a visitor and became a friend to many of the members4 ,i met him very casually1 but admired him greatly1 thinking his comments upon us a little harsh1 but quite fair in many ways4 ,his classification of ,england1 ,france1 and ,america to ,brander ,matthews is interesting4 ,england he claimed1 would die for liberty1 but had a poor idea of equality2 ,france would die for equality1 but was hazy about fraternity2 the ,united ,states was hazy about both liberty and equality1 but went in heart and soul for fraternity2 and that was why they would pay five cents to stand up in a street car when others sit down for the same price4 ,zogbaum1 the artist1 once took ,kipling over to the ,brooklyn ,navy ,yard to meet ,commander ,evans1 known as 8,fighting ,bob40 ,he told me that they at once squatted down together and began to 8swap0 stories1 nor did they do anything else until it was time for ,kipling to go4 ,he was silent on the ferryboat coming home1 and upon landing in ,new ,york asked for the nearest bookseller1 where he bought a copy of his own ,seven ,seas4 ,borrowing a pencil from ,zogbaum1 he sat in the shop and wrote for some time1 then handing the book to the clerk1 he asked him to mail it to ,evans at the ,navy ,yard4 ,that is the way we got the poem1 8,zogbaum looks after his pencil and ,i look after my style40 ,edwin ,booth was the spirit and controlling force of ,the ,players when ,i joined4 ,it was his home and he lent an atmosphere of good breeding and repose that has endured to the present day4 ,i was made a member in '#ia and had the honor of seeing quite a bit of him before his death4 ,his memory for names was already going1 and almost every day after breakfast1 when he and ,i would be sitting together in the reading room with the morning papers1 he would suddenly look over his newspaper at me in a quizzical manner and say3 8,pardon me1 sir1 but you remind me forcibly of a family of dear friends of mine the--the--the--actor-painter people--the--0 8,the ,forbes-,robertsons80 ,i would suggest4 8,yes1 the ,forbes-,robertsons4 ,have you ever been mistaken for them80 8,oh yes1 several times in ,london10 ,i would reply4 ,and1 the ice so broken1 we would talk of all sorts of matters4 ,one of the most amusing stories told me by ,mr4 ,booth was about a skull1 which1 by the way1 is one of the relics of ,the ,players to-day4 ,a woman in ,st4 ,louis wrote to ,booth's father and told him she was the widow of a friend of his who was hanged for murder4 ,she asked permission to send the skull to the actor1 suggesting that he use it in 8,hamlet0--8,alas1 poor ,yorick6 ,i knew him1 ,horatio60 ,booth's father respectfully but disgustedly declined4 ,but the woman was not to be so easily put off4 ,young ,edwin ,booth happened to be in ,st4 ,louis years later1 when he received a letter from the same woman1 offering to the son the present the father had refused4 ,the property skull happened to be in pretty bad condition at that time1 and as he had no sentiment about it1 he replied that he should like to own it4 ,then ,booth said3 8,i was in bed one morning when a little nigger boy called to see me4 ,he had a covered basket on his arm4 ,i was curious to see what it contained1 so asked him to open it up4 ,placing the basket on the table1 he removed the top and a napkin which was underneath4 ,before ,i knew it1 basket1 cover1 napkin flew up in the air1 and the most frightened nigger you ever saw was flying down the passageway1 while on the floor lay a skull40 ,skied at the top of the staircase and as much out of sight as possible is a horrible portrait1 larger than life size1 of a well-known actress which was once presented to ,the ,players by some of her relatives4 ,booth told me that on one ,ladies' ,day he suddenly saw these same relatives coming up the stairs4 8,i was between them and the portrait10 he said1 8and ,i succeeded in keeping them from seeing it4 ,never in my life have ,i attempted to hold an audience as ,i tried to hold them4 ,i am certain that they saw nothing but ,edwin ,booth until ,i had turned them around and backed them down the stairway again40 ,in connecting me with the ,forbes-,robertson family ,mr4 ,booth's thoughts would often wander to painting and he once told me how ,sargent did the portrait which hangs in the club4 ,as ,i remember1 he sat for it in several places until one day ,sargent asked him to have a look at it and say what he thought4 ,booth was loath to give an opinion1 saying it was not to be his1 anyway1 and he was not the one to be suited4 ,but ,sargent pressed him until he said1 8,no1 to be frank1 ,i do not think it is a characteristic expression of mine40 8,are you very tired80 asked the painter4 8,no40 8,then again1 if you will40 8,that time10 said ,booth1 8,i did get tired4 ,he must have kept me standing an hour4 ,what did he do8 ,why1 he began by scraping out the entire head1 then rubbed in some blackish stuff and painted that10 pointing to the portrait4 ,sargent must have done that wonderful head premier coup in less than an hour6 ,when ,i look at the mouth in this picture1 ,i am reminded of what physiognomists say1 that it is the indication of our true character more than any other part of the face4 ,compare the young and old photographs of ,emerson1 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1 and ,booth1 and you will see that it is within the power of anyone 7no matter how plain at birth7 to have at least one beautiful feature before he dies4 ,one may not change the setting of the eyeball--because it is dependent upon bone1 which cannot be altered4 ,the setting of the eye is what gives the beauty4 ,those of ,christine ,nilsson1 the singer1 appeared on the stage as dark1 luminous patches of velvet1 for the socket cast a deep shadow2 but when ,i met her personally1 they were pale blue and ineffectual4 ,it is the same with the nose4 ,but the mouth has no bones4 ,it is merely flesh under the control of many muscles4 ,surgeons tell me that if one opens the cheek of a man who has lived an intellectual life1 it is surprising how many muscles one finds4 ,on the other hand1 the cheek of an ignorant laborer does not contain much more than a muscle for chewing1 for opening and shutting the mouth1 and for grinning and frowning4 ,the muscles that give irony1 humor1 and sadness are not there4 ,one of the prominent men in ,america1 who has a beautiful mouth1 has told me that when he was a boy his family objected so to it as an unsightly thing and that for many years he had the habit of covering it with his hand whenever he expressed himself1 for fear of comment4 ,the change has been within the man himself and the mouth has echoed it4 ,one may train a plain mouth to express the beauty of the human mind which controls it4 ,mr4 ,emerson had a hole in his face as a boy1 not a mouth4 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1 the plainest man that ever lived1 had a sweet1 tender1 one might say almost beautiful mouth1 before he died4 ,at any actors' gathering1 one can see a dozen mouths like ,booth's at twenty-five1 but you will hunt a long time before finding the mouth ,booth died with4 ,the delicacy shown in a study of ,edwin ,booth's face was borne out in his life4 ,he did the most dignified thing in the world1 to apologize for an act of his family against the ,american nation1 by retiring for a period from public life after the assassination of ,lincoln4 ,he was a man who felt keenly1 both mentally and physically4 ,he hated to be touched by anyone and loathed to be buttonholed4 ,i remember a well-known writer of fiction1 who had the extraordinary capacity for doing the wrong thing at the wrong time1 eagerly presenting ,mr4 ,booth with a playbill of the performance of the night at ,ford's ,theater4 ,he simply arose and went to bed1 as he always did on such occasions4 ,something of the same kind happened quite by accident when ,booth was visiting at ,nutley1 the home of ,laurence ,hutton1 secretary of ,the ,players and an old friend of the actor's4 ,booth had retired for the night1 when ,hutton remembered with horror that at the foot of the bed and in full view upon the wall was one of those same playbills4 ,he knew that if ,booth saw it he would pack his bag and silently depart4 ,what to do he did not know4 ,finally1 waiting until he hoped ,booth was asleep1 he stole upstairs1 crept into the room1 and carried off the bill4 ,this sensitiveness about his family was not due entirely to the unfortunate occurrence of ,lincoln's assassination1 for it was shown in various ways4 ,one evening a man1 who had become a member of ,the ,players by presenting the club with a second folio of ,shakespeare1 brought a friend in as a guest and presented him to ,mr4 ,booth4 8,why1 ,mr4 ,booth10 were the friend's first words1 8,i saw your father play4 ,i was in the theater in ,st4 ,louis when1 as ,hamlet1 he drove ,laertes off the stage and out into the alleyway40 ,i saw ,booth's eyes grow dark and ominous1 and1 rising1 he said3 8,sir1 ,i do not doubt that you think you saw that1 but of course you did not4 ,that incident never took place4 ,it has been told to me as having happened in four or five different cities in this ,union4 ,good night1 sir40 ,and he was off to bed4 ,booth was a superman and showed it in many ways1 but there is just one incident which he told me1 himself1 that proves him one in my eyes4 ,when ,i see another man's mind working1 ,i compare it with my own1 and when ,i see that mind doing things that my own could never do1 ,i realize there are grades of mentality that ,i do not understand and cannot reach2 so ,i bow down and worship4 ,i do not remember how the subject of religion ever arose between us1 but he said that the ,booths had always been superstitious folk and that he himself had at one time been almost a convinced spiritualist4 ,having made up his mind on the subject1 he was talking to his friend ,kellar1 the magician4 ,kellar explained to him how all the wonderful miracles were worked at the seances and then performed before ,booth's very eyes1 tricks more wonderful than any he had seen done in the spiritualistic meetings4 ,all of these ,kellar explained also4 8,then10 said ,mr4 ,booth1 8,kellar performed some miracles that surpassed all of those that had gone before4 ,i asked him how he did them4 #8,mr4 ,booth1' he said1 #8,i could show you with ease1 but these are professional secrets and my own personal property1 the explanations of which ,i must divulge to none6' ,on reflection1 ,i decided that my former belief in such matters was harmful to my mind and ,i gave it up40 ,i can understand1 if ,i had the will power1 giving up any physical habit which ,i might feel was doing my body harm1 but to have a mental disease1 realize it1 and cure it1 is to me almost inconceivable4 ,booth was seemingly of a serene nature1 but he was introspective1 and underneath that outward calm must have been a deep passion and sense of his own being4 ,he told me that he never stepped upon the stage for a first night that his knees did not knock together horribly1 but once before the footlights1 he forgot himself entirely4 ,his sense of humor was deep1 and although he was always the quiet one of the group1 he was probably the most appreciative of a funny story or a witty remark4 ,even when he lay in bed with his last illness his thoughts were upon these things1 for he was much disturbed because he could not remember the point of a clever story he had heard4 ,for quite a while he had been failing4 ,his legs had been giving out1 so that he used the little trunk elevator to go up to his room2 then he slowly grew feebler and feebler4 ,i don't doubt he suffered1 but he never let us know it1 and his death was merely a gentle going away4 ,i remember the doctor coming downstairs and saying that he had just closed the eyes of a man more than seventy years old4 ,mr4 ,booth had crowded into fifty-nine years of life the experiences of an old man4 ,the ,players is changed to-day4 ,of course1 all old things must give way to new2 but there is a certain fine sentiment that remains4 ,perhaps the young man does not appreciate the ideas upon which the club was founded and the traditions which have kept it together1 but something of the old spirit is bound to be communicated to him on ,pipe ,nights or ,founders' ,night1 or on those occasions when old ,joe ,holland is brought up in his big armchair4 ,then all gather around1 a fire blazes in the great fireplace1 ,mr4 ,booth's eyes gaze down serenely from the wall above1 and each one vies with his neighbor in handing a drink or a smoke to ,joe1 or telling him the latest story4 ,then will come in some wit or jester of the gang1 and jokes will be told that are as old as the hills1 but ever new4 ,there is always a visitor or recent member to be delighted at the old gag when ,harry ,dixey goes up to ,joe and says3 8,lend me five dollars1 ,joe40 8,go around to my good ear1 ,harry40 ,with great ceremony1 ,harry will walk around4 8,lend me ten dollars1 ,joe40 8,go back to my five-dollar ear1 ,harry40 ,chapter ,,xiv3 ,american ,humor ,a humpback stood in front of ,des ,miriltons1 a fashionable club of ,paris4 ,day and night his pathetic figure would be seen1 a piteous expression on his face1 as he made his silent appeal to the men going into the building--some to try their fortune at the gaming table4 ,the ,french are a superstitious race and have a thousand little ceremonies to lure the great god ,luck1 one of the most efficacious being to rub the hump of an enfant d'escalier--one born on a staircase4 ,i have seen gold pieces frequently change hands1 as a member of this club rushed in or out1 so this particular deformity proved fortunate1 for the humpback died wealthy4 ,now a hump1 if it be a conspicuous infirmity1 is never laughed at4 ,one is born with it and it is therefore not one's fault4 ,but deformities are not all physical4 ,i come of five generations of parsons who talked for a living2 also1 at school1 as ,i have said before1 it was the habit of the teacher to give credit to the boy who shouted his lessons the loudest4 ,this helped along the trouble1 and ,i claim that talking too much is just as much a mental hump as a twisted back is a physical one1 and1 as such1 should be pitied4 ,my brother used to say that any newcomer to the house where we lived thought at first that everyone was suffering from some throat disease4 ,after a while however1 he found that it was only hoarseness from talking too much4 ,i remember1 as a boy1 the sounds in the ,old ,manse4 ,with mother upstairs making beds1 my sister halfway down1 one aunt in the sitting room1 and another in the kitchen1 there was a sort of continuous rattle of words--never stopped1 but only interrupted by the opening and shutting of doors3 8,lizzie1 when you go downtown1 don't forget to buy--but she won't need--oh yes1 ,i will if--it's forty inches wide1 and that--but ,sophie--well1 red1 if you--think blue will fade terr--in that case you'd bet--two yards are--why not you see the sleeves will take--oh1 let her alone1 she'll get it all ri--0 ,there is a story of this disease of mine that ,jules ,guerin is fond of telling4 ,of course1 it never happened1 but it makes a good tale4 ,there was to be a contest between the greatest talkers in the ,east and ,west4 ,a man from the ,bohemian ,club in ,san ,francisco and myself were chosen4 ,there was money bet2 we were put in a locked room with a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water apiece4 ,after three days the sounds of voices died down and the anxious listeners broke open the door4 ,the ,western talker was lying dead and ,i lay beside him1 dying and whispering in his ear4 ,sometimes this talk of mine has produced startling results4 ,i had a dear friend1 now dead1 whose son was connected with a monthly magazine4 ,one day ,i saw in it a botched attempt1 as ,i thought1 to tell1 as his own1 a wonderful story of ,anatole ,france's4 ,i was indignant and told everyone ,i would make it my business to 8call that young man down40 ,some time after1 ,i was sitting at the writing table at ,the ,players when the boy came up to me1 saying3 8,i hear you have a bone to pick with me80 8,yes10 ,i said4 8,by what right do you take one of the best stories of ,anatole ,france's and give him no credit80 8,this is the first time that ,i've heard it is his10 answered the youngster4 8,why1 ,mr4 ,simmons1 ,i got it from dad1 who said that you had told it to him here in the club60 ,rather a stiff 8come-back40 ,there have been so many criticisms of my talk that ,i like to remember the times when ,i have not been too much of a pest4 ,it has always managed to put babies to sleep1 and several times it has quieted nervous1 distracted invalids4 ,there is a hypnotic quality about it1 if used consciously4 ,once1 when quite young1 ,i amused myself by willing my mother to lift her hand4 ,she obeyed1 and her giggling frightened me terribly4 ,another time1 much later1 ,i succeeded in swaying a mob of people in an entirely new direction by jumping on the tail of a cart and inciting them to action4 ,these incidents taught me to use this power cautiously1 which partly accounts for my inconsequential babbling4 ,in the ,st4 ,botolph ,club in ,boston ,i met a very clever man named ,eichberg1 a musician of ability who had been a pupil of ,liszt4 ,i had just returned from a week's absence when ,i saw him sitting in his accustomed corner1 which ,i had always avoided1 thinking he did not care for me4 ,this time he called me over4 8,i must tell you something10 he said4 8,when one first meets you1 one feels as if one has moved to a house which gives upon a railway track and cannot sleep on account of the damnable noise2 but you go1 and one finds that he has really moved to a house in the country and cannot sleep for the damnable silence4 ,i am glad to see you back40 ,much as my friends may laugh at this statement1 there are times when ,i have listened4 ,frederick ,villiers was the most entrancing talker one could imagine1 and ,i protest ,i was dumb in his presence lest ,i miss one word of his conversation4 ,desdemona never heard anything like what ,i got from him4 ,this is at least one refutation of the statement of my dear friend ,oliver ,herford1 who said3 8,anyone can lead ,ned 7meaning me7 up to a pause1 but no man can make him take it40 ,in the earliest 'nineties1 ,herford and ,i had rooms beside each other in the ,st4 ,botolph ,club in ,boston4 ,in front of our doors was a card printed in scarlet1 indicating the direction of the fire escape4 ,one day1 seeing his chance1 ,oliver took this sign into his room and1 blotting out the word 8fire10 skillfully lettered in my name in its place and hung it up again4 ,shortly after that a man came rushing downstairs1 boiling over with mirth1 yelling for all to come up to the top story4 ,there was the sign1 as brilliantly red as ever1 but reading3 8,escape in case of ,simmons60 ,stories of ,oliver ,herford come crowding to memory1 topsy-turvy1 one over another1 and although perhaps they should have no place here among recollections of those long since passed away1 his type of wit is mellow when it is born and does not need time to soften its edge4 ,oliver is the child of ,whimsey2 the eternal ,puck or the ,peter ,pan2 he has no age and is of no age2 like ,topsy1 ,i believe he just 8growed40 ,his fun is full of navet and childlike subterfuges2 no task is too arduous for him if there be a joke at the end2 and he pokes that droll mind of his into the oddest crooks and corners in the daintiest way4 ,i recall being with him in a restaurant when a man much the worse for liquor approached our table and almost kissed him in his desire to be friendly4 ,finally getting it into his drunken head that he was receiving no response to his advances1 he said4 8,i don't believe that you remember me1 ,mr4 ,herford40 8,i don't recognize your face10 said ,oliver1 8but your manner is damn familiar40 ,i was in ,oliver's studio one day when a strange knock came at the door--three long ones and two short raps4 8,s-h-h-h60 he said1 and we both kept quiet4 ,after a sufficient time had elapsed for the person to have departed1 ,i asked him for an explanation4 ,it seemed that ---- was in the habit of calling and boring ,oliver terribly1 so he told him that in the future he intended opening the door only to his special friends1 to whom he would give a private knock4 ,it needs some uncommon quirk for a man's mind to work in this fashion4 ,instead of giving the private signal to his friends1 he gave it to his one particular aversion1 so that he could recognize it instantly and get rid of him quite neatly and without malice4 ,another time1 ,oliver invited me to dine with him4 ,we took a cab at the door of ,the ,players4 ,on the way to the restaurant he went through his pockets and found he hadn't a cent4 ,as ,i was broke myself1 ,i decided we were in a pickle4 ,not so ,oliver4 ,we alighted at the door of a prominent caf and ,oliver approached the cabman3 8,say1 dear fellow10 he began1 and the driver1 thinking he was going to be held up for the fare1 was disposed to be cross4 ,but this was too trifling a matter for ,oliver to even mention4 8,say1 dear fellow10 he continued1 in his most confiding way1 8,i have invited my friend here to dine and ,i find ,i have forgotten my money4 ,could you--now ,i wonder if you could be a good chap and lend me ten dollars80 ,to my astonishment1 the man1 taken completely unawares1 pulled out a roll of bills and handed ,oliver one of them4 ,one cannot be nave by will power2 the danger in consciously striving to be childlike is that one becomes childish1 and that is a very different matter4 ,i always think of ,oliver ,herford when ,i recall what ,guy ,de ,maupassant said upon being challenged to make a new ,beatitude-- 8,thrice blessed are the nave1 for they shall never see but ,god40 ,one of the brightest and most witty men ,i knew in the old days was the actor1 ,maurice ,barrymore1 father of the present galaxy of stage folk of that name4 ,a beautiful body--,i was told that he had been the amateur champion middleweight of ,england--a face more ,celtic than ,saxon1 ,barry was the originator of bons mots that have gone all over the country4 ,i do not remember much about his acting1 but ,i remember his delightful companionship late at night 7for he was a highly sensitive man who burned the candle at both ends71 his brilliant conversation1 his great intelligence and love of the fine things of life1 his finesse1 and his swiftness of thinking4 ,barry and ,i were sitting together one night at the ,lambs' ,club when a big fellow came up to our table and1 hammering on it1 said3 8,maurice ,barrymore1 you are a ---- ---- liar60 8,oh no10 said ,barry1 quietly1 8not if you say so40 ,once at the old ,fifth ,avenue ,hotel he was taking a drink with some friends1 when he heard a voice mumbling behind him something about a blankety1 blank actor4 ,he immediately turned and told the man to shut up1 adding a well-known phrase which indicated that he was the son1 on his maternal side1 of a domestic animal we all know4 ,the man rose and came forward1 swinging his arms and shouting wildly3 8,you call me that8 ,by ,god6 ,i wish ,i had you in ,louisville6 ,you wouldn't dare to call me that in ,louisville60 ,barry knew that he was not really dangerous1 and1 besides1 he was afraid of no one1 so he calmly walked up to the stranger and1 putting his arm affectionately about him1 said3 8,oh1 if your mother's reputation is a question of geography1 come and have a drink40 ,the extreme delicacy of ,barry was shown in many ways--chiefly in his kindness to any young actor who was trying to get ahead4 ,he was not the type to help by a lot of talk1 but by little attentions quietly shown4 ,when he was playing ,rawdon ,crawley with ,mrs4 ,fiske in 8,becky ,sharp10 there was a young countryman of his1 newly come over from ,england1 who had the part of ,dobbin4 ,barry was notoriously careless of his appearance on the stage1 but in this case he groomed himself to the eyes just to give the younger man a chance to shine by contrast4 ,he was perfectly willing to be what in vaudeville parlance is called a 8feeder10 if it were for the good of the play or anyone in it4 ,englishmen sometimes twitted ,barry for his love of ,america1 and he often had to stand quips from us about his ,british parentage4 ,an ,american once stuck a coin in his eye and1 in a leering manner1 walked up to ,barry1 singing that famous song of ,henry ,dixey's called1 8,it's ,english1 ,you ,know40 ,thinking to add a little flavor and more insult1 the man made a vulgar remark4 ,barry turned to him quietly and said3 8,no1 it is not the ,english ,i know40 ,once a crowd of ,english actors started to have some fun with ,barry about his long residence in ,america and his ,american marriage4 ,then they started on the ,american language4 8,why you see the way they spell over here10 they cried4 8,good old humour and honour have become humor and honor40 8,yes10 said ,barry4 8,you see1 they don't think they have to come to you for either one of these qualities1 so in such matters they leave 8u0 out4 ,speaking of 8humor10 ,i like to think of ,anatole ,france's brilliant illumination of the word1 which1 paraphrased1 runs something like this3 8,the ,angel of ,humor is sent us that she may teach us to laugh at the wicked and foolish1 whom1 without her aid1 we might have the weakness to hate40 ,in my reading of funny stories1 the really good ones have an element of sadness2 also ,i have watched the development of the faces of the humorists ,i have known4 ,as they grow older the lines of mirth are sure to be backed by signs of very deep feeling4 ,humor is distinct from wit 7which is the joyousness of childhood7 and comes after suffering1 proving a man to have graduated from the cave-dweller class4 ,savages are bitter and yell when hurt1 but a gentleman keeps quiet4 ,humor1 to me1 is the cry of a well-bred man in pain4 ,when we ,new ,englanders tell stories of ourselves and our forbears1 they are generally based fundamentally on the hard lives1 or the characteristic qualities that resulted from the hard lives1 which those first settlers on the coast of the ,atlantic were forced to lead4 ,their sense of humor conceals an infinitude of suffering1 as does that of the men who live in the hills of ,kentucky4 ,professor ,shaler of ,harvard told me that he had found them very much alike in their laconicism and understatement--two parents of humor4 ,to illustrate what ,i mean--my mother's sewing woman in ,concord1 the dried-up individual who made my breeches1 always with a mouthful of pins--was asked by the neighbors when her mother died3 8,was she willin' to go80 8,willin'6 ,my dear1 she was obleeged40 8,did she leave anythin'80 8,yes1 she left everythin'4 ,didn't take nothin' with her40 ,a story which gives a picture of the drudgery so great that they were always careful to save themselves the smallest extra task is of the old farmer sitting with his wife beside the kitchen table in the evening4 ,a newspaper is in his hand1 a kerosene lamp illuminates the room1 and his feet1 incased in woolen stockings1 are in the cooling oven4 ,the grandfather's clock strikes nine4 8,time to go to bed1 ,maria40 8,yes1 ,eben40 ,she precedes him with the lamp1 and he follows with his shoes in his hand4 ,at the foot of the staircase he stops and says3 8,did you wipe the sink1 ,maria80 8,why1 of course60 ,they proceed4 ,when she is at the top and he is half way up1 she leans over the balustrade1 saying3 8,what made you ask me that1 ,eben80 8,well1 ,i did feel as if ,i'd like a drink of water1 but if you've wiped the sink ,i guess ,i'll put it off till to-morrer40 ,there are many stories of the ,yankee thrift1 but one very old one is hard to beat4 ,a farmer1 in the days when a grocer also kept a bar1 drives up to the country store and says3 8,how much are yer givin' fer eggs80 8,cent apiece10 says the grocer4 8,my wife wants a darnin' needle4 ,what do yer ask fer 'em80 8,cent apiece10 again from the grocer4 ,the farmer gets off his seat1 takes out a weight1 ties it to the horse's head1 and drops it on the road4 ,going to the back of the wagon1 he reaches into a basket and takes out one egg1 carrying it carefully into the grocery4 8,i'll swap yer this fer a darnin' needle40 ,the grocer gives him the needle and takes the egg4 ,the farmer lingers4 8,don't yer treat on a trade80 ,the grocer looks at him curiously1 swears1 and then says3 8,what'll yer have80 8,guess ,i'll hev an egg flip40 ,the grocer takes the egg1 which is still on the counter1 breaks it into the glass1 and--two yolks appear4 8,hold on60 yells the farmer1 8that's a double yoker4 ,give me another darning needle60 ,mark ,twain's mind was a treasure house of hundreds of stories of this type--his humor was so essentially ,american4 ,my most vivid memory of ,sam ,clemens is being with him around the billiard table in ,the ,players4 ,he thought he could play ,chicago pool1 and in the earlier 'nineties used to choose me for an adversary4 ,i was younger and a better player than he4 ,one day1 having beaten him one game1 ,i dared to be winning another4 ,he swore at me for some shot ,i had made1 so ,i said over my shoulder3 8,don't be profane40 ,simulating great anger 7he was funniest when he pretended gruffness7 his mustache bristled1 his eyes glared1 his chest stuck out1 and he marched up to me1 his cue banging on the floor to emphasize each word3 8,young man1 you do not even know what profanity is4 ,profanity1 sir1 is the unnecessary use of profane words and1 applied to you1 no such use is unnecessary4 ,go on with your ---- ---- game40 ,mr4 ,clemens was very individual in his tastes4 ,he was fond of bread and had missed it in ,europe4 ,he used to say that the ,british bread was putty and the ,french bread all crust4 ,his drinks were always made for him in exactly the same way4 ,his habits were not those of a fussy old man1 but rather of a monogamous person who1 having fallen in love once1 remained true all his life4 ,i never saw him the least bit intoxicated1 but he certainly was not an abstainer4 ,the hottest day of summer would see him with a steaming pitcher before him from which he poured a hot punch of ,scotch1 always mixed in the same way4 ,he was a genial fellow in a crowd of people and would undoubtedly have made a wonderful politician4 ,i was hailed by him at the ,grand ,central ,station one day4 ,it was in the winter and he was clothed in the pure white that he affected in his later years4 ,with his white hair and pink face1 this made him so conspicuous that we were soon the center of an interested group of people1 exactly as if we had been a dog fight4 ,this always acted a stimulant upon ,clemens1 and he began to hold forth in the most extravagant fashion4 ,at last he said3 8,now ,i must get my train--but let me see--,i have forgotten something4 ,oh1 ,i know6 ,i have forgotten my wife40 ,then appealing to the crowd1 he called3 8,does anyone here happen to know where ,mrs4 ,clemens is80 ,a dozen voices answered in the affirmative1 and some one ran to fetch her4 ,mark ,twain stood perfectly still until she was escorted to his side by an admiring bystander4 ,i can imagine ,roosevelt doing this1 but ,mr4 ,emerson or ,woodrow ,wilson--never4 ,a deep sense of civic responsibility was one of ,mr4 ,clemens's most marked characteristics4 ,his idea was that every man in a community should consider himself responsible if things did not go well1 and not be too lazy to raise a kick4 ,he told me of dining in a ,pullman car once where the menu stated there was a selection of roast beef or chicken4 ,he ordered the chicken1 was told there was none left1 so made up his mind to be contented with the roast beef4 ,before he had finished1 the conductor of the car came in and the negro waiter served him with chicken4 8,he was a servant of the company and ,i was a patron10 ,clemens said1 8and ,i rose and proclaimed that that was my roast chicken4 ,i did not get it1 but when ,i arrived home ,i wrote to the company president and received an apology4 ,if you have a complaint1 do not write to a small official1 for it will never penetrate upward1 but if you write to the highest1 it may leak down40 ,another time1 coming from ,hartford with his daughter1 he took a green car at the station4 ,it was very crowded and they had to stand4 ,mr4 ,clemens protested at the conductor pushing them about and punching his daughter in the ribs as he collected the fares4 ,whereupon he said3 8,jesus ,christ6 ,do you think you own this car80 8,i don't mind being called that10 said the humorist1 8but my daughter lives in ,hartford and is not used to such language4 ,her feelings were hurt40 ,they got off at the car barn and1 looking about for some one with whom to register a 8kick10 met ,billy ,laffan 7part owner and editor of the ,sun71 who advised them to let the newspaper do the kicking4 ,sam wrote his troubles to the ,sun4 ,the next day the ,tribune 7it was an august sheet in those days7 came out with an editorial saying that it was bad taste on the part of ,mark ,twain to make fun of the ,holy ,name2 that they had looked up the matter and found that it was all a figment of his imagination4 ,this was answered1 the following day1 with a letter from the president of the car line1 saying that the story was true1 that the offending conductor had been discharged1 and that he 7the president7 wished to thank ,mr4 ,clemens publicly for having helped them in the matter4 ,the sequel to the occurrence was told me by ,mr4 ,clemens himself4 8,some time after1 ,i was at my home in ,hartford1 when my maid came into my study to say that there was a man calling upon me4 ,she showed in a fellow ,i did not recognize4 ,he began by saying3 8#8,mr4 ,clemens1 ,i am the man who called you ,jesus ,christ4'0 8#8,admit your mistake8' ,i asked40 8#8,yes1 and ,i have come to ask a favor4 ,don't you think the public is as much to blame as ,i am8 ,when ,i get tired ,i begin to get hasty1 and ,i have never been called down before4 ,if the public had done its duty in the beginning1 ,i would not have gotten into trouble4 ,i have a wife and four children to support and the president of the company will not take me back unless you write a letter and ask him4' 8,of course1 ,i wrote the letter40 ,i often heard ,mr4 ,clemens expatiate on his well-known subject--the ,almighty ,dollar4 ,he had been out ,west where gold was struck in abundance1 and he could not see any difference between the nationalities in the scramble to get there first4 ,the ,english were always twitting us about our love of money1 but1 as he said3 8,i admit we are hunting for the almighty dollar1 but the ,englishman is hunting just as hard for the almighty penny40 ,as to fear1 ,roosevelt was talking in the club shortly after the ,spanish ,war1 saying that every man's experience is the same1 that he is always horribly afraid before his first battle1 but that it wears off4 ,then he appealed to ,clemens1 asking him if it were not his feeling during the ,civil ,war4 8,yes10 ,clemens answered1 8,i was scared to death at my first battle1 but it seems to have been different with you4 ,yours wore off4 ,my fear stuck to me during the whole war40 ,whatever his physical fear1 his mental bravery was phenomenal4 ,it requires a particular kind of courage for a man to start all over again1 as he did1 in his later years4 ,after losing all his money in the publishing business1 he picked up the pieces and traveled about the world1 lecturing1 to get the money to pay back his indebtedness1 sixty per cent of which was to his wife4 ,this made no difference to a gentleman1 and he treated her exactly as if she were a strange creditor4 ,he used to come to ,the ,players while he was going through his bankruptcy proceedings4 ,it seemed to be a good place to get rid of his troubles4 ,when he wasn't being funny1 he pretended to be cross2 but when he was quiet1 ,i noticed his face was very sad4 ,he was an intensely ,american type in looks1 and it was hard to get beyond the barrier he made for himself2 but once he chose to let you in1 his eyes said1 8,down to you1 sir10 and you saw the superman4 ,it was more his manner of saying than what he said that made ,mr4 ,clemens so amusing4 ,i was told he sat at a dinner table and talked for twenty minutes upon the name ,brander ,matthews1 with everyone exploding in laughter4 ,he spoke through his nose slowly and with curious drawl1 and repeated his thoughts many times1 each variation being funnier than the preceding one1 until he worked up to a screaming climax4 ,but when he wanted to be serious he made you feel 7as ,priam says of ,ulysses71 8,words1 like winter snowflakes1 fell from his mouth4 ,then might no man compare with ,ulysses40 ,one afternoon a crowd of us were in the club1 drinking and making frivolous talk4 ,clemens was doing more than holding his own with the best of us1 when suddenly a thought seemed to strike him4 ,he left for a moment1 and when he returned1 the expression of his eyes was changed4 ,he had a book in his hand and he sat down1 saying3 8,i will now read you the greatest piece of prose since the days of ,marlowe40 ,and then1 his nasal twang gone1 his voice attaining a beautiful sonority1 he read1 as no one else could have done it--the ,gettysburg ,speech4 ,it was one of the big moments of my life4 ,i remember well a comment he made afterward3 8,if any one of you men ever have a class in ,english10 he said1 8give them this4 ,let them try to put an adverb after the word here4 ,no one but ,lincoln could have thought of using1 #8,that we here highly resolve4' ,no6 ,no6 ,no one60 ,the last time ,i saw ,mark ,twain was at a luncheon at ,delmonico's1 given by one of my friends in honor of a ,british army attach4 ,i got there rather early and my host was worried for fear his guest of honor would be disappointed in ,mr4 ,clemens4 ,he was getting old and did not perform readily4 ,i said3 8,will you leave it to me8 ,i'll make him show off2 but you must promise not to be surprised at anything and to back me up1 however foolish ,i may act40 ,he promised4 ,i went to the butler and asked him to see that there was a man behind ,mr4 ,clemens to refill his glass as soon as he took a sip4 ,he did not drink much in those days1 so it was important he must not be given a chance to refuse4 ,before the chill of the beginning of the lunch had passed off1 ,i rose and said to my host3 8,i want to tell a story40 ,derision from the others3 8,he talks all the time60 8,shut up60 ,they even threw bread at me to keep me quiet4 ,but ,i insisted in a silly way1 as if ,i were drunk1 and my host backed me up4 ,then ,i began to tell one of ,mr4 ,clemens's pet stories in such a manner that no one but he would recognize it4 ,i mixed it all up and finally missed the point altogether1 sitting down with a fatuous grin4 ,he couldn't stand it4 ,his face grew red1 he bristled and glared1 reached for his cocktail1 downed it1 and rose4 8,that was a good story10 he said1 indignantly1 8but he can't tell it4 ,this is the way it should go40 ,and he told it in his inimitable way4 ,after that nothing could stop him4 ,he was witty1 clever1 and the life of the lunch4 ,the old ,clemens girded on his armor and went out again arrayed for battle2 but ,i often wonder if he went to his grave thinking ,i was as much of an ass as ,i appeared that day4 ,chapter ,,xv3 ,paint and ,painters ,an old college friend of mine once wrote to me and asked what he should do about his son1 who was in ,harvard1 but wished to give up college and become a painter4 ,i answered and said3 8,discourage him2 discourage him to the point of starvation1 for if he be sincere in his love of the fine arts1 he will pay no attention to you4 ,no man is a real artist unless he finds the impetus toward it so great that he sticks to it in spite of every deprivation40 ,i do not know whether my friend took my advice or not1 but at any rate his son1 ,barry ,faulkner1 has become1 with or without discouragements1 one of our foremost younger decorative painters4 ,emerson understood1 perhaps better than anyone1 as he tells us in his ,,to ,,an ,,artist ,forget the hut and seek the palace1 ,reck not what the people say1 ,for where'er the trees grow biggest ,huntsmen find the easiest ,way4 ,george ,lathrop told me that shortly after his marriage with one of the daughters of ,nathaniel ,hawthorne he was very much surprised at receiving a formal visit from ,mr4 ,emerson one afternoon4 ,the poet was old then and was not in the habit of going about much1 so the call portended something of importance4 ,after the usual conversation1 ,emerson said1 pointedly3 8,mr4 ,lathrop1 ,i understand that you have chosen words as a means of livelihood80 8,yes1 sir10 said ,lathrop4 8,and have married80 continued ,emerson4 8,an added insanity80 ,poverty is one of the strongest enemies that the artist has to fight4 ,we should each one have a ,mcenas to keep us2 ,i know of but one or two cases in this country where men have succeeded in gaining membership in the first rank in the opinion of other artists 7for they are his peers and deciding fact7 without money behind them4 ,they inherit it1 they marry it1 or they are backed by some one so that they may have a security of rental1 food1 and materials4 ,there is not enough market for the fine arts that a man may live by them alone4 ,after all1 it is as it should be4 ,we are a young nation1 really in our infancy1 and babies do not need art until they have been fed and kept warm4 ,it takes many generations of growing wheat until the body is ready for something finer4 ,so far1 the fine arts have been an indication of the coming death of the country that produced them--like a bush or vine1 a nation flowers and then dies4 ,only the seeds grow1 and those in another place4 ,if ,i were asked to give my opinion1 ,i would vote against forcing the people to accept the fine arts1 as ,i would vote against giving a baby tobacco or alcohol1 which would most assuredly stop its growth4 7,however1 ,emerson says1 8,america has a genius for making new law10 and it may be that we can change this4 ,i sincerely hope so47 ,all this is hard for the artist whose only desire is to catch and keep some of the beauty that he finds about him1 and if he is forced to depend upon the sale of these dreams to provide him with bread and butter1 he is quite liable to starvation or cynicism4 ,the ordinary person cannot possibly realize how close to the wind an idealist often gets4 ,to say that you are 8broke0 means nothing to the business man4 ,i once heard one of them tell a painter friend of mine that it was all wrong for him to owe his washerwoman1 that he should do1 as all practical folk did1 go down and hypothecate a bond6 ,it is unethical for an artist 7as it is for a professional man7 to go into the courts or to advertise4 ,he must not ask for work or show that he is hard up in any way1 and1 like the stage folk1 he must hold his work at a high price4 ,the distance between the price of a work of art and the money one can obtain for it is a long road1 however4 ,i was astonished to read in a newspaper1 not long ago1 that a picture of mine1 bought by a well-known millionaire1 was appraised1 at his death1 for exactly ten times the amount ,i had received for it not more than ten years before4 ,if a man dies or goes crazy--so that the source of supply is definitely cut off--his work immediately jumps in value4 ,i often think of ,john ,twachtman1 struggling along without any particular recognition1 selling his pictures for little or nothing1 and almost bankrupt when he died4 ,his brother painters knew the value of his work and resolved to make the public see it4 ,the dealers fought shy of it1 as he had not been a popular seller when alive4 ,choosing the right week in ,february and the proper gallery 7the ,american ,art ,association7 such men as ,thomas ,dewing and ,alden ,weir1 who commanded a position in the fine arts in this country1 were joined by one of the unusual people in ,america--a man with a strange combination of business ability1 overwhelmed by a love of beauty--,thomas ,w4 ,clarke4 ,twachtman's pictures1 of which there were a great many1 were properly placed before the public1 with the result that his bills were paid and a substantial sum realized for his widow4 ,a number of his best canvases were reserved so that ,mrs4 ,twachtman might have them for a nest egg4 ,what a contrast while he was alive6 ,one friend of his has in his possession to-day many exquisite sketches which he purchased from time to time for twenty-five dollars apiece4 ,they are now worth thousands4 ,i remember walking wearily up and down ,fifth ,avenue all of one afternoon with ,twachtman1 each of us with one of his unframed landscapes under his arm1 visiting dealer after dealer in a vain effort to sell one of them for twenty-five dollars in order that he might obtain enough money to remain a member of ,the ,players4 ,in one gallery we were offered fifteen dollars4 ,by that time we were quite tired1 and ,i had to restrain ,john from striking the man4 ,in sadness we returned to the club and placing the canvases in the cloak room1 went downstairs to cheer ourselves with a drink1 where ,i 7talking as usual7 told our afternoon's experience to a limited number of friends4 ,i had hardly finished when the clerk reached out through the side window and handed ,john a receipted bill for his dues4 ,stanford ,white had heard the story and paid them4 ,as a sequel to this tale3 a year or two ago at a picture shop of the second rate--the kind that is hung with framed canvases to the ceiling--,i saw in the window1 in a gorgeous and very vulgar frame1 one of those pictures that we had carried unsuccessfully along the ,avenue so long ago4 ,on a card in large letters was printed1 8,one of the greatest landscapes of ,john ,twachtman40 ,i went in and inquired the price4 ,it was thirty-five hundred dollars6 ,twachtman painted such exquisite small things4 ,it made no difference to him--the size1 shape1 or texture of his material--he could always conjure up an idea that fitted it perfectly4 ,whenever ,i was working at a large decoration he would come up to my studio and carry away the triangular pieces of canvas that inevitably come off a work of this kind4 ,i suppose the pictures he made on them have sold for more1 since he died1 than all of my decorations put together4 ,he looked like a faun2 one would expect1 upon moving back his hair1 to find some furry ears4 ,he had the nature of a faun4 ,there was no place for him in the nineteenth century2 he would have been a normal creature in the ,golden ,age4 ,his simplicity of mind showed in his work4 ,i have stood before one of his landscapes and thought3 8,how did you do it8 ,how could you see the thing so simply80 ,my mind is always cluttered up with details1 but1 for him1 they just did not exist4 ,i cannot imagine ,john in an airplane2 it would have been incongruous4 ,his place was in the fields1 living on berries and herbs1 refreshing himself at the brooks and streams1 as he went his merry way1 here and there catching and keeping for the world a fleeting glimpse of ,nature as she showed her secret self to him4 ,john ,twachtman is as good an example as ,i know1 of my own definition of an artist--0one who shall show you the stars during the daytime40 ,all the world is striving to manufacture what the people want1 but an artist is in an entirely different position4 ,there is no value to a picture at the pawnbroker's4 ,you can borrow practically nothing on a ,corot2 you can get more on the frame than on the canvas4 ,one day when ,i was very hard up1 a young architect from ,paris who was building the ,new ,amsterdam ,theater here telephoned me that ,mr4 ,finn had recommended me to do some work for him4 ,it appears that he had made a contract with a certain painter for a series of panels representing the development of the ,north ,river4 ,although the contract had been running two years and the theater was to open in two weeks1 the painter had only half finished the work4 ,there was nothing to do1 as the theater must open1 and ,mr4 ,finn had told him ,i was the only man who could do them in a hurry1 but he would have to pay a stiff price4 ,i asked him what ,i thought was fair 7,i never know what my work is worth71 and choosing the subjects1 running from ,eric the ,red to the last international yacht race1 ,i began4 ,i was living at that time in a studio which had formerly been a stable1 with a cement floor graded to the central hole1 where there was an outlet to the sewer4 ,just before this the sewer had become stopped up and1 as it had rained heavily1 the water had gathered on the studio floor4 ,there was no time to fix it2 ,i had only two weeks to do six panels1 each one more than five feet long1 and could not have the plumbers messing around4 ,of course1 ,i had no money to hire another place to work4 ,i had a time6 ,every morning ,i raced to the ,library to look up the historical facts1 and then came home to make my compositions4 ,all this while there were four inches of water on a level all over the floor1 a line of bricks to walk from my easel to my painting table1 and another line from the table back to where ,i could get a point of view of my work4 ,of necessity1 from the door to the bed was a third brick pathway4 ,every now and then1 in the excitement of creation1 ,i would fall off of my improvised bridges and drench my feet4 ,but youth is lucky and ,i escaped pneumonia--also ,i finished the panels in time4 ,at another time in my life1 ,i found myself with a lot of pictures and no money4 ,there were four people depending upon me1 no work1 and nothing ,i could realize upon4 ,on awakening one morning ,i discovered that the entire capital of the group was one nickel1 which ,i found in a baby's bank4 ,this had been robbed sundry times before1 but the little coin had somehow been missed4 ,it was necessary to do something1 and that immediately4 ,a friend who had dined with us the evening before upon a stew made of thirty-five cents' worth of beef neck and some potatoes had suggested that a certain elderly banker1 the silent partner of a well-known financier1 had just 8turned down0 a proposition made to him for an overmantel decoration4 ,the artist had asked too much and my friend suggested that ,i go and make a bid4 ,the banker's office was away downtown1 and1 arrayed in white shoes and hat and my best white serge suit from ,london 7it was one of the hottest days of the year71 ,i marched out with my nickel in my pocket4 ,at that time ,i was living up on ,ninety-sixth ,street1 so ,i sauntered casually over to the subway station1 pushed the coin nonchalantly through the grating of the ticket office4 ,the man promptly shoved it back with the curt remark1 8,no good40 ,i let it fall on the floor2 it dropped with a dull thud and ,i threw it angrily away1 not thinking so much of my own disappointment1 but disgusted with the person who had been so cruel as to cheat a baby by putting a lead nickel into its bank4 ,however1 ,i still had a journey to make1 and gazed about1 looking for an idea4 ,my eye fell upon the shop of my barber where ,i was in the habit of having my hair out4 ,going in1 ,i asked him to lend me some change4 ,my clothes and my manner must have deceived him1 for he pressed me to take a dollar1 although ,i asked only for a dime and said that ,i would not be responsible for returning more4 ,armed with the ten cents1 ,i was on my way4 ,mr4 ,lungren1 for it was he1 was in his office1 received my proposal with enthusiasm1 and ,i got my order4 ,he was just about to dismiss me politely1 when ,i said ,i must have one third cash on the spot4 ,he asked why1 evidently thinking ,i did not trust him1 but ,i replied with ,bill ,nye's well-known story of going into a shabby little restaurant1 ordering two boiled eggs1 and receiving a check for one dollar4 ,upon a demand for the reason for such an exorbitant charge1 the proprietor replies3 8,look around you4 ,i need the money40 ,mr4 ,lungren laughed and started to make out a check1 but ,i insisted upon currency1 saying that a check was only a promise to pay and no good to a drowning man4 ,then ,i added1 8,i want it in small bills1 please40 ,i got it in twenties and tens4 ,on the way home1 ,i stopped at every subway station1 went up to the surface1 and bought a drink and broke one of the bills4 ,by the time ,i had traveled from ,wall ,street to ,ninety-sixth ,street my mind was in a very mellow condition and my pockets bulging in every direction4 ,marching into the house1 ,i yelled for the startled members of my family and1 emptying my pockets1 hurled the bills into the air so that they flew into every part of the room4 ,these high spots in a man's life are worth all the years of poverty and struggle4 ,in spite of the fact of the manner of my receiving the order1 ,i think ,i made a pretty good representation of 8,hospitality0 for ,mr4 ,lungren4 ,during these periods of 8hardupness0 in my life1 ,i was constantly having the strangest things happen--things that almost made me believe in miracles4 ,i am often criticized for being too optimistic1 but my experience has made me so4 ,luck has always come to me out of the empty air4 ,the telephone1 the mail1 a chance meeting with a friend1 any one of a thousand occurrences may happen to change the tide of affairs at any moment4 ,oftentimes1 in ,europe1 would come a letter from mother1 with a wholly unexpected check4 ,mothers seem to have a seventh sense which tells them when their children need help1 and ,i always felt that there was an especial bond of sympathy between my mother and myself4 ,she probably knew that ,i was rather an outcast and needed her more than the others1 and ,i am sure that ,i understood her better than anyone else4 ,for example1 when ,i painted mother's portrait1 everyone criticized me because ,i did not have her knitting4 ,i never saw my mother knit2 she did not have time4 ,whenever she had a moment's leisure to sit down1 she had some sewing in her hand1 so ,i made her mending a stocking4 ,this was a time of portraits--,i did ,president ,hill of ,harvard1 ,mr4 ,sayre of ,bethlehem1 and many others--and small decorations1 including several overmantels and ceilings1 but finally1 out of the clear sky came along one of the largest orders that ,i ever received--to help do the ,capitol of the state of ,minnesota1 at ,st4 ,paul4 ,it was rather a big idea for a state to decorate its building so extensively1 and ,cass ,gilbert1 the architect1 deserves a great deal of credit for the venture4 ,i was given four huge panels below the dome of the rotunda4 ,they were about twenty-eight feet long and thirteen in height4 ,placed ninety feet from the ground1 they looked like postage stamps when finished4 ,the two rooms where the ,supreme ,court and the ,house of ,representatives met were given to ,blashfield and ,la ,farge4 ,the subject chosen was the ,settling of the ,west4 ,the first panel represents the ,young ,man ,leaving ,home2 the second1 the ,cleaning ,up of the ,land2 the third1 ,breaking the ,soil1 which he does by lifting a great stone out of a hole from which issues a young girl bearing maize2 and the last1 the ,young ,man ,is ,crowned and sends the ,four ,winds to the ,four ,quarters of the globe bearing the gifts of ,minnesota4 ,in every panel he is accompanied by ,hope and ,minerva4 ,illustration3 8,,cleansing ,,the ,,soil ,,of ,,the ,,bad ,,elements0 ,panel by ,edward ,simmons1 ,minnesota ,state ,capitol1 ,st4 ,paul ,copyright by ,edward ,simmons2 from a ,copley ,print1 ,curtis ,cameron1 ,publishers1 ,boston ,there were several guides in the ,capitol employed to show the visitors around and explain the sights to them4 ,i thought it would be splendid for me to give them special instructions about my work1 so that they would not make the usual ludicrous mistakes4 ,but guides seem to be a different breed of animal chosen for the wide range of their imaginations4 ,i supposed everything was going all right1 when one day a particularly loquacious one came to me and showed me a miniature palette in his buttonhole1 telling me he was an artist himself and belonged to a club of artists4 ,he knew all about the ladies in my decoration--the one veiled in chiffon 7which ,i had made for ,hope7 he called ,sin1 entirely neglecting the nude woman in the foreground 7,sin7 clinging to a grizzly 7,savagery74 ,he had probably received his early education in and about a ,burlesque show4 ,it was in ,st4 ,paul that ,i saw the most wonderful collection of paintings ever gathered together 7as far as ,i know7 by a private individual4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,j4 ,hill had built a special room1 especially lighted with everything adequate to show them to the best advantage4 ,and such pictures6 ,he had numbers of ,corots--one of the nude ,magdelen--,millet's 8,goose ,girl10 and beautiful ,daubignys4 ,one ,corot 7of ,biblis7 was stunning4 ,i could have lain on my back under the trees of the landscape and gone miles and miles through the distances between the clouds4 ,there were capitals and capitols to decorate after ,st4 ,paul1 but none of them such a large order4 ,in the ,law ,courts of ,mercer1 ,pennsylvania1 ,i put figures representing the different characteristics of the law2 at ,des ,moines1 ,iowa1 ,i was given a long and narrow half-moon panel1 twenty-five or thirty feet in length and only about five feet in width at the center1 and they would have for a subject1 the ,presentation of the ,flag to the ,first ,regiment that went to the ,civil ,war4 ,of course1 ,i couldn't get in a human figure and a flag in the proper way1 so ,i made an awkward girl holding it and letting it sag to the ground4 ,in the ,capitol of ,pierre1 ,south ,dakota1 ,i painted a panel of the ,lewis and ,clark expedition which camped at about this place4 ,i made the river and the bluffs1 with a voyageur in a coonskin cap sitting on an overturned canoe and bargaining with an ,indian who is showing him a buffalo pelt4 ,an amusing incident1 which my friends would say shows how 8,simmy always falls on his feet10 is the way ,i painted the ,indian4 ,the librarian of the building was a great expert on ,indian lore and had ferreted out much obscure knowledge1 much to the annoyance of some of the painters1 who were constantly having to change their figures to agree with his statements4 ,i made an ,indian with two braids of hair1 but later added another1 as he had his back turned and it suited my composition4 ,this librarian wrote me an enthusiastic letter saying that he had supposed himself the only man in existence who knew that the tribe of ,sioux ,indians that lived in ,south ,dakota were the only ones who wore their hair in three braids4 ,about this time 7,i was sixty years old7 ,i thought it wise to stop and take cognizance of myself4 ,my work was too literal1 too full of details1 and ,i wondered what the causes could be4 ,first1 there was my natural timidity4 ,as a boy1 ,i was taught not to fight4 ,surrounded by women all my childhood1 with natural tendencies to stay in the house and read or draw1 the baby of the family and always ailing--all these circumstances kept me away from a rough-and-tumble boy's life4 ,i can remember only one real fight in my young days4 ,it was when ,i was seven years old4 ,i had a little spotted overcoat which in the opinion of the authorities had gotten too shabby4 ,it must have been very old1 for it was given to the small son of our washerwoman1 a boy about my age4 ,in front of the schoolhouse one day1 we were coasting1 when some one put a stick on the coast4 ,i hit it and was thrown off my sled4 ,it happened again1 and ,i realized that it had been intentional4 ,i lost my temper and threatened all sorts of things happening to the boy who did it1 and dared him to do it again4 ,it happened again4 ,i was furious and told the offending boy to step out4 ,lo6 my washerwoman's son with my overcoat on6 ,of course1 ,i was badly pummeled1 but ,i can remember the mystic feeling of striking my spotty overcoat4 ,though ,i really was worsted in the battle1 ,i bore but few signs of it1 and as he got a black eye1 when asked who won ,i very meanly pointed to the evidence and left the questioner to his own inference4 ,this quality of timidity has always been accompanied in my nature by a great love of heroic deeds1 and ,i find that it is so of many persons of my type4 ,my brother told me of meeting ,charles ,reade when he went to ,england with the ,harvard crew to row a match with ,oxford4 ,mr4 ,reade lived close by1 on the ,thames1 and he dined and wined the boys4 ,in return they invited the author to go out in the launch to see them get into their shell4 ,this very tall man1 whose stories redounded with feats of bravery1 walked down the fixed steps which led to the float1 but when he felt the raft moving under his feet1 he drew back and would go no further4 ,reade was also overwhelmed by love of facts and could always produce the proof of any statement he made4 7,i see a lot of myself in this47 ,the great joke among the ,harvard boys was when he declared1 after a long recital of something that he thought had occurred in ,america3 8,i found the statement in one of the reputable journals of your country0--and he produced the ,police ,gazette6 ,other faults in my work were caused by my early ,new ,england environment and education4 ,to me1 modern education is like a puddle in the road--very broad1 but only two inches deep--and one must remember that truth has never been said to come from a puddle4 ,in pictures1 truth dwells in deep places4 ,there is a painting in ,france of 8,truth ,arising from a ,well0 and the scandalized burghers fleeing in every direction4 ,it isn't considered decent1 even in ,new ,york1 to listen to naked truth1 hence the crucifixion of all geniuses1 from ,christ to ,whistler4 ,it is so strange to see mothers teaching their girls2 for example1 to take care of babies by giving them dolls1 but as to the method of procuring these babies--no6 ,my early ignorance had driven me in the opposite direction later in life4 ,in my desire to be truthful1 ,i went too far and filled my work with a mass of unimportant details4 ,the subject of education reminds me of an experience ,i once had with a man of high authority1 in the question of the teaching of youth4 ,in fact1 he was the president of the board of education of the largest city of the country4 ,also1 he was in the 8art0 business--that is1 he made what were supposed to be the most artistic calendars and pictures used by large firms for advertising purposes4 ,during my hard-up days a friend of mine suggested that ,i send him a canvas of a girl's head that ,i had done out of pure chic1 thinking it was the style of thing he could use4 ,i have never been successful with illustration 7it needs a special talent71 and ,i would have been surprised if he had accepted it1 but ,i was surely not prepared for this statement from a man occupying so prominent a position in the educational world as he4 8,too much character in the face1 ,mr4 ,simmons1 too much character4 ,we mustn't have any at all40 ,and this man's productions go all over the ,united ,states1 in many obscure and out-of-the-way places4 ,they are the only specimens 7besides those atrocities--the ,sunday colored supplements7 that the people have upon which to form an artistic taste4 ,then there is that tendency to 8follow de crowd40 ,we all have it1 and in attempting to get away from it resort to the other extreme1 resulting in so-called ,cubism and ,futurism1 etc4 ,we are like the sheep ,i saw on ,scott's ranch in ,california4 ,although for two generations the rail fence leading from one field to another had not existed1 these creatures still skipped in the empty air1 just as did their grandfathers long ago4 ,we are the same1 else why do sculptors make statues in marble when there is an abundance of wonderful jasper in this country8 ,tradition and the ,greeks say so4 ,i have no quarrel with the man who goes to the other extreme1 provided he first learns what the world has found out1 up to his time1 about his art1 and then chooses to differ4 ,he may possibly add something4 ,but if he insists upon being ignorant1 it is like the ,sultan's order to his general to burn the library at ,alexandria4 8,if the books agree with the ,koran1 they are needless2 if they disagree1 they are wicked4 ,burn them40 ,we speak of ,realism and ,idealism--it seems to me that we just go around in circles and all such discussion is futile4 ,first1 we dig with our noses1 like the ground hog1 producing ,realism2 then we gradually climb up1 going through all the stages of ,idealism1 ,super-idealism1 stheticism1 and ,euphuism4 ,then bang6 we drop back again to the ground hog and dig for the truth4 ,kenyon ,cox gave us the best idea of this question that ,i know of4 ,he said 7to paraphrase73 8,every honest worker is striving to realize his ideal4 ,he maintains1 if he succeeds1 that he has produced ,realism1 but it is not the way we outsiders see it4 ,to us it is ,idealism40 ,hawkins told me about following ,corot in the fields when he was painting4 ,one day when the master had made a particularly beautiful landscape1 with cows browsing in the foreground1 ,hawkins objected to the fact that ,corot had painted in a pond when there was really none in sight4 8,my cows will be in my picture for a thousand years10 he answered1 8and ,i put in the pond to give them some water40 ,in #aiac1 the order for the ,panama ,pacific ,international ,exposition at ,san ,francisco came along1 and in order to free my mind of old ties and get a new point of view1 ,i took a boat to the ,barbadoes1 before starting my compositions4 ,if any man wishes to find a perfect figure with purely ,greek movement1 let him go the ,barbadoes4 ,the black women walking past his window will give him the sensation of ,greek statues in motion4 ,i was not long enough there to see much of the islands1 as recovered health and spirits and a great new urge for work drove me home long before ,i had planned4 ,on going to the steamship office1 ,i found that my return ticket could not be used for more than two months1 no berth being free until then1 but ,i resolved to go home1 and when ,i make up my mind to a thing ,i generally succeed4 ,a steamer came in three days1 of course full1 and ,i made a bet with a friend that ,i could return by it4 ,so1 getting my duds together and arranging with a boatman to do just as ,i told him1 ,i set out for the steamer in the harbor4 ,i chose the hour when most of the officers would be on shore1 dining1 sent the men up ahead of me with my baggage1 to be deposited in a corner of the deck1 following it with my return ticket4 ,then ,i hid behind a fresh-air funnel4 ,when the ship was well away and the pilot dropped1 ,i emerged1 sought the smoking-room and the steward4 8,when does this room close80 8,at midnight40 8,could you make me up a bed there80 tipping him4 8,it's against the rules1 but ,i could40 ,i then sought the purser4 ,a big fight1 but ,i won out1 and all during one of the pleasantest voyages ,i ever made ,i slept upon a mattress placed upon four chairs in the smoking room4 ,it was the delight of my life to be able to carry out1 in the ,san ,francisco work1 an idea that ,i had been mulling over for years--namely1 that of doing a large panel with only three pots of color--red1 yellow1 and blue--and three brushes4 ,somehow1 ,i felt that this would simplify my work1 and ,i think ,i was right4 ,the canvases1 forty-six feet long1 were to be placed high in the open air1 and needed a certain boldness of treatment which ,i meant to acquire1 so ,i made a flesh-color sky1 white drapery1 pink roses1 black hair1 etc41 all with three colors1 crisscross1 using red1 white1 and blue stripes about as wide as my finger1 for the entire composition4 ,i was in doubt as to whether ,i could express form in this way1 but found that ,i could1 and there is not a single outline in the two panels4 ,i was1 as ,i have been in many other cases1 forbidden to use the nude1 the idea being that the ,westerners would not stand for it4 ,as usual1 ,i paid no attention to the order and painted a nude female figure nine feet tall1 directly facing one1 for the ,fine ,arts4 ,no one seemed to notice it1 as ,i heard no objections raised4 ,as ,thomas ,dewing says1 8,vulgarity is in every human being and will out4 ,with some it shows in their acts or talk1 and with some in their work4 ,it would seem wiser to have it come out in some less permanent way than work40 ,the two panels were painted in my studio with the help of my assistant1 ,ira ,remsen1 and in #aiad1 before the fair opened1 all of the artists assembled in ,san ,francisco to add the finishing touches and see their work placed4 ,it was my second visit to the ,coast1 and my earlier memories of the good times1 hospitality1 and generosity were repeated4 ,childe ,hassam and ,robert ,reid were among those who helped beautify the buildings1 ,hassam proving that he was a decorator as well as a picture painter1 and ,reid making one of the hits of the fair by those fine things in the ,fine ,arts ,building which the city of ,san ,francisco has seen fit to preserve for all time4 ,our membership in the ,lambs' ,club gave us the privilege of enjoying the ,bohemian ,club1 with whom courtesies are exchanged1 and in the summer we made the trip to the ,bohemian ,grove to see the annual play produced4 ,here in the ,outdoor ,theater1 with the giant redwoods forming a background1 one gets a unique impression1 if not purely artistic4 ,the proscenium is two hundred feet high and the stage too large for the human animal1 making an effect 7as the play which ,i saw was based on purely modern ideas1 fit only for an intimate audience7 rather disappointing4 ,like everything else in ,california1 however1 it is overwhelming4 ,over in the ,greek ,theater in ,berkeley1 during this summer1 it was my good fortune to see ,gilbert and ,sullivan in the right setting for the first time4 ,the idea of 8,trial by ,jury0 7with the inimitable ,de,wolf ,hopper71 played in this theater which has been copied from one of classic times1 seemed rather incongruous4 ,but to my surprise it was as ,greek as ,aristophanes4 ,one is always having surprises out ,west4 ,i saw one of the three or four best decorations in ,america1 painted by a ,californian and totally unknown4 ,they say that a prophet is never respected in his own land1 so1 instead of giving ,charley ,dickman1 the artist1 one of the important jobs at the ,exposition1 the committee came east to ,new ,york and even went to ,europe for painters4 ,the decoration that ,i speak of is across the bay from ,san ,francisco in ,oakland1 in the office of a ,borax company4 ,dickman has given a picture of the desert1 where the product is found1 using that ,corot gray of ,death ,valley as a basic color harmony1 making the figures and a horse1 all of the same tone1 chime in with no discord4 ,it shows an unusual ease of treatment of a very difficult question4 ,again he has managed to turn two corners 7which is supposed to be against all laws of decoration7 so successfully that one is unaware of the fact4 ,to me1 it was a remarkable work of art1 but no one in town seemed to know about it4 ,i had hoped to stay in ,california2 every one dreams of dying there1 ,i suppose1 but ,i found it would be impossible to make a living4 ,they will not purchase anything that has not already been hallmarked by ,new ,york or ,european approval4 ,then1 too1 the climate produces a strange effect upon the ,eastern temperament4 ,i saw an apple tree with fruit larger and different from any ,i had ever eaten4 ,the farmer assured me1 upon his word of honor1 that he had brought it from ,new ,england as a young tree and that it had been a true ,eastern russet4 ,illustration3 ,,edward ,,simmons ,at the age of seventy ,after my return to ,new ,york ,i carried out two ceilings for ,mr4 ,rockefeller1 which were placed in the tea houses at the entrance to his ,tarrytown home2 ,i made a decoration for a lumber man down in ,mississippi1 and then came the ,war4 ,i was too old to go2 they even refused me in the ,camouflage section1 although ,i insist ,i would have been of use4 ,although ,i was not allowed to take part in the ,war1 my whole world changed4 ,the color of everything--we were enmeshed in khaki4 ,to eyes accustomed to riotous shades1 this deadening of the whole tone of things was tremendously depressing4 ,and then the strides--machine guns1 tanks1 bombs1 poison gas1 everything came tumbling and tossing1 one over the other1 in a mad strife for something to end it all4 ,but all the time they were only getting farther involved4 ,i wanted to keep step1 and felt as if ,i were marching1 marching1 marching--until ,i would suddenly become conscious that ,i was only sitting still4 ,i had never found the necessity of realizing the meaning of the old saying1 8,he also serves ----40 ,for the first time ,i was forced to acknowledge that it was the age of the young4 ,i saw a picture of myself as the perfect ,uncle ,sam1 his long legs stiff1 his gray hair flying in the wind1 his coat tails standing out farther than they had ever done1 struggling to keep his footing2 while all about him1 over him1 and under him were a mass of young men and boys in uniforms of tan1 bearing the modern equipment of war and heeding not at all this old-fashioned figure who was gradually being left behind4 ,chapter ,,xvi3 ,in ,retrospect ,i once started a sonnet to 8,my ,soul10 but1 having written one line1 ,i found that ,i had said all-- ,cross-hatched with many a shameful scar4 ,it is doubtful if ,i have a soul1 but if so1 ,i am sure that if it shows scars of victory1 they are the results of battles that should not have been fought4 ,we have never been a religious family1 as ,i look back4 ,the future8 ,for me it is here4 ,my mother understood4 ,think of the agony of a woman who had never had a hand laid upon her since she was a child1 lying completely helpless1 paralyzed for six years6 ,the last time ,i saw her1 ,i said3 8,mother1 you and ,i know what we believe about a future life80 ,she nodded feebly4 8,you are unhappy here80 ,again the nod1 with a pathetic look in her eyes4 ,i leaned over and whispered in her ear4 8,mother1 ,i hope you die to-night40 ,no one knew of our conversation1 but ,i was told afterward that she wrote on her slate that evening1 8,edward has cheered me up greatly40 ,i see that ,i have always felt this way and have tried to live the fullest life possible4 ,when ,i think of the progress of mankind during my seventy years--from lamps to electricity1 from horses to gasoline1 from slow mails to wireless1 and the aeroplane bringing the other continent as near to us to-day as the next town was in my boyhood--,i marvel at those who say that the world is going backward4 ,the advance of one human being is comparable to the advance of the whole race--it is the resultant force of a spiral spring4 ,at the bottom of the coil is ,realism2 at the top1 ,idealism and1 although we are a long time in getting around the circle1 the progress is as certain as the air we breathe4 ,all these changes should make me feel old1 but they don't4 ,like ,barton ,hill1 who went to call upon an old friend and mistaking the daughter 7who came to greet him7 for her mother1 said3 8,now ,i solve the wondrous question1 ,now ,i find what ,i did lack4 ,you've stolen some years from your mother ,and forgot to give them back40 ,i do not wish to belong to my own generation4 8,whom the gods love1 die young0 does not mean that they die when they are young1 but that they are young when they die1 and ,i could not ask anything finer from a generous ,creator4 ,i have been happy from the time ,i was born4 ,it may be that time covers with an ivy of forgetfulness the early wounds and renders them less hideous1 but ,i do not think so in my own case4 ,i am a lover2 ,i am happy because ,i love all things4 ,i feel like our ,irish cook who brought in a fish from the river1 cooked it1 and proceeded to consume it all1 clutching it at the tail and eating all the way up1 saying1 8,it's all very swate2 it's all very swate40 ,since a boy1 ,i have been able to take an interest in the crack in a granite stone and wonder 8why02 in the lichen that grows upon it1 and 8why02 in the blackberry bushes around it1 and 8why02 in the earth underneath through its change into sand2 in the weather and in the life of all the little things4 ,after death1 to furnish the manure for all these is enough of a future life for me4 ,meanwhile1 there is still beauty in the curve of a wave or a woman's breast1 there is liberty and there are friends4 ,but best of all there is hope4 ,i am still an optimist4 ,,the ,,end ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,p4 #ah1 changed 8pretending not so see me0 to 8pretending not to see me04 #b4 ,silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #c4 ,archaic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings retained as printed4 #d4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4