第6章

ThesecondincidentwasthatwhichhadearnedPinkertonhisreputation。Inacrowdedstudio，whilesomeveryfilthybrutalitieswerebeingpractisedonatremblingdebutant，atall，palefellowsprangfromhisstooland(withoutthesmallestprefaceorexplanation)sangout，“AllEnglishandAmericanstocleartheshop！”Ourraceisbrutal，butnotfilthy；andthesummonswasnoblyrespondedto。EveryAnglo-Saxonstudentseizedhisstool；inamomentthestudiowasfullofbloodycoxcombs，theFrenchfleeingindisorderforthedoor，thevictimliberatedandamazed。Inthisfeatofarms，bothEnglish-speakingnationscoveredthemselveswithglory；butIamproudtoclaimtheauthorofthewholeforanAmerican，andapatrioticAmericanatthat，beingthesamegentlemanwhohadsubsequentlytobehelddowninthebottomofaboxduringaperformanceof_L’OncleSam_，sobbingatintervals，“Mycountry！Omycountry！”Whileyetanother(mynewacquaintance，Pinkerton)wassupposedtohavemadethemostconspicuousfigureintheactualbattle。Atoneblow，hehadbrokenhisownstool，andsentthelargestofhisopponentsbackforemostthroughwhatweusedtocalla“conscientiousnude。”Itappearsthat，inthecontinuationofhisflight，thisfallenwarriorissuedontheboulevardstillframedintheburstcanvas。

Itwillbeunderstoodhowmuchtalktheincidentarousedinthestudents’quarter，andthatIwashighlygratifiedtomaketheacquaintanceofmyfamouscountryman。ItchancedIwastoseemoreofthequixoticsideofhischaracterbeforethemorningwasdone；foraswecontinuedtostrolltogether，I

foundmyselfnearthestudioofayoungFrenchmanwhoseworkIhadpromisedtoexamine，andinthefashionofthequartercarriedupPinkertonalongwithme。Someofmycomradesofthisdatewereprettyobnoxiousfellows。Icouldalmostalwaysadmireandrespectthegrown-uppractitionersofartinParis；butmanyofthosewhowerestillinastateofpupilageweresorryspecimens，somuchsothatIusedoftentowonderwherethepainterscamefrom，andwherethebrutesofstudentswentto。Asimilarmysteryhangsovertheintermediatestagesofthemedicalprofession，andmusthaveperplexedtheleastobservant。Theruffian，atleast，whomI

nowcarriedPinkertontovisit，wasoneofthemostcrapulousinthequarter。Heturnedoutforourdelectationahuge“crust“(asweusedtocallit)ofSt。Stephen，wallowinginreduponhisbellyinanexhaustedreceiver，andacrowdofHebrewsinblue，green，andyellow，peltinghim——apparentlywithbuns；andwhilewegazeduponthiscontrivance，regaleduswithapieceofhisownrecentbiography，ofwhichhismindwasstillveryfull，andwhichheseemedtofancy，representedhiminaheroicposture。IwasoneofthosecosmopolitanAmericans，whoaccepttheworld(whetherathomeorabroad)astheyfindit，andwhosefavouritepartisthatofthespectator；yetevenIwaslisteningwithill-suppresseddisgust，whenIwasawareofaviolentpluckingatmysleeve。

“Ishesayinghekickedherdownstairs？”askedPinkerton，whiteasSt。Stephen。

“Yes。”saidI：“hisdiscardedmistress；andthenhepeltedherwithstones。Isupposethat’swhatgavehimtheideaforhispicture。Hehasjustbeenallegingthepatheticexcusethatshewasoldenoughtobehismother。”

SomethinglikeasobbrokefromPinkerton。“Tellhim。”hegasped——“Ican’tspeakthislanguage，thoughIunderstandalittle；Ineverhadanypropereducation——tellhimI’mgoingtopunchhishead。”

“ForGod’ssake，donothingofthesort！”Icried。“Theydon’tunderstandthatsortofthinghere。”AndItriedtobundlehimout。

“Tellhimfirstwhatwethinkofhim。”heobjected。“Letmetellhimwhathelooksintheeyesofapure-mindedAmerican“

“Leavethattome。”saidI，thrustingPinkertonclearthroughthedoor。

“Qu’est-cequ’ila？”[1]inquiredthestudent。

[1]“What’sthematterwithhim？”

“Monsieursesentmalaucoeurd’avoirtropregardevotrecroute。”[2]saidI，andmademyescape，scarcewithdignity，atPinkerton’sheels。

[2]“Thegentlemanissickathisstomachfromhavinglookedtoolongatyourdaub。”

“Whatdidyousaytohim？”heasked。

“Theonlythingthathecouldfeel。”wasmyreply。

Afterthisscene，thefreedomwithwhichIhadejectedmynewacquaintance，andtheprecipitationwithwhichIhadfollowedhim，theleastIcoulddowastoproposeluncheon。IhaveforgotthenameoftheplacetowhichIledhim，nothingloath；

itwasonthefarsideoftheLuxembourgatleast，withagardenbehind，wherewewerespeedilysetfacetofaceattable，andbegantodigintoeachother’shistoryandcharacter，liketerriersafterrabbits，accordingtotheapprovedfashionofyouth。

Pinkerton’sparentswerefromtheoldcountry；theretoo，I

incidentallygathered，hehadhimselfbeenborn，thoughitwasacircumstanceheseemedpronetoforget。Whetherhehadrunaway，orhisfatherhadturnedhimout，Ineverfathomed；butabouttheageoftwelve，hewasthrownuponhisownresources。Atravellingtin-typephotographerpickedhimup，likeahawoutofahedgerow，onawaysideinNewJersey；tookafancytotheurchin；carriedhimonwithhiminhiswanderinglife；taughthimallheknewhimself——totaketin-types(aswellasIcanmakeout)anddoubttheScriptures；anddiedatlastinOhioatthecornerofaroad。“Hewasagrandspecimen。”criedPinkerton；“Iwishyoucouldhaveseenhim，Mr。Dodd。Hehadanappearanceofmagnanimitythatusedtoremindmeofthepatriarchs。”Onthedeathofthisrandomprotector，theboyinheritedtheplantandcontinuedthebusiness。“ItwasalifeI

couldhavechosen，Mr。Dodd！”hecried。“Ihavebeeninallthefinestscenesofthatmagnificentcontinentthatwewereborntobetheheirsof。Iwishyoucouldseemycollectionoftin-types；

IwishIhadthemhere。Theyweretakenformyownpleasureandtobeamemento；andtheyshowNatureinhergrandestaswellashergentlestmoments。”AshetrampedtheWesternStatesandTerritories，takingtin-types，theboywascontinuallygettingholdofbooks，good，bad，andindifferent，popularandabstruse，fromthenovelsofSylvanusCobbtoEuclid’sElements，bothofwhichIfound(tomyalmostequalwonder)

hehadmanagedtoperuse：hewastakingstockbytheway，ofthepeople，theproducts，andthecountry，withaneyeunusuallyobservantandamemoryunusuallyretentive；andhewascollectingforhimselfabodyofmagnanimousandsemi-

intellectualnonsense，whichhesupposedtobethenaturalthoughtsandtocontainthewholedutyofthebornAmerican。

Tobepure-minded，tobepatriotic，togetcultureandmoneywithbothhandsandwiththesameirrationalfervour——theseappearedtobethechiefarticlesofhiscreed。Inlaterdays(notofcourseuponthisfirstoccasion)Iwouldsometimesaskhimwhy；andhehadhisanswerpat。“Tobuildupthetype！”hewouldcry。“We’reallcommittedtothat；we’reallunderbondtofulfiltheAmericanType！Loudon，thehopeoftheworldisthere。Ifwefail，liketheseoldfeudalmonarchies，whatisleft？”

Thetradeofatin-typerprovedtoonarrowforthelad’sambition；itwasinsusceptibleofexpansion，heexplained，itwasnottrulymodern；andbyasuddenconversionoffront，hebecamearailroad-scalper。TheprinciplesofthistradeIneverclearlyunderstood；butitsessenceappearstobetocheattherailroadsoutoftheirduefare。“Ithrewmywholesoulintoit；I

grudgedmyselffoodandsleepwhileIwasatit；themostpractisedhandsadmittedIhadcaughtontotheideainamonthandrevolutionisedthepracticeinsideofayear。”hesaid。“Andthere’sinterestinit，too。It’samusingtopickoutsomeonegoingby，makeupyourmindabouthischaracterandtastes，dashoutoftheofficeandhithimflyingwithanofferoftheveryplacehewantstogoto。Idon’tthinktherewasascalperonthecontinentmadefewerblunders。ButItookitonlyasastage。Iwassavingeverydollar；Iwaslookingahead。IknewwhatIwanted——wealth，education，arefinedhome，andaconscientious，culturedladyforawife；for，Mr。Dodd“——thiswithaformidableoutcry——“everymanisboundtomarryabovehim：ifthewoman’snottheman’ssuperior，Ibranditasmeresensuality。Therewasmyidea，atleast。ThatwaswhatIwassavingfor；andenough，too！Butitisn’teveryman，Iknowthat——it’sfarfromeveryman——coulddowhatIdid：closeupthelivestagencyinSaintJo，wherehewascoiningdollarsbythepot，setoutalone，withoutafriendorawordofFrench，andsettledownheretospendhiscapitallearningart。”

“Wasitanoldtaste？”Iaskedhim，“orasuddenfancy？”

“Neither，Mr。Dodd。”headmitted。“OfcourseIhadlearnedinmytin-typingexcursionstogloryandexultintheworksofGod。Butitwasn’tthat。Ijustsaidtomyself，Whatismostwantedinmyageandcountry？Morecultureandmoreart，I

said；andIchosethebestplace，savedmymoney，andcameheretogetthem。”

Thewholeattitudeofthisyoungmanwarmedandshamedme。

HehadmorefireinhislittletoethanIhadinmywholecarcase；hewasstuffedtoburstingwiththemanlyvirtues；

thriftandcourageglowedinhim；andevenifhisartisticvocationseemed(tooneofmyexclusivetenets)notquiteclear，whocouldpredictwhatmightbeaccomplishedbyacreaturesofull-bloodedandsoinspiredwithanimalandintellectualenergy？So，whenheproposedthatIshouldcomeandseehiswork(oneoftheregularstagesofaLatinQuarterfriendship)，I

followedhimwithinterestandhope。

HelodgedparsimoniouslyatthetopofatallhouseneartheObservatory，inabareroom，principallyfurnishedwithhisowntrunksandpaperedwithhisowndespicablestudies。Nomanhaslesstastefordisagreeabledutiesthanmyself；perhapsthereisonlyonesubjectonwhichIcannotflatteramanwithoutablush；butuponthat，uponallthattouchesart，mysincerityisRoman。OnceandtwiceImadethecircuitofhiswallsinsilence，spyingineverycornerforsomesparkofmerit；he，meanwhile，followingcloseatmyheels，readingtheverdictinmyfacewithfurtiveglances，presentingsomefreshstudyformyinspectionwithundisguisedanxiety，and(afterithadbeensilentlyweighedinthebalancesandfoundwanting)whiskingitawaywithanopengestureofdespair。Bythetimethesecondroundwascompleted，wewerebothextremelydepressed。

“O！”hegroaned，breakingthelongsilence，“it’squiteunnecessaryyoushouldspeak！”

“Doyouwantmetobefrankwithyou？Ithinkyouarewastingtime。”saidI。

“Youdon’tseeanypromise？”heinquired，beguiledbysomereturnofhope，andturninguponmetheembarrassingbrightnessofhiseye。“Notinthisstill-lifehere，ofthemelon？

Onefellowthoughtitgood。”

ItwastheleastIcoulddotogivethemelonamoreparticularexamination；which，whenIhaddone，Icouldbutshakemyhead。“Iamtrulysorry，Pinkerton。”saidI，“butIcan’tadviseyoutopersevere。”

Heseemedtorecoverhisfortitudeatthemoment，reboundingfromdisappointmentlikeamanofindia-rubber。“Well。”saidhestoutly，“Idon’tknowthatI’msurprised。ButI’llgoonwiththecourse；andthrowmywholesoulintoit，too。Youmustn’tthinkthetimeislost。It’sallculture；itwillhelpmetoextendmyrelationswhenIgetbackhome；itmayfitmeforapositionononeoftheillustrateds；andthenIcanalwaysturndealer。”hesaid，utteringthemonstrousproposition，whichwasenoughtoshaketheLatinQuartertothedust，withentiresimplicity。“It’sallexperience，besides；“hecontinued，“anditseemstomethere’satendencytounderrateexperience，bothasnetprofitandinvestment。Nevermind。That’sdonewith。Butittookcourageforyoutosaywhatyoudid，andI’llneverforgetit。

Here’smyhand，Mr。Dodd。I’mnotyourequalincultureortalent——“

“Youknownothingaboutthat。”Iinterrupted。“Ihaveseenyourwork，butyouhaven’tseenmine。

“NomoreIhave。”hecried；“andlet’sgoseeitatonce！ButI

knowyouareawayup。Icanfeelithere。”

Tosaytruth，Iwasalmostashamedtointroducehimtomystudio——mywork，whetherabsolutelygoodorbad，beingsovastlysuperiortohis。Buthisspiritswerenowquiterestored；

andheamazedme，ontheway，withhislight-heartedtalkandnewprojects。SothatIbeganatlasttounderstandhowmatterslay：thatthiswasnotanartistwhohadbeendeprivedofthepracticeofhissingleart；butonlyabusinessmanofveryextendedinterests，informed(perhapssomethingofthemostsuddenly)thatoneinvestmentoutoftwentyhadgonewrong。

Asamatteroffactbesides(althoughIneversuspectedit)hewasalreadyseekingconsolationwithanotherofthemuses，andpleasinghimselfwiththenotionthathewouldrepaymeformysincerity，cementourfriendship，and(atoneandthesameblow)restoremyestimationofhistalents。Severaltimesalready，whenIhadbeenspeakingofmyself，hehadpulledoutawriting-padandscribbledabriefnote；andnow，whenweenteredthestudio，Isawitinhishandagain，andthepencilgotohismouth，ashecastacomprehensiveglanceroundtheuncomfortablebuilding。