第7章
“Areyougoingtomakeasketchofit？”Icouldnothelpasking，asIunveiledtheGeniusofMuskegon。
“Ah，that’smysecret。”saidhe。“Neveryoumind。Amousecanhelpalion。”
Hewalkedroundmystatueandhadthedesignexplainedtohim。IhadrepresentedMuskegonasayoung，almostastripling，mother，withsomethingofanIndiantype；thebabeuponherkneeswaswinged，toindicateoursoaringfuture；andherseatwasamedleyofsculpturedfragments，Greek，Roman，andGothic，toremindusoftheolderworldsfromwhichwetraceourgeneration。
“Now，doesthissatisfyyou，Mr。Dodd？”heinquired，assoonasIhadexplainedtohimthemainfeaturesofthedesign。
“Well。”Isaid，“thefellowsseemtothinkit’snotabadbonnefemmeforabeginner。Idon’tthinkit’sentirelybadmyself。
Hereisthebestpoint；itbuildsupbestfromhere。No，itseemstomeithasakindofmerit。”Iadmitted；“butImeantodobetter。”
“Ah，that’stheword！”criedPinkerton。“There’sthewordI
love！”andhescribbledinhispad。
“Whatincreationailsyou？”Iinquired。“It’sthemostcommonplaceexpressionintheEnglishlanguage。”
“Betterandbetter！”chuckledPinkerton。“Theunconsciousnessofgenius。Lord，butthisiscominginbeautiful！”andhescribbledagain。
“Ifyou’regoingtobefulsome。”saidI，“I’llclosetheplaceofentertainment。”AndIthreatenedtoreplacetheveilupontheGenius。
“No，no。”saidhe。“Don’tbeinahurry。Givemeapointortwo。Showmewhat’sparticularlygood。”
“Iwouldratheryoufoundthatoutforyourself。”saidI。
“Thetroubleis。”saidhe，“thatI’veneverturnedmyattentiontosculpture，beyond，ofcourse，admiringit，aseverybodymustwhohasasoul。Sodojustbeagoodfellow，andexplaintomewhatyoulikeinit，andwhatyoutriedfor，andwherethemeritcomesin。It’llbealleducationforme。”
“Well，insculpture，yousee，thefirstthingyouhavetoconsideristhemasses。It’s，afterall，akindofarchitecture。”Ibegan，anddeliveredalectureonthatbranchofart，withillustrationsfrommyownmasterpiecetherepresent，allofwhich，ifyoudon’tmind，orwhetheryoumindornot，Imeantoconscientiouslyomit。Pinkertonlistenedwithafieryinterest，questionedmewithacertainuncultivatedshrewdness，andcontinuedtoscratchdownnotes，andtearfreshsheetsfromhispad。Ifounditinspiringtohavemywordsthustakendownlikeaprofessor’slecture；andhavinghadnopreviousexperienceofthepress，Iwasunawarethattheywereallbeingtakendownwrong。Forthesamereason(incredibleasitmustappearinanAmerican)Ineverentertainedtheleastsuspicionthattheyweredestinedtobedishedupwithasauceofpenny-
a-lininggossip；andmyself，myperson，andmyworksofartbutcheredtomakeaholidayforthereadersofaSundaypaper。
NighthadfallenovertheGeniusofMuskegonbeforetheissueofmytheoreticeloquencewasstayed，nordidIseparatefrommynewfriendwithoutanappointmentforthemorrow。
Iwasindeedgreatlytakenwiththisfirstviewofmycountryman，andcontinued，onfurtheracquaintance，tobeinterested，amused，andattractedbyhiminaboutequalproportions。Imustnotsayhehadafault，notonlybecausemymouthissealedbygratitude，butbecausethosehehadsprangmerelyfromhiseducation，andyoucouldseehehadcultivatedandimprovedthemlikevirtues。Forallthat，Icanneverdenyhewasatroublousfriendtome，andthetroublebeganearly。
ItmayhavebeenafortnightlaterthatIdivinedthesecretofthewriting-pad。Mywretch(itleakedout)wrotelettersforapaperintheWest，andhadfilledapartofoneofthemwithdescriptionsofmyself。Ipointedouttohimthathehadnorighttodosowithoutaskingmypermission。
“Why，thisisjustwhatIhoped！”heexclaimed。“Ithoughtyoudidn’tseemtocatchon；onlyitseemedtoogoodtobetrue。”
“But，mygoodfellow，youwereboundtowarnme。”Iobjected。
“Iknowit’sgenerallyconsideredetiquette。”headmitted；“butbetweenfriends，andwhenitwasonlywithaviewofservingyou，Ithoughtitwouldn’tmatter。Iwantedit(ifpossible)tocomeonyouasasurprise；Iwantedyoujusttowaken，likeLordByron，andfindthepapersfullofyou。Youmustadmititwasanaturalthought。Andnomanlikestoboastofafavourbeforehand。”
“But，heavensandearth！howdoyouknowIthinkitafavour？”
Icried。
Hebecameimmediatelyplungedindespair。“Youthinkitaliberty。”saidhe；“Iseethat。Iwouldratherhavecutoffmyhand。Iwouldstopitnow，onlyit’stoolate；it’spublishedbynow。AndIwroteitwithsomuchprideandpleasure！”
Icouldthinkofnothingbuthowtoconsolehim。“O，Idaresayit’sallright。”saidI。“Iknowyoumeantitkindly，andyouwouldbesuretodoitingoodtaste。”
“Thatyoumayswearto。”hecried。“It’sapure，bright，A
number1paper；theSt。Jo_SundayHerald_。Theideaoftheserieswasquitemyown；Iinterviewedtheeditor，putittohimstraight；thefreshnessoftheideatookhim，andIwalkedoutofthatofficewiththecontractinmypocket，anddidmyfirstParisletterthateveninginSaintJo。Theeditordidnomorethanglancehiseyedowntheheadlines。’You’rethemanforus，’
saidhe。”
IwascertainlyfarfromreassuredbythissketchoftheclassofliteratureinwhichIwastomakemyfirstappearance；butI
saidnomore，andpossessedmysoulinpatience，untilthedaycamewhenIreceivedacopyofanewspapermarkedinthecorner，“ComplimentsofJ。P。”Iopeneditwithsensibleshrinkings；andthere，wedgedbetweenanaccountofaprize-
fightandaskittisharticleuponchiropody——thinkofchiropodytreatedwithaleer！——Icameuponacolumnandahalfinwhichmyselfandmypoorstatuewereembalmed。Liketheeditorwiththefirstoftheseries，Ididbutglancemyeyedownthehead-linesandwasmorethansatisfied。
Inthebodyofthetext，besides，myeyecaught，asitpassed，somedeadlyexpressions：“Figuresomewhatfleshy。”“bright，intellectualsmile。”“theunconsciousnessofgenius。”“’Now，Mr。Dodd，’resumedthereporter，’whatwouldbeyourideaofadistinctivelyAmericanqualityinsculpture？’“Itwastruethequestionhadbeenasked；itwastrue，alas！thatIhadanswered；
andnowherewasmyreply，orsomestrangehashofit，gibbetedinthecoldpublicityoftype。IthankedGodthatmyFrenchfellow-studentswereignorantofEnglish；butwhenI
thoughtoftheBritish——ofMyner(forinstance)ortheStennises——IthinkIcouldhavefallenonPinkertonandbeathim。
Todivertmythoughts(ifitwerepossible)fromthiscalamity，I
turnedtoaletterfrommyfatherwhichhadarrivedbythesamepost。Theenvelopecontainedastripofnewspaper-cutting；andmyeyecaughtagain，“SonofMillionaireDodd——Figuresomewhatfleshy。”andtherestofthedegradingnonsense。
Whatwouldmyfatherthinkofit？Iwondered，andopenedhismanuscript。“Mydearestboy。”itbegan，“Isendyouacuttingwhichhaspleasedmeverymuch，fromaSt。Josephpaperofhighstanding。Atlastyouseemtobecomingfairlytothefront；andIcannotbutreflectwithdelightandgratitudehowveryfewyouthsofyourageoccupynearlytwocolumnsofpress-matteralltothemselves。Ionlywishyourdearmotherhadbeenheretoreaditovermyshoulder；butwewillhopeshesharesmygratefulemotioninabetterplace。OfcourseIhavesentacopytoyourgrandfatheranduncleinEdinburgh；soyoucankeeptheoneIenclose。ThisJimPinkertonseemsavaluableacquaintance；hehascertainlygreattalent；anditisagoodgeneralruletokeepinwithpressmen。”
Ihopeitwillbesetdowntotherightsideofmyaccount，butI
hadnosoonerreadthesewords，sotouchinglysilly，thanmyangeragainstPinkertonwasswallowedupingratitude。Ofallthecircumstancesofmycareer，mybirth，perhaps，excepted，notonehadgivenmypoorfathersoprofoundapleasureasthisarticleinthe_SundayHerald_。Whatafool，then，wasI，tobelamenting！whenIhadatlast，andforonce，andatthecostofonlyafewblushes，paidbackafractionofmydebtofgratitude。
Sothat，whenInextmetPinkerton，Itookthingsverylightly；
myfatherwaspleased，andthoughttheletterveryclever，Itoldhim；formyownpart，Ihadnotasteforpublicity：thoughtthepublichadnoconcernwiththeartist，onlywithhisart；andthoughIownedhehadhandleditwithgreatconsideration，I
shouldtakeitasafavourifheneverdiditagain。
“Thereitis。”hesaiddespondingly。“I’vehurtyou。Youcan’tdeceiveme，Loudon。It’sthewantoftact，andit’sincurable。”
Hesatdown，andleanedhisheaduponhishand。“IhadnoadvantageswhenIwasyoung，yousee。”headded。
“Notintheleast，mydearfellow。”saidI。“Onlythenexttimeyouwishtodomeaservice，justspeakaboutmywork；leavemywretchedpersonout，andmystillmorewretchedconversation；andaboveall。”Iadded，withanirrepressibleshudder，“don’ttellthemhowIsaidit！There’sthatphrase，now：’Withaproud，gladsmile。’WhocareswhetherIsmiledornot？”
“Oh，therenow，Loudon，you’reentirelywrong。”hebrokein。
“That’swhatthepubliclikes；that’sthemeritofthething，theliteraryvalue。It’stocallupthescenebeforethem；it’stoenablethehumblestcitizentoenjoythatafternoonthesameasIdid。ThinkwhatitwouldhavebeentomewhenIwastrampingaroundwithmytin-typestofindacolumnandahalfofreal，culturedconversation——anartist，inhisstudioabroad，talkingofhisart——andtoknowhowhelookedashedidit，andwhattheroomwaslike，andwhathehadforbreakfast；andtotellmyself，eatingtinnedbeansbesideacreek，thatifallwentwell，thesamesortofthingwould，soonerorlater，happentomyself：why，Loudon，itwouldhavebeenlikeapeepholeintoheaven！”
“Well，ifitgivessomuchpleasure。”Iadmitted，“thesufferersshouldn’tcomplain。Onlygivetheotherfellowsaturn。”
Theendofthematterwastobringmyselfandthejournalistinamorecloserelation。IfIknowanythingatallofhumannature——andtheIFisnomerefigureofspeech，butstandsforhonestdoubt——noseriesofbenefitsconferred，orevendangersshared，wouldhavesorapidlyconfirmedourfriendshipasthisquarrelavoided，thisfundamentaldifferenceoftasteandtrainingacceptedandcondoned。
Whetheritcamefrommytrainingandrepeatedbankruptcyatthecommercialcollege，orbydirectinheritancefromoldLoudon，theEdinburghmason，therecanbenodoubtaboutthefactthatIwasthrifty。Lookingmyselfimpartiallyover，I
believethatismyonlymanlyvirtue。DuringmyfirsttwoyearsinParisInotonlymadeitapointtokeepwellinsideofmyallowance，butaccumulatedconsiderablesavingsinthebank。
Youwillsay，withmymasqueradeoflivingasapennilessstudent，itmusthavebeeneasytodoso：Ishouldhavehadnodifficulty，however，indoingthereverse。Indeed，itiswonderfulIdidnot；andearlyinthethirdyear，orsoonafterI
hadknownPinkerton，asingularincidentprovedittohavebeenequallywise。Quarter-daycame，andbroughtnoallowance。Aletterofremonstrancewasdespatched，andforthefirsttimeinmyexperience，remainedunanswered。A
cablegramwasmoreeffectual；foritbroughtmeatleastapromiseofattention。“Willwriteatonce。”myfathertelegraphed；butIwaitedlongforhisletter。Iwaspuzzled，angry，andalarmed；butthankstomypreviousthrift，IcannotsaythatIwaseverpracticallyembarrassed。Theembarrassment，thedistress，theagony，wereallformyunhappyfatherathomeinMuskegon，strugglingforlifeandfortuneagainstuntowardchances，returningatnightfromadayofill-starredshiftsandventures，toreadandperhapstoweepoverthatlastharshletterfromhisonlychild，towhichhelackedthecouragetoreply。
Nearlythreemonthsaftertime，andwhenmyeconomieswerebeginningtorunlow，Ireceivedatlastaletterwiththecustomarybillsofexchange。
“Mydearestboy。”itran，“Ibelieve，inthepressofanxiousbusiness，yourlettersandevenyourallowancehavebeensomewhileneglected。Youmusttrytoforgiveyourpoorolddad，forhehashadatryingtime；andnowwhenitisover，thedoctorwantsmetotakemyshotgunandgototheAdirondacksforachange。YoumustnotfancyIamsick，onlyover-drivenandundertheweather。Manyofourforemostoperatorshavegonedown：JohnT。M’BradyskippedtoCanadawithatrunkfulofboodle；BillySandwith，CharlieDowns，JoeKaiser，andmanyothersofourleadingmeninthiscitybitthedust。
ButBig-HeadDoddhasagainweatheredtheblizzard，andI