The New York _Times_ comments upon a disagreeable trait in a great
artist:
The quarrelsomeness of Whistler began with a combination of
nervous fastidiousness and temperamental gaiety of disposition.
That spring, that elasticity of mind which kept his hand so full
of craftsmanship, was the source of his eternal youth, his quips
and cranks and love of teasing. In time the habit became fixt
and Whistler developed a Mephistophelean dexterity in touching
the raw, ever losing thereby one friend after another. Like the
dog that has a reputation for biting, the genial master made
a desert about his den, but consoled himself with noting how
efficacious this reputation was in holding off bores.
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