"I see in this pa-aper," said Mr. Dooley, "they'se a fellow kickin'
because an American painther ain't got anny chanst again' foreign
compytition."
"Sure," said Mr. Hennessy; "he's aisy displazed. I niver knew th'
business to be betther. Wages is high an' 'tis a comfortable
thrade barrin' colic."
"I don't mane that kind iv painthers," said Mr. Dooley. "I don't
mane th' wans that paint ye'er barn, but th' wans that paints a
pitcher iv ye'er barn an' wants to sell it to ye f'r more thin th'
barn is worth. This man says no matther how industhrees an American
painther is, no matther if he puts on his overalls arly in th'
mornin' an' goes out with a laddher an' whales away all day long,
he can hardly arn a livin', while th' pauper artists iv Europe is
fairly rowlin' in th' lap iv luxury. Manny a la-ad that started
in life with th' intintion iv makin' th' wurruld f'rget that what's
his name--Hogan's frind--ye know who I mane--Michael Angelo--ever
lived, is now glad to get a job decoratin' mountain scenery with
th' latest news about th' little liver pills.
"Ye see, Hinnissy, whin a man gets hold iv a large hatful iv money,
wan iv th' first things he does is to buy some art. Up to th'
time whin th' top blew off th' stock market, he bought his art
out iv th' front window iv a news an' station'ry shop or had it
put in be th' paperhanger. He took th' Sundah pa-apers that ar-re
a gr-reat help if ye're collectin' art, an' he had some pitchers
iv fruit that looks nachral enough to ate, d'ye mind, a paintin'
iv a deer like th' wan he shot at in th' Manotowish counthry in
Eighty-eight, an' a livin' likeness iv a Lake Supeeryor white fish
on a silver plate. That was th' peeryod, mind ye, whin th' iron
dogs howled on his lawn an' people come miles an' miles f'r to see
a grotto made out iv relics iv th' Chicago fire.
"Manetime his daughter was illustratin' suspinders an' illuminatin'
china plates an' becomin' artistic, an' afther awhile whin th'
time come that he had to keep a man at th' dure to sweep out th'
small bills, she give him a good push to'rd betther things.
Besides, his pardner down th' sthreet had begun collectin' pitchers,
an' ivry time he wint abroad th' mannyfacthrers iv pitcher frames
bought new autymobills f'r th' Champs All Easy. So 'twas a soft
matther f'r our frind Higbie to be persuaded that he ought to be
a pathron iv art, an' he wint abroad detarmined to buy a bunch iv
chromos that'd make people come out iv th' gallery iv his pardner
down th' sthreet stiflin' their laughter in their hands.
"Now ye'd think seein' that he made his money in this counthry,
he'd pathronize American art. Ye'd believe he'd sind wurrud down
to his agent f'r to secure forty feet iv Evansville be moonlight
an' be con-tint. But he don't.
"Ye don't catch Higbie changin' iv anny iv his dividends on
domestic finished art. He jumps on a boat an' goes sthraight
acrost to th' centhral deepo. The first thing he gets is a
porthrait iv himsilf be wan iv th' gr-reat modhren masthers,
Sargent be name. This here Sargent, Hogan tells me, used to live
in this counthry, an' faith, if he'd stayed here ye might see him
to-day on a stagin'. But he had a mind in his head an' he tore
off f'r Europe th' way a duck hunter goes f'r a rice swamp. Afther
awhile, Higbie shows up, an' says he: 'I'm Higbie iv th' Non-Adhesive
Consolidated Glue Company,' he says. 'Can ye do me?' 'I can an'
will,' says Sargent. 'I'll do ye good. How much have ye got?'
he says. 'Get some more an' come around,' he says. An' Higbie
puts on his Prince Albert coat an' laves it open so that ye can
see his watch charm--th' crown iv Poland with th' Kohinoor in th'
top iv it--an' me frind Sargent does him brown an' red. He don't
give him th' pitcher iv coorse. If ye have ye'er porthrait painted
be a gr-reat painther, it's ye'er porthrait but 'tis his pitcher,
an' he keeps it till ye don't look that way anny more. So Higbie's
porthrait is hung up in a gallery an' th' doctors brings people
to see it that ar-re sufferin' fr'm narvous dyspepsia to cheer
thim up. Th' pa-apers says 'tis fine. 'Number 108 shows Sargent
at his best. There is the same marvellous ticknick that th' great
master displayed in his cillybrated take-off on Mrs. Maenheimer
in last year's gallery. Th' skill an' ease with which th' painther
has made a monkey iv his victim are beyond praise. Sargent has
torn th' sordid heart out iv th' wretched crather an' exposed it
to th' wurruld. Th' wicked, ugly little eyes, th' crooked nose,
th' huge graspin' hands, tell th' story iv this miscreant's
character as completely as if they were written in so manny wurruds,
while th' artist, with wondherful malice, has painted onto th'
face a smile iv sickenin' silf-complacency that is positively
disgustin'. No artist iv our day has succeeded so well in showin'
up th' maneness iv th' people he has mugged. We ondershtand that
th' atrocious Higbie paid wan hundherd thousan' dollars f'r this
comic valentine. It is worth th' money to ivrybody but him.'
"But Higbie don't see th' pa-aper. He's over in Paris. Th' chimes
are rung, bonefires are lighted in th' sthreets an' th' Pannyma
Comp'ny declares a dividend whin he enters th' city. They'se such
a demand f'r paint that th' supply runs out an' manny gr-reat
imprishonist pitcher facthries is foorced to use bluein'. Higbie
ordhers paintin's be th' ton, th' r-runnin' foot, th' foot pound,
th' car load. He insthructs th' pitcher facthries to wurruk night
an' day till his artistic sowl is satisfied. We follow his coorse
in th' pa-apers. 'Th' cillybrated Gainsborough that niver wud be
missed has been captured be Misther Higbie, th' American millyionaire.
Th' price paid is said to be wan hundherd thousan' dollars. Th'
pitcher riprisints a lady in a large hat fondlin' a cow. It is
wan iv th' finest Gainsboroughs painted be th' Gainsborough
Mannyfacthrin' comp'ny iv Manchester. At th' las' public sale,
it was sold f'r thirty dollars. Misther Higbie has also purchased
th' cillybrated Schmartzmeister Boogooroo, wan iv th' mos' horrible
examples iv this delightful painther's style. He is now negotyatin'
with th' well-known dealer Moosoo Mortheimer f'r th' intire output
iv th' Barabazah School. Yisterdah in a call on th' janial dealer,
th' name iv th' cillybrated painther Mooney was mintioned. "How
manny pitchers has he painted?" "Four hundherd and forty-three
thousan' at ilivin o'clock to-day," says th' dealer. "But four
hundherd thousan' iv thim ar-re in America." "Get th' r-rest iv
thim f'r me," says th' connysoor. "What did ye say th' gintleman's
name was?" We ondershtand that Misther Mooney has had to put in
two new four-deck machines to meet th' ordhers, which include
thirty green an' mauve haystacks, forty blue barns or childher at
play, an' no less thin ninety riprisintations iv mornin' at sea,
moonlight avenin', flock iv sheep, or whativer ye may call thim.'
"An' whin he comes home, he hangs thim in his house, so that his
frinds can't turn around without takin' off a pasthral scene on
their coats, an' he pastes th' price on th' frame, an' whin he
dies, he laves his pitcher to some definceless art museem. An'
there ye ar-re.
"So I tell ye, Hinnissy, if I was a young an' ambitious American
painther, I'd go to Europe. Whin Hannigan was over there, he met
a young man that painted that fine head iv Murphy that looks so
much like Casey that hangs in Schwartzmeister's back room. 'Ar-re
ye still at th' art?' says Hannigan. 'I am,' says th' young man.
'How does it go?' asks Hannigan. 'I've more thin I can do,' says
th' young man. 'Since steel rails got so high, I've had to hire
an assistant. Ye see, I didn't get on in Chicago. Me "Bridgepoort
in a Fog" was th' on'y pitcher I sold, an' a sausage mannyfacthrer
bought that because his facthry was in it. I come over here, an'
so's me pitchers will have a fair show, I sign annywan's name ye
want to thim. Ye've heerd iv Michael Angelo? That's me. Ye've
heerd iv Gainsborough? That's me. Ye've heerd iv Millet, th' boy
that painted th' pitcher give away with th' colored supplimint iv
th' Sundah Howl? That's me. Yis, sir, th' rale name iv near ivry
distinguished painther iv modhren times is Remsen K. Smith. Whin
ye go home, if ye see a good painther an' glazier that'd like a
job as assistant Rimbrandt f'r th' American thrade, sind him to
me. F'r,' he says, 'th' on'y place an American artist can make a
livin' is here. Charity f'r artists,' he says, 'begins abroad,'
he says."
"Well," said Mr. Hennessy, "perhaps a bum Europeen pitcher is
betther thin a good American pitcher."
"Perhaps so," said Mr. Dooley. "I think it is so. Annyhow, no
matther how bad a painther he is, annywan that can get money out
iv an American millyionaire is an artist an' desarves it. There's
th' rale art. I wish it was taught in th' schools. I'd like to
see an exhibition at th' Museem with 'Check iv American Gintleman,
dhrawn fr'm life,' hung on th' wall."