"Well," he said, "let's see a copy of your publication."
The chief value of this conversation was that it taught me that the
man's manner was no indication of his mood. I had thought he was
impatient and indifferent, but I saw now that he was not so, rather
brusque merely. He was simply excitable, somewhat like the French, and
meant only to be businesslike. The upshot of it all was that he agreed
to do it for one hundred and fifty, and asked me very solemnly to say
nothing about it.
I may say here that I came upon S---- in the full blush of his fancies
and ambitions, and just when he was verging upon their realization. He
was not yet successful. A hundred and fifty dollars was a very fair
price indeed. His powers, however, had reached that stage where they
would soon command their full value.
I could see at once that he was very ambitious. He was bubbling over
with the enthusiasm of youth and an intense desire for recognition. He
knew he had talent. The knowledge of it gave him an air and an
independence of manner which might have been irritating to some.
Besides, he was slightly affected, argue to the contrary as he would,
and was altogether full of his own hopes and ambitions.
The matter of painting this picture necessitated my presence on several
occasions, and during this time I got better acquainted with him.
Certain ideas and desires which we held in common drew us toward each
other, and I soon began to see that he was much above the average in
insight and skill. He talked with the greatest ease upon a score of
subjects--literature, art, politics, music, the drama, and history. He
seemed to have read the latest novels; to have seen many of the current
plays; to have talked with important people. Theodore Roosevelt,
previously Police Commissioner but then Governor, often came to his
studio to talk and play chess with him. A very able architect was his
friend. He had artist associates galore, many of whom had studios in the
same building or the immediate vicinity. And there were literary and
business men as well, all of whom seemed to enjoy his company, and who
were very fond of calling and spending an hour in his studio.
I had only called the second time, and was going away, when he showed me
a steamship he had constructed with his own hands--a fair-sized model,
complete in every detail, even to the imitation stokers in the
boiler-room, and which would run by the hour if supplied with oil and
water. I soon learned that his skill in mechanical construction was
great. He was a member of several engineering societies, and devoted
some part of his carefully organized days to studying and keeping up
with problems in mechanics.
"Oh, that's nothing," he observed, when I marveled at the size and
perfection of the model. "I'll show you something else, if you have time
some day, which may amuse you."
He then explained that he had constructed several model warships, and
that it was his pleasure to take them out and fight them on a pond
somewhere out on Long Island.
"We'll go out some day," he said when I showed appropriate interest,
"and have them fight each other. You'll see how it's done!"