"Well, if I can get a cabin in your boat, we'll go too, but I'm afraid it's too late now, at the eleventh hour."
That was said to Irving and Ellen Terry, who were preparing to leave on their first visit to the States in 1883.
I had never given a trip to America a serious thought; a consultation1 at Cook's office and subsequent trunk-packing usually meant a flight to the sunny South or the glorious East; but a new country, and a civilised one into the bargain, had failed to attract me. I had heard over and over again that the Americans were a practical people, and that, to be sure, meant inartistic, and I knew they could talk, build, and make money-piles bigger than we can, and that again did not predispose me in their favour. In fact I may say, without boasting, that I cherished about as many prejudices as does the average Englishman when he seeks to form his opinion regarding those unhappily not included in the magic circle to which he belongs, and I felt that, if ever I visited my young American cousins, it would be to give them the benefit of my superior old-world experience.
I may say at once that I had not been in the country long, before I found it desirable to climb down, discovering that it was quite as much as I could do to keep my footing at all on one or the other of the scaling ladders I had tried to ascend3. But for all my ups and downs, one thing is certain: it was a happy thought that led me to take my passage to New York, and a specially4 happy one to cross with Irving and Ellen Terry.
"I count myself in nothing else so happy
As in a soul remembering my good friends."
—Richard II.
So wrote Irving in my album, dating the lines from the "Atlantic Ocean, 20th October 1883."
It was indeed a time of good and friendly relations we had on that Atlantic, meeting at a sort of poet's corner of the captain's table at dinner-time, and later again, when we could discuss the merits of the nocturnal Welsh rarebit, or of the comforting nightcap. Those expressive5 legs of his, with which we are all so familiar, were a constant source of delight to me. In the smoking saloon he would know how to stretch them till they gave you a sense of absolute rest; and when he got up, you felt they must originally have been designed for sea-legs. When sometimes I paced the deck by their side, I felt I could now really boast of being in the same boat with my illustrious friend, and of more than that: for once in a way, I was actually treading the same boards with him.
I think he thoroughly6 enjoyed what was to him an unknown experience, a ten days' rest; but I doubt whether he took it as a holiday; he had books and papers to keep him company that looked suspiciously like business, and when he reclined full length on his steamer-chair, contemplating7 the rolling sea through his eye-glasses, he looked as if he were meditating8 a revival9 of "The Tempest," and consulting with Neptune10 and ?olus as to the best way of producing it.
As for Ellen Terry, she was facile princeps on our floating city, fascinating everybody, from captain and crew, via first and second class passengers, down to the emigrant's crowing baby. There had been a grand gathering11 to see her and Irving off. Friends had come, laden12 with parting gifts; golden-haired children were there, bringing baskets full of flowers that should intertwine themselves with their dear Ellen's existence, till others could be gathered to greet her on her arrival.
When the bell sounded, recalling the visitors to the tender that had brought them, the process of leave-taking went through its acutest stage; there were the cordial grips and moist eyes, the crisp, resonant13 kisses, and the long, silent embraces. "Good-bye; take care of him, take care of her, till I come back! Good-bye, again!"
Ay! some of us had taken return tickets, some had not. Which of us would return?
We got sorted at last; all the good clothes on our side; the new suits, ulsters, and dresses to be bodily introduced into the country that produces the like only at ruinous prices. We all looked brand new, as if we were equipped for our respective honeymoons14. Soon we were passing the last outstretched arm of land, that seemed to bid us one more farewell; but the greeting only came from Cinderella, the Emerald Isle15, and we, I suppose being an English vessel16, refused to hug the coast, and made for the open sea, whence for some time we could see her knowingly wink17 her revolving18 Cyclopean eye at us.
The moon had risen majestically19; it could not do otherwise with those Lyceists on board. We had achieved something like order in our cabins, and were reappearing above to have a look at one another. Ellen was leaning over the bulwarks20 with one of those flowers in her hand, which by any other name would smell as sweet. She was still gazing shorewards, as if she would keep on saying Good-bye until to-morrow; a living picture, long lines of beauty flowing from her shoulders to her feet, such as natural grace will evolve even from the slender material of a travelling dress.
But for all that, she must not be imagined as addicted21 to mooning or posing; just the reverse, she was the most practical soul on board, ever active and thoughtful. Before the first twenty-four hours had passed, all those hothouse grapes the old friends had brought had found their way to the new friends, the steerage passengers; so, too, what of shawls and wraps she could lay her hands on. "I have hidden away one or two warm things," said her maid, "or there would be nothing of the kind left for her."
For a day or two we had very rough weather, and the attendance at poet's corner was small; our first night in particular set many of us wishing that Columbus had minded his own business and not gone out of his way to discover a new continent. If a ship would only roll and pitch, an average land-lubber might have a chance, but it has a nasty trick of seceding22 from beneath you when you are lying on your back, and leaving that back to follow as best it can. This particular hiatus was not new to me, but such a multiplicity of noises as made that night hideous23 I had never encountered before. The wiseacres said that a cargo24 of pig-iron had been badly stowed in the ship's entrails, and was trying to knock a hole in its side, and so it sounded. The drillings of the screw I could recognise as it doggedly25 worked its way, occasionally writhing26 in impotent rage as it was lifted out of the water; but all the other squeaking27, grating, bond-bursting sounds I could not analyse. As for my cabin, it soon presented the appearance of a Pandemonium28. There was no provision for securing anything, so portmanteaux were colliding with one another, and with various articles of furniture and crockery that had put in an appearance; my dressing-case was sliding along the floor like a schoolboy on the ice, and in fact every mortal thing was on the alert, trying to find its ever-shifting centre of gravity. For all that I went to sleep, to dream of alligators29 and lifebelts, and of the list of the saved, amongst whom I could not find my name.
That chivalrous30 White Star Company had constructed a special state-room on deck for their guest, the histrionic star, and had furnished it comfortably, as I know full well, for when, after the demoralising experiences of that night, I had crawled to the surface limp and crushed, a ministering angel at once took me in hand, laid me out in full state in that room of hers, propped31 me with cushions, tended me with creature comforts, and finally willed me to sleep. When after some hours I came out vivified and refreshed, I found her squatting32 on the deck in true schoolgirl fashion, writing letters in her big handwriting. Later on what on terra firma I call my better half had also emerged from below, and was organising a personally conducted five-o'clock tea, made attractive by certain canisters in her private possession. Full justice was done to the popular meal by the small but select circle of friends come together on that occasion.
As we proceeded, many an incident occurred, partly connected with the vagaries33 of the Atlantic, partly with the thousand and one social and humanitarian34 interests awakened35 on board a floating city. They seemed noteworthy then, but to-day, and to make a long voyage short, I will only say that it's an ill wind that can't leave off blowing, and it's a long water-course that has no landing-stage, and that consequently, after a good deal of boisterous36 weather, the sea calmed down and we arrived safely in New York harbour. On the morning when the pilot came on board, we were most of us still in our berths37; but Ellen was up and on deck, and the first to shake hands with him, and greet him with a hearty38 "Good-morning, Mr. Pilot!"
The first thing that happened to me on arriving in the free country, was that I was most courteously39 but resolutely40 deprived of my liberty by the interviewers. Hobnobbing as I was with Irving and Ellen Terry, they had evidently taken me for somebody, and, under that mistaken impression, at once proceeded to extract copy from me.
What a splendid institution that interviewing is! The stranger has from the first a unique opportunity of showing himself just as he wishes to appear. He can drape himself in dignity, or pose for the free and easy; he can borrow good works from his friends and virtues41 from good books, and throw in as much soft-soap and blarney as he thinks the natives can stand. What I may have said I don't know; but I am quite sure I missed my chance. I was much too innocent then, and probably told the truth.
On Ellen the interviewers must have doted from the first; she was so charmingly impulsive43, so spontaneous and overflowing44 with copy. I dare say she gave them points about Art and the Drama, from Sophocles via Shakespeare down to the last thing out; but I only remember the delightful45 insight into her personal habits and tastes she let them have when she chose to take the world into her confidence.
"What do I drink?" she said on one occasion. "Very little wine, I am so nervous. The doctor restricts me to milk, but restrictions46 and doctors combined will never come between me and my tea. I must have tea—tea or death—three times a day, and, as Johnson said about Mrs. Woffington and her tea, 'It is strong, and red as blood.' I take English tea, which I buy by the caddy, and wherever I am, there are my caddy and my dog—Fussy and caddy. Without them 'Othello's occupation's gone.'"
At the custom-house I gave the customary tip, for I had been confidentially47 informed that no official on the landing-stage, calling himself a gentleman, would misinterpret my courtesy, or allow himself to be unfairly influenced by it. I had fully48 expected that, by some ingenious mechanical device, my luggage would be landed simultaneously49 with myself, and placed on certain square yards of the American Continent set apart for our temporary use. I had imagined the custom-house a many-storied edifice50 in keeping with the high tariff51 it enforced. Instead, however, of any such expectations being realised, I found myself in a large open shed, from which I could watch the luggage as it was being ejected in a most primitive52 way from our ship, with a good riddance shove from above, and a "look out" shout from below.
An army of porters made a rush for it, and began strewing53 it all over the place, getting everybody's belongings54 thoroughly mixed, and generally acting55 as if they were shuffling56 a pack of cards before commencing a new game.
The new game took the shape of a free fight, which was waged with varying fortunes for two or three hours. By dint57 of displaying much energy in the attainment58 of my own ends, to the detriment59 of everybody else's, I succeeded in regrouping the greater part of my effects; not without sorrow can I look back, however, to that field-day, and the sad losses I sustained, the latter conclusively60 proving to me that within the carefully guarded precincts of the custom-house no thieves are admitted except on business.
The process of clearing and of being cleared out once terminated, I drove to the "Brevoort," that most respectable of hotels, founded, I believe, by a party that came over in the Mayflower, a house second only in antiquity61 to some "Noah's Ark Hotel" in Philadelphia. I went there because the last, not least, of the Henrys had selected it for his headquarters. As soon as the rescued trunks reached me I unpacked62 my writing materials, and, following illustrious examples, at once sat down to write a book about America, and the manners and customs of its inhabitants. But, unlike the illustrious ones, I thought better of it, and got up again. The fact that I have now once more taken up the pen, evidently with the same purpose, somewhat recalls Jean Paul Richter's story of the tippler, who, for once resisting temptation, passes the door of the public-house, and then, proud of his achievement, turns back that he may reward himself for so much self-denial. So, too, do I appear to be tardily63, but none the less surely, succumbing64 to temptation; and the parallel goes even further, for, as the tippler in all probability did not rest satisfied with one glass, so I feel a morbid65 craving66 to write as many volumes on America, as there are kinds of drinks at the bar of a big New York hotel. If such volumes, full of pleasant memories, are destined67 never to appear, it will only be because publishers are, perhaps providentially, placed as protecting buffers68 between the public and the author. A few chapters may, however, possibly be allowed to pass, so I let them take their chance.
"Dis moi qui tu hantes, et je te dirai qui tu es," says the French proverb, which, freely translated, might be made to say: "Tell me whom you knew in America, and I will tell you what you thought of the country." Well, I think I knew just the right people, and from that you can gather what my impressions were. I certainly started fair, equipped as I was with a batch69 of letters of introduction. These, according to American usage, I posted to their addresses, and then sat in state at a given time, waiting for the friends of my friends to come and make friends with me. One letter, however, I carefully kept, and only showed to those who I thought would appreciate it. It was that best and kindest of men, Robert Browning, who had given it me, and to this day, when I read it, it seems more like music than like epistolary prose to me. It ran thus:—
"19 Warwick Crescent, W.,
11th August 1884.
"To whomsoever it may concern.
"I have received such extraordinary kindness from Americans, and number so many of them among my friends, that it would seem invidious if I selected those whom I ventured to believe would oblige me were it possible. I shall therefore say, in the simplest of words, that should my dear friend, the Painter Moscheles, meet with any individual whose sympathy I have been privileged to obtain, whatever favour and assistance may be rendered to him, or his charming wife, will constitute one more claim to the gratitude70 of
Robert Browning."
One of my first visitors was Dr. Fordyce Barker, the eminent71 physician, and more particularly the idol72 of the fair sex, which owes him so large a debt of gratitude. He ignored the given time above mentioned, and, calling at some unearthly hour before I was fairly presentable, he was away again before I could find my boots.
"What have you come to America for?" was his first shot. The question coming suddenly upon me, I found no better answer to it than, "Well, just to have a look round—wanted to see the latest thing out in the way of civilisation73."
"But you are a portrait-painter, I understand?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then you have come here to paint portraits?"
"Well—certainly," I hummed and hawed—"in case the opportunity should present itself—and if I should find that"—but he cut me short (beating about the bush is not popular in the States).
"How much do you charge?" he asked bluntly, and without the least regard for the sensitive nature of a British artist, so I had to make a plunge74 and tell him; so much for head-size and so much for a three-quarter canvas.
"All right," he said, and was off.
Later on I painted him, and he was ever a good friend to me.
It took me some time to get accustomed to the outspoken75 ways of the American. With us the artist is a privileged being, unlike any other producer or vendor76, but there everybody takes it for granted that he is quite ready to accept dollars in exchange for his work. The waiter in the café, the artist who shampooed me, or the clerk in the hotel, wanted to know my charges, and it once or twice happened that they turned their knowledge to good account.
"Now, sir," said a clerk in the H?tel Richelieu, Chicago, where I was staying, to a wealthy senator, also a guest at the hotel—"now, sir, this is Mr. Felix Moscheles, the celebrated77 English artist, and I guess you had better have your portrait and your wife's portrait painted, whilst he is here to fix them up." That introduction led to commissions as acceptable from the artistic2 point of view as they were remunerative78, and to the most cordial relations between client and artist.
But I am drifting away from New York, where I want to remain for a while. I had not been there many hours before I went for a ramble79 on Broadway (the American walks on the street, not in it, as we do). I always loved to explore the busy, bustling80 thoroughfares of a big city; it is there you can feel the throbbing81 feverish82 pulse of an active community; in the Park or on the Corso you only get that languid fashionable-doctor sort of pulse, which takes its airing in a landau or a victoria, a correct and well-regulated pulse that knows its duty to itself and to the society it is privileged to beat in.
With such predilection83 for high-pressure and a rattling84 pace, I soon found myself making friends with the Broadway. I always had a weakness, too, for shops, and there were miles of them; stores they call them, and every mortal thing is stored behind their immense panes85 of plate-glass, or in those outposts of business, the show-cases, that go dodging86 about the footpath87, and look as if they were on their way to some international exhibition. Anything and everything man can desire to smooth the thorny88 path from the cradle to cremation89, he will find in the Broadway.
Talking of the thorny path, I was much struck by the liberty, not to say licence, accorded to the paving stones, each of which acted quite independently of his neighbour. The noise, as the vehicles ploughed their way along the road, and as it was echoed by the massive stone buildings, was really appalling90. Infernal, I should say, but that adjective is too good in this case, for the Inferno91 was at least paved with good intentions, whereas that road meant mischief92 and strife93, and revelled94 in the purity of its own cussedness.
I could not help speculating as to what dear old mother Regent Street would think of it all; how she would be shocked at the way in which that transatlantic upstart hands up his goods from the basement, and pushes them just under your nose, or piles them up sky-high and block deep, before he consents to put a roof on them. Father Oxford95 Street, too, would be scandalised, and so would his time-honoured brother-streets, that fancy themselves arteries96, as they wind their crooked97 way from the fashionable brick piles of the west to the golden-calf temples of the east. They do their best, suffering as they are from chronic98 congestion99, and I have loved them since the days of my boyhood. No, I certainly mean no disrespect to the British lion and his partner the unicorn100, nor to the griffin at Temple Bar, nor to the bulls and bears farther on, nor to the turtles and plovers101' eggs at the Mansion102 House; least of all to the bank-notes opposite, good company as they always are.
America is a country of contradictions; that is a safe way of putting it, as the same can be said of all countries. Wherever he goes, the stranger sees with his own eyes, feels with his own heart, and above all, judges according to the state of his own liver. One man practises his bump of veneration103 on all he meets; another travels on the nil104 admirari principle. Golden threads traverse the road of either, and so do rotten threads. The first man seizes the golden ones and is happy; the second picks up the rotten ones and makes himself equally happy with those. Both come home triumphantly105 to show their threads, and to say, "Behold106, that is what I found!" It must be difficult for the same hand to pick up both sorts of thread, and to present them impartially107, weighing one set against the other and judging dispassionately. There are some strong men who can do it, and there would be more of them, I believe, if it were not for that liver. In my case, that organ may have been in a satisfactory condition, and have prompted me to be sociable108. So I was rather disappointed when I found that there was more formality in the great Republic than under the old Monarchy109, and that if I wanted to talk to somebody, I had to be introduced first.
Day after day I have sat with my wife in various hotels at some little table laid for four, sharing it with some other Mr. and Mrs., without exchanging a word. Elsewhere we should soon have been playing that stimulating110 parlour-game of inter-social hide-and-seek, or we might for the time being have formed a pleasant little partie carrée. Sometimes my heart went out to my neighbours, I think in a true Christian111 spirit, but I could have seen them starve, and yet not have dared to hand them the mustard or pass them the butter. I knew they would have looked upon me with suspicion; yet I flatter myself that, with a little discernment, they could have seen that I was not a shady character, and that neither I nor that most artless and guileless partner of mine was capable of playing off the confidence trick on the clergyman opposite, or on the charming elderly lady with the white hair and the two golden-locked grandchildren.
We English are often reproached with our respect for caste. We emphasise112 the difference of position in the social scale, whereas the American—unless, to be sure, he be a Bostonian—takes every opportunity to emphasise his indifference113 for such distinction. We think we know a gentleman when we see him; he rather mistrusts his judgment114, perhaps because he has seen fewer generations of the species than we have; so he sometimes mistakes a sheep for a wolf in disguise, and only recognises his error when the sheep is formally introduced, and thus guaranteed as the genuine article. Perhaps it is that, by dint of proclaiming that one man is as good as another, the citizen of the Great Republic finds himself arriving at the conclusion that one man is as bad as another, and so it is for the stranger to show cause why he should be allowed to pass the hotel mustard or butter.
All that, I must admit, applies, as far as I know, only to the few cities I visited; I had much too good a time in each of them, painting and lecturing, studying and learning, to go away in a hurry; so I cannot speak of the boys on the ranches115 or the girls in California; nor can I say whether the fifty or sixty odd millions of Americans to whom I was not introduced would have taken kindly116 to me or I to them, had we met.
My first visit to the United States was not the mere117 excursion I had expected it to be. I remained six months, mostly in New York. First I made myself a temporary studio at the Park Avenue Hotel, but soon finding that I wanted more easel and elbow-room, I took a flat and a studio in "The Chelsea," furnished and decorated it right-away, and settled down to a winter's work. When the spring came, I just locked my door, told the clerk in the office to set the burglar alarm, and went off to the other Chelsea, my home in London. So, for three years, I divided my time pretty equally between the two countries.
I look back with pleasure to many an incident connected with the portraits I painted in America. So, too, to my experiences on the platform. Not only was I allowed to lecture, but I was even listened to. To be sure, my lectures were only announced as "Studio-talks," and I took care they should be very much varied118 according to my audiences. The inexhaustible subject of Art had to be presented in one way when addressing the students in Philadelphia or Chicago, in another when speaking to the select circle of the Thursday Evening Club in New York. Considerations that would be appropriate to put before a large gathering of beautiful and gifted young ladies at one of their great colleges, were not the same that would appeal to upwards119 of a thousand Negroes and Indians, students at the famous Hampton Schools in Virginia. In each case, however, I illustrated120 my lecture by painting a life-size head from nature, my subject being mostly selected from the audience.
I cannot refrain from mentioning one instance of the warmth with which my efforts were occasionally rewarded. "Thanks!" said one of the gentlemen officially connected with the Hampton Schools, at the close of my lecture, "a thousand thanks! You cannot realise what pleasure you have given to those young men and women.—Understood it? I should think so. Why, I can assure you, they have enjoyed it as much as if they had been to a circus."
I have often wondered where I found the courage to undertake what I had never attempted before, and whence came the capacity which saved me from discomfiture121. I can only imagine that I took my colour from my surroundings, and that where everybody was going ahead, I could not lag behind. I certainly never knew what I really was, till I had been to America. The gentleman at the schools was right; it was clear to me: I was a circus-horse, and America the man with the whip in the middle of the arena122. As he urged me on I could clear bars and barriers as never before; the people all around, I knew, were keen judges of horseflesh, and could not be hoodwinked. I must do my best. And then, when sympathetic friends applauded, it was an easy matter to march boldly along on two legs and to hold up my head with the best; my nostrils123 dilated124, and I felt as proud as a man. And when, to reward me, some of the loveliest women of the great Republic patted me on the back and fed me with sweets and kind words, I reciprocated125 with all my heart, and felt as if I could once for all shake off the yoke126 of the slow-coaches in the old countries, and start afresh on life's big race in the new one.
I was, from the first, much struck by the cordiality with which a stranger is received. Hospitality is a virtue42 inherited by the American from his ancestors, a tradition handed down to him. It has not yet had time to become blunted, as it has with us much visited Europeans. One can quite fancy how delighted the first settlers must have been to welcome friends from the old country and to get the latest news, to say nothing of the latest fashions, from home. Now, to be sure, messages get from house to house before they are cabled (as the clocks go); and as for the fashions, it takes a fleet to convey them across the seas. Who can tell how much horse-power is annually127 needed to convey the creations of a Worth or a Virot to those I would call the loveliest women in the world, were I not afraid of being misunderstood by other sets of loveliest women nearer home. Anyway I do not hesitate to assert that the best productions of the great Parisians become worthier128 of the fair sex for which they are conceived, by being subjected to the chastening influence of the American lady's taste, and to the subtle touches which she knows how to add.
But however up-to-date the hyper-civilisation imported in dress-baskets and handboxes may be, and however high the hothouse temperature under which the New Englanders force the growths they receive from foreign soil, their good old times are still within easy reach, and many an ancient custom has survived, foremost amongst which, the practice of hospitality.
One of the most practical forms in which it is dispensed129 is called a Reception, and I most gratefully remember the pleasure and the advantages derived130 from such gatherings131. Introductions are there dealt out wholesale132 to the individual in whose honour they are held. When a stranger to Chicago, I had delivered a letter to a prominent citizen and his wife from a mutual133 friend in New York. They knew everybody worth knowing, and kindly offered to introduce me to their circle of friends. On the evening appointed, I stood next to the hostess, and as one after the other of the guests arrived, each was introduced to me by name. "Mr. So-and-so," she said, "Mr. Felix Moscheles." Whereupon I had to shake hands and say blandly134, "Mr. So-and-so," whilst he had to repeat "Mr. Felix Moscheles." If he had not caught my name, or had any doubt about its pronunciation, he would make a stand and inquire: "How was that? How do you spell it?" and when once enlightened on those points they would be fixed135 once for all in his mind. It was there he had the advantage over me, for after a short interval136 I was sure to have forgotten whether Mr. So-and-so's name spelt Homer D. V. Smith or Plato V. D. Brown, and whether Homer and Plato were men at all, or ought to have been connected in my mind with a Mrs. or a Miss.
But notwithstanding such imperfections of my memory, I had no difficulty in retaining the names of many good friends I made in Chicago. Foremost amongst these is Robert Morse.
I had got very busy in the studio I had taken in Chicago, where I was spending the winter of 1887, when a very pleasantly-worded letter reached me, inviting137 me to transfer my studio to Omaha, two days' journey farther west. I could not accept the invitation, and so it was arranged that at least one of my intending models should be brought to me, to be dealt with according to the severe laws of the portrait-painter's art. Robert Morse was four years of age, and had a distinct objection to be thus dealt with, and out of that circumstance arose a series of difficulties. But, oh, how beautiful he was! I see him now as he was handed out of the carriage on his arrival at the H?tel Richelieu, his golden curls escaping from beneath his Phrygian cap of liberty, and cascading138 over his shoulders. We were in the depth of winter, and his sturdy little figure was warmly clad in the ample folds of the toboggan costume—a sort of ulster made of a deep-toned red flannel139; collar and cuffs140 of the same material, but dark blue, and the cap to match. His mother led him upstairs—or I should more correctly say, speaking of this typical American child, was led upstairs by him. After forty-eight hours' travelling, that lady stepped out of the train much as if it were one of those boxes marked "Worth—Paris." She was a lovely woman, as I soon learnt; lovely not only in outward appearance, but in that moral and intellectual sense which the American language connects with the word.
My stay in Chicago was limited, and I had written to say that I could only undertake to paint one picture—that to be a head of the boy. When we met, however, I at once felt I must paint him full-length, life-size, toboggan costume, cap, snowscape, and all; and as for the mother, to be sure, as she wished it, we must find time for a head-portrait of her too. There was that in her that seemed to call for a picture from the artist's brush, and so I soon enthusiastically set to work, painting on the two canvases alternately.
But it was not long ere troubles came thick and fast, growing out of Robert's determination not to sit for his portrait if he could in any way help it, and further, on no account to leave the studio when I was painting his mother. I tried various subtle devices to make work possible. With a piece of white chalk I designed a most scientific frontier, separating his territory from mine, and that was capital fun as long as I joined in the game and we repulsed141 one another's attacks, but it fell flat as soon as I returned to the easel. I fed him from an unlimited142 supply of "candy," and succeeded after a while in bringing about indisposition of a marked character; but he speedily recovered, his animal spirits rising with returning vitality143. I sometimes flatter myself that I possess a faculty144 of inducing docility145 in my sitters. More especially in the treatment of children I pride myself on a series of minor146 accomplishments147, mainly connected with a free transcription of Nature's noises, pleasant and unpleasant, such as the animal kingdom furnishes to the observant ear. But such talents were of little avail. That infinite source of assistance which I usually speak of as "a lady attached to the establishment," also failed on this occasion. She who accompanies me through life for better and for worse, and whose blandishments European children have ever acknowledged to be irresistible148, could gain but momentary149 influence over this American child. But—well, I could not help it—I loved that boy; I admired his spirit. How should he, at his tender age, know that an artist is a superior, privileged being, to be treated accordingly? At all hours of the day Robert was delightfully150 bright, but his 'cuteness seemed sharpened as bedtime approached. Not that he objected, as most children do, to going to bed, but, however sleepy he was, his spirit of resistance seemed somehow to revive when the moment came to recite his simple prayer. On one occasion all went smoothly151 as long as he prayed for his father and mother, his brothers and sisters, but when it came to his uncles and aunts and to their numerous offspring, he made a decided152 stand, putting it plainly to his mother, "I say, māmma, why can't they pray for their own crowd?" Another time, there had been in the course of the day a distinct difference of opinion between Robert and his mother on the advisability of his going out sleighing. He gave in with unwonted docility, but when the evening came and the fond mother folded her hands and knelt by his bedside, he shook his head, and said, "No, māmma; no sleigh—no prayers!"
It was with some impatience153 that I expected the arrival of Mr. Morse, for whenever Robert was particularly untractable during what, by courtesy, was called the sitting, his mother would say, "Wait till his father comes; he knows how to manage him." After a fortnight that father came, and he and I at once struck up a friendship which promised to last, and which ever since has kept its promise. He was a fine and prepossessing specimen154 of the free-born American citizen. Six feet something in height, strong and straight as they are reared under the guiding brightness and the protecting shadow of the Stars and Stripes. Under his eye I was to put the final touches to Robert's portrait. I hopefully started work, but, alas155! where was the paternal156 authority I had relied upon to get a view of that hand that was dragging the toboggan across the snow, and that foot on which rested the main action of the figure? Robert would perch157 on his father's shoulder, and thence look down upon me and the world in general. Difficulties finally reached a climax158. I protested in the name of correct drawing and the eternal laws of perspective, and, fairly roused by my pleading, the father sternly motioned the son to follow him into the next room.... At last, I thought, the "right of the strongest" will be vindicated159, and that child will be thrashed.
But if I expected howling and gnashing of teeth, I was to be disappointed. Nothing broke the silence, until, after some time, the door opened, and father and son reappeared. Robert took his place, clutched the cord attached to the toboggan, and listened with rapt attention to his father's words; these were spoken slowly and impressively, giving me time to apply whatever faculty for correct drawing I might possess. As he sought to spin out his words, so will I, for obvious reasons, seek to curtail160 them, only adding that, to do them justice, they should be read with the characteristic American accentuation which seems to give importance to some words that we should slide over.
"Sir," he began solemnly, "Robert wishes me to communicate to you what has passed between us during our absence from this room. It did not take me long to elicit161 from him the fact that he has no desire to see his portrait finished. He has even assured me that, as far as he was concerned, it need never have been painted at all. He further stated that he at no time had formed a desire to visit Chicago, and that he much preferred Omaha to that city. Also, he said—and, I think, with some show of reason—that, having no playmates here, he would like to return to those he has left behind, more especially to his brothers and sisters. Now, sir, you are aware that I, on the other hand, wished him to make it possible for you to finish that portrait, and I could see no cause why I should recede162 from that position; so I politely but firmly requested him to do as I desire. There are, no doubt, some boys who, when thus thwarted163 and opposed, would not have hesitated to strike their fathers, but Robert is not a boy of that description, he would at all times respect his father's independence. Still, you see, we were at what you might call loggerheads. We had gotten fixed like in a dark place with no door behind us, the windows left out, and a stone wall in front. Under these circumstances I cast about in my mind, and it occurred to me we should do well to make straight for arbitration164. Now Robert said he did not know the precise meaning of the word arbitration, so I explained to him that when two parties could not agree it was usual to call in a third to decide which way things were to be settled. I wanted to nominate you, sir, but Robert put in his opinion that you might not be the right person for our purpose; he said that I myself should do better, so, after giving the matter careful consideration, I decided that Robert should come in and take friendly to that toboggan and that cord, and that he should make himself generally portraitable; I further decided that, as long as it lasted, I should sit here patiently and wait; but that, as soon as you had finished, I might go and procure165 a horse to have a ride on the road to Omaha, and that I should also hire a pony166, so that Robert might accompany me on that ride."
Robert listened intently. I painted ditto.
They say in Omaha, where the portrait hangs, that it is good. So, "All's well that ends well."
Of that I am glad, and, as I recall the incident, I am once more lost in admiration167 of the American child that, from its earliest days, is ever ready to elicit the noblest qualities of patience and forbearance in the parent it is training. And what a training, too, for the boy! Will not Robert, who is now growing into manhood, be a staunch supporter of International Arbitration, and help us, if need be, to rescue the Anglo-American treaty from destruction, or, should that be achieved, to uphold and to strengthen it?
* * * * * *
But the mightiest168 advocate of International Arbitration, I found amongst the friends I made in Albany. For him I must turn over a new page.
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1
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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Neptune
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| n.海王星 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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honeymoons
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| 蜜月( honeymoon的名词复数 )； 短暂的和谐时期； 蜜月期； 最初的和谐时期 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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seceding
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| v.脱离，退出( secede的现在分词 ) | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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27
squeaking
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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alligators
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| n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 ) | |
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30
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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31
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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humanitarian
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| n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者 | |
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35
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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berths
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| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
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38
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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43
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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44
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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45
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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46
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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confidentially
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| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
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48
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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49
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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50
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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51
tariff
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| n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表 | |
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52
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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53
strewing
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| v.撒在…上( strew的现在分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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54
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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55
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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56
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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57
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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58
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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59
detriment
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| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
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60
conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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61
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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62
unpacked
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| v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等） | |
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63
tardily
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| adv.缓慢 | |
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64
succumbing
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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65
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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66
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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67
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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68
buffers
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| 起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头 | |
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batch
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| n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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71
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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72
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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73
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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74
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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outspoken
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| adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的 | |
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76
vendor
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| n.卖主；小贩 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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remunerative
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| adj.有报酬的 | |
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79
ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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80
bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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81
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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82
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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83
predilection
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| n.偏好 | |
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84
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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85
panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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86
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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cremation
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| n.火葬，火化 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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inferno
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| n.火海；地狱般的场所 | |
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92
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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94
revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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arteries
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| n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道 | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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99
congestion
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| n.阻塞，消化不良 | |
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100
unicorn
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| n.(传说中的)独角兽 | |
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101
plovers
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| n.珩，珩科鸟（如凤头麦鸡）( plover的名词复数 ) | |
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102
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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103
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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104
nil
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| n.无，全无，零 | |
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105
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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106
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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107
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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108
sociable
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| adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的 | |
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109
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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110
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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111
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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112
emphasise
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| vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重 | |
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113
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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114
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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115
ranches
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| 大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 ) | |
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116
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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118
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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119
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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120
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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121
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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122
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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123
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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124
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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125
reciprocated
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| v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
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126
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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128
worthier
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| 应得某事物( worthy的比较级 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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129
dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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130
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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131
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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132
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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133
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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134
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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137
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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138
cascading
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| 流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流 | |
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139
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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140
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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141
repulsed
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| v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝 | |
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142
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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143
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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144
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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145
docility
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| n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服 | |
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146
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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147
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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148
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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149
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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150
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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151
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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152
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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153
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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154
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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155
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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156
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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157
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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158
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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159
vindicated
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| v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护 | |
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160
curtail
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| vt.截短，缩短；削减 | |
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161
elicit
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| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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162
recede
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| vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进 | |
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163
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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164
arbitration
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| n.调停，仲裁 | |
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165
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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166
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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167
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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168
mightiest
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| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
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