I l KATHERINE -- 1907. -- -- CHAPTER I - IT is quite expedient that one should make a con- I cession at least twice a year and go to see what the artists are doing. Sometimes there is reward. The making of bread in the ovens of necessity, how- ever, is not conducive to that. What the artist shows you in the galleries is mostly what he cuts up after- wards irl the studios-always supposing that there is not a purchaser. If there ix a willing patron, it is a different matter then there will be nothing to destroy and some ...
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I l KATHERINE -- 1907. -- -- CHAPTER I - IT is quite expedient that one should make a con- I cession at least twice a year and go to see what the artists are doing. Sometimes there is reward. The making of bread in the ovens of necessity, how- ever, is not conducive to that. What the artist shows you in the galleries is mostly what he cuts up after- wards irl the studios-always supposing that there is not a purchaser. If there ix a willing patron, it is a different matter then there will be nothing to destroy and some leisure to work. But there is no denying that there are rewards, if you have patience. If only you will stand motionless on the bank of the stream for a sufficient length of time, the trout will drift out of the sombre shades into the brilliant shallows, and you will have the opportunity of seeing somewhat of Gods handicraft in Gods do- main. But the impossibility of expecting the public to stand still is neither to be excused nor wondered at. They want to see their trout at once, and when well confident that he is there, under that lurching branch of willow, they have to get him out. Then you see the public put on their waders you hear the faint swish of the lines. Down there by that ripple, where the water frolics past the shadow of the willow branch, you see the temptingly colored fly of notoriety drifting with a marvellous semblance of reality on the surface of the stream. Once it floats by, twice, twenty times maybe but the creature is there. Out he comes with a swirl and a rush The hook is in his gills. On the banks the critics nervously grip their nets, straitling eyes to be the first to land him. Watch him pulling on the line Hes a big fish In a mad effort forrelease he has rushed down the shallows. The clat- tering reel applauds in answer. Every one has their eye on the flash of light and the rippling waves that mark his course. But the line is too strong, the hook too secure. He turns up at last to the surface and a greedy public lifts him out of Gods domain. In the tangle of string the persistent critic raises him high in air. He is the seasons catch without a doubt, but he will never race the swallow and the sunlight down - stream again. The public tames him. You will find him wagging his tail in the big glass bowl, opening a huge mouth to a storm of bread crumbs- Gods handicraft no longer. But leave him alone. Let him hug the bank and the deep - green shadow under the willow, and have patience. He will come out in time. In time you will see him drifting down to the bed that he has made for himself in the gravel, and then, if your eyes are trained, you will behold him a servant to the laws of creation. You will find reward. All this is beside the point, but there was an example of it just nineteen years ago. One of the galleries hung a picture. The public came to see it. Who says that the public does not know what it wants That it does not know how to treat it when obtained is an- other matter. Tongues began wagging-people talked the first to realize that a fish was somewhere in hiding. The subject became an indispensable course at din- ner-parties. Those who had not seen the portrait of Miss Katherine Crichton were tactful if they did not admit it and relied-with the exception of those pain- fully ignorant-upon the numberless discussions they had listened to. The creature who avowedly disliked the portrait of Miss Katherine Crichton wasbound to be either a poseur or a fool-more than likely a com- bination of the two...
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. No Jacket. First printing. Light shelfwear. The spine is very slightly slanted. There are narrow gutter cracks in two places. Otherwise fine with hinges intact. Size: 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall.
