in order--hence this apology to the Gentle Reader. And
further, if the Reader should find in these pages that, at rare
intervals, I use the personal pronoun, he must bear in mind that I live
in the country, and that it is the privilege and right, established by
long precedent and custom of country folk, to talk about themselves and
their own affairs if they are so minded.

* * * * *

Chicago: Talent is usually purchased at a high price, and if the gods
give you a generous supply of this, they probably will be niggardly when
it comes to that. But one thing the artist is usually long on, and that
is whim. Let us all pray to be delivered from whim--it is the poisoner
of our joys, the corrupter of our peace, and Dead-Sea fruit for all
those about us.

Heaven deliver us from whim!

I am told by a famous impresario, who gained some valuable experience by
marrying a prima donna, and therefore should know, that whim is purely a
feminine attribute. This, though, is surely a mistake, for there have
lived men, as well as women, who had such an exaggerated sense of their
own worth, that they lost sight, entirely, of the rights and feelings of
everybody else. All through life they kept the stage waiting without
punctilio. These men thought dogs were made to kick, servants to rail
at, the public to be first crawled to and then damned, and all rivals to
be pooh-poohed, cursed or feared, as the mood might prompt. Further than
this they considered all landlords robbers, every railroad-manager a
rogue, and businessmen they bunched as greedy, grasping Shylocks. They
always used the word "commercial" as an epithet.

Devotees of the histrionic art can lay just claim to having more than
their share of whim, but the musical profession has no reason to be
abashed, for it is a good second. However, the actor's and the
musician's art are often not far separated. In speaking to James McNeil
Whistler of a certain versatile musician, a lady once said, "I believe
he also acts!"

"Madame, he does nothing else," replied Mr. Whistler.

Art is not a thing separate and apart--art is only the beautiful way of
doing things. And is it not most absurd to think, because a man has the
faculty of doing a thing well, that on this account he should assume
airs and declare himself exempt along the line of morals and manners?
The expression "artistic temperament" is often an apologetic term, like
"literary sensitiveness," whi