ood. 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' c