ThesecondincidentwasthatwhichhadearnedPinkertonhisreputation。Inacrowdedstudio，whilesomeveryfilthybrutalitieswerebeingpractisedonatremblingdebutant，atall，palefellowsprangfromhisstooland(withoutthesmallestprefaceorexplanation)sangout，“AllEnglishandAmericanstocleartheshop！”Ourraceisbrutal，butnotfilthy；andthesummonswasnoblyrespondedto。EveryAnglo-Saxonstudentseizedhisstool；inamomentthestudiowasfullofbloodycoxcombs，theFrenchfleeingindisorderforthedoor，thevictimliberatedandamazed。Inthisfeatofarms，bothEnglish-speakingnationscoveredthemselveswithglory；butIamproudtoclaimtheauthorofthewholeforanAmerican，andapatrioticAmericanatthat，beingthesamegentlemanwhohadsubsequentlytobehelddowninthebottomofaboxduringaperformanceof_L’OncleSam_，sobbingatintervals，“Mycountry！Omycountry！”Whileyetanother(mynewacquaintance，Pinkerton)wassupposedtohavemadethemostconspicuousfigureintheactualbattle。Atoneblow，hehadbrokenhisownstool，andsentthelargestofhisopponentsbackforemostthroughwhatweusedtocalla“conscientiousnude。”Itappearsthat，inthecontinuationofhisflight，thisfallenwarriorissuedontheboulevardstillframedintheburstcanvas。
Itwillbeunderstoodhowmuchtalktheincidentarousedinthestudents’quarter，andthatIwashighlygratifiedtomaketheacquaintanceofmyfamouscountryman。ItchancedIwastoseemoreofthequixoticsideofhischaracterbeforethemorningwasdone；foraswecontinuedtostrolltogether，I
foundmyselfnearthestudioofayoungFrenchmanwhoseworkIhadpromisedtoexamine，andinthefashionofthequartercarriedupPinkertonalongwithme。Someofmycomradesofthisdatewereprettyobnoxiousfellows。Icouldalmostalwaysadmireandrespectthegrown-uppractitionersofartinParis；butmanyofthosewhowerestillinastateofpupilageweresorryspecimens，somuchsothatIusedoftentowonderwherethepainterscamefrom，andwherethebrutesofstudentswentto。Asimilarmysteryhangsovertheintermediatestagesofthemedicalprofession，andmusthaveperplexedtheleastobservant。Theruffian，atleast，whomI
nowcarriedPinkertontovisit，wasoneofthemostcrapulousinthequarter。Heturnedoutforourdelectationahuge“crust“(asweusedtocallit)ofSt。Stephen，wallowinginreduponhisbellyinanexhaustedreceiver，andacrowdofHebrewsinblue，green，andyellow，peltinghim——apparentlywithbuns；andwhilewegazeduponthiscontrivance，regaleduswithapieceofhisownrecentbiography，ofwhichhismindwasstillveryfull，andwhichheseemedtofancy，representedhiminaheroicposture。IwasoneofthosecosmopolitanAmericans，whoaccepttheworld(whetherathomeorabroad)astheyfindit，andwhosefavouritepartisthatofthespectator；yetevenIwaslisteningwithill-suppresseddisgust，whenIwasawareofaviolentpluckingatmysleeve。
“Ishesayinghekickedherdownstairs？”askedPinkerton，whiteasSt。Stephen。
“Yes。”saidI：“hisdiscardedmistress；andthenhepeltedherwithstones。Isupposethat’swhatgavehimtheideaforhispicture。Hehasjustbeenallegingthepatheticexcusethatshewasoldenoughtobehismother。”
SomethinglikeasobbrokefromPinkerton。“Tellhim。”hegasped——“Ican’tspeakthislanguage，thoughIunderstandalittle；Ineverhadanypropereducation——tellhimI’mgoingtopunchhishead。”
“ForGod’ssake，donothingofthesort！”Icried。“Theydon’tunderstandthatsortofthinghere。”AndItriedtobundlehimout。
“Tellhimfirstwhatwethinkofhim。”heobjected。“Letmetellhimwhathelooksintheeyesofapure-mindedAmerican“
“Leavethattome。”saidI，thrustingPinkertonclearthroughthedoor。
“Qu’est-cequ’ila？”[1]inquiredthestudent。
[1]“What’sthematterwithhim？”
“Monsieursesentmalaucoeurd’avoirtropregardevotrecroute。”[2]saidI，andmademyescape，scarcewithdignity，atPinkerton’sheels。
[2]“Thegentlemanissickathisstomachfromhavinglookedtoolongatyourdaub。”
“Whatdidyousaytohim？”heasked。
“Theonlythingthathecouldfeel。”wasmyreply。
Afterthisscene，thefreedomwithwhichIhadejectedmynewacquaintance，andtheprecipitationwithwhichIhadfollowedhim，theleastIcoulddowastoproposeluncheon。IhaveforgotthenameoftheplacetowhichIledhim，nothingloath；
itwasonthefarsideoftheLuxembourgatleast，withagardenbehind，wherewewerespeedilysetfacetofaceattable，andbegantodigintoeachother’shistoryandcharacter，liketerriersafterrabbits，accordingtotheapprovedfashionofyouth。
Pinkerton’sparentswerefromtheoldcountry；theretoo，I
incidentallygathered，hehadhimselfbeenborn，thoughitwasacircumstanceheseemedpronetoforget。Whetherhehadrunaway，orhisfatherhadturnedhimout，Ineverfathomed；butabouttheageoftwelve，hewasthrownuponhisownresources。Atravellingtin-typephotographerpickedhimup，likeahawoutofahedgerow，onawaysideinNewJersey；tookafancytotheurchin；carriedhimonwithhiminhiswanderinglife；taughthimallheknewhimself——totaketin-types(aswellasIcanmakeout)anddoubttheScriptures；anddiedatlastinOhioatthecornerofaroad。“Hewasagrandspecimen。”criedPinkerton；“Iwishyoucouldhaveseenhim，Mr。Dodd。Hehadanappearanceofmagnanimitythatusedtoremindmeofthepatriarchs。”Onthedeathofthisrandomprotector，theboyinheritedtheplantandcontinuedthebusiness。“ItwasalifeI
couldhavechosen，Mr。Dodd！”hecried。“Ihavebeeninallthefinestscenesofthatmagnificentcontinentthatwewereborntobetheheirsof。Iwishyoucouldseemycollectionoftin-types；
IwishIhadthemhere。Theyweretakenformyownpleasureandtobeamemento；andtheyshowNatureinhergrandestaswellashergentlestmoments。”AshetrampedtheWesternStatesandTerritories，takingtin-types，theboywascontinuallygettingholdofbooks，good，bad，andindifferent，popularandabstruse，fromthenovelsofSylvanusCobbtoEuclid’sElements，bothofwhichIfound(tomyalmostequalwonder)
hehadmanagedtoperuse：hewastakingstockbytheway，ofthepeople，theproducts，andthecountry，withaneyeunusuallyobservantandamemoryunusuallyretentive；andhewascollectingforhimselfabodyofmagnanimousandsemi-
intellectualnonsense，whichhesupposedtobethenaturalthoughtsandtocontainthewholedutyofthebornAmerican。
Tobepure-minded，tobepatriotic，togetcultureandmoneywithbothhandsandwiththesameirrationalfervour——theseappearedtobethechiefarticlesofhiscreed。Inlaterdays(notofcourseuponthisfirstoccasion)Iwouldsometimesaskhimwhy；andhehadhisanswerpat。“Tobuildupthetype！”hewouldcry。“We’reallcommittedtothat；we’reallunderbondtofulfiltheAmericanType！Loudon，thehopeoftheworldisthere。Ifwefail，liketheseoldfeudalmonarchies，whatisleft？”
Thetradeofatin-typerprovedtoonarrowforthelad’sambition；itwasinsusceptibleofexpansion，heexplained，itwasnottrulymodern；andbyasuddenconversionoffront，hebecamearailroad-scalper。TheprinciplesofthistradeIneverclearlyunderstood；butitsessenceappearstobetocheattherailroadsoutoftheirduefare。“Ithrewmywholesoulintoit；I
grudgedmyselffoodandsleepwhileIwasatit；themostpractisedhandsadmittedIhadcaughtontotheideainamonthandrevolutionisedthepracticeinsideofayear。”hesaid。“Andthere’sinterestinit，too。It’samusingtopickoutsomeonegoingby，makeupyourmindabouthischaracterandtastes，dashoutoftheofficeandhithimflyingwithanofferoftheveryplacehewantstogoto。Idon’tthinktherewasascalperonthecontinentmadefewerblunders。ButItookitonlyasastage。Iwassavingeverydollar；Iwaslookingahead。IknewwhatIwanted——wealth，education，arefinedhome，andaconscientious，culturedladyforawife；for，Mr。Dodd“——thiswithaformidableoutcry——“everymanisboundtomarryabovehim：ifthewoman’snottheman’ssuperior，Ibranditasmeresensuality。Therewasmyidea，atleast。ThatwaswhatIwassavingfor；andenough，too！Butitisn’teveryman，Iknowthat——it’sfarfromeveryman——coulddowhatIdid：closeupthelivestagencyinSaintJo，wherehewascoiningdollarsbythepot，setoutalone，withoutafriendorawordofFrench，andsettledownheretospendhiscapitallearningart。”
“Wasitanoldtaste？”Iaskedhim，“orasuddenfancy？”
“Neither，Mr。Dodd。”headmitted。“OfcourseIhadlearnedinmytin-typingexcursionstogloryandexultintheworksofGod。Butitwasn’tthat。Ijustsaidtomyself，Whatismostwantedinmyageandcountry？Morecultureandmoreart，I
said；andIchosethebestplace，savedmymoney，andcameheretogetthem。”
Thewholeattitudeofthisyoungmanwarmedandshamedme。
HehadmorefireinhislittletoethanIhadinmywholecarcase；hewasstuffedtoburstingwiththemanlyvirtues；
thriftandcourageglowedinhim；andevenifhisartisticvocationseemed(tooneofmyexclusivetenets)notquiteclear，whocouldpredictwhatmightbeaccomplishedbyacreaturesofull-bloodedandsoinspiredwithanimalandintellectualenergy？So，whenheproposedthatIshouldcomeandseehiswork(oneoftheregularstagesofaLatinQuarterfriendship)，I
followedhimwithinterestandhope。
HelodgedparsimoniouslyatthetopofatallhouseneartheObservatory，inabareroom，principallyfurnishedwithhisowntrunksandpaperedwithhisowndespicablestudies。Nomanhaslesstastefordisagreeabledutiesthanmyself；perhapsthereisonlyonesubjectonwhichIcannotflatteramanwithoutablush；butuponthat，uponallthattouchesart，mysincerityisRoman。OnceandtwiceImadethecircuitofhiswallsinsilence，spyingineverycornerforsomesparkofmerit；he，meanwhile，followingcloseatmyheels，readingtheverdictinmyfacewithfurtiveglances，presentingsomefreshstudyformyinspectionwithundisguisedanxiety，and(afterithadbeensilentlyweighedinthebalancesandfoundwanting)whiskingitawaywithanopengestureofdespair。Bythetimethesecondroundwascompleted，wewerebothextremelydepressed。
“O！”hegroaned，breakingthelongsilence，“it’squiteunnecessaryyoushouldspeak！”
“Doyouwantmetobefrankwithyou？Ithinkyouarewastingtime。”saidI。
“Youdon’tseeanypromise？”heinquired，beguiledbysomereturnofhope，andturninguponmetheembarrassingbrightnessofhiseye。“Notinthisstill-lifehere，ofthemelon？
Onefellowthoughtitgood。”
ItwastheleastIcoulddotogivethemelonamoreparticularexamination；which，whenIhaddone，Icouldbutshakemyhead。“Iamtrulysorry，Pinkerton。”saidI，“butIcan’tadviseyoutopersevere。”
Heseemedtorecoverhisfortitudeatthemoment，reboundingfromdisappointmentlikeamanofindia-rubber。“Well。”saidhestoutly，“Idon’tknowthatI’msurprised。ButI’llgoonwiththecourse；andthrowmywholesoulintoit，too。Youmustn’tthinkthetimeislost。It’sallculture；itwillhelpmetoextendmyrelationswhenIgetbackhome；itmayfitmeforapositionononeoftheillustrateds；andthenIcanalwaysturndealer。”hesaid，utteringthemonstrousproposition，whichwasenoughtoshaketheLatinQuartertothedust，withentiresimplicity。“It’sallexperience，besides；“hecontinued，“anditseemstomethere’satendencytounderrateexperience，bothasnetprofitandinvestment。Nevermind。That’sdonewith。Butittookcourageforyoutosaywhatyoudid，andI’llneverforgetit。
Here’smyhand，Mr。Dodd。I’mnotyourequalincultureortalent——“
“Youknownothingaboutthat。”Iinterrupted。“Ihaveseenyourwork，butyouhaven’tseenmine。
“NomoreIhave。”hecried；“andlet’sgoseeitatonce！ButI
knowyouareawayup。Icanfeelithere。”
Tosaytruth，Iwasalmostashamedtointroducehimtomystudio——mywork，whetherabsolutelygoodorbad，beingsovastlysuperiortohis。Buthisspiritswerenowquiterestored；
andheamazedme，ontheway，withhislight-heartedtalkandnewprojects。SothatIbeganatlasttounderstandhowmatterslay：thatthiswasnotanartistwhohadbeendeprivedofthepracticeofhissingleart；butonlyabusinessmanofveryextendedinterests，informed(perhapssomethingofthemostsuddenly)thatoneinvestmentoutoftwentyhadgonewrong。
Asamatteroffactbesides(althoughIneversuspectedit)hewasalreadyseekingconsolationwithanotherofthemuses，andpleasinghimselfwiththenotionthathewouldrepaymeformysincerity，cementourfriendship，and(atoneandthesameblow)restoremyestimationofhistalents。Severaltimesalready，whenIhadbeenspeakingofmyself，hehadpulledoutawriting-padandscribbledabriefnote；andnow，whenweenteredthestudio，Isawitinhishandagain，andthepencilgotohismouth，ashecastacomprehensiveglanceroundtheuncomfortablebuilding。
