Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-10
PART II.
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH
BY HENRY JAMES.
SYNOPSIS OF PART I.


PAE
It was for the elucidation of a mystery in
one of these works that I first tried Mrs.
Monarch. Her husband came with her, to
be useful if necessary-it was sufficiently
clear that as general thing he would prefer
to come with her. At first 1 wondered if
this were for 'propriety's" sake-if he were
going to be Jealous and meddling. The
idea was too tiresome, and if it had been
confirmed it would speedily have brought
our acquaintance to a close. But soon
saw there was nothing in it, and that if he
accompanied Mrs. Monarch it was Gin addi-
tion to the chance of being wanted) simply
because he had nothing else to do. When
she was away from him his occupation was
gone-she never had been away from him.
judged, rightly, that in their awkward
situation their close union was their main
comfort, and that this union had no weak
spot 1t was real marriage, an encourage
ment to the hesitating, nut for pessimists
to crack. Their address was humble Il re-
member afterward thinking it had been the
only thing about them that was really pro-
fessionaD, and could fancy the lamentable
lodgings in which the Major would have
been left alone. He co uld bear them with
his wife, he couldn't bear them without her.
He had too much tact to try and make
himself agreeable when he couldn't be USE
full; so he simply sat and waited, when I
was too absorbed in my work to talk. But
1 liked to make him talk-it made my work,
when it didn't interrupt it, less sordid, less
special. To listen to him was to combine
the excitement of going out with the econ
omy of staying at home. There was only
one hindrance; that seemed not to know
any of the people he and his wife had
known. think he wondered extremely,
during the term of our intercourse, who the
deuce I did know. He hadn't . stray
sixpense of an idea to tumble for; so we
didn't spin it very fne-we confined our
selves to questions of leather and even of
liquor (saddlers and breeches makers, and
how to get good claret cheap), and matters
like "good trains" and the habits of small
game. His lore on these last subjects was
astonishing-he was a mixture Of the sta
tion master and the ornithologist. When he
couldn't talk about greater things he could
talk cheerfully about smaller, and, since I
y
of the fashionable world, he could lower the
conversation without visible effort to my
level
So earnest desire to please was touching
in man who could so easily have knocked
one down. He looked after the fire and had
an opinion on the draught of the stove, with
out my asking him, and could see that he
thought many of my arrangements not half
clever enough. remember telling him that
if were only rich I would offer him
salary to come and teach me how to live.
Sometimes he gave random sigh, of which
the essence was: "Give me even such bare
old barrack as this and I'd do something
with itp' When I wanted to use him he
came alone-which was an illustration of
the superior courage Of women. His wife
could bear her solitary second floor, and she
was in general more discreet, showing by
various small reserves that she was alive to
the propriety of keeping our relations
markedly professional-not letting them
slide into sociability. She wished it to re-
main clear that she and the Major were en-
ployed, not cultivated, and if she approved
of me as q superior, where could be kept
in my place, she never thought me quite
good enough for an equal
She sat with great intensity, giving the
whole of her mind to it, and was capable of
as if she were before photographers lens.
could see she had been photographed
often, but somehow the very habit that
made her good for that purpose untitled her
for mine. At first I was extremely pleased
with her ladylike airs, and it was a satisfac-
tion, on coming to follow her lines to see
how good they were and how far they took
one. But after a few times began to find
her rather irritatingly stiff; do what 1
would with it my drawing looked like a
photograph or a copy of photograph. Her
figure had no variety OF expression-she
herself had no sense of variety. You may
question of placing her I placed her in
every conceivable position, but she man
aged to obliterate their differences. She
was always lady, certainly, and, into the
bargain, was always the same lady. She
was the real thing, but always the same
thing There were moments when / was
oppressed BY the serenity of her confidence
that she was the real thing All her deal
ings with me, and all her husbands, were
an implication this was lucky for me. Mean
while found myself trying to invent types
that approached her own, instead Of making
her own transform itself-in the clever way
that was not impossible, for instance, to
poor Miss Churm. Arrange as would and
take the precautions I would, she always, in
my pictures came out too tall-landing me
in the dilemma of having represented
fascinating woman az seven feet high, which,
out of respect perhaps to my own very much
scantier inches, was Tar from my idea of such
a parsonage.
The case was worse with the Major-no-
thing could do would keep him down, so
that he became useful only for the repre-
septation Of brawny giants I adored
variety and range, cherished human acci-
dents, the illustrative note; wanted to
closely, and the thing in the
world most hated was the danger of being
ridden by type. I had quarrelled with ,
some of my friends about i'll had parted |
company with them for maintaining that
one had to be, and that If the type was /
(witness Raphael and Leonardo) |
the subsection was only gain. was
neither Leonards nor Raphael; 1 was only |
D possible presumptuous young modern !
searcher; held that everything was to be |
sacrificed sooner than character. When |
they averred that the haunting type in |
question might easily be character, 1 re-
torted, perhaps specifically: "Whose2" It |
souldn't be everybody's, it might end in be-
ing nobody's.
After had drawn Mrs Monarch dozen
times perceived more clearly than before
hat the value OF such q model as Miss
Churm resided precisely in the fact that she