The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-06-18

the Event Was of Benefit to the Artist.
How to Make the Most of a Good Idea.
A yaiuabie Heritage.
"How often" remarked the old edi-
sor, "do our seeming misfortunes result
in our final good. Take the case of Dick
Morley, the comic artist, a few years
ago. Dick, being a true genius, of course
never worked till he had to, and some
times not then. Naturally he was al
ways hard pressed for money. Dick
once lived for a month in the back room
of a pawnshop because his last suit of
clothes was in hook there-the suit he
had on, you understand. At last inspira-
ton came; he drew a comic picture of
a needy artist, tended shop while the
proprietor ven out and sold it and so
redeemed his clothes and got away.
cat another time a tailor sued Dick
for $50. Of course he didn't pay any at
tention to a little thing like this, but
went right Oh resting. The matter final
ly got into the sherlff's hands, and a
deputy came around to the studio to put
an attachment on the things. 1t hap
pened that Dick was pretty cross that
morning, having lost his easel
where in the confusion of the place.
Not hat he had any use for the easel,
of course, but he had a theory that a
studio ought to contain an easel. Gen
orally speaking, all that Dick really
needed in his studio was a pipe, a chair
and a visitor to whom he could tell of
fha xrnrl hn xraC oninr f0 la ,a1t la.,
well, as l say, Dick couldn't find
the easel and was a good deal upset in
consequence. The deputy was a kind of
loose jointed, stumbling sort of man,
with waving ears, a large nose, an ex-
pansive mouth and a rowing eye, this
last no doubt resulting from years of
search for personal property, usually
fruitless. He came in, leered at the
things a moment and told Dick that he
had al attachment for everything
Dick was still cross and replied by
throwing a small plaster Venus de Milo
at his visitors head, hitting him on
the jaw. The deputy had seen similar
cases before, SO he just closed in on
Dick, and they had it pretty lively all
around the studio. Dick relied mainly
on the plaster casts and kept smashing
them over the deputy's head, now a
Venus, next "A Diana, then a modern
example.
"There was a Hercules ON the man
tel, and Dick had a good deal of faith
in that, having a fanciful notion that
as Hercules had been a pretty powerful
fellow in his day a cast of him slammed
down hard on the head of a deputy
sheriff ought to do something toward
upholding the rights of a plain citizen
sued by a grasping tailor. Perhaps the
fact that the Hercules was the largest
and heaviest cast in the studio may
have strengthened Dicks faith in it.
The deputy, Notwithstanding his wide
experience, was unaccustomed to cast
fighting, and the dust got in his rowing
eyes and confused him considerably,
but he held his ground well, and when
at last he got hold of the Hercules and
banged Dick over the head with it the
artist wen down on his back and the
deputy planted his knees on his chest.
Dick looked up and saw that the mans
hat was crushed, his clothes torn, one
eye discolored and that he was general
ly demoralized. It struck Dick that he
was the funniest man that he had evel
seen, and an inspiration seized him.
"'Leggo my hands!' he cried.
The deputy did SO and Dick wrigglet
around and grabbed a sheet of card
board and a quill pen from among tn,
wreck and confusion on the floor.
"'Keep just so,' went on Dick
'There-so-don't move, now, and b,
began sketohing the man rapidly, hold
ing the cardboard in one hand. In II
minutes he had the funniest picture tina
he had even drawn. Now femme VI
and we'll go and sell this, said Dick
and the man complied. They headed TO
the nearest comic paper office, wher
Dick disposed of the picture for $40, ant
passed the money over to the fellow. |
was the turning point in Dicks career
and he has never been hard up since"
81 don't exactly see how such a littl
thing could amount to SO much, " oh
served a listener.
"You don't know the comic bushes
as we'll as l do or you would see. Whel
you get hold of a good funny idea, yo
use it nee and shortly after You use j
again. After which you use it a fey
times more, and then make further us
of it, subsequently employing it a mum
Der of times in addition. You then re
peat a few times, after which you ca
turn it around a little and go throug
the whole process again. Then, a reall
good comic idea will stand several turn
ings, by which time people have forgot
ten the original thing, and you ca
} start new with a fair field and a clea
conscience. When death overtakes yor
, if you have a son in the comic line, 20
+ can leave the idea to him. "-Hayde
Carruth in Chicago Post.