The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-27
WHISTLER'S WAY.
The Eccentric Painters Most Sue
cessfuI Practical Joke.

The Eccentric Painters Most Sue
cessfuI Practical Joke.
The sudden death of James Mcneil
Whistler the distinguished Anglo
American artist, has reawakened in
terest in his singular personality and
recalled many stories of his odd habits
and odder sayings and doings. Per-
haps the best of all the anecdotes told
of him, and at the same time the least
known, is that which describes his
manner of dealing with a London bail
iff If the dead painter had ever told
the story in print, and his reckless
egotism often led him to much more
personal disclosures, he would proba bly,
have given it some such telling title as
that which headed his account of his
quarrel with the too practical baronet.
Whistler, as his irregular excursions
into the realm of literature show, had
a genuine talent for titles, and he
would almost certainly have called this
story.
The Tanning of the BaiIiR.
When the bailiff first appeared in the
painters Chelsea mansion he tried to
wear his hat in the drawing room and
smoke and spit all over the house. But
Whistler, in his own way soon set
tied that. He went out into the hall
and, selecting a stick from his collec-
ton of canes, he daintily knocked the
mans hat off. The bailiff was so
surprised that he forget to be angry.
and in a day or two he had been
trained to wait at table. But though
he was now in possession, and a fav
ored household servant, he could not
obtain his money. So he declared that
if he was not paid he would have 70
put bills up outside the house ANNOUNCE
srsn Il Al fs,r,r
days after great posters were stuck
up all over the front of the house,
announcing so many tables and so
many chairs and SO much old Nankin
china for sale on a given day. Whist
Ter enjoyed the joke hugely, and hast
ened to send out invitations to all his
friends to luncheon party, adding
as a postscript: you will know the
house by the bills of sale stuck up out
side" And the bailiff proved an adj
mirable butler, and the party one of
the merriest ever known.
But the bailiff stayed on, and the day
of sale approached, so Whistler, who
had been educated at West Point, de-
termined to practice strategy. Some
one had told him that a mixture of
snuff and beer had the property of
sending people off to sleep. So he
bought a big parcel of snuff, and put
the greater part of it. into a gigantic
tankard full of beer, which he sent out
to the bailiff in the garden. 1t was a
very hot summer afternoon, and the
man eagerly welcomed his refreshment
Whistler was in his studio painting
and soon forgot all about him. In the
evening he said to his servant:
Where's the MANI" The servant re-
piled: II don't know, sir. 1 suppose
he must have gone away"
The next morning Whistler got up
very late and went out into the garden,
where he was astonished to see the
bailift sitting in precisely the same pc
sitIon as the daS before. The empty
tankard was on the table beside him.
and his pipe had fallen from his hand
ul.oE the grass. Hello, my sleeping
beauty" said Whistler, have you been
there all night?" But the man made
no answer, and all the painters efforts
ID rouse him were unaVailing. Late In
the afternoon. however, he awoke In
the most natural way in the world, tx
claiming that it was dreadfuly hot
weather. and that he must have been
ssleep over an hour. Whistlers STRAIT
egg had been even more successful than
he al toipated; the bailiff had slept
through the entire day appoiht,l for
the sale Of the painters household Of.
fects. and was induced TO go away. IT,
a very bewildered state of mind. and
with small payment on account In
his pocket.