Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-02-20
WHISTLER STORIES
Audacity and Sarcasm of the &C.
centric Genius.

In Airs, Alec Twecdies Thirteen
Years OF Busy womun's Life" she
tells this story OF Whistler. which she
heard ut first hand:
The famous peacock room at
Princes Gate was a wonderful scheme
OF decoration. peacock's eyes on gold
ground being its principal motif. about
the year 1850 the late Mr. Leyland. n
wealthy shipowner- and patron of the
arts. had taken this grand new man
sion and asked Whistler 10 decorate
a room. Jimmy. poor and out ut ell
bows ms usual. jumped at the idea.
/ but no terms were fixed upon. The
I work began. 1t was a prodigious un-
! Iertaking. and the extraordinary and
erratic little man gave IL his whole
line.
Being at Princes Gate all day and
having the run OF Leyland's house
/ Whistler had a hospitable way of in
yiting his friends TO come and see the
room and then he would ask them to
stop to luncheon. This sort of thing
which began occasionally. ended in
being an almost daily occurrence. and
Jimmy used to hold little levee every
morning, when three. four or five pec-
pie remained TO Luncheon This became
TOO much for Mr.. Leyland. and his plan
for putting an end TO the campaign
was a somewhat ingenious one.
Jimmy one day entertained four
friends. The meal not being announc-
cd, he rang the bell for the butler.
when is lunch?' he asked.
~ have no orders for luncn, replied
the man. with a stately air.
''Oh. no. OF course replied Jimmy.
not in the least disconnected. Wen
go along to such and such a hotel.
stupid of me to forget it..
Rut il was enough. and. though he
pretended not to mind and with thar
delightful impudence for which he WAS
famous turned it of he never forGavc
the incident and determined To pay
LeylaDd ont. From that day he took
his own lunch in 4 little paper parcel
and sat and devourcd il when so in
clined. On the next occasion Leyland
came i'm To admire the peacock decors-
tons about the usual luncheon hour.
You will have some lunch. won't
you:' Whistler said. Leyland looked
surprised.
Up jumped Jimmy. fetched his bag
and proceeded to unite his parcels. say
ing. Its all right. old chap; have no /
anxiety. 1t is my lunch. not yours. |
and you are heartily welcome to it
When the work was accomplished
which had taken so long Leyland wish,
I'd 10 pay the bill ana asked the artist !
what was his figure. Il have worked /
4 whole year and more Whistler said.
i consider my services are worth g.
100 year. therefCNe the figure is g.
900. from which YOU can deduct the
few hundreds you have given me on
account
'Leyland was Mortified. 'rrcpostcr-
ms he said. perfectly prcpoSterUus,
Jimmy looked ut him and drew him
elf up 10 his fun height. which was
Tot great. Il beg. Mr.. LeylaIid. that
'Ou will accept as a gift the entire
work of my life for the last year and Il
quarter. 1 can compromise nothing
once again Whistler scored and
-eyland paid. Whistier's thanks TO his
'atron afterward took the form of
a life size portrait of him as
devil with horns and hoofs.'
Sir +. !. Poynter. =. K A.. says the
few York sun. told in an interview
ow when he was studying in Paris
or three or four years there was one
title artistic group called "Trilby-"
lie says:
My companions were 'Shistler. DU
Iaurier. Val Prinsep. Lamont, Thorn
s and Armstrong. OK course Du
laurier altered the thing Il good deal.
ut his picture of studio lif,. was In
he main n truthful representation or
ur life at that time Trilhy herself. I
elievc. was pure product O: the au
lcrs brain.
lin many ways the mos, remarkable
IAN among us was Whistler. If ne
ad only had energy there is no Know-
IL to what height me might have
lared. but he was incorrigibly lazy
remember visiting him once at IL /,
ursing home in Paris. He had been
orlling a little on study in pink =
Irnations. 1t was exquisite from the :.
sense of color it dis n
aged This was his Great gift. He r,
tceiled every painter ever known In
lrity and delicary of coioring. Tie
rely finished any work. but lie loved
pretend. just for fun. that his I'M
1ished studies were perfect works :
genius. Then he would chuckle
hen people took him at his word and
'clared that the very incomplateness Y
the sketches constituted Their great Y,
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