There were several Patchings very much praised by the Sunday
papers, at the last National Academy Exhibition, though the hanging
committee put them either among the dirt or the cobwebs. This conspiracy
against Patching is far-reaching. It would seem as if his rivals of the
Academy actually went about town calling upon people, and cautioning
them _not_ to buy Patchings. Indeed, to such an extent has this
outrageous attempt to put down a fellow artist been carried, that I know
of but one Patching to be publicly seen in the city. It is an attic
interior--a sweet thing, quite equal to Frere, and hangs behind a bar
near Spring street. Perhaps you would like to examine it?"
"Hem! Not to-day. Some other time," answered Marcus, who, strangely
enough, interpreted the question as an invitation to drink at his
(Marcus's) expense.
"I did not mean to-day," said Wesley Tiffles. "Any time will do. Well, I
have engaged this brilliant but neglected creature to paint my panorama.
At first he refused--as I expected. He said that it would hurt his
reputation. I argued to him, that, the larger the picture, the more the
reputation; and said that I would put his name on the bills in type
second only to my own.
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