, he lowered his voice to a whisper. 'They learns it
all by 'art; there is schools for the teaching of it down in Whitechapel.
They can just do what they learns by 'art, not one of them could draw that
'ere chair or table from natur'; but I could. I 'ave an original talent. It
was a long time afore I found out it was there,' he said, tapping his
forehead; 'but it is there,' he said, fixing his eyes on Hubert, 'and when
it is there they can't take it away--I mean my mates--though they do laugh
at my ideas. They call me "the genius," for they don't believe in me, but I
believe in myself, and they laughs best that laughs last.... I don't know,'
he said, looking round him, his eyes full of reverie, 'that the public
liked my fancy landscapes better than the ship on fire, but I said the
public will come to them in time, and I continued my fancy landscapes. But
one day in Trafalgar Square it came on to rain very 'eavy, and I went for
shelter into the National Gallery. It was my fust visit, and I was struck
all of a 'eap, and ever since I can 'ardly bring myself to go on with the
drudgery of the piece of bacon, and the piece of cheese, with the mouse
nibbling at it. And ever since my 'ead 'as been filled with other things,
though for a long time I could not make exactly out what. I 'ave 'eard that
that is always the case with men that 'as an idea--daresay you 'ave found
it so yourself. So in my spare time I goes to the National to think it out,
and in studying the pictures there I got wery interested in a chap called
Hetty, and 'e do paint the female form divine. I says to myself, Why not go
in for lovely woman? the public may not care for fancy landscapes, but the
public allus likes a lovely woman, and, as well as being popular, lovely
woman is 'igh 'art. So, after dinner hour, I sets to work, and sketches in
a blue sea with three bathers, and two boxes, with the 'orse's head looking
out from behind one of the boxes. For a fust attempt at the nude, I assure
you--it ain't my way to blow my own trumpet, but I can say that the crowd
that 'ere picture did draw was bigger than any that 'ad assembled about the
bits o' bacon and ship-a-fire of all the other coves. 'Ad I been let alone,
I should 'ave made my fortune, but the crowd was so big and the curiosity
so great that it took the perlice all their time to keep the pavement from
being blocked. It wasn't that the public didn't like it enough, it was that
the public liked it too much, t