d sculptors were. The only difference was that in the case of the
embryo illustrators they were to be found living three or four in one
studio, partly because of the saving in expense, but also because of the
love of companionship and because they could hearten and correct one
another in their work. A number of such interesting groups were in
existence when Eugene arrived, but of course he did not know of them.

It takes time for the beginner to get a hearing anywhere. We all have to
serve an apprenticeship, whatever field we enter. Eugene had talent and
determination, but no experience, no savoir faire, no circle of friends
and acquaintances. The whole city was strange and cold, and if he had
not immediately fallen desperately in love with it as a spectacle he
would have been unconscionably lonely and unhappy. As it was the great
fresh squares, such as Washington, Union and Madison; the great streets,
such as Broadway, Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue; the great spectacles,
such as the Bowery at night, the East River, the water front, the
Battery, all fascinated him with an unchanging glamor.

He was hypnotized by the wonder of this thing--the beauty of it. Such
seething masses of people! such whirlpools of life! The great hotels,
the opera, the theatres, the restaurants, all gripped him with a sense
of beauty. These lovely women in magnificent gowns; these swarms of
cabs, with golden eyes, like monstrous insects; this ebb and surge of
life at morning and evening, made him forget his loneliness. He had no
money to spend, no immediate hope of a successful career, he could walk
these streets, look in these windows, admire these beautiful women;
thrill at the daily newspaper announcements of almost hourly successes
in one field or another. Here and there in the news an author had made a
great success with a book; a scientist with a discovery; a philosopher
with a new theory; a financier with an investment. There was news of
great plays being put on; great actors and actresses coming from abroad;
great successes being made by debutantes in society; great movements
forwarded generally. Youth and ambition had the call--he saw that. It
was only a question of time, if you had talent, when you would get your
hearing. He longed ardently for his but he had no feeling that it was
coming to him quickly, so he got the blues. It was a long road to
travel.

One of his pet diversions these days and nights was to walk the streets
in rain