Pulitzer's fancy, our erratic maneuvers were affected by
our need to make good weather out of whatever wind we encountered, on
the one hand because J. P., though an excellent sailor, disliked the
rolling produced by a beam sea, since it interfered with his walking on
deck, and on the other hand, because several of the secretaries suffered
from sea-sickness the moment we were off an even keel.
Mr. Pulitzer was not a man prone to be placated by excuses; but he had
come to realize that neither a sense of duty nor the hope of reward,
neither fear nor courage, can make an agreeable companion out of a man
who is seasick. So, unless there was an important reason why we should
reach port, we always made a head-wind of anything stronger than a light
breeze, and followed the weather round the compass until it was fair for
our destination.
As soon as we left Mentone Mr. Pulitzer began the process of education
which was designed to fit me for his service.
"When you were in New York," he asked, "what papers did you read?"
"The Sun and The Times in the morning and The Evening Sun and The
Evening Post at night," I replied.
"My God! Didn't you read The World?"
"Nothing but the editorial page."
"Why not? What's the matter with it?"
I explained that I was not interested in crime and disaster, to which
The World devoted so much space, that I wanted more foreign news than
The World found room for, and that I was offended by the big headlines,
which compelled me to know things I didn't want to know.
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