P. always took my right arm, and my left
hand was therefore free to dip into my reservoir of cuttings whenever
conversation flagged and I needed a new subject.
The cuttings covered every imaginable topic--small cases in the
magistrates' courts, eccentric entertainments at Newport, the deaths of
centenarians, dinners to visiting authors in New York, accounts of
performing animals, infant prodigies, new inventions, additions to the
Metropolitan Museum, announcements of new plays, anecdotes about
prominent men and women, instances of foolish extravagance among the
rich, and so on.
Something of the kind was done by each of us, so that when Mr. Pulitzer
appeared on deck after breakfast we all had something ready for him. The
first man called usually had the easiest time, for Mr. Pulitzer's mind
was fresh and keen for news after a night's rest. The men who went to
him later in the morning suffered from two disadvantages, one that they
did not know what news or how much of it J. P. had already received, the
other that as the day advanced Mr. Pulitzer often grew tired, and his
attention then became difficult to hold.
I remember that on one occasion when he had complained of feeling
utterly tired out mentally I asked him if he would like me to stop
talking.
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