His resentment against these practices was made the more bitter by the
knowledge that he was absolutely helpless in the matter whenever he came
within hearing distance of an ill-bred person.
There was yet another element in this which added to his misery. He said
to me once, when we had been driven off the plage at Mentone by two
American tourists of the worst type, who at a hundred yards' distance
from each other were yelling their views as to which hotel they proposed
to meet at for lunch, "I can never forget that when I was a young man in
the full vigor of my health I used to regard other people's complaints
about noise as being merely an affectation. I would even make a noise
deliberately in order to annoy any one who forced the absurd pretense
upon my notice. Well, Mr. Ireland, I swear my punishment has been heavy
enough."
To revert, however, to Mr. Pulitzer's dependence on those around him, it
must be remembered that nothing could reach him except through the
medium of speech. The state of his bank account, the condition of his
investments, the reports about The World, his business correspondence,
the daily news in which he was so deeply interested, everything upon
which he based his relation with the affairs of life he had to accept at
second hand.
Pages:
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115