"There, sir," he said, "you can see oil
paintings of every subject, of every style, and of every class; and at
prices, sir, lower than they can be found elsewhere in the known world.
Mention the kind of picture you want, and I can accommodate you."
I replied that I did not know exactly what I wanted, and that I would
see what he had. I now began to look at the pictures on the walls,
occasionally mentioning my ideas in regard to their merits, when
suddenly my companion turned to me and said:
"Are you connected with the press, sir?"
I replied that I was not, although I occasionally wrote for periodicals.
"Upon art subjects?" he asked.
I answered in the negative.
"Then you are unprejudiced," he said, "and I believe from your
appearance that you are a man of influence, and there is nothing I would
like better than to exhibit the workings of my art organization to a man
of influence, unprejudiced on the subject. My object is, sir, to
popularize art; to place high art within the reach of the masses, and
thus to educate the artistic faculties of even the poorest citizens."
I said that I supposed the chromo movement was intended to do all that.
"No, sir," he replied, warmly; "chromos cannot accomplish the object.
They are too expensive; and, besides, they are not the real thing.
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