Although Mike could neither read nor write; although he made his living by odd carting and by delivering clothes (which Mrs. Mike had washed) to the owners, and although he was not known to be entitled to any other name than “Mike”; he was proud and ambitious. He had no ancestors to be proud of that he knew of, so he was proud of himself, and his ambition was for his son, Michael, and he declared that “an eddication he should have, so he should.” So Michael, the son of Mike, was instructed in the mysteries of “readin’, ’ritin’ and figgerin’,” which were the length, breadth and depth of “eddication” to the idea of Mike.
Michael fulfilled the ambitions of his father.
Whether Michael profited more by the practical instruction he gathered from his father relative to horses, truck driving and general carting, or by his “eddication” it is unnecessary to conclude. Suffice it to relate, that by some means or other, and by attaining a high proficiency as a liar, he made a large fortune as a horse dealer, trader, stealer and manipulator.
Michael had an eye like a hawk. That is to say, he was a keen observer of things, which is perhaps superfluous information considering that he made a fortune; but his perceptive faculties were keen in other directions than those necessary to get other people’s money and keep it; consequently he observed that in society, whereunto he had sunk by the weight of his wealth, he was at a disadvantage on account of his ignorance. The “ould man” Mike, looked up to Michael as a marvel of erudition; but Michael, although he did not know even what erudition was, knew that education was not his. He knew he was ignorant, but he held up his head and kept his mouth shut, which is one kind of wisdom, and he made a very fair show even if he was forced to be silent when people talked of things other than horses and dollars.
Privately Michael was of the opinion that Shakespeare was “outrageous,” that there was no music without a “chune” to it; that the craze for old china was “a regular fake,” that Japanese bric-a-brac were the worst he ever saw, and that most pictures that society raved about, and the “old masters” in particular, “bate the Dutch,” but he never said a word. He never bluffed, so he never was called.
Alexander transpires at this point. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Michael was born one son, and they called him Alexander, no doubt hoping that he would be great. Alexander was carefully brought up among all the luxuries that dollars can purchase; of course the aforesaid luxuries had a newness about them which might be painful to the highly cultured; this was to be expected. Dollars, although they can purchase everything that goes to make luxury, cannot supply taste.
Michael worshipped education as his father before him had done, and he decided that “Alexander should have an education that would ‘knock’ the tar out of any education that ever was bought for money.” Michael was ignorant of the fact that education is still a very uncertain quantity, and that even experts do not agree on what is necessary to constitute it.
Alexander inherited his father’s intelligence and soaked up his education very readily. The details of his education are unessential to this tale. It is enough to state that he got it, as it is generally thought a gentleman should, through school, college and travel, and at twenty-two he was, as his father expressed it, “educated up to the handle.”
Alexander’s education bore fruit. The kind of fruit an education will bear depends much upon what kind of an education is planted and the ground it falls on. Michael expected that Alexander’s education would bear fruit. What fruit he wished for or expected it is impossible to surmise, for he never expressed his wishes or hopes; not being a judge of educational fruit his ideas on the subject were probably rather vague. Alexander shone in society for a year or two, much to his father’s delight, but at the end of that time his shining was no longer a novelty and was very expensive for Michael.
Michael decided to take his son into the horse business, which was still flourishing like a palm tree, or a Cedar of Lebanon; he also decided that he should marry.