THE MAN WITH THE SENSE OF HUMOR
M
OST men are agreed
that a sense of humor is a useful gift, but not all realize that,
allied with the faculty of observation, it renders its possessor almost
impervious to the petty annoyances he is apt to experience at the hands
of his fellow men.
My
late friend Pigott, who for a period was my most formidable rival
buyer in several of the pearl-fisheries dotted about the world in which
it was my lot to operate, said to me on one occasion:
"I
believe that a trader who can take in at a glance the disposition of
the fellow he has to deal with, and who can laugh at his own
shortcomings and failures, gets much greater satisfaction from his
business than the dull fellow whose mind is solely occupied with
computing his possible profit even while he is discussing the details
of a deal."
Now,
Pigott was a well-read man. He could marshal facts in logical sequence,
and at long intervals was even capable of emitting a thought which had
the semblance of originality. If his actions were not always those of a
philosopher, he was probably able to explain them philosophically to
himself.
Because
of his wide experience, I always enjoyed hearing him talk, and although
I relished the sentiment he had just expressed, I wanted to draw him
out further. So I said, "But after all, isn't a trader's first concern
the profit he can make out of a deal?"
"No,"
he answered. "I have a quarrel with the people who think like that.
Even in trading, no one can do his best who thinks of the money first
in the middle of doing his job. The good portrait-painter, however
mercenary, puts the cash out
of his mind when he seizes palette and brush; and the trader
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