Read "H. R" by Edwin Lefevre online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
The dinner at Mrs. Vandergilt's home was H. R. 's initial social triumph. The first thing he did was to confess to Mrs. Vandergilt that what he desired above all things was to be her military secretary. All he asked was to serve the Cause so long as she led, and no longer.
"I hate failures," he told her. "I don't propose to be identified with any. If I did not see in you what I do I should not be here. I know creative genius when I see it. You paint the picture. I am only the frame-maker -- necessary, but not among the immortals."