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           andthen,withacertainunease,said,"DoesitnotoccurtoyouthatthewayI’mspeakingisalmostlikealawyer?It’stheincessantcontactwiththegentlemenofthecourthasthatinfluenceonme.Igainalotbyit,ofcourse,butIlosealot,artisticallyspeaking.""Howdidyoufirstcomeintocontactwiththejudges,then?"askedK.,hewantedfirsttogainthepainter’strustbeforehetookhimintohisservice."Thatwasveryeasy,"saidthepainter,"Iinheritedthesecontacts.Myfatherwascourtpainterbeforeme.It’sapositionthat’salwaysinherited.Theycan’tusenewpeopleforit,therulesgoverninghowthevariousgradesofofficialsarepaintedaresomanyandvaried,and,aboveall,sosecretthatno-oneoutsideofcertainfamiliesevenknowsthem.Inthedrawerthere,forinstance,I’vegotmyfather’snotes,whichIdon’tshowtoanyone.Butyou’reonlyabletopaintjudgesifyouknowwhattheysay.Although,evenifIlostthemno-onecouldeverdisputemypositionbecauseofalltherulesIjustcarryroundinmyhead.Allthejudgeswanttobepaintedliketheold,greatjudgeswere,andI’mtheonlyonewhocandothat.""Youaretobeenvied,"saidK.,thinkingofhispositionatthebank."Yourpositionisquiteunassailable,then?""Yes,quiteunassailable,"saidthepainter,andheraisedhisshouldersinpride."That’showIcanevenaffordtohelpsomepoormanfacingtrialnowandthen.""Andhowdoyoudothat?"askedK.,asifthepainterhadnotjustdescribedhimasapoorman.