Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1850-07-25
s ELE I TALE .
THE PAINTERS MODEL.

of the palace of St. James, group of beauti-
full young women. The walls OF the room
were hung with rich damask, and ornamented
with beautifully wrought tapestry, on which
shone flowers of beauty, but of no Perfume
As the sunbeams stfeamed in softened radiance
through the windows, and danced upon the
damasked walls, and kissed the cheeks of the
maidens that were curtained with bright gilt
tering curls, the saloon appeared TO be mag
nifcent eorbeille filled with blossoms of the
rarest tints and fruits of the richest lustre.-
Each of these young women bent over tam
bouring frame, and with her silken thread and
needle and ninsble taper little fingers, made bo-
quets of beautifully blended toses, and tulips,
and rununcluses to grow on her silken web.
They were the maids of honor to the queen.
and light of heart and full of hope were they,
for merry glances, and cheerful words, and io-
cund laughter, burst from their eyes and lips
and hearts, until the very portraits of the grim
old kings and cardinals upon the walls seemed
10 be smitten with the infection of their glee,
anu W itoh upbil liiOuu WIN sullHN
One alone, by her age and gravity, invested
the beautiful and harmonious tableau, with a
touch of sombre shadow, and by her primness
and dignity preserved an idea of courtly man
ners amidst the natural flow of fresh emotion !;
it was the Lady ST. Albans, first of the DANES
of honor, and mistress of the robes. Among
those court!y flowers, however, SO beautiful
and fresh and young, there was one whose
sweet and placid features, whose looks so full
of modesty, and whose dress, 50 remarkable
for its simplicity, could not fail to attract and
interest the attention Her robe of black vel
vet fitted closely to her handsome form, and
opening in front, exposed an under-dress of
the richest white satin. On her neck was a
plated collerette of lawn, as pure and white as
drified snow. The sleeves of her upper robe
reached to her elbows, and then appeared arms
and hands which were models of sypmetrr and
beauty Round her neck and over her frane-
parent collerette lay chain Of gold. from
which hung suspended at her breast, cruci6x
of ebony. Her hair was braided on her brow
and its rich luxuriance was restrained by a
bandeau of velvet, while attached to the ban
deau behind, scarf of Mechlin lace fell in
graceful and elegant folds down her back
Mary Ruthven was from the north country
where wild, rugged mountains tower mp into
the sky, and where great lakes lie sleeping
amongst bleak wildernesses and dark forests
of fir. Her father possessed a considerable
tract of land and many fierce and sturdy re-
iainers, but his pedigree was longer than his
purse, and the emblazonry on his escutcheon
was more illustrious and plentiful than his
gold The maiden, in order To crafty the
pride of her father, had been sent from her ma
tive country of Scotland to the English court,
that she might acquire the tastes and elegan-
cies of courtly education, and bear herself as
became the daughter of a great lord when she
returned once more b, her ancestral halls
She had, however, yielded to duty, and the
demands of her conventional station more than
to inclination; her mind, naturally of reflec-
tive and grave character, had nursed itself, in
the comparative seclusion of her fathers house,
upon the phenomena of nature and the works
of art which adorned her home. Her heart
was gentle and tender as womaB's s might be,
and as she possessed in high degree the po-
etc temperament of her nation, that heart was
even more susceptible 10 the Influences OF beau
~ than if it had been only feminine. The
sublimties Of her native land had illuminated
her ideali,y with the brightness Of nature 5
glory, and the study Of those rescripts Of gen
ius which began 10 grace the walls Of her ma
tive home, from the pencils Of the great Flem-
ish masters, had inspired her with an ardent
love and fine taste for arr In painting she
discovered an iniinitude Of treasures upon
which TO feed her fancy and her love. In her
solitude sympaihies had been created by this
sublime art for both her sadness and her Joy
She saw tears and smiles bcaming from the
canvass, and in order TO multiply those silent
companions Of her lonely hours she had studied
most successfully TO initiate the models placed
before her. She had created an ideal world
for herself from the silent rescripis which Paul
yeronese. Guido and Rnbens had given her OF
the world of reality. The groups Of mute ye,
eloquent figures which had grown beneath the
pencils of these grand masters were her friends
and she felt warmly grateful in her heart to
the men whose genius had created for her, II
the mids, Of solitude, life full Of sympathle:
and placid Joys Her habits and manners
contrasted strongly with those of her young
companions, who had been accustomed to more
independence and liberty. Timid and gentle
in her disposition, she could only reply witt
mild looks or sparkling glances of the eye t'
the lively sallies and somewhat cruel jokes o.
those with whom she was constrained to asso
ciate.
Ten O'Clock sounded from the great Frenc /
clock which stood in the room, and immediate
" every lady suspended her employment, and
turned her eyes towards the door.
He is long in coming exclaimed several
voices at the same time and just as sundry
reasons were about to be hazarded regarding
the delay of the subject of their attention, TN
door of the room was thrown open, and tht
painter Vandyke was announced. At tha
word the tlnkllng sound of jewels and the rust
ling Of satin proceeded from the ladies, ant
then the odor of the musk and civet floatet
through the apartment, as if breeze of Wind
had passed over bed Of flowers. Each one
of them bent over her velvat t,hopro+ die