The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-05-07
LITTLE BEBEE.

CHicAGo OVEN VI WILSON. JR-
g. LITTLE BEBEE.
Or Two Little W OGDEN shoes-Thc
BeI-ian peasant & irl and the t1..e.,t
Parisiap Artist.
Sondesed from oada's Last rk.
Antoine Macs. IAN old man who ct his
ueagre living by thing the garden plot
about bis hut and selling flowers IN the city
,quares," going into Brussels For his da7s
trade, had seen gray bundle floasfng among
the water lilies ia the bit of water no-.7 his
nut, and had hooked it out u lana, and
found a year old child in it, left to drown,
no doubt but saved by the lilies. and laugh
- n.oeivny 1T rae. I'D \ atoIn2 TOOK Il
to HIS wife, and ,he wife, childless and
aged soul, begged leave to keep it, and the
two poor, lonely simple folks grew to care
for the homeless, motherless thing, and
they and the people about called it Bebee
Only BEIGE. The old people had died,
ard Debee was left alone while she was
still child She had still lived on by her
self in the LITTLE hat they had left her,
raised her flowers in the garden, trrfget
blossoms, led an inaocent and happy, tho
homely AM tolsome lie, doing little acts
CT kindness to all about her, and ''had
grown up straight and clean AMI fragrant
and joyous rs one of her own carnations"
nd SO she had come to her ,ytcenlt birth
day with the simplicity aud innocence Of
childhood sill on her face an in her heart.
Gong home on the evening Of her birthday
from the stall in the city where ste lad act
all day selling her flowers, Il Paris.aa,ar..st
F!amen by name, IeNnlFg over The b!4alcoay
sees the "little peasant g hy below with
two white feet in two wooden shoes, t.ui Il
and face tia; hid t,,e rars aud simpie
radence oil a flower" There Is my
Gretchen he thought to himself, and went
down AID follc wed her into the cathedral,
11'lf be could get what wa5 in her face, he
would get what Shelter could nos" when
Behse's prayer of thauksgiyin : to the saints
vas over, ard she had risen to 20, "a ;ian :
voice not far OF said, Have you a rose
bud left to sell me ~ 1t sas low and
sweet as became the sacrament chapel
And there the artist, the great painter, tie
man of the world spoke first to the little
peasant maiden Of Bribant, AMI made the
IL, T..
lace Of her life. The rosebud, are given
him, because the child will not take money
in church, and with all the artlessneSs of
OF her Unconscious nature ska tells the strang-
er of herself and her home, as she walks By
his side along the street The next dmy,
and often after, the artist comes To her
stall, often buys flowers, and sometimes sits
and paints near by sometimes, ut the
close Of day, walks with her toward hes
home. and then hy-and ky finds his wav
to her little hat garden aud ANTS therr
laying to catch upon his canvass, for hi
great picture OF Gretchen, The indeEnu,;e
light of BeLee's face
Ard so the story goes on, lCYe springiar
up in the heart of Bebee for this man, 50 un.
Ike airy she had seen before, ThJ seemed to
her to belong to u new world Of which she
pad only dreamed when she had stolen ntn
the galleries and gazed at the great Fia,urrs
s.To Bebee he was sacred. unapprnach
able, unqusstionahle he was Il wonder
Jul, perfect happiness, thar hal ftleE intn
her life he was a rift of Cod, as tie >un
wa-." Meanwhile, he paG..ern varinu,
s'u lies In various stages OF "A Gretchen,
+ni made love to Ee6ee made we Ly his
eyes ami voice at least, NOT hurryrug his
pleasant ask but towering about her rultlv.
and min itui not To sctre her. ~ the ,1aa
wiil gently lower his hands ever u poised
butterfly that he seeks to Kill. and which
one single movement, a thEught too quick,
may scare away to safety" Aud then when
his sketches are made and his ,laytIme
over he goes bac- &c E.ari,, ami Rrh.e *
jeff, ike the Gretchen 70. whom she had
been painted, to watch AMI wait with "a
tieat and vain long ing fer the fulfIlment Of
his wretehed, meaningless promise 10 re
turn before the winter, only. unlike lie
Gretchen, >be was left with n. sim. If
shame, and n" sinful remembrance to euil
the purity of her seul or even o, her
thoughts for something that WIS halt
weak, half noble moved hic. not L lead
this child in her trust and isr,ugarae into
ways that Ubeu she a~k,ucd IRON Ati
france would seem t. her shameful ana
full OF sorrow. For tie knew THAT Behe,
was not as Others are That he Spare,
her AS he d.i, WAS new virtue Ia hilu-si
for when hr hardly knew whether L. fee
respect or ridicule,-any way It was "a y,r
tue" so lung a. he dill not seduce TIA,
body it se~med to bin that it would n"ve
matter how n UGH he slew tue suui,-'h
little, honest, happy, ru-e, frank soul, tha
amidst poverty 'an3 iIaFlships ~as Ike
robins song to The winters sun" III
long, cold, dreary winter that cau.e an
went, when Bebee worked al day at he
lace making aud at night pored ever tn
BOOKS That were % make her wise an
mote St for the lover Tor whom she ali
ed kith such Certain trust and hope -thj
is the most touching part of the story-th
and the long journey which she made c
foot, when she had seen il nesepap,
throw to her by a girl in town. that 1t
artist Fiamen, whose Gretchen vas 4
wonder of the salon Of the year, lay etc
unto death in his rooms in Paris" Tweut
ailss day fo- seventeen days the bray
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