Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-04-14
50 in Advance

1t. Little Benjamin concealed his
picture, but the mother found IT,
recognized the likeness, and LOOKING
upon the little artist with admira.
tion, she quickly disspelled his fears
by drawing him fondly to her and
giving him the seal Of appreciation,
a mothers loving kiss, And that
was the kiss that West said 'smade
him a painter" From that moment
to the day of her death there was
the closest sympathy between moth
er and son. She was his daily con
ndant. In every thing he sought
her approval. He began immedi-
ately to improve his talent. AIIbis
leisure was spent in drawing. And
TINS youthful artist is forcible IL
Ilstration of the adage, HWhere
there's viii there's Wav..''---r
He procured red and yellow inks
of the Indians, his mothers seblneinq-
bag supplied hlm with blue andrt6e
family cat supplied him for a while
with brushes. ..,...f
We have not SPACE. to trace his re-
markable life, step by step, put we
find that the kiss which had estab-
hshed the career of the artist. was
bat one Of many like tokens of SYM
pathy and encouragement that he
received from his mother, and dur
ing those youthful years when her
loving companienship was helping
him throaghIstraits and almost in
surmountable barriers, he also re-
ceived the ''depoht domestic educa-
tlon that marked his character
through life, and made his Christian
record so beautiful and unblemished.
so free from the pride and AFRO
gance that has marred the lives of
SO many great men," His benevo-
lent heart had no room for jealousy,
and his serene, though brilliant life
was a 'sliving epistle" of sspatience
made perfect" The mother. who
had in great measure inssilled in
him these virtues, was never pufed
up with foolish vanity for the tai
ents of her son. But she was, quiok
to discern merit, and from the first,
Notwithstanding the tenets of her
sect, she was firm in the belief that
the gifts of her boy had been deTine-
ly bestowed. The father came to
be of the same mind, and finally, the
Society gave their sanction, and
young West, at the age of sixteen,
received their public blessings and
went to Philadelphia to pursue his
studies. But he was suddenly sum-
mOned home to the bedside of his
dying mother. He was Just in time
to see her eyes light up at his COM
ing, and to receive her dying bless
ing. ,T
What a living blessing she had
been to him. Wherever he went
he was to carry her memory. Who
ever was to admire and love him,
was to learn that it was his mothers
seal on his work that had made him
great. All, precious seal, mothers
kissl Would that more boys had
mothers like Sarah West. Men of
true greatness would then be the
rule instead of the exception,
Ere the young artist bad reached
his twenty-second birthday be was in
Rome studying the masterpieces of
the world; and he had hardly passed
his twenty-ffth year when the doors
Of the palace of George III. opened
to him. It seems a great step, in
deed, from the boy with tiny brush
of cats hair, to the famous young
artist who was engaged to adorn the
walls of the kings palace: But
truth is stranger than fiction. And
we have IN this connection an inter-
esting incident for these times.
Professor Morse relates as fact,
received by him from the great
painter himself, that when the news
of the Declaration of independence
reached George Ill, he was sitting
for his portrait to the young Ameri-
can Quaker. The storms of the Rev
olution did not interrupt the friend
ship that had begun between the
king and his favorite artist; aud
West continued in favor until he
reached an artists pinnacle of honor,
and was made President of the Row
al Academy. But mid the splen,
dOrs of the court, when the eompan-
ion of princes, and down to the win
ter of old age, he still exhibited his
veneration and love for his
mother, recalling her looks and ex-
pressions, and dwelling upon her
memory with a tenderness he never
sought to conceal.
lie lived past his fourscore year,
when, "with a eheerfulness uneclps-
ed, and soul serene as the setting
sun, he expired. All London was
astir at his death. He was followed
10 his last resting place by throng-
ng multitudes. Noblemen, ambaSsa-
iors and eminent members of the
ROYAL Academy were his pall-bear-
srs, and in St. Paul's Cathedral,
with the iliustrous dead of Great
Britain, was inferred the American,
''whom the king delighted to honor. "
Thus history viii tell the story OF
BENJAMIN West, who was born in 3
little Quaker meeting house, and
who scaled the heights of a we'll
earned fame, by the preeions ladder
Of mothers kiss.
But, not the little artists alone
need such help and sympathy, the
little onss growing up in every
iphere of life, the children in every
home, all need the encour-
.ging, quickening power of strong
owe, to help them grasp firmly the
Iteep ladder to success, and do "with
N their might, mind and strength, I"
he true work God has given them
% do. 4deOcate.
Il is said that figures won't he
but the figures of some women are
very deceptive, to say the least
Now and thea we come across 3
and contented old age, in
which those who possess il seem TO