The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1877-03-01
st. Valentines Lottery.
In TtVO Drawings.
THE FIRST DRAWING.

Early days for sketching out of
doors. Mid February does not gener-
ally in our climate offer much tempt
alton to the lsndscspe-psihter to take
the field. But Frank Hilary was
young, strong, and enthusiastic, full
of determination, and ready to brave
all the vicissitude of the artists ca
reer, bad weather included.
But the weather was not bad on the
occasion when we first made his ac-
quaintSnee, as he sat quietly work.
ing at q water-color drawing of soma
grand pollard oaks-quite the con-
trary, to the sky and the temperature
on this present 14th of February, A.
d. 1870, was suggestive rather OF mid
summer. 1t was one Of those sudden
bursts Of Spring promise with which
we are sometimes favored, only, as it
would seem, to emphasize the rigors
Of the March and April that are to
follow.
The woods were alive with song,
the feathered choristeTs availing
themselves to the utmost, every
where, Of the encouragement the sun
was giving to their loYe-making.
True, the trees were bare, freezingiy
bare, with an uncanny skeleton-like
look about them, while the dense
masses of evergreen shrUbbery which
somehow had got itself mixed up with
the hrambles and soddened bracken
on the skirts Of the oak cOpse which
Hilary was sketching, brought into
strong relief, here and there, the
silvery boles and rugged gnarled
kvrTv zfN taa nha
ttmId crOcus and primrose peeped out
now and again from among the wei
tering heaps of last AutumDis russet
leaves, and even mAssed themselves
as unmistAksble patches OF color
along the ridge of broken gravelly
bank which, amphitbeatre-like, made
an uncOmmorly snug nook for the
painter.
1t was 8 singulsrIy sheltered and
seQuestered spot, and sIttiDg there so
quietly as he did, the very squirrels
came down from their trees, and the
rabbits from their burrows, to within
arms length Of him before they saw
him. 1t was altogether a paradise of
q place for painter, while the fine
foreground of gnarled timber, the
wide sJretch OF park, the peep of
blue distance, and the gabled roofs,
twisted chimneys, and ivy-clad tur-
rets Of CrOyston Tower made up a
subject which must have struck even
the most Indifferent.
Frank Hilary had found his way
hither from Hadenhsm, a house three
miles of, where he was staying while
painting the portrait Of 3 favorite
nhs1H Of cnuoran 6arChfar-c ~
Mr.. Hughes, the owner Of the place.
he had nearly completed it, and
would probably have returned to Lon
don without so much as catching q
glimpse Of CroystOn Towers, had not
the sudden illness OF the little girl
prevented her from sitting to him for
two or three days. But as the pic
turesque fame Of the neighboring old
mansion was proverbial, Hilary avail
ed himself Of the fine wssther aud his
unloOked-for leisure, to walk over
and possibly make q sketch of the
celebrated Tudor mansion.
He had approached to within q
quarter Of q mile of it by q patch
across the park when he suddenly
came upon the cak trees and the COM
position they made with the distant
view of the house. Hating within
the little amphitheatre of broken bank
where we find him sitting be exclaim-
ed "Whew! how hot it IS It's
ike June l can walk no further
this subject is good enough for me :"
and he went to work accordingly.
1t was about 10 A. NJ. when be first
opened bis camp-stool, and for two
hours he remained completely absorb
ed and undisturbed. Looking up at
last, toward the left, where the ever
green trended away in sort of wilder
ness until they reached the shrubbery
and gardens Of the mansion, what
was his surprise to see 8 young lady
sitting within come thirty yards Of
him, also sketching. Her profile was
toward him, and it ives very evident to
him, after few minutes contempla-
tion, that she, like the squirrels and
and rabbits, had come to these close
quarters quite unconscious of his
presence. Moreover, from the gen.
eraI lay of the land, the bank, and
the shrubs, bis ambush was pretty
nearly complete. He had q perfect
view of her, but unless she were to
advance few PAGES, and then look
straight back into his little amphith-
eatre, she probably could not sea him
at all. She made . striking figure,
one not likely TO be overlooked by an
artist.
"How charmingIy she comes thereI"
said Frank to himself. "By Jove, I
must maze q line or two OF her.
What luck why, IL one had wanted
figure to fit, here it is-color perfect,
form exquisite I''
With rapid strokes the skilled hand
soon produced an unmistakable pre-
sentiment, slight at first, but growing
by degrees into a vivid reproduction.
The soft woolen dress of q lovely
olive-gray green, with collar and cuffs
OF dark fur, contrasted well with the
rich golden twists Of hair kept natti-