Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1878-09-20

slgnor L.. lie would prepare You
iol : better engagement, and you could
pay Ia from your first receipts for
your tathNr's sake, Bee
" ny Shoeld you do this for fathers
sake lou were not friends; YOU had
not been to see lis for four wears. |
heard that YOU had r.,h patrons. and
had grown proud
- would like to help you Sec il YOU
would trust me-"
might trust You, but how could |
trust circumstances? Very likely they
would turn against me; and really /
should do you little credit could
never make " prima donna. perhaps
not even passable concert singer.
have learned that the world deSpises
mediocrity in art, and shall never cx-
eel | used to think was vastly clever
but to-day know am but very ord
mary girl.
Well, Bee. | will make You another
offer. ! want u model, say. from two
to four hours i day. You will
have to stand in very fatiguing pos
lures, and ! shall perhaps get cross and
unreasonable, and forget YOU are
Beatrice Erling; but | will give YOU the
highest terms, and pay you every day
rs You earn the money"
What will YOU give mc?"
Fifty cents an hour
That will do, When shall l come? ?"
Tomorrow at ten o'clock.
The conversation had fallen INTO Il
purely business tone, and after these ar
rangements. Lcpel handed her his card,
and said rather cool "good evening"
For now that the thing was done, he
was uncertain us to its wisdom. In the
first place, he had offered Bee unusual
~ high terms; and in the second, he
had voluntarily connected himsclfagain
with class of artists for whom he had
neither respect nor sympathy. He
knew that lie had been lnaaenand bv
Bees beauty, and that if she had been
ugly or Informed his remembrances of
her would not have led him to any such
active sympathy.
at is n bad PLAN said this young
man TO himself, ito malyze ones good
deeds | have not 4 bit Of sclf-com-
plaisanco in what | have done for Tom
Erling's daughter tonight, and | sup
pose now she will soon be great NUS
ancc to me.
This recontrc compelled him, even
against his inclination, to recall the gay
clover, idle fellow whom hc had SO long
forgotten. "What IN infinite genius
that man had?" he muttered; "there
was nothing he could not turn his pen
Gil to; and as for music, it was his nh,
tive tongue
But, for all that, Tom Erling had
been failure and Il broken promise.
lie worked irregularly, he never kept
his word, he fell into debt, borrowed
money, and by continual petty impo-
sitions slnned away his most faithful
friends And yet the man had some
excuses; for he had been set to tight
battle for which nature had provided
him with no weapons. Time! money!
obligationsl Tom knew the value of
none of these things. lie ought to
have lived III some sunny Italian city,
and to be cared for rs the ravens are.
Lepel had at first been charmed with
his easy coed humor, his song and wit,
and frec-handed generosity. But men
can't afford TO pay success and fame for
these pleasant things, and he had found
llllHAclI llIJtllCu " dlOp dll dCIu Iu'tlllt-
anceship which brought him nothing
but unreasonable claims and annoy
ances.
Beatrice had then been slipshod,
ill-cared-for girl Of twelve years old,
perfectly familiar with all her fathers
shiftless dlshonorable ways of raising
money. Scrambling breakfasts, disor-
derly dinners, alternate fasting and
feasting, was the girls domestic story.
She had picked up knowledge Of
reading and writing, and New York
had done the rest for her. In some
marvellous way she had acquired lady
like and rather reserved manners, and
the knowledge Of how to make the
most of the little clothing she was able
to procure.
But even among her fathers asso-
ciates she had no friends. These genial
good fellows had nothing to spare from
themselves. They all spoke pityingly Of
poor little Bee" but not one Of them
would have denied himself cigar for
her sake. When her father could no
longer protect her, she had even got TO
fear them, and To feel their notice of
her, III some way or another, an insult.
But Don Lepel's offer was a different
thing. She had thought it over after
lie had left her, recalled lis looks and
tones and felt satisfied You are
lucky little bench, she said, smiling,
and touching almost superstitiously the
rough wood, and feel as If good for
tune had been making me cal"
The next evening she was rather
more doubtful Of it. Lepel had bcen
very cool, and had made her fully earn
her fifty cents an hour. However, as
liz mnnks raasnd aMar tLinos grnM