The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-18
TN THE LATIN QUARTER
tScribner's Magazine1

lOCatAlTe6 Salu HllOuk lleluselVsS. IUol dila
alone and In bad health. A queer fellow
Having made this reply to those who ques-
toned them, they were In the habit Of dis
missing the subject lightly After all 1t was
nothing to them, since he had never joined
their circle.
They were gay, good natured lot and
made point Of regarding life as airily as
possible and taking each day as It came with
fantastic good cheer The house which
stood In one Of the shabbiest corners OF the
Latin auarter--was full of them from floor to
garret -artists, students, models, French,
English, Americans, living oil of them merrily,
BY no means the most regular Of lives.
But the American. notwithstanding he had
been In the house for months, had never be-
come one OF them. He had been seen In the
early spring going Up the stairway to his
room, which was mere garrett on the sixth
story, and 1t had been expected among them
that In day or 80 he would present himself
for inspection. But this he did not do. and
when he encountered any of their number in
+ Hills out-goings or in.comings he returned
their greetings gently In imperfect French.
He spoke slowly and with difficulty, but there
was no GOODNESS In his voice or manners, and
vet none got much further than the greeting,
He was young fellow, scarcely Of middle
height, frail In figure, hollow-chested and
With gentle face and soft, deeply set, dark
eyes. That he worked hard and lived barely
It was easy enough to discover. Part Of each
day he spent In the various art galleries, and
after his return from these visits he was seen
no more Till the following morning.
Until the last ray Of light disappears ne is
Ut his easel" said O young student whom a
gay escapade had temporarily banished from
the fifth floor. II hear him move now and
then and cough. He has q villainous cough"
HE Is one of the enthusiasts" said anoth-
er. "One can read 1t Ia his face. What fools
they aTe--these enthusiastic They throw
&way life that a crown Of laurel may be laid
upon their collins"
In the summer some OF them managed to
leave Paris, and the rest had enough to do to
organize their little excursions and make the
best 81 the sunshine, shade and warmth. But
when those who had been away returned and
all settled down for the winter, they found
the sAmerican," as they called him, In his old
place. He had not been away at all; he had
worked as hard as ever through midsummer
heat and autumn rain; he was Trailer In fig
IRE. his clothes were more worn, his face WAS
thinner and his eyes were far too hollow and
bright. but he did not look either discouraged
pr unhappy \, -.
cierge dramatically. "The good God knows!
HE eats nothing, he has no lire he wears the
clothing Of midsummer-he paints
palnts-he paints Perhaps that is enough
for him. It would not be for me-"
n AT this time-just as the winter entered
with bleak winds and rains and falls of
gowdefy snow-there presented herself
among them an arrival whose appearances
created n sensation,
One night on his way up stairs the Ameri
can found himself confronted on the fourth
fioor by d Hood u light streaming through
the open door or n before unoccupied room
It was q small room. meagerly furnished, but
there was a fire In it and half dozen people
who laughed and talked at the tops OF their
voices. Five of them were men he had
seen before artists who had lived In the
houSe--but the sixth was woman he had
never seen and whose marvellous beauty held
him spell-bound where he stood.
She was woman Of twenty-five or three,
with an oval face whose fairness was the fall
ness OF ivory. She was dark eyed and low
browed. and as she leaned forward upon the
table and looked up at the man who spoke to
her, even the bright glow OF the lamp, which
burned directly before her face, showed no
flaw In either tint or outline.
"Why should we ask the reason OF your re-
turn" said the man. "Let us rejoice that
you are here
II will tell you the reason she answered,
without lowering her eyes y was tired
4 "A good reason" was the reply.
She pushed her chair back and stood up
right; her hair hung at her sides; the men
were all looking ut her; she smiled down at
them with irony.
! sWho among you wishes to paint me2" she
said. 81 am again at your service, and | am
not less handsome than / was
Then there arose among them q little rap
turous murmur, and somehow 1t broke the
spell which had rested upon the man outside.
He started, shtvered slightly and turned
away. He went up TO the bare GOODNESS OF
his own room and sat down, forgetting that it
was either cold or bare. Suddenly, as he had
looked at the woman's upturned face, a great
longing had seized upon him.
.I should like to paint you'll" he found
himself saying to the silence around him, III
j might paint you ~
He heard the next day who she was. The
concierge was ready enough to give him more
Information than he had asked.
'Mademoiselle Natalie. Monsieur means,
he said; "a handsome girl that a celebrated
model. They all know her. Her face has
been the foundation OF more than one great
picture There are not many like her. One
model had this beauty-another that-but
she, mon Dieu. she has all A great crea-
ture, Mademoiselle.'
Afterward, as the days went by, he found
that she sat often TO the other artists. Some
times he saw her as she went to their rooms
or came away: sometimes he caught u
and each time there stirred afresh within him
the longing he had felt at first. SO it came
about that one afternoon, as she came out Of
9 studio In which she had been giving a sit
ting, she found waiting outside for her the
thinly clad, trail figure Of the American. He
made an eager yet hesitant step forward, and
began TO speak awkSxatdly in French She
stopped him
we'll" =
Thank YOU he answered simply. "that Il
g great relief. My French il SO bad. | am
av.a W asS great favor from you, and am
SURE ..s, could not ask it well in French"
=. NJ. nag u the fayor2' she inquired, looking
~ MIN with some wonder |
az - was new type to her. with his ouiet
AZ h 49, ~ speech and his gentle manner.
moaeI h ae sssl Vat yoa were professional
Much to paint what-what see IN n n,i', very very
yan ast T Slshe e + from the first hour i saw
yon, Inc desire haunts me. But + .n na" |
ce eIy poor man; l have almost nothsn ~ =
came 70 p tae you de. what tie rest ". To-day
fune comes. a'e "aio aAeh uetter ior- |
She stnad Stsu = -