The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-04-17
DAN. FARTHINGS ONLY son.
A STORY IN TWOCHAPTERS.

"Ay, boooy. Pve maad ma dinner of
wus than that, many's the daay. But
ay amt come up to Lunnon to feed on
VOW. Vow come and ha'. yowr dinner
along ov me-"
After dinner Frank proposed that
they should 60 to the exhibition of the
Royal Academy, perhaps with some
latent thought that, seeing the splendors
on the walls, and the admiration they
excited, his father would think better Of
the profession of an artist.
"ExhibitionT' said the old man.
"Well, ay don't mind if a du. This is
an idle daay, you know, boooy."
Arrived at Trafalgar Square, Frank
led the way first to the National Gallery,
where he called his fathers attention to
'the Garvagh Rachael, then just pur-
chased, as he told him, for nine thousand
pounds.
Lord a mussey me, boooy? Vow
don't saay 50! What, that little mitel
Why, lor! you take ma breath AWAY,
Nine thousand pound for that little
thing? They must had mort of
money as give n"
Many a fashionable visitor at the
Royal Academy smiled at the rustic fig
ure of the big man of Horksmead, as he
accompanied his handsome son through
the rooms. Finding vacant seat, he
threw himself into it to collect his fac
ulties while Frank, with the ardor of a
devotee, tried to understand the mystery
of Millais's "Romans Leaving Britain"
The mingled blues and greens and rus
sets of the sea, the fierce passion of the
woman who is being bereft of her lord,
that union Of delicacy and strength
how did he attain them?
The father watched him with puz-
Gled expression. How was it possible
the boy could take more interest in these
things than in oats, and wheat, and bar
ley, and "turmuts," and keeping up the
old house at Horksmead. 1t was like
witchcraft to him. And yet, in the mel
lowed mood of mind that had come over
him, he wished that he could enter more
into his boys feelings; but there was in
the burly, rugged frame, and beneath
the stern manner, tender and affection
ate nature, the yearnings of which his
slow speech and scanty store Of words
were inadequate to utter, even if the
habits Of self-repression, fixed in him
from his earliest years, had been lesl
operative than they were.
Presently his thoughts strayed to othel
themes, and the sense of wonder begar
to give way to weariness. His son tool
him to look at this, that, or the othel
picture, and he complied with his wish
good-humoredly enough, but with evi
dent lack Of interest, constantly adding
"But we shall lose our seats, boooy
we must ha' good seats"
Even Frank, who usually read hi
fathers thoughts we'll, was puzzled by
this anxiety about the seats, until the
mystery was explained by his asking alb
ruptly:
"Aysaay, boooy, when's tn exhibition
gooin' to begin? We shall be too latte.
Exhibition, fatherT' said Frank
"Why this is the exhibition"
"What the menden, borw cried tn
man, starting mp. "Why, it's nutin' bu
pictersp ......
There was momentary flush of vexa
ton on Franks face, but it was rapid.
succeeded by laugh as he recognized tn,
width of the great gulf that had to b
bridged before they could have one com
mon thought about art, and for the res
of the day he spoke no more on th,
theme. He even accompanied his fathe
Ito Madame Tussaud's and, with imper
turbable good-humor, heard him institut,
comparisons between the gorgeous fig
ures there and the Garvagh Raphael
comparisons by no means in favor O.
Sanzio's Madonna.
Franks career, us we have seen, was
on the whole, a successful one; but h,
soon took the measure of his sown powers
and acknowledged to himself that h,
was no genius. He was deficient in i'm
agination; his range was very limited
But in a restricted field he attainec
something very like perfection, and h,
was fortunate enough to obtain plac,
at the Royal Academy exhibition with
picture that caught the public taste
Commissions came to him thickly; h,
was able to give up teaching, and devot
himself entirely to painting. He me
with generous encouragement from art
lists of assured position, prospered NOR
and more, aud presently took to himsel
n wife, the daughter of one Of his teach
ers who had discerned and cherished tn
capabilities OF the rustic aspirant t,
artistic honors. His good old father cam
up to see him once or twice year, ant
listened with ever-increasing bewilder
ment as he heard Of the prices his pic
lures realized. He thought the peopl
who gave one and even two hundred
pounds for them "hadn't got all thei
buttons" .......
"You dun't saay psboooyp he woul'
, exclaim; "but you wun't nivver sell on
for nine thousand pound, like that littl
'un in the show, will youw
"No, dad" Frank would answer witt
laugh. 81 don't think / shall. Blu
pictures are like wine; they improve b,
keeping, and l won't venture to say wha
these may sell for when they are mel
lowed bv ACE. But THEY'RE creeplpy ur