Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-03-07
THE ROMANCE OF A STUDIO.

In the everyday WOTkluS WOTlu tueic
are hot sunshine and rattle of carriages,
the ceaseless tread of restless feet and
the confused Babel of thousand differ
ent sounds. But in the very throng of
it one can turn into long high hall,
climb wide dim stairway, and enter a
totally different place and atmosphere
that is Don Lepels studio.
Four easels are in the room, on each
an unfinished picture, and the whole air
of the place is that of still, thoughtful,
purposeful work. Lepel is a painter of
the modern school-industrious and
thoroughly respectable, with fashion
able visiting list, and good creditin the
Second National Bank.
I am sorry to admit that he is not
handsome. People expect beauty of ar
fists; but Lepel is short and rather stout,
and has other Deficiencies not worth par
ticular mention. Still, as he stands be-
fore his easel with his palette on his
thumb, calling upon his canvas face of
exquisite beauty, there is sense OF pow
er about this ordinary man which almost
ennobles him.
He has been working this warm June
day since early morning, and he Is salts
fed with himself. II will go to the
Park now" he says, approvingly; II
shall enjoy stroll, and perhaps l may
take pull up the lake.
That was Lepel's very sensible idea OF
recreation; and had quite tired himself
with the first part of his programme
when he came to little rustic seat un-
der somelpines near the upper boat-house.
There was girl sitting reading at one
end Of the bench, but she was very young
and very shabby, and he did not in the
least fear that she would Consider him
an intrusion.
At first he watched the boats, but grad
ually his companion attracted him. Her
form was faultless, and he found himself
dressing and posing Il in all the charac-
tiers which then occupied his pencil. Of
her face he could see nothing at all, for
there was little brown sun-shade be-
tween them. This was so far favorable
that it allowed him to take thumb-nail
sketch of her attitude, which was extreme
~ udluldl anu SloCClui, duu liz udu
scarcely done it when fortune played him
pleasant trick; the girl, IN attempting to
tear open leaf, let her sun-shade slip; 1t
tell to the ground, and Lepel stopped and
lifted it for her.
The next moment they stood face to
face, and Lepel exclaimed, in tones which
were strange mixture of pleasure and
annoyance, "Why, Bee! is it possible!''
Bee shrugged her shoulders and said,
petulantly, she supposed it was.
"And have been sitting beside you
twenty minutes and did not know YOU"
II knew you
"Why did you not speak!"
'sMy dress was so shabby-and my
shoes. I suppose you have grown rich"
"Do you suppose have grown a shob
also, Bee? Sit down; 1 want to talk to
you"
"Reallya"
Eyes, really. Where is your father
nowl'
''He died last summer"
"Poor child, what have. you been doing
sincel''
II can find nothing to do. During the
opera season l sang in the chorus, and 1
made my money last as long as possible.
But am very poor; you can see that"
''Bee, [ owed your father some money
for copying
"No, you did not, Mr.. Lepel. You
cannot offer me charity on that plea. But
II you know any way to get me wo.k, that
would be great kindness; if not, 1 must
live as the birds do, from crumb to crumb,
till winter comes"
Suppose you let me board you with
Slgnor Z. He would prepare you for
better engagement, and you could pay.
me from your first receipts-for your
fathers sake, Bee9'
"Why should you do this for fathers
sake? You were not friends; you had not
been to see US for four years. 1 heard
that you had rich patrons and had grown
proud"
''Well, Bee, will make yon another
offer. l want medel, say, from two to
four hours day. You will have to stand
IN very fatiguing postures, and I shall
perhaps get cross and unreasonable, and
forget you are Beatrice Erling; but I will
give you the highest terms, and paw YOU
every day as you earn the money"
What will you give met"
"Fifty cents an hour
''That will do. When shall 1 Gomez"
Tomorrow at ten o'clock"
The conversation had fallen into a
purely business tone, and after these ar
rangements, Lepel handed her his card,
and said rather cool good evening""
For now the thing was done, he was un-
certain as to its wisdom. In the first
place, he had offered Bee unusually high
terms; and in the second, he had vo,un-
tariiy connected himself again with a
class of artists, for whom he had no re-
spect nor sympathy. He knew that he
had been influenced by Bees beauty,
and that if she had been ugly or ill-fornl-
ed, his remembrance of her would not
have led him to any such active sympa-
thy.
st is bad plan" said the young man
to himself, "to analyze ones good deeds.