The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-02-05


slowly should starve."
j Victor laughed softly. "Fame is
better than money"
And life is better than fame"
And then Victor threw his brush
THE sun is setting" he said; :" let us
go out upon the bay for inspiration"
And Nina followed. nothing loath
How cool and sweet the hour was out
there, with sails blowing out like wings
of white gulls in the ofing, and pleas.
ure boats lettering or speeding by.
How gayly the sun smote the city's
spires, and changed the windows OF
dingy warehouses on the wharves into
! precious stones like those of Aladdin's
palacei How much pleasanter all this
was than sitting at home, in dark
alley, over her artificial flowers, trying
to embody her fancies in satin and
| velvetl
Victor walked to the dark alley in the
dusk with Nina, and thought ofzthe
white lilies that grew into perfect
beauty and sweetness, though rooted in
mould and slime. s1 ,sssF6l faisa7 s'i
So the friendship grew between Vic
tor and Nina-Nina, the poor little
fowef-maker, the last of her race, and
Victor Blumenthal, the artist and mil
lioEaire-and the picture grew apace.
Somehow, he dared not finish it, lest
Nina should feel her debt paid and es-
cape him. s St ?,
5 "Oh, what is that beautiful thing ?'
she asked one day, as he trilled fam
iliar air, while spreading his palette.
I" Did you make it up yourselfP-her
face all agloW.T n z THE
"It is an naair from an opera," laughed
Victor-.tf from u Trouatore. The honor
of making it up belongs to one Verdi.
Have youneVer heard an'operafI
"Never."
"Ehen you shall hear one tonight.
Hold! II Trovdtore is on the bill for this
blessed night. What a coincidence"
And SO when the city lamps were trying
trembling hand within his own, and
they became q part Of the gay and FASH
ionable world inside the theater. And
what world it was, with all the glitter
of lights and beautiful faces, the SHIN
mer of silk and Jewels. the odor Of musk
and sandalwood, and the kind handsome
face OF Victor Blumenthal shining upon
heri How the tenor sang out, sweet
SCARED what depths the bass exploredi
what pathos, what SORROW, what delight
swelled and ebbed with the chords I
Did people really love and suffer and
despair and triumph like thisf Had
she lived through it all herself, some
where, somehow, that it seemed like an
echo of her own experiencef or was it
but a shadow of things to Gomez When
the curtain fell, Victor discovered tears
| in her eyes. Other people were laugh
ing around her, one tall gentleman al
most stopped to look under her hat as
he passed, bowed to her companion, and
would have Joined them had Blumen-
thai been less frigid. :" have seen that
gentleman before, said Nina; he
came with lady who was in hurry
foI some flowers I had promised. He
called her Stella"
"It was his cousin, Stella Grande-.
law,"' said Victor.
One day, Victor, who could no longer
| find pretext to continue the sittlngs,
put his picture on exhibition. All the
town was speaking of it before night.
ssSuch flesh tintsl Such expression
Such beautyP
" Yet it does not equal the original, !"
said Grandelaw. 2 ~ AZ -
"No," said Victor; pigment is
poor 1nakeshift for fire and spirit" .
At about this time he received news
that his only sister was seriously ill in
London. He was obliged to drop his
pencil and fly to her; without 80 much
as bidding Nina goodby; but he would
write and explain, he promised himself.
In the mean time, Grandelaw found oc-
casion to make friends with Nina. She
had happened into shop to purchase
materials for her work; she had laid her
pocketbook down for an instant, and
not till she had nearly reached the door
did she discover that she had taken up,
| not her own, but another's plethoric
! purse. At the same moment a strange
| hand detained her and she was accused
of theft. "This lady is friend of
mine," said Grandelaw, stepping for
ward to her rescue, having followed her
into the shop" she is friend of mine ~
and the accuser begged thousand par.
dons, and obsequiously bowed herself
out of sight. IT sz5} La4
After this, what could Nina do but
accept him at his own valuation? How
could she avoid meeting him in her
walks, and allowing him to accompany
her? How refuse admittance to one
who had befriended herr And he
knocked often, and watched her in her
pretty toll, and the intimacy pro-
/ gressed. Sometimes she opened her
door and showed beaming face, but
the smile would fade soon. At other
times he observed that she started
when footstep paused outside; she ex-
pected some one. answered absently,
/ listened to his batteries with far away
look in her soft eyes. One day Grande-
/ Law determined to probe the wound.
" Did you not sit to Victor Blumen-
thai for his Undine ?" he asked. 1t
was picture worth painting; he must
have had thousand sittings."
Not nearly SO many" sighed Nina.
Il should have been jealous, if had
been Mrs. Blumenthal." - t5..t
"Jealousp repeated Nina" Mrs.
Blumenthall His mother7"s 600.
!" His wife-Victors's wife"
:" His wifeI-Victor BlumenthaPE
wifew E@@ - - -
"Oh, then, perhaps you did not know
he was married P'D IT Z 9 II I
"HeInever spoke of it." La azs.g o..
because everybody knew it. Come
Miss Nina, don't look at me as if wa
to blame. Victor Blumenthal was mar
ried more than. two years ago to hi
cousin Theodore. If you doubt it ]
4 will find you the notice of his marriage
among my file of the Tribune. But O
course you have no interest in it. Wha
is it to you or meW - -r --r--r-
Nothing, nothing" she answered
"I do not doubt it." But she haC
grown very white, and her eyes shon
like wandering stars, and the needl
.trembled in her hand. S"Of course b.
: is married." she added, III a lighter tone
"only the idea never occurred to me be
fore--it took me unawares."