St. Landry democrat., 1881-10-01
THE WEDDING MARCH.
An Artists story.

An Artists Story.
mo. SPA Wedding March. -
Such was the number and name of a
picture in the Academy of certain
year which shall, for polite and per-
sonal reasons, be left undesignated.
The picture was one of nv painting;
and l, Reginald Tracey, had been for
tunate enough to attain three very i'm
portant ends by its production First
ly, it was deemed excellent enough by
the Hanging Committee to be placed
on the line, and it faced you in very
prominent manneras you entered Room
No. V. Secondly, this prominent po-
sition secured for my picture large
share of attention which resulted in its
finding purchaser almost as soon as
the Exhibition doors opened. But
thirdly. it served the actual purpose for
which painted it, and which led me
to choose my subject. That purpose
involved Just the least bit of romance;
and although the clever critics praised
the picture, and even limited that Mr.
Tracey had been singularly fortunate
in his treatment of somewhat unusual
and difficult theme etc., not one Of
them SO much as guessed that it was a
picture with purpose. AS the sequel
may serve to show, that purpose sprang
from and ended in what / am pleased
to call nv little romance.
1t was charming day, that Oh which
went to northampton to sketch the
water-meadows, and to see my old
friend, DR.. James Brooke-Jim, gen
orally called him--who had settled as a
practitioner in that town. The whole
place was stepped in sunlight, and the
deep shadows cast by the old houses in
the narrow streets By the waterside re-
minded one of nothing SO much as the
5lackness of the shades in some old
Dutch town. where Rembrandt must
have learned the special art that bears
the impress of his genius to-day. The
old church OF Rockhamp ton is a fine bit
of Norman architecture. Rising archi-
tects declare that there are no purer
pillars of that style, or better preserved
arches, with their queer faces
squeezed into the corners thereof, and
which seems to impress the Rockhamp-
ton juveniles on Sundays quite as much
as the service. Passing through the
churchvard, | found myself at last at
the church. With little hope of finding
the door open lifted the latch, when
at once it yielded to my touch. As
passed within the green baize doors with
in the porch, l heard the sound of the
organ; so, stealing quietly into the CRATE
full shade and GOODNESS of the church
| ensconced myself in the biggest pew
| could find and listened How sooth-
ing was the effect of the music and sur
roundings on that glorious day! I,could
not see the player, who was concealed
by the curtains in front of the organ
loft, but intuitiyely I guessed it was
lady who played. I imagined that only
a woman's delicate touch could have
made that ''Kyrie'' speak in these
tones; and there was more genteness
than power in the ''Stabat Mater" into
which the player glided. Then I re-
member the wedding March, sue
ceeded; and, after half an hour private
hearing Of the masters, quietly slipped
out of church, once again into the glad
sunlight that played around the grave
stones, and made the world 80 lair to |
see. 5th alf3 .4"
After lunching at my hotel, the Red
Lion. went to see DR.. Jim. 1t APP
peared that the fair player OF the church |
was a Miss. Spalding. and the only
daughter of a well-to-do and retired |
merchant who had settled at Rock
hampton some eighteen months before;
and jim, found, had been paving his
addresses to the young lady. Her.
father had married for the second time
and had thus given Miss Spalding a
The old gentleman, as
Jim called him, was an easy going man.
kind-hearted in every way, generous to
a fault. and looked kindly enough on
DR.. Jim's suit. But as to Mrs. Spald-
ing, Jim pronounced a decidedly unfa-
vorable opinion. She was an ambitious,
and, as he expressed it, scheming wom-
an, who thought that Nelly should
look somewhat higher than DIR.
Brooke, of Rockampton-and that she
should at least marry money-with
which latter commodity Jim was, as
young doctor, of course, by no means
Without actually dis.