Iron County register., 1882-04-13
ssLORD OF ALL"
A Love Story.

"LORD OF ALL"
A Love story.
= My dear fellow, I've found a para
disei "A perfect Eden without a serpent
In itin the shape of tourist or cad-an
artists paradise that, believe, hardly
any one knows of. 1T is called Penruth !;
it's a. little fishing village in Cornwall,
as / need not say. Such models, splen-
did set of people-such rocks-such a
sea! don't care twopence about food
and drink. 1 can't say they are Elysian,
but it doesn't matter. l get some fish
now and then, and beastly bread; but l
live on the beauty of nature. Come and
: do likewise"
In this rapturous strain Vincent Ran
dal wrote to his artist friends scattered
. about the world this glorious summer
please to date it at the last fine summer
which can be remembered-in search of
the picturesque. Vincent had found it
to his hearts content, and was reveling
in his untouched paradise of sea, sky
and rock. And it even had the last thing
needful-it had its Eve But before the
heroine of his idyl appears let me intro
duce you to Vincent Randall, artist, as
he chose to describe himself, though as
yet his income derived from art was
nothing, plus considerable balance the
wrong way in studio and other expenses;
nevertheless, you could not enrage him
more than by calling him ''amateur. {"
''If have the misfortune to be well off,
it isn't my fault" he would say, with
pathos. ''Don't degrade me by calling
me an amateur, unless you want me to
cut to pieces every canvas l have COW
ered." ..,..--..-- y,-.4
Vincent sat among the rocks painting,
or trying to paint, but mood of disgust
at his work had seized him, and he was
more inclined to shake his fist at his
canvas than 10 paint upon it. -
"What a fool one is to attempt any,
thing" he said to himself; s'why not
give it all up and simply take it IMP
like that bird up there-I'm sure he
enjoys it all more than / do" He got
up and stretched himself. He was
neither tall nor handsome; there was
nothing heroic in his appearance; he
was thin and meagre, his hair was
beginning to be more gray than brown,
but he looked every inch gentleman
and good fellow. As he stretched his
arms and stamped the pins and needles
out of his feet, he suddenly saw a girl
s sitting opposite him on a rock, looking
fxedly out to sea. Vincent perceived
that she was unaware OF his presence.
He kept perfectly still and watched her
it seemed to him he had never seen a
beautiful woman in his life before: all
. his old fancies faded; she was alone in
her beauty before his eyes; as for the
rest they were merely pretty; and Vim
cent despised prettiness. She was only
a peasant girl; her white cotton bonnet
lay on the rock beside her, she had a
common stuff dress on, but she was
simply and perfectly beautiful, the eve
of a picture such as it is given to few to
take into their souls.
.rt'"M My last IDEAL" Vincent thought to
himself, with a touch of self-scorn. elf
she came nearer to me, I should find her
like the rest of them-another illusion
gone" Yet he drank it in, and the
sweet idea sank into his foolish heart.
As he watched her, her face contracted
with an expression of acute pain; she
uttered short, sharp sound, neither
words nor cry, and stretched out her
clasped hands toward the sea. Then
she stood on her feet, hastily gathered
up what she had dropped, turned and
hurried away with the step of one who
neither thinks nor cares of where she
goes. In another moment Vincent's
eyes had lost their vision. 4gtatf -
He attempted no more painting. He
collected his paraphernalia and went
back to his home-for the time being
in the very primitive little inn, the Fish
erman's Rest, in the small hamlet of
Penruth. - -i't p ~ ''+
ssIf she lives here I'll find her out,
he thought, as he disposed his belong
rings in bis small quarters sand if find
her I'll know her. 1t will be my only
chance of salvation. 1 hope she is a
coarse, ignorant, peasant girl.
He, knew all the villagers by sight, and
most of them to speak to. They were a
rugged but kindly set, and they all
liked the ''little painting gentleman
especially the children, whom he chaffed
and petted, bestowing' endless half
pence on those who had the Ioveliest
ewes. His goddess was not among
them, but there were good many out
living cottages. Vincent made UP his
mind that be should find her in one of
these. And at last he Lit upon the one
which enshrined her. He saw an old
woman making nets at her door; and
though she was Wrinkled and grown
ugly with the sun and wind and the hard
work of years, he fancied he traced
likeness. and he stopped to talk to her.
He asked her questions at first about the
fishing and the storms, and then he en-
tered on more personal ground.
% &c Your husband goes out fishing, l
suppose, like the rest2" sHt.sri.s'
AZ have none. sir,'' the woman an
s*zz f5,ii .s alii oi ,i'ti-.a f- s.-ts'
81 ii p g