The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-05-31
TIE INVISIBLE PAINTER.

TIE INVISIBLE PAINTER.
One fine spring morning, a great
many years ago, i've or six young men
were assembled in a large painting
room in one of the great Spanish cities,
while grave, dark haired, rather sad
looking man, in a rich dress of purple
velvet, was going from picture to pict-
ure, and saying few words upon each,
to which his pupils listened very re-
spectfully.-And we'll they might; for
this man was himself one of the great
est painters living. and his name was
Esteban (Stephen) Murillo.
But it was plain, that the pupils had
not been working as well as usual that
day; for Murillo had great deal of
fault finding to do. One student had
painted an arm wrong; another had
spoiled the effect Of his sunset; third
had made bad fault in the shading of
his sky; and so on, and so on, till at last
the master lost patience altogether, and
cried angrily:
"Really, gentlemen, this is too bad!
You don't seem to remember anything
that tell you. If you can't do better
than this, that poor little monkey of a
Sebastian, yonder, has as good chance
| of becoming painter as any of you!"
The "poor little monkey was q
| Moorish lad of fourteen, one of Murillo's
| servants, who had to sweep out the
| painting room, grind the students col
ors for them, and do other jobs about
the house. His face flushed as he heard
his master speak so contemptuously of
him; but he said nothing, and the lect-
ure went on.
When the pupils came in the next
morning one or two of them noticed
that their pictures were not where they
had left them, and Manuel Suarez, q
little black-eyed fellow with a pretty
hot temper of his own, found his brushes
all smeared with paint, and flew into a
passion at once.
1.-The Zombi'' Ca mischievous fairy of
the "Robin Goodfellow' sort, supposed
to play tricks at night must have been
at work here!' shouted he, shaking his
fist; 81 cleaned these brushes myself
last night, and look at them now!'
"And he seems to have been at me,
too cried another, "for here's q
chilTs head on my canvas, which is
none of nay doingr'
WELL" yawned Jose Villavicemio,
the LATEST of the whole school, ''if it is
the Zombi wish he'd just put in the
face of my st. Catherine while he is
about it, for I'm sure | can't. Hollor'
Well might he cry ''holloW There
on his canvas, instead of the blurred,
unfinished head that he had left there
the night before, was a face so beauti
ful, so admirably painted, and yet sc
light and delicate, that the whole SIX
stared at it in silent establishment.
At that moment the door opened anC
in came Murillo.
"Ha, Villavicemior cried he, look.
ing from the picture to his lazy pupil
''this is better than | expected of uOur
"But it wasn't | who did it, master
more's the pityW
"Not YOU? Who was it, them"
CHATS just what none of us can tell
Senior Don Esteban; we found it here
when we came.
Hum, said Murillo. "NVell, we cal
talk of that again; let us go to worl
now
But, from that day forth, it reall,
seemed as if some mischievous fair,
hal taken Murillo's studio for his play
ground. Half-completed pictures wer,
finished no one knew how-lOose strip
of canvas were covered with admira
BILE portraits of the various pupils-an,
one morning there appeared on the wal
a capital likeness of Murillo, at whicl
the great master himself smiled approx
iugly. But all these paintings were s.
much better than anything which tn
students themselves could do, that the
were completely puzzled.
However, Murillo was not the man t
let such pranks be played upon him TO
nothing; and one evening he said to hi
class
Its time to put a stop to thes
tricks, gentlemen. Whoever this invis
ible painter may be, he's a man Xix
ourselves; and our best way is to com
an hour earlier tomorrow, and try
we cam catch him at work"
, And so they did, sure enough; fo
: when they came next morning, there
seated before one of the pictures, an
, so intent upon his work that heidi ne
even hear the door open, was the ''poo
: little monkey, Sebastiann'
1t would be hard to say which wa
, the more tOunded-Sebastian TO fin
himself caught, or Murillo and his pit
, pills to see who their fairy really was
"Who taught you to paint, boyg
asked Murillo at length.
"Gou, MASTER replied Sebastian
t;midly.