Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-05-27

| ably poor. Some discrrctly offered to
help him, and were told. with polite
circr locutions. to mind their own
business. Others, who had perhaps
seen him make dinner OF dish of
broccoli and slice of dry bread, tried
in all sorts of underhand ways to make
him their beneficiary; but his sensitive
pride always detected such disguised
charities, and promptly repealed them.
In fact, he suffered so keenly from
these well-meant attempts to succor
him that his friends would have done
better II they had permitted him to
starve in peace and self-respect.
Apollonia, as / have intimated, had
no idea that Mr.. Block was having a
hand-to-hand fight with starvation.
She saw occasionally one of his etch-
ings in the illustrated papers, and
naturally supposed that etching was an
immensely profitable business. When
Mr. Block entered her parlor ut half
past eight in the evening, and made
her the most ceremonious of bows, her
old heart fluttcred and the tears often
came into her eyes ut the thought of
his staunch and loyal devotion. When,
at the end of an hours discreet and
undemonstrative conversation, he arose
to take his leave, he usually stopped to
kiss her hand, and remarked: "Miss
Schwinger, this day has brought us one
day nearer to our marriage"
| At these words Apollonia's foolish
old heart positively ran riot, and her
faded old cheeks exhibited coy little
virginia. blush.
"The dear good manr she would
say to herself, with sigh, as she seated
herself on the sofa after his departure.
And then, for some reason or other,
the tears ran silently, one by one, down
her cheeks. while the knitting needles
clicked nimbly, and the toe of the
stocking grew several inches too long,
and showed no signs of contracting.
1t was in the winter of 1879, think,
that Mr.. Breitkopf, wealthy manu-
facturer from Bcrne, made his appear
ance in the Roman colony. Mr.. Brett
kopf, il was rumored, had come to
Italy for the purpose of buying pictures
for his gallery. and the artists scram-
bled and fought for his acquaintance
like pack of wolves for fat sheep.
His courier made quite fortune
from artists fees, and even his dog was
/
Breitkopf, however, took his time be-
fore making his investment. He passed
by the works of the most distinguished
masters with a mere passing glance,
and expressed the most unorthodox
OPT lions about everybody and every
| thing. His taste, if he possessed any
such organ, was certainly eccentric;
and a certain obstinate and self-willed
| independence, characteristic of the
sclf-madc man, inclined him to sub
scribe to no opinion which he suspected
of being en- regie. After having passed
month in eXaspcrating the notabili-
ties of the artistic fraternity, Breitkopf
one day happened to see the name An
ton Block on the door of a rather
shabby studio. He inquired of his
courier who Anton Block was, and his
courier shrugged his shoulders, as much
| as to say he was nothing remarkable.
| This piqued the Manufacturers curios-
| ity. He knocked at the door and en-
| tered the studio. Within fifteen min
utes he had bought three pictures at
| five hundred dollars each. Here was
actually an artist whom no one had
though worth mentioning TO him, and
that an artist from Brrne, his own ma
| tive city. 1t was the blacklist envy, of
course, which had lcagucd the rascals
together in conspiracy to keep this
| great man from his notice. But he
would teach the couricr-bribcrs les
son; he would show them that he was
not to be duped. The more he thought
of it, the angricr he grew, and the an
grier he grew, the more he bought
Three more pictures were transferred
to his possession, and two checks, for
fifteen hundred and one thousand dol
lars, to Blocks pockct-book.
| Brietkopf was in ecstasy: he had dis
covered man of gcnius from Berne-a
man who, so to speak, knocked the spots
out of all his competitors. He talked
of nothing but Anton Block. All the
foreign correspondents, who had here
tofore studiously ignored the little man
from Berne, suddenly discovered what
a romantic character he was, and filled
columns upon columns with the story
of his poverty and his sudden good
fortune. Block himself, however, ac-
cepted the latter as nothing but his
due. He behaved with the most adj
mirablc dignity. The only piece of in
discretion he committed, under the
stimulus of pardonable clation, was
to kiss Apollonia on the forehead, in
stead of, as before, on the hand. But
Apollonia thought that was so marvel
Gus that she was scarcely surprised
at all when he followed it up with the
announcement that he was at last
in position to marry. The only
thing that troubled him Though he did
/ ~ 20 taN thn
mors about his former poverty and the
affront to his dignity implied in the
efforts of his meddlcsome friends to
help him. The newspapers, particu-
larry the French, made him furious,
and he was consumed with wild
desire to murder some of those ro-
mancing correspondents. His regard
for Apollonia, however, restrained his
wrath, and after some meditation, he
hit upon another plan, which had the
merit of being both ingenious and
effective. He sent out superbly en-
graved cards-all strictly CONNIE IL fdUt
Inviting everybody he knew to a
grand banquet at the Hotel Costanzi to
celebrate his engagement with Apol-
lonia Schwingcr. He gave the propri-
etor of the hotel carte blanche, and
only told him to get up something in
the best style he knew, regardless OF
expense.
1t was very grand assembly which
greeted Mr.. Block that night in the
; parlors Of the Costanzi. All his med.
dlesome friends and all his pet enemies
were thcre-Italian noblemen, French
and German attaches of legations,
artists of all grades of cmincncc and
obscurity, half dozen monsignori
ladies of lofty birth and gorgeous tot
lets, and ladies of lowly birth and
dowdy toilets-in fact, everybody who
had done kind or an unkind deed to
Mr.. Anton Block, during the thirty
! years of his residence in Rome, h,
had honorcd with IN invitation. HI
: felt as happy as King when he tool
, | HE cant with Aprllnpia nj tho haaH N