The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-09-01
ROSA BONIIEUR'S YOUTH:
IN A SEWING ESTABLISHMENT TO
BECOME A SEAMSTRESS.

An Unhappy Girl at School - Draw
Ing Caricatures OF tho Teachers-Copy-
Ing tho Works OF tho Old BIasters-The
Artist Mt IL.
I'm simple home in Paris could have been
seen in 1922 Raymond Bonheur and his little
family-Rosa, years old, Auguste, Isadoro
and Juliette. lie was n man of fine talent in
painting, but obliged to spend his time in CIV
ing drawing lessons to support his children.
His wife, Sophia, gave lessons on the piano,
going from house to house oil day long and
sometimes sewing half the night to earn
little moro for the necessities of life
Hard work and poverty soon bore its usual
fruit, and the tired young mother died in
lSsa The three eldest children went to board
with plain woman, "I4a Mere Catherine in
the Champs ElysecS, and the youngest was
placed with relatives. For two years the
good woman cared for tho children, sending
them to school, though sho was greatly,
troubled because Rosa persisted i'll playing in
the woods of the Bois dc Boulognc, gathering
her arms full Of daisies and nlariSolds, rather
than to I've shut UP in a schoolroom. II never
spent All hour of fine weather indoors during
the whole Of the two years." she has often
sail since tllosc days
Finally tho father married again and
brought tho children homo. The two boys
were placed in school and Mr.. Bonheur paid
their way by giving drawing lessons three
times a week in the institution If Rosa did
not love school, she must be taught something
useful, and she was accordingly placed in
sewing establishment to become seamstress.
The child hated sewing. ran the needle into
her fingers at every STITCH cried for the fresh
air and sunshine. and finally becoming paic
and siclly was taken back TO the Bonhcur
home. The anxious painter would try his
child once mors in school; so he arranged
that she should attend, with compensation
met in the same was rs for his boys Rosa
soon became 4 favorite with the girls at the
Fauborg St Antoine srhooi, especially be-
cause she could draw such witty caricatures
of the teachers, which she pasted against the
wall with bread chcwcd into tho consistency
pf putty. The teachers were not pleased,
but SO struck were they with the vigor and
originality Of the drawings that they carefully
sycservetl the sketches in an album.
AN UNHAPPY GIRL
Tho girl WAS far from happy. Naturally
sensitive, rs what poet or painter was ever
horn otherwise, she could not bear to wear
calico dress anl course shoes and eat with an
iron SPOON from n tin cup when the other
girls wore handsome dresses and had silver
mugs and spoons. She grew melancholy,
neglected. her b>oSs and finally became so i'll
that she was obliged to l,e taken home.
AMI NOW Raymond Bonhrur very wisely
decided not to make plans for his child for
n tin,a. but sec what was her natural ten
dcncy. 1t was we'll that he niatlc this dc
ciSion in time before she had been spoiled by
his well meant hut poor intentions. Left to
herself she constantly hung about her
fathers studio, Irow drawing, now modelling,
copying whatever she saw him do. She
seemed rercr 10 be tired, but sang at her
Woi..; al liiu day long.
Monsieur Bon,leur suddenly awokc to the
Tact that Iii; daughter had great talent He
lec;an to tcarh her carefully to mako her &C
vuratc III drawing and correct i'll perception
Then h" sent hcr to tho Louvre to copy tho
works Of the old masters Here she worked
with the greatest industry and enthusiasm,
not Observing anything that was going on
around her. Said the director of the Louvre,
III have never seen an example Of such appli-
cation anil such artlor for work"
One day an elderly English gentleman
stoppcl beside her easel and said: "Your copy,
my child, is superb, faultless, Persevcre rs
YOU have begun md prophcsy that you will
he q great artist How glad these few words
made her. She went homo thinking over to
herself the determine ion she had made in the
school when she ate with her iron spoon, that
sometime she would be as famous as her
schoolmates, and have some of the comforts
Of life.
COPYING THE OLD MASTERS.
Her copies of the old masters were soon
sold, and thcaash they brought small prices,
she gladly gave the money to her father, who
ncc,letl it now more than ever. His second
wife had two sons when he married her, and
now they had n third, Germaill and every
cent that Rosa could earn was needed to help
support seven children. "La Maniche," rs
they called the new mother, was an excellent
manager of the meager finances, and filled
her place well
Rosa was now II, loving landscape, his
torical and genre painting perhaps equally,
but happening to paint a goat she was so
pleased in the work that she determined to
make animal paintings specially. Having
no money to procure models, she must needs
make long walks into the country OH foot to
the farms She would take piece of bread
In her pocket and generally forget to cat it.
After working nll day she would come home
tired, often drenched with rain, and her shoes
covered with mud
She took other means to study animals In
the outskirts of Paris were great abattoirs or
slaughter pens Though the girl tcndcrly
loved animals and sbrnnk from the sight of
suffering, she forced herself to sec the killing
that she might know how to depict the death
agony on canvas. Though obliged to minglo
more or less with drovers and butchers no in
dignity was ever offered her As she sat on
Il bundle of hay with her tsfl,,rs about her
they would crowd around to look ut the pic
ture and regard her with honest pride. The
world soon learns whether a girl is in earnest
nbout her work and treats her accordingly
Sarah h. Bolton.
"PaIace Cars' Made for Racehorscs.
Most Of the big horscmen own their
own cars and transport their stables in
them. They are palace" cars finely made,
and fitted mp with stalls and every convent
ence. Ono of these cars will carry from
twelve to sixteen horses. The railroads