The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1886-09-17
ROSA B0NHEUR'S YOUTH.
IN A SEWING ESTABLISHMENT TO
BECOME A SEAMSTRcSS.

|
An Unhsppy Girl At school =. Draw.
Ing Caricatures Of tho Ts~chsrs-copy.
/ ing the Works Of the Old Mastsrs--rhe
Artist At ~.
In simple home in Paris could have been
seen in 1890 Raymond Bonheur and his little
family-Rosa, years old, Auguste, Isadore
and Juliettc. He was 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 all day long and
sometimes sewing half tho night to earn
little moro for the necessities Of life.
Hard work and poverty soon horc its usual
fruit, and the tired young mother died in
1893. Tho three eldest children went to board
with plain woman, LA Mere Catherine" in
the Champs Elysees, and the youngest was
placed with relatives. For two years the
good woman cared for the children, sending
them to school, though she was greatly
troubled because Rosa persisted in playing in
the woods of the Bots de Boulogne, gathering
her arms full of daisies and marigolds, rather
than to bo shut up in a schoolroom. II never
spent an hour Of fine weather indoors during
tho whole Of the two years." she has often
| said since those days.
Finally the father married again and
brought tho children home 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 sowing, ran the needle into
her fingers at every stitch, cried for the fresh
air and sunshine, and finally becoming pale
and sickly was taken back to the Bonheur
home. The anxious painter would try his
child once more in school; so he arranged
that she should attend, with compensation
met in the same was as for his boys. Rosa
soon became a favorite with the girls at the
Fau5org st. Antoine school, especially be-
cause she could draw such witty caricatures
of the teachers, which she pasted against the
wall with bread chewed into the consistency
of putty. The teachers were not pleased,
but so struck were they with the vigor and
originality of the drawings that they carefully
preserved the sketches in an album.
AN UNHAPPY GIRL.
The girl was far from happy. Naturally
sensitive, as what poet or painter was ever
born otherwise, sho could not bear to wear q
calico dress and course shoes and eat with an
iron spoon from a tin cup when the other
girls wore handsome dresses and had silver
mugs and spoons. She grew melancholy,
neglected her books and finally became SO ill
that she was obliged to be taken home.
And now Raymond Bonheur very wisely
decided not to make plans for his child for
a time. but see what was her natural ten
dency 1t was we'll that he made this de-
cision in time before she had been spoiled by
his well meant but poor intentions. Left to
herself she constantly hung about her
fathers studio, now drawing, now modelling,
copying whatever she saw him do. She
seemed never to be tired, but sang at her
work all the day long.
Monsieur Bonheur suddenly awoke to the
fact that his daughter had great talent He
began to teach her carefully to make her &C.
lcurate in drawing and correct in perception.
Then he sent her to the Louvre to copy the
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,
II have never seen an example of such appli-
cation and such ardor for work"
One day an elderly English gentleman
stopped beside her easel and said: "Your copy,
my child, is superb, faultless! Persevere as
you have begun and prophesy that you will
be great artist" How glad these few words
made her. She went home 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 though they brought small prices
she gladly gave the money to her father, who
needed it now more than ever His second
wife had two sons when he married her, and
now they had third, Germain, and every
cent that Rosa could earn was needed to help
support seven children. "La Mamiche," as |
they called the new mother, was an excellent
manager of the meager finances, and filed |
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 speciality. Having |
no money to procure models, she must needs |
make long walks into the country on foot to |
the farms She would take piece of bread
in her pocket and generally forget to eat it.
After working all 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 tenderly
loved animals and shrank from the sight of
,uffering, she forced herself to see the killing
that she might know how to depict the death
agony on canvas. Though obliged to mingle
more or less with drovers and butchers no in
dignity was ever offered her. As she sat on
a bundle of hay with her colors about her
they would crowd around to look at the pic
ture and regard her with honest pride The
world soon learns whether girl is in earnest
about her work and treats her accordingly.-
Sarah X. Bolton.
"Palace Cars" Made for Racehorses.
Most of the big horsemen own their
own cars and transport their stables in
them. They are palace cars, finely made,
and fitted up with stalls and every convent
ence One of these cars will carry from
twelve to sixteen horses The railroads
charge eight cents a mile fo. hauling the cars