The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-11-11
The HEART AND Art.

STAND aside! Here! open that door! -
to the cabby who, seeing that an accident
had taken place, had driven over TO the
spot where poor Evelyn Gray (who had
been on her way TO the city to try and sell
her pictures) had been knocked down by a
furniture van and terribly shaken.
1t was Doctor Emerson who uttered the
above exclamation. He had come up
providentially in time to drag her from the
wheels of the vehicle, and he now assisted
her into the cab, and drec led the driver TO
drive toward her home.
The Doctor was struck with admiration
of her beauty. He delicately extracted
from her the circumstances under which
she and her mother were living.
Mother and l." she said, with a half
sad smile, "are quite alone in the world,
and quite dependent on each other. We
are poor, bat We have known none of the
real hardships of poverty yet; for when
poor papa died, a year ago, there was left
to us, after the settlement of his affairs,
sufficient money to support us for quite a
while in fact, until few weeks ago.
When the money was nearly gone, we be-
gan to look for some means of self sup
port. | suppose we ought to have thought
about that sooner; but my mother was Ill
for long time, and the grief OF our be-
reavement, tog Their with the sense of be-
wilderment that our great reverse of fort
une caused, made us really unable to real
i1e our position or provide for the future.
Now, however, we have commenced to look
the inevitable brave'y i'll the face, and
adapt our lives TO our altered fortunes.
Poor dear mamma has obta ned some nee
dlework-fne embroidery-and l-oh, my
hopes are great! l will show you what /
build them on"
And she opened the roll of water color
drawings.
Il always took the prize at school for this
sort of work" she said, with brighten ng
eye and heightened color, land afterward
friends used to praise and admire them SO
much. Many women have made excellent
hvings as artists. Why should not /? Are
you Judge of art, DR.. Emerson? Can you
tell me how much of real merit these paint
ings possess"
He could have done so, certa My. AL
though not himself an artist, in the practi-
cal sense, he possessed the cultivated art
t2stes, and had enjoyed such opportunities
OF education and travel as constituted lin
q judge and connoisseur. But he hest
lated, and shrank from answering quite
truly.
Her lot was such hard one and such a
lonely one, and she had rested so great Il
hope upon this poor, irail reedl Evidently
ii had shielded her thus far from tn It sick
ening self-disirust and doubt that makes
work seem so hard and hopeless.
"They are extremely pretty pictures" he
said, land / wish you the fullest success in
aisposing of them"
He took them to a shop next day (all but
one, which he hung up in his own ROOM,
and had n private conversation with the
proprietor, which resulted In the pictures
being left.
That evening Evelyn's eyes grew bright
over the two sovereisns he handed 10 her.
"A gentleman bought one" he SAID
~That one of the roses. / hope the others
will find admirers and purchasers soon,
since your heart is set upon 1t. But, Eve
iyn, there is no need for you to toll. l love
you. am not rich, but l can give you, at
least, secure and happy home and true
heart, dear child, that will have no dlarer
wish than to make you happy. Put these
thoughts of fame, these ambitious hopes so
hard TO realize, my darling-put them
eside for happiness and love. Say you
will try to give me heart for heart. Say
you will be my wife. EVELYN"
All, no! she would not listen. 1t was not
that his goodness had not touched her.
Even while he spoke so tenderly, the nat
urNl instincts of her own womanly soul
pleaded his cause, and she half suspected
Chat she loved him. and that, if she gave
her life into his guidance, he would lead
her TO happiness and peace.
But wild. ambitious dream Of fame
filled all her fancy, and seemed to her fool
ish untried he ri, more dear and more de-
sirs Ne than love.
Il have no wish to marry she sad,
hastily, shrinking back. "You have been
more than kind, and / hope you will not
think me ungra,eful if l refuse"
He stopped her.
Ell did not think of gratitude; / wanted
love-" he said "Unless you can give me
that would not marry you for the world,
Evelyn, much as / love YOU"
IL cannot. II do not love you" she
said, uneasily; and supposed that she was
speaking only truth.
And vet her heart---ske thought il was
her conscence-reproach her for the
sorrow in Paul's face. And, as she grew
strong and well. and needed his services
NO longer, she began TO miss those long
friendly visits of his, and long sometimes
for the earnest eyes and kindly smile of her
true friend.
He came no more. How could he, since,
professionally, he was no longer needed.
and as lover, he had been refusedl And
Evelyn, after bitter cry over her own
folly, set to work resolutely TO persuads
herself that she had done grand, heroic
thing-had sacrificed simple and patur Il
domestic ties and home happiness to the
sequiremenis of genius and ambition and
the hope of fame.
Il will become a celebrated woman she
thought, "and laugh at this folly of love.
There must be great merit in my work, when
one of the pictures was sold immed ately.
Why could he not be content 10 rem lin nv
friend, without thinking OF love or mar
riage?"
She went to the shop Ms soon as she was
able, and was delighted to find that another
drawing had been sold. Aud yot, though
6he proprietor consented to let her bring