Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-04-30

thank you, and good night,' she mid
dryly.
as she oRendedP demanded the little man
puzzled.
"She is very silly said sister Anne, rather
tartly, as she poured a cup Of tea for him
Agnes went to her room, locked the door,
knelt beside the bed and burst into tears. A
prize given by a photographer was offered to
her competition She had dreamed Of fame
and artistic excellence. Instead Of the
mountain peak where she had longed to
plant her standard, the slough of the valley
of poverty was destined to engulf her. Oh,
the scorching tears of Encouragement and
humiliation which fell from her eyes! At
length she rose and lighted the gas jet in
order to again read the detested advertise
ment. Her room was cold and bare, par
taking of the characteristics Of a studio
rather than the abode Of a woman. In one
corner the iron bedstead was concealed by a
screen, with a tiny mirror suspended near it;
opposite, a stove reached with its rusty pipe
to a shelf holding several plaster busts. The
windows opened on a glass covered piazza, the
sanctuary of the easel. Here the artist INDUCED
in r%everies, or wrought with pencil and
brush, forgetful of all else, and oblivious of
the vicinity Of a laundress, who employed
the next gl~ass-covered piazza for the purpose
of drying linen-a practical industry, which
brought in far more satisfactory returns, in
payment, than did the color box of Agnes
Clement. The latter sought the. spot now,
and seated herself IN the sole chair it
boosted, mechanically. A large canvas was
propped against the wall, representing a life
size Beatrice in Paradise" reckoning to a
shadowy Dante. Agnes had concentrated
the labor, ambition and hopes Of a years APP
plication in this bold attempt, had entered
the lists v~aliantly for exhibition in the Ma
tional Academy of Design and suffered the
cruel blow of rejection. Beyond was an
"Ophelia" with yellow hair, who had shared
a similar fate the previous year. These
lovely heroines languished in the obscurity
Of the glass piazza without ever having met
the approving smile Of an appreciative
public. Oh, the cold selfshness of the world,
and the wilful blindness Of hanging COM
mittees and art critics! For the first time
Agnes found the smile of Beatrice insipid and
her gaze vacant. A doubt chilled her heart.
Luckily she turned the picture to the WALL
and so6ght the easement, gazing forth into
the night rather than longer contemplate her
own work.
The piazza, located in the rear of the noisy
avenue, overlooked the houses Of the next
street. These residences were aristocratic in
proportion as their neighbors were humble.
A high brick wall, bordered by a vine Of
w~istaria, inclosed stable and garden of tho
mansion opposite, while brilliant lights With
in revealed a conservatory to the observer.
The light came through curtains of silk and
lace in q more remote drawing room, where
the chandelier was visible, like a great golden
cone, and slanted across the conservatory,
resting here ON a frond of quivering ferns
and there on a mass of gorgeous blossoms.
At the same time the ripping melody of a
piano, touched by a skillful hand, reached the
ear of this lonely spectator, who looked down
on all this luxury, gayety and life, not so
much with a sting of envy as a crushing,
overwhelming sense of personal failure.
The night was clear, stars sparkled in the
sky above, and the radiance of a full moon
began to illuminate the city roofs.
A girl entered the conservatory, ap-
preached a sash and opened it, leaning out to
discover the moon. She wore a pink dress,
with soft white lace on neck and arms; a
jewel flashed in her hair. Turning aside
from the window her sleeve caught in the
branch of a Towering plant. She overturned
it and it fell outside the window with a crash
of broken pottery. The girl uttered q little
cry Of dismay, glanced down on the wreck
she had occasioned a moment, then withdrew
her head and closed the sash. The plant, an
offshoot of the conservatory wealth of bloom
and fragrance, remained on the ledge where
it had fallen.
Now the silk curtains separated, and a gen.
tleman Joined her. He was a tall end slender
young man in evening dress, with a flower
n his button-hole.