Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-08-09
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/ yesterday, has fetched them for you on the
/ chance of getting poseta for his palms,
| gladly assented, and we went together to
| the hotel. But no one there would confess &c
/ knowing anything Of my letter. No one had
/ gone for them. As we left the yard / noticed
that my companion looked kccnly at the
| waiter, who was not too civil. $40 you sus-
| pect him!o asked when we were outside
II hardly know Client answered slowly.
Possibly you mislaid card the night you
| slept there, so that he is ono Of the people to
be suspected But come, we will go now to
the postoffice. / will help you as far as can =
| And indeed he did. Ills knowledge Of the
language was perfect, and it was wonderful
to hear him scolding, questioning and com
planning, without end of the wrongs his
| influential friend, whose passport he was
waving under their official noses, had suf-
fered. But when presently everything had
been tried, and for the time tried fruitlessly,
we stood in the square and looked somewhat
| blankly at one another
II say, Mr.. Lynton," he began, ''fifty
pounds is large sum to lose"
II wish it We're less !" | replied, with an at
tempt at sprightliness.
ut does not cripple you altogether?"
81 can afford it, if that is what you mean.
But-but it is little inconvenent at pres
ent,n answered
1T puts you in difficulty for a few daysg'
Precisely. | cannot receive another re-
mittance for five days at least. In the mean
time | have six-yes, seven pesetas and a
halfn
"Umph! Call it six shillings and three
pence, he replied, laughing. "The cathedral
vergers win soon ease sou of it, even were it
more. Bu5 look herel we arc next door
neighbors, and you must let me help you In
a strange country always keep few pounds
by me; they are at your service
As lie spoke lie drew from an inner pocket
shabby letter case and took out 200 pesta
note4-the only note, / saw, that the case con-
tanned.
81 am afraid, said, doubtfully, ''that I
am mountaineering you. And besides, you
do not know me-
Il shall not need the money he replied,
quickly, land as to my knowing you, think
do--not you, personally, but your kind
''That is well saidlo / exclaimed with
heartiness, "and l accept your offer on one
condition-that if You want the money before
Sunday you will tell me So"
"Why, if ! do, he replied, laughing me1ri-
,
$50 shall, y said, laughing myself, "but
have a watch, and Toledo, no Doubt has a
let me call it Mont dc Pieten
''Cjertamente!n he cried gayly, and with a
word about meeting at dinner, walked rap
idly away, leaving me to my thoughts. |
watched him as he threaded his way across
the square between laden asses and graceful
girls with pitchers, and comparing his slight
upright form with the somber Spaniards who
strutted up and down, keeping, even on this
sunny day corner Of the capa over tho
mouth felt proud Of my countIyman
81 do not think, said penitently to jock
4 have not mentioned jock before, although
lie was at thai time my constant companion
a collie dog With the long Scotch head and
the tanderest eyes,, 81 do not think that ]
shall be 50 quick to judge the next man we
meet-and do NOS understand. All, these
hasty judgments, Jocs!" and / shook my
head, and Jock his tail.
In due course a second remittance came to
hand, and repaid my friend BY that time
some Of the wonder ! had felt at his solitary
life in Toledo-Toledo the somber - had
passed away He was not altogether solitary,
putting myself out of the question More
than once, in the archway or on the vcranda,
small, dark thin faced man with vivid eyes,
Spaniard, Of course, who lifted his low
crowned beaver to me and bowed politely
Once too, l had glimpse Of potticoat
whisking out Moreover, Client seemed to
be doing a better trade than / had judged
probable from the specimen Of his work
which | had seen. Not that he told me this
himself He was reserved on the subject,
neither offering to show me his pictures nor
accepting my proposal that we should do
some work together. But our letters some
times lay on slab inside the outer door, and
/ could not avoid seeing that he received sew
eral-dealers' letters, / was sure-from art
centers-from Dresden and Munich, for in
stance Once there was letter bearing the
postnark Of st. Petersburg. This seemed
strange in man of his caliber; in man who
was not known to me- And perhaps, be-
sides pulling me, it a little nettled me also
My name was not altogether unknown
Clent himself had said pretty things about
his acquaintance with it. Yet l had no con-
tinental patrons, no market outside Great
Britain.
If l had fallen in with him at Madrid or
Seville | should have known what to think;
| should have set him down as one of those
And something upon which / lit one day in
his room persuaded me for a time that this
was the case, few as were the works in
Toledo that could pay fer the labor of copy
ing. 1t Yves picture, and the only one
saw at any ti.he in his possession, save the
somber landscape of which have spoken.
had run short of chrome yellow, and
hearing him 90 to his room followed to
eli i'm, ha Of AT
suppose | cannot get any chrome yellow in
Toledo" | began before / was well in the
room, ''nor anywhere nearer than Madridg'
He was kneeling on the floor, but sprang
up so quickly at the sound of my voice that
FASTENED to apologize for entering with
out knocking. He did not seem, at once,
to understand me. He had been porting
over something placed on the ground where
1T would catch the best light, and his first
aim appeared TO be TO move so as to hide
this from me "What is itF he cried harshly.
what do you want" Even by that light I
could see that his face was pale.
My dear fellow / said, not trying to
hide my surprise, Il am sorry that entered
without ceremony, and / have told Won so.
came in for nothing in the world but to
ask you if any chrome yellow can be rot
nearer than Madrid | was so fun Of my
wants that, seeing the door was Unmatched, l
did not knock at it,"
WAS it unlatched,' he asked, CHANGING at
me askance
| shrugged my shoulders. look for YOUR
self, ] said curtly
He stepped forward and saw what had
already noticed-that the bolt was shot. but
not int, he socket Something like a stiled
curse aped him. He turned, muttering
that could only get the material needed
in Madrid.
"That is unfortunate But what have you
got req asked, advancing a step into the
room WHAT a capital bit Of painting! 1t
is Ribera, is it not! It must her' And,
forgetting in my cagerness everything save
that had before me a singularly good copy
Of a fine picture | actually waved him
aside when he would have interposed mo
one but Ribera,n | cried, stopping over it.
could paint those lights and shadowsl No
onel 1t is a genuine Spagnoletto for hun
dredln
1T is a copyln burst fir ON him in a tone Of
vivid contradiction
"A copy!n l repeated after him in wonder.
"a copyl OF course it is. SO 1 supposed.
Riberas do not grow on every BUSH my
friend. / meant that the original was a Ri
bera, and not merely Of his school. But now
you speak of it, and l went down on my
knees, "are you so sure that il is copys
How bright are these high lights, yet how
mellow And see the depth Of the coloring
here, and the tawny tone over ALL By
heavens" 1 said, rising and facing him
abruptly, sit is not a copy!n