Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-16

assure YOU it will repay the listening
They. Lamoine and his friend, were
staadinss before a recently-hung can
vas. Il was an Unannounced exhibit,
and had attracted great attention, es-
pec.aiiY from those best qualified to
judge.
Though not as competent as
yourself. old fellow" continued Whar-
ton. q DO not fail to appreciate the
technique, the tendr6SSe Of the handling,
the breadt. and depth Of feeling dis
played, the minGteness Of detail, the
rare mixing nd laying on Of color, rs
it were. with brush guided by the
spiritua, rather than the merely pnysi-
cal, by a refined and gifted human
soul
You are enthusiastic.
WHO :, ouId not be with such'd gem
before his eyes"
So it aas. The representation was
Of u little beud in some tranquil
stream, framed in by hills denseIy COW
erred with evergreens.
Al intervals upon the banks were
clumps Of trailing willows and dark
green a.ders.
Floating upon the surface Of water
so Gear that one could count the peb-
bios beneath, were broad lily pads,
above which rose recdv sedge.
the sky was mass Of drifting
vLiria1 clouds, with the full moon
yiru s1t.ug through their ragged ed yes,
and casting down weird, uncertain,
gha-tIv ll4at.
Yet these things alone would not
have accounted for the deep interest
excited, and Wharton was about to
give utterance TO his thoughts when
his companion touched his arm and
continued:
s.Ihs Is no place for what have to
tell. Come home with me- mean to
my studio-aud l Will tell the story as
| know it.
The studio" not the regulation
one in some high, dismal, out-of-the-
way building, but cosy attic in a pri-
vate dwelling, reached and cigars
lighted, Lamoiue resumed:
The painting you have so much
praised was not the result of poetic
fancy or ideal dreaming, but Il terrible
actuality that, of course, came to an
already skilled artist.
Without doubt" answered Whar-
ton, ''for none other could have felt
to the innermost core of his heart
what has been 50 magically pictured.
But 20 on.
For tie sake Of intelligent un-
Outstanding let me assume his in
dividuality, and speak of the cir
cumstances as if they had actually Oe-
CURED to myself.
.'As YOU please" agreed Wharton
iaughin@ly, for he remembered that
his friend had once Ia bored under the
delusion that he was destined to be-
come Il great actor.
That no one not already an artist
could have executed such. picture
YOU have conceded, and I am firm in
the believe that they, like poets, are
born, not made. Promising this and
that such souls-word and brush
painters-are particularly influenced
by the beauty and goodness of
wom,.n, l proceed. THAT is the one
representa- my journeying met
and fell in loye-I use the customary
senseless term-with Il beautiful girl,
entirely filing my widest ima@inn@s
and lon@in@s, artistic and spiritual"
Describe her, please.
far as it is possible for brush and tint to
do it; yet it gives but faint idea Of
the glory of the hair. fine, soft, and
Outshining pure gold; the blue eyes;
the soul that spoke through the car
mine lips"
And the physical beauty is given
in the pictuve?"
''TrUthfuIly, not idealsed, and next
to matchless.
You say this after seeing all che
famous statues of the world?"
Il do, and with my hand upon my
heart. You knowing the intensity of
feeling in Il poetic artist soul, can
well understand the warmth of his
wooing. In early summer they met,
and before it had changed to the chill
of autumn they were engaged, and, by
some strange decree of fate, upon the
very spot now made familiar to you
by means of the picture"
GU believe in fate, Lamoine?"
= believe" with one of the peculiar
smiles that cause chill and dread
rather than pleasure, ''in some mys-
FERROUS power that controls human
actions more than is generally be-
lieved. What it is l do ret undertake
to assert. Wait until [ have finished
and then draw your own conclusions.
go on, answered Wharton hoarSe-
", for the mysterious words and man
ner of his friend impressed him deep
ly.
There was no opposition to the en-
gagement-no known reason why
they should not be married-and life
with them flowed on as smoothly as
the waters of the little stream"
"A placid existence, indeed"
es, and yet to be broken by q ter
rible storm. No, not as YOU imagine;
but by sickness. Perchance there was
no one to blame but myself. / am
speaking, YOU will remember, rs if the
interested party. Such a delicate and
highly sensitive organization as that
of Ethel ScOtt-her naNe? yes-coulG
not resist what hardy manhood could.
Wandering in the night air and by the
water resulted in fever. in phrenites.
And you-the lover, | mean-must
have suffered beyond the power of de-
scription," remarked his friend in low
and sympathetic tones.
No; and here commences the
strange and mysterious, though strict
ly true, events that give the story its
deepest interest"
Wharton shifted in his seat uneasily,
rested his arm upon table, his head
upon his hand, and shaded his eyes as
his friend continued:
Business called the lover of Ethel
to the distant city. The evening be-
fore his departure they had wandered