The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-03-22
MADE AND UNMADE HIM.
The Pathetic Story of a Young
Artists First Portrait.

still; she must have been very beautiful
u | suppose the queer old fellow at
her side is her husband. LOOKS for all
the world like Paul Pry."
That was what my nephew said to me
as her carriage turned into the park at
the Apsley house corner.
Beautiful" I replied; beautiful
doesn't express it; she was an angel.
She is an angel, a saint, and martyr, too.
Cad, how l loved that woman
ooh, of course, uncle" replied my
gracelcss nephew. Professionally, /
suppose?'
You see there isn't SO very much diff
ference in our ages, though / am his
uncle, and we are more like brothers
than uncle and nephew.
You know you are a very bad lot,
uncle" the boy went on. "You go on
loving EN-, till you put the last finishing
touch, and then you start another can
vas and begin to love somebody else. /
believe that's the secret of your success
as a portrait painter"
My nephew is always saying rude
things to me.
Jack" / said severely, "my success
is due entirely to perseverance and the
fact that Inever fatter." And then that
impudent nephew of mine blew out his
cheeks, got very rcd in the face and
nearly choked himself with laughter.
And then we sat down upon two of
the green chairs.
TELL us about her, boss" said Jack.
l have three pupils, including my
nephew; they all smoke short pipes in
my presence, and they all three call me
ssboss."
That's the Countess of Wallsend, I be-
gan. Fifteen years ago her husband, the
earl; Paul Pry, as you call him-and you
are not the first, Mr.. Jack, to call him
Paul P~ry-became a widower, and every
right minded young woman in society
duly set her cap at him. AT that time l
lived of the Tottenham Court road, and
! was madly in love with Lottie Vivian.
| was the third floor lodger. I just
earned a living then, and no more. 1t
was before l had learned to 1atter, Mr..
Jack. Her photograph struck me at
first. bought the photo-the photo of
Lottie Vivian, of the Portico theatre
and ! paid my half crown at the pit
door.
One night as I came out of the pit of
the Portico I found that it was raining
cats and dogs, but money was scarce
with me, and / walked home through
the rain, because / couldn't afford a cab.
just as | neared my own door a four
wheeler drew up at it, a lady paid the
driver, and then she opened the street
door with her latch key and disappeared
into the house. Great heavensl it was
Lottie Vivian herself, and Isstood in the
rain in open mouthed astonishment. In
a few moments the gas was turned up In
the first floor, and then it dawned upon
me at once
am not a curious man. knew that
an actress lived on the first floor, and
that a teacher of languages lived on the
second, but |, the third floor lodger, had
never troubled my head about them in
the least. / had never ever asked their
names. / went up to my rooms and
flung myself into my easy chair, and I
thought Of the strange fatality that the
woman | admired above all living wom-
en- should be actually dwelling nth me
under the same roof, and that we were
separated only by a single floor. But
though / was in love I had a certain
amount of common sense left, and / re-
membered that there was a great gulf
between Lottie Vivian, the popular act
ress, and the painter Of pot-boilers on the
third floor.
We are still cannibals, Groper and I,
and fast friends. It was from Groper,
by dint of pretending that / had never
heard all his old stories before, that l
ascertained the true history of Lottie
Vivian, Of the Portico Theatre.
"She was a pupil of old Jack Slider's-
most of the successful ones have been
pupila Of Slider's,' said Groper, sat
some time or other. It's strange thing"
he went on; ''she came out at the Port
leo, and she has had a constant engage
ment there aver since for the last eight
years. Every farthing she earns goes to
her f~anily-to her old father, who was
q big mar on the Stock Exchange once,
mind you" said Groper, 'and to a whole
family of little brothers and sisters, who
are entirely dependent upon her. She is
an ambitious girl, too" he added, .'and
they say she's going to marry Lord Wall
send"
"What! the mad millionairel' said 1.
"That's the man." said Grcper.
And then Groper began to abuse the
dinner, and / heard no more about Lot
tie Vivian from him.
/ went on paying my half crowns at
the Portico, and | got deeper and deeper
in love with my fellow lodger, and my
love interfered a good deal with my
work. Then it was that | got my FIRST
commission to paint a portrait. That
portrait made my fortune, and the paint
ing Of it nearly broke my heart.
It came about iii this way: I got a note
one day from Miss viyian-1 have it
still-requcsting ME to call upon her on
a little matter of business. l took a
good deal Of pains with my toilet, and
then I went down stairs and knocked at
the door Of my fellow ledger.
There a nothing fast about Miss
Vivian. She was very quietly dressed,
and she came to business at once.
"Mr. Stippler, she said, "youm excuse
my asking you to come here in this in