Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1890-12-25
STORY OF A SEPARATION,
BY G. @. c. sourHMAypK.

1T - no use, must find pretty
blonde woman, and that at once" said
Jack, one dismal February morning as
we sat working in our studio.
He was at work upon summer scene
wherein two girls, essentially modern in
dress and style, sat idly chatting in the
shade of superb oak-tree, while the
sunlight fell in irregular blotches of
golden light through the canopy OF
waxen leaves upon hair and dress-sun.
light so real and beautiful as to make
ones heart ache with longing for Just
such days, as he listened to the steady
iat-a-tat-tat of the half sleet, half rain,
SO steadily falling upon the double sky
light.
One figure was already completed. A
bright, brown haired, brown-eyed WON
an, the pose of whose head, the very
fold OF whose dress, told of life and ami
nation. If those painted lips could only
open, one felt sure the dismal day would
beforgotten in the stream of gay and
witty words which would rush forth, so
naturally had Jack portrayed her But
then. Jack was in love with the original,
and had worked weeks and weeks.
changing bit here and bit there, until
nUS one line was needed to make it
perfect
And the, other figure was weird sight
indeed; fair, slight woman, languidly
lying back on wicker chair, her Golden
hair catching and rejecting the sunlight
in blaze Of glory; but there the beauty
ceased, for in the place of her face was
but the suggestion of features, and even
those suggested ghost woman more
than flesh and blood. Every detail of
the soft white dress was worked up to
perfection. The tip of the little high
heeled slipper peeping beneath the dress,
the Hly-like hands lying SO restfully
among the fluffy folds of the draperies
in her lap; the fan which has slipped
from those hands to the ground, all
standing out IN perfect completeness
from the canvas, while above it stared
that CHASTITY face for jacks model was
III, and without her he could go no
further.
II must have model, and cannot wait
Tor Louise" continued Jack, with a
groan. "and suppose shall be disgust
ed enough before can find one that will
do"
But grooming wouldn't help it, and we
set about getting model, and we had
some fun out of it after all. Such re-
markable people called in the character
of pretty blonde. Women large and
women small; women tall and women
short; women fat and women lean; wo-
men old and women young; women rich
and women poor; women dark and wo-
men light; women who came for bread
and women who came for larks; but
never, oh, never, pretty blonde At
last, when we had decided we must wait
for Louise, there came little woman
such little woman and she was, in
deed, the pretty blonde. Not only
pretty either, for so modest. so sweet, so
pure was She, that each morning she
walked into our dingy rooms it seemed
as if we were blessed by the lGesence of
an angel.
She sat for the vacant face, and came
regularly to the studio for many days
There she was each day, hours and
hours; so still, so fair, so silent that we
could almost believe her picture !;
never speaking unless spoken to, and
then only answering word or two in
that silvery voice so peculiarly her cwn.
We were devoured by curiosity as to
whom she was and why she came. So
evidently lady, SO richly and yet so
simply dressed, SO free from any spirit or
desire to flirt-what motive had she in
coming there to sit in silence day after
dayl
When Jack handed her her money on
the first day she colored almost purple in
her confusion, but took the bills and
quietly put them in her pursc-such an
expensive, silver-mounted purse, l no.
ticed; but, oh! so very empty. She gave
us no address, and never told us any
thing of herself, so we could only pos
sess our souls in patience; but observed
tina: Jack grew very sober over his work,
and thought constantly about this Ada,
as she told us n call her, when he was
not at work.
One fine morning who should come
into the studio but Miss Halliday, the
original of the other girl in the picture,
and her mother. Then trouble com
menccd, for Jacks very evident desire to
shield Miss Ada from any remarks that
might hurt her, to make her feel that he
considered her in the light of lady and
friend, did not please Miss Halliday,
who. OF course, noticed it at once. Then
Jack, poor, stupid Jack, relying upon
Miss Halliday's faith in his entire love
for her, made matters worse by calling
her one sice, and, after pointing out
Ada's beauty and sweetness asking her
to invite Ada to her home to cheer her
up bit. Invite au unknown girl with
nothing but her beauty to recommend
ner, particularly when the man she was
engaged to was half in love with the
unknown girl already Well, no; she
begged to be excused. Besides, why
hadn't he spoken Of this girl before dur
ing the days she had been sitting for
himi Oh, no--and she thought, nam
ma, it was time they left in order to be
nt home for luncheon. Good morning.
and they were gone Poor jack
But ne went back to his work and
painted steadily on. while Ada sat think
ing with little troubled uacker in her
forehead. II few days the picture was
done and the little lady left the studio.