The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-10-02
THE MYSTERIOUS MODEL

But who he was, or where he came from
no one knew
He painted exquisite pictures, which
sold at sight.
We soon grew to love the blonde giant as
ole would asweetheart. He was so kindly
courteous, so truly gentleman. He sci
dom smiled, and his eyes, of deepest violet
held always woful expression in theiI
Depths.
That there was something strange about
him we realized from the first. At times
he was the life of the party, and anon
! plunged into gloom from which nothing
could arouse him. At such times he would
! lock himself in his studio, and no word OF
entreaty from any of us could call him
| forth till the fit passed.
After these long seclusions he would
come among US pale and enfeebled, and
with an undefinable something about him
which impressed us all, but to which none
! gave expression save the irrepressible Mar
! tineau.
"Ughl' he said one day with a SILVER;
! "you look as if you had been communing
with the dead" The handsome face of
Valette underwent a strange change as he
replied in his low, sweet voice:
Would comnuning with the dead leave
its imprint upon mans face"
"Unquestionably."
Valette sighed deeply and turned away.
In the course of che next six months
! there were to be three distinct art exhibit
tions, and nearly every occupant of the
quarter was engaged upon picture which
he fondly hoped would secure the prize, or
! at laoCt ha br1pn Y-r1Cbipur hout
for models, such grumbling and fault
finding you never heard of.
Valette, however, maintained his usual
quiet, and when questioned as to his sue
cess in model hunting assured US he had
secured one in every way satisfactory. Yet
my studio was squarely opposite his, and
watch as closely as l might | never caught
q glimpse of any model coming or going.
My own picture was a court scene, where
a young and lovely wife was pleading
for the life of her husband, who had been
sentenced to death. Everything was COM
pleted save the face of the pleader, and
was unable to find any model capable of
assuming the expression was DESTROYS of
securing.
One day while lounging in Valette's
room l incidentally mentioned my diff
Guilty. Lifting the lid of a great desk he
handed me a square of canvas.
will that be of any use?" was all he
said.
] uttered an involuntary cry of delight.
The picture was painted with mastery
skill and represented a woman kneeling,
with clasped hands and upturned face, at
the foot of wreath crowned cross.
But the woman's face made one give
small heed to the details of the picture.
Such agonized entreaty, such almost hope
less despair in the dark eyes; my own in
voluntarily filled with tears as gazed.
/ saw Valette was regarding me closely
as 1 raised my eyes from the picture and
caught the same look of hopeless sadness
in his own beautiful eyes ere he turned
them away.
"You are welcome to make use of the
face" and he began painting as if nothing
had happened.
After that we grew to be close friends.
Time sped on. One after another of our
set finished their pictures and sent them in
to the committees. Some were raised to
the seventh heaven by speedy acceptance,
while others were plunged into deepest
despair by rejection.
was one of the fortunate, and Valette
informed me that all three of his were
hung. He had not allowed me even to see
them, and l was curiously anxious for the
time to come when l could do so.
was early upon opening day, but as
examined picture after picture found
nothing to especially interest me until
heard little Martineau's voice exclaim:
Holy Maryl what a subjectw
I L L. o1a 70 cSI nd
as l saw what he was gazing upon l men
tally echoed his words
1t was a large picture of superb and
gorgeous coloring. The background was a
luxuriant growth of tropical verdure. To
the right the shining swells of the sea
rolled in upon a beach of shimmering
white sand. But the figure occupying the
foreground subortinated all these II was
the nearly nude form OF a superbly beauti-
full woman struggling in the folds of an
immense serpent.
One instantly comprehended the futility
of the effort she was making, but every
sinew IN ones body frightened in sympathy.
Both white hands clutched at the mon
ste-'s throat, and the loathing horror upon
her face told how fully she realized what
must be her doom. Two folds of the gleam-
ing body encircled her waist and limbs,
and the terrible head, with distended Jaws
and diamond bright eyes, gradually near
ing her face.
UGH Whatever possesses Nalette 70
paint such picture' II is so horribly re-
alistic." grumbled Martineau. See, Web
ster, the womans face and form have al
ready the hue Of the dead. F"
It was so, and | shivered as I had in gaz-
ing upon decaying corpse a few days be-
fore.
did not ask my friend how he knew
this was Nslette's picture. for there was
no mark upon it. As | cazed the convic-
tion grew upon me that it was, and as / at
length tore myself away re-echoed Mar
tineau's words, Whatever possessed Va
lette TO paint such horrible things
Returned every day TO gaze upon it, and
il indeed seemed as il decay had fastened
upon the rounded limbs and beautiful
fare. so perfectly was the hue Of death de-
picted.
1 said nothing to Valette upon the sub
jet, however. but waited with impotence
for the opening of the next months ex-
hihit
This time it did not need Msrtineau 70
point Out Valette's WORK. though a. be
fore there was no mark by which 10 iden-
tify il.
A wide stretch OF angry. tossing sea, eI-
tending on sill sides % 4 dull, sodden sky,
no living object visible. but IN the fore
ground the floating form OF woman. her
dead face. with half closed eyes, cleaning
chastity white through tina sG-ni-Glooun-