The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-06-29
A PAINTED CR1cK an.
Gusteve Dors's Story of the Fowl and
the Verorese Green.

GuSteV6 Dore'6 story OF the FOWL and
the Verorese Green.
From the Cosmopolitan
or Guseve Dore's childhood the great
artist himself says:
81 had dabbled with water colors, which
regarded with some disdain, and ardently
longed for box of little tubes in white zinc
in order to squeeze real colors out OF them
At last as was going one day into JOS
serond, little commune In the department
Of the Ain, to pass week with friend of
my father, / received a famous little
oaken box bound with brass and
filed with tubes and brushes. l was
wild with Joy. / was for opening all the
tubes and beginning at once to cover my
palate with paints; but. alasl the carr age
was waiting, there was no time to be lost,
and We started of. l promised myself a
should arrive at my journeys end. The
drive, however, proved longer than ! had
anticipated. We arrived after nightfall.
Then came a prohibition to touch my box,
an order to go to bed. and-the lights were
put out All night long never
closed my eyes; and with the
first streak of dawn jumped out
of bed, seized my box and went down
stairs into the courtyard. Alasl there was
found. all bad been put safely away. was
dying to paint; it was a madness, an ire
sistible desire which could not get rid of.
** I began uncorking my tubes and
decorated my palette with several appetiz-
ing little clots of paint. The freshness, the
CLEAN, the CHEEKY look of those colors
caused delightful thrill of intoxication TO
run through my veins. Amongst
my colors there was beautiful green that
doffUhfad ms xwh lxy b,.
real Veroneso green in all its glory
"But how TO paint, and what? Whilst |
was putting this question again and ag ain
to myself my eyes fell upon a poor little
chicken, not bad in form, but with fear
fully dirty pseudo-white pIumage. y
1t seemed to me an error of the Creator to
have made a fowl so ugly in hue as this
one, when 1t would have been so easy to
have clad il In gorgeous dress-like that
of parrot, for instance. ! determined TO
lose no time In rectifying this fault of
nature.
"The chicken, however, raised some diff
culties Ia the way Of my projects execu-
tion. However. was tenacious
and finally gained my end. In very short
time she was as verdant as spinach, and all
my lovely Veronese green was used up.
But-what beautiful chickenlp
After contemplating for a time his brill
liant success. Gustave retired to his bed for
a nap. A few hours later he was awakened
by hearing cries and lamentations. Look
ing out of the window he saw large
gathering OF peasants in front Of the house,
and they were In great trouble. In their
midst was the painted chicken.
Presently it came into the boys mind that
be had learned q legend of that country in
which green chicken played a terrible
part; she was the herald of floods, disease
among cattle and pestilence among the
people. He ran to the master of the house
and humbly made full confession.
II assure you" says Dore, sit took my
fathers friend more than an hour to make
those simple people believe that this green
bird had not been sent by some evil spirit to
blight them. They only fully believed me
when they saw my palette and the well-nigh
emptied tube of Veronese green.