Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-10

THE
this rate shouldn't get the other books 10
do. hurled myself in despair upon Miss
| Churn, aud I put her through all her PAGES
not only adopted oronts publicly e my
hero, but one morning when the Major
looked in to see if didn't require him te
finish q figure for the Chsapsids fol
1 told him that I had changed my mind-1
would do the drawing from my man. Al
this my visitor turned pale and stood look.
ing at me- rs he yeur idea Of an English
gentleman?" he asked
I was disappointed, was nervouA ]
wanted to get on with my work; 50 re-
piled. with irritation: ooh, my dear Ma.
jor--I can't be ruined for your
He stood another moment; then, without
a word, he quilted the studio. I drew q
| long breath when he was gone, for I said to
| myself that shouldn't see him again.
had not told him definitely that I was in
danger of having my work rejected. but
| was vexed at his not having felt the catas-
trophe in the air, read with me the moral ol
our fruitless collaboration, the lesson that,
in the deceptive atmosphere of art, even
| the highest responsibility may fail Of be-
| ing plastic.
didn't owe nv friends money, but I did
/ see them again. They reappeared together
three days later, and under the circum-
| stances there was something tragic in the
fact. 1t was proof to me that they could
find nothing else in life to do. They had
thrashed the matter out in dismal confer
ence-they had digested the bad news that
they were not in for the series. IT they
were not useful to me even tor the Caeapsids
fboir f,,,, of; fn Aota nino
and could only judge at first that they
had come, forgivingly, decorously, to take a
last leave. This made me rejoice in secret
that had little leisure for a scene; for
1 had placed both my other models in posi-
tion together, and was pegging away at q
drawing from which hoped to derive
glory. it had been suggested by the pas
sage in which Rutland Ramsay, drawing up
chair to Artemisia's piano stool, says
memorable things to her while she ostensi-
bly, fingers ou. q difficult piece Of music. I
had done Miss Churm at the piano before
it was an attitude in which she knew how
to take on an absolutely poetic grace. I
wished the two figures to compose" to-
gether intensely, and my little Italian had
entered perfectly into my conception. The
pair were, therefore, before me, the piano
had been pulled out; it was charming
picture of blended youth and murmured
love, which I mad only to catch and keep.
My visitors stood and looked at it, and I
said friendly things to them over my
shoulder.
They made no response, but was used to
silent company and went on with my work,
only little disconnected (even though ex-
hilarated with the sense that this was at
least the ideal thing), at not having got rid
of them after all. Presently I heard Mrs.
ht AA
above me. IT wish her hair was = little
better DONE looked up and she was star
ing with strange fxedness at Miss Churm.
whose back was turned to her. "Do you
mind my just touching it?" she went on.
question which made me spring up
for an instant. as with the instinc-
tive fear that she might do the young
lady harm. But she quieted me with
glance I shall never forget-I confess I
should like to have been able to draw that
and went for moment to my model She
spoke to her softly, laying hand upon her
shoulder and bending over her; apd as the
girl, understanding, gracefully assented, she
disposed her rough curls, with few quick
Churm's head twice as charming It was
one of the most heroic personal services I
have ever seen rendered. Then Mrs
Monarch turned away, with low sigh, and
looking about her, as If for something to do,
stopped to the floor, with noble humility,
and picked up a dirty rag that had dropped
out of my paint box.
The Major, meanwhile, had also been
looking tor something to do, and, wander
ing to the other end of the studio, saw
before him my breakfast things, neglected,
unremoved. 81 say, can't be useful
here?' he called out to me, with an ire
pressible quaver. assented, with laugh
that fear was awkward, and for the next
10 minutes, while I worked, heard the
light clatter of china and the ti1kle of
spoons and glass Mrs. Monarch assisted
her husband-thev washed up my crockery
they put it away. They wandered of
into my little scullery, and I afterward
found that they had cleaned my knives and
that my slender stock of plate had an un-
precedented surface When it came over
me, the latent eloquence of what they
were doing, 1 confess that my drawing was
blurred for a moment-the picture swan.
They had accepted their failure, but they
couldn't accept their fate. They had
bowed their heads in bewilderment
to the perverse and cruel law
oo,15 L.. ~. ~,,,.l L..