Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-01-14


bors-
= echoed that wish heartily e-ourh.
Who would not in my pace, and with
SO Charming CON paalon2 There and
taen j set to work TO help her 20 ar
range her studio and 17 her easel The
picture seemed very large. to judge
from the canvas but she would not le.
me see II then j forgot fatigue, hum
| ger. erythIng. ! thought never met
a woman with SO perfect Z charm OF
| manner-the ease and grace and dig
| nlty Of perfect breeding. yet witnal q
! frank and gracious cordially that was
| rs winning as Il was resistless- Rut
| fhere-what Use TO say all this Only
when | once begin TO talk Of Musette
Delaporte feel could go On forever.
That was a neno1 bic evening.
when the studio was arranged to her
| satisfaction she made me some tea
/ with little spirit lamp arrangement
/ she had, and then we locked I'D the
room and ] took her through the little
/ village TO try and find lodgings OF
/ course, Jasper and /. having decided
| NJ Della porte was a man, had expected
| him 10 rough II like the rest of Us ]
/ could not let her stay IN Trenewlyn
| itself, but took her up the hillside TO a
| farmhouse, where I felt certain they
| would accommodate her. She was in
raptures with the place, and ] agreed
with her that II was a paradise, as in
deed II seemed TO ne On that August
night ] remen Der the moon shining
over the bay. the feet Of boats stand
ing out to sea the lights from the
town and villages scattered along the
coast or amidst the slopinC hills ]
did not wonder she was charmed; we
al have felt that charm here. and II
ooesn' I lessen with time; we all have
acknowledged that also.
But / must hurry on When Treuo-
weIh heard Of the new artist sex ne
was rather put ont I could not see
why myself, and I agreed that the mis-
take was orr own NJ might stand for
Mary, or NardaleI- OF Marietta. Just
as well as for Maurice or Malcolm or
Mortimer. However. when he came
down and saw NJ. Delapo-te here, !
heard no more about the disadvan-
tages Of sex She was essentially a
woman for compan5onshiD. cultured
brilliant artist 10 her finger tips. vet
| with all her beauty and fascination
holding certain proud reserve be-
tween herself and ourselves. marking
line we dare not overstep. At the
end OF month we knew little more
about her than We did on that first
evening. ! opined that she was q
widow. but no hint however skillful,
no trap, however baited. could force
her into confidence or selt-betrayal
We called her Mrs. Delaporte. Her
name was Musette, she told me. Her
mother had been q French woman: Of
her father she never spoke. She worked
very hard. often putting me to shame,
but still she would not let me see the
picture, always slzilIfully turning the
easel SO that the canvas was hidden
whenever Jasper or myself entered
the studio. We were never permitted
to de SO IN working hours, but when
daylight faded, and the weIl-known
little tes-tsble was set ont, we often
dropped IN for = cup Of tea and chat
II was all SO pleasant SO hoDelike.
The studio, with its draperies and its
bowls Of flowers. its plants and books
and feminine TRIES IL wonder
hoE it is some women seem to lend IN
diriduality to their surroundings The
studio has never looked the same since
she left
He paused and laid down the sketch.
The usual gayety and brightness Of his
face was subdued and Swallowed
t'I-wel1. its no good to dwell on II
all now" he said abruptly. ''Of course
I fell madly in love with her Who
could help il? / bet any Of you fellows
here would have done the same. !
neglected work ! could only moon
and dream and follow her about, when
she let me, which ! am bound to say
was not very often I'm sure used TO
bore Trenoweth considerably al that
time, though he was very patient And
she was Just the same always: calm.
friendly. gracious, absorbed IN her
work, and to all appearances uucon-
scious Of what mischief her presence
had wrought As the third month
drew near TO its end ! grew desperate
! thought she avoided me; she never
let me into the stpdjo now. and / must
confess ] had a great curiosity TO see
the picture But she laughingly evaded
ali nv hints and would only receive
me al the farmhouse ! believe Tren-
weth was equally unsuccessful
AT last I could stand II no longer. !
spoke out and told her the whole truth
OF course and he laughed somewhat
bitterly. 1t was no use IF she had
been nv mother or my sister She could
not have been more serenely gracious
more pitiful or more surprised II
had made j fool OF myself as we men
call IL and all to no purpose. 1t was
naddaninc. but ! knew II was hope
less ! had almost known It before nv
desperate confession. / couldn't bear
10 see her again, ] felt / hated the
place. il was So full Of memories. So.
suddenly. without q word TO Tre1o-
veth or herself. ! packed mp nv traps
and started of on a sketching tour
| through Cornwall. When ! came back
| the studio was closed. and T-enoweth
| had gone away The man left IN charge,
and who made the arrangements for
| letting them. told me that = new rule
/ had been made BY the landlord They
/ we're never 10 be let to women artists
| That Is all my part Of the story This
this sketch Is only the figure | re-
member She was standing once just
| ike that. looking at the wall of the
studio. rs # TO her il was peopled with
I life. and form. and color. II was
| fancying myself at the academy she
said to me- as ] asked her 81 what she
| was gazing, at the academy, and ny
| picture on the line ! do not know i
| She ever attained her ambition" he
| added. Il have never seen or heard o.