Connecticut western news., 1892-03-31
BADGERS PICTURE.

the year. By gad, sir, that was a pie turei It fetched every body, did "A Nihilist Conspiracy" Then came the order for the Conversations atlBurling ton House." and then, of course, his for tune was made, and Badger became an A. R. A Badger, A. R. A., cuts me now. used to know him very well; we were both members of the Goose club. Of course that isn't the right name of our club-the real name is the Swan - but we are always called the Goose club, you know, and there are all sorts of mysterious reasons alleged for it. Splitter, who is a professional wit, and earns a very precarious living by it. and is not a member of the Goose club-l mean tho Swan--declares that it's be- cause all our members who are dramatists invariably get the goose; that, in the vile, common slang of the stage, means that their productions are always hissed. have been told to my face, sir, by that beast Grinner, also g professional wit ling, and whom we decline to elect to the Goose club--I mean the Swan-because he wasn't qualified, for we are all spon- taneous wits at our dear old place-that it's because all our geese are swans, and we swans are all geese. know the real reason, and I've got it down in my re- miniscences, and when die they'll be published. and you can buy a copy. and then you'll find it out.
 But to come back to Badgers rnagnum opus. gave him the tip-I mean the valuable hint; I'm always giving people good advice, and they're seldom, very seldom, grateful for it.
 "Why don't you do . nihilist picture?" said to Badger one day; ''everybody's mad on nihilism just now. You've only | got to read up Stepniak and make your nihilists ugly enough, and it's bound to be a big thing" And then stroked my long gray beard (my beard is my great feature. you know). I've got rather low forehead, but then the ancients ad- mired low wforeheads-tenui fronte, Hor- ace. Ha, hal .m.. You'd make a capital nihilist." said Badger.
 gave him one of my scathing glances and l saw that the young fellow was sorry for his impertinence. And then the matter dropped.
 The next thing 1 heard was that Bad RcI Ndb ROluB tO luo IOOSe club-that he had determined to paint a picture of the thirty most celebrated members. Badger became suddenly pop | nlar
 Dear old man." he said to me. "l want you to sit."
 was delighted. l only sat for the | face. you know, and was in the very center of the picture. Badger selected | twenty-nine other victims. The like l nesses were wonderful. The members l actually fought for the honor of sitting to Badger, and then he shut himself up ] in his studio, and denied himself to | everybody on the pretense of putting in tho fgures- There wasn't one of us who had the least doubt that the great pic ture of the Goose club would become as celebrated as Terburg's masterpiece, "The Congress of Munster" We felt by we mean the happy thirty-that we | were already immortal: we felt tha; Badger would hand us down to posterity as representative lights of literature. science and art. We'd have done any thing for Badger at that time. Vel and the other twenty-nine immortals- were continually calling on Badger; but we never could get sight of of the pie ture; he was invariably not at home. And then a dreadful rumor ran about the Goose club.
 Pugwash, the sculptor, came back from St. Petersburg, where he had been executing 8 commission, and he told us that Badger had painted one of us out and had painted him in. Vel mean the original thirty-endured weeks of agony till the academy private view.
 We couldn't get anything out of Pug
 wash; he declared that he was sworn to secrecy: he even pretended that he didn't really know which of us was the-well
 Peri at the gate-for he swore that the
 picture was covered up mysteriously
 with clothes, merely leaving an opening
 in which his head was inserted. How
 we all envied PugwAshl He, at least
 was certain of immortality.
 But was determined to ascertain the
 truth at once. Directly the hanging
 committee at Burlington House com
 menced its labors, called on every
 academician and associate knew. They
 none of them could tell me anything
 about the Goose club picture. You see,
 in the ordinary course of things, Badger
 would have exhibited his great picture
 on Show Sunday. a month before the
 opening of the academy. He didn't, sir;
 our agony was prolonged until the very | last moment
 was thereby there, mean at Bur-
 lington house-the instant the doors
 opened for the private view. 1 had a
 ticket, you know, of course-l always
 have. almost snatched the gratuitous
 catalogue with which was presented
 by one of the gorgeous gentlemen in the
 scarlet gowns, who resemble lord chief
 justices or doctors of music of the Uni
 versity of Oxford-at least, they do at
 the private views; to the general public
 on ordinary occasions they are only com
 mon doorkeepers. almost snatched the
 catalogue, say, and with trembling fn-
 gers turned to the index and looked up
 Badger. Michael Angelo. found 1t No.
 839. turned it up in the body of the
 catalogue. and thrill of anguish and
 disappointment ran through my breast.
 This is what l read: "S39-A Nihilis,
 Conspiracy. Michael Angelo Badger.
 What could it mean? The great Goose
 club picture had, then, been refusedl
 An, mel the disappointment was toe
 cruell
 could have shed tears, but the agony
 felt at that moment was nothing tc
 what was to follow. I flung mysel!
 down on one of the big settees and tried
 to eomposs my fssliugs. As did 70 Mr ! AtSseSsA tAl 6lstsss x4Al4E.I aAaalAex4