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

had no positive stamp, combined of course
with the other fact that what she did have
was curious and inexplicable talent for
imitation. Her usual appearance was like
a curtain, which she could draw up, at re-
quest, for kind of regular performance.
This performance was simply suggestive;
but it was a word to the wise-it was vivid
and pretty. Sometimes, even, / thought 1t,
though she was plain herself, too insipidly
pretty; made it . reproach to her that the
figures drawn from her were monotonously
(betement, as we used to say) graceful.
Nothing made her more angry; it was so
much her pride to feel that she could sit for
characters that had nothing in common with
each other. She would accuse me at such
moments of taking away her reputation"
1t suffered a certain shrinkage, this queer
quantity, from the repeated visits OF my
new friends. Miss Churm was greatly in
demand, never in want of employment, so I
had no scruple in putting her off OCCASION
ally, to try them more at my ease. 1t was
certainly amusing at first to do the real
thing-it was amusing to do Major Mon
arch's trousers. They were the real thing,
amusing to do his wife's back hair Gt was
so mashematically neat), and the particular
"smart" tension of her tight stays She
lent herself especially to positions in which
the face was somewhat averted or blurred;
she abounded in ladylike back views and
profl perdus.' When she stood erect she
took naturally one of the attitudes in which
court painters represent queens and pr1n-
cesses, so that I found myself wondering
whether, to draw out this accomplishment,
couldn't get the editor Of the Chedpside to
publish truly royal romance, "A Tale OF
Buckingham Palace. Sometimes, how
1Ia 10 hoII
came into contact, by which L mean that
Miss Churm, keeping an appointment or
coming to make one on days when had
much work on hand, encountered her I'M
posing rivals. The encounter was not
on their part, for they noticed her no more
than if she had been the -housemaid, not
from intentional loftiness, but simply be-
cause as vet, professionally, they didn't
know how to fraternize, as 1 could guess
that they would have liked to, or at least
that the Major would. They couldn't talk
about the omnibus-they always walked;
and they didn't know what else to try-she
wasn't interested in good trains or cheap
claret. Besides, they must have felt-ln
the air-tbat she was amused at them, Sc
cretly derisive of their ever knowing how.
She was not person to conceal her skeptl-
eism if she had had a chance to show 1t.
On the other hand, Mrs. Monarch didn't
think her tidy; for why else did she take
pains to say to me Gt was going out Of the
way for Mrs Monarchy that she didn't Ike
dirty women?
One day when my young lady happened
to be present with my other sisters (sns
even dropped in, when it was convenient,
for chat, asked her to be so good as to
lend hand in getting tea-a service with.
which she was familiar, and which was one
of class that, living as 1 did in small
way. with slender domestic resources,
often appealed to my models to render.
They liked to lay hands on my property, to
break the sitting-I made them feel Bo-
helnian. The next time 1 saw Miss Churm
after this incident she surprised me greatly
bv making a scene about it-she accused mo
OF having wished to humiliate her. She had
not resented the outrage at the time, but
had seemed obliging and amused, enjoying
the comedy of asking Mrs. Monarch, who