The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-12-13
AN INVESTMENT.

Al tnree small, cheap rooms lived old
Parkes and his daughter Rose. She
was a very pretty girl, and her figure
was so good that she always provoked
q favorable comment from the men
about town who sometimes strayed into
tho precincts of that Bohemian quarter
In New York, Washington square. But
Rose, as she went through tho park,
kept her eyes modestly bent on the as
phalt walk. apparently quite uncon-
scious Of the admiration she excited. 1t
was the opinion of those who were nc
Quainted with old Parles' works that
she was by far the best thing he had
ever produced.
The truth is, old Parkes did not get
along very well. How ho got along at
all was mystery until Rose and he
one of tho best fellows that ever lived.
Rose. who was II born fnancier, per
haps could have explained how they
managed to exist. At q ridiculously
early hour in the morning she went to
market with n basket, and she had tho
knack of making IL deliciously appetiz-
ing dish with very little for founda-
hon. In short, Rose was Il genius, and
without her old Parkes would have
found himself long ago in tho poorhousc.
Though he Wa an excellent painter,
who had spent years of his life in study
abroad, his pictures somehow never
seemed to sell we'll. Speaking from Il
mercantile point of view, his handling
was too broad and free, and the people
were not up to him. Then, too, his
canvascs Tcro generally SO largo that
they were not adapted TO the walls of
the average drawing room. and he cap
ped it all by putting prico on them
that frightened buyers off. As ono we'll
known critic putt it, he would havo done
much better 80 years hence. Certainly
he would not have done worse.
The few of his fellow artists who knew
him did not like old Parkcs very much,
though they fully approved of Rose.
His lifelong struggle with poverty had
soured his disposition, and the nasty,
cutting things no said were by no means
relished. His overwhelming conceit
rendered him most disagreeable per-
son. He rated himself far above the
younger and more successful men" not
boilers, he contemptuously referred to
them and it dazcd him to think that
they should do SO we'll and he so badly.
Rose was the only person he could get
along with, and he had never said an I'M
kind word to her in his life. Whenever
he looked at her, he would always think
of her mother, dead SO many years, and
then he would sigh to himself. Rose,
who knew what ho was thinking of,
would como to him and throw her arms
nd IN 4, ,
When little Spaccr fell head over
heels in love with Rose, their financial
condition materially improved. As
have already said no was one of tho
best fellows that ever lived, and he was
on the staff of metropolitan newspaper
and enjoyed very good salary.
He knew nothing ut all about art,
which was the reason why perhaps the
city editor gave him so many assign
nents to write Of it. With few stock
words and phrases. such as 'chiaroscu-
70, -" fine atmosphere, mastery han
ding, etc, he wrote up the exhibi-
tons, on the whole, quito crcditably.
Little Spacer first saw Rose when he
came to her fathers studio for infor-
nation as to where he was to spend tho
summer. He had been instructed to
prepare an article with tho title Where
Artists Will Spend the Summer Old
Parkes gruffiy told him that he wasn't
going anywhere, and he carefully noted
down the fact. When he went away.
he carried with him vision Of Roses
soft black eyes and Roses creamy
cheeks, and he was thinking Of them
still down at tho Office when he wrote
these words, Mr.. Godfrey Parkes, tho
distinguished landscape painter, will
remain in tho city to execute u number
of important commissions -
After that, upon ono pretext or an
other, little Spacer kept coming SO Of
ten that he grew to be a source of pos
tive dislike to old Parkes. With Rose,
however, it was different. The two
had become such good friends that it
would have grieved her very much if
he had never come again. Little Spacer
had two rooms near by, in West Tenth
street, and he haunted the park in the
hope of seeing her. Once, when he had
been detained at the Office very late and
he was coming home completely tagged
out at dawn, he had been refreshed by
the sight of Rose going to market, and
he had carried her basket for her, and
they had had jolly time.
AS their friendship grew stronger he
could see how miserably poor she was,
and often in his lonely rooms he pom
dered over some way of helping her.
AS Rose was such proud little be-
ing, he realized that he would have to
act with the utmost dclicacy. Finally
he decided that the best plan to follow