Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-01-18
JOLLY BACHELORS.
HOW YOUNG FELLOWS WHO DRAW
AND PAINT ENJOY LIFE.

Few Young Artists Are Married, bat Near
Z. dy All Want to Be--A Painters Good
Fortune Usually Higgins ut the Altar,
and It Is the Goal Desired. ,l.-.s y
Il Although common sense GENERALLY Stands
appalled, at the. artists threshold, great
number. of our younger and some of our
older painters manage to get along very
comfortably without it. There is an I'M
written law in Bohemiatilat man can do
anything honorable without losing his dig
NIFTY. During snowstorm a young lady
driving down Fourteenth street in the fam
Hy carriage was astouished to observe n
young artist whom she had met sons time
before at fashionable dinner party carry.
ing bucket of coal to his Studio. a more
diplomatic person would have driven on
without pretending to notice the incident.
But this particular young woman was so
astouished at seeing the Wit and lion of !;
social gathering engaged I'm such meniat
occupation that she motioned her coachman.
to stop, and alighting from her carriage de
sired an explanation from her friend of his
extraordinary conduct lie was not at alb
embarrassed. Setting his coal bucket down.
he said laughingly:
"Oh, that's nothing. Ny coal Is out. and
they haven't sent me the ton Iordered |
have model up stairs, and | couldn't ask
the poor thing to pose for Venus in a cold
room. 60 went to the grocery and got a
bucketful, and here am Whereat he
lifted his hat, picked up his burden, and
disappeared up the stairs.
1t must not be imagined that because
these young fellows live in their studios
and generally cook their own meals they
are to be synpathiZed with No bachelor
in New York has more endowment out of
life than painter. One of his first mr.
chases IS Il gas stove with its various cook
ing apparatus. BY the aid of this ipstru
ment he can prepare meals as apposzfng. If
not quite so elaborate, as those of the Hof-
man House. Usually his meals are simple
"a breakfast OF coffee, rolls, eggs, lamb
chops or liver and bacon, and a light lunch
con OF anything handy, eaten hurriedly in
order to save the precious hours OF light.
When darkness falls the young painters
appetite asserts itself He either goes to an
Italian or, rs his finances may be- to a fash
ionable restaurant and dawdles for two
hours over a table d'hote, or else goes to his
cupboard and finds enough material for an
elaborate dinner of three or four courses.
Usually be has company. Dinners in
studio building are like progressive euchre
parties-the artists 20 from table TO table,
one night gathering in Jones' room, another
in Browns, a third in Robinson's
Nader Lake, the genre painter, now rich
and famous, gave 4 dinner one Sunday ten
years ago to half dozen young fellows
poets, painters, musicians, literary enCf-
neers and the like. 1t was a bitter cold
day and bowling snowstorm prevailed. ,
Say, fellows" remarked Fixatif. in
whose studio they had been smokinga all the
afternoon, I'm hungry, and I'll be blest if
have anything in the larder except crack
ers and cheese. Let's dine with Lake"
Without apology Lakes studio was in
vaded and the proposal made to him. He
was quite willing, but all the supplies he
had were a pound of porterhouse steak.
some mutton chops and q lot of vegetables.
The very thing" cried John Moran.
Fellows, You have never eaten one of my
haricots. Well, you shall today Have you
any wine, Lake:p ..u s... ...
Two dozen claret," said the host.
sit down, then, with a bottle. every
mothers son of you" said John Moran.
land watch me make n haricot" g,e
Whereupon he took off his coat, tied a
piece of Lakes silken drapery around him.
and after an hours preliminary work had
the ingredients cooking slowly over a crate,
fire. The poet lighted a cigar, AID turning
to the company remarked benignantlv:
"Noici! Within half an hour you shah
taste repast fit for the Olympian gods!'
Then ensued an extraordinary thing. Ne
CLIPS, the dog painter, happened to state
that for his part he always had a vert poor
opinion of Swinburne. That set Moran off.
He had been silently engrcssea over the pot
for long time, but now he was ready for
an argument. Megilp's unfortunate re-
mark gave him the Chew, and Moran seized
i at once. He had just sold poem to The
Century and spoke with authority and a
faint but musical brogue. He was a good
talker and everybody listened approvit1glys
Suddenly there arose what seemed to be a
simultaneous vail of horror from the com
pany. ''fhe haricot is scorchingl" So it
was. Mor;inf dropped his elouuence and
grabbed hold of the cooking pot. But the
vegetables and meat alike were burnt
nauseous IN odor and equally disasreeable
In taste. There WAS proposition to chuck
the poet into the snow, hut it was not car.
ried. FiXatif went. TO his larler and brought
back all his crackers and cheese, and with
this scstnty meal, washed down by copious
drafts of claret. the r&pectant diners had.
Ito be satisfied FL .iHra 60
= Probably tits in the7desire 10 get away
from such incidents as this that painters
always want to get married to- eschew
suck and iyeclennly.l There.is great deal.
OF wit and good humor in a b;ichelor's
studio. 1t is the scene of rohlance and sen
timent and gagety. 1t presents, Rembrandt
esque contrasts of, light and shadow and is
in many particulars such a method of Bo-
hemia that is delineated- by the novel writ ;
ers. But the bachelor artist knows that his
life, though generally Jolly and free from
care, is also n'the main free from comfort
and lacking in the element Of sustained
effort that is essential to Che achievements
of ambition. 1t occasionally happens that,
bachelor painters make reputation and
remain single and prosperous But usually
the artists good fortune begins at the altar,
and in the great majority of cases he is de
sirous to get there rs soon rs possible-New
York Sun 'Hi''
ls Not Obliged to Believe Everything.