The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-04-05
THE ART STUDENT.
A Little Tragedy That Venus
Watched With Eyes of Stone.

WnOle, DuI aU urSU IL uS6Q TO DO very dIl-
noying in some ways. To begin with,
they planted me down in such a draft
and in the worst light possible, SO that
could not see anything, nor could any
one see me, and then they would not
give mo q new pedestal-they tried to
palm off on me one that belonged to a
discarded Nereid, which made me look
top heavy, as it was much too small.
However, n day a waiter, who was
rushing past with a soup tureen (t was
when l stood close to the door of the re-
freshment room in the gallery, you
know, tHmbled up against me and
smashed a great piece Of the pedestal.
Afterward, when every one had gone and
the place was quiet, I just leaned over to
one side a bit and slid down. Hurt my
self? Oh, dear, mol I Clipped my Tyre
rather. There was a fuss next morning
when the curator came round. That
waiter got into no end Of q row and had
to pay for my new pedestal and Tyre. 1t
was a pity I couldn't explain, but he was
a poor fool, and I wasn't sorry to see him
sacked for his disrespectful clu1nsiness.
There wal a little student who came
to draw here, a little bit of a thing, with
a sallow face and a slight limp. She was
always shabby. Her gloves Zone button
black kid were very much cracked. She
wore a battered black straw hat which
had outlived the picturesque stage, with
a wreath of limp, streaky roses round
the crown, even in midwinter. Her
dress, such as it was, was gray linsey,
and her poor little square toed boots
were patched and repatched. The only
points about her were her clean collar
and her big, hungry eyes. She worked
for the gallery, and I hrsrd her say she
gives lessons. I know the pay is very
small, because she doesn't have half
enough to eat, and she certainly cannot
afford to ride or drive, because on rainy
days her feet are SO muddy. She has
very little talent. 1t is only by dint Of
sheer obstinacy she manages to draw de-
Gently.
Some time ago g. young man came here
pretty frequently for several months.
He's a fine, handsome fellow, very like
that sturdy Discobulus you see straight
in front of you. By Jupiter! that boy
can draw Icould tell he had it in him
the first time I saw him handle a crayon.
The little lame student was passing him
n day, looking more tired than ever,
and she tripped Owe the edge of a bar
rier that had been put to screen off the
LAGOON family, who were undergoing
repairs, when down went everything
with a clatter, including the poor little
soul herself. The other student, whom
1 will call "The Boy" for distinction,
was up in a moment, had put her on her
feet again, and picked up all the dis
persed articles with a reassuring CAL
rightp before you could ~ejaculate "Mur-
curry" She pulled herself together enough
to whisper '"Thank you," and imped
away.
Next day she came early and worked
assiduously. The Boy was there too. He
did not notice her, he was so busy. Pres
entity he felt a timid pull at his sleeve
and looked up. "Hullo," he said, with
that sunny smile of his; II beg your
pardon, can I do anything for YOUR
"W-would you l-l-let me look at your
drawing~ she faltered.
Certainly, but there is nothing 10 see"
Well, they chatted a bit after that and
compared notes till the ice was fairly
broken, so the time flew and the little
gray student found she had forgotten all
| about that tiresome foot Of the Hermes
which wouldn't come right. After that
day they conversed pretty freely. Mean
while I noticed q great change in her
though she still looked pinched and tired
her eyes began to have a new light in
them, the white collar was discarded for
a black lace rufie, The poor tired roses
disappeared too, and in their place I no
ticed q large black feather, which, it is
true, soon lost it's curl and had certainly
seen better days, but still she thought it
looked smart, and that cheered her, poor
little soul. The gloves, too, were new,
or else she had managed to ink over the
purple cracks.
Some days she was there alone, and
then she would look wistfully from time
to time toward the door. Once, when a
step came swinging down the corridor,
she gave a little start, but it was only an
attendant, who was a conceited ass with
nothing to do, and he came in and bull
lied her and made himself perfectly obi
ous. I would have set my dog at him,
only fortunately the Boy turned up at
the right moment and sent the wretch
flying. / couldn't resist whispering to
my Venus what q smart fellow he was,
and she nodded approvingly.
When these two got tired of work the
Boy would sit and talk to her by the
hour together. Sometimes it was art,
SHOP" sometimes poetry or scraps of
| science wonders and often odds and ends
of mythology, over which last he got
considerably naked at times, till one day
| / was in such fits that Venus thought
they would hear and snubbed me fear
fully.
This went on for a couple of months or
| so, and then the Boy left off drawing
here. The little gray figure plodded in.
and out brayely, but l could see her bite
her lips to keep back the tears of disap-!
pointment and longing for human inter-
course and sympathy. AT last one day
she dropped the pencil and sprang up,
walking to and fro and up and down.
| then with a sudden movement flung her
arms around the feet of my beloved Venus
1 ~ ..,n tA ma