Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1893-07-07
THE ART STUDENT.

they planted mo down in such a draft
and in the worst light possible, so that l
could not see anything, nor could any
M see me, and then thoy would not
give me a new pedestal-they tried to
palm of on me one that belonged to q
discarded Nereid, which made me look
top heavy, as it was much too small.
However, me day a waiter, who was
rushing past with a soup tureen Gt was
when 1 stood close to the door Of the re-
freshment room in the gallery, you
know, tumbled up against me and
smashed a great piece Of the pedestal.
Afterward, when every one had gone and
the place was quiet. l Just leaned over to
one side a bitand slid down. Hurt my
self? Oh, dear, mol / Clipped my Tyre
rather. There was q fuss next morning
when the curator came-round. That
waiter got into no end Of a row and had
to pay for my new pedestal and Tyre. II
was a pity I couldn't explain, but he was
q poor fool, and / wasn't sorry to see him
sacked for his disrespectful clumsiness.
There was a little student who came
to draw here, a little bit of thing, with
a sallow face and a slight limp. She was
always shabby. Her gloves Zone button
black kidd were very much cracked. She
wore a battered black straw hat which
had outlived the picturesque stage, with
q wreath Of limp, streaky roses round
the crown, even in midwinter. Her
dress, such as It was, was gray linsey,
and her poor little quare toed boots
were patched and repatched. The only
--s-A~ .I1-A - L. -. IL
and her big, hungry eyes. She worked
for the gallery; and I heard her say she
gives lessons. 1 know the pay is very
small, because she doesn't have half
b enough to eat and she certainly cannot
afford to ride or drive, because on rainy
days her feet are 80 muddy. She has
very little talent. II is only by dint Of
sheer obstinacy she manages to draw de
Gently.
Some time ago a young man came here
pretty frequently for several months.
He's o fine, handsome fellow, very like
that sturdy Discobulus you see straight
in front Of you. By JupiterI that boy
can drawl l could tell he had it in him
the first time l saw him handle a crayon.
The little lame student was passing him
one day, looking more tired than ever,
and she tripped over 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
Twill call "The Boy" for distinction,
was up in a moment, had put her on hef
feet again, and picked up all the dis.
persed articles with .%reassuring CAL
rightH1 before you could calculate ''Mur-
curry. " She pulled herself together eno1gh
to whisper "Thank YOU" and limped
away.
Next day Bhe came early and worked
RssidGously. The Boy was there too. He
aid not notice her, he was so busy. Pres.
emily 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 l do anything for youf"
"W-would you l-l-let me look at youI
drawingy" she faltered.
Certainly, but there is nothing to see.'
Well, they chatted a bit after that and
compared notes till the ice was fairly
broken, so the time few and the little
AIAy bluutlb AOu1u 1ut udu lOLhGllGn III
about that tiresome foot of the Herme'
which wouldn't come right. After that
day they %conversed pretty freely. Mean.
while / noticed a great change in her
though she still looked pinched and tired
her eyes began to have a new light il
them, the white collar was discarded fol
a black lace rufle, the poor tired rosei
disappeared toe, sand in their place l no
ticed large black feather, which, it il
true, soon lost its curl and had certainly
seen better days, but still she thought II
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 lock wistfully from time
to time toward the door. Once, when Q
step came swinging down the corridor,
she gave a little start, but it was only ar
O.. attendant, who was a conceited ass will
nothing to do, and he came in and bull
lied her and made himself perfectly obi
~sOus. / would have set my dog at him,
only fortunately the Boy turned up al
the right moment and sent the wretch
flying. l couldn't resist whispering K
my Venus what a smart fellow he was
and she nodded ~approvingly.
When these two got tired Of work the
Boy would sit and talk TO her by tn,
hour together. Sometimes it was art
"shop," sometimes poetry or scraps Of
science wonders and often odds and end
Of mythology, over which last he gol
considerably mixed at times, till one day
/ was in such fits that Venus thought
they would hear and snubbed me fear
fully.
This went on for couple Of months o.
90, and then the Boy left of drawing
here. The little gray figure plodded IL
and out bravely, but / could see her bit,
her lpa 10 keep back the tears Of disap
pointment and longing for human inter
course and sympathy. AT Iast one ia,
she dropped the pencil and spIang up
walking 70 and fro and up and down
then with q sudden movement Aung he.
armsaround tho feet Of my beloved Venul