The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-09-20

lefneU n remNfkNnle SlfI or color, ana
Phoebe took to animal painting in emula,
that we really had exceptional talent, al.
though. but for his efforts. most certain>
~ it would never have been developed.
His announcement and example kindled
our ambition, and the hope of achieving
some sort of pecuniary Independence
nerved US to perseverance: Before tho
artist left he painted us a picture. After
he became famous we learned that it was
very valuable. Phoebe and l still own
1t. We would not part with it ON any
account Tint was the only acknowledge.
meht we ever received from niiy source,
although we girls were frequently taxed
t.. the uttermost during our dear fathers
lifetime:
When father died it beuat,ie a seriuus
problem how we should make Il living.
We could not continue to occupy the
parsonage, of course. Poor as the living
was, there were many ready and eager
to obtain it. Still, it had seemed like
ours, and we never realized how abso-
lutely destitute and homeless we were
until called upon to surrender it, We
had been painting and decorating lit
| or "Woman's exchange" us some peo-
pie call it. The remuneration we re-
ceived was very tritling. but it was, at
least, better than needlewOrk or any oc-
cupation we could obtain In Seaport
which wy could consent to accept After
leaving the parsonage we rented couple
of rBUis at the extreme hurth end of tile
gan to paint siialf studies Of landscape
and marines, Phoebe stii1etiiies iii,iulg-
ing, i'll animal painting: for which she
had Il passion, but which aIjtie;ifGd to
us both like dissipation, becaiise no one
could be induced to buy such pictures.
The landscapes and sea bits We placed
in the book stores for sale to the sum-
iner visitors at prices ranging from $3.50
to $40. When we received $40, which
was very rarely indeed, we felt that
we were on the high road to wealth.
Three years after our fathers death
we were still very poor. but we had
saved trit1ing sum and felt safe unless
sickness or some extraordinary misfor-
tune should overtake us. One evening
Phoebe was reading the paper aloud
when she stumbled upon paragraph
Sidney -; Hifir6eIF Our poor artist friend in
nous, it appeared, and IL member of the
academy! "Why not write to him 2"
said l, "and send some of our best
works. You have three or four excellent
animal pieces, and we can both send
two or three marines and landscapes.
He was always very kind and grateful
to us and perhaps might do us Il good
work is worth ten times the price we
are receiving for it here, but we can
never do better unless we IRE so for
tundte as to be. appreciated ut some
great art CENTER Thut was the first
daring slisgestioil. 1t wis long before
we Gould gather eoNrage sufficient to
carry it into execution: Nothing we
h0 IN bnJ I Oh. ir1,
to encounter the critieisiA Of Itl atade-
mician, or the probable scornf{l inspec-
ton of the New York dealers. So we
devoted several weeks to painting mas
terpieces, and certainly succeeded in pro.
ducing far better work than we had ever
done before. Finally we forwarded six
pictures to Sidney Herbert, accompanied
BY long letter, telling him of the death
fate of poor Adwatd. We requested
him to sell the pictures fur lis, If l0ssi-
BILE, at the best price attainable, telling
him ut the same time the poor prices
we received at home and our modest
confidence that we ought to realize some
thing more for our conscientious work.
1t was Il month before we received
any reply, and we had almost given up
all hope of hearing from Sidney Her
bert. why should IN academician care
of interest himself in the fate of two
poor womei1?'' we said again and again;
when one afternoon we received ii letter
bearing the New York postmark, which
for Il long time we had not the courage
to open. Then Phoebe, with trembling
hand, extracted the letter from the en-
velope, and. on opening it, IL check fell
TO the ground folded! l am constitu-
tionally a coward, but l was the first to
seize that check. and unfold it. 1t was
for $500! Nine hundred dollars. think of
it. for two poor women who had been
glad to get $40 apiece for consci-
entious efforts! But the letter, oh, the
letter! Blessed be the name of Sidney
Herbert and Of the AUGUST aca1cmicians
forever. A large humber of them had
passed Judgment Upon Our work, he said,
seenied good, CRITICAL intelligent jt1dg,
mei1t, calculated not only to help but to
encourage lis: The picture dealers, whose
names he enclosed, would gladly teceiyt
cur work, he wrote, and we could rely
absolutely upon their integrity and best
efforts i'll our behalf.
ARTISTS Cottage" We did not call it
the Artists Cottage. 1t was our towns
people, who are now very proud of us.
They cahtbt afford to buy any more CT
our pictures, but intlch Of our early work
is still here. not to be bought at any
price-so at least they declare.
Edmund returned after two years
ago, his dreams of fortune faded, but
he is still the same dear bright enthu-
siast. He has settled down to the study
of the law, and living with us, our hap
piness is complete.