The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-02-01
, R0EBUCK'S STORY,

Roepuck; told me this story one day
as / sat In his studio in the Rue
Notre Dame des Champs. l don't pre-
tend TO say whether the story Is true
or not, but know that he believed
that he was telling the literal truth.
He was a tall, cadaverous. American
from one of the far Western States,
and was totally uheducated except
for the most elementary branches
taught in the district school of his ma
tive village He had Beenl ashouse
and sign painter by occupation, and
when he was nearly thirty years of
age he came to Paris to study art,
with the design OF becoming a land
scape painter. % EotI 'o .no'eH'3r9
The students at the academy liked
Roebuck well a enough, though they
used to play q good many jokes on
him. They decided that his name did
not suit him, so they translated it
into De, CheSreuil. One of them painted
The De ,Chevreuil arms on the chair
where Roebuck usually sat, and we
all took to calling him De, Chevreuil.
/ say all, but / ought to except my
self, for, being his fellow -countryman,
| declined to take any share in cast
ing ridicule on the man. na, i,f
Roebuck had begged me to come
and see picture that he had just fin
ished, and to, give him my honest
opinion about it. b,v vf .i...' .-
Let's talk about something else
for little WHILE said I, as l took up
one of Roebuck's pipes and filled it.
WHO says you haven't any imagin-
ation?" ."N't '''tI ''l ',''' Nv" ut 81
"All the chaps at the academy" he
replied Il don't mind for it isn't,
,.r;,, t,.,,,
Il suppose it is"
''Weli, then, I'm just chock-full Of
Imagination, for dream all night
And dreams come true, too, some
times" he added. Jd"A mighty queer
thing happened to me not long ago
that convinced me of that, though
there was something in it that ] can't
explain.asngei ..ye,i 10 rsd-.r.,9 ..-'.-y
Tell me about it,'a cried, catch
ing at the possibility that there might
be the means of leading him to for
get my promised criticism O OF e the
picture. '1''N' t'.t l'"oli 7Hi ~ s.'l1I
s"Have you ever been at -Rouong?'
asked my friend. aIritold him that /
had once spent several days in ,Ronen.
Il went down to Havver last week
to see Weatherby off in the Norman
die, and on the way back stopped
over night, at Rouong. for they told
me that, there was some swell archi-
lecture there, and If painting don't
turn out as we'll as | think 1t will,
I may take to architecture myselfgOI
took a hack at the churches and such,
and in the evening / started out for a
walk through the town. .! q VI ,ro
Nov, there is dream that ! have
had ever since I can remember. I
dream that I'm in an old European
city, though / never seem to know
the, name of it. Somewhere in that
city there is a small open. square,
with two streets leading out of one
end Of it. They start pretty close to-
gether and then widen apart like the
sides ofaiV. & T. G.yi-odtug .trpc-
lone OF, these, streets--the one to
the leftTTis a wide, modern street,
pretty we'll lighted, and with a good
many people in 1t but the other street
is narrow and dark. The houses have
sharpVgabled. roofs and the "a upper
stories project over the lower. There
are no street lamps in it, except one
or two that are long way apart and
give mighty little light The street
hasn't any sidewalks, and there is
gutter down the middle of it and more
smells to the square inch than there
are in Chicago. I've looked up this
street aihundred times in my dreams
and I'ml afraid to go up it. 1t looks
as II there couldn't be any one in the
street except robbers and murderers
and It's my belief that most all the
houses are empty. .ugd1 m rOw,.a
lfiNow when l, was in Rouong this
time that I'm telling you about" re-
sumed Roebuck, "I walked along
down ON ctpnntl oynd IN a nntIn,, .,,i@l,Ii
out paying any attention to the Ilirec-
tion / was taking. BY and by / got
into part, of the town where the
houses were particularly old, and
where there didn't seem to be but
very few, inhabitants. All OF a sudden
came to an open square that was as
familiar ito me as Lincoln avenue in
Montanopoliss ID yd LUg ylreg ryit1y
1T was the very place / had dream
di'about SO often, There were the
two streets leading out Of one end Of
IL. The big street was lighted up, ana
there were people here and there in
It,, but they small street was Just as
DARK anu ddeser ted, as I had always
seen IT,, There wasn't a soul In. 1t.
and the blackness and silence OF it
frightened me. fALhI''d i2i % shiU
Just then woman came towards
me- though \ didn't notice where fshe
dressed, and, 70 my mind ibofsd b MT MT
a lady though know Y aih't much
tsIdgsoofaladies bI,was standing look-
ing at the narrow, street and wonder
ing II was awake or dreaming when
the woman walked straight UP to me
ana says: You are an Englishman
e'y0u not?" ,hIGud bTr9 .Il9d0iirJ
3fNow.rI knew we'll enough that