Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-06-26
A BOHEMIAN QUEEN.

A BOHEMIAN QUEEN.
We were seated in one of the rooms of a
pretty Partisan cafe. 1t was luxurious
ly furnished apartment, arranged with ex-
IRENE taste. My companion was a specu
lator on the bourse man with exhaust
i've knowledge of the boulevards. As we
were waiting for an order to be placed be-
fore us I casually scrutinized the apart
ment Behind us was a large mirror, and
written upon it with a diamond ring was
the word Guile" Putting at cigarette,
involuntarily came a feeling Of curiosity
Who was Julie? That Word was written
in an attractive feminine hand. In what
particular field of Bohemia had. she movedi
The cafe was frequented almost exclu-
sively by painters, sculptors, musicians
and members of the theatrical profession
whose names were familiar to the public.
l called the attention of my companion to
the inscription and asked him who Julie
was, but he replied that the lady had
dourished before his time, since he had
seen the writing on the mirror when, 30
years before, he had first come to Paris.
The waiter placed before us an appetizing
repast, and my friend, in the diverting
manner Of his countrymen, launched forth
with an interesting criticism of current
topics while we enjoyed the good fare for
which the proprietor of the place was
famed
The next day I took a trip up the Seine
and stopped for dinner at a little eating
house which, from time immemorial, had
been u rendezvous of artists. The rosy
checked waiter placed small bottle of
wine before me on table in which were
carved as many letters as though the place
were resort for college students. There
were many famous names engrossed there,
and the proprietor pointed to them with
pride, recalling the time when these artists
were unknown and led the happy, careless
life Of Bohemians who had copper instead
of silver and gold Jingling in their peck
cts. Suddenly my attention was called
to word carved there-"J Julie.
"Who is Julie?" asked.
The proprietor replied that the name
was placed there by an artist, now re-
uOWutuJ anu lttl lIlt W d IUOil WltIc
many rough pencil sketches were framed.
This collection he priced highly, as well
he might for there in caricature and 9TH
erwise were seen the faces of men and
women who had caused furore not only
in Paris, but throughout the world of art.
Among them was the portrait Of q girl,
vivacious and charming. fixed her fea-
lures in my mind. Such was the second
step in delving into Il bit of the past in Bo-
hemia
This delightful girl appeared In new
role soon. was looking over some old
canvascs in junkshop when, 10 and be-
hold, came across what was undoubtedly
an unfinished Coulter. Moreover, the face
was that of Julie. The master had painted
her in the garb of peasant or perhaps he
had met her before she came to Paris and
only painted q bit of nature. She was
alone in the fields, and the majesty of the
pose and the remarkable grace and strength
Of the figure were quite characteristic of
the great artist. Julie in tho fields was
very different from Julie in the boulevards.
Around her was the quiet of eventide. In
the distance was the outline Of house
which was the dwelling of a peasant.
Here, however, was cue, and asked
many French painters whom I had met
incidentally if they had ever seen the orig
inal of my painting, for l purchased the
sketch from the proprietor of the shop for
mere nothing. But many of the old
artists pupils could not recall the face of
the girl Purely out of curiosity largely
pursued the investigation, just to see how
easily queen of Bohemia may be by the
world forgotten and pass out of sight alto
gether
Besides here thought, was the oppor-
tunity for a little romance--the life of
Julie, whose name was carried from one
generation to another in these resorts Of
talented people. Sometimes in studying
the works of art of an epoch Of painting
one face may be seen appearing and reap
pearing, the features of some favorite like
Julie who might have charmed Titan
and his friends or Raphael and his disci
Piles. Everywhere wo turn in tho old gal
leries this memory of the past confronts us.
Now it is o Madonna, then Magdalene,
but the observer knows it is real person,
or one who has lived who looks out from
all these canvases and wonders what tales
Of Bohemia in those golden days of art
might be unfolded if those lips could
speak. So in many places glimpses of
Julie were seen A charming statuette
revealed her in vivacious mood. She was
one Of the figures in ballroom scene.
Upon celebrated monument an unmis-
taxable likeness to her features looked
down benignly. Her personality seemed
to be thoroughly imbedded in the art of
Paris.
One day while in large gallery dis
covered grewsome scene at the morgue
"A young girl lying upon the marble
slab. 1t was q magnificent work, but
startling in it's realism, and yet 1t belonged
to that period of, French art when realism
was in its infancy. But chill went
through me when recognized the feat
ures Of the young girl who figured SO prom
inently in the artof the day. Was this
the Julie of whom DE Musset sang or sew
eral prominentsnovelists wrote-not dis
sected for they did not dissect people in
literary manner in those refreshing daysP
The attendant at the museum told his
little story about the picture and the
painter
"Itwas painted from life, p he said cit
was an actual episode.
"Who was she?n
eve don't know that.
One day while strolling through one Of
the pretty cemeteries came to grave
marked by plain stone. "Julie, it said.
"Who she was is known to her friends.
When she died will be remembered by
them. When she was born, VIC do not
knoW. Enshrined in the hearts of poets,
artists and sculptors sre written her yir-
tues. What does it matter to others?'
And that was as far as ever went in
my Investigation. Exchange.