The record-union., 1899-10-22

at heel, with all the signs of being one
Of those poor derelicts of humanity that
fortune has neglected. Yes, he is this
morning a needy portrait painter,
whose merit is unrecognized, and who
does not know where to turn for a.
crust to feed his wife and starving
little ones But he is too proud to beg,
and is going a weary round in search
of work. He enters office after office,
receiving scant attention in some,
threats in others, but at last hear
ing.
Just let me show you what / can
do,S is his plea. "Ineed the money so
badly, and the price is so small-only
$f0-for the love of God give me
chance" He gets it, and his method
of procedure follows in this way Fur
nished by his patron with a photo
graph, he has it enlarged upon thin
paper, which is pasted upon muslin and
stretched. He covers this with a coat
of shellac as a foundation for the oil
paint. Several artists are in his en-
ploy, the best of them a woman; for
he himself, in his franker moments
over bottle of wine. will admit that
he knows nothing Of painting. His
forte is securing business. The paint
is laid on thin SO as to leave the print
visible until the final touches are put
in; and the work is done with con-
siderable skill, for those artists un-
derstand their craft They have been
well taught; not improbably in Paris
or Munich. Finally the work of art is
enclosed in Dutch metal gilt frame.
By this time the items of expense in
Cured are: Enlarging the photograph,
26 cents; frame, 40 cents; wages of
artist" S1.50; total, S221, leaving a
profit to the promoter of $779 1t is
poor mornings work when he cannot
secure one or two orders, so that his
dinners are easily accounted for; and
he assures you that you would be sur
prised if he were to tell you some of
the names of those who have been his
patrons. Not that the latter statement.
even If true, necessarily proves any,
thing more than that kind hearted men
Will give poor devil of a petitioner
the benefit of the doubt
Perhaps this ingenious gentleman is
still practising, but 1 have my suspic-
ions that he has diverted his genius to
another though a kindred channel: or
the following may be only another
phase of the same trade But within
the last few weeks some of the sublr-
ban villages have been worked by a
poor landscape painter, also of un-
recognized merit and too proud to beg.
He would call upon the rector. men
tlonlng the name of a rector in neigh
boring village. He would set out his
paintings and descant upon their vir-
tues; point with one hand at the ex-
cellence, and with the other at the con-
dition of his shoes. The latter explain
ed the sacrifice he was making of the
former. But to all of us. sooner or
later, he courageously exclaims, mis-
fortune will come. 1t is only tempo
rary. Meanwhile, must sell my
landscapes for little more than the
price of the frames
In this case, as in that of the "por-
trait painter" the wares have merit.
They may even be said to be worth the
small price he charges for them. 1t is
true he resorts to a subterfuge in order
to sell them, but such methods of in
duclng business are not unknown in
horse dealing and in other branches of
trade. The terrible thing, at first sight
is that ne can find painters willing to
produce these paintings for a mere pit
lance. But he may not be so much of
a. slave driver after all: even possibly
a benefactor. These painters evidently
lack the instinct o. Placing their wares
for themselves. Their skill is a merely
average facility, which, unassisted,
would command no market. Their en-
DlOVer prOc1Ires ona apd u-bo,, b,,.i~,oo-
is brisk, thanks entirely TO his enter
prise, they can make at least laborers'
wages. This sounds harsh, but at least
their labor is less than that of the la
borer, and its usefulness to the comnu-
nifty is probably less. They get as
much out Of the world as they contrib
ute to it, and none of us has a right
to expect more.