Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-08-08
Continued.

did it out of ambition and hunger;
now the ambition still remains, but it
is DINNER than when it was joined to
necessity. | look about for some
thing to arouse my enthusiasm and L
find nothing. Just now | have can
vas on my easel, again woman's
portrait. | am painting neighbor Of
ours, Baroness Erlach, an interesting
person, a widow about thirty-two.
When she was girl of eighteen she
married a man sixty-four, who died in
the course Of nature, when she was
twenty-six. Her two sons are at the
Military school; for herself, when she
is not here in her splendid old
couTt-y house, she is everywhere and
nc within Paris, London, or st.
Petersburg; neither the North Cape
She knows the world thoroughly; she
Is gay, witty, sometimes with a spice
OF malice, and has the exterior of a
woman who lives more by candle
light than in the sunshine. Pale,
delicate, and slender, she has great
brown eyes, with that peculiar ex-
preston sometimes given by excess
sive shoft-sightedness. and, which is
often most effective, that soft appeal
ing look which hardly seems TO
accord with the rather rousihs face.
| am painting her in the rich Spanish
costume of d noble lady of the six
teenth century, in the Stuart cap
trimmed with pearls, the high lace
ruff, ard in a red velvet dress open
morning at nine o'clock and generally
stays to dinner with us. Before the
picture vanishes into the twilight Of
its destination--she is very mys-
terious about the name of it's future
possessor-I shall exhibit it in Ores
den that is TO say, my dear Wolf, il
| ever succeed in finishing it. For
Antje-this is another drawback
possesses, among many other delight.
full Qualities, the Philistine one Of
bitter jealousy. She is not fond of
the Baroness, and she makes it mani
fest to her on all possible occasions,
and yesterday she put the finishing
touch to her icy reserve by simply
leaving the room, during dessert,
driven away by a few anecdotes
which apparently offended her sense
of propriety. The consequence was
that the amiable original of the
Spanish lady soon went home, and
excused herself from coming today on
the plea of nervous headache, which
Is a very good excuse. but which
shows me very plainly that as a
married man music suffer for my
wifes rudeness.
This is the wav matters stand,
Wolf You see am still the same
old enthusiast. who shrinks from
sober reality, and tries in vain to gild
1t; the passionate man with his too
strong affections, who has always had
the misfortune, when he was ready to
give himself entirely, to have his
hopes dashed by a stream of cold
water. Wolf, can you feel with me
what 1t is to live always among petty
natures?
"You see, know that she Is an
excellent, perfectly upright woman;
she does not know the meaning of the
word passion. she will never take n
step aside from the path of duty or of
honor. But neither would she ever
forgive such lapse; and, what IS
worse, would never understand It.
We are like fire and water together
"Come soon. will come to Ores
den to meet you.
"Your
Leopold"
The writer of these lines folded up
the several sheets, put them into an
envelop, addressed it, sealed 1t, and
then sat leaning back in his armchair
for few minutes absolutely motion
less. The autumn sunshine shed a
warm glow into the elegant, richly
furnished room, lighting up the pale
colors of the Smyrna p there which
divided the room, and the carpet
which covered the floor, and rested
on the pictures on their broad gold
frames which hung behind the
occupants back. They were for the
most part landscapes. but there were
also single portraits. studies, all
painted In a peculiar style. Leo
Jussnitz was a disciple of the modern
realistic school: the gnarled oaks, the
clouds in the stormy sky, the harsh
light on the sea. were all sketchlly
flung on the canvas, though with n
certain force. The reeds in the fore
ground almost cast shadow, so
thickly were the colors put on. II
could not be denied that there was
character in these landscapes. but the
amateurishnes was also not to be
denied
Leo himself looked up at picture
placed on an easel behind the low
Eriting-table. It was the portrait OF
"a woman. life-size: a slender figure
I'M a red velvet dress, leaning against
d pillar and looking out at the
spectator with languishing brown
eyes. With the brown hair, the
languid smile on the lips. which were
much too full for the small pale face,
it was like one of MalSirt's creations.
satisfied smile ciept over the
dark face of the painter, to which a
-.