Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-08-04

the mountains and the pines
RSrSz@Sl were with me, and through
lSS&Ej the winter, too, busy as l was
filling in my Black Rock sketches for
the railway people who would still
persist in ordering them by the dozen,
the memory of that stirring life would
come over me, and once more / would
be among the silent pines and the
mighty snow peaked mountains, and
before me would appear the red shirt
ed shanty men or dark faced miners,
great, free, bold fellows, driving me al
most mad with the desire to seize and
fix those swiftly changing groups Of
picturesque figures. At such times I
would drop my sketch and with eager
brush seize a group, a face, figure,
and that is how my studio comes to be
filled with the men of Black Rock.
There they are about me-Graeme and
the men from the woods, Sandy, Bap-
tiste, the Campbells and, in many atti-
tudes and groups, old man Nelson;
Craig, too, and his miners, Shaw, Geor-
die, Nixon, poor old Billy and the keep
er of the league saloon.
1t seemed as if lived among them,
and the illusion was greatly helped by
the vivid letters Graeme sent me from
time to time. Brief notes came now
and then from Craig, too, to whom l
had sent a faithful account of how l
had brought Mrs. Mavor to her ship
and of how l had watched her sail
away with none too brave a face as
she held up her hand that bore the
miners ring and smiled with that deep
light in her eyes. All, those eyes have
driven me to despair and made me
fear that 1 am no great painter after
all, in spite of what my friends tell
me who come in to smoke my good
cigars and praise my brush! can get
the brow and hair and mouth and
pose, but the eyes-the eyes elude me.
And the faces of Mrs. Mavor on my
wall, that the men praise and rave
over, are not such as 1 could show to
any of the men from the mountains.
Graeme's letters tell me chiefly about
Craig and his doings and about old
man Nelson, while from Craig 1 hear
about Graeme and how he and Nelson
are standing at his back and doing
what they can to fill the gap that new
er can be filled. The three are much
together, I can see, and 1 am glad for
them all, but chiefly for Craig, whose
face, grief stricken, but resOlute and
often gentle as a wOman's, will not
leave me or let me rest in peace.
The note of thanks he sent me was
II, 49,. s-4s
heroics, much less pining or self pity.
1t was simple and manly, not ignoring
the pain, but making much of the joy
And then they had their work to do
That note, so clear, so manly, so nObly
sensible, stiffens my back yet at times.
| In the spring came the startling news
that Black Rock would soon be no
more. The mines were to close down
on April 1. The company, having al.
lured the confiding public with entic.
| ing descriptions of marvellous drifts
veins, assays and prospects and having
expended vast sums of the public's
money in developing the mines till the
assurance of their reliability was alb
solutely final, calmly shut down and
vanished. With their vanishing van
ishes Black Rock, not without loss and
much deep cursing on the part Of the
men brought some hundreds Of miles
to aid the company in it's eXtraordina
ry and wholly inexplicable game.
Personally it grieved me to think
that my plan of returning to Black
Rock could never be carried out. II
was a great compensation, however
that the three men most representative
to me of that life were soon to visit
me actually in my own home and den
Graeme's letter said that in one month
they might be expected to appear. A
least he and Nelson were soon to come
and Craig would soon follow.
On receiving the great news 1 at one,
looked up young Nelson and his sister
and we proceeded to celebrate the joy
full prospect with specially good din
ner. found the greatest delight il
picturing the Joy and pride of the oil
man in his children, whom he had no
seen for fifteen or sixteen years. TIL
mother had died some five years be
fore. Then the farm was sold, and tn
brother and sister came into the city
and any father might be proud of them
The son was well made young fellow
handsome enough, thoughtful and soli
looking. The girl reminded me of he
father. The same resolution was see
in mouth and jaw, and the same pas
: sion slumbered in the dark gray eyes
She was not beautiful, but she carried
herself well, and one would always
look at her twice. 1t would be wortl
something to see the meeting between
father and daughter.
But fate, the greatest artist of Us all
takes little count of the careful draw
ing and the bright coloring of our fan
cy's pictures, but with rude hand de
|, ranges all and with one swift swee]
paints out the bright and paints in tn
= dark. and this trick he served me whel