Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-04-18
cHARLToN's TREASURE.
How a Woman's Intuition Forestalled a
Catastrophe.

The only secret IN the household of Mr..
and Mrs. John Amory did not belong to
them, but had been intrusted to their
keeping by Charles Charlton, an old
friend of both, who was generally ac-
counted a ne'er-do-well Charlie" Charl-
ton, before he grew bitter, used to say
when anybody asked If there was such a
thing as luck in the world, that there
existed plenty of bad luck, as his career
proved, and II is true that despite certain
advantages of birth and education this
young man was born, or appeared to
have been born. under an unlucky star
His father was a rich man. and Charlie"
was his only child, yet the stern, tacti-
turn, and gloomy father never sought to
win his boys love and seemed not to de-
mand his confidence. The boy. therefore
started handicapped in life despite mater
ial advantages.
Until I was sixteen years old" the
young man used to say, II don't believe
my father ever knew whether | went to
school or not He used to see me at
breakfast and dinner. but never exchang-
ed a dozen words with me at either meal.
If 1t hadn't been for poor old Margaret.
who had charge of the house since nv
mothers death, he wouldn't have known
II | needed clothes. But I did go to
school-a public school-because all the
other children in our block went and II
| had remained at home, l should have
died of loneliness. So I never missed a
day. Much good my punctuality did me-
The elder Charlton was attorney for a
few sober and safe corpora tions and
nearly every night closeted himself in his
library with mass of papers As the
railways and other institutions whose in
| terests he safeguarded had their centres
in the West he was troubled with very
little company. and until a taste for the
| theatre developed in his son. that youth
used to dawdle about the kitchen, fall
asleep in the dining room and find the
hour between dinner and bedtime dis
| tressngly long. During the period of his
| callow time. Charlie began to try to
copy pictures from the illustrated papers
and 1t was not very long before he fan
| cied himself an artist. With the first
| scratches of his untutored pencil old Mar
| garet proudly proclaimed him born
painter" In fact, with considerable fear
| of the result but with determination the
| faithful soul knocked at the library door
| one night and showed Mr.. Charlton an
| example of his sons talent. The result
| justified her fear. The rugged old man
| poohed-poohed the effort. tore 1t up. and
| said Send him to bed; he can't waste
| his time so badly II he's asleep"
Shortly after this. Charlie turned his
| 18th birthday. and his father sent for him
| to come into the library. Margaret was
| the messenger. and she found the lad
| sprawling over the dining table with
water colors mixed in the saucers and
engaged in copying in color Da vincis
| Last Supper"-no less.
Your father wants you-what do you
be doin'?" said Margaret all In one
| breath.
Look at that" exclaimed Charlie con-
| fdently Isn't It good?"
THE cloth is as like linen as two PAGE -
| said Margaret admiringly. but. ah. the
mess you're maxim. Run away in with
| you. The master wants you"
MY father"
Yes. an 1 think he'll be wantin' to
| send you to school"
Bully" said Charlie rising hastily.
and in his excitement overturning a
saucer of paint on his coat. He wiped It
| of with a napkin. while Margaret scold-
| ed. lamented, and advised all at once.
| Go and change your coat. there's n
| dear" she said.
| What's the use. Margaret" answered
| the boy he'll never notice "
Mr.. Chartons proposition was to take
| Charlie into his law office.
Il suppose you can read and write" he
| said grimly. "and IL you have any brains
| at all. I'll teach you to reason"
Yes, sir. / can read and write" said
| charlie sullenly the was always at his
worst in his fathers presence). but.
| don't want to learn the other thing"
| What. TO reason?"
| mo. sir, to be n lawyer"
Probably you would like to go to col
| legeP Well. you can't. | don't believe In
it. What do you want to make Of your.
| self?"
| ia Ike to be an artist" said Charlie.
AN artistic draw pictures like the
| one Margaret showed me? Nonsense
| Put that out of your head-it will never
buy your salt. II you don't want to ac-
cept my offer. I'll not force you. Stay OF
| at the high school for year longer and
then decide on what you'll work at, fol
| promise you you'll have to work. did
This ended the interview. an unsatIs
factory one to both parties, for II con.
WINGED Charlie that his father hated hin
and II confirmed the father in the i'm
preston that his son was a Ounce Its
worst effect, however. was to bolster VI
Margaret's belief that her boy was borr
painter. Charlie had some doubts about
| this until his fathers rough speech; after
that he felt positive that nature ant
fate both intended him to be an artist
Hitherto he had made but little progress.
under a process of self-tuition which con
sisted mainly in copying from picture,
and coloring his outlines "out of his owl
| head" Now he decided to procure in
struction. and surreptitiously he did so.
That was mistake number one in poo
Charlie Charlton's career. A little con
| siuerdton, II little sympathy. might nav
| shown him the error he was making be
fore too many years had been wasted
but his father gave him neither. and a
twenty the boy had his way. Six months
afterwards he opened a little studio, fur
nished II with the queer flotsam and jet
sam of an artists life. and began to pain
''au serieux." Mr.. Charlton had agree,
to allow his son a small income. and
| was paid in to him promptly.
At this period Charlie, as everybod.
called him, seemed TO be perfectly happy
| II Is true that he never. by any chance
sold a picture. but this was only
| crumpled rose leaf for Charlie used T.
laugh and say frankly that his work
weren't worth a purchase.
| couple of years of studio life. som
DEBTS, of course. some complications, an
then young Charlton made another mis-
take-the browning one. When his for
| tunes were at their lowest ebb, he mar
ried his own model. The elder Charlton
when he heard of this step. prompt
| stopped the allowance and cut his SON
name out of his will.
That might have been endured but tn
; | marriage itself was most unhappy. No
body ever said a kind word about tn
young wife, but she may have been drive
, to 1t by poverty At all events, she wen
/ on in the chorus of a musical comedy
and, as her figure had grown too blows
to serve any longer for an artists mode
1t was, perhaps, the only thing she coul
do.
! But, If all that was reported was tru'
| she found the temptations to lead a free
| and-easy life too great to overcome
t Young Charlton was asked to leave hi
studio, where he had difficulty to NEE
q 1 10 nd oil Of tha xyfo