The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-03-07
Art or
sSe1lff1 f1ne11f 2
By ZATDA.

HEN Mr.. John Winston, the new
" engaged art teacher of the
hieh school, talked over his new field
with Mrs. Almira Parsons, at whose
beantiful home he had been fortunate
enough.ao hire room, Mrs. Parsons
stella Pawling will be in your class.
She a real artist, She can model,
draw and carve, and has painted some
pictures that are hanging in their par
Tor at home. Her people are in very
moderate circumstances. Her father
and brother are carpenters and her
mother keeps house for them all. Stella
Is said to be q very ordinary scholar
in other things, but nobody can come
anywhere near her in the drawing
class. There is big publishing house.
in s., ten miles from here, that gives
her orders, and sometimes sends things
for her to pass on"
1t was no wonder that, after such a
eulogy, Mr.. John Winston should COW
ertly take good deal of notice of
Stella. In fact, he did not have very
high opinion of his own art talent, and
which could carve some, he could not
model at all. So he closely inspected
all Stella's work in class, also some
of the modelling and carving that he
found in some of his pupils homes,
gifts of Stella to her friends. He was
anxious to see the paintings in her own
home parlor at home. He imagined
that parlor would be quite a dainty,
artistic affair.
He was quite surprised, when he
found an opportunity to go there, to
find it quite an ordinary parlOr indeed,
with stuffed furniture, plush albums
and cheap lace curtains at the win
dows. At his request Stella quietly and
reluctantly showed him her paintings,
which he recognized as very creditable
productions. Then, also at his request,
she ran up to her room and brought
down other pieces of work inmodeling
and carving. Not only had she talent,
but she had been well taught 1t de-
veloped that, while a waitress two
years before, at summer hotel an
artist, to whose children she had done
some little favor taught her and
started her in the right way to develop
herself.
There was a picture on the parlor
wall that puzzled him more than the
cheap, snowy furniture and curtains.
1t was very large picture and Occur
pied the place of honor between the
two front windows. 1t was one of the
large snowy landscapes, in impossible
. Colors, that travelling artist, some
times with his fingers, sometimes with
"a coarse brush, paints "while you
wait" Such artists" are often tenn
porarily employed by country and town
stores, and the pictures sell, in large
shOwy frames, for two dollars apiece,
being usually considered bargain.
Mr., Winston could hardly keep his
eyes off that picture. It's incongruities
fascinated his attention. He finally
looked at it attentively, without know
ing what he was doing. He was stand
ing up at the time, ready to leave. The
girl suddenly raised the curtain higher
''You can see better now," she said
quite composed.
For a moment he wasn't thinking Of
her as being near him. He was uncon
sciously recollecting that she had been
said to have ''fine taste" in art, and
her evident respect for this coarse pic,
ture caused a superior, sarcastic ex,
preston in his eyes and mouth.
"Ah, a favorite of yours, 1 see?' he
said, lightly.
There was a moments silence ant
he looked up quickly at her.
''Yes, Mr.. Winston" she said, in 6
low, quiet tone, sit is one of my ia
vorites."
With the superior light still shining
in his eyes, he bade her good-by. Ant
sometimes that same expression
showed itself when he would ask heI
an ordinary class question that in
cluded in its answer original judgment
or taste. The girl seemed to pay nc
attention, but he remembered after
ward that she had been very reserved
with him, never speaking to him il
class or elsewhere unless he first spoke
to her, or unless it was really neces
sary.
One day the teacher had been led Il
speak Of the value of art in the publi,
schools. In moment of real earnest
ness to him he gave expression to the
ideas that he held of great moment.
children who are taught early thu
foundation principles of true art, how
ever poor they may be, will have il
their homes only things that are really
expressions of artistic beauty, in fur
nishings, pictures and decoration
There will be nothing incongruous il
the homes of even the poorest work
men, nothing loud and coarse in cot
Oring, everything will be dainty anC
tasteful, the Judgment being educated
Isn't that so, Miss Pawling?"
He was really not thinking at all o
the coarse picture, the showy furni
ture in the well-remembered little par
Ior. He was really in his excited en-
thusiasm appealing to her as one who
of ali the class, had superior Judgment
andAyhose word, in agreement will
him, would have weight.