The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1903-11-12
An I1lcorr.ig ible
--Angel -
BY F. II. LANCASTER
Copyright, 1905, by Daily Story Pub. Co..

III Elm, the artist, dropped his book
and strobe to the window, there to
stand and stare out upon the green
slope that slipped shimmering and 81
lent to the valley below. Green-gold
where the sun shot down to it; green
black where the pine shadows fell
upon it; but always green, glad-and
beautiful. A thing to hold any artis-
tic eye. All, but this artist was blind
to it. That unlucky line of Ruskin's.
1t had walked afresh all the heartburn
ger he had hoped to soothe into ever
lasting rest with the lullaby of labor.
"An incorrigible angel" What mat
tered it that Ruskin was writing of
eighth century Irish art? At the words
had sprung before the artists mental
vision that tantalizing embodiment Of
beauty and mischief. If the great critic
had coined the phrase for the express
benefit of monsieur's. mis- hosts, slip
of a daughter, it could not have come
more pat to the purpose. So while he
stared &C the slope and it's wonderful
play of high light and shadow Inc
artist saw only dark eyes beneath
thick, curling lashes. dimples dancing
in roselesf cheeks and tempting lips
parting over pearly teeth.
"How wonderfully lovely the child
is.:' he infused, while smile lifted the
tips of his mustache. Little tease. In
corrigible angel suits i1er to dot"
And he smiled again, finding these for
hidden fruits very sweet indeed.
For all thought Of the lovely child
was forbidden fruit to the artist. Being
young and ambitious. and acknowledge
ing frankly that matrimony was too
heavy handicap for his career, he had
planned to eschew woman and the
thought of her.
"Ill never marry for anything but
love. Ergo, If I don't fall in love
won't marry" he explained to his pipe.
and pleased with his philosophy and
its penetration he had pursued his ap-
or contented and unhappy. as is the
way with artists. be the A big or little.
Now, VOLTA. That path had brought
him abruptly vis-a-vis with an incor-
rigible angel. Comment done? 1t was
time for his resolution to assert itself
OR to turn tail and run. AS for the
artist, he wished the resolution to
stand pat. On general principles men
like to believe that they are made of
sterner stuff than a rope Of sand. Ger
tainment! A week ago he had burned
his sketches of rounded cheek and
beauteous brow and said to his heart:
Enough, enough" Said it sternly all
in the "dead vast and middle of the
night y En- Dein. but he Kept on star
ing down the slope until he spied C
white speck at the bottom of it.
"Aspasi's bef-illed sun-bonnet."
He seized his hat and slammed his
door. Resolution had turned tail. QIel
esclandre, quel esclandre!
Out vraiment. 1t is SO ont there on
those green hills under the pleasant
sunshine-among the simple lives of
peaceful 'Caja1 land. The heart of am
bition grows ashamed of it's clamor-
of it's everlasting "Give, give" ''There
is a bigger thing than either money or
success, and that is the serenity of soul
that sets aside money and success as
little tin toys that eternity may easily
dispense with" The artist breathed in
such thoughts with the air-after reso-
luton ran away. He fancied that it
was because of the profound peace AMI
silence that he felt nearer to Heaven
out here upon these green-wrapt kills:
that it was the tall pines and the stars
STOPPING over them that awoke those
mystic yearnings; that it was the
moonlight and the quiet that sent him
of into those long. long reveries
wherein the big things dwindled and
shrank and it seemed good just to live
on in silence at peace with all human
kind. Yea, truly, he thought it was all
case of atmosphere, the poor artist
Little dreaming that it would have
been the same in Broadway or Boston
had the ,pcorrigible angel been there
Like most caen he shrank from analyz-
ing his emotions. But. Aspasi, the in
corrigible angel, analysed them for
him. All, mar oui! = Her eyes danced
when she beheld II. lie artistic smoking
with his eyes on vacancy, and her lips
auivered with suppressed smiles when
ho Sto y,,mnrpd over thS reoyest tn ha