The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-09

Yes. you can come along II you like;
it may be the big thing yet"
AS the carriage rolled along Indiman
vouchsafed certain explanations.
As | have already told YOU he be-
gan, II bought the picture from a small
dealer in the. Bowery. / happened to
notice it in his window and, the Red
Duchess being one of the half dozen
superlatiye portraits of the world,
was naturally interested 1t was GER
tainly fine copy. and I was pleased to
get it SO eheaply.
Nov there were two or three cir
cunstances connected with my find
that afterwards struck me as peculiar.
In the first place, 1t is well
any of the pictures at the Hermitage
gallery is Very rarely given,
and the authorities are particularly
averse to having reproductions made
of the Lely portrait. Secondly, why
We're the edges of the canvas SO curl
ously serrater. giving the picture the
look of having been hastily cut away
from it's frame? And, finally. where
and when had this copy been made?
for the label of the Fulton street art
dealer on the back bore the date 1903,
and til S was the I'd of February in the
same year. Obviously impossible that
the artist could have gone to Russia,
painted the picture, and returned with
1t to New York in little over month.
Two days later I was walking up
Fourth avenue, through the district af-
fected by the cufio and old furniture
dealers and I discovered a replica of
my Red Duchess hanging in shop
window. In every respect identical,
you understand. the two pictures We're
unquestionably the work of the same
hand. Whose hand
DO you remember, ;Thorp, the name
of Give: Richmond? Well, for a year
or two he was the favorite painter of
womens portraits here in New York
hailed as genius and all that. Then
suddenly his work began to fall off in
quality; his failures became egregious.
and his clients left him. Shortly after
he disappeared; it was the common
report that his misfortunes had at
fected his reason; there were even
hints at suicide. That was some four
or five wears ago, and whatever the
secret may be it has been kept faith
fully.
Eat least l had solved a portion Of
the probler1-it was Give Richmond
and no other who had painted my copy
of the Red Duchess How do know :?
partly technical, but more largely in
tuitive. How do you recognize a
friends face? How does the bank
clerk detect the counterfeit bill?
Nov this second copy bore the same
earmarks as the one in my possession
the edges of the canvas married and
jagged, the Fulton street label on the
back. What was this mystery?
"Mystery-yes and behind 1t the
shadow of a crime, of a human TRACE
dy Who was to lift the veil? There
was but one man-Clive Richmond
who could answer my question: and
where was Give Richmond? A week
later 1 found still a third copy Of
my Duchess over on Sixth avenue.
had left my purse at home
that morning. and when Invent back
the next day to buy the picture it was
gone-sold to a strangers. Did l say
that 1 had missed getting possession
of the second picture through the same
sort of contretemps? fe%=Ilexer saw
either of them again. ms..
II had written to friend in Peters
burg to make certain Inquiries for me.
and his answer confirmed my suspic-
ions The Red Duchess was not hang
ing in its accustomed place at the
HERMITAGE; 1t was in process of reno-