The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-09-02

SOA HAD an experience oECe
y y Y that nearly whitened my
o Q hair" said tAe artist. spill
y y white paint on itT' asked
ToR the man in the big leather
chair NO; il was something worse
than that I was just start out 10
earn my living with brush. and was
willing To paint almost anything. from
a portrait 10 the sky piece in theatre
scenery." And then he went on 20
tell this story.
"One Of the public buildings in the
capital had a big dome. and on the
ceiling Of this dome was a great deal
OF elaborate painting that had become
dingy and needed retOuching. was
pleased enough when / got the job OF
doing IL.
They erected a staging for me ID
work on-a frail-looking affair, which
almost turned me sick when / ar.
rived with my outfit and stood in the
rotunda. looking up at the dome. 4
hundred and fifty feet above me.
II shall be 50 dizzy I can't hold 4
brush" said | 20 the carpenter.
oh. that will he all right said he
fWe're going to spread a big canvas
under the staging. for the rotunda is
In use all the time. and you'd be spot
ting everybody below with paint un-
less we had something to protect
them
81 felt relieved when heard that
and still more relieved when I had
climbed up into the dome and found
that the entire rotunda below was
hidden by q taut cloth which the work
men had stretched across.
II had been at work nearly two days
when l began TO get careless in step
ping around the staging. / suppose
the canvas below me gave me a feel
ing Of comparative safety. About
noon one day L took a step backward
TO look up at some drapery which
had just repainted My foot touched
only the air, and / fell into the can
vas
There was a ripping and tearing Of
cloth as I settled down into the hol-
low. I lay there hat on my back. and
looked round with an interest in the
quality and strength OF the canvas and
the way in which it was fastened that
you may be sure was sincere.
"Thcrc was no doubt about the
strength Of the fastenings, they were
OF rope, tied round big knots in the
cloth, and strong enough TO hold a
horse. But the canvas itself was
frightfully thin, and was mildcwcd in
spots l turned over on my face and
found myself staring through rip
down to the marble flooring of the ro-
tunda, a hundred feet below.
81 was comfortable enough physical
iy, but mentally Every time | moved
something would stretch ana tear.
"Of course yelled for help. and af-
ter a time l heard answering shouts
from below The canvas was sagSing
down in the middle and straining and
squeaking along the edges. l figured
out that it would take the wOrkmen at
least two minutes to climb TO the dome.
By the time they got to me | thought |
would be spread out below.
4 lIlcu 10 move UP lHe luCllne Ol
cloth. scrambling along on my stom-
ach and pushing with my feet; but the
attempt widened the rip in the canvas
Suddenly, l pushed harder with my
feet, one foot and nearly the whole leg
shot through the canvas.
81 could heay the screams Of women
below. My fingernaiIs scratched and
Clawed the ralgh surface, but, OF
course. made no impression. They
simply kept me from slipping quite
so fast. Then [ heard the steps Of
men on the scaffolding. They let down
a rope that curled near my fingers. but
it was several seconds before dared
To let go my hold on the canvas for a
sufficient time TO grasp it,
Finally | got both hands upon it,
and they dragged me up the incline
to the staging