Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-28

miration and of wonderment to turn from
the walls to the table, and yet again to the
walls.
What think you of this. young sir7"
asked the painter, tearing of the cloth
which concealed the fat object which he
had borne beneath his arm. 1t was leaf
shaped sheet of glass bearing upon 1t a face
with halo round it. so delicately outlined,
and Of SO perfect tint, that it might have
been indeed a human face which gazed with
sad and thoughtful eyes upon the young
squire. He clapped his hands, with that
thrill of joy which true art will ever give
to a true artist.
1T is great.'' he cried. TT is wonderful!
But l marvel, sir, that you should have
risked work of such beauty and value by
bearing 1t at night through SO unruly
crowd"
Il have indeed been rash,'' said the artist.
! Some wine, Tita, from the Florence flask.
Had it not been for you, | tremble to
think of what might have come OF 1t. See
to the skin tint; 1t Is not to be replaced,
for paint you will, 1t Is not once in
hundred times that it is not either burned
too brown in the furnace or else the color
will not hold and you get but a sickly
white. There you can see the very veins and
the throb of the blood Yes, davolo! If 1t
had broken, my heart would have broken,
too. 1t is for the choir window in the
Church of ST. Remi, and we had gone. my
little helper and /, to see If it was indeed of
the size for the stone work. Night had
fallen we finished, and what could We
do save carry it home as best we might?
But you, young sir, you speak as If you
too knew something of the art.
so little that l scarce dare speak of 1t
in your presense." Alleyne answered. II
have been cloister bred, and 1t was no
very great matter to handle the brush bet
ter than my brother novices.'
There are pigments, brush and paper"
said the old artist. Il do not give you
glass, for that is another matter, and takes
l pray you to show me touch of your art.
I thank you, Tita. The venetian glasses,
cara mia, and fill them to the brim. A
seat, sgnori'
While Ford. in his English French, was
conversing with Tita in her Italian French
the old man was carefully examining his
| precious head to see that no scratch had
been left upon its surface When he
glanced up again. Alleyne had. with few
bold strokes of the brush. tinted in wom-
ans face and neck upon the white sheet in
front of him.
"Diavolo.' exclaimed the old artist, stand
ing with his head on one side, you have
power; yes, cospetto! you have power. 1t
is the face of an ANGEL
1T is the face of Lady Maude Loring!'
cried Ford, even more aStonished
why. on my faith, it is not unlike herr"
said Alleyne, in some confusion.
"Ah, a portrait! So much the better.
Young man, l am Agostno Pisano. the son
of Andrea Pisano and l say again that you
have power. Further, 1 say that, if you will
stay with me, l will teach you all the Sc
crets of the glass stainers' mystery; the
pigments and their thckening, which will
fuse into the glass and which will not, the
furnace and the glazing-every trick and
method you shall know"
Il would be right glad to study under
such master" said Aileyne; but / am
sworn to follow my lord while this war
lasts"
War, war" cried the old Italian Ever
this talk of war. And the men that you
hold to be great-what are they? Have
not heard their names? Soldiers butchers,
destroyers! All, per Bacco! we have men in
Italy who are in very truth great. You
pull down, you despoil; but they build up,
they restore. All, if you could but see my
own dear Pisa, the Duomo, me closters of
Campo Santo, the high Campanile, with the
mellow throb of her bells upon the warm
Italian air. Those the works of great
men. And | have seen them with my own
eyes, these very eyes which look upon you.
have seen Andrea Orcagna, Taddeo Cad
di, Giottino, Stefano Simone Memmi-men
whose very colors 1 am not worthy to mix.
And 1 have seen the aged Giotto, and he In
turn was pupil to Cimabue, before whom
there was no art in Italy, for the Greeks
were brought to paint the chapel of the
Gondi at Florence. All, sgnor, there are
the real great men whose names will be
held in honor when your solo.ers are shown
to have been the enemies of human kind"
Faith, SIR" said Ford, there is some
thing to say for the soldiers Also for, unless
they be defended, how are all these gentle
men whom you have mentioned to preserve
the pictures which they have painted?'
And all these?" said Alleyne Have you
indeed done them alI?-and where are they
to go?"
Yes, sgnor, they are all from my hand.
Some are, as you see, upon one sheet, and
some are in many pieces which may fasteli
together. There are some who do but paint
upon the glass, and then, by placing an
other sheet of glass upon the top and fas-
tening 1t, they keep the air from their
painting. Yet hold that the true art of my
craft lies much in the furnace as in the
brush. See this rose window which is from
the model of the Church of the Holy Trim
ity at Vendome, and this other of the Find
ing of the Grail which is for the apse of
the abbey church Time was when none but
my countrymen could do these things; but
there is Clement of Chartress and others in
France who are very worthy workmen. But
ah, there is that ever-shrieking brazen tongue
which will not let US forget for one short
not the hand of the master, which rules
over the world
A stern clear bugle call had sounded close
at hand to summon some following together
for the night.
1T is a sign to US as WELL" said Ford
Il would fam stay here forever amid all
these beautiful things"-staring hard at the
blushing Tita as he spoke-'but we must
be back at our lords hostel ere he reach
il.
Amid renewed thanks and with promises
leave of the old Italian glass stainer and
his daughter The streets We're clearer now
and the rain had stopped, so they made
their way quickly from the Rue du Roi in
which their new friends dwelt, to the Rue
des Apotres, where the hostel of the Half
Moon was situated.
(To be continued tomorrow