The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-30

LONDON, April 2l.--The very best oon-
,.otsd man in London to-day Il Marcus
saons R. A.. who il enjoying his first real
Ailday after forty-eight years Of constant,
m Absorbing work. For the first time since
N, seventeenth birthdaythe artist is loafng,
q he calls It.
BE sketches pretty steadily Ave days out
A si1. but has not had paint brush In his
Asnd since last spring, and simply revels
h that fact. He tells with almost boyish
dSs OF ten mile strolls out Of town Of a
morninR Of long afternoons passed In read
me- best beloved books, but most Of all
IL dIatSs upon the Joy Of dTeamless nights,
VIII no compositions to destroy his peace
Of mind.
For, strange az 1t may seem, this most sue
ess,hll OF English painters, who has never
had an unsold canvas In his studio, has SUI
fsred from insomnia all his life as a result
Of vorry over work. From its inception
ssnb picture has cost him many hours Of
slssp and oeaseless anxiety until the very
v.rnish was dry. 1t is not unnatural,
therefore, that this long deferred playtime
seoms doubly delightful.
In view Of Mr.. Stones appearance OF
superb rosy vigor, il is difficult TO associate
him with any form OF mental vexation.
M6S be is a very para gon Of matured beauty
taD. erect, with snow white hair and mus
tscbe; his eyes are Of deep, brilliant blue,
and he has a skin ft 10 rival a girls in tint
and texture Furthermore he Is, accord
ing 10 his own pronouncement, that rarest
object beneath the sun, an absolutely con-
tented man, one without an wEratifed
wish.
When at II he lost his fsther-an A. r. A.
bsfore hm-the young man assumed heavy
financial obligations. That very year he
painted bis FIRST ambitious work, and offered
h for exhibition. II was accepted and sim
ultaneously found q purchaser.
Within three years from that date the son
vas earning larger income than the father
ever achieved, and from that time on his
career has been one Of unqualified success
b did not take tho art dealers long to dis
cover that in this budding artist a gold mine
was awaiting their operations.
They o'amored TO buy Of him In advance,
took pictures direct from his easel,
and some Of these same pictures have since
Bstted their owners q yearly income Of
q 900. IN the form Of engraved OF photo
F1phed reproductions. Every corner OF
he civilized world Is moro OF less familiar
with Mr.. Stones romantic compositions.
In COUNTLESS households The Quarrel,
The Sailors 6weetheart, = First Love, ,
b., are hanging and much beloved, for no
natter how indifferent a man or a woman
nay Be to the Joy Of line and color, there Is a
asntiment in most Of his paintings hat
makes the whole world quickly kin. Both
tsxsa and all ages ind something OF other
I chOFiahed past or q coveted future In
hose RTAooful love stories, told In a setting
Il boWory tres and-velvet lawns. where
fountains, rustic seats, peaoooks and guitars
tre uSsd IN picturesque fashion.
But there IL nothing that bores Mr.. Stone
SONAR than talking Of himssh or his work.
Try you never 90 stoutly to hold TO the
G-5jSCt, be eludes you, and slips OF to his
iaVorite topic, which Is afeotionate, de-
HShtful gossip Of the famous friends Of his
earlier life, more particularly those two
Eants Of his youth, Thscleray and Charles
Dickens.
Frank Stone, the father, was a warm
psSonal friend Of both men before either
one had begun TO write fiction. When
Marcus was lad 10 or II years Of age the
father aud the two novelists elected to take
their families to Boulogne for the summer.
II vas there In the French seaport that the
Guthor Of Vanity Fair caused his young
fiend 10 commit a small sin, but one that
ht heavily upon the boys conscience.
Frank Stone was always bitterly OPP
posed 10 the practise Of tipping the children
Of ones friends and had strictly forbidden
bic sons 10 aoosPt such money. Now,
Thaekeray could no more resist scattering
shilhngs and sugar plums among the small
ny than he could help laughing at the
weaknesses Of their elders. The second
day, therefore, after their arrival at Bou-
bsns, meeting young Marcus on the quay,
IhAcksray hshed out q Offering two
frAno piece and bestowed II With advice
10 hurry to the nearest pastry cooks and
80 what he could buy.
Poor little Marcus was rendered speech
lea by this largess. He dared not re-
return the coin TO the kindly giver towering
SomAny feet above him, he trembled at the
thought Of telling his father and most
Of all feared to spend the money, burning
hole in his conscience and pocket. To
this day he ohuckles over the agony Of mind
that tip caused him and wonders II any
osnH boy ever suffered In the same way
It is IA connection with this novelist
that Mr.. Stone proclaims his thankful
bess for the blessings Of modern hygiene.
though barely 50 when be died, Thackeray
boxed a full rs. He seemed 10 carry the
weight Of many years, was heavy and
feeble IN his movements, and while the
mind remained keenly vivaoious the body
wa aged and exhausted long before It's
time.
With Dickens it was much the same,
and To prove the change q few decades
have wrought he calls attention to the
iac that while Mr.. Pickwiok was merely
round IS he IL pictured as jolly old
Gentleman. The truth Of It Is middle age
haa been advanced at least q SCORE Of years,
noderns retain their youth far longer than
hel forbearS, and the credit for this happy
condition IL largely due 90 Mr.. Stone says,