Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1905-03-16
Why Angelo Jones
Gave Up Art

"Co YOU don't know why Angelo
y Jones gave up art" said the doc
tor, after contributing three smoke
rings to the rathskeller haze. "Well, Il
was a mean game Of the Old man's-one
of thase shrewd brutal schemes that
only hardened stock operator would be
callous enough to think Of or execute
You know old Midas Jones never took
kindly to the idea Of the young cub be
coming a painter-'daubing for a living
he used to call 1t. Butlhe had never been
accustomed to exercise any authority or
even influence over his children His
was busy life, keeping up the house
and the yacht and the villa and the style
generally. The children and the serv-
ants were left to madame. She was
vapory thing who lived under the de-
fusion that she had soul The girls ali
took after dad. They got away from her
and became golfers. But Angelo was
mammals boy; he thought he had soul,
too, and his mother encouraged, him t.
spread IL out III Olihs
THE old man cussed and threatened
and ridiculed, but, naturally. the more
earnest he grew the more convinced the
soul contingent became that Il was their
duty to stick out against him. And they
did. Angelo rugged up studio cozy
corner style, In the top floor front of the
old Fifth avenue barrack, entered at the
Academy Of Design, bought velvet coat
and an Objectionable pipe, let his hair
grow long and Joined an evening life
class.
This is where old hamburg came in.
You knew hamburg. You knew his
seedy coat and his collar, which he al
ways wore once too often, his dusty veil
of long hair, his thin, leathery face, his
sunken eye and his peony nose Maybe
you don't know, however, that he had
touch Of genius In hlm-genius gone
wrong.
TITS very sad story. He was bach
elor. They say he was very har9 hit in
a love affair and let go his hold on hope.
don't know about the love affair, but
it's all true about the hope end of He
was one of those menwho are marked for
failure. 1t was no fault Of his. He
worked. He got his pictures shown. He
sold good many. But he never had any
business. instinct. He never seemed to
get ahead of the game. He was always
fighting poverty and debt He was often
in actual want.
After awhile the struggle wore him
out. Discouragement crushed him and
he became the dealers hack he was when
he died.
yet he was most charming fellow.
remember one New Years eve he came
to my office. was bachelor then and
prescribed in the back parlor of a fur
nished room house. He asked me II !
had some hot water and said / had a
gas stove and kettle. Then he hauled
out Of one pocket Of his long rusty over
coat two beautiful eggs and out Of the
other a bottle of bourbon whisky, Il
borrowed a tumbler of milk from the
landlady and he brewed egg-nogg. He
handled the vessels and the Ingredients
so tenderly that 1t almost brought tears
to my eyes to see him do 1t.
Il wondered what the meaning Of the
treat was and wasn't much wiser when
he told me that 1t was through me that
he had Just made 5000. He didn't seem
Inclined to explain and wondered
vaguely whether he had used my mug
for a model in some picture he had sold.
He put the subject out Of my head by
beginning to talk about art, and when
he talked about art no one could do any
thing but listen.
Il found out later how had helped
him. II was his last flicker Of good luck,
by the way. About a month earlier. as
| recall. had advised him to take some
OF his work to Midas Jones, whom he
had met often in the days when his ca
reer seemed full Of promise, and who,
besides being really good-hearted man.
was always vain Of his reputation as
picture buyer. You should have seen
some Of the pictures he bought,
"Well, after hesitating for nearly
month, old hamburg at last found him
self in desperate hole. Extremity gave
him courage. He tucked a couple Of ais
sketches under his arm and walked
down to Wall street-literally. have
seen the things many time since. They
are exquisite. They are actually in
spired. believe they are the best work |
old BAN ever did.
'sThe ofiee-boy eyed him askance and
consulted a typewriter. The young vom-
an passed the problem up to Jones pri-
vate secretary. The private secretary
sized up the very shabby gentleman. the
shapeless. soft felt hat, the long. rusty
overcoat. the sloveless hands, blue with
cold, elasping the pictures tied face 70
face. But when be exchanged a fsH