The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-11
HIGH ART AND HAIRPINS.
BY IzehA FoRREsEEus.

BX I%0hA FozeRESTER.
 "Mr Asquith is out by himself vet" said the tailor who had his shop on the ground floor of No ----- Washing ton square. He held the door half open and Helene paused with one foot on the narrow flight of stairs leading to the studio She was. frankly dis appointed. To have come so fskr for nothing. She hesitateds giancing back doubtfuiiy at the waiting cab.
 Did he say when ne would be bAek?s
 He not ever say when.,' answered the tailor positively, with sweeping Hungarian assertion. He goes. then he comes aeain. The door is open.'
 Then think that shall wait" Helene smiled with sudden pleasure. T am sure he will come soon. He must have expected me and left the d@=y open.'
 Sure he must" agreed the tailor tcordially It was entirely probable. If there had been the slightest chance of the descent of such radiant young goddess as this he had no; doubt but ' hat Mir Asquith lived in a state of perpetual expectancy.
 Helene went quickly upstairS. At the second flight there was no land- ing. The top step ended abruptly at sa door and the ceiling sloped in an angIe to meet the tor of the door She, lxifted the old fashioned latch and looked in, her heart beating faster. The studio was empty.
 f For an instant she hesitated She had never been in his studio. It seemed like an intrusion Into some in fimate. personal part Of his life in (which she with all his love for her had no share.
 But because of that very privacy she wanted to intrude. She wanted l3o see how he lived, here in his own little den where he did his work, the lwork that was to win him fame and fortune before the world, the den where he dreamed his dreams of the future Tn. which she had so great sshare.
 She pushed the door farther open, lifted her soft light skirt of silk higher from the ousty stair and went into the studio, closing the door ater sher.
 It was half ceiIed attic, the near est approach to a Parisian atelier that Asqutth could find in New York There was a skylight in the high peaked roof. and wide. heavy cross beems vis- t~te to the naked eye marked the cave line
 There was no burlaE on the waiis. no Turkish rugs on the floor. no
 
 tabourette or samovar. It was simply 6 work shop. A huge black walnut easel stood crosswise, facing the north Iight Bafore 1t stood a rush bottomeG chair. and a low table filtered with brushes, paint tubes and half mixed coIors X dIngy, we'll daubed blouse lay over the back of the chair ana 2 pipe half smoked rested on the easel ledge. Helene SEW it all at one glance and laughed joyously tremulously. She had sever felt herself so near to hin as now. What q. bay he was. after all. and how funny he must lool< ia that elC blouse. She sat down in the rush bottomed chair and leaned her head back against the sleeve or the blouse.
 The walls were bare except for half finished charcoal and pen and ink studies. with he-e and there water color Tas black and white studies were strange to her. but the landscapes all bone the same strag- Eling signature, BRgh Asauith-
 That was all Not a smgle Venus, not a east of anything in sighL As- quith was strictly a~ Landscape artist and did not paint the figure. Vague ly, she had been pleased that he dii not. Of course, if one were devoted to art and must paint the figure. then one must have models. and models must necessarily be beautiful, and
 Right there Helene's logic ended, but 1t was suficient She was giaS that Asauith was a landscape artist and did mt require any model save old Mother Nature
 She drew off her long mOusquetaire gloves with sigh Of content. On the third finger of her lett hand sparkled diamond, It had been there over a month now witn sudden impulse, as the gloves, slipped to the floor, she pressed the ring against ner nps. It stood for so much, more than a mere engagement. They had known each other long time, two seasons and she had met him every winter as dinners and swell dances. But sthis summer ft had been different, As oalth said 1t was fate. Helene thought