The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1907-01-31


Swiss Alps. one gets Il fine or
the Jungfrau raising its heal ed
with snow. in appl ent close mi
ty. One day a grl sat before - ed1el
sndeavoring to transfer the mouA.ain
to canvas Whether it was that she
had little artistic talent or was 4 be-
ginner. she Gid not succeed in making
an imposing picture.
The girl drew back to have u look at
her work. sighed All dropped her pal
cite.
+ "Mademoiselle seems discouraged"
said voice behind her in French.
She turned ana saw the pale face of
a young man evidently in poor health.
Il only speak English" she said. II
am an American"
"Oh, an American! So am l." And
he repeated what he had said in his
native tongue.
81 shall never learn to paint" said
the girl despondently.
perhaps you have been too long at
work. Why not leave off and begin
again in the morning when you are
fresh?"
THAT'S good suggestion. I began
the picture In the morning"
"In that case / would certainly rec
ommend you to work on it only before
noon"
"Why"
"Well, the mountain is under differ
ent light in the morning. Besides. usu-
ally ones best work Is done In the
early part Of the day.
care you an artist?''
81 paint, but every one of an ideal
temperament either paints little or
dabbles in writing verses or something
of the kind"
Every morning after that the girl
sat before her easel. and often the
stranger. who sojourned-fOr his health
at the same hotel as she. strolled by,
looked at her work and spoke to her
about it. now and then venturing
friendly criticism. But the only words
of encouragement he gave her were:
Don't work too long at one time.
When your work looks unsatisfactory
to you. leave it, and likely you will
be better pleased with 1t when you
have rested" And what the stranger
said proved to be true. In the morn
Ing she was surprised that she had
been dissatisfied with her work of the
previous day She would sit down be-
fore her canvas and after spending a
couple of hours with her brushes it
would seem that she had undone all
she had achieved the previous day.
Then the stranger would come along
and remind her that in the morning
when refreshed she would likely again
see her painting under different infu-
ence. Go take a walk this afternoon"
he said paint in the morning: stroll
In the afternoon"
In this way the picture grew day by
day like the mountain. The darker
shadows grew deeper. the lighter blend
ed more perfectly with them or the
white snow Every morning the artist
noticed some beauty that had appeared
commonplace to her the night before,
and finally the whole sumed gran
deur which delighted and surprised her.
But she was now painting every day
with the stranger beside her. There
was something in his dark. dreamy
eyes, his intellectual brow. his pleas
ant voice, his kindly sympathy, that
charmed her. Then came a revelation.
She was painting under the inspiration
of love.
The picture was finished. The girl
/ h. -. 01
vised her to take it to Paris and offer
! it for sale. She determined to do so.
and the stranger promised to meet her
there and, if possible, assist her in dis
posing of it. They met one morning
in an art store where the picture had
been sent before them. There it stood
on an easel, and when the dealer joined
them he said:
"As soon as l looked at the canvas
pronounced it a Demond. Demond
had picture hung last season in the
salon, a Mont Blanc. which is not
equal to this. Besides. the style is
Notwithstanding tone. values, all.
When | came to look at the name and
saw another's / was surprised.
The girl whose work had been mis-
taken for that of a successful artist
was delighted A color rose to her
cheek, a light to her eye; happy
smile played about her lips.
"What would the picture be worth
with Demond's name on it?" asked her
friend.
'Twenty Thousand francs"
"And with Demond's name as collab-
orator?'
ain that case I would not give more
than 10000 francs for it"
On a shelf near by lay a palette and
brushes. He who was befriending the
girl took up a brush and, stepping to
the picture, wrote under her name that
Of G. Demond.
The tableau that ensued was that of
one quiescent figure and two who were
astonished The girls face especially
showed wonder, but at look from her
companion she refrained from speak
ing.