The Florida agriculturist., 1907-08-14
painted The Lady in Green and

OOIQ.
"He came to Paris six years ago,
and he was English" she began alb
ruptly, as they found a quiet corner
and sat down. Gle was young, he was
brilliant, and before long became the
shining light of Lemaire's. There was
no future too great to prOphesy for
him, the master said, and if you add
to this that he loved and was loved
by beautiful girl, and that every one
was his friend, you will have picture
of this man as he was then. Now try
to realize what it must have been to
lose all this in less than minute
just one little minute of time, and love
and talent and even future were
swept away. 1t was at railway sta
tion," Nancy went on quickly, for
Evelyn's face was white with appeal,
"and there was a great crowd Many
of the people were tipsy, for it had
been a fete day, and in the rush that
was made for the incoming train a
mother and her two little children
oh! Evelyn, wasn't it awful?-were
thrown down on the rails. It was all
over in a moment, and nobody ever
quite knew how he did it; but Christo-
pher Wayne was on the platform,
and'-
"Saved them. Oh! he saved them?"
whispered Evelyn, passionately.
eyes, he saved them, but his arm
the engine caught it," explained Nam
cy, with shudder. "It was his right
arm, and the doctors, when they saw
it, said he would never paint again.
They amputated it and saved his life,
but he was in the hospital for long
time," Nancy went on, after a pause,
in which she dared not look at her
companions face, "and when he came
out he was, as Dick puts it, absolute
ly broken and done for!' Dick, [ for
got to tell you, was his friend and fel-
low student at Lemaire's, and the first
thing Mr.. Wayne did when he came
out of the hospital was to ask Dick
to write letter. He had nothing left,
he said, for any woman to waste her
years over, so Dick wrote the letter.
1t was to a girl in England, whose
name Dick has forgotten; but in es-
sence it told her that the one who
sent it had changed his mind
"Oh! don't, Nancy, don't!'' pleaded
Evelyn, piteously. "Just tell me what
happened afterward."
"Ie left Paris and disappeared. No
one-not even Dick-knew what be-
came Of him. 1t was supposed he had
committed suicide in his despair, but
for five years no trace of him was ever
found. Then week ago Paris was
startled by "The Lady in Green and
Gold
"You mean"-began Evelyn, a
dawning comprehension in her eyes.
"He painted it with his left hand!
That last day when he left Dick and
went out into the dark alone he had
nothing but dim little hope for COM
pany. He took it away with him to a
lonely village in the Ardennes, and
there slowly but surely began to fan it
into a flame Little by little it grew
as he worked on patiently through the
lonely years-one-two-three-then
four, then five, and he came back to
Paris with The Lady in Green and
Cold"
ooh, splendid! Splendid" repeated
Evelyn, with shining eyes.
"Wasn't it? Just think Of him away
there in his lonely village, working on
year after year till he mastered that
unruly hand Literally he had to be-
come as little child and begin life all
over again All, that was heroic, IT
you like" concluded Nancy; "far more
heroic"-
But Evelyn had suddenly ceased to