Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-11-21

Fabrice asked:
who is that young lady who was
reading the paper with your aunt?"
"A relative, Mademoiselle de Sar-
dome, a poor young lady whom my
aunt received"
"You have never spoken Of her to
mel"
"Have / not? Indeed! Is 1t possible!
! It must be because there is nothing to
tell. What do you think Of herr"
"She is interesting"
eyes, is she not? She Is interesting,
the poor girl. This is your apartment
my dear fellow"
He took him into a small parlor
where Fabrice promised himself much
comfort and pleasure. Then Pierre
left him to dress for dinner
In the evening, the painter, whom
Beatrice interested more and more by
her melancholy beauty and her appear
ance of a captive queen, essayed at
fnterrogating Pferrepont anew with
regard to her antecedents and, more
over, the character Of that mysterious
person. But he did not insist, perceiv-
| ing by the short responses of the Mar
quis that If the subject was not abso-
| 1uteIv disa greeable TO him it was at
least annoyingly interesting.
Don't bother yourself about my
aunt's reader" said he to Fabrice,
laughingly. "She is out of the ques-
tion. II you would please me, you will
interest yourself with the young ladies
am going to present you to. Study
them at your leisure, and tell me what
| you think of them. Under any cfrcum-
stances nave great confidence in
your taste and in your penetration.
You may thus aid me in deciding my
choice, since It is necessary that
make choice or else embroil myself
/ with nv aunt. You NAV observe that
she has convoked all French and two
Americans. She ought not to be as
such great expense. Try to read IN
their eyes and in the hearts of all
these young sphynxes. If a painter IS
not a physiognomist, then who the
devil is?"
My dear friend" said Fabrice, you
could not have addressed Yourself to q
worse servant. do not know if all nv
confreres resemble me in that regard,
out for myself | am dCtestable physi-
ognomist, and l am persuaded that al
most all my diagnOsCications in psy-
chology are false. do not in the least
know what passes in the soul of the
man or the woman whose portrait
paint. l attribute to them most likely
crowd of thoughts, of passions. OF
virtues, Of vices to which they are en-
JIreIy strangers. These are what serve
us as studio models-singers from the
cafe-concert give us the heads OF
virgins; gamins who have not two
ideas in their heads, furnish us with
heads for the muses.; drunkards from
the barriere, faces of saints and
apostles. This is why to us all physi-
economies are subjective-we see In
them and put in them our own in
splratlon. Artists, like poets, l sup
pose, are fools and dupes and they
ought to be. They are the poorest
judges one can find of moral and ply
steal agreement, because they do not
paint that which they see. They do
not paint nature, they paint after
nature that which is absolutely a diff
erent thing"
Then" said Picrrepont, they do
not make even a resemblance"
Pardon me. That is what is curl
GUS; they do resemble each other.
because in reproducing with fidelity
the material lines of a face, they trans
figure the expression! There is not a
human face which has not something
poetical in it, it's luminous sparkle for
him who knows how to apprehend it,
But do not seek that expression Of
is not there, or at least one does not
know it. 1t is in the eye of the painter,
as are all the merits and all the gracea
of mistress only too often in the eye
Of the lover. Then do not count upon
my light for guidance in your delicate
operations. | truly fear l should de-
ceive you, moreover, l ask nothing
more than to be presented to these
ladies' who frighten me very much,
only beg of you to defer the cere-
mony till tomorrow. l am somewhat
fatigued this evening. suppose have
slightly abused the excellent wine
cellar of your aunt; and that is how
you will be able to explain the proliX-
fly with which l have just inflicted
you, and which you we'll know is not
habitual with me. | do not like to brag
about my art-you know my device
that which l would affix to doors of
all studios-Work and deep silence"
With these words Fabrice discreetIy
retired at the moment when the
canoes commenced. His rising reputa-
ton had mixed him frequently for
several years in social movements,
and called him to Partisan salons, but
IKE the greater part of the men born
and bred outside that medium and
who have been transplanted to it d
little late, be always felt slightly
troubled and embarrassed, and was
only half pleased with it.
The next day Nine. de Montauron
asked that Pierrepont pass the early
hour of the morning with her. When
be entered the room she was finishing
her first breakfast.