The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-08-29

the loss will certainly be theirs.
Fancy not being able to reconcile
yourself to Mariel The very idea is
preposterous. Aunt Lettie says that
for an artist to marry his model Is
the worst of bad taste. That, of
course, depends good deal upon the
model, and Marie is-well, Marie.
After winning the statuary prize at
the Ecole des Arts, l suppose | may
fairly call myself an artist, but I'm
not at all obliged to work for money,
and If l choose l can spend the re-
mainder of my life in making statu-
rites of Marie and filling every room
in the house with them, and not at
all bad idea.
What a wonderful difference a
woman does make to a room. l
mean, of course, Marie l always
thought my atelier in the Latin Quar-
ter at Paris was the dreariest, din
giest den under heaven, until Marie
came. 1 noticed a difference in the
place before she had been sitting for
her first hour, and after she had gone
everything got bit gray, and dingy
again, anu lntu hHcW WudI IL was.
The skull which I had bought for
anatomical purposes was more irri-
tating in its manner than l had ever
known it before. and as for the suit
of Crusader chain armor, which
had purchased because it was of no
earthly use to me, l simply lost pa
tience with it altogether and kicked
1t into a corner of the room. could
not be really friendly with either of
them any more.
was doing head of Athene, and
the moment saw Marie knew had
found what l wanted. l didn't come
across her in the ordinary way. l
mean she didn't come to my studio
asking for work. She didn't pose
very often, and then only to the best
men, She happened to bring up
letter from the concierge, and when
she saw my Athene through the half
open door she came right in to look
at It. She was always like that just
as frank and comradely as possible,
and with a wonderful little wise way
about her. | tell you there wasn't
student in the ne.ghborhood who
would have dared to deny her the
respect due to his own sister. 1t
never seemed to occur to her that she
was as beautiful as the sunrise, and
that art students have a way of their
own in such matters. She stood up
on her own level, and 1t just never
entered into her head that others
might not stand quite so high. Any
way, they had to pull up to it when
she was around. And so she came
right into my room and put her head
upon one side and her hands behind
her, with hor little white arms bare
to the elbow and looked at my
Athenc. Then she gave a little ec-
static jump. and made the most de-
licious tiny moue you can imagine.
"Ah, Monsieur Marvin" she said,
but that will be charming. Tell
me, monsieur, is it not wonderful to
think that in the so rough clay one
can hide away ones own beautiful
fancy and then work and work until
1t comes to the surface? 1t is to Gre
ate with Just one thought, is it not,
monsieur"
Now this was moro than I de-
served. because l had only done the
first rough modelling. but | veritably
believe the little witch could see an
artists ideal behind the faulty ex.
preston. I know she put new heart
into young Roland upstairs, whose
conceptions were sublime, and that
was all there was to it until she
made him believe in himself. She
was standing right in front of me
when she made this pretty little
speech, and there was something IL
the turn of her head that showed me
just like en- inspiration what Athen,
ought to look like. although, o
course, in reality Athene wasn't hal
so beautIful--couldn't possibly hav,
been. 'Mademoiselle." said. 81
you would sit for me we would hay,
an Athene hors de concurrence
Othewise fear the ideal will remail
hidden away in the clay like a dia
mond in the mine, and 1t will neve
see the light at all"
She looked at me little doubtful
ly, gave me a most bewitching littl
courtesy, shook her black hair bacl
AiOil utt lOiChNaNf mhCi0 II hitQ
habit of falling in the most adoiabl
confusion, and jumped like a bird o.
10 the stool "Monsieur does me to-
much honor" she sad.
And that Is how Marie came to 81
for me. How she did brighten up tn
old studio, to be sure. Even whe
she was not there / could remembe
that she had been there. and | coul
count the hours until she would com
again. Only to fancy that she wa
sitting there filled the room with
radiance, and even took pity on tn
poor old skull and restored him /
his shelf, SO that ne might partlc
pate In the sunshine and amend h
ways. AS for Athene, 1t was wei
uigh impossible to impress that lady
martial features upon clay with M,
rie's dlmpling face before me. and
would tell her SO, and then the lit
woman would be very stern. threatel
ing to discontinue the slttings n,
less I would pay exclusive attentic
TO the shape and polse OF her hea
and forget everything elsa OF cours
that was abaurdly impossible. No
and then she would come early al
put the studio TO rights. and som
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