Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1908-06-08
A SEA PICTURE CRITIC
He Knew All About Ships and the
Wild Ocean.
ART COMMENTS OF A SAILOR
The death of Nelson Reminded Him
of How 'Arkness Come Off the Main
Yard-The Blood Red Sky Without a
Cloud That ForeteIIs a Storm.


Cloud That ForeteIIs Storm.
Crude perhaps and curious, the out |
tome of life apart. sailormen have |
yet an appreciation of the arts. writes
David w Bone in the Manchester |
Guardian.
Once in the Walter gallery | was
looking at ''The Death of Nelson.
There was n man with the look of
seaman standing near. He had Il slight
smell of drink and was chewing tObac-
CO. He. too. was interested in the pic
ture, and, recognizing me as seaman
like, he said something and we got to
talking about Nelson and his times,
about ships and pictures. "R'gad.
mate. them fellcrs' fhe painters he
mcant ''knoWed what they was
a-doin' Look at that ere glim' Gan
term. Looks as its trimmin was for
got Wen they brought tn admiral
| down. An them eyes" point
Ing to wounded seaman in the near
foreground. ''them's tn eyes O. poor
'Arkness WOt come off tn main yard
las voyage an struck tn fife rail full
onr'
He told me Of the accident, how 1t
happened. and by his eyes and rude.
| simple speech saw it all. AS plain be-
fore me as the figure of the stricken
seaman I saw 'Arkncss come off the
| main yard. clutching wildly at the
| sheets and lifts rs he fell | heard him
strike the rail with Il sickcning thud
and lie stretched. | saw the running
figures on the deck. and-"'c never
larStcd tn night We buried i'm ont
there Taltal it was" said my speaker
involuntarily twisting a shoulder to an
imaginary southwest.
There was a sea picture, a ship COM
ing up to the Isle of Wight-clean
curving sails, a good sense of move
ment and a fine breezy atmosphere
"Jest wot it isl said my friend,
'Omeward bound. Let 'er go, boysw
burst of enthusiasm that made some
visitor glance around, alarmed. come
ward bound it ISL There were other
fine pictures, but we did not feel that
we had a right to do more than look at
them and admire. With sea pictures it
was different. They were our world,
and who had the right to criticise the
way a sea was moving off the sky il
we had not? Too often had we watch
ed. anxious eyed. for 4 break in the
clouds not to know the way of wind
ON the water, the scud of cloud
breaking free in n welcome shift. Well
we knew the curve of 4 standing sail
and the relation it bore to the sense Of
movement
For a city of the sea Liverpool has
no great representation of her fore
most industry on her chamber walls.
Sea pictures have apparently no at
! traction for her chiefest citizens There
l was little call for sea critics down
stairs, 50 we went to an exhibition of
modern art in the upper galleries.
Here we found ourselves properly con-
: fronted. Setting Sail After a Blow it
was, a large canvas, a ship pitching
: heavily in the swell Of recent gale
and the crew putting the canvas on
her. It held great message for my
u mate (black smoke and an ever thrOb-
! bing screw had not yet dulled his sea
Il fancy. He was highly pleased. "Them
seas wot We gets off tn Platter He
e swing his right hand to the left shoul
y der in seamanlike admiration, but the
e cold gray eye of tall hated officia
was upon us-"Huh, sailorsv'-anG
e there was a group of young ladies
/ near by worshiping at the shrine of {
Il corporation purchase, so he cOntente(
: himself by nudging me furiOusly
Il That's Wot | calls a picture" he said
Ii A sunset over water claimed our at
e tention. A blood red sky with TX
/ clouds, only a slight density near thu
i perhaps unreal That's where V,
amt in it, mister. Look a here! |
+ We wOs t. take all tn coOrs in tn lock
2, ar SOS We 'ad lots O. red an yeller in
g ye'd find a sky t. match it, Amt y
II never card O what them dagOs call
e blood O Chris'-them dagos wOt load
If ye ballest in tn Plate?" | had no
S heard "Weli, it's sky like that, an
Is It comes afOre one of them 'pamperOs
E. Min l Wos lynn in Monte Vide
A. ,ncet, an we 'ad a sky all blood re'
an never a cloud, an tn fishin' boat
Eos all comm in; not rowin' shipShapt
~ same S me an you uu no, lHel
Il shown tn oars IS if they wos pushir
Is 4 barrer." He spat into dark corne
al and said something more about dagos
then continued: Mex day we 'ad
ie gale. 'Owlin', it was, an her drlvir
4 into it same s we wOs off tn Horn
e IN a big German bark driv' down o
y IS an took tn fore to'gal'n'mast out {
u er an tn boom an started all u
Vi eadgear Two ships wos driv' ashore
III IN that's wot comes out O them skie
y WOt they calls TIL blood O. Chris"
" 1t was an impressionist picture thu
annoyed my mate-an impression of
scene in dock, with maSts and funnel
and bulls all mixed up. The colorin
Id was good, but the ships might hav
or teen ninepins or egg boxes or an.
,e hing At first he was DerDloXed, the