The National tribune., 1910-01-20

trimmed. I thought, rather tastefully
with heavy, creamy lace, soupcon OF
gilt braid, and quite profusion of very
small gilt buttons. The gown isn't new,
but is still in very good style at home,
and has always been considered becom-
ing and pretty. You have seen me IN
il a hundred times. The day was heaV-
emily warm, and 1 was sitting out in
the garden feeling very well satisfied
with myself and the world, when your
aunt appeared. OF course, she was as
delighted to see me as ! was to see her;
but my dear, before she got up TO me
the very first words she uttered were:
mercy. NJ. how frightfully American
your gown is with all those gilt but
tons. 1t would stamp you wherever
you went U'm afraid the native
American style is rather given to gilt
buttons and such like little touches
Which remark, so truly characteristic
of her, showed that her years of for
eign life, whatever else they may have
DONE had not diminished her whimsi-
calities.
We've been having a beautiful time
together. your Aunt Elizabeth and my
self. When Elizabeth has had engage
ments with her tailor and dressmaker,
which, of course had to be kept, tho
she missed the joys of paradise there
by your aunt and / have gone sight
seeing or trolley riding over this beau
tifui city, which, strangely enough, she
is now visiting for the first time. The
other morning we went to the famous
Musee WiertZ (the name makes you
think of that horrid prison man who
treated our soldiers so cruelly), of
whose peephOle pictures everyone has
heard. and which tourists usually trot
off to see the moment they step foot in
Brussels almost. 1t is curious, isn't it,
what an attraction the bizarre has for
most people, The appeal of genuine.
legitimate beauty doesn't seem to be
nearly so strong as that made by some
thing a bit abnormal, which is. ! sup
pose, the craving for novelty (and nov
city with a stick in il, too, sometimesl
demanded by our jaded. bored, restless
10th century natures. There are sew
eral of our cOuntTywomen in this house
who have not entered single picture
gallery in Brussels except the WiertZ.
"Oh. you can see the old masters any
where over here" they say, but these
pictures of WiertZ are so curious and
interesting That's what they say,
Favorite Niece; but they go because of
those peepholes, ! know they do.
/ freely admit that I was quite curl
Gus myself TO see this singular cOilec-
ton of pictures painted by the eccen-
trio if not entirely crazy artist, Joseph
Anton Wiertz, and, as before said, your
aunt and l started off the other morn
ing for that purpose. They are exhib-
tied in what was formerly the paint
er's private residence, and which was
purchased by the Government after his
death. There are only two rooms in
the Musee, so it is not hard to do. The
pictures are certainly most wierd. In
the big room the walls are nearly COW
cred by great canVasses representing
IA ooh
1.-THE Contest for the Body of Patro
clus'' tyou can imagine it,, Hunger
Madness and Crime;" Napoleon in the
Internal Regions" The Suicide" Wis
ions of a Beheaded Man." "Polyphe-
mus Devouring the Companions of Ulys.
ses" (you remember that this giant
gentleman was the chief of a tribe OF
one-eyed monsters. and that our frienC
Ulysses escaped from his clutches bl
putting out his single eye), and numer
Gus others of this same cheerful, pleas
ing character. ] believe some OF thes'
are considered quite remarkable in exc
cutiOn; but, to tell the truth, they wer
so crazy that could make neither hea'
nor tail out of most of them. Severa
of the smaller pictures of a less dis
turbing character were rather appeal
ing and as we made the round of tn
gallery we stopped short before Wha
we certainly believed for the momen
to be big black dog lying in his ken
mel. over him was man sitting in
room, a little back from an open win
dow Gracious" said Elizabeth, "ar
those things alive?" And we walke
over TO get a closer view. What tn
artist had really done, and most cley
erly. too, was to paint his dog and III
details of the picture on the wall itsclr
which gave il this curiously realisti
effect. In another end of the rooT
was an old wooden door, open littl
bit, with a woman peering out, and jus
before the door was some brick wor
in bad repair. You would have swor
it was a real door and real bricks, bu
it proved upon examination to be al
other picture of the same kind. / neve
before saw anything so bewilderiHgl,
amazingly true to life. You understan
these were not ordinary pictures /
frames hung on the walls of this gal
lery, but were painted directly on TN
wall, which may have been done b
other artists, but I never heard of
before.
But you are crazy to hear about thos
peephoie pictures, ! know well enough
you daughter of Eve. There was moth
ing specially shocking about them. 1
two corners of the room We're woode
screens, with little holes in them, an
you squinted an eye and peeped in. 1