Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1911-03-09

long" called Miss Selma Iue from
halfway up the ladder. Mind your
dress don't get snagged on that nail
there"
A little breathless, Miss Cynthia
pushed her head up through the open.
Ing and cautiously swung herself to
the floor above; then halted and stood
spellbound. The barn loft had become
another world! A large window that
stretched half across the end. opened
out to the blue hills across the valley,
and the river wound through the pic
ture like q silver thread. On the
walls we're rough sketches and some
pictures. hold and startling. and in
the middle of the room stood an easel
on which wal a huge canvas. A cot
with n of Miss Selma Lue's old
patchwork quilts covering 1t stood In
one corner. and q familiar gray coat
hung from a peg.
With horror Cynthia realized that
she was in the camp Of the enemy,
and her first inclination was for pre-
cipitous fight. but Miss Selma Lue's
bright eyes held her. and for the
life Of her she could not voice her
dismay to that plainly over1oyed lady.
Now. there!" she exclaimed,
breathless from the climb and from
delight. i've got you here at last,
and I can see how happy you are
from your face. Amt It q surprise
to have a art gallery Jest sprout up
at your back door unbeknownst to
you or anybody else? 1t do beat all
how that boy can paint! Now como
here and get q good light on this
one here in the middle. You would
think that any light up here would be
a good one. with that big window he
knocked in the wall there-Mr. Flarity
helping him Of nights and Mr.. Dobbs
a-putting In the glass-but It amt,
and you've got to step around to git
Jest the right view Of them"
Miss Cynthia stood before the can
vas, lost, unable to utter a word. He
had painted the sunset hour on the
wharf and the r~oustabouts unloading
bales OF hay from up the river in the
mellow light. 1t was a tremendous,
decorative thing Of which Miss Gym
thia had never seen the equal.
ITS q order for a big building In
Chicagy. and, Miss Cynthie. what do
you Think It's to be hung on the
walls of q room where workingmen
can go and have meetings, and some
big rich men are going to pay him
ten thousand dollars for this n and
two more! tell you he don't make
nothing but a-number-one, triple x
art, he don't! All three Of 'em are
to be about the doing Of something,
and / think It will be mighty uplift-
ing to men that has to work as hard
as them men does to have a great
artist paint pictures OF the doing of
1t. He says this n Is his best-has
got more climate than the Others"
More climate?" asked Miss Cynthia
in a small voice.
"Yes, climate all around II; like
that sunset light On the prov Of the
boat and the mems backs and SIGH"
Didn't he call it atmospheric" ven.
tured Miss Cynthia d~elicately.
That's It! l knew It had ONE
thing to do with the weather. Any.
way / am learning to know 1t when
l see It. like out the back door at
early sun.up when l take in the FLAIR
ity twins. It seems like all the men
In the Painters Union tries to paint
with 1t. Once along come a man
named Singer and painted it better'n
any of EN- cause It's horned in some
folks, like the making Of pies and
cake and SIGH. That's q copy of the
| picture the man done Of his own
mother. over there by the cot. Mr..
Alan always takes It with him cause
he amt got no picture Of his own
mother, who had the mischance to
die when he was horned. He says
the picture means e~verybody's mother
anyway-and l think It do"
"Oh. Whistler's motherl How
beautiful! wonder II he made the
copy HIMSELF"
Yes. he lone II over across the
ocean-in Jerusalem. I think. And the
mans name is Whistler instead Of
Singer. ! remember It al some kind
Of q musicianer. He talks and tells
me all about every kind Of art-thing
and sometimes I am kinder slow at
catching on. but I like 1t and I feel
like ! was a-hearing a person come
back from heaven and a-telling about
what's over there. And Mary Ellen
Dobbs and Mis- Kinney and the rest
feels the same about 1t. him being
Jest az kind about telling and showing
them as can be. Mary Ellen left
Ethel Maud to watch the pot for din.