Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-28
WILLIAM J. LOCKE


! crow's-feet between her eyes by trick,
when concentrating her painters vision
on a sitter. Of screwing her face into a
| monkeys myriad wrinkles. She dressed.
| habitually. in any old blouse. any old
| skirt. any old hat picked up at random
| in bedroom or studio. and picked up
originally. with equal lack Of selection,
| In any miscellaneous emporium of femi-
| nine attire. When her figure, which, as
| women acquaintances would whisper to
| each other, but never mot daring) to
C1ementina, had, after all. it's possibilities,
was hidden by a straight, shapefess. color
smeared painting smock. and all of Glenn
, entina as God made her that was visible.
| save her capable hands. was the swarthy
face with its harsh contours, its high
cheek bones. its unlovely, premature fur
| rows, surmounted by the bedraggled hair
that would have disgraced a wigwam.
Tommy Burgrave may be pardoned for
regarding her less as a woman than a
painter of genius. who somehow did not
| happen to be man.
| Presently she laid down palette and
| brushes and pushed the easel to one side.
| Il can't do any more at 1t without a
model. Besides, it's getting dark. Ring
| for tea"
She threw off her painting smock. re-
vealing herself in an old brown skirt and
| a soiled white blouse. gaping at the back.
and sank with sigh OF relief into a
chair It was good to sit down. she said.
She had been standing all day. She would
| be glad to have some tea 1t would take
the taste OF the trousers out of her
mouth.
IF you dislike them so much. why did
| you rush at them as soon as those peo-
| pie had gomez"
ITO get the girls face out Of my mind.
Look here. mon petit" she said. turning turning
| I'll turn you into the street. I'm tired !;
give me something to smoke
L He disinterred a yellow. crumpled
packet of French tobacco and cigarette
papers from among a litter on the table.
and lit the cigarette for her when she had
rolled 1t.
IT suppose you're the only woman in
London who rolls her own cigarettes"
"WeN?" asked Clementina.
He laughed. That's ALL"
| 1T was an idiotic remark said Glenn
entina.
The maid brought in tea, and it was
Tommy who played host. She softened
| little as he waited on her.
81 was meant to be a lady. Tommy. and
do nothing. This paint-brush walloping-
after all, what is It? What's the good Of
painting these fools portraits?"
Each Of them is work of genius" said
Tommy.
Rot and rubbish" said Clementina.
LET me clear your mind of lot of fool
| ish nonsense you hear at your hlgh-art
! tea parties. where women drivel and talk
OF their u1lSSlOu Ill Lie AOii0 ~ Noiidi
| has only one mission-to marry and get
| babies. Keep that fact in front of you
when you're taking up with any OF en-
| Genius! can't be a genius for the sim
pie reason that I'm a woman; Dnd ~, you
| contradiction in terms. So there cant
| be a woman genius
But surely Tommy objected, more
out of politeness, perhaps than conv1c-
| ton, for every male creature loves to be
conscious Of his sex's superiority. Sure
| ly there was Rosa Bonheur-and-and in
your line, Mime. Vigee LIE Brun:"
Very pretty said Clementina, but
| stick them beside Paul Potter and Gains
borough, and what do. they look like?
Could woman have painted Paul Pot
| ter's bull?'
whats your definition of genius?"
asked Tommy: evadins the direct ques,
ton. He had visited The Hague. and
stood in rapt wonder before what is per-
haps the most essentially masculine bit
of painting in the world. Certainly no
| woman could have painted it.
| her face and looking at the tip of a dis
| colored thumb, lis the quality the Gre
! alive spirit assumes as soon as 1t can ib-
crate itself from the bond of the flesh
Good" said Tommy. did you make
I'D that all at once? It knocks Carlyle's
l'definition silly. But I don't see why it
doesn't apply equally to men and women
Woman said Clementina. "has al
WdyS her sex hanging TOuuu the ueCh VI
her spirit
Tommy stared. This was new con-
ception of woman which he was too
young and too candid to understand. For
him women-or rather that class OF the
sex that counted for him as women. the
mothers and sisters and wives of his
friends the women from whose midst one
of these days he would select a wife him.
self-were very spiritual creatures, in
deed. That twilight region of their being
hair q holy
ground, before entering which man
must take the shoes from off his feet. He
took it for granted that every unmarried
woman believed in the stork or goose
berry bush theory Of the population OF the
world "A girl allowed you to kiss her
because she was kind and good and altru-
istic realizing that 1t gave you consid-
cradle pleasure: but as for the girl crav-
ing the kill for the satisfaction OF her
own needs, that was undreamed of in his
Ingenious philosophy. And here was
Clementina laying it down as funda-
mental axiom that woman has her sex
always hanging round the neck of her
spirit. He was both mystified and
"I'm afraid you don't know what you're
talking about. Clementina," he said, at
last, with some severity.
Indeed, how on earth could Clementina
know?
perhaps 1 don't, Tommy" she said.
with ironical meekness,; realizing the gulf
between them and the reverence, winch,
as the Latin grammar tells us. is espe-
cially duo to tender youth. She looked
| into the fire, a half smile playing round
| her grim, unsmiling lips. and there was
silence for q few moments. Then she
asked. brusquely:
"How's that uncle Of yours?"
"All right" said Tommy. I'm dining
with him this evening"
II hear he has taken to calling himself
DR.. Quixtus lately" IT,, D, n
of Heidelberg. wish you didn't have
your knife into him so much. Ciemen-
| tina He's the best and dearest chap IN
the world. OF course, he's getting rather
elderly and precise. He'll be forty next
| birthday, you know
"Lord save u.s." said Clementina.
| but one has to make allowances Tor
that. Anyway" he added. with flash
of championship. hes the most courtly
| gentleman I've ever met"
Hes civil enough. said Ciementina
But if. were his wife, I'm sure would
throw him out of window"
1 Tommy stared again for a moment and
then laughed-more at the idea of the
| ing married than at the picture OF his
uncle's erotesque ejectment.
! IT don't think that's ever likely to hap
pen," he remarked.
"Nor do l." said Clementina.
| Soon after that Tommy departed as UNI
| tremendously as he had entered. Not
that Tommy Burgrave was by nature un-
| ceremonious, being q boy OF excellent
breeding; but no one stood on ceremony
| with Clementina the elaborate politeness
| Of the Petit Trianon was out Of place IN