The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1912-08-01
Getting His
Start

ment sketch of q bathroom interior
81 was not always famous and pros
porous. I have known the time when
a sudden sight draft for less than four
figures would have seriously embar-
raised me-"
you figure in the cents In that
statement, I suppose" said the studio
loafer
81 might even go as far as that" as
sented the artist. did ever tell you
how I got my start?" he continued.
well, I'll tell you: 1t was in triplicate
portrait work"
Portraits of triplets?" inquired the
studio loafer "Dobber told me he did
dime museum posters. too. at one
time"
He ought to have stuck to that
branch of art" remarked the artist.
mo, you misunderstand me. I'll tell
you how 1t was. There was one win
ter was pretty well on my uppers. At
that time I got acquainted with Giotto
Parkinson, and I tell you he was
godsend. He had studio In the Gros-
venor and he didn't use it nights, be-
sides having samovar that he got in
the Ghetto and plenty of alcohol. The
Grosvenor doesn't favor light house
keeping, but 1 was pretty careful how
I threw my scraps out of the window.
"One day Parkinson gave an exhib-
it. He knew quite a few people in re-
spectacle circles and he thought there
~ q ahonnn thaf nf fhnnn
might buy picture of his if they got
well under the influence of a proper
art atmosphere and Russian tea.
stuck up a few little things of my
own with his to furnish the art at
mosphere and he provided the tea and
the samovar. 1t turned out all right.
There was coal baroness among
those present and got her worked up
to the point of ordering from me a
portrait of her ten-year-old son for $50.
''She brought him around the very
next day. Parkinson was good fell
low and he let me have the use of his
shop for the job. We had a bully good
dinner on the strength of the condi-
tons anyway. The kid was sallow-
faced, skinny-like monkey, not at all
like mamma, but calculated l could
idealize him by a wide stretch of my
well-known imaginative faculty. He
had one sitting that day. The next
day and for several other sittings his
nurse brought him, and want to say
that 1 had the dickens own time get
ting that imp to keep still. 1t didn't
do any good to talk to him. All got
by that was sass-oh, the worst sort
just sweat blood for four days trying
to get some sort of expression on that
portrait that wasn't exactly diabolicA
and yet resembled the kid. At last I
got it.
1.-TWO days later the picture was
done and the sigh of relief that
heaved made the windows rattle. l
notified the baroness and she and the
baron came to look at it. He seemed
to have been brought under compul-
sion and to be but mildly interested.
l had learned that he was merely
stepfather to the brat, so didn't won
der so much at it. But the baroness
threw fits of ecstasy over the picture
and ordered two more at the same
price, after trying in vain to beat me
down.
Il won't tell you what I went
through within the next month with
the heir apparent, how day by day I
grew to loathe the little wretch more
and more. The dear angel had per-
formed q riofx Of iyfo ~
tricks around the place to relieve the
monotony of the sittings, and he
wound up by coming early one after
noon and coloring Parkinson's cher.
ished Florentine prints in oil in our
absence. When 1 demonstrated he
gave me choice line of sass, where
upon 1 took my little man across my
knee and laid merrily on.
Nearly two weeks later the coal
baron caught me In.
Don't be alarmed he said, as I
retreated to the window. I only called
to pay you for the pictures. l believe
this is the right amount
He laid slip of paper on the ia
BILE. 1t was a check for 500.
Il gasped.
If you don't mind would like to
shake hands with you,' he continued.
Il backed away.
81 see that you still fail to under
stand he said. I want to tell you,
sir. that you have my entire sympathy
and heartfelt thanks for the basting
you gave that young one. I've often
longed to do it myself Frankly, sir,
envy you. By the way, If you can
make it convenient to call at my Of
fee have something there / would
like to talk to you about. No, don't
say you are sorry. Please don't say
that. I'm pressed for time now. but
| hope to see you soon. l think the
check is right, isn't 1t? Thank you
very much. Good day
He shook hands with me solemnly
but vigorously and then turned sud-
denly and bolted. I called on him and
We got quite chummy. He had some
Illustrating for a railroad that he ran
as side issue and / did it for him. I
may say that he discovered me. I
know that II it hadn't been for the
way he boosted me among his mon
eyed acquaintances would have been
comparatively obscure and unknown