The Washington times., 1913-04-01

Il am going to be frank with you.
he said at last. land I hope you Will be
ready told you of my relation with Miss
Meredith is enough to clear me OF the
charge of idle curiosity. Miss Meredith
is far from a well woman. She has had
the idea, ever since she came here to
look at Mr.. Jeffrey's portrait of her
exclusively from the photograph. Mr..
Jenrey must have seen and remembered
the girl herself. And nothing would sat
isfy her short of my coming to ask Mr..
jeffrey II that had been the case"
Il m sure said /, that jeffrey will
be glad to go to see her and set her
mind at rest in the matter
with all the mans easy frankness---
MS almost unnecessary frankness-i
could not be rid of the feeling that there
was something wary about him. watch
ful, alert. l had had that feeling
through the whole of our interview
And with his reception of these last
words Of milne it grew tenfold stronger
That won't be necessar.." said ne.
:! m afraid 1t wouldn't be advisable.
She receives no visitors at all. In her
present condition she Is not able to re-
ceive them. But. II you know anything
you'd tell me. II you don't. you can
ask Jeffrey; when you see him. and drop
Inc line
Il could say this much." said I: that
| am quite sure il jeffrey had been
painting from the memory of any living
face he had ever seen. he would have
told Inc so. He hasn't told me So ana
therefore conclude that Miss Mere
dith is mistaken. Surely the mistake is
natural enough to one in her condition.
on, yes. or course: of course" he
said without much conviction in his
voice. 1T strikes me as possible
though" he went on. that he might
have met her on one of his visits 10
Paris, while she was living there or
nave seen her and been struck b. her
appearance without learning her name.
| haven't seen her since she was H.
tie girl, but ! am told she grew into a
very beautiful woman. So that MEM
ory of her might have been evoked by
the photograph and could easily haze
had an effect on the portrait without
his knowing it,
That's ingenious at any rate" said
I, and almost plausible. How long
had Miss Claire Meredith been living
in Paris when she died Of smallpox -
Not quite two years." said the doc
tor.
Then I'm afraid that disposes Of the
theory. Jeffrey was living with me in
an apartment Madison Square all
that time. and ] know lie didn't leave
the country"
There was little pause.
He did go to Paris two years ago.
didn't he?' The doctor said it very
indifferently. so that it hardly sound
ed like question at all. But. all the
same. he waited for an answer-wait
ed. I'd almost have sworn, little
oh yes.' said I. My wife and
visited him there. But that. if my
dates are. right, was year after the
young lady died"
oh, yes" ne said quickly. Il was
not thinking of that"
But ne had been thinking of just
that | felt sure. And unless my i'm
asination was working overtime. he
vas paler than he had been when he
came in.
I'm afraid the unconscious memory
theory won't work, said I. That's
pitt. too. because | suppose II would
have been a comfort to Miss Meredith.
He turned on his smile again, rose,
buttoned his overcoat. and shook hands
with me. I'm just as much Obliged TO
you. anyway. And we'll fall back on
YOUR theory; that the ways of genius
are past finding out. What II ne dld
paint a portrait of A face he'd never
seen, and improve on the only record
of it we've given him? After all. that's
no more mysterious than writing Ham
let
DO you suppose Shakespeare believed
i'll ghosts? | asked.
He looked at me steadily for a mo
ment. in thoughtful silence. EVerybody
believes in ghosts" he said. Every
body
He stood near the door. his walking
stick tucked under his arm while he
drew on his gloves But when he had
finished and had laid his hand on the
knob. he stopped short as II ne had
just remembered something.
There's something else Miss Mere
dith wanted me TO ask about, he SAID.
Il nearly forgot II.
Yes said I. inquringly.
Il wonder II | mayn't have LOOK
AT the portrait? can explain what l
hltNn hat
I'm afraid not" he told him. Il don
know where it is. Jeffrey said some
thing about some trouble he had hah
with the frame. / don't know whether
the canvas is in the studio or NOT, but
| don't like to rummage.
OF course not" he assented. cordial
j.. It's a very trifiing matter, really.
The pose of the face shows one ear, and
that is in deep shadow. But in the por-
trait, just below the ear. there is
streak of hluish-green light. Miss Mer-
edith couldn't account for II, and she
has been wondering about Ii ever since.
Ii loOns as If II were meant for an ear
rinS-a Jade earring. perhaps. But thee
was nothing like that in the photo
graph
"Of course" said |. nobody could
answer question like that except JEFF
frey himself But I doubt If there's
any mystery about IL. He Dfobablv nut
it there on the spur of the moment. be
cause II helped his harmony or his COM
position. or some of the tricks of his
trade. But I'll ask him. il you like. He
has your address. of course. He can
drop you line when he comes in and
tell you all about it"
The doctor began unbuttoning his coat
and fumblng with his gloved hand in
one one of his inner pockets. Il wish
you would ask him" he said. But when
1t comes TO letting me know. ] wish
you'd take charge Of that yourself !
never knew genius who was a reliable
letter writer
He had got out his pocketbook by
now. and was fishing for a card. Pres
emily he got one and held 1t out TO me.