Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-08-21
An Artist S
Infatuation
BY WILLIAM CHANDLER

Walter Phelps from the time he was
six years old gave evidence of pos
sessing artistic abilities and when he
was fourteen began to study the pro-
fession of painting. One faculty he
possessed was that of endowing any
through association with beauty. Near
his home lived a little girl. who be-
came his playmate. She was of a low
er social grade than Walter, but his
parents had no fear of his falling in
love with her. for she was very home
ly, and they. not knowing of his dis
position to endow what he liked with
beauty, supposed that an artist would
only fall In love with a beautiful wo-
man.
When Walter was twenty years old
he became engaged to this girl, Martha
Gibbs, to the establishment Of every
one who knew him. Her hair was a
fiery red. her teeth were prominent,
and she had a cast in her eye. But his
parents, knowing how useless 1t Is to
interfere between lovers, refrained
from any attempt in the case of their
SON.. Besides. they knew nothing
against Martha except her LONELINESS
and her Indifferent social position. No
one supposed that Walter considered
his betrothed beautiful till he painted
her portrait and they observed that be
looked at 1t with admiring eyes. Then
everybody realized that his love for
her caused him to endow her with a
beauty that existed only in his imagi-
nation.
Great as was their surprise at this
discovery. 1t was nothing compared
with their establishment when they
learned that he was using Martha for
a model. He painted her as a shep-
herdess, as springtime and, dressing
her II fashionable attire. as a lady.
Then. when his pictures found no pur-
chasers, instead of attributing his Ill
success to his choice of a model, he
became impressed with the idea that
he had mistaken his calling. About
the time he was making up his mind
TO this effect Martha Tilted him for a
greengrocer, whom she married secret
ly without letting her fance know
what she was about to do.
Walters misery was only eqnaled by
the Joy of his parents and his friends.
Now that 1t was all over between him
and Martha one of his intimate associ-
ates made bold to express wonder
that he, an artist, with an eye for b
beautiful, should have attributed beau
ty to Martha.
"Ah," exclaimed the unfortunate
man, there is a loss to me as great
In my profession as is the w%ounding Of
my feelings! Surely all hope Of my
succeeding in my profession has gone.
since l shall never find another model
suitable to my needs"
Walter left the brush and the palette
for awhile for other avocations. On
the walls of his room he hung the por-
traits of the girl who had Tilted him,
and 1t seemed to his mother that the
case Of her sons love had been made
worse instead of better. At last she
ventured to ask him for her sake to
put away his past and take hold of the
future. Walter loved his mother next
to the girl who had Tilted him, and she
finally persuaded him to let her hang
the pictures he worshiped in an upper
room, receiving a promise from him
that he would visit 1t but once a
month.
During the first half year after the
removal of his idols Walter waited i'm
patiently for the day Of his visit to
them to come round. During the Sec
ond half year he was less impatient
and at the end of twelve months told
his mother that she was right-it would
be better that he should cease to dwell
on that which was dead to him. He
would visit his pictures no more.
Walter at this time made another
discovery-that If he could not make
an artist of himself he could succeed
at nothing. He resumed his painting
and instead of combining himself to one
model chose different ones. In the case
of all of them he was u~niniuenced by
love. From the moment of this Sec
ond start he met with instant success.
Every picture he painted was sold as
oOOu ID OhClCu W lhC PuOANt - A.
was not long before he achieved a rep
utation which brought him high prices,
Walters mother made a match for
him with a young lady of his own
class. She was not a beauty, but a
very estimable woman. Notwithstand-
Ing that her husband In marrying her
had yielded to his mothers wishes
considering his heart broken forever
he soon came to love his wife devoted
ly. After his parents death he remov-
ed with his family to the home they
had occupied and where he had been
born. One day his wife unlocked the
gallery of his former idols and saw the
walls covered with pictures of red
headed girls all looking alike and all
frights.
walter" she cried. come up hereI'
Walter obeyed the M m and join