The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-30


at the house Of the vedders. Other
social doors might have opened to the
two young artists, hut the author
frankly confcsses we had not clothes
in which To knock at them" and doubt
less destiny meant well by them, for
had they been arrayed like Solomon
in all his glory how would they have
dined and spent long hours over one
small cup Of coffee at the Cafe de
Venice. which called itself in English
the Meet Of the Best Society" OF the
other unnamed little cafe with no
aspirations as the meet" Of any save
the usual society Of an italian town?
Then there was the N~azionale. where
foreigners were as few as women, for,
according to Mrs. Pennelrs observa-
tions Of life in Italy. women
neither dined nor drank coffee. hut
the life Of the Pencils seems to have
necessitated informal evening recep-
tons for whomsoever had in him the
impulse for conversation and y about
their cafe in Rome there COLLECTED
artists and takers who met evening
after evening to unburden their hearts.
And here the charming lady from
Philadelphia began to learn about
artists. Nothing about them, shc
says. amazed her more than their talk.
ITS volubility took my breath away.
I thought Of the back parlor at home
after dinner. my father playing in
Vulnerable games II patience. and the
| rest of US deep in our books till bed
time. And these men talked as II
| talk was the only business. uhe only
| occupation Of life" What training II
| must have been for a writer and what
wonder Is it that out Of the volumes
| and volumes and volumes Of onversa
| tons Mrs. Pennell must have listened
to she has emerged one Of the mos
| enthralling Of writer's. How busy toe
she must have been in thFe days
registering impressions when. as she
tells us. "all I had ever thought right
\ turned u to I've wrong. all / had never
| thought of was right h Vita
things in those days were not dates
nor periods. nor sentiments. MOI
schools: the vital matters were treat.
ment. color, values. tone. mediums
There were nights. SO h says. when
I went away believing that nothing
mattered in the world except the
ground on a copperplate. or the grair
Of a canva or the paint In a tube
There was one point. no matter wha'
the discussion. upon which all the
takers were agreed and that was the
, supreme importance of art.
What living portraits. too. v giver
Of the takers. There was he young
architect preparing to conquer Phila'
delphia. who carried his convictions
home. unspoiled. and built a hospita
or something. which was a monument
to his discoveries. a record OF his ad'
ventures among the masterpieces. will
a ground floor like the StrOzzi Palace
developing into a French chateau ant
topping off as a Swiss chakt-atrO
cious architecture, but interesting au'
photography.
Here was Donoshue. the sculptor. 81
young that he svas accredited with i'm
mortal youth. He was searching ROM
for a youth beautiful enough to be th'
model of his Young Sophocles." Ill
never found the model and finally posed
for il himself. and in due course o
time he finished it,. and Mrs. Pennel
says IL is IA very fine statue, though
she does not tell us where 1t Is tina
we may go and see. At the time tina
/ Donoghue talked to them over hi
after dinner coffee she was still un
used to the artistic temperament. He
experience was bounded by Philadel
phia convention. and h mentions tn
gulf that existed between the Phiiadel
phia youth to whom h was accus
toned, talking of the last reception
and the next party over the chickel
salad at the dancing class. and younI
Donochue talking dispassionately o
his own surprising beauty over a sma'
cup of coffee at the Nazionale.
There vas F~orepaugh. who in shee
physical power Of speech was ~ithou
a rival. and none surpassed him In ap
probation of his own %eloquence. Hi
interest never waned so long as h
held the floor, and he was the equal G
Charles Godfrey Leland's friend who
III were to tell him | had al ele
phant in my back yard. would at one
invite me To see the mastodOn in his
The chief attraction in the nights
Venice seems to have been Duveneck
! though there VAS also Arnold, IN
baseball player. who. having made hi
name and fame at Harvard as
r pitcher. had slept az his chief Occu
! patton ever since. He was suppose
to he in Rome studying with Duvenec
/: and during his maps Duveneck woul
touch up his studies so that even nnr
. d number of Duvenecks are masqucr
| aiding as Arnolds. while their owner
wonder why he does no more work a
good. There was %,lobbins. too. VIII
. walked all day carrying camp stO,
T. and paint box and canvas, and nevs
could find n subject to paint that ha
not already hoen done several thou
/ sand times. He had been the fricn
Of Whistler. however. and found hi
= mot "A hals bad chap and 10 haN
. known Whistler intimately and though
= him amiablr is perhaps a career |
= itself. and n distinguished one. TheY
I were the three boys from Munich wh
= went about Venice ordering the guid
n to "trot out our TintOrettos" and WI
found nothing in all Venice admirab
n except one evening and the city undo
r starlight.
OF the Nights" in London surel
Z the portraits that stand out mo!
I brey ~Beardslcy, or the latter a wor
I Gerful photograph is reproduced
profile with the long. thin artist han
laid along the cheek. and what a stril
d ing profile il Is, with the low fOrehea,