The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-05
An Artistic
Courtshiip
By ETHEL HOLMES

Gabriel Martel painted pictures for
living. but made very poor one. At
last he gave it up and became an in.
structor In his art. He was now
widOwer, an old man, and had one
child, q daughter. Winifred. about
twenty years old. The rooms In which |
he lived and gave lessons were in Q
studio building for persons Of his pro- |
fession.
One spring morning Winifred was
sitting by an open window in the hv.
ing room. facing the street, making
clothes for herself, for her father had
no money with which to buy them.
She had very sweet face and as
she bent over her work formed an at
tractive picture. Beardslee, who had
just returned from Florence, Italy,
where he had been studying and was
considered genius. saw the girl at
the window, and-well, he fell in love
with her. I don't mean his love was
full fledged the moment he laid eyes on
her, but that is when 1t began.
He noted the position of the room
In which she was sitting and, crossing
the street, entered the studio building,
mounted the stairs and proceeded to
the door leading to the room. His OBJ
ject was the acquaintance Of that girl.
How he was to make it he didn't
know, but he was full Of assurance
and resource and trusted to these and
luck. On the door was painted, ga
briel Martel, Instructor In Painting"
| Opening the door, he saw Mr. Martel
standing over small boy whom he
was endeavOring to teach to draw the
! outline Of a goblet. Winifred sat in
an adjoining room.
BEG pardon" said Beardslee; IT am
DESTROYS Of taking some lessons In
! painting"
"Are you a beginner" asked the in
structor.
"Oh. no! have had some practice"
| Martel stated the terms, which were
satisfactory. and Beardslee said he
would take a lesson then and there.
He sat down at an easel faced toward
Winifred.
AS soon as Martel had disappeared
Beardslee took out some pieces Of thin
ivory he had In his pocket and began
to paint miniature portrait Of Wini-
fred If his love for the girl was not
yet full fledged, his love for his sub
ject was. At any rate, he made one
Of those rapid strokes Of genius which
will sometimes come without the slight
l est effort, but which will eude an
/. artist on more pretentious work. Mean
while other pupils had come in, and
Beardsee heard Martel talking to
them. In this way he kept knowl
> edge Of the instructors position, and
: whenever he came near the screen
: Beardslee would hide the miniature
. and begin to daub on the subject as
signed him. But he had asked that he
might not be disturbed, and his in
, structor did not visit him till after he
: had finished the miniature sketch.
t A few days later Winifred was look
2 ing over the art columns Of a Sunday
paper and saw among the pictures OF
> moment reproduced there picture
! called AT Work." by the newly ar
rived celebrity Clarence Beardslee. II
4 was girl sitting by window sewing
|. The work was valued at $1,000.
n "Isn't that like this window, papa 2
she said. showing 1t to her father
= land that work stand is an exact re
production Of NINE"
I, "And the face Is yours, too" said tn,
Q parent.
d 1T says the picture will be on exhi
Il bition at Gambrell's for few days
, I'm going to see It,"
The same afternoon she visited Gam
y brelrs picture store, and there was tn
y miniature, into which the artist ha
Q found room to give suggestion of tn
IS window and the work stand. She ha
n no sooner looked upon the face Of tn
girl than she recognized herself. TIL
likeness was perfect She stood lool
ing at 1t in a dream of wonder.
70 There is break In the story whic
a cannot be supplied. When Winifre
went home to her father happines
r. dubbed up In her like a spring G
=, limpid water She had seen at th
picture store the would be pupil Of tn
. day before. The break In the story
le how did he come to be there when sh
A was there? Nobody but himself know
s. and he has never told. All Winifre
10 said to her father about the miniatul
:, was that 1t was a rare work Of ar
The mink had brought 1t home wit
~ her.
re- There is more that does not appes
lr In this version of the story, and thi
e, y, What was going on between Beard
n. lee and Winifred during the ne,
~ month? at the end Of which Martel r
ceived the surprise Of bis life. II
IL former pupil Of one lesson entered b
10 instruction room and presented car
q on which was the name Claren'
nd Beardslee Martel looked at 1t, the
tn up at the visitor and wondered IL OF
or the other OF them had not lost b
senses.
- winifred ran from the other roo
IN and wrapped both arms around her
In ther.