Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-09-21
AN EXILE'S
RETURN
By ESTHER VANDEVEER

sketching in the Catskills when, hear.
ing a step behind me, 1 turned and saw
coming down the road directly behind
me a young man with the faxen hair
and blue eyes of the Saxon. Seeing
me, he lifted his hat politely and was
passing on when. In order to stop him,
I asked him a question about the
Catskills. | was so struck by his ap-
pearance that | wished to make q
sketch of him. He vas unable to rem
der the information | asked for, but
my ruse served it's purpose. He stood,
hat In hand, d~eferentially chatting with
me.
He told me that he was a German,
that he had not been long in America,
that he preferred to travel as a pedes-
trian and was making a tour through
the Catskill mountains on foot. In
time l made bold to ask him to pose
for me. | dared not offer him money
for doing so, for he seemed too aristor
cratic to receive pay for such a serv.
ice. He not only granted my request
but intimated that he would buy the
picture to ship to his father and moth,
er in Germany.
While l worked on the sketch l drew
him on to tell me what had brought
him to America. At first / got only
evasive replies to my questions, but ]
purposely delayed my work for time to
gain his confidence and at last got the
story. The heir apparent of the prin.
cipality from which he hailed disgrac.
ed himself by a theft. My model
was present at the time. 1t would not
do for their future ruler to bear q
stain, so the party drew lots as to
which one should bear the obloquy. 1t
fell to the man l was sketching, and
when the theft was discovered he
falsely owned himself the guilty one.
His parents were mobiles; they settled
an annuity upon him, and he left home
to become a wanderer. His allowance
was not sufficient to enable him to
travel by conveyance, so he walked.
But he declared he preferred that man
ner of travel.
The meeting with this man occurred
LII AplU. L WCHI lAlO tnG NOullLlJ Cdl'
lier than city folk, in order to catch
that pale green which only appears on
the foliage either in that month OF
May. l agreed to part with my sketch,
since he begged so hard for 1t. He
wished me to put 1t In oils for him, and
1 agreed to do so. But to do this l pre-.
ferred to take it to my studio in New
York, where I could work on it to bet.
ter advantage. l gave him my address
in the city, and he was to give mi a
few sittings there while 1 was making
the transfer from pastel to oils.
1t vas the middle OF July before ]
completed the sketches l needed for
my Winters work and returned to the
city. u had told my subject he might
call any time after the goth Of the
same month. But that was about the
time that the emperor of Austria de.
clared war IN Servia. Whether the
prospect of a general European war in.
1uenced my German friend Oh not !
cannot tell. AT any rate, he did not
make his appearance. Then the spark
of al became a fame and the flame a
co~nfagration. Germany called IN her
IONS to return to the fatherland to dc
military duty.
One evening when the Belgians and
Germans were struggling for the mas.
ter of Liege there was a ring at my
bell, and my young friend appeared.
II come not for you to sit" he said,
'but to bid you goodby. l have found
passage for Europe, and If not inter.
cepted by a British or French cruiser l
shall probably be able to end my exile
and my loneliness on the field of battle
AS he spoke the last words his ex
pressive face showed a sadness that
went straight to my heart.
"But the picture, baron,' l exclaimed,
will you not wait for me to finish it?"
1t was not the picture about which !
was concerned. | chung to a straw to
keep him from his purpose, to urge him
to make a home for himself in Amer
lea and in time to be happy.
when you hear that m no longer
sensible to disgrace send the sketch
you have made to my parents"
/ begged him to alter his resolution.
OUT Ia1leO.
would you have me add one dis
grace to another?" he asked. 81 am
enrolled as a soldier. and l must serve
as a soldier"
He gave me the address Of his par
ents, babe me adieu and was gone. =
The war dragged on. Many of III
young women went over to work with
the Red Cross, and l finally threw
down my brush and palette and went
to France to nurse the soldiers.
One day among the German wound
ed who were brought in I recognized
my friend met in the Catskill noun
tains in America. He was badly
wounded. He recognized me at once,
and his eye lit up at seeing me. He
held up a cross made of gun metal and