The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1917-11-10
Blanca
Micele
A Case of influence of
Mind Over Mind
BY Donald Chamberlain


Copyright. 1917. Western Newspaper Union.
Lam an artist. Being in poor health
my doctor ordered me abroad, and ]
went to Florence, Italy.
L rented rooms Of a widow and hel
daughter, by the name Of Micele. They
occupied the top floor Of building or
the river Arno. I used a front room
for studio and a rear room for q bed
room. The mother was a middle aged
woman, the daughter about twenty.
five. Their ancestors had been well off,
but their estate had melted away, and
Sonora Micele and her daughter got on
with difficulty. Blanca, the daughter
was an artist, but an Indifferent one.
Nevertheless there was something
remarkable about Blanca Micele. She
was neither pretty nor homely. The
eyes Of the Italians are handsome, but
Senorina Micele's eyes were more than
handsome; they were, so to speak, COM
polling. That is, when she looked out
Of them at me felt q strange force
compelling me to do her bidding. Not
that there was apparent exercise of
will. She was gentleness itself. The
power she exercised was rather per-
suasive than forceful.
Not long after 1 arrived in Florence
fell i'll and did not leave my bed for
weeks. Sonora Micele and her daugh-
ter both nursed me.
A portion Of the time was in either
stupor or delirium, I don't know
which. At such times I was very
weak and on coming to myself usually
felt as if had been doing exhaustive
work, though I had been in my bed all
the while, where it would not have
been possible for me to do any work
even if I had been mentally capable.
My illness occurred during the win
ter, and when the spring came on and
the weather began to warm up Sonora
Micele used to put me in an easy chair
and wheel me out on to one of those
little balconies common in Florence
houses. We were on the Arno en-
bankment the Lung Arno, they call it
there, in sight Of the green hills that
surround the city. Indeed, from my
balcony I could see some six or seven
miles distant the heights on which
Fiosole, the original Florentine settle
ment, was made. During three more
months l spent much of the day on
this balcony in fancy painting pictures
II the scene spread out before me.
One Of these was the undulating plain
beyond the city's edge and the heights
Of Fiosole beyond the plain. There is
a big clock tower at Fiosole which. it
seemed to me would make an attrac-
tive feature in my imaginary picture,
and I spent hours working it in. An
other view dreamed Of was the Arno,
directly beneath me, winding under its
arched bridges toward the south, and
other nearer and consequently greener
hills. There is something in the atmo-
sphere Of Italy to intensity the color Of
q landscape, and on such days I de-
lighted in the imaginative painting 1
could not do in reality. But I always
noticed that such days instead of CIV
ing me strength drew upon what had.
Fortunately I recovered before the
hot weather set in and after conva-
lescing in the invigorating climate of
the Swiss Alps went to Paris, where /
remained some time.
Strolling one day down one Of the
Partisan boulevards, I stepped into a
picture shop. The dealer, fancyfng to
make q customer of me, advanced and
questioned me as to what was look
ing for. It occurred to me to ask for
one of my own pictures, not that ex-
pected to find one, but that to ask for
the work Of any special artist would
make it appear that was not looking
at his wares with no intention OF buy
ing.
Have you anything Of Adrian
Giles?' I asked.
"Giles, the Americana"
"Yes."
Certainly. I have a very remark
able piece Of his work. Come this
way"
He led me to one Of his display
rooms and up to picture that had
evidently been hung with considera-
BILE care. The subject was certainly
familiar to me, for it was the plain /
had overlooked at Florence with the
hills and Fiosole in the distance. And
as I stood looking at it I recognized
not only the identical scene I had
painted in my day dreams, but my in
dividual style. Quickly bending to the
lower left hand corner, cap was put
upon my establishment by seeing my
own name.
I caught with both hands at the rail
that extended around the room to
| guard the pictures. Here was view
L had no remembrance Of presenting,
but which I must have painted. 1t
was some time before recovered suf-
| ficient equanimity to further examine
the painting, but when I did so saw
at once that for the first time in my
life had portrayed scene exactly
| as I saw, It. What Il mean is that 1t
possessed all the reality and beauty
with which my imagination had en-