The Herald, 1908-02-14, Page 7r
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OanCIENIENNICNIUMEMENNTSZEMMEN
• Heel not ate, even while making a show
of moderation and justice and candor,
taken his daughter from his betrothed
lover and was he not going to marry
her to an English baronet? There was
no softening down that circumstance to
Falconer's satisfaction.
Meanwhile the months rolled around,
and brought Mr. Hunter's an -
ewer to the major's letter eon-
ee"rning leaiconer's situation. Dan-
iel Hunter wrote that the young
man's scruples were just and honorable
to him; that he waa glad to find he en-
tertained and was governed by them. He
requested his friend, Major —, to of-
fer no further opposition to Falconer's
purpose of leaving his present position;
but, oat the contrary, to encourage him
to devote himself exclusively to his art,
.A,ttd he said that he ltitnself would take
care that the young sculptor should re-
ceive orders for work enough to keep
same busily engaged. And inclos-
ed is the same letter, to bawl w,th,
wan a very liberal order .ran a
retired merchant, a lover and patron of
art and and a friend. of Daniel Hunter,
wire had once before, at the suggestion
of the latter, employed the yo'in3 sculp-
tor while at Washington.
]ia something less than a week from
the receipt of this letter, of which Fal-
coner knew nothing, the last quarter ex-
pired, and the young secretary came, ac-
cording to bis word, to resign his situ-
ation. And then it was, that, without
mentioning Daniel Hunter' friendly ag-
eaey in the matter, Major — placed
in the hands of the yomeig artist the
letter of his vrealthy patron, containing
an order for a pair of full-sized compan-
ion busts, namely, a copy in marble of
the head of the Apollo Belvidere and one
of the Venus de Medicis, And Falconer,
frank and impulsive in all things, joy -
folly expressed his surprise and his plea-
sure.
And now, with a mind relieved of care
and inspired by hope, the young artist.
went diligently to work. And as the
year rolled on, more orders, chiefly from
tfee United States, poured in upon him.
And he might have been happy but for
the thought of Maud; that was the
gnawing "worm i' the bud" of his peace.
He watched the papers in an almost ag-
onizing dread to see the announcement
of their marriage—the sentence of his
oWn d.espaza:. But he found it not. But
what he did find was the continued re-
port of Daniel Hunter's public career—
hie proceedings in Congress, his reaolu-
tiona, his speeches, all revealing. that
Oleriselan principle governing political
action; that elear-sighted, far-reaching
wisdom, that pure and high-ouled pat-
riotism which, despite all the strength
of the boy's stubborn prejudices, con-
strained. his admiration and esteem. He
struggled stoutly against this influence,
but in vain; for everything he heard or
read of Daniel Hunter disabused him of
a prejudice, and gave him new cause
for esteem. And at last he ceased to re-
sist the strong attraction that was draw-
ing his heart towards the noblest man of
his age. Sometimes, even in the presence
of the major, Faleonor, with his frank
impetuosity, would break out into some
exclamation of surprise at his own blind-
ness; and high admiration of Mr. Hun-
ter's course a. eulogium in which the
major would cordially join.
And., oli! if any circumstance could
have deepened his distress at the lues of
Maud; it would have been this growing
esteem for her father. Alas, Keil. tele
pervaded his whole being; she influenced
all his actions: Haunted and inspired
by her beautiful face, he threw the glory
of that beauty over all his works. Why,
even his model of the head of Venus
was not a faithful copy, for it had•
Maud's angel brows, And when an, or-
der from the United States, from aan-
onymous patron, was .transmitted t4p him
through Major — for an original
group of statuary, the subject of which
was to be Virginias, the young sculptor
seized the idea, went to work with all
the enthitsiaem and devotion of his na-
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ture, and gave to the female figure the
form and features of his Maud. While
the work was in plaster the major• came
to see it. It was a grand and beautiful
conception, but not faultless, of course;
it was injured as works of art often are,
by the artist's own peculiar mood. Thus,
not upon the principal, but upon the
subordinate figure, was thrown the whole
power of his genius. For instance, hie
Virginius was well enough—a fine, stal-
wart Roman centurion enough, with a de-
cent Iook of pain and firmness on his
face, as he held his daughter over his
left arm and raised the dagger with
his right hand. But the female figure—
his Virginia—that, indeed, was a tri-
umph and wonder of art. She lay over
her father's arm, with her beautiful face
upturned to his in holy trust, to meet
the descending blow—not unconscious,
not defying nor invoking the death, but
simply and beautifully accepting it—ac-
cepting it as from her father's hand—
accepting it in perfect love and trust.
"Yes," said the major, looking at
Elie group with the air of a critic. "Yes,
this is very good—very good, in-
deed; only, are you true to your' sub-
ject? Are you true to history? Accord-
ing to the Roman story, Virginius was
the great object of admiration; and, for
all that we know, Virginia was a mere,
pretty, innocent schoolgirl, quite ignor-
ant of her impending fate, until the mo-
ment the sacrificial steel was plunged
in her bosom. Now, it appears to me
that you have slighted the tragic posi-
tion of the father, while you have ex-
aggerated that of the daughter. Am I
not right?"
"Major —, will it please you to
take the chisel and finish the group to
your mind, or allow me to do it to
mine ?"
"Pooh! pooh! you irritable fellow! Do
you fancy that sculptors are like kings,
and must never hear the truth spoken?
Your Virginia is an exquisitely beautiful
creation—or rather copy; for it is a
copy!"
A copy, air?"
"Yes, don't fire up! A copy of Mies
Taunter—as perfect a likeness as I ever
saw. I should have recognized it in
Africa or Otaheite; and how naturally
that Iook of filial love and faith sits
upon her beautiful face! But while you
were at it, wby did you not carry out
theidea, and give to this brawny, fero-
cious -looking Roman centurion some-
thing of the majestic firmness and seren-
ity of Daniel Hunter's form andface—
it would then have been a family piece."
Falconer turned away in displeasure,
leaving the major standing before the
group, still examining and criticizing
the work.
"By the way, talking of Mr. Hunter,
I see by the last mail's papers that there
has been a marriage in his family," said
the major, carelessly.
"A marriage!" This exclamation es-
caped the poor boy quite involuntarily.
He felt' as if he had been shot through
the heart; he turned very pale, and lean-
ed upon the Niobe for support. Ah! he
had expected it! It did not take him
by surprise—at least, not much, not
much! So he said to himself. And he
leaned heavily upon the Niobe, and
struggled to meet the blow with dig-
nity.
He sucoeded.
While the major was still squinting
through his eyeglass, and anatomically
criticizing the muscles and tendons of
Virus' right leg, the youth lifted up
ha head and said—he felt obliged to say
something:
"It has been long contemplated, I be-
lieve."
"Well, yes; rather a long courtship, I
fancy—but, however—"
"Sir Henry Percival and — are the
happy pair, I presume?"
"Oh, of course! Why, what do you
mean, when we are talking of a long en,
gagement? Here is the paper, if you
would like to look at it. I am going.
Good afternoon, my dear boy! Throw a
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little more soul into your; Vrginius, and
that group will make you fait ous."
And the critic Departed, leaving as
black a shadow behind him as a oritic
possibly could. Yet not upon the ar-
tists'. work. Alas! in this bitter hour,
what oared the boy for his fame? In
this bitter hour, when he felt that rhe
who gave all the value to it was gone
forever, was worse than dead to him—
worse than dead; for, oh! with how
much less of agony could he have heard
of her death- With what comparative
content and satisfaction could he have
heard of her death! Witli what joy
should he now hear of it, if only some
merciful illness or accident would carry
her off, out of the arms of his rival!
Oh, God! the thought maddened him!
Anything—anything, but that she should
live the wife of another! He had not
known till now how strong had been
his hopes of some time possessing her—
till now, when all hope was lost in de-
spair. And how black and terrible that
despair! Now that he was alone, it over-
whelmed him; ho fell crushed by it, and
yielded up his manhood to an agony of
grief that 1 shall not wrong' him by de-
scribing.
His own, his gentle love,who had
lived with him and loved 'him all her
life; who, tired or ailing, had sat upon
his lap with her head upon his bosom,
and let him rock her to rest by their
cottage fire, how many hundred times!
That was a memory that melted his
whole heart and soul with tenderness;
he felt again her soft form pressed to
his bosom; her light breath stealing
past his cheeks; her rosy, half -open
lips so near his own in those hours when,
with something like a mother's tender-
ness, he would not even kiss them, lest
he should disturb her sweet sleep.
And now that she should be domesti-
cated with another—. He could not
pursue that thought! Ten thousand
scorpions, no! They stung his soul to
very frenzy! His hears ourned and
boiled like a crater; his veins ran lava.
Ob, that she were dead—dead!
Some hopeful poet has said that the
darkest hour is just before the dawn.
It was so certain)y in our: le 's case;, for
sure never before had lie g"enneled and
agonized in such a , baa; x sight' of de-
spair; and never befar, was he' so near
the dawn of rapture.
•
It came to pass that he walked up and
down his studio floor about five hun-
dred times or more, with the. savage
unrest of a tiger, before the grim fancy
of reading the marriage announcement
seized him. Then, with the same sort
of ghastly, shuddering interest with
which some wretched victim •;of the in-
quisition might examine the instru-
ments of his own torture, he took up
the paper and read: "At St, John's
Church, on the 15th of October, by the
Rev. Mr. Love!, Sir Henry Percival, Bar-
onet, of Percival Park, Shropshire, Eng-
land. to Miss Honoria--"
Down dropped the peper, and up
sprang the reader. Clapping both has
hands to his head, he stood like one lost
ht amazement. "It must be that 1 am
going mad," he murmured.% "Yes; my
very senses are no longer tcebe trusted."
He snatched the paper up, and read the
notice again, murmuring the words, "Um,
um, um, Sropshire, England, to Miss
Honoria " Ho equld get no further
than this name; it transfixed his eyes.
He gazed at it as if he would gaze it
through the paper. Suddenly he started
up, seized his cap, and, taking the paper
with him, hurried as fast as his limbs
could carry him to the American Lega-
tion. Ho entered, and hastened .at once
to the library, where he "found Major
, reading. The old gentleman turn-
ed round. in surprise to see the flushed
and unceremonious intruder. But when
he recognized his favorite, he arose and
held out his hand, smilingly, to weieome
him. Falconer struggled to control him-
self as he held out - the paper to his
friend, and, pointing to the marriage an-
nouncement:
sithere neesome mistake here,
r?" •
"Mistake?" said the major, taking the
journal and reading over the notice.
'"So; 1 see no mistake. What do you
mean?"
The boy's heart throbbed so he could
hardly speak. He faltered oust;
"I—I—thought that Sir henry Perci-
val was to be married td—t9—Maud—
to Miss bunter---"
""What! To Maud Hunter?" exclaim-
ed the major, gathering his brows in
perplexity.
"Yes. Did not you—did not everybody
think so?"
"Why, no; I never thought so. Blit
sit down, my dear fellow; sit down.
You look like an epileptiet Sit down!
8o, so; that's it, is it?" said the old
gentleman, rubbing his forehead with his
forefinger.
"But, major," said the young man,
sinking into the nearest chair, "tell me
—you were with the Hunters two years
ago in Washington; now, did •you not
know that this Englishman was paying
his addresses to Miss Hunter?" -
"Whom? Maud?"
"Certainly, sir."
"No; I really did not."
"But, surely you must have heard the
report of their engagement. It was
everywhere current and believed."
"O -o -h, yes; I. heard such 'q; silly ru- e
mor; but I also heard it contradicted by
herself and her friends."
"Contradieted by herself and her
friends!"
"'Why, certainly—"
"`Contradicted by herself and her
friends!' -
""Of course! What ails yuu? Why do
you look so amazed?"
He was not amazed. Ile had been;
but now amazement was lost in joy.
Joy unspeakable was tiding in upon his
heart, and oppressing it almost to tears.
It was not his Maud, then. Oh, it was
not his beautiful, tender, loving darling
that had left him, and nestled to the
bosom of this detested rival! Not Maud,
but Honoria, who had married this
proud Englishman.
"Well, why don't you speak to me?
Are you an ecstatic?"
"I—I thought that she—Miss Hunter,
I mean—had been engaged," faltered
the boy.
"VITeli, so she is engaged. I have the
sweet girl's own words for that," said
the old gentleman, maliciously.
Falconer started, and clutched the edge
of the table for support, Oh, he knew
now! He remembered; she had told him
the same thing! The very last moment
he had seen her she told him she was
engaged! And it was but a change of
persons after all! She was lost to him
all the same! The room seemed turning
round with hime he was losing his senses
fast. Unconsciously he groaned forth:
"`To whom ?—to whorl? Good Heaven!
to whom is she betrothed? Yet why do
I ask? It does not matter!"
It was really cruel to rack the poor
fellow with so many contrary excite-
ments. The major felt it to be so, and
hastened to relieve him.
"To whom? Why, to the young friend
of her childhood and youth—a mad -cap
boy, whom I do not think half good
enough for her, but whom the sweet
maiden loves better than all the rest of
the world, it seems."
Like lightning flashed the truth upon
his mind now! It was to himself that
she had alluded when she had said she
was engaged! His Maud, his idol, his
darling, was true—true to the heart's
core; true ns the angels! Oh, heaven of
bliss! Oh, joy insupportable, and full of
tears! He grew pale and paler with ex-
cess of emotion ns he listened, bending
forward and graaping the hands of the
speaker, who continued:
"Yea, my dear boy; and her father
afterward indorsed her words; by what
he told me. Some short time before our
departure from this place, Mr. Hunter
took occasion to inform me, as his con-
fidential friend, that his daughter Maud
was conditionally affianced to a very
talented and promising young gentleman,
to whom she was much attached, a friend
and protege of his own, whom he already
regarded as a son, and wished to send
abroad, and commended to my guardian-
ship and good offices."
The boy suddenly dropped the hands
of the old man, fell back in his chair,
covered his face with his open palms,
and burst into tears! For some moments
he did not utter a syllable, and then
he broke silence by . choking self -re-
proaches.
"Oh, ingrate! fool! beast that I have
been! Was there ever such a beast?"
"If you addressed that question to me,
E really cannot flatter you• by slandering
the brute creation. No; there never was
such a beast! All the beasts 1 ever
heard of knew friends from foes, and
loved the former,"
"Good Heaven! What resource is left
me now?"
"Why, this, of course: As it was by
your own will you transformed yourself
into an ass's colt, and then found you
did no credit to that species, why, you
can even transfigure yourself back again
to a man and a gentleman, and be rea-
sonable and polite," said the major,
chuckling.
"Oh, sirl don't jest with me! This is
too serious—much too serious! If you
have any friendship for me, in mercy
tell me how I am to make peace with
this high-souled man—the father of my
Maud!"
""Be at peace with yourself, my young
friend. Daniel Hunter is not at war with
you „
"Ah! not—not at war, perhaps; but
offended, outraged, estranged forever."
"Why should you think so?"
"Why? Ah, why? He has had cause
enough, Heaven knows! He wished me
well —he tried to do me good; but I, like
a fool or a madman, suspected his mo-
tives, spurned his kindness, insulted him
to his face, and abused hint behind his
beack1 Beast that I was! I could thump
my own head against the wall!"
"Nay, nay! now don't assault yourself
at that rate. Mr. Hunter knows that it
was all under a misapprehension of hie
character, and his moderation, patience
and faith pass all your conception of
such qualities. You said, my young
friend, that he tried to do you good.
Now, clid you ever know Daniel Hunter
to try to do anything that he did not
accomplish? And do you really suppose
that you balked him in this endeavor?
No; he has done you good, still does you
and will continue to do you good. Under
God, he has been the providence of your
life, watching over your interests with
paternal care, promoting your welfare
with all his power, yet forbearing
to intrude upon your gratitude, with-
drawing himself into the background,
bearing your bitter prejudice with match-
less patience, waiting for the time when
you should know him as he is, with un-
clouded faith!"
For all answer, Falooner could only
start up and walk about the floor, and
hurry back, and throw himself into the
chair, exclaiming
"Olt, God! Why did I not know all
this?"'
"One would have thought you might
have wondered at, your remarkable mo-
ose, and sought the cause of it in some
powerful friend. But, 'tie trne, you hea-
ven -born, star -gazing, inspired children
of genius are, in one respect, very like
the poor, stupid, grovelling pigs—you
devour the acorns as they fall; without
ver looking to see where they come
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from. Even in your green, crude youth
you accept any amount of favor and
homage, without the least surprise, as
the natural dues of your genius. You
aro astonished at nothing but disap-
pointment, which makes you indignant,
and you wonder at nothing but opposi-
tion, which you term martyrdom."
"Oh, ge on, sir! go on! For Heaven's
sake don't stop, for when you do, my
coascienee takes up the burden of the
song, and reproaches me more bitterly
that you can. A precious duet you sing
between you! But my heart, while you
are silent, says the bitterest things—so,
for God's sake, don't stop!"
(To bo continued.)
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Demonstrated.
Returning to Japan, the spy reported.
that America was preparing for war.
"Your proof," demanded. the Elder
Statesmen.
"1 have evidence," resumed the spy -
"that the yellow journals have laid In
enough red ink for a long and desper-
ate campaign,°"
Apprehension in their eyes, the Elder
Statesmen sat in silence.
a.e.
You. are apt to catch n beastly colts
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