From a Bench in Our Square

in-green) Banta (period-in-blue) is the

s aforetime rewarded him. In the off-season the thwarted passion of color possesses him; and upon the flagstones before Thornsen's élite Restaurant, which constitutes his canvas, he will limn you a full-rigged ship in two colors, a portrait of the heavyweight champion in thre

resented lilac with a butterfly about to light on it, when he became cognizant of a ragged rogu

as he sketched in a set of side-whiskers (presu

as the prom

tounded artist, ris

un

to be affronted. Picking himself out of the gutter, he placed his thumb to his nose, and wiggled his finger i

e-piffle!" Already his vocabulary was rich and plenteo

nd took refuge in flight. The long stride of Peter Quick Banta soon overto

ybe you think you could do it better." The world

, which, in various forms, is almo

all possible murder, I sauntered over from my bench. B

" he sai

eized the crayon

to draw a pic

ll break every bo

ect quite unmoved. He p

anta's

that? A b

ock; that's

le bird that

you know it." Peter Qui

a butt

inimitable. "And the butterfly, she do not come down, p

Well, you put it do

urchin. He fell to with concentrated fervor, while Peter Qu

d, reaching, but

s hand. When the last touches were done, the boy looke

e!" s

ortioned. The colors were raw

rdained medium and the presentment of life stood forth. I hardly dared look at Peter

u're a wonder. Want

nessed, raising dog-like eyes of gratitude to his benefactor. Tactfully, Peter Quick Banta proceeded to expound for

d you lea

few drawing le

like to w

ow

nta pointed to

ed happily. "That ain

modest but unfailing, attended it from the first appearance of the junior member of the firm at Coney Island, where, as the local cognoscenti still maintain, he re

t care if he did crawl outa the gutter. I'm an artist and I reco'n

are to make herself and us famous with her tiny bronzes (this was before she had captured, reformed, and married Cyrus the Gaunt), I took him to her and he

this is all very foolish and shortsighted on my part. Five years from now that gutter-godling of

the veriest nonsense, about Julien Tenney or any one el

hen Julien had gone o