FullReads

When we were in the brougham again, I said, “If you will allow me, I will drive you to a house I have seen, which belongs to a man with whom I am slightly acquainted. He is on the point of leaving it, but his furniture is still in it, and, as he is himself an artist and a man of taste, it will be worth your while to look at it. He is rather deaf, but that is all the better; we can express our opinions without disturbing him. Perhaps you might arrange to take house and furniture as they stand.”

“Whatever you advise, I shall like to do,” Ethel answered.

We presently arrived at the house, which was situated in the upper part of the town, a little to the west of Fifth Avenue. It was a comely gabled edifice of red brick, with square bay-windows and a roomy porch. The occupant, Maler, a German, happened to be at home; and on my sending in my card, we were admitted at once, and he came to greet us in the hall in his usual hearty, headlong fashion.

“My good Campbell,” he exclaimed, in his blundering English, “very delighted to see you. Ah, dis will be madame, and de little maid! So you are married since some time–I have not know it! Your servant, Madame Campbell. I know–all de artists know–your husband: we wish we could paint how he can–but it is impossible! Ha, ha, ha! not so! Now, I am very pleased you shall see dis house. May I beg de honor of accompany you? First you shall see de studio; dat I call de stomach of de house, eh? because it is most important of all de places, and make de rest of de places live. See, I make dat window be put in–you find no better light in New York. Den you see, here we have de alcove, where Madame Campbell shall sit and make her sewing, while de husband do his work on de easel. How you like dat portiere? I design him myself–oh, yes, I do all here; you keep them if you like; I go to Germany, perhaps not come back after some years, so I leave dem, not so? Now I show you my little chamber of the piano. See, I make an arched ceiling–groined arch, eh?–and I gild him; so I get pretty light and pretty sound, not? Ah! madame, I have not de happiness to be married, but I make my house so, dat if I get me a wife, she find all ready; but no wife come, so I give him over to Herr Campbell and you. Now we mount up-stairs to de bed-rooms, eh?”

In this way he went over the entire house with us. His loud, jolly voice, his resounding laugh, his bustling manner, his heedless, boy- like self-confidence, and his deafness, made it impossible to get in a word of explanation, and, after a few efforts, I gave up the attempt.

“Let him suppose what he likes,” I said aside to Ethel, “it can make no difference; he is going away, and you will never see him again. After all these years, it can do no great harm for us to play at being Mr. and Mrs. Campbell for an hour!”

“It is a very beautiful house,” she said, tacitly accepting what I had proposed. “It is such a house as I have always dreamed of living in. I shall not care to look at any others. Will you tell him that we–that I will take it just as it stands. You have made this a very pleasant day for me–a very happy day,” she added, in a lower tone. “Every room here will be associated with you. You will come here often and see me, will you not? Perhaps, after all, you might use the studio to paint my–or Susie’s portrait in.”