A Capillary Crime, and Other StoriesMillet, Francis Davis
Philosophy
A Capillary Crime, and Other Stories
Millet, Francis Davis
Artists -- Fiction; Manners and customs -- Fiction; Short stories, American
We made various attempts at the entertainment of friends, but they all
lacked that element of spontaneous fun which makes such occasions
successful, and we soon gave it up. On pleasant days we threw open the
windows on the street to let in the warm air and sunshine, but this did
not seem to drive away the musty odors of the interior. We were much too
high up to feel any neighborly proximity to the people on the other
side of the street. The chimney-pots and irregular roofs below and
beyond were not very cheerful objects in the view; and the landlady,
who, as far as we knew, was the only other occupant of the upper story,
did not give us a great sense of companionship. Never once did I enter
the studio without feeling the same curious sensation of alternate warm
and cool strata of air. Never for a quarter of an hour did I succeed in
reading a book or a newspaper, however interesting it might be. We
frequently had two models at a time, and both my friend and myself made
several beginnings of pictures, but neither of us carried the work very
far.
On one occasion a significant remark was made by a lady friend who came
to call. She will undoubtedly remember now when she reads these lines
that she said, on leaving the studio: “This is a curiously draughty
place. I feel as if it had been blowing hot and cold on me all the time
I have been here, and yet you have no windows open.”
At another time my comrade burst out as I was going away one evening
about eleven o’clock to a reception at one of the palaces: “I wish you
wouldn’t go in for society so much. I can’t go to the café; all the
fellows go home about this time of the evening. I don’t like to stay
here in this dismal hole, all cooped up by myself. I can’t read, I can’t
sleep, and I can’t think.”
It occurred to me that it was a little queer for him to object to being
left alone, unless he, like myself, had some disagreeable experiences
there, and I remembered that he had usually gone out when I had, and was
seldom, if ever, alone in the studio when I returned. His tone was so
peevish and impatient that I thought discussion was injudicious, and
simply replied, “Oh, you’re bilious; I’ll be home early,” and went away.
I have often thought since that it was the one occasion when I could
have easily broached the subject of my mental trouble, and I have always
regretted I did not do so.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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