Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1894 — What He Found. [ARTICLE]

What He Found.

When James McNeill Whistler went to Venice to make those fourteen famous etchings of his, he became so int >xica‘ed with its b auty that he made seventy pastels first, leaving his etchings till the last few days. These pastels made a tremendous sensation. All the art world of Venice was carr*led away with enthusiasm, excepting a Russian painter, who declared tnam tricks, betting a basket of champagne he could paint six not to be distingui hed from them. Mr. Whist er amiably gave some of his paper and six pastels, which were finally mixel up with those by the Russian and submitted to a jury who had seen none of them. Mr. Whistler's pastels were unmistakable, and the Russian lost the wine. A few days later the two ipct on the Rialto, and Mr. Whistler laughed a little about the wine and the bet. The Russian was furious. “You forget, sir,” he said, “that I’m a Russian, and if you scratch one you find a Tartar underneath.” “Oh, no, you have it wrong, said Mr. Whistler —“you have it wrong. I scratched an artist and found an amateur. ”