Show t 1 S HARiE HARLEQUIN QUIN apparition iwah cual camett H zalm to rains print some nolue of at kite his dest beat pictures at ata afa a moment when what mrs are called supernatural apparitions are r so 0 o ale plentiful to in france the repairs pairs now going on an at the church of st eustache give actuality to an appa apparition ritten which the great I 1 painter couture relates most seriously in that now exceedingly rare book Entre tien daveller dA teller says a paris correspondent of the london standard it was he who did a considerable sid erable portion of 0 the decora decorating ung bf at this church in describing what occurred he wrote 1 I was painting my virgin and I 1 was glaring all ray my attention to my work but by a strange occurrence which I 1 could not explain I 1 was constantly disturbed by an extraordinary tra ordinary vision after hearing the I 1 latch of my chapel door lifted t the he do door or opened and gave passage to a charming harlequin he saluted me with a grace which had nothing in common with the harlequins harle quins of our world he commenced by a pretty pirouette then with one knee on the ground he elegantly gant Y placed his two hands on the handle of his wooden sword which raised the point his head on one siam pressed expressed ex the pleasure a person ex experiences pe in seeing again a friend after a long absence that contemplation was however very short he stood up and ran with the rapidity of a cat all round my chapel striking my pai painting nUng he rushed up my scaffolding his quick motions making the tinsel on his clothes sparkle then with a rapid bound he came up to my palette cut a caper and disappeared to rea reappear appear immediately running round the cornices cornicks cor nices with superhuman rapidity rapid lt and agility the vision disappeared I 1 descended from my scaffold by the ladder searched all round my chapel and looked at the door it was ajar I 1 shut it carefully and recommenced my painting but in a very short time I 1 heard the click of the latch repeated 1 and the same vision reappeared chati what I 1 could not understand was why the door would not keep shut these apparitions parit ions continued during eight days after which couture thought he would woula lay the apparition by executing a picture representing a harlequin with the object of doing justice to his subject he hunted about for works on an har le quins and at an old bookstall tie he came across a book entitled la IA vie vic de dominique celebre harlequin de la comelle It alienne 1 the painter bought it and read it carefully from the first to the last page it possessed palpitating tating interest tor for him that dominique was a great favorite of louis XIV but what caused the greatest surprise to couture was that when dominique died he bequeathed the greater portion of his property to the cherchi church of st eustache on condition that he should be burled in the chapel of the I 1 virgin it was after these strange events that couture painted mrle harle quins which are not less highly appreciated precia ted than his best historical pictures |