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Miss Martha Meacham kept the little bakery on the corner. Miss Martha was forty, her bank-book showed a credit of two thousand dollars, and she possessed two false teeth and a sympathetic heart.

Two or three times a week a customer came in to buy some bread. He was a middle-aged man, wearing spectacles and a brown beard.

He spoke English with a strong German accent. His clothes were worn and darned in places. But he looked neat, and had very good manners.

He always bought two loaves of stale bread[11]. Fresh bread was five cents a loaf. Stale ones were two for five.

Once Miss Martha saw a red and brown stain on his fingers. She was sure then that he was an artist and very poor. No doubt[12] he lived in a garret, where he painted pictures and ate stale bread.

When Miss Martha sat down to dinner and tea she used to sigh and think of the poor artist and feel sorry for him. Miss Martha’s heart was a sympathetic one.

In order to test her theory, she brought from her room one day a painting that she had bought at a sale, and hung it on the wall of her bakery.

It was a Venetian scene. A splendid marble palace stood in the foreground. For the rest there were gondolas (with the lady trailing her hand in the water), clouds, sky.

Two days afterward the customer came in.

“Two loafs of stale bread, if you blease[13].

“You haf here a fine bicture[14], madame,” he said while she was wrapping up the bread.

“Yes?” says Miss Martha. “You think it is a good picture?”

“Der balance[15],” said the customer, “is not in good drawing. Der bairspective[16] of it is not true. Thank you, madame.”

He took his bread, bowed, and hurried out.

Yes, he must be an artist. Miss Martha took the picture back to her room.

How gentle and kindly his eyes shone behind his spectacles! What a broad brow he had! Genius often has to struggle.

He saw the perspective at once. She wanted to help him – to keep house for him, to share with him all the good things she had in her bakery. Maybe even two thousand dollars. But these were day-dreams, Miss Martha.

Often now when he came he talked to her for a few minutes. But he bought only stale bread as before. Never a cake, never a pie, never one of her delicious sweets.

11

stale bread – черствый хлеб

12

No doubt – Вне всякого сомнения

13

blease = please (исковеркан.)

14

you haf here a fine bicture = you have here a fine picture (исковеркан.)

15

Der balance = the palace (исковеркан.)

16

der bairspective = the perspective (исковеркан.)