It was Jurgis's vain hope that here the proprietor would let him remain as a "
sitter." In low-class places, in the dead of winter, saloon-keepers would often allow one or two forlorn-looking bums who came in covered with snow or soaked with rain to sit by the fire and look miserable to attract custom.
"Where am I to get a sitter?' I inquired, with a gloomy shake of the head.
"I'll be your first sitter. As a beginner, and especially to a member of the family, I suppose your terms will be moderate.
Behold me, then, now starting afresh in the world, in the character of a portrait-painter; with the payment of my remuneration from my first sitter depending whimsically on the life of my grandmother.
But he is much more to me than a model or a
sitter. I won't tell you that I am dissatisfied with what I have done of him, or that his beauty is such that art cannot express it.
Aspern had of course met the young lady when he went to her father's studio as a
sitter. I observed to Miss Bordereau that if she would entrust me with her property for twenty-four hours I should be happy to take advice upon it; but she made no answer to this save to slip it in silence into her pocket.
When I want a nose or an eye for any particular
sitter, I have only to look out of window and wait till I get one.'
She well knew how to manage a soft, insinuating voice, which threw a tender charm into every word, even such as she merely chanced to utter; her feet were like those we see in portraits where the painter boldly lies and flatters his
sitter in the only way which does not compromise anatomy.
The Seal
Sitters have also found success in helping the seals help themselves.
Sitters are not allowed guests during their stay but are paid a small daily rate plus expenses.
The new business is a member of Professional United Pet
Sitters and of Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals.