Then the father accepted another position in a school where he could also send his four children. Here Rosa was continually in trouble, for she did not study much and was always getting into mischief. One day she planned a mock battle in the school yard between the girls. They used sticks for swords. Very soon Rosa’s side drove their enemies toward a bed of hollyhocks which was the pride of the school. Here they turned and fled, but Rosa charged on. She cut off the heads of all those stately hollyhocks because they seemed to stand guard like soldiers. For this she was sent home in disgrace.
Very often, too, Rosa had these sham fights with her brothers at home, when the easels and even the pictures were used. The palettes served as shields, and the little Juliette, dressed in all the finery they could find, sat in state, representing the lady of their choice for whom the battle was fought.
Rosa tried to learn the dressmaking trade and to be a teacher, but it was no use,—the only thing she cared to do was to draw. So her father decided to give up trying to educate her in any other way. She was willing to walk miles in any kind of weather, to sit hours in all sorts of uncomfortable positions, and to go without food, in order to draw a good picture of some animal.
Now that she had begun in earnest to study animals, she must go to all the country horse fairs, to the slaughter houses, and everywhere she could to study them. But as she grew older she found it more and more difficult to go to these places, because of the attention she attracted and because her long skirts were so in the way. Finally she obtained a permit to wear men’s clothes. With her short hair, blue working blouse, and dark trousers she looked so much like one of the workmen that now no one noticed her, and she could go where she pleased.
People who did know her did not mind her dress and were ready to help her all they could in her work. From all over the country she received gifts of fine horses and other animals to paint, Buffalo Bill once sending her two fine horses from Texas. She bought a farm, and had a large barn built for her many pets.
Her pictures became famous the world over. How proud her father was of her!
One day she was working very hard in her studio when a servant came to tell her that the Empress Eugénie had come to see her. It was a great event when this royal lady came to the artist’s studio, and there was Rosa dressed in her old blue blouse, all spotted with paint. She did not have time even to slip it off before the empress came in, but they had a most delightful visit. As the Empress Eugénie bent over and kissed Rosa Bonheur she pinned the Cross of the Legion of Honor on the artist’s blue blouse. Rosa did not notice it until after the Empress had left. She must have been very much pleased, for she was the first woman to receive that honor.
Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. Tell about Rosa Bonheur as a little girl. Where did she live the first ten years of her life? What pets did she have? Why were the children glad to go to Paris? why sorry? What pets did they take with them? Describe their first home in Paris. Tell about the wild boar; the school for boys. Why did the Bonheurs move? What did Rosa’s mother do to help? When she died, what became of the children? To whom were they sent? Why was Rosa behind in her studies at school? Why did she return to Paris? Tell about the children’s pets, and how they were kept; about Isidore and the lamb. What did the children do in the evening? Where did Rosa go to school? Tell about the mock battle and the hollyhocks. How was Rosa punished? Tell about the sham battles at home. What was Rosa willing to do in order to draw? Where did she go to study animals? Why did she wear men’s clothes? What were some of the presents she received? Tell about the visit of the Empress Eugénie. What honor did Rosa Bonheur receive from her, and how was it presented?
