The Lover: Hughie Erskine was a handsome young man. He was liked and admired by all people for his good character. But, he was not clever and did not have any money. He did not stick to one job. He kept changing jobs. He tried everything but was not successful. He worked on the stock exchange for some time, then became a tea merchant. He got tired of that. He tried his hand at selling sherry, but failed again. Finally, he stopped working and lived on an allowance of 200 pounds a year. He was deeply in love with Laura Merton. Laura was the daughter of a retired Colonel. Laura also loved Hughie Erskine. Though the Colonel liked Hughie, he did not permit them to marry. He asked Hughie to come to him with the proposal of marriage when he had ten thousand pounds of his own.
The Painter One morning, Hughie went to meet his friend Alan Trevor. Alan was a successful painter. When Hughie entered his studio, Alan was finishing the full size painting of a beggar. The beggar was posing for Alan standing on a platform. He was an old man, bent and wrinkled with a piteous look on his face. He was wearing torn, dirty clothes and patched boots. He was holding a hat in one hand as if he was begging.
Hughie remarked that Alan had a wonderful model. Alan agreed with him and said that Hughie would not meet such a beggar every day. Hughie felt sorry for the pitiable condition of the beggar. He asked Alan how much he paid the model for a sitting. Alan said he paid ten pence an hour. Hughie wanted to know how much Alan would get after selling his picture. Alan replied that he would get two thousand pounds. Hughie said that the beggar model should get some part of the profit, as he was also working as hard as Alan. Alan did not agree with him. He told Hughie to keep quiet.
The Model While Alan was still giving finishing touches to his picture, a servant came in and told him that the frame maker was waiting to meet him. Alan went out. The beggar who was standing till then sat down to relax. He looked very lonely and sad. Hughie searched his pocket and found a sovereign. He thought the beggar needed the money more than he did. He went near the beggar and gave the sovereign to him. The old beggar was surprised. He thanked Hughie for his generosity. When Alan returned, Hughie took leave of him.
The same night Hughie met Alan at the Palette club. He asked Alan if he had finished the picture of the beggar-man. Alan replied in the affirmative and said that the old model had taken a liking for Hughie. So, he had told the beggar everything about Hughie. Hughie told Alan that he had a lot of old clothes and wanted to give them to the old man because his clothes were in rags. He wanted to know if the old man would accept his offer. Alan said that he would tell the old model about his offer. Alan also said that he had told the model about Laura, her father, and the ten thousand pounds.
The Surprise Hughie was angry with Alan for telling the old beggar all his problems. Alan Trevor revealed to Hughie that the beggar model was not a real beggar but he was one of the richest men in Europe. He said that his name was Baron Hausberg, who could buy all London and never feel the pinch of it. He also said the Baron had a house in every capital city and ate off gold plates and had a lot of political power.
Alan told Hughie that Baron Hausberg had asked him to paint him as a beggar. And he himself was posing as the beggar. Hughie was greatly embarassed for he had given a sovereign to a millionaire and made a fool of himself. Hughie blamed Alan for not telling him about the real identity of the beggar earlier. Alan thought it was very funny and laughed his heart out. He realised why Baron Hausberg had shown so much of interest in Hughie’s affairs. Finally, he said jokingly that the Baron would invest Hughie’s money and pay him the interest every six months. Hughie regretted his action and felt miserable.
The Messenger The next morning, Mr. Gustave Naudin, the messenger of Baron Hausberg, came to Hughie’s house. Hughie thought that he had come for an apology for insulting the Baron by giving him a sovereign. Hughie requested the messenger to offer his sincere apologies to the Baron. Then, the messenger gave him a sealed envelope and said that the Baron had asked him to deliver it to Hughie. The message on the envelope said it was a wedding present to Hughie Erskine and Laura Merton, from an old beggar. The envelope contained a cheque for ten thousand pounds.
The Wedding Hughie thus earned ten thousand pounds of his own and married Laura Merton. Alan was the best man and the Baron made a speech at the wedding breakfast. Alan remarked then, that millionaire models were rare enough, but model millionaires were rarer still.
