View source for The Model Millionaire (Wilde)

{{written by AI}}

{{Summary
| Title = The Model Millionaire
| Author = Oscar Wilde
| Literary form = short story
| Year of publication = 
| Microsummary = A young man unknowingly gave a sovereign to a disguised millionaire, who later gifted him £10,000 as a wedding present, proving that model millionaires are rarer than millionaire models.
}}

{{Start of text}}

Hughie Erskine was a charming, good-looking young man who was popular with both men and women. However, he was not wealthy and struggled to find a profession that suited him. He was in love with Laura Merton, the daughter of a retired Colonel, but her father would not allow them to marry until Hughie had £10,000 of his own.

{{Character
| Name = Hughie Erskine
| Description = young, good-looking, charming, but poor; in love with Laura Merton
| Emoji = 🧑🏻‍🦰
}}

{{Character
| Name = Laura Merton
| Description = beautiful young woman; daughter of a retired Colonel; in love with Hughie Erskine
| Emoji = 👩🏻‍🦰
}}

{{Quote
| Text = Come to me, my boy, when you have got ten thousand pounds of your own, and we will see about it.
| Context = This quote is from Laura's father, the Colonel, when he tells Hughie that he cannot marry Laura until he has £10,000 of his own. It happens during a conversation between Hughie and the Colonel.
}}

One day, Hughie visited his friend Alan Trevor, a painter, and found him working on a life-size portrait of a beggar. The beggar was an old man with a pitiful expression, dressed in tattered clothes. Hughie felt sorry for him and gave him a sovereign, despite knowing that it would mean he couldn't afford a taxi for a fortnight.

{{Character
| Name = Alan Trevor
| Description = painter and artist; friend of Hughie; rough-looking but talented
| Emoji = 👨🏼‍🎨
}}

{{Quote
| Text = An artist’s heart is his head.
| Context = This quote is from Alan Trevor when he and Hughie discuss the hardships of being a painter and the difference between their perspectives on poverty and picturesqueness. It happens in Alan's studio.
}}

Later that night, Hughie met Alan at a club and learned that the beggar was actually Baron Hausberg, one of the richest men in Europe. The Baron had commissioned Alan to paint him as a beggar for fun. Hughie was embarrassed and worried about what the Baron must think of him.

{{Character
| Name = Baron Hausberg
| Description = rich, old man; disguised as a beggar; generous and mysterious
| Emoji = 👴🏻
}}

The next morning, an old gentleman arrived at Hughie's home with a letter from the Baron. Inside the envelope was a cheque for £10,000, a wedding present for Hughie and Laura from the "old beggar."

{{Quote
| Text = A wedding present to Hugh Erskine and Laura Merton, from an old beggar.
| Context = This quote is written on the envelope containing the £10,000 cheque from Baron Hausberg to Hughie and Laura as a wedding present. It is revealed when the old gentleman delivers the envelope to Hughie.
}}

The couple got married, with Alan as the best man and the Baron giving a speech at the wedding breakfast. Alan remarked that while millionaire models were rare, model millionaires were even rarer.

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