e woman kept intellectual pace
with her sons, who in merry frolic often carried her about in their arms.
Only yesterday, it seemed to her, she had carried them, and felt upon her
face the soft caress of baby hands. And now one of these sons stood a
foot higher than she.

Ary Scheffer was tall, slender, with a thoughtful, handsome face. The
habit of close study, and the early realization of responsibilities had
hastened his maturity. Necessity had sharpened his business sense and
given a practical side to his nature, so he deferred enough to the old
world to secure from it the living that is every man's due.

His pictures sold--sold for all they were worth. The prices were not
large, but there was enough money so that the gaunt wolf that once
scratched and sniffed at the door was no longer to be seen nor heard.

They had all they needed. The Little Mother was the banker, and we may
safely guess that nothing was wasted.

Pupils now came to Ary Scheffer--dull fellows from the schools, who
wished to be coached. Sitters in search of good portraits, cheap for
cash, occasionally climbed the stairway. The Little Mother dusted about
and fixed up the studio so as to make it look prosperous.

One fine lady came in a carriage to sit for her portrait. She gave her
wraps into the keeping of the Little Mother at the door, with an
admonitory, "Take care of these, mind you, or I'll report you to your
master."

The Little Mother bowed low and promised.

That night when she told at the supper-table how the fine lady had
mistaken her for a servant, Henri said, "Well, just charge the fine lady
fifty francs extra in the bill for that."

But Ary would not consent to let the blunder go so cheaply. When the fine
lady came for her next sitting, the Little Mother was called and advised
with at length as to pose and color-scheme.

Neither was the advising sham, for Ary deferred to his mother's judgment
in many ways, and no important step was taken without her approval. They
were more like lovers than mother and son. His treatment of her was more
than affectionate--it was courteous and deferential, after the manner of
men who had ancestors who were knights of the olden time.

The desire to sit on a divan and be waited upon is the distinguishing
feature of the heartless mistress of fortune. Like the jeweled necklace
and bands of gold at wrist and waist, which symbol a time when slavery
was rife and these gauds had a practical meaning, so