rettiness
of his language," said Clara. As she spoke she hardly moved her lips,
and Dalrymple went on painting from the model. It was clear that Miss
Van Siever understood that the painting, and not the pretty speeches,
was the important business on hand.

Mrs. Broughton had now tucked her feet up on the sofa, and was gazing
at the artist as he stood at his work. Dalrymple, remembering how he
had offered her his purse,--an offer which, in the existing crisis of
her affairs, might mean a great deal,--felt that she was ill-natured.
Had she intended to do him a good turn, she would have gone now;
but there she lay, with her feet tucked up, clearly proposing to be
present through the whole of the morning's sitting. His anger against
her added something to his spirit, and made him determine that he
would carry out his purpose. Suddenly, therefore, he prepared himself
for action.

He was in the habit of working with a Turkish cap on his head, and
with a short apron tied round him. There was something picturesque
about the cap, which might not have been incongruous with
love-making. It is easy to suppose that Juan wore a Turkish cap when
he sat with Haidee in Lambro's island. But we may be quite sure that
he did not wear an apron. Now Dalrymple had thought of all this,
and had made up his mind to work to-day without his apron; but when
arranging his easel and his brushes, he had put it on from the force
of habit, and was now disgusted with himself as he remembered it. He
put down his brush, divested his thumb of his palette, then took off
his cap, and after that untied the apron.

"Conway, what are you going to do?" said Mrs. Broughton.

"I am going to ask Clara Van Siever to be my wife," said Dalrymple.
At that moment the door was opened, and Mrs. Van Siever entered the
room.

Clara had not risen from her kneeling posture when Dalrymple began to
put off his trappings. She had not seen what he was doing as plainly
as Mrs. Broughton had done, having her attention naturally drawn
towards her Sisera; and, besides this, she understood that she was
to remain as she was placed till orders to move were given to her.
Dalrymple would occasionally step aside from his easel to look at her
in some altered light, and on such occasions she would simply hold
her hammer somewhat more tightly than before. When, therefore, Mrs
Van Siever entered the room Clara was still slaying Sisera, in spite
of the artist's speech. The speech, indeed,