topped acting, you've reduced it to the
least that will do, you simply are--you're just the visible image, the
picture on the wall. It keeps you wonderfully in focus. I've never seen
you so beautiful."

Miriam stared at this; then it could be seen that she coloured. "What a
luxury in life to have everything explained! He's the great explainer,"
she herself explained to Nick.

He shook hands with her for good-night. "Well then, we must give him
lots to do."

She came to his studio in the morning, but unaccompanied by her mother,
in allusion to whom she simply said, "Mamma wished to come but I
wouldn't let her." They proceeded promptly to business. The girl
divested herself of her hat and coat, taking the position already
determined. After they had worked more than an hour with much less talk
than the day before, Nick being extremely absorbed and Miriam wearing in
silence an air of noble compunction for the burden imposed on him, at
the end of this period of patience, pervaded by a holy calm, our young
lady suddenly got up and exclaimed, "I say, I must see it!"--with which,
quickly, she stepped down from her place and came round to the canvas.
She had at Nick's request not looked at his work the day before. He fell
back, glad to rest, and put down his palette and brushes.

"_Ah bien, c'est tape_!" she cried as she stood before the easel. Nick
was pleased with her ejaculation, he was even pleased with what he had
done; he had had a long, happy spurt and felt excited and sanctioned.
Miriam, retreating also a little, sank into a high-backed, old-fashioned
chair that stood two or three yards from the picture and reclined in it,
her head on one side, looking at the rough resemblance. She made a
remark or two about it, to which Nick replied, standing behind her and
after a moment leaning on the top of the chair. He was away from his
work and his eyes searched it with a shy fondness of hope. They rose,
however, as he presently became conscious that the door of the large
room opposite him had opened without making a sound and that some one
stood upon the threshold. The person on the threshold was Julia Dallow.

As soon as he was aware Nick wished he had posted a letter to her the
night before. He had written only that morning. There was nevertheless
genuine joy in the words with which he bounded toward her--"Ah my dear
Julia, what a jolly surprise!"--for her unannounced descent spoke to
him above all of an irresistible desir