somewhere hidden away so far down, that perhaps
it may never thrive and reach the surface, but a source of
happiness it is to me all the same. When I get strong enough I am
going to nurse the little stranger, and see whether I can coax him
on to the canvas; but I shall do nothing till I have made careful
drawings of a couple of hundred olive trees. Why, every trunk is a
weird fantastic subject in itself, and every branch as it twists
and writhes in titanic agonies. It is as if all the lines of the
universe had taken the olive groves for their place of rendezvous.

"Literally so; for there as I sat wool-gathering the other day, I
descried approaching me the unmistakable lines of Gobelot's hat, a
direct descendant of the one we punished in the glorious old Gleyre
days; and under the hat was the man himself, walking through life
as placidly as ever. He has evidently not yet learnt to draw a
foot, so he has not fitted himself for a bootmaker. Nor need he,
for his father, who died not long ago, left him quite a little
fortune, _rien que cela_! Amongst other properties he inherits a
villa in the best part of Mentone, with a beautiful view on to the
sea, and so many acres of land; the very olive tree I was sitting
under belongs to him. He has come down here to take possession, and
was glad to find in me some one whom he could talk to. The fact is,
he wanted to unburden himself of a secret. He is in love. He is
engaged; you will never guess to whom. Wait; don't look to the
end. She was a young girl whom you knew before she was beautiful,
as he assures me she is now. She always loved the theatre, and one
day, it appears, she was irresistibly attracted by the bills that
announced the performance of that lovely opera of Cherubini's, 'The
Water-Carrier.' That she must see. So she treated herself to a very
good seat, and went off all by herself to witness for the first
time in her life the performance of an opera. Then and there she
was stage-struck, and swore by her illustrious godmother that she
could and would be a singer. She asked some one to teach her, and
wouldn't take 'No' for an answer. She next asked some one to bring
her out, and made him do so, and got the public to applaud into the
bargain. I'm not sure she didn't ask Gobelot to marry her; but so
m