ttle hoyden. The picture of
Miss Bowles is, therefore, full of action; both child and dog pause
only an instant, caught, as it were, in the midst of their play. The
attitude of Penelope Boothby, on the other hand, is one of repose, as
suits the tranquil nature of the little girl. The background of each
picture is likewise perfectly appropriate. Miss Penelope's placid
figure is seen against a leafy screen which nearly closes in the
picture; but Miss Bowles needs plenty of space for her romps, and has
a whole park to herself.

The painter's acquaintance with little Miss Bowles began very
pleasantly. Her parents, proud of their lovely daughter, were
planning to have her portrait made, and had chosen Romney for the
painter. A friend of theirs--Sir George Beaumont--induced them to
change their minds and engage Reynolds. Even if the portrait faded in
time, as they were afraid it might, Sir Joshua's pictures sometimes
having that fault, it would still be more beautiful than if painted by
any other hand.

[Illustration: MISS BOWLES]

At Sir George's suggestion the painter was first invited to dinner,
that he might see the child. She appeared at dessert, and was placed
beside the stranger at the table. It did not take long for the two to
become acquainted, for the painter immediately began to amuse the
little girl with stories and all sorts of tricks. Calling her
attention to some object on the other side of the room, he would steal
her plate while she was looking away, and pretend to be greatly
surprised at its disappearance. They would then try to find it, but in
vain, until, when she was again off her guard, he would slip it into
place, and there would be a great sensation over its discovery. Was
there ever a jollier man for a little girl to dine with!

The next day it was proposed that Miss Bowles should be taken to visit
her new friend, and she was of course delighted to go. When the party
reached the studio, the child's face was shining with expectancy as
she greeted the painter. It was this expression which Reynolds has
caught so perfectly on his canvas, and which makes the little girl's
face seem actually smiling into ours.

He was equally successful in catching a natural pose, watching her
closely as she danced about the room. It was a theory of his that the
unconscious movements of a child are always graceful, and we may be
sure that Miss Bowles's position here is one of her own invention. Her
skirt is spread ou