mankind, repose here as if in the germ--in the bud. In the presence of
this wonderful work, one forgets all petty wishes and weaknesses! But
why haven't you finished the head of your Eve, honored master?"

A sudden blush suffused Jansen's face as he replied that he had not
quite made up his mind in regard to the type of face. He was, according
to his wont, monosyllabic and almost awkward in the presence of this
eloquent woman. But it struck Felix that his face did not darken with
suppressed disgust, as was usually the case when he received tiresome
visitors, but that he preserved the same patient, smiling mien during
the wise utterances of the professor and the rambling scintillations of
the lady. They had not met for two days. Felix had no suspicion of what
had happened in the mean time that caused his friend's eyes to sparkle
with such unwonted mildness and animation.

Meanwhile the countess was engaged in inspecting the statues that stood
about the studio. The professor had previously expressed the opinion
that the greater the genius of the man the less he was capable of duly
estimating his own labors, and that for that reason he ought to have
his own works explained to him; and, in accordance with this sentiment,
he now relieved Jansen of the trouble of acting as _cicerone_ in his
own workshop. The casts of separate limbs in dimensions larger than
life seemed to interest the lady, and the beautifully-shaped breast of
a young girl afforded the professor an opportunity to launch into a
long discourse on the form of the Venus of Milo as compared with that
of the Venus of Medici.

Suddenly the lady turned to a little female figure which stood, still
in clay, on the modeling-board near the window, and which must have
been a work of the last few days; for even Felix had never seen it
before. Although the head was not larger than a child's fist, and the
execution was, as yet, only very sketchy, it was easy to see at the
first glance that Julie's picture had floated before the eyes of the
sculptor. The beautiful figure leaned gently against the back of a
simple _fauteuil_, her right arm, from which the sleeve was pushed
back, resting on the arm of the chair, her cheek pressed against her
hand, while her left arm hung listlessly down so that the long,
exquisitely-formed fingers just touched the head of a dog that was
sleeping by her side. The eyes were half closed, just as Julie's
generally were; and, quickly as the featu