that the great s portrait would have the zest of an document the scandalous attraction of secret and instead it was as as an it was as though the artist had been in league with his bad pledged himself to oppose to the lust for post revelations an blank wall of the public was the critics were even mrs had to lay down her arms yes the portrait of is a failure she admitted and i ve never known why if he d been an obscure type of villain one could understand s the portrait missing the mark for once but with that f the she turned at the announcement of a name which our discussion had drowned and found herself shaking hands with the pretty woman started and put her hands to her curls dropped a he never himself by degrees in the profession and mrs cheerfully aware that she had been overheard said as she made room for � i wish you d explain it smoothed his beard and waited for a cup of tea then would there be any failures he said if one could explain them ah in some cases i can imagine it s impossible to seize the type � or to say why one has missed it some people are like in certain lights one can t see them at at but surely was obvious enough what i want to know is what became of him what did you do with him how did you manage to him out of sight it was much easier than you think i simply missed an opportunity � that a sign painter would have seen very likely in fighting shy of the obvious may miss the significant � � and when i got back from paris the pre j woman was heard to wail i found all the women here were wearing the very models i d home with me mrs as became a hostess got up her guests and the question of yard s portrait was dropped i left the house with and on the way down fifth avenue after one of his long he suddenly asked is that what is generally said of my picture of don t mean in the newspapers but by the fellows who know e well be said i le tries to one i of it he drew a deep breath good to know that when on make such a complete s tries to fail well no that s not quite it either i didn t want to make a failure of s picture but i did so with my eyes open all the same it was what one might call a failure but why the why of it is rather complicated i tell you some he hesitated come and dine with me at the club by and by and i tell you afterwards it a a nice morsel for a at dinner he said httle but i did n t mind that ss the portrait had known him for years and had always found something soothing and in his long from speech his silence was never it was bland as a natural hush one felt one s self included in it not left out he his beard and gazed at me and when we had finished our coffee and we strolled down to his at the � which was less draped less posed less artistic than of the smaller men � he handed me a cigar and fell to smoking before the fire when he began to talk it was of indifferent matters and i had dismissed the hope of hearing more of s portrait when my eye lit on a photograph of the picture i walked across the room to look at it and presently followed with a light it certainly is a complete disguise he muttered over my shoulder then he turned away and stooped to a big propped against the wall did you ever know miss he asked with his head in the and without waiting for my answer he handed me a sketch of a girl s i had never seen a of s and i lost sight of the s in the interest aroused by this new aspect of the master s complex genius the few lines � faint yet how decisive � out of the rough paper with the lightness of opening the portrait it was a mere hint of a picture but vivid as some word that long in the memory i felt at my shoulder again you knew her i suppose i had to stop and think why of course i d known her a silent handsome girl yet whom i had seen without seeing the winter that � had to still looking at the tried to trace some connection between the miss i recalled and the grave young of a sketch had the yards him p by what of suggestion had he been into drawing the terrible father as a s block the commonplace daughter as this memorable creature you don t remember much about her no i suppose not she was a quiet girl and nobody noticed her much even when � he paused with a smile � you were all asking to dine yes it was true � we had all asked to dine it was some comfort to think that fate had made him our weakness put the sketch on the mantel shelf and drew bis arm chair to the fire it s cold to night take another cigar old man and some there ought to be a bottle and � ome glasses in that cupboard you help yourself i ii about yard s portrait he began well i ll tell yoa it s a queer and most people would n t see anything in it my enemies might say it was a way of explaining a failure but you know better than that mrs was right between and 