The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-15
he found himself nes Mrs. Seve.lon,

he found himself neas Mrs. Scve.on,
who. seated i'm the doorway. was locking
IN at the dancers. among whom Temple
now saw the young lady from whom he
had just beeI 30 ruthlessly parted To
his delight Mrs. Sevellon received him
more kindly than she had ever done be
the fact that she shared her daughter
Just Indignation. 1t seemed now, how
ever. that she had shared also in her
daughters spirit of forgiveness, for she
looked at Mr.. Temple as If she, too, were
willing to forget the past. Perhaps
mother and daughter had entered into an
agreement to this effect 1t looked so.
Mr. Temple approached her with some
hearty words of commentator OF the
tableaux, to which she replied. as if de-
libera,ely; Eyes, they were pretty tab
leaux, | thougnt-the last especially. 1t
did carry me back to see Gertrude in that
dress 1t was an old toilet she used to
wear when we were in Italy one idle
summer when we spent our whole time
in a dolce far niente, and Gertrude was
half the day in the hammock which
hung in the garden. used to try to get
her to devote little time TO her paint
ing, for she really has talent. but she
was so lazy, and the old Italian whose
services | was so fortunate as to secure
&c. = few lessons found her incorrigibie.
The lessons dsra.!y consisted of a morn
ing chat with Gertrude lounged in
hammock, and he made little sketches
Of trees and an old fountain near by,
which never seemed to come to anything,
for he always thrust them out of sight
and said they were failures when tried
20 look at them. He was always urging
me TO let him paint Gertrude, but she
objected to having her portrait painted.
and positively refused to pose for him.
So the lessons came TO nothing. and the
courteous old man advised me not to con
strain my daughters reluctant art, and
wodldn't allow me to pay him a cent,
hough he had come several times, and
-tally given up a good deal of his time to
Is.
She was decidedly voluble parsonage.
Mrs. Sevellon. and she poured forth this
stream Of talk half automatically, giving
a large part Of her attention to the dane
ers all tie time. Temple saw that she
lad actually been too preoccupied to
seem to notice that she had been treading
on ground that 90 him would naturally
De forbidden. He was indebted to the
same preOccupatioD for the fact that the
startled look on his face, as the food of
light was unconsciously shed upon the
subject that had puzzled him so long,
was unnoticed.
What was the old artists name;' he
asked.
"Guizi, Carlo Guizi," said Mrs. Sevel-
ion, innocently, keeping time with her
fan to the motion Of the dancers flying
feet. The chain of evidence was now
complete The old fellow might well
afford to decline to pay for those hours
spent by Gertrude's hammock under the
palms and ilexes. He had made good
ise of theml
"What can ! do to atone for my
shameful treatment of your said Ger
trude with a bewitching humility, when
Horace had given his explanation and
made his peace.
you can do this" said Horace.
you can consent TO my becoming the
purchaser Of the picture, a thing my
mind is bent on.
Il don't know about that" said Ger
trudc, doubtingly. II have never given
my picture TO any one, and always said
/ never would, except to''-she flushed
and hesitated. and then went on, but |
would have no power to prevent 1t now,
that wretched Italian has stolen it; it Is
his, to do as he chooses with, l suppose.
Never mind the Italian for the pres
ent. said the young man eagerly.
What were you going to say: Who
was to be the exception in the caseF
Miss Sevellon's reply was so embar-
raised and incoherert that its significance
can only be guessed at; it is possible,
however, that Mr.. Temple found it salts
factory, for the next day he bought the
picture, and the next autumn the origi-
nal Of the picture became his wife.
Gertrude always declared she was
jealous of that picture, to which Horace
would reply that, as the picture was his
first love, ssse consequently could only be
second, and that she would have to be
satisfied with that condition Of affairs.