lingered to make a few purchases at the counter, as he paid his bill and
walked away. But she was surprised to see that he tendered the waiter
the unexampled gratuity of a sou. Perhaps he was some eccentric
Englishman; he certainly did not look like a Frenchman.
She had quite forgotten the incident, and in the afternoon had strolled
with a few fellow pupils into the galleries of the Louvre. It was
"copying-day," and as her friends loitered around the easels of the
different students with the easy consciousness of being themselves
"artists," she strolled on somewhat abstractedly before them. Her own
art was too serious to permit her much sympathy with another, and in
the chatter of her companions with the young painters a certain levity
disturbed her. Suddenly she stopped. She had reached a less frequented
room; there was a single easel at one side, but the stool before it was
empty, and its late occupant was standing in a recess by the window,
with his back towards her. He had drawn a silk handkerchief from
his pocket. She recognized his square shoulders, she recognized the
handkerchief, and as he unrolled it she recognized the fragments of her
morning's breakfast as he began to eat them. It was the one-armed man.
She remained so motionless and breathless that he finished his scant
meal without noticing her, and even resumed his place before the easel
without being aware of her presence. The noise of approaching feet
gave a fresh impulse to her own, and she moved towards him. But he was
evidently accustomed to these interruptions, and worked on steadily
without turning his head. As the other footsteps passed her she was
emboldened to take a position behind him and glance at his work. It
was an architectural study of one of Canaletto's palaces. Even her
inexperienced eyes were struck with its vigor and fidelity. But she was
also conscious of a sense of disappointment. Why was he not--like the
others--copying one of the masterpieces? Becoming at last aware of
a motionless woman behind him, he rose, and with a slight gesture of
|