’Goanddesigndecorativemedallionsforrichbrewers’houses。
Youarethoroughlygoodatthat。’Dickwassickandsavage。
’Betterthingsthanmedallions，Dick，’wastheanswer，intonesthatrecalledagray-eyedatom’sfearlessspeechtoMrsJennettDickwouldhaveabasedhimselfutterly，butthatothergirltrailedin。
NextSundayhelaidatMaisie’sfeetsmallgiftsofpencilsthatcouldalmostdrawofthemselvesandcoloursinwhosepermanencehebelieved，andhewasostentatiouslyattentivetotheworkinhandItdemanded，amongotherthings，anexpositionofthefaiththatwasinhim。
Torpenhow’shairwouldhavestoodonendhadheheardthefluencywithwhichDickpreachedhisowngospelofArt。
Amonthbefore，Dickwouldhavebeenequallyastonished；butitwasMaisie’swillandpleasure，andhedraggedhiswordstogethertomakeplaintohercomprehensionallthathadbeenhiddentohimselfofthewhysandwhereforesofworkThereisnottheleastdifficultyindoingathingifyouonlyknowhowtodoit；thetroubleistoexplainyourmethod。
’IcouldputthisrightifIhadabrushinmyhand，’saidDick，despairingly，overthemodellingofachinthatMaisiecomplainedwouldnot’lookflesh，’——itwasthesamechinthatshehadscrapedoutwiththepaletteknife，——’butIfinditalmostimpossibletoteachyouThere’saqueergrin，DutchtouchaboutyourpaintingthatIlike；butI’veanotionthatyou’reweakindrawingYouforeshortenasthoughyouneverusedthemodel，andyou’vecaughtKami’spastywayofdealingwithfleshinshadowThen，again，thoughyoudon’tknowityourself，youshirkhardworkSupposeyouspendsomeofyourtimeonlineloneLinedoesn’tallowofshirkingOilsdo，andthreesquareinchesofflashy，trickystuffinthecornerofapicsometimescarryabadthingoff，——asIknow。
That’simmoralDoline-workforalittlewhile，andthenIcantellmoreaboutyourpowers，asoldKamiusedtosay。’
Maisieprotested；shedidnotcareforthepureline。
’Iknow，’saidDick’Youwanttodoyourfancyheadswithabunchofflowersatthebaseofthenecktohidebadmodelling。’Thered-hairedgirllaughedalittle’Youwanttodolandscapeswithcattleknee-deepingrasstohidebaddrawingYouwanttodoagreatdealmorethanyoucandoYouhavesenseofcolour，butyouwantformColour’sagift，——putitasideandthinknomoreaboutit，——butformyoucanbedrilledinto。
Now，allyourfancyheads——andsomeofthemareverygood——willkeepyouexactlywhereyouareWithlineyoumustgoforwardorbackward，anditwillshowupallyourweaknesses。’
’Butotherpeople——’beganMaisie。
’Youmustn’tmindwhatotherpeopledoIftheirsoulswereyoursoul，itwouldbedifferentYoustandandfallbyyourownwork，remember，andit’swasteoftimetothinkofanyoneelseinthisbattle。’
Dickpaused，andthelongingthathadbeensoresolutelyputawaycamebackintohiseyesHelookedatMaisie，andthelookaskedasplainlyaswords，WasitnottimetoleaveallthisbarrenwildernessofcanvasandcounselandjoinhandswithLifeandLove？
MaisieassentedtothenewprogrammeofschoolingsoadorablythatDickcouldhardlyrestrainhimselffrompickingherupthenandthereandcarryingherofftothenearestregistrar’sofficeItwastheimplicitobediencetothespokenwordandtheblankindifferencetotheunspokendesirethatbaffledandbuffetedhissoulHeheldauthorityinthathouse，——authoritylimited，indeed，toone-halfofoneafternooninseven，butveryrealwhileitlastedMaisiehadlearnedtoappealtohimonmanysubjects，fromtheproperpackingofpicturestotheconditionofasmokychimneyThered-hairedgirlneverconsultedhimaboutanything。
Ontheotherhand，sheacceptedhisappearanceswithoutprotest，andwatchedhimalwaysHediscoveredthatthemealsoftheestablishmentwereirregularandfragmentaryTheydependedchieflyontea，pickles，andbiscuit，ashehadsuspectedfromthebeginningThegirlsweresupposedtomarketweekandweekabout，buttheylived，withthehelpofacharwoman，ascasuallyastheyoungravensMaisiespentmostofherincomeonmodels，andtheothergirlrevelledinapparatusasrefinedasherworkwasroughArmedwithknowledg...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：