I laughed.

"I want to paint^oa," I said.

"That means you're going to make me ugly " Indeed it does not. I see possibilities. "

"What do you mean ... possibilities?"

"Do you ever smile?"

"Certainly I do ... when I'm pleased."

"Well, we'll have you pleased. You have very beautiful teeth. What is the point of hiding them? A lovely smile would take off the length of the nose; and if you opened your eyes wide and looked interested they would brighten and look bigger. Also the dress is wrong."

"I like the dress."

"Well, that is good enough. We must paint the red dress because jyou like it."

"But you say you don't."

"No. Red is not your colour ... nor is the black you wore last night."

She flushed pink and started to laugh. She looked almost pretty.

"That's better," I said.

"If I could catch that..."

"You pretended you didn't recognize me."

"I recognized you immediately."

"Not last night."

"How could I? I had never met the Princesse ..."

"And when you saw me here ..."

"I knew at once."

"And what did you think last night? Was I a good maid?"

"No. An impertinent one."

She laughed again and I laughed too.

"I don't want this picture done, you know," she said.

"I do realize that."

"I hate having it done." Her face crumpled suddenly and she looked like a frightened child.

"I hate it all ..."

I understood. Moreover my attitude towards her had changed completely.

I was sorry for her. Poor innocent child to go to that man!

"Was that why you were so ill-mannered this morning?"

"Ill-mannered?"

"In going riding when it was arranged that there was to be a sitting."

"I don't think of it as being ill-mannered. We don't have to worry about..."

"Servants?" I said.

"Or artists ... but perhaps artists are servants."

"They come here to work for us ... and are paid for it."

"Do you know what one of your greatest kings once said?"

"Oh ... history!"

"It is pertinent to the occasion.

"Men make kings but only God can make an artist."

"What does that mean? I thought God was supposed to have made us all."

"It means that God gives the art of creation to a few chosen people and great ones are more important than kings."

"That's the sort of thing they said during the revolution."

"On the contrary, it was said by one of your most autocratic kings -Francois Premier."

"I suppose you are very clever."

"I'm good at my job."

"The Baron said you were good, didn't he?"

"He appreciated my work."

"You did a picture of him. He sat for you."

"He did and I am glad to say that he was a very good sitter."

"I suppose I shall have to sit for you."

"It is the reason why I'm here. I should like to see you in blue. I think that would suit you. It would bring out the glow of your skin."

She touched her face. I thought how young she was and I forgave her everything-her silly little masquerade of the night before and her rudeness in breaking her appointment. I saw her as a frightened child.

"Would you like me to see what you have to wear?" I asked.

"We could perhaps find a favourite dress of yours. I myself prefer blue, but it may be that you have something else which would be equally good."

"I have a great many dresses," she said.

"I have been presented to the Empress. I thought I should have some fun perhaps, but when the Baron decided to marry me that put an end to that."

"When are you to marry?"

"Very soon. Next month ... on my eighteenth birth;; day. " : She looked at me suddenly and stopped and it occurred to J me that she would very easily share confidences. Poor child! I had discovered a good deal about her in a short time and I knew that she was lonely and frightened.

"How would it be if we decided on the dress now," I said, 'and we could start the miniature tomorrow morning. I should like to be early soon after nine o'clock. The light! should be good then. The miniature, I understand, is to b^ mounted in the same way as the one I did of the Baron. It isin gold with diamonds and sapphires. It is absolutely magnifi^ I.

cent, as you know. That is one of the reasons why I thought blue for the dress. "

"All right. Come on ... now."

She led the way down from the attic. Her bedroom was very grand -white and gold with rich carpets and beautiful tapestries on the walls.

"This house was damaged during the Revolution," she told me, 'but the Emperor was very insistent that Paris should be beautiful again. They say Paris was like a phoenix rising out of the ruins. "

"It is very beautiful," I replied.

"How fortunate you are to live in such a place."

"Some people are happy without beautiful houses. I saw a girl in a modiste's shop when I was riding past the other day. A young man was with her and she was trying on a hat. He looked at her and kissed her.

She looked so happy and I thought: She's happier than I am. And I wondered if she was going to marry the young man who kissed her. He would be someone she had chosen for herself. "

I said: "You never know what is going on in other people's lives. I was once envious of a girl in a pastry cook shop. She was serving the cakes and she looked so beautiful among all the loaves of freshly baked bread and fancy cakes. I had a governess then and I could not get my sums right. I hated arithmetic and when I saw that girl serving the cakes I said to myself: She never has to do horrid sums. How I wish I could change places with her. A few weeks later that shop was burned down and I heard that the beautiful girl had been burned to death."

The Princesse was staring at me incredulously.

"So," I went on, 'you should never envy anyone. You should never really want to change places for something you really don't know very much about. If you don't like what's happening to you, find a way out of it or accept it . whichever you think best. "

"I suppose you are very clever."

"I'm good at my job."

"The Baron said you were good, didn't he?"

"He appreciated my work."

"You did a picture of him. He sat for you."

"He did and I am glad to say that he was a very good sitter."

"I suppose I shall have to sit for you."

"It is the reason why I'm here. I should like to see you in blue. I think that would suit you. It would bring out the glow of your skin."

She touched her face. I thought how young she was and I forgave her everything-her silly little masquerade of the night before and her rudeness in breaking her appointment. I saw her as a frightened child.

"Would you like me to see what you have to wear?" I asked.

"We could perhaps find a favourite dress of yours. I myself prefer blue, but it may be that you have something else which would be equally good."

"I have a great many dresses," she said.

"I have been presented to the Empress. I thought I should have some fun perhaps, but when the Baron decided to marry me that put an end to that."

"When are you to marry?"

"Very soon. Next month ... on my eighteenth birthday."

She looked at me suddenly and stopped and it occurred to me that she would very easily share confidences. Poor child! I had discovered a good deal about her in a short time and I knew that she was lonely and frightened.

"How would it be if we decided on the dress now," I said, 'and we could start the miniature tomorrow morning. I should like to be early . soon after nine o'clock. The light should be good then. The miniature, I understand, is to be mounted in the same way as the one I did of the Baron. It is in gold with diamonds and sapphires. It is absolutely magnificent, as you know. That is one of the reasons why I thought blue for the dress. "

"All right. Come on ... now."

She led the way down from the attic. Her bedroom was very grand white and gold with rich carpets and beautiful tapestries on the walls.

"This house was damaged during the Revolution," she told me, 'but the Emperor was very insistent that Paris should be beautiful again. They say Paris was like a phoenix rising out of the ruins. "

"It is very beautiful," I replied.

"How fortunate you are to live in such a place."

"Some people are happy without beautiful houses. I saw a girl in a modiste's shop when I was riding past the other day. A young man was with her and she was trying on a hat. He looked at her and kissed her.

She looked so happy and I thought: She's happier than I am. And I wondered if she was going to marry the young man who kissed her. He would be someone she had chosen for herself I said: "You never know what is going on in other people's lives. I was once envious of a girl in a pastry cook shop. She was serving the cakes and she looked so beautiful among all the loaves of freshly baked bread and fancy cakes. I had a governess then and I could not get my sums right. I hated arithmetic and when I saw that girl serving the cakes I said to myself: She never has to do horrid sums. How I wish I could change places with her. A few weeks later that shop was burned down and I heard that the beautiful girl had been burned to death."

The Princesse was staring at me incredulously.

"So," I went on, 'you should never envy anyone. You should never really want to change places for something you really don't know very much about. If you don't like what's happening to you, find a way out of it or accept it . whichever you think best. "

R.

"Why ... was the girl burned to death? Why did the shop catch fire?"

"Something went wrong with her father's ovens, I suppose. But it taught me a lesson which I'm passing on to you. Now. shall we look at the dresses?"