hat sweet little girl
to Hillside some day, or let her come alone. I will find plenty of
amusement for her that shall not interfere with the work which Miss
Darry is so desirous should go on."

They all laughed merrily, as they rode away; but I felt in no gay mood.
I was provoked that I had yielded so readily to Miss Darry's wishes, and
irritated by her evident dislike to the only person in the world whose
affection I possessed.

"_Why not_ dismount and help me herself?" I muttered, impatiently, as I
broke open the cover of my box. "Far above me as she is, she has no
right to interfere with my friendship with Annie, if she does not give
me her own in its place."

However, as the morning wore on, I became interested in my new
arrangements; the decorations of my low attic bedroom were displayed to
greater advantage in the forge, where I should now pass so much more of
my time; and as for Annie, after all, she would enjoy seeing it far
better when completed. Before noon, too, I had opened an account with
one of the most prosperous farmers in the neighborhood, and in hard
manual labor my excitement passed away; and I presented myself at
Hillside at the appointed hour, as grateful to us inmates as ever.

CHAPTER X.

Perhaps no art differs more widely with individual mind and temperament
than that of teaching. I soon appreciated this under Mr. Leopold's
training. For the first few lessons, I was put to no copying, given no
verbal instruction; he showed me how to mix oil-colors, expecting his to
be prepared for him, when, in his eagerness to produce an effect, he
did not care to stop for the purpose himself; and for the rest, advised
me to watch him, which I did narrowly, while he worked sometimes by the
hour without speaking. When I commenced painting, therefore, I felt as
though I was making constant discoveries, and began to think, in the
conceit of my youth and developing power, that I was working without
other guide than my own intuition, until I found a number of serious
errors indicated. Miss Darry's teaching made me feel that I could not do
without her; Mr. Leopold's, that just so far as he carried me, I in turn
could take some one else.

The summer days wore on. My hands grew rougher and coarser with hard
work, yet just as surely increased their dexterity in holding the brush
with a firm grasp and giving flexible and delicate strokes to finer
work. My lessons and new forge left but little time for the cottage