ughly interpreted--was equivalent to a request to share the
intellectual expense of entertaining the ladies. "Good heavens!" Rowland
cried within himself; "is he already tired of them?"

"To-morrow, of course, we must begin to put you through the mill,"
Roderick said to his mother. "And be it hereby known to Mallet that we
count upon him to turn the wheel."

"I will do as you please, my son," said Mrs. Hudson. "So long as I have
you with me I don't care where I go. We must not take up too much of Mr.
Mallet's time."

"His time is inexhaustible; he has nothing under the sun to do. Have
you, Rowland? If you had seen the big hole I have been making in it!
Where will you go first? You have your choice--from the Scala Santa to
the Cloaca Maxima."

"Let us take things in order," said Rowland. "We will go first to Saint
Peter's. Miss Garland, I hope you are impatient to see Saint Peter's."

"I would like to go first to Roderick's studio," said Miss Garland.

"It 's a very nasty place," said Roderick. "At your pleasure!"

"Yes, we must see your beautiful things before we can look contentedly
at anything else," said Mrs. Hudson.

"I have no beautiful things," said Roderick. "You may see what there is!
What makes you look so odd?"

This inquiry was abruptly addressed to his mother, who, in response,
glanced appealingly at Mary and raised a startled hand to her smooth
hair.

"No, it 's your face," said Roderick. "What has happened to it these two
years? It has changed its expression."

"Your mother has prayed a great deal," said Miss Garland, simply.

"I did n't suppose, of course, it was from doing anything bad! It makes
you a very good face--very interesting, very solemn. It has very fine
lines in it; something might be done with it." And Rowland held one of
the candles near the poor lady's head.

She was covered with confusion. "My son, my son," she said with dignity,
"I don't understand you."

In a flash all his old alacrity had come to him. "I suppose a man may
admire his own mother!" he cried. "If you please, madame, you 'll sit to
me for that head. I see it, I see it! I will make something that a queen
can't get done for her."

Rowland respectfully urged her to assent; he saw Roderick was in the
vein and would probably do something eminently original. She gave
her promise, at last, after many soft, inarticulate protests and a
frightened petition that she might be allowed to keep her knitting.

Rowland re