with her views so
long as he had no fixed convictions of his own. She and her set regarded
him as a harmless boy, and looked upon his little studio as a
convenience, in payment whereof they pushed him into society, and spread
abroad the rumour that he was the rising artist of the day. But the great
Cardinal had seen him more than once, and had conceived a liking for
his delicate intellectual face and unobtrusive manner. He had watched him
and caused him to be watched, and his interest had increased, and finally
he had taken a fancy to have a portrait of himself painted by the young
fellow. This was the day appointed for the first sitting; and when the
Cardinal reached his lodgings, high up in the Vatican pile, he found
Anastase Gouache waiting for him in the small ante-chamber.

The prime minister was not luxuriously lodged. Four rooms sufficed
him--to wit, the said ante-chamber, bare and uncarpeted, and furnished
with three painted wooden box benches; a comfortable study lined
throughout with shelves and lockers, furnished with half-a-dozen large
chairs and a single writing-table, whereon stood a crucifix and an
inkstand; beyond this a bedroom and a small dining-room: that was all.
The drawers of the lockers and bookcases contained a correspondence which
would have astonished Europe, and a collection of gems and precious
stones unrivalled in the world; but there was nothing in the shape of
ornament visible to the eye, unless one were to class under that head a
fairly good bust of Pius IX, which stood upon a plain marble pedestal
in one corner. Gouache followed the great man into this study. He was
surprised by the simplicity of the apartment; but he felt in sympathy
with it, and with the Cardinal himself; and with the intuitive knowledge
of a true artist, he foresaw that he was to paint a successful portrait.

The Cardinal busied himself with some papers while the painter silently
made his preparations.

"If your Eminence is ready?" suggested Gouache.

"At your service, my friend," replied the Cardinal, blandly. "How shall I
sit? The portrait must be taken in full face, I think."

"By all means. Here, I think--so; the light is very good at this hour,
but a little later we shall have the sun. If your Eminence will look at
me--a little more to the left--I think that will do. I will draw it in in
charcoal and your Eminence can judge."

"Precisely," returned the Cardinal. "You will paint the devil even
blacker than