e had asked. For she was determined to let
him have the whole, which would be no inconsiderable sum for him in his
present state. But to her alarm he did not show the slightest joy at
this unhoped-for income.

"My dear friend," he said, "the two departed ones shall be painted, and
I promise you they shall bear as close a resemblance to a fallen hero
and a defunct war-horse as any sorrowing widow could possibly wish. I
will also, if you insist upon it, paint my monogram on the nag's
saddle-cloth, so that we may figure together in art-history, like
Rubens and Blumenbreughel. But you alone must have the money. I will
never consent to be paid in vile lucre for acts of friendship,
especially toward a lady, and above all toward an honored patroness and
neighbor. And, by the way, we can commence at once; I have come to a
halt in my composition--particularly as I have a cold in my head--and
as one finally gets quite confused merely from the number of good
thoughts that come to him--therefore, if you please--"

He approached with arm gracefully bent, in order to escort her over to
her studio.

Angelica knew him well enough to feel sure that nothing in the world
would shake him in the resolution he had taken; and, since everything
that was chivalrous in his character flattered her hidden liking, she
made no attempt to dissuade him. She would find some way of
recompensing him for his trouble without offending his sense of
courtesy, and a great deal had already been won in inducing him to go
to work again and to come into a heated room.

There, to be sure, he was obliged to take off his shawl and appear in
the unlucky dress-coat which, having been intended for Rossel's rounded
proportions, hung very loosely about his shrunken limbs. However, he
was not in the least embarrassed by this, but proceeded to explain to
his friend, with the greatest seriousness, the advantage of having
one's clothes too large. In the summer they were airy, for they caught
the wind; in the winter they retained a larger supply of warm air--a
movable wadding, as it were, between the body and the cloth--while they
were much warmer in an unheated room, especially when covered by a
shawl, on account of their having so much more material. He delivered
this lecture over a cup of tea which Angelica had prepared for him, and
which evidently restored to his inner man the warmth he had so long
been without. As he was never more active than when he was working for