aid she's been sitting before
the fire, and trying to spoil her pretty complexion. Why, what's the
matter with her? Poor little darling, her hands are quite cold!"

"Come to your lesson, sir, directly," said Valentine, assuming his most
despotic voice, and leading the disorderly student by the collar to his
appointed place.

"Hullo!" cried Zack, looking at the Dying Gladiator. "The gentleman in
plaster's making a face--I'm afraid he isn't quite well. I say, Blyth,
is that the statue of an ancient Greek patient, suffering under the
prescription of an ancient Greek physician?"

_"Will_ you hold your tongue and take up your drawing-board?" cried Mr.
Blyth. "You young barbarian, you deserve to be expelled my academy for
talking in that way of the Dying Gladiator. Now then; where's Madonna?
No! stop where you are, Zack. I'll show her her place, and give her the
drawing-board. Wait a minute, Lavvie! Let me prop you up comfortably
with the pillows before you begin. There! I never saw a more beautiful
effect of light and shade, my dear, than there is on your view of the
model. Has everybody got a port-crayon and two bits of chalk? Yes,
everybody has. Order! order! order!" shouted Valentine, suddenly
forgetting his assumed dignity in the exultation of the moment. "Mr.
Blyth's drawing academy for the promotion of family Art is now open, and
ready for general inspection. Hooray!"

"Hooray!" echoed Zack, "hooray for family Art! I say, Blyth, which chalk
do I begin with--the white or the black? The black--eh? Do I start with
the what's his name's wry face? and if so, where am I to begin? With his
eyes, or his nose, or his mouth, or the top of his head, or the bottom
of his chin--or what?"

"First sketch in the general form with a light and flowing stroke,
and without attention to details," said Mr. Blyth, illustrating these
directions by waving his hand gracefully about his own person. "Then
measure with the eye, assisted occasionally by the port-crayon, the
proportion of the parts. Then put dots on the paper; a dot where his
head comes; another dot where his elbows and knees come, and so forth.
Then strike it all in boldly--it's impossible to give you better advice
than that--strike it in, Zack; strike it in boldly!"

"Here goes at his head and shoulders to begin with," said Zack, taking
one comprehensive and confident look at the Dying Gladiator, and drawing
a huge half circle, with a preliminary flourish of his hand on the