ed towards Claude to ask this question: 'By the way, have you seen
Fagerolles' picture?'

'Yes,' said the young fellow, quietly.

They both remained looking at each other: a restless smile had risen to
their lips, and Bongrand eventually added:

'There's a fellow who pillages you right and left.'

Jory, becoming embarrassed, had lowered his eyes, asking himself whether
he should defend Fagerolles. He, no doubt, concluded that it would be
profitable to do so, for he began to praise the picture of the actress
in her dressing-room, an engraving of which was then attracting a great
deal of notice in the print-shops. Was not the subject a really modern
one? Was it not well painted, in the bright clear tone of the new
school? A little more vigour might, perhaps, have been desirable;
but every one ought to be left to his own temperament. And besides,
refinement and charm were not so common by any means, nowadays.

Bending over his canvas, Bongrand, who, as a rule, had nothing but
paternal praise for the young ones, shook and made a visible effort
to avoid an outburst. The explosion took place, however, in spite of
himself.

'Just shut up, eh? about your Fagerolles! Do you think us greater fools
than we really are? There! you see the great painter here present.
Yes; I mean the young gentleman in front of you. Well, the whole trick
consists in pilfering his originality, and dishing it up with the
wishy-washy sauce of the School of Arts! Quite so! you select a modern
subject, and you paint in the clear bright style, only you adhere to
correctly commonplace drawing, to all the habitual pleasing style of
composition--in short, to the formula which is taught over yonder
for the pleasure of the middle-classes. And you souse all that with
deftness, that execrable deftness of the fingers which would just
as well carve cocoanuts, the flowing, pleasant deftness that begets
success, and which ought to be punished with penal servitude, do you
hear?'

He brandished his palette and brushes aloft, in his clenched fists.

'You are severe,' said Claude, feeling embarrassed. 'Fagerolles shows
delicacy in his work.'

'I have been told,' muttered Jory, mildly, 'that he has just signed a
very profitable agreement with Naudet.'

That name, thrown haphazard into the conversation, had the effect of
once more soothing Bongrand, who repeated, shrugging his shoulders:

'Ah! Naudet--ah! Naudet.'

And he greatly amused the young fellows by t