Show f A JAM DAUGHTER D A r ART SKEW nT lt it 1 or OP 0 1 copy yr THE NORTH AMERICAN Co The Golden Hour Goes G s arid an Leaves Sadness in in its Wake CHAPTER I IThe IThe IThe The Wonderful Chance gg ELL of all the wonderful and astounding things to WELL have happened of all marvelous things Patience Amherst A m hers t caught her breath as sv 1 s si i I spoke and her slim w w fingers tightened almost convulsively round a letter j I i she had just been reading a 8 letter that had reached by the early morning post p o 0 s t and had been resting on Patiences breakfast plate awaiting her tardy appearance for Patience was Invariably late for breakfast She was a slim tall II girl with a face of curi curl curious curious curland ous and unusual beauty a It I face that recalled dim d t m memories to those who had traveled much m u chIn In Ini i Italy of early Italian Ma donnas Here was the high highbrow h highbrow I g h brow the delicately penciled eyebrows sweet grave lips and deep wonderful eyes that have been lost to the world so long load lon and the soft hair hall that fell fellIn fellIn fellin In loose waves round Patiences face and gave the fin finishing touch to her beauty her rare delicate beauty She wore a gown of some blue art shade and her blouse cut a little low at the throat revealed the creamy tinting of her flesh As a general rule she was pale but today her cheeks were wera flushed with bright ht color and her eyes shone and gleamed r F Whence all this excitement Jack Amherst glanced up from the paper he was reading and smiled at his sister and the twins two pretty girls of ot sixteen fixed their blue eyes on Patience even Mrs Amherst bright cheery Mrs Amherst ceased to sip her coffee cottee and Major Amherst pushed back his chair Whom have hae yoU yo heard eard from Patience the th major asked He lie was a tall man wonder wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully fully youthful In appearance to be the father of six sir children You seem seam fairly delighted with yourself my dear he added pulling at his fair fall mustache Patience gave a queer little throaty laugh They The say all to those who know how to wait she answered in her strong young voice and I always wanted to get on with my painting particularly with and now read what Sir Hilary Marlow writes to me Sir Hilary Marlow She said the last words In tones of ecstatic triumph then brandished the letter she had just opened What have you heard from Marlow the painting chap the man whom they made a baronet three year years ago Jack asked with some surprise laying down own the morning paper which he be was always allowed to Jo peruse at because he was was a cripple and it was the one aim aim and object of the entire Amherst household to try troY and make up to this bright handsome boy for the accident in the football field fluid two years ago that tl at had made Jack a cripple for life lit if by depriving him of the use of a limb Yes Yea Sir Hilary has written to tome me mei but there Ill read his letter aloud and then you you will all hear I of the marvelous luck that has come my way the almost al almost almost most Incredible good fortune Yes read your letter out Pat read It aloud C the major exclaimed In his excitement putting down the un tasted cup of coffee cottee he had just juat been about to raise to his lips for he was a man who Interested himself keenly In his childrens children affairs attain Dear Miss Amherst Patience applied herself henel to the reading of her letter and her tier clear beautiful voice filled the room with music the comfortable dining room of a small house that stood on the out outskirts outskirts outskirts skirts of the cathedral town of a red redbrick redbrIck redbrick brick house fenced about by a pleasant garden You will be surprised to receive a letter from a total stranger so the epistle ran tan and I must explain that I am Hilary Marlow the portrait painter and that I happened to be staying a week or 01 two ago a o with the bishop of and his wife They showed me a portrait you Ou had painted of ot their young youngest youngest est son and 1 I discovered such intense genius In the portrait that I 1 am writing to ask if your parents will allow you OU to come and stay with myself and Lady Marlow in London for a few weeks so that I Imay Imay Imay may have the opportunity of giving you a few les lessons sons and helping you on with your work for of ot course as I expect you know you lack technique and have not yet served your apprenticeship to art Mrs Barton and the bishop were both delighted with the praise I bestowed upon your work and they told me that you Ou had haI had no proper tuition but they the thought your our father and mother would have hao no objection to your taking up an artistic career though of course the matter rests in your hands Art is a hard task taskmaster taskmaster taskmaster master and you are but a young girl still what w at you may decide to do in the future need not prevent your paying a visit to myself and my wife at the present time and I must confess that nothing would give me greater pleasure than to welcome at my house at Chelsea a girl who possesses such untaught genius as yours Hoping to hear from you shortly after atter you re receive receive receive this letter believe me yours sincerely HILARY MARLOW MARIAN There exclaimed Patience She spoke with ome some triumph Who would ever have hav thought that the bishop the dear old bishop have shown i that picture I 1 painted of Bobby the last time I 1 stayed at the palace to the tho great Sir Hilary Sir Hilary who has made such a worldwide reputation as a por portrait portrait portrait trait painter Why Its wonderful Its almost un unbelievable unbelievable unbelievable believable that he can see any merit In my work considering what little instruction I have had how I have Just worked by myself But now now She turned to her father with flushed cheeks a wonderful eagerness displaying Itself In her voice on her lips You and mother will let me accept Sir kind Invitation I may 50 SO and stay with him and his wife In London may ma I 1 not Oh mother she darted an Imploring glance at the pretty woman who was looking at her with vaguely troubled eyes Ask father to let me go beg him to toI I II I dont know what to say sa dear Mrs Amherst replied in low tones Why are you so set on making a career for yourself Patience she added and wanting to be famous and all that Of Ot course Its very nice and complimentary of at Sir Hilary diary his wife to want you to go and stay with wi them but I dont know she paused bit her lips then turned to her husband I suppose we shall have to let Patience accept this Invitation as her heart is so set on it thou th h I shall hate to thi think ik of my little girlie staying with strange people in London people I dont know except by name great folk dear Rachel Major Amherst answered a somewhat serious look coming over his face I think you ou are right rl ht in saying that we must not oppose Patience If It she wishes to accent Sir generous offer otter We know that she has longed ever since she was quite a child to take up an artistic career and get on with her painting and that only our lack of the necessary funds has prevented us from sending her to Paris to study there and now a great portrait painter ha has seen her work and likes it it The major m major jor paused he had risen to his feet and was now at the th stroking of his mustache again a atrick trick he had when he was the least put out or per perturbed perturbed perturbed in spirit For a second or two he Ito appeared to tobe tobe tobe be arguing out things with herself then he suddenly turned and addressed Patience My dear he said Baldi and there was deep affection in his voice In his look loo it ft seems but the other day that you were a dear little girl with your hair hall tied up with ribbon a child who was constantly drawing pictures on rough sheets of paper smudging away with paints and then as you grew older you began to Join art classes attacked big canvases and talked learnedly about color technique style And it was wasa a all aJ 1 very pretty and Interesting interesting to watch this fluttering of or your young oung wings and of course I realized when Madame Henrietta settled down at Marken ford lord It was only natural to expect that you would sit ait at her feet all day long for Madame had J a f r i 4 I II J I P k i iI I I I J JA i I j A 9 1 I 1 J 1 1 i II II a LI I I I Ij Ia 1 9 t y t 1 1 j 1 I tell rl i l 1 i r rI t 1 I I T t I L t j I I They had bad somehow contrived to miss the golden hour houran an hour that might never come again a certain artistic reputation years ago Her pictures wore were hung on the line at the salon In the past and andI I was quite ready to allow you to have a lesson lesion from this excellent French lady But I suspect I never guessed that you would wish to become a professional atonal artist yourself till you told us some months ago and when Madame joined her voice with yours and assured ua us what marked talent you possessed It worried your mother and myself a good deal to think we could not afford to send you abroad or even to London to study art though we both wondered why you were so ambitious for surely a girls place is at homer home Not if it she possesses any special talent daddy Patience interrupted hurriedly and you see It la to evident that Sir Hilary thinks that I should succeed as a painter and oh you cannot guess the great long longIng longing Ing I have to devote myself to art she clasped her hands bands tightly together then added quickly nervously Its not as If It I was an only child an only daughter even evenou you have got Pamela and Millie she smiled at atthe atthe atthe the twins as aa she spoke who smiled back at their elder sister sill tel and then upstairs in me the ne nursery she continued theres Lucy and baby Marjory so why one of your daughters try to earn her own bread and butter for after atter all daddy dear a retired soldier man with only a small private income and a large family to maintain to object to one of his children at any rate doing her little best beat to be Independent to make money For think if it I 1 become a really great portrait painter p inter what lovely times we shall lill ll have carriages fine clothes cloth s going away when we feel feet we want a change and all the splendid things that money secures And what about Vernon Ramsey Jack inter interrupted interrupted The handsome cripple lad bud hud been leaning back in his bis chair watching his sister attentively the tall beautiful sister he Meld held in such high esteem but could not forbear teasing occasionally He was wa amused aa as he spoke by the sudden flush of color that dyed Patiences face at the mere mention of the name Vernon was the only son aon of one of the tho canons canon of a rising young barrister who was very hardest In London but who came down to as often otten as aa he could more to see ace Patience perhaps than his old father for tor Canon Ramsey ever since his death which had bad oc when Vernon was a schoolboy had devoted himself to his books and was a very famous scholar wrapped up in his library Gossipy old Marken ford had quite settled nettled that Vernon Ramsey Hamsey and Patience at would make a match of It later on for the two young people had been unacknowledged sweethearts ever since their childhood Not that it was possible for Vernon to thlik of ot marrying Just yet he had his way W to make in the world first for though he was waa getting gettine on extremely well at at al the bar he was certainly not in a position to support a wife He would have to wait walt another couple of years at least before ho he could think of marrying His father the old canon had only a small Income and It was well known in that Major Amherst was by no means a rich man In fact the major often frankly declared that It was all he could xio io to keep up his nice little house run a small pony trap send his lads to school and have a governess for the girls When my daughters marry I as hope they will he was fond of saying I I 1 shall shall shah not noil no be able to give them much in n the he way w of ot o an allowance so 80 we shall all kirow k ow that their husbands have married them for love Under these circumstances aa neither of the two young people could expect financial help from their relations their pretty cathedral courtship a romance played out under the shade cast by cool gray walls waIls had not yet developed into an open engagement and Patience was afraid at times that Vernon would not make any open declaration of ot affection till he was In a position to marry marr for she knew he did not prove a of long engagements and believed it was unfair unfair of a man to bind a young girl to him for years a view with which Patience did not agree In the least least leas Never mind about Vernon Patience answered after a brief pause You need not brIng briny him Into the discussion Jack Jacko She blushed rather consciously again aJaIn for sh she hated to be teased on the subject of Vernon Ramsey then she walked to the major and ana put a light hand hand on his arm Come daddy darting darling she whispered persuasively I 1 may write a letter to Sir Hilary Marlow this morn ing may I not and accept the kind Invitation he and nd his lifs wife have given me to visit them In town You will let me go to Chelsea for a few days at Sv rate wont you and take advantage e of the wonderful wonderful any chance that has come my way the chance of a life lIfo timer tImeT Major Amherst made no answer for a moment and all his family looked at him impatient for tor Si hi his reply the Pretty prett twins twine Jack and that calm gentle Mrs Amherst for this was waa a moment of intense domestic excitement a moment wholly unan The Uhe he major glanced irresolutely down on the ground he appeared appear d to be thinking deeply his brows brow clouded I dont want you to leave leavo ua us U Patience he said aid at last laet and yet Heaven knows know J would not wIsh to stand In the light j ot of f my children Besides ho he h paused then added added ift It Is la only natural that young birds should h d want t to take their flight from the nut nest at some time or other After all I shall only bo bel going away on a visit Patience Interrupted lightly Yes yes yea he answered so we think ao so we think now now but you do not know what suggestion sug Sir air Hilary Marlow may make to on If it he thinks you display great gre t talent He rubbed a hand In agitated wistful fashion across his brow Its a frightful responsibility to toI I feel teel that I may be ruining your future he muttered spoiling a triumphant career just because I want to keep you at home Patience No I suppose I must give way and aid allow you to go up to London Londono She clapped her hands delightedly her eyes shone and sparkled It seemed as If Ir she already felt a laurel crown resting on her browa victory In her grasp Dear father she cried thank you thank you a thousand times she hesitated a second then ran to her mothers chair and hid her face her flushed radiant Mrs warm breast Its not that I want to leave home Patience whis whispered whispered pored for no one could happler be than I am amno no one But I feel teel I ought to make use UIlO of the gift God has given me methe the gift of painting I want to be a daugh daughter ter tel of art y CHAPTER II IIi i At the Gray House e EAR AR PEOPLE You will all want to hear DEAR about bout Sir Hilary and Lady Marlow and their beautiful house houseIn In this my first letter home and I will begin by describing the It stands standa in Its own courtyard facing the river and is it ita isa Isa a perfect of rare and lovely things The furniture has all come como from dead and gone kings palaces and Is of ot fabulous value but oh dear me Its It impossible to write a coherent letter or to try and describe things In n detail my brain reels as It is |