"Am I permitted to talk?" inquired the girl.
"As much as you please."
"Oh, that's good!" she said, drawing a breath of relief; "and may I ask a question?"
"Ten, if you see fit."
"Sir Joshua, why are you making me so deathly white? I look like a statue."
Reynolds smiled.
"What will you say at the next sitting? I shall tint you all in Naples yellow."
"Fie!—horrors! Why do you do that?"
"Ah, that is my little secret! My enemies pretend that I have scraped a Watteau, others say a Titian, in order to discover the successive layers of color and surprise the method of these masters. And why should I not? All means are justifiable so long as one succeeds in imitating life. Others pretend that I paint on wax. They may say what they please. Hudson, my master, painted exceedingly well on cheese."
"On cheese!" exclaimed Miss Woodville with a laugh; "fancy a painting on cheese!"