"
I pointed out to my sister something confusing in her way of expressing
the fact, but my kindness seemed to exasperate her.
"You know what I mean quite well," she said tartly.
"Yes, _I_ know," I rejoined; "but I wanted to help you to make
yourself intelligible to other people."
Claudia made a gesture of impatience, but laughed, and left me; and I
remained for a long time thinking over all that Ideala had said, and
also thinking of her as she looked at the time; and the subject was so
inspiring that, although my strong point is landscape, in an ambitious
mood I began to paint an allegorical picture of her as a mother nursing
the Infant Goodness of the race. She saw it when it was nearly
finished, but did not recognise herself, and exclaimed; "What a gaunt
creature! and that baby weighs at least twelve stone!"
The picture was never finished.
CHAPTER XXX.
We soon found that Ideala, having at last put her hand to the plough,
worked with a will, and although she was true to her principle that a
woman's best work is done beneath the surface, I think her own labours
will eventually make themselves felt with a good result in the world.
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