Taine--this being
the first portrait ever painted of that famous beauty. That the picture
would create a sensation at the exhibition, was the unanimous verdict of
all who had been permitted to see the marvelous creation by this rare
genius whose work was so little known in this country.
Said Conrad Lagrange--"It is all so easy."
Once or twice, the artist or his friend had seen the woman of the
disfigured face; and the novelist still tried in vain to fix her in his
memory. Every day, they heard, in the depths of the neighboring orange
grove, the music of that unseen violin. They spoke, often, in playful
mood, of the spirit that haunted the place; but they made no effort to
solve the mystery of the carefully tended rose garden. They knew that
whoever cared for the roses worked there only in the early morning hours;
and they carefully avoided going into the yard back of the house until
after breakfast. They felt that an investigation might rob them of the
peculiar humor of their fancy--a fancy that was to them, both, such a
pleasure; and gave to their home amid the orange-trees and roses such an
added charm.
But the other member of the trio of friends was not so reticent.
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