RosesredandroseswhitePluckedIformylove’sdelight。
Shewouldnoneofallmyposies，——
Bademegatherherblueroses。
HalftheworldIwanderedthrough，Seekingwheresuchflowersgrew；
HalftheworlduntomyquestAnsweredbutwithlaughandjest。
ItmaybebeyondthegraveSheshallfindwhatshewouldhave。
Minewasbutanidlequest，——
Roseswhiteandredarebest！——
BlueRoses-
THESEAhadnotchangedItswaterswerelowonthemud-banks，andtheMarazionBell-buoyclankedandswunginthetide-wayOnthewhitebeach-sanddriedstumpsofsea-poppyshiveredandchattered。
’Idon’tseetheoldbreakwater，’saidMaisie，underherbreath。
’Let’sbethankfulthatwehaveasmuchaswehaveIdon’tbelievethey’vemountedasinglenewgunonthefortsincewewerehere。
Comeandlook。’
TheycametotheglacisofFortKeeling，andsatdowninanookshelteredfromthewindunderthetarredthroatofaforty-poundercannon。
’Now，ifAmmomawereonlyhere！’saidMaisie。
ForalongtimebothweresilentThenDicktookMaisie’shandandcalledherbyhername。
Sheshookherheadandlookedouttosea。
’Maisie，darling，doesn’titmakeanydifference？’
’No！’betweenclenchedteeth’I’d——I’dtellyouifitdid；butitdoesn’t，Oh，Dick，pleasebesensible。’
’Don’tyouthinkthatiteverwill？’
’No，I’msureitwon’t。’
’Why？’
Maisierestedherchinonherhand，and，stillregardingthesea，spokehurriedly——
’Iknowwhatyouwantperfectlywell，butIcan’tgiveittoyou，DickItisn’tmyfault；indeed，itisn’tIfIfeltthatIcouldcareforanyone——
ButIdon’tfeelthatIcareIsimplydon’tunderstandwhatthefeelingmeans。’
’Isthattrue，dear？’
’You’vebeenverygoodtome，Dickie；andtheonlywayIcanpayyoubackisbyspeakingthetruthIdaren’ttellafibIdespisemyselfquitenoughasitis。’
’Whatintheworldfor？’
’Because——becauseItakeeverythingthatyougivemeandIgiveyounothinginreturnIt’smeanandselfishofme，andwheneverIthinkofititworriesme。’
’Understandonceforall，then，thatIcanmanagemyownaffairs，andifI
choosetodoanythingyouaren’ttoblameYouhaven’tasinglethingtoreproachyourselfwith，darling。’
’Yes，Ihave，andtalkingonlymakesitworse。’
’Thendon’ttalkaboutit。’
’HowcanIhelpmyself？Ifyoufindmealoneforaminuteyouarealwaystalkingaboutit；andwhenyouaren’tyoulookitYoudon’tknowhowI
despisemyselfsometimes。’
’Greatgoodness！’saidDick，nearlyjumpingtohisfeet’Speakthetruthnow，Maisie，ifyouneverspeakitagain！DoI——doesthisworryingboreyou？’
’NoItdoesnot。’
’You’dtellmeifitdid？’
’Ishouldletyouknow，Ithink。’
’ThankyouTheotherthingisfatalButyoumustlearntoforgiveamanwhenhe’sinloveHe’salwaysanuisanceYoumusthaveknownthat？’
Maisiedidnotconsiderthelastquestionworthanswering，andDickwasforcedtorepeatit。
’Therewereothermen，ofcourseTheyalwaysworriedjustwhenI
wasinthemiddleofmywork，andwantedmetolistentothem。’
’Didyoulisten？’
’Atfirst；andtheycouldn’tunderstandwhyIdidn’tcareAndtheyusedtopraisemypictures；andIthoughttheymeantitIusedtobeproudofthepraise，andtellKami，and——Ishallneverforget——onceKamilaughedatme。’
’Youdon’tlikebeinglaughedat，Maisie，doyou？’
’IhateitIneverlaughatotherpeopleunless——unlesstheydobadwork。
Dick，tellmehonestlywhatyouthinkofmypicturesgenerally，——ofeverythingofminethatyou’veseen。’
’“Honest，honest，andhonestover！”’quotedDickfromacatchwordoflongago’TellmewhatKamialwayssays。’
Maisiehesitated’He——hesaysthatthereisfeelinginthem。’
’Howdareyoutellmeafiblikethat？Remember，IwasunderKamifortwoyearsIknowexactlywhathesays。’
’Itisn’tafib。’
’It’sworse；it’sahalf-truthKamisays，whenheputshisheadononeside，——so，——“Ilyadusentiment，maisiln’yapasdepartipris。”’Herolledtherthreateningly，asKamiusedtodo。
’Yes，thatiswhathesays；andI’mbeginningtothinkthatheisright。’
’Certainlyheis。’DickadmittedthattwopeopleintheworldcoulddoandsaynowrongKamiwastheman。
’AndnowyousaythesamethingIt’ssodisheartening。’
’I’msorry，butyouaskedmetospeakthetruthBesides，IloveyoutoomuchtopretendaboutyourworkIt’sstrong，it’spatientsometimes，——notalways，——andsometimesthere’spowerinit，butthere’snospecialreasonwhyitshouldbedoneatallAtleast，that’showitstrikesme。’
’There’snospecialreasonwhyanythingintheworldshouldeverbedoneYouknowthataswellasIdoIonlywantsuccess。’
’You’regoingthewrongwaytogetit，thenHasn’tKamievertoldyouso？’
’Don’tquoteKamitomeIwanttoknowwhatyouthinkMywork’sbad，tobeginwith。’
’Ididn’tsaythat，andIdon’tthinkit。’
’It’samateurish，then。’
’ThatitmostcertainlyisnotYou’reawork-woman，darling，toyourboot-heels，andIrespectyouforthat。’
’Youdon’tlaughatmebehindmyback？’
’No，dearYousee，youaremoretomethananyoneelsePutthiscloakthingroundyou，oryou’llgetchilled。’
Maisiewrappedherselfinthesoftmartenskins，turningthegraykangaroofurtotheoutside。
’Thisisdelicious，’shesaid，rubbingherchinthoughtfullyalongthefur。
’Well？WhyamIwrongintryingtogetalittlesuccess？’
’JustbecauseyoutryDon’tyouunderstand，darling？Goodworkhasnothingtodowith——doesn’tbelongto——thepersonwhodoesitIt’sputintohimorherfromoutside。’
’Buthowdoesthataffect——’
’WaitaminuteAllwecandoistolearnhowtodoourwork，tobemastersofourmaterialsinsteadofservants，andnevertobeafraidofanything。’
’Iunderstandthat。’
’EverythingelsecomesfromoutsideourselvesVerygoodIfwesitdownquietlytoworkoutnotionsthataresenttous，wemayorwemaynotdosomethingthatisn’tbadAgreatdealdependsonbeingmasterofthebricksandmortarofthetradeButtheinstantwebegintothinkaboutsuccessandtheeffectofourwork——toplaywithoneeyeonthegallery——welosepowerandtouchandeverythingelseAtleastthat’showIhavefounditInsteadofbeingquietandgivingeverypoweryoupossesstoyourwork，you’refrettingoversomethingwhichyoucanneitherhelpnohinderbyaminuteSee？’
’It’ssoeasyforyoutotalkinthatwayPeoplelikewhatyoudo。
Don’tyoueverthinkaboutthegallery？’
’Muchtoooften；butI’malwayspunishedforitbylossofpower。
It’sassimpleastheRuleofThreeIfwemakelightofourworkbyusingitforourownends，ourworkwillmakelightofus，and，aswe’retheweaker，weshallsuffer。’
’Idon’ttreatmyworklightlyYouknowthatit’severythingtome。’
’Ofcourse；but，whetheryourealiseitornot，yougivetwostrokesforyourselftooneforyourworkItisn’tyourfault，darlingIdoexactlythesamething，andknowthatI’mdoingitMostoftheFrenchschools，andalltheschoolshere，drivethestudentstoworkfortheirowncredit，andforthesakeoftheirprideIwastoldthatalltheworldwasinterestedinmywork，andeverybodyatKami’stalkedturpentine，andI
honestlybelievedthattheworldneededelevatingandinfluencing，andallmannerofimpertinences，bymybrushesByJove，Iactuallybelievedthat！
WhenmylittleheadwasburstingwithanotionthatIcouldn’thandlebecauseI
hadn’tsufficientknowledgeofmycraft，Iusedtorunaboutwonderingatmyownmagnificenceandgettingreadytoastonishtheworld。’
’Butsurelyonecandothatsometimes？’
’Veryseldomwithmaliceaforethought，darlingAndwhenit’sdoneit’ssuchatinything，andtheworld’ssobig，andallbutamillionthpartofitdoesn’tcareMaisie，comewithmeandI’llshowyousomethingofthesizeoftheworldOnecannomoreavoidworkingthaneating，——thatgoesonbyitself，——buttrytoseewhatyouareworkingforIknowsuchlittleheavensthatIcouldtakeyouto，——islandstuckedawayundertheLine。
Yousightthemafterweeksofcrashingthroughwaterasblackasblackmarblebecauseit’ssodeep，andyousitinthefore-chainsdayafterdayandseethesunrisealmostafraidbecausethesea’ssolonely。’
’Whoisafraid？——you，orthesun？’
’Thesun，ofcourseAndtherearenoisesunderthesea，andsoundsoverheadinaclearskyThenyoufindyourislandalivewithhotmoistorchidsthatmakemouthsatyouandcandoeverythingexcepttalk。
There’sawaterfallinitthreehundredfeethigh，justlikeasliverofgreenjadelacedwithsilver；andmillionsofwildbeesliveupintherocks；andyoucanhearthefatcocoanutsfallingfromthepalms；
andyouorderanivory-whiteservanttoslingyoualongyellowhammockwithtasselsonitlikeripemaize，andyouputupyourfeetandhearthebeeshumandthewaterfalltillyougotosleep。’
’Canoneworkthere？’
’CertainlyOnemustdosomethingalwaysYouhangyourcanvasupinapalmtreeandlettheparrotscriticiseWhenthescuffleyouheavearipecustard-appleatthem，anditburstsinalatherofcreamTherearehundredsofplacesComeandseethem。’
’Idon’tquitelikethatplaceItsoundslazyTellmeanother。’
’Whatdoyouthinkofabig，red，deadcitybuiltofredsandstone，withrawgreenaloesgrowingbetweenthestones，lyingoutneglectedonhoney-colouredsands？Therearefortydeadkingsthere，Maisie，eachinagorgeoustombfinerthanalltheothersYoulookatthepalacesandstreetsandshopsandtanks，andthinkthatmenmustlivethere，tillyoufindaweegraysquirrelrubbingitsnoseallaloneinthemarket-place，andajewelledpeacockstrutsoutofacarveddoorwayandspreadsitstailagainstamarblescreenasfinepiercedaspoint-laceThenamonkey——alittleblackmonkey——walksthroughthemainsquaretogetadrinkfromatankfortyfeetdeepHeslidesdownthecreeperstothewater’sedge，andafriendholdshimbythetail，incaseheshouldfallin。’
’Isthatalltrue？’
’IhavebeenthereandseenTheneveningcomes，andthelightschangetillit’sjustasthoughyoustoodintheheartofaking-opalAlittlebeforesundown，aspunctuallyasclockwork，abigbristlywildboar，withallhisfamilyfollowing，trotsthroughthecitygate，churningthefoamonhistusksYouclimbontheshoulderofablindblackstonegodandwatchthatpigchoosehimselfapalaceforthenightandstumpinwagginghistailThenthenight-windgetsup，andthesandsmove，andyouhearthedesertoutsidethecitysinging，“NowIlaymedowntosleep。”andeverythingisdarktillthemoonrisesMaisie，darling，comewithmeandseewhattheworldisreallylikeIt’sverylovely，andit’sveryhorrible，——butIwon’tletyouseeanythinghorrid，——anditdoesn’tcareyourlifeormineforpicturesoranythingelseexceptdoingitsownworkandmakingloveCome，andI’llshowyouhowtobrewsangaree，andslingahammock，and——oh，thousandsofthings，andyou’llseeforyourselfwhatcolourmeans，andwe’llfindouttogetherwhatlovemeans，andthen，maybe，weshallbeallowedtodosomegoodworkComeaway！’
’Why？’saidMaisie。
’Howcanyoudoanythinguntilyouhaveseeneverything，orasmuchasyoucan？Andbesides，darling，IloveyouComealongwithme。
Youhavenobusinesshere；youdon’tbelongtothisplace；you’rehalfagipsy，——yourfacetellsthat；andI——eventhesmellofopenwatermakesmerestlessComeacrosstheseaandbehappy！’
Hehadrisentohisfeet，andstoodintheshadowofthegun，lookingdownatthegirlTheveryshortwinterafternoonhadwornaway，and，beforetheyknew，thewintermoonwaswalkingtheuntroubledseaLongruledlinesofsilvershowedwherearippleoftherisingtidewasturningoverthemud-banksThewindhaddropped，andintheintensestillnesstheycouldhearadonkeycroppingthefrostygrassmanyyardsawayA
faintbeating，likethatofamuffleddrum，cameoutofthemoon-haze。
’What’sthat？’saidMaisie，quickly’Itsoundslikeaheartbeating。
Whereisit？’
Dickwassoangryatthissuddenwrenchtohispleadingsthathecouldnottrusthimselftospeak，andinthissilencecaughtthesound。
Maisiefromherseatunderthegunwatchedhimwithacertainamountoffear。
Shewishedsomuchthathewouldbesensibleandceasetoworryherwithover-seaemotionthatshebothcouldandcouldnotunderstandShewasnotprepared，however，forthechangeinhisfaceashelistened。
’It’sasteamer，’hesaid，——’atwin-screwsteamer，bythebeatIcan’tmakeherout，butshemustbestandingveryclosein-shoreAh！’astheredofarocketstreakedthehaze，’she’sstandingintosignalbeforesheclearstheChannel。’
’Isitawreck？’saidMaisie，towhomthesewordswereasGreek。
Dick’seyeswereturnedtothesea’Wreck！Whatnonsense！She’sonlyreportingherselfRedrocketforward——there’sagreenlightaftnow，andtworedrocketsfromthebridge。’
’Whatdoesthatmean？’