"
"In that case," replied I, "Paining excels the ape of the renowned Gines
de Passamonte, which only meddled with the past and the present; nay,
she excels that very Nature who affords her subject; for I protest to
you, Dick, that were I permitted to peep into that Elizabeth-chamber,
and see the persons you have sketched conversing in flesh and blood, I
should not be a jot nearer guessing the nature of their business than I
am at this moment while looking at your sketch. Only generally, from
the languishing look of the young lady, and the care you have taken
to present a very handsome leg on the part of the gentleman, I presume
there is some reference to a love affair between them."
"Do you really presume to form such a bold conjecture?" said Tinto. "And
the indignant earnestness with which you see the man urge his suit, the
unresisting and passive despair of the younger female, the stern air of
inflexible determination in the elder woman, whose looks express at
once consciousness that she is acting wrong and a firm determination to
persist in the course she has adopted----"
"If her looks express all this, my dear Tinto," replied I, interrupting
him, "your pencil rivals the dramatic art of Mr.
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