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 tiful melodies that were pouring forth from the instrument. Finally the mother returned. She had made her nightly visit to Dino and had had several things to say to him.

“Mama,” Agnes called to her eagerly, “I am playing all the merry pieces I know to-night, for I have just finished my long composition.”

“You are right, Agnes. And how are you getting along with your painting, Nika?” asked the mother.

Nika replied quite sadly that she had hoped to finish it that day, but the days were very short now and she could not paint by lamp light. Her mother should see how little her work still lacked.

“If I had one hour more of daylight, I could finish it,” she sighed.

Nika placed a large painting under the bright lamp. It somewhat resembled the beautiful pictures which decorated the walls of the room. The colors in it were perfectly wonderful, and Cornelli had never before seen such a lovely picture. Sparkling crimson roses were hanging down an old wall and dense ivy was creeping up between them with shiny green