Page:Keeping the Peace.pdf/137

 ing, he smiled at Edward and said with a quiet sincerity: "Eddie, I think they are amazing. You have a strong and definite talent. And I don't blame you a bit for crying about the paints. The disappointment might have drawn tears from a stone. You never can tell. The next time I go to the city I'll get you the best box of water colors there is. You ought to have them. You need them. But let's keep it to ourselves. We don't want to hurt mother's feelings." Once more he looked at some of the drawings. "Do you like religious subjects best?" he asked.

"Not really and truly," said Edward. "But mother wouldn't like me to spend so much time drawing if I drew other things."

"I see," said the Reverend Mr. Eaton. "Well, some of the old Italian masters painted them for similar reasons, I imagine. And some of them didn't draw as well as you do."

"John," said Edward diffidently, "thought that I could be a real artist if I practised hard. He said that in a few years if I wanted to be an artist he would help me."

"I would help you too," said his father.

"But mother wouldn't like it," said Edward.

"No," said Mr. Eaton with a sigh, "your mother wouldn't like it." At that moment a