Page:Margaret Sherwood--A Puritan in Bohemia.djvu/54

Rh human struggle. It must show the beauty and the sadness, the hardship and the pathos, of common people's lives."

"Did you remark that you are going to say all this in your pictures?" asked Anne.

"I am going to try."

"People's lives are hard to understand," said Mrs. Kent slowly. "How can you find out really about the poor?"

"By going to live with them, sharing their conditions," he answered. "There is no other way. It is a problem, but the problem is all we have left."

"What do you mean?" asked Anne.

"I mean that the century has taken away our old illusions. The only thing we've got is a chance to make life more comfortable for other people."

"The century hasn't taken away my palette and brushes," murmured Anne.

"I don't feel quite lost while I have them. This seems like old times. When you were eight, you were going to be a missionary. Then you were artist, statesman, and great actor by turns."