Her Faithful Knight — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

3 Ce) | The Hour and the Woman. and her boxes, and winking in triumph at a group of his companions. That anything in masculine shape should wink while doing her a service was an outrage. It was clearly necessary that Aylmer should at once become a student in order that she might be waited upon in a proper spirit of reverence. The gallery in which Aylmer’s lady took her place was long and narrow, at one end was a fine figure of Hermes, and this it was that she had come to copy. Aylmer strolled through the galleries, feigning deep in- terest in the broken statuary, and unconsciously exciting much fluttering attention in the minds of the loose-haired, corsetless young ladies, who, having taken up their study of the human form from antique models, could duly ap- preciate his fine proportions. “Isn’t he splendid? A figure like Hermes. And his head is beautifully put on his neck.” “He'll grow beefy when he’s middle-aged. Those big, fair men always do.” “All the same, wouldn’t you like to be as tall and broad as that, Mr. Smith ?” “No, thynks. It’s all wyste material. A small body and a big brain is. what’s wanted if one has to make one’s way in the world.” Such were among the comments which Aylmer’s ap- pearance excited among the art students. But Mr. Smith, the sharp-faced cockney youth who had been the last speaker, looked, as he was, very good-natured, and pres- ently Aylmer, after making a tour of the Elgin marbles, addressed himself to him for information. | “T should very much like to make some studies from these statutes,” he said. ‘May I ask what qualifications are required for students here ?” “You don’t want to get into the Akedemy, I suppose ?” suggested Mr. Smith. ‘Most of us are droring for passes COMIC OOS (S@)