full of unostentatious beauty and comfort, and here the art-loving
host and hostess attracted and entertained artists of all kinds.
Laurie had music enough now, and was a generous patron to the class
he most liked to help. Amy had her proteges among ambitious young
painters and sculptors, and found her own art double dear as her
daughter grew old enough to share its labours and delights with her;
for she was one of those who prove that women can be faithful wives
and mothers without sacrificing the special gift bestowed upon them
for their own development and the good of others.

Her sisters knew where to find her, and Jo went at once to the
studio, where mother and daughter worked together. Bess was busy with
the bust of a little child, while her mother added the last touches
to a fine head of her husband. Time seemed to have stood still with
Amy, for happiness had kept her young and prosperity given her the
culture she needed. A stately, graceful woman, who showed how elegant
simplicity could be made by the taste with which she chose her dress
and the grace with which she wore it. As someone said: 'I never know
what Mrs Laurence has on, but I always receive the impression that
she is the best-dressed lady in the room.'

It was evident that she adored her daughter, and well she might; for
the beauty she had longed for seemed, to her fond eyes at least, to
be impersonated in this younger self. Bess inherited her mother's
Diana-like figure, blue eyes, fair skin, and golden hair, tied up in
the same classic knot of curls. Also--ah! never-ending source of joy
to Amy--she had her father's handsome nose and mouth, cast in a
feminine mould. The severe simplicity of a long linen pinafore suited
her; and she worked away with the entire absorption of the true
artist, unconscious of the loving eyes upon her, till Aunt Jo came in