She didn't want to marry, but she would like to have all the nicest
men in love with her.... Meanwhile she was doing the right thing. She
must learn to draw, and the studio was the only place she could learn.
But she did not want to paint large portraits with dark backgrounds.
She could not see herself doing things like that. Chaplin was her
idea. She had always admired him. His women were so dainty, so
elegant, so eighteenth century--wicked little women in swings, as
wicked as their ankles, as their lovers' guitars.

But she would have to work two or three years before any one could
tell her whether she would succeed. Two or three years! It was a long
time, but a woman must do something if she wishes to attract
attention, to be a success. A little success in art went a long way in
society. But Paris was so dull, Elsie and Cissy were still away. There
was no one in the studio who interested her; moreover, Elsie had told
her that any flirtation there might easily bring banishment to the
ladies' studio across the way. So it was provoking that Ralph had
forced her to throw him over at that particular moment. She would have
liked to have kept him on, at least till the end of the month, when
Elsie and Cissy would return. The break with Ralph was certainly not
convenient. She still felt some interest in him. She would write to
him.




IX.