CHAPTER XV.
ELEANOR'S THEORIES REDUCED TO PRACTICE--STUDIES--THE ARITHMETIC-MASTER.
Madame was not ungenerous to an apology.

She believed in Eleanor too, and was quite disposed to think that Eleanor might be in the right in a dispute with anybody but herself.

Perhaps she hoped to hear her triumph in a discussion with Mr.Henley, or perhaps it was only as a punishment for her presumptuous remarks that Madame started the subject on the following day to the drawing-master himself.
"Miss Arkwright says your trees are all one, Mr.Henley," she began.
(Madame's English was not perfect.) "Except that the half are yellow and the other half blue.

She knows not the kind even." The poor little drawing-master, who was at that moment "touching up" a yellow tree in one of the younger girls' copies, trying by skilfully distributed dabs to make it look less like a faded cabbage-leaf, blushed, and laid down his brush.

Eleanor, who was just beginning to colour a copy of a mountain scene, turned scarlet, and let her first wash dry into unmanageable shapes as she darted indignant glances at Madame, who appeared to enjoy her bit of malice.
"Miss Arkwright will observe that these are sketches indicating the general effect of a scene; not tree studies." "I know, Mr.Henley," said poor Eleanor, in much confusion; "at least, I mean I don't know anything about water-colour sketching, so I ought not to have said anything; and I never thought that Madame would repeat it.
I was thinking of pencil-drawings and etchings; and I do like to know one tree from another," she added honestly.
"You draw in pencil yourself ?" asked Mr.Henley.
"Oh no!" said Eleanor; "at least only a little.