“I had been urging Miss Bremer into an interesting talk before Mrs. W. appeared, and I felt what a pity it was that she hadn’t the same propensity to talk that the latter had.  She talked very pleasantly, however, and I thought what a pity it was that I shall not see her again; for I leave Rome in three days for Florence.

“I was in Rome for a winter, an idler by necessity for six weeks.  It is the very place of all the world for an idler.

“On the pleasant days there are the ruins to visit, the Campagna to stroll over, the villas and their grounds to gather flowers in, the Forum to muse in, the Pincian Hill or the Capitoline for a gossiping walk with some friend.

“On rainy days it is all art.  There are the cathedrals, the galleries, and the studios of the thousand artists; for every winter there are a thousand artists in Rome.

“A rainy day found me in the studio of Paul Akers.  As I was looking at some of his models, the studio door opened and a pretty little girl, wearing a jaunty hat and a short jacket, into the pockets of which her hands were thrust, rushed into the room, seemingly unconscious of the presence of a stranger, began a rattling, all-alive talk with Mr. Akers, of which I caught enough to know that a ride over the Campagna was planned, as I heard Mr. Akers say, ’Oh, I won’t ride with you—­I’m afraid to!’ after which he turned to me and introduced Harriet Hosmer.

“I was just from old conservative England, and I had been among its most conservative people.  I had caught something of its old musty-parchment ideas, and the cricket-like manners of Harriet Hosmer rather troubled me.  It took some weeks for me to get over the impression of her madcap ways; they seemed childish.

“I went to her studio and saw ‘Puck,’ a statue all fun and frolic, and I imagined all was fun to the core of her heart.

“As a general rule, people disappoint you as you know them.  To know them better and better is to know more and more weaknesses.  Harriet Hosmer parades her weaknesses with the conscious power of one who knows her strength, and who knows you will find her out if you are worthy of her acquaintance.  She makes poor jokes—­she’s a little rude—­a good deal eccentric; but she is always true.

“In the town where she used to live in Massachusetts they will tell you a thousand anecdotes of her vagaries—­but they are proud of her.

“She does not start on a false scent; she knows the royal character of the game before she hunts.

“A lady who is a great rider said to me a few days since:  ’Of course I do not ride like Harriet Hosmer, but, if you will notice, there is method in Harriet Hosmer’s madness.  She does not mount a horse until she has examined him carefully.’

“At the time when I saw her, she was thinking of her statue of Zenobia.  She was studying the history of Palmyra, reading up on the manners and customs of its people, and examining Eastern relics and costumes.