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XLVII

n March there was all the excitement of sending in to
Ithe Salon. Clutton, characteristically, had nothing ready,
and he was very scornful of the two heads that Lawson
sent; they were obviously the work of a student, straight-
forward portraits of models, but they had a certain force;
Clutton, aiming at perfection, had no patience with efforts
which betrayed hesitancy, and with a shrug of the shoulders
told Lawson it was an impertinence to exhibit stuff which
should never have been allowed out of his studio; he was not
less contemptuous when the two heads were accepted. Fla-
nagan tried his luck too, but his picture was refused. Mrs.
Otter sent a blameless Portrait de ma Mere, accomplished
and second-rate; and was hung in a very good place.
Hayward, whom Philip had not seen since he left Heidel-
berg, arrived in Paris to spend a few days in time to come
to the party which Lawson and Philip were giving in their
studio to celebrate the hanging of Lawson’s pictures. Philip
had been eager to see Hayward again, but when at last they
met, he experienced some disappointment. Hayward had
altered a little in appearance: his fine hair was thinner, and
with the rapid wilting of the very fair, he was becoming wiz-
ened and colourless; his blue eyes were paler than they had
been, and there was a muzziness about his features. On the
other hand, in mind he did not seem to have changed at