Хорошие жёны / Good wives. Уровень 3

Then she added to the bridegroom, as he led her to the carriage, “You’ve got a treasure, young man, see that you deserve it.”

The little house was not far away. The only Meg’s bridal journey was the quiet walk with John from the old home to the new. When she came down, they all gathered about her to say �good-by’.

They were watching her, with faces full of love and hope and tender pride as she walked away, leaning on her husband’s arm. Her hands were full of flowers and the June sunshine brightening her happy face – and so Meg’s married life began.

Artistic Attempts[9 - Artistic Attempts – творческие изыскания]

People need a long time to learn the difference between talent and genius, especially ambitious young men and women. Amy was learning this distinction. She attempted every branch of art. For a long time, she devoted herself to the finest pen-and-ink drawing[10 - pen-and-ink drawing – рисунки тушью и пером].

Here she showed such taste and skill that her graceful handwork proved both pleasant and profitable. But over-strained eyes caused her to put the pen and ink aside for a bold and to study poker-sketching[11 - poker-sketching – выжигание по дереву]. She then transitioned from fire to oil and fell to painting. Then came charcoal portraits.

Softened into crayon sketches, they did better, for the likenesses were good, and Amy’s hair, Jo’s nose, Meg’s mouth, and Laurie’s eyes were pronounced �wonderfully fine’.

A return to clay and plaster followed, and ghostly casts of her acquaintances haunted corners of the house, or tumbled off closet shelves onto people’s heads.

After this Amy subsided, till a mania for sketching from nature set her to haunting river, field, and wood, for picturesque studies. She caught endless colds sitting on damp grass. She sacrificed her complexion floating on the river in the midsummer sun to study light and shade.

She got a wrinkle over her nose trying after �points of sight’.

If �genius is eternal patience’, as Michelangelo affirms, Amy had some claim to the divine attribute[12 - divine attribute – божественное свойство]. She persevered in spite of all obstacles, failures, and discouragements. She is firmly believing that in time she will do something worthy to be called �high art’.