By OSCAR MAURER.

PES, little people and gardens are made for one another. In no other spot are children so happy, so full of naive grace and playfulness, so prettily unconscious. I noticed the lagging step and backward glance as nurse directed her charges within doors to the studio, and was struck at the change from indifference to eagerness as the children gathered about the open window overlooking the garden.

Sun there was, but it shone

The day was soft and luminous. through clouds, throwing delicate shadows-a "Leonardo day." I had been wont to call it. "For portraits, have a special studio," one gathers from Leonardo da Vinci's notes. "The walls should be painted black, with canvas curtains for the sun.

Or, if you haven't the canvas curtains, work out-of-doors when the light is soft, as if shining under water. This is the favored condition of the atmosphere giving special charm to the face." Here was my opportunity, and the children's.

So gaily we went back among the flowers, leaving the studio with its toys and baubles. We watched the butterflies among the posies, heard the birds sing, and became friends at once. The rest was easy.