Beyond the lamps, she saw the large new canvas, showing dimly the first 'laying-in' of its important subject.

On the floor, and running round the walls, was a thin line of sketches and canvases.

The shallow, semi-circular window at the further end of the room was not yet curtained, and the branches of the still leafless plane-tree outside showed darkly in the gathering dusk.

The room, apart from its one spot of light, struck bare and chill.

Except for the 'throne' and a few chairs, it contained scarcely any furniture.