"Perhaps the Master Craftsman died,but the design was left,and willing fingers toiled upon it,through the long years,each day putting new beauty into it and new dreams.Then,one day,the final knot was tied,by a Veiled Lady,who sighed softly in the pauses of her song,and wondered at its surpassing loveliness.""And--"said Miss Ainslie,gently.
"Some one who loved you brought it to you."
"Yes,"she repeated,smiling,"some one who loved me.Tell me about this,"she pleaded,touching a vase of Cloisonne.
"It came from Japan,"he said,"a strange world of people like those painted on a fan.The streets are narrow and there are quaint houses on either side.The little ladies flit about in gay attire,like so many butterflies--they wear queer shoes on their dainty feet.They're as sweet as their own cherry blossoms.
"The little man who made this vase,wore a blue tunic and had no robes of state,because he was poor.He loved the daughter of a nobleman and she loved him,too,though neither dared to say so.
"So he sat in front of his house and worked on this vase.He made a model of clay,shaping it with his fingers until it was perfect.Then a silver vase was cast from it and over and over it he went,very carefully,making a design with flat,silver wire.
When he was satisfied with it,he filled it in with enamel in wonderful colours,making even the spots on the butterflies'wings like those he had seen in the fields.Outside the design,he covered the vase with dark enamel,so the bright colours would show.
"As he worked,the little lady he loved came and watched him sometimes for a moment or two,and then he put a tiny bit of gold into the vase.He put a flower into the design,like those she wore in her hair,and then another,like the one she dropped at his feet one day,when no one was looking.
"The artist put all his love into the vase,and he hoped that when it was done,he could obtain a Court position.He was very patient with the countless polishings,and one afternoon,when the air was sweet with the odour of the cherry blossoms,the last touches were put upon it.
"It was so beautiful that he was commissioned to make some great vases for the throne room,and then,with joy in his heart,he sought the hand of the nobleman's daughter.
"The negotiations were conducted by another person,and she was forced to consent,though her heart ached for the artist in the blue tunic,whose name she did not know.When she learned that her husband was to be the man she had loved for so long,tears of happiness came into her dark eyes.
"The vase had disappeared,mysteriously,and he offered a large reward for its recovery.At last they were compelled to give up the hope of finding it,and he promised to make her another one,just like it,with the same flowers and butterflies and even the little glints of gold that marked the days she came.So she watched him,while he made the new one,and even more love went into it than into the first one.""And--"began Miss Ainslie.
"Some one who loved you brought it to you."
"Yes,"she repeated,smiling,"some one who loved me."Winfield fitted a story to every object in the room.Each rug had a different history and every bit of tapestry its own tale.He conjured up an Empress who had once owned the teakwood chair,and a Marquise,with patches and powdered hair,who wrote love letters at the marquetry table.
