painters.

Joshua thought about it, talked with his brothers and sisters about it,
and surprised his mother by asking her if she knew that there was soon
to be a distinct school of British Art.

About this time there came to the village a strolling artist by the name
of Warmell. This man opened up a studio on the porch of the tavern and
offered to make your picture while you wait. He did a thriving business
in silhouettes, and patrons who were in a hurry could have their profiles
cut out of black paper with shears and pasted on a white background in a
jiffy--price, sixpence.

Joshua struck up quite a friendship with this man and was taught all the
tricks of the trade--even to the warning that in drawing the portrait of
a homely man it is not good policy to make a really homely picture.

The best-paying pewholder in the Reverend Samuel Reynolds' church was a
Mr. Craunch, whose picture had been made by the joint efforts of the
strolling artist Warmell and young Reynolds. 'T was a very beautiful
picture, although it is not on record that Mr. Craunch was a handsome
man.

Warmell refused to take pay for Craunch's picture, claiming that he felt
it was pay enough to have the honor of such a great man sitting to him.
This remark proved to Craunch that Warmell was a discerning person and
they were very soon on intimate terms of friendship. Mr. Craunch gave Mr.
Warmell orders to paint pictures of the Craunch family. One day Warmell
called the great man's attention to the fact that young Reynolds, his
volunteer assistant, had ambitions in an art way that could not be