common with the rest of Riseholme, strong artistic tastes, and in
addition to playing the piano, made charming little water-colour
sketches, many of which he framed at his own expense and gave to
friends, with slightly sentimental titles, neatly printed in gilt
letters on the mount. "Golden Autumn Woodland," "Bleak December,"
"Yellow Daffodils," "Roses of Summer" were perhaps his most notable
series, and these he had given to Lucia, on the occasion of four
successive birthdays. He did portraits as well in pastel; these were of
two types, elderly ladies in lace caps with a row of pearls, and boys
in cricket shirts with their sleeves rolled up. He was not very good at
eyes, so his sitters always were looking down, but he was excellent at
smiles, and the old ladies smiled patiently and sweetly, and the boys
gaily. But his finest accomplishment was needlework and his house was
full of the creations of his needle, wool-work curtains, petit-point
chair seats, and silk embroideries framed and glazed. Next to Lucia he
was the hardest worked inhabitant of Riseholme but not being so strong
as the Queen, he had often to go away for little rests by the sea-side.
Travelling by train fussed him a good deal, for he might not be able to
get a corner seat, or somebody with a pipe or a baby might get into his
carriage, or the porter might be rough with his luggage, so he always
went in his car to some neighbouring watering-place where they knew
him. Dicky, his handsome young chauffeur, drove him, and by Dicky's
side sat Foljambe, his very pretty parlour-maid who valetted him. If
Dicky took the wrong turn his master called "Naughty boy" through the
tube, and Foljambe smiled respectfully. For the month of August, his
two plain strapping sisters (Hermione and Ursula alas!) always came to
stay with him. They liked pigs and dogs and otter-hunting and
mutton-chops, and were rather a discordant element in Riseholme. But
Georgie had a kind heart, and never even debated whether he should ask
Hermy and Ursy or not, though he had to do a great deal of tidying up