The stained walls were covered with Jane Lavinia 's pictures -- most of them pen-and-ink sketches , with a few flights into water colour . Aunt Rebecca sniffed at them and deplored the driving of tacks into the plaster . Aunt Rebecca thought Jane Lavinia 's artistic labours a flat waste of time , which would have been much better put into rugs and crochet tidies and afghans . All the other girls in Chestercote made rugs and tidies and afghans . Why must Jane Lavinia keep messing with ink and crayons and water colours ? Jane Lavinia only knew that she must -- she could not help it . There was something in her that demanded expression thus . When Mr. Stephens , who was a well-known artist and magazine illustrator , came to Chestercote because his wife 's father , Nathan Whittaker , was ill , Jane Lavinia 's heart had bounded with a shy hope . She indulged in some harmless manoeuvring which , with the aid of good-natured Mrs. Whittaker , was crowned with success . One day , when Mr. Whittaker was getting better , Mr. Stephens had asked her to show him some of her work . Jane Lavinia , wearing the despised sailor hat , had gone over to the Whittaker place with some of her best sketches . She came home again feeling as if all the world and herself were transfigured . She looked out from the window of her little room with great dreamy brown eyes , seeing through the fir boughs the golden western sky beyond , serving as a canvas whereon her fancy painted glittering visions of her future . She would go to New York -- and study -- and work , oh , so hard -- and go abroad -- and work harder -- and win success -- and be great and admired and famous -- if only Aunt Rebecca -- ah ! if only Aunt Rebecca ! Jane Lavinia sighed . There was spring in the world and spring in Jane Lavinia 's heart ; but a chill came with the thought of Aunt Rebecca , who considered tidies and afghans nicer than her pictures . `` But I 'm going , anyway , '' said Jane Lavinia decidedly . `` If Aunt Rebecca wo n't give me the money , I 'll find some other way . I 'm not afraid of any amount of work .
After what Mr. XXXXX said , I believe I could work twenty hours out of the twenty-four .
Lavinia Rebecca Stephens York colour day labours manoeuvring tacks tidies