midday
He did , however , place his picture of the spring glade beside the portrait of Mrs. Taine , and then , for an hour or more , sat considering the two paintings . Then he turned the `` Quaker Maid '' again to the wall and fixed a fresh canvas in place on the easel . That was all . Immediately after their midday lunch , he returned to the studio -- hurriedly , as if to work . He arranged his palette , paints , and brushes ready to his hand , indeed -- but he , then , did nothing with them . Listlessly , without interest , he turned through his portfolios of sketches . Often , he looked away through the big , north window to the distant mountain tops .