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Walter Bellairs, an artist, travels to Queensland for a painting holiday. He camps on the property of John Cabell and is amazed by the beauty of Juan, a boy who lives with Cabell. Cabell is secretive about who Juan is, but eventually Bellairs learns the truth.
Relates Thomas Hardy's courtship and marriage to Emma Lavinia Gifford. Hardy met her when, as a young architect, he was sent to Cornwall in 1870 and they married in 1874.