r whatever was fantastic and irregular in aspect had not been
destroyed by his study of the beautiful. The Bohemian side of human
nature, the only nature for which he cared, still fascinated his mind,
whether it had or had not any influence upon his activities, and
Parigi's remonstrances were silenced by his appreciation of the comic
wit sparkling in his pupil's sketches.

We see little of Callot among his friends of this period, but the
glimpses we get reveal a lovable and merry youth in whose nature is a
strain of sturdy loyalty, ardent in work and patient in seeking
perfectness in each individual task undertaken, but with a curious
contrasting impatience as well, leading him frequently to drop one thing
for another, craving the relaxation of change. An anecdote is told of
him that illustrates the sweet-tempered blitheness of spirit with which
he quickly won affection.

In copying a head he had fallen into an error common among those who
draw most successfully upon a small scale, he had made it much too
large. His fellow-students were prompt to seize the opportunity of
jeering at him, and he at once improvised a delightful crowd of impish
creatures on the margin of his drawing, dancing and pointing at it in
derision.

His progress under Parigi's wise instruction was marked, but it was four
years after his arrival in Florence before he began to engrave to any
extent from his own designs. In the meantime, he had studied
architecture and aerial and linear perspective, and had made innumerable
pen and pencil drawings from nature. He had also begun to practice
etching, attaining great dexterity in the use of the needle and in the
employment of acids.

In 1617--then twenty-five years old--he produced the series of plates
which he rightly deemed the first ripe fruits of his long toil in the
domain of art. These were the delightful _Capricci di varie figure_ in
which his individuality shone resplendent. They reproduced the spectacle
of Florence as it might then have been seen by any wayfarer; street
people, soldiers, officers, honest tradesmen and rogues, mandolin
players, loiterers of the crossways and bridges, turnpike-keepers,
cut-throats, buffoons and comedians, grimacing pantaloons, fops,
coquettes, country scenes, a faithful and brilliant study of the time,
the manners, and the place. Parigi was enthusiastic and advised his
pupil to dedicate the plates to the brother of the Grand Duke.

After this all went well an