morning, leaving his lodgings earlier than
usual, he met on the stairway of his house a countryman driving a goat
up-stairs to be milked; the Romans thus having good evidence that when
they buy goat's milk, they don't purchase water from the fountains. As
Caper was going out of the door that led into the street, he saw among
the flock of goats assembled there, a patriarchal old Billy, whose beard
struck him with delight. He was looking at him in silent veneration,
when the goats'-milk man came down-stairs, driving the ewe before him.
He asked the man if he would sell the patriarch; but found that he would
not. He promised, however, to lend him to Caper until the next day, for
a good round sum, to be paid when the goat was delivered at the studio,
which the man said would be in the course of an hour.

Our artist then went down to the Greco, where he breakfasted; and there
met Rocjean, who proposed to him to go that morning to the Piazza
Navona, as it was market-day, and they would have a fine chance to take
notes of the country-people, their costumes, etc. They first went around
to Caper's studio, where they had only to wait a short time before the
milk-man came, driving the old Billy-goat up-stairs before him. Caper
made him fast with a cord to a heavy table, the top of which was a vast
receptacle of sketch-books, oil-colors, books, and all kinds of odds and
ends.

Rocjean and he then strolled down to the Piazza Navona, where, while
walking around, Caper suddenly stumbled over the smallest and most
comical specimen of a donkey he had ever seen. The man who owned him,
and who had brought in a load of vegetables on the donkey's back,
offered to sell him very cheap. The temptation was great, and our animal
artist bought him at once for five _scudi_, alias dollars; but with the
understanding that the countryman would deliver him at his studio at
once. In twenty minutes' time, the donkey was climbing up a long flight
of stairs to Caper's studio, as seriously as if he were crossing the
_pons asinorum_. Once in his studio, Caper soon made arrangements to
have the donkey kept in a stable near by, when he was not sketching him.
This matter finished, Rocjean helped Caper pen him up in a corner of the
studio, where he could begin sketching him as soon as he had finished
portraying the billy-goat. The patriarch had made several attempts to
rush at the vetturo-dog; but the string held him fast to the table.
Rocjean mentioned to Ca