knew
nought but that he had thy good word, oh, Fiammina; and that was enough
for me. Dear youth, in serving thee I serve myself."

Then ensued an eager description, by the two women, of what had been
done, and what should be done, to penetrate the thick wall of fees,
commissions, and chicanery, which stood between the patrons of art and
an unknown artist in the Eternal City.

Teresa smiled sadly at Gerard's simplicity in leaving specimens of his
skill at the doors of the great.

"What!" said she, "without promising the servants a share--without even
feeing them, to let the signors see thy merchandise! As well have flung
it into Tiber."

"Well-a-day!" sighed Gerard. "Then how is an artist to find a patron?
for artists are poor, not rich."

"By going to some city nobler and not so greedy as this," said Teresa.
"La corte Romana non vuol' pecora senza lana."

She fell into thought, and said she would come again to-morrow.

The landlady felicitated Gerard. "Teresa has got something in her head,"
said she.

Teresa was scarce gone when Pietro returned with his picture, looking
black as thunder. Gerard exchanged a glance with the landlady, and
followed him upstairs to console him.

"What, have they let thee bring home thy masterpiece?"

"As heretofore."

"More fools they, then."

"That is not the worse."

"Why, what is the matter?"

"They have bought the cards," yelled Pietro, and hammered the air
furiously right and left.

"All the better," said Gerard cheerfully.

"They flew at me for them. They were enraptured with them. They tried
to conceal their longing for them, but could not. I saw, I feigned, I
pillaged; curse the boobies."

And he flung down a dozen small silver coins on the floor and jumped
on them, and danced on them with basilisk eyes, and then kicked them
assiduously, and sent them spinning and flying, and running all abroad.
Down went Gerard on his knees, and followed the maltreated innocents
directly, and transferred them tenderly to his purse.

"Shouldst rather smile at their ignorance, and put it to profit," said
he.

"And so I will," said Pietro, with concentrated indignation. "The
brutes! We will paint a pack a day; we will set the whole city gambling
and ruining itself, while we live like princes on its vices and
stupidity. There was one of the queens, though, I had fain have kept
back. 'Twas you limned her, brother. She had lovely red-brown hair and
sapphire eyes, and above all,