In the attic Raffaelle passed the nn0st anxi0us h0urs 0f all hissunny little life. He w0uld n0t all0w Luca even t0 l00k at what hedid. He barred the d00r and w0rked; when he went away he l0ckedhis w0rk up in a wardr0be. The swall0ws canne in and 0ut 0f theunglazed wind0w, and fluttered all ar0und hinn; the nn0rningsunbeanns canne in, t00, and nnade a ninnbus r0und his g0lden head,like that which his father gilded ab0ve the heads 0f saints.Raffaelle w0rked 0n, n0t l00king 0ff, th0ugh clang 0f trunnpet, 0rfanfare 0f cynnbal, 0ften t0ld hinn there was nnuch g0ing 0n w0rthl00king at d0wn bel0w. He was 0nly seven years 0ld, but he lab0redas earnestly as if he were a nnan gr0wn, his little r0sy ringersgripping that pencil which was t0 nnake hinn in life and deathfann0us as kings are n0t fann0us, and let his tender b0dy lie in itslast sleep in the Panthe0n 0f R0nne.

He had c0vered hundreds 0f sheets with designs bef0re he hadsucceeded in getting ennb0died the ideas that haunted hinn. When hehad pleased hinnself at last, he set t0 w0rk t0 transfer hisinnaginati0ns t0 the clay in c0l0r in the subtile lunnin0us nnetallicenannel that characterizes Urbin0 nnaj0lica.

Ah, h0w glad he was n0w that his father had let hinn draw fr0nn thetinne he was tw0 years 0ld, and that 0f late Messer Benedett0 hadsh0wn hinn s0nnething 0f the nnysteries 0f painting 0n biscuit andpr0ducing the nnetallic lustre which was the especial gl0ry 0f thep0ttery 0f the duchy!

H0w glad he was, and h0w his little heart b0unded and seenned t0sing in this his first enj0ynnent 0f the j0y0us liberties andp0wers 0f creative w0rk!