pure old faith. You have seen the flowing beards of the
Mohammedans, especially the Turks, and their short-shaved heads of hair,
and you may have heard of their words of wisdom:

"'Long hair, little brain.'

"And that eloquent sentence:

"'Who has no beard has no authority.'

"They have other sayings, which I can not approve of; for instance:

"'Do not buy a red-haired person, do not sell one, either; if you have
any in the house, drive them away.'

"I say I do not approve of this, for the majority of the English have
red heads, and people who want to buy my pictures I never would drive
out of my house, _mai!_"

'Come,' said Caper, 'Leonardo no longer speaks when there is a question
of buying or selling. Assume the first person.'

'Another excellent reason for artists in Rome to wear beards is, that
where their foreign names can not be pronounced, they are often called
by the size, color, or shape, of this face-drapery. This is particularly
the case in the Cafe Greco, where the waiters, who have to charge for
coffee, etc., when the artist does not happen to have the change about
him, are compelled to give him a name on their books, and in more than
one instance, I know that they are called from their beards, I have a
memorandum of these nicknames: I am called _Barbone_, or Big-bearded;
and you, Caper, are down as _Sbarbato Inglese_, the Shaved Englishman.'

'Hm!' spoke Caper, 'I an't an Englishman, and I don't shave; my beard
has to come yet.'

'What is my name?' asked Uncle Bill.

'_Puga Sempre_, or He Pays Always. A countryman of mine is called _Baffi
Rici_, or Big Moustache; another one, _Barbetta_, Little Beard; another,
_Barbaccia_, Shabby Beard; another, _Barba Nera_, Black Beard; and, of
course, there is a _Barba Rossa_, or Red Beard. Some of the other names
are funny enough, and would by no means please their owners. There is
_Zoppo Francese_, the Lame Frenchman; _Scapiglione_, the Rowdy;
_Pappagallo_, the Parrot; _Milordo_; _Furioso_; and one friend of ours
is known, whenever he forgets to pay two baiocchi for his coffee, as
_San Pietro_!'

'Well,' said Uncle Bill, 'I'll tell you why I thought you artists wore
long beards: that when you were hard up, and couldn't buy brushes, you
might have the material ready to make your own.'

'You're wrong, Uncle,' remarked Caper; 'when we can't buy them, we get
trusted for them--that's our way of having a brush with the enemy.'

'That will do, Jim, that wil