doubt if another can be found who can play upon it as thou dost.'

So Leonardo set out for Milan, and was glad to shake himself free from
the narrow life of the Florentine studio.

Before starting, however, he had written a letter to the Duke setting
down in simple order all the things he could do, and telling of what
use he could be in times of war and in days of peace.

There seemed nothing that he could not do. He could make bridges, blow
up castles, dig canals, invent a new kind of cannon, build warships,
and make underground passages. In days of peace he could design and
build houses, make beautiful statues and paint pictures 'as well as any
man, be he who he may.'

The letter was written in curious writing from right to left like
Hebrew or Arabic. This was how Leonardo always wrote, using his left
hand, so that it could only be read by holding the writing up to a
mirror.

The Duke was half amazed and half amused when the letter reached him.

'Either these are the words of a fool, or of a man of genius,' said the
Duke. And when he had once seen and spoken to Leonardo he saw at once
which of the two he deserved to be called.

Every one at the court was charmed with the artist's beautiful face and
graceful manners. His music alone, as he swept the strings of the
silver lute and sang to it his own songs, would have brought him fame,
but the Duke quickly saw that this was no mere minstrel.

It was soon arranged therefore that Leonardo should take up his abode
at the court of Milan and receive a yearly pension from the Duke.

Sometimes the pension was paid, and sometimes it was forgotten, but
Leonardo never troubled about money matters. Somehow or other he must
have all that he wanted, and everything must be fair and dainty. His
clothes were always rich and costly, but never bright-coloured or
gaudy. There was no plume or jewelled brooch in his black velvet
beretto or cap, and the only touch of colour was his golden hair, and
the mantle of dark red cloth which he wore in the fashion of the
Florentines, thrown across his shoulder. Above all, he must always have
horses in his stables, for he loved them more than human beings.

Many were the plans and projects which the Duke entrusted to Leonardo's
care, but of all that he did, two great works stand out as greater than
all the rest. One was the painting of the Last Supper on the walls of
the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and the other the making of
a