easant to have some
pretty companions in the work now to begin.

Adjoining the studio was a smaller apartment, separated from the former
room by a corridor, that could be closed, and by a heavy curtain. Here a
table, at which the five girls might easily have found room, was placed
in a favorable light for Ulrich. He was to draw from plastic models,
and there was no lack of these in the Alcazar, for here rose a high,
three-story wing, to which when wearied by the intrigues of statecraft
and the restraints of court etiquette, King Philip gladly retired,
yielding himself to the only genial impulse of his gloomy soul, and
enjoyed the noble forms of art.

In the round hall on the lower floor countless plans, sketches, drawings
and works of art were kept in walnut chests of excellent workmanship.
Above this beautifully ornamented apartment--was the library, and in the
third story the large hall containing the masterpieces of Titian.

The restless statesman, Philip, was no less eager to collect and obtain
new and beautiful works by the great Venetian, than to defend and
increase his own power and that of the Church. But these treasures were
kept jealously guarded, accessible to no human being except himself and
his artists.

Philip was all and all to himself; caring nothing for others, he did
not deem it necessary, that they should share his pleasures. If anything
outside the Church occupied a place in his regard, it was the artist,
and therefore he did not grudge him what he denied to others.

Not only in the upper story, but in the lower ones also antique and
modern busts and statues were arranged in appropriate places, and Moor
was at liberty to choose from among them, for the king permitted him to
do what was granted to no one else.

He often summoned him to the Titian Hall, and still more frequently
rang the bell and entered the connecting corridor, accessible to himself
alone, which led from the rooms devoted to art and science to the
treasury and studio, where he spent hours with Moor. Ulrich eagerly
devoted himself to the work, and his master watched his labor like an
attentive, strict, and faithful teacher; meantime he carefully guarded
against overtaxing the boy, allowed him to accompany him on many a ride,
and advised him to look about the city. At first the lad liked to
stroll through the streets and watch the long, brilliant processions,
or timidly shrink back when closely-muffled men, their figures wholly