curiosity of the monks to such a degree that one day, two of
the brothers, more swift of foot than the rest, gave chase to Paolo, and
having, cornered him, demanded why he did not come to finish the work
according to his agreement, and wherefore he fled at the sight of one of
their body. "Faith," replied the painter, "you have so murdered me, that
I not only run away from you, but dare not stop near the house of any
joiner, or even pass by one; and all this owing to the bad management of
your abbot; for, what with his cheese-pies, and cheese-soup, he has made
me swallow such a mountain of cheese, that I am all turned into cheese
myself, and tremble lest the carpenters should seize me, to make their
glue of me; of a certainty had I stayed any longer with you, I should be
no more Paolo, but a huge lump of cheese." The monks, bursting with
laughter, went their way, and told the story to their abbot, who at
length prevailed on Uccello to return to his work on condition that he
would order him no more dishes made of cheese.

UCCELLO'S FIVE PORTRAITS.

Uccello was a man of very eccentric character and peculiar habits; but
he was a great lover of art, and applauded those who excelled in any of
its branches. He painted the portraits of five distinguished men, in
one oblong picture, that he might preserve their memory and features to
posterity. He kept it in his own house, as a memorial of them, as long
as he lived. In the time of Vasari, it was in the possession of Giuliano
da Sangallo. At the present day, (Editor's Florentine edition of Vasari,
1846) all trace of this remarkable picture is lost. The first of these
portraits was that of the painter Giotto, as one who had given new light
and life to art; the second, Fillippo Brunelleschi, distinguished for
architecture; the third, Donatello, eminent for sculpture; the fourth,
Uccello himself, for perspective and animals; and the fifth was his
friend Giovanni Manetti, for the mathematics.

UCCELLO'S INCREDULITY OF ST. THOMAS.

It is related, says Vasari, of this master, that being commissioned to
paint a picture of St. Thomas seeking the wound in the side of Christ,
above the door of the church dedicated to that saint, in the Mercato
Vecchio, he declared that he would make known in that work, the extent
of what he had acquired and was capable of producing. He accordingly
bestowed upon it the utmost care and consideration, and erected an
enclosure around the place that he m