Sand and Canvas: Narrative of adventures in Egypt with a sojourn among the artists in Rome

by Samuel Bevan

FOOTNOTES:

[40] That artists are sometimes grievously hard up, there can be little doubt. I happened one cold morning, to call upon N——, whose absence from his usual seat at the Lepri had been remarked by many of us. Instead of finding him, as I had anticipated, unusually busy with his chisel, he was engaged in shooting his dinner at the open window of the garret, which commanded an extensive range of leads, tiles and gutters. His sport, which he pursued in solemn silence, was the common sparrow, and his weapon a machine much in use among lawyers’ clerks when the principal has turned his back, known by the name of a puff and dart, from which any one with a good pair of lungs, can expel pin with great force. Having knocked over nearly a dozen birds, N—— walked out of window to collect them, and then plucked and spitted them, enjoying his repast with a thankful relish unknown to those who get a good dinner every day.