Marzio entered the inner studio when Gianbattista
was gone, leaving a boy who was learning to cut little
files — the preliminary to the chiseller's profession — in
charge of the outer workshop. The artist shut himself
in and bolted the door, glad to be alone with the pros-
pect of not being disturbed during the whole afternoon.
He seemed not to hesitate about the work he intended
to do, for he immediately took in hand the Crucifix,
laid it upon the table, and began to study it, using a
lens from time to time as he scrutinised each detail.
His rough hair fell forward over his forehead, and his
shoulders rounded themselves till he looked almost
deformed.
He had suffered very strong emotions during the
last twenty-four hours — enough to have destroyed the
steadiness of an ordinary man's hand ; but with Marzio
manual skill was the first habit of nature, and it would



182 MAKZIO'S CRUCIFIX CHAP, vm

have been hard to find a mental impression which
could shake his physical nerves. His mind, however,
worked rapidly and almost fiercely, while his eyes
searched the minute lines of the work he was ex-
amining.
Uppermost in his thoughts was a confused sense of
humiliation and of exasperation against his brother.
