164 UP AND DOWN THE BROOKS. 



For the story goes that he, being when a lad 

 compelled by his master, Andrea Tafi, to rise and 

 paint in the night, devised a scheme to terrify Tafi 

 into allowing him to sleep till morning. Buffal- 

 macco obtained a number of beetles, and fastened 

 little tapers to their backs. During the night he 

 lighted the tapers and sent the beetles through a 

 hole into his master's room. 



Tafi awoke, and saw here and there on wall 

 and floor moving specks of fire gleaming in 

 the dark. His superstitious mind was alarmed. 

 Surely these were nothing less than demons. 

 Poor Tafi! He dared not rise to labor, and in 

 the morning the bad boy Buffalmacco duly con- 

 firmed him in his belief that demons had visited 

 the room, averring that those individuals hated 

 painters. 



" For," said this evil-minded youth, " besides 

 that we always make them most hideous, we think 

 of nothing but painting saints, both men and 

 women, on walls and pictures; which is much 

 worse, since we thereby render men better and 

 more devout, to the great despite of the demons; 

 and for all this the devils being angry with us, 

 and having more power by night than by day, 

 they play these tricks with us." 



And so credulous was Tafi that he ceased to 

 rise at night to paint, or to require Buffalmacco to 

 do so. Moreover, the priest was as superstitious 

 as Tafi, and confirmed the notion, and, as every 



