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Julio, upon arriving in Paris, had changed the bent of his aspirations.
He no longer thought of becoming an engineer; he wished to become an artist.

Don Marcelo objected in great consternation, but finally yielded.

Let it be painting! The important thing was to have some regular profession.

The father, while he considered property and wealth as sacred rights, felt that no one should enjoy them who had not worked to acquire them.
Recalling his apprenticeship as a wood carver, he began to hope that the artistic instincts which poverty had extinguished in him were, perhaps, reappearing in his son.

What if this lazy boy, this lively genius, hesitating before taking up his walk in life, should turn out to be a famous painter, after all!.