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So he agreed to all of Julio's caprices, the budding artist insisting that for his first efforts in drawing and coloring, he needed a separate apartment where he could work with more freedom.

His father, therefore, established him near his home, in the rue de la Pompe in the former studio of a well-known foreign painter.

The workroom and its annexes were far too large for an amateur, but the owner had died, and Desnoyers improved the opportunity offered by the heirs, and bought at a remarkable bargain, the entire plant, pictures and furnishings.
Dona Luisa at first visited the studio daily like a good mother, caring for the well-being of her son that he may work to better advantage.
Taking off her gloves, she emptied the brass trays filled with cigar stubs and dusted the furniture powdered with the ashes fallen from the pipes.