And no doubt Maestro Bernardino--or "Bino," for short,
as he is called in the instrument when once at the beginning he has been
named formally at full length--practiced all the more ordinary business
of his trade. But there must have been carpenters _and_ carpenters, as
to the present day there are painters _and_ painters, the same word
indicating the calling of a Landseer and of a house-painter. This simple
modesty of designation was a characteristic of the epoch. We find
sculptors whose works are to the present day admired and studied as
masterpieces styling themselves simply "stone-cutters." The contract is
a long document, consisting of twenty-one clauses, the greater number of
which are occupied with the most minute and detailed specification of
the work to be done. It is to be executed "according to the model made
by the said Bino, changing it or keeping it as it is according to the
will of the fathers" (the monks of St. Peter's), "so as not to change
the form and substance of the model." The prices agreed to be paid for
each stall in the choir, with its arch above it, is ten golden ducats,
which, allowing for the change in the value of the precious metals, may
be considered to be about equal to three hundred and seventy-five
dollars at the present day. The price does not seem by any means a small
one. But Signor Rossi's researches have elsewhere shown that it is a
mistake to suppose that the renowned professors of any branch of art
were poorly paid in those days.
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