you have not been at home. But as soon as I knew that you
were at home or were coming home, I wrote to you at once; I
also specially charged Castel (Fugger) to convey my service
to you. Therefore I most humbly beg you to forgive me, for I
have no other friend on earth but you; but I do not believe
you are angry with me, for I hold you as no other than a
father.

How I wish you were here at Venice, there are so many good
fellows among the Italians who seek my company more and more
every day--which is very gratifying to me--men of sense, and
scholarly, good lute-players, and pipers, connoisseurs in
painting, men of much noble sentiment and honest virtue, and
they show me much honour and friendship. On the other hand,
there are also amongst them the most faithless, lying,
thievish rascals; such as I scarcely believed could exist on
earth; and yet if one did not know them, one would think
that they were the nicest men on earth. I cannot help
laughing to myself when they talk to me: they know that
their villainy is well known, but that does not bother them.

I have many good friends among the Italians who warn me not
to eat and drink with their painters, for many of them are
my enemies and copy my work in the churches and wherever
they can find it; afterwards they criticize it and claim
that it is not done in the antique style and say it is no
good, but Giambellin (Giovanni Bellini) has praised me
highly to many gentlemen. He would willingly have something
of mine, and came himself to me and asked me to do something
for him, and said that he would pay well for it, and