,little ,journeys ,to the ,homes of the 
,great1 ,volume #d 7of #ad7  ,little    
,journeys ,to ,the ,homes ,of ,eminent  
,painters  ,elbert ,hubbard  ,memorial  
,edition  ,printed and made into a ,book
 by ,the ,roycrofters1 who are in ,east 
,aurora1 ,erie ,county1 ,new ,york  ,new
 ,york  #aiaf     ,,contents            
,,michelangelo                     #c   
,,rembrandt                       #ci   
,,rubens                          #gi   
,,meissonier                     #aag   
,,titian                         #ade   
,,anthony ,,van ,,dyck                  
#aga     ,,fortuny                      
#aii     ,,ary ,,scheffer               
#bbc     ,,francois ,,millet            
#beg     ,,joshua ,,reynolds            
#bhe     ,,landseer                     
#cji     ,,gustave ,,dore               
#cbg     ,,michelangelo      ,how can   
that be1 lady1 which all men learn      
,by long experience8 ,shapes that seem  
alive1     ,wrought in hard mountain    
marble1 will survive     ,their maker1  

whom the years to dust return6     ,thus
 to effect1 cause yields4 ,art hath her 
turn1     ,and triumphs over ,nature4   
,i1 who strive with sculpture1     ,know
 this well3 her wonders live     ,in    
spite of time and death1 those tyrants  
stern4     ,so ,i can give long life to 
both of us     ,in either way1 by color 
or by stone1     ,making the semblance  
of thy face and mine4     ,centuries    
hence when both are buried1     ,thus   
thy beauty and my sadness shall be      
shown1     ,and men shall say1 ,for her 
'twas wise to pine4                     
--,sonnets of ,michelangelo             
,illustration3 ,,michelangelo   ,call me
 by my pet name1 wrote ,elizabeth       
,barrett ,browning1 in one of those     
incomparable sonnets of which the       
,portuguese never heard4 ,and the task  
yet remains for some psychologist to    
tell us why1 when we wish to bestow the 
highest honor1 coupled with familiar    
affection1 we call the individual by a  
given name4  ,young men and maidens will

 understand my allusion2 and ,i hope    
this book will not suffer the dire fate 
of falling into the hands of any one who
 has forgotten the days of his youth4   
,in addressing the one we truly revere1 
we drop all prefix and titles4 ,soldiers
 marching under the banner of a beloved 
leader ever have for him a name of their
 own4 ,what honor and trust were once   
compressed into the diminutive1 ,little 
,corporal or ,kipling's ,bobs2 or1 to   
come down to something even more        
familiar to us1 say1 ,old ,abe and      
,little ,phil6  ,the earth is a vast    
graveyard where untold millions of men  
lie buried1 but out of the myriads who  
pass into forgetfulness every decade1   
the race holds a few names embalmed in  
undying amber4  ,lovers of art1 the     
round world over1 carry in their minds  
one character1 so harmoniously developed
 on every side of his nature that we say
 twenty centuries have never produced   
his equal4 ,we call him ,leonardo--the  
one ideal man4 ,leonardo da ,vinci was  

painter1 poet1 sculptor1 architect1     
mathematician1 politician1 musician1 man
 of science1 and courtier4 ,his         
disposition was so joyous1 his manner so
 captivating1 his form and countenance  
so beautiful1 that wherever he went all 
things were his4 ,and he was so well    
ballasted with brains1 and so acute in  
judgment1 that flattery spoiled him not4
 ,his untiring industry and transcendent
 talent brought him large sums of money1
 and he spent them like a king4 ,so     
potent was his personality that wherever
 he made his home there naturally grew  
up around him a ,court of ,learning1 and
 his pupils and followers were counted  
by the score4 ,to the last of his long  
life he carried with him the bright1    
expectant animation of youth2 and to all
 who knew him he was ,leonardo--the only
 ,leonardo4  ,but great as was          
,leonardo1 we call the time in which he 
lived1 the age of ,michelangelo4  ,when 
,leonardo was forty1 and at the very    
height of his power1 ,michel ,agnola    

,buonarroti1 aged twenty1 liberated from
 the block a marble ,cupid that was so  
exquisite in its proportions that it    
passed for an antique1 and men who      
looked upon it exclaimed1 ,phidias6     
,michel ,agnola became ,michelangelo1   
that is to say1 ,michel the ,angel1 in a
 day4 ,the name thrown at him by an     
unknown admirer stuck1 and in his later 
years when all the world called him     
,angelo he cast off the name his parents
 had given him and accepted the         
affectionate pet name that clung like   
the love of woman4  ,michelangelo was   
born in a shabby little village but a   
few miles from ,florence4 ,in another   
village near by was born ,leonardo4     
,great men never come singly1 says      
,emerson4 ,and yet ,angelo and ,leonardo
 exercised no influence upon each other 
that we can trace4 ,the younger man     
never came under the spell of the older 
one1 but moved straight on to his       
destiny1 showing not the slightest arc  
in his orbit in deference to the great  

luminary of his time4  ,the handsome    
,leonardo was social3 he loved women1   
and music1 and festivals1 and gorgeous  
attire1 and magnificent equipage4 ,his  
life was full of color and sweeping1    
joyous1 rainbow tints4  ,michelangelo   
was homely in feature1 and the aspect of
 his countenance was mutilated by a     
crashing blow from a rival student's    
mallet that flattened his nose to his   
face4 ,torrigiano lives in history for  
this act alone1 thus proving that there 
are more ways than one to gain          
immortality4  ,angelo was proud1        
self-centered1 independent1 and he      
sometimes lashed the critics into a     
buzzing1 bluebottle fury by his         
sarcastic speech4 ,he affronted polite  
society1 conformed to no one's dictates1
 lived like an ascetic and worked like a
 packmule1 says a contemporary4         
,vasari1 who among his many other       
accomplishments seems to have been the  
,boswell of his time1 compares ,leonardo
 and ,michelangelo4 ,he says1 ,angelo   

can do everything that ,leonardo can1   
although he does it differently4        
,further1 he adds1 ,angelo is painter1  
sculptor1 engineer1 architect and poet4 
,but1 adds this versatile ,italian      
,samuel ,pepys1 somewhat sorrowfully1 he
 is not a gentleman4  ,it is to be      
regretted that ,signor ,vasari did not  
follow up his remarks with his          
definition of the term gentleman4       
,leonardo was more of a painter than a  
sculptor4 ,his pictures are full of     
rollicking mirth1 and the smile on the  
faces of his women is handed down by    
imitation even to this day4 ,the joyous 
freedom of animal life beckons from     
every ,leonardo canvas2 and the         
backgrounds fade off into fleecy clouds 
and shadowy1 dreamy1 opiate odor of     
violets4  ,michelangelo1 however1 is    
true to his own life as ,leonardo was to
 his--for at the last the artist only   
reproduces himself4 ,he never painted a 
laugh1 for life to him was serious and  
full of sober purpose4 ,we can not call 

his work somber--it does not            
depress--for it carries with it a poise 
and a strength that is sufficient unto  
itself4 ,it is all heroic1 and there is 
in it a subtle quality that exorcises   
fear and bids care begone4  ,no man ever
 portrayed the human figure with the    
same fidelity that ,angelo has4 ,the    
naked ,adam1 when the finger of the     
,almighty touched him into life1 gives  
one a thrill of health to look upon1    
even after these four hundred years have
 struggled to obliterate the lines4     
,his figures of women shocked the       
artistic sense of his time1 for instead 
of the ,greek idealization of beauty he 
carved the swelling muscles and revealed
 the articulations of form as no artist 
before him had ever dared4 ,his women   
are never young1 foolish1 timid         
girls--they are ,amazons2 and his men   
are the kind that lead nations out of   
captivity4 ,the soft1 the pretty1 the   
yielding1 were far from him4 ,there is  
never a suggestion of taint or double   

meaning2 all is frank1 open1 generous1  
honest and fearless4 ,his figures are   
nude1 but never naked4  ,he began his   
artistic work when fourteen years old1  
and he lived to be eighty-nine2 and his 
years did not outlast his zeal and zest4
 ,he was above the medium size1 an      
athlete in his lean and sinewy strength1
 and the whipcord quality of his body   
mirrored the silken strength of his     
will4  ,in his old age the ,king arose  
when ,michelangelo entered the          
,council-,chamber1 and would not sit    
until he was seated at the right hand of
 the throne2 the ,pope would not allow  
him to kneel before him2 when he walked 
through the streets of ,rome the people 
removed their hats as he passed2 and    
today we who gaze upon his work in the  
,eternal ,city stand uncovered4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,michelangelo was the firstborn in a    
large family4 ,simone ,buonarroti1 his  
father1 belonged to an ebbtide branch of
 the nobility that had lost everything  

but the memory of great ancestors turned
 to dust4 ,this father had ambitions for
 his boy2 ambitions in the line of the  
army or a snug office under the wing of 
the ,state1 where he might1 by following
 closely the beck and nod of the prince 
in power1 become a magistrate or a      
keeper of customs4  ,but no boy ever    
disappointed a proud father more4  ,when
 great men in gilt and gold braid1 with 
scarlet sashes across their breasts1 and
 dangling swords that clicked and       
clanged on the stone pavement1 strode   
by1 rusty1 dusty little ,michel refused 
to take off his cap and wish them ,long 
life and ,god's favor1 as his father    
ordered4 ,instead1 he hid behind his    
mother's gown and made faces4 ,his      
father used to say he was about as      
homely as he could be without making    
faces1 and if he didn't watch out he    
would get his face crooked some day and 
couldn't get it back4  ,simone          
,buonarroti had qualities very          
,micawber-like mixed in his clay1 and   

the way he cringed and crawled may have 
had something to do with setting the son
 on the other tack4  ,the mother was    
only nineteen when ,michel was born1 and
 although the moralists talk much about 
woman's vanity and extravagance1 the    
theory gets no backing from this        
quarter4 ,she was a plain woman in      
appearance1 quiet and self-contained1   
with no nerves to speak of1 a sturdy1   
physical endowment1 and commonsense     
enough for two4 ,when scarcely out of   
dresses the boy began to draw pictures4 
,he drew with charcoal on the walls1 or 
with a stick in the sand1 and shaped    
curious things out of mud in the        
gutters4  ,it was an age of creative    
art1 and most of the work being in the  
churches the common people had their    
part in it4 ,in fact1 the common people 
were the artists4 ,and when ,simone     
,buonarroti found his twelve-year-old   
boy haunting the churches to watch the  
workmen1 and also discovered that he was
 consorting with the youths who studied 

drawing in the atelier of ,ghirlandajo1 
he was displeased4  ,painters1 to this  
erstwhile nobleman1 were simply men in  
blue blouses who worked for low wages on
 high scaffolds1 and occasionally       
spattered color on the good clothes of  
ladies and gentlemen who were beneath4  
,he didn't really hate painters1 he     
simply waived them2 and to his mind     
there was no difference between an      
artisan and an artist4  ,the mother1    
however1 took a secret pride in her     
boy's drawings1 as mothers always do in 
a son's accomplishments4 ,doubtless she 
knew something of the art of decoration1
 too1 for she had brothers who worked as
 day laborers on high scaffolds4 ,yet   
she didn't say much about it1 for women 
then didn't have so much to say about   
anything as now4  ,but ,i can imagine   
that this good woman1 as she went daily 
to church to pray1 the year before her  
first child was born1 watched the work  
of the men on the scaffolds1 and        
observed that day by day the pictures   

grew2 and as she looked1 the sun        
streamed through stained windows and    
revealed to her the miracles of form and
 color1 and the impressions of ,the     
,annunciation1 ,mary's ,visit to        
,elizabeth and ,the ,babe in the ,manger
 filled her wondering soul with thoughts
 and feelings too great for speech4 ,to 
his mother was ,michelangelo indebted   
for his leaning toward art4 ,his father 
opposed such a plebeian bent vigorously3
  ,bah6 to love beautiful things is all 
right1 but to wish to devote all of     
one's time to making them1 just for     
others--ouch6 it hurts me to think of   
it6  ,the mother was lenient and said1  
,but if our child can not be anything   
more than a painter--why1 we must be    
content1 and ,god willing1 let us hope  
he will be a good one4  ,ghirlandajo's  
was practically a school where1 for a   
consideration1 boys were taught the     
secrets of fresco4 ,the master always   
had contracts of his own on hand and by 
using 'prentice talent made both ends   

meet4 ,young ,michel made it his        
lounging-place and when he strayed from 
home his mother always knew where to    
find him4  ,the master looked upon him  
as a possible pupil1 and instead of     
ordering him away1 smiled indulgently   
and gave him tasks of mixing colors and 
making simple lines4 ,and the boy showed
 such zest and comprehension that in a  
short time he could draw freehand with a
 confidence that set the brightest      
scholar in the background4 ,such a      
pupil1 so alert1 so willing1 so anxious1
 is the joy of a teacher's heart4       
,ghirlandajo must have him--he would    
inspire the whole school6  ,so the      
master went to the father1 but the      
father demurred1 and his scruples were  
only overcome when ,ghirlandajo offered 
to reverse the rule1 and pay the father 
the sum that parents usually paid the   
master4 ,a cash payment down caused     
pater to capitulate1 and the boy went to
 work--aged fourteen4  ,the terms of his
 apprenticeship called for three years1 

but after he had been at work a year1   
the ability of the youth made such an   
impression on the master that he took   
him to ,lorenzo1 ,lorenzo the           
,magnificent1 who then ruled over       
,florence4  ,lorenzo had him draw a few 
sketches1 and he was admitted to the    
,academy4 ,this ,academy was situated in
 the palace of ,lorenzo1 and in the     
gardens was a rich collection of antique
 marbles3 busts1 columns1 and valuable  
fragments that had come down from the   
days when ,pericles did for ,athens what
 ,lorenzo was then doing for ,florence4 
,the march of commerce has overrun the  
garden1 but in the ,uffizi ,gallery are 
to be seen today most of the curios that
 ,lorenzo collected4  ,by introducing   
the lad to ,lorenzo1 ,ghirlandajo lost  
his best helper1 but so unselfish was   
this excellent master that he seemed    
quite willing to forego his own profit  
that the boy might have the best        
possible advantages4 ,and ,i never think
 of ,ghirlandajo without mentally       

lifting my hat4  ,at the ,academy1      
,michelangelo ceased to paint and draw1 
and devoted all his energies to modeling
 in clay4 ,so intent was his application
 that in a few weeks he had mastered    
technicalities that took others years to
 comprehend4  ,one day the father came  
and found the boy in a blouse at work   
with mallet and chisel on a block of    
marble4 ,and is it a stone-mason you    
want to make of my heir and firstborn8  
asked the fond father4  ,it was         
explained that there were stone-masons  
and stone-masons4 ,a stone-mason of     
transcendent skill is a sculptor1 just  
as a painter who can produce a beautiful
 picture is an artist4  ,simone         
,buonarroti acknowledged he had never   
looked at it just in that way1 but still
 he would not allow his son to remain at
 the trade unless--unless he himself had
 an office under the government4        
,lorenzo gave him the desired office1   
and took the young stone-mason as one of
 the ,medici family1 and there the boy  

lived in the ,palace1 and ,lorenzo acted
 toward him as though he were his son4  
,the favor with which he was treated    
excited the envy of some of the other   
pupils1 and thus it was that in sudden  
wrath ,torrigiano struck him that       
murderous blow with the mallet4         
,torrigiano paid for his fierce temper1 
not only by expulsion from the ,academy1
 but by banishment from ,florence4      
,michelangelo was the brightest of the  
hundred young men who worked and studied
 at the ,medici palace4  ,but when this 
head scholar was eighteen ,lorenzo died4
 ,the son of ,lorenzo continued his     
father's work in a feeble way1 for      
,piero de ,medici was a good example of 
the fact that great men seldom reproduce
 themselves after the flesh4 ,piero had 
about as much comprehension of the      
beautiful as the elder ,buonarroti4 ,he 
thought that all these young men who    
were being educated at the ,academy     
would eventually be valuable adjuncts to
 the ,state1 and as such it was a good  

scheme to give each a trade--besides1 it
 kept them off the street2 and then the 
work was amusing1 a diversion to the    
nobility when time hung heavy4  ,once   
there came a heavy snowstorm1 and snow  
being an unusual thing in ,florence1    
,piero called a lot of his friends      
together in the gardens1 and summoning  
,michelangelo1 ordered him to make a    
snow image for the amusement of the     
guests1 just as ,piero at other times   
had a dog jump through a hoop4  ,what   
shall it be8 asked ,michelangelo4  ,oh1 
anything you please1 replied ,piero2    
only don't keep us waiting here in the  
cold all day6  ,young ,angelo cast one  
proud look of contempt toward the group 
and set to work making a statue4 ,in ten
 minutes he had formed a satyr that bore
 such a close resemblance to ,piero that
 the guests roared with laughter4 ,that 
will do1 called ,piero2 like ,deity1 you
 make things in your own image4 ,some of
 the company tossed silver coin at the  
young man1 but he let the money lie     

where it fell4  ,michel at this time was
 applying himself to the study of       
anatomy1 and giving his attention to    
literature under the tutorship of the   
famous poet and scholar1 ,poliziano1 who
 resided at the court4  ,so filled was  
the young man's mind with his work that 
he was blind to the discontent arising  
in the ,state4 ,to the young1           
governments and institutions are        
imperishable4 ,piero by his selfish     
whims had been digging the grave of the 
,medici4 ,from sovereignty they were    
flung into exile4 ,the palace was       
sacked1 the beautiful gardens destroyed1
 and ,michelangelo1 being regarded as   
one of the family1 was obliged to flee  
for his life4 ,he arrived in ,bologna   
penniless and friendless1 and applied to
 a sculptor for work4 ,what can you do8 
the old sculptor asked4 ,for answer1    
,michelangelo silently took a crayon and
 sketched a human hand on the wall4     
,marvelous were the lines6 ,the master  
put his arms around the boy and kissed  

his cheek4  ,this new-found friend took 
him into his house1 and placed him at   
his own table4 ,michelangelo was led    
into the library and workrooms1 and told
 that all was his to use as he liked4   
,the two years he remained at ,bologna  
were a great benefit to the young man4  
,the close contact with cultured minds1 
and the encouragement he received1      
spurred his spirit to increased         
endeavor4 ,it was here that he began    
that exquisite statue of a ,cupid that  
passed for an antique1 and found its way
 into the cabinet of the ,duchess of    
,mantua4  ,before long the discovery was
 made that the work was done by a young 
man only a little past twenty1 and      
,cardinal ,san ,giorgio sent a message  
inviting him to ,rome4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,rome had
 long been the ,mecca of the boy's      
ambitions1 and he joyously accepted the 
invitation4 ,at ,rome he was lodged in  
the ,vatican1 and surrounded by that    
world of the beautiful1 he went         

seriously about his life's work4 ,the   
,church must have the credit for being  
the mother of modern art4 ,not only did 
she furnish the incentive1 but she      
supplied the means4 ,she gave security  
from the eternal grind of material wants
 and offered men undying fame as reward 
for noble effort4  ,the letter of       
religion was nothing to ,michelangelo1  
but the eternal spirit of truth that    
broods over and beyond all forms and    
ceremonies touched his soul4 ,his heart 
was filled with the poetry of pagan     
times4 ,the gods of ancient ,greece on  
high ,olympus for him still sang and    
feasted1 still lived and loved4  ,but to
 the art of the ,church he devoted his  
time and talents4 ,he considered himself
 a priest and servant to the cause of   
,christ4  ,established at ,rome in the  
palace of the ,pope1 ,michelangelo felt 
secure4 ,he knew his power4 ,he knew he 
could do work that would for generations
 move men to tears1 and in his prophetic
 soul was a feeling that his name would 

be inseparably linked with ,rome4 ,his  
wanderings and buffetings were things of
 the past--he was necessary to the      
,church1 and his position was now secure
 and safe4 ,the favor of princes lasts  
but for a day1 but the ,church is       
eternal4 ,the ,church should be his     
bride2 to her and to her alone would he 
give his passionate soul4 ,thus mused   
,michelangelo1 aged twenty-two4 ,his    
first work at ,rome was a statue of     
,bacchus1 done it seems for an exercise 
to give ,cardinal ,giorgio a taste of   
his quality1 just as he had drawn the   
human hand on the wall for his ,bologna 
protector2 for this fine and lofty pride
 in his power was a thing that clung to 
,michelangelo from rosy youth to hoary  
age4  ,the ,bacchus1 which is now in the
 ,national ,museum at ,florence1 added  
to his reputation2 and the little world 
of art1 whose orbit was the ,vatican1   
anxiously awaited a more serious        
attempt1 just as we crane our necks when
 the great violinist about to play      

awakens expectation by a few preliminary
 flourishes4  ,his first great work at  
,rome was the ,pieta4 ,we see it today  
in ,saint ,peter's at the first chapel  
to the right as we enter1 in a long row 
of commonplace marbles1 in all its      
splendid beauty and strength4 ,it       
represents the ,mother of ,christ1      
supporting in her arms the dead body    
just after it was lowered from the      
cross4 ,in most of ,michelangelo's work 
there is a heroic quality in the figures
 and a muscular strength that in a      
degree detracts from the spirit of      
sympathy that might otherwise come over 
us4 ,it is admiration that seizes us1   
not sympathy4 ,but this early work is   
the flower of ,michelangelo's genius1   
round and full and complete4 ,the later 
work may be different1 but it is not    
better4  ,when this group was unveiled  
in ,fourteen ,hundred ,ninety-eight it  
was the sensation of the year4 ,old and 
young1 rich and poor1 learned and       
unlearned1 flocked to see it1 and the   

impression it made was most profound4   
,if the ,catholic ,church has figured on
 the influence of statuary and painting 
on the superstitious1 as has been       
tauntingly said1 she has reckoned well4 
,the story of steadfast love and loyalty
 is masterly told in that first great   
work of ,michelangelo4 ,the artist      
himself often mingled with the crowds   
that surrounded his speaking marble1 and
 the people who knelt before it assured 
him by their reverence that his hand had
 wrought well4 ,and once he heard two   
able doctors disputing as to who the    
artist was4 ,they were lavish in their  
praise1 and one insisted that the work  
was done by the great sculptor at       
,bologna1 and he named the master who   
had befriended ,michelangelo4 ,the      
artist stood by and heard the argument  
put forth that no mere youth could      
conceive such a work1 much less execute 
it4  ,that night he stole into the      
church and by the wan light of a lantern
 carved his name deep on the girdle of  

the ,virgin1 and there do we read it    
today4 ,the pride of the artist1        
however1 afterward took another turn1   
for he never thereafter placed his name 
on a piece4 ,my work is unlike any      
other--no lover of the beautiful can    
mistake it1 he proudly said4  ,he worked
 away with untiring industry and the    
,church paid him well4 ,but many of his 
pieces have been carried from ,rome1 and
 as they were not signed and scores of  
imitations sprang up1 it can not always 
be determined now what is his work and  
what not4 ,he toiled alone1 and allowed 
no 'prentice hand to use the chisel1 and
 unlike the sculptors of our day1 did   
not work from a clay model1 but fell    
upon the block direct4 ,i caught sight  
of ,michelangelo at work1 but could not 
approach for the shower of chips1 writes
 a visitor at ,rome in the year ,fifteen
 ,hundred ,one4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,perfect peace is 
what ,michelangelo expected to find in  
the palace of the ,pope4 ,later he came 

to know that life is unrest1 and its    
passage at best a zigzag course1 that   
only straightens to a direct line when  
viewed across the years4 ,if a man does 
better work than his fellows he must pay
 the penalty4 ,personality is an        
offense4  ,in ,rome there was a small   
army of painters and sculptors1 each    
eager and anxious for the sole favor of 
the powers4 ,they quibbled1 quarreled1  
bribed1 cajoled1 and even fair women    
used their influence with cardinals and 
bishops in favor of this artist or that4
  ,michelangelo was never a favorite in 
society2 simpering beauty peeked at him 
from behind feather fans and made jokes 
concerning his appearance4 ,yet ,walter 
,pater thought he found evidence that at
 this time ,michelangelo was beloved by 
a woman1 and that the artist reproduced 
her face and form1 and indirectly       
pictured her in poems4 ,in feature she  
was as plain as he2 but her mind matched
 his1 and was of a cast too high and    
excellent to allow him to swerve from   

his high ideals4 ,yet the love ended    
unhappily1 and in some mysterious way   
gave a tinge of melancholy and a secret 
spring of sorrow to the whole long life 
of the artist4  ,jealous competitors    
made their influence felt4 ,michelangelo
 found his work relegated to corners and
 his supplies cut short4  ,at this time 
an invitation came from ,florence for   
him to come and make use of a gigantic  
block of marble that had lain there at  
the city gate1 blackening in the dirt1  
for a century4  ,the ,florence that had 
banished him1 now begged him to come    
back4  ,those who once leave ,florence  
always sigh to return1 says ,dante4 ,he 
returned1 and at once began work on the 
,david4 ,the result was the heroic      
statue that stood for three hundred     
years at the entrance to the ,palazzo   
,vecchio1 only a hundred feet from where
 ,savonarola was hanged and burned4 ,the
 ,david is now in the ,belle d' ,arte1  
and if the custodian will allow you to  
climb up on a ladder you will see that  

the top of the head shows the rough     
unfinished slab1 just as it was taken   
from the quarry4 ,any one but a master  
would have finished the work4  ,this    
magnificent statue took nearly two years
 to complete4 ,as a study of growing    
youth1 boldly recognizing all that is   
awkward and immature1 it has never      
ceased to cause wordy warfare to reign  
in the camp of the critics4 ,the feet1  
hands and head are all too large1 the   
,athenians say4 ,but linger around the  
old swimmin'-hole any summer day1 and   
you will see tough1 bony1 muscular boys 
that might have served as a model for   
the ,david4  ,the heads of statues made 
by the ,greeks are small in proportion  
to the body4 ,the ,gladiator wears a    
,number ,six hat1 and the ,discobolus   
one size smaller2 yet the figures       
represent men weighing one hundred      
eighty pounds each4 ,the ,greeks aimed  
to satisfy the eye1 and as the man is   
usually seen clothed1 they reduced the  
size of the head when they showed the   

nude figure4  ,but ,michelangelo was    
true to ,nature1 and the severest       
criticism ever brought against him is   
that he is absolutely loyal to truth4   
,he was the first man ever to paint or  
model the slim1 slender form of a child 
that has left its round baby shape      
behind and is shooting up like a        
lily-stalk4 ,a nude1 hardy boy six years
 old reveals ankle-bones1 kneecap1 sharp
 hips1 ribs1 collar-bone and            
shoulder-blade with startling fidelity4 
,and why1 being ,nature's work1 it is   
any less lovely than a condition of     
soft1 cushioned adipose1 we must let the
 critics tell1 but ,michelangelo thought
 it wasn't4  ,from ,fourteen ,hundred   
,ninety-six1 when ,michelangelo first   
arrived in ,rome1 to ,fifteen ,hundred  
,four1 he worked at nothing but         
sculpture4 ,but now a change came over  
his restless spirit1 for an invitation  
had come from the ,gonfaloniere of      
,florence to decorate one of the rooms  
of the ,town ,hall1 in competition with 

,leonardo da ,vinci--the only ,leonardo4
  ,he painted that strong composition   
showing ,florentine soldiers bathing in 
the ,arno4 ,the scene depicts the       
surprise of the warriors as a trumpet   
sounds1 calling them to battle with the 
enemy that is near at hand4 ,the subject
 was chosen because it gave opportunity 
for exploiting the artist's marvelous   
knowledge of anatomy4 ,thirty figures   
are shown in various attitudes4 ,nearly 
all are nude1 and as they scramble up   
the bank1 buckling on their armor as    
they rush forward1 eager for the fight1 
we see the wild1 splendid swell of      
muscle and warm1 tense1 pulsing flesh4  
,as an example of ,michelangelo's       
consummate knowledge of form it was     
believed to be his finest work4  ,but it
 did not last long2 the jealous         
,bandinelli made a strong bid for fame  
by destroying it4 ,and thus do          
,bandinelli and ,torrigiano go          
clattering down the corridors of time   
hand in hand4 ,yet we know what the     

picture was1 for various men who saw it 
recorded their impressions2 but although
 many of the younger artists of ,italy  
flocked to ,florence to see it1 and many
 copied it1 only one copy has come down 
to us--the one in the collection of the 
,earl of ,leicester1 at ,holkham4  ,so  
even beautiful ,florence could not treat
 her gifted son with impartiality1 and  
when a call came from ,pope ,julius the 
,second1 who had been elected in        
,fifteen ,hundred ,three1 to return to  
,rome1 the summons was promptly obeyed4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,julius was one of the most active and  
vigorous rulers the earth has known4 ,he
 had positive ideas on many subjects and
 like ,napoleon could do the thinking   
for a world4  ,the first work he laid   
out for ,michelangelo was a tomb1 three 
stories high1 with walls eighteen feet  
thick at the base1 surrounded with      
numerous bas-reliefs and thirty heroic  
statues4 ,it was to be a monument on the
 order of those worked out by the great 

,rameses1 only incorporating the talent 
of ,greece with that of ancient and     
modern ,rome4  ,michelangelo spent      
nearly a year at the ,carrara quarries1 
getting out materials and making plans  
for forwarding the scheme4 ,but         
gradually it came over him that the     
question of economy1 which was deeply   
rooted in the mind of ,julius1 forbade  
the completion of such a gigantic and   
costly work4 ,had ,julius given         
,michelangelo carte-blanche orders on   
the treasury1 and not meddled with the  
plans1 this surpassing piece of         
architecture might have found form4 ,but
 the fiery ,julius1 aged seventy-four1  
was influenced by the architect         
,bramante to demand from ,michelangelo a
 bill of expense and definite           
explanation as to details4  ,very       
shortly after1 ,michelangelo quit work  
and sent a note to the ,pope to the     
effect that the tomb was in the mountain
 of ,carrara1 with many beautiful       
statues1 and if he wanted them he had   

better look for some one to get them    
out4 ,as for himself1 his address was   
,florence4  ,the ,pope sent couriers    
after him1 one after another until five 
had been dispatched1 but neither        
pleading1 bribes nor threats could      
induce him to return4  ,as the scientist
 constructs the extinct animal from a   
thigh-bone1 so we can guess the grandeur
 of what the tomb might have been from  
the single sample that has come down to 
us4 ,the one piece of work that was     
completed for this tomb is the statue of
 ,moses4 ,if the reputation of          
,michelangelo rested upon nothing else  
than this statue1 it would be sufficient
 for undying fame4 ,the ,moses probably 
is better known than any other piece of 
,michelangelo's work4 ,copies of it     
exist in all important galleries2 there 
are casts of it in fifty different      
museums in ,america1 and pictures of it 
are numberless4 ,there it stands in the 
otherwise obscure church of ,saint      
,pietro in ,vincolo today1 one hand     

grasping the flowing beard1 and the     
other sustaining the tables of the      
law--majesty1 strength1 wisdom beaming  
in every line4 ,as ,mr4 ,symonds has    
said1 ,it reveals the power of ,pope    
,julius and ,michelangelo fused into a  
,jove4  ,and so the messengers and      
messages were in vain1 and even when the
 ,pope sent an order to the             
,gonfaloniere ,soderini1 the actual     
ruler of ,florence1 to return the artist
 on pain of displeasure1 the matter     
still rested--,michelangelo said he was 
neither culprit nor slave1 and would    
live where he wished4  ,at length the   
matter got so serious that it threatened
 the political peace of ,florence1 and  
in the goodly company of cardinals1     
bishops and chief citizens1             
,michelangelo was induced to go to      
,bologna and make peace with the ,pope4 
,his first task now was a bronze statue 
of ,julius1 made1 it is stated1 as a    
partial reproduction of the ,moses4     
,descriptions of it declare it was even 

finer than the ,moses1 but alas6 it only
 endured four years1 for a mob evolved  
it into a cannon to shoot stones1 and at
 the same time ousted ,julius from      
,bologna4  ,michelangelo very naturally 
seconded the anathematization of the    
,bolognese by ,julius1 not so much for  
the insult to the ,pope as for the      
wretched lack of taste they had shown in
 destroying a work of art4 ,had they    
left the beautiful statue there on its  
pedestal1 ,bologna would now on that    
account alone be a place of pilgrimage4 
,the cannon they made is lost and       
forgotten--buried deep in the sand by   
its own weight--for ,mein ,herr ,krupp  
can make cannon2 but1 woe betide us6 who
 can make a statue such as ,michelangelo
 made8  ,michelangelo now followed the  
,pope to ,rome and began a work that    
none other dare attempt1 but which today
 excites the jealous admiration of every
 artist soul who views it--the ceiling  
of the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,ghirlandajo1  
,perugino1 ,botticelli and ,luca        

,signorelli had worked on the walls with
 good effect1 but to lie on one's back  
and paint overhead so as to bring out a 
masterly effect when viewed from seventy
 feet below was something they dare not 
attempt4 ,michelangelo put up his       
scaffolds1 drew designs1 and employed   
the best fresco artists in ,italy to    
fill in the color4 ,but as they used    
their brushes he saw that the designs   
became enfeebled under their            
attempts--they did not grasp the        
conception--and in wrath he discharged  
them all4 ,he then obliterated all they 
had done1 and shutting out the ceiling  
from every one but himself1 worked      
alone4 ,often for days he would not     
leave the building1 for fear some one   
would meddle with the work4 ,he drew up 
food by a string and slept on the       
scaffold without changing his clothes4  
,after a year of intense application1 no
 one but the artist had viewed the work4
 ,the ,pope now demanded that he should 
be allowed to see it4 ,a part of the    

scaffolding was struck1 and the delight 
of the old ,pope was unbounded4 ,this   
was in ,fifteen ,hundred ,nine1 but the 
completed work was not shown to the     
public until ,all ,souls' ,day1 ,fifteen
 ,hundred ,twelve4  ,the guides at the  
,vatican tell us this ceiling was       
painted in twenty-two months1 but the   
letters of ,michelangelo1 recently      
published1 show that he worked on it    
over four years4  ,it contains over     
three hundred figures1 all larger than  
life1 and some are fifteen feet long4 ,a
 complete description of the work       
,michelangelo did in this private chapel
 of the ,pope would require a book1 and 
in fact several books have been written 
with this ceiling as a subject4 ,the    
technical obstacles to overcome in      
painting scenes and figures on an       
overhead surface can only be appreciated
 by those who have tried it4 ,we can    
better appreciate the difficulties when 
we think that1 in order even to view the
 decorations with satisfaction1 large   

mirrors must be used1 or one must lie   
prone on his back4 ,in the ability to   
foreshorten and give harmonious         
perspective--supplying the effect of    
motion1 distance1 upright movement1     
coming toward you or moving away--all   
was worked out in this historic chapel  
in a way that has excited the wondering 
admiration of artists for three hundred 
years4  ,when the scaffolding was at    
last removed1 the artist thought for a  
time he had done his last work4 ,the    
unnatural positions he had been obliged 
to take had so strained the muscles of  
his neck that on the street he had often
 to look straight up at the sky to rest 
himself1 and things on a straight line  
in front he could not distinguish4      
,eyes1 muscles1 hands1 refused to act   
normally4  ,my life is there on the     
ceiling of the ,chapel of ,sixtus1 he   
said4  ,he was then thirty-nine years   
old4  ,fifty eventful years of life and 
work were yet before him4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,when    

,pope ,julius died1 in ,fifteen ,hundred
 ,thirteen1 ,leo the ,tenth1 a son of   
,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 was called to
 take his place4 ,we might suppose that 
,leo would have remembered with pride   
the fact that it was his father who gave
 ,michelangelo his first start in life1 
and have treated the great artist in the
 way ,lorenzo would1 were he then alive4
 ,but the retiring1 abstemious habits of
 ,michelangelo did not appeal to ,leo4  
,the handsome and gracious ,raphael was 
his favorite1 and at the expense of     
,michelangelo1 ,raphael was petted1     
feted and advanced4 ,hence arose that   
envious rivalry between these two great 
men1 which reveals each in a light far  
from pleasant--just as if ,rome were not
 big enough for both4 ,the pontificate  
of ,leo the ,tenth lasted just ten      
years4 ,on account of the lack of       
encouragement ,michelangelo received1 it
 seems the most fruitless season of his 
whole life4  ,clement the ,seventh1     
another member of the ,medici family1   

succeeded ,leo4 ,clement was too        
sensible of ,michelangelo's merit to    
allow him to rust out his powers in     
petty tasks4 ,he conceived the idea of  
erecting a chapel to be attached to the 
church of ,san ,lorenzo1 at ,florence1  
to be the final resting-place of the    
great members of the ,medici family4    
,michelangelo planned and built the     
chapel and for it wrought six great     
pieces of art4 ,these are the statues of
 ,lorenzo de ,medici1 father of         
,catherine de ,medici 7who was such a   
large1 black blot on the page of        
history72 a statue of ,giuliano de      
,medici 7whose name lives now           
principally because ,michelangelo made  
this statue72 and the four colossal     
reclining figures known as ,night1      
,morning1 ,dawn and ,twilight4 ,this    
chapel is now open to the public1 and no
 visitor at ,florence should miss seeing
 it4  ,the statue of ,lorenzo must ever 
rank as one of the world's masterpieces4
 ,the ,italians call it ,il ,pensiero4  

,the sullen strength of the attitude    
gives one a vague ominous impulse to get
 away4 ,some one has said that it       
fulfils ,milton's conception of ,satan  
brooding over his plans for the ruin of 
mankind4  ,in ,fifteen ,hundred         
,twenty-seven1 while ,michelangelo was  
working on the chapel1 ,florence was    
attacked and sacked by the ,constable de
 ,bourbon4 ,the ,medici family was again
 expelled1 and from the leisurely       
decoration of a church in honor of the  
gentle ,christ1 the artist was called   
upon to build barricades to protect his 
native city4 ,his ingenuity as an       
engineer was as consummate as his       
exquisite idea of harmony1 and for nine 
months the city was defended4  ,through 
treachery the enemy was then allowed to 
enter and ,michelangelo fled4 ,riots and
 wars seem as natural as thunderstorms  
to the ,latin people2 but after a year  
the clouds rolled by1 ,michelangelo was 
pardoned1 and went back to his work of  
beautifying the chapel of ,san ,lorenzo4

  ,in ,fifteen ,hundred ,thirty-four1   
,pope ,clement was succeeded by ,paul   
the ,third4 ,paul was seventy years old1
 but the vigor of his mind was very much
 like that of the great ,julius4 ,his   
first desire was to complete the        
decoration of the ,sistine ,chapel1 so  
that the entire interior should match   
the magnificence of the ceiling1 and to 
the task he summoned ,michelangelo4     
,the great artist hesitated4 ,the       
ceiling was his supreme work as a       
painter1 and he knew down deep in his   
heart that he could not hope to surpass 
it1 and the risk of not equaling it was 
too great for him to run4 ,the matter   
was too delicately personal to          
explain--only an artist could           
understand4  ,michelangelo made excuses 
to the ,pope and declared he had        
forgotten how to use a brush1 that his  
eyesight was bad1 and that the only     
thing he could do was to carve4  ,but   
,paul was not to be turned aside1 and   
reluctantly ,michelangelo went back to  

the ,sistine1 that he had left over     
twenty years before4  ,then it was that 
he painted ,the ,last ,judgment on the  
wall of the upper end of the chapel4    
,hamerton calls this the grandest       
picture ever executed1 at the same time 
acknowledging its faults in taste4 ,but 
it must be explained that the design was
 the conception of ,julius1 endorsed by 
,pope ,paul1 and it surely mirrors the  
spiritual qualities 7or lack of them7 in
 these men better than any biography    
possibly could4  ,the merciful ,redeemer
 is shown as a muscular athlete1 full of
 anger and the spirit of revenge--proud1
 haughty1 fierce4 ,the condemned are    
ranged before him--a confused mass of   
naked figures1 suspended in all         
attitudes of agony and terrible         
foreboding4 ,the saved are ranged on one
 side1 and do not seem to be of much    
better intellectual and spiritual       
quality than the damned2 very naturally 
they are quite pleased to think that it 
is the others who are damned1 and not   

they4 ,the entire conception reveals    
that masterly ability to portray the    
human figure in every attitude of fear  
or passion4 ,a hundred years after the  
picture was painted1 some dignitary took
 it into his head that portions of the  
work were too daring2 and a painter was 
set at work robing the figures4 ,his    
fussy attempts are quite apparent4      
,michelangelo's next work was to        
decorate the ,paolina ,chapel4 ,as in   
his last work on the ,sistine1 he was   
constantly interrupted and advised and  
criticized4 ,as he worked1 cardinals1   
bishops and young artists watched and   
suggested1 but still the ,conversion of 
,saint ,paul and the ,crucifixion of    
,saint ,peter1 in the ,paolina1 must    
ever rank as masterly art4  ,the        
frescoes in the ,paolina ,chapel        
occupied seven years and ended the great
 artist's career as a painter4 ,he was  
seventy-three years old4  ,pope ,paul   
then made him ,chief ,architect of      
,saint ,peter's4 ,michelangelo knew the 

difficulties to be encountered--the     
bickerings1 jealousies and criticisms   
that were inseparable from the work--and
 was only moved to accept the place on  
,pope ,paul's declaration that no one   
else could do as well1 and that it was  
the will of ,god4 ,michelangelo looked  
upon the performance as a duty and      
accepted the task1 refusing to take any 
recompense for his services4 ,he        
continued to discharge the duties of the
 office under the direction of ,popes   
,paul1 ,pius the ,fourth and ,pius the  
,fifth4 ,in all he worked under the     
pontificates of seven different popes4  
,the dome of ,saint ,peter's1 soaring to
 the skies1 is his finest monument4 ,the
 self-sustaining1 airy quality in this  
stupendous structure hushes the beholder
 into silence2 and yet that same quality
 of poise1 strength and sufficiency     
marks all of the work of this colossus1 
whether it be painting1 architecture or 
sculpture4 ,america has paid tribute to 
,michelangelo's genius by reproducing   

the dome of ,saint ,peter's over the    
,capitol at ,washington4  ,michelangelo 
died at ,rome1 aged eighty-nine1 working
 and planning to the last4 ,his sturdy  
frame showed health in every part1 and  
he ceased to breathe just as a clock    
runs down4 ,his remains were secretly   
taken to ,florence and buried in the    
church of ,santa ,croce4 ,a fine bust   
marks the spot1 but the visitor can not 
help feeling a regret that the dust of  
this marvelous man does not rest beneath
 the zenith of the dome of ,saint       
,peter's at ,rome4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,sitting calmly in
 this quiet corner1 and with closed     
eyes1 viewing ,michelangelo's life as a 
whole1 the impression is one of heroic  
strength1 battling with fierce passions1
 and becoming victor over them by       
working them up into art4 ,the mold of  
the man was masculine1 and the subdued  
sorrow that flavors his whole career    
never degenerates into sickly           
sentimentality or repining4  ,the       

sonnets of ,michelangelo1 recently given
 to the world1 were written when he was 
nearly seventy years old4 ,several of   
the sonnets are directly addressed to   
,vittoria ,colonna1 and no doubt she    
inspired the whole volume4 ,a writer of 
the time has mentioned his accidentally 
finding ,michelangelo and ,vittoria     
,colonna seated side by side in the dim 
twilight of a deserted church1 talking  
soft and low4 ,deserted churches have   
ever been favorite trysting-places for  
lovers2 and one is glad for this little 
glimpse of quiet and peace in the       
tossing1 troubled life-journey of this  
tireless man4 ,in fact1 the few years of
 warm friendship with ,vittoria ,colonna
 is a charmed and temperate space1      
without which the struggle and unrest   
would be so ceaseless as to be          
appalling4 ,sweet1 gentle and helpful   
was their mutual friendship4 ,at this   
period of ,michelangelo's life we know  
that the vehemence of his emotions      
subsided1 and tranquility and peace were

 his for the rest of his life1 such as  
he had never known before4  ,the woman  
who stepped out of high society and won 
the love of this stern yet gentle old   
man must have been of a mental and      
spiritual quality to command our highest
 praise4 ,the world loves ,vittoria     
,colonna because she loved              
,michelangelo1 and led him away from    
strife and rivalry and toil4            
,,rembrandt       ,the eyes and the     
mouth are the supremely significant     
features of      the human face4 ,in    
,rembrandt's portraits the eye is the   
center      wherein life1 in its        
infinity of aspect1 is most manifest4   
,not      only was his fidelity         
absolute1 but there is a certain        
mysterious      limpidity of gaze that  
reveals the soul of the sitter4 ,a      
,rembrandt does not give up its beauties
 to the casual      observer--it takes  
time to know it1 but once known1 it is  
yours      forever4      --,emile       
,michel  ,illustration3 ,,rembrandt     

,swimming uneasily in my ink-bottle is a
 small preachment concerning names1 and 
the way they have been evolved1 and     
lost1 or added to4 ,some day ,i will    
fish this effusion out and give it to a 
waiting world4 ,those of us whose       
ancestors landed at ,plymouth or        
,jamestown are very proud of our family 
names1 and even if we trace quite easily
 to ,castle ,garden we do not always    
discard the patronymic4  ,harmen        
,gerritsz was a young man who lived in  
the city of ,leyden1 ,holland1 in the   
latter part of the ,sixteenth ,century4 
,the letters sz at the end of his name  
stood for szoon and signified that he   
was the szoon of ,mynheer ,gerrit4  ,now
 ,harmen ,gerritsz duly served an       
apprenticeship with a miller1 and when  
his time expired1 being of an ambitious 
nature1 he rented a mill on the city    
wall1 and started business for himself4 
,shortly after he very naturally married
 the daughter of a baker4  ,all of ,mr4 
,harmen ,gerritsz's customers called him

 ,harmen1 and when they wished to be    
exact they spoke of him as ,harmen van  
,ryn--that is to say1 ,harmen of the    
,rhine1 for his mill was near the river4
 ,out ,west1 even now1 if you call a man
 ,mister1 he will probably inquire what 
it is you have against him4  ,mr4 and   
,mrs4 ,harmen lived in the mill1 and as 
years went by were blessed with a nice  
little family of six children4 ,the     
fifth child is the only one that        
especially interests us4 ,they named him
 ,rembrandt4  ,rembrandt ,harmenszoon   
van ,ryn1 he called himself when he     
entered at the grammar-school at        
,leyden1 aged fourteen4 ,his father's   
first name being ,harmen1 he simply took
 that1 and discarded the ,gerrit        
entirely1 according to the custom of the
 time4 ,in fact1 all our ,johnsons are  
the sons of ,john1 and the names        
,peterson1 ,thompson and ,wilson1 in    
feudal times1 had their due and proper  
significance4 ,then when we find names  
with a final ending of s1 such as       

,robbins1 ,larkins and ,perkins1 we are 
to understand that the owner is the son 
of his father4 ,and so we find          
,rembrandt ,harmenszoon in his later    
years writing his name ,harmensz and    
then simply ,harmens4  ,mynheer ,harmen 
,gerritszoon's windmill ground exceeding
 small1 and the product found a ready   
market4 ,there were no servants in the  
miller's family--everybody worked at the
 business4 ,in ,holland people are      
industrious4 ,the leisurely ways of the 
,dutch can1 ,i think1 safely be ascribed
 to their environment1 and here is an   
argument ,buckle might have inserted in 
his great book1 but did not1 and so ,i  
will write it down4  ,there are         
windmills in ,holland 7,i trust the fact
 need not longer be concealed7 and these
 windmills are used for every possible  
mechanical purpose4 ,now the wind blows 
only a part of the time--except in      
,chicago--and there may be whole days   
when not a windmill turns in all        
,holland4 ,the men go out in the morning

 and take due note of the wind1 and if  
there is an absolute calm many of them  
go back to bed4 ,i have known the wind  
to die down during the day and the whole
 force of a windmill troop off to a     
picnic1 as a matter of course4 ,so the  
elements in ,holland set man the        
example--he will not rush himself to    
death when not even the wind does4      
,then another thing3 ,holland has many  
canals4 ,farmers load their hay on      
canal-boats and take it to the barn1    
women go to market in boats1 lovers     
sail1 seemingly1 right across the       
fields--canals everywhere4  ,traveling  
by canal is not rapid transit4 ,so the  
people of ,holland have plenty of       
precedent for moving at a moderate      
speed4 ,there are no mountains in       
,holland1 so water never runs2 it may   
move1 but the law of gravitation there  
only acts to keep things quiet4 ,the    
,dutch never run footraces--neither do  
they scorch4  ,in ,amsterdam ,i have    
seen a man sit still for an hour1 and   

this with a glass of beer before him1   
gazing off into space1 not once winking1
 not even thinking4 ,you can not do that
 in ,america1 where trolley-cars whiz   
and blizzards blow--there is no         
precedent for it in things animate or   
inanimate4 ,in the ,united ,states      
everything is on the jump1 art included4
  ,rembrandt ,harmens worked in his     
father's mill1 but never strained his   
back4 ,he was healthy1 needlessly       
healthy1 and was as smart as his        
brothers and sisters1 but no smarter1   
and no better looking4 ,he was          
exceedingly self-contained1 and would   
sit and dream at his desk in the        
grammar-school1 looking out straight in 
front of him--just at nothing4  ,the    
master tried flogging1 and the next day 
found a picture of himself on the       
blackboard1 his face portrayed as       
anything but lovely4 ,young ,rembrandt  
was sent home to fetch his father4 ,the 
father came4  ,look at that6 said the   
irate teacher2 see what your son did2   

look at that6  ,mynheer ,harmen sat down
 and looked at the picture in his       
deliberate ,dutch way1 and after about  
fifteen minutes said1 ,well1 it does    
look like you6  ,then he explained to   
the schoolmaster that the lad was sent  
to school because he would not do much  
around the mill but draw pictures in the
 dust1 and it was hoped that the        
schoolmaster could teach him something4 
,the schoolmaster decided that it was a 
hopeless case1 and the miller went home 
to report to the boy's mother4  ,now1   
whenever a ,dutchman is confronted by a 
problem too big to solve1 or a task too 
unpleasant for him to undertake1 he     
shows his good sense by turning it over 
to his wife4 ,you are his mother1       
anyway1 said ,harmen van ,ryn1          
reproachfully4  ,the mother simply      
waived the taunt and asked1 ,do you tell
 me the schoolmaster says he will not do
 anything but draw pictures8  ,not a tap
 will he do but make pictures--he can   
not multiply two by one4  ,well1 said   

the mother1 if he will not do anything  
but draw pictures1 ,i think we'd better 
let him draw pictures4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,at that 
early age ,i do not think ,rembrandt was
 ambitious to be a painter4 ,good       
healthy boys of fourteen are not        
hampered and harassed by                
ambition--ambition1 like love1 camps hot
 upon our trail later4 ,ambition is the 
concomitant of rivalry1 and sex is its  
chief promoter--it is a secondary sex   
manifestation4  ,the boy simply had a   
little intuitive skill in drawing1 and  
the exercise of the talent was a        
gratification4 ,it pleased him to see   
the semblance of face or form unfold    
before him4 ,it was a kind of play1 a   
working off of surplus energy4  ,had the
 lad's mind at that time been forcibly  
diverted to books or business1 it is    
very probable that today the catalogs   
would be without the name of ,rembrandt4
  ,but mothers have ambitions1 even if  
boys have not--they wish to see their   

children do things that other women's   
children can not do4 ,among wild animals
 the mother kills1 when she can1 all    
offspring but her own4 ,darwin refers to
 mother-love as1 that instinct in the   
mind of the female which causes her to  
exaggerate the importance of her        
offspring--often protecting them to the 
death4 ,through this instinct of        
protection is the species preserved4 ,in
 human beings mother-love is well       
flavored with pride1 prejudice1 jealousy
 and ambition4 ,this is because the     
mother is a woman4 ,and this is         
well--,god made it all1 and did ,he not 
look upon ,his work and pronounce it    
good8  ,the mother of ,rembrandt knew   
that in ,leyden there were men who      
painted beautiful pictures4 ,she had    
seen these pictures at the ,university1 
and in the ,town ,hall and in the       
churches2 and she had overheard men     
discussing and criticizing the work4    
,she herself was poor and uneducated1   
her husband was only a miller1 with no  

recreation beyond the beer-garden and a 
clicking reluctantly off to church in   
his wooden shoes on ,sunday4 ,they had  
no influential friends1 no learned      
patrons--the men at the ,university     
never so much as nodded to millers4 ,her
 lot was lowly1 mean1 obscure1 and      
filled with drudgery and pettiness4 ,and
 now some one was saying her boy        
,rembrandt was lazy2 he would neither   
work nor study4 ,the taunt stung her    
mother-pride--,he will do nothing but   
make pictures6  ,ah6 a great throb came 
to her heart4 ,her face flushed1 she saw
 it all--all in prophetic vision stood  
out like an etching on the blankness of 
the future4 ,he will do nothing but draw
 pictures8 ,very well then1 he shall    
draw pictures6 ,he will draw so well    
that they shall adorn the churches of   
,leyden1 and the ,town ,hall1 and yes6  
even the churches of ,amsterdam4        
,holland shall be proud of my boy6 ,he  
will teach other men to draw1 his       
pictures will command fabulous prices1  

and his name shall be honored           
everywhere6 ,yes1 my boy shall draw     
pictures6 ,this day will ,i take him to 
,mynheer ,jacob van ,swanenburch1 who   
was a pupil of the great ,rubens1 and   
who has scholars even from ,antwerpen4  
,i will take him to the ,master1 and ,i 
will say3 ',mynheer1 ,i am only a poor  
woman1 the daughter of an honest baker4 
,my husband is a miller4 ,this is my    
son4 ,he will do nothing but draw       
pictures4 ,here is a bag of gold--not   
much1 but it is all good gold2 there are
 no bad coins in this bag2 ,i've been   
ten years in saving them4 ,take this    
bag--it is yours--now teach my son to   
paint4 ,teach him as you taught         
,valderschoon and those others--my      
memory is bad1 ,i can not remember the  
names--,i'm only a poor woman4 ,show my 
boy how to paint4 ,and when ,i am dead1 
and you are dead1 men will come to your 
grave and say1 ,it is here that he      
rests1 here--the man who first taught   
,rembrandt ,harmenszoon to use a brush6 

,do you hear1 ,mynheer ,van             
,swanenburch8 ,the gold--it is          
yours--and this is my boy6'         99  
99       99       99       99  ,the ,van
 ,swanenburches were one of the most    
aristocratic families of ,leyden4 ,jacob
 van ,swanenburch's father had been     
burgomaster1 and he himself occupied    
from time to time offices of importance4
 ,he was not a great painter1 although  
several specimens of his work still     
adorn the ,town ,hall of his native     
city4  ,rembrandt was not very anxious  
to attend ,swanenburch's classes4 ,he   
was a hesitating1 awkward youth1 and on 
this account was regarded as unsocial4  
,for a year the boy looked on1 listened1
 and made straight marks and curves and 
all that4 ,he did not read1 and the     
world of art was a thing unknown to him4
  ,there are two kinds of people to be  
found in all studios3 those who talk    
about art1 and the fellows who paint the
 pictures4  ,however1 ,rembrandt was an 
exception1 and for a time would do      

neither4 ,he would not paint1 because he
 said he could not--anyway he would not2
 but no doubt he did a deal of thinking4
 ,this habit of reticence kept him in   
the background1 and even the master had 
suspicions that he was too beefy to hold
 a clear mental conception4  ,the error 
of the ,swanenburch atelier lay in the  
fact that quiet folks are not           
necessarily stupid4 ,it is doubtless    
true1 however1 that stupid men by       
remaining quiet may often pass for men  
of wisdom3 this is because no man can   
really talk as wisely as he can look4   
,young ,rembrandt was handicapped by a  
full-moon face1 and small gray eyes that
 gave no glint1 and his hair was so     
tousled and unruly that he could not    
wear a hat4  ,so the sons of aristocrats
 who cracked sly jokes at the miller's  
boy had their fun4  ,rembrandt usually  
came in late1 after the master had begun
 his little morning lecture4 ,the lad   
was barefoot1 having left his wooden    
shoon in the hallway so as not to wear  

out the floor4 ,he would bow awkwardly  
to the professor1 fall over a chair or  
two that had been slyly pushed in his   
way1 and taking his seat chew the butt  
end of a brush4  ,why are you always    
late8 asked the master one day4  ,oh1 ,i
 was working at home and forgot the     
time4  ,and what are you working at8    
,me8 ,i'm--,i'm drawing a little1 and he
 colored vermilion to the back of his   
neck4  ,well1 bring your work here so we
 can profit by it1 exclaimed a joker1   
and the class guffawed4  ,the next      
morning the lad brought his picture--a  
woman's face--a picture of a face1      
homely1 wrinkled1 weather-beaten1 but   
with a look of love and patience and    
loyalty beaming out of the quiet eyes4  
,who did this8 demanded the teacher4    
,rembrandt hesitated1 stuttered1        
stammered1 and then confessed that he   
did it himself--he could not tell a lie4
  ,he was sure the picture would be     
criticized and ridiculed1 but he had    
decided to face it out4 ,it was a       

picture of his mother1 and he had       
sketched her just as she looked4 ,he    
would let them laugh1 and then at noon  
he would wait outside the door and smash
 the boy who laughed loudest over the   
head with a wooden shoe--and let it go  
at that4  ,but the scholars did not     
laugh1 for ,jacob van ,swanenburch took 
the boy by the hand and leading him out 
before the class told those young men to
 look upon their master4  ,from that    
time forth ,rembrandt was regarded by   
the little art world of ,leyden as a    
prodigy4  ,like ,william ,cullen        
,bryant1 who wrote ,thanatopsis when    
scarcely eighteen1 and writing for sixty
 years thereafter never equaled it1 or  
,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti1 who wrote    
,the ,blessed ,damozel at the same age1 
,rembrandt sprang into life full-armed4 
,it is probably true that he could not  
then have produced an elaborate         
composition1 but his faces were         
,rembrandtesque from the very first4    
,rembrandt is the king of light and     

shade4 ,you never mistake his work4 ,as 
the years passed1 around him clustered a
 goodly company of pupils1 hundreds in  
all1 who diligently worked to catch the 
trick1 but ,rembrandt stands alone4 ,he 
is the only artist who could ever paint 
a wrinkle1 says ,ruskin4 ,all his       
portraits have the warts on4 ,and the   
thought has often come to me that only a
 ,rembrandt--the only ,rembrandt--could 
have portrayed the face of ,lincoln4    
,plain1 homely1 awkward1 eyes not mates1
 sunken cheeks1 leathery skin1 moles1   
uncombed hair1 neckcloth askew2 but over
 and above and beyond all a look of     
power--and the soul6 that look of       
haunting sorrow and the great1 gentle1  
compassionate soul within6  ,and so     
there is a picture of ,rembrandt's      
mother which this son painted that must 
ever stand out as one of the world's    
masterpieces4 ,let who will1 declare    
that the portrait by ,richter in the    
,gallery at ,cologne1 of ,queen ,louise1
 is the handsomest portrait ever        

painted2 yet the depth of feeling1 the  
dignity and love in the homely old      
mother's face1 pale not in comparison1  
but are things to which the proud and   
beautiful ,queen herself paid homage4   
,rembrandt painted nearly a hundred     
pictures of his mother that we can      
trace4 ,in most of them she holds in her
 hands a little ,bible1 and thus did the
 son pay tribute to her devoted piety4  
,she was a model of which he never      
tired4 ,he painted her in court dress1  
and various other fantastic garbs1 that 
she surely never wore4 ,he painted her  
as a nun1 as a queen1 a court beauty1 a 
plain peasant1 a musician2 and in       
various large pictures her face and form
 are introduced4 ,and most of these     
pictures of his mother are plainly      
signed with his monogram4 ,he also      
painted his sister as the ,madonna1 and 
this is signed2 but although he         
doubtless painted his father's face1 yet
 he did not sign such pictures1 so their
 authenticity is a hazard4 ,this fact   

gives a clue to his affections which    
each can work out for himself4          
,rembrandt remained with ,swanenburch   
for three years1 and the master proved  
his faithful friend4 ,he gave him an    
introduction into the aristocratic art  
world which otherwise might have barred 
its doors against so profound a genius1 
as aristocracy has done time and again4 
,the best artists are not necessarily   
the best teachers4 ,if a man has too    
much skill along a certain line he will 
overpower and kill the individuality in 
his pupil4 ,there are teachers who      
smother a pupil with their own          
personality1 and thus it often happens  
that the strongest men are not the most 
useful as instructors4 ,the ideal       
teacher is not the one who bends all    
minds to match his own2 but the one who 
is able to bring out and develop the    
good that is in the pupil--him we will  
crown with laurel4  ,swanenburch was    
pretty nearly the ideal teacher4 ,his   
good nature1 the feminine quality of    

sympathy in his character1 his freedom  
from all petty1 quibbling prejudice1 and
 his sublime patience all worked to     
burst the tough husk1 and develop that  
shy and sensitive1 yet uncouth and      
silent youth1 bringing out the best that
 was in him4 ,a wrong environment in    
those early years might easily have     
shaped ,rembrandt into a morose and     
resentful dullard3 the good in his      
nature1 thrown back upon itself1 would  
have been turned to gall4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,the     
little business on the city wall had    
prospered1 and ,harmen van ,ryn moved1  
with his family1 out of the old mill    
into a goodly residence across the      
street4 ,he was carrying his head       
higher1 and the fact that his son       
,rembrandt was being invited to the     
homes of the professors at the          
,university was incidentally thrown off1
 until the patrons at the beer-garden   
grew aweary and rapped their glasses on 
the table as a signal for silence4      

,swanenburch had given a public         
exhibition of the work of his pupils1 at
 which young ,rembrandt had been pushed 
forward as an example of what right     
methods in pedagogics could do4  ,well1 
why can not all your scholars draw like 
that1 then8 asked a broad-beamed        
,dutchman4  ,they certainly could1 if   
they would follow the principles ,i lay 
down1 answered the master severely4     
,but admiration did not spoil           
,rembrandt4 ,his temperature was too low
 for ebullition--he took it all quite as
 a matter of course4 ,his work was done 
with such ease that he was not aware it 
was extraordinary in quality2 and when  
,swanenburch sold several of his        
sketches at goodly prices and put the   
silver in the lad's hand1 he asked who  
the blockheads were who had invested4   
,swanenburch taught his pupils the      
miracle of spreading a thin coat of wax 
on a brass plate1 and drawing a picture 
in the wax with a sharp graver2 then    
acid was poured over it and the acid ate

 into the brass so as to make a plate   
from which you could print4 ,etching was
 a delight to ,rembrandt4 ,expert       
illustrators of books were in demand at 
,leyden1 for it was then the bookmaking 
center of ,northern ,europe4 ,the       
,elzevirs were pushing the ,plantins of 
,antwerp hard for first place4  ,so     
skilfully did ,rembrandt sketch1 that   
one of the great printers made a        
proposition to his father to take the   
boy until he was twenty-one1 and pay the
 father a thousand florins a year for   
the lad's services as an illustrator4   
,the father accepted the proposition2   
and the next day brought around another 
,harmenszoon1 who he declared was just  
as good4 ,but the bookmaker was stubborn
 and insisted on having a certain one or
 none4 ,so the bargain fell through4    
,it was getting near four years since   
,swanenburch had taken ,rembrandt into  
his keeping1 and now he went to the     
boy's parents and said3 ,i have given   
all ,i have to offer to your son4 ,he   

can do all ,i can1 and more4 ,there is  
only one man who can benefit him and    
that is ,pieter ,lastman1 of ,amsterdam4
 ,he must go and study with the great   
,lastman--,i myself will take him4      
,lastman had spent four years in ,italy1
 and had come back full to overflowing  
with classic ideas4 ,his family was one 
of the most aristocratic in ,amsterdam1 
and whatever he said concerning art was 
quoted as final4 ,he was the court of   
last appeal4 ,his rooms were filled with
 classic fragments1 and on his public   
days visitors flocked to hear what he   
might have to say about the wonders of  
,venice1 ,florence and ,rome4 ,for in   
those days men seldom traveled out of   
their own countries1 and those who did  
had strange tales to tell the eager     
listeners when they returned4  ,lastman 
was handsome1 dashing1 popular4 ,his    
pictures were in demand1 principally    
because they were ,lastman's4 ,proud    
ladies came from afar and begged the    
privilege of sitting as his model4 ,in  

,italy1 ,lastman had found that many    
painters employed 'prentice talent4 ,the
 great man would sketch out the         
pictures1 and the boys would fill in the
 color4 ,lastman would go off about his 
business1 and perhaps drop in           
occasionally during the day to see how  
the boys got on1 adding a few touches   
here and there1 and gently rebuking     
those who showed too much genius4       
,lastman believed in genius1 of course2 
but only his own genius filled his      
ideal4 ,as a consequence all of         
,lastman's pictures are alike--they are 
all equally bad4 ,they represent neither
 the ,italian school nor the ,dutch1    
being hybrids3 ,italian skies and       
,holland backgrounds2 ,dutchmen dressed 
as dagoes4  ,lastman was putting money  
in his purse4 ,he closely studied public
 tastes1 and conformed thereto4 ,he was 
popular1 and there is in ,america today 
a countryman of his1 of like            
temperament1 who is making much moneys  
out of literature by similar methods4   

,into ,lastman's keeping came the young 
man1 ,rembrandt ,harmens4 ,lastman      
received him cordially1 and set him to  
work4  ,but the boy proved hard to      
manage3 he had his own ideas about how  
portraits should be painted4  ,lastman  
tried to unlearn him4 ,the master was   
patient1 and endeavored hard to make the
 young man paint as he should--that is1 
as ,lastman did2 but the result was not 
a success4 ,the ,lastman intellect felt 
sure that ,rembrandt had no talent worth
 encouraging4  ,lastman produced a great
 number of pictures1 and his name can be
 found in the catalogs of the galleries 
of ,amsterdam1 ,munich1 ,berlin and     
,antwerp2 and his canvases are in many  
of the old castles and palaces of       
,germany4 ,in recent years they have    
been enjoying a vogue1 simply because it
 was possible that ,rembrandt had worked
 on them4 ,all the ,lastmans have been  
gotten out and thoroughly dusted by the 
connoisseurs1 in a frantic search for   
earmarks4  ,the perfect willingness of  

,lastman to paint a picture on any      
desired subject1 and have it ready      
,saturday night1 all in the colors the  
patron desired1 with a guarantee that it
 would give satisfaction1 filled the    
heart of ,rembrandt with loathing4  ,at 
the end of six months1 when he signified
 a wish to leave1 it was a glad relief  
to the master4 ,lastman had tried to    
correct ,rembrandt's vagaries as to     
chiaroscuro1 but without success4 ,so he
 wrote an ambiguous letter certifying to
 the pupil's having all his future      
before him1 gave him a present of ten   
florins in jingling silver1 and sent him
 back to his folks4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,rembrandt had    
been disillusioned by his stay in the   
fashionable art-world of ,amsterdam4    
,some of his idols had crumbled1 and    
there came into his spirit a goodly dash
 of pessimism4 ,his father was          
disappointed and suggested that he get a
 place as illustrator at the bookmakers1
 before some one else stepped in and got

 the job4  ,but ,rembrandt was not      
ambitious4 ,he decided he would not give
 up painting1 at least not yet--he would
 keep at it and he would paint as he    
pleased4 ,he had lost faith in teachers4
 ,he moped around the town1 and made the
 acquaintance of the painter            
,engelbrechtsz and his talented pupil1  
,lucas van ,leyden4 ,their work         
impressed him greatly1 and he studied   
out every detail on the canvases until  
he had absorbed the very spirit of the  
artist4 ,then1 when he painted1 he very 
naturally took their designs1 and       
treated them in his own way4 ,indeed1   
the paucity in invention of those early 
days must ever impress the student of   
art4  ,in visiting the galleries of     
,europe1 ,i made it my business to      
secure a photograph of every ,madonna   
and ,babe of note that ,i could find4   
,my collection now numbers over one     
hundred copies1 with no two alike4  ,the
 ,madonna1 of course1 is the extreme    
example2 but there are dozens of ,the   

,last ,supper1 ,abraham's ,sacrifice1   
,the ,final ,judgment1 ,the ,brazen     
,serpent1 ,raising of ,lazarus1 ,the    
,annunciation1 ,rebekah at the ,well and
 so on4  ,if one painter produced a     
notable picture1 all the other artists  
in the vicinity felt it their duty to   
treat the same subject2 in fact1 their  
honor was at stake--they just had to1 in
 order to satisfy the clamor of their   
friends1 and meet the challenges of     
detractors4  ,this progressive sketching
 was kept up1 each man improving1 or    
trying to improve1 on the attempts of   
the former1 until a ,leonardo struck    
twelve and painted his ,last ,supper1 or
 a ,rubens did his ,descent ,from the   
,cross--then competitors grew pale1 and 
tried their talent on a lesser theme4   
,one of the most curious examples of the
 tendency to follow a bellwether is     
found in the various pictures called    
,the ,anatomy ,lesson4 ,when ,venice was
 at its height1 in the year ,fourteen   
,hundred ,ninety-two--a date we can     

easily remember--an unknown individual  
drew a picture of a professor of        
anatomy2 on a table in the center is a  
naked human corpse1 while all around are
 ranged the great doctor's pupils4      
,dissection had just been introduced    
into ,venice at that time1 and in a     
treatise on the subject by ,andrea      
,vesali1 ,i find that it became quite   
the fad4 ,the lecture-rooms were open to
 the public1 and places were set apart  
for women visitors and the nobility1    
while all around the back were benches  
for the plain people4 ,on the walls were
 skeletons1 and in cases were arranged  
saws1 scalpels1 needles1 sponges and    
various other implements connected with 
the cheerful art4  ,the ,unknown's      
picture of this scene made a sensation4 
,and straightway other painters tried   
their hands at it1 the unclothed form of
 the corpse affording a fine opportunity
 for the classic touch4 ,paul ,veronese 
tried it1 and so did the                
,bellinis--,titian also4  ,then a       

century passed1 as centuries do1 and the
 glory of ,venice drifted to            
,amsterdam--commercially and            
artistically4 ,amsterdam painters used  
every design that the ,venetians had1   
and some of their efforts were sorry    
attempts4 ,in ,sixteen ,hundred ,twenty1
 following ,venetian precedent1         
dissection became a fad in ,leyden and  
,amsterdam4 ,swanenburch engraved a     
picture of the ,leyden dissecting-room1 
with a brace of gallant doctors showing 
some fair ladies the beauties of the    
place4 ,the ,dutch were ambitious--the  
young men1 ,rembrandt included1 drew    
pictures entitled1 ,the ,lesson in      
,anatomy4 ,doctors who were getting on  
in the world gave orders for portraits1 
showing themselves as about to begin    
work on a subject4 ,one physician1 with 
intent to get even with his rival1 had  
the artist picture the rival in the     
background as a pupil4 ,then the rival  
ordered a picture of himself1 proud and 
beautiful1 giving a lesson in anatomy1  

armed and equipped for business1 and the
 cadaver was--the other doctor4  ,at the
 ,chicago ,fair1 in ,eighteen ,hundred  
,ninety-three1 there was shown a most   
striking ,anatomy ,lesson from the brush
 of a young ,new ,york artist4 ,it      
pictures the professor removing the     
sheet from the face of the corpse1 and  
we behold the features of a beautiful   
young woman4  ,some day ,i intend to    
write a book entitled1 ,the ,evolution  
and ,possibilities of the ,anatomy      
,lesson4 ,keep your eye on the          
subject--we are not yet through with it4
  ,swanenburch offered to give          
,rembrandt a room in his own house1 but 
he preferred the old mill1 and a        
wheat-bin was fitted up for a private   
studio4 ,the fittings of the studio must
 have cost fully two dollars1 according 
to all accounts2 there were a           
three-legged stool1 an easel1 a wooden  
chest1 and a straw bed in the corner4   
,only one window admitted the light1 and
 this was so high up that the occupant  

was not troubled by visitors looking in4
  ,our best discoveries are the result  
of accident4  ,this single window1 eight
 feet from the ground1 allowed the rays 
of light to enter in a stream4 ,on      
cloudy days and early in the mornings or
 in the evenings1 ,rembrandt noted that 
when the light fell on the face of the  
visitor the rest of the body was wholly 
lost in the shadow4 ,he placed a curtain
 over the window with a varying aperture
 cut in it1 and with his mother as model
 made numerous experiments in the       
effects of light and shade4 ,he seems to
 have been the very first artist who    
could draw a part of the form1 leaving  
all the rest in absolute blackness1 and 
yet give the impression to the casual   
onlooker that he sees the figure        
complete4 ,plain people with no interest
 in the technique of art will look upon 
a ,rembrandt1 and go away and describe  
things in the picture that are not      
there4 ,they will declare to you that   
they saw them--those obvious things     

which one fills in at once with his     
inward eye4 ,for instance1 there is a   
portrait of a soldier1 by ,rembrandt1 in
 the ,louvre1 and above the soldier's   
head you see a tall cockade4 ,you assume
 at once that this cockade is in the    
soldier's hat1 but no hat is shown--not 
the semblance nor the outline of a hat4 
,there is a slight line that might be   
the rim of a hat1 or it might not4 ,but 
not one person out of a thousand1       
looking upon the picture1 but would go  
away and describe the hat1 and be       
affronted if you should tell them there 
is no hat in the picture4 ,given a      
cockade1 we assume a hat4  ,by the use  
of shadows ,rembrandt threw the faces   
into relief2 he showed the things he    
wished to show and emphasized one thing 
by leaving all else out4 ,the success of
 art depends upon what you omit from    
your canvas4 ,this masterly effect of   
illusion made the son of the miller     
stand out in the ,leyden art-world like 
one of his own etchings4  ,curiously    

enough1 the effect of a new model made  
,rembrandt lose his cunning2 with       
strangers he was self-conscious and ill 
at ease4 ,his mother was his most       
patient model2 his father and sisters   
took their turn2 and then there was     
another model who stood ,rembrandt in   
good stead4 ,and that was himself4 ,we  
have all seen children stand before a   
mirror and make faces4 ,rembrandt very  
early contracted this habit1 and it     
evidently clung to him through life4 ,he
 has painted his own portrait with      
expressions of hate1 fear1 pride1 mirth1
 indifference1 hope and wrath shown on  
his plastic features4  ,there is also an
 old man with full white beard and white
 hair that ,rembrandt has pictured again
 and again4  ,this old man poses for    
,lot1 ,abraham1 ,moses1 ,a ,beggar1 ,a  
,king1 and once he even figures as ,the 
,almighty4 ,who he was we do not know1  
and surely he did not realize the honor 
done him1 or he would have written a    
proud word of explanation to be carved  

on his tomb4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,in the ,stuttgart
 ,museum is a picture entitled1 ,saint  
,paul in ,prison1 signed by ,rembrandt1 
with the date ,sixteen ,hundred         
,twenty-seven4 ,the ,money-,changers in 
the ,berlin ,gallery bears the same     
signature and date4 ,rembrandt was then 
twenty years of age1 and we see that he 
was doing good work4 ,we also know that 
there was a certain market for his      
wares4  ,when twenty-two years of age   
his marvelous effects of light and shade
 attracted people who were anxious to   
learn how to do it4 ,according to report
 he had sixteen pupils in ,sixteen      
,hundred ,twenty-eight1 each of whom    
paid him the fixed sum of one hundred   
florins4 ,this was not much1 but it gave
 him an income equal to that of his     
father1 and tended to confirm his faith 
in his own powers4  ,his energy was a   
surprise to all who had known him1 for  
besides teaching his classes he painted1
 sketched and etched4 ,most of his      

etchings were of his own face--not      
intended as portraits1 for they are     
often purposely disguised4 ,it seemed to
 be the intent of the artist to run the 
whole gamut of the passions1 portraying 
them on the human face4 ,six different  
etchings done in the year ,sixteen      
,hundred ,twenty-eight are to be seen in
 the ,british ,museum4  ,his most       
intimate friend at this time was ,jan   
,lievens4 ,the bond that united them was
 a mutual contempt for ,lastman of      
,amsterdam4 ,in fact1 they organized a  
club1 the single qualification required 
of each candidate for admittance being a
 hatred for ,lastman4 ,this club met    
weekly at a beer-hall1 and each member  
had to relate an incident derogatory to 
the ,lastman school4 ,at the close of   
each story1 all solemnly drank eternal  
perdition to ,lastman and his ilk4      
,finally1 ,lastman was invited to join2 
and in reply he wrote a gracious letter 
of acceptance4 ,this surely shows that  
,lastman was pretty good quality1 after 

all4  ,rembrandt was making money4 ,his 
pupils spread his praise1 and so many   
new ones came that he took the old      
quarters of ,swanenburch4  ,in ,sixteen 
,hundred ,thirty-one1 there came to him 
a young man who was to build a deathless
 name for himself--,gerard ,dou4 ,then  
to complete the circle came ,joris van  
,vliet1 whose reputation as an engraver 
must ever take a first rank4 ,van ,vliet
 engraved many of ,rembrandt's pictures1
 and did it so faithfully and with such 
loving care that copies today command   
fabulous prices among the collectors4   
,indeed1 we owe to ,van ,vliet a debt   
for preserving many of ,rembrandt's     
pictures1 the originals of which have   
disappeared4 ,with the help of ,van     
,vliet the ,elzevirs accomplished their 
wishes1 and so made use of the talent of
 ,rembrandt4  ,rembrandt lived among the
 poor1 as a matter of artistic policy1  
mingling with them on an absolute       
equality4 ,he considered their attitudes
 simpler1 more natural1 and their       

conduct less artificial1 than the       
manners of those in higher walks4       
,about ,sixteen ,hundred ,twenty-nine1  
there came into his hands a set of      
,callot's engravings1 and the work      
produced on his mind a profound         
impression4 ,callot's specialty was     
beggardom4 ,he pictured decrepit        
beggars1 young beggars1 handsome        
girl-beggars1 and gallant old beggars   
who wore their fluttering rags with easy
 grace4  ,the man who could give the    
phlegmatic ,rembrandt a list to         
starboard must have carried considerable
 ballast4 ,straightway on making        
,callot's acquaintance he went forth    
with bags of coppers and made the       
acquaintance of beggars4 ,he did not    
have to travel far--the ,greeks were at 
his door4 ,the news spread1 and each    
morning1 the truthful ,orles has told   
us1 there were over four hundred beggars
 blocking the street that led to his    
study1 all willing to enlist in the     
cause of art4 ,for six months ,rembrandt

 painted little beside the ragged       
gentry4 ,but he gradually settled down  
on about ten separate and distinct types
 of abject picturesqueness4  ,ten years 
later1 when he pictured the ,healing    
,christ1 he introduced the ,leyden      
beggars1 and these fixed types that he  
carried hidden in the cells of his brain
 he introduced again and again in       
various pictures4 ,in this respect he   
was like all good illustrators3 he had  
his properties1 and by new combinations 
made new pictures4 ,who has not noticed 
that every painter carries in his kit   
his own distinct types--sealed1         
certified to1 and copyrighted by popular
 favor as his own personal property8    
,can you mistake ,kemble's coons1       
,denslow's dandies1 ,remington's horses1
 ,giannini's ,indians1 or ,gibson's     
,summer ,girl8 ,these men may not be    
,rembrandts1 but when we view the zigzag
 course art has taken1 who dare prophesy
 that this man's name is writ in water  
and that man's carved in the granite of 

a mountain-side6 ,contemporary judgments
 usually have been wrong4 ,did the chief
 citizens of ,leyden in the year        
,sixteen ,hundred ,thirty regard        
,rembrandt's beggars as immortal8 ,not  
exactly6         99       99       99   
99       99  ,in ,sixteen ,hundred      
,thirty-one1 ,rembrandt concluded that  
his reputation in the art-world of      
,holland was sufficient for him to go to
 ,amsterdam and boldly pit himself      
against ,de ,keyser1 ,hals1 ,lastman and
 the rest4 ,he had put forth his ,lesson
 in ,anatomy1 and the critics and       
connoisseurs who had come from the      
metropolis to see it were lavish in     
their praise4 ,later we find him        
painting the subject again with another 
doctor handling the tweezers and        
scalpel4  ,rembrandt started for        
,amsterdam the second time--this time as
 a teacher1 not as a scholar4 ,he rented
 an old warehouse on the canal for a    
studio4 ,it was nearly as outlandish a  
place as his former quarters in the mill

 at ,leyden4 ,but it gave him plenty of 
room1 was secluded1 and afforded good   
opportunity for experiments in light and
 shade4  ,he seemed to have gotten over 
his nervousness in working with strange 
models2 for new faces now begin to      
appear4 ,one of these is that of a      
woman1 and it would have been well for  
his art had he never met her4 ,we see   
her face quite often1 and in the ,diana 
,bathing we behold her altogether4      
,rembrandt shows small trace of the     
classic instinct1 for classic art is    
founded on poetic imagination4          
,rembrandt painted what he saw2 the     
,greeks portrayed that which they felt2 
and when ,rembrandt paints a ,dutch     
wench and calls her ,diana1 he          
unconsciously illustrates the difference
 between the naked and the nude4        
,rembrandt painted this same woman1     
wearing no clothes to speak of1 lolling 
on a couch2 and evidently considering   
the subject a little risky1 thought to  
give it dignity by a ,biblical title3   

,potiphar's ,wife4 ,one good look at    
this picture1 and the precipitate flight
 of ,joseph is fully understood4 ,we    
feel like following his example4        
,rembrandt had simply haunted the       
dissecting-rooms of the ,university at  
,leyden a little too long4  ,the study  
of these viragos scales down our rating 
of the master4 ,still1 ,i suppose every 
artist has to go through this           
period--the period when he thinks he is 
called upon to portray the feminine form
 divine--it is like the mumps and the   
measles4  ,after a year of groping for  
he knew not what1 with money gone1 and  
not much progress made1 ,rembrandt took 
a reef in his pride and settled down to 
paint portraits1 and to do a little good
 honest teaching4  ,scholars came to    
him1 and commissions for portraits began
 to arrive4 ,he renounced the freaks of 
costume1 illumination and attitude1 and 
painted the customer in plain1 simple   
,dutch dress4 ,he let ,diana go1 and    
went soberly to work to make his        

fortune4  ,holland was prosperous4 ,her 
ships sailed every sea1 and brought rich
 treasures home4 ,the prosperous can    
afford to be generous4 ,philanthropy    
became the fad4 ,charity was in the air1
 and hospitals1 orphanages and homes for
 the aged were established4 ,the rich   
merchants felt it an honor to serve on  
the board of managers of these          
institutions4  ,in each of the          
guildhalls were parlors set apart for   
deliberative gatherings2 and it became  
the fashion to embellish these rooms    
with portraits of the managers1 trustees
 and donors4  ,rembrandt's portraits    
were finding their way to the guilds4   
,they attracted much attention1 and     
orders came--orders for more work than  
the artist could do4 ,he doubled his    
prices in the hope of discouraging      
applicants4  ,studio gossip and society 
chatter seemed to pall on young         
,rembrandt4 ,it is said that when a     
'bus-driver has a holiday he always goes
 and rides with the man who is taking   

his place2 but when ,rembrandt had a    
holiday he went away from the studio1   
not towards it4 ,he would walk alone1   
off across the meadows1 and along the   
canals1 and once we find him tramping   
thirty miles to visit cousins who were  
fishermen on the seacoast4 ,happy       
fisher-folk6  ,but ,rembrandt took few  
play-spells2 he broke off entirely from 
his tavern companions and lived the life
 of an ascetic and recluse1 seeing no   
society except the society that came to 
his studio4 ,his heart was in his art1  
and he was intent on working while it   
was called the day4  ,about this time   
there came to him ,cornelis ,sylvius1   
the eminent preacher1 to sit for a      
picture that was to adorn the ,seaman's 
,orphanage1 of which ,sylvius was       
director4  ,it took a good many sittings
 to bring out a ,rembrandt portrait4 ,on
 one of his visits the clergyman was    
accompanied by a young woman--his       
ward--by name1 ,saskia van ,ulenburgh4  
,the girl was bright1 animated and      

intelligent1 and as she sat in the      
corner the painter sort of divided his  
attention between her and the clergyman4
 ,then the girl got up1 walked about a  
bit1 looking at the studio properties1  
and finally stood behind the young      
painter1 watching him work4 ,this was   
one of the things ,rembrandt could      
never1 never endure4 ,it paralyzed his  
hand1 and threw all his ideas into a    
jumble4 ,it was the law of his studio   
that no one should watch him paint--he  
had secrets of technique that had cost  
him great labor4  ,you do not mind my   
watching you work8 asked the ingenuous  
girl4  ,oh1 not in the least6  ,you are 
quite sure my presence will not make you
 nervous1 then8  ,rembrandt said        
something to the effect that he rather  
liked to have some one watch him when he
 worked2 it depended1 of course1 on who 
it was--and asked the sitter to elevate 
his chin a little and not look so cross4
  ,next day ,saskia came again to watch 
the transfer of the good uncle's        

features to canvas4  ,the young artist  
was first among the portrait-painters of
 ,amsterdam1 and had a long waiting-list
 on his calendar1 but we find he managed
 to paint a portrait of ,saskia about   
that time4 ,we have the picture now and 
we also have four or five other pictures
 of her that ,rembrandt produced that   
year4 ,he painted her as a queen1 as a  
court lady and as a flower-girl4 ,the   
features may be disguised a little1 but 
it is the same fine1 bright1 charming1  
petite young woman4  ,before six months 
had passed he painted several more      
portraits of ,saskia2 and in one of     
these she has a sprig of rosemary--the  
emblem of betrothal--held against her   
heart4  ,and then we find an entry at   
the ,register's to the effect that they 
were married on ,june ,twenty-fourth1   
,sixteen ,hundred ,thirty-four4         
,rembrandt's was a masterly nature3     
strong1 original and unyielding4 ,but   
the young woman had no wish that was not
 his1 and her one desire was to make her

 lover happy4 ,she was not a great      
woman1 but she was good1 which is       
better1 and she filled her husband's    
heart to the brim4 ,those first few     
years of their married life read like a 
fairy-tale4  ,he bought her jewels1     
laces1 elegant costumes1 and began to   
fill their charming home with many rare 
objects of art4 ,all was for            
,saskia--his life1 his fortune1 his     
work1 his all4  ,as the years go by we  
shall see that it would have been better
 had he saved his money and builded     
against the coming of the storm2 but    
even though ,saskia protested mildly    
against his extravagance1 the master    
would have his way4  ,his was a tireless
 nature3 he found his rest in change4   
,he usually had some large compositions 
on hand and turned to this for pastime  
when portraits failed4 ,then ,saskia was
 ever present1 and if there was a       
holiday he painted her as the ,jewish   
,bride1 ,the ,gypsy ,queen1 or in some  
other fantastic garb4  ,we have seen    

that in those early years at ,leyden he 
painted himself1 but now it was only    
,saskia--she was his other self4 ,all   
those numerous pictures of himself were 
drawn before he knew ,saskia--or after  
she had gone4  ,their paradise continued
 nine years--and then ,saskia died4     
,rembrandt was not yet forty when       
desolation settled down upon him4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,saskia was the mother of five children2
 four of them had died1 and the babe she
 left1 ,titus by name1 was only eight   
months old when she passed away4  ,for  
six months we find that ,rembrandt did  
very little4 ,he was stunned1 and his   
brain and hand refused to co-operate4   
,the first commission he undertook was  
the portrait of the wife of one of the  
rich merchants of the city4 ,when the   
work was done1 the picture resembled the
 dead ,saskia so much more than it did  
the sitter that the patron refused to   
accept it4 ,the artist saw only ,saskia 
and continued to portray her4  ,but work

 gave him rest1 and he began a series of
 ,biblical studies--serious1 sober      
scenes fitted to his mood4 ,his hand had
 not lost its cunning1 for there is a   
sureness and individuality shown in his 
work during the next few years that     
stamps him as the ,master4  ,but his    
rivals raised a great clamor against his
 style4 ,they declared that he trampled 
on all precedent and scorned the laws on
 which true art is built4 ,however1 he  
had friends1 and they1 to help him1 went
 forth and secured the commission--the  
famous ,night-,watch1 now in the ,ryks  
,museum at ,amsterdam4  ,the production 
of this fine picture resulted in a      
comedy of errors1 that shaded off into a
 tragedy for poor ,rembrandt4 ,the      
original commission for this picture    
came from thirty-seven prominent        
citizens1 who were to share the expense 
equally among them4 ,the order was for  
the portraits of the eminent men to     
appear on one canvas1 the subjects to be
 grouped in an artistic way according to

 the artist's own conceit4  ,rembrandt  
studied hard over the matter1 as he was 
not content to execute a picture of a   
mass of men doing nothing but pose4  ,it
 took a year to complete the picture4   
,the canvas shows a band of armed men1  
marching forth to the defense of the    
city in response to a sudden night      
alarm4 ,two brave men lead the throng   
and the others shade off into mere      
,rembrandt shadows1 and you only know   
there are men there by the nodding      
plumes1 banners and spearheads that     
glisten in the pale light of the        
torches4  ,when the picture was         
unveiled1 the rich donors looked for    
themselves on the canvas1 and some      
looked in vain4 ,only two men were      
satisfied1 and these were the two who   
marched in the vanguard4  ,where am ,i8 
demanded a wealthy shipowner of         
,rembrandt as the canvas was scanned in 
a vain search for his proud features4   
,you see the palace there in the        
picture1 do you not8 asked the artist   

petulantly4  ,yes1 ,i see that1 was the 
answer4  ,well1 you are behind that     
palace4  ,the company turned on         
,rembrandt1 and forbade the hanging of  
any more of his pictures in the         
municipal buildings4  ,rembrandt        
shrugged his shoulders4 ,but as the year
 passed and orders dropped away1 he     
found how unwise a thing it is to       
affront the public4 ,men who owed him   
refused to pay1 and those whom he owed  
demanded their money4  ,he continued    
doggedly on his course4  ,some years    
before he had bought a large house and  
borrowed money to pay for it1 and had   
further given his note at hand to       
various merchants and dealers in curios4
 ,as long as he was making money no one 
cared for more than the interest1 but   
now the principal was demanded4 ,so sure
 had ,rembrandt been of his powers that 
he did not conceive that his income     
could drop from thirty thousand florins 
a year to scarcely a fifth of that4     
,then his relations with ,hendrickje    

,stoffels had displeased society4 ,she  
was his housekeeper1 servant and        
model--a woman without education or     
refinement1 we are told4 ,but she was   
loyal1 more than loyal1 to ,rembrandt3  
she lived but to serve him and sought to
 protect his interests in every way4    
,when summoned before the elders of the 
church to answer for her conduct1 she   
appeared1 pleaded guilty and shocked the
 company by declaring1 ,i would rather  
go to ,hell with ,rembrandt ,harmens    
than play a harp in ,heaven1 surrounded 
by such as you6  ,the remark was bruited
 throughout the city and did ,rembrandt 
no good4 ,his rivals combined to shut   
his work out of all exhibitions1 and    
several made it their business to buy up
 the overdue claims against him4  ,then 
officers came and took possession of his
 house1 and his splendid collections of 
jewels1 laces1 furniture1 curios and    
pictures were sold at auction4 ,the fine
 dresses that once belonged to ,saskia  
were seized3 they even took her         

wedding-gown3 and wanton women bid      
against the nobility for the possession 
of these things4 ,rembrandt was stripped
 of his sketches1 and these were sold in
 bundles--the very sweat of his brain   
for years4 ,then he was turned into the 
streets4  ,but ,hendrickje ,stoffels    
still clung to him1 his only friend4    
,rembrandt's proud heart was broken4 ,he
 found companionship at the taverns2 and
 to get a needful loaf of bread for     
,hendrickje and his boy1 made sketches  
and hawked them from house to house4    
,fashions change and art is often only a
 whim4 ,people wondered why they had    
ever bought those dark1 shadowy things  
made by that ,leyden artist1            
,what's-his-name6 ,one man utilized the 
frames which contained ,rembrandts by   
putting other canvases right over in    
front of them4  ,rembrandt's son ,titus 
tried his skill at art1 but with        
indifferent success4 ,he died while yet 
a youth4 ,then ,hendrickje passed away1 
and ,rembrandt was alone--a battered    

derelict on the sea of life4 ,he lost   
his identity under an assumed name1 and 
sketched with chalk on tavern-walls and 
pavement for the amusement of the crowd4
  ,he died in ,sixteen ,hundred         
,sixty-nine1 and the expense of his     
burial was paid by the hands of charity4
  ,the cost of the funeral was seven    
dollars and fifty cents4  ,in ,eighteen 
,hundred ,ninety-seven1 there was sold  
in ,london a small portrait by          
,rembrandt for a sum equal to a trifle  
more than thirty-one thousand dollars4  
,but even this does not represent the   
true value of one of his pictures--for  
connoisseurs regard a painting by       
,rembrandt as priceless4  ,there is a   
law in ,holland forbidding any one on   
serious penalty to remove a ,rembrandt  
from the country4 ,if any one of the men
 who combined to work his ruin is       
mentioned in history1 it is only to say1
 ,he lived in the age of ,rembrandt4    
,,rubens       ,i was admitted to the   
,duke of ,lerma's presence1 and took    

part in      the embassy4 ,the ,duke    
exhibited great satisfaction at the     
excellence and number of the pictures1  
which surely have acquired      a       
certain fair appearance of antiquity 7by
 means of my      retouching71 in spite 
even of the damage they had undergone4  
,they      are held and accepted by the 
,king and ,queen as originals1 without  
there being any doubt on their side1 or 
assertion on ours1 to      make them    
believe them to be such4                
--,letter ,from ,rubens at ,madrid1 to  
,chieppo1 ,secretary of                 
the ,duke of ,mantua  ,illustration3    
,,rubens   ,the father of ,peter ,paul  
,rubens was a lawyer1 a man of varied   
attainments and marked personality4 ,in 
statecraft he showed much skill1 and by 
his ability in business management      
served ,william the ,silent1 ,prince of 
,orange1 in good stead4  ,but ,jan      
,rubens had a bad habit of thinking for 
himself4 ,the habit grew upon him until 
the whisper was passed from this one to 

that1 that he was becoming decidedly    
atheistic4  ,spain held a strong hand   
upon ,antwerp1 and the policy of ,philip
 the ,second was to crush opposition in 
the bud4 ,jan ,rubens had criticized    
,spanish rule1 and given it as his      
opinion that the ,latin race would not  
always push its domination upon the     
people of the ,north4  ,at this time    
,spain was so strong that she deemed    
herself omnipotent1 and was looking with
 lustful eyes towards ,england4 ,drake  
and ,frobisher and ,walter ,raleigh were
 learning their lessons in seafaring2   
,elizabeth was ,queen2 while up at      
,warwickshire a barefoot boy named      
,william ,shakespeare was playing in the
 meadows1 and romping in the lanes and  
alleys of ,stratford4  ,all this was    
taking place at the time when ,jan      
,rubens was doing a little thinking on  
his own account4 ,on reading the history
 of ,europe1 ,flanders seems to one to  
have been a battle-ground from the dawn 
of history up to the night of ,june     

,eighteenth1 ,eighteen ,hundred         
,fifteen1 with a few incidental         
skirmishes since1 for it is difficult to
 stop short4 ,and it surely was meet    
that ,napoleon should have gone up there
 to receive his ,waterloo1 and charge   
his cavalry into a sunken roadway1      
making a bridge across with a mingled   
mass of men and horses2 upon which site 
now is a huge mound thrown up by the    
,english1 surmounted by a gigantic      
bronze lion cast from the captured      
cannon of the ,french4  ,napoleon       
belonged to the ,latin race3 he pushed  
his rule north into ,flanders1 and there
 his prowess ended--there at the same   
place where ,spanish rule had been      
throttled and turned back upon itself4  
,thus far1 and no farther4 ,jan ,rubens 
was right4 ,but he paid dearly for his  
prophecy4  ,when ,william the ,silent   
was away on his many warfaring          
expeditions1 the man who had charge of  
certain of his affairs was ,jan ,rubens4
 ,naturally this brought ,rubens into an

 acquaintanceship with the wife of the  
silent prince4 ,rubens was a handsome   
man1 ready in speech1 and of the kind   
that makes friends easily4 ,and if the  
wife of the ,prince of ,orange liked the
 vivacious ,rubens better than the      
silent warrior 7who won his sobriquet1  
they do say1 through density of emotion 
and lack of ideas71 why1 who can blame  
her6  ,but ,rubens had a wife of his    
own1 to whom he was fondly attached2 and
 this wife was also the close and       
trusted friend of the woman whose       
husband was off to the wars4 ,and yet   
when this dense and silent man came back
 from one of his expeditions1 it was    
only publicly to affront and disgrace   
his wife1 and to cast ,jan ,rubens into 
a dungeon4 ,no doubt the ,prince was    
jealous of the courtly ,rubens--and the 
,iagos are a numerous tribe4 ,but       
,othello's limit had been reached4 ,he  
damned the innocent woman to the lowest 
pit1 and visited his wrath on the man4  
,of course ,i know full well that all   

,northern ,europe once rang with shrill 
gossip over the affair1 and as usual the
 woman was declared the guilty party4   
,even yet1 when topics for scandal in   
,belgium run short1 this old tale is    
revived and gone over--sides being      
taken4 ,i've gone over it1 too1 and     
although ,i may be in the minority1 just
 as ,i possibly am as to the guilt of   
,eve1 yet ,i stand firm on the side of  
the woman4 ,i give the facts just as    
they appear1 having canvassed the whole 
subject1 possibly a little more than was
 good for me4  ,republics may be        
ungrateful1 but the favor of princes is 
fickle as the ,east ,wind4  ,we make a  
fine hullabaloo nowadays because ,france
 or ,russia occasionally tries and      
sentences a man without giving him an   
opportunity of defense2 but in the      
,sixteenth ,century the donjon-keeps of 
hundreds of castles in ,europe were     
filled with prisoners whose offense     
consisted in being feared or disliked by
 some whimsical local ruler4  ,jan      

,rubens was sent on an official errand  
to ,dillenburg1 and arriving there was  
seized and thrown into prison1 without  
trial or the privilege of communicating 
with his friends4  ,months of agonizing 
search on the part of his wife failed to
 find him1 and the ,prince only broke   
the silence long enough to usurp a      
woman's privilege by telling a lie1 and 
declaring he did not know where ,rubens 
was1 but ,i believe he has committed    
suicide through remorse4  ,the          
distracted wife made her way alone from 
prison to prison1 and finally1 by       
bribing an official1 found her husband  
was in an underground cell in the       
fortress at ,dillenburg4 ,it was a year 
before she was allowed to communicate   
with or see him4 ,but ,maria ,rubens was
 a true diplomat4 ,you move a man not by
 going to him direct1 but by finding out
 who it is that has a rope tied to his  
foot4 ,she secured the help of the      
discarded wife of the ,prince1 and these
 two managed to interest a worthy       

bishop1 who brought his influence to    
bear on ,count ,john of ,nassau4 ,this  
man had jurisdiction of the district in 
which the fortress where ,rubens was    
confined was located2 and he agreed to  
release the prisoner on parole on       
condition that a deposit of six thousand
 thalers be left with him1 and an       
agreement signed by the prisoner that he
 would give himself up when requested2  
and also1 further1 that he would        
acknowledge before witnesses that he was
 guilty of the charges made against him4
  ,the latter clause was to justify the 
,prince of ,orange in his actions toward
 him4  ,rubens refused to plead guilty1 
even for the sake of sweet liberty1 on  
account of the smirch to the name of the
 ,princess4  ,but on the earnest request
 of both his wife and the co-respondent1
 he finally accepted the terms in the   
same manner that ,galileo declared the  
earth stood still4 ,rubens got his      
liberty1 was loyal to his parole1 but   
,john of ,nassau kept the six thousand  

thalers for expenses4  ,so much for the 
honor of princes2 but in passing it is  
worthy of recall that ,jan ,rubens      
pleaded guilty of disloyalty to his     
wife1 on request of said wife1 in order 
that he might enjoy the society of said 
wife--and cast a cloud on the good name 
of another woman on said woman's        
request4  ,so here is a plot for a play3
 a tale of self-sacrifice and loyalty on
 the part of two women that puts to     
shame much small talk we hear from small
 men concerning the fickleness and      
selfishness of woman's love4 ,brief as  
woman's love6 said ,hamlet--but then1   
,hamlet was crazy4  ,jan ,rubens died in
 ,cologne1 ,march ,eighteenth1 ,fifteen 
,hundred ,eighty-seven1 and lies buried 
in the ,church of ,saint ,peter4 ,above 
the grave is a slab containing this     
inscription3 ,sacred to the ,memory of  
,jan ,rubens1 of ,antwerp1 who went into
 voluntary exile and retired with his   
family to ,cologne1 where he abode for  
nineteen years with his wife ,maria1 who

 was the mother of his seven children4  
,with this his only wife ,maria he lived
 happily for twenty-six years without   
any quarrel4 ,this monument is erected  
by said ,maria ,pypelings ,rubens to her
 sweetest and well-deserved husband4    
,of course1 no one knew then that one of
 the seven--the youngest son of ,jan and
 ,maria--was to win deathless fame1 or  
that might have been carved on the slab1
 too1 even if something else had to be  
omitted4  ,but ,maria need not have     
added that last clause1 stating who it  
was that placed the tablet3 as it stands
 we should all have known that it was   
she who dictated the inscription4       
,epitaphs are proverbially untruthful2  
hence arose the saying1 ,he lies like an
 epitaph4 ,the woman who can not evolve 
a good lie in defense of the man she    
loves is unworthy of the name of wife4  
,the lie is the weapon of defense that  
kind ,providence provides for the       
protection of the oppressed4 ,women are 
great liars1 said ,mahomet2 ,allah in   

his wisdom made them so4  ,hail1 ,maria 
,rubens6 turned to dust these three     
hundred years1 what star do you now     
inhabit8 or does your avatar live       
somewhere here in this world8 ,at the   
thought of your unselfish loyalty and   
precious fibbing1 an army of valiant1   
ghostly knights will arise from their   
graves1 and rusty swords leap from their
 scabbards if aught but good be said    
against thee4  ,ho1 ho6 and wasn't your 
husband really guilty1 and didn't you   
know it all the time8 ,i'll fling my    
glove full in the face of any man who   
dare ask you such a question4  ,beloved 
and loving wife for six-and-twenty      
years1 and mother of seven1 looking the 
world squarely in the eye and telling a 
large and beautiful untruth1 carving it 
in marble to protect your husband's     
name1 ,i kiss my hand to you6         99
       99       99       99       99    
,in the doorpost of a queer little stone
 house in ,cologne is carved an         
inscription to the effect that ,peter   

,paul ,rubens was born there on ,june   
,twenty-ninth1 ,fifteen ,hundred        
,seventy-seven4 ,it is probably true    
that the parents of ,rubens lived there1
 but ,peter ,paul was born at ,siegen1  
under the shadow of a prison from which 
his father was paroled4  ,after a few   
years the discipline relaxed1 for there 
were new prisoners coming along1 and    
,maria and ,jan were given permission to
 move to ,cologne4  ,peter ,paul was ten
 years of age when his father died4 ,the
 next year the widow moved with her     
little brood back to ,antwerp1 back to  
the city from which her husband had been
 exiled just twenty years before4 ,five 
years previous the ,prince of ,orange1  
who had exiled her husband1 was himself 
sent on a journey1 via the dagger of an 
assassin4 ,as the chief enemy of ,jan   
,rubens was dead1 it was the hope of the
 widow to recover their property that   
had been confiscated4  ,maria ,rubens   
was a good ,catholic2 and she succeeded 
in making the authorities believe that  

her husband had been1 too1 for the home 
that ,royalty had confiscated was       
returned to her4  ,the mother of ,peter 
,paul loved the dim twilight mysteries  
of the ,church1 and accepted every dogma
 and edict as the literal word of ,god4 
,it is easier and certainly safer to    
leave such matters to the specialists4  
,she was a born diplomat4 ,she          
recognized the power of the ,church and 
knew that to win one must go with the   
current1 not against it4 ,to have       
doubts1 when the ,church is willing to  
bear the whole burden1 she thought very 
foolish4 ,had she been a man she would  
have been a leader among the ,jesuits4  
,the folly of opposition had been shown 
her most vividly in her husband's       
career4 ,what could he not have been had
 he been wise and patient and ta'en the 
tide at its flood6 ,and this was the    
spirit that she inculcated in the minds 
of her children4  ,little ,peter ,paul  
was a handsome lad--handsome as his     
father--with big1 dark brown eyes and   

clustering curls4 ,he was bright1       
intelligent1 and blessed with a         
cheerful1 obliging disposition4 ,he came
 into the world a welcome child1        
carrying the beauty of the morning in   
his face1 and form1 and spirit4  ,no    
wonder is it that the ,countess de      
,lalaing desired the boy for a page as  
soon as she saw him4 ,his mother        
embraced the opportunity to let her     
favorite child see court life1 and so at
 the early age of twelve1 at a plunge1  
he began that career in polite diplomacy
 that was to continue for half a        
century4  ,the ,countess called herself 
his other mother1 and lavished upon him 
all the attention that a childless woman
 had to bestow4 ,the mornings were      
sacred to his lessons1 which were looked
 after by a ,jesuit priest2 and in the  
afternoon1 another priest came to give  
the ladies lessons in the languages1 and
 at these circles young ,peter ,paul was
 always present as one of the class4    
,indeed1 the earliest accomplishment of 

,peter ,paul was his polyglot ability4  
,when he arrived at ,antwerp1 a mere    
child1 he spoke ,german1 ,flemish and   
,french4  ,such a favorite did little   
,peter ,paul become with his other      
mother1 and her ladies of the court1    
that his sure-enough mother grew a bit  
jealous1 and feared they would make a   
hothouse plant of her boy1 and so she   
took him away4  ,the question was1 for  
what profession should he be educated8  
,that he should serve the ,church and   
,state was already a settled fact in the
 mother's mind3 to get on in the world  
you must cultivate and wisely serve     
those who are in power--that is1 those  
who have power to bestow4 ,priests were 
plentiful as blackberries1 and          
politicians were on every corner1 and   
many of the priests and officeseekers   
had no special talent to recommend them4
 ,they were simply timeservers4 ,maria  
knew this3 ,to get on you must have     
several talents1 otherwise people will  
tire of you4  ,in ,cologne1 ,maria      

,rubens had met returned pilgrims from  
,rome and they had told her of that     
trinity of giants1 ,michelangelo1       
,raphael and ,leonardo2 and how these   
men had been the peers of prince and    
pope1 because they had the ability to   
execute marvelous works of beauty4      
,this extraordinary talent called       
attention to themselves1 so they were   
summoned out of the crowd and became the
 companions and friends of the greatest 
names of their time4  ,and then1 how    
better can one glorify his ,maker than  
by covering the sacred walls of temples 
with rich ornament6  ,the boy entered   
into the project1 and the mother's      
ambition that he should retrieve his    
father's fortune fired his heart4 ,thus 
does the failure in life of a parent    
often give incentive to the genius of a 
son4  ,tobias ,verhaecht was the man who
 taught ,rubens the elements of drawing1
 and inculcated in him that love of     
,nature which was to be his lifelong    
heritage4 ,the word landscape is        

,flemish1 and it was the ,dutch who     
carried the term and the art into       
,england4 ,verhaecht was among the very 
first of landscape-painters4 ,he was a  
specialist3 he could draw trees and     
clouds1 and a winding river1 but could  
not portray faces4 ,and so he used to   
call in a worthy portrait-painter1 by   
the name of ,franck1 to assist him      
whenever he had a canvas on the easel   
that demanded the human form4 ,then when
 ,franck wanted background and          
perspective1 ,verhaecht would go over   
with a brush and a few pots of paint and
 help him out4  ,at fifteen1 the keen1  
intuitive mind of ,rubens had fathomed  
the talents of those two worthies1      
,verhaecht and ,franck4 ,his mind was   
essentially feminine3 he absorbed ideas 
in the mass4 ,soon he prided himself on 
being able to paint alone as good a     
picture as the two collaborators could  
together4 ,yet he was too wise to       
affront them by the boast4 ,the bent of 
his talent he thought was toward        

historical painting2 and more than this1
 he knew that only epic art would open  
the churches for a painter4 ,and so he  
next became a pupil under ,adam van     
,noort4 ,this man was a rugged old      
character1 who worked out things in his 
own way and pushed the standard of      
painting full ten points to the front4  
,his work shows a marked advance over   
that of his contemporaries and over the 
race of painters that preceded him4     
,every great artist is the lingering    
representative of an age that is dead1  
or else he is the prophet and forerunner
 of a golden age to come4  ,when ,i     
visited the ,church of ,saint ,jaques in
 ,antwerp1 where ,rubens lies buried1   
the good old priest who acted as guide  
called my attention to a picture by ,van
 ,noort1 showing ,peter finding the     
money in the mouth of the fish4 ,a close
 study of that picture will reveal to   
you the germ of the ,rubens touch1 said 
the priest1 and he was surely right3 its
 boldness of drawing1 the strong1 bright

 colors and the dexterity in handling   
all say1 ,rubens4 ,rubens builded on the
 work of ,van ,noort4  ,twenty years    
after ,rubens had left the studio of    
,van ,noort he paid tribute to his old  
master by saying1 ,had ,van ,noort      
visited ,italy and caught the spirit of 
the classicists1 his name would stand   
first among ,flemish artists4  ,rubens  
worked four years with ,van ,noort and  
then entered the studio of ,otto van    
,veen4 ,this man was not a better       
painter than ,van ,noort1 but he        
occupied a much higher social position1 
and ,peter ,paul was intent on advancing
 his skirmish-line4 ,he never lost      
ground4 ,van ,veen was ,court ,painter1 
and on friendly terms with the ,archduke
 ,albert1 and ,isabella1 his wife1      
daughter of ,philip the ,second1 ,king  
of ,spain4  ,van ,veen took very few    
pupils--only those who had the ability  
to aid him in completing his designs4   
,to have worked with this master was an 
introduction at once into the charmed   

circle of royalty4  ,rubens was in no   
haste to branch out on his own account3 
he was quite content to know that he was
 gaining ground1 making head upon the   
whole4 ,he won the confidence of ,van   
,veen at once by his skill1 his cheerful
 presence1 and ability to further the   
interests of his master and patrons4 ,in
 ,fifteen ,hundred ,ninety-nine1 when   
,rubens was twenty-two1 he was enrolled 
as a free master at the ,guild of ,saint
 ,luke on the nomination of ,van ,veen1 
who also about this time introduced the 
young artist to ,albert and ,isabella4  
,but the best service that ,van ,veen   
did for ,rubens was in taking him into  
his home and giving him free access to  
the finest collection of ,italian art in
 the ,netherlands4 ,these things filled 
the heart of ,rubens with a desire to   
visit ,italy1 and there to dive deeply  
into the art spirit of that land from   
which all our art has sprung4  ,to go   
abroad then and gain access to the art  
treasures of the world was not a mere   

matter of asking for a passport1 handing
 out a visiting-card1 and paying your   
way4  ,young men who wished to go abroad
 to study were required to pass a stiff 
examination4 ,if it was believed that   
they could not represent their own      
country with honor1 their passports were
 withheld4 ,and to travel without a     
passport was to run the risk of being   
arrested as an absconder4  ,but ,rubens'
 place in society was already secure4   
,instead of applying for his passports  
personally and undergoing the usual     
catechization1 his desires were         
explained to ,van ,veen1 and all        
technicalities were waived1 as they     
always are when you strike the right    
man4 ,not only were the passports       
forthcoming1 but ,albert and ,isabella  
wrote a personal note to ,viccuzo       
,gonzaga1 the ,duke of ,mantua1         
commending the young painter to the     
,duke's good offices4  ,van ,veen       
further explained to ,rubens that to    
know the ,duke of ,mantua might mean    

either humiliation or crowning success4 
,to attain the latter through the ,duke 
of ,mantua1 it was necessary to make a  
good impression on ,annibale ,chieppo1  
the ,duke's ,minister of ,state4        
,chieppo had the keeping of the ducal   
conscience as well as the key to the    
strong-box4  ,the ,duke of ,mantua was  
one of those strange loaded dice that   
,fate occasionally flings upon this     
checkerboard of time3 one of those      
characters whose feverish faculties     
border on madness1 yet who do the world 
great good by breaking up its balances1 
preventing social ankylosis1 and        
eventually forcing upon mankind a new   
deal4 ,but in the train of these vagrant
 stars famine and pestilence follow4    
,the ,duke of ,mantua was brother in    
spirit to the man who made              
,versailles--and making ,versailles     
undid ,france4  ,versailles is a dream3 
no language that the most enthusiastic  
lovers of the beautiful may utter1 can  
exaggerate the wonders of those acres of

 palaces and miles of gardens4 ,the     
magnificence of the place makes the     
ready writer put up his pencil1 and go  
away whipped1 subdued and crestfallen to
 think that here are creations that no  
one pen can even catalog4 ,louis the    
,grand1 we are told1 had thirty-six     
thousand men and six thousand horses at 
work here at one time4 ,no wonder       
,madame ,de ,maintenon was oppressed by 
the treasures that were beyond the      
capacity of man to contemplate2 and so  
off in the woods was built that lover's 
retreat1 ,the ,trianon4 ,and out there  
today1 hidden in the forest1 we behold  
the second ,trianon1 built by ,marie    
,antoinette1 and we also see those      
straw-thatched huts where the ladies of 
her ,court played at peasant life4      
,louis the ,fourteenth builded so well  
that he discouraged his successor from  
doing anything but play keep-house1 and 
so extensively that ,france was rent in 
twain1 and so mightily that even        
,napoleon ,bonaparte was staggered at   

the thought of maintaining ,versailles4 
,it's too much for any man to enjoy--,i 
give it up6 said the ,little ,man1      
perplexed1 and ordered every door locked
 and every window tightly shuttered4    
,then he placed a thousand men to guard 
the place and went about his business4  
,but today ,versailles belongs to the   
people of ,france2 more1 it belongs to  
the people of earth3 all is free and you
 may carry away all the beauty of the   
place that your soul can absorb4  ,now1 
who shall say that ,louis the           
,fourteenth has not enriched the world8 
,the ,duke of ,mantua was sumptuous in  
his tastes1 liberal1 chivalrous1        
voluptuous1 extravagant4 ,at the same   
time he had a cultivated mind1 an eye   
for proportion1 and an ear for harmony4 
,he was even pious at times1 and like   
all debauchees had periods of           
asceticism4 ,he was much given to       
gallantry1 and his pension-list of      
beautiful women was not small4 ,he was a
 poet and wrote some very good sonnets2 

he was a composer who sang1 from his own
 compositions1 after the wine had gone  
round2 he was an orator who committed to
 memory and made his own the speeches   
that his secretary wrote4  ,he traveled 
much1 and in great state1 with a retinue
 of servants1 armed guards1 outriders   
and guides4 ,wherever he went he        
summoned the local poet1 or painter1 or 
musician1 and made a speech to him1     
showing that he was familiar with his   
work by humming a tune or quoting a     
stanza4 ,then he put a chain of gold    
around the poor embarrassed fellow's    
neck1 and a purse in his hands1 and the 
people cheered4  ,when he visited a     
town1 cavalcades met him afar out1 and  
as he approached1 little girls in white 
and boys dressed in velvet ran before   
and strewed flowers in front of his     
carriage4  ,oh1 the ,duke of ,mantua was
 a great man6  ,in his retinue was a    
troop of comedians1 a court fool1 two   
dwarfs for luck1 seven cooks1 three     
alchemists and an astrologer4 ,like the 

old woman who lived in a shoe1 he had so
 many children he didn't know what to   
do4 ,one of his sons married a princess 
of the ,house of ,saxony1 another son   
was a cardinal1 and a daughter married  
into the ,house of ,lorraine4 ,he had   
alliances and close relations with every
 reigning family of ,europe4 ,the sister
 of his wife1 ,marie de ,medici1 became 
,king of ,france1 as ,talleyrand avers1 
and had a mad1 glad1 sad1 bad1 jolly    
time of it4  ,wherever the ,duke of     
,mantua went1 there too went ,annibale  
,chieppo1 the ,minister of ,state4 ,this
 man had a calm eye1 a quiet pulse1 and 
could locate any man or woman in his    
numerous retinue at any hour of the day 
or night4 ,he was a diplomat1 a soldier1
 a financier4  ,you could not reach the 
,duke until you had got past ,chieppo4  
,and the ,duke of ,mantua had much      
commonsense--for in spite of envy and   
calumny and threat he never lost faith  
in ,annibale ,chieppo4  ,no success in  
life is possible without a capable first

 mate4 ,chieppo was king of first mates4
  ,he was subtle as ,richelieu and as   
wise as ,wolsey4  ,when ,peter ,paul    
,rubens1 aged twenty-three1 arrived at  
,venice1 the ,duke of ,mantua and his   
train were there4 ,rubens presented his 
credentials to ,chieppo1 and the        
,minister of ,state read them1 looked   
upon the handsome person of the young   
man1 proved for himself he had decided  
talent as a painter1 put him through a  
civil-service examination--and took him 
into favor4 ,such a young man as this1  
so bright1 so courtly1 so talented1 must
 be secured4 ,he would give the entire  
,court a new thrill4  ,tomorrow1 said   
the ,minister of ,state1 tomorrow you   
shall be received by the ,duke of       
,mantua and his court6         99       
99       99       99       99  ,the     
ducal party remained at ,venice for     
several weeks1 and when it returned to  
,mantua1 ,rubens went along quite as a  
matter of course4 ,from letters that he 
wrote to his brother ,philip1 as well as

 from many other sources1 we know that  
the art collection belonging to the     
,duke of ,mantua was very rich4 ,it     
included works by the ,bellinis1        
,correggio1 ,leonardo da ,vinci1 ,andrea
 del ,sarto1 ,tintoretto1 ,titian1      
,paoli ,veronese1 and various others    
whose names have faded away like their  
colors4  ,rubens had long been          
accustomed to the ways of polite        
society4 ,the magnificence of his       
manner1 and the fine egotism he showed  
in his work1 captivated the ,court4 ,the
 ,duke was proud of his ward and paraded
 him before his artistic friends as the 
coming man1 incidentally explaining that
 it was the ,duke of ,mantua who had    
made him and not he himself4  ,it was   
then the custom of those who owned      
masterpieces to have copies made and    
present them to various other lovers of 
the beautiful4 ,if an honored guest was 
looking through your gallery1 and       
expressed great pleasure in a certain   
canvas1 the correct thing was to say1   

,i'll have my best painter make a copy  
of it1 and send it to you--and a        
memorandum was made on an ivory tablet4 
,this gracious custom seems to have come
 down from the time when the owners of  
precious books constantly employed      
scribes and expert illuminators in      
making copies for distribution4 ,the    
work done in the scriptoriums of the    
monasteries1 we know1 was sent away as  
presents1 or in exchange for other      
volumes4  ,rubens set diligently to work
 copying in the galleries of ,mantua2   
and whether the ,duke was happier       
because he had discovered ,rubens than  
,rubens was because he had found the    
,duke1 we do not know4 ,anyway1 all that
 the young painter had hoped and prayed 
for had been sent him4  ,here was work  
from the very hands of the masters he   
had long worshiped from afar4 ,his      
ambition was high and his strong animal 
spirits and tireless energy were a      
surprise to the easy-going ,italians4   
,the galleries were his without let or  

hindrance1 save that he allow the ladies
 of the ,court to come every afternoon  
and watch him work4 ,this probably did  
not disturb him2 but we find the        
experienced ,duke giving the young      
,fleming some good advice1 thus3 ,you   
must admire all these ladies in equal   
portion4 ,should you show favoritism for
 one1 the rest will turn upon you2 and  
to marry any one of them would be fatal 
to your art4  ,rubens wrote the advice  
home to his mother1 and the good mother 
viseed it and sent it back4  ,after six 
months of diligent work at ,mantua we   
find ,rubens starting for ,rome with    
letters from the ,duke to ,cardinal     
,montalto1 highly recommending him to   
the good graces of the ,cardinal1 and   
requesting1 that you will be graciously 
so good as to allow our ,fleming to     
execute and make copies for us of such  
paintings as he may deem worthy4        
,cardinal ,montalto was a nephew of     
,pope ,sixtus1 and the strongest man1   
save the ,pope1 in ,rome4 ,he had       

immense wealth1 great learning1 and rare
 good sense in matters of art4 ,he was a
 close friend of the ,duke of ,mantua2  
and to come into personal relations with
 such a man was a piece of rare good    
fortune for any man4 ,the art world of  
,rome now belonged to ,rubens--all doors
 opened at his touch4 ,our ,fleming knew
 the value of his privileges4 ,if ,i do 
not succeed1 he writes to his mother1 it
 will be because ,i have not improved my
 opportunities4 ,the word fail was not  
in his lexicon4 ,his industry never     
relaxed4 ,in ,walpole's ,anecdotes of   
,painting1 an account is given of a     
sketchbook compiled by ,rubens at this  
time4 ,the original was in the          
possession of ,maurice ,johnson1 of     
,spalding1 ,england1 in ,eighteen       
,hundred ,forty-five1 at which time it  
was exhibited in ,london and attracted  
much attention4  ,i have seen a copy of 
the book with its hundred or more       
sketches of the very figures that we now
 see and admire in the ,uffizi and      

,pitti galleries and in the ,vatican4   
,eight generations of men have come and 
gone since ,rubens sketched from the    
,old ,masters1 but there today stand the
 chiseled shapes1 which were then       
centuries old1 and there today are the  
,titians and the ,raphaellos just as the
 exuberant ,fleming saw them4 ,surely   
this must show us how short are the days
 of man6 ,open then the door2 you know  
how little while we have to stay6  ,the 
two figures that seemed to impress      
,rubens most1 as shown in the           
sketchbook1 are the ,farnese ,hercules  
and ,michelangelo's ,david4 ,he shows   
the foot of the ,hercules1 and the hand 
of the ,david1 and gives front1 back and
 side views with comments and           
criticisms4 ,then after a few pages have
 been covered by other matter he goes   
back again to the ,hercules--the subject
 fascinates him4  ,when we view ,the    
,crucifixion1 in the ,cathedral at      
,antwerp1 we conclude that he admired   
the ,hercules not wisely but too well1  

for the muscles stand out on all the    
figures1 even of the ,savior1 in pure   
,farnese style4 ,two years after that   
picture was painted1 he did his         
masterpiece1 ,the ,descent ,from the    
,cross1 and we behold with relief the   
change that had come over the spirit of 
his dreams4 ,mere pride in performing a 
difficult feat had given place to a     
higher motive4 ,there is no reason to   
suppose that the ,apostles had trained  
to perform the twelve labors of         
,hercules1 or that the two ,marys were  
,amazons4 ,but the burly ,roman forms   
went back to ,flanders1 and for many    
years staid citizens were slipped into  
classic attitudes to do duty as         
,disciples1 ,elders1 ,angels--all with  
swelling biceps1 knotted muscles1 and   
necks like the ,emperor ,vespasian4     
,the ,mantuan ,envoy at ,rome had       
private orders from ,chieppo to see that
 the ,fleming was well treated4 ,the    
,envoy was further requested to report  
to the ,secretary how the painter spent 

his time1 and also how he was regarded  
by ,cardinal ,montalto4 ,thus we see the
 wily ,secretary set one servant        
watching another1 and kept in close     
touch with all4  ,the reports1 however1 
all confirmed the ,secretary in his     
belief that the ,fleming was a genius1  
and1 moreover1 worthy of all the        
encouragement that was bestowed upon    
him4 ,the ,secretary sent funds from    
time to time to the painter1 with gentle
 hints that he should pay due attention 
to his behavior1 and also to his        
raiment1 for the apparel oft doth       
proclaim the man4  ,the ,duke of ,mantua
 seems to have regarded ,rubens as his  
own private property1 and ,rubens had   
too much sense to do anything by word or
 deed that might displease his patron4  
,when he had gotten all that ,italy     
could give1 or more properly all he     
could absorb1 his intent was to follow  
his heart and go straight back to       
,flanders4  ,three years had passed     
since ,rubens had arrived in            

,venice--years of profit to both spirit 
and purse4 ,he had painted pictures that
 placed him in the rank of acknowledged 
artists1 and the ,duke of ,mantua had   
dropped all patronizing airs4 ,with the 
ducal party ,rubens had visited ,verona1
 ,florence1 ,pisa and ,padua4 ,his fame 
was more than local4 ,the painter hinted
 to ,chieppo that he would like to      
return to ,antwerp1 but the ,secretary  
objected--he had important work for him4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,rubens was from ,flanders1 and     
,flanders was a ,spanish possession3    
then the ,fleming knew the daughter of  
the ,king of ,spain4 ,no man was so well
 fitted to go on a delicate diplomatic  
mission to ,spain as the ,flemish       
painter4 ,you are my heart's jewel1 said
 the ,duke of ,mantua to the ,prime     
,minister1 when the ,minister suggested 
it4  ,the ,duke wished private          
information as to certain things        
,spanish1 and was also preparing the way
 to ask for sundry favors4 ,the ,court  

at ,madrid was artistic in instinct2 so 
was the ,mantuan ,court4 ,to recognize  
the esthetic side of your friend's      
nature1 when your friend is secretly not
 quite sure but that he is more worldly 
than spiritual1 is a stroke of          
diplomacy4 ,spain was not really        
artistic1 but there were stirrings being
 felt1 and ,velasquez and ,murillo were 
soon to appear4  ,the ,duke of ,mantua  
wished to present the ,king of ,spain   
with certain pictures2 his mind was     
filled with a lively sense of           
anticipation of future favors to be     
received--which feeling we are told is  
gratitude4 ,the entire ceremony must be 
carried out appropriately--the poetic   
unities being fully preserved4          
,therefore a skilful painter must be    
sent with the pictures1 in order to see 
that they were safely transported1      
properly unpacked1 and rightly hung4    
,instructions were given to ,peter ,paul
 ,rubens1 the artistic ambassador1 at   
great length1 as to how he should       

proceed4 ,he was to make himself        
agreeable to the ,king1 and to one      
greater than the ,king--the man behind  
the throne--the ,duke of ,lerma2 and to 
several fair ladies as well4  ,the      
pictures were copies of the             
masters--,titians1 ,raphaellos1         
,tintorettos and ,leonardos4 ,they were 
copied with great fidelity1 even to the 
signature and private marks of the      
original artist4 ,in fact1 so well was  
the work done that if the recipient     
inclined to accept them as originals1   
his mind must not be disabused4         
,further1 the envoy was not supposed to 
know whether they were originals or not 
7even though he had painted them71 and  
if worse came to worst he must say1     
,well1 surely they are just as good as  
the originals1 if not better4  ,presents
 were taken for a dozen or more persons4
 ,those who were not so very artistic   
were to have gifts of guns1 swords and  
precious stones4 ,the ambassador was to 
travel in a new carriage1 drawn by six  

horses and followed by wagons carrying  
the art treasures4 ,all this so as to   
make the right impression and prove to  
,madrid that ,mantua was both rich and  
generous4 ,and as a capsheaf to it all1 
the painter must choose an opportune    
moment and present his beautiful        
carriage and horses to the ,king1 for   
the belief was rife that the ,king of   
,spain was really more horsey than      
artistic4  ,the pictures were selected  
with great care1 and the finest horses  
to be found were secured1 regardless of 
cost4 ,several weeks were consumed in   
preparations1 and at last the cavalcade 
started away1 with ,rubens in the       
carriage and eleven velvet suits in his 
chest1 as he himself has told us4 ,it   
was a long1 hard journey to ,madrid4    
,there were encounters with rapacious   
landlords1 and hairbreadth escapes in   
the imminent deadly custom-house4 ,but  
in a month the chromatic diplomat       
arrived and entered ,madrid at the head 
of his company1 wearing one of the      

velvet suits1 and riding a milk-white   
charger4  ,rubens followed orders and   
wrote ,signor ,chieppo at great length1 
giving a minute account of every        
incident and detail of the journey and  
of his reception at ,madrid4 ,while at  
the ,court he kept a daily record of    
happenings1 which was also forwarded to 
the ,secretary4  ,these many letters    
have recently been given to the public4 
,they are in ,italian1 with a sprinkling
 here and there of good honest ,dutch4  
,all is most sincere1 grave and         
explicit4 ,rubens deserved great credit 
for all these letters1 for surely they  
were written with sweat and lamp-smoke4 
,the work of the toiler is over all1 but
 we must remember that at that time he  
had been studying ,italian only about a 
year4  ,the literary style of ,rubens   
was ,johnsonese all his life1 and he    
made his meaning plain only by          
repetitions and many rhetorical         
flounderings4 ,like the average         
sixteen-year-old boy who sits himself   

down and takes his pen in hand1 all his 
sprightliness of imagination vanished at
 sight of an ink-bottle4 ,with a brush  
his feelings were fluid1 and in a       
company grace dwelt upon his lips2 but  
when asked to write it out he gripped   
the pen as though it were a crowbar     
instead of a crow's-quill4  ,but        
,chieppo received his reports2 and we   
know the embassy was a success--a great 
success4 ,the debonair ,fleming         
surprised the ,king by saying1 ,your    
,majesty1 it is like this--and then with
 a few bold strokes drew a picture4  ,he
 modestly explained that he was not much
 of a painter--merely used a brush for  
his own amusement--and then made a      
portrait for the ,minister of ,state    
that exaggerated all of that man's good 
points1 and ignored all his failings4   
,there was a cast in the ,minister's    
eye1 but ,rubens waived it4 ,the        
,minister was delighted1 and so was the 
,king4 ,he then made a portrait of the  
,king that was as flattering as         

portraits should be that are painted for
 monarchs4  ,among his other            
accomplishments the ,fleming was a      
skilful horseman2 he rode with such     
grace and dash that the ,king took him  
on his drives1 ,rubens riding by the    
side of the carriage1 gaily conversing  
as they rode4  ,and so with the aid of  
his many talents he won the confidence  
of the ,king and ,court and was         
initiated into the inner life of        
,spanish royalty in a way that ,iberta1 
the ,mantuan ,resident1 never had been4 
,the ,king liked ,rubens1 and so did the
 ,man behind the ,throne4  ,mortals do  
not merely like each other because they 
like each other2 such a bond is tenuous 
as a spider's thread4 ,i love you       
because you love the things that ,i     
love4 ,one woman won my heart by her    
subtle appreciation of ,the ,dipsy      
,chanty4 ,men meet on a horse basis1 a  
book basis1 a religious basis1 or some  
other mutual leaning2 sometimes we find 
them uniting on a mutual dislike for    

something4 ,for instance1 ,i have a     
friend to whom ,i am bound by the tie of
 oneness because we dislike olives1 and 
have a mutual indifference to the       
pretended claims of the unpronounceable 
,pole who wrote ,quo ,vadis4 ,the       
discovery was accidentally made in a    
hotel dining-room3 we clasped hands     
across the board1 and since then have   
been as brothers4  ,the more points at  
which you touch humanity the more       
friends you have--the greater your      
influence4 ,rubens was an artist1 a     
horseman1 a musician1 a politician and a
 gourmet4 ,when conceptions in the      
kitchen were vague1 he would send for   
the cook and explain to him how to do   
it4 ,he possessed a most discriminating 
palate and a fine appreciation of things
 drinkable4 ,these accomplishments      
secured him a well-defined case of gout 
while yet a young man4 ,he taught the   
,spanish ,court how to smoke1 having    
himself been initiated by an            
,englishman1 who was a companion of ,sir

 ,walter ,raleigh1 and showed them how  
to roll a cigarette while engaged in    
ardent conversation4 ,and the ,spaniards
 have not yet lost the art1 for once in 
,cadiz ,i saw a horse running away1 and 
the driver rolled and lighted a         
cigarette before trying to stop the mad 
flight of the frantic brute4  ,in the   
,royal ,gallery at ,madrid are several  
large paintings by ,rubens that were    
doubtless done at this time4 ,they are  
religious subjects2 but worked in1 after
 the manner of a true diplomat1 are     
various portraits of brave men and      
handsome women4 ,to pose a worthy       
senator as ,saint ,paul1 and a dashing  
lady of the ,court as the ,holy ,virgin1
 was most gratifying to the             
phrenological development of            
approbativeness of the said senator and 
lady4 ,then1 as the painter had pictured
 one1 he must do as much for others1 so 
there could be no accusation of         
favoritism4  ,thus the months passed    
rapidly4 ,the ,duke of ,lerma writes to 

,chieppo1 ,we desire your gracious      
permission to keep the ,fleming another 
month1 as very special portraits are    
required from his brush4  ,the extra    
month extended itself to three2 and when
 at last ,rubens started back for       
,mantua it was after a full year's      
absence4  ,the embassy was a most       
complete success4 ,the diplomat well    
masked his true errand with the artist's
 garb3 and who of all men was ever so   
well fitted by ,nature to play the part 
as ,rubens8  ,yet he came near overdoing
 the part at least once4 ,it was in this
 wise3 he really was not sure that the  
honors paid him were on account of his  
being a painter or a courtier4 ,but like
 comedians who think their forte is     
tragedy1 so the part of courtier was    
more pleasing to ,rubens than that of   
painter1 because it was more difficult4 
,he painted with such ease that he set  
small store on the talent3 it was only a
 makeshift for advancement4  ,don ,john1
 ,duke of ,braganza1 afterward ,king of 

,portugal1 was a lover of art1 and      
desired to make the acquaintance of the 
painter4 ,so he wrote to ,rubens at     
,madrid1 inviting him to ,villa         
,vitiosa1 his place of residence4       
,rubens knew how the ,duke of ,mantua   
did these things--he decided to follow  
suit4  ,with a numerous train1 made up  
from the fringe of the ,madrid ,court1  
with hired horsemen going before1 and   
many servants behind1 the retinue       
started away4 ,coming within five miles 
of the villa of ,don ,john1 word was    
sent that ,rubens and his retinue       
awaited his embassy4  ,now ,don ,john   
was a sure-enough duke and could muster 
quite a retinue of his own on occasion1 
yet he had small taste for tinsel       
parades4 ,men who have a real good      
bank-balance do not have to wear        
fashionable clothes4 ,don ,john was a   
plain1 blunt man who liked books and    
pictures4 ,he wanted to see the painter1
 not a courtier3 and when he heard of   
the style in which the artist was       

coming1 he just put a boy on a donkey   
and sent word out that he was not at    
home4 ,and further1 to show the proud   
painter his place1 he sent along a small
 purse of silver to pay the artist for  
the trouble to which he had been4 ,the  
rebuke was so delicate that it was      
altogether lost on ,rubens--he was      
simply enraged4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,in all1 ,rubens  
spent eight years in the service of the 
,duke of ,mantua4 ,he had visited the   
chief cities of ,italy1 and was familiar
 with all the art of the golden ages    
that had gone before4 ,when he left     
,italy he had to take advantage of the  
fact that the ,duke was in ,france1 for 
every time before1 when he had suggested
 going1 he was questioned thus3 ,why1   
have you not all you wish8 ,what more   
can be done for you8 ,name your desire  
and you shall have it4  ,but ,rubens    
wanted home3 ,antwerp1 his mother1      
brothers1 sister1 the broad ,river      
,scheldt1 and the good old ,flemish     

tongue4  ,soon after arriving in        
,antwerp he was named as ,court ,painter
 by ,albert and ,isabella4 ,thus he was 
the successor of his old master1 ,van   
,veen4  ,he was now aged thirty-two1 in 
possession of an income from the ,state1
 and a fame and name to be envied4 ,he  
was rich in money1 jewels and art       
treasures brought from ,italy1 for he   
had the thrifty instincts of a true     
,dutchman4  ,and it was a gala day for  
all ,antwerp when the bells rang and the
 great organ in the ,cathedral played   
the wedding-march when ,peter ,paul     
,rubens and ,isabella ,brandt were      
married1 on the ,thirteenth of ,october1
 ,sixteen ,hundred ,nine4 ,never was    
there a happier mating4  ,that fine     
picture at ,munich of ,rubens and his   
wife tells of the sweet comradeship that
 was to be theirs for many years4 ,he   
opened a school1 and pupils flocked to  
him from all ,europe2 commissions for   
work came and orders for altar-pieces   
from various churches4  ,an order was   

issued by the ,archduke that he should  
not leave ,holland1 and a copy of the   
order was sent to the ,duke of ,mantua1 
to shut off his importunities4  ,among  
the pupils of ,rubens we find the name  
of ,jordaens 7whom he had first known in
 ,italy71 ,de ,crayer1 ,anthony ,van    
,dyck1 ,franz ,snyder and many others   
who achieved distinction4 ,rubens was a 
positive leader2 so animated was his    
manner that his ambition was infectious4
 ,all his young men painted just as he  
did4 ,his will was theirs4 ,from now on1
 out of the thousands of pictures signed
 ,p4 ,p4 ,rubens1 we can not pick out a 
single picture and say1 ,rubens did     
this4 ,he drew outlines and added the   
finishing touches2 and surely would not 
have signed a canvas of which he did not
 approve4 ,in his great studio at       
,antwerp1 at various times1 fully a     
hundred men worked to produce the       
pictures we call ,rubens4  ,those       
glowing canvases in the ,rubens ,gallery
 of the ,louvre1 showing the history and

 apotheosis of ,marie de ,medici1 were  
painted at ,antwerp4 ,the joyous1       
exuberant touch of ,rubens is over all1 
even though the work was done by        
'prentice hands4  ,peaceful lives make  
dull biographies1 and in prosperity is  
small romance4  ,we may search long     
before finding a life so full to        
overflowing of material good things as  
that of ,rubens4 ,all he touched turned 
to gold4 ,from the time he returned to  
,antwerp in ,sixteen ,hundred ,eight to 
his death in ,sixteen ,hundred ,forty1  
his life-journey was one grand triumphal
 march4 ,his many diplomatic missions   
were simply repetitions of his first    
,spanish embassy1 with the ,don ,john   
incident left out1 for ,don ,john seems 
to have been the only man who was not at
 home to the gracious ,rubens4  ,mr4    
,ruskin has said3 ,rubens was a great   
painter1 but he lacked that last        
undefinable something which makes heart 
speak to heart4 ,you admire1 but you    
never adore4 ,no real sorrow ever       

entered his life4  ,perhaps we get a    
valuable clue in that last line4 ,great 
art is born of feeling1 and the heart of
 ,rubens was never touched by tragedy1  
nor the rocky fastnesses of his tears   
broken in upon by grief4 ,in many ways  
his was the spirit of a child3 he had   
troubles1 but not sufficient to prevent 
refreshing sleep1 and when he awoke in  
the morning the trials of yesterday were
 gone4  ,even when the helpful1 faithful
 and loving ,isabella ,brandt was taken 
away from him by death1 there soon came 
other joys to take the place of those   
that were lost4  ,we have full fifty    
pictures of his second wife3 she looks  
down at us--smiling1 buxom1             
content--from every gallery-wall in     
,europe4 ,rubens was fifty-three and she
 was sixteen when they were married2 and
 were it not for a twinge of gout now   
and then1 he would have been as young as
 she4  ,when ,rubens went to ,england on
 an artistic commission1 we see that he 
captured ,charles the ,first just as he 

captured the court of ,spain4 ,he       
painted five portraits of the ,king that
 we can trace4 ,the mild-mannered       
,charles was greatly pleased with the   
fine portrait of himself bestriding the 
prancing cream-colored charger4         
,several notable artists1 ,sir ,joshua  
,reynolds among them1 have complimented 
the picture by taking the horse1        
background and pose1 and placing another
 man in the saddle--or more properly1   
taking off the head of ,charles the     
,first and putting on the head of any   
bold patron who would furnish the price4
 ,in looking through the galleries of   
,europe1 keep your eye out for          
equestrian portraits1 and you will be   
surprised to see on your tab1 when you  
have made the rounds1 how many painters 
have borrowed that long-maned1 yellow   
horse that still rears in the ,national 
,gallery in ,london1 smelling the battle
 afar off--as ,charles himself preferred
 to smell it4  ,rubens had a good time  
in ,england1 although his patience was  

severely tried by being kept at painting
 for months1 awaiting an opportune time 
to give ,king ,charles some good advice 
on matters political4  ,english ways    
were very different from those of the   
,continent1 but ,rubens soon spoke the  
language with fluency1 even if not with 
precision4  ,rubens spoke seven         
languages1 and to speak seven languages 
is to speak no one well4 ,on this point 
we have a little comment from high      
authority4 ,said ,charles the ,first1   
writing to ,buckingham1 ,the ,fleming   
painter prides himself on being able to 
pass for an ,englishman1 but his        
,english is so larded with ,french1     
,dutch and ,italian that we think he    
must have been employed on the ,tower of
 ,babel4  ,while painting the ceiling of
 the banqueting-room at ,whitehall      
7where a ,dutchman was later to be      
crowned ,king of ,england71 he discussed
 politics with the ,duke of ,buckingham 
and the ,king1 from the scaffold4 ,some 
years after we find ,buckingham visiting

 ,rubens at his home in ,antwerp1       
dickering for his fine collection of    
curios and paintings4  ,the ,duke       
afterwards bought the collection and    
paid ,rubens ten thousand pounds in gold
 for it4  ,every one complimented       
,rubens on his shrewdness in getting so 
much money for the wares1 and ,rubens   
gave a banquet to his friends in token  
of the great sale to the ,britisher4 ,it
 was a lot of money1 to be sure1 but the
 ,englishman realized the worth of the  
collection better than did ,rubens4 ,we 
have a catalog of the collection4 ,it   
includes nineteen ,titians1 thirteen    
,paul ,veroneses1 seventeen             
,tintorettos1 three ,leonardos1 three   
,raphaels and thirteen pictures by      
,rubens himself4  ,a single one of the  
,titians1 if sold at auction today1     
would bring more than the ,duke paid for
 the entire collection4  ,james ,mc,neil
 ,whistler has said1 ,there may be a    
doubt about ,rubens having been a ,great
 ,artist2 but he surely was an          

,industrious ,person4  ,there is barely 
enough truth in ,mr4 ,whistler's remark1
 taken with its dash of wit1 to save it2
 but ,philip ,gilbert ,hamerton's sober 
estimate is of more value3 ,the         
influence of ,rubens for good can not be
 overestimated4 ,he gave inspiration to 
all he met1 and his example of industry1
 vivid imagination1 good-cheer and good 
taste have had an incalculable influence
 on art4 ,we have more canvases from his
 hand than from the hand of any other   
master4 ,and these pictures are a quarry
 to which every artist of today1        
consciously or unconsciously1 is        
indebted4     ,,meissonier       ,i     
never hesitate about scraping out the   
work of days1 and      beginning afresh1
 so as to satisfy myself1 and try to do 
better4      ,ah6 that better which one 
feels in one's soul1 and without        
which no true artist is ever content6   
,others may approve and admire2 but that
 counts for nothing1      compared with 
one's own feeling of what ought to be4  

--,meissonier's ,conversations          
,illustration3 ,,meissonier   ,life in  
this world is a collecting1 and all the 
men and women in it are collectors4     
,the question is1 ,what will you        
collect8 ,most men are intent on        
collecting dollars4 ,their waking-hours 
are taken up with inventing plans1      
methods1 schemes1 whereby they may      
secure dollars from other men4 ,to      
gather as many dollars as possible1 and 
to give out as few1 is the desideratum4 
,but when you collect one thing you     
always incidentally collect others4 ,the
 fisherman who casts his net for shad   
usually secures a few other fish1 and   
once in a while a turtle1 which enlarges
 the mesh to suit1 and gives sweet      
liberty to the shad4 ,to focus          
exclusively on dollars is to secure     
jealousy1 fear1 vanity1 and a vaulting  
ambition that may claw its way through  
the mesh and let your dollars slip into 
the yeasty deep4  ,ragged ,haggard and  
his colleague1 ,cave-of-the-,winds1     

collect bacteria2 while the fashionable 
young men of the day1 with a few        
exceptions1 are collecting headaches1   
regrets1 weak nerves1 tremens1          
paresis--death4 ,of course we shall all 
die 7,i will admit that71 and further1  
we may be a long time dead 7,i will     
admit that71 and moreover1 we may be    
going through the world for the last    
time--as to that ,i do not know2 but    
while we are here it seems the part of  
reason to devote our energies to        
collecting that which brings as much    
quiet joy to ourselves1 and as little   
annoyance to others1 as possible4  ,my  
heart goes out to the collector4 ,in the
 soul of the collector of old books1    
swords1 pistols1 brocades1 prints1      
clocks and bookplates1 there is only    
truth4 ,if he gives you his friendship1 
it is because you love the things that  
he loves2 he has no selfish wish to use 
your good name to further his own petty 
plans--he only asks that you shall      
behold1 and beholding1 your eye shall   

glow1 and your heart warm within you4   
,inasmuch as we live in the age of the  
specialist1 one man often collects books
 on only one subject1 ,dante for        
instance2 another1 nothing but volumes  
printed at ,venice2 another1 works      
concerning the stage2 and still another 
devotes all his spare time to securing  
tobacco-pipes4 ,and ,i am well aware    
that the man who for a quarter of a     
century industriously collects          
snuffboxes has a supreme contempt for   
the man who collects both snuffboxes and
 clocks4 ,and in this does the          
specialist reveal that his normal       
propensity to collect has degenerated4  
,that is to say1 it has refined itself  
into an abnormality1 and from the       
innocent desire to collect1 has shifted 
off into a selfish wish to outrival4    
,the man who collects many things1 with 
easy1 natural leanings toward1 say1     
spoons1 is pure in heart and free from  
guile2 but when his soul centers on     
spoons exclusively1 he has fallen from  

his high estate and is simply possessed 
of a lust for ownership--he wants to own
 more peculiar spoons than any other man
 on earth4 ,such a one stirs up wrath   
and rivalry1 and is the butt and byword 
of all others who collect spoons4       
,prosperous1 practical1 busy people     
sometimes wonder why other folks build  
cabinets with glass fronts and strong   
locks and therein store postage-stamps1 
bits of old silks1 autographs and books 
that are very precious only when their  
leaves are uncut2 and so ,i will here   
endeavor to explain4 ,at the same time  
,i despair of making my words           
intelligible to any but those who are   
collectors1 or mayhap to those others   
who are in the varioloid stage4  ,then  
possibly you say ,i had better not waste
 good paper and ink by recording the    
information1 since collectors know      
already1 and those who are without the  
pale have neither eyes to see nor hearts
 to incline4 ,but the simple fact is1   
the proposition that you comprehend on  

first hearing was yours already2 for how
 can you recognize a thing as soon as it
 comes into view if you have never      
before seen it8 ,you have thought my    
thought yourself1 or else your heart    
would not beat fast and your lips say1  
,yes1 yes6 when ,i voice it4 ,truth is  
in the air1 and when your head gets up  
into the right stratum of atmosphere you
 breathe it in4 ,you may not know that  
you have breathed it in until ,i come   
along and write it out on this blank    
sheet1 and then you read it and say1    
,yes--your hand6 that is surely so2 ,i  
knew it all along6  ,and so then if ,i  
tell you a thing you already know1 ,i   
confer on you the great blessing of     
introducing you to yourself and of      
giving you the consciousness that you   
know4  ,and to know you know is power4  
,and to feel the sense of power is to   
feel a sense of oneness with the ,source
 of ,power4  ,let's see--what was it1   
then1 that we were talking about8 ,oh1  
yes6 collectors and collecting4  ,men   

collect things because these things stir
 imagination and link them with the     
people who once possessed and used these
 things4 ,thus1 through imagination1 is 
the dead past made again to live and    
throb and pulse with life4 ,man is not  
the lonely creature that those folks    
with bad digestions sometimes try to    
have us believe4  ,we are brothers not  
only to all who live1 but to all who    
have gone before4  ,and so we collect   
the trifles that once were valuables for
 other men1 and by the possession of    
these trifles are we bounden to them4   
,these things stimulate imagination1    
stir the sympathies1 and help us forget 
the cramping bounds of time and space   
that so often hedge us close around4    
,the people near us may be sordid1      
stupid1 mean2 or more likely they are   
weary and worn with the battle for mere 
food1 shelter and raiment2 or they are  
depressed by that undefined brooding    
fear which civilization exacts as       
payment for benefits forgot--so their   

better selves are subdued4  ,but through
 fancy's flight we can pick our         
companions out of the company of saints 
and sinners who have long turned to     
dust4 ,i have the bookplates of ,holbein
 and ,hogarth1 and ,i have a book once  
owned by ,rembrandt1 and so ,i do not   
say ,holbein and ,hogarth and ,rembrandt
 were--,i say they are4  ,and thus the  
collector confuses the glorious dead and
 the living in one fairy company2 and   
although he may detect varying degrees  
of excellence1 for none does he hold    
contempt1 of none is he jealous1 none   
does he envy4 ,from them he asks        
nothing1 upon him they make no demands4 
,in the collector's cast of mind there  
is something very childlike and         
ingenuous4  ,my little girl has a small 
box of bright bits of silk thread that  
she hoards very closely2 then she       
possesses certain pieces of calico1     
nails1 curtain-rings1 buttons1 spools   
and fragments of china--all of which are
 very dear to her heart4 ,and why should

 they not be8 ,for with them she creates
 a fairy world1 wherein are only joy1   
and peace1 and harmony1 and light--quite
 an improvement on this6 ,yes1 dearie1  
quite4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,ernest ,meissonier1 the   
artist1 began collecting very early4 ,he
 has told us that he remembers1 when    
five years of age1 of going with his    
mother to market and collecting rabbits'
 ears and feet1 which he would take     
home1 and carefully nail up on the wall 
of the garret4 ,and it may not be amiss 
to explain here that the rabbit's foot  
as an object of superstitious veneration
 has no real place outside of the       
,united ,states of ,america1 and this   
only south of ,mason and ,dixon's line4 
,the ,meissonier lad's collection of    
rabbits' ears increased until he had    
nearly colors enough to run the         
chromatic scale4 ,then he collected     
pigeons' wings in like manner1 and if   
you have ever haunted ,french           
market-places you know how natural a    

thing this would be for a child4 ,the   
boy's mother took quite an interest in  
his amusements1 and helped him to spread
 the wings out and arrange the tails    
fan-shape on the walls4 ,they had long  
strings of buttons and boxes of spools  
in partnership2 and when they would go  
up the ,seine on little excursions on   
,sunday afternoons1 they would bring    
back rich spoils in the way of swan     
feathers1 butterflies1 snake-feeders and
 tiny shells4 ,then once they found a   
bird's nest1 and as the mother bird had 
deserted it1 they carried it home4 ,that
 was a red-letter day1 for the garret   
collection had increased to such an     
extent that a partition was made across 
the corner of a room by hanging up a    
strip of cloth4 ,and all the things in  
that corner belonged to ,ernest--his    
mother said so4 ,ernest's mother seems  
to have had a fine1 joyous1 childlike   
nature1 so she fully entered into the   
life of her boy4 ,he wanted no other    
companion4 ,in fact1 this mother was    

little better herself than a child in   
years--she was only sixteen when she    
bore him4 ,they lived at ,lyons then1   
but three years later moved to ,paris4  
,her temperament was poetic1 religious1 
and her spirit had in it a touch of     
superstition--which is the case with all
 really excellent women4  ,but this     
sweet playtime was not for long--the    
mother died in ,eighteen ,hundred       
,twenty-five1 aged twenty-four years4   
,i suppose there is no greater calamity 
that can befall a child than to lose his
 mother4 ,still1 ,nature is very kind1  
and for ,ernest ,meissonier there always
 remained firm1 clear-cut memories of a 
slight1 fair-haired woman1 with large1  
open1 gray eyes1 who held him in her    
arms1 sang to him1 and rocked him to    
sleep each night as the darkness        
gathered4 ,he lived over and over again 
those few sunshiny excursions up the    
river2 and he knew all the reeds and    
flowers and birds she liked best1 and   
the places where they had landed from   

the boat and lunched together were      
forever to him sacred spots4  ,but the  
death of his mother put a stop for a    
time to his collecting4 ,the sturdy     
housekeeper who came to take the        
mother's place1 speedily cleared the    
truck out of the corner1 and forbade the
 bringing of any more feathers and      
rabbits' feet into her house--well1 ,i  
guess so6 ,the birds' nests1 long       
grasses1 reeds1 shells and pigeons'     
wings were tossed straightway into the  
fireplace1 and went soaring up the      
chimney in smoke4  ,the destruction of  
the collection didn't kill the          
propensity to collect1 however1 any more
 than you can change a man's opinions by
 burning his library4 ,it only dampened 
the desire for a time4 ,it broke out    
again after a few years and continued   
for considerably more than half a       
century4 ,there was a house at ,poissy  
full to the roof-tiles of books1        
marbles1 bronzes and innumerable curios1
 gathered from every corner of the      

earth2 and a palace at ,paris filled in 
like manner1 for which ,ernest          
,meissonier had expended more than a    
million francs4  ,in the palace at      
,paris1 when the owner was near his     
threescore years and ten1 he took from a
 locker a morocco case1 and opening it1 
showed his friend1 ,dumas1 a long curl  
of yellow hair2 and then he brought out 
a curious old white-silk dress1 and said
 to the silent ,dumas1 ,this curl was   
cut from my mother's head after her     
death1 and this dress was her           
wedding-gown4  ,a few days after this   
,meissonier wrote these words in his    
journal3 ,it is the ,twentieth of       
,february--the morning of my seventieth 
birthday4 ,what a long time to look back
 upon6 ,this morning1 at the hour when  
my mother gave me birth1 ,i wished my   
first thoughts to be of her4 ,dear      
,mother1 how often have the tears risen 
to my eyes at the remembrance of you6   
,it was your absence--the longing ,i had
 for you--that made you so dear to me4  

,the love of my heart goes out to you6  
,do you hear me1 ,mother1 calling and   
crying for you8 ,how sweet it must be to
 have a mother1 ,i say to myself4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,i would have every man rich1 said      
,emerson1 that he might know the        
worthlessness of riches4  ,every man    
should have a college education1 in     
order to show him how little the thing  
is really worth4 ,the intellectual kings
 of the earth have seldom been          
college-bred4 ,napoleon ever regretted  
the lack of instruction in his early    
years2 and in the minds of such men as  
,abraham ,lincoln and ,ernest           
,meissonier there usually lingers the   
suspicion that they have dropped        
something out of their lives4  ,i'm not 
a college man--ask ,seward1 said        
,lincoln1 when some one questioned him  
as to the population of ,alaska4 ,the   
remark was merry jest1 of course1 but as
 in all jest there lurks a grain of     
truth1 so did there here4  ,at the      

height of ,meissonier's success1 when a 
canvas from his hand commanded a larger 
price than the work of any other living 
artist1 he exclaimed1 ,oh1 if only ,i   
had been given the advantages of a      
college training6  ,if he had1 it is    
quite probable that he never would have 
painted better than his teacher4        
,discipline might have reduced his      
daring genius to neutral salts1 and     
taken all that fine audacity from his   
brush4  ,he was a natural artist3 he saw
 things clearly and in detail2 he had   
the heart to feel1 and he longed for the
 skill to express that which he saw and 
felt4 ,and when the desire is strong    
enough it brings the thing--and thus is 
prayer answered4  ,meissonier while but 
a child set to work making pictures--he 
declared he would be an artist4 ,and in 
spite of his father's attempts to shame 
him out of his whim1 and to starve him  
into a more practical career1 his       
resolution stuck4  ,he worked in a      
drugstore and drew on the               

wrapping-paper2 then with this artist a 
few days1 and then with that4 ,he tried 
illustrating1 and finally a bold stand  
was made and a little community formed  
that decided on storming the ,salon4    
,there is something pathetic in that    
brotherhood of six young men1 binding   
themselves together1 swearing they would
 stand together and aid each other in   
producing great art4  ,the dead         
seriousness of the scheme has a peculiar
 sophomore quality4 ,there were         
,steinheil1 ,trimolet1 ,daumier1        
,daubigny1 ,deschaumaes and ,meissonier1
 all aged about twenty1 strong1 sturdy1 
sincere and innocently ignorant--all    
bound they would be artists4  ,two of   
these young men were sign-painters1 the 
others did odd jobs illustrating1 and   
filled in the time at anything which    
chance offered4 ,when one got an        
invitation out to dinner he would go1   
and furtively drop biscuit and slices of
 meat into his lap1 and then slyly      
transfer them to his waistcoat-pockets1 

so as to take them to his less fortunate
 brethren4  ,they haunted the galleries1
 made themselves familiar with catalogs1
 criticized without stint1 knew all     
about current prices1 and were able to  
point out the great artists of ,paris   
when they passed proudly up the street4 
,they sketched eternally1 formed small  
wax models1 and made great preparations 
for masterpieces4  ,the reason they did 
not produce the masterpieces was because
 they did not have money to buy brushes1
 paints and canvas4 ,neither did they   
have funds to purchase food to last     
until the thing was done2 and it is     
difficult to produce great art on       
half-rations4 ,so they formed the       
brotherhood1 and one midnight swore     
eternal fealty4 ,they were to draw lots3
 the lucky member was to paint and the  
other five were to support him for a    
month4 ,he was to be supplied his       
painting outfit and to be absolutely    
free from all responsibility as to the  
bread-and-butter question for a whole   

month4  ,trimolet was the first lucky   
man4  ,he set diligently to work1 and   
dined each evening on a smoking         
mutton-chop with a bottle of wine1 at a 
respectable restaurant4 ,the five stood 
outside and watched him through the     
window--they dined when and where they  
could4  ,his picture grew apace1 and in 
three weeks was completed4 ,it was      
entitled1 ,sisters of ,charity ,giving  
,out ,soup to the ,poor4 ,the work was  
of a good machine-made quality1 not good
 enough to praise nor bad enough to     
condemn3 it was like ,tomlinson of      
,berkeley ,square4  ,on account of the  
peculiar subject with which it dealt1 it
 found favor with a worthy priest1 who  
bought it and presented it to a convent4
  ,this so inflated ,trimolet that he   
suggested it would be a good plan to    
keep right on with the arrangement1 but 
the five objected4  ,steinheil was next 
appointed to feed the vestal fire4 ,his 
picture was so-so1 but would not sell4  
,daubigny came next1 and lived so high  

that inspiration got clogged1 fatty     
degeneration of the cerebrum set in1 and
 after a week he ceased to paint--doing 
nothing but dream4  ,when the turn of   
the fourth man came1 ,meissonier had    
concluded that the race must be won by  
one and one1 and his belief in          
individualism was further strengthened  
by an order for a group of family       
portraits1 with a goodly retainer in    
advance4  ,straightway he married       
,steinheil's sister1 with whom he had   
been some weeks in love1 and the others 
feeling aggrieved that an extra mouth to
 feed1 with danger of more1 had been    
added to the ,commune1 declared the     
compact void4  ,trimolet still thought  
well of the arrangement1 though1 and    
agreed1 if ,meissonier would support    
him1 to secure fame and fortune for them
 both4  ,meissonier declined the offer  
with thanks1 and struck boldly out on   
his own account4  ,the woman who had so 
recklessly agreed to share his poverty  
must surely have had faith in him--or   

are very young people who marry         
incapable of either faith or reason8    
,never mind2 she did not hold the       
impulsive young man back4  ,she         
couldn't--nothing but death could have  
stayed such ambition4 ,his will was     
unbending and his ambition never tired4 
,he was an athlete in strength1 and was 
fully conscious that to be a good animal
 is the first requisite4 ,he swam1      
rowed1 walked1 and could tire out any of
 his colleagues at swordplay or         
skittles4  ,but material things were    
scarce those first few years of married 
life1 and once when the table had bread1
 but no meat nor butter1 he took the    
entire proceeds of a picture and        
purchased a suit of clothing of the time
 of ,louis the ,grand3 not to wear1 of  
course--simply to put in the collection4
  ,small wonder is it that1 for some    
months after1 when he would walk out    
alone the fond wife would caution him   
thus3 ,now ,ernest1 do not go through   
that old-clothes market--you know your  

weakness4  ,i have no money1 so you need
 not worry1 he would gaily reply4  ,of  
those times of pinching want he has     
written1 ,as to happiness--is it        
possible to be wretched at twenty1 when 
one has health1 a passion for art1 free 
passes for the ,louvre1 an eye to see1 a
 heart to feel1 and sunshine gratis8    
,but poverty did not last long4         
,pictures such as this young man        
produced must attract attention         
anywhere4  ,he belonged to no school1   
but simply worked away after his own    
fashion2 what he was bound to do was to 
produce a faithful picture--sure1 clear1
 strong1 vivid4 ,he saw things clearly  
and his sympathies were acute1 as is    
shown in every canvas he produced4      
,meissonier had the true artistic       
conscience--he was incapable of putting 
out an average1 unobjectionable         
picture--it must have positive          
excellence4 ,there is a difference1 said
 he1 between a successful effort and a  
work of love4 ,he painted only in the   

loving mood4  ,no greater blessing than 
the artistic conscience can come to any 
worker in art1 be he sculptor1 writer1  
singer or painter4 ,hold fast to it1 and
 it shall be your compass in time when  
the sun is darkened4 ,to please the     
public is little1 but to satisfy your   
,other ,self1 that self that leans over 
your shoulder and watches your every    
thought and deed1 is much4 ,no artistic 
success worth having is possible unless 
you satisfy that ,other ,self4  ,but    
like the moral conscience it can be     
dallied with until the grieved spirit   
turns away1 and the wretch is left to   
his fate4  ,meissonier never hesitated  
to erase a whole picture when it did not
 satisfy his inward sense--customers    
might praise and connoisseurs offer to  
buy1 it made no difference4 ,i have some
 one who is more difficult to please    
than you1 he would say2 ,i must satisfy 
myself4  ,the fine intoxication that    
follows good artistic work is the       
highest joy that mortals ever know4 ,but

 once let a creative artist lower his   
standard and give the world the mere    
product of his brain1 with heart left   
out1 that man will hate himself for a   
year and a day4 ,he has sold his soul   
for a price3 joy has flown1 and         
bitterness is his portion4 ,meissonier  
never trifled with his compass4 ,to the 
last he headed for the polestar4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,the early domestic affairs of          
,meissonier can best be guessed from his
 oft-repeated assertion that the artist 
should never marry4 ,to produce great   
work1 ,art must be your mistress1 he    
said4 ,you must be married to your work4
 ,a wife demands unswerving loyalty as  
her right1 and a portion of her         
husband's time she considers her own4   
,this is proper with every profession   
but that of ,art4 ,the artist must not  
be restrained1 nor should even a wife   
come between him and his ,art4 ,the     
artist must not be judged by the same   
standards that are made for other men4  

,why8 ,simply because when you begin to 
tether him you cramp his imagination and
 paralyze his hand4 ,the priest and     
artist must not marry1 for it is too    
much to expect any woman to follow them 
in their flight1 and they have no moral 
right to tie themselves to a woman and  
then ask her to stay behind4  ,from this
 and many similar passages in the       
,conversations it is clear that         
,meissonier had no conception of the    
fact that a woman may possibly keep step
 with her mate4 ,he simply never        
considered such a thing4  ,a man's      
opinions concerning womankind are based 
upon the knowledge of the women he knows
 best4  ,we can not apply ,hamerton's   
remark concerning ,turner to            
,meissonier4 ,hamerton said that        
throughout ,turner's long life he was   
lamentably unfortunate in that he never 
came under the influence of a strong and
 good woman4  ,meissonier associated    
with good women1 but he never knew one  
with a spread of spiritual wing         

sufficient to fit her to be his         
companion4 ,there is a minor key of     
loneliness and heart hunger running     
through his whole career4 ,possibly1 in 
the wisdom of ,providence1 this was just
 what he needed to urge him on to higher
 and nobler ends4 ,he never knew peace1 
and the rest for which he sighed slipped
 him at the very last4 ,i'm tired1 so   
tired1 he sighed again and again in     
those later years1 when he had reached  
the highest pinnacle4  ,and still he    
worked--it was his only rest6           
,meissonier painted very few pictures of
 women1 and in some miraculous way      
skipped that stage in esthetic evolution
 wherein most artists affect the nude4  
,in his whole career he never produced a
 single ,diana1 nor a ,susanna at the   
,bath4 ,he had no artistic sympathy with
 ,leda and the ,swan1 and once when     
,delaroche chided him for painting no   
pictures of women1 he was so ungallant  
as to say1 ,my dear fellow1 men are much
 more beautiful than women6  ,during the

 last decade of his life ,meissonier    
painted but one portrait of a woman1 and
 to ,america belongs the honor4 ,the    
sitter was ,mrs4 ,j4 ,w4 ,mackay1 of    
,california4  ,as all the world knows1  
,mrs4 ,mackay refused to accept the     
canvas4 ,she declared the picture was no
 likeness1 and further1 she would not   
have it for a gift4  ,so you do not care
 for the picture8 asked the great       
artist4  ,me8 ,well1 ,i guess not--not  
that picture6  ,very well1 ,madam4 ,i   
think--,i think ,i'll keep it for       
myself4 ,i'll place it on exhibition6   
,and the great artist looked out of the 
window in an absent-minded way1 and     
hummed a tune4  ,this put another phase 
on the matter4 ,mrs4 ,mackay winced1 and
 paid the price1 which rumor says was   
somewhere between ten and twenty-five   
thousand dollars4 ,she took the little  
canvas in her carriage and drove away   
with it1 and what became of the only    
portrait of a woman painted by          
,meissonier during his later years1     

nobody knew but ,mrs4 ,mackay1 and ,mrs4
 ,mackay never told4  ,meissonier once  
explained to a friend that his offense  
consisted in producing a faithful       
likeness of the customer4  ,the ,mackay 
incident did not end when the lady paid 
the coin and accepted the goods4        
,meissonier1 by the haughtiness of his  
manner1 his artistic independence1 and  
most of all1 by his unpardonable        
success1 had been sowing dragons' teeth 
for half a century4 ,and now armed      
enemies sprang up1 and sided with the   
woman from ,california4 ,they made it an
 international episode3 less excuses    
have involved nations in war in days    
agone4 ,but the enemies of ,meissonier  
did not belong alone to ,america1       
although here every arm was braced and  
every tongue wagged to vindicate the    
cause of our countrywoman4  ,in ,paris  
the whole art world was divided into    
those who sided with ,meissonier and    
those who were against him4 ,cafes      
echoed with the sounds of wordy warfare2

 the columns of all magazines and       
newspapers bulged with heated argument2 
newsboys cried extras on the street1 and
 bands of students paraded the          
boulevards singing songs in praise of   
,mrs4 ,mackay and in dishonor of        
,meissonier1 the pretender4 ,the        
assertion was made again and again that 
,meissonier had fed sham art upon the   
public1 and by means of preposterous    
prices and noisy puffing had hypnotized 
a world4 ,they called him the artist of 
the ,infinitely ,little1 ,king of       
,lilliput1 and challenged any one to    
show where he had thrown heart and high 
emotion into his work4 ,studies of      
coachmen1 smokers1 readers1 soldiers1   
housemaids1 chess-players1 cavaliers and
 serenaders were not enough upon which  
to base an art reputation--the man must 
show that he had moved men to high      
endeavor1 said the detractors4 ,a fund  
was started to purchase the ,mackay     
portrait1 so as to do the very thing    
that ,meissonier had threatened to do1  

but dare not3 place the picture on      
exhibition4 ,to show the picture1 the   
enemy said1 would be to prove the       
artist's commonplace quality1 and not   
only this1 but it would prove the man a 
rogue4 ,they declared he was incapable  
of perceiving the good qualities in a   
sitter1 and had consented for a price to
 portray a person whom he disliked2 and 
as a result1 of course1 had produced a  
caricature2 and then had blackmailed his
 patron into paying an outrageous sum to
 keep the picture from the public4  ,the
 argument sounded plausible4 ,and so the
 battle raged1 just as it has since in  
reference to ,zola4  ,the tide of       
,meissonier's prosperity began to ebb3  
prospective buyers kept away2 those who 
had given commissions canceled them4    
,meissonier's friends saw that something
 must be done4 ,they inaugurated a      
,meissonier ,vindication1 by making an  
exhibition of one hundred fifty-five    
,meissoniers--and the public was invited
 to come and be the jury4 ,art-lovers   

from ,england went in bodies1 and all   
,paris filed through the gallery1 as    
well as a goodly portion of provincial  
,france4 ,by the side of each canvas    
stood a gendarme to protect it from a   
possible fanatic whose artistic hate    
could not be restrained4  ,to a great   
degree this exhibition brought feeling  
to a normal condition4 ,meissonier was  
still a great artist1 yet he was human  
and his effects were now believed to be 
gotten by natural methods4 ,but there   
was a lull in the mad rush to secure his
 wares4 ,the ,vanderbilts grew lukewarm2
 titled connoisseurs from ,england were 
not so anxious2 and ,mrs4 ,mackay sat   
back and smiled through her tears4      
,meissonier had expended over a million 
francs on his house in the ,boulevard   
,malesherbes in ,paris1 and nearly as   
much on the country-seat at ,poissy4    
,these places were kingly in their      
appointments and such as only the ,state
 should attempt to maintain4 ,for a     
single man1 by the work of his right    

hand1 to keep them up was too much to   
expect4  ,meissonier's success had been 
too great4 ,as a collector he had       
overdone the thing4 ,only poor men1 or  
those of moderate incomes1 should be    
collectors1 for then the joy of         
sacrifice is theirs4 ,charles ,lamb's   
covetous looking on the book when it was
 red1 daily for months1 meanwhile       
hoarding his pay1 and at last one       
,saturday night swooping down and       
carrying the volume home to ,bridget in 
triumph1 is the true type4  ,but money  
had come to ,meissonier by hundreds of  
thousands of francs1 and often sums were
 forced upon him as advance payments4   
,he lived royally and never imagined    
that his hand and brain could lose their
 cunning1 or the public be fickle4  ,the
 fact that a vindication had been       
necessary was galling3 the great man    
grew irritable and his mood showed      
itself in his work3 his colors grew hard
 and metallic1 and there were angles in 
his lines where there should have been  

joyous curves4  ,debts began to press4  
,he painted less and busied his mind    
with reminiscence--the solace of old    
age4  ,and then it was that he dictated 
to his wife the ,conversations4 ,the    
book reveals the quality of his mind    
with rare fidelity--and shows the power 
of this second wife fully to comprehend 
him4 ,thus did she disprove some of the 
unkind philosophy given to the world by 
her liege4 ,but the talk in the         
,conversations is of an old man in whose
 heart was a tinge of bitterness4 ,yet  
the thought is often lofty and the      
comment clear and full of flashing      
insight4 ,it is the book of             
,ecclesiastes over again1 written in a  
minor key1 with a little harmless gossip
 added for filling4 ,meissonier died in 
,paris on the ,twenty-first of ,january1
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,ninety-one1 aged   
seventy-six years4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,the canvas known 
as ,eighteen ,hundred ,seven1 which is  
regarded as ,meissonier's masterpiece1  

has a permanent home in the             
,metropolitan ,museum of ,art in ,new   
,york4 ,the central figure is ,napoleon1
 at whose shrine the great artist loved 
to linger4 ,the ,eighteen ,hundred      
,seven occupied the artist's time and   
talent for fifteen years1 and was       
purchased by ,a4 ,t4 ,stewart for sixty 
thousand dollars4 ,after ,mr4 ,stewart's
 death his art treasures were sold at   
auction1 and this canvas was bought by  
,judge ,henry ,hilton and presented to  
the city of ,new ,york4  ,there are in  
all about seventy-five pictures by      
,meissonier owned in ,america4 ,several 
of his pieces are in the ,vanderbilt    
collection1 others are owned by         
collectors in ,chicago1 ,cleveland and  
,saint ,louis4  ,there are various glib 
sayings to the effect that the work of  
great men is not appreciated until after
 they are dead4 ,this may be so and it  
may not4 ,it depends upon the man and   
the age4 ,meissonier enjoyed full half a
 century of the highest and most        

complete success that was ever bestowed 
upon an artist4  ,the strong intellect  
and marked personality of the man won   
him friends wherever he chose to make   
them2 and it probably would have been   
better for his art if a degree of public
 indifference had been his portion in   
those earlier years4 ,his success was   
too great3 the calm judgment of         
posterity can never quite endorse the   
plaudits paid the living man4 ,he is one
 of the greatest artists the ,nineteenth
 ,century has produced1 but that his    
name can rank among the great artists of
 all time is not at all probable4       
,william ,michael ,rossetti has summed  
the matter up well by saying3           
,perfection is so rare in this world    
that when we find it we must pause and  
pay it the tribute of our silent        
admiration4 ,it is very easy to say that
 ,meissonier should have put in this and
 omitted that4 ,had he painted          
differently he would have been some one 
else4 ,the work is faultless1 and such  

genius as he showed must ever command   
the homage of those who know by         
experience the supreme difficulty of    
having the hand materialize the         
conceptions of the mind4 ,and yet       
,meissonier's conceptions outmatched his
 brush3 he was greater than his work4   
,he was a great artist1 and better      
still1 a great man--proud1 frank1       
fearless and conscientious4     ,,titian
       ,titian by a few strokes of the  
brush knew how to make the general      
image and character of whatever object  
he attempted4 ,his great      care was  
to preserve the masses of light and of  
shade1 and to      give by opposition   
the idea of that solidity which is      
inseparable      from natural objects4  
,he was the greatest of the ,venetians1 
and      deserves to rank with ,raphael 
and ,michelangelo4      --,sir ,joshua  
,reynolds  ,illustration3 ,,titian      
,the march of progress and the rage for 
improvement make small impression on    
,venice4 ,the cabmen have not protested 

against horsecars as they did in ,rome1 
tearing up the tracks1 mobbing the      
drivers1 and threatening the passengers2
 neither has the cable superseded horses
 as a motor power1 and the trolley then 
rendered the cable obsolete4  ,in short1
 there never was a horse in ,venice1    
save those bronze ones over the entrance
 to ,saint ,mark's1 and the one         
,napoleon rode to the top of the        
,campanile4 ,but there are lions in     
,venice--stone lions--you see them at   
every turn4 ,did you ever see a live    
horse8 asked a ten-year-old boy of me1  
in ,saint ,mark's ,square4  ,yes1 said  
,i2 several times4  ,are they fierce8 he
 asked after a thoughtful pause4 ,and   
then ,i explained that a thousand times 
as many men are killed by horses every  
year as by lions4  ,four hundred years  
have made no change in the style of     
gondolas1 or anything else in ,venice4  
,the prow of the ,venetian gondola made 
today is of the same height as that     
prescribed by ,tommaso ,mocenigo1 ,doge 

in the year ,fourteen ,hundred4 ,the    
regulated height of the prow is to      
insure protection for the passengers    
when going under bridges1 but its       
peculiar halberd shape is a thing not   
one of the five thousand gondoliers in  
,venice can explain4 ,if you ask your   
gondolier he will swear a pious oath1   
shrug his fine shoulders1 and say1 ,mon 
,dieu1 ,signore6 how should ,i know8--it
 has always been so4 ,the ignorance and 
superstition of the picturesque         
gondolier1 with his fluttering blue     
hatband and gorgeous sash1 are most     
enchanting4 ,his lack of knowledge is   
like the ignorance of childhood1 when   
life has neither beginning nor end2 when
 ways and means present no vexatious    
problems2 when if food is not to be had 
for the simple asking1 it can surely be 
secured by coaxing2 when the day is for 
frolic and play1 and the night for      
dreams and sleep4  ,but although your   
gondolier may not be able to read or    
write1 he yet has his preferences in    

music and art1 and possesses definite   
ideas as to the eternal fitness of      
things4 ,in ,italy1 many of the best    
paintings being in churches1 and all the
 galleries being free on certain days1  
the common people absorb a goodly       
modicum of art education without being  
aware of it4 ,i have heard market-women 
compare the merits of ,tintoretto and   
,paul ,veronese1 and stupid indeed is   
the boat hooker in ,venice who would not
 know a ,titian on sight4  ,but the     
chronology of art is all a jumble to    
this indolent1 careless1 happy people4  
,these paintings were in the churches   
when their fathers and mothers were     
alive1 they are here now1 and no church 
has been built in ,venice for three     
hundred years4  ,the history of ,venice 
is nothing to a gondolier4 ,why1        
,signore6 how should ,i know8 ,venice   
always has been1 explained ,enrico1 when
 ,i asked him how old the city was4     
,when ,i hired ,enrico ,i thought he was
 a youth4 ,he wore such a dandy suit of 

pure white1 and his hatband so exactly  
matched his sash1 that ,i felt certain  
,i was close upon some tender romance1  
for surely it was some dark-eyed        
lacemaker who had embroidered this      
impossible hatband and evolved the      
improbable sash6  ,the exercise of      
rowing a gondola is of the sort that    
gives a splendid muscular development4  
,men who pull oars have round shoulders1
 but the gondolier does not pull an oar1
 he pushes it1 and as a result has a    
flat back and brawny chest4 ,enrico had 
these1 and as he had no nerves to speak 
of1 the passing years had taken small   
toll4 ,enrico was sixty4 ,once he ran   
alongside another gondola and introduced
 me to the gondolier1 who was his son4  
,they were both of one age4 ,then one   
day ,i went with ,enrico to his         
home--two whitewashed rooms away up     
under the roof of an old palace on the  
,rialto--and there met his wife4  ,mona 
,lisa showed age more than ,enrico4 ,she
 had crouched over a little wooden frame

 making one pattern of lace for thirty  
years1 so her form was bent and her     
eyesight faulty4 ,yet she proudly       
explained that years and years ago she  
was a model for a painter1 and in the   
,della ,salute ,i could see her picture1
 posed as ,magdalen4 ,she got fourteen  
cents a day for her work1 and had been  
at it so long she had no desire to quit4
 ,she took great pride in ,enrico's     
white-duck suits and explained to me    
that she never let him wear one suit    
more than two days without its being    
washed and starched2 and she always     
pipeclayed his shoes and carefully      
inspected him each morning before       
sending him forth to his day's work4    
,men are so careless1 you know1 she     
added by way of apology4  ,there was no 
furniture in the rooms worth            
mentioning--,italians do not burden     
themselves with things--but on the wall 
,i caught sight of a bright-colored     
unfinished sketch of the ,bridge of     
,sighs4 ,it was little more than an     

outline1 and probably did not represent 
ten minutes' work1 but the lines seemed 
so firm and sure that ,i at once asked  
who did it4  ,an ,american did it1      
,signore1 an ,american painter2 he comes
 here every year2 our son is his        
gondolier and shows him all the best    
places to paint1 and takes him there    
when the light is good and keeps the    
people back so the artist can work--you 
understand8 ,a shower came up just as   
his ,excellency1 the ,american1 began on
 this1 and it got wet and so he gave it 
to my son and he gave it to me4  ,what  
is the painter's name8 ,i asked4 ,enrico
 could not remember1 but ,mona ,lisa    
said his name was ,signore              
,hopsmithiziano1 or something like that4
  ,there were several little plaster    
images on the walls1 and through the    
open door that led to the adjoining room
 ,i saw a sort of an improvised shrine1 
with various little votive offerings    
grouped about an unframed canvas4 ,the  
picture was a crude attempt at copying  

that grand figure in ,titian's          
,assumption4  ,and who painted that8 ,i 
asked4  ,enrico crossed himself in      
silence1 and ,mona ,lisa's subdued voice
 answered3 ,our other son did that4 ,he 
was only nineteen4 ,he was a mosaicist  
and was studying to be a painter2 he was
 drowned at the ,lido4  ,the old woman  
made the sign of the cross1 her lips    
moved1 and a single big tear stood on   
her leathery cheek4 ,i changed the      
painful subject1 and soon found excuse  
to slip away4 ,that evening as the      
darkness gathered and twinkling lights  
began to appear like fireflies1 up and  
down the ,grand ,canal1 ,i sat in a     
little balcony of my hotel watching the 
scene4 ,a serenading party1 backing     
their boats out into the stream1 had    
formed a small blockade1 and in the     
group of gondolas that awaited the      
unraveling of the tangle ,i spied       
,enrico4 ,he had a single passenger1 a  
lady in the inevitable black mantilla1  
holding in her hands the inevitable fan4

 ,a second glance at the lady--and sure 
enough6 it was ,mona ,lisa4 ,i ran      
downstairs1 stepped out across the      
moored line of gondolas1 took up a hook1
 and reaching over gently pulled        
,enrico's gondola over so ,i could step 
aboard4  ,mona ,lisa was crooning a     
plaintive love-song and her gondolier   
was coming in occasionally with bars of 
melodious bass4 ,i felt guilty for being
 about to break in upon such a          
sentimental little scene1 and was going 
to retreat1 but ,enrico and ,mona ,lisa 
spied me and both gave a little cry of  
surprise and delight4  ,where have you  
been8 ,i asked--you fine old lovers6    
,and then they explained that it was a  
,holy ,day and they had been over to the
 ,church of ,san ,giorgio1 and were now 
on their way to ,santa ,maria de'       
,frari4  ,it is a very special mass1 by 
torchlight1 and is for the repose of the
 soul of ,titian1 who is buried there4  
,you may never have an opportunity to   
see such a sight again--come with us1   

and ,enrico held out his strong brown   
hand4  ,i stepped aboard1 the boats     
opened out to the left and to the right1
 and we passed with that peculiar       
rippling sound1 across the water that   
reflected the lights as of a myriad     
stars4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,titian was born one       
hundred years before ,rubens1 and died  
just six months before ,rubens' birth4  
,on the one hundred twenty-second       
anniversary of the birth of ,titian1    
,rubens knelt at his grave1 there in the
 church of ,santa ,maria de' ,frari1 and
 vowed he would follow in the footsteps 
of the illustrious master4 ,and the next
 day he wrote to his mother describing  
the incident4 ,thousands of other       
sentimental and impulsive youth have    
stood before that little slab of black  
marble on which is carved the simple    
legend1 ,tiziano ,vecellio1 and vowed as
 ,rubens did1 but out of the throng not 
one rendered such honor to the master as
 did the brilliant ,fleming4 ,the       

example of ,titian was a lifelong       
inspiration to ,rubens2 and to all his  
pupils he held up ,titian as the painter
 par excellence4 ,in the ,rubens studio 
,titian was the standard by which all   
art was gauged4  ,when ,rubens returned 
to ,flanders from ,italy he carried with
 him twenty-one pictures done by the    
hand of the master4  ,titian was born at
 the little village of ,cadore1 a few   
miles north of ,venice4 ,when ten years 
of age his father took him down to the  
city and apprenticed him to a worker in 
mosaic1 the intent of the fond parent   
probably being to get the youngster out 
of the way1 more than anything else4    
,the setting together of the little bits
 of colored glass1 according to a       
pattern supplied1 is a task so simple   
that children can do it about as well as
 grown folks4 ,they do the work there   
today just exactly as they did four     
hundred years ago1 when little ,tiziano 
,vecellio came down from ,cadore and    
worked1 getting his ears pinched when he

 got sleepy1 or carelessly put in the   
red glass when he should have used the  
blue4  ,an inscription on a tomb at     
,beni ,hassan1 dating from the reign of 
,osortasen the ,first1 who lived three  
thousand years before ,christ1          
represents ,theban glassblowers at work4
 ,i told ,enrico of this one day when we
 were on our way to a glass-factory4    
,that's nothing1 said ,enrico2 it was   
the glassblowers of ,venice who taught  
them how1 and not a ghost of a smile    
came across his fine1 burnt-umber face4 
,there is a story by ,pliny about       
certain ,phenician mariners landing on  
the shores of a small river in          
,palestine and making a fire to cook    
their food1 and afterward discovering   
that the soda and sand under their pots 
had fused into glass4 ,no one now       
seriously considers that the first      
discovery of glass1 and for all ,i know 
,enrico may be right in his flat        
statement that the first glass was made 
at ,venice1 for ,venice always was4     

,the art of glassmaking surely goes back
 to the morning of the world4 ,the      
glassblower is a classic1 like the sower
 who goes forth to sow1 the potter at   
his wheel1 and the grinding of grain    
with mortar and pestle4 ,thus1 too1 the 
art of the mosaicist--who places bright 
bits of stone and glass in certain      
positions so as to form a picture--goes 
back to the dawn4 ,the exquisite work in
 mosaic at ,pompeii is the first thing  
that impresses the visitor to that      
silent city4 ,much of the work there was
 done long before the ,christian era1   
and must have then been practised many  
centuries to bring it to such           
perfection4  ,young ,tiziano from       
,cadore did not like the mere following 
of a set pattern--he introduced         
variations of his own1 and got his nose 
tweaked for trying to improve on a good 
thing4 ,altogether he seemed to have had
 a hard time of it there at ,messer     
,zuccato's mosaic-shop4  ,the painter's 
art1 then as now1 preceded the art of   

the mosaicist1 for the picture or design
 to be made in mosaic is first carefully
 drawn on paper1 and then colored1 and  
the worker in mosaic is supposed simply 
to follow copy4 ,when you visit the     
glass-factories of ,venice today1 you   
see the painted picture tacked up on the
 wall before the workmen1 who with deft 
fingers stick the bits of glass into    
their beds of putty4 ,this scheme of    
painting a pattern is in order that     
cheap help can be employed2 when it     
began we do not know1 but we do know    
there was a time when the great artist  
in mosaic had his design in his head1   
and materialized it by rightly placing  
the bits of glass with his own hands1   
experimenting1 selecting and rejecting  
until the thing was right4 ,but this was
 before the time of ,titian1 for when   
,titian came down to ,venice there were 
painters employed in the shop of        
,sebastian ,zuccato who made the designs
 for the dunderheads to follow4 ,that is
 not just the word the painters used to 

designate the boys and women who placed 
the bits of glass in position1 but it   
meant the same thing4  ,the painters    
thought themselves great folks1 and used
 to make the others wait on them and run
 errands1 serving them as fags4  ,but   
the ,vecellio boy did not worship at the
 shrine of the painters who made the    
designs4 ,he said he could make as good 
pictures himself1 and still continued to
 make changes in the designs when he    
thought they should be made2 and once in
 a dispute between the boy and the maker
 of a design1 the master took sides with
 the boy4 ,this inflated the lad with   
his own importance so1 that shortly     
after he applied for the position of the
 quarrelsome designer4  ,the fine       
audacity of the youngster so pleased the
 master that he allowed him to try his  
hand with the painters a few hours each 
day4 ,he was getting no wages anyway1   
only his board1 and the kind of board   
did not cost much1 so it did not make   
much difference4  ,in ,venice at that   

time there were two painters by the name
 of ,bellini--,gentile and ,giovanni1   
sons of the painter ,jacob ,bellini1 who
 had brought his boys up in the way they
 should go4 ,gian1 as the ,venetians    
called the younger brother1 was the more
 noted of the two4 ,occasionally he made
 designs for the mosaicists1 and this   
sometimes brought him to the shop where 
young ,titian worked4  ,the boy got on  
speaking terms with the great painter1  
and ran errands back and forth from his 
studio4 ,when twelve years of age we    
find him duly installed as a helper at  
,gian ,bellini's studio1 with an easel  
and box of paints all his own4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,the brightest scholar in the studio of 
,gian ,bellini was a young man by the   
name of ,giorgio1 but they called him   
,giorgione1 which being interpreted     
means ,george the ,great4 ,he was about 
the age of ,titian1 and the two became  
firm friends4  ,giorgione was nearly    
twenty when we first hear of him4 ,he   

was a handsome fellow--tall1 slender1   
with an olive complexion and dreamy     
brown eyes4 ,there was a becoming flavor
 of melancholy in his manner1 and more  
than one gracious dame sought to lure   
him back to earth1 away from his        
sadness1 out of the dream-world in which
 he lived4  ,giorgione was a musician   
and a poet4 ,he sang his own pieces1    
playing the accompaniment on a harp4    
,vasari says he sang his songs1 playing 
his own accompaniment on a flute1 but ,i
 think this is a mistake4  ,into all his
 work ,giorgione infused his own        
soul--and do you know what the power to 
do that is8 ,it is genius4 ,to be able  
to make a statue is little1 but to      
breathe into its nostrils the breath of 
life--ah6 that is something else6 ,the  
last elusive1 undefinable stroke of the 
brush1 that something uniting the spirit
 of the beholder with the spirit of the 
artist1 so that you feel as he felt when
 he wrought--that is art4 ,burne-,jones 
is the avatar of ,giorgione4 ,he subdues

 you into silence1 and you wait1        
expecting that one of his tall1 soulful 
dream-women will speak1 if you are but  
worthy--holding your soul in tune4      
,giorgione never wrought so well as     
,burne-,jones1 because he lived in a    
different age--all art is an evolution4 
,painting is a form of expression1 just 
as language is a form of expression4    
,every man who writes ,english is debtor
 to ,shakespeare4 ,every man who paints 
and expresses something of that which   
his soul feels is debtor to ,giorgione  
and ,botticelli4 ,but to judge of the   
greatness of an artist--mind this--you  
must compare him with his               
contemporaries1 not with those who were 
before or those who came after4 ,the old
 masters are valuable1 not necessarily  
for beauty1 but because they reveal the 
evolution of art4  ,between             
,burne-,jones and ,giorgione came       
,botticelli4 ,now1 ,botticelli builded  
on ,giorgione1 while ,burne-,jones      
builded on ,botticelli4 ,aubrey         

,beardsley1 dead at the age at which    
,keats died1 builded on both1 but he    
perverted their art and put a leer where
 ,burne-,jones placed faith and abiding 
trust4 ,aubrey ,beardsley got the cue   
for his hothouse art from one figure in 
,botticelli's ,spring1 ,i need not state
 which figure3 a glance at the picture  
and you behold sulphur fumes about the  
face of one of the women4  ,did ,aubrey 
,beardsley infuse his own spirit into   
his work8 ,yes1 ,i think he did4 ,mrs4  
,jameson says1 ,there are no successful 
imitations of ,giorgione1 neither can   
there be1 for the spirit of the man is  
in every face he drew1 and the people   
who try to draw like him always leave   
that out4  ,there are various pictures  
in the ,louvre1 the ,national ,gallery1 
and the ,pinacothek at ,munich1 signed  
with ,giorgione's name1 but ,mrs4       
,jameson declares they are not his1     
because they do not speak to your soul  
with that mild1 beseeching look of pity1
 ,possibly we should make allowance for 

,mrs4 ,jameson's warm praise--other     
women talked like that when ,giorgione  
was alive4  ,giorgione was one of those 
bright luminaries that dart across our  
plane of vision and then go out quickly 
in hopeless night1 leaving only the     
memory of a blinding light4 ,he died at 
thirty-three1 which ,disraeli declares  
is the age at which the world's saviors 
have usually died--and he names the     
,redeemer first in a list of twenty who 
passed out at the age of                
three-and-thirty4 ,disraeli does not say
 that all those in his list were        
saviors1 for the second name he records 
is that of ,alexander the ,great1 the   
list ending with ,shelley4  ,giorgione  
died of a broken heart4  ,the girl he   
loved eloped with his friend1 ,morta del
 ,feltri1 to whom he had proudly        
introduced her a short time before4 ,it 
is an old story--it has been played     
again and again to its ,da ,rimini      
finish4 ,the friend introduces the      
friend1 and the lauded virtues of this  

friend inflames imagination1 until love 
strikes a spark2 then soon instead of   
three we find one--one groping blindly1 
alone1 dazed1 stunned1 bereft4  ,the    
handsome ,giorgione pined away1 refusing
 to be comforted4 ,and soon his proud1  
melancholy soul took its flight from an 
environment with which he was ever at   
war1 and from a world which he never    
loved4 ,and ,titian was sent for to     
complete the pictures which he had      
begun4  ,surely1 disembodied spirits    
have no control over mortals1 or the    
soul of ,giorgione would have come back 
and smitten the hand of ,titian with    
palsy4  ,for a full year before he died 
,giorgione had not spoken to ,titian1   
although he had seen him daily4         
,giorgione had surpassed all artists in 
,venice4 ,he had a careless1 easy1      
limpid style4 ,but there was decision   
and surety in his swinging lines1 and   
best of all1 a depth of tenderness and  
pity in his faces that gave to the whole
 a rich1 full and melting harmony4      

,giorgione's head touched heaven1 and   
his feet were not always on earth4      
,titian's feet were always on earth1 and
 his head sometimes touched heaven4     
,titian was healthy and in love with    
this old1 happy1 cruel1 sensuous world4 
,he was willing to take his chances     
anywhere4 ,he had no quarrel with his   
environment1 for did he not stay here a 
hundred years 7lacking half a year71 and
 then die through accident8 ,of course  
he liked it4 ,one woman1 for him1 could 
make a paradise in which a thousand     
nightingales sang4 ,and if one          
particular woman liked some one else    
better1 he just consoled himself with   
the thought that there is just as good  
fish1 etc4 ,i will not quote ,walt      
,whitman and say his feet were tenoned  
and mortised in granite1 but they were  
well planted on the soil--and sometimes 
mired in clay4  ,titian admired         
,giorgione2 he admired him so much that 
he painted exactly like him--or as      
nearly as he could4  ,titian was a      

good-looking young man1 but he was not  
handsome like ,giorgione4 ,yet ,titian  
did his best2 he patronized ,giorgione's
 tailor1 imitated his dreamy1 far-away  
look1 used a brush with his left hand1  
and painted with his thumb4 ,his        
coloring was the same1 and when he got a
 commission to fresco the ceiling of a  
church he did it as nearly like         
,giorgione frescoes as he could4  ,this 
kind of thing is not necessarily servile
 imitation--it is only admiration tipped
 to t' other side4 ,it is found         
everywhere in aspiring youth and in     
every budding artist4  ,as in the animal
 kingdom1 genius has its prototype4 ,in 
the ,national ,gallery at ,london you   
will see in the ,turner ,room a ,claude 
,lorraine and a ,turner hung side by    
side1 as provided for in ,turner's will4
 ,you would swear1 were the pictures not
 labeled1 that one hand did them both4  
,when thirty1 ,turner admired ,claude to
 a slavish degree2 but we know there    
came a time when he bravely set sail on 

a chartless sea1 and left the great     
,claude ,lorraine far astern4  ,titian  
loved ,giorgione so well that he even   
imitated his faults4 ,at first this high
 compliment was pleasing to ,giorgione2 
then he became indifferent1 and finally 
disgusted4 ,the very sight of ,titian   
gave him a pain4  ,he avoided his       
society4 ,he ceased to speak to him when
 they met1 and forbade his friends to   
mention the name ,titian in his         
presence4  ,it was about this time that 
,giorgione's ladylove won fame by       
discarding him in that foolish1 fishwife
 fashion4 ,he called his attendants and 
instructed them thus3 ,do not allow that
 painter from ,cadore--never mind his   
name--to attend my funeral--you         
understand8  ,then he turned his face to
 the wall and died4  ,in his studio were
 various pictures partly completed1 for 
it seems to have been his habit to get  
rest by turning from one piece of work  
to another4 ,his executors looked at    
these unfinished canvases in despair4   

,there was only one man in all ,venice  
who could complete them1 and that was   
,titian4  ,titian was sent for4  ,he    
came1 completed the pictures1 signed    
them with the dead man's name1 and gave 
them to the world4  ,and1 says the      
veracious ,vasari1 they were done just  
as well1 if not better than ,giorgione  
himself could have done them1 had he    
been alive6  ,it was absurd of          
,giorgione to die of a broken heart and 
let ,titian come in1 making free with   
everything in his studio1 and complete  
his work4 ,it was very absurd4  ,time is
 the great avenger--let us wait4 ,morta 
del ,feltri1 the perfidious friend1 grew
 tired of his mistress3 their love was  
so warm it shortly burned itself to     
ashes--ashes of roses4  ,morta deserted 
the girl1 fled from ,venice1 joined the 
army1 and a javelin plunged through his 
liver at the battle of ,zara ended his  
career4  ,the unhappy young woman1 twice
 a widow1 fought off hungry wolves by   
finding work in a glass-factory1 making 

mosaics at fourteen cents a day4 ,when  
she was seventy1 ,titian1 aged          
seventy-five1 painted her picture as a  
beggar-woman4         99       99       
99       99       99  ,the quality of   
sentiment that clings about the life of 
,giorgione seems to forbid a cool1      
critical view of his work4 ,byron       
indited a fine poem to him2 and poetic  
criticism seems for him the proper kind4
 ,the glamour of sentiment conceals the 
real man from our sight4 ,and anyway1 it
 is hardly good manners to approach a   
saint closely and examine his halo to   
see whether it be genuine or not4 ,halos
 are much more beautiful when seen      
through the soft1 mellow light of       
distance4  ,giorgione's work was mostly 
in fresco1 so but little of it has      
survived4 ,but of his canvases several  
surely have that tender1 beseeching     
touch of spirit which stamps the work as
 great art4  ,whether ,mrs4 ,jameson is 
right in her assumption that all        
canvases bearing ,giorgione's name are  

spurious which lack that look of pity1  
is a question4 ,i think that ,mrs4      
,jameson is more kind than critical1    
although my hope is that ,renan is      
correct in his gratuitous statement1 ,at
 the ,last ,great ,day men will be      
judged by women1 and the ,almighty will 
merely vise the verdict4 ,if this be    
true1 all who1 like ,giorgione1 have    
died for the love of woman will come off
 lightly4  ,but the fact is1 no man is  
great all the time4 ,genius is an       
exceptional mood even in a genius1 and  
happy is the genius who1 like ,tennyson1
 builds a high wall about his house1 so 
he is seen but seldom1 and destroys most
 of his commonplace work4  ,ruskin has  
printed more rubbish than               
literature--ten times over4 ,i have his 
complete works1 and am sorry to say     
that1 instead of confining myself to    
,sesame and ,lilies1 ,i have foolishly  
read all the dreary stuff1 including    
statistics1 letters to ,hobbs and       
,nobbs1 with hot arguments as to who    

fished the murex up1 and long1 scathing 
tirades against the old legal shark who 
did him out of a hundred pounds4        
,surely1 to be swindled by a lawyer is  
not so unusual a thing that it is worth 
recording6  ,but ,ruskin wrote about it1
 had it put in print1 read the proof1   
and printed the stuff1 so no one1 no    
matter how charitably disposed1 can     
arise and zealously declare that this   
only is genuine1 and that spurious4     
,it's all genuine--rubbish1 bosh and    
all4  ,titian painted some dreary1      
commonplace pictures1 and he also       
painted others that must ever be        
reckoned as among the examples of       
sublime art that have made the world    
stronger in its day and generation and  
proud of what has been4  ,titian was    
essentially a pagan4 ,when he painted   
,christian subjects he introduced a     
goodly flavor of the old ,greek love of 
life4 ,indeed1 there is a strong doubt  
whether the real essence of             
,christianity was ever known at ,venice1

 except in rare individual cases4  ,it  
was the spirit of the sea-kings1 and not
 the gentle1 loving ,christ1 that       
inspired her artists and men of         
learning4  ,the sensuous glamour of the 
,orient steeped the walls of ,san ,marco
 in their rainbow tints1 and gave that  
careless1 happy habit to all the        
,venetian folk4 ,in ,titian's time1 as  
today1 gay gallants knelt in the        
churches1 and dark1 dreamy eyes peeked  
out from behind mantillas1 and the fan  
spoke a language which all lovers knew4 
,outside was the strong smell of the    
sea1 and never could a sash be flung    
open to the azure but there would come  
floating in on the breeze the gentle    
tinkle of a guitar4  ,but ,titian1 too1 
as well as ,giorgione1 infused into his 
work at times the very breath of life4  
,at the ,belle d' ,arte at ,venice is   
that grand picture1 ,the ,assumption1   
which for more than two hundred years   
was in the ,church of ,santa ,maria de' 
,frari4 ,when ,napoleon appointed a     

commission to select the paintings in   
,venice that were considered best worth 
preserving and protecting1 and take them
 to the ,belle d' ,arte1 this picture   
was included in the list4 ,it was then  
removed from its place1 where it had so 
long hung1 above the grave of the man   
who executed it4  ,i have several large 
photographs of this picture1 showing    
different portions of it4 ,one of these 
pictures reveals simply the form of the 
,virgin4 ,she rises from the earth1     
caught up in the clouds1 the drapery    
streaming in soft folds1 and on the     
upturned face is a look of love and     
tenderness and trust1 combined with     
womanly strength1 that hushes us into   
tears4  ,surely there is an upward law  
of gravitation as well as a gravitation 
that pulls things down4 ,titian has     
shown us this4 ,and as he drew over and 
over again in his pictures the forms and
 faces of the men and women he knew1 so 
,i imagine that this woman was a woman  
he knew and loved4 ,she is not a        

far-off1 tenuous creature1 born of      
dreams3 she is a woman who has lived1   
suffered1 felt1 mayhap erred1 and now   
turns to a ,power1 not herself1 eternal 
in the heavens4 ,into this picture the  
artist infused his own exalted spirit1  
for the mood we behold manifest in      
others is usually but the reflection of 
our own spirit4  ,in some far-off eon1  
ere this earth-journey began1 some woman
 looked at me that way once1 just as    
,titian has this woman look1 with the   
same melting eyes and half-parted lips1 
and it made an impression on my soul    
that subsequent incarnations have not   
effaced4  ,i bought the photograph in   
,venice1 at ,ongania's1 and paid three  
dollars for it4 ,then ,i framed it in   
simple1 unplaned1 unstained cedar1 and  
it hangs over my desk now as ,i write4  
,when ,i am tired and things go wrong1  
and the round blocks all seem to be     
getting into the square holes1 and      
remembrances of the lawyer who cheated  
me out of a hundred pounds come stealing

 like a blight over my spirit1 ,i look  
up at the face of this woman who is not 
only angelic but human4 ,i behold the   
steady upward flight and the tender look
 of pity1 and my soul reaches out1      
grasping the hem of the garment of ,her 
who we are told was the ,mother of ,god1
 and with ,her ,i leave the old sordid  
earth far beneath and go on1 and on1 and
 up1 and up1 and up1 until my soaring   
spirit mingles and communes with the    
great ,infinite4     ,,anthony ,,van    
,,dyck      ,his pieces so with live    
objects strive1     ,that both or       
pictures seem1 or both alive4           
,nature herself1 amaz'd1 does doubting  
stand1     ,which is her own and which  
the painter's hand1     ,and does       
attempt the like with less success1     
,when her own work in twins she would   
express4     ,his all-resembling pencil 
did outpass     ,the magic imagery of   
looking-glass4     ,nor was his life    
less perfect than his art4     ,nor was 
his hand less erring than his heart4    

,there was no false or fading color     
there1     ,the figures sweet and       
well-proportioned were4      --,cowley's
 ,elegy on ,sir ,anthony ,van ,dyck     
,illustration3 ,,anthony ,,van ,,dyck   
,the most common name in ,holland is    
,van ,dyck4 ,its simple inference is    
that the man lives on the dyke1 or near 
it4 ,in the good old days when villagers
 never wandered far from home1 the      
appellation was sufficient1 and even    
now1 at this late day1 it is not        
especially inconsistent4  ,in ,holland  
you are quite safe in addressing any man
 you meet as ,van ,dyck4  ,the ancient  
,brotherhood of ,saint ,luke1 of        
,antwerp1 was always an exclusive       
affair1 but during the years between    
,fifteen ,hundred ,ninety-seven and     
,sixteen ,hundred ,twenty-three there   
were twenty-seven artists by the name of
 ,van ,dyck upon its membership         
register4 ,out of these two dozen and   
three names1 but one interests us4      
,anthony ,van ,dyck was the son of a    

rich merchant4 ,he was born in the year 
,fifteen ,hundred ,ninety-nine--just    
twenty-two years after the birth of     
,rubens4 ,before ,anthony was ten years 
old the name and fame of ,rubens        
illumined all ,antwerp1 and made it a   
place of pilgrimage for the faithful    
lovers of art of ,northern ,europe4     
,the success of ,rubens fired the       
ambition of young ,van ,dyck4 ,his      
parents fostered his desires1 and after 
he had served an apprenticeship with the
 artist ,van ,balen1 a place was secured
 for him in the ,rubens studio4 ,for a  
full year the ambitious ,rubens took    
small notice of the ,van ,dyck lad1 and 
possibly would not have selected him    
then as a favorite pupil but for an     
accident4  ,rubens reduced his work to a
 system4 ,while in his studio he was the
 incarnation of fire and energy4 ,but at
 four o'clock each day he dismissed his 
pupils1 locked the doors1 and mounting  
his horse1 rode off into the country1   
five miles and back4  ,one afternoon1   

when the master had gone for his usual  
ride1 several of the pupils returned to 
the studio1 wishing to examine a certain
 picture1 and by hook or by crook gained
 admittance4 ,on an easel was a partly  
finished canvas1 the paint fresh from   
the hands of the master4 ,the boys      
examined the work and then began to     
scuffle--boys of sixteen or seventeen   
always scuffle when left to themselves4 
,they scuffled so successfully that the 
easel was upset1 and young ,van ,dyck   
fell backwards upon the wet canvas1 so  
that the design was transferred to his  
trousers4  ,the picture was ruined4     
,the young men looked upon their work   
aghast4 ,it meant disgrace for them all4
  ,in despair ,van ,dyck righted the    
easel1 seized a brush1 and began to     
replace the picture ere it could fade   
from his memory4 ,his partners in crime 
looked on with special personal interest
 and encouraged him with words of lavish
 praise4 ,he worked to within ten       
minutes of the time the master was due2 

and then all made their escape by the   
window through which they had entered4  
,the next day1 when the class assembled1
 the pupils were ordered to stand up in 
line4 ,then they were catechized        
individually as to who had replaced the 
master's picture with one of his own4   
,all pleaded ignorance until the master 
reached the blond-haired ,van ,dyck4    
,the boy made a clean breast of it all1 
save that he refused to reveal the names
 of his accomplices4  ,then you painted 
the picture alone8  ,yes1 came the firm 
answer that betokened the offender was  
resolved on standing the consequences4  
,the master relieved the strained       
tension by a laugh1 and declared that he
 had only discovered the work was not   
his own by perceiving that it was a     
little better than he could do4         
,accidents are not always unlucky--this 
advanced young ,van ,dyck at once to the
 place of first assistant to ,peter     
,paul ,rubens4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,commissions were 

pouring in on ,rubens4 ,with him the    
tide was at flood4 ,he had been down to 
,paris and had returned in high spirits 
with orders to complete that extensive  
set of pictures for ,marie de ,medici2  
he also had commissions from various    
churches2 and would-be sitters for      
portraits waited in his parlors1        
quarreling about which should have first
 place4  ,van ,dyck1 his trusted first  
lieutenant1 lived in his house4 ,the    
younger man had all the dash1 energy and
 ambition of the older one4 ,he caught  
the spirit of the master1 and so great  
was his skill that he painted in a way  
that thoroughly deceived the patrons2   
they could not tell whether ,rubens or  
,van ,dyck had done the work4  ,this was
 very pleasing to ,rubens4 ,but when    
,van ,dyck began sending out pictures on
 his own account1 properly signed1 and  
people said they were equal to those of 
,rubens1 if not better1 ,rubens shrugged
 his shoulders4  ,there was as little   
jealousy in the composition of ,peter   

,paul ,rubens as in any artistic man we 
can name2 but to declare that he was    
incapable of jealousy1 as a few of his  
o'er-zealous defenders did1 is to apply 
the whitewash4 ,the artistic temperament
 is essentially feminine1 and jealousy  
is one of its inherent attributes4 ,of  
course there are all degrees of         
jealousy1 but the woman who can sit     
serenely by and behold her charms       
ignored for those of another1 by one who
 yesterday sat at her feet making ballad
 to her eyebrow and sighing like a      
furnace1 does not exist on the planet   
called ,earth4  ,the artist1 in any     
line1 craves praise1 and demands        
applause as his lawful right2 and the   
pupil who in excellence approaches him1 
pays him a compliment that warms the    
cockles of his heart4 ,but let a pupil  
once equal him and the pupil's name is  
anathema4 ,i can not conceive of any man
 born of woman who would not detest     
another man who looked like him1 acted  
like him1 and did difficult things just 

as well4 ,such a one robs us of our     
personality1 and personality is all     
there is of us4  ,the germ of jealousy  
in ,rubens' nature had never been       
developed4 ,he dallied with no          
culture-beds1 and the thought that any  
one could ever really equal him had     
never entered his mind4 ,his conscious  
sense of power kept his head high above 
the miasma of fear4  ,but now a contract
 for certain portraits that were to come
 from the ,rubens studio had been drawn 
up by the ,jesuit ,brothers1 and in the 
contract was inserted a clause to the   
effect that ,van ,dyck should work on   
each one of the pictures4  ,pray you1   
said ,rubens1 to which ,van ,dyck do you
 refer8 ,there are many of the name in  
,antwerp4  ,the jealousy germ had begun 
to develop4  ,and about this time ,van  
,dyck was busying himself as understudy1
 by making love to ,rubens' wife4       
,rubens was a score of years older than 
his pupil1 and ,isabella was somewhere  
between the two--say ten years older    

than ,van ,dyck1 but that is nothing6   
,these first fierce flames that burn in 
the heart of youth are very apt to be   
for some fair dame much older than      
himself4 ,no psychologist has ever yet  
just fathomed the problem1 and ,i am    
sure it is too deep for me--,i give it  
up4 ,and yet the fact remains1 for how  
about ,doctor ,samuel ,johnson--and did 
not our own ,robert ,louis fall         
desperately in love with a woman sixteen
 years his senior8 ,aye1 and married    
her1 too1 first asking her husband's    
consent1 and furtherance also being     
supplied by the ex-husband giving the   
bride away at the altar4 ,at least1 we  
have been told so4  ,were this sketch a 
catalog1 a dozen notable instances could
 be given in which very young men have  
been struck hard by women old enough to 
have nursed them as babes4  ,van ,dyck  
loved ,isabella ,rubens ardently4 ,he   
grew restless1 feverish1 lost appetite  
and sighed at her with lack-luster eye  
across the dinner-table4 ,rubens knew of

 it all1 and smiled a grim1 sickly      
smile4  ,i1 too1 love every woman who   
sits to me for a portrait4 ,he'll get   
over it1 said the master4 ,it all began 
when ,i allowed him to paint her        
picture4  ,busy men of forty1 with      
ambitions1 are not troubled by ,anthony 
,hope's interrogation4 ,they glibly     
answer1 ,no1 no1 love is not all--it's  
only a small part of life--simply       
incidental6  ,but ,van ,dyck continued  
to sigh1 and all of his spare time was  
taken up in painting pictures of the    
matronly ,isabella4 ,he managed to work 
even in spite of loss of appetite2 and  
sitters sometimes called at the studio  
and asked for ,master ,van ,dyck1       
whereas before there was only one master
 in the whole domain4  ,rubens grew     
aweary4  ,he was too generous to think  
of crushing ,van ,dyck1 and too wise to 
attempt it4 ,to cast him out and        
recognize him openly as a rival would be
 to acknowledge his power4 ,a man with  
less sense would have kicked the        

lovesick swain into the street4 ,rubens 
was a true diplomat4 ,he decided to get 
rid of ,van ,dyck and do it in a way    
that would cause no scandal1 and at the 
same time be for the good of the young  
man4  ,he took ,van ,dyck into his      
private office and counseled with him   
calmly1 explaining to him how hopeless  
must be his love for ,isabella4 ,he     
further succeeded in convincing the     
youth that a few years in ,italy would  
add the capsheaf to his talent4 ,without
 ,italy he could not hope to win all2   
with ,italy all doors would open at his 
touch4  ,then he led him to his stable  
and presented him with his best         
saddle-horse1 and urged immediate       
departure for a wider field and pastures
 new4  ,a few days later the handsome   
,van ,dyck--with a goodly purse of gold1
 passports complete1 and saddlebags well
 filled with various letters of         
introduction to ,rubens' ,italian       
friends--followed by a cart filled with 
his belongings1 started gaily away1     

bound for the land where art had its    
birth4  ,with ,italy--with ,italy ,i can
 win all6 he kept repeating to himself  
as he turned his horse's head to the    
,south4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,the first day's ride took 
the artistic traveler to the little     
village of ,saventhem1 five miles from  
,brussels4 ,here he turned aside long   
enough to say good-by to a fair young   
lady1 ,anna ,van ,ophem by name1 whom he
 had met a few months before at         
,antwerp4  ,he rode across the broad    
pasture1 entered the long lane lined    
with poplars1 and followed on to the    
spacious old stone mansion in the grove 
of trees4  ,anna herself saw him coming 
and came out to meet him4 ,they had not 
been so very well acquainted1 but the   
warmth of a greeting all depends upon   
where it takes place4 ,it was lonely for
 the beautiful girl there in the        
country3 she welcomed the handsome young
 painter-man as though he were a        
long-lost brother1 and proudly          

introduced him to her parents4  ,instead
 of a mere call he was urged to put up  
his horse and remain overnight2 and a   
servant was sent out to find the man who
 drove the cart with the painter's      
belongings1 and make him comfortable4   
,the painter decided that he would      
remain overnight and make an early start
 on the morrow4  ,and it was so agreed4 
,there was music in the evening1 and    
pleasant converse until a late hour1 for
 the guest must sit up and see the moon 
rise across the meadow--it would make   
such a charming subject for a picture6  
,so they sat up to see the moon rise    
across the meadow4  ,at breakfast the   
next morning there was a little banter  
on the subject of painting4 ,could not  
the distinguished painter remain over   
one day and give his hosts a taste of   
his quality8  ,i surely will if the fair
 ,anna will sit for her portrait6 he    
courteously replied4  ,the fair ,anna   
consented4  ,the servant who drove the  
cart had gotten on good terms with the  

servants of the household1 and was being
 initiated into the mysteries of making 
,dutch cheese4  ,meanwhile the master   
had improvised a studio and was painting
 the portrait of the charming ,anna4    
,after working two whole days he        
destroyed the canvas because the picture
 was not keyed right1 and started       
afresh4 ,the picture was fairish good1  
but his desire now was to paint the     
beautiful ,anna as the ,madonna4  ,van  
,dyck's affections having been          
ruthlessly uprooted but a few days      
before1 the tendrils very naturally     
clung to the first object that presented
 itself--and this of course was the     
intelligent and patient sitter1 aged    
nineteen last ,june4  ,if ,rubens could 
not paint the picture of a lady without 
falling in love with her1 what should be
 expected of his best pupil1 ,van ,dyck8
  ,pygmalion loved into life the cold   
marble which his hand had shaped1 and   
thus did ,van ,dyck love his pictures   
into being4 ,all portrait-painters are  

sociable--they have to be in order to   
get acquainted with the subject4 ,the   
best portrait-painter in ,america talks 
like a windmill as he works1 and tries a
 whole set round of little jokes1 and   
dry asides and trite aphorisms on the   
sitter1 meanwhile cautiously noting the 
effect4 ,for of course so long as a     
sitter is coldly self-conscious1 and    
fully mindful that he is being took1 his
 countenance is as stiff1 awkward1 and  
constrained as that of a farmer at a    
dinner-party4  ,hence the task devolves 
upon the portrait-artist to bring out1  
by the magic of his presence1 the nature
 of the subject4 ,in order to paint a   
truly correct likeness1 you must know   
your sitter thoroughly1 said ,van ,dyck4
  ,the gracious ,rubens prided himself  
on his ability in this line4 ,he would  
often spend half an hour busily mending 
a brush or mixing paints1 talking the   
while1 but only waiting for the icy mood
 of the sitter to thaw4 ,then he would  
arrange the raiment of his patron1      

sometimes redress the hair1 especially  
of his lady patrons1 and once we know he
 kissed the cheek of the ,duchess of    
,mantua1 so as to dispel her distant    
look4 ,i know a portrait-artist in      
,albany who is said to occasionally     
salute his lady customers by the same   
token1 and if they protest he simply    
explains to them that it was all in the 
interest of art--in other words1        
artifice for art's sake4  ,after three  
days at the charming old country-seat at
 ,saventhem1 ,van ,dyck called his      
servant and told him to take the shoes  
off of the saddle-horse1 and turn it and
 the cart-horse loose in the pasture4   
,he had decided to remain and paint a   
picture for the village church4  ,and it
 was so done4  ,the pictures that ,van  
,dyck then painted are there now in the 
same old ivy-grown1 moss-covered church 
at ,saventhem4 ,the next time you are in
 ,brussels it will pay you to walk out  
and see them4  ,one of the pictures is  
called ,saint ,martin ,dividing ,his    

,cloak ,with ,two ,beggars4 ,the ,saint 
is modestly represented by ,van ,dyck   
himself1 seated astride the beautiful   
horse that ,rubens gave him4  ,the other
 picture is ,the ,holy ,family1 in which
 the fair ,anna posed for the ,virgin1  
and her parents and kinsmen are grouped 
around her as the ,magi and attendants4 
,both pictures reveal the true ,van     
,dyck touch1 and are highly prized by   
the people of the village and the good  
priests of the church4 ,each night a    
priest carries in a cot and sleeps in   
the chancel to see that these priceless 
works of art are protected from harm4   
,when you go there to see them1 give the
 cowled attendant a franc and he will   
unfold the tale1 not just as ,i have    
written it1 but substantially4 ,he will 
tell you that ,van ,dyck stopped here on
 his way to ,italy and painted these    
pictures as a pious offering to ,god1   
and what boots it after all6  ,more than
 once have the village peasants         
collected1 armed with scythes1 hoes and 

pitchforks1 to protect these sacred     
pictures from vandalism on the part of  
lustful collectors or marauding bands of
 soldiers4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred      
,fourteen1 a detachment of ,french      
soldiers killed a dozen of the          
villagers1 and a priest fell fighting   
for these treasures on the sacred       
threshold1 stabbed to his death4 ,then  
the vandals tramped over the dead       
bodies1 entered the church1 and cut from
 its frame ,van ,dyck's ,holy ,family   
and carried the picture off to ,paris4  
,but after ,napoleon had gotten his     
,waterloo 7only an hour's horseback ride
 from ,saventhem71 the picture was      
restored to the villagers on order of   
the ,convention4  ,rubens waited        
expectantly1 thinking to have news from 
his brilliant pupil in ,italy4 ,he      
waited a month4 ,two months passed1 and 
still no word4 ,after three months a    
citizen reported that the day before he 
had seen ,van ,dyck1 aided by a young   
woman1 putting up a picture in the      

village church at ,saventhem4  ,rubens  
saddled his horse and rode down there4  
,he found ,van ,dyck and his lady-love  
sitting hand in hand on a mossy bank1 in
 a leafy grove1 listening to the song of
 a titmouse4 ,rubens did not chide the  
young man2 he merely took him one side  
and told him that he had stayed long    
enough1 and beyond the ,alps lies       
,italy4 ,he also suggested that ,anthony
 ,van ,dyck could not afford to follow  
the example of his illustrious ,roman   
namesake who went down into ,egypt and  
found things there so softly luxurious  
that he forgot home1 friends1           
country--all6 ,to remain at ,saventhem  
would be death to his art--he must have 
before him the example of the masters4  
,van ,dyck said he would think about it2
 and ,rubens took a look at his old     
saddle-horse rolling in the pasture or  
wading knee-deep in clover1 and rode    
back home4  ,in a few days he sent      
,chevalier ,nanni down to the           
country-seat at ,saventhem1 to tell ,van

 ,dyck that he was on his way to ,italy 
and that ,van ,dyck had better accompany
 him4  ,van ,dyck concluded to go4 ,he  
made tearful promises to his beautiful  
,anna that he would return for her in a 
year4  ,and so the servant1 who had     
become an expert in the making of ,dutch
 cheese1 caught the horses out of the   
pasture1 and having rebroken them1 the  
cavalcade started southward in good     
sooth4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,it was four years before  
,van ,dyck returned4 ,he visited ,milan1
 ,florence1 ,verona1 ,mantua1 ,venice   
and ,rome1 and made himself familiar    
with the works of the masters4          
,everywhere he was showered with        
attention1 and the fact that he was the 
friend and protege of ,rubens won him   
admittance into the palaces of the      
nobles4  ,the four years in ,italy      
widened his outlook and transformed him 
from a merely handsome youth into a man 
of dignity and poise4  ,great was his   
relief when he returned to ,antwerp to  

hear that the pretty ,anna ,van ,ophem  
of ,saventhem had been married three    
years before to a worthy wine merchant  
of ,brussels1 and was now the proud     
mother of two handsome boys4  ,great was
 the welcome that ,van ,dyck received at
 ,antwerp2 and in it all the gracious   
,rubens joined4 ,but there was one face 
the returned traveler missed3 ,isabella 
had died the year before4  ,the mere    
fact that a man has been away for       
several years studying his profession   
gives him a decided prestige when he    
returns4 ,van ,dyck1 fresh from ,italy1 
exuberant with life and energy1 became  
at once the vogue4  ,he opened a studio1
 following the same lines that ,rubens  
had1 and several churches gave him      
orders for extensive altarpieces4       
,antwerp prided herself on being an     
artistic center4 ,buyers from ,england  
now and then appeared1 and several of   
,rubens' pictures had been taken to     
,london to decorate the houses and halls
 of royalty4  ,portrait-painting is the 

first form of art that appeals to a rude
 and uncultivated people4 ,to reproduce 
the image of a living man in stone1 or  
to show a likeness of his face in paint1
 is calculated to give a thrill even to 
a savage4 ,there is something mysterious
 in the art1 and the desire to catch the
 shadow ere the substance fades is      
strong in the human heart4 ,one reason  
that sacred art was so well encouraged  
in the ,middle ,ages was because the    
faces portrayed were reproductions of   
living men and women4 ,this lent an     
intense personal interest in the work1  
and insured its fostering care4 ,callous
 indeed was the noble who would not pay 
good coin to have himself shown as      
,saint ,paul1 or his enemy as ,judas4   
,in fact1 ,judas ,receiving the ,thirty 
,pieces of ,silver was a very common    
subject1 and the ,judas shown was       
usually some politician who had given   
offense4  ,in ,sixteen ,hundred         
,twenty-eight1 ,england had not yet     
developed an art-school of her own4 ,all

 her art was an importation1 for        
although some fine pictures had been    
produced in ,england1 they were all the 
work of foreigners--men who had been    
brought over from the ,continent4       
,henry the ,eighth had offered ,raphael 
a princely sum if he would come to      
,london and work for a single year4     
,raphael1 however1 could not be spared  
from ,italy to do work for the          
barbarians1 and so he sent his pupil1   
,luca ,penni4 ,bluff old ,hans ,holbein 
also abode in ,england and drew a goodly
 pension from the ,state4  ,during the  
reign of ,mary and her ,spanish husband1
 ,philip1 several pictures by ,titian   
arrived in ,london1 via ,madrid4 ,then1 
too1 there were various copies of       
pictures by ,paul ,veronese1 ,murillo   
and ,velasquez that long passed for     
original1 because the copyist had       
faithfully placed the great artist's    
trademark in the proper place4  ,queen  
,elizabeth held averages good by        
encouraging neither art nor             

matrimony--whereas her father had set   
her the example of being a liberal      
patron of both4 ,if ,elizabeth never    
discovered ,shakespeare1 how could she  
be expected to know ,raphael8  ,about   
,sixteen ,hundred ,twenty1 the year the 
,mayflower sailed1 ,paul ,vensomer1     
,cornelis ,jannsen and ,daniel ,mytens  
went over to ,england from the          
,netherlands and quickly made fortunes  
by painting portraits for the nobility4 
,this was the first of that peculiar    
rage for having a hall filled with      
ancestors4 ,the artists just named      
painted pictures of people long gone    
hence1 simply from verbal descriptions1 
and warranted the likeness to give      
satisfaction4  ,oh1 the ,dutch are a    
thrifty folk6  ,james the ,first had no 
special eye for beauty--no more than    
,elizabeth had--but a few of his nobles 
were intent on providing posterity with 
handsome ancestors1 and so the          
portrait-painter flourished4  ,an       
important move in the cause of          

literature was made by ,king ,james when
 he placed ,sir ,walter ,raleigh in the 
,tower2 for ,raleigh's best             
contributions to letters were made      
during those thirteen years when he was 
alone1 with the world locked out4 ,and  
when his mind began to lose its flash1  
the ,king wisely put a quietus on all   
danger of an impaired output by cutting 
off the author's head4  ,still1 there   
was no general public interest in art   
until the generous ,charles appeared    
upon the scene4 ,charles was an elegant 
scholar and prided himself on being able
 to turn a sonnet or paint a picture2   
and the only reason1 he explained1 why  
he did not devote all his time to       
literature and art was because the      
,state must be preserved4 ,he could hire
 men to paint1 but where could one be   
found who could govern8  ,charles had   
purchased several of ,rubens' pieces1   
and these had attracted much attention  
in ,london4 ,receptions were given where
 crowds surged and clamored and fought1 

just to get a look at the marvelous     
painting of the wonderful ,fleming4     
,such gorgeous skill in color had never 
before been seen in ,england4  ,charles 
knighted ,rubens and did his best to    
make him a permanent attache of his     
,court2 but ,rubens had too many        
interests of a financial and political  
nature at home to allow himself to be   
drawn away from his beloved ,antwerp4   
,but now he had a rival--the only real  
rival he had ever known4 ,van ,dyck was 
making head4 ,the rival was younger1    
handsomer1 and had such a blandishing   
tongue and silken manner that the crowd 
began to call his name and declare he   
was greater than ,csar4  ,yet ,rubens   
showed not a sign of displeasure on his 
fine face--he bowed and smiled and      
agreed with the garrulous critics when  
they smote the table and declared that  
all of ,van ,dyck's ,madonnas really    
winked4  ,he bided his time4  ,and it   
soon came1 for the agent of ,lord       
,arundel1 that great ,mcenas of the     

polite arts1 came over to ,flanders to  
secure treasures1 and of course called  
on ,rubens4  ,and ,rubens talked only of
 ,van ,dyck--the marvelous ,van ,dyck4  
,the agent secured several copies of    
,van ,dyck's work1 and went back to     
,england1 telling of all that ,rubens   
had told him1 with a little additional  
coloring washed in by his own warm      
imagination4  ,to discover a genius is  
next to being one yourself4 ,lord       
,arundel felt that all he had heard of  
,van ,dyck must be true1 and when he    
went to the ,king and told him of the   
prodigy he had found1 the ,king's zeal  
was warm as that of the agent1 for does 
not the messianic instinct always live8 
,this man must be secured at any cost4  
,they had failed to secure ,rubens1 but 
the younger man had no family ties1 no  
special property interests1 neither was 
he pledged to his home government as was
 ,rubens4  ,straightway the ,king of    
,england dispatched a messenger urging  
,anthony ,van ,dyck to come over to     

,england4 ,the promised rewards and     
honors were too great for the proud and 
ambitious painter to refuse4 ,he started
 for ,england4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,in stature ,van  
,dyck was short1 but of a very compact  
build4 ,he carried the crown of his head
 high1 his chin in1 and his chest out4  
,his name is another added to that list 
of big-little men who had personality   
plus1 and whose presence filled a room4 
,csar1 ,napoleon1 ,lord ,macaulay1      
,aaron ,burr and that other little man  
with whom ,burr's name is inseparably   
linked1 belong to the same type4 ,these 
little men with such dynamic force that 
they can do the thinking for a race are 
those who have swerved the old world out
 of her ruts--whether for good or ill is
 not the question here4  ,when you find 
one of these big-little men1 if he does 
not stalk through society a conquering  
,don ,juan it is because we still live  
in an age of miracles4  ,women fed on   
,van ,dyck's smile1 and pined when he   

did not deign to notice them4 ,he was   
royal in all his tastes--his manner was 
regal1 and so proud was his step that   
when he passed forbidden lines1         
sentinels and servants saluted and made 
way1 never daring to ask him for card1  
passport or countersign4  ,he gloried in
 his power and worked it to its farthest
 limit4  ,unlike ,rembrandt1 he never   
painted beggars2 nor did he ever stoop  
as ,titian did when he pictured his old 
mother as a peasant woman at market1 in 
that gem of the ,belle d' ,arte at      
,venice2 nor did he ever reveal on his  
canvas wrinkled1 weather-worn old       
sailors1 as did ,velasquez4  ,he        
pictured only royalty1 and managed1 in  
all his portraits1 to put a look of     
leisure and culture and quiet           
good-breeding into the face1 whether it 
was in the original or not4 ,in fact1 he
 fused into every picture that he       
painted a goodly modicum of his own     
spirit4 ,you can always tell a ,van     
,dyck portrait2 there is in the face a  

self-sufficiency1 a something that      
speaks of divine right--not of          
arrogance1 for arrogance and assumption 
reveal a truth which man is trying to   
hide1 and that is that his position is a
 new acquirement4 ,van ,dyck's people   
are all to the manner born4  ,he was    
thirty-three years old when he arrived  
in ,england4  ,king ,charles furnished  
the painter a house at ,blackfriars1    
fronting the ,thames1 to insure a good  
light1 and gave him a summer residence  
in ,kent4 ,all his expenses were paid by
 the ,state1 and as his tastes were     
regal the demands on the public         
exchequer were not small4 ,his title    
was1 ,principal ,painter in ,ordinary to
 the ,king and ,queen of ,england4  ,van
 ,dyck had worked so long with ,rubens  
that he knew how to use 'prentice       
talent4 ,he studied by a system and     
turned off a prodigious number of       
canvases4 ,the expert can at once tell a
 picture painted by ,van ,dyck during   
his career in ,england3 it lacks the    

care and finish that was shown in his   
earlier years4 ,yet there is a subtle   
sweep and strength in it all that       
reveals the personality of the artist4  
,twenty-two pictures he painted of ,king
 ,charles that we can trace4 ,these were
 usually sent away as presents4 ,and it 
is believed that in the seven years ,van
 ,dyck lived in ,england he painted     
nearly one thousand portraits4  ,the    
courtly manner and chivalrous refinement
 of the ,fleming made him a prime       
favorite of ,charles4 ,he was even more 
kingly than the ,king4  ,in less than   
three months after he arrived in        
,england ,charles publicly knighted him1
 and placed about his neck a chain of   
gold to which was attached a locket1 set
 with diamonds1 containing a picture of 
the ,king4  ,a record of ,van ,dyck's   
affairs of the heart would fill a book4 
,his old habit of falling in love with  
every lady patron grew upon him4 ,his   
reputation went abroad1 and his custom  
of thawing the social ice by talking    

soft nonsense to the lady on the        
sitter's throne1 while it repelled some 
allured others4  ,at last ,charles grew 
nettled and said that to paint ,lady    
,digby as ,the ,virgin might be all     
right1 and even to turn around and      
picture her as ,susanna at the ,bath was
 not necessarily out of place1 but to   
show ,margaret ,lemon1 ,anne ,carlisle  
and ,catherine ,wotton as ,the ,three   
,graces was surely bad taste4 ,and      
furthermore1 when these same women were 
shown as ,psyche1 ,diana and the        
,madonna--just as it happened--it was   
really too much6  ,in fact1 the painter 
must get married2 and the ,king and     
,queen selected for him a wife in the   
person of a ,scottish beauty1 ,maria    
,ruthven4  ,had this proposition come a 
few years before1 the proud painter     
would have flouted it4 ,but things were 
changed4 ,twinges of gout and sharp     
touches of sciatica backed up the       
,king's argument that to reform were the
 part of wisdom4 ,van ,dyck's manly     

shape was tending to embonpoint3 he had 
evolved a double chin1 the hair on his  
head was rather seldom1 and he could no 
longer run upstairs three steps at a    
time4 ,yes1 he would get married1 live  
the life of a staid1 respectable        
citizen1 and paint only religious       
subjects4 ,society was nothing to       
him--he would give it up entirely4  ,and
 so ,sir ,anthony ,van ,dyck was married
 to ,maria ,ruthven1 at ,saint ,paul's  
,cathedral1 and the ,king gave the bride
 away1 ceremonially and in fact4  ,sir  
,anthony's gout grew worse1 and after   
some months the rheumatism took an      
inflammatory turn4 ,other complications 
entered1 which we would now call        
,bright's ,disease--that peculiar       
complaint of which poor men stand in    
little danger4  ,the ,king offered the  
,royal ,physician a bonus of five       
hundred pounds if he would cure ,van    
,dyck3 but if he had threatened to kill 
the doctor if the patient died1 just as 
did the ,greek friends of ,byron1 when  

the poet was ill at ,rome1 it would have
 made no difference4  ,a year after his 
marriage1 and on the day that ,maria    
,ruthven gave birth to a child1 ,anthony
 ,van ,dyck died1 aged forty years4     
,rubens had died but a few months       
before4  ,the fair ,scottish wife did   
not care to retain her illustrious name 
at the expense of loneliness1 and so    
shortly married again4 ,whom she married
 matters little1 since it would require 
a search-warrant to unearth even the    
man's name1 so dead is he4 ,but inasmuch
 as the brilliant ,helena ,fourment1    
second wife of ,rubens1 whose picture   
was so often painted by her             
artist-husband1 married again1 why      
shouldn't ,madame ,van ,dyck follow the 
example8  ,it is barely possible that   
,charles ,lamb was right when he        
declared that no woman married to a     
genius ever believed her husband to be  
one4 ,we know that the wife of ,edmund  
,spenser became the ,faerie ,queene of  
another soon after his demise1 and      

whenever ,spenser was praised in her    
presence she put on a look that plainly 
said1 ,i could a tale unfold4  ,my own  
opinion is that a genius makes a very   
bad husband4 ,and further1 ,i have no   
faith in that specious plea1 ,a woman   
who marries a second time confers upon  
her first husband the highest           
compliment1 for her action implies that 
she was so happy in her first love that 
she is more than willing to try it      
again4  ,i think the reverse is more apt
 to be the truth1 and that the woman who
 has been sorely disappointed in her    
first marriage is anxious to try the    
great experiment over again1 in order if
 possible to secure that bliss which    
every daughter of ,eve feels is her     
rightful due4  ,maria ,ruthven lived to 
rear a goodly brood of children1 and    
,samuel ,pepys records that she used to 
send a sort o' creepy feeling down the  
backs of callers by innocently          
introducing her children thus3 ,this is 
my eldest daughter1 whose father was    

,sir ,anthony ,van ,dyck1 of whom you   
have doubtless heard2 and these others  
are my children by my present husband1  
,sergeant ,nobody4 ,van ,dyck's remains 
are buried in ,saint ,paul's ,cathedral4
 ,a very fine monument1 near the grave  
of ,turner1 marks the spot2 but his best
 monument is in the examples of his work
 that are to be found in every great    
art-gallery of the world4     ,,fortuny 
,i think ,i knew ,fortuny as well as any
 one did4 ,he was surcharged      with  
energy1 animation and good-cheer2 and   
the sunshine he worked      into every  
canvas he attempted1 was only a         
reflection of the      sparkling1       
gem-like radiance of his own nature4 ,he
 absorbed from      earth1 air1 sky1 the
 waters and men1 and transmuted all     
dross      into gold4 ,to him all things
 were good4      --,letter ,from        
,regnault  ,illustration3 ,,fortuny     
,now1 once upon a day there was a swart1
 stubby boy by the name of ,mariano     
,fortuny4 ,he was ten years old1 going  

on 'leven1 and lived with his           
grandfather away up and up four flights 
of rickety stairs in an old house at the
 village of ,reus1 in ,spain4 ,mariano's
 father had died some years before--died
 mysteriously in a drunken fight at a   
fair1 where he ran a ,punch and ,judy   
show4 ,some said the ,devil had come and
 carried him off1 just as he nightly did
 ,mr4 ,punch4  ,frowsy1 little1         
shock-headed ,mariano didn't feel so    
awfully bad when his father died1       
because his father used to make him turn
 the hand-organ all day1 and half the   
night1 and take up the collections2 and 
the fond parent used to cuff him when   
there were less than ten coppers in the 
tambourine4 ,they traveled around from  
place to place1 with a big yellow dog   
and a little blue wagon that contained  
the show4 ,they hitched their wagon to a
 dog4 ,at night they would sleep in some
 shed back of a tavern1 or under a table
 at a market1 and ,mariano would pillow 
his head on the yellow dog and curl up  

in a ball trying to keep warm4  ,when   
the father died1 a tall man1 who carried
 a sword and wore spurs1 and had two    
rows of brass buttons down the front of 
his coat1 took the dog and the wagon and
 the ,punch and ,judy show and sold 'em 
all--so as to get money to pay the      
funeral expenses of the dead man4  ,the 
tall man with the sword might have sold 
little ,mariano1 too1 or thrown him in  
with the lot for good measure1 but      
nobody seemed to want the boy--they all 
had more boys than they really needed   
already4  ,a fat market-woman gave the  
lad a cake1 and another one gave him two
 oranges1 and still another             
market-woman1 fatter than the rest1 blew
 her nose violently on her check apron  
and said it was too bad a boy like that 
didn't have a mother4  ,mariano never   
had a mother--at least none that he knew
 of1 and it really seemed as if it      
didn't make much difference1 but now he 
began to cry1 and1 since the fat woman  
had suggested it1 really wished he had a

 mother1 after all4  ,there was an old  
priest standing by in the group4        
,mariano had not noticed him4 ,but when 
the priest said1 ,but ,god is both our  
father and our mother1 so no harm can   
come to us6 ,mariano looked up in his   
face and felt better4  ,the priest's    
name was ,father ,gonzales2 ,mariano    
knew1 because this is what the          
market-woman called him4 ,the fat       
market-woman talked with the priest1 and
 the priest talked with the man with the
 dangling sword1 and then ,father       
,gonzales took the boy by the hand and  
led him away1 and ,mariano trotted along
 by his side1 quite content1 save for a 
stifled wish that the big yellow dog    
might go too4 ,and it is a gross error  
to suppose that a yellow dog is         
necessarily nothing but a canine whose  
capillary covering is highly charged    
with ocherish pigment4  ,where they were
 going made no difference4 ,god is our  
father and our mother--,father ,gonzales
 said so--and1 faith6 he ought to know4 

,and by and by they came to the tall old
 tenement-house1 and climbed up the     
stairs to where ,mariano's old          
grandfather lived4 ,perhaps he wasn't   
,mariano's sure-enough grandfather1 but 
he was just as good as if he had been4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,but now it was an awfully long time ago
 since little ,mariano and ,father      
,gonzales had first climbed the stairs  
to where ,grandfather ,fortuny lived4   
,the old grandfather and ,mariano worked
 very hard1 but they were quite content 
and happy4 ,they had enough to eat1 and 
each had a straw bed and warm blankets  
to cover him at night1 and when the     
weather was very cold they made a fire  
of charcoal in a brazier and sat before 
it with spread-out hands1 very thankful 
that ,god had given them such a good    
home and so many comforts4  ,the        
grandfather made images out of white    
plaster1 flowers sometimes1 and curious 
emblems that people bought for votive   
offerings4 ,little ,mariano's share in  

the work was to color the figures with  
blue and red paint1 and give a lifelike 
tint to the fruit and bouquets that the 
grandfather cast from the white plaster4
  ,father ,gonzales was their best      
customer1 and used often to come up and 
watch ,mariano paint an image of the    
,virgin1 just as he ordered it4 ,mariano
 was very proud to receive ,father      
,gonzales' approval2 and when the image 
was complete he would sometimes get a   
copper extra for delivering the work to 
some stricken person that the priest    
wished especially to remember4 ,for one 
of ,father ,gonzales' peculiarities was 
that although he bought lots of things  
he always gave them away4  ,mariano used
 often to carry letters and packages for
 ,father ,gonzales4  ,one day the good  
priest came up the stairs quite out of  
breath4 ,he carried a letter in his     
hand4  ,here1 ,mariano1 my boy1 you can 
run1 while my poor old legs are full of 
rheumatism4 ,here1 take this letter down
 to the ,diligence ,office and tell them

 to send it tonight1 sure4 ,it is for   
the ,bishop at ,barcelona and it must be
 in his hands before tomorrow4 ,run now1
 for the last post closes very soon4    
,mariano took the letter1 dived hatless 
out of the door and1 sitting on the     
first stair1 shot to the bottom like the
 slide to doom4  ,grandfather ,fortuny  
and the gentle old priest leaned out    
over the stone window-sill and laughed  
to see the boy scurry down the street4  
,then the priest went his way4          
,grandfather ,fortuny waited1 looking   
out of the window1 for the boy to come  
back4 ,the boy did not come4  ,he       
waited4  ,lights began to flicker in the
 windows across the way4  ,a big red    
star came up in the ,west4 ,the wind    
blew fresh and cool4  ,the old man shut 
down the sash1 and looked at the        
untasted supper of brown bread and      
goat's milk and fresh fruit4  ,he took  
his hat from the peg and his cane from  
the corner and hobbled down the stairs4 
,he went to the ,diligence ,office4 ,no 

one there remembered seeing the boy--how
 can busy officials be expected to      
remember everything8  ,grandfather      
,fortuny made his way to the house of   
,father ,gonzales4 ,the priest had been 
called away to attend a man sick unto   
death--he would not be back for an hour4
  ,the old man waited--waited one       
hour--two4  ,father ,gonzales came1 and 
listened calmly to the troubled tale of 
the old man4 ,then together they made   
their way over to the tall tenement and 
up the creaky stairway4  ,there was the 
flicker of a candle to be seen under the
 door4  ,they entered1 and there at the 
table sat ,mariano munching silently on 
his midnight supper4  ,where have you   
been8 was the surprised question of both
 old men1 speaking as one person4  ,me8 
,i've been to ,barcelona to give the    
letter to the ,bishop--the last         
diligence had gone1 said the boy with   
his mouth full of bread4  ,to           
,barcelona--ten miles1 and back8  ,me8  
,yes4  ,did you walk8  ,no1 ,i ran4     

,father ,gonzales looked at ,grandfather
 ,fortuny1 and ,grandfather ,fortuny    
looked at ,father ,gonzales2 then they  
both burst out laughing4 ,mariano placed
 an extra plate on the table1 and the   
three drew up chairs4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,business
 was looking up with ,grandfather       
,fortuny and ,mariano4 ,all the images  
they made were quickly taken4 ,people   
said they liked the way the cheeks and  
noses of the ,apostles were colored2 and
 when ,father ,gonzales brought in a    
sailor who had been shipwrecked1 and the
 sailorman left ten pesetas for a       
plaster-of-,paris ship to be placed as a
 votive offering in the ,chapel of      
,saint ,dominic1 their cup was full4    
,mariano made the ship himself1 and     
painted it1 adding the yellow pennant of
 ,spain to the mainmast4  ,this piece of
 work caused a quarrel between          
,grandfather ,fortuny and ,father       
,gonzales4 ,the priest declared that a  
boy like that shouldn't waste his youth 

in the shabby1 tumble-down village of   
,reus--he should go to ,barcelona and   
receive instruction in art4  ,the       
grandfather cried and protested that the
 boy was all he had to love in the wide 
world2 he himself was growing feeble1   
and without the lad's help at the       
business nothing could be               
done--starvation would be the end4      
,besides1 it would take much money to   
send ,mariano to the ,academy--it would 
take all their savings1 and more6 ,do   
not inflate the child with foolish      
notions of making a fortune and winning 
fame6 ,the world is cruel1 men are      
unkind1 and the strife of trying to win 
leads only to disappointment and vain   
regret at the last4 ,did not the artist 
,salvio commit suicide8 ,mariano had now
 a trade--who in ,reus could make an    
image of the ,virgin and color it in    
green1 red and yellow so it would sell  
on sight for two pesetas8  ,father      
,gonzales smiled and said something     
about images at two pesetas each as     

compared with the work of ,murillo and  
,velasquez4 ,he laughed at the old man's
 fears of starvation1 and defied him to 
name a single case where any one had    
ever starved4 ,and as for expenses1 why1
 he had thought it all out3 he would pay
 ,mariano's expenses himself6  ,should  
we two old men1 about ready to die1     
stand in the way of the success of that 
boy8 exclaimed the priest4 ,why1 he will
 be an artist yet1 do you hear8--an     
artist6  ,they compromised on the       
,grammar-,school1 with three lessons a  
week by a drawing-master4  ,grandfather 
,fortuny did not starve4 ,mariano was a 
regular steam-engine for work4 ,he made 
more images evenings1 and better ones1  
than they had ever made before during   
the day4  ,finally ,father ,gonzales'   
wishes prevailed and ,mariano was sent  
to the ,academy at ,barcelona4 ,out of  
his own scanty income the old priest set
 aside a sum equal to eight dollars a   
month for ,mariano2 and when the        
grandfather's sight grew too feeble for 

him to work at his trade he moved over  
to the rectory4  ,for a year1 ,father   
,gonzales sent the eight dollars on the 
first of each month4 ,and then there    
came to him a brusk notification from   
,claudio ,lorenzale1 the ,director of   
the ,academy1 to the effect that certain
 sums had been provided by the ,city of 
,barcelona to pay the expenses of four  
of the most worthy pupils at the        
,academy1 and ,mariano ,fortuny had been
 voted as one who should receive the    
benefit of the endowment4  ,father      
,gonzales read the notice to            
,grandfather ,fortuny1 and then they    
sent out for a fowl1 and a bottle and a 
loaf of bread two feet long2 and        
together the two old men made merry4    
,the grandfather had now fully come to  
the belief that the lad would some day  
be a great artist4  ,we do not know much
 concerning the details of ,mariano's   
life at ,barcelona1 save from scraps of 
information he now and then gave out to 
his friends ,regnault and ,lorenzo      

,valles1 and which they in turn have    
given to us4  ,yet we know he won the   
love of his teachers1 and that ,federico
 ,madrazo picked out his work and       
especially recommended it4  ,madrazo1 ,i
 believe1 is living now--at least he was
 a few years ago4 ,he was born and bred 
an artist4 ,his father1 ,joseph1 had    
been a pupil under ,david1 and was an   
artist of more than national renown4 ,he
 served the ,court at ,madrid in various
 diplomatic relations1 and won wealth   
and a noble name4  ,federico ,madrazo   
used to spend a portion of his time at  
the ,academy of ,barcelona as instructor
 and adviser to the ,director4 ,i do not
 know his official position1 if he had  
one1 but ,i know he afterward became the
 ,director of the ,museum of ,art at    
,madrid4  ,madrazo had two sons1 who are
 now celebrated in the art world4 ,one  
of them1 ,raimonde ,madrazo1 is well    
known in ,paris1 and1 in ,eighteen      
,hundred ,ninety-three1 had several     
pictures on exhibition at the ,chicago  

,exposition2 while another son1 ,rivera1
 is a noted sculptor and a painter of no
 small repute4  ,and so it was that     
,mariano ,fortuny at ,barcelona         
attracted the attention of ,federico    
,madrazo1 the artist patrician4  ,i can 
not find that ,mariano's work at this   
time had any very special merit4 ,it    
merely showed the patient1 painstaking1 
conscientious workman4 ,but the bright1 
strong1 eager young man was the sort    
that every teacher must love4 ,he knew  
what he was at school for1 and did his  
best4  ,madrazo said1 ,he's a manly     
fellow1 and if he does not succeed he is
 now doing more--he deserves success4   
,so ,mariano ,fortuny and the great     
,madrazo1 pupil and teacher1 became firm
 friends4  ,and we know that1 in        
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-seven1        
,mariano was voted the ,prize of ,rome4 
,each year this prize was awarded to the
 scholar who on vote of the teachers and
 scholars was deemed most deserving4 ,it
 meant two years of study at ,rome with 

five hundred dollars a year for         
expenses4 ,and the only obligation was  
that the pupil should each year send    
home two paintings3 one an original and 
the other a copy of some old            
masterpiece4  ,the sum of two hundred   
fifty dollars was advanced to ,mariano  
at once4 ,he straightway sent one-half  
of the amount down to his grandfather1  
with particulars of the good news4      
,what did ,i tell you8 said the         
grandfather4 ,it was ,i who first taught
 him to use a brush4 ,i used to caution 
him about running his reds into his     
greens1 and told him to do as ,i said   
and he would be a great artist yet4     
,father ,gonzales and ,grandfather      
,fortuny went out and bought two fowls1 
three bottles1 and a loaf of bread a    
yard long4  ,mariano made all           
preparations to start for ,rome4 ,but   
the night before the journey was to     
begin1 conscription officers came to his
 lodging and told him to consider       
himself under arrest--he must serve the 

,state as a soldier4  ,it seems that the
 laws of ,spain are such that any       
citizen can be called on to carry arms  
at any moment2 and there are officials  
who do little but lie in wait for those 
who can pay1 but have no time to fight4 
,these officials are more intent on     
bleeding their countrymen than the      
enemy4  ,mariano applied to his friend  
,madrazo for advice as to what to do1   
and ,madrazo simply cut the ,gordian    
knot by paying out of his own purse     
three hundred dollars to secure the     
release of the young artist4  ,and so   
,mariano started gaily away1 carrying   
with him the heart's love of two old    
men1 and the admiring affection of a    
whole school4  ,the grandfather died    
three months afterward--went babbling   
down into the ,valley1 making prophecies
 to the last to the effect that ,mariano
 ,fortuny would yet win deathless fame4 
,and ,father ,gonzales lived to see     
these prophecies fulfilled4         99  
99       99       99       99  ,then1 at

 twenty-two1 ,fortuny was ordered by the
 city of ,barcelona to accompany        
,general ,prim on his ,algerian         
expedition1 it was a milepost on his    
highway of success4  ,nominally he was  
secretary to the ,general4 ,who it was  
secured his appointment he never knew2  
but we have reason to suppose it was    
,federico ,madrazo4  ,fortuny's two     
years in ,rome had just expired2 his    
,barcelona friends knew that the time   
had been well spent1 and the            
opportunities improved1 and a further   
transplantation they believed would     
result in an increased blossoming4      
,enter into life6 ,enter into life6 was 
the call of a prophet long ago4 ,in     
barbaric ,africa1 ,fortuny entered into 
life with the same fine1 free1 eager1   
receptive spirit that he had elsewhere  
shown4 ,general ,prim1 soldier and      
scholar1 saw that his secretary was     
capable of doing something more than    
keeping accounts1 and so a substitute   
was hired and ,fortuny was sent here and

 there as messenger1 but in reality1 so 
that he could see as many sides of old  
,moorish life as possible4  ,staid old  
,general ,prim loved the young man just 
as ,madrazo had4 ,fortuny was not much  
of a soldier1 for war did not interest  
him1 save from its picturesque side4    
,war is transient1 but ,beauty is       
eternal1 he once said4  ,even the fact  
that the ,spanish ,army was now on the  
soil of her ancient enemy1 the ,moor1   
did not stir his patriotism4  ,he       
sketched with feverish industry1 fearing
 the war would end too soon1 and he     
would have to go back with empty        
sketchbooks4 ,the long stretches of     
white sands1 the glaring sunshine1 the  
paradox of riotous riches and ragged    
poverty1 the veiled women1 blinking     
camels1 long rifles with butts inlaid   
with silver1 swords whose hilts are set 
with precious stones1 gray ,arab horses 
with tails sweeping the ground1 and     
everywhere the flutter of rags--these   
things bore in on his artist-nature and 

filled his heart4  ,he hastily painted  
in a few of his sketches and sent them  
as presents to his friends in           
,barcelona4  ,the very haste of the     
work1 the meager outline and simple     
colors--glaring whites and limpid blues1
 with here and there a dash of red to   
indicate a scarf or sash--astonished his
 old teachers4 ,here were pictures      
painted in an hour that outmatched any  
of the carefully worked out1 methodical 
attempts of the ,academy6 ,it was all   
life1 life1 life--palpitating life4     
,the sketches were shown1 the men in    
power interviewed1 and the city of      
,barcelona ordered ,fortuny to paint one
 large picture to be eventually placed  
in the ,parliament ,house to commemorate
 the victory of ,general ,prim4  ,as an 
earnest of good faith a remittance of   
five hundred dollars accompanied the    
order4  ,the war was short4 ,at the     
battle of ,wad ,ras the enemy was routed
 after a pitched fight where marked dash
 and spirit were shown on both sides4   

,and so this was to be the scene of     
,fortuny's great painting4 ,hundreds of 
sketches were made1 including portraits 
of ,general ,prim and various officers4 
,fortuny set about the work as a duty to
 his patrons who had so generously paved
 the way for all the good fortune that  
was his4 ,the painting was to be a      
world-beater2 and ,fortuny1 young1      
strong1 ambitious--knowing no such word 
as fail--went at the task4  ,fortuny had
 associated with many artists at ,rome  
and he had heard of that wonderful      
performance of ,horace ,vernet's1 the   
,taking of the ,smalah of               
,abd-el-,kader4 ,this picture of        
,vernet's1 up to that time1 was the     
largest picture ever held in a single   
frame4 ,it is seventy-one feet long and 
sixteen feet high4 ,to describe that    
picture of ,vernet's with its thousand  
figures1 charging cavalry1 flashing     
sabers1 dust-clouds1 fleeing cattle1    
stampeding buffalos1 riderless horses1  
overturned tents1 and fear-stricken1    

beautiful women would require a book4   
,in passing1 it is well to say that this
 picture of ,vernet's is the parent of  
all the panorama pictures that have     
added to the ready cash of certain      
enterprising citizens of ,chicago1 and  
that ,vernet is the father of the modern
 military school4  ,if you have seen    
,vernet's painting you can never forget 
it1 and if there were nothing else to   
see at ,versailles but this one picture 
you would be repaid1 and amply repaid1  
for going out from ,paris to view it4   
,before beginning his great canvas      
,fortuny was advised to go to           
,versailles and see the ,vernet         
masterpiece4  ,he went and spent three  
days studying it in detail4  ,he turned 
away discouraged4 ,to know too much of  
what other men have said is death to a  
writer2 for an artist to be too familiar
 with the best in art is to have        
inspiration ooze out at every pore4     
,fortuny took a week to think it over4  
,he was not discouraged--not he--but he 

decided to postpone work on the         
masterpiece and busy himself for a while
 with simpler themes4 ,he remained at   
,paris and made his thumb-nail sketches3
 a ,moor in spotless white robe with red
 cap1 leaning against a wall2 a         
camel-driver at rest2 a solitary        
horseman with long spear1 a trellis with
 climbing vines1 and a veiled beauty    
looking out from behind1 etc4  ,and in  
all these pictures is dazzling sunshine 
and living life4 ,the joy of them1 the  
ease1 the grace1 the beauty1 are        
matchless4  ,goupil and ,company1 the   
art-dealers1 contracted to take all the 
work he could turn out4 ,and ,fortuny   
did not make the mistake of doing too   
much4 ,he possessed the artistic        
conscience1 and nothing left his studio 
that did not satisfy his heart and head4
  ,trips had been taken to ,florence1   
,venice and the beloved ,morocco1 and   
the poise and grace and limpid beauty of
 ,fortuny's pictures seemed to increase4
  ,three years had passed1 and now came 

a letter from the authorities at        
,barcelona asking for their great battle
 picture1 and a remittance was sent to  
meet expenses4  ,fortuny promised1 and  
made an effort at the work4  ,another   
year went by and another letter of      
importunity came4 ,barcelona did not    
comprehend how her gifted son was now   
being counted among the very ablest     
artists in ,paris--that world center of 
art4 ,artists should struggle for       
recognition1 be rebuffed1 live on a     
crust in dingy garrets1 cultivate a     
gaunt and haggard look1 and wear suits  
shiny at the elbows6  ,how could the old
 professors down at ,barcelona          
understand that this mere youth was     
pressed with commissions from rich      
,americans1 and in receipt of a princely
 income8  ,fortuny returned all the     
money that ,barcelona had sent him1     
regarding it all as a mere loan1 and    
promised to complete the battle picture 
whenever he could bring his mind to bear
 upon it so that the work would satisfy 

himself4  ,the next year he visited     
,spain and was received at ,madrid and  
,barcelona as a prince4 ,decorations and
 ceremonials greeted him at ,madrid2 and
 at ,barcelona there were arches of     
triumph built over the streets1 and a   
hundred students drew his carriage from 
the steamboat-landing up to the old     
,academy where he used to draw angles   
and curves from a copy all day long4    
,and it was not so many moons after this
 little visit to ,barcelona that        
wedding-bells were sent a-swing1 and    
,mariano ,fortuny was married to        
,cecilia1 daughter of ,federico         
,madrazo4  ,their honeymoon of a year   
was spent at the ,alhambra ,palace amid 
the scenes made famous by our own       
,washington ,irving4 ,and it was from   
,granada that he sent a picture to      
,america to be sold for the benefit of  
the sufferers in the ,chicago fire4     
,but there were no idle days4 ,the      
artist worked with diligence1 dipping   
deep into the old ,moorish life1 and    

catching the queer angles of old ruins  
and more queer humanity upon his        
palette4 ,his noble wife proved his mate
 in very deed1 and much of his best work
 is traceable to her loving criticism   
and inspiration4  ,paris1 ,granada and  
,rome were their home1 each in turn4    
,the prices ,fortuny realized were even 
greater than ,meissonier commanded4     
,some of his best pieces are owned in   
,america1 through the efforts of ,w4 ,h4
 ,stewart of ,philadelphia4 ,at the ,a4 
,t4 ,stewart sale1 in ,new ,york1 the   
,fortunys brought higher prices than    
anything else in the collection1 save1  
,i believe1 the #ahjg of ,meissonier4   
,in fact1 there are more ,fortunys owned
 in ,new ,york than there are in either 
,barcelona or ,madrid4  ,indeed1 there  
is a marked similarity between the style
 of ,fortuny and that of ,meissonier4   
,when some busybody informed ,meissonier
 that ,fortuny was imitating him1       
,meissonier replied1 ,to have such a    
genius as ,mariano ,fortuny imitate me  

would be the greatest happiness of my   
whole career4  ,fortuny's life is       
mirrored in his name3 his whole career  
was one triumphant march to fortune1    
fame1 love and honor4  ,he avoided      
society1 as he was jealous of the       
fleeting hours1 and his close friends   
were few2 but those who knew him loved  
him to a point just this side of        
idolatry4  ,fortuny died at ,rome on    
,november ,twenty-second1 ,eighteen     
,hundred ,seventy-two1 of brain         
rupture--an instant and painless death4 
,in his short life of thirty-six years  
he accomplished remarkable results1 but 
all this splendid work he regarded as   
merely in the line of preparation for a 
greater work yet to come4  ,for some    
weeks before he died he had been        
troubled with a slight fever1           
contracted1 he thought1 from painting in
 a damp church2 but the day of his death
 he took up his brush again and1 as he  
worked1 gaily talked with his wife of   
their plans for the future4  ,it is very

 pleasant to recall1 however1 that      
before death claimed him1 ,fortuny had  
completed the great picture of ,the     
,battle of ,wad ,ras4 ,the canvas is now
 hanging on the wall of the ,parliament 
,house at ,barcelona1 and the picture is
 justly the pride of the city that      
showed itself such a wise and loving    
mother to the motherless boy1 ,mariano  
,fortuny4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,italy and ,spain are      
sisters1 and not merely first cousins1  
as ,mr4 ,whistler once remarked4 ,their 
history to a great degree is            
contemporaneous4 ,they have seen        
dynasties arise1 grow old1 and die2 and 
schools of art1 once the pride of the   
people1 sink into blank forgetfulness3  
for schools1 like dynasties and men1    
live their day and go tottering to their
 rest4  ,italy1 as the elder sister1 has
 set the fashion for the younger4 ,the  
manners1 habits and customs of the      
people have been the same4  ,to a great 
extent all art is controlled by fad and 

fashion2 and all the fashions in the    
polite arts easily drifted from ,italy  
into ,spain4 ,the works of ,titian      
carried to ,madrid produced a swarm of  
imitators1 some of whom1 like           
,velasquez1 ,zurbaran1 ,ribera and      
,murillo1 having spun their cocoons1    
passed through the chrysalis stage1     
developed wings1 and soared to high     
heaven4 ,but the generations of         
imitators who followed these have       
usually done little better than gape4   
,and although ,spain has been a kind    
mother to art for four hundred years1   
yet the modern school of ,spanish art   
shows no apostolic succession from the  
past4 ,it is a thing separate and alone3
 gorgeous1 dazzling1 strong1 and rarely 
beautiful4 ,totally unlike the art of   
the old masters1 it takes its scenes    
from ,nature and actual living          
life--depending not on myth1 legend or  
fable4 ,it discards pure imagination1   
and by holding a mirror up to ,nature   
has done the world the untold blessing  

of introducing it to itself4  ,the      
average man sees things in the mass1 and
 therefore sees nothing2 everything1 to 
his vision1 is run together in hopeless 
jumble3 all is discord1                 
confusion--inextricable confusion worse 
confounded4  ,but the artist who is also
 a scientist 7whether he knows it or    
not7 discovers that in the seeming      
confusion1 order1 method and law yet    
reign supreme4 ,and to prove his point  
he lifts from the tangle of things one  
simple1 single scene and shows this1 and
 this alone1 in all its full and rounded
 completeness--beautiful as a           
snow-crystal on the slide of a          
microscope4  ,all art consists in this3 
to show the harmony of a part4 ,and     
having seen the harmony of a part we    
pass on to a point where we can guess   
the harmony of the whole4 ,whether you  
be painter1 sculptor1 musician or       
writer1 all your endeavors are toward   
lifting from the mass of things a scene1
 a form1 a harmony1 a truth1 and1       

relieving it from all that distracts1   
catch it in immortal amber4  ,the writer
 merely unearths truth3 truth has always
 existed3 he lifts it out of the mass1  
and holding it up where others can see  
it1 the discerning cry1 ,yes1 yes--we   
recognize it6 ,the musician takes the   
sound he needs from the winds blowing   
through the forest branches1 constructs 
a harp strung with ,apollo's golden     
hair1 and behold1 we have a symphony6   
,the wrongs of a race in bondage never  
touched the hearts of men until a woman 
lifted out a single1 solitary black man 
and showed us the stripes upon the      
quivering back of ,uncle ,tom4 ,one     
human being nailed to a cross reveals   
the concentrated woes of earth2 and as  
we gaze upon the picture1 into our hard 
hearts there comes creeping a desire to 
lessen the sorrows of the world by an   
increased love2 and a gentleness and    
sympathy are ours such as we have never 
before known4  ,fortuny is king of the  
modern school of ,spanish painters4 ,his

 genius made an epoch1 and worked a     
revolution in the art of his            
country--and1 some have said1 in the art
 of the time4  ,as a nation it may be   
that ,spain is crumbling into dust1 but 
her rotting ruins will yet fertilize    
many a bank of violets4 ,certain it is  
that no modern art surpasses the art of 
,spain2 and for once ,italy must go to  
,spain for her pattern4     ,,ary       
,,scheffer       ,the artistic tastes of
 the ,princess1 the lofty range of her  
understanding1 her liberality1 and the  
sterling benevolence of      her mind   
all combined to engender a coldness and 
lack of sympathy      between herself   
and the persons composing the ,court4   
,in the heart of the ,princess dwelt a  
deep religious faith1 such      as      
becomes a noble1 womanly heart4         
,nevertheless1 her ardent mind          
sought to penetrate every mystery1 so   
she was often accused of      being a   
doubter--when the reverse was really    
true4      --,ary ,scheffer to ,his     

,brother ,arnola  ,illustration3 ,,ary  
,,scheffer   ,the artistic evolution of 
,ary ,scheffer was brought about mainly 
through the influence of three women4   
,in the love of these women he was      
bathed1 nourished and refreshed2 their  
approbation gave direction to his       
efforts2 for them he lived and worked2  
while a fourth woman1 by her inability  
to comprehend the necessities of such a 
genius1 clipped his wings1 so that he   
fell to earth and his feet mired in the 
clay4  ,the first factor in the         
evolution of ,scheffer1 in point of both
 time and importance1 was his mother4   
,she was the flint upon which he tried  
his steel3 his teacher1 adviser1 critic1
 friend4 ,she was a singularly strong   
and capable woman1 seemingly slight and 
fragile1 but with a deal of whipcord1   
sinewy strength in both her physical and
 mental fiber4  ,no one can study the   
lives of eminent artists without being  
impressed with the fact that the artist 
is essentially the child of his mother4 

,the sympathy demanded to hold a clear1 
mental conception--the imagination that 
sees the whole1 even when the first     
straight line is made--is the gift of   
mother to son4 ,she gives him of her    
spirit1 and he is heir to her love of   
color1 her desire for harmony and her   
hunger for sympathy4 ,these1 plus his   
masculine strength1 may allow him to    
accomplish that which was to her only a 
dream4  ,if a mother is satisfied with  
her surroundings1 happy in her          
environment1 and therefore without a    
noble discontent1 her children will     
probably be quite willing to have a good
 time on the unearned increment that is 
their material portion4 ,her virtue and 
passive excellence die with her1 and she
 leaves a brood of mediocrities4  ,were 
this miraculous scheme of adjustment    
lacking in the ,eternal ,plan1 wealth1  
achievement and talent could be passed  
along in a direct line and the good     
things of earth be corraled by a single 
family4  ,but ,nature knows no law of   

entail2 she does1 however1 have her ,law
 of ,compensation1 and this is the law  
which holds in order the balance of     
things4 ,if a man accumulates a vast    
fortune1 he probably also breeds        
spendthrifts who speedily distribute his
 riches2 if he has great talent1 the    
talent dies with him1 for he only       
inspires those who are not of his blood2
 and if a woman is deprived of the      
environment for which her soul yearns1  
quite often her children adjust the     
average by working out an answer to her 
prayer4  ,when twenty-eight years of age
 we find ,madame ,scheffer a widow1 with
 three sons3 by name1 ,ariel1 ,henri and
 ,arnold4  ,madame ,scheffer had a      
little money--not much1 but enough to   
afford her a small1 living income4  ,she
 might have married again1 or she could 
have kept her little dot intact and     
added interest to principal by going and
 living with kinsmen who were quite     
willing to care for her and adopt her   
children4  ,but no2 she decided to leave

 the sleepy little ,dutch village where 
they lived in ,holland1 and go down to  
,paris4  ,and so she thrust her frail   
bark boldly out upon the tide1 hoping   
and expecting that somewhere and        
sometime the ,friendly ,islands would be
 reached4 ,she would spend her last sou 
in educating her boys1 and she knew1 she
 said1 that when that was gone1 ,god    
would give them the power and           
inclination to care for her and provide 
for themselves4 ,in short1 she tumbled  
her whole basket of bread upon the      
waters1 fully confident that it would   
come back buttered4 ,her object in      
moving to ,paris was that her boys could
 acquire ,french1 the language of       
learning1 and also that they might be   
taught art4  ,and so they moved to the  
great1 strange world of ,paris--,paris  
the gay1 ,paris the magnificent1 ,paris 
that laughs and leers and sees men and  
women go down to death1 and still laughs
 on4  ,they lived1 away up and up in a  
tenement-house1 in two little rooms4    

,there was no servant1 and the boys took
 hold cheerfully to do the housekeeping1
 for the mother wasn't so very strong4  
,the first thing was to acquire the     
,french language1 and if you live in    
,paris the task is easy4 ,you just have 
to--that's all4  ,madame ,scheffer was  
an artist of some little local repute in
 the village where they had lived1 and  
she taught her boys the rudiments of    
drawing4  ,ariel was always called ,ary4
 ,when he grew to manhood he adopted    
this pet name his mother had playfully  
given him4 ,he used to call her ,little 
,mother4 ,shortly after reaching ,paris1
 ,ary was placed in the studio of ,m4   
,guerin4 ,arnold showed a liking for the
 ,oriental languages1 and was therefore 
allowed to follow the bent of his mind4 
,henry waxed fat on the crumbs of       
learning that ,ary brought home4  ,and  
so they lived and worked and studied2   
very happy1 with only now and then      
twinges of fear for the future1 for it  
would look a little black at times1 do  

all they could to laugh away the clouds4
 ,it was a little democracy of four1    
with high hopes and lofty ideals4       
,mutual tasks and mutual hardships bound
 them together in a love that was as    
strong as it was tender and sweet4  ,two
 years of ,paris life had gone by1 and  
the little fund that had not been       
augmented by a single franc in way of   
income had dwindled sadly4  ,in six     
months it was gone4  ,they were         
penniless4  ,the mother sold her        
wedding-ring and the brooch her husband 
had given her before they were married4 
,then the furniture went to the         
pawnbroker's1 piece by piece4  ,one day 
,ary came bounding up the stairs1 three 
steps at a time4 ,he burst into the room
 and tossed into his mother's lap fifty 
francs4  ,when he got his breath he     
explained that he had sold his first    
picture4  ,ary1 the elder boy1 was      
eighteen2 ,henri1 the younger1 was      
thirteen4 ,it was just like a play1 you 
see1 said ,ary ,scheffer1 long years    

afterward4 ,when things get desperate   
enough they have to mend--they must4    
,the pictures ,i painted were pretty    
bad1 but ,i really believe they were    
equal to many that commanded large      
prices1 and ,i succeeded in bringing a  
few buyers around to my views4 ,genius  
may starve in a garret1 if alone2 but   
the genius that would let its best      
friends starve1 too1 being too modest to
 press its claims1 is a little lacking  
somewhere4  ,young ,scheffer worked away
 at any subject he thought would sell4  
,he painted just as his teacher1        
,guerin1 told him1 and ,guerin painted  
just like his idol1 ,david1 or as nearly
 as he could4  ,art had gotten into a   
fixed groove2 laws had been laid down as
 to what was classic and what not4      
,conservatism was at the helm4  ,art1   
literature1 philosophy1 science1 even   
religion1 have their periods of infancy1
 youth1 manhood and decay4 ,and there   
comes a time to every school1 and every 
sect1 when it ceases to progress4 ,when 

it says1 ,there now1 this is perfection1
 and he who seeks to improve on it is   
anathema1 it is dead1 and should be     
buried4 ,but schools and sects and      
creeds die hard4 ,creeds never can be   
changed3 they simply become obsolete and
 are forgotten2 they turn to dust and   
are blown away on the free winds of     
heaven4  ,the art of the great ,david   
had passed into the hands of imitators4 
,it had become a thing of metes and     
bounds and measurements and geometric   
theorems4 ,its colors were made by      
mixing this with that according to      
certain fixed formulas4  ,about this    
time a young playwright by the name of  
,victor ,hugo was making much din1 and  
the classics as a consequence were      
making mighty dole and endeavoring to   
hiss him down4 ,the ,censor had         
forbidden a certain drama of ,hugo's to 
be played until it had been cut and     
trimmed and filed and polished1 and made
 just like all other plays4  ,victor    
,hugo was the acknowledged leader of the

 spirit of protest2 in lyric music      
,rossini led2 and ,delacroix raised the 
standard of revolt in painting4 ,with   
this new school1 which called itself    
,romanticism1 ,madame ,scheffer and her 
sons sincerely sympathized4 ,the term   
,romanticism of itself means little1 or 
nothing1 or everything1 but the thing   
itself is the eternal plea for the right
 of the individual--a cry for the       
privilege to live your own life and     
express the truth as you feel it1 all in
 your own way4 ,it is a revolution that 
has come a thousand times1 and must and 
will come again and again4 ,when custom 
gets greater than man it must be broken4
 ,the ankylosis of artistic smugness is 
no new thing4 ,in heart and taste and   
ambition ,ary and the ,little ,mother   
were one4 ,madame ,scheffer rejoiced in 
the revolt she saw in the air against   
the old and outgrown4 ,she was a        
,republican in all her opinions and     
ideals2 and these feelings she shared   
with her boys4 ,they discussed politics 

and art and religion over the teacups2  
and this brave and gentle woman kept    
intellectual pace with her sons1 who in 
merry frolic often carried her about in 
their arms4 ,only yesterday1 it seemed  
to her1 she had carried them1 and felt  
upon her face the soft caress of baby   
hands4 ,and now one of these sons stood 
a foot higher than she4  ,ary ,scheffer 
was tall1 slender1 with a thoughtful1   
handsome face4 ,the habit of close      
study1 and the early realization of     
responsibilities had hastened his       
maturity4 ,necessity had sharpened his  
business sense and given a practical    
side to his nature1 so he deferred      
enough to the old world to secure from  
it the living that is every man's due4  
,his pictures sold--sold for all they   
were worth4 ,the prices were not large1 
but there was enough money so that the  
gaunt wolf that once scratched and      
sniffed at the door was no longer to be 
seen nor heard4  ,they had all they     
needed4 ,the ,little ,mother was the    

banker1 and we may safely guess that    
nothing was wasted4  ,pupils now came to
 ,ary ,scheffer--dull fellows from the  
schools1 who wished to be coached4      
,sitters in search of good portraits1   
cheap for cash1 occasionally climbed the
 stairway4 ,the ,little ,mother dusted  
about and fixed up the studio so as to  
make it look prosperous4  ,one fine lady
 came in a carriage to sit for her      
portrait4 ,she gave her wraps into the  
keeping of the ,little ,mother at the   
door1 with an admonitory1 ,take care of 
these1 mind you1 or ,i'll report you to 
your master4  ,the ,little ,mother bowed
 low and promised4  ,that night when she
 told at the supper-table how the fine  
lady had mistaken her for a servant1    
,henri said1 ,well1 just charge the fine
 lady fifty francs extra in the bill for
 that4  ,but ,ary would not consent to  
let the blunder go so cheaply4 ,when the
 fine lady came for her next sitting1   
the ,little ,mother was called and      
advised with at length as to pose and   

color-scheme4  ,neither was the advising
 sham1 for ,ary deferred to his mother's
 judgment in many ways1 and no important
 step was taken without her approval4   
,they were more like lovers than mother 
and son4 ,his treatment of her was more 
than affectionate--it was courteous and 
deferential1 after the manner of men who
 had ancestors who were knights of the  
olden time4  ,the desire to sit on a    
divan and be waited upon is the         
distinguishing feature of the heartless 
mistress of fortune4 ,like the jeweled  
necklace and bands of gold at wrist and 
waist1 which symbol a time when slavery 
was rife and these gauds had a practical
 meaning1 so does the woman who in      
bringing men to her feet by beck and nod
 tell of animality too coarse for       
speech4  ,but the woman with the great1 
tender and loving heart gives her all   
and asks no idolatrous homage4 ,her     
delight is in serving1 and willingly and
 more than willingly1 for without       
thought she breaks the vase of precious 

ointment and wipes the feet of the      
beloved with the hairs of her head4     
,madame ,scheffer sought in all ways to 
serve her sons1 and so we find there was
 always a gentle rivalry between ,ary   
and his mother as to who could love     
most4  ,she kept his studio in order1   
cleaned his brushes and prepared the    
canvas4 ,in the middle of the forenoon  
she would enter his workroom with tea   
and toast or other little delicacies    
that he liked1 and putting the tray     
down1 would kiss the forehead of the    
busy worker and gently tiptoe out4      
,when the day's work was done she       
intelligently criticized and encouraged2
 and often she would copy the picture   
herself and show how it could be changed
 for the better here or there4  ,and all
 this fine1 frank1 loving companionship 
so filled ,ary's heart that he put far  
behind him all thought of a love for    
another with its closer tie4 ,he lived  
and worked for the ,little ,mother4     
,they were very happy1 for they were    

succeeding4 ,they had met the great1    
cruel world1 the world of ,paris that   
romps and dances and laughs1 and sees   
struggling and sad-eyed women and men go
 down to their death1 and still laughs  
on2 they had met the world in fair fight
 and they had won4  ,the ,little ,mother
 had given all for ,ary2 on his genius  
and ability she had staked her fortune  
and her life4  ,and now1 although he was
 not twenty-one1 she saw all that she   
had given in perfect faith1 coming back 
with interest ten times compounded4     
,the art world of ,paris had both       
recognized and acknowledged the genius  
of her boy--with that she was content4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,in the year ,eighteen ,hundred         
,eighteen1 we find ,general ,lafayette  
writing to ,lady ,morgan in reference to
 a proposed visit to the ,chateau de la 
,grange4 ,he says3 ,i do not think you  
will find it dull here4 ,among others of
 our household is a talented young      
painter by the name of ,scheffer4       

,later1 ,lady ,morgan writes to friends 
in ,england from ,la ,grange1 ,ary      
,scheffer1 a talented artist1 is a      
member of our company here at the       
chateau4 ,he is quite young1 but is     
already a person of note4 ,he is making 
a portrait of the ,general1 and giving  
lessons to the young ladies in drawing1 
and ,i1 too1 am availing myself of his  
tutorship4  ,through his strong         
,republican tendencies ,scheffer had    
very naturally drifted into the company 
of those who knew ,lafayette4 ,the      
artist knew the history of the great man
 and was familiar with his ,american    
career4 ,scheffer was interested in     
,america1 for the radicals with whom he 
associated were well aware that there   
might come a time when they would have  
to seek hastily some hospitable clime   
where to think was not a crime4 ,and    
indeed1 it is but natural that those    
with a penchant for heresy should locate
 a friendly shore1 just as professional 
criminals study the extradition laws4   

,lafayette1 ,franklin and ,washington   
had long been to ,scheffer a trinity of 
familiar names1 and when an opportunity 
came to be introduced to the great      
,franco-,american patriot he gladly took
 advantage of it4  ,lafayette was       
sixty-one2 ,scheffer was twenty-three1  
but there at once sprang up a warm      
friendship between them4 ,not long after
 their first meeting ,scheffer was      
invited to come to ,la ,grange and make 
it his home as long as he cared to4     
,the ,little ,mother urged the          
acceptance of such an invitation4 ,to   
associate for a time with the           
aristocratic world would give the young 
man an insight into society and broaden 
his horizon4  ,in the family of         
,lafayette1 ,scheffer mingled on an     
equality with the guests4 ,his          
conversation was earnest1 serious and   
elevated2 and his manner so gracious and
 courtly that he won the respect of all 
he met4 ,lady ,morgan intimates that his
 simplicity of manner tempted the young 

ladies who were members of his class in 
drawing to cut various innocent capers  
in his presence1 and indulge in sly     
jokes which never would have been       
perpetrated had the tutor been more of a
 man of the world4  ,it has happened    
more than once that men of the highest  
spirituality have had small respect for 
religion1 as it is popularly manifested4
 ,the machinery of religion and religion
 itself are things that are often widely
 separated2 and ,ary ,scheffer was too  
high-minded and noble to worship the    
letter and relinquish the spirit that   
maketh alive4 ,he was of that type that 
often goes through the world scourged by
 a yearning for peace1 and like the dove
 sent out from the ,ark finding no place
 to rest4 ,all about he beheld greed1   
selfishness1 hypocrisy and pretense4 ,he
 longed for simplicity and absolute     
honesty1 and was met by craft and       
diplomacy4 ,he asked for religion1 and  
was given a creed4  ,and so into the    
hearts of such as he there comes        

creeping a spirit of revolt4 ,instead of
 accepting this topsy-turvy old world   
and making the best of it1 their eyes   
are fixed upon an ideal that ,heaven    
alone can realize4  ,the home of        
,lafayette was the rendezvous of the    
discontented4 ,art1 literature1 politics
 and religion were all represented in   
the parlors of ,la ,grange4 ,where      
,franklin had discoursed ,poor ,richard 
philosophy1 there now gathered each     
,sunday night a company in which the    
greatest of the ,americans would have   
delighted4 ,for this company1 no        
question was too sacred for frank and   
free discussion4  ,it was at the home of
 ,lafayette that ,scheffer met ,augustin
 ,thierry1 and between these two there  
grew a friendship that only death was to
 divide4  ,but there was one other      
person ,scheffer met at ,la ,grange who 
was to exercise a profound influence on 
his life3 this was the ,duchess of      
,orleans4 ,the quiet manliness of the   
young artist impressed the future ,queen

 of ,france1 and he was invited to      
,neuilly to copy certain portraits4  ,in
 the year ,eighteen ,hundred            
,twenty-six1 we find ,scheffer regularly
 established in the household of the    
,duke and ,duchess of ,orleans1 with    
commissions to paint portraits of all   
the members of the family1 and          
incidentally to give lessons in drawing 
and mathematics to the ,princess ,marie4
  ,the ,princess had been a sore trial  
to her parents1 in that she had failed  
to fit into the conventional ways of    
polite society4 ,once she had shocked   
all ,neuilly by donning man's attire and
 riding horseback astride4 ,a worthy    
priest who had been her tutor had found 
her tongue too sharp for his comfort1   
and had resigned his post in dismay4    
,the ,princess argued religion with the 
,bishop and discussed politics with     
visitors in such a radical way that her 
father often turned pale4 ,for the      
diversions of society she had a profound
 contempt that did not fail to manifest 

itself in sharp sallies against the smug
 hypocrisy of the times4 ,she had read  
widely1 knew history1 was familiar with 
the poets1 and had dived into the       
classics to a degree equaled by few     
women in ,france4 ,so keen was her wit  
that1 when pompous dignitaries dined at 
,neuilly1 her father and mother         
perspired freely1 not knowing what was  
coming next4 ,in her character were     
traits that surely did not belie her    
,louis ,quatorze ancestry4  ,and yet    
this father and mother had a certain    
secret pride in the accomplishments of  
their daughter4 ,parents always do4 ,her
 independence sort of kept them         
vibrating between ecstasies of joy and  
chills of fear4  ,the ,princess was     
plain in feature but finely formed1 and 
had attracted the favorable attention of
 various worthy young men1 but no man   
had ever dared to make love to her      
except by post or proxy4 ,several lovers
 had pressed their claims1 making appeal
 through her father2 but the ,duke of   

,orleans1 strong as he was1 never had   
cared to intimate to his daughter a     
suggestion as to whom she should wed4   
,love to her was a high and holy        
sacrament1 and a marriage of convenience
 or diplomacy was to the mind of the    
,princess immoral and abhorrent4  ,the  
father knew her views and respected     
them4  ,but happiness is not a matter of
 intellect4 ,and in spite of her        
brilliant1 daring mind the ,princess of 
,orleans was fretting her soul out      
against the bars of environment3 she    
lacked employment2 she longed to do1 to 
act1 to be4  ,she had ambitions in the  
line of art1 and believed she had talent
 that was worth cultivating4  ,and so it
 was that ,ary ,scheffer1 the           
acknowledged man of talent1 was invited 
to ,neuilly4  ,he came4  ,he was        
twenty-nine years of age2 the ,princess 
was twenty-five4  ,the ennui of unused  
powers and corroding heart-hunger had   
made the ,princess old before her time4 
,scheffer's fight with adversity had    

long before robbed him of his youth4    
,these two eyed each other curiously4   
,the gentle1 mild-voiced artist knew his
 place and did not presume on terms of  
equality with the ,princess who traced a
 direct pedigree to ,louis the ,great4  
,he thought to wait and allow her       
gradually to show her quality4  ,she    
tried her caustic wit upon him1 and he  
looked at her out of mild blue eyes and 
made no reply4 ,he had no intention of  
competing with her on her own preserve2 
and he had a pride in his profession    
that equaled her pride of birth4  ,he   
looked at her--just looked at her in    
silence4 ,and this spoilt child1 before 
whom all others quailed1 turned scarlet1
 stammered and made apology4  ,in good  
sooth1 she had played tierce and thrust 
with every man she had met1 and had come
 off without a scar2 but here was a man 
of pride and poise1 and yet far beneath 
her in a social way1 and he had rebuked 
her haughty spirit by a simple look4  ,a
 ,london lawyer has recently put in a   

defense for wife-beating1 on the grounds
 that there are women who should be     
chastised for their own good4 ,i do not 
go quite this far1 but from the time    
,scheffer rebuked the ,princess of      
,orleans by refusing to reply to her    
saucy tongue there was a perfect        
understanding between them4 ,the young  
woman listened respectfully if he spoke1
 and when he painted followed his work  
with eager eyes4  ,at last she had met  
one who was not intent on truckling for 
place and pelf4 ,his ideals were as high
 and excellent as her own--his mind more
 sincere4 ,life was more to him than to 
her1 because he was working his energies
 up into art1 and she was only allowing 
her powers to rust4  ,she followed him  
dumbly1 devotedly4  ,he wished to treat 
her as an honored pupil and with the    
deference that was her due1 but she     
insisted that they should study and work
 as equals4  ,instead of giving the     
young woman lessons to learn1 they      
studied together4 ,her task as pupil was

 to read to him two hours daily as he   
worked1 and things she did not fully    
understand he explained4  ,the ,princess
 made small progress as a painter1      
probably because her teacher was so much
 beyond her that she was discouraged at 
thought of equaling him2 and feeling    
that in so many other ways they were    
equals1 she lost heart in trying to     
follow him in this4  ,at length1 weary  
of attempts at indifferent drawing1 the 
,princess begged her tutor to suggest   
some occupation for her where they could
 start afresh and work out problems     
together4 ,scheffer suggested modeling  
in clay1 and the subject was taken up   
with avidity4  ,the ,princess developed 
a regular passion for the work1 and     
group after group was done4 ,among other
 figures she attempted was an equestrian
 statue of ,joan of ,arc4  ,this work   
was cast in bronze and now occupies an  
honored place at ,versailles4  ,so      
thoroughly did the young woman enter    
into the spirit of sculpture that she   

soon surpassed ,scheffer in this        
particular line2 but to him she gave all
 credit4  ,her success was a delight to 
her parents1 who saw with relief that   
the carping spirit of cynicism was gone 
from her mind1 and instead had come a   
kindly graciousness that won all hearts4
  ,in the ability to think and act with 
independence there was something        
decidedly masculine in the spirit of the
 ,princess ,marie2 and1 as ,i have      
shown1 ,scheffer possessed a sympathy   
and gentleness that was essentially     
feminine 7which is quite a different    
thing from being effeminate74 ,these two
 souls complemented each other1 and     
their thoughts being fixed on similar   
ideals1 how can we wonder that a very   
firm affection blossomed into being8    
,but the secret of their love has never 
been written1 and base would be the pen 
that would attempt to picture it in     
detail4  ,take off thy shoes1 for the   
place whereon thou standest is holy     
ground4  ,the ,duke and ,duchess admired

 ,scheffer1 but never quite forgot that 
he was in their employ1 and all their   
attempts to treat him as an equal       
revealed the effort4 ,it was as though  
they had said3 ,you are lowly bred1 and 
work with your hands1 and receive a     
weekly wage1 but these things are       
nothing to us4 ,we will not think less  
of you1 for see1 do we not invite you to
 our board8  ,the aristocracy of birth  
is very seldom willing to acknowledge   
the aristocracy of brain4 ,and the man  
of brains1 if lowly born1 has a mild    
indifference1 at least1 for all the gilt
 and gaud of royalty4 ,the ,prince of   
,wales does not recognize the nobility  
of ,israel ,zangwill2 and ,israel       
,zangwill asks in bored indifference1   
,who--who is this man you call ,h4 ,r4  
,h48  ,but love is greater than man-made
 titles1 and when was there ever a      
difference in station able to separate  
hearts that throbbed only for each      
other8  ,possibly even the stern old    
,duke might have relented and given his 

blessing were it not that events of     
mighty importance came seething across  
the face of ,france1 and duties to his  
country outweighed the duties to his    
daughter4  ,on the ,thirtieth day of    
,july1 ,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty1 ,ary 
,scheffer was at the house of his mother
 in ,paris4 ,a hurried knock came at the
 door1 and ,ary answered it in person4  
,there on the threshold stood ,m4       
,thiers4  ,oh1 ,scheffer6 it is you1 how
 fortunate6 you are a member of the     
household of ,orleans1 and ,i have a    
most important message for the ,duke4   
,you must go with me and deliver it to  
him4  ,i see1 said ,scheffer2 the       
,convention has named the ,duke as ,king
 of ,france1 and we are to notify him4  
,exactly so1 said ,thiers4  ,horses were
 at the door3 they mounted and rode     
away4 ,the streets were barricaded1 so  
carriages were out of the question1 but 
,scheffer and ,thiers leaped the        
barricades1 and after several minor     
mishaps found themselves safely out of  

,paris4  ,the call was not entirely     
unexpected on the part of the ,duke4    
,scheffer addressed him as ,le ,roi1 and
 this told all4  ,the ,duke hesitated1  
but finally decided to accept the       
mission1 fraught with such mighty       
import4 ,he started in disguise for     
,paris that night on foot4  ,at the back
 entrance of the ,palais ,royal stood   
,ary ,scheffer1 and saw ,louis ,philippe
 mingle with the crowd1                 
unrecognized--then pass into the        
palace--this palace that was his        
birthplace4  ,the next day ,louis       
appeared with ,lafayette on a balcony of
 the ,hotel de ,ville1 and these two    
embraced each other in sight of the     
multitude4  ,it is not for me to write a
 history of those troublous times1 but  
suffice it to say that the ,citizen     
,king ruled ,france probably as well as 
any other man could have done4 ,his task
 was a most difficult one1 for he had to
 be both king and citizen--to please    
,royalist and ,populist alike4  ,this   

sudden turn of the political            
kaleidoscope was a pivotal point in the 
life of ,ary ,scheffer4 ,so long as the 
,duke of ,orleans was a simple country  
gentleman1 ,scheffer was the intimate   
friend of the family1 but how could the 
,king of ,france admit into his family  
circle a mere low-born painter8         
,certainly not they who are descended   
from kings6  ,orders were issued by the 
government to ,scheffer to paint certain
 pictures1 and vouchers reached him from
 official sources1 but he was made to   
understand that friendship with the     
household of a king was not for him4    
,possibly he had been too much mixed up 
with the people in a political way6 ,the
 favor of the populace is a thing       
monarchs jealously note1 as mariners on 
a lee shore watch the wind4  ,the father
 of ,louis ,philippe was descended from 
a brother of ,louis the ,great1 while on
 his mother's side he was a direct      
descendant of the great monarch and     
,madame de ,montespan4 ,such an inbred  

claim to royalty was something of which 
to boast1 but at the same time ,louis   
,philippe was painfully sensitive as to 
the blot on the 'scutcheon4  ,the       
,princess ,marie knew the slender tenure
 by which her father held his place1 and
 although her heart was wrung by the    
separation from her lover1 she was loyal
 to duty as she saw it1 and made no sign
 that might embarrass the ,citizen      
,king4  ,arnold and ,henri ,scheffer    
were each married1 and working out      
careers4 ,ary and his mother lived      
together1 loving and devoted4 ,and into 
the keeping of this mother had come a   
grandchild--a beautiful girl-baby4 ,they
 called her name ,cornelie4 ,about the  
mother of ,cornelie the grandmother was 
not curious4 ,it was enough to know that
 the child was the child of her son1 and
 upon the babe she lavished all the     
loving tenderness of her great1 welling1
 mother heart4 ,she had no words but    
those of gentleness and love for the son
 that had brought this charge to her4   

,and did she guess that this child would
 be the sustaining prop for her son when
 she1 herself1 was gone8  ,all this time
 the poor ,princess ,marie was          
practically a prisoner in the great     
palace1 wearing out her heart1 a slave  
to what she considered duty4 ,she grew  
ill1 and all efforts of her physicians  
to arouse her from her melancholy were  
in vain4  ,her death was a severe shock 
to poor ,scheffer4 ,for some months     
friends feared for his sanity1 for he   
would only busy his brush with scenes   
from ,faust1 or religious subjects that 
bordered on morbidity4 ,again and again 
he painted ,marguerite in ,prison1      
,marguerite ,waiting1 ,marguerite in    
,paradise and ,mignon4 ,into all of his 
work he infused that depth of tenderness
 which has given the critics their cue  
for accusing him of sentimentality gone 
mad4 ,and in fact no one can look upon  
any of the works of ,scheffer1 done     
after ,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty1       
without being profoundly impressed with 

the brooding sadness that covers all as 
with a garment4  ,from the time he met  
the ,princess of ,orleans there came a  
decided evolution in his art2 but it was
 not until she had passed away that one 
could pick out an unsigned canvas and   
say positively1 ,this is ,scheffer's6   
,in all his work you see that look of   
soul1 and in his best you behold a use  
of the blue background that rivals the  
blue of heaven4 ,no other painter that  
,i can recall has gotten such effects   
from colors so simple4  ,but ,scheffer's
 life was not all sadness4 ,for even    
when the ,little ,mother had passed     
away1 ,ary ,scheffer wrote calmly to his
 friend ,august ,thierry3 ,i yet have my
 daughter ,cornelie1 and were it not for
 her ,i fear my work would be a thing of
 the past2 but with her ,i still feel   
that ,god exists4 ,my life is filled    
with love and light4         99       99
       99       99       99  ,it was a  
curious circumstance that ,ary          
,scheffer1 who conducted the ,citizen   

,king to ,paris1 was to lead him away4  
,scheffer was a ,captain in the         
,national ,guard1 and when the stormy   
times of ,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-eight
 came1 he put away his brushes1 locked  
his studio1 and joined his regiment4    
,louis ,philippe had begun as a         
citizen--one of the people--and         
following the usual course had developed
 into a monarch with a monarch's        
indifference to the good of the         
individual4  ,the people clamored for a 
republic1 and agitation soon developed  
into revolution4 ,on the morning of the 
,twenty-fourth of ,february1 ,eighteen  
,hundred ,forty-eight1 ,scheffer met the
 son of ,lafayette1 who was also an     
officer in the ,national ,guard4  ,how  
curious1 said ,lafayette1 that we should
 be protecting a ,king for whom we have 
so little respect6  ,still1 we will do  
our duty1 answered ,scheffer4  ,they    
made their way to the ,tuileries1 and   
posted themselves on the terrace beneath
 the windows of the ,king's private     

apartments4 ,as they sat on the steps in
 the wan light of breaking day4         
,scheffer heard some one softly calling 
his name4 ,he listened and the call was 
repeated4  ,who wants me8 answered      
,scheffer4  ',tis ,i1 the ,queen6 came  
the answer4  ,scheffer looked up and at 
the lattice of the window saw the white 
face of the woman he had known so well  
and intimately for a full score of      
years4  ,the terror of the occasion did 
away with all courtly etiquette4  ,who  
is with you8 asked the ,queen4  ,only   
,lafayette1 was the answer4  ,come in at
 once1 both of you4 ,the ,king has      
abdicated and you must conduct us to a  
place of safety4  ,scheffer and his     
companion ran up the steps1 the ,queen  
unbolted the door with her own hands1   
and they entered4 ,inside the hallway   
they found ,louis ,philippe dressed as  
for a journey1 with no sign of kingly   
trappings4 ,with them were their sons   
and several grandchildren4  ,they filed 
out of the palace1 through the garden1  

and into the ,place de la               
,concorde--that spot of ghastly         
memories4  ,the ,king looked about      
nervously4 ,some of the mob recognized  
him4  ,scheffer concluded that a bold   
way was the best1 and stepping ahead of 
,louis ,philippe1 called in a voice of  
authority1 ,make way--make way for the  
,king6  ,the crowd parted dumb with     
incredulity at the strange sight4  ,by  
the fountain in the square stood a      
public carriage1 and into this shabby   
vehicle of the night the royal          
passengers were packed4  ,dumas1 who had
 followed the procession1 mounted the   
box4  ,scheffer gave a quick whispered  
order to the driver1 closed the door    
with a slam1 lifted his hat1 and the    
vehicle rumbled away towards the ,quai4 
,when ,scheffer got back to the         
,tuileries the mob had broken in the    
iron gates at the front of the gardens1 
and was surging through the palace in   
wild disorder4  ,scheffer hastened home 
to tell ,cornelie the news of the night4

         99       99       99       99  
99  ,when the ,little ,mother died1 a   
daughter of ,henri ,scheffer came to    
join the household of ,ary ,scheffer4   
,the name of this niece was also        
,cornelie4  ,the fact of there being two
 young women in the house by one name   
has led to confusion among the          
biographers4 ,and thus it happens that  
at least four encyclopedias record that 
,ernest ,renan married the daughter of  
,ary ,scheffer4 ,renan married the      
niece1 and the fact that they named     
their first child ,ary helped1 possibly1
 to confirm the error of the            
biographers4  ,scheffer's life was      
devoted to providing for and educating  
these young women4 ,he himself gave them
 lessons in the languages1 in music1    
painting and sculpture4 ,the daughter   
was a handsome girl2 and in point of    
intellect kept her artist-father very   
busy to keep one lesson in advance4     
,together they painted and modeled in   
clay1 and the happiness that came to    

,scheffer as he saw her powers unfold   
was the sweetest experience he had ever 
known4  ,the coldness between himself   
and the ,king had increased4 ,but ,louis
 ,philippe did not forget him1 for      
commissions came1 one after another1 for
 work to cover the walls of the palace  
at ,versailles4 ,with the ,queen his    
relations were friendly--even intimate4 
,several times she came to his house4   
,her interest in ,cornelie was tender   
and strong1 and when ,scheffer painted a
 ,mignon and took ,cornelie for a model1
 the ,queen insisted on having the      
picture and paying her own price--a     
figure quite beyond what the artist     
asked4  ,this picture1 which represents 
so vividly the profound pathos and depth
 of soul which ,ary ,scheffer could put 
upon a canvas1 can now be seen in the   
,louvre4 ,but the best collection of    
,scheffer's portraits and historical    
pictures is at ,versailles4  ,in the    
gentle companionship of his beloved     
daughter1 ,scheffer found the meed of   

joy that was his due4 ,with her he lived
 over the days that had gone forever1   
and those other days that might have    
been4  ,and when the inevitable came and
 this daughter loved a worthy and       
suitable young man1 ,scheffer bowed his 
head1 and fighting hard to keep back the
 tears gave the pair his blessing4  ,the
 marriage of ,doctor ,marjolin and      
,cornelie ,scheffer was a happy mating2 
and both honored the gifted father and  
ministered to him in every kindly way4  
,but so susceptible was ,scheffer's     
nature that when his daughter had given 
her whole heart to another1 the fine    
edge of his art was dulled and blunted4 
,he painted through habit1 and the work 
had merit1 but only at rare intervals   
was there in it that undefinable        
something which all can recognize1 but  
none analyze1 that stamps the product as
 great art4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,when1 in the year  
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty1 ,scheffer    
married1 it was the death of his art4   

,the artist does business on a very     
small margin of inspiration4 ,do you    
understand me8 ,the man of genius is not
 a genius all the time4 ,usually he is  
only a very ordinary individual4 ,there 
may be days or weeks that are fallow1   
and sometimes even years that are years 
of famine4 ,he can not conquer the mood 
of depression that is holding him to    
earth4  ,but some day the clouds        
suddenly clear away1 the sun bursts out1
 and the soul of the man is alive with  
divine fervor4 ,sublime thoughts crowd  
upon him1 great waves of emotion sweep  
over his soul1 and as ,webster said of  
his ,hayne speech1 ,the air was full of 
reasons1 and all ,i had to do was to    
reach up and seize them4  ,all great    
music and all deathless poems are       
written in a fever of ecstasy2 all      
paintings that move men to tears are    
painted in tears4  ,but it is easy to   
break in upon the sublime mood and drag 
the genius back to earth4 ,certain      
country cousins who occasionally visited

 the family of ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson   
cut all mental work off short2 the      
philosopher laid down his pen when the  
cousins came a-cousining and literally  
took to the woods4 ,an uncongenial      
caller would instantly unhorse ,carlyle1
 and ,tennyson had a hatred of all      
lion-hunters--not merely because they   
were lion-hunters1 but because they     
broke in upon his paradise and snapped  
the thread of inspiration4  ,mrs4 ,grote
 tells us that ,scheffer's wife was     
intelligent and devoted--in fact1 she   
was too devoted4 ,she would bring her   
sewing and watch the artist at his work4
 ,if the great man grew oblivious of her
 presence she gently chided him for it2 
she was jealous of his brothers1 jealous
 of his daughter1 even jealous of his   
art4 ,she insisted not only that he     
should love her1 but demanded that he   
should love nothing else4 ,and yet all  
the time she was putting forth violent  
efforts to make him happy4 ,as a result 
she put him in a mood where he loved    

nothing and nobody4 ,she clipped his    
wings1 and instead of a soaring genius  
we find a whimsical1 commonplace man    
with occupation gone4  ,wives demand the
 society of their husbands as their     
lawful right1 and ,i suppose it is      
expecting too much to suppose that any  
woman1 short of a saint1 could fit into 
the bachelor ways of a dreamer of       
dreams1 aged fifty-five4  ,before he met
 the widow of ,general ,beaudrand1      
,scheffer was happy1 with a sweet1 sad  
happiness in the memories of the love of
 his youth--the love that was lost1 and 
being lost still lived and filled his   
heart4  ,but the society of the widow   
was agreeable1 her conversation         
vivacious4 ,he decided that this being  
so it might be better still to have her 
by him all the time4 ,and this was what 
the lady desired1 for it was she who did
 the courting4  ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes
 once said1 ,because ,i like an         
occasional pinch of salt is no reason   
why you should immerse me in brine1 but 

,ary ,scheffer1 the mild1 gentle and    
guileless1 did not reason quite so far4 
,the vivacious ,sophie took him captive1
 and he was shorn of his strength4 ,and 
no doubt the ex-widow was as much       
disappointed as he2 there really was no 
good reason why he should not paint     
better than ever1 when here he wouldn't 
work at all6 ,lawks-a-daisy6  ,his      
spirit beat itself out against the bars1
 health declined1 and although he       
occasionally made groggy efforts to     
shake himself back into form1 his heart 
was not in his work4  ,seven years went 
dragging by1 and one morning there came 
word from ,london that the ,duchess of  
,orleans1 the mother of the beloved     
,marie1 was dying4 ,scheffer was ill1   
but he braced himself for the effort1   
and hastily started away alone1 leaving 
a note for ,cornelie4  ,he arrived in   
,england in time to attend the funeral  
of his lifelong friend1 and then he     
himself was seized with a deadly        
illness4  ,his daughter was sent for1   

and when she came the sick man's longing
 desire was to get back to ,france4 ,if 
he was to die1 he wanted to die at home4
 ,to die at home at last1 is the prayer 
of every wanderer4 ,ary ,scheffer's     
prayer was answered4 ,he expired in the 
arms of his beloved daughter on ,june   
,fifteenth1 ,eighteen ,hundred          
,fifty-eight1 aged sixty-three years4   
,,francois ,,millet       ,when ,i meet 
a laborer on the edge of a field1 ,i    
stop and look at      the man3 born amid
 the grain where he will be reaped1 and 
turning      up with his plow the ground
 of his tomb1 mixing his burning sweat  
with the icy rain of ,autumn4 ,the      
furrow he has just turned is a          
monument that will outlive him4 ,i have 
seen the pyramids of      ,egypt1 and   
the forgotten furrows of our heather3   
both alike bear      witness to the work
 of man and the shortness of his days4  
--,chateaubriand  ,illustration3        
,,francois ,,millet   ,jean ,francois   
,millet is to art what ,wagner is to    

music1 or what ,whitman is to poetry4   
,these men1 one a ,frenchman1 another a 
,german1 the third an ,american1 taught 
the same gospel at the same time1 using 
different languages1 and each quite     
unaware of the existence of the others4 
,they were all revolutionaries2 and     
success came so tardily to them that    
flattery did not taint their native     
genius4  ,great men never come singly1  
says ,emerson4  ,richard ,wagner was    
born in the year ,eighteen ,hundred     
,thirteen1 ,millet in ,eighteen ,hundred
 ,fourteen1 and ,whitman in ,eighteen   
,hundred ,nineteen4 ,tannhauser was     
first produced in ,eighteen ,hundred    
,forty-five2 the ,sower was exhibited in
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty2 and in      
,eighteen ,hundred ,fifty-five ,leaves  
of ,grass appeared4  ,the reception     
accorded to each masterpiece was about  
the same2 and all would have fallen flat
 had it not been for the gibes and jeers
 and laughter which the work called     
forth4  ,wagner was arrested for being  

an alleged rioter2 ,whitman was ejected 
from his clerkship and his book looked  
after by the ,attorney-,general of      
,massachusetts2 ,millet was hooted by   
his fellow-students and dubbed the      
,wild-,man-of-the-,woods4  ,in a letter 
to ,pelloquet1 ,millet says1 ,the       
creations that ,i depict must have the  
air of being native to their situation1 
so that no one looking on them shall    
imagine they are anything else than what
 they are4  ,in his first preface to    
,leaves of ,grass1 ,whitman writes3 ,the
 art of arts1 the glory of expression   
and the sunshine of the light of letters
 is simplicity4 99 99 99 ,to speak in   
literature with the perfect rectitude   
and insouciance of the movement of      
animals and the unimpeachableness of the
 sentiment of trees in the woods and    
grass by the roadside1 is the flawless  
triumph of art4  ,wagner wrote in an    
,essay on ,art3  ,the ,greek1 proceeding
 from the bosom of ,nature1 attained to 
,art when he had made himself           

independent of the immediate influences 
of ,nature4  ,we1 violently debarred    
from ,nature1 and proceeding from the   
dull ground of a ,heaven-rid and        
juristic civilization1 first reach ,art 
when we completely turn our backs on    
such a civilization1 and once more cast 
ourselves1 with conscious bent1 into the
 arms of ,nature4  ,men high in power1  
deceived by the lack of form1 the       
innocent naivete as of childhood1 the   
simple homeliness of expression1 the    
absence of effort1 declared again and   
again that ,millet's work was not art1  
nor ,wagner's recurring theme true      
music1 nor ,whitman's rhymeless lines   
poetry4 ,the critics refused to         
recognize that which was not labored3   
where no violence of direction was shown
 they saw no art4 ,to follow close to   
,nature is to be considered rude by     
some--it indicates a lack of culture4   
,millet1 ,wagner and ,whitman lived in  
the open air2 with towns and cities they
 had small sympathy2 they felt          

themselves no better and no wiser than  
common folks2 they associated with      
working men and toiling women2 they had 
no definite ideas as to who were bad and
 who good4  ,they are frank1 primitive1 
simple4 ,they are masculine--and in     
their actions you never get a trace of  
coyness1 hesitancy1 affectation or      
trifling coquetry4 ,they have nothing to
 conceal3 they look at you out of frank1
 open eyes4 ,they know the pains of     
earth too well to dance nimbly through  
life and laugh the hours away4 ,they are
 sober1 serious1 earnest1 but not grim4 
,their faces are bronzed by sun and     
wind2 their hands are not concealed by  
gloves2 their shirts are open to the    
breast1 as though they wanted room to   
breathe deeply and full2 the boots they 
wear are coarse and thick-soled1 as if  
the wearer had come from afar and yet   
had many long miles to go4 ,but the two 
things that impress you most are3 they  
are in no haste2 and they are unafraid4 
,all can approach such men as these4    

,possibly the smug and self-satisfied do
 not care to2 but men in distress--those
 who are worn1 or old1 or               
misunderstood--children1 outcasts1 those
 far from home and who long to get back1
 silently slip weak hands in theirs and 
ask1 ,may we go your way8  ,can you read
 ,captain1 ,my ,captain1 or listen to   
the ,pilgrims' ,chorus1 or look upon    
,the ,man ,with the ,hoe without tears8 
,and so we will continue our little     
journey4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,charles ,warren ,stoddard 
relates that in one of the far-off      
islands of the ,south ,sea1 he found    
savages so untouched by civilization    
that they did not know enough to tell a 
lie4 ,it was somewhat such a savage as  
this with whom we have to deal4  ,he was
 nineteen years old1 six feet high1     
weighed one hundred sixty pounds1 and as
 he had never shaved1 had a downy beard 
all over his face4 ,his great shock of  
brown hair tumbled to his shoulders4    
,his face was bronzed1 his hands big and

 bony1 and his dark gray eyes looked out
 of their calm depths straight into     
yours--eyes that did not blink1 eyes of 
love and patience1 eyes like the eyes of
 an animal that does not know enough to 
fear4  ,he was the son of a peasant1 and
 the descendant of a long line of       
peasants1 who lived on the coast of     
,normandy--plain1 toiling peasants whose
 lives were deeply rooted into the rocky
 soil that gave them scanty sustenance4 
,if they ever journeyed it was as       
sailors--going out with the tide--and if
 they did not come back it was only     
because those who go down to the sea in 
ships sometimes never do4  ,and now this
 first-born of the peasant flock was    
going to leave his native village of    
,gruchy4  ,he was clad in a new suit of 
clothes1 spun1 woven1 cut and sewed by  
the hands of his grandmother4  ,he was  
going away1 and his belongings were all 
packed in a sailor's canvas bag2 but he 
was not going to sea4  ,great had been  
the preparations for this journey4  ,the

 family was very poor3 the father a     
day-laborer and farmer2 the mother      
worked in the fields1 and as the        
children grew up they too worked in the 
fields2 and after a high tide the whole 
family hurried to the seashore to gather
 up the varech1 and carry it home for   
fertilizer1 so that the rocky hillside  
might next ,summer laugh a harvest4     
,and while the father and the mother    
toiled in the fields1 or gathered the   
varech1 or fished for shrimps1 the old  
grandmother looked after the children at
 home4 ,the grandmother in such homes is
 the real mother of the flock3 the      
mother who bore the children has no time
 to manifest mother-love2 it is the     
grandmother who nurses the              
stone-bruises1 picks out the slivers1   
kisses away the sorrows1 gladdens young 
hearts by her simple stories1 and rocks 
in her strong1 old arms the babe1 as she
 croons and quavers a song of love and  
duty4  ,and so the old grandmother had  
seen her baby grow to a man1 and with   

her own hands she had made his clothes1 
and all the savings of her years had    
been sewed into a belt and given to the 
boy4  ,and now he was going away4  ,he  
was going away--going because she and   
she alone had urged it4 ,she had argued 
and pleaded1 and when she won the       
village priest over to her side1 and    
,father ,lebrisseau in his turn had won 
several influential men--why1 it must   
be6  ,the boy could draw3 he could draw 
so well that he some day would be a     
great artist--,langlois1 the            
drawing-master at ,cherbourg1 ten miles 
away1 said so4  ,what if they were only 
poor peasants and there never had been a
 painter in the family6 ,there would be 
now4 ,so the priest had contributed from
 his own purse2 and the ,councilmen of  
,cherbourg had promised to help2 and the
 grandmother had some silver of her own4
  ,jean ,francois ,millet was going to  
,paris to study to be an artist4  ,tears
 rained down the wrinkled1 leathery     
cheeks of the old grandmother2 the      

mother stood by dazed and dumb1 nursing 
a six-months-old babe2 children of      
various ages hung to the skirts of      
mother and grandmother1 tearful and     
mystified2 the father leaned on the     
gate1 smoking a pipe1 displaying a      
stolidity he did not feel4  ,the        
diligence swung around the corner and   
came rattling down the single1 stony1   
narrow street of the little village4    
,the driver hardly deigned to stop for  
such common folks as these2 but the     
grandmother waved her apron1 and then1  
as if jealous of a service some one else
 might render1 she seized one end of the
 canvas bag and helped the brown young  
man pass it up to the top of the        
diligence4 ,jean ,francois climbed up   
after1 carrying a little prayer-book    
that had been thrust into his hands--a  
final parting gift of the grandmother4  
,the driver cracked his whip and away   
they went4  ,as the diligence passed the
 rectory1 ,father ,lebrisseau came out  
and held up a crucifix2 the young man   

took off his cap and bowed his head4    
,the group of watchers moved out into   
the roadway4 ,they strained their eyes  
in the direction of the receding        
vehicle4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,after a three days' ride1 
,jean ,francois was in ,paris4 ,the     
early winter night was settling down1   
and the air was full of fog and sleet4  
,the young man was sore from the long   
jolting4 ,his bones ached1 and the damp 
and cold had hunted out every part of   
his sturdy frame4  ,the crowds that     
surged through the street hurrying for  
home and fireside after the day's work  
were impatient4  ,don't block the way1  
,johnny ,crapaud6 called a girl with a  
shawl over her head2 and with the       
combined shove and push of those behind1
 the sabot-shod young man was shouldered
 into the street4  ,there he stood dazed
 and bereft1 with the sailor's bag on   
his back4  ,where do you wish to go8    
asked a gendarme1 not unkindly4  ,back  
to ,gruchy1 came the answer4  ,and the  

young man went into the diligence office
 and asked when the next stage started4 
,it did not go until the following      
morning4 ,he would have to stay         
somewhere all night4  ,the policeman    
outside the door directed him to a      
modest tavern4  ,next morning things    
looked a little better4 ,the sun had    
come out and the air was crisp4 ,the    
crowds in the street did not look quite 
so cold and mean4  ,after hunger had    
been satisfied1 ,johnny ,crapaud        
concluded to stay long enough to catch a
 glimpse of the ,louvre1 that marvel of 
marvels6 ,the ,louvre had been glowingly
 described to him by his old            
drawing-master at ,cherbourg4 ,visions  
of the ,louvre had been in his mind for 
weeks and months1 and now his hopes were
 soon to be realized4 ,in an hour       
perhaps he would stand and look upon a  
canvas painted by ,rubens1 the immortal 
,rubens6  ,his enthusiasm grew warm4    
,the girl who had served him with coffee
 stood near and was looking at him with 

a sort of silent admiration1 such as she
 might bestow upon a curious animal4    
,he looked up2 their eyes met4  ,is it  
true--is it true that there are pictures
 by ,rubens in the ,louvre8 asked the   
young man4  ,the oddity of the question 
from such a being and the queer         
,normandy accent amused the girl1 and   
she burst out laughing4 ,she did not    
answer the question1 but going over to a
 man seated at another table whispered  
to him4 ,then they both looked at the   
queer youth and laughed4  ,the young    
countryman did not know what they were  
laughing at--probably they did not1     
either--but he flushed scarlet1 and soon
 made his way out into the street1 his  
luggage on his back4 ,he wanted to go to
 the ,louvre1 but dare not ask the      
way--he did not care to be laughed at4  
,and so he wandered forth4  ,the shops  
were very marvelous1 and now and again  
he lingered long before some window     
where colored prints and paintings were 
displayed4 ,he wondered if the places   

were artists' studios2 and at one place 
as he looked at a series of sketches the
 thought came to him that he himself    
could do better4  ,this gave him        
courage1 and stepping inside the door he
 set down his bag and told the          
astonished shopkeeper that the pictures 
in the window were very bad--he could   
paint better ones--would the proprietor 
not hire him to paint pictures8 ,he     
would work cheap1 and labor faithfully4 
,he was hastily hustled out into the    
street--to harbor lunatics was          
dangerous4  ,so he trudged on--looking  
for the ,louvre4  ,night came and the   
search was without reward4  ,seeing a   
sign of ,apartments for single          
gentlemen1 he applied and was shown a   
modest room that seemed within his      
means4 ,the landlady was very kind2 in  
fact1 she knew people at ,gruchy and had
 often been to ,cherbourg--her uncle    
lived there4  ,jean ,francois felt      
relieved to find that even in busy1     
bustling1 frivolous ,paris there were   

friendly people2 and when the kind lady 
suggested that pickpockets in the       
streets were numerous1 and that he had  
better give his money over to her for   
safekeeping1 he handed out his store of 
three hundred francs without question4  
,he never saw his money again4  ,the    
next day he still sought the            
,louvre--not caring to reveal his       
ignorance by asking the way4  ,it was   
several days before ,fate led him along 
the ,seine and he found himself on the  
,pont ,neuf4 ,the palace stretching out 
before him had a familiar look4 ,he     
stopped and stared4 ,there were the     
palaces where history had been made4 ,he
 knew the ,tuileries and he knew the    
,louvre--he had seen pictures of both4  
,he walked out across the ,place de la  
,concorde1 and seeing others enter1 made
 his way through the gates of the sacred
 precinct4  ,he was in the ,palace of   
the ,louvre2 he had found the way1      
unaided and alone4  ,his deep religious 
nature was moved1 and taking off his cap

 he crossed himself in a silent prayer  
of gratitude4  ,what his sensations were
 he partially pictured to his friend    
,sensier thirty years after3 ,it seemed 
as though ,i had at last attained1      
achieved4 ,my feelings were too great   
for words1 and ,i closed my eyes1 lest  
,i be dazzled by the sight and then dare
 not open them lest ,i should find it   
all a dream4 ,and if ,i ever reach      
,paradise ,i know my joy will be no     
greater than it was that first morning  
when ,i realized that ,i stood within   
the ,louvre ,palace4  ,for a week       
,millet visited the ,louvre every day4  
,when the doors were unlocked each      
morning he was waiting on the steps2 and
 he did not leave in the afternoon until
 the attendant warned him it was time to
 go4  ,he lingered long before the      
,raffaellos and stood in the ,rubens    
,gallery dumb with wonder and           
admiration4  ,there were various people 
copying pictures here and there4 ,he    
watched them furtively1 and after seeing

 one young man working at an easel in a 
certain place for a week1 he approached 
and talked with him4  ,jean ,francois   
told his history and the young man      
listened patiently4 ,he advised that it 
would be foolish to go back to ,gruchy  
at once4 ,the youth should go to some   
master and show what he could do--remain
 and study for a little while at least2 
in fact1 he himself would take him to   
,delaroche4 ,things looked brighter2 and
 arrangements were made to meet on the  
morrow and go interview the master4     
,delaroche was found and proved kindly4 
,he examined the two sketches that ,jean
 ,francois submitted1 asked a few       
questions1 and graciously led the new   
applicant into the atelier1 where a     
score of young men were sketching1 and  
set him to work4  ,the letter written by
 ,jean to the good old grandmother that 
night hinted at great plans for the     
future1 and told of love1 and of hope   
that was dauntless4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,twelve years were

 spent by ,jean ,francois in            
,paris--years of biting poverty and grim
 endurance3 the sport and prey of ,fate3
 the butt and byword of the fashionable1
 artistic world4  ,jean ,francois did   
not belong in ,paris3 how can robins    
build nests in omnibuses8  ,he was at   
war with his environment2 and the stern 
,puritan bias of his nature refused to  
conform to the free and easy ways of the
 gay metropolis4 ,he sighed for a sight 
of the sea1 and longed for the fields   
and homely companionship that ,normandy 
held in store4  ,so we find him         
renouncing ,paris life and going back to
 his own4  ,the grandmother greeted him 
as one who had won1 but his father and  
mother1 and he1 himself1 called it      
failure4  ,he started to work in the    
fields and fell fainting to the earth4  
,he has been starved1 said the village  
doctor4 ,but when hunger had been       
appeased and strength came back1        
ambition1 too1 returned4  ,he would be  
an artist yet4  ,a commission for a     

group of family portraits came from a   
rich family at ,cherbourg4 ,gladly he   
hastened thence to do the work4  ,while 
in ,cherbourg he found lodgings in the  
household of a widow who had a daughter4
 ,the widow courted the fine young      
painter-man--courted him for the        
daughter4 ,the daughter married him4 ,a 
strong1 simple man1 unversed in the     
sophistry of society1 loves the first   
woman he meets1 provided1 of course1 she
 shows toward him a bit of soft1        
feminine sympathy4 ,this accounts for   
the ease with which very young men so   
often fall in love with middle-aged     
women4 ,the woman does the courting2 the
 man idealizes1 and endows the woman    
with all the virtues his imagination can
 conjure forth4 ,love is a matter of    
propinquity4  ,the wife of ,jean        
,francois was neutral salts4 ,she       
desired1 no doubt1 to do what was right 
and best1 but she had no insight into   
her husband's needs1 and was incapable  
of guessing his latent genius4  ,as for 

the new wife's mother and kinsmen1 they 
regarded ,jean ,francois as simply lazy1
 and thought to crowd him into useful   
industry4 ,he could paint houses or     
wagons1 and1 then1 didn't the shipyard  
folks employ painters8  ,well1 ,i guess 
so4  ,jean ,francois still dreamed of   
art4  ,he longed to express himself--to 
picture on canvas the emotions that     
surged through his soul4                
,disillusionment had come1 and he now   
saw that his wife was his mate only     
because the ,church and ,state said so4 
,but his sense of duty was firm1 and the
 thought of leaving her behind never    
came to him4  ,the portraits were       
painted--the money in his pocket2 and to
 escape the importunities and jeers of  
his wife's relatives he decided to try  
,paris once more4  ,the wife was        
willing4 ,paris was the gateway to      
pleasure and ambition4  ,but the gaiety 
of ,paris was not for her4 ,on a scanty 
allowance of bread one can not be so    
very gay--and often there was no fuel4  

,jean ,francois copied pictures in the  
,louvre and hawked them among the       
dealers1 selling for anything that was  
offered4  ,delaroche sent for him4 ,why 
do you no longer come to my atelier8    
said the master4  ,i have no money to   
pay tuition1 was the answer4  ,never    
mind2 ,i'll be honored to have you work 
here4  ,so ,jean ,francois worked with  
the students of ,delaroche2 and a few   
respected his work and tried to help    
market his wares4 ,but connoisseurs     
shook their heads1 and dealers smiled at
 the eccentricities of genius1 and      
bought only conventional copies of      
masterpieces or studies of the nude4    
,meantime the way did not open1 and     
,paris was far from being the place the 
wife supposed4 ,she would have gone back
 to ,cherbourg1 but there was no money  
to send her1 and pride prevented her    
from writing the truth to her friends at
 home4 ,she prayed for death1 and death 
came4 ,the students at ,delaroche's     
contributed to meet the expenses of her 

funeral4 ,jean ,francois still struggled
 on4  ,delaroche and others declared his
 work was great1 but how could they make
 people buy it8  ,a time of peculiar    
pinching hardship came1 and ,jean       
,francois again bade ,paris adieu and   
made his way back to ,gruchy4 ,there he 
could work in the fields1 gather varech 
on the seashore1 and possibly paint     
portraits now and then--just for        
amusement4  ,and thus he would live out 
the measure of his days4  ,the visit of 
,jean ,francois to his boyhood's home   
proved a repetition of the first4       
,another woman married him4  ,catherine 
,lemaire was not a brilliant woman1 but 
she had a profound belief in her        
husband's genius4  ,possibly she did not
 understand him when he talked his best1
 but she made a brave show of listening1
 and did not cross him with any little  
whimsical philosophies of her own4  ,she
 was sturdy and strong of heart2        
privation was nothing to her2 she could 
endure all that ,jean ,francois could1  

and count it a joy to be with him4  ,she
 was the consoler1 not he2 and when the 
mocking indifference of the world passed
 the work of ,jean ,francois by1 she    
said1 ,who cares1 so long as we know 't 
is good8 and measured the stocking on   
her nose and made merry music with the  
flying needles4  ,soon the truth forced 
itself on ,jean ,francois and ,catherine
 that no man is thought much of by his  
kinsmen and boyhood acquaintances4 ,no  
one at ,gruchy believed in the genius of
 ,jean ,francois--no one but the old    
grandmother1 who daily hobbled to mass  
and prayed the ,blessed ,virgin not to  
forget her boy4 ,jean ,francois and his 
wife studied the matter out and talked  
it over at length1 and they decided that
 to stay in ,gruchy would be to forfeit 
all hope of winning fame and fortune4   
,gruchy held nothing for them2 possibly 
,paris did4  ,and anyway1 to go down in 
a struggle for better things was not so 
ignominious an end as to allow one's    
powers to rust out1 held back only      

through fear of failure4  ,they started 
for ,paris4  ,yes1 ,paris remembered    
,jean ,francois4 ,how could ,paris      
forget him--he was so preposterous and  
his work so impossible6  ,it was still a
 struggle for bread4  ,marriages and    
births have a fixed relation to the     
price of corn1 the sociologists say4    
,perhaps they are right2 but not in this
 case4  ,the babies came along with the 
years1 and all brought love with them4  
,the devotion of ,jean ,francois to his 
wife and children had a deep1 sober1    
religious quality1 such as we associate 
with ,abraham and ,jacob and the other  
patriarchs of old4  ,the heart of       
,millet was often wrung by the thought  
of the privation and hardships his wife 
and children had to undergo4 ,he blamed 
himself for their lack of creature      
comforts1 and the salt tears rained down
 his beard when he had to go home and   
report that he had tramped the streets  
all day with a picture under his arm1   
looking for a buyer1 but no buyer could 

be found4  ,but all this time the old   
grandmother up in ,normandy waited and  
watched for news from her boy4  ,now and
 again during the years she saw his name
 mentioned in connection with the       
,salon2 and once she heard a medal had  
been granted him1 and at another time an
 ,honorable ,mention4  ,her heart       
throbbed in pride and she wrote         
congratulations1 and thanked the good   
,god for answering her prayers4 ,little 
did she know of the times when bread was
 cut in tiny bits and parceled out to   
each hungry mouth1 or the days when     
there was no fuel and the children kept 
to their beds to prevent freezing4  ,but
 the few friends of ,jean ,francois who 
had forced the ,honorable ,mention and  
secured the medal1 now got something    
more tangible2 they induced the         
,government ,director of ,fine ,arts to 
order from ,jean ,francois ,millet a    
picture for which the artist was to     
receive two thousand francs2 two hundred
 francs were paid on account and the    

balance was to be paid on delivery of   
the picture4  ,jean ,francois hurried   
home with the order in his trembling    
fingers4 ,catherine read the order with 
misty eyes4 ,she was not unduly         
elated--she knew that success must come 
some time4 ,and husband and wife then   
and there decided that when the eighteen
 hundred francs were paid over to them  
they would move out of ,paris4  ,they   
would make a home in the country4       
,people do without things in the        
country1 but they do not starve4 ,you   
can raise vegetables1 and even though   
the garden be small and the folks poor1 
,god is good and the sunshine and       
showers come and things grow4 ,and for  
fuel one can gather fagots if they are  
near a wood4  ,they would go to         
,barbizon--,barbizon1 that tiny village 
on the edge of the ,forest of           
,fontainebleau4 ,several artists who had
 been there in the ,summer sketching had
 told them of it4 ,the city was         
gradually smothering ,jean ,francois4   

,he prayed for a sight of the great open
 stretches of pasture1 and green woods  
and winding river4  ,and now it was all 
so near4  ,he set to work feverishly to 
paint the great picture that was to     
bring deliverance4  ,at last the picture
 was done and sent to the ,director's4  
,days of anxious waiting followed4  ,the
 picture was accepted and paid for4     
,jean ,francois and ,catherine cried and
 laughed for joy1 as they tumbled their 
belongings into bags and bundles4 ,the  
grocer who had trusted them took some of
 their furniture for pay1 and a baker   
and a shoemaker compromised by accepting
 a picture apiece4 ,they were going to  
,barbizon--going to the country--going  
to freedom6 ,and so the father and the  
mother and the queer-looking1 yellow    
children were perched on the top of the 
diligence with their bundles1 bound for 
,barbizon4 ,they looked into each       
other's faces and their joy was too     
great for speech4         99       99   
99       99       99  ,living at the    

village of ,barbizon1 or near it1 were  
,theodore ,rousseau1 ,hughes ,martin1   
,louis ,le,roy and ,clerge4  ,these men 
were artists1 and their peasant         
neighbors recognized them as separate   
and apart from themselves4 ,they were   
,summer boarders4 ,but ,millet was a    
peasant in thought and feeling and      
sympathy1 and mingled with the people on
 an absolute equality4 ,he was          
peasant--and more than peasant2 for the 
majesty of the woods1 the broken rocks1 
the sublime stretches of meadow-lands   
with their sights1 odors and colors     
intoxicated him with their beauty4 ,he  
felt as if he had never before looked   
upon ,god's beautiful world4  ,and yet  
,paris was only a day's journey away6   
,there he could find a market for his   
work4 ,to be near a great city is a     
satisfaction to every intellectual      
worker1 but1 if he is wise1 his visits  
to the city are far apart4 ,all he needs
 is the thought that he can go if he    
chooses4  ,millet was thirty-four years 

of age when he reached ,barbizon4 ,there
 he was to remain for the remaining     
twenty-seven years of his life--to live 
in the one house--years of toil1 and not
 lacking in poverty1 pain and anxiety1  
but years of freedom1 for he worked as  
he wished and called no man master4  ,it
 is quite the custom to paint the life  
of ,millet at ,barbizon as one of misery
 and black unrest2 but those who do this
 are the people who read pain into his  
pictures3 they do not comprehend the    
simplicity and sublimity and quiet joy  
that were possible in this man's nature1
 and in the nature of the people he     
pictured4  ,from the time he reached    
,barbizon there came into his work a    
largeness1 a majesty and an elevation   
that is unique in the history of art4   
,millet's heart went out to             
humanity--the humanity that springs from
 the soil1 lives out its day1 and       
returns to earth4 ,his pictures form an 
epic of country life1 as he tells of its
 pains1 its anxieties1 its              

privations--yes1 of its peace and       
abiding faith1 and the joy and health   
and strength that comes to those who    
live near to ,nature's heart4  ,walt    
,whitman catalogues the workers and     
toilers1 and lists their occupations in 
pages that will live2 ,millet shows us  
wood-gatherers1 charcoal-burners1       
shepherds1 gleaners1 washerwomen1       
diggers1 quarrymen1 road laborers1 men  
at the plow1 and women at the loom4     
,then he shows the noon-hour1 the       
moments of devotion1 the joys of        
motherhood1 the silent pride of the     
father1 the love of brother and sister  
and of husband and wife4 ,and again in  
the dusk of a winter night we see       
black-lined against the sky the bent    
figure of an old woman1 bearing her     
burden of fagots2 and again we are shown
 the plain1 homely interior of a cottage
 where the family watches by the bedside
 of a dying child4  ,and always the     
picture is not quite complete--the faces
 are never distinct--no expression of   

feature is there1 but the soul worked up
 into the canvas conveys its silent     
message to all those who have eyes to   
see and hearts to feel4  ,only a love   
and sympathy as wide as the world could 
have produced the ,gleaners1 the ,sower 
and the ,angelus4  ,millet was what he  
was on account of what he had endured4  
,all art is at last autobiography4  ,the
 laborer's cottage that he took at      
,barbizon had but three small1 low      
rooms4 ,these served as studio1 kitchen 
and bedchamber4 ,when the family had    
increased to eleven1 other rooms were   
added1 and the studio was transferred to
 the barn1 there at the end of the      
garden4  ,millet had two occupations1   
and two recreations1 he once said4 ,in  
the mornings he worked in his garden1   
digging1 sowing1 planting1 reaping4 ,in 
the afternoons he painted--painted until
 the sun got too low to afford the      
necessary light2 then he went for his   
daily solitary walk through the woods   
and fields1 coming back at dark4 ,after 

supper he helped his wife with the      
housework1 put the children to bed1 and 
then sat and read until the clock struck
 midnight4  ,this was his simple life4  
,very slowly1 recognition came that way4
 ,theodore ,rousseau1 himself a great   
artist1 and a man too great for         
jealousy1 spread his fame1 and the      
faithful ,sensier in ,paris lost no     
opportunity to aid his friend by the use
 of a commercial shrewdness in which    
,millet was woefully lacking4  ,then    
came ,corot1 ,daubigny1 ,diaz and others
 of giant stature1 to ,barbizon1 and    
when they went back to ,paris they told 
of ,millet and his work4 ,and then we   
find ,meissonier1 the proud1 knocking at
 the gate of ,le ,grand ,rustique4  ,it 
is pleasant to recall that ,americans   
were among the first to recognize the   
value of ,millet's art4 ,his ,sower is  
the chief gem of the ,vanderbilt        
collection2 and the ,angelus has been   
thought much more of in ,france since   
,america so unreservedly set her seal   

upon it4  ,millet died in ,eighteen     
,hundred ,seventy-five4  ,it was only   
during the last ten years of his life   
that he felt financially free1 and even 
then he was far from passing rich4      
,after his death his fame increased1 and
 pictures he had sold for twenty        
dollars1 soon changed hands for as many 
hundred4  ,englishmen say that ,america 
grew ,millet-mad1 and it may be true    
that our admiration tipped a bit to t'  
other side2 yet the fabulous prices were
 not always paid by ,americans--the rich
 men of earth vied with each other for  
the possession of a ,millet4  ,the      
,gleaners was bought by the ,french     
,government for three hundred thousand  
francs1 and is now in the ,louvre in    
perpetuity4 ,this sum paid for this one 
picture represents a larger amount of   
money than passed through the hands of  
,millet during his entire life2 and yet 
it is not one-half what another ,millet 
brought4 ,the ,angelus was sold for the 
sum of eight hundred thousand francs--a 

larger amount than was ever before paid 
for a single canvas4  ,it is idle to say
 that no picture is worth such a sum4   
,anything is worth what some one else   
will pay for it4  ,the number of        
,millets1 it may be explained1 is       
limited1 and with men in ,america who   
have incomes of ten million dollars or  
more a year1 no sane man dare prophesy  
what price the ,sower may yet command4  
,millet himself1 were he here1 would be 
aghast at the prices paid for his work1 
and he would turn1 too1 with disfavor   
from the lavish adulation bestowed upon 
his name4  ,this homely1 simple artist  
was a profound thinker2 a sympathetic   
dreamer2 a noble-hearted1 generous man2 
so truthful and lovable that his virtues
 have been counted a weakness2 and so   
they are--for the planet ,earth4        
,,joshua ,,reynolds       ,to make it   
people's interest to advance you1 by    
showing that      their business will be
 better done by you than by any other   
person1 is the only solid foundation of 

success2 the rest is      accident4     
--,reynolds to ,his ,nephew             
,illustration3 ,,joshua ,,reynolds   ,on
 the curious little river ,plym1 five   
miles from ,plymouth1 is the hamlet of  
,plympton4 ,it is getting on towards two
 hundred years since ,joshua ,reynolds  
was born there4 ,the place has not      
changed so very much with the centuries3
 there still stand the quaint stone     
houses1 built on arches over the        
sidewalk1 and there1 too1 is the old    
,norman church with its high mullioned  
windows4 ,chester shows the best example
 of that very early architecture1 and   
,plympton is ,chester done in pigmy4    
,the birthplace of ,reynolds is one of  
these houses in the ,row2 a greengrocer 
now has the lower floor of the house for
 his shop1 while his numerous family    
live upstairs4  ,the ,reverend ,samuel  
,reynolds also had a numerous           
family--there being eleven children--so 
the present occupation is a realistic   
restoration of a previous condition4    

,the grocer has a leaning toward art1   
for his walls are well papered with     
chromos and posters2 and as he sold a   
cabbage to a good housewife he nipped   
off a leaf for a pen of rabbits that    
stood in the doorway1 and talked to me  
glibly of ,reynolds and ,gainsborough4  
,the grocer considers ,gainsborough the 
greater artist1 and surely his fame is  
wide1 like unto the hat--hated by       
theater-goers--that his name has        
rendered deathless1 and which certain   
unkind ones declare has given him       
immortality4 ,joshua was the seventh    
child in the brood of five boys and six 
girls4 ,the fond parents set him apart  
for the ,church1 and to that end he was 
placed in the ,plympton                 
,grammar-,school1 and made to do fifty  
lines of ,ovid a day4  ,the old belief  
that to translate ,latin with facility  
was the true test of genius has fallen  
somewhat into desuetude1 yet there are a
 few who still hold to the idea that to 
reason1 imagine and invent are not the  

tests of a man's powers2 he must        
conjugate1 decline and derive4 ,but     
,grant ,allen1 possessor of three       
college degrees1 avers that a man may   
not even be able to read and write1 and 
yet have a very firm mental grasp on the
 eternal verities4  ,anyway1 ,joshua    
,reynolds did not like ,latin4 ,he hated
 the set task of fifty lines1 and hated 
the system that imposed a fine of twenty
 lines for a failure to fulfil the      
first4  ,the fines piled up until young 
,joshua1 aged twelve1 goin' on thirteen1
 went into such hopeless bankruptcy that
 he could not pay tuppence on the pound4
  ,we have a sheet of this ,latin done  
at that time1 in a cramped1 schoolboy   
hand1 starting very bold and plain1 and 
running off into a tired blot and       
scrawl4 ,on the bottom of the page is a 
picture1 and under this is a line       
written by the father3 ,this is drawn by
 ,joshua in school out of pure idleness4
 ,the ,reverend ,samuel had no idea that
 his own name would live in history     

simply because he was the father of this
 idle boy4  ,still1 the clergyman showed
 that he was a man of good sense1 for he
 acceded to the lad's request to let the
 ,latin slide4 ,this conclusion no doubt
 was the easier arrived at after the    
master of the school had explained that 
the proper education of such a youth was
 quite hopeless4  ,all the ,reynolds    
children drew pictures and most of them 
drew better than ,joshua4 ,but ,joshua  
did not get along well at school1 and so
 he felt the necessity of doing         
something4  ,it is a great blessing to  
be born into a family where strict      
economy of time and money is necessary4 
,the idea that nothing shall be wasted1 
and that each child must carve out for  
himself a career1 is a thrice-blessed   
heritage4  ,rich parents are an awful   
handicap to youth1 and few indeed there 
be who have the strength to stand       
prosperity2 especially is this true when
 prosperity is not achieved1 but thrust 
upon them4  ,joshua got hold of a copy  

of ,richardson's ,theory of ,painting1  
and found therein that the author       
prophesied the rise of a great school of
 ,english painters4  ,joshua thought    
about it1 talked with his brothers and  
sisters about it1 and surprised his     
mother by asking her if she knew that   
there was soon to be a distinct school  
of ,british ,art4  ,about this time     
there came to the village a strolling   
artist by the name of ,warmell4 ,this   
man opened up a studio on the porch of  
the tavern and offered to make your     
picture while you wait4 ,he did a       
thriving business in silhouettes1 and   
patrons who were in a hurry could have  
their profiles cut out of black paper   
with shears and pasted on a white       
background in a jiffy--price1 sixpence4 
,joshua struck up quite a friendship    
with this man and was taught all the    
tricks of the trade--even to the warning
 that in drawing the portrait of a      
homely man it is not good policy to make
 a really homely picture4  ,the         

best-paying pewholder in the ,reverend  
,samuel ,reynolds' church was a ,mr4    
,craunch1 whose picture had been made by
 the joint efforts of the strolling     
artist ,warmell and young ,reynolds4 ',t
 was a very beautiful picture1 although 
it is not on record that ,mr4 ,craunch  
was a handsome man4  ,warmell refused to
 take pay for ,craunch's picture1       
claiming that he felt it was pay enough 
to have the honor of such a great man   
sitting to him4 ,this remark proved to  
,craunch that ,warmell was a discerning 
person and they were very soon on       
intimate terms of friendship4 ,mr4      
,craunch gave ,mr4 ,warmell orders to   
paint pictures of the ,craunch family4  
,one day ,warmell called the great man's
 attention to the fact that young       
,reynolds1 his volunteer assistant1 had 
ambitions in an art way that could not  
be gratified unless some great and good 
man stepped in and played the part of a 
,mcenas4  ,in fact1 ,joshua wanted to go
 to ,london and study with ,hudson1 the 

son-in-law and pupil of ,richardson1 the
 eminent author who wrote the ,theory of
 ,painting4 ,warmell felt sure that     
after a few months1 with his help1 young
 ,reynolds could get the technique and  
the color-scheme1 and a' that1 and the  
firm of ,warmell and ,reynolds could    
open a studio in ,plymouth or           
,portsmouth and secure many good orders4
  ,craunch listened with patience and   
advised with the boy's parents4  ,the   
next week he took the lad up to ,london 
and entered him as a pupil with the     
great ,hudson1 who could not paint much 
of a picture himself1 but for a         
consideration was willing to show others
 how4  ,rumor has it that ,warmell got a
 certain sum in ,english gold for all   
pupils he sent to ,hudson's studio1 but 
,i take no stock in such insinuations4  
,warmell here disappears from mortal    
view1 like one of those stage trapdoor  
vanishings of ,mephisto--only ,mephisto 
usually comes back1 but ,warmell never  
did4  ,reynolds was very happy at       

,hudson's studio4 ,he was only seventeen
 years old when he arrived there1 fresh 
from the country4 ,london was a marvel  
of delight to ,joshua2 the shops1       
theaters1 galleries and exhibitions were
 a never-ending source of joy4 ,he      
worked with diligence1 and probably got 
more for his money than any one of      
,hudson's fifty pupils4 ,hudson was     
well-to-do1 dignified and kind4 ,his    
place was full of casts and classic     
fragments1 and when he had set his      
pupils to copying these he considered   
his day's work done4  ,joshua wrote     
glowing letters home1 telling of all he 
did4 ,while ,i am at work ,i am the     
happiest creature alive1 he said4       
,hudson set ,joshua to copying          
,guercino's works1 and kept the lad at  
it so steadily that he was really never 
able to draw from ,nature correctly     
thereafter4  ,after a year1 ,craunch    
came up from the country to see how his 
ward was getting along4 ,joshua showed  
him the lions of the city2 and painted  

his picture1 making so fine a portrait  
that when ,mr4 ,craunch got back home he
 threw away the one made by ,warmell4   
,once at an exhibition ,joshua met      
,alexander ,pope1 whom he had seen      
several times at ,hudson's studio4 ,pope
 remembered him and shook hands4 ,joshua
 was so inflated by the honor that he   
hastened home to write a letter to his  
mother and tell her all about it4       
,according to the terms of agreement    
with ,hudson1 ,joshua was bound to stay 
four years2 but now two years had       
passed1 and one fine day in sudden wrath
 ,hudson told him to pack up his kit and
 go4  ,the trouble was that ,joshua     
could paint better than ,hudson--every  
pupil in the school knew it4 ,when the  
scholars wanted advice they went to     
,reynolds1 and some of them1 being sons 
of rich men1 paid ,reynolds for helping 
them4  ,then ,reynolds had painted a few
 portraits on his own account and had   
kept the money1 as he had a perfect     
right to do4 ,hudson said he hadn't1 for

 he was bound as an apprentice to him4  
,but only during working-hours1 replied 
young ,reynolds4 ,we can hardly blame   
,hudson for sending him away--no master 
wants a pupil around who sees all over1 
above and beyond him1 and who can do    
better work than he4 ,it's confusing1   
and tends to rob the master of the      
deification that is his due4  ,reynolds 
had remained long enough--it was time   
for him to go4  ,he went back to        
,devonshire1 and ,craunch1 the biggest  
man in ,plympton1 took him over to ,lord
 ,edgecumbe1 the biggest man in         
,plymouth4  ,craunch carried along the  
portrait of himself that ,joshua had    
made1 and asked milord if he didn't want
 one just like it4 ,edgecumbe said he   
surely did1 and asked ,joshua if he     
painted the picture all alone by        
himself4  ,joshua smiled4  ,lord        
,edgecumbe had a beautiful house1 and to
 have a good picture of himself1 and a  
few choice old ancestors on the walls1  
he thought would be very fine4  ,joshua 

took up his abode in the ,edgecumbe     
mansion1 the better to do his work4  ,he
 was a handsome youth1 nearly twenty    
years old1 with bright1 beaming eyes1 a 
slight but compact form1 and brown curls
 that came to his shoulders4 ,his       
,london life had given him a confidence 
in himself1 and in his manner there was 
a grace and poise flavored with a       
becoming diffidence4  ,a man who can do 
things well should assume a modesty1    
even if he has it not4 ,if you can write
 well1 do not talk--leave that to the   
man who can do nothing else4 ,if you can
 paint1 let your work speak for you4    
,joshua ,reynolds was young1 but he was 
an artist in diplomacy4 ,his talent1 his
 modesty1 his youth1 his beauty1 won the
 hearts of the entire ,edgecumbe        
household4  ,he painted portraits of all
 the family2 and of course all the      
visitors were called upon to admire1 not
 only the pictures1 but the painter as  
well4  ,a studio was opened in one of   
,lord ,edgecumbe's buildings at         

,plymouth1 and he painted portraits of  
all the great folks thereabout4  ,on    
,christmas-,day1 ,seventeen ,hundred    
,forty-six1 the ,reverend ,samuel       
,reynolds died1 but before his death he 
fully realized that one of his children 
was well on the way to fame and fortune4
  ,the care of the broken family now    
devolved on ,joshua1 but his income was 
several times as much as his father had 
ever earned1 and his responsibilities   
were carried lightly4  ,while at the    
house of ,lord ,edgecumbe1 ,reynolds had
 met young ,commodore ,keppel4 ,in      
,seventeen ,hundred ,forty-nine1 ,keppel
 was placed in command of the           
,mediterranean fleet1 with orders to    
clear the seas of the ,barbary pirates4 
,keppel invited ,reynolds to join him on
 board the ,centurion as his guest4     
,gladly he accepted1 and they sailed    
away for the ,orient with a cabin       
stocked with good things1 and enough    
brushes1 paints1 canvases and easels to 
last several painters a lifetime4       

99       99       99       99       99  
,it was three years before ,reynolds    
came back to ,plymouth4 ,he had visited 
,lisbon1 ,cadiz1 ,gibraltar1 ,port      
,mahon and ,minorca4 ,at the two        
last-named places there were ,british   
garrisons1 and ,reynolds set to work    
making portraits of the officers4 ,for  
this he was so well paid that he decided
 to visit ,italy instead of voyaging    
farther with his friend ,keppel4  ,he   
then journeyed on to ,naples1 ,rome1    
,venice1 ,pisa and ,florence1 stopping  
in each city for several months1        
immersing himself in the art atmosphere 
of the place4 ,returning to ,rome1 he   
remained there two years1 studying and  
copying the works of ,raphael1 ,angelo1 
,titian and other masters4              
,occasionally1 he sold his copies of    
masterpieces1 and by practising strict  
economy managed to live in a fair degree
 of comfort4  ,rome is the hottest place
 in ,summer and the coldest in ,winter  
of which ,i know4 ,the average ,italian 

house has a damp and chill in ,winter   
which clutches the tourist and makes him
 long for home and native land4 ,imagine
 a ,new ,england farmhouse in ,march    
with only a small dish-pan of coals to  
warm it1 and you have ,rome in ,winter4 
,rome1 with its fever in ,summer and    
rheumatism and pneumonia in ,winter1 has
 sent many an artist to limbus4 ,joshua 
,reynolds escaped the damp of the       
,vatican with nothing worse than a      
deafness that caused him to carry an    
ear-trumpet for the rest of his life4   
,but now he was back at ,plymouth4 ,lord
 ,edgcumbe looked over the work he had  
brought and called into the ear-trumpet 
that a man who could paint like that was
 a fool to remain in a country town3 he 
should go to ,london and vanquish all   
such alleged artists as ,hudson4        
,keppel had gotten back to ,england1 and
 he and ,edgcumbe had arranged that     
,reynolds should pitch his tent in the  
heart of artistic ,london4 ,so a        
handsome suite of apartments was secured

 in ,saint ,martin's ,lane4  ,the first 
work undertaken seems to have been that 
full-length portrait of ,commodore      
,keppel4 ,the picture shows the         
,commodore standing on a rocky shore1   
issuing orders to unseen hosts4 ,there  
is an energy1 dash and heroism pictured 
in the work that at once caught the eye 
of the public4  ,have you seen ,keppel's
 portrait8 asked ,edgcumbe of every one 
he met4  ,invitations were sent out to  
call at ,joshua ,reynold's studio and   
see ,keppel4 ,there were a good many    
pictures displayed there1 but ,keppel   
was placed in a small room1 set apart1  
rightly focused1 properly draped1 and   
lighted only by candles1 that stood in  
silver candle-sticks1 and which were    
solemnly snuffed by a detailed marine1  
six foot three1 in a red coat1 with a   
formidable hanger at his side4 ,only a  
few persons were admitted at a time and 
on entering the room all you saw was the
 valiant form of the doughty ,commodore1
 the sea-mist in his face and the wild  

winds blowing his locks4 ,the big marine
 on guard in the shadow added the last  
realistic touch1 and the gentlemen      
visitors removed their hats and the     
ladies talked in whispers--they all     
expected ,keppel to speak1 and they     
wished to hear what he would say4  ,it  
is a great thing to paint a beautiful   
picture1 but 't is a more difficult feat
 to hypnotize the public into accepting 
the fact4  ,the live ,keppel was pointed
 out on the street as the man who had   
had his picture taken4  ,now1 people do 
not have portraits painted simply       
because they want portraits painted3    
they want these portraits shown and     
admired4  ,to have ,reynolds paint your 
portrait might prove a repetition of the
 ,keppel--who knows6  ,sitters came and 
a secretary in livery took their names  
and made appointments1 as is done today 
in the office of a prosperous dentist4  
,joshua ,reynolds was young and strong1 
and he worked while it was called the   
day4 ,he worked from sunrise until      

sunset4  ,that first year in ,london he 
produced one hundred twenty portraits1  
besides painting various other pictures4
 ,this he could not have done without   
the assistance of a most loyal helper4  
,this helper was ,giuseppe ,marchi4     
,there are a half-dozen biographies of  
,reynolds1 and from ,boswell1 ,walpole  
and ,burney1 ,gossips-in-,ordinary1 we  
have vivid glimpses into his life and   
habits4 ,then we have his own journal1  
and hundreds of letters2 but nowhere do 
we get a frank statement of the         
assistance rendered him by ,giuseppe    
,marchi4  ,when ,reynolds was in ,rome1 
aged twenty-one1 he fell in with a      
tatterdemalion1 who proffered his       
service as guide4 ,rome is full of such 
specimens1 and the type is one that has 
not changed in five hundred years4      
,reynolds tossed the lad a copper1 and  
the ragged one showed his fine white    
teeth in a gladsome grin and proffered  
information4 ,he clung to the visitor   
all that afternoon1 and the next morning

 when ,reynolds started out with his    
sketching-outfit1 the youngster was     
sitting on his doorstep4 ,so they fared 
forth1 ,giuseppe carrying the kit4      
,reynolds knew but little ,italian--the 
boy taught him more4 ,the boy knew every
 corner of ,rome1 and was deep in the   
history of the ,eternal ,city--all he   
knew was ,rome4  ,joshua taught the     
youngster to sketch1 and after the first
 few days there in ,rome4 ,joshua rigged
 ,giuseppe up an easel1 and where went  
,joshua there also went ,giuseppe4      
,joshua got a bit ashamed of his        
partner's attire and bought him better  
raiment4  ,when ,reynolds left ,rome on 
his homeward march1 there1 too1 tagged  
the faithful ,giuseppe4  ,after several 
months they reached ,lyons1 and ,joshua 
counted his money4 ,there was only      
enough to pay his fare by the diligence 
to ,paris1 with a few francs over for   
food4 ,he told ,giuseppe that he could  
not take him farther1 and emptying his  
pockets of all his coppers1 and giving  

him his best silk handkerchief and a    
sketching-outfit1 they cried down each  
other's backs1 kissed each other on both
 cheeks in the ,italian fashion1 and    
parted4  ,it took eight days to reach   
,paris by the diligence1 and ,joshua    
only got through by stopping one day and
 bartering a picture for sundry loaves  
of necessary bread4  ,but he had friends
 in ,paris1 influential friends4 ,and   
when he reached the home of these       
influential friends1 there on the       
curbstone sat ,giuseppe1 awaiting his   
coming1 with the silk handkerchief      
knotted loosely about his neck6         
,giuseppe had thrown away the           
painting-kit and walked the three       
hundred miles in eight days1 begging or 
stealing by the way the food he needed4 
,when ,joshua ,reynolds opened his      
studio in ,saint ,martin's ,lane1 his   
faithful helper was ,giuseppe ,marchi4  
,giuseppe painted just as ,joshua did1  
and just as well4  ,when sitters came1  
,giuseppe was only a valet3 he cleaned  

the brushes1 polished the knives1 ran   
for water and hovered near to do his    
master's bidding4 ,he was the only      
person allowed in the model-room1 and   
all the time he was there his keen eyes 
made a correct and proper estimate of   
the sitter4 ,listening to no            
conversation1 seeing nothing1 he yet    
heard everything and nothing escaped his
 glance4  ,when the sitting1 which      
occupied an hour1 was over1 ,giuseppe   
took the picture into another room1 and 
filled in the background and drapery    
just as he knew it should be4  ,marchi  
does not sign and date the portraits1   
but he does all the rest1 said ,garrick4
 ,and ,little ,burney1 treading on      
thinner ice1 once remarked1 ,if ,sir    
,joshua ever embraces a fair sitter and 
imprints upon her forehead a chaste     
kiss1 ,i am sure that ,giuseppe ,marchi 
will never tell4  ,it is too late to    
accuse ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds of        
ingratitude towards ,giuseppe2 he was   
grateful1 and once referred to ,marchi  

as an angel sent from ,god to help me do
 my work4 ,but he paid ,marchi valet's  
wages and treated him like a servant4   
,possibly this was the part of          
expedience1 for had ,marchi ever gotten 
it into his head that he could paint as 
well as ,sir ,joshua he would have been 
worthless as a helper4  ,for forty years
 they were never separated4  ,cotton    
disposes of ,giuseppe ,marchi by saying1
 ,he was a clever colorist1 but         
incapable of doing independent work4    
,cotton might1 however1 have told the   
whole simple truth1 and that was that   
,marchi was hands1 feet1 eyes and ears  
for his master--certain it is that      
without his help ,sir ,joshua could     
never have attained the fame and fortune
 he did4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,in selecting his time for 
a career1 ,joshua ,reynolds showed good 
judgment4 ,he went into public favor on 
a high tide4 ,england was prosperous1   
and there was in the air a taste for the
 polite arts4 ,literature was becoming a

 fad4  ,within a short time there had   
appeared ,gray's ,elegy1 ,smollett's    
,peregrine ,pickle1 ,fielding's ,amelia 
and ,richardson's ,clarissa ,harlowe4   
,here was menu to fit most palates1 and 
the bill-of-fare was duly discussed in  
all social gatherings of the upper      
circles4 ,the afflicted ones fed on     
,gray2 the repentant quoted ,richardson2
 while ,smollett and ,fielding were read
 aloud in parlor gatherings where fair  
ladies threatened to leave the room--but
 didn't4 ,out at ,strawberry ,hill1 his 
country home1 ,horace ,walpole was      
running that little printing-shop1      
making books that are now priceless1 and
 writing long1 gossipy letters that body
 forth the spirit of the time1 its form 
and pressure4 ,the ,dilettante ,society1
 composed of young noblemen devoted to  
high art and good-fellowship1 was       
discussing a scheme for a ,national     
,academy4 ,garrick was at the height of 
his fame2 ,hogarth was doing for art    
what ,smollett did for literature2 while

 two young ,irishmen1 ,burke and        
,goldsmith1 were getting ready to make  
,english letters illustrious2 ,hudson   
was painting portraits with a stencil2  
,gainsborough was immortalizing a hat2  
,doctor ,johnson was waiting in the     
entry of ,lord ,chesterfield's mansion  
with the prospectus of a dictionary2 and
 pretty ,kitty ,fisher had kicked the   
hat off the head of the ,prince of      
,wales on a wager4  ,and so into this   
atmosphere of seething life came ,joshua
 ,reynolds1 the handsome1 gracious1     
silent1 diplomatic ,reynolds4 ,fresh    
from ,italy and the far-off islands of  
the ,southern seas where ,ulysses       
sailed1 he came--his name and fame      
heralded as the ,raphael of ,england4   
,to have your portrait painted by       
,reynolds was considered a proper entree
 into the bon ton4 ,to attempt to give  
the names of royalty who sat to him     
would be to present a transcript of     
,burke's ,peerage4  ,unlike ,van ,dyck1 
at whose shrine ,reynolds worshiped1    

,reynolds was coldly diplomatic in his  
relations with his sitters4 ,he talked  
but little1 because he could not hear1  
and to hold an ear-trumpet and paint    
with both hands is rather difficult4 ,on
 the moment when the sitting was over1  
the patron was bowed out4 ,the good     
ladies who lay in wait with love's      
lariat never found an opportunity to    
make the throw4  ,reynolds' specialty   
was women and children4 ,no man has ever
 pictured them better1 and with him all 
women were kind4 ,not only were they    
good1 but good-looking2 and when arms   
lacked contour1 or busts departed from  
the ideal1 ,kitty ,fisher or ,nelly     
,o',brien came at the call of ,marchi   
and lent their charms to complete the   
canvas4  ,reynolds gradually raised his 
prices until he received fifteen guineas
 for a head1 one hundred for a          
half-length1 and one hundred and fifty  
for a full-length4 ,and so rapidly did  
he work that often a picture was        
completed in four hours4  ,usually1     

success is a zigzag journey1 but it was 
not so with ,reynolds4 ,from ,seventeen 
,hundred ,fifty-seven to ,seventeen     
,hundred ,eighty-eight1 his income was  
never less than thirty thousand dollars 
a year1 and his popularity knew no      
eclipse4  ,about the time the ,american 
,stamp ,act was being pushed through    
,parliament1 ,reynolds' studio was the  
neutral stamping-ground for both        
parties4  ,copley1 the ,boston artist1  
gave ,reynolds a bias in favor of truth2
 and when ,townshend1 the man who       
introduced the ,stamp ,act in           
,parliament1 sat to ,sir ,joshua1 the   
artist and sitter forgot their business 
and wrangled over politics4 ,soon       
afterward ,sir ,joshua made a bet with  
,townshend1 a thousand pounds against   
five1 that ,george ,washington would    
never enter ,reynolds' studio4 ,this was
 in response to the boast that          
,washington would soon be brought to    
,england a captive1 and ,townshend would
 conduct him to ,reynolds to have his   

picture taken4  ,the bet made a         
sensation and ,reynolds offered to      
repeat it to all comers2 and a score or 
more of sincere men paid over five      
pounds into the hands of ,sir ,joshua1  
and took his note for one thousand      
pounds1 payable when ,washington landed 
in ,england a prisoner4  ,old ,ursa     
,major had small patience with          
,reynolds' political prophecies2 he     
called ,america a land of pirates and   
half-breed cutthroats1 and would have   
bet ,sir ,joshua to a standstill--only  
he had conscientious scruples about     
betting1 and besides1 hadn't any money4 
,goldsmith and ,burke1 of course1 sided 
with ,reynolds in his ,american         
sympathies1 and ,garrick referred to    
them as ,my friends1 the three ,irish   
,gentlemen4  ,a frequent visitor at the 
studio at this time was ,angelica       
,kauffman1 who deserves a volume instead
 of a mere mention4 ,she came up from   
,switzerland1 unknown1 and made her way 
to the highest artistic circles in      

,london4 ,she had wit and beauty1 and   
painted so well that ,reynolds admitted 
she taught him a few tricks in the use  
of color4 ,she produced several         
portraits of ,reynolds1 and ,reynolds   
painted several of her2 and the daughter
 of ,thackeray wrote a novel which turns
 on the assumption that they were       
lovers4  ,there certainly was a fine    
comradeship existing between them2 but  
whether ,reynolds was ever capable of an
 all-absorbing passion there is much    
doubt4 ,he was married to his work4     
,reynolds had many intimate friends     
among women3 ,peg ,woffington1 ,mrs4    
,clive1 ,mrs4 ,thrale1 ,hannah ,more1   
,fanny ,burney and others4 ,with them   
all there went the same high1 chivalrous
 and generous disinterestedness4 ,he was
 a friend to each in very fact4  ,when  
the ,royal ,academy was formed in       
,seventeen ,hundred ,sixty-eight1       
,reynolds was made its president1 and   
this office he held until the close of  
his life4 ,he was not one of the chief  

promoters of the ,academy at the        
beginning1 and the presidency was half  
forced upon him4 ,he might have declined
 the honor then had the ,king not made  
him a knight1 and showed that it was his
 wish that ,reynolds should accept4 ,sir
 ,joshua1 however1 had more ballast in  
his character than any other painter of 
his time1 and it was plain that without 
his name at the head the ,academy would 
be a thing for smiles and quiet jokes4  
,the thirty-four charter members        
included the names of two ,americans1   
,copley and ,west1 and of one woman1    
,angelica ,kauffman4  ,and it is here   
worthy of note that although the        
,methodist ,church still refuses to     
allow women to sit as delegates in its  
,general ,conference1 yet1 in ,seventeen
 ,hundred ,sixty-eight1 no dissent was  
made when ,joshua ,reynolds suggested   
the name of a woman as a member of the  
,royal ,academy4  ,sir ,joshua did not  
forget his friends at the time honors   
were given out1 for he secured the      

,king's permission to add several       
honorary members to the ,academy--men   
who couldn't paint1 but who still       
expressed themselves well in other ways4
  ,doctor ,johnson was made ,professor  
of ,ancient ,literature2 ,oliver        
,goldsmith1 ,professor of ,ancient      
,history2 and ,richard ,dalton1         
,librarian4  ,in this case the office   
did not seek the man3 the man was duly  
measured1 and the office manufactured to
 fit him4  ,when ,sir ,joshua died1 in  
,february1 ,seventeen ,hundred          
,ninety-two1 it was the close of a      
success so uninterrupted that it seems  
unequaled in the history of art4 ,he    
left a fortune equal to considerably    
more than half a million dollars2 he had
 contributed valuable matter to the     
cause of literature2 he had been the    
earnest friend of all workers in the    
cause of letters1 music and art2 and had
 also been the intimate adviser and     
confidant of royalty4 ,he was generous  
and affectionate1 wise and sincere2 a   

cheerful and tireless worker--one in    
whom the elements were so well mixed    
that all the world might say1 ,this was 
a man6     ,,landseer       ,the man    
behind his work was seen through        
it--sensitive1 variously      gifted1   
manly1 genial1 tender-hearted1 simple   
and unaffected2 a      lover of animals1
 children and humanity2 and if any one  
wishes to      see at a glance nearly   
all we have written1 let him look at    
,landseer's portrait1 painted by        
himself1 with a canine      connoisseur 
on either side4      --,monkhouse       
,illustration3 ,,landseer   ,happy lives
 make dull biographies4 ,young women    
with ambitions should be very cautious  
lest mayhap they be caught in the soft1 
silken mesh of a happy marriage1 and go 
down to oblivion1 dead to the world4    
,miss ,pott--the beautiful ,miss ,pott1 
they called her4 ,the biographers didn't
 take time to give her first name1 nor  
recount her pedigree1 so rapt were they 
with her personality4 ,they only say1   

,she was tall1 willowy and lissome2 and 
,sir ,joshua ,reynolds painted her      
picture as a peasant beauty1 bearing on 
her well-poised head a sheaf of corn4   
,it was at the house of ,macklin1 the   
rich publisher1 that ,john ,landseer1   
the engraver1 met ,miss ,pott4 ,she was 
artistic in all her instincts2 and as   
she knew the work of the brilliant      
engraver and named his best pieces      
without hesitation he grew interested4  
,men grow interested when you know and  
appreciate their work2 sometimes they   
grow more interested1 at which time they
 are also interesting4  ,and so it came 
about that they were married1 the       
beautiful ,miss ,pott and ,john         
,landseer1 and it can also be truthfully
 added that they were happy ever        
afterward4  ,but that was the last of   
,miss ,pott4 ,her husband was so strong1
 so self-centered1 so capable1 that he  
protected her from every fierce wind1   
and gratified her every wish4 ,she      
believed in him thoroughly and conformed

 her life to his4 ,her personality was  
lost in him4 ,the biographer scarcely   
refers to her1 save when he is obliged  
to1 indirectly1 to record that she      
became the mother of three fine girls1  
and the same number of boys1 equally    
fine1 by name1 ,thomas1 ,charles and    
,edwin4  ,thomas and ,charles grew to be
 strong1 learned and useful men1 so     
accomplished in literature and art that 
their names would shine bright on       
history's page1 were they not thrown    
into the shadow by the youngest brother4
  ,before ,edwin ,landseer was twenty   
years of age he was known throughout the
 ,united ,kingdom as ,landseer4 ,john   
,landseer was known as the father of    
,landseer1 and the others were the      
brothers of ,landseer4  ,and when once  
in ,piccadilly1 the beautiful ,miss     
,pott 7that was7 was pointed out as the 
mother of ,landseer1 the words warmed   
the heart of the good woman like wine4  
,to be the wife of a great man1 and the 
mother of a greater was career          

enough--she was very happy4  ,queen     
,anne ,street1 near ,cavendish ,square1 
is a shabby district1 with long lines of
 plain brick houses built for revenue   
only4  ,but ,queen ,anne ,street is     
immortal to all lovers of art because it
 was the home of ,turner2 and within its
 dark1 dull and narrow confines were    
painted the most dazzlingly beautiful   
canvases that the world has ever seen4  
,and yet again the street has another   
claim on our grateful remembrance1 for  
at ,number ,eighty-three was born1 on   
,march ,seventh1 ,eighteen ,hundred     
,two1 ,edwin ,landseer4  ,the father of 
,landseer was an enthusiastic lover of  
art4 ,he had sprung from a long line of 
artistic workers in precious metals2 and
 to use a pencil with skill he regarded 
as the chief end of man4  ,long before  
his children knew their letters1 they   
were taught to make pictures4 ,indeed1  
all children can make pictures before   
they can write4 ,for a play-spell1 each 
day ,john ,landseer and his boys tramped

 across ,hampstead ,heath to where there
 were donkeys1 sheep1 goats and cows    
grazing2 then all four would sit down on
 the grass before some chosen subject   
and sketch the patient model4  ,edwin   
,landseer's first loving recollections  
of his father went back to these little 
excursions across the ,heath4 ,and for  
each boy to take back to his mother and 
sisters a picture of something they had 
seen was a great joy4  ,well1 boys1 what
 shall we draw today8 the father would  
ask at breakfast-time4  ,and then they  
would all vote on it1 and arguments in  
favor of goat or donkey were eloquently 
and skilfully set forth4  ,i said that a
 very young child could draw pictures3  
standing by my chair as ,i write this   
line is a chubby little girl1 just four 
years old1 in a check dress1 with two   
funny little braids down her back4 ,she 
is begging me for this pencil that she  
may make a pussy-cat for ,mamma to put  
in a frame4  ,what boots it that the    
little girl's pussy-cat has five or six 

legs and three tails--these are all     
inferior details4  ,the evolution of the
 individual mirrors the evolution of the
 race1 and long before races began to   
write or reason they made pictures4     
,art education had better begin young1  
for then it is a sort of play2 and good 
artistic work1 ,robert ,louis ,stevenson
 once said1 is only useful play4        
,probably ,edwin ,landseer's education  
began a hundred years before he was     
born2 but his technical instruction in  
art began when he was three years old1  
when his father would take him out on   
the ,heath and placing him on the grass1
 put pencil and paper in his hand and   
let him make a picture of a goat        
nibbling the grass4  ,then the boy noted
 for himself that a goat had a short    
tail1 a cow a switch-tail1 and horses   
had no horns1 and that a ram's horns    
were unlike those of a goat4  ,he had   
begun to differentiate and compare--and 
not yet four years old6  ,when five     
years of age he could sketch a sleeping 

dog as it lay on the floor better than  
could ,thomas1 his brother1 who was     
seven years older4  ,we know the deep   
personal interest that ,john ,landseer  
felt in the boy1 for he preserved his   
work1 and today in the ,south           
,kensington ,museum we can see a series 
of sketches made by ,edwin ,landseer1   
running from his fifth year to manhood4 
,thus do we trace the unfolding of his  
genius4  ,that young ,landseer's drawing
 was a sort of play there is no doubt4  
,people who set very young children at  
tasks of grubbing out cold facts from   
books come plainly within the province  
of the ,society for the ,prevention of  
,cruelty to ,animals1 and should be     
looked after1 but to do things with     
one's hands for fun is only a giving    
direction to the natural energies4      
,before ,edwin ,landseer was eight years
 of age his father had taught him the   
process of etching1 and we see that even
 then the lad had a vivid insight into  
the character of animals4 ,he drew      

pictures of pointers1 mastiffs1 spaniels
 and bulldogs1 and gave to each the     
right expression4  ,the ,landseers owned
 several dogs1 and what they did not own
 they borrowed2 and once we know that   
,charles and ,thomas borrowed a mastiff 
without the owner's consent4  ,all      
children go through the scissors age1   
when they cut out of magazines1         
newspapers or books all the pictures    
they can find1 so as to add to the      
collection4 ,often these youthful       
collectors have specialties3 one will   
collect pictures of animals1 another of 
machinery1 and still another of houses4 
,but usually it is animals that attract4
  ,scissors were forbidden in the       
,landseer household1 and if the boys    
wanted pictures they had to make them4  
,and they made them4  ,they drew horses1
 sheep1 donkeys1 cattle1 dogs2 and when 
their father took them to the           
,zoological ,garden it was only that    
they might bring back trophies in the   
way of lions and tigers4  ,then we find 

that there was once a curiosity         
exhibited in ,fleet ,street in the way  
of a lion-cub that had been caught in   
,africa and mothered by a ,newfoundland 
dog4 ,the old mother-dog thought just as
 much of the orphan that was placed     
among her brood as of her sure-enough   
children4 ,the owner had never allowed  
the two animals to be separated1 and    
when the lion had grown to be twice the 
size of his foster-mother there still   
existed between the two a fine          
affection4  ,the stepmother exercised a 
stepmother's rights1 and occasionally   
chastised1 for his own good1 her        
overgrown charge1 and the big brute     
would whimper and whine like a lubberly 
boy4  ,this curious pair of animals made
 a great impression on the ,landseers4  
,the father and three boys sketched them
 in various attitudes1 and engravings of
 ,edwin's sketch are still to be had4   
,and so wherever in ,london animals were
 to be found1 there1 too1 were the      
,landseers with pencils and brushes1 and

 pads and palettes4  ,in the back yard  
of the house where the ,landseers lived 
were sundry pens of pet rabbits2 in the 
attic were pigeons1 and dogs of various 
breeds lay on the doorstep sleeping in  
the sun1 or barked at you out of the    
windows4  ,it is reported that ,john    
,landseer once contemplated a change of 
residence2 he selected the house he     
wanted1 bargained with the landlord1    
agreed as to terms and handed out his   
card preparatory to signing a lease4    
,the real-estate agent looked at the    
name1 stuttered1 stammered1 and finally 
said3 ,you must excuse me1 ,sir1 but    
they say as how you are a dealer in     
dogs1 and your boys are dog-catchers6   
,you'll excuse me--but--,i just now     
'appened to think the 'ouse is already  
took6         99       99       99      
99       99  ,the ,landseers moved from 
,queen ,anne ,street to ,foley ,street1 
near ,burlington ,house4 ,this was a    
neighborhood of artists1 and for        
neighbors they had ,west1 ,mulready1    

,northcote1 ,constable1 ,flaxman and our
 own picturesque ,allston1 of           
,cambridge1 ,massachusetts4  ,the ,elgin
 ,marbles were then kept at ,burlington 
,house1 and these were a great source of
 inspiration to the ,landseer boys4 ,it 
gave them a true taste of the ,grecian1 
and knowing a little about ,greece1 they
 wanted to know more4 ,greece became the
 theme--they talked it at breakfast1    
dinner and supper4 ,the father and      
mother told them all they knew1 and     
guessed at a few things more1 and to    
keep at least one lesson ahead of the   
children the parents crammed for        
examination4  ,edwin sketched that      
world-famous horse's head from the      
,parthenon1 and the figures of horses   
and animals in bas-relief that formed   
the frieze2 and the boys figured out in 
their minds why horses and men were all 
the same height4  ,gradually it dawned  
upon the father and the brothers that   
,edwin was their master so far as       
drawing was concerned4 ,they could      

sketch a ,newfoundland dog that would   
pass for anybody's ,newfoundland1 but   
,edwin's was a certain identical dog1   
and none other4  ,edwin ,landseer really
 discovered the dog4  ,he discovered    
that dogs of one breed may be very      
different in temper and disposition2 and
 going further he found that dogs have  
character and personality4 ,he struck an
 untouched lode and worked it out to his
 own delight and the delight of great   
numbers of others4  ,his pictures were  
not mystical1 profound or               
problematic--simply dogs1 but dogs with 
feelings1 affections1 jealousies1       
prejudices4 ,in short1 he showed that   
dogs1 after all1 are very much like     
folks2 and from this1 people with a turn
 for psychology reasoned that the source
 of life in the dog was the same as the 
source of life in man4  ,plain people   
who owned a dog beloved by the whole    
household1 as household dogs always are1
 became interested in ,landseer's dogs4 
,they could not buy a painting by       

,landseer1 but they could spare a few   
shillings for an engraving4  ,and so    
,john ,landseer began to reproduce the  
pictures of ,edwin's dogs4  ,the demand 
grew1 and ,thomas now ceased to sketch  
and devoted all his time to etching and 
engraving his brother's work4  ,every   
one knew of ,landseer1 even people who  
cared nothing for art3 they wanted a    
picture of one of his dogs to hang over 
the chimney1 because the dog looked like
 one they used to own4  ,then rich      
people came and wanted ,edwin to paint a
 portrait of their dog1 and a studio was
 opened where the principal sitters were
 dogs4 ,from a position where close     
economy must be practised1 the          
,landseers found themselves with more   
money than they knew what to do with4   
,edwin was barely twenty1 but had       
exhibited at several ,royal ,academy    
,exhibitions and his name was on every  
tongue4 ,he gave no attention to        
marketing his wares--his father and     
brothers did all that--he simply        

sketched and had a good time4 ,he was   
healthy1 strong1 active1 and could walk 
thirty miles a day2 but now that riches 
had come that way he bought a horse and 
rode4  ,then other horses were presented
 to him1 and he began to picture horses1
 too4 ,that he knew horses and loved    
them is evidenced in many a picture4 ,in
 every village or crossroads town of    
,america can be found copies of his     
,shoeing1 where stands the sleek bay    
mare1 the sober1 serious donkey1 and the
 big dog4  ,no painter who ever lived is
 so universally known as ,landseer1 and 
this is because his father and brothers 
made it their life-business to reproduce
 his work by engraving4  ,occasionally1 
rich ladies would want their own        
portraits painted with a favorite dog at
 their feet1 or men wanted themselves   
portrayed on horseback1 and so ,landseer
 found himself with more orders than he 
could well care for4 ,people put their  
names1 or the name of their dog1 on his 
waiting-list1 and some of the dogs died 

of old age before the name was reached4 
,i hear1 said a lady to ,sydney ,smith  
at a dinner party--,i hear you are to   
have your portrait painted by ,landseer4
  ,is thy servant a dog that he should  
do this thing8 answered the wit4 ,the   
story went the rounds1 and ,mulready    
once congratulated the clergyman on the 
repartee4  ,i never made the reply1 said
 ,sydney ,smith2 but ,i wish ,i had4    
,sydney ,smith was once visiting the    
,landseer studio1 and his eye chanced to
 light on the picture of a very         
peculiar-looking dog4  ,yes1 it's a     
queer picture of a queer dog4 ,the      
drawing is bad enough1 and never pleased
 me6 ,and ,landseer picked up the       
picture and gave it a toss out of the   
window4 ,you may have it if you care to 
go get it1 he carelessly remarked to the
 visitor4 ,smith made haste to run      
downstairs and out of the house to      
secure his prize4 ,he found it lodged in
 the branches of a tree4  ,in telling   
the tale years afterward1 ,smith        

remarked that1 whereas many men had     
climbed trees to evade dogs1 yet he     
alone of all men had once climbed a tree
 to secure one4  ,sir ,walter ,scott saw
 ,landseer's picture of ,the ,cat's     
,paw1 and was so charmed with it that he
 hunted out the young artist1 and soon  
after invited him to ,abbotsford4       
,leslie1 the ,american artist1 was at   
that time at ,scott's home painting the 
novelist's portrait4 ,this portrait1 by 
the way1 became the property of the     
,ticknor family of ,boston1 and was     
exhibited a few years ago at the ,boston
 ,museum of ,fine ,arts4  ,landseer1    
,leslie and ,scott made a choice trio of
 congenial spirits4 ,they were all      
outdoor men1 strong1 sturdy1            
good-natured1 and fond of boyish romp   
and frolic4 ,many were the long tramps  
they took across mountain1 heath and    
heather4 ,they visited the ,highland    
district together1 fished in ,loch      
,lomond1 paddled the entire length of   
,loch ,katrine1 and hunted deer on the  

preserve of ,lord ,gwydr4  ,on one      
hunting excursion1 ,landseer was        
stationed on a runway1 gun in hand1 with
 a gillie in attendance4 ,the dogs      
started a fine buck1 which ran close to 
them1 but instead of leveling his gun1  
,landseer shoved the weapon into the    
hands of the astonished gillie with the 
hurried whispered request1 ,here1 you1  
hold this for me6 and seizing his       
pencil1 made a hasty sketch of the      
gallant buck ere the vision could fade  
from memory4  ,in fact1 both ,landseer  
and ,leslie proved poor sportsmen--they 
had no heart for killing things4  ,a    
beautiful live deer was a deal more     
pleasing to ,landseer than a dead one2  
and he might truthfully have expressed  
the thought of his mind by saying1 ,a   
bird in the bush is worth two on a      
woman's bonnet4 ,and indeed he did      
anticipate ,thoreau by saying1 ,to shoot
 a bird is to lose it4  ,the idea of    
following deer with dogs and guns1      
simply for the sport of killing them1   

was repugnant to the soul of this       
sensitive1 tender-hearted man4  ,in the 
faces of his deer he put a look of      
mingled grandeur and pain--a            
half-pathos1 as if foreshadowing their  
fate4  ,in picturing the dogs and       
donkeys1 he was full of jest and        
merriment2 but the kings of moor and    
forest called forth deeper and sadder   
sentiments4  ,that wild animals         
instinctively flee in frenzied alarm at 
man's approach is comment enough on our 
treatment of them4  ,the deer1 so gentle
 and so graceful1 so innocent and so    
beautiful1 are never followed by man    
except as a destroyer2 and the idea of  
looking down a rifle-barrel into the    
wide-open1 soulful eyes of a deer made  
,landseer sick at heart4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,to      
,landseer must be given the honor of    
first opening a friendly communication  
between the present royal family and the
 artistic and literary world4           
,wild-eyed poets and rusty-looking1     

impecunious painters were firmly warned 
away from ,balmoral4 ,the thought that  
all poets and painters were anarchistic 
and dangerous--certainly                
disagreeable--was firmly fixed in the   
heart of the young ,queen and her       
attendants4  ,the barrier had first been
 raised to ,landseer4 ,he was requested 
to visit the palace and paint a picture 
of one of the ,queen's deerhounds4 ,it  
was found that the man was not hirsute1 
untamed or eccentric4 ,he was a         
gentleman in manner and education--quite
 self-contained and manly4  ,he was     
introduced to the ,queen2 they shook    
hands and talked about dogs and horses  
and things1 just like old acquaintances4
 ,they loved the same things1 and so    
were friends at once4 ,it was not long  
before ,landseer's near neighbors at    
,saint ,john's ,wood were stricken      
speechless at the spectacle of ,queen   
,victoria on horseback waiting at the   
door of ,landseer's house1 while the    
artist ran in to change his coat4 ,when 

he came out he mounted one of the       
groom's horses for a gallop across the  
park with the ,queen of ,england1 on    
whose possessions the sun never sets4   
,these rides with royalty were1 however1
 largely a matter of professional study2
 for he not only painted a picture of   
the ,queen on horseback1 but of ,albert 
as well4 ,and at ,windsor there can now 
be seen many pictures of dogs and horses
 painted by ,landseer1 with nobility    
incidentally introduced1 or vice versa1 
if you prefer4  ,it was in ,eighteen    
,hundred ,thirty-five that ,landseer    
began to paint the pets of the royal    
family1 and the friendly intimacy then  
begun continued up to the time of his   
death in ,eighteen ,hundred             
,seventy-three4  ,in the ,national      
,academy are sixty-seven canvases by    
,landseer2 and for the ,queen1          
personally1 he completed over one       
hundred pictures1 for which he received 
a sum equal to a quarter of a million   
dollars4  ,landseer's career was one of 

continuous prosperity4 ,in his life     
there was neither tragedy nor           
disappointment4 ,his horses and dogs    
filled his bachelor heart1 and when     
,tray1 ,blanche and ,sweetheart bayed   
and barked him a welcome to that home in
 ,saint ,john's ,wood where he lived for
 just fifty years1 he was supremely     
content4  ,his fortune of three hundred 
thousand pounds was distributed at his  
death1 as he requested1 among various   
servants1 friends and needy kinsmen4    
,landseer had no enemies1 and no        
detractors worth mentioning4 ,that his  
great popularity was owing to his       
deference to the spirit of the age goes 
without saying4 ,he never affronted     
popular prejudices1 and was ever alert  
to reflect the taste of his patrons4    
,the influence of passing events was    
strong upon him3 the subtlety of        
,turner1 the spiritual vision of ,fra   
,angelico1 the sublime quality of soul  
7that scorned present reward and        
dedicated its work to time7 of          

,michelangelo were all far from him4    
,that he at times attempted to be       
humorous by dressing dogs in coats and  
trousers with pipe in mouth is to be    
regretted4 ,a dog so clothed is not     
funny--the artist is4  ,the point has   
also been made that in ,landseer's work 
there was no progression--no evolution4 
,his pictures of mountain scenery done  
in ,scotland before he was thirty mark  
high tide4 ,to him never again came the 
same sweep of joyous spirit or surge of 
feeling4  ,bank-accounts1 safety and    
satisfaction are not the things that    
stir the emotions and sound the         
soul-depths4 ,landseer never knew the   
blessing of a noble discontent4 ,but he 
contributed to the quiet joy of a       
million homes2 and it is not for us to  
say1 ,it is beautiful2 but is it art8   
,neither need we ask whether the name of
 ,landseer will endure with those of    
,raphael and ,leonardo4 ,edwin ,landseer
 did a great work1 and the world is     
better for his having lived2 for his    

message was one of gentleness1 kindness 
and beauty4     ,,gustave ,,dore        
,lacroix told ,dore one day1 early in   
his life in ,paris1 that he      should 
illustrate a new edition of his works in
 four volumes1 and      he sent them to 
him4 ,in a week ,lacroix said to ,dore1 
who had      called1 ,well1 have you    
begun to read my story8 ,oh6 ,i mastered
      that in no time2 the blocks are   
all ready2 and while ,lacroix           
looked on stupefied1 the boy dived into 
his pockets and piled      many of them 
on the table1 saying1 ,the others are in
 a basket at      the door2 there are   
three hundred in all6      --,blanche   
,roosevelt  ,illustration3 ,,gustave    
,,dore   ,it was at the ,cafe de        
l',horloge in ,paris4 ,mr4 ,whistler sat
 leaning on his cane1 looking off into  
space1 dreamily and wearily4  ,he roused
 enough to answer the question3         
,dore--,gustave ,dore--an artist8 ,why1 
the name sounds familiar6 ,oh1 yes1 an  
illustrator4 ,ah1 now ,i understand2 but

 there is a difference between an artist
 and an illustrator1 you know1 my boy4  
,dore--yes1 ,i knew him--he had bats in 
his belfry6  ,and ,mr4 ,whistler        
dismissed the subject by calling for a  
match1 and then smoked his cigarette in 
grim silence1 blowing the smoke through 
his nose4  ,not liking a man1 it is easy
 to shelve him with a joke1 or to waive 
his work with a shrug and toss of the   
head1 but not always will the ghost down
 at our bidding4  ,in the realm of art  
nothing is more strange than this3      
genius does not recognize genius4       
,still1 the word is much abused1 and the
 man who is a genius to some is never so
 to others4 ,in defining a genius it is 
easiest to work by the rule of          
elimination and show what he is not4    
,for instance1 neither ,reynolds1       
,landseer nor ,meissonier was a genius4 
,these men were strong1 sane1 well      
poised--filled with energy and life4    
,they were receptive and quick to grasp 
a suggestion or hint that could be      

turned to their advantage--to further   
the immediate plans they had in hand4   
,they had ambition and the ability to   
concentrate on a thing and do it4 ,just 
what they focused their attention upon  
was largely a matter of accident4 ,they 
had in them the capacity for            
success--they could have succeeded at   
anything they undertook1 and they were  
too sensible to undertake a thing at    
which they could not succeed4 ,they     
always saw light through at the other   
end4  ,i have success tied to the leg of
 my easel by a blue ribbon1 said        
,meissonier4  ,they succeeded by        
mathematical calculation1 and the fame1 
name and gold they won was through a    
conscious laying hold upon the laws that
 bring these things to pass4  ,they     
chose to paint pictures1 and the entire 
energy of their natures was concentrated
 upon this one thing4 ,practising the   
art1 day after day1 month after month1  
year after year1 they acquired a        
wonderful facility4 ,they knew the      

history of art--its failures1 pitfalls  
and successes4 ,they knew the human     
heart--they knew what the people wanted 
and what they didn't4 ,they set         
themselves to supply a demand4 ,and all 
this keenness1 combined with good taste 
and tireless energy1 would have brought 
a like success in any one of a dozen    
different professions4  ,and these are  
the men who give plausibility to that   
stern half-truth3 a man can succeed in  
anything he undertakes--it is all a     
matter of will4  ,but you can not count 
,gustave ,dore in any such category4 ,he
 stands alone3 he had no predecessors1  
and he left no successors4 ,we say that 
the artist has his prototype2 but every 
rule has its exception--even this one4  
,gustave ,dore drew pictures because he 
could do nothing else4 ,he never had a  
lesson in his life1 never drew from a   
model1 could not sketch from ,nature2   
accepted no one's advice2 never         
retouched or considered his work after  
it was done2 never cudgeled his brains  

for a subject2 could read a book by     
turning the leaves2 grasped all         
knowledge2 knew all languages2 found an 
immediate market for his wares and often
 earned a thousand dollars before       
breakfast2 lived fifty years and        
produced over one hundred thousand      
sketches--an average of six a day2 made 
two million dollars by the labor of his 
own hands2 was knighted1 flattered1     
proclaimed1 adored1 lauded1 scorned1    
scoffed1 hooted1 maligned1 and died     
broken-hearted4  ,surely you can not    
dispose of a man like this with a bon   
mot6  ,comets may be good or ill1 but   
wise men nevertheless make note of them1
 and the fact that they once flashed    
their blinding light upon us must live  
in the history of things that were4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,an ,alsatian by birth1 and a ,parisian 
by environment1 ,dore is spoken of as of
 the ,french ,school1 but if ever an    
artist belonged to no school it was     
,gustave ,dore4  ,his early years were  

spent in ,strassburg1 within the shadow 
of the cathedral4 ,his father was a     
civil engineer--methodical1 calculating1
 prosperous4 ,the lad was the second of 
three sons3 strong1 bright1 intelligent 
boys4  ,in his travels up and down the  
,rhine the father often took little     
,gustave with him1 and the lad came to  
know each wild crag1 and crowning       
fortress1 and bend in the river where   
strong men with spears and bows and     
arrows used to lie in wait4 ,in         
imagination ,gustave repeopled the ruins
 and filled the weird forests with      
curious1 haunting shapes4 ,the ,rhine   
reeks with history that merges off into 
misty song and fable2 and this folklore 
of the storied river filled the         
day-dreams and night-dreams of this     
curious boy4  ,but all children have a  
vivid imagination1 and the chief problem
 of modern education is how to conserve 
and direct it4 ,as yet no scheme or plan
 or method has been devised that shows  
results1 and the men of imagination seem

 to be those who have succeeded in spite
 of school4 ,in ,gustave ,dore we have  
the curious spectacle of ,nature keeping
 bright and fresh in the man all those  
strange conceptions of the child1 and   
multiplying them by a man's strength4   
,the wild imaginings of ,gustave only   
served his father and mother with food  
for laughter2 and his erratic           
absurdities in making pictures supplied 
the neighbors' fun4  ,but actions that  
are funny in a child become disturbing  
in a man2 he's cute when little1 but    
sassy when older4  ,gustave1 however1   
did not put away childish things4 ,when 
he had reached the age of               
indiscretion--was fourteen1 and had a   
frog in his throat1 and was conscious of
 being barefoot--he still imagined      
things and made pictures of them4 ,his  
father was distressed1 and sought by    
bribes to get him to quit scrawling with
 pencil and turn his attention to       
logarithms and other useful things2 but 
with only partial success4  ,when       

fifteen he accompanied his father and   
older brother to ,paris1 where the older
 boy was to be installed in the ,ecole  
,polytechnique4 ,it was the hope of the 
father that1 once in ,paris1 ,gustave   
would consent to remain with his        
brother1 and thus1 by a change of base1 
a reform in his tastes would come about 
and he would leave the ,rhine with its  
foolish old-woman tales and cease the   
detestable habit of picturing them4  ,it
 was the first time ,gustave had ever   
been to ,paris--the first time he had   
ever visited a large city4 ,he was      
fascinated1 captivated1 enthralled4     
,paris was fairyland and paradise4 ,he  
announced to his father and brother that
 he would not return to ,alsace1 neither
 would he go to the ,polytechnique4     
,they told him he must do either one or 
the other2 and as the father was going  
back home in two days1 ,gustave could   
have just forty-eight hours in which to 
decide his destiny4  ,passing by the    
office of the ,journal pour ,rire1 the  

father and son gaping in all the windows
 like true rustics1 they saw announced  
an illustrated edition of ,the ,labors  
of ,hercules4 ,some of the illustrations
 were shown in the window with the hope 
of tempting possible buyers4 ,gustave   
looked upon these illustrations with    
critical eye1 and his face flushed      
scarlet--but he said nothing4  ,he knew 
the book2 aye1 every tale in it1 with   
all its possible variations1 had long   
been to him a bit of true history4 ,to  
him ,hercules lived yesterday1 and1     
confusing hearsay with memory1 he was   
almost ready to swear that he was       
present and used a shovel when the      
strong man cleaned the ,augean stables4 
,the next morning1 when his father and  
brother were ready to go to visit the   
,polytechnique1 ,gustave pleaded illness
 and was allowed to lie abed4 ,but no   
sooner was he alone than he seized      
pencil and paper and began to make      
pictures illustrating ,the ,labors of   
,hercules4  ,in two hours he had half a 

dozen pictures done1 and fearing the    
return of his father he hurried with his
 pictures to ,monsieur ,philipon1       
director of the ,journal pour ,rire4 ,he
 shouldered past the attendants1 pushed 
his way into the office of the great    
man1 and spreading his pictures out on  
the desk cried1 ,look here1 sir6 that is
 the way ',the ,labors of ,hercules'    
should be illustrated6  ,it was the     
action of one absorbed and lost in an   
idea4 ,had he taken thought he would    
have hesitated1 been abashed1           
self-conscious--and probably been       
repulsed by the flunkies--before seeing 
,monsieur ,philipon4 ,it was all the    
sublime effrontery and conceit--or      
naturalness1 if you please--of a country
 bumpkin who did not know his place4    
,philipon glanced at the pictures and   
then looked at the boy4 ,then he looked 
at the pictures4 ,he called to another  
man in an adjoining room and they both  
looked at the pictures4 ,then they      
consulted in an undertone4 ,it was      

suggested that the boy draw another     
illustration right there and then4 ,they
 wished to make sure that he himself did
 the work1 and they wanted to see how   
long it took4  ,gustave sat down and    
drew another picture4  ,philipon refused
 to let the lad leave the office1 and   
dispatched a messenger for his father4  
,when the father arrived1 a contract was
 drawn up and signed1 whereby it was    
provided that the infant should remain  
with ,philipon for three years1 on a    
yearly salary of five thousand francs1  
with the proviso that the lad should    
attend the school1 ,lycee ,charlemagne1 
for four hours every day4  ,thus1 while 
yet a child1 without discipline or the  
friendly instruction that wisdom might  
have lent1 he was launched on the       
tossing tide of commercial life4  ,his  
,hercules was immediately published and 
made a most decided hit--a palpable hit4
 ,paris wanted more1 and ,philipon      
wished to supply the demand4 ,the new   
artist's pictures in the ,journal pour  

,rire boomed the circulation1 and more  
illustrations were in demand4 ,philipon 
suggested that the four hours a day at  
school was unnecessary--,gustave knew   
more already than the teachers4         
,gustave agreed with him1 and his pay   
was doubled4 ,more work rushed in1 and  
,gustave illustrated serial after serial
 with ease and surety1 giving to every  
picture a wildness and weirdness and    
awful comicality4 ,the work was unlike  
anything ever before seen in ,paris3    
every one was saying1 ,what next6 and to
 add to the interest1 ,philipon1 from   
time to time1 wrote articles for various
 publications concerning the child      
illustrator and the artistic prodigy of 
the ',journal pour ,rire4'  ,with such  
an entree into life1 how was it possible
 that he should ever become a master8   
,his advantages were his disadvantages1 
and all his faults sprang naturally as a
 result of his marvelous genius4 ,he was
 the victim of facility4  ,everything in
 this world happens because something   

else has happened before4 ,had the thing
 that happened first been different1 the
 thing that followed would not be what  
it is4  ,had ,gustave ,dore entered the 
art world of ,paris in the conventional 
way1 the master might have toned down   
his exuberance1 taught him reserve1 and 
gradually led him along until his tastes
 were formed and character developed4   
,and then1 when he had found his gait   
and come to know his strength1 the name 
of ,paul ,gustave ,dore might have stood
 out alone as a bright star in the      
firmament--the one truly great modern4  
,or1 on the other hand1 would the       
ossified discipline and set rules of a  
school have shamed him into smirking    
mediocrity and reduced his native genius
 to neutral salts8  ,who will be        
presumptuous enough to say what would   
have occurred had not this happened and 
that first taken place8         99      
99       99       99       99  ,before  
,gustave ,dore had been in ,paris a year
 his father died4 ,shortly after1 the   

,strassburg home was broken up1 and     
,madame ,dore followed her son to       
,paris4 ,gustave's tireless pencil was  
bringing him a better income than his   
father had ever made2 and the mother and
 three sons lived in comfort4  ,the     
mother admonished ,gustave to apply     
himself to pure art1 and not be         
influenced by ,philipon and the others  
who were making fortunes by his genius4 
,and this advice he intended to         
follow--not yet1 but very soon4 ,there  
were ,rabelais and ,balzac's ,contes    
,drolatiques to illustrate4 ,these done1
 he would then enter the atelier of one 
of the masters and take his time in     
doing the highest work4  ,but before the
 books were done1 others came1 with     
retainers in advance4 ,then a larger    
work was begun1 to illustrate the       
,crimean ,war1 in five hundred          
battle-scenes4  ,and so he              
worked--worked like a                   
steam-engine--worked without ceasing4   
,he illustrated ,shakespeare's ,tempest 

as only ,dore could2 then came          
,coleridge1 ,moore1 ,hood1 ,milton1     
,dante1 ,hugo1 ,gautier1 and great plans
 were being laid to illustrate the      
,bible4  ,the years were slipping past4 
,his brothers had found snug places in  
the army1 and he and his mother lived   
together in affluence4 ,between them    
there was an affection that was very    
loverlike4 ,they were comrades in       
everything--all his hopes1 plans and    
ambitions were rehearsed to her4 ,the   
love that he might have bestowed on a   
wife was reserved for his mother1 and1  
fortunately1 she had a mind strong      
enough to comprehend him4  ,in the      
corner of the large1 sunny apartment    
that was set apart for his mother's     
room1 he partitioned off a little room  
for himself1 where he slept on an iron  
cot4 ,he wished to be near her1 so that 
each night he could tell her of what he 
had done during the day1 and each       
morning rehearse his plans for the      
coming hours4 ,by telling her1 things   

shaped themselves1 and as he described  
the pictures he would draw1 others came 
to him4  ,the confessional seems a      
crying need of every human heart--we    
wish to tell some one4 ,and without this
 confessional1 where one soul can       
outpour to another that fully           
sympathizes and understands1 marriage is
 a hollow1 whited mockery1 full of dead 
men's bones4  ,there is a desire of the 
heart that makes us long to impart our  
joy to another4 ,corot once caught the  
sunset on his canvas as the great orb   
sank1 a golden ball1 behind the hills of
 ,barbizon4 ,he wished to show the      
picture to some one--to tell some one1  
and looking around saw only a cottage on
 the edge of the wood a quarter of a    
mile away1 and thither he ran1 crying to
 the astonished farmer1 ,i've got it6   
,i've got it6  ,when ,dore did a        
particularly good piece of work1 in the 
first intoxication of joy he would run  
home1 kiss his mother on both cheeks1   
and picking her up in his strong arms   

run with her about the rooms4  ,at other
 times he would play leap-frog over the 
chairs1 vault over the piano1 and jump  
across the table4 ,and this wild joy    
that comes after work well done he knew 
for many years4 ,in the evening1 after a
 particularly good day1 he would play   
the violin and sing entire scenes from  
some opera1 his mother turning the      
leaves4  ,as to his skill as a musician1
 is this testimonial on the back of a   
fine photograph ,i once had the pleasure
 of handling3 ,as a souvenir of tender  
friendship1 presented to ,gustave ,dore1
 who joins with his genius as a painter 
the talents of a distinguished violinist
 and charming tenor4--,g4 ,rossini4     
,the illustrations for ,dante's ,inferno
 were done in ,dore's twenty-second     
year1 and for this work he was decorated
 with the ,cross of the ,legion of      
,honor4 ,he never did better work1 and  
at this time his hand and brain seemed  
at their best4  ,every great writer and 
every great artist makes vigorous use of

 his childhood impressions4 ,childhood  
does not know it is storing up for the  
days to come1 but its memories sink deep
 into the soul1 and when called upon to 
express1 the man reaches out and prints 
from the plates that are bitten deep2   
and these are the pictures of his early 
youth--or else they tell of a time when 
he loved a woman4  ,the first named are 
the more reliable1 for sex and love have
 been made forbidden subjects1 until    
self-consciousness1 affectation and     
untruth creep easily into their         
accounting4 ,all literature and all art 
are secondary sex manifestations1 just  
as surely as the song of birds or the   
color and perfume of flowers are sex    
qualities4 ,and so it happens that all  
art and all literature is a confession2 
and it occurs1 too1 that childhood does 
not stand out sharp and clear on        
memory's chart until it is past and     
adolescence lies between4 ,then maturity
 gives back to the man the childhood    
that is gone forever4  ,many of the     

world's best specimens of literature are
 built on the impressions of childhood4 
,shakespeare1 ,victor ,hugo1 and ,i'll  
name you another--,james ,whitcomb      
,riley--have written immortal books with
 the autobiography of childhood for both
 warp and woof4  ,gustave ,dore's best  
work is a reproduction of his           
childhood's thoughts1 feelings and      
experiences--all well colored with the  
stuff that dreams are made of4  ,the    
background of every good ,dore picture  
is a deep wood or mountain-pass or dark 
ravine4 ,the wild1 romantic passes of   
the ,vosges1 and the sullen crags1      
topped with dark mazes of wilderness1   
were ever in his mind1 just as he saw   
them yesterday when he clutched his     
father's hand and held his breath to    
hear the singing of the wood-nymphs     
'mong the branches4  ,his tracery of    
bark and branch1 and drooping bough held
 down with weight of dew1 are           
startlingly true4 ,the great roots of   
giant trees1 denuded by storm and flood1

 lie exposed to view2 and deep vistas   
are given of shadowy glade and          
swift-running mountain torrent4 ,all is 
somber1 terrible1 and tells of forces   
that tossed these mountain-tops like    
bowls1 and of a ,power immense1         
immeasurable1 incomprehensible1 eternal 
in the heavens4  ,dore's first          
exhibition in the ,salon was made when  
he was eighteen1 and a few years later1 
when he was presented with the ,cross of
 the ,legion of ,honor1 the decoration  
made his work exempt from jury          
examination4 ,and so every year he sent 
some large painting to the ,salon4  ,his
 work was the wonder of ,paris1 and on  
every hand his illustrations were in    
demand1 but his canvases were too large 
in size and too terrible in subject to  
fit private residences4  ,patrons were  
cautious4  ,to own a ,dore was proof of 
a high appreciation of art1 or else a   
lack of it--buyers did not know which4  
,they were afraid of being laughed at4  
,his competitors began to hoot and jeer4

 ,not being able to make pictures that  
would compete with his1 they wrote him  
down in the magazines4  ,his name became
 a jest4  ,various of his illustrations 
for the ,bible were enlarged into       
immense canvases1 some of which were    
twenty feet long and twelve feet high4  
,all who looked upon these pictures were
 amazed by the fecundity in invention   
and the skill shown in drawing2 but the 
most telling criticism against them was 
their defect in coloring4 ,dore could   
draw1 but could not color1 and the      
report was abroad that he was           
color-blind4  ,the only buyers for his  
pictures came from ,england and         
,america4 ,paris loved art for art's    
sake1 and the ,bible was not popular    
enough to make its illustration worth   
while4 ,what is this book you are       
working on8 asked a caller4  ,it was    
different in ,london1 where ,spurgeon   
preached every ,sunday to three thousand
 people4 ,the ,dores taken to ,london   
attracted much attention--mostly from   

the size of the canvases1 ,parisians    
said4 ,but the particular subject was   
the real attraction4 ,instead of reading
 their daily chapter1 hard-working1     
tired people went to see a ,dore ,bible 
picture where it was exposed in some    
vacant storeroom and tuppence           
entrance-fee charged4  ,it occurred to  
certain capitalists that if people would
 go to see one ,dore1 why would not a   
,dore gallery pay8  ,a company was      
formed1 agents were sent to ,paris and  
negotiations begun4 ,finally1 on payment
 of three hundred thousand dollars1     
forty large canvases were secured1 with 
a promise of more to come4  ,dore took  
the money1 and1 the agents being gone1  
ran home to tell his mother4 ,she was at
 dinner with a little company of invited
 guests4 ,gustave vaulted over the      
piano1 played leap-frog among the       
chairs1 and turning a handspring across 
the table1 incidentally sent his heels  
into a thousand-dollar chandelier that  
came toppling down1 smashing every dish 

upon the table1 and frightening the     
guests into hysterics4  ,it's nothing1  
said ,madame ,dore2 it's                
nothing--,gustave has merely done a good
 day's work6  ,the ,dore ,gallery in    
,london proved a great success4         
,spurgeon advised his flock to see it1  
that they might the better comprehend   
,bible history2 the ,reverend ,doctor   
,parker spoke of the painter as one     
inspired by ,god2 ,sunday-schools made  
excursions thither2 men in hobnailed    
shoes knelt before the pictures1        
believing they were in the presence of a
 vision4  ,and all these things were    
duly advertised1 just as we have been   
told of the old soldier who visited the 
,gettysburg ,cyclorama at ,chicago and  
looking upon the picture1 he suddenly   
cried to his companion1 ,down1 ,bill1   
down6 by t' ,lord1 there's a feller     
sightin' his gun on us6  ,barnum offered
 the owners twice what they paid for the
 ,dore ,gallery1 with intent to move the
 pictures to ,america1 but they were too

 wise to accept4  ,twenty-eight of the  
canvases were eventually sold1 however1 
for a sum greater than was paid for the 
lot1 yet enough remained to make a most 
representative display2 and no ,american
 in ,london misses seeing the ,dore     
,gallery1 any more than we omit ,madame 
,tussaud's ,wax-,works4  ,in ,eighteen  
,hundred ,seventy-three1 ,dore visited  
,england and was welcomed as a          
conquering hero4 ,the ,prince of ,wales 
and the nobility generally paid him     
every honor4 ,he was presented to the   
,queen1 and ,victoria thanked him for   
the great work he had done1 and asked   
him to inscribe for her a copy of the   
,dore ,bible4  ,more than this1 the     
,queen directed that several ,dore      
pictures be purchased and placed in     
,windsor ,castle4  ,of course1 all      
,paris knew of ,dore's success in       
,england4 ,paris laughed4 ,what did ,i  
tell you8 said ,berand4 ,and ,paris     
reasoned that what ,england and ,america
 gushed over must necessarily be very   

bad4 ,the directors of the ,salon made  
excuses for not hanging his pictures4   
,dore had become rich1 but his own      
,paris--the ,paris that had been a      
foster-mother to him--refused to        
accredit him the honor which he felt was
 his due4  ,in ,eighteen ,hundred       
,seventy-eight1 smarting under the      
continued gibes and geers of artistic   
,france1 he modeled a statue which he   
entitled ,glory4 ,it represents a woman 
holding fast in affectionate embrace a  
beautiful youth1 whose name we are      
informed is ,genius4 ,the woman has in  
one hand a laurel-wreath2 hidden in the 
leaves of this wreath is a dagger with  
which she is about to deal the victim a 
fatal blow4  ,dore grew dispirited1 and 
in vain did his mother and near friends 
seek to rally him out of the despondency
 that was settling down upon him4 ,they 
said1 ,you are only a little over forty1
 and many a good man has never been     
recognized at all until after that--see 
,millet6  ,but he shook his head4  ,when

 his mother died1 in ,eighteen ,hundred 
,eighty-one1 it seemed to snap his last 
earthly tie4 ,of course he exaggerated  
the indifference there was towards him2 
he had many friends who loved him as a  
man and respected him as an artist4     
,but after the death of his mother he   
had nothing to live for1 and thinking   
thus1 he soon followed her4 ,he died in 
,eighteen ,hundred ,eighty-three1 aged  
fifty years4         99       99        
99       99       99  ,,so ,,here       
,,endeth ,,little ,,journeys ,,to ,,the 
,,homes ,,of ,,eminent ,,painters1      
,,being ,,volume ,,four ,,of ,,the      
,,series1 ,,as ,,written ,,by ,,elbert  
,,hubbard3 ,,edited ,,and ,,arranged    
,,by ,,fred ,,bann2 ,,borders ,,and     
,,initials ,,by ,,roycroft ,,artists1   
,,and ,,produced ,,by ,,the             
,,roycrofters1 ,,at ,,their ,,shops1    
,,which ,,are ,,in ,,east ,,aurora1     
,,erie ,,county1 ,,new ,,york1 ,,mcmxxii
     ,transcriber's ,note3              
,inconsistencies in the original 7e4g41 

,arnola_/,arnold2 ,edgcumbe_/,edgecumbe2
 geers_/jeers7 have been retained in    
this etext4