,,little ,,journeys ,,to ,,the ,,homes  
,,of ,,the ,,great1 ,,volume #f  ,little
 ,journeys to the ,homes of ,eminent    
,artists  ,,elbert ,,hubbard  ,,memorial
 ,,edition     ,,contents   ,,raphael   
,,leonardo  ,,botticelli  ,,thorwaldsen 
,,gainsborough  ,,velasquez  ,,corot    
,,correggio  ,,bellini  ,,cellini       
,,abbey  ,,whistler     ,,raphael  ,and 
with all this vast creative activity1 he
 recognized only one self-imposed       
limitation--beauty4 ,hence1 though his  
span of life was short1 his work is     
imperishable4 ,he steadily progressed3  
but he was ever true1 beautiful and     
pure1 and freer than any other master   
from superficiality and mannerism4 ,he  
produced a vast number of pictures1     
elevating to men of every race and of   
every age1 and before whose immortal    
beauty artists of every school unite in 
common homage4   --,wilhelm ,lubke      
,illustration3 ,raphael   ,the term     
,preraphaelite traces a royal lineage to
 ,william ,morris4 ,just what the word  

really meant1 ,william ,morris was not  
sure1 yet he once expressed the hope    
that he would some day know1 as a       
thousand industrious writers were       
laboring to make the matter plain4      
,seven men helped ,william ,morris to   
launch the phrase1 by forming themselves
 into an organization which they were   
pleased to call the ,preraphaelite      
,brotherhood4  ,the word brotherhood has
 a lure and a promise for every lonely  
and tired son of earth4 ,and            
,burne-,jones pleaded for the prefix    
because it was like holy writ3 it gave  
everybody an opportunity to read        
anything into it that he desired4  ,of  
this ,i am very sure1 in the            
,preraphaelite ,brotherhood there was no
 lack of appreciation for ,raphael4 ,in 
fact1 there is proof positive that      
,burne-,jones and ,madox ,brown studied 
him with profit1 and loved him so wisely
 and well that they laid                
impression-paper on his poses4 ,this    
would have been good and sufficient     

reason for hating the man2 and possibly 
this accounts for their luminous flashes
 of silence concerning him4 ,the        
,preraphaelite ,brotherhood1 like all   
other liberal organizations1 was quite  
inclined to be illiberal4 ,and the      
prejudice of this clanship1 avowedly    
founded without prejudice1 lay in the   
assumption that life and art suffered a 
degeneration from the rise of ,raphael4 
,in art1 as in literature1 there is     
overmuch tilting with names--so the     
,preraphaelites enlisted under the      
banner of ,botticelli4  ,raphael marks  
an epoch4 ,he did what no man before him
 had ever done1 and by the sublimity of 
his genius placed the world forever     
under obligations to him4 ,in fact1 the 
art of the ,preraphaelites was built on 
,raphael1 with an attempt to revive the 
atmosphere and environment that belonged
 to another4 ,raphael mirrored the soul 
of things--he used the human form and   
the whole natural world as symbols of   
spirit4 ,and this is exactly what       

,burne-,jones did1 and the rest of the  
,brotherhood tried to do4 ,the thought  
of ,raphael and of ,burne- ,jones often 
seems identical2 in temperament1        
disposition and aspiration they were    
one4 ,that poetic and fervid statement  
of ,mrs4 ,jameson1 that ,burne-,jones is
 the avatar of ,raphael1 contains the   
germ of truth4 ,the dream-women of      
,burne-,jones have the same haunting and
 subtle spiritual wistfulness that is to
 be seen in the ,madonnas of ,raphael4  
,each of these men loved a woman--and   
each pictured her again and again4      
,whether this woman had an existence    
outside the figment of the brain matters
 not3 both painted her as they saw her--
 tender1 gentle and trustful4  ,when    
jealous and o'erzealous competitors made
 the charge against ,raphael that he was
 lax in his religious duties1 ,pope ,leo
 the ,tenth waived the matter by saying1
 ,well1 well1 well6--he is an artistic  
,christian6 ,as much as to say1 he works
 his religion up into art1 and therefore

 we grant him absolution for failure to 
attend mass3 he paints and you pray--it 
is really all the same thing4 ,good work
 and religion are one4  ,the busy and   
captious critics went away1 but came    
back next day with the startling        
information that ,raphael's pictures    
were more ,pagan than ,christian4 ,pope 
,leo heard the charge1 and then with    
,lincoln- like wit said that ,raphael   
was doing this on his order1 as the     
desire of the ,mother ,church was to    
annex the ,pagan art-world1 in order to 
,christianize it4  ,the charges of      
,paganism and ,infidelity are classic   
accusations4 ,the gentle ,burne-,jones  
was stoutly denounced by his enemies as 
a ,pagan ,greek4 ,i think he rather     
gloried in the contumely1 but fifty     
years earlier he might have been visited
 by a lettre de cachet1 instead of a    
knighthood2 for we can not forget how1  
in ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifteen1         
,parliament refused to pay for the      
,elgin ,marbles because1 as ,lord       

,falmouth put it1 ,these relics will    
tend to prostitute ,england to the depth
 of unbelief that engulfed ,pagan       
,greece4 ,the attitude of ,parliament on
 the question of ,paganism finds voice  
occasionally even yet by ,protestant    
,england making darkness dense with the 
asseveration that ,catholics            
idolatrously worship the pictures and   
statues in their churches4  ,the ,romans
 tumbled the ,athenian marbles from     
their pedestals1 on the assumption that 
the statues represented gods that were  
idolatrously worshiped by the ,greeks4  
,and they continued their work of       
destruction until a certain ,roman      
general 7who surely was from ,county    
,cork7 stopped the vandalism by issuing 
an order1 coupled with the dire threat  
that any soldier who stole or destroyed 
a statue should replace it with another 
equally good4  ,lord ,elgin bankrupted  
himself in order to supply the ,british 
,museum its crowning glory1 and for this
 he achieved the honor of getting       

himself poetically damned by ,lord      
,byron4 ,monarchies1 like republics1 are
 ungrateful4 ,lord ,elgin defended      
himself vigorously against the charge of
 ,paganism1 just as ,raphael had done   
three hundred years before4 ,but        
,burne-,jones was silent in the presence
 of his accusers1 for the world of      
buyers besieged his doors with          
bank-notes in hand1 demanding pictures4 
,and now today we find ,alma-,tadema    
openly and avowedly ,pagan1 and with a  
grace and loveliness that compel the    
glad acclaim of every lover of beautiful
 things4  ,we are making head4 ,we have 
ceased to believe that ,paganism is bad4
 ,all the men and women who have ever   
lived and loved and hoped and died1 were
 ,god's children1 and we are no more4   
,with the nations dead and turned to    
dust1 we reach out through the darkness 
of forgotten days and touch friendly    
hands4 ,some of these people that       
existed two1 three or four thousand     
years ago did things so marvelously     

grand and great that in presence of the 
broken fragments of their work we stand 
silent1 o'erawed and abashed4 ,we       
realize1 too1 that long before the      
nations lived that have left a meager   
and scattered history hewn in stone1    
lived still other men1 possibly greater 
far than we2 and no sign or signal comes
 to us from those whose history1 like   
ours1 is writ in water4  ,yet we are one
 with them all4 ,the same ,power that   
brought them upon this stage of ,time   
brought us4 ,as we were called into     
existence without our consent1 so are we
 being sent out of it1 day by day1      
against our will4 ,the destiny of all   
who live or have lived1 is one2 and no  
taunt of paganism1 heathenism or        
infidelity escapes our lips4 ,with love 
and sympathy1 we salute the eternity    
that lies behind1 realizing that we     
ourselves are the oldest people that    
have tasted existence--the newest nation
 lingers away behind ,assyria and       
,egypt1 back of the ,mayas1 lost in     

continents sunken in shoreless seas that
 hold their secrets inviolate4 ,yes1 we 
are brothers to all that have trod the  
earth2 brothers and heirs to dust and   
shade-- mayhap to immortality6   ,in the
 story of ,john ,ball1 ,william ,morris 
pictured what to him was the ,ideal     
,life4 ,and ,morris was certainly right 
in this3 ,the ,ideal ,life is only the  
normal or natural life as we shall some 
day know it4 ,the scene of ,morris'     
story was essentially a ,preraphaelite  
one4 ,it was the great virtue 7or       
limitation7 of ,william ,morris that the
 ,dark ,ages were to him a time of      
special light and illumination4 ,life   
then was simple4 ,men worked for the    
love of it1 and if they wanted things   
they made them4 ,every trade exclusively
 followed means a deformity1 says       
,ruskin4 ,division of labor had not yet 
come1 and men were skilled in many ways4
 ,there was neither poverty nor riches1 
and the idea of brotherhood was firmly  
fixed in the minds of men4 ,the feverish

 desire for place1 pelf and power was   
not upon them4 ,the rise of the barons  
and an entailed aristocracy were yet to 
come4  ,governments grant men immunity  
from danger on payment of a tax4 ,thus  
men cease protecting themselves1 and so 
in the course of time lose the ability  
to protect themselves1 because the      
faculty of courage has atrophied through
 disuse4 ,brooding apprehension and     
crouching fear are the properties of    
civilized men--men who are protected by 
the ,state4 ,the joy of reveling in life
 is not possible in cities4 ,bolts and  
bars1 locks and keys1 soldiers and      
police1 and a hundred other symbols of  
distrust1 suspicion and hate1 are on    
every hand1 reminding us that man is the
 enemy of man1 and must be protected    
from his brothers4 ,protection and      
slavery are near of kin4  ,before       
,raphael1 art was not a profession--the 
man did things to the glory of ,god4    
,when he painted a picture of the ,holy 
,family1 his wife served as his model1  

and he grouped his children in their    
proper order1 and made the picture to   
hang on a certain spot on the walls of  
his village church4 ,no payment was     
expected nor fee demanded--it was a     
love-offering4 ,it was not until        
ecclesiastics grew ambitious and asked  
for more pictures that bargains were    
struck4 ,did ever a painter of that     
far-off day marry a maid1 and in time   
were they blessed with a babe1 then     
straightway the painter worked his joy  
up into art by painting the ,mother and 
,child1 and presenting the picture as a 
thank-offering to ,god4 ,the immaculate 
conception of love and the miracle of   
birth are recurring themes in the       
symphony of life4 ,love1 religion and   
art have ever walked and ever will walk 
hand in hand4 ,art is the expression of 
man's joy in his work2 and art is the   
beautiful way of doing things4 ,pope    
,julius was right-- work is religion    
when you put your soul into your task4  
,giotto painted the ,mother and ,child1 

and the mother was his wife1 and the    
child theirs4 ,another child came to    
them1 and ,giotto painted another       
picture1 calling the older boy ,saint   
,john1 and the wee baby ,jesus4 ,the    
years went by and we find still another 
picture of the ,holy ,family by this    
same artist1 in which five children are 
shown1 while back in the shadow is the  
artist himself1 posed as ,joseph4 ,and  
with a beautiful contempt for           
anachronism1 the elder children are     
called ,isaiah1 ,ezekiel and ,elijah4   
,this fusing of work1 love and religion 
gives us a glimpse into the only        
paradise mortals know4 ,it is the       
,ideal--and the ,natural4   ,the        
swift-passing years have lightly touched
 the little city of ,urbino1 in ,umbria4
 ,the place is sleepy and quiet1 and you
 seek the shade of friendly awnings to  
shield you from the fierce glare of the 
sun4 ,standing there you hear the bells 
chime the hours1 as they have done for  
four hundred years2 and you watch the   

flocks of wheeling pigeons1 the same    
pigeons that ,vasari saw when he came   
here in ,fifteen ,hundred ,forty-one1   
for the birds never grow old4 ,vasari   
tells of the pigeons1 the old           
cathedral--old even then--the flower-   
girls and fruit-sellers1 the passing    
black-robed priests1 the occasional     
soldier1 and the cobbler who sits on the
 curbstone and offers to mend your shoes
 while you wait4  ,the world is debtor  
to ,vasari4 ,he was not much of a       
painter and he failed at architecture1  
but he made up for lack of skill by     
telling all about what others were      
doing2 and if his facts ever faltered1  
his imagination bridged the break4 ,he  
is as interesting as ,plutarch1 as      
gossipy as ,pepys1 and as luring as     
,boswell4  ,a slim slip of a girl1      
selling thyme and mignonette out of a   
reed basket1 offered to show ,vasari the
 birthplace of ,raphael2 and a          
brown-cheeked1 barefoot boy1 selling    
roses on which the dew yet lingered1    

volunteered a like service for me1 three
 hundred years later4  ,the house is one
 of a long row of low stone structures1 
with the red-tile roof everywhere to be 
seen4 ,above the door is a bronze tablet
 which informs the traveler that        
,raphael ,sanzio was born here1 ,april  
,sixth1 ,fourteen ,hundred              
,eighty-three4 ,herman ,grimm takes     
three chapters to prove that ,raphael   
was not born in this house1 and that    
nothing is so unreliable as a bronze    
tablet1 except figures4 ,grimm is a     
painstaking biographer1 but he fails to 
distinguish between fact and truth4 ,of 
this we are sure1 ,giovanni di ,sanzio1 
the father of ,raphael1 lived in this   
house4 ,there are church records to show
 that here other children of ,giovanni  
were born1 and this very naturally led  
to the assumption that ,raphael was born
 here1 also4  ,just one thing of        
touching interest is to be seen in this 
house1 and that is a picture of a       
,mother and ,child painted on the wall4 

,for many years this picture was said to
 be the work of ,raphael2 but there is  
now very good reason to believe it was  
the work of ,raphael's father1 and that 
the figures represent the baby ,raphael 
and his mother4 ,the picture is faded   
and dim1 like the history of this       
sainted woman who gave to earth one of  
the gentlest1 greatest and best men that
 ever lived4 ,mystery enshrouds the     
early days of ,raphael4 ,there is no    
record of his birth4 ,his father we know
 was a man of decided power1 and might  
yet rank as a great artist1 had he not  
been so unfortunate as to have had a son
 that outclassed him4 ,but now ,giovanni
 ,sanzio's only claim to fame rests on  
his being the father of his son4 ,of the
 boy's mother we have only obstructed   
glances and glimpses through half-flung 
lattices in the gloaming4 ,raphael was  
her only child4 ,she was scarce twenty  
when she bore him4 ,in a sonnet written 
to her1 on the back of a painting1      
,raphael's father speaks of her wondrous

 eyes1 slender neck1 and the form too   
frail for earth's rough buffets4        
,mention is also made of this child born
 in purest love1 and sent by ,god to    
comfort and caress4  ,the mother grew   
aweary and passed away when her boy was 
scarce eight years old1 but his memories
 of her were deeply etched4 ,she told   
him of ,cimabue1 ,giotto1 ,ghirlandajo1 
,leonardo and ,perugino1 and especially 
of the last two1 who were living and    
working only a few miles away4 ,it was  
this spiritual and loving mother who    
infused into his soul the desire to do  
and to become4 ,that hunger for harmony 
which marked his life was the heritage  
of mother to child4  ,when an artist    
paints a portrait1 he paints            
two--himself and the sitter4 ,raphael   
gave himself2 and as his father more    
than once said the boy was the image of 
his mother1 we have her picture1 too4   
,father and son painted the same woman4 
,their hearts went out to her with a    
sort of idolatrous love4 ,the sonnets   

indited to her by her husband were      
written after her death1 and after his  
second marriage4 ,do then men love dead 
women better than they do the living8   
,perhaps4 ,and then a certain writer has
 said3 ,to have known a great and       
exalted love1 and have had it flee from 
your grasp--flee as a shadow before it  
is sullied by selfishness or            
misunderstanding--is the highest good4  
,the memory of such a love can not die  
from out the heart4 ,it affords a       
ballast 'gainst all the sordid impulses 
of life1 and though it gives an         
unutterable sadness1 it imparts an      
unspeakable peace4   ,raphael's father  
followed the boy's mother when the lad  
was eleven years old4 ,we know the      
tender1 poetic love this father had for 
the child1 and we realize somewhat of   
the mystical mingling in the man's heart
 of the love for the woman dead and her 
child alive4 ,reverencing the mother's  
wish that the boy should be an artist1  
,giovanni ,sanzio1 proud of his delicate

 and spiritual beauty1 took the lad to  
visit all the other artists in the      
vicinity4 ,they also visited the ducal  
palace1 built by ,federigo the ,second1 
and lingered there for hours1 viewing   
the paintings1 statuary1 carvings1      
tapestries and panelings4  ,the palace  
still stands1 and is yet one of the most
 noble in ,italy1 vying in              
picturesqueness with those marble piles 
that line the ,grand ,canal at ,venice4 
,we know that ,giovanni ,sanzio         
contributed by his advice and skill to  
the wealth of beauty in the palace1 and 
we know that he was always a welcome    
visitor there4 ,from his boyhood        
,raphael was familiar with these        
artistic splendors1 and how much this   
early environment contributed to his    
correct taste and habit of subdued      
elegance1 no man can say4 ,when         
,giovanni ,sanzio realized that death   
was at his door1 he gave ,raphael into  
the keeping of the priest ,bartolomeo   
and the boy's stepmother4 ,the typical  

stepmother lives1 moves and has her     
being in neurotic novels written by very
 young ladies4  ,instances can be cited 
of great men who were loved and nurtured
 and ministered to by their stepmothers4
 ,i think well of womankind4 ,the woman 
who abuses a waif that ,fate has sent   
into her care would mistreat her own    
children1 and is a living libel on her  
sex4  ,let ,lincoln and ,raphael stand  
as types of men who were loved with     
infinite tenderness by stepmothers4 ,and
 then we must not forget ,leonardo da   
,vinci1 who never knew a mother1 and had
 no business to have a father1 but who  
held averages good with four successive 
stepmothers1 all of whom loved him with 
a tender1 jealous and proud devotion4   
,bartolomeo1 following the wish of the  
father1 continued to give the boy       
lessons in drawing and sketching4 ,this 
,bartolomeo must not be confused with   
the ,bartolomeo1 friend of ,savonarola1 
who was largely to influence ,raphael   
later on4 ,it was ,bartolomeo1 the      

priest1 that took ,raphael to ,perugino1
 who lived in ,perugia4 ,perugino1      
although he was a comparatively young   
man1 was bigger than the town in which  
he lived4 ,his own name got blown away  
by a high wind1 and he was plain        
,perugino--as if there was only one man 
in ,perugia1 and he were that one4 ,here
 is a boy ,i have brought you as a      
pupil1 said the priest to ,perugino4    
,and ,perugino glancing up from his     
easel answered1 ,i thought it was a     
girl6  ,the priest continued1 ,here is a
 boy ,i have brought you for a pupil1   
and your chief claim to fame may yet be 
that he worked here with you in your    
studio4 ,perugino parried the thrust    
with a smile4 ,he looked at the boy and 
was impressed with his beauty4 ,perugino
 afterwards acknowledged that the only  
reason he took him was because he       
thought he would work in well as a      
model4  ,perugino was the greatest      
master of technique of his time4 ,he had
 life1 and life in abundance4 ,he       

reveled in his work1 and his enthusiasm 
ran over1 inundating all those who were 
near4 ,courage is a matter of the red   
corpuscle4 ,it is oxygen that makes     
every attack2 without oxygen in his     
blood to back him1 a man attacks        
nothing--not even a pie1 much less a    
blank canvas4 ,perugino was a success2  
he had orders ahead2 he matched his     
talent against titles2 power flowed his 
way4 ,raphael's serious1 sober manner   
and spiritual beauty appealed to him4   
,they became as father and son4 ,the    
methodical business plan1 which is a    
prime aid to inspiration2 the habit of  
laying out work and completing it2 the  
high estimate of self2 the supreme      
animation and belief in the divinity    
within--all these ,raphael caught from  
,perugino4 ,both men were egotists1 as  
are all men who do things4 ,they had    
heard the voice--they had had a call4   
,the talent is the call1 and if a man   
fails to do his work in a masterly way1 
make sure he has mistaken a lazy wish   

for a divine passion4 ,there is a       
difference between loving the muse and  
lusting after her4  ,perugino had been  
called1 and before ,raphael had worked  
with him a year1 he was sure he had been
 called1 too4 ,the days in ,perugia for 
,raphael were full of quiet joy and     
growing power4 ,he was in the actual    
living world of men1 and things1 and    
useful work4 ,afternoons1 when the sun's
 shadows began to lengthen towards the  
east1 ,perugino would often call to his 
helpers1 especially ,raphael1 and       
,pinturicchio1 another fine spirit1 and 
off they would go for a tramp1 each with
 a stout staff and the inevitable       
portfolio4 ,out along the narrow streets
 of the town1 across the ,roman arched  
bridge1 by the market-place to the      
terraced hillside that overlooked the   
,umbrian plain1 they went2 ,perugino    
stout1 strong1 smooth-faced1 with dark1 
swarthy features2 ,pinturicchio with    
downy beard1 merry eyes and tall1 able  
form2 and lingering behind1 came        

,raphael4 ,his small black cap fitted   
closely on his long bronze-gold hair2   
his slight1 slender and graceful figure 
barely suggested its silken strength    
held in fine reserve--and all the time  
the great brown eyes1 which looked as if
 they had seen celestial things1 scanned
 the sky1 saw the tall cedars of        
,lebanon1 the flocks on the slopes      
across the valley1 the scattered stone  
cottages1 the fleecy clouds that faintly
 flecked the deep blue of the sky1 the  
distant spire of a church4 ,all these   
treasures of the ,umbrian landscape were
 his4 ,well might he have anticipated1  
four hundred years before he was born1  
that greatest of ,american writers1 and 
said1 ,i own the landscape6 ,in frescos 
signed by ,perugino in the year         
,fourteen ,hundred ,ninety- two--a date 
we can not forget--we see a certain     
style4 ,in the same design duplicated in
 ,fourteen ,hundred ,ninety-eight1 we   
behold a new and subtle touch--it is the
 stroke and line of ,raphael4  ,the     

,resurrection by ,perugino1 in the      
,vatican1 and the ,diotalevi ,madonna   
signed by the same artist1 in the       
,berlin ,museum1 show the touch of      
,raphael1 unmistakably4 ,the youth was  
barely seventeen1 but he was putting    
himself into ,perugino's work--and      
,perugino was glad4 ,raphael's first    
independent work was probably done when 
he was nineteen1 and was for the ,citta 
di ,castello4 ,these frescos are signed1
 ,raphael ,urbinas1 #aejb4 ,other lesser
 pictures and panels thus signed are    
found dated ,fifteen ,hundred ,four4    
,they are all the designs of ,perugino1 
but worked out with the painstaking care
 always shown by very young artists2 yet
 there is a subtle1 spiritual style that
 marks1 unmistakably1 ,raphael's        
,perugino period4  ,the ,sposalizio1    
done in ,fifteen ,hundred ,four1 now in 
the ,brera at ,milan1 is the first      
really important work of ,raphael4 ,next
 to this is the ,connestabile ,madonna1 
which was painted at ,perugia and       

remained there until ,eighteen ,hundred 
,seventy-one1 when it was sold by a     
degenerate descendant of the original   
owner to the ,emperor of ,russia for    
sixty-five thousand dollars4 ,since then
 a law has been passed forbidding any   
one on serious penalty to remove a      
,raphael from ,italy4 ,but for this law1
 that threat of a ,chicago syndicate to 
buy the ,pitti ,gallery and move its    
contents to the lake front might have   
been carried out4   ,the ,second ,period
 of ,raphael's life opens with his visit
 to ,florence in ,fifteen ,hundred      
,four4 ,he was now twenty-one years of  
age1 handsome1 proud1 reserved4 ,stories
 of his power had preceded him1 and the 
fact that for six years he had worked   
with ,perugino and been his confidant   
and friend made his welcome sure4       
,leonardo and ,michelangelo were at the 
height of their fame1 and no doubt they 
stimulated the ambition of ,raphael more
 than he ever admitted4 ,he considered  
,leonardo the more finished artist of   

the two4 ,michelangelo's heroic strength
 and sweep of power failed to win him4  
,the frescos of ,masaccio in the ,church
 of ,santa ,carmine in ,florence he     
considered better than any performance  
of ,michelangelo3 and as a ,roland to   
this ,oliver1 we have a legend to the   
effect that ,raphael once called upon   
,michelangelo and the master sent down  
word from the scaffold1 where he was at 
work1 that he was too busy to see       
visitors1 and anyway1 he had all the    
apprentices that he could look after6   
,how much this little incident biased   
,raphael's opinion concerning           
,michelangelo's art we can not say3     
possibly ,raphael could not have told1  
either4 ,but such things count1 ,i am   
told1 for even ,doctor ,johnson thought 
better of ,reynolds' work after they had
 dined together4  ,it seems that ,fra   
,bartolomeo was one of the first and    
best friends ,raphael had at ,florence4 
,the monk's gentle spirit and his modest
 views of men and things won the young  

,umbrian2 and between these two there   
sprang up a friendship so firm and true 
that death alone could sever it4  ,the  
deep religious devotion of ,bartolomeo  
set the key for the first work done by  
,raphael at ,florence4 ,most of the time
 the young man and the monk lived and   
worked in the same studio4 ,it was a    
wonderfully prolific period for         
,raphael2 from ,fifteen ,hundred ,four  
to ,fifteen ,hundred ,eight he pushed   
forward with a zest and an earnestness  
he never again quite equaled4 ,most of  
his beautiful ,madonnas belong to this  
period1 and in them all are a dignity1  
grace and grandeur that lift them out of
 ecclesiastic art1 and place them in the
 category of living portraits4  ,before 
this1 ,raphael belonged to the ,umbrian 
,school1 but now his work must be       
classed1 if classed at all1 as          
,florentine4 ,the handling is freer1 the
 nude more in evidence1 and the anatomy 
shows that the artist is working from   
life4  ,bartolomeo used to speak of     

,raphael affectionately as my son1 and  
called the attention of ,bramante1 the  
architect1 to his work4 ,the beauty of  
his ,madonnas was being discussed in    
every studio1 and when the ,ansidei was 
exhibited in the ,church of ,santa      
,croce1 such a crowd flocked to see the 
picture that services had to be         
dismissed4 ,the rush continued until a  
thrifty priest bethought him to stand at
 the main entrance with a               
contribution-box and a stout stick1 and 
allow no one to enter who did not       
contribute good silver for the worthy   
poor4  ,bartolomeo acknowledged that his
 pupil was beyond him4 ,he was invited  
to add a finishing touch to the         
,masaccio frescos2 ,leonardo1 the       
courtly1 had smiled a gracious          
recognition1 and ,michelangelo had      
sneezed at mention of his name4         
,bramante1 back at ,rome1 told ,pope    
,julius the ,second1 ,there is a young  
,umbrian at ,florence we must send for4 
,great things were happening at ,rome   

about this time3 all roads led          
thitherward4 ,pope ,julius had just laid
 the cornerstone of ,saint ,peter's1 and
 full of ambition was carrying out the  
dictum of ,pope ,nicholas the ,fifth1   
that the ,church should array herself in
 all the beauteous spoils of the world1 
in order to win the minds of men4  ,the 
,renaissance was fairly begun1 fostered 
and sustained by the ,church alone4 ,the
 ,quattrocento--that time of homely     
peace and the simple quiet of ,john     
,ball and his fellows--lay behind4      
,raphael had begun his ,roman ,period1  
which was to round out his working life 
of barely eighteen years1 ere the rest  
of the ,pantheon was to be his4  ,before
 this his time had been his own1 but now
 the ,church was his mistress4 ,but it  
was a great honor that had come to him1 
greater far than had ever before been   
bestowed on any living artist4 ,barely  
twenty-five years of age1 the ,pope     
treated him as an equal1 and worked him 
like a packhorse4 ,he has the face of an

 angel1 cried ,julius1 and the soul of a
 god6--when some one suggested his      
youth4  ,pope ,leo the ,tenth1 of the   
,medici family1 succeeded ,julius4 ,he  
sent ,michelangelo to ,florence to      
employ his talents upon the ,medicean   
church of ,san ,lorenzo4 ,he dismissed  
,perugino1 ,pinturicchio and ,piero     
,delia ,francesca1 although ,raphael in 
tears pleaded for them all4 ,their      
frescos were destroyed1 and ,raphael was
 told to go ahead and make the ,vatican 
what it should be4  ,his first large    
work was to decorate the ,hall of the   
,signatures 7,stanza della ,segnatura71 
where we today see the ,dispute4 ,near  
at hand is the famous ,school of        
,athens4 ,in this picture his own famous
 portrait is to be seen with that of    
,perugino4 ,the first place is given to 
,perugino1 and the faces affectionately 
side by side are posed in a way that has
 given a cue to ten thousand            
photographers4  ,the attitude is        
especially valuable1 as a bit of history

 showing ,raphael's sterling attachment 
to his old teacher4 ,the ,vatican is    
filled with the work of ,raphael1 and   
aside from the galleries to which the   
general public is admitted1 studies and 
frescos are to be seen in many rooms    
that are closed unless1 say1 ,archbishop
 ,ireland be with you1 when all doors   
fly open at your touch4 ,the seven      
,raphael tapestries are shown at the    
,vatican an hour each day2 the rest of  
the time the room is closed to protect  
them from the light4 ,however1 the      
original cartoons at ,south ,kensington 
reveal the sweep and scope of ,raphael's
 genius better than the tapestries      
themselves4  ,work1 unceasing work1     
filled his days4 ,the ingenuity and     
industry of the man were marvelous4     
,upwards of eighty portraits were       
painted during the ,roman ,period1      
besides designs innumerable for         
engravings1 and even for silver and iron
 ornaments required by the ,church4     
,pupils helped him much1 of course1 and 

among these must be mentioned ,giulio   
,romano and ,gianfrancesco ,penni4      
,these young men lived with ,raphael in 
his splendid house that stood halfway   
between ,saint ,peter's and the ,castle 
,angelo4 ,fire swept the space a hundred
 years later1 and the magnificence it   
once knew has never been replaced4      
,today1 hovels built from stone quarried
 from the ruins mark the spot4 ,but as  
one follows this white1 dusty road1 it  
is well to remember that the feet of    
,raphael1 passing and repassing1 have1  
more than any other one street of ,rome1
 made it sacred soil4  ,we have seen    
that ,bramante brought ,raphael to      
,rome1 and ,pope ,leo the ,tenth        
remembered this when the first architect
 of ,saint ,peter's passed away4        
,raphael was appointed his successor4   
,the honor was merited1 but the place   
should have gone to one not already     
overworked4 ,in ,fifteen ,hundred       
,fifteen ,raphael was made ,director of 
,excavations1 another office for which  

his esthetic and delicate nature was not
 fitted4 ,in sympathy1 of course1 his   
heart went out to the antique workers of
 the ancient world1 on whose ruins the  
,eternal ,city is built2 but the        
drudgery of overseeing and              
superintendence belonged to another type
 of man4  ,the stress of the times had  
told on ,raphael2 he was thirty-five1   
rich beyond all ,umbrian dreams of      
avarice1 on an equality with the        
greatest and noblest men of his time1   
honored above all other living artists4 
,but life began to pall2 he had won     
all--and thereby had learned the        
worthlessness of what the world has to  
offer4 ,dreams of rest1 of love and a   
quiet country home1 came to him4 ,he was
 betrothed to ,maria di ,bibbiena1 a    
niece of ,cardinal ,bibbiena4 ,the day  
of the wedding had been set1 and the    
,pope was to perform the ceremony4  ,but
 the ,pope regarded ,raphael as a       
servant of the ,church3 he had work for 
him to do1 and moreover he had fixed    

ideas concerning the glamour of         
sentimentalism1 so he requested that the
 wedding be postponed for a space4  ,a  
request from the ,pope was an order1 and
 so the country house was packed away   
with other dreams that were to come true
 all in ,god's good time4  ,but the     
realization of love's dream did not come
 true1 for ,raphael had a rival4 ,death 
claimed his bride4  ,she was buried in  
the ,pantheon1 where within a year      
,raphael's wornout body was placed      
beside hers2 and there the dust of both 
mingle4  ,the history of this           
love-tragedy has never been written2 it 
lies buried there with the lovers4 ,but 
a contemporary said that the fear of an 
enforced separation broke the young     
woman's heart2 and this we know1 that   
after her death1 ,raphael's hand forgot 
its cunning1 and his frame was ripe for 
the fever that was so soon to burn out  
the strands of his life4  ,michelangelo1
 ,leonardo da ,vinci1 ,perugino and ,fra
 ,bartolomeo had all made names for     

themselves before ,raphael appeared upon
 the scene4 ,yet they one and all       
profited by his example1 and were the   
richer in that he had lived4            
,michelangelo was born nine years before
 ,raphael and survived him forty-three  
years4  ,titian was six years old when  
,raphael was born1 and he continued to  
live and work for fifty-six years after 
,raphael had passed away4  ,it was a    
cause of grief to ,michelangelo1 even to
 the day of his death1 that he and      
,raphael had not been close1 personal   
and loving friends1 as indeed they      
should have been4  ,the art-world was   
big enough for both4 ,yet ,rome was     
divided into two hostile camps3 those   
who favored ,raphael2 and those who had 
but one prophet1 ,michelangelo4         
,busybodies rushed back and forth1      
carrying foolish and inconsequential    
messages2 and these strong yet gentle   
men1 both hungering for sympathy and    
love1 were thrust apart4  ,when ,raphael
 realized the end was nigh1 he sent for 

,perugino1 and directed that he should  
complete certain work4 ,his career had  
begun by working with ,perugino1 and now
 this friend of a lifetime must finish  
the broken task and make good the whole4
 ,he bade his beloved pupils1 one by    
one1 farewell2 signed his will1 which   
gave most of his valuable property to   
his fellow-workers2 and commended his   
soul to the ,god who gave it4 ,he died  
on his birthday1 ,good ,friday1 ,april  
,sixth1 ,fifteen ,hundred ,twenty1 aged 
thirty-seven years4 ,michelangelo wore  
mourning upon his sleeve for a year     
after ,raphael's death4 ,and once       
,michelangelo said1 ,raphael was a      
child1 a beautiful child1 and if he had 
only lived a little longer1 he and ,i   
would have grasped hands as men and     
worked together as brothers4            
,,leonardo  ,the world1 perhaps1        
contains no other example of a genius so
 universal as ,leonardo's1 so creative1 
so incapable of self- contentment1 so   
athirst for the infinite1 so naturally  

refined1 so far in advance of his own   
and subsequent ages4 ,his pictures      
express incredible sensibility and      
mental power2 they overflow with        
unexpressed ideas and emotions4         
,alongside of his portraits             
,michelangelo's personages are simply   
heroic athletes2 ,raphael's virgins are 
only placid children whose souls are    
still asleep4 ,his beings feel and think
 through every line and trait of their  
physiognomy4 ,time is necessary to enter
 into communion with them2 not that     
their sentiment is too slightly marked1 
for1 on the contrary1 it emerges from   
the whole investiture2 but it is too    
subtle1 too complicated1 too far above  
and beyond the ordinary1 too dreamlike  
and inexplicable4   --,taine in ,a      
,journey ,through ,italy  ,illustration3
 ,leonardo   ,there is a little book by 
,george ,b4 ,rose1 entitled1            
,renaissance ,masters1 which is quite   
worth your while to read4 ,i carried a  
copy1 for company1 in the side-pocket of

 my coat for a week1 and just peeped    
into it at odd times4 ,i remember that  
,i thought so little of the volume that 
,i read it with a lead-pencil and marked
 it all up and down and over1 and filled
 the fly-leaves with random thoughts1   
and disfigured the margins with a few   
foolish sketches4  ,then one fine day   
,white ,pigeon came out to the ,roycroft
 ,shop from ,buffalo1 as she was passing
 through4 ,she came on the two-o'clock  
train and went away on the four-o'clock1
 and her visit was like a window flung  
open to the azure4  ,white ,pigeon      
remained at ,east ,aurora only two      
hours--not long enough she said1 to     
knock the gold and emerald off the      
butterfly's beautiful wings4  ,white    
,pigeon saw the little book ,i have     
mentioned1 on my table in the           
tower-room4 ,she picked it up and turned
 the leaves aimlessly2 then she opened  
her ,boston bag and slipped the book    
inside1 saying as she did so3  ,you do  
not mind8  ,and ,i said1 ,certainly not6

  ,then she added1 ,i like to follow in 
the pathway you have blazed4  ,that     
closed the matter so far as the little  
book was concerned4 ,save1 perhaps1 that
 after ,i had walked to the station with
 ,white ,pigeon and she had boarded the 
car1 she stepped out upon the rear      
platform1 and as ,i stood there at the  
station watching the train disappear    
around the curve1 ,white ,pigeon reached
 into the ,boston bag1 took out the     
little book and held it up4  ,that was  
the last time ,i saw ,white ,pigeon4    
,she was looking well and strong1 and   
her step1 ,i noticed1 was firm and sure1
 and she carried the crown of her head  
high and her chin in4 ,it made me carry 
my chin in1 too1 just by force of       
example1 ,i suppose--so easily are we   
influenced4 ,when you walk with some    
folks you slouch along1 but others there
 be who make you feel an upward lift and
 skyey gravitation--it is very curious6 
,yet ,i do really believe ,white ,pigeon
 is forty1 or awfully close to it4      

,there are silver streaks among her     
brown braids1 and surely the peachblow  
has long gone from her cheek4 ,then she 
was awfully tanned --and that little    
mole on her forehead1 and its mate on   
her chin1 stand out more than ever1 like
 the freckles on the face of ,alcibiades
 ,roycroft when he has taken on his     
,august russet4  ,i think ,white ,pigeon
 must be near forty6 ,that is the second
 book she has stolen from me2 the other 
was ,max ,muller's ,memories--it was at 
the ,louvre in ,paris1 ,august the      
,fourteenth1 ,eighteen ,hundred ,ninety-
 five1 as we sat on a bench1 silent     
before the ,mona ,lisa of ,leonardo4    
,this book1 ,renaissance ,masters1 ,i   
didn't care much for1 anyway4 ,i got no 
information from it1 yet it gave me a   
sort o' glow--that is all--like that    
lecture which ,i heard in my boyhood by 
,wendell ,phillips4  ,there is only one 
thing in the book ,i remember1 but that 
stands out as clearly as the little mole
 on ,white ,pigeon's forehead4 ,the     

author said that ,leonardo da ,vinci    
invented more useful appliances than any
 other man who ever lived1 except our   
own ,edison4  ,i know ,edison3 he is a  
most lovable man 7because he is         
himself71 very deaf--and glad of it1 he 
says1 because it saves him from hearing 
a lot of things he doesn't wish to hear4
 ,it is like this1 he once said to me3  
deafness gives you a needed isolation2  
reduces your sensitiveness so things do 
not disturb or distract2 allows you to  
concentrate and focus on a thought until
 you run it down--see8  ,edison is a    
great ,philistine--reads everything ,i  
write--has a complete file of the little
 brownie magazine2 and some of the      
,little ,journeys ,i saw he had         
interlined and marked4 ,i think ,edison 
is one of the greatest men ,i ever      
met--he appreciates ,good ,things4  ,i  
told ,edison how this writer1 ,rose1 had
 compared him with ,leonardo4 ,he smiled
 and said1 ,who is ,rose8 ,then after a 
little pause he continued1 ,the ,great  

,man is one who has been a long time    
dead--the woods are full of wizards1 but
 not many of them know that2 and the    
,wizard laughed softly at his own joke4 
,what kind of a man was ,leonardo8 ,why1
 he was the same kind of a man as       
,edison--only ,leonardo was thin and    
tall1 while ,edison is stout4 ,but you  
and ,i would be at home with either4    
,both are classics and therefore        
essentially modern4 ,leonardo studied   
,nature at first hand --he took nothing 
for granted--,nature was his one book4  
,stuffy1 fussy1 indoor professors--men  
of awful dignity--frighten folks1 cause 
children to scream1 and ladies to gaze  
in awe2 but ,leonardo was simple and    
unpretentious4 ,he was at home in any   
society1 high or low1 rich or poor1     
learned or unlearned--and was quite     
content to be himself4 ,it's a fine     
thing to be yourself6  ,thackeray once  
said1 ,if ,i had met ,shakespeare on the
 stairs1 ,i know ,i should have fainted 
dead away6 ,i do not believe            

,shakespeare's presence ever made       
anybody faint4 ,he was so big that he   
could well afford to put folks at their 
ease4  ,if ,leonardo should come to     
,east ,aurora1 ,bertie1 ,oliver1 ,lyle  
and ,i would tramp with him across the  
fields1 and he would carry that leather 
bag strung across his shoulder1 just as 
he ever did when in the country4 ,he was
 a geologist and a botanist1 and was    
always collecting things 7and forgetting
 where they were74  ,we would tramp with
 him1 ,i say1 and if the season were    
right we would go through orchards1 sit 
under the trees and eat apples4 ,and    
,leonardo would talk1 as he liked to do1
 and tell why the side of fruit that was
 towards the sun took on a beautiful    
color first2 and when an apple fell from
 the tree he would1 so to speak1        
anticipate ,sir ,isaac ,newton and      
explain why it fell down and not up4    
,that leather bag of his1 ,i fear1 would
 get rather heavy before we got back1   
and probably ,oliver and ,lyle would    

dispute the honor of carrying it for    
him4  ,leonardo was once engaged by     
,cesare ,borgia to fortify the kingdom  
of ,romagna4 ,it was a brand-new        
kingdom1 presented to the young man by  
,pope ,alexander the ,sixth4 ,it was    
really the ,pope who ordered ,leonardo  
to survey the tract and make plans for  
the fortifications and canals and all   
that--so ,leonardo didn't like to       
refuse4 ,cesare ,borgia had the felicity
 of being the son of the ,pope1 but the 
,pope used to refer to him as his       
nephew--it was a habit that ,popes once 
had4 ,pope ,alexander also had a        
daughter--by name1 ,lucrezia ,borgia--  
sister to ,cesare and very much like    
him1 for they took their diversion in   
the same way4  ,leonardo started in to  
do the work and make plans for          
fortifications that should be           
impregnable4 ,he looked the ground over 
thoroughly1 traveling on horseback1 and 
his two servants followed him up in a   
cart drawn by a bull1 which ,leonardo   

calmly explains was a side- wheeler4    
,leonardo carried a big sketchbook1 and 
as he made plans for redoubts1 he made  
notes to the effect that crows fly in   
flocks without a leader1 and wild ducks 
have a system and fly ,v shape1 with a  
leader that changes off from time to    
time with the privates4 ,also1 a        
waterfall runs the musical gamut1 and   
the water might be separated so as to   
play a tune4 ,also1 the leaves turn to  
gold through oxidation1 and robins pair 
for life4  ,leonardo also wrote at this 
time on the movements of the clouds1 the
 broken strata of rocks1 the            
fertilization of flowers1 the habits of 
bees1 and a hundred other themes which  
fill the library of notebooks that he   
left4  ,meanwhile1 ,cesare ,borgia was  
getting a trifle impatient about the    
building of his forts4 ,two years had   
passed when ,cesare and his father met  
with an accident not uncommon in those  
times4 ,the precious pair had indulged  
in their ,borgian specialty for the     

benefit of a certain cardinal1 whom they
 did not warmly admire1 though the plot 
seems to have been chiefly the work of  
,cesare4 ,by mistake they drank the     
poisoned wine prepared for the cardinal1
 and the ,pope was cut off amidst a life
 of usefulness1 his son surviving for a 
worse fate4 ,pope ,julius the ,second   
coming upon the scene1 speedily         
dispossessed the ,borgias1 and the idea 
of the new kingdom was abandoned4       
,leonardo evidently did not go into     
mourning for the ,pope4 ,he had a       
bullock-cart loaded with specimens1     
sketches and notebooks1 and he set to   
work to sort them out4 ,he was very     
happy in this employment-- being        
essentially a man of peace--and while he
 made forts and planned siege-guns he   
was a deal more interested in certain   
swallows that made nests and glued the  
work into a most curious and beautiful  
structure1 and when the birds were old  
enough to fly1 tore up the nest1 pushing
 the wee birds out to swim in the air or

 perish4  ,i made some notes about      
,leonardo's bird observations in the    
back of that ,renaissance book that     
,white ,pigeon appropriated4 ,i can not 
recall just what they were--,i think    
,i'll hunt ,white ,pigeon up the next   
time ,i am in ,paris1 and get the book  
back4   ,when that painstaking          
biographer1 ,arsene ,houssaye1 was      
endeavoring to fix the date of ,leonardo
 da ,vinci's birth1 he interviewed a    
certain bishop1 who waived the matter   
thus3 ,surely what difference does it   
make1 since he had no business to be    
born at all8--a very ,milesian-like     
reply4 ,houssaye is too sensible a man  
to waste words with the spiritually     
obese1 and so merely answered in the    
language of ,terence1 ,i am a man and   
nothing that is human is alien to me6   
,the gentle ,erasmus when a boy was once
 taunted by a schoolfellow with having  
no name4 ,and ,erasmus replied1 ,then1  
,i'll make one for myself4 ,and he did4 
,no record of ,leonardo's birth exists1 

but the year is fixed upon in a very    
curious way4 ,caterina1 his mother1 was 
married one year after his birth4 ,the  
date of this marriage is proven1 and the
 fact that the son of ,piero da ,vinci  
was then a year old is also shown4 ,as  
the marriage occurred in ,fourteen      
,hundred ,fifty-three1 we simply go back
 one year and say that ,leonardo da     
,vinci was born in ,fourteen ,hundred   
,fifty-two4  ,most accounts say that    
,caterina was a servant in the ,da      
,vinci family1 but a later and seemingly
 more authentic writer informs us that  
she was a governess and a teacher of    
needlework4 ,that her kinsmen hastened  
her marriage with the peasant1 ,vacca   
,accattabriga1 seems quite certain3 they
 sought to establish her in a           
respectable position4 ,and so she       
acquiesced1 and avoided society's       
displeasure1 very much as ,lord ,bacon  
escaped disgrace by leaving ,hamlet upon
 ,shakespeare's doorstep4  ,this child  
of ,caterina's found a warm welcome in  

the noble family of his father4 ,from   
his babyhood he seems to have had the   
power of winning hearts--he came fresh  
from ,god and brought love with him4 ,we
 even hear a little rustle of dissent   
from grandmother and aunts when his     
father1 ,piero da ,vinci1 married1 and  
started housekeeping as did ,benjamin   
,franklin with a wife and a bouncing    
boy4  ,the charm of the child is again  
revealed in the fact that his stepmother
 treated him as her own babe1 and       
lavished her love upon him even from her
 very wedding morn4  ,perhaps the       
compliment should go to her1 as well as 
to the child1 for the woman whose heart 
goes out to another woman's babe is     
surely good quality4 ,and this was the  
only taste of motherhood that this brave
 woman knew1 for she passed out in a few
 months4  ,fate decreed that ,leonardo  
should have successively four           
stepmothers1 and should live with all of
 them in happiness and harmony1 for he  
always made his father's house his own4 

,leonardo was the idol of his father and
 all these stepmothers4 ,he had ten     
half-brothers1 who alternately boasted  
of his kinship and flouted him4 ,yet    
nothing could seriously disturb the     
serenity of his mind4 ,when his father  
died1 without a will1 the brothers      
sought to dispossess ,leonardo of his   
rights1 and we hear of a lawsuit1 which 
was finally compromised4 ,yet note the  
magnanimity of ,leonardo--in his will he
 leaves bequests to these brothers who  
had sought to undo him6  ,of the life of
 the mother after her marriage we know  
nothing4 ,there is a vague reference in 
,vasari's book to her large family and  
growing cares1 but whether she knew of  
her son's career1 we can not say4       
,leonardo never mentions her1 yet one   
writer has attempted to show that the   
rare beauty of that mysterious face     
shown in so many of ,leonardo's pictures
 was modeled from the face of his       
mother4  ,no love-story comes to us in  
,leonardo's own life--he never married4 

,ventura suggests that on account of his
 birth1 he was indifferent to the divine
 institution of marriage4 ,but this is  
pure conjecture4 ,we know that his great
 contemporaries1 ,michelangelo1         
,raphael1 ,titian and ,giorgione1 never 
married2 and we know further that there 
was a sentiment in the air at that time1
 that an artist belonged to the ,church1
 and his life1 like that of the priest1 
was sacred to her service4  ,like ,sir  
,william ,davenant1 ,leonardo was always
 proud of the mystery that surrounded   
his birth--it differentiated him from   
the mass1 and placed him as one set     
apart4 ,well might he have used the     
language put into the mouth of ,edmund  
in ,king ,lear4 ,in one of ,leonardo's  
manuscripts is found an interjected     
prayer of thankfulness for the divinity 
of my birth1 and the angels that have   
guarded my life and guided my feet      
,this idea of divinity is strong in the 
mind of every great man4 ,he recognizes 
his sonship1 and claims his divine      

parentage4 ,the man of masterly mind is 
perforce an ,egotist4 ,when he speaks he
 says1 ,thus saith the ,lord4 ,if he did
 not believe in himself1 how could he   
make others believe in him8 ,small men  
are apologetic and give excuses for     
being on earth1 and reasons for staying 
here so long1 and run and peek about to 
find themselves dishonorable graves4    
,not so the ,great ,souls--the fact that
 they are here is proof that ,god sent  
them4 ,their actions are regal1 their   
language oracular1 their manner         
affirmative4 ,leonardo's mental attitude
 was sublimely gracious--he had no      
grievance or quarrel with his ,maker--he
 accepted life1 and ever found it good4 
,we are all sons of ,god and it doth not
 yet appear what we shall be4   ,philip 
,gilbert ,hamerton1 who wrote ,the      
,intellectual ,life1 names ,leonardo da 
,vinci as having lived the richest1     
fullest and best- rounded life of which 
we know4 ,yet while ,leonardo lived1    
there also lived ,shakespeare1 ,loyola1 

,cervantes1 ,columbus1 ,martin ,luther1 
,savonarola1 ,erasmus1 ,michelangelo1   
,titian and ,raphael4 ,titans all--     
giants in intellect and performance1    
doing and daring1 and working such      
wonders as men never worked before3     
writing plays1 without thought of       
posterity1 that are today the mine from 
which men work their poetry2 producing  
comedies that are classic2 sailing      
trackless seas and discovering          
continents2 tacking proclamations of    
defiance on church-doors2 hunted and    
exiled for the right of honest speech2  
welcoming fierce flames of fagots2      
falling upon blocks of marble and       
liberating angels2 painting pictures    
that have inspired millions6 ,but not   
one touched life at so many points1 or  
reveled so in existence1 or was so      
captain of his soul as was ,leonardo da 
,vinci4  ,vasari calls him the divinely 
endowed1 showered with the richest gifts
 as by celestial munificence and speaks 
of his countenance thus3 ,the radiance  

of his face was so splendidly beautiful 
that it brought cheerfulness to the     
hearts of the most melancholy1 and his  
presence was such that his lightest word
 would move the most obstinate to say   
',yes' or ',no4'  ,bandello1 the        
story-teller who was made a ,bishop on  
account of his peculiar talent1 had the 
effrontery to put one of his worst      
stories1 that about the adventures of   
,fra ,lippo ,lippi1 into the mouth of   
,leonardo4 ,this rough-cast tale1       
somewhat softened down and hand-        
polished1 served for one of ,browning's 
best-known poems4 ,had ,bandello allowed
 ,botticelli to tell the tale1 it would 
have been much more in keeping4         
,leonardo's days were too full of work  
to permit of his indulging in the       
society of roysterers--his life was     
singularly dignified and upright4  ,when
 about twenty years old ,leonardo was a 
fellow-student with ,perugino in the    
bottega of good old ,andrea del         
,verrocchio4 ,it seems the master       

painted a group and gave ,leonardo the  
task of drawing in one figure4 ,leonardo
 painted in an angel--an angel whose    
grace and subtle beauty stand out1 even 
today1 like a ray of light4 ,the story  
runs that good old ,verrocchio wept on  
first seeing it--wept unselfish tears of
 joy1 touched with a very human         
pathos--his pupil had far surpassed him1
 and never again did ,verrocchio attempt
 to paint4  ,in physical strength       
,leonardo surpassed all his comrades4   
,he could twist horseshoes between his  
fingers1 bend bars of iron across his   
knees1 disarm every adversary1 and in   
wrestling1 running1 vaulting and        
swimming he had no equals4 ,he was      
especially fond of horses1 and in the   
joust often rode animals that had never 
before been ridden1 winning prizes from 
the most daring4 ,brawn is usually      
purchased at the expense of brain1 but  
not so in this case4 ,leonardo was the  
courtier and diplomat1 and all the finer
 graces were in his keeping1 even from  

boyhood4 ,and a recent biographer has   
made the discovery that he was called   
from ,florence to the ,court of ,milan  
because he was such an adept harpist1   
playing and singing his own             
compositions4  ,yet we have the letter  
written by ,leonardo to the ,duke of    
,milan1 wherein he commends himself1 and
 in humility tells of a few things he   
can do4 ,this most precious document is 
now in the ,ambrosian ,library at       
,milan4 ,after naming nine items in the 
way of constructing bridges1 tunnels1   
canals1 fortifications1 the making of   
cannon1 use of combustibles and         
explosives--known to him alone--he gets 
down to things of peace and says3 ,i    
believe ,i am equaled by no one in      
architecture in constructing public and 
private buildings1 and in conducting    
water from one place to another4 ,i can 
execute sculpture1 whether in marble1   
bronze or terra cotta1 and in drawing   
and painting ,i believe ,i can do as    
much as any other man1 be he who he may4

 ,further1 ,i could engage to execute   
the bronze statue in memory of your     
honored father4 ,and again1 if any of   
the above-mentioned things should appear
 impossible or overstated1 ,i am ready  
to make such performance in any place or
 at any time to prove to you my power4  
,in humility ,i thus commend myself to  
your illustrious house1 and am your     
servant1 ,leonardo da ,vinci4  ,and the 
strange part of all this is that        
,leonardo could do all he claimed--or he
 might1 if there were a hundred hours in
 a day and man did not grow old4  ,the  
things he predicted and planned have    
mostly been done4 ,he knew the earth was
 round1 and understood the orbits of the
 planets-- ,columbus knew no more4 ,his 
scheme of building a canal from ,pisa to
 ,florence and diverting the waters of  
the ,arno1 was carried out exactly as he
 had planned1 two hundred years after   
his death4 ,he knew the expansive       
quality of steam1 the right systems of  
dredging1 the action of the tides1 the  

proper use of levers1 screws and cranes1
 and how immense weights could be raised
 and lowered4 ,he placed a new          
foundation under a church that was      
sinking in the sand and elevated the    
whole stone structure several feet4 ,but
 when ,vasari seriously says he had a   
plan for moving mountains 7aside from   
faith71 ,i think we had better step     
aside and talk of other things4  ,and   
all this time that he was working at    
physics and mathematics1 he was painting
 and modeling in clay1 just for         
recreation4  ,then behold the ,duke of  
,milan1 the ascetic and profligate1     
libertine and dreamer1 hearing of him   
and sending straightway for ,leonardo   
because he is the most accomplished     
harpist in ,italy6  ,so ,leonardo came  
and led the dance and the tourney1      
improvised songs and planned the fetes  
and festivals where strange animals     
turned into birds and gigantic flowers  
opened1 disclosing beautiful girls4     
,yet ,leonardo found time to plan the   

equestrian statue of ,francisco ,sporza1
 the ,duke's father1 and finding the    
subject so interesting he took up the   
systematic study of the horse1 and dived
 to the depths of horse anatomy in a way
 that no living man had done before4 ,he
 dissected the horse1 articulated the   
skeletons of different breeds for       
comparison1 and then wrote a book upon  
the subject which is a textbook yet2 and
 meanwhile he let the statue wait4 ,he  
discovered that in the horse there are  
rudimentary muscles1 and unused organs--
 the water-stomach for instance--thus   
showing that the horse evolved from a   
lower form of life--anticipating ,darwin
 by three hundred years4  ,the ,duke was
 interested in statues and              
pictures--what he called results--he    
didn't care for speculations or         
theories1 and only a live horse that    
could run fast interested him4 ,so to   
keep the peace1 the gracious ,leonardo  
painted portraits of the ,duke's        
mistress1 posing her as the ,blessed    

,virgin1 thus winning the royal favor   
and getting carte-blanche orders on the 
,keeper of the ,exchequer4 ,as a result 
of this ,milan period we have the superb
 portrait1 now in the ,louvre1 of       
,lucrezia ,crivelli1 who was supposed to
 be the favorite of the ,duke4  ,but the
 ,duke was a married man1 and the good  
wife must be placated4 ,she had turned  
to religion when her lover's love grew  
cold1 just as women always do2 and for  
her ,leonardo painted the ,last ,supper 
in the dining-room of the monastery     
which was under her especial protection1
 and where she often dined4  ,the devout
 lady found much satisfaction in        
directing the work1 which was to be     
rather general and simply decorative4   
,but the heart of ,leonardo warmed to   
the task and as he worked he planned the
 most famous painting in the world4 ,all
 this time ,leonardo had many pupils in 
painting and sculpture4 ,soon he founded
 the ,milan ,academy of ,art4 ,at odd   
times he made designs for the ,duke's   

workers in silver and gold1 drew        
patterns for the nuns to embroider from1
 and gave them and the assembled ladies1
 invited on the order of the ,duke's    
wife1 lessons in literature and the     
gentle art of writing poetry4  ,the     
,prior of the monastery watched the work
 of the ,last ,supper with impatient    
eyes4 ,he had given up the room to the  
lumbering scaffolds1 hoping to have all 
cleaned up and tidy in a month1 come    
,michaelmas4 ,but the month had passed  
and only blotches of color and black1   
curious outlines marred the walls4 ,once
 the ,prior threatened to remove the    
lumber by force and wipe the walls      
clean1 but ,leonardo looked at him and  
he retreated4  ,now he complained to the
 ,duke about the slowness of the task4  
,leonardo worked alone1 allowing no     
pupil or helper to touch the picture4   
,five good1 lively men could do the job 
in a week--,i could do it myself1 if    
allowed1 the good ,prior said4 ,often   
,leonardo would stand with folded arms  

and survey the work for an hour at a    
time and not lift a brush2 the ,prior   
had seen it all through the keyhole6    
,the ,duke listened patiently and then  
summoned ,leonardo4 ,the painter's      
gracious speech soon convinced the ,duke
 that men of genius do not work like    
hired laborers4 ,this painting was to be
 a masterpiece1 fit monument to a wise  
and virtuous ruler4 ,so consummate a    
performance must not be hastened2       
besides there was no one to pose for    
either the head of ,christ or of ,judas4
 ,the ,christ must be ideal and the face
 could only be conjured forth from the  
painter's own soul1 in moments of       
inspiration4 ,as for ,judas1 ,why1 if   
nothing better can be found--and ,i     
doubt it much--,i believe ,i will take  
as model for ,judas our friend the      
,prior6 ,and ,leonardo turned to the    
,prior1 who fled and never again showed 
his face in the room until the picture  
was finished4  ,the ,prior's complaint1 
that ,leonardo had too many irons in the

 fire1 was the universal cry the        
groundlings raised against him4 ,he     
begins things1 but never completes them1
 they said4  ,the man of genius         
conceives things2 the man of talent     
carries them forward to completion4     
,this the critics did not know4 ,it is  
too much to expect the equal balance of 
genius and talent in one individual4    
,leonardo had great talent1 but his     
genius outstripped it1 for he planned   
what twenty lifetimes could not         
complete4 ,he was indeed the endless    
experimenter--his was in very truth the 
,experimental ,life4 ,his incentive was 
self-development--to conceive was       
enough--common men could complete4 ,to  
try many things means ,power3 to finish 
a few is ,immortality4   ,god's         
masterpiece is the human face4 ,a       
woman's smile may have in it more       
sublimity than a sunset2 more pathos    
than a battle-scarred landscape2 more   
warmth than the sun's bright ray2 more  
love than words can say4  ,the human    

face is the masterpiece of ,god4  ,the  
eyes reveal the soul1 the mouth the     
flesh1 the chin stands for purpose1 the 
nose means will4 ,but over and behind   
all is that fleeting ,something we call 
expression4 ,this ,something is not set 
or fixed1 it is fluid as the ether1     
changeful as the clouds that move in    
mysterious majesty across the surface of
 a summer sky1 subtle as the sob of     
rustling leaves--too faint at times for 
human ears--elusive as the ripples that 
play hide-and-seek over the bosom of a  
placid lake4  ,and yet men have caught  
expression and held it captive4 ,on the 
walls of the ,louvre hangs the ,mona    
,lisa of ,leonardo da ,vinci4 ,this     
picture has been for four hundred years 
an exasperation and an inspiration to   
every portrait-painter who has put brush
 to palette4 ,well does ,walter ,pater  
call it1 ,the ,despair of ,painters4    
,the artist was over fifty years of age 
when he began the work1 and he was four 
years in completing the task4           

,completing1 did ,i say8 ,leonardo's    
dying regret was that he had not        
completed this picture4 ,and yet we     
might say of it1 as ,ruskin said of     
,turner's work1 ,by no conceivable      
stretch of imagination can we say where 
this picture could be bettered or       
improved upon4  ,leonardo did not paint 
this portrait for the woman who sat for 
it1 nor for the woman's husband1 who we 
know was not interested in the matter4  
,the painter made the picture for       
himself1 but succumbing to temptation1  
sold it to the ,king of ,france for a   
sum equal to something over eighty      
thousand dollars--an enormous amount at 
that time to be paid for a single       
canvas4 ,the picture was not for sale1  
which accounts for the tremendous price 
that it brought4  ,unlike so many other 
works attributed to ,leonardo1 no doubt 
exists as to the authenticity of ,la    
,gioconda4 ,the correspondence relative 
to its sale yet exists1 and even the    
voucher proving its payment may still be

 seen4 ,fate and fortune have guarded   
the ,mona ,lisa2 and neither thief nor  
vandal1 nor impious infidel nor         
unappreciative stupidity1 nor time      
itself has done it harm4 ,france bought 
the picture2 ,france has always owned   
and housed it2 it still belongs to      
,france4  ,we call the ,mona ,lisa a    
portrait1 and we have been told how ,la 
,gioconda sat for the picture1 and how  
the artist invented ways of amusing her1
 by stories1 recitations1 the luring    
strain of hidden lutes1 and strange     
flowers and rare pictures brought in as 
surprises to animate and cheer4  ,that  
,leonardo loved this woman we are sure1 
and that their friendship was close and 
intimate the world has guessed2 but the 
picture is not her portrait--it is      
himself whom the artist reveals4  ,away 
back in his youth1 when ,leonardo was a 
student with ,verrocchio1 he gave us    
glimpses of this same face4 ,he showed  
this woman's mysterious smile in the    
,madonna1 in ,saint ,anne1 ,mary        

,magdalen1 and the outlines of the      
features are suggested in the ,christ   
and the ,saint ,john of the ,last       
,supper4 ,but not until ,la ,gioconda   
had posed for him did the consummate    
beauty and mysterious intellect of this 
ideal countenance find expression4      
,there is in the face all you can read  
into it1 and nothing more4 ,it gives you
 what you bring1 and nothing else4 ,it  
is as silent as the lips of ,memnon1 as 
voiceless as the ,sphinx4 ,it suggests  
to you every joy that you have ever     
felt1 every sorrow you have ever known1 
every triumph you have ever experienced4
  ,this woman is beautiful1 just as all 
life is beautiful when we are in health4
 ,she has no quarrel with the world--she
 loves and she is loved again4 ,no vain 
longing fills her heart1 no feverish    
unrest disturbs her dreams1 for her no  
crouching fear haunts the passing       
hours--that ineffable smile which plays 
around her mouth says plainly that life 
is good4 ,and yet the circles about the 

eyes and the drooping lids hint of      
world-weariness1 and speak the message  
of ,koheleth and say1 ,vanity of        
vanities1 all is vanity4  ,la ,gioconda 
is infinitely wise1 for she has lived4  
,that supreme poise is only possible to 
one who knows4 ,all the experiences and 
emotions of manifold existence have     
etched and molded that form and face    
until the body has become the perfect   
instrument of the soul4  ,like every    
piece of intense personality1 this      
picture has power both to repel and to  
attract4 ,to this woman nothing is      
either necessarily good or bad4 ,she has
 known strange woodland loves in far-off
 eons when the world was young4 ,she is 
familiar with the nights and days of    
,cleopatra1 for they were hers--the     
lavish luxury1 the animalism of a soul  
on fire1 the smoke of curious incense   
that brought poppy- like repose1 the    
satiety that sickens--all these were her
 portion2 the sting of the asp yet      
lingers in her memory1 and the faint    

scar from its fangs is upon her white   
breast1 known and wondered at by        
,leonardo who loved her4 ,back of her   
stretches her life1 a mysterious1 purple
 shadow4 ,do you not see the palaces    
turned to dust1 the broken columns1 the 
sunken treasures1 the creeping mosses   
and the rank ooze of fretted waters that
 have undermined cities and turned      
kingdoms into desert seas8 ,the galleys 
of ,pagan ,greece have swung wide for   
her on the unforgetting tide1 for her   
soul dwelt in the body of ,helen of     
,troy1 and ,pallas ,athene has followed 
her ways and whispered to her the       
secrets even of the gods4  ,aye6 not    
only was she ,helen1 but she was ,leda1 
the mother of ,helen4 ,then she was     
,saint ,anne1 mother of ,mary2 and next 
she was ,mary1 visited by an ,angel in a
 dream1 and followed by the ,wise ,men  
who had seen the ,star in the ,east4    
,the centuries1 that are but thoughts1  
found her a ,vestal ,virgin in ,pagan   
,rome when brutes were kings1 and lust  

stalked rampant through the streets4    
,she was the bride of ,christ1 and her  
fair1 frail body was flung to the wild  
beasts1 and torn limb from limb while   
the multitude feasted on the sight4     
,true to the central impulse of her soul
 the ,dark ,ages rightly called her     
,cecilia1 and then ,saint ,cecilia1     
mother of sacred music1 and later she   
ministered to men as ,melania1 the ,nun 
of ,tagaste2 next as that daughter of   
,william the ,conqueror1 the ,sister of 
,charity who went throughout ,italy1    
,spain and ,france and taught the women 
of the nunneries how to sew1 to weave1  
to embroider1 to illuminate books1 and  
make beauty1 truth and harmony manifest 
to human eyes4 ,and so this ,lady of the
 ,beautiful ,hands stood to ,leonardo as
 the embodiment of a perpetual life2    
moving in a constantly ascending scale1 
gathering wisdom1 graciousness1 love1   
even as he himself in this life met     
every experience halfway and counted it 
joy1 knowing that experience is the germ

 of power4 ,life writes its history upon
 the face1 so that all those who have   
had a like experience read and          
understand4 ,the human face is the      
masterpiece of ,god4     ,,botticelli   
,in ,leonardo's ,treatise on ,painting1 
only one contemporary is named--,sandro 
,botticelli4444 ,the ,pagan and         
,christian world mingle in the work of  
,botticelli2 but the man himself        
belonged to an age that is past and     
gone--an age that flourished long before
 men recorded history4 ,his best efforts
 seem to spring out of a heart that     
forgot all precedent1 and arose1        
,venus-like1 perfect and complete1 from 
the unfathomable ,sea of ,existence4    
--,walter ,pater  ,illustration3        
,botticelli   ,one ,professor ,max      
,lautner has recently placed a small    
petard under the ,european world of     
,art1 and given it a hoist to starboard1
 by asserting that ,rembrandt did not   
paint ,rembrandt's best pictures4 ,the  
,professor makes his point luminous by a

 cryptogram he has invented and for     
which he has filed a caveat4 ,it is a   
very useful cryptogram2 no              
well-regulated family should be without 
it--for by it you can prove any         
proposition you may make1 even to       
establishing that ,hopkinson ,smith is  
,america's only stylist4 ,my opinion is 
that this cryptogram is an infringement 
on that of our lamented countryman1     
,ignatius ,donnelly4  ,but letting that 
pass1 the statement that ,rembrandt     
could not have painted the pictures that
 are ascribed to him1 because the man   
was low1 vulgar and untaught1 commands  
respect on account of the extreme       
crudity of the thought involved4        
,lautner is so dull that he is          
entertaining4  ,i have the capacity in  
me for every crime1 wrote that gentlest 
of gentle men1 ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson4  
,of course he hadn't1 and in making this
 assertion ,emerson pulled toward him a 
little more credit than was his due4    
,that is1 he overstated a great classic 

truth4  ,if ,rembrandt painted the      
',christ at ,emmaus' and the ',sortie of
 the ,civic ,guard1' then ,rembrandt had
 two souls1 exclaims ,professor         
,lautner4  ,and the simple answer of    
,emerson would have been1 ,he had4      
,that is just the difference between    
,rembrandt and ,professor ,lautner4     
,lautner has one flat1 dead-level1      
unprofitable soul that neither soars    
high nor dives deep2 and his mind       
reasons unobjectionable things out      
syllogistically1 in a manner perfectly  
inconsequential4 ,he is icily regular1  
splendidly null4  ,every man measures   
others by himself--he has only one      
standard4 ,when a man ridicules certain 
traits in other men1 he ridicules       
himself4 ,how would he know that other  
men were contemptible1 did he not look  
into his own heart and there see the    
hateful things8 ,thackeray wrote his    
book on ,snobs1 because he was a        
,snob--which is not to say that he was a
 ,snob all the time4 ,when you recognize

 a thing1 good or bad1 in the outside   
world1 it is because it was yours       
already4  ,i carry the world in my      
heart1 said the ,prophet of old4  ,all  
the universe you have is the universe   
you have within4  ,old ,walt ,whitman1  
when he saw the wounded soldier1        
exclaimed1 ,i am that man6 ,and two     
thousand years before this1 ,terence    
said1 ,i am a man1 and nothing that is  
human is alien to me4  ,i know just why 
,professor ,lautner believes that       
,rembrandt never could have painted a   
picture with a deep1 tender1 subtle and 
spiritual significance4 ,professor      
,lautner averages fairly well1 he labors
 hard to be consistent1 but his thought 
gamut runs just from ,bottom the weaver 
to ,dogberry the judge4 ,he is a        
cauliflower--that is to say1 a cabbage  
with a college education4  ,yes1 ,i     
understand him1 because for most of the 
time ,i myself am supremely dull1       
childishly dogmatic1 beautifully        
self-complacent4  ,i am ,lautner4       

,lautner says that ,rembrandt was       
untaught1 and ,donnelly said the same of
 ,shakespeare1 and each critic gives    
this as a reason why the man could not  
have done a sublime performance4 ,yet   
since ,hamlet was never equaled1 who    
could have taught its author how8 ,and  
since ,rembrandt at his best was never  
surpassed1 who could have instructed    
him8  ,rembrandt sold his wife's        
wedding-garments1 and spent the money   
for strong drink4  ,the woman was dead4 
,and then there came to him days of     
anguish1 and nights of grim1 grinding   
pain4 ,he paced the echoing halls1 as   
did ,robert ,browning after the death of
 ,elizabeth ,barrett when he cried      
aloud1 ,i want her6 ,i want her64 ,the  
cold gray light of morning came creeping
 into the sky4 ,rembrandt was fevered1  
restless1 sleepless4 ,he sat by the     
window and watched the day unfold4 ,and 
as he sat there looking out to the east1
 the light of love gradually drove the  
darkness from his heart4 ,he grew       

strangely calm--he listened1 he thought 
he heard the rustle of a woman's        
garments2 he caught the smell of her    
hair--he imagined ,saskia was at his    
elbow4 ,he took up the palette and      
brushes that for weeks had lain idle1   
and he outlined the ,christ at          
,emmaus--the gentle1 loving1 sympathetic
 ,christ--the worn1 emaciated1          
thorn-crowned1 bleeding ,christ1 whom   
the ,pharisees misunderstood1 and the   
soldiers spat upon4  ,don't you know how
 ,rembrandt painted the ,christ at      
,emmaus8 ,i do4 ,i am that man4         
,shortly after ,sandro ,botticelli had  
painted that distinctly pagan picture1  
,the ,birth of ,venus1 he equalized     
matters1 eased conscience and silenced  
the critics1 by producing a beautiful   
,madonna1 surrounded by a circle of     
singing angels4 ,yet ,george ,eliot     
writes that there were wiseacres who    
shook their heads and said3 ,this       
,madonna is the work of some good       
monk--only a man who is deeply religious

 could put that look of exquisite       
tenderness and sympathy in a woman's    
face4 ,some one is trying to save       
,sandro's reputation1 and win him back  
from his wayward ways4  ,in the lives of
 ,botticelli and ,rembrandt there is a  
close similarity4 ,in temperament as    
well as in experience they seem to      
parallel each other4 ,in boyhood        
,botticelli and ,rembrandt were dull1   
perverse1 wilful4 ,both were given up by
 teachers and parents as hopelessly     
handicapped by stupidity4 ,botticelli's 
father1 seeing that the boy made no     
progress at school1 apprenticed him to a
 metalworker4 ,the lad showed the esteem
 in which he held his parent by dropping
 the family name of ,filipepi and       
assuming the name of ,botticelli1 the   
name of his employer4  ,rembrandt's     
father thought his boy might make a fair
 miller1 but beyond this his ambition   
never soared4 ,botticelli and ,rembrandt
 were splendid animals4 ,the many       
pictures of ,rembrandt1 painted by      

himself1 show great physical vigor and  
vital power4  ,the picture of           
,botticelli1 by himself1 in the         
,adoration of the ,magi1 reveals a      
powerful physique and a striking        
personality4 ,the man is as fine as an  
,aztec1 as strong and self-reliant as a 
cliff- dweller4 ,character and habit are
 revealed in the jaw--the teeth of the  
,aztecs were made to grind corn in the  
kernel1 and as long as they continued   
grinding dried corn in the kernel1 they 
had good teeth4 ,dentists were not      
required until men began to feed on     
mush4  ,botticelli had broad1 strong1   
square jaws1 wide nostrils1 full lips1  
large eyes set wide apart1 forehead     
rather low and sloping1 and a columnar  
neck that rose right out of his spine4  
,a man with such a neck can stand       
punishment--and give it4 ,such a neck is
 only seen once in a thousand times4    
,men with such necks have been mothered 
by women who bore burdens balanced on   
their heads1 boycotted the corsetier1   

and eschewed all deadly ,french heels4  
,do you know the face of ,oliver        
,goldsmith1 the droop of the head1 the  
receding chin and the bulging forehead8 
,well1 ,botticelli's face was the       
antithesis of this4  ,most of the truly 
great artists have been men of this     
,stone ,age-- quality men who dared4    
,michelangelo was the pure type3 ,titian
 who lived a century 7lacking one year7 
was another4 ,leonardo was the same fine
 savage 7who in some miraculous way also
 possessed the grace of a courtier74    
,franz ,hals1 ,van ,dyck1 ,rembrandt and
 ,botticelli were all men of fierce     
appetites and heroic physiques4 ,they   
had animality plus that would have      
carried them across the century-mark1   
had they not drawn checks on futurity1  
in a belief that their bank- balance was
 unlimited4  ,botticelli and ,rembrandt 
kept step in their history1 both        
receiving instant recognition in early  
life and becoming rich4 ,then fashion   
and society turned against them--the    

tide of popularity began to ebb4 ,one   
reinforced his genius with strong drink1
 and the other became intoxicated with  
religious enthusiasm4 ,finally1 both    
begged alms in the public streets2 and  
the bones of each filled a pauper's     
grave4  ,ruskin unearthed ,botticelli   
7,just as he discovered ,turner71 and   
gave him to the ,preraphaelites1 who    
fell down and worshiped him4 ,whether we
 would have had ,burne-,jones without   
,botticelli is a grave question1 and    
anyway it would have been another       
,burne-,jones4 ,there would have been no
 processions of tall1 lissome1          
melancholy beauties wending their way to
 nowhere1 were it not for the ,spring4  
,ruskin held up the picture1 and the    
,preraphaelites got them to their       
easels4 ,at once all original           
,botticellis were gotten out1 restored  
and reframed4 ,the prices doubled1      
trebled1 quadrupled1 as the brokers     
scoured ,europe4 ,by the year ,eighteen 
,hundred ,eighty-six every ,botticelli  

had found a home in some public         
institution or gallery1 and no lure of  
gold could bring one forth4  ,at ,yale  
,university there is a modest collection
 of good pictures4 ,among them is a     
,botticelli3 not a great picture like   
the ,crowned ,madonna of the ,uffizi1 or
 ,the ,nativity of the ,national        
,gallery1 but still a picture painted by
 ,sandro ,botticelli1 beyond a doubt4   
,recently1 ,j4 ,pierpont ,morgan1       
alumnus of ,harvard1 conceived the idea 
that the ,botticelli at ,yale would look
 quite as well and be safer if it were  
hung on the walls of the new granite    
fireproof ,art- ,gallery at ,cambridge4 
,accordingly1 he dispatched an agent to 
,new ,haven to buy the ,botticelli4 ,the
 agent offered fifty thousand dollars1  
seventy-five1 one hundred--no4 ,then he 
proposed to build ,yale a new           
art-gallery and stock it with           
,pan-,american pictures1 all complete1  
in exchange for that little1            
insignificant and faded ,botticelli44   

,but no trade was consummated1 and on   
the walls of ,yale the picture still    
hangs4 ,each night a cot is carried in  
and placed beneath the picture4 ,and    
there a watchman sleeps and dreams of   
that portrait of the ,duchess of        
,devonshire by ,gainsborough1 stolen    
from its frame1 lost for a quarter of a 
century1 and then rescued by one        
,colonel ,patrick ,sheedy               
7philanthropist and friend of art71 for 
a consideration1 and sold to ,j4        
,pierpont ,morgan1 alumnus of ,harvard  
7and a very alert1 alive and active     
man74   ,a short time ago1 there shot   
across the artistic firmament a comet of
 daring and dazzling brightness4 ,every 
comet is hurling onward to its death3   
destruction is its only end3 and upon   
each line and tracery of the work of    
,aubrey ,beardsley is the taint of      
decay4  ,to deny the genius of the man  
were vain--he had elements in his       
character that made him akin to ,keats1 
,shelley1 ,burns1 ,byron1 ,chopin and   

,stephen ,crane4 ,with these his name   
will in brotherhood be forever linked4  
,he was one made to suffer1 sin and     
die--a few short summers1 and autumn    
came with yellow leaves and he was gone4
 ,and the principal legacy he left us is
 the thought of wonder as to what he    
might have been had he only lived6      
,aubrey ,beardsley's art was the art of 
the ugly4 ,his countenances are so      
repulsive that they attract4 ,the       
psychology of the looks1 and leers1 and 
grins1 and hot1 hectic desires on the   
faces of his women is a puzzle that we  
can not lay aside--we want to solve the 
riddle of this paradox of existence--the
 woman whose soul is mire and whose     
heart is hell4 ,many men have tried to  
fathom it at close range1 but we devise 
a safer plan and follow the trail in    
books1 art and imagination4 ,art shows  
you the thing you might have done or    
been4 ,burke says the ugly attracts us1 
because we congratulate ourselves that  
we are not it4  ,the ,madonna pictures1 

multiplied without end1 stand for peace1
 faith1 hope1 trustfulness and love4    
,all that is fairest1 holiest1 purest1  
noblest1 best1 men have tried to portray
 in the face of the ,madonna4 ,all the  
good that is in the hearts of all the   
good women they know1 all the good that 
is in their own hearts1 they have made  
to shine forth from the ,mother of ,god4
 ,woman has been the symbol of          
righteousness and faith4  ,on the other 
hand1 it was a woman--,louise de la     
,ramee--who said1 ,woman is the         
instrument of lust4 ,saint ,chrysostom  
wrote1 ,she is the snare the ,devil uses
 to lure men to their doom4 ,i am not   
quite ready to accept the dictum of that
 old1 old story that it was the woman   
who collaborated with the serpent and   
first introduced sin and sorrow into the
 world4 ,or1 should ,i believe this1 ,i 
wish to give woman due credit for giving
 to man the ,fruit of the ,tree of      
,knowledge--the best gift that ever came
 his way4 ,but the first thought holds  

true in a poetic way3 it has always     
been1 is yet1 and always will be true1  
that the very depths of degradation are 
sounded only by woman4 ,as poets1       
painters and sculptors have ever chosen 
a woman to stand for what is best in    
humanity1 so she has posed as their     
model when they wanted to reveal the    
worst4  ,this desire to depict villainy 
on a human face seems to have found its 
highest modern exponent in ,aubrey      
,beardsley4 ,with him man is an animal1 
and woman a beast4 ,aye1 she is worse   
than a beast--she is a vampire4         
,kipling's summing up of woman as a rag 
and a bone and a hank of hair gives no  
clue to the possibilities in way of     
subtle1 reckless reaches of deviltry    
compared with a single1 simple1 outline 
drawing by ,beardsley4 ,beardsley's     
heroines are the kind of women who can  
kill a man with a million pin-pricks1 so
 diabolically1 subtly and slyly         
administered that no one but the victim 
would be aware of the martyrdom--and he 

could not explain it4  ,as you enter the
 main gallery of statuary at the        
,luxembourg1 you will see1 on a slightly
 raised platform1 at the opposite end of
 the room1 the nude figure of a man4    
,the mold is heroic1 and the strong pose
 at once attracts your attention4 ,as   
you approach closer you will see1       
standing behind the man1 the figure of a
 woman4 ,her form is elevated so she is 
leaning over him and her face is turned 
so her lips are about to be pressed upon
 his4 ,you approach still closer1 and a 
feeling of horror flashes through       
you--you see that the beautiful arms of 
the woman end in hairy claws4 ,the claws
 embrace the man in deadly grasp1 and   
are digging deep into his vitals4 ,on   
his face is a look of fearful pain1 and 
every splendid muscle is tense with     
awful agony4  ,now1 if you do as ,i did1
 you will suddenly turn and go out into 
the fresh air--the fearful realism of   
the marble will for the moment unnerve  
you4  ,this is the piece of statuary    

that gave ,philip ,burne-,jones the cue 
for his painting1 ,the ,vampire1 which  
picture suggested the poem1 by the same 
name1 to ,rudyard ,kipling4  ,aubrey    
,beardsley gloated on the ,vampire--she 
was the sole goddess of his idolatry4   
,no wonder it was that the story of     
,salome attracted him6 ,salome was a    
woman so wantonly depraved that         
,beardsley1 with a touch of pious       
hypocrisy1 said he dared not use her for
 dramatic purposes1 save for the fact   
that she was a ,bible character4  ,you  
remember the story3 ,john the ,baptist1 
the strong1 fine youth1 came up out of  
the wilderness crying in the streets of 
,jerusalem1 ,repent ye6 ,repent ye6     
,salome heard the call and looked upon  
the semi-naked young fanatic from her   
window1 with half-closed1 catlike eyes4 
,she smiled1 did this idle creature of  
luxury1 as she lay there amid the       
cushions on her couch1 arid gazed       
through the casement upon the preacher  
in the street4 ,suddenly a thought came 

to her6 ,she arose on her elbow--she    
called her slaves4  ,they clothed her in
 a gaudy gown1 dressed her hair1 and led
 her forth4  ,salome followed the wild1 
weird1 religious enthusiast4 ,she pushed
 through the crowd and placed herself   
near the man1 so the smell of her body  
would reach his nostrils1 and his eyes  
would range the swelling lines of her   
body4  ,their eyes met4 ,she half-smiled
 and gave him that look which had snared
 the soul of many another4 ,but he only 
gazed at her with passionless1 judging  
intensity1 and repeated his cry1 ,repent
 ye1 ,repent ye1 for the day is at hand6
  ,her reply1 uttered soft and low1 was 
this3 ,i would kiss thy lips6  ,he      
turned away and she reached to seize his
 garment1 repeating1 ,i would kiss thy  
lips--,i would kiss thy lips6 ,he turned
 aside and forgot her1 as he continued  
his warning cry1 and went his way4  ,the
 next day she waylaid the youth again2  
as he came near she suddenly and softly 
stepped forth and said in that same low 

voice1 ,i would kiss thy lips6  ,he     
repulsed her with scorn4 ,she threw her 
arms about him and sought to draw his   
head down near hers4 ,he pushed her from
 him with sinewy hands1 sprang as from a
 pestilence1 and was lost in the        
pressing throng4  ,that night she danced
 before ,herod ,antipas1 and when the   
promise was recalled that she should    
have anything she wished1 she named the 
head of the only man who had ever turned
 away from her--,the head of ,john the  
,baptist on a charger6  ,in an hour the 
wish is gratified4 ,two eunuchs stand   
before ,salome with a silver tray       
bearing its fearsome burden4 ,the woman 
smiles--a smile of triumph--as she steps
 forth with tinkling feet4 ,a look of   
pride comes over the painted face4 ,her 
jeweled fingers reach into the          
blood-matted hair4 ,she lifts the head  
aloft1 and the bracelets on her brown1  
bare arms fall to her shoulders1 making 
strange music4 ,her face presses the    
face of the dead4 ,in exultation she    

exclaims1 ,i have kissed thy lips6      
,the most famous picture by ,botticelli 
is the ,spring1 now in the ,academy at  
,florence4 ,the picture has given rise  
to endless inquiry1 and the explanation 
was made in the artist's day1 and is    
still made1 that it was painted to      
illustrate a certain passage in         
,lucretius4 ,this innocent little       
subterfuge of giving a classic turn to  
things in art and literature has allowed
 many a man to shield his reputation and
 gloss his good name4 ,when ,art relied 
upon the protecting wing of the ,church1
 the poet-painters called their risky   
little things1 ,susannah and the        
,elders1 ,the ,wife of ,uriah1 or       
,pharaoh's ,daughter4 ,lucas van ,leyden
 once pictured a ,dutch wench with such 
startling and realistic fidelity that he
 scandalized a whole community1 until he
 labeled the picture1 ,potiphar's ,wife4
  ,when the taste for the classics began
 to be cultivated1 we had ,leda and the 
,swan1 ,psyche1 ,phryne ,before the     

,judges1 ,aphrodite ,rising ,from the   
,sea1 and1 later1 ,england experienced  
quite an artistic eruption of ,lady     
,godivas4 ,literature is filled with    
many such naive little disguises as     
,sonnets ,from the ,portuguese1 and     
,robert ,browning himself caught the    
idea and put many a maxim into the mouth
 of another1 for which he preferred not 
to stand sponsor4  ,botticelli painted  
the ,spring for ,lorenzo the            
,magnificent1 to be placed in the       
,medici villa at ,castello4 ,the        
picture1 it will be remembered1         
represents seven female figures1 a      
flying cupid1 and a youth4 ,the youth is
 a young man of splendid proportions2 he
 stands in calm indifference with his   
back to the sparsely clad beauties1 and 
reaches into the branches of a tree for 
the plenteous fruit4 ,this youth is a   
composite portrait of ,botticelli and   
his benefactor1 ,lorenzo4 ,the women    
were painted from life1 and represent   
various favorites and beauties of the   

court4 ,the drawing is faulty1 the      
center of gravity being lost in several 
of the figures1 and the anatomy is of a 
quality that must have given a severe   
shock to the artist's friend1 ,leonardo4
 ,yet the grace1 the movement and the   
joyous quality of ,spring are in it all4
 ,it is a most fascinating picture1 and 
we can well imagine the flutter it      
produced when first exhibited four      
hundred years ago4  ,two figures in the 
picture challenge attention4 ,one of    
these represents approaching            
maternity--a most daring thing to       
attempt4 ,this feature seems to belong  
to the ,school of ,hogarth alone--a     
school which1 let us pray1 is hopelessly
 dead4  ,cimabue and several of his     
pupils painted realistic pictures       
representing ,mary visiting ,elizabeth1 
but the intense religious zeal back of  
them was a salt that saved from         
offending4 ,occasionally1 the staid and 
sober ,dutch successfully attempted the 
same theme1 and their stolidity stood   

for them as religious zeal had done for 
the early ,italians--we pardon them     
simply because they knew no better than 
to choose a subject that is beyond the  
realm of art4  ,the restorers and       
engravers have softened down            
,botticelli's intent1 which was         
originally well defined1 but we can     
easily see that the effect was delicate 
and spiritual4 ,the woman's downcast    
gaze is full of tenderness and truth4   
,that figure when it was painted was    
history1 and must have had a very tender
 interest for two persons at least4 ,had
 the painter dared to suggest motherhood
 in that other figure--the one with the 
flowered raiment--he would have offended
 against decency1 and the art-sense of  
the world would have stricken his name  
from the roster of fame forever1 and    
made him anathema4 ,more has been       
written and said1 and more copies made  
of that woman in the flowered dress in  
the ,spring than of any other portrait  
,i can remember1 save possibly the ,mona

 ,lisa4  ,the face is not without a     
certain attractiveness2 the high cheek- 
bones1 the narrow forehead1 and the     
lines above her brow show that this is  
no ideal sketch--it is the portrait of a
 woman who once lived4 ,but the peculiar
 mark of depravity is the eye3 this     
woman looks at you with a cold1 calm1   
calculating1 brazen leer4 ,hidden in the
 folds of her dress or in the coil of   
her hair is a stiletto--she can find it 
in an instant--and as she looks at you  
out of those impudent eyes1 she is      
mentally searching out your most        
vulnerable spot4 ,in this woman's face  
there is an entire absence of wonder1   
curiosity1 modesty or passion4 ,all that
 we call the eternally feminine is      
obliterated4  ,mona ,lisa is infinitely 
wise1 while this woman is only cunning4 
,all the lure she possesses is the lure 
of warm1 pulsing youth--grown old she   
will be a repulsive hag4 ,speculation   
has made her one of the ,borgias1 for in
 the days of ,botticelli a ,borgia was  

,pope1 and ,cesare ,borgia and his court
 were well known to ,botticelli--from   
such a group he could have picked his   
model1 if anywhere4 ,ruskin has linked  
this unknown wicked beauty with         
,machiavelli4 ,but ,machiavelli had a   
head that outmatched hers1 and he would 
certainly have left her to the fool     
moths that fluttered around her candle4 
,machiavelli used women1 and this woman 
has only one ambition1 and that is to   
use men4 ,she represents concrete       
selfishness--the mother-instinct        
swallowed up in pride1 and conscience   
smothered by hate4 ,certainly sex is not
 dead in her1 but it is perverted below 
the brute4 ,her passion would be so     
intense and fierce that even as she     
caressed her lover1 with arm about his  
neck1 she would feel softly for his     
jugular1 mindful the while of the       
stiletto hidden in her hair4 ,and this  
is the picture that fired the brain of  
,aubrey ,beardsley1 and caused him to   
fix his ambition on becoming the        

,apostle of the ,ugly4  ,to liken       
,beardsley to ,botticelli1 however1     
seems indeed a sin4 ,the master was an  
artist1 but ,beardsley only gave chalk  
talks4 ,his work is often crude1 rude   
and raw4 ,he is only a promise1 turned  
to dust4 ,yet let the simple fact stand 
for what it is worth1 that ,beardsley   
had but one god1 and that was           
,botticelli4 ,most of the things        
,beardsley did were ugly2 many of the   
things ,botticelli did were supremely   
beautiful4  ,yet in all of ,botticelli's
 work there is a tinge of melancholy--a 
shade of disappointment4 ,the ,spring is
 a sad picture4 ,on the faces of all his
 tall1 fine1 graceful girls there is a  
hectic flush4 ,their cheeks are hollow1 
and you feel that their beauty is       
already beginning to fade4 ,like fruit  
too much loved by the sun1 they are     
ready to fall4  ,botticelli had the true
 love nature4 ,by instinct he was a     
lover1 proof of which lies in the fact  
that he was deeply religious4 ,the woman

 he loved he has pictured over and over 
again4 ,the touch of sorrow is ever in  
her wan face1 but she possessed a silken
 strength1 a heroic nature1 a love that 
knew no turning4 ,she had faith in      
,botticelli1 and surely he had faith in 
her4 ,for forty years she was in his    
heart2 at times he tried to dislodge her
 and replace her image with another2 but
 he never succeeded1 and the last       
,madonna he drew is the same wistful1   
loving1 patient face--sad yet proud1    
strong yet infinitely tender4   ,in that
 piece of lapidary work1 ,how ,sandro   
,botticelli ,saw ,simonetta in the      
,spring1 is a bit of heart psychology   
which1 ,i believe1 has never been       
surpassed in ,english4  ,simonetta1 of  
the noble house of ,vespucci1 was       
betrothed to ,giuliano1 brother of      
,lorenzo the ,magnificent4 ,simonetta   
was tall1 stately--beautiful as ,venus1 
wise as ,minerva and proud as ,juno4    
,she knew her worth1 realized her       
beauty1 and feeling her power made      

others feel it1 too4  ,on a visit to the
 villa of the ,medici at ,fiesole she   
first saw ,sandro ,botticelli at an     
evening assembly in the gardens4 ,she   
had heard of the man and knew his       
genius4 ,when they suddenly met face to 
face under the boughs1 she noted how her
 beauty startled him4 ,his gaze ranged  
the exquisite lines of her tall form1   
then sought the burnished gold of her   
hair4 ,their eyes met4  ,first of all   
this man was an artist3 the art-instinct
 in him was supreme3 after that he was a
 lover4  ,simonetta saw he had looked   
upon her merely as a subject4 ,she was  
both pleased and angry4 ,she1 too1 loved
 art1 but she loved love more4 ,she was 
a woman4 ,they separated1 and ,simonetta
 inwardly compared the sallow1 slavish  
scion of a proud name1 to whom she was  
betrothed1 with this ,god's ,nobleman   
whom she had just met4 ,giuliano's words
 were full of soft flattery2 this man   
uttered an oath of surprise under his   
breath1 on first seeing her1 and treated

 her almost with rudeness4  ,she fought 
the battle out there1 alone1 leaning    
against a tree1 listening to the        
monotonous voice of a poet who was      
reading from ,plato4 ,she felt the      
disinterested greatness of ,sandro1 she 
knew the grandeur of his intellect--she 
was filled with a desire to be of       
service to him4 ,certainly she did not  
love him--a social abyss separated      
them--but could not her beauty and power
 in some way be allied with his1 so that
 the world should be made better8       
,shame is of the brute dullard who      
thinks shame1 came the resonant voice of
 the reader4 ,the words rang in her     
ears4 ,sandro was greater than the mere 
flesh--she would be1 too4 ,she would    
pose for him1 and thus give her         
beautiful body to the world--beauty is  
eternal6 ,her action would bless and    
benefit the centuries yet to come4 ,she 
was the most beautiful of women--he the 
greatest of artists4 ,it was an         
opportunity sent from the gods6         

,instantly she half-ran1 seeking the    
painter4 ,she found him standing apart1 
alone4 ,she spoke eagerly and hotly1    
fearing her courage would falter before 
she could make known her wish3 ,ecco1   
,messer ,sandro1 she whispered1 casting 
a furtive look about--who is there in   
,florence like me8  ,there is no one1   
calmly answered ,sandro4  ,i will be    
your ,lady ,venus1 she went on          
breathlessly1 stepping closer--,you     
shall paint me rising from the sea6     
,very early the next morning1 before the
 household was astir1 ,sandro entered   
the apartments of the lady ,simonetta4  
,she was awaiting him1 leaning with     
feigned carelessness against the        
balustrade1 arrayed from head to toe in 
a rose-colored mantle4 ,one bare foot   
peeped forth from under the folds of the
 robe4  ,neither spoke a word4  ,sandro 
arranged his easel1 spread his crayons  
on the table1 and looked about the room 
making calculations as to light4  ,he   
motioned her to a certain spot4 ,she    

took the position1 and as he picked up a
 crayon and examined it carelessly she  
raised her arms and the robe fell at her
 feet4  ,sandro faced her1 and saw the  
tall1 delicate form1 palpitating before 
him4 ,the rays of the morning sun swept 
in between the lattices and kissed her  
shoulder1 face and hair4  ,for an       
instant the artist was in abeyance4     
,then from under his breath he          
exclaimed3 ,holy ,virgin6 what a line6  
,stay as you are1 ,i implore you--swerve
 not a hair's breadth1 and soon you     
shall be mine forever6  ,the pencil     
broke under his impetuous stroke4 ,he   
seized another and worked at headlong   
speed4 ,the woman watched him with eyes 
dilated4 ,she was agitated1 and the pink
 of her fair skin came and went4 ,her   
face grew pale1 and she swayed like a   
reed4  ,all the time she watched the    
artist1 fearfully4 ,she was at his      
mercy6  ,ah ,god6 he was only an artist 
with the biggest mouth in all ,florence6
 ,she noted how he tossed the hair from 

his eyes every moment4 ,she saw the     
heavy jaw1 the great1 broad-spreading   
feet1 the powerful chest4 ,his smothered
 exclamations as he worked filled her   
with scorn4 ,what had she done8 ,who was
 she1 anyway1 that she should thus bare 
her beauty before such a creature8 ,he  
had not even spoken to her6 ,was she    
only a thing8 ,she grew deadly pale and 
reeled as she stood there4 ,two big     
tears chased each other down her cheeks4
 ,the painter looking up saw other tears
 glistening on her lashes4 ,he noted her
 distress4  ,he dropped his crayon and  
made a motion as if to advance to her   
relief4  ,a few moments before and he   
might have folded her mantle about her  
and assisted her to a seat--then they   
would have talked1 reassured each other1
 and been mutually understood4 ,to be   
understood--to be appreciated--that is  
it6  ,it was too late1 now--she hated   
him4  ,as he advanced she recovered     
herself4  ,she pointed her finger to the
 door1 and bade him begone4  ,hastily he

 huddled his belongings into a parcel1  
and without looking up1 passed out of   
the door4 ,she heard his steps echoing  
down the stairway1 and soon from out the
 lattice she saw him walk across the    
court and disappear4 ,he did not look   
up6  ,she threw herself upon her couch1 
buried her face in the pillows and burst
 into tears4  ,in one short week word   
came to ,sandro that ,simonetta was     
dead--a mysterious quick fever of some  
kind--she had refused all food--the     
doctors could not understand it--the    
fever had just burned her life out6     
,let ,maurice ,hewlett tell the rest3   
,they carried dead ,simonetta through   
the streets of ,florence1 with her pale 
face uncovered and a crown of myrtle in 
her hair4 ,people thronging there held  
their breath1 or wept to see such still 
loveliness2 and her poor parted lips    
wore a patient little smile1 and her    
eyelids were pale violet and lay heavy  
on her cheek4 ,white1 like a bride1 with
 a nosegay of orange-blossoms1 and      

syringa at her throat1 she lay there on 
her bed1 with lightly folded hands and  
the strange aloofness and preoccupation 
all the dead have4 ,only her hair burned
 about her like molten copper4  ,the    
great procession swept forward2 black   
brothers of ,misericordia1 shrouded and 
awful1 bore the bed or stalked before it
 with torches that guttered and flared  
sootily in the dancing light of day4    
,santa ,croce1 the great church1        
stretched forward beyond her into the   
distances of gray mist and cold spaces  
of light4 ,its bare vastness was damp   
like a vault4 ,and she lay in the midst 
listless1 heavy-lidded1 apart1 with the 
half-smile1 as it seemed1 of some secret
 mirth4 ,round her the great candles    
smoked and flickered1 and mass was sung 
at the ,high ,altar for her soul's      
repose4 ,sandro stood alone1 facing the 
shining altar1 but looking fixedly at   
,simonetta on her couch4 ,he was white  
and dry--parched lips and eyes that     
ached and smarted4 ,was this the end8   

,was it possible1 my ,god6 that the     
transparent1 unearthly thing lying there
 so prone and pale was dead8 ,had such  
loveliness aught to do with life or     
death8 ,ah6 sweet lady1 dear heart1 how 
tired she was1 how deadly tired6 ,from  
where he stood he could see with        
intolerable anguish the somber rings    
around her eyes and the violet shadows  
on the lids1 her folded hands and the   
straight1 meek line to the feet4 ,and   
her poor wan face with its wistful1     
pitiful little smile was turned         
half-aside on the delicate throat1 as if
 in a last appeal3 ,leave me now1 ,o    
,florentines1 to my rest4 ,poor child6  
,poor child6 ,sandro was on his knees   
with his face pressed against the pulpit
 and tears running through his fingers  
as he prayed4  ,as he had seen her1 so  
he painted4 ,as at the beginning of life
 in a cold world1 passively meeting the 
long trouble of it1 he painted her a    
rapt ,presence floating evenly to our   
earth4 ,a gray1 translucent sea laps    

silently upon a little creek1 and in the
 hush of a still dawn the myrtles and   
sedges on the water's brim are quiet4   
,it is a dream in halftones that he     
gives us1 gray and green and steely     
blue2 and just that1 and some homely    
magic of his own1 hint the commerce of  
another world with man's discarded      
domain4 ,men and women are asleep1 and  
as in an early walk you may startle the 
hares at their play1 or see the         
creatures of the darkness--owls and     
night-hawks and heavy moths--flit with  
fantastic purpose over the familiar     
scene1 so here it comes upon you        
suddenly that you have surprised        
,nature's self at her mysteries2 you are
 let into the secret2 you have caught   
the spirit of the ,april woodland as she
 glides over the pasture to the copse4  
,and that1 indeed1 was ,sandro's        
fortune4 ,he caught her in just such a  
propitious hour4 ,he saw the sweet wild 
thing1 pure and undefiled by touch of   
earth2 caught her in that pregnant pause

 of time ere she had lighted4 ,another  
moment and a buxom nymph of the grove   
would fold her in a rosy mantle1 colored
 as the earliest wood- anemones are4    
,she would vanish1 we know1 into the    
daffodils or a bank of violets4 ,and you
 might tell her presence there1 or in   
the rustle of the myrtles1 or coo of    
doves mating in the pines2 you might    
feel her genius in the scent of the     
earth or the kiss of the west wind2 but 
you could only see her in mid-,april1   
and you should look for her over the    
sea4 ,she always comes with the first   
warmth of the year4 ,but daily1 before  
he painted1 ,sandro knelt in a dark     
chapel in ,santa ,croce1 while a priest 
said mass for the repose of ,simonetta's
 soul4   ,george ,eliot gives many a    
side-glimpse of the art life of         
,florence in the days of the            
luxury-loving ,medici4 ,she saturated   
herself in ,italian literature and      
history2 and the days of ,fra ,angelico1
 ,fra ,lippo ,lippi and ,fra ,girolamo  

,savonarola are bodied forth from lines 
deeply etched upon her heart4  ,when you
 go to ,florence carry ,romola in your  
side-pocket1 just as you take the       
,marble ,faun to ,rome4 ,romola will    
certainly make history live again and   
pass before your gaze4 ,the story is    
unmistakably high art1 for from the     
opening lines of the proem you hear the 
slow1 measured wing of death2 and after 
you have read the volume1 forever1 for  
you1 will the smoke of martyr-fires     
hover about the ,piazza ,signoria1 and  
from the gates of ,san ,marco you will  
see emerge that little man in black robe
 and cowl--that homely1 repulsive man   
with the curved nose1 the protruding    
lower lip1 the dark1 leathery skin--that
 man who lured and fascinated by his    
poise and power1 whose words were whips 
of scorpions that stung his enemies     
until they had to silence him with a    
rope2 and as a warning to those whom he 
had hypnotized1 they burned his swart1  
shrunken body in the public square1 just

 as he had burned their books and       
pictures4  ,sandro ,botticelli1 the     
painter1 who made sensuality beautiful1 
ugliness seductive1 and the sin-stained 
soul attractive1 renounced all and      
followed the ,monk of ,san              
,marco--sensuality and asceticism at the
 last are one4 ,when the procession     
headed for the ,piazza ,signoria1 where 
the fagots were piled high1 ,sandro     
stood afar off and his heart was wrung  
in anguish1 as he saw the glare of the  
flames gild the eastern sky4 ,and this  
anguish was not for the friends who had 
perished--no1 no1 it was for himself2   
the thought that he was unworthy of     
martyrdom filled his mind--he had fallen
 at the critical moment4 ,basely and    
cravenly he had saved himself4 ,by      
saving all he lost all4 ,to lose one's  
self-respect is the only calamity4      
,sandro ,botticelli had failed to win   
the approval of his ,other ,self--and   
this is defeat1 and there is none other4
 ,he might have sent his soul to ,god on

 the wings of victory1 in glorious      
company1 but now it was too late--too   
late6  ,from this time forth he ceased  
to live--he merely existed4 ,into his   
soul there occasionally shot gleams of  
sunshine1 but his nerveless hands       
refused to do the bidding of his brain4 
,he stood on crutches1 hat in hand1 at  
church-doors1 and asked for alms4       
,sometimes he would make bold to tell   
people of wonderful pictures within1    
over the altar or upon the walls2 and he
 would say that they were his1 and then 
his hearers would laugh aloud1 and ask  
him to repeat his words1 that others1   
too1 might laugh4 ,thus dwindled the    
passing days2 and for him who had       
painted the ,spring there came the      
chilling neglect of ,winter1 until      
,death in mercy laid an icy hand upon   
him1 and he was still4                  
,,thorswaldsen  ,see the hovering ships 
on the wharves6 ,the ,dannebrog waves1  
the workmen sit in circle under the     
shade at their frugal breakfasts2 but   

foremost stands the principal figure in 
this picture2 it is a boy who cuts with 
a bold hand the lifelike features in the
 wooden image for the beakhead of the   
vessel4 ,it is the ship's guardian      
spirit1 and1 as the first image from the
 hand of ,albert ,thorwaldsen1 it shall 
wander out into the wide world4 ,the    
swelling sea shall baptize it with its  
waters1 and hang its wreaths of wet     
plants around it2 nor night1 nor storm1 
nor icebergs1 nor sunken rocks shall    
lure it to its death1 for the ,good     
,angel that guards the boy shall1 too1  
guard the ship upon which with mallet   
and chisel he has set his mark4         
--,hans ,christian ,andersen            
,illustration3 ,thorwaldsen   ,the real 
businesslike biographer begins by       
telling when his subject first saw the  
light--by which he means when the man   
was born4 ,in this instance we will go a
 bit further back and make note of the  
interesting fact that ,thorwaldsen was  
descended from an ancestor who had the  

rare fortune to be born in ,rhode       
,island1 in the year ,ten ,hundred      
,seven4  ,wiggling1 jiggling1 piggling  
individuals with quibbling proclivities1
 and an incapacity for distinguishing   
between fact and truth1 may maintain    
that there was no ,rhode ,island in the 
year ,ten ,hundred ,seven4 ,emerson has 
written1 ,nothing is of less importance 
on account of its being small4 ,and so  
,i maintain that1 in the year ,ten      
,hundred ,seven1 ,rhode ,island was just
 where it is now1 and the ,cosmos quite 
as important4 ,let ,pawtucket protest   
and ,providence bite the thumb--no      
retraction will be made6  ,about the    
year ,eighteen ,hundred ,fifteen the    
,secretary of the ,rhode ,island        
,historical ,society wrote ,thorwaldsen1
 informing him that he had been elected 
an honorary member of the ,society1 on  
account of his being the only known     
living descendant of the first ,european
 born in ,america4 ,thorwaldsen replied1
 expressing his great delight in the    

honor conferred1 and touched feelingly  
on the fact that while he had been      
elected to membership in various        
societies in consideration of what he   
had done1 this was the first honor that 
had come his way on account of his      
ancestry4 ,to a friend he said1 ,how    
would we ever know who we are1 or where 
we come from1 were it not for the       
genealogical savants6 ,in a book called 
,american ,antiquities1 now in the      
,library at ,harvard ,college1 and ,i   
suppose accessible in various other     
libraries1 there is a genealogical table
 tracing the ancestry of ,thorwaldsen4  
,it seems that1 in the year ,ten        
,hundred ,six1 one ,thorfinne1 an       
,icelandic whaler1 commanded a ship     
which traversed the broad ,atlantic1 and
 skirted the coast of ,new ,england4    
,thorfinne wintered his craft in one of 
the little bays of ,rhode ,island1 and  
spent the ,winter at ,mount ,hope1 where
 the marks of his habitat endure even   
unto this day4  ,the statement to the   

effect that when the ,indians saw the   
ships of ,columbus1 they cried out1     
,alas1 we are discovered6 goes back to a
 much earlier period1 like many another 
of ,mark ,twain's gladsome              
scintillations4 ,so little did          
,thorfinne and his hardy comrades think 
of crossing the ,atlantic in search of  
adventure1 that they used to take their 
families along1 as though it were a     
picnic4 ,and so ,fate ordered that      
,gudrid1 the good wife of ,thorfinne1   
should give birth to a son1 there at    
,mount ,hope1 ,rhode ,island1 in the    
year ,ten ,hundred ,seven4 ,and they    
called the baby boy ,snome4 ,and to     
,snome1 the ,american1 the pedigree of  
,thorwaldsen traces4 ,in a lecture on   
the ,icelandic ,sagas1 ,i once heard    
,william ,morris say that all really    
respectable ,icelanders traced their    
genealogy to a king1 and many of them to
 a god4 ,thorwaldsen did both--first to 
,harold ,hildestand1 ,king of ,denmark1 
and then1 with the help of several kind 

old gran'mamas1 to the god ,thor4 ,his  
love for mythology was an atavism4 ,in  
childhood the good old aunties used to  
tell him how the god ,thor once trod the
 earth and shattered the mountains with 
his hammer4 ,from ,thor and the ,world  
his first ancestor was born1 so the     
family name was ,thor-vald4 ,the        
appendix sen1 or son1 means that the man
 was the son of ,thor-vald2 and in some 
way the name got ossified1 like the name
 ,robinson1 ,parkinson1 ,peterson or    
,albertson1 and then it was             
,thorwaldsen4  ,men who are strong in   
their own natures are very apt to smile 
at the good folk who chase the          
genealogical aniseed trail--it is a     
harmless diversion with no game at the  
end of the route4 ,and on the other     
hand1 all men1 like ,thorwaldsen1 who   
teach cosmic consciousness1 recognize   
their ,divine ,sonship4 ,such men feel  
that their footsteps are mortised and   
tenoned in granite2 and the ,power that 
holds the worlds in space and guides the

 wheeling planets1 also prompts their   
thoughts and directs their devious way4 
,they know that they are a necessary    
part of the ,whole4 ,small men are      
provincial1 mediocre men are            
cosmopolitan1 but the great souls are   
,universal4   ,two islands1 one city and
 the open sea claim the honor of being  
the birthplace of ,bertel ,thorwaldsen4 
,the date of his birth ranges1 according
 to the authorities1 from ,seventeen    
,hundred ,seventy to ,seventeen ,hundred
 ,seventy-three--take your choice4 ,his 
father was an ,icelander who had worked 
his passage down to ,copenhagen and had 
found his stint as a wood-carver in a   
shipyard where it was his duty to carve 
out wonderful figureheads1 after designs
 made by others4 ,gottschalk            
,thorwaldsen never thought to improve on
 a model1 or change it in any way1 or to
 model a figurehead himself4 ,the cold  
of the ,north had chilled any ambition  
that was in his veins4 ,goodsooth6 ,such
 work as designing figureheads was only 

for those who had been to college1 and  
who could read and write6 ,so he worked 
away1 day after day1 and with the help  
of the goodwife's foresight and economy1
 managed to keep out of debt1 pay his   
tithes at church and lead a decent life4
  ,little ,bertel used to remember when1
 like the ,peggottys1 they lived in an  
abandoned canal-boat that had been      
tossed up on the beach4 ,bertel carried 
chips and shavings from the shipyard for
 fuel1 and piled them against the house4
 ,one night the tide came up in a very  
unexpected manner and carried the chips 
away1 for the sea is so very hungry that
 it is always sending the tide in to    
shore after things4 ,it was quite a loss
 for the poor wood-carver and his wife  
to have all their winter fuel carried   
away2 so they cuffed little ,bertel     
soundly 7for his own good7 for not      
piling the chips up on the deck of the  
boat1 instead of leaving them on the    
shifting sand4  ,this was the first     
great cross that came to ,bertel4 ,he   

had a few others afterwards1 but he     
never forgot the night of anguish and   
the feeling of guilt that followed the  
losing of the shavings and chips4  ,some
 weeks after1 another high tide came    
sweeping in1 and lapped and sniffed and 
sighed around the canal-boat as if it   
were trying to tug it loose and carry   
the old craft and all the family out to 
sea4 ,little ,bertel hoped the tide     
would fetch it1 for it would be kind o' 
nice to get clear out away from         
everybody and everything--where there   
were no chips to pick up4 ,his mother   
could supply a quilt for a mainsail and 
he would use his shirt for a jib1 and   
they would steer straight for           
,america--or somewhere4  ,but lest the  
dream should come true1 ,gottschalk and 
his wife talked the matter over and     
concluded to abandon the boat1 before it
 got sunk into the sand quite out of    
sight4 ,so the family moved into a      
little house on an alley1 half a mile   
away from the shipyard--it was an awful 

long way to carry chips4  ,the second   
calamity that came into the life of     
little ,bertel was when he was eight    
years old4 ,he and several companions   
were playing about the ,king's ,market1 
where there was an equestrian statue of 
,charles the ,twelfth4  ,the boys       
climbed up on to the pedestal1 cut      
various capers there1 and finally they  
challenged ,bertel to mount the horse   
behind the noble rider4 ,by dint of much
 boosting from several boys older than  
himself1 he was at last perched on the  
horse4 ,then his companions made hot    
haste to run away and leave him in his  
perilous position4 ,just then1 as unkind
 ,fate would have it1 a pair of         
gendarmes came along on the lookout for 
anything that might savor of sedition1  
contumacy or contravention4 ,they found 
it in little ,bertel clutching tearfully
 to the royal person of ,charles the    
,twelfth1 twelve feet above the ground4 
,quickly they rushed the lad off to the 
police- station1 between them1 each with

 a firm grip upon his collar4  ,victor  
,hugo once said1 ,the minions of the law
 go stolidly after vice1 and not finding
 it1 they stolidly take virtue instead4 
,besides an awful warning never to do   
this thing again1 from a judge in a     
ferocious wig1 the boy got a flogging at
 home 7for his own good71 although his  
father first explained that it was a    
very painful duty to himself to be      
obliged to punish his son4 ,the son     
volunteered to excuse his father1 and   
this brought the youngster ten extra    
lashes for being so smart4  ,long years 
after1 at ,rome1 ,thorwaldsen told the  
story to ,hans ,christian ,andersen     
about being caught astride the great    
bronze horse at ,copenhagen1 and of the 
awful reprimand of the judge bewigged4  
,and honestly now3 ,i'll never tell1    
said ,andersen with a sly twinkle in his
 blue eyes--did you ever repeat the     
offense8  ,since you promise not to     
divulge it1 ,i'll confess that          
forty-three years after my crime of     

mounting that horse1 ,i had occasion to 
cross ,king's ,market ,square at        
midnight4 ,i had been out to a little   
social gathering1 and was on my way home
 alone4 ,i saw the great horse and rider
 gleaming in the pale moonlight4 ,i     
recalled vividly how ,i had occupied    
that elevated perch and been hauled down
 by the scandalized and indignant       
officers4 ,i remembered the warning of  
the judge as to what would happen if ,i 
ever did it again4 ,hastily ,i removed  
my coat and hat and clambered up on the 
pedestal4 ,i seized a leg of the royal  
person1 and swung up behind4 ,for five  
minutes ,i sat there mentally defying   
the ,state1 and saying unspeakable      
things about all gendarmes and          
,copenhagen gendarmes in particular4    
,i have a profound respect for boys4    
,grimy1 ragged1 tousled boys in the     
street often attract me strangely4 ,a   
boy is a man in the cocoon --you do not 
know what it is going to become--his    
life is big with possibilities4  ,he may

 make or unmake kings1 change           
boundary-lines between ,states1 write   
books that will mold characters1 or     
invent machines that will revolutionize 
the commerce of the world4 ,every man   
was a boy--,i trust ,i shall not be     
contradicted--it is really so4 ,wouldn't
 you like to turn ,time backward1 and   
see ,abraham ,lincoln at twelve1 when he
 had never worn a pair of boots8--the   
lank1 lean1 yellow1 hungry boy--hungry  
for love1 for learning1 tramping off    
through the woods for twenty miles to   
borrow a book1 and spelling it out      
crouching before the glare of the       
burning logs4  ,then there was that     
,corsican boy1 one of a goodly brood1   
who weighed only fifty pounds when ten  
years old2 who was thin and pale and    
perverse1 and had tantrums1 and had to  
be sent supperless to bed1 or locked in 
a dark closet because he wouldn't mind6 
,who would have thought that he would   
have mastered every phase of warfare at 
twenty-six1 and when told that the      

,exchequer of ,france was in dire       
confusion1 would say3 ,the finances8 ,i 
will arrange them6  ,distinctly and     
vividly ,i remember a squat1 freckled   
boy who was born in the ,patch and used 
to pick up coal along the               
railroad-tracks in ,buffalo4 ,a few     
months ago ,i had a motion to make      
before the ,court of ,appeals4 ,that boy
 from the ,patch was the judge who wrote
 the opinion1 granting my petition4     
,yesterday ,i rode horseback past a     
field where a boy was plowing4 ,the     
lad's hair stuck out through the top of 
his hat2 one suspender held his trousers
 in place2 his form was bony and        
awkward2 his bare legs and arms were    
brown and sunburned and briar-scratched4
 ,he swung his horses around just as ,i 
passed by1 and from under the flapping  
brim of his hat he cast a quick glance  
out of dark1 half-bashful eyes1 and     
modestly returned my salute4 ,when his  
back was turned ,i took off my hat and  
sent a ,god-bless-you down the furrow   

after him4  ,who knows8--,i may go to   
that boy to borrow money or to hear him 
preach1 or to beg him to defend me in a 
lawsuit2 or he may stand with pulse     
unhastened1 bare of arm1 in white apron1
 ready to do his duty1 while the cone is
 placed over my face1 and ,night and    
,death come creeping into my veins4 ,be 
patient with the boys--you are dealing  
with soul-stuff--,destiny awaits just   
around the corner4 ,be patient with the 
boys6   ,bertel ,thorwaldsen was        
fourteen years old4 ,he was pale and    
slender1 and had a sharp chin and a     
straight nose and hair the color of     
sunburned tow4 ,his eyes were large1 set
 wide apart and bright blue2 and he     
looked out upon the world silently1 with
 a sort o' wistful melancholy4 ,he      
helped his father carve out the         
wonderful figureheads that were to pilot
 the ships across strange seas and bring
 good luck to the owners4  ,a boy like  
that should be sent to the ,academy and 
taught designing1 said one of the       

shipowners one day as he watched the lad
 at his work4 ,gottschalk shook his head
 dubiously4 ,how could a poor man1 with 
a family to support1 and provisions so  
high1 spare his boy from work6 ,aye1    
wasn't he teaching the lad a trade      
himself1 as it was8  ,but the shipowner 
fumbled his fob1 and insisted1 and to   
test the boy he had him work with his   
designers4 ,and he compromised with the 
father by having ,bertel sent to the    
,academy half a day at a time4  ,at the 
school one of the instructors remembered
 ,bertel1 on account of his long yellow 
hair that hung down in his eyes when he 
leaned over the desk2 also his dulness  
in every line except drawing and        
clay-modeling4 ,the newspapers one day  
announced that a certain young ,master  
,thorwaldsen had been awarded a prize   
for clay-modeling4  ,is that your       
brother8 asked the teacher next day4 ,it
 is myself1 ,herr ,chaplain1 replied the
 boy1 blushing to the roots of his      
yellow hair4  ,the ,chaplain coughed to 

conceal his surprise4 ,he had always    
thought this boy incapable of anything4 
,herr ,thorwaldsen1 he said1 severely1  
you will please pass to the first grade6
 ,and to be addressed as ,herr meant    
that you really were somebody4 ,he      
called me ',herr'6 said ,bertel to his  
mother that night--,he called me        
',herr'6  ,about this time we find the  
painter ,abildgaard taking a special    
interest in young ,bertel1 giving him   
lessons in drawing and painting1 and    
encouraging him in his modeling4 ,in    
fact1 ,thorwaldsen has himself explained
 that all of his original designs about 
this time were supplied by ,abildgaard4 
,the interest of ,abildgaard in the boy 
was slightly resented by the young man's
 parents1 who were afraid that their son
 was getting above his station4         
,abildgaard has left a record to the    
effect that at this time ,thorwaldsen   
was very self-contained1 reticent1 and  
seemingly without ambition4 ,he used to 
postpone every task1 and would often    

shirk his duties until sharp reminders  
came4 ,yet when he did begin1 he would  
fall on the task like one possessed1 and
 finish it in an hour4 ,this proved to  
,abildgaard that the stuff was there1   
and down in his heart he believed that  
this sleepy lad would some day awake    
from slumber4  ,anyway1 ,abildgaard used
 to say1 long years after1 ,what did ,i 
tell you8 ,gottschalk was paid by the   
piece for his carving2 he was getting   
better pay now1 because he did better   
work1 his employer thought4 ,bertel was 
helping him4 ,the family was getting    
quite prosperous4   ,when ,bertel had   
secured1 between sleepy spells1 about   
all the prizes for clay-modeling and    
sketching that artistic ,copenhagen had 
to offer1 he started for ,rome1 armed   
with a three-year traveling scholarship4
 ,this prize proved to be a pivotal     
point4 ,the young man had done good     
work1 and seemingly without effort2 but 
he was sadly lacking in general         
education--and worse1 he apparently had 

no desire to learn4  ,he was twenty-six 
years of age when he sailed for ,rome on
 the good ship ,thetis4 ,the scholarship
 he had won four years before1 but      
through disinclination to press his     
claims1 and the procrastination of      
officialism1 the matter was pigeonholed4
 ,it might have gone by default had not 
,abildgaard said ,go6 and loudly4       
,thorwaldsen was a sort of charity      
passenger on the ship--taken on request 
of the owner--and it was assumed that he
 would make himself useful4 ,but the    
captain of the craft left him a         
recommendation to the effect that ,the  
young fellow ,thorwaldsen is the laziest
 man ,i ever saw4 ,the ship was on a    
trading tour1 and lingered along various
 coasts and put into many harbors2 so   
nine months went by before ,bertel      
,thorwaldsen found himself in the       
,eternal ,city4  ,i was born ,march     
,eighth1 ,seventeen ,hundred            
,ninety-seven1 ,thorwaldsen used to say4
 ,that was the day he reached ,rome4    

,antonio ,canova1 the sculptor1 was then
 at the height of his popularity4       
,thorwaldsen's first success was the    
model for a statue of ,jason1 which was 
highly praised by ,canova1 and ,bertel  
received the commission to execute it in
 marble from ,thomas ,hope1 a wealthy   
,english art patron4 ,from this time    
forth1 ,thorwaldsen's success was       
assured4  ,his scholarship provided only
 for three years' residence2 but        
twenty-three years were to elapse before
 he should again see his childhood's    
home--as for his parents1 he had looked 
into their eyes for the last time4      
,the soul grows by leaps and bounds1 by 
throes and throbs4 ,a flash6 and a glory
 stands revealed for which you have been
 groping blindly through the years4     
,well did ,thorwaldsen call the day of  
his arrival in ,rome the day of his     
birth6 ,for the first time the world    
seemed to unfold before him4 ,on the    
voyage thither1 the captain of the      
,thetis had offered to prepare him for  

his stay in ,rome by teaching him the   
,italian language2 but the young        
sculptor was indifferent4 ,during the   
months he was on shipboard1 he might    
have mastered the language2 this came   
back to him as he stood in the presence 
of ,saint ,peter's1 and realized that he
 was treading the streets once trod by  
,michelangelo4 ,he spoke only ,sailor's 
,latin1 a composite of ,danish1         
,swedish1 ,norwegian and ,icelandic4    
,the waste of time of which he had been 
guilty1 and the extent of all that lay  
beyond1 pressed home upon him4  ,of     
course we know that the fallow years are
 as good as the years of plenty2 the    
silent ,winter prepares the soil for    
,spring2 and we know1 too1 that the     
sense of unworthiness and the discontent
 that ,thorwaldsen felt during his first
 few weeks at ,rome were big with       
promise4  ,the antique world was a new  
world to him2 he knew nothing of        
mythology1 nothing of history1 little of
 books4 ,he began to thirst for         

knowledge1 and this being true1 he drank
 it in4 ,little men spell things out    
with sweat and lamp-smoke1 but others   
there be who absorb in the mass1 read by
 the page1 and grow great by simply     
letting down their buckets4  ,this      
fair-haired descendant of a ,viking bold
 had the usual preliminary struggle1 for
 the ,established ,order is always      
resentful toward pressing youth4 ,he    
worked incessantly3 sketched1 read1     
studied1 modeled1 and to help out his   
finances copied pictures for prosperous 
dealers who made it their business thus 
to employ 'prentice talent4  ,but a few 
years and we see ,thorwaldsen occupying 
the studio of ,flaxman1 and more than   
filling that strong man's place4 ,for   
specimens of ,flaxman's work examine    
your ,wedgwood2 and then to see         
,thorwaldsen's product1 multiply        
,flaxman by one hundred4 ,one worked in 
the delicate and exquisite2 the other   
had a taste for the heroic3 both found  
inspiration in the ,greek4  ,it will not

 do to claim for ,thorwaldsen that he   
was a great and original genius4 ,he    
lacked that hirsute1 independent quality
 of ,michelangelo1 and surely he lacked 
the ,attic invention4 ,he was receptive 
as a woman1 and he builded on what had  
been done4 ,he moved in the line of     
least resistance--made friends of       
,protestant and ,catholic alike2 won the
 warm recognition of the ,pope1 who     
averred1 ,thorwaldsen is a good         
,catholic1 only he does not know it4 ,he
 kept clear of all factions1 and with a 
modicum more of will1 might have been a 
very prince of diplomats4 ,but as it    
was1 he evolved into a prince of        
artists4   ,soon after his advent in    
,rome1 ,thorwaldsen met1 at the         
country-house of his friend1 critic and 
benefactor ,zoega1 a young woman who was
 destined to have a profound influence  
upon his life4 ,anna ,maria ,magnani was
 lady's maid and governess in the ,zoega
 household4 ,she was a beautiful animal3
 dark1 luminous1 flashing eyes1 hair    

black as the raven's wing1 and a form   
that palpitated with passion--a true    
daughter of the warm1 sun-kissed ,south4
  ,the young sculptor of the yellow     
locks danced with the signorina at the  
rustic fetes upon the lawn4 ,she spoke  
no ,danish1 and his ,italian was        
exceedingly limited1 but hand pressed   
hand and they contrived to make         
themselves understood4 ,she volunteered 
to give him lessons in ,italian2 this   
went well1 and then she posed for him as
 a model4  ,what should have been at    
best or worst a mere incident in the    
artist's life ripened into something    
more4 ,intellectually and spiritually   
they lived in different worlds1 and in  
sober moments both realized it4 ,an     
arrangement was entered into of the same
 quality and kind as ,goethe and        
,christine ,vulpius assumed4 ,only this 
woman had moments of rebellion when she 
thirsted for social honors4 ,as his     
wife1 ,thorwaldsen knew that she would  
be a veritable dead- weight1 and he     

sought to loosen her grasp upon him4 ,an
 offer of marriage came to her from a   
man of means and social station4        
,thorwaldsen favored the mating1 and did
 what he could to hasten the nuptials4  
,but when the other man had actually    
married the girl and carried her away1  
he had a sick spell to pay for it--he   
wasn't quite so calloused in heart as he
 had believed4 ,like many other men1    
,thorwaldsen found that such a tie is   
not easily broken4  ,anna ,maria thought
 she loved the man she had married1 and 
at least she believed she could learn to
 do so4 ,alas6 after six months of      
married life she packed up and came back
 to ,rome1 declaring that1 though her   
husband was kind and always treated her 
well1 she would rather be the slave and 
servant of ,thorwaldsen than the wife of
 any man on earth4 ,the sculptor hadn't 
the heart to turn her away4 ,more       
properly1 her will was stronger than his
 conscience4 ,perhaps he was glad1 too1 
that she had come back6 ,the injured    

husband followed1 and ,anna ,maria      
warned the man to be gone1 and          
emphasized the suggestion with the gleam
 of a pearl-handled stiletto2 and by the
 same token kept all gushing females    
away from the ,thorwaldsen preserve4    
,thorwaldsen never married1 and there is
 no doubt that his engagement to ,miss  
,mackenzie1 a most excellent ,english   
lady1 was vetoed by ,anna ,maria and her
 pearl-handled stiletto4  ,one child was
 born to ,anna ,maria and               
,thorwaldsen--a girl1 who was legally   
acknowledged by ,thorwaldsen as his     
daughter4 ,when prosperity came his way 
some years later1 he deposited in the   
,bank of ,copenhagen a sum equal to     
twenty thousand dollars1 with orders    
that the interest should be paid to her 
as long as she lived4  ,unlike ,byron's 
daughter ,allegra1 born the same year   
only a few miles away1 who died young   
and for whose grave at ,harrow the poet 
had carved the touching line1 ,i shall  
go to her1 but she will not return to   

me1 the daughter of ,thorwaldsen grew   
up1 was happily married and bore a son  
who achieved considerable distinction as
 an artist4 ,thus the sculptor's good   
fortune attended him1 even in           
circumstances that work havoc in most   
men's lives--he disarmed the ,furies    
with a smile6   ,many visitors daily    
thronged the studio of ,thorwaldsen4 ,he
 had one general reception-room         
containing casts of his work1 and many  
curious things in the line of art4 ,his 
servant greeted the callers and made    
them at home1 expressing much regret at 
the absence of his master1 who was out  
of the city1 etc4 ,meanwhile1           
,thorwaldsen was hard at it in a back   
room1 to which only the elect were      
admitted4 ,the ,king of ,bavaria1 a     
genuine artist himself in spirit1 who   
spent much time in ,rome1 conceived a   
great admiration for ,thorwaldsen4 ,he  
walked into the atelier where the       
sculptor was at work one day and hung   
around his neck by a gold chain the     

,cross of the ,commander1 a decoration  
never before given to any but great     
military commanders4  ,king ,louis had a
 very unkinglike way of doing things1   
and used to go by the studio and whistle
 for ,thorwaldsen and call to him to    
come out and walk1 or drive1 ride or    
dine4  ,i wish that ,king would go off  
and reign--,i have work to do1 cried the
 sculptor rather impatiently4  ,envious 
critics used to maintain that there were
 ten men in ,rome who could model as    
well as ,thorwaldsen1 but they haven't  
yellow hair that falls to their         
shoulders1 and heaven-blue eyes with    
which to snare the ladies4  ,the fact   
must be admitted that the vogue of      
,thorwaldsen owed much to the remarkable
 social qualities of the man4 ,his      
handsome face and fine form were        
supplemented by a manner most gentle and
 winning2 and whether his half-diffident
 ways and habit of reticence were       
natural or the triumph of art was a     
vexing problem that never found         

solution4  ,he was the social rage in   
every salon4 ,and his ability to do the 
right thing at the right time1 seemingly
 without premeditation1 made him a      
general favorite4 ,for instance1 if he  
attended a fete given by the ,king of   
,bavaria1 he wore just one              
decoration--the decoration of ,bavaria4 
,if he attended a ball given by the     
,french ,ambassador1 in the lapel of his
 modest black velvet coat he wore the   
red ribbon that tokens the ,legion of   
,honor4 ,when he visited the ,villa of  
the ,grand ,duchess ,helena of ,russia1 
he wore no jewel save the diamond-      
studded star presented to him by the    
,czar4 ,at the reception given by the   
,english ,colony to ,sir ,walter ,scott1
 the great sculptor wore a modest       
thistle-blossom in his lapel1 which     
caused ,lord ,elgin to offer odds that  
if ,o',connell should appear in ,rome1  
,thorwaldsen would wear a sprig of      
shamrock in his hat and say nothing4    
,the thistle caught ,sir ,walter1 and   

the next day when he came to call on the
 sculptor he saw a tam-o-shanter hanging
 on the top of an easel and a bit of    
plaid scarf thrown carelessly across the
 corner of the picture below4 ,the poet 
and the sculptor embraced1 patting each 
other on the back1 called each other    
,brother and smiled good-will4 ,but as  
,thorwaldsen could not speak ,english   
and ,sir ,walter spoke nothing else1    
they merely beamed and ran the scale of 
adjectives1 thus3 ,sublimissio6 ,hero6  
,precious6 ,plaisir6 ,la ,grande6       
,delighted6 ,splendide6 ,honorable6     
,then they embraced again and backed    
away1 waving each other good-by4        
,thorwaldsen had more medals1 degrees   
and knighthoods than ,sir ,walter ever  
saw1 but he would allow no prefix to his
 name4 ,denmark1 ,russia1 ,germany1     
,italy1 ,france and the ,pope had       
outdone themselves in doing him honor4  
,all these trifles in the way of        
decorations he kept in a specially      
prepared case1 which was opened         

occasionally for the benefit of lady    
visitors4 ,the girls like such things1  
said ,thorwaldsen1 and smiled in        
apology4  ,shelley found his way to     
,thorwaldsen's studio1 and made mention 
that the ,master was a bit of a poseur4 
,byron came1 and as we know1 sat for    
that statue which is now at ,cambridge4 
,the artist sought to beguile the       
melancholy sitter with pleasant         
conversation1 but the author of ,don    
,juan would have none of it1 and when   
the work was completed and unveiled     
before him1 he exclaimed in             
disappointment1 ,i look far more unhappy
 than that6  ,thorwaldsen was a musician
 of no mean quality1 and there was      
always a piano in his studio1 to which  
he often turned for rest4 ,when ,felix  
,mendelssohn was in ,rome he made the   
sculptor's workshop his headquarters1   
and sometimes the two would play four   
hands1 or else ,thorwaldsen would       
accompany the ,song ,without ,words upon
 his violin4  ,gradually the number of  

the elect seemed to grow4 ,it was       
regarded as a great sight to see the    
,master at his work4 ,and by degrees    
,thorwaldsen reached a point where he   
could keep right along at his task and  
receive his friends at the same time4   
,the man at his work6 ,there is nothing 
finer4 ,i have seen men homely1 uncouth 
and awkward when dressed up1 who were   
superb when at their work4 ,once ,i saw 
,augustus ,saint ,gaudens in blouse and 
overalls1 well plastered with mud1      
standing on a ladder hard at it on an   
equestrian statue1 lost to everything   
but the task in hand--intoxicated with a
 thought1 working like mad to           
materialize an idea4 ,the sight gave me 
a thrill6--one of those very few        
unforgetable thrills that ,time fixes   
ever the more firmly in one's memory4   
,to gain admittance to the workroom of  
,thorwaldsen was a thing to boast of3   
proud ladies schemed and some sought to 
bribe the trusty valet2 but to these the
 door was politely barred4 ,yet the     

servant1 servantlike1 was awed by titles
 and nobility4  ,the ,duchess of ,parma6
 whispered the valet one day in         
agitation-- the ,duchess of ,parma--she 
has followed me in and is now standing  
behind you6  ,thorwaldsen could not just
 place the lady3 he turned1 bowed1 and  
gazed upon a stout personage who was    
slightly overdressed4 ,the lady quite   
abruptly stated that she had called to  
make arrangements to have a statue1 or a
 bust at least1 made of herself4 ,that  
,thorwaldsen would be proud to model her
 features seemed quite fixed in her     
mind4 ,the artist cast her a swift      
glance and noted that ,nature had put   
small trace of the classic in the lady's
 modeling4 ,he mentally declined the    
commission1 and muttered something about
 being so delighted and honored1 but    
unluckily ,i am so very busy1 etc4 ,my  
husband desires it1 continued the lady1 
and so does my son1 the ,king of        
,rome--a title1 ,i hope1 that is not    
strange to you6  ,it swept over         

,thorwaldsen1 like a winter's wave1 that
 this big1 brusk1 bizarre woman before  
him was ,maria ,louisa1 the second wife 
of ,napoleon4 ,he knew her history3     
wedded at nineteen to ,napoleon--the    
mother of ,l',aiglon at twenty--married 
again in unbecoming haste to ,count     
,niepperg ,nobody1 with whom she had    
been on very intimate terms1 as soon as 
word arrived of ,napoleon's death at    
,saint ,helena1 and now raising a goodly
 brood of ,nobodies6 ,the artist grew   
faint before this daughter of kings who 
had made a mesalliance with ,genius--he 
excused himself and left the room4      
,thorwaldsen was a hero-worshiper by    
nature1 and ,napoleon's memory loomed   
large to him on the horizon of the      
ideal4 ,needless to say1 he never       
modeled the features of ,maria ,louisa  
,hapsburg1 but her visit fired him with 
a desire to make a bust of ,napoleon1   
and the desire materialized is ours in  
heroic mold4  ,some time after this1    
,thorwaldsen designed a monument to the 

,duke of ,leuchtenberg1 ,eugene de      
,beauharnais1 son of the ,empress       
,josephine4  ,the days went in their    
fashion1 and the ,count ,niepperg passed
 away1 as even ,counts do1 for ,death   
recognizes no title2 and ,maria ,louisa 
was again experiencing the pangs of     
widowhood4 ,she sent word for           
,thorwaldsen to come and design the late
 lamented a proper tomb1 something not  
unlike that which he had done for the   
son of ,josephine--money was no object  
in the ,hapsburg family6  ,very few     
commissions were declined by            
,thorwaldsen4 ,he was a good businessman
 and often had a dozen men quietly      
working out his orders1 but he wrote to 
,maria ,louisa begging to be            
excused--and as a relief to his         
feelings1 straightway modeled another   
bust of ,napoleon4 ,this bust was sold  
to ,alexander ,murray1 ,byron's         
publisher1 and is now to be seen in     
,edinburgh4 ,strange1 is it not1 that   
the home of ,the ,scotch ,greys1 tumbled

 by ,fate and ,napoleon into an open    
grave1 should do the ,little ,man honor6
 ,and ,thorwaldsen1 the man of peace1   
was bound to the man of war by the      
silken thread of sentiment4             
,thorwaldsen was the true successor of  
,canova--his career was inaugurated when
 ,canova gave him his blessing4 ,the    
triumphs of the lover of ,pauline       
,bonaparte were transferred to him4 ,he 
accepted the situation with all of its  
precedents4   ,thorwaldsen spent        
forty-two years of his life at ,rome1   
but ,denmark never lost her hold upon   
him during this time4 ,the ,king        
showered him with honors and gave him   
every privilege at his command4  ,the   
,danish ,ambassador always had special  
instructions not to neglect the         
interests and welfare of our brother1   
,chevalier ,thorwaldsen1 ,artist and    
,sculptor to the ,king4  ,for years1 in 
the ,academy at ,copenhagen1 rooms were 
set apart for him1 and he was solicited 
to return and occupy them1 and by his   

gracious presence honor the institution 
that had sent him forth4 ,only once1    
however1 did he return1 and then his    
stay was brief4 ,but from time to time  
he presented specimens of his work to   
his native city1 and various casts and  
copies of his pieces found their way to 
the ,thorwaldsen ,room at the ,academy2 
so there gradually grew up there a      
,thorwaldsen ,museum4  ,now the shadows 
were lengthening toward the east4 ,the  
,master had turned his seventieth       
milestone1 and he began to look backward
 to his boyhood's home as a place of    
rest1 as old men do4 ,a ,commissioner   
was sent by the ,king of ,denmark with  
orders to use his best offices to the   
end that ,thorwaldsen should return2 and
 plans were made to evolve the          
,thorwaldsen ,room into a complete      
museum4  ,the result of these           
negotiations brought about the          
,thorwaldsen ,museum--that plainly      
simple1 but solidly built structure at  
,copenhagen1 erected by the city1 from  

plans made by the ,master4 ,here are    
shown over two hundred large statues and
 bas-reliefs1 copies and originals of   
the best things done in that long and   
busy life4  ,thorwaldsen left his       
medals1 decorations1 pictures1 books and
 thousands of drawings and sketches to  
this ,museum--the sole property of the  
municipality4 ,the building is arranged 
in the form of a square1 with a court1  
and here the dust of the ,master rests4 
,no artist has ever had a more fitting  
tomb1 designed by himself1 surrounded by
 the creations of his hand and brain4   
,these chant his elegy and there he     
sleeps4   ,good looks1 courtesy and     
social accomplishments are factors in   
our artistic career that should not be  
lightly waived4 ,thorwaldsen won every  
recognition that is possible for men to 
win from other men-- fame1 honor1       
wealth4 ,in way of success he tasted all
 the world can offer4 ,he built on      
,winckelmann1 ,mengs and ,canova1       
inspired by a classic environment1 and  

examples of work done by men turned to  
dust centuries before4 ,in many         
instances ,thorwaldsen followed the     
letter and failed to catch the spirit of
 ,greece2 this is not to his            
discredit--who has completely succeeded 
in revitalizing the breath of ancient   
art8  ,thorwaldsen won everything but   
immortality4 ,it sounds harsh1 but let  
us admit it2 he was at best a great     
imitator1 however noble the objects of  
his imitation4 ,a recent writer has     
tried to put him in the class with ,john
 ,rogers1 the ,pride of ,america1 but   
this is manifestly unfair4 ,as an artist
 he ranks rather with ,powers1 ,story   
and ,palmer4  ,never for a moment can he
 be compared with ,saint ,gaudens1 or   
our own ,french2 ,bartlett and ,ward    
surpass him in general skill and        
fertility of resources4 ,all is         
comparative--,thorwaldsen's fame floats 
upon the wave1 far astern4 ,we are      
making head4  ,we have that superb      
,night1 so full of tenderness and       

spirit1 done in tears 7as all the best  
things are74 ,the ,night is not to be   
spoken of without its beautiful         
companion-piece1 the ,morning4 ,each was
 done at a sitting1 in a passion of     
creative energy4 ,yet when the roll of  
all ,thorwaldsen's pieces is called1 we 
see that his fame centers and is chiefly
 embodied in ,the ,lion of ,lucerne4    
,i suppose it need not longer be        
concealed that in ,switzerland you can  
purchase copies and models of           
,thorwaldsen's ,lion of ,lucerne4 ,some 
are in marble1 some in granite1 some in 
bronze1 a great many are in wood--carved
 while you wait--and at my hotel in     
,lucerne we used to have the noble beast
 on the table every morning at          
breakfast1 done in butter4  ,the        
reproductions are of all sizes1 from    
heroic mold to watch-charms and bangles4
 ,sculptors have carved this lion1      
painters have painted it1 artists have  
sketched it1 but did you ever see a     
reproduction of ,the ,lion of ,lucerne8 

,no1 dearie1 you never did1 and never   
will4 ,no copy has a trace of that      
indefinable look of mingled pain and    
patience1 which even the broken spear in
 his side can not disturb-- that        
soulful1 human quality which the        
original has4 ,no2 every copy is a      
caricature4 ,it is a risky thing to try 
to put love in a lion's face6  ,an      
intelligent young woman called my       
attention to the fact that the          
psychological conditions under which we 
view ,the ,lion are the most subtle and 
complete that man can devise2 and these 
are the things that add the last touch  
to art and cause us to stand speechless1
 and which make the unbidden tears      
start4 ,the little lake at the foot of  
the cliff prevents a too near approach2 
the overhanging vines and melancholy    
boughs form a dim1 subduing shade2 the  
falling water seems like the playing of 
an organ in a vast cathedral2 and last1 
the position of the lion itself1 against
 the solid cliff1 partakes of the       

miraculous4 ,it is not set up there for 
people to look at3 it is a part of the  
mountain1 and the great seams of the    
strata running through the figure lend  
the spirit of miracle to it all4 ,it    
seems as though ,god ,himself had done  
the work1 and the surprise and joy of   
discovery are ours as we stand uncovered
 before it4  ,one must concede the      
masterly framing and hanging of the     
picture1 but beyond all this is the     
technical skill1 giving the look of woe 
that does not tell of weakness1 as woe  
usually does1 but strength and loyalty  
and death without flinching in a        
righteous cause3 symbolic of the ,swiss 
,guard that died at their post1 not one 
of the three hundred wavering1 there at 
the ,king's palace at ,paris--all dead  
and turned to dust a century past1 and  
this lion1 mortally wounded1 mutely     
pleading for our tears6  ,we pay the    
tribute4  ,and the reason we are moved  
is because we partake of the emotions of
 the artist when he did the work2 and   

the reason we are not moved by any      
models or copies or imitations is       
because there is small feeling in the   
heart of an imitator4 ,great art is born
 of feeling6 ,in order to do1 you must  
feel4  ,if ,thorwaldsen had done nothing
 else1 ,the ,lion would be monument     
enough4 ,we remember ,william ,cullen   
,bryant1 like ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti1
 for one poem2 ,poe for three4 ,thoreau 
wrote only one essay the world will     
cherish2 and keeping ,ruskin's ',sesame 
and ,lilies' and ',the ,golden ,river1' 
we can let the rest go1 says ,augustine 
,birrell4  ,thorwaldsen paid the penalty
 of success4 ,he should have tasted     
exile1 poverty and heartbreak--not to   
have known these was his misfortune4    
,and perhaps his best work lay in       
keeping alive the classic tradition2 in 
educating whole nations to a taste for  
sculpture2 in turning the attention of  
society from strife to art1 from war to 
harmony4 ,his were the serene successes 
of beauty1 the triumphs of peace4       

,,gainsborough  ,if ever this nation    
should produce a genius sufficient to   
acquire to us the honorable distinction 
of an ,english ,school1 the name of     
,gainsborough will be transmitted to    
posterity1 in this history of art1 among
 the very first of that rising name4    
--,sir ,joshua ,reynolds  ,illustration3
 ,gainsborough   ,most biographies are  
written with intent either to make the  
man a demigod or else to damn him as a  
rogue who has hoodwinked the world4 ,of 
the first-mentioned class1 ,weems' ,life
 of ,washington must ever stand as the  
true type4 ,the author is so fearful    
that he will not think well of his      
subject that he conceals every attribute
 of our common humanity1 and gives us a 
being almost devoid of eyes1 ears1      
organs1 dimensions1 passions4 ,next to  
,weems1 in point of literary atrocity1  
comes ,john ,s4 ,c4 ,abbott1 whose life 
of ,napoleon is a splendid concealment  
of the man4  ,of those who have written 
biographies for the sake of belittling  

their subject1 ,john ,gait's ,life of   
,byron occupies a conspicuous position4 
,but for books written for the double   
purpose of downing the subject and      
elevating the author1 ,philip           
,thicknesse's ,life of ,gainsborough    
must stand first4 ,the book is so bad   
that it is interesting1 and so stupid   
that it will never die4 ,thicknesse had 
a quarrel with ,gainsborough1 and       
three-fourths of the volume is given up 
to a minute recital of says he and says 
,i4 ,it is really only an extended      
pamphlet written by an arch-bore with   
intent to get even with his man4  ,the  
writer regards his petty affairs as of  
prime importance to the world1 and he   
shows with great care1 and not a single 
flash of wit1 how all of ,thomas        
,gainsborough's success in life was     
brought about by ,thicknesse4 ,and then1
 behold6 after ,thicknesse had made the 
man by hand1 all he received for pay was
 ingratitude and insolence6 ,thicknesse 
was always good1 kind1 unselfish and    

disinterested2 while ,gainsborough was  
ungrateful1 procrastinating1 absurd and 
malicious-- this according to           
,thicknesse1 who was on the spot and    
knew4 ,well1 ,i guess so6               
,brock-,arnold describes ,thicknesse as 
a fussy1 ostentatious1 irrepressible    
busybody1 without the faintest          
conception of delicacy or modesty1 who  
seems to think he has a heaven-born     
right to patronize ,gainsborough1 and to
 take charge of his affairs4  ,the      
aristocratic and pompous ,thicknesse    
presented the painter to his friends1   
and also gave much advice about how he  
should conduct himself4 ,he also loaned 
him a fiddle and presented him a viola  
da gamba1 and often invited him to      
dinner4 ,for these favors ,gainsborough 
promised to paint a portrait of         
,thicknesse1 but never got beyond       
washing in the background4 ,during ten  
years he made thirty-seven excuses for  
not doing the work1 and as for ,mrs4    
,gainsborough1 she once had the temerity

 to hand the redoubtable ,thicknesse his
 cocked hat and cane and show him the   
door4 ,from this1 ,thicknesse is        
emboldened to make certain remarks about
 ,mrs4 ,gainsborough's pedigree1 and to 
suggest that if ,thomas ,gainsborough   
had married a different woman he might  
have been a different painter4          
,thicknesse1 throughout the book1       
thrusts himself into the breach and     
poses as the ,injured ,one4  ,on reading
 the work it is hard to believe it was  
written in sober1 serious earnest--it   
contains such an intolerable deal of    
,thicknesse and so little of            
,gainsborough4 ,the ,mother ,gamp flavor
 is upon every page4 ,andrew ,lang might
 have written it to show the literary   
style of a disgruntled dead author4     
,and the curious part is that1 up to    
,eighteen ,hundred ,twenty-nine1        
,thicknesse held the stage1 and many    
people took his portrait of             
,gainsborough as authentic4 ,in that    
year ,allan ,cunningham put the great   

painter in his proper light1 and thanks 
to the minute researches of ,fulcher and
 others1 we know the man as though he   
had lived yesterday4   ,the father of   
,gainsborough was a tradesman of acute  
instincts4 ,he resided at ,sudbury1 in  
,suffolk1 seventy miles from ,london4   
,it was a time when every thrifty       
merchant lived over his place of        
business1 so as to be on hand when      
buyers came2 to ward off robbers2 and to
 sweep the sidewalk1 making all tidy    
before breakfast4 ,gainsborough pere was
 fairly prosperous1 but not prosperous  
enough to support any of his nine       
children in idleness4 ,they all worked1 
took a ,saturday night tub1 and went to 
the ,independent ,church in decent      
attire on ,sunday4  ,thomas             
,gainsborough was the youngest of the   
brood1 the pet of his parents1 and the  
pride of his big sisters1 who had nursed
 him and brought him up in the way he   
should go4 ,in babyhood he wasn't so    
very strong2 but love and freedom       

gradually did their perfect work1 and he
 evolved into a tall1 handsome youth of 
gracious manner and pleasing            
countenance4 ,all the family were sure  
that ,tom was going to be somebody4     
,the eldest boy1 ,john1 known to the    
town as ,scheming ,jack1 had invented a 
cuckoo-clock1 and this led to a         
self-rocking cradle that wound up with a
 strong spring2 next he made a          
flying-machine2 and so clever was he    
that he painted signs that swung on     
hinges1 and in several instances essayed
 to put a picture of the prosperous     
owner on the sign4  ,the second son1    
,humphrey1 was a brilliant fellow1 too4 
,he made the model of a steam-engine and
 showed it to a man by the name of      
,watt1 who was greatly interested in it2
 and when ,watt afterward took out a    
patent on it1 ,humphrey's heart was     
nearly broken1 and it might have been   
quite1 but he said he had in hand half a
 dozen things worth more than the       
steam-engine4 ,as tangible proof of his 

power1 he won a prize of fifty pounds   
from the ,london ,society for the       
,encouragement of ,art1 for a mill that 
was to be turned by the tides of the    
sea4 ,the steam-engine would require    
fuel1 but this tide-engine would be     
turned by ,nature at her own expense4   
,in the ,british ,museum is a sundial   
made by ,humphrey ,gainsborough1 and it 
must stand to his credit that he made   
the original fireproof safe4 ,from a    
fireproof safe to liberal theology is   
but a step1 and ,humphrey ,gainsborough 
became a ,dissenting ,clergyman1 passing
 rich on forty pounds a year4  ,the     
hopes of the family finally centered on 
,thomas4 ,he had assisted his brother   
,john at the sign-painting1 and had done
 several creditable little things in    
drawing 'scutcheons on coach-doors for  
the gentry4 ,besides all this1 once1    
while sketching in his father's orchard1
 a face cautiously appeared above the   
stone wall and for a single moment      
studied the situation4 ,the boy caught  

the features on his palette1 and        
transferred them to his picture4 ,the   
likeness was so perfect that it led to  
the execution of the thief who had been 
robbing the orchard1 and also the       
execution of that famous picture1       
finished many years after1 known as ,tom
 ,peartree4  ,the orchard episode       
pleased the ,gainsboroughs greatly4 ,a  
family council was held1 and it was     
voted that ,thomas must be sent to      
,london to study art4 ,the girls gave up
 a dress apiece1 the mother retrimmed   
her summer bonnet for the ,winter1 the  
boys contributed1 and there came a day  
when ,tom was duly ticketed and placed  
on top of the great coach bound for     
,london4 ,good-bys were waved until only
 a cloud of dust was seen in the        
distance4  ,gainsborough went to ,saint 
,martin's ,drawing ,academy at ,london1 
and the boys educated him4 ,the art at  
the ,academy seems to have been very    
much akin to the art of the ,writing    
,academies of ,america1 where learned   

bucolic professors used to teach us the 
mysteries of the ,spencerian ,system for
 a modest stipend4 ,the humiliation of  
never knowing how to hold your pen did  
much to send many budding geniuses off  
on a tangent after grasshopper          
chirography1 but those who endured unto 
the end acquired the wrist movement4    
,they all wrote alike4 ,that is to say1 
they all wrote like the professor1 who  
wrote just like all ,spencerian         
professors4 ,so write the girls in      
,melvil ,dewey's ,academy for           
,librarians1 at ,albany--,god bless them
 all6--they all write like ,dewey4      
,thomas ,gainsborough at ,london seems  
to have haunted the theaters and        
coffeehouses1 and whenever there were   
pictures displayed1 there was ,thomas to
 be found4 ,to help out the             
expense-account1 he worked at engraving 
and made designs for a silversmith4 ,the
 strong1 receptive nature of the boy    
showed itself1 for he succeeded in      
getting a goodly hold on the art of     

engraving1 in a very short time4 ,he    
absorbed in the mass4  ,but he tired of 
the town--he wanted freedom1 fresh air1 
the woods and fields4 ,hogarth and      
,wilson were there in ,london1 but the  
,academy students never heard of them4  
,and if ,gainsborough ever listened to  
,richardson's famous prophecy which     
inspired ,hogarth and ,reynolds1 to the 
effect that ,england would soon produce 
a great school of art1 we do not know   
it4  ,the young man grew homesick2 he   
was doing nothing in ,london--no career 
was open to him--he returned to ,sudbury
 after an absence of nearly two years4  
,he thought it was defeat1 but his      
family welcomed him as a conquering     
hero4 ,he was eighteen and looked       
twenty--tall1 strong1 fair-haired1      
gentle in manner1 gracious in speech4   
,two of his sisters had married         
clergymen1 and were happily situated in 
neighboring towns2 his brother ,humphrey
 was occupying the pulpit1 and causing  
certain local ,high ,churchmen to have  

dreams of things tumbling about their   
ears4  ,the sisters and mother wanted   
,tom to be a preacher1 too--he was so   
straight and handsome and fine1 and his 
eyes were so tender and blue6  ,but he  
preferred to paint4 ,he painted in the  
woods and fields1 by streams and old    
mills1 and got on good terms with all   
the flocks of sheep and cattle in the   
neighborhood4  ,the art of              
landscape-painting developed from an    
accident4 ,the early ,italian painters  
used landscape only as a background for 
figures4 ,all they pictured were men1   
women and children1 and to bring these  
out rightly they introduced scenery4    
,imagine a theater with scenes set and  
no person on the stage1 and you get the 
idea of landscape up to the time of     
,gainsborough4 ,landscape6 it was       
nothing--a blank4  ,wilson first painted
 landscapes as backgrounds for other men
 to draw portraits upon4 ,a marine scene
 was made merely that a ,commodore might
 stand in cocked hat1 a spyglass under  

his arm1 in the foreground1 while the   
sun peeps over the horizon begging      
permission to come up4 ,gradually these 
incomplete pictures were seen hanging in
 shop-windows1 but for them there was no
 market4 ,they were merely curios4      
,gainsborough drew pictures of the      
landscape because he loved it4 ,he seems
 to be the first ,english artist who    
loved the country for its own sake4 ,old
 bridges1 winding roadways1 gnarled     
oaks1 cattle grazing1 and all the       
manifold beauties of quiet country life 
fascinated him4 ,he educated the        
collector1 and educated the people into 
a closer observation and study of       
,nature4 ,gainsborough stood at the     
crossways of progress and pointed the   
way4  ,with ,hogarth's idea that a      
picture should teach a lesson and have a
 moral1 he had no sympathy4 ,and with   
,reynolds1 who thought there was nothing
 worth picturing but the human face1 he 
took issue4 ,beauty to him was its own  
excuse for being4 ,however1 in all of   

,gainsborough's landscapes you find the 
human interest somewhere--man has not   
been entirely left out4 ,but from being 
the one important thing1 he sinks simply
 into a part of the view that lies      
before you4 ,turner's maxim1 ,you can   
not leave man out1 he annexed from      
,gainsborough4 ,and ,corot's landscapes1
 where the dim1 shadowy lovers sit on   
the bankside under the great oaks--the  
most lovely pictures ever painted by the
 hand of man--reveal the extreme        
evolution from a time when the lovers   
occupied the center of the stage1 and   
the landscape was only an accessory4    
,and it is further interesting to note  
that the originator of ,english         
landscape-painting was also a great     
portrait-painter1 and yet he dared paint
 portraits with absolutely no scenery   
back of them--a thing which up to that  
time was done only by a man who hadn't  
the ability to paint landscape4 ,thus do
 we prove ,rabelais' proposition1 ,the  
man who has a well-filled strongbox can 

surely afford to go ragged4   ,thomas   
,gainsborough1 aged nineteen1 was one   
day intently sketching in a wood near   
,sudbury1 when the branches suddenly    
parted and out into a little open space 
stepped ,margaret ,burr4 ,this young    
woman had taken up her abode in ,sudbury
 during the time the young man was in   
,london1 and he had never met her1      
although he had probably heard her      
praises sounded4 ,everybody around there
 had heard of her4 ,she was the         
handsomest woman in all ,suffolk--and   
knew it4 ,she lived with her uncle1 and 
the gossips1 who looked after these     
little things1 divided as to whether she
 was the daughter of one of the exiled  
,stuarts1 or the natural child of the   
,duke of ,bedford4 ,anyway1 she was a   
true princess1 in face1 form and        
bearing1 and had an income of her own of
 two hundred pounds a year4 ,her pride  
was a thing so potent that the rustic   
swains were chilled at the sight of her1
 and the numerous suitors sighed and    

shot their lovesick glances from a safe 
distance4  ,let that pass3 the branches 
parted and ,margaret stepped out into   
the open4 ,she thought she was alone1   
when all at once her eyes looked full   
into the eyes of the young artist--not a
 hundred feet away4 ,she was startled2  
she blushed1 stammered and tried to     
apologize for the intrusion4 ,her       
splendid self-possession had failed her 
for once--she was going to flee by the  
way she had come4 ,hold that position1  
please--stand just as you are6 called   
the artist in a tone of authority4      
,even the proudest of women are willing 
to accept orders when the time is ripe2 
and ,i am fully convinced that to be    
domineered over by the right man is a   
thing all good women warmly desire4     
,margaret ,burr1 the proud beauty1 stood
 stock-still1 and ,thomas ,gainsborough 
admitted her into his landscape and his 
heart4  ,this is not a love-story1 or we
 might begin here and extend our booklet
 into a volume4 ,suffice it to say that 

within a few short months after their   
first meeting the young woman1 being of 
royal blood1 exercised her divine right 
and proposed4 ,she proposed just as     
,queen ,victoria did later4 ,and then   
they were married--both under           
twenty--and lived happily ever after4   
,it is a great mistake to assume that   
pride and a high degree of commonsense  
can not go together4 ,margaret knew how 
to manage4 ,after a short stay in       
,sudbury the couple rented a cottage at 
,ipswich for six pounds a year--a       
dovecot with three rooms4 ,the proud    
beauty would not let the place be       
profaned by a servant3 she did all the  
work herself2 and if she wanted help1   
she called on her husband4 ,base is the 
man who will not fetch and carry for the
 woman he loves4 ,they were accounted   
the handsomest and most distinguished   
couple in all ,sudbury2 and when they   
attended church1 there was so much      
craning of necks and so many muffled    
exclamations of admiration1 that the    

clergyman made it a point not to begin  
the service until they were safely      
seated4  ,they were very happy3 they    
loved each other1 and so loved life and 
everything and everybody1 and ,god's    
great green out-o'-doors was their      
playhouse4 ,margaret's income was quite 
sufficient for their needs1 and mad     
ambition passed them by4 ,gainsborough  
drew pictures and painted and sketched1 
and then gave his pictures away4  ,music
 was his passion1 and whenever at the   
concerts held round about there the     
player did exceptionally well1          
,gainsborough would proffer a picture in
 exchange for the instrument used4 ,in  
this way the odd corners of their house 
got filled with violins1 lutes1         
hautboys1 kettledrums and curious       
stringed things that have died the death
 and are now extinct4 ,at this time1 if 
any one had asked ,gainsborough his     
profession1 he would have said1 ,i am a 
musician4  ,fifteen years had slipped   
into the eternity that lies             

behind--years not lost1 for we can turn 
the hourglass and live them all over in 
sweet memory1 once said ,gainsborough to
 his wife4 ,the constant sketching had  
developed much skill in the artist's    
hand4 ,thicknesse had come puffing      
alongside1 and insisted out of pure     
friendliness on taking the artist and   
wife in tow4 ,they laughed at him behind
 his back1 and carried on conversation  
over his head1 and dropped jokes at his 
feet by looks and pantomime1 and        
communicated in cipher--for true lovers 
always evolve a code4  ,thicknesse was  
sincere and serious1 and surely was not 
wholly bad-- even ,mephisto is not bad  
all of the time4 ,mrs4 ,gainsborough    
once said she would prefer ,mephisto to 
,thicknesse1 because ,mephisto had a    
sense of humor4 ,very often they        
naturally referred to ,thicknesse as    
,thickhead--the joke was too obvious to 
let pass entirely1 until each took the  
pledge1 witnessed by ,gainsborough's    
favorite terrier1 ,fox4  ,thicknesse had

 a ,summer ,house at ,bath1 and thither 
he insisted his friends should go4 ,he  
would vouch for them and introduce them 
into the best society4 ,he would even   
introduce them to ,beau ,nash1 the ,king
 of ,bath1 and arrange to have          
,gainsborough do himself the honor of   
painting the ,king's picture4 ,two      
daughters nearing womanhood reminded    
,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,gainsborough that an    
increase in income would be well2 and   
,thicknesse promised many commissions   
from his friends1 the gentry4  ,the     
cheapest house they could find in ,bath 
was fifty pounds a year4 ,do you want to
 go to jail8 asked ,mrs4 ,gainsborough  
of her husband when he proposed signing 
the lease4 ,the worldly ,thicknesse     
proposed that they should take this     
house at fifty pounds a year1 or else   
take another at one hundred fifty at his
 expense4 ,they decided to risk it at   
the rate of fifty pounds a year for a   
few months1 and were duly settled4      
,thicknesse was very proud of his art   

connections4 ,he had but one            
theme--,gainsborough6 ,people of note   
began to find their way to the studio of
 the painter-man in the ,circus4        
,gainsborough was gracious1 handsome and
 healthy--fresh from the country4 ,he   
met all nobility on a frank             
equality--,god had made him a gentleman4
 ,his beautiful wife1 now in her early  
thirties1 was much sought in local      
society circles4  ,everybody of note who
 came to ,bath visited ,gainsborough's  
studio4  ,garrick sat to him and played 
such pranks with his countenance that   
each time the artist looked up from his 
easel he saw a new man4 ,you have       
everybody's face but your own1 said     
,gainsborough to ,garrick1 and          
dismissing the man he completed the     
picture from memory4 ,this portrait and 
also pictures of ,general ,honeywood1   
the ,comedian ,quin1 ,lady ,grosvenor1  
the ,duke of ,argyle1 besides several   
landscapes1 were sent up to the ,academy
 ,exhibition at ,london4  ,george the   

,third saw them and sent word down that 
he wished ,gainsborough lived in        
,london1 so he could sit to him4  ,the  
carrier1 ,wiltshire1 who packed the     
pictures and took them up to ,london1   
had a passion for art that filled his   
heart1 and he refused to accept gold1   
that base and common drudge 'twixt man  
and man1 for his services in an art way4
 ,and so ,gainsborough presented him    
with a picture4 ,in fact1 during the    
term of years that ,gainsborough lived  
at ,bath1 he gave ,wiltshire1 the modest
 driver of an express-cart1 a dozen or  
more pictures and sketches4 ,he gave him
 the finest picture he ever painted3    
that portrait of the old ,parish ,clerk4
 ,gainsborough was not so good a judge  
of his own work as ,wiltshire was4      
,wiltshire kept all the ,gainsboroughs  
he could get1 reveled in them during his
 long life1 basked and bathed his soul  
in their beauty1 and dying1 bequeathed  
them to his children4  ,had ,wiltshire  
been moved by nothing but keen1 cold1   

worldly wisdom-- which he wasn't--he    
could not have done better4 ,even       
friendship1 love and beauty have their  
,rialto--the appraiser footed up the    
,wiltshire estate at more than fifty    
thousand pounds4  ,gainsborough found   
himself with more work than he could    
very well care for1 so he raised his    
prices for a half-length from five      
pounds to forty2 and for a full-length  
from ten pounds to one hundred1 in order
 to limit the number of his patrons4 ,it
 doubled them4 ,his promised picture of 
,thicknesse was relegated behind the    
door1 and a check was sent the great man
 for five hundred pounds for his        
borrowed viola da gamba and other       
favors4  ,but ,thicknesse was not to be 
bought off4 ,he took charge of the      
studio1 looked after the visitors1      
explaining this and that1 telling how he
 had discovered the artist and rescued  
him from obscurity1 giving scraps of his
 history1 and presenting little         
impromptu lectures on art as he had     

found it4  ,the fussy ,thicknesse used  
to be funny to ,mr4 and ,mrs4           
,gainsborough1 but now he had developed 
into a nuisance4 ,to escape him1 they   
resolved to turn the pretty compliment  
of ,king ,george into a genuine request4
 ,they packed up and moved to ,london4  
,the fifty pounds a year at ,bath had   
seemed a great responsibility1 but when 
,gainsborough took ,schomberg ,house in 
,pall ,mall at three hundred pounds1 he 
boasts of his bargain4 ,about this time 
,scheming ,jack turns up asking for a   
small loan to perfect a promising       
scheme4 ,the gracious brother replies   
that although his own expenses are more 
than a thousand pounds a year1 he is    
glad to accommodate him1 and hopes the  
scheme will prosper--which of course he 
knew it would not1 for success is a     
matter of red corpuscle4  ,almost       
immediately on reaching ,london the     
,royal ,academy recognized              
,gainsborough's presence by electing him
 a member of its ,council4 ,however1 he 

never attended a single meeting4 ,he did
 not need the ,academy4 ,royalty stood  
in line at his studio-doors1 and he took
 his pick of sitters4 ,he painted five  
different portraits of the ,king1       
various pictures of his children1 did   
the rascally heir-apparent ideally1 and 
made a picture of ,queen ,charlotte that
 ,goldsmith said looked like a sensible 
woman4  ,he painted portraits of his    
lovely wife1 ,richard ,brinsley         
,sheridan1 ,burke1 ,walpole1 the        
dictator of ,strawberry ,hill1 and      
immortalized the hats worn by the       
smashing1 dashing ,duchess of           
,devonshire4 ,one of these pictures of  
,her ,grace comes very close to us      
,americans1 as it was cut from the frame
 one dark1 foggy night in ,london1      
sealed up in the false bottom of a trunk
 and brought to ,new ,york4 ,here it lay
 for more than twenty years1 when       
,colonel ,patricius ,sheedy1 connoisseur
 and critic1 arranged for its delivery  
to the heirs of the original owners on  

payment of some such trifle as          
twenty-five thousand dollars4 ,this     
superb picture1 with its romantic past1 
was not destined to traverse the        
,atlantic again2 for thanks to the      
generosity of ,j4 ,pierpont ,morgan1 it 
has now found a permanent home at       
,harvard ,college4   ,it is only a      
little way back from civilization to    
savagery4 ,we live in a wonderful time3 
the last twenty-five years have seen    
changes that mark epochs in the onward  
and upward march4 ,to mention but two1  
we might name the almost complete       
evolution of our definition as to what  
constitutes ,christianity2 and in       
material things1 the use of electricity1
 which has worked such a revolution as  
even ,jules ,verne never conjured forth4
  ,americans are somewhat given to      
calling our country ,the ,land of the   
,free--as if there were no other4 ,but  
the individual in ,england today has    
greater freedom of speech and action    
than the individual has in ,america4 ,in

 every large city of ,america there is  
an extent of petty officialism and      
dictation that the ,english people would
 not for a day endure4 ,our policemen1  
following their ,donnybrook             
proclivities1 are all armed with clubs1 
and allowing prenatal influences to     
lead1 they unlimber the motto1 ,wherever
 you see a head1 hit it1 on slight      
excuse4 ,in ,central ,park1 ,new ,york1 
for instance1 the citizen who talks back
 would speedily be clubbed into         
silence--but try that thing in ,hyde    
,park1 ,london1 if you please1 and see  
what would follow6 ,but1 thank heaven1  
we are working out our salvation all the
 time--things are getting better1 and it
 is the dissatisfied who are making them
 go4 ,were we satisfied1 there would be 
no progress4 ,during the sixty-one years
 of ,gainsborough's life1 wondrous      
changes were made in the world of       
thought and feeling4 ,and the good      
natured but sturdy quality of such as he
 was the one strong factor that worked  

for freedom4 ,gainsborough was never a  
tuft-hunter3 he toadied to no man1 and  
his swinging independence refused to see
 any special difference between himself 
and the sleek1 titled nobility4 ,he     
asked no favors of the ,academy1 no     
quarter from his rivals1 no grants from 
royalty4 ,this dissenting attitude      
probably cost him the mate of the       
knighthood which went to ,sir ,joshua1  
but behold the paradox6 he was usually  
closer to the throne than those who lay 
in wait for honors4 ,gainsborough sought
 for nothing--he did his work1 preserved
 the right mental attitude1 and all good
 things came to him4  ,it is a curious  
thing to note that while ,england was   
undergoing a renaissance of art1 and    
realizing a burst of freedom1 ,italy1   
that land so long prolific in greatness1
 produced not a single artist who rose  
above the dull and commonplace4 ,has    
,nature only just so much genius at her 
disposal8  ,the reign of the ,georges   
worked a blessed1 bloodless revolution  

for the people of ,england4 ,they       
reigned better than they knew4          
,gainsborough saw the power of the      
monarch transferred to the people1 and  
the ,king become the wooden figurehead  
of the ship1 instead of its ,captain4   
,so1 thanks to the weakness of ,george  
the ,third and the short-sighted policy 
of ,lord ,north1 ,america achieved her  
independence about the same time that   
,england did hers4  ,theological freedom
 and political freedom go hand in hand1 
for our conception of ,deity is always a
 pale reflection of our chief ruler4    
,did not ,thackeray say that the people 
of ,england regarded ,jehovah as an     
infinite ,george the ,fourth8           
,gainsborough saw ,whitefield and       
,wesley entreating that we should go to 
,god direct2 ,howard was letting the    
sunshine into dark cells2 ,clarkson1    
,sharp and ,wilberforce had begun their 
crusade against slavery1 and their arms 
and arguments were to be transferred a  
hundred years later to ,william ,lloyd  

,garrison1 ,wendell ,phillips and ,henry
 ,ward ,beecher1 who bought ,beecher    
,bibles for ,old ,john ,brown1          
,osawatomie ,brown1 whose body1 no      
longer needed1 was hanged on a          
sour-apple tree while his soul goes     
marching on4  ,in the realm of letters1 
,gainsborough saw changes occur no less 
important than in the political field4  
,samuel ,johnson bowled into view1      
scolding and challenging the ,ensconced 
,smug2 ,goldsmith scaled the ,richardson
 ghetto and wrote his touching and      
deathless verse2 ,fielding's saffron    
comedies were produced at ,drury ,lane2 
,cowper1 nearly the same age as the     
artist1 did his work and lapsed into    
imbecility1 surviving him sixteen years2
 ,richardson became the happy father of 
the ,english ,novel2 ,sterne took his   
,sentimental ,journey2 ,chatterton1 the 
meteor1 flashed across the literary sky2
 ,gray mused in the churchyard and laid 
his head upon the lap of earth2 ,burns  
was promoted from the ,excise to be the 

idol of all ,scotland4 ,the year that   
,gainsborough died1 ,napoleon1 a slim   
slip of a youth seventeen years old1 was
 serving as a sub-lieutenant of         
artillery2 while ,wellington had just   
received his first commission and was   
marching zigzag1 by the right oblique1  
to meet him eighteen miles from         
,brussels on the night of a ball sung   
into immortality by ,byron2 ,watt had   
invented the steam-engine1 thanks to    
,humphrey ,gainsborough2 ,arkwright had 
made his first spinning-frame2 ,humphrey
 ,davy was working at problems 7with    
partial success7 to be solved later by  
,edison of ,menlo ,park2 ,lord ,hastings
 was tried1 and it was while listening  
to the speech of ,sheridan--the one     
speech of his life1 the best words of   
which1 according to his butler1 were1   
,my ,lords1 ,i am done--that            
,gainsborough caught his death o' cold4 
,gainsborough never went abroad to      
study2 he painted things at home1 and   
painted as he saw them4 ,he never       

imagined he was a great artist1 so took 
no thought as to the future of his work4
 ,he set so little store on his pictures
 that he did not think even to sign     
them4 ,the masterpiece that satisfied   
him was never done4  ,his was a happy   
life of work and love1 with no cloud to 
obscure the sun1 save possibly now and  
then a bumptious reproof from ,sir      
,thicknesse or the occasional           
high-handed haughtiness of a ,hanging   
,committee4 ,thus passed his life in    
work1 music1 laughter and love2 but to  
music he ever turned for rest4 ,he made 
more money than all of his seven        
brothers and sisters combined1 five     
times over1 and divided with them       
without stint4 ,he educated several of  
his nieces and nephews1 and one nephew1 
,gainsborough ,dupont1 he adopted and   
helped make an acceptable artist4  ,of  
that peculiarly-to-be-dreaded malady1   
artistic jealousy1 ,gainsborough had not
 a trace4 ,his failure to court ,sir    
,joshua's smile led foolish folks to say

 he was jealous--not so6 he was simply  
able to get along without ,sir ,joshua1 
and he did4 ,yet he admired ,reynolds'  
works and admired the man1 but was too  
wise to force any close personal        
relationship4  ,he divided with ,west1  
the ,american1 the favor of the ,court1 
and with ,romney and ,reynolds the favor
 of the town4 ,he got his share1 and    
more1 of all those things which the     
world counts worth while4 ,the gratitude
 of his heart was expressed by his      
life--generous1 kind1 joyous--never cast
 down except when he thought he had     
spoken harshly or acted unwisely-loyal  
to his friends1 forgetting his enemies4 
,he did a deathless work1 for it is a   
work upon which other men have built4   
,he prepared the way for those who were 
to come after4  ,it is a great privilege
 to live1 to work1 to feel1 to endure1  
to know3 to realize that one is the     
instrument of ,deity--being used by the 
,maker to work out ,his inscrutable     
purposes2 to see vast changes occur in  

the social fabric and to know that men  
stop1 pause and consider3 to comprehend 
that this world is a different place    
because you have lived4 ,yes1 it is a   
great privilege to live6 ,gainsborough  
lived--he reveled in life1 and filled   
his days to their brim1 ever and always 
grateful to the ,unknown that had guided
 his hand and led him forth upon his    
way4  ,it is a great privilege to live6 
,,velasquez  ,among the notable prophets
 of the new and true--,rubens1          
,rembrandt1 ,claude                     
,lorraine--,velasquez was the newest and
 certainly the truest from our point of 
view4 ,he showed us the mystery of light
 as ,god made it4   --,stevenson        
,illustration3 ,velasquez   ,there be1  
among writing men1 those who please the 
populace1 and also that ,elect ,few who 
inspire writers4 ,when ,horace ,greeley 
gave his daily message to the world1    
every editor of any power in ,america   
paid good money for the privilege of    
being a subscriber to the ,tribune4 ,the

 ,tribune had no exchange-list--if you  
wanted the ,tribune you had to buy it1  
and the writers bought it because it    
wound up their clocks--set them         
agoing--and they either carefully       
abstained from mentioning ,greeley or   
else went in right valiantly and exposed
 his vagaries4  ,greeley may have been  
often right1 and we now know he was     
often wrong1 but he infused the breath  
of life into his words--his sentences   
were a challenge--he made men think4    
,and the reason he made men think was   
because he himself was a thinker4       
,among modern literary men1 the two     
,english writers who have most inspired 
writers are ,carlyle and ,emerson4 ,they
 were writers' writers4 ,in the course  
of their work1 they touched upon every  
phase of man's experience and endeavor4 
,you can not open their books anywhere  
and read a page without casting about   
for your pencil and pad4 ,strong men    
infuse into their work a deal of their  
own spirit1 and their words are charged 

with a suggestion and meaning beyond the
 mere sound4 ,there is a reverberation  
that thrills one4 ,all art that lives is
 thus vitalized with a spiritual        
essence3 an essence that ever escapes   
the analyst1 but which is felt and known
 by all who have hearts that throb and  
souls that feel4  ,strong men make room 
for strong men4 ,emerson and ,carlyle   
inspired other men1 and they inspired   
each other--but whether there be warrant
 for that overworked reference to their 
friendship is a question4 ,some other   
word surely ought to apply here1 for    
their relationship was largely a matter 
of the head1 with a weather-eye on      
,barabbas1 and three thousand miles of  
very salt brine between them4 ,carlyle  
never came to ,america3 ,emerson made   
three trips to ,england2 and often a    
year or more passed without a single    
letter on either side4 ,tammas ,carlyle1
 son of a stone-mason1 with his crusty  
ways and clay pipe1 with personality    
plus1 at close range would have been a  

combination not entirely congenial to   
the culminating flower of seven         
generations of ,new ,england            
clergymen--probably not more so than was
 the shirt-sleeved and cravatless ,walt1
 when they met that memorable day by    
appointment at the ,astor ,house4  ,our 
first and last demand of ,art is that it
 shall give us the artist's best4 ,art  
is the mintage of the soul4 ,all the    
whim1 foible1 and rank personality are  
blown away on the winds of time--the    
good remains4  ,of artists who have     
inspired artists1 and who being dead yet
 live1 ,velasquez stands first4         
,velasquez was a painters' painter--the 
rest of us are only painters4 ,and when 
the man who painted ,symphonies in      
,white further explained that a picture 
is finished when all traces of the means
 used to bring about the end have       
disappeared--for work alone will efface 
the footsteps of work--he had ,velasquez
 in mind4   ,the subject of this sketch 
was born in the year ,fifteen ,hundred  

,ninety-nine1 and died in ,sixteen      
,hundred ,sixty4 ,and while he lived    
there also lived these3 ,shakespeare1   
,murillo1 ,cervantes1 ,rembrandt and    
,rubens4  ,as an artist and a man       
,velasquez was the equal1 in his way1 of
 any of the men just named4 ,ruskin has 
said1 ,everything that ,velasquez does  
may be regarded as absolutely right4    
,and ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds placed      
himself on record by saying1 ,the       
portrait of ,pope ,innocent the ,tenth  
by ,velasquez1 in the ,doria ,gallery1  
is the finest portrait in all ,rome4    
,yet until the year ,seventeen ,hundred 
,seventy-six1 a date ,americans can     
easily remember1 the work of ,velasquez 
was scarcely known outside of ,spain4   
,in that year ,raphael ,mengs wrote3    
,how this painter1 greater than ,raphael
 or ,titian1 truer far than ,rubens or  
,van ,dyck1 should have been lost to    
view is more than ,i can comprehend4 ,i 
can not find words to describe the      
splendor of his art6  ,but enthusiasts  

who ebulliate at low temperature are    
plentiful4 ,the world wagged on in its  
sleepy way1 and it was not until        
,eighteen ,hundred ,twenty-eight that an
 ,englishman1 ,sir ,david ,wilkie1      
following up the clue of ,mengs1 began  
quietly to buy up all the stray pictures
 by ,velasquez he could find in ,spain4 
,he sent them to ,england1 and the world
 one day awoke to the fact that         
,velasquez was one of the greatest      
artists of all time4 ,curtis compiled a 
list of two hundred seventy-four        
pictures by ,velasquez1 which he        
pronounces authentic4 ,of these1 one    
hundred twenty-one were owned in        
,england1 thirteen in ,france1 twelve in
 ,austria and eight in ,italy4 ,at least
 fifteen of the ,english 'oldings have  
since been transferred to ,america2 so1 
outside of ,england and ,spain1 ,america
 possesses more of the works of this    
master than any other country4 ,but of  
this be sure3 no ,velasquez will ever   
leave ,spain unless spirited out of the 

country between two days--and if one is 
carried away1 it will not be in the     
false bottom of a trunk4 ,within a year 
one ,velasquez was so found secreted at 
,cadiz1 and the owner escaped prison    
only by presenting the picture1 with his
 compliments1 to the ,prado ,museum at  
,madrid4 ,the release of the prisoner1  
and the acceptance of the picture1 were 
both a bit irregular as a matter of     
jurisprudence2 but ,i am told that      
lawyers can usually arrange these little
 matters--,dame ,justice being blind in 
one eye4   ,there seems to have been    
some little discussion in the ,de ,silva
 family of ,seville as to whether ,diego
 should be a lawyer1 and follow in his  
father's footsteps1 or become an artist 
and possibly a vagrom4 ,the father had  
hoped the boy would be his helper and   
successor1 and here the youngster was   
wasting his time drawing pictures of    
water-jugs1 baskets of flowers1 old     
women and foolish folk about the market6
  ,should it be the law-school or the   

studio of ,herrera the painter8  ,to    
almost every fond father the idea of    
discipline is to have the child act just
 as he does4 ,but in this case the      
mother had her way1 or1 more properly1  
she let the boy have his--as mothers    
do--and the sequel shows that a woman's 
heart is sometimes nearer right than a  
man's head4  ,the fact that ,velasquez  
was the maiden name of his mother1 and  
was adopted by the young man1 is a straw
 that tells which way the vane of his   
affections turned4 ,diego was sixteen   
and troublesome4 ,he wasn't bad--only he
 had a rollicksome1 flamboyant energy   
that inundated everything1 and made his 
absence often a blessing devoutly to be 
wished4 ,herrera had fixed thoughts     
about art and deportment4 ,diego failed 
to grasp the beauty and force of these  
ideas1 and in the course of a year he   
seems to have learned just one thing of 
,herrera--to use brushes with very long 
handles and long bristles4 ,this        
peculiarity he clung to through life1   

and the way he floated the color upon   
the canvas with those long1 ungainly    
brushes1 no one understood2 he really   
didn't know himself1 and the world has  
long since given up the riddle4 ,but the
 scheme was ,herrera's1 improved upon by
 ,velasquez2 yet not all men who paint  
with a brush that has a handle eight    
feet long can paint like ,velasquez4    
,in ,herrera's studio there were often  
heated arguments as to merits and       
demerits1 flat contradictions as to     
facts1 and wordy warfare that           
occasionally resulted in broken         
furniture4 ,on such occasions1 ,herrera 
never hesitated to take a hand and      
soundly cuff a pupil's ears1 if the     
master thought the pupil needed it4     
,velasquez has left on record the       
statement that ,herrera was the most    
dogmatic1 pedantic1 overbearing and     
quarrelsome man he ever knew4 ,just what
 ,herrera thought of the young man      
,velasquez1 we unfortunately do not     
know4 ,but the belief is that ,velasquez

 left ,herrera's studio on request of   
,herrera4  ,he next entered the studio  
of the rich and fashionable painter1    
,pacheco4 ,this man1 like ,macaulay1 had
 so much learning that it ran over and  
he stood in the slop4 ,he wrote a book  
on painting1 and might also have carried
 on a ,correspondence ,school wherein   
the art of portraiture would be taught  
in ten easy lessons4  ,in ,madrid and   
,seville are various specimens of work  
done by both ,herrera and ,pacheco4     
,herrera had a certain style1 and the   
early work of ,velasquez showed         
,herrera's earmarks plainly2 but we look
 in vain for a trace of influence that  
can be attributed to ,pacheco4          
,velasquez at eighteen could outstrip   
his master1 and both knew it4 ,so       
,pacheco showed his good sense by       
letting the young man go his own pace4  
,he admired the dashing1 handsome youth1
 and although ,velasquez broke every    
rule laid down in ,pacheco's mighty     
tome1 ,art ,as ,i ,have ,found ,it1 yet 

the master uttered no word of protest4  
,the boy was bigger than the book4      
,more than this1 ,pacheco invited the   
young man to come and make his home with
 him1 so as the better to avail himself 
of the master's instruction4 ,now1      
,pacheco 7like ,brabantio in the play7  
had a beautiful daughter--,juana by     
name4 ,she was about the age of         
,velasquez1 gentle1 refined and amiable4
 ,love is largely a matter of           
propinquity3 and the world now regards  
,pacheco as a master matchmaker as well 
as a master painter4 ,diego and ,juana  
were married1 aged nineteen1 and        
,pacheco breathed easier4 ,he had       
attached to himself the most daring and 
brilliant young man he had ever known1  
and he had saved himself the annoyance  
of having his studio thronged with a    
gang of suitors such as crowded the     
courts of ,ulysses4  ,pacheco was       
pleased4  ,and why should ,pacheco not  
have been pleased8 ,he had linked his   
name for all time with the ,history of  

,art4 ,had he not been the teacher and  
father-in-law of ,velasquez1 his name   
would have been writ in water1 for in   
his own art there was not enough ,attic 
salt to save it2 and his learning was a 
thing of dusty1 musty books4  ,pacheco's
 virtue consisted in recognizing the    
genius of ,velasquez1 and hanging on to 
him closely1 rubbing off all the glory  
that he could make stick to himself4    
,to the day of his death ,pacheco laid  
the flattering unction to his soul that 
he had made ,velasquez2 but leaving this
 out of the discussion1 no one doubts   
that ,velasquez plucked from oblivion   
the name and fame of ,pacheco4   ,those 
splendid blonde women of ,rubens are the
 solaces of the eternal fighting-man1   
writes ,vance ,thompson4 ,the wife of   
,velasquez was of the ,rubens type3 she 
looked upon her husband as the ideal4   
,she believed in him1 ministered to him1
 and had no other gods before him4 ,she 
had but one ambition1 and that was to   
serve her lord and master4  ,her faith  

in the man--in his power1 in his        
integrity and in his art --corroborated 
his faith in himself4 ,we want ,one to  
believe in us1 and this being so1 all   
else matters little4  ,velasquez seems a
 type of the eternal fighting-man--not  
the quarrelsome1 quibbling man1 who     
draws on slight excuse1 but the man with
 a message1 who goes straight to his    
destination with a will that breaks     
through every barrier1 and pushes aside 
every obstacle4 ,with the savage type   
there is no progression3 the noble red  
man is content to be a noble red man all
 his days1 and the result is that in    
standing still he is retreating off the 
face of the earth4 ,not so your eternal 
fighting-man--he is scourged by a       
restlessness that allows him no rest nor
 respite save in his work4  ,beware when
 a thinker and worker is let loose on   
the planet6  ,in the days of ,velasquez1
 ,spain had but two patrons for art3    
,royalty and the ,church4  ,although    
nominally a ,catholic1 ,velasquez had   

little sympathy with the superstitions  
of the multitude4 ,his religion was     
essentially a ,natural ,religion3 to    
love his friends1 to bathe in the       
sunshine of life1 to preserve a right   
mental attitude--the receptive attitude1
 the attitude of gratitude--and to do   
his work3 these things were for him the 
sum of life4 ,his passion was art--to   
portray his feelings on canvas and make 
manifest to others the things he himself
 saw4 ,the ,church1 he thought1 did not 
afford sufficient outlet for his power4 
,cherubs that could live only in the    
tropics1 and wings without muscles to   
manipulate them1 did not mean much to   
him4 ,the men and women on earth        
appealed to him more than the angels in 
,heaven1 and he could not imagine a     
better paradise than this4 ,so he       
painted what he saw3 old men1           
market-women1 beggars1 handsome boys and
 toddling babies4 ,these things did not 
appeal to prelates--they wanted pictures
 of things a long way off4 ,so from the 

,church ,velasquez turned his gaze      
toward the ,court of ,madrid4           
,velasquez had been in the studio of    
,pacheco at ,seville for five years4    
,during that time he filled the days    
with work--joyous1 eager work4 ,he      
produced a good many valuable pictures  
and a great many sketches1 which were   
mostly given away4 ,yet today1 ,seville1
 with her splendid art-gallery and her  
hundreds of palaces1 contains not a     
single specimen of the work of her      
greatest son4  ,it was a rather daring  
thing for a young man of twenty-four to 
knock boldly at the gates of ,royalty4  
,but the application was made in        
,velasquez's own way4 ,all of his       
studies1 which the critics tauntingly   
called tavern pieces1 were a preparation
 for the life and work before him4 ,he  
had mastered the subtlety of the human  
face1 and had seen how the spirit shines
 through and reveals the soul4  ,to know
 how to write correctly is nothing--you 
must know something worth recording4 ,to

 paint is nothing--you must know what   
you are portraying4 ,velasquez had      
become acquainted with humanity1 and    
gotten on intimate terms with life4 ,he 
had haunted the waysides and markets to 
good purpose2 he had laid the foundation
 of those qualities which characterize  
his best work3 mastery of expression1   
penetration into character1 the ability 
to look upon a face and read the        
thoughts that lurk behind1 the crouching
 passions1 and all the aspirations too  
great for speech4 ,to picture great men 
you must be a great man4  ,velasquez was
 twenty-four--dark1 daring1 silent1 with
 a face and form that proclaimed him a  
strong and valiant soul4 ,strong men can
 well afford to be gentle--those who    
know can well cultivate silence4  ,the  
young man did not storm the doors of the
 ,alcazar4 ,no2 at ,madrid he went      
quietly to work copying ,titians in the 
gallery1 and incidentally painting      
portraits--,royalty must come to him4   
,he had faith in his power3 he could    

wait4 ,his wife knew the ,court would   
call him--he knew it1 too--the ,court of
 ,spain needed ,velasquez4 ,it is a fine
 thing to make yourself needed4  ,nearly
 a year had passed1 and ,velasquez gave 
it out quietly that he was about to     
return to his home in ,seville4         
,artistic ,madrid rubbed its eyes4 ,the 
,minister of ,state1 the great          
,olivarez1 came to him with a commission
 from the ,king and a goodly payment in 
advance1 begging that1 as soon as he had
 made a short visit to ,seville1 he     
should return to ,madrid4 ,apartments   
had already been set aside for him in   
the ,alcazar ,palace4 ,would he not     
kindly comply8  ,such a request from the
 ,king was really equal to an order4    
,velasquez surely had no intention of   
declining the compliment1 since he had  
angled for it most ingeniously2 but he  
took a little time to consider it4 ,of  
course he talked it over with his wife  
and her father1 and we can imagine they 
had a quiet little supper by themselves 

in honor of the event4  ,and so in the  
month of ,may1 ,sixteen ,hundred        
,twenty-three1 ,diego de ,silva         
,velasquez duly became a member of the  
,royal ,household1 and very soon was the
 companion1 friend1 adviser and         
attendant of the ,king--that post which 
he was to hold for thirty-six years1 ere
 ,death should call him hence4   ,the   
farmer thinks that place and power are  
fine things1 but let him know that the  
,president has paid dear for his ,white 
,house1 said the sage of ,concord4  ,the
 most miserable man ,i ever knew was one
 who married a rich woman1 managed her  
broad acres1 looked after her bonds and 
made report of her stocks4 ,if the      
stocks failed to pay dividends1 or the  
acres were fallow1 my friend had to     
explain why to the tearful wife and     
sundry sarcastic next of kin4  ,the man 
was a ,jeffersonian ,democrat and       
preached the ,life of ,simplicity1      
because we always preach about things   
that are not ours4 ,he rode behind      

horses that had docked tails1 and       
apologized for being on earth1 to an    
awful butler in solemn black4  ,the man 
had married for a home--he got it4 ,when
 he wanted funds for himself1 he was    
given dole1 or else was put to the      
necessity of juggling the               
,expense-,account4  ,if he wished to    
invite friends to his home1 he had to   
prove them standard-bred1 morally sound 
in wind and limb1 and free from fault or
 blemish4  ,the good man might have     
lived a thoroughly happy life1 with     
everything supplied that he needed1 but 
he acquired the ,sanitarium ,habit1 for 
which there is no cure but poverty4 ,and
 this man could not be poor even if he  
wanted to1 for there were no grounds for
 divorce4 ,his wife loved him dearly1   
and her income of five thousand dollars 
a month came along with startling       
regularity1 willy-nilly4  ,finally1 at  
,hot ,springs1 ,death gave him treatment
 and he was freed from pain4  ,from this
 o'ertrue incident it must not be       

imagined that wealth and position are   
bad things4 ,health is potential power4 
,wealth is an engine that can be used   
for good if you are an engineer2 but to 
be tied to the flywheel of an engine is 
rather unfortunate4 ,had my friend been 
big enough to rise supreme over horses  
with docked tails1 to subjugate a       
butler1 to defy the next of kin and     
manage the wife 7without letting her    
know it71 all would have been well4     
,but it is a ,herculean task to cope    
with the handicap of wealth4 ,mediocre  
men can endure failure2 for1 as ,robert 
,louis the beloved has pointed out1     
failure is natural1 but worldly success 
is an abnormal condition4 ,in order to  
stand success you must be of very stern 
fiber1 with all the gods on your side4  
,the ,alcazar ,palace looked strong1    
solid and self-sufficient on the        
outside4 ,but inside1 like every ,court1
 it was a den of quibble1 quarrel1 envy1
 and the hatred which1 tinctured with   
fear1 knocks an anvil-chorus from       

day-dawn to dark4  ,a thousand people   
made up the household of ,philip the    
,fourth4 ,any one of these could be     
dismissed in an hour--the power of      
,olivarez1 the ,minister1 was absolute4 
,very naturally there were plottings and
 counterplottings4  ,a ,court is a      
prison to most of its inmates2 no       
freedom is there-- thought is strangled 
and inspiration still-born4 ,yet life is
 always breaking through4 ,when locked  
in a cell in a ,paris prison1 ,horace   
,greeley wrote1 ,thank ,god1 at last ,i 
am free from intrusion4  ,stone walls do
 not a prison make1 nor iron bars a     
cage1 laughed ,lovelace4 ,have not some 
of the great books of the world been    
written in prison8 ,things work by      
antithesis2 and if your discipline is   
too severe1 you get no discipline at    
all4 ,puritanical pretense1 hypocrisy   
and a life of repression1 with thou     
shalt not set on a hair-trigger1 have   
made more than one man bold1 genuine and
 honest4 ,draw the bow far enough this  

way1 and your arrow will go a long way  
that4 ,forbid a man to think for himself
 or to act for himself1 and you may add 
the joy of piracy and the zest of       
smuggling to his life4 ,in the ,spanish 
,court1 ,velasquez found life a lie1    
public manners an exaggeration1         
etiquette a pretense1 and all the       
emotions put up in sealed cans4         
,fashionable ,society is usually nothing
 but ,canned ,life4 ,look out for       
explosions6 ,velasquez held the balance 
true by an artistic courage and an      
audacity of private thought that might  
not have been his in a freer atmosphere4
 ,he did not wear his art upon his      
sleeve3 he outwardly conformed1 but     
inwardly his soul towered over every    
petty annoyance1 and all the vain power 
of the fearing and quibbling little     
princes touched him not4   ,spain1 under
 the rule of ,philip the ,second1 grew  
great4 ,her ships sailed every sea--the 
world contributed to her wealth4 ,art   
comes after a surplus has accumulated   

and the mere necessaries of life have   
been provided4 ,philip built great      
palaces1 founded schools1 gave          
encouragement to the handicrafts1 and   
sent his embassies scouring the world   
for the treasures of ,art4 ,the ,king   
was a practical man1 blunt1 farseeing1  
direct4 ,he knew the cost of things1    
studied out the best ways1 ascertained  
right methods4 ,he had the red          
corpuscle1 the deep convolution1 and so 
was ,king4 ,his ministers did his       
bidding4  ,the grim sarcasm of entailed 
power is a thing so obvious that one    
marvels it has escaped the recognition  
of mankind until yesterday4 ,but stay6  
,men have always seen its monstrous     
absurdity--hence the rack4  ,the        
,spanish ,inquisition1 in which ,church 
and ,state combined against ,god1 seems 
an awful extreme to show the depths of  
iniquity to which ,pride married to     
,hypocrisy can sink4 ,yet martyrdom has 
its compensation4 ,the spirit flies home
 upon the wings of victory1 and in the  

very moment of so-called defeat1 the man
 has the blessed consolation that he is 
still master of his fate--captain of his
 soul4  ,the lesson of the ,inquisition 
was worth the price--the martyrs bought 
freedom for us4 ,the fanged dogs of war1
 once turned loose upon the man who     
dared to think1 have left as sole       
successor only a fat and harmless       
poodle1 known as ,social ,ostracism4    
,this poodle is old1 toothless and given
 over to introspection2 it has to be fed
 on pap2 its only exercise is to exploit
 the horse-blocks1 doze in milady's lap1
 and dream of a long-lost canine        
paradise4 ,the dog- catcher awaits      
around the corner4  ,philip the ,third  
was an etiolated and perfumed dandy4 ,in
 him culture had begun to turn yellow4  
,men who pride themselves upon their    
culture haven't any of which to speak4  
,all the beauties of art1 this man      
thought1 were exclusively for him and   
his precious company of lisping         
exquisites and giggling1 mincing queans4

 ,the thought that those who create     
beauty are also they who possess it1    
never dawned upon this crack-pated son  
of tired sheets4  ,he lived to          
enjoy--and so he never enjoyed anything4
  ,surfeit and satiety overtook him in  
the royal hog-wallow2 digestion and zest
 took flight4 ,philip the ,third        
speedily became a wooden ,indian on     
wheels1 moved by his ,minister of       
,state1 the ,duke of ,lerma4  ,huge     
animals sustain huge parasites1 and so  
the ,court of ,philip the ,third1 with  
its fools1 dwarfs1 idiots and all of its
 dancing1 jiggling1 juggling1 wasteful  
folly1 did not succeed in wrecking the  
land4 ,when ,philip the ,third traveled1
 he sent hundreds of men ahead to beat  
the swamps1 day and night1 in the       
vicinity of his royal presence1 so as to
 silence the frogs4 ,he thought their   
croaking was a personal matter meant for
 him4  ,i think he was right4  ,how the 
,lords of ,death must chuckle in defiant
 glee when they send malaria and night  

into the palaces of the great through   
cracks and crevices6 ,philip's bloated1 
unkingly body became full of disease and
 pain2 lingering unrest racked him2 the 
unseen demons he could not exorcise1    
danced on his bed1 wrenched his members 
and played mad havoc with each quivering
 nerve4 ,and so he died4 ,then comes    
,philip the ,fourth1 immortal through   
his forty portraits painted by          
,velasquez4 ,philip was only fourteen   
when his father died4 ,he was a         
rareripe1 and showed strength and       
decision far beyond his years4 ,his     
grandfather1 ,philip the ,second1 was   
his ideal1 and he let it be known right 
speedily that his reign was to be one of
 moderation and simplicity1 modeled     
along the lines of ,philip the ,great4  
,the ,duke of ,lerma1 ,minister of      
,state1 who had so long been the actual 
ruler of ,spain1 was deposed1 and into  
his place slipped the suave and handsome
 ,olivarez1 ,gentleman-in-,waiting to   
the young ,king4  ,olivarez was from    

,seville1 and had known the family of   
,velasquez4 ,it was through his         
influence that ,diego so soon got the   
nod of ,royalty4 ,the ,king was         
eighteen1 ,velasquez was twenty-four1   
and ,olivarez not much older--all boys  
together4 ,and the fact that ,velasquez 
secured the appointment of ,court       
,painter with such ease was probably    
owing to his dashing horsemanship1 as   
much as to his being a skilful painter4 
,at ,harvard once ,i saw a determined   
effort made to place a famous right     
tackle in the chair of ,assistant       
,professor of ,rhetoric4 ,the plan was  
only given over with great reluctance1  
when it was discovered that the right   
tackle was beautifully ignorant of the  
subject he would have to tackle4 ,even  
then it was argued he could             
cram--keeping one lesson in advance of  
his class4  ,but ,olivarez knew         
,velasquez could paint1 and the artist's
 handsome face1 stalwart frame and      
fearless riding did the rest4 ,the young

 ,king was considered the best horseman 
in ,madrid3 ,velasquez and ,olivarez    
took pains never to outdo him in the    
joust4  ,the biography of ,olivarez as a
 study of life is a better subject far  
than either the life of ,velasquez or   
the ,king4 ,their lives were too        
successful to be interesting4 ,olivarez 
is a fine example of a man growing great
 through exercise4 ,read history and    
behold how commonplace men have often   
had greatness thrust upon them and met  
the issue4 ,i have seen an absurd ,class
 ,b lawyer elevated into a judgeship1   
and rise to the level of events1 keeping
 silence1 looking wise1 hugging his     
dignity hard1 until there came a time   
when the dignity really was a fair fit4 
,trotters often need toe-weights to give
 them ballast and balance--so do men    
need responsibility4 ,we have had at    
least three commonplace men for         
,president of the ,united ,states1 who  
live in history as adequately great--and
 they were4 ,various and sundry good    

folk will here arise and say the germ of
 greatness was in these men all the     
time1 awaiting the opportunity to       
unfold4 ,and the answer is correct1     
right and proper2 but a codicil should  
then be added to the effect that the    
germ of greatness is in every man1 but  
we fall victims of arrested development1
 and success or society1 like a worm i' 
the bud1 feeds on our damask cheek4     
,philip was nipped in the bud by falling
 into the protecting shadow of          
,olivarez4 ,the ,prime ,minister        
provided boar-hunts and tourneys and    
masquerades and fetes4 ,philip's life of
 simplicity faded off into dressing in  
black--all else went on as before4      
,philip glided into the line of least   
resistance and signed every paper that  
he was told to sign by his gracious1    
winning1 inflexible ,minister--the true 
type of the iron hand in the velvet     
glove4 ,from his twentieth year1 after  
that first little flurry of pretended   
power1 the novelty of ruling wore away2 

and for more than forty years he never  
either vetoed an act or initiated one4  
,his ministers arranged his recreations1
 his gallantries1 his hours of sleep4   
,he was ruled and never knew it1 and    
here the ,richelieu-like ,olivarez      
showed his power4 ,it was anything to   
keep the ,king from thinking1 and       
,spain1 the ,mother of ,magnificence1   
went drifting to her death4  ,there were
 already three ,court ,painters when    
,velasquez received his appointment4    
,they were ,italians appointed by       
,philip the ,third4 ,their heads were   
full of tradition and precedent1 and    
they painted like their masters1 who had
 been pupils of men who had worked with 
,titian--beautiful attenuations three   
times reduced4 ,we only know their names
 now because they raised a pretty chorus
 of protest when ,velasquez appeared at 
the palace4 ,they worked all the wires  
they knew to bring about his downfall1  
and then dwindled away into chronic     
,artistic ,jealousy1 which finally      

struck in2 and they were buried4 ,that  
the plots1 challenges and constant      
knockings of these underling court      
painters ever affected ,velasquez1 we   
can not see4 ,he swung right along at   
prodigious strides1 living his own      
life--a life outside and beyond all the 
pretense and vanity of place and power4 
,the ,king came by a secret passage     
daily to the studio to watch ,velasquez 
work4 ,there was always a chair for him1
 and the ,king even had an easel and    
sets of brushes and palette with which  
he played at painting4 ,pacheco1 who had
 come up to ,madrid and buzzed around   
encroaching on the ,samuel ,pepys       
copyright1 has said that the ,king was a
 skilled painter4 ,but this statement   
was for publication during the ,king's  
lifetime4  ,when ,velasquez could not   
keep the ,king quiet in any other way1  
it seems he made him sit for his        
picture4 ,the studio was never without  
an unfinished portrait of the ,king4    
,from eighteen to fifty-four he sat to  

,velasquez--and it is always that same  
tall1 spindle-legged1 impassive form and
 the dull1 unspeaking face4 ,there is no
 thought there1 no aspiration1 no hope  
too great for earth1 no unrequited love1
 no dream unrealized4 ,the ,king was    
incapable of love as he was of hate4    
,and ,velasquez did not use his art to  
flatter3 he had the artistic conscience4
 ,truth was his guiding star4 ,and the  
greatness of ,velasquez is shown in that
 all subjects were equally alike to him4
 ,he did not select the classic or      
peculiar4 ,little painters are always   
choosing their subjects and explaining  
that this or that may be pretty or      
interesting1 but they will tell you it  
is unpaintable --which means that they  
can not paint it4  ,i can write well on 
any topic--all are alike to me6 said    
,dean ,swift to ,stella4  ,then write me
 an essay on a broomstick1 answered     
,stella4  ,and ,swift wrote the         
essay--full of abstruse reasons1 playful
 wit and charming insight4  ,the long1  

oval1 dull face of ,philip lured        
,velasquez4 ,he analyzed every possible 
shade of emotion of which this man was  
capable1 and stripped his soul bare4    
,the sallow skin1 thin curling locks1   
nerveless hands1 and unmeaning eyes are 
upon the walls of every gallery of      
,christendom--matchless specimens of the
 power to sink self1 and reveal the     
subject4  ,that is why ,whistler is     
right when he says that ,velasquez is   
the painters' painter4 ,the ,blacksmith 
by ,whistler shows you the blacksmith1  
not ,whistler2 ,rembrandt's pictures of 
his mother show the woman2 ,franz ,hals 
gives you the ,burgomaster1 not himself4
 ,shakespeare of all writers is the most
 impersonal--he does not give himself   
away4  ,when ,rubens painted a portrait 
of ,philip the ,fourth he put a dash of 
daring1 exuberant health in the face    
that was never there4 ,the health and   
joy of life was in ,rubens1 and he could
 not keep it off his palette4 ,there is 
a sameness in every ,rubens1 because the

 imagination of the man ran over1 and   
falsified his colors2 he always gives   
you a deal of ,rubens4  ,but stay6 that 
expression1 sinking self1 is only a     
figure of speech4 ,at the last1 the true
 artist never sinks self3 he is always  
supreme1 and towers above every subject1
 every object1 that he portrays4 ,the   
riotous health and good-cheer of ,rubens
 marked the man's limitations4 ,he was  
not great enough to comprehend the      
small1 the delicate1 the insignificant  
and the absurd4 ,only a very great man  
can paint dwarfs1 idiots1 topers and    
kings4 ,and so the many- sidedness of   
the great man continually deceives the  
world into thinking that he is the thing
 with which he associates2 or1 on the   
other hand1 we say he sinks self for the
 time1 whereas the truth is that in his 
own nature he comprehends the ,whole4   
,shakespeare being the ,universal ,man1 
we lose him in the labyrinth of his     
winding and wondrous imagination4 ,the  
greater comprehends the less4  ,the     

beginner paints what he sees2 or1 more  
properly1 he paints what he thinks he   
sees4 ,if he grows he will next paint   
what he imagines1 as ,rubens did4 ,then 
there is another stage which completes  
the spiral and comes back to the place  
of beginning1 and the painter will again
 paint what he sees4  ,this ,velasquez  
did1 and this is what sets him apart4   
,the difference between the last stage  
and the first is that the artist has    
learned to see4  ,to write is           
nothing--to know what to write is much4 
,to paint is nothing--to see and know   
the object you are attempting to portray
 is everything4  ,shall ,i paint the    
thing just as ,i see it8 asked the      
ingenue of the great artist4 ,why1 yes1 
was the answer1 provided you do not see 
the thing as you paint it4   ,the ,king 
and the ,painter grew old together4     
,they met on a common ground of horses1 
dogs and art2 and while the ,king used  
these things to kill time and cause him 
to forget self1 the ,painter found      

horses and dogs good for rest and       
recreation4 ,but art was for ,velasquez 
a religion1 a sacred passion4           
,nominally the ,court ,painter ranked   
with the ,court ,barber1 and his        
allowance was the same4 ,but ,velasquez 
ruled the ,king1 and the ,king knew it  
not4 ,like all wasteful1 dissolute men1 
,philip the ,fourth had spasms of       
repentance when he sought by absurd     
economy to atone for folly4  ,we are all
 familiar with individuals who will blow
 to the four winds good money1 and much 
of it1 on needless meat and drink for   
those who are neither hungry nor        
athirst1 and take folks for a           
carriage-ride who should be abed1 and   
then the next day buy a sandwich for    
dinner and walk a mile to save a        
five-cent carfare4 ,some of us have done
 these things2 and so occasionally      
,philip would dole out money to buy     
canvas and complain of the size of it1  
and ask in injured tone how many        
pictures ,velasquez had painted from    

that last bolt of cloth6 ,but ,velasquez
 was a diplomat and humored his liege2  
yet when the artist died1 the           
administrator of his estate had to sue  
the ,state for a settlement1 and it was 
ten years before the final amount due   
the artist was paid4 ,after twenty years
 of devotion1 ,olivarez-- outmatched by 
,richelieu in the game of               
statecraft--fell into disrepute and was 
dismissed from office4 ,monarchies1 like
 republics1 are ungrateful4  ,velasquez 
sided with his old friend ,olivarez in  
the quarrel1 and thus risked incurring  
the sore displeasure of the ,king4 ,the 
,king could replace his ,minister of    
,state1 but there was no one to take the
 place of the artist2 so ,philip bottled
 his wrath1 gave ,velasquez the right of
 his private opinion1 and refused to    
accept his resignation4  ,there seems   
little doubt that it was a calamity for 
,velasquez that ,philip did not send him
 flying into disgrace with ,olivarez4   
,had ,velasquez been lifted out on the  

toe of the ,king's displeasure1 ,italy  
would have claimed him1 and the ,vatican
 would have opened wide its doors4      
,there1 relieved of financial badgering1
 in the company of his equals1          
encouraged and uplifted1 he might have  
performed such miracles in form and     
color that even the wonderful ceiling of
 the ,sistine ,chapel would have faded  
into the mediocre4  ,and again he might 
not--what more idle and fascinating than
 such speculation8  ,that the ,king     
endured the calm rebuke of ,velasquez1  
when ,olivarez was deposed1 and still   
retained the ,painter in favor1 was     
probably because ,rubens had assured the
 ,king that ,velasquez as an artist was 
the master of any man in all ,europe4   
,velasquez made two trips to ,italy1    
being sent on royal embassies to        
purchase statuary for the ,prado        
,gallery1 and incidentally to copy      
pictures4 ,so there is many a ,veronese1
 ,tintoretto and ,titian now in the     
,prado that was copied by ,velasquez4   

,think of the value of a ,titian copied 
by ,velasquez6 ,and so faithfully was   
the copying done1 even to inserting the 
signature1 initials and date1 that much 
doubt exists as to what pictures are    
genuine and what copies4  ,when ,rubens 
appeared at the ,court of ,madrid1 sent 
by the ,duke of ,mantua1 with presents  
of ,old ,masters 7done by himself71 ,i  
can not but imagine the quiet           
confession1 with smiles and popping of  
corks1 that occurred when the wise and  
princely ,rubens and the equally wise   
and princely ,velasquez got together in 
some private corner4  ,the advent of    
,rubens at ,madrid sent a thrill through
 the entire ,court1 and a lesser man    
than ,velasquez would have quaked with  
apprehension when he found the ,king    
sitting to ,rubens for a portrait in his
 own studio4  ,not so ,velasquez--he had
 done the ,king on canvas a score of    
times2 no one else had ever been allowed
 to paint the ,king's portrait--and he  
was curious to see how the picture would

 come out4  ,rubens1 twenty-two years   
the senior of ,velasquez1 shrank a bit1 
it seems1 from the contest1 and         
connoisseurs have said that there is a  
little lack of the exuberant1 joyous    
,rubensesque quality in the various     
pictures done by the gracious ,fleming  
in ,spain4  ,the taunt that many of the 
pictures attributed to ,rubens were done
 by his pupils loses its point when we  
behold the prodigious amount of work    
that the master accomplished at ,madrid 
in nine months--a dozen portraits1      
several groups1 a score of pictures     
copied4 ,and besides this1 there was    
time for horseback rides when the ,king1
 ,rubens and ,velasquez galloped away   
together1 when they climbed mountains1  
and when there were fetes and receptions
 to attend4 ,rubens was then over fifty1
 but the fire of his youth and that     
joyous animation of the morning1 the    
years had not subdued4  ,velasquez had  
many pupils1 but in ,murillo his skill  
as a teacher is best revealed4 ,several 

of his pupils painted exactly like him1 
save that they neglected to breathe into
 the nostrils of their work the breath  
of life4 ,but ,velasquez seems to have  
encouraged ,murillo to follow the bent  
of his moody and melancholy genius--so  
,murillo was himself1 not a diluted     
,velasquez4  ,the strong1 administrative
 ability of ,velasquez was prized by the
 ,king as much as his ability as a      
painter1 and he was1 therefore1 advanced
 to the position of ,master of          
,ceremonies4 ,in this work1 with its    
constant demand of close attention to   
petty details1 his latter days were     
consumed4 ,he died1 aged sixty-one1 a   
victim to tasks that were not worth the 
doing1 but which the foolish ,king      
considered as important as painting     
deathless pictures4  ,so closely was the
 life of his wife blended with his own  
that in eight days after his passing she
 followed him across the ,border1       
although the physicians declared that   
she had no disease4 ,husband and wife   

were buried in one grave in a church    
that a hundred years later was burned   
and never rebuilt4 ,no stone marks their
 resting- place2 and none is needed1 for
 ,velasquez lives in his work4 ,the     
truth1 splendor and beauty that he      
produced are on a hundred walls-- the   
inspiration of men who do and dare--the 
priceless heritage of us who live today 
and of those who shall come after4      
,,corot  ,the sun sinks more and more   
behind the horizon4 ,bam6 he throws his 
last ray1 a streak of gold and purple   
which fringes the flying clouds4 ,there1
 now it has entirely disappeared4 ,bien6
 bien6 twilight commences4 ,heavens1 how
 charming it is6 ,there is now in the   
sky only the soft vaporous color of pale
 citron--the last reflection of the sun 
which plunges into the dark blue of the 
night1 going from green tones to a pale 
turquoise of an unheard-of fineness and 
a fluid delicacy quite indescribable4444
 ,the fields lose their color1 the trees
 form but gray or brown masses4444 the  

dark waters reflect the bland tones of  
the sky4 ,we are losing sight of        
things--but one still feels that        
everything is there--everything is      
vague1 confused1 and ,nature grows      
drowsy4 ,the fresh evening air sighs    
among the leaves-- the birds1 these     
voices of the flowers1 are saying their 
evening prayer4   --,corot's ,letter to 
,graham  ,illustration3 ,corot   ,most  
young artists begin by working for      
microscopic effects1 trying to portray  
every detail1 to see every leaf1 stem   
and branch and reveal them in the       
picture4  ,the ability to draw carefully
 and finish painstakingly is very       
necessary1 but the great artist must    
forget how to draw before he paints a   
great picture2 just as every strong     
writer must put the grammar upon the    
shelf before he writes well4 ,i once    
heard ,william ,dean ,howells say that  
any good1 bright ,high-,school girl of  
sixteen could pass a far better         
examination in rhetoric than he         

could--and the admission did ,mr4       
,howells no discredit4  ,would you      
advise me to take a course in elocution8
 once asked a young man with oratorical 
ambitions of ,henry ,ward ,beecher4     
,yes1 by all means4 ,study elocution    
very carefully1 but you will have to    
forget it all before you ever become an 
orator1 was the answer4  ,corot began as
 a child by drawing very rude1 crude1   
uncertain pictures1 just such pictures  
as any schoolboy can draw4 ,next he     
began to complete his sketches1 and work
 with infinite pains4 ,if he sketched a 
house he showed whether the roof was    
shingled or made of straw or tile2 his  
trees revealed the texture of the bark  
and showed the shape of the leaf1 and   
every flower contained its pistil and   
stamens1 and told the man knew his      
botany4 ,two of his pictures done in    
,rome in his twenty-ninth year1 ,the    
,colosseum and ,the ,forum1 now in the  
,louvre1 are good pictures--complete in 
detail1 painstaking1 accurate1 hard and 

tight in technique4 ,they are bomb-     
proof--beyond criticism--absolutely     
safe4 ,have a care1 ,corot6 ,keep where 
you are and you will become an          
irreproachable painter4 ,that is to say1
 you will paint just like a hundred     
other ,french painters4 ,there will be a
 market for your wares1 the critics will
 approve1 and at the ,salon your work   
will never be either enskyed nor        
consigned to the catacombs4 ,society    
will court you1 fair ladies will smile  
and encourage4 ,you will be a success2  
your name will be safely pigeonholed    
among the unobjectionable ones1 and     
before your wind- combed shock of hair  
has turned to silver1 you will be       
supplanted by a new crop of fashion's   
favorites4   ,it is a fact worth noting 
that the two greatest landscape-painters
 of all time were city-born and         
city-bred4 ,turner was born in ,london1 
the son of a barber1 and ,fate held him 
so in leash that he never got beyond the
 sound of ,bow ,bells until he was a man

 grown4 ,corot was born in ,paris1 and  
his first outdoor sketch1 made at       
twenty-two1 was done amidst the din and 
jostle of the quays of the ,seine4      
,five strong men made up the ,barbizon  
,school1 and of these1 three were reared
 in ,paris--,paris the frivolous1 ,paris
 the pleasure- loving4 ,corot1 ,rousseau
 and ,daubigny were children of the     
,metropolis4  ,i state these facts in   
the interests of truth1 and also to ease
 conscience1 for ,i am aware that ,i    
have glorified the country boy in pages 
gone before1 as if ,god were kind to him
 alone4  ,turner made over a million    
dollars by the work of his hands        
7reinforced by head and heart72 and left
 a discard of nineteen thousand sketches
 to the ,british ,nation4 ,was ever such
 an example of concentration1 energy and
 industry known in the history of art8  
,corot1 six feet one1 weight two        
hundred1 ruddy1 simple1 guileless1      
singing softly to himself as he walked1 
in peasant blouse1 and sabot-shod1 used 

to come up to ,paris1 his birthplace1   
two or three times a year1 and the      
gamins would follow him on the streets1 
making remarks irrelevant and comments  
uncomplimentary1 just as they might     
follow old ,joshua ,whitcomb on         
,broadway in ,new ,york4  ,british      
grandees often dress like farmers1 for  
pride may manifest itself in simplicity1
 but the disinterested pose of ,camille 
,corot1 if pose it was1 fitted him as   
the feathers fit a wild duck4 ,if pose  
is natural it surely is not pose3 and   
,corot1 the simplest man in the world1  
was regarded by the many as a man of    
mannerisms4 ,his work was so quiet and  
modest that the art world refused to    
regard it seriously4 ,corot was as      
unpretentious as ,walt ,whitman and just
 as free from vanity4  ,during the ,war 
of the ,rebellion1 ,whitman bankrupted  
himself in purse and body by caring for 
the stricken soldiers4 ,at the siege of 
,paris1 ,corot could have kept outside  
the barriers1 but safety for himself he 

would not accept4 ,he remained in the   
city1 refused every comfort that he     
could not divide with others1 spent all 
the money he had in caring for the      
wounded1 nursed the sick by night and   
day1 listened to the confessions of the 
dying1 and closed the eyes of the dead4 
,to everybody1 especially the simple    
folk1 the plain1 the unpretentious1 the 
unknown1 he was ,papa ,corot1 and       
everywhere did the stalwart old man of  
seventy-five carry hope1 good-cheer and 
a courage that never faltered4  ,corot1 
like ,whitman1 had the happiness to have
 no history4  ,corot used paint just as 
if no one had ever painted before1 and  
,whitman wrote as if he were the first  
man who had ever expressed himself in   
verse--precedent stood for naught4 ,each
 had all the time there was2 they were  
never in a hurry2 they loafed and       
invited their souls2 they loved all     
women so well that they never could make
 choice of one2 both were ridiculed and 
hooted and misunderstood2 recognition   

came to neither until they were about to
 depart2 and yet in spite of the        
continual rejection of their work1 and  
the stupidity that would not see1 and   
the ribaldry of those who could not     
comprehend1 they continued serenely on  
their way1 unruffled1 kind-- making no  
apologies nor explanations--unresentful1
 with malice toward none1 and charity   
for all4  ,the world is still divided as
 to whether ,walt ,whitman was simply a 
coarse and careless writer1 without     
either skill1 style or insight2 or one  
with such a subtle1 spiritual vision1   
such a penetration into the heart of    
things1 that few comparatively can      
follow him4  ,during forty years of     
,corot's career the critics said1 when  
they deigned to mention ,corot at all1  
,there are two worlds1 ,god's ,world and
 ,corot's ,world4 ,he was regarded as a 
harmless lunatic1 who saw things        
differently from others1 and so they    
indulged him1 and at the ,salon hung his
 pictures in the ,catacombs with many a 

sly joke at his expense4 ,the           
expression1 ,corot ,nature1 is with us  
yet4  ,but now the idea has gradually   
gained ground that ,camille ,corot      
looked for beauty and found it--that he 
painted what he saw1 and that he saw    
things that the average man1 through    
incapacity1 never sees at all4 ,science 
has taught us that there are sounds so  
subtle that our coarse senses can not   
recognize them1 and there are thousands 
of tints1 combinations and variations in
 color that the unaided or uneducated   
eye can not detect4  ,if ,corot saw more
 than we1 why denounce ,corot8 ,and so  
,corot has gradually and very slowly    
come into recognition as one who had    
power plus--it was we who were weak1 we 
who were faulty1 not he4 ,the stones    
that were cast at him have been gathered
 up and cemented into a monument to his 
memory4   ,the father of ,camille ,corot
 was a peasant who drifted over to      
,paris to make his fortune4 ,he was     
active1 acute1 intelligent and          

economical--and when a ,frenchman is    
economical his economy is of a kind that
 makes the ,connecticut brand look like 
extravagance4  ,this young man became a 
clerk in a drygoods-store that had a    
millinery attachment1 as most ,french   
drygoods-stores have4 ,he was precise1  
accurate1 had a fair education1 and     
always wore a white cravat4 ,in the     
millinery department of this store was  
employed1 among many others1 a ,swiss   
girl who had come up to ,paris on her   
own account to get a knowledge of       
millinery and dressmaking4 ,when this   
was gained she intended to go back to   
,switzerland1 the land of liberty and   
,swiss cheese1 and there live out her   
life in her native village making finery
 for the villagers for a consideration4 
,she did not go back to ,switzerland1   
because she very shortly married the    
precise young drygoods-clerk who wore   
the white cravat4  ,the ,swiss are the  
most competent people on this globe of  
ours1 which is round like an orange and 

slightly flattened at the poles4 ,there 
is less illiteracy1 less pauperism1 less
 drunkenness1 more general intelligence1
 more freedom in ,switzerland than in   
any other country on earth4 ,this has   
been so for two hundred years3 and the  
reason1 some say1 is that she has no    
standing army and no navy4 ,she is      
surrounded by big nations that are so   
jealous of her that they will not allow 
each other to molest her4 ,she is not   
big enough to fight them4 ,being too    
little to declare war1 she makes a      
virtue of necessity and so just minds   
her own business4 ,that is the only way 
an individual can succeed--mind your own
 business--and it is also the best      
policy with a nation4  ,the way the     
,swiss think things out with their heads
 and materialize them with their hands  
is very wonderful4 ,in all the ,swiss   
schools the pupils draw1 sew1 carve wood
 and make things4 ,pestalozzi was       
,swiss1 and ,froebel was more ,swiss    
than ,german4 ,manual ,training and the 

,kindergarten are ,swiss ideas4 ,all of 
our progress in the line of pedagogy    
that the years have brought has         
consisted in carrying ,kindergarten     
,ideas into the ,little ,red            
,schoolhouse1 and elsewhere4 ,the world 
is debtor to the ,swiss--the carmine of 
their ideas has tinted the whole        
thought-fabric of civilization4  ,the   
,swiss know how4  ,skilled workmen from 
,switzerland are in demand everywhere4  
,that ,swiss girl in the ,paris shop was
 a skilled needlewoman1 and the good    
taste and talent she showed in her work 
was a joy to her employers4 ,there are  
hints that they tried to discourage her 
marriage with the clerk in the white    
cravat4 ,what a loss to the art world if
 they had succeeded6 ,but love is       
stronger than business ambition1 and so 
the milliner married the young clerk1   
and they had a very modest little nest  
to which they flew when the day's work  
was done4  ,in a year a domestic        
emergency made it advisable for the     

young woman to stay at home1 but she    
kept right along with her sewing4 ,some 
of the customers hunted her up and      
wanted her to do work for them4  ,when  
the stress of the little exigency was   
safely passed1 the young mother found   
she could make more by working at home  
for special customers4 ,a girl was hired
 to help her1 then two--three4  ,the    
rooms downstairs were secured1 and a    
show-window put in4 ,this was at the    
corner of the ,rue du ,bac and the ,pont
 ,royal1 within sight of the ,louvre4   
,it is an easy place to find1 and you   
had better take a look at the site the  
next time you are in ,paris--it is      
sacred soil4  ,corot has told us much   
about his mother--a ,frenchman is apt to
 regard his father simply as a necessary
 though often inconvenient appendage1   
possibly absorbing the idea from the    
maternal side of the house--but his     
mother is his solace1 comforter and     
friend4 ,the mother of ,corot was       
intelligent1 industrious1 tactful2      

sturdy in body and strong in mind4  ,in 
due course of time she built up a paying
 business1 bought the house in which    
they lived1 and laid by a goodly dot for
 her son and two daughters4 ,and all the
 time ,corot pere wore the white cravat1
 a precise smile for customers and an   
austere look for his family4 ,he held   
his old position as floorwalker and gave
 respectability to his good-wife's      
,millinery and ,dressmaking             
,establishment4  ,the father's ambition 
for ,camille was that he should become a
 model floorwalker1 treading in the     
father's footsteps2 and so1 while yet a 
child1 the boy was put to work in a     
drygoods-store1 with the idea of        
discipline strong in mind4  ,and for    
this discipline1 in after-years ,corot  
was grateful4 ,it gave him the habit of 
putting things away1 keeping accurate   
accounts1 systematizing his work2 and   
throughout his forty years or more of   
artistic life1 it was his proud boast   
that he reached his studio every morning

 at three minutes before eight4  ,young 
,corot's mother had quite a little skill
 as a draftsman4 ,in her business she   
drew designs for patterns1 and if the   
prospective customer lacked imagination1
 she could draw a sketch of the garment 
as it would look when completed4        
,savage tribes make pictures long before
 they acquire an alphabet2 so do all    
children make pictures before they learn
 to read4 ,the evolution of the child   
mirrors the evolution of the race4      
,camille made pictures just as all boys 
do1 and his mother encouraged him in    
this1 and supplied him copies4  ,when he
 was set to work in the drygoods-store  
he made sketches under the counter and  
often ornamented bundles with needless  
hieroglyphics4 ,but these things did not
 necessarily mean that he was to be a   
great artist--thousands of              
drygoods-clerks have sketched and been  
drygoods- clerks to the end of their    
days4 ,but good drygoods-clerks should  
not sketch too much or too well1 else   

they will not rise in their career and  
some day have charge of a ,department4  
,camille ,corot did not get along at    
haberdashery--his heart was not in it4  
,he was not quite so bad as a certain   
budding1 artistic genius ,i once knew1  
who clerked in a grocery-store1 and when
 a woman came in and ordered a dozen    
eggs and a half-bushel of potatoes1 the 
genius counted out a dozen potatoes1 and
 sent the customer a half- bushel of    
eggs4  ,then there was that             
absent-minded young drug-clerk who1 when
 a stranger entered and inquired for the
 proprietor1 answered1 ,he's out just at
 present1 but we have something that is 
just as good4  ,corot hadn't the ability
 to make folks think they needed        
something they did not want--they only  
got what they wanted1 after much careful
 diplomacy and insistence4 ,these things
 were a great cross to ,corot pere1 and 
the dulness of the boy made the good    
father grow old before his time--so the 
father alleged4 ,were the woes of       

parents written in books1 the world     
would not be big enough to contain the  
books4 ,camille ,corot was a failure--he
 was big1 fat1 lazy1 and tantalizingly  
good-natured4 ,he haunted the ,louvre1  
and stood open- mouthed before the      
pictures of ,claude ,lorraine until the 
attendants requested him to move on4    
,his mother knew something of art1 and  
they used to discuss all the new        
pictures together4 ,the father          
protested3 he declared that the mother  
was encouraging the boy in his          
vacillation and dreaminess4  ,camille   
lost his position4 ,his father got him  
another place1 and after a month they   
laid him off for two weeks1 and then    
sent him a note not to come back4 ,he   
hung around home1 played the violin1 and
 sang for his mother's sewing-girls     
while they worked4 ,the girls all loved 
him--if the mother went out and left him
 in charge of the shop1 he gave all     
hands a play-spell until it was time for
 ,madame to return4 ,his good nature was

 invincible4 ,he laughed at the bonnets 
in the windows1 slyly sketched the      
customers who came to try on the        
frivolities1 and even made irrelevant   
remarks to his mother about the petite  
fortune she was deriving from catering  
to dead-serious nabobs who discussed    
flounces1 bows1 stays1 and beribboned   
gewgaws as though they were ,eternal    
,verities4  ,mamma is a sculptor who    
improves upon ,nature1 one day ,camille 
said to the girls4 ,if a woman hasn't a 
good form ,madame ,corot can supply her 
such amorous proportions that lovers    
will straightway fall at her feet4 ,but 
such jocular remarks were never made to 
the father-- in his presence ,camille   
was subdued and suspiciously respectful4
 ,the father had disciplined him--but   
had done nothing else4  ,camille had a  
companion in ,achille ,michallon1 son of
 the sculptor1 ,claude ,michallon4      
,young ,michallon modeled in clay and   
painted fairly well1 and it was he who1 
no doubt1 fired the mind of young ,corot

 to follow an artistic career1 to which 
,corot the elder was very much opposed4 
,so matters drifted and ,camille ,corot1
 aged twenty-six1 was a flat failure1   
just as he had been for ten years4 ,he  
hadn't self-reliance enough to push out 
for himself1 nor enough will to swing   
his parents into his way of thinking4   
,he was as submissive as a child2 and   
would not and could not do anything     
until he had gotten permission--thus    
much for discipline4  ,finally1 in      
desperation1 his father said3 ,camille1 
you are of an age when you should be at 
the head of a business2 but since you   
refuse to avail yourself of your        
opportunities and become a merchant1    
why1 then1 ,i'll settle upon you the sum
 of three hundred dollars a year for    
life and you can follow your own        
inclinations4 ,but depend upon it1 you  
shall have no more than ,i have named4  
,i am done--now go and do what you want4
  ,the words are authentic1 being taken 
down from ,corot's own lips2 and they   

sound singularly like that remark made  
to ,alfred ,tennyson by his grandfather1
 ,here is a guinea for your poem1 and   
depend upon it1 this is the first and   
last money you will ever receive for    
poetry4  ,camille was so delighted to   
hear his father's decision that he burst
 into tears and embraced the austere and
 stern-faced parent in the white cravat4
  ,straightway he would begin his       
artistic career1 and having so announced
 his intention to the sewing-girls in an
 impromptu operatic aria1 he took easel 
and paints and went down on the towpath 
to paint his first outdoor picture4     
,soon the girls came trooping after1 in 
order to see ,monsieur ,camille at his  
work4 ,one girl1 ,mademoiselle ,rose1   
stayed longer than the rest4 ,corot told
 of the incident in ,eighteen ,hundred  
,fifty-eight--a lapse of thirty         
years--and added3 ,i have not           
married--,mademoiselle ,rose has not    
married--she is alive yet1 and only last
 week was here to see me4 ,ah6 what     

changes have taken place--,i have that  
first picture ,i painted yet--it is the 
same picture and still shows the hour   
and the season1 but ,mademoiselle ,rose 
and ,i1 where are we8   ,turner and     
,corot trace back to the same artistic  
ancestor4 ,it was ,claude who first     
fired the heart of the barber's boy1 and
 it was ,claude who diluted the zeal of 
,camille ,corot for ribbons and         
haberdashery4  ,turner stipulated in his
 will that a certain picture of his     
should hang on the walls of the         
,national ,gallery by the side of a     
,claude ,lorraine2 and today in the     
,louvre you can see1 side by side1 a    
,corot and a ,claude4 ,these men are    
strangely akin2 yet1 so far as ,i know1 
,corot never heard of ,turner4 ,however1
 he was powerfully influenced by        
,constable1 the ,english painter1 who   
was of the same age as ,turner1 and for 
a time1 his one bitter rival4  ,claude  
had been dead a hundred years before    
,constable1 ,turner or ,corot was born4 

,but time is an illusion2 all souls are 
of one age1 and in spirit these men were
 contemporaries and brothers4 ,claude1  
,corot and ,turner never married--they  
were wedded to art4 ,constable ripened  
fast2 he got his reward of golden       
guineas1 and society caught him in its  
silken mesh4 ,success came faster than  
he was able to endure it1 and he fell a 
victim to fatty degeneration of the     
cerebrum1 and died of an acute attack of
 self-complacency4  ,it was about the   
year ,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty-two that
 ,constable gave an exhibition of his   
work in ,paris--a somewhat daring thing 
for an ,englishman to do4 ,paris had    
then1 and has yet1 about the same       
estimate of ,english art that the       
,english have now of ours--although it  
is quite in order to explain in         
parentheses that three ,americans1      
,whistler1 ,sargent and ,abbey1 have    
recently called a halt on ,english      
ribaldry as applied to ,american        
artists4  ,but ,john ,constable's       

exhibit in ,paris met with favor--the   
work was singularly like the work of    
,claude ,lorraine1 the critics said4    
,and it was1 for ,constable had copied  
,claude conscientiously4 ,corot saw the 
,englishman's pictures1 realized that   
they were just such pictures as he would
 like to paint1 and so fell down and    
worshiped them4 ,for a year he dropped  
,claude and painted just like           
,constable4  ,there was a time when     
,turner and ,constable painted just     
alike1 for they had the same master2 but
 there came a day when ,turner shoved   
out from shore1 and no man since has    
been able to follow him4  ,and no one   
can copy ,corot4 ,the work that he did  
after he attained freedom and swung away
 from ,claude and ,constable has an     
illusive1 intangible1 subtle and        
spiritual quality that no imitator can  
ever catch on his canvas4 ,corot could  
not even copy his own pictures--his work
 is born of the spirit4 ,his effects are
 something beyond skill of hand1        

something beyond mere knowledge of      
technique4 ,you can copy a ,claude and  
you can copy a ,constable1 for the      
pictures have well- defined outline and 
the forms are tangible4 ,claude was the 
first painter who showed the shimmering 
sunlight on the leaves1 the upturned    
foliage of the silver poplar1 the yellow
 willows bending beneath the breeze1 the
 sweep of the clouds across the sky1 the
 play of the waves across the seashore1 
the glistening dewdrops on the grass1   
the soft stealing mists of twilight4    
,constable did all this1 too1 and he did
 it as well as ,claude1 but no better4  
,he never got beyond the stage of       
microscopic portrayal2 if he painted a  
dewdrop he painted it1 and his blades of
 grass1 swaying lily-stems1 and         
spider-webs are the genuine articles4   
,corot painted in this minute way for   
many years1 but gradually he evolved a  
daring quality and gave us the effect of
 dewdrops1 the spider-threads1 the      
foliage1 the tall lilies1 without       

painting them at all--he gives you the  
feeling1 that is all1 stirs the         
imagination until the beholder1 if his  
heart be in tune1 sees things that only 
the spiritual eye beholds4  ,the pale1  
silvery tones of ,corot1 the shadowy    
boundaries that separate the visible    
from the invisible1 can never be        
imitated without the ,master's          
penetration into the heart of ,nature4  
,he knew things he could never explain1 
and he held secrets he could not impart4
 ,before his pictures we can only stand 
silent--he disarms criticism and strikes
 the quibbler dumb4 ,before a ,corot you
 had better give way1 and let its beauty
 caress your soul4 ,his colors are thin 
and very simple--there is no challenge  
in his work1 as there is in the work of 
,turner4 ,greens and grays predominate1 
and the plain drab tones are blithe1    
airy1 gracious1 graceful and piquant as 
a beautiful young ,quaker woman clothed 
in the garb of simplicity and           
humility--but a woman still4 ,corot     

coquettes with color--with pale lilac1  
silver gray1 and diaphanous green4 ,he  
poetizes everything he touches--quiet   
ponds1 clumps of bushes1 whitewashed    
cottages1 simple swards1 yellow cows1   
blowsy peasants1 woodland openings1     
stretching meadows and winding          
streams--they are all full of divine    
suggestion and joyous expectancy4       
,something is just going to             
happen--somebody is coming1 some one we 
love--you can almost detect a faint     
perfume1 long remembered1 never to be   
forgotten4 ,a ,corot is a tryst with all
 that you most admire and love best--it 
speaks of youth1 joyous1 hopeful1       
expectant youth4 ,the flavor is         
,grecian1 and if the ,greeks had left us
 any paintings they would all have been 
just like ,corot's4   ,the bubbling1    
boyish good-cheer that ,corot possessed 
is well shown in a letter he once wrote 
to ,stevens ,graham4 ,this letter was   
written1 without doubt1 in that fine    
intoxication which comes after work well

 done2 and no greater joy ever comes to 
a mortal in life than this4  ,george    
,moore tells somewhere of catching      
,corot in one of these moods of rapture3
 the ,master was standing alone on a log
 in the woods1 like a dancing faun1     
leading an imaginary orchestra with     
silent but tremendous gusto4 ,at other  
times1 when ,corot captured certain     
effects in a picture1 he would rush     
across the fields to where there was a  
peasant plowing1 and seizing the        
astonished man1 would lead him over and 
stand him before the canvas crying3     
,look at that6 ,ah1 now1 look at that6  
,what did ,i tell you6 ,you thought ,i  
never could catch it--,oho1 aha1 ohe1   
tralala1 la1 la1 la1 loo6  ,this        
willingness to let the unrestrained     
spirit romp was strong in ,corot--and it
 is to be recommended4 ,how much finer  
it is to go out into the woods and lift 
up your voice in song1 and be a child1  
than to fight inclination and waste good
 ,god-given energy endeavoring to be    

proper--whatever that may be6  ,corot   
never wrote anything finer than that    
letter to his friend ,graham1 and1 like 
all really good things1 it was written  
with no weather-eye on futurity4 ,the   
thought that it might be published never
 came to him1 for if it had1 he would   
probably have produced something not    
worth publishing4 ,it was scribbled off 
with a pencil1 hot from the heart1 out  
of doors1 immediately after having done 
a particularly choice bit of work4      
,every one who writes of ,corot quotes  
this letter1 and there are various      
translations of it4 ,it can not be      
translated literally1 because the       
language in which it was written is     
effervescent1 flashing1 in motion like a
 cascade4 ,it defies all grammar1       
forgets rhetoric1 and simply makes you  
feel4 ,i have just as good a right to   
translate this letter as anybody1 and   
while ,i will add nothing that the      
spirit of the text does not justify1 ,i 
will omit a few things1 and follow my   

own taste in the matter of paragraphing4
  ,so here is the letter3  ,a           
landscapist's day is divine4 ,you are   
jealous of the moments1 and so are up at
 three o'clock--long before the sun sets
 you the example4  ,you go out into the 
silence and sit under a tree1 and watch 
and watch and wait and wait4  ,it is    
very dark--the nightingales have gone to
 bed1 all the mysterious noises of      
night's forenoon have ceased--the       
crickets are asleep1 the tree-toad has  
found a nest--even the stars have slunk 
away4  ,you wait4  ,there is scarcely   
anything to be seen at first--only dark1
 spectral shapes that stand out against 
the blue-black of the sky4  ,nature is  
behind a veil1 upon which some masses of
 form are vaguely sketched4 ,the damp1  
sweet smell of the incense of ,spring is
 in the air--you breathe deeply--a sense
 of religious emotion sweeps over       
you--you close your eyes an instant in a
 prayer of thankfulness that you are    
alive4  ,you do not keep your eyes      

closed long1 though--something is about 
to happen--you grow expectant1 you wait1
 you listen1 you hold your              
breath--everything trembles with a      
delight that is half-pain1 under the    
invigorating caress of the coming day4  
,you breathe fast1 and then you hold    
your breath and listen4  ,you wait4     
,you peer4  ,you listen4  ,bing6 ,a ray 
of pale yellow light shoots from horizon
 to zenith4 ,the dawn does not come all 
at once3 it steals upon you by leaps and
 subtle strides like deploying pickets4 
,bing6 ,another ray1 and the first one  
is suffusing itself across an arc of the
 purple sky4  ,bing1 ,bing6 ,the east is
 all aglow4  ,the little flowers at your
 feet are waking in joyful mood4  ,the  
chirrup of birds is heard4 ,how they do 
sing6 ,when did they begin8 ,you forgot 
them in watching the rays of light4     
,the flowers are each one drinking its  
drop of quivering dew4  ,the leaves feel
 the cool breath of the morning1 and are
 moving to and fro in the invigorating  

air4  ,the flowers are saying their     
morning prayers1 accompanied by the     
matin-song of the birds4  ,amoretti1    
with gauzy wings1 are perching on the   
tall blades of grass that spring from   
the meadows1 and the tall stems of the  
poppies and field-lilies are swaying1   
swaying1 swaying a minuet motion fanned 
by the kiss of the gentle breeze4  ,oh1 
how beautiful it all is6 ,how good ,god 
is to send it6 ,how beautiful6 how      
beautiful6  ,but merciful easel6 ,i am  
forgetting to paint--this exhibition is 
for me1 and ,i'm failing to improve it4 
,my palette--the brushes--there6 there6 
,we can see nothing--but you feel the   
landscape is there--quick now1 a cottage
 away over yonder is pushing out of the 
white mist4 ,to thine easel--go6  ,oh6  
it's all there behind the translucent   
gauze--,i know it--,i know it--,i know  
it6  ,now the white mist lifts like a   
curtain--it rises and rises and rises4  
,bam6 the sun is risen4  ,i see the     
river1 like a stretch of silver ribbon2 

it weaves in and out and stretches away1
 away1 away4  ,the masses of the trees1 
of the meads1 the meadows--the poplars1 
the leaning willows1 are all revealed by
 the mist that is reeling and rolling up
 the hillside4  ,i paint and ,i paint   
and ,i paint1 and ,i sing and ,i sing   
and ,i paint6  ,we can see now all we   
guessed before4  ,bam1 ,bam6 ,the sun is
 just above the horizon--a great golden 
ball held in place by spider-threads4   
,i can see the lace made by the         
spiders--it sparkles with the drops of  
dew4  ,i paint and ,i paint and ,i sing 
and ,i paint4  ,oh1 would ,i were       
,joshua--,i would command the sun to    
stand still4  ,and if it should1 ,i     
would be sorry1 for nothing ever did    
stand still1 except a bad picture4 ,a   
good picture is full of motion4 ,clouds 
that stand still are not clouds--motion1
 activity1 life1 yes1 life is what we   
want--life6  ,bam6 ,a peasant comes out 
of the cottage and is coming to the     
meadow4  ,ding1 ding1 ding6 ,there comes

 a flock of sheep led by a bellwether4  
,wait there a minute1 please1           
sheepy-sheepy1 and a great man will     
paint you4  ,all right then1 don't wait4
 ,i didn't want to paint you anyway     
,bam6 ,all things break into            
glistening--ten thousand diamonds strew 
the grasses1 the lilies and the tall    
stalks of swaying poppies4 ,diamonds on 
the cobwebs--diamonds everywhere4       
,glistening1 dancing1 glittering        
light--floods of light--pale1 wistful1  
loving light3 caressing1 blushing1      
touching1 beseeching1 grateful light4   
,oh1 adorable light6 ,the light of      
morning that comes to show you things-- 
and ,i paint and ,i paint and ,i paint4 
,oh1 the beautiful red cow that plunges 
into the wet grass up to her dewlaps6 ,i
 will paint her4 ,there she is--there6  
,here is ,simon1 my peasant friend1     
looking over my shoulder4  ,oho1 ,simon1
 what do you think of that8  ,very fine1
 says ,simon1 very fine6  ,you see what 
it is meant for1 ,simon8  ,me8 ,yes1 ,i 

should say ,i do--it is a big red rock4 
,no1 no1 ,simon1 that is a cow4  ,well1 
how should ,i know unless you tell me1  
answers ,simon4  ,i paint and ,i paint  
and ,i paint4  ,boom6 ,boom6 ,the sun is
 getting clear above the treetops4  ,it 
is growing hot4  ,the flowers droop4    
,the birds are silent4  ,we can see too 
much now--there is nothing in it4 ,art  
is a matter of soul4 ,things you see and
 know all about are not worth           
painting--only the intangible is        
splendid4  ,let's go home4 ,we will     
dine1 and sleep1 and dream4 ,that's     
it--,i'll dream of the morning that     
would not tarry--,i'll dream my picture 
out1 and then ,i'll get up and smoke1   
and complete it1 possibly--who knows6   
,let's go home4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,bam6 ,bam6 ,it is
 evening now--the sun is setting4 ,i    
didn't know the close of the day could  
be so beautiful--,i thought the morning 
was the time4  ,but it is not just      
right--the sun is setting in an         

explosion of yellow1 of orange1 of      
rouge-feu1 of cherry1 of purple4  ,ah6  
it is pretentious1 vulgar4 ,nature wants
 me to admire her--,i will not4 ,i'll   
wait--the sylphs of the evening will    
soon come and sprinkle the thirsty      
flowers with their vapors of dew4  ,i   
like sylphs--,i'll wait4  ,boom6 ,the   
sun sinks out of sight1 and leaves      
behind a tinge of purple1 of modest gray
 touched with topaz--ah6 that is better4
 ,i paint and ,i paint and ,i paint4    
,oh1 ,good ,lord1 how beautiful it      
is--how beautiful6 ,the sun has         
disappeared and left behind a soft1     
luminous1 gauzy tint of lemon-- lemons  
half-ripe4 ,the light melts and blends  
into the blue of the night4  ,how       
beautiful6 ,i must catch that--even now 
it fades--but ,i have it3 tones of      
deepening green1 pallid turquoise1      
infinitely fine1 delicate1 fluid and    
ethereal4  ,night draws on4 ,the dark   
waters reflect the mysteries of the     
sky-- the landscape fades1 vanishes1    

disappears--we can not see it now1 we   
only feel it is there4  ,but that is    
enough for one day--,nature is going to 
sleep1 and so will we1 soon4 ,let us    
just sit silent a space and enjoy the   
stillness4  ,the rising breezes are     
sighing through the foliage1 and the    
birds1 choristers of the flowers1 are   
singing their vesper-songs--calling1    
some of them1 plaintively for their lost
 mates4  ,bing6 ,a star pricks its      
portrait in the pond4  ,all around now  
is darkness and gloom--the crickets have
 taken up the song where the birds left 
off4  ,the little lake is sparkling1 a  
regular ant-heap of twinkling stars4    
,reflected things are best--the waters  
are only to reflect the sky-- ,nature's 
looking-glass4  ,the sun has gone to    
rest2 the day is done4 ,but the ,sun of 
,art has arisen1 and my picture is      
complete4   ,let us go home4   ,the     
,barbizon ,school--which1 by the way1   
was never a school1 and if it exists now
 is not at ,barbizon--was made up of    

five men3 ,corot1 ,millet1 ,rousseau1   
,diaz and ,daubigny4  ,corot saw it     
first--this straggling little village of
 ,barbizon1 nestling there at the foot  
of the ,forest of ,fontainebleau1       
thirty- five miles southeast of ,paris4 
,this was about the year ,eighteen      
,hundred ,thirty4 ,there was no market  
then for ,corot's wares1 and the artist 
would have doubted the sanity of any one
 who might have wanted to buy4 ,his     
income was one dollar a day--and this   
was enough4 ,if he wanted to go         
anywhere1 he walked2 and so he walked   
into ,barbizon one day1 his pack on his 
back1 and found there a little inn1 so  
quaint and simple that he stayed two    
days4  ,the landlord quite liked the    
big1 jolly stranger4 ,hanging upon his  
painting outfit was a mandolin1 a       
harmonica1 a guitar and two or three    
other small musical instruments of      
nondescript pedigree4 ,the painter made 
music for the village1 and on invitation
 painted a sketch on the tavern-wall to 

pay for his board4 ,and this sketch is  
there even to this day1 and is as plain 
to be seen as the splash of ink on the  
wall at ,eisenach where ,martin ,luther 
threw the ink-bottle at the devil4      
,when ,corot went back to ,paris he     
showed sketches of ,barbizon and told of
 the little snuggery1 where life was so 
simple and cheap4  ,soon ,rousseau and  
,diaz went down to ,barbizon for a      
week's stay-- later came ,daubigny4  ,in
 the course of a few years ,barbizon    
grew to be a kind of excursion point for
 artistic and ragged ,bohemians1 most of
 whom have done their work1 and their   
little life is now rounded with a sleep4
  ,rousseau1 ,diaz and ,daubigny1 all   
younger men than ,corot1 made           
comfortable fortunes long before ,corot 
got the speaker's eye2 and when at last 
recognition came to him1 not the least  
of their claim to greatness was that    
they had worked with him4  ,it was not  
until ,eighteen ,hundred ,forty-nine    
that ,jean ,francois ,millet with his   

goodly brood was let down from the stage
 at ,barbizon1 to work there for        
twenty-six years1 and give himself and  
the place immortality4 ,for when we talk
 of the ,barbizon ,school1 we have the  
low tones of ,the ,fagot-,gatherer in   
mind--the browns1 the russets and the   
deep1 dark yellows fading off into the  
gloom of dying day4  ,and only a few    
miles away1 clinging to the hillside1 is
 ,by1 where lived ,rosa ,bonheur--too   
busy to care for ,barbizon1 or if she   
thought of the ,barbizon ,school it was 
with a fine contempt1 which the ,school 
returned with usurious interest4  ,at   
the ,barbizon ,inn the ,bohemians used  
to sing songs about the ,bonheur        
breeches1 and the ,lady who keeps a     
,zoo4 ,the offense of ,rosa ,bonheur was
 that she minded her own business1 and  
sold the ,horse ,fair for more money    
than the entire ,barbizon ,school had   
ever earned in its lifetime4  ,only two 
names loom large out of ,barbizon4      
,daubigny1 ,diaz and ,rousseau are great

 painters1 and they each have disciples 
and imitators who paint as well as they2
 but ,corot and ,millet stand out       
separate and alone1 incomprehensible and
 unrivaled4  ,and yet were ever two     
artists more unlike6 ,just compare ,the 
,dancing ,sylphs and ,the ,gleaners4    
,the theme of all ,millet's work is1    
,man goeth forth to his labors unto the 
evening4 ,toil1 hardship1 heroic        
endurance1 plodding monotony1 burdens   
grievous to be borne--these things cover
 the canvases of ,millet4 ,all of his   
deep sincerity1 his abiding melancholy1 
his rugged nobility are there2 for every
 man who works in freedom simply        
reproduces himself4 ,that is what true  
work is--self-expression1               
self-revelation4 ,the style of ,millet  
is so strongly marked1 so deeply etched1
 that no man dare imitate it4 ,it is    
covered by a perpetual copyright1 signed
 and sealed with the life's blood of the
 artist4 ,then comes ,corot the joyous1 
,corot the careless1 ,corot who had no  

troubles1 no sorrows1 no grievances1 and
 not an enemy that he recognized as     
such4 ,he even loved ,rosa ,bonheur1 or 
would1 he once said1 ,if she would only 
chain up her dog1 and wear woman's      
clothes6 ,corot1 singing at his work1   
unless he was smoking1 and if he was    
smoking1 removing his pipe only to lift 
up his voice in song3 ,corot1 painting  
and singing--,ah ha--tra la la4 ,now ,i 
'll paint a little boy--oho1 oho1 tra   
lala la loo--lal loo-- oho--what a nice 
little boy--and here comes a cow2 hold  
that1 bossy --in you go for art's dear  
sake--tra la la la1 la loo6  ,look at a 
,corot closely and listen1 and you can  
always hear the echo of the pipes o'    
,pan4 ,lovers sit on the grassy banks1  
children roll among the leaves1 sylphs  
dance in every open1 and out from       
between the branches lightly steps      
,orpheus1 harp in hand1 to greet the    
morn4 ,never is there a shadow of care  
in a ,corot--all is mellow with love1   
ripe with the rich gift of life1 full of

 prayer and praise just for the rapture 
of drinking in the day--grateful for    
calm1 sweet rest and eventide4  ,corot1 
eighteen years the senior of ,millet1   
was the first to welcome the whipped-out
 artist to ,barbizon4 ,with him ,corot  
divided his scanty store2 he sang and   
played his guitar at the ,millet        
hearthstone when he had nothing but     
himself to give2 and when1 in ,eighteen 
,hundred ,seventy-five1 ,millet felt the
 chill night of death settling down upon
 him1 and the fear that want would come 
to his loved ones haunted his dreams1   
,corot assured him by settling upon the 
family the sum of one thousand francs a 
year1 until the youngest child should   
become of age1 and during ,madame       
,millet's life4  ,so died ,jean         
,francois ,millet4  ,in ,eighteen       
,hundred ,eighty-nine ,the ,angelus was 
bought by an ,american ,syndicate for   
five hundred eighty thousand francs4 ,in
 ,eighteen ,hundred ,ninety it was      
bought back by agents of the ,french    

,government for seven hundred fifty     
thousand francs1 and now has found a    
final resting-place in the ,louvre4     
,within a few months after the death of 
,millet1 ,corot1 too1 passed away4      
,corot is a remarkable example of a soul
 ripening slowly4 ,his skill was not at 
its highest until he was seventy-one    
years of age4 ,he then had eight years  
of life and work left1 and he continued 
even to the end4 ,in his art there was  
no decline4  ,it can not be said that he
 received due recognition until he was  
approaching his seventy-fifth year1 for 
it was then1 for the first time1 that   
the world of buyers besieged his door4  
,the few who had bought before were     
usually friends who had purchased with  
the amiable idea of helping a worthy    
man4  ,during the last few years of     
,corot's life1 his income was over fifty
 thousand francs a year--more than ,i   
received for pictures during my whole   
career1 he once said4 ,and then he shed 
tears at parting with the treasures that

 had been for so long his close         
companions4  ,you see1 ,i am a          
collector1 he used to say1 but being    
poor1 ,i have to paint all my pictures  
myself--they are not for sale4  ,and    
probably he would have kept his         
collection unbroken were it not that he 
wanted the money so much to give away4  
,of the painters classed in the         
,barbizon ,school1 it is probable that  
,corot will live longest1 and will      
continue to occupy the highest position4
 ,his art is more individual than       
,rousseau's1 more poetic than that of   
,daubigny1 and in every sense more      
beautiful than that of ,millet4 ,when   
,camille ,corot passed out1 on the      
,twenty-second of ,february1 ,eighteen  
,hundred ,seventy-five1 he was the      
best-loved man in ,paris4 ,five thousand
 art-students wore crape on their arms  
for a year in memory of ,papa ,corot1 a 
man who did his work joyously1 lived    
long1 and to the end carried in his     
heart the perfume of the morning1 and   

the beneficent beauty of the sunrise4   
,,correggio  ,what genius disclosed all 
these wonders to thee8 ,all the fair    
images in the world seem to have sprung 
forward to meet thee1 and to throw      
themselves lovingly into thy arms4 ,how 
joyous was the gathering when smiling   
angels held thy palette1 and sublime    
spirits stood before thy inward vision  
in all their splendor as models6 ,let no
 one think he has seen ,italy1 let no   
one think he has learnt the lofty       
secrets of art1 until he has seen thee  
and thy ,cathedral at ,parma1 ,o        
,correggio6   --,ludwig ,tieck          
,illustration3 ,correggio   ,there is no
 moment that comes to mortals so charged
 with peace and precious joy as the     
moment of reconciliation4 ,if the angels
 ever attend us1 they are surely present
 then4 ,the ineffable joy of forgiving  
and being forgiven forms an ecstacy that
 well might arouse the envy of the gods4
 ,how well the theologians have         
understood this6 ,very often1 no doubt1 

their psychology has been more          
experimental than scientific--but it is 
effective4 ,they plunge the candidate   
into a gloom of horror1 guilt and       
despair2 and then when he is thoroughly 
prostrated--submerged--they lift him out
 and up into the light1 and the thought 
of reconciliation possesses him4  ,he   
has made peace with his ,maker6  ,that  
is to say1 he has made peace with       
himself--peace with his fellowmen4 ,he  
is intent on reparation2 he wishes to   
forgive every one4 ,he sings1 he dances1
 he leaps into the air1 clasps his hands
 in joy1 embraces those nearest him1 and
 calls aloud1 ,glory to ,god6 ,glory to 
,god6 ,it is the moment of              
reconciliation4 ,yet there is a finer   
temperament than that of the new        
convert1 and his moment of joy is one of
 silence--sacred silence4  ,in the      
,parma ,gallery is the painting         
entitled1 ,the ,day1 the masterpiece of 
,correggio4 ,the picture shows the      
,madonna1 ,saint ,jerome1 ,saint ,john  

and the ,christ-child4 ,a second woman  
is shown in the picture4 ,this woman is 
usually referred to as ,magdalene1 and  
to me she is the most important figure  
in it4 ,she may lack a little of the    
ethereal beauty of the ,madonna1 but the
 humanness of the pose1 the tenderness  
and subtle joy of it1 shows you that she
 is a woman indeed1 a woman the artist  
loved--he wanted to paint her picture1  
and ,saint ,jerome1 the ,madonna and the
 ,christ-child are only excuses4  ,john 
,ruskin1 good and great1 but with       
prejudices that matched his genius1     
declared this picture immoral in its    
suggestiveness4 ,it is so splendidly1   
superbly human that he could not        
appreciate it4 ,yet this figure of which
 he complains is draped from neck to    
ankle--the bare feet are shown--but the 
attitude is sweetly1 tenderly modest4   
,the woman1 half-reclining1 leans her   
face over and allows her cheek1 very    
gently1 to press against that of the    
,christ-child4 ,absolute relaxation is  

shown1 perfect trust--no tension1 no    
anxiety1 no passion--only a stillness   
and rest1 a gratitude and subdued peace 
that are beyond speech4 ,the woman is so
 happy that she can not speak1 so full  
of joy that she dare not express it1 and
 a barely perceptible tear-stain upon   
her cheek suggests that this peace has  
not always been4 ,she has found her     
,savior--she is ,his and ,he is hers4   
,it is the moment of reconciliation4    
,the ,renaissance came as a great burst 
of divine light1 after a thousand years 
of lurid night4 ,the iron heel of       
,imperial ,rome had ground individuality
 into the mire4 ,unceasing war1 endless 
bloodshed1 slavery without limit1 and   
rampant bestiality had stalked back and 
forth across ,europe4 ,insanity1        
uncertainty1 drudgery and crouching want
 were the portion of the many4 ,in such 
a soil neither art1 literature nor      
religion can prosper4  ,but now the     
,church had turned her face against     
disorder1 and was offering her rewards  

for excellence and beauty4 ,gradually   
there came a feeling of                 
safety--something approaching security4 
,throughout ,italy1 beautiful1 stately  
churches were being built2 in all the   
little principalities1 palaces were     
erected2 architecture became a science4 
,the churches and palaces were decorated
 with pictures1 statues filled the      
niches1 memorials to great ones gone    
were erected in the public squares4 ,it 
was a time of reconciliation--peace was 
more popular than war--and where men did
 go to war1 they always apologized for  
it by explaining that they fought simply
 to obtain peace4  ,michelangelo1       
,raphael1 ,leonardo and ,botticelli were
 doing their splendid work--work        
palpitating with the joy of life1 and   
yet upon it was the tinge of sorrow1 the
 scars of battles fought1 the tear-     
stains that told of troubles gone4 ,yet 
the general atmosphere was one of       
blitheness1 joyous life and gratitude   
for existence4 ,men seemed to have      

gotten rid of a great burden2 they stood
 erect1 they breathed deeply1 and       
looking around them1 were surprised to  
perceive that life was really beautiful1
 and ,god was good4  ,in such an        
attitude of mind they reached out       
friendly hands toward each other4 ,poets
 sang2 musicians played2 painters       
painted1 and sculptors carved4          
,universities sprang into being--schools
 were everywhere4 ,the gloom was        
dispelled even from the monasteries4    
,the monks ate three meals a            
day--sometimes four or five4 ,they went 
a- visiting4 ,wine flowed1 and music was
 heard where music was never heard      
before4 ,instead of the solemn          
processional1 there were ,barnabee steps
 seen on stone floors--steps that looked
 like ecclesiastical fandango4 ,the rope
 girdles were let out a trifle1         
flagellations ceased1 vigils relaxed1   
and in many instances the coarse        
horsehair garments were replaced with   
soft1 flowing robes1 tied with red1 blue

 or yellow sashes of silk and satin4    
,the earth was beautiful1 men were kind1
 women were gracious1 ,god was good1 and
 ,his children should be happy--these   
were the things preached from many      
pulpits4  ,paganism had got grafted on  
to ,christianity1 and the only branches 
that were bearing fruit were the pagan  
branches4 ,the old spirit of ,greece had
 come back1 romping1 laughing in the    
glorious ,italian sunshine4 ,everything 
had an ,attic flavor4 ,the sky was never
 so blue1 the yellow moonlight never    
before cast such soft1 mysterious       
shadows1 the air was full of perfume1   
and you had but to stop and listen any  
time and anywhere to hear the pipes o'  
,pan4  ,when ,time turned the corner    
into the ,sixteenth ,century1 the tide  
of the ,renaissance was at its full4    
,the mortification of the monasteries1  
as we have seen1 had given place to a   
spirit of feasting--good things were for
 use4 ,the thought was contagious1 and  
although the ,paulian idea of women     

keeping silence in all due subjection   
has ever been a favorite one with       
masculine man1 yet the fact is that in  
the matter of manners and morals men and
 women are never far apart--there is a  
constant transference of thought1       
feeling and action4 ,i do not know why  
this is4 ,i merely know that it is so4  
,some have counted sex a mistake on the 
part of ,god2 but the safer view is for 
us to conclude that whatever is1 is     
good2 some things are better than       
others1 but all are good4 ,that is what 
they thought during the ,renaissance4   
,so convent life lost its austerity1 and
 as the ,council of ,trent had not yet  
issued its stern orders commanding      
asceticism1 prayers were occasionally   
offered accompanied by syncopated music4
  ,the blooming daughters of great      
houses were consigned to convents on    
slight excuse4 ,to a nunnery go1 and    
quickly1 too1 was an order often given  
and followed with alacrity4 ,married    
women1 worn with many cares1 often went 

into retreat2 girls tired of society's  
whirl2 those wrung with hopeless        
passion2 unmanageable wives2 all who had
 fed on the husks of satiety2 those who 
had incurred the displeasure of parents 
or kinsmen1 or were deserted1 forlorn   
and undone1 all these found rest in the 
convents--provided they had the money to
 pay4 ,those without money or           
influential friends simply labored as   
servants and scullions4 ,rich women     
contracted the ,convent ,habit2 this was
 about the same thing as our present    
dalliance known as the ,sanitarium      
,bacillus--which only those with a      
goodly bank-balance can afford to       
indulge4 ,the poor1 then as now1 had a  
sufficient panacea for trouble3 they    
kept their nerves beneath their clothes 
by work2 they had to grin and bear      
it--at least they had to bear it4  ,in  
almost every town that lined the great  
,emilian ,highway1 that splendid road   
laid out by the ,consul ,marcus         
,emilius1 #hc ,b4 ,c41 from ,rimini and 

,piacenza1 there were convents of high  
and low degree-- some fashionable1 some 
plain1 and some veritable palaces1 rich 
in art and full of all that makes for   
luxury4 ,these convents were at once a  
prison1 a hospital1 a sanitarium1 a     
workshop1 a school and a religious      
retreat4 ,the day was divided up into   
periods for devotion1 work and          
recreation1 and the discipline was on a 
sliding scale matching the mood of the  
,abbess in charge1 all modified by the  
prevailing spirit of the inmates4 ,but  
the thought that life was good was rife1
 and this thought got over every        
convent-wall1 stole through the         
garden-walks1 crept softly in at every  
grated window1 and filled each          
suppliant's cell with its sweet1 amorous
 presence4  ,yes1 life is good1 ,god is 
good6 ,he wants ,his children to be     
happy6 ,the white clouds chase each     
other across the blue dome of heaven1   
the birds in the azaleas and in the     
orange-trees twitter1 build nests and   

play hide-and-seek the livelong day4    
,the balmy air is flavored with health1 
healing and good-cheer4  ,life in a     
convent had many advantages and         
benefits4 ,women were taught to sew and 
work miracles with the needle2 they made
 lace1 illumined missals1 wove          
tapestries1 tended the flowers1 read    
from books1 listened to lectures1 and   
spent certain hours in silence and      
meditation4 ,to a great degree the      
convents were founded on science and a  
just knowledge of human needs4 ,there   
were orders and degrees that fitted     
every temperament and condition4  ,but  
the humble garb of a nun never yet      
changed the woman's heart that beats    
beneath--she is a woman still4  ,every  
night could be heard the tinkle of      
guitars beneath bedroom- windows1 notes 
were passed up on forked sticks1 and    
missives freshly kissed by warm lips    
were dropped down through lattices2     
secret messengers came with letters1 and
 now and again rope ladders were in     

demand2 while not far away1 there were  
always priests who did a thriving       
business in the specialty of ,gretna    
,green4  ,every sanitarium1 every great 
hotel1 every public institution--every  
family1 ,i was going to say--has two    
lives3 the placid moving life that the  
public knows1 and the throbbing1 pulsing
 life of plot and counterplot--the life 
that goes on beneath the surface4 ,it is
 the same with the human body--how      
bright and calm the eye1 how smooth and 
soft the skin1 how warm and beautiful   
this rose-mesh of flesh6 ,but beneath   
there is a seething struggle between the
 forces of life and the                 
disintegration--and eventually nothing  
succeeds but failure4  ,every convent   
was a hotbed of gossip1 jealousy1 hate  
and seething strife2 and now and again  
there came a miniature explosion that   
the outside world heard and translated  
with emendations to suit4  ,rivalry was 
rife1 competition lined the corridors1  
and discontent sat glum or rustled      

uneasily in each stone cell4 ,some of   
the inmates brought pictures1 busts and 
ornaments to embellish their rooms4     
,friends from the outside world sent    
presents2 the cavalier who played the   
guitar beneath the window varied his    
entertainment by gifts2 flowers filled  
the beautiful vases1 and these blossoms 
were replaced ere they withered1 so as  
to show that true love never dies4      
,monks from neighboring monasteries     
preached sermons or gave lectures2      
skilled musicians came1 and sang or     
played the organ2 noblemen visited the  
place to examine the works of art1 or to
 see fair maids on business1 or consult 
the ,abbess on matters spiritual4 ,often
 these visitors were pressed to remain1 
and then receptions were held and modest
 fetes given and banquets tendered4 ,at 
intervals there were fairs1 when the    
products made by the marriage of the    
hand and brain of the fair workers were 
exhibited and sold4  ,so life1 though in
 a convent1 was life1 and even death and

 disintegration are forms of life--and  
all life is good4   ,the ,donna         
,giovanni ,piacenza was appointed       
,abbess of ,san ,paola ,convent1 ,parma1
 in ,fifteen ,hundred ,seven4 ,the      
,abbess was the daughter of the nobleman
 ,marco4 ,donna ,giovanni was a woman of
 marked mental ability2 she had a genius
 for management2 a wise sense of        
diplomacy2 and withal was an artist by  
nature and instinct4  ,the ,convent of  
,san ,paola was one of the richest and  
most popular in the ,emilia4  ,the man  
to whose influence the ,abbess owed most
 in securing her the appointment was the
 ,cavaliere ,scipione1 a lawyer and man 
of affairs1 married to the sister of the
 ,abbess4  ,as a token of esteem and by 
way of sisterly reciprocity1 the ,abbess
 soon after her appointment called the  
,cavaliere ,scipione to the position of 
,legal ,adviser and ,custodian of the   
,convent ,funds4 ,before this the       
business of the institution had been    
looked after by the ,garimberti family2 

and the ,garimberti now refusing to     
relinquish their office1 ,scipione took 
affairs into his own hands and ran the  
chief offender through with his sword4  
,scipione found refuge in the ,convent1 
and the officers of the law hammered on 
the gates for admission1 and hammered in
 vain4  ,parma was split into two       
factions--those who favored the ,abbess 
,giovanni and those who opposed her4    
,once at midnight the gates were broken 
down and the place searched1 for hiding 
cavaliers1 by the ,governor of the city 
and his cohorts1 to the great           
consternation of the nuns4  ,but time is
 the great healer1 and hate left alone  
is shortlived1 and dies a natural death4
 ,the ,abbess was wise in her           
management1 and with the advice and     
assistance of ,scipione1 the place      
prospered4 ,visitors came1 delegations  
passed that way1 great prelates gave    
their blessing1 and the citizens of     
,parma became proud of the ,convent of  
,san ,paola4  ,some of the nuns were    

rich in their own right1 and some of    
these had their rooms frescoed by local 
artists to suit their fancies4 ,strictly
 religious pictures were not much in    
vogue with the inmates --they got their 
religion at the chapel4 ,mythology and  
the things that symbolized life and love
 were the fashion4 ,on one door was a   
flaming heart pierced by an arrow1 and  
beneath in ,italian was the motto1 ,love
 while you may4 ,other mottoes about the
 place were1 ,eat1 drink and be merry2  
,laugh and be glad4 ,these mottoes      
revealed the prevailing spirit4  ,some  
of the staid citizens of ,parma sent    
petitions to ,pope ,julius demanding    
that the decree of strict cloistration  
be enforced against the nuns4 ,but      
,julius sort of reveled in life himself1
 and the art spirit shown by the ,abbess
 was quite to his liking4 ,later1 ,leo  
the ,tenth was importuned to curb the   
festive spirit of the place1 but he     
shelved the matter by sending along a   
fatherly letter of advice and counsel4  

,about this time we find the ,abbess and
 her ,legal ,adviser planning a scheme  
of decoration that should win the       
admiration or envy--or both--of every   
art-lover in the ,emilia4 ,the young    
man1 ,antonio ,allegri1 from ,correggio 
should do the work4 ,they had met him at
 the house of ,veronica ,gambara1 and   
they knew that any one ,veronica        
recommended must be worthy of           
confidence4 ,veronica said the youth had
 sublime talent--it must be so4 ,his    
name1 ,allegri1 meant joy1 and his work 
was charged with all his name implied4  
,he was sent for1 and he came--walking  
the forty miles from ,correggio to      
,parma with his painter's kit on his    
back4  ,he was short of stature1        
smooth-faced and looked like a          
good-natured country bumpkin in his     
peasant garb1 all decorated with dust4  
,he was modest1 half-shy1 and the nuns  
who peered at him from behind the arras 
as he walked down the hallway of the    
,convent caused his countenance to run  

the chromatic scale4  ,he was sorry he  
came1 and if he could have gotten away  
without disgrace he surely would have   
started straight back for ,correggio4   
,he had never been so far away from home
 before1 and although he did not know it
 he was never to get farther away in his
 life4 ,venice and ,titian were to the  
east a hundred miles2 ,milan and        
,leonardo were to the north about the   
same distance2 ,florence and            
,michelangelo were south ninety miles2  
,rome and ,raphael were one hundred     
sixty miles beyond2 and he was never to 
see any of these4 ,but the boy shed no  
tears over that2 it is quite possible   
that he never heard of any of these     
names just mentioned1 save that of      
,leonardo4 ,none loomed large as they do
 now--there were painters everywhere1   
just as ,boston ,common is full of      
poets4 ,veronica ,gambara had told him  
of ,leonardo-- we know that--and        
described in glowing words and with an  
enthusiasm that was contagious how the  

chief marks of ,leonardo's wonderful    
style lay in the way he painted hands1  
hair and eyes4 ,the ,leonardo hands were
 delicate1 long of finger1 expressive   
and full of life2 the hair was wavy1    
fluffy1 sun-glossed1 and it seemed as if
 you could stroke it1 and it would give 
off magnetic sparks2 but ,leonardo's    
best feature was the eye--the large1    
full-orbed eye that looked down so that 
you really never saw the eye1 only the  
lid1 and the long lashes upon which a   
tear might glisten4 ,antonio listened to
 ,veronica with open mouth1 drinking it 
all in1 and then he sighed and said1 ,i 
am a painter1 too4 ,he set to work1     
fired with the thought of doing what    
,leonardo had done--hands1 hair and     
eyes--beautiful hands1 beautiful hair1  
beautiful eyes6 ,then these things he   
worked upon1 only he never placed the   
glistening tear upon the long lash1     
because there were no tears upon his own
 lashes4 ,he had never known sorrow1    
trouble1 disappointment or defeat4  ,the

 specialty of ,allegri was              
putti--tumbling1 tumultuous1 tricksy    
putti4 ,these cherubs symboled the joy  
of life1 and when ,allegri wished to    
sign his name1 he drew a cherub4 ,he had
 come up out of a family that had little
 and expected nothing4 ,then he needed  
so little--his wants were few4 ,if he   
went away from home on little journeys1 
he stopped with peasants along the way  
and made merry with the children and    
outlined a chubby cherub on the         
cottage-wall1 to the delight of         
everybody2 and in the morning was sent  
on his way with blessings1 ,godspeeds1  
and urgent invitations to come again4   
,smiles and good-cheer1 a little music  
and the ability to do things1 when      
accompanied by a becoming modesty1 are  
current coin the round world over4      
,tired earth is quite willing to pay for
 being amused4  ,the ,abbess ,giovanni  
showed ,antonio about the ,convent1 and 
he saw what had already been done4 ,he  
was appreciative1 but talked little4    

,the ,abbess liked the youth4 ,he       
suggested possibilities--he might really
 become the great painter that the      
enthusiastic ,veronica prophesied he    
would some day be4  ,the ,abbess gave up
 one of her own rooms for his           
accommodation1 brought him water for a  
bath1 and at supper sat him at the table
 at her own right hand4  ,and about the 
frescos8 asked the ,abbess4  ,yes1 the  
frescos--your room shall be done first4 
,i will begin the work in the morning1  
replied ,antonio4 ,the confidence of the
 youth made the ,abbess smile4  ,many of
 our finest flowers are merely          
transplanted weeds4 ,transplantation    
often works wonders in men4 ,when ,fate 
lifted ,antonio ,allegri out of the     
little village of ,correggio and set him
 down in the city of ,parma1 a great    
change came over him4 ,the wealth1      
beauty and freer atmosphere of the place
 caused the tendrils of his imagination 
to reach out into a richer soil1 and the
 result was such blossoms of beauty1 so 

gorgeous in form and color1 that men    
have not yet ceased to marvel4  ,the    
,convent of ,san ,paola is a sacred     
shrine for art-lovers--they come from   
the round world over1 just to see the   
ceiling in that one room--the room of   
the ,abbess ,giovanni1 where ,antonio   
,allegri1 the young man from ,correggio1
 first placed his scaffolds in ,parma4  
,the village of ,correggio is quite off 
the beaten track of travel4 ,you will   
have to look five times on the map      
before you can find it4 ,it is now only 
a village1 and in the year ,fourteen    
,hundred ,ninety- four1 when ,antonio   
,allegri was born and ,cristoforo       
,colombo1 the ,genoese1 was discovering 
continents1 it was little better than a 
hamlet4 ,it had a church1 a convent1 a  
palace where dwelt the ,corregghesi--the
 ,lords of ,correggio--and stretching   
around the square1 where stood the      
church1 were long1 low1 stone cottages1 
whitewashed1 with trellises of climbing 
flowers4 ,back of these cottages were   

little gardens where the peas1 lentils1 
leeks and parsley laughed a harvest4    
,there were flowers1 flowers            
everywhere-- none was too poor to have  
flowers4 ,flowers are a strictly sex    
product and symbol the joy of life2 and 
where there are no flowers1 there is    
little love4 ,lovers give flowers--and  
they are enough--and if you do not love 
flowers1 they will refuse to blossom for
 you4 ,if ,i had but two loaves of      
bread1 ,i'd sell one of them and buy    
white hyacinths to feed my soul--that   
was said by a man who loved this world1 
no less than the next4 ,do not defame   
this world--she is the mother that feeds
 you1 and she supplies you not only     
bread1 but white hyacinths to feed your 
soul4  ,on market-day in every ,italian 
town four hundred years ago1 just as    
now1 the country women brought big      
baskets of vegetables and also baskets  
of flowers4 ,and you will see in those  
markets1 if you observe1 that the people
 who buy vegetables usually buy sprays  

of mignonette1 bunches of violets1 roses
 upon which the dew yet sparkles1 or    
white hyacinths4 ,loaves alone are not  
quite enough--we want also the bread of 
life1 and the bread of life is love1 and
 didn't ,i say that flowers symbol love8
  ,and ,i have noted this1 in those old 
markets3 often the pile of flowers that 
repose by the basket of fruit or        
vegetables is to give away to the       
customers as tokens of good-will4 ,i    
remember visiting the market at ,parma  
one day and buying some cherries1 and   
the old woman who took my money picked  
up a little spray of hyacinth and pinned
 it to my coat1 quite as a matter of    
course4 ,the next day ,i went back and  
bought figs1 and got a big moss-rose as 
a premium4 ,the peculiar brand of       
,italian that ,i spoke was              
unintelligible to the old woman1 and ,i 
am very sure that ,i could not          
understand her1 yet the white hyacinths 
and the moss-rose made all plain4 ,that 
was five years ago1 but if ,i should go 

back to ,parma tomorrow1 ,i would go    
straight to the ,market-,place1 and ,i  
know that my old friend would reach out 
a brown calloused hand to give me       
welcome1 and the choicest rose in her   
basket would be mine--the heart         
understands4  ,that spirit of mutual    
giving was the true spirit of the       
,renaissance1 and in the forepart of the
 ,sixteenth ,century it was at its      
fullest flower4 ,men gave the beauty    
that was in them1 and ,vasari tells of  
how at ,correggio the peasants1 who had 
nothing else to give1 each ,sunday      
brought flowers and piled them high at  
the feet of the ,virgin4  ,there were   
painters and sculptors at the village of
 ,correggio then2 great men in their    
day1 no doubt1 but lost now to us in the
 maze of years4 ,and there was1 too1 a  
little court of beauty and learning1    
presided over by ,veronica ,gambara4    
,veronica was a lover of art and        
literature1 and a poet of no mean       
quality4 ,antonio ,allegri1 the son of  

the village baker1 was a welcome visitor
 at her house4 ,the boy used to help the
 decorators at the church1 and had      
picked up a little knowledge of art4    
,that is all you want--an entrance into 
the ,kingdom of ,art1 and all these     
things shall be added unto you4         
,veronica appreciated the boy because he
 appreciated art1 and great lady that   
she was1 she appreciated him because he 
appreciated her4 ,nothing so warms the  
cockles of a teacher's heart as         
appreciation in a pupil4 ,the intellect 
of the village swung around ,veronica   
,gambara4 ,visitors of note used to come
 from ,bologna and ,ferrara just to hear
 ,veronica read her poems1 and to talk  
over together the things they all loved4
 ,at these conferences ,antonio was     
often present4 ,he was eighteen1        
perhaps1 when his sketches were first   
shown at ,veronica's little court of art
 and letters4 ,he had taken lessons from
 the local painters1 and visiting       
artists gave him the benefit of advice  

and criticism4 ,then ,veronica had many 
engravings and various copies of good   
pictures4 ,the boy was immersed in      
beauty1 and all he did he did for       
,veronica ,gambara4 ,she was no longer  
young--she surely was old enough to have
 been the boy's mother1 and this was    
well4 ,such a love as this is           
spiritualized under the right           
conditions1 and works itself up into    
art1 where otherwise it might go dancing
 down the wanton winds and spend itself 
in folly4  ,antonio painted for         
,veronica4 ,all good things are done for
 some one else1 and then after a while a
 standard of excellence is formed1 and  
the artist works to please himself4 ,but
 paradoxically1 he still works for      
others--the singer sings for those who  
hear1 the writer writes for those who   
understand1 and the painter paints for  
those who would paint just such pictures
 as he1 if they could4 ,antonio painted 
just such pictures as ,veronica         
liked--she fixed the standard and he    

worked up to it4  ,and who then could   
possibly have foretold that the work of 
the baker's boy would rescue the place  
from oblivion1 so that anywhere where   
the word is mentioned1 ,correggio should
 mean the boy ,antonio ,allegri1 and not
 the village nor the wide domain of the 
,corregghesi6   ,the distinguishing     
feature of ,correggio's work is his     
putti4 ,he delighted in these well-fed1 
unspanked and needlessly healthy        
cherubs4 ,these rollicksome1 frolicsome1
 dimpled boy babies--and that they are  
boys is a fact which ,i trust will not  
be denied--he has them everywhere6      
,paul ,veronese brings in his           
omnipresent dog--in every ,veronese1    
there he is1 waiting quietly for his    
master4 ,even at the ,assumption he sits
 in one corner1 about to bark at the    
angels4 ,the dog obtrudes until you     
reach a point where you do not recognize
 a ,veronese without the dog--then you  
are grateful for the dog1 and surely    
would scorn a ,veronese minus the canine

 attachment4 ,we demand at least one    
dog1 as our legal and inborn right1 with
 every ,veronese4  ,so1 too1 we claim   
the cherubs of ,correggio as our own4   
,they are so oblivious of clothes1 so   
beautifully indifferent to the          
proprieties1 so delightfully            
self-sufficient6 ,they have no parents2 
they are mostly of one size1 and are all
 of one gender4 ,they hide behind the   
folds of every apostle's cloak1 peer    
into the ,magdalen's jar of precious    
ointment1 cling to the leg of ,saint    
,joseph1 make faces at ,saint ,bernard1 
attend in a body at the                 
,annunciation--as if it were any of     
their business--hover everywhere at the 
,betrothal1 and look on wonderingly from
 the rafters1 or make fun of the ,wise  
,men in the ,stable4  ,they invade the  
inner ,courts of ,heaven1 and are so in 
the way that ,saint ,peter falls over   
them1 much to their amusement4 ,they    
seat themselves astride of clouds1 some 
fall off1 to the great delight of their 

mates1 and still others give their      
friends a boost over shadows that are in
 the way4  ,i said they had no          
parents--they surely have a father1 and 
he is ,correggio2 but they are all in   
sore need of a mother's care4  ,i       
believe it was ,schiller who once       
intimated that it took two to love      
anything into being4 ,but ,correggio    
seems to have performed the task of     
conjuring forth these putti all alone2  
yet it is quite possible that ,veronica 
,gambara helped him4 ,that he loved them
 is very sure--only love could have made
 them manifest4 ,this man was a lover of
 children1 otherwise he could not have  
loved putti1 for he sympathized with all
 their baby pranks1 and sorrows as well4
  ,one cherub bumps his head against a  
cloud and straightway lifts a howl that 
must have echoed all through ,paradise4 
,his mouth is open to its utmost limit2 
tears start from between his closed     
eyes1 which he gouges with chubby fists1
 and his whole face is distorted in     

intense pigmy wrath4 ,one might really  
feel awfully sorry for him were it not  
for the fact that he sticks out one foot
 trying to kick a playfellow who        
evidently hadn't a thing to do with the 
accident4 ,he's a bad1 naughty          
cherub--that is what he is1 and he      
deserves to have his obtrusive anatomy  
stung1 just a little1 with the back of a
 hairbrush1 for his own good4  ,this    
same cherub appears in other places1    
once blowing a horn in another's ear2   
and again he is tickling a sleeping     
brother's foot with a straw4 ,these     
putti play all the tricks that real     
babies do1 and besides have a goodly    
list of stunts of their own4 ,one thing 
is sure1 to ,correggio heaven would not 
be heaven without putti2 and the chief  
difference that ,i see between putti and
 sure-enough babies is1 that putti      
require no care and babies do4  ,then   
putti are practical and useful--they    
hold up scrolls1 tie back draperies1    
carry pictures1 point out great folks1  

feed birds1 and in one instance         
,correggio has ten of them leading a dog
 out to execution4 ,they carry the train
 of the ,virgin1 assist the ,apostles1  
act as ushers1 occasionally pass the    
poorbox1 make wreaths and crowns--but1  
,i am sorry to say1 sometimes get into  
unseemly scuffles for first place4      
,they have no wings1 yet they soar and  
fly like ,english sparrows4 ,they are   
not troubled with nerv4 pros4 or        
introspection4 ,what they feed upon is  
uncertain1 but sure it is that they are 
well nourished4 ,a putti needs nothing1 
not even approbation4  ,in the dome of  
the ,cathedral at ,parma1 there is a    
regular flight of them to help on the   
,ascension4 ,they mix in everywhere1    
riding on clouds1 clinging to robes1    
perching on the shoulders of ,apostles--
 everywhere thick in the flight and     
helping on that glorious anabasis4      
,away1 away they go--movement--movement 
everywhere--right up into the blue dome 
of ,heaven6 ,as you look up at that most

 magnificent picture1 a tinge of sorrow 
comes over you--the putti are all going 
away1 and what if they should never come
 back6  ,a little girl ,i know once went
 with her ,mamma to visit the ,cathedral
 at ,parma4 ,mother and daughter stood  
in silent awe for a space1 looking up at
 that cloud of vanishing forms4 ,at last
 the little girl turned to her mother   
and said1 ,mamma1 did you ever see so   
many bare legs in all the born days of  
your life8   ,some years ago in a       
lecture ,john ,la ,farge said that the  
world had produced only seven painters  
that deserved to rank in the first      
class1 and one of these is ,correggio4  
,the speaker did not name the other six2
 and although requested to do so1       
smilingly declined1 saying that he      
preferred to allow each auditor to      
complete the list for himself4  ,one    
person present made out this list of    
seven ,immortals1 and passed the list to
 ,edmund ,russell1 seated near1 for     
comments4 ,this is the list3            

,michelangelo1 ,leonardo1 ,titian1      
,rembrandt1 ,correggio1 ,velasquez1     
,corot4  ,mr4 ,russell approved the     
selection1 but added a note claiming the
 privilege to change and substitute     
names from time to time as his mood     
might prompt4 ,this seems to me like a  
very sensible verdict4 ,who is your     
favorite author8 is a question that is  
often asked4 ,just as if any one author 
ever got first place in the mind of a   
strong man and stuck there6 ,authors    
jostle each other for first place in our
 hearts4 ,we may have ,emerson periods  
and ,browning periods1 when they alone  
minister to us2 and so also pictures1   
like music1 make their appeals to mood4 
,this peaceful1 beautiful ,may day1 as  
,i write this at my cabin in the woods1 
,correggio seems to me truly one of the 
world's marvelous men4 ,he is near1 very
 dear1 and yet before him ,i would stand
 silent and uncovered4  ,he did his work
 and held his peace4 ,he was simple1    
modest1 unobtrusive and unpretentious4  

,he was so big that he never knew the   
greatness of his work1 any more than the
 author of ,hamlet knew the immensity of
 his4  ,correggio was never more than a 
day's journey from home--he toiled in   
obscurity and did work so grand that it 
made its final appeal only to the       
future4 ,he never painted his own       
portrait1 and no one else seemed to     
consider him worth while2 his income was
 barely sufficient for his wants4 ,he   
was so big that following fast upon his 
life came a lamentable decline in art3  
his personality being so great that his 
son and a goodly flock of disciples     
tried to paint just like him4 ,all      
originality faded out of the fabric of  
their lives1 and they were only cheap1  
tawdry and dispirited imitators4 ,that  
is one of the penalties which ,nature   
exacts when she vouchsafes a great man  
to earth--all others are condemned to   
insipidity4 ,they are whipped1          
dispirited and undone1 and spontaneity  
dies a-borning4 ,no man should try to do

 another man's work4 ,note the          
anatomical inanities of ,bernini in his 
attempts to out-,angelo ,michelangelo4  
,in this rushing-in business1 keep out1 
or you may count as one more fool4      
,correggio struck thirteen because he   
was himself1 and was to a great degree  
even ignorant and indifferent to what   
the world was doing4 ,he was filled with
 the joy of life2 and with no furtive   
eye on the future1 and no distracting   
fears concerning the present1 he did his
 work and did it the best he could4 ,he 
worked to please himself1 cultivated the
 artistic conscience--scorning to create
 a single figure that did not spring    
into life because it must4 ,all of his  
pictures are born of this spirit4  ,good
 old ,guido of ,parma1 afar from home1  
once asked1 with tear- filled eyes1 of a
 recent visitor there--,and tell me1 you
 saw the ,cathedral and the ,convent of 
,san ,paola--and are not the cherubs of 
,master ,correggio grown to be men yet8 
,it is only life and love that give love

 and life4 ,correggio gave us both out  
of the fulness of a full heart4 ,and    
growing weary when scarce forty years of
 age1 he passed out into the ,silence1  
but his work is ours4     ,,bellini     
,and if in our day ,raphael must give   
way to ,botticelli1 with how much       
greater reason should ,titian in the    
heights of his art1 with all his earthly
 splendor and voluptuous glow1 give     
place to the lovely imagination of dear 
old ,gian ,bellini1 the father of       
,venetian ,art8   --,mrs4 ,oliphant1 in 
,the ,makers of ,venice  ,illustration3 
,bellini   ,it is a great thing to      
teach4 ,i am never more complimented    
than when some one addresses me as      
teacher4 ,to give yourself in a way that
 will inspire others to think1 to do1 to
 become--what nobler ambition6 ,to be a 
good teacher demands a high degree of   
altruism1 for one must be willing to    
sink self1 to die--as it were--that     
others may live4 ,there is something in 
it very much akin to motherhood--a      

brooding quality4 ,every true mother    
realizes at times that her children are 
only loaned to her--sent from ,god--and 
the attributes of her body and mind are 
being used by some ,power for a         
,purpose4 ,the thought tends to refine  
the heart of its dross1 obliterate pride
 and make her feel the sacredness of her
 office4 ,all good men everywhere       
recognize the holiness of               
motherhood--this miracle by which the   
race survives4  ,there is a touch of    
pathos in the thought that while lovers 
live to make themselves necessary to    
each other1 the mother is working to    
make herself unnecessary to her         
children4 ,the true mother is training  
her children to do without her4 ,and the
 entire object of teaching is to enable 
the scholar to do without his teacher4  
,graduation should take place at the    
vanishing-point of the teacher4  ,yes1  
the efficient teacher has in him much of
 this mother-quality4 ,thoreau1 you     
remember1 said that genius is           

essentially feminine2 if he had teachers
 in mind his remark was certainly true4 
,the men of much motive power are not   
the best teachers--the arbitrary and    
imperative type that would bend all     
minds to match its own may build        
bridges1 tunnel mountains1 discover     
continents and capture cities1 but it   
can not teach4 ,in the presence of such 
a towering personality freedom dies1    
spontaneity droops1 and thought slinks  
away into a corner4 ,the brooding       
quality1 the patience that endures1 and 
the yearning of motherhood1 are all     
absent4 ,the man is a commander1 not a  
teacher2 and there yet remains a grave  
doubt whether the warrior and ruler have
 not used their influence more to make  
this world a place of the skull than the
 abode of happiness and prosperity4 ,the
 orders to kill all the firstborn1 and  
those over ten years of age1 were not   
given by teachers4  ,the teacher is one 
who makes two ideas grow where there was
 only one before4  ,just here1 before we

 pass on to other themes1 seems a good  
place to say that we live in a very     
stupid old world1 round like an orange  
and slightly flattened at the poles4    
,the proof of this seemingly pessimistic
 remark1 made by a hopeful and cheerful 
man1 lies in the fact that we place     
small premium in either honor or money  
on the business of teaching4 ,as1 in the
 olden times1 barbers and scullions     
ranked with musicians1 and the ,master  
of the ,hounds wore a bigger medal than 
the ,poet ,laureate1 so do we pay our   
teachers the same as coachmen and       
coal-heavers1 giving them a plentiful   
lack of everything but overwork4  ,i    
will never be quite willing to admit    
that this country is enlightened until  
we cease the inane and parsimonious     
policy of trying to drive all the really
 strong men and women out of the        
teaching profession by putting them on  
the payroll at one-half the rate1 or    
less1 than what the same brains and     
energy can command elsewhere4 ,in this  

year of our ,lord1 ,nineteen ,hundred   
,two1 in a time of peace1 we have       
appropriated four hundred million       
dollars for war and war-appliances1 and 
this sum is just double the cost of the 
entire public-school system in ,america4
 ,it is not the necessity of economy    
that dictates our actions in this matter
 of education--we simply are not        
enlightened4  ,but this thing can not   
always last--,i look for the time when  
we shall set apart the best and noblest 
men and women of earth for teachers1 and
 their compensation will be so adequate 
that they will be free to give          
themselves for the benefit of the race1 
without apprehension of a yawning       
almshouse4 ,a liberal policy will be for
 our own good1 just as a matter of cold 
expediency2 it will be ,enlightened     
,self-interest4   ,with the rise of the 
,bellinis1 ,venetian art ceased to be   
provincial1 blossoming out into         
national4 ,jacopo ,bellini was a        
teacher--mild1 gentle1 sympathetic1     

animated4 ,his work reveals personality1
 but is somewhat stiff and statuesque3  
sharp in outline like an antique        
stained-glass window4 ,this is because  
his art was descended from the          
glassworkers2 and he himself continued  
to make designs for the glassworkers of 
,murano all his life4 ,considering the  
time in which he lived he was a great   
painter1 for he improved upon what had  
gone before and prepared the way for    
those greater than he who were yet to   
come4 ,he called himself an             
experimenter1 and around him clustered a
 goodly group of young men who were     
treated by him more as comrades than as 
students4 ,they were all boys           
together--learners1 with the added      
dignity which an older head of the right
 sort can lend4  ,old ,jacopo they used 
to call him1 and there was a touch of   
affection in the term to which several  
of them have testified4 ,all of the     
pupils loved the old man1 who wasn't so 
very old in years1 and certainly was not

 in heart4 ,among his pupils were his   
two sons1 ,gentile and ,gian1 and they  
called him ,old ,jacopo1 too4 ,i rather 
like this--it proves for one thing that 
the boys were not afraid of their       
father4 ,they surely did not run and    
hide when they heard him coming1 neither
 did they find it necessary to tell lies
 in order to defend themselves4 ,a      
severe parent is sure to have untruthful
 children1 and perhaps the best recipe  
for having noble children is to be a    
noble parent4  ,it is well to be a      
companion to your children1 and just    
where the idea came in which developed  
into the ,english boarding-school       
delusion1 that children should be sent  
away among hirelings-- separated from   
their parents--in order to be educated1 
,i do not know4 ,it surely was not      
complimentary to the parents4 ,old      
,jacopo didn't try very hard to         
discipline his boys--he loved them1     
which is better if you are forced to    
make choice4 ,they worked together and  

grew together4 ,before ,gian and        
,gentile were eighteen they could paint 
as well as their father4 ,when they were
 twenty they excelled him1 and no one   
was more elated over it than ,old       
,jacopo4 ,they were doing things he     
could never do3 overcoming obstacles he 
could not overcome--he clapped his hands
 in gladness1 did this old teacher1 and 
shed tears of joy--his pupils were      
surpassing him6 ,gian and ,gentile would
 not admit this1 but still they kept    
right on1 each vieing with the other4   
,vasari says that ,gian was the better  
artist1 but ,aldus refers to ,gentile as
 the undisputed master of painting in   
all ,venetia4 ,ruskin compromises by    
explaining that ,gentile had the broader
 and deeper nature1 but that ,gian was  
more feminine1 more poetic1 nearer      
lyric1 possessing a delicacy and insight
 that his brother never acquired4 ,these
 qualities better fitted him for a      
teacher2 and when ,old ,jacopo passed   
away1 ,gian drifted into his place1 for 

every man is gravitating straight to    
where he belongs4  ,the little workshop 
of one room now was enlarged3 the       
bottega became an atelier4 ,there were  
groups of workrooms and studios1 and a  
small gallery that became the           
meeting-place for various literary and  
artistic visitors at ,venice4 ,ludovico 
,ariosto1 greatest of ,italian poets1   
came here and wrote a sonnet to ,gian   
,bellini1 sublime artist1 performer of  
great things1 but best of all the loving
 ,teacher of ,men4  ,gian ,bellini had  
two pupils whose name and fame are      
deathless3 ,giorgione and ,titian4      
,there is a fine flavor of romance      
surrounds ,giorgione1 the gentle1 the   
refined1 the beloved4 ,his was a spirit 
like unto that of ,chopin or ,shelley1  
and his death-dirge should have been    
written by the one and set to music by  
the other--brothers doloroso1 sent into 
this rough world unprepared for its     
buffets1 passing away in manhood's      
morning4 ,yet all heard the song of the 

skylark4 ,giorgione died broken-hearted1
 through his ladylove's inconstancy4 ,he
 was exactly the same age as ,titian1   
and while he lived surpassed that giant 
far1 as the giant himself admitted4 ,he 
died aged thirty-three1 the age at which
 a full dozen of the greatest men of the
 world have died1 and the age at which  
several other very great men have been  
born again--which possibly is the same  
thing4 ,titian lived to be a hundred1   
lacking six months1 and when past       
seventy used to give alms to a          
beggar-woman at a church- door--the     
woman who had broken the heart of       
,giorgione4 ,he also painted her        
portrait--this in sad and subdued       
remembrance of the days agone4  ,the    
,venetian ,school of ,art has been      
divided by ,ruskin into three parts3 the
 first begins with ,jacopo ,bellini1 and
 this part might be referred to as the  
budding period4 ,the second is the      
flowering period1 and the palm is       
carried by ,gian ,bellini4 ,the period  

of ripe fruit--o'erripe fruit1 touched  
by the tint of death--is represented by 
four men3 ,giorgione1 ,titian1          
,tintoretto and ,paul ,veronese4 ,beyond
 these four1 ,venetian ,art has never   
gone1 and although four hundred years   
have elapsed since they laughed and     
sang1 enjoyed and worked1 all we can do 
is wonder and admire4 ,we can imitate1  
but we can not improve4  ,gian ,bellini 
lived to be ninety-two1 working to the  
last1 always a learner1 always a        
teacher4 ,his best work was done after  
his eightieth year4 ,the cast-off shell 
of this great spirit was placed in the  
tomb with that of his brother ,gentile1 
who had passed out but a few years      
before4 ,death did not divide them4     
,giovanni ,bellini was his name4 ,yet   
when people who loved beautiful pictures
 spoke of ,gian1 every one knew who was 
meant1 but to those who worked at art he
 was ,the ,master4 ,he was two inches   
under six feet in height1 strong and    
muscular4 ,in spite of his seventy      

summers his carriage was erect and there
 was a jaunty suppleness about his gait 
that made him seem much younger4 ,in    
fact1 no one would have believed that he
 had lived over his threescore and ten1 
were it not for the iron-gray hair that 
fluffed out all around under the close- 
fitting black cap1 and the bronzed      
complexion--sun-kissed by wind and      
weather--which formed a trinity of      
opposites that made people turn and     
stare4  ,queer stories used to be told  
about him4 ,he was a skilful gondolier1 
and it was the daily row back and forth 
from the ,lido that gave him that face  
of bronze4 ,folks said he ate no meat   
and drank no wine1 and that his food was
 simply ripe figs in the season1 with   
coarse rye bread and nuts4 ,then there  
was that funny old hunchback1 a hundred 
years old at least1 and stone-deaf1 who 
took care of the gondola1 spending the  
whole day1 waiting for his master1      
washing the trim1 graceful1 blue-black  
boat1 arranging the awning with the     

white cords and tassels1 and polishing  
the little brass lions at the sides4    
,people tried to question the old       
hunchback1 but he gave no secrets away4 
,the master always stood up behind and  
rowed1 while down on the cushions rode  
the hunchback1 the guest of honor4      
,there stood the master erect1 plying   
the oar1 his long black robe tucked up  
under the dark blue sash that exactly   
matched the color of the gondola4 ,the  
man's motto might have been1 ,ich ,dien1
 or that passage of ,scripture1 ,he that
 is greatest among you shall be your    
servant4 ,suspended around his neck by a
 slender chain was a bronze medal1      
presented by vote of the ,signoria when 
the great picture of ,the               
,transfiguration was unveiled4 ,if this 
medal had been a crucifix1 and you had  
met the wearer in ,san ,marco1 one      
glance at the finely chiseled features1 
the black cap and the flowing robe and  
you would have said at once the man was 
a priest1 ,vicar-,general of some       

important diocese4 ,but seeing him      
standing erect on the stern of a        
gondola1 the wind caressing the dark    
gray hair1 you would have been perplexed
 until your gondolier explained in      
serious undertone that you had just     
passed ,the greatest ,painter in all    
,venice1 ,gian1 the ,master4  ,then if  
you showed curiosity and wanted to know 
further1 your gondolier would have told 
you more about this strange man4  ,the  
canals of ,venice are the highways1 and 
the gondoliers are like 'bus-drivers in 
,piccadilly--they know everybody and are
 in close touch with all the secrets of 
,state4 ,when you get to the ,giudecca  
and tie up for lunch1 over a bottle of  
,chianti1 your gondolier will tell you  
this3 ,the hunchback there in the       
gondola1 rowed by the ,master1 is the   
,devil1 who has taken that form just to 
be with and guard the greatest artist   
the world has ever seen4 ,yes1 ,signor1 
that clean-faced man with his frank1    
wide-open1 brown eyes is in league with 

the ,evil ,one4 ,he is the man who took 
young ,tiziano from ,cadore into his    
shop1 right out of a glass-factory1 and 
made him a great artist1 getting him    
commissions and introducing him         
everywhere6 ,and how about the divine   
,giorgione who called him father8 ,oho6 
,and who is ,giorgione8 ,the son of some
 unknown peasant woman4 ,and if ,bellini
 wanted to adopt him1 treat him as his  
son indeed1 kissing him on the cheek    
when he came back just from a day's     
visit to ,mestre1 whose business was it8
 ,oho6  ,besides that1 his name isn't   
,giorgione--it is ,giorgio ,barbarelli4 
,and didn't this ,giorgio ,barbarelli1  
and ,tiziano from ,cadore1 and ,espero  
,carbonne1 and that ,gustavo from       
,nuremberg1 and the others paint most of
 ,gian's pictures8 ,surely they did4    
,the old man simply washes in the       
backgrounds and the boys do the work4   
,about all old ,gian does is to sign the
 picture1 sell it and pocket the        
proceeds4 ,carpaccio helps him1         

too--,carpaccio1 who painted the        
loveliest little angel sitting          
crosslegged playing the biggest mandolin
 you ever saw in your life4  ,that is   
genius1 you know--the ability to get    
some one else to do the work1 and then  
capture the ducats and the honors for   
yourself4 ,of course ,gian knows how to 
lure the boys on--something has to be   
done in order to hold them4 ,gian buys a
 picture from them now and then2 his    
studio is full of their work--better    
than he can do4 ,oh1 he knows a good    
thing when he sees it4 ,these pictures  
will be valuable some day1 and he gets  
them at his own price4 ,it was          
,antonello of ,messina who introduced   
oil-painting into ,venice4 ,before that 
they mixed their paints with water1 milk
 or wine4 ,but when ,antonello came     
along with his dark1 lustrous pictures1 
he set all artistic ,venice astir4 ,gian
 ,bellini discovered the secret1 they   
say1 by feigning to be a gentleman and  
going to the newcomer and sitting for   

his picture4 ,he it was who discovered  
that ,antonello mixed his colors with   
oil4 ,oho6  ,of course not all of the   
pictures in his studio are painted by   
the boys--some are painted by that old  
,dutchman what's-his-name--oh1 yes1     
,durer1 ,alberto ,durer of ,nuremberg4  
,two ,nuremberg painters were in that   
very gondola last week just where you   
sit--they are here in ,venice now1      
taking lessons from ,gian1 they said4   
,gian was up there at ,nuremberg and    
lived a month with ,durer--they worked  
together1 drank beer together1 ,i       
suppose1 and caroused4 ,gian is very    
strict about what he does in ,venice1   
but you can never tell what a man will  
do when he is away from home4 ,the      
,germans are a roystering lot--but they 
do say they can paint4 ,me8 ,i have     
never been there--and do not want to go1
 either--there are no canals there4 ,to 
be sure1 they print books in ,nuremberg4
 ,it was up there somewhere that they   
invented type1 a lazy scheme to do away 

with writing4 ,they are a thrifty       
lot--those ,germans--they give me my    
fare and a penny more1 just a single    
penny1 and no matter how much ,i have   
talked and pointed out the wonderful    
sights1 and imparted useful information1
 known to me alone--only one penny      
extra--think of it6  ,yes1 printing was 
first done at ,mayence by a ,german1    
,gutenberg1 about sixty years ago4 ,one 
of ,gutenberg's workmen went up to      
,nuremberg and taught others how to     
design and cast type4 ,this man ,alberto
 ,durer helped them1 designing the      
initials and making title- pages by     
cutting the design on a wooden block1   
then covering this block with ink1      
laying a sheet of paper upon it1 and    
placing it in a press2 then when the    
paper is lifted off it looks exactly    
like the original drawing4 ,in fact1    
most people couldn't tell the           
difference1 and here you can print      
thousands of them from the one block6   
,gian ,bellini makes drawings for       

title-pages and initials for ,aldus and 
,nicholas ,jenson4 ,venice is the       
greatest printing-place in the world1   
and yet the business began here only    
thirty years ago4 ,the first book       
printed here was in ,fourteen ,hundred  
,sixty-nine1 by ,john of ,speyer4 ,there
 are nearly two hundred licensed        
printing-presses here1 and it takes     
usually four men to a press--two to set 
the type and get things ready1 and two  
to run the press4 ,this does not count1 
of course1 the men who write the books1 
and those who make the type and cut the 
blocks from which they print the        
pictures for illustrations4 ,at first1  
you know1 the books they printed in     
,venice had no title-pages1 initials or 
illustrations4 ,my father was a printer 
and he remembers when the first large   
initials were printed --before that1 the
 spaces were left blank and the books   
were sent out to the monasteries to be  
completed by hand4  ,gian and ,gentile  
had a good deal to do about cutting the 

first blocks for initials--they got the 
idea1 ,i think1 from ,nuremberg4 ,and   
now there are ,dutchmen down here from  
,amsterdam learning how to print books  
and paint pictures4 ,several of them are
 in ,gian's studio1 ,i hear--every once 
in a while ,i get them for a trip to the
 ,lido or to ,murano4  ,gentile ,bellini
 is his brother and looks very much like
 him4 ,the ,grand ,turk at              
,constantinople came here once and saw  
,gian ,bellini at work in the ,great    
,hall4 ,he had never seen a good picture
 before and was amazed4 ,he wanted the  
,senate to sell ,gian to him1 thinking  
he was a slave4 ,they humored the ,pagan
 by hiring ,gentile ,bellini to go      
instead1 loaning him out for two years1 
so to speak4  ,gentile went1 and the    
,sultan1 who never allowed any one to   
stand before him1 all having to grovel  
in the dirt1 treated ,gentile as an     
equal4 ,gentile even taught the old     
rogue to draw a little1 and they say the
 painter had a key to every room in the 

palace1 and was treated like a prince4  
,well1 they got along all right1 until  
one day ,gentile drew the picture of the
 head of ,john the ,baptist on a        
charger4  ,a man's head doesn't look    
like that when it is cut off1 said the  
,turk contemptuously4 ,gentile had      
forgotten that the ,turk was on familiar
 ground4  ,perhaps the ,light of the    
,sun knows more about painting than ,i  
do6 said ,gentile1 as he kept right on  
at his work4  ,i may not know much about
 painting1 but ,i'm no fool in some     
other things ,i might name1 was the     
reply4 ,the ,sultan clapped his hands   
three times3 two slaves appeared from   
opposite doors4 ,one was a little ahead 
of the other1 and as this one           
approached1 the ,sultan with a single   
swing of the snickersnee snipped off his
 head4 ,this teaches us that obedience  
to our superiors is its own reward4 ,but
 the lesson was wholly lost on ,gentile 
,bellini1 for he did not remain even to 
examine the severed head for art's sake4

 ,the thought that it might be his turn 
next was supreme1 and he leaped through 
a window1 taking the sash with him4     
,making his way to the docks he found a 
sailing-vessel loading with fruit1 bound
 for ,venice4 ,a small purse of gold    
made the matter easy--the captain of the
 boat secreted him1 and in four days he 
was safely back in ,saint ,mark's giving
 thanks to ,god for his deliverance4    
,no1 ,i didn't say ,gian was a rogue--,i
 only told you what others say4 ,i am   
only a poor gondolier--why should ,i    
trouble myself about what great folks   
do8 ,i simply tell you what ,i hear--it 
may be so1 and it may not2 ,god knows6  
,there is that ,pascale ,salvini4 ,he   
has a rival studio1 and when that       
,genoese1 ,cristoforo ,colombo1 was here
 and made his stopping-place at         
,bellini's studio1 ,pascale told every  
one that ,colombo was a lunatic and     
,bellini another1 for encouraging him to
 show his foolish maps and charts4 ,now1
 they do say that ,colombo has          

discovered a new world1 and ,italians   
are feeling troubled in conscience      
because they did not fit him out with   
ships instead of forcing him to go to   
,spain4  ,no1 ,i didn't say ,bellini was
 a hypocrite--,pascale's pupils say so1 
and once they followed him over to      
,murano--three barca-loads and my       
gondola besides4 ,you see it was like   
this3 ,twice a week1 just after sundown1
 we used to see ,gian ,bellini untie his
 boat from the landing there behind the 
,doge's palace1 turn the prow1 and beat 
out for ,murano1 with no companion but  
that deaf old caretaker4 ,twice a week1 
,tuesdays and ,fridays--always at just  
the same hour1 regardless of weather--we
 would see the old hunchback light the  
lamps1 and in a few moments the ,master 
would appear1 tuck up his black robe1   
step into the boat1 take the oar1 and   
away they would go4 ,it was always to   
,murano1 and always to the same         
landing--one of our gondoliers had      
followed several times1 just out of     

curiosity4  ,finally it came to the ears
 of ,pascale that ,gian took this       
regular trip to ,murano4 ,it is a       
rendezvous1 said ,pascale2 worse than   
that1 an orgy among those lacemakers and
 the rogues of the glassworks4 ,oh1 to  
think that ,gian should stoop to such   
things at his age--his pretended        
asceticism is but a mask--and at his    
age6  ,the ,pascale students took it up1
 and once came in collision with that   
,tiziano of ,cadore1 who they say broke 
a boat-hook over the head of one of them
 who had spoken ill of the ,master4     
,but this did not silence the talk1 and 
one dark night1 when the air was full of
 flying mist1 one of ,pascale's students
 came to me and told me that he wanted  
me to take a party over to ,murano4 ,the
 weather was so bad that ,i refused to  
go--the wind blew in gusts1             
sheet-lightning filled the eastern sky1 
and all honest men1 but poor belated    
gondoliers1 had hied them home4  ,i     
refused to go4  ,had ,i not seen ,gian  

the painter go not half an hour before8 
,well1 if he could go1 others could1    
too4  ,i refused to go--except for      
double fare4  ,he accepted and placed   
the double fare in silver in my palm4   
,then he gave a whistle and from behind 
the corners came trooping enough        
swashbuckler students to swamp my       
gondola4 ,i let in just enough to fill  
the seats and pushed off1 leaving       
several standing on the stone steps     
cursing me and everything and everybody4
  ,as my good boat slid away into the   
fog and headed on our course1 ,i glanced
 back and saw the three barca-loads     
following in my wake4  ,there was much  
muffled talk1 and orders from some one  
in charge to keep silence4 ,but there   
was passing of strong drink1 and then   
talk1 and from it ,i gathered that these
 were all students from ,pascale's1 out 
on one of those student carousals1      
intent on heaven knows what6 ,it was    
none of my business4  ,we shipped       
considerable water1 and several of the  

students were down on their knees       
praying and bailing1 bailing and        
praying4  ,at last we reached the       
,murano landing4 ,all got out1 the      
barcas tied up1 and ,i tied up1 too1    
determined to see what was doing4 ,the  
strong drink was passed1 and a low      
heavy-set fellow who seemed to be       
captain charged all not to speak1 but to
 follow him and do as he did4 ,we took a
 side-street where there was little     
travel and followed through the dark and
 dripping way1 fully a half-mile1 down  
there in that end of the island called  
the sailors' bagnio1 where they say no  
man's life is safe if he has a silver   
coin or two4 ,there was much music in   
the wine-shops and shouts of mirth and  
dancing feet on stone floors1 but the   
rain had driven every one from the      
streets4  ,we came to a long1 low stone 
building that used to be a theater1 but 
was now a dance-hall upstairs and a     
warehouse below4 ,there were lights     
upstairs and sounds of music4 ,the      

stairway was dark1 but we felt our way  
up1 and on tiptoe advanced to the big   
double door1 from under which the light 
streamed4  ,we had received our orders1 
and when we got to the landing we stood 
there just an instant4 ,now we have     
him--,gian the hypocrite6 whispered the 
stout man in a hoarse breath4 ,we burst 
in the doors with a whoop and a bang4   
,the change from the dark to the light  
sort of blinded us at first4 ,we all    
supposed that there was a dance in      
progress of course1 and the screams from
 women were just what we expected1 but  
when we saw several overturned easels   
and an old man1 half-nude1 and too      
scared to move1 seated on a model       
throne1 we did not advance into the hall
 as we intended4 ,that one yell we gave 
was all the noise we made4 ,we stood    
there in a bunch1 just inside the door1 
sort of dazed and uncertain4 ,we did not
 know whether to retreat or to charge on
 through the hall as we had intended4   
,we just stood there like a lot of      

driveling fools4  ,keep right at your   
work1 my good people6 ,keep right at    
your work6 called a pleasant voice4 ,i  
see we have some visitors4  ,and ,gian  
,bellini came forward4 ,his robe was    
still tucked up under the blue sash1 but
 he had laid aside his black cap1 and   
his tumbled gray hair looked like the   
aureole of a saint4 ,keep right at your 
work1 he said again1 and then came      
forward and bade us welcome and begged  
us to have seats4  ,i dared not run     
away1 so ,i sat down on one of the long 
seats that were ranged around the wall4 
,my companions did the same4 ,there must
 have been fifty easels1 all ranged in a
 semicircle around the old man who posed
 as a model4 ,several of the easels had 
been upset1 and there was much confusion
 when we entered4  ,just help us to     
arrange things--that is right1 thank    
you1 said ,gian to the stout man who was
 captain of our party4 ,to my           
astonishment the stout man was doing    
just as he was bid1 and was pacifying   

the women students and straightening up 
their easels and stools4  ,i was        
interested in watching ,gian walking    
around1 helping this one with a stroke  
of his crayon1 saying a word to that1   
smiling and nodding to another4 ,i just 
sat there and stared4 ,these students   
were not regular art-students1 ,i could 
see that plainly4 ,some were children1  
ragged and barelegged2 others were old  
men who worked in the glass-factories1  
and surely with hands too old and stiff 
to ever paint well4 ,still others were  
young girls and women of the town4 ,i   
rubbed my eyes and tried to make it out6
  ,the music we heard ,i could still    
hear--it came from the wine-shop across 
the way4 ,i looked around--and what do  
you believe8 ,my companions had all     
gone4 ,they had sneaked out one by one  
and left me alone4  ,i watched my       
chance1 and when the ,master's back was 
turned ,i tiptoed out1 too4 ,when ,i got
 down on the street ,i found ,i had left
 my cap1 but ,i dare not go back after  

it4 ,i made my way down to the landing1 
half running1 and when ,i got there not 
a boat was to be seen--the three barcas 
and my gondola were gone4  ,i thought ,i
 could see them1 out through the mist1 a
 quarter of a mile away4 ,i called      
aloud1 but no answer came back but the  
hissing wind4 ,i was in despair--they   
were stealing my boat1 and if they did  
not steal it1 it would surely be        
wrecked--my all1 my precious boat6  ,i  
cried and wrung my hands4 ,i prayed6    
,and the howling winds only ran         
shrieking and laughing around the       
corners of the buildings4  ,i saw a     
glimmering light down the beach at a    
little landing4 ,i ran to it1 hoping    
some gondolier might be found who would 
row me over to the city4 ,there was one 
boat at the landing and in it a         
hunchback1 sound asleep1 covered with a 
canvas4 ,it was ,gian ,bellini's boat4  
,i shook the hunchback into wakefulness 
and begged him to row me across to the  
city4 ,i yelled into his deaf ears1 but 

he pretended not to understand me4 ,then
 ,i showed him the silver coin1 the     
double fare1 and tried to place it in   
his hand4 ,but no1 he only shook his    
head4  ,i ran up the beach1 still       
looking for a boat4  ,an hour had       
passed4  ,i got back to the landing just
 as ,gian came down to his boat4 ,i     
approached him and explained that ,i was
 a poor worker in the glass- factory1   
who had to work all day and half the    
night1 and as ,i lived over in the city 
and my wife was dying1 ,i must get home4
 ,would he allow me to ride with ,his   
,highness8 ,certainly--with pleasure1   
with pleasure6 he answered1 and then    
pulling something from under his sash he
 said1 ,is this your cap1 signor8 ,i    
took my cap1 but my tongue was paralyzed
 for the moment so ,i could not thank   
him4  ,we stepped into the boat1 and as 
my offer to row was declined1 ,i just   
threw myself down by the hunchback1 and 
the prow swung around and headed toward 
the city4  ,the wind had died down1 the 

rain had ceased1 and from between the   
blue-black clouds the moon shone out4   
,gian rowed with a strong1 fine stroke1 
singing a ,te ,deum ,laudamus softly to 
himself the while4 ,i lay there and     
wept1 thinking of my boat1 my all1 my   
precious boat6  ,we reached the         
landing--and there was my boat1 safely  
tied up1 not a cushion or a cord        
missing4 ,gian ,bellini8 ,he may be a   
rogue as ,pascale says--,god knows6 ,how
 can ,i tell--,i am only a poor         
gondolier4     ,,cellini  ,it is a duty 
incumbent upon upright and credible men 
of all ranks1 who have performed        
anything noble or praiseworthy1 to      
truthfully record1 in their own writing1
 the principal events of their lives4   
--,benvenuto ,cellini  ,illustration3   
,cellini   ,the man who is thoroughly   
interested in himself is interesting to 
other people1 ,wendell ,phillips once   
said4  ,good healthy egotism in         
literature is the red corpuscle that    
makes the thing live4 ,cupid naked and  

unashamed is always beautiful2 we turn  
away only when some very proper person  
perceives he is naked and attempts to   
better the situation by supplying him a 
coat of mud4 ,the ,diary of ,marie      
,bashkirtseff1 wherein are many morbid  
musings and information as to the       
development of her mind and anatomy1 is 
intensely interesting2 ,amiel's ,journal
 holds us with a tireless grasp2 the    
,confessions of ,saint ,augustine can   
never die2 ,jean ,jacques ,rousseau's   
book was the favorite of such a trinity 
of opposites as ,emerson1 ,george ,eliot
 and ,walt ,whitman2 ,pepys' ,diary is  
so dull it is entertaining2 and the     
,memoirs of ,benvenuto ,cellini have    
made a mediocre man immortal4  ,cellini 
had an intense personality2 he was      
skilful as a workman2 he told the truth 
as he saw it1 and if he ever            
prevaricated it was simply by failing to
 mention certain things that he         
considered were no credit to anybody4   
,but his friendships were shallow2 those

 he respected most1 say ,michelangelo   
and ,raphael1 treated him as ,prince    
,henry finally did ,falstaff1 never     
allowing him to come within half a mile 
of their person on penalty4  ,he was    
intimate with so many women that he     
apologized for not remembering them2 he 
had no interest in his children1 and    
most of his plans and purposes were of a
 pattypan order4  ,yet he wrote two     
valuable treatises3 one on the art of   
the goldsmith and the other on the      
casting of bronze2 there is also an     
essay on architecture that contains some
 good ideas2 and courtier that he was1  
of course wrote some poetry1 which is   
not so bad as it might be4  ,but the    
book upon which his reputation rests is 
the ,memoirs1 and a great book it is4   
,all these things seem to show that a   
man can be a great author and yet have a
 small soul4  ,haven't we overrated this
 precious gift of authorship just a     
trifle8  ,taine said that educated      
,englishmen all write alike--they are   

all equally stupid4  ,and ,john         
,addington ,symonds1 an educated        
,englishman1 and the best translator of 
,cellini1 wrote1 ,happily ,cellini was  
unspoiled by literary training4  ,goethe
 translated ,cellini's book into ,german
 and paid the doughty ,italian the      
compliment of saying that he did the    
task out of pure enjoyment1 and         
incidentally to improve his literary    
style4  ,cellini is not exactly like us1
 and when we read his book we all give  
thanks that we are not like him1 but    
every trait that he had large1 we have  
in little4  ,cellini was sincere2 he    
never doubted his own infallibility1 but
 he points out untiringly the           
fallibilities in various popes and      
everybody else4 ,when ,cellini goes out 
and kills a man before breakfast1 he    
absolves himself by showing that the man
 richly deserved his fate4 ,the braggart
 and bully are really cowards at the    
last4 ,a man who is wholly brave would  
not think to brag of it4 ,he would be as

 brave in his calm moments as in moments
 of frenzy--take old ,john ,brown1 for  
instance4 ,but when ,cellini had a job  
on hand he first worked himself into a  
torrent of righteous wrath4 ,he poses as
 the injured one1 the victim of double1 
deep-dyed conspiracies1 and so he goes  
through life afraid of every one1 and is
 one of whom all men are afraid4  ,every
 artist has occasional attacks of       
,artistic ,jealousy1 and happy is the   
man who contents himself with the       
varioloid variety4 ,cellini had three   
kinds3 acute1 virulent and chronic4     
,berloiz has worked the man up into a   
strong and sinewy drama1 several others 
have done the same1 but it will require 
the combined skill of ,rostand1         
,mansfield and ,samuel ,eberly ,gross to
 ever do the character justice4  ,john  
,morley says1 ,there is nothing worse   
than mettle in a blind horse4 ,so one   
might say there is nothing worse than   
sincerity in a superstitious person4    
,benvenuto ,cellini is the true type of 

a literary and artistic ,bad ,man4 ,had 
he lived in ,colorado in ,eighteen      
,hundred ,seventy1 the ,vigilance       
,committee would have used him to start 
a graveyard4  ,but he is so open1 so    
simple1 so candid1 that we laugh at his 
lapses1 admire his high resolves1 sigh  
at his follies1 sympathize with his     
spasms of repentance1 and smile a misty 
smile at one who is humorous without    
meaning to be1 who was deeply religious 
but never pious1 who was highly         
conscientious1 undoubtedly artistic1 and
 who blundered through life1 always in a
 turmoil1 hopelessly entangled in the   
web of ,fate1 committing every crime1   
justifying himself in everything1 and   
finally passing out peacefully1         
sincerely believing that he had lived a 
,christian life4   ,benvenuto ,cellini  
was born in ,florence1 in the year      
,fifteen ,hundred1 the day after the    
feast-day of ,all ,souls1 at four-thirty
 precisely in the afternoon4  ,the name 
,benvenuto means welcome3 the world     

welcomed ,benvenuto from the first4     
,when five years of age he seized upon a
 live scorpion that he found in the yard
 and carried it into the house4 ,his    
father seeing the deadly creature in his
 hand sought to get him to throw it     
away1 but he only clung the tighter to  
the plaything4 ,the parent then grabbed 
a pair of shears and cut off the tail1  
mouth and claws of the scorpion1 much to
 the wrath of the child4  ,shortly after
 this he was seated by his father's side
 looking into a brazier of coals4 ,all  
at once they saw a salamander in the    
fire1 wiggling about in playful mood1   
literally making its bed in hell4 ,many 
men go through life without seeing a    
single salamander2 neither ,darwin1     
,spencer1 ,huxley nor ,wallace ever saw 
one2 they are so rare that occasionally 
there be men who deny their existence1  
for we are very apt to deny the         
existence of anything we have not seen4 
,in truth1 ,benvenuto never saw but this
 one salamander1 but this one was       

enough3 coupled with the incident of the
 scorpion it was an augury that the boy 
would have a great career1 be in many a 
hot position1 and march through life    
triumphant and unscathed--,god takes    
care of ,his own4  ,the father of       
,benvenuto was a designer1 a goldsmith  
and an engineer1 and he might have      
succeeded in a masterly way in these    
sublime arts had he not early in life   
acquired the habit of the flute4 ,he    
played the flute all day long1 and often
 played the flute in the morning and the
 fife at night4 ,as it was the flute    
that had won him his gracious wife1 he  
thanked ,god for the gift and continued 
to play as long as he had breath4  ,now1
 it was his ambition that his son should
 play the flute1 too1 as all fond       
fathers regard themselves as a worthy   
pattern on which their children should  
model their manners and morals4 ,but    
,benvenuto despised the damnable        
invention of a flute--it was only       
blowing one's breath through a horn and 

making a noise--yet to please his father
 he mastered the instrument1 and        
actuated by filial piety he occasionally
 played in a way that caused his father 
and mother to weep with joy4 ,but the   
boy's bent was for drawing and modeling 
in wax4 ,all of his spare time was spent
 in this work1 and so great was his     
skill that when he was sixteen he was   
known throughout all ,florence4 ,about  
this time his brother1 two years younger
 than himself1 had the misfortune one   
day to be set upon by a gang of         
miscreants1 and was nigh being killed   
when ,benvenuto ran to his rescue and   
seizing his sword laid around him       
lustily4 ,the miscreants were just      
making off when a party of gendarmes    
appeared and arrested all concerned4    
,the rogues were duly tried and         
sentenced to banishment from the city4  
,benvenuto and his brother were also    
banished4  ,shortly after this          
,benvenuto found himself at ,pisa on the
 road to ,rome4 ,he was footsore1       

penniless1 and as he stood gazing into  
the window of a goldsmith the proprietor
 came out and asked him his business4   
,he replied1 ,sir1 ,i am a designer and 
goldsmith of no mean ability4           
,straightway the man1 seeing the lad was
 likely and honest1 set him to work4    
,the motto of the boy at this time was  
supplied by his father4 ,it ran thus3   
,in whatsoever house you be1 steal not  
and live honestlee4  ,seeing this motto1
 the proprietor straightway trusted him 
with all the precious jewels in the     
store4 ,he remained a year at ,pisa1 and
 was very happy and contented in his    
work1 for never once did he have to play
 the flute1 nor did he hear one played4 
,nearly every week came loving letters  
from his father begging him to come     
home1 and admonishing him not to omit   
practise on the flute4  ,at the end of a
 year he got a touch of fever and       
concluded to go home1 as ,florence was  
much more healthful than ,pisa4         
,arriving home his father embraced him  

with tears of unfeigned joy4 ,his       
changed and manly appearance pleased his
 family greatly4 ,and straightway when  
their tears were dried and welcomes     
said1 his father placed a flute in his  
hands and begged him to play in order   
that he might see if his playing had    
kept pace with his growth and skill in  
other ways4  ,the young man set the     
instrument to his lips and played an    
original selection in a way that made   
his father shout with joy1 ,genius is   
indispensable1 but practise alone makes 
perfect6   ,michelangelo was born       
twenty-five years before ,cellini2 their
 homes were not far apart4 ,in the      
,gardens of ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1  
,michelangelo had received that strong  
impetus toward the beautiful that was to
 last him throughout his long and       
arduous life4  ,when ,cellini was       
eighteen the ,master was at ,rome1 doing
 the work of the ,pope1 the pride of all
 artistic ,florence1 and toward the     
,eternal ,city ,cellini looked          

longingly4 ,he haunted the galleries and
 gardens where broken fragments of      
antique and modern marbles were to be   
seen1 and stood long before the ,pieta  
of ,michelangelo in the ,church of      
,santa ,croce1 wondering if he could    
ever do as well4  ,about this time he   
tells us that he copied that famous     
cartoon of ,michelangelo's1 ,soldiers   
,bathing in the ,arno1 made in          
competition with ,leonardo for the      
decoration of the ,palazzo ,vecchio1    
which he declares marks the highest     
pitch of power attained by the ,master4 
,while at this work there appeared in   
,florence one ,pietro ,torrigiano1 who  
had been an exile in ,england for over  
twenty years4 ,the visitor held         
,cellini's drawing in his hand1 studied 
it carefully and remarked3 ,i know this 
man ,michelangelo ,buonarrotti--we used 
to draw and work together under the     
tutorship of ,masaccio4 ,one day        
,buonarrotti annoyed me and ,i dealt him
 such a blow on the nose that ,i felt   

the flesh1 cartilage and bone go down   
under my knuckles like a biscuit4 ,it   
was a mark he will carry to his grave4  
,these words were truth1 save that      
,michelangelo was struck with a mallet  
and not the man's hand4 ,and it was for 
the blow that ,torrigiano had to flee1  
and seemingly1 with the years1 he had   
gotten it into his head that he left    
,florence of his own accord1 and his    
crime was a thing of which to boast4    
,voltaire once said that beyond doubt   
the soldier who thrust the spear into   
the side of the ,savior went away and   
boasted of the deed4 ,torrigiano's name 
is forever linked with that of          
,michelangelo4 ,thus much for the pride 
of little men who make a virtue of a    
vice4  ,but the boast of ,torrigiano    
caused ,cellini to grow faint and sick1 
then to burn with hate4 ,he snatched the
 drawing from the other's hand1 and     
might have deprived ,torrigiano of all  
the nose he possessed1 had not better   
counsel prevailed4 ,ever after ,cellini 

avoided the man--for the man's own good4
  ,that art was a passion to this       
stripling is plain4 ,it was his meat and
 drink--with fighting for dessert4 ,one 
of his near companions was ,francisco1  
grandson of ,fra ,lippo ,lippi1 and     
another chum was ,tasso1 at this time a 
youth of nineteen--his own age4 ,tasso  
became a great artist4 ,vasari tells of 
him at length1 and sketches his career  
while in the employ of ,cosimo de       
,medici4  ,one day ,benvenuto and ,tasso
 were walking after their work was done1
 and discussing as usual the wonderful  
genius of ,michelangelo4 ,they agreed   
that some day they must go to him at    
,rome4 ,they were near the gate of the  
city that led out on the direct road to 
the ,eternal ,city4 ,they passed out of 
the gate still talking earnestly4  ,why1
 we are on the way now1 said ,tasso4    
,and to turn back is an ill omen--we    
will go on6 answered ,benvenuto4  ,so   
they kept on1 each one saying1 ,and what
 will our folks say tonight8  ,by night 

they had traveled twenty miles4 ,they   
stopped at an inn1 and in the morning   
,tasso was so lame he declared he could 
not proceed4 ,benvenuto insisted1 and   
even threatened4  ,they trudged forward1
 and in a week the spire of ,saint      
,peter's 7the wondrous dome was yet to  
be7 lifted itself out of the fog1 and   
they stood speechless and uncovered1    
each devoutly crossing himself4         
,benvenuto had a trade1 and as skilled  
men are always needed he got work at    
once4 ,tasso filled in the time carving 
wood4 ,they did not see                 
,michelangelo--that worthy was too busy 
to receive callers1 or indulge the      
society of adventurous youths4 ,cellini 
does not say much about this1 but skips 
two years in a page1 takes part in a    
riot and flees back to ,florence4 ,he   
enters into earnest details of how      
'leven rogues in buckram suits reviled  
him as he passed a certain shop4 ,one of
 them upset a handcart of brick upon    
him4 ,he dealt the miscreant a blow on  

the ear4 ,the police here appeared and  
as usual arrested the innocent ,happy   
,hooligan of the affair4 ,being taken   
before the ,magistrates he was accused  
of striking a free citizen4 ,cellini    
insisted he had only boxed the man's    
ears1 but many witnesses in chorus      
averred that he had struck the citizen  
in the face with his clenched fist4 ,i  
only boxed his ears1 exclaimed ,cellini 
above the din4 ,the ,magistrates all    
burst out laughing1 and adjourned for   
dinner1 warning ,cellini to remain where
 he was until they came back --hoping he
 would run away4  ,he sat there thinking
 over his sad lot1 when a sudden impulse
 seizing him he darted out of the       
palace1 and ran swiftly for the house of
 his enemies4 ,he drew his knife1 and   
rushing in among them where they were at
 dinner1 upset the table and yelled1    
,send for a confessor1 for none of you  
will ever need a doctor when ,i get     
through with you6  ,several women       
fainted1 the men sprang through windows1

 and the chief rogue got a slash that   
went straight for his heart4 ,he fell   
down1 and ,cellini thinking the man was 
dead started for the street4 ,at the    
door he was greeted by all those who had
 jumped through the windows1 reinforced 
by others4 ,they were armed with        
shovels1 tongs1 skillets1 clubs1 sticks 
and knives4 ,he laid about him right and
 left1 but the missiles descended in    
such showers that he lost his knife and 
cap1 first sending to the earth a full  
dozen of the rogues4  ,running to the   
house of a priest ,cellini begged to    
confess the murder1 and told of how he  
had acted only in self-defense4 ,being  
shrived1 for a consideration1 he awaited
 the coming of the constabulary4 ,but   
they did not come1 for the man who      
thought he had been stabbed got only a  
slash through his jacket1 and no one was
 seriously hurt1 except one of the men  
who jumped through a window and sprained
 his ankle4 ,but so unjust were the     
,magistrates that ,cellini had to flee  

from the city or he would have been     
sentenced to the army and sent ,god     
knows where1 to fight the ,moors4   ,max
 ,nordau has a certain amount of basis  
for his proposition that genius and     
madness are near allied1 but it will    
hardly do1 however1 to assume that they 
are the same thing4 ,cellini at times   
showed a fine flaring up of talent that 
might be called genius--he could do     
exquisite work--yet there were other    
times when he certainly was queer4      
,these queer periods might account for  
his occasional fusing of memory and     
imagination1 and the lapses of          
recollection entirely concerning things 
he did not wish to remember4 ,the       
,memoirs were begun when he was         
fifty-eight and finished when he was    
sixty-three3 thus many years had elapsed
 between the doing and the recording4   
,the ,constable ,bourbon was killed at  
the siege of ,rome3 ,cellini was present
 at the siege and killed several men3   
therefore what more probable than that  

,cellini killed the ,constable8 ,cellini
 calmly records that it was he who did  
the deed4 ,he also tells that he killed 
,william1 ,prince of ,orange2 in fact1  
he killed at least one man a day for    
many weeks4 ,at this distance of time we
 should be quite willing to take his    
word for it1 just as we would1 most     
certainly1 if he had told us these      
things face to face4  ,in one incidental
 paragraph he records that he christened
 a son1 and adds3 ,so far as ,i can     
remember this was my first child4 ,he   
drops the record there1 never once      
alluding to the child's mother1 nor what
 became of the child1 which if it lived 
was a man grown at the time ,cellini was
 writing4  ,his intense hatred toward   
all who were in direct competition with 
him1 his references to them as          
cheese-mites1 beasts1 buzzards and      
brigands1 his fears of poison1 and      
suspicions that they had curdled his    
bronze2 his visitations by spirits and  
angels1 mark him as a man who trod the  

borderland of sanity4 ,if he did not    
like a woman or she did not like        
him--the same thing--she was a troll1   
wench1 scullion1 punk1 trollop or hussy4
 ,he had such a beautiful vocabulary of 
names for folks he did not admire1 that 
the translator is constantly put to     
straits to produce a product that will  
not be excluded from the mails4  ,if you
 want to know how things were done when 
knighthood was in flower1 you can find  
out here4 ,or should you be possessed of
 literary longing and have a desire to  
produce some such cheerful message for  
humanity as ,a ,gentleman of ,france1   
,monsieur ,beaucaire1 or ,under the ,red
 ,robe1 you can sink your shaft in      
,cellini's book and mine enough         
incidents in an hour to make a volume1  
with a by-product of slag for several   
,penny ,shockers4  ,yet ,cellini has    
corroborated history on many points1 and
 backed up the gossipy ,vasari in a     
valuable way4 ,it is very doubtful      
whether either of these gentlemen had   

ever the felicity of reading the other's
 book1 unless there be books in         
,elysium--as ,charles ,lamb thought     
there were--but sure it is that they    
render sidelights on the times that are 
much to our profit4 ,vasari and ,cellini
 had been close friends in youth1       
working and studying together4 ,vasari  
was a poor artist and a commonplace     
architect1 but he seemed to have social 
qualities that bridged the gulf where   
his talent broke off short4 ,in the     
,palazzo ,vecchio are several large     
specimens of his work that must have    
been once esteemed for their own sake4  
,now their chief value lies in the fact 
that they are a ,hop-,smith production1 
having been painted by a pleasing writer
 and a charming gentleman1 and so we    
point them out with forefinger and bated
 breath4  ,cellini's hate of ,vasari    
proves1 also1 that the ,gossipy ,one    
stood well with the reigning powers1    
otherwise ,benvenuto would not have     
thought to condemn his work and allude  

to the man as a dough-face1 trickster1  
lickspittle1 slanderer1 vulture1 vagrom1
 villain1 vilifier and gnat's hind-foot4
 ,cellini threatened to kill the man    
several times3 he denounced him in      
public and used to call after him on the
 street1 referring to him cheerfully as 
a deep-dyed rogue4 ,had either of these 
men killed the other1 it would have been
 a loss to letters2 but certain it is   
that ,vasari was much more of a         
gentleman than ,cellini4 ,that ,vasari  
was judicial in his estimates of men is 
shown by his references to ,cellini1    
whom he speaks of as ,a skilled artist1 
of active1 alert and industrious habits1
 who produced many valuable works of    
art1 but who unfortunately was possessed
 of a most unpleasant temper4  ,men are 
so fallible in their estimates of       
contemporaries that one man's statement 
that another is a rogue does not in the 
slightest change our views of that man4 
,what we are1 that we see3 the epithets 
a man applies to another usually fit    

himself better1 and this is the thought 
in mind when we read what ,cellini says 
of ,vasari and ,bandinelli4 ,these men  
were commonplace artists1 but pretty    
good men2 ,cellini was a better artist  
than either1 but not a desirable tenant 
for the upper flat in your house if you 
chanced to reside below4  ,cellini was  
landed behind grated bars many times1   
but usually managed to speedily escape4 
,however1 in his thirty-eighth year1 he 
found himself in a dungeon of ,sant'    
,angelo1 that grim fortress that he had 
fought so vigorously to defend4  ,more  
than one homicide the ,recording ,angel 
had marked up against him1 but men took 
small note of these things1 and even    
,pope ,paul had personally blessed him  
and granted him absolution for all the  
murders he had committed or might       
commit--this in consideration of his    
distinguished services in defense of the
 ,vatican4  ,the charge against him now 
was the very humdrum one of stealing    
treasure that he was supposed to guard4 

,that he was innocent there is no doubt3
 whatever the man was1 he was no thief4 
,the charge against him was a trumped-up
 one to get him out of the way4 ,he was 
painfully in evidence--he talked like a 
windmill1 and in his swaggering he had  
become inconvenient1 if not dangerous1  
to some who were close to political     
greatness4 ,no one caring for the job of
 killing him1 they locked him up1 for   
the good of himself and society4 ,it    
probably was the intention to keep him  
under key for only a few weeks1 until   
his choler would subside2 but he was so 
saucy1 and sent out such a stream of    
threats to all concerned1 that things   
reached a point where it was unsafe to  
liberate him4  ,so he was kept in the   
,castle for over two years1 during which
 time he once escaped1 broke his leg in 
the effort1 was recaptured and brought  
back4  ,a prison is not wholly bad--men 
in prison often have time to study and  
think1 where before such things were    
impossible4 ,at least they are free from

 intrusion4 ,cellini became deeply      
religious--he read his ,bible and the   
lives of the saints4 ,ministering angels
 came to him1 and spirits appeared and  
whispered words of comfort4 ,the man    
became softened and subdued4 ,he wrote  
poetry1 and recorded his thoughts on    
many things4 ,in the meantime1 his      
accuser having died1 he was given his   
liberty4 ,he was a better and a wiser   
man when he came out than when he went  
in1 although one fails to find that he  
was exactly grateful to his captors4    
,in prison he planned various statues of
 a religious order4 ,it was in prison1  
too1 that he thought out the ,perseus   
and ,medusa4 ,in prison1 works like the 
,pieta were his ambition1 but when      
freedom came the ,perseus was uppermost 
in his mind4 ,every great work of art is
 an evolution--the man sees it first as 
a mere germ--it grows1 enlarges1        
evolves4 ,the ,perseus of ,cellini was a
 thought that took years to germinate4  
,the bloody nature of the man and his   

love of form united1 and the world has  
this wonderful work of art that stands  
today exactly where its creator placed  
it1 in the ,loggia de' ,lanzia--that    
beautiful out-of-door hall on the       
,piazza ,signora at ,florence4 ,the     
naked man1 wearing his proud helmet1 one
 foot on the writhing body of the       
wretched woman1 sword in right hand and 
in the left the dripping head1 is a     
terrible picture4 ,yet so exquisite is  
the workmanship that our horror soon    
evaporates into admiration1 and we gaze 
in wonder4 ,probably the history of no  
great work of art has ever been more    
painstakingly presented than the story  
of the making of this statue by         
,cellini4 ,again and again he was on the
 point of smashing the clay to chaos1   
but each time his hand was stayed4      
,months passed1 years went by1 and      
innumerable difficulties were in the way
 of its completion4 ,finally he figured 
out a method to cast it in bronze4 ,and 
of its final casting no better taste of 

the man's quality can be given than to  
let him tell the story himself4 ,says   
,cellini3  ,i felt convinced that when  
my ,perseus was accomplished1 all my    
trials would be turned to high felicity 
and glorious well-being4  ,accordingly  
,i strengthened my heart1 and with all  
the forces of my body and my purse1     
employing what little money still       
remained to me1 ,i set to work4 ,first  
,i provided myself with several loads of
 pine- wood from the forests of         
,serristori4 ,while these were on their 
way1 ,i clothed my ,perseus with the    
clay which ,i had prepared many months  
beforehand1 in order that it might be   
duly seasoned4 ,after making its clay   
tunic 7for that is the term used in this
 art7 and properly arming and fencing it
 with iron girders1 ,i began to draw the
 wax out by means of slow fire4 ,this   
melted and issued through numerous air- 
vents ,i had made2 for the more there   
are of these1 the better will the mold  
fill4 ,when ,i had finished drawing off 

the wax1 ,i constructed a funnel-shaped 
furnace all round the model of my       
,perseus4 ,it was built of bricks1 so   
interlaced1 the one above the other1    
that numerous apertures were left for   
the fire to exhale at4 ,then ,i began to
 lay on wood by degrees1 and kept it    
burning two whole days and nights4  ,at 
length1 when all the wax was gone and   
the mold was well baked1 ,i set to work 
at digging the pit in which to sink it4 
,this ,i performed with scrupulous      
regard to all the rules of art4 ,when ,i
 had finished that part of my work1 ,i  
raised the mold by windlasses and stout 
ropes to a perpendicular position1 and  
suspending it with greatest care one    
cubit above the level of the furnace1 so
 that it hung exactly above the middle  
of the pit1 ,i next lowered it gently   
down into the very bottom of the        
furnace1 and had it firmly placed with  
every possible precaution for its       
safety4 ,when this delicate operation   
was accomplished1 ,i began to bank it up

 with the earth ,i had excavated2 and   
ever as the earth grew higher1 ,i       
introduced its proper air-vents1 which  
were little tubes of earthenware1 such  
as folks use for drains and such-like   
purposes4 ,at length1 ,i felt sure that 
it was admirably fixed1 and that the    
filling-in of the pit and the placing of
 the air-vents had been properly        
performed4 ,i also could see that my    
work-people understood my method1 which 
differed very considerably from that of 
all other masters in the trade4 ,feeling
 confident1 then1 that ,i could rely    
upon them1 ,i next turned to my furnace1
 which ,i had filled with numerous pigs 
of copper and other bronze stuff4 ,the  
pieces were piled according to the laws 
of art1 that is to say1 so resting one  
upon another that the flames could play 
freely through them1 in order that the  
metal might heat and liquefy the sooner4
 ,at last ,i called out heartily to set 
the furnace going4 ,the logs of pine    
were heaped in1 and1 what with the      

unctuous resin of the wood and the good 
draft ,i had given1 my furnace worked so
 well that ,i was obliged to rush from  
side to side to keep it from going too  
fast4 ,the labor was more than ,i could 
stand2 yet ,i forced myself to strain   
every nerve and muscle4 ,to increase my 
anxieties1 the workshop took fire1 and  
we were afraid lest the roof should fall
 upon our heads2 while from the garden  
such a storm of wind and rain kept      
blowing in1 that it perceptibly cooled  
the furnace4  ,battling thus with all   
these untoward circumstances for several
 hours1 and exerting myself beyond even 
the measure of my powerful constitution1
 ,i could at last bear up no longer1 and
 a sudden fever1 of the utmost possible 
intensity1 attacked me4 ,i felt         
absolutely obliged to go and fling      
myself upon my bed4 ,sorely against my  
will having to drag myself away from the
 spot1 ,i turned to my assistants1 about
 ten or more in all1 what with          
master-founders1 hand-workers1 country  

fellows1 and my own special journeymen1 
among whom was ,bernardino ,mannellini1 
my apprentice through several years4 ,to
 him in particular ,i spoke3 ,look1 my  
dear ,bernardino1 that you observe the  
rules which ,i have taught you2 do your 
best with all dispatch1 for the metal   
will soon be fused4 ,you can not go     
wrong2 these honest men will get the    
channels ready2 you will easily be able 
to drive back the two plugs with this   
pair of iron crooks2 and ,i am sure that
 mold will fill miraculously4 ,i feel   
more ill that ,i ever did in all my     
life1 and verily believe that it will   
kill me before a few hours are over4    
,thus with despair at heart1 ,i left    
them1 and betook myself to bed4  ,no    
sooner had ,i got to bed1 than ,i       
ordered my serving-maids to carry food  
and wine for all the men into the       
workshop2 at the same time ,i cried1 ,i 
shall not be alive tomorrow6 ,they tried
 to encourage me1 arguing that my       
illness would pass over1 since it came  

from excessive fatigue4 ,in this way ,i 
spent two hours battling with the fever1
 which steadily increased1 and calling  
out continually1 ,i feel that ,i am     
dying4  ,my housekeeper1 who was named  
,mona ,fiore da ,castel del ,rio1 a very
 notable manager and no less            
warmhearted1 kept chiding me for my     
discouragement2 but1 on the other hand1 
she paid me every kind attention which  
was possible4 ,however1 the sight of my 
physical pain and moral dejection so    
affected her1 that1 in spite of that    
brave heart of hers1 she could not      
refrain from shedding tears2 and yet1 so
 far as she was able1 she took good care
 ,i should not see them4 ,while ,i was  
thus terribly afflicted1 ,i beheld the  
figure of a man enter my chamber1       
twisted in his body into the form of a  
capital ,s4 ,he raised a lamentable1    
doleful voice1 like one who announces   
his last hour to men condemned to die   
upon the scaffold1 and spoke these      
words3 ,o ,benvenuto6 your statue is    

spoiled1 and there is no hope whatever  
of saving it6 ,no sooner had ,i heard   
the shriek of that wretch than ,i gave a
 howl which might have been heard in    
hell4 ,jumping from my bed1 ,i seized my
 clothes and began to dress4 ,the maids1
 and my lad1 and every one who came     
around to help me1 got kicks or blows of
 the fist1 while ,i kept crying out in  
lamentation3 ,ah6 traitors6 enviers6    
,this is an act of treason1 done by     
malice prepense6 ,but ,i swear by ,god  
that ,i will sift it to the bottom1 and 
before ,i die will leave such witness to
 the world of what ,i can do as shall   
make a score of mortals marvel4  ,when  
,i got my clothes on1 ,i strode with    
soul bent on mischief toward the        
workshop2 there ,i beheld the men1 whom 
,i had left erewhile in such high       
spirits1 standing stupefied and         
downcast4 ,i began at once and spoke3   
,up with you6 ,attend to me6 ,since you 
have not been able or willing to obey   
the directions ,i gave you1 obey me now 

that ,i am with you to conduct my work  
in person4 ,let no one contradict me1   
for in cases like this we need the aid  
of hand and hearing1 not of advice4     
,when ,i had uttered these words1 a     
certain ,maestro ,alessandro broke      
silence and said1 ,look you1 ,benvenuto1
 you are going to attempt an enterprise 
which the laws of art do not sanction1  
and which can not succeed4 ,i turned    
upon him with such fury that he and all 
the rest of them exclaimed with one     
voice3 ,oh then6 ,give orders6 ,we will 
obey your least commands1 so long as    
life is left to us4 ,i believe they     
spoke thus feelingly because they       
thought ,i must fall shortly dead upon  
the ground4 ,i went immediately to      
inspect the furnace1 and found that the 
metal was all curdled2 an accident which
 we expressed by being caked4 ,i told   
two of the hands to cross the road1 and 
fetch from the house of the butcher     
,capretta a load of young oak- wood1    
which had lain dry for above a year4 ,so

 soon as the first armfuls arrived1 ,i  
began to fill the grate beneath the     
furnace4 ,now oak-wood of that kind     
heats more powerfully than any other    
sort of tree2 and for this reason1 where
 a slow fire is wanted1 as in the case  
of gun-foundry1 alder or pine is        
preferred4 ,accordingly1 when the logs  
took fire1 oh6 how the cake began to    
stir beneath that awful heat1 to glow   
and sparkle in a blaze6 ,at the same    
time ,i kept stirring up the channels1  
and sent men upon the roof to stop the  
conflagration1 which had gathered force 
from the increased combustion in the    
furnace2 also ,i caused boards1 carpets1
 and other hangings to be set up against
 the garden1 in order to protect us from
 the violence of the rain4  ,when ,i had
 thus provided against these several    
disasters1 ,i roared out first to one   
man and then to another3 ,bring this    
thing here6 ,take that thing there6 ,at 
this crisis1 when the whole gang saw the
 cake was on the point of melting1 they 

did my bidding1 each fellow working with
 the strength of three4 ,i then ordered 
half a pig of pewter to be brought1     
which weighed about sixty pounds1 and   
flung it into the middle of the cake    
inside the furnace4 ,by this means1 and 
by piling on wood and stirring now with 
pokers and now with iron rods1 the      
curdling mass rapidly began to liquefy4 
,then1 knowing ,i had brought the dead  
to life again1 against the firm opinion 
of those ignoramuses1 ,i felt such vigor
 fill my veins that all those pains of  
fever1 all those fears of death1 were   
quite forgotten4  ,all of a sudden an   
explosion took place1 attended by a     
tremendous flash of flame1 as though a  
thunderbolt had formed and been         
discharged amongst us4 ,unwonted and    
appalling terror astonished every one1  
and me more even than the rest4 ,when   
the din was over and the dazzling light 
extinguished1 we began to look each     
other in the face4 ,then ,i discovered  
that the cap of the furnace had blown   

up1 and the bronze was bubbling over    
from its source beneath4 ,so ,i had the 
mouths of my mold immediately opened1   
and at the same time drove in the two   
plugs which kept back the molten metal4 
,but ,i noticed that it did not flow as 
rapidly as usual1 the reason being      
probably that the fierce heat of the    
fire we kindled had consumed its base   
alloy4 ,accordingly ,i sent for all my  
pewter platters1 porringers and dishes1 
to the number of some two hundred       
pieces1 and had a portion of them cast1 
one by one1 into the channels1 the rest 
into the furnace4 ,this expedient       
succeeded1 and every one could now      
perceive that my bronze was in most     
perfect liquefaction1 and my mold was   
filling2 whereupon they all with        
heartiness and happy cheer assisted and 
obeyed my bidding1 while ,i1 now here1  
now there1 gave orders1 helped with my  
own hands1 and cried aloud3 ,o ,god6    
,thou that by ,thy immeasurable power   
didst rise from the dead1 and in ,thy   

glory didst ascend to heaven6 444 even  
thus in a moment my mold was filled2 and
 seeing my work finished1 ,i fell upon  
my knees1 and with all my heart gave    
thanks to ,god4 ,after all was over1 ,i 
turned to a plate of salad on a bench   
there1 and ate with hearty appetite1 and
 drank together with the whole crew4    
,afterwards ,i retired to bed1 healthy  
and happy1 for it was now two hours     
before morning1 and slept as sweetly as 
though ,i had never felt the touch of   
illness4 ,my good housekeeper1 without  
my giving any orders1 had prepared a fat
 capon for my repast4 ,so that1 when ,i 
rose1 about the hour for breaking fast1 
she presented herself with a smiling    
countenance1 and said3 ,oh6 is that the 
man who felt that he was dying8 ,upon my
 word1 ,i think the blows and kicks you 
dealt us last night1 when you were so   
enraged1 and had that demon in your body
 as it seemed1 must have frightened away
 your mortal fever6  ,all my poor       
household1 relieved in like measure from

 anxiety and overwhelming labor1 went at
 once to buy earthen vessels in order to
 replace the pewter ,i had cast away4   
,then we dined together joyfully2 nay1  
,i can not remember a day in my whole   
life when ,i dined with greater gladness
 or a better appetite4   ,though forms  
may change1 nothing dies4 ,everything is
 in circulation4 ,men1 as well as       
planets1 have their orbits4 ,some have a
 wider swing than others1 but just wait 
and they will come back4 ,not only do   
chickens come home to roost1 but so does
 everything else4 ,the place of         
,cellini's birth was also the place of  
his death4 ,the limit of his stay in one
 place1 at one time1 it seems1 was about
 two years4 ,the man was a sort of human
 anachronism--he had in his heart all   
the beauty and passion of the           
,renaissance1 and carried1 too1 the     
savagery and density of the ,dark ,ages4
 ,that his skill as a designer and      
artificer in the fine metals saved him  
from death again and again1 there is no 

doubt4 ,princes1 cardinals1 popes1 dukes
 and priests protected him simply       
because he could serve them4 ,he        
designed altars1 caskets1 bracelets1    
vases1 girdles1 clasps1 medals1 rings1  
coins1 buttons1 seals--a tiara for the  
,pope1 a diadem for an ,emperor4 ,with  
minute and exquisite things he was at   
his best4 ,the final proof that he was  
human and his name frailty lies in the  
fact that he was a busybody4  ,as he    
worked he always knew what others about 
him were doing4 ,if they were poor      
workmen1 he encouraged them in a        
friendly way2 if they were beyond him   
and out of his class1 like              
,michelangelo1 he was subservient2 but  
if they were on his plane he hated them 
with a hatred that was passing speech4  
,there was usually art and a woman      
hopelessly mixed in his melees4 ,in his 
migrations he swung between ,florence1  
,pisa1 ,mantua and ,rome1 and clear to  
,france when necessary4 ,when he arrived
 in a town he would soon become a       

favorite with other skilled workers4    
,naturally he would be introduced to    
their lady friends4 ,these ladies were  
usually complaisant1 to use his own     
phrase4 ,soon he would be on very good  
terms with one or more of them2 then    
would come jealousies2 he would tire of 
the lady1 or she of him more probably2  
then1 if she took up with a goldsmith1  
,benvenuto would hate the pair with a   
beautiful hatred4 ,he would be sure that
 they were plotting to undo him3 he     
would listen to their remarks1 lie in   
wait for them1 watch their actions1     
quietly question their friends4 ,then   
suddenly some dark night he would spring
 upon them from behind a corner and cry1
 ,you are all dead folk6 ,and sometimes 
they were4  ,then ,cellini would fly    
without leaving orders where to forward 
his mail4 ,getting into another         
principality1 he was comparatively      
safe-- the place he left was glad to get
 rid of him1 and the new princeling who 
had taken him up was pleased to secure  

his skill4 ,under the new environment1  
with all troubles behind1 he would begin
 a clean balance-sheet1 full of zest and
 animation4  ,the human heart does not  
change4 ,every employing printer1       
lithographer and newspaper-publisher    
knows this erratic1 brilliant1 artistic 
and troublesome man4 ,he does good      
service for just so long1 then the      
environment begins to pall upon him3 he 
grows restless1 suspicious1 uncertain4  
,he is looking for a chance to bolt4    
,strong drink comes in to hasten the    
ruction4 ,there is a strike1 a fight1 an
 explosion1 and our artistic tramp finds
 himself on the sidewalk4  ,he goes away
 damning everybody4 ,in two years1 or   
less1 he comes back1 penitent4 ,old     
scores are forgotten1 several of the    
enemy are dead1 others have passed on   
into circulation1 and the artistic      
roustabout is given a desk or a case4   
,cellini's book is immensely interesting
 for various reasons1 not the least of  
which is that he pictures1 indirectly1  

that restlessness and nostalgia which   
only the grave can cure4 ,and at the    
last our condemnation is swallowed up in
 pity1 and we can only think kindly of  
one who was his own worst enemy1 who    
succeeded in a few things1 and like the 
rest of us1 failed in many4     ,,abbey 
,as an illustrator1 ,abbey combined     
daintiness with a fair measure of       
dramatic feeling for the pose4 ,a       
modicum of old ,benjamin ,west's        
tendency to the grandiose would have    
done ,abbey no harm2 but if his         
imagination balked at the higher flights
 often attained by ,gustave ,dore1 and  
sometimes by ,elihu ,vedder1 yet there  
is a charm in his sobriety1 there is    
something which compels our respect in  
the workmanlike method1 in the evidences
 of thoroughness which appeared in all  
he wrought4 ,some of his ,shakespeare   
figures linger in the memory like that  
of ,iago as played by ,edwin ,booth1 or 
that of ,rosalind as played by          
,modjeska4   --,charles de ,kay         

,illustration3 ,abbey   ,edwin ,a4      
,abbey was born in ,philadelphia 7not of
 his own choosing7 in the year ,eighteen
 ,hundred ,fifty-two4 ,his parents were 
blessed in that they had neither poverty
 nor riches4 ,their ambition for ,edwin 
was that he should enter one of the     
so-called ,learned ,professions2 but    
this was not to the boy's taste4 ,i fear
 me he was a heretic through prenatal   
influences1 for they do say that he was 
a child of his mother4 ,this mother's   
mind was tinted with her ,quaker        
associations until she doubted the five 
points of ,calvinism and had small faith
 in the ,thirty-nine ,articles4 ,she was
 able to think for herself and act for  
herself2 and as she perceived that the  
preachers were making a guess1 so she   
discovered that doctors with bushy      
eyebrows1 who wore dogskin gloves in    
,summer and who coughed when you asked  
them a question--gaining time to        
formulate a reply--didn't know much more
 about measles1 mumps1 chicken-pox and  

whooping-cough than she did herself4    
,philadelphia has always had a plethora 
of ,medical ,journals and dogmatic      
doctors4 ,living in ,philadelphia and   
having had a little experience with     
doctors1 ,mrs4 ,abbey let them severely 
alone and prescribed the pediluvium1    
hop-tea1 sulphur and molasses and a     
roll-up in warm blankets for            
everything--and with great success4     
,beyond this she filled the day with    
work and kept everybody else at work4   
,the moral of ,old ,deacon ,buffum1     
,blessed is the man who has found some  
one to do his work1 had no place in her 
creed4 ,to her1 every one had his work  
that no other could do1 and every day   
had its work which could not be done any
 other day1 and success and health and  
happiness lay in doing well whatever you
 attempted4  ,having eliminated two of  
the ,learned ,professions from her      
ambitions for her boy1 the ,law was left
 as the only choice4  ,to be a          
,philadelphia lawyer is a proud and     

vaulting ambition4 ,philadelphia lawyers
 are exceedingly astute1 and are able to
 confuse the simplest propositions1 thus
 hopelessly befogging judge and jury4   
,on the banks of the ,schuylkill all    
jurors are provided with dice so as to  
decide the cases with perfect           
justice--small dice for little cases and
 large dice for big ones4 ,philadelphia 
lawyers carry green bags full of briefs1
 remarkable for everything but brevity2 
also statutes1 recognizances1 tenures1  
double-vouchers1 fines1 recoveries1     
indentures1 not to mention quiddities1  
quillets1 quirks and quips4             
,philadelphia lawyers have high         
foreheads and many clients4 ,lawyers are
 educated men1 looked up to and         
respected by all--this was the ,abbey   
idea4 ,of course1 it will be observed   
that it was an idea that could be held  
by people only who had viewed lawyers   
from a safe distance4  ,fortunately for 
the ,abbeys1 they had really no more use
 for the lawyers than they had for the  

two other ,learned ,professions4 ,their 
idea of a lawyer was gained from seeing 
one pass their house every morning at   
nine forty-five1 for ten years4 ,he wore
 a high hat1 and carried a gold-headed  
cane in one hand and a green bag in the 
other4 ,he lived on ,walnut ,street1    
below ,ninth in a three-story house with
 white marble steps and white shutters1 
tied with black strips of bombazine in  
token of the death of a brother who     
passed out in infancy4  ,edwin should be
 a lawyer1 and be an honor to the family
 name4  ,but alas6 ,edwin was small and 
had a low forehead and squint eyes4 ,he 
didn't care for books--all he would do  
was draw pictures4 ,now1 all children   
make pictures--before they can read1    
they draw4 ,and before they can draw    
they get the family shears and cut the  
pictures out of ,harper's ,weekly4 ,this
 boy cut pictures out of ,harper's      
,weekly when he wore dresses1 and when  
,george ,william ,curtis first filled   
the ,easy ,chair4 ,edwin cut out the    

pictures1 not because they were         
especially bad1 but because he1 like all
 other children1 was an artist in the   
germ2 and the artist instinct is to     
detach the thing1 lift it out1 set it   
apart1 and then give it away4  ,all     
children draw pictures1 ,i said1 and    
this is true1 but most children can be  
cured of the habit by patience and an   
occasional box on the ear1 judiciously  
administered4 ,all children are         
sculptors1 too2 that is to say1 they    
want to make things out of mud or dough 
or wax or putty2 but no mother who sets 
her heart on clean guimpes and pinafores
 can afford for a moment to indulge in  
such inclinations4 ,to give children    
dough1 putty and the shears would keep  
your house in a pretty                  
litter--lawksadaisy6  ,mrs4 ,abbey hid  
the shears1 put the ,harper's on a high 
shelf and took the boy's pencils away1  
and threw the putty out into ,fourth    
,street1 below ,vine4 ,then the boy had 
tantrums1 and as a compromise got all   

his playthings back4  ,yes1 this squat1 
beetle-browed1 and bow-legged boy had   
his way4 ,beetle-browed1 bow-legged     
folks usually do4 ,caesar and ,cromwell 
had bow-legs1 so had ,napoleon1 and so  
have ,pierpont ,morgan and ,james ,j4   
,hill4 ,charles the ,first was          
knock-kneed4 ,knock-knees are a         
deformity2 bow-legs an accident4        
,bulldogs have bow-legs2 hounds are     
knock-kneed4 ,bow-legs mean will plus--a
 determination to do--the child insists 
on walking before the cartilage has     
turned to bone4 ,spirit is stronger than
 matter--hence the ,greek curve4        
,little ,edwin ,abbey ran the ,abbey    
household and drew because he wanted    
to--on sidewalks1 white steps1          
kitchen-wall1 or the fly- leaves in     
books4  ,rumor has it that ,edwin ,abbey
 did not get along very well at school  
--instead of getting his lessons he drew
 pictures1 and thirty years ago such    
conduct was proof of total depravity4   
,like the amateur blacksmith who started

 to make a horseshoe and finally        
contented himself with a fizzle1 the    
,abbeys gave up theology and law1 and   
decided that if ,edwin became a good    
printer it would be enough4 ,and then1  
how often printers became writers--then 
editors and finally proprietors6 ,edwin 
might yet own the ,ledger and have a    
collection of four hundred seventy-two  
clocks4  ,through a mutual friend1 ,mr4 
,childs was interviewed and ,edwin was  
set to work in the ,typesetting         
,department of the ,ledger4 ,evenings   
and an hour three times a week he       
sketched in the free class at the       
,academy of ,art4  ,how long he remained
 in the newspaper work1 ,i do not know1 
but there came a day when ,mr4 ,childs  
and his minions1 having no use for      
,edwin1 gave him a letter of            
recommendation to the ,art ,department  
of ,harper's ,weekly4  ,that ,george ,w4
 ,childs had a really firm friendship   
for young ,abbey1 there is no doubt4 ,he
 followed his career with fatherly      

interest1 and was the first man1 so far 
as ,i know1 who had the prophetic vision
 to see that he would become a great    
artist4 ,george ,w4 ,childs was a       
many-sided man4 ,he had a clear head for
 business1 was a judge of human nature1 
a patron of the arts1 a collector of    
rare and curious things1 and wrote with 
clearness1 force and elegance4 ,men of  
such strong personality have decided    
likings1 and they also have decided     
aversions4 ,the pet aversion of ,childs 
was tobacco4 ,all through the ,ledger   
office were startling signs1 ,no        
smoking6 ,it was never1 ,please do not  
smoke1 or ,smoking interferes with      
,insurance6 ,not these--the order was   
imperative4 ,and the mutability of human
 affairs1 as well as life's little      
ironies1 is now shown in the fact that  
the name and fame of ,george ,w4 ,childs
 is deathless through a wonderful       
five-cent cigar4  ,whether the use of   
tobacco had anything to do with young   
,abbey's breaking with his ,ledger      

friends1 is a question4 ,tradition has  
it that ,childs extracted from the youth
 a promise1 on his going away1 that he  
would never use the weed4 ,the ,union   
,square records fail us at times1 but it
 is believed that ,abbey kept his       
promise for fully three weeks4   ,edwin 
,abbey learned to swim by jumping into  
deep water1 says ,henry ,james4 ,a young
 man in the ,art ,department of an      
absurdly punctual periodical1 before the
 ,era of the ,halftone1 just had to     
draw1 and that was all there was about  
it4  ,things were happening uptown1     
downtown1 over in ,boston1 and out as   
far as ,buffalo--and the young men in   
the ,art ,department were sent to make  
pictures4 ,the experience of a reporter 
develops facility--you have to do the   
assignment4 ,to write well and rapidly  
on any subject1 the position of reporter
 on an old-time daily approached the    
ideal4 ,even the drone became animated1 
when the copy must be in inside of two  
hours4 ,the way to learn to write is to 

write4 ,but young men will not write of 
their own free will2 the literary       
first-mate in way of a ,managing ,editor
 with a loaded club of expletives is    
necessary4 ,or1 stay6 there is another  
way to stimulate the ganglionic cells   
and become dexterous in the cosmic      
potentiality--the ,daily ,theme sent to 
a woman who thinks and feels4 ,that is  
the way that ,goethe acquired his style4
 ,there were love-letters that crossed  
each other daily1 and after years of    
this practise--the sparks               
a-flying--,goethe found himself the     
greatest stylist of his day4 ,love      
taught him4  ,to write for a daily paper
 is a great drill1 only you must not    
keep at it too long or you will find    
yourself bound to the wheel1 a part of  
the roaring machinery4  ,combine the    
daily paper with the daily love-letter  
and you have the ideal condition for    
forming a literary style2 and should you
 drop out one1 why1 cleave to the       
second1 would be the advice of a        

theorist4  ,to draw pictures is simply  
one way of telling a story4 ,abbey told 
the story1 and there was soon evidence  
in better work that he was telling it   
for ,some ,one4 ,get a complete file of 
,harper's ,weekly1 say from ,eighteen   
,hundred ,seventy-two to ,eighteen      
,hundred ,ninety1 and you can trace the 
,evolution of the ,art of ,edwin ,abbey4
 ,if any of the ,abbey pictures have    
been removed1 the books are chiefly     
valuable as junk2 but if the set can be 
advertised1 as ,i saw one yesterday1    
with all of ,abbey's drawings1 warranted
 intact1 the set of books commands a    
price4 ,people are now wisely collecting
 ,harper's simply because ,abbey was    
once a part of the ,art ,department4    
,and the value of the books will        
increase with the years1 for they trace 
the gradual but sure evolution of a     
great and lofty soul4   ,edwin ,abbey   
was nineteen years old when he accepted 
a position--more properly1 secured a    
job--in the ,art ,department of         

,harper's4 ,the records of the office   
show his salary was seven dollars a     
week--but it did not stay at that figure
 always4 ,the young man did not get     
along well at school1 and he was not a  
success as a printer2 but he could focus
 his force at the end of a pencil1 and  
he did4 ,transplantation often turns a  
weed into a flower4 ,it seems a hard    
saying and a grievous one1 but the      
salvation of many a soul turns on       
getting away from one's own family4     
,they are wise parents that do not prove
 a handicap to their children4 ,the good
 old-fashioned idea was that parents    
were wholly responsible for their       
children's coming into the world1 and   
that1 therefore1 they owned them body   
and soul until they reached their       
majority--and even then the restraint   
was little removed4 ,well1 and what are 
you going to make of ,william8 and ,to  
whom are you going to marry ,fanny8 were
 once common questions4 ,and all the    
while the fact remains that the child is

 not ,god's gift to parents4 ,children  
are only ,god-given tenants4 ,use them  
well if you would have them remain with 
you as the joy of love and life and     
light4 ,give the child love and then    
more love and then love and freedom to  
live his ,god-given life4 ,then all the 
precepts you would give him for his own 
good1 he will absorb from you and you   
need not say a word4 ,trying to teach a 
child by telling him is worthless and   
puts you in a bad light4 ,a child has   
not lost his heavenly vision and sees   
you as you are1 not minding what you    
say4  ,at ,harper's ,abbey came into    
competition with strong men4 ,in the    
office was a young fellow by the name of
 ,reinhart and another by the name of   
,alexander--they used to call him       
,alexander the ,great1 and he has nearly
 proved his title4  ,a little later came
 ,howard ,pyle1 ,joseph ,fennel and     
,alfred ,parsons4 ,young ,abbey did his 
work with much good-cheer1 and sought to
 place himself with the best4 ,for a    

time he drew just like ,alexander1 then 
like ,reinhart2 next1 ,parsons was his  
mentor4 ,finally he drifted out on a sea
 of his own1 and this seems to have been
 in the year of the ,centennial         
,exhibition4 ,harper's sent the young   
man over to ,philadelphia1 or perhaps he
 went of his own accord2 anyway1 he     
haunted the art-rooms at the            
,exhibition1 and got a lesson there that
 spurred his genius as it had never been
 spurred before4  ,he was then          
twenty-four years old4 ,his salary had  
been increased to ten dollars a week1   
fifteen1 twenty-five3 if he wanted money
 for expenses he applied to the cashier4
 ,there is more good honest velvet in an
 ,expense-,account than in the ,stock   
,exchange1 which true saying has nothing
 to do with ,abbey4 ,at the ,centennial 
,abbey discovered the ,arthurian        
,legend--fell over it1 just as ,william 
,morris fell over the ,icelandic ,sagas 
when past fifty4 ,abbey had been called 
the ,stage-,coachman at ,harper's1      

because he had developed a faculty for  
picturing old taverns at that exciting  
moment when horses were being changed   
and the driver1 in a bell-crowned white 
hat and wonderful waistcoat1 tosses his 
lines to a fellow in tight hair-cut and 
still tighter breeches1 and a woman in  
big hoops gets out of the stage with    
many bandboxes and a birdcage4 ,the way 
,abbey breathed into the scene the      
breath of life was wonderful--just a    
touch of comedy1 without caricature6 ,if
 it is in ,seventeen ,hundred           
,seventy-six1 give it to ,abbey1 said   
the ,managing ,editor1 with a growl--for
 ,managing ,editors1 being beasts1      
always growl4  ,abbey and ,parsons had  
walked to ,philadelphia and back1 taking
 two weeks for the trip1 sketching on   
the way stagecoaches1 taverns1 tall     
houses and old wooden bridges1 all      
pinned together--just these and nothing 
else1 save ,independence ,hall4 ,later1 
they went to ,boston and did ,faneuil   
,hall1 inside and out1 ,king's ,chapel  

and the ,state ,house1 and a house or   
two out ,quincyway1 including the ,adams
 cottage1 where lived two ,presidents1  
and where now resides one ,william      
,spear1 the only honorary male member of
 the ,daughters of the ,revolution4 ,mr4
 ,spear dominates the artistic bailiwick
 and performs antique antics for ,art's 
sake3 it was ,mr4 ,spear who posed as   
,tony ,lumpkin for ,mr4 ,abbey4  ,abbey 
had done ,washington ,irving's          
,knickerbocker tales and the various    
,washington's ,headquarters4 ,he worked 
exclusively in black and white--crayon1 
pencil or pen and ink4 ,his hand had    
taken on a style--powdered wigs1        
spit-curls1 hoops1 flaring sunbonnets1  
cocked hats and the tallyho6 ,these were
 his properties4 ,he worked from model  
plus imagination4 ,he had exhausted the 
antique in ,america--he thirsted to     
refresh his imagination in ,england4    
,the ,centennial ,exhibition had done   
its deadly work--,abbey and ,parsons    
were dissatisfied--they wanted to see   

more4 ,back of the stagecoach times lay 
the days of the castle4 ,back of the    
musket was the blunderbuss1 and back of 
these were the portcullis1 the moat1 the
 spear and coats of mail4  ,a deluxe    
edition of ,herrick was proposed by the 
,publishing ,department3 some say the   
,art ,department made the suggestion4   
,anyway1 there was a consultation in the
 manager's office1 and young ,abbey was 
to go to ,england to look up the scene  
and with his pencil bring the past up to
 the present4  ,abbey was going to      
,england1 that is just all there was    
about it1 and ,harper and ,brothers did 
not propose to lose their hold upon him4
 ,salary was waived1 but expenses were  
advanced1 and the understanding was that
 ,abbey was ,harper's man4 ,this was in 
,eighteen ,hundred ,seventy-eight1 with 
,abbey's twenty-sixth birthday yet to   
come4 ,abbey had gone around and bidden 
everybody good-by1 including his        
old-time chum1 ,alfred ,parsons4        
,parsons was going to the dock to see   

him off4  ,i wish you were going1 too1  
said ,edwin1 huskily4 ,i believe ,i     
will1 said ,alfred1 swallowing hard4    
,and he did4  ,the ,managing ,editor    
growled furiously1 but to no avail1 for 
the ,cunarder that bore the boys was    
then well out toward the ,banks4   ,it  
was an ,american that discovered        
,stratford2 and it is the ,peter's pence
 of ,american tourists that now largely 
support the town4 ,at ,stratford1       
,washington ,irving jostles the ,master 
for the first place1 and when we drink  
at the ,george ,w4 ,childs fountain we  
piously pour a libation to all three4   
,like all bookish and artistic          
,americans1 when ,abbey and ,parsons    
thought of ,england they thought of     
,shakespeare's ,england--the ,england   
that ,washington ,irving had made plain4
  ,washington ,irving seemed very close 
to our young men--,london held them only
 a few days and then they started for   
,stratford4 ,they went afoot1 as became 
men who carried crayons that scorned the

 steam- horse4 ,they took the road for  
,oxford and stopped at the tavern where 
the gossips aver that the author of     
,love's ,labor's ,lost made love to the 
landlord's wife--a thing ,i never would 
believe1 e'en though ,i knew 't were    
true4 ,from ,oxford the young men made  
their way to storied ,warwick1 where the
 portcullis is raised--or lowered1 ,i do
 not remember which--every evening at   
sundown to tap of drum4 ,it is the same 
old ,warwick ,castle that ,shakespeare  
knew2 the same cedars of ,lebanon that  
he saw2 the same screaming peacocks2 the
 same circling rooks and daws1 and down 
across the lazy ,avon over the meadows  
the same skylark vibrates the happy air4
  ,young ,abbey saw these things1 just  
as ,washington ,irving saw them1 and he 
saw them just as the boy ,william       
,shakespeare saw them4  ,nine miles from
 ,warwick lies ,stratford4 ,but at      
,stratford the tourist is loosed2 the   
picnicker is abroad2 the voice of the   
pedant is heard in the land1 and the    

,baconian is upon us4 ,abbey and        
,parsons stopped at the ,red ,horse ,inn
 and slept in the room that ,washington 
,irving occupied1 and they do say now   
that ,irving occupied every room in the 
house4 ,stratford was not to the liking 
of our friends4 ,they wanted to be in   
the ,shakespeare country for six months1
 that was what the ,managing ,editor    
said--six months1 mind you4 ,but they   
did not want to study the tourist4 ,they
 wanted to be just a little off the     
beaten track of travel1 away from the   
screech of the locomotive1 where they   
could listen and hear the echoes of a   
tallyho horn1 the crack of the driver's 
whip1 and the clatter of the coming     
stagecoach4  ,the village of ,broadway  
is twelve miles from ,stratford1 and    
five miles from the nearest             
railway-station4 ,the worst thing about 
the place for a ,new-,yorker is the     
incongruity of the name4  ,in ,broadway 
not a new house has been built for a    
century1 and several of the buildings   

date back four hundred years4 ,abbey and
 ,parsons found a house they were told  
was built in ,fifteen ,hundred          
,sixty-three4 ,the place was furnished  
complete1 done by those who had been    
dust a hundred years4 ,the rafters      
overhead were studded with handmade     
nails1 where used to hang the flitches  
of bacon and bunches of dried herbs2 the
 cooking would have to be performed in  
the fireplace or in the ,dutch oven2    
funny little cupboards were in the      
corners2 and out behind the cottage     
stretched a ,god's half-acre of the     
prettiest flower-garden ever seen1 save 
the one at ,bordentown where lived      
,abbey's ladylove4  ,the rent was ten   
pounds a year4 ,they jumped at it--and  
would have taken it just the same had it
 been twice as much4  ,an old woman who 
lived across the street was hired as    
housekeeper1 and straightway our artists
 threw down their kits and said1 like   
,lincoln1 ,we have moved4 ,the beauty   
and serene peace of middle ,england is  

passing words4 ,no wonder the young     
artists could not paint for several     
weeks--they just drank it in4  ,finally 
they settled down to                    
work--,seventeenth-,century models were 
all around1 and a look up the single    
street would do for a picture4 ,parsons 
painted what he saw2 ,abbey painted what
 he saw plus what he imagined4  ,six    
months went by1 and the growls of the   
,managing ,editor back in ,new ,york    
were quieted with a few sketches4       
,parsons had tried water- color with    
good results2 and ,abbey followed with  
an ,arthurian sketch--a local swain as  
model4  ,several pictures had been sent 
down to ,london--which is up--and       
,london approved4 ,abbey was elected a  
member of ,the ,aquarellists1 just as a 
little later the ,royal ,academy was to 
open its doors1 unsolicited1 for him4   
,two years had gone1 and new            
arrangements must be made with          
,harper's4 ,abbey returned to ,america  
with a trunkful of sketches--enough good

 stuff to illustrate several ,herricks4 
,he remained in ,new ,york eight months1
 long enough to see the book safely     
launched1 and to close up his business  
affairs in ,philadelphia4  ,and the     
,shakespeare country has been his home  
ever since4  ,an artist's work is his   
life--where he can work best is his     
home4 ,patriotism isn't quite so bad as 
old ,ursa ,major said1 but the word is  
not to be found in the bright lexicon of
 ,art4 ,the artist knows no country4    
,his home is the world1 and those who   
love the beautiful are his brethren4    
,abbey has remained in ,england1 not    
that he loves ,america less1 nor        
,england more1 but because the          
,shakespeare country has a flavor of    
antiquity about it that fits his        
artistic mood--it is a good place to    
work4 ,an artist's work is his life4    
,at ,morgan ,hall1 ,fairford1 only a few
 miles from where ,abbey first made his 
home in ,england1 he now lives and      
works4 ,near by lives ,mary ,anderson1  

excellent and gentle woman1 wife and    
mother1 who used to storm the one-night 
stands most successfully4 ,the place is 
old1 vine-clad1 built in sections       
running over a space of three hundred   
years4 ,so lost is it amid the great    
spreading beeches that you have to look 
twice before you see the house from the 
road4  ,happily married to a most worthy
 woman whose only thought is to minister
 to her household1 the days pass4 ,that 
,mrs4 ,abbey never doubts her liege is  
not only the greatest artist1 but the   
greatest man in all ,england1 is a most 
pleasing fact4 ,she believes in him1 and
 she gives him peace4 ,the ,kansas      
,contingent may question whether a      
woman's career is complete who thus     
lives within her home1 and for her      
household1 but to me the old-fashioned  
virtues seem very hard to improve upon4 
,industry1 truth1 trust and abiding     
loyalty--what a bulwark of defense for a
 man who has a message for the world6   
,there is a goodly brood of little      

,abbeys--,i dare not say how many4 ,i   
believe it was nine a year ago1 with an 
addition since4 ,they run wild and free 
along the hedgerows and under the       
beeches1 and if it rains there are the  
stables1 kennels and the finest attic   
that ever was4  ,back of the house and  
attached to it ,mr4 ,abbey has built a  
studio forty feet wide by seventy-five  
long1 and twenty feet high4 ,it is more 
than a studio--it is a royal workshop   
such as ,michelangelo might have used   
for equestrian statues1 or cartoons to  
decorate a palace for the ,pope4 ,dozens
 of pictures1 large and small1 are upon 
the easels4 ,arms1 armor1 furniture1 are
 all about1 while on the shelves are    
vases and old china enough to fill the  
heart of a collector to surfeit4 ,in    
chests and wardrobes are velvets1       
brocades and antique stuffs and         
costumes1 all labeled1 numbered and     
catalogued1 so as to be had when wanted4
  ,this studio was built especially to  
accommodate the paintings for the       

,boston ,public ,library4 ,the          
commission was given in ,eighteen       
,hundred ,ninety1 and the last of the   
decorations has just been put in place1 
in this year of grace1 ,nineteen        
,hundred ,one4 ,abbey's paintings in the
 ,boston ,public ,library cover in all  
something over a thousand square feet of
 space1 and form quite the noblest      
specimen of mural decoration in         
,america4  ,orders were given to ,john  
,s4 ,sargent and ,puvis de ,chavannes at
 the same time that contracts were      
closed with ,abbey4 ,chavannes was the  
first man to get his staging up and the 
first to get it down4 ,he died two years
 ago1 so it is hardly meet to draw a    
moral about the excellence of doing     
things with neatness and dispatch4      
,sargent's ,prophets cover scarcely     
one-tenth of the space assigned him1 and
 the rest is bare white walls1 patiently
 awaiting his brush4 ,recently he was   
asked when he would complete the task1  
and he replied1 ,never1 unless ,i learn 

to paint better than ,i do now--,abbey  
has discouraged me6  ,i need not attempt
 to describe ,abbey's work in the       
,boston ,library--a full account of it  
can be found in the first magazine you  
pick up4 ,but it is a significant fact  
that ,abbey himself is not wholly       
pleased with it4 ,give me a little time1
 he says1 and ,i'll do something worth  
while4  ,these words were spoken half in
 jest1 but there is no doubt that the   
artist1 now in the fulness of his       
powers1 in perfect health1 in love with 
life1 sees before him work to do of such
 vast worth that all that lies behind   
seems but a preparation for that which  
is yet to come4   ,the question is      
sometimes asked1 ,what becomes of all   
the ,valedictorians and ,class-,day     
,poets8 ,i can give information as to   
two parties for whom inquiry is made3   
the ,valedictorian of my ,class is now a
 worthy ,floorwalker in ,siegel1 ,cooper
 and ,company's2 and ,i was the         
,class-,day ,poet4 ,both of us had our  

eyes on the ,goal4 ,we stood on the     
threshold and looked out upon the ,world
 preparatory to going forth1 seizing it 
by the tail and snapping its head off   
for our own delectation4  ,we had our   
eyes fixed on the ,goal--it might better
 have been the ,gaol4  ,it was a very   
absurd thing for us to fix our eyes on  
the ,goal4 ,it strained our vision and  
took our attention from our work4  ,to  
think of the ,goal is to travel the     
distance over and over in your mind and 
dwell on how awfully far off it is4 ,we 
have so little mind --doing business on 
such a small capital of intellect--that 
to wear it threadbare looking for a     
far-off thing is to get hopelessly      
stranded in ,siegel1 ,cooper and        
,company's4  ,siegel1 ,cooper and       
,company's is all right1 too1 but the   
point is this--it wasn't the ,goal6  ,a 
goodly dash of indifference is a        
requisite in the formula for doing a    
great work4  ,nobody knows what the     
,goal is--we are sailing under sealed   

orders4 ,do your work today1 doing it   
the best you can1 and live one day at a 
time4 ,the man that does this is        
conserving his ,god-given energy1 and   
not spinning it out into tenuous        
spider-threads that ,fate will probably 
brush away4  ,to do your work well today
 is the surest preparation for something
 better tomorrow--the past is gone1 the 
future we can not reach1 the present    
only is ours4 ,each day's work is a     
preparation for the next4  ,live in the 
present--the ,day is here1 the time is  
,now4  ,edwin ,a4 ,abbey seems to be the
 perfect type of man1 who by doing all  
his work well1 with no vaulting         
ambitions1 has placed himself right in  
the line of evolution4 ,he is evolving  
into something better1 stronger and     
nobler all the time4 ,that is the only  
thing worth praying for--to be in the   
line of evolution4     ,,whistler  ,art 
happens--no hovel is safe from it1 no   
,prince may depend upon it1 the vastest 
intelligence can not bring it about1 and

 puny efforts to make it universal end  
in quaint comedy1 and coarse farce4     
--,the ,ten-o',clock ,lecture           
,illustration3 ,whistler   ,the ,eternal
 ,paradox of ,things is revealed in the 
fact that the men who have toiled most  
for peace1 beauty and harmony have      
usually lived out their days in discord1
 and in several instances died a        
malefactor's death4 ,just how much      
discord is required in ,god's formula   
for a successful life1 no one knows1 but
 it must have a use1 for it is always   
there4  ,seen from a distance1 out of   
the range of the wordy shrapnel1 the    
literary scrimmage is amusing4          
,gulliver's ,travels made many a heart  
ache1 but it only gladdens ours4 ,pope's
 ,dunciad sent shivers of fear down the 
spine of all artistic ,england1 but we  
read it for the rhyme1 and insomnia4    
,byron's ,english ,bards and ,scotch    
,reviewers gave back to the critics what
 they had given out--to their great     
surprise and indignation1 and our       

amusement4 ,keats died from the stab of 
a pen1 they say1 and whether 't was true
 or not we know that now a suit of      
,cheviot is sufficient shield4 ,we love 
him for the enemies he has made--to have
 friends is a great gain1 but to achieve
 an enemy is distinction4  ,ruskin's    
,modern ,painters is a reply to the     
contumely that sought to smother ,turner
 under an avalanche of abuse2 but since 
the enemy inspired it1 and it made the  
name and fame of both ,ruskin and       
,turner1 why should they not hunt out   
the rogues in ,elysium and purchase     
ambrosia8  ,whistler's ,the ,gentle ,art
 of ,making ,enemies is a bit of        
sharpshooter sniping at the man who was 
brave enough to come to the rescue of   
,turner1 and who afterward proved his   
humanity by adopting the tactics of the 
enemy1 working the literary stinkpot to 
repel impressionistic boarders4  ,no    
friend could have done for ,whistler    
what ,ruskin did4 ,before ,ruskin threw 
an ink-bottle at him1 as ,martin ,luther

 did at the ,devil1 he was one of       
several2 after the bout he was as one   
set apart4  ,when we think of ,whistler1
 if we listen closely we can hear the   
echo of shrill calls of recrimination1  
muffled reveilles of alarm-- pamphlet   
answering unto pamphlet across seas of  
misunderstanding-- vituperations        
manifold1 and recurring themes of rabid 
ribaldry--all forming a lurid ,symphony 
in ,red4   ,john ,davidson has dedicated
 a book to his enemy1 thus3  ,unwilling 
,friend1 let not thy spite abate3 help  
me with scorn1 and strengthen me with   
hate4  ,the general tendency to berate  
the man of superior talent would seem to
 indicate1 as before suggested1 that    
disparagement has some sort of          
compensation in it4 ,possibly it is the 
governor that keeps things from going   
too fast--the opposition of forces that 
holds the balance true4 ,but almost     
everything can be overdone2 and the fact
 remains that without encouragement and 
faith from without1 the stoutest heart  

will in time grow faint and doubt       
itself4 ,it hears the yelping of the    
pack1 and there creeps in the question1 
,what if they are right8 ,then come the 
longing and the necessity for the word  
of praise1 the clasp of a kindly hand1  
and the look that reassures4            
,occasionally the undiscerning make     
remarks1 slightly tinged with muriatic  
acid1 concerning the ancient and        
honorable cult known as the ,mutual     
,admiration ,society4 ,my firm belief   
is1 that no man ever did or can do a    
great work alone--he must be backed up  
by the ,mutual ,admiration ,society4 ,it
 may be a very small ,society--in truth1
 ,i have known ,chapters where there    
were only two members1 but there was    
such trust1 such faith1 such a mutual   
uplift1 that an atmosphere was formed   
wherein great work was done4  ,in       
,galilee even the ,son of ,god could do 
no great work1 on account of the        
unbelief of the people4 ,fellowship is  
heaven and lack of fellowship is hell1  

said ,william ,morris4 ,and he had known
 both4  ,some ,one must believe in you4 
,and through touching finger-tips with  
this ,some ,one1 we may get in the      
circuit1 and thus reach out to all4     
,self-,reliance is very excellent1 but  
as for independence1 there is no such   
thing4 ,we are a part of the great      
,universal ,life2 and as one must win   
approval from himself1 so he must       
receive corroboration from others3      
having this approval from the ,elect    
,few1 the opinions of the many matter   
little4  ,how little we know of the     
aspirations that wither unexpressed1 and
 of the hopes that perish for want of   
the right word spoken at the right time6
 ,out in the orchard1 as ,i write1 ,i   
see thousands and thousands of beautiful
 blossoms that will never become fruit  
for lack of vitalization--they die      
because they are alone4  ,thoughts      
materialize into deeds only when ,some  
,one vitalizes by approval4 ,every good 
thing is loved into life4  ,great men   

have ever come in groups1 and the       
,mutual ,admiration ,society always     
figures largely4 ,to enumerate instances
 would be to inflict good folks with    
triteness and truism4 ,i do not wish to 
rob my reader of his rights--think it   
out for yourself1 beginning with        
,concord and ,cambridge1 working        
backward adown the centuries4   ,there  
are two ,whistlers4 ,one tender as a    
woman1 sensitive as a child--thirsting  
for love1 friendship and appreciation--a
 dreamer of dreams1 seeing visions and  
mounting to the heavens on the wings of 
his soaring fancy4 ,this is the real    
,whistler4 ,and there has always been a 
small ,mutual ,admiration ,society that 
has appreciated1 applauded and loved    
this ,whistler2 to them he has always   
been ,jimmy4  ,the other ,whistler is   
the jaunty little man in the funny1     
straight- brimmed high hat--cousin to   
the hat ,john ,d4 ,long wore for twenty 
years4 ,this man in the long black coat1
 carrying a bamboo wand1 who adjusts his

 monocle and throws off an epigram1 who 
confounds the critics1 befogs the       
lawyers1 affronts millionaires from     
,colorado1 and plays pitch and toss with
 words1 is the ,whistler known to       
newspaperdom4 ,and ,grub ,street calls  
him ,jimmy1 too1 but the voice of ,grub 
,street is guttural and in it is no     
tender cadence--it is tone that tells1  
not the mere word3 ,i have been         
addressed with an endearing phrase when 
the words stabbed4 ,grub ,street sees   
only the one man and goes straightway   
after him with a snickersnee4 ,to use   
the language of ,judge ,gaynor1 ,this   
artistic ,jacques of the second part    
protects the great and tender soul of   
the party of the first part4  ,that is  
it--his name is ,jacques3 ,whistler is a
 fool4 ,the fools were the wisest men at
 court4 ,shakespeare1 who dearly loved a
 fool1 belonging to the breed himself1  
placed his wisest sayings into the      
mouths of men who wore the motley4 ,when
 he adorned a man with cap and bells1 it

 was as though he had given bonds for   
both that man's humanity and            
intelligence4  ,neither ,shakespeare nor
 any other writer of good books ever    
dared depart so violently from truth as 
to picture a fool whose heart was filled
 with pretense and perfidy4 ,the fool is
 not malicious4 ,stupid people may think
 he is1 because his language is charged 
with the lightning's flash2 but these be
 the people who do not know the         
difference between an incubator and an  
eggplant4  ,touchstone1 with unfailing  
loyalty1 follows his master with quip   
and quirk into exile4 ,when all1 even   
his daughters1 had forsaken ,king ,lear1
 the fool bares himself to the storm and
 covers the shaking old man with his own
 cloak2 and when in our day we meet the 
avatars of ,trinculo1 ,costard1         
,mercutio and ,jacques1 we find they are
 men of tender susceptibilities1        
generous hearts and lavish souls4       
,whistler shakes his cap1 flourishes his
 bauble1 tosses that fine head1 and with

 tongue in cheek1 asks questions and    
propounds conundrums that pedantry can  
never answer4 ,hence the ink-bottle1    
with its mark on the walls at ,eisenach1
 and at ,coniston4   ,every man of worth
 is two men--sometimes many4 ,in fact1  
,doctor ,george ,vincent1 the           
psychologist1 says1 ,we never treat two 
persons in exactly the same manner4 ,if 
this is so1 and ,i suspect it is1 the   
person we are with dictates our mental  
process and thus controls our           
manners--he calls out the man he wishes 
to see4 ,certain sides of our nature are
 revealed only to certain persons4 ,and 
,i can understand1 too1 how there can be
 a ,holy of ,holies1 closed and barred  
forever against all except the ,one4    
,and in the absence of this ,one1 ,i can
 also understand how the person can go  
through life1 and father1 mother1       
brothers1 sisters1 friends and          
companions never guess the latent       
excellence that lies concealed4 ,we     
defend and protect this ,holy of ,holies

 from the vulgar gaze4  ,there are two  
ways to guard and keep alive the sacred 
fires2 one is to flee to convent1       
monastery or mountain and there live    
alone with ,god2 the other is to mix and
 mingle with men and wear a coat of mail
 in way of manner4  ,women whose hearts 
are well-nigh bursting with grief will  
often be the gayest of the gay2 men     
whose souls are corroding with care--   
weighted down with sorrow too great for 
speech--are often those who set the     
table in a roar4  ,the assumed manner1  
continued1 evolves into a pose4 ,pose   
means position1 and the pose is usually 
a position of defense4 ,all great people
 are poseurs4  ,men pose so as to keep  
the mob back while they can do their    
work4 ,without the pose1 the garden of a
 poet's fancy would look like           
,mc,kinley's front yard at ,canton in   
the fall of ,ninety-six4 ,that is to    
say1 without the pose the poet would    
have no garden1 no fancy1 no            
nothing--and there would be no poet4    

,yet ,i am quite willing to admit that a
 man might assume a pose and yet have   
nothing to protect2 but ,i stoutly      
maintain that pose in such a one is     
transparent to every one as the poles   
that support a scarecrow1 simply because
 the pose never becomes habitual4  ,with
 the great man pose becomes a habit--and
 then it is not a pose4 ,when a man lies
 and admits he lies1 he tells the truth4
  ,whistler has been called the greatest
 poseur of his day2 and yet he is the   
most sincere and truthful of men--the   
very antithesis of hypocrisy and sham4  
,no man ever hated pretense more4       
,whistler is an artist1 and the soul of 
the man is revealed in his work--not in 
his hat1 nor yet his bamboo cane1 nor   
his long black coat1 much less the      
language which he uses1                 
,talleyrand-like1 to conceal his        
thought4 ,art has been his wife1 his    
children and his religion4 ,art has said
 to him1 ,thou shalt have no other gods 
before me1 and he has obeyed the        

mandate4  ,that picture of his mother in
 the ,luxembourg is the most serious    
thing in the whole collection--so       
gentle1 so modest1 so appealing1 so     
charged with tenderness4 ,it is classed 
by the most competent critics of today  
along with the greatest works of the old
 masters4 ,we find upon the official    
roster of the fine arts of ,france this 
tribute opposite the name of ,whistler1 
,portrait of the mother of the author1 a
 masterpiece destined for the eternal   
admiration of future generations1       
combining in its tone-power and         
magnificence the qualities of a         
,rembrandt1 a ,titian1 a ,velasquez4    
,the picture does not challenge you--you
 have to hunt it out1 and you have to   
bring something to it1 else 't will not 
reveal itself4 ,there is no decrepitude 
in the woman's face and form1 but       
someway you read into the picture the   
story of a great and tender love and a  
long life of useful effort4 ,and now as 
the evening shadows gather1 about to    

fade off into gloom1 the old mother sits
 there alone1 poised1 serene3 husband   
gone1 children gone--her work is done4  
,twilight comes4 ,she thinks of the past
 in gratitude1 and gazes wistfully out  
into the future1 unafraid4 ,it is the   
tribute that every well-born son would  
like to pay to the mother who loved him 
into being1 whose body nourished him1   
whose loving arms sustained him1 whose  
unfaltering faith and appreciation      
encouraged him to do and to become4 ,she
 was his wisest critic1 his best        
friend--his mother6   ,the father of    
,whistler the artist1 ,major ,george    
,washington ,whistler1 was a graduate of
 ,west ,point1 and a member of the      
,united ,states ,corps of ,engineers4   
,he was an active1 practical and useful 
man--a skilful draftsman and            
mathematician1 and a man of affairs who 
could undertake a difficult task and    
carry it through to completion4  ,such  
men are always needed1 in the army and  
out of it4 ,responsibility gravitates to

 the man who can shoulder it4 ,such men 
as ,major ,whistler are not tied to a   
post--they go where they are needed4    
,when ,george ,washington ,whistler was 
a cadet at ,west ,point1 there came to  
visit the place ,doctor ,swift and his  
beautiful young daughter1 ,mary4 ,she   
took the ,military ,school by storm2 at 
least1 she held captive the hearts of   
all the young men there--so they said4  
,and in very truth the heart of one     
young man was prisoner1 for ,major      
,whistler married ,miss ,swift soon     
after4  ,to them were born ,deborah1 the
 ,major's only daughter1 who married    
,doctor ,seymour ,hayden of ,london1 a  
famous surgeon and still more famous    
etcher2 ,george1 who became an engineer 
and railway manager2 and two years      
later1 ,joseph4  ,and when ,joe was two 
years old1 this beautiful wife1 aged    
twenty- three1 passed away1 and young   
,major ,whistler and his three babies   
were left alone4  ,at ,west ,point      
,whistler had a friend named ,mc,neill1 

son of ,doctor ,c4 ,d4 ,mc,neill1 of    
,wilmington1 ,north ,carolina--a        
classmate--with whom he had been closely
 associated since graduation4 ,mc,neill 
had a sister1 ,anna ,matilda1 a great   
soul1 serious and strong4 ,at length    
,whistler took his motherless           
brood--including himself--to her and she
 accepted them all4 ,i bow my head to   
the stepmother who loves into manhood   
and womanhood children whom another has 
loved into life4 ,she must have a great 
heart already expanded by love to do    
this4 ,naturally the mother-love grows  
with the child--that is what children   
are for1 to enlarge the souls of the    
parents4 ,but at the beginning of       
womanhood1 ,anna ,matilda ,mc,neill was 
great enough to enfold in her heart and 
arms the children of the man she loved  
and make them hers4  ,in the year       
,eighteen ,hundred ,thirty-four1 ,major 
,whistler and his wife were living in   
,lowell1 ,massachusetts1 where the      
,major was superintending the           

construction of the first of those      
wonderful waterways that tirelessly turn
 ten thousand spindles4  ,and ,fate     
would have it so1 that here at ,lowell1 
in a little house on ,worthing ,street1 
was born the first of the five sons of  
,major ,whistler and his wife1 ,anna    
,matilda4 ,and they called the name of  
the child ,james ,abbott ,mc,neill      
,whistler--an awful big name for a very 
small baby4  ,about the time this       
peevish little pigmy was put into short 
dresses1 his father resigned his        
position in the ,united ,states ,army to
 accept a like position with the ,czar  
of ,russia4 ,the first railroad         
constructed in ,russia1 from ,moscow to 
,saint ,petersburg1 was built under the 
superintendence of ,major ,whistler1 who
 also designed various bridges1         
viaducts1 tunnels and other engineering 
feats for ,adam ,zad1 who walks like a  
man1 and who paid him princely sums for 
his services4  ,americans not only fill 
the teeth of royalty1 but we furnish the

 ,old ,world machinery1 ideas and men4  
,for every twenty-five thousand men they
 supply us1 we send them back one1 and  
the one we send them is worth more than 
the twenty-five thousand they send us4  
,schenectady is today furnishing the    
engines and supplying engineers to teach
 engineers for the transcontinental     
,siberian railway4 ,when you take ,the  
,flying ,scotchman from ,london to      
,edinburgh you ride in a ,pullman car1  
with all the appurtenances1 even to a   
,gould coupler1 a ,westinghouse         
air-brake1 and a dusky ,george from     
,north ,carolina1 who will hit you three
 times with the butt of a brush-broom   
and expect a bob as recompense4 ,you    
feel quite at home4  ,then when you see 
that the ,metropolitan ,railway of      
,london is managed by a man from        
,chicago1 and that all trains of the    
underground are being equipped with the 
,edison incandescent light2 and you note
 further that a ,new ,york man has      
morganized the transatlantic            

steamship-lines1 you agree with ,william
 ,t4 ,stead that1 ,america may be raw   
and crude1 but she is producing a race  
of men--men of power1 who can think and 
act4 ,coupled with the ,englishman's    
remarkable book1 ,the ,americanization  
of the ,world1 there is an art criticism
 by ,bernard ,shaw1 who comes from a    
race that will not pay rent1 strangely  
enough living in ,london1 content1 with 
no political aspirations1 who says1 ,the
 three greatest painters of the time are
 of ,american parentage--,abbey1        
,sargent and ,whistler2 and of these1   
,whistler has had greater influence on  
the artists of today than any other man 
of his time4  ,but let us swing back and
 take a look at the ,whistlers in       
,russia4 ,little ,jimmy never had a     
childhood3 the nearest he came to it was
 when his parents camped one ,summer    
with the construction gang4 ,that       
,summer with the workers and toilers1   
among the horses1 living out of         
doors--eating at the campfire and       

sleeping under the sky--was the boy's   
one glimpse of paradise4 ,my ambition   
then was to be the foreman of a         
construction gang--and it is yet1 said  
the artist in describing that brief1    
happy time to a friend4  ,the child of  
well-to-do parents1 but homeless1 living
 in hotels and boarding-houses1 is      
awfully handicapped4 ,children are only 
little animals1 and travel is their bane
 and scourge4 ,they belong on the       
ground1 among the leaves and flowers and
 tall grass--in the trees or digging in 
sand piles4 ,hotel hallways1            
table-d'hote dinners and the clash of   
travel1 are all terrible perversions of 
,nature's intent4  ,yet the boy         
survived--eager1 nervous1 energetic4 ,he
 acquired the ,russian language1 of     
course1 and then he learned to speak    
,french1 as all good ,russians must4 ,he
 speaks ,french like a ,russ1 is the    
highest compliment a ,parisian can pay  
you4  ,the boy's mother was his tutor1  
companion1 playmate4 ,they read         

together1 drew pictures together1 and   
played the piano1 four hands4  ,honors  
came to the hard-working                
engineer--decorations1 ribbons1 medals1 
money--and more work4 ,the poor man was 
worked to death4 ,the ,czar paid every  
honor to the living and dead that       
royalty can give4 ,when the family left 
,saint ,petersburg with the body of     
their loved one1 ,his ,imperial ,majesty
 ordered his private carriage to be     
placed at their disposal4 ,and honors   
awaited the dead here4 ,a monument in   
the cemetery at ,stonington1            
,connecticut1 erected by the ,society of
 ,american ,engineers1 marks the spot   
where he sleeps4 ,the stricken mother   
was back in ,america1 and ,james was    
duly entered at ,west ,point4 ,the      
mother's ideal was her husband--in his  
life she had lived and moved--and that  
,james should do what he had done1      
become the manly man that he had become1
 was her highest wish4  ,the boy was    
already an acceptable draftsman1 and    

under the tutelage of ,professor ,robert
 ,weir he made progress4 ,west ,point   
does not teach such a soft and feminine 
thing as picture-painting--it draws     
plans of redoubts and fortifications1   
makes maps1 and figures on the          
desirability of tunnels1 pontoons and   
hidden mines4 ,robert ,weir taught all  
these things1 and on ,saturdays painted 
pictures for his own amusement4 ,in the 
rotunda of the ,capitol at ,washington  
is a taste of his quality--the large    
panel entitled1 ,the ,departure of the  
,pilgrims4  ,tradition has it that young
 ,whistler assisted his teacher on this 
work4  ,weir succeeded in getting his   
pupil heartily sick of the idea of      
grim-visaged war as a business4 ,he     
hated the thought of doing things on    
order1 especially killing men when told4
 ,the soldier's profession is only one  
remove from the business of ,jack       
,ketch1 who hangs men and then salves   
his conscience with the plea that some  
one told him to do it1 said ,whistler4  

,if he remained at ,west ,point he would
 become an army officer and ,uncle ,sam 
or the ,czar would own him and order him
 to do things4  ,weir declared he was   
absurd1 but the ,post ,surgeon said he  
was nervous and needed a change4 ,in    
truth1 ,west ,point disliked ,jimmy as  
much as he disliked ,west ,point1 and he
 was recommended for discharge4 ,mother 
and son sailed away for ,london1        
intending to come back in time for the  
next term4  ,the young man took one     
souvenir from ,west ,point that was to  
stand by him4 ,in a sham battle1 during 
a charge1 his horse went down1 and the  
cavalcade behind went right over horse  
and rider4 ,when picked up and carried  
out of the scrimmage1 ,cadet ,whistler  
was unconscious1 and the doctors said   
his skull was fractured4 ,however1 his  
whipcord vitality showed itself in a    
quick recovery2 but a white lock of hair
 soon appeared to mark the injured spot1
 to be a badge of distinction and a     
delight to the caricaturist forever4 ,in

 ,london the mother and son found       
lodgings out towards ,chelsea4 ,no doubt
 the literary traditions attracted them4
 ,only a few squares away lived         
,rossetti1 with a wonderful collection  
of blue china1 giving lessons in        
painting4 ,there were weekly receptions 
at his house1 where came ,burne-,jones1 
,william ,morris1 ,madox ,brown and many
 other excellent people4 ,down a narrow 
street near by1 lived a grumpy          
,scotchman1 by the name of ,carlyle1    
whose portrait ,whistler was later to   
paint1 and although ,carlyle had no use 
for ,rossetti1 yet ,mrs4 ,whistler and  
her boy liked them both4 ,it came time  
to return to ,america if the young man  
was to graduate at ,west ,point4 ,but   
they decided to go over to ,paris so    
,james could study art for a few months4
  ,they never came back to ,america4    
,whistler1 the coxcomb1 had ,ruskin     
haled before the tribunal and demanded a
 thousand pounds as salve for his       
injured feelings because the author of  

,stones of ,venice was colorblind1      
lacking in imagination1 and possessed of
 a small magazine wherein he briskly    
told of men1 women and things he did not
 especially admire4  ,the case was      
tried1 and the jury decided for         
,whistler1 giving him one farthing      
damages4 ,but this was success--it threw
 the costs on ,ruskin1 and called the   
attention of the world to the absurdity 
of condemning things that are1 at the   
last1 a mere matter of individual taste4
  ,whistler was once asked by a fellow  
artist to criticize a wondrous chromatic
 combination that the man had thrown off
 in an idle hour4 ,jimmy adjusted his   
monocle and gazed long4 ,and what do you
 think of it8 asked the painter standing
 by4 ,oh1 just a little more green1 a   
little more green pause and slight cough
 but that is your affair4  ,whistler    
painted the ,nocturne1 and that was his 
affair4 ,if ,ruskin did not think it    
beautiful1 that was his affair2 but when
 ,ruskin went one step further and      

accused the painter of trying to        
hoodwink the world for a matter of      
guineas1 attacking the man's motives1 he
 exceeded the legitimate limits of      
criticism1 and his public rebuke was    
deserved4 ,in matter of strictest       
justice1 however1 it may be as well to  
say that ,whistler was quite as blind to
 the beauty of ,ruskin's efforts for the
 betterment of humanity as ,ruskin was  
to the excellence of ,whistler's        
pictures4 ,and if ,ruskin had been in   
the humor for litigation he might have  
sued ,whistler and got a shilling       
damages because ,whistler once averred3 
,the ,society of ,saint ,george is a    
scheme for badgering the unfortunate1   
and should be put down by the police4   
,god knows the poor suffer enough       
without being patronized6  ,mr4         
,whistler was once summoned as a witness
 in a certain suit where the purchaser  
of a picture had refused to pay for it4 
,the cross- examination ran something   
like this3  ,you are a painter of       

pictures8  ,yes4  ,and know the value of
 pictures8  ,oh1 no6  ,at least you have
 your own ideas about values8           
,certainly6  ,and you recommended the   
defendant to buy this picture for two   
hundred pounds8  ,i did4  ,mr4          
,whistler1 it is reported that you      
received a goodly sum for this          
recommendation--is there anything in    
that8  ,oh1 nothing1 ,i assure you      
yawning--nothing but the indelicacy of  
the suggestion4  ,the critics found much
 joy1 several years ago1 in tracing out 
the fact that ,whistler spent a year at 
,madrid copying ,velasquez4 ,that he1   
like ,sargent1 has been benefited and   
inspired by the sublime art of the      
,spaniard there is no doubt1 but there  
is nothing in the charge that he is an  
imitator of ,velasquez1 save the        
indelicacy of the suggestion4  ,it was a
 comparison of ,velasquez and ,whistler1
 and a warm assurance that his name     
would live with that of the great       
,spaniard1 that led ,whistler to launch 

that little question1 now a classic1    
,why drag in ,velasquez8  ,the great    
lesson that ,whistler has taught the    
world is to observe2 and this he got    
from the ,japanese4 ,lafcadio ,hearn has
 said that the average citizen of ,japan
 detects tints and shades that are      
absolutely unseen by ,western eyes4     
,livingston found tribes in ,africa that
 had never seen pictures of any kind1   
and he had great difficulty in making   
them perceive that the figure of a man1 
drawn on a piece of paper a foot square1
 really was designed for a man4  ,man   
big--paper little--no good6 was the     
criticism of a chief4 ,the chief wanted 
to hear the voice of the man before he  
would believe it was meant for a man4   
,this savage chief was a great person1  
no doubt1 in his own bailiwick1 but he  
lacked imagination to bridge the gap    
between a real man and the repeated     
strokes of a pencil on a bit of paper4  
,the ,japanese--any ,japanese--would    
have been delighted by ,whistler's      

,nocturne4 ,ruskin wasn't4 ,he had never
 seen the night1 and therefore he       
declared that ,whistler had flung a pot 
of paint in the face of the public4     
,that men should dogmatize concerning   
things where the senses alone supply the
 evidence1 is only another proof of     
man's limitations4 ,we live in a peewee 
world which our senses create and       
declare that outside of what we see1    
smell1 taste and hear there is nothing4 
,it is twenty-five thousand miles around
 the earth--stellar space is not        
computable2 and man can walk in a day   
about thirty miles4 ,above the ground he
 can jump about four feet4 ,in a city   
his unaided ear can hear his friend call
 about two hundred feet4 ,as for smell1 
he really has almost lost the sense2 and
 taste1 through the use of stimulants   
and condiments1 has likewise nearly     
gone4 ,man can see and recognize another
 man a quarter of a mile away1 but at   
the same distance is practically        
color-blind4  ,yet we were all quite    

willing to set ourselves up as standards
 until science came with spectroscope1  
telephone1 microscope and ,roentgen ray 
to force upon us the fact that we are   
tiny1 undeveloped and insignificant     
creatures1 with sense quite unreliable  
and totally unfit for final decisions4  
,whistler sees more than other men4 ,he 
has taught us to observe1 and he has    
taught the art world to select4         
,oratory does not consist in telling it 
all--you select the truth you wish to   
drive home2 in literature1 in order to  
make your point1 you must leave things  
out2 and in painting you must omit4     
,selection is the vital thing4  ,the    
,japanese see one single lily-stalk     
swaying in the breeze and the hazy1     
luminous gray of the atmosphere in which
 it is bathed--just these two things4   
,they give us these1 and we are amazed  
and delighted4  ,whistler has given us  
the night--not the black1 inky1         
meaningless void which has always stood 
for evil2 not the darkness1 the mere    

absence of light1 the prophet had in    
mind when he said1 ,and there shall be  
no night there--not that4 ,the prophet  
thought the night was objectionable1 but
 we know that the continual glare of the
 sun would quickly destroy all animal or
 vegetable life4 ,in fact1 without the  
night there would be no animal or       
vegetable life1 and no prophet would    
have existed to suggest the abolition of
 night as a betterment4 ,in the night   
there are flowers that shed their finest
 perfume1 lifting up their hearts in    
gladness1 and all nature is renewed for 
the work of the coming day4 ,we need the
 night for rest1 for dreams1 for        
forgetfulness4 ,whistler saw the        
night--this great1 transparent1         
dark-blue fold that tucks us in for     
one-half our time4 ,the jaded1 the weary
 and the heavy-laden at last find       
peace--the day is done1 the grateful    
night is here4  ,turner said you could  
not paint a picture and leave man out4  
,whistler very seldom leaves man out1   

although ,i believe there is one        
,nocturne wherein only the stars and the
 faint rim of the silver moon keep      
guard4 ,but usually we see the dim      
suggestion of the bridge's arch1 the    
ghostly steeples1 lights lost in the    
enfolding fog1 vague purple barges on   
the river1 and ships rocking solemnly in
 the offing--all strangely mellow with  
peace1 and subtle thoughts of stillness1
 rest1 dreams and sleep4   ,the critics 
have all shied their missiles at        
,whistler1 and he has gathered up the   
most curious and placed them on         
exhibition in a catalog entitled1       
,etching and ,dry ,points4 ,this        
document gives a list of fifty-one of   
his best-known productions1 and beneath 
each item is a testimonial or two from  
certain worthies who thought the thing  
rubbish and said so4  ,if you want to   
see a copy of the catalog you can       
examine it in the treasure-room of most 
any of the big public libraries2 or     
should you wish to own one1 a chance    

collector in need of funds might be     
willing to disengage himself from a copy
 for some such trifle as twenty-five    
dollars or so4  ,whistler's book1 ,the  
,gentle ,art1 contains just one good    
thing1 although the touch of genius is  
revealed in the title1 which is as      
follows3 ,the ,gentle ,art of ,making   
,enemies1 as pleasingly exemplified in  
many instances wherein the serious ones 
of this earth1 carefully exasperated1   
have been prettily spurred on to        
unseemliness and indiscretion1 while    
overcome by an undue sense of right4    
,the dedication runs thus3 ,to the rare 
,few who early in life have rid         
themselves of the ,friendship of the    
,many1 these pathetic papers are        
inscribed4  ,the one excellent thing in 
the book is the ,ten o',clock lecture4  
,it is a classic1 revealing such a      
distinct literary style that one is     
quite sure its author could have evolved
 symphonies in words1 as well as color1 
had he chosen4 ,however1 this lecture is

 a sequence1 leaping hot from the heart1
 and would not have been written had the
 author not been carefully exasperated  
and prettily spurred on1 while overcome 
by an undue sense of right4 ,let us all 
give thanks to the enemy who exasperated
 him4 ,there is a great temptation to   
produce the lecture entire1 but this    
would be to invite a lawsuit1 so we will
 have to be content with a few scrapings
 from the palette3  ,listen6 ,there     
never was an artistic period4  ,there   
never was an ,art-,loving ,nation4  ,in 
the beginning1 men went forth each      
day--some to do battle1 some to the     
chase2 others1 again1 to dig and to     
delve in the field--all that they might 
gain and live1 or lose and die4 ,until  
there was found among them one1         
differing from the rest1 whose pursuits 
attracted him not1 and so he stayed by  
the tents with the women1 and traced    
strange devices with a burnt stick upon 
a gourd4  ,this man1 who took no joy in 
the way of his brethren--who cared not  

for conquest1 and fretted in the        
field--this designer of quaint          
patterns--this deviser of the           
beautiful--who perceived in ,nature     
about him curious curvings1 as faces are
 seen in the fire--this dreamer apart   
was the first artist4  ,and when1 from  
the field and afar1 there came back the 
people1 they took the gourd--and drank  
from out of it4  ,and presently there   
came to this man another--and1 in time1 
others-- of like nature1 chosen by the  
gods--and so they worked together2 and  
soon they fashioned1 from the moistened 
earth1 forms resembling the gourd4 ,and 
with the power of creation1 the heirloom
 of the artist1 presently they went     
beyond the slovenly suggestion of       
,nature1 and the first vase was born1 in
 beautiful proportion4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,and the 
,amateur was unknown--and the           
,dilettante undreamed of4  ,and history 
wrote on1 and conquest accompanied      
civilization1 and ,art spread1 or rather

 its products were carried by the       
victors among the vanquished from one   
country to another4 ,and the customs of 
cultivation covered the face of the     
earth1 so that all peoples continued to 
use what the artist alone produced4     
,and centuries passed in this using1 and
 the world was flooded with all that was
 beautiful1 until there arose a new     
class1 who discovered the cheap1 and    
foresaw a fortune in the facture of the 
sham4  ,then sprang into existence the  
tawdry1 the common1 the gewgaw4  ,the   
taste of the tradesman supplanted the   
science of the artist1 and what was born
 of the million went back to them1 and  
charmed them1 for it was after their own
 heart2 and the great and the small1 the
 statesman and the slave1 took to       
themselves the abomination that was     
tendered1 and preferred it--and have    
lived with it ever since4  ,and the     
artist's occupation was gone1 and the   
manufacturer and the huckster took his  
place4  ,and now the heroes filled from 

the jugs and drank from the bowls-- with
 understanding--noting the glare of     
their new bravery1 and taking pride in  
its worth4  ,and the people--this       
time--had much to say in the matter--and
 all were satisfied4 ,and ,birmingham   
and ,manchester arose in their might1   
and ,art was relegated to the           
curiosity-shop4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,nature contains  
the elements1 in color and form1 of all 
pictures1 as the keyboard contains the  
notes of all music4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,the artist is    
born to pick1 and choose1 and group with
 science these elements1 that the result
 may be beautiful--as the musician      
gathers his notes1 and forms his chords1
 until he bring forth from chaos        
glorious harmony4  ,to say to the       
painter1 that ,nature is to be taken as 
she is1 is to say to the player1 that he
 may sit on the piano4  ,that ,nature is
 always right1 is an assertion1         
artistically1 as untrue1 as it is one   

whose truth is universally taken for    
granted4 ,nature is very rarely right1  
to such an extent even1 that it might   
almost be said that ,nature is usually  
wrong3 that is to say1 the condition of 
things that shall bring about the       
perfection of harmony worthy a picture  
is rare1 and not common at all4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,the sun blares1 the wind blows from the
 east1 the sky is bereft of cloud1 and  
without1 all is of iron4 ,the windows of
 the ,crystal ,palace are seen from all 
points of ,london4 ,the holiday-maker   
rejoices in the glorious day1 and the   
painter turns aside to shut his eyes4   
,how little this is understood1 and how 
dutifully the casual in ,nature is      
accepted as sublime1 may be gathered    
from the unlimited admiration daily     
produced by a very foolish sunset4  ,the
 dignity of the snow-capped mountain is 
lost in distinctness1 but the joy of the
 tourist is to recognize the traveler on
 the top4 ,the desire to see1 for the   

sake of seeing1 is1 with the mass alone1
 the one to be gratified1 hence the     
delight in detail4  ,but when the       
evening mist clothes the riverside with 
poetry1 as with a veil1 and the poor    
buildings lose themselves in the dim    
sky1 and the tall chimneys become       
campanili1 and the warehouses are       
palaces in the night1 and the whole city
 hangs in the heavens1 and fairyland is 
before us--then the wayfarer hastens    
home2 the workingman and the cultured   
one1 the wise man and the one of        
pleasure1 cease to understand1 as they  
have ceased to see1 and ,nature1 who for
 once has sung in tune1 sings her       
exquisite song to the artist alone--her 
son and her master--her son in that he  
loves her1 her master in that he knows  
her4  ,to him her secrets are unfolded1 
to him her lessons have become gradually
 clear4 ,he looks at the flower1 not    
with the enlarging lens1 that he may    
gather facts for the botanist1 but with 
the light of the one who sees in her    

choice selection of brilliant tones and 
delicate tints1 suggestions of infinite 
harmonies4  ,he does not confine himself
 to purposeless copying1 without        
thought1 each blade of grass1 as        
commended by the inconsequent1 but in   
the long curve of the narrow leaf1      
corrected by the straight1 tall stem1 he
 learns how grace is wedded to dignity1 
how strength enhances sweetness1 that   
elegance shall be the result4  ,in the  
citron wing of the pale butterfly1 with 
its dainty spots of orange1 he sees     
before him the stately halls of fair    
gold1 with their slender saffron        
pillars1 and is taught how the delicate 
drawing high upon the walls shall be    
traced in tender tones of orpiment1 and 
repeated by the base in notes of graver 
hue4  ,in all that is dainty and lovable
 he finds hints for his own             
combinations1 and thus is ,nature ever  
his resource and always at his service1 
and to him is naught refused4  ,through 
his brain1 as through the last alembic1 

is distilled the refined essence of that
 thought which began with the ,gods1 and
 which they left him to carry out4  ,set
 apart by them to complete their works1 
he produces that wondrous thing called  
the masterpiece1 which surpasses in     
perfection all that they have contrived 
in what is called ,nature2 and the ,gods
 stand by and marvel1 and perceive how  
far away more beautiful is the ,venus of
 ,melos than was their own ,eve4        
99       99        99       99        99
  ,and now from their midst the         
,dilettante stalks abroad4 ,the ,amateur
 is loosed4 ,the voice of the ,aesthete 
is heard in the land1 and catastrophe is
 upon us4         99       99        99 
99        99  ,where the ,artist is1    
there ,art appears1 and remains with    
him--loving and fruitful--turning never 
aside in moments of hope deferred--of   
insult--and of ribald misunderstanding2 
and when he dies she sadly takes her    
flight3 though loitering yet in the     
land1 from fond association1 but        

refusing to be consoled4  ,with the man1
 then1 and not with the multitude1 are  
her intimacies2 and in the book of her  
life the names inscribed are few--scant1
 indeed1 the list of those who have     
helped to write her story of love and   
beauty4  ,from the sunny morning1 when1 
with her glorious ,greek relenting1 she 
yielded up the secret of repeated line1 
as with his hand in hers together they  
marked in marble1 the measured rhyme of 
lovely limb and draperies flowing in    
unison1 to the day when she dipped the  
,spaniard's brush in light and air1 and 
made his people live within their       
frames1 that all nobility1 and          
sweetness1 and tenderness1 and          
magnificence should be theirs by right1 
ages had gone by1 and few had been her  
choice4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,therefore have we cause to
 be merry6--and to cast away all care-- 
resolved that all is well--as it ever   
was--and that it is not meet that we    
should be cried at1 and urged to take   

measures4  ,enough have we endured of   
dulness6 ,surely are we weary of        
weeping1 and our tears have been cozened
 from us falsely1 for they have called  
us woe6 when there was no grief--and    
where all is fair6  ,we have then but to
 wait--until1 with the mark of the ,gods
 upon him --there come among us again   
the chosen--who shall continue what has 
gone before4 ,satisfied that1 even were 
he never to appear1 the story of the    
beautiful is already complete--hewn in  
the marbles of the ,parthenon1 and      
broidered1 with the birds1 upon the fan 
of ,hokusai1 at the foot of ,fujiyama4