Part 10

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will unto men.

"And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go even to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with great haste, and found Mary and Joseph; and the babe lying in a manger. At first a bright cloud overshadowed the cave but on a sudden the cloud became a great light in the cave, so that their eyes could not bear it. But the light gradually decreased until the Infant appeared, and sucked the breast of his mother, Mary."

The picture shows us the shepherds in the cave worshiping the young child, Jesus, the Christ.

FIG. 30. THE HOLY NIGHT. CORREGGIO. DRESDEN GALLERY]

THE GLEANERS

JEAN FRANÇOIS MILLET (1814-1875)

Millet was a French peasant boy--very poor. He says his grandmother would come into his room early in the morning and call:

"Awake, my little François; if you only knew how long a time the birds have been singing the glory of the good God!"

He would insist when he was helping in the fields that there was beautiful color over the plowed ground, and when the other fellows laughed at him, he would say:

"Wait, some day I will paint a picture and show you the color."

After he was an artist he was going by a field one day when a peasant cutting grain called to him:

"I would like to see you take a sickle."

"I'll take your sickle," Millet answered quickly, "and reap faster than you and all your family."

Of course the man laughed, for how could an artist cut grain. He soon stopped laughing, for Millet cut much faster and farther than he could.

Millet would often go into the forest just back of his house to rest after painting all day. Then he would say:

"I do not know what those beggars of trees say to each other, but they say something which we do not understand, because we do not understand their language."

Millet's work is often called "the poems of the earth."

Once when I was in Barbizon I found the gate open into Millet's door-yard. Of course I walked in, but the owner insisted that I walk out again. I shall never forget the peep I had of the little garden and the doorway and the long rambling house. That Millet lived there with his large family and there painted the pictures we love makes the place a joy to us.

ST. CECILIA

RAPHAEL SANZIO (1483-1520)

Did you know that St. Cecilia invented the organ, that wonderful musical instrument in our churches? Cecilia was born in Rome sixteen hundred years ago. She was a beautiful young girl who loved music and composed many hymns. The organ she dedicated to God's service.

When Cecilia was married, her husband, a rich nobleman, was converted and baptized. He knelt by the side of Cecilia, and an angel crowned them with crowns made from roses which bloomed in paradise. The first thing Valerian asked was that his brother, who was a heathen, might be converted too. They sent for the brother, and when he came and found the room filled with the sweet fragrance of roses, though it was not the rose season, then he too became a Christian.

The people of Rome were very unkind to Cecilia and Valerian and his brother because they preached the story of Jesus, the Christ. At last they killed them. St. Cecilia is the guardian saint of music and is always shown in art with the organ, as you see in this picture by Raphael. The man standing at the left of the picture with his hand up to his face is St. Paul. This is the most famous picture of St. Paul. Raphael shows the group listening to the heavenly choir while the earthly instruments of music have fallen at Cecilia's feet broken and out of tune.

FIG. 32. ST. CECILIA. RAPHAEL. BOLOGNA, ITALY]

HELENA FOURMENT RUBENS AND HER SON AND DAUGHTER

PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640)

This picture of "Helena Fourment Rubens and Her Son and Daughter" was really painted to honor the boy. It has always been the custom in Europe to pay special attention to the boys in the home and keep the girls very much in the background. It is very easy to see how pert the little Albert Rubens is, and how subdued and meek is his sister. The boy has the "Lord of Creation" air that would not be good for him in America. We love the picture, for Rubens, the father, shows us plainly the old idea that the boy rules the home. Naturally the father would know the traits of his own children but not always would he allow us to know them too.

Rubens was so wonderful as an artist, as a man to settle quarrels, and as a beautiful gentleman that all Europe did him honor. He was sent to see the ruling powers in England, in Spain, in Italy, and in France. Each ruler entertained him as a royal guest, and Rubens painted masterpieces for each in return. His paintings were the wonder of the age. It is said that his fellow-artists looked with jealous eyes at his flesh tints, and that all painters since have been in despair trying to equal him. He left hundreds of pictures and hundreds of sketches. The sketches alone are bringing many hundreds of times their weight in gold.