chained, and we shall see him trodden down as in
this picture.'

It is evident that Botticelli meant by this those sad years of struggle
against evil which ended in the martyrdom of the great preacher, and he
has placed Savonarola among the crowd of worshippers drawn to His feet
by the Infant Christ.

It is sad to think of those last days when Sandro was too old and too
weary to paint. He who had loved to make his figures move with dancing
feet, was now obliged to walk with crutches. The roses and lilies of
spring were faded now, and instead of the music of his youth he heard
only the sound of harsh, ungrateful voices, in the flowerless days of
poverty and old age.

There is always something sad too about his pictures, but through the
sadness, if we listen, we may hear the angel-song, and understand it
better if we have in our minds the prayer which Botticelli left for us.

'Oh, King of Wings and Lord of Lords, who alone rulest always in
eternity, and who correctest all our wanderings, giver of melody to the
choir of angels, listen Thou a little to our bitter grief, and come and
rule us, oh Thou highest King, with Thy love which is so sweet.'

DOMENICO GHIRLANDAIO

Ghirlandaio! what a difficult name that sounds to our English ears. But
it has a very simple meaning, and when you understand it the difficulty
will vanish.

It all happened in this way. Domenico's father was a goldsmith, one of
the cleverest goldsmiths in Florence, and he was specially famous for
making garlands or wreaths of gold and silver. It was the fashion then
for the young maidens of Florence to wear these garlands, or
'ghirlande' as they were called, on their heads, and because this
goldsmith made them better than any one else they gave him the name of
Ghirlandaio, which means 'maker of garlands,' and that became the
family name.

When the time came for the boy Domenico to learn a trade, he was sent,
of course, to his father's workshop. He learned so quickly, and worked
with such strong, clever fingers, that his father was delighted.

'The boy will make the finest goldsmith of his day,' he said proudly,
as he watched him twisting the delicate golden wire and working out his
designs in beaten silver.

So he was set to make the garlands, and for a while he was contented
and happy. It was such exquisite work to twine into shape the graceful
golden leaves, with here and there a silver lily or a jewelled rose,
and to dream of the fair hea