her eatables from the stalls, would pose for him as they hid in
some corner to eat their stolen dainties. These beggar-boy pictures
that Murillo sold for a song to keep his soul and body together began
to attract attention until finally they were looked upon as the
greatest pictures Murillo ever painted. People outside of Spain,
Murillo's native country, bought them until to-day scarcely a
beggar-boy picture of his is found in Spain.

This picture of "The Melon Eaters" is known far and wide as a great
masterpiece, and yet the boys were little rag-a-muffins, the pests of
the market people. Murillo knew the joys and sorrows of those boys
because he too at that time was very poor and hungry and no one was
giving him a helping hand. Do you suppose that when he was famous as a
painter he ever saw those boys? I think so, for he was greatly beloved
by his townspeople of Seville. They probably came to his studio many
times. Murillo painted many religious pictures for the churches of
Seville.

[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute

FIG. 17. THE MELON EATERS. MURILLO. PINAKOTHEK, MUNICH]

THE MUSES

GIULIO ROMANO (1492-1546)

I am sure you have heard of the Muses. Romano, a pupil of Raphael's,
has left us this beautiful picture of them dancing with Apollo, their
cousin. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus (Jove or Jupiter), and
Memory. These lovely girls also come to every home to help care for
the new baby.

The Greek names of the Muses are rather hard to pronounce, but you
will want to call them by name. Then, too, each girl's name in Greek
letters is just below where she dances. Now begin at the left of the
circle. The first one, Calliope, stands for narrative poetry; No. 2,
Clio, is history; No. 3, Erato, is love-poetry; No. 4, Melpomene, is
tragedy; No. 5, Terpsichore, is dance and song. Now comes Apollo with
his quiver full of arrows. He is the god of the hunt and twin brother
to Diana, the goddess of hunt; also he is god of music and poetry. No.
6 is Polyhymnia, muse of hymn-music; No. 7, Euterpe, is song poetry;
No. 8, Thalia, is comedy, and No. 9, Urania, muse of astronomy.

Athene gave the Muses the winged horse, Pegasus. But alack and alas!
one of the poets became very poor and sold Pegasus to a farmer. He was
fastened to the plow, but he could not plow through the hard earth.
His spirit was broken and his body was weak. The angry farmer tried to
make him work, but how could he when he had no co