in some instances, two pictures
each of such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Velasquez, Titian, Van Dyck,
Rubens, Perugino, and others. There is also a large hall of sculpture
attached, which presents casts of many well-known and classic originals.
This department, however, does not compare well with the rest of the
institution. The art gallery will be sure to greatly interest the
stranger, as being the foundation of an institution evidently destined
in time to reach a high degree of excellence. Besides possessing several
priceless examples by the old masters, there are many admirable
pictures, the result of native talent, which are remarkable for their
conception and execution. Two large canvases by Jose Maria Velasco,
representing the Valley of Mexico, form fine and striking landscapes
which few modern painters can equal. These two paintings were exhibited
at the Philadelphia Exposition, and won high encomiums. In our
estimation, the gem of the galleries is, unquestionably, the large
canvas by Felix Parra, a native artist. It is entitled "Las Casas
protecting the Aztecs from slaughter by the Spaniards." This young
artist, not yet much over thirty years of age, has given us in this
picture an original conception most perfectly carried out, which has
already made him famous. It was painted before Parra had ever seen any
other country except Mexico, but it won for him the first prize at the
Academy of Rome. The original painting was exhibited at the New Orleans
Exposition not long since, eliciting the highest praise from art
critics. It is worthy of being placed in the Louvre or the Uffizi. One
canvas, entitled "The Dead Monk," attracted us as being singularly
effective. The scene represents several monks, with tapers in their
hands, surrounding the dead body of a brother of their order. The dim
light illumines the scared faces of the group, as it falls upon the
calm, white features of the dead. The masterly handling of color in this
picture has rarely been excelled.

The Academy of San Carlos contains an art school free to the youth of
the city, and is subsidized by government to the amount of thirty-five
thousand dollars per annum. As we passed through the galleries, a large
class of intelligent-looking boys, whose age might have ranged from
twelve to fifteen years, were busily engaged with their pencils and
drawing-paper in copying models placed before them, under the
supervision of a competent instructor. It was pleas