rear takes care
of the donkey. Another little creature peeps from the thicket beside
Mary. Four more circle overhead among the branches of the trees, borne
upon little clouds which they have brought with them from the upper
regions. Their wind-blown hair and fluttering garments show how swift
is their motion. One of them tugs mightily at the palm, throwing
himself backward in the effort to bend it towards Joseph. Two others
sport together with interlocked arms, and higher still, a pair of
eyes gleam through the leaves. The whole jocund company seem to fill
the place with mirth. They fulfil the promise of the ancient psalmist,
"He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways."

Certain characteristics of Correggio's art are well illustrated in the
picture. His delight in the foot is here almost equal to that he shows
for the hand in "The Marriage of St. Catherine." The three wayfarers
travel with bare feet, and the ministering angels flaunt their feet
gaily in the air. Drawn in many positions, it is interesting to see
how decorative this feature of the picture is.

The figures are cleverly grouped, that they may completely fill the
tall, narrow panel. The composition is built on a diagonal plan. From
the left hand of Joseph, grasping the palm branch, to the right hand
of Mary, with the basin of water, runs the strong main line which
gives character to the drawing. The child links the two larger figures
together, by stretching out a hand to each. The group of cloud-borne
angels above also follows a diagonal direction parallel to the larger
group. We shall presently see that the painter used the same method of
composition in another picture.

The opening beyond the copse, where the donkey is tied, makes the spot
seem less gloomy and isolated. It is an important principle of art to
represent no enclosed place without a glimpse of light in the
background.

X

ECCE HOMO

The old Hebrew prophet who wrote of the coming Messiah predicted that
he should be "despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief." How fully the prophecy was realized, we may
read in the narrative of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.

The enemies of Jesus had to deal with their prisoner according to the
formality of the Roman law. They brought him to the Roman governor,
Pontius Pilate, accusing him of "perverting the nation, and forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himsel