martyrs of Christianity. Here are some thrilling dramatic situations, and incidentally a “moral” which is plain enough to need no pointing out. I have previously spoken of the group of legends symbolizing the triumph of good over evil, the most important subjects being St. Michael and St. George. St. Margaret is the maiden counterpart of St. George. A wicked king had cast her into a dungeon where a dragon appeared and devoured her. Whereupon he burst open and she stepped forth unharmed and radiant, just as we see her in Raphael’s charming picture in the Louvre.
The gentle St. Francis, who preached to the birds, called all the beasts his brethren, and went about doing good, is a character whom children should be taught to love. The church at Assisi is full of quaint decorations by Giotto and other early Italians illustrating the life of the Saint. Some of these are very acceptable to children, but we need not go so far afield for the material, since Boutet de Monvel has given us the whole story in the series of designs for “Everybody’s St. Francis.” The story of St. Anthony of Padua, to whom a vision of the Christ-child was vouchsafed, makes a very tender picture which touches a child’s heart readily. This was a favorite subject with Murillo, and in many schools and homes prints are to be seen from the Spanish painter’s works, showing the good man kneeling with the precious babe in his arms. St. Christopher wading through the stream with the Christ-child on his shoulder is another favorite picture subject with the
