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THE CHURCH AND ART. As the church gradually encroached

more and more upon the lives of the people, and as with its increasing influence it asserted its supremacy on every domain of human life; so it extended its power of repression upon the subjects as well as upon the methods of art. Not only was the barrier raised against all representations of bodily strength, grace, and beauty, but even in the delineation of sacred subjects, the artist was forbidden to render them in any way human by using his powers of conception and modification. Hardly even was a variation of grouping or the introduction of a figure allowed in the treatment of the religious events; and, for hundreds of years, St. John and the Virgin stood in the same attitude, at the right and at the left of the cross, and Christ, in the centre of the picture, gazed upon the spectators with the placid eyes of divine power, of which no agony could avail to dim the Godhead. To the end of the eleventh century all expression of pain upon the face of the Saviour was entirely absent, absolutely forbidden by the priesthood. He was depicted as standing upon the cross, with erect head and widely open eyes, and in aspect, as Crowe says, “either erect or menacing.” While this spirit of representation continued, it was manifestly impossible for art to improve. All study of the nude discouraged, if not forbidden, all the worth of material beauty despised, all originality of conception sternly interdicted, and all expression of human emotion considered as irreligious, the unhappy painters had no opening left them for anything but slavish imitations of their predecessors. It would take me too long to show how this anti-naturalism of the Church came to be in some degree modified; probably one of the chief causes was the recognition by the priesthood of the progressive tendency of the times, and the consequent relaxation of the harsh restrictions which had fixed the limits of pictorial art. In every age the essential principle of the Catholic religion in its dealings with secular matters has been an adoption of the tendencies which it could not repress, and the endeavour to turn them to its own advancement. It may well be that that the growing naturalism of pictorial representation from the twelfth century to the end of the thirteenth was sanctioned by the church from this cause.

In any case, during this period religious art took its first hesitating steps in the right direction.

Slowly the crucifixes represented the Saviour with downcast head and closed eyes, and his body no longer stood erect upon the cross, but swayed outward in the pain of death. (From Giotto in “Great Artist” Series, Samson Low, Marston,

Searle & Rivington).

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MY SHE A V ES.

Calendar for the montb.

THE time for toil has passed and night has come

Worn out with labour long and wearisome, Drooping and faint, the reapers hasten home,

Each laden with his sheaves.

Last of the labourers, Thy feet I gain,

Lord of the harvest ! and my spirit grieves
That I am burdened, not so much with grain,
As with a heaviness of heart and brain ;

Master, behold my sheaves !
Few, light and worthless-yet their trifling weight

Through all my frame a weary aching leaves;
For long I struggled with my hopeless fate,
And stayed and toiled till it was dark and late-

Yet these are all my sheares.
Full well I know I have more tares than wheat,

Brambles and flowers, dry stalks and withered leaves;
Wherefore I blush and weep, as at Thy feet
I kneel down reverently and repeat,

Master, behold my sheaves !”
I know these blossoms, clustering heavily,

With evening dew upon their folded leaves
Can claim no value or utility
Therefore, shall fragrance and beauty be

The glory of my sheaves.
So do I gather strength and hope anew ;

For well I know thy patient love perceives
Not what I did but what I strove to do-
And though the full ripe ears be sadly few,

Thou wilt accept my sheaves.

1st. Born, 1675, Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, Political and

Philosophical Writer. 2nd. Died, 1842, Dr. W. E. Channing, great Unitarian Divine, Preacher,

and Philanthropist. 3rd. Died, 1690, Robert Barclay, celebrated Scottish Quaker, Author of

the "Apology for Quaker Tenets," 4th. Died, 1226, St. Francis, Fonnder of the Order of Franciscans or Grey

Friars. --1743, Henry Carey, Musician,--1806, Samuel Horsley,

Bishop of St. Asaphs, Divine and Controversalist. 5th. Born, 1703, Jonathan Edwards, Calvinistic Divine. 6th, Born, 1510, Dr. John Key (Caius), Founder of Caius College, Cambridge. 7th. Born, 1573, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury.—Died, 1796,

Dr. Thomas Reid, Scottish Metaphysician.-1849, Edgar Allan Poe. Sth. Died, 1841, Johann H. Dannecker, German Sculptor. 9th. Born, 1547, Michael Cervantes de Saavedea, author of Don Quixote, 10th.–Born, 1790, Rev. Theobold (Father) Mathew, Irish Apostle of

Intemperance. 11th.--Born, 1675, Dr. Samuel Clark, Author of "The Being and Attributes

of God. - Killed, 1531, Ulrich Zwingli, Swiss Reformer.—Died 1752, Thomas Stackhouse, Biblical Writer. - 1837, Samuel Wesley,

Musician. 12th.-Born, 1802, Hugh Miller, Geologist and Writer of Books. 13th. - Died, 1605, Theodore Beza. Reformer.-1771, Dr. John Gill, Baptist

Divine.--1845 Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, Philanthropist. 14th.-Born, 1644, William Penn, celebrated English Quaker and Philan.

thropist, and Founder of the Colony of Pennsylvania. 15th.-Died, 1838, Letitia Elizabeth Maclean nee Landon, "L.E.L.," Poetess.

--1843, Rev. John Foster, celebrated Essayist. 16th.-Martyred, 1555, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer.-Died 1812,

Henry Martyn, Oriental Missionary. 17th.--Died, 1586, Sir Philip Sidney, Poet and Hero.-1849, Frederic

Chopin, Musical Composer. 18th.- Day of St. Luke, the Evangelist.--Born, 1662, Matthew Henry,

celebrated Divine and Commentator, 19th.–Born, 1605, and Died, 1682, Sir Thomas Browne, Antiquary and

Philosopher, Author of "Religio Medici."— Born, 1784, James
Henry Leigh Hunt - Died, 1745, Jonathan Swift, Dean, Humorist,

and Political Writer.– Died, 1806, Henry Kirke White, youthful Poet. 20th.-Born, 1632, Sir Christopher Wren, Architect of St. Paul's.-1784,

Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston, Statesman.-Died, 1713,
Archibald Pitcairn, Physician and Author.–1870, M. W. Balfe,

Musical Composer. 21st.-Born, 1772, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Poet.--Died, 1785, Alexander

Runciman, Scottish Painter.-Killed, 1805. Lord Nelson. 22nd.-Died, 1802, Dr. Samuel Arnold, and 1859, Louis Spohr, celebrated

Composers. 24th.-Born, 1765, Sir James Macintosh, Politician and Miscellaneous

Writer. 25th.-Born, 1735, Dr. James Beattie, Poet. -1773, George Stanley Faber,

Theological Writer. -Died, 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer.-1647, Evange

lista Torricelli, Inventor of the Barometer. 26th.-Died, 1751, Dr. Philip Doddridge, eminent Divine and Author, 27th.-Born, 1782, Captain James Cooke, celebrated Voyager.-1797, Dr.

Andrew Combe, eminent Physiologist.— 1553. Michael Servetus
Burned for Heresy:-Died, 1840, Rev. John Thomson, Landscape

Painter.—1858, Madame Ida Pfeiffer, celebrated Traveller. 28th.-Born, 1467, Desiderius Erasmus, distinguished Scholar and Writer.

1659, Dr. Nicholas Brady, Versifier of the Psalms.—Died, 1704,

John Locke, Philosopher.-1792, John Smeaton, Engineer, 29th.--Born, 1740, James Boswell, Biographer of Johnson. -1745, William

Hayley, Poet and Biographer of Cowper.--1796, John Keats, Poet,
Beheaded, 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh.-Died, 1666, Edward Calamy,
Puritan Divine.-1806, George Morland, Animal Painter.-1842,

Allan Cunningham, Poet and Miscellaneous Writer. 30th.-Born, 1751, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Dramatist and Politician (see

Mrs. Oliphant's Life of Sheridan, just published in "English Nen of Letters," Macmillan).-Died, 1823, Edmund Cartwright, In. ventor of the Power-Loom.-1824, Rev. Charles Maturin, Drama.

tist and Tale Writer, 31st.-Hallowe'en.-Born, 1620, John Evelyn, author of Sylva, Memoirs. &c.

THE DEFEAT OF THOR.

Thro' the shades of Northern story,
Stalks the mighty god of strength;
Crowned with conquest, flushed with glory,
Meets his conqueror at length.
Thro' the halls of magic pacing,
All the elfin throng he dares,
“Who with Thor dare strive in racing".
Straight a slender youth appears :
To the goal far distant, signing,
Dares the strength-god to the race-
All his robes are rainbow shining,
Fresh as morning is his face:
And Thor scans the stripling slender,
Laughs to scorn the daring hope,
That one courtier-bred and tender,
With a conquering god could cope.
For the strife his nerve he braces,
On the conquest turns his soul-
Lo, the youth with whom he races,
Stands already at the goal !
O'er the strength-god, vaunting greatly,
Gaily cheers the elfin throng,
And the halls of magic stately
Ring with laughter rude and long.
But the elf-king stays them deftly,
Soothes the hero, passion fraught,
“Deem not, Thor, thine honours reft thee,
For thy conqueror's name is Thought."

ISABELLA STUART.

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