has passed away in the person of Mr. R. D. Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone and other well-known novels. He was in his 75th year, so, as with Martineau and Ruskin, his life's work had been accomplished. One cannot mourn for them in the same_ sense that one deplores the death of G. W. Stecvens, the gifted war correspondent to the Daily Mail, and author of Jit Kitchener toKhurtonm, Truly, whether this be the last year of the old century or the first year in the new one, it is claiming heavy dues in our great men, BETTER DEATH THAN MADNESS, So I thought when I visited the Conti. nental Gallery a few days ago and saw 25 paintings done by that. great Hungarian painter Munkaesy and heard of his truly terrible fate. It will be remembered that his last great work, Ecce Homo, when it was shown was unfinished. We were told that just before its completion the artist had suddenly lost his reason and that it was only by being forcibly held back that he was prevented from ruining his work entirely. The doctors who were called in agreed that it was " form of religious mania J caused by too much absorption in a work of such a painful nature. They prophesied speedy recovery, but, alas their prognosfications have not been fulfilled, as poor Munkacsy is now far worse and at times terribly violent oven in his lucid intervals. He has not the least recollection of his art and he suffers intensely.
The present exhibition includes studies for two of his most celebrated pictures, Christ before Pilate and Calvary, also a replica of the rear painting on the ceiling of the Austrian National Art Historical Museum at Vienna but more interesting to me were some of the smaller works, notably The Recital, wherein a young man is telling a most exciting tale of adventure to an audience of two, presumably a father and daughter. "They are listening with rapt attention, seated at a table on which are fruit and wine. A great feature of the work is the beautiful effect of light which comes from a window at the back and plays through the entire picture with most pleasing effect. 'A scone of peasant life in Hungary is li wise full of life, as is also The Incorriyible, one Goth -among a number of humble fiddlers; it is so realistic that one can almost hear the music. An exquisite bit of work is the Park Colpach. Just a path, with overhanging trees through which the light plays—so little subject, but treated in such masterly style and so full of harmony that one is forced to regret that the artist devoted so little time to landscape painting. Nearly all his works are interiors.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.