child-life. The little
Miss Bowles sitting on the ground hugging her dog, and Master Bunbury
looking out of the canvas with breathless eagerness, arouse a universal
interest, which is entirely independent of their individuality. Miss
Frances Harris, the serene, and Miss Penelope Boothby, the demure, will
be loved as child ideals long after their names are forgotten.

A _protege_ of Reynolds from the first, Lawrence became his successor
as Painter-in-Ordinary to the King, and in process of time rose to the
proud honor of the presidency of the Royal Academy. Holding thus the two
positions which Reynolds had graced so many years, it may be said that
the master's mantle fell upon him more truly than upon any other
follower.

In technique his painting is criticised by connoisseurs as deficient in
that harmonious blending of the flesh tints with the background which so
delights us in other artists. Then, too, his insight into character was
far less penetrating than that of his predecessor. Nevertheless, his
best work has much of the beauty and animation which we so admire in the
paintings of Reynolds.

One of his notable pictures is the portrait of Master Lambton, son
of Lord Durham, sometimes called, in imitation of the Blue Boy of
Gainsborough, the Red Boy. The painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon
of 1824, where it is said to have completely turned the heads of French
critics, so fascinating was the aristocratic melancholy of the beautiful
boy it represented.

For a companion piece to this picture, one might choose the portrait of
Mr. Peel's daughter, which is considered an exceptionally fine work.

Lawrence's groups of mothers with their children are especially worthy
of study. The most famous of these are Lady Dover, with her son, Lord
Clifden, in her arms, and the Countess Gower, with her little daughter
Elizabeth on her lap.

The latter has been carried by the engraver's art into nearly every
country of the world, and often appears under the title, "Maternal
Love." Both mother and child are looking with intense interest in the
direction toward which the little girl points an eager finger. The
child's face is full of vivacious beauty, the sparkling eyes and parted
lips perfectly representing the alert, imaginative type of child nature.

The finest of Sir Thomas Lawrence's child pictures is undoubtedly the
portrait of the Calmady children, better known by the title of "Nature."
This is indeed a picture discl