ic excellence which place him in the
foremost rank; and we are glad to believe that for many generations to
come his lovely little peasant girls will be widely known and loved.

[Illustration: CHILD HEAD.--BOUGUEREAU.]

From the dark-eyed children of sunny France to the fair-haired sons
and daughters of the Saxon race is a long step, which introduces us
to child-life of a totally different type. Childhood in the rural
districts of Germany and Switzerland has been very completely portrayed
by Johann Georg Meyer, better known as Meyer von Bremen,--the name he
has taken in honor of his native city.

With an intense sympathy for all the pleasures of childhood, Meyer
unites a wonderfully delicate sense of the artistic and picturesque. His
fertility of invention seems well-nigh inexhaustible. He has given us
cottage scenes and out-of-door life with impartial liberality, and has
shown equal skill of treatment, whether he handles groups or single
figures.

His subjects are drawn largely from life in the Hessian, Bavarian, and
Swiss Alps, where he has carefully studied the manners and customs of
the people. The cottage interiors have all the characteristic quaintness
and charm of these peasant homes. High wooden chairs, of the
"fiddle-back" pattern, are the conspicuous pieces of furniture; rich
old cabinets stand against the walls, and oddly shaped earthern jars are
ranged on shelves. The light comes through little diamond-paned windows,
and gleams on floors of hard wood, unadorned with carpet or rug. In
these surroundings, groups of flaxen-haired children sport in all the
sweet innocence of healthy, happy childhood. Sometimes they gather
eagerly about the table to play with their Pet Canary; at another time
they cluster about their mother's knee to peep admiringly at the
wonderful new baby in her arms, and to hear the mysterious announcement
that The Storks Brought It. Again, the centre of their attention is the
tiny brother gleefully taking his first uncertain steps towards the
outstretched arms of his young mother.

[Illustration: THE LITTLE RABBIT-SELLER.--MEYER VON BREMEN.]

The out-of-door scenes have the picturesque mountain scenery of the Alps
for their background, and sometimes a pretty cottage is included in
the scene. A characteristic example is the Little Rabbit-Seller. A group
of children gather round a little girl, who carries, suspended from her
shoulders, a large basket of rabbits. Two of the number peep wi