; it was intensely artistic. As soon as
she could wield a pencil, she began to make ragamuffin pictures, and to
dream of a career as the "champion painter of the poor." Gifted with a
keen sense of humor, she was quick to see the happy side of a life whose
exterior is apparently one of misery; and it was this side which she
determined to portray. Murillo's happy beggar boys were her ideal;
Hogarth's work also commanded her admiration. Following in the
footsteps of these great predecessors, she sought for her models "the
merry, reckless, happy-go-lucky urchin; the tomboy girl; and the plump,
untidy mother, dancing and tossing her ragged baby."

Such subjects would naturally be more difficult to find in London than
in Seville; and one could not walk about the streets of the bleak
northern metropolis without seeing many little waifs whose pitiable
condition contrasts sadly with the jocund poverty of Murillo's
Andalusian beggars. Thus it is that, in spite of the most cheerful
intentions, Mrs. Stanley has often produced pictures full of pathos. The
wan little violinist, sitting on the edge of his poor bed, and clasping
his sister in his arms, is a sad little figure. Another picture, that
brings tears of sympathy to our eyes, is the hungry-looking boy, also
a violinist, gazing wistfully into the window of a pastry-cook's, where
a placard proclaims that hot dinners are five-pence. Equally pathetic is
a scene inside the same shop, where a little waif is held, fainting, in
the arms of the proprietor, while other children gather round to see.

[Illustration: LONDON STREET ARABS.--DOROTHY STANLEY.]

It is a relief to turn from these to the subjects which are the artist's
most characteristic field, and to enjoy with her the romps and pranks of
the street Arabs. A clever picture of this class is the big boy using a
smaller one as a wheelbarrow, the small boy's arms supporting the
machine, and his legs furnishing the handles. Of kindred nature is a
sort of double pick-a-back, or pyramid, in which three ragged urchins
are enjoying themselves hugely in the attempt to carry out so remarkable
a feat. In the line of gymnastics, also, is the really admirable
painting exhibited at the New Gallery in 1890, which portrays three
delicious youngsters turning somersaults over a rail, while a little
girl at each end looks on admiringly. The original of the little chap
hanging head downward may have been the "Boy Taylor," of dragon fame, of
whom