hands,
adoring the Infant. Perugino places him kneeling at a little distance in
the rear,--a perfect embodiment of childish devotion. In a painting by
Titian, also, he kneels apart, leaning on his cross, and in one by
Guido, he humbly kisses the Christ-child's foot.

In a lovely picture by Murillo, called the "Children of the Shell," he
kneels to drink from a cup which the little Jesus holds to his lips.
Here the contrast between the two is exquisitely rendered, both from
the artistic and the religious point of view, the Christ-child bearing
the unmistakable stamp of superiority, in spite of his childish figure,
while the infant John is a charming impersonation of reverent and loving
humility.

The religious spirit of the old masters has not been successfully
imitated by any modern artist who has attempted to delineate the Infant
Jesus and Saint John, nor is this to be expected. There are many
pleasing works of art, however, which, though differing widely from
early Italian standards, have an attractiveness of their own.

Such, for instance, is Boucher's painting, thoroughly characteristic of
the artist, and, when considered in itself, a very pretty thing. The two
plump babies are bewitching little figures, irresistibly lovable in
their dimpled beauty. Sweet cherub faces peep from the surrounding
clouds, regarding the holy children with wondering awe.

[Illustration: INFANT CHRIST AND SAINT JOHN.--BOUCHER.]

The figure of the Christ-child alone does not belong to the early
Renaissance, but by the seventeenth century, the subject had found favor
with Guido and Franceschini in Italy, and with Murillo and Zurbaran in
Spain. With all these artists it was a favorite custom to depict the
child Jesus asleep on the cross. Murillo's Infant Saviour, plaiting a
crown of thorns, also belongs to this class. These forms of symbolic
illustration have their modern counterpart in the work of several German
artists. As the Gospel narrative furnishes no actual incidents of the
early childhood of Jesus, he is shown in some attitude which will
suggest his divine calling. Painted by Ittenbach, he raises his right
hand to point the heavenward way, while with his left he indicates his
name inscribed in the letters I. H. S. on the breast of his tunic. In
Sinkel's picture he holds a tablet of the Commandments, with his finger
on the fourth, a sweet expression of Sabbath peace on his face.

Professor Deger's picture expresses a unique and