that which he
says, compared with the earlier masters. You will find two of Titian's
most notable pictures in the Academy,--the _Assumption of the Virgin_,
one of the few in which the Madonna has due prominence, and which shows
the artist's best qualities, and _Presentation of the Virgin_."

"What other Venetian Masters ought we particularly to study?" asked
Barbara.

"Look out for Crivelli's _Madonnas_, and all of Paul Veronese's work. He
was really the most utterly Venetian painter who ever lived. He painted
Venice into everything: its motion, its color, its intoxicating fulness
are all found in his mythological and banquet scenes. You will find his
pictures in the Ducal Palace, in the Academy, and a fine series in San
Sebastiano, which represents legendary scenes in the life of St.
Sebastian. Go to Santa Maria Formosa and look at Palma Vecchio's _St.
Barbara_, his masterpiece. You will also find several of this artist's
pictures in the Academy worth looking at. His style at its best is
grand, as in the _St. Barbara_, but he did not always paint up to it, by
any means.

"As to the rest, study them as a whole. The Venice Academy is an epitome
of Venetian painting, from its earliest work down through the High
Renaissance into the Decadence. It was full of pure and devotional
sentiment, rendered with good, oftentimes rich, color, until after the
Bellini. Then the portrayal of purely physical beauty, with refinement
of line and gorgeousness of color, became preeminent. The works of
several artists of note, Palma Vecchio, Palma Giovine, Bonifazio
Veronese, and Bordone, so resemble each other and Titian's less
important works, that there has been much uncertainty as to the true
authorship of many of them."

"And Tintoretto?" questioned Barbara.

"I will take you to see Tintoretto's pictures--or many of them at
least," added Mr. Sumner. "He stands alone by himself."

Chapter XIX.

In a Gondola.

_And on her lover's arm she leant,
And round her waist she felt it fold,
And far across the hills they went
In that new land which is the old_.

--TENNYSON.

[Illustration: GRAND CANAL AND RIALTO, VENICE.]

Lucile Sherman, accompanied by her friends, had arrived in Venice, and
though not at the same hotel, yet she spent all the time she could with
Mrs. Douglas, and wished to join her in many excursions. She had found
it very wearisome to tarry so long in Rome, but there had been no
su