ts edges are almost tattered; yet were it given me
to become the possessor of one of the world's art-treasures--whichever
one I should choose--I think I should select this. You will know why
when you see it."

"What a pity that the great picture, the _Last Supper_, is so injured,"
said Malcom, after a pause. "Is it as bad as it is said to be, uncle?"

"It is in a pretty bad condition, yet, after all, I enjoy it better than
any copy that has ever been made. The handiwork of Leonardo, though so
much of it has been lost, is yet the expression of a master; any lesser
artist fails to render the highest that is in the picture. Both the Duke
and Leonardo were in fault for its present condition. The monastery is
very low, and on extremely wet ground. Water has often risen and
inundated a portion of the building. It is not a fit place for any
painting, as the Duke ought to have known. And, then, Leonardo, instead
of painting in fresco, used oils, and of course the colors could not
adhere to the damp plaster; so they have dropped off, bit by bit, until
the surface is sadly disfigured."

"Why did Leonardo do this?" inquired Margery.

"He was particularly fond of oil-painting, because this method allowed
him to paint over and over again on the same picture, as he could not do
in fresco."

Mr. Sumner looked out of the window, and then hastened to say:--

"I think you all have learned that the chief quality of Leonardo da
Vinci's work is his rendering of facial expression--complex, subtile
expression: yet he excelled in all artistic representation;--in drawing,
in composition, in color, and in the treatment of light and shade. He
easily stands in the foremost rank of world painters. But, see! we are
drawing near to Milan,--bright, gay little Milan,--the Italian Paris."

One day, soon after their arrival, as they were in the Brera Gallery,
looking for the third or fourth time at Leonardo's _Head of Christ_,
Barbara remarked that she was disappointed because she could not find
any particular characteristic of this great artist's work, as she had so
often been able to do with others. "I feel that I cannot yet recognize
even his style," she lamented.

"You have as yet seen none of the pictures which contain his
characteristic ideal face," replied Mr. Sumner. "But there is work here
in Milan by Bernardino Luini, who studied Leonardo so intimately that he
caught his spirit in a greater degree than did any other of his
followers. I