.

When the painting was to be put in the new Ryks Museum, in Amsterdam,
it was found that the wall was too narrow for the picture. What do you
think the authorities did? The stupid men cut a piece off from each
side of the picture to fit it in its new place. Was ever anything so
silly? Even those pieces cut off would bring more money to-day than
the museum itself cost.

The men who had money at the time Rembrandt painted the picture were
angry because the artist would not make portraits as they wanted them.
They ignored Rembrandt, and he became very poor and died unknown.
To-day those rich men are forgotten and Rembrandt is known the world
over.

[Illustration: FIG. 15. THE NIGHT WATCH. REMBRANDT. RYKS MUSEUM,
AMSTERDAM]

THE ASSUMPTION

TITIAN, OR TIZIANO VECELLI (1477-1576)

Titian lived to be ninety-nine-years old and still painted pictures.
He was working on a painting when an awful plague broke out in Venice,
and he took it and died. Titian painted such wonderful pictures that
kings came to see them and rich noblemen paid big sums of money to own
them. Sometimes King Charles V would ride with Titian and would have
his courtiers pay tribute to Titian and wait on him. This made those
haughty men very jealous and very angry, but Charles V would say, "I
have many nobles, but I have only one Titian."

Titian's picture of the "Virgin going to Heaven" the whole world calls
one of the greatest pictures ever painted. Some day I hope you will go
to Venice, that Queen City of the Sea, and fasten your gondola at the
Museum door while you go in to see this picture. You will be so
dazzled with its bright color that you will hardly see the little
cherubs circling around the blessed mother. But I want you to look at
them; they are darlings: then look at the men all reaching up and the
Father in the sky looking down. The story of the picture is about
Mary, the mother of Jesus, going to heaven.

[Illustration: FIG. 16. THE ASSUMPTION. TITIAN. ACADEMY, VENICE]

THE MELON EATERS

BARTOLOME ESTEBAN MURILLO (1618-1682)

When the Spanish artist Murillo was a young painter he was very poor
and hardly knew where to get enough to eat. He would go to the
market-place and set up his easel and rapidly paint the scenes around
him. The people who came to the market to buy and sell saw these
pictures and bought them for a mere pittance.

Often beggar boys, who were everywhere in the market snatching fruits
and ot