criptive poem "Italy,"
brought out in 1822. Rogers devoted the rest of his literary life to the
publication of exquisitely illustrated editions of his "Italy" and his
"Poems." Shortly after Rogers' death a collection of his witty sayings was
published under the title of "Table Talk."

[Sidenote: Horace Vernet]

[Sidenote: His early works]

[Sidenote: Vernet's earnings]

[Sidenote: Highest artistic honors]

At the Parisian Art Exposition of this year, Horace Vernet, the celebrated
French battle painter, had a Salon devoted entirely to his works. The walls
were covered by his immense canvases. At this time Vernet was the most
successful of French artists. Born at the Louvre at the outbreak of the
French Revolution, Vernet in his early career was identified with the
events of that epoch. For the Duke of Orleans he painted his celebrated
series of the four revolutionary battles, "Jemmapes, Hanau, Montmirail, and
Valmy." In 1812 he received his first important commission from King Jerome
of Westphalia, and in 1813 another from Empress Marie Louise. In 1814,
Horace Vernet, with his father and Gericault, fought on the Barriere de
Clichy, and for his gallant conduct there received the decoration of the
Legion of Honor from the hands of Napoleon. After the Restoration, Vernet
achieved a great success by his "Battle of Torlosa," which was purchased
for 6,000 francs for the Maison du Roi. At the Salon of 1819 Vernet
contested the field with Gericault and Ingres, whose "Medusa" and
"Odalisque" were the success of the season. By his popular lithographs of
Napoleonic scenes, Vernet so jeopardized his interests at Court that it was
thought best for him to transfer his studio from Paris to Rome. On his
return from there in 1822 he painted his masterpiece, "The Defence of the
Barrier of Clichy," for which Odiot paid 4,000 francs. It was presented to
the Chamber of Peers, from which it was transferred subsequently to the
Gallery of the Louvre. Thenceforward Vernet's pictures, the first of which
had sold for a few hundred francs, commanded ever higher prices. For
Avignon, his ancestral home, Horace Vernet painted "Mazeppa Pursued by
Wolves," a picture which was injured by a sabre stroke in the artist's
studio. After his election to the Institute, Vernet changed the style of
his subjects, charging staggering prices. For a ceiling fresco in the
Museum of Charles X. he received 17,910 francs; for "Phillip Augustus
Before Bovines," now a