erwards made her the angel of his home--his good
wife. The painter doubtless proved the truth of Wordsworth's beautiful
lines--

"I saw her upon nearer view
A spirit yet a Woman too!
* * *
"A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet;
A creature not too bright and good
For human nature's daily food.
* * *
"A perfect woman nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light."

However this may be, we know that she is often painted as the Virgin
in Murillo's great pictures. Her liquid eyes and dark hair inspired
him to forget the rigid rules laid down regarding the Virgin's having
blue eyes and fair hair or, at all events, to disregard them. We shall
see the Mary in some of his loveliest pictures with the dark hair and
eyes of his countrymen. Three children were born into Murillo's home,
two boys and one girl. One boy for a time practised the art of his
father, but he later became a clergyman. The other son came to
America, while the daughter devoted herself to religion and entered
a convent.

After Murillo's marriage, his house was the gathering place for the
most distinguished people of Seville. What a change was this from
Murillo's early condition, when he toiled at the weekly markets for
bread and shelter! His power in his work increased, so that every
new picture was an additional pledge of his greatness.

[Illustration: THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. _Murillo._]

It was in middle life that Murillo began painting the subject that
more than any other distinguished him. It was to glorify a beautiful
idea, that Mary was as pure and spotless as her divine son. It is
called the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and so much did it
appeal to Murillo that he painted it over and over again. He has left
us at least twenty different pictures embodying this doctrine. The one
most familiar is perhaps the greatest. It is the one that now graces
the gem-room of the Louvre. I so name this room, for in it, within a
few feet of one another, are pictures by Raphael, Da Vinci, Correggio,
Rembrandt, Veronese, in short, by the foremost masters of the world.
Among all these the vision of Murillo takes an equal rank. To many,
the idea which the picture represents is of secondary importance, save
perhaps as giving a reason for the name it bears. Bu