r charity. Thus the imagination has been
called to the aid of religion in impressing Christian teaching.

Reynolds tried to put into this figure the various qualities which
make up our thought of hope. A pretty young woman steps forth from a
region of clouds and lifts her face and hands towards the light.
Through an opening in the sky a broad beam of sunshine falls upon her.
Following its direction, she seems to be looking through the opening
into some glad vision beyond. Like the figure of Hope in Swinburne's
sonnet, she

"Looks Godward, past the shades where blind men grope
Round the dark door that prayers nor dreams can ope,
And makes for joy the very darkness dear."

In the lower left-hand corner we may barely make out the portion of an
anchor. The meaning of the old symbol is that hope keeps the soul
firm, as an anchor holds the ship. The face of which we have a glimpse
is girlish and innocent; the figure is full of buoyancy. The left arm
and the uplifted hands are very delicately modelled.

[Illustration: HOPE]

In a painting of this kind the artist is free to follow his own bent
in the matter of dress, no longer hampered, as in his portraits, by
the follies of fashion. It is delightful to see here the exquisite
simplicity of the gown falling in long, beautiful lines. The only
adornment is a gauzy scarf, twisted about the bodice and falling on
each side in spiral folds. One is reminded of the swirling scarfs in
our American Vedder's designs, having, as here, a purely decorative
purpose in the scheme. The hair is gathered up on the head in a loose
knot, from which the end escapes in a curl.

We are not looking here for any strong delineation of character, as in
a portrait, and the painter did not even think it worth while to show
much of Hope's face. The panel is to be studied as a work of
decorative art, and its beauty lies in its scheme of color, the
contrast of light and shade, and the graceful patterns traced by the
lines. These are drawn in long flowing curves. The strongest are those
which run from the upper left to the lower right corner, to emphasize
the motion of the figure towards the left. The outline of the cloud
billows which separate the light from the darkness are counter curves
cutting across diagonally.

We could appreciate the lines of the panel even better if we could
see it in its relation to the entire plan. Each figure is drawn with
reference to its place in the great desi