monastery with pictures in memory of his dead young wife.  The only remaining one of these is the Last Supper in the refectory of the old monastery.  And the famous Head of Christ in the Brera Gallery, Milan, is only one of perhaps hundreds of studies that he made for the expression which he should give to his Christ in the Last Supper,—­so dissatisfied was he with his renderings of the face of our Saviour.  And even with his last effort he was not content, but said the head must ever go unfinished.

“I am glad to hear you say that this Head of Christ was produced simply as a study of expression,” remarked Mr. Sumner.  “I am sure this fact is not understood by many who look upon it.  I know of no other artistic representation in the world that is so utterly just an expression and nothing more;—­a fleeting expression of some inner feeling of which the face is simply an index.  And this feeling is the blended grief and love and resignation that filled the heart of our Saviour when He said to His disciples, ‘One of you shall betray me.’  It is a simply wrought study, made on paper with charcoal and water-color.  The paper is worn, its 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.”