Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-10

been built. Mrs Oliphant tells the story
much better than can. Everything in
Florence has a story, and it is not so OBJ
scured with msts of antiquities but that
one can feel very vital interest IN II
The Florentines did things in such
yhole-souled way; they were such des-
perately earnest people, and everybody
knew everybody else, and everybody
was intensely interested in all public
works, SO that they all we're mixed up
together in everything, and that Is the
state of affairs which makes stories
happen.
Giotto was an old man and had never
been anything but painter, when the
CITY of Florence calmly requested him TO
make designs for q campanile. That was
a glorious thing to do! Florence had
such faith in her great men she believed
they could do anything, and so they rose
I'D equal to the occasion. GiottoJ IN
stead of saying can t do anything but
paint, went to studying arch lecture,
and built a monument to his eternal
fame. We look at Giotto's paintings
with curiosity and interest, knowing that
he accomplished as much. perhaps more,
above the ordinary run of men Us
Raphael in his day; but the campanle
is
THING OF BEAUTY AND JOY FOREVER.
would like to describe it more fully,
but don't like to interfere with MT.
Ruskin, He has done his best at IL
already, and when he reads the Sunday
Fort Worth GAZETTE l should not like to
have him feel Inundated in any way.
Another place like to linger about IS
the monastery at San Marco, now used
as museum. 1t is plain, white house
do nd Nlai
within, but there is q beautiful air OF
peace about its cloisters and its court
| wards of roses, and Fra Angelico's
! paintings bring all the gentleness and
| sweetness and piety that is In you to the
! top whenever you look at them. III ne
| did not paint nature he painted some
thing even more real; he painted the
| pruyer that was in his heart before he
touched brush to paint. That some
how breathes through the woodeny legs
! and arms and the stiff attitudes or MS
figures, and brings the prayer into your
own heart. He could only paint an-
gels and saints, for that was all that was
in his thought, and he never painted so
we'll as when he left the earth in thought
and expressed on canvas or on a con-
vent wall only the beautiful angel
! thoughts of the heaven that dwelt with
in him. What sermons he has left
wherever he touched his brush, that
blessed one of Frieolel Walking along
the upper corridor and looking IN the
little cells, each with Its holy picture,
the place seems
FULL OF THE SWEETNESS AND PEACE
of Fra Angelica s life; but at the end o.
the tong white hail. there are two large.
cells ad Joining, on tne walls of which one
sees a different history. These are Sava-
narola's cells; in one OF them his power
full face, SO ugly as to be fascinating,
looks down on you from above ms desA
in which are his books and papers. eau
well imagine how fieroely those small,
deep eyes would light up; with what
fearful concentration that narrow
proved man would throw himself into
one idea! Yet he was not narrow man
in his religious man; only narrow as all
/ reformers must be, for q reformer sees
only that which he wants to reform. 80
this earnest deep souled monk looking
out from his convent onto Florence, ne
saw her submitting to tyranny, loosiug
, her proud freedom, and couceiving IN
his thought whst government should
be. with only God for king aud ruler,
, and inspired by faith that he by COD 3
, help could make Florence what she
, , ought to be he preached as only such an
.
, preach. With the strong foods of his
, eIoquenoe, with the Intensity of his own
, feeling he bound the city to him as with
, chains and actu ally founded theocratio
republic. But how quickly the CHAINS
. snapped! In the adjoining cell IS a
queer old painting which tells the emu OF
the story. In that we see the Paiazzo
Vecchio looking exactly as II does to-day /,
but there in the piazza is something I'M
usual; II Is 8 staging, IRE, hanging
| figure and there stand the Florentines
gazing quietly to see the flames leap up
to Sayanarola's robes. Burnt by
Z EDIcr OF THE POPE FOB HEREsY.
Whether he was wise or fanatical;
q whether his measures would really nave
nermaneutly liberated Florence or not,
g we reverence the great purpose that IN
9 suired him, and IL gave me strange
, thrill to come so near his life as did IN
those little white wa shed cells OF San
g Marco.
! Yet think Fra Angelico's life was
q stronger than the fiery Savauarola .,
4 and his preaching the best To be sure
the times were very diff erent than In
n 1915. when the prior OF San Marco De-
: came the power of Florence, but even IN
q the midst OF trouble and persecution
a Imagine Fra Angelica would have gone
q on nainting out his holy thoughts think
o ing thatit the Florentines only believed
a in such beautiful things It did not muon
a matter whether they had political free
q dom or were oppressed by Medici
d or not Although Snvanarola was
d | the very heart and motivo
= mower of Florence once, and the
iife of the city throbbed so intensely
: about San Marco, yet the convent seems
n | TO tell us now more of the peaceful life
g of one gentle monk than Of the preacher
= king of Florence.
,r JESSIE G. Chamberlain.