The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-08

cades of the Onices. peopled with statues. opened before him: opposite, the Loggia, filled with masterpieces. seemed to gath CT and keep all the sunlight that flooded the square, and the pure beauty Of it's marble and the rich paterie of the bronze figures made a picture more striking be- cause of the contract between form and color. Leone hurried thither and at first could not believe what he saw. It seemed incredible to him that such wealth or beauty, splendor and harmony should be displayed so lavishly for the delight or human beings. Motionless he stood, ner- vcusly crumpling his little cap between his hands; tears which he could not re- strain ran down his cheeks; names of the famous dead rang in his ears. crowded his brain and were transformed into be- ings of flesh and blood. sensitive and melancholy like himself; amid the mas terpieces, so brilliant in the sunlight, he fancied that he saw none but the immor- tai creators. the artists Donatello, Ben venuto Cellni, Giovanni de Bologna, and the man whose colossal genius filled all Italy with pride-Michel Angelo. Excited beyond bounds he felt his strength go out and fell fainting on the pavement. At that moment his father turned the cor ner of the Place. Passing by the various groups, he soon recognized Leone, who. with his black hair and face as white as wax, looked like delicate statue. and 1t seemed as though the city, empurpled in glory and blood. had taken him to her heart as her latest victim.
 From that moment Leone's sole arnbi- ton was to becomel great artist. His extraordinary manual dexterity, com bined with his zeal and genius, seemed to indicate that he was surely destined for this profession, in which while still a child he had made his first efforts. Si- lently and collectedly he prepared him. self for the arduous tasks before him. and waited patiently for the hour when he might put to the test and realize the great longing for the beautiful which was so much of his life
 Often he came back to Florence, but alone and as secretly as a lover paying stealthy visit to his sweetheart. He knew all the galleries in the museums, all the frescoes in the old cloisters and all the faces of dreams or reality scat tered through the monasteries and the tombs of mortuary chapels. Earnestly he studied the various methods of trans- lating human emotion. now before the mobile smiles of the women painted by Andrea del Sarto, now before the firm lips of the virgins of Filippo Lippi. From all these he formed for himself an Idea of beauty and art which he felt sure that he could realize when he became a man and in his turn could create. To create, to transmit, blindly or clearly. the vibration of thought and life, to make the spark fly forth from inert matter, to be for an instant a god
 He saw clearly that the one supreme rrff yac tho ohg kA -..skt gfz and through ali his early years-so self contained, yet so unquiet-he strove hard to perpetuate himself not through the children of his flesh. but through some imperishable work of art which would endure longer than all the generations of men. He constantly dreamed of this masterpiece, which he wished to be unique and to which he intended to de- vote his whole being. All he asked was that he might leave behind him one beau tiful work of art, single definite image, single reflection of his brain and his heart.
 This was the ambition of the potter's son when he established himself in Flor ence on spring morning as beautiful as the one on which he had visited the city for the first time. His emotion at what he saw was as great on this occas-
 
 same streets and stopped at the same corners. For him this day was like a marriage morning after a long betrothal He took possession of the city, which he loved as wife, since he found in 1t all the graces of woman at once wife and sweetheart.
 Leone then suffered all the pangs of love; hour after hour his ambition con stunned him and his brain glowing with enthusiasm. dominated his body and gradually stole away his vigor in the same manner that oil is devoured by a burning lamp. How could he obtain his hearts desire? When and how would he be able to fashion that unique master piece which would reveal his genius to the world? He felt 1t thrilling through his thoughts; but how provide the means to execute 1t and look 1t face to face? He feared indeed, that he would never find the marvellous model whose aid would be necessary to animate and indi- the conception of his brain. perfect and beautiful model he required, since the face must be of the Venus type. vet pure enough in feature to serve as symbol of the face he had conceived Florence. the woman-town. it's force, it's sweetness, its reality, its dream
 If pretty girls were all he needed he could easily have found model They came to him instlnctively attracted by the warmth of the art pas sion that burned within him. Was it that he knew not how to look on them, as the great primitives, his ancestors looked or the maidens of Lucca or Sienna or as Leonardo da Vinci studied his Joconder Tho Florentine girls about him seemed to