The large stars are the sheep;
The little ones are the lambs, I guess:
The gentle moon is the shepherdess,
Sleep, baby, sleep!

"Sleep, baby, sleep!
Our Saviour loves his sheep;
He is the Lamb of God on high
Who for our sakes came down to die.
Sleep, baby, sleep!"

When we remember that the ancient Romans had lamps constructed
somewhat like that in the picture, it seems strange that so rude a
contrivance should be in use in the nineteenth century. But this is
only the practical and prosaic side of the question. For artistic
purposes the lamp is just what is wanted in the composition.

You can see how a lamp with a glass chimney and shade would spoil the
whole effect. We should lose that strange beautiful halo surrounding
the wick, and the light would fall only on the work, instead of
glorifying the face of the mother. These wonderful impressions of
light add much to the artistic beauty of the picture, and explain why
artists have so greatly admired it.

The picture naturally recalls that other Mother and Babe, Mary of
Nazareth and the holy Child Jesus, who for so many centuries have
inspired the imagination of artists. Often a painter has drawn his
first conception for this sacred subject from some peasant mother and
child such as these.