might have suggested much of the plastic art of Florence. Indeed, as we
view these marbles it is not difficult to see whence the Renaissance
sprang and to what we owe the various forms of Renaissance art. The
frieze of the Muses, each of whom wears in her hair a feather plucked
from the wings of the vanquished sirens, is extremely fine; there is a
lovely little bas-relief of two cupids racing in chariots; and the frieze
of recumbent Amazons has some splendid qualities of design. A frieze of
children playing with the armour of the god Mars should also be
mentioned. It is full of fancy and delicate humour.

On the whole, Sir Charles Newton and Mr. Murray are warmly to be
congratulated on the success of the new room. We hope, however, that
some more of the hidden treasures will shortly be catalogued and shown.
In the vaults at present there is a very remarkable bas-relief of the
marriage of Cupid and Psyche, and another representing the professional
mourners weeping over the body of the dead. The fine cast of the Lion of
Chaeronea should also be brought up, and so should the stele with the
marvellous portrait of the Roman slave. Economy is an excellent public
virtue, but the parsimony that allows valuable works of art to remain in
the grime and gloom of a damp cellar is little short of a detestable
public vice.




THE UNITY OF THE ARTS: A LECTURE AND A FIVE O'CLOCK


(Pall Mall Gazette, December 12, 1887.)