a remarkable contrast to the lovely violet sky and the grand
architectural magnificence above ground, among men who cared little
for the things of time and sense, because life itself had not a
moment's security, were nevertheless nourished thoughts of ideal
beauty and unearthly grandeur, which afterwards yielded such glorious
fruit in the Christian art of Italy. The frescoes of the Catacombs are
the feeble beginnings of an artistic inspiration which culminated in
the "Last Supper" of Leonardo da Vinci, and the "Transfiguration" of
Raphael.

The anchor of hope, the olive-branch of peace, and the palm-branch as
the sign of victory and martyrdom, were seen everywhere. The fish,
whose Greek name is formed by the initial letters of the titles of our
Lord, was carved on the marble tablets and sarcophagi as the anagram
of the Saviour; and an Orante, or female figure praying, was
represented as the symbol of the Church. The most common of all the
figures, however, was that of the Good Shepherd carrying the lost
sheep on His shoulders, or leaning on His staff while the sheep were
feeding around Him. And a most touching figure it is, when we think of
the circumstances of those who carved or painted it in these gloomy
aisles. It was into no green pastures, and beside no still waters,
that the Good Shepherd led His flock in those awful days, but into
waste and howling wildernesses, where their feet were bruised by the
hard stones, and their flesh torn by the sharp thorns, and all the
storms of the world beat fiercely upon them. But still He was their
Good Shepherd, and in the wilderness He spread a table for them, and
in the valley of the shadow of death they feared no evil, for He was
with them, and His rod and staff comforted them.

I wish I could express adequately the emotions which filled my breast