"And here is the fairest lily of them all," he said, in his poetic
Italian fashion.
"What can it be, mother?" asked the little girl, wonderingly.
Mrs. Clayton smiled. "It is from Sartoris', the fine art store where
you saw the beautiful pictures last week; that is all I know about it,"
she replied.
The man carefully placed the mysterious object on the table.
"It is some kind of a vase or an image," declared Larry.
"Why, so it is!" echoed Abby.
In another moment the tissue veil was torn aside, and there stood
revealed a beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin.
"Oh!" exclaimed Larry, in delight.
"How lovely!" added his sister.
The image was about two feet high, and of spotless Parian, which well
symbolized the angelic purity it was intended to portray. To many,
perhaps, it might appear simply a specimen of modeling, but little
better than the average. However, those who looked on it with the eyes
of faith saw before them, not so much the work itself, as the ideal of
the artist.
The graceful figure or Our Lady at once suggested the ethereal and
celestial.
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