Page:A tribute to W. W. Corcoran, of Washington City (IA tributetowwcorco00boul).pdf/70

 enough we might ask, "Where is the sourkrout? The Unhappy Family takes away our smiles and cheerful feeling. A lantern's light, hung from the rafters of a poor dwelling, is the only ray that beams athwart the gloom of ill-fortune. There is an air of despondency in the wearied wife who sits beside her baby in its cradle; the little one, all unconscious of trouble, sleeps soundly, as also the tired, bare-footed boy resting against his mother's knee. But the person upon whose lineaments broods the sorrow of poverty or distress, is the father who, entering the room, has to meet the tender caresses of his other children. His burden seems heavier than ever, his parent heart sympathizing in the woes of all his family. No. 36. A Swiss Landscape with Mill, by C. Tribel, 1849. The eye is never wearied with scenes from nature, should we meet them at every other step. No.37. A Vase of Flowers, by Jeannin, 1873. One of the most charming selections of W.T. Walters. The artist has combined art and nature with the most pleasing skill. Almost the entire surface of the picture displays a faultless shade of cerulean blue, figured in a pearly white, to represent a rich brocade satin drapery, that conceals, magically as it were, from view, a little stand or table. A rich, white silk scarf or drapery also falls gracefully, and in folds so careless that none but a true artist could depict them. This scarf would be fit apparel for a queen; it has for a border a fine net of lace work, with a design of leaves and flowers, all snowy white; and the heavy white fringe, a quarter of a yard in length, has so much of the soft, flossy appearance of silk, that it seems impossible for it to be a counterfeit. These regal draperies, in conjunction with a superb gilded bronze vase, with the design of two cupids in the act of an embrace, form what one would style art, whilst