Very often in this picture the Virgin holds the Infant Jesus in her arms. In other fine examples,--notably in the masterpiece of Fra Bartolommeo, in the Church of St. Romano, in Lucca,--the figure of Christ surrounded by angels is seen in the clouds, as if he aided in these works of compassion. Such pictures are numerous in hospitals and charitable institutions, especially in those that are in the care of the Order of Mercy, where they are singularly appropriate. A bas-relief above the entrance to the Scuola della Caritas, in Venice, is a fine example of this subject. Pictures of the so-called Pietà, represent the Virgin holding the body of the dead Christ on her knees. The greatest artists whose works are known to us have represented this subject in sculpture and painting. When it is a strictly devotional work, the Virgin, the Christ, and mourning angels are the only figures admissible. There are many examples in which there are no angels, the Mother being alone with the dead Christ. The Pietà by Francia, in the National Gallery, is very beautiful in sentiment, and in execution is full of the tenderness of this master. The Christ is supported by two angels, and the Virgin, with an expression of anguish, seems to look at the beholder as if beseeching sympathy. In the sublimely pathetic marble group, by Michael Angelo, in a chapel of the Vatican, there are no angels, but we have engravings of another Pietà by this master, in which the Virgin sits at the foot of the cross, her eyes raised and her arms extended towards heaven, while two angels support the Christ, seated lower down, and leaning against the knees of the Virgin. According to the custom of Michael Angelo, these angels have no wings, but their expression is such as would make it impossible to mistake them for earthly children. There were no pictures of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary until the seventeenth century, when Spanish and Italian artists vied with each other in representing this subject, and these works may be said to abound in angels. When the Virgin stands on the moon with full sunlight surrounding her, and wearing the crown of twelve stars, she is the personification of the woman described in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. [Illustration: FRANCESCO FRANCIA.--A PIETÀ.] The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin was much in favor with the Spanish Church before its confirmation by the bull of Pope Paul V. in 1617, which was welcomed in Seville, not only by the most solemn religious services, but also by the booming of cannon, and the celebration of bull-fights, tournaments, and banquets. Spain and all its colonies were placed under the protection of the Immaculate Conception. Even now, almost three centuries after this event, it is not unusual for Spaniards to use the salute, “Ave Maria purissima!” the response being, “Sin peccado concepida!”