The Legend of the Sangrail, the _motif_ of his last work, is "the most poetic and pathetic form of transubstantiation; ... it possesses the true legendary power of attraction and assimilation." In Mr. Haweis' words, "The _Tannhäuser_ and the _Lohengrin_ are the two first of the legendary dramas which serve to illustrate the Christian Chivalry and religious aspirations of the middle ages, in conflict on the one side with the narrow ideals of Catholicism, and on the other with the free instincts of human nature. _Parsifal_ forms with them a great Trilogy of Christian legends, as the _Ring of the Niebelungen_ forms a Tetralogy of Pagan, Rhine, and Norse legends. Both series of sacred and profane myths in the hands of Wagner, whilst striking the great key-notes, Paganism and Catholicism, become the fitting and appropriate vehicles for the display of the ever-recurrent struggles of the human heart--now in the grip of inexorable fate, now passion-tossed, at war with itself and with time--soothed with spaces of calm--flattered with the dream of ineffable joys--filled with sublime hopes; and content at last with far-off glimpses of God." [Decoration] [Decoration] ITALIAN AND FRENCH COMPOSERS. _PALESTRINA._ I. The Netherlands share other glories than that of having nursed the most indomitable spirit of liberty known to mediæval Europe. The fine as well as the industrial arts found among this remarkable people, distinguished by Erasmus as possessed of the _patientia laboris_, an eager and passionate culture. The early contributions of the Low Countries to the growth of the pictorial art are well known to all. But to most it will be a revelation that the Belgian school of music was the great fructifying influence of the fifteenth century, to which Italy and Germany owe a debt not easily measured. The art of interweaving parts and that science of sound known as counterpoint were placed by this school of musical scholars and workers on a solid basis, which enabled the great composers who came after them to build their beautiful tone fabrics in forms of imperishable beauty and symmetry. For a long time most of the great Italian churches had Belgian chapel-masters, and the value of their example and teachings was vital in its relation to Italian music.