In Lesueur every thing is directed towards expression, every thing is in the service of the mind, every thing is idea and sentiment. There is no affectation, no mannerism; there is a perfect _naivete_; his figures sometimes would seem even a little common, so natural are they, if a Divine breath did not animate them. It must not be forgotten that his favorite subjects do not exact a brilliant coloring: he oftenest retraces scenes mournful or austere. But as in Christianity by the side of suffering and resignation is faith with hope, so Lesueur joins to the pathetic sweetness and grace; and this man charms me at the same time that he moves me. The works of Lesueur are almost always great wholes that demanded profound meditation, and the most flexible talent, in order to preserve in them unity of subject, and to give them variety and harmony. The _History of St. Bruno_, the founder of the order _des Chartreux_, is a vast melancholy poem, in which are represented the different scenes of monastic life. The _History of St. Martin and St. Benedict_ has not come down to us entire; but the two fragments of it that we possess, the _Mass of St. Martin_, and the _Vision of St. Benedict_, allow us to compare that great work with every better thing of the kind that has been done in Italy, as, to speak sincerely, the _Muses_ and the _History of Love_, appear to us to equal at least the Farnesina. In the _History of St. Bruno_, it is particularly necessary to remark St. Bruno, prostrated before a crucifix, the saint reading a letter of the pope, his death, his apotheosis. Is it possible to carry meditation, humiliation, rapture farther? _St. Paul preaching at Ephesus_ reminds one of the _School of Athens_, by the extent of the scene, the employment of architecture, and the skilful distribution of groups. In spite of the number of personages, and the diversity of episodes, the picture wholly centres in St. Paul. He preaches, and upon his words hang those who are listening, of every sex, of every age, in the most varied attitudes. In that we behold the grand lines of the Roman school, its design full of nobleness and truth at the same time. What charming and grave heads! What graceful, bold, and always natural movements! Here, that child with ringlets, full of _naive_ enthusiasm; there, that old man with bended knees, and hands joined. Are not all those beautiful heads, and those draperies, too, worthy of Raphael? But the marvel of the picture is the figure of St. Paul,[136]--it is that of the Olympic Jupiter, animated by a new spirit. The _Mass of St. Martin_ carries into the soul an impression of peace and silence. The _Vision of St. Benedict_ has the character of simplicity full of grandeur. A desert, the saint on his knees, contemplating his sister, St. Scholastique, who is ascending to heaven, borne up by angels, accompanied by two young girls, crowned with flowers, and bearing the palm, the symbol of virginity. St. Peter and St. Paul show St.