I have already alluded to the established belief, that every individual man, nay, every created being, hath a guardian angel deputed to watch over him:—‘Woe unto us, if, by our negligence or our self-will, we offend him on whose vigilance we depend for help and salvation! But the prince of guardian spirits, the guardian angel of all humanity, is Raphael; and in this character, according to the early Christians, he appeared to the shepherds by night ‘with good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people.’ It is, however, from the beautiful Hebrew romance of Tobit that his attributes are gathered: he is the protector of the young and innocent, and he watches over the pilgrim and the wayfarer. The character imputed to him in the Jewish traditions has been retained and amplified by Milton: Raphael is the angel sent by God to warn Adam:— . . . . . The affable archangel Raphael; the sociable spirit that deign’d To travel with Tobias, and secured His marriage with the seven times wedded maid. And the character of the angel is preserved throughout: his sympathy with the human race, his benignity, his eloquence, his mild and social converse. So when Adam blesses him:— . . . . Since to part, Go, heavenly guest, ethereal messenger, Sent from whose sovereign goodness I adore! Gentle to me and affable hath been Thy condescension, and shall be honour’d ever With grateful memory. Thou to mankind Be good and friendly still, and oft return! This character of benignity is stamped on all the best representations of Raphael, which, however, are not common: they occur principally in the chapels dedicated to the holy guardian angels; but there are also churches and chapels dedicated to him singly. The devotional figures of Raphael exhibit him in the dress of a pilgrim or traveller, ‘his habit fit for speed succinct,’ sandals on his feet, his hair bound with a fillet or diadem, the staff in his hand, and sometimes a bottle of water or a wallet (_panetière_) slung to his belt. In this figure by Murillo (46), from one of the most beautiful pictures in the Leuchtenberg Gallery, Raphael is the guardian and guide of the votary who appears below—a bishop who probably bore the same name.[95] Sometimes, as guardian spirit, he has a sword: the most beautiful example I could cite of this treatment is the figure in the Breviary of Anne of Bretagne (A.D. 1500); he wears a pale-green tunic bordered with gold, and wings of a deep rose-colour; he has a casket or wallet slung over his shoulder by a golden belt; in one hand he holds a sword, and the other is raised with a warning gesture; his countenance, beautiful and benign as possible, yet says, ‘Take heed.’ More commonly, however, he carries a small casket, box, or vase, supposed to contain the ‘fishy charm’ against the evil spirits. (Tobit vi. 6, 7.)