But in the next compartment the _motif_ is different. All have risen. from table; it is no longer a repast, it is a sacred mystery; Christ is in the act of administering the bread to St. John; all kneel; and Judas is seen kneeling behind Christ, near an open door, and apart from the rest, as if he were watching for the opportunity to escape. To dispose of Judas in this holy ceremony is always a difficulty. To represent him as receiving with the rest the sacred rite is an offence to the pious. The expression used by St. John (xii. 30), ‘After he had received the sop he went out,’ implies that Judas was not present at the Lord’s Supper, which succeeded the celebration of the paschal supper. St. Luke and St. Mark, neither of whom were present, leave us to suppose that Judas partook, with the other disciples, of the mystic bread and wine; yet we can hardly believe that, after having been pointed out as the betrayer, the conscience-stricken Judas should remain to receive the Eucharist. Sometimes he is omitted altogether; sometimes he is stealing out at the door. In the composition of Luca Signorelli, which I saw at Cortona, all the twelve apostles are kneeling; Christ is distributing the wafer; and Judas, turning away with a malignant look, puts _his_ wafer into his satchel. In the composition of Palmezzano, in the Duomo at Forlì, our Saviour stands, holding a plate, and is in the act of presenting the wafer to Peter, who kneels: St. John stands by the side of Christ, holding the cup: Judas is in the background; he kneels by the door, and seems to be watching for the opportunity to steal away. The fine composition, fine also in sentiment and character, of Ghirlandajo, was painted for the small refectory in the San Marco at Florence. The arrangement is ingenious: the table is of what we call the horse-shoe form, which allows all the figures to face the spectator; and at the same time takes up less room than where the table runs across the picture from side to side. Judas sits in front, alone; Christ has just designated him. ‘He it is to whom I shall give the sop when I have dipped it.’ (John xiii. 26.) Judas holds the sop in his hand, with an alarmed conscious look. Behind sits an ill-omened cat, probably intended for the fiend. John, to the left of Christ, appears to have swooned away. The other apostles express, in various ways, amazement and horror.