white poppy; whilst opposite, before the palace of Dante, the figure of Love stands, holding a flaming heart, and announcing to the poet that Beatrice has passed to a life beyond the earth. [Illustration: _Cassell & Co._ ROSSETTI. SIR GALAHAD.] [Illustration: _Pageant._ ROSSETTI. MARY MAGDALENE AT THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE. (_By permission of Mr. W. M. Rossetti._)] "La Donna Finestra," painted in 1879, and to be counted amongst his ripest creations, has connection with that passage in the _Vita Nuova_ where Dante sinks to the ground overcome with sorrow for Beatrice's death, and is regarded with sympathy by a lady looking down from a window, the Lady of Pity, the human embodiment of compassion. "Dante's Dream" is probably the work which shows the painter at his zenith. The expression of the heads is profound and lofty, the composition severely mediæval and admirably complete; and although the painting is laboured, the total impression is nevertheless so cogent that it is impossible to forget it. "The scene," in Rossetti's own description, "is a chamber of dreams, strewn with poppies, where Beatrice is seen lying on a couch, as if just fallen back in death; the winged figure of Love carries his arrow pointed at the dreamer's heart, and with it a branch of apple-blossom; as he reaches the bier, Love bends for a moment over Beatrice with the kiss which her lover has never given her; while the two green-clad dream-ladies hold the pall full of May-blossom suspended for an instant before it covers her face for ever." The expression of ecstasy in Dante's face, and the still, angelical sweetness of Beatrice, are rendered with astonishing intensity. She lies upon the bier, pale as a flower, wrapped in a white shroud, with her lips parted as though she were gently breathing, and seems not dead but fallen asleep. Her fair hair floats round her in golden waves. In its vague folds the covering of the couch displays the marble outlines of the body: and a look of bliss rests upon the pure and clear-cut features of her lovely face. [Illustration: BURNE-JONES. CHANT D'AMOUR. (_By permission of Mr. F. Hollyer, the owner of the copyright._)] [Illustration: BURNE-JONES. THE DAYS OF CREATION. (_By permission of Mr. F. Hollyer, the owner of the copyright._)]