CONTENTS. xi 



SKETCHES OF THE "OLD MASTERS" IN PAINTING. 



PAGE 



Giving a brief account of what is most noteworthy in the 

 lives and character, the work and master-pieces of the 

 early Italian painters ; forming a kind of introduction 

 to the following more extended description of their 

 works. - - 245 



STORIES OF NOTED PAINTINGS. 



Descriptions and narratives explaining the most noted works 

 of the " Old Masters," as well as of many of the cele- 

 brated paintings of modern artists. The author has 

 endeavored to make them models of concise story- 

 telling, such as in his judgment should characterize 

 descriptive catalogues. - - 257 



A TRIP TO MEXICO. 



A visit to "old Mexico" in the winter of 1875-6. Yera 

 Cruz railway. 9,000 feet up the mountains. The 

 extensive fields of the "century plant" that produce 

 the notorious Mexican drink " pulque " (pool-kay). 

 The valley of the city of Mexico an undrained basin, 

 with the salt lake Tezcuco in the lowest part. The 

 City of Mexico. Its conquest by Cortez. The Diaz- 

 Lerdo revolution, in progress at the time of this visit. 



- Poverty of Mexico and its causes. The fallacy and 

 folly of the modern disbelievers in the Spanish accounts 

 of Aztec civilization and the "Conquest of Mexico." 



- The beauty and variety of Mexican scenery. - - 283 



SIGHT-SEEING IN NEW ZEALAND. 



Its native animals and plants represent a geological age 

 nearly back to the Carboniferous. The Maoris (native 

 races) are a quite recent imigration. - - How New 

 Zealand got its inappropriate name. Description of 

 Auckland. -- Visit to the hot springs and lakes. - 

 Accounts of Maoris. -- New Zealand "bush."- -The 

 remarkable Terraces. Lake Rotomahana. Hot water 

 bathing. The sheep-killing parrot. Ravages of im- 



