JUNE 367 



what they themselves prized most, or the person who 

 loved them most, is gone from them. Such grief, like 

 all our other selfishness, should be fought and controlled 

 as much as we have strength for. The old notion of 

 those who prayed against sudden death was of a death 

 unprepared, unsanetified by the Church, that did not 

 give the same chance of eternal happiness to some one 

 they loved which was freely granted to the majority. 

 This indeed was a thought only to find relief in wailing 

 and gnashing of teeth. Now we say : 'What was best 

 for them was worst for us, but what does that matter?' 



In speaking of Burne- Jones' work many years ago, 

 Mr. Ruskin said : ' His work is simply the only art- 

 work at present produced in England which will be 

 received by the future as classic. I know that these will 

 be immortal, as the best things the mid -nineteenth cen- 

 tury in England can produce, in such true relations as it 

 had through all confusion retained with the paternal 

 and everlasting art of the world.' And do we not all 

 feel this is true ? 



June 24th. — This is the great Florentine 'Festa,' of 

 which I had often heard and never seen. We were too 

 idle to go down to the ceremonies at the cathedral in the 

 morning, but in the afternoon there were vespers at the 

 baptistery, and the sight was most characteristic and 

 curious. Every child that is born in Florence is still 

 baptised there, and the water is still salted as of old. 

 There were men, women, and children crowding through 

 — both of the large doors being opened wide to the 

 sunny piazza. These openings were veiled during the 

 service by a long, black, thin curtain. In the middle, 

 raised on an altar and again raised on steps, was the 

 beautiful jewelled Benvenuto Cellini John the Baptist 

 shrine. The people went up and touched it, and mothers, 

 after touching the shrine, then touched the babies in their 



