The history of St. George as patron of Venice, as victor, not as martyr, has been painted by Vittore Carpaccio in three beautiful pictures.-1. The combat with the dragon. 2. He is received by the king and people in triumph. 3. The conversion and baptism of the king and his court: the most conspicuous figure is that of the princess, who, with her long golden hair flowing over her shoulders, her hands joined, and with a most lovely expression, kneels to receive baptism from her pious and chivalrous deliverer.1

Venice. Church of S. Giorgio de' Schiavoni.

Of the martyrdom of St. George, as a separate subject, there are several fine examples, but I do not know any of very early date. The leading idea is in all the same: he kneels, and an executioner prepares to strike off his head with a sword. In the church of San Giorgio, at Verona, I saw over the high altar this subject by Paul Veronese, treated in his usual gorgeous style: St. George, stripped to the waist, kneels to receive the blow; a monk stands at his side (we are left to wonder how he got there); the Virgin in glory, with St. Peter and St. Paul, and a host of angels, appear in the opening heavens above. The composition by Rubens, painted for the chapel of St. George de Lière near Antwerp, is very fine and full of character. In the composition of Vandyck, he is represented as sacrificed to an idol. The drawing is, I think, in the collection of Sir Robert Peel.

St. George and the dragon, and his martyrdom, are the usual subjects in the many churches dedicated to this saint.

His church at Rome, at the foot of the Palatine, called, from its situation, San Giorgio-in-Velabro, was built by Leo II. in 682. In a casket under the altar is preserved, as a precious relic, a fragment of his banner; and on the vault of the apsis is an ancient painting, the copy of a more ancient mosaic, which once existed there. In the centre stands the Redeemer between the Virgin and St. Peter; on one side, St. George on horseback, with his palm as martyr, and his standard as the "Red-Cross Knight;" on the other side, St. Sebastian standing, bearded, and with one long arrow. From the time that these two saints were united in the popular fancy as martyrs and warriors, they are most frequently found in companionship, particularly in the Italian works of art. In the French pictures and Gothic sculpture, St. George does not often appear, and then usually in companionship with St. Maurice or St. Victor, who are likewise military saints. In the German pictures he is often accompanied by St. Florian.

In the same church is a series of pictures from the martyrdom of the tutelar saint, copiosissimi di figure delle più varie, delle più spiritose, delle più terribili ne' carnefici che mai vedessi, Lanzi, iii. p. 110.

ST. SEBASTIAN.

Lat. Sanctus Sebastianus. Ital. San Sebastiano; or San Bastiano. Fr. St. Sébastien. Patron saint against plague and pestilence. January 20. A.D. 288.

THE story of St. Sebastian is of great beauty and great antiquity; it has also the rare merit of being better authenticated in the leading incidents, and less mixed up with incredible and fictitious matter, than most of the antique legends.

He was a native of Narbonne, in Gaul, the son of noble parents, who had held high offices in the empire. He was himself at an early age promoted to the command of a company in the Prætorian Guards, so that he was always near the person of the emperor, and held in especial favour. At this time he was secretly a Christian, but his faith only rendered him more loyal to his masters; more faithful in all his engagements; more mild, more charitable; while his favour with his prince, and his popularity with the troops, enabled him to protect those who were persecuted for Christ's sake, and to convert many to the truth.

Among his friends were two young men of noble family, soldiers like himself; their names were Marcus and Marcellinus. Being convicted of being Christians, they were condemned to the torture, which they endured with unshaken firmness, and were afterwards led forth to death; but their aged father and mother threw themselves in the way, and their wives and children gathered around them, beseeching them with tears and supplications to recant, and save themselves, even for the sake of those who loved and could not survive them. The two young heroes, who had endured tortures without shrinking, began to relent and to tremble; but at this critical moment St. Sebastian, neglecting his own safety, rushed forward, and, by his exhortations, encouraged them rather to die than to renounce their Redeemer; and such was the power of his eloquence, that not only were his friends strengthened and confirmed in their faith, but all those who were present were converted: the family of the condemned, the guards, and even the judge himself, yielding to the irresistible force of his arguments, were secretly baptized. Marcus and Marcellinus were for this time saved; but in a few months