simplicity, De Monvel found some of his best inspiration; and his masterly little creations stand not simply as a graphic comment on the text, but as a revelation of a subject which the writer has treated only in a fragmentary and superficial manner. Before speaking of his later work, his "Xavière" and his "Joan of Arc," we might try to find out the secret which De Monvel has learned, and which enables him to give us children in a fashion so direct and complete, and with such charm and freshness of presentation. We might speak of the expressiveness which lurks in a little hand clutching a dress, in the angular folds of a Sunday frock, in a slow and stolid walk, in a foot seeking the ground, but it would explain nothing. The one attitude, the one expression, is chosen which has a special meaning and a special charm, and that is all there is to it. In looking at these drawings artists' only advantage over people ignorant of art is that they know how wonderful the thing is, how difficult it is to do it; but they are not able to feel or enjoy the result any better. To draw well, to color well, to have solved the problem of lithography in color, is simply to have the tools. It is the freshness, the alertness of the eye, the truth and eagerness of the mind, which makes De Monvel an artist original from the start, who has worked out the best freedom,—freedom from everything irrelevant. His simplicity is adequate to express not only the personalities of the children, with their own solemnity, and the tender amusement which they inspire, but also to deal with the most serious, dramatic, even tragic subjects, as shown in his two later works, "Xavière" and "Joan of Arc." Probably, of all his work, these two books contain his most ardent feelings. The opening picture of the "Joan of Arc" strikes a note held throughout, Jeanne rides at the head of an army, her eyes fixed on a vision, a sword in her outstretched hand; behind her rush the living soldiers, with an onward motion that shows what it means to be a great draughtsman; and as the living soldiers press on, the very dead, fallen in battle, break from the ground to follow; their faces struggle up, their open mouths salute the Maid, they wave their swords, and, although they cannot free their bodies, their spirits help her on to victory. There are few such noble pictures as "Xavière" offers, wonderful revelations of the French country people, sympathetic transcripts of the simple life of humble folk; admirable pages, where one feels that everything is true to the best and the most serious in life.
When De Monvel first gave us these colored illustrated books, the surprise was great in the success with which a
