that Cimabue, who was then high
in fame, observed the sketches of the
gifted shepherd; entered into conversation
with him; heard from his own lips his
natural notions of the dignity of art; and
was so much charmed by his compositions
and conversation, that he carried
him to Florence, and became his close
and intimate friend and associate. They
found Italian painting rude in form, and
without spirit and without sentiment;
they let out their own hearts fully in their
compositions, and to this day their works
are highly esteemed for grave dignity of
character, and for originality of conception.
Of these great Florentines, Giotto, the
shepherd, is confessedly the more eminent;
in him we see the dawn, or rather
the sunrise, of the fuller light of Raphael.
--_For. Rev._
* * * * *

A REAL HERO.

In a _recherché_ article in the _Foreign Quarterly Review_ we meet with
the following marvellous story of Sterkodder, a sort of giant-killing
hero of the North, who, having reached his 90th year, became infirm,
blind, and eager to die. To leave the world in a natural way was out of
the question; and to be dispatched to the Hall of Odin by an ignoble
hand was scarcely less to be dreaded. Leaning on two crutches, with a