Stories Pictures Tell. Book 8

by Flora L. Carpenter

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dates: Born, 1852; died, 1911.

The story of the picture. When asked to decorate the walls of the Delivery Room of the Boston Public Library Mr. Abbey planned to represent “The Sources of Modern Literature,” thinking this would be most appropriate, as Mr. Sargent had chosen “The Sources of the Christian Religion” for the subject of his pictures on the walls of a gallery on the third floor of the same building. But as Mr. Abbey read and studied the subject he became impressed with the story of the Holy Grail, which seemed to be woven in and out through all our literature. He realized also that he would be the first to represent this subject in a large decoration, and that it was altogether worthy of his best efforts.

The paintings occupy the wall space between the wainscot and the ceiling of this great room, where books of the library are given out and returned. The pictures are eight feet in height, but vary in length from the first, “The Vision,” which is six feet long, to the fifth, “The Castle of the Grail,” which is thirty-three feet long and extends the entire length of the north wall.

Mr. Abbey spent seven years in careful research work before he was able to complete these paintings. He received fifteen thousand dollars for his work.

According to an old legend, the Holy Grail was the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper. It was bought from Pilate by Joseph of Arimathæa, who caught in it the divine blood that fell from Christ’s wounds.

Joseph placed the cup in a castle, which he kept guarded night and day. It was passed on to his descendants, who received the charge in sacred trust and continued to guard it faithfully. The cup itself was most mysterious and wonderful. It could be seen only by those who were perfectly pure in word, thought, and deed. If an evil person came near, it was borne away as if by some invisible hand, completely disappearing from view.

The sight of it was as food to the one to whom it was revealed and enabled him “to live and to cause others to live indefinitely without food,” gave him “universal knowledge,” and made him invulnerable in battle. But there was one thing it did not do. No matter how perfect the knight, he could still be tempted. He must continue to resist temptation as long as he lived.

At length there came a king, keeper of the Grail, called Amfortas, the Fisher King, who was not strong enough to resist temptation. He yielded to an evil enchantment and was severely punished. Not only was the sight of the Grail denied him, but a spell was cast upon him and all his court so that they lived in a sort of trance, neither sleeping nor waking. Thus they must remain until a knight pure in body and soul should come to break the spell and set them free.

Little was known about the enchanted castle, where the king and his men were held in the power of the spell, but many a young man began to plan the quest of the Grail. He must so live that by his good thoughts and deeds he might reach the enchanted castle, see the Holy Grail, and so set free the unhappy knights. He must be perfect, indeed, if he would achieve this, and full of courage, perseverance, and patience.