"On wheels of light, on wings of flame,
The glorious hosts of Zion came."
"The Song of Bethlehem."—Campbell.
FROM "LAYS OF THE HOLY LAND."
By J. R. Clayton.
By permission of Messrs. James Nisbet & Co.
"The Lays of the Holy Land" was projected by Mr. Watson, then the head of James Nisbet and Co., who, mainly under our guidance, made a very wise selection for the figure subjects. Tenniel's are exceptionally fine, "The Destruction of Sennacherib" being perhaps the most important. The "Song of the Jewish Maiden," by F. R. Pickersgill, R.A., is one of his best, and there is a lovely drawing, "Ruth and Naomi," by J. H. Powell, but the one picture that stands alone is "The Finding of Moses by Pharaoh's Daughter," by Millais. The strength and power as well as the treatment are so original as to give it even in this fine collection a marked degree of undoubted prominence. Wolf has several exquisite examples, so has Birket Foster. Of our own drawings we will only mention "Tears for Jerusalem" and "The Raising of Lazarus." There is also a very beautiful drawing, "The Song of Bethlehem," in a fine decorative manner, by J. R. Clayton.
Clayton has been our friend and comrade for over fifty years. We met as fellow students at the Life School at Clipstone Street, when Edward Duncan was President and Treasurer, and Charles Keene, John Tenniel, George Boyce, H. T. Wells, and Arthur Lewis were amongst the regular workers.
