AT rare intervals in the records of memorable lives we come across the names of men who seem to have been gifted with an almost too disproportionate amount of talent in whatsoever they laid their hands to, men who, like Lionardo da Vinci, take a foremost place amongst their contemporaries, and to whom painting, poetry, literature, or science seem equally familiar. It is very often supposed that diversity of gifts means mediocrity in all, but a glance at the histories of many well-known lives tends to disprove any such supposition, while on the other hand it may be admitted that multiplicity of talents has too often militated against the due fulfilment of some special bent. Lionardo, one of the most powerful and subtle intellects as well as one of the greatest painters of his time, is an example of one so gifted and at the same time so restrained by temperament and varied interests as never to reach the supreme position in art he might have attained. We know that Michel Angelo was a painter, a sculptor, an architect, and a poet; that Raffaelle's spirit found other than merely pictorial expression; that Dante was an artist as well as the author of an immortal epic; but we never hesitate in deciding the first to

B

be less great in verse than in the plastic arts, the second to be a painter above all else, though indeed of this we can hardly judge, considering that the often-referred-to sonnets "dinted with a silver pencil, such as else had drawn madonnas," have not come down to us, or in recognising the author of The Divine Comedy as less excellent with his brush than his pen. But certainly in this century the number of diversely-gifted men of genius amongst our countrymen alone has been remarkable, and amongst those still with us such instances may be mentioned as William Morris, poet and artist; Mr. Woolner, at once sculptor and poet; Sir Noel Paton, at once painter, sculptor, and poet; and William Bell Scott, an accomplished art-critic and painter as well as poet;— but in each of these instances there is more or less little cause to hesitate as to wherein each is specially and decisively notable. But in the case of the subject of this record it is not so, or, at any rate, no absolute decision can be given that will meet with almost universal acceptance. Great in both the great arts of Poetry and Painting, Dante Gabriel Rossetti held and will continue to hold a unique position. Those whose attention is specially given to literature regard him as one of the truest and most remarkable poets of his time, and greater by virtue of his poetic than his artistic powers: while those, on the other hand, whose studies or tastes concern the art of painting consider him even greater as an artist than as a poet. Nor can his own opinion be taken as decisive, for genius is often blind as to its own products and without the sure and careful judgment of later minds; but after all the discussion is immaterial, leading to no good end, for

the supreme facts still remain that literature and art have both been enriched with the creations of a master. An acknowledged leader in both, Rossetti attained a position amongst English poets and amongst English artists that will appear more remarkable as it will gain more general recognition in days to come. His recent death is a loss greater than is at present realised, except by a comparative few: and to those who had the great privilege of his friendship it is a sorrow far beyond the ordinary expressions of regret. A lofty spirit, a subtle and beautiful intellect, a poet and artist such as the world does not often see, a generous critic, and a helpful friend, the man who so lately passed away from our midst will not readily be forgotten.

Dante Rossetti, however, is not the only member of the family bearing the same name who has achieved wide and well-merited distinction: the name of his father, for one, being perhaps as well known in Italy as the poet-artist's in England and America.

At Vasto, situated amongst the mountainous regions of the Abruzzi, Gabriele Rossetti was born on March 1, 1783; and now that remote little town remembers with grateful affection one who took part in the national struggle, and whose patriotic poems encouraged and kept alive the popular emotion whose pulse was Freedom. Some thirty-five years ago a medal was struck in his honour, and there has lately been a successful movement to erect a statue to his memory in the chief piazza of Vasto, which also, by-the-bye, bears the name of the poet-patriot. The story of the participation of Gabriele Rossetti in the constitutional struggle with King Ferdinand and of his escape after

his proscription has been frequently told since the death of his son, so that only a brief recapitulation is now necessary. He was one of the small band of patriotic Neapolitans who extorted by their determined persistence a fairly satisfactory constitution from King Ferdinand, who, having first left Naples under cover of a lie, treacherously returned with an Austrian army, and ere long stamped his foot upon the newly-gained constitution and proscribed those concerned in the forcible formation thereof. Gabriele Rossetti was in especial disfavour and eagerly sought after by the Austrian soldiery and mercenary police, for not only had he been one of the most urgent in his claims for an honourable constitution but also his songs and patriotic hymns had taken root in the hearts and expression upon the lips of the excitable populace; and it would indeed in all probability have gone badly with him if it had not been for timely and secret foreign intervention. A portion of the. English fleet was at the time stationed in the Bay of Naples, the admiral in command being Sir Graham Moore; and it was this gentleman who was instrumental in rescuing the proscribed patriot. Sir Graham had been persuaded to attempt rescuing Rossetti by the solicitations of Lady Moore, who was an ardent admirer of the poet's compositions and political opinions; so one afternoon the admiral and a brother officer, dressed in the uniform that required no other passport, reached the hiding-place of the poet, where they disguised him in a uniform similar to their own, thereafter making their way in a carriage unchallenged till they reached the shore. According to one account, Rossetti was then conveyed on board Sir Graham Moore's own ship

for the night; according to another he was put at once on board a steamer bound for Malta, which place he in any case arrived at ere long. These events took

place in 1821, and Rossetti remained in Malta for about four years, finally settling in London early in 1825. His means were at first extremely limited, for his income had hitherto been mainly derived from his position as director at the Museo Borbonico in Naples, a post of course forfeited by his political "misdemeanours," but in a comparatively short time he found himself able to support a wife whom he chose in the person of Frances Polidori, sister of the Dr. Polidori who travelled with Lord Byron, and daughter of Sgr. Polidori, secretary to Alfieri. Married in 1826, one year after he had settled in London, he in 1831 obtained the post of Professor of Italian Literature at King's College, which he occupied till 1845 when he practically lost his sight, and in consequence resigned the chair; but though partially deprived of the use of his eyes he retained his health for a considerable time, his death not taking place till 1854, the recorded date being the 26th of April. Mrs. Rossetti still lives, beloved by all her friends and looked up to by her surviving family, and to her influence each of her four children owed much more than is recordable. The chief prose productions of Gabriele Rossetti are the Comento Analitico Sulla Divina Commedia (published in 1826-7), Sullo Spirito Anti-papale (1832), Il Mistero dell' amor platonico svelato (1840), and La Beatrice di Dante (1852): the drift of the best known of these works being an endeavour to prove that the special poetic vehicle chosen for expression by Dante and his contemporaries was selected as being the most