When Gainsborough was asked how he had obtained the marvelous
expression of inward peace on the face of the “Parish Clerk,”
he said he painted it in time and tune with the sweet singing
of a voice next door, the movements of the brush forming the
beautiful face, and that it was the music that looked out from
the eyes and smiled on the mouth.--“Stories of the English
Artists.”
(2122)
* * * * *
During the Civil War a Union regiment was camping in a Southern
town, and the people stubbornly refused to fraternize with the
men. Houses and shops were closed to them, and the citizens
kept inside. The commanding officer ordered his band to strike
up “Dixie.” Instantly, as if by magic, doors opened, shutters
came down, and soon the street was alive with men, women and
children--all merry and hospitable.
The music had unlocked their hearts.
(2123)