X. THE SHRINE OF THE SLAVES 341

History study, such as Oxford schools prefer.¹ St. George, for my own satisfaction, also as well as I could, in the year 1872; and hope to get him some day better done, for an example to Sheffield in iron-armour, and several other things.²

169. Picture second, the one I first took you to see, is of the Dragon led into the market-place of the Sultan’s capital³-submissive: the piece of St. George’s spear, which has gone through the back of his head, being used as a bridle: but the creature indeed now little needing one, being otherwise subdued enough; an entirely collapsed and confounded dragon, all his bones dissolved away; prince and people gazing as he returns to his dust.

170. Picture third, on the left side of the altar.*

The Sultan and his daughter are baptized by St. George.⁴

Triumphant festival of baptism, as at the new birthday of two kingly spirits. Trumpets and shawms⁵ high in resounding transport; yet something of comic no less than rapturous in the piece; a beautiful scarlet-“parrot” (must we call him?) conspicuously mumbling at a violet flower under the steps;⁶ him also-finding him the scarletest and mumblingest parrot I had ever seen-I tried to paint in 1872 for the Natural History Schools of Oxford⁷-perhaps a new species, or extinct old one, to immortalize Carpaccio’s name and mind. When all the imaginative arts shall be known no more, perhaps, in Darwinian Museum, this scarlet “Epops Carpaccii” may preserve our fame.

*The intermediate oblong on the lateral wall is not Carpaccio’s, and is good for nothing.⁸

¹ [The drawing of the viper was at the time No. 171 in the Educational Series, but Ruskin afterwards removed it: see Vol. XXI. p. 90.]

² [There are in the Ruskin Museum two studies by him of the picture-one, a sepia sketch of the whole picture (Plate LX.); the other, a water-colour drawing of the upper part of the figure of St. George (Plate LXIX., below, p. 384).]

³ [The upper subject on Plate LXI. There is a design for this picture in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence.]

⁴ [The middle subject on Plate LXI.]

⁵ [Psalms xcviii. 7 (Prayer-book version).]

⁶ [Compare § 28 (above, p. 230).]

⁷ [No. 161 in the Educational Series (Vol. XXI. p. 89); here reproduced, Plate LXII. Compare Love’s Meinie, § 37 (Vol. XXV. p. 42).]

⁸ [See above, p. 338 n.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]