THE SHRINE OF ST. SEBALD
and the “ Healing of the Blind Man” to Peter
Vischer the younger, and the others, especially
and certainly that of the * Punishment of the Un-
believer” to his father. The particular point which
strikes one as most admirable, and which is in
greater or less degree common to all of them, is
the simplicity of the grouping and the avoidarice
of that sin of overcrowding which beset so many
artists of the day. (Ill. 10 and 11.)
The miracles of St. Sebald which were chosen
as subjects for these reliefs are, briefly, the follow-
ing. St. Sebald was the son of a Danish king
who had renounced the things of this world in
favour of the chaste and solitary life of a hermit.
He afterwards made his way to Rome and was
sent forth thence by Pope Gregory the Second to
preach the Gospel in Germany. On his way he
abode for a while at Vicenza, and there one day
he received a visitor for whom he ordered his
disciple Dionis to bring the pitcher of wine.
Dionis hesitated, for he had allowed himself to
partake of the wine the night before, and he feared
detection. But when the order was repeated he
went to fetch the pitcher, and behold, he found it
filled again to the brim. |
The fame of the hermit spread abroad. From
far and near, even from Milan and Pavia, people
flocked to hear from his lips the wonderful works
of God. But amongst those who came, came
also an unbeliever, who scoffed and blasphemed
at the prophet and his message. Then Sebald
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