There still it shines, while far abroad
The Christmas choir sings now, as then,
"Glory, glory unto God!
Peace and good-will to men!"
ROME, Christmas, 1871.
T. BUCHANAN READ.
THE PARSEES.
Hanging in my study is a noteworthy portrait, generally the first
object observed by those who enter. It is an exquisite painting on
glass, the work of Lang Qua, the best artist China has produced in our
day, and it delineates the form and features of a singularly handsome
young man. But it is the quaint Parsee garb that first attracts
attention; and the weird romance that attaches to the history of the
Fire-worshipers gives this work of art its real value, rather than
its lines of beauty or the celebrity of the painter's name. This
delicately-featured portrait _may_ depict the countenance of Musaljee
Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, the first-born son and heir of the late Sir
Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, baronet, of Bombay, India. That he really sat for
this portrait I cannot, however, positively assert, since I obtained
the painting from an English officer, who bought it of the artist, but
had "forgotten the strange, outlandish name of the Indian nabob," as
he said. It is certainly the portrait of a _Parsee_--true to the life
in features and garb, and it bears a striking resemblance to the young
Musaljee when about eighteen years of age. He was not then a personage
of any great celebrity, though the worthy son of a most remarkable
sire, the latter long known and honored in Europe for his liberal and
enlightened charities, and especially for his munificent donations,
that saved the lives of thousands of British subjects, during the
terrible famines that occurred in India between the years 1840 and
1846.
Pages:
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269