as of conifers and palms, clothed the uplands, while in the jungles, on the plains, and in the openings of the forests, gay flowers bloomed. The flora must even then have been, comparatively speaking, one of long existence, because highly differentiated composite plants, like the sunflower, occur in the Upper Cretaceous or Raritan clays of the New Jersey coast.

While the changes of level did not affect the abysses of the sea, the topography of the shallows and coast was materially modified, and to this was perhaps largely due the extinction of the ammonites and their allies.

In 1862 Wood more fully discussed this matter and mentioned the same cause as suggested by Packard. “This disappearance," says Wood, "of the Ammonitida, and preservation of the Nautilidæ, we may infer was due to the entire change which took place in the condition of the shores at the close of the Cretaceous period; and this change was so complete that such of the shore followers as were unable to adapt themselves to it succumbed, while the others that adapted themselves to the change altered their specific characters altogether. The Nautilide having come into existence long prior to the introduction of the Ammonitidæ, and having also survived the destruction of the latter family, must have possessed in a remarkable degree a power of adapting themselves to altered conditions." On the other hand, the dibranchiate cephalopods (cuttles or squids), living in deeper water, being "ocean rangers," were quite inde pendent of such geographical changes. Wood then goes on to say that the disappearance of the tetrabranchiate group affords a clew to that of the Mesozoic saurians, and also of cestraciont sharks, whose food probably consisted mainly of the tetrabranchiate cephalopods. "Now the disappearance of the Tetrabranchiata, of the cestracionts, and of the marine saurians, was contemporaneous; and we can hardly refuse to admit that such a triple destruction must have arisen either from some common cause or from these forms being successively dependent for existence upon each other."

Woodworth suggests that mammalian life in the Mesozoic age was unfavorably affected by the nature of the peneplain of the Atlantic coast and by reptilian life.

"The weak marsupials or low mammals, which first appear in this country with Dromatherium in the tolerably high relief of the Trias, were apparently driven to the uplands by the more puissant and numerous reptilia of the peneplain. Their development seems also to have been retarded.” Again he says: “To sum up the faunal history of the Mesozoic alone, we have seen that pari passu with the creation of broad lowlands there was brought on to the stage a remarkable production of reptiles, a characteristic lowland life; and we note that the humble mammalia were excluded from the peneplain or held back in their development, so far as we know them by actual remains, during this condition of affairs until the very highest Cretaceous. At the close of the Mesozoic, the area of the pene plain was uplifted and there came into it the new life. Not only the changed geographic conditions, but the better fitted mammalia also were probably factors in terminating the life of the peneplains."

After the placental mammals once became es. tablished, as the result of favorable geographical conditions of migration, isolation, and second

arily of competition, the evolution as well as the elimination of forms, as is well known, went on most rapidly. Remains of over 2000 species of extinct mammals during Tertiary times which existed in America north of Mexico have been already described, where at present there are scarcely more than 300. This is an example of the amount of extinction which went on in a single class of animals. There must have been corresponding rates of extinction in the case of birds, fishes, and insects.

The rapid summary we have given of the suc cessive changes and revolutions in the earth's history, and the fact that they are accompanied or followed by the process of the extinction of the unadapted, and their replacement by the more specialized and better adapted, show that there is between these two sets of phenomena a relation of cause and effect. The subject is further illustrated by the extinction of life in South America.

The Andean plateau during the Quaternary period was paroxysmally elevated into the air some 12,000 feet. Packard calls attention to the possible results of such an enormous upheaval on the plants and animals of this region. Before and at the time this movement began, when the land was 12,000 feet lower than now, the Atlantic trade winds, which now cross Brazil, impinge upon the Andes, and drop their moisture on the eastern slopes alone, favored as well the western slopes and Pacific coast. The tropical flora and fauna now confined to the neighborhood of Guayaquil on the coast of Peru then probably spread over Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile to Patagonia. At Riobamba, altitude 9200 feet, the climate and vegetation are temperate; here occur bones of the mastodon, horse, deer, and llama-animals which may have lived in a temperate climate. But was not their extinction and that of the colossal sloths, armadillos, and other animals of the pampas, largely due to a change of climate resulting from the elevation of the Andean plateau? As the land gradually rose, the atmosphere would become more rarefied and insupportable to tropical life; the animals and plants would either seek lower levels or undergo extinction, or in certain cases become modified into species suited to a temperate climate. As the plateau rose still higher, the air would become too cold and rarefied for even the mastodon and horse. Gradually an alpine zone became established, and finally the higher peaks of the Andes, at an elevation of 15,000 feet, became mantled with perennial snow, and on Chimborazo glaciers established themselves. We thus see how, within Quaternary times, temperate and alpine zones became es tablished over the vast Andean plateau, originally, perhaps at the end of the Pliocene, a plateau of the third order, clothed with vast forests like those of Brazil and Venezuela.

Another, but more local, cause of extinction is seen in Great Salt Lake, Utah. Formerly this was a vast fresh-water lake, abounding in fish, insects, mollusks, and plants. When it was by elevation of the lake basin transformed into a brine pool, all life was extinguished, except a shrimp, a single species of fly, and an alga. So with deserts; when they are formed, life is reduced to a relatively small proportion.

That there is a limit to the age of species as well as to individuals almost goes without saying. As there is in each individual a youth, manhood, and old age, so species and orders rise,

culminate, and decline, and nations have risen, reached a maximum of development, and then decayed. The causes, however complex, are, in the case of plants and animals, apparently physical; they are general and pervasive in their effects, and have been in operation since life began; there have been critical periods in paleontological as well as geological history, and periods of rapid and widespread extinction as well as a continual, progressive dying-out of isolated species. Such extinction was, so to speak, a biological necessity, for otherwise there would have been no progress, no evolution of higher types.

Bibliography.

Darwin, Origin of Species (6th ed., London, 1882); Searles V. Wood, "On the Form and Distribution of the Land Tracts during the Secondary and Tertiary Periods respectively, and on the Effects upon Animal Life which Great Changes in Geographical Configuration have probably Produced,” in Philosophical Magazine, vol. xxiii, p. 161 (Edinburgh, 1862); A. S. Packard, "Geological Extinction and Some of its Apparent Causes," in American Naturalist, vol. xx, pp. 29-40 (Philadelphia, January, 1886); "A Half-Century of Evolution, with Special Reference to the Effects of Geological Changes. on Animal Life,” in Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Boston, 1898); J. B. Woodworth, "Base-Levelling and Organic Evolution," in American Geologist, vol. xiv (October, 1894). The best recent discussion of the subject, containing many additional titles of reference, is Osborn's The Age of Mammals, p. 615, title "Extinction," in index (New York, 1910).

EXTORTION (ML. extortio, Lat. extorsio, from extorquere, to extort, from ex, out + torquere, to twist). In its widest sense, any form of taking or obtaining anything from another by means of illegal compulsion or oppressive exaction. As a technical term of the common law, it has been judicially defined as the "crime committed by an officer of the law, who under color of his office unlawfully and corruptly takes any money or thing of value that is not due to him, or more than is due, or before it is due." It is by the common law a misdemeanor punishable by fine and imprisonment, and subjecting the offender to removal from office. In most of the United States the term has received statutory definition. For example, in New York it is defined as "the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under cover of official right." (New York Penal Code, § 552.) Consult Encyclopædia of Pleading and Practice, vol. viii (23 vols., Northport, N. Y., 1894-1909).

EXTRACT (ML. extractus, extract, from Lat. extractus, p.p. of extrahere, to draw out, from ex, out + trahere, to draw). In a medical or pharmaceutical sense, any vegetable preparation obtained by treating a plant with a solvent and evaporating the solution to about the consistency of honey; or by expressing the juice of the plant and evaporating-forming respectively liquid and solid extracts. Extracts contain only those vegetable principles that are either held in solution in the juices of the plants themselves, or are soluble in the liquid employed in extracting them, and at the same time are not so volatile as to be lost during evaporation. Since many extractive matters are more or less volatile, it makes a great difference whether the operation is conducted at a low or at a high

temperature. Extracts are called watery or aqueous, alcoholic, or ethereal, according to the menstruum employed. Extracts are liable to great uncertainty in point of strength and composition, and require to be prepared with great care. Evaporation in vacuo is found to be a great improvement, as it may be effected at relatively low temperatures.

EXTRACT OF MEAT. An extract obtained by treating chopped meat (beef) with cold water, then very gradually raising the temperature, when about one-eighth of the weight of the meat is dissolved, leaving an almost tasteless insoluble fibrine. (See BEEF TEA; BROTH.) Heating coagulates the nutritious albumen, which forms a scum and is removed along with any fat. The liquid may be concentrated into small bulk, either in an open pan or in partial vacuum, yielding a more or less thick paste or thick liquid which consists of the so-called meat extractives, including substances which give flavor to meat. Bouillon Cubes, Soup Tablets, etc.. are made from meat extract concentrated until very thick and sometimes specially flavored. Extract of beef is used to make beef tea, bouillon soups, to flavor gravies, and in many similar ways in cookery. It has almost no nutritive value, although it stimulates a normal flow of gastric juice and so máy aid the digestion of other foods. It is for such stimulating properties that it is used in the sick room. United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry, Bulletin 114, "Meat Extract and Similar Preparations." See MEAT EXTRACT; FOOD, PRESERVATION OF.

Consult

EXTRA CURRENT. See ELECTRICITY. EX'TRADITION (from Lat. ex, out + traditio, delivery, from tradere, to give over). The surrender by one state or nation to another of a fugitive from justice. Strictly speaking, extradition is a modern practice, although Hannibal's delivery was stipulated for in a Roman treaty, and more than once Roman citizens were surrendered to a foreign power. These acts, like many others in ancient, mediæval, and early modern times, were confined to those who were considered enemies of the state. The right to deny the privilege of asylum was a prerogative of the sovereign, and sovereigns frequently used it so as best to secure their personal interests. Thus, extradition was confined to what we should now call political offenses.

It is mainly within the last 100 years that a deeper international comity has developed. Increased intercourse and modern means of transportation have greatly facilitated flights from justice, while a sense of common interest has done much to diminish international jealousy and distrust. Each decade it has become more evident that the failure of civil justice in one country is likely to result unfavorably to its neighbor. No country has ever willingly received the convicts of another, and it was not possible that nations with liberal ideas should long fail to perceive that there was no great difference between encouraging crime and furnishing an asylum for fugitives from justice. If, then, there was a common national interest in the punishment of criminals, and if offenders against foreign laws were undesirable immigrants, extradition was both an advantage and a duty.

The great writers on international law have not been in harmony on the question as to

whether extradition is, in the absence of agreement, a matter of international obligation. Some of the ablest have argued in the affirmative, but the modern writers, like Bluntschli, Fiore, Phillimore, Westlake, Hall, and Moore, who have so successfully labored to place the law of nations on a sound legal basis, are agreed that the obligation is a purely moral one. But the wisdom of the practice is generally recog nized, as is the principle that, owing to the great difference between the political systems and penal codes of different nations, it was better for them to give their mutual obligations in this respect definite expression in treaties. The real history of extradition in England begins with the Ashburton Treaty of 1842 with the United States. Excepting the Jay Treaty of 1794, which contained provisions for extradition limited to 12 years, all the other treaties covering this subject made by the United States are of a subsequent date. The conventions between the United States and Great Britain, in 1842, 1889, and 1900, show what offenses two leading nations of to-day consider extraditable. The first covered the crimes of murder, assault with intent to commit murder, piracy, arson, robbery, forgery, and the utterance of forged papers; that of 1889 added voluntary manslaughter, counterfeiting, or altering money, embezzlement, larceny, fraud by a bailee, banker, etc., perjury or subornation of perjury, rape, abduction, child stealing, kidnapping, burglary, etc., piracy by the law of nations, revolt or conspiracy to revolt by two or more persons on board a ship on the high seas, crimes and offenses against the laws of both countries for the suppression of slavery and slave trading; and the supplementary Treaty of 1900 added the crimes of obtaining money, valuable securities, or other property by false pretenses, willful and unlawful destruction or obstruction of railroads endangering human life, and procuring abortion.

The tendency is to enlarge the list of extraditable crimes; but there are many offenses which, for obvious reasons, cannot properly be included. Such are political crimes and offenses against religion and marriage laws. The general rule is that an extraditable crime must be one commonly recognized by civilized nations as malum in se, and not merely malum prohibitum.

The method and prerequisites of extradition may, perhaps, best be shown by a quotation from the Ashburton Treaty. It provides that the two powers shall, upon mutual requisitions, deliver up to justice all persons charged with the commission of certain crimes, "provided that this shall only be done upon such evidence of criminality as, according to the laws of the place where the fugitive or person so charged shall be found, would justify his apprehension and commitment for trial if the crime or offense had there been committed; and the respective judges and other magistrates of the two governments shall have power, jurisdiction, and authority, upon complaint made under oath, to issue a warrant for the apprehension of the fugitive or person so charged, that he may be brought before such judges or other magistrates respectively, to the end that the evidence of such criminality shall be heard and considered; and if, on such hearing, the evidence be deemed sufficient to sustain the charge, it shall be the duty of the examining judge or magistrate to certify the same to the proper executive authority, that a warrant may issue for the surrender of such

fugitive." The complaint under oath is commonly made by a consular officer of the state asking for extradition. If all the proceedings are satisfactory, the President of the United States (in our practice) causes the surrender to be made to the agent of the demanding power. The expenses are borne by the party making the requisition.

There are two limitations on the practice of extradition which are worthy of notice: 1. It is an almost universal rule that a state will not surrender its own citizens to a foreign power. This is due to the national sentiment that leads each nation to regard its own laws and administration of justice as superior to those of foreign powers, and to the equally natural desire to give its own citizens the benefit of those laws. 2. It is generally regarded as an abuse of the principle of extradition for a state to secure the rendition of a criminal for an extraditable offense and then to try and punish him for an offense not included in the treaty.

From the fact that difficulties in regard to extradition are most satisfactorily anticipated by treaties, it should not be inferred that extradition has not taken place without them. Spain and other countries having no treaty of extradition with Great Britain have surrendered criminals upon her requisition. The rule in the United States is neither to ask nor to grant extradition in the absence of a treaty, but this country has not disdained to accept this evidence of international comity from other states-as when Spain of her own volition surrendered the notorious William M. Tweed to the New York authorities in 1876-and has acted on the prin ciple herself in the surrender of Arguelles to Spain in 1863.

The law of extradition between the different States of the United States is laid down in Art. IV, sec. 2, of the Constitution, and in a law of Congress of Feb. 12, 1793. The former reads: "A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime." The latter provides for the form in which the demand shall be made, whereupon it shall be the duty of the Governor to whom it is addressed to cause the fugitive to be arrested and delivered over to the agent of the other State. The prerequisites of a valid demand are a formal charge that a crime has been committed against the laws of the demanding State, and that the person charged has fled to the State on whose executive the demand is made. It is the duty of the Governor on whom the demand is made, although the alleged offense may not be a crime in the State where the fugitive has sought an asylum, to deliver the fugitive, but its performance which is sometimes refused cannot be compelled.

Consult: Moore, Treatise on Extradition and Interstate Rendition (Boston, 1891); Hawley, Interstate Extraditions (Detroit, 1890); Spear, Law of Extraditions, International and Interstate (2d ed., Albany, 1884); Rorer, American Interstate Law (2d ed., Chicago, 1893); Biron and Chalmers, The Law and Practice of Extradition (London, 1903); Clarke, The Law of Extradition (ib., 1903); Bailey, Treatise on the Law of Habeas Corpus (2 vols., Chicago, 1913);

A

EXTRAVAGANʼZA (It., extravagance). musical or dramatic piece of great wildness or absurdity, characterized by extravagant and fantastic qualities. The term is often applied to various other kinds of writing marked by unbridled or eccentric fantasy.

EXTRAVASA'TION (from ML. extravasatus, extravasated, from Lat. extra, beyond + vas, vessel). The escape of any of the fluids of the living body from their proper vessels through a rupture or injury in their walls. Excrementitious matter thus sometimes escapes into the abdomen through a wound or ulceration of the bowels. But the term is oftenest used in speaking of the escape of blood from injured blood vessels. Extravasation is distinguished from exudation by this, that in the last the vessels remain entire, and the effusion takes place by filtration through their walls; nor does more than a part of the blood so escape, the blood globules being retained, while in extravasation entire blood is effused. Many kinds of extravasation are rapidly fatal, such as that of urine or of bile into the abdomen, or of blood from the vessels of the brain in many cases of apoplexy. The dark color resulting from a bruise is due to extravasated blood from lacerated capillaries.

The

EXTREME UNCTION (Lat. extrema unctio). A sacrament of the Roman Catholic church, which, as the other sacraments supply spiritual aid in the various circumstances of life, is believed to impart to the Christian grace and strength to encounter the struggle, as well spiritual as bodily, of the dying hour. rite of unction or anointing in different forms is common to four of the sacraments; the name "extreme" is given to that of the present sacrament because it is reserved for the last act of the Christian career. The Council of Trent declares this sacrament, although "promulgated" in the well-known passage of St. James v. 14, 15, to have been "instituted" by Christ. The fathers frequently allude to the rite of unction, and although many of these allusions certainly refer to the unctions of baptism and confirmation, yet several passages in Origen, Chrysostom, Cæsarius of Arles, and Pope Innocent I, are interpreted as referring to the unction of the dying. In the various separated churches of Oriental Christians-Greek, Coptic, Armenian, and Nestorian -the rite is found, although with many ceremonial variations. In the Roman Catholic church the sacrament is administered by the priest, who, "dipping his thumb in the holy oil, anoints the sick person, in the form of the cross, upon the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, and feet, at each anointing making use of this form of prayer: "Through this holy unction, and His most tender mercy, may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins thou hast committed by thy VOL. VIII.- 20

rest, adapting the form to the several senses. Extreme unction is reputed by Catholics one of the sacraments "of the living"; i.e., it ordinarily requires that the recipient should be in a state of grace, or, in other words, should have received the remission of his sins by absolution or by perfect contrition; but it is held to remit, indirectly, actual sins not previously remitted, and also (although not infallibly, but according to the merciful designs of Providence) to alleviate, and even to dispel, the pains of bodily disease. The holy oil which forms the "matter" of this sacrament must be blessed by the bishop-a ceremony which is performed with great solemnity once each year by the bishop, attended by a number of priests, on Maundy Thursday. The oil so blessed is reserved for use during the year. Formerly several priests united in the administration of the sacrament, and the custom is still maintained in the Greek church; among Roman Catholics one priest now administers it. Greek form of words also differs, although not substantially, from that of the Latin church. The Greeks call this sacrament "the holy oil" and sometimes "the oil of prayer." Consult: Schanz, Die Lehre von den heiligen Sacramenten (Freiburg, 1893); Schmitz, De Effectibus Sacramenti Extrema Unctionis (ib., 1893); Kern, De Sacramenti Extrema Unctionis (Ratisbon, 1907); Puller, The Anointing of the Sick in Scripture and Tradition (London, 1904). See UNCTION.

The

EXUMAS, ěks-oo'mȧz. An archipelago in the British West Indies, part of the Bahamas (q.v.), between Andros and Long Island (Map: West Indies, C 1). It comprises the islands of Great Exuma, Little Exuma, and the Exuma Keys, occupying a total area of about 150 square miles. Little Exuma has one of the best harbors in the Bahama group. The inhabitants are employed partly in agriculture, but chiefly in salt making. Pop. (of group), 1901, 3086; 1911, 3465.

EX UN'GUE LEONEM. See Ex PEDE HERCULEM.

EYAS, l'as. See FALCONRY.

EYB, ib, ALBRECHT VON (1420-75). A German writer and humanist, born in Franconia. He studied at Pavia, became Archdeacon of Würzburg in 1449, and later entered the service of Pope Pius II. His work on marriage, entitled Ehestandsbuch (1472), has frequently been reprinted. The most recent editions are those of K. Müller (in modern German) (Sondershausen, 1879) and Herrmann (Berlin, 1890). Consult Herrmann, Albrecht von Eyb und die Frühzeit des deutschen Humanismus (1893).

EYCK, ik, HUYBRECHT (HUBERT) (c.13651426), and JAN (JOHN) (c.1385-1441) VAN. Brothers, Flemish painters, founders of the school of painting of the Netherlands. Their fame rests upon some of the greatest services to modern art that it is possible to conceive. They were the first to perfect and successfully use oil as a medium for mixing colors, which revolutionized the painting of Europe; to use the landscape as an accessory, which contributed to the harmony of the painting; and to discover aërial perspective, learned by the Italians 50 years

later.

The figures of their panels were thoroughly naturalistic-real Flemish men and As there are practically no survivals of Flemish painting preceding theirs, it is difficult to ascertain the evolution of their art: but

women.

from a study of the illuminated manuscripts and tapestries of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries it is evident that Hubert's art represents the culmination of mediæval painting in northern Europe; while Jan, like Leonardo in Italy, incorporated in his art the naturalistic and technical elements of all that preceded in northern France and the Netherlands. The perfection of the oil technique was probably due to Hubert, who was much the elder; but the other innovations were due to Jan. The brothers Van Eyck take their name from a little town on the Maas, near Maastricht, called Maaseyck, where they were born. The dates of their birth are variously assigned. There is no proof for the assumption that Hubert trav eled widely in Europe. From reliable documentary evidence we know only that in 1425 he was paid for two sketches of a painting ordered by the city council of Ghent, and that in the same year he was employed on a large altarpiece for Robert Poortier and his wife in St. Savior's, Ghent. Before this time he had begun the great altarpiece of Ghent upon which his fame chiefly rests. Between Aug. 1, 1425, and the same date, 1426, the magistrates of Ghent visited his workshop, probably to inspect the altarpiece. He did not live to finish this work, but died on Sept. 18, 1426, and was buried in the crypt directly under the chapel, which was afterward adorned with his masterpiece. As regards the life of Jan, we are better informed. He was probably the pupil of his brother, who much exceeded him in years. From c.1422 till 1424 he was in the service of John of Bavaria, then living as Count of Holland at The Hague, employed in decorating his palace. After this patron's death, in 1425, he was appointed court painter and valet de chambre (a sort of chamberlain), with a salary of 100 livres a year, to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. He lived at Lille with the Duke, who employed him upon various diplomatic missions-in 1426-27, e.g., on two secret missions of importance, for which he was liberally rewarded. In 1428-29 he was one of the embassy sent to Lisbon to negotiate the marriage of the Princess Isabella of Portugal to his master, and painted a portrait of the princess, which confirmed the Duke's choice. During his stay in Portugal he became acquainted with the southern landscape and vegetation which henceforth appear in his pictures. He made a pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostella and visited the Alhambra. After his return to Flanders, Christmas Day, 1429, he settled at Bruges, and there he finished the altarpiece which his brother had left incomplete, on May 6, 1432. From 1430 till his death was the period of his ripest and best work. He was visited and honored, not only by the magistrates of Bruges, but by Duke Philip, who stood sponsor to his son in bap tism and finally increased his yearly pension to 4320 livres (Parisian). In 1436 he was sent upon another distant diplomatic mission. He died at Bruges on July 9, 1441, and lies buried in the church of St. Donatus.

The great polyptych in the church of St. Bavon, now the cathedral of Ghent, is the masterpiece of the brothers Van Eyck. It is not known who gave the original commission; but it was certainly completed at the expense of Jodoc Vydt, Lord of Pamele, etc., a prominent burgher of Ghent. It contains more than 20 panels portraying the central dogma of the Christian religion, the "Redemption from Sin

through the Sacrifice of the Lamb." Both exterior and interior of the altar are painted. The predella, now lost, represented "Purgatory"; the central part of the exterior is the "Annunciation," of wondrous charm, and above it the prophets "Micah" and "Zachariah" and the "Two Sibyls," who foretold Christ's birth and sacrifice. In the centre, below the "Annunciation," are "John the Baptist" and "John the Evangelist,” the patrons of the church, painted like contemporary stone statues, and on either side of them kneeling figures of the donors, Jodoc Vydt and Isabella Burluut, his wife-portraits of admirable realism. The interior of the altar, opened only on great occasions, reveals the central truth of the Christian faith, for which the exterior prepares us. It is painted in two tiers, the upper representing heaven. The central panel is the majestic figure of "The Almighty Enthroned"; on the left is the "Virgin," wearing a precious diadem, on the right the austere figure of "St. John Baptist"-all more than life size. There follow the "Angel Musicians" and the "Angel Singers"-delightful Flemish maidensand at the extreme ends are the panels of Adam and Eve-the first important nudes in northern painting. The central and principal panel of the lower tier is the "Mystic Sacrifice of the Lamb,” in a marvelous southern landscape, and with a multitude of Apostles, saints, prophets, and heathen seers who foretold the sacrifice. The two panels on the left typify the laity—the "Knights of Christ," riding majestically forward, and the "Just Judges," with supposed portraits of the brothers Van Eyck. On the right the clergy-the "Holy Hermits" and the "Holy Pilgrims"-march sturdily forward.

The part taken by the two brothers in this great work is a subject of much controversy. The general plan is due to Hubert, but most of the execution to Jan. From Jan's other works we know that his art was very minute and realistic, and it is reasonable to suppose that Hubert, who was much older, approximated more closely to the medieval manner, which was more monumental. Applying this criterion to the Ghent altar, the central figures of the "Almighty," the "Virgin," and "John the Baptist" must be assigned to Hubert, and part at least of the "Adoration of the Lamb." The attribution of other works to Hubert is very doubtful— such as certain miniatures in the celebrated Book of Hours of Duc Jean du Berry, photographed before they were destroyed by fire at Turin in 1904; and numerous recent attributions of paintings, more probably to be ascribed to Jan.

The Ghent altar is the most impressive religious monument of northern painting and ranks in importance with the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. It was held in the highest repute, both when it was executed and in the centuries following. It survived the Burgundian wars and the iconoclastic riots of the Reformation. Philip II in vain attempted to acquire it for Spain, but had to content himself with a copy finished by Michiel Coxcie (q.v.) in 1559. original was taken, in part, to Paris during the French Revolution, but was returned to Ghent, After its return the wings were sold, and are in the Museum of Berlin, except "Adam" and "Eve," which are now at Brussels. The central panels are still in Ghent Cathedral, the wings being supplied by Coxcie's copies.

The

A far larger number of paintings may be