HereinMilan，inanancienttumble—downruinofachurch，isthemournfulwreckof，themostcelebratedpaintingintheworld——\"TheLastSupper，\"
byLeonardodaVinci。Wearenotinfalliblejudgesofpictures，butofcoursewewenttheretoseethiswonderfulpainting，oncesobeautiful，alwayssoworshippedbymastersinart，andforevertobefamousinsongandstory。AndthefirstthingthatoccurredwastheinflictiononusofaplacardfairlyreekingwithwretchedEnglish。Takeamorselofit:Bartholomew（thatisthefirstfigureonthelefthandsideatthespectator）uncertainanddoubtfulaboutwhathethinkstohaveheard，anduponwhichhewantstobeassuredbyhimselfatChristandbynoothers。Good，isn\'tit？AndthenPeterisdescribedas\"argumentinginathreateningandangrilyconditionatJudasIscariot。\"
Thisparagraphrecallsthepicture。\"TheLastSupper\"ispaintedonthedilapidatedwallofwhatwasalittlechapelattachedtothemainchurchinancienttimes，Isuppose。Itisbatteredandscarredineverydirection，andstainedanddiscoloredbytime，andNapoleon\'shorseskickedthelegsoffmostthediscipleswhenthey（thehorses，notthedisciples）werestabledtheremorethanhalfacenturyago。
Irecognizedtheoldpictureinamoment——theSaviourwithbowedheadseatedatthecenterofalong，roughtablewithscatteringfruitsanddishesuponit，andsixdisciplesoneithersideintheirlongrobes，talkingtoeachother——thepicturefromwhichallengravingsandallcopieshavebeenmadeforthreecenturies。PerhapsnolivingmanhaseverknownanattempttopainttheLord\'sSupperdifferently。Theworldseemstohavebecomesettledinthebelief，longago，thatitisnotpossibleforhumangeniustooutdothiscreationofdaVinci\'s。Isupposepainterswillgooncopyingitaslongasanyoftheoriginalisleftvisibletotheeye。
Therewereadozeneaselsintheroom，andasmanyartiststransferringthegreatpicturetotheircanvases。Fiftyproofsofsteelengravingsandlithographswerescatteredaround，too。Andasusual，Icouldnothelpnoticinghowsuperiorthecopiesweretotheoriginal，thatis，tomyinexperiencedeye。WhereveryoufindaRaphael，aRubens，aMichelangelo，aCarracci，oradaVinci（andweseethemeveryday），youfindartistscopyingthem，andthecopiesarealwaysthehandsomest。Maybetheoriginalswerehandsomewhentheywerenew，buttheyarenotnow。