Howard Pyle, a chronicle by Charles D. Abbott, with an introduction by N. C. Wyeth and many illustrations from Howard Pyle's works.

THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA
"The book goes on my shelf beside a book George Meredith gave me. Again I am
"Your grateful friend,
S. WEIR MITCHELL!"
The next important historical paintings were done for
Scribner-Is Magazine and were in illustration to Henry
Cabot Lodge's "Story of the Revolution." These were
painted with great elaboration and care and in full color,
since there was some thought of hanging them eventually
in the Congressional Library at Washington. The colors,
however, were not reproduced in the magazine publication.
Due to some government formality, some regulation as to
the ownership of all pictures hung in government buildings,
it was found impossible to place them in the library. But
this information fortunately came too late to interfere with
the care which Howard Py 'le took in making the pictures.
Besides, having once begun them with the idea of painting
an elaborate series, he would in all probability have completed them as such, regardless of their ultimate destination. Extracts from some of his letters to Mr. Chapin, the
art editor of Scribner's Magazine, will give an idea of the
amount of careful planning each of these pictures, required,
and also of the uncertainty which Howard Pyle himself felt
about them in the beginning:
"September!21, 1897.
"9 think that the drawing represents Lexington and the
fight as correctly as we of the nineteenth century can gather
our facts.... I hope you may like the drawing, for it
represents a good deal of research and careful study. The
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