The New-York Historical Society only after repeated visits to a Trappist monastery in Kentucky, and the purchase of a correct Trappist habit for the model to wear. "Rebellion," "The Jester," and "The Rehearsal," all having to do with the circus, were painted after actual costumes and accessories were bought from a circus. "Cleaning Antiques," the last of his important pictures, painted in igo4, was done to show the color differences of various coppers, brasses, and bronzes collected on his European trips. One of the most beautifully painted of Thomas Noble's larger pictures is "Forgiven," a tragic portrayal of human suffering. It was painted in 1872 at Olympian Springs, Kentucky, after reading Edgar Fawcett's "Counsel," a poem published in the Atlantic Monthly in July of that year. Again in Mr. Dunsmore's words: "There is shown the interior of a simple log cabin. A beautiful young woman lies outstretched in death, with the sorrowing figure of her mother watching mutely by her side. The shadow of the mother's figure falls across the daughter's silent form. Beyond the strength and mastery of composition lie the touches of tenderness. The scattered petals of a rose on the bit of rag carpet is full of infinite sentiment, symbolizing the blighted young life. The late Archbishop Purcell referred to this picture in a sermon . . . and said to his congregation, 'Go to see this picture; it is a sermon in itself.' " Thomas S. Noble painted numerous portraits during his years in Cincinnati. His portrait of President McKinley, now hanging in the State House at Puerto Rico, was pronounced by Mrs. McKinley at the time it was painted, as the best likeness of the late President. Some other portraits by the artist are those of David Sinton, Joseph Longworth, Reuben R. Springer, and Peter Neff. He scorned, however, to become a society painter. At the end of the igo3-4 school year, Noble had reached the age of retirement, which brought great melancholy, although retirement was expected under the known rules and he suffered increasing ill health. Four of his six children had gone 122