“Cassel” Drawing 2 of 4

Vignette, Corpus Christi Procession at Cassel

Pen and ink, approx. 6.2 × 7 cm (image only).
The editors of the Library Edition describe the image as a “sketch of a bishop beneath a canopy, with other figures” (Ruskin, Works, 2:343 n. 1). The vignette refers to the Roman Catholic procession mentioned in the preceding poem, “The way was long, and yet ʼtwas sweet” [“Cassel”, poem]. The procession that the Ruskins witnessed at Cassel celebrated Ascension Day, but details in the drawing suggest that Ruskin may have conflated this event with a procession of Corpus Christi, in which the priest carries a monstrance beneath a canopy borne by attendants (see glosses for “Cassel” [poem]).