,,coasting ,,bohemia                    
,illustration      ,,macmillan ,,and    
,,co41 ,,limited    ,,london  ,,bombay  
,,calcutta    ,,melbourne      ,,the    
,,macmillan ,,company    ,,new ,,york   
,,boston  ,,chicago    ,,dallas  ,,san  
,,francisco      ,,the ,,macmillan ,,co4
 ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4    ,,toronto     
,,coasting ,,bohemia      ,,by    ,j4   
,,comyns ,,carr    ,,author ,,of        
#8,,king ,,arthur1' #8,,tristram ,,and  
,,iseult1' #8,,papers ,,on ,,art1'      
#8,,some ,,eminent ,,victorians1' ,,etc4
 ,,etc4        ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 
,,limited    ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,street1
 ,,london    #aiad          ,,copyright 
,,introductory ,,note      ,many of the 
papers which give to the present volume 
its title first  appeared in the columns
 of the ,daily ,telegraph1 and are here 
reprinted by the courteous permission of
 the proprietors of that  journal4    ,a
 portion of the essay on ,burne-,jones  
was originally designed as an           
introduction to the catalogue of an     

exhibition of his collected works  held1
 shortly after his death1 at the ,new   
,gallery4 ,the essay on ,sex in         
,tragedy was written on the occasion of 
,sir ,henry ,irving's last revival  of  
the play of ,macbeth at the ,lyceum     
,theatre4          ,,contents           
,,page      ,,bohemia ,,past ,,and      
,,present                               
#a      ,,some ,,memories ,,of ,,millais
                                     #ab
      ,,at ,,home ,,with ,,alma-,,tadema
                                     #bf
      ,,with ,,rossetti ,,in ,,cheyne   
,,walk                                  
#db      ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones       
#ef      ,,james ,m#8,,neil ,,whistler  
#hi      ,,the ,,english ,,school ,,of  
,,painting ,,at ,,the ,,roman           
,,exhibition      #aja      ,,with      
,,george ,,meredith ,,on ,,box ,,hill   
#acd      ,,the ,,legend ,,of ,,parsifal
                                        
#adg      ,,sex ,,in ,,tragedy          
#afb      ,,henry ,,irving              

#aii      ,a ,,sense ,,of ,,humour      
#bac      ,,sitting ,,at ,a ,,play      
#bbg      ,,sir ,,arthur ,,sullivan     
#bdb      ,,the ,,junior ,,of ,,the     
,,circuit                               
#bec      ,,by ,,the ,,side ,,of ,a     
,,stream                                
#bfd        ,,index                     
#bgi          ,,bohemia ,,past ,,and    
,,present      ,the papers which compose
 this volume make no claim to any sort  
of  ordered plan in their composition4  
,they reflect in some measure the       
varied activities of a life that has    
been passed in close association  with  
more than one of the arts1 and therein  
lies their sole title to so  much of    
coherence as they may be found to       
possess4    ,lord ,beaconsfield once    
defined critics as men who had failed in
 art4  ,the reproach1 however1 is not   
always deserved1 for youth is often     
confident in its judgment of others at a
 time when it is still too  timorous to 
make any adventure of its own4 ,for     

myself ,i may confess  that ,i had      
adopted the calling of a critic long    
before ,i had found  the courage to make
 even the most modest incursion into the
 field of  authorship4 ,my first essays 
in journalism1 made at a time when ,i   
was  still a student at the bar1 were   
chiefly concerned with the art of       
painting1 and ,i look back now with     
feelings almost of dismay at the  spirit
 of reckless assurance in which ,i then 
assumed to measure and  appraise the    
achievement of contemporary masters4 ,a 
little later in  my career ,i was       
brought into still closer contact with  
the art of the  theatre1 and in both    
these worlds1 as well as in that of     
literature  itself1 ,i was fortunate in 
the formation of many valued and        
enduring  friendships which have enabled
 me1 in such of the following chapters  
as bear a distinctively biographical    
character1 to record my personal        
impressions of some of the notable      
figures in the literature and art of    

the later ,victorian era4    ,the reader
 who accompanies me in my voyage along  
the shores of the  ,bohemia of that time
 will quickly realise that it is not    
quite the  ,bohemia of to-day4 ,indeed  
since ,shakespeare first boldly conceded
  to the kingdom a seaboard1 each       
succeeding age1 and almost every        
generation1 has claimed the liberty to  
refashion this enchanted country  in    
accordance with its own ideals4 ,the    
coast-line has been recharted  by every 
voyager who has newly cruised upon its  
encompassing seas1 and  in recent days  
its boundaries have been enlarged by the
 occasional  incursions of ,society     
which has lately condescended to include
 the  concerns of art within the sphere 
of its patronage4 ,but although no      
longer retaining its old outlines upon  
the map1 there is enough of  continuity 
in the character of the inhabitants and 
in the subjects of  their preoccupation 
to render a brief survey of earlier     
conditions of  something more than      

merely archaeological interest4 ,if much
 has been  gained1 something also has   
been lost1 and the traveller who        
survives to  set down the experiences of
 that earlier time may perhaps be       
pardoned  if he cannot always accept the
 changes which have transformed the face
  of the country1 or modified the mental
 attitude of its citizens1 as           
improvements upon the prospect that     
first dawned upon his vision forty      
years ago4    ,i read the other day a   
confident pronouncement made by one of  
the  apostles of the more modern spirit 
which gave me the measure of the        
revolution that has been effected in all
 that concerns our judgment  upon       
matters of art4 8,art10 declared this   
authority1 8cannot stop3 the  moment it 
rests and repeats itself1 or imitates   
the past1 it dies40  ,there is here no  
faltering or uncertainty in the         
assertion of those  principles of faith 
and criticism which are embodied in the 
newer  gospel1 and it took me a little  

time to steady myself in the face of  a 
declaration which seemed to overturn the
 settled convictions of a  lifetime4    
,but after much pondering my courage    
returned4 ,i perceived  that apart from 
the underlying truism that life implies 
movement1 and  that art as its image    
must share its vitality1 there is       
nothing here  that is not highly        
disputable or wholly false4 ,art indeed 
never stops  but it does not always go  
forward3 the movement perceptible at    
every  stage of its history has been as 
often retrograde as progressive1 and    
although it can never repeat itself1    
there have been again and again  long   
seasons of rest when after a period of  
great productivity the land  which has  
yielded so rich a harvest lies fallow4  
,but the final clause of the            
proposition1 that imitation of the past 
heralds approaching dissolution1 is     
demonstrably untrue of every great      
epoch of artistic activity4 ,a fearless 
spirit of imitation1 born of the        

worship yielded to the achievements of  
an earlier time1 may1 on the  contrary1 
be claimed as the hall-mark of genius1  
and is indeed most  frankly confessed in
 the work of men of unchallenged        
supremacy4 ,raphael  exhibited neither  
shame nor fear in the frank reliance of 
his youth  upon the example of          
,perugino3 the painting of ,titian1 with
 an equal  candour1 confesses the extent
 of his debt to ,giovanni ,bellini1 and 
,tintoret1 who certainly could not be   
cited as a man deficient in the  spirit 
of independence1 made it his boast that 
he combined the design  of ,michelangelo
 with the colouring of ,titian3 while of
 ,michelangelo  himself we have it on   
record that in one of his earlier       
efforts as a  sculptor a deliberate     
imitation of the antique carried him    
near to  the confines of forgery4 ,and  
when we pass from individuals to the    
epoch which produced them1 was not the  
main impulse which governed  the        
movement of the ,renaissance inspired by

 a renewed sense of the  beauty that was
 left resident in the surviving examples
 of the ,art of  the antique world8 ,and
 all later time yields a similar        
experience4  ,that newly born spirit in 
modern painting associated with what is 
known as the pre-,raphaelite movement   
rested upon the untiring effort  of its 
professors to recapture the forgotten or
 neglected qualities  of the painting of
 an earlier time1 not indeed of the time
 which  was its immediate forerunner1   
but of that still younger day when by   
simple means and with technical         
resources not yet assured1 the earlier  
painters of ,italy sought to interpret  
the beauty they found in nature4  ,the  
spirit of imitation1 conscious and      
unabashed1 was of the very life  blood  
of the movement1 and it was in their    
devotion to that period in  ,italian    
painting which preceded the crowning    
glory of the ,renaissance  that the     
artists whose work constitutes the most 
important contribution  to the painting 

of modern ,europe were led to a stricter
 veracity in the  rendering of the facts
 in nature which they sought to         
interpret4    ,but the men who laboured 
in that day were not greatly affected by
  the declared ambitions of the present 
generation4 ,originality had  not yet   
been accepted as the cardinal virtue in 
any of the fields  of imaginative       
production1 and the illusion of         
progress1 which may  be said to rank as 
the special vice of the moment1 found no
 place in  the teaching of the time4    
,thinking over this widely desired and  
much  vaunted quality of ,originality in
 art1 ,i was minded to turn to old      
,samuel ,johnson to discover what       
particular meaning was then attached to 
a term that is now in such constant use4
 ,but my curiosity was baffled1  for ,i 
discovered to my disappointment that    
this much treasured word  finds no place
 at all in the pages of his ,dictionary4
 ,the world is  therefore free to       
conjecture in what way1 if he were      

living in this  hour1 that sane and     
virile intelligence might have sought to
 describe  it4 ,as applied to matters of
 art1 whether literary or pictorial1 he 
would perhaps have been tempted to      
define it as 8a word in vulgar use      
employed to indicate a vulgar ambition40
 ,but without burdening the  great      
lexicographer with views which the      
exigencies of the time did not  provoke 
him to express1 this at least may be    
confidently affirmed1 that  the pursuit 
of whatever virtue the word implies can 
have no place in  the conscious         
equipment of any great artist4          
,certainly it was unknown  or unregarded
 in every great epoch of the past4 ,it  
is impossible to  think of even the     
least of the mighty race of ,florentine 
painters1  from ,giotto to              
,michelangelo1 sparing one foolish      
moment from the  eager intentness of    
their labour to ponder whether the      
judgment of  aftertime should hail their
 work as original4 ,that work1 in common

  with all else that is produced in     
obedience to the impulse which is       
constantly shaping the beauties of the  
outer world till they are tuned  into   
harmony with the spirit resident in the 
breast of the artist1 had  no need of   
any spur to production beyond that which
 is provided by a  reverent love and an 
unceasing devotion1 and it survives to  
prove1 if  proof were needed1 that this 
boasted attribute of ,originality1      
though  it may fitly find a place in the
 epitaph upon an artist's tomb1 never   
since the world began formed any part in
 the impulse that governed the  work of 
his hand4    ,the undue importance now  
assigned to this coveted quality of     
,originality is partly the outcome of   
the illusion to which ,i have  already  
referred1--that art is in its nature    
progressive and is in  fact constantly  
and steadily progressing4 ,it must be   
obvious1 however1  to any one who has   
followed the fortunes of the imaginative
 spirit in  the past1 that history      

affords no warrant for any such         
pretension4  ,in whatever field of      
artistic industry we choose to enter1 in
 the  world of letters no less than the 
world of art1 strictly so called1  the  
testimony of the ages bears witness to  
the fact that the sense  of restless and
 unceasing movement is not always       
accompanied by any  real advancement4   
,fate has scattered over the centuries  
with impartial  indifference to the     
onward march of time those signal       
examples of  individual genius which    
mark for us the summit of human         
invention4  ,no one supposes that       
,dryden was a greater dramatist than    
,shakespeare  because he came later3 no 
one would be so foolish as to suggest   
that a  comparison between ,lycidas and 
,adonais can be decided by reference to 
the historical position of their        
authors4    ,and yet it is not difficult
 to understand how in our more modern   
day  this illusion of progress has      
fastened itself upon the judgment and   

consideration of the things of art4 ,the
 rapid strides made by science  during  
the last fifty or sixty years1 yielding 
at every step some  new discovery to    
arrest the admiration of a wondering    
world1 has not  unnaturally bred an     
inappropriate spirit of rivalry in the  
minds of  men whose mission it was to   
deal with the widely divergent problems 
of  the imagination4 ,indeed it is easy 
to discern in the literature of the     
,victorian era that some of its         
professors were apt to be haunted by the
  fear that their different appeal might
 be partly overborne or wholly  silenced
 unless they too could prove to their   
generation that what  they had to offer 
for its acceptance registered something 
of a like  superiority to the product of
 earlier times4    ,the sense of        
inexhaustible variety1 characteristic of
 all art  that truly images the spirit  
of man1 has by a false analogy been     
confused with the onward march of       
science where every addition to  the    

accumulated harvest garnered in the past
 uplifts each succeeding  generation    
upon the shoulders of its forerunner4   
,art cannot compete on  such terms1 and 
any comparison so conducted must        
relegate its claims  to an inferior     
place2 yet though so much may be freely 
confessed1 it  does not therefore follow
 that its unchanging appeal is to be    
counted  as an unequal factor in shaping
 the destinies of humanity4 ,the work of
  the man of science1 however           
pre-eminent the place assigned to him in
  his generation1 must of necessity     
yield place to the larger discoveries   
made by even the humblest of his        
followers2 while the work of the        
artist1 the outcome of individual vision
 engaged upon the unchanging  passions  
of man and the unfading beauty of the   
world he inhabits1  stands secure       
against any assault from the future2 in 
its nature  distinct from all that has  
preceded it as from all that may follow 
in  the time to come4 ,it knows neither 

rivalry nor competition1 for in the     
temple wherein the artist worships1 each
 worshipper has his separate  and       
appointed place4 ,in the matchless words
 of ,shelley1      ,life1 like a dome of
 many coloured glass1    ,stains the    
white radiance of eternity1    and      
although the light beyond to which the  
artist lifts his eyes is  of unchanging 
purity1 the myriad hues through which it
 is transmitted  yields to each separate
 vision the impress of an individuality 
which no  after achievement can         
challenge or destroy4    ,but there are 
recurring seasons in the history of     
every art when the  worker becomes      
unduly conscious of the medium in which 
he labours1  and correspondingly        
forgetful of the truth he seeks to      
interpret4  ,it was this that           
,wordsworth had in his mind when he     
urged upon the  poet the necessity of   
keeping his eye upon the object1 and it 
is not  difficult to perceive how easily
 in the present hour the reiterated     

demand for ,originality1 enforced by the
 vulgar illusion that art to be  a      
living force must be a progressive      
force1 invites the invasion of  the     
charlatan4 ,it would perhaps not be too 
much to say that the little  corner of  
time we now inhabit constitutes a       
veritable paradise for the  antics of   
every form of conscious imposture4      
,but this fact1 even if it be conceded1 
need not greatly disturb us4  ,the      
patient labour of men more worthily     
inspired still survives4 ,the  more     
aggressive spirits in every department  
of art1 who in their  haste to secure   
the verdict of the future are eager to  
cast overboard  the hoarded treasure of 
the past1 may find when time's award    
comes  to be recorded that they have won
 nothing but the gaping wonder of  the  
fleeting moment4 ,the judgment of       
posterity refuses to be hustled  however
 loud or shrill the voices that call    
upon it1 and we may take  comfort in the
 thought that the whispered message1    

perhaps only half  audible in its       
generation1 has often been the first to 
win the ear of  the future4             
,,some ,,memories ,,of ,,millais        
,there are men in every walk of life who
 would seem deliberately to  shun the   
outward trappings of their calling4     
,during his later years1  when ,i knew  
,robert ,browning well1 it always       
appeared to me that he was  at          
particular pains not to make any social 
appeal which could be held  to rest on  
his claims as a poet4 ,the homage that  
fell to him on that  score he accepted  
as his due1 but always1 as ,i thought1  
on the implied  understanding that in   
the daily traffic of social life the    
subject  should not be rashly intruded4 
,in the many and varied circles in which
  he moved he made no demand of any     
formal tribute to the distinguished     
place he held in the world of letters2  
and it was sometimes matter for  wonder 
to those who met him constantly to note 
with what apparently  eager and sincere 

interest he entered into the discussion 
of any  trivial topic in which it was   
not to be supposed that he could have   
been very deeply concerned4 ,like ,lord 
,byron1 whose gifts as a poet  he held  
in no great esteem1 he was rather       
anxious--at any rate1 in  the earlier   
stages of acquaintanceship--that his    
position as a poet  should be regarded  
as a thing apart2 and he was apt1 ,i    
think1 to be  embarrassed by any        
persistent endeavour to penetrate the   
outward shard  of the man of the world1 
wherein he preferred to render himself  
easily  accessible to a wide circle of  
friends1 few of whom would have deemed  
themselves competent to enter into any  
sustained discussion of literary        
topics4    ,among the painters of his   
time ,millais would1 ,i think1 have     
owned to  a like inclination4 ,neither  
in his personality nor in his bearing   
was  he at any pains to announce himself
 to the world as an artist2 and  if not 
in his earlier days1 at any rate at the 

time ,i first began  to know him1 he    
seemed to seek by preference the        
comradeship of men  whose distinction   
had been won in another field4 ,in      
self-esteem he was  certainly at no time
 lacking2 he could accept in full       
measure praise  of his own work from    
whatever quarter it came2 and in that   
respect he  differed from ,browning1    
whose nature seemed to stand in less    
need of  flattery1 or even of expressed 
appreciation4 ,on occasion1 indeed1 and 
with only moderate encouragement1       
,millais could be beguiled into a       
confession of confident faith in his own
 powers that might sometimes  seem to   
border on arrogance1 but at the worst it
 was no more than  the arrogance of an  
overgrown boy1 put forward with such    
genuine  conviction as to rob it of all 
offence4 ,at these times he would give  
you the impression that1 having won the 
top place in his class1 he  intended to 
hold it4 ,he could not readily endure   
the thought1 or even  the suspicion1    

that there was anybody qualified to     
supplant him1 and  he was apt to be     
impatient1 and even restive1 when other 
claims were  advanced1 as though he felt
 the world was wasting time till it     
reached  the consideration of what he   
was genuinely convinced was a higher    
manifestation of artistic power4 ,and   
yet thee judgments upon himself1  even  
when they were delivered in the most    
buoyant and conquering  spirit1 never   
left the savour of pretentious vanity4  
,there was an air  of impartiality that 
,i think was genuine1 even when his     
self-esteem was  most emphatically      
expressed1 as though he were recording  
the award of  a higher tribunal1 in     
whose verdict his own personality was in
 no way  involved4    ,and then there   
was so much that was immediately lovable
 in the man  himself as distinguished   
from the artist6 ,i have heard it said  
by an  older friend who knew him in the 
season of his youth that when1 as a     
mere boy1 he quitted the schools of the 

,academy to begin the practice  of his  
art1 he had the face and form of an     
,adonis1 and his handsome  and          
commanding presence when ,i first met   
him1 toward the close of the  seventies1
 a man then nearing fifty years of age1 
made it easy to  believe that this      
record of the charm of his youthful     
appearance was  in no way exaggerated4  
,and yet the frank outlook of the face1 
with its  clear blue eyes1 and firm1 yet
 finely-modelled mouth1 though it spoke 
clearly of power and resource1 and      
betrayed in every changing mood of      
expression the unconquerable optimism of
 a nature that retained its  full       
vitality to the last1 did not1 ,i think1
 then1 or at any time1  yield any       
decisive indication of the direction in 
which his gifts  were employed4         
,afterwards ,i learned to find in his   
features the true  index of the finer   
qualities of his genius1 but at our     
first encounter  it seemed to me rather 
that ,i stood in the presence of a      

robust  personality that had been bred  
and nurtured in the free air of the     
country4    ,it was always1 indeed1     
easier to think of him as one of a happy
 and  careless company during those     
annual fishing and shooting holidays in 
which he so greatly delighted1 than to  
picture him a prisoner in a  ,london    
studio1 arduously applying himself to   
the problems of his art4  ,and1 in point
 of fact1 he always brought something of
 that sense of  breezy1 outdoor life    
into the spacious studio at ,palace     
,gate4 ,perhaps1  if he could have      
followed his own inclination1 he would  
have passed  a greater part of his life 
on the banks of the northern river that 
he loved so well4 ,quite in the later   
years of his life1 when he was  rebuking
 his old friend and comrade1 ,holman    
,hunt1 upon a too obstinate             
indifference to the taste of his time1  
he said to him3 8,why1 if ,i were  to go
 on like that1 ,i should never be able  
to go away in the autumn to  fish and   

shoot4 ,you take my advice1 old boy1 and
 just take the world  as it is1 and     
don't make it your business to rub up   
people the wrong  way40 ,millais's ready
 acquiescence in the demands of his     
generation  was to some extent an       
element of weakness in his artistic     
character1  leading him occasionally1 as
 he more than once confessed to me      
himself1  into errors of taste that he  
was afterwards shrewd enough to detect  
and candid enough to deplore2 but       
however far he may on occasion have     
been led astray towards a certain       
triviality in choice of subject1 this   
tendency never impugned or injured his  
integrity as a painter in the  chosen   
task he had set himself to accomplish4  
,the presence of nature1  either in     
human face or form1 or in the facts of  
the external world1  proved a tonic that
 sufficed to restore his artistic       
conscience1 and  ,i do not think he was 
ever satisfied by the exercise of any   
acquired  facility1 for it was both the 

strength and the weakness of his art    
that  his ultimate success in any       
particular adventure largely depended   
upon  the inspiration supplied by his   
model4    ,one day we were talking of   
technique1 and ,i remember ,millais1 who
 was  at the time in some trouble with a
 portrait that he could not get to  his 
satisfaction1 roundly declared that1 for
 an artist worth the name1  there was no
 such thing as technique4 8,look at me  
now10 he said2 8,i  can't get this face 
right1 and it has been the same with me 
all through  my life--with every fresh  
subject ,i have to learn my art all over
  again40 ,such a confession came well  
from a man who1 from the earliest  time 
of his precocious and marvellous        
boyhood1 had in the native gifts  of a  
painter clearly outpaced and            
outdistanced the most accomplished of   
his contemporaries1 and yet it was made 
in no spirit of mock modesty1  but out  
of a clear conviction that an artist's  
conflict with nature is  ceaseless and  

unending1 no matter what degree of      
mastery the world may  choose to accord 
him4    ,we first met at the ,old ,arts 
,club1 in ,hanover ,square4 ,he was not 
a very  constant visitor there1 for his 
inclination1 as ,i have already hinted1 
did not often carry him into a mixed    
company of his fellow-workers2 but  he  
occasionally looked in of an evening    
after dinner1 and sometimes  ,i used to 
walk away with him towards his home in  
,kensington4 ,in his  talk at the club  
he was apt to exhibit a genuine         
impatience of any  desponding view of   
the present condition or the future     
prospects of  ,english art1 and the     
unbroken success of his own career--for 
at that  time he had long outlived1 and 
perhaps almost forgotten1 the struggles 
of his youth--made it1 ,i think1 really 
difficult for him to comprehend  that   
the arena in which he had won his       
undisputed place was not the  best of   
all possible worlds4 ,but this          
overbearing optimism of view was  not   

always entirely sympathetic in its      
appeal2 he was apt to brush  aside with 
imperfect consideration the comparative 
failure of his less  fortunate          
contemporaries1 and it was not until    
long afterwards that  ,i grew to realise
 that this apparent indifference to the 
fortunes of  others sprang less from any
 natural lack of sympathy than from an  
intellectual incapacity to understand   
the possibility of real merit  failing  
to secure recognition4 ,something of an 
egotism that was at  times almost       
aggressive must indeed be allowed to    
him--an egotism which  ,i believe left  
him with a genuine belief that nearly   
all other ideals  than those he followed
 were misguided1 and that lesser        
achievements  than his own scarcely     
merited prolonged consideration4    ,but
 when we had left the club and were     
alone together in the street  the more  
human and sympathetic side of his       
character often came into  play4 ,not   
that he was1 even then1 apt to lavish   

extravagant praise  upon his immediate  
contemporaries1 but he could speak often
 and  lovingly of the men with whom he  
had been brought into association in    
his earlier days1 both in literature and
 in art1 always reverting1 in  terms of 
special affection1 to his friendship for
 ,john ,leech1 of whom  he was wont to  
say that he was 8the greatest gentleman 
of them all40  ,dickens1 too1 he        
genuinely admired1 though the great     
novelist had  failed to recognise the   
earlier efforts of his genius2 and he   
had many  interesting anecdotes of      
,thackeray1 with whom he had been       
brought into  close contact during the  
time when he was engaged in the practice
 of  illustration1 telling me how1      
during periods of illness1 he would be  
summoned to the distinguished editor's  
bedside to receive instructions  for the
 drawings he was commissioned to execute
 for the ,cornhill  ,magazine4    ,it   
was during one of those talks about     
,thackeray that he related how he  came 

to make his first acquaintance with the 
name of ,frederic ,leighton1  in an     
anecdote which he afterwards told with  
telling effect1 as part  of a speech at 
the ,arts ,club1 on the occasion of     
,leighton's election  to the post of    
,president of the ,academy4 ,he         
recounted how ,thackeray  had warmly    
praised the talents of the young        
painter1 whom he had met  in ,rome1     
prophesying for him the final           
distinction he afterwards  achieved2 and
 ,millais confessed how1 even then1 he  
had felt a certain  measure of jealousy 
in the novelist's warmth of             
appreciation1 conscious  that he already
 cherished the idea that he himself     
would one day  occupy the presidential  
chair4 ,and so1 indeed1 he did1 but the 
honour  fell upon him almost too late1  
when he was already in the grip of the  
malady that was destined to carry him to
 the grave4 ,but his reference  to the  
work of other painters1 however         
distinguished1 was1 as ,i have  already 

hinted1 comparatively rare1 and the     
dominant impression left  from all our  
talks of that time was of a man whose   
own ever-increasing  prosperity had left
 him partially blind to qualities in    
others that had  missed an equal measure
 of recognition4 ,he could perceive     
little or no  flaw in a world which had 
accorded to him his unchallenged        
position4    ,the finer and gentler side
 of ,millais1 half hidden from me then  
under  an overpowering and impenetrable 
armour of optimism1 ,i learned to  know 
better when1 as one of the directors of 
the ,grosvenor ,gallery1  ,i assisted in
 the arrangement of the collected       
display of his life's  work4 ,that was  
in the year #ahhf1 and ,i can vividly   
recall with what  easy self-complacency 
he anticipated the pleasure which he    
would derive  from this long-looked-for 
opportunity of seeing the product of    
many  years of labour displayed in a    
single exhibition4 ,before the arrival  
of the paintings themselves1 many of    

which he had not seen from the  time    
they had left his easel1 he was         
afflicted by no trace of the  nervous   
apprehension which ,i have found not    
uncommonly betrayed by  other artists in
 similar circumstances4 ,but the        
triumphant buoyancy  of this earlier    
mood was replaced by many an hour of    
deep dejection  when the works          
themselves appeared in their place2 and 
that dejection  again was sometimes as  
swiftly replaced by a spirit of almost  
unlimited  self-esteem as he discovered 
in some particular example qualities    
greater than his recollection had       
accorded it4    ,the essential charm of 
the man's nature shone out very clearly 
during that fortnight of preparation1   
and the invulnerable armour of          
self-esteem in which he was wont to     
appear before the world would  sometimes
 fall from him in an instant1 leaving in
 its place a spirit  of humility that   
belonged to the deeper part of his      
nature4 ,it was  sometimes almost       

touching to note the mood of obvious    
dejection in  which he would quit the   
gallery at the close of the day's work1 
and  no less interesting to observe with
 what alacrity the next morning he      
would recapture the confident outlook   
that was a part of the necessity  of his
 being4 ,he would sometimes be in the   
gallery half an hour or  more before the
 usual time for the work of hanging to  
begin1 and we  would find him on our    
arrival with his short cherrywood pipe  
in his  mouth surveying with evident    
satisfaction the pictures already placed
  upon the walls4 ,and on those         
occasions he would often run his arm    
through mine and draw me away to compel 
my admiration of some forgotten         
excellence in this picture or in that1  
the renewed vision of which had         
sufficed completely to restore his      
self-complacency4    ,but these moments 
of exultation were not long-enduring1   
and it was  an integral part of the     
fascinating navet of his character that 

he could with equal emphasis in the     
presence of some less desirable         
performance accuse himself roundly of   
having slipped into vulgarity and  bad  
taste4 ,there was one thing1 however1 he
 never could endure1 and  that was the  
suggestion that his latest achievement  
was not also his  best1 and this        
conviction so entirely possessed him    
that he set himself  in very vigorous   
fashion to the task of correcting what  
he conceived  to be the faults of some  
of his earlier works4 ,i confess ,i     
looked upon  this adventure with        
something approaching dismay1 for it was
 evident  enough1 though he was in no   
way conscious of it1 that the ,millais  
of  #ahhf was not the ,millais of thirty
 years before1 who had laboured under   
the influence of earlier and different  
ideals4 ,happily the emphatic  protests 
of one or two of the owners from whom   
the pictures had been  borrowed cut     
short this crusade of fancied           
improvement upon which he  had embarked1

 and in one instance1 although sorely   
against his will1 he  was forced to     
remove the fresh painting from the      
surface of the canvas4    ,some of the  
essays of that earlier time of youthful 
impulse and more  poetic design had     
grown unfamiliar to him4 ,many of them  
he had not  seen from the date when they
 first left his studio1 and ,i recall in
  particular with what eager and yet    
nervous expectation he awaited the      
arrival of 8,the ,huguenot10 a picture  
that had served as the foundation  of   
his fame as a young man4 ,i think as he 
saw it unpacked1 with its  delicate     
beauty untarnished by time1 that for the
 moment his faith in  the uninterrupted 
progress of his career was partly       
shaken4 ,i know at  least that his voice
 trembled with emotion as he muttered   
some blunt  words of praise for a       
picture which1 as he said1 was 8not so  
bad for  a youngster10 and ,i remember  
that as it took its place upon the wall1
  after gazing at it intently for some  

time in silence1 he relit his pipe  and 
took his way thoughtfully down the      
stairs into the street4    ,millais used
 to contend that1 until the advent of   
,watteau1 the beauty  of women had found
 no fit interpreters in art1 and he     
would cite the  example of ,rembrandt as
 showing how poorly the feminine        
features which  he portrayed compared   
with the lovely faces imaged by         
,reynolds and  ,gainsborough4 ,perhaps  
he was hardly equipped to deliver final 
judgment  on such a subject1 for ,i do  
not think he leaned with any enthusiasm 
towards those finer examples of ,italian
 painting wherein the subtleties  of    
feminine beauty have certainly not      
suffered by neglect4 ,but these         
dogmatic assertions of men of genius1 if
 they are not irrefutable in            
themselves1 are often instructive in    
illuminating the finer tendencies  of   
their own achievement2 and it will      
remain as one of ,millais's             
indestructible claims to recognition    

that both in his earlier and  in his    
later time he was able to interpret with
 matchless power the  finer shades of   
emotional expression in the faces of    
beautiful women4  ,when the chosen model
 rightly inspired him--and without that 
model  his invention was often vapid and
 inert--he could succeed in a degree    
which no other artist has matched or    
surpassed in registering not only  the  
permanent facts of beauty in form and   
feature1 but in arresting  with equal   
felicity the most fleeting moments of   
tender or passionate  expression4    ,in
 the later days of his life it was at   
the ,garrick ,club that ,i saw  most of 
,millais1 for there1 in the card-room1  
he was to be found  nearly every        
afternoon1 and as we both then dwelt in 
,kensington we  often wandered homeward 
together4 ,the buoyancy of his youth and
 early  manhood never quite deserted    
him1 even at that sadder season1 when   
he was already in conflict with that    
dread opponent against whom his         

all-conquering spirit was powerless1 and
 ,i never heard from him1  however great
 the dejection of spirit he must have   
suffered1 a single  sour word concerning
 life or nature4 ,his outlook on the    
world was  never tainted by             
self-compassion1 never clouded by any   
bitterness of  personal experience1 and 
one came to recognise then1 as his life 
and  strength gradually waned and       
failed1 that the spirit of optimism     
which  seemed sometimes unsympathetic in
 the season of his opulent vigour and   
virility was indeed a beauty deeply     
resident in his character1 which  even  
the shadow of coming death was powerless
 to cloud or darken4          ,,at      
,,home ,,with ,,alma-,,tadema      ,the 
death of ,sir ,lawrence ,alma-,tadema1  
following only too closely upon  the    
loss of his gracious and gifted wife1   
finally closed the doors  of one of the 
most delightful houses that overlooked  
the shores of  ,bohemia4 ,they both     
possessed in rare measure the genius of 

friendship1  and to both belonged the   
fine and generous sympathy of nature    
which is  the abiding secret of true    
hospitality4 ,and in their case a       
friendship  once formed was steadfastly 
held4 ,there are men and women not a    
few1  who1 as they advance along the    
path that leads to fame and distinction1
  contrive to shed the friends and      
comrades of an earlier day in haste to  
make room for guests more important or  
influential4 ,this was never true  of   
,tadema at any period of his career1 and
 those who can recall the  earlier      
,tuesday evenings at ,townshend ,house1 
which looked across the  waters of the  
canal to the green shade of the         
,regent's ,park1 can bear  witness that 
the simplest and most modest of his     
associates of that  time found as       
cordial a welcome in the more spacious  
premises which he  afterwards built for 
himself in the ,grove ,end ,road4    ,it
 was in the year #ahgg that ,i first    
became an intimate guest at the         

pleasant weekly receptions at ,townshend
 ,house1 and ,i remember that  what     
first struck me about them was the      
delightful sense of ease and            
informality that the host and hostess   
contrived to infuse into every          
gathering4 ,sometimes the friends       
assembled might number only a few2      
sometimes the rooms would be thronged   
with all that was most notable  in the  
world of literature and art2 but the    
party1 whether large or  small1 knew no 
constraint of dulness1 nor were we ever 
oppressed by  that overpowering sense of
 social decorum which is apt to benumb  
the  best-intentioned efforts of        
ordinary ,english hospitality4 ,and1    
this ,i  think1 was due in great measure
 to an element in ,tadema's character   
that was almost unique4    ,shakespeare 
has told us of the 8boy eternal10 and   
many men of  distinction have owned and 
kept that quality to the end of their   
days4  ,but ,tadema went one better1 for
 he retained throughout his life some   

of the simple impulses and attributes of
 a veritable child4 ,he had  the        
wondering delight of a child in each new
 experience as it came  within the range
 of his vision1 and there were times    
when some passing  ebullition of temper 
would betray something also of a child's
 wayward  petulance4 ,it was            
characteristic of this side of his      
nature1 which  for the rest ranked among
 the most masculine and virile ,i have  
known1  that he preserved to the last a 
child's abiding delight in all forms  of
 mechanical toys4 ,this was a weakness  
well known to his intimate  friends1    
who1 on the annual occasion of his      
birthday1 would vie with  one another in
 presenting him with the most admired   
achievements of the  toy-maker's art4 ,i
 remember1 in particular1 a certain     
ferocious tiger1  which moved by        
clock-work across the polished floor of 
the studio4  ,tadema was absolutely     
fascinated by the antics of this mimic  
beast1  remaining under the spell of its

 enchantment during the whole of the    
evening2 and whenever a pause in the    
music permitted it1 ,i could hear  the  
whirr of the wheels of the clock as the 
delighted owner of this new  plaything  
prepared to start it again upon an      
excursion round the room4    ,these     
birthday parties were occasions fondly  
cherished by our host4 ,he  loved every 
detail in the little ceremonial that    
might be arranged for  their            
celebration1 and would reckon up with   
the earnest intentness of  a schoolboy  
over his first sum in arithmetic1 the   
candles set around  his birthday cake1  
that counted the sum of his years4 ,and 
then followed  the inevitable speech    
proposing his health--a task which      
usually fell  to my lot2 whereupon      
,tadema1 who always thought that        
whatever was done  in his honour        
exceeded in excellence any tribute      
accorded to another1  would stoutly     
maintain that1 as an effort in oratory1 
it far surpassed  any speech he had ever

 heard made4 ,this nave delight of his  
in little  things1 that remained as a   
constant element of his character1 was  
linked with a large generosity of nature
 in all that concerned the  greater     
issues of life4 ,and if he exacted from 
all who came within  the range of his   
influence the little acts of homage and 
respect that  he thought were his due1  
there was no one who would so freely    
place  himself at the disposal of those 
whom he believed he could serve4 ,he    
loved to gather round him the young     
students of his craft1 ever on  the     
alert to note and welcome new talent as 
it appeared1 and when his  counsel or   
advice was needed1 he would spare       
neither time nor pains to  afford the   
aid and encouragement which his superb  
technical resources  so well fitted him 
to bestow4 ,i have heard artists of     
position declare  that if they had      
reached some crux in a picture that     
proved difficult  of solution1 there was
 no one so helpful as ,tadema2 and this1

 ,i  think1 was due mainly to the fact  
that his quick sympathy and swift       
apprehension enabled him at once to     
appreciate the point of view of the     
comrade who had sought his advice4      
,the last of those pleasant ,tuesday    
evenings at ,townshend ,house1 which    
occurred in the spring of #ahhe1 brought
 with it a certain feeling of  sadness  
that found constant expression as the   
evening wore on4 ,we had  all become    
deeply attached to the quaintly-adorned 
dwelling where so  many joyous evenings 
had been passed1 and some there were who
 may have  been conscious of a lurking  
fear lest the more spacious premises    
that  were then in course of            
reconstruction in the ,grove ,end ,road 
should rob  these festive gatherings of 
some part of the ease and intimacy that 
had  hitherto been their most delightful
 characteristic4 ,certain it was that   
for his friends during many months to   
come1 the week would contain no         
,tuesday worth the name1 and as we      

parted that night ,i think there was a  
wide-spread feeling that the new order  
of things could never rival the  old4   
,but such fears1 so often justified by  
experience1 proved in this  case wholly 
without foundation1 and when1 in the    
autumn of #ahhg1 we  were bidden to the 
richly-decorated new studio1 in the     
construction of  which ,tadema had taken
 such infinite delight1 it was found    
that the old  spirit of hospitality1    
unchanged and unimpaired1 was able      
quickly to  accommodate itself to its   
more imposing surroundings4    ,i had   
known the house in ,grove ,end ,road    
before it took on the stamp  of         
,tadema's quaint invention and fanciful 
ingenuity4 ,it had been  inhabited by   
the ,french painter ,tissot during a    
great part of his  residence in         
,england1 and ,i recall a dinner party  
given by him on an  occasion shortly    
after the opening of the ,grosvenor     
,gallery1 at which  he announced to me  
his serious and solemn intention of     

making a radical  revolution in the     
purpose and direction of his art4 ,up to
 that time  the pictures of this most   
adroit of craftsmen had been wholly     
mundane1  it might even be said         
demi-mundane1 in character2 but he had  
been  profoundly impressed by the recent
 display of the works of ,burne-,jones1 
to which the public for the first time  
had accorded a larger welcome2  and it  
immediately struck the shrewd spirit of 
,tissot that there were  commercial     
possibilities in the region of ideal art
 of which he was  bound as a practical  
man to take account and advantage4 ,as  
he himself  navely expressed it on that 
evening3 8,vraiment1 mon ami1 je vois   
qu'il  y a quelque chose  faire02 and he
 forthwith led the way to his studio1   
where he had already commenced a group  
of allegorical subjects1 to the         
infinite amusement of his friend        
,heilbuth1 who at that time1 ,i think1  
knew him better than he knew himself4   
,in those days1 ,tadema and             

,burne-,jones were scarcely acquainted4 
,their real friendship came a little    
later1 but when it came it was  very    
genuine and sincere1 resting on a       
certain quality of simplicity  which    
they owned in common and a strong       
feeling of mutual respect and  esteem4  
,their ways in art lay far asunder1 but 
each knew how to value  at their true   
worth the gifts of the other4 ,from time
 to time they  would both join me in    
little ,bohemian feasts at ,previtali's 
,restaurant  in ,coventry ,street1 where
 we would sit till the closing hours in 
pleasant converse that was never        
permitted to be protractedly serious4   
,tadema generally prefaced the evening  
with an anecdote which he always        
believed to be entirely new1 and even   
when its hoary antiquity was not  in    
doubt1 ,burne-,jones never failed to    
supply a full measure of the  laughing  
appreciation that was due to novelty4   
,in his more serious  moods1 however1   
,tadema's talk was marked by deep       

conviction and entire  sincerity4 ,he   
never acquired complete mastery over our
 language1 but he  could always find the
 word or phrase that reached the heart  
of what he  wanted to say4 ,in his art1 
no less than in his views on art and    
life1  he was desperately in earnest1   
and there was something even in the     
quality of his voice that aptly mirrored
 the mind and character of the  man4    
,indeed1 to be quite correct1 it was not
 one voice1 but two1 for  sometimes even
 within the compass of a single sentence
 the tone would  swiftly change from the
 guttural notes that betrayed his       
northern  origin to those softer        
cadences that seemed to echo from some  
southern  belfry4    ,i have often      
thought that this contrast of intonation
 in his speech  reflected in a measure  
the dual influences that dominated his  
painting4  ,by his heart's desire1 he   
belonged to a land that was not the land
 of  his birth and to an epoch far      
removed from the present4 ,the call of  

the spirit led him backward and         
southward--to the streets of ancient    
,rome and the sunlit shores of the      
,mediterranean2 but1 for all his        
journeyings1 his genius as a painter    
remained securely domiciled under       
northern skies4 ,the saving grace of his
 art1 whatever the material  upon which 
it was employed1 differed little1       
indeed1 from that which  gives its      
surviving charm to the art of his       
countryman ,de ,hoogh4 ,both  will live 
in virtue of their unfailing love of    
light4 ,it is that1  or1 at least1 that 
above all else1 that will make their    
achievements  delightful and            
indestructible4 8,no man has ever       
lived10 ,burne-,jones  once said to me1 
8who has interpreted with ,tadema's     
power the incidence  of sunlight on     
metal and marble40 ,and although ,tadema
 left the simple  interiors of ,de      
,hoogh far behind him in his learned    
reconstruction of  the buildings of     
antiquity1 it was with a temper and     

purpose closely  allied to that of ,de  
,hoogh that he loved to revel in        
quaintly-chosen  effects of light and   
shade1 admitting sometimes only the     
tiniest corner  of the full sunshine    
from the outer world1 just to illumine  
as with the  dazzling brilliance of a   
jewel the imprisoned half-tones that    
flood the  foregrounds of his pictures4 
,to those who can look below the        
surface1 this central quality of his    
genius1 which he inherited as part of   
his birthright1 will be found           
reappearing in unbroken continuity      
throughout the splendid series of  his  
work that lately adorned the walls of   
,burlington ,house4 ,their  fertile     
invention1 and the strong and vivid     
sense of drama that often  moves that   
invention2 the patient industry and wide
 learning which  have served to recreate
 the classic environment wherein his    
chosen  characters live and have their  
being--these things would count for     
little in the final impression left by  

his art1 if he had not carried  with him
 in all his wanderings into the past and
 towards the south1  that vitalising    
principle of light1 which1 in hands     
fitly inspired1  is able to bestow even 
upon inanimate things a pulsing and     
sentient  existence4 8,there is nothing 
either beautiful or ugly10 as ,constable
  once said1 8but light and shade makes 
it so40 ,alma-,tadema had learnt  this  
secret long ago1 when he was little more
 than a boy1 and before he  had quitted 
his native land1 and he retained it to  
the very end of his  career4    ,this is
 not the occasion to appraise at its    
full value the worth  of ,tadema's      
artistic achievement1 nor would even    
those who are his  warmest admirers seek
 to deny that in many of its aspects it 
is open  to criticism4 ,but at a time   
when the antics of the charlatan are    
invading almost every realm of art1 his 
patient and unswerving loyalty  to a    
chosen ideal stands forth as a shining  
example to all who may  come after him4 

,that his powers in the region of design
 confessed  some inherent limitations he
 himself was entirely conscious4 ,i     
remember one day when we were discussing
 the claims of several of his           
contemporaries1 he said to me suddenly1 
8,you know1 my dear fellow1  there are  
some painters who are colour-blind1 and 
some painters who are  form-blind4 ,now1
 ,leighton1 for instance1 is            
colour-blind1 and ,i--well1  ,i1 you    
know1 am form-blind40 ,the criticism was
 perhaps unduly severe in  both         
directions1 but it announced a pregnant 
truth and proved that he  was not       
unaware of those particular qualities in
 which his weakness was  apt to betray  
itself4    ,this was said during the    
time when ,hall and ,i were arranging   
the  collected exhibition of his works  
at the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 and when  he
 had had a full opportunity of passing  
in review the gathered  achievement of  
many years' labour4 ,those days we      
passed together  superintending the     

process of hanging were wholly          
delightful1 and  served to bring out    
many interesting characteristics of     
,tadema's  nature4 ,when the exhibition 
was first projected ,tadema had laid    
down a rule for our guidance1 which he  
emphatically declared must  not be      
departed from4 8,the arrangement10 he   
said1 8must be strictly  chronological02
 for the whole interest of such a       
collection1 as he  held1 lay in the     
image it presented of an artist's       
gradual development4  ,we offered no    
objection at the time1 though we knew   
well by previous  experience that       
adherence to so rigid a principle was   
inconsistent with  decorative effect2   
and we were1 therefore1 not unduly      
surprised when  ,tadema appeared one    
morning with the revolutionary          
announcement that  the chronological    
arrangement must go by the board2       
insisting1 with  the air of a man who   
had hitherto unwillingly yielded to our 
pedantic  tradition1 that the only fit  

way to hang an exhibition was to make   
the  pictures look well upon the walls4 
,the last time ,i met ,alma-,tadema was 
at a little supper party given by  ,sir 
,herbert ,tree on the occasion of the   
first performance of ,macbeth4  ,it was 
impossible for those who had known him  
in the days of his full  vigour not to  
be conscious even then that his health  
was failing4 ,from  the time of his     
wife's death1 he had never1 indeed1     
shown the same  elasticity of spirit1   
though with valiant courage he had set  
himself to  take up the broken thread of
 his life1 retaining even to the last   
that  loving and humorous welcome of his
 friends that had been his unfailing    
characteristic in happier days4 ,but    
although admittedly no longer  robust1  
his unflagging interest in the theatre  
and his friendship for  ,tree had       
brought him from home on that evening1  
and availed to hold him  a prisoner for 
the little impromptu feast that followed
 the play4    ,my first experience of   

,tadema's work for the theatre was on   
the  occasion of the production of ,mr4 
,ogilvie's play of ,hypatia1 when ,i    
had persuaded him1 at ,tree's           
invitation1 to undertake the designs for
  the scenery and costumes4 ,this is a  
kind of work to which many gifted       
painters cannot readily adapt           
themselves4 ,but ,tadema's constructive 
talent1 his rare ingenuity in dealing   
with architectural problems1 and1  above
 all1 his unrivalled gifts in contriving
 diversified effects of  light and      
shade1 amply fitted him for such a task2
 and the difficulty  which some painters
 experience of yoking their intended    
design with the  interpretative         
resources of the scenic artists1 proved 
no difficulty  to him4 ,he loved their  
art with all its infinite devices for   
the  production of illusion1 and he knew
 how to treat them in a spirit of  true 
and loyal comradeship4 ,at the first ,i 
had been a little nervous  on this      
score1 but1 one day1 when ,i asked him  

how he and the principal  scene-painter 
were progressing1 he relieved me of all 
anxiety upon the  matter by the emphatic
 announcement that he and his associate 
were in  such complete agreement that1  
as he quaintly phrased it from a peasant
  formula recalled from the land of his 
birth1 8we are like two hands  on one   
stomach40 ,as the production neared     
completion1 ,i remember one  evening1 we
 were waiting for ,tadema1 who had been 
detained by a council  meeting at the   
,royal ,academy4 ,the most important    
scene was ready set1  and1 as it seemed 
to us1 with really admirable effect2 but
 when ,tadema  arrived everything was   
wrong4 ,he scattered objection and      
criticism in  every direction1          
sometimes1 as ,i thought1 with so little
 reason that  ,i cast about to discover 
what could be the source of his         
discontent4  ,suddenly ,i remembered    
that the hour was late1 and that1 as he 
had come  straight from ,burlington     
,house to keep the appointment1 the     

probability  was that he had not dined4 
,i put the question to him1 and his     
answer  was immediate1 8,of course ,i   
have not dined40 8,then10 ,i said1 8let 
us  dine1 and leave the men to put these
 matters right40 ,the cure acted  like  
magic1 for when we returned to the      
theatre an hour later1 ,tadema  readily 
found a way by which every defect might 
be set right4    ,i was associated with 
him at a later time with several other  
productions which he made for the stage1
 notably the ,coriolanus1 in  the later 
days of the ,lyceum1 and1 in a lesser   
degree as far as my work  was concerned1
 in the ,julius ,caesar presented by    
,sir ,herbert ,tree4  ,i think such work
 was always a pleasure to him1 because  
it brought  into play qualities that are
 not directly involved in the work of  a
 painter4 ,his talent had always a      
strongly practical side1 and it  was    
that which made the construction and    
perfecting of his own house  so keen a  
pleasure to him4 ,his labours there     

would1 ,i believe1 have  remained       
incomplete even if he had lived for     
another twenty years4 ,he  was always   
discovering new possibilities that      
opened the door for fresh  improvements1
 and his knowledge of the details of    
every craft employed  in his service was
 so exacting and complete that the      
skilled artificers  who laboured for him
 knew well that they were under the     
trained eye of  a master as well as of  
an employer4    ,when ,i called at his  
house on the day that brought the news  
of his  death1 the quaintly covered way 
that leads to the front door was girt   
on either side by a wealth of varied    
blooms that had been made ready  by his 
gardener to greet his expected return   
from abroad2 and then1 a  few days      
later1 as ,i stood beside his coffin    
that had been reverently  set down in   
the great studio1 ,i found it buried    
beneath an avalanche  of flowers1 which 
his countless friends had sent as a last
 mark of  love and affection4 ,and it   

was1 indeed1 a fitting tribute to the   
dead artist2 for ,tadema1 while he      
lived1 had an absolute passion for      
flowers4 ,as a painter he would linger  
with untiring devotion over each        
separate petal of every separate bloom1 
and yet with such a sustained  sense of 
mastery in the rendering of their beauty
 that when the result  was complete the 
infinite mass of perfected detail was   
found to be  firmly bound together by   
the controlling force of a single effect
 of  light and shade4 ,to a young man   
who stood beside his easel on a day     
when he was making a careful study of   
azaleas that formed an integral  part of
 the design upon which he was engaged1  
,tadema summed up in  a single sentence 
the spirit in which he constantly       
laboured3 8,the  people of to-day1 they 
will tell you10 he said1 8that all this 
minute  detail--that is not art60 ,and  
then1 turning again to his picture1 he  
added in his quaint ,english3 8,but it  
has given me so much pleasure to  paint 

him that ,i cannot help thinking it will
 give1 at least1 some one  pleasure to  
look at him1 too40 ,this was the spirit 
of the older men  before the pestilent  
pursuit of originality came to infect   
the modest  worship of ,nature1 and it  
will remain as the dominant quality of  
all  art1 whether of to-day or          
to-morrow1 that is destined to outlive  
the  passing fashion of an hour4        
,,with ,,rossetti ,,in ,,cheyne ,,walk  
,passing along the ,chelsea ,embankment 
a while ago ,i was reminded by the      
sight of ,rossetti's old house of the   
number of studios where ,i was once  a  
constant visitor1 which time had long   
since left untenanted4 ,millais1        
,leighton1 ,whistler1 ,fred ,walker1    
,cecil ,lawson1 and ,burne-,jones were  
among the names that crowded upon my    
recollection2 and thinking of  these men
 and of their work1 ,i could not but be 
reminded of the changed  spirit in which
 art has come to be regarded in these   
later days of  restless experiment and  

ceaseless research after novelty of form
 and  expression4    ,and yet those     
earlier times of which ,i am speaking   
were also marked  by conflict and       
controversy2 for even in the seventies1 
when ,i first  became actively engaged  
in the study of painting1 the stirring  
spirit  of ,english ,art still throbbed 
in response to the message that had     
been delivered by the pre-,raphaelite   
,brotherhood more than twenty  years    
before4 ,it may be a fancy1 but ,i      
hardly think the workers or  students of
 a later generation can quite understand
 the concentrated  eagerness and        
expectation which awaited each new      
achievement of that  small group of men 
upon whom the hope of the time had been 
set4 ,we did  not1 perhaps1 then quite  
realise that the revolution1 so far as  
they  were concerned1 was already       
complete1 and that what was to come was 
not destined to signalise any new or    
important development of what had       
already been accomplished4    ,millais1 

,holman ,hunt1 and ,rossetti1 the three 
men who stand as the  authentic founders
 of the pre-,raphaelite movement1 had   
all1 in the only  sense in which their  
names still stand in linked association1
 produced  the work by which they will  
be best remembered4 ,during the twenty  
years  that had passed since the        
movement took birth1 the output of these
  three men1 at first bitterly disputed 
and sometimes keenly resented1  was in a
 sense the best that any or all of them 
were destined to give  to the world--in 
a sense1 ,i say1 because their          
after-career1 whatever  new triumphs it 
proclaimed1 exhibited a partial         
desertion of the aims  which had held   
them in close comradeship during the    
brief season of  their youth4 ,it is    
probable that no three stronger or more 
distinct  personalities ever laboured in
 the pursuit of a common purpose2 and it
  was therefore inevitable that as the  
years passed they should each  assert in
 separate ways the widely divergent     

tendencies which at the  time ,i am     
speaking of were held in subjection to a
 common ideal4 ,but  when it is         
remembered what their combined efforts  
had already produced1  the result must  
stand1 ,i think1 as a record unmatched  
in the domain  of painting by any       
contemporary achievement in the art of  
,europe4  ,millais had painted and      
exhibited1 among many other and less    
notable  works1 8,the ,feast of         
,lorenzo10 8,the ,carpenter's ,shop10   
the 8,ophelia10  the 8,huguenot10 and   
the 8,blind ,girl02 ,holman ,hunt1 whose
 methods as  a painter were not         
calculated to win such ready acceptance1
 had none  the less firmly established  
his fame by his picture of the 8,light  
of  the ,world10 at first roundly       
denounced by most of the organs of      
public  opinion1 but in the end1 as much
 perhaps by reason of its intense       
religious sentiment as by its qualities 
of pure art1 achieving through  the     
advocacy of ,mr4 ,ruskin a settled place

 in public esteem2 and  ,rossetti1      
although during these years little or   
nothing had been shown  to the world1   
was already accepted by those of the    
inner circle who  were admitted to his  
confidence as the chief exponent of the 
spiritual  tendencies of the new        
movement4    ,in #ahgc1 when ,i first   
made the acquaintance of ,rossetti1 ,i  
knew more of  his verse than of his     
painting4 ,the first volume of his poems
 had been  before the world for nearly  
three years1 and it was hardly wonderful
  that the picturesque beauty of his    
writing1 with its occasional direct     
reference to paintings and designs of   
his own1 should have stirred  within me 
an eager curiosity to make acquaintance 
with the pictures  themselves4 ,it      
happened about this time that ,i gained 
access to the  small but choice         
collection of ,mr4 ,rae of ,birkenhead1 
which contained  several of the most    
beautiful of ,rossetti's works2 and     
filled with  admiration of what ,i had  

seen1 ,i had written1 over the signature
 of  ,ignotus1 an article in one of the 
daily papers containing an incomplete   
but enthusiastic appreciation of        
,rossetti's powers4 ,searching where ,i 
could1 ,i afterwards made myself        
acquainted with some of his designs in  
black and white2 but still eager for a  
wider knowledge of a man whose  poetic  
invention had laid so strong a hold upon
 me1 ,i ventured to  address myself     
directly to the recluse of ,cheyne      
,walk1 praying that if  he could see his
 way to grant my request ,i might be    
permitted to visit  his studio4 ,from   
that time our acquaintance began4 ,his  
letter in reply  to mine1 wherein ,i had
 mentioned a project then in my mind of 
enlarging  my brief essay so as to make 
it more worthy of its subject1 already  
revealed to me some part of that        
reticent side of his nature which our   
later friendship helped me the better to
 understand4    8,my youth10 he wrote to
 me1 8was spent chiefly in planning and 

designing1 and whether ,i shall still   
have time to do anything ,i cannot      
tell40 ,and then1 in conclusion1 he     
added3 8,as to what you ask me about    
views connected with my work1 ,i never  
had any theories on the subject1  or    
derived1 as far as a painter may say so1
 suggestions of style or  tendency from 
any source save my own natural impulse40
    ,this letter1 dated1 as ,i have     
said1 in #ahgc1 shows how little an     
artist  may be aware what part of his   
life's work is destined to constitute   
his  enduring title to fame4 ,still     
eagerly looking forward1 he had already 
produced the work by which he will be   
best remembered1 for although  in years 
a young man--he was not more than       
forty-five at the time of  our first    
acquaintance--his progress as a painter 
was not afterwards  destined to record  
any notable development4 8,beata        
,beatrix10 8,the  ,loving ,cup10 8,the  
,beloved10 the 8,monna ,vanna10 the     
8,blue ,bower10 and  the 8,lady ,lilith0

 already stood to his credit1 besides   
the series of  water-colours1 including 
8,paolo and ,francesca10 and the        
beautiful  pen-and-ink design of        
8,cassandra40    ,the room into which ,i
 was shown on the occasion of my first  
visit to  ,cheyne ,walk came to seem to 
me as aptly characteristic of the man4  
,it  offered few or none of the ordinary
 features of a studio1 and in its  array
 of books around the walls spoke rather 
of the man of letters than  of the      
painter2 and the careless disposition of
 the simple furniture1  though it bore  
some tokens of the newer fashion        
introduced by ,william  ,morris and     
,rossetti himself1 made no very serious 
appeal on the score  of deliberate      
decoration4 ,it was obviously the       
painter's living room  as well as his   
workshop1 and as ,i came to know it     
afterwards1 remains  associated in my   
mind with many long evenings of vivid   
and fascinating  talk1 in which         
,rossetti roamed at will over the fields

 of literature  and art4 ,but the thing 
that at once took me by surprise on that
 first  visit was the masculine and     
energetic personality of the man        
himself4    ,from what ,i knew of his   
persistent seclusion1 and in part1 also1
 from  what ,i had gleaned from the     
subtle and delicate qualities expressed 
both in his painting and in his poetry1 
,i was prepared to find in  their author
 a man of comparatively frail physique  
and of subdued  and retiring address4   
,nothing could be less like the reality 
that  confronted me on that ,may        
afternoon1 as he stood beside his easel 
at  work upon the picture before him4   
,it was not till much later1 and then   
only by indications half-consciously    
conveyed1 that ,i recaptured the        
picture of ,rossetti as ,i had first    
found it reflected in his verse  and in 
his painting4 ,little by little1 as ,i  
got to know him better1  ,i realised    
that my fancied image of him did indeed 
mirror qualities  that lay deeply       

resident in his character2 but at the   
first encounter  it was the dominating  
strength and vigour of his intellect and
 the  overpowering influence of a       
personality rich in varied sympathies1  
that  struck itself in vivid outline    
upon the imagination of the observer4   
,as our intercourse and our friendship  
advanced1 it was easy enough to         
comprehend the source of that potent    
spell which he wielded over all  who    
came within the sphere of his influence4
 ,without any reservation1 ,i  may say  
of him that he was beyond comparison the
 most inspiring talker  with whom ,i    
have ever been brought into contact3    
certainly the most  inspiring to a      
youth1 for his conversation1 although it
 sought no set  phrase of eloquence1    
flowed in a stream that was             
irresistible2 and  yet so quick was his 
appreciation and so keen his sympathy   
that the  youngest man of the company   
could always draw from him encouragement
  to speak without fear upon any theme  

that sincerely engaged him4 ,i  have    
heard him sometimes 8gore and toss0     
without mercy any one who  ventured to  
enter the debate with an empty ambition 
of display4 ,of  insincerity of view1 of
 any mere flimsy preciousness or        
prettiness  of phrase1 he was always    
impatiently intolerant2 but he was      
equally  quick to recognise and to      
welcome a thought truly held and        
modestly  stated4 ,at such times his    
ready power of evoking a full and       
fearless  statement of what even the    
most insignificant of his visitors had  
to  say was scarcely less inspiring than
 the rich and rounded tones of his  own 
voice1 as it glowed in enthusiastic     
appreciation of some worshipped  hero in
 the field of art or letters4 ,and      
though his work owns to a  concentration
 and intensity of purpose that would    
seem sometimes to  imply a corresponding
 narrowness of vision1 it was in his    
work only  that such a limited outlook  
could be said to be characteristic of   

the  man4    ,that he dwelt by          
preference on the imaginative side of   
life1 and  chiefly chose for eulogy     
achievements in which the imagination   
was  the dominating factor1 is          
unquestionably true2 but his taste      
within  the wide limits of the region he
 had explored was catholic and          
comprehensive to a degree that ,i have  
not known equalled by any of  his       
contemporaries4 ,and lest this should   
seem an exaggerated estimate  of the man
 as ,i knew him then1 ,i may here quote 
the testimony of  others who stood      
nearer to him than ,i did4              
,burne-,jones1 his pupil and  disciple1 
wrote long afterwards3 8,towards other  
men's ideas he was  decidedly the most  
generous man ,i ever knew4 ,no one so   
threw himself  into the ideas of the    
other men2 but it was part of his       
enormous  imagination4 ,the praises he  
had first lavished upon me1 had ,i not  
had  any inborn grains of modesty1 would
 have been enough to turn my head       

altogether40 ,and at another time he    
wrote3 8,what ,i chiefly gained from    
him was not to be afraid of myself1 and 
to do the thing ,i liked most2  but in  
those first years ,i only wanted to     
think as he did1 and all  he did and    
said fitted me through and through4 ,he 
never harangued or  persuaded2 he had a 
gift of saying things authoritatively1  
such as ,i  have never heard in any     
man40    ,but there is1 indeed1 no surer
 testimony to the magic of his          
personality than is betrayed in the     
restive spirit with which his two       
comrades of those earlier days          
endeavoured afterwards to assert their  
independence of his influence4 ,both    
,sir ,john ,millais and ,mr4 ,holman    
,hunt1 in their later life1 went out of 
their way to try to prove to  the world 
that the pre-,raphaelite movement would 
have been in no way  changed in its     
direction if ,rossetti had not been one 
of the original  group4 ,i often talked 
with ,millais on this subject1 and it   

was easy to  perceive that he harboured 
something almost of resentment at the   
bare  suggestion that the direction of  
his art was in any sense due to the     
example or teaching of ,rossetti2 and of
 the ,millais of later years1  who had  
partly discarded the poetic impulses of 
his youth1 it may be  readily conceded  
that he owed nothing to the man whose   
art1 whether in  its splendour or in its
 decay1 was governed always by the      
spirit of  imaginative design4    ,and  
equally of ,holman ,hunt who1 in his two
 long volumes1 has  so laboriously and  
so needlessly laboured to vindicate his 
own  independence1 it may be admitted   
without reservation that his kinship    
with the spirit in which ,rossetti      
worked was transient and almost         
accidental4 ,but it remains1            
nevertheless1 unquestionably true that  
during that brief season of close       
comradeship1 the supremacy of           
,rossetti's genius is very clearly      
reflected in the work of both4 ,the     

aftergrowth of talents as great as--and 
in some respects greater  than--his1 led
 each of these men into ways of ,art    
that owned1 it may be  freely confessed1
 no obligation to ,rossetti2 and of the 
rich gifts of  ,millais as a painter1   
extraordinary in their precocity and    
developed in  increasing power almost to
 the end of his career1 no one could    
exhibit  keener or truer appreciation   
than ,rossetti himself4 ,i recall on one
 of  those nights in ,cheyne ,walk with 
what power and fulness of expression  he
 paid willing homage to ,millais'       
genius4 8,since painting began10  he    
said1 8,i do not believe there has ever 
been a man more greatly  endowed40 ,and 
then he went on to speak with genuine   
humility of his own  many shortcomings  
in technical accomplishment1 wherein he 
admitted that  ,millais stood as the    
unchallenged master of his time4        
,rossetti was the kindest1 but most     
careless1 of hosts1 and the many  little
 dinners at which ,i was permitted to be

 a guest always had about  them         
something of the air of improvisation4  
,of the actual details of  the feast1   
from a culinary point of view1 he seemed
 to take little  heed1 and there was    
something quaint and humorous in the way
 in which1  at the head of his table1 he
 would attack the fowl or joint that    
happened to be set before him1 lunging  
at it with the carving knife  and fork  
almost as if it were an armoured foe who
 had challenged him  to mortal combat4  
,i remember on one of those occasions an
 incident  occurred that showed in      
striking fashion the quick warmth of his
 heart  at the sudden call of           
friendship4 ,we were in the midst of    
cheeriest  converse4 ,fred ,leyland1 one
 of his staunchest and earliest patrons1
  was of the company1 when the news came
 by special messenger that young        
,oliver ,madox ,brown was stricken with 
serious illness4 ,it chanced that  we   
had been talking of the young man's     
youthful essays1 both in art and  in    

literature1 and ,rossetti had spoken in 
almost exaggerated praise  of the       
promise they displayed1 when the letter 
was handed to him4 ,he  remained silent 
for a moment1 though it was easy to see 
by the working  of his face that he was 
deeply distressed4 8,brown is my oldest 
friend10  he said4 8,his boy is ill1 and
 ,i must go to him2 but that need not   
break  the evening for you40 ,and then1 
without any added word of farewell1 he  
left us where we sat1 and in a moment we
 heard the street door close1  and we   
knew that he had gone4 ,for a time we   
lingered over the table1  but ,cheyne   
,walk was no longer itself without the  
presence of its host4  ,we passed into  
the studio1 where ,rossetti was wont to 
coil himself up  on the sofa in         
preparation for long hours of talk1 and 
we felt as by  common consent that the  
evening was at an end4    ,the          
circumstance was slight enough in       
itself1 but ,i remember feeling  afresh 
how magical and inspiring was the spell 

he exercised over us  all1 and ,i little
 realised then that this friendship with
 ,rossetti1  which had proved so        
powerful a factor in moulding the       
intellectual  tendencies of my own life1
 was not destined much longer to endure4
 ,for  a time1 indeed1 the old welcome  
always awaited me1 but after a time ,i  
thought ,i detected a certain reserve   
and restraint in our intercourse  which 
,i was unable to explain4 ,a little     
later those longed-for  invitations to  
dine at ,cheyne ,walk ceased altogether1
 and once or  twice when ,i called the  
studio door1 always open to me          
heretofore1 was  closed1 on the excuse  
that the painter was too busily engaged4
 ,it was  not1 indeed1 until after his  
death1 that ,i learnt from his truest   
and  most trusted friend the cause of   
our alienation4    ,rossetti1 although  
he never exposed his own pictures to    
public  criticism1 was1 like every      
artist who has ever lived1 eager for the
  praise of those whose praise he       

valued2 and his nature1 already grown   
morbid under the stress of influences   
that were undermining his  health1 was  
not without an element of jealousy that 
seemed strangely  inconsistent with the 
tribute he could on many an occasion    
offer to  the work of others4 ,he saw   
but little of ,burne-,jones in those    
days1  but he knew that ,i saw him      
often4 ,he knew1 also1 from my published
  criticism1 that ,i was strongly       
attracted to his genius1 and although ,i
  have heard ,rossetti himself speak of 
his pupil and follower in terms of      
laudation that could not be surpassed1  
the thought1 as ,i learnt later1  had   
already begun to poison his mind that my
 allegiance to himself had  suffered    
diminution2 and he frankly confessed to 
the friend from whom  little in his life
 was hidden that my presence in ,cheyne 
,walk became to  him1 for this reason1 a
 source of irritation1 which1 in the    
condition  of his health1 he was unable 
to endure4    ,such flaws in a nature so

 splendidly endowed count for nothing in
  remembrance of the picture of him that
 remains to me as ,i first knew  him in 
the plenitude of his intellectual       
powers4 ,for a time it seemed  as if the
 great movement at the head of which his
 name must enduringly  remain was likely
 to suffer eclipse4 ,the taste of later 
years had taken  an entirely different  
direction1 and the ideals which the     
small band he  led had striven so       
manfully to recapture from a renewed    
study of nature  and a finer            
understanding of the artistic           
achievements of the past  appeared to   
have sunk into oblivion4 ,it was        
therefore a delight to find  in ,rome in
 the spring of two years ago how        
enthusiastic was the welcome  accorded  
to a man who1 while he ranks so high    
among ,english painters1  owned in his  
veins the blood of ,italy and from whose
 painters1 at that  bewitching season   
when the spirit of the ,renaissance was 
in its youth1  he had drawn the         

inspiration which was destined to kindle
 his own  genius4          ,,edward     
,,burne-,,jones      8,i think ,morris's
 friendship began everything for me2    
everything that ,i  afterwards cared    
for2 we were freshmen together at       
,exeter4 ,when ,i left  ,oxford ,i got  
to know ,rossetti1 whose friendship ,i  
sought and obtained4  ,he is1 you know1 
the most generous of men to the young4  
,i couldn't bear  with a young man's    
dreadful sensitiveness and conceit as he
 bore with  mine4 ,he taught me         
practically all ,i ever learnt2         
afterwards ,i made  a method for myself 
to suit my nature4 ,he gave me courage  
to commit  myself to imagination without
 shame--a thing both bad and good for   
me4  ,it was ,watts1 much later1 who    
compelled me to try and draw better4    
8,i quarrel now with ,morris about ,art4
 ,he journeys to ,iceland1 and ,i to    
,italy--which is a symbol--and ,i       
quarrel1 too1 with ,rossetti4 ,if ,i    
could  travel backwards ,i think my     

heart's desire would take me to         
,florence in  the time of ,botticelli40 
,so ,burne-,jones wrote of himself more 
than forty years ago4 ,it chanced  ,i   
had just then written a series of papers
 on living ,english painters2  and1 with
 the thought of their re-publication1   
had asked him for  some particulars of  
his earlier career4 ,the scheme1 ,i     
remember1 was  never carried into       
effect2 but his answer to my inquiry1   
from which ,i  have drawn this          
interesting fragment of autobiography1  
served as the  beginning of a long      
friendship that was interrupted only by 
death4    ,in those boyish essays of    
mine there was1 as ,i now see1 not a    
little  of that quality of youthful     
conceit that could never1 ,i think1 have
  entered very largely into his         
composition2 and if ,i recall them now  
with any sort of gratification1 it is   
mainly because they included an         
enthusiastic appreciation of so much as 
was then known to me of the  work of    

,rossetti and ,burne-,jones4 ,of        
,rossetti's art ,i have already  spoken1
 and perhaps the time has not yet       
arrived to record a final  verdict upon 
the worth of his achievement as a       
painter4 ,i have also  sought to        
indicate how irresistible in my own case
 was the influence  of his strongly     
marked personality1 an influence which  
enabled me the  more readily to         
understand how deep may have been the   
debt that is  here so generously        
acknowledged4 ,in this matter the       
witness of his  contemporaries is       
irrefutable4 ,even though posterity     
should not accord  to him the unstinted 
praise bestowed upon his art by those   
who then  accepted him as a master1 no  
later judgment can dispute or disturb   
the  authority he exercised over those  
who came within the sphere of his       
personal fascination4    ,little wonder 
then that to the dream-fed soul of the  
younger painter1  whose art as yet      
lacked the means to fix in form and     

colour the  thronging visions that must 
have already crowded his brain1 the     
friendship of such a man must have      
seemed a priceless possession2 and      
although1 with the patient and gradual  
assertion of ,burne-,jones's            
individuality1 their ways in the world  
of ,art divided1 yet even in that  later
 day each knew well how to measure the  
worth of the other4 ,of what  was       
highest and noblest in the art of       
,rossetti1 no praise ever outran  the   
praise offered by ,burne-,jones to the  
man he had sought and owned  as his     
master2 and ,i can recall an evening in 
,cheyne ,walk more than  forty years    
ago1 when there fell from the lips of   
,rossetti the most  generous tribute ,i 
have ever heard to the genius of the    
painter who  was still his disciple4    
8,if1 as ,i hold10 he said1 in those    
round and  ringing tones that seemed at 
once to invite and to defy              
contradiction1  8the noblest picture is 
a painted poem1 then ,i say that in the 

whole  history of ,art there has never  
been a painter more greatly gifted than 
,burne-,jones with the highest qualities
 of poetical invention40 ,here we  have 
praise indeed2 but there is at least one
 painter1 he whose long  life still kept
 the stainless record of unswerving     
loyalty to a noble  ideal1 to whom also 
,burne-,jones has here owned his        
indebtedness1 who  would1 ,i believe1   
have accepted and endorsed even such a  
judgment as  this4 ,and if an artist's  
fame lives most sweetly1 most securely1 
in the  regard of his fellows1 who could
 ask aught higher of the living or the  
dead of our times1 than that the award  
of ,rossetti should be confirmed  and   
enforced by the painter of 8,love and   
,death08    8,a picture is a painted    
poem40 ,upon that ,rossetti never tired 
of  insisting4 8,those who deny it10 he 
used to add in his vehement way1  8are  
simply men who have no poetry in their  
composition40 ,we know  there are many  
who deny it1--many1 indeed1 who think it

 savours of the  rankest heresy2 for    
herein1 as they would warn us1 lurks the
 insidious  poison of 8the literary     
idea40 ,nor can such warning ever be    
without  its uses4 ,the literary idea1  
it must be owned1 has often played sad  
havoc in the domain of art4 ,much1 both 
in painting and sculpture that  the     
world has rightly forgotten or would    
fain forget1 found the source  of its   
failure in misguided loyalty to a       
literary ideal2 much even  that survives
 still claims a spurious dignity from   
its fortuitous  attachment to an        
imaginative conception that had never   
been rightly  subdued to the service of 
,art4    ,but though the warning be     
timely1 the definition which it         
confronts is  not on that account to be 
lightly dismissed4 ,it is true1 as      
,rossetti  stoutly maintained1 and must 
ever remain true1 of all men who have   
poetry in their nature4 ,it was true1   
from the beginning of his career  to its
 close1 of the art of ,burne-,jones4    

,from 8,the ,merciful ,knight0 to  the  
unfinished 8,avalon10 wherein1 as it    
would seem1 he had designed to  give us 
all that was most winning in the        
brightly-coloured dreams of  youth1     
combined with all that was richest in   
the gathered resources  of maturity1 his
 every picture was a painted poem4 ,nay1
 more1 every  drawing from his hand1    
every fragment of design1 each patient  
study  of leaf or flower or drapery1 has
 in it something of that imaginative    
impulse which controls and informs the  
completed work4 ,i have lately  been    
turning over the leaves of some of those
 countless books of  studies he has left
 behind him1 studies which prove with   
what untiring  and absorbing industry he
 approached every task he had set       
himself to  accomplish4 ,and yet1       
amongst them all1 of mere studies there 
are none4  ,again and again he went back
 to nature1 but ever under the          
compelling  impulse of an idea1 always  
taking with him an integral part of what

 he  came to capture4 ,that unprejudiced
 inspection of the facts of nature      
which1 in the preliminary stages of     
their work1 may content those who  are  
moved by a keener and colder spirit of  
scientific research1 he had  not the    
will1 he had not the power to make4 ,for
 every force carries  with it its own   
limitation2 nor would it ever have been 
his boast that  nature owned no more    
than she was fain to yield to him4 ,if1 
then1 with  unwearied application he was
 constantly re-seeking the support of   
nature1 it was with a purpose so frankly
 confessed1 that even in the  presence  
of the model the sense of mere          
portraiture is already seen to  be      
passing under the dominion of the idea4 
,at their first encounter the  artist's 
invention asserts its authority over his
 subject2 and not all  the allurements  
of individual face or form which to men 
of a different  temperament are often   
all-sufficing1 could find or leave him  
unmindful  of the single purpose that   

filled his mind and guided all the work 
of  his hand4    ,it is this which gives
 to the drawings of ,burne-,jones their 
extraordinary charm and fascination4 ,he
 who possesses one of these  pencil     
studies has something more than a leaf  
torn from an artist's  sketch-book4 ,he 
has in the slightest of them a fragment 
that images  the man3 that is compact of
 all the qualities of his art2 and that 
reveals his ideal as surely as it       
interprets the facts upon which  he was 
immediately engaged4 ,and yet we see in 
them how strenuously1  how resolutely1  
he set himself to wring from nature the 
vindication  of his own design4 ,there  
is no realist of them all who looked    
more  persistently at life1 who spared  
himself so little where patient labour  
might serve to perfect what he had in   
his mind to do2 and if the  treasure he 
bore away still left a rich store for   
others1 it is because  the house of     
beauty holds many mansions1 and no man  
can hope to inhabit  them all4    8,a   

picture is a painted poem40 ,like all   
definitions that pass the  limits of    
barren negation it contains only half a 
truth4 ,like most  definitions forged by
 men of genius it is chiefly valuable as
 a  confession of faith4 ,there is a    
long line of artists to whom1 save in  a
 forced and figurative sense1 it has no 
kind of relevancy4 ,and they  boast a   
mighty company4 ,flanders and ,spain    
serve under their banner4  ,rubens and  
,velasquez1 ,vandyck and ,franz ,hals1  
aye1 and at no unworthy  distance1 our  
own ,reynolds and ,gainsborough are to  
be counted among  the leaders of their  
host4 ,and long before the first of     
these men had  arisen1 the tradition    
they acknowledged had been firmly       
established4 ,it  was ,venice that gave 
it birth4 ,venice1 where not even the   
commanding  influence of ,mantegna could
 hold back the flowing tide of          
naturalism  that rose under the spell of
 ,titian's genius4 ,out of his art1     
which  contained them both1 came those  

twin currents of portraiture and        
landscape that were destined to supply  
all that was vital in the after         
development of painting in ,europe4 ,all
 that was vital2 for though  ,religion  
and ,allegory1 ,history and ,symbol1    
still played their formal  part in many 
a grandiose and rhetorical design1 these
 things were no  longer of the essence  
of the achievement4 ,to the painters who
 employed  them1 nature itself was      
already all-absorbing4 ,the true poetry 
of  their work1 whatever other claims it
 may seem to advance1 resides in  the   
mastery of the craftsman2 it cannot be  
detached from the markings  of the brush
 that give it life and being4 ,to wring 
from nature its  countless harmonies of 
tone and colour1 to seize and interpret 
the  endless subtleties of individual   
form and character--these are the       
ideals that have inspired and have      
satisfied many of the greatest  painters
 the world has produced4 ,who then shall
 say that ,art has need  of any other1  

any wider ambition8    ,and yet1 as ,i  
have said1 the house of beauty has so   
many mansions  that no single ideal can 
furnish them all4 ,nature is prodigal to
  those who worship her2 there is fire  
for every altar truly raised  in her    
service4 ,and so it happened that while 
,venice was perfecting  a tradition     
destined for many a generation to sway  
the schools of  ,northern ,europe1 there
 had risen and fallen at ,florence a    
race of  artists1 such as the world had 
not seen before and may haply not see   
again1 who had asked of ,nature a       
different gift1 and had won another     
reward4 ,that imperishable series of    
8painted poems0 which had been  first   
lisped in the limpid accents of ,giotto1
 had found their final  utterance in the
 perfected dialect of ,michael ,angelo4 
,in the years that  intervened many     
hands had tilled the field2 many a      
harvest had been  gathered in3 but so   
rich had been the yield that the land   
perforce lay  fallow at the last2 and   

when ,michael ,angelo died1 ,florence   
had nothing  to bequeath that the temper
 of the time was fit to inherit4        
,from that day almost to our own the    
ideal of the ,florentine painters  has  
slept the sleep of ,arthur in ,avalon4  
,those who from time to time  have      
sought to recapture their secret have   
gone in their quest1 not to  the source1
 but to the sea4 ,they have tried to    
begin where ,lionardo1  ,raphael1 and   
,michael ,angelo left off2 to repeat in 
poorer phrase what  had been said once  
and for all in language that needed no  
enlargement1  that would suffer no      
translation4 ,they made the mistake of  
thinking  that the forms and modes of   
art are separable things1 independent   
of its essence2 that the coinage moulded
 by the might of individual  genius     
could be imported and adopted as common 
currency2 and so even  the most gifted  
of them carried away only the last      
faltering message  of a style already   
waning and outworn4 ,to look only to the

 painters of  our own land1 we know well
 what disaster waited upon men like     
,barry1  ,fuseli1 and ,haydon in their  
hapless endeavours to recover the graces
  of the grand style2 and even          
,reynolds1 though he never wearied in   
praise of ,michael ,angelo1 was drawn by
 a surer instinct as to his own  powers 
into a field of ,art that owed nothing  
to the great ,florentine4  ,a truer     
perception of what was needed1 and of   
what was possible1 in  order to revive a
 feeling for the almost forgotten art of
 design1 came  in a later time1 and was 
due1 as ,i have always thought1 mainly  
to the  initiative of ,rossetti4 ,not   
because he stood alone in the demand for
  a more searching veracity of          
interpretation2 that was also the urgent
  cry of men whose native gifts were    
widely different from his1 men like  the
 young ,millais1 who owned and paid only
 a passing allegiance to the  purely    
poetic impulse which youth grants to    
all1 and age saves only for  a few1 and 

then sped onwards to claim the rich     
inheritance that awaited  him in quite  
another world of ,art4 ,but if this new 
worship of nature  was indeed at the    
time a passion common to them all1 yet  
amongst  them all ,rossetti stands      
pre-eminent1 if not absolutely alone1 in
 his  endeavour to rescue from the      
traditions of the past1 and to refashion
  according to present needs1 a language
 that might aptly render the  visions of
 legend and romance4    ,and this in a  
larger and wider sense became afterwards
 the mission of  ,burne-,jones4 ,this   
was his life-work--to find fitting      
utterance in line  and colour for dreams
 of beauty that in ,england at least had
 till now  been shaped only in verse4   
,and to accomplish his task he was      
driven1  as he has said1 to make a      
method to suit his own nature4 ,the     
surviving  traditions of style could    
avail him little1 for he already        
possessed by  right of birth a secret   
long lost to them4 ,with him there never

 was any  question of grafting the      
perfected flower of one art upon the    
barren  stem of another4 ,there1 and    
there only1 lurks the peril of the      
literary  idea4 ,but it could have had  
no terrors for him1 who from the outset 
of his career submitted himself1 as by  
instinct1 to the essential  conditions  
of the medium in which he worked1 moving
 easily in those  shackles which make of
 every art either an empire or a prison4
 ,of the  visions that came to him he   
took only what was his by right1 leaving
  untouched and unspoiled all that the  
workers in another realm might  justly  
claim as theirs4 ,every thought1 every  
symbol1 as it passed the  threshold of  
his imagination1 struck itself into     
form2 he saw life and  beauty in no     
other way4 ,there was no laboured       
process of translation1  for his spirit 
lived in the language of design2 but    
labour there must  have been1 and1 as we
 know1 there was1 in perfecting an      
instrument that  had been so long       

disused4 ,to be sure of his way he had  
to seek again  the path where it had    
been first marked out by men of like    
ambitions  to his own2 and it was by    
innate kinship of ideas1 not by any     
forced  affectation of archaic form1    
that at the outset of his career he     
found  himself following in the         
footsteps of the painters of an earlier 
day4    8,if ,i could travel backwards  
,i think my heart's desire would take me
  to ,florence in the time of           
,botticelli40 ,it was by no accident    
that he  chose this one name among many1
 for of all the painters of his school  
,botticelli's art asserts the closest1  
the most affectionate attachment  to the
 ideas which gave it birth4 ,others     
could be cited whose work  bears the    
stamp of a deeper religious conviction2 
others again whose  technical mastery   
was more complete1 who could boast a    
readier command  of the mere graces of  
decoration4 ,but he was the poet of them
 all4  ,for him1 more than for all the  

rest of his fellows1 the beauty of the  
chosen legend exercised the most        
constant1 the most supreme authority4   
,it was the source of his invention and 
the dominating influence which  guided  
every subtle detail of his design4 ,it  
made his art1 as it formed  and         
controlled all the processes of his art1
 leaving the indelible  record of       
individual and personal feeling upon the
 delicate beauty of  every face that he 
pressed into his service4 ,it is not    
wonderful then  that the poet-painter of
 our day should have recognised with    
almost  passionate sympathy the genius  
of the earlier master1 or that he should
  sometimes have travelled backwards in 
spirit to the city wherein he  dwelt2   
and if that longer journey upon which he
 has now set forth  should lead him not 
to ,florence1 who is there who shall    
declare that he  may not have met with  
,botticelli by the way8    ,it is no    
part of my present purpose to offer any 
laboured vindication  of the art of     

,burne-,jones4 ,that is not needed now4 
,the generous  appreciation of a wider  
circle has long ago overtaken the praise
 of  those who first gave him welcome2  
and for others who have yet to learn    
the secret of his influence1 the fruit  
of his life's labour is there  to speak 
for itself4 ,but in the presence of work
 that is clearly  marked off from so    
much else produced in our time1 it may  
be well  to ask ourselves what are the  
qualities we have a right to demand1    
what1 on the other hand1 are the        
limitations we may fitly concede to  a  
painter whose special ambition is so    
frankly avowed4 ,for there is  no       
individual and there is no school whose 
claims embrace all the  secrets of      
nature1 whose practice exhausts all the 
resources of art4  ,to combine the      
design of ,michael ,angelo with the     
colouring of ,titian  was a task that   
lay not merely beyond the powers of a   
,tintoret4 ,it  is an achievement       
impossible in itself2 and even could we 

suppose it  possible1 it would be       
destructive and disastrous4 ,titian had 
design1  but its qualities were of right
 and need subordinated to the dominant  
control of his colour2 ,michael ,angelo 
used colour1 but it served only  as the 
fitting complement of his design2 and   
although the result  achieved by both   
has the ring of purest metal1 there is  
no power on  earth that can suffice to  
fuse the two4 ,these two names1 we may  
say1  stand as the representatives of   
opposite ideals1 which have been fixed  
and separated by laws that are elemental
 and enduring2 and if between  these    
ideals--leaning on the one hand towards 
symbolism1 on the other  towards        
illusion--the pendulum of art is for    
ever swaying1 this at  least we know1   
that it can never halt midway4    ,and  
between these ideals ,burne-,jones made 
no hesitating choice4 ,for  him1 from   
the outset of his career1 design was all
 in all1 and the  forms and colours of  
the real world were in their essence    

only so many  symbols that he employed  
for the expression of an idea4 ,his     
chosen  types of face and form are      
fashioned and subdued to bear the       
message  of his own individuality4 ,no  
art was ever more personal in its aim1  
or1 to borrow an image of literature1   
more lyrical in its direction4  ,the    
scheme in which he chose to work did not
 admit of wide variety  of              
characterisation1 but for what is       
lacking here we have1 by way of         
compensation1 a certainty1 an intensity 
of vision that supplies its  own saving 
grace of vitality4 ,there is nothing of 
cold abstraction  or formal classicism4 
,though his art affects no mere         
transcript of  nature1 and can boast not
 all the allurements of nature1 yet     
nature  follows close at its heels2 and 
if the beauty he presents has been      
formed to inhabit a world of its own1   
remote from our actual world1  we are   
conscious none the less that he had     
fortified himself at every  step by     

reference to so much of life as he had  
the power or the will to  use4 ,and     
again we may see that while his mind was
 bent upon the poetic  beauty of        
,romantic legend1 he never suffered     
himself to depend upon  that merely     
scenic quality that seeks for mystery in
 vague suggestion  or uncertain         
definition4 ,his design1 whatever the   
theme upon which  it is engaged1 has the
 simplicity1 the directness of          
conviction4 ,he  needs no rhetoric to   
enforce his ideas4 ,all that he sees is 
clearly  and sharply seen1 with         
something of a child's wondering vision1
 with  something also of the            
unsuspecting faith and fearless         
familiarity of a  child4    ,and1 as    
with his design1 so also with his       
colour4 ,he worked in both at  a        
measured distance from reality1 never   
passing beyond the limits he  had       
assigned to himself1 and using only so  
much of illusion as seemed  needful for 
the illustration of his idea4 ,the      

accidents of light and  shade1 with     
their infinite varieties of tint and    
tone1 which yield a  special charm to   
work differently inspired1 were not of  
his seeking4  ,he would indeed1 on      
occasion1 so narrow his palette as to   
give to the  result little more than the
 effect of sculptured relief2 he could  
equally1 when so minded1 range and order
 upon his canvas an assemblage  of the  
most brilliant hues that nature offers4 
,but in either case he  employed what he
 had chosen always with a specific      
purpose--for the  enrichment of his     
design1 not for any mere triumph of     
imitation4 ,few  will deny to the       
painter of the ,chant d',amour and ,laus
 ,veneris  the native gift of a         
colourist1 but we may recognise in both 
these  examples1 and1 indeed1 in all he 
has left us1 that the painter disposes  
his colours as a jeweller uses his gems4
 ,they are locked and guarded in  the   
golden tracery that surrounds and       
combines them4 ,and they may not        

overrun their setting1 for to him1 as to
 all whose genius is governed  by the   
spirit of design1 the setting is even   
more precious than the  stone4    ,these
 qualities of ,burne-,jones's art are   
not peculiar to him4 ,they  find their  
warrant1 as we have seen1 in all the    
work of that earlier  school to which he
 loved to own his obligation4 ,but they 
were strange  to the time in which he   
first appeared2 and to their presence1  
,i think1  must be ascribed no small    
part of the hostility he then           
encountered4  ,something1 no doubt1 was 
due to the immaturity of resource which 
marked  his earlier efforts4 ,and he    
knew that4 ,at a time when his          
imagination  had already ripened1 he was
 but poorly equipped in a purely        
technical  sense2 and although there is 
no education so rapid as that which     
genius  bestows upon itself1 it was long
 before his hand could keep pace with   
the pressing demands of the ideas that  
called for interpretation4 ,but  apart  

from mere technical failure1 there was  
in his own individuality1  and still    
more in the means which he recognised as
 the only means that  could rightly     
serve him1 not a little that was sure of
 protest from a  generation to whom both
 were unfamiliar4 ,this also he well    
knew2 and  ,i think it was the clear    
perception of it which gave him patience
 and  courage to press forward to the   
goal4    ,and there were times when he  
had need of both4 ,the critics who saw  
in  his earlier efforts only the signs  
of affectation greeted him with         
ridicule4 ,we are reported a grave      
nation1 but laughter is a safe refuge   
for dulness that does not understand2   
and as there were few of the  comic     
spirits then engaged upon art criticism 
who had the faintest  apprehension of   
the ideal which inspired his art1 they  
found in it only  a theme for the       
exercise of a somewhat rough and        
boisterous humour4 ,but  they never     
moved him from his purpose2 never1 ,i   

think1 even provoked  in him any strong 
feeling of resentment4 ,his nature was  
too gentle for  that1 his strength of   
conviction too deep and too secure4 ,no 
one ever  possessed a larger quality of 
personal sympathy2 no one1 it might     
seem1  was on that account so much      
exposed to the influence of others4 ,and
 in  a sense this was so4 ,in the       
lighter traffic of life his spirit flew 
to the mood of the hour4 ,his           
appreciation was so quick1 his power of 
identifying himself with the thoughts   
and feelings of others so ready  and so 
real1 that he seemed at such moments to 
have no care to assert  his own         
personality4 ,nor had he2 for of all men
 he was surely the most  indifferent to 
those petty dues that greatness         
sometimes loves to  exact4 ,that was not
 the sort of homage he had any desire to
 win2 and as  he put forward no such    
poor claim on his own behalf1 his keen  
sense of  humour made him quick to      
detect in others the presence or        

assumption  of mere parochial dignity4  
,of that he was always intolerant2      
indeed1  ,i think there was scarcely any
 other human failing for which he could 
not find some measure of sympathy4 ,but 
although in the free converse of        
friends his spirit passed swiftly and   
easily from the gravest to the  lightest
 themes1 anxious1 as it would seem1     
rather to leap with the  lead of others 
than to assert his own individuality1 it
 was easy to see  how firmly1 how       
resolutely1 he refused all concession in
 matters that  concerned the deeper     
convictions of his life4 ,to touch him  
there was to  touch a rock4 ,behind the 
affectionate gentleness of his nature1  
that  was accessible to every winning   
influence1 lay a faith that nothing     
could shake or weaken4 ,it was never    
obtruded1 but it lay ready for all  who 
cared to make trial of it4 ,in its      
service he was prepared to make  all    
sacrifice of time and strength and      
labour4 ,his friends claimed  much of   

him1 and he yielded much2 generous both 
in act and thought1  there was probably 
no man of such concentrated purpose who 
ever placed  himself so freely at the   
service of those he loved2 but there was
 no  friend of them all who could boast 
of having won any particle of the       
allegiance that the artist owed to his  
art4 ,that was a world in which  he     
dwelt alone1 from which he rigorously   
excluded all thoughts save  those that  
were born of his task2 and though every 
artist has need of  encouragement1 and  
he certainly loved it not less than     
others1 yet such  was the tenacity of   
his purpose1 such a fund of obstinate   
persistence  lay at the root of a nature
 that was in many ways soft and         
yielding1  that even without it ,i think
 he would have laboured on patiently to 
the  end4    ,a mind so constituted was 
therefore little likely to yield to     
ridicule4  ,such attacks as he had to   
endure may have wounded1 but they did   
not  weaken his spirit2 and with a      

playful humour that would have surprised
  his censors1 he would sometimes affect
 to join the ranks of his  assailants1  
and wage a mock warfare upon his own    
ideals4 ,i have in my  possession a     
delightful drawing of his which is      
supposed to represent  a determination  
to introduce into his design a type of  
beauty that  was more acceptable to the 
temper of his time4 ,he had been        
diligently  studying1 as he assured me1 
the style and method of the great       
,flemish  masters1 and he sent me as    
earnest of his new resolve a charming   
design of 8,susanna and the             
,elders10--8after the manner of         
,rubens40  ,on another occasion he wrote
 to me that he felt he had striven too  
long to stem the tide of popular taste1 
that he was determined now  to make a   
fresh departure1 and that with this view
 he had projected  a series of pictures 
which were to be called the 8,homes of  
,england40  ,he enclosed for my         
sympathetic criticism the design for the

 first of  the series4 ,it was indeed a 
masterpiece4 ,upon a ,victorian sofa1   
whose  every hideous and bulging curve  
was outlined with the kind of intimate  
knowledge that is born only of love or  
of detestation1 lay stretched1  in      
stertorous slumber1 the monstrous form  
of some unchastened hero of  finance4 ,a
 blazing solitaire stud shone as a      
beacon in a trackless  field of         
shirt-front3 while from his puffy hand  
the sheets of a great  daily journal had
 fallen fluttering to the floor4 ,there 
were others of  the series1 but none1 ,i
 think1 which imaged with happier humour
 that  masculine type1 whose sympathies 
at the time he was so often charged     
with neglecting4    ,for it must not be 
forgotten that when ridicule had done   
its work1  ,burne-,jones was very       
seriously taken to task by 8the apostles
 of the  robust40 ,there are men so     
constituted that all delicate beauty    
seems to  move them to resentment2 men  
who would require of a lily that it     

should  be nurtured in a gymnasium2 and 
who go about the world constantly       
reassuring themselves of their own      
virility by denouncing what they        
conceive to be the effeminate weakness  
of others4 ,to this class the art  of   
,burne-,jones came in the nature of a   
personal offence4 ,they raged  against  
it1 warning their generation not to     
yield to its insidious  and enervating  
influence2 and the more it gathered     
strength the more  urgently did they    
feel impelled to insist on its inherent 
weakness4  ,but1 as ,shakespeare asked  
of us long ago3      ,how with this rage
 shall ,beauty hold a plea    ,whose    
action is no stronger than a flower8    
,they forgot that3 forgot that something
 of a feminine1 not an  effeminate      
spirit enters into the re-creation of   
all forms of beauty2  that an artist1 by
 the very nature of his task1 cannot    
always be in the  mood to pose as an    
athlete4 ,and1 even if they had desired 
to define  the special direction of     

,burne-,jones's art1 or to mark the     
limits of  its exercise--limits that no 
admirer1 however ardent1 would seek to  
deny--they need not surely have been so 
angry4    ,so at least it seemed to me  
then4 ,and yet1 rightly viewed1 the very
  vehemence of such opposition was in   
its own way a tribute to his  power4    
,any new artistic growth that passes    
without challenge may  perhaps be justly
 suspected of being produced without    
individuality1  and certainly such work 
as his1 that bears so clearly the stamp 
of a  strong individual presence1 could 
hardly escape a disputed welcome4  ,it  
must even now in a measure repel many of
 those whom it does not  powerfully     
attract and charm2 for it cannot be     
regarded with the sort  of indifference 
that is the fate of work less certainly 
inspired2 it  must therefore always find
 both friends and foes4 ,but so does    
much else  in the world of art that     
speaks with even higher authority than  
his4  ,there are many to whom the       

matchless spell of ,lionardo's genius   
remains  always an enigma2 many again   
who yield only a respectful assent to   
the  verdict which would set ,michael   
,angelo above all his fellows4    ,we   
may be patient1 then1 if the genius of  
,burne-,jones wins not yet the  applause
 of all4 ,it bears with it a special    
message1 and is secure  of homage from  
those for whom that message is written4 
,they are many  to-day1 who at the first
 numbered only a few3 they are many1 and
 ,i  think even the earliest of them    
would say that their debt to him was    
greatest at the last4 ,in praise and    
love they followed him without          
faltering to the close of a life that   
knew no swerving from its ideal2  a life
 of incessant labour spent in loyal     
service to the mistress  he worshipped2 
and even though he had won no wider     
reward1 this1 ,i  believe1 would have   
seemed to him enough4    ,painting is   
perhaps the only art which offers in its
 practice  opportunities of social      

converse4 ,the writer and musician work 
alone1  or1 if their solitude is        
invaded1 it is only by way of           
interruption4  ,but the practice of the 
painter's art admits a measure of       
comradeship1  and the progress of his   
work is sometimes even advanced rather  
than  hindered by the presence of a     
friend4 ,the element of manual labour   
that enters into painting leaves the    
painter free at many points of  his work
 to enjoy friendly converse with the    
visitor to his studio2  and ,i have     
known many an interesting discussion    
carried on for several  hours without   
the painter ceasing for a moment from   
his work upon  the canvas before him4   
,this might not apply to every stage in 
the  growth and structure of a picture4 
,there are times which demand entire    
concentration both of brain and hand1   
and when the painter needs to  be as    
solitary as the poet4 ,but these tenser 
moments yield to longer  intervals      
wherein the manual element in the       

painter's calling holds  for a season a 
more dominating place2 and it is at such
 times that an  intimate friend may     
safely invade the artist's sanctuary4   
,some of the most enjoyable hours of my 
life have been passed in  this intimacy 
of the studio1 and it is interesting to 
recall1 as  it was always interesting to
 note1 the different ways in which the  
individuality of the artist expresses   
itself in the processes of his          
work--interesting also to observe how   
the litter of the studio in its  varying
 degrees of disorder reflects something 
of the mind of the man4  ,there are     
studios which seem deliberately         
fashioned for an effect of              
beauty--rooms so ornate and so adorned1 
that the picture in progress  upon the  
easel seems the last thing calculated to
 arrest the gaze of  the spectator4 ,and
 there are others again1 so completely  
barren of  all decoration1 and so       
deliberately stripped of every incident 
in the  way of bric--brac or collected  

treasures1 of carven furniture or  woven
 tissue1 that were it not for the       
half-finished canvas1 it would  be      
impossible to guess the vocation of its 
inhabitant4 ,between these  two extremes
 there is room for every degree of      
careless or conscious  environment2 and 
although it is not always possible to   
define the exact  measure of association
 between the workman and his            
surroundings1 the  visitor becomes      
gradually aware of a certain element of 
fitness in the  seemingly accidental    
accumulation of the varied objects which
 find  their way into a painter's       
workshop4    ,it would certainly1       
however1 be erroneous to assume that the
 disorder  of the studio is to be taken 
as the direct reflex of the habit of an 
artist's mind4 ,no man1 in the conduct  
of his work1 ever surrendered  himself  
to a stricter discipline of labour than 
,burne-,jones1 though  his studio in    
many respects was a model of apparent   
disorder4 ,no man  certainly in his work

 ever aimed at a more settled and nicely
 balanced  beauty of design supported by
 deliberate harmonies of colour2 and yet
  the bare white-washed walls of his    
studio in the ,north ,end ,road gave no 
hint of the coloured glories of the     
invention that he was seeking to  fix   
upon his canvas2 while the litter that  
scattered the floor or was              
unceremoniously hustled into the corners
 of the room seemed strangely           
inconsistent with the ordered           
completeness of design that marked every
  picture from his hand4    ,there were 
few more delightful companions in the   
studio--none1  according to my          
experience1 whose talk leapt with such  
easy alertness  from the gravest to the 
gayest themes4 ,his almost child-like   
spirit  invited humour2 and yet his     
lightest moods of laughter left you     
never in doubt of the sense of deep     
conviction that lay at the root  of his 
character4 ,as he stood beside you at   
his work1 his figure  relieved against  

three or four half-completed designs1 it
 was  sometimes difficult to find the   
link which joined the lighter moods  of 
his comradeship with the wistful beauty 
of the faces that he  sought to image in
 his pictures4 ,but almost at the next  
moment the  difficulty would be solved  
by a sudden transition to a graver train
  of thought1 and before either of us   
would be well aware of the swift  change
 of tone1 our converse had wandered off 
to the consideration  of some larger    
ideal of art or life4 ,it was a unique  
attraction of  ,burne-,jones's studio   
that it nearly always contained a rich  
and varied  record of his work1 for the 
chosen method of his painting rendered  
it  necessary for him to keep several   
pictures in almost equal states of      
progress1 each being put aside in turn  
till the surface of pigment was  so     
fixed and hardened as to render it ready
 for the added layer of  colour which   
was to form the next stage in its       
progress4    ,very often on these       

occasions our talk was not directly     
concerned with  painting at all1 but    
strayed away into many worlds of the    
present or  the past4 ,as a painter     
every artist must stand or fall by his  
command  of the particular aspect of    
beauty which can be rendered by that    
art1  and by no other4 ,if a picture    
fails1 it is no excuse that its author  
is  a poet4 ,if a poet fails1 it is idle
 to plead in his defence that he is  an 
accomplished musician4 ,what added      
burdens of the spirit the worker  in any
 art chooses to carry1 concerns himself 
alone2 what concerns  the world is that 
the result--whatever other message it   
may undertake  to convey--must be       
perfect according to the laws of the    
medium he has  chosen4 ,in speaking1    
therefore1 of the deep poetic impulse   
that lay  at the back of all            
,burne-,jones's achievement in design1  
,i have no  thought of seeking to rest  
the reputation which he will ultimately 
hold upon any other considerations than 

those which are proper to the  field in 
which he laboured4 ,he has left enough1 
and more than enough1  to vindicate his 
high claim to rank among the masters of 
art1 but it  is certain1 none the less1 
that his profound interest in those     
other  fields of expression in which the
 imagination finds utterance1 gave him  
infinite charm as a man4    ,there was  
little lovable in literature that he did
 not keenly love1  though in regard to  
the literature of the past1 ,i think his
 heart  turned by preference to the     
legendary beauty of the earlier         
romances1  where the story1 freshly     
emerging from its mythical form1 may    
still  be captured with equal right of  
possession by the poet1 the musician1   
or the painter4 ,great drama1 even the  
drama of ,shakespeare1 never so         
strongly appealed to him2 and1 indeed1  
,i have always noticed in my            
companionship with painters that in     
their judgment of the work of the       
theatre what is most essentially        

dramatic in drama is not1 as a rule1    
that upon which their imagination most  
eagerly fixes itself4 ,and yet1  in the 
case of ,burne-,jones1 it was curious to
 observe that among the  narrative      
writers of our time the highly          
dramatised work of ,charles  ,dickens   
most strongly appealed to him4 ,for     
,dickens's genius1 its  pathos1 not less
 than its humour1 he owned an unbounded 
admiration2  and ,i suppose there were  
few of the worshippers of the great     
novelist1  except1 perhaps1 ,mr4        
,swinburne1 who could boast so full and 
so complete  a knowledge of his work4   
,the sense of humour1 which was a       
dominating  quality in the character of 
,burne-,jones1 could1 perhaps1 scarcely 
be surmised by those who know the man   
only through his painting4  ,his claims 
in this regard1 which could not be      
ignored by those who  knew him1 must    
always be received with a sense of      
surprise--even of  incredulity--by those
 to whom he was a stranger4 ,and yet1   

when he  was so minded1 his pencil could
 give proof of it in many essays in     
caricature2 while in conversation it was
 an ever-present quality that  lay in   
wait for the fit occasion4    ,when     
,burne-,jones spoke of his own art it   
was always with complete  understanding 
of its many and divergent ideals1 and ,i
 have heard him  appraise at its true   
value the genius of men with whom he    
himself had  little in common4 ,among   
his contemporaries he could speak with  
generous  appreciation of the great     
gifts of ,millais1 and of the           
acknowledged  masters of the past4      
,however little their ideals sorted with
 his own1  his power of appreciation was
 too liberal and too keen to permit him 
to  ignore or to belittle their claims  
though his heart's abiding-place  was as
 ,i have said with the ,florentines of  
the fifteenth century4    ,my visits to 
,burne-,jones's studio began very early 
in our acquaintance1  and the several   
errands which took me there varied as   

time went on4  ,while he was painting   
his picture of ,king ,cophetua1 he asked
 that my  eldest son--who was then a    
child--should be allowed to serve as    
model  for one of the heads in the      
picture4 ,i am afraid that1 like most   
children1 my boy gave some trouble to   
the master1 who one day rebuked  him as 
being an incorrigibly bad sitter1 and   
the boy1 who had been kept  standing    
during the whole of the morning1        
promptly replied with the  indignant    
inquiry as to whether ,burne-,jones     
called standing sitting--a  response    
that immensely delighted the painter    
himself1 who recognised  the justice of 
the claim by at once releasing him from 
further service  for the day4 ,at a     
later time ,i saw much of him in his    
studio while he  was designing the      
scenery and costumes for my play of     
,king ,arthur4 ,i  read him the play one
 afternoon while he was at work upon his
 own great  design of ,king ,arthur's   
sleep in ,avalon1 in the lower studio1  

which  stood at the foot of his garden2 
and the task1 which he straightway      
accepted1 of assisting in the production
 of the drama at the ,lyceum  ,theatre1 
led to many later meetings1 at which our
 talk turned  constantly on that great  
cycle of romance--one phase of which ,i 
had  sought to illustrate4    ,his own  
mind was steeped in their beauty1 as may
 be seen in his  constant recurrence to 
these legends as chosen subjects for his
 design1  and ,i fancy it was their     
common love for this subject in romance 
which  formed one of the strongest links
 of fellowship between himself and      
,william ,morris4 ,i have said that to  
,rossetti he always confessed his  deep 
obligations as an artist1 but there can1
 ,i think1 be little doubt  that of all 
living comrades it was ,morris whom he  
most loved4 ,though1  as he has himself 
confessed1 they had parted company in   
regard to some  of the problems that    
beset the artist1 in the graver issues  
of life1  no less than in the lighter   

moods of social comradeship1 they were  
at one to the end4 ,he told me that once
 in the earlier days of their           
association they had gone with ,charles 
,faulkner on a boating excursion  up the
 ,thames4 ,at that time ,morris was     
apprehensive that he was growing  too   
stout1 and at one of the river inns     
where they had to share the  same room  
the painter conceived the mischievous   
idea of unduly alarming  the poet as to 
his condition4 ,morris had retired      
earlier than the  others1 and was fast  
asleep1 when ,burne-,jones1 having      
procured a needle  and thread from the  
landlady1 took a large slice out of the 
lining  of his companion's waistcoat1   
and then sewed the two sides together   
as neatly as he could4 ,in the morning  
,morris was up betimes1 and             
,burne-,jones1 still feigning to be     
asleep1 watched with eager excitement   
the terror and consternation with which 
the poet sought1 in vain1 to  make the  
shrivelled garment meet around his      

waist4 ,the victim of the  plot fancied 
that his increasing proportions had     
suddenly taken on a  miraculous         
acceleration of pace1 and it was not    
until the smothered  laughter of the    
painter greeted his ears that he was    
relieved from the  panic of anxiety into
 which he had been suddenly thrown4     
,burne-,jones could sometimes1 on       
occasion1 be himself the victim of  a   
practical joke1 and once when ,i paid   
him a sudden and unexpected  visit at   
his little cottage in ,rottingdean1 ,i  
contrived to play1 very  successfully1  
upon what ,i knew to be his horror of   
the professional  interviewer4 ,i       
announced myself to the servant as an   
,american colonel1  who had called as   
the special correspondent of the        
,cincinnati ,record1  and on the message
 being conveyed to her master1 she      
returned1 as ,i  expected1 with the curt
 intimation that he was not at home4    
,but he  evidently felt that no         
precaution was too great to be taken in 

the face  of this threatened invasion1  
for as ,i crept by the window that looks
  out on to the little ,village green ,i
 saw him1 in company with his son1      
stealthily crawling under the table1 and
 when ,i afterwards returned and        
announced myself in my own name1 he     
related with childish delight how       
skilfully he had avoided the attack of  
the enemy4          ,,james ,m#8,,neil  
,,whistler      ,the many pleasant hours
 ,i spent in ,whistler's studio in      
,cheyne ,walk are  dominated in         
recollection by the striking personality
 of the artist4  ,in physical no less   
than in mental equipment1 he stood apart
 from his  generation1 and the          
characteristic peculiarities of his     
appearance1  joined to the marked       
idiosyncrasy of his temperament1 must   
remain  unforgettable to all who knew   
him4 ,it is easy indeed to recall the   
tones of the sometimes strident voice as
 he let slip some barbed shaft  in      
ruthless characterisation of one or     

other of his contemporaries3  easier    
still to summon again1 as though he     
stood before me now1 the  oddly         
fashioned figure1 lithe and muscular1   
yet finely delicate in its  outline1 as 
he skipped to and fro in front of his   
canvas1 now with  brush poised in the   
air between those long slender fingers1 
seeming1  as he gazed at the model1 to  
challenge the supremacy of nature1 now  
passing swiftly to the easel to lay on  
that single touch of colour that  was to
 record his victory4 ,it is not so easy1
 however1 to convey in  words the       
intellectual impression left by the     
agile movement of his  mind1 as it      
leaped in sudden transition from the    
graver utterance of  some pregnant      
thought concerning the immutable laws of
 his art1 to  those lighter sallies of  
wit and humour that found their readiest
 and  most congenial exercise in the    
half-playful1 half-malicious portraiture
  of men we both knew4    ,so notable   
indeed and so notorious became the      

sayings of ,whistler1  uttered in such  
moods of laughing irony1 that the more  
deeply serious  side of his nature was  
apt in his own time to be ignored or    
even  denied4 ,and for this he himself  
was partly to blame4 ,his own manifest  
enjoyment in the free play of a ready   
and relentless wit was apt  sometimes to
 obscure that deeper insight into the   
essential principles  of the art he     
practised1 to which no one on occasion  
could give a finer  or more subtle      
expression4    ,no one1 surely1         
perceived more clearly that there is in 
every art an  essential quality born of 
its material and resting with           
instinctive  security upon its special  
resources and limitations1 without which
 it  can make no lasting claim to       
recognition4 ,he never forgot that the  
painter or the poet who ventures to take
 upon himself added burthens of  the    
spirit which he is unable to subdue to  
the conditions of the medium  in which  
he works1 can find no just defence for  

the violation of any  of the conditions 
the chosen vehicle imposes1 by an appeal
 to the  intellectual or emotional value
 of the ideas he has sought to express4 
,he looked perhaps with even excessive  
suspicion upon the interpretation       
through painting of subjects that       
suggested any sort of reliance upon  the
 modes appropriate to other arts1 with  
the result that the effects  he achieved
 bear sometimes too strongly the stamp  
of calculated  effort4 ,science was a   
word he was very fond of employing with 
regard  to painting1 and though it      
implied a just rebuke to those who were 
wont to make a merely sentimental       
appeal1 it sometimes fettered his  own  
processes and left upon some of the work
 he produced rather the  sense of a     
protest against the false ideals of     
others than of the free  and spontaneous
 enjoyment of the beauty in nature that 
he intended to  convey4    ,but an      
artist1 after all1 is either something  
better or something worse  than his     

theories1 and ,whistler was infinitely  
better4 ,his instinct  was sure1 and    
within the limits he assigned to himself
 he moved with  faultless security of   
taste4 ,if the realm he conquered was   
not over  richly furnished it was at any
 rate kept jealously free from the      
intrusion of inappropriate elements4    
,whatever was admitted there had an     
indisputable right to its artistic      
existence1 and while he excluded  much  
that other men1 differently gifted1     
might equally have subdued to  the      
conditions he was so careful to obey1   
such beauty as he found in  nature was  
at least always of a kind that painting 
alone could fitly  render4    ,to watch 
,whistler at work in his studio was     
quickly to forget that he  had any      
theories at all4 ,nothing certainly     
could less resemble the  assured        
processes of science than his own       
tentative and sometimes even  timid     
practice2 for although the result1 when 
it received the final  stamp of his     

approval1 seemed often slight and was   
always free from  the evidence of       
labour1 labour most surely had not been 
absent1 for  the ultimate shape given to
 his design1 though it may have         
represented  in itself only a brief     
period employed in its execution1 had in
 many  cases been preceded by unwearying
 experiment and by many a misdirected   
adventure that never reached completion 
at all4    ,whistler's talk in the      
studio was not often concerned with the 
subject  of ,art1 and even when ,art was
 the topic it was nearly always his     
own4 ,his admiration of the genius he   
unquestionably possessed was  unstinted 
and sincere1 and if he avoided any      
prolonged discussion of  the competing  
claims of his contemporaries1 it was1 ,i
 think1 in the  unfeigned belief that   
they deserved no larger consideration4  
,he had his  chosen heroes among the    
masters of the past1 but they were few1 
and  their superior pretensions1 in his 
judgment1 were so manifest that it      

seemed sufficient to him to announce    
their supremacy without further  parley 
as to the inferior claims of their      
fellows4 ,the position they  occupied in
 his regard was as little open to       
argument as the place  of incontestable 
superiority he was wont to assign to    
himself in his  own generation4 ,i      
remember once1 when a friend in his     
presence rashly  ventured to accuse him 
of a lack of catholicity in taste1      
,whistler in  swift response admitted   
the justice of the charge and excused   
himself  on the ground that he only     
liked what was good4    ,but there were 
causes1 apart from the convinced egotism
 of his nature1  which led him by       
preference towards other topics of      
conversation4 ,he  has written in his   
lectures and in his letters both wisely 
and wittily  of the proper mission of   
painting2 so wittily1 indeed1 that his  
humour  and satire are apt sometimes to 
obscure the sound and serious thought   
which1 on this subject1 coloured even   

his most playful utterances4  ,for1     
underlying all he said or wrote1 was a  
conviction he took no  pains to         
conceal--that the principles of ,art1   
together with its aims  and ideals1 were
 the proper concern only of artists and 
could scarcely  be debated without      
impropriety by that larger and profaner 
circle  whose praise and appreciation1  
however1 he was by no means disposed to 
resent4 ,at times he was even greedy of 
applause1 and provided it was  full and 
emphatic enough1 showed no inclination  
to question its source  or authority4   
,there were moments1 indeed1 when1 if it
 appeared to lack  volume or vehemence1 
he was ready himself to supply what was 
deficient4    ,it was partly therefore  
upon principle that he forbore to       
discuss at  any length subjects with    
which he deemed the layman had no proper
  concern2 partly also because in       
intimate conversation his innate and    
powerful sense of humour so loved to    
assert itself that he wandered1  by     

preference1 into fields where it found  
unfettered play4 ,and so it  happened in
 the long and intimate talks in the     
studio1 while he was  at his work1 he   
loved to speak of things that belonged  
to the outer  world1 and to let his wit 
play vividly1 sometimes mischievously   
and  even maliciously1 upon the         
qualities and foibles of his friends4   
,here  he was never reticent1 and so    
relentless were his raillery and his    
sarcasm that one was sometimes tempted  
to think that his acquaintances1  and   
even his friends1 only existed for the  
purpose of displaying his  powers of    
attack and annihilation4 ,i remember    
very well1 when he was  decorating what 
afterwards became known as the 8,peacock
 ,room0 in  ,mr4 ,leyland's house1 that 
,i used often to visit him at his work1 
and  sometimes shared with him the      
picnic meals which a devoted satellite  
would prepare for him in the empty      
mansion4 ,he was certainly very proud   
of the elaborate scheme of blue and gold

 ornament he had devised1 but ,i        
believe this unalloyed admiration of his
 own achievement was scarcely  so great 
or so keen as his delighted anticipation
 of the owner's shock  of surprise when 
he should return to discover that the   
handsome and  costly stamped leather1   
which originally adorned the walls of   
the  apartment1 had been completely     
effaced to make room for the newly      
fashioned pattern of decoration4 ,he    
already scented the joy of the  battle  
that impended1 and this added a peculiar
 zest to his labours in  the            
accomplishment of a purely artistic     
task4 ,as he had hoped so indeed  it    
happened1 and in the long controversy   
and conflict that ensued1 he  found1 ,i 
believe1 the most perfect and unalloyed 
satisfaction4    ,his nature1 in short1 
at every stage of his career was        
impishly  militant1 and whereas other   
men are so constituted as to desire     
peace  at any price1 there was with     
,whistler scarcely any cost he deemed   

too  great to secure a hostile          
encounter4 ,to baulk him of a           
controversy was  to rob him of his peace
 of mind1 and so deeply implanted in him
 was  the fighting spirit that he was   
sometimes only half-conscious of the    
wounds he inflicted4 ,certain it is     
that1 the lists once entered1 he was    
relentless in attack1 and availed       
himself without scruple of any weapon   
that came to his hand4 ,and yet even in 
his most saturnine sallies there  was an
 underlying sense of humour that yielded
 to the onlooker at least  a part of the
 enjoyment that he himself drew from the
 encounter2 while  his after recital of 
the tortuous ingenuity with which he had
 whipped  a harmless misunderstanding   
into a grave estrangement was always    
irresistible in its appeal4    ,but     
though pitiless in combat1 ,whistler was
 not without a chivalrous  side to his  
nature4 ,he was fond enough1 to use his 
own expression1  of 8collecting scalps10
 but his tomahawk was never employed    

against  members of the gentler sex4    
,his manner towards women was           
unfailingly  courteous and even         
deferential4 ,in their company he laid  
aside the  weapons of war1 exhibiting   
towards them on all occasions a delicacy
  of sympathy and perception which they 
instinctively recognised and            
appreciated4 ,it set them at their ease4
 ,they felt they could listen  with     
interest and amusement to his recital of
 those fearless and  sometimes savage   
contests with the male1 in complete     
security from any  danger of the war    
being carried into their own country4   
,they were  conscious1 in his presence1 
of an enduring truce between the sexes3 
a  truce so artfully established and so 
chivalrously conceded as to arouse  no  
suspicion that they were being treated  
with the indulgence due to  inferiors4  
,there was1 indeed1 in his own character
 and personality  something of the      
charm1 something also of the weakness1  
that is  commonly supposed to be        

exclusively feminine4 ,the alertness of 
his  temperament betrayed an intuitive  
quickness in identifying himself  with  
the mood of the moment that found in    
them a ready response2 and  his natural 
vanity1 though it might sometimes seem  
overpowering to  members of his own sex1
 was so exercised as to leave no doubt  
that he  still held in reserve a full   
measure of the admiration which was due 
to  theirs4    ,even as a craftsman     
there was something delicately feminine 
in  ,whistler's modes of work4 ,i have  
often watched him at his own            
printing-press when he was preparing a  
plate of one of his etchings1  and it   
was always fascinating to follow the    
deft and agile movements  of his hands  
as he inked the surface of the copper   
and then1 with  successive touches1     
graduated the varying force of the      
impression to be  taken4 ,here1 as ,i   
used to think1 his method seemed more   
assured1 his  alliance with the         
mechanical resources of his art more    

confident1 than  when he was struggling 
with the subtler and more complex       
problems of  colour4    ,i have already 
spoken of those physical peculiarities  
with which he  had been liberally       
endowed by nature4 ,they were such as to
 make him a  marked figure in any       
company in which he appeared1 and1 so   
far from  being a source of             
embarrassment to himself1 he regarded   
them as a  substantial asset to be      
carefully cultivated and artfully       
obtruded  upon public notice4 ,he even  
went so far as to enforce and emphasise 
what there was of inherited eccentricity
 in his personal appearance4  ,the      
single tuft of white hair which lay     
embedded in the coiling black  locks    
adorning his brow1 he regarded with a   
special complacency and  pride2 and ,i  
was amused one evening in ,cheyne ,walk1
 while ,i watched him  dressing for     
dinner1 to observe the infinite pains he
 bestowed upon  this particular item of 
his toilet4 ,it was already past the    

hour when  we should both have been     
seated at our friend's table1 but this  
fact in  no way abbreviated the care    
with which he cultivated and arranged   
this  unique feature in his appearance4 
,and yet it would be wrong1 perhaps1 to 
ascribe the delay only to  vanity1      
because to be late for dinner was with  
,whistler almost a  religion4 ,certain  
it was1 however1 that he took a childish
 delight in  any little studied         
departures from the rules of ordinary   
costume4  ,at one time he ostentatiously
 abandoned the white neck-tie which was 
the accepted accompaniment of evening   
dress2 at another1 a delicate  wand-like
 cane was deemed to be a necessary      
ornament to be carried in  his walks    
abroad2 and yet again he would announce 
an approved change in  fashion by       
appearing in a pair of spotless white   
ducks beneath his long  black           
frock-coat4 ,these calculated           
eccentricities induced in the minds  of 
the crowd the conviction that ,whistler 

deliberately sought a cheap  notoriety1 
and it must be conceded1 even by those  
who recognised the  serious side of his 
nature1 that he exhibited at times a    
strange blend  of the man of genius and 
the showman4 ,and yet this admission    
might  easily be made to convey a false 
impression4 ,he was in a sense both  the
 one and the other1 but their separate  
functions were never merged  or         
confused4 ,till his task as an artist   
was completed no man was more  serious  
in his purpose or more exacting or      
fastidious in the demands  he made upon 
himself4 ,there was nothing of the      
charlatan in that part  of him which he 
dedicated to his work2 and it was not   
until the artist  was satisfied that he 
availed himself of such antics as       
attracted1  and perhaps were designed to
 attract1 the astonished attention of   
the  public4    ,one charge that was    
often urged against him by his enemies1 
arose out  of the singular choice of    
titles for his pictures4 ,but it was    

not1  ,i think1 in any spirit of        
affectation that he elected to describe 
some of his works in terms only strictly
 appropriate to music4 ,his             
8,harmonies0 and his 8,nocturnes10      
though they seemed at the time to       
indicate a certain wilful perversity1   
had in reality a true relation to       
principles in ,art which he was         
earnestly seeking to establish4 ,it has 
been rightly held of music that1 in its 
detachment from the things of  the      
intellect and its independence of       
defined human emotion1 it stands  as a  
model to all other modes of expression  
by its jealous guardianship  of those   
indefinable qualities which are of the  
essence of ,art itself4  ,and in a sense
 it may be said of ,whistler that he    
discharged a like  function in the realm
 of painting4 ,for all appeal made      
through other  means than those strictly
 belonging to the chosen medium he had  
neither  sympathy nor pity4 ,it was for 
the incommunicable element in painting1 

incommunicable save through the         
unassisted resources of painting        
itself1 that he was constantly striving1
 and it was his revolt against  all     
alien pretensions that led him to seek  
and to adopt the analogy of  music      
wherein the saving efficacy of such     
elements is never questioned4           
,,the ,,english ,,school ,,of ,,painting
 ,,at ,,the ,,roman ,,exhibition#a      
,the ,british ,section of the           
,international ,fine ,arts ,exhibition1 
to the  study of which these pages are  
designed to serve as introduction1 may  
claim to possess one or two features of 
exceptional interest4 ,it is  the first 
time that in any exhibition held outside
 the ,british ,isles a  serious         
endeavour has been made to illustrate   
the progressive movement  of the        
,english school of painting4 ,the works 
of ,english painters have  time and     
again been shown in the different       
capitals of ,europe1 and it  is no      
longer possible to allege that the      

masters whose achievements we  prize are
 unknown beyond the limits of our own   
shores4 ,but the present  occasion is   
the first wherein a serious and         
successful experiment has  been made to 
render the chosen examples of the art of
 the past truly  representative of the  
birth and growth of modern art in       
,england and of  the distinctive        
developments of style which have marked 
its history4  ,and it is peculiarly     
fitting that this connected panorama of 
,english  art should be offered in the  
capital of a kingdom to whose example   
the  art of every land has at some time 
owned its indebtedness4 ,if it be  true 
that every road leads to ,rome1 it is no
 less true that1 since the  dawn of the 
,renaissance1 the footsteps of the      
artists of all northern  lands have worn
 the several ways that make for ,italy2 
and it will be  seen1 as we come to     
trace the story of painting in ,england1
 that1  not only in its earlier appeal  
but again and again in the successive   

revolutions of style and method that    
have marked its progress1 it has  found 
renewed encouragement and fresh         
inspiration in the splendid  and varied 
achievements of the great ,italian      
masters1 from ,giotto to  ,michael      
,angelo1 from ,bellini to ,tintoretto4  
,the history of painting in ,england    
precedes by more than a century  the    
history of ,english painting4 ,the force
 of the ,reformation had  unquestionably
 the effect of suddenly snapping the    
artistic tradition4  ,at an earlier time
 ,england could boast of a race of      
artists who1 as the  illuminated        
manuscripts of the period clearly show1 
were able to hold  their own with the   
most perfect masters in that kind that  
,europe could  show2 but with the advent
 of the ,reformation the imaginative    
impulse of  our people found a different
 channel4 ,the strength of our          
,renaissance  sought expression in our  
literature1 and for a considerable      
period we  became and remained indebted 

for all expression of pictorial design  
to a race of foreign artists who enjoyed
 the hospitality of our land4  ,even    
before the ,reformation was complete    
,holbein had found a home at  the       
,english ,court1 and at a later period  
,rubens and his great pupil  ,van ,dyck 
were invited to our shores4 ,they       
brought with them to ,england  the great
 tradition in portraiture that may be   
traced back to ,italy--a  tradition     
having its spring in the style and      
practice of the masters of  ,venice1    
whose devotion to ,nature survived as an
 inheritance to ,northern  ,europe when 
the more imaginative design of the      
school of ,florence had  fallen into    
decay4    ,it may be said of all modern 
art in whatever land we follow its      
story1 that its master currents flow in 
the direction of portrait and           
landscape1 and it was in these twin     
streams that the ,english school1  when 
a century later it came into being1 was 
destined to prove its  acknowledged     

supremacy4 ,but the realistic spirit    
which from the first  had stamped itself
 upon the great ,venetians1 even at a   
period when they  seemed to be labouring
 wholly or mainly in the service of     
religion1  had gathered in its passage  
towards our shores yet another impulse1 
which found its first expression in the 
art of the ,low ,countries4    ,of the  
painting of genre--that art which dwells
 lovingly upon the  illustration of the 
social manners of the time--there is    
already a hint  even in ,venice itself2 
but it was in ,holland that it first    
claimed  a separate and secure          
existence2 and it was to the examples in
 this  kind1 perfected by the ,dutch    
masters1 that we owe the achievement of 
the great painter who may be claimed as 
the founder of the modern  ,english     
school4 ,that school may be said1       
indeed1 to date from the  birth of      
,william ,hogarth4 ,english             
painters--not a few--had practised      
before his time1 but their work only    

followed1 without rivalling1  that of   
foreign contemporaries under whose      
influence they laboured4  ,hogarth was  
the first who by the independence of his
 genius gave the  seal and stamp of     
national character to the pictorial     
illustration of  the manners of his age4
 ,it was the fashion at one time to     
dwell almost  exclusively upon          
,hogarth's qualities as a satirist1 to  
the neglect of  those more enduring     
claims which are now conceded to him as 
a great  master of the art he professed2
 but the criticism of a later time has  
repaired that injustice1 and ,hogarth   
takes his place now not merely in       
virtue of the social message he sought  
to convey1 but even more by  reason of  
his great qualities as a colourist and a
 master of tone4 ,not  that we need     
underrate or ignore those dramatic      
elements by which he  still makes so    
strong an appeal to our admiration4 ,it 
is rare enough1  even among the supreme 
painters of genre1 to find so faithful1 

so  penetrating an insight into         
character4 ,of all the great ,dutchmen  
whom  he succeeded ,jan ,steen alone    
can1 in this particular1 claim to be his
  rival2 and although the ,english      
school is specially rich in the class   
of composition which his genius and     
invention had initiated1 there are  none
 of all those who have practised in a   
later day who would not still  own him  
as their master4    ,the two examples   
secured for the present exhibition show 
,hogarth at  his best1 both as a painter
 and as an inventor4 8,the ,lady's ,last
  ,stake0--contributed by ,mr4 ,pierpont
 ,morgan--even when our admiration  has 
been glutted by the rich evidence it    
affords of ,hogarth's  unrivalled       
control of a kind of truth that might   
have found expression  in an art other  
than the art of the painter1 still draws
 from us the  unstinted homage due to a 
great colourist whose chosen tints are  
submitted with unfailing skill to every 
delicate and subtle gradation  of tone2 

while in 8,the ,card ,party10 lent by   
,sir ,frederick ,cook1 where  these     
qualities are not less clearly          
announced1 we are left at leisure  to   
follow and appreciate the unflagging    
observation which registers  every      
detail that serves for the dramatic     
presentation of the chosen  theme4      
,from the time of ,hogarth to our own   
day this particular style1 which he  may
 claim to have originated1 has never    
lacked professors4 ,as it passed  into  
the hands of ,wilkie satire is softened 
by sympathy1 the foibles  of character  
are touched with a gentler and more     
tender spirit1 and  the adroitly ordered
 groups1 with which he sometimes loves  
to crowd  his canvas1 tell1 in their    
final impression1 of the presence of a  
kind  of sentiment1 sometimes perhaps   
even of a measure of sentimentalism1    
which scarcely came within the range of 
,hogarth's fiercer survey of  life4     
,and1 again1 in the later work of       
,orchardson sentiment and satire  have  

both yielded to another ambition that   
was content to render with  unfailing   
sympathy and distinction of style the   
finer graces of social  life4 ,in the   
superb picture of 8,the ,young ,duke0 we
 may note how clearly  the gifts of the 
painter dominate the scene1 his eye ever
 on the alert  for the opportunities of 
rich and delicate harmonies supplied by 
every  chosen accessory of costume and  
furniture2 and no less eager to exhibit 
and to record by means of the subtle    
resources of his art those finer  shades
 of social breeding that the subject    
suggests4 ,in this power of  granting a 
nameless dignity to the art of genre--a 
dignity resident  in the painter which  
by some strange magic he contrives to   
confer  upon the people of his          
creation--,sir ,william ,orchardson     
sometimes  recalls the art of ,watteau1 
who indeed remains unrivalled in his    
power  to perceive and his ability to   
register those slighter realities of    
gesture and bearing which give to the   

rendering of trivial things a           
distinction which only style can bestow4
    ,it is interesting to turn from this
 characteristic example of ,sir         
,william ,orchardson's style to the work
 of an elder contemporary in  the person
 of ,frith4 ,the two artists--though    
both may be said to be  engaged in the  
same task--make a widely contrasted     
appeal4 ,with the  former1 whatever     
other message he may intend to convey1  
the claims  of the painter stand        
foremost4 ,we are conscious of the      
controlling  influence of the colourist 
and the master of pictorial composition 
before we are permitted to study or to  
enjoy the human realities that  he has  
chosen to depict4 ,with ,frith1 on the  
other hand1 it is the  human element in 
the design that first arrests our       
attention4 ,gifts of  a purely artistic 
kind he undoubtedly possessed1 as the   
example here  exhibited sufficiently    
proves--gifts which at one time         
criticism tended  to ignore or to       

undervalue2 but it remains finally true 
nevertheless  that it is as a student of
 manners1 presented in a form sometimes 
recalling the arts of the theatre1 that 
,frith makes his first appeal to  our   
attention4 ,in this respect he claims   
kinship with ,hogarth himself1  whose   
influence1 ,i doubt not1 he would have  
been proud to acknowledge4    8,coming  
of ,age in the ,olden ,time10           
necessitating1 by the choice of  its    
subject1 the employment of historic     
costume1 illustrates only one  aspect of
 ,frith's varied talent1 and he will    
perhaps be best remembered  by such     
works as 8,the ,railway ,station0 and   
8,ramsgate ,sands10 where  he is called 
upon to render with unflinching fidelity
 those facts  of contemporary dress in  
which painters differently gifted find  
no  picturesque opportunity2 and        
whatever may be ,time's final judgment  
upon  ,frith's claim in the region of   
pure art1 it cannot be questioned that  
such richly peopled canvases must for   

ever remain an invaluable record  of the
 outward realities of the generation for
 which he labored4    ,the historic side
 of genre painting is further           
illustrated in the  present collection  
in the person of ,maclise1 who1 like his
 great  forerunner1 ,william ,hogarth1  
was attracted again and again by the    
art of the theatre4 ,but ,maclise       
brought to his task certain larger      
qualities of design and composition     
which he had won from the study of  the 
great masters of style2 and although he 
never achieved the highest  triumphs in 
the region of the ideal his efforts in  
that direction  left an impress upon his
 painting that served to distinguish it 
from  the achievements of those who     
laboured in obedience to a more modest  
tradition4    ,the ,english theatre has 
attracted the talent of a long line of  
artists1  some of whom1 like ,clint1 are
 little known in any other sphere4      
,perhaps  the greatest of them all 7if  
we except the name of ,hogarth himself7 

was  ,johann ,zoffany1 whose paintings1 
admirable in the rendering of incident  
and character1 are even more remarkable 
for his great qualities as  a colourist 
and his perfect mastery over the secrets
 of tone4 ,as a  student of the theatre 
he may perhaps be seen to best advantage
 in the  several fine examples in the   
possession of the ,garrick ,club2 but   
,lord  ,o',hagan's picture of ,charles  
,townley the collector1 presented in his
  library with his marbles1 asserts with
 convincing force his right to  rank    
among the great painters of his time4   
,among other pictures in this category  
whose high claims deserve a  fulness of 
consideration which the exigencies of   
space alone forbid me  to grant1 ,i may 
mention the ,eastern study by ,lewis1   
the 8,dawn0 by ,e4 ,j4  ,gregory1 and   
the group of ,sir ,peter and ,lady      
,teazle by ,john ,pettie4    ,i have    
hinted already that in the brief story  
of our national school of  painting we  
are constantly reminded of the abiding  

splendours of the  art of ,italy1 and   
even in the work of men whose genuine   
victories were  won in another sphere   
there are constant echoes of the larger 
language  moulded by the great masters  
of the south4 ,for although1 at the     
first1  it is only in the allied        
departments of portrait and landscape   
that  the art of ,england claims and    
owns unquestioned supremacy1 yet in the 
career of the gifted painter who may be 
said to have first firmly  established  
our claim to rank among the schools of  
,europe we are not  allowed to forget   
the glorious victories of the ,italian  
,renaissance4    ,it has been sometimes 
alleged of ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds's     
occasional  experiments in the grand    
style that their failure to rival the   
masters  he most admired proves how     
futile were his studies in that branch  
of art in which he could never hope to  
excel4 ,but this1 ,i think1  is to take 
only a shallow and superficial view of  
the factors that  make for excellence in

 any chosen field of artistic endeavour2
 for  if ,sir ,joshua's essays in ideal 
design now fade into insignificance  by 
comparison with the solid and enduring  
work he achieved in  portraiture1 it    
remains none the less true that the     
study of those  great models towards    
which his ambition led him has served to
 grant  to his interpretation of        
individual face and form a measure of   
added  dignity and power that could have
 been won from no other source4 ,his    
sketch-book--preserved in the ,print    
,room of the ,british ,museum--while  it
 forms an interesting record of his     
sojourn in ,italy is no less            
instructive as illustrating his untiring
 devotion to those great  masters who   
laboured in a realm of art that his own 
genius was never  destined to inhabit2  
and there is something infinitely       
touching in the  concluding sentences of
 his valedictory address to the students
 of the  ,royal ,academy wherein1 while 
frankly confessing his own failure1 he  

reiterates his undiminished admiration  
of the greatest of the great            
,florentines4 8,it will not10 he says1  
8,i hope1 be thought presumptuous  in me
 to appear in the train1 ,i cannot say  
of his imitators1 but of his  admirers4 
,i have taken another course1 one more  
suited to my abilities  and to the      
tastes of the time in which ,i live4    
,yet1 however unequal  ,i feel myself to
 that attempt1 were ,i now to begin the 
world again ,i  would tread in the steps
 of that great master4 ,to kiss the hem 
of his  garment1 to catch the slightest 
of his perfections1 would be glory and  
distinction enough for an ambitious man4
 ,i feel a self-congratulation  in      
knowing myself capable of such          
sensations as he intended to excite4  ,i
 reflect1 not without vanity1 that these
 discourses bear testimony  of my       
admiration of that truly divine man2 and
 ,i desire that the last  words ,i      
should pronounce in this academy and    
from this place might be  the name of   

,michael ,angelo40    ,in the same year 
in which these words were uttered there 
is yet another  reference to his earlier
 ambitions which is scarcely less       
pathetic4  ,writing to ,sheridan1 who   
desired to purchase the beautiful       
picture of  ,st4 ,cecilia1 for which    
,mrs4 ,sheridan had served as the model1
 he says3    8,it is with great regret  
that ,i part with the best picture ,i   
ever  painted2 for though ,i have every 
year hoped to paint better and better1  
and may truly say #8,nil actum reputans 
dum quid superesset agendum1'  it has   
not been always the case4 ,however1     
there is now an end of the  pursuit2 the
 race is over1 whether it is won or     
lost40    ,the judgment of ,time has    
left the land that owned him in no doubt
  that the race had been worthily won4  
,the prize awarded to him by the        
acclaim of subsequent generations was   
not perhaps the prize he coveted  the   
most2 and yet if the goal towards which 
he set his feet was never  reached1 the 

time spent in the study of the great    
masters of the past  affords no story of
 wasted ambition4 ,for without the      
example of those  great masters he loved
 to study1 his own achievement would    
have been  shorn of certain elements of 
greatness which have served to place him
  foremost in the ranks of the portrait 
painters of his time4    ,in certain    
styles of painting we are rightly modest
 in asserting the  claims of the        
,english school1 but in that goodly list
 of artists at  whose head stands the   
name of ,sir ,joshua we may boast a     
national  possession which the art of   
the time could scarcely rival and most  
assuredly could not surpass4 ,europe was
 then in no mood to take over  the rich 
inheritance of the great ,florentines2  
the successful study of  the principles 
they had expounded had to wait the      
coming of a later  day2 but in those    
departments wherein the art of ,europe  
was still vital  ,england certainly was1
 at that time1 not lagging behind her   

rivals4  ,reynolds1 ,gainsborough1      
,romney1 ,hoppner1 ,raeburn--what names 
in the  contemporary art of the         
,continent can be cited as their        
superiors in  those branches of painting
 which they cultivated8 ,disparagement  
is  no part of the business of          
criticism1 and the victories of one land
  assuredly take nothing from the       
triumphs justly won in another4 ,france1
  too1 at that epoch could boast gifted 
artists greatly distinguished  in       
various fields2 but when it is          
remembered that ,watteau1 the most      
distinguished of ,french colourists1 had
 died two years before ,reynolds  was   
born1 the outburst of artistic activity1
 which the men whose names  ,i have     
cited heralded to the world1 may well be
 viewed as a phenomenon  almost         
unparalleled in the modern history of   
painting4 ,for it is as  colourists1 in 
the truest and highest sense of the     
term1 that the  ,english school at this 
period of revival makes its claim to    

supremacy2  and it was here that the    
teaching of ,italy--not as expounded    
through  the work of the ,florentines1  
but rather as it travelled northwards1  
carrying with it the surviving          
splendours of the ,venetians--found a   
full and worthy response from these     
gifted exponents of our native art4     
,the present collection is rich in      
finely chosen examples of the  masters  
,i have named4 ,reynolds boasted to     
,malone that he had painted  two        
generations of the beauties of ,england1
 and as we turn from the  8,kitty       
,fisher10 lent by the ,earl of ,crewe1  
to the portrait of 8,anne  ,dashwood10  
or to that of the 8,marchioness of      
,thomond10 from ,sir ,carl  ,meyer's    
collection1 we may well own that no man 
was more rightly  equipped for the task 
that had fallen upon him4 ,no man save  
perhaps  his rival1 ,thomas             
,gainsborough1 who1 in the alertness and
 delicacy of  his observation as well as
 by a natural affinity with the gentler 

sex  that was born of a sweet and       
gracious disposition1 seemed specially  
destined to interpret with loving       
fidelity the lightest no less than  the 
most characteristic realities of        
feminine beauty4 ,in weight and  dignity
 of style1 the outcome1 as ,i have      
already hinted1 of a diligent  study of 
the great models of the past1 in        
masculine grip and gravity  of          
interpretation1 displayed more          
especially in the portraiture of the    
most distinguished men of his time1     
,reynolds1 it must be conceded1  remains
 even to this day without a rival in our
 school4 ,but in the  native gifts of a 
painter ,gainsborough owned no superior1
 and it would  be difficult to trace to 
any individual master of the past1 or   
indeed  to any other source than his    
inborn love of nature1 those peculiar   
qualities of sweetness and grace which  
set the finest achievements of  his     
brush in a category of their own4 ,a    
measure of kinship with the  great      

,dutchmen may be discerned in his       
earlier essays in landscape--a  branch  
of art which he may be said almost to   
have founded in ,england2  and the final
 words with which he took leave of the  
world1 8,we are  all going to heaven and
 ,van ,dyck is of the company10 give    
warrant for  the belief that even in    
portraiture he would willingly have     
owned his  allegiance to the famous     
pupil of ,rubens2 but in his actual     
practice  as a portrait painter his own 
modest and yet commanding personality   
quickly effaced all record of           
indebtedness to any other influence than
  his own inspiration4    ,it would be  
easy1 if space permitted1 to institute  
an interesting  comparison between his  
own accomplishment and that of his      
contemporary  ,sir ,joshua4 ,the same   
personalities sometimes figure upon the 
canvases  of both4 ,the winning beauty  
of ,miss ,linley's face1 employed by    
,sir  ,joshua in his picture of ,st4    
,cecilia1 had no less strongly attracted

  the genius of ,gainsborough2 and here1
 as well as in the rendering of  the    
features of ,mrs4 ,siddons1 we may note 
the divergent gifts which  these        
painters separately brought to their    
task and the varying and  matchless     
qualities which nature surrendered      
ungrudgingly to both4  ,speaking        
generally1 it may1 ,i think1 be conceded
 that ,gainsborough's  art registered   
with greater felicity those fleeting    
graces of gesture  and expression that  
would sometimes escape his more serious 
rival2  while ,reynolds1 constantly     
preoccupied by the intellectual appeal  
made by his sitter1 was perhaps more apt
 to dwell in the features he  portrayed 
upon those deeper and more permanent    
truths that would serve  to mirror mind 
and character4    ,that ,gainsborough's 
vision was not1 however1 limited to     
forms of female  beauty is shown clearly
 enough by the several notable examples 
here  exhibited4 ,his portraits of ,john
 ,eld and ,dr4 ,william ,pearce1 no less

  than the head of the artist himself1  
prove that he could acquit himself      
nobly even when he was not engaged in   
the more sympathetic task of  presenting
 with faultless grace the lovely women  
of his time2 while  ,lord ,jersey's     
8,landscape and ,cattle0 affords        
sufficient evidence of  what the school 
of ,english landscape owes to his       
initiative4    ,of the other            
distinguished masters of portrait in the
 century in  which these two great names
 stand pre-eminent we find here adequate
  representation4 ,romney is not always 
faultless as a colourist1 nor  does his 
draughtsmanship yield the searching     
penetration displayed  by ,reynolds or  
the more delicate apprehension of the   
finer facts  of expression which        
constitutes so large a part of          
,gainsborough's  ineffable charm2 but   
judged at his best1 and art may justly  
appeal  against any less generous       
verdict1 he takes his rightful place by 
the side of both4 ,how good was his best

 may be seen in ,mr4 ,pierpont          
,morgan's fine full-length of ,mrs4     
,scott ,jackson1 as well as in the      
group of ,mrs4 ,clay and her child1 lent
 by ,mrs4 ,fleischmann4 ,but ,romney    
had one sitter whose beauty overpowered 
all others in the appeal it  made to the
 artist1 and it is therefore fortunate  
that the collection  includes a portrait
 of ,lady ,hamilton1 whose fame may be  
said to be  inseparably linked with his 
own4 ,she1 too1 in her own person       
awakens  echoes from ,italy1 for it was 
at ,rome she won the admiration of      
,goethe  in those dramatic assumptions  
of classical character that are         
preserved  for succeeding generations in
 ,romney's constantly repeated studies  
of  the face he worshipped4    ,from    
these three commanding personalities1   
which yield brightness  to the dawn of  
our ,english school of portraiture1 we  
advance by no  inglorious progression to
 the masters who1 though now deceased1  
belong  of right to our own day4        

,hoppner1 the younger contemporary of   
the  men ,i have named1 whose career    
carries us into the next century1 is    
here superbly represented in the        
contributions from ,mrs4 ,fleischmann   
and ,lord ,darnley4 ,raeburn also1 whose
 masculine and sometimes rugged  genius 
speaks to us with the accent of the     
north--,raeburn1 who at  the instigation
 of ,sir ,joshua journeyed to ,italy to 
study the great  ,italian masters--is   
here seen at his best in the splendid   
portrait of  8,the ,mac,nab10 lent by   
,mrs4 ,baillie-,hamilton2 while near by 
we find  characteristic examples of the 
art of his fellow-countrymen1 ,allan    
,ramsay and ,andrew ,geddes4 ,sir       
,thomas ,lawrence may be said to have   
brought to a close the tradition        
established by ,reynolds1 and his       
practice may therefore be held to form a
 link with the more modern  school4 ,his
 claims here receive justice in the two 
portraits lent  by ,lord ,bathurst and  
,lord ,plymouth2 nor is the collection  

without  worthy specimens of the art of 
,opie1 whose practice frankly confesses 
the example and influence of ,sir       
,joshua himself4 ,among the portrait    
painters of the younger day1 in whose   
ranks may be counted ,frank ,holl  and  
,frederick ,sandys1 ,brough1 and ,furse1
 two names stand pre-eminent4  ,watts   
and ,millais in their different appeal  
register the high-water  mark of        
portraiture during what may be called   
the ,victorian era4 ,the  former owned  
in common with ,sir ,joshua an          
unswerving devotion to the  great       
traditions of ,italian painting1 and may
 claim equally with ,sir  ,joshua to    
have won for his work in this kind an   
imaginative quality  legitimately       
imported from the study of ideal design4
 ,millais stands  alone4 ,of both ,i    
shall have to speak again in respect of 
other claims  which their art puts      
forward1 but the position of ,millais as
 a painter  of portrait is as           
independent in its appeal as that of    

,gainsborough  himself4    ,the         
incursions into the realm of ideal and  
decorative art made by  ,english        
painters of the eighteenth century may  
not be reckoned among  the accepted     
triumphs of our school4 ,barry1 ,fuseli1
 and ,haydon1 all  alike inspired by    
high ambition and capable1 as was shown 
by their  untiring devotion and         
sacrifice in the cause they had         
espoused1 lacked  the means and the     
endowment to appear with any solid      
measure of success  to an age that was  
in itself unfitted to receive the       
message they  sought to convey4 ,the    
untutored and undisciplined genius of   
,william  ,blake affords an isolated    
example in his time of a true and deeper
  understanding of the secrets of the   
kind of art which these men vainly      
pursued2 but even if ,blake had         
possessed more ample resources as a     
painter he would none the less have     
spoken in a language that was  strange  
to the temper of his time2 and it was   

reserved for a later  day to forge the  
means which would secure a genuine      
revival of the  forgotten glories of    
imaginative design4    ,the movement    
associated with the name of the         
,pre-,raphaelite ,brotherhood  stands as
 a landmark in the modern history of our
 school1 nor has it  been without       
lasting influence upon the art of       
,europe4 ,in the year  #ahdh1 which gave
 it birth1 the outlook for painting     
which aimed at  the presentation of any 
imaginative ideal was not encouraging4  
,etty1  a painter of genuine endowment1 
still survived1 and his unquestioned    
gifts as a colourist are plainly        
asserted in the single example  included
 in the present exhibition2 but the     
practice of his later  years1 as ,holman
 ,hunt has justly observed1 scarcely    
offered the most  fitting model to a    
young artist of serious ambition4 ,on   
the other  hand1 the waning             
accomplishment of men who had passed    
their prime  cried aloud for the need of

 a new return to nature2 and the        
accepted  conventions of style1 either  
in themselves outworn or else           
imperfectly  revealed by hands enfeebled
 and grown old1 left the hour ripe for  
the advent of that small but greatly    
gifted group of young men whose  rebel  
practice was destined to leave so strong
 an imprint upon their  own and         
succeeding generations4 ,it would       
perhaps be difficult to find  three     
painters of equal power whose art was so
 differently inspired  and whose        
achievement was destined to take such   
separate and widely  divergent forms as 
,holman ,hunt1 ,john ,millais1 and      
,dante ,gabriel  ,rossetti1 who stand as
 the acknowledged heads in this new     
movement2 but  their efforts1 at the    
time of which ,i am speaking1 were bound
 together  by a common purpose which    
prevailed then and has since continued  
to  keep their names linked together in 
the modern history of our ,english      
school4 ,in protest against the fetters 

imposed upon painting by the  tradition 
of the past--fetters that were by common
 consent only to be  removed by a       
renewed return to the facts of          
nature--they trod1 in the  season of    
their youth1 the same road1 although the
 ultimate development  of their separate
 personalities led them1 before many    
years passed1  into paths widely        
divergent from one another4 ,to judge   
,rossetti's  talent justly from works   
collected on the present occasion we    
must  group together the examples in oil
 and water-colour4 ,the religious  phase
 in his career is indicated by 8,the    
,annunciation of the ,virgin10  lent by 
,mrs4 ,boyce2 while the freedom with    
which his imagination  afterwards roamed
 over those great legends already made  
memorable in  literature is shown by the
 8,mariana0 and the 8,dante meeting     
,beatrice0  among the paintings in oil1 
and perhaps even more conclusively in   
the  exquisite water-colour drawing of  
8,paolo and ,francesca10 lent by ,mr4   

,davis1 which may be accepted as a      
capital instance of his unrivalled      
power to render the truths of human     
passion without violating the  laws     
inherent in the art he professed4 ,in   
his water-colours even more  decisively 
than in his paintings in oil ,rossetti  
clearly announces his  great claims as a
 colourist2 and his paintings bear this 
distinctive  mark in their invention of 
colour that the ordered harmonies he can
  command are not only beautiful in     
themselves but that their beauty  stands
 in clear and direct response to the    
nature of the chosen  subject4 ,in this 
regard assuredly neither of the two men 
who stand  associated with him in the   
,pre-,raphaelite movement can claim to  
be his  superior4 ,it is perhaps        
unfortunate for purposes of comparison  
that  the range of ,millais's talent is 
here not completely represented4 8,sir  
,isumbras at the ,ford0 is indeed a     
characteristic example of his earlier   
period1 though it hardly shows the      

qualities he could then command in  the 
same degree of perfection as would be   
rendered by the presence of  8,lorenzo  
and ,isabella0 or of 8,christ in the    
,carpenter's ,shop40 ,we have1  on the  
other hand1 in the 8,black ,brunswicker0
 a notable example of  that transitional
 period in ,millais's art wherein the   
claims of fancy  and invention and the  
overmastering gifts of the              
realist--gifts that  afterwards availed 
to set him as the greatest portrait     
painter of his  time--are held in       
momentary balance2 and we may find      
herein expressed  an element of         
,millais's painting which had already   
received supreme  embodiment in the     
famous picture of 8,the ,huguenot40 ,no 
artist of his  time--perhaps no artist  
of any time--has ever excelled him in   
the  rendering of certain phases of     
human emotion that transfigure without  
disturbing the permanent beauty of      
feminine character4 ,this power         
remained to him to the end of his       

career1 and it was the perception of  it
 which caused ,watts to write to him in 
#ahgh1 in regard to 8,the ,bride  of    
,lammermoor10 which had received        
deserved decoration in ,paris3 8,lucy   
,ashton's mouth is worthy of any number 
of medals40 ,it is impossible to  say in
 the presence of work of this kind how  
much has been contributed  by the model1
 how much conferred by the artist2 but  
that the artist's  share in the result  
is predominant is proved by the fact    
that nobody  else has combined in the   
same fashion the portraiture of         
individual  features with the most      
delicate suggestion of the emotion that 
moves  them4 ,in the art of ,holman     
,hunt1 always masculine in its character
  and marked by the signs of            
indefatigable industry1 emphasis is so  
evenly laid upon all the confluent      
qualities that contribute to the  result
 that it is hard to signalise or to     
describe the dominating  characteristics
 of his personality4 ,in his treatment  

of religious  subjects he showed a      
constant reverence that nevertheless    
scarcely  touched the confines of       
worship2 for the same earnestness of    
purpose1  the same reverent research of 
truth1 asserts itself no less in        
whatever  subject engages his brush4    
,rare qualities of a purely pictorial   
kind  nearly all his work may claim1 and
 yet it is not always possible  to      
concede to the result1 however          
astonishing in its power1 that  final   
seal of beauty without which ,art's     
victory can never be deemed  absolutely 
complete4 8,the ,scapegoat10 here       
exhibited1 was fiercely  disputed at the
 date of his first appearance1 and it is
 even now not  difficult to understand  
that its appeal must have seemed strange
 to  the temper of the time2 but there  
can be no barrier at any rate to the    
generous appreciation of the noble      
qualities displayed in the 8,finding  of
 the ,saviour in the ,temple0 or the    
austere simplicity and sincerity  of    

8,morning ,prayer40    ,around these    
three men who bravely heralded the new  
movement in ,english  art are grouped   
the names of others who in different    
degrees were  equally inspired by the   
principles the ,pre-,raphaelite         
,brotherhood  sought to enforce4 ,for   
although their earlier efforts          
encountered  bitter attack from the     
accredited organs of public opinion1    
they met  at the outset with warm       
response from within the ranks of art   
itself4  ,the company of their followers
 at first1 indeed1 was small2 but the   
quickened spirit of the time had already
 been in part prepared for  the         
reception of the message they bore4 ,the
 writings of ,john ,ruskin1  in whatever
 degree his particular judgments upon   
art matters may be  disputed1 had       
already availed to stir the conscience  
of his generation  and to restore to art
 its rightful place in life4 ,henceforth
 it was not  possible to think of       
painting as a thing of mere             

dilettantism1 serving  only to minister 
to the trivial demands of the taste of  
the hour4 ,he  proved to the world that 
at every season when art has held a     
dominating  place its spirit has been   
fast linked with the heart and life of  
the  people2 and the deep earnestness   
which in ,modern ,painters he brought   
to the task of historical criticism     
found a ready reflex in the more        
serious and concentrated intensity of   
feeling which coloured the work  of men 
of the younger school4    ,william      
,dyce1 by his declared devotion to the  
painters of the  ,quattrocento1 had     
already in part anticipated the practice
 of the  ,pre-,raphaelites2 and ,ford   
,madox ,brown1 here represented both as 
a  painter of portrait and as a master  
of design1 though never formally        
enrolled in the brotherhood1 claims by  
the inherent qualities of his  work a   
prominent place in the revolution that  
was then in progress4 ,he  had been     
,rossetti's first master1 and to the end

 of his life1 as ,i can  testify1       
,rossetti retained for him the warmest  
affection1 and ,holman  ,hunt's somewhat
 ungracious protest that the direction  
of his art would  have clashed with the 
aims the ,pre-,raphaelites had then in  
view must  be surely deemed unconvincing
 in the presence of his great picture   
entitled 8,work10 wherein an unflinching
 reliance upon nature is the  dominant  
characteristic4 ,frederick ,sandys1 here
 admirably represented  by the portrait 
of ,mrs4 ,clabburn and by 8,medea10     
showed even more  conclusively in his   
varied work in design his right to be   
reckoned side  by side with the leaders 
,i have named2 while ,burne-,jones1 who 
always  generously acknowledged his     
indebtedness to ,rossetti1 displayed as 
his  powers developed a kindred         
attachment to the kind of beauty in     
painting  which finds its well-spring in
 the art of ,florence4 ,the             
water-colours  in the present collection
 represent him at a time when           

,rossetti's  example and influence were 
still dominant1 but 8,love among the    
,ruins10  lent by ,mrs4 ,michie1 and    
8,the ,mirror of ,venus10 from the      
collection of  ,mr4 ,goldman1 reveal to 
us the painter in the plenitude of his  
powers1  when with full mastery of      
resource he revelled in the             
interpretation  of themes of imaginative
 significance4 ,a great colourist in the
 sense  in which the ,florentines use   
colour--a great designer1 gifted from   
the  outset with the power of striking  
into symbol forms of beauty that  might 
equally serve to fire the fancy of a    
poet1 ,burne-,jones holds a  unique     
position in our school2 nor are his     
claims to admiration likely  to suffer  
from the fact that the principles he    
professed have sometimes  been adopted  
by imitators not sufficiently endowed   
for so high an  endeavour4    ,in the   
story of a movement that limitations of 
space must needs leave  inadequate it   
would be impossible to ignore or to omit

 the names of two  men who worthily     
occupied a distinguished place in the   
art of their  time4 ,g4 ,f4 ,watts and  
,lord ,leighton may both be said to     
stand apart  from the particular current
 of artistic revolution associated with 
the names ,i have already cited4 ,the   
former was already deeply imbued  with  
the spirit of the great ,venetians even 
before the ,pre-,raphaelite             
,brotherhood had come into being1 but   
the poetic impulse1 which he owned  in  
common with his younger contemporaries1 
sets much of his work in  clear alliance
 with theirs4 ,his 8,love and ,death0   
illustrates in a form  of unquestioned  
beauty the attempt to combine the       
sometimes divergent  qualities of the   
two great schools of ,italy2 and the    
example set by  both reappears in a     
union that is entirely satisfying when  
,watts turns  to the task of            
portraiture4 ,nor could any better      
examples of his  accomplishment have    
been procured than the figure of ,lord  

,tennyson or  the head of ,mr4 ,walter  
,crane4    ,lord ,leighton's finely     
cultivated talent1 though his early     
sojourn at  ,florence had coloured the  
work of his youth1 reveals at the hour  
of its  maturity an undivided allegiance
 to classic ideals4 ,his mediaevalism   
was a garb quickly discarded4 8,by      
degrees10 he once wrote to me1  8my     
growing love for form made me intolerant
 of the restraints and  exigencies of   
costume and led me more and more1 and   
finally1 to a  class of subjects1 or    
more accurately to a state of           
conditions1 in  which supreme scope is  
left to pure artistic qualities1 in     
which no  form is imposed upon the      
artist by the tailor1 but in which every
  form is made obedient to the          
conception of the design he has in hand4
  ,these conditions classic subjects    
afford1 and as vehicles therefore  of   
abstract form1 which is a thing not of  
one time but of all time1  these        
subjects can never be obsolete1 and     

though to many they are a  dead letter1 
they can never be an anachronism40 ,with
 this confession  of faith before us we 
may measure how far the unceasing       
labours of  a long career availed to    
satisfy the noble purpose of his youth4 
,a  certain lack of virility1 an        
imperfect sense of energy and movement  
which is needed to give the final sense 
of vitality to all art1 however         
directed1 may perhaps be alleged even   
against the most complete of  his       
achievements2 but the saving sense of   
grace1 revealed in forms  often finely  
proportioned and justly selected1       
remains as an abiding  element in his   
constant pursuit of classic perfection1 
and is clearly  enough illustrated in   
such works as the 8,summer ,moon0 and   
the 8,return  of ,persephone10 which the
 committee have secured for the present 
exhibition4    ,we must return now for a
 while to the earlier experiments of our
  school in order to trace the growth of
 the art of landscape1 a  department    

wherein by the consent of ,europe our   
painters hold a place  of indisputable  
supremacy4 ,gainsborough1 as ,i have    
already hinted1  had found in the       
surroundings of his ,suffolk home the   
material he  needed for the display of  
his deeply seated love of outward       
nature2  and his achievements in this   
kind rest as the first foundation of    
what is most enduringly characteristic  
in ,english landscape painting4  ,but as
 early as the year #agdi1 when          
,gainsborough was only a youth of       
twenty-two1 ,richard ,wilson was already
 resident in ,italy1 and had  begun that
 exquisite series of studies from       
,italian scenery which  won so small a  
meed of praise from his own generation4 
,the special  direction of his art was  
not1 indeed1 destined to inspire many of
  those who came after him1 for the new 
spirit of naturalism sought and         
captured certain qualities of dramatic  
expressions in the rendering of  nature 
that were not of his seeking2 nor was   

the ordered beauty of his  compositions1
 or the serene charm which characterises
 his gift as a  colourist1 likely to be 
heeded by a race of painters who were   
already  on the alert to seize and      
record those fleeting effects of        
changing  light and tone which found    
such splendid embodiment in the vigorous
  painting of ,constable4 ,constable's  
frank reliance upon light and  shade as 
constituting the final element of beauty
 in landscape could  never have been    
accepted without reserve by ,richard    
,wilson1 but the  pursuit which         
,constable initiated has owned an       
overpowering attraction  for nearly all 
students of nature since his time2 and  
his example1  transported to ,france    
through the art of ,michel1 may be      
allowed to  have powerfully inspired    
that distinguished group of ,french     
artists  whose work was a part of the   
outcome of the modern romantic movement4
  ,it would be impossible here to       
distinguish in detail the separate work 

of ,english painters who have worthily  
carried forward the tradition           
established by ,constable2 nor is it    
needful now to vindicate the  claims of 
men like ,cotman1 ,cox1 and ,crome in an
 earlier time1 or of  ,hook and ,cecil  
,lawson1 ,sam ,bough1 ,mason1 and       
,frederick ,walker1 whose  more recent  
work brings the story of this branch of 
art down to our  own day4 ,of ,english  
landscapists1 indeed1 the name is       
legion1 and at  the head of them all1 if
 we may judge by the extent of the fame 
he has  won1 stands the name of ,joseph 
,mallord ,william ,turner1 whose genius1
  heralded to the world by the eloquent 
advocacy of ,ruskin1 is here fully      
illustrated in superb examples from the 
collections of ,mr4 ,chapman1  ,lord    
,strathcona1 ,mr4 ,beecham1 and ,mr4    
,pierpont ,morgan4 ,turner1 in his      
youth1 while he was still under the     
influence of ,girtin1 might well  have  
owned kinship with ,richard ,wilson1 as 
both in turn might have  confessed their

 indebtedness to the great ,frenchman1  
,claude ,lorraine2  but ,turner's       
talent1 as it passed onward in steady   
development1 parted  completely with the
 shackles imposed by earlier authority  
and left him  at the close of a         
brilliant career in a position of       
complete isolation  and independence4   
,there will always be those--and ,i may 
count myself  among the number--who will
 turn with increasing love to the more  
restrained beauty of his earlier work1  
and who will seek rather in his         
water-colours than in his paintings in  
oil for the finer expression of  those  
more individual qualities which marked  
the practice of his prime4  ,but        
personal preference need count for      
little in the acknowledgment  which all 
alike must freely render1 that his      
genius has conferred a  lasting glory   
upon the ,english school4    ,with this 
brief survey of the work of deceased    
,british artists  the mission of the    
critic may here fitly end4 ,the purpose 

of such  an introduction as ,i have     
attempted is sufficiently served if1 in 
sketching the growth of our school from 
its foundation in the middle  of the    
eighteenth century1 ,i have succeeded in
 indicating the several  diverse        
currents which have contributed to its  
development1 and have  left so rich a   
heritage in achievement and example to  
the men of a  younger day4 ,of the      
varied quality of that later work the   
exhibition  must be left to speak for   
itself4 ,that the product of our time   
lacks  nothing of vitality is           
sufficiently shown in the spirit of     
restless  and untiring experiment which 
marks the varied output of our younger  
school2 and that it still preserves     
among many of its exponents a loyal     
adherence to the imperishable traditions
 of the past is no less clearly         
asserted in the work of men who are now 
labouring with undiminished  faith in   
the ideals established by an earlier    
generation4 ,of ,subject  and ,portrait1

 in the art that leans for its support  
upon qualities  of decorative design and
 in the direct and searching            
questionings of  nature1 noticeable in  
every direction and manifest specially  
in the  treatment of landscape1 there is
 a rich and abundant harvest in the     
present collection4          ,,with     
,,george ,,meredith ,,on ,,box ,,hill   
8,come down10 he wrote to me one day1   
8and see our ,indian summer here4 ,a    
dozen differently coloured torches you  
will find held up in our woods1  for    
which1 however1 as well as for your     
sensitive skin1 we require  stillness   
and a smiling or sober sky40    ,this   
was written in the autumn of #ahgh1 and 
is drawn from one of many  little notes 
of invitation which used to preface a   
delightful day with  ,george ,meredith  
on the slopes of ,box ,hill4 ,our long  
rambles filled the  afternoon1 and were 
preceded by a simple but thoughtfully   
chosen lunch1  which1 when the weather  
allowed1 was set out upon a gravel walk 

in  front of the cottage beside the     
tall1 sheltering hedge that gave shade  
from the sun4 ,meredith attached no     
small importance to the details of      
these little feasts4 ,he prided himself 
not a little on his gastronomic         
knowledge1 and was pleased when our     
climate made it possible to  reproduce  
the impression of a genuine ,french     
djeuner en plein air4  ,in another      
letter he writes3 8,the promise of      
weather is good4 ,lilac1  laburnum1     
nightingales1 and asparagus are your    
dishes4 ,hochheimer or  dry1 still1 red 
,bouzy1 ,richebourg and your friend to  
wash all down40  ,his knowledge of these
 matters of the table was1 perhaps1 not 
very  profound1 but the appropriate     
vocabulary which gave the air of the    
expert was always at his command4 ,and  
this1 ,i think1 was characteristic  of  
the man in respect of many fields of    
knowledge that lay beyond the  arena in 
which his imaginative powers were       
directly engaged4    ,in his art he was 

never quite content to image only the   
permanent  facts of life1 either in     
their larger or simpler issues1 unless  
he was  permitted at the same time to   
entangle the characters of his creation 
in the coils of some problem that was   
intellectual rather than purely         
emotional4 ,he loved to submit his      
creations to the instant pressure of    
their time1 and with this purpose it was
 his business1 no less than  his        
pleasure1 to equip himself              
intellectually with garnered stores of  
knowledge in fields into which the      
ordinary writers of fiction rarely      
enter4 ,it was not1 of course1 to be    
supposed that he could claim equal      
mastery in all1 although his intellect  
was so active and so agile  that his    
limitations were not easily discerned4  
,i remember one day  at an ,exhibition  
in the ,new ,gallery having introduced  
him to an old  gentleman1 whose long    
life had been spent in a study of the   
drawings  of the old masters1 to whom   

,meredith1 with inimitable fluency1 was 
expounding the peculiar virtues of the  
art of ,canaletto4 ,meredith  was       
eloquent1 but the discourse somehow     
failed to impress the aged  student4    
,when they had parted his sole          
commentary to me was3 8,your            
friend--,mr4 ,meredith1 ,i think you    
said--endeavoured to persuade me that   
he understood ,canaletto1 but he did    
not40    ,but even if1 in this single   
instance1 the criticism be accepted as  
just1 it must be conceded by all who    
knew him well that ,meredith was  not   
often caught tripping in the discussion 
of any topic in which his  intellect had
 been actively engaged4 ,sometimes--and 
then1 perhaps1  rather in a spirit of   
audacious adventure and for exercise of 
his  incomparable powers of             
expression--he would make a bold sortie 
into  realms of knowledge that were only
 half conquered4 ,but this was1 for  the
 most part1 only when he had an audience
 waiting on his words4 ,when  he had    

only a single companion to listen there 
was no man whose talk  was more         
penetrating or more sincere3 and he was 
at his best1 ,i used  to think1 in those
 long rambles that filled our afternoons
 at ,box  ,hill4 ,the active exercise in
 which he delighted seemed to steady and
  concentrate those intellectual forces 
that sometimes ran riot when he  felt   
himself called upon to dominate the     
mixed assembly of a dinner  table4      
,no one1 assuredly1 ever possessed a    
more genuine or a more exalted  delight 
in nature4 ,his veneration for the earth
 and for all that sprang  from the earth
 as an unfailing and irrefutable source 
of the highest  sanity in thought and   
feeling1 amounted almost to worship4 ,he
 never  deliberately set out to paint   
the landscape in set language as we     
passed along1 but a brief word dropped  
here and there upon our way1  telling of
 some aspect of beauty newly observed   
and newly registered1  showed clearly   
that every fresh encounter with nature  

served to add  another gem to the       
hoarded store of beauty that lay        
resident in his  mind4 ,and yet1 even   
here1 the research for the recondite1   
either  in the fact observed or in the  
phrase that fixed it1 peeped out        
characteristically in the most careless 
fashion of his talk4 ,he loved  to      
signalise an old and abiding love of the
 outward world by some  new token that  
found expression at once in language    
newly coined2  and he would break away  
on a sudden from some long-drawn legend 
of a  half-imaginary character that was 
often set in the frame of burlesque1  to
 note1 with a swift change to a graver  
tone1 some passing aspect of  the scene 
that challenged his admiration afresh4  
,and then1 when he had  quietly added   
this last specimen to his cabinet1 he   
would as quickly  turn again1 with      
boisterous mirth1 to complete the       
caricature portrait  of some common     
friend1 which he loved to embellish with
 every detail of  imagined embroidery4  

,in a mixed company ,meredith did not   
often lean to the discussion  of        
literature4 ,he inclined rather1 if an  
expert on any subject was  present1 to  
press the conversation in that          
direction1 exhibiting nearly  always a  
surprising knowledge of the specialist's
 theme1 knowledge at  any rate          
sufficient to yield in the result a full
 revelation of the  store of information
 at the disposal of his interlocutor4   
,but in those  long rambles when we were
 alone he loved to consider and discuss 
the  claims of the professors of his own
 art1 rejecting scornfully enough  the  
current standards of his own time1 but  
approaching with entire  humility the   
work of masters whom he acknowledged4   
,in those days 7,i am  speaking now of  
the years between #ahge and #ahhh7 he   
had by no means  attained even to that  
measure of popularity which came to him 
at a  later time1 and when the talk     
veered towards his own work it was easy 
to perceive a lurking sense of          

disappointment that left him1 however1  
with an undiminished faith in the art to
 which his life was pledged4    ,during 
the autumn of #ahgh ,i had written to   
him in warm appreciation of  some of his
 poems1 and his reply is characteristic4
 8,there is no man10  he writes1 8,i    
would so strongly wish to please with my
 verse4 ,i wish  ,i had more time for   
it1 but my ,pactolus1 a shrivelled      
stream at best1  will not flow to       
piping1 and as to publishing books of   
verse1 ,i have  paid heavily for that   
audacity twice in pounds sterling4 ,i   
had for  audience the bull1 the donkey1 
and the barking cur4 ,he that pays to   
come before them a third time1 we will  
not give him his name40 ,i think  in    
regard to all his work1 whether in prose
 or verse1 he was haunted  at that time 
by the presence of the bull1 the donkey1
 and the barking  cur4 ,but if this had 
yielded for the moment some sense of    
bitterness  in regard to the results of 
his own career1 his attitude towards    

life  was even then undaunted1 and left 
him generously disposed towards all     
achievement of true pretensions1 either 
in the present or in the past4  ,indeed1
 the true greatness of the man was in   
nothing better displayed  than in the   
unbroken urbanity of his outlook upon   
life4 ,his was of  all natures ,i have  
known the most hopeful of the world's   
destiny4 ,the  starved and shrivelled   
pessimism of the disappointed egotist   
had no  part in his disposition4 ,his   
wider outlook upon life was undimmed by 
the pain of whatever measure of personal
 failure had befallen him1  and ,i      
believe that even if his faith in       
humanity had not of itself  been        
sufficing and complete1 he could have   
drawn from the earth1 and  the unfading 
beauty of the earth1 encouragement      
enough to keep him  steadfast in his    
way4    ,how admirably has he expressed 
this joy of full comradeship with nature
  in the opening lines of the 8,woods of
 ,westermain06      ,toss your heart up 

with the lark2    ,foot at peace with   
mouse and worm1            ,fair you    
fare4    ,so he cries in invitation2 and
 then a little later1 in celebration of 
the joys that await the wood-wayfarer1  
he adds3      ,this is being bird and   
more1      ,more than glad musician     
this2    ,granaries you will have a     
store      ,past the world of woe and   
bliss2    ,sharing still its bliss and  
woe2      ,harnessed to its hungers1 no4
    ,on the throne ,success usurps1     
,you shall seat the joy you feel        
,where a race of water chirps           
,twisting hues of flourished steel3     
,or where light is caught in hoop       
,up a clearing's leafy rise1    ,where  
the crossing deer-herds troop           
,classic splendours1 knightly dyes4     
,or1 where old-eyed oxen chew           
,speculation with the cud1    ,read     
their pool of vision through1      ,back
 to hours when mind was mud4    ,or yet 
again towards the close3      ,hear that
 song2 both wild and ruled4      ,hear  

it3 is it wail or mirth8    ,ordered1   
bubbled1 quite unschooled8      ,none1  
and all3 it springs of ,earth4    ,o but
 hear it6 'tis the mind2      ,mind that
 with deep ,earth unites1    ,round the 
solid trunk to wind      ,rings of      
clasping parasites4    ,music have you  
there to feed    ,simplest and most     
soaring need4    ,in his prose work     
,meredith seems often half distrustful  
of his own  inspiration1 halting now and
 then to test the validity of the       
emotions  he has awakened1 and at times 
letting a jet of irony on to the fire   
he has kindled1 as though half          
suspicious that he had been lured into  
the ways of the sentimentalist4 ,but in 
his poetry he owns a larger  daring and 
a higher freedom2 there he treads       
unhampered by these  half-conscious     
fears1 and yet there1 no less than in   
his prose1 we can  recognise his        
insatiable hunger to find and discover  
new tokens by  which to arrest the      
vision that he loves4    ,meredith's    

little cottage at the foot of ,box ,hill
 was the fittest home  for the writer   
and for the man4 ,not so far removed    
from town as to be  beyond the echo of  
its strife1 it enabled him when his duty
 as reader  to ,chapman and ,hall took  
him to the office to pass an hour or two
 at  luncheon at the ,garrick ,club1    
where he loved in these brief intervals 
of leisure to rally some of his old     
friends in laughing and cheerful        
converse4    ,these occasional visits   
served to keep him in touch with the    
moving  problems of his time1 towards   
none of which he affected any kind of   
indifference2 and yet the pungent wit   
and profound penetration of  view with  
which he handled such mundane themes    
were won and hoarded1  ,i think1 in the 
long silences and the chosen loneliness 
of his ,surrey  home4 ,hard by ,flint   
,cottage stands the little inn at       
,burford ,bridge1  now transformed and  
enlarged to meet the constant incursions
 of  visitors from the town1 but at the 

time when ,i first remember it but      
little changed from the days when it    
sheltered ,keats while he was  setting  
the finishing touches to 8,endymion40   
,the association often  led us in our   
rambles to speak of the work of the     
earlier poet1 for  whose faultless art  
,meredith owned an unbounded admiration4
 ,of the  poets ,i think he spoke more  
willingly than of the writers of prose1 
though he was on the alert to recognise 
genius in any form1 and never  lacked   
enthusiasm in appraising the work of a  
writer like ,charlotte  ,bront4 ,for    
,george ,eliot's achievement he never   
professed more than  a strictly limited 
respect4 ,her more pretentious literary 
methods  failed to impress him1 and     
there were times when the keenness of   
his  hostile criticism bordered upon    
scorn4 ,i remember when some one in  his
 presence ventured to remark that       
,george ,eliot1 8panoplied in all  the  
philosophies1 was apt to swoop upon a   
commonplace10 he hailed the  criticism  

with the keenest enjoyment1 and         
half-laughingly declared that  he would 
like to have forged the phrase himself4 
,at the close of our afternoon rambles1 
that in summer time were  prolonged to  
close upon the dinner-hour1 we would    
return at loitering  pace down the      
winding paths to the cottage1 and when  
,i was able to  stay the night our      
evenings would be spent in the little   
chlet that  stood on the hill at the    
summit of his garden4 ,meredith truly   
loved  the secluded bower that he had   
fashioned for himself4 ,it was there  he
 worked1 and during the summer months it
 was there he constantly  passed the    
night4 ,it was there ,i used to leave   
him when our long talk  was over1 and   
descend the garden to the room that had 
been allotted  to me in the cottage4    
,but of talk he never tired1 and it was 
often  far into the night before we     
parted4 ,he loved also1 when he found an
  appreciative listener1 to read aloud  
long passages from his poems4 ,once  ,i 

remember he recited to me during a      
single evening the whole of the  body of
 sonnets forming the poem of 8,modern   
,love40 ,on occasion--but  not1 perhaps1
 quite so willingly--he might be tempted
 to anticipate  publication by reading a
 chapter or two from an uncompleted     
story1  and ,i can recall with what     
admirable effect1 not at ,box ,hill1 but
 at  ,ightham ,moat where we were both  
the guests of a gracious hostess1 whose 
death long preceded his own1 he read    
aloud to us the remarkable opening      
chapters of the 8,amazing ,marriage40   
,meredith greatly enjoyed those         
occasional visits to his friends1 and   
found himself1 ,i think1 especially at  
home in the house ,i have named4  ,he   
did not disdain the little acts of      
homage there freely offered  him1 for   
the guests assembled were always to be  
counted among his  worshippers1 and yet 
he was finely free from the smallest    
pretence of  consciously asserted       
dignity4 ,as a rule1 he spoke but little

 of his own  work1 and then only on     
urgent invitation1 content1 for the most
 part1  to accept the passing topic1    
which his high spirits and unflagging   
humour would quickly lift to            
illumination4 ,on such occasions he     
loved  to invent and elaborate1 for one 
or other of his more intimate friends1  
some fancied legend that was absolutely 
detached from life and reality1  and    
sometimes he so fell in love with the   
fable of his creation that  for weeks or
 months afterwards his letters would    
continue to elaborate  and to develop a 
story that had only taken birth in the  
jesting mood  of a moment4    ,the young
 people of a country-house always found 
a welcome from  ,meredith1 and towards  
women at all times his respect was of a 
kind  that needed no spur of social     
convention4 ,it sprang of a deep faith  
in their high service to the world1 and 
a quickened belief in the  larger future
 that was in store for them4 ,in his own
 home the spirit of  raillery1 that he  

could not always curb1 sometimes pressed
 too hardly  upon those nearest him2 but
 ,i think he was scarcely conscious of  
any  pain he may have inflicted--hardly 
aware1 indeed1 of the reiterated        
insistence with which he would sometimes
 expose and ridicule some  harmless     
foible of character that did not deserve
 rebuke4 ,but if this  fault must be    
conceded in regard to those who stood in
 the intimate  circle of his home1 it   
certainly implied no failing reverence  
towards  the sex they owned4 ,after all1
 an artist1 who has a full claim to that
  title1 is revealed most truly in his  
work4 ,if the revelation there can  be  
suspected1 the art is false1 and it may1
 ,i think1 be claimed without  challenge
 for ,meredith that in the created      
characters of his work he  has done for 
women what has been accomplished by no  
other writer since  ,shakespeare4 ,over 
all the mystery that gives them charm1  
his mastery  in delineation was         
complete1 but it is his appreciation of 

the nobler  possibilities of character  
that lie behind the wayward changes of  
temperament that sets his portraiture of
 women beyond the reach of  rivalry4 ,i 
think most women who came to know him   
were conscious of this  in his presence1
 and it is small wonder that that larger
 circle who  met themselves mirrored in 
his books should count him among the    
most  fearless champions of their sex4  
,a few months ago ,i found myself       
treading once more the road that leads  
to his cottage under the hill4 ,once    
again a 8dozen differently coloured     
torches0 were held up in the woods      
behind the house1 flaming as ,i saw     
them first in his company4 ,but there   
was one torch that burned no more4  ,it 
had fallen from the hand that held it1  
and lay extinguished upon  the earth his
 spirit owned and loved4 ,but those days
 ,i passed with him  there are memorable
 still1 and as ,i stood beside the      
cottage gate amid  the gathering shadows
 of evening1 his own beautiful lines    

came back to  me from 8,love in the     
,valley03      ,lovely are the curves of
 the white owl sweeping      ,wavy in   
the dusk lit by one large star4    ,lone
 on the fir-branch1 his rattle-note     
unvaried1      ,brooding o'er the gloom1
 spins the brown eve-jar4    ,darker    
grows the valley1 more and more         
forgetting3      ,so were it with me if 
forgetting could be willed4    ,tell the
 grassy hollow that holds the bubbling  
well-spring1      ,tell it to forget the
 source that keeps it filled4           
,,the ,,legend ,,of ,,parsifal          
,some few years ago1 when ,i was writing
 my play of ,tristram and  ,iseult1 a   
lady of my acquaintance1 who was        
familiar with the  music-drama by       
,wagner on the same theme1 asked me by  
what means ,i had  contrived to secure  
,madame ,wagner's consent to the use of 
the story  for the ,english stage4 ,such
 ignorance of one of the most beautiful 
of  the legends included in the         
,arthurian cycle1 enshrined for ,english

  readers by ,sir ,thomas ,malory's     
immortal prose romance of ,le ,morte    
d',arthur1 is of course phenomenal and  
extreme1 but it was matched  by my      
experience a few days after the         
production of the play1 when  an        
enterprising newscutting agency1 misled 
by some reference in the  programme to  
the great chronicler1 forwarded to the  
theatre a bundle  of criticisms         
addressed to ,sir ,thomas ,malory1      
,knight1 oblivious of the  fact that he 
had passed beyond the reach of censure  
in the closing  years of the fifteenth  
century4    ,it is possible1 however1   
that even among some of those to whom   
the  source of the ,tristram story is   
familiar1 there may be here and there   
isolated worshippers of the great       
,german composer who are hardly aware   
that the legend of ,parsifal found its  
source in the same great body  of       
,arthurian romance4 ,indeed1 ,i have met
 with not a few to whom the             
identification of ,parsifal with the    

,british hero1 ,sir ,perceval1 comes    
somewhat as a surprise1 and who are     
scarcely conscious that the whole       
legend of the 8,holy ,grail10 which     
forms the subject of ,wagner's opera1   
had its source in ,britain1 and was     
afterwards incorporated in romances     
that first saw the light in ,france4    
,the writer who originally gave to  the 
story its poetic form1 and in whose work
 the purely human features  of the      
narrative are already linked with the   
history of ,christianity1  was ,crestien
 de ,troyes1 who began to write about   
#aaej1 and died before  the end of the  
twelfth century4 ,his poems embrace a   
number of the  ,arthurian stories1 but  
it so happens that amongst them the     
8,conte del  ,graal0 was left           
unfinished1 and was afterwards completed
 by several  writers1 chief among whom1 
,wauchier1 confessed that he had drawn  
his  inspiration from the work of a     
,welshman1 ,bleheris1 in whose version  
the  8,grail0 hero is not ,sir ,perceval

 but ,sir ,gawain4    ,but even before  
,crestien's death the beauty of certain 
of these  ,arthurian legends had        
captured the imagination of ,europe1 and
 in  the opening years of the thirteenth
 century we have the 8,parzival0  of    
,wolfram von ,eschenbach1 of ,bavaria1  
who admits his knowledge of  ,crestien1 
but confesses a preference for a still  
older ,french version  by ,guyot1 the   
,provenal4 ,to ,wolfram's poem ,wagner  
is directly indebted  for that portion  
of the story which forms the basis of   
the opera4  ,the ,bavarian knight died  
about the year #abbj1 and his work forms
 a  complete and beautiful poem1        
concluding with a recital of the        
fortunes  of ,lohengrin1 the son of     
,parsifal1 who1 in his turn1 became     
ruler of  the ,grail ,kingdom4 ,here1 as
 with ,crestien1 the link with          
,christianity  is firmly established1   
and in a still later form of the story  
embodied  by ,malory the ,christianising
 influence is further developed1 and the

  ,grail1 now definitely identified with
 the ,holy ,cup1 is assumed to have     
been brought to ,britain by ,joseph of  
,arimathea1 who himself had filled  it  
with the blood that flowed from the side
 of the ,redeemer4    ,in all these     
later forms of the legend1 however1     
certain features and  incidents survive 
which clearly prove that the story owned
 an earlier1  and a ,pagan source4 ,even
 in ,wolfram the ,grail is not a cup1   
but a stone  endowed with plenty-giving 
qualities1 and the symbols1 which in all
  later versions are bodily taken over  
for the service of the ,church1 we  find
 on examination to possess a            
pre-,christian character and origin4    
,a subject upon which such a mass of    
criticism and scholarship has           
accumulated cannot here be discussed in 
full1 but the learned work  of the late 
,alfred ,nutt1 and the acute researches 
into the heart of  the mystery made by  
,miss ,jessie ,weston1 one of the most  
patient and  diligent students of a     

difficult problem1 establish almost     
beyond  dispute that the ,grail1 in its 
earlier manifestations1 bore no relation
  to the history of the ,christian      
faith4 ,the magic symbols that stood    
ready to the hand of those who gave to  
the legend its final religious  shape   
had indisputably an earlier and a       
different significance4 ,the  dripping  
lance1 that now becomes the weapon that 
pierced the ,body of  the ,redeemer2 the
 ,cup containing the blood that flowed  
from ,his ,side1  had figured first as  
life-giving symbols before they had     
taken on the  holier character with     
which they are endowed by the           
chroniclers of the  twelfth and         
thirteenth centuries4    ,this was well 
established by ,mr4 ,alfred ,nutt1 who  
referred their origin  to the earlier   
forms of ,celtic folklore2 and in ,miss 
,jessie ,weston's  latest contribution  
to the literature of the subject1       
published in  ,june of the present year1
 a powerful plea is put forward for the 

interpretation of the story in the light
 of the earlier forms of                
nature-worship1 linked by far-reaching  
tradition with the ritual of the        
,adonis cult1 and associated with the   
quest for the principle of ,life        
itself4 ,it is unquestionably true that 
this theory explains as no other  can   
many of the features of the ,grail story
 which have no relation to              
,christianity4 ,the ,fisher ,king1 the  
,guardian of the precious ,grail1 is  a 
title which cannot be understood unless 
we take account of primitive  tradition1
 in which the fish is widely employed as
 a symbol of life1  and the fate and    
character of the maimed king who guards 
the ,grail1  as well as the mystic      
instruments which accompany its         
revelation1  are equally referable to   
,pagan ritual belonging to earlier forms
 of  nature-worship4    ,this is not the
 place to follow in detail the many     
intricate and  puzzling problems which  
beset the history of the ,grail4 ,it is1

  indeed1 a fascinating theme1 and has  
already attracted the learning  and     
research of many scholars in ,england1  
,germany1 and ,france1 and  is perhaps  
destined1 in the absence of some of the 
earlier texts  from which the legend was
 drawn1 never to receive a final and    
wholly  satisfying solution4 ,here1     
however1 we are concerned only with     
those  features of the story at a date  
when it had already received the stamp  
of ,christian sentiment1 and more       
especially with that particular form  of
 it embodied by the composer1 ,richard  
,wagner1 in his world-famous  opera4    
,apart from the hero himself1 the       
characters engaged in the drama are  not
 numerous4 ,there is the aged ,titurel2 
the wounded ,amfortas whose  sufferings1
 imposed as the penalty of unlawful     
love1 must endure till  the coming of   
the deliverer1 ,parsifal2 ,klingsor1 the
 malign ruler of  the enchanted castle1 
served by the spell-bound ,kundry1 an   
enchantress1  only to be released from  

her thraldom by the knight who          
successfully  resists her witch-like    
fascinations2 and ,gurnemanz1 through   
whose  aid and guidance the hero is     
finally enabled to accomplish his task4 
,all appear in ,wolfram's romance1 under
 the names retained by ,wagner2  and the
 types recur also in other versions of  
the legend1 sometimes  under different  
names1 and with endless variations in   
the adventures  befalling them4         
,parsifal is our own ,sir ,perceval1 a  
knight of ,arthur's  ,court1 the        
,peredur of the ,mabinogion1 not1       
however1 the earliest or  the latest    
hero of the ,grail quest4 ,before him in
 historic position is  ,sir ,gawain1    
who1 as already noted1 plays the rle of 
deliverer in the  poem of ,bleheris2    
while in the later romances his place is
 taken by the  chaste ,sir ,galahad1 the
 son of ,sir ,lancelot1 who--by reason  
of his sin  with ,guinevere--was denied 
the reward of achieving the quest in his
  own person4 ,in like manner the ,grail

 ,king1 ,amfortas1 takes on other       
titles1 according to the particular     
source of the legend1 while the  part   
played by ,kundry as the ,grail         
messenger is only a variant of the  rle 
assigned to the 8,loathly ,damsel10 with
 the added qualities of the  sorceress1 
who serves the sinister purpose of      
,klingsor in the enchanted  castle4     
,but a comparison of all these legends  
leaves undisturbed the fact  that in its
 original shape the story and its       
environment are ,british1  and1 further1
 that it first took literary form in the
 work of a ,welsh  poet4 ,issuing       
thence1 as we now know1 this and other  
of the ,arthurian  romances spread like 
a flame over the ,western world1 finding
 their  principal exponents in ,germany 
and ,france1 but extending even to      
,sicily1 where there is still a         
tradition that in the mirage that floats
  between the island and the mainland   
can be seen the sleeping form of  ,king 
,arthur embedded in the heart of ,etna1 

and awaiting the sound of  the horn that
 shall summon him back to his kingdom4  
,it is not a little  strange that these 
legends1 doomed to the long sleep of    
,king ,arthur  himself1 should have     
awakened to new vitality in the work of 
our own  modern poets1 and should       
equally have attracted the genius of the
 great  ,german composer4    ,to those  
who are interested in the dramatic side 
of ,wagner's genius1  the study of      
,wolfram's beautiful poem1 to which he  
is directly  indebted1 will not be      
without fruitful results4 ,as a general 
comment1  it may be said that the       
dramatist misses something of the spirit
 of  romance1 something also of the     
atmosphere of chivalry to be found in   
the master whom he has followed4 ,on the
 other hand1 it will be clearly  seen   
that he had handled this material with  
the vision of a dramatist1  supported by
 an imagination which seizes1           
instinctively and surely1  upon         
personages and incidents that enforce   

the ethical message he seeks  to        
deliver4 ,perhaps the most beautiful    
part of ,wolfram's poem1 of  necessity  
excluded from the closer action of      
drama1 concerns ,parsifal's  earlier    
years1 before he had won the right to   
carry arms as one of  the knights of    
,king ,arthur's ,court4 ,gahmuret1 his  
father1 in search  of adventure1 had    
first taken service under ,baruc1 and   
had won the  love of the heathen queen1 
,belakane1 who bore him a son1          
,feirefiz1 the  father of ,prester      
,john4 ,but before the birth of the     
child1 ,gahmuret1  returning to ,europe1
 had sought and won the love of ,queen  
,herzeleide1  the mother of the ,grail  
hero4 ,gahmuret was manifestly very     
conscious of  his restless temperament1 
and duly warned his newly-won bride that
 what  had happened before might recur4 
,then he looked on ,queen ,herzeleide1  
and he spake to her courteously3    8,if
 in joy we would live1 ,o ,lady1 then my
 warder thou shalt not be1    ,when     

loosed from the bonds of sorrow1 for    
knighthood my heart is fain2    ,if thou
 holdest me back from ,tourney ,i may   
practise such wiles again    ,as of old1
 when ,i fled from the lady whom ,i won 
with mine own right      hand1    ,when 
from strife she would fain have kept me1
 ,i fled from her folk and      land40  
,then she spake3 8,set what bonds thou  
willest1 by thy word ,i will still      
abide40    8,many spears would ,i break 
asunder and each month would to ,tourney
      ride1    ,thou shalt murmur not1  
,o ,lady1 when such knightly joust ,i'ld
 run60    ,this she sware1 so the tale  
was told me1 and the maid and her lands 
he      won4    ,and yet1 despite her   
brave front1 ,herzeleide was destined to
 endure  much sorrow at the hands of her
 restless lord4 ,before ,parsifal was   
born1 he had already set out on fresh   
adventure1 leaving his lonely  lady sick
 with longing for his return4      ,as  
for half a year he was absent1 she      
looked for his coming sure1    ,for but 

in the thought of that meeting might the
 life of the ,queen      endure4        
,then brake the sword of her gladness   
thro' the midst of the hilt in          
twain1    ,ah1 me1 and alas6 for her    
mourning1 that goodness should bear such
      pain    ,and faith ever waken     
sorrow6 ,yea1 so doth it run alway      
,with the life of men1 and to-morrow    
must they mourn who rejoice      to-day6
    ,here follow the bitter tidings of  
,gahmuret's death4 ,then1 when the      
child of sorrow came to be born1        
,herzeleide retreated from the ,court1  
and took refuge in a wild woodland1     
where ,parsifal grew to manhood1  in    
ignorance of the world and its ways2 in 
ignorance also of his high  lineage1 for
 the ,queen held that she had suffered  
enough through  knighthood and its      
adventures1 and sought only to rescue   
her child from  the dangers of his      
father's fate4 ,i am drawing again upon 
,miss ,jessie  ,weston's charming       
translation of ,wolfram's poem for this 

delightful  picture of ,parsifal's      
boyhood3      ,no knightly weapon she   
gave him save such as in childish play  
,he wrought himself from the bushes that
 grew on his lonely way4    ,a bow and  
arrows he made him1 and with these in   
thoughtless glee1    ,he shot at the    
birds as they carolled o'erhead in the  
leafy tree4    ,but when the feathered  
songster of the woods at his feet lay   
dead1    ,in wonder and dumb amazement  
he bowed down his golden head1    ,and  
in childish wrath and sorrow tore the   
locks of his sunny hair    7,for ,i wot 
well of all earth's children was never a
 child so fair    ,as this boy1 who1    
afar in the desert1 from the haunts of  
mankind did      dwell1    ,who bathed  
in the mountain streamlet1 and roamed   
o'er the rock-strewn      fell67        
,then he thought him well how the music 
which his hand had for ever             
stilled1    ,had thrilled his soul with 
its sweetness2 and his heart was with   
sorrow filled1    ,and the ready tears  

of childhood flowed forth from their    
fountains      free1    ,and he ran to  
his mother weeping1 and bowed him beside
 her knee4    ,it may be that this      
passage partly inspired ,wagner in his  
treatment  of the incident of the       
stricken swan2 but in the heart of      
,herzeleide1  ,parsifal's love of the   
birds only begot a fierce jealousy1 and 
she sent  forth her servants to snare   
and slay the woodland choristers1 so    
that  she might have no rival in her    
boy's love4 ,but the boy's reproaches   
touched the mother's heart3      444    
8,now sweet1 my mother1 why trouble the 
birds so sore1    ,forsooth they can    
ne'er have harmed thee1 ah6 leave them  
in peace once      more60    ,and his   
mother kissed him gently1 8,perchance ,i
 have wrought a wrong1    ,of a truth   
the dear ,god who made them1 ,he gave   
unto them their song1    ,and ,i would  
not that one of ,his creatures should   
sorrow because of      me40    ,the     
turning-point in ,parsifal's career came

 a little later on1 when on  his        
wondering eyes fell the vision of       
certain of ,king ,arthur's knights  who 
passed through the forest3      ,it     
chanced through a woodland thicket one  
morn as he took his way1    ,and brake  
from o'erhanging bushes full many a     
leafy spray1    ,that a pathway steep   
and winding rose sharply his track      
anear1    ,and the distant beat of      
horse-hoofs fell strange on his         
wondering ear4    ,then the boy grasped 
his javelin firmly1 and thought what the
 sound      might be2    8,perchance    
'tis the ,devil cometh2 well1 ,i care   
not if it be he6    ,methinks ,i can    
still withstand him1 be he never so     
fierce and grim1    ,of a truth my lady 
mother she is o'er much afraid of him60 
,as he stood there for combat ready1    
behold6 in the morning light    ,three  
knights rode into the clearing in       
glittering armour bright4    ,from head 
to foot were they armd1 each one on his 
gallant steed1    ,and the lad1 as he   

saw their glory1 thought each one a god 
indeed6    ,no longer he stood defiant1 
but knelt low upon his knee1    ,and    
cried1 8,god who helpest all men1 ,i    
pray ,thee have thought for me60        
,from that hour the boy's heart1 like   
that of his father1 was fired  by the   
spirit of adventure4 ,how he followed   
after them in their  wanderings1 and    
how1 after much happening1 he arrived at
 ,king ,arthur's  ,court1 were too long 
to tell4 ,when she saw that his mind was
 made up  his mother put no obstacle in 
his path1 but robed him in the garb of a
  fool1 thinking1 in the cunning of her 
mother heart1 and 8the cruelty  of a    
mother's love10 as the poet phrases it1 
that when the world mocked  him he would
 return to the forest again4    ,it is  
at this point in the mental development 
of our hero that he  makes his entrance 
into ,wagner's opera4 ,as already noted1
 full and  skilful use is made by the   
modern author of the dramatic material  
which the legend discloses4 ,in the     

associated characters of ,kundry  and   
,klingsor he has given logical and      
coherent form to much that  lies        
scattered and disjointed in ,wolfram's  
poem2 and he has built up  the character
 of ,parsifal1 adding to the simpler    
conception of the  older writer an      
element of conscious philosophy that    
makes a strong  appeal to the countrymen
 of ,goethe4 ,not1 be it said1 that the 
outline  left by ,wolfram was indefinite
 or uncertain4 ,already in the legend   
,parsifal's personality is clearly      
marked4 8,a brave man10 says ,wolfram1  
8yet slowly wise is he whom ,i hail my  
hero10 and the steady growth of  wisdom 
based on sympathy and suffering is      
clearly traced in ,parsifal's           
successive visits to the ,grail ,castle4
 ,it is the ignorance of innocence  and 
egotism that on the first occasion keeps
 his lips dumb1 when the  sympathy he   
was afterwards to acquire might have    
prompted the simple  question that would
 have set the sufferer free1 while it   

was the  richer experience that came as 
his after inheritance which enabled  him
 finally to achieve the liberation of   
the wounded ,amfortas4 ,of that  first  
visit of ,parsifal to the ,castle1      
,wolfram writes3      ,yet one1         
uncalled1 rode thither1 and evil did    
then befall1    ,for foolish he was1 and
 witless1 and sin-laden from thence did 
fare1    ,since he asked not his host of
 his sorrow and the woe that he saw him 
bear4    ,no man would ,i blame1 yet    
this man ,i ween for his sins must pay  
,since he asked not the longed-for      
question which all sorrow had put       
away4    ,and in these lines we may find
 the germ of ,wagner's more conscious   
and  more didactic conception1 wherein  
we miss something of the simplicity1    
something also of the rich humanity of  
the twelfth-century poet4  ,this sense  
of loss in the modern presentment of the
 theme1 loss in  the spirit of romance1 
and in the impression of free and       
unfettered  humanity1 is perhaps an     

individual impression2 and ,i may       
conclude with  a tribute to ,wagner's   
genius by the late ,alfred ,nutt1 which 
certainly  does ample justice to the    
composer's contribution to the story1 as
 he  accepted it from the hands of the  
,bavarian knight4    8,kundry10 he      
writes1 8is ,wagner's great contribution
 to the legend4 ,she  is the ,herodias  
whom ,christ1 for her laughter1 doomed  
to wander till ,he  come again4 ,subject
 to the powers of evil1 she must tempt  
and lure to  their destruction the      
,grail warriors4 ,and yet she would find
 release  and salvation could a man     
resist her witch-like spell4 ,she knows 
this4  ,the scene between the unwilling 
temptress1 whose success would but doom 
her afresh1 and the virgin ,parsifal    
thus becomes tragic in the extreme4     
,how does this affect ,amfortas and the 
,grail8 ,in this way4 ,parsifal is a    
#8pure fool1' knowing naught of sin or  
suffering4 ,it has been foretold  of him
 he should become #8wise by             

fellow-suffering1' and so it proves4    
,the overmastering rush of desire       
unseals his eyes1 clears his mind4      
,heart-wounded by the shaft of passion1 
he feels ,amfortas's torture  thrill    
through him4 ,the pain of the physical  
wound is his1 but far  more the agony of
 the sinner who has been unworthy of his
 high trust1  and who1 soiled by carnal 
sin1 must yet daily come in contact with
 the  ,grail1 symbol of the highest     
purity and holiness4 ,the strength which
  comes of the new-born knowledge       
enables him to resist sensual longing1  
and thereby to release both ,kundry and 
,amfortas40          ,,sex ,,in         
,,tragedy      ,in the popular view of  
the play of ,macbeth the relation of the
 two  principal characters may be said  
to lie beyond the region of doubt  or   
discussion4 ,according to the tradition 
of the stage1 supported  in this        
instance by a respectable array of      
critical authority1 the  motive-power of
 the drama is not supplied by the       

8vaulting ambition0 of  ,macbeth        
himself1 but is to be sought rather in  
the sinister strength  and inhuman      
cruelty of his guilty partner4 ,in      
virtue of her unshaken  resolution and  
her superior resource1 ,lady ,macbeth is
 regarded as the  dominating influence  
in this awful record of crime1 and it   
may indeed  be doubted whether any part 
of equal length--for1 counted by actual 
lines1 it is one of the shortest in all 
tragic drama--has ever left  so strong a
 stamp on the popular imagination4 ,nor 
is the prevalent  conception of ,lady   
,macbeth's character lacking at all in  
distinctness  of definition4 ,the       
outlines of the portrait are sharply and
 deeply  impressed3 and as she is       
commonly represented to us1 it takes the
 form  of a sexless creature endowed    
with the temper of a man and the heart  
of  a fiend4 ,the embodiment of all     
those fiercer passions that are deemed  
to be most repugnant to the ideal of    
womanhood1 and moved by a will  that is 

deaf to the pleadings of humanity and   
inaccessible to the voice  of eternal   
law1 she is regarded as the evil genius 
of her husband1  crushing by the weight 
of her stronger individuality the       
constant  promptings of his better      
nature1 and sweeping him with           
irresistible  force into a bottomless   
abyss of crime4    ,to this popular view
 of the character ,mrs4 ,kemble1 in her 
notes on  ,shakespeare1 gives vivacious 
expression4 ,here we are told that ,lady
  ,macbeth was not only devoid of 8all  
the peculiar sensibilities of her  sex10
 but that she was actually incapable of 
the feelings of remorse4  ,the sleepless
 madness of her closing hours was not1  
so we are assured1  the result of       
conscious guilt1 for that was foreign to
 her nature3 it  resembled rather the   
nightmare of a butcher who is haunted by
 the blood  in which his hands are      
imbrued4 ,and as to her death1 it was   
due in no  degree to the anguish of a   
stricken soul1 but was in some occult   

way  directly traceable to the          
unconquerable wickedness of her heart4  
8,i think10 writes ,mrs4 ,kemble1 with  
the eager interest of a scientific      
inquirer on the track of a new poison1  
8her life was destroyed by sin  as by a 
disease of which she was unconscious1   
and that she died of a  broken heart1   
while the impenetrable resolution of her
 will remained  unbowed4 ,the spirit was
 willing1 but the flesh was weak2 the   
body  can sin but so much and survive2  
and other deadly passions besides  those
 of violence and sensuality can wear    
away its fine tissues and  undermine its
 wonderful fabric4 ,the woman's mortal  
frame succumbed to  the tremendous      
weight of sin and suffering which her   
immortal soul had  power to sustain2 and
 having destroyed its temporal house of 
earthly  sojourn1 that soul1 unexhausted
 by its wickedness1 went forth into its 
new abode of eternity40    ,allowing for
 a certain feminine vehemence in the    
wording of the  indictment1 this view of

 ,lady ,macbeth can scarcely be said to 
exaggerate the current conception of her
 character4 ,that it represents  a      
somewhat grotesque caricature of        
,shakespeare's marvellous creation1     
will plainly appear from even the most  
cursory examination of the  text1 and   
has1 indeed1 already been pointed out on
 more than one  occasion4 ,in #ahfg ,mr4
 ,p4 ,w4 ,clayden1 in the ,fortnightly  
,review1 made  a praiseworthy attempt to
 revive the finer outlines of           
,shakespeare's  portrait1 an attempt in 
which he had already been forestalled by
 ,mr4  ,fletcher in the ,westminster    
,review for #ahdd1 and by a writer in   
the  ,national ,review for #ahfc4       
,the only reproach that can fairly be   
brought against the last-named  article1
 which for the rest deserves to rank as 
a careful and searching  piece of       
criticism1 is that it has too much the  
tone of being delivered  as a brief in  
the lady's favour4 ,the advocacy of her 
cause1 and the  consequent denunciation 

of the character of her husband1 are    
both in a  style that seems rather to   
blur the imaginative beauty of the      
picture  as a whole4 ,we are made to    
feel that we are sitting in a court of  
law rather than at a poet's feet1 and we
 are sharply reminded of the  somewhat  
inappropriate arena into which the      
discussion has drifted by  the writer's 
concluding assertion1 that ,macbeth was 
8one of the worst  villains0 ever drawn 
by ,shakespeare4 ,charges of this sort  
smack too  strongly of the forensic     
method1 and have but little significance
 when  applied to the central figure of 
a great tragedy4 ,if ,macbeth stood at  
the bar of the ,old ,bailey he would    
undoubtedly be convicted of murder1  and
 so1 for that matter1 would his wife2   
but it is the poet's privilege  to lift 
the record of crime into an ideal       
atmosphere2 and when1 at  the magic     
bidding of genius1 the closest secrets  
of the human heart  have been unlocked1 
and its inner workings laid bare1 such  

epithets  as may be used to dismiss the 
record of a police case cease to be     
instructive1 and are scarcely even      
relevant to the wider issue that  has   
been raised4 ,the character of ,iago1   
with whom ,macbeth is compared1  stands 
on different ground4 ,it was there no   
part of ,shakespeare's task  to lift the
 impenetrable mask of malice which      
serves as the instrument  of ,othello's 
destruction4 ,iago is known to us only  
by his pitiless  delight in human       
torture1 and by the sinister cruelty of 
which he  stands accused and convicted2 
while in the case of ,macbeth1 despite  
his  heavier record of actual crime1 the
 evil that he wrought serves only  as   
the stepping-stone by which we are      
allowed to enter into the deeper        
recesses of his soul4    ,but there is  
one point in the article to which we    
have referred that  has a profound      
interest for the student of the drama4  
,it is the  writer's main contention    
that the source of the error he seeks to

  correct is to be traced to what he    
terms a distortion of the stage4  ,the  
figure of ,lady ,macbeth as now         
popularly accepted is represented  as   
the lineal descendant of the genius of  
,mrs4 ,siddons4 ,it was her             
incomparable art which first gave to the
 character the particular  stamp it now 
bears1 and chased from the popular      
imagination the more  delicate creation 
of the poet's brain4 ,this charge       
carries with it1 of  course1 a splendid 
tribute to the artist's powers1 and the 
experience  of our own time proves that 
it may not be altogether unfounded4 ,it 
is  not so long ago since the glamour of
 ,salvini's genius1 with its superb     
gifts of voice and bearing and its      
incomparable technical resource1        
succeeded in effacing the ,othello of   
,shakespeare1 leaving us in its  stead a
 figure admirably effective for the     
purposes of the stage1 but  sadly       
lacking in the higher and finer elements
 with which the character  had been     

endowed by the author4 ,and it may be   
added that the witness  of              
contemporaries goes far to support this 
particular view of ,mrs4  ,siddons'     
performance of the part4 ,the poet      
,campbell testifies to the              
extraordinary impression she created    
when he writes that 8the moment  she    
seized the part she identified her image
 with it in the minds of  the living    
generation40 ,boaden1 her earlier       
biographer1 speaking of her  first      
entrance on the scene1 says1 8,the      
distinction of sex was only  external2  
#8her spirits' informed their tenement  
with the apathy of a  demon02 and       
evidence to the same effect is supplied 
by the interesting  notes of ,professor 
,bell1 first published some few years   
ago by  ,professor ,fleeming ,jenkin4   
8,of ,lady ,macbeth10 he writes1 8there 
is not much in the play1 but the        
wonderful genius of ,mrs4 ,siddons makes
 it the whole4 ,she makes it tell  the  
whole story of the ambitious project1   

the disappointment1 the  remorse1 the   
sickness and despair of guilty ambition1
 the attainment  of whose object is no  
cure for the wounds of the spirit4      
,macbeth in  ,kemble's hand is only a   
co-operating part4 ,i can conceive      
,garrick to  have sunk ,lady ,macbeth as
 much as ,mrs4 ,siddons does ,macbeth1  
yet when  you see ,mrs4 ,siddons play   
the part you scarcely can believe that  
any  acting could make her part         
subordinate4 ,her turbulent and inhuman 
strength of spirit does all4 ,she turns 
,macbeth to her purpose1 makes  him her 
mere instrument1 guides1 directs1 and   
inspires the whole plot4  ,like         
,macbeth's evil genius1 she hurries him 
on in the mad career of  ambition and   
cruelty from which his nature would have
 shrunk40    ,if this was really the    
impression produced by ,mrs4            
,siddons--and the  ,professor's notes   
are in close accord with ,boaden's      
description of  her as 8an exulting     
savage0--it only proves how potent a    

factor in  the art of the stage is the  
unconscious and inevitable intrusion  of
 the actor's personality4 ,for this     
creature of 8turbulent and  inhuman     
strength of spirit0 was not at all what 
,mrs4 ,siddons in her  critical moments 
conceived ,lady ,macbeth to be4 ,her    
recorded memoranda  exhibit a widely    
different interpretation1 and contain1  
indeed1 much  penetrating criticism on  
the general scope and purpose of the    
play4  ,even the physical image of ,lady
 ,macbeth1 as it presented itself to    
her imagination1 was strangely unlike   
the threatening and commanding  figure  
which she actually presented on the     
stage4 ,she thought of her as  embodying
 a type of beauty 8generally allowed to 
be most captivating  to the other sex1  
fair1 feminine1 nay1 perhaps even       
fragile0--a  description which calls    
from her biographer the almost indignant
  protest that 8the public would ill    
have exchanged such a representation    
for the dark locks and eagle eyes of    

,mrs4 ,siddons40 ,but the most          
remarkable feature of her criticism lies
 in its constant insistence  upon the   
essentially feminine nature of ,lady    
,macbeth4 ,speaking of her  entrance in 
the ,third ,act1 she pictures in a few  
eloquent words the  sudden change which 
the haunting memory of crime has already
 wrought  in her character4 8,the golden
 round of royalty now crowns her brow   
and royal robes enfold her form1 but the
 peace which passeth all  understanding 
is lost to her for ever1 and the worm   
that never dies  already gnaws her      
heart40 ,and1 again1 still treating of  
this same  scene1 the most deplorably   
pathetic in all tragedy1 8she exhibits  
for  the first time striking indications
 of sensibility1 nay1 tenderness and    
sympathy2 and ,i think this conduct is  
nobly followed up by her during  the    
whole of their subsequent eventful      
intercourse40 ,not less striking  is the
 keen perception which these notes      
exhibit of the terrible  anguish of the 

woman herself3 8,her feminine nature1   
her delicate  structure1 it is too      
evident1 are soon overwhelmed by the    
enormous  pressure of her crimes4444    
,she knows by her own woeful experience 
the  torments he undergoes1 and         
endeavours to alleviate his sufferings40
    ,but there is one sentence in these 
notes more pregnant with meaning  than  
all the rest4 8,the different physical  
powers of the two sexes10  she writes1  
8are finely delineated in the different 
effects which their  mutual crimes      
produce40 ,here in a few words is to be 
found the key  that will unlock the     
heart of the tragedy4 ,not merely the   
different  physical powers1 but also1   
and with even a deeper truth1 the       
different  mental and moral             
characteristics of the two sexes in the 
presence of  crime1 are here illustrated
 by ,shakespeare with unsurpassable     
force  and delicacy4 ,this is the       
imaginative theme which his transcendent
  genius has fastened upon the legend of

 ,macbeth1 and there is scarcely a  line
 of the play which can be rightly       
understood until we realise that  the   
two central figures are1 and are        
deliberately intended to be1 the        
embodiment and expression of the        
contrasted characteristics of sex4  ,to 
argue that ,lady ,macbeth is not truly  
and typically a woman1 is to  destroy at
 one blow the delicate fabric which the 
poet has been at  such pains to         
construct3 to strive to vindicate the   
character of her  husband at her        
expense1 is but a vain endeavour to     
break through the  empire of crime which
 sways and dominates the lives of both4 
,there is  here1 indeed1 no question of 
moral rescue for either2 and it were    
idle  to debate what he or she might    
have been under different conditions4   
,for1 as ,shakespeare has conceived the 
action of the story1 the shadow  of     
guilt hangs from the first like a murky 
cloud in the sky1 and the  invisible    
hands of fate have drawn the net of evil

 closely around them  long ere they     
appear upon the scene4 ,but1 accepting  
these conditions1  with the             
transformation of individual character  
which they imply1  ,macbeth stands out  
among the works of ,shakespeare as a    
sublime study  of sexual contrast1 a    
superb embodiment of the force and the  
weakness  of the conjugal relation4     
,coleridge has aptly observed that the  
dominant note of the tragedy  is struck 
in its opening lines4 ,the appearance of
 the supernatural  agents of evil serves
 to set the framework of the picture3   
their choppy  fingers have already drawn
 the magic circle of malignant fate     
around  the caged souls of ,macbeth and 
his partner1 who are henceforth to be   
prisoners in a world where 8fog and     
filthy air0 exclude the purer  light of 
heaven1 a world in which the moral order
 of the universe  is upturned1 and where
 8fair is foul and foul is fair40 ,the  
whole  after-action of the story passes 
in this darkened and shadowed light3    

the forms of the principal characters   
starting out from a background of       
crime1 illumined as by the lurid gleam  
of a stormy sunset whose clouds  drip   
blood4 ,and as the play advances the    
scene seems gradually shifted  into some
 unknown latitude of eternal night1     
where the voices of nature  are made to 
chorus the direful music of the witches'
 incantation4  ,throughout the drama    
this dominant note of evil is kept      
constantly  vibrating4 ,even for those  
whose hearts are free the poisoned air  
seems  to carry some taint of infection1
 and the imagination shudders at the    
uneasy forebodings that haunt the soul  
of ,banquo1 who fears to trust  his     
assured integrity to the attacks of the 
secret agents of the dark4      ,hold1  
take my sword4--,there's husbandry in   
heaven1    ,their candles are all       
out4--,take thee that too4    ,a heavy  
summons lies like lead upon me1    ,and 
yet ,i would not sleep4 ,merciful       
powers6    ,restrain in me the cursd    

thoughts that nature    ,gives way to in
 repose6    ,macbeth1 indeed1 in its    
imaginative setting is a play of the    
night2  and with unwearied imagery      
,shakespeare again and again appeals to 
the  forces of darkness as so many      
symbols of the black pall of crime that 
weighs upon the souls of ,macbeth and   
his wife4 ,nearly every page of  the    
drama yields some striking picture fit  
to conjure up such fears as  ,banquo    
feels4 ,thus ,macbeth himself on his way
 to the king's chamber3      ,nature    
seems dead1 and wicked dreams abuse     
,the curtained sleep4    ,and1 again1   
,lady ,macbeth in the same scene3       
,it was the owl that shrieked1 the fatal
 bellman    ,which gives the stern'st   
good-night4    ,and when the murder has 
been committed1 ,nature1 through the    
lips of  ,lenox1 makes her own          
contribution to the picture3      ,the  
night has been unruly3 where we lay1    
,our chimneys were blown down2 and1 as  
they say1    ,lamentings heard i' the   

air3 strange screams of death    ,and1  
prophesying with accents terrible    ,of
 dire combustion and confused events1   
,new hatched to the woful time1 the     
obscure bird    ,clamour'd the live-long
 night3 some say the earth    ,was      
feverous and did shake4    ,how superbly
 is the effect of this description and  
its symbolic  significance again        
enforced by the words of ,rosse in a    
subsequent  scene3                      
,by the clock 'tis day    ,and yet dark 
night strangles the travelling lamp3    
,is't night's predominance1 or the day's
 shame1    ,that darkness does the face 
of earth entomb1    ,when living light  
should kiss it8    ,the 8night's        
predominance0 fit emblem of the deeds of
 this 8woful  time0 prevails to the end3
 and as ,macbeth advances in his        
terrible  crusade his soul becomes      
attuned to its surroundings1 and on the 
eve of  ,banquo's murder he calls       
darkness to his aid4 8,the west yet     
glimmers  with some streaks of day0 when

 he utters that terrible invocation3    
,come1 seeling night1    ,scarf up the  
tender eye of pitiful day2    ,and1 with
 thy bloody and invisible hand1         
,cancel1 and tear to pieces1 that great 
bond    ,which keeps me pale6 ,light    
thickens2 and the crow    ,makes wing to
 the rooky wood2    ,good things of day 
begin to droop and drowse2    ,while    
night's black agents to their prey do   
rouse4    ,lady ,macbeth had already    
anticipated the spirit of this dread    
summons  when1 on the eve of ,duncan's  
coming to her castle1 she cries out in  
the  impatience of her passionate       
impulse3                          ,come1
 thick night1    ,and pall thee in the  
dunnest smoke of hell6    ,that my keen 
knife see not the wound it makes2       
,nor heaven peep through the blanket of 
the dark1    ,to cry 8,hold1 ,hold60    
,through this realm of darkness1 that   
knows no dawn till that last  hour when 
by the hand of ,macduff 8the time is    
free10 ,shakespeare  conducts his       

characters with no uncertain step4 ,lit 
as by the light of  the under-world1 the
 fell purpose of the guilty pair stands 
plainly  revealed to us on the very     
threshold of the drama3 the seeds of    
murder  had been sown long ere the weird
 sisters have shrieked their fatal      
preface to the action2 and before we    
meet with either ,macbeth or his  wife1 
the souls of both are already deeply    
dyed in blood4 ,nothing1  indeed1 could 
be more absurd than to suggest that the 
murder of ,duncan  is the fruit of      
sudden impulse on his part or hers2 nor 
could anything  be more destructive of  
the whole scheme of the poet's work than
 the  assumption that ,macbeth's        
enfeebled virtue was overborne by the   
satanic  strength of her will4 ,we      
cannot too often remind ourselves that  
there  is no question of virtue here3 it
 could not live in the air they had     
learned to breathe3 it has passed beyond
 the ken of minds that have  long       
brooded over crime4 ,and it may be      

pointed out that ,shakespeare  himself  
has been at particular pains to make    
this clear to us2 for he  doubtless     
felt1 and felt rightly1 that unless the 
starting-point were  clearly kept in    
view1 the subsequent development of the 
action1 with  the contrast of character 
it is designed to illustrate1 would lose
  all significance4 ,therefore at the   
first entrance of ,macbeth1 when  the   
eulogy of others has but just pictured  
him to us as a soldier of  dauntless    
courage fighting loyally for his        
sovereign1 we are allowed  to see that  
the thought of ,duncan's death has      
already found a lodging  in his heart4  
,as the weird sisters lift the veil of  
the future and  point the dark way to   
the throne1 the vision that presents    
itself to  his eyes is but the mirrored 
image of the bloody picture seated in   
his own brain2 and in foretelling the   
end1 they wring from his lips a         
confession of the means which he has    
already devised for its fulfilment3     

,why do ,i yield to that suggestion     
,whose horrid image doth unfix my hair1 
,and make my seated heart knock at my   
ribs1    ,against the use of nature8    
,present fears    ,are less than        
horrible imaginings3    ,my thought1    
whose murder yet is but fantastical1    
,shakes so my single state of man1 that 
function    ,is smothered in surmise2   
and nothing is    ,but what is not4     
,then1 like one affrighted by the echo  
of his own voice1 he stands for  a      
moment appalled at the concrete shape   
into which these withered hags  have    
thrown his own phantasy1 and1 seeking to
 ignore1 what he knows but  too well1   
that in this dread business fate and he 
are one1 tries to  cheat his senses with
 the soothing anodyne that he may yet   
escape the  responsibilities of action3 
,if chance will have me king1 why1      
chance may crown me1    ,without my     
stir4    ,but this mood lasts only a    
little while1 for in the next scene1    
even  while his grateful sovereign is   

loading him with honours1 his dark      
purpose is seen to have taken still more
 defined shape3                         
,stars1 hide your fires6    ,let not    
light see my black and deep desires3    
,the eye wink at the hand6 yet let that 
be1    ,which the eye fears1 when it is 
done1 to see4    ,all this1 be it       
observed1 takes place before the meeting
 between  himself and his wife4 ,but it 
needed not his coming to enable her to  
divine his thoughts or to force her to  
confess her own4 ,his written  message  
to her contains no hint of murder1 and  
yet the words she  utters1 as she holds 
his letter in her hands1 have no meaning
 unless  we suppose that the violent    
death of ,duncan had long been the      
subject  of conjugal debate4 ,she has   
watched the working of the poison in his
  breast1 and has already anticipated   
the hesitation which he afterwards      
displays4 ,how far her generous         
interpretation of his halting action    
accords with the real character of the  

man we shall presently see  for         
ourselves3 but for the moment her speech
 suffices to afford the  clearest       
evidence that he had already imparted to
 her his guilty  purpose3               
,yet do ,i fear thy nature2    ,it is   
too full o' the milk of human kindness1 
,to catch the nearest way4 ,thou        
would'st be great2    ,art not without  
ambition2 but without    ,the illness   
should attend it4 ,what thou would'st   
highly1    ,that thou would'st holily2  
would'st not play false1    ,and yet    
would'st wrongly win4    ,and that we   
may be in no doubt as to the original   
source from which  this diabolical plot 
proceeded1 ,shakespeare makes the truth 
doubly  plain to us in a subsequent     
passage4 ,when the hesitation1 which she
 had  feared1 threatens to wreck their  
cherished scheme of crime1 she reminds  
him that in its inception the idea was  
his1 not hers3                          
,what beast was't1 then1    ,that made  
you break this enterprise to me8        

99       99       99       99       99  
,nor time1 nor place1    ,did then      
adhere1 and yet you would make both3    
,they have made themselves1 and that    
their fitness now    ,does unmake you4  
,nor1 indeed1 would the conduct of      
either be humanly explicable  unless we 
clearly grasp the situation as it is    
here plainly stated  by ,shakespeare4   
,her superlative strength in executive  
resource is  only consistent with the   
assumption that she has accepted without
  questioning a policy that was none of 
her own devising3 his apparent          
weakness1 on the other hand1 is the     
inevitable attitude of an  imaginative  
temperament which feels all the         
responsibilities and  forecasts the     
consequences of the crime it has        
conceived4    ,and this brings us to a  
consideration of the particular types of
  character which have been chosen by   
,shakespeare for the two principal      
figures of his tragedy4 ,i have         
suggested that the ideal motive of the  

drama lies in its contrast of the       
distinctive qualities of sex as  these  
are developed under the pressure of a   
combined purpose and a  common          
experience3 and it will be found1 at any
 rate1 that the special  individuality  
which the author has assigned to        
,macbeth not less than  to his wife     
aptly serves the end ,i have supposed he
 had in view4 ,dr4  ,johnson has said of
 the play1 that 8it has no nice         
discriminations  of character2 the      
events are too great to admit the       
influence of  particular dispositions1  
and the course of the action necessarily
  determines the conduct of the agents40
 ,this1 of course1 is putting the       
matter too crudely4 ,shakespeare was not
 wont to deal in abstractions1  though  
by the force of his imagination he could
 so inform his work  as to raise the    
exhibition of individual nature into an 
image of our  common humanity4 ,still   
less can he be accused of inventing mere
 puppets  with no other function than to

 carry the chosen legend to its close4  
,his characters always outlive the      
particular circumstances in which  they 
are employed3 they are enriched by a    
thousand touches of reality  not        
absolutely needed for the requirements  
of the scene1 which allow  us to pursue 
them in imagination beyond the margin of
 the printed  page4 ,but there is at    
least this truth underlying ,johnson's  
criticism1  that1 accepting the malign  
influences under which their natures are
  exhibited1 there is nothing abnormal  
in the character of either2 and  that   
what is particularly distinctive about  
them has been added with  the view of   
giving ideal emphasis to tendencies that
 are common to us  all4    ,we shall    
realise this the better as we come to   
examine more nearly  their conduct and  
bearing towards the one terrible        
circumstance that  dominates the lives  
of both4 ,for it must never be forgotten
 that in the  play of ,macbeth the      
murder of ,duncan means all4 ,it is the 

touchstone  by which temperament and    
disposition are tried and developed2 the
  instrument of evolution which the poet
 has found ready to his hand1  and which
 he has wielded with all the            
extraordinary force of his  genius4 ,the
 first of a long list of horrors        
committed by ,macbeth1 it  nevertheless 
in essence contains them all2 and though
 it hurries his  unfortunate partner by 
a more terrible passage to a swifter    
doom1 it  illumines as by               
lightning-flashes every phase of the    
woman's nature1  from the first         
passionate impulse of evil to the       
remorse that cannot  find refuge even in
 madness1 and is only silenced by death4
    ,on the threshold of this terrible  
adventure in what mood do we find  them8
 ,the project1 as we have seen1 is no   
stranger to the breast of  either1 and  
yet with what strangely different effect
 has the poison  worked its spell6 ,they
 have been apart1 and the soul of each  
has been  thrown back upon itself4 ,in  

the thick of action1 8disdaining fortune
  with his brandished steel10 ,macbeth  
has become infirm of purpose3 alone  in 
her castle at ,inverness1 ,lady ,macbeth
 has brooded over the crime  until it   
has completely possessed her4 ,with the 
concentration of a  woman's nature1 she 
has driven from her brain all other     
thoughts save  this3 and she waits now  
with impatient expectancy for the hour  
that  shall put her courage to the      
proof4 ,here1 as we see1 the divergence 
of  sex has already asserted itself1    
working such a transformation that  when
 they meet they scarcely recognise one  
another4 ,the sudden coming  of the     
occasion so long plotted and desired by 
both has hastened the  development of   
individual character4 ,he finds in the  
8dearest partner0  of his greatness a   
being so formidable that he regards her 
for the  moment with feelings of mingled
 admiration and dismay3      ,bring     
forth men-children only2    ,for thy    
undaunted metal should compose          

,nothing but males4    ,and though1 with
 the woman's finer instinct1 she has    
partly divined  and anticipated his     
mood1 she is appalled at the extent of  
the change  it has wrought in him4      
,beneath the armour of the valiant      
soldier she  finds1 as she thinks1 the  
trembling heart of a coward1 and struck 
with  sudden terror at his failing      
purpose1 she tries to recall him to his 
former self3      ,when you durst do it1
 then you were a man2    ,and1 to be    
more than what you were1 you would      
,be so much more the man4    ,from this 
moment they are strangers in spirit1    
though the old bond  still holds them   
together4 ,and yet to us1 who view the  
whole picture  with the poet's larger   
vision1 the process of development moves
 in  obedience to inevitable law4 ,for  
at such a crisis it is natural in  a man
 to anticipate3 in a woman to remember2 
on the eve of action  he looks forward  
with apprehension3 on the morrow she    
looks back  with regret2 and while his  

nature is stronger in restraint1 hers1  
on  the contrary1 surrenders itself more
 completely to the passion of  remorse4 
,the finer moral feelings of a woman are
 retrospective1 for  her imagination    
feeds and broods upon the past4 ,she is 
often more  intrepid in action because  
the intensity of her purpose bars the   
view  of consequence2 and whether the   
enterprise be heroic or malign1 her     
indifference to danger1 which then far  
surpasses the courage of man1  is never 
so superbly illustrated as when she     
labours in his service1  and not for any
 ends of her own4 ,and so it happens    
that where she only  follows she        
sometimes seems to lead1 and the man1   
who has devised the  policy which her   
readier resource only avails to carry   
into execution1  appears in the guise of
 the reluctant victim of her stronger   
purpose  and more undaunted will4    ,in
 order the better to exhibit these      
tendencies of her sex1 ,shakespeare  has
 pictured for us in ,lady ,macbeth a    

woman of the highest nervous            
organisation1 whose deep devotion gives 
to her character a passionate  intensity
 of purpose that seems at times to be   
more than human4 ,while  the troubled   
surface of ,macbeth's mind sends back   
but a blurred image  of the dark secret 
that it hides1 in her transparent nature
 the guilty  project of his ambition is 
clearly and sharply mirrored4 ,before   
the  murder of ,duncan she can see      
nothing but the crime and its reward1   
that  crime--      ,which shall to all  
our nights and days to come    ,give    
solely sovereign sway and masterdom4    
,macbeth's message has reminded her that
 the time is drawing near1 and  she     
resolves to chase from his brain--      
,all that impedes thee from the golden  
round1    which the witches have placed 
upon his brow4 ,in the next moment she  
hears of the king's expected arrival1   
and then she knows that the hour  so    
long awaited has come at last1 and she  
nerves herself for the one  supreme     

effort of her life3      ,the raven     
himself is hoarse    ,that croaks the   
fatal entrance of ,duncan    ,under my  
battlements4 ,come1 you spirits    ,that
 tend on mortal thoughts1 unsex me here2
    ,and fill me1 from the crown to the 
toe1 top-full    ,of direst cruelty6    
,but it is a vain cry2 for throughout   
the terrible experiences of the  next   
few hours the feminine nature is ever   
dominant4 ,if there are no  women save  
those who deal in gentle deeds1 then    
,jael did not drive the  nail into the  
forehead of ,sisera1 and it was not     
,judith's hand that  compassed the death
 of ,holofernes4 ,and yet1 if such as   
they were truly  of the sex which claims
 them1 by a still firmer title may we   
say of  ,lady ,macbeth that she is every
 inch a woman4 ,it is the woman who in  
this same scene greets her husband on   
his return3      ,great ,glamis6 worthy 
,cawdor6    ,greater than both1 by the  
all-hail hereafter6    ,thy letters have
 transported me beyond    ,this ignorant

 present1 and ,i feel now    ,the future
 in the instant4    ,and in 8the        
instant0 she now lives1 looking neither 
before nor after2  for the future that  
she sees stretches no further than the  
dreaded  deed which is to bring         
fulfilment of all their cherished hopes4
 ,as she  has shut out the past1 with   
whatever compassionate scruples it might
  recall1 so in like manner her fixed   
concentration on the business in  hand  
excludes all vision of the time to come4
 ,if she had been endowed  with         
,macbeth's imagination1 which could ride
 so swiftly on the track  of            
consequence1 ,duncan would indeed have  
gone forth on the morrow as  he         
purposed4 ,it needed this fatal         
combination to effect what neither      
would have accomplished alone--the man's
 guilty conception poisoning  and       
possessing the woman's soul1 the woman's
 surrender to his will so  complete and 
passionate that when he falters she     
stands before him as  the glittering    

image of his former self1 a superb      
creation of his own  brain1 endowed with
 all1 and more than all1 the courage he 
had lost4  ,this is ,lady ,macbeth on   
the eve of ,duncan's murder4 ,from the  
moment  that she perceives his wavering 
resolution she takes the yoke of action 
on to her own shoulders4 ,she contrives 
and schemes every detail of the  crime1 
and with ever-increasing impetuosity    
urges his failing footsteps  towards the
 goal he now fears to reach4 ,but the   
precious moments  are speeding onward1  
and her passionate arguments seem       
powerless to  lift his sickened spirit2 
till at the last1 with all the rhetoric 
of  despair1 she presents to his        
affrighted gaze a blackened image of    
herself1 thinking1 as well she may1 that
 such a vision will prove more  potent  
than curses to fan into flame the dying 
embers of his resolve3                  
,i have given suck1 and know    ,how    
tender 'tis to love the babe that milks 
me2    ,i would1 while it was smiling in

 my face1    ,have pluck'd my nipple    
from his boneless gums1    ,and dash'd  
the brains out1 had ,i so sworn as you  
,have done to this4    ,it seems almost 
incredible1 but it is nevertheless true1
 that this  frenzied appeal has over and
 again been accepted as ,lady ,macbeth's
  judicial report upon her own          
character4 ,a speech which is conceived 
in  the most daring spirit of dramatic  
fitness1 and which bears in every  word 
the stamp of the special purpose for    
which it is uttered1 is  transformed    
into a prosaic statement of fact2 and we
 can only wonder we  are not also       
invited to believe that this somewhat   
rigorous treatment  of the young        
accounts for the fact that the play     
contains no mention of  the lady's      
surviving offspring4    ,when the scene 
in which the awful passage occurs has   
drawn to its  close1 ,lady ,macbeth's   
task is already more than half          
accomplished4  ,her fiery eloquence has 
roused him from his stupor1 and1        

inspired by  the dauntless spirit which 
he had himself inspired1 he bends up    
8each  corporal agent to this terrible  
feat40 ,but she does not rest until all 
is finished2 she never falters till the 
goal is passed4 ,the woman's  quivering 
nerves1 more potent than the iron sinews
 of a giant1 bear her  up safely to the 
end2 and then1 with a woman's weakness1 
they break1  not beneath the weight they
 bear1 but beneath the weight they have 
borne4 ,so long as the need of action   
endures she remains unflinching  and    
undismayed4 ,it is she who drugs the    
grooms in preparation for the  murder3  
it is she who at the supreme moment1    
when he can do no more1  revisits the   
chamber of death to complete what he has
 left undone3                           
,infirm of purpose6    ,give me the     
daggers3 the sleeping and the dead      
,are but as pictures3 'tis the eye of   
childhood    ,that fears a painted      
devil4    ,a speech which shows how     
little she knew herself2 for throughout 

all  her brief after-life this picture  
of 8the sleeping and the dead0 is  set  
in flames before her haunted vision and 
burnt with fire into the  depths of her 
soul4    ,from this time forward        
,macbeth and his wife change places4 ,in
 outward  seeming at least1 their       
positions are reversed1 though when we  
look  beneath the surface there is an   
inexorable consistency in the conduct   
of both4 ,he1 whose imagination had     
foreseen all the consequences of  this  
initial step in crime1 braces himself   
without hesitation to the  completion of
 his fatal task2 she1 who had foreseen  
nothing1 is thrown  back upon the past1 
her dormant imagination now terribly    
alert1 and  picturing to her broken     
spirit all the horrors she had          
previously  ignored4 ,as the penalty of 
his crime is unresting action1 her      
heavier  doom is isolated despair2 and  
it is significant to observe that it  is
 she who suffers most acutely all the   
moral torments he had only  anticipated 

for himself4 ,macbeth indeed had        
8murdered sleep10 but it  was her sleep 
he had murdered as well as his own2 and 
the blood that1  he feared1 not 8all    
great ,neptune's ocean0 would wash away1
 counts  for little with one who        
afterwards plunged breast-high into the 
full  tide of blood1 but remains with   
her a haunting memory to the end4 ,this 
change is already well marked in the    
scene immediately following the  murder1
 when he suddenly wrests the conduct of 
affairs from her hands1  and she sinks  
appalled at the dark vista of unending  
crime which his  readiness in resource  
now first opens to her view4 ,he who    
before had  stood with trembling feet   
upon the brink of the stream now rushes 
headlong into the flood2 to complete the
 chain of suspicion1 he murders  the two
 grooms without an instant's hesitation2
 and before the next ,act  opens he has 
already planned the death of ,banquo and
 his son4    ,but from this point he    
proceeds alone4 ,her help is no longer  

needed1  and even if it were not so1 she
 has none now to give4 8,naught's had1  
all's spent40 ,her dream is shattered2  
the vision of glory is fled away  into  
the night1 and she who had felt 8the    
future in the instant0 can  only brood  
over the wreck of the past4 ,the crown  
for which she had  struggled presses    
like molten lead into her brain2 the    
lamp which has  lighted her so far only 
flings its rays backward on the         
blood-stained  pathway she has trodden2 
and1 bitterest of all to her woman's    
soul1 the  evil she had wrought for his 
sake now breaks their lives asunder and 
parts them for ever4 ,for his spirit has
 no access to the anguish of  remorse   
that is fast hurrying her to the tomb1  
and she on her side can  take no part in
 those darker projects with which he    
seeks to buttress  the tottering fabric 
of his ambition4 ,in all tragedy there  
is nothing  so pitiful in its pathos as 
the passage in which she strives to     
grant  to her husband the support of    

which she herself stands so sorely in   
need4 ,she feels instinctively that he  
shuns her company1 and surmises  that he
 too is suffering the lonely pangs of   
remorse1 little guessing  that he comes 
to her fresh from a new scheme of       
murder3      ,how now1 my lord8 why do  
you keep alone1    ,of sorriest fancies 
your companions making8    ,using those 
thoughts which should indeed have died  
,with them they think on8 ,things       
without all remedy1    ,should be       
without regard3 what's done1 is done4   
,with what a jarring note comes his     
answer3      ,we have scotched the      
snake1 not killed it4    ,and yet1      
despite this answer1 with its clear     
indication of the true  drift of his    
thoughts1 she still fails to realise the
 gulf that divides  them4 ,all through  
the banquet scene she cannot rid herself
 of the  belief that he is haunted1 as  
she is haunted1 by the vision of the    
murdered king1 and even when he strips  
off the mask and bares the inner        

workings of his breast--                
,for mine own good1    ,all causes shall
 give way2 ,i am in blood    ,stepp'd in
 so far1 that1 should ,i wade no more1  
,returning were as tedious as go o'er1  
she listens without understanding1 and  
still interpreting his  sufferings by   
her own1 answers him from the sleepless 
anguish of her  own soul3      ,you lack
 the season of all natures1 sleep4      
,in the interval1 before we meet ,lady  
,macbeth again1 and for the  last time1 
she has learnt all2 and beneath the     
weight of her guilty  knowledge her     
shattered nerves have snapped and       
broken4 ,throughout the  wandering      
utterances of her dying hours her       
imagination is unalterably  fixed upon  
the scene and circumstances of ,duncan's
 death1 but across  this unchanging     
background flit other spectres besides  
that of the  murdered king4 ,banquo is  
there1 and ,macduff's unhappy wife3 she 
is  spared no item in the dreary        
catalogue of her husband's crimes2  and 

yet1 always overpowering these more     
recent memories1 come the               
thick-crowding thoughts of that one     
fatal hour1 when her spirit shot  like a
 flame across the sky1 and then fell    
headlong down the dark abyss  of night4 
,the character of ,macbeth standing in  
vivid contrast to that of his  wife1 has
 been subject to an equal amount of     
misconception1 though  of a different   
sort4 ,he is commonly represented as    
being pursued by  the constant warnings 
of conscience1 which are only silenced  
by the  evil ascendancy of the          
commanding figure at his elbow4 ,but    
this is  to antedate the action of the  
drama1 and to mistake the real basis  of
 his nature4 ,if the voice of conscience
 ever gained a hearing1 it  was in some 
earlier hour1 not pictured by           
,shakespeare1 before this  settled      
scheme of murder had taken firm         
possession of his soul4 ,the  opening   
chorus of the witches1 no less than the 
bearing of the man  himself1 warn us    

that he has long ceased to wrestle with 
the messengers  of ,heaven1 and that he 
is now under the dominion of influences 
that  have a different origin4 ,the     
forces that sway ,macbeth as we know him
  are intellectual rather than moral1   
and in order to exhibit more            
effectively that tendency to            
deliberation which is characteristic of 
his sex1 ,shakespeare has endowed him   
with the most potent imagination1  which
 presents the consequences of conduct as
 clearly as though the  secrets of the  
future were mirrored in a glass4 ,it is 
not conscience1  the whispered echo of  
eternal law1 which causes him to falter 
on the  verge of action3 it is the      
instinct of security1 which1 as ,hecate 
sings3      ,is mortal's chiefest enemy4
    ,and so indeed it proved2 for the   
initial step in crime once past1 the    
very forces that had been strongest in  
restraint now carry him with  unhalting 
speed through crime after crime1 until  
his headlong course  is stayed by the   

hand of ,macduff4 ,and seeing that      
,macbeth's keen  vision had pictured    
what was in store for him1 it is no     
wonder that  he trembles with irresolute
 purpose while his wife's blind impulse 
moves with unbroken strength4 ,in his   
case it is neither conscience nor       
cowardice that cries halt1 but an       
imagination morbidly vivid and alert1   
which sees the oak in the acorn1 and    
converts the trickling spring into  the 
full tide of the river that rushes to   
the sea4 ,all this is plainly  imaged   
for us in the soliloquy that follows his
 first interview with  his wife3        
,if it were done1 when 'tis done1 then  
'twere well    ,it were done quickly3 if
 the assassination    ,could trammel up 
the consequence1 and catch1    ,with his
 surcease1 success2 that but this blow  
,might be the be-all and the end-all    
here1    ,but here1 upon this bank and  
shoal of time1    ,we'd jump the life to
 come4 ,but1 in these cases1    ,we     
still have judgment here2 that we but   

teach    ,bloody instructions1 which1   
being taught1 return    ,to plague the  
inventor3 this even-handed justice      
,commends the ingredients of our        
poisoned chalice    ,to our own lips4   
,then in the passage that follows he    
realises in more particular detail  the 
horror and execration which such a deed 
will awaken4 ,duncan's  virtues1 he     
sees1      ,will plead like angels1     
trumpet-tongued1 against    ,the deep   
damnation of his taking-off3    ,and    
pity1 like a naked new-born babe1       
,striding the blast1 or heaven's        
cherubin1 hors'd    ,upon the sightless 
couriers of the air1    ,shall blow the 
horrid deed in every eye1    ,that tears
 shall drown the wind4    ,here we see  
set forth in clearest language both the 
scope and the limit  of ,macbeth's moral
 vision2 and as we note his growing     
irresolution1 it  is impossible not to  
be reminded of another of ,shakespeare's
 characters  in whom the imaginative    
temperament worked with equal potency4  

,macbeth  and ,hamlet are in some points
 strangely allied1 but when they are    
placed side by side the elements of     
antagonism quickly overpower the        
outward appearance of similarity4 ,both 
were men in whom the supremacy  of the  
imagination induced paralysis of action1
 but in the one case  its exercise is   
bounded by the limits of our present    
world1 and in the  other it starts from 
the confines of mortal life and seeks to
 pierce  the veil of eternity4 ,macbeth 
takes no heed of what may lurk in those 
dark recesses beyond the grave2 if he   
can only be assured of safety  here he  
is ready to 8jump the life to come40 ,to
 ,hamlet1 on the other  hand1 the       
fortune of this world1 and even death   
itself1 are but as  shadows1 for his    
imagination is haunted by the mysteries 
of that unseen  realm of which death is 
but the portal--      ,the undiscovered 
country1 from whose bourne    ,no       
traveller returns4    ,it is this which 
8puzzles the will0 and arrests the      

uplifted arm1 and  though the voice that
 urges him to action comes to him from  
the grave1  the very fact that the      
command is borne by a supernatural      
messenger  suffices to ensure its       
neglect1 and sends the imagination once 
more  adrift upon the limitless ocean of
 eternity4 ,macbeth too trafficks  in   
the supernatural1 but with what         
different purpose and result6 ,he  holds
 converse with the weird sisters only   
that ,fate may echo the  dark project he
 fears to utter2 and when he consults   
these 8black and  midnight hags0 again1 
it is to wring from their lips the      
knowledge  that may guide him still     
further in his settled career of crime4 
,and  they answer him according to his  
will4 ,he is already far advanced in    
blood1 but they beckon him still onward1
 and1 speaking with the double  tongue  
of hope and fear1 bid him beware1 and   
yet be bold1 leading him  by such sure  
steps to his doom that the struggle at  
last becomes almost  sublime1 and ,fate1

 which he had rashly challenged1 enters 
the lists  against him4    ,when we have
 once grasped the motive-power of       
,macbeth's character1 it  is not        
difficult to reconcile the apparent     
inconsistency in his conduct  before and
 after the murder of ,duncan4 ,by this  
one act his trembling  hesitation is    
suddenly converted into an iron         
consistency of purpose4  ,the view of   
consequence that had held him for a     
while irresolute on the  threshold of   
crime now becomes the strongest         
incentive to whatever  may be needed to 
make his position secure4 ,his          
imagination is thus  both the source of 
inaction and the spur that urges him to 
morbid  activity3 it is at once the     
friend of conscience and its bitterest  
foe3 at one moment the lamp that reveals
 to him his hideous design and  all its 
attendant train of evil1 in the next a  
lurid flame that lights  up a thousand  
avenues of danger1 only to be guarded by
 the exercise  of a relentless cruelty  

and an unflinching courage4 ,in nearly  
every  utterance of ,macbeth after the  
murder we are allowed to see how clearly
  he himself apprehends the danger of   
his position1 and the sinister  policy  
which it demands4 8,things bad begun    
make strong themselves by  ill02 and    
accordingly1 with no more compunction   
than an executioner  might feel1 he     
proceeds in the course of action which  
he had foreseen  from the first to be   
inevitable4 ,even his superstitious     
fears do not  shake him in his resolve1 
and he has no sooner recovered from the 
vision of ,banquo's ghost than he       
determines to visit again the weird     
sisters1 that he may know 8by the worst 
means the worst40      ,strange things  
,i have in head1 that will to hand1     
,which must be acted ere they may be    
scanned4    ,this is the first          
intimation that we have of any menace to
 the safety  of ,macduff1 and when1 in a
 following scene1 ,macbeth hears of his 
flight  to ,england1 he is full of      

self-reproaches for his procrastination 
in  crime3      ,the flighty purpose    
never is o'ertook    ,unless the deed go
 with it3 from this moment1    ,the very
 firstlings of my heart shall be    ,the
 firstlings of my hand4    ,and then1   
baulked in his guilty designs upon the  
husband1 he  straightway resolves to    
wreak his vengeance upon his family3    
,the castle of ,macduff ,i will         
surprise2    ,seize upon ,fife2 and give
 to the edge o' the sword    ,his wife1 
his babes1 and all unfortunate souls    
,that trace him in his line4    ,truly  
indeed and with prophetic vision had he 
said to his wife that he  was 8but young
 in deed10 and that his terror at       
,banquo's ghost was only  8the initiate 
fear that wants hard use40    ,and yet1 
despite this full revelation of the     
man's nature1 who can fail  to be moved 
by the splendid despair of his closing  
hours1 when1 with  all the forces of    
heaven and earth arrayed against him1 he
 struggles  with dauntless courage to   

the end8 ,his imagination1 still        
informing his  shattered spirit1 lights 
up the ruin of his life1 and presents to
 his  wearied gaze the hated object that
 he has become in the sight of all  men3
                    ,my way of life     
,is fallen into the sear1 the yellow    
leaf3    ,and that which should         
accompany old age1    ,as honour1 love1 
obedience1 troops of friends1    ,i must
 not look to have2 but1 in their stead1 
,curses not loud1 but deep1             
mouth-honour1 breath1    ,which the poor
 heart would fain deny1 and dare not4   
,there is no refuge of madness for him4 
,he has seen the end from the           
beginning1 and even when the end has    
come it has no terror which he had  not 
known long ago4 ,this only is added to  
his earlier knowledge1 though  the      
truth1 alas6 comes too late1 that this  
present life1 which he had  held so     
dear1 and for which he had sacrificed   
all1 this life1 which had  been the tomb
 of his virtue1 and of his honour1 is   

444 but a walking shadow2 a poor player1
    ,that struts and frets his hour upon
 the stage1    ,and then is heard no    
more3 it is a tale    ,told by an idiot1
 full of sound and fury1    ,signifying 
nothing4    ,and so1 with the 8sound and
 fury0 of this present world still      
ringing  in his ears1 he passes out into
 that 8life to come0 of which he had    
never dreamed at all4          ,,henry  
,,irving      ,the value of personality 
on the stage has rarely been exhibited  
with  greater force than in the case of 
,sir ,henry ,irving4 ,nature had not    
specially equipped him for his calling2 
in several respects1 indeed1  she had   
weighted him with disabilities which    
were destined to prove a  serious       
hindrance in the progress of his career4
 ,but she had dowered  him1 as if by way
 of compensation1 with a force and      
persistence of  character that finally  
shaped for themselves a mode of         
expression which  satisfied the demands 
of his ambition4 ,and this sense of     

resident power  was mirrored in the man 
himself1 even in the earlier days when  
those  physical peculiarities1 which he 
never wholly lost1 were1 for the time1  
gravely imperilling his success upon the
 stage4    ,i met him first at the ,old 
,albion ,tavern in ,drury ,lane--a      
favourite  haunt of actors that has long
 passed away--and ,i remember then  that
 the man himself impressed me more      
deeply than any of the few              
impersonations in which ,i had seen him4
 ,already in his face and in his        
bearing he contrived to convey a curious
 sense of power and authority  that he  
had not yet found the means to          
incorporate completely in his  work upon
 the stage4 ,i found myself vaguely     
wondering why he should  have chosen the
 actor's calling as a means of          
impressing himself upon  his generation1
 and yet at the time ,i felt a full     
assurance that in  that or in some other
 walk of life he was bound to leave a   
mark upon  his time4 ,johnson once said 

of ,burke that if a stranger should take
  shelter beside him from the rain1 he  
would part from him with the  feeling   
that chance had brought him in contact  
with a remarkable man4  ,something of   
that same feeling was left in me as the 
impression drawn  from my first meeting 
with ,irving2 and it is perhaps         
characteristic  of that unnameable kind 
of force his personality suggested1 that
 even  at the zenith of his career1 when
 he had won complete authority over  a  
public that at first only reluctantly   
rallied to his banner1 there  was still 
room left for a measure of doubt as to  
whether his powers  might not have found
 a fuller exercise in a different realm4
 ,it is1 ,i  think1 however1 an         
attribute of all the very highest       
achievement in  any art that its        
authors1 even when their special        
aptitude for the  chosen medium of      
expression is full and complete1        
possess1 by right  of their genius1     
something more and something different  

in kind from  that particular endowment 
which the art they have adopted calls   
into  exercise4 ,in ,irving's case1 this
 thought marked itself more deeply1     
because1 as ,i have already hinted1 his 
command of the special resources  of his
 art was by no means complete1 and his  
whole career may be said  to have been a
 struggle1 fiercer and more obstinate   
than most men  have to wage1 to secure1 
through the medium of the theatre1 a    
full  recognition of the latent forces  
he undoubtedly possessed4    ,he was    
conscious of that himself1 and would    
often openly avow it2 very  conscious1  
,i mean1 that1 in a calling in which    
there is no escape from  the physical   
presence of the artist1 he had much to  
contend with4  ,it made him quickly     
appreciative of the kind of perfection  
achieved  by others in whom the motive  
and the means of expression were more   
finely attuned2 and he never wearied in 
later days of appraising this  quality  
in the acting of ,ellen ,terry1 whose   

varied gifts in the moment  of          
perfection were combined in a fashion so
 easy and so absolute as  sometimes     
almost to rob her of the praise due to  
conscious art4    ,such appreciation    
would sometimes1 though not so often1 be
 extended to  the comrades of his own   
sex2 and ,i recollect1 during the time  
when  ,william ,terriss was a member of 
his company1 he would comment1 with a   
sense of half-humorous envy1 upon the   
ease and grace with which the  younger  
actor could at once establish himself in
 the favour of his  audience4 ,but this 
recognition of the qualities he knew    
himself not to  possess never1 ,i think1
 for a moment shook his deeper          
conviction that1  when he could subdue  
to the service of his art the more      
refractory  elements of his own physical
 personality1 he had a message to convey
  which would carry a deeper and more   
lasting impression4    ,and he proved by
 his career that he had a true title to 
that  conviction4 ,force was always     

there1 force that showed itself almost  
to the point of terror in his early     
impersonation of 8,the ,bells40 ,but    
sweetness and grace came not till later1
 and was only won as the reward  of     
patient and unceasing effort3 it was the
 case of the honeycomb  bedded in the   
carcase of the lion1 and it took all a  
lion's strength to  reveal it to the    
world4 ,in the man himself1 however1 as 
distinguished  from his art1 it was     
present from the first2 and ,i recall1  
in those  earlier days of our           
friendship1 that a certain grave        
courtliness of  bearing was among the   
first things that struck me4 ,a certain 
sense  of loneliness and isolation      
always belonged to him--the index1 as it
  seemed to me1 of a mind that was      
conscious that in his case the road     
towards fame must be trodden alone2 that
 such perfection as he could  ultimately
 achieve could borrow little from       
example1 but must be due to  his own    
unaided subjugation of whatever in his  

individuality impeded  his progress4    
,but this suggestion was never so far   
obtruded as to burden the freedom  of   
personal intercourse1 and my long       
association with him1 in work or  at    
play1 is rich in the remembrance of many
 varied moods of a sweet and            
affectionate character4 ,in common with 
all men who remain permanently          
attractive in companionship1 he had a   
quick and delicate sense of  humour1    
sometimes half-mischievous in its       
exercise1 and touched now and  then with
 a slightly saturnine quality1 but      
always ready at call--even  in his most 
serious moods4    ,one evening during a 
brief holiday with him in ,paris it was 
somewhat  roughly put to the test4 ,we  
stood in a group of spectators watching 
the agile performances of some dancers  
who were exhibiting the wayward  figures
 of the ,can-,can1 when one of the more 
adventurous of the troupe1  greatly     
daring1 suddenly lifted her foot and    
neatly removed the hat  that ,irving was

 wearing4 ,the other spectators1 some of
 whom1 ,i think1  had recognised the    
actor1 and all of whom1 as ,i had       
remarked1 were  attracted by his        
personality1 stood in momentary wonder  
as to how this  audacious act of        
familiarity might be received1 and ,i   
thought that  ,i myself detected in     
,irving's face a momentary struggle     
between the  dignity that was natural to
 him and the genial acceptance of the   
spirit  of the place in which we found  
ourselves4 ,but it was only momentary1  
and when he acknowledged with hearty    
laughter the adroitness of the          
performer1 the ,parisians around us     
found themselves free to indulge in  the
 merriment which the look upon his      
grave1 pale face had for the time  held 
in check4    ,upon such lighter phases  
of the life of the ,french capital      
,irving  looked with a half-sinister    
tolerance4    ,that aspect of the       
character of the ,french people made no 
sympathetic  appeal to him1 but he      

watched their antics with unceasing     
interest  rather as he might have       
watched the uncouth gambols of animals  
in a  menagerie4 ,but there was one of  
the shows of ,paris which positively    
fascinated him1 and that was the        
,morgue4 ,irving's mind was always      
attracted to the study of crime2 he     
loved to trace its motives1 to  examine 
and to probe the various modes of the   
criminal character2 and  so it happened 
that1 on one pretext or another1 our    
morning wanderings  nearly always led us
 back to this gruesome exhibition4 ,one 
day the  fancy seized him that a man who
 passed before one of the corpses and   
then returned to gaze upon it again was 
possibly the murderer himself2  and     
afterwards1 while we were breakfasting  
at ,bignons1 he occupied  himself with a
 sense of keen enjoyment in tracing in  
imagination the  motive of the crime and
 the means by which it had been carried 
out4    ,at that time his thoughts were 
greatly occupied with the proposed      

revival of ,macbeth1 and on several     
evenings at the ,hotel ,bristol we  sat 
long into the night discussing every    
phase of that greatest of all  poetic   
tragedies4 ,i think ,irving             
felt--partly1 perhaps1 as the result  of
 our many discussions--that in his      
earlier presentation of the play  he had
 dwelt too insistently upon the purely  
criminal side of ,macbeth's  character  
to the neglect of its larger and more   
imaginative issues4 ,i  know1 at any    
rate1 that he was so far impressed with 
my view of the  play1 that he asked me  
to write an essay upon the subject which
 was  to appear simultaneously with the 
revival2 and he did this in part1  ,i   
believe1 because the view ,i entertained
 of the interplay of motive  between    
,macbeth and his guilty partner went far
 to supplant that  masculine conception 
of ,lady ,macbeth's character which had 
hitherto  been imposed upon the world   
mainly through the genius of ,mrs4      
,siddons4  ,the essay1 no less than the 

performance1 proved1 as we had expected1
  the mark for much hostile criticism2  
but the revival--interesting  to me in  
many respects--illustrated with         
surprising force the  extraordinary     
advance in his art which had been made  
by ,irving since  the earlier production
 of the play--an advance not merely of  
technical  resource1 but even more as   
showing the larger and profounder spirit
 in  which he could now approach the    
poetic drama4    ,nearly all our        
excursions abroad were in some way      
associated with  work projected or      
already in hand1 and it was while he was
 preparing  ,mr4 ,w4 ,g4 ,wills's       
version of ,faust that we made together 
a long  and delightful excursion to     
,nuremberg4 ,irving was very anxious to 
find something that was both quaint and 
characteristic for the scene  of        
,margaret's ,garden1 and although he was
 not very fond of physical  exercise1 he
 never wearied of our constant tramps   
among the narrower  streets of the old  

,german city in inquisitive search for  
something  that should fit with the     
ideal that he had in his mind4 ,we      
trespassed  freely wherever we found an 
open gateway2 and at last1 having failed
 to  discover what was exactly suited to
 the purpose1 we set out one day for    
,rothenburg on the ,tauber--one of the  
most perfect and complete examples  of a
 mediaeval city1 and where1 as we were  
assured1 we should find  richer material
 than was provided in ,nuremberg itself4
    ,at that time the journey between   
,nuremberg and ,rothenburg had to be    
made mainly by road2 the railway carried
 us only half-way1 and then we  had a   
drive of several hours before reaching  
our destination4 ,i think  it was this  
that mainly attracted ,irving in        
undertaking the excursion4  ,all through
 his life he clearly loved the pleasure 
of a drive2 and  during a week ,i spent 
with him at ,lucerne1 our every day1 for
 six or  seven hours at a stretch1 was  
employed in exploring the shores of the 

lake4 ,rothenburg1 as it chanced1       
furnished us with little new material   
towards the object of which we were in  
quest1 and on our return to  ,albert    
,durer's city1 feeling that he had      
exhausted all the available  means of   
inquiry1 he at once1 with characteristic
 promptitude1 summoned  the scenic      
artist1 ,mr4 ,hawes ,craven1 from       
,london in order that he might  make    
notes on the spot of the several scenes 
of the drama4    ,at home or abroad1    
,irving was always at his best as a     
host1 and1  whether in the larger       
entertainments which he sometimes gave  
on  the stage of the ,lyceum1 or in the 
more intimate gatherings in the         
,beefsteak ,room1 he presided with      
admirable grace over a company that  was
 often strangely varied in its          
composition--the most distinguished     
statesmen1 soldiers1 and men of letters1
 meeting in happy association  with     
chosen members of his own profession4   
,two little incidents recur  to me which

 illustrate in their different ways that
 sense of humour1  sometimes innocently 
mischievous1 and sometimes again        
employed for a  long settled purpose of 
deliberate attack4 ,the first of these  
occasions  was a dinner given in honour 
of the members of the ,saxe-,meiningen  
company on the stage of the theatre4 ,i 
had been driving with him during  the   
day1 and happened to mention1 to his    
manifest surprise1 that ,i had  not seen
 their great performance of the play of 
,julius ,caesar which  was making a     
considerable stir in ,london4 ,he said  
nothing more at the  time1 but at the   
end of the evening's feast1 after having
 himself in a  few words gracefully     
welcomed his distinguished guests1 he   
announced  that he would now call upon  
,mr4 ,comyns ,carr1 who he felt sure    
would  do ample justice to the exquisite
 art of these ,german players4 ,i can   
see now the smile upon his face as he   
sat down1 and left me to my  task1 of   
which ,i acquitted myself with at least 

so much skill1 that he  was the only one
 among those present who was aware that 
,i was wholly  unacquainted with the    
subject ,i had been summoned to discuss4
    ,the other incident to which ,i have
 referred had a more serious import4    
,during his first visit to ,america his 
feelings had been gravely  outraged1 and
 not on his own account alone1 by a     
series of scandalous  articles which had
 appeared in one of the most popular of 
,new ,york  journals4 ,our party that   
evening at supper in the ,beefsteak     
,room  included a popular ,american     
,colonel1 a great friend of ,irving's1  
and1  as ,irving well knew1 a great     
friend also of the wealthy proprietor of
  this offending journal4 ,the scene was
 wholly characteristic of ,irving1  who 
rarely forgot an injury1 although he was
 content sometimes to lie  long in wait 
for the fitting occasion to strike a    
counter-blow4 ,in a  genial prelude he  
led our ,american friend on in a growing
 crescendo of  praise of the amiable    

qualities of the wealthy newspaper      
proprietor4  8,you know so-and-so10 he  
innocently remarked to his guest1 as he 
settled himself down in his chair1 in an
 attitude that not uncommonly  conveyed 
to those who knew him that danger might 
be impending4 8,know  him60 replied the 
innocent ,colonel1 8,i have known him   
all my life40  8,quite so10 said        
,irving2 8good fellow1 isn't he80       
8,good6 ,he's one of  the very best     
fellows that was ever born40 8,the kind 
of man10 pursued  ,irving1 8who would   
never do an ungenerous or an unkind     
thing80 ,and at  this1 lured on to his  
doom1 the unsuspecting ,colonel burst   
forth in  such unrestrained eulogy of   
his friend1 as to depict for the        
admiration  of those present a character
 of almost unchallenged perfection4 8,no
  doubt2 no doubt10 responded ,irving2  
8no doubt he is all that you say02  and 
then1 in words all the deadlier for the 
perfect quietude of tone in  which they 
were uttered1 he added3 8,but he is also

 one of the damned'st  scoundrels that  
ever stepped the earth40 ,the genial    
,colonel was not  unnaturally taken     
aback2 but before he could make any show
 of defence1  ,irving had whipped from  
his breast-pocket the series of         
offending  articles1 and1 handing them  
across the table1 made the simple       
comment1  8,i thought1 old friend1 you  
might be interested to see them40    ,it
 was1 ,i think1 in the beginning of the 
year #ahib that ,irving invited  me to  
write for him a play on the subject of  
,king ,arthur4 ,the theme had  long been
 in his mind1 and before his death ,mr4 
,wills had completed a  version1 which  
proved1 however1 unacceptable to the    
actor4 ,at first  ,irving thought that  
,i might find it possible to recast and 
remodel  ,wills's work2 but it was      
afterwards agreed between us that ,i    
should  be free to work out my own      
design4 ,when my task was completed1    
,irving  and ,miss ,terry came one night
 to dine with us in ,blandford ,square4 

,he  brought with him also his little   
dog ,fussy1 the constant companion of   
many years4 ,and when dinner was over1  
he settled himself down in an           
arm-chair1 with the dog upon his knees1 
prepared for an ordeal that  is never   
wholly agreeable either to the author or
 his auditor4 ,i know  that ,i was      
nervous enough1 as ,i always am on such 
occasions2 and when  ,i was about       
half-way through1 the audible sounds of 
snoring which  reached my ears made me  
fancy in my morbid state of             
sensitiveness that  ,i had failed to    
grip or to hold the attention of the man
 ,i so strongly  desired to please4     
,still ,i plodded on1 not daring to lift
 my eyes  from the book1 and still the  
stertorous sounds continued1 until at   
last1 exasperated beyond endurance1 ,i  
closed the book1 with the abrupt        
announcement that ,i felt it useless to 
go on4 8,what do you mean80  inquired   
,irving1 in blank amazement4 8,why1 you 
were asleep10 ,i replied2  but even as  

,i spoke1 ,i perceived the ridiculous   
blunder into which ,i  had fallen1 for  
the snoring still continued without     
interruption1 and1  lifting my eyes1 ,i 
saw ,miss ,terry1 with laughing gesture1
 pointing to  the sleeping terrier still
 resting upon ,irving's knees4 ,i had   
8tried it  on the dog10 and it was the  
dog ,i had failed to please4    ,my     
association with ,irving during the     
preparation of ,king ,arthur  was wholly
 interesting and delightful4 ,i had been
 warned by those who  had long worked   
with him in the theatre that ,irving was
 intolerant of  interference1 and that  
,i would do well not to assume any      
position  of authority in the direction 
of the rehearsals4 ,my own experience1  
however1 completely belied this warning2
 from the first he treated me  with the 
utmost consideration1 and invited1      
rather than repressed1  the suggestions 
,i had to make4 ,his own work at        
rehearsal was always  deeply interesting
 to watch1 though it often revealed     

little more than  the mechanical part of
 his own performance4 ,this1 however1 he
 fixed  with absolute exactitude1 and   
the minute invention of detail which he 
displayed sufficed to suggest that in   
his own private study of the  part this 
fabric of mechanism was already wedded  
to the emotional  message he intended to
 convey4 ,as a rule1 he was word-perfect
 before  the rehearsals of any play     
began1 and this left him free to bestow 
infinite patience and pains upon the    
work of others4 ,he would go  through   
the whole of any one of the minor parts1
 instructing the actor  in every detail 
of gesture and movement2 and when it    
came to scenes in  which he himself was 
concerned1 he knew precisely--and could 
precisely  realise--the pace and the    
tone that were needed to achieve the    
effect  he desired4          ,a ,,sense 
,,of ,,humour      ,i suppose no man at 
this time of day would have the temerity
 to  hazard a definition of humour4 ,it 
has been often attempted1 never1        

however1 with any convincing success2   
and sometimes with such cumbrous        
elaboration of thought as to leave upon 
the reader only the desolating          
impression that the philosopher was     
wholly lacking in the quality which  he 
sought to define4 ,nor is its presence  
so common even in those who  most loudly
 deplore its absence in others4 ,i have 
heard the dullest of  men lament the    
fact that ,god has denied it to women1  
and the fleeting  smile with which such 
an announcement is sometimes received by
 their  wives goes far to prove that    
even the intimate association of        
marriage  has not sufficed for the full 
appreciation of character4    ,in its   
larger and more elemental forms humour  
is certainly one of the  rarest of human
 attributes2 and even the appreciation  
of humour in  that broader and deeper   
sense is not quite so common as is      
generally  supposed4 ,there is quite a  
considerable body of seemingly educated 
opinion which would concede to          

,shakespeare every gift except the gift 
of humour2 persons who would regard     
,falstaff as a quite inconsiderable     
creation1 and who would dismiss         
,dogberry and the nurse in ,romeo and   
,juliet as negligible portraits in the  
great ,shakespearean gallery4  ,once ,i 
remember hearing this view put forward  
very confidently in the  presence of a  
brilliant essayist1 whose grave         
demeanour gave the critic  some ground  
for the belief that his unfavourable    
opinion would meet  with ready          
acceptance4 ,after holding forth at some
 length upon what he  deemed to be this 
rather puerile aspect of ,shakespeare's 
genius1 he  ventured at the finish upon 
the direct inquiry3 8,now what1 sir1 do 
you  think of ,shakespeare's humour80   
,to which the reply came in very quiet  
tones3 8,well1 the trouble is1 there is 
no other40    ,the proposition need not 
be taken too literally1 but it contains 
a  truth that cannot be ignored4        
,shakespeare's humour is as directly and

  as legitimately the fruit of his wide 
and deep love of life as the  most      
sublime of his tragic creations4 ,the   
mind that drew the portrait  of         
,falstaff owns and claims the same large
 handwriting as that which  revealed the
 character of ,macbeth2 in both there is
 an equal measure  of mastery4 ,and     
that1 naturally1 suggests an element in 
humour  which1 without risking the      
imprudence of definition1 may be said to
  separate it from mere wit4 ,the man of
 wit may distinguish and reveal  the    
incongruities of life but the humorist1 
not only perceives them1  but loves the 
characters in which they reside4 ,among 
the humorists ,i  have met1 this        
essential gift of sympathy has always1  
as it seems to  me1 been a constant and 
dominating force4 ,it was not my fortune
 to  know ,charles ,dickens1 but his    
transcendent humour may be said to have 
dominated all who came within the reach 
and range of his genius2 and it  may    
surely be said of him1 as it may be said

 of ,shakespeare1 that he  not only saw 
where the sources of laughter lay1 but  
that he loved the  thing he made        
laughable4    ,this was equally true of 
,bret ,harte1 who in our talks together 
would  always willingly own his         
obligations to the great master2 and    
there  is certainly no more touching    
tribute to ,dickens's genius than is    
contained in the little poem with which 
,bret ,harte greeted the news  of his   
death4 ,as is not uncommon with men of  
creative humour1 ,bret  ,harte1 in      
ordinary converse1 gave little hint of  
its possession4 ,a  man of grave and    
reticent bearing1 he made no attempt to 
shine as a  talker2 and as far as my    
experience went1 rarely sought to draw  
the  conversation into literary         
channels4 ,he deliberately1 as it would 
seem1 kept all that concerned his work  
as an artist in a world apart2  and his 
charm in companionship--which was not   
inconsiderable--suggested  rather the   
tenderness and sympathy in his outlook  

on life than his  equal gift of humorous
 appreciation4 ,those earlier meetings  
of the  ,kinsmen ,club1 of which ,bret  
,harte was a member1 brought together   
many  humorous spirits1 and amongst them
 ,george du ,maurier and poor ,randolph 
,caldecott1 who1 although he too owned a
 grave exterior1 partly due to  frailty 
of health1 could on occasion break out  
into a frolic mood that  was            
irresistible in its sense of fun4       
,but the draughtsmen for ,punch in those
 days1 even when1 as in the  case of du 
,maurier and ,charles ,keene1 they could
 boast a higher measure  of purely      
artistic accomplishment1 were hardly    
comparable in their  grasp of what is   
essentially comic in character with     
their predecessor1  ,john ,leech2 and if
 we turn from the work they produced to 
the men  themselves1 it was not the     
possession of a sense of humour which   
formed  the main element in the social  
charm they exercised4 ,du ,maurier1 in  
his  conversation1 never sought to      

exhibit or to exploit this particular   
side of his talent2 and in our many     
talks upon the subject of art it  was   
evident that he was rather on the alert 
to recognise what was  seriously        
beautiful in the work of his            
contemporaries4 ,he never tired  in     
praise of ,millais whom1 ,i think1 he   
ranked as the supreme master of  his    
time2 and1 on the other hand1 he never  
quite settled in his mind1  even up to  
the end of his life1 what measure of    
welcome to accord to  the widely        
different gifts of ,rossetti and        
,burne-,jones4    ,but although his talk
 was1 for the most part1 serious in     
tone1 he could  show himself on occasion
 to be possessed of the wildest high    
spirits1  and it was then he most       
clearly revealed the qualities that were
  distinctively his in virtue of his    
partly foreign extraction4    ,indeed   
among the men who practised this branch 
of art1 ,i have known  only two who in  
personal intercourse gave any complete  

indication of  the humorous powers they 
possessed4 ,perhaps neither ,phil ,may  
nor ,fred  ,barnard have yet received   
their full meed of praise1 and yet in   
them1  rather than in their better known
 contemporaries1 the tradition of  the  
earlier humorists survives4 ,in one     
sense they may be said to have  shared  
between them the mantle of ,john ,leech1
 and they possessed this  quality in    
common1 that their perception of the    
sources of laughter  in life was as     
clearly betrayed in personal association
 as in the  work that came from their   
hand4 ,phil ,may's face was in itself a 
highly-coloured print that made an      
instant appeal to any one endowed  even 
with a most rudimentary sense of humour1
 and his talk1 though it  affected no   
brilliancy1 very clearly revealed the   
fact that the little  pageant of life   
which came within the range of his      
vision struck itself  at once into      
humorous outline4 ,he hardly saw life1  
indeed1 in any other  frame1 and the few

 finely selected lines with which he    
registered  the images that presented   
themselves to his imagination seemed by 
instinctive preference to exclude and to
 dismiss those graver realities  that   
were not his especial concern4 ,and yet 
so keen and so sure was his  touch of   
life that now and again his hand would  
outrun his purpose1 and  leave1 even    
upon the slightest drawing1 a suggestion
 of almost tragic  import underlying its
 laughing message4 ,fred ,barnard was a 
humorist  through and through--at work  
or at play his eye lighted unerringly on
  whatever might enrich his humorous    
experience1 and he was quick to  detect1
 though never with any lack of urbanity1
 the little foibles of  those with whom 
he was brought into contact4    ,but ,i 
suppose it is to the stage that one's   
thoughts must naturally  turn for the   
most telling exposition of this         
particular quality4 ,nearly  all the    
comedians ,i have known have seemed to  
accept it as a part of  the duty which  

their profession imposes on them1 that  
they should be  as amusing in the world 
as in the theatre4 ,it cannot be said1  
according  to my own experience1 that   
they have always been successful1 and ,i
 may  even go so far as to say that the 
laboured efforts of the wilfully  comic 
man mark off in remembrance some of the 
dullest hours ,i have  passed4 ,the     
penalty of the perpetual jester very    
often1 as one would  think1 a grievous  
burden to himself1 falls sometimes with 
even heavier  incidence upon those he   
has doomed to be amused4    ,i know it  
is a prevalent belief among ,americans  
that we ,english are  wholly devoid of  
that sense of humour in which many of   
their own  countrymen undoubtedly excel2
 and it may perhaps1 therefore1 shock   
them  to learn that1 to a taste         
differently educated1 the unremitting   
efforts  of some of their professional  
jesters are apt on occasion to appear a 
little overstrained4 ,but in some       
natures the appetite for the ceaseless  

flow of comic anecdote is swiftly       
satisfied1 and the man who will  insist 
upon unpacking his wallet of well-worn  
stories for the intended  delight of his
 fellows may1 if he is not watchful of  
the effect he  is producing1 induce in  
the mind of his audience a mood of      
settled  sadness1 that not even the     
genius of a ,dickens could lift or      
lighten4    ,this haunting fear lest    
conversation should at any point take a 
serious note--which ,i cannot help      
thinking characteristic of many         
,americans--is often to be found in our 
own country in the person of  the       
comedian by profession4 ,it existed     
perhaps in a lesser degree in  ,j4 ,l4  
,toole than any other representative of 
his calling whom ,i have  intimately    
known4 ,what rendered ,toole delightful 
in companionship was  rarely anything   
memorable that he said1 for he made no  
effort to pose  as a wit1 and his       
reminiscent humour1 which he could      
always summon at  need1 was for the most

 part introduced in illustration of some
 point  of character humorously         
perceived and presented4 ,there are     
critics who  have questioned his appeal 
as a comedian in the theatre1 but no one
  brought into personal contact with him
 could be left in any doubt as  to the  
swiftness and sureness of his vision in 
detecting and enjoying  the little      
foibles of those around him4 ,in any    
company1 whatever its  composition1 his 
mind got quickly to work upon each      
individuality in  the group2 and1       
although he might not join largely in   
the conversation1  he loved to impart to
 the companion by his side his keen     
sense of  enjoyment of the conflict and 
interplay of character as it presented  
itself at the table4    ,toole was a    
constant guest at those pleasant little 
suppers in the  ,beefsteak ,room of the 
,lyceum ,theatre over which ,irving so  
gracefully  presided2 and if one had the
 good fortune to be his neighbour it was
  always delightful to watch the        

expression of his swiftly-glancing1     
laughing eyes and mobile mouth1 as they 
mirrored1 in hardly-restrained          
amusement1 his inward enjoyment of the  
changing humours of the  scene4 ,nothing
 characteristic escaped him1 however    
widely divergent  the personalities that
 came within the range of his vision2   
but his  quickness of perception1 ever  
ready to register and record the little 
foibles of each member of the company1  
bred in him no feeling of  resentment1  
but seemed rather to add to the rich    
store of enjoyment  which1 in his       
happier moods1 life always afforded him4
 ,i say in his  happier moods1 because  
even in the earlier days of our         
friendship1 when  his vitality was      
unimpaired1 his exuberant high spirits  
were subject to  sudden clouds of deep  
depression that seemed for the time to  
banish all  laughter from his life4     
,like ,irving1 he was an inveterately   
late sitter1 and the many  occasions    
that found them together--either at the 

theatre or at the  ,garrick             
,club--rarely witnessed their parting   
till the morning hours  were far spent4 
,in ,toole's case1 ,i know1 this        
reluctance to break in  upon the long   
duration of these social hours sprang in
 part out of a  haunting terror of the  
sadder thoughts that might overtake him 
when  he was driven back upon himself4  
,he would often confess to me1 as  we   
drove home1 his constant dread of these 
night fears1 that were  chiefly         
dominated at that time by the recurring 
image of his only son1  whose early     
death remained with him to the end as an
 ineffaceable  source of sorrow4 ,and   
yet1 while we talked of these sadder    
things1 it  was sometimes irresistibly  
comic to notice1 as we drew towards his 
house1 how this deeper grief would then 
be exchanged for a terror  of a nearer  
kind1 for he was always at these moments
 very conscious  that his persistently  
late habits--so often repented of1 but  
never  reformed--would surely draw down 

upon him severe domestic rebuke4 ,and   
even when the cab had reached his door1 
he would hold me prisoner in  whispered 
converse in order to postpone1 as long  
as he could1 the dread  moment when he  
would have to face the salutary lecture 
that was in  store for him4    ,but for 
the most part he was the gayest and most
 light-hearted of  companions1 forcing  
out of the most unhopeful material a    
rich yield of  fun and frolic4 ,at home 
or abroad he was never at a loss for the
 means  of filling an empty day4        
,sometimes1 in his ceaseless tendency   
towards  practical joking1 he would     
place himself in positions that other   
men might have found embarrassing and   
even dangerous4 ,but there was          
something so infectious in his humour1  
and in his good humour1 that  even on   
the ,continent1 where he could speak no 
language but his own1  he was always    
able to extricate himself with success  
from difficulties  that would have left 
many graver men without resource4    ,he

 dearly loved the excitement of the     
gaming table1 whether at ,monte  ,carlo 
or elsewhere2 and ,i remember1 during a 
holiday that we passed  together at     
,aix-les-,bains1 that he did his best to
 imperil the good  effects of his cure  
by his constant attendance at the       
,cercle and the  ,villa des ,fleurs4 ,it
 was difficult to drag him from the     
table1 however  late the hour1 for his  
pathetic reply to every remonstrance    
took the  form of a solemn promise that 
he would absolutely go to bed as soon as
  the little pile before him was        
exhausted2 a reply1 the humour of which 
he was himself only half-conscious1 for 
it pointed to the inevitable  loss that 
was the final result of all his gambling
 transactions4 ,after  a night wherein  
he had been more than usually successful
 in exhausting  the ready cash he       
carried about him1 we made our way in   
the morning to  the little bank in the  
main street of ,aix-les-,bains1 in order
 that he  might make a fresh draft upon 

his letter of credit4    ,but he did not
 at once reveal to the clerk in charge  
his serious  intent4 ,tapping lightly at
 the closed window of the guichet1 he   
inquired1 in broken ,english1 which he  
appeared strangely to believe  would be 
somehow comprehensible to his foreign   
interlocutor1 whether  the bank would be
 prepared to make him a small advance   
upon a  gold-headed cane which he       
carried in his hand4 ,the request1 as   
might  be supposed1 was somewhat briskly
 dismissed1 and the little window was   
abruptly closed in his face4 ,toole     
retired apparently deeply dejected  by  
the refusal of his prayer2 but in a few 
minutes he returned to the  attack1     
having in the meantime provided himself 
with fresh material for  a new financial
 proposition4 ,hastening out into the   
little market that  lay near the bank1  
he hurriedly purchased from one of the  
fish-stalls  a small pike that had been 
caught in the lake1 and1 having added to
  this a bunch of carrots1 he returned  

to the bank1 where he carefully         
arranged these proffered securities on  
the counter1 enforced by the  addition  
of his watch and chain1 a three-penny   
bit1 and a penknife4  ,when all was     
ready he again tapped softly at the     
window1 and1 in a  voice that was broken
 by sobs1 implored the clerk1 in view of
 his  unfortunate position1 to accept   
these ill-assorted articles in pledge   
for the small sum which was needed to   
save him from starvation4 ,the  clerk1  
by this time grown indignant1 requested 
him to leave the  establishment1        
explaining to him in emphatic terms1 and
 in such  ,english as he could command1 
that they only made advances upon       
circular  notes or letters of credit4   
,at the last-named word ,toole's        
saddened  face suddenly broke into      
smiles1 and1 producing his letter of    
credit1  he handed it to the astonished 
clerk1 with the added explanation that  
he would have offered that at first if  
he had thought the bank cared  about it1

 but that the porter at the hotel had   
told him the bankers of  ,aix liked fish
 better4    ,this is only a sample of   
the kind of adventure that ,toole loved 
to  create for himself and which he     
carried through with the keenest  zest  
and enjoyment4 ,his invention in such   
matters never flagged1 and  ,i have     
often been his companion through the    
whole of an idle day1  during which he  
would keep us both fully employed in the
 prosecution  of these boyish frolics1  
that may seem foolish enough in         
narration1  but were irresistible in    
their appeal1 owing to the unalloyed    
pleasure  they brought him in their     
progress4 ,i have known many men who    
deem  themselves adepts at this kind of 
sport1 but none who were so  convincing 
in their methods--none1 certainly1 who  
took such an honest  pleasure in their  
work1 or who used such infinite pains in
 carrying the  projected little plot to 
a successful issue4    ,once at         
,ramsgate he contrived to relieve the   

tedium of a ,sunday  afternoon by       
calling at nearly every house in a long 
and respectable  terrace1 charged with a
 mission that was foredoomed to failure4
 ,as each  door was opened ,toole stood 
on the step1 his face distorted by signs
  of emotion1 that for the moment       
deprived him of all powers of speech1   
and when at last1 in response to the    
angry inquiry of a maid-servant1  he    
contrived to regain a measure of        
self-control1 it was only to  beg1 in   
tearful accents1 for the loan of 8a     
small piece of groundsel  for a sick    
bird40 ,as door after door was slammed  
in his face1 his  high spirits          
correspondingly increased1 his only fear
 being1 as he  afterwards explained to  
me1 lest some one of the peaceful       
inhabitants  whose ,sabbath repose he   
had so ruthlessly disturbed should1 by  
an evil  chance1 have possessed the     
remedy he so persistently sought4       
,,sitting ,,at ,a ,,play      ,the      
child's love of the drama begins long   

before there is any thought  of a       
playhouse4 ,to escape from life in order
 to rediscover it in mimic  form1 would 
seem to rank among the earliest of human
 impulses4 ,we are  all born actors1    
though some of us--and this is true even
 of those  who adopt the stage as a     
profession--would seem occasionally to  
part  with this primitive instinct in   
later life4 ,but an average child has   
no sooner entered this world than he    
finds himself pursued by the  longing to
 create another3 he has scarcely had    
time to recognise his  own identity     
before he seeks to hide it beneath the  
mask of an alien  personality4 ,how far 
the youthful histrion believes himself  
to be a  lion when he crawls across the 
drawing-room carpet on all fours1 and   
roars from behind the sofa1 is perhaps  
open to argument4 ,my own belief  is    
that he is already so much of an artist 
as to be in no way deceived1  but of his
 desire to impose upon the credulity of 
others there can1 ,i  think1 be no      

question4 ,but the limits of histrionic 
enjoyment are even  here sometimes      
overstepped1 as1 for example1 when a    
maturer rival in  the art1 boasting a   
louder roar1 approaches too closely to  
the confines  of absolute illusion4 ,the
 enjoyment of the art as an art is then 
rudely  disturbed1 and1 shaken with     
sudden terror1 the infant ,roscius is   
once  more driven back upon that actual 
world from which it had been his  pride 
and desire to escape4    ,this may be   
cited as an early instance of the       
intemperate employment of  the resources
 of realism1 which in later life1 when  
sitting at a play1  we have so often    
just reason to deplore4 ,again1 the     
sudden assumption  by a too eager elder 
of a woolly hearth-rug may ruin at a    
stroke the  child's purely imaginative  
vision that he is in the society of a   
bear4  ,natural terror expels in an     
instant that higher emotion which the   
drama is designed to create4 ,the child 
recognises that the irrefutable  laws of

 the art have been rudely broken1 to his
 own discomfort2 and  it is always      
interesting to note on such occasions   
with what quick  and easy resource he   
will suddenly change the whole subject  
and scope  of the mimic performance1    
imperiously demanding that the bear     
shall  be exchanged for a horse1 or some
 other domestic animal1 whose milder    
tendencies may be the more readily      
endured1 even when the actor is         
forgetful of the proper restraints of   
his art4    ,it is what survives of the 
child in us that makes us all playgoers1
  although in the early days of our     
playgoing the unsuspected resources  of 
illusion which the theatre can command  
are often hard to endure4  ,it is1 ,i   
suppose1 the experience of most         
children--it certainly was  mine--that  
certain critical moments in drama1      
clearly foreseen and  eagerly           
anticipated1 nevertheless prove in      
realisation too thrilling  and too      
intense for pure delight2 and ,i can    

recall occasions1 such  desired moments 
being clearly in view1 when ,i would    
address a whispered  request to one of  
my elders that ,i might be permitted to 
watch the  ensuing scene from the safe  
vantage ground of the corridor at the   
back  of the dress circle4 ,the small   
glass window in the red baize door      
provided just that added veil of        
distance which rendered the sufferings  
of the persons on the stage artistically
 tolerable4 ,but the crisis once        
past--a crisis generally signalised by  
the explosion of a pistol--,i  was eager
 to return to my seat in order to       
appreciate with unabated  enjoyment the 
consequences of an act of violence ,i   
had not had the  courage to witness4    
,it is remarkable how little1 in those  
very early days of playgoing1  we are at
 all concerned with the personality of  
the actor4 ,the story  is all-absorbing1
 and in the poignant interest in the    
persons of the  story1 all memory of the
 performer as a separate entity is      

submerged  and effaced4 ,i had no       
thought at that time whether the actor  
was good  or bad4 ,his performance      
appeared to me to be inevitable and     
inevitably  perfect4 ,the day when he   
takes separate existence1 apart from the
  character he is presenting1 marks a   
revolution in the life of the  playgoer1
 a revolution that is destined          
henceforward to complicate his          
emotions1 with never again any possible 
return to that earlier and  more        
confiding attitude when the illusion of 
the scene is absolute and  complete4 ,it
 is difficult even to recall the names  
of the actors who  first greatly stirred
 me4 ,they hardly stain my memory1 for  
in my mind  they had no separate        
existence4 ,but with this revolution is 
born a new  kind of enjoyment1 that     
carries richer recollections4 ,the      
limitless  world of illusion shrinks to 
a narrower kingdom1 but its triumphs are
  more vivid and more enduring3 the     
sense of assumption and disguise is  no 

longer so complete or so convincing1 but
 the message of revelation1  when it    
comes1 brings with it a higher pleasure4
    ,nothing lives longer in            
remembrance1 or pictures itself more    
vividly1  than the first impression of  
the performance of a great actor4       
,phelps  was the earliest of my heroes  
of this more sophisticated time1 and    
the first of his performances ,i can    
recall was that of ,falstaff in  ,king  
,henry ,,iv4 produced at ,drury ,lane4  
,walter ,montgomery was the  ,hotspur of
 the occasion1 and young ,edmund ,phelps
 figured as ,prince ,hal4  ,first       
impressions are hard to supplant1 and   
the visual presentment  of ,falstaff    
even now always takes the form and shape
 assigned to him  by the elder ,phelps  
on that memorable evening4 ,i saw him   
many times  afterwards--in ,othello and 
,king ,john1 in ,mephistopheles1 in     
,bayle ,bernard's version of ,goethe's  
play1 in ,wolsey1 in ,sir ,pertinax     
,m#8,sycophant1 and in ,john ,bull2 and1

 although the more critical spirit  of a
 later hour left him shorn of some part 
of that perfection ,i  thought was his  
when ,i first saw him upon the stage1 he
 ranks even  now in my recollection as a
 great and gifted exponent of a great   
tradition4 ,in his personality there was
 little to allure4 ,it was rugged  and  
bereft of many of the lighter graces    
that are calculated to win  an audience2
 but his voice was incomparable1 and the
 earnestness of  the artist beyond      
reproach4 ,nor could variety of resource
 be denied  him3 he seemed equally      
equipped for his task as ,king ,john1   
,wolsey1 or  ,falstaff1 or as ,bottom in
 the ,midsummer ,night's ,dream4 ,he    
fought his  way to a front rank in the  
profession at a time when older         
playgoers  were full of memories of men 
who were perhaps his superiors--of      
,kemble1  ,kean1 and1 more recently1 of 
,macready4 ,but whatever he owed to any 
of  them--and ,i do not suppose he was  
ever tempted to deny his debt--it is    

impossible not to concede to him a rare 
measure of individual power  that must  
always leave him his due rank among the 
,english interpreters  of ,shakespeare4 
,it must have been my first vision of   
,charles ,fechter which enabled me  to  
realise as by a flash how much ,phelps  
suffered by lack of personal  charm and 
grace4 ,in those days ,i had not seen   
,fechter in ,shakespeare4  ,i knew him  
only as the victorious lover and the    
conquering hero of  romantic drama4     
,but1 however conventional the material 
upon which  his talent was employed1 the
 glamour of his personality exercised an
  overpowering fascination4    ,to the  
youth of both sexes ,fechter's foreign  
accent constituted a charm  in itself4  
,the rising cadence of his voice struck 
heroically on the  ear1 and the swifter 
and freer gesture which came of his     
,gallic origin  added something of extra
 fascination to the unquestionably great
 gifts  with which he was endowed4 ,in  
those days of the old ,lyceum1 when he  

was  acting in melodramas like ,the     
,duke's ,motto and ,bel ,demonio1 ,miss 
,kate ,terry was constantly his partner 
and the two together seemed to  embody  
for the time the whole spirit of        
romance4 ,but the moment of  ,fechter's 
acting which is stamped most firmly in  
my recollection was  in the last act of 
,ruy ,blas4 ,it was not till long       
afterwards when  growing stoutness had  
robbed him of that grace of form which  
belonged  to his earlier days1 that ,i  
saw him in the part of ,hamlet1 and it  
is  perhaps hardly fair to test his     
fitness as a ,shakespearean actor by    
such later impressions4 ,to me1 however1
 that foreign cadence1 which  linked    
itself so well with the impersonation of
 romantic heroism1  left a jarring note 
when it was yoked with the statelier    
measure of  ,english verse2 and it was  
not till long afterwards1 when ,i saw   
,irving's  ,hamlet1 that ,i realised for
 the first time how much of the subtlety
  of the character and beauty of the    

play could be realised within the  walls
 of a theatre4    ,the playgoer's       
memories refuse to obey any strict      
chronological order4  ,they are rather  
governed by vividness of impression1    
which summons with  equal distinctness  
things seen long ago and triumphs of a  
more recent  date4 ,my first vision of  
,sarah ,bernhardt retains always a      
foremost  place in my playgoing         
experience4 ,it was in ,paris in the    
spring of  #ahgf1 and the play was      
,l'trangre4 ,she was surrounded by a    
company  of rare distinction--,coquelin1
 ,croisette1 and ,mounet-,sully amongst 
them4 ,but ,i remember1 as she came upon
 the stage1 that a creature  almost of  
another race seemed suddenly to have    
invaded1 and1 at a  single stroke1 to be
 dominating1 the scene4 ,her personality
 appeared  at once to announce a new    
dialect in the language of ,art4 ,her   
mode of  speech and her method of acting
 left almost unregarded and unremembered
  the particular language in which the  

play was written4 ,in virtue of  her    
genius she became at once an            
international possession1 leaving1  by  
comparison1 the artists around her      
almost provincial in style  and method4 
,i had previously seen ,ristori1 and had
 marvelled at the  wonders of her art in
 ,lucrezia ,borgia and in ,mary ,stuart1
 an art that  was struck in a larger    
mould than ,sarah ,bernhardt could      
claim2 and ,i  afterwards had to        
acknowledge the superb force and        
matchless physical  resource which      
,salvini brought to the theatre4 ,but in
 neither case does  the first impression
 stand out so vividly in recollection as
 that first  impression of ,sarah       
,bernhardt in ,dumas' play4 ,and yet ,i 
remember ,sir  ,frederick ,leighton1    
whose recollections of the theatre went 
back to an  earlier day1 telling me that
 the effect produced by ,rachel left    
,sarah  ,bernhardt's art by comparison  
almost in the region of the commonplace4
    ,i have mentioned the name of       

,coquelin1 whose talent in the region   
of comedy was consummate1 and even in   
this very performance of  ,l'trangre his
 impersonation of the ,duc de ,septmonts
 leaves an  ineffaceable recollection4  
,but ,i had already seen him in ,molire1
 and  it was the endless resource with  
which he furnished the creations  of the
 master dramatist of ,france that gives 
him1 ,i think1 his  unapproachable place
 in the modern theatre4 ,his own rich   
enjoyment of  every discovered detail of
 the carefully constructed portrait     
carried  with it the magic of infection1
 and1 as the work grew under his hand1  
the spectator was left with a pitiful   
consciousness of his own dulness  in    
having gathered from the written page so
 small a part of the  author's manifest 
intention4 ,in so far as the actor's art
 seeks for the  triumphs of assumption  
and disguise1 ,coquelin was1 indeed1    
beyond the  reach of rivalry1 and it was
 perhaps pardonable1 in view of his own 
splendid achievement1 that he should    

have been disposed to question the      
claims of those whose mastery in this   
particular direction was not so         
complete as his own4 ,coquelin to the   
last was intolerant of all acting  which
 allowed the personality of the         
performer to override the identity  of  
the particular character to be          
presented4 ,he could be admiring1 and   
even enthusiastic1 over the art of      
,irving1 but always with an implied     
reservation--the ,english actor never1  
to his thinking1 sufficiently  effaced  
himself in his part2 the performance1   
however brilliant in  intellectual      
force1 was marred1 in ,coquelin's       
judgment1 by an imperfect  surrender of 
personality1 and by a corresponding     
incompleteness of  assumption4 ,and that
 was an unforgivable sin in the eyes of 
the ,french  artist4    ,it was         
agreeable to discuss these matters with 
,coquelin1 for he was  a brilliant      
talker1 quick in insight1 and ever ready
 with the terse  and fit phrase to      

illustrate his meaning4 ,and it was     
peculiarly  interesting to me1 because  
the argument touched upon problems in   
the  actor's art that ,i have always    
thought to be profoundly significant4   
,how far may the personality of the     
performer intrude itself in the         
presentation of the chosen character1   
and to what extent are assumption  and  
disguise part of the indispensable      
equipment of the artist8 ,these  are    
questions which every generation is apt 
to raise in regard to its  popular      
favourites upon the stage4 ,and the     
answer is not easy to find4  ,to very   
many it will seem indisputable that     
versatility carries with  it the        
hall-mark of perfection1 and that no    
actor can claim absolute  victory in any
 individual achievement unless we are   
allowed completely  to forget the person
 in the impersonation4 ,such critics are
 the avowed  champions of the art of    
disguise1 and yet1 to me at least1 they 
leave  out of account the most profound 

and most memorable impressions which    
the theatre is able to yield4 ,the      
scenes which have most deeply  moved me1
 the performers whose art has stirred me
 to the strongest  emotion1 are hardly  
associated in memory with any particular
 triumph  of characterisation4 ,it is1  
in short1 not disguise1 but revelation1 
which evokes and demands the highest    
histrionic gifts4 ,the ingenuity  and   
resource that can distinguish and       
exhibit the markings of varying         
personality must1 of course1 always     
count for much1 but the imaginative     
power which can recreate upon the scene 
the simpler and deeper emotions  that   
are common to us all must surely count  
for more2 and in the  exercise of this  
higher power the lighter accessories    
employed to  achieve completeness of    
disguise must often be discarded and    
forgotten1  as the actor's personality1 
impatient of all lesser fetters that    
impede  its utterance1 becomes wholly   
engaged in the task of communicating  to

 his audience the deeper and more       
enduring passions of our common         
humanity4    ,of course1 some may dream 
that these opposite qualities may be    
combined4 ,i have never seen them       
combined in any measure of              
completeness4 ,i remember thinking1 when
 ,i first saw ,sarah ,bernhardt  in     
,frou-,frou1 that her portraiture fell  
far short of that of  ,descle1 the      
original creator of the rle4 ,and so1 in
 fact1 it did4  ,the countless          
subtleties1 by means of which the       
earlier performer  had established the  
identity of the frivolous heroine of one
 of the  most masterly of modern ,french
 plays1 were all lacking in the work  of
 her successor2 but in the great scene  
in the third act1 where  the tensity of 
the situation sounds a deeper note of   
drama1 ,i felt  disposed to forget that 
any other ,frou-,frou had ever existed4 
,another  illustration pointing in the  
same direction may be found in the      
exquisite art of the ,italian actress1  

,eleanora ,duse4 ,when ,i saw her in    
the ,dame aux camlias it was impossible 
to believe even for a moment  that this 
perfect embodiment of all that is       
beautiful in feminine  nature owned even
 the remotest relationship to the       
courtesan whom ,dumas  had set himself  
to present upon the stage4 ,the         
unconquerable purity  of her artistic   
personality left her helpless in the    
presence of her  chosen task4 ,as mere  
assumption the performance counted for  
next to  nothing1 and yet in its        
exquisite power to reveal the           
ever-deepening  emotions of a suffering 
human soul it was incomparable and      
superb4  ,it chanced that only three    
nights afterwards ,i saw ,sarah         
,bernhardt  in this same play1 and the  
contrast was striking and instructive4  
,it  might have been another story2 it  
certainly was another and a widely      
different character4 ,possibly neither  
artist rendered faithfully the  author's
 intention1 and yet both had produced an

 impression of intense  enjoyment1 such 
as the theatre is rarely able to confer4
    ,on both of these evenings ,i had   
the good fortune to sit beside ,miss    
,ellen ,terry1 whose presence in the    
theatre ,i think contributed in  no     
small degree to the almost inspired     
performances of her comrades  upon the  
stage4 ,i am not indiscreet enough to   
reveal her comparative  judgment of     
their competing claims1 but ,i remember 
considering at the  time how far her own
 presentation of ,marguerite ,gauthier1 
if she had  ever undertaken the part1   
would have compared with the conception 
of either4 ,here1 again1 is an instance 
of an artist who has never  sought1 or  
who has sought in vain1 to hide her own 
identity2 and  yet of those who have    
felt the magic of her influence in the  
ideal  figure of ,ophelia1 in the       
exquisite raillery of ,beatrice1 or in  
the  tender sentiment of ,olivia1 who is
 there who would deny her right to  the 
foremost place in her profession8 ,with 

her most surely the final  effect and   
impression rest upon powers of          
revelation--upon the ability  to realise
 and to interpret the simplest and the  
subtlest phases of  emotion1 far more   
than upon those artifices of deception  
that make for  the more obvious triumphs
 of disguise4    ,it may1 of course1 be 
conceded that in his critical and       
discriminating  judgment of ,irving's   
acting ,coquelin had before him an      
extreme  example of marked personal     
idiosyncrasy4 ,the ,english actor1 and  
no  one was better aware of the fact    
than himself1 was partly hampered  in   
the exercise of his art by physical     
peculiarities that for many  years      
proved a serious hindrance in his       
career4 ,but1 even if he could  have    
shaken himself wholly free of them1 he  
could never have effaced  the           
personality that lay behind them4 ,it   
is1 indeed1 impossible to  conceive a   
more striking contrast than was         
presented by the two men as  ,i used    

often to see them in those intimate     
little supper-parties at the  ,lyceum4  
,coquelin1 despite his alert and agile  
intelligence1 remained in  outward      
appearance almost defiantly bourgeois1  
and this indelible stamp  of his origin1
 which art had done nothing to refashion
 or refine1 never  showed so clearly as 
when he stood beside the ,english actor1
 who1 with  no better social title than 
his own1 nevertheless carried about him 
a  nameless sense of race and breeding4 
,i remember one night when they  stood  
up side by side towards the close of a  
long evening1 ,coquelin's  silhouette   
bulging in somewhat rotund line as it   
traversed his ample  waistcoat1 the     
comedian was enlarging in earnest and   
eager tones as to  his plans for the    
future4 8,i have the intention10 he said
 to ,irving1  in his halting ,english1  
8,i have the intention next year to     
assume the  rle of ,richard ,,iii40     
,irving seemed thoughtful for a moment1 
and then  his long1 slender fingers     

lightly tapping that protuberant        
outline1 he  murmured1 as though half to
 himself1 8,would you8 ,i wonder60      
,,sir ,,arthur ,,sullivan      ,arthur  
,sullivan's final claims as a composer  
can only be settled by  time4 ,it is not
 allowed1 even to the expert1 to hasten 
the judgment  of posterity1 for1 as we  
know from experience1 that judgment does
 not  always accord with the verdict    
even of the most learned of the living4 
,but there is one fact which in         
,sullivan's case time cannot dispute1   
and that is the extraordinary influence 
which he exercised over his  generation4
 ,there is possibly no ,englishman in   
any realm of art who1  during the same  
period1 won the admiration of so many of
 his fellows3  none assuredly whose     
genius entered with so sweet a welcome  
into so  many ,english homes4    ,the   
art of the musician where it is destined
 to win any form of  popular response   
has indeed this peculiar prerogative4   
,the processes  of its production are   

hedged around with special              
technicalities that  can be comprehended
 only by the few1 but its completed     
message owns a  universal language that 
no other art can command4 ,and those of 
us who  know of music no more than the  
pleasure it confers ought not on that   
account to withhold our tribute of      
praise from a master who has charmed  us
 all4 ,it is not only the super-subtle  
or the obscure which merits  respect1   
and we need not1 therefore1 be too      
timorous in confessing our  love of that
 which we are permitted to understand1  
resting assured that  there will remain 
critics enough to deliver the sterner   
judgment of  the higher courts4 ,and    
amongst such critics there is a certain 
section  in music1 as in literature1 or 
in painting1 whose ears are so finely   
tuned to catch the first whisper of the 
moderating voice of the time  to come1  
that they are apt to lose their nerve   
for praise of their  contemporaries3    
others again so beset with the cant of  

categories that  they must needs deplore
 in the case of every gifted artist who 
chances  also to be popular that his    
gifts are not engaged in other and      
loftier  employment4 ,we need not1      
however1 be too greatly concerned with  
censure  of this sort2 for the accepted 
formulas of criticism are after all but 
the reflex of past achievement1 and are 
liable to be recast or enlarged  in     
accordance with the needs and resources 
of those who have the power  to remodel 
them4 ,genius1 indeed1 takes little     
account of the accepted  classifications
 of the schools1 and forms of art that  
were deemed  capable of holding only so 
much as they have hitherto contained are
  suddenly transformed at the touch of  
new invention1 which1 in its turn1      
forges new fetters doomed again to be   
shattered by the advent of some  later  
individuality4    ,but it is the        
personality of the artist rather than   
the quality of his  work that now       
chiefly concerns us4 ,of the latter1    

indeed1 the present  writer has no title
 to speak save in terms of grateful     
admiration1 and  although it is true of 
every man of genius that the finest     
attributes  of his nature lie surely    
enshrined in the fruit of his life's    
labour1  yet those who enjoyed the      
privilege of ,arthur ,sullivan's        
friendship  may be pardoned for thinking
 that the art with which he charmed the 
world still left unrevealed a deeper    
fascination in the man himself4  ,so    
much at least is certain1 that only     
those who knew him well were  able to   
realise the perfect accord that existed 
between the artist  and his work4 ,this1
 as we know1 is not always easy to      
discover4 ,life  sometimes refuses to   
surrender any hint of the subtler graces
 that  stand confessed in the artistic  
record given to the world for its       
enjoyment2 and1 on the other hand1 it   
will as often happen that the  product  
of hand or brain seems sternly to       
exclude some more intimate  charm that  

friendship alone can claim to have      
discovered4 ,it was not so  in          
,sullivan's case4 ,the man and the      
artist were woven of one fabric         
throughout1 and those who have enjoyed  
the varied phases of his music1  from   
its graver to its lighter strains1 may  
be said to have possessed a  faithful   
index to the purely personal qualities  
that won the affection  of his friends4 
,in the unstudied converse of daily life
 he exhibited  in himself that same     
swift grace of alternating mood that is 
so  characteristic of his art4 ,he was  
never afraid of the sudden entry of     
humour into a discussion of the most    
serious theme1 or of sounding a  deeper 
and graver note1 however closely it may 
have followed upon the  heels of recent 
laughter4 ,it was this that made him the
 most delightful  of companions4 ,his   
instinct was so sure1 his sympathy so   
finely tuned1  that he never missed his 
footing3 his sense of harmony in        
friendship1  as in art1 so absolutely   

irreproachable1 that he never struck a  
jarring  note4    ,a great simplicity   
and generosity of nature lay1 ,i think1 
at the root  of the rare social charm he
 possessed4 ,in all my recollections of 
our companionship ,i cannot recall a    
single ill-natured word towards  friend 
or acquaintance1 or any bitter criticism
 of a comrade in art4 ,in  another man  
such restraint might have seemed        
insipid3 in his case it  was instinctive
 and obviously sincere4 ,he was         
naturally endowed with  the genius of   
friendship1 and what he had to say in   
the way of serious  criticism was       
delivered with such generous            
understanding of the claims  of other   
arts with which he was brought into     
association1 that it could  never give  
offence4 ,it was my good fortune more   
than once to be closely  allied with him
 in the execution of a common task1 and 
those who have  written for music will  
know how constant are the opportunities 
for  friction between the author and the

 composer4 ,the conflicting claims of   
music and drama must needs breed keen   
discussion1 and sometimes even  marked  
divergence of view1 but with ,arthur    
,sullivan the sense of what  was        
essential in the requirements he had to 
meet was so quick and so  true that it  
was rarely possible to withhold any     
concession he might  finally see fit to 
demand4    ,we met first in the         
seventies when we were fellow-guests in 
a  country-house in ,scotland4 ,the     
house party was a large one1 and ,sir   
,arthur ,sullivan1 laying aside all     
claim to the kind of consideration  to  
which his reputation entitled him1      
became at once the life and soul  of the
 varied entertainments that were        
organised during the evenings  of our   
visit4 ,if there were private           
theatricals or tableaux vivants he      
would cheerfully supply the incidental  
music required for the occasion1  and   
was so little preoccupied with the      
dignity of his position as  composer    

that he would willingly accompany the   
songs of every amateur1  and when the   
need arose would seat himself patiently 
at the piano to  provide the music for  
an improvised dance4 ,we met often in   
the years  that followed1 and our       
acquaintance quickly ripened into a     
close and  lasting friendship4 ,in the  
riverside houses1 which he used then to 
take during the summer months of the    
year1 he was the most delightful  of    
hosts1 and when ,i was able to accompany
 him on some of his trips  abroad1 ,i   
found in his companionship a charm that 
never failed4    ,in #ahid he was       
invited by ,sir ,henry ,irving to       
compose the music for  my play of ,king 
,arthur1 and he became so deeply        
interested in the  subject that he      
afterwards planned the execution of an  
opera dealing  with the fortunes of     
,launcelot and ,guinevere1 for which ,i 
was to supply  the libretto4 ,owing to  
failing health1 however1 the scheme was 
never  carried to completion1 and it is 

perhaps open to question whether the    
sustained effort needed for the         
interpretation of a serious and tragic  
theme would have so nicely fitted the   
natural bent of his genius as the       
lighter framework provided for him by   
,sir ,william ,gilbert4    ,certainly   
the alliance of these two men proved of 
rare value to their  generation4 ,it is 
impossible to conceive of talents so    
differently  moulded or so sharply      
contrasted1 a contrast that found an apt
  reflection in their strikingly        
divergent personalities4 ,at the first  
glance their partnership would hardly   
seem to promise a fruitful  result1 and 
yet it was perhaps out of their very    
unlikeness that  they were enabled to   
derive something of constant inspiration
 from  one another4 ,gilbert's humour1  
perhaps the most individual in his      
generation1 was cloaked beneath a       
somewhat sullen exterior4 ,the settled  
gravity of his expression1 sometimes    
almost menacing in the sense of         

slumbering hostility which it conveyed1 
gave hardly a hint of those  sudden     
flashes of wit which came like quick    
lightning from a lowering  sky1 and was 
as far removed as possible from the     
sunny radiance of  ,sullivan's face1    
wherein the look of resident geniality  
stood ready  on the smallest provocation
 to reflect every passing mood of       
quickly  responsive appreciation4 ,many 
of the pungent epigrams of ,gilbert are 
well known1 and if they were not in     
every case invented on the spur of  the 
moment1 they were uttered with such     
apparent reluctance to disturb  the     
settled gravity of his demeanour as to  
produce in the listener  the conviction 
that he himself was the last person to  
suspect their  existence4 ,very often   
indeed they were obviously born of the  
moment of  their utterance4 ,i remember 
our both being present in the stalls of 
a theatre listening to an actor who was 
wont to mask his occasional  departure  
from strict sobriety by the adoption of 

a confidential tone  in delivery that   
sank sometimes to the confines of a     
whisper1 when  ,gilbert1 leaning over my
 shoulder1 remarked1 8,no one admires   
the art  of ,mr4 ,k---- more than ,i do1
 but ,i always feel ,i am taking a      
liberty  in overhearing what he says40  
,at another time1 when he had been      
invited to attend a concert in aid of   
the ,soldiers' ,daughters' ,home1  he   
replied with polite gravity that he     
feared he would not be able  to be      
present at the concert1 but that he     
would be delighted to see  one of the   
soldiers' daughters home after the      
entertainment4 ,these  are only two     
samples drawn at random from an         
inexhaustible store of  such sayings as 
must survive in the memory of all who   
knew him1 and  the special flavour that 
is impressed upon them all is equally to
 be  noted in his work for the theatre1 
more particularly in those lyrical      
portions of the operas composed in      
association with ,sullivan4 ,in the  art

 of stating a purely prosaic proposition
 in terms of verse he was  indeed       
without rival4 ,his metrical skill only 
served to emphasise more  deeply the    
essential unfitness of the poetic form  
for the message he  had to convey2 and  
this unconcealed discordance between the
 essence of  the thought to be expressed
 and the vehicle chosen for its         
expression1  became irresistible in its 
humorous appeal even before it had      
received  its musical setting4 ,and yet 
that setting1 as supplied by ,sullivan1 
gave to the whole a unique value4 ,the  
sardonic spirit of the writer not  only 
called forth in ,sullivan a             
corresponding humour in the adaptation  
of serious musical form1 but it enabled 
him to super-add qualities of  grace and
 beauty which deserved to rank as an    
independent contribution  of his own4   
,in this way the combined result        
possessed a measure of  poetic charm and
 glamour which ,gilbert's verse in      
itself1 despite  its rare technical     

qualities1 could not pretend to claim1  
although  without the impulse supplied  
by his more prosaic partner1 it may be  
doubted whether even the finer graces of
 ,sullivan's genius would have  found   
such apt and fortunate expression4      
,certain it is that where the  task     
imposed upon him lacked the support of  
this satiric spirit1 he  often laboured 
with a reward less entirely satisfying1 
and1 on the  other hand1 ,i think       
,gilbert himself was impelled by the    
exigencies  of their comradeship to     
indulge a more fanciful invention than  
was  characteristic of his isolated     
efforts as a writer of verse4    ,my    
final association with ,sir ,arthur     
,sullivan arose out of my joint         
authorship with ,sir ,arthur ,pinero in 
the libretto of ,the ,beauty  ,stone4 ,i
 think the composer was conscious that  
the scheme of our work  constituted a   
somewhat violent departure from the     
lines upon which  his success in the    
theatre had hitherto been achieved4 ,at 

an earlier  time this fact in itself    
would not1 ,i believe1 have proved      
unwelcome  to him1 for he had confessed 
to me that he was sometimes weary of the
  fetters which ,gilbert's particular   
satiric vein imposed upon him1  and his 
ambition rather impelled him to make    
trial in a field where1  without        
encountering all the demands incident to
 ,grand ,opera1 he might  be able to    
give freer rein to the more serious side
 of his genius4  ,but the adventure1    
even had our share in the task proved   
entirely  satisfactory to the public1   
came too late4 ,poor ,sullivan was      
already a  sick man4 ,sufferings long   
and patiently endured had sapped his    
power of  sustained energy1 and my      
recollection of the days ,i passed with 
him in  his villa at ,beaulieu1 when he 
was engaged in setting the lyrics ,i had
  written1 are shadowed and saddened by 
the impression then left upon me  that  
he was working under difficulties of a  
physical kind almost too  great to be   

borne4 ,the old genial spirit was still 
there1 the quick  humour in appreciation
 and the ready sympathy in all that     
concerned  our common task1 but the     
sunny optimism of earlier days shone    
only  fitfully through the physical     
depression that lay heavily upon him1   
and  when a little later we came to the 
strenuous times of rehearsal in the     
theatre1 one was forced to observe the  
strain he seemed constantly in  need of 
putting upon himself in order to get    
through the irksome labour  of the day4 
,there were indeed brighter intervals   
when he seemed in  nothing changed from 
the man as ,i first knew him1 but on    
such happier  moments would quickly     
follow long seasons of depression1      
showing itself  sometimes in an         
irritability of temper so foreign to his
 real nature as  to raise in the minds  
of his friends feelings of deep         
disquietude and  anxiety4 ,but the      
,sullivan of those moods of dejection is
 not the man  whose portrait lives in   

the memory of those who knew him4 ,it is
 easier  to think of him in those       
earlier days when the constant urbanity 
of his  outlook upon the world was      
lightened by a laughing humour          
constantly  inspired by sympathy and    
affection4          ,,the ,,junior ,,of 
,,the ,,circuit      ,when ,i first     
joined the ,northern circuit in the year
 #ahgb1 it  covered a wider area than is
 now allotted to it4 ,we used at that   
time to begin operations at ,appleby1   
journeying thence from ,durham  to      
,newcastle1 ,carlisle1 ,lancaster1      
,manchester1 and ,liverpool4 ,the       
members of the ,local ,bar in the two   
last-named cities were already  strong  
and powerful1 but they had not yet      
absorbed so large a share  of the       
business of the assizes as they now     
enjoy4 ,it was ,charles  ,crompton--with
 whom ,i had read in chambers--who      
secured for me the  coveted position of 
,junior of the circuit1 and the first   
occasion on  which ,i set out to        

discharge the somewhat anomalous duties 
of my office  ,i shared rooms at ,durham
 with the present ,mr4 ,justice         
,kennedy1 who1 ,i  think1 had himself   
been a candidate for the post4    ,i    
have referred to the duties of the      
,junior of the circuit as being         
somewhat anomalous1 because although1 as
 his title would imply1 he  is always   
chosen from the newest of its recruits1 
tradition dowers  him with a figment of 
authority which is altogether out of    
proportion  to any personal             
qualifications he may chance to possess4
 ,he disputes  the leadership of the    
circuit with the leader himself1 and is 
assumed  to hold specially in his       
keeping the interests of the ,junior    
,bar as  opposed to whatever arrogant   
claims may be put forward by the more   
fortunate wearers of the silken gown4   
,to this defiant attitude1  where the   
opportunity for defiance was in any     
sense possible1 ,i was  constantly urged
 by the members of the ,junior ,bar1    

whose cause ,i was  supposed to         
champion2 and it was deemed a duty1     
which no ,junior of  spirit could safely
 ignore1 that on any public occasion    
when he had  to stand up as spokesman of
 the circuit1 he should depreciate1 with
  all the resources at his disposal1    
both the intellectual prowess and  the  
professional bearing of the eminent     
,queen's counsel who were  assembled at 
assize4 ,the dignity thus assigned to   
him was1 of course1  only               
half-humorously entertained by his      
comrades of both ranks1 but  so much of 
reality still attached to the office    
that the holder of  it1 if he chose to  
take advantage of the situation1 found  
ample  opportunity for the trial and    
exercise of such gifts of oratory as he 
might be fortunate enough to possess4   
,wherever and whenever the members  of  
the circuit were entertained1 the       
,junior had to brace himself  to his    
allotted task2 and although at the time 
,i had been assigned  no opportunity of 

airing my powers of speech in open      
court1 these  festive gatherings1 which 
occurred in nearly every separate county
 we  visited1 left me free for the crude
 practice of an art that had always     
profoundly attracted me4    ,the leaders
 of the ,northern circuit1 whose virtues
 ,i was called upon  to assail1 numbered
 at that time some of the most          
distinguished  representatives at the   
,bar4 ,herschell1 ,russell1 ,holker1 and
 ,sam ,pope  had all either attained or 
were nearing the zenith of their fame2  
while  among the ,junior ,bar it may    
suffice to cite the names of the late   
,lord ,selby 7then ,mr4 ,gully71 ,mr4   
,henn ,collins 7the late ,master of the 
,rolls71 ,lord ,mersey1 and ,mr4        
,justice ,kennedy4 ,it was a privilege  
to  watch the work in court in which the
 powers of some of these giants  of the 
profession were daily called into       
exercise4 ,i used to hear  some of my   
contemporaries sigh over the weary      
ordeal of having to  sit and listen to  

cases in which they were not concerned2 
a little  later1 in the courts at       
,westminster1 ,i sometimes shared that  
feeling  of fatigue2 but my experience  
of two years of circuit life yields few 
dull memories4 ,the proceedings on      
circuit are perhaps more concentrated   
in their interest than can1 in the      
nature of things1 be claimed for  the   
more scattered and diversified arena of 
the metropolis2 one is  brought more    
nearly into touch with the chief actors 
in the drama1 and  the incidents of the 
day are renewed and discussed at the    
,bar mess in  the evening4 ,it is       
possible there to gauge and to measure  
the social  qualities of the men whose  
public performances in court are still  
under  consideration1 and to link the   
more human side of this or that great   
advocate1 as it was frankly and freely  
exhibited in those hours when we  sat at
 wine after dinner1 with the purely     
intellectual gifts that had  been set in
 action during the day4 ,no one1 for    

instance1 who knew ,mr4  ,russell       
7afterwards ,lord ,russell of ,killowen7
 only by his conduct of  a case in      
court1 where the qualities of an        
imperious temper joined to  an          
unrelenting gravity of manner coloured  
and dominated the impression  which even
 his most eloquent speeches produced1   
could have readily  divined that he     
possessed at the same time a vein of    
genuine sentiment  that1 in his more    
sympathetic moods1 showed itself as     
being no less  clearly an integral part 
of his nature4 ,and yet this softer side
 of  his character was often shown at   
the circuit mess1 and ,i have more  than
 once seen his eyes moistened with tears
 as he would sing1 without  any great   
pretence of art1 one or more of ,moore's
 sentimental ,irish  melodies4    ,nor  
could it have been readily guessed that1
 beneath the look of  slumbering power  
which marked ,holker's personality1     
there lurked a  quickened sense of      
humour of which he could make agile     

display when  the needs of the social   
occasion called it into being4 ,the     
almost  daily contest between these two 
men1 so differently equipped1 and yet   
often so equally matched1 formed one of 
the most interesting subjects  of study 
to the youngster whose idle days were   
passed in court2 for  down the length of
 the circuit1 from ,durham to           
,liverpool1 there were  few causes of   
any magnitude or importance in which    
they were not both  engaged1 and their  
divergent personalities and varying     
methods remain  to me now as an unfading
 recollection4 ,it was sometimes        
difficult  to realise that ,holker owned
 any real claims to eloquence until the 
cumulative effect of his untiring       
insistence found its reflex in the      
favourable verdict of the jury4 ,that1  
at any rate1 was the first  impression4 
,it was only afterwards that the student
 was able to realise what a  wealth of  
intellectual resource and unsleeping    
vigilance lay masked  beneath the       

somewhat uncouth exterior in which the  
immobile and  unresponsive features gave
 scarcely a hint of the quick insight   
into human nature1 and the swift grasp  
of what was essential either  in the    
strength or the weakness of his cause4  
,grace of oratory he  certainly could   
never boast1 but his very disability in 
this respect  seemed sometimes to serve 
him as a source of power4 ,his humble   
and  deprecating manner1 as though he   
were struggling with a task too  great  
for him1 made an irresistible appeal to 
the sympathies of a  ,northern jury1 who
 would seem silently bidden to come to  
the aid of  this giant in distress1 and 
who were never1 ,i think1 aware that in 
leaning towards what they deemed the    
weaker side1 they were1 in fact1  the   
victims of the most consummate art which
 cloaked itself in almost  blundering   
simplicity of phrase4 ,russell's more   
brilliant gifts as  an orator often beat
 in vain against what seemed at first   
sight to  be the ill-adjusted and       

cumbrous methods of his adversary2 while
 at  other times the superior grace and 
vehemence of his style carried him      
safely to victory4 ,even at that date it
 seemed to me clear that he was         
destined to take his place as the most  
distinguished advocate at the  ,bar1 and
 those who had the privilege of watching
 his career at that  time had not long  
to wait to witness the fulfilment of    
their prophecy4  ,i think of him always 
as an advocate1 for although his natural
 gift of  speech might have fitted him  
to win renown in almost any arena1 it   
may  nevertheless be justly said of him 
that it was the office of advocacy      
alone which furnished the needed impulse
 for the display of his highest  gifts  
as an orator4 ,it is possibly for that  
reason that his career  in ,parliament  
never quite justified his commanding    
reputation at the  ,bar1 and it is      
certainly true--as ,i myself have       
witnessed more than  once--that in the  
discharge of those lighter duties that  

fall to a  speaker on festal occasions  
he moved with little ease of style and  
with  far inferior effect4    ,it was   
the concrete issue1 carrying with it a  
full sense of  responsibility1 that was 
needed to set in motion the great forces
 of  character and intellect that were  
his by right4 ,it was the sense of  the 
duel that pricked him forward to the    
display of his powers at  their best2   
and it is1 ,i think1 this same sense of 
the duel that forms  the supreme element
 of interest to those who are called    
upon to watch  the conduct of a great   
trial in which grave issues are at      
stake4 ,to  the trained mind of the     
lawyer an intricate case1 in which only 
civil  interests are involved1 provides 
perhaps the fullest opportunity for     
watching the expert sword-play between  
two leaders who are fitly armed  for    
their task2 but from the more human and 
dramatic point of view  it is the       
criminal court in an assize town that   
more often attracts  the presence of the

 younger student4 ,a murder trial1 where
 the man  whose life is in the balance  
stands before you in the dock during the
  long hours of a protracted hearing1   
becomes1 as the case advances1          
absorbing1 and even oppressive1 in its  
interest4 ,the very air of  the crowded 
court seems charged with the message of 
this one human  story2 it is difficult1 
as the sordid and pitiable facts are    
gradually  revealed1 to conceive that   
there is any other drama than that which
  is being enacted within those four    
walls4 ,and as the trial drags its      
course1 with each new link in the       
evidence seeming to forge a chain  that 
is gradually drawing closer around the  
wretched being who stands  before you in
 the dock1 the intensity of the         
situation becomes so great  and so      
strained that one is almost tempted to  
believe that the whole  world is        
awaiting that one word from the lips of 
the jury which shall  set him free once 
more or send him to his doom4    ,i can 

recall many such trials during my brief 
service on the ,northern  circuit1 and  
sometimes when the hearing outran the   
hours commonly  allotted for the        
sittings of the court1 and when judge   
and jury1 by  mutual consent1 had agreed
 that the end should be reached before  
the  end of the day1 the inherent       
solemnity of the scene would receive an 
added sense of awe and terror as the    
fading daylight gradually deserted  the 
building1 and the creeping shadows      
half-shrouded the faces of the          
spectators eagerly and silently intent  
upon every word that fell from  the     
judge in his summing-up--whose grave    
countenance1 only partly  illumined by  
the candles that had been set upon his  
desk1 stood in  dreadful contrast with  
that of the prisoner who confronted him 
with  ashen face like that of a spectre 
in the darkness4 ,and once ,i remember1 
when the fatal verdict had been given1  
and the judge had passed to  the dread  
task of pronouncing sentence--a task    

never in my experience  discharged      
without the signs of visible            
emotion--the terror of the  scene was   
still further heightened as the         
prisoner1 shrieking for  mercy1 held    
fast to the bar of the dock1 and was    
only at last removed  by force to the   
cells below4    ,such memories count    
among the sadder experiences of circuit 
life1 and  were relieved by much else in
 the ordinary work of the day that      
leaves  a happier recollection4 ,i      
believe the circuit mess has now greatly
  fallen from its former estate2 in my  
time it flourished exceedingly4  ,at    
each of the great towns we kept a       
well-stocked cellar of our own1  and it 
was the business of the junior to see   
that the members dining  were kept well 
supplied with the wine of their choice4 
,the increase of  the ,local ,bar in    
many of the great centres has no doubt  
considerably  changed all this--with    
some loss1 as it must be1 of the sense  
of  good-fellowship which then bound us 

together4 ,but at that time those       
nightly gatherings1 at which nearly     
every member of the circuit dined1  kept
 alive a kind of schoolboy feeling that 
infected the graver  leaders no less    
than the ,junior ,bar4 ,the dinner-hour 
brought with it  always something of a  
festal spirit1 and there were special   
occasions1  such as grand nights1 that  
were wholly given over to a frolic mood4
 ,we  had our accredited ,poet          
,laureate1 poor ,hugh ,shield1 who has  
now joined  the majority1 and whose duty
 it was to provide the fitting doggerel 
to be recited at the mess4 ,nor were    
these effusions too strictly  judged1   
from a purely literary point of view1 if
 they were sufficiently  besprinkled    
with pungent personal references to such
 members as were  deemed to afford      
fitting material for the exercise of the
 poet's  humour4 ,another of those who  
was a prodigal contributor to the       
humours  of the evening was             
,m#8,connell1 who afterwards became     

judge of the  ,middlesex ,sessions4 ,and
 even the leader was not allowed to     
escape his  contribution1 although it   
was sometimes hinted that his lighter   
essays  in prose and verse were supplied
 to him by some one of his friends      
whose professional services were not so 
fully employed4    ,though the          
barrister's calling did not long hold me
 in its service1  ,i have always        
retained the keenest interest in the    
triumphs of its  distinguished          
representatives4 ,perhaps of no other   
profession can it be  so truly said that
 it is fitted to claim the undivided    
allegiance of  the strongest character  
and the keenest intellect2 possibly1 for
 that  reason it leaves the most        
indelible mark upon its followers4 ,a   
great  lawyer1 in whatever arena he may 
be encountered1 never quite divests     
himself of the habit of the law2 just as
 there are some men who1 by a  natural  
academic inclination1 remain always and 
obviously members of  their ,university1

 no matter how far removed may be the   
ultimate field  of their activity4 ,but 
if a lawyer is always a lawyer1 it is   
perhaps  for that very reason that he is
 often such excellent company1 and this1
  ,i think1 applies especially to       
members of the ,common ,law ,bar1 who do
  not incur the same danger of becoming 
enmeshed in the enclosing net  of legal 
subtleties4 ,with them the study and    
knowledge of character  becomes often a 
greater element of strength1 than a     
profound knowledge  of legal principles4
          ,,by ,,the ,,side ,,of ,a     
,,stream      ,if a writer happens to be
 an angler1 he will often find himself  
when in  holiday mood on the banks of a 
trout stream4 ,there is long warrant for
  the association of these two callings4
 ,since the day of ,izaak ,walton1  whom
 we still follow with such delight in   
his rambles beside the ,dove  or the    
,lea1 the hand whose chief office it is 
to hold the pen has  again and again1 in
 hours of leisure1 been found wielding  

the rod4 ,we  have modern examples in   
,charles ,kingsley1 whose 8,chalk       
,stream ,studies0  may perhaps outlast  
many of his more ambitious essays in    
literature2  and ,mr4 ,froude has left  
among his miscellaneous writings a      
delightful  record of a day's fishing on
 a ,hertfordshire stream4 ,william      
,black1  the novelist1 never tired of   
recounting to me his various adventures 
in northern waters2 and among modern    
writers1 ,mr4 ,andrew ,lang may  also be
 cited as an unwearying follower of the 
gentle art4 ,i think1  indeed1 the      
alliance ,i have noted has in it        
something more than the  accident of    
individual taste4 ,there is no need for 
the long leisure  of a set holiday to   
enable the man of letters to turn to his
 favourite  recreation4 ,the more       
violent forms of sport1 which exact the 
devotion  of a day1 or of a series of   
days1 require the enforced cessation of 
all  forms of literary toil2 but if the 
angler is fortunately located1 work  and

 play are by no means inconsistent      
and--granted that he is strong  enough  
to resist during the earlier hours of   
the day the alluring call  of the gentle
 south-west breeze with its alternating 
changes of sun  and cloud--the morning  
may still hold him chained to his desk1 
sure of  the reward of his industry in  
the evening ramble by the stream4 ,and  
if his success as an angler be not too  
complete--and how often it is  not6--the
 subject of his morning task will often 
renew itself in the  happy solitude that
 counts among the many joys which       
angling can boast4    ,my own           
apprenticeship as a fisherman was passed
 among the ,cumberland  hills4 ,earlier 
experience had taken me no further than 
an occasional  day on the upper reaches 
of the ,thames1 but even this cockney   
form of  the sport in its annual        
recurrence was looked forward to with   
delight2  and though the reward was no  
more than a few gudgeon1 with a rare    
and occasional perch1 such puny triumphs

 already whetted my appetite  for the   
day when ,i should be admitted to the   
deeper mysteries of  the fly-fisher's   
art4 ,my first master in this higher    
branch of the  profession was no hero   
save to me4 ,he was a gentleman of      
unsettled  occupation1 who dwelt in a   
cottage close beside ,grasmere          
,churchyard1  where ,wordsworth lies    
buried2 and by the more orderly         
characters of  the village his wayward  
habits of life1 involving constantly    
recurring  lapses into inebriety1 were  
regarded with stern reprobation4 ,but   
for  me1 at the time1 any doubt of the  
moral integrity of his character  was   
silenced by the indisputable fact that  
he was an unrivalled  professor of his  
art4 ,i accepted him without misgiving  
as my comrade  and my master1 and this  
at least may be urged in mitigation of  
the  harsher judgment of the village1   
that the night's debauch1 of which ,i   
was myself too often the reluctant      
witness1 never hindered him from        

appearing under our cottage window as   
soon after dawn as ,i was prepared  to  
set out on our daily expedition4 ,his   
stock-in-trade as a fisherman  was of   
the homeliest and scantiest description4
 ,his rod1 consisting  of two parts     
rudely spliced together1 had been       
fashioned by himself2  and by the side  
of the beck or the mountain tarn1 with  
fingers that  alcohol still left        
incomparably steady for their task1 he  
would forge1  with such rough process of
 imitation as he could command1 the fly 
that  he thought best suited for the    
conditions of the water or the day4 ,in 
his company my brother and ,i rambled   
far afield4 ,there was no upland  stream
 or lonely pool within a circuit of five
 miles where our untried  skill was not 
assiduously exercised4 ,at that time the
 lakes and rivers  of ,cumberland were  
not so unceasingly flogged by the summer
 visitor1  and there were sequestered   
haunts well known to him that were      
scarcely  visited by the tourist at all4

    ,one specially favoured spot was a  
tiny lake called ,harrop ,tarn1         
surrounded by a quaking bog1 that lay in
 the hills above ,thirlmere4  ,my       
revered master1 though a genuine        
sportsman1 was not wholly               
irreproachable in regard to some        
delicate questions that lay on the      
border-land of poaching1 and it was at  
,harrop1 where the bank was  in most    
places unapproachable1 that he initiated
 us in the subtle  mysteries of         
cross-lining4 ,be it counted to his     
honour1 however1 that  these occasional 
departures from the stricter etiquette  
of his calling  were never undertaken   
without enjoining on us the most solemn 
pledge of  secrecy1 a fact that at the  
time gave to the delights of almost     
certain  success the added excitement of
 some unknown personal risk and danger4 
,but the ,lake district1 it must be     
confessed1 was even then no paradise    
for the trout-fisher4 ,it satisfied well
 enough the moderate ambition of  a boy1

 who was still a bungler in the art1 and
 it served1 at any rate1  as fitting    
ground for that patient apprenticeship  
which is necessary  to all who desire to
 become proficient in the science and   
practice of  casting a fly4 ,scotland1 a
 few years later1 offered a wider field1
 with  the occasional chance of larger  
triumphs2 and it was there that ,i first
  became conscious of my ability to meet
 my desired prey upon more equal  terms4
 ,the upper reaches of the ,tay1 as it  
runs between ,crianlarich and  ,killin1 
became for many years my favourite      
hunting-ground4 ,the little  inn at     
,luib was our resting-place1 and ,loch  
,dochart1 which lay five  miles up the  
stream1 our favourite resort when wind  
and weather served4  ,i can recall no   
sense of fatigue from the ten miles of  
mountain road  that we had to trudge by 
the time our day's work was done1 though
 we  were often drenched to the skin    
before we reached the inn at night4 ,nor
  did the inn itself1 at that time1     

offer absolute protection against the   
weather1 and sometimes when the storm   
beat heavily upon the uncertain  roof we
 had to make our way upstairs to our    
rooms under the shelter of  an umbrella4
    ,some years later ,i found my way to
 the ,western ,highlands as the invited 
guest of a dear friend who was almost as
 keen a fisherman as myself4  ,i had    
often heard of the ,salmo ferox1 whose  
identity as a separate  species is1 ,i  
believe1 still in dispute1 but it was   
not until one  memorable day upon ,loch 
,awe that ,i encountered the monster in 
person4  ,a fair morning had changed    
suddenly to a wild storm of wind and    
rain1  and the surface of the lake was  
lashed into the semblance of a mimic    
sea4 ,fly-fishing was out of the        
question1 and our gillie in despair     
suggested that we might put out the     
trolling rod with a large phantom       
minnow for bait1 while we tried to make 
our way against the wind back  to the   
landing-place4 ,i do not think there was

 any expectation even on  his part that 
the endeavour would yield any result1   
and ,i1 who held the  rod in hands that 
were nearly frozen by the beating rain1 
was entirely  unprepared for the violent
 and sudden tug that nearly wrenched it 
from  my grasp4 ,but when that tug came1
 no one thought any more about the      
storm1 and for nearly half an hour of   
throbbing excitement we were  engaged in
 a fierce struggle that seemed at any   
moment likely to end  in our ignominious
 defeat4 ,again and again the great     
trout rose to the  surface and sprang   
high into the air1 and then1 with sudden
 change of  tactics1 it would dive1 as  
it would seem1 to the floor of the lake1
  and lie in sullen resistance to such  
pressure as we dared put upon the  line4
 ,but the victory long delayed was ours 
at last1 not1 however1 ,i  will admit1  
without some element of disappointment  
in the appearance  and quality of our   
captive4 ,a long1 lank fish1 that scaled
 something  between #h lb4 and #i lb41  

but which1 if it had been in condition1 
ought  to have mounted to as much as    
half its weight again3 an ugly fish1    
with  the mouth and jaws of a pike1 it  
still left us in wonder where it had    
found the force to offer so stubborn a  
resistance4    ,an occasional monster   
during a day which seems to offer the   
prospect of  only smaller fry is one of 
the pleasurable excitements of          
loch-fishing  in ,scotland4 ,only a few 
years ago ,i set out in pleasant company
 from  a cottage beside the shores of   
,mull1 to make a picnic near one of the 
little lochs that lay about five miles  
up the hill4 ,two or three of us  had   
taken our rods1 but with no thought of a
 larger capture than the  small brown   
trout and ,fontinalis with which we knew
 these hill lochs  were well stocked4   
,the day was busily spent1 and most of  
the party had  already started homeward 
on the downward path1 when the gillie   
who was  with us said that he knew of   
another little loch about a mile over   

the  hill1 where rumour had it that     
there were certain larger trout which   
had never been induced to rise to the   
fly4 ,my host and ,i1 with one  other   
companion1 determined to make trial of  
this unconquered pool1  and set out     
across the heather just as the sun was  
beginning to dip  behind the shelter of 
the hill4 ,it had been a scorching day1 
and was a  lovely evening4 ,as we came  
in sight of the little loch it seemed to
 us  both that if these reluctant fish  
were ever to be lured to the net1 the   
present was the most propitious occasion
 for the adventure4    ,it chanced that 
my friend had in his case a fine cast of
 drawn gut  with a small floating fly1  
which a month or two before he had used 
on  a southern stream2 ,i myself had    
chosen an ,alder of a pattern ,i had    
found efficient two or three years      
before on some of the little lochs      
above ,glenmuich4 ,our gillie knew      
nothing of the mysteries of the dry     
fly1 though he had heard tell of its    

wonders1 and it was indeed mainly  at   
his instigation that we were tempted to 
present this lure on the  present       
occasion4 ,we threw our lines almost    
simultaneously far out into  the        
tranquil surface of the pool1 but the   
luck was with my rival1 for  his fly had
 scarcely reached the water when there  
came a sudden flop  and a splash1 and it
 was evident by the mighty rush1 that   
took out  nearly the whole of the line  
from his reel1 that the legend related  
to us by the keeper had a solid         
foundation in fact4 ,it is astonishing  
what strength and persistence these     
larger lake trout display4 ,a fish  of  
equal weight in the ,test or the ,itchen
 would most assuredly have  been brought
 to bank within half an hour or less1   
but on this occasion  it was nearer     
three hours before our capture was      
complete4 ,a part of  our difficulty was
 due to the fact that the tackle was of 
the finest1  so that it was impossible  
to put any strain upon the line2 and    

even1 at  the last1 when the struggle   
was practically at an end1 there came   
the  added difficulty that the long     
gloaming had fallen into darkness1 and  
the application of the landing-net      
became a hazardous operation4 ,twice    
the line nearly parted when the fish was
 within less than a yard of the  bank2  
but when it was safely netted it proved 
to be a splendid trout of  something    
over #d-a_/b lb41 in perfection of      
colour and condition4 ,it was  under a  
moonless sky and in pitch darkness that 
we picked our way amid  the rough       
boulders down to the valley below1 where
 we were met within  a mile of home by  
the rest of our party1 who had already  
set out with  lanterns to come to our   
rescue4    ,there is not often occasion 
for the use of the dry fly in the       
,highlands1 though ,i remember employing
 it with some success one evening  at   
,kinloch-,rannoch1 where the waters of  
the river run with tranquil  flow from  
the lake4 ,but it is a delightful branch

 of the fly-fisher's  craft1 of unending
 fascination to those who have once     
gained a mastery  over its secrets4 ,for
 some years ,i was in happy possession  
of a little  cottage on the upper       
reaches of the ,lea1 where the narrow   
stream1 in  places no more than a few   
yards across1 gave no hint1 save to the 
initiated1 of the heavy fish which found
 a home and haunt under its  banks4 ,it 
was1 indeed1 only during the annual rise
 of the ,may-fly  that this little river
 made anything like a full announcement 
of its  thriving population4 ,during the
 weeks before and after this recurrent  
season of debauch1 there was little     
chance of a heavy basket1 and for  that 
reason it made a delightful home for any
 one occupied in writing1  to whom at   
those seasons the banks of the stream   
offered no compelling  temptation4 ,two 
or three hours in the evening after work
 was done  sufficed to test the chances 
of sport1 and ,i was amply satisfied if 
,i returned to the cottage at nightfall 

with a brace or a brace and a  half of  
handsome trout4 ,but with the advent of 
the ,may-fly my desk1 ,i  confess1 was  
deserted4 ,from my windows1 as ,i tried 
to write1 ,i could  hear and see the    
constant splashing in the stream which  
proclaimed  that the fish were already  
on the feed4 ,the cottage and the       
stretch  of river that belonged to it   
are1 alas6 no longer mine1 and ,i am    
told  that there1 as in so many other   
southern streams1 the rise of the fly   
is no more what it was ten years ago4   
,in those days1 on a favourable         
morning1 the meadows that bordered the  
water were all alight with  myriads of  
these beautiful ephemorae1 and the      
stream itself1 as far  as the eye could 
trace its course1 literally alive with  
the boil and  splash of the feeding     
fish4 ,for every fly that touched the   
water there  seemed to be an attendant  
and expectant trout4 ,larger fish1 that 
kept  to their deeper haunts at other   
seasons1 now took up their stations  in 

mid-stream1 and the veriest tiro in     
these favouring circumstances  could    
scarcely go home with an empty basket4  
,but there are days of luck  and days of
 disaster at all seasons3 days even     
during the ,may-fly time  when the most 
skilful fisherman has sometimes to      
confess a series of  mishaps1 while a   
companion not a hundred yards away is   
crowned with  good fortune4 ,when the   
weed is heavy--and for my part ,i have a
 liking  for the presence of the weed1  
and deprecate the close shearing of the 
stream which is too often the modern    
habit--it is inevitable that  some of   
the heavier fish should make their      
escape4 ,the most fortunate  morning    
that ,i can recall was a basket of      
twelve fish1 weighing in all  #bh-a_/b  
lb42 and the largest trout that has ever
 fallen to my rod there1  though by no  
means the largest known to the river1   
was within an ounce  of #d lb4    ,in   
days of early spring or late summer1    
when there is no rise of fly to  tempt  

the angler1 the keeper and ,i used to   
find congenial occupation  in ridding   
the stream of some of the heavy jack    
that were apt in those  days to come    
from ,luton ,hoo4 ,it was he who first  
initiated me in the  art1 of which he   
himself was a past master1 of securing  
these marauding  cannibals by the aid of
 a running wire4 ,like many a good      
keeper1 he  had been in his boyhood     
something of a poacher1 and even in     
those  later days1 when his morality was
 beyond reproach1 be retained certain   
stealthy and secret ways that dated from
 the lawless times of his  youth4 ,at   
any likely bend of the stream1 where a  
deeper pool rendered  probable the      
presence of a jack1 and when ,i might   
perhaps be deploring  the fact that we  
had left our wires at the cottage1 he   
would suddenly  to my surprise produce  
an ash sappling that lay hidden in the  
long  grass1 not three yards away1 with 
the running noose already attached  to  
its point4 ,nothing could exceed the    

quickness of his vision in  detecting   
the neighbourhood of his prey1 and      
nothing could equal the  incomparable   
steadiness of his hand as he reached far
 out across the  stream and deftly      
passed the wire over the head of the    
jack as it lay  half asleep in the sun4 
,and then1 before ,i was aware that the 
operation  was complete1 with a sudden  
wrench that almost cut the fish in twain
  he would lift a jack of #d lb4 or #e  
lb4 high into the air1 and fling it     
over his head on to the bank4 ,it was   
perhaps the recollection of his  earlier
 poaching days that made him so zealous 
and watchful during the  spawning       
season1 which offers to the poacher his 
favourite opportunity4  ,at these times 
he would spend long hours of the night  
beside the  stream1 never seeming to    
grudge any demand that was made upon his
 rest1  and it was while he was so      
employed that he made capture of a large
  otter1 whose marauding expeditions he 
had long reason to suspect4  ,otters1 ,i

 think1 are not common on that part of  
the ,lea2 certainly this  was the only  
specimen brought to my knowledge during 
my long tenancy  of the cottage4 ,but   
even a single otter can work ruinous    
havoc among  the trout1 as we had then  
reason to know1 and it was therefore    
with  pardonable pride that1 when ,i    
came down to breakfast one morning1 he  
laid his dead victim out to view on the 
little lawn in front of the  door4    ,i
 sometimes think that those who haunt   
the country1 without conscious  sense of
 its many beauties1 are apt to learn and
 love its beauties  best4 ,how often the
 memory of a day's shooting is          
indissolubly linked  with the pattern of
 a fading autumn sky1 when we have stood
 at the edge  of a stubble field        
wondering whether the growing twilight  
will suffice  for the last drive4 ,and  
if this is true of other forms of sport1
 it  is everlastingly true of fishing4  
,there is hardly a remembered day  on a 
,scotch loch1 or beside a southern      

stream1 which has not stamped  upon it  
some unfading image of landscape beauty4
 ,it was not for that  we set forth in  
the morning1 for then the changing      
lights in a dappled  sky counted for no 
more than a promise of good sport2      
during those  earlier hours there is no 
feeling but a feeling of impatience to  
be  at work2 and the splash of a rising 
trout1 before the rod is joined  and    
ready and the line run through its      
rings1 is heard with a sense of         
half-resentment lest we should have     
missed the favourable moment of the     
day4 ,but as the hours pass1 the mind   
becomes more tranquilly attuned  to its 
surroundings4 ,the keenness of the      
pursuit is still there1 but  little by  
little the still spirit of the scene    
invades our thoughts1  and as we tramp  
home at nightfall the landscape that was
 unregarded  when we set forth upon our 
adventure now seems to wrap itself like 
a  cloak around us with a spell that it 
is impossible to resist4 ,a hundred     

such visions1 born of an angler's       
wanderings1 come back to me across  the 
space of many years4 ,i can see the     
reeds etched against a sunset  sky1 as  
they spring out of a little loch in the 
hills above the inn at  ,tummel4 ,and   
then1 with a changing flash of memory1  
the broad waters of  ,rannoch are       
outspread1 fringed by its purple hills4 
,and then1 again1  in a homelier frame1 
,i can see the willows that border the  
,lea1 their  yellow leaves turned to    
gold under the level rays of the evening
 sun2  and ,i can hear the nightingale  
in the first notes of its song as ,i    
cross the plank bridge that leads me    
homeward to the cottage by the  stream4 
,,index        ,alma-,tadema1 ,sir      
,lawrence1 #bf-da        ,barnard1      
,fred1 #bag1 #bah      ,barry1 ,james1  
#aai      ,beauty ,stone1 the1 #bea     
,bell1 ,professor3 ,mrs4 ,siddons as    
,lady ,macbeth1 #afg      ,bernhardt1   
,sarah1 #bcc1 #bcg1 #bch      ,black1   
,william1 #bfd      ,blake1 ,william1   

#abj      ,bleheris3 story of the ,holy 
,grail1 #adh      ,boaden1 ,james3 ,mrs4
 ,siddons as ,lady ,macbeth1 #afg       
,bohemia ,past and ,present1 #a-aa      
,bough1 ,sam1 #aca      ,bret ,harte1   
#bae      ,brough1 ,robert ,barnabas1   
#aai      ,brown1 ,ford ,madox1 #abf    
,brown1 ,oliver ,madox1 #eb             
,browning1 ,robert1 #ab                 
,burne-,jones1 ,edward1 #ef-hh2         
friendship with ,alma-,tadema1 #ca2     
appreciation of ,rossetti1 #di1 #ef1    
#hf2      paintings referred to1 #fj2   
friendship with ,william ,morris1 #hf2  
paintings at ,roman ,exhibition1 #abg2  
,du ,maurier's opinion of1 #bag         
,caldecott1 ,randolph1 #baf             
,clayden1 ,p4 ,w41 #afd      ,clint1    
,george1 #aji      ,collins1 ,henn1 #bee
      ,constable1 ,john1 #acj           
,coquelin1 ,b4 ,c41 #bcc1 #bcd1 #bdj    
,cotman1 ,john ,sell1 #aca      ,cox1   
,david1 #aca      ,craven1 ,hawes1 #bjg 
,crestien de ,troyes--story of the ,holy
 ,grail1 #adh      ,crome1 ,john1 #aca  

,crompton1 ,charles1 #bec        ,de    
,hoogh1 #cc      ,descle1 ,mme41 #bcg   
,dickens1 ,charles1 #bae      ,du       
,maurier1 ,george1 #baf      ,duse1     
,eleanora1 #bch      ,dyce1 ,william1   
#abe        ,english ,school of         
,painting at the ,roman ,exhibition1    
#aja-acc      ,etty1 ,william1 #abj     
,faulkner1 ,charles1 #hf      ,faust1   
,irving's preparations for1 #bjf        
,fletcher1 ,charles1 #bcb               
,fletcher1 ,mr41 #afd      ,frith1      
,william ,powell1 #ajg      ,froude1    
,james ,anthony1 #bfd      ,furse1 #aai 
,fuseli1 ,johann ,caspar1 #aai          
,gainsborough1 ,thomas1 #aac1 #aad1     
#aae1 #abi      ,geddes1 ,andrew1 #aah  
,george ,eliot1 #adb      ,gilbert1 ,sir
 ,william1 #bdg-bej      ,gregory1 ,e4  
,j41 #aji        ,haydon1 ,b4 ,r41 #aai 
,herschel1 ,sir ,f41 #bee      ,hogarth1
 ,william1 #ajd-ajf      ,holker1 ,sir  
,john1 #bee-beg      ,holl1 ,frank1 #aai
      ,hook1 #aca      ,hoppner1 ,john1 
#aac1 #aah      ,humour1 ,a ,sense of1  

#bac-bbf      ,hunt1 ,holman1 #dd1 #abd2
      pre-,raphaelite movement1 #dc1    
#ej1 #aba        ,irving1 ,sir ,henry1  
#aii-bab1 #bcc1 #bce1 #bdj              
,junior of the ,circuit1 the1 #bec-bfc  
,keene1 ,charles1 #baf      ,kemble1    
,mrs41 #afc      ,kennedy1 ,mr4         
,justice1 #bec1 #bee      ,king ,arthur1
 ,mr4 ,carr's version of1 for ,henry    
,irving1 #baj2      music for1 written  
by ,sir ,arthur ,sullivan1 #bdg         
,kingsley1 ,charles1 #bfd        ,lang1 
,andrew1 #bfd      ,lawrence1 ,sir      
,thomas1 #aah      ,lawson1 ,cecil1 #aca
      ,leech1 ,john1 #baf1 #bag         
,leighton1 ,sir ,frederick1 #ai1 #ce1   
#abh1 #bcd2      paintings at ,roman    
,exhibition1 #abi      ,lewis1 ,john    
,frederick1 #aji      ,leyland1 ,fred1  
referred to1 #eb      ,lorraine1        
,claude1 #aca        ,macbeth1 #afb-aih2
      ,irving's reading of1 #bje        
,maclise1 ,daniel1 #ajh                 
,m#8,connell1 ,w4 ,r41 #bfb             
,malory1 ,sir ,thomas1 #adg      ,mason1

 #aca      ,may1 ,phil1 #bag            
,meredith1 ,george1 #acd-adf            
,mersey1 ,lord1 #bee      ,millais1 ,sir
 ,john ,everett1 #ac-be1 #fe2           
pre-,raphaelite movement1 #dc1 #ej1     
#aba2      paintings referred to1 #bc1  
#dd1 #abc2      ,rossetti's praise of1  
#ea2      portrait painting1 #aai2      
paintings at ,roman ,exhibition1 #abc2  
,du ,maurier's praise of1 #bag          
,montgomery1 ,walter1 #bca      ,morris1
 ,william1 #hf        ,nutt1 ,alfred3   
story of the ,holy ,grail1 #aej1 #afj   
,opie1 ,john1 #aai      ,orchardson1    
,sir ,william1 #ajf        8,parsifal03 
origin of legend1 etc41 #adg-afa        
,pettie1 ,john1 #aaj      ,phelps1      
,edmund 7jun471 #bca      ,phelps1      
,samuel1 #bcj      ,pope1 ,sam1 #bee    
,pre-,raphaelite ,brotherhood--aims and 
achievements of1 etc41 #e1 #db1         
#ej1 #ee1 #abj1 #abe        ,rae1 ,mr41 
#de      ,raeburn1 ,sir ,henry1 #aac1   
#aah      ,ramsay1 ,allan1 #aah         
,reynolds1 ,sir ,joshua1 #aaj1 #aad1    

#aaf      ,ristori1 ,mme41 #bcd         
,roman ,exhibition1 ,english school of  
painting at1 #aja-acc      ,romney1     
,george1 #aac1 #aag      ,rossetti1     
,dante ,gabriel1 #db-ee2      paintings 
referred to1 #df1 #abb2      praise of  
,millais1 #ea2      encouragement and   
appreciation of ,burne-,jones1 #ef1 #eg2
      pre-,raphaelite movement1 #dc1    
#ej1 #ee1 #aba2      paintings at ,roman
 ,exhibition1 #abb2      ,du ,maurier's 
opinion of1 #bag      ,ruskin1 ,john1   
#abe      ,russell of ,killowen1 ,lord1 
#bee1 #bef1 #beh        ,salvini1       
,tomaso1 #bcd      ,sandys1 ,frederick1 
#aai1 #abf      ,selby1 ,lord 7,mr4     
,gully71 #bee      ,sex in              
,tragedy--,macbeth1 #afb-aih1 #bje      
,shield1 ,hugh1 #bfb      ,siddons1     
,mrs43 personation of ,lady ,macbeth1   
#aff-agj1 #bje      ,sitting at a ,play1
 #bbg-bda      ,sullivan1 ,sir ,arthur1 
#bdb-beb        ,terriss1 ,william1 #bjb
      ,terry1 ,ellen1 #bja1 #baj1 #bci  
,terry1 ,kate1 #bcb      ,tissot1 ,amde 

,angelot1 referred to1 #ca      ,toole1 
,j4 ,l41 #bbj-bbf      ,tristram and    
,iseult1 #adg      ,trout-fishing1      
#bfd-bgg      ,turner1 ,joseph ,mallord 
,william1 #aca-acb2      paintings at   
,roman ,exhibition1 #aca        ,walker1
 ,frederick1 #aca      ,watts1 ,g4 ,f41 
#aai1 #abh      ,wauchier3 story of the 
,holy ,grail1 #adh      ,weston1 ,miss  
,jessie3 story of the ,holy ,grail1     
#aej1 #aef      ,whistler1 ,james       
,mc,neill1 #hi-ajj      ,wilkie1 ,sir   
,david1 #ajf      ,wills1 ,w4 ,g41 #bjf1
 #baj      ,wilson1 ,richard1 #acj1 #aca
      ,wolfram von ,eschenbach3 story of
 the ,holy ,grail1 #adi        ,zoffany1
 ,johann1 #aji      ,,the ,,end         
,printed by ,r4  ,r4 ,,clark1 ,,limited1
 ,edinburgh4          ,,by ,,the ,,same 
,,author4        ,,king ,,arthur4 ,a    
,drama4 #hvo4 #bs4 net2 sewed1 #as4 net4
      ,a ,,selection ,,of ,,new ,,books 
,,the ,,life ,,of ,,sir ,,john          
,,lubbock1 ,,first ,,lord ,,avebury4 ,by
 ,,horace      ,,hutchinson4 ,with      

,portraits4 ,two vols4 #hvo4            
,,letters ,,from ,,and ,,to ,,joseph    
,,joachim4 ,selected and ,translated by 
,,nora      ,,bickley4 ,with ,preface by
 ,j4 ,a4 ,,fuller ,,maitland1 ,m4,a4    
,with #h      full-page ,plates4 #hvo4  
,,the ,,correspondence ,,of ,,the ,,hon4
 ,,emily ,,eden4 ,edited by ,,violet    
,,dickinson4 ,with a ,preface by the    
,,earl ,,of ,,cromer4 ,with #d          
,photogravures4 #hvo4      ,,the        
,,hallams ,,and ,,their ,,circle4 ,by   
,mrs4 ,,charles ,,brookfield1 ,author of
      8,the ,cambridge ,apostles10 etc4 
#hvo4      ,,records ,,of ,a ,,life4 ,by
 ,sir ,,george ,,henschel1 ,mus4,doc4   
,with ,portrait4      #hvo4             
,,reminiscences ,,of ,,william          
,,maxwell1 ,,the ,,well-,,known ,,war   
,,correspondent4      #hvo4             
,,impressions ,,of ,,canada4 ,by        
,,florence ,,parbury4 ,with #af         
,coloured ,plates      and #dj pages of 
other ,illustrations4 #hvo4             
,,highways ,,and ,,byways ,,in          

,,lincolnshire4 ,by ,,willingham        
,,franklin ,,rawnsley4      ,with       
,illustrations by ,,frederick ,l4       
,,griggs4 ,extra ,crown #hvo4 #es4 net4 
,highways and ,byways ,series4          
,,assisi4 ,,impressions ,,of ,,half ,a  
,,century4 ,by ,sir ,,william ,b4       
,,richmond1      ,k4,c4,b41 ,r4,a4 ,with
 #cb ,illustrations in ,colour from     
,original ,paintings      and ,sketches 
by the ,author4 ,crown #dto4 #bas4 net4 
,,with ,,poor ,,immigrants ,,to         
,,america4 ,by ,,stephen ,,graham1      
,author of 8,with      the ,russian     
,pilgrims to ,jerusalem40 ,illustrated4 
#hvo4      ,,travels ,,in ,,turkey4 ,by 
,sir ,,mark ,,sykes1 ,bart41 ,m4,p4     
,with ,illustrations      and ,maps4    
#hvo4      ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,dancing  
,,dervishes1 ,,and ,,other ,,sketches   
,,and ,,studies ,,from      ,,the ,,near
 ,,east4 ,by ,,harry ,,charles ,,lukach1
 ,author of 8,the ,fringe of the        
,east10 etc4 ,illustrated4 #hvo4        
,,the ,,post ,,office4 ,a ,play4 ,by    

,,rabindranath ,,tagore4 ,translated by 
,,devabrata ,,mukerjea4 ,crown #hvo4    
,,poems ,,of ,,kabir4 ,translated by    
,,rabindranath ,,tagore4 ,with          
,introduction      by ,,evelyn          
,,underhill4 ,crown #hvo4      ,,the    
,,passing ,,of ,,spring4 ,by ,mrs4 ,b4  
,k4 ,,das4 ,with an ,introduction by    
,,rabindranath ,,tagore4 ,crown #hvo4   
,,poems4 ,by ,,james ,,stephens1 ,author
 of 8,the ,crock of ,gold10 etc4 ,crown 
#hvo4      ,,the ,,poetical ,,works ,,of
 ,,wilfrid ,,scawen ,,blunt4 ,a         
,complete ,edition4 ,in      ,two       
,volumes4 ,crown #hvo4      ,,london3   
,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,ltd4         
,,footnote3    #a ,this essay1 which    
served as introduction to the ,catalogue
 of the  ,english ,section of the       
,exhibition of ,fine ,arts at ,rome1 is 
reprinted by  the courtesy of the       
,exhibition ,branch of the ,board of    
,trade4          ,,transcriber',s       
,,notes3        ,italicized text is     
surrounded by underscores3 italics4     

,obvious typographical errors have been 
corrected4      ,inconsistencies in     
hyphenation have been standardized4