,,some ,,eminent ,,victorians ,illustration3 ,a ,study for the picture of ,king ,cophetua 7,philip ,comyns ,carr7 ,by ,sir ,edward ,burne-,jones1 ,bart4 ,,some ,,eminent ,,victorians ,,personal ,,recollections ,,in ,,the ,,world ,,of ,,art ,,and ,,letters ,,by ,j4 ,,comyns ,,carr ,illustration3 colophon ,,london ,,duckworth ,,co4 ,,mcmviii ,all rights reserved ,,preface ,those of us who have emerged from the ,victorian ,era with an undiminished reverence for the great names which have made it memorable1 must be prepared to endure with patience the pitying tolerance1 or even the indulgent rebuke1 of the men who herald a younger generation4 ,it was only a few weeks ago that ,i ventured to enquire of a cultivated young writer of the newer school if ,dickens was now much read by the generation which presumably he had a claim to represent4 ,the question gave him no pause4 ,in a sentence that was dictated solely1 as it seemed1 by a sincere desire to impart accurate information1 he gravely informed me that among young men of culture ,dickens was now never read after the age of fourteen4 ,i confess that1 despite the coldly judicial tone of this utterance1 ,i was not entirely convinced1 for ,i happen to know even young people who are still so far belated in their taste as to regard ,dickens as an incomparable genius4 ,but the statement helped me at any rate to realise how easy it is to grow old-fashioned1 and suggested to me that in addressing an age which believes that art1 like science1 is always advancing1 it would be prudent1 on the threshold of these reminiscences of some of the men ,i have known and whose work ,i have worshipped1 to make frank avowal of my own faith1 and humbly to confess my limitations4 ,let me say1 then1 that in the region of ,art and ,literature ,i am still an impenitent ,victorian4 ,i have no desire to disparage the work of those who profess a more modern creed1 and ,i think1 although this perhaps may be vainglorious boasting1 that ,i am not unable to appreciate the more instant appeal of a later day4 ,but my talk with younger men1 whose comradeship delights me1 makes it often abundantly clear to me that ,i am disqualified1 perhaps by age1 from sharing to the full measure their more recent enthusiasms4 ,our occasional divergence of feeling1 which it would be idle not to recognise1 rests in some cases upon an essential difference in the point of view4 ,the progress of science which1 to borrow a phrase from ,mr4 ,gladstone in regard to our revenue1 is in our day 8advancing by leaps and bounds10 has1 ,i think1 set some younger men aglow with the thought that art too is destined1 with the passing of the ages1 to claim and to inherit a realm correspondingly enlarged4 ,this belief1 perhaps only half confessed1 that in the fields of ,literature and ,art the later achievement must1 for that reason alone1 be the greater achievement1 is apt to beget in the minds of some younger men a certain impatience with the heroes of an earlier day4 ,as the topmost pebble set upon the upraised cairn which represents the sum of scientific knowledge must of necessity record the final altitude which science has reached1 so it is in some quarters held1 by an analogy that seems to me radically mistaken1 that the most modern achievement in art has the right to claim in virtue of its historical position a higher place than that which it has succeeded4 ,let me confess at once that this is not my belief4 ,there is a little fringe of science lying at the threshold of every art1 and until the secrets it has to yield are conquered1 the illusion of progressive advancement is inevitable4 ,but that puny conquest counts for nothing beside art's constant and unchangeable conditions1 conditions which leave its earlier victories unsurpassed and unsurpassable4 ,it is1 indeed1 the glory of the artist's spirit1 in whatever field it be exercised1 that it is incapable of advancement4 ,each achievement1 as time attests its worth to rank at all1 remains through all time incomparable4 ,it knows no rivalry4 ,it defies all competition4 ,it affects no advance upon the triumphs of yesterday2 it fears no eclipse from the victories of to-morrow4 ,and although history shows many barren seasons when the spirit of the artist sinks and flags1 the revival1 when it comes1 is due to no added store of knowledge1 but is the free gift of men newly risen whose genius proves itself able to recapture that power of imaging life which in the hands of genius has always been perfect from the first4 ,supported by this faith ,i will own ,i am not very gravely discouraged by occasionally finding myself ranked as a champion of an outworn fashion4 ,the progress of art is the progress of the pendulum4 ,it advances and recedes according to a law of movement that only the fullest and profoundest knowledge of all the factors that make up human life can enable us to decipher4 ,but that art does often lie fallow after a period of rich harvest must be indisputable to all who have carefully studied its history4 ,it need not1 therefore1 be wholly surprising if1 in that little corner of time we inhabit to-day1 there should have come a momentary lull following on a period of intense and varied vitality4 ,my mission here is simply to recall and to record personal reminiscences of some of the great men who sowed and reaped a part of that great harvest garnered during the later half of the last century4 ,in the history of ,english ,literature and ,english ,art1 ,i believe it presents a rich yield that will not soon be equalled as the fruit of an equal measure of time1 and ,i am prepared to accept lightly enough the criticism that probably awaits me1 that the heroes whom ,i have worshipped are no longer the heroes of to-day4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,,introductory #a ,,chapter ,,ii ,,idle ,,hours #ae ,,chapter ,,iii ,,essays ,,in ,,journalism #bf ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,bar #dh ,,chapter ,v ,,dante ,,gabriel ,,rossetti #ei ,,chapter ,,vi ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones #ga ,,chapter ,,vii ,,millais ,,and ,,leighton #he ,,chapter ,,viii ,,frederick ,,walker #ajb ,,chapter ,,ix ,,design ,,and ,,engraving #aaa ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,grosvenor ,,gallery ,,and ,,the ,,new ,,gallery #abf ,,chapter ,,xi ,,whistler ,,and ,,cecil ,,lawson #acc ,,chapter ,,xii ,,art ,,journalism #adf ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,orators #afg ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,some ,,victorian ,,poets #aic ,,chapter ,,xv ,a ,,younger ,,generation #bae ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,men ,,of ,,the ,,theatre #bbe ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,social ,,hours #bfc ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,some ,,foreign ,,actors #bgc ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,theatre #bha ,,illustrations ,study for the picture of ,king ,cophetua 7,philip ,comyns ,carr74 ,by ,sir ,edward ,burne-,jones1 ,bart4 ,frontispiece ,,face ,,page ,g4 ,birkbeck ,hill #g ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti4 ,by ,himself #ei ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 #fe ,letter4 ,by ,sir ,edward ,burne-,jones1 ,bart4 7a7 #gh ,the ,homes of ,england4 ,by ,sir ,edward ,burne-,jones1 ,bart4 7b7 #gh ,the ,homes of ,england4 ,by ,sir ,edward ,burne-,jones1 ,bart4 7c7 #gh ,lessons in ,anatomy4 ,by ,sir ,edward ,burne-,jones1 ,bart4-- ,lesson #a #hj ,lesson #b #hj ,lesson #c #hj ,ophelia4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #he ,the ,finding of ,moses4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #hg ,the ,huguenots4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #ib ,lord ,leighton1 ,p4,r4,a4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 #if ,a ,woman in the ,snow4 ,by ,f4 ,walker1 ,a4,r4,a4 #ajc ,lucy ,gray4 ,by ,sir ,john ,gilbert1 ,r4,a4 #aji ,the ,unjust ,judge4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #aaa ,the ,leaven4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #aac 8,to seek the wanderer40 ,by ,f4 ,sandys #aae ,james ,martineau4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 #afg ,john ,bright4 ,by ,w4 ,w4 ,ouless1 ,r4,a4 #afi ,lord ,tennyson4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 #aic ,head of ,charles ,dickens4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #aid ,robert ,browning4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 #bja ,william ,morris4 ,by ,g4 ,f4 ,watts1 ,r4,a4 #bji ,r4 ,l4 ,stevenson4 ,by ,sir ,w4 ,richmond1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,r4,a4 #bae ,sir ,henry ,irving4 #bcg ,sir ,arthur ,sullivan4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 #bhd ,,chapter ,i ,,introductory ,from my earliest boyhood ,i think my bent was towards a literary career1 but it was long before my ambition could be put to the test4 ,the seventh of a family of ten1 it was scarcely to be expected that ,i could1 in those earlier days1 make known my choice of a calling that seemed so little likely to yield a livelihood4 ,my father was in business in ,london1 and although he took the keenest interest in politics and public affairs1 and was an eager reader of the literature of his time1 he had a sufficiently hard struggle to provide for us all1 and it was but natural in his care for our future that his thoughts should turn to the choice of some solid commercial career4 ,we lived1 in the days that ,i can first recall1 in the ,manor ,house on ,barnes ,common1 a picturesque old-fashioned building that still remains1 though shorn of the larger grounds which were our delight as children4 ,the garden and fields1 now partly built over1 formed then a little earthly paradise to a large family1 and the open ,common covered with gorse and bracken served as a part of our wider playground4 ,there we roamed at will1 and it was there1 with each returning ,october1 that we used to gather the material for a great bonfire with which we annually celebrated the fifth of ,november4 ,sallying forth from our field-gate that abutted upon the ,common1 armed with a bill-hook surreptitiously filched from the gardener's tool-basket1 there we used to pile up our wheelbarrow with the gorse we had no right to cut1 keeping a careful eye the while1 lest the sudden approach of the policeman should set us within the grip of the law4 ,these raiding expeditions sometimes brought us into collision with the boys of the village1 whom we only knew under the generic title of 8the cads10 and with whom we waged unceasing warfare4 ,especially did we dread their onslaught as the fifth of ,november approached1 for we knew well it was ever their malignant purpose to fire the pile before the appointed night had arrived4 ,it was our custom1 therefore1 to keep watch and guard for several preceding nights1 and sometimes when we heard sounds heralding the approach of the enemy across the fields we would send rockets whizzing along the grass--a defensive operation we discovered to be greatly dreaded by even the boldest of 8the cads40 ,the choice of an appropriate ,guy was always an important point of consideration4 ,one year1 ,i remember1 it was ,bomba1 and during the days of the ,indian ,mutiny a great effigy of ,nana ,sahib was consigned to the flames1 which gathered added intensity by the insertion into the midst of the huge pile of gorse and dried wood of a seasoned tar-barrel annually purchased by my father as his contribution to the revels of this well-loved day4 ,the valorous deeds of our soldiers in the ,crimea and the nameless horrors of the ,mutiny which followed so closely at its heels stand among my most vivid recollections of those earlier days4 ,i was born in the year #ahdi1 and ,i can still remember an elder cousin in his scarlet uniform taking his way across the foot-path that leads to ,barnes station1 to start for the war in the ,crimea4 ,with the events of the ,mutiny our sympathies were even more actively engaged4 ,we were closely allied at that time with a family1 one of whom1 ,general ,henry ,marshall1 but lately commanded the ,artillery in ,south ,africa4 ,they had lived in ,india1 and had relatives still there at the time of the outbreak1 and the terrible news as it reached ,england had therefore an enthralling interest for us all4 ,it was not to be supposed that my father could afford to any of us the luxury of a public school4 ,at first1 with my brothers1 ,i was educated at home under a private tutor1 and then at the age of thirteen ,i took my way to ,bruce ,castle ,school1 ,tottenham1 at that time under the mastership of ,arthur ,hill1 brother of ,sir ,rowland ,hill of postage-stamp fame4 ,i remember my elder brother and ,i took our places on the form allotted to new boys side by side with ,william ,lewin1 better known as ,william ,terriss the actor1 and it was only a little while before his tragic end that he and ,i were recalling those times at ,bruce ,castle1 where1 if he gained but little learning1 he at any rate acquired a perfect mastery in the art of tree-climbing4 ,there was no elm in the playground1 or beyond it1 which he had not scaled in search of rooks' eggs1 and his constant companion in these lawless excursions was ,fred ,selous1 the ,african hunter and explorer1 with whom not long ago in his ,surrey home1 where we sat surrounded by his many trophies of the chase1 ,i was glad to renew our memories of that earlier time4 ,terriss's name reminds me of an incident of our school-days which proves that at that time1 at any rate1 his histrionic abilities were scarcely equal to mine4 ,bruce ,castle ,school boasted two masters of the ,french language1 both of whom were regarded as marks for the ridicule and scorn of the ,english-born boy4 ,something of the spirit of ,waterloo still survived in our outrageous treatment of these gentlemen1 whom we could not help regarding as the luckless representatives of a beaten and inferior race4 ,one of them1 ,i remember1 had a known fondness for natural history1 and under cover of sharing his enthusiasm we could nearly always lure him to stories of different wild animals which served to fill the hour which should have been devoted to the study of the ,french language4 ,this was our more amiable way of tormenting the unfortunate gentleman4 ,occasionally1 in order to frustrate his well-meant efforts to instruct us1 we resorted to more drastic measures4 ,i remember one day it was jointly agreed among us that we should all assume to be afflicted with the worst kind of hacking cough1 and from the very moment the class opened the room resounded with the most distressing symptoms of our common complaint4 ,our master became at length fully conscious of the plot that had been forged against him1 and slamming the book in a rage announced his determination of summoning ,mr4 ,arthur ,hill to restore the discipline of the class4 ,this show of unexpected authority on his part produced something like consternation1 and in a moment all the bronchial sounds were silenced--all save one1 for it seemed to me then that the only policy1 however desperate it might prove1 was to persist in the signs of the malady which had already been announced4 ,in the interval of dead silence in which we awaited the arrival of the headmaster ,i therefore continued1 at brief but regular intervals1 with the same persistent cough which the others had abandoned4 ,on ,mr4 ,arthur ,hill's arrival1 ,mon4 ,delmas--for that was the unfortunate gentleman's name--explained with some volubility the cause of his complaint against us1 but at the finish1 with a noble credulity that ,i had hardly dared to hope for1 he exempted me from the general condemnation4 8,now1 ,carr10 he said1 8has a cough1 but he suffer so much it is better he do not attend the class for a space40 ,on this intimation ,i was permitted to quit the room and to spend the rest of the dreaded hour in the playground1 where afterwards ,i incurred the obloquy of my companions1 and especially of ,william ,terriss1 because they had failed to adopt my more ingenious policy4 ,it is small wonder1 with these obstacles deliberately set in our own path1 that at our school1 at any rate1 the acquisition of any knowledge of the ,french tongue was of the very slightest4 ,i suppose every boy has his school hero4 ,mine1 ,i remember1 was a ,south ,american ,spaniard named ,echenique1 whose father had1 for a brief space1 figured as ,president of ,peru4 ,he was as handsome as ,dickens has pictured ,steerforth2 and afterwards1 when ,i made the acquaintance of ,david ,copperfield1 ,i had cause to recognise with what unerring sympathy and fidelity the greatest of our masters of romance has mirrored the worship of a boy4 ,bruce ,castle was1 in its way1 a remarkable school1 though it made no pretence of affording any very extended classical education4 ,it was1 indeed1 designed for boys of the middle class1 of whom ,i was one1 but it was remarkable in this sense1 that it was governed on principles of conduct that differed materially from those accepted in other schools of the time4 ,the ,hills held peculiar theories upon the education of boys4 ,corporal punishment was a thing altogether unknown1 and the severest penalty even upon the most hardened offender consisted in nothing worse than a course of compulsory exercise4 ,there was a ,prefect1 specially told off to take out every day1 in what in happier circumstances would have been their play-time1 those malefactors who had failed to conform to the discipline of the school4 ,and yet1 under this mild rgime1 discipline was never lax1 both ,mr4 ,arthur ,hill and his son ,dr4 ,birkbeck ,hill1 who succeeded him soon after ,i entered the school1 possessing in a rare degree the power of evoking a sense of responsibility in those elder pupils who controlled the school's conduct4 ,i ,illustration3 ,g4 ,,birkbeck ,,hill ,to face page #g4 think only once in the period of my school-days did a case occur in which the headmaster had need to resort to the final penalty of expulsion4 ,dr4 ,birkbeck ,hill was1 in a special sense1 a man who won the affection of his pupils4 ,he came to us from ,oxford1 where he had been the friend of ,morris and ,swinburne1 and ,i remember the first time that ,i saw one of those newly designed wallpapers1 which were destined afterwards to play so important a part in the movement initiated by ,rossetti and ,morris1 was in the dining-room of ,bruce ,castle ,school4 ,dr4 ,birkbeck ,hill was a man of considerable literary taste and literary power4 ,he was contributing at that time1 though it was not generally known1 some brilliant light articles to the ,saturday ,review under the editorship of ,mr4 ,harwood1 and he very soon attached himself to that devoted study of ,dr4 ,johnson which finally provided the theme for some admirable work in criticism and biography4 ,it is possible that he may have perceived in me some inclination towards letters1 for he often used to show me his articles in the current number of the ,review1 and very soon by his own enthusiasm he awakened in me an interest in his hero ,johnson1 which has never since abated4 ,a copy of ,boswell's ,life1 which he afterwards gave me on the occasion of my marriage1 still stands in its ten little volumes as one of the books within reach of my bed4 ,they share the honours of my book-shelf with the novels of ,charles ,dickens1 and for me there are no two authors to whom ,i can so constantly return with ever-renewed enjoyment when sleep is not easy to win4 ,but there was an older master1 ,mr4 ,braid1 who exercised an even more powerful influence in forming and directing my taste4 ,his special subject in the curriculum of the school was mathematics1 but he was an ardent lover of literature and a devoted student of ,shakespeare4 ,he did not live in the school1 but many times after school hours he used to take me down to his modest rooms in the village and show me some of the books in his small but well-loved library4 ,impelled by his enthusiasm ,i had read1 before ,i left school1 the whole of ,shakespeare1 as well as ,paradise ,lost and the shorter poems of ,milton2 and it was by his encouragement that ,i made my first attempt in writing1 in the sufficiently ambitious experiment of an essay on ,king ,lear4 ,i have lost the essay1 and the world has lost it1 a fact not to be deeply deplored by either4 ,but this crude experiment set me on my way1 and when ,i quitted school at the age of sixteen my ambition was already aflame to try and do something in the world of letters4 ,but1 curiously enough1 the aptitude which ,i had shown at school was towards mathematics1 and here my work had so far impressed the examiners1 one of whom was ,charles ,faulkner1 afterwards so closely associated with ,rossetti and ,burne-,jones1 that ,dr4 ,hill endeavoured to persuade my father to send me to ,cambridge4 ,i do not now know whether ,i regret the fact that my father's means did not suffice to carry out that project4 ,it might have diverted me from those things which ,i even then began to love1 and have never ceased to care for4 ,in any case it seemed obviously necessary that1 as one of a family of ten1 ,i should at once apply myself to a calling in which ,i could earn my living4 ,accordingly at the age of sixteen1 when ,i quitted ,bruce ,castle ,school1 my father articled me1 at some considerable sacrifice to himself1 in a stock-broker's office in the ,city4 ,it will be evident that the education with which ,i went forth into the world could not have been very profound--a little ,latin1 enough to enable me to read1 in later years1 ,horace and ,virgil with pleasure1 but not without the aid of a dictionary2 no ,greek--that was not considered indispensable to a commercial career2 mathematics sufficient1 as my examiners told me1 to have given me more than a fair chance of a scholarship at ,cambridge2 and a taste for literature mainly acquired in the vacant hours after school4 ,from the first my task in the ,city was not congenial to me1 although ,i worked hard and worked early and late4 ,but when office hours were over ,i still contrived to keep alive that interest in books which had already been deeply implanted in me1 and to make some small essays in journalism and in verse which at the first1 ,i am bound to admit1 met with scant encouragement from the editors whom ,i bombarded4 ,i can remember now receiving from ,charles ,dickens1 with a pain that was also blended with pleasure1 a polite little note in blue ink returning one of my many rejected communications4 ,mr4 ,thackeray from the ,cornhill conferred upon me a like distinction--a distinction1 as ,i call it1 because even the fact that they declined to publish what ,i wrote seemed to me at the time almost to form a link of association with men whom ,i so greatly admired4 ,all this tentative work was done in the late evenings1 carried sometimes far into the night1 but it did not prevent me from being at my office in the ,city at a quarter past nine1 and remaining there always till six and sometimes1 on account days1 till nine and ten4 ,at the same time ,i was greedily reading the works of the men ,i worshipped most--the drama1 and the lyrical poetry of the ,elizabethans2 the novelists1 starting with ,sterne1 ,fielding1 and ,smollett2 the poets of the great revival which ushered in the nineteenth century2 and those later poets and writers1 all of whom were then living1 who gave to the ,victorian era its glory4 ,i have often thought that the youth of a later generation can hardly realise the wealth of contemporary achievement that lay around those of us who chanced to be born in that fortunate hour4 ,however great1 or however greatly admired1 may be the writers of a past day1 they can never speak with the quickened magic that a living master can command4 ,and what masters then stood there to win our worship6 ,tennyson in his prime1 and ,browning1 whose unexhausted energy had yet to give to the world ,the ,ring and the ,book2 ,swinburne1 whose new and intoxicating music came like a voice from an undiscovered land of song2 and ,morris1 who in his ,defence of ,guinevere had already found a key that was to unlock a long-unused storehouse of legend and romance4 ,and then1 a little later1 ,rossetti1 mystic and passionate1 whose brooding melodies seemed to mirror in verse those 8painted poems0 that were wrought by his brush2 and in fiction1 where ,meredith had only lately arisen1 there still stood ,dickens and ,thackeray1 ,george ,eliot and the ,bronts2 and in other fields of literature1 ,carlyle1 ,mill and ,ruskin1 ,emerson and ,froude4 ,they were all our heroes then1 and if ,time has not left the place of all unshaken1 enough remain to form such a goodly company as no later hour can boast4 ,and this is so far acknowledged by the youth of a younger generation that ,i find those of quickest appreciation in poetry and fiction constantly tempted to steal my heroes and set them above their own4 ,already at school ,i had made acquaintance with the poems of ,wordsworth1 a strange choice for a boy2 and the circumstances of his life1 and the revolution which he partly headed1 drew me quickly to others of the group until all lesser admiration was finally merged in my worship of ,keats4 ,it was only in later days that ,i brought myself to the study of the poets of the intermediate time between the ,elizabethans and the close of the eighteenth century1 and ,i will confess that even now ,i have no great zest for them4 ,but turning aside for the moment from the things that already interested me most1 ,i remember being vividly impressed by some events that occurred in the ,city during the period of my apprenticeship4 ,the sudden transition from private school to the ,stock ,exchange presented points of interest that could not fail to attract a boy1 even though his ambition was otherwise engaged4 ,i was in the ,city in the year #ahfg1 the year of the great financial crisis which is associated with the name of ,overend ,gurney4 ,the streets and narrow lanes round about the ,stock ,exchange during that turbulent time presented many picturesque sights1 and within the ,stock ,exchange itself were daily scenes of almost maddening excitement4 ,one day ,i waited outside a great bank1 one of a seething crowd of many hundreds1 in momentary expectation that the doors would be closed1 but the minutes and the hours passed1 and as four o'clock approached it became known that the danger had been averted4 ,many similar scenes were to be witnessed at that time1 but1 although they provided me with excitement enough and to spare1 even these vivid incidents in the career into which ,i had been thrust did not induce me to swerve from the resolution ,i had already secretly formed1 not to remain in the ,city when the days of my apprenticeship were concluded4 ,i think1 however1 that1 notwithstanding the distaste ,i had for my work1 ,i performed my task zealously enough4 ,so1 indeed1 it must have been1 for when ,i finally announced to the firm my intention to retire1 one of the partners asked me to reconsider my decision1 holding out to me the inducement that if ,i would remain till ,i was twenty-one there would be a good prospect of my being promoted to a junior partnership4 ,but my choice had already been made1 and ,i was in no mind to change it4 ,still secretly nursing the thought of a literary career1 it was1 nevertheless1 clear to me that1 for the time at any rate1 ,i must adopt a more definite occupation4 ,i therefore made up my mind to study for the ,bar4 ,my only trouble was to know how to announce this decision to my dear father1 who had spent his hardly-earned money in giving me this first and great chance in the world1 and to whom ,i knew the resolution at which ,i had arrived would be a source of bitter disappointment and regret4 ,and so1 indeed1 it was6 ,but he was the widest-minded and the most liberal-hearted of men1 and1 when at last ,i found the courage to break it to him1 he hardly allowed me to perceive the deep disappointment which ,i knew he was suffering4 ,for my own part ,i have never regretted those days passed in the ,city1 though at the time ,i felt them to be barren and wasted4 ,perhaps ,i learned as much as ,i should have acquired at ,cambridge1 though it was learning of a different sort4 ,some knowledge of men ,i certainly gained1 some knowledge also of the habit of work which no career1 however detached from business1 can afford to dispense with4 ,certainly1 if there had not been some such obstacle in my path1 ,i should not have thrown myself into the life ,i had chosen with the same keenness and persistence4 ,the opposition which these earlier years set in the way of the calling ,i most wanted to pursue nerved and stiffened my resolution4 ,i did a prodigious amount of reading in those late nights after the strenuous days in the ,city1 and ,i think the fact that ,i had broken away from the life that was laid out for me gave me a higher courage to try and succeed in the life of my own choosing4 ,already1 before ,i had made my change of view known to my father1 ,i had resolved to matriculate at the ,london ,university in preparation to becoming a student for the ,bar1 and1 when the break came1 ,i at once joined the classes at ,university ,college and assisted myself further by private tuition in several branches of knowledge which ,i had to take up for examination4 ,some ,greek ,i had to learn1 for ,i had none1 a little chemistry1 and then there was my ,latin1 not at any time considerable1 to be furbished up4 ,none of these things could ,i have done without the liberal help of my father1 for ,i had no resources of my own4 ,but this liberal help was never lacking1 and ,i think1 when his first disappointment had passed1 he became interested in furthering my new career4 ,but the work had to be swiftly done1 for ,i was impatient to be upon my way1 and could not have been done in the time1 in view of my meagre stock of scholastic knowledge1 if it had not been for the zealous help of those who coached me4 ,by their aid ,i was enabled to matriculate at the ,london ,university1 and in the ,honours ,division1 in ,february of the year #ahgj1 just a month before my twenty-first birthday4 ,in ,february #ahga ,i obtained the ,first ,class in ,honours in ,jurisprudence and ,roman ,law1 and in ,july #ahga1 having already been entered as a student of the ,inner ,temple1 ,i secured the scholarship in ,roman and ,international ,law from the ,council of ,legal ,education4 ,shortly afterwards1 in the year #ahgb1 ,i was called to the ,bar at the ,inner ,temple1 and with this event the period of my boyhood may be said to have closed4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,idle ,,hours ,it might perhaps be supposed1 from the brief account ,i have given of myself1 that these earlier days were wholly devoted to study and hard work4 ,this1 however1 was very far from being the case4 ,at school ,i had been an ardent cricketer and a lover of football1 and in the holidays with my second brother1 who was as keenly devoted to fishing as ,i was1 ,i passed many a happy hour among the hills of ,cumberland and in the ,scottish ,highlands4 ,it was in ,cumberland that we were first initiated into the mysteries of the craft by a genial drunkard named ,atkinson1 who dwelt in a small cottage close by ,wordsworth's grave in ,grasmere churchyard4 ,my father had been a native of the hills1 and his forebears came of that race of ,dalesmen1 or small free-holders1 owning farms of a hundred acres or more1 whose independence of character ,wordsworth so strongly extols1 but whose little properties have been long since absorbed in the great estates of the ,lake ,district4 ,my grandfather's farm was situated at ,jonby1 midway between ,penrith and the shores of ,ullswater1 and it was natural1 when my father's resources sufficed1 that our summer outing should be made in the land of his birth4 ,i think we all of us inherited his love of the hills1 and it was in those fishing days1 while we were staying in a house that stood close beside ,grasmere churchyard1 that ,i renewed and completed my study of ,wordsworth1 whom ,i had first learned to love while ,i was at school4 ,how simple must have been my father's life in those boyish days before he set forth on his business career is shown in the fact that he was fond of relating to us that he and his brothers used always to go barefoot to school1 and only put on their shoes and stockings when they neared the village4 ,to ,scotland my brother and ,i journeyed mostly alone1 combining the pleasures of a walking tour with the exercise of our favourite sport4 ,our means were not very ample for these rambling excursions1 and we not unseldom found ourselves in a tight place before the end of our journey was reached4 ,i remember in particular that on one occasion at the close of a delightful holiday we arrived at ,callander with little more than our third-class return tickets in our pockets4 ,that afternoon we were to take train for ,london1 but we had walked for many miles and were desperately hungry4 ,outside what seemed to us to be the most modest inn in the town we held a council of war1 and at last determined to venture upon ordering a cold lunch4 ,the resources of the establishment were meagre1 and were fairly outstripped by our ravenous appetites4 ,long before the latter were satisfied1 the one cold joint of lamb which the establishment possessed was exhausted4 ,we called for more1 but there was no more1 so there was nothing left for us but to call for the bill1 when1 to our horror and dismay1 we found that the amount surpassed by two or three shillings the little hoard that was still left to us4 ,the situation was critical and called for a ,napoleonic remedy4 ,after a whispered consultation with my brother ,i boldly summoned the waiter and demanded to know if the fixed price charged for a cold lunch did not allow us to have as many helpings as we pleased4 ,the waiter1 brought to bay1 had to confess that this was the case1 and thereupon1 with sudden audacity1 ,i urged the point that1 as he had been unable to satisfy our just demands1 the bill must be proportionately reduced4 ,after considerable parley1 with an occasional reference to a landlady who sat behind a screen1 and who may have been moved by a feeling of pity for our obvious embarrassment1 our plea was allowed1 and we walked from the inn with a sense of triumphant victory in our hearts1 and with just threepence-ha'penny in our pockets to start on our journey to town4 ,as we were waiting on the platform of ,callander station1 with no baggage but our knapsacks and our fishing-rods1 ,i overheard a conversation which has always seemed to me to throw a lurid light upon certain aspects of the ,scottish character4 ,two pawky tradesmen of the district were pacing up and down the platform in earnest talk1 and as they passed me ,i caught this one sentence1 torn from its context3 8,should ,i outlive my wife1 as ,i hope to do----0 said the elder to the younger1 and then they passed out of hearing4 ,what was to follow on the realisation of this fond dream ,i have often longed to know1 but even as the statement stands ,i have always thought it forms a notable monument to the caution and foresight of the race4 ,there are several picturesque sayings of the ,highlanders that come back to me as connected with these annual excursions4 ,we had been staying for a few days at the little inn at ,luib1 situated about five miles from ,loch ,dochart1 where we went daily to fish1 and the gillie who used to row us on the loch had many a pleasant story to tell of his working days in the years when he had followed the calling of a shepherd4 ,i remember one evening1 as we walked home with our faces turned to one of those beautiful sunsets that ,i think are only to be seen in the ,highlands1 he was telling us of a favourite sheep-dog that had been for years his companion on the hills4 ,but the time came when age unfitted the poor animal for his work1 and when the only kindness in the shepherd's eyes was to put an end to its life4 ,and then he described how he had tied it to an apple-tree and got his gun to shoot it4 8,an' ,i could scarce look at the beast10 he said1 8as ,i fired1 for ,i loved him well and he had been sae wise40 ,the tears rolled down his cheeks as he told the story1 and we paused in our talk as we trudged along the sun-lit road4 ,then out of the silence came this further utterance3 8,i buried him10 he faltered1 8at the foot of the apple-tree0--and then another pause1 and then the final words--8an' there would be a rare crop of apples on the tree the year1 for there's naething for an apple-tree like a dead dog40 ,this anecdote has always seemed to me characteristic of the ,highland nature where poetry and prose lie closely side by side1 and where the simple mind that holds them both is quite unconscious of any shock of feeling in the rapid transition from one to the other4 ,in this respect ,i think they show a close resemblance to the peasants of ,northern ,italy1 in whom there is this same frank avowal of swiftly changing feeling2 and neither in the one nor in the other does there seem to occur the need1 always felt by the ,englishman1 of forming a bridge of sentiment from the world of fact to the world of passion4 ,a great race are these ,highland gillies1 claiming and according equality even in a calling in which they are very conscious of their superiority2 never lacking in courtesy1 and yet yielding with a certain proud independence all deference that is rightly due to the temporary relation of master and servant4 ,in their speech they are sometimes curiously felicitous1 and1 using our ,english language as in a sense a strange tongue1 they sometimes exhibit1 for that reason1 a purity and delicacy in the selection of words that a native can hardly command4 ,there was a very pretty phrase used by an old peasant at ,killin with whom ,i was chatting one evening outside his cottage door4 ,a pretty girl passed along on the other side of the road1 and1 wishing to be as ,scotch as ,i could in order to ingratiate myself with the old man1 who was vastly entertaining in his stories of the village1 ,i said1 8,that's a bonny lassie60 to which he replied1 8,ay1 sir1 she is1 but ,i'm thinking maybe she's just bonnier than she's better40 ,how much more delicate in its inference1 how much milder in its condemnation1 than our crude statement1 8,she's no better than she should be60 ,in those earlier times the 8dry fly0 as a lure for trout was scarcely known1 and even to this day it is regarded with undisguised scepticism by the majority of ,scotch gillies4 ,it is not many years ago that ,i astonished an expert in the older fashion by its successful application on a little loch on the hills above ,glenmuick1 where ,i was staying with ,lord ,glenesk4 ,we had ridden for five or six miles to reach our fishing-ground1 and when we arrived it seemed as though we had come upon a fruitless errand--there was not a ripple upon the water and not a rise to be seen4 ,the gillie who was with me scanned the surface of the lake with a melancholy eye4 ,towards evening1 however1 the fish began to move1 and as sunset approached they were feeding eagerly4 ,but the absence of any breeze rendered casting with the wet fly a barren toil4 ,it was then that ,i drew from my case a large alder dressed as a floating fly4 ,when ,i showed it to the gillie his contempt was unconcealed4 8,what sort of an animal might that be80 he inquired1 and when ,i explained its uses to him1 he turned his face towards the sunset with a look of patient and pitying toleration1 merely remarking for my comfort that ,i 8might just as well throw my bonnet into the loch40 ,but his scorn quickly changed to wonder as fish after fish was drawn to the bank1 and when we parted at the close of the day he somewhat sheepishly entreated me to leave him as a legacy one or two specimens of those same 8animals40 ,i had a somewhat similar experience in ,switzerland a few years later4 ,the little crater lakes on the summit of the ,gothard ,pass are well stocked with trout1 and the landlord of the hotel where we lunched advised me to accept the services of the chef1 who was reckoned locally a very mighty exponent of the piscatorial art4 ,but when my comrade observed my methods and noted the results1 he very speedily returned to his kitchen3 8,oh6 l1 l a1 vous savez1 je ne comprends pas du tout4 ,bon jour1 monsieur10 and so we parted4 ,i think every sportsman-born has in him something of the poacher4 ,certainly one of the keenest and most skilful fishermen of my acquaintance has made confession to me of occasional lapses into the most illicit practices when fairer means had failed4 ,in our earlier essays among the hills of ,westmoreland and ,cumberland my brother and ,i were frankly unscrupulous1 in so far at least as our limited skill permitted4 ,there was a little pool in the hills above ,thirlemere called ,harrop ,tarn which was so completely surrounded by a quaking morass that fishing from the bank was almost impossible4 ,and yet we contrived to extract many a good trout from that same tarn by the poachers' device of cross-lining4 ,joining our casts together1 we were able1 by letting out the line from either rod1 to reach the very centre of the sheet of water1 and when a fish was hooked we reeled in and drew him to the one little bit of firm land on one side or the other where he could be safely brought to the basket4 ,i knew nothing of the literature of the art when ,i first learned to fish at the age of twelve1 and it has often amazed me since to note what wondrous feats of skill can be performed--in books4 ,how to cast in the teeth of a facing wind1 how to avoid the sagging of the line in a swift stream1 how to clear a spreading bush immediately behind you--there are exact and precise receipts for all these accomplishments1 but they do not always serve you by the water-side4 ,there was a time when the written record of such triumphs of skill made me feel that ,i scarcely deserved to rank as a fisherman at all1 but it has been my fortune occasionally to see some of these bookmade anglers at their work1 and the result in nearly every case has been to restore to me a measure of self-esteem4 ,the truth is that the art of fishing can only be acquired on the banks of a stream1 and is rarely acquired at all unless it has been practised in boyhood4 ,and even so it lies not within the reach of all1 even of those who ardently desire to succeed4 ,i remember a comrade in one of my earlier fishing excursions in ,scotland who laboured zealously but fruitlessly to obtain even the most modest degree of proficiency1 and as he stood up in the boat1 his line hopelessly entangled for the hundredth time1 the gillie who was rowing us1 moved by a spirit of prophecy that broke down all social reserve1 suddenly turned to him and addressing him by his ,christian name3 8,frank1 ,frank10 said he1 8you're a good fellow1 but you'll never be a fisherman60 ,and in truth he never was4 ,and yet1 once a measure of mastery is won1 fishing remains for those who love it an abiding passion4 ,time leaves undisturbed the keen excitement of the first adventure1 and with each return of spring the longing to be out beside a stream sets the pulses newly beating4 ,one day when we were trudging through a field of turnips in ,fifeshire1 the late ,sir ,william ,harcourt1 as though pierced by sudden conviction1 turned to me with the remark1 8,carr1 what a bore sport is60 ,and of some forms of sport that1 ,i think1 may sometimes be truly said4 ,but your true fisherman is never bored4 ,he counts no day blank till it is ended1 for the last hours1 as he well knows1 may restore his broken fortunes and set a goodly brace or two in the empty basket4 ,and there is no sport1 ,i think1 that sorts so well with the occupations of a writer4 ,shooting and stalking need the surrender of the entire day1 and are too exhausting to leave any appetite for intellectual labour4 ,but with fishing it is not so4 ,the angler who has the good fortune to dwell beside a stream can divide his energies between work and sport without neglect of either1 and in my own case ,i have found them go happily hand in hand4 ,much of my play of ,king ,arthur was written by the shores of ,rannoch1 which ,i had first known and loved as a boy1 and there is a little cottage in ,hertfordshire1 unhappily no longer mine1 that enshrines many happy memories wherein work and sport are linked in close association4 ,walking tours have gone out of fashion nowadays2 the bicycle and motor-car have engendered another taste1 and have partly ruined the quiet ways that were once the exclusive property of the pedestrian4 ,but they were a favourite pastime in the sixties and seventies1 and1 apart from the longer sojourn we used to make in the ,lake ,district or in ,scotland1 there was scarcely an ,easter or a ,whitsuntide holiday which did not find me among the hills of ,westmoreland and ,cumberland4 ,there1 with a friend of my early years and still a friend to-day1 we explored every hill and dale of the ,lake ,district4 ,on one of those spring excursions ,i remember we had made rather a long day of it1 starting from ,patterdale in the morning1 lunching at ,grasmere1 and then making our way by ,easedale ,tarn to the summit of ,high ,white ,stones4 ,it was our intention to descend from that point and to reach the hotel in ,dungeon ,ghyll in time for dinner4 ,but on ,high ,white ,stones an eerie and impenetrable white mist descended upon us and we missed our way4 ,for several hours we wandered in the mist until we lost all count of where we were1 but at last1 by some strange good fortune1 we found ourselves on the top of ,langdale ,pikes1 a spot which ,i knew well from many an earlier excursion4 ,we both knew that below us lay ,stickle ,tarn1 and that from ,stickle ,tarn ran the brook which would finally lead us to our now much-desired inn4 ,and so in the drenching rain we cautiously descended the hillside till we got to the shores of the ,tarn4 ,then1 by some unexpected error1 instead of turning on our right1 which in a few moments would have led us to the issue of the brook1 we took the other direction and were forced to make the whole circuit of the ,tarn1 reaching at last1 almost exhausted1 the rushing torrent that descends to the valley4 ,in such fear were we of losing our way again that we determined not to desert the bed of the stream1 and1 crawling catlike from boulder to boulder1 we found the village at last1 and saw1 with a delight that may be easily imagined1 the far-off glimmer in the windows of the ,dungeon ,ghyll ,hotel4 ,it was half-past ten before we arrived at the door1 wet through1 and with our slight stock of change contained in our knapsacks sodden with rain4 ,but the landlord kindly lent us some strange garments of his own1 and ,i do not think two men ever enjoyed a meal more than we two as we fell upon that staple dish of the ,lake ,district1 8ham and eggs40 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,essays ,,in ,,journalism ,even before ,i left the ,city ,i had already made some tentative excursions into the realm of journalism4 ,my first experiment1 ,i remember1 had something of a grotesque conclusion4 ,an early friend of mine1 ,arthur ,o',neil1 the younger half-brother of ,henry ,o',neil1 the painter of ,eastward ,ho1 had somehow persuaded a modest capitalist to venture a small sum of money in the establishment of a weekly journal called the ,dramatic and ,musical ,review4 ,we were both keenly interested in the drama1 and ,i had assisted at ,o',neil's first venture in the shape of a pantomime at the old ,sadler's ,wells ,theatre4 ,to judge by the scene that occurred during the later stages of the entertainment1 it could not have been deemed wholly successful4 ,i remember that the members of the orchestra had to divide their attention between the music of the harlequinade and the shower of stone ginger-beer bottles that were hurled like hail from a hypercritical gallery4 ,o',neil1 who was older than ,i1 and who had already had some slight experiences as a journalist1 with a desire to encourage my budding ambition1 asked me to do a criticism on a recently published volume of ,longfellow's ,poems for this same ,dramatic and ,musical ,review1 of which he was the proud editor4 ,i duly received and duly corrected the printed proof of my article with feelings of exaltation only to be realised by those who1 for the first time1 see their ideas in printed type1 and then waited with eager expectation for the day of publication4 ,the office was situated in that older part of the ,strand near ,st4 ,clement ,danes which is now no more1 and the publisher owned the two-fold responsibility of also issuing another weekly journal entitled the ,labour ,news4 ,twopence was1 ,i think1 the price of our artistic organ1 and as early as ,i could on the ,saturday morning ,i presented myself at the office and tendered the sum required4 ,almost overwhelmed with excitement ,i rapidly scanned the columns of this slender journal to find the first-fruits of my pen4 ,but my search yielded nothing but disappointment4 ,the article was not there4 ,i stood in the tiny office crushed by a sense of failure and misfortune1 and was just going out into the grey street when the enterprising boy behind the counter1 actuated by the simple desire to do business1 asked me if ,i wanted a copy of the ,labour ,news4 ,as a fact ,i wanted nothing but some place to hide the sense of humiliation which overpowered me1 but as he added1 8,it's only a penny10 ,i took the journal and went out into the street1 and1 as ,i listlessly scanned its pages through1 ,i found1 to my astonishment1 my lost article on ,longfellow's ,poems4 ,it turned out afterwards that the ,dramatic and ,musical ,review in that particular week had more than its needed supply of 8copy10 and the ,labour ,news1 on the other hand1 finding itself short of material1 a bright idea had come into the printer's mind that the review of ,longfellow's ,poems might be appropriately set beside advertisements as to the advantages of ,canadian ,emigration4 ,little by little1 from this first ludicrous start1 ,i gained a modest footing in the world of journalism1 at first as dramatic critic to the ,echo1 then edited by ,arthur ,arnold1 brother of ,sir ,edwin ,arnold1 so long connected with the ,daily ,telegraph4 ,my services upon the ,echo were not particularly lucrative1 the payment for an article being rarely more than six or seven shillings2 and my fare to and from ,clapham ,junction1 where we lived at the time1 and the necessary modest meal before the theatre began1 almost entirely absorbed the sum that ,i earned4 ,from the ,echo ,i drifted to the ,globe1 which was then under the editorship of ,dr4 ,mortimer ,granville1 and here my work began in something like earnest4 ,during my services as dramatic critic ,i had become acquainted with ,thomas ,purnell1 and it was he who secured for me a regular position upon the staff of the ,globe4 ,our work there was sufficiently strenuous4 ,there were three of us stationed in a room above the editorial sanctum1 and here1 between the hours of nine o'clock in the morning and twelve1 we were engaged upon three columns of notes which formed the first page of the paper4 ,the three of us were ,purnell1 ,francillon the novelist1 and myself2 and the life1 wholly new to me1 was at the time strangely fascinating and attractive4 ,purnell was himself one of the quaintest and most characteristic figures ,i have ever encountered4 ,a regular ,bohemian in a ,bohemia that has long lost its sea-board1 he had the ,bohemian frank detestation of work and utter disregard of all social conventions1 and yet with these peculiarities were linked a fine taste and a personality of real distinction4 ,when ,i first met him he had just completed a series of papers in the ,athenum upon the drama under the signature of 8,q10 winning some little renown in a sharp controversy with ,charles ,reade1 in which he was certainly not worsted4 ,my other stable companion1 ,francillon1 was of an exactly opposite temperament4 ,endowed with considerable imagination1 which was happily exhibited in ,pearl and ,emerald1 a novel which had been published in the ,cornhill ,magazine1 he was by habit plodding and industrious1 qualities which aroused in ,purnell a degree of disapproval that sometimes almost verged on resentment4 8,now1 ,francillon10 he used to say1 8loves work4 ,i don't4 ,i hate it2 ,i loathe it6 ,people will tell you1 my dear ,carribus0--for so he often addressed me--8that to work is to pray4 ,well1 of the two1 ,i find it easier to pray4 ,why should ,i work80 he used to add1 with an air of deep and earnest conviction4 8,i want nothing1 only my twopence4 ,all ,i need is a herring and a glass of ale1 and when ,i have earned that ,i like to be idle4 ,some men1 so they say1 like work4 ,i don't60 ,and he did not4 ,one fixed appointment which he held was to contribute a weekly article on ,conservative ,policy to the pages of an important provincial paper4 ,long before the day came when this article had to be despatched by the evening post he used to look upon the impending task with something like horror1 and yet nothing could ever induce him to anticipate by an hour the execution of his labours4 ,indeed1 as a rule1 he never wrote it at all4 ,when the day came and we had finished our morning's work on the ,globe1 he would generally invite ,francillon and myself to a frugal lunch at the old ,gaiety ,restaurant1 and when the invitation was issued we always knew what was in store for us4 ,as the lunch neared its end he would breach the subject by imploring us to supply him with a topic4 8,it's the topic1 my dear boy1 there's the devil of it4 ,if ,i only had a topic ,i could do it in an hour0--a purely fallacious statement1 seeing that no amount of topics would ever have induced him to do it single-handed at all4 ,francillon would sometimes heave a sigh1 and then with newly-lit cigars we would wend our way back to the old ,globe office1 where our working-room overlooked the chapel of the ,savoy4 ,by that time either ,francillon or ,i had found a topic1 for although ,i was then1 and have since remained1 a ,liberal in politics1 ,i found it not difficult1 and sometimes even diverting1 to engage in the advocacy of ,conservative ,policy in the service of our indolent friend4 ,perhaps it was ,i who generally found the subject for the article1 and when ,i announced it ,purnell would reply1 8,then begin1 my dear boy2 begin it1 ,carribus2 the thing's done40 ,in those days a leading article always consisted of three paragraphs1 and the three paragraphs of this authoritative statement on ,conservative ideas were on these happy occasions divided between the three of us1 ,purnell always reserving to himself the conclusion1 not because ,i think he had any special aptitude in bringing the argument to an end1 but because it gave him a longer time to smoke his pipe before his turn came to set upon his task4 ,and so it came about that ,i having opened the debate1 ,francillon at the same time would be busily engaged in the discussion necessary for the central paragraph1 while ,purnell1 looking over our shoulders with chuckling glee1 and passing contentedly from chair to chair as he saw his task nearing its end1 would finally be persuaded to sit down at his own desk and scribble about eight sentences which were supposed1 by their invincible logic1 to confirm and strengthen the ,tory convictions of the city to which the article was to be despatched4 ,but hurry and scurry as we would1 this terrible task was scarcely ever finished till within a few minutes of the time for post1 and even then it often happened that one of us had to come to ,purnell's rescue and try as best we could to adjust the scattered arguments which he had been vainly endeavouring to set in logical sequence4 ,his delight on these occasions was unbounded4 ,the weekly price for these essays was three guineas1 and ,i think he received it with all the greater zest from the consciousness that he had not rightly earned it4 ,purnell's social ambitions were few1 and all social obligations he boldly repudiated4 ,it was one of his most deeply seated convictions that no man was compelled to reply to any letter of invitation1 whatever the source from which it might have come1 and he defended this position with great show of legal force4 8,if10 he said1 8a lady had asked me whether in the event of her writing me an invitation ,i would reply to it1 and ,i had answered in the affirmative1 then1 my dear ,carribus1 the agreement would be complete4 ,but ,i never said anything of the kind1 never would2 and therefore1 my dear boy1 there's no privity of contract40 ,but there was one invitation he took care to answer1 an invitation to pass a week-end with a certain noble lord in the country4 ,i do not think that he was in any grave sense a 8snob10 but he was deeply impressed with the sense of his powers of fascination over women1 and his handsome picturesque face1 ,i think1 entitled him to the belief that it was not mere idle boasting4 ,at this particular party he happened to know that several charming ladies of the family would be present1 and it was this fact1 ,i think1 which made him very eager1 if he could1 to accept the invitation4 ,but the question of a fitting wardrobe raised a difficulty1 and here again he threw himself in all candour upon ,francillon and myself4 ,the rare letter of acceptance had been sent1 and the day for his departure had arrived1 but in this question of dress he was still lamentably unprepared4 ,we met in hasty consultation in a little eating-house called the ,coal ,hole1 which lay down a narrow court at the south side of the ,strand4 ,it was ,saturday4 ,the shops would soon be closing1 and there was no time to lose4 ,he had money enough for his railway ticket1 but none for such idle luxuries as clothes4 ,his only proffered contribution to the necessities of the occasion was a tarnished disreputable bag which he had brought down empty to the office in view of the projected excursion4 ,he had no great faith in it himself1 and it was discarded with scorn by those whom he had pressed into his service4 ,and so in the end ,francillon and ,i had to provide a modest valise and stock it with a wardrobe that would suffice for the three days' stay1 and ,i can recall now the air of triumph with which he started upon his journey1 robed in a new pilot-jacket which we had added as the final feature of his outfit4 ,our little circle on the staff of the ,globe was later joined by ,churton ,collins1 now the ,professor of ,english ,literature at the ,university at ,birmingham1 then only a boy fresh from ,oxford1 but a boy whose mind was already stored with a knowledge of ,english literature such as ,i suppose few men of his generation can boast4 ,his prodigious memory both in prose and poetry ,i certainly have never encountered in another2 and through many an evening1 when he dined quietly with us in our rooms in ,great ,russell ,street1 did we wonder and delight to listen to him as he passed from author to author1 not always reciting things of his own choice1 but responding with equal readiness to any call that might be made upon him when the choice was made by others4 ,but this wondrous memory sometimes played him tricks in his first essays as a journalist4 ,for as there was no time and no opportunity in the ,globe office to verify any quotation1 his literary articles1 which were always packed with quotations from the poets1 were generally subject to correction in some small particular1 and for this reason evoked a shower of correspondence which irritated and annoyed our worthy editor4 ,this same editor1 on the other hand1 was often a source of annoyance to us4 ,our time was short for the work we had to do during the morning1 and we resented the constant pencil-notes which he used to send up from the room below1 or the repeated calls up the speaking-tube1 the whistle of which stood next to ,purnell's desk4 ,one day we determined to mark our disapproval of this vexatious and harassing policy4 ,we were accustomed sometimes1 when money was short1 to be content with a lunch of cocoa and biscuits prepared by ourselves4 ,a kettle on this occasion stood puffing on the fire1 and when the whistle of the speaking-tube had gone for about the thirtieth time1 a demoniacal idea of vengeance entered into the mind of ,purnell4 ,the call this time was for me1 and ,purnell having answered that ,i was coming to speak in answer1 went with stealthy steps towards the fireplace and seizing the kettle poured the whole of its contents down the tube4 ,it is not perhaps wonderful that this resulted in something like a crisis in the internal arrangements of the office1 and very nearly ended in the dismissal of the entire literary staff4 ,another comrade of those days1 though he rarely wrote in the ,globe1 was ,camille ,barrre1 now the distinguished ,ambassador of the ,french ,republic at ,rome4 ,barrre and ,i were for many years close allies4 ,i had assisted him in his first essay in ,english journalism when he contributed to the ,pall ,mall ,gazette a series of articles on the ,commune1 with which he had been in some sense associated4 ,he was always a brilliant and gifted creature1 and his rapid advancement from the hour when he was first befriended by ,gambetta could never have been any surprise to those who knew him well4 ,at that time1 like the rest of us1 he was having a hard struggle for life4 ,we were together on the ,echo1 and together on the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 and ,i can remember in the old days of the ,arts ,club how often we sat and planned vague1 large schemes for the reorganisation of journalism1 which should yield us more complacent editors and a rate of higher remuneration1 which we fancied our merits deserved4 ,barrre had passed some of his earlier years in ,england1 and his knowledge and power over our tongue were remarkable1 but now and then some small idiomatic fault would slip out unawares1 and one day1 when he had just received what he considered an inadequate cheque from the ,echo1 he cried out indignantly that he 8would like to wring the throat of ,arnold40 ,unlike poor ,purnell1 the choice of a topic never presented any difficulty to him4 ,almost any subject served him for a light and graceful essay1 and the fertility of his invention in this regard was more than remarkable4 ,happily for his own sake1 and for the sake of the nation which he has served with so much distinction1 he need no longer rack his brains1 as in the old days1 for the material that would fill a column in the ,echo2 and though it is many years since we met1 ,i know1 through many messages that ,i have received from him1 that he looks back with kindly remembrances to those times when we struggled side by side4 ,it is a strange thing about a journalist's career1 when it is successful1 that at the first it seems so hard to get the work to do1 and then later so hard to do the work that comes4 ,in those early days every new opening was only won after a struggle1 yet within a very few years ,i found myself almost overwhelmed by the tasks that were laid upon me4 ,from the ,globe ,i passed to the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 where ,i succeeded ,professor ,colvin as its ,art ,critic2 from the ,pall ,mall to the ,saturday ,review and the ,examiner2 and then a little later ,i joined the staff of the ,world1 which had recently been founded by ,edmund ,yates4 ,these different changes of occupation brought many new friends and many new editors1 but of all those under whom ,i have served ,i think ,i should signalise ,mr4 ,frederic ,greenwood as by far the most inspiring to his contributors4 ,not that to be numbered among ,mr4 ,greenwood's contributors always implied a peaceful career2 he was an autocratic commander1 whose powerful personality loved to assert itself in every department of his paper1 and he and ,i in those days had sharp encounters with regard to that particular arena of art criticism over which ,i thought ,i was entitled to exercise independent control4 ,but those differences are long forgotten1 and the remembrance that survives is of a keen and ardent intelligence that communicated its own warmth of purpose to all who served under his banner4 ,very different in type was ,mr4 ,harwood1 the editor of the ,saturday ,review4 ,on the quiet evenings that ,i sometimes passed at his house in ,regent's ,park1 when he would spend most of the time after dinner in playing on his violoncello1 it seemed hardly possible to realise that he was the capable conductor of what was even then a mighty organ of public opinion4 ,i suppose that hardly any ,british journal has ever boasted among its contributors so many eminent men in so many varied ways of life as one could see gathered at the great annual dinner of the ,review in the 8,trafalgar0 at ,greenwich1 presided over by ,mr4 ,beresford ,hope4 ,mr4 ,harwood had succeeded ,mr4 ,cook1 and had inherited many of the traditions of the great founder of the ,review4 ,his editorial office at the time ,i joined him was situated in ,the ,albany1 where he was assisted as sub-editor by my old friend1 ,mr4 ,walter ,herries ,pollock1 who afterwards succeeded to the editorial chair4 ,i did little of the more serious work upon the paper1 my duties1 as a rule1 being confined to those middle articles1 as they were called1 which formed at that time one of its salient features4 ,i suppose the aptitude for finding and treating such lighter subjects was not too common2 at any rate1 ,i know that my contributions of that sort always met with a generous welcome1 and ,mr4 ,harwood himself1 despite his grave exterior1 was sometimes singularly happy in the choice of subjects for fit treatment in this lighter vein4 ,a young man who has gained an entry into the journalistic world can sometimes get through a prodigious amount of work1 and at the time ,i am speaking of it often happened that within the week1 besides my morning duties upon the ,globe1 ,i would furnish one1 and sometimes two1 articles to the ,saturday ,review1 an article to the ,examiner1 another to the ,world1 and1 in addition1 three or four columns of art criticism to the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 apart from regular work in the same department for the ,manchester ,guardian1 and occasional articles in other daily or weekly journals4 ,mr4 ,edmund ,yates1 the founder and editor of the ,world1 had given me a generous welcome from the first1 and ,i recall an incident in connection with a series of articles ,i had done for him which at the time filled me with no little pride4 ,in this series ,i had dealt week by week with the more important organs of the ,british press1 and ,i was fortunate enough to win for these papers a considerable amount of attention4 ,but1 for the time1 ,edmund ,yates had carefully withheld the secret of their authorship1 and one day when ,i was visiting my old master at ,bruce ,castle ,school the subject came into our conversation1 and he told me that the report was about that they were written by a prominent leader-writer of the ,times4 ,at this my pride could no longer contain itself1 and his incredulity and astonishment when ,i announced myself as the author gave me a moment of the keenest pleasure4 ,yates had many enemies in those days1 and the new features which he had introduced into ,english journalism were in many quarters profoundly resented4 ,but he was generous and warm-hearted to his friends1 and beneath those lighter gifts which made for immediate success he possessed a deep1 sincere love of literature4 ,it was at his house that ,i first met the late ,mr4 ,archibald ,forbes1 a man of rare force and grit1 and possessed1 as a writer1 of a style of trenchant sincerity and power that in my opinion placed him easily at the head of that great race of special war-correspondents which may be said to have been founded by the late ,sir ,william ,russell4 ,none of them all1 however1 could equal ,sir ,william in social grace and readiness of wit4 ,his store of anecdotes garnered from a rich experience of many men and many lands seemed ever inexhaustible and ever new4 ,forbes was of a widely different type4 ,his experience had been won in a harder school1 but his rapid and vivid powers of expression1 his ability to set forth in picturesque presentment events which had only just happened1 were1 ,i think1 altogether unrivalled4 ,when it is remembered that many of these descriptions were sent rushing over the wires at the close of a day when other men of less energy would have been exhausted after many hours spent in the saddle1 and when it is observed with what potent directness of narrative1 often rising to real greatness of style1 the story he had to tell was presented to his readers1 it will be conceded1 ,i think1 that he had no equal in the particular branch of journalistic literature to which he had devoted himself4 ,we became close friends almost from our first meeting1 which1 as ,i remember1 was on the occasion of a dinner given by ,edmund ,yates to the contributors to the ,world1 and later1 when ,i became editor to the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine1 he rekindled some of the earlier memories of his fighting days in a series of articles that included a delightful account of the struggles which preceded his appointment as a special correspondent to the ,daily ,news4 ,it was during the ,franco-,german ,war that the ,daily ,news leapt into sudden prominence1 in virtue of its splendid correspondence yielding a vivid picture of the conflict from both sides of the campaign1 and it was incontestably to the energy and judgment of the late ,sir ,john ,robinson that this immediate success was due4 ,the quiet1 kindly personality of ,sir ,john would scarcely have suggested the sure and rapid power of organisation he undoubtedly possessed1 and his quickness of insight in the selection of the fit man for the work to be done was vividly illustrated in the account which ,mr4 ,forbes wrote for the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine of his first meeting with the genial manager of the ,daily ,news4 ,it is possible that ,forbes had somewhat embroidered the sober facts of the situation in order to heighten its picturesque effect1 for ,i remember that on my next meeting with ,sir ,john1 after the publication of the article1 he was somewhat whimsically annoyed to find that his own share in this historical transaction had been slightly disfigured to suit the exigencies of ,mr4 ,forbes's narrative4 ,forbes had asserted that at a point in the negotiations he conceived the idea that his services were not desired1 and was leaving the office in disgust when ,robinson ran after him and brought him back4 ,it was this little piece of added embroidery that ,sir ,john declared to be not absolutely historical1 but ,i feel sure1 at least1 that ,forbes never intended to do injustice to the manager of the ,daily ,news1 for in our many talks concerning his struggles at this time he always acknowledged how deeply he had been indebted to his great employer4 ,another of the staff of the ,daily ,news war-correspondents was ,hilary ,skinner1 whose younger brother had been the dearest friend of my youth1 from the time when we were schoolmates at ,bruce ,castle ,school4 ,alan ,skinner afterwards rose to a distinguished official position in the ,straits ,settlements1 but at the time ,i am thinking of he had just been called to the ,bar2 and when ,i1 at a later date1 left school to begin my life in ,london1 he and ,i passed many a long evening in the little set of chambers he occupied in ,old ,square1 ,lincoln's ,inn4 ,in those days he was a versifier like myself1 and1 failing a wider audience1 we used to delight to read to one another our first essays in poetry4 ,the friendship between us was of the closest1 and when he finally went abroad to take up his official duties1 the separation1 ,i think1 was felt keenly by both4 ,his elder brother1 ,mr4 ,hilary ,skinner1 was of a lighter temperament1 though he must have possessed strong force of character to have endured the strenuous labours of a war-correspondent4 ,a voluble and insatiable talker1 his conversation never needed the provocation of a reply4 ,in an endless stream of anecdote he would wander over a wide world of men and things1 never halting for a word1 and rarely halting at all4 ,and yet the trials of the life he had adopted must have been a severe strain upon a constitution that was by no means robust1 and ,i think the wear and tear of that life1 though it was not long continued1 set a permanent mark upon his health4 ,certainly this was so in the case of ,archibald ,forbes1 who suffered much during the later years of his life1 suffering that had its origin1 as he told me1 in a terrible two days' ride in ,south ,africa when he was racing against time to reach the telegraph-office to cable his news home4 ,among others of this special race of correspondents who came into my life at this time were ,george ,augustus ,sala and ,william ,beatty-,kingston4 ,with both1 however1 the record of war was only a passing incident in their journalistic career4 ,sala1 ,i think1 possessed a larger assortment of odd scraps of knowledge than any man ,i have ever met1 and although his chequered career presented many vicissitudes1 he had cultivated1 as he told me1 from boyhood the habit of keeping a series of most carefully compiled commonplace books1 in which were recorded1 under headings sometimes quaintly chosen1 every bit of information or historical allusion which even remotely bore upon the subject in hand4 ,he told me that in the wildest and most disordered periods in his career this habit had never deserted him1 and one evening1 when ,i was dining with him in ,mecklenburg ,square1 he showed me one entire shelf packed with these little volumes1 all written in the neatest of monkish hands1 and almost without a blot or scar4 ,i have often wondered what has become of those note-books from which he drew such varied allusions for his characteristic articles in the ,daily ,telegraph4 ,they would be a treasure-store to many a budding journalist1 and as far as ,i could gather1 from a rapid review of them during that one evening at his house1 a delight even to the casual reader4 ,sala1 like his friend ,yates1 was an accomplished speaker1 and a keen critic on all presumptuous pretenders in that department4 ,i remember one evening1 coming away from a public banquet at which he had admirably distinguished himself1 ,i ventured to ask him what he thought of the performance of a gentleman who had followed him1 and who ,i knew rather prided himself upon his achievements in this particular direction4 8,oh60 said ,sala in reply1 8you mean so-and-so4 ,ah yes6 ,damned fluent1 damned fool60 ,the comment sounds harsh1 but ,i do not think it was unjust4 ,he used to tell me that in the preparation and delivery of his speeches there was always present to his mind the image of a furnished house1 and that he kept his material in order and sequence by suggesting to himself1 as he spoke1 that he was inspecting the various apartments1 from the dining-room to the attic1 and that in this way he could always avoid any halt or confusion in the arrangement of the matter upon which he was speaking4 ,yates1 ,i fancy1 though his delivery was always admirable in effect1 was accustomed to learn his speeches by heart1 and in this respect resembled the late ,sir ,frederick ,leighton1 though with the latter the secret was not so well kept4 ,william ,beatty-,kingston1 the last of the special correspondents to whom ,i referred1 had no aptitude for public speaking1 but he was in many ways highly accomplished4 ,as an amateur musician ,i should think he had few equals1 and his absolute enjoyment when he was seated at the piano1 passing from the work of one great master to another1 was a delight to witness4 ,i remember that one evening my wife and ,i had invited to meet him a very gifted young ,italian violinist1 and it was a suggestion of ours that after dinner they should try over some of the duets of the great composers4 ,it was easy to see that at first they took no liking for one another4 ,the ,italian1 as a recognised professional1 hardly concealed his sense of superiority over the amateur1 and ,kingston1 ,i knew1 harboured a lurking suspicion that the violinist would not be deeply interested in the work of the great ,german composers to whom he was enthusiastically attached4 ,the brief passage of the dinner was for this reason a period of armed neutrality1 amusing enough to watch2 and when afterwards they were persuaded to make an adventure together it was done reluctantly1 and with no great hope on the part of either that the evening would present any real enjoyment4 ,it so happened1 as they both knew1 that my wife and ,i were bound to make an early departure for a great fancy-dress ball which had been organised by some of the foremost painters of the day1 but of course we invited ,kingston and his companion to stay as long as they liked1 and leaving them with a sufficient store of whisky and soda and cigars1 we set out upon our more frivolous excursion4 ,the ball was kept up till late2 it was past five o'clock before we returned1 little thinking to find our guests still in possession2 and our surprise was the greater when1 on mounting to our single sitting-room in ,great ,russell ,street1 we found1 in the light of the sunshine that was streaming into the room1 ,kingston and his companion1 both with coat and waistcoat removed1 pounding away as hard as they could go at some difficult composition which they were trying over for the third time4 ,the two artists1 whom we had left with some misgiving in an attitude of veiled hostility towards each other1 were now1 as we discovered to our surprise1 the closest friends1 and1 although the morning was well advanced1 ,kingston insisted that we should sit down and listen to one or two of the gems which they had been performing1 and which were now repeated once more for our benefit--the most persuasive plea he urged being that in half an hour the public-houses would be open1 and that we could then replenish our slender store of whisky which they had already exhausted4 ,kingston had been for some time a special correspondent to the ,daily ,telegraph in ,berlin1 and afterwards came to ,london as its foreign editor4 ,apart from his musical talent1 he spoke with ease many foreign languages1 and in this respect resembled ,sala1 whose facilities as a linguist were great1 though1 as he once confessed1 he inclined by preference to the languages of the ,latin races4 ,as he himself picturesquely put it1 8,my tongue is hung in a ,southern belfry40 ,of all the editors with whom my journalistic experience brought me into contact1 the man who stood nearest to me as a friend was ,professor ,minto of the ,examiner4 ,on the ,examiner ,i felt free and unfettered1 free to choose any topic that pleased me1 and to treat it in whatever way seemed to me best4 ,i have always thought that ,minto's great powers as a critic of literature have never been sufficiently recognised4 ,his separate volumes on the ,poetic ,writers and the ,prose ,writers of ,england contain some of the best criticism of our time1 and1 in especial1 the section in the former devoted to the tragedies of ,shakespeare has hardly been equalled in fineness of perception and in sustained eloquence of style4 ,though in many ways characteristically ,scotch1 he had a liberal and supple mind1 with a wide grasp and a generous outlook on political affairs1 and an appreciation even of lighter works of literature that was hardly to be suspected from his grave and sober personality4 ,very delightful were the little smoking evenings he instituted in the offices of the ,examiner1 which were then situated near ,wellington ,street in the ,strand4 ,there it was that ,i first met the late ,bishop ,creighton1 who was at the time a constant contributor to the paper4 ,theodore ,watts-,dunton was also a pretty regular visitor on these simple social occasions1 and there1 too1 ,i met that strangest of accomplished scholars1 8,student ,williams10 who had long been known as an ,oxford coach1 and who was now devoting himself to a journalistic career4 ,it is strange to reflect what a complete revolution has overtaken ,english journalism in the period of thirty years that has passed since the time of which ,i am speaking4 ,literature and journalism have now almost parted company1 and although the older tradition still honourably survives in individual instances1 it is impossible not to be conscious that the function of a journalist1 as it is now most widely accepted1 has entirely changed its character4 ,the sort of article that was eagerly sought for then is now rarely welcomed1 and when we recall the names of the men who wrote for the ,saturday ,review1 and the great body of accomplished writers who lifted the ,pall ,matt ,gazette in its earlier days into a foremost position among ,english journals1 it will readily be conceded that the revolution is already complete4 ,reporting has largely taken the place of criticism1 and the modern newspaper office1 ordered on popular lines1 more nearly approaches day by day to a powerful agency for private inquiry and detection4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,bar ,while this journalistic work was in its earliest stages1 ,i was still seriously engaged in trying to fit myself for work at the ,bar4 ,my earlier knowledge of the ,law had been gained under the tutorship of ,professor ,stewart ,brice1 who had successfully prepared me for my examination at the ,london ,university4 ,and now1 during the last six months of my studentship1 ,i read in chambers with ,charles ,crompton1 who was a prosperous ,junior of the ,northern ,circuit4 ,charles ,crompton had taken high honours at ,cambridge1 and was an accomplished lawyer2 but his gift of speech was small1 and would always have left him unfit for the higher honours of leadership4 ,it was through his influence that ,i was elected as ,junior to the ,northern ,circuit1 which then covered a larger area than is assigned to it now4 ,when ,i was ,junior the towns visited included ,appleby1 ,durham1 ,newcastle1 ,carlisle1 ,lancaster1 ,manchester1 and ,liverpool1 and until ,i began to feel the pinch of the great expense which these ,circuit tours involved1 ,i keenly enjoyed every hour of the time in which1 by my patient presence in the ,courts1 ,i was endeavouring to master the principles of the ,law4 ,but before ,i joined the ,circuit1 ,i had already received my first brief from a cousin who was desirous of encouraging me in my new career4 ,i was to appear in the ,divorce ,court in an undefended case1 and my cousin endeavoured to stiffen my nerves for the ordeal by assuring me that the proceedings would be merely formal and the verdict would follow as a matter of course4 ,it was before ,lord ,penzance that the trial took place1 and when the pleadings had been opened and ,i had made the statement that the case was undefended1 a voice from the well of the ,court retorted in acrid tones1 8,i beg your pardon60 and then a little man rose whom ,i gathered1 in my confusion1 to be the respondent4 ,my amazement and dismay are beyond words to describe1 and if it had not been for the ,judge1 who realised the situation and came to my rescue1 ,i think my first brief would have been my last4 ,as ,junior of the ,circuit ,i was brought into close contact with some of the greatest advocates of the time--,holker1 ,russell1 ,herschell1 ,sam ,pope1 among the leaders2 ,gully1 ,henn ,collins1 ,bigham1 and a host of others of the ,junior ,bar who have since risen to distinction4 ,the present ,lord ,justice ,kennedy joined the ,circuit at the same time as myself and we shared our lodgings in several of the northern towns4 ,the post of ,junior rather attracted me4 ,according to tradition1 that officer is supposed to represent the interests of the ,junior ,bar1 and it is recognised as part of his duty on every occasion that offers that he should keep in check the superior pretensions of the ,queen's ,counsel4 ,as ,junior also ,i was one of the recognised spokesmen for the ,circuit on the occasion of all public banquets and entertainments2 and ,i remember that it was at a dinner given by the late ,lord ,armstrong in his capacity as ,high ,sheriff of the ,county1 a dinner served in the great banqueting-hall at ,jesmond ,dene1 the walls of which were richly decorated with many important examples of modern art1 that ,i made my first essay as a public speaker4 ,but what interested me most keenly at the time was the opportunity which the daily working of the ,courts afforded of appreciating and distinguishing the great talents of the men who then graced the ,circuit4 ,the first who won my admiration1 and it was not wonderful1 was ,charles ,russell1 and ,i remember1 in the constant discussions which occupied the ,junior end of our table at the evening mess1 ,i always stoutly maintained that he would prove the greatest advocate in ,england4 ,he already possessed that dominating personality which was felt by ,judge and ,counsel alike1 and an instance of his imperious temper came to me very early in our acquaintance4 ,though ,i had seen and admired him constantly in ,court1 ,i had not been introduced to him till ,i met him one evening in the rooms of ,mr4 ,m#8,connell in the ,adelphi ,hotel1 ,liverpool4 ,russell was always a keen cardplayer1 though ,i am assured by those who are better able to judge1 a player not distinguished by any exceptional skill4 ,there were four of us present that evening1 and ,russell at once insisted that the table should be brought out for a rubber of whist4 ,i nervously explained to him that ,i knew scarcely anything of the game1 but my objection was curtly overborne in a manner that left me no alternative4 ,by an unhappy fate ,russell cut me as a partner1 and the blunders which ,i had clearly foreseen must occur1 endured at first with some semblance of equanimity1 at last ended in an explosion of rebuke that only made the more inevitable a series of even worse blunders in the game to follow4 ,by this time ,russell had lost all patience1 and1 to say the truth1 so had ,i1 and with a courage and audacity1 which ,i certainly could not have exhibited had ,i then known him better1 ,i pointed out to him that the fault was his own1 that ,i had warned him of my incompetence1 and yet in the face of that confession he had forced me to join in the game4 ,to my utter amazement he became suddenly gentle and self-controlled1 and said1 8,yes1 yes1 you're right4 ,i had forgotten that4 ,i had no business to speak to you like that40 ,other instances of ,russell's commanding personality1 though they belong to a later time1 come back to me now4 ,during the progress of the famous ,belt trial1 through the kindness of ,sir ,george ,lewis ,i one day found my way into ,court2 but ,i had scarcely taken my seat when ,russell1 with an imperious gesture1 beckoned me to his side4 8,carr10 he said1 8you know about ,art80 and before ,i knew whither his statement tended ,i found myself in the witnessbox confronted with the two test busts on which the issue in the case mainly depended4 ,the last time we met in public was on the occasion of a dinner to be given to ,sir ,henry ,irving on his return from ,america1 when ,sir ,charles ,russell was in the chair4 ,as ,i entered the anteroom where the guests were assembled ,russell took me by the lapel of my coat and drew me aside4 8,you ought to be doing this10 he said4 8,you can do this sort of thing2 ,i can't40 ,that portion of the statement which concerns himself was1 at any rate1 partly true4 ,russell was never quite at home in these lighter ways of oratory4 ,it needed the pressure of a great issue to exhibit his powers of eloquence at their best1 and even in the ,house of ,commons ,i fancy he never quite justified his unrivalled position at the ,bar4 ,but in that special gift of eloquence that makes for power in advocacy there was surely no man of his time who could claim to be his equal4 ,within the arena of the ,court his personality imposed itself2 in the stress of conflict it could even be menacing4 ,it exercised its influence upon the jury2 it was not unfelt upon the ,bench4 ,like all great advocates1 he was at his best when the gravity of the issue summoned all his resources4 ,he was only fully inspired when his individuality was fully and deeply engaged1 and for that he needed the spur of something definite1 concrete1 and individual4 ,his gifts of oratory were conspicuous4 ,in those northern ,circuit days ,i used constantly to notice a greater freedom and picturesqueness of gesture1 a more complete surrender to a mood of passionate utterance than any of his fellows could command4 ,these things were his in virtue of his birthright as an ,irishman4 ,but they were not at his service upon an issue that was coldly intellectual or remotely abstract4 ,there was in his nature that purely combative element that could only find its full expression in the battle of litigation2 the clash of ideas left him comparatively cold3 he was so far an artist that he needed to be moved and stirred by facts that were moulded into a definite story of individual fortunes--then1 and only then1 the full force of his personality came into play4 ,at such moments his strength far outmeasured the weight of gifts that were merely intellectual2 such gifts1 however considerable1 were then enforced by qualities of character and even of temper very difficult to define but still more difficult to resist4 ,in after years he once told me that his habit had always been to prepare his cases chronologically4 ,he wanted to know what was missing in the story he had to tell1 to be prepared in anticipation for any surprise coming from the other side that might suddenly be brought to fill the vacant gaps in his own narrative4 ,and this simple process of preparation showed itself in his methods as an advocate4 ,his power of presenting his case had something of the charm a story-teller can command4 ,it was always lucid1 direct1 and consecutive1 never halting or confused4 ,sir ,william ,gilbert once told me that on a certain occasion he was in ,court listening to his own counsel opening to the jury the story of his own case4 ,he said he was charmed1 by the interest of the narrative as it was gradually developed1 and that the only criticism that occurred to him was that the substance of the speech bore no relation to the contention he had come into ,court to establish4 ,such a reproach1 ,i think1 could never at any period in his career have been made against the late ,lord ,russell4 ,i did not at first recognise that ,russell had in his constant opponent1 ,john ,holker1 a man of intellectual power1 as great1 or perhaps even greater1 than his own4 ,holker had little of the grace that ,russell could boast2 his personality was outwardly heavy and uncouth2 his language1 rarely eloquent1 was sometimes even rough and halting4 ,but in his grasp of every case presented to him1 and in his power of imposing the view he sought to uphold upon a northern jury1 even ,russell was not his equal4 ,a man of great physique1 in person cumbrous and heavy1 and in facial expression unalert and uninspiring1 he sometimes gave to his hearers rather the impression of a giant talking in his sleep4 ,but as ,i watched him from day to day1 it very soon became convincingly clear to me that the giant was there4 ,he seemed to notice nothing1 and yet nothing escaped him4 ,his method of appeal to the jury had something almost of cunning in its apparent helplessness4 ,even when he was nearing success1 and the verdict was within his grasp1 he still retained the air of a man whose cause was in danger owing to his inferior grace of style and his halting powers of eloquence4 ,he had that persuasive art of convincing the jury that he was a plain man like themselves1 and that the cause of justice was likely to suffer by reason of the superior intellectual attainments of his opponents1 unless he and they laid their heads together as plain men1 and stood shoulder to shoulder in earnest endeavour to vindicate the right4 ,it was only afterwards that ,i got to know that beneath this heavy and impenetrable exterior there lurked a keen and supple sense of humour4 ,on the occasion of the annual ,grand ,night the leader who presided did not always take the personal trouble to invent or devise the sort of burlesque address interspersed with lyrical effusions which was deemed appropriate and indispensable4 ,i remember my friends1 the late ,mr4 ,m#8,connell and ,hugh ,shield1 who was known as the laureate of the ,circuit1 very often came to the assistance of the leader who felt himself unequipped for this lighter task imposed upon him4 ,but when it came to ,holker's turn1 despite the fact that he was engaged on nearly every case sent up for trial1 he chose to do the whole himself1 and very admirably it was done4 ,herschell's intellect differed widely from both4 ,in power of logical statement1 in clear and coherent reasoning1 and in the ability to conduct an argument without a flaw from start to finish1 he was certainly not the inferior of either4 ,but his nature on the emotional side1 as far at least as advocacy was concerned1 was poorly furnished4 ,he lacked the warmth to sway a jury4 ,he was unable to realise any disability in others that he did not possess in himself1 and the consequence was that he had often concluded his address to the jury before these unfortunate gentlemen had apprehended the essential features of the case he was trying to enforce4 ,and for this reason his appeal as an advocate was far less potent than that of either of his two great rivals4 ,the cold steel of his intellect never reached white heat4 ,his eloquence lacked the picturesque adornments which in their different ways they could both command1 and in this respect he stood in even more striking contrast with ,sam ,pope1 who1 in a brief flight of advocacy1 once or twice impressed me more than them all4 ,the duties of the ,junior of the ,circuit sometimes placed me in somewhat ludicrous conflict with authority1 and it happened that on my first ,circuit ,i was forced1 as the spokesman of the ,bar1 into a somewhat heated controversy with the ,attorney-,general1 the late ,lord ,coleridge4 ,charles ,russell had been sent by the ,crown with a special retainer to prosecute ,mrs4 ,cotton1 the notorious murderess who had poisoned a number of her nieces and nephews for the sake of small village insurances she had effected on their lives4 ,this aroused the indignation of the ,bar at ,durham1 who thought that ,mr4 ,aspinall1 who held the position of ,attorney-,general for the ,county1 was entitled to the brief4 ,and it was ,herschell who prompted me in the letters of protest which ,i was instructed to send to ,lord ,coleridge1 and which were afterwards published in the ,times4 ,that same trial of ,mrs4 ,cotton stands out vividly in my remembrance from among the many criminal cases which ,i have witnessed in the ,courts4 ,i remember ,russell telling me afterwards that the several cases actually proved against her1 amounting1 ,i think1 to five or six1 were only a few from among many others in which her guilt was equally assured2 and yet1 during her trial1 this elderly woman1 who in appearance resembled rather a comfortable monthly nurse1 never evinced the smallest trace of emotion or concern4 ,it was proved that she had sat up night after night assiduously nursing her victims1 as1 one after another1 they succumbed to the poison she had administered4 ,and yet it was only when her advocate1 whose case from the first was hopeless1 endeavoured to appeal to the jury by a purely fanciful picture of her constant affection for these helpless children1 that ,mrs4 ,cotton--moved rather1 as it would seem1 by the artistic skill of his eloquence than by any deeper feeling--shed a few tears such as might have been wrung from a spectator at a play4 ,my own experiences as a barrister are too slight to deserve any record4 ,mainly through the kindly influence of ,charles ,crompton ,i appeared in one or two civil causes1 but these were before an arbitrator and not in open court4 ,once1 and once only1 ,i was entrusted with a brief to defend a person who was accused of having stolen a moth-eaten pillow from a passing barrow containing the household effects of a neighbour who was shifting her quarters4 ,i was assured by my friends on ,circuit that had ,i chosen to pursue my career ,i should have made an effective advocate4 ,but the expenses incident to this side of my calling were already beginning to press heavily upon me2 and as ,i was then almost entirely dependent on what ,i could earn for myself1 ,i rather grudged the constant drain upon my income as a journalist which my life at the ,bar involved2 and when in the month of ,july #ahgc ,i became engaged to be married1 ,i quickly perceived that the only speedy prospect of making a home for my wife was to devote the whole of my energies to literature and journalism1 in which ,i had already made a successful start4 ,but the profession of the ,law1 so eagerly adopted and so speedily abandoned1 has always had for me a strong fascination1 and among its professors1 both past and present1 ,i have counted many of my closest friends4 ,illustration3 ,emery ,walker ,,dante ,,gabriel ,,rossetti ,from the portrait by himself in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #ei4 ,,chapter ,v ,,dante ,,gabriel ,,rossetti ,i can hardly say what it was that gave to my early efforts in journalism a decided bent towards the study of ,art2 for although my first experiments1 as ,i have already said1 were made as a dramatic critic1 ,i very soon found myself employing the best of my energies in another direction4 ,my elder sister had already begun a serious study of painting1 and that no doubt partly influenced my taste as a boy4 ,not that my keen interest in the drama ever lapsed1 even during the period when ,i was qualifying myself as an ,art ,critic2 but it lay dormant for a time1 in so far at least as my journalistic occupation was concerned2 and apart from my daily work upon the ,globe1 and those lighter essays on general and social topics contributed to the ,examiner and the ,saturday ,review1 my main energies for several years to come were destined to be employed in the criticism of pictorial art4 ,it is not quite easy now to realise the extraordinary interest with which the annual exhibitions at the ,royal ,academy were then greeted by those whose minds had been awakened to the new movement in painting4 ,i can remember year after year1 from the age of sixteen1 presenting myself on each opening ,monday at eight o'clock in the morning at the doors of ,burlington ,house1 and snatching an hour there before making my way to the ,city4 ,the pre-,raphaelite movement had begotten a freshly awakened spirit1 not only in the workers themselves1 but in those who worshipped them4 ,the advent of ,ruskin had kindled a new flame which made a study of ,art something more than mere dilettantism4 ,it was with something almost of religious fervour that we awaited the advent of a new ,millais or ,holman ,hunt1 for it was then only on rare occasions that we had the chance of seeing an example of the work of ,rossetti4 ,art in more recent days has come to make1 even in the hands of its greatest professors1 a more technical appeal1 and those of us who are not of the calling are now somewhat sternly bidden to confine ourselves to dumb appreciation1 and are severely warned not to venture to deliver opinions on matters in which we are not qualified by special study4 ,this is the fate of all art1 either literary or pictorial1 at those seasons of impaired vitality when it falls under the domination of men of the 8mtier40 ,it is the assured sign of a passing period of decadence4 ,the moment when the artist has missed the spirit which links his work with the wider emotional movement of his generation1 is always the moment when he most zealously and most loudly acclaims the detachment and independence of his calling4 ,he is always most eager to be judged by the comrades of his craft when he realises1 though perhaps only half consciously1 that his appeal is no longer to the simple4 ,it is the moment when art leans towards bric-a-brac1 when the painter or the sculptor is no longer spurred by the larger desire to have his work understanded of the people1 when he is content in each little coterie with the appreciation of his disciples who in their turn aim at nothing better than the approbation of their master4 ,that any work worthy of the name1 whether in literature1 painting1 or sculpture1 must of necessity conform to the irrefutable laws of the medium in which it is expressed1 is little better than an outworn platitude4 ,but to concede so much is only to admit the inevitable limitations of every art2 it is the acceptance of its inherent conditions1 not the definition of its essence2 and the endeavour to refuse to artists rightly equipped for their task the larger function of imaging the wider passions of life1 is simply to rob the record of the past of its greatest and most enduring achievements4 ,for my own part ,i have never made any pretence of bowing before these inordinate pretensions of the masters of mere technique4 ,they form part of a gospel that has always been widely preached3 in my youthful day it spread upon its banner the specious motto of 8,art for ,art's sake02 but it reappears under many disguises1 and rests ultimately and always upon the assumption that the men of the 8mtier0 are the sole and exclusive judges of the worth of any artistic product4 ,certainly1 if this dictum had prevailed in the time ,i am recalling1 the great movement which won all our youthful enthusiasm1 a movement beyond question the greatest and most influential in the ,art of ,europe during the nineteenth century1 would never have found strength to develop4 ,never did young men of their calling meet with more embittered opposition from the accepted masters of the time2 and if it had not been that a true impulse inspiring their work stirred a deeper response in a section of the public than was accorded to them by their fellow-painters1 they would most surely have lacked the encouragement and the praise which to every artist is as the breath of his life4 ,the thought and feeling of the time1 as it found expression in every art1 was moved by something deeper than the merely artistic impulse4 ,that much-bespattered ,victorian ,era1 whatever its limitations1 could claim at least this cardinal virtue1 that the men who are its foremost representatives were able to forge anew the links that bind life and art together4 ,the gifts they owned were too great to let them stand in any fear of the threatened danger of 8the literary idea02 and if occasionally they had to acknowledge a measure of failure1 the fear of such failure never drove them to take refuge within the safe confines of mere technical accomplishment4 ,the spirit of poetry1 re-awakened in literature1 had found its way into art1 and themselves the comrades of the poets of the time1 the leaders of the little band whose efforts were destined to revolutionise ,english painting1 gladly confessed in their own work1 though in varying measure1 the newly kindled ambition to embody in art that quality of imagination that had hitherto found expression only in literature4 ,and this movement towards a wider idealism was helped1 not hindered1 by the strenuous desire for the faithful presentment of actual reality which stood as a dominant article of faith in the pre-,raphaelite creed4 ,at the head of this revolution in taste1 which has left a lasting mark1 not only upon the painting of ,england1 but also in some degree upon the art of all ,continental nations1 two names ,i think stand pre-eminent1 those of ,g4 ,f4 ,watts and ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti4 ,from them came the poetic inspiration which lay at the root of all the greatest achievements of the time4 ,others there were1 like ,millais1 more greatly endowed with the painter's gift1 but even he1 whose genius was destined ultimately to find its own more congenial exercise in portraiture and landscape1 confessed in his earlier days the commanding domination of men who1 in intellect and imagination1 were his leaders and his masters4 ,the work of ,mr4 ,watts1 based on an earlier tradition1 was open to all the world1 but it was only by rare chance and good fortune that the student of that day had the opportunity of making acquaintance with the paintings of ,rossetti4 ,i remember it was while ,i was on ,circuit that ,i had my first sight of some examples of his work in the collection of ,mr4 ,rae of ,birkenhead1 and there1 too1 ,i found pictures of ,madox ,brown1 another of the group who did not publicly exhibit4 ,i think it was a study of ,mr4 ,rae's collection that induced me to publish in the ,globe newspaper a series of articles on painters of the day over the signature of 8,ignotus0 in the year #ahgc4 ,certainly it was the publication of these papers that formed the occasion of my making the acquaintance of several of the artists whose talent ,i had endeavoured to appreciate4 ,it was my intention at the time to refashion the series and to issue them as a separate volume1 and with that view ,i wrote to several of them asking them for some personal details of the earlier days of their studentship4 ,the answers ,i received were in nearly every case characteristic1 and it was by means of my correspondence with ,rossetti that ,i afterwards became a visitor at his house4 ,it was through my friend ,mr4 ,george ,hake1 who was at that time staying with him1 that ,i first obtained a personal introduction to ,rossetti1 but we were already known to each other by correspondence4 ,in his letter to me dated from ,kelmscott in ,november #ahgc he writes3 8,as a painter1 and ,i am ashamed at my age to say it1 ,i have never even approached satisfaction with my own progress until within the last five years4 ,my youth was spent chiefly in planning and designing1 and whether ,i shall still have time to do anything ,i cannot tell40 ,as a matter of fact1 ,rossetti had at that date produced most of the work by which he will be best remembered4 ,as a lad of twenty he had painted 8,the ,girlhood of ,mary the ,virgin10 followed shortly afterwards by 8,the ,annunciation02 and some of the most beautiful of his drawings1 the exquisite portrait of 8,miss ,siddal10 the 8,hamlet and ,ophelia10 and the large drawing of 8,helen arming ,paris10 already stood to his credit4 ,at the time ,i first knew him he had already painted 8,the ,loving ,cup10 8,the ,beloved10 8,mona ,illustration3 ,hollyer ,,dante ,,gabriel ,,rossetti ,from the painting by ,g4 ,f4 ,,watts1 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #fe4 ,vanna10 and 8,lady ,lilith10 and in the earlier part of the period to which these works belonged he had given to the world that exquisite series of watercolour paintings in which 8,paolo and ,francesca0 and 8,heart of the ,night0 stand pre-eminent4 ,it was 8,the ,beloved0 and 8,mona ,vanna0 that ,i particularly remember as forming part of the collection of ,mr4 ,rae1 and it was mainly upon these two paintings1 and a knowledge of some of the drawings in ,black and ,white1 that ,i had founded my first enthusiastic appreciation of the painter's genius4 ,the common impression of the time1 which ,i indeed partly shared1 was that ,rossetti's individuality1 however finely it might be endowed with poetic imagination1 was not of the most virile order4 ,for this he himself was in a great degree responsible4 ,he had deliberately withdrawn from all public exhibition of his work1 and even later1 when ,i became connected with the establishment of the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 he still held fast to his earlier resolution4 ,the man1 as ,i came to know him in the flesh1 was therefore something of a surprise to me1 and ,i quickly perceived1 as ,i learned to know him better1 that1 whatever may have been the source of his reluctance to expose himself to the fire of criticism1 it certainly was not due to any lack of masculine strength4 ,on the occasion of my first visit to ,cheyne ,walk1 it was indeed the breadth of his sympathy both in literature and art1 no less than the fineness and delicacy of his taste1 that most impressed me4 ,those never-to-be-forgotten evenings that ,i passed in his company became at the time a sort of enchantment4 ,his talk was assuredly more inspiring than that of any man ,i have ever known2 most inspiring certainly to a youth who had ambitions of his own1 for1 although intolerant of any utterance that was merely conventional1 and quick to detect the smallest lack of sincerity1 he was ever patient with the expression of any enthusiasm however crude1 and was as ready to listen as to reply4 ,i can see him now as he used to lie coiled up on the sofa in his studio after dinner1 and can hear the deep tones of his rich voice as he ranged widely over the fields of literature and art1 always trenchant1 always earnest1 yet now and again slipping with sudden wit and humour into a lighter vein4 ,i remember that one afternoon as ,i sat beside him while he worked1 the late ,mr4 ,virtue ,tebbs came in fresh from an exhibition of the old masters at ,burlington ,house1 and full of enthusiasm for a picture by ,turner which he insisted that ,rossetti must speedily go and see4 8,what is it called80 asked ,rossetti4 8#8,girls ,surprised while ,bathing1'0 replied ,tebbs4 8,umph60 returned ,rossetti4 8,yes1 ,i should think devilish surprised to see what ,turner had made of them40 ,on one point he was always absolutely emphatic4 8,a picture10 he used to say to me1 8is a painted poem1 and those who deny it have simply no poetry in their nature40 ,it was1 ,i think1 the absence of this quality that made him intolerant of the work of artists like ,albert ,moore4 8,often pretty10 he said1 8pretty enough1 but sublimated caf-painting and nothing more40 ,but he could be unstintedly generous in his praise1 as he was searching and even scathing in his criticism4 ,of ,millais he once said to me3 8,i don't believe since painting began there has ever been a man more greatly endowed with the mere painter's power40 ,and of ,burne-,jones1 not once1 but often1 he spoke in terms of the warmest and highest praise4 8,he has oceans of imagination10 he used to say1 8and in this respect there has been nobody like him since ,botticelli40 ,and then1 reverting to his favourite maxim1 he added in those round and ringing tones that seemed at once to invite and to defy contradiction3 8,if1 as ,i hold1 the 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 with poetic invention40 ,of ,leighton he was wont to speak with genuine respect and sincere appreciation4 ,there was only one point1 and that concerned not the character but the manners of the graceful and accomplished ,president1 on which he was not quite tolerant4 8,leighton10 he said one night1 8is undoubtedly one of the most gifted and accomplished creatures of his time4 ,there's scarcely anything which he can't do1 and can't do well4 ,he has1 besides1 a very high sense of duty which ,i know to be sincere1 and even as a painter he undoubtedly deserves to some extent the position he occupies1 but as to manners----0 ,and then in a few trenchant sentences he would give his own1 not very flattering1 impression of what he considered to be ,leighton's imperfections on this score4 ,at the simple dinners to which ,i was at that time hospitably bidden1 ,rossetti1 as he sat at the head of his table1 was always amusing to watch4 ,his inability to serve any dish set before him was pathetic in its helplessness4 ,he would lunge at a joint as though it were a hostile foe1 driving it from one end of the dish to the other till he got it securely cornered in its well of gravy1 and then plunge his knife into it with something of deadly ferocity4 ,it is related of ,rossetti1 though ,i myself was not a witness to the incident1 that on one occasion he was so entirely oblivious of the contents of the dish before him1 that1 wishing to prove its value as a specimen of oriental porcelain1 he turned it over to examine the marks on its back1 and all unconsciously deposited the turbot on the table-cloth4 ,i remember he very greatly admired some literary review which ,i had published in the columns of the ,globe1 the subject of which ,i now forget2 and in the talk that followed he spoke with rare eloquence of the poets of the dawn of the last century1 dwelling especially upon ,keats1 whom he knew ,i loved deeply1 and coming at last to ,landor1 whose work1 however beautiful1 has never warmly appealed to me4 8,what do you think of ,landor80 he inquired4 ,i answered1 8,it seems to me through all his poetry that his genius is impersonal without being dramatic10 and ,rossetti1 who was always generous in his appreciation of youth1 answered with a phrase that sent me home that night happy and contented4 8,by ,jove10 he said1 8that's the finest criticism ever made on ,landor60 ,i make no pretence that it was3 it was enough for me then that he thought so1 or that he said so4 ,but this friendship with ,rossetti1 so dearly prized by me and so indelible in its lasting impression1 was not destined to endure for long4 ,during the later days of our association he was already to some extent a sick man4 ,little by little the invitations1 once so freely extended to me1 slackened in their warmth of hospitality1 until the day came when ,i realised the fact that my visits to ,cheyne ,walk were no longer welcome4 ,it was not until years afterwards that ,i learned the cause1 and if ,i give it here1 it is only because it curiously illustrates that almost morbid sensitiveness of character which lay side by side in his nature with the most masculine grasp of the problems of life and art4 ,he had1 it seems1 as ,i had learned from the lips of a friend whose devotion to the poet endured till his death1 a very high opinion of my judgment as an art critic1 and he had conceived the belief1 perhaps true at the time1 that ,i thought more highly of the work of ,burne-,jones than of his own4 ,and although he himself had often said to me things of ,burne-,jones's genius which no word of mine could out-measure in generous praise1 it fretted him1 in the supersensitive condition in which suffering and ill-health had consigned him1 to be reminded by my presence of a judgment that in his own person he would not have resented4 ,it may1 as ,i have said1 have been true then--though ,i was unaware that ,i had ever betrayed the feeling to ,rossetti--that ,burne-,jones stood foremost in my appreciation of the painters of the time4 ,it is certainly not true now in any sense that would consign ,rossetti to an inferior place2 for ,i have come to think1 in the light of later study of the two men's work1 that1 in some undefinable and yet indisputable quality of genius1 especially as exemplified in his earlier work not then so well known to me1 he stands pre-eminent among those who influenced his generation4 ,as a colourist in that supreme sense in which colour is inspired by the purpose of the design1 he had in his earlier period no equal among them all4 ,in later life1 under the shadow of suffering and sickness1 the tones he employed had lost the first glowing radiance of the dawn4 ,but an artist lives only by his best2 and if the best of ,rossetti be fairly measured and appraised1 it will1 ,i think1 be hardly possible to dispute his right and claim to have been the foremost leader in the movement with which his name is associated4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones ,my intimacy with ,burne-,jones struck deeper and lasted without interruption from those earlier days of the 8,ignotus0 articles in the ,globe to the time of his death in #ahih4 ,we were friends for more than twenty-five years1 and during the greater part of that period the closest and most affectionate friends4 ,to him also ,i had written when ,i thought of enlarging that first crude criticism of his work4 ,i was a stranger to him then1 although my elder sister had already made his acquaintance1 but his letter in reply to my application is delightful in its considerate tolerance towards the somewhat audacious challenge of a boy to be supplied with the particulars of his early career4 ,referring to the pictures which ,i had specially selected for notice he writes3 8,i need not say that such a flattering review of them gave me pleasure1 for1 whatever cause ,i have to see them with disappointment1 such sympathy as you express cannot be anything but most welcome4 ,but there is so little to say of the kind of information you ask for1 and ,i should like to say nothing1 for a sudden feeling of being ridiculous overwhelms me4 ,at ,oxford till twenty-three1 therefore no right to begin art at all1 never having learnt one bit about it practically1 nor till that time having seen any ancient picture at all to my remembrance4 ,provincial life at home1 at ,oxford prints of ,chalons and ,landseer--you know them all4 ,i think ,morris's friendship began everything for me1 everything that ,i afterwards cared for4 ,when ,i left ,oxford ,i got to know ,rossetti1 whose friendship ,i sought and obtained4 ,he is1 as you know1 the most generous of men to the young4 ,i could not bear with the young man's dreadful sensitiveness and intolerable conceit as he did with mine4 ,he taught me practically all ,i ever learned2 afterwards ,i made a method for myself to suit my nature4 ,he gave me courage to commit myself to imagination without shame1 a thing both good and bad for me4 ,it was ,watts much later who compelled me to try and draw better4 ,i quarrel now with ,morris about ,art4 ,he journeys to ,iceland and ,i to ,italy1 which is a symbol4 ,and ,i quarrel too with ,rossetti4 ,if ,i could travel backward1 ,i think my heart's desire would take me to ,florence in the time of ,botticelli4 ,i do feel out of time and place1 and think you should let me go crumbling and mouldering on1 for ,i am not fit for much else but a museum4 ,you see ,i am writing in front of my work and ought to know1 and ,i do know40 ,the letter ends with a courteous invitation to visit his studio1 where he promised to show me the work he had completed during the year4 ,needless to say with what delight ,i accepted1 though ,i scarcely realised then that that visit was destined to date the beginning of a friendship that endured without halt or flaw till the time of his death in the summer of #ahih4 ,when ,i first knew him in #ahgc1 his appearance corresponded almost exactly with that which is imaged in ,watts's beautiful portrait4 ,his eyes then1 as always1 were the dominant feature of his face--pale blue eyes1 that revealed in their changing expression the sympathy1 the gentleness1 and no less the strength1 of his nature4 ,from the time ,i am speaking of1 ,i became a constant and always welcome visitor to his studio at the ,grange1 and at those simple ,sunday luncheons to which his intimate friends were bidden ,burne-,jones very soon made known to me a side of his character scarcely to be suspected by those who knew him only from his work4 ,playful and humorous1 boylike1 and even child-like in his quick surrender to the laughing mood of the moment1 he could nevertheless become swiftly serious at the summons of some deeper thought1 and without the need of any prepared process of transition could shift with ready and earnest eloquence to the discussion of those deeper problems which touched the centre of his art4 ,from the outset we were in close agreement as to the dominating tendencies which governed the great schools of ,european painting1 and no less in our common preference for the great tradition of ,florentine design1 established by the genius of ,giotto and culminating in the splendid achievement of ,michael ,angelo4 ,years afterwards1 when ,i had sent him a little volume of my gathered essays on ,art1 he wrote me3 8,i found your book when ,i got home last night1 and it was a real pleasure for me to have another proof of your love and sympathy4 ,and there will be this additional pleasure about it1 that ,i know how heartily ,i shall be at one with you while ,i read it40 ,and then1 with a sudden turn to a lighter mood1 he adds3 8,we shall meet on ,sunday at lunch4 ,georgie is away1 but ,margaret dispenses lower middle-class hospitality with a finish and calm which would not disgrace a higher social position40 ,i suppose no man ever held with such unswerving fidelity to the ideal with which he set out upon his career1 an ideal as plainly manifest in those earlier contributions to the old ,water-,colour ,society as in his last great picture of 8,arthur in ,avalon40 ,in him the sense of design was all in all1 but mere abstract design that missed the impulse of some legend of passion or romance never quite contented his genius4 ,it was his delight1 as it was the delight of ,botticelli1 to be always exercising his invention upon some theme of legendary beauty2 and it was his special gift1 as indeed it was also ,botticelli's1 to be able to translate such themes into the appropriate language of ,art4 ,though he could appreciate at its true value excellence in almost every school of painting1 his temper turned as by instinct even from the greatest masters who sought only for a faithful rendering of nature4 ,blake once said that in his highest moments of inspiration he was often haunted by those 8,flemish ,demons10 as he termed them1 who came and blurred his imagination and stole away the thought he desired to present4 ,i think ,burne-,jones was sometimes haunted by them too4 ,it is not needful now to revive the memories of that fierce hostility of criticism which greeted his earlier efforts4 ,rossetti's determined reticence in regard to the exhibition of his work left ,burne-,jones in those earlier days to bear the whole brunt of the attack1 for the art of ,millais and ,holman ,hunt made a somewhat different appeal and claimed a separate victory4 ,nor was it wonderful that what lay in the mind of both to do should at first have seemed tinged by something of determined archaic affectation4 ,the temper of their work was strange to the world to whom it was offered at first in a form so tentative1 and also confessedly so incomplete4 ,the history of ,english ,painting1 even in its greatest achievement1 has left no tradition to which they could appeal1 and1 indeed1 if we take a wider range of view1 it may be said with equal truth that1 since the downfall of the great school of ,florence1 ,art throughout ,europe had taken a direction which made the efforts of these younger men seem like a wilful neglect of the accepted models of style4 ,such ,english masters of an earlier time as had attempted to enter into this higher realm of imaginative painting--,barry1 ,fuseli1 and ,haydon1 to name only the leaders--had wrecked their lives in the vain endeavour suddenly to renew the splendours of the great masters of the sixteenth century4 ,with the advent of the pre-,raphaelite movement1 marked by a determined research of greater reality in the rendering of actual fact1 the failure of these earlier experiments became only the more manifest2 and it was left for that little group in which ,rossetti and ,burne-,jones stand pre-eminent to realise the truth that1 if imagination could ever again resume its place in pictorial art1 the result must be achieved1 not by an endeavour to repeat the triumphs of the past at the epoch of its culminating glory1 but by retracing the stream to its source and beginning again1 where ,florence had begun in the earlier period of her history4 ,it was1 ,i think1 the first exhibition of the ,grosvenor ,gallery that gave ,burne-,jones's critics reason to pause in their pitiless onslaught of ridicule and rebuke4 ,but even then the fight was not ended1 and among the many members of the ,academy itself the hostility continued almost without check4 ,i remember going round that exhibition with ,mr4 ,gladstone1 and recalling a phrase of his which he used in reference to this very feeling that was even then sufficiently openly expressed4 ,standing before one of ,burne-,jones's pictures which he was warmly admiring1 he turned to me and said1 8,dislike of such a painter ,i can understand1 but such intolerance of dislike as ,i find on every hand ,i do not comprehend40 ,it was1 perhaps1 difficult1 even for those to whom such work made a sympathetic appeal1 to realise what a broad and liberal outlook in ,literature1 as well as in ,art1 belonged to the painter whose deliberate selection of a chosen type of beauty might plausibly seem to argue a narrow intelligence2 and it was1 indeed1 only by close and intimate knowledge of the man himself that one was enabled to escape altogether from this initial prejudice4 ,as a talker he was wholly delightful4 ,there were few subjects in literature upon which those who might have thought to convict him of a narrow intensity of feeling could have dared to challenge him with success4 ,it was natural1 perhaps1 that1 with his preoccupation as a painter1 his love should have turned most often and most readily to legend and romance4 ,but in romance his task took a wide range1 and it will surprise many1 who see how rigorously all suggestion of humour is excluded from his paintings1 to learn that his knowledge of ,dickens was almost encyclopdic1 and his love of him1 like that of ,mr4 ,swinburne1 without limit of praise4 ,as our friendship advanced it came to be our custom to meet periodically at a little restaurant in ,soho1 over a quiet dinner which we boasted was to be a mere preliminary to 8seeing ,life02 but these evenings nearly always ended as they began1 in talk over the table--light and laughing to commence1 and then drifting finally into deep and earnest discussion of the things we loved the best in ,poetry and ,art2 until1 the lights gradually extinguished1 we were reminded that the closing hour had come1 and that the projected visit to the music-hall1 which was to constitute our vision of ,life1 must needs be postponed until another occasion4 ,and so these meetings went on from time to time1 but never without a word of mock indignant protest on his part that he had been cheated of a promised debauch4 ,once he fired my imagination by telling me that he had made a solitary visit to the ,aquarium1 where he had seen 8,the ,last ,supper0 tattooed on a man's back1 and this taste of blood had whetted his appetite for more salient examples of monstrosity which were at that time being exhibited in ,barnum's ,show4 ,an appointment made for the purpose ,i was compelled to abandon by reason of a social engagement with my wife1 a circumstance which drew from him a little note of pitying sympathy3 8,carr ,mio1 so you have thrown me over6 ,well1 perhaps you are right2 at any rate ,i am wrong to have trusted4 ,i confess ,i marvelled at your bravery in so openly defying woman1 but knew that you must be justified in some consciousness of strength4 ,but lo6 you are even as ,i1 who boasted not4 ,still1 we will have ,barnum another night4 ,i must see the fat lady1 and will40 ,and then on the facing page he adds a monstrous portrait of that lady herself1 a thing of unimagined wealth of flesh1 seated on a velvet cushion before the upturned eyes of a crowded theatre4 ,burne-,jones was wont to be lavish of these humorous sketches in letters to his intimate friends1 and ,i have one or two supposed to illustrate a projected fresh departure in his ,art1 wherein1 under the impulse of a new resolve1 he was to abandon finally all future effort after ideal design1 and1 conforming to that taste of the public which he had hitherto failed to satisfy1 to embark upon a series of pictures to represent1 as he told me1 the homes of ,england4 8,i enclose a sketch10 he writes1 8for my next picture4 ,it is a new departure1 but the public ,illustration3 ,,facsimile ,,of ,a ,,letter ,by ,sir ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones1 ,bart4 7a74 ,to face page #gh4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,homes ,,of ,,england ,from an original drawing by ,sir ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones1 ,bart4 7b74 ,to face page #gh4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,homes ,,of ,,england4 ,from an original drawing by ,sir ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones1 ,bart4 7c74 ,to face page #gh4 must be humoured4 ,i have fought the fight of unpopularity long enough4 ,tell me what you think10 and accompanying this startling announcement of the fresh direction his art was to take1 he enclosed1 not a mere sketch1 but an elaborately finished black and white drawing of the first of the great series he had projected1 wherein he had evidently intended to present a typical representative of our great commercial nation--a hideous being stretched in stertorous sleep upon a ,victorian sofa of abominable design1 every deformed curve and moulding of which he had rendered with searching veracity4 ,i must have sent him in reply some burlesque welcome of the revolution in his style indicated by the design1 for in a day or two ,i received a second drawing more monstrous and grotesque than the first1 and with the drawing he wrote3 8,you divine my purpose4 ,it was the first of a series to be called the ,homes of ,england40 ,but even in these essays in the grotesque1 and in the lighter and sometimes very graceful fancies which he would illustrate so easily and so rapidly for our amusement1 or for the delight of our children1 there was always an unfailing sense of composition and design4 ,one afternoon on the lawn of ,lady ,lewis's cottage at ,walton1 where we often met1 and where so many happy hours of my life have been spent1 he was discussing in a bantering mood the reproach so often levelled against him1 that his female forms were lean and meagre and lacked the sense of flesh and blood4 8,i think10 he said1 8,i must make a more determined study of the manner of ,rubens10 and thereupon1 taking a sheet of paper from the table where ,lady ,lewis was writing1 he began at once to compose a picture of 8,susannah and the ,elders10 after the manner of the great ,flemish master4 ,it took him only a few minutes to accomplish1 and yet1 as it lies before me now1 admirable as it is in its sense of caricature1 it is no less striking for a certain beauty in the ordered arrangement of line which could not desert him even when he was proposing to lampoon himself4 ,it was1 ,i think1 about the same time that he laughingly proposed to instruct my eldest boy in the principles of anatomy1 and there and then made for him on the spur of the moment two beautiful drawings representing the anatomy of the good man and the good woman1 to which he added1 by special request1 a third drawing illustrating the anatomy of the bad man4 ,on being met with the reproach that the drawing showed nothing of the details of internal structure1 he replied that there were none1 as 8the bad man was quite hollow02 and on being further challenged to illustrate the anatomy of the bad woman1 he gravely replied1 8,my dear ,phil1 she doesn't exist40 ,in later days the little ,bohemian meetings to which ,i have referred1 at first restricted to our two selves1 took occasionally the form of larger hospitality4 ,sometimes ,sir ,george and ,lady ,lewis1 and sometimes ,sir ,lawrence ,tadema and his wife1 would join our party4 ,on such evenings1 to mark the added dignity to ,illustration3 ,,lessons ,,in ,,anatomy ,from an original drawing by ,sir ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones1 ,bart4 ,to face page #hj4 ,illustration3 ,,lessons ,,in ,,anatomy ,from an original drawing by ,sir ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones1 ,bart4 ,to face page #hj4 ,illustration3 ,,lessons ,,in ,,anatomy ,from an original drawing by ,sir ,,edward ,,burne-,,jones1 ,bart4 ,to face page #hj4 the occasion1 we shifted our quarters to ,previtale's1 and ,i have known no merrier hours before or since than those we passed together4 ,burne-,jones always made a grave pretence of being quite ignorant as to what should be ordered for these little feasts4 ,of one of them1 where he was to be the host1 he wrote to me some few days before imploring me in a spirit of mock despair to come to his rescue and arrange the menu4 8,i no more know10 he cries1 8what dinner to order than the cat on the hearth as ,i write--less1 for it would promptly order mice4 ,oh1 ,carr1 save my honour and order for me a nice dinner so that ,i may not be quoted as a warning of meanness6 ,i am not mean4 ,order apples of gold on plates of silver1 and let the wine be scented and brought from ,lebanon2 but not a mean dinner1 nor yet ostentatious or presuming1 or such a one as could possibly compete with the banquets of the affluent4 ,my honour is in your hands4 ,oh1 ,carr1 come to the rescue60 ,it is extraordinary1 in view of the concentrated energy he bestowed upon his work1 how readily and how generously he always responded to the appeal of his friends4 ,there was no demand they could make upon him which he seemed unable to satisfy1 no help which the youngest or the most modest student could ask of him which he was not always ready and willing to give2 and yet all these gifts of friendship so lavishly bestowed were never allowed to interfere with the absolute devotion that he owed and that he paid to his art4 ,behind the affectionate gentleness of his nature1 that was susceptible to every influence1 there lay a faith that nothing could shake or weaken4 ,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 it4 ,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 loved4 ,but there was no friend of them all1 and there were many who could claim perhaps a closer alliance than ,i1 who could cause him to swerve for a moment from the labour that was his life4 ,one of the last letters ,i received from him must have concerned another of these little feasts which he had projected and which for some reason ,i was compelled to postpone4 ,i cannot now recall what ,i then wrote to him1 but ,i suppose my letter must have contained some reference to our long and close friendship1 for ,i received from him in reply an affectionate little note that it is a pleasure to me to preserve4 8,dear ,carr10 he writes1 8,i too feel just the same4 ,i want years and years of us together1 and much work and a little play4 ,we will put it off for a week1 then1 and ,i will try and rearrange1 and perhaps ,tadema will join4--,yours affectionately1 ,e4 ,b4 ,j40 ,those 8years and years0 that would have been so dear to us were unhappily denied4 ,he was often ailing in the later days of his life1 and it was easy to perceive that he was sometimes apprehensive as to the condition of his health4 ,and yet he never allowed his own anxieties to burden others4 ,on one occasion ,i remember1 and it must have been about this time1 he told me he had been to see his doctor1 who had questioned him closely as to his habits as a smoker4 8,how many cigars do you smoke in a day80 he had inquired of his patient1 to which ,burne-,jones had carelessly replied3 8,oh1 ,i think about six40 8,well10 replied his adviser1 8for the present you had better limit yourself to three40 ,and in detailing the incident to me afterwards ,burne-,jones added with a chuckle3 8,you know1 my dear ,carr1 ,i never did smoke more than three40 ,when the end came1 and came so swiftly1 he left a gap in my life ,i well knew could never be filled again4 ,i had not seen quite so much of him during the last three or four years of his life1 but immediately preceding that period we had been closely associated in a task that lay very near my heart4 ,i had asked him1 with ,irving's concurrence1 to undertake the designing of the scenery and costumes for my play of ,king ,arthur1 produced in #ahid4 ,at his request ,i went down to read him the play while he was at work in the garden studio of the ,grange1 and at its conclusion he announced1 to my great delight1 that he would willingly undertake the work4 ,the subject was congenial to him2 he was deeply versed in all ,arthurian lore1 and in his paintings he returned again and again to that great cycle of romance enshrined for ,english readers in the exquisite prose poem of ,sir ,thomas ,malory4 ,we met often and intimately during the progress of preparation1 and ,i remember his almost child-like delight when we mounted to the painting-room at the ,lyceum--where ,hawes ,craven was transferring to a wider canvas his beautiful design for the scene of the ,queen's ,maying--as he insisted in taking from the scenic artist a brush of giant dimensions1 and executing a passage in one corner of the backcloth so that he might be able to boast1 as he laughingly declared to ,craven1 that he had partly painted the scene himself4 ,illustration3 ,,ophelia ,from the picture by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,millais ,,and ,,leighton ,millais was not one of those to whom ,i had written after the publication of my article upon his work1 and it was not till later at the ,arts ,club that ,i learned to know him personally4 ,perhaps ,i refrained from addressing him at the time because ,i was conscious that my criticism could not be altogether agreeable to him1 and ,i felt that ,i could hardly demand any assistance in the prosecution of my labours from one whose talent ,i had so severely handled4 ,looking back now upon that youthful essay it seems to me1 in the light of later knowledge and appreciation1 to be disfigured to an extraordinary degree by arrogance of statement and intolerance of judgment4 ,my mind had been so completely captured by the innate poetical feeling that marked the work of ,rossetti and ,burne-,jones1 that ,i was then scarcely ready to rank at their true value the splendid powers which ,millais possessed4 ,i could only think at the time1 with something approaching resentment1 of ,millais's apparent desertion of the ideal that inspired his earlier efforts1 and ,i was not able to perceive that1 in the line of development which he had followed1 he was only conforming with absolute loyalty to the natural bent of his genius4 ,it was the accident of youth which set him for a while under the influence of men of a deeper spiritual tendency1 and it was not his fault1 nor indeed our misfortune1 that when the period of youth had passed he should have applied himself with ever-increasing earnestness to the development of those gifts in portraiture and in landscape which have left him pre-eminent among the painters of our school4 ,at the time ,i was not able to judge fairly of the causes which led to his ultimate desertion of those earlier ideals1 and ,i could only remember with a regret1 too harshly expressed1 that we were no longer to expect of him another 8,huguenot0 or 8,ophelia10 or to welcome again from his hand such achievements as the 8,carpenter's ,shop0 or the 8,feast of ,lorenzo40 ,but a knowledge of the man himself very speedily enabled me to take a juster view of his place as a painter4 ,there are artists in every line1 in literature as well as in painting1 whose personality does not willingly associate itself with their work4 ,this was certainly true of ,browning1 who would seem in social intercourse to be almost perversely desirous of enabling you to forget that he was a poet1 and it was true no less of ,millais1 who rather sought by preference in his leisure hours the companionship of men who were not concerned with the art he professed4 ,millais had about him1 as ,i first recall him1 and retained to the end of his life1 even in the days that ,illustration3 ,,the ,,finding ,,of ,,moses ,,by ,,pharaoh',s ,,daughter4 ,from ,lays of the ,holy ,land4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,engraved by the ,brothers ,dalziel4 7,reproduced from their ,fifty ,years' ,work47 ,by permission of ,messrs4 ,james ,nisbet and ,co41 ,ltd4 ,to face page #hg4 were passed under the shadow of a mortal sickness1 a delightful buoyancy of character that was enchaining and infectious4 ,in his view of his own art there was occasionally something of the victorious arrogance of a school-boy who has lately carried off the first prize1 an arrogance that was nevertheless consistent with a deep modesty of character that showed itself in his reverent attitude towards nature1 where he was ever ready to admit that he had found his rival and his master4 ,as far as my own experience of him went1 he was never very eager to discuss the work of his contemporaries1 although he could be amply generous on occasion towards the earlier experiments of younger men4 ,when he referred to the works of the older masters it seemed to me that there was something of defiant challenge in his tone1 as though he were ready to do battle with any one of them in his own person and in his own painting4 ,of the men with whom his career had been so closely linked in the earlier days of his studentship he spoke but little1 but even in the little that he said ,i always felt there was an underlying conviction on his part that1 as a painter1 he had easily outstripped them all4 ,and perhaps he was right4 ,that1 at least1 was ,rossetti's opinion1 as ,i have already stated1 nor is it possible1 ,i think1 in fairly reviewing the art of his time1 not to set ,millais1 in virtue of his powers as a mere craftsman1 in a place beyond the reach of rivalry4 ,it was difficult at the period when ,i first made ,millais's acquaintance to realise that the earlier stages of his career had sometimes yielded periods of deep depression1 and yet it is only necessary to turn to his own letters1 written in the earlier part of the year #ahei1 to realise how1 for a while at least1 discouragement sat heavily upon him4 ,and it is no less characteristic to note how swiftly that darker mood passed1 for in the letter dated ,may #af of that same year he says1 8,i have now enough commissions to last me all next year1 so ,i am quite happy40 ,and then a little later1 though he had received no vote at the ,academy election1 he adds in his characteristically confident temper1 8,it's really a matter of entire indifference to me1 as my position is as good as any except ,landseer's1 and this they too well know40 ,the charm of ,millais's nature1 with its swift alternation between absolute confidence in his own powers--in the form of its expression sometimes verging upon harmless arrogance--and those rarer moods of discouragement and self-abasement1 was aptly imaged in his person and bearing4 ,i have been told by one who knew him in his youth that he had the beauty of an ,adonis1 and even in the year #ahge1 when ,i first met him1 his appearance was singularly handsome and attractive4 ,the frankness of his outlook upon the world was aptly mirrored in his face--eyes that were keen yet kindly1 and a mouth delicately sensitive for all its firmness1 forming the essential features in a countenance that could not fail to win both sympathy and regard4 ,occasionally in walking home with him from the ,club he would tell me something of the men he had known well in an earlier period of his life1 but for the most part it was not especially of painters that he spoke4 ,talking in this way of ,thackeray and ,dickens1 and other notabilities of their time1 he remarked to me that 8the greatest gentleman of them all was ,john ,leech02 and then1 for a quarter of an hour or more1 he ran on in affectionate appreciation of the great caricaturist1 enlarging upon the extraordinary fascination and charm of his manner and the delicate refinement of his nature4 ,when the time came for the gathered exhibition of his work in the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 ,i saw ,millais more often and more intimately4 ,day by day1 as ,hall and ,i were engaged in arranging the pictures upon the walls1 ,millais would come in with his short wooden pipe in his mouth and wander round examining the rich record of his own career2 sometimes elated to the verge of enthusiasm1 and sometimes as frankly confessing his own dissatisfaction with this work or that4 ,taking me by the arm one day he drew me round the room1 and pausing before the 8,knight ,errant0 he said3 8,you know1 ,carr1 as ,i look at these things there are some of them which seem to say to me1 #8,millais1 you're a fine painter1' and this is one0--pointing as he spoke to the beautiful picture before us--8and there are others10 he added1 his tones suddenly changing from triumph to dejection1 8that tell me just as plainly1 #8,millais1 you're a damned vulgar fellow6' ,oh1 but there are60 he cried1 as though anticipating my polite protest4 8,if you don't believe me1 look at that10 and he pointed to a picture ,i need not now name1 but which he looked at with unfeigned resentment and disgust4 ,there was one little incident connected with that exhibition which ,i shall not readily forget4 ,after many efforts1 at first unsuccessful1 we had at last persuaded the owner of 8,the ,huguenot0 to lend it for the occasion2 but this favourable answer to our request only reached us when the rest of the exhibition was already arranged4 ,it so chanced that ,millais had not seen the picture since the year #aheb when it was painted1 and he was therefore particularly anxious that it should be included in the exhibition4 ,it was late in the evening when the picture arrived in its case from ,preston2 but ,millais had waited1 evidently in some trepidation as to how this first triumph of his youth would impress him when he saw it again4 ,its place had been reserved on the wall1 and the carpenters1 quickly unscrewing the case1 held up the picture for the painter to see4 ,millais was standing beside me as they hurried forward in their work1 and ,i felt his arm tremble on my shoulder during the few moments that prefaced its appearance2 and then1 when at last it was raised to its place1 he said in a voice that was half broken by emotion1 8,well1 well1 not so damned bad for a youngster40 ,and lighting his little wooden pipe hurried out of the ,gallery and took his way downstairs into the street4 ,in later days we met constantly in the card-room at the ,garrick1 and as we both lived in ,kensington it happened often that we used to walk homeward together4 ,sometimes ,i would come across him in the daytime strolling in ,kensington ,gardens1 and ,i remember one snowy ,sunday in winter when ,i had carelessly said to him1 8,how ugly snow is60 ,millais turned to me with sudden vehemence and said1 8,carr1 how can you say that8 ,nothing in nature is ugly40 ,and ,i think to him it was as he said4 ,i know at the time ,i was forcibly reminded of a phrase used by ,constable which betrays the same unfailing faith in nature4 8,there is nothing10 said the earlier painter1 8either beautiful or ugly but light and shade makes it so40 ,the power of selection in the facts he chose to render was never among the strongest of ,millais's artistic gifts2 perhaps to him the need of it seemed not so great as to others4 ,his mastery in the rendering of every aspect of reality1 a mastery exercised with impartial regard upon the facts of human form or the complex growth of outward nature1 was so complete1 and so completely enjoyed1 that he had scarcely the inclination to reject any one part of the subject presented to him in favour of another4 ,his art knew little preference1 and for that reason it often lacked the higher sense of composition that painters1 differently though perhaps not so greatly gifted1 can command for their work4 ,and so it was that the spiritual appeal of his painting varied extraordinarily according to the degree in which the theme had inspired him1 and even more according to the measure of support which he received from the chosen model before his eyes4 ,and yet1 to the last1 that inspiration1 when it came1 could summon1 almost undimmed1 all that concentrated power in the rendering of life1 animate and inanimate1 that had set so clear a stamp upon those beautiful paintings of the period of his youth4 ,lovable ,i think he was in an extraordinary degree to all who were brought in contact with him1 and ,i know for my own part that as ,i knew him more1 ,i was the more attracted by his personality4 ,at the last1 as he lay dying in ,palace ,gate1 he sent a message to say he would like to see me1 but when ,i reached the house his son greeted me at the door with the sad verdict that it was too late4 ,already the hand of ,death was upon him3 within a few hours he had passed away4 ,there is one element of ,millais's painting which1 ,i think1 has never received a full measure of appreciation4 ,apart from his superb gifts as a painter1 he possessed a distinctive mastery in the rendering of certain phases of human emotion that has left him without a rival among the living or the dead4 ,his fine powers as a draughtsman enabled him to press into a single face a quality of sentiment that1 by reason of its exquisite delicacy of expression1 was saved from the reproach of any sentimentalism4 ,the desire to capture this deeper beauty in character lay always resident in his nature1 but it needed the inspiration of some rarer type of feminine loveliness to quicken it into life4 ,in this sense ,millais was to some extent1 as ,i have said1 at the mercy of his model1 but when that model served him well--as in the case of 8,the ,huguenots0 and 8,ophelia0--the result yields an image of some indefinable beauty in human character that adds to his innate gifts as a realist a deeper and more passionate truth4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,huguenot ,from the picture by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,by permission of ,messrs4 ,methuen and ,messrs4 ,henry ,graves and ,co4 ,to face page #ib4 ,it would be difficult to cite any other master of our school1 or indeed of any school1 who possessed this special power in quite the same degree4 ,reynolds and ,gainsborough have left examples in the region of female portraiture that render in almost matchless perfection the permanent facts of gentle character2 and the different kinds of beauty which they have saved for us bear the unmistakable stamp of a type that is national as well as individual4 ,but with ,millais1 whose art no less than theirs rests finally upon this power of interpreting individual features1 there was sometimes added1 when the model and the subject combined to inspire him1 this finer grace of delicate and tender feeling which no one of his predecessors could command4 ,though not a constant quality of his art1 it reappeared from time to time during the whole of his career4 ,he never parted with it as he had parted with that earlier quality of design1 which he had only shared for a while with men to whom it was all in all4 ,though intermittent in its manifestation1 it remained with him to the end1 and constituted a rare attribute of his art which belonged to him by right of nature and belonged to him alone4 ,it was the appreciation of this quality which caused ,watts to write to him in #ahgh in regard to 8,the ,bride of ,lammermoor10 which had received a decoration in ,paris3 8,lucy ,ashton's mouth is worthy of any number of medals40 ,and what is true here is true in a supreme degree of the face of the lady in 8,the ,huguenots0 and the face of 8,ophelia40 ,the contrast between ,millais and ,leighton1 both as regards individual character and the character of their art1 was as striking as could be presented by two men of the same generation4 ,millais's manner was spontaneous1 careless1 and buoyant2 ,leighton was ever graceful and courteous1 but never quite without the sense of conscious and deliberate effort4 ,i remember an ,italian painter who had been his friend for many years saying to me one day1 8,leighton wills to be a good fellow10 and ,i think the criticism that is here conveyed very aptly describes1 or suggests1 a certain feeling of constraint that was always to be felt in ,leighton's companionship4 ,despite all his accomplishments and grace he left the impression that he was never quite at ease1 and as though he felt that that must be the plight of others as well as himself he seemed to be constantly striving to rid his companion of an embarrassment which was often only his own4 ,the essential difference between the two men was made very manifest by an incident that occurred at a dinner given by the ,arts ,club to celebrate ,leighton's election as ,president of the ,royal ,academy4 ,leighton's speech1 of course1 was expected to be the speech of the evening1 and so in a sense it was4 ,but ,leighton never spoke without the polished preparation of every word1 and though his gifts as an orator were conspicuous1 there was always1 even upon the happiest occasion1 a sense of something artificial in his aptly chosen phrases2 and on the evening of which ,i am thinking1 the fact of his being fast bound and fettered by a string of carefully forged and graceful sentences proved disastrous to the speaker4 ,before ,leighton rose to make his acknowledgment of the compliment that had been paid to him1 ,millais had his part in the programme to discharge1 and although he could never boast any considerable gifts as a speaker1 there was a directness and simplicity in his utterances that placed his audience in quick sympathy with the man4 ,when ,i complimented him afterwards he replied1 8,yes1 my boy1 but you see ,i had a story to tell40 ,and so he had2 but that was not the whole secret of the great impression he made upon his hearers that evening1 for though the story was simple enough in itself1 it was told with such genuine feeling and with such frank revelation of his own character that it moved his audience not a little4 ,he recalled a day of his youth when he had been summoned by ,mr4 ,thackeray1 who lay ill in bed1 to receive some instructions for designs that ,millais was making for the ,cornhill ,magazine4 ,the business ended1 ,mr4 ,thackeray turned to him and said3 8,millais1 my boy1 you must look to your laurels4 ,there's a young fellow in ,rome called ,leighton who is making prodigious strides in his art4 ,he speaks every ,european language1 and is an accomplished musician as well4 ,if ,i'm not mistaken that young man will one day be ,president of the ,royal ,academy40 ,and then ,millais turned to us1 and in words of the simplest candour confessed that ,mr4 ,thackeray's prophecy had somewhat hurt him--8,for ,i will own10 he said1 8that at that time1 with the ambition of a boy1 ,i cherished the hope that ,i might some day be ,president of the ,royal ,academy40 ,and then after a pause he added1 8,but now1 looking back1 ,i can say1 #8,mr4 ,thackeray1 you were right1 and the right man has been chosen4'0 ,it is not easy to convey the effect which that speech made upon the crowded audience1 most of whom were artists1 but the depth of the impression was shortly realised when ,leighton rose to respond4 ,it would have been impossible for any speaker born to his task to have followed ,millais without betraying in response a sensibility to those deeper chords of feeling which his simple words had touched4 ,but ,leighton was incapable of resuming the unfinished melody ,millais had so finely tuned2 incapable by his habit and temperament of discarding what he had prepared2 and so it happened that the discourse he delivered1 though no less perfect and polished than was his wont1 left his audience gravely disappointed and wholly unmoved4 ,of ,leighton ,i had also written in those earlier articles in a manner perhaps that showed too little consideration for his great gifts and great accomplishments1 but he was characteristically courteous in his reply to my request for some particulars of the days of his studentship1 and the pains he had evidently taken to assist me as far as he could in the project ,i had in hand bears strong witness to that ungrudging demand he always made upon himself when any duty came before him4 ,he wrote3 ,illustration3 ,hollyer ,,lord ,,leighton1 ,p4,r4,a4 ,from the painting by ,g4 ,f4 ,,watts1 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #if4 ,thursday1 ,nov4 #bg1 #ahgc4 ,,dear ,,sir--,i should have answered your letter sooner had ,i been more master of my time4 ,i am divided between my readiness to serve you and my embarrassment as to how to satisfy your request concerning my past life of which you already possess the outline4 ,i find on looking at ,men of the ,time that the facts there given under my name are copied from the ,illustrated ,london ,news1 to which ,i furnished some such skeleton to accompany the customary portrait on my election to membership in the ,royal ,academy4 ,they are accurate1 barring misprints1 such as calling my old friend ,robert ,fleury1 ,robert ,henry4 ,i hardly know what ,i can add without egotistic display to this account of a life in which1 whilst there has been1 and1 as ,i hope1 still is1 steady growth and development1 there had been no peripateia4 ,i scarcely have any earlier recollection than a passionate wish and a firm purpose to be an artist1 and having become one1 ,i have never failed or swerved from my deep desire to leave behind me something in ,art which should be not ignoble in its aim1 and in which ,form and ,style1 the highest attributes of ,form1 should be chiefly sought1 and ,i may own to a hope1 which has not been much fed by experience1 that ,i might in some degree disseminate my artistic faith in this country where the seed is little and the soil rocky1 and where what is to me vital and essential in ,art is generally either repudiated or held a matter of obsolete dilettantism4 ,the only apparent change in my work1 the change from medivalism to classicism1 is in reality no change but only a development4 ,the love of medivalism1 the youth of ,art1 which is almost invariably found in youths1 was strengthened and nourished in me partly by an early love for ,florence and ,tuscan art in which all grace is embodied1 and partly by the example of my master ,steinle1 for whom ,i had1 and have retained1 a great reverence1 and who was fervently medival4 ,for a long time ,i treated none but subjects from the ,italian ,middle ,ages--going to history1 ,dante1 ,boccaccio1 and preferring in ,shakespeare the ,italian plays4 7,i have sometimes wondered1 by the bye1 that the atmosphere of ,faust and the ,niebelungen ,lied and the worship of ,cornelius1 in which1 as a ,german student1 ,i lived for many years1 should really have left so little mark on my work47 ,by degrees1 however1 my growing love for ,form made me intolerant of the restraint and exigencies of costume1 and led me more and more1 and finally1 to a class of subjects1 or1 more accurately1 to a set 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 vehicles1 therefore1 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 anachronism4 ,but you did not ask me for a profession of faith4 ,you see1 meanwhile1 that though shifted to another channel the stream of my artistic life has remained the same4 ,the dominant personal influence of my early development is that of my dear master ,steinle1 under whom ,i worked at ,frankfort for several years4 ,his stamp is still upon me1 and ,i owe him a debt of gratitude for guidance1 restraint1 and upholding in the search of whatever is elevated1 and for example of steadfastness and singleness of heart which ,i cannot ever repay4 ,one word more in candour4 ,i have written these few lines because1 unless my memory deceives me1 you have written about ,art with a sense at least of its place and dignity--a grace too rare amongst ,english critics2 but ,i do not therefore accept entire solidarity with your standpoint1 with which in some respects ,i am much at variance4 ,if there is any special point concerning which you care to inquire ,i shall be happy to answer4--,i am1 dear sir1 faithfully yours1 ,,fred ,,leighton4 ,p4,s4--,having lived much abroad during my young years1 the years when one is wax1 ,i have been in turn1 thoroughly and sincerely1 an ,italian artist1 a ,german artist1 and a ,french artist4 ,i need not say that1 though every man is of a nation 7and ,i am most emphatically an ,englishman71 all ,art intentionally national is an error to my thinking4 ,but ,i think ,i have gained in balance and insight by my varied experience4 ,it is not possible to question the justice of this brief record of his aims in ,art with which ,leighton so courteously supplied me1 and that he never swerved from his fidelity to those aims may be generously acknowledged even by those who were never deeply moved by his painting4 ,if he failed to reach the goal towards which he was ever striving1 it was from no lack of persistent purpose or earnest faith2 and the courage and devotion which he exhibited in his life as an artist were no less manifest in the discharge of every duty which his high official position called upon him to perform4 ,i was an occasional visitor to his studio for many years after this first introduction to him in #ahgc1 but ,i cannot boast of ever having been1 in any true sense of the word1 his friend4 ,to my temperament he was a man easy to know1 but difficult to know well2 of unfailing kindness in any service demanded of him1 but with no quick link of sympathy to encourage a closer intimacy4 ,gifted with an appearance at once imposing and picturesque1 it was impossible not to agree with ,millais that the choice of the ,academy when they elected him as their ,president was rightly made4 ,for all the official duties that are attached to that office he was admirably equipped1 but it was difficult in ordinary converse to feel that he had ever quite thrown off his official garb4 ,even in those earlier days1 before he became ,president1 he was apt in his hearing to convey the feeling that he was playing a part4 ,his mind seemed always to move in some carefully chosen raiment which it was impossible for his nature ever wholly to discard4 ,as he said in the postscript of his letter1 8,i have been in turn thoroughly and sincerely an ,italian artist1 a ,german artist1 and a ,french artist02 and so in his life he was in turn thoroughly and sincerely either a polished member of society or the careless ,bohemian4 ,i remember once noticing him in the stalls of the ,palais-,royal ,theatre in ,paris habited in a brown velveteen jacket1 and suggesting to me that he was in this way resuming the days of his studentship in the ,quartier ,latin4 ,his appearance on that evening seemed to me a little characteristic of the man4 ,but among the many phases of his varied life1 the sense of his personality as an artist was always uppermost2 and however distinguished might be the throng of fashionable visitors who filled his studio1 the entry of any one who had any call upon him as an artist would at once claim his attention4 ,to his older friends ,i know he was untiring in his devotion1 and one of them once told me that at a little ,christmas party in a remote quarter of ,london to which he had been bidden1 nearly all the other guests kept away by reason of a severe snowstorm1 but that ,leighton turned up faithful to his appointment1 having walked all the way from ,kensington to keep his engagement4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,frederick ,,walker ,i think it was a criticism of ,sidney ,colvin's in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette upon his picture called 8,the ,plough0 that first drew me to a closer study of ,fred ,walker's work4 ,sidney ,colvin had preceded me as ,art ,critic of the ,pall ,mall1 and ,i am very conscious that in my first efforts in art criticism ,i closely modelled myself upon his style4 ,he and ,bernal ,payne had already done much to direct public attention to the new movement in ,art before ,i entered the field4 ,and it was not wonderful1 in view of ,colvin's eloquent advocacy of the men whom ,i most deeply admired1 that ,i should have been drawn to the art of ,fred ,walker1 whose talent he had particularly distinguished4 ,a little later ,i got to know ,walker himself1 but he was difficult to know well1 not by reason of any deliberate reserve1 but because of an unconquerable shyness which was deeply rooted in his character4 ,shy in his ordinary converse as a man1 he was no less so in regard to his pictures4 ,as one entered his studio he would always turn the work upon which he was engaged with its face to the wall1 and ,illustration3 ,a ,,woman ,,in ,,the ,,snow ,from ,good ,words4 ,by ,,fredrick ,,walker1 ,a4,r4,a41 ,r4,w4,s4 ,engraved by the ,brothers ,dalziel4 7,reproduced from their ,fifty ,years' ,work47 ,to face page #ajc4 could rarely be induced to allow his visitor any glimpse of it4 ,shortly after his death1 which occurred in #ahge1 ,i wrote the introductory note to the catalogue of his collected works exhibited in ,bond ,street1 and1 wishing for some closer knowledge of the man than ,i could boast1 ,i had recourse to ,mr4 ,george ,leslie1 who had known him long and well4 ,i find an interesting letter of his written to me about that time1 and concerning1 among many other things1 ,walker's stay in ,algiers1 where he had gone for his health4 ,leslie had asked me to meet ,miss ,jeykell1 who had been in ,algiers at the time1 but as ,i was unable to accept his invitation he very kindly jotted down for me some notes of his conversation with her1 adding at the same time some interesting reflections upon ,walker's character which throw much light upon his temperament as an artist4 8,miss ,jeykell10 he writes to me in a letter dated ,february #aj1 #ahgf1 8was there with ,madam ,bodichon when ,walker arrived1 and came home with him4 ,she says that nothing could have exceeded his delight on arriving1 with the light1 bright climate and the novelty of everything1 and he had immediately a great wish to send for his sister to come out and live there4 ,but very soon1 in about a fortnight or three weeks1 his strong family affections began to tell on him and he grew terribly home-sick1 and gradually took a sort of horror for the whole place4 ,this feeling grew and grew on him1 and he became quite ill4 ,he longed to be back in ,england4 ,with almost despair he said if he could only be in a hansom cab once again he should be quite happy4 ,madam ,bodichon and ,miss ,jeykell one day took him out with them for a driving excursion round the country and along the sea-shore1 and this1 she said1 seemed to be one of the only days he enjoyed thoroughly4 ,the shores were very picturesque and rocky1 and they visited beautiful little bays of pure sand and quaint shells1 where ,fred ,walker strolled about and seemed very much struck1 no doubt contemplating his intended picture4 8,they left him alone when he seemed to wish it1 and he sat gazing at the rocks and sea in deep thought4 ,he had his flute with him1 and would accompany ,miss ,jeykell1 who used to sing4 ,she said1 what ,i can endorse myself1 that he played in a manner quite peculiar1 full of tender feeling and prettiness4 8,finally his illness and his growing disgust of the place grew so much worse that they got quite anxious about him1 and when ,miss ,jeykell and her companion were about to return home they proposed to take him with them4 ,in a perfectly helpless way he eagerly accepted the kindness1 allowing them to do everything for him1 even packing his pictures for him1 securing his passage1 and paying his bills1 etc4 ,he went on board the steamer so ill that ,miss ,jeykell felt anxious about him1 fearing he might not survive till he reached home4 8,but the morning after they started1 when she had gone to look for him in his cabin1 she found him walking the deck in his little shooting-jacket1 and quite revived with the idea of home4 ,he relapsed1 however1 in his journey through ,france1 and the hatred of ,algiers returned at the very sound of the ,french tongue4 8,they arrived1 however1 quite safely at last1 and ,miss ,jeykell at ,charing ,cross ,station said1 #8,there1 ,mr4 ,walker1 is a hansom cab4' ,he got in1 waved his hand in a playful excited way1 and that was the last time she ever saw him40 ,and then follows a very interesting comparison between the characters of ,fred ,walker and ,sir ,edwin ,landseer1 which ,mr4 ,leslie was well qualified to make1 as he had known them both for many years4 8,i used to see them both10 he writes1 8for several years during the same time1 and so was always being reminded one of the other4 ,they were both disposed to be a little tyrannical in disposition2 they both expected everything to be done for them4 ,they were both extremely sensitive to criticism and public opinion1 and they both possessed a tender and intense feeling for music4 8,walker could not play before friends1 as the tears would run down his cheeks1 and ,i have heard ,landseer sing with the tears in his eyes4 ,landseer had not much voice1 but a very sweet pathetic feeling4 ,they both had strong family affections1 and each possessed a devoted sister who ministered to their every want4 8,they each had the same reluctance to show their pictures4 ,even when they had gone to the ,exhibition1 they would fret and worry and make themselves ill as to what would be thought of them4 ,they both possessed an intense ambition to excel in ,art4 ,walker once confessed to me that he meant to be the best artist1 or the #8very top1' as he said1 and ,landseer had quite the same ruling passion4 8,they both had a keen sense of humour1 and both drew admirable caricatures4 ,landseer would1 with three or four lines1 give you the very essence of any one's face1 and you know how well poor ,fred ,walker did this4 ,they were both very silent about ,art1 or rather about pictures2 they neither of them had very much education1 but somehow were far more neat in their choice of words than most other artists4 8,they both were extremely fastidious in their work1 altering and altering again and again2 often a picture took up a year or two4 8,lastly1 in dress they were something alike1 both very fond of rather a sporting style1 and indeed they were both decided sportsmen in taste4 ,they were both1 too1 when ,i knew them1 tinged with a kind of despairing feeling of melancholy1 not of a slow languishing kind1 but with a quick intense fever1 covered over with a pretty sparkle of wit and cheerfulness when in the society of friends4 ,the thing that always struck me about ,walker and ,landseer was1 that the young man of thirty was like the other of sixty1 and ,i have often said to ,marks1 #8,he could never live1 he has already arrived at what is the end of ,landseer4'0 ,poor ,walker died in #ahge at the early age of thirty-five4 ,he had exhibited once in the ,royal ,academy after his return from ,algiers1 and it was while his picture was hanging upon the walls at ,burlington ,house that we heard of his sudden death1 due to a violent chill he had contracted during a fishing excursion in ,scotland4 ,it was not very long before his death that ,i paid my last visit to his studio1 and although1 as was his custom1 the canvas upon which he was engaged was speedily wheeled round and turned with its face to the wall1 ,i caught just a glimpse of his subject1 which afterwards formed the matter of our talk4 ,it was to be called 8,the ,unknown ,land10 and it is characteristic of the whole bent of his talent1 and of the special way in which his imagination worked1 that the last of his designs1 left a mere fragment at the date of his death1 was no more than a development of a drawing which he had contributed years before to the pages of ,once a ,week4 ,but it is to be acknowledged that ,walker was never prolific in his inventions in the ordinary sense of the term4 ,nothing is more remarkable in his gradual progress than the strong and enduring attachment he displayed to certain motives in composition that at first found expression in his boyhood4 ,as his art advanced1 this inspiration of his earlier days was taken up again and enforced with all the riper resources of his manhood4 ,his great picture of 8,the ,bathers0 must have already been suggested to him by one of a series of illustrations representing the seasons which had also appeared in the pages of ,once a ,week1 and many another instance might be cited which would tend to show the strong allegiance of his maturity to ideas which had first won his devotion as a boy4 ,mr4 ,leslie's vivid sketch of ,walker1 and his just appreciation of his character1 corresponds closely enough with the man as ,i knew him in the later days of his life4 ,he seemed to me to be always to the last degree fastidious in his own judgment upon his work1 and so exacting in his demands upon himself that ,i think it was from this source there sprang up the disinclination which he always showed to submitting his pictures to the criticism of others4 ,the struggle he went through with himself in endeavouring to carry to a successful issue the thought that had formed in his brain was so severe that it left him1 when the task was complete1 with no courage to face an opinion which might1 as he feared1 be even less favourable than his own4 ,but although he shunned any discussion upon pictures painted by himself1 he was1 as ,i recall him now1 always eager and enthusiastic in his talk of the wider and more general ideals of ,art1 enthusiastic also in his occasional references to those among his contemporaries whom he specially admired4 ,looking back upon his achievement now1 it is easy to perceive1 and it would be folly not to acknowledge1 that some of that higher beauty which he sought to find in those rustic subjects that were dear to him was occasionally imposed upon reality by a conscious and wilful reference to the beauty of the antique4 ,but even if this criticism be admittedly just1 his claims as a painter remain undisturbed4 ,the added grace that he bestowed upon reality was resident in nature itself1 and there is reason to think that if time had allowed his powers to be fully developed he would have achieved what he sought without direct dependence upon classic example4 ,the two separate elements of his art--his direct ,illustration3 ,,lucy ,,gray1 or ,,solitude ,to-night will be a stormy night1 ,you to the town must go1 ,and take the lantern1 child1 to light ,your mother through the snow4 ,,william ,,wordsworth4 ,by ,sir ,,john ,,gilbert1 ,r4,a41 ,p4,r4,w4,s4 ,engraved by the ,brothers ,dalziel4 7,reproduced from their ,fifty ,years' ,work47 ,by permission of ,messrs4 ,george ,routledge and ,sons1 ,ltd4 ,to face page #aji4 and searching study of the facts of the actual world1 and his passionate love of the beauty of the antique--were in process of being united but they were not yet absolutely fused in one4 ,his early death left the story of his art life incomplete1 but there is enough and more than enough to vindicate his position in our school4 ,on the occasion of one of my rare visits to his studio he had given me some brief account of the first years of his studentship4 ,when he first quitted school at the age of sixteen he occupied himself in copying from the ,elgin ,marbles in the ,british ,museum4 ,for a while his purely artistic studies were interrupted by his apprenticeship to an architect1 but after only eighteen months of labour that was never congenial to him we find him once more at the ,museum1 while during the evenings of this period he attended the classes in ,leigh's ,school in ,newman ,street1 making there the acquaintance of several other young artists with whom he remained on terms of closest friendship during the rest of his life4 ,a little later he entered the school of the ,royal ,academy1 and about the same time began to employ himself with drawing on the wood which he learnt from ,mr4 ,t4 ,w4 ,whymper1 in whose establishment he remained for a period of three years4 ,at that date ,sir ,john ,gilbert was the accepted model for young men who desired to succeed in book illustration1 and ,i remember ,walker telling me that in all his earlier essays he was rigidly held to a strict conformity with ,gilbert's style4 ,but it was not long before he formed a method of his own1 and1 soon after ,once a ,week was established in #ahei1 ,walker became a constant contributor to its pages4 ,later again he sought and found employment from ,mr4 ,thackeray on the ,cornhill ,magazine1 where he illustrated the editor's own story of ,philip4 ,he used often to tell me of his visits to ,thackeray's house1 where he went to settle with the great novelist the subject of the next illustration4 ,during a considerable part of the time ,thackeray was ill and confined to his room1 and the young draughtsman would sit at the side of the bed and listen to the details of the story as they came from ,thackeray's own lips4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,unjust ,,judge ,from ,the ,parables of our ,lord4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,engraved by the ,brothers ,dalziel4 7,reproduced from their ,fifty ,years' ,work47 ,to face page #aaa4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,design ,,and ,,engraving ,it was inevitable that the new movement in ,art1 with its deeper research of truth in the rendering of human form and the facts of outward nature1 should have led to a renewed study of certain forgotten qualities of design4 ,and it is1 indeed1 impossible to understand the aim and impulse of the leaders of this new movement without reference to the engraved work of the time4 ,it was a necessity of the straitened means which affected nearly all of them that they should at first employ themselves in the work of illustration1 and there is no higher tribute to the genius which this new spirit had evoked than is to be found in the engraved work that was produced in ,england during the ten or fifteen years dating from the middle fifties4 ,when he was little more than a boy1 and before he had gained any accomplishment as a painter1 ,rossetti had already produced some beautiful work in black and white1 and we know from their published illustrations that ,millais and ,holman ,hunt were already striving in the same direction4 ,the first important display of this renewed energy in design is to be found in the illustrated edition of ,tennyson's ,poems published in #aheg1 for there1 side by side with much that belongs to an earlier manner1 the drawings of ,hunt and ,millais and ,rossetti stand out with vivid distinctness as a separate achievement4 ,not that even at that time these three artists ought to be considered as actuated by a single motive2 the individuality of each had been already asserted1 and it was hardly necessary for ,mr4 ,hunt in his recently published ,reminiscence to labour the point that the aims of ,rossetti were not in their essence the aims of ,millais and himself4 ,nor1 on the other hand1 can the supremacy of ,rossetti in regard to imaginative impulse and power be rightly challenged by any one who has had the opportunity of studying the work of the time4 ,it is not easy to perceive the motive of those who seek so hotly to contest ,rossetti's influence upon his fellows4 ,the very fact that ,millais's art1 and even1 though in a lesser degree1 the art of ,mr4 ,holman ,hunt1 took afterwards a different direction1 is rather to be taken as evidence that in some of the essays of these earlier years they were1 for a time at least1 under the sway of an individuality in its essence widely different from their own4 ,the champions of the genius of ,millais need be under no anxiety to claim for him entire independence of spirit4 ,in his later achievements this independence is announced without reserve4 ,they make it clear that the finer poetic feeling1 which is evident in some of his earlier paintings1 and more especially in some of his earlier drawings1 was not destined to be the dominating factor in his artistic life4 ,but it is no less true1 as it seems to me1 that there was a time of ,illustration3 ,,the ,,leaven ,from ,the ,parables of our ,lord4 ,by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a4 ,engraved by the ,brothers ,dalziel4 7,reproduced from their ,fifty ,years' ,work47 ,to face page #aac4 his youth when he willingly surrendered himself to this spirit1 and if1 as we come now to perceive1 it was not enduringly implanted in his nature1 there can be no reason for disputing the suggestion that it sprang at the time from comradeship with a man in whose work1 whatever other changes it may have suffered1 this quality remained always supreme4 8,i believe10 said ,mr4 ,ruskin1 speaking of ,rossetti shortly after the date of his death1 8that his name should be placed first on the list of men within my own knowledge who have raised and changed the spirit of modern ,art--raised in absolute attainment1 changed in direction of temperament40 ,and if we turn with these words in mind to the ,tennyson illustrations1 it will seem not possible to dispute ,mr4 ,ruskin's verdict4 ,beautiful as are the drawings of ,millais and ,mr4 ,hunt1 the final impression left by that volume rests in a pre-eminent degree upon ,rossetti's exquisite design of 8,sir ,galahad0 and his beautiful illustrations of the 8,palace of ,art40 ,within two years of the issue of ,tennyson's volume1 the illustrated periodical called ,once a ,week was established1 and its pages for many years afterwards bore admirable witness to the wide influence which these three great leaders were already exercising upon their generation4 ,indeed1 it may be said that it is impossible to understand the real trend of this new movement1 and to appreciate at their just worth the many and varying individualities engaged in its support1 without a constant reference to these earlier volumes of a now defunct periodical4 ,there we find in rich profusion the earlier1 and in many cases the more interesting1 experiments of men like ,du ,maurier1 ,charles ,keene1 ,frederick ,sandys1 ,frederick ,walker1 and ,john ,tenniel1 side by side with numerous illustrations by ,millais himself4 ,even ,mr4 ,whistler was an occasional contributor1 though his work1 except in its very earliest essays where he frankly accepts the ruling convention of the time1 quickly takes a place apart as a thing of purely individual temperament4 ,afterwards1 in the days of the ,arts ,club1 ,i learned to know personally many of those men whose work ,i had loved when a boy as it appeared in the pages of ,once a ,week4 ,charles ,keene1 who had first been made known to me by his illustrations of ,meredith's novel of ,evan ,harrington1 was a constant figure there during the time when he was already a valued member of the staff of ,punch4 ,he was a quaint and amiable character1 with a head that suggested ,don ,quixote1 and ,i recall him now as he used to sit for many an hour of the afternoon and evening with his cup of coffee kept hot upon the bars of the old fire-place in the front room of the ,club1 filling and refilling one of those tiny clay pipes dating from the period of ,charles ,,ii41 which had been unearthed during some building excavations in the ,city4 ,taciturn by habit1 and perhaps by preference1 he yet always willingly entered into conversation when the occasion arose4 ,sometimes ,i would go down and see him in his little house in ,chelsea1 and turn over his elaborately careful etchings of boats1 made by the sea4 ,it cannot be said1 ,i think1 that he was ever deeply stirred in his own work by the movement to ,illustration3 ,to seek the wanderer1 forth himself doth come ,and take him in his arms1 and bear him home4 ,so in this life1 this grove of ,ignorance1 ,as to my homeward ,i myself advance1 ,sometimes aright1 and sometimes wrong ,i go1 ,sometimes my pace is speedy1 sometimes slow4 ,life's ,journey4--,,george ,,wither4 ,from ,english ,sacred ,poetry4 ,by ,,frederick ,,sandys4 ,engraved by the ,brothers ,dalziel4 7,reproduced from their ,fifty ,years' ,work47 ,by permission of ,messrs4 ,george ,routledge and ,sons1 ,ltd4 ,to face page #aae4 which ,i have specially referred1 though he was full of generous appreciation of what was being done in that direction4 ,the effects for which he was specially seeking in black and white demanded a style of execution peculiarly his own1 and1 when his mastery in the use of the material was complete1 the result1 more especially in the rendering of light and shade1 was a thing distinct and incomparable4 ,the one man of all the group who showed1 perhaps1 the surest hold of the essential qualities of design was ,fred ,sandys4 ,though not of the body1 he was closely associated with the pre-,raphaelite movement1 and already in ,once a ,week1 in such drawings as his illustration to ,meredith's poem of 8,the ,old ,chartist10 he had exhibited a complete command of technical resources4 ,sandys remained to the last a remarkable talker1 keenly critical1 and on occasion warmly appreciative4 ,there was a period during his later life when he might be found almost any afternoon in the lower room of the ,caf ,royal1 and there1 over a cigar and a cup of coffee1 he would gossip freely of those earlier days during his association with ,rossetti1 always taking care1 as it seemed to me1 to let it be understood that when his own association with any one of the men of that time had ceased1 they had ceased to be afterwards very interesting or notable4 ,i remember ,whistler used to give some very humorous imitations of incidents that occurred in ,sandys' studio1 and he was particularly happy in the reproduction of a scene between the painter and his father--real or fanciful ,i cannot pretend to say--in which something of the haughty reticence and reserve exhibited on both sides was very entertainingly reproduced4 ,du ,maurier was one of the constant attendants at the ,arts ,club during the afternoon1 and was always a delightful companion4 ,he loved discussion1 loved especially to appraise and value the different ideals of contemporary painting in eager1 and sometimes excited1 dispute in regard to the merits of men whose work made1 perhaps1 a stronger appeal to me than to him4 ,but our talk1 even when it was most animated1 never grew embittered4 ,with ,du ,maurier1 indeed1 that would hardly have been possible1 for the innate charm of his nature1 linked with a constant desire to be just and fair1 even to those towards whom his judgment was sometimes unfavourable1 sufficed in itself to keep even the most heated controversy agreeable and urbane4 ,despite his partly ,french origin1 or perhaps by reason of it1 he possessed an enthusiastic appreciation for the purely ,english type of beauty1 whether in men or women4 ,the athletic sanity of our ,english life appealed to him strongly1 and it was1 perhaps1 the consciousness of something in himself of the ,gallic spirit1 something that leaned towards greater refinement and delicacy1 that kept him obstinately devoted to the more solid ideals of the land in which he dwelt4 ,it was this1 ,i am sure1 that so strongly attracted him to ,millais1 whose robust character1 both as expressed in the man and exhibited in his art1 he passionately admired4 ,and ,i think it was the suspicion of a danger lest he might be tempted to surrender himself to something not so healthy in its outlook that left him with a constant sense of reserve in his appreciation of men like ,rossetti and ,burne-,jones4 ,and yet he was far too gifted an artist not to be sensible to the genius of both4 ,but it was as a man1 and apart from any profession of faith1 that he was so wholly delightful4 ,his professed principles1 though always sincerely held and admirably expressed1 and his constant respect for the steady decorum of ,english character1 gave scarcely a hint of the special charm of his own temperament4 ,in moments of gaiety his high spirits were infectious1 and he became on certain occasions1 when the mood stirred him1 the veriest and most delightful of ,bohemians4 ,i recall him1 at one of the annual feasts at ,maidenhead held by a little club called 8,the ,lambs10 keeping the whole table in roars of laughter by an impromptu speech wherein he gave free rein to his humour and fancy--a speech which1 ,i think1 made us all feel that his constantly expressed reverence for the ,english ideal must have occasionally suffered some sense of fatigue that needed for its cure a sudden reversion to the land of his blood4 ,we none of us suspected in those days--he himself perhaps least of all--that he was destined to win such world-wide fame as an author1 and it was perhaps not until he became an author that it was possible to realise in what affectionate remembrance he held the days of his studentship in ,paris4 ,du ,maurier's early contributions to ,once a ,week scarcely gave more than a hint of that humorous quality which he afterwards developed in the pages of ,punch4 ,it was there that he translated with caricature the extravagances and eccentricities of that sthetic cult which had indeed little counterpart in real life1 excepting in so far as they were summed up in the conscious affectations of poor ,oscar ,wilde4 ,but at the time they were accepted by the public as in some sense a satire upon the newer school of painting1 and--although that1 ,i know1 was no part of ,du ,maurier's intention--these drawings served in no small degree to encourage the spirit of ridicule with which some of the more serious work of the time was received4 ,humour1 as we may here perceive1 was always at ,du ,maurier's command1 and yet it is not specially by this quality that his best contributions to ,punch are distinguished4 ,they hold a place apart1 as compared1 for instance1 with the caricatures of ,john ,leech or ,charles ,keene1 by reason of a certain grace and beauty which was their constant attribute4 ,they formed a just and sometimes a flattering picture of the ,english social life of the time1 betraying1 in the rendering of form and in charm of bearing1 the artist's devotion to that type of ,english beauty--fitting models for which ,du ,maurier could always find without wandering beyond the limits of his own home4 ,one or two of his most highly finished drawings ,i was enabled to publish in the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine1 and there is one in particular called 8,a ,nocturne0 which shows with what a fine sense of reality he could render on occasion the most delicate effects in landscape4 ,du ,maurier loved music1 and by common consent was an accomplished musician1 though his voice boasted no great range or power4 ,but when he chose to sing to his intimate friends--and he never cared to seek a wider audience--it was impossible to resist the taste and charm which belonged to him as surely in music as in the traffic of social life4 ,even here1 however1 as in pictorial art1 he could never quite determine with himself to what school he owned the strongest allegiance1 and ,i have often heard him declare that he was torn in divided admiration between the perfect vocalisation of a singer like ,de ,soria and the more passionate appeal of some of the later ,german music as it was interpreted by ,henschell4 ,richard ,doyle--or ,dicky ,doyle1 as he was better known to his countless friends--seemed rather by the quality of his work1 which claims a certain kinship with the style of ,sir ,john ,gilbert1 to belong to an earlier generation1 and yet he was well known and well loved by even the youngest of those who were working under a newer impulse4 ,he was a welcome guest in nearly all of the great country-houses in ,england1 and yet he preserved to the end a strange boyishness and shyness of manner1 beneath which1 however1 there lurked a constant sense of kindly humour4 ,i met him first as a fellow-guest of ,sir ,coutts ,lindsay at ,balcarres1 and ,i remember his telling me that he had such a horror of his modest wardrobe being overhauled by the footman who valeted him that it was his habit1 on retiring for the night1 to lock his clothes securely in a drawer1 and then to watch with half-opened eyes in the morning1 and with a chuckle which he could not always conceal beneath the bed-clothes1 the wild despair of the footman in his fruitless search for the secreted garments4 ,when the ,grosvenor was established1 ,doyle became a constant contributor to the exhibitions1 sending every year some delightful specimens of his fanciful treatment of fairy subjects4 ,but it is perhaps mainly by his earlier drawings on the wood that he will be best remembered1 drawings which display the fecundity of his inventions exhibited in countless forms and faces1 which he could multiply apparently without effort or trouble4 ,one of the best of these drawings is that representing the ,custom-,house at ,cologne1 where he shows in a supreme degree his extraordinary power of granting individual character to every diminutive face that is introduced into the design4 ,a younger artist1 who had perhaps something of the personal charm of ,du ,maurier1 was ,randolph ,caldecott1 whom ,i got to know soon after the publication of his hunting scenes4 ,he had been ordered to the ,south for the sake of his health1 and at the suggestion of his friend and mine1 ,mr4 ,thomas ,armstrong1 who so greatly aided him in those earlier days in securing public recognition1 he undertook to make the illustrations for a book written by my wife called ,north ,italian ,folk4 ,in manner ,caldecott was as gentle as ,du ,maurier1 and even more reserved1 yet this reserve could yield on occasion to the wildest high spirits1 when the humour that is never absent from his drawings found delightful utterance4 ,poor ,caldecott always had about him the shadow of failing health1 and yet it never1 ,i think1 disturbed the deep tenderness of his nature that was revealed even in his most buoyant moods4 ,perhaps the quaintest figure among the draughtsmen of that day was the ,italian caricaturist ,carlo ,pellegrini1 whose cartoons in ,vanity ,fair brought him prominently before the public4 ,although he was a dweller among us for many years1 he never acquired the slightest command of our tongue4 ,indeed1 ,i rather think that as time went on his ,english grew persistently worse1 but in his brave endeavour to express himself he forged a dialect of his own that was sometimes richly entertaining4 ,one day at a private view at the ,dudley ,gallery he went down on his knees to examine and to admire a drawing by ,arthur ,severn1 and then1 with sudden enthusiasm1 he cried out so that all might hear1 8,capital1 capital6 ,but why1 the blast1 he stipple80 ,at ,pagani's ,italian ,restaurant in ,great ,portland ,street he was a constant attendant1 and during the later years of his life1 when he had fallen upon evil times1 ,i think his kindly compatriots greatly befriended him4 ,there ,i constantly met him at lunch at the time when ,i was at work for the ,german ,reeds1 whose room of entertainment in ,st4 ,george's ,hall stood close by2 and afterwards ,pellegrini became a regular visitor at our house in ,blandford ,square1 where he would always1 at his own request1 insist upon bringing some ,italian dish to add to the modest feast that had been prepared for him4 ,once on ,christmas ,day1 when he was dining with us1 ,i specially warned him that my father-in-law1 who was a clergyman1 would be of the party1 and beseeched him to curb the ordinary exuberance of his phraseology4 ,but despite his solemn promise of circumspection1 the ladies had no sooner quitted the dining-room than ,i found ,pellegrini in animated conversation with my father-in-law1 conversation liberally enforced on his side by a volley of strange oaths in that dialect that was all his own1 oaths which1 had they been partially understood by his companion1 would1 ,i think1 have brought the evening to a sudden termination4 ,when his indiscretion had been pointed out to him poor ,pellegrini was duly repentant1 but we had not been in the drawing-room many minutes before he joined in a game of ,little ,horses which my children were playing upon the floor4 ,at the close of the game he rose with an expression upon his face of deep remorse4 8,joe10 he cried1 8you 'ave ruin me6 ,at the ,las' ,day the ,lord ,god will say to me1 #8,pellegrini1 you 'ave every vice4' ,and ,i could 'ave reply1 #8,lord ,god1 pardon me1 ,i 'ave never gamble4' ,now ,i cannot say40 ,this renewed outburst made it plain to me that ,i had1 on that particular occasion1 made a somewhat unwise selection in the guests invited to meet him1 and during the remainder of the evening ,i kept close by his elbow in fear and trembling of some new outrage that might bring our innocent festivities to a sudden close4 ,pellegrini was a well-known figure at the ,beefsteak ,club1 where his quaint idiosyncrasies were welcomed by nearly all1 but even there he would occasionally bring a shock of surprise and amazement to some newly elected member who was not yet accustomed to his liberal vocabulary4 ,there was one fellow-member of the club1 himself an artist1 who was wont to entertain the table with little impromptu sketches and designs which he executed with a certain degree of facility4 ,this innocent display of artistic power gravely offended ,pellegrini1 who1 possibly moved by a measure of jealousy that any one else should encroach upon his special province1 insisted with some vehemence that a club was not the place for such exercises4 8,i like the boy10 he said to me one evening1 8and when he talk1 ,i listen1 but 'tis pity he draw40 ,it was only a few evenings later that ,i entered the room and found the young friend who had been the subject of ,pellegrini's rebuke absorbing the entire conversation of a crowded table4 ,pellegrini was present1 and ,i could see that he was growing restive under the artist's unceasing flow of conversation4 ,in a momentary pause he turned to me and in an audible whisper delivered this laconic judgment3 8,joe1 ,i 'ave made big mistake4 ',tis better he draw40 ,poor ,pellegrini's misfortunes dated from the time when1 abandoning the practice of caricature1 he sought to establish himself as a painter in oils4 ,soon after he had started upon this perilous enterprise he said to me one day at the ,arts ,club1 8,joe1 ,i will make that you have not told the lie40 8,what lie80 ,i inquired4 8,you have say10 he replied1 8that ,i shall be the finest portrait-painter of the day4 ,you will see--,i will be40 ,as a matter of fact ,i had never ventured upon any such daring prophecy1 neither did ,i have any faith in the chances of his success4 ,nor1 ,i am sure1 did he ever believe ,i had said it4 ,it was rather1 ,i suspect1 a wily device of the ,neapolitan to pledge my support for the new departure which he had taken in his art4 ,towards the close of his life he rarely came to any ,club1 and ,i think he felt deeply the failure that had overtaken him4 ,very quaintly1 as we drove home one night1 he gave expression to the consciousness that lay upon him that he had not long to live4 8,when ,i die10 he said1 8which 'appen short----0 and then he turned away with the sentence unfinished4 ,of his talent as a caricaturist there can never be any question4 ,he had the rare power of finding an equation for every face1 summarising in a few lines its salient points of oddity4 ,and this same power he exhibited in his shrewd judgment of character4 ,at a dinner-table little that was characteristic escaped his humorous regard4 ,though alien born1 and almost jealously retaining to the end of his life amongst us his individuality as a foreigner1 he possessed a quick and just appreciation of our national characteristics1 more especially as they lent themselves to humorous portrayal4 ,he once said to me1 8,a man may caricature the people of a race that is not his own1 but it needs a native to judge them seriously40 ,he forgot his own maxim1 poor fellow1 when he launched out as a painter of portraits1 for the source of his failure lay not merely in insufficient power1 but in the lack of true comprehension of the deeper qualities of character4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,grosvenor ,,gallery ,,and ,,the ,,new ,,gallery ,when1 for reasons that need not now be discussed1 ,mr4 ,hall and ,i severed our connection with the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 we at once cast about to establish its successor4 ,it was obvious to us both that if the experiment was to be made successfully it must be made without delay1 and1 as a matter of fact1 the ,new ,gallery as it stands to-day was constructed and completed within the brief period of three months4 ,one of our initial difficulties was to secure a suitable site1 and the second obstacle1 scarcely less formidable1 was to procure from those who favoured the movement sufficient resources to justify us in proceeding with the work4 ,the site upon which the ,new ,gallery now stands had at one time been occupied by the well-known livery stables of ,messrs4 ,newman1 but shortly before coming into our possession they had been partly transformed to serve the purpose of a provision market4 ,this partial reconstruction aided us very materially in our work4 ,the central hall1 so far as the mere outline of the fabric is concerned1 did not need entire reconstruction4 ,but the task1 even with this help1 remained formidable enough1 and could not have been possibly carried through within the limited time at our disposal if it had not been for the hearty and zealous co-operation of all of those who were engaged upon the building4 ,there were many moments during these anxious three months when it seemed indeed impossible of accomplishment4 ,inevitable delays in the supply of the material required1 again and again imperilled the chances of success1 and ,i think we were not a little astonished ourselves to find that our original plan could be carried out in its entirety1 and that we were able to open the first exhibition in the month of ,may4 ,the establishment of the ,grosvenor and the ,new ,gallery form an interesting chapter in the history of modern art in ,england4 ,it is more than probable that neither the one nor the other could have come into existence if the ,royal ,academy had taken a more generous and liberal view of the functions it had to discharge2 but the merest glance at the history of this institution suffices to show that it has at all times adopted the narrowest interpretation of its duties and responsibilities4 ,anxious for the homage due to a national institution1 and intolerant of any protest against its rule1 it has nevertheless persistently failed to advance with the growth of new ideas of art1 and has steadily declined to undertake any enlargement of the original scope of its labours4 ,of the more important art movements that have arisen since the date of its creation1 the ,royal ,academy has been little more than a spectator4 ,at a time when the national interest in matters of art was scarcely recognised1 it might1 by a liberal interpretation of its duties1 have become the acknowledged centre of a coherent system of art administration1 but it had chosen instead to allow nearly all that was done by way of progress to be accomplished by independent effort4 ,it might easily have been shown that it was not the intention of the founders of the ,royal ,academy that it should thus degenerate into a private undertaking4 ,the encouragement which ,george ,,iii4 gave to the scheme was given on the ground that 8he considered the culture of the arts as a national concern10 and in the instrument presented for his signature it is said that the great utility of such an institution has been fully and clearly demonstrated4 ,moreover1 in the catalogue of the first national exhibition the demand of payment at the doors was made a subject of apology1 and the only excuse was that no other means could be discovered of preventing the entry of improper persons4 ,but although the public and national character of the undertaking was clearly acknowledged at that time1 a very few years sufficed to prove that the constitution of the ,academy was unfavourable to the right interpretation of its duties4 ,when the ,academy was founded the ,english did not possess a ,national ,gallery1 and ,barry1 who perceived the use of such a collection of the ,masters of ,art in forming and educating the taste both of art students and the public1 proposed to his fellow-members of the ,academy that they should devote a portion of their surplus funds on the purchase of pictures by the ,old ,masters4 ,but the ,academy rejected this proposal as promptly as they had discarded the idea of a closer connection with the nation4 ,that the imperfections of the institution were clearly perceived by distinguished artists who afterwards became members of the body1 is not disputed4 ,before the ,commission of #ahfc ,mr4 ,g4 ,f4 ,watts expressed himself in no uncertain terms4 8,it seems to me10 he said1 8that there must be some defect4 ,if it were extremely anxious to develop taste or encourage art ,i think that some means would have been found4 ,a merchant finds means if he wants to improve his commercial arrangements4 ,whatever a man wishes to do1 he finds a way of doing it more or less satisfactorily4 ,but ,i do not see that the ,royal ,academy has done anything whatever40 ,and again1 in relation to public taste and its guidance in all that concerns the erection of public monuments or public buildings1 ,mr4 ,watts says1 8,it seems to be a monstrous thing that the ,royal ,academy has had no voice in this matter40 ,and further1 referring to independent efforts for the encouragement of public schemes of mural decoration1 he most emphatically declares1 8,i think it ought to have occurred to the ,academy1 as a body of men having the direction of art and taste1 many years before it occurred to the ,prince ,consort2 and ,i think also that1 when the initiative was taken1 the ,academy ought to have adopted the movement and have given it every advantage possible40 ,and this was already matter of history at the time that the ,grosvenor ,gallery was founded4 ,but the same spirit that had dwarfed their conception of the duties of a national institution on the administrative side1 had also coloured the ungenerous attitude that they had at first betrayed towards that great movement in modern painting which was heralded by the pre-,raphaelite brethren4 ,in the teeth of a keen opposition that was at first displayed towards his work1 ,millais had fought his way into the august ranks of the academic body2 but with that exception nearly all the great leaders of the new movement still stood without its walls4 ,holman ,hunt1 ,rossetti1 ,burne-,jones1 ,ford ,madox ,brown1 and the great sculptor ,alfred ,stevens knew nothing at that time of academic honour1 and their work1 if it was submitted for official judgment1 was either coldly received or was treated in a spirit of active hostility4 ,it was that which gave to the movement which resulted in the establishment of the ,grosvenor its importance and significance4 ,the battle has long ended now1 and the fact that these men did1 or did not1 receive academic recognition counts for nothing in respect of the place they hold in modern ,english painting4 ,such rebel forces as have since come into existence have not been of a kind to win a like distinction1 and public interest in art has become so languid in its exercise that if such a body of men were now to arise it may be questioned whether their work would stir the feeble pulses of the time4 ,but at the period of which ,i am speaking their gradual advancement was watched and welcomed by enthusiastic admirers1 and it was that which made it possible for institutions like the ,grosvenor and the ,new ,gallery to challenge the sleepy self-complacency of the dwellers in ,burlington ,house4 ,and it will now scarcely be denied that each of these two institutions in its turn has served a useful purpose4 ,in a sense1 indeed1 they have been almost too successful1 for a distinguished success achieved in one or the other has again and again proved the means of obtaining for the artist tardy recognition from the authorities of ,burlington ,house4 ,but the forces ranged on the side of orthodoxy are in this country always formidable1 and it may be questioned now whether enough vitality survives in ,english art to justify the continued existence of independent institutions such as those ,i have named4 ,the great prices obtained at public auctions for the earlier masters of our ,school are sometimes quoted in support of the view that the taste for art remains unimpaired4 ,as a matter of fact ,i think they may be taken to warrant an exactly opposite conclusion4 ,the buyers of thirty or forty years ago who helped to encourage the painters of their own day were guided for the most part by their own individual preference4 ,their taste may often have been uninstructed1 but at least it was their own4 ,they loved the pictures which they sought to acquire1 and1 as their collections grew1 a better taste grew with them4 ,the modern buyer1 on the other hand1 is for the most part the mere puppet of the dealer4 ,he buys at the top price of the market because he believes the market will maintain its price1 and with a prudence that the dealer is careful to foster he makes his choice from among those older pictures whereof the market value has been appraised by time4 ,and so long as these purely commercial considerations dominate the taste of the time1 the cause of contemporary painting must surely suffer4 ,that a truer feeling will come again with the passing of time need not be doubted1 but any one who has followed the movement in ,english painting since the middle of the last century must perforce experience a feeling of melancholy at the listless apathy and indifference which has taken the place of the earnest enthusiasm of an earlier day4 ,that enthusiasm was still at its height when ,sir ,coutts ,lindsay founded the ,grosvenor ,gallery2 it survived with scarcely diminished force when ,mr4 ,hall and ,i succeeded in establishing the ,new ,gallery1 and ,i look back without regret to my long association with both these institutions4 ,as the child of our own creation the ,new ,gallery has claimed from both of us the larger and the longer service4 ,at the inception of our task we had the loyal support of ,burne-,jones1 whose art we both deeply loved1 and when he died ,i think we both felt that a part of our mission had gone4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,whistler ,,and ,,cecil ,,lawson ,apart from ,burne-,jones1 whose gathered works1 the fruit of many years' labour1 naturally occupied the dominant place in the first exhibitions of the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 there were two painters1 ,whistler and ,cecil ,lawson1 whose pictures made it in their different ways notable and interesting4 ,at that time ,whistler's claims as an artist were not seriously entertained beyond the limits of a very narrow circle4 ,i had known him personally for some little time1 and had included his work in that series of articles written in #ahgc to which reference has already been made4 ,writing of him then1 ,i had said1 8,opinions as to his merits differ widely enough1 but there is nothing vague or uncertain about them4 ,he is either blamed or praised heartily1 and for the most part he is heartily blamed4 8,persons who do not admire his pictures are rather disposed to regard them in the light of a personal insult1 and to behave as though the painter had deliberately intended to cause annoyance4 ,the consequence is that ,mr4 ,whistler receives more abuse than any other painter1 and abuse of a kind that implies something also of pity2 for when he is not regarded in the light of a wilful wrong-doer1 his work is accepted as the expression of a defective intelligence40 ,these sentences1 ,i think fairly enough1 represent ,mr4 ,whistler's position at that time1 nor had the public estimate of his powers greatly changed when the ,grosvenor ,gallery was established in #ahgg4 ,it is not necessary now to fight over again that battle that was waged by some of us on his behalf4 ,to me it was never difficult to appreciate at their true value the distinguished qualities of his art2 and at this time of day his claims are so widely and so loudly announced1 that it is sometimes difficult for those who admired him first to keep pace with his later worshippers4 ,about the year #ahgf ,i had written a notice of the exhibition of his work held in ,pall ,mall which had greatly pleased him1 and when he was decorating the late ,mr4 ,leyland's house in ,prince's ,gate ,i used often to go down while he was at work1 and during the luncheon hour--which was an improvised meal daintily set out under ,whistler's order in the empty house--our talk used to roam widely over things of ,art and ,life1 for ,whistler was as acute in his perception of the foibles of character as he was fastidious and exacting in the execution of even the lightest of his designs4 ,whistler's public attitude was one of uncompromising hostility to all critics4 ,for him ,art was always a thing exclusively for the expert1 and he regarded the intrusion of any comment1 unless it proceeded from a brother craftsman1 as not only futile but mischievous4 ,this was a very natural attitude in view of the special gifts he possessed1 for he was above all things a man of the 8mtier10 conceiving ,art as a thing isolated and detached from thoughts that found expression in other mediums1 a thing only to be judged by its own exclusive laws which he deemed could not be fully interpreted save by the artist himself4 ,but he had even in this respect his little human weaknesses1 and the praise which ,i had bestowed upon his work on more than one occasion brought from him a warm letter of appreciation1 the existence of which ,i think he afterwards forgot2 for ,i remember at a dinner-party1 during the later days of our friendship1 when he was denouncing1 with his accustomed liberty of speech1 that hated tribe of which ,i had been a member1 ,i ventured softly from the other end of the table to interject the remark1 8,ah yes1 ,jimmy1 but you didn't always think so10 and then upon the top of a reiterated expression of his contempt for those who wrote about ,art1 ,i reminded him of my possession of a little letter which ,i had been very happy to receive and was well content to preserve4 ,and so the incident closed with some graceful and half-jesting reference on his part to my superior claims1 which he had always1 of course1 as he declared1 impliedly excepted from his general condemnation of the class4 ,as a companion ,i found him delightful1 and his hospitality at the several houses he successively occupied in ,chelsea1 however restricted it might occasionally prove owing to his shifting financial fortunes1 had an inimitable grace and distinction peculiarly his own2 though there were some1 however1 whose more exacting appetite was not always content with the slender material of those delightful little breakfasts over which he so perfectly presided4 ,to me the charm of the host sufficed to cover any deficiency in the feast1 even in those days when he laughingly told me that his fishmonger was the only tradesman who could afford to deal with him4 ,but ,i remember meeting1 during one of these periods of narrow resources1 a foreign painter who at one time had felt himself greatly favoured by an invitation to ,cheyne ,walk4 ,i asked him if he had seen anything of ,whistler lately1 to which he replied1 8,ah no1 not now so much4 ,he ask me a leetle while ago to breakfarst1 and ,i go4 ,my cab-fare two shilling1 'arf-crown4 ,i arrive1 very nice4 ,gold fish in bowl1 very pretty4 ,but breakfarst--one egg1 one toast1 no more6 ,ah no6 ,my cab-fare1 two shilling1 'arf-crown4 ,for me no more60 ,this1 ,i think1 was an exaggerated picture of the limits which ,whistler was sometimes compelled to set to his hospitality4 ,i know1 for my own part at any rate1 that these breakfasts were always delightful1 and sometimes1 when the mood took him1 he would go himself into the kitchen and prepare a 8plat0 of his own devising1 thus giving a final charm to his graceful entertainments4 ,his talk on these occasions1 swift in its wit and always ready in repartee1 was not1 however1 often of a kind that bears recording1 so much depended upon the man himself1 his personality and his manner1 and so much upon the exact appropriateness of every word he uttered to the mood of the occasion4 ,there was always about him a substratum of impish mischief which gave flavour and colour either to his criticism or his appreciation4 ,once ,i remember1 when a friend at the table was gravely reproaching him upon his lack of admiration of certain examples of ,dresden china1 ,whistler still remained entirely impenitent and unconvinced until his friend was tempted to round off his rebuke by the somewhat audacious protest1 8,but1 my dear ,jimmy1 you are not catholic in your taste10 to which ,jimmy supplied the lightning retort1 8,no1 that's true4 ,i only care for what's good40 ,sometimes his remarks were almost startling in their reckless daring1 and were apt to produce in the company in which he found himself a feeling of consternation4 ,once at an assembly at ,lady ,lindsay's1 on the entry of a painter whose face seemed to bear on that night even more than its wonted gravity of expression1 ,jimmy went up to the new-comer and in his shrillest tones remarked to him1 8,my dear1--your face is your fortune10 ending this outrageous compliment with one of those wild laughs that sounded like the war-whoop of an ,indian who has just scalped his foe4 ,of literature1 in the wider sense of the term1 ,i never discovered that ,whistler had any profound knowledge1 though when he wanted a quotation to heighten the sarcasm of any biting sentence it was happily chosen1 and most often1 strangely enough1 such quotation would be taken from ,dickens1 whose humour strongly appealed to him4 ,but he was an artist first and last2 and when not preoccupied with the things of his art1 he so far resembled ,millais that he loved to feel the pulse of the life of his time as it was exhibited in general society4 ,towards men1 especially those for whom he had no great liking1 he was scathing and unsparing in the exercise of a wit that took small account of any conventional limitation1 but towards women he was unfailingly courteous1 with something of almost chivalrous deference of bearing and manner4 ,of all the painters of his time the man whom he most respected was1 ,i think1 ,albert ,moore2 and the affinity was natural enough1 for ,moore1 like ,whistler1 deliberately excluded from his art all reference to emotion and passion1 and sought1 within rigorous limitations1 for a grace that owed nothing to any art but his own4 ,in ,moore this was due to an accepted principle that was patiently obeyed2 in ,whistler it was intuitive instinct4 ,in his case there was no need of any process of exclusion4 ,life1 as it came into the region of his art1 only appealed to him in virtue of those qualities he sought to present1 and it was by no deliberate choice but by natural inclination that he left the entire story of human emotion and human passion untouched and untold4 ,a common prejudice of that time1 long dissipated now1 but which found utterance then in the intemperate condemnation by ,mr4 ,ruskin that afterwards formed the subject of the celebrated libel action1 was to the effect that the results of ,whistler's painting1 often so fragile and so slight in their final appearance upon the canvas1 were due to a wilful neglect of the resources at his command4 ,it was widely held among the public who loved him not1 and even among brother artists who should have known better1 that his painting revealed the lack of pains and labour4 ,nothing really could have been more unjust or more untrue4 ,i have often sat in his studio while he was at work1 and found ample reason to be convinced that not a touch was ever set upon the canvas that was not finely considered and fastidiously chosen4 ,i think in himself he was hardly aware of the degree to which his painting lent itself to an opposite impression4 ,he was so keenly concentrated upon the kind of truth he sought to render that he was half unconscious that the form in which he chose to present it was strange and repugnant to the taste of the time2 but although genuinely modest in the presence of his task1 he was often almost arrogant in his assertion of the excellence of the result when the task was ended4 ,the picture once completed and set in its frame1 ,whistler became from that moment an ardent champion of his own genius4 ,combat was the delight of his life1 and there was no violence of assertion he did not love to employ if he thought that by no other means could he encourage an opponent into the dangerous arena of controversy4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,i do not think he was ever quite happy unless one of these pretty little quarrels was on hand1 and whenever he suspected that any particular dispute in which he was engaged showed signs of waning1 he would1 ,i think out of pure devilment1 cast about to lay the foundations of a new quarrel4 ,something of the kind occurred in my own case4 ,at his own earnest suggestion1 while ,i was the ,english editor of ,l',art1 ,i invited him1 with the concurrence of the proprietors in ,paris1 to furnish an etching for publication4 ,knowing well the amiable idiosyncrasies of my dear friend1 ,i was very insistent that he should set down precisely and in writing all the terms and conditions which he thought it right to impose1 and yet1 when this had been done and the etching had been given to the world1 with almost impish ingenuity he thought he had detected some breach in our contract1 and wrote me thereupon a little letter of reproach which ,i saw plainly1 when ,i received it1 was destined for ultimate publication as the preface to a controversy into which he thought he could lure me4 ,but for once he made an unfortunate choice of a foe4 8,not with me1 my dear ,jimmy10 ,i replied to him4 8,no one enjoys more keenly your essays as a controversialist1 or more deeply appreciates the wit and ingenuity which they display1 but not with me40 ,i think that he must have perceived that ,i had detected his amiable design1 for when he came to see me after the receipt of my letter it was in a spirit of the most boisterous good-humour that he reproached me with having despoiled him of a promised affray4 ,the fact that he was in many quarters unpopular he realised with a sense of conscious enjoyment4 ,on one occasion ,i had been put up as a candidate for a club of which he was already a member1 and on meeting him at an evening party he said1 8,my dear ,joe1 why didn't you tell me8 ,i would have put my name down on your page10 to which ,i replied in something of his own spirit--knowing that ,i had already been elected1 a fact of which he was unaware--8,well1 my dear ,jimmy1 put it down now1 it can do no harm now0--a delicate tribute to that unpopularity to which ,i have referred1 which he received with riotous laughter4 ,one of the latest of the contests in which ,whistler loved to involve himself found him pitted against an opponent who was almost his match in ingenuity1 and far outstripped him in the unscrupulous use of any weapon that came ready to his hand4 ,this was ,charles ,howell1 a strange creature whom ,i had first met at one of ,rossetti's delightful little dinners1 and who was at the time welcomed as a companion by all the artists of that special group4 ,endowed with real taste in all matters of ,art1 he for a while served as secretary to ,mr4 ,ruskin1 and in that capacity was able to ingratiate himself with many of the artists of whose work ,ruskin was then the champion4 ,i met him often at ,whistler's house in ,cheyne ,walk1 where ,i think he was as much appreciated for the more questionable qualities of his character as for his quick admiration of ,whistler's genius4 ,the attitude of one to the other was always amusing to watch1 for it was obvious that both were on their guard3 ,howell half conscious that even in his most plausible mood he lay open to the suspicion of a sinister intention1 and ,whistler1 whilst not unaware of the subtlety and skill of his companion1 rather encouraging the initiation of a contest in which he never doubted the sufficiency of his own resources4 ,there are numerous stories of ,howell well known to the men with whom he was at that time brought in contact that need not now be revived4 ,what is certainly true1 as against any defects that may be alleged against him1 is that in conversation he was interesting and attractive1 watchful of the effect on his companion of every word that he uttered1 and yet so quick in apparent sympathy that it was impossible to ignore the charm of his personality4 ,what was the end of the particular controversy to which ,i have referred ,i do not now rightly remember1 but ,i seem to recall that when ,whistler last spoke to me upon the subject he was in some apprehension lest his wily friend should have stolen a march upon him4 ,during the last years of his life ,whistler passed but little time in ,england1 and ,i think the resentment1 not unnaturally aroused at the treatment his work had received at an earlier time1 had quickened into something approaching absolute dislike towards this country4 ,the last time ,i saw him was at a small dinner-party at my sister-in-law's house in ,paris1 where his reputation as a painter was firmly and finally established4 ,whatever his altered feelings towards ,england1 it had made no change in his relations with his old friends1 and on that evening it seemed to me he had in him all the old spirit of gaiety and wit as ,i had first known it in the earlier days of ,cheyne ,walk4 ,in temperament and character1 as well as in the chosen ideal of his art1 he holds a distinctive place in his generation4 ,in spite of his undisguised desire to make enemies1 the singular charm of his nature brought him many friends1 and ,i think there is not one who knew him well who does not cherish his memory with something approaching to affection4 ,cecil ,lawson1 whose work was also prominently brought to the notice of the public through the earlier exhibitions at the ,grosvenor1 was a man of a wholly different stamp4 ,for several years before the hour of his triumph he had not been very well treated by the ,hanging ,committee of the ,academy4 ,it was about this time that1 by his request1 ,i had been to visit him at his little studio in ,chelsea to see one of his pictures1 which he particularly thought had been unjustly treated2 and his delight was frankly avowed when a little later ,i took ,sir ,coutts ,lindsay1 who invited him to become an exhibitor at the ,grosvenor4 ,the private view of that year and the next left ,cecil ,lawson in a state of unconcealed exaltation of spirit4 ,the 8,pastoral0 and the 8,minister's ,garden0 set him1 at a bound1 in the front rank of the painters of his time1 and ,i shall not easily forget the sense of almost intoxication with which he wandered from room to room receiving on every side the meed of well-earned praise which only a year or two before seemed to lie for ever beyond his reach4 ,the occasion was celebrated by a little dinner given by ,lawson in the old garden of his studio in ,glebe ,place4 ,whistler was of the party1 and it is pleasant to remember with what genuine cordiality he rejoiced in ,lawson's success4 ,i saw him very often after that time1 for he was1 ,i think1 disposed to exaggerate the small share ,i had taken in making his work better known2 and he was always anxious for my criticism or approval on new work he had in hand4 ,but ,i never left his studio without some feeling of melancholy apprehension1 for it seemed to me always that his overwrought and highly-strung nervous temperament gave no fair promise of long life4 ,on one of the last of our meetings he had specially invited my visit1 as he particularly wanted my judgment upon a picture just completed4 ,it happened when ,i reached his studio that it did not so strongly appeal to me as other examples of his work1 and yet ,i did not then quite understand the sudden look of pain that passed over his face when my opinion was expressed4 ,it was only afterwards that ,i received from him a touching little letter telling me that he saw plainly ,i did not greatly care for the picture1 and that he was disappointed1 because he had intended to offer it to me as an acknowledgment of my friendship4 8,i hope later10 he said1 8to do something that will really please you40 ,but the time left to him was shorter than either of us could have guessed1 and within only a little while his career was ended4 ,he was a very lovable man1 full of high ambition1 and inspired in the happier moments of his life with a just confidence in his great powers4 ,but these more buoyant moods alternated with seasons of great depression1 and in this respect his temperament showed a marked resemblance to that of ,fred ,walker4 ,his spirit fed upon itself1 and his hunger for success1 linked with a still nobler desire to realise the many dreams of beauty that thronged his brain1 left him with but little leisure for repose4 ,i think the eager intensity of his nature was sometimes a terror to himself1 and although the end came more swiftly than ,i had divined1 it was scarcely wonderful that the constant excitability of his temperament should have prematurely worn down a physique that never was robust4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,art ,,journalism ,my connection with the ,grosvenor ,gallery was due1 in the first instance1 to a series of articles upon the reform of the ,royal ,academy published by me in the columns of the ,pall ,mall ,gazette4 ,these papers had attracted the attention of ,sir ,charles ,dilke1 who based upon them a motion brought forward in the ,house of ,commons1 which1 however1 had no practical result4 ,they had also been seen by ,sir ,coutts ,lindsay and ,mr4 ,hall1 and these gentlemen invited me to associate myself with them in the future conduct of the ,grosvenor4 ,this new vocation1 however1 in no way interrupted my career as an ,art ,critic4 ,already established on the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 ,i began at the same time to widen the range of my writings on the subject of art1 and in this way1 at the invitation of ,mr4 ,samuel ,carter ,hall1 became a regular contributor to the ,art ,journal4 ,at the same time ,i was offered and accepted the post of ,art ,critic on the ,manchester ,guardian1 and in the year #ahge ,i was appointed as the ,english editor of ,l',art1 a periodical so luxuriously produced that it could not be destined ever to win a very large public4 ,mr4 ,s4 ,c4 ,hall was a quaint and curious figure of the time1 whose acquaintance never ceased to afford me a certain humorous enjoyment4 ,he was supposed to be the model upon which ,dickens has based his superb creation of ,mr4 ,pecksniff1 and there were points in his character which readily lent themselves for exploitation at the hands of such a master of humour4 ,for a time our relations on the ,art ,journal were friendly and undisturbed1 and ,mr4 ,hall was good enough to express in unstinted terms his appreciation of my work4 ,but it was impossible1 even at that time1 in personal converse with the man1 not to be haunted by the suspicion that his constant assertion of the most ideal aims in life were consistent with an occasional reference to more mundane considerations4 ,both he and ,mrs4 ,hall must have sometimes laid themselves open to the charge of taking themselves too seriously1 for ,i remember ,edmund ,yates telling me that he had once asked ,charles ,dickens whether he thought they were ever conscious of playing a part1 to which ,dickens had replied1 8,i think once a year they exchange a wink1 possibly on ,carter's birthday40 ,purnell used to relate an anecdote of the gravity of their entertainments having once been broken up by an unintentional flash of humour on the part of ,mrs4 ,hall herself4 ,at one end of the dinner-table ,mr4 ,hall1 in his most solemn tones1 was announcing to the company his unswerving faith in a future life1 and in conclusion expressed the hope that in that other and happier world he should rejoin his dear wife2 upon which ,mrs4 ,hall1 from her place at the end of the board1 interjected1 in strong ,irish accents1 the somewhat disconcerting answer1 8,no1 ,carter2 ,i shall go to ,jesus40 ,mr4 ,hall's appearance1 with his wealth of white hair and dark eyebrows1 seemed to give a certain stamp of authority to the unctuous platitudes in which he was wont to indulge4 ,he used constantly to say to me1 8,my object1 my dear sir1 is to do as much good in the world as ,i can10 and in such utterances as this there was never1 ,i am sure1 even the lurking suspicion on his part that he was exposing himself to the shafts of ridicule4 ,i remember one evening the subject of spiritualism was under discussion1 and ,mr4 ,hall was avowing his confident faith in the reality of messages from another world to which he confessed that he himself in his writing was particularly indebted4 8,on these occasions10 he said1 8when ,i have written something which ,i have deemed to be particularly inspired1 ,i have often turned round to the spirit whom ,i knew to be at my side1 and have said with fervid gratitude1 #8,thank you1 my dear sir2 thank you4'0 ,it was only upon longer acquaintance ,i discovered that the air of venerable piety1 which never deserted him in social intercourse1 was consistent with a very shrewd appreciation of commercial success4 ,little by little ,i found the sanctity of his manner sometimes giving way to very pointed suggestions that the mercantile interest of the ,journal must not be wholly sacrificed to my independent views upon ,art4 ,at first these suggestions were only tentatively put forward1 and always with an elaborate deference to my better judgment as a critic1 but day by day they became more encroaching1 until at last the conviction was forced upon me that the columns under my charge were intended to serve as a useful support to the advertisement department of the ,journal4 ,after a while these constant interferences became so galling and exasperating to me that ,i determined to break our connection1 and in a letter1 which ,i strove to make polite but which ,i intended to be deeply sarcastic1 ,i ventured to hint that as the criticism ,i was called upon to write was now required to take so entirely the colour of an advertisement1 ,i thought it would be better that it should pass directly into the hands of the manager of the advertisement department4 ,i confess ,i thought my letter would provoke an explosion of indignant protest1 but in this ,i was sadly disappointed2 for all response ,i got only a honeyed little note of acknowledgment1 which1 as far as ,i can remember1 ran in these terms3--8,i hasten to acknowledge with many thanks your courteous letter4 ,so much ,i feel compelled to say1 more than this ,i will not say40 ,the old gentleman's unflinching urbanity had stood him in good stead1 and even ,whistler himself1 had he been confronted with such a letter1 could hardly have found the means to continue the controversy4 ,while ,i was still associated with the ,art ,journal ,i had become also a contributor to the ,portfolio1 then under the editorship of ,mr4 ,philip ,hamerton1 who is best known to the world by his book upon ,etching1 and his studies of that part of rural ,france in which he usually resided4 ,and a little later ,i also wrote upon ,art matters in the columns of the ,academy4 ,these several engagements1 combined with the work that ,i had to do for the ,manchester ,guardian1 made the annual occasions of the opening of the ,spring ,exhibitions a specially busy time for me4 ,i remember one ,sunday morning in ,may1 when ,i had sat up very far into the night completing my opening article for the ,guardian1 my servant awakened me with the intelligence that a young gentleman was in the drawing-room waiting to see me4 ,he did not give his name1 as he told her that it would be unknown to me2 but he had arrived only the previous evening1 as he said1 from ,new ,york1 and was the bearer of several messages from friends there which he was anxious to deliver before his departure for the ,continent later in the day4 ,on the night before he had sailed1 he said--and this was his excuse for intruding upon me1--he had supped with some of the artists best known on the other side1 and amongst them he specially introduced the names of ,frank ,millet and ,edwin ,abbey1 who1 as he said1 had drawn from him the promise that he would on no account quit ,london without having shaken me by the hand4 ,he was so graceful in his apologies for this early intrusion that my first irritation was quickly allayed1 and the warm reference to myself1 of which he assured me he was the bearer1 must1 ,i suppose1 have touched my vanity1 for ,i at once invited him to be my guest at dinner that evening that we might talk more at leisure and at length of the fortunes of our common friends on the other side4 ,this1 alas1 he explained1 was impossible4 ,was there nothing1 then1 ,i could do for him8 ,nothing6 ,and then with renewed apologies he rose to go2 but at the door he turned as though a sudden thought had come into his mind4 ,yes1 he had just remembered6 ,there was a trifling service ,i could render him1 and then1 before he mentioned its nature1 he again ran over the names of 8the boys10 as he described them1 with whom he had parted on the eve of sailing4 ,perfect artist as he had proved himself to be1 he blundered at the last2 for to the list1 as he now recounted it1 he added the name of ,alfred ,parsons1 who had indeed been in ,america1 but who had long ago returned1 and whom it chanced ,i had seen at the ,arts ,club the day before4 ,all unconscious1 however1 that this mistake had aroused my suspicions1 he proceeded to describe what he termed the ludicrous position in which he found himself4 ,he was about to start on a tour round the world1 but by some absurd mistake the remittances from his home in ,western ,america had gone one way1 while he had gone the other4 ,and this petty contretemps he aptly illustrated in pantomime by indicating the course of his remittances with his right hand and his own journey with his left1 crossing them on his breast as though to suggest the passing of ships in the night4 ,and then finally1 in the lightest and airiest of tones1 came the announcement of a modest request that ,i should cash him a cheque for #ej4 ,affecting to ignore the financial aspect which our brief acquaintance had suddenly assumed1 ,i carelessly let fall the remark that ,i had seen ,mr4 ,alfred ,parsons yesterday at the ,arts ,club1 to which ,i added the suggestion that he might deem it convenient under the circumstances to quit the house4 ,his bright candid eyes met mine for an instant1 and then1 as though by a flash of lightning1 he was down the stairs and in the street4 ,i think it must have been this same young gentleman who only a year or two later visited ,irving at the ,lyceum ,theatre during the rehearsal of one of his plays4 ,in that case he represented himself as the nephew of ,mr4 ,child1 a friend of ,irving's who had recently set up a monument at ,stratford-on-,avon2 but in substance the story was the same4 ,there also he sought nothing but the pleasure of shaking ,irving by the hand1 and it was only at the moment of parting that he asked for a letter of introduction to the ,mayor of ,stratford1 that he might not appear quite a stranger in the town whither he was bound in order to inspect his uncle's gift4 ,but in this case he was more successful1 for that coveted #ej1 which my niggard spirit had denied him1 he managed1 upon the strength of ,irving's letter1 to extract from ,stratford's ,mayor4 ,from him he received another letter of introduction to ,mr4 ,chamberlain1 but here1 as ,i am glad to think1 with no damaging financial result4 ,it is only fair to add1 as a finish to this brief and interesting episode of an enterprising adventurer1 that ,mr4 ,child1 indignant of the use that had been made of his name1 afterwards insisted upon repaying the amount that had been nefariously borrowed4 ,my work for the ,manchester ,guardian sometimes took me far afield1 and in the year #ahhb1 when the city of ,manchester was contemplating a reconstitution of its permanent ,art ,gallery1 ,i went1 at their request1 on a tour of inspection of the museums and schools of ,france4 ,these articles were afterwards gathered into a little volume1 which was subsequently translated into ,french and published in ,paris1 under the title of ,l',art en ,province4 ,i started in the earlier days of ,july1 and the trains between ,london and ,paris were already thronged with tourists on their way to ,switzerland1 and ,i remember that my journey was brightened at this earlier stage by an incident1 illustrating1 in an amusing way1 certain characteristics of the ,scottish nature4 ,two youthful representatives of the race were seated in a compartment of a corridor carriage adjoining my own1 and in the compartment beyond them were three or four young ladies travelling alone4 ,we had not gone very far from ,calais1 perhaps some twenty miles or more1 when the train was brought to a sudden stop1 and looking out of the window ,i saw several officials of the railway running up and down the permanent way in evident surprise and alarm4 ,suddenly their attention was concentrated upon the ,scotsmen's compartment1 where the indicator thrust out from the side of the carriage betokened that the alarm-bell had been sounded by them4 ,a swift altercation1 the purport of which ,i scarcely gathered1 ended in the peremptory demand on the part of the officials for the surrender of the travellers' tickets1 combined with a menacing intimation that the matter would be further investigated on our arrival at ,amiens4 ,at ,amiens it seemed as though all the staff of the ,nord were gathered upon the platform1 and the force of this official affray was concentrated upon the compartment occupied by the two sturdy travellers from the ,north4 ,with scant ceremony these gentlemen were commanded to descend from the carriage amid a fierce war of words1 in which ,i fancy neither party had the smallest understanding of what was uttered by the other4 ,alighting from my own compartment1 ,i caught1 rising above the angry objurgations of the ,french officials1 the repeated assurances of the ,scotsmen that they admitted their fault1 and were eager to apologise for its consequences4 8,i admit that ,i did it10 said the elder of the two1 with a broad ,scotch accent1 8and ,i am sorry40 ,but this reiterated expression of guilt and regret only seemed to incense the ,frenchmen the more1 until1 in his despair1 the ,scotsman turned to me and in tones of almost pitiful entreaty inquired if ,i could speak a little ,french4 ,on my replying in the affirmative1 he supplied me with an explanation of his conduct1 which he begged me to translate for the benefit of the chef de gare4 8,will you tell them10 he replied1 8that we admit we did it1 and are sorry1 but it occurred in this way8 ,on entering the compartment my friend and ,i observed that there were two small windows connected with the adjoining carriage1 where1 as we happened to know1 a party of ladies were seated1 and more for their sake than ours10 he continued1 8and with a view to securing the privacy which we knew they would desire1 my friend and ,i thought that we would pull down the blinds over these windows1 and so leave the ladies in the full assurance that they were unobserved4 ,but when ,i pulled the ring in the small window nearest to me the blind did not come down1 and then my friend tried1 with the same result1 and then ,i said1 #8,maybe if we both pull together it will be better4' ,and so we both pulled together1 and yet the blind did not come down1 but the train stopped1 and we are sorry40 ,these poor gentlemen had been totally unaware that the rings at which they had been tugging so vigorously were attached to no blinds1 but directly communicated with the guard of the train4 ,they were1 in fact1 the alarm-signals which had brought us to so sudden a halt outside ,calais4 ,this was the story which he implored me to relate to the chef de gare and his assembled subordinates1 and ,i shall not easily forget the mingled incredulity and amusement with which my narrative was received4 ,thinking to heighten its effect in still further excuse for what had happened1 ,i explained to the official that in ,scotland1 especially in the ,north1 women preserved a seclusion which was almost ,oriental1 and ,i then detailed1 word for word1 the defence of their conduct as the ,scotsman had confided it to me1 and when ,i came to that part of the narrative upon which he had particularly insisted1 that it was more for the ladies' sake than their own that they had endeavoured to secure complete privacy between the two compartments1 the ,gallic merriment1 breaking through all official reserve1 knew no bounds4 8,mais1 monsieur1 ce n'est pas possible8 ,ce n'est pas vrai80 8,monsieur1 parole d'honneur1 c'est bien vrai40 ,and at last1 official indignation appeased by what appeared to them to be the irresistible humour of the situation1 the chef de gare turned to the unfortunate malefactors and said1 8,eh bien1 messieurs1 montez donc1 montez donc10 and turning to the guard of the train added1 8,rendez les billets a ces messieurs10 and so1 amid a ripple of laughter that ran down the platform1 the incident closed1 and the train proceeded on its way4 ,but within little less than an hour afterwards1 when ,i1 in my lonely compartment1 had sunk into a comfortable sleep1 ,i felt a touch upon my shoulder1 and opening my eyes saw the ,scotsman bending above me4 ,i feared some new trouble1 and inquired if there was anything more ,i could do4 8,nothing10 replied he2 8but my friend and ,i feel we are deeply indebted to you40 ,politely ,i assured him that the little service ,i had been able to render him might count for nothing4 8,ay10 he answered1 8but we're very conscious it counts for a good deal1 for we have been thinking it over1 and we very well perceive that it might have cost us as much as ten pounds10 and so with renewed thanks he left me4 ,reaching ,paris1 ,i gave my bag to a porter1 and was hurrying along the platform when ,i heard the pattering of feet in swift pursuit4 ,i turned1 and there was my ,scotsman again4 8,see here10 he cried1 8,i had meant to ask you1 but forgot4 ,will you tell me1 where did you learn your ,french80 ,it had suddenly dawned upon him1 after the painful crisis he had gone through1 that there were junctures in life in which the use of a foreign tongue might be of practical service2 and ,i have no doubt1 with the indomitable persistence which forms part of the national character1 he is even now in some ,northern home struggling with the difficulties of the ,french language4 ,yet1 apart from the merest smattering obtained at school1 my later acquaintance with the tongue came about in a curious way4 ,in #ahgj ,i made the acquaintance of a ,monsieur ,gauthiot1 a dear friend of many years1 who had just then1 by reason of the bitter spirit aroused by the ,franco-,german ,war1 been driven from ,berlin1 where he had occupied the post of ,professor of ,french ,literature4 ,for a while he took refuge in ,london1 whence be contributed occasional articles to the ,dbts4 ,and here it was1 when we came to know one another1 that we agreed to dine together twice a week1 so that on one evening we should talk ,english1 and on the other that he should instruct me in ,french4 ,our meetings used to take place at the ,caf ,royal in ,regent ,street1 then a sufficiently humble restaurant chiefly patronised by foreigners4 ,in cost assuredly1 and perhaps in excellence of cuisine1 the ,caf ,royal of that day was far removed from the stately establishment which has since won so wide a popularity4 ,but they were pleasant evenings which ,gauthiot and ,i passed there together1 sometimes1 when our mutual instruction was over1 ending in a friendly bout of dominoes1 and indeed1 if his natural preference for ,french cooking had not led us there1 it is hard to say where else in ,london we could have found a congenial place of meeting4 ,restaurants in those days were few--,verrey's1 which survives1 ,simpson's in the ,strand1 and the old ,mitre ,tavern by ,temple ,bar1 were the only houses of note that ,i can recall4 ,a year or two later an attempt was made to do something on more sumptuous lines by the establishment of the ,pall ,mall ,restaurant on the island site adjoining ,trafalgar ,square1 but it failed for lack of patronage1 for the days when dining out was to become fashionable had not arrived4 ,in #ahhc1 when ,messrs4 ,macmillan contemplated the establishment of the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine1 they invited me to become its editor1 and the three years during which ,i conducted this publication constituted my last important association with ,art ,journalism4 ,it was our purpose to compete in quality of illustration with the established periodicals of the ,united ,states1 the excellence of whose woodcuts was attracting deserved attention in ,england1 and ,i am glad to think that in these earlier years of the ,magazine's life1 enough was accomplished both in ,literature and ,art to prove that the project might1 under happier conditions1 have been carried to a successful issue4 ,but1 owing to influences which lay beyond our power to control1 it chanced that the experiment was undertaken at an unfortunate hour4 ,the art of the wood-engraver was already suffering through competition with those mechanical processes of reproduction by which it is now almost entirely destroyed4 ,and it soon became evident that the more careful work we were trying to present could not compete in popular acceptance with those rougher and readier methods which1 by reason of their greater economy1 were already widely employed4 ,and yet it must always be1 ,i think1 a matter for regret that this beautiful art of the wood-engraver should be doomed to annihilation4 ,i have tried to show in a separate chapter how great a part it played in that renaissance of ,art in ,england which is associated with the pre-,raphaelite movement1 and ,i am proud to think that some of the best of its later examples found their way into the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine during the period of my editorship4 ,on the literary side the ,magazine could boast1 during those earlier years1 of contributions from men already famous1 or who have since won their way to fame4 ,among the poets1 ,meredith and ,swinburne were repeated contributors to its pages2 and from a throng of distinguished writers in various fields ,i may cite the names of ,professor ,huxley1 ,henry ,james1 ,marion ,crawford1 ,bret ,harte1 ,lawrence ,oliphant1 ,stanley ,weyman1 ,theodore ,watts-,dunton1 and ,richard ,jefferies4 ,it was during the progress1 through the pages of the ,magazine1 of his captivating story1 ,the ,house of the ,wolf1 that ,weyman asked my judgment on a little play he had written1 and ,i wrote him in response a long letter pointing out what ,i thought to be its defects1 and setting forth the reasons why1 as ,i believed1 it could scarcely1 as it stood1 be expected to achieve a success on the stage4 ,mr4 ,weyman was at that time only on the threshold of his reputation as a novelist1 and ,i remember that my sister--who was reading for me some of the many proffered contributions to the ,magazine--most strongly urged me very carefully to consider the claims of ,the ,house of the ,wolf4 ,a swift perusal of the story left me in no doubt as to its merits1 and its warm acceptance at the hands of the readers of the ,magazine amply confirmed my judgment2 and yet it is strange1 as illustrating how widely divergent opinions may be on matters of taste1 that the story1 on nearing its conclusion1 was submitted to the publishers' reader1 with the idea of its being issued by them in book form1 and that his unfavourable judgment left ,messrs4 ,macmillan with no alternative but to decline the volume4 ,needless to say1 it was quickly accepted on my recommendation in another quarter1 but by the break in our association which this incident occasioned1 it chanced that ,i saw little of ,mr4 ,weyman for some years to come4 ,it was only when ,i had terminated my connection with the ,magazine1 and when ,i was occupied in the management of the ,comedy ,theatre1 that a play was submitted to me by the foremost literary agent of the time1 who said that he would not disclose the author's name until its claims had been considered1 but that he might mention that he was one of the most popular novelists of the day4 ,i was quite unconscious that ,i had seen the play before1 and with this strong recommendation ,i gave it the most careful attention1 and wrote to the agent a long letter setting forth what ,i considered to be its defects from the point of view of the stage4 ,as ,i felt bound to decline the play1 ,i did not feel justified in making further inquiry as to its authorship1 and it was not until long afterwards that ,i had a visit from ,mr4 ,weyman1 who produced from his pocket two letters which1 he said1 he thought ,i should be interested to see4 ,they were my own two letters1 written at widely different dates1 upon this very play1 and it was certainly1 as he pointed out1 a curious testimony to the constancy of my judgment that they absolutely agreed in opinion1 and were in some instances almost identical in phrase4 ,strange and amusing experiences sometimes come to editors1 especially to an editor of an illustrated magazine4 ,i remember that ,mr4 ,walter ,crane had designed some very beautiful decorative work enshrining some poems of his own1 and in several of the pages nude figures had been introduced1 but treated in so ideal and imaginative a spirit that it seemed impossible they could provoke a protest even from an early ,puritan2 and yet immediately after their publication ,i received a letter of passionate rebuke from a reader of the ,magazine dwelling in the suburbs1 who with scathing criticism1 obviously inspired by the loftiest moral indignation1 recommended me1 if ,i wished to study my own vile form1 to look in the glass1 and not1 by giving such indecent pictures to the world1 to pollute the purity of the reader's home4 ,the letter1 ,i think1 was dated from the ,old ,kent ,road1 and the only pleasure ,i could draw from it rested on the fact that my ,magazine was entertained in so unsuspected a quarter4 ,but it was not only from the humble homes of virtue that such criticism proceeded4 ,while ,hugh ,conway's story1 ,the ,family ,affair1 was running through the pages of the ,english ,illustrated1 ,i one day received a letter from the wife of an eminent judge1 who told me that she could no longer permit the ,magazine to lie upon her table1 where it might at any time be read by her unmarried daughters4 ,it had been part of the author's scheme that1 during the initial stages of the story1 some doubt should remain in the reader's mind as to the legitimacy of a foundling child whom the heroine had taken under her care1 and it was this suspended uncertainty which had so sorely troubled the soul of the judge's wife4 ,she felt confident1 as she was good enough to assure me1 that the doubt would be cleared up in the end1 and that the cause of morality and decorum would be ultimately vindicated1 but she found it nevertheless intolerable that the innocent minds of her daughters should be haunted1 even for a season1 by so questionable a problem4 ,i never realised till ,i occupied the editorial chair how many people there are whose insanity takes a ,shakespearian form4 ,there was1 ,i think1 never a week passed without the reception of one or more articles intended to elucidate the authorship of the plays2 and although the readers were by no means in entire agreement in ascribing them to ,bacon1 they were absolutely unanimous in the belief that the claims of ,shakespeare were wholly and ludicrously inadmissible4 ,it is pleasant1 however1 to reflect that an editor's duties yield many happier experiences1 and bring him into contact with men and women whom otherwise it might not be his good fortune to know4 ,it was in this way that ,i made the acquaintance of poor ,richard ,jefferies1 whose delightful articles1 under the heading of 8,the ,game-keeper at ,home10 had been already published in the ,pall ,mall ,gazette4 ,jefferies's appearance1 even at our first meeting1 gave me the unhappy impression that he was not destined for a long life4 ,but despite his nervous temperament that was evidently in a large measure dependent upon the frailty of his physical constitution1 he was a man of great simplicity and charm of manner4 ,the love that he had for the things of outward nature was clearly a passionate possession that absorbed his life4 ,of the teeming life of the country1 from the waving ears of corn down to the minutest flower or the smallest insect that inhabited the shadowed world at their feet1 he was a loving and constant observer whose eyes never wearied in their task4 ,with ,jefferies the enjoyment begotten of this watchful brooding over the things of the country was1 ,i think1 all-sufficing4 ,he seemed never desirous to link it in association with any more directly human impulse or emotion1 and in this way his writings1 as it seems to me1 make a separate claim1 distinct from that of any other author1 whether in poetry or in prose1 who have confessed a like passion for the beauty of the outward world4 ,i was fortunate in securing several very beautiful contributions from his pen1 some of which gained an added interest from the delightful illustrations of ,mr4 ,alfred ,parsons1 who found himself in full sympathy with ,jefferies's purposes and design4 ,at a later date ,jefferies was associated in the same way with my friend ,mr4 ,north1 whose delicate drawings showed a quick sympathy with the mood of the writer2 and ,i know that ,jefferies highly appreciated the gentle hospitality which ,mr4 ,north afforded him in the later days of his declining health4 ,another figure which comes back to me among the vivid memories of those editorial days is that of ,mr4 ,lawrence ,oliphant--surely one of the strangest1 most gifted1 and fascinating characters of the time in which his chequered career was passed4 ,no one who met ,oliphant could be insensible to his charms1 and yet1 as one sat in the man's presence1 it was always with a feeling of wonder and amazement at the many vicissitudes of his life4 ,i knew him personally only towards the close of his career1 when he offered to me for publication a series of articles on 8,the ,lake of ,tiberias10 which were to be illustrated by his wife4 ,this was during one of his brief visits to ,england from the ,holy ,land1 where he had made his home1 and he would sometimes lunch with me at the ,garrick ,club1 holding me enthralled1 while the passing hours sped by unnoticed1 as he unfolded his views of life1 drawn from the deep fund of a rich experience won in many changing occupations4 ,brilliant and witty1 earnest and often eloquent in his most serious moods1 there was scarcely more than a hint in his conversation of those shifting impulses1 now so passionately held and again so swiftly abandoned1 that had made of his career something of a wonder to the world4 ,unhappily the task which he and his wife had jointly undertaken for the ,magazine1 led to her untimely death1 from sudden fever1 upon the very shores of the lake where she was engaged upon the illustrations for his article4 ,one of the things which gave me most pleasure in my record as an editor was the encouragement that ,i was enabled to afford to that gifted young draughtsman ,hugh ,thomson1 on the threshold of his career4 ,i remember very well the day he first entered my office4 ,he was wholly unknown to me1 and without any introduction save that which he presented himself in the form of a number of drawings enclosed in a portfolio that he bore in his hand4 ,with the face of a mere boy1 and most emphatically an ,irish boy1 it seemed to me1 as ,i looked at him1 scarcely possible that the drawings that he showed me were from his own hand4 ,they comprised1 ,i remember1 a series of illustrations to ,vanity ,fair1 and despite the confessed immaturity of their execution1 they exhibited1 as ,i thought1 such fineness of perception1 and such an intuitive sense of humour1 that ,i was at once anxious to learn from him what he had already published4 ,his reply1 perhaps made with a little reluctance1 was that he had published nothing1 and again the suspicion recurred to me that this nervous youth1 who stood in such evident anxiety before me1 must somehow have become possessed of these drawings which he was trying to palm off as his own4 ,he was1 as ,i found on questioning him1 engaged in making drawings for trade advertisements in the firm of ,maclure1 ,macdonald and ,macgregor1 confessedly not a very promising experience upon which to base his claim to be engaged on the staff of an established magazine4 ,and yet1 as ,i looked first at him and then at the drawings he had submitted to me1 ,i felt ,i could not let him go without a trial1 and1 still in my doubtful mood1 ,i suggested to him that he should execute a drawing1 the subject of which was to be chosen by me1 and that ,i would give him a fortnight to see what he could make of it4 ,almost at hazard ,i asked him to make a drawing illustrating the social life of ,pall ,mall during the later days of the eighteenth century1 and the quick look of pleasure with which he accepted the task at once drove from my mind any remnant of suspicion with which ,i had at first received him4 ,within a fortnight he returned with a very remarkable essay for a youth1 and ,i afterwards published it in the pages of the ,magazine4 ,from that day he became a constant contributor to its pages1 and when the series of drawings illustrating ,sir ,roger de ,coverley were ultimately gathered into book form1 he at once made his mark with all who were competent to judge4 ,illustration3 ,hollyer ,,james ,,martineau ,from the painting by ,g4 ,f4 ,,watts1 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #afg4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,orators ,from a very early time the art of oratory attracted me strongly4 ,i remember1 as a boy1 my father reading to us the full report in the ,times of ,edwin ,james's defence of ,orsini2 and in later days1 during my apprenticeship in the city1 ,i began from time to time to attend debates in the ,house of ,commons4 ,it was at about the same time that my friend ,alan ,skinner and ,i used to find ourselves ,sunday after ,sunday in the little chapel in ,great ,portland ,street listening to the great ,unitarian preacher1 ,james ,martineau4 ,though not a constant church-goer1 ,i had the opportunity of hearing most of the foremost pulpit orators of that day1 including men as opposite in their styles as ,spurgeon1 ,canon ,liddon1 and ,dean ,stanley4 ,liddon's voice was a great possession1 but his eloquence was not of a kind that specially attracted me2 and ,dean ,stanley1 though his preaching was impressive1 scarcely ranked as an orator4 ,on the other hand1 ,spurgeon's unquestioned power over his audience constantly puzzled me4 ,i was drawn again and again to his great tabernacle simply from the desire to discover1 if ,i could1 the secret of his authority2 to understand if it were possible the means by which he contrived to sway the vast crowds that gathered to hear him4 ,but ,i remained to the end baffled in my inquiries and1 as regards my own personal impressions1 entirely unconvinced by the exercise of a gift that for the multitude possessed an obvious fascination4 ,it may be said1 of course1 that his appeal was intended to be merely popular1 but ,i found in the case of other speakers who owned no loftier mission that it has been impossible not to realise in some degree the source of their influence4 ,from ,spurgeon's preaching ,i derived no such satisfaction2 the impression left upon me never passed beyond cold disappointment4 ,with ,martineau the case was wholly different4 ,to my feeling1 he easily distanced all his contemporaries in the pulpit1 and the impression left upon me to-day is1 that he and ,john ,bright stand out as the two greatest speakers of their generation4 ,though widely divergent in manner1 they both possessed an unequalled power of impressing an audience with the sense of ethical fervour and elevation of spirit4 ,there was no sentence of ,martineau's sermons that was not carefully balanced and considered1 and yet even the most complex passages of philosophic thought were illumined and sustained by the sense of a passionate love for the truth he was seeking to expound4 ,in every sentence the white light of reason was shot with fire2 and although ,i think his sermons were always prepared and written1 they had the effect1 as he delivered them1 of springing directly from the heart of the man4 ,he seemed less of a ,illustration3 ,emery ,walker ,,john ,,bright ,from the painting by ,,walter ,,william ,,ouless1 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #afi4 preacher than a seer2 and although he never strove for rhetorical display1 even the most logical exposition as it fell from his lips was charged with some thing of poetic impulse and inspiration4 ,and in his case eloquence was enforced by a noble presence4 ,the beautiful portrait by ,mr4 ,watts recalls1 without exaggeration of dignity1 the man himself as he stood there in the dimly lit chapel in ,great ,portland ,street2 and in gazing again at those chiselled features that seemed moulded by ,nature to serve the speaker's purpose1 ,i can almost hear again the tones of that deep sonorous voice which1 in its grave and impassioned utterances1 stamped every separate word with something of the high fervour that so manifestly inspired the preacher4 ,it was1 ,i think1 in virtue of this same quality of spiritual elevation that the oratory of ,john ,bright stood beyond the reach of rivalry4 ,bright never attempted the complexity of thought that distinguished so many of ,martineau's essays in the pulpit4 ,he laid no claim to the philosophical spirit as it was understood by ,martineau1 but he possessed1 even in a greater degree1 the power of lifting every topic he discussed into a higher spiritual atmosphere than any other speaker of his time could command4 ,and yet this unsurpassed power which he wielded over an audience was secured by the simplest means1 and often in the simplest language4 ,in choice of the fitting word ,bright was almost faultless4 ,the great ,english poets1 as we know1 he had deeply studied1 and1 indeed1 no one who was not sensitive to the finer moods of poetic feeling could have forged such exquisite prose4 ,i remember my old schoolmaster1 ,dr4 ,hill1 had been present at the public breakfast given to ,william ,lloyd ,garrison in the year #ahfg1 in recognition of his efforts for the abolition of slavery4 ,he told me there was a point in the speech where1 after gathering in ,miltonic catalogue the names of the many distinguished men who had been associated with the movement1 ,bright turned to his audience with the added sentence1 8and of noble women not a few40 ,and ,dr4 ,hill said that these simple words stirred his hearers to a feeling of deepest emotion1 so magical had been the effect of ,bright's superb voice as it passed1 in brief tribute of homage1 from one name to another4 ,this is an illustration1 of which many more can be quoted1 of how impossible it is in the case of an orator so great as ,bright to realise that astounding influence from any mere printed record of his speeches4 ,i myself was present and heard the great oration he delivered at ,st4 ,james's ,hall1 in #ahff1 on the subject of ,reform4 ,there had been some turbulent episodes during the ,reform agitation in ,london1 and on one occasion1 when the right of meeting in the ,park had been refused by the ,government1 the railings had been thrown down by the crowd1 who had overborne the forces at the disposal of the authorities4 ,in certain quarters ,john ,bright had been accused of encouraging the populace to such acts of violence1 and in the speech to which ,i refer there was a passage in which he indignantly hurled back upon his enemies this unworthy suggestion4 8,these opponents of ours10 he said1 8many of them in ,parliament openly1 and many of them secretly in the ,press1 have charged us with being the promoters of a dangerous excitement4 ,they say we are the source of the danger which threatens2 they have absolutely the effrontery to charge me with being the friend of public disorder4 ,i am one of the people4 ,surely if there be one thing in a free country more dear than another1 it is that any one of the people may speak openly to the people4 ,if ,i speak to the people of their rights1 and indicate to them the way to secure them1 if ,i speak of their danger and the monopolies of power1 am ,i not a wise counsellor1 both to the people and to their rulers8 ,suppose ,i stood at the foot of ,vesuvius or ,etna1 and1 seeing a hamlet or a homestead planted on its slope1 ,i said to the dwellers in that hamlet or in that homestead1 #8,you see that vapour which ascends from the summit of the mountain8 ,that vapour may become a dense black smoke that will obscure the sky4 ,you see that trickling of lava from the crevices or fissures in the side of the mountain8 ,that trickling lava may become a river of fire4 ,you hear that muttering in the bowels of the mountain8 ,that muttering may become a bellowing thunder1 the voice of a violent convulsion that may shake half a continent4 ,you know that at your feet is the grave of great cities for which there is no resurrection1 as history tells us2 that dynasties and aristocracies have passed away and their name has been known no more for ever4' ,if ,i say this to the dwellers upon the slope of the mountain1 and if there comes hereafter a catastrophe which makes the world to shudder1 am ,i responsible for that catastrophe8 ,i did not build the mountain1 or fill it with explosive materials4 ,i merely warned the men who were in danger40 ,as these words stand on the printed page it is not possible to gather from them their extraordinary influence upon the packed masses of the crowded hall4 ,throughout the whole passage his hearers were held as though by magnetic influence2 and as he passed from image to image of the long metaphor he had adopted1 there was a hushed stillness that was almost oppressive4 ,never prodigal of gesture1 his slightest movement became for that reason the more significant and dramatic4 ,the greater part of his speech had been delivered with the tips of his fingers just touching the table before him1 content1 for all accompaniment to the words he uttered1 to rely upon the swiftly changing expression of his leonine face1 which seemed to mirror in its noble dignity the very soul and spirit of the man4 ,but when he came to the words1 8,you hear that muttering in the bowels of the mountain80 he raised his hand to his ear1 and at the call of that simple gesture it seemed to us who listened to him as though he had summoned into the very hall itself the sound he had only suggested in words4 ,the effect was as though the building in which we sat was actually threatened1 and it was with a sense almost of relief that the deafening cheers broke forth as he brought this noble vindication of his own character to an end4 ,it is said that ,bright's speeches were always very carefully prepared1 and that in particular his perorations were verbally committed to memory4 ,if this be so1 it forms the very highest tribute to his intuitive sense of the true functions of an orator1 for there is not one of all the many splendid conclusions of his speeches which might not1 as it was uttered1 have been forged in the white heat of the moment4 ,no preparation1 whatever labour it may have involved1 ever tempted him to depart from that strict simplicity of language which formed his crowning gift as a speaker4 ,what1 for instance1 could be more instinct with the mood of the moment1 more directly inspired by the passionate enthusiasm of the men he addressed1 than that wonderful ending to his speech in ,glasgow delivered only two months before the address in ,st4 ,james's ,hall at which ,i was present4 8,if a class has failed10 he said1 8let us try the nation4 ,that is our faith1 that is our purpose1 that is our cry3 let us try the nation4 ,this it is which has called together this countless number of people who demand a change1 and as ,i think of it1 and of these gatherings sublime in their vastness and in their resolution1 ,i think ,i see1 as it were1 above the hill-tops of time1 the glimmerings of the dawn of a better and a nobler day for the country and for the people that ,i love so well40 ,however careful in his custom of preparation1 there were certainly occasions when ,mr4 ,bright could speak with equal effect on the spur of the moment4 ,a splendid example of his power in this respect was afforded at that same meeting at ,st4 ,james's ,hall when1 on the conclusion of ,mr4 ,bright's address1 some indiscreet remarks were offered by ,mr4 ,ayrton1 which seemed to imply a reproach against the ,queen for her indifference towards the movement that was then in progress4 ,without a moment's pause ,mr4 ,bright rose in sudden indignation1 and in a few passionate sentences vindicated the character of his sovereign4 8,but ,mr4 ,ayrton referred further10 he said1 8to a supposed absorption of the sympathies of the ,queen with her late husband1 to the exclusion of sympathy for and with the people4 ,i am not accustomed to stand up in defence of those who are possessors of crowns1 but ,i could not sit here and hear that observation without a sense of wonder and of pain4 ,i think there has been1 by many persons1 a great injustice done to the ,queen in reference to her desolate and widowed position4 ,and ,i venture to say this3 that a woman--be she the ,queen of a great ,realm1 or be she the wife of one of your labouring men--who can keep alive in her heart a great sorrow for the lost object of her life and affection1 is not at all likely to be wanting in a great and generous sympathy with you40 ,although the dominant quality of ,mr4 ,bright's oratory lay in the almost biblical simplicity and gravity of the spirit which inspired it1 there were times when he could show a quick command of a lighter mood4 ,i happened to be present in the ,house of ,commons when he attacked with admirable raillery ,mr4 ,horsman and ,mr4 ,lowe1 who had retired into what ,mr4 ,bright described as their political ,cave of ,adullam4 ,he kept the ,house in a mood of continual amusement1 which culminated at last in his well-known reference to the ,scotch terrier4 ,seizing upon the fact that ,mr4 ,horsman's party seemed at present to consist of only two members1 he added3 8,when a party is formed of two men so amiable1 so discreet1 as the two right honourable gentlemen1 we may hope to see for the first time in ,parliament a party perfectly harmonious and distinguished by mutual and unbroken trust4 ,but there is one difficulty which it is impossible to remove4 ,this party of two reminds me of the ,scotch terrier which was so covered with hair that you could not tell which was the head and which was the tail of it40 ,millais's portrait of ,john ,bright does less than justice to the dignity of his face4 ,it may be that the artist was confronted by his task at too late a period in ,bright's life2 certain it is that as ,i recall him in the years #ahff and #ahfg there were elements of beauty in the face1 both as regards colouring and expression1 that are not to be found in the later portrait4 ,in this respect it compares unfavourably1 ,i think1 with the great painter's superb representation of ,mr4 ,gladstone's features4 ,i heard ,mr4 ,gladstone many times in the ,house of ,commons1 but ,i must frankly own that even in its highest moments his oratory never to my thinking came to within even measurable distance with that of ,john ,bright4 ,in readiness of debate ,i suppose he had no superior on either side of the ,house1 but the complexity of his mind1 with its ever-watchful care to temper each direct and simple statement with what the speaker conceived to be its necessary qualifications1 was mirrored in the often overburdened structure of his lengthened periods2 and yet even in this defect the unflagging energy and sustained intellectual agility of the speaker were constantly exhibited4 ,i fancy no orator of his own or any other time could so safely conduct himself through the sinuous ways of a prolonged sentence with a sense of such security to the hearers that there would be no lapse or failure in the ordered arrangement of its many modifying clauses4 ,on constant provocation he often spoke with a fire that enabled him to liberate himself from the entangled meshes of parenthesis which haunted him in his more considered utterances1 and ,i remember being present in the ,house during the dramatic little scene between him and ,disraeli which showed these two parliamentary gladiators at their best4 ,somewhat rashly1 perhaps1 ,disraeli had indulged in a sarcastic reference to ,mr4 ,gladstone's earlier adherence to ,tory principles1 and at the conclusion of his speech ,mr4 ,gladstone1 springing to his feet1 retorted upon his opponent with telling effect by reminding the ,conservative statesman that he himself had once sought to win the ,liberal vote4 ,the right honourable gentleman1 secure ,i suppose in the knowledge of his own consistency1 has taunted me with the political errors of my boyhood4 ,the right honourable gentleman1 when he addressed the honourable member for ,westminster ,j4 ,stuart ,mill1 took occasion to show his magnanimity1 for he declared that he would not take the philosopher to task for what he wrote twenty-five years ago4 ,but when he caught one who thirty-five years ago1 just emerged from boyhood and still an undergraduate at ,oxford1 had expressed an opinion adverse to the ,reform ,bill of #ahcb1 of which he had so long and bitterly repented1 then the right honourable gentleman could not resist the temptation that offered itself to his appetite for effect4 ,he1 a parliamentary champion of twenty years' standing1 and the leader1 as he informs us to-night1 of the ,tory party1 is so ignorant of the ,house of ,commons1 or so simple in the structure of his mind1 that he positively thought he would obtain a parliamentary advantage by exhibiting me to the public view for reprobation as an opponent of the ,reform ,bill of #ahcb4 ,sir1 as the right honourable gentleman has done me the honour thus to exhibit me1 let me for a moment trespass on the patience of the ,house to exhibit myself4 ,what he has stated is true4 ,i deeply regret it4 ,but ,i was bred under the shadow of the great name of ,canning2 every influence connected with that name governed the first political impressions of my childhood and my youth2 with ,mr4 ,canning ,i rejoiced in the removal of religious disabilities from the ,roman ,catholic body1 and in the free and truly ,british tone which he gave to our policy abroad2 with ,mr4 ,canning ,i rejoiced in the opening he made towards the establishment of free commercial interchanges between nations2 with ,mr4 ,canning1 and under the shadow of that great name1 and under the shadow of the yet more venerable name of ,burke1 ,i grant my youthful mind and imagination were impressed with the same idle and futile fears which still bewilder and distract the mature mind of the right honourable gentleman4 ,i had conceived that very same fear1 that ungovernable alarm1 at the first ,reform ,bill in the days of my undergraduate career at ,oxford which the right honourable gentleman now feels2 and the only difference between us is this--,i thank him for bringing it into view by his quotation--that1 having those views1 ,i1 as it would appear1 moved the ,oxford ,union ,debating ,society to express them clearly1 plainly1 forcibly1 in downright ,english1 while the right honourable gentleman does not dare to tell the nation what it is that he really thinks1 and is content to skulk under the meaningless amendment which is proposed by the noble ,lord4 ,and now1 sir1 ,i quit the right honourable gentleman2 ,i leave him to his reflections1 and ,i envy him not one particle of the polemical advantage which he has gained by his discreet reference to the proceedings of the ,oxford ,union ,debating ,society in the year of grace #ahca4444 ,i came among you the ,liberal party an outcast from those with whom ,i associated1 driven from them1 ,i admit1 by no arbitrary act1 but by the slow and resistless forces of conviction4 ,i came among you1 to make use of the legal phraseology1 in pauperis forma4 ,i had nothing to offer you but faithful and honourable service4 ,you received me as ,dido received the shipwrecked ,aeneas-- ,ejectum littore egentem ,accepi-- and ,i only trust you may not hereafter at any time have to complete the sentence in regard to me-- ,et regni demens in parte locavi4 ,you received me with kindness1 indulgence1 generosity1 and ,i may even say with some measure of confidence4 ,and the relation between us has assumed such a form that you can never be my debtors1 but that ,i must for ever be in your debt40 ,it was only in later years that ,i met ,mr4 ,gladstone personally1 on the occasion of his annual visits to the ,grosvenor or the ,new ,gallery1 and it was always then interesting to watch the extraordinary diligence of observation with which he studied every picture upon the walls1 all the while with pencil in hand carefully noting in the margin of his catalogue the impression which each separate work had made upon him4 ,it was in connection with the opening of the ,new ,gallery in the year #ahhh that a little incident recurs to my memory that bears witness to the constant alertness of his powers of observation4 ,after completing a survey of one of the larger rooms1 he was about to take leave of me with the remark that he had seen as much as he could reasonably enjoy upon a single visit1 and that he would return another day to complete his study of the remaining galleries4 ,it happened that year that we had rather a remarkable piece of sculpture by a young artist who had suddenly died after the work had been sent in for exhibition1 and ,i was anxious before he went to ascertain ,mr4 ,gladstone's opinion of the statue4 8,before you go1 ,mr4 ,gladstone10 ,i said1 8,i should like to show you one of the sculptured works in the central hall which seems to me more than remarkable40 8,stay60 he cried4 8,let me first show it to you10 and then without a moment's hesitation he set himself in front of the work ,i had in my mind4 8,is it this80 he said2 and on my replying in the affirmative1 8,i was surprised10 he added1 8when we passed through the hall that you did not direct my attention to so remarkable a work40 ,it happened at the ,grosvenor ,gallery that it also fell to my lot to conduct ,lord ,beaconsfield round the exhibition of drawings by the old masters then arranged upon the walls4 ,the contrast between the two men showed itself characteristically enough on the occasion to which ,i refer4 ,with sphinx-like face1 and with hardly a spoken word1 ,lord ,beaconsfield passed from the work of one great master to another1 raising his eye-glass as he went1 but displaying by no change of expression either criticism or appreciation1 and at the finish he gracefully took his leave with a sentence that seemed to me1 as he uttered it1 to have been made ready for ultimate use even before he had entered the ,gallery4 ,the drawings of ,titian and ,giorgione1 of ,michael ,angelo1 ,raphael and ,leonardo da ,vinci1 had apparently left him cold4 8,i thank you10 he said1 8for having been so good as to point out to me the examples of the great masters you admire1 but ,i think for my part ,i prefer the eclectic school of the ,caracci40 ,in that one sentence he seemed to bring back the atmosphere of his earlier novels1 and to image the taste of ,england at a time when connoisseurs made the grand tour4 ,his preference for the fashion of an earlier date in all matters appertaining to taste was1 ,i suppose1 deeply implanted in ,disraeli's nature1 and ,i remember a story told me by ,sir ,william ,harcourt1 which illustrates with what quiet and restrained sarcasm he could sometimes receive the announcement of a more modern development of thought4 ,it was during one of ,sir ,william ,harcourt's visits to ,hughenden that ,disraeli turned to him after dinner and said1 8,harcourt1 ,i have had two young gentlemen from ,oxford staying with me lately1 and it seems from what ,i have learned from them that our judgments in all literary matters are sadly old-fashioned4 ,these young gentlemen assured me that1 according to the accepted canons of the present day1 the late ,lord ,byron is to be admired1 not so much for his qualities as a poet1 as for the beauty of his moral character40 ,lord ,beaconsfield's appearance1 as expressed in his dress1 even at that later date when ,i first came in contact with him1 still retained something of the florid taste that had characterised him as a youth4 ,the bright colours he chose to affect stood in striking contrast with the impassive pallor of a countenance that seemed1 as it gazed out upon the world1 like some insoluble riddle of the ,east4 ,the racial characteristics of his face were sufficiently marked1 but the sense of death-like stillness that pervaded it gave it something of historic remoteness and antique calm4 ,he looked out upon the present as though from the recesses of a buried past1 and of all the representatives of his nation whom ,i have known1 he appeared to me the only one who possessed in any pre-eminent degree the quality of self-possession in manner and bearing4 ,these external attributes served as the index of that extraordinary power of intellectual detachment which enabled him to sway the passions of others and to control his own4 ,such unquestioned authority as he ultimately acquired over the ,tory party could1 perhaps1 only have been achieved by one who used their prejudices without sharing them1 and who could appeal to their deeply rooted convictions rather as an artist than as a partisan4 ,as a speaker1 he affected more of florid grace than was quite congenial to the taste of the time or the sympathies of his hearers1 and his choice of language1 whether in his novels or in his speeches1 was sometimes insecurely poised between a leaning towards ornament that was sometimes tawdry1 and a genuine and convincing eloquence4 ,here again the racial characteristics were apt to assert themselves1 and such a phrase as he employed at the conclusion of the ,abyssinian ,war--that we had set the standard of ,st4 ,george upon the mountains of ,rasselas--may be taken as an instance of an essay in the sublime that verges nearly upon the ridiculous4 ,i heard him for the first time when he introduced his great ,reform ,bill in #ahfg1 and his gestures also struck me then as often bordering upon the grotesque4 ,i can recall his attitude now as he drew towards the close of his speech with his arms folded and his head sunk upon his breast1 rolling out in a voice1 that ,i confess had for me neither intrinsic beauty of tone nor perfect accent of sincerity1 the carefully forged phrases which formed the close of his peroration4 8,those who take a larger and a nobler view of human affairs10 he said1 8will1 ,i think1 recognise that1 alone in the countries of ,europe1 ,england now1 for almost countless generations1 has--by her ,parliament--established the fair exemplar of free government1 and that1 throughout the awful vicissitudes of her heroic history1 she has--chiefly by this ,house of ,commons--maintained and cherished that public spirit which is the soul of ,commonwealth1 without which ,empire has no glory1 and the wealth of nations is but the means of corruption and decay40 ,earlier passages of that same speech had been marked by brilliant flashes of humour and sarcasm1 showing1 here as always1 his incomparable power of registering in a single sentence the characteristics of a cause he desired to condemn4 ,i remember in particular a reference to ,professor ,goldwin ,smith which was very happily expressed4 8,why1 the other day10 he said1 8a rampant orator who goes about the country maligning men and things1 went out of his way to assail me1 saying1 #8,where now are the #djjj freeholders of ,buckinghamshire8' ,why1 sir1 they are where you would naturally expect to find them--they are in the county of ,buckingham4 ,i can pardon this wild man1 who has probably lived in the cloisters of some abbey1 making this mistake 4440 etc4 ,there are orators who are not orators1 and who yet1 by some undefinable power of personality1 exercise an extraordinary authority upon their hearers4 ,in this class1 and ,i should be disposed to think foremost in this class1 must be set ,mr4 ,parnell1 whose acquaintance ,i made at the house of ,sir ,george ,lewis about the date of the publication of the famous letter in the ,times4 ,to me that letter had seemed from the first a manifest forgery1 and ,i had made several small bets in the ,garrick ,club that it would be so proved whenever it was made the subject of a judicial investigation4 ,mr4 ,parnell's comment when ,i told him of my confidence as to the result was tinged with a certain sadness that was1 ,i think1 a constant quality of his nature4 8,you may make your mind quite easy upon that point10 he said4 8,i only wish ,i felt as sure that every incident1 in what has been practically a revolution1 would redound as surely to the credit of the ,irish people4 ,but it is inevitable10 he added1 8that such a movement must of necessity call into being forces which it is beyond the power of any single individual to control40 ,through his chief whip ,mr4 ,richard ,power1 a dear friend and companion of the ,garrick ,club1 ,mr4 ,parnell had offered me a seat as one of the ,irish party1 but although ,i had then1 and still retain1 complete sympathy with the principles of ,home ,rule1 ,i felt it would be impossible for me as an ,englishman to yield such complete surrender of my independent judgment as was demanded by the parliamentary tactics of the party4 ,a little later ,i heard ,mr4 ,parnell in the ,house of ,commons on one of the few occasions when his rigid self-control yielded to a moment of almost uncontrollable passion4 ,the subject under debate was this same forged letter which had imposed upon the credulity of the ,times1 and it was ,mr4 ,parnell's natural desire that this imputation which so deeply affected his character should be made the subject of a separate and independent inquiry4 ,his opponents1 not unwisely from their point of view1 desired to merge the single issue in a general examination of the ,home ,rule movement1 and this view had been1 at an earlier period of the debate1 strongly enforced by ,mr4 ,chamberlain in a speech of icy coldness that seemed to withhold the last particle of sympathy from a man who had been so grossly attacked4 ,the tone of ,mr4 ,chamberlain's speech1 for it was a matter rather of tone than of substance1 must have deeply incensed ,mr4 ,parnell1 for as he rose1 with the usual pallor of his face deepened to an ashen whiteness1 the trembling tones of his voice were1 it was obvious1 scarcely under control4 ,i have not1 sir1 had an opportunity before this of thanking the right honourable gentleman the member for ,west ,birmingham for his kind references to me1 and for the unsolicited character he was kind enough to give me when he last addressed the ,house a few nights since4 ,he spoke of me not long ago1 when he said he entertained a better opinion of me than he does to-day4 ,i care very little for the opinion of the right honourable gentleman4 ,i have never put forward men to do dangerous things which ,i shrank from doing myself1 nor have ,i betrayed the secrets of my colleagues in ,council4 ,my principal recollection of the right honourable gentleman before he became a minister is that he was always most anxious to put me forward and my friends forward to do work which he was afraid to do himself4 ,and after he became a minister my principal recollection of him is that he was always most anxious to betray to us the secrets and counsels of his colleagues in the ,cabinet1 and to endeavour1 while sitting beside these colleagues and while in consultation with them1 to undermine their counsels and their plans in our favour4 ,if this inquiry is extended into these matters--and ,i see no reason why it should not--,i shall be able to make good my words by documentary evidence that is not forged4 ,the withering scorn with which these final sentences were delivered1 the tall slim figure visibly shaken by emotion1 recall an unforgettable image of the man as he stood erect in his place below the gangway4 ,but a still more dramatic scene of that time occurred during the trial itself on the day when the forger ,mr4 ,pigott was to be put into the box4 ,i shall not easily forget the breathless interest of the ,court when the ,attorney-,general called ,mr4 ,inglis1 the expert in hand-writing4 ,the witness was arranging his papers on the desk before him when ,sir ,charles ,russell rose in his place and in strong but measured tones said1 8,my lords1 ,i shall decline to cross-examine this witness until ,mr4 ,pigott has been put into the box40 ,this produced a quick protest from the ,attorney-,general1 who1 as he declared1 was not to be dictated to by his learned friend as to the manner in which he should conduct his case4 ,but again ,sir ,charles ,russell rose1 and again in the same vibrating voice announced his determination as before4 ,there was a pause for a moment's whispered interchange of opinion among the judges on the ,bench1 and then ,mr4 ,justice ,hannen1 in a voice that was never loud but which even in its lowest tones could always command authority1 conveyed to the ,attorney-,general the intimation that1 without any intention of dictating to him the course he should take1 they were all clearly of opinion that ,mr4 ,pigott ought to be put into the box without delay4 ,sir ,richard ,webster yielded1 and ,mr4 ,pigott was called2 and then1 when the examination-in-chief was complete1 began that cross-examination by ,sir ,charles ,russell which stands out as the main dramatic episode in that great historic trial4 ,the advocate was at his best1 and when ,sir ,charles ,russell was at his best his time knew no equal4 ,as question followed question in quick pursuit1 the unhappy witness seemed to crumble away beneath his hand4 ,but the hour of adjournment came before the wretched man1 driven from point to point1 had finally succumbed1 and1 as subsequent events proved1 the brilliant cross-examination of ,sir ,charles ,russell was destined to have no close4 ,on the next morning1 when ,pigott was again called1 there was no answer2 and after a sufficient pause to give time for his arrival1 ,sir ,charles rose and applied for a warrant for his arrest4 ,i went with ,mr4 ,parnell and ,sir ,george ,lewis to ,bow ,street to obtain from the magistrate the issue of the warrant1 and ,i remember1 as a comic incident in our brief passage along the ,strand1 that a little street urchin vending newspapers1 who1 with the sharpness of the ,london boy1 was already well informed of what had taken place1 danced in front of the ,irish statesman and bowing with mock gravity said1 8,charlie1 you've done it nice40 ,at that time one of my brothers was staying in ,madrid1 and on the following night ,i was awakened about two o'clock by the arrival of a telegram which said3 8,a man whom ,i am sure is ,pigott has committed suicide here in the hotel40 ,and so ended this extraordinary episode which at one time had threatened to drive from public life one of the most remarkable men of his time4 ,that he was finally hounded from the leadership of his party speaks1 ,i think1 but little for the reputation of those of his comrades who joined in the attack2 and less still--as ,i have always felt--for ,mr4 ,gladstone1 whose part in that unworthy transaction was not altogether consistent with the high courage that he usually exhibited in public affairs4 ,parnell's was undoubtedly a strange inscrutable character4 ,he was imperfectly understood even by the party he so imperiously controlled3 he had1 ,i think1 but little desire to be understood4 ,power used to tell me that on the occasion of an important debate his closest associates never knew with any certainty whether he would be present2 and yet once present they knew beyond all question that his will would dominate them all4 ,it was indeed impossible to be in his company without being sensible of the strength of his personality4 ,his reserve was impenetrable1 and yet he could yield to sudden gusts of emotion which revealed as by a lightning flash the strong nervous tension by means of which his self-possession was held and preserved4 ,i think he himself was always conscious of the degree of secrecy1 almost1 one might say1 of mystery1 that cloaked his life even in matters where secrecy could have no purpose or significance4 ,he told me once that if he had occasion to consult a doctor1 even for the most trifling ailment1 he always withheld his name1 and such was the habit of reserve that had grafted itself upon his life1 that he seemed almost surprised the custom was not common to all the world4 ,some of the ,american ambassadors sent to this country have been notable speakers1 amongst them ,mr4 ,james ,russell ,lowell and ,mr4 ,choate4 ,mr4 ,bayard also1 though not perhaps possessed of an equal natural gift1 could on occasion be deeply impressive4 ,i remember at a dinner of the ,actors' ,benevolent ,fund1 in #ahie1 he extricated himself with considerable grace and tact from a somewhat awkward predicament4 ,the dinner was held on the #ahth of ,december1 and it had been arranged that ,i should propose the toast of 8,friends across the ,sea10 to which ,mr4 ,bayard was to respond4 ,but it so happened on that very day had come ,president ,cleveland's unhappy message to ,congress about ,venezuela1 a message so entirely unexpected3 and at the same time so warlike and menacing in its tone1 that the tenor of it created something like consternation in the mind of the ,english public4 ,when ,i arrived ,mr4 ,bayard was pacing alone1 among the assembled guests in the anteroom1 and ,i ventured to suggest to ,sir ,francis ,jeune1 who was to take the chair1 that it might be wiser1 in view of the circumstances1 to omit this particular toast4 ,sir ,francis ,jeune1 however1 was firm in the opinion that the situation must be faced4 ,as he observed to me1 8,i hear that as a speaker you can skate over thin ice1 and to-night you have your opportunity40 ,all the correspondents of the chief ,american newspapers were present1 and all were in eager expectation to see how a difficult and delicate situation would be handled by the ambassador4 ,i confess1 for my own part1 that ,i felt a little nervous in regard to the task assigned me1 and ,i remember my dear friend1 ,sir ,frank ,lockwood1 coming to me just before we sat down to dinner and imploring me to say something that might tend to soothe the irritated feeling which the unfortunate despatch had aroused4 ,i think ,i must have steered my course successfully1 for at the end of my speech ,mr4 ,bayard1 rising to respond1 was received with genuine enthusiasm by the assembled company4 ,he was evidently deeply moved1 for his words came slowly2 but he contrived also to move and impress his audience4 ,his opening sentences1 earnestly delivered1 seemed to still the menace of war and to relieve the feeling of tension that ,president ,cleveland's actions had created4 8,to-night10 he said1 8we stand upon common ground4 ,mr4 ,comyns ,carr's remarks have affected me deeply4 ,there is no sea between us now40 ,and at the close he added1 8,there is a headline used by ,mr4 ,gladstone in the article1 #8,our ,kith and ,kin beyond the ,seas1' which ,i would gladly recall at this moment4 ,in that article he used this couplet-- ,when love unites1 wide space divides in vain1 ,and hands may clasp across the spreading main4 ,i think it is time to repeat those words4 ,no profession can speak them so well as yours1 and none can speak them so well1 in the name of your country or my country1 as the profession that is domiciled in both countries1 and ,i therefore ask you to join with me in wishing that #8hands may clasp across the spreading main4'0 ,as ,mr4 ,bayard took his leave on that evening at the conclusion of the dinner he turned to me and said1 8,i think things will go our way02 and the event happily proved that he was right4 ,with some after-dinner speakers their task sits heavily upon them1 and sets them in a state of trepidation from the commencement of the feast4 ,i was sitting at a dinner1 given to ,edmund ,yates after his liberation from prison on a charge of libel1 by the side of a worthy alderman of the ,city of ,london who was also a member of ,parliament4 ,his name was entered upon the card in connection with the usual military toast1 and before we were half way through the dinner he begged to be excused from further conversation in order that he might concentrate his thoughts upon the duty he had to discharge4 ,it was only while he was covering the menu card with liberal pencil-notes that he realised the fact that ,i also was among the speakers of the evening4 ,he turned to me suddenly with an expression of blank amazement on his face1 and pointing to my name inquired with an air of incredulity if it was true ,i was going to speak1 and when ,i answered in the affirmative he said1 8,well1 you surprise me4 ,i notice that you have been drinking champagne4 ,now10 he said1 8when ,i want to sway an audience ,i sway them on water40 ,and as he drank nothing but water that evening ,i was prepared to be swayed4 ,but something must have gone wrong with the water on that occasion1 and ,i tremble to think to what further depths of ineptitude he might have fallen if he had followed my pernicious habit of drinking champagne1 for after a few halting sentences1 fashioned in the usual mould1 he sat down1 evidently quite unconscious that he had delivered one of the feeblest addresses ever uttered by the lips of man4 ,illustration3 ,hollyer ,,lord ,,tennyson ,from the painting by ,g4 ,f4 ,,watts1 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #aic4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,some ,,victorian ,,poets ,among the great literary men of the time1 ,lord ,tennyson was the first with whom ,i came into personal contact4 ,when ,i was about seventeen ,i used to stay sometimes with ,mrs4 ,cameron in her house at ,freshwater1 in the ,isle of ,wight1 where her son ,henry and ,i occupied ourselves very earnestly in private theatricals4 ,farringford1 where ,lord ,tennyson dwelt1 was near by1 and the first time that ,i saw the poet was on the occasion of our performance of ,tom ,taylor's play1 ,helping ,hands1 in which ,i enacted the part of a ,jew dealer in musical instruments4 ,as ,i came upon the little stage ,i felt almost startled by the great white dome of ,tennyson's head as he sat in the front row of the stalls4 ,i suppose there was no man of his time in any walk of life whose personal appearance was so striking and impressive4 ,watts has imaged him well1 and ,millais too4 ,but there was something in the presence of the man himself that ,art could not render1 a mingled impression of beauty and dignity1 of simplicity and power1 which ,i cannot recall as being combined in equal measure in any other face ,i have known4 ,it is a singular fact1 not ,i think generally recognised while they were both living1 that there are many elements of resemblance in the features of ,tennyson and ,charles ,dickens4 ,i saw ,dickens only once at a reading which he gave in ,st4 ,james's ,hall1 and ,i was then deeply impressed by the power exhibited in the upper part of the head4 ,but it was not until ,i was looking one day at a beautiful pencil-drawing which ,millais had made of ,dickens after death that ,i perceived the striking resemblance between them--a resemblance that was recognised by ,tennyson himself1 for while this very drawing1 now the property of ,mrs4 ,perugini1 was still in ,millais's studio1 ,tennyson1 after he had gazed at it for some time1 suddenly exclaimed1 8,this is the most extraordinary drawing4 ,it is exactly like myself40 ,during those early ,isle of ,wight days ,mrs4 ,cameron would sometimes take us in the evening to ,farringford1 where ,tennyson1 if he were in the mood1 would read some of his own poems4 ,it was not reading in the ordinary sense1 but may more truly be likened to a deep organ chant1 and yet it was effective and impressive to an extraordinary degree4 ,i remember in particular1 as he recited one of the songs from the ,princess1 the splendid cadence of his deep echoing voice as it rose and swelled and sank and fell in almost musical response to the changing mood of the verse3 ,illustration3 ,,head ,,of ,,charles ,,dickens 7,taken after death47 ,from the pencil-drawing by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a41 in the possession of ,mrs4 ,perugini4 ,to face page #aid4 ,o love1 they die in yon rich sky1 ,they faint on hill or field or river3 ,our echoes roll from soul to soul1 ,and grow for ever and for ever4 ,blow1 bugle1 blow1 set the wild echoes flying1 ,and answer1 echoes1 answer1 dying1 dying1 dying4 ,it is impossible to recapture by mere description the added beauty which he contrived to confer upon these lines as they came from his own lips1 or even to suggest the strength and tenderness of feeling he could command as the tones of his great voice gradually sank and died at the close4 ,many years later ,i heard him read again in his ,surrey home1 whither ,i had taken ,mrs4 ,bernard ,beere on the eve of the production of his play called ,the ,promise of ,may4 ,he read it through to us himself1 and here he adopted a more direct and dramatic style1 giving admirable point to the humour of the rustic scenes4 ,as we stood up to take our leave he put his hand on ,mrs4 ,beere's shoulder and said1 8,you are tall4 ,i am tall too4 ,carlyle once said to me ,i ought to have been a grenadier40 ,the ,promise of ,may was not one of ,tennyson's successful essays in dramatic writing1 and it may1 ,i think1 he doubted whether he possessed in any great degree the dramatic quality4 ,and yet1 on two occasions at the ,lyceum ,theatre1 under the guidance of ,irving1 a deep impression was made upon the public4 ,both ,the ,cup and ,becket have scenes that make a simple and dramatic appeal to the heart2 and the latter1 at any rate1 served to supply the actor with the material for one of his greatest impersonations4 ,it was while ,irving was rehearsing ,becket that he told me a story of ,tennyson that has both a pathetic and humorous significance4 ,in the earlier days1 when ,the ,cup was in preparation1 he had been to see ,tennyson in the ,isle of ,wight to discuss his ideas for its presentation4 ,after dinner1 as he told me1 the dessert and the wine were set out upon a separate table1 and when they were seated the poet asked ,irving if he would like a glass of port4 8,yes1 ,i like a glass of port10 replied the actor4 ,upon which ,tennyson1 taking him at his word1 poured him out a glass of port1 and all unconsciously finished the remainder of the bottle himself4 ,at a later time1 when ,becket was to be presented1 ,tennyson was suffering from gout and was under a strict rgime4 ,but the same graceful little ceremony was observed1 and again his host inquired of ,irving whether he would like a glass of port1 but on this occasion1 as ,irving related to me1 the positions were reversed1 for poor ,lord ,tennyson was only permitted a single glass1 and ,irving finished the bottle4 ,next morning the actor had to leave early1 and had therefore taken leave of his host overnight4 ,but he had scarcely awakened when he saw ,lord ,tennyson sitting at the foot of his bed4 8,how are you this morning1 ,irving80 he inquired anxiously4 8,very well indeed10 was his guest's reply4 8,are you80 came the response1 with just a tinge of doubt in the tones of the voice4 8,you drank a lot of port last night40 ,i think ,tennyson's was essentially a simple nature4 ,certainly in his own home he gave me that impression4 ,his high qualities as a poet1 and the unerring refinement of taste that is stamped on almost every line of his verse1 seemed never to have disturbed or effaced a primitive strength of character that had its roots deep in the soil4 ,and yet he was quickly sensitive to criticism1 and would sometimes take no pains to hide his wounds4 ,at our last meeting he openly expressed his vexation at an unfavourable article that had then recently appeared4 ,he questioned me closely as to what ,i thought could have been the motive of the writer1 who for the rest was not of such a rank that his censure need have disturbed the poet's equanimity4 8,what harm have ,i ever done to him80 he exclaimed1 in tones that seemed to me at the time almost child-like in reproach4 ,but it is1 as ,i have come to think1 a sure hall-mark of genius that its weakness is very often frankly avowed4 ,it is a part of that inward candour that makes for greatness1 the petty price that we have to pay for the larger and nobler revelation4 ,lesser spirits can often contrive to hide their littleness1 but in the greatest it is nearly always carelessly confessed4 ,tennyson's simplicity would sometimes find vent in almost boyish frolic4 ,one evening at ,farringford he was suddenly seized with the idea that he would like to dress up one of ,mrs4 ,cameron's nieces in the garb of a man4 ,he got one of his own long coats from the hall1 and with a burnt cork himself disfigured her pretty face1 daubing upon it a heavy black moustache and imperial1 and then retreating to the other side of the room to gaze with manifest delight upon the result of his own handiwork4 ,the primitive side of ,tennyson's nature was aptly mirrored in the person of his brother ,horatio1 who1 by reason of certain well-considered peculiarities of dress1 was often mistaken by visitors to ,freshwater for the poet himself4 ,the attention thus attracted to him he contrived to endure with complacency2 indeed1 ,i think he was partly conscious that he served in this way as a sort of buffer between his greater brother and the prying curiosity of the crowd which the poet himself deeply resented4 ,horatio ,tennyson would often accompany ,harry ,cameron and myself when we wandered over the downs with a gun in search of sea-gulls1 or scoured the neighbouring farms for rabbits4 ,his mind1 ,i think1 moved slowly1 and there was sometimes a strong bucolic flavour in the stories he loved to relate4 ,another constant companion on these rambling excursions was poor ,lionel ,tennyson1 the poet's younger son1 who afterwards married ,frederick ,locker's daughter4 ,locker himself ,i came to know later in the days of the ,grosvenor ,gallery4 ,i think few men have been endowed with a surer and more delicate taste in all matters pertaining to ,art4 ,we met in sympathy over the drawings by the old masters1 of which he possessed a few of the very choicest examples4 ,it was1 indeed1 his unfailing characteristic as a collector that all he had was of the best4 ,and his personality1 very winning in its simplicity and refinement1 responded aptly enough to the qualities of his mind4 ,in conversation he would sometimes leap with quaint abruptness of thought from the most abstract to the most concrete things1 from the appreciation of a drawing by ,leonardo to the sudden consideration of the price of coals4 ,du ,maurier's pen-and-ink drawing of him may be said to rank as the most perfect of portraits--an exact image of the man himself in form and feature4 ,at the time when ,i first met ,tennyson1 ,i think ,robert ,browning had won my larger admiration4 ,i thought him then the greater poet of the two--,i no longer think so now2 and the very qualities which so strongly attracted me as a youth have since proved in themselves to be the source of my altered judgment4 ,it seems like a paradox1 but ,i believe it to be none the less true1 that it is the intellectual quality in verse that first most strongly attracts the younger student of poetry4 ,so at least it was in my case4 ,the complexity of thought1 even the obscurity of expression which marks so much of ,browning's work1 had for me then the strongest fascination4 ,that half-rebel note in his style1 with its defiant scorn of all accepted models of musical form and rhythmical expression1 was in itself an added allurement to the poet's untiring intellectual agility of which the rugged verse was but the chosen garment4 ,and although the spell he then exercised over my imagination still in some degree survives1 ,i find myself now asking of poetry less and less for any ordered philosophy of life1 and more and more for life itself4 ,the most nobly directed gospel that seeks an altered world counts for little in a poet's equipment beside the passionate vision of the world as it is with its unchanging heritage of joy and pain4 ,so at least it seems to me now and1 with my modified judgment as to what rightly constitutes the substantive part of poetry1 has come an ever-growing delight in the formal beauty of its expression4 ,the two elements are indeed indissolubly bound together4 ,there is no high music in verse that is not linked with sense1 no thought that is rightly a poet's thought that may not find its fitting melody4 ,and it is because ,tennyson1 despite his confessed limitations on the side of passion1 more constantly than his fellows held fast to the true office of the poet1 that he stands among them all as their undisputed master4 ,in every art the last word is simplicity4 ,there is no phase of thought or feeling rightly admissible into the domain of poetry that the might of genius may not force to simple utterance4 ,it is this which constitutes the final triumph of all the greatest wizards of our tongue1 of ,shakespeare as of ,milton2 of ,wordsworth no less than of ,keats4 ,all of them found a way to wed the subtlest music with the simplest speech1 striving with ever-increasing severity for that chastened perfection of form which stands as the last and the surest test of the presence of supreme poetic genius4 ,so much cannot be said of ,browning4 ,there is enough and to spare in the great body of his work to leave his position as a poet unassailed1 but there is more to prove that1 beside the purely poetic impulse1 there were other forces working in his nature1 which1 in so far as they prevail1 must tend to rob the result of that faultless music which alone ,illustration3 ,hollyer ,,robert ,,browning ,from the painting by ,g4 ,f4 ,,watts1 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #bja4 can give to verse its final right of survival4 ,this is doubtless true also of ,wordsworth1 but in his case the good and the bad are easily separable1 and the good at its best is flawless4 ,but with ,browning the conflicting elements of his genius are so closely locked together that the task of selection is not so easy1 and the triumph1 even when it has to be acknowledged1 is not so secure4 ,and yet1 for all who then came under his influence1 the charm can never quite be broken4 ,he spoke to those of us who first learned to know him in our youth with a quickened authority that nothing can quite destroy4 ,the faults which time now thrusts forward were hardly then matter for pardon4 ,for those who come after they may indeed serve to set his fame in peril1 but the message he had for us was so overwhelming in its appeal that we forgot the crabbed hand in which it was transcribed4 ,in one respect1 and in one respect only1 ,browning the poet found an echo in ,browning as he was known to his friends4 ,that brave optimism of spirit1 with its constant nobility of outlook on the facts of life which so finely distinguishes his writing1 was also1 ,i think1 characteristic of the man4 ,it was always a spiritual refreshment to meet him4 ,the fact that he was a poet was1 indeed1 a secret he took some pains to conceal4 ,in this respect1 except for rare lapses of noble enthusiasm1 he preferred to preserve a kind of austere incognito2 but at the same time he contrived to convey even in the simplest converse with the most ordinary people a sense of personal detachment that nevertheless left them free to feel at their ease4 ,and yet1 often as ,i have seen him apparently content with associates who were manifestly his inferiors in intellect1 and even in spirit1 ,i cannot recall a time when his own personality ever seemed to suffer by the contact4 ,i suppose no man of his generation responded so readily to the call of hospitality4 ,he was to be met everywhere1 and so keen was his zest in the ordinary traffic of social life that he seemed at times to be indifferent to his choice of associates4 ,there was something in his own power of drawing entertainment from an evening passed in the society of friends that no measure of dulness in his surroundings seemed capable of abating4 ,he preserved in all companies a constant alertness of spirit1 an undiminished sense of self-reliant enjoyment1 that was surprising to the onlooker4 ,and yet1 despite his unfailing courtesy even to those whom in his secret heart he must often have set in the category of bores1 he never left the slightest impression of insincerity4 ,by means1 hardly definable1 he contrived to keep his converse1 even with the most commonplace of his acquaintance1 on a certain high spiritual level1 and when he took his leave of any party it was impossible not to feel that a considerable personage had quitted the room4 ,and yet the personal impression made by ,browning was not commanding4 ,vigorous and strenuous he always seemed1 and those characteristics stamped him on the first encounter4 ,but they might have belonged equally to a leader in any other walk of life--to a successful man of affairs1 or to a politician in the fulness of his fame4 ,to those who knew him well there were1 however1 many little sidelights that showed the poet4 ,something deeper and more passionate1 something more chivalrous and more tender1 lurked beneath the social armour that he chose to wear2 and it was easy to perceive that even in his ripe age there were smouldering fires of a more passionate experience that a word might waken into flame4 ,he came often to our house in the years between #ahhj and #ahhe4 ,in our smaller circle we saw him as an intimate friend1 and he was a kind and a true friend4 ,i think he was not indifferent to good living1 but he was always content with our simple fare--more than content1 certainly1 if he was allowed his bottle of port wine1 not to be sipped at dessert as others use it1 but to be quaffed through dinner as an accompaniment to every course4 ,his appreciation of wine1 never immoderately indulged1 must1 ,i suppose1 have been inherited1 for he used to tell me a story of his father's indignation on the occasion of his once asking for a glass of water4 8,water1 ,robert60 exclaimed the elder ,browning in dismay4 8,for washing purposes it is1 ,i believe1 often employed1 and for navigable canals ,i admit it to be indispensable1 but for drinking1 ,robert1 ,god never intended it40 ,browning's unfailing courtesy towards women could sometimes display itself in a partly humorous fashion4 ,one day when he was calling upon my wife1 an authoress whose high estimate of her own work was never quite confirmed by the public1 was suddenly announced4 ,the visit was somewhat embarrassing1 for the lady had sent my wife one of her novels1 with a request that1 when she had read it1 it might be submitted to me with a view to its being adapted for the stage4 ,the book had not been read1 had in fact been mislaid1 but as this was the second occasion upon which the lady had applied for my verdict1 my wife basely resorted to prevarication1 and embarked upon general phrases of eulogy in regard to the high merit of the work in question4 ,this subterfuge1 however1 only resulted in deeper disaster1 for the flattered authoress at once plunged into baffling details that lay beyond the reach of my wife's improvised mendacity4 ,it happened1 however1 that ,browning had read the book1 and1 realising the situation1 at once came to the rescue1 and finally succeeded in persuading the unhappy authoress that the very merits of the novel were in themselves an insuperable obstacle to its production on the stage4 ,one thing remains vividly in my recollection of ,browning1 and that was his constant expression of loyal admiration for the genius of ,tennyson4 ,i have heard him bear witness to it again and again1 and always with entire sincerity4 ,there was about him in his outlook on life1 in his high courtesy and in his unflagging faith in the beauty of the world1 a quality that ,i sometimes find lacking in gifted men of a younger generation4 ,i can only express what ,i feel in this sense by reference to a splendid survivor of the great race--,george ,meredith4 ,to those who do not instinctively feel it1 my reference may mean nothing1 but to me1 to whom the whole achievement of the ,victorian ,era1 in art as in literature1 stands high1 it means everything4 ,it is not my purpose in these pages of personal recollections to dwell upon my intimate association with men who are still living1 but in ,mr4 ,meredith ,i feel ,i may make an exception4 ,and ,browning has reminded me of him because there is in both a kindred quality--the quality of a superb reverence for life1 an undying faith in its ultimate beauty4 ,as literature has fallen since under the conduct of later hands1 ,i find that it seems in some sense shattered in subdivision4 ,there are1 on the one hand1 writers who seek to be artists and no more1 men who pet and polish their rhythmic phrases till they may be said to have reached perfection1 and on the other hand there are pamphleteers1 eager and sincere1 but still pamphleteers1 who are content if they can coerce their readers into the belief that their chosen gospel for the regeneration of humanity is a fair equivalent for the larger vision of life itself4 ,no man who is richly human can escape that yearning towards a brighter social ideal4 ,browning and ,tennyson1 ,thackeray and ,dickens1 all had their hopes for the bettering of the world as they found it2 but with them all1 whatever their original impulse1 the beauty of the world1 as it has been and as it is1 outlived their humanitarian ambition1 and left them at the last with an increasing sense of its enduring beauty and glory4 ,and that is where ,george ,meredith1 still living1 stands as a monument of strength1 for worship as for example1 to those who have still to come after him4 ,the hours that ,i have spent with ,george ,meredith in and around his simple home at ,box ,hill count among the most delightful of my life4 ,i met him first at the house of a dear friend of both1 ,frederick ,jameson1 in the year #ahgf1 and it was1 ,i think1 about that time that ,i had published in the ,saturday ,review a criticism of his novel1 ,beauchamp's ,career1 which ,i think must have pleased him1 for ,i find a phrase of his in a letter written to me at that date in which he says1 8,praise of yours comes from the right quarter40 ,it was not long after that that we became intimate friends1 and it was his hospitable custom to invite me to breakfast with him on the little lawn in front of his cottage1 and then1 after the repast1 light and dainty after the fashion of the ,french dejeuner1 we would start for a long ramble over ,box ,hill1 returning often but just in time for dinner1 to continue or to renew the talk that had made the afternoon memorable4 ,meredith could talk and walk after a fashion that ,i have known in no one else4 ,sometimes he would occupy the whole of our ramble in a purely invented biography of some one of our common friends1 passing in rather burlesque rhapsody from incident to incident of a purely hypothetical career1 but always preserving1 even in the most extravagant of his fancies1 a proper relevancy to the character he was seeking to exhibit4 ,on one occasion ,i remember he traced with inimitable humour1 and with inexhaustible invention1 a supposed disaster in love encountered by an amiable gentleman we both knew well2 and as he rambled on with an eloquence that never halted1 he became so in love with his theme that ,i think he himself was hardly conscious where the record of sober fact had ended and where the innocent mendacity of the novelist had begun4 ,and then1 at the immediate summons of some beauty in the landscape around us that arrested his imagination1 he would pause in the wild riot of the imagined portrait and pass1 in a moment1 to discourse1 as eloquent but more serious1 on some deeper problem of ,life or ,art4 ,not that he ever sought1 either in the lighter or the deeper vein1 to talk so as to absorb the conversation4 ,in single companionship there was no better talker1 as1 indeed1 there was no better listener2 and in either mood he was singularly stirring and inspiring4 ,one evening ,i remember that1 after such a ramble and when dinner was over1 we ascended the slope of his garden to the little chalet on its height1 and there he read me till far into the night hours the whole of that wonderful series of sonnets on ,modern ,love4 ,this is not the place or the time to assert his claims either as a poet or as a writer of fiction4 ,i have cited his name here and now1 because both as an author and as a man he seems to me to possess in the highest degree that superb optimism of spirit which also characterised ,browning3 an optimism born of no shallow or sentimental survey of life1 and yet of strength sufficient to survive all shocks of experience in virtue of its deeper hold upon those secrets of beauty that no personal disaster could efface or destroy4 ,once when we were discussing the dramas of ,ibsen he made1 not in criticism but in comment1 a remark that has always seemed to me memorable4 8,there is no picture10 he said1 8however overcast its subject1 in which the painter1 rightly endowed1 cannot suggest that beyond the enclosing clouds there is room for a space of blue sky40 ,he left the comment there without special application to this work or that of the author under discussion1 but it dwells in my memory as highly and nobly characteristic of ,george ,meredith the author and of ,george ,meredith the man4 ,the later advent of ,mr4 ,swinburne caused many of us in those days to reconsider the claims of ,tennyson and ,browning4 ,it is difficult now to realise the sense almost of intoxication with which the new music of his verse was entertained4 ,for a while it seemed to efface the simpler triumphs of ,tennyson no less than ,browning's more impetuous but less ordered strains4 ,its overpowering wealth of rhythmic cadence struck a new note that it was impossible for the younger generation to resist4 ,but it was not ,mr4 ,swinburne who first awakened in me a spirit of reaction against the elder masters of our generation4 ,before ,i read ,atalanta in ,calydon my imagination had been deeply stirred by that first volume of ,mr4 ,william ,morris's verse1 entitled ,the ,defence of ,guinevere4 ,i had found there1 though in a form perhaps deliberately archaic1 that deeper note of passion which ,tennyson's poetry1 even at its best1 confessedly lacks2 and its appeal ,illustration3 ,,william ,,morris ,from the painting by ,g4 ,f4 ,,watts1 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,hollyer ,to face page #bji4 was the more urgent because ,morris too was attracted by the charm of medival romance--romance which in ,tennyson's hands had lost something of its primitive dramatic quality1 and became1 as he developed the ,arthurian story1 more and more material for setting forth a systematised body of ethical teaching4 ,morris at a single stroke seemed to restore the legend to its historical place1 and to recapture a part of its passionate significance4 ,i confess that no later work of his has ever affected me to the same degree1 though there runs in them all that exquisite and ineffable charm of the born story-teller4 ,in poetry as in fiction there are1 and have always been1 two competing schools of thought1 the one moved by the love of the story to be told1 and the other primarily attracted to the story by the opportunities it may offer for the presentment of an ethical idea1 or the interpretation of individual character4 ,they may both reach the same goal1 but there remains that contrast in the quality of the workmanship which is born of its different origin4 ,i remember ,morris saying to me once that he did not much care for a story unless it was long1 and although the statement perhaps was not intended to be taken literally1 it bore witness to that element in his genius which led him to bury himself with unwearied delight in every smallest detail of the tale he had chosen to tell4 ,morris1 ,i think1 was not easy to know well4 ,there was a certain rough shyness in his manner that kept him aloof from the initial advances of ordinary acquaintance1 and it was only as an acquaintance that ,i knew him4 ,but he must have had deeply lovable qualities to have become so endeared1 as he was1 to ,burne-,jones4 ,it was their custom for years to spend every ,sunday morning together in ,burne-,jones's studio2 and on the many occasions when ,burne-,jones has spoken to me of him1 ,i can recall no word of abatement from the deep and lasting affection in which he held his life-long friend4 ,the influence wielded by ,mr4 ,swinburne over the younger men of his generation was of a widely different kind4 ,that new music of which ,i have spoken1 already announced in the ,atalanta1 and presented with even greater variety and exuberance of expression in the ,poems and ,ballads1 set us all thinking4 ,it seemed at the first as though music in its fullest sense had never before entered into the arena of poetry1 and his inexhaustible invention of new metre and rhythmic phrasing set the mind in wonder for a while as to whether all that had gone before was not the mere preface to this final achievement4 ,the immediate effect of the fluent melodies he could command was for the time1 at least1 to put earlier masters upon their trial1 and it was not until the overpowering glamour of these earlier poems had passed that it was possible to reckon at their true worth his lasting claims as a poet4 ,i have always thought that ,mr4 ,swinburne's handling of language as a musical instrument raises an interesting question in regard to the relation of the arts4 ,of them all1 music alone claims an absolute and independent position4 ,its appeal does not rely upon association1 and demands no definable intellectual foundation4 ,it stands in this way1 even in its most primitive forms1 as an example to all other arts1 serving to remind them of what there is in each of the essential artistic quality2 to remind them yet again of the inevitable danger that must be encountered when the artist adds to his natural burden the task of interpreting the changing ideals of life4 ,of all the other arts literature1 by reason of the intellectual material out of which it is moulded1 stands at the farthest pole from music4 ,painting and sculpture have their own manifest laws and limitations1 which may serve to remind their exponents of the peril which awaits their transgression1 but literature1 even in the supreme form of verse1 must of necessity be exposed to dangers from which only the intuitive instinct of the artist can preserve it4 ,borrowing as by right from all the arts1 and pressing into its service all that has been won in the region of form and colour to enforce its own message of the spirit1 it is nevertheless inevitable that to music it must remain the heaviest debtor1 for its chosen vehicle of rhythmic language approaches most nearly to the abstract instrument of the musician4 ,and yet1 ,i think1 even in ,mr4 ,swinburne's highest triumphs in metrical expression1 it is made manifest that the attempt directly to capture the kind of melody that in the last resort belongs to music alone1 there lurks a peril that no artist1 however gifted1 can hope to escape4 ,it is not in any spirit of depreciation of ,mr4 ,swinburne's unchallenged gift1 a gift which1 in its kind1 has perhaps never been surpassed in literature1 that ,i have set down these stray thoughts upon the possible limits of music in verse4 ,what ,i have said is rather intended to record an experience of changing taste in myself in the interval that has elapsed since the time when his earlier poems first captured my imagination4 ,it has grown clearer to me as the years have passed that1 even in poetry1 only that music is enduring where the melody is subtly interwoven with passionate truth1 and that the highest triumph of mere music1 in so far as its effects are applicable to literature1 must be won by constant cultivation of the simplest means of expression4 ,to the serious student of poetry such a conclusion may deservedly rank in the region of the accepted commonplace1 but some of the utterances of our later-day critics yield at least an excuse for its recall4 ,not long ago ,i encountered in a seriously written review the astounding announcement that ,oscar ,wilde was the author of some of the most remarkable verse of the nineteenth century1 and this is hardly an isolated instance of an endeavour that seems at the moment widely spread to make the pitiable disaster of poor ,wilde's career the occasion of the most deplorably exaggerated appreciation of his gifts as a writer4 ,i met ,wilde very often in those earlier days1 before he had begun to seek to win by personal eccentricity the attention which his literary talent had not secured1 and ,i am bound to confess that1 in the light of my later knowledge of the man and of his work1 any attempt to set him in the front rank as a literary personality or a great literary influence seems to me in the highest degree ludicrous and grotesque4 ,in view of the terrible fate that overtook him1 no one could desire to deal harshly at this time with his qualities as a man4 ,that he had a certain charm of manner is undoubted1 and that he possessed a measure of wit1 as often imitative as original1 need not be denied4 ,but there is always a tendency in certain literary circles that lean towards decadence1 to exaggerate the genius of those who are morally condemned4 ,a tragic fate such as his1 even in one less gifted1 naturally tends in such minds to exalt his claims to artistic consideration4 ,it is1 at least to my thinking1 only on such an assumption that any serious student of poetry1 having read the 8,ballad of ,reading ,gaol10 could ever be induced to rank ,wilde as a poetic genius1 or to consider the body of his work as a man of letters1 with whatever luxuries of habiliment it may be offered to the world1 as constituting an enduring claim to rank him among the higher influences of his time4 ,wilde's best work was unquestionably1 ,i think1 done for the stage1 and here it may be conceded he struck out a path of his own4 ,he had the sense of the theatre1 a genuine instinct for those moments in the conflict of character to which the proper resources of the theatre can grant both added force and added refinement4 ,it is not an uncommon assumption1 especially among writers of fiction1 that the drama by comparison is an art of coarse fibre1 incapable1 by reason of its limitations1 of presenting the more intimate realities of character1 or the more delicate shades of feeling4 ,the truth is that each art has its own force1 its own refinement1 and cannot borrow them of another4 ,what is perfectly achieved in one form remains incomparable1 and for that very reason cannot in its completed form be appropriated by an art that has other triumphs and is subject to other laws and conditions4 ,and it is here that the novelist so often breaks down in attempting to employ his own special methods in the service of the stage4 ,wilde made no such blunder4 ,by constant study as well as by natural gift he knew well the arena in which he was working when he chose the vehicle of the drama4 ,his wit has perhaps been over-praised2 his epigrams so loudly acclaimed at the time bear the taint of modishness that seems to render them already old-fashioned4 ,but his grip of the more serious situations in life1 and his ability to exhibit and interpret them by means genuinely inherent in the resources at the disposal of the dramatist1 are left beyond dispute4 ,illustration3 ,emery ,walker ,,robert ,,louis ,,stevenson ,from the painting by ,sir ,,william ,,richmond1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #bae4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,a ,,younger ,,generation ,during the 'seventies ,i got to know many of the younger men of letters whose fame had not yet completely asserted itself4 ,my association with the ,saturday ,review brought me into closer contact with my old friend1 ,walter ,pollock1 whom ,i had known from a boy1 and it was as his guest that ,i constantly found myself at lunch-time at the ,savile ,club1 a favourite haunt of ,robert ,louis ,stevenson when he happened to be in ,london4 ,those lunches at the ,savile1 with discussions carried late into the afternoon and sometimes prolonged to the dinner-hour1 remain as a vivid and delightful recollection4 ,it was there that ,i met ,henley1 a notable individuality1 at that time almost without recognition in the world of literature2 and ,charles ,brookfield1 who would look in now and then to lighten our graver discussions with his keen and incisive wit2 and among others1 ,richard ,duffield1 a strange yet not unattractive individuality who won instant recognition by reason of a fortuitous resemblance to ,michael ,angelo1 due to a broken nose2 but whose literary claims1 as far as ,i can remember1 rested chiefly upon a presumably exclusive knowledge of the work of ,cervantes4 ,but of the figures of that little coterie to which ,i was so often and so hospitably bidden1 the engaging personality of ,robert ,louis ,stevenson stands out distinctly4 ,he carried with him throughout all the period in which ,i had any knowledge of him the indestructible character of a boy4 ,the conscious artistic quality which marks his literary work1 yielding to it a perfection which made it even then a mark of envy for us all1 had no place in his personal converse4 ,as a talker he made no demand for consideration1 and it was that perhaps which lent to his companionship such a singular charm4 ,what he had to say1 though it was often brilliantly said1 left little sense of premeditation4 ,the topic of the moment1 however carelessly it might have been suggested1 seemed in him for the moment to be all-absorbing4 ,however trivial it might be1 it was not too trivial for his acceptance2 and however unpromising it might seem to others1 his quick agile spirit contrived to draw from its discussion something that was notable and memorable4 ,i think of him now with his long straight hair carelessly flung backward1 and the swift alert eyes1 quick in expressive response to any point of humour that arose1 as one of the most fascinating characters it has ever been my fortune to encounter in conversation4 ,he said nothing that appeared to be considered1 and little that was not illuminating1 and yet through it all1 though his talk could rise on occasion to heights of deep earnestness and enthusiasm1 there remained the ever-present sense of the boy4 ,something of the spirit of boyish adventure inspired his presence1 something1 too1 of boyish recklessness1 so that it was not always easy to remember1 in the perfect freedom of intercourse which his nature allowed1 that he was before all things a man of letters1 a man to whom no refinement of our tongue was unknown3 above all things a student and a master of style1 in his work constantly perfecting an instrument which we1 who were his contemporaries1 were very well aware that we used by comparison only as bunglers and beginners4 ,in this sense ,i used to feel that there was a striking contrast between the man and his writing4 ,personally1 and as a talker1 it was the carelessness of his attack of any subject that first impressed me4 ,his interest seemed wholly centred and absorbed by the incident1 the character1 or the episode under discussion1 and the means by which his thought and feeling concerning it might be expressed1 were by contrast almost negligently employed4 ,as a writer1 great as is the rank he deservedly holds in the region of romance1 his work yields to me exactly the opposite impression4 ,his own faith in the story he has to tell is never1 to my thinking1 entirely convincing4 ,something too much of the conscious artist intrudes itself between the narrator and the reader1 something that robs the result of the sense that the recorded fact is a fact indeed4 ,it is impossible to forget1 ,i think1 even in ,stevenson's happiest work that he is an accomplished man of letters2 and although there is no great writer who is not1 the greatest and ablest allow us to forget it4 ,certainly in contact with ,stevenson the man1 one had no temptation to remember it4 ,one was never haunted in those delightful hours of social intercourse by the suspicion that he was searching for a phrase1 and yet often enough our conversation turned upon points of style2 and ,i remember once in a selected line of a poet1 where the fitness of a single word was under discussion1 ,stevenson swiftly checked our condemnation by a remark that seemed all the more apt because it came from his lips3 8,my dear ,carr1 every word looks guilty when it is put into the dock40 ,i suppose no one ever had a juster or more generous appreciation of the great leisurely genius of ,sir ,walter ,scott than was possessed by ,stevenson4 ,no one by intention or design was more desirous to exclude from his own work the sense of modishness in style1 and yet it remains with me as a final impression of ,stevenson as a writer1 that he occasionally laid himself open to the reproach that he would1 as a critic1 have been the first to detect in the work of another4 ,but ,i can think of him now only as ,i knew him then1 an unconquerable boy with his heart set for adventure1 lending to our talk as often as he came into it something of that daring outlook into worlds as yet undiscovered which characterised the adventurers of the seventeenth century4 ,it may have been something of this fighting quality in himself that attracted ,stevenson to the combative spirit of ,henley4 ,their first association1 of course1 bore an early date1 and it may have been again something in poor ,henley's physical disability which provoked and sustained ,stevenson's affectionate regard4 ,it is not altogether pleasant to reflect that such affection loyally rendered on ,stevenson's part was not at the close so loyally recognised by his comrade4 ,henley's vehement personality rendered his presence on those particular afternoons at the ,savile ,club a constant factor of vitality4 ,it was impossible for thought to slumber while ,henley was awake4 ,there was no opinion he would not question1 no proposition1 however confidently or however modestly put forward1 he would not immediately set upon its trial4 ,those were his days of battle1 and it was not easy then to guess that a few years later he would win to his standard quite a troop of young men eager to enforce the gospel he had to preach4 ,at the time of which ,i am thinking he was fighting for his own hand1 and he fought strenuously2 the mere love of the conflict was a dominating passion1 and if there was1 as ,i think sometimes there was1 an underlying note of personal bitterness1 may it not be set down in the hearts of those who knew him1 and who survive him1 as the inevitable price humanity has to pay for the long martyrdom of pain to which nature had doomed him8 ,and yet ,henley1 for all the valorous spirit that was in him1 was not always proof against sudden attack4 ,one night when we were gathered at the ,savile after some public dinner where we had all been present1 ,irving was of the party4 ,irving had a trick of waiting for his foe1 and on this particular occasion1 as ,i recall it1 he was chafing under a criticism which had been delivered by ,henley upon his impersonation of ,macbeth4 ,henley appeared to be well aware that the matter in difference between them would come under discussion before the evening was ended1 and was obviously ready with all the destructive weapons that were arrayed in his critical armoury4 ,but quick and vigilant as he was as a fighting force1 he nevertheless proved himself unready for the kind of attack which ,irving had designed4 ,very quietly and almost deferentially the actor came to his point4 ,after much genial interchange of cordial sentiment on one side and the other1 ,irving suddenly pounced upon his man4 8,i notice10 he said1 speaking to ,henley in that tone of reverie which with him always concealed an imminent blow1 8that you do not approve of my conception of ,macbeth4 ,tell me now1 for ,i should be interested to hear it1 how would you play ,macbeth if you were called upon to present the character on the stage8 ,what is your conception80 ,henley was hardly prepared for such an invitation1 and as we sat in expectation of what he would have to say1 it was easy to perceive that the critic's destructive method1 which at that time was uppermost in him1 could not suddenly readjust itself to the task of offering any coherent appreciation of the character which ,irving1 according to his allegation1 had misinterpreted4 ,irving was notoriously skilful in this kind of combat4 ,he was patient in the endurance of any slight which he conceived to be passed upon his work as an actor1 but his patience was never forgetful1 and when the hour came1 however long it might have been delayed1 when he thought that he could claim his own1 he was wont to strike mercilessly4 ,i remember an incident concerning myself1 belonging to the earlier stages of our friendship4 ,it was after the conclusion to a dinner of the ,rabelais ,club1 when he invited several of us to adjourn to his rooms in ,grafton ,street for a final cigar4 ,i was very cordially bidden to be of the company1 little guessing that he had selected this particular occasion to single me out as the mark of his disapproval4 ,when we were all comfortably seated round him1 and he was reclining deep in his chair in an easy attitude that ,i afterwards learned to know was nearly always ominous1 he threw out for our discussion a proposition in regard to which we could not fail to find ourselves unanimous4 8,now1 talking among friends10 he said1 8,i suppose that you would all agree that criticism ought to be fair80 ,with no possible exception we were all loudly enthusiastic in assent4 8,quite so10 replied ,irving1 in the same dispassionate and measured tones4 8,well1 then10 he continued1 in a voice somewhat threateningly raised but still carefully controlled1 8there is a criticism ,i have read in a magazine called ,the ,theatre about a play of mine4 ,very clever60 ,and then with sudden vehemence1 pointing to me1 he added1 8,you wrote it60 8,do you mean10 ,i inquired1 8the article on ,iolanthe80--an adaptation by ,w4 ,g4 ,wills of ,king ,rene's ,daughter which had recently been presented at the ,lyceum4 8,yes1 ,i wrote it60 8,quite so10 returned ,irving1 his voice now rising in a tenser strain4 8,well1 nothing more unfair and more unjust has ever been written40 ,i was young enough then not to be unmoved by this sudden and unexpected onslaught1 but ,i summoned the courage to ask him1 in reply1 if the magazine was in the room4 ,i saw as ,i spoke that it was lying on the table1 and ,i asked him1 as the article was short1 if he would allow me to read it to those of my fellow-critics who were present1 some of whom might fairly be supposed to be unaware of its import4 ,irving could not1 of course1 but assent to my demand1 but when ,i had concluded he appealed with even greater vehemence to those who were present in justification of what he had already said4 8,you see6 ,you see60 he cried4 8,not one word about me60 8,it is quite true1 ,irving10 ,i answered4 8,and ,i will tell you why4 ,i do not think any one has a higher appreciation of your genius as an actor than ,i have1 and if ,i could have found the occasion to praise this particular performance ,i would gladly have seized it1 but ,i thought it1 rightly or wrongly1 a bad performance1 and1 out of a spirit of loyalty to my larger admiration of your talent1 ,i refrained from saying so4 ,but ,i see now that ,i was wrong4 ,in view of what you have said to-night ,i feel it would have been better to have said what ,i thought4 ,you may however be assured1 after what has occurred1 that ,i shall not commit that blunder again40 ,my defence was absolutely sincere1 and ,i think ,irving realised it4 ,at any rate1 ,i know that this little incident1 which occurred upon the threshold of our friendship1 did not hinder the formation of a close fellowship which endured and strengthened during the greater part of his career4 ,bret ,harte was an occasional visitor to the ,savile1 but ,i saw him more often and more intimately at the delightful meetings of the ,kinsmen ,club1 a society that was designedly founded to bring together men of kindred interest in ,art and ,letters from both sides of the ,atlantic4 ,it has often been something of a puzzle to me that ,bret ,harte should not have ranked higher as an author among his own compatriots4 ,in his own realm as a story-teller it seems to me hardly possible to rank him too high4 ,that he owed much to ,dickens he himself1 ,i believe1 would have been the first to acknowledge2 but that his own individuality1 both in humour and pathos1 outstripped any reproach of imitation cannot1 ,i think1 be questioned by those to whom his work makes any strong appeal4 ,socially he never made any endeavour to press for consideration of his literary claims4 ,he was willing to speak of his work on the invitation of others1 and always with modesty4 ,in converse you would hardly have guessed he was a writer1 nor did he often lead conversation on to the subject of literature1 but ,i found in him1 what ,i have always found in his writings1 a certain reticent delicacy of perception1 touched and fired now and again with a quick chivalry of feeling in all that concerned the relation of the sexes4 ,to his own countrymen ,i suppose he belonged to a past era in literary art1 an era which preceded that elaborate analysis of the feminine temperament as distinguished from feminine character which to the mind of so many modern novelists appears to rank as the final victory of fiction4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,men ,,of ,,the ,,theatre ,my association with the theatre began somewhat disastrously4 ,it was my father's kindly thought1 while we were still children1 to afford us an annual visit to the pantomime1 a visit that was accomplished for our large family by means of two hired flies1 which transported us from our house at ,barnes to the chosen place of amusement4 ,but my particular enjoyment of this long-desired entertainment was mitigated by circumstances both moral and physical4 ,we had at that time a nurse who1 though by nature endowed with most affectionate impulses1 strongly disapproved of all dramatic entertainment1 and who1 for some weeks before this annually projected tampering with the forces of evil1 tormented my spirit by a somewhat vivid picture of the eternal perils which ,i was destined to encounter4 ,on the first of these theatre parties that ,i can recollect1 when she was coerced by my mother to form one of the party1 in order that her numerous flock should have proper protection1 her original antipathy to all things theatrical was strongly enforced and confirmed from the fact that1 in the first piece which preceded the pantomime1 one of the actors1 shipwrecked upon a desert shore1 gave utterance to a sentiment which to her mind seemed profoundly impious--that 8what man could do he had done1 and that ,god must do the rest40 ,as she explained to me the next evening1 when ,i lay tucked up in bed1 the mere mention of ,god within the four walls of a theatre was an act of profanity altogether unpardonable1 and from that time forward she would never consent to take any part in these annual orgies4 ,but her manifest disapproval1 as the recurring season of ,christmas approached1 set my spirit in terrible debate between the pleasure ,i longed for and the sin ,i knew ,i was about to commit4 ,that internal struggle1 fierce as it seemed to me at the time1 must1 ,i suppose1 have been conducted with insufficient force on her side1 for the issue left me always eager and ready for the adventure of sin4 ,indeed1 so eager was our anticipation of the treat in store for us1 that for many days beforehand we could think of nothing else2 and so great our excitement as the appointed day approached1 that the long-looked-for pleasure nearly always ended in disaster4 ,excitement in our family always revealed itself in an overmastering tendency to sickness1 and from the age of five till the age of ten my vision of the splendours of the pantomime was intermittent1 such glimpses of its glory as ,i derived being for the most part only obtained through the small lunette at the back of the dress-circle1 the remainder of the evening being nearly always passed in a state of utter prostration in the ladies' cloak-room4 ,i neither claim nor profess any isolated distinction in this recurring malady1 it was the abiding characteristic of our family2 and ,i have often since1 looking back on those days1 reflected with admiration upon the dauntless courage of my father and mother to whom these occasions1 repeated again and again1 in spite of all example1 must have been fraught with nothing short of misery4 ,but to me personally there was this added penalty1 that when ,i returned from each such woful debauch1 like a stricken soldier from the field1 ,i was compelled to endure without defence the reproachful glance of my nurse's eye1 which told me as clearly as though it were written upon the wall that ,i had but earned the appointed wages of sin4 ,this nurse of mine was in many ways a remarkable character4 ,linked with a nature surely the most loving and affectionate that a child could desire1 were the sternest principles of religion and morality ever implanted in the human breast--principles associated with so slender a store of intellectual endowment that even to my childish mind their vehement announcement was sometimes grotesque4 ,one of her most deeply rooted convictions was that the principle of life insurance was a direct defiance of the laws of ,god3 a proposition which she sought to establish by a terrible tale of a butcher of ,lewes1 who1 having flouted ,providence by affecting an insurance upon his life1 within half an hour after the conclusion of this prudent operation fell down dead as he descended the steps of the market-hall4 ,her intellectual equipment was perhaps no scantier than that of many other women1 but the fervour with which she employed it in the service of her religious principles might have made her a desolating influence upon the life of a child1 if her loving and kindly nature had not constantly given the lie to the rigid creed she innocently believed was guiding her conduct through life4 ,it is undeniable1 however1 that such influences first exercised in childhood are long remembered1 and it was many a day before ,i could quite free myself from the thought that the study of dramatic art was not in some degree associated with a sinful life4 ,it is difficult to say whether this hovering sense of wrong-doing is not in its nature an added incentive to enjoyment4 ,certain it is that the pleasures of the play-house became a factor of increasing influence in my life4 ,there was an old laundry attached to our house at ,barnes which seemed to us singularly unfitted for its destined purpose1 but which might1 as we thought1 be easily adapted as an arena for the performance of stage plays1 and here1 urged on by a wicked cousin who has since1 as a fitting penalty for his youthful delinquencies1 become a clergyman1 ,i began my career as an amateur actor4 ,we had at that time a distrust of all feminine help1 and chose for our essays in histrionic art only those plays in ,lacy's list wherein the plot might be expounded by the exclusive support of male performers4 ,it chanced1 while ,i was at ,bruce ,castle ,school1 ,i had for one of my comrades poor ,dick ,bateman1 son of ,richard ,bateman1 who had about that time1 or soon after1 become ,irving's manager at the ,lyceum4 ,together we became editors of a school magazine1 and it was through him afterwards that ,i won my first introduction to the theatre4 ,he was remarkable as a schoolboy for a prodigious and extraordinary memory4 ,i have spoken1 in the earlier pages of this book1 of the memory of ,churton ,collins1 but in ,dick ,bateman's case the faculty was differently exercised4 ,it seemed in him to be purely mechanical1 and we used to delight1 as schoolboys1 to set him the task1 in which he rarely failed1 of reading over a page of any author and then requiring of him that he should repeat it word for word4 ,that special kind of memory which appeared to be detached from any personal interest in the matter recalled1 it has not been my chance to see equalled in any other man ,i have known4 ,i have spoken of him as 8poor0 ,dick ,bateman because he met an early and tragic fate1 for after a few years spent in ,london in occasional employment under his father he was sent upon some business adventure to the ,east1 and was drowned in a shipwreck which occurred off the coast of ,japan4 ,but in our schooldays1 and in the years immediately succeeding our schooldays1 we were close comrades1 and it was through him that ,i won my first knowledge of ,irving1 who had already appeared in several plays in which ,i had seen him1 but who had then been recently engaged by ,mr4 ,bateman as a leading actor to support his daughter1 ,isabella ,bateman1 in whose interests he had undertaken the management of the ,lyceum ,theatre4 ,i had seen ,irving before that time when he had played ,bob ,gassett in ,dearer than ,life at the ,queen's ,theatre1 and ,i had seen him again in ,uncle ,dick's ,darling at the ,gaiety1 when he had appeared in company with ,toole4 ,it was of the latter performance that ,toole afterwards told me ,charles ,dickens had said1 when he saw it1 that he thought it admirable in the promise it gave of the young actor's ability2 though he had added3 8,i fancy that both he and the author have cast an eye over my character of ,mr4 ,dombey--eh1 ,toole80 ,and to any one who saw the performance there could have been no doubt as to the justice of ,dickens's suggestion4 ,it was at a little later date that ,irving achieved his first great success with the public in the character of ,digby ,grant in ,mr4 ,albery's play of ,the ,two ,roses1 and it was after that again that he became permanently engaged to ,mr4 ,bateman4 ,but ,mr4 ,bateman's endeavour to force his younger daughter ,isabella upon the acceptance of the public as a leading actress was not successful4 ,the play of ,fanchette1 with which he opened his management1 was a failure1 and the part of the youthful hero1 for which ,irving was cast1 was entirely unsuited to his special abilities4 ,other adventures followed1 and they only had the effect of somewhat lowering the mark ,irving had made in ,the ,two ,roses1 and there came a time in the steadily waning fortunes of the theatre when it seemed that ,mr4 ,bateman's management was destined to come to an inglorious end4 ,it was at that time that ,irving1 who had had for some little while in his possession ,leopold ,lewis's dramatised version of ,erckmann-,chatrian's ,polish ,jew1 persuaded ,mr4 ,bateman to allow him to put it on the stage of the ,lyceum4 ,irving has more than once told me the story himself1 of how he and ,bateman paced up and down the ,adelphi terrace at midnight debating the possibilities of its success4 ,bateman1 as he frankly avowed to the actor1 had no faith in the popular appeal of the play1 and it was1 ,i suppose1 only because he found himself at the end of his tether that he somewhat reluctantly consented to permit ,irving to make the experiment4 ,how hardly pressed the enterprising manager must have been at the time was proved by the fact that one evening1 when ,i was walking with him down the ,haymarket1 he pointed to a corner public-house and said to me1 8,the owner of that house once held an umbrella over me in the rain when ,i most needed it1 and ,i shall never forget it40 ,nor shall ,i ever forget the extraordinary impression made upon my own imagination by my first sight of ,irving in his performance of ,the ,bells4 ,i have often recalled in recollection the sentence penned by ,dutton ,cook1 who was then the dramatic critic of the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 wherein he said1 8,acting at once so intelligent and so intense has not been seen upon the stage for years02 nor do ,i think any one who witnessed that performance1 as it was rendered by ,irving in the plenitude of his powers1 would be disposed to question the verdict of the critic4 ,to a youth ,i know it came as an astounding revelation--a revelation charged with such extraordinary concentration of personal feeling that the first vision of it as ,i recall it now seemed to have almost transgressed the limits of art1 so poignant1 even to the verge of pain1 was the actor's relentless portraiture of crime and remorse4 ,it was in ,dick ,bateman's company that ,i first witnessed ,irving's performance of ,the ,bells1 and it was through ,mr4 ,bateman's introduction that ,i first learned to know the actor himself4 ,in order to realise the kind and the measure of effect which ,irving's intense individuality exercised over the public of that date1 it is necessary to recall1 if only for a moment1 the condition of the stage at the time4 ,phelps's career1 in which he had so loyally and so honourably sustained the great tradition he had received from ,macready1 had practically1 for all its influence upon the art1 come to an end4 ,he was still to be seen1 as ,i saw him1 in occasional engagements at ,drury ,lane1 and later under the management of ,john ,hollingshead at the ,gaiety1 and it was still possible to appreciate the great and sterling qualities of high training and accomplishment that he brought to the service of the theatre4 ,but the magic which could win the attention of a new generation was no longer there4 ,its influence1 perhaps1 had been partly destroyed by the advent of ,fechter's more romantic method1 which1 even in his rendering of the classic drama1 granted to his performance something of the charm and allurement of the conquering hero of a fairy story4 ,and on the other side of the picture there was gradually arising a new school1 though it seemed to be at the time exercised in only the tiniest arena1 wherein a determined effort was being made to bring life as it was presented on the stage into closer alliance with the accepted realities of contemporary manners4 ,a revolution in little had been started in the theatre in ,tottenham ,court ,road--a revolution due in the first instance to the talent of ,robertson1 which was destined to exercise a lasting influence over the theatre in ,england4 ,robertson's new outlook1 ably supported as it was by ,marie ,bancroft and her husband1 who found and captured an ally of added strength in the person of ,john ,hare1 had the effect1 for a while at least1 of throwing classical drama into discredit1 and it was therefore a matter of supreme difficulty for an actor equipped as ,irving was1 whose vision struck deeper and whose ambition took a wider range1 to find a way to draw back the wandering attention of the public to the more passionate drama which for the time had fallen out of fashion4 ,it was left to him almost unaided to forge a convention of his own1 and it is perhaps the highest tribute to his innate gift as an actor that1 although endowed by nature with few of the graces an actor might desire to claim1 he was enabled from this first adventure in ,the ,bells to win little by little1 and with every step in his career fiercely disputed1 a commanding position among the professors of his art4 ,i think at the first nobody was more surprised than ,mr4 ,bateman at the success achieved by ,irving's experiment4 ,in those days the favourite haunt of actors was the old ,albion ,tavern in ,drury ,lane4 ,clubs were comparatively few1 and fewer still the actors who belonged to them4 ,the licensing laws imposing the early closure upon the ,london taverns had not yet been passed1 and it was the habit of those who were interested in the theatre to gather in the old-fashioned boxes of the ,albion1 and to remain in eager discussion over the things of the drama till the small hours of the morning4 ,it was on one evening during the first rendering of ,the ,bells that ,i found myself seated there in company with a few genial spirits including ,henry ,montague1 ,toole1 and ,tom ,thorne1 when we noticed that ,irving's manager1 ,mr4 ,bateman1 had entered and was gazing round the room as though in search of some one he had appointed to meet4 ,it occurred at once to the mischievous spirit of ,toole to turn the occasion to account4 ,in a whispered sentence he made the rest of us co-conspirators in the little drama he had suddenly devised1 and as ,mr4 ,bateman1 still scanning the visitors assembled1 advanced from box to box1 he and ,montague1 in tones designedly pitched so that all might hear1 began an animated discussion as to ,irving's rightful claims to a larger salary than he was at that time receiving4 ,i believe1 in fact1 that ,irving's remuneration was something like #ae a week1 which represented a substantial advance upon the payment he had received during his engagement for ,the ,two ,roses at the ,vaudeville ,theatre2 but ,montague and ,toole vied with one another like competing bidders at an auction in loud proclaim of his larger worth4 8#ae a week60 said ,toole4 8,why1 he's worth #bj at any rate60 8#bj60 retorted ,montague4 8,nonsense6 ,he's worth #cj if he's worth a penny60 ,and then ,thorne1 topping ,montague1 said he would be perfectly willing to give him #dj if he would return to the ,vaudeville2 and as the voices grew louder in the increasing estimate of ,irving's value1 ,bateman1 attracted by the discussion1 drew nearer and nearer to the box in which we sat1 until at last1 leaning with his elbows upon the mahogany partition1 he leant forward with lowering brows no longer able to contain the indignation which these comments had provoked4 ,and then at last ,toole1 always incorrigible in humorous mischief1 topped all previous bidders by the emphatic announcement that ,henry ,irving was worth #ej a week if he was worth a shilling1 to which ,bateman1 now incensed beyond measure1 retorted1 8,yes1 and you are the scoundrels who would put him up to asking it40 ,another anecdote1 at that time related to me by ,irving himself1 also belongs to those old days of the ,albion4 ,seated one evening at supper after the play he found himself opposite to a little old gentleman1 who was unable to conceal his remembered enjoyment of the performance he had just witnessed at the theatre4 ,irving1 encouraged by his manifest geniality1 inquired where he had been1 to which the stranger replied that he had come from the ,vaudeville1 where he had seen the most delightful play1 ,the ,two ,roses1 wherein1 of course1 at the time ,irving was acting4 ,nothing could exceed the old gentleman's enthusiasm for the performers1 as he recalled them one after another4 ,montague was superb6 ,thorne was excellent6 and so on and so on in a liberal catalogue of the several performers1 his appreciation rising with each added name4 ,irving1 at last a little nettled1 as he confessed to me1 at the exclusion of all reference to himself1 ventured to inquire of his neighbour whether there was not in the play a character called ,digby ,grant4 8,ah yes6 ,ah yes60 assented the old gentleman1 reflectively4 8,well1 now10 said ,irving1 8what did you think of that performance80 8,very good10 returned the old gentleman--8very good10 in tones which seemed to imply that he was only half-willingly conceding a point upon which he was not wholly convinced4 8,ah yes1 yes10 he added2 8very good1 but1 by heavens10 he continued1 8what a part ,johnny ,hare would have made of it60 ,the progress made by ,irving in those earlier times of his histrionic career was fiercely disputed at each step of the way4 ,it could hardly have been foreseen then that he would ultimately win the larger fame that was accorded to him1 and it must be conceded to those critics who blocked his path that there was much in the individuality of the man himself to account for the slow growth of his appeal to the public4 ,i have often heard him say himself in later days that his success was achieved in spite of many natural disabilities4 ,his figure at that time was accounted ungainly1 his gestures were often reckoned grotesque1 and the quality of his voice was such as naturally to repel those whom his individuality did not powerfully attract4 ,but it was in virtue of that individuality1 and by reason of those very attributes that barred his progress on the threshold of his career1 that he at last reached the goal4 ,the peculiarities of his personality could not by their nature1 on their first appeal1 be widely accepted as forming a normal vehicle for the expression of poetic drama4 ,for many years his career presented ,illustration3 ,,henry ,,irving ,,in ,,the ,,character ,,of ,,becket ,from a photograph by ,h4 ,h4 ,,cameron4 ,to face page #bcg4 a fierce encounter between the message that was in him to convey and the restricted means that nature had placed at his disposal4 ,his individuality betrayed at the first1 and indelibly stamped upon every creation even to the close of his career1 formed at first a serious weakness and again1 finally1 the saving element of strength in the work that he had to offer to the theatre4 ,there will always1 ,i suppose1 be a radical divergence of thought as to the proper attributes of an actor4 ,to some minds it seems a self-evident proposition that the highest triumph of histrionic art is that in which the personality of the performer is most effectively concealed4 ,to such critics completeness of disguise is completeness of victory1 and in the region of comedy there is perhaps room for the confident assertion of this idea1 for it is unquestionable that a full measure of enjoyment is conferred upon his audience by the actor's successful assumption of alien idiosyncrasies of bearing and manner4 ,in what is technically known in the theatre as character-acting1 this is a goal of perfection that is rightly sought for2 and although ,irving proved himself on occasion a capable actor of character1 it seems to me that his efforts in this direction bore with rare exception an impression of exaggeration4 ,and the reason is not far to seek4 ,conscious of his own peculiarities1 so difficult if not impossible to efface1 he was disposed to seek for concealment by forcing to the verge of the grotesque the personation of characteristics that were not his own4 ,he was for this reason1 to my thinking1 never wholly successful as an actor of disguise2 but at the opposite pole of histrionic achievement lies1 ,i think1 a faculty that is both rarer and greater1 the faculty of revelation4 ,between these two spheres of disguise and revelation lie all the possibilities of the actor's art4 ,the choice of the one or of the other must be determined by the temperament of the actor1 and in an equal measure by the response he receives from the temper of his audience4 ,speaking only for myself1 ,i may frankly say that the greatest impressions ,i have received in the theatre have been made upon me by performers who never left me for a moment to imagine they were not themselves2 but who1 without greatly striving to realise the external attributes of the characters they were presenting1 have succeeded in the power of constantly identifying themselves with the culminating passions of life4 ,and of course these greater victories1 if they are greater1 belong in the nature of things to those actors whose ambition it is to present and interpret the deeper emotions--those emotions1 ,i mean1 so deeply seated in humanity that their occasional difference of expression counts as for nothing beside the intensity with which they are felt and experienced by all4 ,the justice of this view of the final victory of the actor's art can only be decided by individual experience and individual impression4 ,looking back and recalling the performances that have most deeply moved me1 ,i find myself suddenly reverting in recollection to those supreme moments in a great play or in a great impersonation in which the individual is forgotten1 and the supreme power of sounding the depths of human feeling is indelibly stamped upon the memory4 ,i saw ,descle1 and greatly admired her2 and ,i remember1 long afterwards1 when ,i witnessed ,sarah ,bernhardt's performance of ,frou-frou1 how much ,i thought it suffered in comparison with the original in those lighter and earlier scenes of the play in which the qualities of the heroine's temperament have to be exhibited2 and yet1 when ,madame ,bernhardt came to the great scene in the third act1 the recollection of ,descle1 by a single stroke of genius1 was almost effaced1 and ,i can only think of ,frou-frou as it is recalled to me by that superb exhibition of passion in her encounter with ,louise4 ,it was not ,irving's performance of ,the ,bells or the impression it yielded which satisfied me1 even in those days1 that he was a great actor4 ,the picture as drawn1 both by the author and by the actor1 is so narrowly concentrated upon almost a single phase of criminal instinct and abnormal remorse1 that it might well have been the outcome of an intelligence intense assuredly and yet confessedly limited in its outlook4 ,it gave no assurance that the actor could touch the finer or deeper notes of feeling1 and it was only when he afterwards played ,hamlet that he convinced me of the possession of deeper imaginative powers4 propos of ,hamlet1 ,irving used to tell a story that was characteristic of his imperturbable self-possession and was no less interesting in the light it throws upon the striking individuality of a youth who afterwards rose to a foremost position in public affairs4 ,it was some few years after his performance of the character in ,london that ,irving found himself in ,dublin at a time when the ,duke of ,marlborough1 the father of ,lord ,randolph ,churchill1 was ,lord-,lieutenant of ,ireland4 ,hamlet was the play of the evening1 and ,lord ,randolph1 seated alone1 occupied the viceregal box4 ,when the second act was ended he went behind the scenes to ,irving's dressing-room and introduced himself to the actor4 ,with an apology that was evidently sincere he expressed his regret that1 owing to a reception at the ,castle1 he was unable to wait for the conclusion of the performance4 ,he declared himself1 however1 intensely interested with what he had seen1 and begged ,irving to tell him in a few words1 as his time was limited1 how the play ended4 ,irving1 as he told me1 was at first so taken aback that he thought his visitor was indulging in a humorous sally at the expense of the immortal dramatist1 but a quick glance at the young man's earnest face sufficed to reassure him1 and he then told ,lord ,randolph the outline of that concluding part of the story which his social engagement did not permit him to see represented upon the boards4 8,when do you play it again80 inquired the young man of the actor4 8,on ,wednesday next10 answered ,irving4 8,i shall be there10 replied ,lord ,randolph1 earnestly2 and there assuredly he was from the rise of the curtain to its fall1 in rapt attention to every succeeding scene of the tragedy4 ,at the conclusion he again went round to ,irving's room1 even more enthusiastic than on the occasion of his previous visit2 and1 with a navet that was1 ,i think1 deeply characteristic of that power he afterwards displayed in public affairs--the power of swiftly appropriating the knowledge needful for every successive post he occupied--he made the frank avowal that1 since their last meeting1 he had read for himself1 not only ,hamlet1 but two or three other plays by the same author4 8,and do you know1 ,mr4 ,irving10 he said1 8,i find them enormously interesting40 ,lord ,randolph1 ,i think1 must have retained to the last his admiration of ,irving's talent as an actor1 for ,i met him several times in later years at those little suppers in the ,beefsteak ,room of the ,lyceum ,theatre1 which formed so memorable a feature of ,irving's management4 ,here1 indeed1 might be met many of the most notable people of the time1 and amongst them1 an almost constant figure in these pleasant gatherings1 ,irving's life-long friend1 ,j4 ,l4 ,toole4 ,the lasting friendship between these two men1 so differently gifted and yet so enduringly allied1 forms1 ,i think1 a touching tribute to certain great qualities of loyalty resident in them both4 ,my relations with ,irving were not so close or so intimate during the later years of his life1 and ,i prefer to think of him now as ,i knew him best1 before the days of discouragement had overtaken him4 ,to a man of his commanding personality and indomitable will1 it was difficult to acknowledge1 without a reluctance that sometimes bordered on resentment1 the need of any resources but his own4 ,the feeling1 ,i think1 was natural enough4 ,he had carved out his career with such splendid courage and persistence that it must have been hard for him to realise1 even when his powers were no longer at the full1 that he had not the needful strength for the conflict4 ,but this feeling of impatience with the position in which he found himself1 pardonable enough in itself1 made him1 ,i think1 sometimes suspicious of his friends4 ,in my own case ,i know he entirely misconceived the motives with which ,i had sought to recapture for him his threatened position in the theatre he had made famous2 but although such misunderstanding must of necessity at the time cause a measure of pain1 it is to the closer friendship of earlier days that my memory now recurs1 to the many years during which we were fast friends and staunch allies4 ,the other day ,i came across a little letter belonging to that happier time which ,i love to preserve as a touching record of the deeper side of ,irving's nature4 ,something had occurred1 what precisely it was ,i now forget1 which caused me to write to him in warm appreciation of the great services ,i always felt he had rendered to the stage1 and my letter drew from him the following response3-- 8,your letter10 he writes1 8gave me much happiness4 ,i know our hearts are one in many things1 and ,i often wish we could sometimes be by the still waters and speak of things deeper even than could be spoken of before the best of other friends40 ,there was a strong emotional element in ,irving's character that could scarcely have been suspected by those who did not know him intimately4 ,sometimes when he was deeply moved ,i have seen the tears start suddenly to his eyes1 and at such moments his voice would often break and tremble as he sought to express the feeling that stirred him4 ,in the summer of #ahhf he invited my wife and myself to accompany him on a visit to ,nuremberg4 ,miss ,ellen ,terry and her daughter were of the party1 and as ,faust was to be produced at the end of the year1 our holiday had in part a practical purpose4 ,irving and ,i made an exhaustive study of the gardens of the old ,german city in order to find suitable material for the scenery of the play1 the greater part of which was to be painted by ,mr4 ,hawes ,craven4 ,we even carried our researches as far as ,rothenberg-on-the-,tauber1 a most beautiful example of a medival fortified town2 and at the last ,irving deemed it wise to summon ,craven from ,london in order that he might make a few preparatory studies on the spot4 ,there was one incident of our journey that was rather unfortunate4 ,i was acting as paymaster for the party1 and at ,cologne ,irving cashed a circular note of #ajj1 and the ,german notes we received in exchange were in my pocket-book as ,i took our tickets for ,wurtzburg4 ,at a junction on the route the train made a halt of some minutes to allow time for refreshments1 and as ,i stood at the door of the buffet a young ,american of great politeness of manner questioned me as to the identity of ,irving and ,miss ,terry4 ,his tone was reverent and confidential1 and as the crowd pressed through the doorway he apologised for jostling me in so unmannerly a fashion4 ,when ,i retired for the night ,i realised that his apology was certainly not unneeded1 for on emptying my pockets ,i found that my pocket-book was gone1 and with it about #hj of ,irving's money and #cj of my own4 ,we heard afterwards that a young gentleman answering to the description of my chance railway acquaintance had been doing a thriving trade on the ,rhine steamers1 and ,i daresay he still preserves my pocket-book as a souvenir of a prosperous day4 ,it is1 ,i think1 impossible for any one who has been closely associated with the modern theatre not to be impressed with the need of some worthier support of the drama than is afforded by the fickle and shifting taste of the public2 and the career of ,irving1 both as an actor and a manager1 only goes to emphasise a truth that had been repeatedly enforced by the fortunes of his predecessors4 ,we pride ourselves in this country upon what is achieved by individual enterprise1 but we do not always remember at what a cost such achievements are won4 ,the harvest is ours1 but the labourers who have reaped and stored it are too often but miserably rewarded4 ,charles ,kean1 at the close of his long struggle at the ,princess's1 confessed that he left the theatre a poorer man than when he entered it2 ,phelps' fortunes at ,sadler's ,wells left him nothing to boast of2 and ,henry ,irving1 though he enjoyed at the zenith of his career a popularity greater than was accorded to either of his predecessors1 had good reason before its close to realise that the motley public of a great capital is not to be counted upon for the enduring support of the more serious form of dramatic enterprise4 ,it is strange that there should be so much reluctance in the ,english mind to entertain the idea of a ,national ,theatre4 ,in regard to other forms of art1 the need of public support is recognised and accepted4 ,the treasures of sculpture and painting accumulated in the ,british ,museum1 the ,national ,gallery1 and the ,south ,kensington ,museum owe their existence1 in part at least1 to the expenditure of the money of the people1 and when the ,royal ,academy failed to initiate any comprehensive system of art teaching1 it was undertaken by the nation4 ,on every ground of public policy the claims of the drama might be urged with even greater plausibility4 ,its appeal as an educational force is even greater and more immediate1 and as a humanising influence it is capable of reaching that larger class who are not yet prepared to appreciate the masterpieces of ancient art4 ,of the countless thousands who can enjoy ,molire's incomparable humour1 how many are there who would pause before ,leonardo's ,monna ,lisa in the ,louvre8 ,how many again in our own country1 of those who are familiar with the tragedies of ,shakespeare1 ever find their way into the ,british ,museum or the ,national ,gallery8 ,and yet the prejudice against the public support of the theatre endures1 and can only1 ,i think1 be broken down by the demands of the democracy4 ,if a national theatre is to be established in ,england1 it must realise that it has a national mission4 ,the ,theatre ,franais was established at a time when means of communication were difficult1 and when1 therefore1 it was only possible to cater for the public of the metropolis4 ,but under modern conditions a national theatre might1 in a fuller and larger sense1 serve the interests of the country as a whole4 ,the great provincial cities might share the fruits of its labours2 and when this is realised ,i cannot but think that1 even though the ,government may remain apathetic1 the needful support for such an institution will not be wanting4 ,during the later years of his life upon the stage1 ,toole no longer held with any influence the attention of a ,london audience4 ,in the earlier days of the ,gaiety1 where he had appeared as a dominant figure1 his success in a material sense then far outstripped that of his comrade1 and in some of ,irving's earlier engagements in the provinces ,toole was his manager2 but even in those later days1 when the comedian had partly lost his hold upon the theatre1 he remained a lovable and a fascinating figure in private life1 and ,i am sure there was no one who welcomed with greater enthusiasm ,irving's steady advance to the front rank of his profession4 ,perhaps the secret of ,toole's charm lay in an entire absence of pretence either social or intellectual4 ,something deeply human in his nature left him always at his ease in whatever society he might find himself2 and1 in a sense of humour which appreciated and detected without resentment the foibles of all whom he encountered1 ,i think there are few men of his generation who could claim to be his equal4 ,he laid no claim to any largeness of education1 and ,i suppose there were few men who had read less1 but in that knowledge that could be won without the aid of literature he was a genuine scholar4 ,he read life truly and swiftly1 genially and humorously4 ,he knew it well because he loved it well4 ,put him where you would1 in any company1 however divergent their claims1 and not an hour could pass before ,toole had seized with quick enjoyment upon the separate characteristics of nearly every man at the table4 ,what he loved most1 ,i think1 outside of that part of his life which was spent in the theatre1 was an aimless ramble in search of fun4 ,many and many such a vagrant day have ,i passed in his company1 and not a barren one of them all4 ,one such in particular ,i recall which may stand as a sample of many more4 ,he had called for me quite early in the morning in his victoria1 armed with only the naked suggestion that we should pay a visit to the city4 ,for the city1 therefore1 we started1 with no settled plan of operation1 and it was only when we had reached the narrowest part of ,thames ,street that ,toole seemed suddenly possessed with the outline of his programme for the day4 ,the portly figure of a uniformed porter standing at the gateway of some wholesale warehouse arrested his attention1 and calling upon the driver to stop1 he hobbled out of the carriage with his quaint lame walk1 and at once engaged this forbidding-looking official in friendly converse4 ,it was the time when the wheel-and-van tax had lately been imposed1 and ,toole drawing a note-book from his pocket declared to the amazed individual he was addressing that we had come down to the city to collect opinions on the subject4 ,the man at first was stubbornly reluctant to enter into conversation1 but ,toole's insinuating amiability of manner was not to be withstood1 and he at last drew from this unfortunate individual an opinion1 the purport of which ,i scarcely now remember1 but which apparently1 as ,toole's enthusiasm declared1 clinched the subject4 8,if that's your opinion10 he said1 8will you kindly see to it1 as my friend and ,i are busy10 and with that enigmatic declaration he hobbled back to the victoria1 leaving the unfortunate porter with a blank look of puzzled amazement on his face4 8,to the ,tower10 cried ,toole to the coachman1 8and as quickly as possible1 for we have a lot of work to do40 ,arrived there1 ,toole at once1 in tones of confidential secrecy1 addressed the first ,beefeater who stood by the gateway4 8,what have you done80 he inquired in an anxious voice4 8,what do you mean1 sir80 said the man4 8,i mean10 said ,toole in a still more confidential tone1 8what crime have you committed8 ,you need not keep it from me and my friend40 8,crime60 was the indignant answer4 8,i have committed no crime40 8,come6 come60 said ,toole1 suddenly assuming the air of a cross-examining counsel4 8,do not dare to tell me that4 ,you must have committed some crime1 you know1 or they would never have put you into a dress like that40 ,before the unfortunate man had recovered his self-possession we passed on into the ,tower itself1 and swiftly found ourselves among a party of eager sight-seers in the chamber where the ,crown jewels are disposed4 ,it was a woman who1 as ,i remember1 was explaining to the eager throng the history of the different articles displayed1 and when at the end of a long catalogue1 she at last said1 8,and this is ,ann ,boleyn's crown10 ,toole1 apparently suddenly overcome1 burst into a flood of tears and leant against the wall in seemingly uncontrollable grief4 8,oh1 sir10 inquired the poor woman in distress1 8what's the matter80 8,nothing6 nothing60 replied ,toole in broken accents4 8,don't mind me1 but the fact is ,i have known the family so long40 ,such innocent sallies of almost child-like high spirits count for nothing in the telling1 count for nothing1 indeed1 disassociated from the exuberant good-humour and the laughing1 lovable nature of the man himself4 ,our whole day was spent in innocent adventures of the same kind4 ,we lunched in ,billingsgate1 where ,toole persuaded the aged and greasy waiter that his purpose in visiting the city was to engage him as manager to a fashionable restaurant for fish dinners to be erected on the south bank of the ,thames1 immediately opposite the ,savoy4 ,and then by easy transition we passed on to the ,custom ,house1 which ,toole had known well when he had been engaged as a clerk in the city2 here he dismayed two venerable officials1 busily engaged upon ledgers behind the brass grill1 by suddenly demanding a brandy and soda1 entirely ignoring their attempted explanation that it was not a bar1 and vouchsafing--for all answer to their spluttering expostulations--only the careless reply that1 if they were out of brandy1 a whisky would do equally well4 ,it may seem foolish to suppose that any one could derive amusement from a day so idly spent1 but those who risk this assumption labour under the misfortune of not having known ,toole4 ,his gaiety1 when he was in the right mood1 was infectious and irresistible1 and yet1 like all men of such exuberant high spirits1 he was subject at times to moods of the deepest depression1 moods which grew upon him in those sadder and later days of his life when he was deprived of the constant companionship of his comrades1 which meant to him all in all4 ,but even his most sorrowful moments sometimes yielded1 on the sudden call of a remembered incident1 to a quick recovery of the laughter that he loved1 and the unpremeditated juxtaposition of feelings which he exhibited on such occasions was sometimes almost grotesque in their contrast4 ,i remember on the death of his wife he asked me if ,i would drive with him to the funeral1 and ,i called for him at his house in ,maida ,vale1 where we sat silently side by side in the little room adjoining the hall awaiting the arrival of the carriage4 ,the tears were slowly coursing down his cheek1 and ,i knew that many painful memories were thronging his brain1 for his son and his daughter had already passed away1 and by this final loss the last link with his domestic life was severed4 ,and yet suddenly1 as we were sitting there1 a smile flitted across his face1 and a laughing light came into those affectionate brown eyes that only a moment before had been filled with tears4 8,i don't know why it has come into my mind now1 ,joe10 he said2 8,i suppose it ought not to1 but ,i must tell you4 ,i was having dinner once at ,dumfries in a company of commercial travellers1 and before the covers were removed the chairman rose and said1 #8,mr4 ,macfarlane1 as you are nearest the window1 perhaps you will ask ,god's blessing on this feast4'0 ,this little incident may be taken as entirely typical of the man1 typical of his absolute simplicity1 of his total inability to range his feelings with the ordered decorum which conventional propriety demands4 ,in another moment he was back again amid the more painful memories of his life1 and within a few minutes we were on our way to the cemetery4 ,numberless occasions of idle hours spent in ,toole's company ,i could recall1 but they must all be shorn of the presence of the comedian himself1 whose incomparable temperament as a humorist gave them point and zest4 ,one day ,i remember1 a day of an early spring1 he had a fancy that we should journey towards ,hampstead1 and accordingly we drove till we reached the well-known tea-gardens of the ,spaniard's ,inn on the road towards ,highgate4 ,the gardens were deserted1 and a bleak wind was blowing through the empty bowers1 inhabited on that morning only by a little boy who1 with a small and1 as it seemed to us1 inadequate little broom1 was dusting the seats in preparation for the influx of visitors that would come later in the season4 ,this small boy was of almost forbidding mien and decidedly surly in manner1 but these external evidences of discouragement seemed only to fire ,toole in his desire to make his better acquaintance4 ,he complimented the urchin upon his dexterous use of the broom1 a compliment to which the surly boy vouchsafed no audible reply4 ,toole1 entirely undaunted1 persisted in his overtures of friendship4 8,that's right1 my lad10 he cried1 8use your broom1 and when you go to bed at night hang it up by the side of your bed40 ,this injunction1 so entirely unsolicited1 seemed to rouse the boy's ire1 and his dormant powers of speech suddenly returning1 he inquired of ,toole1 in tones that were almost indignant1 8,why should ,i80 8,because10 answered ,toole1 with a persuasive manner that seemed to convey a convincing argument1 8if by chance you should wake in the night1 there's your little broom40 ,the boy1 to do him justice1 seemed by no means appeased by this obvious explanation1 and reverted again to his aimless occupation of dusting the vacant seats of the untenanted bowers of the tea-gardens4 ,whereupon ,toole1 still undefeated1 attacked the citadel from another quarter4 8,when is your birthday80 he inquired1 and the boy1 entirely taken off his guard1 replied1 8,to-morrow60 and then1 again entrenching himself safely behind his bastion of surly reserve1 demanded in trenchant tones1 8,what's that got to do with you80 8,oh1 nothing1 nothing60 replied ,toole1 8only ,i thought ,i'd like to know if there was anything in particular you'd like for a birthday present40 ,the boy1 at first obdurately silent1 at last yielded under pressure1 and confessed that the dream of his life was to possess a bicycle4 8,why not80 said ,toole4 8,there's nobody going to give me no bicycle10 replied the boy1 although his mood was now obviously melting under the infectious influence of the comedian's good-humour1 and as we went towards the gate to get into our carriage the boy followed us1 as though under some kind of spell induced by ,toole's suggestion1 8that you never knew who might send you the present you wanted40 ,it chanced that just at the entrance to the tea-gardens two bicycles were leaning against a hedge1 and their two owners1 flushed with exercise1 were seated in jerseys beneath a tree quaffing a pot of ale4 8,why10 cried ,toole1 in tones of wondering amazement1 as though he saw before him the fulfilment of his own prophecy1 8there is your bicycle60 ,the boy was bewitched4 ,without halt or pause he seized one of the vacant machines1 and before interference was possible had mounted it and was riding down the road to ,highgate1 the owner1 roused from his refreshment1 starting in pursuit4 ,in a moment he returned1 drawing his machine with one hand and holding the boy by the collar with the other4 8,this is your fault10 he cried indignantly to ,toole1 8you encouraged him40 8,well10 replied ,toole1 with the blandest of smiles1 8you can't blame the boy1 he was only trying if it fitted him40 ,the poor little fellow1 now almost in tears1 looked ruefully at us as we drove away4 ,but there is a pretty ending to the story1 for ,i happen to know that on the next day1 which was his birthday1 ,toole sent him a little bicycle for his own4 ,during those earlier days when ,i first made his acquaintance and ,irving's1 ,i was from time to time1 and on different papers1 employed as a dramatic critic1 and ,i remember it was in that capacity that ,i had written a notice of ,mr4 ,wills' play of ,charles ,i41 in which ,irving had enforced and enlarged the impression created by his appearance in ,the ,bells4 ,i think ,i had done sufficient justice to ,irving's impressive personation of the king1 but my pronounced democratic inclinations were perhaps justly wounded by ,mr4 ,wills' almost farcical representation of the character of ,cromwell4 ,this opinion1 openly declared in my criticism1 deeply incensed ,irving's manager ,mr4 ,bateman1 and it was perhaps in order to find the opportunity of informing me of his disapproval that he invited me to a supper at the ,westminster ,club on the second or third night of the production4 ,my friend ,thomas ,purnell1 to whom ,i have already referred1 was present1 and ,irving and ,toole were also of the company4 ,when he thought the fitting moment had arrived1 ,mr4 ,bateman led the conversation to the point at issue1 and lured on1 ,i think1 in a spirit of mischief by ,purnell1 he at last emphatically banged the table with his fist1 and in the loudest of tones declared that he did not produce his plays at the ,lyceum ,theatre to please ,mr4 ,comyns ,carr4 ,there was a moment's awkward pause1 which ,i did not feel quite able to break1 but which was released by ,purnell with a chuckle of delight and the happy retort3 8,well1 dear boy1 then you can't be surprised if they don't please him40 ,all this while my own ambition to make an adventure as a writer for the stage had been steadily growing4 ,my wife and ,i had made an experiment in a version of ,frou-frou entitled ,butterfly1 which was produced by ,miss ,terry and ,mr4 ,kelly during one of their provincial tours at ,glasgow4 ,but it was not until the year #ahhd that ,i succeeded in getting a play presented at a ,london theatre4 ,in the ,christmas of #ahhc ,messrs4 ,arrowsmith of ,bristol had published a short story entitled ,called ,back which won instant attention from the public4 ,almost immediately after its publication ,i was dining at the ,beefsteak ,club1 which at that time occupied rooms over ,toole's theatre opposite ,king ,william ,street1 and ,i was there recommended by one of my fellow-members to read it without delay4 ,as ,i walked home1 for we had dined early1 ,i asked at the small newsvendors' shop near my house in ,blandford ,square1 if they chanced to have a copy of the book4 ,by a strange coincidence1 one of their customers had ordered the little volume1 published in paper covers at a shilling1 and had afterwards found that he did not need it4 ,i bought it and read it that night1 and on the next day ,i wrote to its author--known to the public as ,hugh ,conway1 but whose real name was ,fred ,fargus1 member of a firm of auctioneers at ,bristol--to inquire if he would permit me to prepare a version of it for the stage4 ,we were wholly unknown to one another1 yet he readily assented1 and in the early part of the year #ahhd ,i secured the production of the play at the ,prince of ,wales' ,theatre1 then managed by ,mr4 ,edgar ,bruce4 ,when the date agreed upon for its production was drawing near ,bruce had brought out1 in association with ,charles ,hawtrey1 a play called ,the ,private ,secretary2 and1 although on its first presentation this was not entirely successful1 it grew so rapidly in public favour1 due in great part1 as ,i must think1 to ,mr4 ,beerbohm ,tree's admirable creation of the part of the curate1 that there came a moment when ,hawtrey very ardently desired that ,i should postpone the performance of ,called ,back4 ,he offered me as an inducement such a liberal share in the profits of his own piece as would1 as the event proved1 have yielded me something like a handsome fortune4 ,but with the vanity of a young dramatic writer--in this instance supported by the fact that in ,hugh ,conway's interests it was imperative ,called ,back should not be delayed1 lest our joint chance of success should be imperilled by piracy--,i held fast by my agreement with the management1 and further insisted as an integral part of that agreement that ,mr4 ,beerbohm ,tree1 whose services ,mr4 ,hawtrey desired to retain1 should be engaged by ,mr4 ,bruce for the part of ,macari4 ,nor did ,i see cause to regret my decision2 for1 apart from the fact that ,called ,back itself proved an instant success which yielded to ,conway and to myself1 both in ,england1 in ,america1 and ,australia1 a substantial reward1 its production was the means of forming two valued friendships1 the one with ,hugh ,conway1 only severed by his untimely death1 the other with ,beerbohm ,tree1 sustained and strengthened as the years have passed1 and still surviving in a spirit of loyal comradeship on his side and on mine4 ,hugh ,conway's was a lovable nature1 and if his talent as displayed in later efforts has not been appreciated at its true value1 the reason perhaps may be sought in the fact that the glamour of his first essay in fiction was sufficient to overshadow the work of his later years4 ,but he had1 as ,i think1 a power in the suggestion of the supernatural altogether exceptional1 and although his style affected no literary grace1 he had the art of contriving and weaving a story so as to arrest and enchain the attention of the reader4 ,from the time of our first association we became firm friends1 and ,i believe my name was almost the last upon his lips when he met his untimely death from fever on the ,riviera4 ,at his wish ,i dramatised the next of his ,christmas books1 entitled ,dark ,days1 which was presented at the ,haymarket ,theatre in the following year1 but it proved less acceptable to the public4 ,he also published under my editorship1 in the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine1 a serial story called ,a ,family ,affair1 and a few shorter tales1 one of which1 entitled ,paul ,vargas1 possessed something of the weird mysticism of ,edgar ,allan ,poe4 ,previous to the publishing of ,called ,back he had issued in one of the magazines an amusing little story illustrating the fortunes of two collectors of old china1 which he allowed me to employ as the basis of a piece ,i presented at ,st4 ,george's ,hall under the title of ,the ,united ,pair4 ,the ,german ,reeds' entertainment is now a thing of the past1 but it occupied in those days a unique position as satisfying those whose religious scruples did not allow them to visit or to patronise regular theatrical entertainments4 ,i remember as a child having been taken to the ,gallery of ,illustration in ,regent ,street1 occupying1 ,i fancy1 the site now tenanted by the ,raleigh ,club1 to see ,miss ,priscilla ,horton1 the originator of this special form of entertainment who afterwards1 as ,mrs4 ,german ,reed1 gave a permanent name to the programme presented for so many years at ,st4 ,george's ,hall4 ,at first the ,german ,reeds had been associated with ,mr4 ,parry1 whose place1 in my time1 was occupied by my friend ,corney ,grain4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,reed in those later days were both dead1 and the purely dramatic part of the bill was under the direction of ,alfred ,reed their son1 with whom ,i had many pleasant hours of association in the several pieces ,i wrote for him4 ,the ,cabinet ,secret was followed by ,the ,friar1 a rather more ambitious experiment in verse1 and that again was succeeded by ,the ,naturalist1 the last of my contributions to the performances at ,st4 ,george's ,hall4 ,it is hard in these days1 when the earlier prejudices against the theatre are so nearly effaced1 to realise the extraordinary vogue which this particular class of entertainment enjoyed4 ,an author who wrote for the ,german ,reeds had to tread warily1 and the presence of a harmonium1 as the sole support of the piano in the orchestra1 was there constantly to remind him of the somewhat orthodox tone he was enjoined to observe4 ,corney ,grain1 who in later days rarely appeared in the dramatic part of the programme1 was a host in himself when he was seated at the piano1 inimitable as he was in humorous perception of the lighter foibles of the day4 ,for years he was a constant figure at the ,beefsteak ,club1 where in private life he betrayed the same quick glance into the little idiosyncrasies of individual character allied to a power of ridicule that never sought to wound1 and a deeply seated geniality of nature that won him many friends1 and never1 as ,i think1 a single enemy4 ,of all the entertainers in this kind who have sought single-handed to amuse the public1 partly in humorous characterisation and partly through musical accomplishment1 he remains1 as far as my impression goes1 easily first in the class he represented4 ,a chapter of pleasant memories in the earlier days of my theatrical association is provided by a little club called 8,the ,lambs10 to which ,i have already alluded4 ,it had been founded in #ahfh1 and ,i suppose it was about the year #ahgj that ,i was admitted into the fold4 ,though not exclusively composed of actors1 it was mainly concerned with interests that were theatrical1 and it was there ,i first met ,sir ,squire ,bancroft and ,sir ,john ,hare1 in days when neither dreamed of the distinction of a title1 and when both1 indeed1 were little past the threshold of their fame4 ,there were no matines then1 and so we were enabled to meet for dinner on every ,saturday during the autumn and winter at the pleasant hour of four o'clock4 ,when ,i first joined the society our meeting-place was at the old ,gaiety ,restaurant1 but afterwards we moved to the ,albemarle ,hotel1 then an old-fashioned hostelry at the corner of ,piccadilly1 which has long been supplanted by a more modern structure4 ,they were the pleasantest gatherings that ,i can recall as being connected with that period of my youth4 ,the rules of our ,club prescribed just that little touch of ceremony and ritual by which grown men when they come together for social purposes prove themselves to be so nearly allied to children1 and as a part of that ceremonial it was ordained that the 8,shepherd0 of the day1 an office filled in rotation1 had1 at the summons of a graceful little silver bell1 designed by one of our members1 ,fred ,jameson1 the right to call upon any one of those present whom he chose to select for a speech1 which1 with its reply1 was all in the way of oratory that our rules permitted4 ,it was in this way that ,i first encountered that handsomest and gayest of young actors1 ,h4 ,j4 ,montague1 whose charm exercised a widespread fascination upon the play-goers of his day1 and who was further1 and quite independently of such histrionic gifts as he could boast1 a companion of the most sympathetic spirit4 ,if not endowed with absolute wit1 he could so infect the recital of the most ordinary adventures that he had encountered during the day with something of the rollicking sense of boyishness that was his own1 as to keep his hearers in a mood of unflagging merriment and enjoyment4 ,but on one particular occasion1 which ,i recall1 he was bidding for a victory that lay not quite so easily within his reach4 ,chosen by the chairman as the spokesman of the day1 he had selected me1 perhaps because ,i was the youngest member of the ,club1 as the object of his raillery1 and ,i remember now the look of amazement1 almost of consternation1 on his face when ,i replied to him in something of the same spirit which animated his own speech1 and retorted with unsparing ridicule upon his own qualifications as an actor and as a member of our little society4 ,joyous1 indeed1 were those weekly meetings of 8,the ,lambs10 where we met in eager appreciation of that new birth in the drama inaugurated by ,tom ,robertson1 and which was being presented1 with so loyal a faith in their mission1 by the company which ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,bancroft had gathered together in the little house in ,tottenham ,court ,road4 ,we were all enthusiasts1 all animated by a firm faith in the future of the drama we loved1 all supported by the thought that to-morrow would see the dawn of such a new birth of drama upon the stage as ,england had not witnessed for many a generation4 ,and even looking back now it seems plain to me that the movement in which we were taking a part was not without its direct and important influence upon the new spirit that had crept into the theatre4 ,it is difficult now quite to realise the warmth of welcome we were then glad to bestow upon that little revolution which must be always associated with the ,prince of ,wales's ,theatre under the management of the ,bancrofts4 ,the return to realism which was there sought1 and in a measure achieved1 was exercised only in a narrow compass1 and with an outlook that was restricted and limited4 ,but it was designed to have a larger influence than seemed possible from such modest beginnings4 ,it sought no triumphs which were not within the region of comedy1 and that comedy itself did not strive for the interpretation of more than the current sentiments of the time4 ,but1 by its earnest endeavour to bring the life as presented upon the stage into closer contact with the life of its time1 it served to exercise an influence upon the art of the future in a wider and a deeper sense than was1 perhaps1 quite consciously entertained by those who were conducting its efforts4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,social ,,hours ,the recollection of many pleasant hours spent at the ,lambs ,club recalls other social gatherings which have lightened my life as a man of letters4 ,of society1 strictly so called1 ,i have known but little4 ,a few occasional excursions into the higher realms have come to me accidentally1 and my experiences of such more formal gatherings were never of a kind to tempt me to strive with any earnest ambition for those more dignified joys which must1 ,i presume1 be highly prized by those who seek them4 ,the drift of modern life has1 indeed1 broken down many of the barriers of an earlier time1 and the dividing line between ,bohemia and ,society1 properly so called1 is now often effaced by ambition on the one side or by curiosity on the other4 ,here1 however1 ,i shall only speak of those more intimate gatherings where artists of various callings were wont to meet1 and the first in my recollection are those associated with the pleasant ,sunday evenings at the house of ,dr4 ,westland ,marston1 whose simple hospitality drew many interesting folk to his table4 ,it was there ,i first met the beautiful ,adelaide ,neilson1 whose picturesque and romantic career would vie in interest1 if it could ever be recorded1 with that of ,lady ,hamilton herself4 ,certainly her changing fortunes were no less sudden in their contrast1 for1 although she came of humble origin1 she was at the time when ,i first knew her widely worshipped as a beauty and as an actress4 ,dr4 ,westland ,marston himself had1 like ,rossetti1 though not in an equal degree1 the power of inspiring and encouraging younger men1 whom he loved to draw about him4 ,while ,i was still at school ,i had already read his play of ,the ,patrician's ,daughter1 a play chiefly interesting from a literary point of view by reason of its endeavour to treat a purely modern theme through the medium of blank verse4 ,some of his shorter poems were also known to me1 and as he was the first man of any rank in literature with whom ,i had become personally acquainted1 ,i was glad of the opportunity which those ,sunday evenings afforded me to know him better4 ,no man had ever a more real delight in literature or a clearer or more delicate perception of its finer qualities4 ,i think it was ,joseph ,knight who first introduced me to him1 and in the years when ,i was making my first efforts in journalism it was a constant delight to me to find that ,i was a welcome visitor at his house4 ,he had been impressed1 as ,knight told me1 by a review ,i had written in the ,globe of the poems of ,joachim ,miller1 and ,i remember the warm words of encouragement with which he greeted me on my first visit to his house4 ,it was there ,i met ,mrs4 ,lynn-,linton1 whose articles in the ,saturday ,review on 8,the ,girl of the ,period0 were at the time attracting a considerable amount of attention4 ,afterwards ,i got to know her well1 and learnt to discover in her earnest1 enthusiastic nature qualities that struck much deeper than the superficial satire which she had exercised in this series of papers exploiting the foibles of her sex4 ,another house where artists and men of letters were warmly welcomed was that of ,dr4 ,schlesinger1 who was for many years the valued ,english correspondent of the ,cologne ,gazette4 ,dr4 ,max ,schlesinger1 in virtue of very considerable gifts both as a politician and as a man of letters1 and even more perhaps by qualities of personal character that made him widely trusted1 occupied an exceptional position in the world of journalism in ,london4 ,his known discretion as a publicist won for him the confidence of the most eminent of our statesmen1 but the associations of this kind which belonged to his life as a journalist1 never led him to desert or to neglect that purely artistic environment to which by inclination and culture he naturally belonged4 ,nothing could have been more simple1 more entirely unostentatious than the hospitality offered on those pleasant weekly evenings in ,dr4 ,schlesinger's house4 ,it was1 ,i think1 a valued rendezvous to all who considered themselves welcome1 for it was ,dr4 ,schlesinger's privilege1 partly due perhaps to the exceptional position he occupied1 that he was able to make his house a delightful meeting-place for the leaders of thought in many departments1 and for the most prominent artists of every nationality4 ,it was there ,i first met ,mr4 ,g4 ,h4 ,boughton1 then a young and struggling painter1 who1 if not ,american by birth1 was at any rate ,american by long association1 and who afterwards achieved in ,england a deservedly high place among his comrades4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,boughton1 before they built their house upon ,campden ,hill1 had begun to be known as accepted hosts by a large body of artistic society1 and in later days the big studio at ,campden ,hill became the scene of many joyous entertainments1 which occasionally took the form of fancy dress4 ,mr4 ,boughton1 whatever may be the final verdict on his own artistic achievement1 was a man of fine taste and delicate perception1 both in the region of art and in the wider field of literature4 ,it was there ,i first met ,robert ,browning1 a constant guest at the ,boughtons' dinners1 which1 with the larger parties they sometimes entertained1 became for many years an accepted meeting-place for nearly all who were interested in art4 ,a little later1 when the ,grosvenor ,gallery was established1 the ,sunday afternoon parties1 so graciously presided over by ,lady ,lindsay1 quickly established themselves as a social feature of the time4 ,a part of the mission which ,sir ,coutts and ,lady ,lindsay had accepted was the establishment of a closer link between the professors of the plastic arts and the representatives of cultivated society2 and certainly1 while these afternoons endured1 they served their purpose admirably well1 and proved the means1 to those who attended them1 of forming many new and valued friendships4 ,i remember one of those pleasant assemblies being suddenly and very sadly interrupted by the arrival of ,montague ,corry1 afterwards ,lord ,rowton1 who was the bearer of the appalling announcement of the murder of ,lord ,frederick ,cavendish and ,mr4 ,burke4 ,of later hosts and hostesses who have especially distinguished themselves by the cultivation of the more artistic aspect of society it would be possible to speak with fuller appreciation1 if it were not that they are still amongst us and still discharging those graceful duties of hospitality4 ,sir ,george and ,lady ,lewis1 while they still occupied their beautiful cottage at ,walton1 made us all welcome1 and the days ,i have spent there in company with ,burne-,jones remain among the sweetest memories of that earlier time4 ,nor less delightful are the recollections which gather about those memorable ,tuesday evenings which for many years have been enjoyed by the friends of ,sir ,lawrence and ,lady ,tadema4 ,the instinct of hospitality belongs to many kindly hosts2 the genius of hospitality is rare1 but it would be conceded1 ,i think1 by all--who for so many years have been welcomed1 first to ,townsend ,house overlooking ,regent's ,park1 and in later days to that larger and more spacious studio which stands in the ,grove ,end ,road--to ,sir ,lawrence and ,lady ,tadema4 ,the last ,tuesday evening we spent in ,townsend ,house comes back vividly to me now4 ,i think all of us who were there were a little moved at the thought that there should be even a temporary break in the continuity of these weekly gatherings2 some of us1 perhaps1 were also a little afraid lest the new order of things in that larger house towards which our hosts were flitting should be robbed of some of the intimacy we had so long enjoyed4 ,but such fears1 if they existed1 were quickly dispelled when we were once more welcomed to the new abode4 ,the change belonged only to the building2 our host and hostess have remained unalterable in the loyalty of their friendship4 ,it was at the house now occupied by ,sir ,alma ,tadema that at one time ,i used to dine with the ,french painter1 ,james ,tissot1 a man whose varied moods of changing ambition and alternating ideals leave him almost without a parallel among the painters of the time4 ,tissot was one of the first contributors to the exhibition of the ,grosvenor ,gallery1 his talent at the time being almost entirely preoccupied by a modish type of modern feminine beauty4 ,in those earlier exhibitions he found such lighter essays of his hung in close juxtaposition with the widely different work of ,burne-,jones1 and dining with him at about this time ,i could see that his mind was deeply exercised by the impression the ,english painter had made upon him4 8,mon ami10 he confided to me1 8je vois qu'il y a quelque chose faire1 l40 ,and accordingly1 before the next year's exhibition had come round he had ventured his experiment in the region of what he thought to be ideal art4 ,but the leap was too long for so brief a period of preparation1 and ,i remember that his friend ,heilbuth1 who was present at the dinner of that second year1 made sad havoc with the painter's schemes by ridiculing the little card upon which ,tissot had set forth his symbolical intentions4 ,he treated the written description of the pictures as though it were a menu of the feast that awaited us1 crying out each course from the beginning3 8,potage une dame avec un serpent1 qui signifie----0 ,but at this point the incensed ,tissot snatched the paper from his hand1 and amid a roar of laughter1 in which perhaps the painter did not very heartily join1 we went in to dinner4 ,but that sudden ambition1 though it was not capable of immediate fulfilment1 implied a deeper strain in ,tissot's nature which was destined to find expression at a later day4 ,shortly afterwards he left ,england1 and it was many years before ,i saw him again1 hard at work in his studio in ,paris upon the completion of a series of designs in illustration of the ,life of ,christ4 ,those designs exhibited an extraordinary persistence in the interpretation of local truth1 for he had made a long sojourn in the ,holy ,land in order to fit himself for the task1 and they showed besides an occasional intensity of feeling that lay dormant and unsuspected in the man as ,i knew him first4 ,what was the real kernel of such a nature it is hard to say4 ,the man himself1 although in those earlier days he displayed little but the evident ambition to make his art remunerative1 nevertheless1 by occasional glimpses1 betrayed the elements of a deeper purpose underlying the life that was preoccupying him at the moment4 ,a strange figure1 a strange individuality1 yielding by turns to impulses the lightest and the most devout1 but always1 however he might be engaged1 proving himself the possessor of an extraordinary industry and a remarkable talent6 ,i have already alluded to the suppers in the ,beefsteak ,room as among the notable social reunions of the time4 ,but there is one of those ,lyceum suppers a little more formal than the rest which ,i feel disposed to recall1 because it gave evidence of quite an unsuspected power on the part of ,henry ,irving of suddenly replying as a speaker to an unexpected attack4 ,the occasion was the #ajjth performance of the ,merchant of ,venice1 in #ahgi1 and ,i think it was the first time that the stage of a great ,london theatre had been employed as the arena of a large and splendid entertainment4 ,since that time we have enjoyed such feasts under the hospitable auspices of ,mr4 ,tree at ,his ,majesty's--once1 as ,i recall1 on the occasion of the #ajjth night of ,julius ,csar1 and again on a corresponding occasion to celebrate the successful run of ,ulysses4 ,on the evening to which ,i now refer1 the task of proposing ,irving's health was entrusted to ,lord ,houghton1 who1 it was thought1 would hardly choose that particular occasion to exhibit the cynical temper he was known to possess4 ,but ,lord ,houghton1 as ,i afterwards found reason to know1 was not disposed to be governed by conventional restrictions1 and he devoted nearly the whole of his speech to a considered depreciation of ,irving's conception of ,shylock1 enlarging1 in terms1 that seemed to us who sat there1 almost designedly bitter1 upon what he considered the undeserved dignity that the actor had granted to the character4 ,it must have been that ,irving was taken by surprise1 and although his habit was always to speak from preparation1 and often indeed to read what he had prepared1 he proved himself1 on this occasion1 a master of good-humoured impromptu1 twitting ,lord ,houghton1 in a spirit of genial banter1 with being a slave to the old-fashioned idea that ,shylock was a comic villain1 and promising on some future occasion to try and more amply satisfy his lordship's ideal by representing ,shylock as a ,houndsditch ,jew with three hats upon his head and a bag of lemons in his hands4 ,the actor's success1 acknowledged by all who were present1 was due1 ,i think1 mainly to the fact that1 although taken off his guard by this unexpected provocation1 there was not a trace of ill-humour in his reply4 ,there was one other occasion when ,irving was the host at a small supper-party given at the ,continental ,hotel1 when he showed an equal power of retaining his self-possession in circumstances the most trying and the most unexpected4 ,the honoured guest of the evening--entertained upon his return from a foreign campaign--was a brilliant and gifted journalist1 now no more1 and chief among those whom he had specially desired ,irving to invite to meet him was a distinguished statesman still living1 though by deliberate choice he no longer takes an active part in public affairs4 ,the guest for whom the entertainment was given arrived late1 and when he appeared it was evident to those of us who knew him that he had dined1 not wisely1 but too well4 ,on a sudden1 and in response to the most harmless raillery on the part of the statesman to whom ,i have referred1 he rose and retorted with the most bitter and1 if ,i may say so1 the most vulgar abuse2 and while we all sat appalled by the outrage he was committing1 he turned and appealed to ,irving to justify his extraordinary outburst4 ,it was then that ,irving's tact showed itself4 ,quietly and slowly he replied1 8,all ,i have to say1 my dear friend1 is1 that first upon the list of those whom you specially desired ,i should invite to meet you this evening1 stood the name of ,lord----40 ,and then1 as though to prove to us that he too could exhibit an equal measure of self-possession1 the man so wantonly attacked1 without a word of resentment or rebuke1 quietly filled his glass and invited us to drink just one toast to say how glad we were to see our old friend returned once more from his travels abroad4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,some ,,foreign ,,actors ,as ,i have said in a previous chapter1 ,h4 ,j4 ,montague1 at the time that ,i first became a theatre-goer1 was the accepted jeune premier of the time4 ,he certainly had no rival among his own countrymen as the exponent of lovers' parts in modern comedy4 ,but there was a foreigner who had preceded him1 whose art had a wider compass1 and whose powers as a creator of the heroes of romance knew no rivalry4 ,in such achievements ,charles ,fechter had a conquering gift that laid all lady worshippers at his feet4 ,it was only at a later time that ,i saw him in ,shakespeare1 and then only in ,hamlet4 ,he was aged and had grown stout1 and it is perhaps scarcely fair to speak of his abilities as a ,shakespearian actor upon the imperfect evidence that was offered to me2 but ,i thought even then that he treated the tragedy too exclusively from the point of view of a love story1 reducing its higher imaginative message by too great a regard for ,hamlet's relations with ,ophelia4 ,but that very tendency which seemed to me a fault in his ,hamlet was part of a gift that left him unapproachable in rles that were purely romantic4 ,i saw him first in ,the ,duke's ,motto at the ,lyceum1 and then in ,bel ,demonio1 and again in ,ruy ,blas2 and in all those performances1 as ,i recall them1 his fascination seemed irresistible4 ,i can almost hear now the tones of his voice1 defiant and triumphant1 with that rich rising cadence which betrayed his foreign origin1 as he came down the steps with ,kate ,terry in his arms in the former most tawdry of romantic plays4 ,the impersonation of ,ruy ,blas cut deeper1 as the play itself was more finely conceived4 ,but1 indeed1 the effect he produced was hardly dependent upon the play4 ,it rested rather upon something innately heroic in himself1 something that left the spectator with a feeling of security from the first note struck by the actor1 that the issue1 however grave1 and however perilous its intermediate passages1 must leave him undefeated at the last4 ,the last time ,i saw him was in ,monte ,christo1 a drama with some strong scenes1 but1 on the whole1 poorly constructed and unduly prolonged2 and ,i remember1 as ,i sat in the pit1 that when midnight came and the end seemed still afar off1 a cheery voice from the gallery cried out1 8,good-night1 ,mr4 ,fechter1 ,i shall be here again on ,monday40 ,the sort of play in which ,fechter scored his greatest success has long fallen out of fashion1 but ,i cannot help thinking that if the actor were here to-day who could boast gifts equal to his1 a play fitted to form a vehicle for the exercise of his powers would be quickly forthcoming4 ,fechter's name naturally recalls other foreign actors and actresses who have visited our shores during the last thirty years4 ,the greatest of them all1 to my thinking1 and ,i am not unmindful of the name of ,salvini1 was ,madame ,ristori4 ,she had not1 perhaps1 the sudden power born of sudden impulse which ,madame ,bernhardt could boast1 a power in which1 ,i suppose1 ,madame ,rachel was far superior to both4 ,indeed1 ,i remember having a talk with ,sir ,frederick ,leighton1 who in his student days in ,paris had known ,rachel's acting well1 and he assured me that ,rachel stood as far above ,sarah ,bernhardt as ,sarah ,bernhardt stood above all other actresses of her time4 ,but ,ristori's art1 though it may have missed the occasional lightning flashes1 was sustained throughout at a commandingly high level1 sustained by a sense of style that gave continuous dignity and grace to all she did4 ,her ,lucrezia ,borgia rests with me as one of the most beautiful and at the same time most agonising performances ,i have ever seen upon the stage2 and scarcely less memorable was her ,marie ,stuart4 ,it was during one of her later engagements in ,london that she conceived the ambition of playing the sleep-walking scene from ,macbeth in the ,english language1 and she asked me1 with one or two other critics1 to come to her house in order that we might correct any errors of pronunciation which her performance might betray4 ,it was in a little drawing-room somewhere down in ,south ,belgravia that we sat and listened to her as1 in her ordinary every-day garb1 she acted the scene2 and ,i do not think there was one of us who was not so entirely absorbed in the beauty and power of the impersonation as not completely to forget the special mission upon which we had been summoned4 ,it was only afterwards--when1 recalling us to our task1 she sat in our midst and quietly read the words over again--that we discovered she blundered in one particular1 and in one particular only4 ,when she came to the line1 8,not all the perfumes of ,arabia10 it seemed impossible for her tongue1 8hung10 as ,sala used to say of his own1 8in a southern belfry10 not to give an absolutely equal emphasis to each separate syllable of the final word4 ,there was no other fault to find1 and when afterwards1 encouraged by our praise1 she gave the performance in the theatre1 its effect was deeply impressive4 ,a little later1 on my recommendation1 she read1 in ,english1 ,webster's tragedy of ,the ,duchess of ,malfi1 and at the time she was so keenly impressed with the beauty of the character1 as set in its lurid frame1 that she entertained the project of having a version of the play made for her in ,italian4 ,as ,i walked away from her house that day with ,john ,oxenford1 he was recalling to me some of his earlier experiences as dramatic critic of the ,times4 ,in those later days he had allowed himself to become little more than a good-natured chronicler of the narrative underlying each play as it was presented1 and rarely elected to be critical or censorious1 whether of the qualities of the dramatist and still less of the manner in which the actors acquitted themselves4 ,in the discharge of this function1 however1 he had no equal4 ,there was no one on the ,press at that time who could1 with such grace or in so narrow a compass1 set forth the story of the plot of the drama under consideration4 ,but some of us1 who brought to our work the greater keenness of youth1 were disposed to reproach him with the unvarying good-nature which governed his appreciation of the art of the time4 ,some such feeling ,i must have expressed to him as we sauntered along1 for he told me1 by way of rejoinder1 that he had very early learnt his lesson not to endeavour to intrude his own opinions into the columns of the ,times4 ,near the beginning of his career1 he had indulged in some unfavourable comment upon the performance of the orchestra1 which provoked an angry letter of remonstrance from the player of the trombone--a letter of remonstrance that in its turn called down a sharp rebuke upon the critic from the great editor1 ,mr4 ,delane4 8,i wish it to be understood10 he curtly intimated to ,oxenford1 8that the ,times has no desire to be embroiled in controversy with trombone players40 ,and ,oxenford assured me that he had since acted upon this clear note of warning1 and had accordingly avoided as much as possible any kind of criticism that might invite a retort from the injured player1 though he had on one occasion1 as he confessed1 indulged in an epigram that might1 he feared1 have injured his position4 ,it was of some young actor1 whose performance seemed to him more than usually incompetent1 that he ventured the remark3 8,we are told that ,mr4 ,so-and-so is a promising performer4 ,for our own part we can only say that we care not how often he promises so long as he never again performs40 ,but this was an isolated instance in the powers of sarcasm which he undoubtedly possessed1 and for the most part he continued to the end of his career in a spirit of unruffled urbanity4 ,the visit of the ,french players during the ,franco-,german ,war stirred ,london not a little1 and undoubtedly exercised a considerable influence upon the younger representatives of dramatic art in ,england4 ,delaunay and ,got were in their separate ways perfect masters of that restrained and balanced art which is the outcome of the ,french system of training1 exhibited in its perfect form in the ,french ,national ,theatre4 ,and the restraint and modesty of their methods strongly appealed to that younger school of actors in ,england who were already striving after a greater naturalness of interpretation4 ,but their appeal was made for the most part in the region of comedy1 and it was the advent of ,salvini1 with his larger and more passionate individuality1 that gave a new impulse to the rendering of tragic character4 ,salvini was beyond question a superb performer4 ,his natural equipment for an actor1 as exhibited in a voice of unexampled power and charm1 was in itself more than sufficient to warrant the extraordinary outburst of enthusiasm which greeted his appearance in ,london4 ,and yet1 for all his undeniable power1 his actual rendering of the character of ,othello never seemed to me to be in perfect keeping with the spirit and intention of the author4 ,overmastering in his strength and superb in his rendering of the more passionate passages of the play1 he missed1 as ,i felt at the time1 and as ,i still feel1 the tragic sublimity that marks the closing scenes of the drama4 ,i shall not easily forget my first vision of ,sarah ,bernhardt in ,dumas' play of ,l'trangre1 in which she was associated with ,coquelin1 ,monnet1 ,sully1 and ,croizette4 ,she seemed1 even beside such accomplished players as these1 to be a creature of a separate race1 endowed with a force and intensity of feeling that made those around her appear to be moving in a lower world4 ,it was1 however1 only when she came to ,london that ,i got to know her personally1 and after ,i had produced my play of ,king ,arthur at the ,lyceum ,theatre1 she was so strongly attracted by the subject that she had a ,french version of the drama prepared1 wherein she intended herself to impersonate the character of ,lancelot4 ,but1 like so many other projects which ,madame ,bernhardt has from time to time entertained1 the favourable opportunity for such a performance passed by1 and the idea was replaced by other and more pressing demands upon her brilliant career4 ,when she was in ,london she was a constant guest at ,irving's little suppers at the ,lyceum1 where she evinced the warmest admiration for the genius of ,miss ,ellen ,terry4 ,one evening1 when ,miss ,terry was protesting that she was no longer young enough to undertake some rle that ,irving was pressing her to interpret1 ,sarah leant across the table and said1 8,my dearling1 there are two peoples who shall never be old--you and me40 ,and1 indeed1 it may be allowed that in both cases the boast has won some warrant from nature4 ,the youth of ,miss ,terry seems to be an indestructible gift4 ,it is born again with each day of her existence1 and as an essential quality of her nature has suffered no change and has known no deterioration from the early days when1 after a brief period of absence1 she returned to the stage as the heroine of ,charles ,reade's drama1 ,the ,wandering ,heir4 ,i think ,sarah ,bernhardt was always at her best when ,miss ,terry was one of her audience1 and ,i recollect one occasion in particular1 when1 in company with ,miss ,terry1 ,i witnessed a performance of the ,dame aux ,camelias which in sincerity and power far surpassed any of the many representations of the character which ,i had seen ,madame ,bernhardt previously deliver4 ,it was a particularly interesting evening1 for it happened that only a few nights before ,miss ,terry and ,i had also together seen ,madame ,duse play the same part in the same theatre4 ,here again1 ,i think1 the ,italian actress was finely inspired by the presence of her comrade1 for she too had on that evening surpassed herself4 ,the contrast between the two performers was striking and complete1 and would go far to prove how inexhaustible are the resources of the actor's art1 and how varied the influences of each separate personality1 even when they are employed upon the same material4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,theatre ,in #ahhg my friend ,mr4 ,beerbohm ,tree1 who had already won considerable distinction as an actor1 decided to enter upon the management of a ,london theatre1 and he asked me to associate myself with the enterprise4 ,the play chosen for his first venture was ,the ,red ,lamp by ,outram ,tristram1 and it is an evidence of some element of strength and distinction in the work that it still survives1 after a lapse of twenty-one years1 as an integral part of ,mr4 ,tree's repertoire4 ,at the first it looked very much as though it had but little chance to survive at all4 ,coldly received by the ,press1 it failed during the first days of its run to attract the notice of the public2 but little by little the audiences grew in numbers1 and as the season advanced the house was crowded night after night by an eager and enthusiastic public4 ,with the close of the season ,mr4 ,tree shifted his quarters to the ,haymarket1 and there it still served him as his opening production while more important work was in preparation4 ,those early days of managerial experiences have left many pleasant recollections4 ,we were both of us new at our task1 and both unshaken in our faith in the readiness of the public to welcome every form of serious drama4 ,my alliance with ,mr4 ,tree endured for some little time after his removal to the ,haymarket1 and it was not until two years later that1 at the invitation of my friend ,mr4 ,stuart ,ogilvie1 ,i undertook the independent direction of the ,comedy ,theatre4 ,among the writers with whom ,i was brought into contact during my term of management was the late ,robert ,buchanan1 a man who undoubtedly possessed a remarkable talent1 but who very often1 from a certain indolence of nature1 did himself less than justice4 ,i had met him first at the ,haymarket1 where he had prepared a version of ,daudet's famous story of ,froment ,jeune et ,risler ,ain for production on the stage1 and ,i confess at that time ,i was not prepossessed in his favour4 ,it was impossible at first to shake off the prejudice created by that unfortunate article wherein1 under an assumed name1 he had attacked his brother poets2 nor indeed could that particular incident in his career ever be in any way excused4 ,but ,i found in my later knowledge of him that he could boast of other and better qualities than were exhibited here4 ,a measure of poetic fancy he had always possessed1 a fancy very happily illustrated in the little musical piece founded upon the story of ,the ,pied ,piper of ,hamelin produced under my management2 but even there his better gifts suffered from a lack of persistence in working out the theme under his hand4 ,and so it was with all that ,buchanan accomplished4 ,sometimes a brilliantly written scene would be followed and robbed of its effect by work that was only perfunctory4 ,he had a sense of the stage1 but he had never been at the pains fully to master the conditions of the theatre1 so that even in the best that he accomplished he could not make full use of its resources or duly observe its limitations4 ,it was during the period of my association with the ,comedy ,theatre that ,irving invited me to write for him a play on the subject of ,king ,arthur4 ,he had already in his possession a drama by ,w4 ,g4 ,wills upon the same theme1 and at first the project took the form of an offer on his part that ,i should revise1 and in part rewrite1 ,wills's somewhat slovenly essay4 ,but when ,i tried to set myself to the task ,i found that1 for me at least1 it was impossible of achievement4 ,i had long known and loved the ,arthurian legends as they are enshrined in ,sir ,thomas ,malory's exquisite romance1 and it seemed to me that the tragedy that lay in the loves of ,lancelot and ,guinevere was susceptible of more dramatic treatment than ,wills had accorded it4 ,when ,i explained my difficulty to ,irving he at once gave to his original proposal a new form1 permitting me very willingly to abandon altogether ,wills's experiment and to write for him a drama of my own4 ,when the time approached for its production he eagerly acquiesced1 as ,i have already related1 in my suggestion that ,burne-,jones should be invited to design the scenery and costumes1 and it was further agreed between us that the music1 which was destined to form an important feature in the presentation of the piece1 should be entrusted to ,sir ,arthur ,sullivan4 ,sullivan was already counted among my intimate friends4 ,i had met him first many years before at ,sir ,coutts ,lindsay's country-house in ,scotland1 and it was not long before the acquaintance ripened into a close and lasting friendship4 ,to those who knew and loved ,sullivan1 and ,i think he was loved by all who knew him1 the extraordinary charm of his personality will be unreservedly acknowledged4 ,there have been few men in our time in any walk of life who have possessed an equal measure of social fascination4 ,his manner1 always sympathetic and sincere1 suffered no change in whatever company he found himself1 and there was added to this finer quality of sympathy a quick and delicate sense of humour that made closer comradeship with him inspiring and delightful4 ,and although he was well entitled to claim a separate consideration for the art to which his whole life was unsparingly devoted1 it was wonderful to observe with what patience and tact he subordinated any distinctive claim which ,i have known other musicians1 not so finely endowed1 often to assert1 and with how much skilful readiness he could adjust the competing requirements of music and the drama1 when they had to be linked together1 so as to produce a combined effect upon the audience4 ,the subject of ,king ,arthur1 while the production was in progress at the ,lyceum1 took a strong hold upon him1 and it was only a very little while before his death that he made a proposition to me that ,i should so far rearrange the material ,i had treated as to provide a libretto for an opera he had in his mind to compose4 ,illustration3 ,emery ,walker ,,sir ,,arthur ,,sullivan ,from the painting by ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,,millais1 ,bart41 ,p4,r4,a41 in the ,national ,portrait ,gallery4 ,to face page #bhd4 ,it was some little time after the ,lyceum production that ,i became even more closely associated with him in the production of ,the ,beauty ,stone4 ,the book was written by ,mr4 ,pinero and myself1 and ,sir ,arthur ,sullivan was the composer4 ,during a part of that time he occupied a charming little villa at ,beaulieu on the ,riviera1 and there ,i stayed with him for six weeks while he was setting some of the more important of the lyrics in the opera4 ,the near neighbourhood of ,monte ,carlo presented an element of temptation to ,sullivan1 who was a born gambler4 ,but he was at the time so hard set upon his work that he announced to me on my arrival his fixed resolve that our visits to the ,casino should be strictly limited to two days in the week4 ,like all born gamblers ,arthur had his peculiar superstitions4 ,he could not endure to be watched while he was playing2 and if he chanced to catch sight of me anywhere near the table at which he was seated1 his resentment found eloquent expression4 ,it was only when ,i contrived to keep entirely out of sight that ,i was able to observe him as he sat wholly absorbed in the play4 ,the excitement to which he yielded on these occasions was extraordinary1 and the rapidity with which he covered the series of chosen numbers very often outran his own remembrance of what he had done4 ,i have seen him1 as he passed from one table to the other1 followed by a friendly croupier carrying a handful of gold which he himself was ignorant he had won4 ,and when the evening closed1 and we found ourselves once more in the train that was to take us back to ,beaulieu1 he would sometimes sink back entirely exhausted with the energy he had expended in his three hours' traffic in the rooms4 ,our life at ,beaulieu1 wholly delightful as it was--for there never was a host to equal him in simple and graceful hospitality--had nevertheless its humorous aspects4 ,we lived1 indeed1 a sort of ,box and ,cox existence4 ,the brisk air and bright climate tempted me to rise early1 and ,i was generally at work on the little terrace outside my room by nine o'clock in the morning4 ,it was ,sullivan's habit1 on the other hand1 to lie late1 and our first meeting of the day occurred only at lunch-time4 ,sometimes1 but not always1 he would work a little during the afternoon1 but it was only when dinner was over1 and we had played a few games of bezique1 that he set himself seriously to his task4 ,we parted generally at about eleven1 and then ,arthur's musical day began4 ,withdrawing himself into a little glass conservatory that overlooked the ,mediterranean1 he would often remain at his desk1 scoring and composing1 till four or even five o'clock in the morning1 and it was only rarely during the labour of composition that he had any need to have recourse to the piano to try over a few notes of the melody he had under treatment4 ,his actual pen-work when he was engaged in scoring his composition for the orchestra was of surprising neatness and delicacy1 and ,i think it was this part of his task he enjoyed the most4 ,he used to say to me that the invention of melody rarely presented to him any grave difficulty4 ,it flowed naturally1 almost spontaneously1 when he had once fixed the musical rhythm which he felt the meaning of the words and the chosen metre of the verse rightly demanded4 ,here he took extraordinary pains to satisfy himself1 and it was1 ,i think1 this spirit of exacting loyalty to the special quality of each separate lyric that gave to his work its special value in relation to the theatre4 ,sullivan was always anxious to gather any hint or suggestion from the writer with whom he was associated4 ,i told him one day that in composing verse that was to be set to music ,i always had some dumb tune echoing in my brain1 and ,i can recall now his futile endeavours to extract from me even the vaguest idea of what this 8unheard melody0 might be4 ,sometimes in a spirit of pure mischief he would see how far he could impose upon my confessed ignorance of the musician's art4 ,he invited me one day to his rooms in ,victoria ,street to listen to the musical form he proposed to adopt in setting the final choruses of ,king ,arthur1 and when1 after playing over what he would himself have described as a 8tinpot melody10 he inquired if the result came up to my expectation1 the imperturbable gravity of his face entirely deceived me4 8,well1 my dear ,arthur10 ,i replied1 8if that is what you propose1 ,i can only assume that one of us two is a vulgar fellow1 and ,i suppose ,i am the culprit40 ,and then1 with a twinkle in his eye1 he said1 8,well1 perhaps you prefer this10 and proceeded to play the melody he had really composed for the purpose4 ,unhappily1 during the time that ,the ,beauty ,stone was being composed1 poor ,sullivan was often suffering great physical pain1 which sometimes rendered his task difficult and onerous4 ,and yet even then the natural brightness of his disposition constantly asserted itself1 and he rarely allowed others to be conscious of what he himself endured4 ,how great was the strain illness cast upon him became painfully apparent during the period of our rehearsals2 for1 although he never spared himself1 it was clear to those who were near him that the cost to himself in nervous exhaustion was often almost more than he could bear4 ,those who followed his body to ,st4 ,paul's will not easily forget the touching solemnity of the occasion4 ,his own ,chorus from the ,savoy was permitted to sing one of his own beautiful compositions as the coffin was slowly lowered into the vault4 ,that so beautiful and sunny a nature1 rich in all the qualities that make for sweet friendship1 and so nobly endowed with gifts that leave his place as a musician lasting and secure1 should have been consigned to such martyrdom of physical suffering ranks among those decrees of fate that it is vain to question and idle to seek to evade4 ,few men could boast of having conferred upon their generation such fresh and lasting enjoyment2 for it may be confidently said that1 in that long series of works in which his name will ever be associated with that of ,sir ,william ,gilbert1 there was added to the garnered store of the world's pure pleasure a new harvest of delight reaped from a field that none had tilled before4 ,to those who love the theatre the labours of rehearsal1 though they are exacting and sometimes exhausting1 yield many delightful experiences4 ,there comes a moment even in the writing of a play when the puppets of the author's invention seem suddenly to take a detached existence and to follow a law of development that is only half-consciously dictated by their creator4 ,this impression1 which ,i suppose nearly all writers in the region of fiction must have felt1 is renewed and intensified as a play takes shape upon the stage4 ,the intrusion of the actor's personality1 sometimes enhancing the original conception1 and always in some degree modifying the intended balance of the design1 adds a new colour to the written page4 ,and then1 as day by day the scattered fragments are gradually united and the interpretation grows in emotional strength1 there come moments of keen enjoyment of the actor's art that equal1 if they do not surpass1 any later impression that may be yielded when the performance is finally presented with the added effects of costume and scenery4 ,the bare1 empty stage1 with the players in their ordinary working-day dress1 presents but a mournful appearance to a chance visitor who is a stranger to the scene4 ,but those who work day by day in the theatre sometimes find1 as the rehearsals advance1 that this ill-lit1 unfurnished void can on a sudden be transformed into a world of enchantment4 ,the actor and the author together are as yet undisturbed in their task1 and what is still to come in the way of added illusion their imagination can readily supply4 ,and yet the bringing together of all the contributory arts that are combined in the service of an important production has an interest of its own4 ,from the initial step1 when the little toy models of the scenic artist are passed and approved1 to the final moment of the dress rehearsal1 there is a vast amount of work to be done in every department1 and during the progress of that work the theatre becomes a truly democratic institution4 ,author and composer1 the master carpenter1 the property master1 and the electrician are linked together in a spirit of equal comradeship1 and there is not one of them all who has it not in his power to make or mar the work of his fellows4 ,it is one of the inscrutable laws of the theatre that nothing is ever quite ready until the last moment4 ,costumes are delayed1 properties are incomplete1 or it may be some scene that did not quite fit its purpose is undergoing structural amendment1 and has yet to receive the final touches at the hands of the scene-painter4 ,all these circumstances1 perhaps inevitable in view of the countless details that have to be fitted together in order to perfect the complex puzzles of a production1 are apt to give to the final rehearsals an impression of chaos and confusion4 ,it is not an uncommon remark made by those who are admitted to such rehearsals1 8,but you surely do not intend to produce this play in two days' time80 ,and1 except to the expert who knows that what is lacking is already in an advanced stage of preparation1 the doubt implied in the question is natural enough4 ,but even with all the experience of the expert there are occasions when these inevitable delays approach very nearly to disaster4 ,i remember that the dress rehearsal of ,called ,back1 when ,i had not yet gained a full mastery over the mechanical resources of the theatre1 lasted till six o'clock in the morning1 and during the small hours one after another of the members of the company came to me and implored that the production might be postponed4 ,but with an audacity that was born of inexperience ,i persisted that all would be ready in time4 ,we left the theatre at half-past six1 and were back again at ten o'clock to renew the rehearsal1 and to the astonishment of all1--an astonishment in which ,i confess ,i shared1--when the evening came1 the play went without mishap to a successful close4 ,but these long rehearsals often result in trials of temper as well as of strength1 and now and again it happens that the wearied stagehands are not wholly equal to their work4 ,king ,arthur was produced under conditions that were exceptionally trying1 for1 at the time that the heavy scenic material had to be arranged upon the stage1 a pantomime was running at the theatre during the afternoons4 ,much that was employed in the pantomime had to be daily removed to make room for our own scenery1 and replaced again for the performance of the next afternoon4 ,at one of the rehearsals1 as ,arthur ,sullivan and ,i stood upon the stage listening to his setting of the 8,may ,song10 the high platform upon which ,queen ,guinevere and her maids were standing suddenly gave way1 and to our horror fell with a crash to the stage4 ,for the moment we thought that some grave disaster must have occurred1 but with sudden instinct ,miss ,terry had flung herself prone upon the pedestal where she had been standing1 and escaped with nothing more serious than a few bruises4 ,the protest against scenic display in the theatre is constantly renewed1 but is not always very intelligently directed4 ,that scenery can be inappropriate in its magnificence is true enough1 but it is not less true that it can be equally inappropriate in its inefficiency4 ,the question1 when all is said1 is one of taste and fitness1 and involves no irrefutable principle4 ,to ignore the enlarged resources of the modern scene-painter's art would1 ,i think1 be foolish1 even if it were possible4 ,the problem before the theatre now is to control these resources1 and to reconsider and to reforge the means which shall set them again in clear subjugation to the essential claims of the drama4 ,it may be conceded that during the last thirty years the need of this subjugation has not always been sufficiently borne in mind1 and there have been instances not a few where the eye has been fed at the expense of the ear4 ,but this scenic art is a thing so beautiful in itself that it would be hard indeed if any mere pedantry of taste should force its exclusion from the theatre4 ,,index ,abbey1 ,edwin1 #aej ,academy1 ,royal1 #ei1 #id1 #ajf-g1 #adc1 #adf1 #bde2 school of the1 #aji2 duties of the1 #abg-cj ,actors' ,benevolent ,fund1 #ahi-ij ,adelphi1 the1 #bca ,adelphi ,hotel1 ,liverpool1 #ej ,albany1 the1 #cg ,albemarle ,hotel1 #bei ,albert1 ,prince ,consort1 #abi ,albery1 ,mr41 #bcj ,albion ,tavern1 ,drury ,lane1 #bcc-ce ,algiers1 #ajc-e ,alverstone1 ,lord1 #ahf-hh ,american ambassadors1 orators among the1 #ahi ,amiens1 #aed ,aquarium1 the1 #gh ,armstrong1 ,lord1 #ej ,armstrong1 ,thomas1 #abj ,arnold1 ,arthur1 #bh1 #ce ,arnold1 ,sir ,edwin1 #bh ,arrowsmith1 ,messrs41 #bee ,art ,journal1 the1 #adf-di ,arts1 relation of the1 #baj-ad ,arts ,club1 the1 #ce1 #he1 #id1 #aad1 #aaf1 #abc1 #aea1 #aeb ,aspinall1 ,mr41 #ef ,athenum1 the1 #bi ,atkinson1 #ae ,ayrton1 ,mr41 #agd ,bancroft1 ,lady1 #bcc1 #bfa ,bancroft1 ,sir ,squire1 #bei ,barnes ,common1 #a-b ,barnum's ,show1 #gh ,barrre1 ,camille1 #ce-cf ,barry1 #ge ,bateman1 ,dick1 #bbh-bi1 #bcb ,bateman1 ,isabella1 #bbi1 #bcj ,bateman1 ,richard1 #bbh-ce1 #bed ,bayard1 ,mr41 speech of1 #ahi-ia ,beaconsfield1 ,earl1 attack on ,mr4 ,gladstone1 #agf-gh2 visits to the ,grosvenor1 #agi-hj2 anecdote concerning1 #ahj-ha2 personality1 #aha-hb2 style of oratory1 #ahb-hc ,beatty-,kingston1 ,william1 #db1 #dd-df ,beaulieu1 #bhe-hf ,beefsteak ,club1 the1 #abb1 #bee1 #bei ,beefsteak ,room of the ,lyceum1 #bda1 #bgj ,beere1 ,mrs4 ,bernard1 #aie ,belt trial1 the1 #ea-eb ,bernhardt1 ,sarah1 #bci1 #bge1 #bgi-hj ,bigham1 ,lord ,justice1 #di ,billingsgate1 #bdi ,birmingham ,university1 #cc ,black and ,white1 #fe ,blake1 #gd-ge ,blandford ,square1 #aba1 #bee ,bodichon1 ,madam1 #ajc-d ,book illustration1 #aji-aj ,botticelli1 #fg1 #gb1 #gd ,boughton1 ,g4 ,h41 #bff ,bow ,street1 #ahg ,box ,hill1 #bjf ,braid1 ,mr41 #h ,brice1 ,prof4 ,stewart1 #dh ,bright1 ,john1 #afh-ge2 speeches on the ,reform movement1 #agj-gb2 impromptu speeches1 #agc-gd2 his allusion to the 8,scottish terrier10 #agd-ge2 ,millais's portrait1 #age ,british ,museum1 the1 #aji1 #bde ,bronts1 the1 #aa ,brookfield1 ,charles1 #bae ,brown1 ,ford ,madox1 #fc1 #acj ,browning1 ,robert1 #aj1 #hf1 #bjd1 #bff2 poetry of1 #aii-bja2 personality1 #bja-g2 ,browning senr41 #bjc ,bruce ,castle ,school1 #c-i1 #ch-ci1 #bbh ,bruce1 ,edgar1 #bee-ef ,buchanan1 ,robert1 #bhb-hc ,burke1 ,mr41 murder of1 #bfg ,burne-,jones1 ,sir ,edward1 #h1 #gd1 #he1 #aag1 #acj1 #acb1 #baj1 #bfg1 #bhc2 ,rossetti on1 #fg1 #fi-gj2 letter quoted1 #ga-gb1 #hb2 the pre-,raphaelite movement1 #gf2 pen-sketches1 #gh-gi2 essays in the grotesque1 #gi-hj2 personality1 #hj-hb ,buyers1 modern1 #aca-cb ,byron1 ,lord1 #aha ,caf ,royal1 the1 #aae1 #aeg-eh ,calais1 #aec ,caldecott1 ,randolph1 #abj-ba ,callander1 #af-ag ,cameron1 ,henry1 #aic1 #aih ,cameron1 ,mrs41 #aic1 #aid1 #aig ,campden ,hill1 #bff ,canning1 policy1 #agg ,caracci1 the1 #ahj ,carlyle1 #aa1 #aie ,carr1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,comyns--boyhood1 #a-ac2 in the ,city1 #ac-ad2 idle hours1 #ae-be2 ,junior of the ,northern ,circuit1 #dh-eh2 theatre management1 #bha-ib2 ,journalistic work--,dramatic and ,musical ,review1 #bf-bh2 ,echo1 #bh1 #ce2 ,globe1 #bh-cf1 #ch1 #ei1 #fh1 #bfd2 ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 #ce1 #cf1 #ajb1 #adf2 8,ignotus0 articles1 #fc-fd1 #ga2 ,saturday ,review1 #cf1 #ch1 #ei1 #bjf1 #bae2 ,examiner1 #cf1 #ch1 #df-dg1 #ei2 ,world1 #cf1 #ch2 ,manchester ,guardian1 #ch1 #adf1 #aej1 #aec2 editor of the ,english ,illustrated ,magazine1 #dj1 #aah1 #aeh-fe1 #beg2 ,english editor of ,l',art1 #adj1 #adf2 ,art ,journal1 #adf-dg1 #adi2 ,academy1 #aej2 ,portfolio1 #adi ,dramatic work--,king ,arthur1 #hc-hd1 #bgi1 #bhd1 #bhg1 #bia-ib2 ,called ,back1 #bee-ef2 ,dark ,days1 #bef2 ,the ,united ,pair1 #beg2 ,the ,beauty ,stone1 #bhe1 #bhg-hh2 contributions to the performances at ,st4 ,george's ,hall1 #beg-eh ,carr1 ,mrs4 ,j4 ,comyns1 ,north ,italian ,folk1 #abj ,cavendish1 ,lord ,frederick1 #bfg ,chalons1 #gb ,chamberlain1 ,mr41 #aeb2 ,mr4 ,parnell's attack on1 #ahe-hf ,cheyne ,walk1 ,rossetti's home1 #fe1 #fi2 ,whistler's home1 #ace1 #acf1 #ada1 #adb ,child1 ,mr41 #aeb-ec ,choate1 ,mr41 #ahi ,churchill1 ,lord ,randolph1 #bdj-da ,cleveland1 ,president1 the ,venezuelan crisis1 #ahi-ij ,coal ,hole1 the1 #cc ,coleridge1 ,lord1 #ef ,collins1 ,lord ,justice1 #di ,collins1 ,prof4 ,churton1 #cc-cd1 #bbi ,cologne1 #bdc2 ,custom ,house1 #abj ,cologne ,gazette1 #bfe ,colvin1 ,prof4 ,sidney1 #cf1 #ajb ,comedy ,theatre1 #afj1 #bhb1 #bhc ,constable1 #ia ,continental ,hotel1 #bga ,conway1 ,hugh1 ,the ,family ,affair1 #afb2 ,called ,back1 #bee-ef2 personality1 #beg ,cook1 ,dutton1 #bca ,cook1 ,mr41 #cg ,coquelin1 #bgi ,cornhill ,magazine1 the1 #i-aj1 #bi1 #ie1 #aaj ,correspondents1 special1 #ci-dg ,corry1 ,montague 7,lord ,rowton71 #bfg ,cotton1 ,mrs41 prosecution of1 #ef-eg ,crane1 ,walter1 #afa ,craven1 ,hawes1 #hd1 #bdc ,crawford1 ,marion1 #aei ,creighton1 ,bishop1 #dg ,crimean remembrances1 #c ,croizette1 #bgi ,crompton1 ,charles1 #dh1 #eg ,cumberland1 fishing in1 #ba-bb2 walking tours1 #bd-be ,custom ,house1 the1 #bdi ,daily ,news1 the1 #dj-da ,daily ,telegraph1 the1 #bh1 #dc ,daudet1 #bhb ,dbts1 the1 #aeg ,delane1 ,mr41 #bgg ,delaunay1 #bgh ,delmas1 ,m41 #d ,descle1 #bci ,design1 renewed study in1 #aaa ,dickens1 ,charles1 #i1 #aa1 #gg1 #hi1 #acg1 #bje1 #bbc2 8,mr4 ,pecksniff10 #adg2 his likeness to ,tennyson1 #aid2 on ,irving1 #bcj ,dilke1 ,sir ,charles1 #adf ,dochart1 ,loch1 #ah ,doyle1 ,richard1 #aai-bj ,dramatic and ,musical ,review1 the1 #bf ,drury ,lane ,theatre1 #bcb ,dublin1 #bdj ,dudley ,gallery1 #aba ,duffield1 ,richard1 #bae ,dumas1 ,l'trangre1 #bgi ,dumfries1 #bea ,dungeon ,ghyll1 #bd ,dungeon ,ghyll ,hotel1 #be ,duse1 ,madame1 #bhj ,easedale ,tarn1 #bd ,echenique1 #f ,echo1 the1 #bh1 #ce ,elgin ,marbles1 the1 #aji ,eliot1 ,george1 #aa ,emerson1 #aa ,english ,illustrated ,magazine1 the1 #dj1 #aah1 #beg2 wood-engravings1 #aeh-ei2 literary contributors1 #aei-ff ,engraving1 renewed study of1 #aaa ,erckmann-,chatrian1 #bcj ,examiner1 the1 #cf1 #ch1 #df1 #ei ,farringford1 home of ,tennyson1 #aic1 #aid1 #aig ,faulkner1 ,charles1 #h ,fechter1 ,charles1 #bcb1 #bgc1 #bgd ,fifeshire1 #bc ,fishing1 the ,scottish gillie1 #ah-ba2 the art of1 #bb-bc ,fleury1 ,robert1 #ig ,florence1 school of1 #ge1 #gf ,forbes1 ,archibald1 #ci-db ,franais1 ,theatre1 #bde ,francillon1 the novelist1 #bi-cc ,franco-,german ,war1 #dj1 #aeg1 #bgh ,freshwater1 #aic ,froude1 #aa ,fuseli1 #ge ,gaiety ,restaurant1 the old1 #cj1 #bei ,gaiety ,theatre1 the1 #bbi1 #bcb1 #bdf ,gainsborough1 #ic ,gallery of ,illustration1 ,regent ,street1 #beh ,gambetta1 #ce ,garrick ,club1 the1 #ij1 #afd1 #ahc1 #ahd ,garrison1 ,william ,lloyd1 #agj ,gauthiot1 ,m41 #aeg-eh ,george ,,iii41 #abh ,german ,reeds1 the1 #aba1 #beg-ei ,gilbert1 ,sir ,john1 #aji1 #aai ,gilbert1 ,sir ,william1 #ec-ed1 #bhh ,giorgione1 #ahj ,giotto1 #gc ,gladstone1 ,w4 ,e41 #aij2 ,burne-,jones on1 #gf2 ,millais's portrait1 #age2 style of oratory1 #age-gf2 his reply to ,disraeli's attack quoted1 #agf-gh2 visits to the ,grosvenor1 #agh-gi2 his treatment of ,parnell1 #ahh ,glasgow1 #bee ,glebe ,place1 #adc ,glenesk1 ,lord1 #bj ,glenmuick1 #bj ,globe1 the1 the author's work as dramatic critic1 #bh-ch1 #ei1 #fh1 #bfd2 8,ignotus0 articles1 #fc1 #ga ,got1 #bgh ,gothard ,pass1 #ba ,grain1 ,corney1 #beh-ei ,grange1 the1 home of ,burne-,jones1 #gc1 #hc ,granville1 ,dr4 ,mortimer1 #bh ,grasmere1 #af1 #bd ,great ,russell ,street1 #de ,greenwood1 ,frederic1 #cf-cg ,grosvenor ,gallery1 establishment1 #fe1 #abg1 #abi-cb1 #bff1 #bfh-fi2 exhibitions1 #gf1 #hi-ij1 #abj1 #acc1 #adc1 #adf1 #agh-hj1 #aih2 ,millais's works1 #hi-ij ,grove ,end ,road1 house of ,sir ,l4 ,tadema1 #bfg-fh ,gully1 see ,selby1 ,viscount ,gurney1 ,overend1 #ab ,guy ,fawkes1 #b ,hake1 ,george1 #fd ,hall1 ,mrs41 #adg-dh ,hall1 ,samuel ,carter 78,mr4 ,pecksniff071 #adf-di ,hall1 ,sir ,charles ,e41 #hi1 #abf1 #acb1 #adf ,hamerton1 ,philip1 #adi-ej ,hamilton1 ,lady1 #bfd ,hannen1 ,mr4 ,justice1 the ,parnell trial1 #ahf-hh ,harcourt1 ,sir ,william1 #bc1 #ahj-ha ,hare1 ,sir ,john1 #bcc1 #bcf1 #bei ,harrop ,tarn1 #ba ,harte1 ,bret1 #aei1 #bbc-bd ,harwood1 ,mr41 #g1 #cg-ch ,hawtrey1 ,charles1 #bef ,haydon1 #ge ,haymarket ,theatre1 the1 #beg1 #bha-hb ,henley1 relations with ,stevenson1 #bae1 #bah-ai2 ,irving and1 #bai-ba ,henschell1 #aai ,herschell1 ,lord1 #di1 #ee-ef ,hertfordshire1 #bc ,high ,white ,stones1 #bd ,hill1 ,arthur1 #c1 #e1 #f ,hill1 ,dr4 ,birkbeck1 #f-h1 #agj ,hill1 ,sir ,rowland1 #c ,his ,majesty's ,theatre1 #bgj ,holker1 ,lord ,justice1 #di1 #ed-ee ,hollingshead1 ,john1 #bcb ,home ,rule movement1 the1 #ahd-he ,hope1 ,beresford1 #cg ,horsman1 ,mr41 #agd-ge ,horton1 ,miss ,priscilla 7,mrs4 ,german ,reed71 #beh ,houghton1 ,lord1 #bgj-ga ,howell1 ,charles1 #ada-db ,hughenden1 #ahj-ha ,hunt1 ,holman1 #ge1 #aaa-ac1 #acj ,huxley1 ,professor1 #aei ,hyde ,park1 #agj ,ibsen1 #bjh ,illustrated ,london ,news1 the1 #ig ,indian ,mutiny1 #b-c ,inglis1 ,mr41 #ahf ,inner ,temple1 #ad ,irving1 ,sir ,henry1 #eb1 #hc1 #aeb1 #aif2 production of ,becket1 #aie-if2 attack on ,henley1 #bai-ba2 anecdotes concerning1 #bba-bc1 #bcd-cf2 ,bob ,gassett in ,dearer than ,life1 #bbi2 in ,fanchette1 #bcj2 ,digby ,grant in ,the ,two ,roses1 #bcj1 #bce-cf2 in ,the ,bells1 #bca-cd1 #bci2 personality1 #bcf-ch1 #bda-dc1 #bgj-gb2 in ,hamlet1 #bci-da2 visit to ,nuremberg1 #bdc-dd2 in ,charles ,i41 #bed2 ,ellen ,terry and1 #bgi-hj2 his request to the author1 #bhc-hd ,italy1 ,northern1 aspects of character in1 #ai ,james1 ,edwin1 #afg ,james1 ,henry1 #aei ,jameson1 ,frederick1 #bjf1 #bfj ,jefferies1 ,richard1 #aei2 8,the ,gamekeeper at ,home10 #afc-fd ,jesmond ,dene1 #ej ,jeune1 ,sir ,francis1 see ,st4 ,helier1 ,lord ,jeykell1 ,miss1 #ajc-e ,johnson1 ,dr41 #g ,jonby1 #ae ,journalism1 relation to literature1 #dg ,junior of the ,circuit1 the1 #di-ej1 #ef ,keats1 #fh1 #bjj ,keene1 ,charles1 #aah1 #bdd2 sketch of1 #aad-ae ,kelly1 ,mr41 #bee ,kelmscott1 home of ,rossetti1 #fd ,kennedy1 ,lord ,justice1 #di ,kensington ,gardens1 #ij ,killin1 #ai ,kinsmen ,club1 the1 #bbc ,knight1 ,joseph1 #bfd ,labour ,news1 the1 #bg-bh ,lambs ,club1 the1 #aag1 #bei-fa1 #bfc ,landor1 ,rossetti on1 #fh-fi ,landseer1 ,sir ,edwin1 #gb1 #hh2 personality1 #aje-g ,langdale ,pikes1 #bd ,l',art1 #adj1 #adf ,l',art en ,province1 #aec ,lawson1 ,cecil1 exhibitions at the ,grosvenor1 #acc1 #adc2 the 8,minister's ,garden10 #adc2 the 8,pastoral10 #adc2 personality1 #add-de ,leech1 ,john1 #hi1 #aah ,leigh's ,school1 #aji ,leighton1 ,sir ,frederick1 #dd1 #bge2 ,rossetti on1 #fg-fh2 personality1 #ic-if2 letter to the author quoted1 #ig-ii ,leslie1 ,george1 letters to the author quoted1 #ajc-g ,lewis1 ,lady1 #gi-hj1 #bfg ,lewis1 ,leopold1 #bcj ,lewis1 ,sir ,george1 #ea1 #hj1 #ahc1 #ahg1 #bfg ,leyland1 ,mr41 #acd ,liddon1 ,canon1 #afg ,lindsay1 ,lady1 #acg1 #bff-fg ,lindsay1 ,sir ,coutts1 #aai1 #acb1 #adc1 #adf1 #bff-fg1 #bhd ,literature1 its relation to music1 #baa ,locker1 ,frederick1 #aih-ii ,lockwood1 ,sir ,frank1 #aij 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