Chapter V: Leighton as President of the Royal Academy (4)

Accurately the _charmingness_ of Scotland, it is the
starting-point for everything. But I observe that at the rate of
writing I should fill a volume before I had given you the
hastiest account of my journey, so I will e'en cut it short and
simply say that, taking it altogether, my too brief stay in the
Highlands has been a source of very great enjoyment to me, if
not of any particular benefit to my health, for which indeed it
has been too short. I have had more than the usual proportion of
fine weather, and am corroborated in my old opinion that for
beauty of colouring nothing north of the Alps will compare with
this most lovely country, and that the wealth and variety of
effects of light and shade is altogether unrivalled.
Unfortunately, working here is very difficult, all the effects
are so bafflingly fugitive; nevertheless, I have made three
little sketches which, though hasty, will be of value if only
to revive my recollections of the effects they very feebly
render; they were all done in one day; and no one day since I
did them has been such as to make sketching possible--except
this the last and one of the most enchanting, which I have spent
delightfully but fruitlessly on the top of a coach.

From Gressoney, St. Jean, September 1, 1891, he wrote to Mrs. Matthews:--

Many thanks for your letter received last night; as it crossed
one from me to the Dad, which I hope he could read (it was writ
large), I should not write again at once (having, of course,
nothing to say--except that it is, _pour changer_, a splendid
afternoon, and I ought to be out of doors) but that I want you
at once to tell the poor old Dad how concerned and sorry I am to
hear that he has been so ailing, and ailing so long, and how I
wonder at his superb power of recuperation. I don't ask in
_this_ letter how the Dad is, because I am sure he will send me
a line in answer to my note to him. But I have another reason
for writing at once; I want you, please, to thank Lina with best
love, for her nice long letter (_she does not want a letter
written from here_), and tell her, before it is too late, that I
hope she won't give up her Ballater without _a very full trial_,
because I know that it takes many people a considerable time to
get acclimatised to that bracing air. Tell her also that I was
myself going to suggest an _Ausflug_ to Braemar; if she goes to
the Invercauld Arms let her use my name, and she will be well
treated. I should _peculiarly_ like her to see the Lynn of
Dee--she will only have to scramble five or six yards off the
main road to look down into the stream from under some of the
grandest old Scotch firs in Scotland; and I verily believe that
the watching for a silent bit of those dark, dark, seemingly
bottomless, noiselessly swirling pools, _tiny_ as they are under
the hollow grey craig, will, somehow, whisper a big peace and a
strange wondering fascination into her being; the whole thing is
not bigger than an expensive toy, but it lays a never-failing
grip on _me_.[82]--Affectionate brother,

FRED.

To Mrs. Orr when in Scotland:--

_August 22, 1891._

If you can manage it go to a favourite haunt of mine, the Lynn
of Dee, quite a tiny tumble of green waters in fantastically
scooped grey rocks, no higher than a cottage, under astounding
old Scotch firs (by-the-bye the grandest tree in the world to my
thinking), where I have sat interminably long looking down into
the dark deep pools, from which now and then a salmon leaps. To
me no spot about there is so fascinating.

GRAND HOTEL, BRUFANI, PERUGIA,
_October 3, 1891_.

DEAR LINA,--Well, I am glad you got to the Lynn of Dee, though
sorry that you could not be there in solitude and see it without
sitting in a pool of water. I am glad, too, that you saw the
salmon leap; I did not mention that most exciting spectacle
because it is not by any means _always_ on view--you were in
luck; but what you must make for another time is the bit three
or four yards _below_ the fall where the vehemence of the winter
torrent has scooped and worn pools so deep that as your eye is
drawn down past half-hidden submerged rocky shapes you come at
last to absolute dark brown night, and whilst you are conscious
of a rapid, swirling current, no _sound_, no faintest gurgle
even, reaches your ear; the silent mystery of it all absolutely
invades and possesses you; that is what I faintly tried to put
into my "Solitude," of which a photogravure embellishes your
staircase. I am vexed that you had so much rain; however, you
had a few fine glimpses, and if a rainy day in Scotland is like
the Scotch Sawbath, a fine one throws you the gates of Heaven.
It is curious how much clearer the air is (_when clear_) than we
get it south of the Tweed.

I am glad that the Dad has rallied so satisfactorily; tell him,
with my love, that I have heard from the gentleman in Copenhagen
for whom I carved the marble "Athlete." He is benighted enough
to say that in his opinion it is one of the most important
statues of modern times; and he wants my bust, if there is one,
for his collection of portraits.

Leighton also particularly desired that his sister should see Malinmore, County Donegal, when visiting Ireland. He wrote from Kensington, "I am bent on your seeing Malinmore."

And again, from Scotland:--

INVERNESS, _September 13_.

DEAR LINA,--I can't help feeling a good deal of responsibility
about the melancholy, treeless wilds to which I have sent you,
because I happen to like them vastly; and I particularly feel
that _everything_ will turn on your seeing, not indeed all or
nearly all _I_ saw--that is impossible--but as much as your
strength will allow; take your courage, therefore, in one hand,
your goloshes in another, and your umbrella in a third, and
_from_ the car--_abseits_--see the _whole coast-line close_ to
the rocks overlooking the sea; there is not an inch that won't
reward you. There is a bit not more than half a mile from
Malinmore (_to'ards_ Malinhead), that is, though _small_, quite
Dantesque in its grim blackness (a few wet feet _im Nothfall_
won't hurt you). Of course, to do this well you must be in cars
_every_ day to take you in all directions to the point _from_
which to make your _Abstecher_--sometimes towards Glencolumskill
and the Hog's Back beyond (magnificent), sometimes towards
Malinhead, where you must see every little bay, including the
Silver Strand.

At first sight the breaking up of the weather is a bore, _mit
Seitenblick auf Ihnen_--but is not as bad as it seems; bad
(dirty) weather suits these parts, and the day will not dawn in
which I shall have forgotten certain dramatic sunsets and the
swooping of certain storm-clouds like the flight of huge fiery
birds of prey, more than once witnessed and deposed to on canvas
by me, over this treeless tract of moor.

FOOTNOTES:

[58] "Athlete Strangling a Python," exhibited in the International Exhibition, Paris, 1878.

[59] "The Arts of War."

[60] "Addresses delivered to the Students of the Royal Academy by the late Lord Leighton." Publishers: Kegan Paul, Trench, Truebner & Co. 1897.

[61] "Not everybody," wrote the late Mr. Underhill, who for some time, as private secretary to Sir Frederic Leighton, had special opportunities of knowing, "is aware of the tax upon a man's time and energy that is involved in the acceptance of the office in question. The post is a peculiar one, and requires a combination of talents not frequently to be found, inasmuch as it demands an established standing as a painter, together with great urbanity and considerable social position. The inroads which the occupancy of the office makes upon an artist's time are very considerable. There is, on the average, at least one Council meeting for every three weeks throughout the whole year. There are, from time to time, general assemblies for the election of new members and for other purposes, over which the President is bound, of course, to preside. For ten days or a fortnight in every April he has to be in attendance with the Council daily at Burlington House, for the purpose of selecting the pictures which are to be hung in the Spring Exhibition. He has to preside over the banquet which yearly precedes the opening of the Academy, and he has to act as host at the annual conversazione. Finally, it is his duty every other year to deliver a long, elaborate, and carefully prepared 'Discourse' upon matters connected with art, to the students who are for that purpose assembled. It is a post of much honour and small profit." "To administer the affairs of the Academy, to fulfil a round of social semi-public and public engagements, and to paint pictures which invariably reach a high level of excellence, would, of course, be impossible--even to Sir Frederic Leighton--were it not for the fact that he makes the very most of the time at his disposal. 'That's the secret,' remarked a distinguished member of the Academy to the present writer some little time before the President's death; 'Sir Frederic knows exactly how long it will take to do a certain thing, and he apportions his time accordingly.'"--"Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A.: His Life and Works." By Ernest Rhys.

[62] While writing this discourse Leighton wrote to his father:--

PERUGIA, _October 5, 1889_.

DEAR DAD,--You will be surprised to hear that your letter (for
which best thanks) only came to my hands _yesterday_ on my
arrival here; it had apparently, after enjoying a junket through
Spain, returned to England before its final despatch here. The
envelope, which I enclose, will amuse you; Ulysses himself did
not visit more cities of men! I am glad my Spanish tour is at an
end; the insufferable heat, the long journeys, the frequent
_night_ travelling, have conspired to make it rather trying to
me physically. I have never been thoroughly well the whole time.
Here it is absolutely cold, and I shall probably soon begin
firing; it rains also, and I fear the weather is altogether
unpromising; but the air is magnificent, and I am very fond of
the place, and I shall enjoy my stay as much as the necessity of
writing my (adjective) Address will allow.

My journey through Spain, though fatiguing, was extremely
interesting and very profitable to me for the matter in hand. My
stay in Madrid was made more enjoyable by the extreme amiability
of my very old friend our ambassador, who brought me into
contact with two or three interesting people, from whom I
gathered valuable information in regard to things Spanish; to
say nothing of getting compartments reserved for me in trains,
&c. &c. It is rather fortunate that our diplomatic
representatives abroad are mostly personal friends of mine. Post
is just going, so good-bye for the present.--Your affectionate
son,

FRED.

Leighton mastered the Spanish language completely in the course of the few weeks he spent in Spain in 1866. A friend who was present gives an amusing account of an incident which occurred when Leighton dined with Mrs. Adelaide Sartoris after his return. He was sitting next Senor Garcia (only now just dead at the age of 102); the conversation was being carried on in Spanish. Mrs. Sartoris, in astonishment and admiration at the fluent manner in which Leighton was talking the language of which he did not know a word a few weeks before, exclaimed, "But, Senor Garcia, _do_ say he makes some little mistakes!" "But he _doesn't_," replied Garcia; "he hasn't made one!"

[63] Mr. Norman Shaw wrote the following letter the day after he heard this address in 1891:--

6 ELLERDALE ROAD, HAMPSTEAD, N.W.,
_December 11, 1891_.

DEAR SIR FREDERIC,--I was so sorry I missed you last night.
After the election I went into the galleries to find my people,
and when I came out you had gone--and quite right too, for you
must have been very tired.

I thank you very sincerely for your most admirable address. I
had heard that it was to be on the subject of French Art, but I
had not realised that it was to be entirely about Architecture!
and as an architect I naturally feel very deeply its great and
permanent value. It is altogether a new sensation to have a
Presidential address devoted to the Mother of the Arts! and I am
sure its influence will be wide, deep, and lasting.

Amongst the many regrettable phases of modern art, there is none
that I feel more than the isolation that the three great
branches of art exist under in this country (for in France I am
sure it is quite different), and I cannot help feeling that your
address is a tremendous step in the right direction; but, alas!
I don't believe one in twenty of our colleagues understood what
you were so clearly explaining, and I fear not one in fifty
cared! But it is absurd to suppose that with the advancement of
knowledge this state of things can last, so it is intensely
satisfactory to have it on record that not merely have we had a
President that knew all that is to be known about the art, but
who also cared and loved it!

I thought your remarks on the French apse quite delightful. I
have always felt this strongly, and though as an Englishman
(Scotchman!) I like our square east ends, still I am bound to
admit that there is a logical completeness about a chevet that
the square end cannot claim. But I shall only weary you if I go
on in this prosy way! so thanking you again most heartily for
your grand contribution, believe me to remain,--Yours very
sincerely,

R. NORMAN SHAW.
SIR FREDERIC LEIGHTON, BART.

[64] From a boy, without any effort or thought on his part, he exercised an unquestioned domination over others. Speaking of the days when he, as a boy of seventeen, first made friends with Leighton in Rome, Sir E. Poynter said, "He knew he was clever, but he hadn't a particle of conceit. I never saw him cast down, he was always jolly and noble; none ever thought of refusing him obedience." Again, Sir E. Poynter refers to these early days in his Dedication to Leighton of "Ten Lectures on Art": "I came to-day from the 'Varnishing Day' at the Royal Academy Exhibition with a pleasant conviction that there is, on all sides, a more decided tendency towards a higher standard in Art, both as regards treatment of subject and execution, than I have before noticed; and I have no hesitation in attributing this sudden improvement, in the main, to the stimulus given us all by the election of our new President, and to the influence of the energy, thoroughness, and nobility of aim which he displays in everything he undertakes. I was probably the first, when we were both young, and in Rome together, to whom he had the opportunity of showing the disinterested kindness which he has invariably extended to beginners; and to him, as the friend and master who first directed my ambition, and whose precepts I never fail to recall when at work (as many another will recall them), I venture to dedicate this book with affection and respect." Signor Giovanni Costa wrote: "I remember once in Siena there was an unemployed half-hour in our programme. Leighton happening to go to the window of the hotel, exclaimed, 'The Cupola of the Duomo is on fire!' and as he said it he rushed downstairs to go there. I, being lame, could not keep pace with him, but followed, and on arriving in the Piazza attempted to enter the Duomo past a line of soldiers who were keeping the ground; but they would not allow me to. Seeing them carrying wooden hoardings into the cathedral, I shouted. 'You are taking fuel to the fire! Let me in--I am an artist and a custodian of artistic treasures.' The word 'custodian' moved them, and they let me pass. When I got inside the Duomo I found Leighton commanding in the midst. He was saying, 'You are bringing fuel to the fire.' There was a major of infantry with his company, who cried out, 'Open the windows!' Leighton exclaimed, 'My dear sir, you are fanning the flames; you must shut the windows.' He had placed himself at the head of everybody, and the windows were shut. From the cupola into the church fell melting flakes of fire ('cadean di fuoco dilatate falde'--_Dante_) from the burning and liquefied lead, which would certainly have ignited the boards with which they had intended to cover the _graffitte_ by Beccafumi on the marble pavement. Our half-hour was over. Leighton looked at his watch and said, 'In any case the cupola is burnt; let us be off to the Opera del Duomo; Duccio Buoninsegna is waiting for us!'"

[65] Sir George Grove wrote after the banquet in 1882: "Dear Leighton,--Let me say a word of most hearty congratulations on the brilliant way in which you got through your _Herculean_ task on Saturday. You are really a prodigy! Your last speech reads just as fresh and gay and unembarrassed as the first, and every one of the nine is as neat, as pointed, as perfectly _a propos_ as if there were nothing else to be said! Thank you especially for the reference to the music business."

[66] The following is one of many letters of regret expressed when Leighton resigned:--

19 QUEEN STREET, MAYFAIR, W.,
_June 24_.

DEAR SIR FREDERIC,--I trust you will allow me to express to you
the sincere regret I feel at your being compelled to give up
your command of the "Artists." To myself volunteering has always
been so inseparably connected with your command, that I cannot
at present realise the extent of the blank which your
resignation will create. I shall ever remember with pride that
it was under your auspices that I rose through the ranks and
obtained my commission.--Believe me, dear Sir Frederic, very
truly yours,

W. PASTEUR.
SIR FREDERIC LEIGHTON, P.R.A.

[67] The following correspondence took place between Leighton and Mr. Henry Wells, R.A.

To Sir FREDERIC LEIGHTON, P.R.A.
_January 27, (?) 1880._

I will avail myself of this opportunity to remark upon the
statement you made in your summing up, viz. that if women were
made members under the existing law they would not have the
right to sit on Council.

If you can establish this, if you can show us that any one
elected a "member" under our law can be debarred on the score of
sex from taking a seat on the Council, then I will instantly
allow that our laws do provide for the election of women, and
that the very ground of our argument is proved to be a
quicksand. When you endorsed the statement that came so
naturally from Millais, Calderon, and Leslie, I felt the matter
was serious, for I saw at once that you could not do justice to
our argument in the summing up because its very foundation was
misapprehended by you. Although the question is now disposed of,
I beg of you to look closely into the matter and assure yourself
of it. I only wish I had known beforehand where your doubts were
centered, for I would have done my best to remove them. I know
you will find, beyond all doubt and controversy, that any one
made a "member" by election can make good a claim to a seat on
the Council, just as Mr. Tresham made good his claim; and it is
because our laws provide for only one kind of members--a
Council-sitting kind--that we felt the necessity of providing
for the election of a non-Council-sitting kind.

In making this distinction we follow the example of George the
Third and the founders of the Academy (who presumably knew
something of the understanding upon which the two ladies became
connected with the Society), for their decision, when they
_administered_ the law in the Tresham case, excluded women from
a privilege which could not be denied to a "member" elected
under the law. Of course their and our interpretation is open to
dispute; but this much is beyond dispute, that if the law is
interpreted as providing for women being "members," then it also
places them (against the intention, as we see, of the founders)
upon the Council; and as the great majority of the present
Academicians have made up their minds that women shall not sit
on Council, legislation would be necessary on either reading of
the law.

The schedule of privileges to be given on the one hypothesis,
would on the other give place to a subtraction of privileges,
and either schedule would be determined according to the varying
shades of opinions of the members.

There would remain only this difference in the result; one
schedule would be based upon a law that is open to varying
interpretations, whereas according to our method the schedule
was based upon a positive resolution providing for the election
of women, thus removing the question from all future discussion
and doubt.

H.T.W.

From Sir FREDERIC LEIGHTON, P.R.A.
_January 30, 1880._

"In regard to the women question, I perfectly _saw_ your
contention and the logical cohesion of your view, and I was
familiar with the Tresham episode, only I dissent from your
view; I maintain that there were from the first
non-Council-sitting members--for 'members' the women certainly
were. 'It is the King's pleasure that the following forty
persons be the original _members_ of the Society,' and they did
not serve on Council, as the roster shows, _though all members_
were supposed to have sat; of course the laws were for the
original as well as the elected members, and if the privilege
could be refused to an original member whose name stands on the
paper that says that all members shall serve in Council, it can
and must on the same grounds be refused to elected female
members after the custom is consecrated by Royal sanction."

_January 31, 1880._

"DEAR WELLS,--I should much like to hear what you wish to say
about the office of Treasurer--there are several points
connected directly or indirectly with the office which it will
be well to consider before I ask the Queen to appoint, and I
have called a Council for _Thursday_ (the funeral is not till
Tuesday), at which these matters may be considered. It would
seem advisable and convenient that the Treasurer's work be done
at the Academy, and not away from it. I think also that the
wording of the clause appointing a Surveyor might be made
clearer; it ought not to be _possible_ for any one to
misunderstand or misinterpret its bearing. Unfortunately I have
an appointment to-morrow afternoon at 4.30, and my work in the
day is so urgent, having to be handed over on a fixed day, that
I cannot leave it--would _Tuesday_ at _five_ do? say at the
Athenaeum, or here a little later? we should still be forty-eight
hours in advance of the Council. In regard to the women
question, I perfectly _saw_ your contention and the logical
cohesion of your view, and I was familiar with the Tresham
episode, only I dissent from your view; I maintain that there
were from the first 'non-Council-sitting' members--for 'members'
the women certainly were: 'It is Her Majesty's pleasure that the
following forty persons be the original _members_ of the
Society,' and they did not serve on Council as the roster shows,
though _all members_ were supposed to have sat. Of course the
laws were for the 'original' as well as for the 'elected'
members, and if the privilege could be refused to an original
member whose name stands on the paper, that says that all
members shall serve on Council, it can and must on the same
grounds be refused to 'elected' female members after the custom
is consecrated by Royal sanction.--In haste, yours very truly,

FRED LEIGHTON.

"I have said nothing in this letter about poor Barry, but you
may imagine whether the tragic event has moved and haunts me."

To Sir FREDERIC LEIGHTON, P.R.A.
_February 1, 1880._

I am very glad indeed to have the statement of your views which
you have given me on the women question. Everything is now
clear, side matters are disposed of, and only a single point
remains on which we have to join issue. On my part I hold that
our laws are in a definite and unequivocal form. That their
foundation is in the "Instrument" and that every addition to, or
modification, or annulment of the provisions in that document
has been made in the manner prescribed, viz. by "resolutions"
passed by the General Assembly and afterwards sanctioned by the
Sovereign. These acts of legislation are all drawn up in a
special way (as to size and pattern), to receive the sign manual
of the Sovereign; and the tablets arranged in the order of their
dates constitute our Statute-Book. I hold that no law can be
changed or privilege taken away except by a subsequent act of
legislation done in the prescribed manner.

On your part you hold that laws can be changed and privileges
taken away by a "custom consecrated by Royal sanction." Thus the
issue raised is very clear and distinct indeed.

I will point out that the question as to women sitting on
Council was only on one occasion, and then only incidentally,
before the Academy. Until the Tresham case arose the ballot had
been used in forming the Council, and consequently no question
of rights could appear while that process remained unchallenged.
But whether we are discussing a single act of adjudication, or
such a succession of acts as may be called a "custom," is really
immaterial, because the sole question before us is this--can any
act or acts other than those of legislation override and
supplant the enactments of our law?

If it could be established that our laws must give way to the
class of acts you point to, it would then be the first duty of
the Academy to have our records minutely searched to ascertain
what other laws have been supplanted by administrative actions
sanctioned by the Sovereign; and the historical method so much
discountenanced at our last Assembly would in truth rise into
paramount importance. Many cases would most probably be found.
We have one in suspense before us at this moment--the case of
the engravers.

The laws of the Academy distinctly provide (but not more
distinctly than that without discrimination "members" shall sit
on Council) that a vacancy in the case of R.A. engravers shall
not be filled up until the assent of the General Assembly has
been taken by vote. Since the making of that law only two
vacancies have occurred. They were both filled up without a
preliminary permission, and the Sovereign sanctioned the
election. On your contention, therefore, the custom consecrated
by these sanctions must override the law itself, and nothing at
this time stands between Barlow and the Queen's signature to his
Diploma.

The Constitutional question you have raised is certainly one of
the highest importance, and I shall watch its development with
great interest. It is a matter of little moment what the view of
an ordinary member like myself may be, but not so with the
President, and I offer no apology for endeavouring to throw
light upon the subject.

H.T.W.

[68] See Chapter III.

[69] Now in the Tate Gallery, purchased under the terms of the Chantrey Bequest.

[70] The owners of Leighton's pictures must feel satisfaction, not only in the fact that in all cases the beauty of the forms and arrangements of line grow on the eye more and more the longer they are studied, but also that the work itself improves by keeping. I noticed this to be the case very decidedly in "Cymon and Iphigenia." I had seen it when completed, the day before it left the studio in 1884; and when it returned there in 1901 (the owner, Sir Cuthbert Quilter, having kindly lent it for exhibition), and was placed in precisely the same light, I was surprised to see how much it had improved in tone during those seventeen years; it had gained so very greatly in those qualities which suggest the feeling Leighton wished it to inspire.

[71] Leighton kept these precious studies he made for his pictures in a drawer where I was often invited, rather apologetically, to turn them over as if they were absolutely of no importance. I protested against the cursory treatment they received at the hand of their creator; and on seeing one superlatively beautiful study of drapery pinned on his easel one day, I implored him to have it glazed and framed before it ran any danger of being rubbed. He did so, and always alluded to it after as "that sketch you lost for me," because, being framed, he lent it to some one--he did not remember to whom--and it never came back. Periodically I asked if it had returned; "No--some one, I suppose, has taken a fancy to it," Leighton would reply. The pace at which he had to live in order to fulfil the work he had set himself, enforced great carelessness about his own interests in such matters. Unfortunately, after Leighton's death, the sketches were exposed to much defacement, a natural consequence of their being moved before being secured under glass.

[72] Ceiling for a music room, painted for Mr. Marquand, New York.

[73] Mr. Brock gave a replica of this bust to the Leighton House Collection in 1897. It is from some points of view the most characteristic portrait of Leighton in existence.

[74] Miss Emily Hickey, the poetess, was inspired by Leighton's picture to write the following lines:--

SOLITUDE

O'er the grey rocks, like monarchs robed and crowned,
High tower the firs in swart magnificence,
Where, winter after winter, vehemence
Of the wild torrent's rush, unstayed, unbound,
Hath scooped and worn the rocks till so profound
The deep pool's depth that all the gazer's sense
Fills with the absolute, dark-brown night intense.
The rapid current swirls, but never a sound.

By the high grandeur of the silence wooed
Into its bond of comradeship, the maid
Sits with the quiet on her bosom laid;
Not on the great unknowable to brood;
Only to wait a while till, unafraid,
She see the spirit of the solitude.

E.H. HICKEY.
_Oct. 26, '91._

[75] As portraits, the two heads Watts painted from "Dorothy Dene" were superior to those Leighton painted.

[76] This referred to a joke we had had with reference to a photograph Mrs. Cameron had taken of my brother-in-law, Mr. W.R. Greg. Mrs. Cameron had insisted that all character, will-force, and superiority in general, evinced themselves through the size of the nose and the height of the bridge. The result was, in trying to accentuate this feature in my brother-in-law's photograph, she had made it almost _all_ nose!

[77] Among Leighton's correspondence is the following interesting letter from Irving, who was an ardent admirer of Leighton's, and was among the first to join the committee formed to preserve his house for the public.

15A GRAFTON STREET, BOND STREET, W.,
_January 1, 1889_.

DEAR SIR FREDERIC,--I am glad that you are coming to "Macbeth,"
and I wish you had been with us on Saturday.

The seats you wish for I enclose, though I should ever look upon
it as a great privilege to welcome you myself.

Ellen Terry's performance is remarkable, and perfectly
delightful after the soulless and insipid imitations of Sarah
Siddons to which we have been accustomed.

You will find the cobwebs of half a century brushed away.

There is an amusing article in to-day's _Standard_, which
overshoots the mark, and clearly shows how offensive it is to
some minds to be earnest and conscientious in one's work. But I
need not point this out to you.--Remaining, my dear Sir
Frederic, yours sincerely,

H. IRVING.

[78] Needless to say that time was invariably forthcoming to welcome and entertain the friends he loved. The following letter from Costa gives a picture of his delight in so doing:--

"LONDON, _Dec. 10, 1888_,
"2 HOLLAND PARK ROAD.

"DEAREST TONINA,--A thousand thanks for the twelve letters which
I have found awaiting me here.

"I have just arrived from the station, where I found the
President, who was shedding light all round him, all radiant
with his white beard. Note that the train arrived at a quarter
past five, and there was an hour's drive from the station to his
house, and then he had to dine, and at half-past seven he was
due at the Academy for a distribution of prizes to the students,
where I, too, was to have accompanied him. However, in London
there was one of those fogs which put a stop to all traffic, and
it took us an hour and three-quarters to reach home.

"The cabman had to get down and lead the horse; with one hand he
guided the animal, which was slipping on the ice, and with the
other he held a lantern. What darkness,--the gloom of hell
itself! Boys holding torches and shouting, showed us the way;
foot passengers called out, 'Hi there! look where you're going
to!' but, in spite of everything, the cabman with his lantern
banged into a railing.

"At last we arrived at our destination, having discussed all the
way along the speech which Leighton made at Liverpool. The
dinner was ready, and eaten hurriedly, with the obligatory
champagne. I had eaten nothing since the morning. Whilst dining,
I got off accompanying him to the Academy, pleading my rheumatic
pains, and I ate like a famished and attentive dog. But the
President, spite of the hurry he was in, never once ceased from
tracing the iron line along which I am to run as long as I am
with him, and so he has set me down for a trip on Saturday.

"Good-night; I am going to bed, as I am deadly sleepy. Did you
receive a letter of mine from Castle Howard?

"Thank for me the kind writers of the twelve little letters; in
the midst of these fogs they have been twelve stars to me. A
kiss to dear Tonachino. Frederic was much amused by Georgia's
letter, and embraces you all.

"Love to all, from Ninaccio, who has the greatest possible
desire to repass the Channel."--(See "Giovanni Costa: His Life,
Work, and Times," by Olivia Rossetti Agresti.)

[79] It may interest his friends to know that the valuable collection of casts which Mr. Copland Perry spent four years in forming, after visits to all the collections of ancient sculptures in Europe, has been ceded to the British Museum, and will be transferred from the South Kensington Museum, where it has long been hidden away in a dark corridor, to suitable courts in the new buildings of the British Museum.

[80] Professor Church's Lectures were given to the outer world beyond the Academy in the form of a book, published in 1891, and dedicated by permission to Leighton.

[81] The questions raised in these letters have been very fully answered in the third edition of Professor Church's "Chemistry of Paints and Painting" (see Index), published in 1901.

[82] This spot inspired the picture "Solitude."