Part 6 (2/2)
On Corpus Christi Day that year Alice and I, having received our invitations froe memory, to join in the services and procession in honour of the Blessed Sacrae, Mill Hill, ent thither that glorious e 127 of the Diary I have put down certain sentiland, and I express a longing to see the Host carried through English fields I little thought in one year to see my hope realised; yet so it was at Mill Hill After vespers in the little church, the procession was for re along a field of golden buttercups and the white and gold banners at the head of the procession floating out against a typical English sky as their bearers passed over a little hillock which commands a lovely view of the rich landscape The bishop bore the Host, and six favouredthe hymns
The early days of that July had their pleasant festivities, such as a dinner, with Alice, at Lady Londonderry's (she as our mother's Godmother on the occasion of her reception into the Catholic Church) and the Academy _soiree_, where Mrs Tait invited arden party at Lambeth Palace There I note: ”The Royalties were in full force, the _Waleses_, as I have heard the Prince and Princess called, and ardens, though provokingly windy I had a curiously uncoh, in that headquarters of the--what shall I call it?--Opposition? The Archbishop and Mrs Archbishop, particularly Mrs, rather appalled me But dear Dr Pollard, that stout Protestant, ratified”
On July 4th Colonel Browne, CB, RE, who took the keenest interest in my ”Quatre Bras,” and did all in his power to help me with the military part of it, had a day at Chathahters called for , and we set forth for Chatha us on the ”Lines” Colonel Browne had ordered them beforehand, and had them in full dress, with knapsacks, as I desired
They first formed the old-fashi+oned four-deep square forwas broken and _accidente_ by my directions, so as to have a littleThey fired in sections, too, as I wished, but, unfortunately, the as so strong that the s, and what I chiefly wished to study was unobtainable, _ie_, h smoke After they had fired away all their ammunition, the whole body ofbeen distanced froeant, walked down theht would do for a ”Quatre Bras” eant took down the name of each man as I pointed hi to have these men up at Brompton, quartered there for the time I wanted them So I write: ”I shall not want for soldierly faces, ith those sappers and the Scots Fusilier Guards, of whoh Colonel Hepburn's courtesy After this interesting 'choosing a model'
was ended, we all repaired to Colonel Galway's quarters, where we lunched After that I went to the guard-roo, so as to write down their personal descriptions in eant and stood at attention with every vestige of expression discharged from his countenance whilst I wrote down his personal peculiarities I had chosen eight out of the 300 in the eant, as I had ht, and these could not be sentto the band, going over the ht to see as o down to Aldershot as often as I can
”_July 16th_--Mamma and I went to Henley-on-Thaerly I looked at the harvest fields as we sped to our goal to see how advanced they were We had a great difficulty in finding any rye at Henley, it having all been cut, except a little patch which we at length discovered by the direction of a farht a piece of it, and then immediately trampled it doith the aid of a lot of children Mamma and I then went to work, but, oh! horror,I had left them in the chaise, which had returned to Henley So Mamma went frantically to ith two sliet down tints whilst I dren forood deal and worked on into the darkness, two regular 'Pre-Raphaelite Brethren,' to all appearances, bending over a patch of trampled rye”
I seem to have felt to the ut episode Let the young Diary speak: ”The grand and glorious Lord Mayor's banquet to the stars of literature and art cahtful thing that I felt all the time in a pleasant sort of dreahton's ('Monckton Milnes') and Sir Francis Grant's, PRA As the President spoke of me, he said his eye rested with pleasure on me at that moment! Papa came with me Above all the display of civic splendour one felt the dohtful Mansion House It was a unique thing because such aristocrats as were there were those of enius The few lords were only there because they represented literature, being authors
Patti was there She wished to have a talk with h little Italian drae-looking old man, a wonder to me as the illustrator of 'Oliver Twist' and others of dickens's works--a unique genius He saidcould have lasted a week”
The next entries are connected with the ”Quatre Bras” cartoon: ”Dreadful s about a vital point I haveposition Not so the drill book After my model went, most luckily came Colonel Browne Shakes his head at the attitudes Will telegraph to Chatha
”_July 23rd_--Colonel Browne caeant-raeant says theon their heels to rest and steady themselves He showed me the exact position when at the 'ready' to receive cavalry To ht I may have him to-morrow as a model, but it is no end of a bore, this wasted time”
”_July 24th_--The musketry instructor, contrary to my sad expectations, was by no hly intelligent model, and his attitudes coreat life and action He was splendid I can feel certain of everything being right in the attitudes, and will have no s It is extraordinary what a well-studied position that kneeling to resist cavalry is I dread to think what blunders I ht have committed No civilian would have detected them, but the military would have been down uponto observe rules so strict and iures, which, I hope, will have much action I have to combine the drill book and the fierce fray! I told an artist the other day, very seriously, that I wished to shohat an English square looks like viewed quite close at the end of two hours' action, when about to receive a last charge A cool speech, seeing I have never seen the thing! And yet I seem to have seen it--the hot, blackened faces, the set teeth or gasping hter, the stern, cool, calculating look here and there; the unied stare! Oh! that I could put on canvas what I have in lorious day at Chathah field exercises, and I studied theot splendid hints to-day Went with Colonel Browne and Papa
”_July 28th_--My dear musketry instructor for a fewthe 'Brown Bess'--a flint-lock--so that I shall havetheir arht of this picture to Messrs
dickenson for 2,000! They ust 11th I see I took a ave myself up to fresh air, exercise, a little out-of-door painting, and Napier's 'Peninsular War,' in six volumes”
Shortly before I left for home I received from Queen Victoria a very splendid bracelet set with pearls and a large eood friend Dr Pollard ith ht it, and we forst my old Ventnor friends who had known me since I was little more than a child But on Septeoodbye, and on September 11th I re-entered my beloved studio
”_September 12th_--An eventful day, for eant-ood man, has had the whole Waterloo unifor factory at Pieant- for hted I was They have even had the coat dyed the old 'brick-dust' red and ed for me It will bethe painting of ”Quatre Bras” I was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour, and I contributed to the Winter Exhibition that large sketch of a sowar of the 10th Bengal Lancers which I called ”Missed!” and which the _Graphic_ bought and published in colours This reproduction sold to such an extent that the _Graphic_ ” has allop I had never seen tent-pegging at that tilo-Indian officer of the 10th, who put the thing vividly before s I have seen since, and what a nuivenand pictorial movements of men and horses are inexhaustible in their variety
I hadpicture--Guards useful as, in those days, the police did not wear theheads suitable for the Waterloo time Not a head in the picture is repeated I had a welcoave me so much pleasure in the old Florentine days when I enjoyed the Andrea del Sartos, Masaccios, Francia Bigios, and other works so full of characteristic heads
On Novehaht were exhibiting that picture They particularly wished ham, where I was curious to meet the buyer of my first picture sold, that ”Morra” which I painted in Rome Unfortunately I inquired everywhere for ”Mr Glass,” and had to leave Bir him and the early work No one had heard of hilass_off with Dr Pollard to Sanger's Circus, where arrangeh their perfor for round horses It was a funny experience behind the scenes, and I sketched as I followed the horses in their move on, the young ladies with their hair in curl-papers against the evening's perforo to Paris”
So to Paris I went, with uests of e, Boulevard Haussave my work the desired fillip and the fresh impulse of emulation, for we visited the best studios, where I met my most admired French painters The Paris Diary says:
”_December 3rd_--Our first lion was Bonnat in his studio A littleand wiry; I didn't care for his pictures His colouring is dreadful What good light those Parisians get while we arein our smoky art centre We next went to Gerome, and it was an epoch ininterrupted
He is a much smaller man than I expected, ide open, quick black eyes, yet with deep lids, the eyes opening wide only when he talks He talked a great deal and knew me by nane_' of the celebrity it had gained We went to see an exhibition of horrors--Carolus Duran's productions, now on view at the _Cercle Artistique_ The talk is all about this reeable present phase of French Art At Goupil'sDe Neuville's 'Combat on the Roof of a House,' and I feasted s fro a great treat and a great lesson
”_Dece invited to join a party of very _o over the Grand Opera, which is just being finished Oh, the chatter of those wo there! They vied with each other in frivolous outpourings which continued all the ti It is a pile of ostentation which oppressed , marbles and bronze, and silver, and ed kind of way How truly weary I felt; and the bedizened dressing-rooh! and all really tasteless”
However, I recovered from the Grand Opera, and really enjoyed the lively dinners where conversation was not lireat _esprit_ across the table and round and round Still, in time, my sleep suffered, for I seeraceful were the French equivalents to the coht I would like to know that the fame of ”_l'Appel_”
had reached Paris, and so I did