70 DUTCH AND VENETIAN PAINTERS. put what we have just seen by the side of a Titian. I apprehend Rubens in the head might seem cold, if not vapid. Those Venetians sacrificed all to their flesh, and produced tremendous effects of golden brilliancy and power of colour. Rubens is brilliant too, but there is not that depth-that power of rich tone. His pictures, though wonderful, have all the appearance of haste, of slightness, and want of solidity, whereas the Italians, the Venetians in particular, are finished with great care, with masses of solid colour, with power, fine drawing, rich glazings; nothing can stand against them. Some of the Spanish painters have all this solid impasto, and transparent toning too, with the power and drawing, and we have an appreciation and sympathy with both schools. The Dutch school, as it is called, is perfection of execution in small, but where carried to a large expansive scale, it does not transfer its power, but appears attenuated or vapid.' Martin had a peculiar habit of sneezing twice, or rather snorting with his nose, when conversing, and this would increase in loudness and frequency as he warmed to his argument. Hay don also had the same curious propensity, but not quite so loud as Martin. In the dead silence of the room where the picture was exhibited these curious sounds were remarkably distinct, and seemed like the faint expressions of the thought of a dumb person or the sneezing of dumb animals, or like a sound and its echo. When old Kean played Sylvester Daggerwood (for his own benefit), he imposed upon himself this same odd habit, and when presented on the stage it was laughable enough. Martin was of about middle size-fair, extremely good-looking, and pleasing in his expression; there was nothing remarkable or eccentric in his appearance; he was smart and trim, well dressed and gentlemanly, and when seen out of doors he seemed to delight in a light primrosecoloured vest with bright metal buttons, a blue coat set off with the same, his hair carefully curled, and shining with macassar oil. He was prepossessing, with a great flow of conversation and argument. He was also imaginative, and kept to his points with a tenacity not easily subdued. 72 WILKIE'S DIALECT. Wilkie was tall, ungainly, and awkward in his manner, and, though not quite deserving the description of Mrs. Flynn, the beautiful housekeeper of Castle Howard, who spoke of him as the ugliest man she had ever seen,' he was by no means the 'golden-haired' Adonis his fellow-countryman, Allan Cunningham, would have liked to make him. He had rather a drawling, hesitating speech, and when in close argument would forget himself, and the 'twang' of his Northern tongue would be very strong. Indeed, he never was quite free from it, although he could not be persuaded that it was possible for anyone to discover by his speech that he was a Northern, and he sometimes got out of humour when told of it. Haydon would laugh at his provoked expression when he twitted him with his Scotch accent, and Wilkie would insist upon his pronunciation being 'pure English.' Haydon would cry out, 'Ha, ha, ha! what a delusion!' and as Wilkie became warm and vexed, his native Scotch was evident enough. Haydon would then repeat and imitate the broad intonation of a particular expression that Wilkie had in his heat allowed to slip out. When he found that he WILKIE AND HAYDON IN ARGUMENT. 73 could not edge off, or get out of it in any way, Wilkie would laugh too, and return the quiz upon the Devonshire peculiarities by saying, Well, and yew tew are Devonsheere, and fancy, like Northcote, that you speak pure English.' And so they would laugh and joke each other in a playful moment of relaxation like two schoolboys. At other times they would consult and argue upon difficult matters connected with their art, and Haydon would be fluent, decided in his propositions, would cite precedents and authorities, and be even audacious in his language, whilst Wilkie with great patience listened, returned again and again to the encounter, and hammered in separate words, that seemed difficult of enunciation, and hard to get hold of; but his difficulty and hesitation did not in the least prevent him from following out his side of the argument, which he would put in various forms and lights to persuade or convince his friend, often repeating with a smile the persuasive expression of 'you see,' which, as he had a slight lisp, he would pronounce 'you sthee.' CHAPTER V. WORDSWORTH AND UGO FOSCOLO-MISS WORDSWORTH - THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE- THE ITALIAN POET'S RECITATION FOSCOLO'S CONVERSATION DISINTERESTEDNESS SELF-DEVOTION THEORY OF THE FRESCOES OF MICHAEL ANGELO -PORTRAIT OF FOSCOLO-HOW HE FURNISHED HIS HOUSE THE next of these autobiographic sketches contains the painter's reminiscences of Wordsworth and Ugo Foscolo, in which national temperament, as exhibited respectively by the English poet and his Italian confrère, is very accurately and forcibly discriminated. On the occasion when Bewick met Foscolo, the latter appears to have suggested the first hint of that important task on which Bewick was afterwards employed, namely, that of executing copies from the celebrated frescoes of Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel at Rome. The word-picture of the two poets, which the artist draws from life, is very |