V LETTER TO F. T. PALGRAVE 203 



A letter of June 27 to his cousin, Francis Turner Palgrave,^ 

 whose inherited interest in art and art-criticism had displayed 

 itself very early, deserves passing reference as showing Hooker's 

 sustained interest in pictures as well as music. The letter is 

 too long to quote save for a few personal passages. Palgrave, 

 the younger by seven years, had won a scholarship at Balliol 

 in 1842. Now ' the reappearance of some quondam Scotch- 

 men, who return hitherward with good Scotch seriously 

 damaged through long continued unsuccessful attempts to 

 speak English,' reminds him that Francis is to be congratulated 

 on the beginning of the summer vacation ; but it was Francis 

 who had the credit of * breaking the ice that has frozen up the 

 current (ever sluggish) of correspondence that runs (creeps) 

 between us.' 



I heartily wish that you would come down to this place 

 before I go. You would I am sure enjoy it extremely, for 

 it is a most liveable place, with plenty to see and admire 

 in the neighbourhood. The only exhibition that I have 

 seen was one of Scotch artists, open, or rather which shut 

 on the day of my arrival ; it was very bad as far as Scotch 

 performances were concerned ; some Stanfields, Turners, 

 Landseers, and young Phillip's * Borrow ' were far the 

 best things in the room. 



Next he speaks of ten of the prize cartoons for the decoration 

 of the Houses of Parliament, which had been shown two years 

 before in Westminster Hall. These were now exhibited in 

 Edinburgh in connection with a proposed book of lithographs. 

 He criticises them as if Francis remembered all about them, 

 which very likely is not the case ; noting the relation of the 

 best among them to the Hampton Court cartoons, of which no 

 one in Edinburgh knew anything ; and quoting the story of 

 the best picture if the least original, Caractacus led through 

 Rome, namely, that the artist studied a lion's head to pourtray 

 the British Captive's from. 



Of Old Masters he could show his cousin the collection at 

 Dalkeith, where * the place is very badly kept, but the scenerj 



^ See family pedigree; p: 18. 



