MCTUEES 485 



The love of, pictures, also; was common ground between him 

 and Lord Eedesdale. 



The Camp, Stmningdale : March 28, 1900. 



My dear old Friend, — Our last letters crossed; I was 

 delighted to have news from yourself and especially to know 

 that you had congenial work with the Wallace trust. The 

 collection must be a glorious one. I saw a portion of the 

 pictures at Bethnal Green, when* exhibited there many 

 years ago, and believe that I recognised a few pictures there 

 from my Grandfather's collection, which was sold during 

 the Crimean War. If I mistake not, one was a small Titian, 

 Europa and the Bull, and there were one or two old Cromes, 

 small pictures. I have a privately printed volume of outline 

 litho graphs of my Grandfather's small collection, with full 

 accounts of each picture. Of these I have two, a very slight 

 Crucifixion by Van Dyck, of no value ; and a magnificent 

 enamel on copper, by Bone, of L. da Vinci's Christ blessing 

 the world, 12 by 9 in., taken from the (then) Leigh Court 

 collection. 



Also I have a very interesting picture by Beechey, which 

 passes as a Bubens, the history of which is that my Grand- 

 father accompanied Beechey to see the Bubenses in White- 

 hall, and the latter, on returning home, painted the subject 

 of one of the panels from memory, which so pleased my G.F. 

 that he purchased it from him on the spot. 



My only other painting of any value is a small Vincent, 

 whose works are very rare ; but for knowing its history it 

 might be a Stark, Nasmyth or Stannard. 



I am very busy trying to get my huge heterogeneous 

 correspondence into some order. I have nearly completed 

 the Benthamian, which is extraordinarily rich. B. was in 

 the full swing of Society in France as a young man ; and his 

 diaries are full of interesting matter, from 1810 onwards. 

 I let the Brit. Mus. have (some years ago) all his uncle 

 Jeremy's MSS., an enormous bulk, that will I fancy never 

 be consulted. Maunde Thompson has had them all arranged 

 and catalogued. 



It is time I put my house in order, and so good night. 

 Ever, dear Mitford, Affectionately yours, 



Jo#. D. Hooker. 



