Xanfcseer an& rtMllais 629 



It may be that Millais would not have been so great a 

 painter had he not been so keen a sportsman. 



I am writing these concluding lines close by the scene 

 of one of Millais' most beautiful pictures, " The Blind 

 Girl," in that dear, delightful old Cinque Port -that 

 11 town in a trance," as Coventry Patmore happily called 

 it Winchelsea. And I hope, therefore, that Mr. John 

 Guille Millais will pardon me for pointing out a curious 

 mistake into which he, in common with others, has fallen. 

 He tells us, and the same error appeared in the catalogue 

 issued at the time of the Millais Exhibition at Burlington 

 House, that the church in the background of " The Blind 

 Girl" is the old Priory Church of Icklesham. And 

 again, referring to " The Random Shot," he says : " The 

 tomb on which the child is lying is that of Gervaise 

 Allard (sic) Knight, one of the many beautiful works of 

 art still to be seen in the old Priory Church at 

 Icklesham." There is no " old Priory Church " at 

 Icklesham. The church in the background of " The 

 Blind Girl " is Winchelsea Church, where are the fine 

 tombs of the Alards, sometime Admirals of the Cinque 

 Ports. How this singular mistake originated I am at 

 a loss to conjecture. But I hope that in future editions 

 of Mr. Millais' Life of his father it will be corrected. 



For it is not right that Icklesham should usurp the 

 fame due to Winchelsea. Icklesham has a charming old 

 church of its own with which I have many pleasant 

 associations. But for memories of Thackeray and 

 Millais the pilgrim must go to the antique Cinque Port. 

 Let him take his stand a bow-shot seawards beyond the 

 old Bridge Inn at the foot of the hill and look up the 



