TREES IN MODERN PAINTING 253 



do grow between the abbey and the river; 

 they are such as never grew anywhere. The 

 river-bank does not in the least resemble the 

 bank of the Wharfe at the spot ; nor are the 

 hills like those that actually rise above it. The 

 colour of the drawing, also, is quite conventional. 

 I am reminded of a story of Millais' painting 

 ** Chill October". A man who was watching 

 him said, *'Mon, did ye never try photo- 

 graphy?" "No, never," replied Millais. 

 ** But it's a hantle quicker," was the rejoinder. 

 **Yes, so I believe," said Millais. "Ay, and 

 it's mair like the place!/' was the final asser- 

 tion — unanswerable to such a man — of the 

 superior merit of photography as compared 

 with painting. 



I will not enter here into any defence of the 

 proposition that art has the right to take liberties 

 with nature. At least, I will merely say that, 

 in the case of the particular drawing of Turner's 

 just mentioned, I believe that neither a photo- 

 graph, nor a literally accurate drawing, would 

 have served so well as an illustration to a poem 

 telling a story of long ago which might, perhaps, 

 be legendary. I have only written so much 

 about the limits of Turner's accuracy to prevent 



