86 



NA rURE 



[May 26, 1 88 1 



actual character of the rock or the locality which the animal 

 has reached. The great block in the foreground, upon which 

 the scapegoat is standing, might be either a limestone or a 

 felstone. The same rockconstitutes the nearermountain, and 

 this, judging from the peculiar way in which the dominant 

 joint planes alter their direction, can only be igneous. 

 Hence we must assume it to be a felstone with a rather 

 platy jointing. If this be the case, then the mountain- 

 crests are exceptionally sharp, and the structure to which 

 this is due is insufficiently indicated. The same general 

 character is maintained in the distant mountains, but 

 these are even more jagged. The picture suggests a 

 combination of some Sinai photographs, rather imper- 

 fectly understood, with memories, which have become 

 vague, of the Southern Alps. Might it not also be 

 doubted whether such a waterfall as that on the right 

 would occur in a " lone land " on the borders of Palestine ? 

 In the " Diamond Merchants " (258), if we do not wrongly 

 identify the lighthouse on the distant skerries, the scene 

 represented is in the immediate neighbourhood of the 

 Land' s End. The rock there should be granite, and the 

 structure of the craglet in the foreground will accord with 

 this, though the colour is unusual for that district ; but 

 the cliffs beyond much more resemble, especially in a sort 

 of streakiness, some of the stratified rock locally called 

 " killas." In " Past Work" (4S9), by the same artist, there is 

 a^ similar uncertainty of treatment in the rocks, showing 

 that he has not thought theiii worthy of that appreciative 

 study which he has bestowed upon most matters con- 

 nected with the sea. The locality of 271, "The First to 

 look out for the Homeward Bound," may be presumed to 

 be also Cornwall ; but the rocks belong to quite a new 

 type, and if they are anything, must be some kind of hard 

 mudstone. 315, "Mountain Tops," is bold in colouring 

 and in design, but can scarcely be regarded as successful. 

 The floating clouds and the strong shadow into which the 

 hills are cast by the gleaming sky, naturally obscure 

 their structure, but would hardly account for the streaki- 

 ness which they e.xhibit, as though the picture had been 

 finished by wiping it down with a brush parallel to the 

 leading outlines of each peak. It reminds us of an e.xagge- 

 ration of one of Turner's views of Loch Coruisk. 317, 

 "A Babbling Brook in Ochmore," though hung rather 

 too high, shows a careful study of gently-inclined strata. 

 Mr. Brett, in " St. Ives' Bay" (340), gives us an e.\cellent 

 study of some granite rock in the middle distance of his 

 picture ; but this artist's mastery of his subject is brought 

 out better in " Golden Prospects " (445). In the fore- 

 ground is a ruined craglet or miniature "tor" of granite — 

 a wonderfully truthful study ; form, structure, texture of 

 the rock, and the crisp crusting of dry lichens, perfectly 

 rendered. The bald patches of granite amid the rough 

 vegetation are admirably truthful, as is the hazy light, 

 which renders the more distant cliffs, massive as they 

 really are, almost ethereal. Out at sea, if we mistake 

 not, is the Longships Lighthouse and its dangerous 

 reef. Those who in any way equal Mr. Brett in his love 

 for the Cornish coast will find it hard to tear themselves 

 away from this picture of one of its grandest scenes. It 

 may however be remarked that the general effect suggests 

 a day early in the summer, but still the heather is in 

 bloom.i There is some good promise in the limestone 

 hills in 475, "A Grecian Tomb," though the hazy evening 

 light is favourable to the avoidance of difficulties. In the 

 "Ramparts of Idwal " (406), the colour is rather too 

 monotonous, but a knoll with ledges of rock cropping out 

 through rough turf and in the bed of a streamlet is admir- 

 ably rendered. The peculiar te.xture of certain roc'^^s 

 composed of indurated volcanic ash seems to have im- 

 pressed itself upon the artist. In "Hope Deferred" 

 (419) there is little character in the rock ; that however 

 in the foreground may only be intended for very hard 



' Wliile we 

 companion as " 



earth. In " Lofoden" (485) Mr. E. T. Compton gives us 

 a careful study of a rather massive schistose rock in the 

 mountain in the middle distance, and of one more granit- 

 oid in the foreground. The jointed structure of the latter 

 and rather scaly aspect of parts of the former are well 

 rendered, and the general effect of the picture is truthful, 

 though the author has not selected for his su'oject one of 

 the most characteristic parts of the Lofoden Islands. It 

 would not be difficult to find a view like this in several 

 spots on the mainland, but the wilder mountains of 

 Hindo and Ost Vaagen are without a parallel in 

 Scandinavia. Mr. C. Stuart's "Uncertain Weather" 

 (507) is hung too high, but it appears to be a very 

 careful study of the well-known crag overhanging 

 the tarn in Cwm Buchan. In Mr. B. W. Leader's 

 "Glyder Vawr" (521) we have a careful study of the 

 felstone crags in the upper part of that mountain. The 

 somewhat curving surfaces of outcropping rock in the 

 middle distance of the picture and the boulders in the 

 foreground are well rendered. The peculiar effect which 

 the artist has chosen — a sudden gleam of sunlight glinting 

 upon wet surfaces, gives to the rock an exaggeratedly 

 rugged structure. The effect may be truthful, but is 

 certainly rare, and we may doubt whether it is wise to 

 select one producing results so abnormal. A rock in the 

 foreground of " O'er the Heather" (539),is spotty, muddy, 

 and indefinite. . An unfamiliar effect has been chosen in 

 " Kynance Cori as it appeared one day last January" 

 (564), for a thick coating of snow rests upon the rocks. 

 It is hung rather high, but the author does not seem to us 

 to have quite succeeded in catching the peculiar structure 

 and weathering of serpentine. "Nature's Decay" (905) 

 also suffers from being too high. The pile of dSris — 

 earth and trunks and fallen branches — masks a good 

 deal of the rock, but what is visible seems to be carefully 

 drawn ; that in a more distant ravine appears a little con- 

 ventional. Sir R. Collier, in his "Glacier of the Rhone" 

 (9S4), gives us one of his usual careful studies of rock and 

 ice. The outcropping ledges and scattered boulders among 

 the rough herbage are careful!)' drawn, making a most 

 truthful rendering of a portion of rugged mountain-side. 

 It may however be doubted whether the ice in the lower 

 part of a glacier could be so generally blue as it is here 

 represented. "Boulders at Rest'' (1352) has some good 

 points about it. The granite crag is carefully studied, 

 and the structure is well rendered, but the two " natural " 

 arches have a rather artificial aspect, and certainly weaken 

 the effect of the composition. The boulders beneath 

 have their individuality remarkably well preserved, but 

 the artist has not been so successful in rendering their 

 texture, which is rather woolly. In " The Dead Sea from 

 Engedi " (1360) the artist appears to have striven honestly 

 but not very successfully to record the scene. The rocks 

 exhibit a streakiness of dubious authenticity, and convey 

 to one the impression that while the general effect was 

 felt by him the reasons for it were not understood. 



Several other pictures we have been obliged to leave 

 unnoticed, either because the rocks are obviously quite a 

 subordinate part (though from our point of view that is 

 no reason why they should not be accurate), or because 

 the picture has been hung so high that it cannot be 

 properly studied, and criticism might be unjust to the 

 artists. ' The water-colour drawings we have not yet 

 examined. T. G. Bonney 



AOTES 

 The death is announced of Mr. John Blackwall, F.L.S., at 

 LUnrwct, on May II, at^^the great age of ninety-two. He was 

 elected a Fellow of the Liiinean Society as far back as 1827, 

 and was nearly its oldest member. His principal work was a 

 magnificent illu-trated Monograph of the British Spiders, pub- 

 lished by the Ray Society about twenty years ago. He also 



