SIB EDWIN LANDSEER AT GHILLINGHAM. 191 



but it was not till six or seven balls bad actually entered 

 tbe bead of the animal (one of them passing in at the 

 eye) that he at last fell. During the whole time he 

 never flinched nor changed his ground, merely shaking 

 his head as he received the several shots." When such 

 is the Chillingbam wild bull now, who shall say that 

 the account Boethius gives of the ferocity of the Cale- 

 donian bull, as he then existed on his unreclaimed native 

 wastes, is at all exaggerated? 



Having described the circumstances on which Land- 

 seer's celebrated picture of " The Death of the Bull " is 

 founded, it may be proper to add here that this, though 

 on the largest scale, is not the only one, nor, in my 

 opinion, the most striking, of that celebrated artist's 

 pictures which may be seen at Chillingham. Nothing 

 can prove more fully the amiable kindness and discrimi- 

 nating taste of Chillingham's noble family than their 

 friendship for Sir Edwin Landseer. Whether they were 

 at home or not, it was just the same ; Sir Edwin was 

 always at home at the Castle, and constantly spent weeks 

 of happy retirement there, sometimes with the family, 

 sometimes alone, but always welcome. And nothing 

 that I have said can so perfectly describe Chillingham 

 as that it was the favourite retreat of Landseer. Its 

 park abounded with those noble wild animals which he 

 so intensely loved, and with such a master's hand 

 delineated. No one interfered with him, and " he 

 used," says Lord Tankerville, " to go for whole days 

 together into the park to study them ; so he knew 

 them well." No wonder that the place abounds with 

 reminiscences of this grand master. Not to mention 

 the beautiful sketches and smaller pieces which Lady 

 Tankerville carefully retains — and among these, oh ! 



