26 SIJi EDWIN LANDSEER, R.A. 



has lost the battle. But the crood wush to see the fecht out, and harl the dowgs that are 

 noo worryin ither without ony growlin — baith silent, except a sort o' snortin through the 

 nostrils, and a kind o' guUer in their gullets— I say, the crood harl them out o' the midden 

 ontil the stanes again ; and 'Weel dune, Caesar!' 'Better dune, Veeper !' 'A mutchkin to a 

 gill on whitey!' 'The muckle ane canna fecht!' 'See how the wee bich is worryin him 

 now, by a new spat on the thrapple ! ' ' He wud rin away gin she wud let him loose ! ' ' She's 

 just like her mither that belanged to the caravan o' wild beasts ! ' " 



A "battle o' dowgs" is a brutalising and disgusting- sight, which we never 

 remember to have seen delineated by the pencil of Landseer ; yet what can be 

 said of his " Otter speared?" painted for the late Earl of Aberdeen, exhibited at the 

 Academy in 1844, and now in the possession of Mr." S. Mendel, of Manchester. The 

 picture is a large one, and has been engraved by C. Lewis. I perfectly remember the 

 impression it made on my mind at the time, and on the minds of many others — a 

 feeling of regret that the genius of the painter should have been employed on a 

 subject so revolting, and from which one gladly turns away. What can be much more 

 painful to look upon than the wretched animal held aloft and writhing on the 

 huntsman's spear, with a pyramid of hounds about him ; some in the stream of water 

 at the man's feet, others on the high bank above him, and others climbing and leaping 

 around him ; but all vociferating and struggling, to get at the victim ? The dogs are 

 said to have been portraits of Lord Aberdeen's otter-hounds, and certainly they are 

 here painted with a living, active expression that is marvellous : in colour the picture 

 throughout is rich and brilliant. 



" Disappointment " is the title given to a small and rather- sketchy, yet masterly, 

 work exhibited with the preceding. It represents a lady wearing a scarlet mantle, 

 trimmed with minever. She is seated, and her features wear a look of sadness, as if 

 disappointed at the non-arrival of some loved one : hence the title. A favourite dog 

 is near her, with his large dark eyes fixed on her face, and appearing to be sensible of 

 her grief and to share it with her. 



" The Challenge — Coming Events cast their Shadows before," was the third 

 exhibited picture of the same year. The conception . of this work is really grand — as 

 much so as a fragment of some Homeric description of a Greek or Trojan chief going 

 out to meet his enemy in single combat. On the border of a wide lake, and under a 

 moonlit sky — though the moon is not seen — stands a noble stag, waiting the approach 

 of his opponent, gallantly swimming through the water towards him. It is impossible 

 to look upon the former of the two animals — which, amid the depth of a snow-scene 

 and the semi-darkness of night, bells forth the challenge to his rival, — ^without feeling 

 deep interest in the combat about to follow, and a fear as to the result : it must be 

 death to one of them. At one moment we believe the challenger must have the 

 advantage, inasmuch as he is not fatigued by a passage through the water ; and then 

 again we are disposed to back the on-cotner, whose strong head and antlers rise 



