Picture-Notes. — The Royal Academy. 363 



beautiful colouring of Mr. Groodall's " Rebekah," though as a 

 whole,, the picture has little hold over our sympathies. Passing 

 by several pieces more or less worthy of note, we reach " The 

 Highland Lass Reading/' by the late J. Phillip, painted with 

 that happy mixture of truth and freedom of which he was so 

 great a master. The simplicity and earnestness of the girl's 

 face are charming. A common artist would have made the 

 " Highland Girl M a fine lady ; Phillip has thrown over her a 

 rich glow of idealism, without departing from truth. Cooke 

 has given a fine view of " the Canal of the Giudica, in Venice /' 

 and Lee a beautifully painted " Scene on the Road from 

 Funckal, in Madeira/' in which the colour of foliage and the 

 effects of light are singularly graceful and true. 



The " Jephthah," by Millais, is one of those pictures which, 

 whatever minor faults it may possess, realizes a high concep- 

 tion of the scene, and excites our sympathies by its dramatic 

 power. The chieftain has returned, his daughter has met 

 him, and in deep agony of soul, he exclaims, " Alas ! my 

 daughter, thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of 

 them that trouble me, for I have opened my mouth unto the 

 Lord, and I cannot go back." The revulsion from the triumphs 

 of victory to the heart-broken perception of the fearful cost 

 at which they have been won, is grandly told. Jephthah, 

 anguish-torn in mind, prostrate in body, is presented as an 

 object of even greater pity than his daughter — we feel that he 

 is a victim more wretched than the maid. The attitude of the 

 various figures, and the expression of their countenances, tell 

 the story admirably; and whatever we may think of Mr. 

 Millais' failings, this, like many other of his productions, is 

 full of that genius which places him in the foremost rank. 



Next in catalogue order is a widely different class of work ; 

 but it is so remarkable for its luxuriant brilliance of colouring 

 that it cannot be passed by — we mean Miss Murtrie's beau- 

 tiful flower piece, " Margaret's Corner," a very gem in its way, 

 though an awkward companion for pictures painted in a lower 

 key. 



" Home after Victory," by S. H. Calderon, has fine 

 qualities, but it is too " stagey." A knight in armour 

 returns to his castle ; his father stands with outspread arms 

 to receive him, and his mother and wife have rushed forward, 

 and are clinging to his arms. The face of the knight is not 

 up to the mark in point of expression. He does not come 

 near Wordsworth's " Happy Warrior," but the piece as a 

 whole is good, and it is evident that Mr. Calderon thinks out 

 his subjects before putting them on his canvas. 



Mr. Faed has a piece of his usual merit. " Old Life" is a 

 good specimen, but it is too prosy to take first rank. Mr. 



