SAMUEL PROUT, ARTIST. 
269 
seen, lost himself in thunder and lightning. Prout struggled to 
some resemblance of the scene, and the effect on his mind was 
never effaced." 
Young Prout was a musician (self-taught) as well as painter ; 
he afterwards became master of the organ, the piano, and the flute ; 
and in these early days, when not out sketching alone, or with Dr. 
Bidlake or Haydon, he would frequently be seen going up to St. 
Andrew's Church to play on the organ — eighty years ago almost, if 
not quite, the only one in the town. His imagination and taste 
even here therefore were being cultivated through more than one 
channel, and many a bright day-dream may we imagine he had 
as his fingers glided, over the keys of the organ in our grand old 
church. 
Nor was he without friends in Plymouth beyond the two already 
named. The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, who had been brought 
acquainted with the talents of the boy, invited him to Mount 
Edgcumbe House to see and examine for himself the paintings and 
pictures, and the other works of art there to be found ; and the 
Earl became so interested in the young artist, and would have him 
so frequently with him, that Samuel Prout at last got the nick- 
name of "the Earl's puppy dog;" not, we may be quite sure, in 
the sense in which Boswell was considered the cur of Johnson, for 
the artist was too gentle, and honest, and true to himself for that ; 
but we can quite understand how grateful he would be for the 
opportunity afforded him for a very large accession of new ideas. 
JNot the least striking object to Prout at Mount Edgcumbe must 
have been the house itself — then more strictly Tudor than now, 
with its bold and picturesque granite doorways, and mullioned and 
transomed windows, and its noble octagonal wings. But he had 
not then the skill to draw masonry with comparatively so much 
elaboration, and his knowledge of perspective was at that time very 
imperfect. 
I have said that Prout was self-taught, and yet of course he was 
always learning, and frequently gleaning knowledge from those 
whom he met who were acquainted with art. Mr. Britton, the 
antiquary, says he received a few regular lessons from a Mr. 
Williams, who was a drawing-master of the town ; and Euskin 
mentions a Mr. Payne, an engineer in the Citadel, as the only one 
at that time who practised the art of water colour drawing at Ply- 
mouth, who, although his drawings were feeble and mannered in 
