SAMUEL COOK, ARTIST. 405 
but eventually only Mr. Mitchell sat down to it, the rest of us 
(and I was the last to leave him) taking up our positions a little 
further on, or lower down in the river. Mr. Mitchell had not 
been sketching long before he noticed some earth and stones falling 
from the high bank at his side. This fortunately annoyed him 
sufficiently to induce him to move his seat about three or four 
yards from the spot, where he again proceeded with his sketch. 
In about ten minutes from this time a huge landslip came down 
with terrific weight and force on to and over the exact spot 
where Mr. Mitchell had been sitting, the ponderous débris con- 
sisting of enormous stones flying into the air, rebounding from the 
roadway, and carrying everything before it, rolling into the Lyn. 
This landslip of probably several hundred tons in weight com- 
pletely blocked up the roadway, and some carriages that had passed 
just previously were unable to return that way, the blocks of stone 
being irremovable until they had been blasted and split up. Mr. 
Mitchell hastily arose from his sketching stool in horror, and saw 
this avalanche fall and shake the ground under him, being just 
sufficiently distant from it to save himself from annihilation. 
Our consternation, on returning to the roadway on our way 
home, and discovering what had happened, may be imagined. Mr. 
Mitchell did not readily recover from the fright, and we had to do 
our best to rally him. I ventured to depict the occurrence in a 
small sketch, and sent it with a description to the Illustrated 
London News, where it appeared the following week. 
During this excursion I remember sitting with Cook in the bed 
of the river when he was sketching the view, with the river running 
from him. It is a well known fact that artists rarely paint water 
running from them. It is difficult to give expression to the flow 
of such water, and it is consequently generally avoided. Cook 
represented the water as running towards him, and therefore had 
to originate that portion of his sketch ; but no one knew better 
than Cook how to give the truest idea of running water. 
Cook subsequently made a large drawing of a land storm near 
the Countesbury Crag, now in the possession of Mr. Mark Grigg, at 
Tamerton. We all saw this storm under the effect of lightning and 
thunder, with the trees bent and torn by the blast, and, storing up 
the impression made on his mind, he reproduced it in this fine 
drawing with singular success. 
Sir John Karslake, Mr. Montague Bere, and Mr. Lopes were all at 
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