The San Francisco call., 1896-08-16

head like lion, great locks of iron-gra y
bair falling over Jove-like front. The
head of the father in the LAGOON group
flashes into the memory, and this head
has touch of the same immortal pain.
Then we have Cardinal Manning, thin and
fine and grave, with a network OF lines
around his eyes, face worn to a shadow
by a long life of thought and labor; the
hands, that are thin and fine and veined
and sunken, are no less characteristic.
at the entrance is a portrait of Cardinal
Newman, painted by Miss Deane. There
is a slight indecision about the drawing.
It is a matter OF doubt whether the Car
dinaI is standing or sitting down, but the
gentle severity of the old head is very
we'll done.
John Stuart Mill has almost the same
characteristics as Cardinal Manning, the
same emaciated, worn face, the sunken
eyes, the thin, bent nose, and the line of
the mouth fine and ascetic and reserved.
The portrait of Carlyle by Watts hangs
below one of the same subject by Sir John
Millais.
The Watts portrait is like a Socrates,
the Millais is like a Diogenes-both are
indubitably philosophers, but about the
portrait by Watts is an indefnable
lottiness, as there is about the thick
Tipped, stub-nosed, big-browed physiog-
nomy of his Athenian intellectual an
cestor. Millais represents him with
white, rough hair around a lean, deeply
colored countenance, with protruding lips
and jaw and strange, fierce blue eyes
under straight overhanging brows; his
long, cadaverous, cIaw-like hands grasp !
the two arms of chair. The painter has
apparently seized a moment when he
has just given vent to an amiable senti.
ment and regrets it.
Next to him we find Lord Lytton, the
romantic author of ''Lucie" and one time
Minister to France. He is the ideal of a |
schoolgirl; perhaps the hard, bitter head |
of the philosopher next to him adds to the
force OF the impression. He has senti-
mental, dreamy countenance. His large |
eyes and the ring on his elegant and |
graceful hand are of deep, deep blue.
In the other rooms on this floor are Gains |
boroughs and Sir Josh ua Reynolds galore, |
not any of them specially remarkable. |
Most OF the portraits have more OF his |
torical than artistic interest. The ere are
whole regiments of officers-admirals and |
Notwithstanding with their hands on
their swords, black storms raging in the |
background and miniature CORY battles |
being fought out behind them.
On the first landing are two beautiful |
portraits, one of John Phinp Kemble as
the noble Dane, the other of his sister,
Mrs. Siddons, reading aloud to an imag-
mary audience. The one of Hamlet is
q ri Tho darl of 10
must have needed but little manipulation |
to have made him the ideal of the gloomy |
Dane.
In another room we have two smaller |
portraits, one by Gilbert Stuart, the other
the well-known portrait of Mrs. Siddons
by Beechey. The two heads have strong |
family likeness, the eyes very large, long |
and black as velvet, the nose very deli |
cately aquiline, the mouth strongly Gu rved |
and very rich in color. The one of Mrs. |
Siddons is taken before the period Of her I
greatest triumphs, but after that mar !
velous performance as Portia in "The |
Merchant of Venice" with Garrick as Shy |
lock. Garrick himself glooms very fat |
and fierce from under an adjacent frame.
Now the heart begins to beat, as every |
portrait becomes more and more familiar. |
Here we have the Right Hon. Mr.. Pitt, |
Prime Minister. beardless youth of 25.
Here are Sheridan and Burke and |
Warren Hastings fighting out their old |
battles together.
Near them hangs Charles James Fox in
a canary waistcoat, with large shovel |
hat, and precious old scoundrel he
looks!
Here we have a portrait of the Hon.
Miss Damer, who married the son of Lord |
Milton, but, the old chronicles inform Us,
''the union was not happy, as she was !
suddenly left widow" which is certainly /
a suggestive bit of information.
What company we have here: Wesley |