New-York tribune., 1897-01-03

casion he drove NY 10 an exnipitioh ia Wv
and on alighting took several minutes to ma
his drivers fare. "A great animal OF poice-
man" ventured to intimate that the proceedings
were too slow. ordered the cab to move on
and. on Walkers expostulating. observed that
a carriage was waiting, "a very gorgeous one'
as the artist tells in his letter. But the gor-
eeousness had little effect upon him. i can
help that" ne retorted to the policeman. I'm
of more Importance than carriage" Tne poor
neelers law almost dropped, he caved so COM
pletely. and then walked majestcally IN.
To he quite exact. Walker could not have
walked majesticaliy In II he had tried. he was
q little man, almost frail in physique. ana he
himself shows In the caricatures with wnicn
these pases are dotted that he was hardly pos
sessed of a presence calculated to impress a
"nee,er" That last epithet is characteristic
Rarely has there been published more siahsy
correspondence than his. 1t does not jar upon
the reader there is something so human ABOUT
It. something which speaks OF an enthusiastic
bov He was. indeed the kind Of character to
endear other men to him. making them feel ike
protecting and hu.loring him. Had there been
a trace of weakness in him this would nave
meant priggishness. But here the sincerity TO
which we have alluded came to the rescue ana
no one ever thought him less of man because
men loved him with little Of the tenderness
tbey are more often inclined to reserve Tor
women The sentiment which attaches to him IN
Du Maurier's novel attached to him In llfe ana
his friends felt for him the same emotion which
is inspired by him and by Little Billee I'm whom
many Of his traits are embodied in the readers
of "Trilby." In this connection 1t may be noted
that the cup and ball episode between walker
and Little Billee is said by Mr.. Marks to have
been based on an actual mania among the art
lists Of Walkers group for this innocent diver
sion 1T was held with more or less gravity
that In acquiring the dexterity necessary to
bring the ball on the pointed end OF the stick
delcacy Of touch was gained which was In
valuable to the painter" Walker would always
be the first man to adopt some such whimsical
idea as this. One Of his biographers describes
him as "childishly elated" over his pleasures, and
there is an instance that fully confirms this in
the history Of his exploits an angler. He
killed his first salmon To be an r. A. some
day was all very well, but this triumph was
worth having. The old fisherman who was'with
him at the time Is reported to have said: ITS
a nice gentleman. is Mr. Walker; when he was
catching the first salmon och! never saw any
man 80 pleased whateffer; he wad be making me
drink whskey, and the fish drink whiskey too!
When he visited Mr. OrchardsOn In Venice In
1870. and his friend who himself no fisher
man. came to NEE! him In his gondola Walker
without how are your or a word Of greet
ing, clutched his hand. and said, I've caught
four-pound Il out" "
One surprising characteristic Of this nafvely
gay and sportive artist was his love OF
| secrecy in everything that pertained 10 his
work. He seems to have got the idea into his
head that the admiration which was constantly
being offered him not always disinterested
md ho his work would be
"cribbed" before 1t the light Of the public
exhibition. The members Of his family consti-
tuted kind OF guard. denying him to all but
his most intimate friends. and sometimes to the
latter, If they had no appointment, when he was
at work in his studio. One old farmer who lived
near by the original of THE Old Gate" has left
a little vignette of the artist in perfect hdget
| every time any one passed his canvas upon
| which he was working in the open air. What
| way he was IN II any one passed and tried TO
| look. Why. he made nothing Of taking up his
picture and running into the house with It, You
| know he got my missus to stand a bit. but she
nor nor move Of US never got a chance OF
look at what he a-drawing." He had one
or two other eccentIicities He sensitive
to IN ault and imagined sights where they were
not Intended. He had spasmodc way OF rush
ing of on some new quest or forgetfuy keep
| ing friends dinner waiting, which makes him
| appear a little capricious. But these things
were all forgrable; there was so much else In
him to delight whoever was In his company
| His talk when once started was original and
full of humor He had quaintness. the little
| touch Of gentle. haf-wistful manner which IS
only to be discovered among men OF peculiar
delicacy Of nature. There is the presence OF
| the boy again felt in the rueful little anecdote
which Mr.. Orchardson tells Of the painter and
his hnger-nails. He used to bite them furiously
| and once In Venice. fancying that his hands
were being noticed. he drew them back, saying:
| Don't look at my poor fingers. I've done
| everything l can to myself. I've rubbed
| my fingers with bitter aloes. till love bitter
| aloes"
| When this spontaneous, artess and yet
| ambitious young E1glishman threw himself
| into his work he made II alive with the
| apirit that In him and made 1t great
| art. There to have been no theories
| between him and his work, ideas bor-
rowed from the schools. Breathing in with all his
might the air Of the Scottish streams In which
he fished the fragrance Of the English lanes and
| fields amid which he roamed and found his
themes, he became on the whole the most cor
| summate interpreter Of the sentiment in British
| life and landscape that his country has to show.
| Painting his lovely picture of THE Housewife"
| a water-color Of woman in a courtyard she'll
| Ing peas. he said to his brother-in-law the au-
| thor Of the present memoir you know, John,
| meant her to be a little creamy sort Of woman
The gist of his art is revealed by that line. The
| purely artistic side of his pictures may be dis
| cussed in half a dozen different relations his
| beauty Of design providing one theme his
| draughtsmanshp another. his color third. but
| the whole Is fused not merely by the constructive
| skill Of a great craftsman. but by the intense
emotion of man in love with his subjects. "A
| little creamy sort Of woman." What could be
| more expressive. what could carry the reader
closer to Walkers rural feeling his insight into
| the spirit of his material? Character was what
| annealed 10 him most fhp soul that informed q