New-York tribune., 1907-01-13

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,ot exaggerate Leightons charm as man
o. spe TO whom she has appealed in the
Of her task has abundanty confirmed the
-..sson he left upon her. As a young man
.s clever kind and lovable Wherever he
,s endeared himself TO his friends His
-..n,orary In Rome. the painter Giovanni
-, has told how, picnic Of artists in the
,syna q swarm OF bees fell upon the
,vx on which the party had ridden out into
.ouutry and put the beasts to flight all
- one little animal that was unable TO freo
s..y .sThe picnic party also broke up ana
90 with the exception Of one young man with
. curiy hair, dressed in velvet, who, snpplns
: cloves and tying a handkerchief over ms
<.,a ran 10 uberate the poor little beast" Ii
:. Leighton, Of course, who showed this solici-
do for q helpless creature and the action was
.-ac+e-istic- He was always doing generous
.h;rcs We read Of his suddenly leaving
.. +r;ends in France and travelling to
: o,5on simply TO help one who needed heip' put
no Gather. no special claim upon him In
- 5avs Of his greatest prosperity, when, as
,-os,leT. Of the Royal Academy, he was an i'm
=. -,,--onage he could sink the high official
z,,- man and engage shabby young
j" = IN n give him courage and send him
or with new strength It all came
n him the simple, generous action
- +4o stately life Of an artist representing his
-. m ceremonial occasions The portrait
- no nainted Of himself in his robes OF office
1,- the famous collection in the Uftizi seems
1t.-1e rosed and even somewhat dandihed, until
,-o,, remember that, after all. Leighton ioGS a
bardsome man, and that he was never more
o-,lesslv himself than when. IN full panoply, he
,,ae exercising the functions Of an official
leader
That is why he was loved as well as honored-
r4a rang true He may not have been a great
artist but within his limits he genuine
through and through. The appeal that he made
10 those who knew him comes out unmistaka-
bv in certain Of the letters which Mrs Bar
rfugton prints Poets like Browning and Ar
mold travellers like Burton, statesmen like
Morley distinguished women like Adelaide Sar-
toris and Fanny Kemble, reveal again and again
in letters or in brief notes the affectionate re-
gard in which they held this handsome, pol
ished. good hearted gentleman These CORE
s9ondents are not aTnusingIy quotabe as often
as we would like them TO be- and Leighton's
own letters, by the way, are so seldom of gen.
eral interest that Mrs. Darlington might well
have reduced their quantity. But here and
there there are passages which We must bor
row There is for example delightfully."- can
did remark in John Morley's note of congratu-
lal4CD on Inc painter IlSe 10 the p1tIdSt-
an not a passionate admirer of the legislative
feats Of the House of Lords he says, but so
lorg as it stands, ii is well that such a man
as you should sit there There is engaging can
dor too in a letter Of Swinburne's. ''I doubt
very much" he says, whether Shelley himself
could have answered your question lone to
the Nine Muses. TO your satisfaction His schol-
arship was that Of a clever but idle boy In the
upper forms OF a public school. His translation
from Plato, as Mr Jowett tells me, and his
translation from Euripides, as I know by per-
sonal experiment having carefully coIlated It
with the original text, absolutely swarm with
bunders, sometimes, certainly resulting in sheer
nonsense"
There are several letters from George Eliot
for whose 'Romola" Leighton made number of
drawings over which she wakes enthusiastic
She makes one observation that is of some value
as a contribution to more than vexed subject
! am quite convinced she SAYS that iIIustra-
tions can only form sort of overture to the
text The artist who uses the pencil must other
wise be torTnented to misery by the deficiencies
or requirements OF the who uses the pen
and the writer. On the other hand must die Of
impossible expectations" Leighton does not
have much that is interesting to say about
George Eliot, but he gives Us at least one good
glimpse Of her very striking countenance," say
ing: Her face Is large, her eyes deep set, her
nose aquiline her mouth large the under jaw
projecting. rather like Charles Qufnt; her voice