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MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/memoiroflifeofwiOOsoll 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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% V 
 
MEMOIR OF THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM JAMES MULLER 
 
 A NATIVE OF BRISTOL 
 
 LANDSCAPE AND FIGURE PAINTER 
 
 WITH ORIGINAL LETTERS AND AN ACCOUNT OF 
 HIS TRAVELS AND OF HIS PRINCIPAL WORKS 
 
 BY 
 
 N. NEAL SOLLY 
 
 AUTHOR OF “ THE LI IF. OF DAV11) COX ” 
 
 Ellastrate'o tuith ^photographs from paintings ant) -Sketches bti the Artist’s ohm ^Sjanb 
 
 “ I am looking forward to sketching green fields, trees, Sec., the works of a living God — these things 
 make my heart glad. It is in nature, and not in streets, that I find my own self.'" 
 
 Letter of William Muller’s, dated London, April 14th, 1845. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY 
 
 1875 
 
 \The Right of Translation is reserved ] 
 
LONDON ! 
 
 PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., 
 CITY ROAD. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 >HE scantiness of materials — if I except those most 
 interesting remains of an artist, his own works — 
 which appeared on inquiry to be available for a 
 life of W. J. Muller caused me to hesitate for some 
 time whether I could justly undertake the present memoir. I 
 felt, however, so deeply interested in Muller’s very remarkable 
 character, both as a man and an artist, and so much admira- 
 tion for his works, that eventually I resolved to persevere, 
 being impressed with the belief and the hope that the public, 
 especially that portion of it which is interested in matters 
 pertaining to art, would pardon any shortcomings, and 
 kindly welcome my work. I have endeavoured to collect, 
 classify, and condense in this volume all the authentic 
 particulars of Muller’s early life, travels, and career as an 
 artist which were available, supplemented by an account of 
 his most important paintings and sketches. 
 
 I was, moreover, fortified in my determination by the 
 thought that what was now difficult might become altogether 
 impossible if postponed for many more years. I was en- 
 couraged, also, by several of his surviving friends who knew 
 him well One of these thus wrote to me on hearing of my pro- 
 ject: — “It will give great pleasure to Muller’s old friends, and 
 should be a grateful thing to the English school of painting, 
 that his life be written. It has certainly been watched for a 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 long while, and, if fortunate in rendering and embodying the 
 character of the man, it will be very strange and exciting.” 
 
 Another old friend, Mr. E. Duncan, the artist, in referring 
 to his long-standing friendship with Muller, adds: — “I had 
 a profound admiration for his genius as an artist, and great 
 respect for him as a man.” 
 
 The difficulty of my task has been increased by the 
 circumstance that so few of Muller’s letters have been 
 preserved — scarcely any of his very early ones — for as his 
 friend, Mr. J. Chisholm Gooden, writes from London, “ Poor 
 Muller’s death took us all by surprise at the time; indeed, 
 nothing could have surprised one more sadly : correspondence, 
 under such a state of affairs, is not hoarded.” 
 
 By degrees, however, many of his letters, written during 
 the last few years of his life, have come to light, and have 
 been placed in my hands ; these I have invariably introduced, 
 as they are all more or less interesting and characteristic. 
 
 I have also been assisted with many pleasant recollections 
 and anecdotes from Muller’s friends, sketching-companions, 
 and fellow-travellers who happily still survive. And yet, 
 after all is told, lam sorrowfully conscious that much of 
 interest has been irretrievably lost, and must for ever remain 
 unrecorded. 
 
 With respect to the dates of pictures, I have met with 
 some difficulties, as many are not dated ; but I have done all 
 in my power to be accurate with respect to these and other 
 dates ; still it is very possible that some errors may 
 occasionally have crept in. 
 
 That Muller was an artist of very original genius, and that 
 he is deserving of a biographical niche amongst the eminent 
 painters of this century, few will deny, I believe, at the 
 present day. On this point the judgment of the world has 
 had ample time to mature and pronounce itself. Thirty 
 years !— a whole generation — have come and gone since 
 Muller died. His career, although so remarkable, was so 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 \ 11 
 
 short that, like a brilliant comet, the light of his genius had 
 scarcely blazed brightly above the horizon ere it was blotted 
 out and lost in the obscurity of space. 
 
 Unfortunately, Muller’s important works are all absent 
 from the public galleries of London, and are only seen now 
 and then — one or two — at rare intervals, when changing 
 hands at Messrs. Christie and Co.’s great sale-rooms in 
 King Street, St. James’s. 
 
 A few short notices have appeared respecting this artist 
 and his works, chiefly in the pages of the Art- Union, edited 
 by Mr. S. C. Hall, who was a personal friend of Muller’s. 
 Some spirited and most interesting papers appeared in it 
 many years ago, written by Muller shortly before his death, 
 and giving a graphic account of his travels and experiences 
 in the East. They contain, too, some interesting particulars 
 of the character and customs of the natives. Those which 
 refer to his last journey to Lycia (Asia Minor) I have been 
 permitted to reprint, and they will be found in the Appendix, 
 No. V. These will be of especial interest to all who have not 
 already read them, as Muller’s spirited character and love of 
 adventure are most vividly pourtrayed in his own words. 
 
 Whilst recording my obligations to Mr. S. C. Hall, I have 
 also to express my sincere thanks to Mr. John Harrison, of 
 Bristol, for an interesting paper describing their sketching 
 excursions together, and other reminiscences ; and equally so 
 to Mr. Harry Johnson, the well-known artist, Muller’s former 
 pupil and travelling-companion, for a paper containing his 
 recollections of their journey to Lycia, and for other 
 assistance. 
 
 To Messrs. George A. Fripp, Skinner Prout, J. Chisholm 
 Gooden, Jos. J. Jenkins, Chas. Baxter, T. Morson, W. J. 
 Muckley, Chas. Sandars, Mrs. Roberts, Miss Carpenter, Mr. 
 W. Hall, and some others, who have assisted me by the loan 
 of letters and by information, I have also to express my sense 
 of their kindness; as well as to Mr. W. Sharp, ot Hands- 
 
Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 worth ; to Mr. John Henderson and to Mr. Albert Levy, of 
 London, for their generous loan of paintings and sketches 
 to be copied by photography for this work. 
 
 The portrait which forms the frontispiece was painted by 
 Mr. Branwhite, a Bristol artist, and brother-in-law of 
 Mr. E. G. Muller: it has always been in the possession of 
 the latter gentleman, and this, I believe, is the first time it 
 has been copied, which remark also applies to the bust. 
 Without the assistance of Mr. E. G. Muller I could scarcely 
 have undertaken this work, and to him I am especially 
 indebted. 
 
 N. N. S. 
 
 Edgbaston, February , 1875. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 On the character, temperament, genius, and career of W. J. Muller .... xvu 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY LIFE. 1812-1830. 
 
 Bristol, Muller’s birth-place — Parents — Birth — His father’s scientific attainments — 
 Home education by his mother — Early proficiency in drawing — P'irst sketch 
 from nature — He copies from old masters at the Institution, Park Street — 
 Apprenticed to J. B. Pyne — His fellow-students — Love for natural history 
 instilled by his father — Death of his father — Dr. Beeke, Dean of Bristol, 
 executor — Commission foi picture of St. Mary, Redcliffe — Anecdote of the 
 Dean — Winter and snow pieces — D. W. Acraman, an early patron 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 1831-1834. 
 
 Self-supporting as an artist at the age of eighteen — Advantage of Bristol for study of 
 landscape — Visits Norfolk and Suffolk — Mr. James Bulwer — Influence of 
 Cotman’s drawings — Skinner Prout — Sketching-excursions near Bristol — Influ- 
 ence of old masters' — Biistol riots — Paints interiors of old houses — Finished 
 drawings — Love for practical jokes — Anecdote of the same — Joins a Sketching 
 Club at Bristol — Account of the Club and its decline — W. West, the artist — 
 Picture of the destruction of Old London Bridge — Visit to South Wales — First 
 tour in North Wales — Visits Ireland on his way home — Artichoke Tavern — - 
 Charles Hawker carries a picture of Muller’s to Birmingham — George Fripp — 
 Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini — Cheddar — Glastonbury Abbey — Picture of 
 Pandy Mill .............. 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 1834-1835. 
 
 Leaves Bristol on his first journey abroad with G. P'ripp — His personal appearance — 
 Short-sighted — His pencil sketches — Embarks for Antwerp— Brussels — Liege — 
 Aix-la-Chapelle — Cologne — Muller and Fripp assume the garb of German 
 students — The Rhine — Andernach — Coblentz — St. Goar — Mayence — Heidelberg 
 — Black Forest — Strassburg — Schaff hausen — Zurich — LakeWallenstadt — Via Mala 
 and Splugen Pass into Italy — Chiavenno — Lago Maggiore — Milan — Verona 
 —Venice — Influence of Tintoretto and Venetian School on Muller — Florence 
 —Rome — Tivoli — Civila Vecchia — Leghorn — Home by the Mont Cenis Pass 
 — Switzerland and PTance — At Bristol again — Great rapidity as a sketcher — 
 Resumes work in oil 
 
 3 ° 
 
X 
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 r AQF. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ART-LIFE IN BRISTOL ( continued ). 1835-1838. 
 
 Practice in art — The influence of the Rev. John Eagles — Notice of Muller in the 
 Sketcher — Paints hoar-frost pictures — Letter to Mr. Howe — Resumes excursions 
 with Skinner Prout — Katz Castle painted and given to Mr. Brown — Dr. L. 
 Carpenter — Gives lesson to Misses Carpenter — Anecdote of a would-be pupil — 
 Muller’s picture of Lake Wallenstadt — Italian and Swiss subjects — Doge's Palace 
 — Lake Como — The Rialto — Tivoli — His Claude period — “ Embarkation of the 
 Doge, &c.”- — Mr. Acraman gives commission for “Forging of the -Anchor ” — 
 Pictures painted for Mr. Acraman, Mr. Heaven, and other gentlemen, at Bristol — 
 
 “ Peasants on the Banks of the Rhine,” exhibited at Royal Academy — Death of 
 his mother — Removes from Hill’s Bridge to College Green — Exhibits in British 
 Artists — Paints winter subjects — Mr. John Harrison — Harding's paper — More 
 pictures exhibited in British Aitists — Edward Dighton, a pupil — Prepares for his 
 journey to Greece and Egypt ........... 44 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 JOURNEY AND VISIT TO GREECE. 1838. 
 
 Leaves for Paris and Marseilles — Extracts from note-book, Civita Vecchia — Voyage 
 to Malta and Syra — First sketch — Lands in the Port of the Piraeus — Athens — Mr. 
 Pennethorn — Subjects sketched in Greece — Venetian convent outside Athens — Has 
 a slight attack of fever — Re-embarks for S;> ra— Takes passage thence in French 
 steamer for Alexandria ............ 57 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EGYPT. 1838^1839. 
 
 Appioach to Alexandiia — Egypt at this date — Engages a servant — Leaves for Doucli- 
 feurt, on the Nile — Arrives at Cairo — The peculiar character of this city — The 
 slave-markets, and other subjects. — Hires a boat for a voyage to Thebes and the 
 Upper Nile — His companions on this expedition — Extracts from Muller’s note- 
 book — Visits catacombs — Account of crocodiles — Sand storms — Egypt full of 
 “scriptural” subjects — The Egyptian palm-trees — Twilights — Luxor by moon- 
 light — Visit to the crocodile-mummy caves of Mahabdie — Extracts from Muller’s 
 own account of his tour in Egypt, as published in the Art-Union — Returns to 
 Cairo, and embarks for Malta and Naples — Travels across Italy to Rome and 
 Civita Vecchia, and thence home— List of subjects sketched in Egypt ... 64 
 
 CHAPTER VIE 
 
 REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 1859-1840. 
 
 Paints pictures from Egyptian subjects— Turns his thoughts to London— Friends in 
 Bristol — Sketching excursion with Eagles and Harrison — Anecdote of Eagles — 
 Picture of Lake Albano — Lines in Bristol Journal on that picture — Leaves 
 Bristol, and is followed to London by Dighton — His rooms and manner of life in 
 London — Joins the Clipstone Street Academy — Charles Baxter’s recollections of 
 Muller in Clipstone Street — Joseph J. Jenkins’s recollections and account of the 
 origin of the Academy — Sells drawings and pictures to Rought, the dealer — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Becomes acquainted with Mr. Horsman Solly and Mr. T. Morson — Exhibits in 
 British Institution and in the Royal Academy — Description of several pictures 
 painted at this time — Anecdote of a little picture, A View of Avignon — Baxter 
 and Dighton — Undertakes commission for a lithographic work for Hodgson and 
 Graves, “Age of Francis I.”- — Starts for France, accompanied by S. Dighton — 
 
 Visits Jersey on his way home — G. Dighton — Becomes acquainted with Mr. J. C. 
 Gooden- — Dighton becomes a pupil of F. Goodall — Miiller’s tegiet — Mr. Jo.-hua 
 Satterfield — Letter to Mr. Satterfield about a frost scene . . . .86 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MULLER'S “AGE OF FRANCIS I.” 
 
 Veiy successful sketches — The Renaissance period — Francis I., his court and surround- 
 ings — The Terrace of Chambord— Gallery of Francis I., Fontainebleau — Ben- 
 venuto Cellini — Monument of Duke of Bretagne —Tournament at Chambord — 
 
 The Guard-room — Bed-room of Diana de Poictiers— Court of Honour, Fontaine- 
 bleau, and Drawing-room — Dining-room, Chenonceaux — Azay-le-Ridenu — 
 Chateau Brissac — Marie de Medici’s Chamber, Blois — Chapel at Amboise — 
 Tomb of Marechal Breze— Court of the Palace, Blois — Tomb of Cardinal 
 d’Atnboise — Ball-room, Fontainebleau — Monument of Louis XII. , St. Denis, &c. 105 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 1841. 
 
 Exhibits pictures in British Institution — The Avenue of Sphinxes, Moonlight — Anecdote 
 of J. M. W. Turner— Pictures exhibited at the British Ai fists, Suffolk Street, and 
 at the Royal Academy — Excursions in a hatched boat down the Thames — Mr. 
 Gooden’s recollections and anecdotes of these excursions — Muller’s sketches on 
 the river — Excursions to Hampstead Heath — The Slave Market — Street Scene, 
 
 Cairo — William Roberts — Charles Birch — Letters to W. Roberts and J. Satterfield 1 15 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 1842. 
 
 Visits North Wales with his brother Edmund in the winter — Letter to J. Satterfield — 
 Pictures exhibited in the B itish Institution — The Good Samaritan — Letter to J. 
 Satterfield — Pictures sent to Royal Academy — Letter to S. C. Hall — Muller a guest 
 at the Royal Academy dinner — Anecdote of Turner — Letter to J. Satterfield — 
 
 Sir R. Peel introduces the Income Tax — Caricature of John Bull and the Income 
 Tax — Mr. C. Meigh, of Hanley, a pupil — The Sphinx— Offer to Baxter to travel 
 abroad — Letters to William Roberts, J. Satterfield, and Charles Btrch — Visits Mr. 
 Reynold Solly — Serge Hill, near St. Albans — Excursion to Roe, North Wales — 
 Visits Birmingham on his way — Method of work in North Wales — Letter to J. C. 
 Gooden — Anecdotes as to cattle- lred, and of Birmingham artist — Visits Bettws- 
 y-Coed — Letter from David Cox — Subjects painted in Wales — Returns to 
 London, and recommences studio work — Harry Johnson becomes a pupil of 
 Muller's — Anecdote of Froissart’s Chronicles — Letter to Charles Birch . . .135 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ART-WORK IN LONDON. 1843. 
 
 A memorable year in his art-life — Pictures exhibited at the British Institution — The 
 Salmon-trap on the Lledr — Letter to B. Johnson — The Pont Hoogan — Harrowing 
 — The Pharisee and the Publican — Anecdote of the Rev. Mr. J — — . — Pictures 
 sent to the Royal Academy — Mill on the Dolgarog — The Prayers in the Desert — 
 Gillingham — Moses commanding Darkness — Method of painting figure subjects — 
 
 The Chess-Players — How it was painted — The Eel-pots at Goring — Letters to 
 B. Johnson and Harry Johnson — Letter to Mr. D. W. Acraman — Picture of 
 Lago Maggiore, given to Mr. Acraman — Mt.C. Fellows, and proposed journey to 
 Lycia — Letters to B. Johnson, William Roberts, J. Satterfield, and Harry Johnson 156 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ASIA MINOR. 1843-1844. 
 
 Leaves England for Marseilles — Malta — Smyrna — Rhodes and Lycia — Sensitiveness 
 of Muller when sketching — Disappointment in consequence of Mr. Fellows having 
 neglected to make arrangements for Muller’s journey — Xanthus — Pinara — Tlos — 
 Makri — Tent life — Chess — Short of colours — Practice of careful drawing in black 
 and white — Letters from Lycia respecting proposed work, “ Age of the Crusaders ” 
 
 — Letters to Mr. Thomas Morson — Mr. J. Chisholm Gooden — Mr. Joshua Satter- 
 field ............... 184 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HARRY JOHNSON’S RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 
 
 1843-1844. 
 
 Letter to Author — Origin of the journey — Mr. Fellows — Arrangements made for Harry 
 Johnson to accompany Muller — Outfit — Leaves England — Meet Herbert and other 
 artists in Paris — Skirt the shores of Italy to Malta — Smyrna — Rhodes — Hire a 
 small cralt for coast of Asia Minor — II.M.S. Medea — Xanthus — Tent life — Muller 
 commences to sketch — Good understanding with natives — Fever — Pinara — River 
 Mangerchi — Stormy weather — Tlos — Again at work — Muller’s disappointment at 
 not vi-iting Myra and Antiphellus — Makri, the ancient Telmessus — H.M.S. Virago 
 — Returns to Rhodes — Franciscan convent — Smyrna — Paints frescoes on walls of 
 Lazaretto — Malta — Marseilles — Havre and home ....... 202 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HOME AGAIN.— VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 1844. 
 
 Arrival in Paris— Letter to J. Chisholm Gooden — Leaves for England — Visits his 
 rooms in Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury — Arrives at Bristol — Goes to Lynmouth, 
 
 North Devon — His work at Lynmouth — Letters to B. Johnson, S. C. Hall, J. 
 
 Satlei field, and Harry Johnson — Returns to London — Commissions for pictures — 
 Letter to C. Birch — Letters from William Etty, R.A. — Muller’s Lycian sketches 
 exhibited at The Graphic in London — -Admiration expressed by the public . 2 1 f> 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xm 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WILLIAM MULLER AS A SKETCHER. 
 
 Muller's rank as an artist based on his sketches — A colourist — Originality of his style 
 - — Rapidity — Interiors and figure subjects in Lycia — Resemblance to old masters — 
 Accuracy of drawing — Muller’s remark on the work of amateurs — -What a sketch 
 ought to be- — Marked feeling for light and shade in his pencil sketches — The poetry 
 of Nature — A sketch should not be re-touched — The Nile, its poetry realised in 
 Muller’s sketches — His Grecian sketches — A sketch rarely sold — His sketches near 
 Bristol — Mr. John Hariison, the companion of Muller when sketching — His recol- 
 lections of their excursions ........... 233 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. JOHN HARRISON. 
 
 Personal history of Muller drifting from us — Frequent opportunity of seeing him at 
 work — Commencement of acquaintance — Sketching grounds near Bristol, his 
 manner of work — A sketch in Leigh Woods — How Muller dried his sketch — 
 Never languid or out of sorts — A sketch in Nightingale Valley — No professional 
 secrets — Makes drawing of an anatomical subject — Anecdote of a musical gate 
 — Muller’s return from Lycia — His sketches — Recollection of the Mangerchi — 
 
 His opinion of English scenery — Visit to Leigh Woods — His return to Bristol in 
 1845 — Illness — Drives out occasionally — His last sketch from nature — Inspiration 
 — His flower pictures — Death whilst his palette was being set ... 239 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 
 
 Muller’s sketches widely dispersed — Mr. John Henderson’s collection of sketches in 
 Smyrna, Lycia, Egypt, Greece— Mrs. Thomas Wood’s collection : Lycian and 
 English sketches — Mr. William Quilter’s collection : Lycian, Italian, Egyptian, 
 and English — Mr. J. p. Weston’s collection : English, French, Italian . . 256 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 1845. 
 
 Constant work in his studio — Great number of pictures painted — Letters to B. Johnson 
 and S. C. Hall— Works exhibited at the British Institution — All are well hung, 
 much to his surprise — Opening day of the Exhibition — The Dance at Xanthus — 
 
 The Tomb in the Water — Rhodes, with the Pacha’s Palace — The Baggage-waggon 
 — Letters to J. Satterfield, B. Johnson, and W. Roberts —Pictures exhibited at 
 the Royal Academy — All badly hung — Muller visits the Exhibition with Charles 
 Bentley — The effect on Muller’s spirits and health — Letters to J. Satterfield 
 and to S. C. Hall on his treatment by the Royal Academy — Observation on the 
 Academy and its treatment of landscape artists — The question of reform — Descrip- 
 tion of Muller’s pictures in the Academy — “ Great Cannon, Rhodes” — Head of 
 Cingari — Burial Ground, Smyrna — Merchants passing the Mangerchi— Picture 
 of the ITayfield — Ill-health — His hand affected — Determines to leave London — 
 Letters to W. Smith, B. Johnson, J. Satterfield, and William Robeits- — List of 
 prices obtained by Muller for some of his pictures this year . . . . . 27C 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 1845. 
 
 Seeks rest and change in Bristol — Places himself under medical treatment— His 
 presentiment of early death — A few pictures and drawings painted during 
 his illness — Large frescoes of wild-boar hunt in Lycia — His increasing illness 
 and regret at the interruption of his career as an artist — Letters to his friends, S. C. 
 
 Hall, B. Johnson, William Roberts, J. C. Gooden, and J. Satterfield — Letter from 
 Mr. Satterfield to E. G. Muller — Last landscape in oil— Flower and fruit pictures 
 — His feeling for colour never greater — His last two letters to J. C. Gooden and B. 
 Johnson ........... ... 300 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The last morning — His death— Burial — His brother Edmund — Letters to T. Morson 
 and J. C. Gooden — Tributary verses to the memory of W. Miiller in the Bristol 
 Journal— The bust of Muller — Letter from David Cox — Sketches exhibited at the 
 Bristol Institute — One of Muller’s last acts before leaving London — Letter fiom 
 J. Satterfield— Concluding remarks on the genius and distinguishing qualities 
 of Muller as an artist — A collected exhibition of his works would be a source of 
 enjoyment and utility — The great loss to art occasioned by Muller’s early death . 320 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 Appendix I. — Paintings exhibited by Muller in the Royal Academy, British Insti- 
 tution, and in the Society of British Artists, London ...... 329 
 
 Appendix II. — List of subjects of oil-pictures, painted by Muller .... 331 
 
 Appendix III. — Catalogue and prices of sketches and drawings by Muller, sold 
 
 after his death by Messrs. Christie and Manson, April 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1846 . 335 
 
 Appendix IV. — List of paintings bv W. Muller, in various private collections, and 
 
 account of sale of the Gillott Collection, April, 1872 ...... 345 
 
 Appendix V. — The aitist at Xanthus, &c., being three letters written by Muller to 
 
 Mr. S. C. Hall, and originally published in the Art-Union ..... 348 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 I. Portrait of William Jamf.s Mullf.r, from a drawing by Mr. Branwbite, 
 
 II. Egyptian Sphinx Vignette 
 
 To face page 
 
 III. Fac-similf. of Muller’s Hand-writing v 
 
 IV. The Slave Market, Cairo. Woodburytype copy, from oil-painting by 
 
 W. J. Muller, in Mr. Alfred Levy’s collection. Date of original, 1841. 
 
 Size, 23 inches by 39^ inches xvii 
 
 V. Hill’s Bridge Parade, Bristol, the birthplace of W. J. Muller. 
 
 Heliotvpe copy, from water-colour drawing ....... 1 
 
 VI. The Gamekeeper, a Winter Scene. Photographed by R. W. Thrupp, 
 from oil-painting by W. J. Muller, in the collection of Mr. W. Sharp. 
 
 Date, 1837. Size, 4 feet 1 inch by 5 feet 3 inches . . . . -44 
 
 VII. The Arab Shepherds. Photographed by R. W. Thrupp, from oil- 
 painting by W. J. Muller, in the collection of Mr. W. Sharp. Date, 1842. 
 
 Size, 2 feet 9 inches by 5 feet 6 inches ........ 64 
 
 VIII. Prayers in the Desert Photographed by R. W. Thrupp, from oil- 
 painting by J. W. Muller, in the collection of Mr. W. Sharp. Date, 1843. 
 
 Size, 3 feet 4 inches by 6 feet ......... 133 
 
 IX. Heliotype fac-simile copy of pen-and-ink sketch by W. J. Muller of Sir 
 Robert Peei. introducing the Income-Tax to John Bull. Date, 
 spring of 1842 . . . . . . . . . . 135 
 
 X. Khan for Travellers at Smyrna. Woodburytype by V. Brooks, 
 
 Day and Son, from water-colour sketch by W. J. Muller, in the collection 
 of Mr. John Henderson. Date, 1843. Size of original, half imperial . . 136 
 
 XI. Baggage Camels, Xanthus. Woodburytype by V. Brooks, Day, and 
 Son, from water-colour sketch by W. J. Muller, in collection of Mr. J. 
 Henderson. Date, 1843. Size of original, half imperial .... 184 
 
 XII. Tent of Yurooks (Gipsies of Asia Minor). Woodburytype by V. Brooks, 
 
 Day, and Son, from water-colour sketch by W. J. Muller, in collection of 
 Mr. J. Henderson. Date, Christmas Day, 1843. Size, half imperial . . 202 
 
XVI 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 To face 'page 
 
 XIII. The Lion’s Tomb in the Acropolis, Xanthus. Woodburytype by V. 
 
 Brooks and Co., from water-colour sketch by W. J. Muller, in collection of 
 Mr. J. Henderson. Date, 1843. Size, half imperial 216 
 
 XIV. The Crested Tomb, Pinara, Lycia. Woodburytype by V. Brooks and 
 
 Co., from water-colour sketch by J. W, Muller, in collection of Mr. J. 
 Henderson. Date, 1844. Size of original, half impeiial .... 233 
 
 XV. Vomitory of the Amphitheatre at Tlos, Lycia. Woodburytype by 
 V. Brooks and Co., from water-colour sketch by J. W. Muller, in collec- 
 tion of Mr. J. Henderson. Date, 1844. Size of original, half imperial . 239 
 
 XVI. Fort and Lighthouse, entrance to Harbour of Rhodes (capstan 
 in foreground). Woodburytype from water-colour sketch, in collection 
 of Mr. J. Henderson. Date, March, 1844. Size, half imperial . . 256 
 
 XVII. Tomb in the Water, Telmessus, Lycia. Photographed by R. W. 
 
 Thrupp, from oil-painting by W. J. Muller, in collection of Mr. W. Sharp. 
 
 Size of original, 2 feet 5 inches by 4 feet 5 inches. Date, 1845 . . . 276 
 
 XVIII. Bust of William James Muller. Photographed at Bristol from the 
 
 original, in the possession of Mr. Edmund G. Muller .... 320 
 

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 THE SLAVE MARKET. CAIRO. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 T will be acknowledged, I believe, by most persons 
 who have thought on the subject, that compara- 
 tively few artists who die young have had their 
 names inscribed on the great roll of fame. So 
 true it is, that great works in the higher branches of art are 
 generally the result of long and thoughtful practice and of 
 mature experience — the production of man’s middle or latter 
 years. 
 
 It is recorded that Titian lived to the great age of ninety- 
 nine, Michael Angelo to that of eighty-nine, Tintoretto 
 and Claude each to eighty-two ; and among eminent modern 
 artists I may instance both J. M. W. Turner and David Cox 
 who survived almost in full vigour to the age of seventy- 
 seven years. It is true there are a few names which form 
 bright exceptions to this rule, the “divine” Raffaele having 
 lived only to the age of thirty-seven, and Corregio to that 
 of forty ; but turning to the British school of art, if we 
 except the brilliant and lamented Bonnington, who scarcely 
 attained to his twenty-seventh birthday, there is no instance 
 so remarkable of great genius and great performance nipped 
 ere its prime as that of William James Muller. 
 
 Although removed from the scene of his labours at the early 
 age of thirty-three, few artists have bequeathed to posterity 
 so great a variety of remarkable and interesting works. 
 
 How rapidly he was rising in his profession, and how great 
 the loss to art when he was thus suddenly called away from 
 the “ Banquet of Life,” it will be my aim to show in this 
 
 b 
 
XV111 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 memoir. So incessantly, so passionately I may say, did 
 Muller press onwards in the pursuit and practice of his art, 
 even when health was failing and his brave spirit was 
 battling against the assaults of organic illness, that long 
 since he had mastered every difficulty in the practice of land- 
 scape both in water-colour and oil, whilst at the same time he 
 was rapidly taking his place and winning recognition as a 
 painter of figure subjects. 
 
 Although Muller’s health was, without a doubt, in some 
 respects affected by the way in which his pictures were 
 treated at the Royal Academy — to which I shall refer more at 
 length hereafter — there can be no question that his incessant 
 and unremitting devotion in London to studio work, especially 
 during the last year of his life (when he painted larger pictures 
 than usual), undermined his health. His health at no time was 
 very robust, and the hardships which he suffered during his 
 Lycian journey had also affected it to some extent. I am 
 confirmed in this opinion by his friend and medical attendant, 
 Mr. Harrison, of Bristol. 
 
 But Muller’s ardour for his profession was so extreme that 
 even a strong constitution could scarcely have withstood the 
 constant strain of the “art-fever” early and late. To 
 Muller indeed may be applied with truth those lines of Lord 
 Byron to the memory of a talented and ardent young poet, 
 too early called away from his labours — 
 
 “ ’Twas thine own genius gave the final blow, 
 
 And help’d to plant the wound that laid thee low ; 
 
 So the struck eagle, stretched upon the plain, 
 
 No more through rolling clouds to soar again, 
 
 Viewed his own feather on the fatal dart, 
 
 And wing’d the shaft that quivered in his heart.” 
 
 As a sketcher I shall have to show that Muller was 
 especially pre-eminent, uniting many rare qualifications of 
 temperament and feeling to great art-knowledge and con- 
 stant practice ; he was thus enabled to produce that series of 
 sketches during his last journey to the East which will never 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xix 
 
 be forgotten by those who saw them when exhibited together 
 (at the Graphic) in London. 
 
 Of an intensely keen and earnest temperament, resolute, 
 almost defiant, yet withal modest with regard to his own art- 
 work, and generous in offering aid or advice to others, Muller 
 had little sympathy with the weak and irresolute. Admired 
 and esteemed by his friends and companions — for he was emi- 
 nently “ life-giving ” and companionable — he never seemed 
 to be quite happy alone ; in this respect he resembled David 
 Cox, who also was always most sociable in his feelings. 
 
 Muller had a pleasant and ever-ready sense of wit and 
 humour, at times slightly sarcastic : yet his satire was 
 humorous rather than severe ; it resulted from a keen 
 perception of what was affected, pompous, or ridiculous, and 
 certainly did not originate in a wish to cause pain, or from a 
 censorious or cynical spirit. Full of self-confidence, what- 
 ever happened, he always appeared equal to the occasion, 
 and went straight to his purpose. To this sturdiness of 
 character, which made him rather self-asserting at times, and 
 never allowed difficulties to turn him aside from the path he 
 had marked out, Muller united great readiness to oblige : it 
 will be readily understood that, considering his peculiar 
 temperament, to confer an obligation was a positive pleasure 
 to him, whilst to receive one was more difficult, and left him 
 to some extent uneasy. Open-handed and free with his 
 money where others were concerned — for he was a most 
 generous fellow — he was simple and careful in his personal 
 expenditure. Although grateful for kindness and prompt to 
 acknowledge it, he never felt quite satisfied till he had had an 
 opportunity of making some return. Truly, “ independence” 
 may be said to have been Muller’s motto throughout life. 
 
 He was remarkably anxious, also, to fulfil every pro- 
 fessional promise or engagement ; that this conscientiousness 
 was carried to a painful extreme in his last illness will be 
 shown in some of his letters. He was, perhaps, too anxious 
 
XX 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to be first in everything which he undertook, and he was 
 undoubtedly ambitious ; but it was an honourable ambition, 
 that of excelling and obtaining recognition from brother- 
 artists in his profession. 
 
 Muller’s stirring, irrepressible energy and vivacity made 
 him at times slightly irritable, and inclined him occasionally 
 in early life to practical jokes: these were more in fashion 
 thirty or forty years ago than they are now, but, being 
 tempered with fun and good-humour, the object of the joke 
 could scarcely take offence. In addition to the love he 
 displayed for his profession of an artist, Muller felt a lively 
 interest in natural history, music, and some other pursuits. 
 He was a very keen observer of character, and during his 
 travels nothing of moment was ever allowed to escape his ob- 
 servation. The letters he wrote during his last journey— that 
 to Lycia — contained in Chapter XII. and in the Appendix No. 5, 
 must bring conviction on this point to all who read them. 
 
 Muller’s paintings and drawings are now scattered far and 
 wide, and are not very easy of access. One work in oil — a 
 figure subject — and seven drawings and sketches are all, I 
 believe, that are to be found in our national collections. 
 
 His style varied so much in character, treatment, colour, 
 and subject, as years went on, and he was so ready to gather 
 hints from the works of other artists — especially the old 
 Italian and Dutch masters — that to give anything like an 
 adequate idea of what Muller contributed to art would, 
 indeed, take a large collection of his works. 
 
 I shall be excused, therefore, I trust, if I go at some 
 length into a description of many of his important works — a 
 poor substitute, I feel, for a personal inspection of them. I 
 have introduced these descriptions of pictures into the 
 chapters relating to those portions of his life in which they 
 were painted ; this, I thought, would be less tedious to the 
 general reader than collecting an account of all into one 
 separate chapter. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XXI 
 
 When Muller had arrived at the age of twenty-seven, 
 namely, in the year 1839, he had already attained to great 
 excellence as a painter of landscape, for which he had 
 fortified himself by extensive foreign travel, and he had 
 occasionally painted small figure subjects of less importance. 
 These works were well known and sought after by the dealers 
 and collectors of Bristol and Birmingham, but he still re- 
 mained comparatively almost unknown in London. This may 
 be partly accounted for by his residence in the country, and 
 by the want of influential friends in the metropolis. After this 
 date he took up his abode in London, and, having studied 
 for some time in a life academy, he turned his attention 
 much more to the production of figure pictures, for which he 
 brought home a great variety of fine and varied subjects 
 from the East ; these remarkable works soon brought his 
 name more under public notice. It spite of little encourage- 
 ment from the London societies of artists, his pictures were 
 of so striking a character that it was impossible for even 
 professional jealousy entirely to ignore them. Had his life 
 been prolonged, there can be no doubt that Muller, who had 
 already entered his name as a candidate for the honour of 
 admission as an associate in the Royal Academy, would 
 eventually have forced his way through the outworks of that 
 rather conservative and exclusive citadel. 
 
 That William Muller did not during his lifetime reap the 
 pecuniary advantages nor the honour to which his genius 
 entitled him is only too true, and also that he deeply felt this 
 want of recognition. The prices, indeed, which he generally 
 received were, in most cases, ridiculously small for such 
 works, even in those days of low prices ; but with the lapse 
 of years they have gradually taken their deservedly high 
 position in public estimation. Even before the end of his 
 life many of our best artists recognised the great merit of 
 Muller’s latter works. Amongst these I may instance 
 J. M. W. Turner, Collins, Herbert, W. Etty, David Cox, and 
 
xxn 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Clarkson Stanfield. We can scarcely feel surprised at this, 
 for artists of eminence are often the first to notice the 
 indications of the genius and rare ability which may be rising 
 up around them. 
 
 That Bristol, Muller’s birthplace, has been backward to 
 recognise his genius will, perhaps, excite less surprise from 
 the fact that that city is acknowledged to have been slow on 
 some other occasions to show honour to the memory of her 
 distinguished sons. The marvellous boy-poet, Chatterton, so 
 long without a monument of any kind, is a case in point; and 
 others might, I believe, be cited. Bristol has been the 
 cradle of several men distinguished in the fine arts. Law- 
 rence and Bayley were born there ; and Danby and Bird 
 long made that city their home. But it is never too late to 
 take the subject of some public recognition, to which I am 
 referring, into consideration. Some day, perhaps, the omis- 
 sion will be owned and remedied, just as a fine memorial 
 window has lately been subscribed for in Birmingham, and 
 placed in Harborne Church, to the memory of David Cox;' 
 and, better still, this same town has just done honour to itself 
 and to the memory of a great philosopher, once wronged in 
 Birmingham, by erecting a statue to Priestley. 
 
 Much I think may be gathered in the way of encourage- 
 ment by young artists, and somewhat also in the way of 
 warning, by considering the life of W. Muller. 
 
 There can be little if any doubt that, had his life been 
 spared, he would have become greater and more eminent as 
 an artist than he was, and have taken his place in the 
 foremost ranks, for he had made unusually rapid strides 
 during the last three years. There is also too much reason 
 to believe that his life was shortened by over-exertion. The 
 strings of the harp will snap, and the finest bow must suffer 
 and give way, if always strung or bent. Nevertheless, we 
 may be thankful that this true artist was spared to achieve so 
 much, and that, although his life was short, he has still lived 
 long enough to earn a deathless fame. 
 

HILLSBRIDGE PARADE, BRISTOL, WM. MULLER’S BIRTH-PLACE. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 l 8 l 2 TO 1830. 
 
 ancient city of Bristol had long carried on an 
 important trade with the Western World, although 
 up to the end of the last century the accommoda- 
 tion for shipping was insufficient and insecure. 
 Floating docks were much needed, and the question — how 
 to supply them ? was long and anxiously considered. At 
 length, the preliminary difficulties having been surmounted 
 by means of an Act of Parliament, the excavation of a 
 new channel, or “cut,” for the passage of the waters of the 
 Avon was commenced in 1804, and completed in 1809; 
 thus several miles of the old channel, including a small 
 portion also of the river Frome, which passed in a winding 
 course through the centre of Bristol, were converted into 
 a floating harbour. 
 
 This “new cut,” as it is called, rather resembles a huge 
 canal than a river, and facing it, on the northern bank, a 
 modest-looking row of houses was erected, by name Hill’s 
 Bridge Parade : the situation is very quiet, as it is far 
 removed from the trade and bustle of the city. Here, at 
 No. 13, William James Muller was born, on the 28th of 
 June, 1812. A view of Hill’s Bridge Parade is given at the 
 
 B 
 
 Chap. I. 
 1812—1830. 
 
2 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. i. commencement of this chapter; the house in which Muller 
 1812—1830. was born is indicated at the right-hand corner, where two 
 dogs are sketched in. 
 
 William J. Muller’s father — John Samuel Muller— was a 
 Prussian by birth, a native of Dantzic. During the san- 
 guinary war waged by the French under the first Napoleon 
 early in the present century against Prussia, the inhabitants 
 of Dantzic suffered greatly, the town being besieged and 
 taken by the French ; and Mr. J. S. Muller, who was a man 
 of scientific pursuits, and by no means wealthy, was greatly 
 crippled by having a great many soldiers quartered on him. 
 Hopeless of bettering his position if he remained in Dantzic, 
 he determined to try his fortune in England, and having, as 
 he used to relate, escaped at night over the walls of the city 
 with one or two friends, he left Germany (doubtless) in one 
 of the timber-ships, of which there were so many trading 
 between the Baltic and Bristol. 
 
 Mr. Muller, although bereft of fortune, soon found a wel- 
 come from the members of the Philosophical and Literary 
 Society of Bristol when they became aware of his solid 
 attainments in natural history. Geology, botany, and conch- 
 ology were all favourite pursuits of his. 
 
 Amongst these gentlemen were several names well known 
 in the world of science : — the Rev. D. W. Conybeare, H. F. 
 de la Beche, Dr. Daubeny, Dr. Lant Carpenter, the Dean 
 of Bristol, H. Beeke, D.D., J. S. Conybeare, Samuel Roolsey, 
 and many others. 
 
 Mr. Muller was appointed, after a time, Curator of the 
 Bristol Museum, and settled in that city, having married 
 shortly after his arrival Miss James, a member of a Bristol 
 family of liberal traditions, and long resident there. This 
 lady, like her husband, had early lost all her near rela- 
 tives. 
 
 She had had several brothers ; but these, as well as a cousin, 
 were all drowned together, in a most awful manner, in 1802, 
 
EARLY LIFE. 
 
 o 
 
 by the upsetting of a sailing-boat, near Denny Island in the 
 Bristol Channel, in consequence of a sudden squall. 
 
 Of this marriage three sons were born ; also one daughter, 
 who died in infancy. The eldest son, Henry, born in 1808, 
 was brought up to the medical profession, and having 
 early in life obtained a country practice at Congresbury, 
 about ten miles from Bristol, he married. But he only 
 lived /or one year after his marriage, and died in 1843. 
 William James Muller was the second son; and the youngest, 
 Edmund G. Muller, born in 1816, still survives. Like his 
 brother William he has followed the profession of an artist, 
 although educated first for the medical profession, and is a 
 resident in the neighbourhood of Bristol. 
 
 Having referred to the subject of Mr. J. S. Muller’s 
 pursuits in natural history, I will now mention that in the 
 autumn of 1821 he published a quarto volume on the natural 
 history of the Crinoidea, or lily-shaped animals. This work 
 was beautifully illustrated with fifty plates, drawn on stone 
 by the author. He says, in his preface, with becoming 
 modesty, “ I have applied the slender talent of drawing I 
 possessed to executing the necessary illustrations in a series 
 of lithographic plates, as the only mode in which a private 
 individual could bring forward such an undertaking.” He 
 also contributed, through his friend Mr. Conybeare, to the 
 Royal Society several papers on scientific subjects, which 
 were published in the Philosophical Transactions. He had 
 likewise completed the manuscript of a work on Corals and 
 Coralines ; it was entrusted by him to a young man who 
 assisted in the Museum, or Philosophical Institution, to make 
 a fair copy ; but, unfortunately, the youth was seized with 
 cholera, and died suddenly. After his death search was 
 made for Mr. Muller’s manuscript; but it had disappeared, 
 and was never afterwards found, and Mr. Muller did not him- 
 self live to replace it. His publications, it should be stated, 
 appeared in the name of J. S. Miller, by which name he was 
 
 Chap. I. 
 1812 — 1830. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MJJLLER. 
 
 Chap. i. generally known in Bristol ; but his sons resumed the German 
 1812—1830. family name of Muller when they grew to man’s estate, in fact, 
 before William went to Germany, although still pronounced 
 in Bristol as Miller. As William Muller, although also chris- 
 tened James (not John, as has been erroneously supposed), 
 very rarely used it in signing, I shall omit it in speaking of 
 him in future. His early life was passed at the house of his 
 father in Hill’s Bridge Parade, looking on the quiet cut, 
 where only a boat or barge occasionally passed up or down. 
 He never went to school, but was educated entirely by his 
 mother, for whom he ever entertained warm affection and 
 esteem. She was a small, delicate lady of good acquire- 
 ments ; she could read and translate French and German 
 accurately, and these languages she taught to her sons. 
 William, however, also took some lessons from a German 
 professor before going abroad the first time, which made him 
 tolerably proficient in reading that language ; but he was 
 quite unable to speak either German or French fluently. 
 His father was too much engrossed with his scientific 
 pursuits to assist in the education of his boys, otherwise 
 than in directing their attention to natural objects, and 
 setting such objects before them, as far as possible, as sub- 
 jects to be drawn, and insisting on accuracy of outline. Mr. 
 Muller also lost no opportunity of familiarizing the minds 
 of his sons with the elementary study of natural history in 
 its various branches. Although William Muller was only 
 nine years of age when his father’s work on the Crinoidea was 
 published, I am informed on good authority that many of 
 the drawings for the illustrations were made by him. As a 
 child he is reported to have been remarkably intelligent and 
 quick, and from the age of four years to have been never 
 happier than when entrusted with a pencil and paper or 
 a slate. He indulged his infantine fancy by an attempt to 
 draw every imaginable thing. His mother used to treasure 
 some of these early efforts which showed his precocious 
 
EARLY LIFE. 
 
 5 
 
 talent. His father, seeing the bent of the boy’s mind, Chap - l 
 directed his attention to the models in the Museum. When 1812-1830. 
 about ten years old, Mr. Muller on one occasion desired 
 William to draw a particular shell for him very carefully, 
 and he accordingly drew it in three different positions ; but 
 not one of them represented exactly what his father wished. 
 
 The lad went home late, thinking over his day’s work, and 
 in the night he said he dreamt that if he were to place the 
 shell in a certain new position he should succeed in drawing 
 the part his father desired. The next morning he started 
 early for the Museum, and when his father arrived two 
 hours later the drawing was completed to his entire satis- 
 faction. 
 
 About this time William Muller commenced sketching 
 from nature near Bristol ; his first sketch, as he stated in 
 after-life, having been made in the grounds of Blaize Castle, 
 belonging to Mr. Harford. He also made large studies at 
 the Institute of bones, skeletons, and large fossils, drawn 
 with a vigorous outline, and filled in and shaded with lamp- 
 black. These were used as diagrams by various lecturers on 
 scientific subjects, and the practice, without doubt, assisted 
 in giving young Muller power and accuracy. A drawing by 
 him, when about ten or eleven, of a mummy-case, with all its 
 hieroglyphics, was especially noticed for accuracy and finish. 
 
 This was made for J. C. Prichard, the author of the “ Eastern 
 Origin of the Celts,” and other works, and in acknowledg- 
 ment he gave his young friend, William Muller, a colour-box, 
 which was much prized. 
 
 Soon after the Philosophical Institution in Park Street was 
 finished — viz. in 1823 — exhibitions of paintings, both ancient 
 and modern, were occasionally held there. Works by the 
 old masters were lent by gentlemen having collections in 
 Bristol and its neighbourhood. Art-students were allowed 
 to make copies of single figures or parts of the pictures, but 
 not of the whole work. It was thus that W. Muller, in 1824, 
 
6 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. i. made a clever copy in oil of a figure in armour, called “ The 
 1812—1830. Trumpeter,” from a small painting by Terburg, lent by 
 Mr. D. W. Acraman. This copy is still in Mr. E. G. Muller’s 
 possession. The character of the original work is well 
 sustained, and, for a boy of twelve, it is a remarkable 
 performance. This little picture shows that at this early 
 age Muller had become an accurate draughtsman, and 
 had mastered the early difficulties of manipulation in oil 
 colours. 
 
 Modern paintings were also exhibited at the Institution in 
 Bristol. From 1826, for many years in succession, Muller 
 became an occasional exhibitor there, and also at the exhibi- 
 tion-room in Broad Street, situated behind a stationer’s shop 
 kept by Mr. Davey, and generally known as “ Davey’s 
 Exhibition.” But at that time there was but little appre- 
 ciation or encouragement for modern art in Bristol, and the 
 prices obtained by local artists for good pictures were 
 exceedingly low. 
 
 When barely fifteen years of age Muller was apprenticed by 
 his father to the well-known landscape painter, J. B. Pyne, 
 then a resident on St. Michael’s Hill, Bristol ; and in that 
 artist’s studio in Small Street he continued to draw and paint 
 for about two years. At the end of 1829, or quite at the 
 beginning of 1830, this arrangement came to an end. Mr. 
 Pyne gave usually, it is said, but little time or personal super- 
 intendence to the instruction of his pupils ; this caused 
 Muller and his father to feel somewhat dissatisfied. Muller 
 was also expected to set and clean Pyne’s palette, which was 
 unpalatable to the ardent young student ; and on Mr. J. S. 
 Muller making some complaint, Mr. Pyne said he was quite 
 willing to cancel the indentures. He was taken at his word, 
 and henceforth W. Muller had no other teacher than nature. 
 Although Muller did not acquire in Mr. Pyne’s studio as 
 much as he and his father seem to have anticipated, 
 there is no doubt the experience in the method of work- 
 
EARLY LIFE. 
 
 7 
 
 ing in oil which he gained from that master, and the 
 facility in execution which he learned, were of great advan- 
 tage to him in after-life, and the influence of Pyne’s manner 
 of “ handling ” and colour, especially his greys and yellows, 
 may be traced, I think, in many of Muller’s pictures ; there 
 was this marked difference, however, that Muller’s was a 
 stronger, deeper nature, and of a wider grasp, hence a more 
 free, firm, and masculine mode of execution and treatment 
 became gradually developed in his work. A young artist who 
 took a short course of lessons in oil-painting from Pyne at 
 Bristol, about the year 1831 or 1832, informs me that he 
 found Pyne a most amiable, generous man, and an admirable 
 teacher ; he had unusual power of handling (strength of wrist), 
 and his heart was set on the technical part of the art ; in twelve 
 lessons he showed the whole nature and use of oil pigments 
 and vehicles, and how to lay them on. 
 
 It is pleasant to find that the early termination of the agree- 
 ment between Pyne and Muller did not estrange them in after- 
 life ; they always spoke in a tone of friendliness of each other, 
 and in 1843 Muller, in writing to a friend, thus refers to his 
 apprenticeship : — “ In early life placed under the direction of 
 my friend J. B. Pyne — nay, serving a regular apprenticeship 
 to the arts with him, to whom I owe so much — I commenced 
 painting in earnest.” 
 
 Pyne had a pupil of the name of Carter, who became a 
 clever landscape painter ; and also another pupil of the name 
 of Mawley, who became a companion and early friend of 
 Muller’s. The following letter, written by Muller soon after 
 he left Pyne’s studio, viz., early in 1830, will be read with 
 interest : — 
 
 “ 13, Hill’s Bridge, 6 morning. 
 
 “ Dear Mawley, — This is weather we should not let slip by 
 us ; would you, therefore, make it convenient to call on me 
 to-day at ten in the morning, or at two in the noon. I want 
 
 Chap. I. 
 1812—1830. 
 
8 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 i. very much to make a sketch for my picture of the snow on 
 830. the rocks. Now, should to-day not be convenient, would 
 you make it so to-morrow, at the same hours ? 
 
 “ Yours truly, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “P.S. — It is a saying, and I have often heard it told, that 
 
 ‘ They that would not when they could 
 Should not when they would.’ 
 
 I had almost forgotten it. 
 
 “ N.B. — Mind you are punctual, and let Edmund have an 
 answer.” 
 
 I have already remarked that Muller’s father had fostered 
 from an early age in the minds of his children a love for nature 
 and natural history. This taste was cultivated by William 
 Muller very early, and throughout his life, indeed, it never 
 forsook him, for he thus wrote in 1843, only two years before 
 his death : — 
 
 “ Travel to me affords two pleasures — my love of botany, 
 and natural history in general (for I cannot forget the impres- 
 sions given me by my father, to whose acquirements as a 
 man of science his works testify better than aught I can say). 
 I continue to combine them as much as possible with my 
 profession ; a new flower often delights me as much as a new 
 sketch.” 
 
 On the 25th May, 1830, Muller, who was not then quite 
 eighteen, had to mourn the death of his excellent father. He 
 frequently referred in after-life to this early loss as a great 
 misfortune to him and his brother ; but they continued to 
 reside with their mother in Hill’s Bridge Parade until she died 
 in 1836. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Beeke, Dean of Bristol, was appointed 
 
EARLY LIFE. 
 
 9 
 
 executor by Mr. J. S. Muller under his will, and that gentle- 
 man and other friends of Samuel Muller — Dr. Cook, of Tort- 
 worth, Gloucestershire, the Rev. John Eaden and the Rev. 
 Dr. Lant Carpenter, of Bristol— continued to take a kindly 
 interest in the career of young William Muller. These gentle- 
 men were all more or less fond of art and admirers of the old 
 masters. The Rev. John Eagles, whose cultivated taste and 
 great knowledge, through travel, of Italian art afterwards 
 exercised so important an influence on Muller, had left Bristol 
 for Halberton, in Devon, in 1822. Before that date he had 
 been acquainted, I believe, with Mr. Samuel Muller, but he 
 did not return to the neighbourhood of his native city, Bristol, 
 until 1834; of this gentleman I shall have to speak further in 
 a future chapter. 
 
 Some time after his father’s death W. Muller was commis- 
 sioned by the dean, Dr. Beeke, to paint a large oil-picture for 
 him of the church of St. Mary, Redcliffe. The spot chosen 
 was from a float in Bathurst Basin ; a number of mackerel 
 boats are shown grouped together in the basin, and the church 
 appears rising up behind some picturesque buildings. The 
 old dean came to see the picture during its progress, and 
 expressed great satisfaction and approbation when it was 
 completed. He was to pay ^25 for the work, and when he 
 handed the money in ^5 bank-notes to young Muller, the 
 latter modestly conveyed them to his pocket without counting. 
 Upon this the dean said — “ You are a very young man, Mr. 
 William, and will, I trust, excuse an old friend like me remark- 
 ing, that when you receive money it is always better to count 
 it and see that it is right before writing the receipt.” Acting 
 on this admonition, Muller counted the notes, and to his 
 surprise found ^30. Imagining the good doctor had made a 
 mistake, he handed him one of the notes back ; the dean only 
 smiled, however, and begged him to retain it, saying that it 
 was intentional, and that in his opinion the picture was well 
 worth all the money he had paid. 
 
 Chap. I. 
 1812—1830. 
 
IO 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 ( hap. i. No subjects appear to have had greater attractions for 
 1812—1830. Muller, early in life, than wintry landscapes with snow, leafless 
 trees and rushes white with hoar frost, or rivers half choked 
 with ice, especially when the large red sun near the horizon 
 seemed to struggle through the frozen vapours, bespeaking 
 a coming night of intense frost ; of such subjects he after- 
 wards painted one or two pictures for Mr. D. W. Acraman, 
 one of his very earliest patrons (in these he always introduced 
 one or two figures) ; also a picture of his warehouse in Prince 
 Street, boats in a fog, and several others, in later years. The 
 Bristol dealers, however, were the usual buyers of his small 
 and very early works ; many of them were painted to order, 
 and for exceedingly low prices ; of this more in the next 
 chapter. 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 1831 TO 1834. 
 
 ITHIN a very short time of his father’s death Chap. n. 
 W. Muller may be said to have fairly commenced 1831— 1834. 
 his career as an artist. A youth of nineteen — 
 dark, spare, energetic, and full of ardour for his 
 profession — he not only was able to support himself, but 
 without a doubt he contributed materially by his work to the 
 family housekeeping. 
 
 No place in England offers greater advantages than Bristol 
 and its neighbourhood for the study of landscape art. The 
 city itself, forty years ago, was full of quaint old buildings and 
 examples of early Gothic and Tudor architecture. The old 
 houses on the banks of the narrow and winding Frome were 
 especially picturesque, in places overhanging the stream at 
 this date ; but modern improvements of late years have swept 
 away most of those relics of a past age. The surrounding 
 scenery is very beautiful and varied. The rocks of St. Vincent, 
 the woods of Leigh, the cliffs and caves of Cheddar, the banks 
 of the Avon near Clifton, and Durdham Downs, all offer 
 endless subjects for the pencil. I may add also that Muller 
 often visited, in his sketching excursions, the villages of Hen- 
 bury, Clevedon, Stapleton, Thornbury, and Whitchurch (the 
 last-named was always with him a most favourite spot) ; also 
 
12 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ii. the grounds of Blaize Castle, the Horseferry or old passage 
 
 1831-1834. on the river, the happy valley, Bridlington, Combe Valley, 
 and Hanham Mill on the Frome. In later years, when 
 revisiting Bristol, he always returned to these subjects with 
 fresh zest. 
 
 Early in 1831 Muller made a journey to Norfolk and Suffolk, 
 which occupied him about two months. He was probably 
 induced to visit that part of England in consequence of having 
 made the acquaintance, in 1830, of Mr. James Bulwer — a 
 gentleman belonging to an old Norfolk family and a cousin, I 
 believe, of the late Lord Lytton. Mr. Bulwer was then residing 
 at Clifton ; he was fond of art, and appreciated the talent and 
 industry of the young artist, W. Muller. He purchased 
 several of his sketches and drawings, introduced him to his 
 friends, and being possessed of a number of drawings by John 
 Sell Cotman (the well-known artist of the Norwich school and 
 a pupil of old Crome), he lent these drawings to W. Muller, 
 who copied some of them, and was delighted with their 
 breadth, simplicity, and the sacrifice of details to the general 
 effect. Some years later, when both Mr. Bulwer and Muller 
 had removed to London, Muller met Cotman at dinner at 
 that gentleman’s house. Mr. G. Fripp was also present, 
 and he remembers Muller telling Cotman how much he felt he 
 owed to him from the study of his works in those early days. 
 Mr. Bulwer’ s enthusiasm for the works painted by Crome, 
 Constable, Cotman, and others, in Norfolk and Suffolk, had 
 naturally some influence on Muller, and partly led to his 
 choosing low, flat-lying reaches of frozen river scenery for 
 many of his early works. 
 
 When in Norfolk Muller stayed first at the house of the Rev. 
 Mr. Rogers, near Norfolk, where he painted one or two water- 
 mills backed up by trees (quite a Constable or Gainsboro 
 subject), with plenty of coltsfoot or burdock leaves in the fore- 
 ground ; these foregrounds were especially admired by his 
 host, who purchased one of the mill pictures. The Town Hall 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 13 
 
 at Ipswich; a view at Ackford, Suffolk, dated March 27, 1831 ; Chap - n - 
 and study of trees, Ackford, March 29 (same year), are 1831-1834. 
 amongst the subjects I have seen. All the sketches made at 
 this time were on tinted paper of various low-toned colours — 
 green and grey and greyish blue predominating, and for the 
 high lights body-colour was introduced ; the handling is rather 
 careful, and less free than in after-years. Whilst in that part 
 of the country Muller stayed also at the house of another 
 clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Leathes. Before leaving Norfolk 
 Muller made studies on the river Yare, and sketched reaches 
 of water called Norfolk Dykes, used occasionally for naviga- 
 tion, but then frozen over : these sketches served as subjects 
 for some of his snow and hoar-frost pictures with frozen water 
 painted in later years. 
 
 Muller’s early practice in sketching from nature was quite 
 as much in black and white (lead pencil or chalk) as in colours, 
 his very early sketches especially. Mr. Skinner Prout (now 
 a member of the Water-Colour Institute, London) came to 
 reside in Bristol in 1831, and having formed an early friend- 
 ship with Muller — who was about his own age — they used to 
 sketch a good deal together, generally selecting as subjects 
 old buildings, which Prout preferred. It was thus that many 
 ancient houses and parts of streets were sketched by Muller 
 in the years 1831 and 1832 ; — for instance, the old Sheriff’s 
 House ; the old Guildhall ; part of the Bishop’s Palace, burnt 
 down during the riots ; an ancient room in Corn Street, Old 
 Temple Street, &c. Some of these have since been removed 
 or burnt down. He also made many studies about the docks 
 and river — fishing-boats, barges, and vessels on the stocks; 
 nothing came amiss to his pencil even at this early period, as 
 is proved by his numerous sketches of the above subjects still 
 existing which I have seen. Then, as in after-life, he appears 
 to have adopted and stuck to the excellent rule of not touching 
 a sketch after he left the spot ; to alter or tamper with it in the 
 studio, he said, was “ ruin.” Muller and Prout made several 
 
14 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ii. excursions together about this time to Hanham Mill and Pool, 
 1831— 1834. about four miles up the Avon in the direction of Bath, which 
 became a very favourite spot with Muller for several years, in 
 winter as well as in summer. The forms of the old buildings 
 composed well, and the old nets used by the fishermen there 
 to catch freshwater fish, being often hung out to dry, formed 
 capital foreground objects. That part of the river Frome 
 which is now arched over, and has disappeared from sight, 
 was explored by them in a boat, from which they sketched 
 the bridges and old houses where no footpaths existed : this 
 ancient part of Bristol was eminently picturesque, but the 
 inhabitants were scarcely deserving the name of civilised , for 
 the young artists were sometimes pelted with stones from the 
 windows when at work, as they said, “ in bodily fear.” The 
 sketches which Skinner Prout thus made with Muller formed 
 the subject of his work published in 1834 by Mr. Davey, of 
 Broad Street, Bristol, entitled Prout’s Antiquities of Bristol. 
 Muller at one time intended to join Prout in this publication, 
 but he afterwards relinquished the idea. This early and 
 regular practice from nature — this habit of painting so great 
 a variety of subjects — joined to his natural genius for colour 
 and aptitude for composition, soon enabled Muller to form a 
 style of his own. This style, however, was frequently modified, 
 as we shall see, by the study of the early masters, whose works 
 he occasionally delighted to imitate. Gaspar Poussin, Ruys- 
 dael, Claude, and Ostade were in turn taken as models, and 
 influenced his practice. On one occasion Muller painted a 
 small upright landscape in the manner of Gaspar Poussin, 
 which might pass for a genuine work by that master. This, 
 by way of frolic, he signed G. Poussin, junior. This little 
 picture is in the possession of Mr. Morson, Southampton Row, 
 London, where I have seen it. Blue hills and Italian build- 
 ings form the background or distance, and in front are some 
 trees and figures. 
 
 In selecting his subjects for landscape Muller appears 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 15 
 
 early to have considered whether the “lines were right” in chap. 11. 
 composition, and, if wrong, he would turn away and look else- 1831—1834. 
 where for a subject; or else he would so alter the arrange- 
 ment that the principal objects were easily grouped in the 
 right position. In painting interiors a broad arrangement of 
 light and shade seems always to have been the first considera- 
 tion with him : no one knew better than Muller that it was 
 not true art, when painting landscape from nature, to sit down 
 and copy, or endeavour to imitate, all that was before you. 
 
 Some may consider that the practice of arrangement and 
 selection to which I have referred may be dangerous for young 
 artists. With respect to beginners who have not sufficiently 
 educated their eye, or fully cultivated the imitative faculty, 
 this may be true ; but W. Muller was beyond that, even at 
 this early period of his career. 
 
 It is well known that he always painted with his left hand, 
 although he used his right hand in writing. His facility of 
 handling was so great, his execution (originally learned from 
 J. B. Pyne) so rapid, that he was enabled eventually to do an 
 amazing amount of work in a short time. This will be more 
 fully described later in the book, when I come to relate the 
 time Muller took to paint some of his most celebrated pictures. 
 
 It may be said that this rapidity was attended with some draw- 
 backs ; be that as it may, it was an essential part of Muller’s 
 character as an artist even from a very early period in his life, 
 and as such I have ventured to draw attention to it here. 
 
 In the autumn of 1831 the Bristol riots occurred. It was 
 on the night of October 30th in that year that such fearful 
 devastation took place; when the Custom House, Bishop’s 
 Palace, and Mansion House were gutted and burnt. William 
 Muller and his young brother Edmund were up all night in 
 the streets, and witnessed nearly all the destruction caused 
 by the rioters. Edmund was so fortunate on that night as to 
 be the means of saving some valuable deeds, which were 
 thrown out of the windows of a lawyer’s office into the street. 
 
1 6 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ii. \\q Muller made several clever sketches of the scenes of 
 
 1831—1834. conflagration and ruin ; such as “ Rioting in Queen’s 
 Square,” “ The Remains of the Mansion House,” “ Ruins of 
 the Custom House,” with the bare and broken columns 
 standing; also “Removing the Prisoners at night to the 
 Gaol,” with the glare of burning buildings all around. This 
 latter sketch, as regards movement and effect of light and 
 shade, is very clever. Mr. E. G. Muller has still several of 
 these rough graphic sketches in his possession. The most 
 interesting, however, of the drawings by Muller, suggested 
 by the Bristol riots, which I have seen, is in the collection of 
 Mr. Reveley, of Bryn-y-gwin, Dolgelley ; it is dated 1832, 
 and represents the interior of an old house in Bristol where 
 the loot, or plunder, was secreted, and afterwards discovered 
 by the police. Rich red and crimson carpets, damask fur- 
 niture, and other valuable articles, are piled together in an 
 antique-looking room ; opposite a fireplace, with a fine high 
 carved mantel-piece, a poor woman is seated nursing a child; 
 in the corner of the room a staircase is indicated, with a 
 window on the first landing, down which a ray of light is 
 streaming into the room. The whole is masterly, and full of 
 powerful, warm shadows, like a picture by one of the early 
 masters. For this drawing, which is remarkable as the work 
 of a man aged nineteen or twenty, Mr. Reveley’ s father only 
 paid, at the time, ten shillings ! At the present day it would, 
 doubtless, sell readily for one hundred to one hundred and 
 fifty guineas. At this time, or soon afterwards — namely, at 
 the beginning of the year 1833 — Muller was painting 
 interiors and other subjects in oil, for which he obtained 
 about one to five pounds each. Mr. Reveley says that he 
 remembers the Rev. John Eaden purchasing one for the 
 latter sum : a rich and powerful interior, with two figures 
 near a fireplace ; quite a Rembrandt in effect. And Mr. 
 Reveley relates that he endeavoured, but in vain, to persuade 
 his father also to buy one or two of Muller’s oil-pictures. 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 17 
 
 Muller was very young' at this time, and of a sanguine yet chap. ii. 
 merry temperament; one of the peculiarities of which was 1831—1834. 
 (as already remarked by me in the introductory chapter) that 
 he had great enjoyment in practical jokes. These sometimes 
 occasioned a little annoyance to his young friends, although 
 they well knew there was no malice in them. He was fond, 
 also, of spinning yarns, as the sailors call travellers’ tales. 
 
 In these he gave the reins to his vivid imagination, and then 
 expressed great astonishment at his wonderful stories being 
 believed. 
 
 On one occasion Muller and one or two of his youthful 
 companions went to spend an evening with a young friend 
 who lived in Bristol with his mother, and whom we will 
 designate as “ Mr. Jones.” He was rather a butt, and 
 Muller played off a joke on him in this wise. Being shown 
 into a parlour up-stairs, Muller suddenly asked Jones to fetch 
 something which he wished to see. Directly he was gone, 
 
 Muller, who had come prepared with a brush and a little 
 paint, drew a sharp diagonal line across the mirror, placed 
 over the mantel-piece, which he knew was much prized by 
 the Jones family. When his host re-entered the room, Muller 
 put on a rueful expression of countenance, and said, “ Oh, 
 
 Jones! I have had such a misfortune. I can hardly tell 
 you,” and pointed at the looking-glass. “ Oh, dear! What 
 will my mother say?” And down Jones rushed to tell her. 
 
 Presently they heard poor Mrs. Jones slowly ascending the 
 stairs, and saying, “ I would not have had that glass broken 
 for anything; it has been so long in my family. But 
 misfortunes will sometimes happen, you know, my dear.” 
 Meanwhile Muller had entirely removed all trace of the 
 paint, and thus obliterated the imaginary crack. When the 
 old lady entered she looked anxiously at the glass, and after 
 standing amazed for a moment, she turned sharply on her 
 innocent son, and accused him with having hoaxed her, 
 much to the merriment of the rest of the party. 
 
 c 
 
# 
 
 1 8 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. ii. On another occasion, Muller used to relate, that he and 
 
 ,831— 1S34. two or three of his young friends — scarcely more than lads — 
 went out to sketch in the neighbourhood of Bristol. On 
 their way home they had to pass a village-inn with a 
 swinging sign, “The Black Swan,” painted on a signboard. 
 Muller had his gun or rifle with him, and as they approached 
 the inn his companions chaffed him about his shooting, and 
 told him he could not hit the “Swan.” Muller, regardless 
 of consequences, immediately fired at it, and hit the swan 
 through the body, making the signboard swing at a great 
 rate, and alarming the landlord, who came rushing out, very 
 angry, to see what was the matter. He found a group 
 of young men convulsed with laughter ; who, however, 
 eventually succeeded in appeasing his wrath, and “ making 
 things pleasant.” 
 
 Such matters as I have related above may be deemed by 
 some of my readers as too trivial to introduce in a bio- 
 graphy; but they tend to illustrate what the French call 
 gaiete de coeur, which was a marked characteristic of Muller 
 in his early years. 
 
 In March, 1832, Muller visited Tortworth Park, about 
 fifteen miles from Bristol, where he remained a few days, and 
 made several sketches. He made a finished drawing this 
 year, “ The Relief-Board at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital,” 
 21 in. by 16 in., now in the possession of Mr. Llewellyn. It is 
 rich in colour, and full of figures ; many of the recipients of the 
 charity are represented in gay and flaunting costumes, thus 
 indicating an alleged abuse in the distribution of the alms. 
 On one side a tent or awning appears to have been erected, 
 in order to protect from rain or snow those who were 
 waiting to take their turn. The building, which is of the 
 Tudor style of architecture, is beautifully drawn. The fault 
 of the drawing is, that it wants more “ point,” which some- 
 what mars the general effect. Another of Muller’s highly 
 finished drawings of the same date (1832) is called “Rustic 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 19 
 
 Courtship,” and represents the interior of a barn or stable, Chap. ii. 
 with two horses and a white goat on one side — cpiite an 1831— 1834. 
 Ostade subject ; near the centre is a window, through which 
 a country lass is looking in, and resting her arm on the sill ; 
 close by, but inside, a young man is leaning forwards, appa- 
 rently much interested. Several rural implements are intro- 
 duced in the foreground, and the colour and arrangement 
 of light and shade are agreeable. These drawings evince 
 ability as well as earnest work ; but the handling is less 
 vigorous and rapid than in his later works. 
 
 At the end of this year, or early in 1833, several young 
 artists living in Bristol formed a sketching-club, or society 
 for drawing once a week at each other’s houses. It con- 
 sisted of about eight members, and included William Muller, 
 
 Skinner Prout, Brittain Willis, Robert Tucker, Samuel Jack- 
 son, T. L. Rowbotham, W. West, and William Evans — known 
 in London as “Welsh” Evans. The drawings were all 
 from imagination (a word being generally given), and they 
 were left with the member at whose house the meeting 
 was held, each house being visited in succession. I have 
 seen some of the sketches made by Muller on these 
 occasions ; although slight, they are spirited and full of 
 imagination, and so rapid was he at this time that he used 
 generally to make two sketches in an evening. The pro- 
 gramme was “tea and chat” at six; at seven all set to 
 work, ready strained drawing-boards being provided before- 
 hand at each house. Sepia, or various shades of grey, were 
 generally used, although oil-colours were occasionally intro- 
 duced. At nine a simple supper was served — cold meat, 
 cheese, and beer, with pipes afterwards till eleven, at which 
 hour the party broke up. 
 
 After a year or two, towards Christmas, more luxurious 
 suppers gradually crept in — turkeys, plum puddings, &c. — 
 evidently a mistake, for my informant states that from that 
 time the society fell off, and the members declined. Mr. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 n - Prout relates that on one occasion, arriving a little before the 
 1834- others at Hill’s Bridge Parade, he discovered his friend 
 Muller in the kitchen with his coat off just finishing a plum 
 pudding. The pudding was pronounced a success ; but it 
 may have helped to set a bad example. 
 
 In the summer months, instead of meeting in-doors, the 
 members used to take excursions together to Leigh Woods, 
 or some spot in the neighbourhood of Bristol, and there 
 spend the afternoon and evening in sketching from nature. 
 
 The Mr. West referred to above continued to be a friend 
 of Muller’s as long as he lived. He resided in an old, dis- 
 mantled windmill on Clifton Downs, close to St. Vincent’s 
 Rocks, and, being very fond of optics and astronomy, he 
 turned his residence, at his own expense, into an observatory 
 (well known now as the Clifton Observatory), and this was 
 furnished by Mr. West with a camera, excellent reflecting 
 telescopes, and an astronomical clock. He never discon- 
 tinued his profession of a landscape painter, however, and in 
 his latter years was celebrated for his Scandinavian subjects, 
 having made one or two journeys to the North of Europe to 
 sketch the scenery of Norway and Sweden. He represented 
 rocky foregrounds, with foaming torrents and waterfalls, and 
 mountainous backgrounds, vigorously and with much effect. 
 
 In the autumn of 1831 new London Bridge was opened, 
 and directly afterwards the destruction of the picturesque old 
 bridge was commenced. Muller made some sketches in 
 London in 1832 fora large oil-picture of this subject, which 
 he commenced to paint for .the Academy. When partly 
 finished he found that he required some more details ; so he 
 started off by the night mail-coach from Bristol one evening 
 (the rail did not exist in those days), sketched in London 
 all day, and returned home the same evening, travelling 
 again all night — a fair example of his energy and enterprise 
 when the pursuit of art was in question. 
 
 This picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1833, 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 21 
 
 No. 975 in the catalogue, and called “ Destruction of Old 
 London Bridge,” by T. Muller, Hill’s Bridge Parade, Bristol. 
 This was the first work he exhibited in the Academy, and it 
 was hung in the Library too high to be well seen. The time 
 chosen for the picture was morning, the tone being grey and 
 silvery, like one of Callcott’s early works. The bridge does 
 not occupy a too prominent place, a large part being devoted 
 to the river, with boats and shipping ; its size was about 
 5 ft. by 3 ft. 
 
 In the winter of 1832-33 Mr. Reveley, who has already 
 been referred to as possessing one of the drawings made 
 by Muller after the Bristol riots, accompanied his father to 
 Clifton. There, at the house of Mr. James Bulwer, they 
 made the acquaintance of Muller. Mr. Reveley, senior, 
 purchased some of the young artist’s sketches, and, although 
 not in the habit of teaching, Muller was induced, as a favour, 
 to give Mr. Reveley’s son, Mr. Hugh J. Reveley, six lessons 
 in water-colour drawings. The latter had made a youthful 
 sketch of a tree, blasted by lightning in the Dolgelley 
 Valley. This Muller took as the subject for one of his 
 lessons, and in the course of two hours he produced a 
 masterly and powerful drawing of the blasted tree, with a 
 dead stag at its roots and a fine wooded background, which 
 I have seen at Bryn-y-gwin. It is very interesting as showing 
 what Muller could at this date produce with so much ease. 
 In the same collection is a finely coloured view in the Con- 
 way Valley, with a figure driving cows, made by Muller in 
 the summer of 1833. 
 
 In the spring of 1833, early in May, Muller made a short 
 sketching excursion to South Wales, which was reached 
 quickly and cheaply by the steamboats from Bristol. He 
 made Neath his head-quarters, having some friends there. 
 Some of his sketches made on this occasion, which I have 
 seen, are “ Waiting for the Ferry-boat at the Canal going 
 to Neath,” “Port Neath, Vale of Neath;” also “Newcastle 
 
 Chap. II. 
 1831 — 1834. 
 
22 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ii. j n Emlyn, on the Banks of the Teify.” These sketches are 
 1831— 1834. a ll f ree and effective, but without colour. 
 
 Muller had never yet visited North Wales, a country which 
 he liked especially and often frequented in after-years, 
 calling it our “English Switzerland;” but in June, 1833, 
 he planned a walking tour through part of Cardiganshire, 
 Merioneth, and Carnarvonshire, with his friends Skinner 
 Prout and Jackson. They started from Bristol by the steam- 
 boat to Swansea, and then took coach by Llandilo and 
 Llanbedr to Aberystwith, where they stayed a day, and 
 sketched the curious old wooden pier at the entrance of 
 the old harbour, and other objects. Early on the morning 
 of the 27th of June they shouldered their knapsacks, and, 
 with folios under their arms, walked to the Devil’s Bridge to 
 breakfast. Delighted with the grand scenery in that neigh- 
 bourhood, they halted there for some hours, and then walked 
 on to Machynlleth, which they reached late at night after 
 a walk of about forty miles. Here Jackson separated for a 
 time from the others. The following morning Muller and 
 Prout took the skilfully constructed road leading to Cader 
 Idris, which winds through very picturesque hollows and 
 between richly wooded hills. After viewing the beautiful 
 lake of Llyn Tal-y-Llyn, they shortly reached the base of 
 Cader Idris, which they ascended as far as the elevated lake 
 called Llyn y Cae. This little mountain lake is situated in a 
 deep hollow, surrounded by dark, precipitous volcanic rocks. 
 By the edge of the tarn they rested and sketched, and 
 whilst thus occupied William Muller turned to his friend and 
 told him that that day (the 28th June, 1833) was his twenty- 
 first birthday — a circumstance often referred to afterwards. 
 In the afternoon they walked on through picturesque passes 
 across the mountains to Dolgelly. They slept there, and 
 the following day, after sketching a water-mill near Dolgelly 
 and views of the valley, they walked on past Llanilltyd by 
 the mountainous road (one of the finest in North Wales) to 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 23 
 
 Trawsffynydd, a village situated on an elevated moorland, chap. ii. 
 This road skirts a river, on which are several waterfalls — 1831— 1834. 
 Rhaidr Du, Rhaidr Mawdach, and Pistyll-y-Cayne (the fall 
 of the Cain) — of some of which Muller made sketches 
 In the inn at this primitive village only Welsh was spoken, 
 and the travellers had some difficulty in making their 
 wants known by signs. It was a wild and rather dreary 
 spot, surrounded by peat bogs, and shut in by distant 
 mountain-tops. After sleeping there, they obtained a guide 
 the next morning and walked by unfrequented, rocky paths, 
 and through wild and lonely fastnesses, across the mountains 
 to Harlech, which they reached on the last day of June. 
 
 The 1 st of July was spent in that artist’s paradise, old 
 Harlech, with its ruined castle overlooking Cardigan Bay 
 and the estuary of Trawth-Mawr, and bounded by the dis- 
 tant Snowdon range. Here some excellent sketches were 
 obtained, and on the following day they proceeded through 
 Maentwrog and Tan-y-bwlch and over the mountain-road 
 (the one which Copley Fielding preferred to all others in 
 Wales) to Pont-Aber, Glas-lyn, and Beddgelert, when they 
 again halted. On the 3rd they walked under Snowdon by 
 Llyn y Gader and Llyn Cwellyn to Nant-mill. This water- 
 mill is finely situated, and had a very picturesque old wheel, 
 surrounded by water-plants and old timber. Muller was 
 so much delighted with it that he not only stayed to sketch 
 it on his way to Carnarvon, but the following day he walked 
 back from Carnarvon, about eight miles, to make a very 
 careful study in oils of the mill-wheel with its surroundings. 
 
 One or two days were spent in Carnarvon. Edward I.’s 
 Tower, and other portions of the castle, were sketched, and 
 they then walked up the Vale of Llanberis to the lake, 
 making a careful study of the interior of the old Welsh 
 Church of Llanberis en route. In the afternoon they pro- . 
 ceeded to the north side of the valley, and there, perched on 
 the hill-side underneath Mr. Asheton Smith’s slate-quarries, 
 
-4 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. ii. and overlooking the lakes, the Tower of Dolbadern, and the 
 1831—1834. Snowdon range, Muller made a very careful study, which 
 afterwards served him as the subject for several drawings. 
 
 They next proceeded through the Llanberis pass to Capel- 
 Curig and Bettws-y-Coed. Here Jackson joined them again, 
 and they stayed two nights, and visited the Conway Falls, 
 the Lledr Bridge and Pandy Mill on the Machno. Whilst 
 passing along the lofty cliffs overhanging the Conway Falls 
 the young artists amused themselves by hurling stones and 
 bits of rock into the foaming torrent below, showing that 
 they still retained some of the frolic and mischief of boyhood. 
 
 From Bettws they walked through Llanrwst, Trefriew, and 
 Pont Dolgorrog, and so, following the course of the river 
 Conway, arrived at the ancient town of that name. Muller 
 was much struck with the beauty of this part of Wales, 
 which abounds in fine subjects for the brush, and he deter- 
 mined to revisit it, which he did more than once in after- 
 years. A day was spent here, and Muller made several 
 studies of the castle, and also of the walls of the town, 
 castle, and estuary as viewed from the adjoining heights. 
 This was on the 8th of July. Muller painted one or two 
 pictures of this subject. Whilst at Conway he also made 
 a water-colour sketch of the interior of a cottage, with a 
 rude bedstead, chest of drawers, &c., and an old woman 
 sitting before the fire. He liked these Welsh interiors, and 
 painted several of them. On the 9th they walked on by 
 Penmaen-Mawr to Bangor. They had intended to take the 
 mail-coach the same evening from Bangor to Holyhead ; but 
 on its coming up they found to their dismay that it was quite 
 full, inside and out. As they wished to start the next morn- 
 ing by the mail-boat for Dublin, although already tired, they 
 made up their minds to walk on across the Isle of Anglesey 
 during the night. A long and dreary walk they found it; and 
 reaching Holyhead at a very early hour, before any of the 
 inns were open, they were forced to remain loitering about 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 25 
 
 the streets till the hour when they were permitted to go on Chap ~ il 
 board the steamer. They landed safely at Kingstown, after l8 3 r i 8 34- 
 a prosperous passage, on the afternoon of the 10th of July, 
 and lost no time in proceeding on to Dublin. This was 
 Muller’s first and only visit to Ireland, and he made good 
 use of his time by visiting the sights of Dublin, including 
 the Museum of Pictures, which was then open. Prout relates 
 that Muller had taken his folio of sketches into the picture- 
 gallery, and had placed it on a bench whilst looking at the 
 pictures. Meanwhile a lady came up, and seeing the folio, 
 opened it, and began to turn the sketches over and examine 
 them without asking leave. Muller, turning round and 
 seeing what was going on, said, in his quick, decided 
 manner, “Look, Prout. That’s impudent, isn’t it?” Which 
 put a sudden stop to the inspection. Had leave been asked, 
 
 Muller would have been the first to grant it in a courteous 
 manner ; but it was a part of his peculiar temperament to 
 notice the slightest attempt on the part of any one to take a 
 liberty. Muller does not appear to have made any sketches 
 in Ireland, and after a few days they embarked on board the 
 steamboat direct for Bristol, and arrived safely at home again 
 by the middle of July. Most of Muller’s sketches made 
 during this trip were in pencil, but several were also in 
 water-colours. 
 
 About 1832 or 1833 W. Muller and several other young 
 artists, picture-restorers, &c., were occasionally in the 
 habit of meeting at the Artichoke tavern, in St. Augustin’s 
 Back, of an evening. It was kept by a jovial man — Bob 
 Hardcastle by name — who used to drive the old Barnstaple 
 mail-coach. It was about this time — the end of 1833 or 
 beginning of 1834 — that Mr. Charles Hawker, of Aris’s 
 Gazette office, Birmingham — who when travelling on business 
 occasionally visited Bristol — saw there, in a frame-maker’s 
 window, one or two small oil-pictures, bright yet powerful. 
 
 He inquired who had painted them, and whether they were 
 
26 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ii. for sale. He was told that they had only been sent to be 
 
 1831— 1834. framed ; but being recommended to call on the artist, W. 
 
 Muller, at Hill’s Bridge Parade, he did so, and there saw 
 several more pictures. Although he liked them, he hesitated 
 to inquire the price, having only a very small amount of 
 money to spare. He, however, expressed his admiration for 
 a small upright landscape that stood on the mantel -piece 
 unframed ; and he was surprised when Muller said that its 
 price was half-a-guinea. Muller, moreover, explained that it 
 had only taken him one day to paint it, and that he valued 
 his time then at about half-a-guinea a day for studio work ; 
 but soon afterwards he increased it to a guinea a day. 
 Hawker carried the little picture home with him with great 
 satisfaction ; for he was not only a true lover but a good 
 judge of good art. This, I am informed, was the first picture 
 painted by Muller which ever appeared in Birmingham ; a 
 town where so many of his finest works were purchased and 
 admired in after-years. I may add that many of these 
 passed through the hands of Charles Hawker, including the 
 “ Prayers in the Desert,” and that David Cox, whenever he 
 visited Birmingham, before he had taken up his abode at Har- 
 borne, used to give him a call, to look at anything he might 
 happen to have of Muller’s. Thus the works of Muller began 
 to be known very early in the “ workshop ” of England. 
 
 About the year 1832 or 1833 Mr. George A. Fripp, the 
 well-known artist, who was a native of Bristol, began to turn 
 his attention to landscape art as a profession ; and he soon 
 became a friend and sketching companion of Muller’s. Mr. 
 Fripp tells me that he distinctly remembers that Muller 
 excelled very early in painting interiors after the manner of 
 the Dutch artists, his admiration for Ostade and Rembrandt 
 being unbounded. This is confirmed by the picture of the 
 interior, showing the plunder obtained at the riots, painted 
 by Muller in 1832, to which I have already referred. A 
 subject which Muller was fond of representing was a large 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 
 
 27 
 
 oak-panelled parlour, with high mantel-piece, ornamented Chap - n - 
 ceiling, and old oak furniture, such as used to exist in old- 1831— 1834. 
 fashioned English manor-houses. Some figures were intro- 
 duced, such as a cavalier reading, or a page amusing himself 
 with greyhounds or a mastiff ; the predominant colours 
 being rich yellows and siennas, plenty of dark shadows, and 
 a ray of light streaming down through a high oriel or 
 latticed window. Anything in which there was a little touch 
 of romance, or which carried back the thoughts to a bygone 
 age, had always a charm for Muller. About this time his 
 imagination was excited by reading the life of Benvenuto 
 Cellini, written by himself in the sixteenth century, and 
 translated from the original Tuscan by Thomas Nugent. 
 
 The doings of that energetic, talented, but rather wild and 
 erratic artist appeared to seize hold of Muller’s mind and 
 stir his ambition. There was, doubtless, something in the 
 brave, daring, and persevering temperament of Cellini, and 
 his narrative of his hair-breadth escapes and adventures, 
 which found a ready response in the ardent character of 
 young Muller. This book, perhaps, helped to turn his 
 thoughts more especially in the direction of Italy, whither 
 the bent of his art-studies had already partially directed them, 
 and thus paved the way for the journey he shortly afterwards 
 undertook to that country. 
 
 In December, 1833, Muller went with some young friends 
 to stay at Cheddar, in Somersetshire ; of which place Mr. 
 
 Eagles has thus written : — “ The rocks at Cheddar are in 
 character the finest, and in places they are perfectly preci- 
 pitous to a depth of perhaps four hundred feet. They are 
 magnificent in form and colour, and the numerous caverns 
 and holes add much to the sublimity of the scene. Cheddar 
 is certainly much grander than the Pass of Llanberis.” 
 
 Whilst at this place the young artists lighted up the grand 
 perpendicular cliffs with rockets. As the cliffs caught the 
 ascending light they appeared to come forward out of the 
 

 28 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ii. surrounding gloom ; the effect thus produced was startling, 
 
 1831—1834. almost supernatural, and very suggestive as a grand lesson 
 of light and shade. The caverns, too, were lighted up with 
 tow and turpentine ; and William Evans, who was one of the 
 party, was dressed up in the costume of Robinson Crusoe, to 
 serve as a model, and was thus sketched as a suitable denizen 
 of the cave. Driving home on a dark night towards Bristol 
 in a hired carriage, the road being under repair, and Evans 
 driving, the wheels on one side went down into a deep rut or 
 hole, which upset the vehicle, and landed all the party on the 
 bank, breaking the shafts. This obliged them to- return to 
 Cheddar for assistance ; but eventually all was put right, and 
 they reached Bristol in safety, although very late. 
 
 In one of the Cheddar caves a poor labourer and his family 
 had lived for three or four years. Their furniture was of a 
 very primitive kind : an old bedstead of wood and wicker- 
 work, a curious screen, some chairs and a table of the 
 roughest fashion, manufactured by the father, besides several 
 curious utensils, formed the household goods. Of this sub- 
 ject Muller made a sketch representing the old woman 
 washing in the cave, with a little girl standing by her ; 
 and this he lithographed himself in the spring of 1834 — a 
 copy of which is in my possession. 
 
 On the 1st of April, 1834, Muller and Prout made an 
 excursion together to Glastonbury, and remained a few days 
 at the George Inn in that place. Muller made several 
 sketches here, including one of the ruins of the renowned 
 abbe5'. They lighted these ruins up also at night, according 
 to their wont, with turpentine and tow, in order to bring 
 out the old arches, buttresses, and walls into broad lights 
 and shadows ; this was the sort of thing in which Muller 
 greatly delighted. 
 
 When at home at this time he was much engaged in 
 executing small oil-pictures for dealers, especially for Mr. 
 Heath, of Bristol; and in the spring of 1834 Muller painted 
 
THE YOUNG ARTIST IN BRISTOL. 29 
 
 for him a large upright picture, about 4 ft. by 3 ft., of Pandy Chap. ii. 
 Mill on the Machno, from a sketch taken the preceding 1831—1834. 
 summer, and for which he was paid £ 15 . It was a fine 
 subject, and in every respect a good picture, but was 
 afterwards much injured by having a yellowish-brown stain 
 passed all over it by Mr. Heath to give it a look of age. 
 
Chap. III. 
 1834-1835. 
 
 III. 
 
 FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 1834-1835. 
 
 early as the autumn of 1833 Muller said to his 
 young- friend, George Fripp, at Bristol — “ Let us 
 go abroad together, Fripp, next year. We will 
 go to Switzerland for five or six months, and 
 do a lot of sketching.” There is no doubt it was the 
 love for art, and the desire to excel in his profession, which 
 induced Miiller to make the pecuniary sacrifice necessitated 
 by foreign travel, and he happily reaped all the benefit he ex- 
 pected from his first journey to the Continent : the experience 
 thus gained led him to undertake other expeditions more 
 distant and more interesting, as will be described hereafter. 
 The idea having taken possession of Muller’s mind, the 
 subject was discussed and every arrangement made in the 
 spring of 1834, and at the beginning of July the two young 
 artists — Muller, aged twenty-two, and Fripp, one year his 
 junior — started from Bristol by the old “ Regulation” coach 
 for London. Muller was at this time in the full vigour of early 
 manhood : he looked somewhat older than he was, of middle 
 height, flat chested, not particularly broad shouldered, but 
 wiry, well knit, and active. His hands were small, and his 
 fingers long and slender like the hand of an Arab. He had 
 a dark complexion and dark hair (worn long), brown eyes, 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 31 
 
 square forehead, and full massive brows ; the expression of his chap, nr 
 countenance was intelligent, but so resolute that no one who 1834-1835 
 saw him could avoid looking at him twice. Being short 
 sighted, he used an eye-glass, which he applied occasionally 
 to one eye when looking at nature, and then dropped whilst 
 actually engaged in drawing or painting. One eye was brown 
 and one grey, and he used to say jokingly that with one eye 
 he saw colour and with the other he saw form. It is probable 
 that this shortness of sight may have aided Muller to some 
 extent, and may partly account for the broad way in which he 
 viewed nature; I mean, that it assisted him to generalise and 
 mass his subject, and to sink such details as were not essential 
 to the character of the view he wished to represent. He had 
 the happy knack as a sketcher — even in his early days — of 
 seizing at once on the picturesque side of each object and 
 scene. This art, which is only learnt with difficulty by some, 
 appeared to come quite naturally to Muller ; indeed, the 
 amazing facility with which he arranged and mastered the 
 most difficult subjects always surprised his companions. 
 
 This was the man — then scarcely known beyond Bristol — who 
 resolved to work his way upwards to fame, if not to fortune. 
 
 Mr. Fripp, to whom I am indebted for most of the par- 
 ticulars of the journey here to be described, possesses still 
 the sketches which were made by himself during the whole 
 of the time they were out, with the names of the places, and 
 occasionally the dates, jotted down. As these were gene- 
 rally the same subjects as Muller had also sketched, I have 
 been much assisted thereby. Mr. E. G. Muller has also in 
 his possession most of the original sketches made by his 
 brother — at least those in pencil and monochrome, most of 
 the coloured ones having been parted with. The pencil 
 sketches are especially elaborate, with well-marked lights 
 and shadows. They appear to have been rapidly drawn with 
 a broad pencil ; yet none of the delicate markings of archi- 
 tectural subjects are wanting; friezes, capitals, and cornices 
 
32 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap, iii. are a p distinctly given. They are the best pencil sketches 
 1834-1835. I have ever seen. These, and Muller’s passports — fortu- 
 nately preserved — have assisted in clearing up doubtful points 
 and giving accuracy to the narrative. Whilst enumerating the 
 towns visited and routes taken, I fear I may be laying myself 
 open to the charge of being somewhat prolix or tedious ; at 
 the same time there is, I think, a good and sufficient reason 
 for placing these particulars on record. A great many of 
 the places sketched during this tour formed the subjects of 
 the oil-pictures painted by Muller during the next few years. 
 He never again visited any of these countries, except skirting 
 the coast of Italy on his voyages to and from the East, 
 and one journey from Naples to Rome and Civita Vecchia ; 
 and therefore the names of places and dates may be an 
 important clue in deciding as to the authenticity of any 
 pictures of Italian, German, or Swiss subjects attributed to 
 Muller. This is, unfortunately, no needless precaution, as 
 since his death, the value of his works having greatly in- 
 creased, a great many imitations and spurious works have 
 been brought into the market and sold as his. I have 
 myself seen several works assigned to Muller, which I believe 
 — indeed I might add, I am certain — have never been touched 
 by his brush — in some cases called by the names of places 
 that he never visited. 
 
 The day of the young traveller’s departure from Bristol 
 was a little postponed in consequence of Muller’s having 
 undertaken to paint three or four small oil-pictures in the 
 style of Ruysdael, at five guineas each, for Mr. Heath, of 
 Bristol, which he had promised to finish before leaving 
 home. On arriving in London they put up at Webb’s 
 Hotel, in the Regent Circus, near Piccadilly, where they 
 spent a week early in July, saw the picture- exhibitions, 
 obtained passports, and made purchases of drawing materials, 
 &c., for their journey. 
 
 Embarking in the evening of the 12th from St. Katherine’s 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 33 
 
 Wharf, London Bridge, on the steamboat for Antwerp, they Chap - 111 
 entered the Scheldt the following morning; and much de- i 8 34- i8 35 
 lighted Muller was with the Dutch craft and foreign boats 
 on the river (from studies of which he afterwards painted one 
 or two pictures), also with the towers of the Cathedral and 
 churches of Antwerp rising up beyond the distant banks. 
 
 Arrived at Antwerp they lost no time in visiting the cele- 
 brated pictures by Rubens, and other Flemish and Dutch 
 artists, in the Museum, Cathedral, Church of St. Jaques, &c. 
 
 The second day, in walking through the old streets, Muller 
 stopped near the Bourse. Some picturesque Flemish women, 
 with high caps, were seated at stalls in the thoroughfare ; he 
 exclaimed, “ Look there! ” and, procuring a chair, sat down 
 in the middle of the street and commenced sketching the 
 Bourse and its surroundings, old gabled houses with the 
 figure of the Virgin and Child at one corner, market-women, 
 baskets, and jugs. This was Muller’s first sketch abroad, 
 and his companion was much surprised at the manner in 
 which he appeared at once to make himself at home in this 
 public thoroughfare, apparently unconscious of the gazing 
 crowd. 
 
 On the third day (the end of the second week of July, 
 
 1834) they started for Brussels, and arrived there on the 
 15th. They walked through the city, visiting its chief monu- 
 ments, and on arriving at the Place of the Hotel de Ville 
 Muller made a most elaborate sketch of all the architectural 
 details of that fine old Gothic building, with its beautiful 
 ornaments. He also introduced the market-people and stalls 
 in the foreground. The following day they proceeded to 
 Liege, and remained there three days ; for, as Muller ex- 
 pressed it, there was “excellent stuff” for pictures on both 
 sides of the river and amongst the old buildings. Of the 
 sketches at Liege, one, the cloisters of an old church with 
 figures, was especially telling. 
 
 All the sketches made in Belgium were in black-lead 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. iii. pencil on white or tinted paper ; but they opened their 
 1834-1835. colour-boxes occasionally after arriving on the banks of the 
 Rhine. 
 
 From Liege they proceeded, on the 18th, to Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, visited the minster commenced by Charlemagne, 
 where he lies buried, and also the Gothic Town Hall, which 
 contains the portraits of the plenipotentiaries who signed the 
 treaty of peace there. A few sketches were made in that 
 ancient city, and they did not stop again till they arrived at 
 Cologne. Here Muller set to work sketching the boats, 
 barges, and rafts on the river (subjects of which he was 
 always very fond), also the towers and fine old buildings 
 seen from its banks. The swift-flowing Rhine charmed him 
 by its grandeur and varied scenery. He, however, found 
 himself rather at fault in his knowledge of German, and 
 Fripp was no better off in that respect, although he knew 
 more French ; they therefore began to be afraid that they 
 might have to pay dearer for many things in consequence, 
 or, as they termed it, be fleeced, and they knew, moreover, 
 how important it was to look to small economies ; for their 
 resources were very moderate, and they had a long journey 
 in prospect. So, addressing his companion, Muller said, 
 “ Fripp, we shall certainly be victimised for want of experi- 
 ence and knowledge of the language ; let us put on students’ 
 attire, a blouse, with caps and knapsacks, and walk along the 
 banks of the Rhine, sketching as we go.” 
 
 After a short consultation this course was determined on ; 
 the necessary articles were purchased in Cologne, the knap- 
 sacks packed, the tobacco-pouches filled, and, taking the 
 steamer as far as Konigswinter, they landed there in the 
 guise of poor students, and sent their luggage on in the 
 steamboat as far as Coblentz. 
 
 Konigswinter, as is well known, is a small town at the 
 commencement of the beautiful scenery of the Rhine. After 
 ascending the Drachenfels by the path which winds through 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 35 
 
 vineyards and woods, and sketching on their way up, Muller chap. nr. 
 was so exhilarated by the scenery, that on returning to the 1834-1835. 
 inn to supper a bottle of the host’s best Riidesheim was 
 ordered, and so much enjoyed that a second was called for. 
 
 The charm, however, had fled with the first bottle. “ Ah ! ” 
 said Muller, “ that is always the way ; they give you good 
 wine at first, to tempt you on, and then follows what is 
 scarcely worth drinking ! ” 
 
 Konigswinter afforded one or two good subjects by the 
 river. They sketched one day in the neighbourhood of the 
 “Seven Mountains,” and then crossed the Rhine in a 
 rowing-boat to Rolandseck. From this point they started 
 on their walking excursion up the left bank of the river, one 
 of their first halting-places being Remagen ; thence on to 
 Andernach, where they arrived late and very tired, for the 
 day had been tremendously hot. Having swallowed a hasty 
 supper, and been ushered into a double-bedded room, Fripp 
 jumped into bed, turned over, and went off “ like a shot,” as 
 he expressed it. Early the next morning, when he awoke 
 quite refreshed, he was greatly surprised to see Muller at 
 the window, only half dressed, sketching away in his shirt- 
 sleeves. “Halloa, Muller!” he exclaimed, “ what are you 
 doing there? Have you not been sleeping?” “Sleeping, 
 indeed ! ” rejoined Muller with an accent of disgust. “ If 
 you have slept with that tremendous noise of diligences, &c., 
 going on all night underneath our room — if you have slept 
 through that, I say, Fripp, you will certainly require an extra 
 trumpeter at the day of judgment.” They had unfortunately 
 occupied a room over an archway leading into a courtyard, 
 where the diligences put up, and Muller, who was of a 
 nervous temperament, paid the penalty. Fripp remarked (I 
 may here add) that he never knew so pleasant a fellow to 
 travel with as Muller, for he possessed such a vein of humour 
 and so much observation, that he had something amusing or 
 witty to say on every passing event. 
 
 d 2 
 
36 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. iii. From Andernach they walked on to Coblentz, where they 
 
 1834-1835. arrived on the 27th of July, having crossed the Mosell'e. 
 
 They remained at Coblentz a day or two, sketched Ehren- 
 breitstein, the two bridges over the Rhine, and the interior 
 of a chapel with a figure, and wandered through the narrow 
 and picturesque streets of this famous old city. 
 
 At Coblentz they embarked for St. Goar, and remained 
 a week at that spot — reputed the most beautiful on the banks 
 of the Rhine. Here they made the most of their time ; 
 several sketches of the Castle of Rheinfels, of the Katz and 
 Maus Castles, and of the adjacent valleys, were the result. 
 A sketch by Muller from the hill above St. Goar-Hausen is 
 especially beautiful. It represents the ruined Katz Tower, 
 with the fine rock on which it stands ; below is a raft passing 
 down the Rhine, which carries the eye across to the pic- 
 turesque town of St. Goar, with the Castle of the Rheinfels 
 crowning the distant heights. Another sketch represents 
 an old, frail bridge spanning a gully, with a portion of the 
 same castle. In the centre of this bridge stands the figure 
 of the Virgin and Child. Muller’s characteristic and practical 
 remark on this was, that “ the good people would have 
 displayed more common sense, if they had built a better 
 bridge and had omitted the Virgin.” 
 
 From St. Goar to Mayence they took the steamer again, 
 passing rapidly that portion of the Rhine which is so rich 
 in feudal castles and suspicious- looking strongholds. They 
 remained but a very short time at Mayence, and left on the 
 3rd of August for Frankfort, a city so full of interest to all 
 travellers; but Muller only spent one day there, being anxious 
 to reach Heidelberg, of which he had heard so much. 
 
 Here they made a more prolonged sojourn, explored some 
 of the scenery of the Neckar, and made several sketches of 
 the grand old ruined castle, probably the finest in Germany : 
 one of the terrace and principal facade of the castle is 
 full of careful detail. Another interesting sketch at Heidel- 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 37 
 
 berg was of the interior of a German cottage, very pleasing Chap. hi. 
 in composition. From this Muller afterwards painted a 1834-1835. 
 picture rich in colour, which was in the collection of Mr. 
 
 Charles Meigh, of Hanley. 
 
 They next took the diligence for Strasburg, passing 
 through part of the Black Forest, and they halted there to 
 sketch the ancient fir-trees, which delayed them a day 
 They spent a short time at Strasburg, visited the Cathedral, 
 in the interior of which Muller sketched a fine column adorned 
 with sculptured figures. He also sketched the tower of the 
 Cathedral, with some old houses, as seen from the canal, and 
 some of the picturesque street-scenes. 
 
 From Strasburg they proceeded to Freyburg, and thence 
 to Schaffhausen, situated about three miles above the great 
 falls of the Rhine. The beauty of this spot had been made 
 familiar by Turner’s pencil to Muller, and he had determined 
 to spend a week there. The town itself was full of curious 
 old houses with fine oriel windows. One of the subjects 
 sketched by Muller from the Lion Hotel I have seen. He 
 also made studies of the cataract rushing over a ledge of 
 rocks, seventy feet sheer descent ! with the old castle of 
 Laufen on the heights above — a sight never to be forgotten. 
 
 Their next place for halting was at Zurich, where they 
 arrived on the 25th of August; it is pleasantly situated at 
 the head of the Swiss lake of that name. They sketched at 
 Zurich for two days — “The Lake, with Ferry Boats,” also 
 the Cathedral of Zurich and part of the town from the lake. 
 
 Next they took the diligence to Rapperschweil and Wesen. 
 
 At the former town Muller made a fine sketch of the Alps 
 rising up in the distance. Between Wesen, the small town 
 on the westernmost end of Lake Wallenstadt, and the village 
 of Wallenstadt at the east end of the lake they spent ten 
 days, and made good use of the beautiful materials all 
 around. The dark waters of the lake, with the lofty cliffs of 
 lime and sandstone bordering its northern shore, the Swiss 
 
58 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. iii. cottages on its banks, the boats, and other incidents, afforded 
 
 1834-1835- rich and varied subjects for Muller’s pencil. Taking the 
 diligence to Coire, and afterwards to Tusis, they crossed the 
 waters of the upper Rhine. Tusis is situated at the entrance 
 of the gorge of the unequalled Via Mala. They shouldered 
 their knapsacks again at this place, and with folios under 
 their arms walked on through the grand scenery of the defile, 
 surrounded by precipices, until they arrived at the village of 
 Splugen, near the head of the Splugen Pass. On his way 
 Muller sketched the falls of the Rhine from the Via Mala ; a 
 fine subject. Here they remained several days; sketched the 
 covered bridge over the Rhine (at this place a pent-up torrent), 
 and several of the chalets, with dark fir-woods surrounding 
 them, also the village and pass of the Splugen; very effective. 
 Fortunately the weather was very fine, and the clearness of 
 the air and the wonderful panorama of Alpine peaks made 
 the days spent here amongst the most delightful of their 
 whole tour. At Splugen Muller engaged a guide, and they 
 walked on up the pass to the summit, seven thousand feet 
 above the sea. Halting now and then to sketch the grand 
 scenery, they proceeded down the Italian side of the pass 
 until they arrived at Chiavenna, where they rejoined their 
 luggage, which had been sent on by carrier to that place. 
 They now deposited their sketches in the drawing-box, made 
 on purpose to hold them, and at the same time replenished 
 their folios with a supply of fresh sheets of paper. It was 
 now the end of August, and, having determined to see the 
 greater part of Italy during the autumn, they remained only 
 one night at Chiavenna, although it nestles under a grand 
 mountain range, and is surrounded by hanging vineyards, 
 whose fruit was then ripening fast. Having skirted the Lake 
 of Como, they took the shortest route for Baveno, by the 
 Lake of Lugano and Laveno. Beautifully situated on Lag-o 
 Maggiore, Baveno is only twenty-five minutes sail from the 
 Isola Bella. Muller was delighted with this place and the 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 39 
 
 bright character of its scenery, and he determined to remain chap. iii. 
 here ten days. Many sketches of Isola Bella and other parts 1834-1835. 
 of the lake were the result, and these formed the subjects of 
 several of his well-known and important pictures painted 
 after his return home. I have also seen some figure-subjects 
 which he sketched here. Leaving Baveno about the middle 
 of September, they travelled, without stopping, to Milan, 
 which they reached on the 19th of September. Here they 
 remained just sufficient time to visit the grand Duomo, with 
 its celebrated monuments and statues, and a few of the most 
 interesting of the other churches, especially that of Santa 
 Maria delle Grazie, attached to which are some conventual 
 buildings, where, in the refectory, is Leonardo da Vinci’s 
 fresco of the Last Supper. Muller used to say that he found 
 that celebrated work “sadly dilapidated.” Before leaving 
 Milan he also made a careful examination of the gallery of 
 the Brera, with its frescoes by Lombardy artists and its very 
 beautiful collection of paintings by old masters. 
 
 Partly walking and partly by diligence they travelled 
 through Brescia and Lonato, and, skirting the Lago di 
 Garda, arrived at Verona. Here they remained one whole 
 day, made a sketch of the ruined forum or amphitheatre 
 on the left bank of the Adige, and, meeting with a 
 gentleman who was willing to join in the hire of a 
 veturino, they proceeded from Verona at a very leisurely 
 rate through the rich plains of Lombardy. The weather 
 was perfect, and the profusion of ripe grapes added to 
 their enjoyment. They halted for a short time at Cenza 
 and Padua, and arrived at Venice on the 29th of September. 
 
 To visit Venice had been the goal of Muller’s ambition for 
 months, if not for years. Most thoroughly did he enter 
 heart and soul into the wondrous time-worn beauty of this 
 floating city, the “Queen of the Adriatic.” They remained 
 in Venice about two months — all October and until the end 
 of the third week of November — located at the Albergo dell’ 
 
40 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. iii. Europa, opposite to the Dogana, and abutting on the Grand 
 1834 1835. Canal. Here they gazed on the Rialto every morning ; and 
 having hired a gondola with an active gondolier, Jacobo by 
 name (who also acted as their general servant), Muller set 
 to work to sketch in earnest. Working up all the private 
 canals, and stopping at the best points of view, most of the 
 sketches made were from the gondola ; and marvellous 
 sketches they are for detail, careful finish, and picturesque 
 effect. The “ Piazza, Place St. Mark,” “The Bridge of 
 Sighs,” “The Dogana and San Salute,” “The Rialto,” the 
 “Back of Titian’s Palace, Venice,” and “ Foscari Palace,” 
 are some of the most beautiful. The latter sketch contains 
 an enormous number of windows most carefully drawn, and 
 at the bottom Mtiller has written this note in pencil, “ Note — 
 When built, no window-tax; but it’s one on the artist.” In 
 addition to sketching, each day was varied by visiting the 
 paintings in the Doge’s Palace and in the other buildings 
 and palaces. Those by Titian and Tintoretto made a deep 
 and lasting impression on Muller, and without doubt greatly 
 influenced his manner of painting, especially during the last 
 few years of his life. It has already been remarked that 
 Muller had great power of imagination ; but he had also 
 cultivated to an unusual degree the faculties of imitation and 
 adaptation : he was a master in many different styles, and 
 could change his style rapidly. He was thus able rapidly 
 to assimilate and make his own a good deal of what was 
 admirable in the canvases of the great masters referred to 
 above, and which are so abundant in the galleries of Venice. 
 When fatigued by their work, or overcome by the heat, they 
 used to take refuge on the Lido, where, walking on that 
 pleasant sandy shore, they were refreshed by the cool sea- 
 breezes blowing up the gulf. Besides the buildings at 
 Venice, the boats, with their picturesque awnings and 
 cargoes, were repeatedly sketched by Muller, and when 
 massed together formed fine foreground objects. 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 41 
 
 At last, on the 22nd of November, Muller and Fripp chap, iii 
 bade adieu to Venice.; they left it with extreme reluctance, 1834-1835 
 although bound for Florence. Having hired a veturino, 
 they proceeded by Rovigo and Ferrara to Bologna, where 
 they made a short halt on the 25th of November, and were 
 much struck with the beauty of the place. They journeyed 
 on thence across the Apennines, and arrived at Florence on 
 the 27th. The art-treasures in the Palazzo Pitti and in the 
 Uffizi Palace, and the fine monumental buildings, so absorbed 
 Muller that he only made one or two sketches during the few 
 days they were able to remain in Florence. But Muller 
 often referred afterwards to the collection in the Pitti Palace, 
 and declared that, with the exception of Venice, nothing in 
 Italy had delighted him so much. On this point, however, 
 his companion, Fripp, remarks that, in truth, Muller liked 
 best those places where he sat and sketched. 
 
 Leaving Florence at the end of November, they travelled 
 to Rome by the usual route, and spent their Christmas there. 
 Sight-seeing absorbed a great part of their time in Rome. 
 
 The treasures of the Vatican and many of the private 
 collections were visited, and the world-renowned monuments 
 and buildings of ancient and modern Rome. In the Forum 
 Muller made one or two sketches, and also one of the Castle 
 of St. Angelo and St. Peter’s from the Tiber. Several 
 sketches in the Campagna of bullocks and bullock-waggons 
 were likewise added to his folio. But Muller was restless to 
 go to Tivoli ; his imagination had been excited by descrip- 
 tions and paintings of the temples, waterfalls, and groves of 
 that classic spot, and nothing in Rome seemed quite to 
 satisfy him, as his heart was set on Tivoli. So one day he 
 said, “I tell you what, Fripp; the olives are ripe; we shall 
 have Tivoli all to ourselves: let us go there at once.” So 
 they hired a trap and started. Truly, they found the fine 
 olive woods still green, and all their own, and no other 
 travellers in the inn. It was delightful weather for painting 
 
42 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. iii. — fine frosty mornings and sunny days — so they sketched 
 
 1834-1835. all day for three weeks ; and on his return home Muller 
 painted some of his celebrated pictures from his Tivoli 
 sketches — “The Sybil’s Temple;” “The Old Roman 
 Aqueduct” — now in ruins; “The Villa de Medicis,” and 
 several views of the cascade of the Teverone. The olive- 
 tree is difficult to paint, but Muller at once mastered its 
 peculiar character, and rendered its gnarled, twisted stems 
 and dark green intricate foliage with great truth. The hills 
 about Tivoli are covered with olives, and myrtles flourish in 
 the hollows. A beautiful view is obtained near Tivoli of the 
 Roman Campagna; but the most charming subject is that of 
 the river Teverone, which throws itself over a precipice and, 
 falling from one rock to another, is lost to sight amidst 
 evergreen groves and wooded hills. They were far advanced 
 into the month of January, 1835, when they returned to 
 Rome. They made but a brief sojourn on this their second 
 visit to the Eternal City, for time pressed, and their purses 
 were getting very light. Calculating that they had just 
 money enough left to take them home, on the 16th of 
 January they started for Civita Vecchia, where they immedi- 
 ately embarked on board the French steamer for Marseilles ; 
 but not without regret on Muller’s part, as he said he saw 
 great capabilities for some good sketching in that port. 
 Indeed, all Italian seaports had great attractions for him, 
 and he painted several such subjects in oil after his return 
 home. 
 
 Their voyage down the coast of Italy was cut short by 
 a great storm, against which their steamer was unable to 
 contend, and, being driven in towards the coast, they found 
 shelter in the port of Leghorn. After waiting there two or 
 three days, as the storm continued, they left for Turin, and 
 then crossing into Switzerland by the Mont Cenis Pass, they 
 arrived at Chambery on the 1st of February. Staying there 
 one day, they took the diligence by Lyons to Paris, which 
 
FIRST JOURNEY ABROAD. 
 
 43 
 
 they reached on the 6th. The following morning they 
 started again for Boulogne, and from thence to Calais they 
 travelled in an old English stage-coach which was running 
 at the time on that road. The weather had become very 
 severe, the ground being covered with snow, and a few 
 stages from Calais they were startled by seeing a large wolf 
 which had just been caught in a trap. Embarking in the 
 steamer at Calais for Dover, they made the best of their 
 way through London to Bristol, and very pleased they both 
 were to find themselves at home again, laden with the spoils 
 of their eight months’ tour. 
 
 Muller had not spared himself in any sense during this 
 journey. Up early and retiring late to bed, he would 
 often play several games of billiards after a hard day’s 
 work. He had so keen a sense of the ludicrous, and was 
 so amusing-, that his society was almost always welcome, and 
 he easily made acquaintances and found companions in the 
 foreign hotels. In sketching, he generally completed a half- 
 imperial sketch in two hours; and Mr. Fripp states that he 
 never knew him take more than three hours for any coloured 
 sketch during the whole of their journey; two and three 
 sketches being frequently made in one day. This extra- 
 ordinary rapidity and facility enabled Muller to master easily 
 the most difficult and elaborate subjects, from which, when 
 time pressed, as it often did on this journey, most artists 
 would have shrunk. He was no sooner settled in at Bristol 
 than he resumed his work in oil, and commenced a series of 
 pictures from the subjects brought home. Several of these 
 pictures will be described as I proceed. 
 
 Chap. Ill 
 1834-1835 
 
IV. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 1835 — 1838. 
 
 ART-LIFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 1835 TO 1 838. 
 
 HE years which intervened between W. Muller’s 
 return from Italy in 1835, an d his departure for 
 Greece and Egypt in 1838, formed a marked 
 epoch in his career. These were passed at Bristol 
 in the practice of his art. When he returned home his mind 
 was well stored with the images of all the grand and beautiful 
 scenery he had passed through, and the remembrance of the 
 masterpieces of art he had seen in Venice and other Italian 
 cities ; and from this period a perceptible change gradually 
 took place in his manner of colouring, which became less 
 hard, and, at the same time, richer and more vigorous. 
 
 I ought, perhaps, to refer more especially here to the 
 influence which the companionship and friendship of the 
 Rev. John Eagles had on Muller during these years. That 
 gentleman had returned from Devonshire about 1834, to 
 reside at Winford, near Bristol, of which place he had 
 obtained the curacy. There Muller was in the habit of 
 visiting him, and sometimes staying a week or ten days 
 in his house : many were the sketches they made together, 
 and the hours they spent in conversing on art. 
 
 Eagles was a man of cultivated tastes, fair literary attain- 
 ments, and considerable art-knowledge, which he loved to 
 

 Vincent Bioriks/Day & Son . 
 
 PROST SCENE, THE GAME-KEEPER. 
 
ART-LIFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 45 
 
 display. The “ Sketcher,” written by him in 1833 and the 
 two following years, appeared first in Blackwood’’ s Magazine ; 
 the papers were afterwards collected and published in 1856, 
 and a very agreeable volume it is. Eagles was devotedly fond 
 of sketching, in which as an amateur he excelled rather than 
 in more finished work. His manner was free and rapid, but 
 wanting in precision. 
 
 Although greatly Muller’s senior, their acquaintance soon 
 ripened into friendship, which ended only with life. Eagles 
 was a great admirer of the old masters, but especially of 
 Gaspar Poussin. He was the inventor, too, of a glass medium 
 in oil-painting, which, although now discarded, was thought 
 well of by several artists for a few years. Muller used it for 
 some time, and experimented with it in various ways, as 
 described in letters to Mr. W. Roberts contained in this 
 volume. 
 
 Occasionally Mr. Eagles took duty in a parish church on 
 the Mendip Hills, or at Brockley Coomb, at which places 
 Muller also visited him. These were pleasant changes for 
 the young men who resided with Eagles as pupils, and he 
 never missed an opportunity of endeavouring to impress on 
 them his own feeling and love for nature and art. 
 
 In one of the last of the papers of the “ Sketcher” contri- 
 buted by Eagles to Blackwood' s Magazine , in the winter of 
 1835-1836, he thus, after describing a glorious frost-scene, 
 refers to W. Muller : — 
 
 “ Mr. Muller, of Bristol, a painter whose proficiency, 
 industry, and ready genius must insure him great success, 
 was with me before that beautiful hoar-frost had departed. 
 We loitered about lanes, which furnished ample scope for 
 observation. Every briary brake was a perfect picture. He 
 has since painted a picture of this character of winter, and he 
 selected it as well from admiration of the effects, as because 
 he thought it would afford him the best opportunity of putting 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 1835-1838. 
 
46 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. iv. to the test a medium, the discovery of a friend of mine, which 
 
 *835—1838. I spoke of in one of the chapters of the ‘ Sketcher.’ 
 
 “ He has admirably succeeded, and was delighted with the 
 facility which it allowed him, and with the unclogged pure 
 look, which was so evident that a peculiar beauty in the 
 texture was noted by many who were unconscious that the 
 picture was not painted with the common materials. To 
 those who can be prejudiced under the idea that the medium 
 is not oil, it may be as well to say that it is, the excellent 
 quality being given to it by its dryer.” 
 
 The picture of Winter referred to above by Mr. Eagles is, 
 
 I believe, the one purchased from Muller, in 1836, by Mr. T. 
 Howe, of Coventry, and still in the possession of his son, the 
 Rev. John Howe, vicar of Knowle, Warwickshire, where I 
 have lately seen it. This picture, signed and dated 1836, is 
 4 ft. by 2 ft. 9 in. It is a fine representation of hoar- 
 frost and ice ; it has a peculiar beauty of texture, and is very 
 silvery and pure in colour. The subject, “ A Norfolk Dyke 
 near the River Yare,” is mentioned in the following letter, 
 written by Muller to Mr. Howe, in acknowledgment of the 
 ^30 received by him in payment for this fine work, and which 
 I will now describe. On the left is an old mill-building with 
 a water-wheel, surmounted by a grand group of leafless trees 
 whose branches are silvered over with hoar-frost. Some pic- 
 turesque outside steps lead up to the door on the second floor 
 of the miller’s house. A ruddy glow shines through the open 
 door, near which a woman is standing. In the corner are 
 bulrushes and other plants, and an old boat is seen partly 
 sunk and frozen into the ice. On the opposite, or left, side of 
 the picture there is an expanse of frozen water, with some 
 small vessels or boats, also a Norfolk village dimly made out 
 in the distance ; and this is admirably managed as regards 
 aerial perspective, so that you feel you are looking far away. 
 On the ice to the left some children are dragging bundles 
 
ART-LIFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 47 
 
 of faggots on a sort of wooden sleigh. The sky is a very chap. iv. 
 quiet grey, with whitish-grey clouds, as if laden with snow. 1835—1838. 
 
 To T. Howe, Esq., Coventry. 
 
 “ 13, Hill’s Bridge Parade, Bristol, 
 
 “ September 19th, 1836. 
 
 “ Sir, — A greeable to your desire, I beg to acknowledge 
 the receipt of £ 30 , the sum due to me for the snow-piece, 
 at the same time to express my thanks for your prompt 
 reply, as also my pleasure at finding my exertions have met 
 with your approval. 
 
 “This, believe me, sir, is a source of much delight; and I 
 need not add, if at any future time you should wish me to 
 paint a companion, in the same manner as I am now doing 
 for my friend, Mr. D. W. Acraman to the snow-piece of his 
 — a summer view — it will be with much satisfaction I will 
 attempt to do my best. With regard to the local situation on 
 the Yare, I ought to have said when last I wrote that, strictly 
 speaking, it is not on that river, although very near, being, in 
 fact, on a Norfolk dyke, yet used for navigation. It is within 
 some few miles of Hardley, which I believe to be the name 
 of the village in the distance ; but, it being some months 
 since I was on the spot, I do not at this moment remember. 
 
 “ I beg to remain, 
 
 “ Your obedient and obliged, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Muller resumed his sketching excursions occasionally with 
 his friend, Skinner Prout, in 1835. At the end of April in 
 that year they went to stay a few days at Culbone, near Mine- 
 head, on the Somersetshire coast, where Lord Lovelace had a 
 seat. Here they painted the interior of a church and several 
 other subjects. It was very cold sketching out of doors, and 
 having lighted a fire of furze, it spread rapidly, to their great 
 alarm, and it was only after some time that they extinguished 
 it with great difficulty, having scorched their hands and 
 
48 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. iv. faces. Wooking-Hole, near Wells, was also visited, on 
 
 1S35 — 1838. account of some caverns there with fine stalactites inside, 
 which Muller delighted to light up. He used also to go into 
 all kinds of old houses, it did not matter how ruinous, to make 
 studies of interiors, for which subjects he always had a great 
 partiality on account of their capabilities for light and shade. 
 
 This summer Prout and Jackson accompanied Muller to 
 Brislington, a few miles from Bristol, to visit a friend of theirs, 
 a Mr. Brown, who kept a boys’ school. It was their host’s 
 birthday, and after dinner they were enjoying themselves very 
 much, drinking healths, &c., when Prout suggested that, to 
 commemorate the day, the three artists should each paint a 
 picture and send it to Brown as a remembrance ; to which they 
 all agreed. Prout’s contribution was soon sent, but Muller 
 postponed his, and for a time the promise was in abeyance, 
 although not forgotten. One day, after some considerable 
 delay, he said that he had never given Brown his picture, so 
 he commenced to work on a large canvas, 4 ft. by 3 ft., 
 and painted a fine view of the Rhine, the Katz Castle, 
 near St. Goar, a silver-grey effect, like a Wilson, and this he 
 gave to his friend. Many years afterwards (when Muller was 
 no longer living) Brown desired to sell it, as he was much in 
 want of money. The picture had had a dark coat of varnish 
 put over it, but that was carefully removed ; and having been 
 sent to London, it was shown to, and immediately purchased 
 by, my cousin, Mr. Horsman Solly, for ^50. 
 
 It was about the year 1835 that Dr. Lant Carpenter, who, 
 as I have already mentioned, had been a friend of Muller’s 
 father, asked William Muller if he would give his daughters 
 some lessons in water-colour drawing. He replied that, 
 although he never undertook to give lessons , he should be 
 happy to call occasionally in George Street, and look over 
 the Miss Carpenters’ drawings. This he did every alternate 
 week for a considerable time, often staying over an hour, 
 and bringing with him drawings of his own in outline and 
 
ART-LIFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 49 
 
 colour to be copied. He also corrected and criticized his Chap. iv. 
 pupils’ drawings, which my informant, Miss Mary Carpenter, 1^35—1838. 
 says he did in a spirited and amusing manner. He remarked, 
 for instance, that he supposed their mountains were meant 
 to represent “rock crystals,” and the foreground trees 
 “bunches of seaweed.” Then, taking a brush, with a few 
 broad washes, and some rapid and firm touches, he would 
 soon harmonize the crude colours, and greatly improve the 
 forms. These visits, as Muller called them, were looked for- 
 ward to eagerly and greatly prized, for, as Miss Carpenter 
 observes, his genius was very remarkable, even at this period. 
 
 Muller declined to make any charge for the instruction given, 
 but some acknowledgment was made afterwards, I under- 
 stand, in the shape of a present. 
 
 Before sending his drawings or paintings to the exhibitions 
 his friends used to call on Muller to see them. One day, 
 several persons having called at the same time, and the 
 studio being rather full, a young man who came late, and 
 whose name was not familiar to Muller, was asked to wait in 
 an upstairs room. After his other visitors had left, Muller 
 asked the young man (who was quite a gentleman in appear- 
 ance) in what he could serve him. “ Mr. Muller,” he replied, 
 
 “ I am come to ask a very great favour : will you give me 
 some lessons in painting ? ” Muller expressed his regret that 
 he could not do so, explaining that he never gave lessons. 
 
 On hearing this refusal the young man burst into tears, say- 
 ing that he felt his life a burden to him for want of an occu- 
 pation ; that he was possessed of ample fortune, but that he 
 had set his heart on becoming an artist, and that if Muller 
 would not help him he should be without hope. As Muller 
 expressed it, he could not help feeling contempt at this 
 avowal : a spirit so self-reliant as his could not sympathize 
 with such apparent weakness in another, and after telling his 
 visitor the titles of a few books on drawing, perspective, and 
 painting, which he recommended him to read, he bade him 
 
 E 
 
SO LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. iv. good-bye. Muller related this anecdote himself to Miss 
 
 i8 35 -1838. Carpenter. On one occasion Muller exhibited in the Bristol 
 Institution a picture of “ Lake Wallenstadt.” It was a fine 
 piece of colour, with a range of snowy mountains in the dis- 
 tance. Miss Carpenter not long afterwards visited Switzer- 
 land, and on proceeding down Lake Wallenstadt she felt 
 disappointed at seeing neither mountains nor snow, remem- 
 bering how much she had admired them in Muller’s picture. 
 On her return home, she told Muller that she considered him 
 a “ deceiver; ” that she had traversed the whole length of 
 the lake in a steamer, and had seen nothing of his snowy 
 mountains. “ In a steamer, indeed ! ” exclaimed Muller, with 
 an amused and somewhat contemptuous expression ; “ no 
 wonder, if you went by steam , that the mountains should have 
 disappeared ! ” 
 
 From the sketches made by Muller during his tour on the 
 Continent, a great number of oil-pictures were rapidly pro- 
 duced. He made up his mind what he would do, commenced 
 at the top of the canvas, and painted all in quickly and with- 
 out hesitation. Besides a great many small works, sold 
 principally to dealers, he completed many large ones in this 
 rapid manner, never occupying more than three or four days 
 over each, as Mr. Fripp, who frequented his studio at that 
 time, says he distinctly recollects. Mr. Fripp adds that he 
 recollects also that whenever he entered Muller’s studio 
 there was always some new picture just painted, wet on 
 
 the easel, either ordered or sold. This rapid work enabled 
 
 ■ 
 
 Muller, although his prices were so low, to obtain what was 
 then considered a good income for an artist, about £$ 00 
 a year ; but as he was always open-handed, and spent a 
 good deal in travelling, he laid by but little. Muller 
 painted several large pictures of Tivoli, chiefly uprights, 
 four, five, and six feet high, also views on the Rhine — 
 the “Via Mala ” and “ Pass of the Splugen.” One of 
 the important works painted at this period was the “ Doge’s 
 
ART-I.IFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 5 1 
 
 Palace, Venice,” a long picture about 5 ft. 6 in., and rather chap. iv. 
 narrow ; a great concourse of people were represented on 1835— 1838. 
 the quay, bright in colour, and full of detail. This was 
 for some time in the collection of Mr. H. Bradley, at Lea- 
 mington, but he parted with it before the sale of his collection 
 in i860, and I have not been able to ascertain where it now is. 
 
 I may here remark that the Italian and Swiss subjects painted 
 by Muller during the year or two following his return from 
 Italy were, for the most part, bright and sunny, with a fine 
 impasto of colour, rather smooth and glossy. A few years 
 later his landscapes were greyer and lower in tone, but grander 
 in feeling. This series of Italian pictures by Muller has been 
 termed his Claude period. Of these (not dated, but painted, 
 
 I think, about 1836) Mr. John Henderson has one, a small 
 upright. It represents a view of Tivoli, and is a very pleas- 
 ing composition, very pure and bright in colour. Of this same 
 smooth bright character is a picture representing a rocky 
 stream, with a Swiss chalet and trees on the left; on the right, 
 a winding road with figures mounted on mules ; sheep, goats, 
 and cows, and a blue mountainous background, a very 
 pleasing work, dated 1838, and now in the collection of 
 Mr. Walter Lyndon, near Birmingham. 
 
 But to return to the Venetian subjects painted by Muller 
 soon after his return home, I should mention the “ Embarka- 
 tion of the Doge from St. Mark’s Place,” dated 1835. This 
 is a sunny evening effect, quite a Claude in feeling, the size 
 being 21 ft. by 27 ft. On the right is St. Mark’s Place, with 
 the Doge’s palace; in front a crowd of figures occupies the 
 quay, and fills the boats where the Doge is about to embark ; 
 these are decorated with awnings, banners, and crucifixes, 
 and the masts of several tall ships rise up beyond. A broad 
 open space of rippling water reflects the tints of the setting 
 sun, and, in the distance, the Dogana completes this poetical 
 picture. It has been for about thirty years in the collection 
 of Mr. H. Cooper, King’s Heath. Another of the bright 
 
 e 2 
 
Chap. IV. 
 £835 — 1838. 
 
 52 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 pictures of this date is “ The Entrance to Lake Como,” about 
 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. Several boats are represented on the 
 lake, with a fine background of mountains. 
 
 One of the early commissions given to Muller for an Italian 
 subject was from the rector of one of the churches in Bristol. 
 The subject, “The Rialto,” was chosen by the rector; but 
 the price had not been agreed on, and when nearly finished 
 he came with his wife to look at it. A vacant space had 
 been left in the foreground, and the rector, who otherwise 
 approved of the picture, pointed to that part, and inquired of 
 Muller “what he would do with that.” “ Oh,” said Muller, 
 “ I shall put in plenty of figures there.” On leaving, the 
 lady stayed for a moment behind her husband, as if deep in 
 thought, and then said, “ Figures, Mr. Muller? Figures cost 
 a good deal of money, I believe, so I think it would be better 
 to put in only just a few.'’' 
 
 Mr. Acraman had a commission, I believe in the year 
 1836, to forge a very large anchor for a ship of war for 
 Mehemet Ali, Pacha of Egypt, at his iron-works, St. Philip’s, 
 Bristol. He already possessed several works by Muller, and 
 he gave him a commission to paint a large picture of this 
 subject — -“ The Forging of the Anchor” — which he intended 
 to send to Egypt as a present to the Pacha. The only 
 suggestion to the artist — which he made in joke — was, that 
 he should put plenty of smoke in his picture, for fear the 
 Pacha might otherwise see how it was done, and so take 
 it into his head to make anchors for himself. It was a fine 
 and original work, full of spirit, and Mr. Acraman ordered 
 another copy for himself, before forwarding the original. 
 When that gentleman, however, came to look at it in Muller’s 
 studio, he exclaimed, “Ah! I cannot have it.” “Why 
 not?” inquired Muller; “is anything amiss?” “Not at 
 all,” replied Mr. Acraman: “it is a good picture; but I 
 should not like to hang it up amongst all my others in my 
 drawing-room; it reminds one too much of the ‘shop.’’ 
 
ART- LIFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 53 
 
 It may be remarked here that Mr. Acraman had a very fine chap. iv. 
 collection of works by old Italian and Dutch masters in his 1835-1838. 
 house. This copy of “ The Forging of the Anchor” is now, 
 
 I believe, in the possession of Mr. T. Proctor. 
 
 Mr. Acraman also purchased the following pictures, painted 
 by Muller after his return from Italy : — “ Italian Peasants on 
 a Road” (this was a beautiful landscape); “ The Ceremony 
 of the Marriage of the Doge of Venice with the Sea;” 
 
 “Italian Boy with a Hurdygurdy,” which was spirited and 
 full of character; “View of the Rialto, with numerous 
 Boats and Figures ; ” “ Santa Maria della Salute and the 
 Dogana, Venice” (the latter was one of his most important 
 works). 
 
 For Mr. C. G. Heaven Muller painted two uprights, 
 
 4 ft. by 3 ft. 3 in. : one was a grand view of Tivoli ; the 
 other the Via Mala. For Mr. William Heaven he also 
 painted somewhat similar subjects ; for Mr. T. Carlisle, a 
 large upright of Tivoli, and several others ; for Mr. W. 
 
 Tothill, a view near Chiavenna ; for Mr. G. Davey, a large 
 picture of the Rialto; the Dogana for Mr. James Cuning- 
 ham ; and an immense number of smaller pictures, princi- 
 pally sold to the dealers. But of the large Italian pictures 
 painted about this time I have omitted to mention a rather 
 important one — “A beautiful Landscape, with a number of 
 Mules going along a Road.” 
 
 Muller also painted at the beginning of the year 1836 a 
 large picture for the Royal Academy Exhibition, which was 
 exhibited that spring, and hung in the anteroom at Somerset 
 House — not a very good place. The subject was, “ Peasants 
 on the Banks of the river Rhine waiting for the Ferry- 
 Boat.” This was a finely composed picture, grey in tone, 
 and was purchased by C. de Winton, Esq. After this, Muller 
 exhibited nothing at the Academy until after his return from 
 Egypt in the summer of 1839. He had no encouragement 
 to do so, as the two pictures he had sent had been hung 
 
54 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. iv. badly, and he had more commissions from dealers and others 
 1835 — 1838. than he could execute at his then very low prices. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1836 William Muller had the 
 misfortune to lose his mother. After her death he and his 
 brother removed from Hill’s Bridge Parade to College 
 Green, where they took lodgings at No. 40 ; but at the end 
 of six months they went to live at No. 16, College Green. 
 Here Muller remained, with the exception of his tours 
 abroad, until his departure from Bristol to reside in London 
 in the autumn of 1839. 
 
 Muller exhibited this year (1836) the following pictures 
 in the Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street : — “ The 
 Rialto Bridge, Venice,” No. 344 ; and “ Hoar Frost,” an 
 autumn scene near Monmouth. 
 
 From 1835 to 1838 Muller occasionally resumed painting 
 — frost scenes and other subjects near Bristol. “A Frozen 
 River,” and some other winter pieces, were purchased by 
 Mr. Acraman. He also painted a large upright forest scene, 
 4 ft. 1 in. by 5 ft. 3 in., dated 1837, which is now in the 
 collection of Mr. William Sharp, at Handsworth, and once 
 was called “The Gamekeeper.” A copy of this picture is 
 at the beginning of this chapter. A fine group of trees is in 
 the centre of the picture, forming part of an avenue ; and, 
 sheltered beneath, you perceive a cottage with open door, 
 from whence issues the ruddy gleam of a blacksmith’s forge. 
 On the left is a frozen pond, where boys are disporting with 
 a rough wooden sleigh. On the road to the right a man 
 with a gun is gazing on a fine buck at his feet, which appears 
 to have been just shot; and close by a woman, carrying a 
 child, completes the group. The trees are vigorously 
 painted, and the grey, leaden hue of the sky is true to the 
 season represented. • 
 
 In 1837 Mr. Dix was at Bristol, preparing materials for 
 his work on Redcliffe Church. This was in May, and Muller, 
 accompanied by Skinner Prout, used often to sketch the 
 
ART-LIFE IN BRISTOL. 
 
 55 
 
 interior of the porch, the muniment-room — made famous Chap. iv. 
 by Chatterton — and other parts of the fine old church, 1835— 1838. 
 before it was restored. Redcliffe Church was a subject of 
 which Muller was always exceedingly fond : his childhood 
 had been passed almost within sight of it, for St. Mary’s 
 Redcliffe is situated within a very short walk of Hill’s Bridge 
 Parade. 
 
 It was in this year, 1837, that Muller first became acquainted 
 with Mr. John Harrison, of Berkley Square, Bristol, a gentle- 
 man well versed in art-knowledge and a clever amateur 
 sketcher. They had many sympathies in common, and a 
 warm friendship was the result. For many years, even to 
 within a month or two of Muller’s death, they sketched 
 together, chiefly in Leigh Woods and other beautiful spots 
 near Bristol. Mr. Harrison has embodied his pleasant 
 remembrance of some of these excursions, and other matters 
 connected with Muller, in a very interesting paper, which 
 will be found in Chapter XVI. 
 
 Most of Muller’s sketches at this time were made on 
 Harding’s paper, which he liked much when it first came 
 out. He said it worked better than any other, and for 
 several years he adopted it. After a time the paper fell off 
 in quality, of which Muller complained ; and he then took 
 again to using tinted paper, for a time, for his water-colours. 
 
 In the year 1837 Muller again exhibited in the Society of 
 British Artists — 
 
 No. 332. “ A Snow Piece.” 
 
 No. 416. “ Italian Boy.” 
 
 And again, in the year 1838 — 
 
 No. 376. “ Hoar Frost : a Scene near Hanham, Bristol.” 
 
 No. 559. “ Composition from Civita Vecchia, Italy.” 
 
 These were all works of merit, and some of them, namely, 
 
56 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap, iv. the “ Snow Piece ” and the “ Italian Boy,” were purchased 
 
 1 8 35 — 1838. by Mr. Acraman. 
 
 In 1838 Edward Dighton came to Bristol, and took up his 
 quarters in Park Row. He promised to become distinguished 
 in his profession of a landscape-artist, but unhappily he died 
 young. He soon became acquainted with Muller, and joined 
 him as a pupil in his studio. When Muller removed to 
 London in 1839, Dighton followed, and they continued to 
 work together for some time. He was always a favourite 
 pupil of Muller’s. At this time both George and Alfred 
 Fripp were also often in Muller’s studio in College Green; 
 but Prout had left Bristol for Australia. Although at this 
 period Muller did not exhibit in the Royal Academy or the 
 British Institution, he sent works every year to the Society of 
 British Artists, and he watched all that was going on in the 
 great centres of art with much interest. At this date Roberts 
 and some other artists had visited Egypt and Greece, and 
 their labours in those rich fields for landscape and figure- 
 subjects stimulated and inclined Muller’s mind, without a 
 doubt, in the same direction. 
 
 Pie had now so great a demand for his pictures that he 
 found it difficult to obtain the leisure necessary for so long a 
 journey. During the summer of 1838, however, he made all 
 his preparations, and early in September he left Bristol — this 
 time unaccompanied by any friend. It was a bold step 
 to take. The journey was long and expensive ; but he was 
 quite right in this onward movement, as the results achieved 
 abundantly prove. 
 
V. 
 
 JOURNEY AND VISIT TO GREECE. 
 1838-1839. 
 
 ARLY in September, 1838, W. Muller left Bristol 
 for London and Paris on bis way to the East. He 
 arrived at Paris on Monday the 10th, and spent the 
 next day there, visiting the Gobelin manufactory 
 of tapestries and the galleries of the Louvre. In the small 
 pocket sketch-book which he carried with him, are several 
 rapid sketches or memoranda of paintings in the Louvre which 
 struck him on account of their composition and arrangements 
 of light and shade. The numbers of the pictures are given, but 
 no artists’ names. Taking the diligence to Lyons, and the 
 steamboat on the Rhine to Avignon, Muller arrived at 
 Marseilles on Saturday the 15th, and immediately embarked 
 on the steamer for Malta, touching at Civita Vecchia. The 
 following are extracts from his pocket note-book, written 
 in pencil : — 
 
 '‘'■Sunday (16th ). -^Passed the Isle of Elba: much larger 
 than I thought it to be — several miles in length. Beautiful 
 moon. Observed stars most brilliant.” 
 
 “ Monday (17 th ). — Civita Vecchia: landed. I think more 
 than ever of this place ; it contains hundreds of subjects. If 
 I can, on my return, I will stay here. The quay is full of 
 
 Chap. V. 
 1838-1839. 
 
58 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. v. matter for the brush. Italian language as if composed of 
 
 1838-1839. gentlemen’s names. Our table to-day curious: Turks, 
 
 monks, Armenians, priests, English, and many other nations. 
 Much sea going, but very fine sky : too much spray to walk 
 on deck. Receive from French gentleman the account of 
 the Philosophical Institute ; find a slight inclination to the 
 maladie .de mer. Better after dinner (which is just to 
 begin). The advantages of a little knowledge of natural 
 history : I formed a pleasing acquaintance from the shells, 
 and a little knowledge of the world. This evening I saw the 
 moon descend, and cut the horizon sharp until it became 
 a small speck and then vanished : most beautiful effect.” 
 
 “ Tuesday (18///). — Sicily made its appearance: a most 
 exquisite day,— not a cloud — not too hot. I truly commence 
 to partake a little more of independence of society, and my 
 own feelings become then specially the means of obtaining 
 me pleasure. Sicily is much larger than I thought. The 
 island in the distance is much like Wales, only much more 
 marked in long ridges. I want to get to work — five o’clock. 
 We still see it plainly: much surprised at the power of 
 discovering land at great distances. Tuesday evening 
 passed Maritima — an island used as a state prison to 
 Sicily.” 
 
 “ Wednesday ( igth ). — Same character of weather: truly 
 not a cloud on the sky. Sicily still in sight — one o’clock. 
 Sirocco wind all this evening. I feel great weakness in my 
 body, and strong inclination to sleep, with soreness of eyes.” 
 
JOURNEY AND VISIT TO GREECE. 
 
 59 
 
 On the following morning (Thursday) they appear to have Chap. v. 
 arrived at Malta, and landed there. At this place Muller 1838-1839. 
 stayed a few days, and re-embarked on board another steam- 
 boat bound for Constantinople, but touching at Syra — an 
 island in the Greek Archipelago which had recently become 
 a principal station for steamboats and a great commercial 
 entrepot , and where passengers for Greece had to land and 
 take the small boat running to the Piraeus. Muller resumes 
 his notes as follows : — 
 
 “ September (25///), Tuesday. — This morning I had the 
 pleasure of remarking what I have so often read of — the 
 phosphoric light in the sea ; it was in great balls of a rich 
 blue colour — like the glow-worm, continuing some consider- 
 able time where the water was in agitation ; it also took place 
 on the top of the waves to a considerable distance. Found 
 two people going to Athens; rather pleasant — one speaking 
 English, and an old traveller. Our vessel is very fine and 
 well armed — the particulars of which I ask to-morrow 
 morning.” 
 
 “ September [26th), Wednesday. — This morning rose at seven 
 to eight, and found the weather rather stormy : at half-past 
 ten, when at breakfast, called on deck ; a water-spout, to my 
 joy!” 
 
 (Here follow two sketches, marked first appearance, second 
 appearance.) 
 
 “ Eleven to twelve. — We now experience a heavy storm of 
 rain, thunder and lightning — wind S.S.W. : most of the 
 passengers ill — myself quite well. Smoke to-day one cigar ; 
 yesterday and day before, nothing. One o’clock weather fair 
 — wind down — sails furled. This afternoon I noticed a very 
 curious thing, a rainbow under the wheels of the packet. It 
 can hardly be called a rainbow. Curious dream of Egypt.” 
 
60 ' LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 On the 28th Muller landed at Syra, in the Grecian 
 8 39- Archipelago, and on that day he made his first sketch, of a 
 boy fishing. Some old convents and interesting remains of 
 antiquity exist in that island; but Muller was very anxious to 
 reach his destination, and he started almost immediately in 
 the boat for Athens — 
 
 “ The spot he longed to see, nor cared to leave,” 
 
 and he disembarked in the port of the Piraeus on or about the 
 30th September. On arriving at Athens, Muller found a 
 friend there in a gentleman named Pennethorn, an architect, 
 who had travelled much in the East, and who, being 
 thoroughly acquainted with Greece and its antiquities, was 
 both able and willing to render much valuable information to 
 the young artist ; and they appear to have made many 
 excursions together through the environs of Athens and 
 around the monuments of ancient Greece — monuments where 
 the “spirit of beauty” once reigned supreme. No one, I 
 believe, better than Mr. Pennethorn could introduce Muller 
 to the marvellous remains of Attic art, the production of a 
 period when, as has recently been remarked, almost every 
 inhabitant of Athens was surrounded by an atmosphere of 
 refined art, in domestic as well as in public life. I must now 
 again refer to his note-book, although dates are very 
 frequently omitted. 
 
 “ Gc/ober {2nd ). — Sketch of Acropolis from Pentelicus 
 road. Cloudy day and rain ; yet I made my first day’s work, 
 and returned to dine at half-past five, half an hour sooner 
 than usual. How is this, that one should do more than on 
 the late supper days? Subjects easier. Tremendously red 
 sunset — a poor imitation of one of the most sublime things 
 I have ever seen in nature. With P. [Pennethorn] on the 
 Acropolis.” 
 
JOURNEY AND VISIT TO GREECE. 6 1 
 
 The above remarks are written opposite a sketch of a 
 remarkably brilliant sunset. The note-book resumes thus : — 
 
 “ The Greeks place a lemon on the fire of charcoal to 
 destroy the acid generated by the burning of the coal. How ? 
 Athenian cigars are twenty for half a drachm ; twenty septa 
 for coffee — equal to a halfpenny English money. Went to 
 the Venetian convent, outside Athens ; afterwards, to Mount 
 Lyartes. Noticed to-night that sharp clearness for which I 
 think the atmosphere of Greece is peculiar. Hadrian’s Arch 
 in the distance. Dark purple-indigo with orange ; a fine 
 contrast ! As yet I have not the colour to its full extent, nor 
 anything like it.” (A fine blot of the effect above described 
 is sketched in on the other side.) 
 
 During the six weeks of Muller’s residence at Athens, he 
 spent most of his time in the Acropolis. There, surrounded 
 by temples and statues — the Parthenon, the Propylse with its 
 historic gateway, the Erectheum, and many other fine remains 
 — he made nearly thirty sketches, six of which were of the 
 Parthenon, and several studies of the Caryatides. He also 
 sketched the Tower of the Winds, the Temple of Jupiter 
 Stator, the Monument of Lysicrates, the Cave of Parraglia, 
 the Arch of Hadrian, and other well-known objects near 
 Athens. His folio was enriched with several sketches of 
 the city itself from the plain, with the craggy rock of the 
 Acropolis rising up in the distance. He wandered through the 
 groves of the Academy, and visited the plain of Marathon, 
 where he frequently made sketches, with early morning 
 and late evening effects. Greek Husbandmen Ploughing, 
 Greek Boatmen, a Greek Marriage Procession, and other 
 figure subjects, were also rapidly sketched in his pocket- 
 book. The marriage procession is very interesting ; it 
 consists of the bride and bridegroom, mounted, several 
 musicians, and a group of friends and spectators. To this 
 
 Chap 
 
 1838- 
 
6 2 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. v. Muller appended this note — “Clothes of all colours.” In a 
 
 1838-1839. view of Mount Hymettus, in the distance a number of cattle 
 and a figure on horseback are introduced ; all these are full 
 of movement and spirit. On the 12th October Muller made 
 a sketch of the Venetian convent outside Athens, which during 
 the revolution in former times was in the occupation of 
 brigands ; also, on the same day, a sketch of a cave at Mount 
 Pentelicus. Beneath a beautiful sketch of a ruined temple with 
 a golden glow on the upper portion of the column, the 
 base being of a cool grey, Muller makes this note — “ The 
 shadow thrown on the columns is in consequence of the sun 
 setting behind Mount Lycabettus.” 
 
 In the large collection of Muller’s sketches, which took 
 place in 1846, after his death, about fifty Grecian ones were 
 included. 
 
 In this constant work from nature, and also in making 
 excursions to Mount Lycabettus, Mount Hymettus, and other 
 places in the plains of Attica and Marathon, Muller’s time 
 slipped rapidly away, and early in November he found it 
 necessary to embark again for Syra on his way to Egypt. 
 Unfortunately he did not entirely escape the fever of the 
 country, the effect of malaria, so prevalent in the autumn 
 there. Arrived at Syra about the 7th or 8th November, he 
 made a small but beautifully coloured sketch in his pocket- 
 book of the interior of an old Greek convent, with cattle 
 and dark figures. The interior is in gloom, a slanting ray 
 from above lighting up part of one column and also the 
 cattle. To this Muller appended the following note 
 
 “ This subject was truly beautiful — a ruined interior, exactly 
 the same as the Venetian convent at Athens. I have made 
 the figures rather too large. What a situation or scene for 
 the Manger ! (Nativity), only the architecture in no way 
 corresponds. What would I have given for time and health ! 
 Syra, Higina, November.” 
 
JOURNEY AND VISIT TO GREECE. 
 
 63 
 
 Beautiful as were the materials for pictures which Muller chap. v. 
 had gathered together during his sojourn at Athens, his 1838-1859. 
 subsequent visit to Egypt appears to have taken a so much 
 stronger hold upon his mind, that he for the most part 
 neglected his Grecian sketches on his return to England. 
 
 A few large pictures of Athens and of the Acropolis were 
 painted, but nothing of equal importance with those which 
 were suggested by Cairo, Siout, and the ancient cities on the 
 banks of the Nile. One cause for this may be traced, I think, 
 in the fact that Muller’s early associations were not classical, 
 and his imagination appears to have been far more deeply 
 stirred by 
 
 “ The splendour and havoc of the East.” 
 
 I will here quote a few lines from his paper (published in 
 th e Art- Journal) , which relates to this part of his journey ; and 
 I shall give some extracts from the remainder of the paper 
 in the next chapter, which will be devoted to an account of 
 his tour and residence in Egypt. 
 
 “ Bidding adieu to Greece, I took my passage in the French 
 boat for Alexandria ; and finding I was suffering under a severe 
 cold, accompanied by fever, induced by an excursion to the 
 summit of Mount Hymettus to obtain, for probably the last 
 time, a view of the plains of Marathon, I declined joining our 
 party, and rested in my berth for the remainder of the voyage 
 (three days). It was with a feeling of exceeding pleasure I 
 heard the announcement of our arrival, found my fever had 
 left me, and that, although weak, I was sufficiently strong to 
 make preparations for landing.” 
 
VI. 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 1838-1839. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 1838-1839. 
 
 T the time William Muller reached the shores of 
 
 Egypt, — nearly forty years ago, — a halo of mystery 
 
 still lingered round that strange and ancient land, 
 
 much more so than at the present time. In those 
 
 days no railway whistle disturbed the solitude of its deserts, 
 
 . • / 
 
 no steamers divided the upper waters of the Nile, scaring the 
 crocodiles and pelicans from their ancient haunts. The much- 
 dreaded visitations of the plague were of such frequent occur- 
 rence, that travellers were often turned back by that terrible 
 phantom, although the natives, with the indifference engen- 
 dered by fatalism, regarded its advent as one of those decrees 
 of Heaven against which precautions were useless. As the 
 steamer bearing travellers from the north-west approached 
 Alexandria, the first object signalled to the west of the port 
 was the Arab tower, then the two date- trees and Pompey’s 
 Pillar appeared in sight, and shortly afterwards the new har- 
 bour was entered. This is separated from the old port by 
 a neck of land which unites the ancient Pharos to the 
 continent, and here the modern town of Alexandria is built. 
 The site of the ancient city, once containing 300,000 inha- 
 bitants, is now little better than a desert, strewn here and 
 there with vestiges of its former grandeur, but devoid of 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 65 
 
 beauty, and of little interest except to the antiquary or the chap, vr 
 historian. '838-1839 
 
 Muller was only twenty-six years of age when he arrived in 
 Egypt, and landed from the French steamboat in the second 
 week of November, 1838. He lost no time in engaging a 
 servant who could speak the language of the country, and 
 after spending a few days in exploring the town and neigh- 
 bourhood of Alexandria, and making a few sketches, he took 
 the track-boat on the recently constructed canal to its termi- 
 nus at Douchfert. This journey in the boat especially 
 interested Muller, as he was passing through a strange 
 country where the natives, their costumes and rural occu- 
 pations, were all new to him, and highly picturesque. 
 
 At Douchfert he struck a bargain with the captain of one 
 of the native boats trading on the Nile between that place 
 and Bourlak, the port of Cairo, and there Muller arrived 
 without mishap in the course of three days. 
 
 Cairo was at this period thoroughly Eastern, like a dream 
 of the Arabian Nights, and comparatively few Europeans 
 resided there. Its numerous and extensive bazaars, its 
 narrow and winding streets with overhanging stories or lat- 
 ticed balcony, its richly decorated mosques and tapering 
 minarets, contrasted wonderfully with the cities of Western 
 Europe. Still more so the contents of the shops and bazaars, 
 filled with piles of gorgeous stuffs and carpets, inlaid atagans, 
 damascened swords, gold-embroidered slippers,. Morocco 
 cushions, and Eastern pipes of all fashions. My own expe- 
 rience of travel in a Mahommedan country enables me to 
 realise what so imaginative a man as Muller must have felt, 
 especially in wandering through those strange places, the 
 Eastern bazaars — the light glittering downwards through 
 coverings of many-hued awnings, the strange apathy of the 
 swarthy natives lolling about, or seated cross legged on low 
 cushions smoking long pipes, or sipping the brown and 
 fragrant coffee. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. All these strange sights attracted Muller immensely, as he 
 
 1838-1839. has often described. So also did the exterior of the mosques 
 with their splendid portals, the Moorish archways with the 
 throng of men and camels passing beneath ; but, above all, 
 the slave-markets, with their painfully degrading yet pic- 
 turesque accessories, made a deep impression on his imagi- 
 nation. These formed the subjects of many of his finest 
 sketches. He was also continually making hasty sketches in 
 his pocket sketch-book, some in colour, of the camels, and 
 Egyptian people passing down the streets, or sitting cross- 
 legged in the native coffee-houses — turbaned Turks in rich 
 pelisses, Arabs in the graceful burnouse, Copts in fringed 
 garments of camel’s hair, and half-naked Nubians, their 
 black limbs relieved by some scanty drapery of white cotton. 
 After a fortnight spent almost incessantly in hard sketching, 
 which was truly Muller’s greatest happiness, he prepared to 
 ascend the Nile as far as Thebes, intending to make a more 
 prolonged stay at Cairo on his return ; he also postponed 
 till that time a visit to the Pyramids of Gizeh. 
 
 Having made the acquaintance in Cairo of a fellow- 
 countryman, a Mr. Gibson, and of a French gentleman, 
 Monsieur Dombrecourt, they agreed to become travelling 
 companions to Upper Egypt. They hired a boat, engaged 
 a native crew, and (accompanied by Muller’s servant, Aleck) 
 left Cairo at the beginning of December on their long and 
 tedious voyage up the Nile. Stopping at various villages, 
 and at Beni-Hassan, where Muller made several sketches, 
 they arrived at Manfalout on the 20th ; at Souhaedsch and 
 at Siout on the 22nd and 23rd ; at Denderah, famous for its 
 temples, on the 27th, and at Thebes about the istof January ; 
 here they made rather a prolonged stay, visiting Karnack and 
 Luxor on the right, and Gournou on the left, bank of the Nile. 
 The Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, and of the Tombs of 
 the Queens, the avenue of Sphinxes, and all the wonderful 
 temples and halls, were visited and sketched. On their return 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 67 
 
 down the Nile, they halted at Manfalout, and visited the dan- Ch ap. vj. 
 gerous crocodile mummy pits, situated a few miles from that 1838-1839. 
 place in the desert, also the great Pyramids near Cairo. I 
 shall now resume the extracts from Muller’s travelling note 
 and sketch book, and, after giving from the Art-Union some 
 extracts of Muller’s own paper on his Egyptian tour, I shall 
 conclude this chapter with a list of the principal sketches he 
 made in this country. 
 
 “ December \th . — Cavalcade curious, but not agreeable after 
 the conversation of the French. The Arabs of Gournou are of 
 a colour chestnut to Vandyke brown ; dress, a long Vandyke 
 brown robe ; with or without shoes ; armed with sabres and 
 spears, the point of which is twice the length of my folio — 
 these spears, when they sit, they always stick in the ground. 
 
 Curious ! just as I was sketching the temple and two sailors 
 of the boat, seven or eight Arabs came with the legs, arms, 
 head, and other parts of a mummy. The long gun makes a 
 fine display, as also my sword. The markets and bazaars of the 
 Egyptian towns form the most perfect pictures for Rembrandt. 
 
 “ Departure of Travellers from the Inn-door, with Camels. 
 
 Figures seated in the arched entrance, and leaning against 
 the sides [sketch annexed]. 
 
 “ First Mosque built at Old Cairo, with Citadel in the 
 distance. Buildings white ; camels and men on the ridge of 
 the hill beyond [sketch annexed]. 
 
 “ Dece?nber gth . — Aleck purchased for firewood (for the boat) 
 the door of an Arab house, for three piastres. 
 
 “ December 10th . — Came in sight of the Pyramids nine miles 
 from Cairo ; could not see them previously in consequence of 
 foggy weather. All the Bedouins form scripture subjects of 
 a very high class. 
 
 “The Nile and boulders at Beni-Hassan [sketch annexed]. 
 
 The river winds at the foot of a range of rocky hills, grouped 
 amongst the boulders. 
 
 f 2 
 
68 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. Note 071 the Nile. — “As yet we have been disappointed by 
 1838-1839. the sameness of the scenery and the tedious character of our 
 voyage. Nile twilight good effect. Pelicans on strip of land ; 
 distant trees and palms reflected in water.” 
 
 (A powerful, coloured sketch of fishing-boat on Nile, with 
 two figures, a negro and Arab.) Note. — “ These boats are 
 constructed with reeds and gourds, and sail, or rather are 
 rowed, with great rapidity.” 
 
 “ Souhaedsch, a second-class village on the Nile. De- 
 cember 23, made two or three sketches.” 
 
 (One of these is a coffee-house, with Turks and Arabs 
 seated, goats and cattle of all kinds grouped together in the 
 courtyard, Arab buildings in the middle distance, with a 
 grand background of palm-trees ; a fine subject for a picture.) 
 
 “ December 21 st. — At Siout, said to be the place of refuge 
 of the Holy Family. Jackals held in worship by the ancient 
 Egyptians. Went to see the catacombs. First true monument 
 of Egyptian architecture I have seen ; much delighted. 
 Noise of bats very great ; we took them for jackals. The 
 monkeys ! when light came, they were in thousands ! Mum- 
 mies and the cloth are common, and much cloth is strewed 
 on the road. From the catacombs there is a fine view of 
 the town of Siout. I sketched in a box on a donkey, and 
 shot an owl ! 
 
 “ Siout, Deceviber 25th ( Christmas- day) . — First time on the 
 Nile I saw the crocodile ; four of them together. I shot at 
 them ; they moved with composure, nay, with contemptuous 
 grandeur, into the water, and sunk slowly down : doubts that 
 our ball did not strike. Saw a number of armed men with 
 camels, going to fight with the Turks at Eckin. Saw flight 
 of pelicans. 
 
 “ December 26th. — On the Nile. We passed twenty-one 
 crocodiles between two and five in the day. Laughable 
 occurrence. After shooting at a large crocodile, it did not 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 69 
 
 move, and the Arabs deemed it dead. I prepared to go on chap. vj. 
 shore and have its head; tucked up sleeves, and got the 1838-1839. 
 large hammer-like axe ready to cut the neck. Order passed 
 to change the course of the boat, and the sails were put 
 round. I stood on the gunwale all ready ; when what was 
 my astonishment, Mr. Tipsey began majestically to move 
 when I was within only twenty yards of him — thank Heaven, 
 in the boat ! 
 
 “ It was a very large crocodile, and into the water it went 
 with great rapidity. A shot fired at him took no effect. The 
 natives are not a little astonished. Of course, we did not 
 think he was killed by the first ball. Our captain’s name 
 was Reis Hammed.” 
 
 These are some of the sketches which Muller made : — 
 
 “Conical Hill, Manfalout;” “Near Siout, Palms and 
 Figures;” “Sketch of Arabian Drum;” “View of some 
 of the Excavations in the Rocks at Siout;” “Tombs of 
 Kings, first seen at Sunset.” 
 
 “ The Memnonian surrounded by thunder-clouds in the 
 evening, architecture indistinct, is one of the grandest 
 things in the world. The large figures just catching the 
 light. Sand thrown up in the distance.” 
 
 “Town of Manfalout. Turkish encampment. Camels, 
 Bedouins, and palm-trees. In the distance a wide expanse 
 of the Nile, with boats. Latine sails reflected in the water.” 
 
 “ December 26 th . — Saw ibis. Came near to Denderah. 
 
 The rocks most curious from the number of catacombs, and 
 the horizontal stratification of the same. Saw to-day, and 
 sketched, the Theban palm. Killed a snake : the men 
 afraid to take it into boat. Punctured finger. Fortunately 
 no accident, as the Arabs said it was deadly poison. Took 
 curious specimen of the grasshopper ; long time in dying. 
 
 One large fish passed my boat ; taken by another boat near 
 to ours.” 
 
70 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 vi. “ December 27th . — Only ten or eleven crocodiles, but some 
 839- of them very large; I should think one of them was fifteen to 
 eighteen feet in length. Five crocodiles jumped into the 
 water at once on discharge of piece. What a night ! We are 
 to arrive at Denderah. Much is to be done with sand-storm 
 blowing from the desert into the Nile. To-day I saw one, in 
 which a boat laboured with the gale, hull down, men taking 
 in the sails. Made a very fine subject [see sketch of the 
 same in book]. The mixture of the yellow sand with the 
 dark sky makes it an awful effect.” 
 
 “ January 4 th, 1839. — Sunset (to-night), with colossal 
 figures of Sphinx : very fine, with the inundation of the Nile. 
 (N.B. — The temples are also under water to the first stone. 
 Fine subject! moonlight in particular.) Temple of Gournou. 
 The Arabs (five) as I saw on returning to the boat, under 
 the margin of the river. Nothing can surpass the beauty of 
 these temples by twilight. Superb ! Returning from the 
 Tombs, or Valley of the Tombs of the Queens, I made a little 
 detour for the purpose of gaining a view of the valley, as also 
 of some of the ravines in the immediate neighbourhood. It 
 was towards evening when I had the pleasure of looking 
 eastward, to see the points of the mountains lighted by a 
 golden and vermilion colour, so much the character of the 
 sunsets which I have noticed in this country. The moon 
 rising with its chaste light formed a most agreeable contrast 
 of colour, and created a scene which I imagine I may never 
 find again. The obscurity of the valley corresponds with 
 its history and gloom — its occupants being the dead, once 
 the mighty and powerful, their names now forgotten, with their 
 virtues and their crimes ; and the foot of the stranger turns 
 slowly and dissatisfied that he can form but the most imper- 
 fect ideas of their extent, magnitude, and number. With 
 such ideas I will seek my little cabin to reflect * Egypt is 
 
 * The preceding description is written in pencil at the back of a powerful sketch of this 
 subject now in the possession of Mr. John Henderson. 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 71 
 
 full of scriptural subjects, and a Holy F'amily is found in Chap. vi. 
 every Arab village. Figures dressed in black, with white 1838-1839. 
 turban, are very beautiful and solemn in effect when in a 
 landscape. Figure at a well ; white dress and turban, very 
 dark skin ; attitude, sitting.” 
 
 “ January , 1839. — I have neglected the palms at sunset, 
 which I must paint or draw. Of this nature should be the 
 date-tree towards sunset, when grey against a warm sky. 
 
 At twilight I have noticed the palm-trees of a grey colour, 
 and I think in painting they may be produced in the same 
 manner as Claude has used, bedded in the sky, and warm ; 
 when paint is, for example, half dry, scumble: this gives a 
 rich effect and finish. If near, they are much made out; but 
 in distance confused, and particularly soft at edges. Much 
 exactness and exquisite grace in the branches or leaves. 
 
 Stem always much colour (red.)” 
 
 (Note opposite a sepia-sketch of stumps of palm-trees) — 
 
 “ The palms do not grow to the same height in India, from 
 the natives tapping them to produce the spirit. They have 
 towards the root long fibres, and I noticed that the colour of 
 red-yellow, which is so remarkable in the stems, is occasioned 
 by the reflection of the same light from the sand. I think as 
 the tree grows the Arabs cut off the large leaves, and this 
 gives the peculiar chequer-work that I have so frequently 
 noticed in this plant.” 
 
 (Note opposite a sketch of palms, buildings, and mountains, 
 with several figures of Arabs and cattle in foreground) — 
 
 “ A very pretty and pleasing scene; the sun on the plain 
 made in it a very particular feature. The foreground, goats, 
 sheep, cows, and Arabs, with strongly marked shadows, 
 pleased me much. The Tomb of Belzoni, one of the latest, 
 
 I think, shows the method of working in the last chamber 
 (only for the names of the fools who travel to write them). The 
 
72 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. figures and outlines are most beautiful ; and it appears to me 
 1838-1839. that the first line was red, then corrected in black. Be this 
 correct or no, the line shows firm drawing, and much grace 
 in the curves. The colour is particularly fresh and har- 
 monious.” 
 
 “ January 12 th . — Twilights in Egypt have a peculiarity 
 which I have never noticed in any other country, from the 
 positive colour of the yellow and the dark blue-purple of 
 the upper heavens. The yellow forms an arc, which 
 gradually decreases — that is to say, in the space of ten 
 minutes to a quarter of an hour ; the lower colour sometimes 
 of the most deep orange, as below.” (Here follows a deeply 
 coloured sketch.) 
 
 “Luxor by Moonlight, January, 1839.” (This is a 
 dreamy sketch, and beautiful in composition ; the Nile with 
 boats and figures in the foreground ; Arab buildings and 
 the ruined Temple of Luxor in the distance; behind these 
 the full moon.) 
 
 View of column and doorway, through which the Nile is 
 seen in the distance; marked, “Theseus of Pennethorn in 
 Egypt.” 
 
 On Muller’s return down the Nile, he stopped at Manfa- 
 lout, as has already been mentioned, to visit the crocodile- 
 mummy caves of Mahabdie, near Manfalout. Muller wrote 
 in pencil a hasty account of these caves, which I here extract 
 from his note-book ; and this, without doubt, served as the 
 basis for the more detailed account afterwards published in 
 the Art-Union . The account is preceded by a brilliant 
 
 sketch of mountains, desert, and Arabs. 
 
 (Note by Muller) — 
 
 “The entrance to the crocodile pits at Mahabdie, one 
 and a half league from the Nile. The mouth is shown, with 
 the remains of crocodiles and also of human mummies.” 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 73 
 
 (The remains of Mr. Leigh’s guide are referred to. That 
 gentleman visited the mummy pits in 1813, on which occa- 
 sion his two guides perished, owing to the bad air.) 
 
 Mahabdie Mummy Caves, near Manfalout. 
 
 “ In my excursion to-day, we left the boat with two guides 
 and twelve men, all well armed, as by desire of the guide ; 
 our boatmen taking clubs, guns, pistols, and spears. We 
 had, in addition, Mr. Norton, a gentleman from India, and 
 some of his men, making in all nearly forty. Away we 
 went over a beautiful bean-field, crossed the stream, and 
 began our ascent of the mountains. Much interest to the 
 geologist : mountain limestone, with much flint in small 
 balls embedded in the stone. We passed large boulders 
 with a curious nucleus of flint: these we found to be of 
 the sonorous limestone, when struck giving a sound much 
 iike metal. We then found a fine echinus, and some large 
 spirals, the inside of some large shell unknown to me in 
 any way. On proceeding by the mountain path, we noticed 
 many places cut in the rock ; on our arrival at the top, 
 much crystal of the rhomboid character. We continued 
 some miles onwards, when we came to a small cave with 
 one large stone on the top. It has all the appearance of a 
 fissure in the rock ; the mouth surrounded with fragments of 
 mummies of crocodiles. We descended, crept on the belly; 
 at once strong smell of ammonia : after ten minutes came 
 to a small chamber ; once more creeping position, when we 
 arrived at a larger chamber. We now felt the air to be 
 bad, and the exercise had thrown us into a most profuse 
 perspiration. Our guides naked, and both old men. In this 
 room I noticed them begin to look about, as if uncertain : 
 such was the case. Killed a bat whilst waiting, of which 
 there were thousands, and we risked having our light put 
 out. They at last found a small and very low passage. We 
 now began to mistrust them. They proceeded to find some 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 1838-1839. 
 
74 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. old and rotten cord, which they joined, so that we might 
 1838-1839. not mistake the return. We once more went on for some 
 distance ; passed many bodies. Once more the guides at a 
 perfect loss. We now found the heat all but insupportable, 
 and insisted on returning ; this, with difficulty, was accom- 
 plished, and when out we amused ourselves in abusing the 
 fellows. 
 
 “Just on point of departure, in true ill-humour at our 
 failure, when an old man, with firm step, long staff, iron 
 head, walked from the desert ; all the Arabs said this 
 was the true guide. Question — Should we once more risk 
 it ? He told us it would take two hours (wrong, only one 
 and a half or one and a quarter). Once more off coats, 
 and with fresh courage make our descent. He had showed 
 us his marks as he went along ; this gave courage. Passed 
 no pit, but the dead body of Leigh’s guide. We accom- 
 plished this task with much fatigue. It requires the greatest 
 care of the candles, for fear of the cloth, &c., &c., when 
 death would have been inevitable. The scene of human 
 mummies and crocodiles I never can forget, as also the 
 figure of the dead guide. Came out safe.” 
 
 (I will now give some extracts from William Muller’s own 
 account of his tour in Egypt, which originally appeared in 
 the Art-Union .) 
 
 “ My earliest impression (at Alexandria), as soon as I 
 was enabled to direct my thoughts to any objects but the 
 care of my luggage and the importunities of the donkey- 
 drivers, with their ‘ very gute donkey, sair ’ (the Alexan- 
 drians know so much English), was, that of all the spots 
 I had ever seen for the artist, this would prove the most 
 fertile for his pencil ; but experience made me alter my 
 opinion. The town has by no means a grand appearance 
 from the sea, although the front is a very fine one. The 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 7'5 
 
 vessels of war of the Pacha, and the aspect of abundance chap. vi. 
 of trade, give, at first view, an idea of an opulent if not an 1838-1839. 
 exceedingly rich place. This impression, however, is soon 
 changed. The curious nature of the streets, the want of 
 European comforts, of good glass in the windows, give to 
 it an air of seclusion which arises not alone from the desire 
 to prevent the intrusion of the rays of a hot sun into their 
 houses, but to shut out the gaze of the spectator ; for this 
 reason they use a sort of richly worked wood, in various 
 patterns, that enables the inmates to see but not to be seen. 
 
 The various costumes strike one with astonishment ; and I 
 at once agreed with a friend, whom I had by accident met 
 •in Greece, after his return from a long residence in the 
 East, that Egypt was the place best calculated for the study 
 of the figure, as suited to historical painting. 
 
 “ In gazing at these figures, which seem like humanity put 
 into a kaleidoscope, such is its endless variety, I believe I 
 should have lost my guide, baggage and all, had I not been 
 accosted by a desire to know if I did not want a servant, 
 the individual who offered himself in this capacity being a 
 thin, tall young man. On his informing me that he could 
 ‘ speak English and Italian,’ which I found he understood 
 well enough to answer the purpose of dragoman, I took 
 him to the inn to which I had been recommended, and on 
 inquiry finding his character to be good, I engaged him 
 at eight crowns per month, Aleck becoming to me what 
 Friday was to Robinson, and I have much pleasure in 
 acknowledging his good services.” 
 
 Cairo. 
 
 “On the third day (after embarking at Douchfert, the 
 terminus of the canal) we arrived at Bourlak ; Cairo being 
 inland about three miles. As this city has been so 
 frequently the subject of description, and as it would occupy 
 much space and time to do anything like justice to it, I 
 
7 6 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. vi. must content myself with only mentioning the scenes which 
 
 1838-1839. struck me as being the most curious. On leaving the 
 boat, the road passes through the town of Bourlak ; and 
 then we get into the main road to Cairo, which is a sandy 
 broad way, with corn-fields on each side, crowded with 
 date and other trees, but in particular the rose, and I 
 must say it has a very pleasing effect. In the distance 
 the thousand mosques of the city are visible, indicated by 
 the long delicate minarets rising out of the dense mass of 
 buildings ; but the mass of people astonish the most — the 
 Turkish ladies covered by the black mantilla, attended by 
 numerous slaves dressed in all the colours of the rainbow ; 
 then come in contrast the pipe-cleaner, the water-carrier, or 
 some Egyptian female showing but slight delicacy in hiding 
 any part but the face. You now, perhaps, are forced to halt ; 
 for a perfect walking aqueduct of camels, which, with the 
 large skins charged with water, stalk through the narrow 
 streets, making all move as they pass. You get into some 
 one of the many curious carved and painted doorways, and 
 watch the scene with an interest which none can understand 
 but those who have found themselves in a similar place. 
 And now, for a moment, let us imagine the poor artist, with 
 his feelings of enthusiasm properly kindled, in such a crowd, 
 and anxious to sketch. Poor devil ! I pity him. He longs 
 for some photogenic process to fix the scene before him, 
 could he but sketch it. I would say, Woe to some of the 
 fancy pictures of Turks, Greeks, and oddities, which annually 
 adorn the walls of our Academy ! The streets, with the 
 mosques and fountains, are highly picturesque ; but it 
 seemed to me that they possessed great sameness, and one 
 thing materially contributes to this. I allude to the curious 
 way in which nearly all buildings are painted, with a red and 
 white stripe of colour ; this is anything but pleasing. The 
 best parts of Cairo I take to be the suburbs, which afford 
 much variety; in particular, the Tombs of the Caliphs, of 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 77 
 
 Saracenic architecture. Here in the evening one finds a Chap. vi. 
 pleasing place to wander in ; particularly at twilight the 1838-1839. 
 masses are very fine against the sky; and at times these 
 tombs afford some strange groups, being inhabited by the 
 lower class of people, in a similar manner to those at 
 Gornou — only with this difference, that at the latter they 
 mix with the mummies, and even seem to have a sort of 
 friendship for the same. On visiting one of these tombs in 
 the mountains, I could not avoid smiling to find that the 
 cases of the mummies had become articles of furniture; 
 children sleeping in them, and the outer case serving as a 
 table. 
 
 “ The slave-market was one of my most favourite haunts, 
 although no figure-painter. One enters this building, which 
 is situated in a quarter the most dark, dirty, and obscure of 
 any at Cairo, by a sort of lane ; then one arrives at some 
 large gates. The market is held in an open court, sur- 
 rounded with arches of the Roman character. In the centre 
 of this court the slaves are exposed for sale, and in general 
 to the number of from thirty to forty, nearly all young, many 
 quite infants. The scene is of a revolting nature; yet I did 
 not see, as I expected, the dejection and sorrow I was led to 
 imagine. The more beautiful of the females I found were 
 confined in a chamber over the court. They are in general 
 Abyssinians and Circassians. When any one desires to pur- 
 chase, I not unfrequently saw the master remove the entire 
 covering of the female — a thick woollen cloth — and expose 
 her to the gaze of the bystander. Many of these girls are 
 exceedingly beautiful- — small features, well formed, with an 
 eye that bespeaks the warmth of passion they possess. The 
 negresses, on the contrary, have little to please ; they disgust, 
 for their hair is loaded with two or three pounds of a sort of 
 tallow fat, literally in thick masses, and as this is influenced 
 by the heat of the sun, it gradually melts over the body, and 
 the smell from it is disagreeable in the extreme ; yet in this 
 
78 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. place did I feel more delight than in any other part of Cairo : 
 
 1838-1839. the groups and the extraordinary costume can but please the 
 artist. You meet in this place all nations. When I was 
 sketching — which 1 did on many occasions — the masters of 
 the slaves could in no manner understand my occupation, but 
 were continually giving the servant the price of the different 
 slaves, to desire me to write the same down, thinking I was 
 about to become a large buyer. 
 
 “ I only wish some artist would make this the spot of his 
 studies, and paint the figures and groups.” 
 
 The Nile and Upper Egypt. 
 
 “ Having made an arrangement to hire a small boat and 
 crew, amounting in all to eight, I commenced the ascent of 
 the Nile on a most splendid morning in November (Decem- 
 ber), and in a few hours my dragoman gave me the pleasing 
 intelligence, to use his own words, that, ‘ ’ Tis morning , / ketchey 
 the pymids As yet I had only seen them from the citadel, 
 and a magnificent view it was. The desert forms the horizon, 
 in which the pyramids are the only objects visible. These, 
 as I found on my return, when I visited them, are built on a 
 rock, which adds a height of at least sixty feet, and I know 
 it is the opinion of many that they are only covered with the 
 large stones ; this I shall not attempt to confute, although I 
 think differently, from the investigation of the interior. On 
 my approach their size disappointed me, and when close to 
 them the same feeling existed. This arises, perhaps, from 
 the peculiar perspective and pyramidal form it assumes when 
 viewed from its base. But this erroneous impression is soon 
 corrected by an attempt to ascend ; and although the difficulty 
 as well as design of the task has been commented on by 
 many travellers, I must say to persons of moderate height 
 there can be none, the steps being in almost all instances 
 perfect, only deep (I think four feet) ; this constitutes the only 
 hazard. On arriving at the summit, a grand line of distance 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 79 
 
 is, of course, presented to the eye. The Nile forms, as usual, 
 the most interesting feature. 
 
 “ The Sphinx gave me, perhaps, the most pleasure, situ- 
 ated at the base of the first pyramid, and at sunset it formed 
 one of the grandest compositions I have ever seen. Much of 
 this feeling is due to the odd expression of the head ; it is of 
 a smiling melancholy, that so beautifully harmonizes with the 
 rest of the scene and solitude by which one is surrounded. 
 
 “ I now proceeded rapidly, at times staying only to visit 
 some of the more curious tombs and remains with which each 
 spot abounds. It is tedious to an extent one can form little 
 conception of to be shut up in a small boat, with not enough 
 room to stand upright, nine feet long, and in its widest, six, 
 with little to do but shoot from its windows at crocodiles, 
 pelicans, and other birds, in- particular vultures ; of these, 
 being particularly fond of objects of natural history, I made 
 a tolerably numerous collection. The crocodiles furnish fine 
 sport, and are by no means scarce ; I have frequently seen as 
 many as five-and-twenty in a day, of all sizes, from three and 
 four feet long to twenty feet. On shore the sportsman may 
 find other shooting : the pigeons furnish him at any time with 
 food ; and should he be desirous of higher sport, he will find 
 jackals, hyenas, and many other objects worthy of his powder 
 and ball ; he has only to seek them in the tombs, these being 
 their favourite retreats. Shooting, sketching, and smoking, at 
 the expiration of twenty-one days, I found I had arrived at 
 Denderah ; and on the opposite side to that on which the ruins 
 stand were encamped a considerable number of Turks, Alge- 
 rines, and all sorts ; amongst which motley group I found 
 numerous young ladies, who indulged this religious assembly 
 (for so it proved to be, on a pilgrimage to Mecca) with the 
 dances peculiar to the women of the Nile. Many may have 
 been termed very fine women ; but they lose all sight of pro- 
 priety, and as the dancing continues, it partakes so strongly 
 of the lascivious nature as to be disgusting, but, throughout, 
 
 Chap. VI 
 1838-1839 
 
80 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. the women of the Alma are in much request. Early in the 
 
 1838-1839. morning I crossed, and, taking with me some of my men, I 
 proceeded to pass the plain, an extent of some two or three 
 miles, previous to arriving at the temple. This, as you ap- 
 proach, has by no means a good or grand effect ; but, on 
 nearer examination, it is a ruin of the most extraordinary 
 character, and the large hall with its pillars of gigantic pro- 
 portions, the capitals of which are formed by the faces of 
 Isis. This hall should be seen, properly to appreciate it, by 
 firelight ; it is then, when these figures are half lost in shadow, 
 that the red light of the fire, touching with a sort of incon- 
 stancy the various figures with which every wall is adorned, 
 adds so much to the mystery of the spot, that one sits with a 
 sort of pleasing fear, and indulges in many of the wild specu- 
 lations of fancy ; these sensations are increased by the wild 
 figures with which you are surrounded, for notwithstanding 
 the place has been deserted by the Arabs, who built their 
 mud houses over the temple, there are some still who remain 
 with the hope of picking up a few piastres by the sale of 
 beads or any of the little objects of curiosity. He seeks the 
 traveller, waiting not for invitation, sits by his fire, produces 
 his relics, and, if you buy, he picks up his long spear, a 
 weapon of terrific appearance, and walks off, returning to 
 some hole or tomb like any animal. There is much that is 
 very curious in this sort of life, and I was most anxious to 
 find some of these people, and be initiated into their abodes. 
 I succeeded, on my arrival at Gornou, where I arrived, after 
 sketching several views, and some minute ones, of these ruins. 
 
 “ Gornou is situated on the right-hand side of the river, 
 and may be deemed the first part of Thebes. To attempt 
 giving anything like a description of the masses of temples, 
 sphinxes, and columns, by which I found myself surrounded, 
 would be quite out of my power. The great temple of the 
 Memnonium, however, pleased me more than any other; and 
 on one occasion I saw it under an effect which rendered its 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 8l 
 
 grandeur doubly so — that of a storm of thunder and lightning, Chap. vi. 
 when from the depth of the gloom which surrounded all 1838-1839. 
 objects on all sides the lightning lit up the immense statues, 
 which are as pilasters to the building, they became for a 
 second visible and then vanished, — they came like spirits of 
 the desert ; but this impression, if one had indulged it, soon 
 departed, for in another second another flash showed the 
 columns and the long avenue which leads to the Tombs of 
 the Kings, producing a superb effect. 
 
 “ The Valley of the Kings, or rather I should term 
 it the Tombs of the Kings, pleased me in particular ; 
 there is in its sunburnt rocks a spell which bound me 
 to it, and I resolved to well work it. On leaving Gornou 
 and its temple, you proceed for some miles towards the 
 mountains, which are of a very curious form, and in all 
 parts excavated. After passing along the bed of a torrent, 
 dried up in the summer months, we arrive at a sort of road 
 which seems to lead to the mountain ; this you continue, and 
 the rocks on each side rise to the height of several hundred 
 feet, and every moment become more wild and rugged in the 
 outline. Large masses of stone almost stop up the camel- 
 path ; not a single spot of green, no bush, or even blade of 
 grass. All nature seems dead, and the only object that may 
 at times pass might be some vulture winging its way across 
 the valley, making one feel more solitary than before by its 
 temporary presence. Such solitude as this place possesses 
 few know but those who have been exposed to wild scenery, 
 and that should be in the East and in the desert. You at 
 last arrive at various openings in the rock, and these are the 
 Tombs — the tombs of kings. Many of them, from their vast 
 extent and splendid sculpture of the hieroglyphics, would fur- 
 nish amusement and instruction for a considerable space of 
 time ; but my labours were merely confined to the latest dis- 
 covered (Belzoni’s) ; and this, from reasons which I shall try to 
 explain, possesses an interest much superior to any of the 
 
 G 
 
82 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vi. others. After having gone through many chambers, all more 
 
 1838-1839. or less adorned with hieroglyphics of great beauty and finish, 
 we arrive at one filled with most elaborate historical paintings. 
 Many of these subjects are most interesting, as on the laws, 
 manners, and implements of the ancient Egyptians they 
 throw much light, and strike us with the similarity of those at 
 the present day in use with the moderns, in particular the 
 musical instruments. On leaving this room, you enter an- 
 other. Here we see the objects all drawn, and with an outline 
 of such a firm and masterly character, possessing so much 
 grace and elegance in the touch, that I stood with perfect 
 delight, contemplating these drawings as perfect specimens. 
 On a more minute inspection, you find that the artist used a 
 thin sort of fluid paint of a red colour (perhaps an oxide of 
 iron) ; with this, then, he sketched the subject to be painted, 
 giving to the objects the destined places. After having com- 
 pleted this, he took a black brush, going over his former line, 
 giving fulness and correcting any mistakes; and this accounts 
 for your at times tracing the hieroglyphics in the red two or 
 three inches removed from where it is placed in the black. 
 The chamber remains in this unfinished state, the work hav- 
 ing proceeded no further; and from this circumstance I de- 
 lighted in contemplating it. It seemed, from its freshness, to 
 have been the work of yesterday. 
 
 “ On leaving the room of outline, you come to one in a 
 state of preparation, the walls of which presented the surface 
 polished and prepared for the drawing, just as they proceeded 
 from the first process to the completion. 
 
 “ Luxor, which is on the left-hand side of the Nile as you 
 ascend, forms from the water a grand subject : its temples, 
 and obelisk in its solitary loneness (thanks to the French, 
 who removed the companion to Paris), the gigantic mutilated 
 sphinxes on each side of the entrance, form a number of 
 objects in which the artist finds full occupation. But, to see 
 Luxor in its full glory, in the same manner as our poet, Sir 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 83 
 
 Walter Scott, has written of Melrose, ‘ visit it by the pale chap, vi 
 moonlight;’ and it was in an excursion, or rather one of 1838-1839 
 my idling moods, when, wrapped in my capote, I strolled 
 through its deserted ruins, and had much pleasure in noticing 
 how beautifully the colouring of the temple told (to use an 
 artistical expression) by the light of the moon. By this I 
 mean the introduction of the various colours with which the 
 Egyptians decorated the external portions of their public 
 buildings, making them harmonize with the rest of the 
 scene. 
 
 “ W. Muller.” 
 
 A few lines will suffice for the conclusion of this account of 
 Muller’s first and last visit to Egypt. On his return to 
 Cairo, he spent a week or two again there ; visited the Pyra- 
 mids, of which he made several sketches, and then made the 
 best of his way to Alexandria, Malta, and Naples. He landed 
 there in February, and made his sketches for his well-known 
 picture of the Bay of Naples ; also a view of the Lighthouse, 
 
 Naples, with the mole and the town in the distance. Taking 
 the usual route to Rome, Muller stopped to sketch the Lake 
 of Albano and the celebrated park and rocks at L’Aricia. 
 
 Then embarking at Civita Vecchia, he arrived in London in 
 March, and remained there only a short time before returning 
 to Bristol, his tour having occupied about six months. 
 
 The following are the subjects of one hundred and 
 seventeen Egyptian sketches sold after William Muller’s 
 death in 1846 : — 
 
 Figure near Cairo ; Interior of Coffee-house, Cairo ; Near 
 Cairo ; Entrance to Mosque, Cairo ; Interior, Cairo ; two, 
 Entrance to Mosque, Cairo ; three, Slave Markets, Cairo ; 
 Slave Market ; four, Street Scenes, Cairo ; two, Bazaar, Cairo ; 
 Arab Merchant, Cairo ; Letter- writer, Cairo ; Interior of 
 Cairo ; Boats on the Nile, with firelight Excavations at Beni- 
 
 g 2 
 
84 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. vi. Hassan ; Beni-Hassan and its ruined Village ; Beni-Hassan 
 
 1838-1839. Chamber, 60 ft. by 43 ft. ; Beni-Hassan Pyramids, as seen 
 from the Nile, four miles distant ; three,’ Near Manfalout ; 
 Manfalout ; Entrance to Manfalout ; seven, Near Siout ; 
 Siout ; Turkish Bazaar, Siout ; Catacomb near Siout ; Arab 
 at Siout ; On the Nile near Siout ; Djirjah on the Nile ; Boats 
 on the Nile near Siout ; Sunset, Egypt ; Waterwheel for Irriga- 
 tion ; Boat on the Nile ; four, Temples, Denderah ; Rocks on 
 the Nile near First Cataract ; two, Avenue of Sphinxes ; Head 
 of Sphinx ; Interior of Second Chamber, Belzoni’s Tomb ; 
 Crocodile on Sand Bank; three, Luxor; Near Valley of 
 Tombs of the Kings ; Pass leading to Tombs of the Kings ; 
 Near the Cataracts of the Nile ; Egyptian Sheep ; Egyptian 
 Ploughing ; Houchford, on the Nile ; Arab Shepherd ; Arab 
 Female ; Arab Shepherd Girl ; Carpet-seller ; Turk ; Arab 
 Boy; Arab sowing Grain; Arab Guide at Gournou ; Arab 
 at Gournou ; Madinah Tabou ; Method of Irrigation on the 
 Nile ; Bedouin Boatmen ; Janissary ; My Gun, and Arab Boat- 
 man looking at Snake ; The Dourn, or Thebaic Palm ; Valley 
 of the Tombs of the Oueens; Sand-storm in the Desert; 
 Memnons ; My Boatmen on the Nile ; Village of Gezar; six, 
 Karnack ; Temple of Denderah ; Camels near Nile; Memno- 
 nium ; Interior of First Temple, Karnack; two, Temple, 
 Egypt; Raft on Nile used for Fishing; Madinat; Gournou; 
 Valley of the Tombs of the Queens; Tombs inhabited by 
 Arabs; Entrance to Temple; Temple, Egypt; Arabs at 
 Prayer; The Nile, looking towards Nubia; Bruce’s Tomb, 
 Valley of Kings; Arab Houses; Valley of the Tombs of the 
 Kings ; Small Common-headed Vulture ; Pelican shot near 
 Mantfalout ; Date-palm, Egypt; Reis, Captain of Boat; two, 
 Pyramids from the Nile. 
 
 I think the above list of the subj'ects sketched in Egypt by 
 Muller will be read with interest. It indicates how thoroughly 
 his mind was aroused and impressed by every scene and inci- 
 
EGYPT. 
 
 85 
 
 dent of that wonderful land, and, likewise, as proving that Ch ap. vi. 
 the most celebrated pictures painted by him after his return 1838-1839. 
 home, such as “ The Arab Shepherds,” “The Slave Market,” 
 
 “ The Avenue of Sphinxes,” “ Street Scenes in Cairo,” &c., 
 were all taken from subjects which he had seen and sketched 
 on the spot. 
 
VII. 
 
 REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 
 
 1839-1840. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
 FTER his return from Egypt, Muller again took up 
 his abode in his old quarters, No. 16, College 
 Green. The rich and varied sketches which he 
 had brought home soon procured him many com- 
 missions, both from friends and dealers, and he commenced 
 painting a series of pictures, principally small ones, of Eastern 
 subjects, with which his name has become thoroughly 
 identified — “Street Scenes in Cairo,” “Opium Sellers,” 
 “Merchants selling Slaves,” “ Poor Arabs,” &c. The prices 
 obtained were low, scarcely averaging £ 10 ; but the great 
 rapidity with which he painted enabled him to lay by money, 
 and he now turned his thoughts to London as the place of all 
 others in England where an artist might hope to achieve 
 fame and fortune. J. B. Pyne, George A. Fripp, and other 
 Bristol artists with whom he had associated on terms of 
 friendship, had already preceded him to the metropolis. Doubt- 
 less he felt regret in removing from his native town, Bristol, 
 where he had many friends. Amongst these was a lady to 
 whom he had given many small pencil sketches, very slight 
 but very beautiful. They have been collected together in a 
 book, which now belongs to Dr. Martyn of Clifton. 
 
 With the exception of his brother, the other chief ties in 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 87 
 
 Bristol consisted in his friendship for Mr. John Harrison and C HA1J - VI1 - 
 the Rev. John Eagles. With both these gentlemen, who 1839-1840. 
 loved art truly for its own sake, Muller had much in common. 
 
 Their sketching excursions were resumed occasionally after 
 his removal to London, when revisiting Bristol. One of 
 these, mentioned to me by Mr. Harrison, but not included in 
 his own paper (which will be found further on, chapter xvi.), 
 
 I will here relate. Muller came early one morning to Mr. 
 Harrison’s house, and having placed their folios and other 
 painting apparatus in Mr. Harrison’s little open carriage, 
 they drove off to the corner of a road in Clifton, where 
 Mr. Eagles had appointed to meet them. Eagles shortly 
 made his appearance, very dapper, but without any signs of 
 having made preparation for a day’s painting from nature. 
 
 This surprised his companions all the more as he usually 
 carried easel, canvas, and other traps. “Where are your 
 materials? ” they cried. “ Oh, nevermind that,” he replied; 
 and, jumping in, they drove rapidly off. Arrived at their 
 destination, Eagles, according to his wont, described in 
 eloquent terms all the pictures he saw before him in nature ; 
 how he would arrange them so as to produce the feeling and 
 effect which he thought would be most appropriate to the 
 scene, &c. Muller and Harrison soon made their selection, 
 placed their stools, and commenced sketching. 
 
 Meanwhile Eagles looked on quietly, and at last he drew 
 out of his pocket a very small book, about 4 inches by 2, a 
 pencil brush, and cake of sepia, and also set to work. This 
 gradually excited the merriment of his companions, it was 
 so unlike his usual large manner of proceeding ; but much 
 more so when, finding his paper was too small, he kept 
 turning over the leaves of the little book in order to continue 
 his sketch lengthivays , saying he could join them afterwards. 
 
 After Eagles had continued this proceeding for some time, 
 the absurdity of the whole thing so tickled Muller, that he 
 actually rolled off his stool with laughter. 
 
88 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. vii. After Muller’s return from Egypt in the summer of 1839, 
 1839-1840. he painted a large and beautiful picture of Lake Albano from 
 the sketch he made of that spot on his way home through 
 Italy. This picture, which was exhibited in Bristol, and 
 purchased by W. H. Gore Langton, Esq., M.P., gave rise 
 to the following verses which were inserted in the Bristol 
 Journal : — 
 
 LINES 
 
 On viewing Mr. W. J. Muller’s Painting of “ Lake Albano,” in Davey's Picture Exhibition, 
 Bristol, June, 1839, by the Rev. Thomas Grinfield, M.A. 
 
 “ Most beauteous scene ! by Muller’s tasteful hand, 
 
 From fair Italia to our northern land 
 AVafted, in all the loveliness of hues 
 Which southern suns o’er classic scenes diffuse ! 
 
 “ Scarce he whose Cambrian genius could combine 
 The tints of Claude with Gaspar’s bold design, 
 
 Scarce Wilson's self with finer touch could make 
 The memory of Albano’s wood-girt lake. 
 
 “ Poor Wilson, living , ill could earn his bread, 
 
 But wins his thousands since the master’s dead : 
 
 Oh, let not living artists reap too late, 
 
 Nor share, with Wilson’s merit, Wilson’s fate! ” 
 
 The author of the above lines was a gentleman well known 
 in Bristol and Clifton, and a friend of the Mullers. His 
 object appears to have been to draw public attention to the 
 merit of Muller’s paintings and the inadequate sums he was 
 receiving for them. 
 
 Another important picture, painted at this time, and dated 
 June, 1839, is that of “A Street Scene in Cairo;” it is an 
 upright, 3 ft. by 4 ft. 6 in., and is now in the collection of Mr. 
 Joseph Chamberlain Edgbaston. On the left hand an old 
 Turk is seated, and is evidently fully engaged in gazing at a 
 fair girl (probably a Circassian slave), whom a villanous- 
 looking Arab, wrapped in a large native cloak, is presenting 
 for his approval. Next to this group is a swarthy man in a 
 rich dark blue robe, with another upright figure just behind, 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 89 
 
 carrying on his shoulder a little child who is waving a palm- chap. vii. 
 branch in its hand. On the right are some more grim- 1839-1840. 
 looking natives, their faces full of the half-savage, half- 
 fanatical expression of the children of the desert ; and close 
 by is a mule partly laden. In the distance a Moorish arch 
 and a minaret rise against the sky, and picturesque Egyptian 
 buildings on either side complete this fine picture : the 
 whole is full of character, and the colouring is rich and 
 mellow, but smoother and less powerful than those of 
 Muller’s works which were painted two or three years later. 
 
 This subject was often repeated, but always, I believe, of a 
 smaller size. 
 
 Late in the autumn of 1839 Muller left Bristol for 
 London, and his pupil and friend, Edward Dighton, followed 
 him soon afterwards. The apartments which he first 
 engaged were in Rupert Street, near the Haymarket. They 
 were near the top of the house, and at a very moderate 
 rent. But at this time Muller felt the necessity for strict 
 economy : and he had the courage to practise it — for, as he 
 afterwards remarked to his friend, Harry Johnson, it was at 
 first rather a hard struggle to be left to his own resources 
 in the great metropolis. 
 
 He remained in Rupert Street several months ; but in the 
 spring or summer of 1840 he removed into more commodious 
 quarters at No. 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury. Muller 
 was fortunate in his landlord and landlady, Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 Bruff, who were always very obliging, and he never after- 
 wards changed his lodgings in London. 
 
 Muller’s rooms were on the first floor; the front room — 
 intended for a drawing-room — he used as his studio, and 
 there he took his breakfast and tea. In this room Muller 
 had what he used to call his “library: ” it consisted of a 
 hanging book-shelf suspended from the wall — as was often 
 the fashion in those days. The books scarcely exceeded a 
 dozen in number, and were cheap editions or second-hand 
 
go 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vii. copies, purchased at book-stalls, but nevertheless highly 
 1839-1840. prized by Muller. They included two volumes of the I listory 
 of Venice and her Doges, the autobiography of Benvenuto 
 Cellini, a complete edition of Shakespeare, the Plays of 
 Ben Jonson, and a few other similar works, indicating the 
 bent of Muller’s taste in literature. 
 
 His bedroom was behind the studio, into which it opened 
 by means of folding-doors. His frugal dinner was taken at 
 Hancock’s . eating-house, in Rupert Street, which he had 
 discovered when he first lodged in that street ; the walk to 
 and fro being of use in the way of health. 
 
 His daily routine was to breakfast about eight o’clock, and 
 at nine he set his palette, or his pupil set it for him, and 
 he immediately commenced to paint. This lasted without 
 ceasing till four, or, if much interested, till five o’clock. 
 Muller then went out to dine ; after which he proceeded to 
 the Life School in Clipstone Street, Fitzroy Square, and there 
 worked from seven to nine, and after that he would often join 
 the drawing-society formed there by the students amongst 
 themselves — remaining till eleven or twelve o’clock at night. 
 Muller and Dighton joined the Clipstone Street Academy 
 early in 1840. Many young artists — Duncan, Goodall, 
 Poole, Jenkins, Dodgson, Topham, Wilson, and others, 
 including Charles Baxter, the portrait and figure painter — 
 were members at this time. Baxter relates that Muller used 
 to bring his palette with him, ready set, and that he always 
 preferred an old piece of canvas (that had been worked on 
 before) or a bit of old panel to a new canvas. He used 
 generally only small sable brushes, which he purchased a 
 gross at a time ; preferring them to hog-hair brushes, as he 
 said he could always deposit his colour at once with a side- 
 way motion of the sable, whereas the colour was too apt 
 to cling to and clog the hogs’ hair. This, considering 
 Muller’s very rapid style of work, was of importance. 
 
 At this time the students all, more or less, recognised 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 9 1 
 
 Muller’s rare power — extraordinary rapidity and energy 
 (Baxter says), and that he would generally commence and 
 finish a small oil picture from the life in two hours or 
 a little more. On one occasion, Charles Baxter having 
 painted a nude figure, which he showed to Muller, the latter 
 praised it and said, “Now, this only wants a good back- 
 ground to make it into a capital picture ; will you let me do 
 it for you? ” Baxter was only too pleased that the experi- 
 ment should be made ; so Muller set to work and painted in 
 a rich, powerful bit of Italian landscape, in the style and 
 colour of Titian or Tintoretto, in a wonderfully short time. 
 The picture long remained in Baxter’s possession, but has 
 lately been parted with. When work was over, the students 
 smoked and indulged in jokes and games — often going home 
 very late — but these late hours never prevented Muller from 
 being up and at work early the next morning. On one of 
 the evenings in Clipstone Street, apropos , as I am told, of a 
 proposal to decorate one of the rooms with frescoes, a dis- 
 cussion arose as to marine subjects, which were spoken of 
 by Muller in rather a slighting manner. One of the party 
 then told Muller, by way of rejoinder, that he would not find 
 them so easy if he tried. Upon this — to show his power of 
 drawing anything — Muller made a large and very effective 
 marine study of a vessel tossed on a rough sea, on the 
 whitewashed wall of the room, in chalk and charcoal, in less 
 than two hours, which was exceedingly admired by his 
 companions. 
 
 Mr. Jos. J. Jenkins, the well-known member of the Old 
 Water - Colour Society, was honorary secretary of the 
 Clipstone Street Academy when Muller joined it. He thus 
 became acquainted with Muller, and he has kindly favoured 
 me with his recollections in the following paper, which also 
 contains an interesting account of the origin of the Clipstone 
 Street Academy : — 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
9 2 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
 To N. Neal Solly, Esq., Edgbaston. 
 
 “ 67, Hamilton Terrace, St. John’s Wood, 
 “November 7th, 1874. 
 
 “ Dear Sir, — I have sketched out slightly some little 
 account of Muller in his relation with the Artists’ Society, 
 Clipstone Street, of which I was the Hon. Sec. for some years. 
 I believe it was the only society Muller ever joined in London, 
 and on that account I conceive it will interest you. 
 
 “About the year 1823-1824 a few artists, with Mr. J. P. 
 Knight as their chief, banded themselves together into a 
 little society for the systematic study of veritable rustic 
 figures from the life. The idea was novel in its leading 
 feature — that of pressing into their service models drawn 
 from the wandering tribes of sturdy beggars, ballad-singers, 
 gypsies, pifferari-Italian boys, street-musicians, and tramps of 
 every cast, travel-stained, worn, and often picturesque, in 
 rags, who throng our public ways. It was an attempt to 
 return to a Dutch-like truth in the severest realism, as a cor- 
 rective to the artificial and conventional manner which the 
 painters generally had fallen into of dressing up their figures 
 representing humble life. This society commenced with the 
 modest number of eight or nine members, who met in a 
 rough room, down a stable-yard in Gray’s Inn Lane. Each in 
 turn had to catch a model from the streets, and arrange the 
 figure for a given number of nights ; and many were the 
 amusing tales told of the trials and difficulties experienced, 
 and the tact required to make these vagabond wayfarers com- 
 prehend the novelty of the situation for which they were to 
 be well paid for ‘ sitting still and doing nothing ’ for a 
 couple of hours, on three evenings of the week. 
 
 “ The plan of study, however, prospered, and soon became 
 popular ; applications for admission outgrew the means of 
 accommodation, till the members eventually removed to 
 spacious rooms in Clipstone Street, Fitzroy Square, further 
 increased their numbers, added costumes, collected books, 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 
 
 93 
 
 and founded lectures on anatomy and cognate subjects 
 relating to the fine arts. 
 
 “ To this society, in 1840, I had the pleasure to introduce 
 William Muller. Here he painted regularly during the winter 
 evenings from the models, and improved his knowledge of 
 the figure, displaying in his studies that gifted sense of 
 colour which drew forth the constant admiration of his fellow- 
 workers. Full of animal spirits, and a passionate desire to 
 shine in everything he attempted, he was no less ambitious 
 of playing the leader in any frolic than by the exhibition of 
 the powers of his pencil. In one of these sportive fits, when 
 the members were all leaving for the night, he suddenly pro- 
 posed to flat or repaint two life-size casts — one of the Venus, 
 the other an anatomical figure — to give them ‘ clean new 
 skins,’ and he cried out, ‘Who will stay and help?’ Two 
 or three of us joined in the humour, and were quickly 
 engaged with colour and brushes dabbing away, laughing 
 and jesting to the finishing-touch ; but the completion of 
 the joke carried us late into the night, and I remember we 
 returned home weary with this addition to a long day’s work. 
 Upon another occasion, Muller proposed to decorate with 
 designs in chalk and charcoal the walls of a little white- 
 washed room used by the committee, and immediately 
 dashed in a fine spirited craft rising on the crest of the 
 waves — somewhat recalling a composition of Turner’s. In a 
 similar spirit several other essays were made ; but these were 
 admitted very inferior, and were soon obliterated by their 
 authors. Muller’s delineation, however, remained intact upon 
 the plaster wall, and at the time of his death the society had 
 it covered with glass, in the hope of preserving it as an 
 interesting memorial of one of their most gifted associates. 
 
 “With the termination of the lease of the Clipstone Street 
 premises the members made a third remove to rooms built 
 for them in Langham Chambers (which they now occupy), 
 and at the time of their departure were anxious to carry 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
94 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vii. away with them this sketch of Muller’s ; but it was found 
 1839-1840. impossible to cut the relic from the wall without destroying 
 it. It was therefore reluctantly left in its place, with the 
 faint hope that it would not soon be brushed from its original 
 position. 
 
 “ In addition to the ordinary routine of study, the members 
 once a week held an evening meeting for sketching or impro- 
 vised composition. A subject was named, often a single 
 word, as ‘ summer,’ ‘ winter,’ ‘ snow,’ &c., &c., as the 
 theme on which to build up a composition. At the end of 
 two hours the individual studies were collected and exhibited 
 together, and nothing could be more interesting than to 
 compare the remarkable variety and different mode of treat- 
 ment which the same word suggested to the minds of the 
 different sketchers. 
 
 “ At these gatherings Muller shone in all his glory; as a 
 sketcher he had few if any equals in the rapidity, quantity, 
 or quality of his work, and all the time his hand was pro- 
 ducing with masterly adroitness a recollection of some scene 
 or effect he had noted in his travels he kept up a running 
 fire of jokes or anecdotes, mingled with laughter, and 
 appeared as much delighted with a ‘jest’s prosperity,’ or 
 a smart repartee, as he was at the just admiration bestowed 
 on his artistic skill. 
 
 “ At one of these meetings Muller related with glee how a 
 well-known dealer, who had purchased a small picture of him, 
 pressed him with an invitation to dinner, and, by way of 
 inducement, promised him some very choice and expensive 
 wine. ‘Then I shan’t come,’ said the painter, ‘for I don’t 
 like your wine drunk out of artists’ skulls ! ’ Upon another 
 occasion the conversation turned upon an engraving just 
 then published by the popular painter of Belshazzar’s Feast, 
 John Martin, and which was criticized as being far too black 
 and white. ‘ Yes,’ burst in Muller, with his usual laugh, ‘ too 
 much of Day and Martin.'' 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 
 
 95 
 
 “The great abilities of Muller naturally exerted con- 
 siderable influence over his professional associates ; perhaps 
 no greater proof can be offered of his individual power in 
 this respect than the lasting impression made by his genius 
 on the minds of his old companions, who still cherish his 
 memory, and who delight to recall those pleasant days when 
 they were associated together. Muller was left-handed and 
 short-sighted, worked with his face close to his paper or 
 canvas, occasionally using an eye-glass to view remote 
 objects, but invariably removed the glass from his eye when 
 he used the brush. 
 
 “ By the light of recent sales, the prices Muller received 
 for his works appear ridiculously small indeed. Dozens of 
 his little gems in oil he parted with for five pounds apiece. 
 Mr. Bell, the proprietor of Bell' s Weekly Messenger , had a 
 number at that price ; and for ten pounds he secured the 
 beautiful picture of ‘ The Opium Seller,’ engraved in the 
 Art-Journal,' by Topham. 
 
 “Jos. J. Jenkins.” 
 
 Very soon after Muller arrived in London he was intro- 
 duced by George Fripp to Rought, the picture-dealer, in 
 Waterloo Place, Regent Street. He was almost the first 
 who purchased Muller’s drawings and paintings in London, 
 and for many years he was a constant purchaser of his works. 
 Rought was not only a good judge, but was truly fond of 
 good art-work. Muller used to relate that the first time he 
 took any of his work to show to Rought, he drove there in 
 a cab, with one or two folios of sketches and drawings. 
 These were turned over and examined ; but at last he was 
 told by Rought, that he must decline to purchase at that 
 time, as his stock was so large. Muller well knew that his 
 drawings were superior to many which he had seen at 
 Rought’s; however, he was not the man to show his dis- 
 appointment, and, promptly gathering up his folios, he 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
g6 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vii. returned to his cab, and was in the act of driving off when 
 
 1839-1840. an assistant came hurriedly out with a message to the 
 effect that Mr. Rought would take three or four, and wished 
 to look at them again. As soon as these were selected, pay- 
 ment was tended to Muller; but he declined to receive it, 
 saying he was not in want of money, and should prefer to 
 let it stand over. This appeared to surprise as well as please 
 Rought, who added shortly, “ Well, Mr. Muller, if that be 
 the case, I should like to select a few more.” After this 
 Muller always found a ready purchaser in Rought, and I 
 believe he never had any reason to complain of his dealings 
 with him. 
 
 One of the first acquaintances Muller made in London, 
 amongst the lovers and patrons of art, was that of my cousin, 
 Mr. Horsman Solly, of 48, Great Ormond Street, one of the 
 earliest members of the Society of Arts, and a man of a very 
 genial and kind disposition. Mr. Solly had long been on terms 
 of friendship with John and Cornelius Varley, and had made 
 a collection of their drawings, as well as of those of David 
 Cox and Copley Fielding ; as soon as he became acquainted 
 with the works of Muller he purchased some of those also, 
 and welcomed the young artist to his house. There Muller 
 often met the late Mr. Thomas Morson, the well-known 
 chemist, a man of the most unassuming pleasing manners, as 
 well as of great intelligence ; and the friendship thus formed 
 lasted as long as Muller lived. Mr. Morson had a country 
 house at Hornsey, where Muller often went to spend his 
 Sundays ; but in the winter he most frequently dined with 
 Mr. Solly, and then they adjourned to spend the evening at 
 Mr. Morson’s residence in Southampton Row. Mr. Solly 
 was much attached to Muller, and remained his firm friend 
 as long as he lived. To the British Institution, which opened 
 in January, 1840, Muller sent a large and important picture, 
 5 ft. 4 by 4 ft. 7 : “ Offering a Greek Slave for Sale, in a 
 Street leading to the Slave Market, Grand Cairo; painted from 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 
 
 97 
 
 sketches made on the spot during the years 1838-1839.” 
 This was hung in the south room, in rather a bad situation, 
 but it attracted a good deal of notice, and was favourably 
 criticized ; it found a purchaser in Mr. Edmund Smithe. 
 
 The Royal Academy Exhibition, which opened in May, 
 1840, also contained the following works by Muller: — 
 “ Athens, from the Road to Marathon” — a bright picture, 
 with the Acropolis rising up in the distance, hung in the middle 
 room; also “Ruins of Gournou, Egypt; Sunset,” hung in 
 the octagon room. This is thus described — “ Gournou is 
 that part of Thebes situated on the right side of the Nile, 
 ascending. The large masses of stone at the base of the 
 temple are the remains of a gigantic statue, said to have 
 represented Memnon.” 
 
 Both these were large and important works, but the view 
 at Gournou was much the most interesting. 
 
 I will now describe a few of the pictures painted by Muller, 
 in various styles, in the year 1840. 
 
 “Hampstead Heath,” 20 ft. by [4 ft., formerly in Mr. 
 Robertson Blain’s collection. A view of the heath, with 
 trees and a few figures ; a sandy gravelly bank and a pool 
 of water complete the foreground : the colouring is warm, 
 rich, and juicy; the handling very rapid. 
 
 “Carnarvon Castle; Early Morning,” about 3 ft. 6 by 
 2 ft. 6 — a beautiful and poetical picture. The grand old 
 castle stands up above the sea, surrounded by mists, which 
 are illumined by the rising sun ; on the right is a group of 
 Welsh country-folk, with a large jug in the foreground : the 
 whole full of character. This picture is now in the collection 
 of Mr. W. Lyndon. 
 
 “ Bay of Naples,” about 5 ft. 6 by 3 ft. 6, formerly in 
 Lord Northwick’s Collection : very bright and sunny. Mount 
 Vesuvius in the distance, Chiaga in the curve of the bay, 
 with light-reflections in the blue water. The view is taken 
 from Mount Pausilipo, on which are some grand stone-pines ; 
 
 H 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
98 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. vii. these, and some shrubs with their dark shadows, form a fine 
 
 1839-1840. contrast against the sky, which is of a bluish white, in parts 
 almost white, with the haze of intense heat : some goats and 
 figures are introduced in the foreground of this subject. 
 Muller painted two large copies, making altogether three. 
 
 “The Opium Seller,” 13^ by 10^, upright; formerly in the 
 collection of Mr. Peel, now in that of Mr. W. Smith of 
 Wisbech ; painted on an old oak panel. It represents the 
 interior of a dilapidated building at Siout, Upper Egypt. 
 On the right, through an open doorway, a stream of light 
 enters, and illumines a group of eight figures : the first, 
 standing in the doorway, is a negro, nearly nude ; the next, 
 an old man with purple robe and white turban showing the 
 red fez cap ; then an Arab in the burnous or blanket of the 
 country. The central figure of the group is a dignified Turk 
 in a green turban and robes of vermilion and white ; on the 
 left sits the old opium-merchant, on a rich rug raised on a 
 divan, smoking a long pipe, and surrounded with small 
 boxes containing the drug-bottles and other Egyptian 
 utensils; the colouring of the remaining figures is rich and 
 dark, and the group includes also another picturesque negro 
 holding a staff. The remains of elaborate decoration appear 
 on the walls and other parts of the old building — the whole 
 being very powerful. Through the open door some Arab 
 houses and a streak of blue and grey sky are visible. I 
 have seen several repetitions of this subject — a favourite one 
 with Muller, as it allowed free scope for his love of rich 
 and brilliant colour ; some variation in the arrangement 
 was generally introduced. 
 
 “ Selling a Slave,” 13 ft. by 9 ; in Mr. S. Mayou’s collec- 
 tion, Edgbaston. The merchant about to purchase a slave is 
 in Turkish costume, and is reclining on the left, smoking ; 
 near to him stands the seller, also a turbaned Turk, in a 
 yellow robe and white turban, holding a gun ; close by is a 
 slave, a dark African — almost black — in red turban and dark 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 
 
 99 
 
 blue robe, at whose feet a miserable negro child is crouching; 
 the child, although nearly nude, is relieved by some scanty 
 white drapery; and on the extreme right another old Turk is 
 seated. More figures, a camel, and part of a mosque are 
 seen in the distance. Muller, in his rapid, sketchy, but 
 powerful manner, has thoroughly realised the feeling of this 
 subject, which is at once masterly and natural. Like “ The 
 Opium Seller,” the colour is warm and brilliant, and is now 
 mellowed by the lapse of years. 
 
 During the first six months of his residence in London, 
 and before leaving for his tour through France, Muller 
 continued to paint many small pictures from sketches made 
 near Bristol, as also from his foreign sketches ; these he sold 
 at prices varying from five to ten pounds, very rarely exceed- 
 ing the latter sum. 
 
 Charles Baxter, who, although not a pupil of Muller’s, was 
 continually in his studio about this time, relates that one 
 day seeing a small but powerful oil-picture — a view of Avi- 
 gnon — on the mantelshelf in Charlotte Street, he told Muller 
 that it took his fancy very much, and that he should like to 
 possess it. “Ah!” said Muller, “you are the first person 
 who has ever admired it, although I like it myself as well 
 as anything I have done ; but if you wish for it I will let 
 you have it, together with a small Venetian subject of the 
 same size (a view of San Salute), at fifty shillings each.” 
 At this time Muller, as I have observed, readily obtained at 
 least five pounds for pictures of that size and quality, but he 
 liked to do a generous thing. Dighton, who was working 
 at the time in Muller’s studio, accompanied Baxter to the 
 door when he left, and said, “ Baxter, I should have liked so 
 very much myself to have had that picture of Avignon ; but 
 Muller said nothing to me about it, and I did not like to tell 
 him I wanted it.” This was like Dighton, who always had 
 a great admiration for Muller’s work^, and, at the same time, 
 was of a modest retiring nature. In the same way Baxter 
 
 Chap. VII. 
 1839-1840. 
 
 H 2 
 
IOO 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vii. obtained a circular picture, a Bacchante subject, and one or 
 1839-1840. two others, at the prices named by Muller, which were always 
 very moderate. 
 
 In the spring of 1840 Messrs. Hodgson and Graves, of 
 Pall Mall, entered into an agreement with W. Muller to 
 make a tour through the northern and central departments 
 of France, and make a series of forty sketches of the 
 principal monuments and other remains of the Renaissance 
 period of Francis I. and other French kings ; from these it 
 was stipulated that twenty-six drawings were to be selected 
 to be lithographed. It was arranged that Edward Dighton, 
 who was still a pupil of Muller’s, should accompany him on 
 this trip, and that they should return home by way of Jersey 
 and spend a few days with Dighton’s family, who were then 
 resident in that island. 
 
 Early in June they embarked at Southampton for Havre, 
 and after visiting Rouen and other places in Normandy, 
 where Muller made several of his best sketches, they arrived 
 in Paris on the 17th June. Here and at Fontainebleau they 
 spent rather more than a month, sketching many fine old 
 buildings and interiors, and also visiting St. Denis. On 
 the 2 1 st July they started for Orleans, Blois, and other 
 places on the Loire, and, after visiting Nantes, Angers, &c., 
 they reached St. Malo on the 9th September, and, after a 
 short stay in that picturesque old place, embarked in the 
 steamer for Jersey. Mr. George Dighton (younger brother 
 of Edward Dighton) was only a small boy at that time, but 
 he well remembers Muller’s visit to Jersey, and gives the 
 following pleasant recollection of him : — “ I remember also 
 that Muller’s good-nature was so evident to me, as a child, 
 that I claimed his help in many serious undertakings, among 
 which I specially remember taking him up an orchard in 
 very thin shoes to cut a branch of elder for a pop-gun. I 
 am afraid poor Muller made a mild protest against wetting 
 his feet and spoiling his pen-knife ; but the fact was accom- 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. 
 
 IOI 
 
 plished, and remains fixed in my memory.” Muller was Chap. vii. 
 back in his old quarters in Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 1839-1840 
 before the end of September, with his folio full of sketches, 
 several of which served as subjects for pictures in oil. He 
 now set to work, making drawings from his sketches for Mr. 
 
 Graves’s lithographic work, and also commenced on the 
 paintings to be exhibited in the forthcoming exhibitions of 
 the British Institution, Society of British Artists, and Royal 
 Academy. The works painted by Muller at this period 
 show that he had a great appreciation and knowledge of the 
 technical qualities and resources of oil-painting, and of the 
 importance of manipulation. I have noticed also that he 
 made every stroke of his brush tell in the right direction, so 
 as to assist the movement and feeling of the composition. 
 
 By this means he gave an intelligent meaning even to the 
 mechanical part of his work. 
 
 It was after Muller’s return home from France that he 
 made the acquaintance in London of Mr. Chisholm Gooden, 
 with whom he afterwards made many pleasant sketching 
 excursions, especially those in a hatched boat to the mouth 
 of the Thames, which will be described in a subsequent 
 chapter. This acquaintance shortly ripened into a warm 
 friendship, which only ended with life. Mr. Gooden says, 
 that he first saw Muller at the house of Mr. Chambers, Percy 
 Street, Rathbone Place, a member of the Old Water-Colour 
 Society ; but Muller did not think highly of the works of that 
 artist, which were chiefly marine subjects, and they never 
 saw much of each other. Mr. Gooden also remembers that 
 soon after Muller’s return to London he sent Dighton with a 
 folio of sketches to see what offers he could get for them from 
 the dealers, just to test what his standing was in London. On 
 Dighton’s return, he said that the only offer he had had for the 
 lot was 35. 6 d. each, although they were sketches which (as Mr. 
 
 Gooden remarked) would now readily sell at forty to fifty 
 guineas and upwards apiece. Gooden used often to join 
 
102 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. vii. Muller and Dighton in the studio in Charlotte Street ; he 
 1839-1840. says that one of Muller’s greatest triumphs was to send him 
 (Gooden) and Dighton out for the day to sketch at Hampstead, 
 or the hay-barges near Waterloo Bridge, or elsewhere, and, 
 having placed a small untouched canvas before him on his 
 easel, on their return at about four o’clock in the afternoon 
 he would show them a fine little picture painted on the same, 
 and entirely finished. On another occasion, when Gooden and 
 Dighton were about to start for a sketch, Muller, who had 
 placed a large unfinished upright landscape, about 6 ft. by 
 3 ft. 6, against the wall, was left standing on a stool stretch- 
 ing up with palette and brush in hand, “ bringing the work 
 together ,” and painting on the very top of the sky; and when 
 they returned, three or four hours afterwards, he was seated 
 on a “ tea-caddy ” just completing the foreground, the 
 whole of this large work having been gone over and admi- 
 rably brought to completion in one morning. Muller gloried 
 in that wonderful rapidity : he could thus sometimes produce 
 a painting in three or four hours, which had all the appear- 
 ance of having been the work of as many days. He would 
 granulate the distance in a peculiar manner of his own, with 
 chalk and ground glass, in order to produce atmosphere , thus 
 giving an aerial effect to the distance ; then he would take 
 the palette-knife and work away at the middle distance and 
 foreground smoothly and very solidly. After Dighton had 
 been for some time with Muller in London, he began to fear 
 that the great influence which Muller’s style was gaining 
 on him would be overpowering ; indeed, it was remarked 
 at that time, that he had so contracted Muller’s style, that 
 his early works were absolutely copies of Muller’s pictures. 
 
 Dighton, therefore, turned to Frederick Goodall, and made 
 arrangements to paint in his studio ; but Muller, who had a 
 great liking and esteem for Dighton, and always called him 
 Die, felt this keenly, and, I fear, never quite forgave him. 
 
 Dighton’s manner was very winning ; he had a fine person 
 
REMOVAL FROM BRISTOL TO LONDON. IO3 
 
 and pleasant voice, and when withdrawn from Muller’s studio chap. vn. 
 the latter felt for a time solitary and almost morose. 1839-1840. 
 Dighton, although a pupil, prepared Muller’s palette, as I 
 am informed, and certainly rubbed his colours up on the 
 slab ; for Muller was very choice as to materials, and seldom 
 used certain pigments without submitting them to powerful 
 friction at Dighton’ s hands, particularly as to raw sienna 
 and Indian red. Had Dighton lived, he would have made a 
 name in the world of art, without a doubt. He left many 
 fine works behind him, which are principally owned by col- 
 lectors in Liverpool, and his early death was a great loss to 
 all his friends : towards the close of his life he became rather 
 a recluse, and on his death-bed he bequeathed a picture to 
 each of his friends. Amongst the lovers of good art who 
 early felt interested in Muller’s career, and purchased several 
 of his works, was the late Mr. Joshua Satterfield, of Man- 
 chester. Several letters written . to that gentleman I am 
 able (through the kindness of his nephew, Mr. Charles 
 Sandars) to insert in this volume ; the first of these I shall 
 now give. I will give a description in the next chapter of 
 Muller’s work, already mentioned as about to be published 
 by Hodgson and Graves (“ Age of Francis I.”), and referred 
 to in this letter. 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, London, 
 
 “November 22nd, 1840. 
 
 “ Sir, — In answer to a letter which you addressed me 
 some few days back, in Bristol, and which, in consequence 
 of my having moved to London to reside, did not reach me 
 previous to this morning, I beg to say I perfectly remember 
 the picture now in your possession. I painted it from the 
 grounds of T. S. Harford, Esq., at Blaize Castle. The style 
 was one to which I devoted much attention previous to my 
 visiting the East. I shall have much pleasure in forwarding 
 you a companion, as you desire ; but, as I am at present 
 
104 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. vii. engaged most particularly in making the drawings for 
 1839-1840. Messrs. Hodgson and Graves’s lithographic work for the 
 year 1841, I could not promise its completion within the 
 next few weeks. I have many subjects that will paint well 
 as companions, and I think one of those red and sunny 
 mornings so common in frost (to England) most calculated 
 to be pleasing. As you kindly leave it to my choice, I will 
 try and produce a picture that I hope will be satisfactory, 
 and remain, sir, 
 
 “Your obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The picture referred to above was purchased of a dealer 
 by Mr. Satterfield, and led to his introduction to Muller. It 
 is 26 in. by 16 in., and dated 1840. A boat is fast in the 
 ice ; on the bank an old house is represented, and in the 
 right-hand corner a bridge is seen through some shrubs. 
 The sky represents a fine clear frosty day, and is beautiful 
 in tone. 
 
VIII. 
 
 “AGE OF FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE.” 
 
 SHALL give some account now of the remarkable 
 work which resulted from William Muller’s journey 
 to France, accompanied by Edward Dighton, in 
 the autumn of 1840. It was published by Henry 
 Graves and Co., of Pall Mall, in 1841, and was dedicated 
 by Muller, in a few graceful lines, to Queen Adelaide. 
 
 There are twenty-six folio tableaux lithographed from 
 Muller’s original sketches and drawings. Of these he made 
 upwards of forty in France, and allowed Mr. Graves to select 
 those he liked best for the work. Although the lithographer 
 has done his work fairly well, the plates do but scant justice 
 to the vigour and freshness of Muller’s sketches, many of 
 which I have seen. These are partly in colour and partly in 
 monochrome, on tinted paper ; but all are suggestive of the 
 effect produced by the crumbling, softening hand of Time, 
 and are both rapid in manner and harmonious in colour. 
 
 The subject was a difficult and laborious one ; the remu- 
 neration agreed on was very small, but Muller spared neither 
 time nor care to insure success. I am informed, indeed, that 
 he made carefully finished copies of some of the sketches, 
 which Mr. Graves considered had not been carried far 
 enough as respects finish. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
106 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 The romantic feeling of the Renaissance period of architec- 
 ture introduced into France from Italy by Francis has-been 
 well realised by Muller, and he has added to the interest of 
 the buildings and monuments represented by introducing 
 figures in the costumes of the period. Whilst turning over 
 the pages you feel transported into the midst of the luxurious 
 surroundings of the autocratic and voluptuous Francis, and 
 are also made acquainted with several of the beautiful 
 ecclesiastical monuments of that epoch. 
 
 Francis, the victor of Marignano, and the friend and 
 patron of Titian and Leonardo da Vinci, not only entertained 
 in a regal manner such guests as the Emperor Charles V. 
 and King Henry VIII., but during his residence in Italy he 
 was so delighted with the works of the Renaissance that on 
 his return to his own country he gave quite a new start to 
 French taste in building and decoration. Francis was also 
 very fond of pictures, and brought back with him several 
 masterpieces from Italy. His court was frequented by many 
 eminent Italian and French painters, sculptors, and archi- 
 tects — Leonardo da Vinci (whom the king called by the 
 endearing title of “Father”), Benvenuto Cellini, Francisco 
 Primaticio, Jean Goujon, Pierre Bontems, and others. In 
 his camps were found some of the bravest soldiers of France 
 — the Chevalier Bayard, the Constable de Bourbon, Gaston 
 de Foix, the Marechal Lautrec, and others. His court was 
 the residence of the most celebrated beauties of the day 
 — Madame de Chateaubriand, the Duchess d’Estampes, 
 Marguerite de Valois, Diana de Poictiers — ladies who had 
 the reputation of being more beautiful than virtuous; but 
 in court circles morality and virtue in those days were some- 
 what lightly esteemed. I hope this digression descriptive of 
 King Francis and his surroundings will not be thought out 
 of place, and I shall now proceed, without further preface, 
 to give some account of the contents of the work itself. 
 
 No. i. The Frontispiece, represents the Terrace of the 
 
AGE OF FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE. 
 
 107 
 
 ( < 
 
 5 y 
 
 Castle of Chambord. Through an archway adorned with Chap. viii. 
 the initial and cognizance of Francis you see a terrace with 
 massive balustrades, overlooking a stretch of flat, wooded 
 country, and also perceive the angle of the castle adorned 
 with sculptured “ tourelles.” The lines of the arch are 
 broken on one side by ancient armour placed against it, 
 spears, halberds, and swords, and a page is seated caressing 
 a greyhound, whilst close by is a stalwart soldier accoutred 
 with casque, breastplate, &c. This Castle of Chambord, 
 which is about four leagues from Blois, in the midst of a 
 park, is one of the few feudal castles still remaining in 
 France comparatively uninjured. Commenced by Francis in 
 1526, it was continued by other kings in succession, the 
 design being to construct a vast palace or castle in the 
 Moorish style of architecture. For twelve years Francis is 
 said to have kept 2,000 workmen employed in building it ; 
 afterwards the internal decorations were entrusted to 
 Primaticio and Jean Goujon ; but the vestibule was adorned 
 with frescoes attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and Cousin. 
 
 These are celebrated works. 
 
 No. 2. This is a representation of the Gallery of 
 Francis I., Fontainebleau. The elaborate carvings and 
 sculpture of this celebrated apartment are well given. It was 
 painted by Le Rosso, and, I believe, no finer specimen of the 
 Renaissance style of decoration exists. It is enriched with 
 Caryatides supporting the rich deep cornice, and between 
 these are pictures by various artists. The ceiling is carved 
 and fretted, and numerous masks, medallions, and other 
 ornaments sculptured on the walls add to the general effect. 
 
 Groups of knights and ladies in ancient costume are skilfully 
 introduced. Conspicuous amongst these is the king, to 
 whom Benvenuto Cellini is represented, on bended knee, 
 presenting a vase on a salver. This incident was probably 
 suggested to Muller by the following passage in the auto- 
 biography of Cellini, translated by T. Nugent:— 
 
IOS LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. VIII. “I waited on his majesty (Francis I.) accordingly, with 
 cup and basin so often mentioned ; being come into his 
 presence, I kissed his knee, and he received me in the most 
 gracious manner imaginable. When I had done speaking, 
 he took the cup and the basin, and said to me, ‘It is my 
 real opinion that the ancients were never capable of working 
 in so exquisite taste. I have seen all the masterpieces 
 of the greatest artists of Italy, but never beheld anything 
 that gave me such high satisfaction.’ This the king said 
 in French to the Cardinal of Ferrara.” 
 
 No. 3. “ Monument to Francis II., Duke of Bretagne, 
 Nantes.” This old tomb, although elaborate, is grand in 
 outline and general effect. At each corner are mourning 
 figures representing, by their mural crowns, four of the chief 
 cities of France. On the sides various figures are sculptured 
 in alto-relievo. At the feet of the recumbent effigies of 
 Francis and his spouse are a lion and a greyhound 
 couchant, and also their ducal crowns. An old monk is 
 represented engaged in showing the monument to some 
 personages of rank, and through an open door part of the 
 church is indicated. 
 
 No. 4. “ The Tournament at the Chateau Chambord.” 
 The court in front of the principal facade of the castle, which 
 is delineated in its full length with a double range of 
 galleries and arcades, is occupied with the joust or tourna- 
 ment so much in vogue at that period. Two knights on 
 horseback, in full panoply, are approaching each other at a 
 galop, with lance in rest ; a vast concourse of spectators, 
 javelin-men, pages leading horses (which are adorned with 
 plumes and trappings), knights, and others are grouped 
 about, and are waiting their turn, in front of the tents. 
 This plate is very characteristic of the period, and is full of 
 the life and chivalrous spirit of the middle ages. 
 
 No. 5. “ The Guard-room, Chambord.” On one side of a 
 large hall, in front of a lofty fireplace, a number of soldiers 
 
“AGE OF FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE.” IOQ 
 
 and retainers are gathered round an old table, apparently 
 intent on gambling. On the oaposite side a page is 
 engaged fitting a suit of armour on a knight, at whose feet 
 some beautiful greyhounds are resting. The roof is enriched 
 with carvings, and on the further side of the building a noble 
 winding staircase is visible. The feeling of space and the 
 perspective are very admirable. 
 
 No. 6. “ Bedroom of Diana de Poictiers, Chenonceaux.” 
 The small but very beautiful Chateau of Chenonceaux, in 
 the Department of the Indre-et-Loire, was the residence of 
 Diana, the mistress of Henri II., who was accustomed to 
 visit her there when engaged in his favourite hunting 
 excursions in the neighbouring forests. A lofty room is 
 represented furnished with richly carved furniture, on which 
 are the letters IT. and D., for Henri and Diana. Two 
 waiting-women are attending on the toilette of a young and 
 beautiful lady, whose attention is directed to the gambols of 
 a child and spaniel on the other side of the apartment, 
 which is gorgeous in all its furniture and decorations. 
 
 No. 7. “ The Court of Honour, Fontainebleau.” A great 
 many knights on horseback, fully equipped and armed 
 for a joust or for the battle-field, are represented sallying 
 through an arch, with pages, serving-men, and banners. A 
 colonnade in perspective carries the eye well into the picture. 
 The subject is a difficult one, but the most has been made of 
 it, and the general effect is pleasing. 
 
 No. 8. “ The Drawing-room, Fontainebleau.” This is a 
 truly regal salon. Its superb decorations, carvings, and 
 furniture are well represented, and will recall the original 
 to all who have visited Fontainebleau. Near a table on one 
 side are a group of ladies and others, who appear to be 
 listening to the music of a guitar played by a young man. 
 1 he costumes are of the sixteenth century. The Emperor 
 Charles V. was here on a short visit in 1539, on his way to 
 Paris. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 
 
1 IO 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 No. 9. “ Grand Dining-room, Chenonceaux.” This is one 
 of Muller’s happiest efforts. In a well-proportioned and 
 rich chamber two cavaliers are playing at chess, watched by 
 a third, whilst some ladies form a secondary group, and a 
 dog reposes in front of the grand old fireplace. A richly 
 ornamented sideboard or buffet, and some carved figures 
 which adorn the mantel-piece, are strikingly beautiful. 
 
 No. 10. “ Bedchamber, Azay-le-Rideau.” The bed in this 
 grand old feudal room is remarkable from the character of 
 the carved figures which serve the place of bedposts. One 
 is a knight in full armour, one a monk, one a queen with 
 sceptre in hand, and one a winged angel clad in a nun’s 
 garb. A large bay-window is opposite the bed. The 
 carvings are exceedingly elaborate ; the labour bestowed 
 on such a drawing as this must have been very great. 
 
 No. 11. “Terrace, Chambord.” A hawking party are 
 engaged in their pastime on a broad palatial terrace. A 
 beautiful archway and other portions of the castle are 
 represented on the left side of the plate. 
 
 No. 12. “ Chateau Brissac, on the Loire.” An open land- 
 scape, in which a party of mounted huntsmen, with dogs 
 and followers on foot, are seen approaching the ancestral 
 Castle of Brissac. Some fine trees are grouped in the fore- 
 ground, and the valley of the Loire stretches away in the 
 far distance. 
 
 No. 13. “ Chamber of Marie de Medici, Blois.” The re- 
 markable and most ancient castle in which this fine chamber 
 is situated was the scene of the murder of the Guises by 
 Henry III., and it is believed that this was the apartment 
 occupied by Catherine during the perpetration of those 
 crimes. An ornamented fireplace of the period occupies a 
 large part of the plate; over this are portraits of Francis 
 and Henry in medallion frames, surrounded by carvings and 
 arabesques. 
 
 No. 14. “ House of Francis I., Champs ftlysees.” Part of 
 
AGE OF FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE. 
 
 I I I 
 
 << 
 
 
 this edifice still exists, surrounded by modern houses, at Chap. viii. 
 Paris. 
 
 No. 15. “ Chapel of the Chateau at Amboise.” This was 
 the scene of the marriage of Lorenzo de Medici to Madelaine, 
 daughter of the Count de Boulogne ; and of this marriage 
 the celebrated Catherine de Medici was the only offspring ; 
 both her parents dying when she was an infant. The chapel 
 was restored in its original style by King Louis-Philippe. 
 
 The Gothic is of the middle ages, of which, although small, 
 it is a fine specimen ; the sculptured tracery of the interior 
 is everywhere beautifully represented. The figures intro- 
 duced are effective : a bishop is engaged baptizing an infant 
 prince held by a richly attired lady, and surrounded by 
 many dames and knights in various attitudes of devotion ; 
 other priests are holding long tapers, and swinging censers 
 with frankincense. Whilst writing this I have just read in 
 the Times of August 27th, 1874, the following interesting 
 notice : — 
 
 “The repairs ordered by the Comte de Paris at the 
 Chateau of Amboise have brought to light the tomb of 
 Leonardo da Vinci, who was known to have died in the 
 neighbourhood, but whose burial-place was unknown. A 
 stone coffin bearing his name was discovered under a thick 
 bed of earth, and on its being opened the painter’s remains 
 were found in a perfect state of preservation. They will be 
 deposited in the chapel of the chateau.” 
 
 No. 16. “Tomb of the Marechal Breze, Rouen.” A 
 splendid mausoleum of the sixteenth century, erected to the 
 memory of her husband by Diana de Poictiers. The material 
 is black and white marble, and is rich and effectively given 
 in this plate. The half-naked emaciated form of the 
 marechal on the sarcophagus is well drawn, but unpleasing 
 in impression. This monument is a good example of the 
 lavish expenditure of that period in ecclesiastical work. A 
 steel-clad knight on horseback, barbed and armed as for a 
 
I I 2 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. viii. tournament, representing De Breze as in life, is seen above ; 
 
 at the head of the recumbent figure Diana is represented in 
 a mourning attitude. 
 
 No. 17. “ Court of the Palace, Blois.” This is one of the 
 best plates in the series. The picturesque and noble palace 
 is seen in excellent perspective. At the principal entrance 
 knights and soldiers are grouped around a carriage and 
 four, towards which some ladies in the costume of the time 
 of Francis are descending the steps. The whole scene is 
 effective and spirited. 
 
 No. 18. “Pulpit in the Church, Fontainebleau.” This is 
 a clever representation of a carved pulpit of the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 No. 19. “ Chapel of St. Hubert, Amboise,” A magnificent 
 entrance to a church, with remarkable figures sculptured 
 over the door. A lady and gentleman in rich attire are 
 coming through the portal, and are bestowing alms on a 
 poor woman and her children. 
 
 No. 20. “ Tomb of the Cardinal Georges d’ Amboise, 
 Rouen.” Another fine tomb in the cathedral at Rouen, 
 finished in 1525. Two cardinals, uncle and nephew, are 
 kneeling on cushions, with bare heads, and hands joined as 
 in prayer. The sculpture of this monument is of exquisite 
 richness and finish ; the artist has taken infinite pains in 
 every part, and has been most successful. There is nothing 
 finer of the kind in France — perhaps not in Europe. These 
 two prelates were successively archbishops of Rouen, and 
 the cathedral owes much of its embellishments to them in the 
 early part of the sixteenth century. 
 
 No. 21. “ Gateway in the Garden, Chateau Gaillon, Paris.” 
 
 No. 22. “Staircase in the Church, Angers.” This plate 
 shows Muller’s great correctness and power of drawing, 
 and knowledge in the arrangement of light and shade. A 
 Catholic procession and other figures are well introduced, 
 and add very much to the interest. 
 
“AGE OF FRANCIS I. OF FRANCE.” I 1 3 
 
 No. 23. “Facade of Chateau Gaillon, Paris.” Over the Chap. viii. 
 gateway is the statue of an armed knight on horseback, so 
 well drawn that it appears to stand out in relief. A number 
 of figures are carefully introduced, and every detail is well 
 finished. 
 
 No. 24. “Ball-room of the Palace, Fontainebleau.” This 
 fine salle was commenced by Francis I., and finished by 
 Henry II. It was painted by Primaticio. In the decora- 
 tions the initial of Henry is entwined with that of Diana 
 of Poictiers. On each side of the fireplace are caryatides. 
 
 Columns extend almost to the ceiling, and between these 
 are the royal coats-of-arms. The whole effect is rich and 
 imposing. Of late years it has been restored. 
 
 No. 25. “Monument of Louis XII., St. Denis.” This is, 
 perhaps, the most remarkable plate of all. Twelve figures, 
 life-size, of the apostles are seated round the tomb of the 
 king, whose effigy and that of his queen, Anne of Bretagne, 
 are seen on the upper platform in the act of prayer. There 
 is much beauty in the arabesques which adorn every part 
 of this monument ; they are said to have been designed 
 by Raphael. The noble Abbey of St. Denis is also well 
 indicated. In the foreground the figures of a knight and 
 priest are introduced, but in a subject so full of interest 
 they appear to detract rather than add to the beauty of the 
 picture. 
 
 No. 26. “ Staircase, Blois.” This is another of the remark- 
 able and graceful staircases of the period of Francis. At 
 the foot of the column which supports it the figure of St. 
 
 George, life-size, is transfixing the dragon with his spear. 
 
 An aged monk with clasped hands is looking on in an 
 attitude of devotion, and a knight and lady are seen de- 
 scending the stairs. In the adjoining corridor a secondary 
 group of figures completes the composition. Every detail is 
 well given. 
 
 I have felt it difficult to do justice to this volume. Many 
 
 1 
 
I 14 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. viii. of the subjects are well adapted for photography, but that 
 art was unknown at the date when the drawings were made 
 by Muller. The original drawings are much prized by 
 those who possess them ; but they are scattered far and 
 wide through various private collections. The lithographic 
 copies are, as I have said before, very inferior to the 
 originals, as they have often rather hard outlines, and have 
 the fault of stiffness ; nevertheless, taken as a whole, it is an 
 eminently successful work, and a worthy example of Muller’s 
 industry, imitative skill, and knowledge of composition. 
 
IX. 
 
 RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 
 
 1841. 
 
 N the British Institution, which opened at the Chap - ix 
 end of January, 1841, Muller exhibited the fol- 1841. 
 lowing three pictures : — 
 
 No. 63. “ Sketch of a Bazaar at Siout, Egypt,” 1 ft. 3 in. 
 by 1 ft. 1 in., hung in the south room. 
 
 No. 210. “Avenue of Sphinxes — Moonlight, Thebes,” 
 
 4 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 8 in., hung very high in the middle 
 room. 
 
 No. 288. Sketch for a picture, “ The Slave Market, 
 
 Cairo,” 1 ft. 1 in. by 1 ft. 6 in., hung in the south room. 
 
 These were all remarkable works, and attracted a good 
 deal of notice, although they were by no means well 
 hung. I have described the large picture of “The Slave 
 Market ” (being the same subject as the above sketch) in 
 another chapter, and will now give a description of the 
 “Avenue of Sphinxes.” This was a very poetical picture, 
 and very effective, although rather deficient in finish, like the 
 smaller copy of the same subject given by the artist to 
 Mr. Harrison, and now in the collection of Mr. J. D. Weston. 
 
 The whole scene is solemn and dreamy. Perfect stillness 
 appears to prevail, and one’s thoughts are carried back 
 
 1 2 
 
I 1 6 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. through thirty centuries to the age of the mighty and 
 1841. mysterious Pharaohs. Sitting figures, colossal monumental 
 sphinxes, are ranged on either side : those on the right 
 more immediately in the foreground are lighted by the moon 
 just appearing above the horizon. In the centre a fine group 
 of palms rises against the sky, and on the left some Arabs, 
 said to be Muller’s boatmen, are sleeping near a watch-fire, 
 which casts a lurid glow on the sphinxes on that side ; this 
 forms a fine contrast to the cold light of the moon and stars. 
 A ruined temple is faintly made out in the distance. The 
 dark shadows are skilfully arranged, and the effect of moon- 
 light is rendered with great truth. 
 
 It was on the varnishing-day at the end of January or 
 beginning of February this year, I believe, that an occurrence 
 took place at the British Institution which forms the subject 
 of the following anecdote, which has been communicated to 
 me by Mr. George Fripp, and which I will relate in his own 
 words. It refers to J. M. W. Turner; and I should observe 
 that Turner had two pictures this year in the British Insti- 
 tution — “ Snow-storm, Avalanche, and Inundation in the 
 Alps,” and “ Blue Lights (close at hand) to warn Steam- 
 boats off Shoal Water.” 
 
 “ One morning (says Mr. Fripp) I called on William 
 Muller when he resided in Bloomsbury, about the time when 
 the exhibition of the British Institution was about to open, 
 and, of course, I asked about the pictures there, as he had 
 been there during the day for varnishing and retouching. 
 Passing his fingers through his thick head of hair, and smiling 
 with evident glee, he said, * Old Turner was there ! and I 
 determined to get a good look at his face, for he was working 
 at a picture of his very busily, standing on a chair [or, 
 perhaps, steps]. It happened that Poole had a picture just 
 under Turner’s, and, seeing that occasionally drops of wet 
 oily paint fell upon the frame of Poole’s picture, I called out 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. I I 7 
 
 to Poole, “ Halloa, Poole, you’re picking up crumbs from the 
 Lord’s table, I see.” Turner looked down and grinned at 
 me.’ Muller told this with such delight that I have often 
 thought of it.” 
 
 I am told by an artist who has seen Turner at work on 
 a varnishing-day in the British Institution that the other 
 artists used to take every opportunity of getting close to 
 him to see how he worked, and that on such occasions he 
 had his paints in small pots, ranged on a bench. In March, 
 1841, Muller exhibited the following pictures at the British 
 Artists in Suffolk Street : — 
 
 Sketch of “ The Opium Seller at Manfalout ; ” purchased 
 by’ Mr. Bell for 12 guineas. 
 
 “The Frozen Ferry; Scene near Hanham, Somerset,” 
 a large and fine work ; purchased by Sir G. Crew for 
 70 guineas. 
 
 Also another Egyptian subject — “A Street in Cairo, lead- 
 ing to the Mosque of Flowers.” 
 
 In the Royal Academy, which opened in May, 1841, 
 Muller exhibited three pictures — 
 
 No. 35. “Slave Market, Egypt,” hung in the east room. 
 
 No. 701. “Convent, Bay of Naples,” hung in the room 
 with drawings and miniatures. 
 
 No. 703. “ The Sphinx,” hung in the same room. 
 
 The last-named picture was a fine red sunset effect, with 
 the Pyramids of Gizeh and the desert in the distance ; but, 
 like all the others, it was badly placed. “ The Slave Market” 
 also was a most vigorous work, and brilliant in colour : 
 although termed a sketch by Muller, it was, doubtless, as 
 much finished as the materials at his command enabled him 
 to carry it without weakening the effect. It was this feeling 
 — a desire for more detailed work from nature — added to his 
 love for the East, that made Muller desire to revisit Egypt. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
I 1 8 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. He not only looked forward to this projected journey and 
 l8 4i- spoke and wrote of it to his friends, both in 1841 and 1842, 
 but he even took commissions for pictures to be painted 
 in Cairo. However, it was not to be. Orders crowded 
 on Muller so fast that he continually felt obliged to postpone 
 the date of his departure, and then, at last, the news of the 
 fresh outbreak of the plague in a severe form in Egypt 
 caused him to turn his thoughts in other directions. 
 
 In the spring of 1841 Muller commenced those boating- 
 excursions down the Thames from which resulted his well- 
 known series of pictures of “ Gillingham on the Medway” — 
 a subject repeated by him more than a dozen times — and 
 also numerous views near the mouth of the Thames. He 
 accompanied Mr. J. Chisholm Gooden on these excursions; 
 and as that gentleman has been so kind as to relate to me 
 his recollections, I shall endeavour to describe them as nearly 
 as I can in his own words. 
 
 “ For several years (said Mr. Gooden) between 1841 and 
 1845 I used to make sketching excursions down the Thames 
 in a hatched (or decked) boat, which I hired at about £5 per 
 week. W. Muller always accompanied me; also, occasionally, 
 Edward Dighton, Charles Baxter, and one or two other 
 artists. Starting from Blackwall, we often stopped at Erith, 
 Purfleet, and Holy Haven, and ascended the Medway to 
 Gillingham. We worked hard at sketching all day, casting 
 anchor or mooring by lines fastened to the shore at various 
 places, but taking our meals and generally sleeping on 
 board ; in the evenings we landed at some of the river- 
 side villages, and took ‘ our ease ’ at the village inn ; and 
 very jolly evenings they were, for Muller was always full 
 of life and merriment. His jokes were endless, practical 
 ones as well as others. I recollect on one occasion when 
 running down the Medway with the tide and a fresh breeze in 
 our favour, on nearing the ‘ Quarantine Creek,’ where the 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. I 1 9 
 
 commodore’s ship of war was stationed, Muller, who had put 
 on a fez cap and a Turkish jacket, hoisted a yellow ‘ burgee,’ 
 to make believe that we were foreigners in search of the 
 lazaretto. Upon this a large flag was hoisted by the man- 
 of-war, a gun fired, and a rowing-boat sent off, which was 
 soon left far behind, much to the delight of Muller at the 
 success of his stratagem. On another occasion we fastened 
 our boat to a small flat island, chiefly mud, in the Medway, 
 and had not been there long before some men came down 
 and warned us to go away, saying that if we remained our 
 boat would probably be stranded, and might be in great 
 danger if stormy weather came on. Muller was so much 
 impressed by this and the destruction of the banks of the 
 river by the action of the tide, that he urged me (Gooden) in 
 the most earnest manner to bring the matter to the notice of 
 the Government, and he never ceased to speak of it until I 
 had made representations on the subject of the mud and 
 ruined banks to the proper department at the Admiralty, 
 who, after a long correspondence, ordered a re-survey of 
 the Medway, with a view to its improvement. 
 
 “ One of Muller’s amusements was to get into conversa- 
 tion on these occasions with the watermen and sailors on 
 shore and in the creeks, and, as he expressed it, ‘ draw them 
 out.' He would do many kind things in the way of helping 
 the poor sailors, for he was very generous with his money, 
 just as in the inns with his tobacco-pouch he would insist on 
 circulating it all round and inviting all the poor men in the 
 place to fill their pipes out of it. One of our party was rather 
 fond of purchasing old clothes from beggars or gipsies, 
 and bringing them on board — a proceeding which was not 
 entirely approved of by the others, who declared they were 
 only bundles of rags, and far from agreeable. So Muller 
 on one occasion contrived a slip noose, which, in hoisting the 
 bundle on board, allowed it to slip overboard into the water — 
 a bit of ‘ lark,’ as we termed it, which the rest highly enjoyed. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
I 20 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. Again, when at Holy Haven, a small sailing-boat, about two 
 i ; V- tons burden, arrived, carrying the owner and two men, who 
 all appeared rather ‘ green,’ and very ignorant how to 
 manage her. Muller sent the two men ashore in our punt, 
 and then frightened the owner by telling him some story of 
 what might happen if he remained, so that he set sail without 
 his companions, who, finding themselves left behind, were in 
 a '■tremendous state' of mind; however, after much ‘ chaff,’ the 
 poor fellows were taken off by us to find their lost friend, and 
 safely restored to his boat, all which delighted Muller. 
 
 “ On these excursions Muller always did a good deal of 
 hard work — not less than two sketches a day, very often on 
 tinted paper, so as to obtain breadth of effect more rapidly ; 
 but in the evenings he thoroughly relaxed, and went in for 
 some kind of amusement. As I have stated, he was rather 
 imprudent in money matters. I recollect on one occasion he 
 had about ^800 in his pocket in bank-notes, the produce 
 of a paid-off mortgage, he said ; and he added that this was 
 his whole fortune, but he did not appear to consider "there 
 was any risk in carrying it about with him.” 
 
 Mr. Gooden possesses a large but unfinished oil sketch of 
 Gillingham, which Muller laid in after one of the above ex- 
 cursions, but not being satisfied with the distance he was 
 going to wipe it off, when Gooden rescued it, and Muller 
 gave it to him in exchange for a fresh canvas and a box of 
 cigars. The colour is very fine, with distant trees and 
 buildings, and a boat with figures in the foreground. If 
 carried somewhat further, it would have been a very fine 
 work. 
 
 Whilst on the subject of the excursions down the Thames, 
 I may mention an anecdote related by Charles Baxter. He 
 says that he and Muller had commenced to sketch a Peter- 
 boat in the river. Baxter was drawing carefully every detail, 
 and making an exact portrait of the boat, whilst Muller 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 
 
 I 2 I 
 
 altered it, rapidly arranging the lines to suit the composition, 
 thus making it far more picturesque and beautiful than it 
 really was. At the end of two hours Muller had quite 
 finished a fine powerful coloured sketch, whilst the outline 
 of the other sketch by Baxter was in the same time only 
 just completed, and was commonplace as compared with 
 Muller’s. At that time it was forbidden to sketch Tilbury 
 Fort; but this was only an incentive to Muller, who, when 
 passing near it, sat behind the sail of the boat, and, uplifting 
 a corner of the sail occasionally to look at the fort, com- 
 pleted a graphic representation of the place. 
 
 Some of the anecdotes and jokes which I have here related 
 may, perhaps, be deemed rather too trivial to be inserted in 
 a biography. I believe, however, that they help to illustrate 
 Muller’s peculiar temperament, and should be looked upon 
 in the same light as one may note the sparkling froth and 
 foam on the surface of a deep, rapid tide, beneath which the 
 waters are ever running forward dark and strong. 
 
 Muller and his young friends, Dighton, Gooden, and 
 others, also often made excursions together to Hampstead. 
 Starting in the morning on foot, they walked by the fields 
 (since built over) on the north of the canal, sketching pollard- 
 willows or other little “bits” that came in their way. The 
 sand-pits on the Heath were Muller’s favourite subject. Of 
 these he made many capital sketches and little pictures. 
 Late in the afternoons they adjourned to some inn, generally 
 the Bull and Bush, where the day’s sketches were discussed 
 over a light supper, and the evening was wound up with a 
 game of skittles. Going home, it was Muller’s delight to go 
 straight, “like a bee,” over hedge, over ditch or swamp, or 
 any other obstacle. On one of these excursions to Hampstead 
 Muller and his companions were passing along a lane near 
 the Heath, when one of them observed apropos of subjects, 
 “ Well, at all events, there is nothing to sketch in this lane.” 
 “Nothing to sketch!” exclaimed Muller, “why, the road 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
122 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. and that gutter would make a capital sketch.” So he sat 
 i8 4 j - down and sketched the “gutter,” and afterwards worked it 
 up into a capital drawing. It has often been remarked that 
 Muller “ could not exist alone.” He always contrived to get 
 some young companions to join him, and innumerable were 
 the merry and sociable evenings spent in his front room in 
 Charlotte Street. 
 
 This year (1841) Muller worked hard (as he had done also 
 in 1840) at his Egyptian pictures, the most elaborate of 
 which, however, never occupied him more than two or three 
 days in the painting. 
 
 Of “ The Slave Market, Cairo,” he painted several, both 
 large and small, copies ; one of the most interesting is that 
 now possessed by Mr. A. Levy, 23 in. by 31^ in., and dated 
 1841, which I will describe. A slave-market is here repre- 
 sented as it formerly existed in Egypt, with all its pictorial, 
 pathetic, and revolting incidents and surroundings. The 
 colour is sparkling and powerful, with an arrangement of 
 light and shade which reminds you of Rembrandt. It is 
 solidly painted, the handling very rapid, yet not deficient in 
 finish, and the general effect is mellow and rather dark. The 
 group which first attracts is that of a tall bearded slave- 
 merchant, with turban and robe, who appears to be 
 bargaining for a Nubian youth stripped to the waist, with 
 white drapery wound round the lower limbs. Behind these 
 stands a dusky Arab, the owner of the slave. The listless 
 and degraded expression of the slave, and the cold hard 
 expression of the merchant, is admirably given. Passing 
 the eye to the left, two black women are seated on a mat — 
 the elder one sad and haggard, with a hood drawn over her 
 head and her figure wrapped in a blanket ; the other, a 
 girl, with rounded figure, nearly naked, is holding a baby on 
 her lap. Close by two negro children are kneeling, playing 
 with a palm-branch, and behind another negro girl is 
 standing, tall and grim, in a grey dress. The next most 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 123 
 
 remarkable figure is that of a Turk, full of grand character, 
 with a bright eye and determined expression. He is attired 
 in rich robes and a crimson turban. Quite on the left is a 
 building in shadow, with arches underneath, near which 
 several miserable half-naked slaves are huddled together, 
 one of them, a lad, appearing to be very ill. In the distance 
 an Egyptian house, palm-trees, and a minaret are seen, also 
 a group of Arabs, Copts, and camels. Although there are 
 between thirty and forty figures in all, there is no appear- 
 ance of undue crowding, the “ keeping ” of each part being 
 excellent. Muller has cast a spell over the whole scene 
 which carries you into the picturesque but degraded life of 
 the East. Through the kindness of Mr. Levy a copy of this 
 picture is given at the beginning of this chapter. 
 
 Another picture, also dated 1841, in Mr. Levy’s collec- 
 tion is a “ Street Scene, Cairo,” 14 in. by 20 in. This is 
 a good deal like the one I have described as painted in the 
 summer of 1839. The handling, like all Muller’s best work, 
 is evidently very rapid. You look up a narrow street towards 
 a Moorish arch, through which a camel with a lad on its 
 back is passing towards you. The light descending from 
 the narrow strip of sky causes a glitter of light and shade. 
 On the right a Turk in richly coloured garments is seated on 
 a cushion writing a letter, and on the left an old Copt or 
 Bedouin, with staff in hand, and a negro lad, nearly naked, 
 are reposing. In the far distance the minaret of a mosque 
 rises up against the sky. Apathy and indifference seem 
 to reign supreme here, and you breathe the hot, sultry, 
 enervating atmosphere of Egypt. 
 
 Mr. William Roberts and Mr. Charles Birch of Birming- 
 ham (whose love for art and friendship for David Cox I have 
 had occasion to refer to at length in my memoirs of that 
 artist) were among the early admirers and purchasers of 
 William Muller’s pictures. Mr. Roberts, who often visited 
 London, never lost an opportunity of calling in Charlotte 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
124 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. Street, where Muller, with his usual open-handed generosity, 
 1841. frequently painted before him, asking him to look in when- 
 ever he could and talk over the various mediums for oil- 
 painting, in which Mr. Roberts was fond of experimenting. 
 The following letters referring to these subjects will, I think, 
 be read with interest, especially by artists. Further on I 
 shall also give some letters of Muller’s written to Mr. Birch, 
 and I may here remark that that gentleman’s knowledge 
 and correct taste in art-matters had a very marked influence 
 on the judgment of other collectors in Birmingham and its 
 neighbourhood, the “Slave Market,” the “Chess Players,” 
 (afterwards purchased by Mr. Elliott), and several others of 
 Muller’s best works having passed through his hands. 
 Besides the letters to Mr. Roberts, I give in this chapter 
 several letters addressed to Mr. Satterfield ; it will be seen 
 by these how bent Muller was on revisiting Egypt at the 
 latter end of this year, and with that project in view (after- 
 wards abandoned) he worked hard in his studio all through 
 the summer and autumn ; indeed I believe that, with the 
 exception of a few excursions on the Thames and a short 
 visit to Bristol, he never left London all this year until 
 Christmas, when he made an excursion to the neighbourhood 
 of Conway, North Wales, in company with his brother 
 Edmund, particulars of which will be related in the next 
 chapter. This close application to work appears to have 
 somewhat affected Muller’s health, for when he was at work 
 the strain on his brain and hand was truly never relaxed ; 
 thus he really required an occasional respite from the studio 
 more than most artists. Of this he had many warnings, 
 unhappily too often neglected. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ Wednesday evening, May 19th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In answer to your letter of this morning, 
 allow me to say that the picture is all but finished. I only 
 wish to keep it a day or two longer to enable parts to become 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 1 25 
 
 dry enough to finish on, when I will immediately forward it 
 to you. Its size is 2 ft. n| in. by 1 ft. 10J in. ; a quarter of 
 an inch hidden all round gives the size of the gold frame, 
 as sight measure. I can but thank you, sir, for your kind 
 wishes, and shall at all times strive my utmost to give that 
 satisfaction in my pictures which it is my ambition to obtain. 
 
 “ Remaining your most obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “W. Roberts, Esq., 
 
 “ Edgbaston.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ June 12th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I to-day forward you your picture, trust- 
 ing you will find its completion equal to your anticipation. 
 I have been very much engaged in my small Egyptian 
 pictures, and hope, in a week, to be enabled to forward to 
 Mr. Birch those I promised. You will have the kindness to 
 let me have a line, saying if your picture came safe ; and, if 
 not too much trouble, I would desire the case to be returned. 
 
 “ Remaining, sir, your obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I forgot to say I shall be absent from town all next 
 week.” 
 
 To W. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ Wednesday evening, 29th July, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — With much pleasure I reply to your 
 request. I should have forwarded you some of the medium , 
 but my chemist has not, as yet, sent it me. 
 
 “ Every candid-thinking person must own that the oils, as 
 used by the present school, only tend to produce a temporary 
 effect, and, ultimately, to turn the picture yellow ; this is 
 much more serious when combined with the varnishes, for 
 cracking is as certain a consequence. Now every step we can 
 take to get rid of the use of these vehicles, and in their places 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
126 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. to substitute others, the chemical nature of which may 
 1841- prevent these changes, should be the study of artists ; but 
 they unfortunately seldom have enough time to spare, and 
 too often are so careless and indifferent about anything but 
 their immediate pleasures that they leave it to amateurs or 
 the colourman. For the present we are indebted to one of 
 the former — my friend the Rev. J. Eagles ; his life has been 
 one of research in the arts, and he possesses a profound 
 knowledge in them. It is curious that the substance you 
 mention, calcined borax, should form a considerable portion 
 of the present mixture ; it has been used in the art of 
 painting from the very earliest dates, as also in the most 
 remote countries, India amongst others. The knowledge of 
 this fact drew the attention of a gentleman of the name of 
 Reynian to its use, and I painted a picture in it some three 
 years back ; its success was imperfect, and without a doubt I 
 think the one I am going to draw your attention to to be 
 the nearest approach to perfection of any I as yet have used ; 
 for a more full account of it, and its use, with a paper on 
 vehicles, see the last number but one of the Art-Union , and 
 the number of this month, which will be published in a few 
 days. In skies, water, and rich painting, its effect is truly 
 surprising! Mode of use: take one part medium, mix with 
 palette-knife with about six times its quantity of water; when 
 it is well ground, place it in your can, and pour on it about 
 six times of oil ; by the addition of more medium, you may 
 add the water as you like, rendering the oil less ; it assumes 
 a milky appearance, and becomes quite fat ; the colours 
 should be ground in it ; now for the knife. 
 
 Red Litharge 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 24 drachms 
 
 Vitrified glass of borax 
 
 
 12 „ 
 
 Pure silica 
 
 . 
 
 4 .. 
 
 Red Litharge 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 . 24 drachms 
 
 Glass of borax 
 
 
 • 12 ,, 
 
 Pure silica . 
 
 
 2 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 
 
 127 
 
 Melt these ingredients in a crucible, and when in a fluid 
 state stir with a tobacco-pipe stem ; pour out your glass, and, 
 when cold, reduce it to an impalpable powder ; wet it and 
 pass it through a filter of blotting-paper ; when dry it is fit 
 for use, the powder very white. 
 
 “ If you try it, it will afford me much pleasure to hear the 
 result of your experiment. 
 
 “ If I have failed in sending all the information you could 
 wish, I will at any time try and add to it if you will write me 
 a line. Pray excuse this hasty scrawl, and believe me, 
 
 “ Your most obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To W. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ August 3rd, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In answer to your queries, I find that I 
 can use the medium well with transparent colours, as well as 
 with opaque ; in consequence, it answers for glazing, except 
 perhaps in the very darkest parts. Wet it, simply to assist in 
 its reduction to an impalpable powder; the powder retained 
 in the paper being fit for use. Pray see the article in this 
 month’s Art-Union ; it is clever, and contains a full descrip- 
 tion of its use, and method of making the medium. 
 
 “As regards water-colours, as I in general require my 
 sketches to paint from in oil, and find it impossible to sketch 
 in the latter in many situations, so have I attempted to 
 introduce a few of the qualities of oil into water. First then, 
 the grand distinction between the two methods may be con- 
 sidered as follows : transparent and opaque. In water all 
 transparent ; in consequence, I use body colour. In the second 
 instance, a dark-toned paper, as I get depth sooner : general 
 tint often assists for local colour. I enclose a bit of my 
 toned paper that I think best calculated : white paper I do 
 not like, unless I wish to finish on it. I shall be most happy 
 if it is in my power to assist you in any way to facilitate 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
128 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. ix. your method of sketching ; and I hope if anything that it is 
 1841. in my power to communicate should be a desideratum to 
 you, you will just favour me with a line. 
 
 “ As regards the figure subject, I shall have much pleasure 
 when I forward Mr. Birch’s Pandy Mill to enclose a sketch ; 
 but it has struck me, may it not be as well to leave it until 
 my return from Egypt ? I leave London in November, and I 
 expect to be back about May (at the latest) ; I then would 
 give you, sir, an early choice of my subjects. I leave this 
 to yourself, and can only assure you I will strive my best to 
 make a good picture. 
 
 “ Remaining your most obedient and obliged 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ W. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “P.S. — Chalk can be used with the white in the new 
 vehicle. I have never used the precipitated chalk : I think 
 there would be no great difference between it and the other.” 
 
 To W. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ August 1 2th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am going to excuse myself, in the first 
 place, for not having answered your letter sooner. But my 
 delay has been occasioned by my desire to try the sample 
 of the medium you forwarded to me. It was, then, in the 
 first place, by no means fine enough in powder, the particles 
 being very large. I reduced it on a hard slab, and it mixed 
 kindly with the oil, and I painted with it all yesterday; but 
 towards the evening my surprise was great to notice the 
 colour of the vehicle to be an orange chrome. I knew I had 
 used no such colour, so it could not have been occasioned by 
 my dipping my brushes in. To give it a fair trial, I mixed 
 some more last evening ; this morning it is the same. How 
 is this ? Can you enlighten me ? I never found it with 
 that forwarded me by Eagles ; and unfortunately I have 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. I 29 
 
 used all I had of his, and my chemist has not completed 
 mine that I ordered, or I should have enclosed some in 
 this letter. I fear much in that which you have made 
 there is some mistake. I think the litharge has not gone 
 through the sufficient degree of heat (I should rather have 
 said the substances), for a change must take place in that 
 substance (litharge) when used as a flux. I only hope 
 you will not be discouraged in another trial, for by my 
 little experience I am quite satisfied it possesses many most 
 excellent qualities. 
 
 “ In glazing, owing to its being white from the water, it 
 gives an opacity to the colour; but that subsides in a 
 short time, and becomes, to my eye, much richer than 
 ordinary oils. 
 
 “ Hoping to hear better accounts in your next, believe me, 
 sir, it will afford much pleasure to me if in the slightest 
 I can facilitate your use of it. Remaining most truly, 
 “Your obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “August 30th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In answer to your letter, I beg to say 
 that I shall not leave town previous to November ; and that 
 I find by my last exertions I have gained upon the period 
 I fixed for my departure, that I am confident I would 
 carefully execute a similar picture to the one you allude 
 to, which I named ‘ Poverty,’ in contrast to ‘ Riches ; ’ but 
 ‘ Interior at Cheddar, Somersetshire,’ is correct, that being 
 the place I procured the subject from. 
 
 “ I have paid attention to the old lady at the mill, down 
 in the snow-piece, and I think it is improved. I did not 
 put the wild ducks in, as on trial they looked forward ; 
 crows I think better. Mr. Brooks can now have the picture, 
 it being finished. 
 
 K 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
130 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. ix. “ The companion to the Alexandrian slave picture I am 
 1841. at work at, and I think it promises to be successful. 
 Thanking you, sir, for your kind advice relative to my 
 health, which I feel is a most essential point, I remain, 
 
 “ Your truly obliged and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The picture of the mill and the old lady referred to 
 above is still in the possession of the late Mr. Satterfield’s 
 nephew. The size is 26 in. by 16 in., and it is a beautiful, 
 highly finished work. It represents a mill, with two children 
 coming over the frozen mill-pond, carrying some sticks 
 just gathered up ; the old grandmother stands at the door 
 looking for them. The sky is a beautiful clear blue, such 
 as is often seen on a frosty day, and the appearance of 
 hoar-frost is well given. At the back of this picture is 
 written, in Muller’s own writing, “ Lea Mills, near Leigh, 
 Somersetshire.” It is dated 1840, and is a companion 
 picture to the snow-scene described at the end of the last 
 chapter. The two small pictures of Egyptian subjects 
 referred to in the letter which next follows were also 
 painted for Mr. Satterfield from sketches made on the spot, 
 and are called sketches by Muller in the description at the 
 back of the frames. They are both the same size, 13 in. by 
 11 in., and are dated 1841. One represents the sale of a 
 slave at Alexandria ; the other, an old Egyptian letter- writer 
 seated at the entrance to a bazaar at Siout. Both these 
 little works have the rich colour and powerful impasto of his 
 studio works of Eastern life painted after his removal to 
 London, and of which there are so many replicas. 
 
 To Jos. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ September 27th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I have desired this day, Nicola, your 
 frame-maker, to send for the pictures and forward them to 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 
 
 13 I 
 
 you immediately ; and I have to hope that the one of Siout — chap. ix - 
 ‘Entrance to a Bazaar, with an Egyptian writing’ — will be 1841. 
 deemed successful, as I think it forms a good companion 
 to the ‘ Slave, Alexandria.’ They must be regarded as 
 sketches for larger pictures, not as finished works ; in this 
 light they stand the test of criticism better. At present I 
 am not enough acquainted with the people, their manners 
 and habits, to produce finished works. For that reason I 
 desire their better acquaintance, which I now hope to form 
 in a few weeks’ time. Believe me to remain, 
 
 “ Yours, most truly obliged and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “P.S. — I need not say that the frames are excellent; they 
 stand as specimens of gilding.” 
 
 To Jos. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ October ist, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Allow me to acknowledge the receipt 
 of yours of this morning, containing £ io, and at the same 
 time to express my gratitude for the kind sentiments of 
 your letter : I can assure you, sir, that it shall not be from 
 want of proper exertion and conduct on my part that they 
 may fail in being realised. Every man who is honourably 
 ambitious of success in his profession must make up his 
 mind to many disappointments and much labour. When 
 he has the kind wishes and approval of those who surround 
 him, it forces him to fresh exertions. In this light I view 
 your letter. I do not leave London quite as soon as I 
 could wish. I find it my interest to paint for the Bristol 
 Institution ; this will detain me until the middle of Novem- 
 ber. Trusting you will excuse the haste of this, believe 
 me to remain, with respect, 
 
 “ Your most obedient and obliged servant, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
 To Jos. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ November 8th, 1841. 
 
 “My dear Sir, — I received your kind and flattering 
 letters. Feel assured that / am much pleased to think 
 that my poor abilities are the means of affording you 
 satisfaction and pleasure ; and a proper exercise of them 
 shall not be wanting to ensure a continuance of the same. I 
 have been induced, through the goodness of my friends and 
 my own desire to do something for the spring exhibitions, 
 to protract my stay much longer than I could have wished ; 
 not but, in consequence, when I do go I shall have it more 
 fully in my power to carry out my views. 
 
 “ You ask me, sir, if I have any picture at present by me. 
 I painted, by the desire of a friend, some three weeks back 
 ‘The Chess-Players’ at Cairo — quite a Rembrandt subject; 
 but by a mistake (as it was for a companion) I made it two 
 inches too large, the present picture being 16 inches by 
 11^; price £\o. This is the only one that I have in my 
 possession, but not quite finished, and, perhaps I may add, 
 I think as successful as any small picture I have painted. 
 
 “ I have many friends who have desired me to execute for 
 them pictures during my stay at Cairo, and I shall be most 
 happy to place your name amongst the number, as you so 
 liberally allow me the choice of subject. Perhaps you would 
 oblige me with a line, saying what size. I will trust that 
 my best endeavours when in that hot country may meet with 
 success, and remain, 
 
 “ Sir, 
 
 “ Your most obliged and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 
 
 133 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “November 14th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In answer to your obliging letter, I can 
 but say that the kind suggestion and offer of your interest , 
 provided I painted a subject (during my stay in Egypt) 
 which would on the one hand meet the sanction of the 
 public, and on the other be of artistic merit, opens a field 
 to my exertions that I would most readily accept, let the 
 result be what it may. 
 
 “ I have one or two fears, however, which a just candour 
 on my part ought to make me mention : first, ability to merit 
 so high a distinction ; and, secondly, the time to accomplish 
 (between my departure and the opening of your exhibition, 
 taking into consideration the time of carriage) a painting 
 that of necessity must be a work of study. True, I consider 
 this last as the least important ; for it is well known that, 
 with the will, time is made ; and, thank goodness, as yet in 
 life I have had a pretty good estimation of its value. I will, 
 however, with your permission, previous to my leaving, think 
 upon the subject, and the result communicate to you, sir ; 
 and I consider it as a privilege, that with pleasure I shall 
 avail myself of your permission of writing during my 
 journey. It will afford me pleasure, in knowing that I have 
 friends who may feel an interest in my solitary ramble, and 
 in events that may occur to me ; for, from the early loss of 
 all my relations (but a brother), the kindness of those from 
 whom we have no right to expect it makes an impres- 
 sion on the mind which I can assure you may not easily be 
 defaced. 
 
 “ Remaining your truly obliged and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
Chap. IX. 
 1841. 
 
 134 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ November 20th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — By this time you will have received 
 the answer which I forwarded to Coventry, which was a day 
 or so past date in consequence of my having misplaced 
 your letter : pray pardon this. 
 
 “ The * Chess-Players’ are not finished, or I would with 
 the greatest pleasure have forwarded them as you desired. 
 I will have them completed in a week or so ; and if you then 
 wish to see them, I will attend to your directions on the 
 subject of packing, &c., and forward them. Pray pardon 
 extreme haste, and believe me to remain, 
 
 “ Most truly, your obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ December 14th, 1841. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — The truth is, I did not clearly under- 
 stand your wish for me to send you the * Chess-Players ’ (of 
 course, on refusal should it not please you) ; but, however, 
 I have not as yet completed the picture by a great deal, 
 and, in consequence of my having every day fully engaged 
 up to the 10th of next month in finishing pictures for the 
 British Institution, I shall not be enabled to complete it 
 previous to then ; and I can assure you, sir, with your per- 
 mission, it will give me great pleasure in forwarding it to you 
 as proposed. You will, at your leisure, favour me with a line. 
 
 “ Since having the pleasure of seeing you, I have been 
 much engaged, and can say I am truly thankful that my 
 health is better than I have ever known it ; it may be ‘ that 
 I have not leisure to be ill ; ’ but so important a blessing 
 should be our study to preserve. Trusting you will pardon 
 this hasty answer, and believe me, sir, with respect, 
 
 “Your most obedient and obliged, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
% 
 
X. 
 
 LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 1842. 
 
 M. MULLER and his brother spent the last week ClIAP - x 
 of 1841, and the first fortnight of 1842, in North 1842. 
 Wales. The spot chosen by them was a little 
 inn near Tal-y-Bont, on the left bank of the 
 Conway River, in the neighbourhood of Trefreys, and only a 
 few miles from Llanrwst. The scenery here is of great 
 variety, and eminently picturesque. Although in the depth 
 of winter, Muller used to go out every day sketching 
 mountain streams, waterfalls, old mills, and rocks, — often 
 knee-deep in snow ; occasionally a cottage interior was 
 added to his folio, for here was situated that curious cottage 
 interior at Tyn-y-Twlth, near Roe, long known as “ Muller’s 
 Cottage,” but now, I understand, pulled down. 
 
 The accommodation was of the simplest kind, and the 
 cold intense ; but the good folk in the inn did their utmost, 
 in their simple Welsh fashion, to make their guests com- 
 fortable. Muller was desirous of representing the wild 
 scenery of Wales under the dreary but grand aspect of 
 winter, so he persevered with his usual ardour, and brought 
 back with him many capital sketches. From these he 
 painted his “ Sunset in Winter, North Wales,” 24 in. by 
 163 in., 1842, which he sold for ^13 ; also his large picture of 
 
136 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. x. “ Tal-y-Bont,” and an important landscape containing a 
 1842. watermill, painted with exceeding truth to nature and great 
 vigour, which was exhibited in the Birmingham Society of 
 Artists’ Exhibition in September 1842, No. 71. 
 
 The following letter, written soon after his return to 
 London, refers to this visit to North Wales : — 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ January 25th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It would much vex me if you should for 
 a moment entertain the idea that I had forgotten your kind 
 suggestion, or my promise of letting you see the ‘ Chess- 
 Players ’ when finished. The truth is, I should have written 
 sooner, but, as you know, we have just had to send to the 
 British Institution. I found myself so fatigued with the 
 close application of my painting-room that I thought change 
 would set me up for the renewed exertions for the Academy, 
 and, having no spot that I could spend my holidays in (called 
 home), I have been induced to seek change and amusement 
 in the solitary grandeur of North Wales under its winter 
 aspect. I am now just returned ; and never have I seen more 
 splendid subjects for the pencil, indeed such that make one 
 confess art is but in her most lucky moments a poor repre- 
 sentative of nature. With such reflections, and sketching (of 
 which I have done a great deal), I have contrived to spend 
 the last fortnight in a small primitive inn, at which place 
 the kindness shown was apparent, notwithstanding their 
 language was all but incomprehensible to me. One of the 
 subjects I procured, the Tal-y-Bont, I mean to make the 
 material for my Academy picture. You ask me, sir, con- 
 cerning the ‘ Harvest Scene.’ A little more has been done at 
 it. With me it has been a favourite, and I put it aside to 
 finish more at my leisure ; this may account for its not 
 being sold, no one having seen it. I trust you will allow 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 137 
 
 me to give you a final answer relative to the Egyptian 
 picture in a week or two, as I shall not be leaving just yet; 
 and feel assured, sir, that no effort shall be ivanting on my part 
 to bring about your kind wishes. 
 
 “ Remaining your sincerely obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The following pictures were sent by Muller to the British 
 Institution in January, 1842 : — 
 
 “Gillingham on the Medway,” 4 ft. 9 in. by 4 ft. 1 in., 
 hung in the north room. No. 112. 
 
 “ Sketch for a picture of the Good Samaritan,” 1 ft. 6 in. 
 by 1 ft. 11 in., hung in south room. No. 327. 
 
 “ The Slave Market, Cairo,” 3 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 6 in., hung 
 in south room. No. 3822. 
 
 “ The Nile, with the Village of Beni-Hassan in the dis- 
 tance, looking towards Cairo,” 3 ft. 7 in. by 5 ft. 7 in., hung 
 in south room. No. 420. 
 
 This year Muller’s pictures were better placed than usual 
 in the Institution ; and as the directors had to return upwards 
 of 300 pictures this year for want of room, the fact of their 
 being well hung seems the more to indicate that the great 
 merit of Muller’s works was at last beginning to be 
 recognised. 
 
 “ The Good Samaritan ” was a fine example of harmonious 
 colour, the sky and clouds being like a picture of Titian’s, 
 grand and powerful ; underneath a cluster of palm-trees on 
 the right a recumbent figure of a wounded traveller is 
 attended by a kneeling Turk, attired in turban and rich 
 pelisse ; behind this group is a donkey, and to the left a 
 grove of dark trees. Of this subject Muller painted a 
 larger picture in 1843, 21 in. by 33 in., now in Mr. Albert 
 Levy’s collection. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
 138 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 In the “Nile” picture the river is looked down on from 
 a lofty cliff ; the waters are seen winding till they diminish 
 in the far distance to a silvery thread, and are lost in the 
 light of the setting sun near the horizon. The foreground 
 is occupied by an Arab encampment, a tent, camels, and 
 figures ; in the distance also are some palm-trees and the 
 far-off Pyramids. It is a striking picture, and the peculiar 
 hot haze of the climate is admirably given. 
 
 The following letters refer to some pictures about which 
 Muller was engaged, and also to the desire which Mr. 
 Satterfield had expressed that Muller should paint a picture 
 to be exhibited in Manchester, in competition for the annual 
 prize given by the Manchester Institution : — 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ Wednesday, February 17th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Having finished the ‘ Chess-Players,’ 
 I will, with your permission, forward it to you, as also 
 another which forms a companion to it — the ‘ Merchant of 
 Cubebs ’ — a sort of food. Should you like either of them, 
 my price is separately £ 8 each ; for the pair, £ 14. 
 
 “ In case, sir, of your determining to retain either, the 
 gold frame, in which the ‘ Chess-Players ’ is, can be returned 
 to me in the box in which they are packed. I think they are 
 favourable specimens of colour, and serve as illustrations to 
 a most interesting country. 
 
 “I feel grateful for your kind advice regarding health; 
 it shall, as far as is consistent, not be lost sight of, I assure 
 you, sir, and I am happy to say I am much improved in 
 that respect. 
 
 “ One thing is, the weather is so much more favourable. 
 If there is any possibility, I will next year let your exhibition 
 have the picture you desire. I feel I am more than commonly 
 indebted to you, sir, for the kind interest you take in 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 139 
 
 forwarding my professional views, and no circumstances 
 that I may have in my power to remove shall hinder my 
 accomplishing your wishes. 
 
 “ They have placed me well at the British Institution. 
 As an exhibition it is not good, although there are many 
 fine pictures. 
 
 “ Pray excuse haste, and believe me to remain, 
 
 “ Your truly obediently and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, 
 
 “February 26th, 1842. 
 
 “My dear Sir, — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter of this morning, containing £ io. I feel I have 
 much to thank you for, and will not neglect the opportunity 
 of doing so. Your kind introduction of Mr. Sandars came 
 to me by his hand. I regret I had no small picture on the 
 easel, or, indeed, any painting but what was sold, as I believe 
 he expressed himself desirous of possessing one of mine, 
 which, should such be his wish, I shall be most happy to 
 paint for him. 
 
 “ I shall make a point of painting a picture of consequence 
 for the Manchester Institution, as I must value the interest 
 you, sir, have expressed in my behalf ; and when I have the 
 pleasure of seeing you in town I will talk much more on 
 the subject, and show you one or two sketches, as also ask 
 the favour of your opinion. It is, indeed, an opportunity 
 that I will on no account neglect. 
 
 “ I agree with you as to the other subject, ‘ Merchant 
 of Cubebs,’ not being as pleasing as the ‘ Chess-Players ; ’ 
 yet is it so commonly seen in the East that it is a subject 
 similar to which we have none in England. If I can make 
 the alteration you suggest, I shall have considerable pleasure 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
140 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. x. i n doing so. I only fear the introduction of any fresh light 
 1842. may take the eye from the principal group. 
 
 “ Believe me, sir, to remain most sincerely, 
 
 “ Your obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — The other little picture can be returned at your 
 leisure. I only fear I may have caused you some trouble ; 
 but my sending it was only occasioned by my wish to give 
 you a choice.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “February 29th, 1842. 
 
 “Dear Sir, — The misunderstanding relative to the 
 ‘ Chess-Players,’ on re-reading your letter, I perceive was 
 my fault. Truly, could the subject be treated as you 
 
 propose, a most Rembrandt-like effect would be produced ; 
 but the ‘ Money-changer ’ or the ‘ Dancing Girl ’ seemed at 
 the moment more calculated to make a subject of more 
 consequence. 
 
 “ I should feel most particularly obliged could you inform 
 me what character of subject the committee have deter- 
 mined on (if interior, portrait, &c., &c.) to award the prize 
 to. The ‘ Harvest Scene ’ is not parted with, but remains 
 nearly as you saw it, sir, and will not be progressed with 
 until I have finished for the Exhibition of your Academy. 
 
 “ Believe me to remain 
 “Your truly obedient and sincerely obliged, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Amongst the pictures by Muller which Mr. Satterfield had 
 in his possession when he died, and are still retained by 
 Mr. Sandars, is a small one representing a landscape near 
 Bristol, dated 1842. The subject is a cottage with some 
 trees, and a stream on which a little boy is launching his 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 1 4 1 
 
 toy boat, and a girl looking on. With this picture a very 
 interesting letter was written by Muller to Mr. Satterfield 
 (unfortunately since lost), in which he gave some account 
 of his early days, and added that “ it was on that spot that 
 he had launched his boat in life ; or, in other words, that 
 there he had made his first sketch from nature.” This 
 picture, he said, was painted from the original boyish sketch 
 made so many years before. 
 
 At the beginning of April Muller started on a visit to 
 Bristol, having previously sent three pictures to the Royal 
 Academy, one of which, “Arab or Eastern Shepherds,” a 
 very fine picture, 5 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 9 in. (now in the collection 
 of Mr. Sharp), was returned among the rejected pictures. 
 A photograph of this picture will be found at the beginning 
 of this chapter. The two pictures exhibited were — “ Poor 
 Arabs,” a sketch; No. 181 ; hung in the east room: 
 “ Interior of a Temple inhabited by Arabs, who sell the 
 Curiosities found in the Tombs, Thebes;” No. 430; hung 
 in west room. 
 
 Of the above two pictures I extract the following from a 
 contemporary notice of the Academy: — 
 
 “ ‘ Poor Arabs.’ Few productions of our school are more 
 original than the sketches of Wm. Muller. His poor Arabs 
 — humble enough — are seated on the ground, begging of 
 some wealthy Mussulman. Every figure is purely Oriental, 
 all having been undoubtedly transcribed from the life. The 
 background may be a fragment of some one of the Egyptian 
 cities visited by Muller. 
 
 “ ‘ Interior of a Temple.’ This admirable work is laid 
 on with a decision and solidity which characterizes Muller’s 
 work generally. The tones of the picture are kept down, 
 and the place seems to be drawn precisely as it is — a 
 feeling we could wish more extended. The huge pillars 
 have coloured capitals, and every plain space is covered 
 with hieroglyphics.” 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
142 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. x. The following is a copy of a letter to Mr. S. C. Hall, one 
 1842. of Muller’s early friends : — 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “Thursday evening, April 14th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I shall be in town (please God and my 
 Bristol friends) by the ist of May, and then I hope to add 
 to your small and interesting collection some mark of my 
 due sense of gratitude for the many kindnesses your watch- 
 fulness over my career places me under. So, my dear sir, 
 on the word of price say not another word ; it is one that 
 in instances of this sort I allow to have no meaning, but 
 will supply you with others much better. In saying that, 
 I shall ever consider myself most sincerely obliged and 
 obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The above letter refers, I understand, to a contribution 
 which Muller made to the illustrated work, “ The Baronial 
 Halls of England,” which was being brought out at this 
 time by Mr. S. C. Hall. Muller’s drawing represents West 
 Stow Hall, Suffolk; an ancient gateway, with figures on 
 horseback, hounds, &c. This number was published in 
 1843, and is bound up in Vol. II. 
 
 I have been informed by Mr. E. G. Muller, and by several 
 of Wm. Muller’s friends, that on one occasion he was a 
 guest at one of the dinners of the Royal Academy, and I 
 have every reason to believe that it was in this year, 1842, 
 that Muller dined there. His seat was nearly opposite that 
 occupied by J. M. W. Turner. The great man appears 
 to have noticed Muller, and, after speaking aside to an 
 Academician who sat next him, Turner thus addressed 
 Muller — “I ought not to forget your name, sir; Mull, 
 Mull, Muller, isn’t it?” and, suiting the action to the 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 143 
 
 word, he turned his closed right hand round and round, as 
 if using the implement called a muller (used for grinding 
 colours, and familiar to all artists). It is well known that 
 Turner was fond of a joke. 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “May nth, 1842. 
 
 “ Dear Sir, — It was with much pleasure I this morning 
 received your kind letter, and hasten to reply. I have for 
 this year only two pictures (one small) in the Academy. 
 They refused another large landscape (‘ Arab Shepherds ’) : 
 this I do not grumble at, as I am aware of the immense 
 multitude of rejected pictures, and I would infinitely sooner 
 have any one picture placed in a good position than three 
 bad. I am happy to say the former is the case, attendant 
 with immediate sale. The subject is the ‘ Interior of a 
 Temple, with the Collectors of Curiosities.’ 
 
 “The exhibition, on the whole, is very fine. Callcott above 
 all others. Turner is truly in the upper regions of imagina- 
 tion. Maclise, in his ‘ Hamlet,’ is in my opinion superior 
 to any former picture. I still regret subjects of that class 
 being generally the ones chosen for the pencil. And why? 
 We are familiar with them on the stage ; so is the mind of 
 the artist ; but the picture painted seldom amounts to more 
 than a copy of some scene. Surely in the vast pages of 
 history — history of our own country — there must be a better 
 field for the painter’s labour. But I know how ungrateful 
 sons neglect her history, as they do her scenery ; and un- 
 fortunately here I must class myself amongst the foremost. 
 Yet it should not be so. 
 
 “I have commenced one or two pictures for the Manchester 
 Exhibition, and I only hope they may be deemed worthy a 
 situation on its walls. As soon as they are finished, with 
 one or two small companions, I make my adieux to England 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
144 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 for a few months ; longer I cannot absent myself, as I must 
 not entirely be out of your next year’s Academy. 
 
 “Trusting you will excuse haste, and believe me to remain, 
 my dear sir, 
 
 “Yours, sincerely obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 In the spring of 1842 Sir Robert Peel, who was ‘then 
 Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduced 
 his famous budget, by which it was proposed to reduce a 
 large amount of taxation, and at the same time to impose 
 an income-tax of seven pence in the pound for a term of 
 three years. The expediency of this new tax was naturally 
 the subject of very earnest discussion in all social gatherings 
 in London at that time, and thus it was canvassed one 
 evening at the house of Mr. Thos. Morson, in Southampton 
 Row, at a meeting held there of the Microscopical Society. 
 Muller, who had accompanied Mr. Horsman Solly, was pre- 
 sent on that occasion. Muller was one of those who were 
 unconvinced by Sir R. Peel’s arguments in favour of the 
 tax, and on his return home he drew a hasty and humorous 
 caricature of the subject in question, which he forwarded the 
 following morning in an envelope to Mr. Thos. Morson. 
 Through the kindness of that gentleman’s son I am enabled 
 to give herewith a heliotype copy of the same. 
 
 Some time after Edward Dighton left Muller’s studio, a 
 young gentleman of the name of Meigh, son of Mr. Charles 
 Meigh, of Grove House, Shelton, near Hanley, became his 
 pupil for a few months. That gentleman, who had a fine 
 collection of pictures, possessed several of Muller’s impor- 
 tant works, including the “ Sphinx.” It is to be remarked 
 that Muller had for some time past been called by the 
 pet name of “the Sphinx” (originally given him by Mr. 
 Gooden) by his young friends in London ; and on young 
 Meigh’ s return to the Potteries a dinner and a tea-service 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 145 
 
 of china were designed, with the figure of a sphinx by way 
 of decoration, in honour of Muller, as Mr. Meigh said. 
 During the whole of this summer Muller continued to work 
 in London, as will be seen by the following letters written by 
 him to Mr. Roberts, to Mr. Satterfield, and to Mr. Birch ; 
 but he still talked of proceeding to Egypt in the autumn, 
 taking Italy on his way. Mr. Baxter relates that on one 
 occasion Muller asked him whether he would like to accom- 
 pany him abroad. Baxter, however, felt obliged to decline 
 so long a journey on the score of expense ; and when he 
 explained this to Muller, the latter replied, “ Oh, never mind 
 that; I’ll find you the money.” Not very long afterwards 
 Baxter, accompanied by John Wilson (the artist), started for 
 Roe, in North Wales, and Muller also turned his thoughts 
 in the same direction, the journey to Italy and Egypt being 
 entirely abandoned for the time. 
 
 To W.m, Roberts, Esq., Edgbaston. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ June 29th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I perfectly understand the sketch of 
 the picture you allude to. I might better call it commence- 
 ment ; it is a view of a very picturesque village near Bristol, 
 Whitchurch, evidently taking its name from White Church. 
 
 “ I shall have considerable pleasure in coinciding with 
 your wish. The size of the picture is 29 in. by 24 in., and I 
 think it will paint in every respect effectively. 
 
 “ Believe me to remain, 
 
 “ My dear sir, 
 
 “Yours most truly and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “July 27th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It gave me sincere pleasure in receiving 
 your kind letter of this morning. In answer to your ques- 
 tions, I have been closely engaged, and my health is not 
 quite well. On the whole tolerably good, 
 
 “ I only fear, with all my exertions, I shall not be able to 
 send the pictures I promised to Manchester. In one instance 
 one was purchased by a gentleman who refuses the loan of 
 it, although stipulated for at the time of sale. This placed 
 me in a very awkward situation. I am, however, exerting 
 myself on an English scene that I hope to have ready in 
 time, and only trust that should I not be so fortunate, you 
 will not attribute it to neglect, or a due value of a promise. 
 I have been so engaged on private commissions that in 
 every instance I neglect the country exhibitions. I must say, 
 however, as regards Manchester, I think I shall be certain of 
 one. How much I regret to hear the state of poverty in this 
 country, and then turn my eyes on the rich squandering of 
 the aristocracy. Surely such things are not right ; they will 
 one day become accountable for misapplied power, for surely 
 riches may be called so. Something must be done ere long. 
 What ? is the question ; for, despite income-tax, there is some 
 radical fault, or else, on reasonable principles, I cannot 
 account for this wretchedness. We must, as you say, sir, 
 trust in an all-bounteous Providence. He can, if it be His 
 will, relieve our wants. 
 
 “ It may not be improbable that I shall make a sketching 
 tour for a week or so in North Wales; but not before next 
 month. I delight in the country, and call it our English 
 Switzerland. Pray excuse this hasty letter, and believe me, 
 
 “ My dear sir, 
 
 “ Most sincerely your obliged and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 147 
 
 To Charles Birch, Esq., Metchley Abbey , Birmingham. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 August 5th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It is some considerable time since I 
 have had the pleasure of writing to you or seeing you, 
 having been unfortunate enough to be out of town when you 
 called during the exhibition. 
 
 “ I now write to say that in consequence of that upright 
 picture, ‘ The Money Changers,’ not turning out what I 
 expected it, I cannot wish you, sir, to consider the picture as 
 your property [it came black]. If this corresponds with your 
 wishes (as I think you saw the picture in my room), we will 
 say no more on the subject, only that I consider myself your 
 debtor in the two little pictures, which may be arranged on 
 some future time. I have delayed my intended excursion into 
 Egypt, as the plague is very bad there at this moment. I 
 mean to take a start into North Wales, and paint from nature, 
 i.e., work my pictures on the spot. 
 
 “ I regret I cannot finish anything of moment for the 
 Birmingham Exhibition. I have just sold the picture which 
 I intended for there, and I cannot get the loan of it. I send 
 one small one, I believe through the kindness of my friend 
 Mr. Grundy. Pray pardon haste, and believe me, 
 
 “ My dear sir, 
 
 “ Your sincerely obliged and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 In August, 1842, Muller accompanied Mr. Horsman Solly 
 on a visit of a few days to Serge Hill, near St. Alban’s, the 
 residence of his brother, Mr. Reynold Solly. Here Muller 
 made one or two country excursions, and took some sketches. 
 One of these was a slight sketch of St. Alban’s Abbey, 
 which he afterwards finished in London from memory and 
 sent to Miss Solly (now Mrs. Meyer), in whose possession this 
 very beautiful drawing still is. It was on the occasion of this 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. x. visit, when looking- at a drawing of the interior of St. Alban’s 
 1842. Abbey, that Muller remarked that “ any artist might become 
 an architect, but that an architect could not become an 
 artist.” Mrs. Meyer says she recollects that Muller, who 
 was very good-natured, would often bring one of his large 
 portfolios of drawings and sketches to her uncle’s house in 
 Great Ormond Street, when, in turning them over, he would 
 fully describe the subjects and places ; also, that he parted 
 with many of his beautiful large sketches to Mr. Solly for 
 two or three pounds each, being desirous of clearing them 
 away before leaving England to make fresh ones. Mrs. 
 Meyer adds that, far from being conceited about his own 
 works, Muller put too low a value on them, and often almost 
 gave them away, whilst he often spoke in high praise of 
 the works of other artists. 
 
 At the end of August or very early in September, 1842, 
 Muller started from London for North Wales, and his friend, 
 Charles Bentley, followed him a week later. They had 
 arranged to join Charles Baxter, J. Wilson, and Evans at a 
 little Welsh hamlet, called Roe, about four miles from 
 Conway, and not far from Trefrew, which is renowned for 
 its beautiful scenery. 
 
 On his way down Muller stopped in Birmingham for one 
 night, in order to see Mr. Benjamin Johnson, as that gentle- 
 man was desirous of placing his son Harry — then a,bout 
 seventeen — with him as a pupil. Muller again visited him 
 on his way home, and this matter was then finally arranged 
 to the satisfaction of all parties. 
 
 Charles Baxter relates that as soon as Muller arrived he 
 set to work in earnest, and made some splendid studies, 
 amongst others that of Pont Hoogan for his large picture — a 
 kind of subject in which his large manner of work told, and in 
 which he especially delighted. He used to go out to paint 
 without any easel, but placing his canvas on his knees, with a 
 few tacks just knocked in at the corners, he steadied it at 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 149 
 
 the proper angle by means of a bit of string or cord passed 
 over his shoulders and round the back of his neck. Baxter 
 also says that Muller was in very buoyant spirits when he 
 first arrived at Roe (a little overbearing), and appeared to 
 be quite excited by the joy of getting out of London, and by 
 the beauty of the scenery. On one occasion then, Muller cut 
 the branch of a tree, all green with leaves on it, and com- 
 menced brandishing it about rather to the inconvenience 
 of his companions. When at last Baxter, feeling rather 
 annoyed, seized the branch, and they had a “set to” just 
 as schoolboys might have done. This occurrence appears 
 to have produced some estrangement between Muller and 
 Baxter and Wilson, and the two latter artists almost imme- 
 diately left for another part of Carnarvonshire. Muller, 
 however, remained at Roe, with his friend Bentley, for a 
 considerable time; and as Evans — Welsh Evans, an old 
 associate of Muller’s at Bristol — and Bond were also staying 
 there, they had a very pleasant time of it. 
 
 The following characteristic letter, written by Muller soon 
 after his arrival at Roe to his friend, Mr. Gooden, will be 
 read with interest : — 
 
 To James Chisholm Gooden, Esq., Dover . 
 
 “ Roe-Ty-Gwyn, near Conway, N. Wales, 
 
 “ September 13th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — A cloudy and wet sky enables me 
 to relieve myself from the promise I made of giving you 
 a line, which with pleasure I commence doing. After my 
 return from Mr. Solly’s I finished one or two things, and 
 packed for the above place, Bentley remaining a week later. 
 I arrived, and found Baxter and Wilson living with Bond 
 (a Liverpool artist). Much that will amuse you, I will tell 
 when our next fortunate meeting may take place. They had 
 made poor use of the time (three weeks, and all fine), and 
 on my arrival they removed to another place— Bettws- 
 Garmon. This at first a little vexed me, which is all gone 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
I5O LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. x. in the pleasant days spent with Evans, Bentley, and Bond. 
 
 1842. True, I have not done all I could wish. Indeed, very little, 
 as the weather from the unclouded sunshine has become truly 
 autumnal. 
 
 “ I paint in oil on the spot, and rather large, indeed. I 
 am more than ever convinced in the actual necessity of looking 
 at nature with a much more observant eye than the mass of 
 young artists do, and in particular at skies. These are gene- 
 rally neglected. Could you but see some of the effects I have 
 witnessed within the last few weeks, I am sure you would join 
 with me in laughing at our imperfect attempts to imitate. 
 
 “The scenery I am in is very good, much like the Tal-y- 
 Bont, and will detain me much longer than I imagined. I 
 know not when I may be off, for in wet the interiors of 
 cottages will give me good occupation. 
 
 “Well, this is pretty well of myself; and now, my dear 
 fellow, may I ask what you are doing ? You know you have 
 my best wishes for success. So let me imagine you hard at 
 it on sea-coast scenery. Few other subjects exist at Dover, 
 and if well drawn and studied are beautiful for paint. 
 
 “ You will, I am sure, pardon the dullness of this epistle. 
 News I have none — and how can a man who is out all day, 
 poking his nose into some hole or spot, and in the evening 
 chats and smokes whilst his friends contribute the luxury of 
 music (you know we have Evans, and Bond was educated as 
 one also), then to bed : and that bed is situated in a little 
 country inn, which is the large house of a small village taking 
 the name of Roe, and four miles from Conway? 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear fellow, if you could contribute in any 
 way to my stock of information by taking up your pen and 
 giving me a line, I shall ever consider myself your debtor ; 
 and should you, I trust I may find that both Mr. Gooden and 
 your mother, with yourself, enjoy good health. 
 
 “\ou may with little difficulty perceive this has been 
 written in haste, for, as if the day had been jealous of any 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 1 5 I 
 
 time not spent in its admiration, it has cleared up most 
 brilliantly, promising a fine evening, which again tempts me 
 out. So, believe me to remain, 
 
 “ Sincerely your friend, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The following anecdote relating to this visit of Muller’s to 
 Roe has been related to me by Mr. J. Surtees, the landscape- 
 painter. On one occasion when looking over a folio of 
 sketches by the late Charles Bentley, and noticing one of a 
 scene in the Conway Valley in which a cattle-shed was 
 represented with a column of smoke issuing from the roof, 
 Bentley told Surtees that he and William Muller had been 
 out sketching together, and after Muller had proceeded for 
 some time in his rapid manner with water-colours, he went 
 into this identical shed and lighted a fire to dry his drawing. 
 The fire spread to some loose fern, and, in spite of both their 
 efforts to extinguish it, the fire soon caught the roof and 
 destroyed it. The owner of the shed was afterwards found 
 out by Muller, and compensated for the damage caused. 
 This habit of Muller’s, of drying his wet drawings by some 
 sort of fire when out sketching in damp weather, has been 
 noticed by Mr. Harrison in his paper contained in this 
 volume. 
 
 Another anecdote is apropos of Muller’s habit of painting 
 without an easel and other traps, and has been related to me 
 by a Birmingham artist. When at Roe a country artist saw 
 Muller (who was dressed in rather a dapper way) just about 
 commencing to work, and, imagining that he was some novice 
 or amateur to whom he might give some useful hints, he 
 accosted him in rather a patronising manner and told him of 
 a picturesque interior not far off, proposing at the same time 
 that they should go and sketch there together. Muller, who 
 was always ready for anything, acquiesced, and they set to 
 work. At the end of two hours, when the other had scarcely 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
152 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. x. commenced to colour, Muller tossed to him a very powerful 
 1842. and complete sketch, quite finished in colour. His new 
 friend appeared to be overcome with astonishment, and at 
 last gasped out, “ Oh ! then you must be William Muller.” 
 
 Some time in October Muller appears to have left Roe 
 and proceeded to Bettws-y-Coed, staying first at the house 
 which is now the Waterloo Inn. In that neighbourhood he 
 remained for some time making sketches, especially up the 
 Lledr Valley, where he obtained the subject for his large 
 upright picture of “The Salmon-Trap.” Whilst there he 
 received the following letter from David Cox : — ■ 
 
 “ Greenfield House, Harborne, near Birmingham, 
 
 “ October 24th, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir,- — Having heard my friend, Mr. Birch, say 
 he had received a letter from you, and was going to write, I 
 beg you will excuse my taking the liberty of saying how 
 much pleasure it would give me, if you, on your return from 
 Wales, can spend a few days at my house. I have a bed 
 waiting for you, and it would afford me much pleasure to 
 have your company to talk over our rambles in Wales. I 
 live within one hundred yards of Mr. Birch, and I am sure 
 he is expecting you soon. He was from home most of last 
 week, but is now returned. I feel very much obliged by 
 your kind remembrance of me. 
 
 “ I am, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Yours truly, 
 
 “ David Cox. 
 
 “ Wm. Muller, Esq.” 
 
 It is to be regretted that the invitation was not accepted ; 
 but Muller had remained longer in North Wales than he 
 originally intended, and was anxious to get back to 
 London. 
 
 When he left, he took home with him a good many 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 153 
 
 important studies in oil, also a folio full of water-colour 
 sketches. The following were some of the subjects : — 
 “Mill on the Dolgarrog,” “Mill Cottage,” “ Pandy Mill,” 
 “Pont Hoogan,” “After Rain, North Wales,” “A Mountain 
 Cottage and Stream,” “ Salmon-Trap in the Lledr Valley,” 
 several “ Cottage Interiors.” “View near Bettws,” &c. 
 From these he painted during the following winter several 
 large works in oil. One of the cottage interiors, painted 
 at this time, is now in the collection of Mr. S. Mayou, 
 Edgbaston. The size is 16 in. by 9 in., and it is dated 
 1842. It is carefully painted, and represents a Welsh woman 
 seated in a picturesque kitchen near an open door, through 
 which a peep of country appears. Close to the door a 
 girl is feeding poultry, and on the right are some jugs, pans, 
 and rural implements. The colour is rich and mellow, and 
 the arrangement of light and shade skilful, — indeed quite 
 worthy of Muller’s favourite old master, Ostade. Another 
 beautiful interior, an upright, 16 in. by 20 in., with a round 
 top, also dated 1842, and painted in Muller’s Ostade manner, 
 is now in the collection of Mr. H. Cooper, King’s Heath. 
 It is very rich in colour, with deep broad shadows. An old 
 woman knitting is seated with a spinning-wheel by her side ; 
 opposite stands a girl carrying a child, and immediately in 
 front some goats are lying down, the whole being thoroughly 
 Welsh in character. A high peat roof is filled with country 
 produce, baskets, roots, and various implements. Shelves 
 and a cupboard containing quaint crockery and bottles are 
 placed against the walls, and a small window in the deep 
 recess of the wall admits a bright ray of light. 
 
 As soon as Muller returned to London he set to work 
 preparing his pictures for the winter and spring exhibitions, 
 and also recommenced his attendance at the Life School in 
 Clipstone Street. 
 
 It was at this time that Harry Johnson came up from 
 Birmingham as a pupil to work in Muller’s studio, and he 
 
1 54 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. x. remained with him till the end. They travelled together in 
 1842. the East in 1843 and 1844, and Muller always felt and 
 expressed great friendship and liking for his young pupil. 
 Johnson lodged in a street near to Euston Square ; but he 
 used to accompany Muller every afternoon to dine at the 
 eating-house in Rupert Street. He relates that Muller on 
 his way to dinner used generally to pass an old book-shop, 
 with a stall in front, on which was a copy of Froissart’s 
 “ Chronicles.” He liked to stop and read this every day , 
 about one page, with the greatest interest. At last 
 Johnson, who remained standing meanwhile and felt very 
 hungry, exclaimed, “ I wonder, Muller, as you appear to 
 have such a passion for Froissart you do not buy the 
 book.” “ Ah (replied Muller), don’t you know, if I were 
 to purchase that book I should have lost all pleasure in 
 it.” A profound knowledge of human nature is, I think, 
 embodied in these few brief words. 
 
 The following letter, written by Muller to Birch after his 
 return home from Wales, refers to the election of Creswick 
 into the Royal Academy. When once there, the door of 
 the Academy appeared for many years to have been barred 
 against the entrance of other landscape - painters, and, 
 indeed, the works of Cox, Muller, and other talented 
 painters of landscape were either frequently refused admit- 
 tance or treated with very slight respect. David Cox often 
 sent works to the Academy, but only three of them were 
 hung, and those by no means well. 
 
 To Charles Birch, Esq., Metchley Abbey , Birmingham. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “November 23rd, 1842. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am at length come home from my 
 wandering, and should like you to see a few of the subjects 
 I brought back. 
 
 “ Shall I enclose you ‘ The Mill ’ and some of the water- 
 
LONDON AND NORTH WALES. 
 
 155 
 
 colour sketches ? The worst is, they are on mounts — very 
 heavy. 
 
 “ If you, sir, should be coming to town, it may be better 
 to wait till then. I think much of ‘ The Mill,’ and a salmon- 
 trap subject, as companions to ‘ The Lock,’ and the interiors 
 promise well. 
 
 “ Creswick has gained it at last, and I think he deserves 
 it. I only wish he would not niggle quite so much, as it 
 looks or makes nature look as if seen through a diminishing 
 glass. But, after all, he is clever. 
 
 Excuse haste, and believe me, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Chap. X. 
 1842. 
 
XI. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 i 8 43 - 
 
 ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 1843. 
 
 S HE year 1843 was one of the most memorable in 
 William Muller’s art-life, always so full of incident 
 and interest. During the first half, especially 
 during the winter months, he painted many of 
 his most celebrated pictures, some of which I shall describe 
 in this chapter. In the autumn he left England to join the 
 Lycian Expedition of Sir Charles Fellows, destined to 
 remove the marbles previously discovered at Xanthus ; and 
 whilst in Lycia, as well as at Rhodes and at Smyrna, Muller 
 made a great many sketches of grand quality, the finest, 
 indeed, he ever produced. To the British Institution, which 
 opened at the end of January, Muller contributed the fol- 
 lowing pictures : — 
 
 “ Interior of a Cottage, North Wales,” 2 ft. 9 in. by 
 2 ft. 4 in. 
 
 “Pont Hoogan, near Conway, North Wales,” 4 ft. 3 in. 
 by 5 ft. 11 in. 
 
 “ Salmon-Trap on the Lledr,” 5 ft. 9 in. by 7 ft. 2 in. 
 
 All these works were powerful transcripts of nature, and 
 the “Salmon-Trap” especially was full of poetical feeling. 
 The colour of these pictures, although tending to quiet 
 
KHAN FOR TRAVELLERS. SMYRNA. 
 

ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 157 
 
 greys and browns, was essentially true to nature, as those 
 who are conversant with the scenery of North Wales must 
 admit; at the same time the quiet tones reminded one of 
 the works of Ruysdael and Gaspar Poussin, and some 
 objections were raised at the time to the rather uniformly 
 low tone of the colour in these landscapes. 
 
 The “Pont Hoogan ” is a close scene, with some fine 
 trees, the arches of the bridge, a rocky stream of limpid 
 water, and a picturesque water-mill. 
 
 “The Salmon-Trap” in Glen Lledr, near Bettws, is a 
 grand upright landscape, with a cottage near a stream 
 falling over rocks, and a very richly wooded background, 
 the tall trees, which have lost many of their leaves, being 
 especially fine in character. There are two figures engaged 
 taking salmon from the trap, and the whole picture full of 
 interest, powerfully painted, and a worthy representation of 
 “ wild ” Wales. 
 
 This picture was originally purchased by Mr. B. Johnson 
 from Muller for ^50; he re-sold it at a small profit, and 
 after a few years he re-bought it for £ 3 00. Mr. Henry 
 Bradley then became its possessor for ^315, and at the sale 
 of that gentleman’s collection at Christie and Manson’s, 
 28th May, i860, it went for ^600; not long afterwards it 
 was sold again, I believe, for £ 1 200. I cite the above as 
 one instance, among many others, of the way in which 
 Muller’s works have advanced in value. 
 
 The following letter refers to the opening of the British 
 Institution this year ; it will also be read with interest as it 
 is the first one written by Muller to Mr. B. Johnson (which 
 has been preserved) after his son Harry had joined him in 
 London as a pupil. It may be remarked that by this time 
 Muller had formed a good many acquaintances and some 
 friendships in London, and that he used often to be invited 
 out to dinner ; but this was always in the evening, when his 
 studio work was over. 
 
 Chap. XT. 
 1843. 
 

 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 To Benjamin Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ February 4th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I promised you a line as soon as 
 varnishing-day at the British Institution should have passed, 
 and in consequence the fate of the pictures decided. Unfor- 
 tunately I am too good a prophet. The “Salmon-Trap” 
 is not well hung by any means, nor do I consider the other 
 pictures in a choice situation ; but the very kind compliments 
 I have received from many of our first artists, Stanfield, 
 Collins, Herbert, &c., make great amends. They consider 
 me to be the worst-used man in the exhibition. But for 
 this I care little, as the pictures can be seen, and I know 
 well my part must be taken, and justice done to one’s 
 works. But enough on this subject, and, with more pleasure 
 than complaining, I turn to another. 
 
 “ Your son is going on very well, and in every way gives 
 me satisfaction ; I think his eye for colour to be good, and 
 I do not doubt in the least he has the abilities to become a 
 good artist, if (which must rest with himself) he has the 
 perseverance to climb the hill with patience and much hard 
 labour. Ours is a profession which requires more than any 
 other, and you will do him good if you continually enforce 
 this on his mind. 
 
 “ As yet I have not had it in my power (from many engage- 
 ments) to show him the civilities I could have wished 
 
 I hope to find in him as much of a companion as of a pupil. 
 
 “ Our friend Colls was with me yesterday ; he will give 
 you a line to-morrow, after his visit to the exhibition. On 
 the whole it is a bad one : Lee has a good picture, Charles 
 Landseer also ; Creswick, black and heavy ; Stanfield, too 
 fresh and new-looking. You will pardon haste, and believe 
 me, my dear sir, 
 
 “ To remain, yours sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 U8 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 
 1843. 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 159 
 
 The “ Pont Hoogan ” exhibited in the British Institution 
 in 1843 was copied from two original oil-sketches, each of 
 which was about 20 in. by 30 in., and were painted entirely 
 on the spot from nature, and, I believe, not touched by 
 Muller afterwards ; it was a grey picture, very negative in 
 colour, but very delicate and beautiful, and was sold by 
 Muller for ^15. Another fine Welsh picture painted by him 
 this spring, from a sketch made in the autumn, was a “ Snow- 
 Storm ” on the way to the moors, near Roe; this was mar- 
 vellously fine in effect, full of colour ; the trees, not having 
 lost all their leaves, bent before the storm of snow, which had 
 come on suddenly, as appears by the wild storm-driven sky. 
 The size of this picture was about 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. 
 
 Another striking landscape by Muller this season which 
 was much admired was called “ Harrowing,” about 4 ft. 
 by 2 ft. 6 in. Some horses led by a boy are represented 
 dragging a harrow over some heavy clay land, accompanied 
 by one or two figures ; the fine grey Constablcish sky forms 
 a beautiful contrast with the brownish clay furrows — the whole 
 being rendered in a free and powerful manner, and delightful 
 in tone. This picture was bought by Pennel for ^20. 
 
 In all these pictures, and others which I shall describe in 
 this chapter, Muller’s great versatility both in subject and 
 style is remarkable. He appeared to turn from landscape 
 to sea or figure subjects, from Italy to Egypt, from river to 
 mountain, from scriptural subjects to Welsh interiors, with 
 equal facility, vigour, and enjoyment. 
 
 “The Pharisee and Publican.” Muller was acquainted 
 about this time with a clergyman or Dissenting minister, by 
 name the Rev. Mr. J— — n ; he was in easy circumstances, 
 an amateur and dabbler in art, and very fond (as I am told) 
 of coming to Muller’s studio and reading out loud, generally 
 from the Bible, which he whipped out of his pocket, Muller 
 working with his brush meanwhile. He used to choose 
 such passages as he thought would make good scriptural 
 
160 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xi. subjects for pictures, expatiating on the same. Muller was 
 1843. always interested in hearing the Bible read out loud, 
 especially the Book of Job, which he was never tired of 
 hearing. Muller, who was a keen judge of character, was 
 decidedly tickled with Mr. J.’s ostentatious manner and mode 
 of reading, for I should add that the Rev. J. was a grand 
 and rather pompous elderly man, carrying his head well 
 thrown back, and his chin in the air. On one occasion 
 Muller made a rapid sketch (by the sly) of the reverend 
 gentleman’s head and figure, unknown to him ; but when he 
 
 was about to leave he said, “ Oh, Mr. J n, I want a good 
 
 model like you for one of my pictures ; when you next come 
 will you oblige me by sitting for me?” The favour was 
 readily accorded, and in the meantime Muller clothed the 
 figure in an Eastern costume, leaving the face to be finished 
 from life ; he painted in the Publican from another model, 
 and when Mr. J. came again and sat quite unconscious of 
 what was going on, Muller finished painting a capital 
 portrait of him as the Pharisee. The joke soon exploded, 
 and Mr. J. good-humouredly joined in the laugh, although 
 evidently it cost him an effort, and was a little against the 
 grain. This picture of the “Pharisee and the Publican” 
 consisted of only two figures ; it is a fine piece of colour, 
 rapidly and vigorously painted, the size about 23 in. by 
 15 in. Muller painted four or five scriptural subjects this 
 year, all of which were suggested, I believe, more or less 
 ,by the Rev. Mr. J n. 
 
 Just before leaving London, at the beginning of April, to 
 pay rather a long visit to his brother at Bristol, Muller sent 
 the following pictures to the Royal Academy : — 
 
 No. 1. “ Welsh Mill on the Dolgarrog,” 6 ft. 10 in. by 
 4 ft. 6 in., hung over the door in the east or Great room. 
 
 No. 38. “ Arabs seeking Treasure,” hung close to the 
 ground in the east room. 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. I 6 I 
 
 No. 547. “ Prayers in the Desert,” 6 ft. by 3 ft. 4 in., hung 
 in the west room. 
 
 Muller was absent from London when the exhibition 
 opened. He naturally felt anxious to know how his pictures 
 would be placed, as so much of the immediate and, I may 
 perhaps add, future success of an artist depends on his 
 position in the Royal Academy ; he therefore wrote to his 
 friend, Harry Johnson, to beg him to let him know his fate 
 on the opening-day. The result caused him a good deal 
 of disappointment, for not one of his works was hung in a 
 fairly good position ; but Muller had not expected much 
 this year, and he was the more easily consoled since all his 
 exhibited works found ready purchasers. “ The Mill on the 
 Dolgarog,” a spirited work, was unusually large, perhaps 
 too large for the subject, being 6 ft. 10 in. by 4 ft. 6 in. It is 
 now in the collection of Mr. Joseph Gillott, of Berry Hall, 
 Solihull. In looking at this picture, you are reminded of 
 the colouring of Wilson and other early masters. The 
 prevailing tones are sober greys, quiet yellows and brown, 
 and cool greens. The figures — a girl holding a little child, 
 and a lad of the peasant class — have perhaps less appearance 
 of life than in most of his works of this period. The 
 picturesque old mill, with its large dark wheel, is the most 
 prominent object, and is surmounted by a fine group of 
 trees ; some cows are grouped near, in a field, to the 
 extreme right. The foaming water of the mill-stream, and 
 the bold rocky foreground, are full of dash and character. 
 The water especially is cool in colour, liquid, and replete 
 with motion. On the left are some more trees and a lofty 
 hill ; between these and the mill a narrow valley appears 
 with a cottage, backed by a blue mountainous distance. 
 There is no minute finish in this picture, which was painted 
 from one of the sketches made the previous autumn ; it is 
 large in manner, with much simplicity in the arrangement, 
 
 M 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
1 6 2 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xi. and, to be seen to advantage, it should be looked at from a 
 1843- distance. It would be a great addition to any of our public 
 galleries. 
 
 “The Prayers in the Desert,” one of Muller’s best- 
 known works, has been engraved in the Art-Union ; a pho- 
 tographic copy, taken from the oil-picture, will be found at 
 the beginning of this chapter. The original is now in the 
 collection of Mr. William Sharp, of Handsworth, to whose 
 kindness I am indebted for this and other prints in this book. 
 One or two smaller copies of “ The Prayers in the Desert” 
 exist ; the original sketch, for the subj'ect, which is especially 
 fine in colour, being in the possession of Mr. J. Henderson. 
 
 Nothing can be more impressive than the way in which 
 Muller has told the story of the Mussulman’s devotion to 
 his faith : bowed in prayer towards Mecca, some standing, 
 some kneeling, and some almost prostrate on the mat, and 
 surrounded by the desert, great character and expression is 
 given to each of the figures. The colour is rich and varied, 
 the general tone being rather dark ; night still lingers in 
 the west, for the time chosen is early morning. The figures 
 for this picture were painted from life-models in London — a 
 very unusual proceeding with Muller; he had some diffi- 
 culty in finding the right men with sufficient of the Eastern 
 character, and he dressed them up in the costumes he had 
 himself brought home from Cairo. 
 
 Muller painted this year several fine pictures of Gillingham 
 on the Medway; of these, one 4 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 10 in., and 
 another 2 ft. 9 in. by 20 in., were for many years in the 
 collection of Mr. E. Bullock. As another instance of the 
 way in which Muller’s works have increased in value, I may 
 mention that the larger picture sold in May, 1870, for 
 jQ 1 ,250 ; and having passed into the possession of Mr. Heugh, 
 of Holmeswood, was resold in April, 1874, for ^2,152. It 
 is a brilliant and powerful work : on the left are two children 
 and a boat ; in the centre, a grand group of trees with eel- 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 1 63 
 
 pots under the bank, which overhangs the river. The 
 winding river is again seen in the distance on the right, 
 with a fishing-boat appearing above the meadows ; beyond 
 are some trees and cottages, and also the well-known 
 Gillingham Church. The sky is a brilliant blue, with white 
 and grey clouds. This picture has sometimes been called 
 “ Compton Dando.” Another fine but small Gillingham, 
 dated 1843, 2 4 in. by 18 in., I have seen in the collection of 
 Mr. D. Sharp, of Queen Ann Street. The depth of light 
 and shade, and rich juicy colour, remind you of the Vene- 
 tian school of art : in the centre are some graceful trees, 
 with a bright sky surrounding them ; a peculiarly good 
 foreground, very varied and broken, with the river in front 
 reflecting the trees and banks. 
 
 Very similar in colour and handling to the celebrated 
 “ Slave Market ” is a picture painted and dated by Muller 
 in 1843, on oak panel, 15 in. by 23 in. — “Moses command- 
 ing Darkness over the Land of Egypt;” at the back of the 
 frame these words are written in Muller’s own handwriting — 
 “Sketch, William Muller; Exodus, chapter x, verse 22.” 
 The colour of this oil-sketch is as fine as anything ever painted 
 by the artist ; the handling is rough, vigorous, exceedingly 
 su gg es tive, and masterly. Moses stands in a very striking 
 position near the foreground, his left hand raised towards 
 heaven, his right hand holding a rod ; he is clad in a loose 
 tawny robe, which hangs round him in graceful folds ; his 
 figure and attitude are noble and full of power and com- 
 mand ; he is surrounded by a great number of figures, and 
 you seem to see into the very depth of the swarthy crowd of 
 Egyptians, Arabs, and Nubians. Close to Moses, on the 
 right, a negro (naked except for his drawers of a rich dark 
 blue) is bending his head down to the very ground, as if 
 overcome with awe ; and not far off on the same side another 
 negro is bending forward, whose green robe and turban of 
 a golden yellow are of a colour indescribably fine. On the 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 life OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xi. left a dark Egyptian woman, carrying a child, turns a 
 1843. wondering gaze towards the prophet ; some figures are 
 hurrying along, and others, overwhelmed with fear, appear 
 unable to stir. Near the horizon a few streaks of light are 
 still visible, elsewhere on all sides the sky is of a terrible 
 and portentous blackness ; against this, the grand facade of 
 Pharaoh’s palace and one or two pyramids are relieved. 
 The whole is most suggestive, and the feeling conveyed 
 highly poetical. This picture is now in the collection of Mr. 
 Joseph Gillott, of Berry Hall. I am informed that Muller 
 commenced and finished this picture of Moses in one day. 
 Having previously made a slight study for it, he commenced 
 this and other similar subjects by sketching in the subject 
 boldly on the oak panel with ink ; he then plastered it over 
 with a thick fatty varnish made of gum mastic and other 
 ingredients, which had become ropy and sticky ; whilst this 
 set a little, he prepared his palette, and then painted 
 rapidly, dashing the colours off his brush, which adhered 
 and attached themselves readily to the varnish-covered 
 panel. Muller said that he had most closely examined 
 Tintoretto’s work, and that he felt certain he produced his 
 picture by a somewhat similar process of manipulation. 
 When painting thus rapidly, Muller had always by him, to 
 mix up with his pigments, a certain quantity of powdered 
 gypsum or plaster of Paris, made from old broken casts 
 pounded fine in a mortar. 
 
 Soon after completing the “ Moses,” Muller painted a 
 companion picture to it of the same size, 15 in. by 23 in. — 
 “Israelites Crossing the Red Sea.” It contained, also, a 
 great number of figures, and was rich in colour ; but although 
 he had made a careful study for it, this picture was not so 
 successful as the “ Moses commanding Darkness.” 
 
 Another of the Eastern subjects painted by Muller this 
 year was “ The Memnons,” 2 ft. by 3 ft. 4 in., exhibited 
 at the Manchester Art-Treasures Exhibition in 1857. This 
 work long adorned the late Mr. Gillott’ s collection, as did 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 1 65 
 
 also the “ Treasure Finders,” 30 by 54 in., 1843, having been 
 painted on commission for that gentleman. 
 
 The most celebrated, perhaps, of all Muller’s works was, 
 however, also painted this year. I refer to the “Chess-Players 
 at Cairo,” 2 ft. by 2 ft. 8 in. It was successively in the 
 collections of Mr. C. Birch, Mr. Gillott, and Mr. Heugh ; 
 but it was originally purchased by Mr. B. Johnson for ^25, 
 and at the last sale it realised upwards of four thousand 
 pounds. This picture is so powerful and yet so brilliant in 
 colour that it has been lately described by an artist as 
 shining out like “ a tray of jewels ” amidst a collection of 
 works by Turner, Prout, and Copley Fielding. The prin- 
 cipal light is thrown on the two chess-players seated cross- 
 legged on a mat to the left ; one of them is dressed in 
 a white turban and red caftan, and is calmly smoking a 
 hookah, attended to by a little black slave ; the other has 
 a green dress and yellow turban, and is supported by another 
 turbaned figure attired in a dark red robe. Behind these 
 are other figures in rich dresses ; one, clad in blue black 
 of the deepest dye, gives relief to the others. On a bench 
 near, an Arab is seated, eating from a metal dish, with a 
 small charcoal fire by his side : above, a Moorish building 
 rises up in dark brown shadow ; it is pierced with an arch, 
 through which distant figures, buildings, and palm-trees are 
 seen ; and a bit of deep, intense blue sky above. The effect 
 of light on the white turban of the negro, and on the golden 
 hookah, gives point to the whole group. The stand on 
 which the chess-board is placed is very picturesque, being 
 of a species of wicker-work. To the right of the picture 
 a pleasant-looking young man in a graceful yellow robe is 
 standing near a grim, middle-aged Turk, and forms a good 
 contrast. In the distance, on this side, are some Egyptian 
 buildings with towers, under the shade of which a camel 
 and camel - drivers are reposing. The sky, as already 
 remarked, is unusually rich in colour, like one of Etty’s, or 
 like the old Venetian school. 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
 l66 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Mr. Harry Johnson was working as a pupil in Muller’s 
 studio when Muller painted the “Chess-Players;” he saw 
 him commence and finish it, and he has described it to me 
 as follows : — 
 
 “ It was Muller’s habit to rise early, and, after a slight 
 breakfast (very little more than a cup of tea and one slice 
 of bread and butter or toast, for he had a bad appetite in 
 the morning), he would rapidly outline the subject of the 
 picture to be painted in chalk or pen and ink ; and then, 
 having set his palette, he used often to take up his guitar, 
 and sitting down on a sofa he would bring out a few notes 
 of some familiar airs in a sort of abstracted way, earnestly 
 gazing up all the time at the board or canvas placed on his 
 easel. Having made up his mind what ought to be done, 
 he would rise suddenly, and, throwing down the guitar, 
 would commence to paint rapidly, like one inspired, placing 
 the thick pigments on the canvas without hesitation, and 
 almost without stopping. Muller had wonderful power of 
 wrist, and he never seemed to tire when at work.” 
 
 In the present case the “Chess-Players” was thus out- 
 lined on an old deal panel, and he began to paint only part 
 of the subject now represented ; but as the day went on it 
 grew in size and importance, until, when leaving off for 
 dinner, between four and five o’clock in the afternoon, the 
 whole subject began to appear, all the figures in their places, 
 and already full of character and power. Calling to Harry 
 Johnson, he begged him to dip a thick cloth in the water, 
 and, after wringing it out, to place the same over the picture, 
 covering it up completely, so as to exclude the air ; thus 
 it would be kept from drying and remain in a pulpy, tackky 
 condition. 
 
 The next morning Muller again resumed work on it 
 directly after breakfast, and by the time it was dark on the 
 evening of the second day he had finished the picture, such 
 as it now is, excepting that the thirty years which have 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 167 
 
 elapsed since it was painted have considerably improved .Chap, xi. 
 and mellowed its tone. Muller reckoned on this effect of 18439 
 time, and painted brightly in consequence. And thus this 
 marvellous work was produced in two days ! 
 
 Another and smaller copy of the “Chess-Players” was 
 painted by Muller in 1843, the size being 22 in. by 16 in. It 
 has lately been in the collection of. Mr. Farnworth, of Liver- 
 pool. It is also a splendid bit of colour, but has fewer 
 figures and is less highly finished than the larger work. 
 
 The position of the principal groups of figures and their 
 dresses are, however, very similar to the larger work. 
 
 The large picture of the “Good Samaritan,” 21 in. by 
 33 in. (the sketch of which I have already described) was 
 also painted this year; it is one of Muller’s most powerful 
 works, although it is said to have been completed entirely 
 in one day. A landscape, with a rainbow and figures, 9^ in. 
 by 17-J in., in Mr. Gillott’s collection; a woody landscape, 
 with dark foaming water, a water-mill and eel-pots, and two 
 children, 2 ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. 9 in., very fine in colour, in 
 Mr. Thomas Ashton’s collection ; and a view on the Med- 
 way, morning effect, and of a warm silvery-grey tone, a 
 river flowing between the banks of a meadow, two willow- 
 trees, a rustic bridge, and a boy in a boat fishing, &c., 
 
 26 in. by in,, now in the possession of Mr. W. Smith of 
 Wisbeach, — are also amongst the pictures by Muller painted 
 in 1843 which deserve a passing notice. 
 
 A more important work, likewise painted this year, and 
 purchased by the Rev. J. B. Owen, formerly of Queen Ann 
 Street and afterwards of Cheltenham, was “ Eel-Pots at 
 Goring,” about 3 ft. 6 in. by 6 ft. This was a magnificent 
 piece of colour, very vigorous, and very “ Constableish” in 
 feeling, and a good deal like Etty in colour. There was 
 a fine rainbow in it, and a great deal of rough dash and 
 sparkle. At the back of this picture Muller wrote, “ Left for 
 some fool to finish.” 
 
1 68 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap, xi About this time a dealer in London brought some damaged 
 1843- and unfinished pictures by Constable (but in other respects 
 fine works) to Muller, and asked if he would work on them. 
 Muller, who always delighted in Constable’s pictures, con- 
 sented to do so, and he completed and repaired them rapidly 
 in Constable’s manner, using gold-size, plaster of Paris, &c., 
 to give the “ piled up” hard surface required. It is a well- 
 known fact that Muller, like Constable, left many fine works 
 in oil unfinished at the time of his death ; and it is a curious 
 coincidence that several of these pictures of Muller’s were 
 worked upon and completed by Linnell. This is an un- 
 doubted fact. 
 
 The following letters will, I think, be read with interest: — 
 To Benjamin Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ April 5th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I last evening received a letter from 
 
 Mr. , in which he informs me it is your wish to detain 
 
 as yours my picture of ‘ The Mummy-Treasure Finders.’ 
 It just arrived in time, previous to its leaving for the 
 Academy. Permit me to express my gratification at your 
 purchasing the painting, which I, in many respects, consider 
 one of the best from my studio. I leave your son behind me for 
 a short time ; but, having given him several things on which 
 to engage himself during my absence, I think the time will 
 pass pleasantly, and, I hope, not altogether unprofitably. 
 
 “ It will give you pleasure to again be assured from me 
 that I am much pleased with his progress, as well as his kind 
 general conduct. 
 
 “ Trusting you will excuse the extreme haste of this, as I 
 leave town within a few moments. 
 
 “ I remain, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Yours most truly, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 1 69 
 
 To Henry Johnson, Esq., Kittlcbury Street , Euston Square , 
 
 London. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ Sunday [15th April, 1843]. 
 
 “My dear Johnson, — This morning I received your 
 letter, and should have written you sooner had I had your 
 address, which I neglected taking with me on leaving town, 
 and could not remember! Hang the knees! Tom’s* is 
 but an echo of my brother’s accident. I am acting the part 
 of nurse, for poor Edd had a most severe blow on his knee, 
 from his horse taking fright and coming in contact with 
 a cart. He is now doing better. I have lately sketched 
 nothing, and painted less ; yet spent a pleasant time alto- 
 gether. The weather has been cold and rainy. I may 
 remain a few days longer than I originally intended. Can 
 you amuse yourself? — or, in other words, can you find occu- 
 pation ? 
 
 “ I need hardly say that I shall be glad to return, yet 
 cannot grumble at any entertainment here. I think, if the 
 ‘ atmosphere ’ should be fine, I shall have one or two mar- 
 vellous subjects. If not — I fear little. Give me an early 
 line, and pray excuse extreme haste. 
 
 “ Believe me sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “Tuesday, 24th April, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am forced to justify my absence from 
 town, as, I doubt not, you may imagine I have made rather 
 too long a stay, and am neglecting the interests of your son. 
 That is a truth. But when I say my detention is not 
 willing, it will, I am sure, with you prove an extenuation. 
 The facts are, I am kept here in consequence of a mortgage 
 that I wish to effect previous to my leaving Bristol ; and it 
 
 * This refers to a note written by Thomas Lawrence to Harry Johnson, excusing himself 
 from making an excuision to Hampstead, in consequence of having “ bruised his kn;e." 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
17O LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap, xl i s rather complicated, as all parties are not together, and 
 1843. law, as you know, always confuses everything. I hope to 
 return to town on Friday ; it may be a day later, but I 
 shall see to-day. 
 
 “ I have had many letters from your son. He seems to 
 have been engaged, and the moment I return I will keep him 
 so. I quite miss him ; for, without flattery, his conduct has 
 deserved my approbation and my friendship, and I hope he 
 shall continue such, when years have confirmed him as an 
 artist, to which profession his present attempts seem to 
 point to future distinction. I do not, as I expect, visit 
 Birmingham. I must not delay, for I am crowded with 
 work. Believe me, my dear sir, to remain, 
 
 “ Sincerely yours, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Henry Johnson, Esq., London. 
 
 “ Bristol, 4th May, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Johnson, — I am at work on a picture, and 
 I am still on your charity. I forward two sketches ; pray 
 take care of them, and try and make a copy of them. I 
 will be with you on Tuesday, when I hope to make up 
 for so serious a delay in your time. Now you can oblige 
 me much. Will you visit the Academy, and write me a 
 line by the Monday’s post, so that I get it by Tuesday 
 morning, acquainting me with my position, &c., &c. 
 
 “ I will start by the twelve o’clock mail-train, and be with 
 you by five. You will also oblige me by being at my house 
 on my arrival, and take tea and hear the news. I do hope 
 to take up my brush to some effect. I forgot if I told you 
 Birch bought the picture I commenced here and am now 
 finishing. The weather is extraordinarily fine ; yet is the 
 country too green, and little sketching have I done. Then, 
 my dear Johnson, believe me to remain, sincerely your 
 friend, in haste, “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. I 7 I 
 
 In consequence of the losses sustained in business in 1842 
 by Mr. D. W. Acraman, of Bristol (the early patron and 
 kind friend of W. Muller), the valuable collection of pictures 
 of that gentleman, containing many fine early works by 
 Muller and other artists, was sold by auction in August, 
 1842. Shortly after Muller’s return from Bristol in May he 
 addressed the following interesting letter to Mr. Acraman, 
 referring to the above subject : — 
 
 To D. W. Acraman, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ May 24th, 1843. 
 
 “My dear and respected Sir, — I pass over in silence 
 what all who have been acquainted with the late melancholy 
 events in Bristol must have felt and still feel. 
 
 “Could I for a moment have thought you would have 
 been pleased with anything my pencil could create, it had 
 needed no application ; for well I remember to your early 
 kindness am I indebted for the position I now hold. Let 
 me assure you, sir, I will place aside time (which I shall 
 consider as a sacred pleasure) to try and produce some 
 painting worthy your acceptance. But should opportunity 
 occur by which it may be disposed of to your advantage, 
 by all means do not let it be hindered, and I will with 
 much pleasure beg your acceptance of another in its place, 
 that may amuse and afford you pleasure. I have one 
 favour to ask. Should I visit Bristol previous to my leaving 
 England for Lycia, in Asia, about September, may I have 
 the pleasure of paying you my respects, which would on 
 many former occasions have been sought, but I feared 
 intrusion ? Remaining, my dear sir, with a vivid remem- 
 brance of ‘ auld lang syne,’ and warmest hopes for a 
 brighter future, 
 
 “Your most sincerely obliged and obedient servant, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
172 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xi. (N.B.— The preceding letter was first published in the 
 
 1843. Art- Union .) 
 
 Mr. Acraman mentions that, following up this letter, 
 Muller painted for and presented him with a picture, a 
 “View on Lago Maggiore;” and he also promised to 
 execute another for which a frame was provided, but, alas ! 
 illness and death prevented its execution. The Lago 
 Maggiore presented to Mr. Acraman. was a bright sunny 
 picture, full of light, with mountains seen across the blue 
 water ; buildings with an archway on the left-hand side, and 
 melons growing over trellis-work — very Italian in feeling 
 and treatment. In the course of the summer of 1843 this 
 picture was painted and sent by Muller to his friend at 
 Bristol. 
 
 At this time Muller, who had originally thought of going 
 to the coast of Italy this year, had fully determined to 
 leave in the autumn for Asia Minor. He had made the 
 acquaintance of Mr. Fellows (afterwards Sir Charles Fellows) 
 in London early this year, and he learnt from him the 
 full particulars of his last visit to Lycia in the winter 
 of 1841-1842, when he made the discovery of a vast 
 quantity of fine pieces of antique sculpture — “the Xanthian 
 Marbles ; ” which were embarked in the Medea steamship for 
 Malta in the summer of 1842, and were brought thence in 
 H.M.S. Cambridge at the end of the same year, and which 
 are now in the British Museum. A considerable portion 
 of the sculptured stones were, however, still left behind at 
 Xanthus, and the English Government, after some hesita- 
 tion, determined to send out another expedition under the 
 direction of Mr. Fellows in the autumn of 1843 to secure 
 the remainder of these antique treasures. Mr. Fellows 
 expatiated to Muller on the romantic nature of the scenery 
 which environs the ancient cities and the beauty of rock-tombs 
 of Lycia, and urged him to join the projected expedition. A 
 month or two were taken to consider this matter in all its 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 173 
 
 bearings, but Muller finally made up his mind to undertake 
 the journey; and he proposed to Mr. B. Johnson that his 
 son Harry should accompany him, which was also arranged. 
 The following letters, written by Muller during the summer 
 of 1843 and up to the very eve of his departure for Lycia, 
 portray the artist hard at work in his studio in London, and 
 full of ardour and interest in his profession. They speak 
 for themselves, and I think require no further comment on 
 my part : — 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “June 9th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In a hasty answer to your letter of this 
 morning, I will in due course of receipt acknowledge the 
 amount you have kindly sent me through your son. As 
 regards a small picture, and your wish to have it this 
 week, I could not have found a single thing in my room, 
 finished or unsold ; but fortunately I finished this week the 
 ‘ Birdcatchers, Hampstead Heath,’ of which you saw a 
 commencement in my room, and admired. It is to the 
 size of a frame you have, the measurement of which you 
 gave me when you wished me to paint the ‘ Deserted 
 Garden’ to it. The ‘Birdcatchers’ is a catching bit, being 
 clear, &c. My price will be £ 10, and this evening I will 
 get your son to leave it at the office for you. And now, 
 sir, speaking of that young gentleman, a few words may 
 not be amiss. I need not say his conduct has fully merited 
 any kindness I have shown him, or may contemplate towards 
 him, the carrying out of which will much depend on your 
 inclinations. He informs me he leaves town to visit you 
 about Tuesday or Wednesday (this is as I should wish). 
 He remains a fortnight, or as long as you like ; but I should 
 wish him to return to me on the same terms he is now with me 
 (until I leave England). 1 shall be happy to see him, and 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
174 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xi. mus t say from the rapid improvement he is and has been 
 i 8 43 - making the opportunity may be one of some consequence 
 to him in future life. On the subject of his accompanying 
 me abroad, I believe there is nothing that at this moment 
 can be said, only that I will make him the offer, and strive 
 my utmost to do him all the good I can in his profession, 
 in which one day I hope to see him arrive at a distinguished 
 eminence. Believe me, my dear sir, 
 
 “Yours, in haste, most sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — You will have the kindness to let me have your 
 early opinion on the enclosed.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “July 3rd, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In answer to yours of this morning, I 
 hope to be enabled to send off the two pictures by the end 
 of this week. The one ‘ Cottage ’ is very brilliant, and I 
 think is as fortunate as any picture I have painted for some 
 time past. May you be of my opinion, and it will give me 
 pleasure. I will give you a line the day they leave this. 
 
 “ I am gratified by the kind remembrances of my friends 
 Messrs. Birch and Cox, and, should you have an opportunity, 
 perhaps you will oblige me by expressing my thanks. 
 
 “ Mr. Dixon called on me relative to some water white he 
 said you wished to have. The peculiar advantage is, that 
 the absence of oil prevents its turning colour, and that it 
 procures surfaces much sooner than any bladder-colour I 
 have ever used. If at any time you should require any, 
 pray give me a line, and I will obtain it for you of the 
 same man that grinds mine. 
 
 “ Believe me to remain, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 175 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq., Edgbaston. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ Wednesday, 5th July, 1843. 
 
 “My dear Sir, — In compliance with your wish, I forward 
 you the prices of the pictures — £\o the ‘Cottage Sketch;’ 
 ‘Whitchurch,’ ^15. Although I regret I cannot leave so 
 soon as you imagine, my departure being fixed the very 
 latest part of August. In consequence I am forced to bear 
 the heat of the summer here, which will season me pretty 
 well for Asia, which country I hope to see — that part of it 
 which has created so much excitement of late in conse- 
 quence of the discoveries of Greek cities by Mr. Fellows, 
 whom Government sends out in October. I shall, then, as 
 you see, be in town during August, and will be happy to 
 see any of your friends. Undertaking any pictures previous 
 to my departure would be impossible. But my stay will not 
 exceed four months, as I must be back for the next year’s 
 Academy. 
 
 “The man that grinds my white is a sort of travelling 
 artist’s man. I expect him to call on me in a day or two, 
 when your wish shall with pleasure be attended to. In 
 answer to opaque vehicles, oil I use ; but as oils are as 
 various as wines, let me try to describe what sort. It is a 
 fat oil, yet not too much so. I procure it by placing one 
 pint common linseed oil (raw) over two pounds of common 
 white lead (house-painter’s unmixed ), then mixing them, and 
 allowing it to stand a month or six weeks, only each week 
 giving it a stir with a stick. The oil partakes of the drying 
 quality of the lead, and also becomes thick. This I use. 
 Perhaps practice enables me to work with it with some 
 peculiarities ; but I think, nevertheless, that the oil so made 
 is the best, enabling the artist to get a sort of Wilson 
 (Richard) like touch. Have you used what they call ashes 
 of ultramarine ? It is a compound grey tint, like pounded 
 slate, sold at two shillings an ounce. I think (be it what it 
 
 \ 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
176 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xi. may) it is very advantageous. I will, if you have not used 
 1843. any, forward you a sample. 
 
 “ I do hope to be able to send something to the Birming- 
 ham Exhibition, having promised ; but quite fear my want 
 of time may prevent me. 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear sir, to remain 
 
 “ Yours, truly obliged, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ July 28th, 1843. 
 
 “My dear Sir, — lam much delighted to think my pic- 
 tures arrived safely and gave you satisfaction. There was 
 chalk used in all parts, and at nearly all times, in the Whit- 
 church picture. I much regret, under my present arrange- 
 ments of time, it will be utterly impossible for me to execute 
 any fresh pictures previous to my departure ; but on my 
 return, charged with a few of the wonders of Asia — lions, if 
 you like — I should be delighted to show them to you, and, as 
 I think by some drawings I have seen in the possession of 
 Mr. Fellows, the scenery of Lycia will bear a strong 
 resemblance to the finest parts of anything in Europe. 
 
 “ As regards the tube of white and sample of ultramarine 
 ash, pray say nothing about it, excepting it be if you like 
 them, when I will get you more. And now for my sentence 
 which was wrong. It should have read as follows : — ‘ And 
 for this purpose plaster of Paris is better than chalk, but 
 about one part in four of the latter (chalk) mixed with your 
 white will give it a capability, &c.’ I say one of four parts, 
 but this need not be observed as a general rule; as one 
 becomes acquainted with the utility of those half-mediums, 
 the touch, as well as the eye, suggests their proportion. 
 
 “ As I think most difficulty arises in the use of our white 
 in oil, so do I take all varieties and all substances to increase 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 177 
 
 variety, as well as all thicknesses , of the colour ; for this latter Ch ap, x i, 
 occasion the water-white is so valuable, as it becomes hard 1843- 
 in an hour or so, and enables a considerable body to be put 
 on at one painting. If I can assist you at any time in any 
 information I possess, pray do not scruple to write me. 
 
 Trusting you will have a pleasant and dry excursion, which 
 will give opportunities for sketching, believe me to remain, 
 
 m} dear sir, “Yours most sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ August 2nd, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I much regret the shortness of my last 
 letter, as I fear it might have appeared rather abrupt. 
 
 “Pray accept my apology now, when I explain what a 
 number of circumstances conspired to cause the haste of my 
 last, and one of those the arrival of my brother en route for 
 Switzerland. I take your advice as kindness ; I feel my 
 health has been a little neglected, and in consequence have, 
 by exercise, &c., paid much more attention to it of late. 
 
 “ I trust my avoiding a winter in England will place me on 
 my legs most thoroughly. I intend leaving England the 1st 
 of next month, my route being the Italian coast, Malta, 
 Rhodes, and Lycia (in Asia Minor) ; this journey promises 
 much, and I undertake it with high confidence that it may be 
 productive of considerable results. 
 
 “ Your ‘ Cottage’ has its frame finished, and I will instruct 
 the carver and gilder to make a case to it. The frame with 
 case, he tells me, will be 355. ; it is made by my man, not 
 Mr. Brooks. I will, immediately I receive the above, forward 
 it to you, which I hope will be in two days at the latest. 
 Remaining, my dear sir, 
 
 “Yours, most truly obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 N 
 
178 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 To Benjamin Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ Monday morning, August 7th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, I now 
 write to state something definite with regard to your son, 
 and our proposed excursion. Since seeing you in town 
 fresh arrangements have forced themselves on me, and I find 
 it utterly inconsistent for me to devote one part of my time 
 to Italy and the other to Lycia, &c. In consequence, I must 
 make some fresh arrangement with you, and I think my 
 ultimate offer will be one that will plainly convince you I 
 have no selfish motives. However pleased I may be in 
 having your son as a companion, yet in this peculiar journey 
 companionship will be found more than in any other, as the 
 direct spot of my destination will be where my friends and 
 the Government expedition happens to be. If I mistake not, 
 I named to you the following terms : — to take your son from 
 London on the coast of Italy for two months on con- 
 sideration of your paying me thirty pounds to pay his 
 expenses, including all but material to sketch with and 
 clothing; for the instruction I give him ^20 was considered 
 as my remuneration. Now for my alteration of plans. I fear 
 I can only offer him as follows: — I will give up all remunera- 
 tion, and throw the sum into his travelling expenses ; and 
 then, as I fear the sum will not be enough, I should say if 
 you are willing to furnish him with about ^70, I take him 
 the entire time, four to five months. 
 
 “ When I consider the advantages that must accrue to him, 
 the introduction to life and his improvement in his profes- 
 sion, I will give up any little personal sacrifice, as I must hope 
 no one will consider my present conduct selfish. Previous to 
 my closing any arrangement, there is one other thing — that, 
 during the time I am away, I may be at liberty to take him 
 to any part of the country I like ; for of course it will appear 
 to you clear, if one place did not answer I must seek a fresh. 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 179 
 
 “As the climate is particularly healthy, I was going to 
 pass over any observation on the subject. I trust, in case of 
 illness, which at all times we are liable to, both here and 
 abroad, when I make a solemn promise to take all possible 
 care of him, avoiding nonsensical danger, &c., &c., if 
 anything was to occur, I shall not be considered blamable ; 
 but this is in no way likely, as we have every advantage in 
 our favour. 
 
 “ Then, my dear sir, your early reply will, I think, relieve 
 his mind from anxiety and oblige me, feeling assured 
 whichever way you determine it shall in my present or 
 future conduct make no difference to your son. 
 
 “ Believe me sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ August 10th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am much pleased you have arrived at 
 the determination your letter announces this morning. 
 
 “ Your son shall forward a list of all things wanting as an 
 outfit, which will be very little. 
 
 “ I leave London on a farewell visit to Bristol friends 
 about the 18th, and hope to be back in a week, and start on 
 the 1 st of September or 2nd. Your son, during my absence, 
 shall be provided for, so do not fear his time being left 
 unemployed. I shall be glad to see you in town and make 
 all final arrangements, &c., only feel assured all I can do I 
 will to render circumstances pleasant to you and your son. 
 Remaining, my dear sir, 
 
 Yours, most sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I shall be obliged by your letting me know a week 
 previous to the time you intend being in town.” 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
 N 2 
 
Chap. XT. 
 1843. 
 
 l8o LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “August 1 6th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Your son has just shown me a letter 
 which mentions your intention relative to presenting me with 
 a rifle ; also, he adds, you have given orders for its manu- 
 facture. 
 
 “ I feel much vexed at this, as it places me in an 
 awkward position. Whatever I have done for your son has 
 been done under the pure wish of doing him good, and not 
 expecting a return , past what I experienced in his general 
 conduct. Nay, joined to this, I have always found the 
 greatest willingness on your part to fall into any plan 
 suggested by me, both with liberality and kind feeling ; then 
 you may conceive I was surprised to think you wished me to 
 accept a costly and valuable present. I fear, by declining it, 
 at the same time I may be offending you, as you have 
 apparently ordered it. I am, however, resolved not to accept 
 but on being allowed some day on my return to beg you 
 to hang a little picture of mine, as a mark of my estimation 
 of your general kind and gentlemanly feeling; so let the 
 matter rest for the present. I leave for Bristol to-morrow, 
 and have given Mr. Henry a large picture to copy during my 
 absence, the completion of which I hope will be satisfactory. 
 The time you state you intend being in town will, I think, be 
 most satisfactory to me. I hope to be up again by the 28th 
 or 29th at latest. 
 
 “ My dear sir, pray pardon haste, and believe me, 
 
 “ Yours sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ August 29th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Many thanks for your kind advice, the 
 truth of which I am fully aware of. I shall with pleasure 
 
ART- WORK IN LONDON. I 8 I 
 
 avail myself of your permission to write to you during my 
 absence, as also to undertake the little picture — a subject 
 
 for which I will with care select. As I leave on the 2nd or 
 
 • 
 
 3rd of next month, I may have no other opportunity of 
 expressing my gratitude for the friendly feeling you have 
 so often exhibited in my favour. Please God to give me 
 health so that on my return I may be enabled to work out 
 some of the scenes I shall hav$ pulled through, and which 
 cannot fail of being of considerable beauty and interest. 
 
 “ Remaining, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Yours, sincerely and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — The letter contained the cheque, which was quite 
 correct.” 
 
 To Henry Johnson, Esq., 57, Whittlebury Street , Euston 
 
 Square. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ Tuesday, August 29th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Johnson, — My hasty act must have surprised 
 you ; why I came to the determination of staying over the 
 
 28th, was a hope of seeing in Bristol on the 29th. In 
 
 this I have been disappointed, but have an engagement to 
 meet him in town on the 30th, and you will much oblige me 
 if you will be at my lodgings at half-past one o’clock, as 
 also to ask your father, if he has arrived, if he will do me 
 the favour of smoking a cigar with me in the evening, 
 and should you see Tom, you will please extend the invi- 
 tation to him. 
 
 “ And now for a change in our plans. I think, on mature 
 consideration, it will be advisable for me and you to take 
 the steamboat from Southampton (I believe) for Malta. We 
 shall be there as soon as if we go by way of Paris. They 
 say they start once a fortnight ; if so, we shall remain up to 
 the 14th, which will allow more time than I want. On my 
 
 Chap. XI. 
 1843. 
 
1 82 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap, xl coming to town I will soon settle this, so make application 
 1843. at the General Steam Navigation Society or Company ; as 
 it is it must remain. One thing is clear, I can take any 
 luggage and my arms, and obtain any information — to me 
 and you rather important things. That poor tent of mine ! ! 
 I have bought no colour : Amen. I only wish for one thing 
 now ; it is to be off. I am tired of talking and writing about 
 it ; so do not be surprised at my closing this epistle, 
 and remaining, 
 
 “ Yours sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — You will dine with me to-morrow; this I shall 
 fully expect, and I think, should I not be in at the time of 
 your calling, Mrs. Bruff will let you sit in the front parlour. 
 I am particular in wishing to see you on my coming to 
 town.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “4th September, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It gave me much pleasure in receiving 
 your letter of yesterday, as it now does in answering, to 
 the best of my abilities, your questions. Then, in the first 
 place, have chalk or plaster of Paris, simply ground in oil, 
 on the palette ; you can then mix it as you like with any 
 colour. The advantage of this I think you will see is obvious ; 
 I have it in bladder, as any other colour. As to the subject 
 of ‘ mediums,’ I wish I could answer it with the same 
 readiness and certainty as the former one. You want, in 
 working from nature, a medium that will not dry too soon, 
 and it has every tendency so to do when exposed to the 
 open air, as you know. I can but believe in the raw linseed 
 oil and the boiled ; I use them, and have done so ; I also 
 find them secure in drying. I only give my practice — no 
 advice ; for the controversy on media is still at its height, 
 
ART-WORK IN LONDON. 
 
 183 
 
 and even the borax has not settled it. I agree in the abuse ch 
 of that substance as generally prepared ; yet in one or two 
 instances I was delighted with it, and in particular I 
 remember one quantity which Eagles (its author) gave me : 
 it worked most excellently, and gave a free firm touch to 
 the picture, that was a desideratum with any other. Oil of 
 tar, spirit of wine, and spirits of turpentine may do well. 
 
 I never used them, and think the same results may be 
 obtained with copal varnish. If I fail to answer any part of 
 your letter, pray inform me, and feel assured I shall be glad 
 to do anything at any time that I can to remove the thorns 
 and brambles from the path of your amateur. I regret I 
 was from home when you called. I long now to make my 
 Eastern start, and I am from day to day detained ; yet that 
 cannot last for ever, and, please goodness, I may get off as 
 soon as I have finished my picture for the British Institution. 
 
 I am now close engaged on it. 
 
 Trusting you will excuse the haste of this reply, believe 
 me, my dear sir, to remain most sincerely, 
 
 “ Your obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
XII. 
 
 ASIA MINOR. 
 
 1843-1844. 
 
 AVING spent the last ten days of August in 
 Bristol with his brother Edmund, Muller and 
 his young friend, Johnson, after repeated delays, 
 finally started for the East in the second week 
 of September, 1843. An interesting account of this 
 journey will be found in the next chapter, written by one of 
 the travellers, Mr. Harry Johnson, whose personal recol- 
 lections of the events which befell Muller and himself 
 during their long absence from England will be read, I 
 doubt not, with great interest. 
 
 I shall now briefly state that their route was through 
 Paris, Marseilles, Malta, and Smyrna to Rhodes and 
 Xanthus in Lycia, and that they landed in the latter country 
 on the 22nd October. One remark, however, with regard 
 to Muller’s bearing on this journey I will record here, 
 as it helps to illustrate his character. When travelling, 
 whether on board a steamboat or elsewhere, he had a 
 decided dislike to sketching before his fellow-travellers. 
 He would sometimes rather lose a good effect or a fine 
 outline, than take out his pencil or sketch-book if any one 
 was looking on. He did not, in fact, wish to be recognised 
 as an artist. A certain amount of pride was probably at 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 1843-1844. 
 
BAGGAGE CAMELS SKETCHED FROM MULLETS TETSTT . XANTHUS . 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 185 
 
 the bottom of this feeling, for in those days artists scarcely Chap. xii. 
 took the same standing in society that they now do, and 1843-1844. 
 Muller complained of the patronising way in which artists 
 were treated, as though they were of an inferior rank. 
 
 Muller had taken some trouble to obtain the firmans at 
 Smyrna which Mr. Fellows required, and he felt disappointed 
 that that gentleman had made no arrangements, nor left any 
 instructions, at Rhodes as to how he and his companions 
 were to proceed on to Xanthus ; this was a part of their 
 journey which was beset with difficulties, as will be seen. 
 
 The same want of cordiality was manifested afterwards to 
 Muller whilst in Lycia. He received little or no assistance 
 from the Expedition, and was not allowed, or at least not 
 invited, by Mr. Fellows to join the excursion to Myra and 
 Antiphellus, which places he was exceedingly desirous of 
 visiting. Muller naturally felt this, and complained of it 
 afterwards ; the more so as he had been invited to join the 
 Expedition, and the whole of his travelling and other 
 expenses were defrayed by himself. On this point he thus 
 wrote from Malta before returning home : — 
 
 “ It may be imagined that I was connected with the 
 Xanthian Expedition. I had nothing whatever to do with 
 it, except receiving occasional kindnesses from some of the 
 officers of H.M.S. Medea , and in particular from Lieut. 
 
 Massey, whose mild and gentlemanly conduct must endear 
 him to all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. I, as 
 on former excursions, went on my own resources, taking as 
 my motto, that ‘ independence is better than dependence.’ ” 
 
 The ancient and almost deserted cities of Lycia — where 
 Muller made his beautiful sketches, Xanthus, Pinara, Tlos, 
 and Telmessus — are so little known, and so rarely visited, 
 that the short description of them which I am about to give 
 will, I trust, be acceptable. Before doing so, however, it 
 
1 86 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xii. may be as well to mention that soon after Muller arrived at 
 
 1843-1844. Xanthus Mr. Fellows said to him — “ I hope you won’t 
 publish anything about the marbles, and that you will not 
 make any special drawing of the antiquities.” 
 
 The fact was, that an artist had accompanied the expe- 
 dition as draftsman, and Mr. Fellows, hearing how much 
 work Muller was doing with his pencil, began to be afraid — 
 perhaps naturally — that Muller might (to use a trite 
 expression) take the wind out of his (Mr. Fellows’s) sails 
 by a premature publication of drawings of the marbles. 
 Mr. Fellows requested to see Muller’s sketches, which was 
 of course readily granted, and he was probably to some 
 extent reassured by finding that they contained a general 
 and pictorial representation of the ancient Greek cities and 
 monuments, and were by no means so topographically 
 accurate as the drawings made on behalf of the Expedition. 
 The latter, I understand, represented principally the sculp- 
 tures and tombs, many of which were about to be removed. 
 Some feeling of jealousy, however, I fear, continued to exist 
 in Mr. Fellows’s mind, and Muller was doubtless of too 
 independent a spirit to take much trouble to remove this. 
 
 Xanthus, where Muller first encamped, stands on a com- 
 manding hill, which rises abruptly from a marshy plain. 
 At the base of the lower acropolis runs a rapid river, and 
 at the back are several monuments, the most notable being 
 the tomb which was adorned with the bas-reliefs repre- 
 senting the story of the daughter of Pandorus, now in the 
 British Museum, and also the ancient theatre. Above rises 
 another eminence — the upper acropolis — the summit of 
 which is covered with ruins. Another rock rises out of the 
 plain, on which also are several ruined temples, from which 
 the finest friezes and statues have been removed to the 
 British Museum. Pinara, the next place visited by Muller, 
 is approached by the village of Minara. The situation of 
 Pinara is very grand, being high up in a rocky recess of 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 i8 7 
 
 Mount Cragus. The almost perpendicular rock has its chap. xii. 
 summit covered with fortifications, and its face perforated 1843-1844. 
 by innumerable tombs. It rises out of a deep and narrow 
 valley, whilst numerous fine ruins and tombs adorn the 
 adjoining ridges. On the opposite side of the valley or 
 ravine are the remains of a fine theatre excavated on the 
 slope of a hill covered with trees ; the site of this theatre 
 is a magnificent one, as it not only commands a fine view of 
 Pinara, but also of a grand range of surrounding mountains. 
 
 Tlos was next visited ; its situation is also remarkably 
 fine, being built on the top of a lofty hill, surrounded 
 by deep ravines and overhanging cliffs, and from its 
 summit you command a view of the whole of the valley 
 of the Xanthus. On one side there is a fine view of 
 Mount Taurus, on the other of the sea; in front is the 
 Acropolis of Pinara and the Cragus range. The Acropolis 
 of I los terminates on one side in perpendicular rocks, 
 which are all honeycombed from top to bottom with 
 rock tombs ; a view of this reck and the vomitory of the 
 amphitheatre is given in one of the prints. One of the 
 most ancient and largest of the tombs at Tlos has thus 
 been described : — “ A temple tomb fronted by a pediment 
 of peculiar form and Egyptian aspect, having no carved 
 capitals, and being wider at the base than at the upper 
 part ; from such columns the Ionic might have originated. 
 
 Within the portico is a handsome carved door or rather 
 imitation door, with knocker and lock, on each side of which 
 are windows opening into large tombs.” 
 
 But to return to Muller. His tent-life in Lycia led to 
 much hardship : the rain often soaked through, and they 
 had no fire ; but, as Johnson has remarked, it led also to 
 his becoming acquainted with many of the Yurooks and 
 I urcomans — wandering tribes who led a sort of gipsy life. 
 
 After his return home he used to talk of an Eastern chief 
 ot the Cingaries or \ urooks, named Oiel, with whom he 
 
1 88 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. xii. struck up a great friendship — a bold and remarkably hand- 
 
 1843-1844. some fellow, who gave Muller a pass to go among the 
 Cingari tribes, and sealed it with the butt-end of his pistol. 
 This Oiel was reported at one time to have been a captain 
 of brigands. One of the ways in which Muller spent his 
 time after dark, when living in the tent, was playing at 
 chess with Harry Johnson ; this happened nearly every 
 evening. Muller was fond of chess, and a board was made 
 for the nonce out of drawing-paper. After their return to 
 England Johnson manufactured a chess-board himself, at 
 home, and presented it to Muller, who expressed himself 
 as very much pleased with the gift. Not long afterwards 
 Muller painted a small oil-picture, which he gave to Johnson, 
 and, although he did not say so, it was without doubt 
 intended as an acknowledgment of the chess-board. This 
 little picture, which was 9 in. by 17^ in., was a landscape, 
 with a peasant on a grey pony, and a rainbow, and was very 
 beautiful in colour. It was retained by H. Johnson for 
 many years, but parted with when he was about to leave 
 England for Italy ; it afterwards found its way into Mr. J. 
 Gillott’s collection, and at that gentleman’s sale, in 1872, 
 it fetched £ 150. 
 
 As the time drew near for their departure from Lycia, 
 all the cobalt and several other colours were used up, so 
 that Muller was reduced, when making his last sketches 
 there, and especially those in Rhodes, to a very contracted 
 or simple scale of colours ; these were chiefly low-toned 
 ones, such as ochre, light-red umber, indigo, &c. I should 
 observe also, that the Lycian sketches were made entirely 
 without any body-colour being used. Muller had taken 
 some bottles or tubes of white with him, but on using some 
 he found that it invariably turned brown or black, and he 
 immediately abandoned its use. 
 
 The last place in Lycia visited by Muller was Mairy, or 
 Makri, the ancient Telmessus, where a great many rock-cut 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 189 
 
 tombs appear in all the hill-sides. They were detained here Chap, xii. 
 for some time, waiting for a vessel to take them to Rhodes, 1843-1844. 
 which enabled Muller to make several fine sketches. At last, 
 on the 18th of February, they left Lycia in one of H.M. 
 steamships, and landed in a few hours in Rhodes. 
 
 The last of the following letters, written by Muller whilst 
 in Lycia, is dated from Makri, where he embarked. These 
 letters have never been previously published, and will be read, 
 
 I believe, with interest. There are, however, three other de- 
 lightful, long letters, containing many more most interesting 
 particulars and details of his life and adventures at Xanthus 
 and other places, which Muller addressed to his friend, Mr. 
 
 S. C. Hall, and which were inserted about that time in his 
 journal, th o. Art -Union. These letters throw much light on 
 Muller’s energetic character, and ought also to be read by 
 all who take an interest in this part of Muller’s career; they 
 prove what an accurate observer he was of every passing 
 event. They will be found at the end of this volume, 
 Appendix No. 5. 
 
 Whilst at Pinara or Tlos, Muller, after making many 
 splendid pictorial and generalised sketches, said one day to 
 his young companion, “ Oh, Johnson ! I feel I ought to work 
 hard making careful pencil outline-drawings of the tombs 
 and temples, with all their details.” This Muller called 
 “ taking medicine.” It was, without a doubt, very repugnant 
 to him to lay aside his colours which he loved so much ; but 
 he did it, nevertheless, and he went in for some hours daily 
 (for a time) at severe pencil-work of a most conscientious 
 and accurate character. A remark which Muller made when 
 sketching inside one of the Yurook huts deserves to be 
 remembered. A large, picturesque hand-mill, with a wheel 
 for grinding grain, or some such purpose, was being 
 sketched by the two artists, when Muller turned to look at 
 what his companion was doing, and said to him, “Be sure, 
 whatever you do, to make your wheel work /” This was an 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 i go 
 
 Chap. xii. invariable maxim of Muller’s, whether sketching a water- 
 1843-1844. wheel or any other piece of mechanism. 
 
 The following are some of the letters written by Muller 
 from Lycia : — 
 
 * “ Xanthus, Lycia, 
 
 “November 24th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear . — In accordance with my promise I 
 
 write you to give some account of the material I found at 
 Rhodes suitable to form a book, ‘ Age of the Crusaders.’ 
 I cannot but think, with the assistance of Malta, a splendid 
 work might be produced. I had the firmans and dispatches 
 for my friend, Mr. Fellows, and, in consequence, could only 
 stay a few moments at Rhodes whilst arrangements were 
 being made for a boat to take me to the place I now write 
 from. It is my intention, on leaving Asia Minor, to stay at 
 Rhodes one month and sketch. 
 
 “ I noted three street- views, two fortifications, two general 
 ones, with the works of the Templars ; their houses and 
 coats-of-arms are, as you may imagine, numerous. Interiors 
 I fear, unless as restorations, very few, and for this purpose 
 (as at Paris there is a collection lately formed) there is 
 ample material, as also at Malta. The church is very good, 
 with its carved gates, as also the interior. Malta gives us 
 another St. John, and one or two fine tombs. 
 
 “ I refrain from entering on particulars as to my present 
 position and what I have been doing. Lycia is a landscape 
 and figure country; my best subjects, Turks; my home, a 
 tent ; and, when rambling, a solitary life. But now I am 
 with the Xanthian party, in all nearly one hundred. The 
 excavations go on well, and doubtless, previous to Mr. 
 Fellows leaving, many splendid novelties will be added to 
 the Expedition. 
 
 * When W. Muller wrote the following letter he had some idea of making sketches 
 during his journey for a work to be called the “Age of the Crusaders.” At first no 
 opportunity offered itself for sending the letter ; and he afterwards retained it, as he found 
 the work in Lycia would occupy all his time. 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 IQI 
 
 “ Fever has just made its appearance with the wet, and I Chap, xii, 
 am sorry to say one poor fellow was buried yesterday, and 1843-1844. 
 one case is now in the hospital. Thank heavens I am in 
 excellent health, and trust to its continuance. As I mean to 
 give my friend Hall a letter, you will see more particulars in 
 that. 
 
 “ Pray pardon the haste of this, and believe me to remain, 
 
 “ Yours most sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — My folio promises to be a most varied one in this 
 country — principally tombs.” 
 
 To .Thos. Morson, Esq., Southampton Row, Russell Square. 
 
 “ Xanthus, A. Minor, 
 
 “January 16th, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Sir E. Owen having forwarded the 
 Devastation to carry dispatches and letters, I avail myself of 
 the opportunity to redeem a promise I made of giving you a 
 line during my tour in this country. 
 
 “Xanthus is situated on an extensive plain, abounding with 
 wild boar, leeches, and fever. Our party amounts to about 
 one hundred, encamped in the ruins. Myself in a tent, they 
 are in houses. The former being very good in fine weather; 
 but one hundred and eight hours’ continuous rain, with 
 lightning and wind — in short, a hurricane — tried the temper 
 as well as the tent. Without fire, and almost food, we 
 (myself, friend, and servant) have watched a change. It has 
 arrived, and we are now in spring, although the tops of the 
 mountains are covered with snow. To the present the 
 Expedition has been particularly successful, having had only 
 one death from fever, and a few in the hospital, now fast 
 recovering. 
 
 “ So much for health. Now for the discoveries. Mr. 
 Fellows has had great success in completing the bas- 
 
192 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xii. reliefs. Two superb tombs, eighteen tons each, are cut up 
 1843-1844. and packed. Numbers of fragments and inscriptions fill the 
 road to the river, and it is hoped all will be complete by the 
 end of March. Captain Warden, Media , will not consent to 
 remain longer. More could have been done, but the want of 
 sand has put a stop to the marble-cutters ; the sand was 
 brought from Barbary via Malta, this that is at Xanthus 
 being too soft. 
 
 “ Pinara, of all parts of Asia Minor that I have visited, 
 surprises the most. Its acropolis, a bold rock, surrounded 
 by mountains of considerable height, is perforated with 
 hundreds of tombs, many most beautifully cut. They are of a 
 deep ochre colour. Query, when finished might they not 
 have covered them with some preparation of wax ? 
 
 “ Each tomb is a sculptured imitation of the houses of the 
 country, and, curious to state, you find the horns of the ox 
 over the tombs, cut in the rock, as a sort of crest ; and you 
 can also, at the present day, notice the head of the ox 
 placed over the houses (at this moment I am writing this 
 opposite a very fine example) ; the meaning of this I am at a 
 loss to account for, but one must forget that word, for it is a 
 country that contains plenty to speculate upon. Tlos is also 
 a very interesting spot, and furnished me with a rich 
 addition to my portfolio, which is now becoming pretty well 
 filled. I stayed at the above place some time, the regular 
 ‘ marvel-hunters,’ as the sailors term Mr. Fellows and 
 party, having gone on to try and discover the city of 
 ‘ Cragus.’ 
 
 “ The pine-forests are a great feature in this country. 
 They blaze the tree to procure turpentine ; they use it 
 instead of candles. Such was the practice in Homer’s time. 
 Man alters little in his necessities. These forests on fire, 
 which is often the case, as well the burning of the weeds on 
 plains where they collect the leeches, are scenes of a grand 
 description. But I have been an inmate with the Yurooks, a 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 193 
 
 kind of Turk, — and here society forms a curious contrast to Chap. xii. 
 the above wild exhibition of nature. The Cingari, a sort of 1843-1844. 
 gipsy, forming encampments amongst the myrtle groves, are 
 to me much more attractive than any other natives I have 
 seen, inasmuch as they are better mechanics and musicians. 
 Specimens of the latter, as regards their instruments, I have 
 collected; and in their mechanism I shall, I hope, have the 
 pleasure of showing you my coffee-mill and spoons. 
 
 “ The other night they gave a grand entertainment in 
 consequence of a marriage : wrestling by torchlight formed 
 the principal amusement. The head of these men dined with 
 me to-day — a sort of wild savage. Allow me to say, I keep the 
 very best of Xanthian society, which to me is highly interesting, 
 both in a professional point and one of general observation. 
 
 “ I much regret that I must shortly be leaving ; I expect 
 about the 25th of this month. I then go to Rhodes, a most 
 curious place indeed, and hope to be in England about 
 four months from the present. 
 
 “ I obtained some information relative to opium when at 
 Smyrna. I dined with the Dutch Consul, Chevalier Van 
 Lenope ; he is a great grower of the poppy. I will obtain 
 specimens, and give them to you on my return. 
 
 “ I have, I am sorry to say, done little or nothing in 
 collecting plants ; few are in blossom as yet. There is a 
 great variety of birds. One very splendid kingfisher is 
 peculiar to the country, as also a small red-headed wood- 
 pecker. Eagles and vultures abound : we shot one, the 
 other day, measuring nine feet four from one end of the 
 wing to the other. All goes to the British Museum. I 
 think this is as it should be. Coins are not common. I 
 promised Mr. Fellows not to collect for myself, so I have 
 but very few. My curiosities are, tending to display the 
 country by sketching, and for this purpose I wish I had 
 more power and more time. Truly may it be called a 
 beautiful and highly interesting place. 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xii. “ In the excavations we have been disappointed in not 
 1843-1844. finding more metal things. Did the fire destroy them ? 
 
 (see Herodotus). Be it as it may, little exists, and what is 
 looked for in the tombs has already been taken by former 
 inhabitants. There is, I truly believe, no tomb unopened ; 
 this proves they contained something worth opening them 
 for. They now serve as abodes for jackals, and heaven 
 knows what. The former are so common that we have had 
 them about our tent, and on a moonlight night frequently 
 see their shadow cast on it. I fear this will prove anything 
 but what I could wish it — interesting. You must attribute 
 its length to the same cause as, I think, Pliny states, * I 
 have not enough time to make it short.’ Pardon it, my 
 dear sir, and, believe me, I most sincerely hope you and 
 your family have enjoyed health since my absence, and may 
 continue the same. I remain, 
 
 “ Most sincerely yours, obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “P.S. — Will you oblige me by giving Mr. Solly my 
 compliments, and trust to be home in time to contribute 
 to some of the conversaziones. His kindness I shall ever 
 remember, and be pleased in acknowledging, as also seeking 
 an opportunity of returning. If Master Bob continues his 
 nautical partialities, pray tell him in this part of the world 
 there is a new sort of craft called Hardship. Pardon a 
 miserable pun, and on my return I hope to make him a 
 model of a Greek caique as a punishment.” 
 
 To J. C. Gooden, Esq. 
 
 “ Xanthus, Asia Minor, 
 
 “January 16th, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — To prove to you that I have not 
 forgotten my promise of writing you a line to say hoiv I 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 195 
 
 am going on, I at present avail myself of the opportunity 
 of the Devastation s calling here, which has been sent express 
 from Constantinople to take letters, &c., to Malta, proving the 
 attention of Sir E. Owen, admiral of the Mediterranean fleet. 
 
 “ Well, then, I was, much against my inclination, detained 
 at Smyrna for three weeks, in consequence of Mr. Fellows 
 having gone in the Medea direct to Rhodes. I took for him 
 from the first-mentioned place supplies, money, and servants, 
 and starting in the Austrian boat came to Rhodes. Here, 
 making a dash for it, I hired a small boat, and sailed at once 
 for the mouth of the river Xanthus, escaped pirates , astonished 
 the officers of the Medea, and arrived safe. The pirates, let 
 me tell you, are not a fable. A serious affair has taken 
 place since my residence here, which may have reached the 
 English papers ; the perpetrators have been punished with 
 death. 
 
 “Well, now for the Land of Promise. As soon as I had 
 delivered the dispatches I had with me, as also the firmans 
 from our minister at Constantinople (Sir S. Canning) em- 
 powering Mr. F. to dig and discover, I began to think of 
 my own affairs, and to see if my paper would be well 
 occupied. I am, then, by no means enraptured with the 
 place, but have been forced to make it my head-quarters, 
 Our tent pitched, the ground our bed, and a little kitchen 
 made, comfort soon began to repay me for all we had gone 
 through. ‘We’ — I say we, as remember H. Johnson (who 
 is a good boy) is my companion, and we in future will also 
 comprise my dragoman, Nicolo Dopolo — We, then, soon 
 found that tents are pleasant things in pleasant weather ; but 
 one hundred and eight hours of continuous wet, hurricane, 
 with rain in torrents, lightning that saved your burning a 
 lamp at night, and at times a wind going that required 
 every moment’s attention to the cordage of your temporary 
 home, proved by no means the most delightful part of my 
 journey ; but such we have just experienced, it now being 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 1843-1844. 
 
 O 2 
 
196 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xii. the winter season. The ‘ marvel-hunters,’ as the sailors 
 
 1843-1844. term Mr. Fellows and his party — which latter consists of 
 Scharf and Hawkins — architect the latter, and artist the 
 former — about eighty seamen, Lieutenants Massey and 
 Temple, with Dr. Armstrong, four midshipmen, and one 
 or two other officers — live in houses. We rough it ; but 
 more of this when I see you. I have had much kindness, 
 and much rascally mean conduct, shown me. Amen. 
 You will expect me to give some account of the doings 
 of these marvel-hunters. They have cut roads, dug up 
 lions, cut up tombs, found inscriptions they cannot read 
 (there is no great scholar amongst the lot), drawn things 
 not worth the drawing, and measured things that nobody 
 will care anything about, &c., &c. But to be serious on a 
 serious subject, as it is a national one : you will receive 
 about thirty or forty pieces of a sculptured temple (new), 
 two glorious tombs, no end of bits, and cheap at about 
 ^5000 or ^6000!! The tombs are very fine; I dare say 
 many people will think the bas-reliefs the same. There’s 
 no accounting for taste in these things ; we must even doubt 
 if there’s any power to define it. 
 
 “And now for your obedient servant. Well, my dear 
 fellow, I have not done much. I have not been idle. I 
 am sure I have worked with a good will, and I have some 
 fine subjects, principally amongst the people. The Yurooks 
 live in tents, as also the Turkomans (the Cingaries), who 
 form another curious link in Turkish society. They, like 
 our gipsies in England, wander about ; but they work , and 
 here the resemblance is not the same. I wish you could 
 have seen the grand wrestling-match by torchlight. I am 
 a great friend of the principal wrestler. He is a glorious 
 fellow. Oh, Clipstone Street ! Oh, ye little water-colour 
 imps of great water-colour drawings ! Oh, ye admirers of 
 rags as costume ! How your eyes would have opened to 
 have seen the wonders of that scene, and many, many 
 
ASIA MINOR* 
 
 IQ7 
 
 others in which I have been ! Wild-boar hunting is not Chai> - xii. 
 bad with Turks; and we have a marsh at hand that supplies 1843-1844. 
 us with the former, and fever ! The pine-forests with blazed 
 trees are very good, but my best landscape subjects come 
 from Tlos and Pinara. I have visited many other places, 
 and should more, but there is a sameness. The tombs in 
 the rocks form the great feature, and these, often repeated, 
 are not desirable. 
 
 “ My folio will be a varied one. I, nevertheless, am by 
 no means content with what I have done. I fear in many 
 of my sketches they are but just equal to my former ones. 
 
 The climate is much against one. The sunshine intense, 
 the shadow cold. One gets black in the former, in the 
 latter the ague. How much an artist goes through, to 
 acquire what people at conversaziones go through in five 
 minutes ! Did it ever strike you in that light ? 
 
 “ I must hope to do better. I leave here, thank God, in 
 about ten days. The Expedition, middle or end of March. 
 
 I for Rhodes (a prime place). The Jersey man, or old 
 Father Thames, alias Dighton, would like it. He never 
 asked me to write him, so he can’t be anxious to know any- 
 thing about me, unless it comes cheap, perhaps ; so only com- 
 municate to him this on his payment of half-a-dozen cigars. 
 
 “ How are they all in England ? How often that question 
 intrudes itself on some of these glorious nights, when the 
 moonlight enables one to draw nearly as well as daylight. 
 
 How often that question suggests itself none can tell but 
 he who has been in some of the solitary places I have 
 lately lived in : — mountains and tombs — and then he need 
 be possessed of a warmer heart than some of our acquaint- 
 ances. Plow is Wilson ? Charles Baxter ? and my old friend 
 Charles Bentley ? Do oblige me, if you see any inquiring 
 spirit, remember me kindly to him. To yourself, my dear 
 fellow, let me wish you health, and at this time a happy 
 neiv year. 
 
198 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xii. “ I said I go to Rhodes. I stay some time ; from thence 
 1843-1844. Smyrna — pass quarantine — Malta — and home. I have some 
 odd ideas of another start. I know — not ‘ a bank,’ but a 
 country ; but let me accomplish this first. If you have an 
 idle minute, will you write me a line at Malta ? You know 
 what a glorious thing it is to receive a letter. In the 
 next place, pardon the haste of this — in consequence, its 
 mistakes. I have eight to write to-day. That Devastation 
 has illness on board — small-pox and heaven knows what — 
 and is in a great hurry to get to Malta, so I must now 
 say adieu. We shall, I hope, meet in four or five months. 
 God bless you, and let me hope Mr. and Mrs. Gooden 
 enjoy their usual health. 
 
 “ Believe me to remain, 
 
 “ Your sincere friend, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Jos. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ Mairy, Asia Minor, 
 
 “February 12th, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — The privilege granted by the desire 
 of our friends to hear from us when we are separated by 
 considerable distance forms one of the greatest pleasures 
 of travel, and I now avail myself of that privilege in 
 correspondence to your desire. 
 
 “ Few positions in life require more patience than waiting 
 the change of winds ; such is mine at present, and when it 
 does take place I bid adieu to the coast of Asia for Rhodes, 
 and, in short, I shall be on my homeward passage. 
 
 “ I have left Xanthus, the Expedition, and a tent-life — the 
 latter with much more pleasure than the former. Our winter 
 has been severe ; and one hundred and twenty continuous 
 hours surrounded by constant hurricane, lightning, and wet 
 cloth, without a fire or a dry place to sleep in, rather damps 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 199 
 
 the ardour of a sketcher. Such has been the situation of Chap. xti. 
 myself, friend, and servant, on more than one occasion, 1843-1844. 
 and during nights of the most awful storms ; yet, thank 
 God, we have had excellent health , and if at times a little 
 depressed by seeing our positions, we have not here in 
 general wanted cheerful spirits. 
 
 “ Mr. Fellows, the young artist of the expedition, with 
 officers of the Medea , with about eighty seamen, form the 
 operative party. In the excavations nothing very remark- 
 able has been discovered. A lion, some portions of the 
 bas-relief — completing those taken at a former time, and 
 now in the British Museum — with fragments of statues, 
 
 &c., are the most remarkable. Two tombs (in weight 
 each thirteen or fourteen tons) are the treasures ; one called 
 the Chimaera Tomb, from some animal with goat’s head 
 and lion’s body — in short, a curious monster. The figures 
 of the horses to the chariot chasing this strange being 
 are worthy of the very best period of Greek art ; and as 
 the tomb has been on one side in the earth, the sculpture 
 is much in the same state we may presume it to have 
 been when it was thrown down by the earthquake. I am 
 pleased beyond measure that we shall possess it as a 
 national antiquity, but cannot say so much of the other 
 intended deposits ; they must be looked on more as anti- 
 quarian curiosities than models in sculpture. Be it as it 
 may, Government will pay dear for them. May it not 
 have been better to have placed such a sum of money to 
 the procuring rooms suitable to the exhibition of the works 
 of some of those artists who are now year after year left 
 like cobwebs in the obscurity of the top or bottom of some of 
 our national exhibition rooms? If they knew the struggle 
 these poor fellows have, and the probable talent that wants 
 but light to bring it to maturity, they might have taken the 
 hint. Anything done by our Government for art speaks 
 well. It is something new in England ; and I hope, when 
 
200 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xii. they improve in taste, to see them devote sums of money 
 1843-1844. to pull down a few of the monstrous absurdities they (of 
 late) have been sanctioning the building of. The new part 
 of the British Musum — have you seen the design ? — will not 
 add to our architectural adornments. I think it is built to 
 keep the Academy and National Gallery in countenance. 
 But I must return, and, amongst all my censure, not forget 
 that when I come home I may merit some myself, by not 
 having fulfilled the anticipations of my sanguine friends. 
 It may be so. True, I have not done all I could have 
 wished to do, and never did ; yet have I not been idle, and 
 my folio contains one or two hundred drawings ; many more 
 could have been there, but sketching has been attended with 
 more than ordinary difficulties. Firstly, with the people 
 you have religious scruples to get the better of ; secondly, 
 the climate is various, from extreme heat to cold, requiring 
 much caution — for the plain on which Xanthus is situated, 
 furnishes us with wild boars, fever, and leeches, the first of 
 which is very good, the second of a most serious and deadly 
 nature, and the third forms a considerable article of com- 
 merce with Smyrna. Greeks brave the fever, and live a 
 sort of life in the marshes, employing the Zingries (a sort 
 of Turkish gipsy) to procure the little sanguinary animal. 
 
 “ To the time I left Xanthus (February 5th) we had only 
 two cases of fever, one of which was fatal ; but it must not 
 be forgotten that H.M.S. the Monarch, when sent for the 
 former marbles, lost twenty-five ! But they visited the 
 place in June. Water, this winter, as I have seen, covers 
 the fiat plain, flooding everything ; much stagnant water 
 remains, which, with the intense heat of an Asiatic sun in 
 May and vegetable decomposition, soon produces a fever too 
 to combat with. What might not the industrious habits of 
 the Scotch make of this valley ? A paradise ! — at least one is 
 led to think so by ordinary observation. Reflection soon 
 tells one the climate would burn the filth out of the country. 
 
ASIA MINOR. 
 
 201 
 
 “ Pinara, twenty miles from Xantbus, is truly a grand chap. xii. 
 spot. Tlos I admire more from the tombs, being of a much 1843-1844. 
 more finished and perfect character. It is a bold acropolis 
 perforated with tombs in the rock in the most fantastic con- 
 fusion, all cut to imitate the rough wooden houses that must 
 at an early period have been in use. Design did not seem to 
 keep pace with the power of execution, else those who could 
 have produced such astonishing work with the sharpest cutting 
 in the hardest marble might have invented a variety of form. 
 
 Yet believe me, my dear sir, they are superior to the tureen 
 and tea-chest form in use as monuments in our own country. 
 
 “ I shall be delighted to show you in drawing these and 
 many other things which, in most objects, gives a better idea 
 than writing. I hope to be in England in two or three 
 months at the latest, and will give you an early sight. In 
 the hope that you have enjoyed good health, and will con- 
 tinue to do the same — of all blessings the greatest ; none 
 know it more than those who are away from home and civili- 
 sation, and none need hope for it more and pray to realise it 
 than, 
 
 “ My dear sir, 
 
 “ Your most sincere and obedient, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
XIII. 
 
 HARRY JOHNSON’S RECOLLECTIONS OE LYCIAN 
 
 JOURNEY. 
 
 1843-1844. 
 
 “ 10, Loudoun Road, St. John’s Wood, 
 
 “ September 2nd, 1874. 
 
 dear Sir, — In accordance with a desire you 
 expressed for such personal recollections of the 
 Lycian journey as might be of interest in throwing 
 any additional light upon that period of Muller’s 
 life, I have endeavoured, with the aid of old letters and 
 journals, to narrate, in a brief and sketchy manner, the 
 proximate causes that first suggested the idea of the under- 
 taking, a short history of the tour itself, and such scanty 
 traits of character and habits as occur to me at this distance 
 of time. Though, when all is said, it is but a vague skeleton 
 map, in which localities and dates are indeed legible, but 
 where the most interesting regions are either blank spaces or 
 dotted with thin lines very far apart. 
 
 “ So far as it goes, however, it is, I believe, a faithful and 
 reliable record of the chief features of a journey that must, 
 I think, always remain a remarkable proof of the energy and 
 enterprise that formed such salient points in the character of 
 William Muller. 
 
 “ Believe me to remain, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Very sincerely yours, 
 
 “N. Neal Solly, Es>q.” “ HARRY JOHNSON. 
 
TENT OF WANDERING- YUROOKS LY CIA. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OE LYCIAN JOURNEY. 
 
 203 
 
 Personal Recollections of a Journey to Lycia with 
 William Muller. 1843-4. 
 
 It was early in the spring of 1843, I being at the time a 
 pupil in Muller’s studio, that Mr. Fellows, whose acquaint- 
 ance he had recently made at some of the scientific societies, 
 first suggested the idea of the Lycian journey. One morning, 
 whilst turning over some sketches from Greece and Egypt, 
 Mr. Fellows was led to speak enthusiastically of the beauty 
 and picturesqueness of the country of Lycia, whence he 
 had quite recently returned, of another projected expedition 
 under Government auspices, for the purpose of removing 
 certain sculptured monuments he had noted, and of prose- 
 cuting further researches and excavations amidst the ruins 
 of the recently discovered, or re-discovered, city of Xanthus ; 
 and he concluded by warmly urging Muller to go out, offer- 
 ing the protection and advantages accruing from the pre- 
 sence of an expeditionary force, with all the assistance which 
 his position as commander, added to his personal knowledge 
 of the country, enabled him to give. The novelty of the 
 suggestion, added to the glowing description of the scenery 
 and the wild, adventurous life it promised, made a powerful 
 impression on Muller, which, strengthened by every subse- 
 quent interview, and by the sight of some sketches illustra- 
 tive of the character and incidents of the country, ultimately 
 resolved him into a determination to make the expedition 
 that same autumn, trusting to his own resources to reach his 
 destination, and furnished only with a few general direc- 
 tions for guidance. Thirty years ago travelling on the 
 Continent yet retained a spice of novelty and adventure, and 
 was utterly different from what it has become in these days 
 of universal steam and Cook’s excursion tickets round the 
 world ; so that it was difficult to gain any more precise 
 knowledge of the route to adopt, or the country about to 
 be visited, than that Smyrna was to be the starting-point, and 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 1843-1844. 
 
204 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiii. that: as Lycia appeared to be but very sparsely populated, 
 1843-1844. and that chiefly, if not entirely, by a wild and migratory 
 people, he would have to rely altogether on himself and 
 whatever he took out with him. 
 
 When at length the scheme was finally matured Muller 
 wrote to my father, and offered to take me with him as pupil 
 and companion, placing the matter very frankly and liberally 
 before him, and after some little hesitation, to my infinite 
 delight, it was decided that I should accompany him through- 
 out the journey. 
 
 This resolved, his rare energy made light of every diffi- 
 culty, and having forwarded one of Edgington’s tents to await 
 us at Smyrna, and laid in an apparently inexhaustible supply 
 of sketching materials, though it eventually proved to be 
 quite insufficient, we started on Monday, the 12th of Sep- 
 tember, encumbered with very little personal luggage, for 
 Dieppe by the packet Venezuela from Shoreham. Arrived 
 in France, we left at nine a.m. on the 13th for Rouen and 
 Paris. At Paris we spent two pleasant days in company 
 with Messrs. Herbert, Watts, and Townshend, and leaving 
 by the Messageries diligence, reached Chalons in thirty-six 
 hours at three a.m., just in time to take the boat on the 
 Saone for Lyons, where we arrived the same night. The 
 following morning, at three a.m., we were steaming down the 
 Rhone for Avignon, and, reaching it in fourteen hours, 
 rested a day. And here it was that Muller made his first 
 sketch of the ruined bridge with the palace of the popes. 
 Arriving by diligence the day following at Marseilles, we 
 had still some hours to spare before embarking, on the 
 2 1 st, on board the Minos for Malta, touching at the Italian 
 ports on our way. It was either at Leghorn or Civita 
 Vecchia that Mr. Fellows and his party came on board, and 
 it was then arranged that Muller should undertake to procure 
 certain firmans whilst at Smyrna necessary for the Expedi- 
 tion, and be there rejoined by them, in order to make the 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 205 
 
 passage thence to Lycia together in the Government steamer, chap, xiii. 
 This part of the arrangement, however, came to nothing, as 1843-1844. 
 the steamer never turned up, and we were left to our own 
 devices. 
 
 At Malta, finding that the corresponding boat for Smyrna 
 started a few hours after our arrival, Muller decided to 
 postpone a proposed' exploration of the antiquities of the 
 island, in connection with a project for the publication of 
 a work on Rhodes and Malta, to be called “ The Age of the 
 Crusaders,” until his return journey should give him more 
 leisure. So leaving Malta on the 29th of September we 
 arrived at Smyrna by way of Syra on October 4th. 
 
 Here he was soon engrossed with preparations for our 
 outfit. Engaging a servant to act as interpreter, cook, and 
 to attend to the domestic duties of our future tent-life, he 
 proceeded to fit out a canteen, provide cotton mattrasses, 
 with waterproof bags, stores of rice, coffee, and biscuit, 
 obtain our own passports, and those specially intended to 
 enable Mr. Fellows to excavate, and, finally, to convert our 
 bills of exchange into sacks of small coin, so as to be 
 negotiable with the semi-barbarous people we should so soon 
 be amongst. Such matters detained him longer than he 
 had calculated upon — a delay not to be regretted, as the 
 season was full early for the country to which we were bound, 
 whilst every spare hour of his time was devoted to sketching, 
 either in the cemeteries, the camel-market, on the hill behind 
 the castle, or on the shores of the Gulf, occasionally making 
 excursions inland as opportunities occurred, and each day 
 adding to a collection of studies and sketches which, even 
 before he left Smyrna, was already important, both in size 
 and number. After nearly three weeks spent in this way, 
 having latterly been detained waiting for the firmans from 
 Constantinople, we left Smyrna on October 19th by one 
 of the Austrian Lloyds’ boats, and landed at Rhodes on the 
 morning of the 21st. Here, finding that Mr. Fellows, whom 
 
206 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiii. we had been daily expecting to meet or hear from, had 
 1843-1^44. already gone on in a Government boat, a hurried inspec- 
 tion of the picturesque spots in Rhodes was made, and, 
 returning to our baggage on the mole, the remainder of the 
 day was spent in negotiations for the hire of a craft to take 
 us across to the mainland of Asia Minor, the snowy moun- 
 tains of which we could faintly discern. It was not until 
 after much bad language had passed between our servant 
 Nicolo and the boatmen, accompanied with energetic 
 flourishing of the fingers under each other’s noses, that a 
 boat was ultimately engaged, as the rumour of several acts 
 of piracy in the narrow waters made the coasters reluctant 
 to go over. At last, however, our rice, coffee, and piastres 
 were stowed underneath us in a small undecked Greek 
 caique, and sundown saw us gliding across the canal 
 dividing Rhodes from the mainland. It afterwards proved 
 that we really had a narrow escape of an adventure here, 
 as a merchant-vessel was burnt and her crew murdered 
 within a few hours of the time of our passage. This pirate 
 kept the whole coast in a state of alarm for months, but was 
 ultimately captured and imprisoned in the castle at Rhodes, 
 whence he cleverly escaped during our stay in the suc- 
 ceeding year, and defeated the Pasha’s armed yacht in an 
 engagement. 
 
 The next morning at sunrise we were slowly running 
 along the coast, endeavouring to sight the ship of war 
 which we knew had brought over the Expedition, and was 
 then stationed off the mouth of the river Xanthus, and 
 where, shortly after midday, she was discovered at anchor. 
 Muller immediately endeavoured to signal her, by running 
 up to the end of the yard the only colours we had — our , 
 table-cloth, with a red bandana handkerchief underneath ; and 
 after a time this seemed to pique the curiosity of those on 
 board, as we saw a boat lowered and manned, which over- 
 hauled us and transferred us to the gun-room of H.M.S.S. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 207 
 
 Medea. There, after the first expressions of astonishment as Chakxiii. 
 to our mode of joining, we received a hearty welcome and 1843-1844. 
 lunch, and, being impatient to get ashore, we were put across 
 the bar at the mouth of the river and landed on a sandy 
 beach, with a promise that our tent and baggage should 
 be towed up the river for us on the following day. A heavy 
 walk under a scorching sun, with the Acropolis of Xanthus 
 as our guide, brought us towards evening to the encamp- 
 ment of the Expedition, about eleven miles from the sea; and, 
 being thoroughly exhausted, we for that night slept on some 
 freshly cut myrtle-bushes, with our feet to a fire. In the 
 course of the third day, our tent and baggage having 
 arrived, our camp was pitched on a sloping plateau about 
 eighty feet above the plain ; a cooking-shed and fire-place, 
 erected in the rear of the tent, roughly fitted with seats, 
 which served for many a night after as a rendezvous for the 
 officers attached to the Expedition, and where, over black 
 coffee and pipes, many a song was sung and many a yarn 
 was spun after the work of the day was over. And now, 
 being fairly settled, Muller was at length free to begin work. 
 
 His routine was simple and regular; breakfast at eight, then, 
 lighting the inseparable pipe, and slinging his gun across 
 his shoulders, he started off, folio under arm, for the day, 
 rarely returning to the tent till just before sundown, to avoid 
 the malarious miasma hanging over the marsh at that hour ; 
 a dinner, neither remarkable nor elaborate, followed, and 
 almost invariably consisted of fowls or quail, rice, and butter, 
 made into a stew. We then adjourned to the cooking-shed 
 for coffee, where our visitors were generally waiting for us, 
 and, in stoiy-telling, singing, and smoking, the evenings 
 passed away rapidly enough. Neither climate nor fatigue 
 seemed to have any effect on Muller, and at the day’s close 
 he never failed to return with one or more of those water- 
 colour sketches that have since so powerfully excited the 
 admiration of the world of art, and stamped him as the most 
 
208 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiii. original and brilliant sketcher of any time. As days passed 
 1843-1844. and he continued to work on regularly and unflaggingly, he 
 gained increased facility in execution, and on more than 
 one occasion, when his subjects lay conveniently near to- 
 gether, I have known him complete three finished coloured 
 half- imperial sketches between breakfast and sundown. 
 Every object about was turned to some use ; the baggage- 
 camels that bore us our fire-wood, the donkey that brought 
 fowls for the larder, and the gipsy that carried water from 
 the Xanthus to our tent in a huge gourd, served him, over 
 and over again, as models ; every bird shot that seemed to 
 him at all rare or interesting was sketched, and not unfre- 
 quently skinned and preserved, whilst every incident in any 
 way illustrative of the customs or amusements of the natives 
 was carefully noted ; and, like a thorough traveller as he 
 was, his first care, on pitching his camp, was to establish 
 a good understanding between the natives and himself, by 
 means of frequent little presents of gunpowder, matches, 
 needles, and cutlery, of which he had taken out a small stock 
 for this special purpose ; so that we were at all times 
 welcome to their hospitality and made free of their tents, 
 and this even when there was bad blood between them 
 and the expeditionary force. When, after a few weeks’ 
 residence, I was down with the fever, he at once closed the 
 tent door on the surgeon, and would not allow him even 
 to see me, but treated me according to what he called 
 the rules of nature, in contradistinction to the system 
 then adopted of letting blood ; and undoubtedly his mode 
 was far the more successful, for the fever, as treated by 
 the surgeons, proved singularly fatal, and weakened the 
 Expedition considerably. 
 
 Prompt and ready in resources, enthusiastic in his love 
 for his profession, as he was untiring in industry and emi- 
 nently self-reliant, perhaps even self-asserting, from the first 
 hour the tent was pitched to that when it was finally struck, 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 
 
 209 
 
 I never remember him to faulter, or doubt of success, nor chap. xiii. 
 fail, in whatsoever dilemma we were placed, in proving 1843-1844. 
 himself master of the situation. 
 
 November 15th . — Struck tent early, and started it with 
 the baggage-camels in advance, en route for Pinara, some 
 twenty miles up the valley on the Cragus range of moun- 
 tains. Following, we overtook them on the ' banks of a 
 torrent, tributary of the Xanthus, called the Mangerchi, 
 where a halt had been necessitated by the swollen state of 
 the river and the difficulty of finding the ford. Ultimately 
 crossed by swimming the horses over ; the camels, however, 
 got into trouble, one being carried down the torrent, dis- 
 charging the impedimenta from his back, consisting of trunks, 
 boxes, and an Italian servant, into the water in his struggles, 
 whence, however, one after the other, was picked up without 
 much damage. Once across, we soon arrived at Minara, a 
 village at the foot of the Cragus range of hills, on one of 
 which the ancient Pinara, for which we were bound, was 
 situated. 
 
 The ascent occupied us, in the dark, nearly two hours, 
 and on arriving the tent was pitched, by torchlight, on a 
 level plateau in the midst of the ruins of the city. Here 
 for the next nine days Muller was indefatigably occupied in 
 exploring and sketching all that time permitted ; and who- 
 ever has seen the marvellous results of his nine days’ work, 
 achieved amidst the incessant anxieties and worries of 
 the journey, in a wild country, and upon an exposed hill- 
 top, will readily agree in calling his energy something 
 wonderful. 
 
 On the third night after our arrival, in the midst of a 
 hurricane of rain and lightning, a furious rush of wind tore 
 up the tent, and carried it away, leaving us, drenched with 
 the storm, to scramble after what shelter we could find in 
 the old tombs that were scattered amongst the ruins. Next 
 morning, however, with sunshine, the tent was repitched, 
 
 p 
 
2 10 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiii. our wet clothes dried, and all fell into shape again, and 
 1843-1844. such episodes were quietly accepted as necessary ingre- 
 dients of the journey. About the end of November, how- 
 ever, the weather had given so many unmistakable signs 
 of breaking up, that it was decided to quit our camping- 
 ground and return to Xanthus, where we had barely time 
 to get settled in our old quarters when the rainy season set 
 in — this time in earnest, as for five days and nights there 
 was no cessation. This reduced us, with all our effects 
 inside the tent, to a state of pulp from the incessant spray 
 driven through the canvas by the constant beating of the 
 rain. As far as we could see, the valley was a vast lake, 
 the turbulent river having broken its boundaries and 
 flooded the whole marsh. Consequently all the dwellers 
 in the plains were driven to encamp on the rising ground 
 round about us, and all day long files of camels, laden with 
 the families and baggage of the wandering tribes, were 
 making their way through the flood towards us. Muller 
 eagerly seized this opportunity of sketching in the tents of 
 these people, and his numerous studies of domestic life, and 
 incidents of character and costume, were collected about 
 this time ; and when after the subsiding of the waters he 
 was enabled to get abroad again, finding the country was 
 yet very wet and soaked, he decided upon another excursion 
 inland to the ancient city of Tlos, lying on a spur of the 
 Massicetus mountains, some forty miles higher up the valley. 
 Accordingly, about the beginning of the new year, we left 
 our old quarters, with the tent standing, trusting to find 
 some sort of accommodation at our destination ; and after 
 nine hours’ riding over a difficult country, absolutely with- 
 out any track, we found ourselves at the summit of a rude 
 rock staircase, that formed the approach to this veritable 
 eagle’s nest, where we were received by the Aga — a sort of 
 feudal chief — with much brusqueness, and without the 
 smallest show of hospitality. On asking for shelter, we 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 
 
 2 I I 
 
 were directed to a filthy den in the rock used for stabling Chap. xiii. 
 beasts, and a long and wordy squabble ensued. In the end, 1843-1844. 
 however, by combined firmness and tact, he was prevailed 
 upon to give up to us a large empty chamber in the castle, 
 which was certainly more roomy than the tent, though 
 hardly more weatherproof. Directly Muller found his 
 position secure, he was at work again with renewed energy, 
 amidst scenery more wildly picturesque and romantic than I 
 ever recollect to have seen since. Imagine a precipitous 
 crag, a lower spur of the mountains thrust out into the 
 valley, about which it rose a thousand feet or more, backed 
 by the snow-capped range of the Massicetus, and crowned 
 with the ruins of an ancient Greek city, out of which grew 
 as it were the grey walls of a mediaeval castle ; clothe the 
 sides of this crag with myrtle, wild olive, and arbutus, and 
 stud it with sculptured monuments, columns, and triumphal 
 arches where it slopes smoothly to the valley, place a noble 
 theatre, whose gleaming marble seats remain but little 
 injured by the twenty centuries that have passed since they 
 echoed to the applause of an audience, then fill the air with 
 the music of the dancing streams on their way to the valley 
 below, and you will have a faint idea of the situation of the 
 ancient Tlos. After some ten days’ work, the weather con- 
 tinuing very unsettled, owing to cur close proximity to the 
 mountains, it was decided to return to Xanthus, in the 
 anticipation of an excursion to Myra and Antiphellus, three 
 or four days’ journey eastward, where Mr. Fellows proposed 
 certain researches. To enable Muller to accomplish this, 
 an invitation from Mr. F. was essential, as he was com- 
 mander of the Expedition, and, for the time being, of the 
 steam frigate that was to convey the party, and our own stock 
 of Turkish coin having been borrowed to meet the current 
 expenses of the Expedition, and not at this time repaid. 
 
 However, though his earnest desire to see these places 
 was well known, as no invitation to join the party on board 
 
 p 2 
 
2 I 2 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiii. the Medea was received, it was impossible to avoid the 
 1843^1844. conclusion that his presence was not desired, and that it was 
 not thought possible to extend to him any facilities for 
 seeing more of the country ; with what loss to the art-world 
 in general, we can now fairly^ conjecture. 
 
 Disappointed in this hope, on which he had relied so 
 much, Muller spent the remainder of the time in short 
 excursions round Xanthus, until the feverish nature of the 
 country and the growing heat of the sun, together with the 
 sense of discomfort now attendant on his continued presence 
 with the Expedition, induced him to leave Xanthus finally, 
 and strike across the country to Macri, the ancient Tel- 
 messus, whence he hoped to get across to Rhodes. So, 
 early one morning in the beginning of February the 
 weather-stained tent that had been our home so long was 
 struck, never again to be pitched on Asiatic ground ; our 
 surplus utensils and stores were divided amongst our old 
 friends, the Yurooks, our horses finally packed, and the 
 river forded, when gaining the crest of a hill some twenty 
 minutes distant, and turning in our saddles, we saw the last 
 of Xanthus. 
 
 A two days’ ride through a lovely country brought us to 
 Macri — a miserable fever-stricken port, surrounded by salt 
 marshes, with a superb harbour, splendid scenery, and 
 antiquities. 
 
 We took possession of an empty room * in a house on the 
 edge of the swamp — a wretched place enough, as I look back 
 upon it now, and where the nights were made hideous by 
 the myriads of frogs that kept up their concert till day 
 broke. I cannot now recollect the length of our stay here ; 
 all I know is that about the 12th February Muller hired an 
 open boat to take us over to Rhodes, though in consequence 
 of heavy weather we did not start, but stayed on as it 
 
 * This was the room of which he made the masterly sketch called “ My Room,” that 
 excited such competition at his sale. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 
 
 213 
 
 seemed to me with small chance of ever leaving the 
 sickly steaming place ; when one morning H.M.S. Virago 
 steamed suddenly into the harbour. This led at once to 
 fraternization ; and when the commander learned our 
 condition, he at once offered to take us across, on his 
 departure, in a few days. So till then we made a jolly 
 time, landed on unexplored islands, made shooting-parties 
 after pelicans and wild boars, and living almost constantly 
 on board the frigate, enjoyed the change of commissariat 
 exceedingly. 
 
 At length on February 1 8th we steamed out of the bay 
 of Glaucus, with our hospitable hosts, bidding adieu for 
 ever to Lycia. 
 
 On landing in Rhodes, Muller took up his quarters in the 
 Franciscan Convent, and at once proceeded to investigate 
 the resources of the place, with a view to his projected 
 work, “The Age of the Crusaders,” for which he collected 
 a great amount of picturesque material ; but owing to a 
 combination of circumstances, one of the chief of which 
 was the failure of his supply of water-colours, this scheme 
 was never fully carried out. From this period, when his 
 industry assumed a less energetic form, his thoughts turned 
 homewards, and, after a fortnight’s pleasant residence in 
 the Convent, he decided to take the first Austrian boat for 
 Smyrna, abandoning the idea of his work on Malta alto- 
 gether, and anxious to ascertain the verdict of those at 
 home on the results of his adventurous expedition. Our 
 departure was made memorable by a farewell dinner to the 
 Superior and the monks, whose hospitality we had enjoyed 
 so long : for this, great preparations were made, the chapel 
 itself being despoiled of all its finery in drapery and altar 
 cloths for the adornment of our room and tables. Every- 
 thing passed off with eclat , and specially so did certain 
 Lycian dishes, introduced in a moment of inspiration by 
 Nicolo, our Greek servant. Complimentary speeches were 
 
 Chap. XIII. 
 1843-1844. 
 
214 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiii. made all round, and the party dispersed to the shouts of 
 18431844. “Viva il Padre Presidente.” The same night there was a 
 smart shock of earthquake, which cracked the outer walls of 
 the fortress, and rang the Convent bells. Leaving Rhodes 
 the following day, on our way for Smyrna we encountered 
 so heavy a gale that we were forced to make for the little 
 harbour of Valni, where we sheltered twenty-four hours, and 
 on arriving at Smyrna were thrust into the miserable 
 lazzaretto for nine days ! Our prison was shared by a 
 French nobleman returning from the Holy Land. It was a 
 large, bare room, with earthen floor and grated windows 
 open to the sky, from which some miserable beings, 
 more wretched than ourselves, were expelled to make room 
 for us. 
 
 The days dragged along wearily, as all such days must, 
 and, as a relief and resource, on the first day of our arrival 
 Muller commenced, with the remnants of his colours, a 
 series of cartoons on the walls of his room illustrative of the 
 salient features and adventures of the Asiatic journey, and, by 
 the time our term of imprisonment had expired, had covered 
 the whole of the long wall opposite the windows with these 
 distemper sketches, some of them five feet in length, which 
 contained the first ideas of many of his important pictures 
 painted after his return. I well reccollect that they so 
 powerfully excited the admiration of our fellow-prisoner, 
 that he constantly expressed his earnest intention of 
 returning from France with the means of removing them 
 from the plaster to his residence in Touraine. 
 
 When at length we escaped from quarantine, we spent 
 some time at Smyrna, exploring the adjacent country, 
 with a view to a future excursion, which he spoke very 
 earnestly about ; but no more sketching, for lack of mate- 
 rial, until the arrival of the boat for Malta enabled us to 
 take the homeward route in the regular course, including 
 a second detention on our arrival there of seven days, 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF LYCIAN JOURNEY. 
 
 215 
 
 before we left by the coast route for Marseilles, about Chap xiil 
 A pril 17 — 19th. 1843-1844. 
 
 There, finding all the diligences filled for some days in 
 advance, we joined two other travellers and posted to Paris, 
 arriving on the 29th of April, and, after a few days’ stay, we 
 left by way of Havre, and landed in England on the 4~5th 
 of May, 1844, after eight months’ absence. 
 
Chap. XIV. 
 1844. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 HOME AGAIN.— VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 1844. 
 
 S already stated in Mr. H. Johnson’s paper, the 
 travellers, on their return from Asia Minor, 
 reached Paris on the 29th April. Here Muller 
 determined to remain a few days, as the annual 
 exhibition of modern French pictures was then just opened 
 in the Louvre, and he was anxious to be posted up as to the 
 progress of art in France. The following letter, written by 
 Muller from Paris at this date, is interesting I think, as it 
 conveys a few ideas and criticisms on French art, and 
 especially refers to French landscapes 
 
 To J. Gooden, Esq., London. 
 
 “ Hotel de Lille et d’Albion, Paris, 
 
 “ 30th April, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — My pleasure was great in receiving 
 a letter from you when at Malta, its contents acquainting me 
 with London news. You will see I am all but home. I 
 now write to tell you that, as I shall not be in town for a 
 month or so, should you hear of my arrival in England you 
 will not have to accuse me of silence. Your giving up 
 Clipstone Street does not surprise me ; your keeping it on 
 did. Some struggle with the Society to make themselves 
 
THE LION TOMB IN THE ACROPOLIS . XANTHUS . 
 
HOME AGAIN VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 217 
 
 known ; it reminds me of * * * * * 
 
 Don’t think I have become all temperate of late because in 
 Asia Minor I could not obtain liquor, or that they do not sell 
 porter and Dublin stout in some Lycian tomb. I have seen 
 it sold in a pyramid, and I’ve drunk it also ; and perhaps one 
 day the valley of the Xanthus, when overrun by the Giaour , 
 may find these comforts. 
 
 “ Fellows’s valley may be changed. 
 
 “ Dighton writes me. His marriage is a little amusement 
 of yours , as he is silent. He is full of explanations on the 
 other subject. I am bound to take it. He says his picture 
 is hung pretty well for a commencement. Die has not been 
 ignorant that young Goodall and Mr. Wells are great 
 friends, and might have felt a little surprise at its not being 
 better placed ; but so it is. 
 
 “ Well, you will now expect to hear a little about myself, 
 and what I have been doing: not much, yet I have some 
 fine things. The winter has been horrid — a hundred and fifty 
 hours in a tent, with constant rain ! — torrents ! I like rain well 
 enough, but I hate it when it pours when it has no reason, 
 and when it seems to venge its spite on you as if it owed you 
 some grudge. The consequences of all this was I could get 
 no dinner, or hardly a light to my pipe. The river became 
 tired of its bed, so rose, and had a run over the plain, 
 drowning cattle and forcing the Turks to leave their homes ; 
 soaking Fellows’s operations, &c. 
 
 “ I smoked, and wondered how men can find such 
 accurate information for books — * The country of Xanthus 
 is a very dry one, having at most not more than two 
 or three days’ rain in the season ’ ! We have had six 
 weeks ! I got tired of that and boiled fowls, so I started 
 for Macri. This for scenery surpasses many other spots 
 I have visited, its only objection being that the features 
 are rather similar to other places. Rhodes I arrived 
 at: I had the passage in H.M.S. Virago. Now I did 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 1844. 
 
218 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. xiv. intend to publish some book about Knight Templars, &c. 
 
 1844. I am sick of that sort of thing. I gave up the idea, sketched 
 port views by day, and played half-piastre speculation in the 
 evening with the monks of the Convent and with my friend 
 Chambers Hall. Books of prints do little to raise a man’s 
 reputation as an artist. Every fellow that knows how to cut 
 a black-lead pencil goes out, sketches, comes home, and 
 publishes a book. I want to paint , Gooden ; it’s oozing out of 
 my fingers. I covered the walls of the lazaretto at Smyrna, 
 and at Malta they would not let me. True, I did steal down 
 and sketched a lot of monkeys in quarantine — with one more 
 ugly than the others. This was a good portrait of the 
 gardiano ; he does not like it. 
 
 “ Die says Pyne has a sketching-box — trunk shall I 
 call it ? Poor Poole has been served a dirty trick, and his 
 pretty pictures will be a favourite. I hate them, as I do all 
 pretty things. Eastlake is better. 
 
 “ I have just seen the Louvre (modern exhibition) ; there 
 are some very fine pictures. I like France and French art 
 much more than I did. I can at present only make a few 
 remarks on the landscape-painters. I am delighted with 
 one or two, but there is a great want of originality. They 
 are all like Poussin ; they all copy him. The man I like 
 paints views of towns on the Nile, and it is curious they 
 are highly finished pictures : he paints the skies the last 
 thing ; his execution is wonderful, and his figures are 
 also very fine. 
 
 “ I think, after all, we English take a good stand in art. I 
 am going to-morrow again. I am most anxious to form, if 
 possible, a just estimation of French art. They have many 
 great men, but they have many faults. The great want of 
 colour is the first thing that strikes me ; and if one looks 
 down the side of the gallery, it is enough to make one shut 
 one’s eyes — there is no harmony, but, to me, dull orange 
 and intense blue. Well, my dear fellow, the paper is just at 
 
HOME AGAIN VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 2 ig 
 
 an end — in the true sense of the word let me write adieu , and chap. xiv. 
 
 believe me, 1844. 
 
 Most sincerely yours, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I will find you out early on my coming to town. 
 
 I expect I shall start on another ‘sketching excursion. I do 
 not want to begin painting till September or October. The 
 Thames, about Windsor, or the rivers of Devonshire will 
 furnish my subjects.” 
 
 Muller left Paris on the 4th, and arrived in England on 
 the 5th of May, when he proceeded at once to his old 
 quarters in Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury. 
 
 When about to start for Lycia in the previous autumn, he 
 had left all his traps, folios of sketches, pictures, a'nd books 
 in his front room there, which he locked and took the key 
 away with him ; he also adopted the precaution of placing a 
 a pack-thread across the doorway inside, so that he might 
 thus ascertain on his return whether any one had entered the 
 room during his absence. When he arrived from Lycia, 
 however, full of the delight of getting back home after all 
 his hardships, he forgot all about the pack-thread, and, 
 opening the door with his usual impetuosity, he entered, and 
 only some hours afterwards the thought of the pack-thread 
 guard rushed across his mind. 
 
 Muller only stayed just long enough in London to put his 
 things straight and make a few arrangements, when he 
 started off for Bristol on a visit to his brother, leaving his 
 fine collection of sketches behind him to be mounted at 
 Hogarth’s. He, however, took with him several Turkish 
 costumes, which he had brought home with him from Asia 
 Minor to assist him in the detail of the pictures to be 
 painted. Muller and one or two of his friends dressed up 
 in these costumes, and were photographed : two of these 
 
2 20 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. xiv. (daguerrotypes) are still in the possession of Mr. Edmund 
 1844. Muller, where I have seen them. At Bristol, with his usual 
 ardour, he at once recommenced sketching and painting 
 pictures. 
 
 Mr. John Harrison and his brother were usually his com- 
 panions when out on sketching excursions, some of which 
 will be found described in Mr. Harrison’s paper. In July, 
 Muller and his brother, accompanied by West the artist, 
 went to Lynmouth, on the north coast of Devon. The 
 scenery of this spot (close to Linton) is exquisitely beautiful — 
 a rocky mountain river, surrounded by high hills and over- 
 hanging trees. Muller had never been there before ; he was 
 charmed with its quiet beauty, which, in his quaint language, 
 he described as “taking a dose of medicine,” after the wild 
 and romantic spots he had lately painted. Here Muller 
 remained about two months, and brought back with him to 
 Bristol four or five oil-pictures, painted entirely out of doors 
 from nature, and two dozen or more sketches and drawings 
 in water-colour ; and his brother informs me that neither the 
 oils nor water-colours were ever touched or worked upon 
 afterwards. One of the oil-pictures, which I have seen in 
 the collection of Mr. J. D. Weston, of Clifton, is a fine oval, 
 two feet by three, dated 1844; it represents a clear stream of 
 water falling over rocks, and sweeping round quiet, limpid 
 pools, with overhanging trees. Neutral greys and yellows 
 and very low-toned greens are the prevailing hues ; you 
 appear to see the stones underneath the water, and to partake 
 of the delicious coolness of this retired glen. Although the 
 handling is broad, there is no apparent want of finish. The 
 painting is solid, and, like his other Lynmouth subjects, 
 there is plenty of chiaroscuro. 
 
 Another of Muller’s very charming oil-sketches of a rocky 
 stream and ravine at Lynmouth — an upright, two feet two 
 inches by two feet ten inches (round topped) — is in the col- 
 lection of Mr. William Kenrick, Edgbaston. It was lent to 
 
HOME AGAIN VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 22 1 
 
 the Wolverhampton Exhibition in 1869, being then in the Chap. xiv. 
 possession of Mr. T. M. Whitehouse. This picture is also 1844. 
 very remarkable for the transparency of the water and the 
 general purity and quietness of the colouring; the light grey 
 rocks contrast well with the deep amber tones of the pools of 
 water, and the trees which overhang the stream are lofty 
 and very elegant in form. There is no figure, and the whole 
 picture suggests thorough repose and seclusion. 
 
 I will now give the letters which were written by Muller 
 during this summer and autumn : — 
 
 To Benj. Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ Sunday [12th May, 1844]. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Want of time Has prevented me writing 
 to you before. You will have heard from your son all our 
 pleasures, all our vexations — all our success and all our 
 disappointments ; and through all his conduct has been 
 what I expected. He has much improved in his sketching, 
 and if not in quantity what you might have anticipated, 
 great allowance must be made for his want of experience in 
 the class of subjects he was drawing and the enormous time 
 we had to pass in travel. From curious circumstances, I 
 have received no intelligence of your health during the eight 
 months we have been away (your son had no letter). Here 
 there must have been some mistake, doubtless ; but let me 
 hope it has been good — such as we have in general enjoyed. 
 My plans for the future I hardly know. My sketches form 
 a most important collection, and please me more than I 
 expected. Truly I have some fine subjects. 
 
 “ I long to get to town, but fear my brother, with his new 
 painting-room, will induce me to paint a picture or two here 
 for the country exhibitions ; then, perhaps, sketch a few weeks, 
 and return to London for the winter, and commence my 
 
222 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiv. heavy work, when I hope to be enabled to show you what I 
 1844. have been doing. 
 
 Pray, my dear sir, remember me to your son, and believe 
 me to remain, 
 
 “ Sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ May 17th, 1844. * 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It was with some pleasure I received 
 your letter of this morning. I hasten to reply to remove an 
 impression which you seem to have received relative to the 
 extra expenses of our excursion. Whatever they may have 
 been is now past, and I shall expect nothing to be further 
 said on the subject ; by so doing you will oblige me. 
 
 “ I need hardly confess to you that, when I undertook our 
 journey, I did not expect many difficulties that I met with, 
 many of a nature (doubtless your son has made you 
 acquainted with) that arose from jealousy of feeling, &c. 
 Thank heavens, by a steady line of conduct all these have 
 been conquered, and when I have the pleasure of seeing you 
 in town, I think you will confess I have brought home some 
 things that repay me for my vexations. 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear sir, 
 
 “Yours most sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ I, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ Date [beginning of June], 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It was with great pleasure, on my 
 arrival in England, which after all my troubles I have 
 reached, that I found, with your usual kindness, you had 
 published my poor communication from Xanthus. 
 
HOME AGAIN — VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 223 
 
 “ This has induced me to finish one I commenced at chap. xiv. 
 Malta, and, from the considerable interest people have taken 1844. 
 in the late expedition, if divested of some of its faults, may 
 give some instruction or amusement. Of that class I have 
 no end of matter, and if acceptable to you I would send 
 you others, as well as sketches to illustrate them ; and I must 
 confess it is a pity not to make known many of the cere- 
 monies and customs of the people amongst whom I have 
 been, as also their costumes. I can only add, if acceptable 
 to you, I will devote more care to another. 
 
 “The present treat as you please; if too long, cut it 
 down, &c. 
 
 “ I have brought home a fair number of sketches, and do 
 hope to be in town in a few weeks, and have an opportunity 
 of turning them over with you. 
 
 “ Believe me to remain, my dear sir, 
 
 “Yours most sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Jos. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ June 13th, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — My last letter was dated from Xanthus. 
 My troubles are now over, and with a browned face I am 
 narrating my adventures to my brother. My sketches are in 
 London, and I hope to join them in a few weeks. My 
 present purpose in writing is to ask if you would have 
 the kindness to forward me the exact size of the little picture 
 you desired me to paint for you. I had several commissions 
 of a similar nature, and commenced some four or five, all 
 nearly the same dimensions, but with no ultimate intention 
 as to the party who was to possess the one or the other; now 
 amongst the number so commenced is the size of the one 
 you sent me, but from my stupidity I truly cannot say which, 
 
224 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 but may add should you on receiving- it dislike it, pray 
 return it me, and I will paint another. 
 
 “ It will be with great pleasure I shall some day look 
 forward to show you the fruits of my excursion, which, thank 
 God, has, through His kindness, been brought to a close 
 with health and happiness. 
 
 . “ Believe me to remain, yours most sincerely, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ Highland Cottage, Lynmouth, Devon, 
 
 “ Friday morning, August 1 6th, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I write your son to-day, and am glad 
 to hear that what he has done from his Lycian sketches does 
 not disappoint. Now as your ideas and mine, relative to 
 your son spending the winter or part of it in town, are the 
 same, I think it will be best for him to have his lodgings as 
 usual, paint partly with me, according to circumstances, or, 
 as he pleases, join Clipstone Street Academy, draw in the 
 evenings from nature, and attend the demonstrative course 
 of anatomy, which is no extra expense. This will keep his 
 time fully occupied, and must be highly improving to his 
 future prospects. 
 
 “ Then I think it will not be for the next five weeks or more 
 that I shall go back to town and my home, so that he will 
 have some time with you to paint from his N. W. sketches. 
 
 “ I trust you will consider that if I advance his interests, it 
 will be as well a pleasure to me, as, considering all circum- 
 stances, I almost think it a duty. Believe me, my dear sir, 
 
 to remain, 
 
 “ Yours faithfully, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “P.S. — Here I am painting away. This week have had 
 rain, wind, &c., so I am doing little; but, however disagree- 
 able, I must keep to it three or four weeks longer.” 
 
HOME AGAIN. — VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 22 5 
 
 To Benj. Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “ Highland Cottage, Lynmouth, Devon, 
 “[September, 1844.] 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I have not for a long time past had the 
 pleasure of hearing from your son. What is he doing? or 
 what do you intend he shall do this winter? which I am sorry 
 to say is fast coming on. 
 
 “ I hope the above questions will not be considered rude; 
 but as I have an interest in his progress, I should be sorry to 
 see a check placed on it, and have now a motive in writing, 
 as I am sure if he remains in the country he must lose much. 
 I have been induced to write to you to say, if he can arrange 
 coming to town, I shall be happy if he will as usual paint 
 during the winter at my rooms. I am at present in treaty 
 with another pupil, which, if I close, will give him society. 
 
 “Remaining, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Yours most truly, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 
 1844. 
 
 “P.S. — Please give me a line; I shall not be in town 
 previous to the next six weeks.” 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ [Date, early in September, 1844]. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I have just seen the last article of the 
 Art-Union , and beg to return my thanks for the very pleasing 
 manner you have paid attention to Xanthus letters. 
 
 “ Singular enough to say, by not publishing the entire 
 letter, you have done me particular service, as at the end 
 there is an allusion to expeditions , saws , and pickaxes (true 
 enough) ; but unfortunately these letters already have pro- 
 duced a little jealousy of feeling in a certain party, so that 
 I think, had the part I allude to been in print , it might have 
 
 Q 
 
Chap. XIV. 
 1844. 
 
 2 26 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 produced unpleasant feelings, worse than at present, and 
 which could be of no service to me. Now, if it be your wish 
 to continue these little papers, I will do my utmost to render 
 them pleasing; but I ask, as a personal favour, if you do 
 so, you will oblige me by letting me have the latter part 
 of the last, when I could make those alterations I desire, 
 as also any additions or small drawings. 
 
 “ I mean to furnish you with some information relative to 
 Bristol, its School of Design, &c., that is to be. What 
 think you of a lady giving ^3,000 towards building one? 
 This is true, as well as that I remain 
 
 “ Your sincerely obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — Pray favour me with an early answer.” 
 
 To Jos. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ September 22nd, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Your long-travelled letter has just 
 reached me. I hasten to reply, and return my thanks for your 
 kind wishes. I am just recovering from a very slight attack 
 of ague, obtained, I think, in the country I have visited. 
 
 “ Thank God I am a little better now, and hope to be 
 in London in a week or two at the latest. I need hardly 
 add how much pleasure it will give me to show you some of 
 the spoils I have from Xanthus. I have truly taken away 
 much, but not, like those armed with authority, torn from 
 earth the monuments of the past, and made spots dear to us 
 from historical associations a wilderness* that but records the 
 evils they have done. Their sins be upon their own heads. 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear sir, to remain, with every hope 
 of not disappointing your kind wishes, 
 
 “ Yours sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
HOME AGAIN. — VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 227 
 
 To Henry Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “1, Park Row, Rristol, 
 
 “ September 22nd, 1844. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Johnson, — Do you think your old lodgings 
 good enough for you ? I have just seen there is a house 
 in Belgrave Square West to let — what say you ? Well, thanks 
 for forwarding the letter ; it turns out of consequence, and 
 has wandered far. Will you oblige me by writing as early as 
 possible, and say when you expect to be in town to reside, 
 decidedly. I hope to be up in a short time, and, if possible, 
 we will contrive to make a meeting on my arrival at my old 
 place ; and on your answer I will give you a line, arranging 
 time, &c. 
 
 ■ “ I am just recovered from a slight ague, but severe illness 
 of some days. My medical attendants say it is from Xantkus : 
 
 prenez garde. In what a d of a way I shall be if I get 
 
 the fever next. My sketches, now mounted, forming six 
 large folios, look splendid (pardon the word) ; ’ tis all the 
 mounting ... I feel I shall be strong ... I have oil, none 
 so dusty. Remember me to your father, and believe me to 
 remain 
 
 “ Your sincere Friend, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Henry Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ Monday, September 23rd, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Johnson, — Our notes will cross. I merely 
 wished to say that I have received an invitation to dine with 
 the Man in the Moon* to-morrow. So great a compliment I 
 cannot refuse; so Wednesday morning will see me in town, 
 
 * This refers to Sir F. G. Moon, then Alderman Moon, and the well-known publisher 
 of engravings. 
 
 Q 2 
 
2 28 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. xiv. instead of Tuesday evening. This will make no great 
 1844- difference. Pray be at my house at five o’clock. We will 
 have a long chatter. I expect being at 22, Charlotte Street, 
 at half-past four : so a little before five will suit best. I hope 
 your amusement to-day has been great, and I must think 
 such will be the case. As to myself, I am one ‘ mass of 
 desire’ to be hard at work, for although not idle, I have not 
 been fully engaged. 
 
 “ Trusting your news may be good, I remain, 
 
 “ Sincerely your Friend, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Henry Johnson, Esq., Birmingham . 
 
 “I, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ 26th September, 1844. 
 
 “ Dear Johnson, — I have just received a letter from 
 Mrs. Bruff to the effect that she wishes me to take her upper 
 room or rooms. Now, if you cannot get your old lodgings, 
 or otherwise, you can for a time, by communicating with me, 
 have a bed in 22, Charlotte Street. I can hardly say I 
 intend taking the rooms, yet it comes an unasked oppor- 
 tunity. Your time is exactly mine, being, curious to say, the 
 day, or within one of the day, I had intended leaving the roof 
 
 of my brother I have, on my word and honour, never 
 
 touched a single sketch on my return. Nay, the date of 
 Hogarth’s receiving them (to mount) is the proof that I 
 could not have had the time to do so. He has kept them 
 three months, or very nearly so ! but capitally done at length. 
 When I tell you I have refused painting any picture here for 
 dealers, and never had one application from private hands, it 
 will explain what sort of a place it is for encouragement. I 
 long to see what you have been doing. I will write you 
 
HOME AGAIN. — VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 22Q 
 
 again in a week, stating my time of departure exactly, so as 
 to time our arrival, and give you full notice. Amen. 
 
 “ Yours sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “P.S. — You may as well drive direct from the station to 
 my house. More of that in my next.” 
 
 At the beginning of October Muller left Bristol, and 
 returned to London, where his young friend and pupil, Marry 
 Johnson, was awaiting him. 
 
 And now he commenced to work in his studio from his 
 Lycian sketches, and during the autumn and winter months 
 he painted those large and masterly works (many of which 
 were exhibited in the spring of 1845) which, together with 
 his sketches, made him suddenly famous, and brought to him 
 a great many commissions, most of which, alas ! he did not 
 live to fulfil. One of the pictures which Muller painted at 
 this time (end of 1844) was “ The Harbour of Rhodes, with 
 a Group of Figures on the Quay,” a very brilliant work, 
 about 3 ft. by 2 ft. : a blue sky and blue water, full of sun- 
 light ; a grand, square, creamy-white tower and old bat- 
 tlements on the left-hand side ; also a group of Turks 
 congregated round an old gun or post, to which some native 
 fishing-boats were moored. This picture was purchased by 
 Mr. Henry Bradley, and at his sale (May, i860) it fetched 
 ^315. He also recommenced his attendance at the Life 
 School in Clipstone Street. The pictures intended for the 
 British Institution — all subjects taken from sketches made on 
 his last journey — were some of the first which occupied his 
 easel ; these will be described hereafter, as well as many 
 others painted about this time. The eagerness of his friends 
 to obtain pictures may be gathered from the following letter 
 addressed to Mr. Charles Birch, of Birmingham. The two 
 letters which follow afterwards, written by the Academician 
 
 Chap. XIV. 
 1844. 
 
230 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiv. W. Etty to Miiller about the same time, will I think be read 
 1844. with interest ; they show that one who was then considered 
 the greatest colourist of the English school was ready and 
 glad to express his admiration for Muller’s work. The 
 Mr. Colls mentioned in the first letter was a picture-dealer 
 at that time in London, who had frequently purchased 
 pictures painted by Muller, some of which Etty had probably 
 seen there. 
 
 To Charles Birch, Esq., Harbourne, Birmingham. 
 
 “ 22 , Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “November 30th, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am pleased you forwarded me our 
 mutual standing. As regards the two pictures, they are quite 
 correct ; and relative to your frames, as I never knew the 
 price, doubtless they are the same. 
 
 “So let it stand I owe you a picture value £ 20 . Now 
 the next thing is, when are you to have it ? And if you 
 won’t consider me intruding advice, I shall say don’t be 
 in a hurry for a month or two, which happens to be the case 
 with all my present friends — and why ? Because I have 
 brought home some very fine subjects ; and painting pictures 
 is not like making coats or boots : there is great uncertainty 
 in what we do, try as much as we can to do our best. On 
 this ground I advise you to watch, or in other words to see 
 some of the sketches ; and should any of them that please 
 you be commenced by me, I will give you the refusal of the 
 picture. 
 
 “ Pardon my plainness, and believe me, dear sir, 
 
 “ Sincerely yours, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P-S. — Of course I do not allude to those commissions 
 positively given by my friends, for in that instance I could 
 not allow them to be any other person’s. Should you see 
 
HOME AGAIN. — VISIT TO LYNMOUTH. 
 
 231 
 
 him, sir, will you give my kind regards to Mr. Cox. I shall Chap. xiv. 
 be delighted to make him acquainted with Lycia, or for him 1844. 
 to see my sketches.” 
 
 Copy 0/ Letters from Wm. Etty, R.A., to Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ 14, Buckingham Street, Strand. 
 
 “ Mr. Etty presents his compliments to Mr. Muller, and, 
 though personally unacquainted with him, begs to say he has 
 often admired his works, and should have pleasure in his 
 acquaintance. Mr. Etty has intended calling on him ; but 
 having been much occupied, Mr. E. hopes he will excuse his 
 not having done so, and that he will meet his friend Mr. Colls 
 here at three on Thursday next, and partake of a bachelor’s 
 dinner. Mr. Etty is compelled to name that early hour, as he 
 is obliged to be at the Royal Academy at half-past five. An 
 answer will oblige.” 
 
 N.B. — This note was written about November, 1844. 
 
 “ 14, Buckingham Street, Strand, 
 
 “ December 22nd, 1844. 
 
 “ Dear Sir, — You are right in your appreciation of 
 quackery, which sometimes, I feel with you, absorbs too 
 much attention of the modern artist, and, like the ignis fatuus 
 to the traveller benighted, leads him sometimes from the 
 true path. The present, however, is an exception, and glass 
 occasionally used to separate the too dense nature of some 
 colours, such as Indian red, is useful, and I thank you for it. 
 I hear much of your sketches, which I should like to see ; but 
 the weather and my enemy, a cough, prevent me going out. 
 
 “ I remain, with thanks, dear sir, 
 
 “Yours very truly, 
 
 “Wm. Etty. 
 
 “Wm. Muller, Esq.” 
 
232 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xiv. Towards the end of 1844, Mr. Horsman Solly, who always 
 1844- continued to take great interest in Muller and his works, 
 offered to get all his Lycian sketches exhibited at the 
 Graphic, of which society Mr. Solly had long been an 
 influential member. 
 
 The exhibition took place at the “ Thatched House,” and 
 was largely attended by artists and amateurs, and I think I 
 am justified in saying that this collection created quite a 
 sensation. So large a number, and all so excellent ! Nothing 
 like them had previously been seen, and the surprise felt was 
 equal to the admiration expressed. Henceforth Muller truly 
 took rank as the great and rapid sketcher. 
 
 Like others, I have felt much impressed by the peculiar 
 qualities and excellence of Muller’s sketches, and I hope the 
 remarks I shall offer on this subject in the next chapter will 
 not be considered out of place. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE CHESTED TOMB PINARA LYCIA- 
 
XV. 
 
 W. MULLER AS A SKETCHER. 
 
 EW, I believe, will deny that the position Muller chap. xv. 
 has taken as an artist, in the estimation of 
 other artists, is based rather on the perfection 
 of his sketches than on that of his more finished 
 works. On this ground I shall hope to be excused if I now 
 devote a few pages to the consideration of the causes which 
 have conduced to this pre-eminence of Muller as a sketcher, 
 and to the chief characteristics of his sketches. 
 
 Muller had from birth, I might almost say, an unusually 
 fine eye for colour ; to this he added by degrees great 
 knowledge of composition and light and shade— derived as 
 much from study of the old masters as from early and 
 constant practice from nature. These qualities told perhaps 
 equally in all his work ; but his quickness in grasping the 
 points of a subject, and his wonderful rapidity of manipu- 
 lation, were qualities which told especially in his sketches, 
 and to a considerable though to a less extent in his finished 
 pictures. 
 
 Muller has been fitly described as the “ greatest of 
 sketchers.” Not only was his style original and peculiar, 
 through the force and harmony of his colour and his very 
 su ggestive touch, but his knowledge and judgment enabled 
 him to sink details and to evoke unity out of materials often 
 discordant in themselves. 
 
234 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xv. Many of Muller’s water-colour sketches, produced in less 
 than an hour , under such difficulties of time and place as 
 to many artists would have been almost appalling, are, from 
 an art stand-point, entirely complete and satisfactory. I am 
 now referring especially to his Lycian sketches, and more 
 particularly to those of the interiors of Turkomans’ and 
 Yurooks’ tents or tents with figures. These, as well as 
 his sketches of Egyptian interiors, bear much resem- 
 blance to old Venetian pictures, in some cases to the works 
 of Rembrandt, and always impress by their great breadth 
 and fine colour. Viewed from the proper distance every- 
 thing seems right, although, if closely examined, they appear 
 sometimes to be little more than wonderful blots of colour. 
 The same remarks also apply, although in a less degree, 
 to many of his sketches of Welsh and English cottage 
 interiors. With reference to his sketches of interiors in 
 Lycia, I should remark that the wild and lawless Yurooks 
 and Cingaries welcomed Muller into their dens as perhaps 
 no Englishman had ever been welcomed before ; and there, 
 of an evening, whilst music, smoking, disputing, and 
 gambling were going on by the light of a single lamp, 
 Muller would take out his sketch-book and colours and 
 make rapid studies of his wild friends, whilst young Johnson 
 held a candle close to his work to enable him to see what he 
 was doing. Whilst on the subject of the Lycian sketches by 
 Muller, after looking through Mr. John Henderson’s large 
 and beautiful collection, I was struck by the way the 
 higher finish is given to the more important parts, the 
 work, as it approaches the sides and bottom of the drawing, 
 being, so to say, “ vignetted ” to some extent ; also by the 
 way in which the light and shadow are kept broad, a lead- 
 ing passage of light, brighter than the rest, being almost 
 always preserved. 
 
 Like other sketchers (however experienced) Muller appears, 
 when out on an expedition, to have taken a few days to get 
 
MULLER AS A SKETCHER. 235 
 
 his hand thoroughly into work when sketching from nature ; Chap. xv. 
 but with him this inequality was less marked than with most 
 artists. 
 
 How much Muller felt the importance of careful drawing 
 when sketching from nature may be judged by the following 
 remarks, which I extract from one of the last letters ever 
 written by him : — 
 
 “ How strange it is, most amateurs will always go the long 
 road, rather than take the little hill. One carefully drawn 
 fragment with colour — be it what it may — is worth all, I 
 believe, many men do in their six weeks’ excursions.” 
 
 . Muller knew well that a sketch ought not be a finished 
 work, but a vivid, true, yet generalised impression of the 
 scene — a sort of compromise, in fact, wherein the soul or 
 spirit of the scene was caught and rapidly made his own. 
 
 In his later sketches of English country scenes, especially 
 those of the scenery near Bristol, which he loved so well, 
 this poetical rendering of the subject is very striking. When 
 about to make a sketch from nature, Muller took a careful 
 survey of all that was around as well as before him. He 
 then made his selection ; but his art-knowledge and his 
 imagination enabled him to see mentally how the subject 
 would appear if treated by one of the grand old masters, 
 and to that ideal he often worked in his finest sketches. How 
 the subject would compose , was always one of the first points 
 which he considered ; and in carrying this out he never 
 seems to have lost sight of the leading lines, nor to have 
 neglected the assistance accorded by a very broad and 
 happy arrangement of light and shade. 
 
 Muller looked on the mere imitative process — however 
 important — as the least essential of the rarer artistic qualifi- 
 cations that are necessary to produce a truly fine sketch. 
 
 And yet the cultivation of the imitative faculty never had 
 
236 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xv. been, and never was, neglected by him. This is more fully 
 seen in his earlier sketches in black and white. In these 
 he always used a broad pencil, and in his more delicate 
 drawings as well as in the broader ones I have observed 
 that he constantly showed his feeling for light and shade in 
 a very marked manner. His pencil-sketches, as I have 
 previously stated, are very remarkable for their careful detail 
 and accurate drawing. It has been shown that even in his 
 last journey to Lycia he kept up the good practice of careful 
 pencil-sketching. 
 
 As Muller’s career advanced he evidently felt more deeply 
 the poetry which is hidden in nature, and for which he 
 sought an expression, just as he learned to seize on the 
 salient points of every subject selected by him during the 
 latter years of his life — those points, I mean, which were 
 best calculated to express its character, sentiment, and 
 feeling. It was thus with broad washes and sweeps of his 
 brush, supplemented by rapid markings and hatchings, that 
 he combined what appeared to him best in every scene, feel- 
 ing instinctively, in copying from nature, what objects it was 
 desirable to sacrifice and discard, and what to retain or bring 
 prominently forward. Sometimes — I should, perhaps, say 
 almost always — he had to supply from his imagination what 
 was wanting to carry to completeness the picture which had 
 already been idealised in his mind. 
 
 Thoroughly impressed with the importance of rapidity in 
 colouring, united to accuracy of outline, Muller at the same 
 time never carried his sketches too far. He appeared always 
 to know when to leave off, so as to retain as much as possible 
 of the mystery of nature ; and, indeed, his rapid work often 
 leaves a good deal to the imagination. I believe he felt that 
 a sketch, however rough, should rarely, if ever, be touched 
 afterwards, and that he acted up to that principle. He used 
 to say that more was lost than could be gained by after-work, 
 and he insisted that it was easy to destroy the freshness and 
 
MULLER AS A SKETCHER. 237 
 
 truth caught from nature in the enthusiasm and inspiration Chap - xv - 
 of a successful sketch. He, of course, used his sketches 
 as the subjects for his finished pictures ; but, in these, other 
 qualities had to be considered. 
 
 It has been remarked by Mr. Harry Johnson, and I think 
 with truth, that Muller was the first artist visiting Egypt 
 who thoroughly felt, and at the same time realised in his 
 sketches, the poetry of the Nile. 
 
 Undoubtedly there was a romantic side to Muller’s cha- 
 racter, and the mystery and romance which have so long 
 attached to the ancient civilisation of Egypt and to the Nile 
 and its surroundings awakened corresponding feelings in 
 Muller’s imaginative mind, and found a true and ready 
 expression in his sketches. The varied and beautiful reflec- 
 tions in the waters of the Nile are well pourtrayed : a great 
 charm is also conveyed in some of his evening and night 
 effects. The moon rising over a distant bend of the river, 
 the watch-fires in native boats moored to its shores, and the 
 after-glow of those wonderful Eastern twilights, lighting up 
 the rocks and ruined temples on the banks of the Nile with 
 rose-colour and vermilion — all these are full of a solemn and 
 poetical feeling. 
 
 When at Athens, the Acropolis, with its classic temples 
 and grand and varied forms, appears to have taken Muller’s 
 mind “by storm;” for within its precincts he spent (as I 
 have already remarked) by far the greater number of the 
 days he remained in Greece. There he made repeated 
 sketches of the Parthenon and its surrounding monuments, 
 the effect being enhanced by a broad arrangement of light 
 and shade, as in many of Samuel Prout’s best works. 
 
 During Muller’s lifetime scarcely any of his later sketches 
 were sold : a few were presented by him to friends ; but 
 Muller knew too well the value to an artist of his sketches 
 to part with them willingly, although many were sold by 
 him in earlier life. A catalogue of the large collection sold 
 
238 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 after his death by Messrs. Christie and Co., and the prices 
 which they fetched, will be found in the Appendix, No. 3. 
 
 Although I have referred here more particularly to Muller’s 
 foreign sketches, those which he produced in England and 
 Wales, and especially in the neighbourhood of his birth- 
 place (Bristol) and at Lynmouth, have a quiet, peaceful 
 charm of their own — silvery, low in tone, and broad— diffe- 
 rent, in truth, from any others. 
 
 There is still resident at Bristol a gentleman, Mr. John 
 Harrison, who for many years was a frequent sketching 
 companion of Midler’s in that neighbourhood, and his inti- 
 mate friend. Mr. Harrison is an accomplished amateur 
 artist himself, and having been Muller’s medical attendant 
 during his last illness at Bristol, he saw more of him than 
 any one else, excepting his brother Edmund, during the 
 latter months of his life. No one is, I believe, so well quali- 
 fied to speak of William Muller as a sketcher as his friend 
 Harrison : as an eye-witness of his manner of work and out- 
 of-doors practice his testimony is invaluable. Mr. Harri- 
 son’s remembrance of the sketching excursions which they 
 made together is, fortunately, still lively, and his power of 
 describing the same graphic and vivid. I feel, therefore, 
 under no small obligation to him, that he has embodied 
 these reminiscences in a paper written expressly for this 
 memoir, and which will be found in the next chapter. I 
 doubt not that this notice of Muller by Mr. Harrison will be 
 perused by all my readers with deep interest, especially that 
 part of it which refers to the closing scenes of the artist’s 
 life. 
 
-ACROPOLIS OF TLOS . LYCIA WITH 'VOMITORY OF AMPHITHEATRE 
 
XVI. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF WM. MULLER BY 
 MR. J. HARRISON. 
 
 IS brief notice of my friend, William Muller, was chap. xvi. 
 written at the request of Mr. Solly. 
 
 Though the artist’s works are his sufficient 
 monument, I have long regretted that we pos- 
 sessed no personal record of a genius so rare. With the 
 history of his life this want will be supplied, and I am glad 
 that I have been permitted to contribute, however slightly, to 
 Mr. Solly’s volume. 
 
 The personal history of Muller, during his brief and 
 interesting career, is slowly drifting from us. Many of his 
 contemporaries and friends are gone, and time has already 
 somewhat dulled the vivid impression he left on the minds of 
 those who yet live to speak of him as a companion and 
 friend. I propose now to speak of him as both, and also as 
 the great sketcher from nature — not a mere out-door worker 
 of pictures, but as the vital, impulsive sketcher whose unique 
 works rank with the highest order of landscape water-colour 
 art. 
 
 I should not have ventured upon this brief notice of 
 William Muller, after the lapse of so many years, had I not 
 known him well ; indeed our personal intercourse was of a 
 very friendly character. 
 
 I had much opportunity of seeing him at work, both out 
 
240 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xvi. of doors and in the studio, and in this way I gained 
 considerable knowledge of his professional and general 
 acquirements. 
 
 Our acquaintance began in 1837 : from that time until his 
 death in 1845, I was his frequent sketching companion while 
 in Bristol. 
 
 Our sketching-grounds were near at hand — Leigh Woods, 
 Combe Valley, the banks of the rivers Frome, Chew, and 
 Avon, and other places in the picturesque neighbourhood of 
 Bristol. ■ 
 
 Muller was an excellent companion ; ready for work, 
 choosing his subjects quickly, and at once commencing his 
 sketch — a very valuable quality in a sketcher. 
 
 A folio (half imperial) with tin rim, Harding’s paper, 
 colour-box of dry-colour cakes, common camel-hair brushes, 
 lead pencil, and a small bottle of chalk, prepared by himself, 
 were the materials he carried. From the first Muller 
 interested me much. Resolute in his work and in all he 
 undertook, the art-power and intensity of the man so strongly 
 impressed me, that even now, though long years have passed 
 since the days of our happy companionship, I see him before 
 me, and I remember many of his sayings and doings. 
 Perhaps I may better convey these impressions to the reader 
 if I take him with me to the old sketching-grounds. 
 
 A Sketch in Leigh Woods. 
 
 On our way thither I observed that Muller, contrary to his 
 usual habit, had an imperial sheet of Harding’s paper rolled 
 up, but no folio ; he intended to make a large sketch in 
 Painters’ Valley. We scrambled up this picturesque ravine, 
 worthy of Salvator himself. A rock in the foreground 
 served Muller for a table ; he spread his imperial sheet of 
 paper upon it, placing stones at the corners to keep it 
 steady, and began his sketch, drawing as usual with his left 
 hand. Before my own arrangements were settled, Muller, 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 24 1 
 
 with his characteristic rapidity, had outlined the subject in Ch ap. x \ i. 
 pencil. He was famous with the pencil ; his early practice 
 of correct drawing from the anatomical and geological speci- 
 mens in the Bristol Museum, as illustrations for lectures, had 
 been very useful to him. If his outline was rapid and 
 decisive, his conception was the same, — he saw his picture at 
 once; it was the subject before him, but it gained symmetry 
 and power in passing through his mind. No frittering away 
 of time and effect in painful detail washes ; he generally 
 allowed two hours for his sketch, and in those two hours he 
 laid his mind upon the paper. The outline made, he put in 
 the sky. “Sharp up to the mark,” he said, “with a full liquid 
 brush, leaving the edges of the clouds to the white ground.” 
 
 When nearly dry, he finished the clouds, and went over the 
 sky, dragging, touching, and giving tone, softness, and 
 brilliancy. Observing, as he proceeded with the work, how 
 broadly he washed in the background of the somewhat close 
 subject, and represented tone rather than detail, I made 
 inquiry why he did not paint the things he saw ? He said 
 because I have studied them all : a man must be able to 
 draw and paint everything, then he may be allowed to alter 
 and sacrifice for effect ; it is not on account of the difficulty 
 that I swamp these lesser details. How closely he had 
 worked from nature his early landscape studies in oil 
 sufficiently prove ; these are in the possession of his brother, 
 
 Mr. E. G. Muller. Our artist looked upon a realistic study 
 and a sketch as very different things, the former to be 
 reserved for the studio. But to return to the woods : it was 
 late in autumn, and the absorbent paper did not dry as fast 
 as we could wish. Muller, who painted with rather a wet 
 brush, got into trouble with his trees, and things were not 
 satisfactory. 
 
 He worked on patiently for some time, then suddenly 
 exclaiming, “ It is a failure,” tossed the drawing on the 
 ground, and prepared to execute what I suppose is familiar 
 
 R 
 
242 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 to most artists — a demon dance upon his sketch. I saw his 
 intention, and besought him to pause, I actually seized him. 
 We struggled together for a few moments, when, with a 
 laugh, he said, “Let me go; I see my way: hold the 
 drawing for me.” I did so. He struck a light, kindled a 
 piece of paper, and passed it flaming, to and fro, under the 
 sketch as I held it up. 
 
 The wet drawing steamed, and, becoming partially dry, 
 was again placed on the rock, when Muller, with sharp 
 touches, which I called his own left-hand writing, brought all 
 round in a brief space of time. 
 
 He gave it another drying, rolled it up, and we left the 
 woods. Some months afterwards I saw him ; he said, “ Do 
 you remember the sketch in Painters’ Valley, which but for 
 you I should have spoiled ? I exhibited it at the Graphic ; I 
 believe it has made my fortune.” 
 
 At that time Graphic Exhibitions were not common as 
 they are now. The London Graphic was the only thing of 
 the kind, and its praise was considered a great honour. 
 
 Muller was about twenty-six years of age, and there was 
 enough to show that a great time was at hand. 
 
 In 1839 he left for London, but was often in Bristol. 
 
 He was an indefatigable worker. I have known him to 
 arrive by the mail from London in the old coaching 
 days, and, after twelve hours of night travel on the outside, 
 be ready, as soon as he had swallowed his breakfast, to 
 start with me to sketch. 
 
 He let no opportunity pass ; he kept his appointments 
 punctually, and seemed never tired. It was delightful to 
 work with one so totally free from a certain languor that now 
 and then pervades the artistic mind. Our friend was never 
 out of sorts, — at least I never saw him so. Summer or winter, 
 he was always ready to sketch. He said more than once to 
 me, “The sketch is the important thing. First we study 
 closely Nature’s forms and details, to learn her grammar; 
 
RECOLLECTION’S BY MR. J. HARRISON. 
 
 243 
 
 then we may seek her for transient effects, her lights and chap, xvi. 
 
 shadows, her suggestive quality, in short for the poetry of 
 
 the hour ; but we must use our heads as well as our hands, 
 
 and set to work with all our hearts.” If these were not his 
 
 very words, they are substantially the same, and his practice 
 
 was ever in that direction. But let me show him again in 
 
 the field. 
 
 A sketch in Nightingale Valley, Brislington, may interest 
 the reader. This lovely valley was our favourite haunt ; it 
 was a secluded spot, and we were rarely interrupted in our 
 work by intruders. It is extraordinary how many subjects 
 this small valley, extending about a quarter of a mile towards 
 the river Avon, offers to the discerning sketcher — a willowy 
 brook ran through it, which we dignified by the title of 
 Kingfisher River, as we occasionally saw one of those 
 beautiful birds flitting down the stream. A green meadow at 
 the bottom of the narrow valley was bounded on either side 
 by wooded slopes, and divided by the running stream, which 
 we could cross on stepping-stones. The meadow was rich in 
 water-flowers and umbelliferous plants; these last were of 
 giant growth, rejoicing in the warm damp place ; there were 
 also flowering reeds, rushes, and tall grasses all along the 
 margin of the stream. The trees were principally ash, elm, 
 and sycamore, with alders and willows close to the water- 
 side. 
 
 The place had been left in its natural state, undisturbed 
 for years, and may remain so to this hour. I have not heard 
 that axe or builder, ruthless as they have lately proved to our 
 fine local woods, have as yet profaned this quiet haunt. On 
 the hill, above the valley, stands a picturesque cottage: Muller 
 sketched it more than once, and with certain pictorial addi- 
 tions it may be found in many of his oil-paintings of English 
 scenery. He had great interest in a subject of the kind — a 
 great feeling for the picturesque. I have seen him sketch an 
 ordinary farm-yard, with cottage, a pond, and rubbish of all 
 
 r 2 
 
244 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. xvi. sorts, pitching into the thatched roof with extraordinary 
 richness and power ; he gave a splash of white to the 
 cottage itself, backed it up with trees, and made it his 
 principal light ; then seizing on a broken cart, barrow, hen- 
 coop, or anything at hand, he carried the picturesque most 
 dashingly and lovingly throughout the work, and stamped 
 it with a character entirely his own. 
 
 Muller was very fond of this little valley ; we sketched 
 there frequently, and during these visits I saw much of his 
 mode of working. He had no professional secrets : in this 
 particular, as in all others, I found him an open, straight- 
 forward, generous fellow. If sarcastic in his remarks upon 
 the presumptuous and ignorant, and in such cases fond of a 
 practical joke, he was ever ready to recognise talent in his 
 brother-artist, and to show and explain his art-practice to a 
 sketching-companion. He talked much and well ; he knew 
 more or less of a variety of subjects — botany, geology, 
 anatomy — studies helpful to his art ; he allowed no oppor- 
 tunity for information to pass unheeded. I asked him to 
 draw for me in water-colour a complicated morbid specimen. 
 I set the thing before him ; it was not a particularly pleasing- 
 study, but he entered upon the subject with great zeal, 
 eagerly inquiring into the nature of the case and of the 
 operation that had been performed : he drew in about an 
 hour an admirable representation of the diseased parts, 
 minute even to the markings of the strands of the ligature 
 that had been placed round the main artery. But I must 
 return to the happy valley, and go on with my sketch. 
 
 It was a summer afternoon in 1842 or 1843, Muller, 
 always quick at settling his place, walked at once to a point 
 he had previously noticed. Stepping sideways and back- 
 wards, his eager eyes fixed upon the subject before him, he 
 seated himself upon the grass and commenced his sketch. I 
 sat by him. 1 he subject he had chosen was very simple. A 
 loreground of the many-coloured meadow extended some 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 245 
 
 little distance, until crossed diagonally by trees. A large, Chap. xvi. 
 flowering elder closed in the picture on the one hand, a 
 woody slope on the other. He had seated himself so low 
 that the brook was lost in the high grass. Now for the 
 outline — as usual, free, rapid, and decisive : Muller, keeping 
 pretty nearly to the subject, elevated it and gave it wonderful 
 space and power by his simple and noble lines. He began 
 with the tops of the diagonal crossing of trees ; these he 
 raised and massed ; there were several slight openings in 
 this line, but he brought all much together, at the same time 
 carefully keeping to the general form and character of the 
 trees — sycamore, ash, and elm. I can speak thus particularly 
 as I drew them then and have drawn them since ; also I had 
 Muller’s sketch in my possession for a time. Just about the 
 point of sight, there was a small arch-shaped opening in the 
 walk of trees, formed by the boughs that overhung the 
 stream ; this opening he enlarged, and carried on the 
 meadow through it. With this principal line of trees — after- 
 wards to be the making of his picture — his outline was 
 almost finished. He rapidly sketched the large elder-bush 
 on the right, and the woody slope opposite, and, taking box 
 in hand, began to paint. The sky was blue, the clouds white 
 and fleecy. He washed as usual cobalt sharp up to the forms 
 of the clouds, divided them here and there from each other, 
 and kept their pure white edges for contrast to the coming 
 depth of shadowed trees. To the best of my recollection he 
 did not go over the sky again ; it was not his custom to do 
 so ; the first painting was usually enough, and occupied 
 about ten minutes. Very beautiful was this sky — his clean 
 and rapid handling gave it the clearness and purity of 
 nature. Before the sky was quite dry he began the diagonal 
 line of trees with a mixture of brown pink indigo and a little 
 ivory-black, in tones startling from their depth, and tossing 
 the colour up to the tops— I know of no better description — 
 he painted their characteristic leafage upon the gleamy 
 
246 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 XVI. clouds. lie had to pause, for the groundwork of his trees was 
 too wet to go on with. When the sketch was partially dry, 
 he rounded out the forms with sharp touches ; as these dried, 
 he carried beneath the line of trees a shadow of extraordinary 
 depth and power right across the drawing. From this level 
 he worked down to the foreground, leaving spaces clear for 
 the lights which gleamed in one principal and several sub- 
 ordinate patches of sunlight across the meadow. He put in 
 the woody slope on the left, filled in the central arch with 
 airy, warm colour, and made out the large elder-tree, leaving 
 the clear white paper for the flowers. 
 
 This elder-tree, full of branches and leafy detail, he much 
 massed, giving it great breadth of light and shade. He 
 indicated its general character and no more. Returning to 
 the foreground, which had become dry, he washed in his 
 lights (Naples yellow and ochre), then began his peculiar 
 handwriting, touching sharply all about his work, flipping 
 out of nothing dock-grasses, ferns, &c. ; he lastly added, 
 very sparingly, from his little chalk bottle, some white 
 touches to the flowering plants and to the elder blossoms, 
 which were here and there not left to the white paper, wrote 
 the date and his name, tossed his folio on the ground, and 
 began a cigar. 
 
 The two hours’ sketch was finished, and noble and mas- 
 terly it was in its broad freedom and rapidity of execution. 
 It was pure and transparent, — no washing down, no wiping 
 out or scratching up. The deep shadow running across the 
 picture gave great breadth, and told with wonderful power 
 against the gleamy sky and the silvery-toned meadow below, 
 crossed by the streaks of sunlight. Though largely and 
 poetically treated, there was nothing conventional. It was 
 characteristic of the subject, and natural and simple to the 
 last degree. My friend, Mr. E. G. Muller, was sketching 
 with us on this occasion. I have shown him my remarks; he 
 endorses all the material points I have set down. It may 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 
 
 247 
 
 appear strange that I should remember these particulars chap. xvi - 
 after so many years, but a circumstance that occurred as we 
 were returning from the sketching-ground probably helped 
 to fix upon my memory this special excursion. As we passed 
 through the fields, a gate, swinging to after us, creaked, quite 
 musically, the melody of the first two bars of Beetho- 
 ven’s Pastoral Symphony. 
 
 easily they may be expressed in the simple way here 
 described. Transfixed, I immediately sang the two suc- 
 ceeding bars, for I knew the symphony well. Muller was 
 musical, and played upon the guitar ; he entered at once 
 into the spirit of the thing. We set the gate open several 
 times, declared it was a natural phenomenon, and deter- 
 mined that this singular rendering of the two bars of the 
 immortal composer should not be lost. 
 
 “ Let us,” said I, “ return to-morrow with our friends, that 
 they themselves may hear this most remarkable coincidence 
 of notes.” We agreed for another day’s sketching, and 
 invited our friends to the place. 
 
 We assembled quite a party in the field. I requested 
 Muller to arrange our visitors in the right situation. Ex- 
 citedly I advanced, I opened the gate — it swung to as before, 
 but gave no sound ; some detestable wretch had greased the 
 hinges. Muller, confounded, saw my countenance, and was 
 instantly convulsed with laughter. Though much annoyed, 
 it was so ridiculous that I laughed heartily myself. Some of 
 our friends looked rather grave ; they thought they had been 
 hoaxed. I called very earnestly upon Muller to bear witness 
 to my honesty, at the same time frantically singing, as if in 
 confirmation of my story, the bars in question. 
 
 Muller pacified them, and we descended to the valley; but 
 as usual, when a large party gather together to sketch, espe- 
 cially if there are ladies present, nothing is done ; so when 
 
 notes, he will feel how 
 
 If the reader will hum these 
 
248 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xvi. y 0 u sketch, gentle reader, go alone, or with one steady, hard- 
 working male friend. 
 
 Muller returned from his Lycian expedition, and was in 
 Bristol in the summer of 1844. His sketches in Asia Minor 
 filled several folios, and I looked them over many times with 
 ever-increasing delight. I do not enter upon any detail of 
 these splendid sketches. I saw in them the same freedom 
 and power, the same freedom of rapid realisation, the same 
 noble mental attributes, that always characterize his works. 
 He spent one or two evenings at my house at this time, and 
 interested us very much with his Lycian experiences. 
 
 I have three drawings in lampblack that he then gave me — 
 a recollection of a grand mountainous scene, marked 
 “ Mangerchi, Asia Minor,” drawn while with me, and two 
 smaller sketches — an inhabited ancient tomb, a tomb used as 
 a dwelling-place — not an uncommon thing in Lycia, and a 
 scrap of a luminous distance. 
 
 He spoke of hardships and annoyances in connection with 
 the expedition to Asia Minor. He was, however, full of 
 animation, and in conversation most amusing. He evidently 
 anticipated great results from his Lycian pictures, to be 
 painted during the winter for exhibition at the Royal 
 Academy. 
 
 His love for his native landscape was in no way lessened 
 by foreign travel ; he spoke enthusiastically of our English 
 mists, lights and shadows, of our village- churches, pictu- 
 resque cottages and mills. I was anxious to see him sketch 
 again after his long practice abroad, and we arranged a visit 
 to Leigh Woods. We went thither, Mr. E. G. Muller and 
 the late Mr. Eagles in company. Muller, who held Eagles in 
 high estimation as a learned amateur artist and writer, said 
 as he introduced me to him — “ I have derived immense 
 advantage from Mr. Eagles’s excellent judgment in line and 
 composition; he is a first-rate authority in art.” We were 
 all enthusiastic sketchers, and were soon at work. Leigh 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 249 
 
 Woods, at that period uninvaded by the builder, and sepa- Chap. XVI - 
 rated from the busy world by the river Avon, abounded in 
 subjects of the highest order. Lofty cliffs, noble forest trees, 
 deep umbrageous ravines, solitudes where nature reigned 
 undisturbed, combined to form one of the most poetically sug- 
 gestive sketching-grounds in England. Now, alas ! the charm 
 is broken ; the trim villa and the Swiss chalet have rapidly 
 followed the suspension-bridge. The sacred character of 
 this rare woodland is broken ; the rocks and valleys still 
 remain, but trees have been felled, roads made, gas lights 
 introduced, and before long it will become a second Clifton. 
 
 Muller made a magnificent sketch, the background indicated 
 by a wash in the old way ; the nearer trees put in magically 
 with the camel-hair, but with rather a drier, crisper touch, I 
 thought. A large ash-tree stood upon a marly rocky bank ; 
 the earth had crumbled away, and the roots were exposed in 
 snake-like contortions of various lengths and colour ; he out- 
 lined them all, giving every twist and turn backwards and 
 forwards, scarcely moving his pencil from the paper. In 
 colouring he separated them with rapid dark touches from 
 each other : it seemed almost impossible to avoid damage, 
 in this network of angles and circles, to the narrow outline — ■ 
 but no, in a few minutes he had compassed all. This sketch 
 (half imperial) on white Harding paper, large trees in the 
 foreground, with rockwork and details of roots, &c., and the 
 background of trees in gradations of distance indistinctly 
 characterized, occupied him about the usual two hours. His 
 rapid precision was wonderful ; all was done upon the spot. 
 
 Muller rarely touched upon his sketch after he left the 
 ground. I thought his power of drawing was, if possible, 
 increased. His sketch, like his other works, always beautiful 
 in subdued tone and in the absence of strong colour, was 
 even more grey and silvery than before he left. 
 
 Muller at the close of this summer returned to his studio 
 in Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, to paint during the winter, 
 
250 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xvi. from his Lycian subjects large pictures for the Royal 
 Academy Exhibition. I saw nothing of him for many 
 months, — not until the end of May, 1845, when he came to 
 Bristol. He looked thin and pale ; he attributed his want 
 of condition to hard work and consequent confinement. 
 He spoke bitterly and nervously of a great injustice in 
 hanging his pictures. “ Can you believe it,” he said, 
 “ though I fully thought I should have been on the line, 
 they have hung my pictures out of sight as usual.” I tried 
 to console him, but I saw he was very much cut up. 
 He spoke of illness, and regretted it had obliged him 
 to leave London. “ I was making quite a fortune,” he 
 said. “ I have had an order almost daily for something 
 small in oil ; I knock it off in a few hours, and get five 
 pounds.” These five-pounders were lately sold for two or 
 three hundred guineas apiece. 
 
 I knew he was not a man to complain of illness without 
 due reason, and I examined into his case. In answer to my 
 inquiry, he said that he had been at very close work during 
 the winter ; he had attended the evening meetings at the 
 Life Academy in Clipstone Street to draw from the figure, 
 and this after hard work all day, and every day in his 
 painting-room, sitting, as he expressed it, “ between sheets 
 of canvas wet with paint.” 
 
 I, who knew the energy of the man, and his entire aban- 
 donment of himself to his art, could well understand what 
 this work had been, and how it must have told upon a frame 
 not originally robust, and already somewhat worn by the 
 hardship and anxiety of his Lycian life. Under such a strain, 
 the overwrought nervous system gave way. Upon stetho- 
 scopic examination, I found the heart weak and enlarged. 
 A consultation took place. Dr. Riley hoped with me that 
 the change to his brother’s quiet home, and the rest after 
 his severe London work, might prove of service ; but our 
 treatment, aided by his brother’s affectionate care, was of no 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 2 5 I 
 
 avail. He did not rally. The restless art-fever had been Chap. xvi. 
 too much for him ; he slowly gave way ; week by week his 
 strength grew less, and the heart-disturbance more marked. 
 
 He was not confined to his bed during the illness, and he 
 continued to paint more or less to the last. He went out 
 with me occasionally in the carriage. 
 
 One day in July we drove to Pensford, a neighbouring 
 village. I was to sketch and Muller to look on, but he 
 nevertheless took his folio and colour-box. We drove to a 
 point near the river Chew, an old sketching-ground of ours. 
 
 The carriage was sent back to the neighbouring inn. 
 
 It was a glorious afternoon. Nature, exulting in strong 
 summer life, seemed almost too bright for her poor friend, 
 who had so often greeted her with a welcome as cordial as 
 her own. 
 
 I did not wish him to walk any distance, and we sat 
 down in the shade on a hillside overlooking the village and 
 meadows of Publow. 
 
 The church tower springing from the depth of trees, and 
 the silver}’ river flowing through the plain below, made a 
 good subject, and I began to sketch, Muller at my side. 
 
 Contrary to usual, I was provided with a large sheet of 
 brown paper on a strainer, and with zinc white and colours, 
 ground in simple water, to be used with starch medium. 
 
 This was in opposition to Muller’s advice, which was, “ Keep 
 to dr}’ colours, shun the bottle white, and leave your lights 
 to the paper” — sound advice; but the bottle white is a sore 
 temptation to an indifferent draughtsman. 
 
 I continued diligently at work until my sketch was finished, 
 as I thought, Muller looking on the while. I feared a rebuff, 
 but when I paused in expectation, he said, “ I really must 
 paint, let me touch upon it.” He dipped the brush, a good- 
 sized hog-tool, into the white, and painted over the edges of 
 the clouds with broad touches, putting mine to shame ; then, 
 with brown pink and indigo, he went over the trees by the 
 
252 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xvi. church, carried them higher, darkened them, and massed 
 them. He worked upon the tower, and afterwards went 
 broadly across the meadow plain with broken tones of warm 
 colour, modifying the uncomfortable, too literal greenness I 
 had given to the fields. Turning to me, he said, “ My hand 
 is not what it was, but I can make a straight line yet.” 
 There was a “ rhine,” as it is called in Somersetshire— a 
 cutting for water drainage— running right across the mea- 
 dows to the river. He dipped his brush in dark colour, and 
 holding it between his fingers without resting his hand, drew 
 a long line perfectly straight from end to end, and afterwards 
 with a few touches added the reflections on the water. He 
 smiled rather mournfully, and returned me the sketch. 
 “ There,” he said, “ I have purposely left some of your own 
 work untouched,” pointing to a scrap of blue distance. He 
 seemed pleased with this little feat, and proposed a stroll to 
 a nearer bend of the river. 
 
 As we walked on, he looked wistfully at the church em- 
 bowered in the dark trees, and at the broken ground on the 
 opposite side of the water, covered for the most part with 
 rushes, large-leaved burdocks, and other flowering plants — 
 things that he loved to paint ; a sort of viaduct, half a 
 bridge, crossed the river and the broken ground on the left ; 
 the roofs of the village cottages could be seen just beyond 
 the bridge, backed by distant trees. He looked hesitatingly 
 at this subject, then without a word sat down on the river 
 bank, mechanically opened his folio, and began to sketch. 
 Not to disturb him, I walked on a little further up the 
 stream. Upon my return, he laughingly held up his folio 
 to point out the caricatured face of a dog that he had drawn 
 sitting under one of the dry arches of the bridge. He then 
 rose, said he was rather tired, and wished to stroll back to 
 the inn. His sketch was unfinished, but what he had done 
 was broad and luminous, and as fine a commencement as 
 anything I had seen of his. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 253 
 
 While they were getting the carriage ready we went into a chap. xvi. 
 meadow at the back of the inn ; he wished to look again at 
 a subject he had drawn with me before. It was a sort of 
 Constable subject. The distance, hills and woods, Pensford 
 Church, and the river in the nearer part ; and the gable of 
 the millhouse, the milldam, and a hayrick in the foreground 
 — a beautiful picture. He said to me, “ Do you remember 
 when we were here two years ago, how much I admired this 
 subject ? I think it is now quite as beautiful as I did then.” 
 
 I remembered it well, for I had never seen him agitated when 
 about to sketch, except on that occasion ; in his excitement 
 he quite trembled. However, to return to the immediate 
 narrative : we walked a little way along a path by the mill- 
 stream toward the river. There was a beautiful effect. The 
 sun was low, and his golden light lay broad upon the water. 
 
 The silvery willows were tipped with gold, and ranged along 
 the sedgy banks until they melted into purple distance. As 
 we stood watching in silence the fine effect, the sun set, and 
 everything glimmered and greyed in the deepening eventide, 
 except the melancholy fading glow of the western sky still 
 lingering on the river’s breast. 
 
 The change was very sudden ; the quiet landscape, the 
 solemn river, and its fading reflections, resolving harmonies 
 ’twixt day and night, appealed to poor Muller’s susceptible 
 imagination, ever ready to seize the poetry of the passing 
 hour, however evanescent. He hastily sat down, took a 
 sheet from his folio, and without outline began to paint. 
 
 He had washed in a rapid sky and part of the willowy 
 river, when a company of ladies and gentlemen appeared, 
 advancing towards us by the waterside. Muller, who did 
 not like to be stared at, turned round on his seat, and 
 appeared to be busily drawing the subject before him. 
 
 The party came up, stood behind the painter, and watched 
 his proceedings in much perplexity. “ Dear me,” said the 
 gentleman, observing the sketch of the sunset and the dis- 
 
2 54 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xvi. tance, and then looking at the church and mill, “what is 
 he drawing ? I really cannot see the subject.” 
 
 They moved on. Muller rose from his seat ; the moment 
 had passed ; the inspiration had been broken. He took 
 his sketch in his hand, and before I could stay him 
 dropped it quietly into the river ; it slowly floated down 
 the stream, and disappeared. It was his last sketch ; never 
 more did he sit by the gleamy river, in meadow or in 
 woodland. 
 
 The rest is soon told. He continued gradually to fail ; 
 two attacks of haemorrhage induced alarming prostration. 
 Still he painted. 
 
 A few days before he died I was with him. He had 
 received some flowers from a friend that morning — red and 
 white carnations, fuchsias, yellow St. John’s wort, and purple 
 and blue flowers made up the bouquet. He separated them, 
 with his long thin fingers, and said to me, “ Let us arrange a 
 chord of colour.” He placed them in his sketching water- 
 bottle, and we moved each flower so as to arrange an har- 
 monious whole. “ We must have some carmine,” he 
 exclaimed. It was sent for from a neighbouring shop. All 
 the time, though really tremblingly weak, he was as usual 
 full of spirits. He said, “ When the carmine comes, we will 
 have a stunning effect.” The colour came, and we arranged 
 the little picture exactly as he wished ; he made a rapid 
 outline, and began to paint, much as he did out of doors, 
 with a common camel-hair pencil, putting in at once each 
 separate leaf and flower, and when dry enough sharpening 
 out in the old way. I stayed till it was done, perhaps an 
 hour. 
 
 It was a lovely thing, and differed from ordinary flower- 
 painting in its subdued colour, thoughtful pictorial effect, 
 and in its power. This small water-colour drawing, about 
 ten inches by seven, was his last. The next day or two he 
 painted in oil, on a small millboard, the well-known flower 
 
RECOLLECTIONS BY MR. J. HARRISON. 255 
 
 picture ; still one more day, and an unfinished fruit piece. Charxvi. 
 
 While his palette was being set for him, he fell back and 
 
 died. 
 
 At thirty-three years of age, death made him famous. 
 
 His works, almost unnoticed in his lifetime, became, when 
 the man was dead, the splendid records of the genius that 
 had already secured for him his future fame. 
 
 13, Berkeley Square, Bristol, 
 May nth, 1874. 
 
XVII. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF MULLER’S WATER- 
 COLOUR SKETCHES. 
 
 LTHOUGH Muller’s sketches have been widely 
 dispersed since his death (a great number of 
 them having changed owners many times), one 
 or two important collections still exist in the 
 neighbourhood of London, which I have lately had the 
 privilege of seeing. After what has been said on the subject 
 of Muller as a sketcher in the last two chapters, I think I 
 cannot follow them up better than by proceeding to lay 
 before my readers a short account or description of some of 
 these sketches. Amongst the one hundred and eighteen 
 sketches which I have here noticed are some in Italy, Greece, 
 Egypt, Smyrna, Rhodes, Egypt, and Lycia, as well as a few 
 English subjects. By far the great number, however, are 
 the Lycian ones, his latest and confessedly his finest. With- 
 out doubt, many other fine collections of sketches by Muller 
 may be in existence, but those I have described are so varied 
 and excellent, that I hope what I have here said may be 
 looked upon as a sufficient account and illustration of 
 Muller’s work in this branch of art. 
 
 Through the kindness of Mr. John Henderson, of Mon- 
 tague Street, Russell Square, I am enabled to present my 
 readers with seven plates photographed by the Vincent 
 Brook’s Woodbury process, from some of the most interest- 
 ing of the Muller sketches in Mr. Henderson’s collection. 
 
PORT AMD LIGHTHOUSE, ENTRANCE TO HARBOUR OF RHODES WITH CAPSTAN . 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 257 
 
 Chap. XVII. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF SKETCHES BY W. J. MULLER 
 IN SMYRNA, LYCIA, EGYPT, GREECE, Etc. 
 
 MR. JOHN HENDERSON’S COLLECTION. 
 
 The Double Roman Aqueduct at Smyrna, 
 
 With the river Hermes or Meles, and the old Castle of 
 Smyrna on a distant eminence. A most picturesque and 
 rich subject, admirably rendered. This was the first sketch 
 made. 
 
 View of Smyrna from the Jewish Burial-ground. 
 
 The tombs are all flat-topped, but picturesque and old in 
 aspect. The effect of atmosphere in this sketch is well 
 given. 
 
 Group of Camels at Smyrna. 1843. 
 
 This sketch is sharp and powerful. The character of the 
 camels, who are chiefly lying down, is well suggested, as also 
 their picturesque trappings and saddles. In addition to the 
 camels, there is one native driver and a mule. 
 
 Sketch in Jews’ Quarter, Smyrna. 
 
 A very remarkable night scene, with a caravan at rest, 
 camels reposing, and Arab figures grouped around the 
 bivouac fire. The crouching forms of some of the men 
 contrast finely with a tall, upright Jew, in a green pelisse. 
 The light and shade is like one of Rembrandt’s pictures. 
 1843 - 
 
 Study of Two Camels, Smyrna. 
 
 One of the camels is lying down, the other standing. Both 
 are admirably and freely drawn. There is very little finish, 
 but it is a fine bit of vigorous colour. 
 
 s 
 
258 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. -XVII. Q N THE RoAD TO BoUJAH. 
 
 The distant Gulf of Smyrna is here represented, with 
 boats, &c. 
 
 View of the Lions’ Tomb in the Acropolis, 
 Xanthus. 
 
 An exceedingly fine monument in form and colour, and 
 beautifully drawn. Some dark trees, and goats browsing in 
 the foreground, add very much to the general effect. (See 
 Plate.) 
 
 The Greek Theatre at Xanthus, with the 
 so-called Box Tomb. 
 
 This remarkable sketch is one of the first which Muller 
 made in Lycia. It is bright, and full of sunshine and 
 atmosphere, the whole produced apparently with little labour 
 and perfect ease. The trees are sketched in gracefully, and 
 are fine in colour. At the time Muller made this sketch, his 
 colour-box was rich in colours : but the last week or two of 
 his stay in Lycia, and all the time he was in Rhodes, he was 
 reduced to only four or five colours ; consequently they were 
 simple, not to say severe in their chromatic arrangement. 
 The curve of the stones in the foreground of this drawing of 
 the amphitheatre is very graceful. 
 
 River Xanthus; Mount Taurus in the distance. 
 
 This sketch represents the rocky hillside of the Acropolis 
 of Xanthus, with tombs, and the river below overhung with 
 a variety of trees in their rich autumnal foliage. The sky is 
 tender and grey, with a beautiful aerial effect. This is one 
 of the most perfect sketches in the collection. 
 
 The Travellers’ Khan at Smyrna. 
 
 A bright and powerfully coloured sketch, representing the 
 courtyard of a khan, with numerous native figures, mules, 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 259 
 
 and horses. One of the most finished sketches of this series. Chap - XV1L 
 (See Plate.) 
 
 View from Door of Muller’s Tent at Xanthus of 
 Camels with Trappings for carrying Baggage. 
 
 Very free and exceedingly fine, iith December, 1843. 
 
 (See Plate.) 
 
 Pudding-stone Rock, near Xanthus. 
 
 A vigorous study of rocks, very rich and powerful in 
 colour. 
 
 Tent of Yurooks near Xanthus, with figures. 
 
 The accessories are very picturesque, with fine effect of 
 light and shade. Christmas-day, Xanthus, 1843. (See Plate.) 
 
 Tent of Zingaris. 
 
 This sketch represents the wandering gipsies of Lycia, 
 and is also vigorous and picturesque. 
 
 On the Road to the Ford of the River Mangerchi, 
 between Xanthus and Tlos. 
 
 This represents some fine fir-trees, part of a forest, the 
 greater portion of which had recently been destroyed by fire. 
 
 This powerful sketch was made in an incredibly short time 
 by Muller, on the march to Tlos, for which purpose he made 
 the camels and attendants halt. 
 
 Lycian Boy, with Bow and Arrow. December 12th, 
 
 1843- 
 
 A picturesque dress and white turban. In one hand the 
 boy holds a robin, which he has apparently just shot, the 
 plumage being all ruffled. The bow in the other hand is an 
 exact type of the ancient bow of Apollo. The arrow is a 
 blunt-headed one. 
 
 s 2 
 
260 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. XVII. YuROOK PLAYING A PlPE. 
 
 A graceful sketch. The action of the cheeks, lips, and 
 hands as true as possible. It was always a maxim of 
 Muller’s, when delineating any musical instrument, carriage, 
 or piece of mechanism, “ to make it work,” as he used 
 to say. 
 
 Son of a Brigand Chief. Xanthus, December 12th, 
 1843. 
 
 The lad is represented carrying a camp-kettle, and is full 
 of character. The costume a picturesque Turkish robe, with 
 white turban, and under the left arm he has a gun. The 
 colouring is tender. The father of this lad, although an ally 
 of Muller’s, was said to be a notorious robber. 
 
 Water-Carrier, Xanthus. 
 
 He is represented with a large gourd from the calabash- 
 tree suspended from his back. The neck of the bottle has 
 been formed by tying a cord round part of the gourd when 
 green. This is a wonderful example of good drawing, and 
 at the same time highly picturesque. The leggings are of 
 camel’s hair, and the sandals of calfskin. 
 
 All these figure sketches were made by Muller from life at 
 the entrance of his tent, very rapidly in succession ; and as 
 soon as he had completed the figure he would turn round, 
 and gazing for a moment at the surrounding scenery, 
 would wash in a sketchy background appropriate to each 
 subject, and at the same time characteristic of the country. 
 
 White Crane shot at Xanthus. 1843. 
 
 A very masterly sketch, and tender in colour. Every bird 
 that was shot in the neighbourhood by the officers of the 
 Expedition was first brought to Muller, who, if he thought it 
 curious or picturesque, immediately sketched it. Thus he 
 brought home many subjects of this kind. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 26 1 
 
 Entrance to Tlos. ( 
 
 A fine stone column or pillar on each side of the road 
 forms a sort of gateway leading to the Acropolis. In the 
 distance is a mountain range, partly covered with snow. 
 
 Dark Ravine near Tlos. 
 
 Very impressive. 
 
 Sketch of the Vomitory of the Tlos Amphitheatre. 
 
 This is taken from a wooded hillside — a most magnificent 
 situation looking across the valley to the Acropolis. The 
 distance is fine, and every part complete. (See Plate.) 
 
 Tlos, a Representation of the Rock Tombs. 
 
 A picturesque Turkish house is represented on the top of 
 the rock in which the tombs are excavated. January 3rd, 
 
 1844- 
 
 Tlos. 
 
 This is a sketch of the buildings and rocks of Tlos. There 
 is a beautiful bright daylight effect, and the feeling of heat is 
 well given. December 3 1st, 1843. 
 
 TloS. 
 
 Another fine sketch of the rock tombs. January 6th, 1844. 
 
 General View of the Amphitheatre of Tlos. 
 
 The Taurus range is seen in the distance, and also the 
 singularly formed rocky cliff on which the ruins of Pinara are 
 situated. This sketch is taken from a hillside looking into a 
 richly wooded valley. At the bottom a river is seen winding 
 along to join the Xanthus, of which it is a tributary. Directly 
 opposite rises the grand and rocky eminence of Tlos. This 
 is the perfection of sketching, so rapid, true, and sweet in 
 colour. 
 
26 2 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 PlNARA. 
 
 A fine grey drawing, representing a crested tomb. The 
 sky is dark and stormy. The crest has resemblance to the 
 horns and skull of an ox. This is said to be the earliest 
 known instance of the application of crests. (See Plate.) 
 
 Tombs at Pinara. 
 
 A bright effect, yet quiet in tone, the prevailing colours 
 being broken yellows and browns. 
 
 On the Platform of the Acropolis, Pinara. 
 
 In the foreground are some tombs in deep shadow. In the 
 distance are mountains (a spur of the Taurus range), which 
 are beautifully lighted with the last glow of sunset. This 
 was made in about twenty minutes, whilst waiting for dinner, 
 just outside the tent at Pinara. 
 
 The Rocky Hill of Telmessus, 
 
 Showing a great variety of rock-cut tombs, and on the 
 height the celebrated Oracle Cavern of Telmessus. A fine 
 broad sketch. 
 
 Ruins of Makri, Lycia. 
 
 A distant hill, full of tombs, rises beyond a wide-spreading 
 salt marsh. Very wild and desolate. 
 
 Rock-cut Tombs, looking up the Valley of the 
 Glaucus. 
 
 A number of olive-trees are represented in this sketch. 
 Beautifully and freely drawn. 
 
 Makri, Lycia. 
 
 View looking up a valley, with large pool of water, and 
 some very remarkable rock tombs on one side. Feb. 3, 1844. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 263 
 
 Small Fort, at the Entrance to the Harbour of Chap. xvh. 
 
 Rhodes, 
 
 With lighthouse at the top, and Mediterranean Sea in the 
 distance ; in the foreground a curious, very old capstan is 
 represented, very sharply drawn, and admirable in colour. 
 
 A most successful sketch. March ist, 1844. (See Plate.) 
 
 Great Harbour and Landing-place, Rhodes Bay, 
 
 With very fine water-reflections and an admirable group of 
 Greek boats (feluccas) and buildings, with figures in the 
 distance. Muller was forced to hurry this sketch, as some 
 Greeks near the landing-place, who pretended to be 
 shooting at seagulls, sent their musket-balls occasionally 
 very unpleasantly near the artist. 
 
 Rhodes. 
 
 A general view of part of the town and harbour, with a 
 number of stone cannon-balls in the foreground. 
 
 The Pacha’s Palace, Rhodes. 
 
 Under an arched entrance or gateway near the harbour 
 are a number of figures ; a fine tower rises up in the 
 distance ; in front is a fine expanse of water, with some ships 
 and boats. This sketch is in a light key of colour, silvery 
 and fresh. It formed the subject of Muller’s large and 
 celebrated picture of “Rhodes, with the Pacha’s Palace,” 
 exhibited in the British Institution in 1845. Some huge 
 stone shot are near the water. 
 
 EGYPTIAN SKETCHES, MADE IN 1838—1839. 
 
 Entrance to Manfalout. December 10th, 1838. 
 View looking up a street, with figures, camels, and palm- 
 trees in the distance. The colouring is rich and yet delicate. 
 
264 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. XVII. EVENING ON THE NlLE. 
 
 On the left is a fine group of palms, with water-birds. 
 Near the horizon a streak of crimson light contrasts with the 
 grey tones of this very poetical sketch. 
 
 Boats on the Nile. 
 
 A night scene, with fine lights, and dark figures in one of 
 the boats. The moon, just risen, throws a pale, gleamy 
 light over the distance ; some palm-trees, relieved against 
 the sky, add to the effect. 
 
 Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, Thebes. 1838. 
 
 A grand, rocky, solitary scene, with broad, deep shadows, 
 and an eagle perched on one of the rocks. Very impressive. 
 
 Pass leading to Tombs of the Kings, Thebes. 1838. 
 
 Same character of grand scenery as the preceding sketch. 
 
 Near the Tombs of the Kings. 
 
 A powerful sketch, which afterwards formed the subject of 
 Muller’s picture of the “Good Samaritan.” On the left are 
 some fine palm-trees, and rocks and hills on the right. The 
 colour and treatment are like a picture by one of the old 
 masters. 
 
 The Nile, near Sioux. 
 
 The high cliffs, which here form the banks of the river, are 
 of warm orange and ochre tints, and are beautifully reflected 
 in the water; a native boat and birds add interest to the 
 scene. 
 
 Cliffs forming the Banks of the Nile, near 
 SlOUT. 
 
 Another picturesque sketch of this beautiful portion of the 
 Nile. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 265 
 
 Boats on the Nile. Chap, xvii. 
 
 A fine study of native boats which navigate the Upper 
 Nile. Full of good colour and character. 
 
 Bazaar at Siout, with Figures. 
 
 A fine interior ; a bright ray streams in from above on the 
 left, and lights up the principal figure — a Turk with white 
 robe, red scarf, and green turban. The colouring is warm 
 and rich. 
 
 An Opium Seller, Siout. 
 
 White turban and flowing robes ; an interior with many 
 figures. 
 
 Study of Opium Seller. 
 
 Some negro boys on their knees, and one standing, form a 
 good contrast with the Turks and Arabs. Evidently a very 
 rapid sketch, and, although rather rough and unfinished, the 
 effect and colour are as fine as possible. The above three 
 sketches were used by Muller, after his return from Egypt, 
 as the subjects for a great many of his smaller pictures. 
 
 Street Scene, Upper Egypt. 
 
 Many figures form the group in front, the chief point of 
 interest being a fine negro in striped abbas or burnous. In 
 the distance are several buildings, a mosque, and palm-trees. 
 
 Entrance to the First Temple of Karnack. 
 
 A very careful drawing of the columns and capitals of this 
 beautiful temple. The hieroglyphics and other ornaments in 
 colours are rich and very elaborate ; two Arab figures add to 
 the interest, and indicate the colossal proportions of the 
 temple. 
 
266 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Valley of the Tombs of the Queens. January, 1839. 
 
 A rough sketch, but very impressive. The effect repre- 
 sents the last rays of the setting sun throwing a crimson 
 glow on the tops of a range of mountains ; in the far 
 distance the moon is just rising, and deep below a valley is 
 already wrapped in the shadows and mystery of the coming 
 night. At the back of this sketch Muller has written in 
 pencil a note descriptive of the scene. 
 
 SKETCHES AT ATHENS, 1838. 
 
 The Sea of Egina, with part of the Acropolis, 
 Athens. 
 
 On the top is the monument of Philopapas and a far-off 
 range of mountains where the Temple of Minerva is 
 situated ; a bright blue sky and rocky foreground complete 
 this interesting sketch. 
 
 Bullocks Ploughing outside Athens, 
 
 Which city, in the distance, is seen very faint. A slight but 
 effective sketch. 
 
 Part of the Acropolis at Athens. 
 
 A fine row of columns, warm in colour, form the subject 
 of this architectural drawing. 
 
 Entrance to a Greek Convent, 
 
 With some snow on the ground, and rich warm decorations 
 about the doorway. This forms a fine and effective piece of 
 colouring. 
 
 . Fragment of old Roman Aqueduct, near Tivoli. 
 
 1835. 
 
 Near Stapleton. 1840. 
 
 A fine study of trees. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 267 ' 
 
 Fontainebleau — Interior of the Chateau. 1840. Chap, xvii. 
 PURFLEET. 
 
 A low-toned sketch on tinted paper. 
 
 Three Sketches at Roe, North Wales, near 
 Conway. 1842. 
 
 Figures passing over a Bridge ; FIayfield in 
 distance. 
 
 A fine upright sketch; formerly in Mr. Robertson Blane’s 
 collection. 
 
 MRS. THOMAS WOOD’S COLLECTION OF SKETCHES, 
 
 AT EALING. 
 
 Upper Bridge, Stags’ Hollow, North Wales. 1844. 
 
 Bridge and rocks very powerful. 
 
 Lynmouth. 1844. 
 
 An elaborate sketch of trees, water, and rocks ; grey and 
 quiet in colour. The effect of the stones seen underneath 
 the water very clever. 
 
 Lycian Lad, with White Turban. 
 
 Old Yurook Chief (“Halleh”) seated and playing 
 on a Lute. 
 
 Very picturesque, but the expression of the old man’s face 
 very unpleasing; he is reported to have been a notorious 
 brigand. 
 
 Xanthian Peasant, with Gun and Yattegan. 
 
 His turban is green— the peculiar head-dress of those who 
 have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. 
 
268 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. XVII. SCENE IN EGYPT. 
 
 An interior, with camels and figures ; beautiful tones of 
 colour, rich browns and greys. Muller’s genius enabled him 
 to pick up hints and effects of colour and composition from, 
 different artists, and to unite them in his own work in a 
 delightful manner. 
 
 Rocky Valley, Lynmouth. 
 
 The colour very quiet, broad shadows carried right across 
 the water. 
 
 Study in Colour of an Early Arab Arched En- 
 trance to a Mosque at Cairo. 
 
 Beautiful, but very slight. This was the suggestion for an 
 oil-picture subsequently painted. 
 
 Room underneath part of the City of Xanthus, 
 NEAR THE ENCAMPMENT OF THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 A curious old fireplace at the end; some Turks and 
 Yurooks smoking ; on the right is a lad represented in red 
 and white costume. This is a most powerful piece of colour, 
 and one of the most important of the Lycian sketches. 
 
 Sketch of the distant Country and Hills as seen 
 from the Tent at Xanthus. 
 
 Musical Party in Yurooks’ Tent. 
 
 Painted by fire-light, whilst Johnson held a candle. Some of 
 the heads are very fine, with different coloured turbans, — one 
 especially, being white, with the red fez-cap in the centre, 
 gives the highest point of light. A broken harmony of 
 colour pervades this sketch, which, although so rapid, 
 reminds one of an Italian picture of the best period. 
 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 269 
 
 Cheddar. 1837. chap. xvii. 
 
 A fine interior, with subjects of still life introduced. 
 
 Tent Scene : Brigand Chief, Wife, and Child. 
 
 A curious, native spinning-wheel on one side ; the light 
 passes partly through the curtains of the tent, which is 
 evidently made of camel’s hair. A very masterly sketch, 
 fine in colour, and which was purchased for ^31 at Muller’s 
 sale. No. at sale 296. It is dated, “Dec. 4th, 1843. 
 
 Interior of Turcoman’s Hut.” 
 
 Interior of Yurooks’ Hut, Lycia. 
 
 A woman and a child, with various household utensils in 
 the foreground. The colour and arrangement of this sketch 
 are eminently picturesque. No. 302, Catalogue. 
 
 Musical Party, Cingaris, at the House of the 
 Cavasse, Xanthus. 
 
 Sketched by fire-light. Six figures seated : fine yellow glow 
 thrown on the turbans and robes of this wild-looking group ; 
 the fire is in the distance ; the room is evidently very old and 
 low. A most rapid yet powerful sketch. No. 297. ^16 165. 
 
 Kingfisher. 
 
 Bill 3! in. long; claws very sharp. Dec. 13th, 1843. 
 
 Beautiful colour. No. 385, Catalogue. 
 
 Upright Torchlight Study of Figures. 
 
 Upright Study of a Peasant at Xanthus. 
 
 Beautifully drawn. 
 
 Yurook or Turcoman Chief at Xanthus, 
 
 With long rifled gun and wooden powder-box. A graphic 
 and picturesque sketch. 
 
270 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Woodpecker, Xanthus. 
 
 Beautiful study of colour, with fine background. 
 
 Banks of the Upper Nile. 1838. 
 
 Study of Rocks at Lynmouth. 1844. 
 
 Small and Common Yellow-headed Vulture, Egypt. 
 Shot at Siout, 1839. “ Rochana,” in Arab. 
 
 Temple of Jupiter Olympus, near Athens. 
 Beautiful columns, with fine lights and shadows. 
 
 Part of the Propyljea in the Acropolis. 
 
 A temple beautifully lighted up by the setting sun. 1838. 
 
 Egyptian Temple, Madinah Tabou. 1839. 
 
 Sandpiper. 
 
 Beautiful study of greys and browns, and very vigorously 
 drawn. Dated, “Shot by Lieut. Temple, R.N., Xanthus, 
 Dec. 14th, 1843.” 
 
 Dead Pelican, 
 
 Its neck and head curved round. Shot near Manfalout, 
 Dec., 1838. 
 
 Turcoman’s Hut, Woman, and Child. December 
 26th, 1843. 
 
 Beautiful colour, but more finished than most of the Lycian 
 sketches ; probably a copy by Muller from the original one. 
 
 Interior of Turcoman’s Hut, Xanthus. 
 
 Very elaborate and clever, but rather too black in the 
 shadows. Four figures are represented, with powerful light 
 and shade. Dated, “Xanthus, Nov., 1843.” No. 303 in 
 Catalogue. Purchased for ^24 35. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 2J l 
 
 Turkish Mill on the River Mancherchi. 
 
 An unusual and rather formal interior ; but it also shows 
 what Muller was able, through his art-knowledge and 
 experience, to make of a very difficult subject. 
 
 MR. WILLIAM QUILTER’S COLLECTION OF W. J. MULLER’S 
 
 SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS, AT LOWER NORWOOD. 
 
 Pinara Acropolis, Lycia. Dated November 19th, 1843. 
 
 A grand sketch of an extensive landscape, with steep hills 
 and perpendicular rocks, showing two tents in the distance, 
 which were part of Muller’s encampment, near Pinara. The 
 colour is simple and low in tone, but fine in its tender 
 gradations of greys and yellows. Purchased at the sale of 
 the Solly collection, and exhibited at Leeds in 1868. 
 
 Rock Tombs at Pinara. Dated November 21st, 1843. 
 
 A very remarkable sketch for power, rich colour, and 
 rapid handling; the wild character of the country is well 
 delineated here ; on the left are some tangled bushes and 
 trees; near the rock tomb a solitary female figure is 
 approaching, carrying on her head a water-jar. From the 
 Solly collection. 
 
 Yurook Huts. Dated December 27th, 1843. 
 
 Muller associated much, whilst in Lycia, with the Yurooks, 
 a wandering tribe of Turcomans of Asia Minor. Some 
 figures are grouped in front of the entrance of the distant 
 hut or tent, and by the side of the near one a woman and 
 child, in an attitude of repose, are watching some poultry; in 
 the far distance are some snow-capped mountains. The 
 forms of the peculiar vegetation of the country are well 
 
272 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xvii. given, and the handling is unusually vigorous ; the wild 
 character of the Yurooks is also admirably portrayed. 
 From the Solly collection. Exhibited at Leeds. 
 
 Representation of the Harpagus Tomb, Xanthus, 
 
 WITH PARTS OF FALLEN PlLLARS. 
 
 Grey mountains and a portion of the river are seen in the 
 distance ; the colour is quiet and tender, and the ruins 
 beautifully and finely, yet evidently very rapidly, drawn. 
 The bas-reliefs were sawn off this tomb, and are now in the 
 British Museum. The sky is grey and cloudy, and har- 
 monizes with the quiet tone which pervades the sketch. 
 Exhibited at Leeds. 
 
 City of Tlos, Lycia. Dated January 7th, 1844. 
 
 The honeycombed Acropolis is here represented in its full 
 extent, with rock tombs excavated all up its sides ; in the 
 distance is a range of snowy mountains. Like most of the 
 Lycian sketches, the colouring is very quiet, and the handling 
 wonderful for rapidity and decision. From the Solly collec- 
 tion. These tombs are described in Fellows’s “ Lycia.” 
 
 Tombs at Makry, the Ancient Telmessus. Dated 
 February 5th, 1844. 
 
 An upright, low-toned sketch ; delicate greys and yellows, 
 and a very tender sky ; very interesting from the number of 
 tombs and fine forms of the rocks. From the Dillon 
 collection. 
 
 Sketch for the Tomb of the Duke de Bretagne 
 and his Wife at Nantes. 1840. 
 
 This sketch, which has been lithographed in Muller’s 
 “Age of Francis I.,” is in monochrome. The details are 
 well indicated, and the drawing of the sculptured figure very 
 beautiful. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 273 
 
 Old Windmill at Brissac. 1840. c 
 
 An upright sketch, very telling against the sky. The 
 mill stands on the top of some picturesque old building 
 with arched entrance and outside steps of stone. 
 
 Chateau of Brissac. 1840. 
 
 This is the companion sketch, also an upright ; very quiet 
 in colour, with old bridge and some water in the foreground. 
 From the Solly collection. 
 
 Venice. 1834. Part of the Grand Canal, with 
 fine old Buildings and a Quay, on which are 
 grouped Several Figures. 
 
 A number of Venetian boats, with sails, awnings, &c., 
 very rich in colour, are well massed on the canal. The 
 reflections from these and from a bright southern sky give 
 great interest to the water. This may be termed a drawing, 
 as it is carried rather further than most of Muller’s sketches. 
 
 Street Scene at Cairo. 1838. 14 in. by 20 in. 
 
 Sketch or Study for the Oil-Picture of the 
 same Subject now in Mr. Levy’s Collection. 
 
 Many figures of Copts, Turks, and negroes, with camels; 
 a Moorish arch and part of a mosque in the distance give 
 great richness to this powerful sketch, which is quite a Rem- 
 brandt in effect. This was in the possession of Mr. C. 
 Stansfield, R.A., till his death. 
 
 Woody Landscape — Scene near Bristol. 1839. 
 
 Some fine, large trees, freely handled, with a quiet pool of 
 water, and a cottage in the distance. Very characteristic of 
 Muller’s English sketches of this period. From the Solly 
 collection. 
 
274 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 cha.p. xvii. Farmhouse and Cattle, near Bristol. 1839. 
 
 Some fine trees are growing by the side of a quiet stream, 
 with cattle grouped near them ; a little bit of purple distance 
 on one side of the buildings carries the eye well into the 
 picture. This is a fresh and very agreeable sketch. 
 
 MR. J. D. WESTON’S COLLECTION OF MULLER’S DRAWINGS, 
 DORSET HOUSE, CLIFTON. 
 
 Sketch for Frontispiece to “ Francis I.” 
 
 Fine in colour and treatment. 
 
 Leigh Woods. 
 
 An upright, rich, and powerful drawing. About 12 in. 
 by 20 in. May, 1844. 
 
 View at Venice : the Grand Canal, with Boats. 
 
 Tender in colour, and well finished. 
 
 Digging a Vessel out of the Ice in the River 
 Avon, near the Hot Wells. 8^ in. by 13I in. 
 
 On tinted paper, with a good many figures full of move- 
 ment ; in the far distance several ships are indicated ; a 
 wintry sky. 
 
 Terrace of the Chateau de Chambord. ii in. by 
 16 in. 
 
 In water-colours ; some slight figures more than in the 
 lithograph. A fresh sketch for the “ Francis I.” The colour 
 sweet and tender, although on tinted paper. 
 
 Composition — the Neighbourhood of Tivoli, in 
 Grey and Sepia. 
 
 Grand feeling of light and shade. 18 in. by 1 1. 1834. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF SOME WATER-COLOUR SKETCHES. 275 
 
 Interior of an Artist’s Studio, with Figures, chap, xvii. 
 12 in. by 12 in. 
 
 Very delicately finished, and a beautiful harmony of colour. 
 
 Tivoli : a Sketch of the old Roman Aqueduct, 
 with Water and Trees, in Grey and Sepia. A 
 long drawing, 7 in. by 17^ in. 
 
 This is grand in feeling, and would have been a fine 
 subject for a painting. 
 
 Did I not fear to weary my readers, I might proceed to 
 describe several more small collections which I have seen ; 
 but I have said sufficient, I believe, to indicate the character, 
 variety, and great qualities of Muller’s sketches — sketches 
 which deserve to be regarded as truly representative and 
 unique.. 
 
 T 2 
 
XVIII. 
 
 Chap. XVIII. 
 1845. 
 
 THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 1845 - 
 
 FEEL that much interest attaches to everything 
 which befell Muller during the short and eventful 
 year (the last of these annals) at which we have 
 now arrived. During the whole of the winter he 
 worked almost ceaselessly in his studio. He was replete 
 with engagements also, and for the first few months of the 
 year he appeared to be full of life, energy, and hope. His 
 easel was never without a picture wet from the brush, and as 
 he rarely spent more than two or three days over each work, 
 it will be readily understood that the number which he 
 painted was very great. Some of the most important of 
 these I shall describe in this chapter. 
 
 In the following letters it will be seen that Muller’s interest 
 in his own work did not prevent him from sparing kind 
 thoughts for the advancement of others. It will be re- 
 marked, also, that he was feeling rather nervous about the 
 position his pictures might have allotted to them in the 
 British Institution, and tha the did not expect much favour 
 to be shown to them. The exhibition opened at the end of 
 January, and for once, as will be seen, he was destined to be 
 pleasantly surprised. 
 

 TOMB IN THE WATER, TELMESSU 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 277 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Square, 
 “ January 6th, 1845. 
 
 Chap.X VIII. 
 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I truly thank you for your kind present ; 
 at the same time I must consider I have been guilty ot 
 neglect in not having written to you on two affairs. The first 
 on account of the cigars, which proved most excellent ; and 
 the second, which I am sure you will consider of more con- 
 sequence, your son. Nothing but my many engagements 
 can plead my excuse, which I hope you will accept. I have 
 pleasure in informing you that we have not been (up to the 
 present) disappointed in our expectations relative to his 
 advancement ... I do not hesitate to say, if he continues 
 as he at present promises, his success is certain ; and I hope 
 one day to see him hold a distinguished position in the 
 profession he has chosen. Sketching from nature is the 
 most certain ground to secure this. And I only regret that 
 from all vacancies being engaged, by old members returning 
 to the Clipstone Street Society, he could not be elected 
 a subscriber for this half-year — that is to say, at Christmas ; 
 but next quarter he is certain ; and I think, from the many 
 advantages the society holds out to study, that it is well 
 worth the expense of paying the summer quarter to insure 
 his being a subscriber next winter. In this I trust you 
 will agree with me, feeling assured that I have his interest 
 warmly at heart, and will, as long as his conduct continues 
 the same, do all in my power to advance him in his further 
 prospects. 
 
 “ I hope I may have ere long an opportunity of seeing you 
 in town, when I can personally talk over these matters and 
 thank you for your attentions to, 
 
 “ My dear sir, 
 
 “ Yours most truly, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
278 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap.XVIII. 
 
 1845. 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, 
 “Friday morning [January, 1845]. 
 
 “ My dear Hall, — May I take the liberty of bringing to 
 your house my friend Mr. Rogers (our anatomical lecturer) ? 
 He is a remarkably gentlemanly person, as also clever, and 
 would be much delighted to make your acquaintance. 
 
 “ The Institute have given me excellent places — perhaps 
 more than I deserve. Yet Danby (the best picture in the 
 exhibition) is too high, and in the worst room ! 
 
 “Yours most truly, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Square, 
 “January 24th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Through your son I have just received 
 the sum of ^26 55. on account of the three pictures* I have 
 been painting for you and Mr. Colls. Let me thank you for 
 your punctuality and kindness. 
 
 “ I am painting away for the Academy, for which institu- 
 tion I hope to do much more than for the British. From 
 the latter I expect little, and I do not imagine better treat- 
 ment than on former occasions: ‘Partiality, and not justice,’ 
 should be their motto. 
 
 “ Believe me, my dear sir, to remain in haste, 
 
 “ Truly yours, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The following were the pictures which Muller contributed 
 to the British Institution : — 
 
 No. 27. “ Dance at Xanthus : ” sketch for a large picture. 
 1 ft. 8 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. Hung in north room. 
 
 * The three pictures mentioned above were — “ Dance Sketch, Lycia “ Snow Storm 
 ‘ Tomb Picture, Makri.” 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 2 79 
 
 No. 140. “ Rhodes, with the Pacha’s Palace on the Right.” 
 6 ft. 8 in. by 4 ft. 3 in. Hung in the place of honour on the 
 line in the north room. 
 
 No. 498. “ Tomb in the Water, Telmessus-” 5 ft. 9 in. by 
 3 ft. 8 in. Hung in the south room, on the line. 
 
 Muller having sent his three pictures, and Harry Johnson 
 one also, they received in due course notice that they were 
 accepted, and also the tickets for the varnishing-day. On 
 the morning of that day, Muller begged his pupil, Johnson, 
 to go down to the exhibition to see how they were hung : 
 he said he fully expected that, as usual, his pictures would 
 be put out of sight, and that in that case he considered it 
 would be useless for him to do anything more to them ; but 
 that if he (Johnson) thought it necessary to do anything 
 to his own picture, he hoped he would remain and work at 
 it. Afterwards he called out to Johnson, and added, “ In 
 case you find that my pictures have pretty good places, 
 pray return at once, as I shall then certainly go and work on 
 them.” As soon as Johnson arrived at the exhibition he 
 found that all three of Muller’s pictures had been well hung — 
 the “Rhodes” on the line in the north room, the “ Dance 
 at Xanthus ” also well placed in the same room, and the 
 “Tomb” in a relatively good position in the south room. 
 He hastened back to Charlotte Street, where he found Muller 
 hard at work painting, apparently unconcerned, and not 
 having as yet made any preparation to go to the exhibition 
 at the Institute. “ When I told him,” Johnson says, “ he 
 appeared to be quite staggered ; ” he could hardly believe 
 that at last his works had been really well hung, and their 
 merit recognised, for, as he said, it was indeed the only bit 
 of good luck he had met with. Johnson then helped him to 
 get his palette and other traps ready, and they proceeded 
 together. On arriving, Midler immediately unpacked them 
 and set to work on his “Rhodes,” when he was soon 
 
 Chap.XVITI. 
 
 1845. 
 
28 c LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap.xviii. surrounded by artists curious to see him paint with his left 
 1845. hand, and anxious to learn his method of work. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the exhibition opened, and on that day 
 Charles Baxter relates that he accompanied Muller there. 
 It was an unsually cold snowy day, and Muller, who seemed 
 in good spirits, after staying some time, pressed his friend 
 to return home with him to tea and to spend the evening. 
 Baxter, who was then living some way off on the other side 
 of the Thames, declined at first ; but Muller insisted, and at 
 last, to induce him to compty, he said, “ If you’ll come, 
 Charley, you shall have the pick of any two sketches out 
 of my folio you like best.” This was too strong a tempta- 
 tion to resist, and a pleasant sociable evening they had 
 together. Before leaving Baxter reminded his host of his 
 promise, at which he made “a wry face,” as Baxter says, 
 “and pretended I was humbugging him,” &c. Muller, 
 however, was as good as his word, and gave him two capital 
 sketches to take home. I have introduced the above anec- 
 dote partly to show how free he was in giving away his 
 unrivalled work. And now I will give a short description of 
 these three pictures at the Institute. 
 
 The “ Dance at Xanthus,” although called a sketch, is 
 lull of extraordinary power. A youth in a Grecian costume, 
 and several musicians and spectators seated around, form 
 the subject. The colour in the main parts is particularly 
 quiet ; but the whole is harmonious, and the sky and distance 
 very beautiful. 
 
 The “ Rhodes, with the Pacha’s Palace on the Right Hand,” 
 one of Muller largest works, is full of silvery light; at the 
 same time it thoroughly conveys the feeling of a hot climate. 
 A fine tower rises up in the distance, the water is gleamy 
 and full of beautiful reflections, and the whole arrangement 
 of the subject is picturesque, yet very simple and natural. 
 The storks’ nests on the house-tops and the costumes of the 
 figures introduced near the gateway help to convey the 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 281 
 
 impression of a “ far away” Eastern country 7 . The Colossus Chap.xviii. 
 of Rhodes is said to have stood on the right of the white 1845. 
 tower. 
 
 The “Tomb in the Water, Telmessus.” This picture is 
 also often called “Tombs in the Mountains.” A smaller copy 
 of this picture, viz., 2 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 5 in., is now in the 
 collection of Mr. W. Sharp, who has kindly allowed it to be 
 photographed for this work. It is freshly painted, and in 
 a light key. A broad, quiet expanse of water reflects the 
 mountains, which are honeycombed with tombs, and above 
 these rises a bold crest capped with snow. A curious 
 antique sculptured tomb is standing out of the water, in 
 which it is reflected, and several storks are grouped about in 
 the water and on the banks. The sky is of a pearly grey, 
 and the general effect calm and quiet, and also full of 
 mystery. 
 
 More important, however, than the above, and more 
 numerous, were the works which Muller was preparing to 
 send this year to the exhibition of the Royal Academy, 
 which was to open at the end of April. This, he fondly 
 thought, would be the “crucial test” of his position as an 
 arrist, and he had set his heart on distinguishing himself. 
 
 About this time Muller also painted his celebrated picture 
 of “ The Baggage-Waggon, 1845,” 3 ft- 5 in- by 7 ft., now in 
 the collection of Thomas Ashton, Esq., Manchester. The 
 whole effect of this picture is powerful and truthful ; its only 
 defect, if any, being that the tone, when seen from a distance, 
 is slightly too cold and blue. A blowing sky, with grand 
 white clouds, a heavy shower passing over the distance, and 
 birds tumbling in the air, give a feeling of wind and rain, 
 which is enhanced by a rainbow on the right, and numerous 
 puddles of water left by passing showers on the road in the 
 foreground. An open champaign country with dark hills, 
 a village with cottages and church-tower, form the distance, 
 across which some broad shadows are thrown by the clouds. 
 
282 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xviii. A wide, sandy road leads the eye well into the picture, and 
 i8 4S- along this several baggage-waggons and a regiment of 
 infantry are passing. In the waggons are seated some 
 invalided soldiers, women, and children, in picturesque 
 attitudes, with arms piled up against the inside of the 
 waggons. The soldiers in their red coats and white trousers 
 and the officers mounted on grey or white horses form an 
 excellent contrast to the dark teams which are drawing the 
 huge waggons ; the gleaming of the muskets of the troops 
 also helps to relieve the dark shadows of the distance. Behind 
 the last waggon a poor tired-looking woman, carrying a 
 child on her back, and a weary soldier leading another 
 child, and accompanied by a dog, are wending their way 
 along — a sad and touching group, admirably painted : even 
 the dog seems to partake of the misery of the others. On 
 the extreme left is a sandy bank, with a sign-post and 
 rustic children looking on in wonder at the passing troops. 
 A cottage roof appears above this bank, on which, also, are 
 roadside weeds and ducks. The colour of the foreground is 
 excellent. 
 
 This is the picture which David Cox is reported to have 
 seen Muller at work at. The first day, it was sketched in 
 without any troops or waggons, and a windmill appeared on 
 the left ; the next day, white clouds had taken the place 
 previously occupied by the mill, and the waggons and troops 
 were partly painted. It is generally believed that this 
 picture suggested the subject of Cox’s “Peace and War,” 
 which he afterwards painted in 1846, and which has become 
 so celebrated. 
 
 The following letters to his friends, J. Satterfield, B. John- 
 son, and W. Roberts, written shortly before the Academy 
 opened, will be read with interest ; especially that written in 
 April to Mr. Satterfield, which shows that his health was 
 already beginning to fail under the strain of his constant 
 work ; and again that of the 14th of April to Mr. Roberts, 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 283 
 
 where he speaks of “ looking forward to sketching green chap.xviii. 
 fields, trees, &c. — the works of a living God.” 1845. 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Square, 
 
 “ Thursday morning, 14th February, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I should apologize for my long silence, 
 as also for not having forwarded you the small picture you 
 desired me to paint, and which I commenced at Lycia ; but 
 I am sure your kindness will make some allowance when you 
 know that this is my most engaged part of the year, and 
 undertaking a book, ‘ Muller’s Xanthus,’ hangs in perspec- 
 tive like a dark cloud upon the horizon, that will keep me at 
 home. It will, I doubt not, give you pleasure to hear that I 
 have at the British Institution the post of honour for my 
 ‘ Rhodes,’ and very good situations for my other two pictures. 
 
 This, however, is not the case with all the contributions. 
 
 Danby is very fine. 
 
 “ You ask me relative to two pictures for this ensuing 
 exhibition (to be received on the ist of June?). I shall be 
 much pleased to promise one ; and, if not, my large tent- 
 scene, which is nearly finished. It shall not be a very small 
 picture, if I can avoid it, and one that shall be characteristic 
 of the country I have visited. 
 
 “ Trusting you will pardon the haste of this, and accept 
 my warm thanks for your kind inquiries after my health 
 (which, all but a slight cold, is excellent), believe me to 
 remain sincerely, 
 
 “ Your obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Square, 
 
 “ Tuesday [ist April], 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir,— K nowing your anxiety, I at once write 
 to inform you that your son was, on last evening, elected a 
 
284 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap.xviii. subscriber to the Clipstone Street Society, and I only hope, 
 1845. by his attention and study, it may prove of service to him in 
 his future career. 
 
 “ My time is nearly gone by for painting for the Academy, 
 and my pictures are now all but complete. The largest, 
 
 ‘ Passage of the Mangerchi, Asia Minor,’ is to-day in its 
 frame, and its appearance makes me hope that it may not 
 be doomed to form a cover to the great door ; but hope is 
 never so obscured by uncertainty as with the disposition 
 of pictures in the Academy. 
 
 “ Mr. Pinnell has bought the large tent-scene, which also 
 looks very fair. The small round one will find its way to 
 Birmingham (after the exhibition) ; for a certain friend of 
 mine was surprised I would not let him have it for nothing. 
 He is going with his family to Italy, and, as he says, must 
 be economical ; so you will have the next refusal. Pray 
 pardon haste, and believe me, 
 
 “ Sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — My friend Mr. Darby has asked me, (if I thought 
 it of service to your son,) he would be pleased to request 
 him to paint a small picture. His motives are kind, I am 
 certain.” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ London, April, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Truly sorry 1 am that towards the last 
 my health has given way : the confinement has been too 
 much for me, who have, the twelve months before, been 
 living in a tent and open air. Finding this, determined to 
 have a sail ; so have been working by boat about the mouth 
 of the Thames for the last four or five days ; yet do I not 
 find myself improved in actual health. 
 
 “ Depend upon it, I will strive my utmost to keep good my 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 285 
 
 promise relative to the pictures, but would feel particularly Chap.xviii. 
 obliged would you inform me the latest day on which Green, 1845. 
 the packer, receives for Manchester. 
 
 “ Remaining your obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq., Metchley Abbey. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 “April 14th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I would not delay sending you the little 
 bit until the completion of the ‘ Xanthian Dance,’ which 
 shall, however, be done on my earliest opportunity. I 
 forward the small picture by to-night’s train (Monday), and 
 trust you will like it, as I think it is fortunate in colour, and 
 clear ; nay, in my room it has been a general favourite. My 
 price for it will be fy. Now I have done with business, 
 which, like most artists, I hate. Let me, then, enter upon 
 a more pleasant subject. All my pictures have left me for 
 the Academy, as also left me quite unwell (now that can 
 hardly be considered a part of any pleasing subject). But 
 to return to the one I alluded to in the first instance, I 
 am looking forward to sketching green fields, trees, &c. — the 
 works of a living God. These things make my heart glad. 
 It is in nature, and not in streets, that I find my own self. 
 Here I feel small, oppressed, as nothing. Man may be over- 
 come by the greatness of his Creator’s works. True; but 
 his infinity passeth all knowledge. Believing this, we look on 
 admiring, and bow down before the greatness which has 
 created for our enjoyment all these wonders. 
 
 “Where I go to I can hardly say; it will be a short trip of 
 a week or so, and in the space of a few days, preparatory to 
 greater things with summer. 
 
 “Whether here or there, pray always to consider me, my 
 dear sir, “ Yours most sincerely, 
 
 Wm. Muller.” 
 
286 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury, 
 
 “ 17th April, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I received this morning your cheque, 
 for which let me thank you, as also the advice relative to my 
 health. Truly it is to every individual the first subject he 
 should consider . . . and of the greatest importance to the 
 artist, as it influences his mind, and his mind being unwell his 
 pictures partake of the same. Well, next to health comes 
 glass medium (for the artist), as this has a wonderful power 
 on his palette, and his palette influences his pictures. But, 
 to be serious : mix it with oil, and for the thick class of 
 painting I so much admire ( with transparency ) there is nothing 
 like it. 
 
 “ I much hope you will pardon haste. If you cannot 
 succeed with what I enclose, I will, on my return to London 
 (Saturday evening), send you ” * 
 
 About the middle of April Muller dispatched his pictures 
 to the Royal Academy — five in number, which were — 
 
 No. 48. “ Great Cannon, formerly belonging to the 
 Knights Templars, Rhodes.” (In the east room.) 
 
 No. 203. “ Head of Zingari, Xanthus.” (East room.) 
 
 No. 327. “ Burial Ground, Smyrna.” (Middle room.) 
 
 No. 367. “Tent Scene: Zingaris playing to a Turk’s 
 
 Family, Xanthus.” (Middle room.) 
 
 No. 482. “Turkish Merchants, with Camels, passing the 
 River Mangerchi in the Valley of the Xanthus.” (West 
 room.) 
 
 These were all noble contributions, and not one of them 
 had a fairly good place. Most of them were either “ skyed ” 
 or put close to the floor. The “ Burial Ground” and the 
 “ Tent Scene,” which should have been near the eye to have 
 
 * The remainder of this letter is torn off. 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 287 
 
 been seen properly, were both very high — almost close to the Chap.xviii. 
 ceiling. I shall not presume to offer any opinion as to whether 1845. 
 the unfortunate — I should perhaps say cruel — way in which 
 Muller’s pictures were hung this year resulted from design 
 or accident. The result, however, of this treatment did 
 without a doubt affect him deeply. It caused prostration 
 and prolonged dejection, and roused the indignation of his 
 friends. I believe he felt the disappointment the more 
 acutely because he had received in private (as I am 
 informed) encouraging hints from several members which 
 led him to expect, what he would not have done without, 
 fair treatment. 
 
 After Muller knew the result, he again entertained the 
 idea which had often passed through his mind before, of 
 leaving England altogether, and settling in St. Petersburg. 
 
 He often talked of it as a place where an artist was sure of 
 encouragement. In England, he used to say, there is little 
 or no recognition, on the part of the more favoured artists 
 who have achieved their diploma, of their brother-artists 
 who are striving also to rise. 
 
 At this period (1845) I understand there used to be no 
 regular varnishing-day at the Academy for “outsiders,” but 
 each exhibitor had a pass sent to him to enter the exhibition 
 early on the morning of the opening-day, several hours 
 before it was thrown open to the public. In this way Muller 
 went with his friend, Charles Bentley, and sadly disappointed 
 and depressed he naturally was. He did not remain long, 
 but after taking some refreshment at a restaurant in Lei- 
 cester Square, he hastened back to his own rooms. There, 
 as the day went on, his indignation, annoyance, and dejection 
 went on increasing until, in the evening, he threw himself 
 down on the hearth-rug, and, rolling over, declared he would 
 remain there all night. The paroxysm passed off, and he 
 soon recovered his outward composure; but what his real 
 state of mind was may be best gathered from the two 
 
2 88 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xviii. following letters. The first was written immediately after 
 1845- the opening, to his friend Mr. Satterfield ; and the next early 
 in May, to Mr. S. C. Hall. They are both moderate in tone, 
 and will, I think, tend to raise Muller in the opinion of all 
 just men : — 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, 
 
 “Monday evening, 29th April, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Your kind and generous letter, contain- 
 ing the information required, I this morning received : the 
 advice I will not lose sight of. I am sorry to say I am little 
 better, having a nervous cough, which has been increased by 
 what, I am sorry to say, I did not fully expect — namely, 
 the neglect, and insult, I may say, I have received at the 
 Academy in the situation of my pictures. A man honour- 
 ably leaves his home, he visits other and distant climates, 
 spends large sums of money; after labour and fatigue, he 
 returns to his home, produces pictures that are contested for 
 in his room, and acknowledged to be superior to his former 
 works. His ambition leads him not to expect too high a 
 reward — only a place that his pictures may be seen. Such 
 has been my hope, and I find my ‘Turkish Burial Ground’ 
 and ‘ Xanthian Tent Scene’ on the very (at least the first- 
 named) top of the large room, conspicuously obscure ! ! ! These 
 men act with little regard ; indeed, it may be said ‘ they 
 know not what they do,’ — alike callous if these injuries fall 
 upon one whom the world’s disappointments may have 
 hardened to bear it, or on a heart sensitive by early 
 hopes blighted. Fortunately, I am not exactly one of 
 the latter, and it only arouses my determination to extra 
 exertion. 
 
 “ The large picture of the ‘ Mangerchi ’ is not so badly 
 hung, six feet or more above the ground, but in such a place 
 that one may expect little from it. Patience is my motto, of 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 28 g 
 
 which I fear you must stand in need, to read this long letter ; Chap.xviil 
 but your kindness has caused me to write it. Allow me to 1 845. 
 
 remain, << Your truly obedient and obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I still hope to keep my promise; nothing but 
 illness will prevent. I must try and remember the Snow- 
 pieces when I send the ‘ Cubebs.’ ” 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbuiy Street, 
 
 “ 8th May, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Hall, — Despite all that has been done to 
 cast an oblivion on my efforts at the Academy this year 
 success has attended me, not alone in the sale of the pictures, 
 but by the actual injustice of the situations. More than one 
 of our principal collectors have given me commissions, or 
 desired me to let them have a picture. Among the number 
 is Mr. Vernon (ever the judicious patron and generous friend 
 of genius) ; and, as one friend writes me, the only thing that 
 surprises him is ‘ that they were not hung upside down.’ 
 Such has been the reward I have received for the expen- 
 diture of large sums, of great labour, the risk of health, 
 breaking up for a time a connection, &c., the fatigue and 
 exhaustion of a long journey. Such are the rewards or post 
 of honour a protected body affords to the young English 
 artist — the top row of the large room ! But now we must 
 take this as a lesson, and have patience (I hate the word, but 
 I will have it), and I will pledge my life that, instead of its 
 tending to do me harm, it shall do me good. I will study to 
 prove to the world that if insulted I can forgive, but that I 
 cannot forget the love of my profession. 
 
 “ I hope my friends will view this affair as I myself do, and 
 so quietly let it pass. In doing so they will do me a great 
 service ; for although I have a table covered with notes of 
 
 u 
 
290 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap.xviii. condolence, I should be sorry for the opinions thereon 
 1845. expressed to meet the eyes of the all-powerful dispensers of 
 young men’s destinies. 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 That expression at the end of Muller’s last letter, referring 
 to the Academy as the “ all-powerful dispenser of young 
 men’s destinies,” is one that deserves to be carefully and 
 deeply pondered and considered. 
 
 It is truly sad to reflect, how many hopes have been 
 crushed, how many careers have been irremediably blighted, 
 by the treatment young artists have met with year after year. 
 That this is indeed no fiction, many who are conversant 
 with art-life in London well know, and can bear witness. 
 
 Artists have often struggled on, sick at heart, for a time 
 against a too powerful and adverse influence, and have then 
 disappeared for ever out of sight and unknown. It is impos- 
 sible to believe that none of these young men have deserved 
 a different and a less unkindly fate. “ A fair field and no 
 favour” is all that is asked for ; but when there are grounds 
 for suspicion that that is not granted, so far at least as 
 landscape art is concerned, heart-burning and despondency 
 are the inevitable result. 
 
 The advocates of the Royal Academy as now constituted 
 allege, I believe, that there is no favouritism, and that merit 
 alone is considered ; whilst their critics say decidedly, and with 
 a good show of reason on their side, that this is not so, and 
 that the money side of the question is not without its influence. 
 
 Some artists, either from the want of having made a 
 sufficient study of nature, or from the absence of poetic 
 feeling, or from having been educated in a narrow and 
 severe school of art, fail to recognise the merit of works 
 differing much in character, feeling, or treatment from their 
 own standard ; hence, when they are constituted the judges, 
 such pictures, although full of merit of a certain class, run 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 29I 
 
 the risk of being either refused or placed almost out of sight. Chap.xviii. 
 It is truly a poor consolation to artists so treated, that the 1845. 
 undoubted merit of their works may, after a lapse of years, 
 be fully acknowledged when, as far as they are individually 
 concerned, it is too late. That there is a foundation of truth 
 in the view I have here put forth is proved by the way in 
 which the landscapes of David Cox and William Muller were 
 notoriously treated by the Royal Academy — landscapes now 
 universally acknowledged to be of the highest excellence, 
 indeed truly representative ones of the English school. And 
 again, it is sometimes asked, Do those members of the 
 Academy who are each year placed on the Hanging Com- 
 mittee fully realise the nature and amount of their respon- 
 sibility ? Do they bear their proper share of this important 
 work, or do they too readily delegate any material part of it 
 to their subordinates ? It is alleged also that favour is often 
 shown to works of mediocrity, if painted by friends or 
 relatives ; and that the advantage accruing to the Academy 
 in its yearly exhibitions from the important and varied works 
 contributed by outsiders is not sufficiently acknowledged 
 and taken into account. 
 
 There are, without doubt, high-minded and generous 
 men, as well as men of the highest ability, in the Royal 
 Academy — men well deserving of the honour they have 
 achieved ; but so much power as is possessed and wielded 
 by that body, unless guarded by a truly broad and catholic 
 feeling, and by the enlightened spirit of the present age in 
 England, and subject also to some external check, may 
 become dangerous in practice. 
 
 The question of reform of the constitution of the Academy 
 has been often spoken and written about. As an old-esta- 
 blished vested interest, it is truly surrounded with serious 
 difficulties. An acrimonious spirit of attack is, in my opinion, 
 to be deprecated, as likely to do quite as much, or more 
 harm than good. The question ought to be approached in a 
 
 u 2 
 
292 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 (Jhap.xviii. broad and dispassionate manner, and looked at from the 
 1845- national stand-point of what would be best for the true 
 interest and progress of art in England, and of the rising 
 generation of artists. If this be done, I believe a solution 
 might be arrived at, which would lead to the establishment 
 of a broader, more liberal, and therefore a more popular basis 
 for the guidance and regulation of the Academy, and for the 
 reform of its schools. The spirit of monopoly, or anything 
 akin to it, ought for ever to be banished from its councils. 
 
 I understand that these matters are managed better in 
 Paris, and it might be well to take into consideration the 
 regulations which exist in France and in other foreign 
 countries for the protection and advancement of the interests 
 of modern art and artists. If anything is attempted in 
 respect to the question to which I have here ventured to 
 refer, the sympathy and aid of men of high position and 
 political influence should, if possible, be enlisted. Public 
 opinion is a powerful lever in these days of free thought and 
 a free press, and one that may go far to induce even a 
 powerful and entirely independent body to reform itself. 
 
 For this rather long digression I ought, perhaps, to offer 
 an apology. 
 
 As a description of the pictures which Muller sent to the 
 Academy this year may be of interest to some of my readers, 
 I will now give this, before proceeding with the narrative of 
 his life. 
 
 “ Great Cannon formerly belonging to the Knights Tem- 
 plars, Rhodes.” About 30 by 18 in. This was a study in 
 oil from one of his favourite Rhodian sketches. A huge 
 cannon, with the effigy of a saint in high relief on the breech ; 
 the touch-hole covered with an ancient breastplate, over 
 which are hung some old chain-shot. Very fine and true in 
 colour, and vigorously painted. 
 
 “ Head of a Cingari, Xanthus.” This is a circular pic- 
 
• THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 293 
 
 ture, and although small, having been painted on a panel Chap.xviii. 
 only about 15 in. square, it is large in manner, and is 1845. 
 touched in with rich colour throughout in a masterly way. 
 
 It represents the upper half of a reclining figure in a pic- 
 turesque Oriental costume ; a turban of golden hue, with a 
 red and purple fez cap, appearing above ; a bright green 
 jacket and rich sash, in which are stuck a brace of large and 
 rich- looking pistols. The prevailing tones are warm, and 
 these are relieved and contrasted with a bit of purple dis- 
 tance and dark blue sky. It has all the appearance of a 
 veritable study from nature. Each part duly supports the 
 rest, so that the whole effect is rich and pleasing. This 
 picture is now in the collection of Mr. Sidney Cartwright, 
 
 The Leasowes, near Wolverhampton. 
 
 “ Burial Ground, Smyrna.” This represents a late-even- 
 ing effect, with a row of tall dark cypress-trees standing 
 relieved against the sky. Towards the horizon the light of 
 day is dying out in streaks of crimson and gold. The tombs 
 are in shadow, and produce a solemn effect. It is a very 
 impressive and poetical work. 
 
 “Tent Scene: Cingaries playing to a Turkish Family.” 
 
 This picture, one of. Muller’s finest works, is also known as 
 the “Arab Minstrels,” and is now in the possession of 
 Mr. Thomas Ashton of Manchester. The size is 3 ft. by 
 5 ft. 6-^ in. It is warm in tone, and rich in colour. Three 
 musicians are seated cross-legged near the foreground ; one 
 has a Lycian pipe, one a guitar, and the third a small 
 violoncello. One of the minstrels is a negro, with a white 
 turban and green jacket; a good contrast to the next, a pale- 
 faced man, with rich yellow and red garments, and a turban 
 of the same warm hues. Behind this group two figures are 
 standing — one a Cingari youth with white turban, and the 
 other a girl in a picturesque dress. On the right an open 
 tent, of native manufacture, with a curtain and rough poles, 
 occupies nearly half the picture, and is full of deep rich 
 
294 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap.xviii. shadows. Under this tent some old Turks are seated 
 1845. smoking their long pipes, and listening to the music. Near 
 them a woman appears to be occupied in some household 
 matters, and several children are playing about on the wide- 
 spread mats. A coffee-pot, cups, and slippers are skilfully 
 introduced in the foreground, with gourds and other fruits of 
 the country. On the left you perceive a fine stretch of 
 country, with the river Xanthus winding through it, some 
 dark hills, and a powerful cloudy sky. The cool and cold 
 colours of this portion of the picture enhance materially 
 the warm tones of the other side. In the immediate fore- 
 ground, on the right, a pile of burning sticks is heaped up, 
 on which an iron pot is placed to heat water for the coffee. 
 This serves to bring the shadow of the tent down to the 
 front, and completes the balance of light and shade. The 
 white turban of one of the upright figures is knowingly 
 brought against the darkest shadows of the tent, thus giving 
 increased point and brilliancy to the whole composition. 
 The lights are also carried across the picture by the lights 
 on the upper strata of clouds. The whole arrangement of 
 this difficult subject shows how complete Muller’s art-know- 
 ledge at this time was. A wild phase of Eastern life has 
 been successfully realised in this picture with consummate 
 tact and truthfulness. 
 
 “ Turkish Merchants passing the river Mancherchi, in 
 the Valley of Xanthus, Lycia.” 4 ft. 8 in. by 7 ft. This grand 
 picture, the largest ever painted by Muller, is now in the 
 possession of the Rev. James Heyworth, Henbury Hill. 
 The dark river, swollen by recent rains, is rushing impe- 
 tuously over a rapid, and the water is tumbling amidst rocks 
 and broken stumps of trees in the immediate foreground. The 
 ford is indicated by tall poles placed here and there in the bed 
 of the river, where some four or five baggage camels, led and 
 urged on by their turbaned drivers, are seen fording the 
 stream. On the left, some Turks are kneeling near piles of 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 295 
 
 the picturesque Oriental baggage strewed around ; a kneel- chap.xviii. 
 ing camel shows that they are occupied in readjusting 1845. 
 the loads on the patient beast, before crossing. Several 
 other Turks, and one or two camels, are standing near. 
 
 On the far side of the river (the extreme right), under- 
 neath a rocky bank, the caravan appears to have just 
 encamped, a number of Turks being collected round watch- 
 fires. A storm has recently burst over the upper part of the 
 valley, where grand clouds and mists are seen rolling down 
 the sides of the mountains, and filling up the middle distance. 
 
 Towering above the storm-driven clouds, some lofty snowy 
 peaks rear their summits into a comparatively calm sky. 
 
 The whole effect is wild and stirring, the colour brilliant and 
 powerful, the manipulation broad, and the painting solid. 
 
 In this picture Muller appears to have grasped and realised 
 the accidental effects occasionally seen in mountainous dis- 
 tricts, and which constitute the true poetry of landscape art. 
 
 This picture, “ Passing the Mancherchi,” was placed rather 
 high. It was priced by Muller at ^125; and was selected 
 by Mr. C. W. Wass for a prizeholder of £ 100 in the London 
 Art-Union. It was soon afterwards resold for £ 300 , and 
 subsequently for £ 1,200. 
 
 In spite of Muller’s disappointment with regard to the 
 position of his pictures in the Academy, he recommenced to 
 work in his studio during the month of May with his usual 
 ardour. He completed a large picture for Birmingham, 
 
 “The Hayfield,” and proceeded with other commissions; 
 but, as the month wore on, he suffered severely from a 
 swelling of the thumb and fingers of his right hand, which 
 prevented him from using it. As this affection was attri- 
 butable to no local cause, but to organic derangement, it was 
 the more serious. Still he was able to go on painting, in 
 spite of failing health, as he always used his left hand for 
 that occupation. At last he determined to leave London for 
 
296 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap.xviii. a time, on a visit to his brother at Bristol, in the hope of 
 1845. shortly regaining health and strength, as will be seen by 
 the following letters, the handwriting of which is cramped, 
 being written with his left hand. They are the last he ever 
 wrote from London : — 
 
 To William Smith, Esq., Wisbeach. 
 
 “ Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury. 
 
 “May 12th, 1845: - 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — You have expressed a flattering wish 
 to me relative to your desire to possess a small painting of 
 mine. I can assure you it was not an avaricious feeling that 
 made me allude to the sum proposed ; but I have of late had 
 so many kind friends desiring me to paint, that in justice to 
 my reputation, and perhaps more so my health, I have 
 unpleasantly to myself been forced to increase my prices : 
 for I should truly like nothing better than painting and 
 giving away, so that the unpoetical word money was never 
 to be used. Yet we all must know in the nineteenth century 
 such would be truly laughable, and to be laughed at. I will 
 on my earliest opportunity commence a picture for you, and 
 if, on your receiving it, it should not exactly please you, pray 
 let me have it again, as on no account should I wish any 
 person to retain a painting of mine if it did not please him. 
 
 “ My dear sir, pardon haste, and believe me, 
 
 “ Yours sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I think you wished it to be a figure subject, and I 
 have some fine tent-scenes.” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Square, 
 
 “ May 1 6th , 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — The ‘ Hayfield ’ is done, 3 ft. 11 in. by 
 2 ft. 3 in. My price, v/ith the frame, ^34. If it should please 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 297 
 
 you, you will have the -kindness to write and say. It is Chap.xviii. 
 highly finished, and I think makes a pleasing and agreeable 1845- 
 picture. A certain party saw it, Mr. — - — (or the gentleman 
 with the two hot plates for his dinner) ; he insisted (his own 
 word) on having a second refusal of the picture : ‘ Consider 
 it mine ! Write me the price, and I will send a cheque by the 
 next post.’ All very fine, but do not be in too great a hurry, 
 
 .say I. You will keep all this quiet, if you please, as also 
 the price. I have no wish to let that party have the picture. 
 
 “ I saw Harry ; he is well. I wish I was ; but hope to be 
 so by taking a dose of ‘ atomsphere,’ as a friend of ours 
 writes and calls it. “ Yours most truly, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 Just after the above letter was written Harry Johnson left 
 London to return to Birmingham, and then he went on a visit 
 to North Wales, so that he never saw Muller again. In one 
 of his last interviews Muller said to him, “ Harry, I do not 
 know what has come to the forefinger of my left hand [the 
 one he always painted with] ; it is swollen all round the 
 nail, and I can hardly hold my brush.’ Shortly afterwards 
 the right hand was similarly affected, but to a greater extent, 
 as will be seen in the next letter. 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street (late Charlotte Street), Bedford Square, 
 
 “ Wednesday morning, May 26th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I sent Mr. Green two pictures — one, the 
 ‘Passage of Troops over a Common,’ and ‘The Dinner 
 Hour’ (or ‘ Hayfield’). True, I neglected forwarding a 
 description note with them, but enclose one to you, sir, that 
 perhaps you will have the kindness to hand to the secretary. 
 
 “ I much regret I was unable to complete the third, as 
 it formed a part of my promise. Illness and low spirits must 
 be my excuse. I have had, and still have, a very bad right 
 hand, caused by a swelling of the fingers, but more particu- 
 
298 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap, xviii. larly in the thumb; this will account for my present style 
 lS 4s- of writing (fortunately being able to use both hands). I 
 hope to leave London this week for a short time, and to 
 return in health. I have taken every precaution a man can 
 take, and have had good advice, and as yet have not ex- 
 perienced that change for the better that I could wish. You 
 will pardon this scrawl. I much regret that from the non- 
 receipt of the paintings you should have been under the 
 fear of my illness. I should at once have written to you, sir, 
 to place the truth before the committee. 
 
 “ Believe to remain yours most obedient and truly obliged, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The two pictures mentioned in the preceding letter were 
 sent to the Manchester Exhibition, in fulfilment of a promise 
 he had long since made to Mr. Satterfield, who had been very 
 anxious that Muller should exhibit some important works in 
 Manchester. The one called “ Passage of Troops over a 
 Common” is the same I have already described as the 
 “ Baggage- Waggon,” now in Mr. Ashton’s collection. 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ 22, Bloomsbury Street, Bedford Square, 
 
 “ May 29th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am unable to paint, or, in short, do 
 anything, from a very serious swelling on my right thumb. 
 This affords me an opportunity of exercising my penman- 
 ship with my left hand. 
 
 “ I shall be most happy to place your friend’s commission 
 in my books ; but time for its completion I may not promise. 
 At the same time, my dear sir, let me thank you for the 
 interest you have ever taken in promoting my advancement. 
 My surgeon recommends change of air more than medicine 
 (honest man). I think sketching will cure me, which com- 
 bines change of air and scene ; so on Saturday I think to 
 
THE LAST SPRING IN LONDON. 
 
 299 
 
 run down and have a mouthful of true country air. My stay Chap.xviii. 
 will not be longer than a week or so, when I return to be 1845. 
 booked. 
 
 “ Once more thanking you for your kindness, allow me to 
 remain, my dear sir, “Yours truly, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The above was written with his left hand. 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “ London, May 31st, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am, as you will see by this, better. 
 
 Had I received your letter yesterday, I should have arranged 
 to personally thank you for the plans you have so kindly 
 arranged in my favour, by seeking the Euston Square 
 Station on Sunday. But fate has ordained it otherwise. 
 
 I leave town by the Great Western Railway at one to-day, 
 and only hope to be able to be back by the middle of the 
 week after next, and all well. 
 
 “ Let me truly offer you my sincere thanks for your kind- 
 ness, and believe me, with regrets that I cannot avail myself 
 of it, to remain 
 
 “ Yours most truly and obliged, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — Fresh deities will visit Birmingham. ‘ Mercury 
 and Argos’ is, I hear, Mr. Birch’s. It is a fine picture.” 
 
 The postscript refers to Turner’s picture purchased by Mr. 
 
 Charles Birch.* 
 
 * I have seen a receipt for half the amount of the “ Hayfield ” picture, given by Muller 
 just before he left London, of which the following is a copy : — 
 
 “ Received of B. Johnson, Esq., the sum ofyi7,being the half of the price of the painting 
 
 (‘ Hayfield’) now in the Manchester Exhibition (with frame). 
 
 “ May 22, ’45. “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The following receipts were also given by Muller in 1845: — For the “Tomb in the 
 Water,” ^44; “Snow Storm, North Wales,” ^25 ; “Cingari’s Head” (circular picture), 
 
 “Great Cannon, Rhodes,” ^14; “Dance Scene at Xanthus ” (sketch), ^15; 
 
 “Burial Ground, Smyrna,” ^50. Most of the above were purchased on joint account 
 between Mr. B. Johnson and another gentleman. These works have all since changed 
 hands several times at very high and continually increasing prices. 
 
XIX. 
 
 THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 ^ 45 - 
 
 HEN Muller sought repose in Bristol after the 
 exciting London season and his long period of 
 hard work, he fondly hoped that a few weeks of 
 rest and change of air would recruit his strength 
 and restore his failing health ; but it was not to be. The 
 lamp of life showed at this time unmistakable signs of exhaus- 
 tion, and, although for a few months it flickered brilliantly 
 at times, the oil was fast draining away, and as the warm 
 summer months departed, and the melancholy autumn ap- 
 proached, it finally sank down and went out. 
 
 Muller arrived at No. i, Park Row — his brother’s house — 
 on Saturday, the 51st of May. He placed himself imme- 
 diately under medical treatment. Patient and hopeful, he 
 carefully attended to everything his doctors prescribed ; but 
 his cough and the symptoms of heart-affection increased, 
 attended with some fever. That he had felt doubtful about 
 the prolongation of his life for some time previously may 
 be inferred, I think, from what he occasionally said to his 
 pupil, Harry Johnson, in their London studio. He would 
 often preface a story or bit of advice by this sentence : 
 “ After the old master has gone, Johnson, you will remem- 
 ber that he told you,” so and so. When he first came to 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 301 
 
 Bristol he used to take short walks, and when weaker he chap. xix - 
 drove out in a carriage. Muller painted but little during the 1845. 
 month of June : this was a privation to him, for he was never 
 so happy as when at work with his brush, as has been 
 already observed more than once ; but almost complete rest 
 was recommended to him for a time. Afterwards, during 
 the months of July and August, and even in the first week 
 of September, he continued to make water-colour drawings 
 and a few small oil-paintings. In July, indeed, this practice 
 was suspended for a while by a severe attack of haemorrhage 
 from the nose and head, followed by an alarming state of 
 prostration. 
 
 The following were amongst the water-colour drawings 
 made by Muller during his illness : — “ Harlech Castle,” 
 “Compton Dando, Somersetshire;” “ Gipsy Encampment,” 
 
 “Winter, Gillingham;” “ Hayfield.” These were mostly 
 copies ■or recollections of the same subjects previously 
 painted. He also made a sketch of chimney-pots as seen 
 from his bedroom window, which he named “ Stansfield’s 
 Bay of Biscay,” as he said it bore some resemblance to that 
 artist’s picture of that subject. 
 
 The most remarkable proof, however, of Muller’s energy 
 and love for large work during his last illness was the 
 production by him of a fine fresco in colours, representing 
 a wild boar hunt at Xanthus in Lycia, which he drew on 
 the bare whitewashed wall of the room, and at which he 
 worked with great interest, even when too weak to walk 
 unaided across the room. This fresco was about eleven feet 
 long. A copy was made of it by his brother Edmund some 
 time afterwards, when about to leave Park Row, as the 
 original could not be removed, and, like the frescoes which 
 Muller painted in the lazaretto at Smyrna, it has been lost 
 for ever. I have seen this copy ; it is highly interesting, 
 and is spirited and full of movement. The adventure and 
 peril of hunting the wild boars in their native forests is ad- 
 
Chap. XIX. 
 1845. 
 
 302 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 mirably represented. Two Turks on horseback, with their 
 guns, &c., appear to be galloping towards the retreating 
 boars, and still nearer another Turk, on foot, is in the act of 
 discharging his musket at them. The swine are all running 
 close together, chased by a few native dogs. In the centre 
 and on the right of the picture there are several fine oaks 
 with gnarled stems and rough, twisted branches, and in the 
 distance the Taurus range of blue and purple mountains are 
 relieved against a light sky. 
 
 In Mr. Harrison’s paper a touching account has been 
 given of the last sketching excursion which he made with 
 Muller. As far as I have been able to ascertain, that was the 
 only one Muller made after he arrived from London at 
 Bristol, although he went out for a few short drives. On 
 more than one occasion during his illness, Muller said 
 sorrowfully, that when he was forced to leave London by the 
 state of his health, fortune seemed at last to be within his 
 grasp, inasmuch as he could then easily earn five pounds any 
 morning by three or four hours’ work in his studio,— but all 
 this had vanished with health. It was evidently a great trial 
 to him to be thus laid on the shelf by sickness; but he bore it 
 manfully, and, on the whole, his spirits were wonderfully 
 good throughout his illness. I will now give some of the 
 letters written by Muller at this time to his friends ; they are 
 thoroughly characteristic of the man, as it will be seen he 
 could hardly repress a joke, even then, at his own expense, 
 and will be read I think with a melancholy and deep interest. 
 Those addressed to his intimate friend, Mr. Gooden, here 
 and there even sparkle with fun as of yore ; and, indeed, 
 when reading these remarkable letters, which lay open the 
 inner man, the voice of the great painter, so long hushed, 
 seems almost to be heard again addressing his friends. 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 303 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. cha^xix. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, I ®45- 
 
 [Date about 10th June, 1845.] 
 
 “ My dear Hall, — I at length was forced to leave town, 
 my health each day being worse. I am now in Bristol, and 
 under first medical treatment. My disease is a curious one, 
 ‘inflammation of the reflex nerves ; ’ yet they give me little 
 medicine, and I am to be quiet — to do a little work. Now to 
 no one do I owe more than to you after all my many promises, 
 and it will give me sincere pleasure if I can discharge them. 
 
 I have just heard of an old hall (and they say a curious one), 
 by name, ‘ Chavenege Grange,’ Gloucester. Do you know 
 it ? They say the interior is very fine ; if so I will get it, if 
 you wish, as I can ride there as exercise. 
 
 “ Again [for fun) the British Exhibition may, I think, be 
 noticed in the next month’s Art-Union number (the last 
 month’s is a capital one). The subscriptions in this rich 
 town to the Art-Union amount to ^ioo! they expect ^150. 
 
 If you think a slight critique of any moment, I will send you 
 some general observations ; for there are some pretty pictures, 
 and by native men. 
 
 “Pardon this long rigmarole, and believe me to remain, 
 my dear Hall, “ Most sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I sold my picture of the ‘Camels and River,’ on 
 the first day of the Royal Academy, as an Art-Union prize; 
 
 ^125. The £ 2 5 paid into the committee. I do not see it 
 mentioned. In writing me, will you oblige me with Godwin’s 
 address; I forget it.” 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 [Date about 1 8th June, 1845.] 
 
 “ My dear Hall, — I enclose a most hasty scrawl relative 
 to Bristol and the Society ; use it as you like. I only wish I 
 
304 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 ' Chap. xix. could have re-written it, but I am too unwell. I am sorry to 
 
 1845. add that, as regards health, I am little if any better. I now 
 
 have inflammation of the pleura, joined to a low nervous 
 fever ! Well, I hope for better things and brighter days (to 
 me). I may not work, and blisters and medicine are my 
 amusement. I just manage to walk about like an old man. 
 They promise me a speedy recovery ; may the promise be 
 true. I fear the observations are much too long. I am 
 indignant at the conduct of the Bristolians. I hope you will 
 
 twist the facts about so that I may with truth say I did not 
 
 write them ; for I fear if it was known that I did so, my days 
 are numbered, and I am in no way to render resistance. 
 
 “Again believe me sincerely and most truly yours, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Benj. Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. 
 
 “Bristol [some date in June], 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I am not surprised at your writing. All 
 is safe ; the cheque for £ 8 g. The truth is, at times we have 
 great trouble in consequence of a Rev. J. W. Muller living 
 within two or three doors of us. Our letters get mixed. 
 Mine was now taken to him : he was from home ; on his 
 return he immediately forwarded it to me. But more curious 
 still : I was in the habit of sending down to my brother 
 various sums of money to Stuckeys, as payable to Mr. E. G. 
 Muller ; I inquired what sum he had in the bank, and the 
 clerk told me he could not really say, but he thought gj6o. 
 Now I knew £ 600 was more like the amount. They had 
 mixed the two banking accounts. All is square now. 
 Accept my thanks for your kindness, and my regret that you 
 should, as is natural, have been alarmed. 
 
 “ I paint quietly a little most days. I have had and have 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 305 
 
 a severe cough, which holds me back, but I am on the whole chap. xix. 
 a little better. 1845. 
 
 “ Pardon my scrawl, and ever, my dear sir, 
 
 “ Believe me yours truly, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “Do you want a £2 Ruysdael ? If you do, I ca?i' t paint 
 you one; but Mr. has a man who can.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “June 22nd, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — It is now three weeks and more since 
 last I had the pleasure of writing to you. I then left London 
 for health. I have had the best of advice, but health is the 
 desideratum. They cannot understand what is the matter 
 with me. I had acute inflammation of the pleura: on go 
 the blisters. Then a slow nervous fever, or, with another 
 name, inflammation of the reflex nerves : for that, or some- 
 thing, I took enough prussic acid to have performed a 
 Tawcll' s experiment ; still my fingers were painful and 
 swollen. Now I am being treated for another discovery — 
 poison (not by my surgeons, but) by white lead in painting 
 (a martyr to the profession). I believe there is a truth in this 
 last discovery. I afford them excellent sport, as they say of 
 fish. They now give me a hundred drops a day of sulphuric 
 acid : that is to take the lead out of me, and great things are 
 expected ; tant mieux. But, to be more serious, I feel a little 
 stronger the last two days, suffer much less, and there is 
 something that says I am on the road shortly to recover. If 
 so, Nature has done it. I would not have troubled you with 
 this list of my illnesses had it not been to justify myself (I 
 have many such to seek, I fear me) ; but my promise to you 
 
 x 
 
306 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xix. was t Q J e t y OU have the little Turkish interior within the 
 l8 45- month. Would that I could have done so, for God knows melan- 
 choly and low spirits have so possessed me that I have been 
 a poor, weak creature. I may not as yet paint , but hope to 
 have permission shortly. Oh ! I long again to begin, as also 
 in earnest to sketch ; but that is more than I can well do at 
 this time, so I read and mentally produce picture-galleries. 
 I will ask the favour, should you, sir, meet any of my 
 Birmingham friends, to remember me kindly to them, and 
 that you will ever consider me, 
 
 “ Your sincerely obliged and obedient, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Jas. Chisholm Gooden, Esq., London. 
 
 “ I, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “23rd June, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — Many thanks for your kind in- 
 quiries after me, as also your note. I only wish I could 
 answer in a more satisfactory way. I can give no name to 
 an illness that is called by six or seven. My lungs are 
 sound, and, please God, my heart to my friends. Day after 
 day I have become weaker and weaker There is internal 
 inflammation, and a long talk about reflex nerves. It all 
 amounts to this : I am ill — just able to toddle about, or 
 slowly walk a mile or so. Painting is all but forbidden me, 
 and sketching is too much. I read, write, and lament. If I 
 shortly recover, I expect I shall be sent off to a warm 
 climate — they talk of it at present ; but as nothing is 
 certain, so I write the ordinary remarks of those in authority, 
 alias mv medical men. 
 
 “You may imagine, with the brilliant commissions and 
 openings in society I had, that I am not altogether in the 
 most happy state of mind. Well, all is for the best, and I 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 307 
 
 believe it ; and this may be the commencement of the Chap - xrx - 
 closing scene of an ambitious man. I can reflect with 1845 - 
 pleasure on the past, and right well I know that there are 
 few to sorrow on its close. But melancholy, I am told, is not 
 to be indulged in. My surgeon saw me rather inclined that 
 way the other morning : — ‘ By George ! Muller, you want 
 amusement — something to interest you. You must not sit 
 here with that confounded French book; you must seek 
 amusement. I just have it,’ says my friend of the lancet : 
 
 ‘ come down to the Infirmary to-day ; there are to be some 
 two or three interesting operations ; in particular, I am going 
 to take up the iliac artery of a man for,’ &c. ! See my 
 amusement. ...... 
 
 “ I had expected hearing from Goodall, as I hoped to 
 accompany him to Wells ; that will, I fear, now be out of my 
 power. You see I am ill by the length of my letter, of 
 which you must by this time be tired. Well, I now conclude 
 this catalogue of ills, with hopes that Mr. and Mrs. Gooden 
 enjoy better health. 
 
 “ Believe me ever yours most sincerely, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — Sir James South cannot leave the poor comet 
 alone. He played enough with Lord Ross’s telescope. I wish 
 Punch would begin, and then not leave him alone. If you 
 see Tom, give my kind remembrances, &c.” 
 
 To Jas. C. Gooden, Esq., 33, Tavistock Square. 
 
 “i, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “June 30th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — I would have answered your letter 
 sooner (the receipt of which gave me hope and pleasure), but 
 truly I was at a loss to answer your question. The names 
 
 x 2 
 
308 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 hap. xix. attributed to various appearances of illnesses, which I from 
 1845. time to time seem to have had, have been various, as of 
 course my treatment. But, from the first examination of my 
 chest, I was led to believe there was a little something 
 wrong, and it happens to be in that organ which I boasted 
 was free and in health — my heart ; for this I am now under 
 severe treatment — blisters, &c. My sides are raw, my 
 patience nearly gone, as my strength ; when, to make matters 
 better, I strained the muscles of the calf of the leg, so that 
 my locomotion is a shuffle (would to heavens all mankind 
 shuffled as honestly!). I am of course very weak. I hate 
 servants and strangers about me, so I am my own nurse (my 
 brother has been out of town). I put on my own blisters, 
 take them off and dress them, and, in short, am not allowed 
 to see any one ; it is a solitary confinement, with low diet 
 and medical punishment. 
 
 “ I have books and flowers, and a splendid method of 
 taking medicine — by never thinking about it until down. 
 True, I blush not to own that a tear at times dims the eye 
 that has been six or seven hours looking over the page: ’tis 
 weakness — a weakness, if you like it ; but illness, solitude, 
 and indifferent servants may be the cause — and let it be. 
 My poor profession is on the shelf. How can a man paint 
 with his mind filled with draughts, pills, and heavens ! worst 
 of all — those bitters ? 
 
 “Well, I won’t attribute it to a wrong cause; they won’t 
 let me touch a brush. Every day they administer a dose of 
 hope. I am told I am better, the last two days. To-morrow 
 is a field-day — a consultation, and a regular overhaul of my 
 chest, back, &c., with thumping and knocking enough to 
 disturb one’s liver and raise one’s gall ; but of course I must 
 go through with it, — amen. I hear no London news. 
 
 Anthony, of course, painting away. 
 
 “ I can write no more. Pray pardon the many errors I 
 doubt not in this, and the miserable scrawl : my hand 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 309 
 
 shakes. Believe me sincerely obliged to you for your 
 kindness and your letter, and to remain, with hopes of 
 happier days, 
 
 “ Yours ever, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To Wm. Roberts, Esq. 
 
 “i, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ June 30th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — Many thanks for your kind invitation 
 and advice. Let me just draw you the picture of the poor 
 invalid to whom that kindness has been offered. In the first 
 place, low diet, medicine, and illness have made me, day 
 after day, so weak that I could hardly walk the length of a 
 common street ; and, finally, a sprain in the muscles of the 
 calf of the left leg has deprived me of that locomotion, so 
 now I just shuffle about from room to room, I am denied 
 seeing any one, eating meat, &c. There is a slight affection 
 in the heart. I have the kindest and the best advice, and 
 the strongest medicines. Prussic acid, seven drops a day, 
 with various other little treats in draughts, pills, &c. They 
 give me great hopes (but not of painting shortly) ; so when 
 better (?) I will seek sketching. But, believe me, it requires 
 more than ordinary firmness when I look out at the bright 
 sky and green fields, which, to a certain extent, I can see 
 here, the fresh breeze playing through the long grass — all 
 speaking of summer : with a sick mind I turn back to my 
 chair by the fire , and take up the book I have been nursing 
 for six or seven hours before ! To all this I must become 
 habituated ; and, thank God, as yet I am able to be in a 
 chair. My strength astonishes my medical men. I have 
 now, sir, given you the picture’s deep shade. I shall have 
 a pleasure in saying that they think me, the last two days, 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 1845. 
 
3io 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xix. better. For myself, I know not. I once more beg to express 
 1845- my warm gratitude to you for your generous offer, and I 
 think I need no further explanation to say why I do not 
 accept it : it came at a moment when I had been suffering 
 from extreme pain and a sleepless night ; at such moments 
 kindness will be truly appreciated, as I assure you it was by, 
 my dear sir, 
 
 “ Yours most sincerely and truly, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.- 
 
 “ P.S. — Pray pardon this scrawl: my hand is not firm, as 
 on former occasions.” 
 
 To J. Chisholm Gooden, Esq., London. 
 
 “ 7 th July, 1845. 
 
 “My dear Gooden, — A most important change has 
 taken place since writing you last. My physician declared 
 my lungs sound, but disliked a little souffle about the heart. 
 They agreed to put me on good diet, and as soon as my 
 leg should be well I was to commence regular exercise. 
 Nature seemed to judge better, for in the morning my nose 
 commenced a discharge of blood that would have frightened 
 you.” [A description here follows of the remedies tried to 
 stop the haemorrhage, which was renewed more than once, 
 and for five days and nights Muller suffered much.] “ But 
 I promise much better things ; am to be up to-morrow, and 
 a free use of tonics, &c. 
 
 “ This is the second note I have written since my calamity. 
 Pardon imperfections : my head is weak, as well as my body ; 
 yet I hope soon to get strength. Die has written me : 
 I have not as yet answered. He sold a £ 40 at Dublin. 
 Have you seen him ? He sends me a shady excuse about 
 Paris. 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 3 I I 
 
 “How is Poole in the cartoons? and how are the car- chap. xix. 
 toons? Do give me a line; and ever believe me, my dear 1845. 
 Gooden, 
 
 “ Yours most sincerely, 
 
 “ Park Row, Bristol. “Wm. MuLLER. 
 
 “ Given from our bed, the year of our Lord 1845, an d the 
 day the 7th of the month July of the same year. Long live 
 all painters ! ” 
 
 To J. Satterfield, Esq. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “[Date about 10th] July, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I was surprised that my illness had 
 not reached you. A consultation with my physician and 
 surgeon took place about three or four weeks back. I had 
 a slight affection of the heart; but exercise, &c., may cure 
 this with care. The same night I nearly bled to death, and 
 it continued the night after nearly the same from the interior 
 of the passages of the head. 
 
 “ Well, sir, all that skill could do I experienced, and 
 suffered much pain. Left in the lowest stage of weakness : 
 do all they could, I could recover no strength. So within 
 the last three days they have thrown me into bed, blistered, 
 &c. I am not one of those weak persons who condemn 
 medical aid : I place my reliance in it next to the Almighty, 
 and then under His loving aid. 
 
 “ Pardon the weak manner I write in ; I can do no better: 
 but believe me to remain 
 
 “ Your truly obliged and ever sincere, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 This was the last letter written by Muller to Mr. Satterfield, 
 and, like that of the 26th of May, written with his left hand. 
 
312 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 1 8 45 . 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ No. i, Park Road, Bristol, 
 “22nd July, 1845. 
 
 “My dear Hall, — . . . Truly have I been very 
 
 seriously ill ; most profuse bleeding from the internal 
 passages of the head, which nearly terminated my earthly 
 career — a bleeding of which few persons can form an idea. 
 The pain of the various applications, and the forcing large 
 pieces of lint all but into the head, caused me to suffer much, 
 as well as the various styptics, &c. Thank God, the last 
 two weeks have passed, and I have had no recurrence of the 
 bleeding. If this discontinues, there is the best of hope ; but 
 to recover lost blood is as slow a process as lost time. 
 
 “ I am very weak, and gain strength with a slowness that 
 astonishes me .... 
 
 “ Most sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 To J. Chisholm Gooden, Esq. 
 
 “ No. 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ July 24th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — Many thanks for your letter ; the 
 contents of parts more vexed me than astonished me. I 
 fear you will think I shall in my writing become a bore or an 
 old woman': it is the only thing I can do, and it keeps my 
 mind from my own miseries. I cannot recover the loss of 
 blood, so cannot I gain strength. I tried to shave to-day, 
 and fainted in doing so. I go out in a carriage five or six 
 miles every day, live like a farmer-boy, but no strength . . , 
 I sit in a blanket like an Indian artist chief (?). I admire 
 flowers on the table, and arrange into groups of colour their 
 beautiful forms ; so I work with them until their petals fall 
 off, their beauty gone, or ‘ like a snow-flake in the river, one 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 313 
 
 moment white, then gone for ever.’ I send for more, or .Chap. xix. 
 have more sent me. l8 45- 
 
 “ Your excursion in the boat must have been rather 
 unpleasant ; yet, with Tom as a companion (who is all wrong 
 in his mode of practice in sketching), I doubt not you got on 
 well. How strange it is, most amateurs will always go the 
 long road, rather than take the little hill ! One carefully 
 drawn fragment with colour — be it of what it may — is worth 
 all, I believe, many men do in their six weeks’ excursions. 
 
 Genius is one thing ; but the greatest must have observed 
 the forms of a willow, of an elm, of an oak, else with all 
 genius he may make them like some unknown forms. I am 
 delighted to hear you did not go to Die [Dighton]. In a letter 
 he wrote he said it was dull, and that he intended ‘ decoying 
 some unsuspecting town-fellow down to help pass over the 
 Sundays.' You he fixed on for his victim .... 
 
 “ God bless you, with thanks for your last communication, 
 and no power to fix an hour for a longed-for smoke. Ever 
 believe me 
 
 “ Your sincere friend, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I have a quantity of Latakia tobacco given me. 
 
 Must not touch it.” 
 
 To J. Chisholm Gooden, Esq. 
 
 “ 20, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “August 20th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — I should have written yesterday, 
 but I was under the effect of laudanum, and could not keep 
 my eyes open. Reports (invented, doubtless, by picture- 
 dealers) are abroad that it is all over with me ; so, if I 
 strictly am to believe my physician and surgeon, such is the 
 case ; for they say I have no disease at present known to 
 
Chap. XIX. 
 1845. 
 
 3 H LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 them, and that I require but extreme care and attention, with 
 as early change of air as possible, to restore me. But I fear 
 the British Institution will have next to no ‘ Mullers,’ and 
 
 the Academy ! Well, I must make my income up by 
 
 teaching oil to a select few (young ladies), or writing articles 
 for magazines and sonnets in praise of old ladies’ parrots. 
 
 “ I have sent a picture to Liverpool (an old one). I sold 
 my soldiers at Manchester, and I have a fine subject from a 
 book — ‘ Attack of Dragoons on Smugglers,’ just as they 
 have run the cargo (Kent) ; low, misty, lurid morning light. 
 N.B. — Dragoons get the best. 
 
 “ I just wish I could gain strength. When I had a good 
 quantity, I could paint as large as the house. 
 
 “ Do pardon this scrawl : I cannot write as I could wish. 
 Feel assured I took your inquiry of my brother as a mark of 
 kindness, but no more than what I have ever known you to 
 possess, and in particular to your sincere friend, 
 
 “Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — You made me cry, with your recollection of Shore- 
 ham , for half an hour. Weakness, but nothing to be ashamed 
 of.” 
 
 The preceding letter was accompanied by an amusing 
 sketch in pen and ink, representing an artist at work out of 
 doors, near the seashore, with a packet of lunch near him, a 
 church-tower and waggon in the distance, and some mar- 
 ginal notes. 
 
 To Benjamin Johnson, Esq., Birmingham. . 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “August 23rd, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I have been long confined to a bed 
 of illness, and [am] so now ; but a little better the last three 
 or four days, so that I sit up a little. 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 315 
 
 “ In the worst part of my illness I had a letter from your 
 son. I could not answer it. Pray tell him this arose from 
 my extreme loss of blood, but no ill feeling. What is he 
 doing ? Give him my kindest wishes. I gain strength so 
 slowly that God knows when I [shall] go to my much- 
 loved profession again : my heart and soul are in it, I do 
 believe. 
 
 “ Trusting you and family have enjoyed health, pray, my 
 dear sir, receive my best wishes for a continuance of it, and 
 believe me 
 
 “ Most sincerely yours, 
 
 “ Wm. Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — If away, will you oblige me by your son’s 
 direction ? ” 
 
 About a month after Muller wrote his last letter to Mr. 
 Satterfield, of Manchester (dated about the 10th of July), 
 that gentleman, who always took a very kind interest in 
 everything which concerned his favourite artist, wrote the 
 following letter to his brother Edmund : — 
 
 To Mr. E. G. Muller, i, Park Row, Bristol. 
 
 “Victoria Park, Manchester, 
 
 “ 1 8th August, 1845. 
 
 “ Dear Sir, — I wrote a few days ago to your brother, 
 and had hoped to have repeived a letter from him in reply, 
 with a more favourable account of his health. It has con- 
 cerned me much to have heard to-day, through a gentleman 
 from Birmingham, that your brother’s health has assumed a 
 serious aspect, and that anxious fears, in fact, are excited on 
 his behalf. 
 
 “ I can truly assure you that I shall sincerely regret if 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 1845. 
 
316 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 chap. xix. such be the case, for I esteem him much, not less for his 
 1845- high character as a man than for the service he has done to 
 art in this country ; and it would grieve me if one so valuable 
 were, at so early a period of his life, to be taken from us. 
 Pray send me a few lines, for I shall now feel anxious until 
 hearing from you. 
 
 “ This letter you will of course consider confidential. 
 
 “ I am, sir, 
 
 “Yours with respect, 
 
 “ Joshua Satterfield.” 
 
 The testimony of esteem for Muller’s high character con- 
 tained in the preceding letter of Mr. Satterfield was equally 
 borne by Mr. Acraman, and many other gentlemen who had 
 long known him, and felt the warmest attachment and friend- 
 ship for him as a man and admiration for him as an artist. 
 
 The last landscape in oil which Muller painted is a small 
 upright, representing “ A Country Lane at Gillingham,” 
 16 by 10 in., and is now in the collection of Mr. S. Mayou. 
 It was painted in August, and is fine in colour and very power- 
 ful, but deficient in finish. The palette-knife appears to have 
 been freely used. A group of trees on the right, some fallen 
 timber on the road underneath, and on the opposite side a 
 country lad passing along the lane. Gillingham Church 
 tower and a cottage seen in the distance, with a fine sky 
 (cumuli massed in pyramidal form), complete this masterly 
 little picture. Before painting it, Muller made a rapid study 
 of the subject in sepia, which I have seen at Mr. Edmund 
 Muller’s. After this effort, Muller made a beautiful study of 
 flowers in water-colours, which has been described by Mr. 
 Harrison in his paper ; and later still he painted the cele- 
 brated flower-picture in oil which was long in the possession 
 of Mr. Fallows, of Manchester: it is 23 by 19 in., and was 
 last sold in April, 1874, for ^304 10s., being at that time 
 part of the Holmewood collection. 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 
 
 317 
 
 This, and a rather unfinished study of fruit, were worked Chap. xix. 
 upon by him till the 7th of September — the very eve of his 1845. 
 death. Miss Branwhite had sent him the flowers, an autumn 
 bouquet, which he arranged in an ornamental gilt vase, and 
 at once commenced to paint. There were several dahlias 
 and fuchsias ; one, a fuchsia fulgens , he especially expressed 
 his admiration for, as he remarked that the cool greens of 
 the underside of the leaves made such a pleasant and 
 effective contrast with the others. This work is characterized 
 by his usual fine colour, vigorous handling, and powerful 
 shadows. The same may be said of the little fruit-picture, 
 which is now in the collection of Mr. J. D. Weston, of 
 Clifton. It is a splendid bit of colour; and although slight 
 and unfinished in parts, the general effect is admirable. 
 
 Some richly coloured peaches, grapes, and filberts are placed 
 on a bit of garden matting, and are cleverly relieved 
 against a blue and grey sky, which forms a contrast to the 
 warm and deep tones of the fruit. A few low-toned green 
 leaves complete the harmony of colour. Like the flowers, 
 this fruit had been sent as a present to Muller. It was the 
 nearest approach to nature within the reach of the invalid ; 
 and although too weak to stand, or even to sit up, he was 
 propped up with pillows, and thus he painted. His brother 
 informs me that he never remained the entire day in bed, and 
 always felt happiest when at work. His feeling for colour 
 was certainly never grander than in these last efforts, and he 
 kept up his spirits to the last. 
 
 The two following letters, which refer to the flower-picture, 
 will be read with especial interest, for they are the last that 
 William Muller ever wrote. They are written in rather a dis- 
 jointed manner, and in an unusually feeble hand — a touching 
 proof of his fast-waning strength ; but his mind was still as 
 clear as ever: — 
 
Chap. XIX. 
 1845. 
 
 318 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 To James Chisholm Gooden, Esq., Portsmouth. 
 
 “ 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ September 3rd, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Gooden, — In haste I write you — pray pardon 
 it. I am very unwell : to say truth, still I just keep my own. 
 
 “ I have had a few days’ painting ! — a flower-piece, and I 
 think a good piece of colour ; two small landscapes, and to- 
 day the ‘ Capture of a Greek Female Slave’ (for colour). 
 The two last have been painful to me, as I have a seton in 
 the side. All the above are ‘ bits,’ but the flower-piece, 
 which is, I think, 2 ft. I only hope I may be able to go on. 
 Rheumatism has hold of me, and I suffer much pain; but 
 my brother’s kindness seems to soften nearly most of my 
 miseries for the time. 
 
 “ Oh, would to God I could meet you, as I hope this 
 letter ! We could have our quiet dinner and glass of wine, 
 with a chatter over events. 
 
 “ I wish nothing more than to be seated with you in a 
 snug parlour, a good fire, and anticipation of such a meal as 
 we can order when we set our wits to work. Well ! I live in 
 hope, and, please God, those days may come yet. 
 
 “ Pardon such a scrawl : I write under pain. 
 
 “ Yours most sincerely, my dear Gooden, 
 
 “Wm, Muller. 
 
 “ P.S. — I regret you could not get a companion in 
 London. Has Die anything very fine, that keeps (him) at 
 Hargrave ? ” 
 
 To B. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 “ September 4th, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I was glad of your letter to-day. I am 
 a little better, and much since Thursday last. I have painted 
 three pictures ! ! ! One, a fine piece of colour of some beau- 
 
THE LAST SUMMER IN BRISTOL. 319 
 
 tifully richly coloured flowers, in gold vase, with gems, &c. 
 I send it to Peel to be flattened in mahogany panel. They 
 will not allow me to paint larger than 25 or 28 in. by 
 corresponding size. 
 
 “ It is curious I have lost no vigour, no colour, can now 
 (paint) easily as ever, and yet I at times can hardly write a 
 line. I have also a beautiful study for colour I have lent me — 
 some humming-birds ; they will paint prettily. 
 
 “ And now, relative to the ‘ Tomb,’ or frame to the same. 
 My carver has charged me ^5125. I think it too much : can 
 only in conscience charge you ^5, which I think too high; 
 yet I shall lose 125., — but no matter. Your account is per- 
 fectly right — ^,34 5 s ■ i frame, £5 ; ^39 5.9. Now, as to for- 
 warding it to me, suit your convenience ; but if you do, pray 
 send it to Stuckey’s Bank, Bristol, to be received by my 
 brother, Mr. E. G. Muller. 
 
 “ I have been worse the last two days, with dreadful 
 rheumatism. I heard of Henry ; he is well, and was at 
 Bettws. Pray pardon this scrawl ; and you may easily see I 
 am rather weak in the right hand. 
 
 “ But believe me most sincerely yours, 
 
 “Wm. Muller.” 
 
 The above letter was forwarded by E. G. Muller after his 
 brother’s death ; and, as he then stated, it was the last he 
 
 Chap. XIX. 
 1845. 
 
 ever wrote. 
 
XX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 FEW more lines, brief and sad, and this memoir 
 will be finished. On Monday morning, the 8 th of 
 September, Edmund Muller had commenced to set 
 his brother’s palette after breakfast, as was his 
 wont ; and William Muller, who was propped up, seemed 
 about as well as he had been of late, when suddenly a change 
 came over him. He appears to have broken an internal 
 blood-vessel. He had just strength to call to his brother for 
 help, and then said, “ Remember Gooden and — and — that 
 other.” He could not pronounce the name, but it was sup- 
 posed to be Charles Bentley, to whom he was much attached. 
 Soon after this, exhausted nature gave way, his head fell, 
 and he never spoke again. He had entered “ the Silent 
 Land,” and all his work and sufferings were over. 
 
 On Friday, the 12th, he was quietly laid to rest in the old 
 Lewin’s Mead burial-ground, situated in a retired part of 
 Bristol, leading out of Brunswick Square. Several of his 
 mother’s relatives, the Jameses, had long been buried there. 
 It is a small and secluded cemetery, with a few trees, shrubs, 
 and flowers ; and the grave of Muller, marked only with a 
 flat stone and a simple inscription, is situated at its furthest 
 end, and is placed underneath an overhanging elder-bush. 
 As Tennyson sang in memory of another young Englishman, 
 we may say of Muller — 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 321 
 
 “ ’Tis well ; ’tis something ; we may stand 
 Where he in English earth is laid. 
 And from his ashes may be made 
 The violets of his native land. 
 
 ’Tis little ; but it looks in truth 
 As if the quiet bones were blest 
 Among familiar names to rest. 
 
 And in the places of his youth.” 
 
 Chap. XX. 
 
 Edmund Muller, who had nursed with unremitting care his 
 only brother night and day for several months, suffered in 
 health for some time after this event. He wrote to some of 
 his brother’s old friends immediately, to tell them that the 
 end had come, two of which letters I will now give : — 
 
 To T. Morson, Esq. 
 
 “No. 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “ September 10th, 1845. 
 
 “ Sir, — I take the liberty of addressing you a line to 
 communicate the melancholy information of a termination to 
 my poor brother’s sufferings, which took place on Monday 
 morning at ten o’clock. 
 
 “ I trust you will excuse my writing in this manner, but I 
 do so from the high respect my brother held you in, as also 
 to request that you would have the kindness to communicate 
 the event to his friend Mr. Solly, who will I know feel his loss 
 greatly. 
 
 “ With respect I remain, 
 
 “ Your obedient servant, 
 
 “ E. G. Muller.” 
 
 To J. C. Gooden, Esq. 
 
 “No. 1, Park Row, Bristol, 
 
 “September nth, 1845. 
 
 “ Dear Sir, — I have received your kind note. I thought 
 you might not have been aware of the state of health my 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xx. poor brother has been labouring under for some time 
 past. 
 
 “ I much fear, from the excellent state of spirits he was in 
 to the last two hours of his life, and sudden as it was at last 
 (although cautioned that it might be so), that I certainly was 
 not exactly prepared for it. Indeed, who is prepared, under 
 similar circumstances, for the loss of so near and dear a 
 friend — the only relation I could care about ? It is my 
 intention to leave for London by the express train on 
 Saturday. 
 
 “Should you be in London, it will afford me a great 
 pleasure to say a few words to you. 
 
 “ I remain, dear sir, 
 
 “ Your obedient servant, 
 
 “E. G. Muller.” 
 
 When Edmund Muller came up to London, he called on 
 Mr. Gooden, and spoke to him of his brother’s last moments, 
 and how he had exclaimed, “Remember Gooden;” and in 
 token of this remembrance he gave him a beautiful little 
 oil-picture painted by William Muller, and representing 
 “Don Quixote in his Study.” The knight is seated at a 
 table reading a book, and manuscripts, books, and armour 
 are strewn around, and the old panelled walls are hung with 
 pictures. It is only a sketch ; but it is powerful and full of 
 character, and is still in Mr Gooden’s possession. 
 
 On the iith of September, 1845, the Bristol Journal con- 
 tained the following verses to the memory of W. J. Muller, 
 written by his friend, the Rev. T. Grinfield, M.A., Rector of 
 St. Werburgh’s, Bristol, the same who wrote the lines on the 
 picture of “ Lake Albano : ” — 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 323 
 
 Tribute to the Memory of Chap. XX 
 
 WILLIAM JAMES MULLER, 
 
 The celebrated Painter of Landscape ; a native of Bristol : whose death , 
 on the 8th instant, is recorded in our last. 
 
 Closed is the eye, that late so bright and true 
 All forms of beauty feelingly would view ; 
 
 Cold is the hand, that Nature’s varied grace, 
 
 Swift as the tongue, could eloquently trace ; 
 
 All motionless the foot, that flew so light 
 O’er Alpine crags, o’er Tuscan landscape bright, 
 
 Where, Memphis, thy famed pyramids are piled, 
 
 And the Sun’s temple * crowns the Egyptian wild, 
 
 Where Athens points her citadel’s proud throne, 
 
 Her purple mountains and fair Parthenon, 
 
 Through Lycia.f where Homeric Xanthus flows, 
 
 And classic scenes of unknown grandeur shows. 
 
 Rich with the spoils of art he thence returned, 
 
 Fortune and fame his powerful pencil earn’d ; 
 
 But ah ! too fast, too bright, the flame of genius burn’d ! 
 
 Time scarce had stol’n his three-and-thirtielh year 
 Ere he, who gained our praises, claims the tear 
 By admiration shed o’er Muller’s early bier. 
 
 Immediately almost after W. Muller’s death, a mask of his 
 features and forehead was taken in plaster of Paris, from 
 which, and from one or two daguerreotype likenesses, a 
 bust of him was modelled. 
 
 Of this bust I give a photographic copy at the commence- 
 ment of this chapter. Mr. Harrison and Mr. E. G. Muller 
 consider it to be a decidedly good likeness. Undoubtedly 
 the features are like, and it represents, as it should, a head of 
 great power, the mouth and chin especially indicating firm- 
 ness ; but it wants the spirit which characterized Muller’s 
 countenance. When in health his eyes were full of fire and 
 expression, indicative of his richly gifted nature, which is 
 wanting, to some extent, in the model before us. In spite 
 of these drawbacks, however, I hope it may be viewed 
 by my readers as an interesting memorial of the great 
 artist. 
 
 * The ruins of Heliopolis in the ancient Thehais. 
 
 t As a sketcher of scenery in water-colours the late Mr. Muller has been seldom 
 equalled — never surpassed. His pre-eminence in this department of art will not (we think) 
 be disputed by those who, about a yeir ago, shared with us the privilege of inspecting his 
 portfolio of Lycian sketches. His splendid pictures in oil of Athens, Naples, Lake Albano. 
 must be fresh and blight in the admiring remembrance of many among our readers. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xx. Muller’s death took many of his friends by surprise. The 
 veteran David Cox thus wrote, when he heard of it, to his 
 young friend, Harry Johnson : — 
 
 “ Greenfield House, 
 
 “Saturday, 13th September, 1845. 
 
 “ My dear Henry, — I am glad to hear you are safe 
 arrived (from Wales) ; but your note has given me a great 
 shock, to learn of poor Muller’s death. I wish you could 
 come up to-morrow, as I wish to hear more particulars. 
 Mr. Birch has just gone up with my son, and must beg you 
 will excuse more, and believe me, 
 
 “ Yours very faithfully, 
 
 “ David Cox.” 
 
 A few months after Muller’s death, his splendid collection 
 of Lycian and Egyptian sketches was exhibited at the 
 Institute in Bristol, and attracted very great interest. Lord 
 Teignmouth, Mr. Henry Hallam the historian, and other 
 gentlemen of distinction came to see them, and expressed 
 their admiration. The following spring these and many 
 other sketches left by Muller, and also about forty of his 
 unfinished sketches and pictures in oil, were sold by Christie 
 and Manson, at their rooms, King Street, St. James’s, on the 
 1st, 2nd, and 3rd April, and realised a sum of upwards of 
 four thousand pounds — not a sixth part of their present value, 
 but at that date a high price for sketches and unfinished 
 works. 
 
 One of the last kind acts which Muller did before he left 
 London was to make a few slight drawings to illustrate his 
 visit to the crocodile-mummy caves in Egypt, with a view to 
 their publication in th & Art -Union, accompanied by a long 
 description; the latter was found amongst his papers after his 
 death, and was published the following year, with the 
 sketches engraved in wood, in the Art-Union. The Art- 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 325 
 
 Union also contained a very feeling and appreciative Chap. xx. 
 obituary notice of Muller. 
 
 Mr. Joshua Satterfield, of Manchester, who admired 
 Muller’s genius and esteemed his character as much as any 
 one, thus wrote, after his death, to Mr. B. Johnson, when 
 returning some of Muller’s letters, which had been lent 
 him : — 
 
 “Dear Sir, — Many thanks to you for the letters you 
 have been kind enough to send for my perusal. Need I add 
 with how much interest I have read them ? 
 
 “Poor Muller! One amongst many instances of genius 
 consumed by its own fire. Such, most decidedly, was his 
 case. I saw the prospect of this after my second or third 
 interview with him, and oftentimes in my letters did I advert 
 to the great necessity of extreme caution ; but, alas ! the 
 ardour could not be subdued. The fear of fatal con- 
 
 sequences was quite lost sight of in that ardent love of his 
 art which ultimately brought him to an early grave. 
 
 “ Should you visit our part of the country, I shall have a 
 melancholy satisfaction in showing you the five small works 
 of his I possess, three of which he painted expressly for me. 
 
 “ Dear sir, 
 
 “ I am yours respectfully, 
 
 “Joshua Satterfield.” 
 
 With respect to the genius of Muller and his distin- 
 guishing qualities as an artist, I shall now, although at some 
 risk of repetition, venture to offer a few concluding remarks. 
 
 He was possessed of a lively and large amount of imagina- 
 tion, quick observation, and an accurate eye for form. To 
 these natural gifts he added great knowledge of composition, 
 light and shade, and wonderful vigour and rapidity of 
 handling ; but his highest excellence, I believe, was as a 
 colourist. His feeling for colour increased and became 
 
3 26 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xx. more marked with each succeeding year, although he has 
 been aptly termed “a born genius in colour.” He was 
 greater as a landscape than as a figure painter, but his 
 greatest success was undoubtedly as a sketcher; yet I incline 
 to the belief that if he had been trained in early life to the 
 study of the figure, his success in that branch of art would 
 have been beyond any other. I have been led to this 
 conclusion by his astonishing progress, after he turned his 
 attention to Eastern figure subjects, and by the apparent 
 ease and great rapidity with which he produced such pictures 
 as the “ Slave Market,” the “Chess-Players,” the “Opium 
 Merchant,” and “ Prayers in the Desert,” after he settled in 
 London. 
 
 In one respect, more perhaps than in any other, Muller 
 displayed his rare genius as a painter of figure subjects : 
 I mean the happy facility with which he introduced and 
 grouped a great number of figures in the same picture. To 
 some artists to combine four or five figures is often a 
 stumbling-block ; but with Muller it appeared just as easy to 
 group and arrange twenty or thirty figures (as in the “ Slave 
 Market,” “Moses commanding Darkness,” &c.) as only 
 two or three : there is no confusion, no awkward lines, no 
 stiff repetition of forms, in these very successful and yet very 
 difficult subjects. Artists, much more than others, are able 
 to appreciate the rare gift to which I am now referring, that 
 of the successful introduction of a great number of figures 
 into a picture, for so many have tried it and failed. This 
 remarkable faculty was alone almost enough to stamp Muller 
 as a man of genius. Few artists have painted so great a 
 variety of subjects (see Appendix No. 2), and in so many 
 different styles, as Muller. Many of his early pictures, 
 painted at Bristol, partook of the merits and defects of the 
 older masters of landscape, whose works were set before him 
 for his imitation when a lad — I mean fine composition united 
 to a certain hardness of outline and coldness of colour. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 327 
 
 Ruysdael, Poussin, Wilson, Berghem, and Ostade were all chap. xx. 
 imitated in turn. In his middle period he aimed more to 
 produce light, pearly tones, sunshine and brilliancy, with a 
 smooth surface, as in the “ Bay of Naples ” and other 
 Italian, Venetian, and Swiss subjects painted before Muller 
 went to Egypt. These were somewhat after the manner of 
 Claude, although still retaining a strong leaning to the style 
 of Gaspar Poussin, whose works he never ceased to admire. 
 
 Later still, the influence of Rembrandt, and above all of 
 Tintoretto, became very marked in Muller’s works, and he 
 evidently sought to imitate their method of handling as well 
 as their colouring. In Muller’s latest works, broad and 
 powerful shadows, and a large and simple manner, are united 
 to great richness, juiciness, brilliancy and glitter of colour. 
 
 In all these works by Muller, whether of an earlier or a 
 later period, there is always much to attract the attention. 
 
 Like the works of David Cox, they improve rather than tire 
 the spectator on being viewed repeatedly, for this reason, that 
 they are full of thoughtful work, and are never common-place. 
 
 As regards the poetical feeling for nature, although Muller 
 possessed this, I believe, in a less degree than David Cox, 
 and had certainly less love for rural scenery, yet he was by 
 no means wanting in a deep and thorough appreciation 
 of the poetry of English and Welsh landscape. This is 
 abundantly shown in many of his beautiful English river 
 scenes, representing both winter and summer — in his views 
 around Bristol, and in delineations of the rocky torrents 
 and mountainous districts of Wales. 
 
 Objection has been taken by one or two art-critics to some 
 of Muller’s works that they are deficient in atmosphere and 
 refinement of space. This is certainly not the case with 
 respect to many of Muller’s works, although it may attach 
 with a semblance of truth to such pictures as were painted 
 with the intention of obtaining great power and force of 
 contrast. 
 
328 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Chap. xx. Had M tiller lived a few years longer, he would probably 
 have carried out his cherished project of revisiting Egypt, 
 and then, with the tresh stores there accumulated, he would 
 have felt able to carry his works further as respects finish 
 than the materials and sketches at his command enabled him 
 to do during his brilliant but too short life. 
 
 We have of late years seen what may be achieved as the 
 result of long and patient study on the spot, in the Eastern 
 pictures of Holman Hunt. 
 
 Muller has been compared to David Roberts, but I see no 
 similarity in the works of these two artists, except that they 
 both sketched and painted in the East. 
 
 With W. Etty he had more in common, for both were 
 great colourists ; but it must be acknowledged that, in many 
 of his striking and peculiar characteristics, Muller stands 
 almost alone in England amongst contemporary artists. 
 
 I feel indeed convinced that if an exhibition of Muller’s 
 principal works in oil, including also a fair and adequate 
 selection from his sketches (the subjects to include some of 
 various dates, so as to constitute a history of his progress in 
 art), — if, I say, such an exhibition could be organized in 
 London, it would be a source of very great enjoyment to all 
 true lovers of art, and clearly demonstrate Muller’s genius, 
 power, and versatility as an artist. 
 
 Of the character of Muller as a man I have fully spoken 
 already : that he was kind, generous, and honourable, 
 
 uniting indomitable energy to rare ability and industry, I 
 have endeavoured to show ; also how much high promise 
 for the future the world unhappily lost by the premature 
 extinction of William Muller’s life at the early age of thirty- 
 three. Comparatively unknown in life, he became famous 
 in death. His works are the records of his genius. Peace 
 be to his memory ! 
 
V 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 PAINTINGS EXHIBITED BY WILLIAM JAMES MULLER IN THE ROYAL 
 ACADEMY, IN THE BRITISH INSTITUTION, AND IN THE SOCIETY 
 OE BRITISH ARTISTS, LONDON. 
 
 Royal Academy. 
 
 1833. — Destruction of Old London Bridge. 
 
 1836. — Peasants on the Banks of the Rhine waiting for the Ferry-Boat. 
 
 1840. — Athens, from the Road to Marathon. Ruins of Gournou, Egypt; 
 Sunset. 
 
 “ Gournou is that part of Thebes situated on the right side of the Nile, ascending. 
 The large masses of stone at the base of the temple are the remains of a gigantic 
 statue, said to have represented Memnon.” 
 
 1841. — Slave Market, Egypt; Sketch for a Picture. Convent, Bay of 
 Naples. The Sphinx. 
 
 1842. — Poor Arabs ; a Sketch. Interior of a Temple inhabited by Arabs, 
 who sell the Curiosities found in the Tombs, Thebes, Egypt. 
 
 1843. — Welsh Mill on the Dolgarog. Arabs seeking Treasure. Prayers in 
 the Desert. 
 
 1845.— Great Cannon formerly belonging to the Knights Templars, 
 Rhodes. Head of a Cingari, Xanthus. Burial Ground, Smyrna. Tent 
 Scene — Cingaries playing to a Turkish Family, Xanthus. Turkish Merchants 
 with Camels passing the River Mangerchi, in the Valley of Xanthus, Asia 
 Minor. 
 
 British Institution, Pall Mall. 
 
 1840. — Offering a Greek Slave for Sale in a Street leading to the Slave 
 Market, Grand Cairo ; painted from Sketches made on the spot. 5 ft. 4 in. 
 by 4 ft. 7 in. 
 
 1841. — Sketch of a Bazaar at Siout, Egypt. 1 ft. 5 in. by 1 ft. 1 in. Avenue 
 of Sphinxes, Moonlight, Thebes. 4 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 8 in. Slave Market, Cairo ; 
 Sketch .for a Picture. 1 It. 1 in. by 1 ft. 6 in. 
 
 App. 
 
330 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Arp. I. 
 
 1842. — Gillingham on the Medway. 4 ft. 9 in. by 4 ft. 1 in. Sketch for 
 a Picture of the Good Samaritan. 1 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft. 11 in. The Slave 
 Market, Cairo. 3 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 6 in. The Nile, with Village of Beni- 
 Hassen in the distance, looking towards Cairo. 3 ft. 7 in. by 5 ft. 7 in. 
 
 1843. — Interior of a Cottage, North Wales. 2 ft. 9 in. by 2 ft. 4 in. 
 Pont Hoogan, North Wales. 4 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft, n in. Salmon Trap on the 
 Lledr, North Wales. 7 ft. 2 in. high by 5 ft. 9 in. 
 
 1845. — Dance at Xanthus ; Sketch for a large Picture. 1 ft. 8 in. by 
 2 ft. 1 in. Rhodes, with the Pacha’s Palace on the right hand of the 
 Picture. (The Colossus is presumed to have stood on the right of the white 
 tower.) 4 ft. 3 in. high by 6 ft. 8 in. wide. Tomb in the Water, Telmessus, 
 Asia Minor. 3 ft. 8 in. high by 5 ft. 9 in. wide. 
 
 Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street. 
 
 1836. — The Rialto Bridge, Venice. 
 
 1837. — Snow Piece. Italian Boy. 
 
 1838. — Hoar Frost. Scene near Hanham, Bristol. Composition from 
 Civita Vecchia, Italy. 
 
 1840. — The Memnons 3 Sunrise. 
 
 “ Ancient history has mentioned these extraordinary and gigantic figures from the 
 curious assertion, that at sunrise a sound may be heard from the nearest to the 
 spectator ; hence its name of the ‘ Vocal Memnon : ’ but modern travellers have failed 
 in establishing this as a fact. In the distance, on the left, are the mountains which 
 form the valley of the Tombs of the Kings ; the entrance being behind the temple 
 called the Memnonium. The hill bears to the right, being about two miles distant. 
 Four sketches made in 1839.” 
 
 1841. — Sketch of the Opium Seller at Manfalout. Street Scene in Cairo, 
 leading to the Mosque of Flowers. The Frozen Ferry ; Scene near Haerham, 
 Somersetshire. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 NOTE OF THE PRINCIPAL OIL-PICTURES BY WILLIAM 
 JAMES MULLER. 
 
 English Subjects, painted between the Years 1832 to 1843. These 
 
 ARE IN ADDITION TO A GREAT NUMBER OF COMPOSITIONS AFTER THE 
 MANNER OF THE OLD MASTERS. 
 
 Redcliff Church, with Mackerel Boats. 
 
 Destruction of Old London Bridge. 
 
 Wintry Landscape.) , . r . 
 
 Snow Piece ) A great many replicas of these subjects. 
 
 Warehouse, Princess Street, Bristol. 
 
 Boats in a Fog. 
 
 Forging the Anchor, St. Philips. 
 
 Bird Shop, Bristol. 
 
 Large View, Bristol. 
 
 Frozen River, with Figures on Ice, and Hoar Frost. 
 
 Landscape View of Whitchurch, near Bristol. This subject was repeated many 
 times. 
 
 Kings Weston Park. 
 
 Timber Waggon in a Sandy Lane, Whitchurch. 
 
 View of Leigh Woods. Repeated several times. 
 
 View of the Mendip Hills. 
 
 Cottages in Gloucestershire. 
 
 Landscape, with Peasants driving Sheep. 
 
 Ditto, with Woman and Child crossing Bridge. 
 
 Ditto, with a Peasant and Pony, and Rainbow. 
 
 Ditto, after a Shower ; a Boy with White Mice. 
 
 Ditto, with Children and Donkey. 
 
 Ditto, with Children sailing or rowing a Boat. Often repeated. 
 
 The Eel-Pots at Pangbourne, or Goring. Large picture, and a large sketch. 
 Henley-on-Thames ; Fishermen mending Nets. 
 
 Scene on the Thames — Windy Day. 
 
 Moonlight Scene, with Gipsies. Two or three copies. 
 
 The Dinner Hour, Figures and Waggon in Hayfield. 
 
 Mountainous Landscape, with Tower. 
 
 Hampstead Heath. Several times repeated. 
 
 App. II. 
 
332 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. II. Hampstead Heath, with Birdcatchers. 
 
 Interior of Elizabethan House, Barnes. Exhibition at Leeds. 
 
 Interior at Cheddar, Somersetshire. 
 
 Lea Mills, near Lea. 
 
 Frozen Ferry, near Haerham. 
 
 Marine Subject — Entrance of Thames. A subject often repeated under 
 different effects. 
 
 Old Cottage, with Children Fishing. 
 
 Gillingham on the Medway. A subject repeated about a dozen times, 
 different sizes; one with' Gipsies, and a Gipsy Tent on the Ice. 
 Harrowing heavy Land, with Figures. 
 
 Fishing Scene near Purfleet on the Thames, called “ The Fisherman’s Creek.” 
 Dartford-on-Thames. 
 
 The Dredging Machine, familiarly known as “ The Dredger.” A grand picture 
 of rough water off Gravesend. 
 
 Italian and Swiss Subjects, painted in the Years 1835 to 1842. 
 
 Tivoli. This subject repeated a great many times, and of all sizes, chiefly uprights. 
 Rialto, with numerous Boats and Figures. 
 
 Dogana and Santa Maria Salute. Repeated several times. 
 
 Ceremony of the Embarkation of the Doge of Venice. 
 
 Ditto, of the Marriage of the Doge with the Sea. . 
 
 Via Mala, Switzerland. 
 
 Pass of the Splugen, Switzerland. 
 
 Near Chavenna, Italy. 
 
 Waiting for the Ferry on the Rhine. 
 
 Lake Albano. 
 
 Lago Maggiore. A subject repeated many times. 
 
 General View of Venice. 
 
 Italian Peasants on a Road. 
 
 Large Picture of Florence. 
 
 View of the Rialto, Venice. 
 
 Italian Boy and Guinea Pig. 
 
 Italian Boy, with Hurdy-Gurdy. 
 
 Interior of Cottage, Heidelberg. 
 
 A Savoyard Boy, with a Marmot. 
 
 A Monk, Italy. 
 
 Entrance to Lake Como. 
 
 Mont Blanc. Exhibited at Leeds. 
 
 Port of Civita Vecchia, with Boats and Shipping. Often repeated. 
 
 View of Rome. 
 
 Bay of Naples. This subject repeated three times, all of large size. 
 
 Convent, Bay of Naples. 
 
 Boats on the Lagunes, with Painted Sails, Drying Nets, &c. 
 
 Besides the above, there are many pictures of French subjects sketched in 
 1840; several of Fontainebleau, Angers, Avignon, &c. 
 
APPEXDIX II. 
 
 333 
 
 Egyptian Subjects, painted in 1839 to 1843. App. II. 
 
 The Slave Market, Cairo. Five or six copies, various sizes. 
 
 Chess-Players, Egypt. Sketch and large picture. 
 
 Interior of a Temple, Thebes, inhabited by Arabs, who sell Curiosities 
 found in the Tombs. 
 
 Pilgrims, or Prayers in the Desert. Two sketches and large picture. 
 
 Eastern or Arab Shepherds. Sketch and large picture. 
 
 The Sphinx, Evening, with Pyramid of Gizeh. 
 
 Selling a Slave at Alexandria. Three or four copies. 
 
 Avenue of Sphinxes, Moonlight, Thebes. Two copies. 
 
 Offering a Greek Slave for Sale, Cairo. 
 
 Merchant of Cubebs. 
 
 Head of Egyptian. 
 
 Bazaar at Siout. Four or five copies. 
 
 The Nile, with Village of Beni-Hassen in the distance, looking towards Cairo, 
 with Figures. 
 
 Ruins of Gournou, Egypt ; Sunset. 
 
 Poor Arabs. Large picture and sketch. 
 
 Arabs seeking Treasure in the Mummy Caves. Picture and sketch. 
 
 The Memnons. 
 
 The Pyramids during the Inundation, with Figures on a Raft. Circular. 
 
 Sheik reposing. One or two copies. 
 
 Grand View of Cairo. 
 
 Interior of Bazaar, Upper Egypt. 
 
 Opium Sellers at Manfalout. Four or five copies. 
 
 Street Scene, Cairo. Several copies. 
 
 Entrance to Mosque, Cairo. 
 
 Entrance to a Bazaar, with Egyptian writing ; termed the Letter-Writer. 
 
 Entrance to Tombs of the Kings. Figures put in by Linnell, after Muller’s 
 death. 
 
 The Money Changer. 
 
 In addition several single figures and studies in oil. 
 
 Of Grecian subjects the chief were — Athens on the Road to Marathon, 
 
 Views near Athens, and the Acropolis. 
 
 Welsh Subjects, painted in 1840 to 1843. 
 
 Snow Storm on the Moors, Roe, North Wales. 
 
 Pont Hoogan, North Wales. 
 
 Salmon Trap on the Lledr. 
 
 Mill on the Dolgarrog. 
 
 Interior of Cottage, North Wales, with old Man and Boy. 
 
 Pandy Mill, North Wales. 
 
 View of Bettws-y-Coed. 
 
 Old Welsh Water-mill. 
 
 View near Llanrwst ; Cottage, and Boy Fishing. 
 
334 
 
 LTFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. II. Carnarvon Castle ; Sunrise and Mist. 
 
 Upright Interior near Roe ; Woman, Girl, and Goats. 
 
 Interior, near Roe ; Woman and Girl feeding Chickens. 
 
 Tal-y-Bont. 
 
 Water-mill and Bridge, North Wales. 
 
 Grand Waterfall during a spat. A large picture. 
 
 Besides the above, there are several early Welsh subjects, painted by Muller 
 before 1840, the chief of which are Views near Conway, Carnarvon 
 Castle, Nant Mill, &c. ; also a large picture of Pandv Mill, with Cattle 
 and Figures crossing a Bridge. About 1834. Size, 5 to 6 feet. 
 
 English Subjects, painted in 1844 and 1845. 
 
 Baggage Waggons with Troops, crossing a Common. 
 
 Harvest Scene. One or two copies. 
 
 Gillingham on the Medway. 
 
 The Hayfield. 
 
 Scriptural Subjects, painted in 1842 and 1843. 
 
 Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert. 
 
 The Good Samaritan. Two copies. 
 
 Moses commanding Darkness over the Land of Egypt. 
 
 Israelites crossing the Red Sea. 
 
 The Pharisee and the Publican. 
 
 Several small figure pictures, such as Bacchanalia and other compositions, were 
 painted in the above years, chiefly at Clipstone Street. 
 
 Lycian, Rhodes, and Smyrna Subjects, painted in the Years 1844 
 
 and 1845. 
 
 Tomb in the Water, Telmessus. 
 
 Dance at Xanthus. Tent scene. 
 
 Tent Scene — Arab Minstrels. 
 
 Turkish Merchants with Camels passing the River Mangerchi, near 
 Xanthus. 
 
 Head of a Cingari, Xanthus. 
 
 Two Lycian Peasants seated. Now at South Kensington. 
 
 Rhodes, with the Pacha’s Palace. 
 
 View of the Port of Rhodes, with ancient Tower. 
 
 Great Cannon formerly belonging to the Knights Templars, Rhodes. 
 
 Burial Ground, Smyrna; Evening Effect. A small replica of this. subject was 
 also painted. 
 
 The Inner Harbour, Rhodes ; rough Water. 
 
 Encampment of Yurooks, with Baggage-Camel, at Tlos (Asia Minor). 
 About 6 ft. by 3 ft. 6 in. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 Of the beautiful Works in Oil and Water-colours of the highly talented artist, William 
 James Muller, Esq., deceased, consisting of the very interesting series of two 
 hundred drawings in water colours, illustrating Sir Charles Fellows’s researches in 
 Lycia, besides a considerable number made in Egypt and Greece ; also about forty 
 unfinished pictures in oil. Sold by Messrs. Christie and Mason, at their Great 
 Rooms, 8, King Street, St. James’s Square, on Wednesday, April 1st, 1846, and two 
 following days, at ten o’clock precisely. 
 
 Sketches made in Greece, Egypt, and Nubia, in 1838 and 1839. 
 
 £ d. 
 
 1 Arab Boatmen o 10 o App. III. 
 
 2 Near Siout on the Nile 1 n o 
 
 3 Chapel near Athens o 10 o 
 
 4 Avenue of Sphinxes o 13 o 
 
 5 Rocks on the Nile, near the first Cataract 1 13 o 
 
 6 Boats on the Nile, with Fire-light 1 10 o 
 
 7 Near Manfalout 1 4 o 
 
 8 Near Siout 2 8 o 
 
 9 Ditto 250 
 
 10 Water-wheel for Irrigation 1 1 o 
 
 11 Head of Sphinx 140 
 
 12 Near Manfalout 3 15 o 
 
 13 Interior of Second Chamber, Belzoni’s Tomb 1 15 o 
 
 14 Djirjah on the Nile 220 
 
 15 Figures, near Cairo o 19 o 
 
 16 Boats on the Nile, near Siout 1 3 o 
 
 1 7 Sunset, Egypt 1 1 o 
 
 18 Interior of Coffee-House, Cairo 220 
 
 19 Catacombs near Siout 2 o o 
 
 20 Excavations at Beni-Hassen 1 10 o 
 
 21 Crocodiles on Sand-bank, Nile 2 4 o 
 
 22 Near Manfalout 3 13 6 
 
 23 Beni-Hassen, and its ruined Village 1 1 o 
 
 24 Part of the Acropolis, Athens, with Caryatides 4 12 o 
 
 25 Part of the Acropolis, Athens 2 12 6 
 
 26 Luxor on the Nile 3 6 o 
 
336 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 £ * d - 
 
 App. III. 27 Beni-Hassen, Chamber 60 ft. by 43 ft o 15 o. 
 
 28 Near the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings 1 5 o 
 
 29 Pass leading on the Tombs of the Kings 3 3 0 
 
 30 Boats on the Nile 4 12 o 
 
 31 Greece 240 
 
 32 Near the Cataracts of the Nile 440 
 
 33 Manfalout 440 
 
 34 Pyramids as seen from Nile, four miles distant 5 5 o 
 
 35 Egyptian Sheep : 2 2 o 
 
 36 Study for Foreground, Greece 1 6 o 
 
 37 Arab Houses, now in occupation of Greeks o 15 o 
 
 38 Near Siout 360 
 
 39 Egyptian Ploughing 1 10 o 
 
 40 Portion of the Acropolis, Athens , 2 4 o 
 
 41 Distant View of Athens, with Acropolis 2 10 o 
 
 42 Temple, Dendera 2 o o 
 
 43 Near Cairo : j i o 
 
 44 Houchford, on the Nile 100 
 
 45 Acropolis, Athens ; Sunset 4 6 o 
 
 46 Part of Acropolis 1 10 o 
 
 47 Arab Shepherd 1 6 o 
 
 48 Arab Female 1 2 o 
 
 49 Arab Shepherd Girl 1 1 o 
 
 50 Caryatides, Acropolis, Athens 3 o o 
 
 5 1 Greek Boatmen 1 3 o 
 
 52 Carpet Seller, Turk 1 7 o 
 
 53 Sketch from peculiar Dress, Turk in o 
 
 54 Arab Boy o 10 6 
 
 55 Arab Agriculturists sowing Grain o 10 6 
 
 56 Entrance to Manfalout 3 3 o 
 
 57 Arab Guide at Gournou 0160 
 
 58 Plains of Marathon, Greece 3 7 o 
 
 59 Madinat Jabou, Egypt 1 2 o 
 
 60 Siout o 15 o 
 
 61 Greece 3 12 o 
 
 62 Arab, Gournou o 9 o 
 
 63 Arab, Siout 2 10 o 
 
 64 Entrance to a Mosque, Cairo 1 10 o 
 
 65 Method of Irrigation on the Nile o 10 6 
 
 66 Bedouin Boatmen o 16 o 
 
 67 Janissary r 12 o 
 
 68 My Gun, and Arab Boatmen looking at Snake 1 3 o 
 
 97 The Dourn or Thebaic Palm 1 18 o 
 
 98 Acropolis, Athens 4 o o 
 
 99 Valley of the Tombs of the Queens, Egypt 220 
 
 100 Athens 8 o o 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 337 
 £ s - J . 
 
 101 Cairo, Interior 3 o o App. III. 
 
 102 Sand Storm in the Desert 4 4 o 
 
 103 Memnons 7 15 o 
 
 104 Acropolis, Athens 7 10 o 
 
 105 Temple, Dendera 130 
 
 106 My Boat on the Nile. M.S.S 7 o o 
 
 107 Luxor, Egypt 160 
 
 108 Village of Gezar, Egypt 4 16 o 
 
 109 Luxor, Egypt o 15 o 
 
 no Temple, Dendera 200 
 
 in Karnack o 10 6 
 
 1 12 Camels near the Nile 11 o 6 
 
 1 13 Acropolis, Athens *.» 2 15 o 
 
 1 14 Beni-Hassen 1 18 o 
 
 1 15 Athens, Greece 280 
 
 1 16 Memnonium 1 4 o 
 
 1 17 Interior of First Temple, Karnack 140 
 
 1 18 Ruins of the Erectheum, Athens _ v. 2 12 o 
 
 119 Acropolis 1 14 o 
 
 120 Malta, from Fort Manuel 2 15 o 
 
 121 Tower of the Winds, Athens 3 12 o 
 
 122 Acropolis, Athens 2 14 o 
 
 123 Ditto ditto 5 5 o 
 
 124 Mount of Anchasmus, from Acropolis 3 5 o 
 
 Second Day’s Sale, on Thursday, April 2nd, 1846. 
 
 15 1 Part of the Acropolis, Athens 1 2 o 
 
 152 Part of Parthenon 1 8 o 
 
 153 Acropolis, with Ruins of Convent in which Lord Byron 
 
 resided 16 5 6 
 
 154 Temple, Egypt 1 7 o 
 
 155 Karnack, Egypt 1 13 o 
 
 156 Raft on the Nile, used for Fishing 900 
 
 157 Part of Parthenon 2 10 o 
 
 158 Madinat, Egypt 1 2 o 
 
 159 Temple, ditto 1 10 o 
 
 160 Karnack 1 4 o 
 
 161 Cave of Parraghia, Spilcotissa 1 18 o 
 
 162 Acropolis, Athens 5 10 o 
 
 163 Gournou 1 o o 
 
 164 Triumphal Arch, near Athens 3 10 o 
 
 165 Entrance to Mosque, Cairo 1 1 o 
 
 Z 
 
33 8 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 £ s - <*■ 
 
 App. III. 166 Temple of Jupiter Stator 2 16 o 
 
 167 Acropolis 5 o o 
 
 168 Monument of Lysicrates 4 o o 
 
 169 Slave Market, Cairo 3 7 o 
 
 170 Egypt 2 10 o 
 
 17 1 Near Siout, on the Nile 4 o o 
 
 172 Head of Turk ^ 2 4 o 
 
 173 Near Siout, on the Nile 1 3 o 
 
 174 Pyramids from Nile 6 10 o 
 
 175 Part of Parthenon 2 12 o 
 
 176 Small Common Yellow-headed Vulture o 14 o 
 
 177 Pelican shot near Manfalout 1 10 o 
 
 178 Athens 3 10 o 
 
 179 On the Nile, near Siout 3 10 o 
 
 180 Athens 1 4 0 
 
 181 Outside Acropolis, Athens 2 12 6 
 
 182 Luxor 4 6 o 
 
 183 Valley of the Tombs of the Queens 6 15 o 
 
 184 Date-palm, Egypt 3 3 o 
 
 185 Egina, with Greeks 6 o 0 
 
 186 Plain of Marathon 2 6 o 
 
 187 Parthenon 8 o o 
 
 188 Karnack 2 8 o 
 
 189 Street in Cairo 8 8 o 
 
 190 Acropolis 4 15 o 
 
 19 1 Street in Cairo 18 7 6 
 
 192 Egypt 480 
 
 193 Part of Piraeus, Greece 16 5 6 
 
 194 Tombs inhabited by Arabs, Egypt 1 8 o 
 
 195 Street in Cairo 2 15 o 
 
 196 Ditto 7 10 o 
 
 197 Bazaar, Cairo 2 12 o 
 
 198 Near Siout 5 5 ° 
 
 199 Parthenon 7 10 o 
 
 200 Plains of Marathon 5 o o 
 
 201 Karnack o 12 o 
 
 202 Ditto 3 8 o 
 
 203 Arab Merchant, Cairo 5 12 o 
 
 204 Entrance to Temple, Egypt 12 o o 
 
 205 Temple of Dendera, Egypt 5 x 5 0 
 
 206 Bazaar, Cairo 14 14 o 
 
 207 Temple, Egypt 2 6 o 
 
 208 Letter Writer, Cairo 14 3 6 
 
 209 Raies, Captain of Boat 9 19 6 
 
 210 Slave Market, Cairo 880 
 
 21 1 Egypt 4 10 o 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 • 
 
 339 
 £ s - d - 
 
 212 Parthenon, East End 5 5 o App. Iir. 
 
 213 Entrance to Mosque, Cairo 1 16 o 
 
 214 Turkish Bazaar, Siout 5 15 6 
 
 215 Part of Acropolis 3 3 o 
 
 216 Temple of Dendera 3 5° 
 
 217 Arabs at Prayer 8 o o 
 
 218 The Nile, looking towards Nubia 1 13 o 
 
 219 Interior of Cairo ,. 7 7 o 
 
 220 Avenue of Sphinxes 5100 
 
 221 Entrance to Athens 15 4 6 
 
 222 Bruce’s Tomb, Valley of Kings 7 7 o 
 
 223 Acropolis 1 1 o 
 
 224 Arab Houses 2 o o 
 
 Sketches in Lycia, Rhodes, Sic., 1843—1844. 
 
 225 Tlos, Lycia 12 12 o 
 
 226 Xan thus, Mount Taurus in distance 28 7 o 
 
 227 Tlos 19 19 o 
 
 228 Tomb, Pinara n o 6 
 
 229 Tlos 13 13 o 
 
 230 Cannon, Rhodes, Super-Calassi 8 18 6 
 
 23 1 Taurus 11 n o 
 
 232 River Hermes, Smyrna 15 4 6 
 
 233 Arabic Tower and Mole, Rhodes 21 o o 
 
 234 Ditto ditto 14 3 6 
 
 235 Musical Party, Lycia n 11 o 
 
 236 Rhodes 14 14 o 
 
 237 Ruins on the River, near Macri 10 o o 
 
 238 Turkish Cottage, Lycia 12 1 6 
 
 239 Tlos 9 19 6 
 
 240 Sketch near Xanthus 12 12 o 
 
 241 Lion Tomb, Xanthus 1656 
 
 242 Camels, Smyrna 13 2 6 
 
 243 Near Xanthus 6 15 o 
 
 244 Part of the Gulf of Smyrna 13 2 6 
 
 245 Pacha’s Palace, Rhodes 11 ri o 
 
 246 Turkish Encampment near Xanthus 5 10 o 
 
 247 Turkish Cottages 14 3 6 
 
 24S Near Pinara 5 o o 
 
 249 On the Road to 13 2 6 
 
 250 Niobe, Rhodes... 990 
 
 251 Cingari’s Hut, Lycia 14 3 6 
 
 252 House of an Imaun, Lycia 14 14 o 
 
 253 Persian Khan, Smyrna 15 46 
 
 Z 2 
 
340 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 £ * A 
 
 App. III. 254 Arab Tower, from the Quay, Rhodes 43 1 o 
 
 255 Mole, Rhodes 990 
 
 256 Interior of a Turkish Cottage 16 5 6 
 
 257 Turkish Burial Ground, Smyrna 20 9 6 
 
 258 Rhodes 17 6 6 
 
 259 Smyrna, with the Jewish Burial Ground 17 17 o 
 
 260 Ancient Telmessus 28 7 o 
 
 261 Caracofou 25 4 o 
 
 262 Pinara 14 14 o 
 
 263 Turcoman’s Hut (making Ecuree ) 18 18 o 
 
 264 Theatre, Xanthus 24 3 o 
 
 265 Leech Depot, Xanthus 26 5 o 
 
 266 Church of San Nicola, Rhodes 17 6 6 
 
 267 Rhodes 24 3 o 
 
 268 Burnt Pine Forest, on the Road to Mangherchi 25 4 o 
 
 269 Pinara 12 12 o 
 
 270 Pinara, looking towards Tlos ' 21 o o 
 
 271 Looking towards Valley of Glaucus from Makri 16 5 6 
 
 272 Tlos 14 3 6 
 
 273 Street of the Cavaliers, Rhodes 22 11 6 
 
 274 Tlos 16 5 6 
 
 275 Castle of Smyrna 
 
 276 On the Road to Bouja 
 
 277 Going to the Mosque 
 
 278 Homer’s River, Smyrna 
 
 279 Theatre of Ancient Telmessus 
 
 280 Port of Makri 
 
 281 Xanthus 21 o o 
 
 282 Water Tomb 32 11 o 
 
 283 Tombs, Xanthus 21 o o 
 
 284 Pinara, Ruins of the City 21 o o 
 
 285 Pinara 16 5 6 
 
 286 Tlos 21 o o 
 
 287 Interior of my Room at Makri 68 5 o 
 
 288 Turkish Burial Ground, Smyrna 17 17 o 
 
 289 Turcoman’s Hut 31 10 o 
 
 290 Tombs at Ancient Telmessus 13 13 o 
 
 291 Macri 13 2 6 
 
 292 Port of Macri 25 14 6 
 
 293 Xanthus, with the River 21 o o 
 
 294 Ruins at Xanthus 14 3 6 
 
 295 Pinara 10 10 o 
 
 296 Interior of Brigand Turcoman’s Hut 31 10 o 
 
 297 Musical Party, Cingaries at the House of the Cavasse, 
 
 Xanthus 16 16 o 
 
 298 Burnt Pines, on the Road to Pinara 38 17 o 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 341 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 32 11 o App. III. 
 
 21 o o 
 
 22 4 o 
 
 12 12 O 
 
 24 3 O 
 
 19 19 o 
 22 11 6 
 44 2 o 
 
 15 10 o 
 35 J 4 o 
 
 Third Day’s Sale, on Friday, April 3RD, 1846. 
 
 309 Rhodes 47 6 6 
 
 310 Tomb at Xanthus, showing encroachment of River 11 11 o 
 
 31 1 Cannon, Rhodes 19 19 o 
 
 312 Interior of Turk’s Shop 10 10 o 
 
 313 Pinara 9 19 6 
 
 314 Pacha’s Palace, Rhodes 18 18 o 
 
 315 Tlos 11 o 6 
 
 316 Hospital of the Knights Templars, Rhodes 12 1 6 
 
 317 Tlos 9 19 6 
 
 318 Water Tomb, Xanthus 15 15 o 
 
 319 Xanthus from the River 10 10 o 
 
 320 Xanthus from the Sands ! 16 5 6 
 
 321 Taurus Mountains from Tlos 13 13 o 
 
 322 Rock Tombs, Pinara 18 18 o 
 
 323 Xanthus 28 7 o 
 
 324 Pinara 18 7 6 
 
 325 Jewish Burial Ground, Smyrna 26 5 o 
 
 326 Xanthus from the Theatre 28 7 o 
 
 327 Tlos 12 12 o 
 
 328 Tlos 21 o o 
 
 329 Xanthus- from the Theatre 39 18 o 
 
 330 Sculpture — House, Xanthus 34 13 o 
 
 331 Camel Market, Smyrna 34 13 o 
 
 332 Mount Sipylus, or Marissa 8 18 6 
 
 333 On the Road to Vourla 19 8 6 
 
 334 Yurook’s Hut, Xanthus 21 10 6 
 
 335 Camel, Xanthus 15 4 6 
 
 336 Xanthus 14 3 6 
 
 299 Camels, Smyrna 
 
 300 Turkish Cottage on the Plain of Xanthus 
 
 301 Camels, Xanthus 
 
 302 Interior of Yurook’s Hut, Lycia 
 
 303 Interior of Turcoman’s Hut, Xanthus ... 
 
 304 Yurook’s Hut, Xanthus 
 
 305 Interior, with Prisoners and Guard 
 
 306 Fir Forest, Lycia 
 
 307 Turkish Mill 
 
 308 Firs, on the Road to Mangherchi 
 
342 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 App. III. 337 Interior of Tomb, with Horses 13 13 o 
 
 338 Old Camel, Sixty-nine Years 37 16 o 
 
 339 Camels, Smyrna 23 2 o 
 
 340 Turkish Hut / 3 13 6 
 
 341 Wild Vines, Xanthus 6 6 o 
 
 342 Bird shot at Xanthus 2 2 o 
 
 343 Date-tree, Xanthus 3 5 o 
 
 344 Camel, Xanthus 5 5 o 
 
 345 Interior Sketch 7 o o 
 
 346 Interior, with Turks 6 16 6 
 
 347 Camels, Smyrna 4 4 o 
 
 348 Turkish Utensils 4 4 o 
 
 349 Turkish Burial Ground 13 2 6 
 
 350 Kingfisher, Lycia 4 6 o 
 
 351 Turkish Utensils 2 12 6 
 
 352 Figure 3 3 o 
 
 353 Greek Boy 2 12 6 
 
 354 Son of Brigand Chief 2 6 o 
 
 355 Turcoman Chief 4 6 o 
 
 356 Turk 3 3° 
 
 357 Yurook 8 15 o 
 
 358 Gardener in Orange Grove 3 10 o 
 
 359 Turk 4 10 o 
 
 360 Cingari 3 5° 
 
 361 Yurook 5 5 o 
 
 362 Water Carrier 4 4 o 
 
 363 Cingari 11 o 6 
 
 364 Yurook Chief, Xanthus 3 10 o 
 
 365 Yurook Chief, Lycia 5 5 o 
 
 366 Cingari 5 5° 
 
 367 Group of Turks, Rhodes 9 9 o 
 
 368 Turkish Attendant 3 3 o 
 
 369 Boy, sitting down 1 12 o 
 
 370 Ruins of Smyrna •. 8 8 o 
 
 371 Lycian Boy, with Bow and Arrow 6 o o 
 
 372 Xanthian Dance 35 3 6 
 
 373 Figure Smoking, sitting down 4 15 o 
 
 374 Turkish Water Carrier 3 o o 
 
 375 Greek Boy 1 14 o 
 
 376 Female Figure, Xanthus 3 7 o 
 
 377 Xanthian Hunter • 3 10 o 
 
 378 Turk, with Fire 440 
 
 379 Xanthus 5 15 6 
 
 380 Turkish Utensils, Macri 1 n o 
 
 381 Figure, Xanthus 6 6 o 
 
 382 Mule with Provisions 7 7 o 
 
APPENDIX III. 343 
 
 £ '• rf- 
 
 383 Ships off Makri 6 6 o App. ill. 
 
 384 Unknown Bird, shot by William Muller 1 5 o 
 
 385 Kingfisher 2 15 0 
 
 386 Woodpecker 1 15 o 
 
 387 Tomb, Xanthus 8 8 o 
 
 388 Morning, TIos 5 15 6 
 
 389 Turcoman 400 
 
 390 Utensils and Camel’s Saddle 2 2 o 
 
 391 Roman Fragments, Xanthus 3 5 o 
 
 392 Xanthian Boy 2 2 o 
 
 393 Foreground Fragments, Tlos 1 9 o 
 
 394 Head of Wild Boar, shot at Xanthus, January 22nd, 
 
 ^44 5 5 0 
 
 395 Vulture 460 
 
 396 Turkish Sheep’s Head 2 8 o 
 
 397 Turks; a Study n n o 
 
 398 Xanthian Boy 1 11 6 
 
 399 Xanthian Hunter 6 16 6 
 
 400 Cingari playing on a Turkish Fife o 16 o 
 
 401 Costume of Turkish Female 190 
 
 402 Greek, Lycia 200 
 
 403 Cingari playing Turkish Guitar 2 o o 
 
 404 Street, Smyrna 2 12 o 
 
 405 Albanian, Smyrna 3 5 0 
 
 406 Husbandman, Xanthus 2 12 6 
 
 407 Yurook, Xanthus 5 5 o 
 
 408 Girl, Xanthus 1 11 6 
 
 409 Greek Boy, Macri 336 
 
 436 Gipsy Encampment, Winter, Gillingham-on-Thames 25 4 o 
 
 437 Heath Scene; Bird-catchers 29 18 6 
 
 438 Pyramids from the Nile 13 13 o 
 
 439 Pangbourne, Berkshire 35 14 0 
 
 440 Angers, Normandy i 75 12 o 
 
 441 Harlech Castle, North Wales. Painted at Bristol during his 
 
 last illness 23 2 o 
 
 442 Sketch, Compton Dando, Somerset. Painted at Bristol 
 
 during his last illness 23 2 o 
 
 443 Two Venetian Sketches — Bridge of Sighs and Canal 
 
 Scene 8 18 8 
 
 444 Windmill, Norfolk 23 2 o 
 
 445 Duplicate of No. 436. Painted at Bristol during his last 
 
 illness 45 3 o 
 
 446 Valley of the Tombs of the Kings of Egypt 17 17 o 
 
 447 Lycian Tombs in the Rocks 27 6 o 
 
 448 Rock Tombs, Tlos, Lycia 129 3 o 
 
 449 Pinara, Asia Minor 18 18 o 
 
344 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 £ s • li - 
 
 Apr. Ill 450 Tal-y-Bont, near Llanwrst, North Wales 37 16 o 
 
 451 Limekiln, Lynmouth, above the meet of the waters 32 n o 
 
 452 Hayfield. Painted at Bristol dhring his last illness 20 9 6 
 
 453 Ditto ditto 42 o o 
 
 Recapitulation. 
 
 £ s - d - 
 
 First Day’s Sale 422 15 o 
 
 Second Day’s Sale I >995 10 6 
 
 Third Day’s Sale 1,816 18 6 
 
 4,235 4 o 
 
 Extra 7 5 o 
 
 Total 4,242 9 o 
 
 \ 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 LIST OF OIL-PICTURES PAINTED BY WILLIAM JAMES MULLER, AND 
 EXISTING IN VARIOUS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS IN ENGLAND AT 
 THE DATES GIVEN BELOW. 
 
 D. W. Acraman, i, Lower Crescent, Clifton, August, 1842. Italian Arp. IV. 
 Peasants on a Road. Ceremony of the Marriage of the Doge of Venice 
 with the Sea. Landscape, with Peasants on a Road near a Lake, and a 
 Cascade. An Italian Boy with a Hurdy-gurdy. A Frozen River, with 
 Figures on the Ice ; a Windmill on the Bank. View of the Rialto, with 
 numerous Boats and Figures. A Landscape. Santa Maria della Salute 
 and the Dogana, Venice. 
 
 Charles Meigh, Grove House, Shelton, near Hanley, April, 1845. A 
 Landscape. Interior of a Cottage at Heidelberg. Interior of a Temple 
 inhabited by Arabs, Thebes. The Sphinx, and large Pyramid. 
 
 The Right Hon. Lord Northwick, Thurleston House, Cheltenham, 
 
 August, 1846. View of the Bay of Naples. View on the Rhine. Sketch in 
 Venice. Italian Boy and Guinea-Pig. View in Rhodes. A Wintry 
 Landscape. 
 
 Joshua Satterfield, Manchester, 1845. A Snow Scene, Grounds of 
 Blaize Castle. A Mill, with Children crossing a Frozen Pond. A Boat fast 
 in the Ice, Hanham, Somerset. Entrance to a Bazaar, Siout. Slave Market : 
 
 “ Selling a Slave,” Alexandria. 
 
 Joseph Gillott, Edgbaston, November, 1846. Large Mountainous Scene 
 with Caravan crossing the river Mancherchi. View of Athens (large 
 picture). The Slave Market, Cairo. View in Egypt; two Statues in the 
 Desert. Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert. Head of an Egyptian. Land- 
 scape, View on the Nile. The Chess-Players. 
 
 Henry Bradley, Leamington, May, i860. The Harbour of Rhodes 
 and the Arab Tower; Figures on the Quay. The Salmon Trap on the Lledr : 
 a grand upright picture. The Doge’s Palace, Venice : long picture with 
 figures. 
 
346 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Arp. IV. William Roberts, Harborne Hill, near Birmingham, May, 1867. A 
 small Figure Piece, Turks. Landscape, with Children and Donkeys. Land- 
 scape, with Cottage and Children. The Old Water-Mill. Whitchurch: a fine 
 upright picture. 
 
 William Sharp, Wood End, Cout, Handsworth, 1865. Frost Scene; the 
 Gamekeeper : large upright. Eastern or Arab Shepherds. Prayers in the 
 Desert. Tomb in the Water, Telmessus. Winter Scene, with Cottage, Trees, 
 and Frozen River. 
 
 Edwin Bullock, Hawthorn House, Handsworth, 1870. The Port of 
 Rhodes. Venice, the Dogana, and Sta. Maria della Salute. Lago Maggiore. 
 The Slave Market : small copy. Gillingham on the Medway. Angers. A 
 Savoyard Boy. Landscape, Compton Dando : large picture. Landscape, 
 with Peasants driving Sheep. Landscape, with Woman and Child crossing 
 Bridge. 
 
 Thomas Ashton, Manchester, 1870. The Baggage Waggon. Landscape, 
 Welsh Water-mill, with Children. Arab Minstrels, Lycia. 
 
 J. D. Weston, Dorset House, Clifton, 1873. Avenue of Sphinxes, Moon- 
 light, Thebes. Rocky Stream at Lynmouth : oval. Water-Mill, North Wales. 
 Landscape, upright, Cottage and Trees. Mountainous Landscape, with 
 Tower. Kings Weston Park. Leigh Woods. Eruit Picture. 
 
 1 
 
 S. Mayou, Edgbaston, 1873. Selling a Slave : upright. Opium Seller, 
 Manfalout. Interior of Welsh Cottage at Roe, Woman, Girl, and Poultry. 
 Country Lane, called Gillingham : Muller’s last landscape in oil. 
 
 Mr. Newsham, Preston, Lancashire, 1874. Landscape, Distant View of 
 Whitchurch. Old Cottage in a Welsh Glen ; two Children fishing. Gilling- 
 ham on the Medway. 
 
 Henry Cooper, The Haunch, King’s Heath, 1874. Welsh Interior, 
 upright; Woman with Spinning-Wheel. Embarkation of the Doge, Venice. 
 View near Llanrwst, with Cottage and Boy fishing, Dead Fawn : early 
 picture. Chess-Players, Cairo : sketch for large picture. 
 
 Walter Lyndon, Henburys, Near Moseley, 1874. Carnarvon Castle, 
 Morning Mists. Swiss Chalets, with Figures and Mountains. Rural Scene, 
 with Peasants and White Horse. Near Gillingham, upright, with Cottage, 
 Children, and Boat. 
 
 John Henderson, Montague Street, Russell Square, 1874. View at 
 Tivoli : early. Rocky Stream, Lynmouth. Prayers in the Desert : sketch for 
 large picture. 
 
 Sidney Cartwright, The Leatower, near Wolverhampton, 1874. On 
 the River Scheldt, Dutch Boats, with Towers of Antwerp in the Distance, 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 347 
 
 4 ft. 6 by 2 ft. io in. Head of Cingari, at Xanthus : circular picture, 13 in. App. IV. 
 by 13 in. Exhibited at Royal Academy, 1845. Frost Scene, 26 in. by 16 in., — ~ 
 
 1838. Cattle under a Shed; Cottage and Frozen River. 
 
 Albert Levy, Hall Road, St. John’s Wood, 1874. The Good Samaritan. 
 Whitchurch, Somerset. Gillingham on the Medway. The Slave Market. 
 
 Street Scene, Cairo. 
 
 Pictures by W. Muller belonging to the late Mr. Gillott, 
 sold at Christie and Co.’s, April, 1872. 
 
 £ 
 
 A Monk, 17 in. by 9J in 52 
 
 The Port of Rhodes, 16 in. by 24 in. ; from Mr. Bullock’s Collection ... 350 
 
 Landscape, with Peasant on Grey Pony, and Rainbow, 9 in. 
 
 by i7i in. 1843 150 
 
 Interior of Cottage, North Wales, with an Old Man smoking, and 
 
 Boy, 6^ in. by 11 in 200 
 
 Turkish Burial Ground, Smyrna, 13 in. by 20 in.; from R. U. Blain’s 
 
 Collection 270 
 
 Dogana, and Church of Sta. Maria della Salute, 10 in. by 18 in. ; from 
 
 E. Bullock’s Collection 330 
 
 Fruit, Vegetable, and Still Life on a Table, 25 in. by 30 in 90 
 
 Landscape, with Hagar and Ishmael, 2 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft. 4 in., 1842; 
 
 purchased direct from artist 280 
 
 The Memnons, 1843, 2 ft. by 3 ft. 4 in. ; bought from artist 315 
 
 The Treasure-Finders, 30 in. by 54 in., 1843; painted by Muller for 
 
 Mr. Gillott 410 
 
 Landscape after a Shower, Rainbow, Boy with White Mice, Children in 
 Foreground, by W. Collins, R.A., 30 in. by 48 in. ; from the 
 
 Collection of Mr. Proudfoot, Manchester 770 
 
 The Slave Market, Egypt, 1841, 15 in. by 25 in.; from Collection of 
 
 Charles Birch 1,510 
 
 The Bay of Naples, 3 ft. 6 in. by 5 ft. 10 in.; bought from the 
 
 artist 2,000 
 
 The Chess-Players, 1843, 2 ft. by 2 ft. 3 in. ; from the Collection of 
 
 Charles Birch; exhibited at Leeds 3 , 95 ° 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 THE ARTIST IN XANTHUS AND OTHER PLACES IN LYC 1 A. 
 
 Letter No. I. 
 
 App. V. 
 
 “ Xanthus, Asia Minor, 
 
 “ November 29th, 1843. 
 
 “ My dear Hall, — I promised, on leaving England, to give you some 
 account of my progress in this country. That promise I now keep, trusting 
 you will pardon haste, as ‘ posts ’ are scarce things, and an opportunity occurs 
 of sending this to Makri with dispatches that leave to-morrow. If I can give 
 any information worthy of insertion in the Art-Union I shall be glad, as it will 
 at least answer to me the purpose of a week’s writing, by acquainting my friends 
 that I am still in the land of the living. Well, then, after the usual journey 
 through France I reached the Mediterranean, and took my berth in the Mitws 
 for Smyrna, leaving my friends, Messrs. Fellows, Hawkins, and Scharp, at 
 Malta, to come on by the Medea , the vessel appointed to the expedition. At 
 Smyrna I was, much against my inclination, detained nearly a month. It is 
 not a picturesque town ; it is an ordinary Eastern town, filled with picturesque 
 people. Never have I seen so much beautiful costume ; while the long strings 
 of camels laden with fruits and other merchandise prove highly attractive 
 to the artist. But the Turkish burial-grounds there are richer in their large 
 cypress-trees than any I had previously seen — in particular those near the 
 Caravan Bridge. There is much that is exceedingly poetic in these resting- 
 places of the dead. The sombre shadow well agrees with the intent of the 
 spot, and if the visitor be inclined to indulge his fancy let him visit them by 
 moonlight, or at least twilight. At such times the tombstone, with its carved 
 turban, often deceives, and it requires no particularly powerful imagination 
 to conjure up ghosts and spirits in any number. Few of the Turks are bold 
 enough to go through these cemeteries after dark, and my Greek servan^ 
 Nicolo, flatly told me he should decline, and would not go for all Smyrna. 
 He kept his word. He feared the jackals more than the ghosts; but saw 
 what I wanted to see, and returned to the hotel. 
 
 “ Enough of Smyrna, I say now, and so I thought when there. I left it 
 on board an Austrian vessel for Rhodes, as I had in charge the firmans, 
 servants, &c., for Mr. Fellows. I was anxious to reach him without a 
 moment’s delay; so, after just taking a running look at Rhodes (on which 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 349 
 
 subject I have much to say on some future occasion, as I intend, on my return, 
 making it my head-quarters for some weeks), I hired a caique or boat, and 
 got all things on board, and started for Xanthus with a fair wind and most 
 beautiful sunshine. Never shall I forget that glorious night. I am rather 
 too old a traveller to allow fine bright moonlight nights to prevent my 
 sleeping ; the period of high romance has long since vanished ; yet on this 
 occasion I could not sleep, and I had not had my clothes off for three days 
 and nights. So I remained in a happy state between musing and thinking, 
 or listening to a Turk narrating a long story, which, when translated by my 
 dragoman, proved a very pretty tale. The moon sunk lower and lower, and 
 as its silver light for the last time touched the waves, as if by general consent, 
 the Turks lay down one by one. All was silence, except at times the heavy 
 breathing of the men and the heavy splash of the waves as our little craft 
 knocked the water from her bows. Such a silence affords opportunity to 
 think, especially in such a position as I then found myself ; thoughts of 
 home pressed upon the mind, mingled with the ever-anxious hope of the 
 traveller — -health. I indulged such thoughts, until at length the glorious sun 
 rose from the sea and shed its cheering beams over the scene, and we 
 discovered in the distance the steamboat Medea. This was just as it should 
 be. The wind, unfortunately, failed us ; but we made signals, and in a very 
 short time had the pleasure of seeing a boat with six men put off ; and now 
 all was confusion in getting the things ready for disembarking, which was 
 done, as other boats took us in tow. We then placed the baggage in the first 
 tent at the mouth of the river Xanthus, and at once proceeded to the head- 
 quarters of Mr. Fellows, leaving the traps to be brought on by camels and 
 the pontoon. 
 
 “ And now for a word or two on the appearance of the coast, river, &c. 
 At the mouth of the latter is a considerable bar, which renders the crossing 
 by no means easy ; during one of the former expeditions it occasioned the 
 loss of two of the sailors, who were trying to cross when the boat was heavily 
 laden. Fortunately for us there was little wind, and we passed with con- 
 siderable ease. On landing there is one wide expanse of sand, which, under 
 the intense rays of an Eastern sun, reminded me of Egypt. On the right 
 lies a marsh of flat ground, which extends its pestilential influence over the 
 surrounding country, and forces the inhabitants to leave the valley for higher 
 ground as the summer approaches. At the present season little fever exists, 
 although I have to regret that it has already visited our party, and proved 
 fatal to one poor fellow : true, he had long been ill on board his vessel (the 
 Queen, I believe). With the exception of this, and one other instance, as yet 
 we have not had the common average of sickness. In this climate it would 
 be about five per cent. Xanthus, the seat of the operations, is about a 
 hundred or a hundred and fifty feet above the plain, and on the left and right 
 is closed in by mountains of considerable height, backed by the Taurus range, 
 which is now capped with snow. My earliest opinion, on visiting this 
 country, was, that some magnificent scenery must exist in the mountain 
 range; and as the costume of the people for simplicity and elegance far sur- 
 passes the dress of the ordinary Turk, no want of figures could be felt. In 
 
 App. V. 
 
350 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 this I have not been disappointed ; for although as yet I have only been one 
 or two excursions to any distance, I cannot pass over my visit to Pinara in 
 silence. But I would say a word or two previously on the ruins and anti- 
 quities of this place (Xanthus). They principally consist, then, of tombs, 
 either in the rocks or standing, as they have existed for centuries, part shaken 
 by earthquake or pillaged by men. Their forms are most classical, and 
 when covered with sculpture, as in the case of the two grand ones now under 
 process of removing, little inferior to the finest and purest Greek period of 
 art. Of these two tombs, I must say, if the expedition removed nothing else, 
 they will add to our country two of the most beautiful and splendid remains 
 in existence. Many other objects as fine will, doubtless, in time make their 
 appearance. One has already been turned up — a lion. Although mutilated 
 and in a rigid style of art, there is a beauty in its outline, a purity in its form, 
 that would enable it to stand by the side of the finest works of the ancients. 
 Much ground has to be searched, and I sincerely hope not in vain. The 
 city was formerly very large, as its ruins now cover a vast extent of soil. 
 There is little, unfortunately, in the remains of the buildings or temples that 
 may be termed skctchable, being principally piles of stones of enormous size. 
 Cyclopean walls, with Roman ones built upon them, do not exactly suit the 
 artist’s folio. Yet there may be one who will chance to see this rapid scrawl, 
 a landscape-painter — I mean one who would delight in nature in her wild 
 moods, her savage beauties. Let him accompany me to Pinara ; but he must 
 be content to live on semen, sleeping in his capote on the ground in his tent, 
 and, as we have experienced, he may have the treat of a thunderstorm — one 
 when the lightning plays about him, and thunder as a sort of bass, ending with 
 the tent blowing in, and a perfect deluge of rain. More than one of these nights 
 we passed, glad when daylight broke, and if sunshine with it, all the better. 
 I say he must be contented ; and if he will promise to be so, let him mount 
 his horse and form in with the long train of visitors, servants, and baggage, 
 and after six hours’ ride he will, tired or not, thank me, and acknowledge that 
 Pinara, with its mountain like a giant castle, pierced with thousands of loop- 
 holes (these are tombs surrounded by a moat — this a mountain-torrent, 
 clothed, instead of ivy, with oaks and pines), forms one of the grandest 
 subjects for the pencil he has ever seen. Let him gaze upon it by sunrise — 
 by sunset — and if his curiosity will not be satisfied, it may be by seeing its 
 grand form developed through mist by the lurid light of some flash of the 
 thunderstorm. After its outline is familiar, the tombs will attract his atten- 
 tion, as in many instances they are temples cut in the rock. Those in ravine 
 harmonize wonderfully with the general scenery ; their colour of a rich ochre, 
 and this is curious, as they seem not to have been painted. They were cut 
 in the rock : as before stated, that rock is marble. Were they covered with 
 wax? If so, would they have kept their colour for thousands of years? 
 Pinara is not so dry as Thebes, yet, whatever was the means, colour exists on 
 the tombs. The letters in the Lycian inscriptions are painted blue and red. 
 Why not, then, some substance placed over the entire tomb, giving it polish 
 and general finish ? At Myra there is a splendid instance of paint being used 
 in sculpture : it is only of late days it has been omitted. I have seen it on 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 351 
 
 the ruins of Greece, of Nubia, now in Lycia, and can but think it calculated App. V. 
 to improve the architectural effect, by rendering the building a part of the 
 general scene, by blending them together. But to return to the tombs. The 
 greater part of Pinara is as a piece of honeycomb ; it is perforated and 
 carved, and I have generally seen, where much pains have been spent on one 
 of these late abodes of man, great judgment in choice of position has been 
 exercised. They did so with their theatres — at least such is my opinion 
 from what I have observed. Why not with their tombs ? It has been but 
 of late years that attention has been paid to our burial-grounds ; much may 
 be done to improve them. I say nothing about their monuments of cream- 
 jugs, tea-caddies, or Gothic blasphemies. It will be wise for us to look to 
 this department of art as it existed amongst the Lycians. Some ideas can be 
 cribbed (pardon the word). I hope yet to see a modern Lycian tomb. 
 
 A Turk in general is no friend to our graphic display ; he is, from never 
 having seen anything of the sort, afraid of some evil consequences ; and once, 
 when I drew on a scrap of paper the head of a very handsome imaginary 
 gentleman, and gave it to a Turkish lad, thinking to cast some seed of 
 portraiture among the villagers, I had the mortification to witness my splendid 
 performance stoned by the people before my face. Try money — piastres do 
 much in Turkey — but it won’t enable you always to sketch the natives. I 
 asked one night about six or seven to come and take coffee round our fire, 
 and bring their monotonous musical instruments with them (which are very 
 curious). Now I thought I might get a good group by keeping a little in the 
 shade, and working away whilst they howled to their hearts’ content. No 
 sooner was I discovered than I was obliged to come to a treaty of so many 
 piastres a head. Now all was right, and to my sketching again I went, when 
 my young friend was discovered doing the same. The Turk, with his usual 
 cunning, immediately demanded an increase, if two drew him. This I would 
 not agree to at first ; but at length brought matters pretty even by insisting 
 that boys ought not to be paid the same as men ; so they yielded, and I 
 procured a drawing that pleased me. Then I went to my tent and spent 
 nearly a sleepless night, by jackals walking round it — not an uncommon 
 thing to see their shadows at night (if moonlight) thrown on the walls of our 
 temporary abode. This is not altogether pleasant, when you know that canvas 
 forms the wall. 
 
 “ You must look on this letter but as the bones of skeletons found on the 
 desert ; you can, if you like, place it into form, and connect its various dis- 
 jointed parts, to render it sightly and understandable; if not, it must appear 
 as it is. From Rhodes I trust to send you another epistle, and it may 
 contain an outline or two of some curious remains that, from never having 
 been published, may afford interest. Indeed, Rhodes is all new — a most 
 interesting period of architecture ; and its ruins bespeak its former greatness. 
 
 “ Yours ever, &c., 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
35 2 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 Letter No. II. 
 
 The Artist in Xanthus. — Days and Nights in Tlos. 
 
 To S. C. Hall, Esq. 
 
 “ Lazaretto, Malta, 
 
 “ May, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Sir, — I promised to give you some farther account of my 
 progress through the highly interesting country I have been visiting. As you 
 will see by the above address, my present voyage is brought very nearly to a 
 close. I am now subjected to the penalty of travellers in the East, viz., 
 quarantine. If this had been the only one, I should not have complained ; 
 but in consequence of leaving Rhodes by the Beyrout boat (doubtless loaded 
 with pest), I had the pleasure of ten days at Smyrna, four walls for a room, 
 with four large windows or holes — no glass. When Dr. Johnson gave his 
 definition of a window, ‘ an orifice in an edifice for the admission of light,’ he 
 might in our case have added wind also. We went in all well, and came out 
 all ill. I can sleep in the open air, and have done so for weeks ; but I don’t 
 like a sharp wind from the north playing about me all night. 
 
 “ I left Xanthus, after having visited some of the most interesting spots in the 
 neighbourhood ; amongst these I shall ever consider Tlos as being one of the 
 most extraordinary; its situation is grand in the extreme. We arrived late in 
 the evening, after a ride or slow march of eight or nine hours, the last hour 
 being the worst, as we had to ascend the hill on which Tlos is situated, our 
 baggage-horses being tired, and ourselves nearly in the same condition ; but 
 the hill was nothing compared with the difficulties which presented themselves 
 as we arrived on the summit. I should make you acquainted, that to the 
 Aga, the traveller in Asia looks for lodging ; he is a sort of magistrate, or 
 rather I would term him ‘ lord of the manor.’ In the dusk of the evening I 
 made his acquaintance ; he was standing surrounded by his servants, who had 
 all turned out, as well as the dogs, to see who could be the party ascending 
 the mountain. My servant, Nicolo, approached him, and, after the usual 
 salutations, informed him we were anxious to obtain rooms, and that it was 
 our intention to remain there some days. He never troubled himself to 
 remove the pipe from his mouth, but pointing with his fingers, directed us to 
 some stables in which the cattle then remained. Poor Nicolo, feeling his 
 dignity hurt, began to remonstrate, telling him a thousand lies, I believe. 
 After making me out a prince, or something not much less, the Aga softened 
 down — if from this reason, or from my repeating the word Teskeri (a passport 
 of considerable power), I know not — and, removing the pipe, he said there 
 wa^ a small room on the other side of the court we might have, and perhaps, 
 on the morrow, other arrangements would be entered into. We were, I should 
 say, then in the courtyard of the house, which was a very romantic, castellated 
 place. We were not many minutes locating ourselves, and, I think, astonished 
 our friend, the Aga, at our cool manner of procedure. We soon bundled his 
 carpets, mats, and other matters into a mass, and tumbled them out at the 
 door. When one is wet, hungry, and cold, one cannot be expected to pay 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 353 
 
 much ceremony, even to an Aga’s household-goods and chattels ; I can say for 
 myself, that at such moments I hate anything and everything that is in my way. 
 
 “ I desired Nicolo to see that the Turk’s servants fed the horses and mules, 
 whilst I commenced my operations by trying my hand at a fire ; and were they 
 not astonished when I struck my light with the phosphoric matches ! If a 
 prince condescended to light a fire, he surely did not do it with the ordinary 
 means they were acquainted with, and the act passed off right well. I almost 
 established myself with that box of matches as a being of quite a superior 
 nature. And when our canteens came to display their varied contents, the stare 
 of astonishment was something all but ridiculous, as in general Turks never 
 show their surprise ; but these were ‘ country Turks.’ After pulling out our 
 plates, dishes, cups, &c., &c., the climax arrived in the production of our 
 ‘ grand ’ oval squat teapot : a murmur of admiration ran round the room as it 
 displayed its shining sides sparkling in the firelight. I felt proud of this pot 
 myself : it was none of your trumpery ones ; there was a dignity, a sort of 
 conscious strut of importance in its appearance, that always seemed to say, 
 ‘ What could you do without me ? — just try what you could do.’ I felt the 
 truth of this, and on that night it seemed to be more saucy than ever ; they 
 .considered it silver: perhaps aware of this, it rose in its own estimation. We 
 did what I advise others to do, bring your dinner with you ; if you do not, you 
 may just have the pleasure of trying the experiment how you like fasting for a 
 few hours. Cold fowl ! I can hardly write the word, and you could hardly 
 read it, if you had been, as I had been, living off that bird for four months 
 without any change : its confounded yellow legs, or skin like kid leather, used 
 to make iue do anything but say my prayers. I thought of fowls as some- 
 body thought of rabbits in Norfolk, or rather wrote about them — 
 
 ‘ Rabbits young and rabbits old, 
 
 Rabbits hot and rabbits cold, 
 
 Rabbits tender, rabbits tough, 
 
 I thank the Lord I’ve had enough.’ 
 
 “ But, nevertheless, as some wise person has observed, who doubtless made 
 the discovery, ‘ Hunger is a fine sauce,’ so to work we went in right earnest. 
 I more than once thought the Aga would have had no objection to partake ; 
 he eyed it much as a little boy does anything he longs to have for his own 
 particular masticating uses, only he (the Turk) eats not of the meat of the 
 Giour. I always had a dislike to eat before a number of persons in Turkey. 
 You are bound to overcome this feeling : you are made an exhibition of, during 
 your meal. Drive them out, and they come and look in at the window ; in 
 short, they consider it a right they possess to see you at meals, just as the 
 enlightened and educated take a pleasure in seeing wild beasts feed. By-the- 
 bye, there is not so much difference, after all. A traveller with his food, after 
 a good day’s fag, eats much in the same manner as a wild beast whose only 
 amusement is eating, and that only six days in the week, as masters or keepers 
 of Zoological Gardens imagine they have no appetite on the Sabbath. But to 
 return ; pas a nos moutons — to our cold fowls : they were soon finished ; and 
 now came that glorious moment, a sort of dreary twilight of existence, when 
 
 A A 
 
 Ai’P. V. 
 
354 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. having with all care filled the bowl of that magic instrument, your pipe, with 
 the finest Latakia tobacco, or, as this happened to be, Manassea, your 
 servant places lightly on the top a small piece of charcoal ; you then gently 
 commence to inhale the odours of the weed, until wrapped in its silvery cloud 
 you forget the past in the pleasure of the present. What did not the ‘ old 
 fellows ’ lose in not being acquainted with smoking ! What odes, what verses, 
 Latin and Greek, should we not have had in its praises ! An ode by Horace 
 on this subject (not a satire, unless against non-smokers) would be glorious. 
 But the pipe ends as well as the day ; and my visitors had by this time watched 
 both pretty nearly to a close. I began to feel a wish for throwing myself into 
 the arms of that sleepy gentleman, Mr. Morpheus, and I thought the Aga and 
 his retinue had as great an inclination to watch us perform that operation ; 
 but, notwithstanding my strong desire to sleep, I was too wide awake to allow 
 him to remain, so orders were soon given to have clear decks, and, after the 
 usual ceremony of bowing, he fixed his slippers on his feet, and, followed by 
 his domestics and half the village, went off. 
 
 “ And now I was alone on the summit of a mountain, in a half-Turkish 
 palace and fortress, in a strange land surrounded by strangers. There maybe 
 little, it is true, to fear, but thoughts will creep into the mind. I was pleased 
 with seeing the delicate attention of my host : he had left a loaded pistol 
 and sabre in the room ; it is common with the Turks to do so. Would they be 
 required ? I examined them well, as also my own arms ; made up the fire, 
 trimmed the lamp, and in the folds of my blanket lay down to pass my first 
 night in Tlos. 
 
 “ The morning came, and such a morning ! and such scenery, such moun- 
 tains and valleys, such a distance, melting away and uniting with the sky ! 
 There lay the Taurus, more like some faint sound, some distant recollection of 
 a past event ; for atmosphere seems to perform on scenery what time does on 
 the mind for the past, they both soften alike. 
 
 “ In the middle of the valley ran the Mangerchi, uniting its stream with the 
 Xanthus, and sweeping onward to the sea. The foreground consists of tombs, 
 whose classical forms well suited the scenery ; some standing boldly out, whilst 
 others were cut in the solid rock : these last are often used by the people of 
 the country to place grain in ; most are blackened by fires, but in general the 
 cattle turn them into stables. It is seldom the Turks live in them, and in all 
 my rambles I but remember one (which was at Makri) inhabited ; it was a 
 sarcophagus, and had other rooms built to it, its doorway having been the 
 short side of the tomb, broken into by people long past. It is curious, and at 
 the same time a strong evidence that the tombs contained valuables of some 
 description, that you find them all broken into ; and in many instances it must 
 have required no ordinary force to accomplish the purpose. 
 
 “ I should have been delighted to have found one entire, and I fear (but 
 certainly from different motives) I should have been barbarian enough to have 
 demolished it to have arrived at its contents. On one occasion I discovered 
 some human bones in a tomb at Pinara ; aged they must have been, but if 
 the remains of some venerable Lycian it is impossible to say ; they were all in 
 a state of putrefaction ; they had consolidated into a mass. I preserved the 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 35 5 
 
 lower jaw-bone, which, from the want of the back teeth, and consequent App. V. 
 ossification of the parts, proved it to have belonged to rather an old person. 
 
 “ Whilst speaking of tombs — rock ones — I must not omit to mention that at 
 Tlos is the celebrated one called the * Tomb of Bellerophon.’ It is, beyond 
 doubt, most highly curious in an antiquarian point of view. 
 
 “ It has been named by its discoverers as above, in consequence of a sculp- 
 tured figure of a man on horseback, the horse having wings — in short, just what 
 is now drawn to represent ‘ Pegasus.’ 
 
 “ Now, taking into consideration the history of Bellerophon, which is, as far 
 as I remember, as follows (I write from memory), every one will admit there 
 is a propriety in giving the name to the tomb, as here his principal actions 
 took place, and probably his death : — 
 
 “ He went to the court of King Proetus in consequence of having killed his 
 brother. The Queen was desperately in love with him ; but he not answering 
 to her passion, she, from pique, accused him to her husband, the King, of 
 having tried to insult her. Proetus being loath to punish him, he being a 
 guest, sent him to Lycia. Here, with the hopes of his death, his uncle, then 
 King, ordered him to slay a monster that infested the neighbourhood — the 
 ‘ Chimsera.’ Minerva, pitying him from his innocence, gave him Pegasus, 
 by which he accomplished his task. He afterwards attempting to fly to 
 heaven, &c. 
 
 “ This is the brief outline, perhaps not quite correct ; but what a field for 
 speculation! Here is sculptured the Pegasus; the ‘Chimsera’ is found in 
 the superb marble tomb of Xanthus, — the first mentioned being in such excel- 
 lent preservation that the paint is observable on it. 
 
 “ What thoughts these facts suggest, more able pens than mine will handle. 
 
 I but marvel and confess my inability to do them justice. Mentioning the 
 paint on the Pegasus, my belief is that the tombs have all been painted : we 
 know that the inscriptions were blue and red. It is singular that in England, 
 and many other countries in Europe, no paint is used on external architecture. 
 
 Now the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Syrians, the Indians, the Mexicans, and, 
 lastly, the Chinese, all have used or use it. If well done, it blends and har- 
 monizes the building with the surrounding scenery. What can be worse than 
 a new, glaring, staring, white building ? It will become old, is the answer, 
 and the objection will be removed. Paint it, and with the building’s age the 
 colour becomes old, and then a richnpss will be produced quite captivating to 
 the eye. Climate here may be urged as an excuse, in consequence of the 
 wet. That is soon overcome : wax-colours, oil-colours, or a thousand dif- 
 ferent mediums may be used. I fear ever to see it commenced, for in 
 England we have little of those discriminating delicacies. In our architecture 
 we have little originality and much coarseness ; too much of the Roman and 
 Gothic : and, in the former, one can only be struck by a vulgar adaptation of 
 the Greek — an ostentation of size and material. 
 
 “ The subject of paint, as externally applied to embellish buildings, is one 
 that deserves the attention of our architects. But to return to Tlos : after 
 a hasty survey I commenced sketching, and had that pleasure which few 
 understand so well as those who have travelled to obtain a desired end — 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. seeing an entirely new class of subject gradually developing itself on the 
 paper. We returned at dark to our frugal meal, pleased with our day’s per- 
 formance, and bright with hope for the morrow. The Aga, as usual, was in 
 the room, smoked, and took his coffee. He seldom troubled 11s with any 
 particular remark : he seemed wrapt in his own silent thoughts. It was 
 evident his mind was labouring with some curious and difficult subject; and 
 a mind unaccustomed to think, when engaged in so doing, requires no very 
 great observation to notice its working, on the features. I shall mention by- 
 and-by, and as briefly as possible, the subject this worthy Turk had engaged 
 himself upon. Day after day continued fine. That word hardly expresses 
 what I mean. It was weather glorious and serene, not too warm nor too 
 cold an atmosphere. I dislike those singularly clear days so much desired 
 by ladies and gentlemen who ascend small mountains and count fourteen 
 village churches, or see things that cannot be seen. This was not too clear 
 or too misty — just enough to soften colour and form. It was weather that 
 gives a buoyant feeling to one’s spirits : on such days one can do anything, 
 and it continued during several. Even at night a moon was in the sky by 
 which it was easy to see to draw ; but it was going on far into winter, and 
 one cannot trust to the continuance of the season about this time, so ‘ make 
 hay w'hilst the sun shines ; ’ and glad am I to say I did so, for one evening 
 the clouds began to accumulate about the mountain-tops, the wind was cold, 
 and the sun went down in anger, blood-red. Nature seemed changed ; the 
 vultures screamed as they flew over the valley to seek their homes in the 
 mountain, whose dank purple sides were being quickly covered with mists. 
 I shut up my folio, and, I know not why, should have been glad of some 
 society. Perhaps you have never known this feeling ; but perhaps you have 
 never been so situated. It was not fear, but it was nearly allied to it : it was 
 the dread of something unknown. I turned my steps up the side of the hill, 
 not staying- as usual to saunter amongst the tombs, which were now doubly 
 melancholy, seeming to mourn their own decay. I arrived at my little room, 
 and soon enjoyed a warm fire and a good meal. But the storm was abroad : 
 slowly, and as if the breathing of some enormous monster in the distance, 
 sounded the thunder ; the mists boiled up, hiding everything, and you waited 
 with patience some sudden change. Nearer and nearer came the thunder, 
 brighter and brighter the lightning ; thick rain fell, until at last one sudden 
 gust of wind blew over our habitation, and then followed lightning and 
 thunder such that I never remember having heard or seen before. Every- 
 thing trembled ; the house shook as flash after flash succeeded one another ; 
 rain literally came down in torrents. I gave up all hope of the house standing 
 out the storm. The room was all wet, for the roofs of Turkish houses are 
 not made to withstand such rain. 
 
 “ My principal care now became to stow away as many of our articles as 
 might suffer; also to keep up a fire, which in such a situation is of the 
 greatest consequence. I had almost forgotten to say, just as the storm broke 
 on us, the Aga rushed from the room, crossed the court, and I suppose 
 sought, in some other part of his half-castle half-house, a security he did not 
 seem to imagine he possessed with us. The reason for this precipitous flight 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 357 
 
 I found afterwards to be that some years back that part of the building had App. V. 
 
 been struck by the lightning, killing several horses and doing much injury 
 to the stables. The storm continued. 
 
 “ Picking out the dry planks in the floor, we half slept and half watched the 
 night through. The morrow came; and how grand to see the mountains as 
 the light clouds and vapour were at times covering and at times revealing 
 their superb forms ! But all that day we had rain and nothing to do, and if we 
 had there was no light to do it by. But this state of things could not con- 
 tinue for ever, although it did much longer than I expected ; and it was on 
 one of these evenings, while listening to rain and thunder without, and 
 encouraging the fire to burn by giving it the titbits I could, that our door 
 opened, and in stalked my worthy friend, the Aga, with about three or four of 
 his wet-footed servants, who arranged themselves all in a row, and let off the 
 steam from their damp clothes. With no inconsiderable pleasure did I hear 
 their prince of masters order them to leave the room, and truly I thought he 
 did so that the poor devils might go to some dry place ; but he had other 
 motives, for when they were gone, and his pipe lighted, he called my servant 
 to him, and, with much more good-nature than usual, desired him to sit 
 down, and told him to tell me, in words as nearly as I can remember, the 
 following : — ‘ I have been thinking,’ said he, ‘ that you Franks must be 
 extraordinary people : your riches must be great, and your curiosity much 
 greater, if, as you assert, you have been influenced merely to gratify it to 
 leave your country, your women, and your children, to travel for months, 
 and all for what ? For a few bits of marble. Is that an object worthy your 
 making such a sacrifice for? Now be candid. Are you not seeking to dis- 
 cover immense treasure, which, as everybody knows, may be found here, 
 provided they possessed the charm?’ I protested against the idea, but in 
 vain. I even went so far as to sanction the version of the motives of the 
 expedition which was given by my man Nicolo, and I also believe credited 
 by him, — that the stones were to be taken home to build a ‘ handsome house 
 for the Queen.’ Still he was incredulous, and continued ‘ that he had no 
 objection to our doing so, nay even would assist us, for he knew much about 
 the place.’ Here the thunder rolled a little heavily, and he gave a start ; but 
 he went on, now bringing his face close to my servant’s, and speaking in a 
 low, hoarse tone, that seemed like the echo of the storm without. ‘ There is 
 a hole on the opposite side of the valley ; it is in the old building with seven 
 doors (the remains of probably a Roman basilica), at the lower end. After 
 having passed through the bushes and small trees, you come to a passage ; 
 follow that, and the hole is in front of you, the end of which is filled up with 
 
 a large stone. Now, if any one that could move that ’ Once more the 
 
 thunder ; and as if he had felt it coming as a reproof, at that moment he 
 discontinued. I desired to know if any one had ever attempted this passage. 
 
 He said, ‘Yes; two Turks.’ ‘And what success had they?’ ‘After 
 various precautions (astrological, of course), they went there one moonlight 
 night, and with various charms removed the stone partly, when an immense 
 figure shaking his chains, which were made of gold, struck them both dead. 
 
 Their tomb is at the mouth of the hole. They were seen going in by a black 
 
358 life of william james muller. 
 
 App. V. slave who accompanied them, and who gave the above account of their 
 destruction (doubtless from the gas — confined mephitic vapour). The tomb 
 is there, so is the hole, for since this incident I have seen them.’ Feeling 
 myself amused with what he had told me, I asked him what evidence he had 
 of the place containing money. He said people had often listened and 
 heard the giant count it out ; nay, he was certain of it ; there could be no 
 doubt. Now the thing was, could we not, through the medium of some of 
 our sailors, blow up the place ? He had thought it over ; it would only 
 require two camel-skins of powder ; and, he added, he thought no one would 
 object, for the service done in pointing out the spot, &c., to give him one- 
 third of the treasure. However modest was his demand, he had fairly 
 worked himself into a talkative mood of excitement, and I saw it would not 
 •do to blow up the castle he had built in the air ; so I said I should much 
 like to see the spot, when we could better say what quantity of powder would 
 be required. He undertook to show it me the next morning ; and, making a 
 very cautious survey of the chamber, he desired my servant to say that he 
 would go only on condition I kept it a profound secret. A promise was soon 
 obtained; the next morning fixed. The storm nearly over, he rose and left me. 
 
 “ The next morning soon came with sunshine, and all nature revived after 
 the storms of the last few days. I waited for my friend, the Aga ; my patience 
 at length was done, as well as my breakfast ; so, finding he did not come, I 
 sent for him, as I had some curiosity to see this wonderful spot. He made 
 an excuse, but he was very sorry, that morning he could not go, he had 
 business ; the next, it was the same. At length I perceived he feared it. 
 Here was a great Turk, armed to the teeth, six feet high, afraid to go and 
 point out a hole in a building, not half a mile from his house. I was resolved 
 to see it, however (not thinking to find treasure) ; so, closely questioning our 
 friend, by his directions I started, taking my usual companions — sketch-book, 
 gun, and servant — and, after a little walk, came to the ruins. But here a 
 fresh obstacle arose : my servant positively refused to enter them. He was 
 a Greek, and believed every word the Turk had told him; nay, his own 
 superstitions would have furnished a tolerable-sized book. Expostulation 
 was vain, but threats and hints about character on his leaving made him enter 
 the first enclosure or court. I now found my way to the small trees or shrubs : 
 all was going right ; when, before I could raise the gun to my shoulder, a 
 jackal started out. Nicolo took to his heels, as if it had been a legion of 
 young devils, leaving me to ruminate what was the next step. This was soon 
 determined — to advance into the place as far as prudence would allow, keeping 
 a sharp look-out. I believe I was a little more afraid than people usually are 
 in such cases. I found the stone : it is singular — a large portion of marble, of 
 a much earlier period than the building. I imagined I could make out some 
 characters on it, part of an inscription. Such stones abound in Tlos; you 
 find them in watercourses, used as steps to houses, almost anywhere. The 
 unknown writing must have added to its mystery. He had, on telling me the 
 story, alluded to some signs, proving the stone which, he said, if once read, 
 would immediately lead to the finding of the treasure. In a country where so 
 much is to be found, and so little is found, my curiosity must plead my 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 359 
 
 excuse in paying any attention to so absurd a story. It proves one thing, App. V. 
 however, that superstition is nearly the same in that part of the world as it 
 was in our own some fifty years back ; nay, even now is in remote parts of 
 England, Ireland, and Scotland. I returned, and could see I had much 
 risen in his estimation ; and fully certain was he that I should be the means 
 (through Mr. Fellows) to bring these hidden riches to light. 
 
 “ I forgot to say that I think the sound he mentioned may be accounted 
 for by the dropping water from the upper country and hills. The place 
 abounds with springs. One of these may take its underground course through 
 the building ; at all events, I did hear something, and much more like water 
 than the noise gold makes. 
 
 “ The quantity of paper I brought with me began to run short, and two or 
 three days would bring it to a close. This was a warning to adopt economy 
 in using paper, and each night, with a miser’s delight, I saw the addition of 
 one or two sketches. I now devoted my attention to the figures, which are 
 very picturesque, and in some points differ from those of Xanthus, — more 
 particularly in the female dress, which is not so rich. But more on this 
 subject another time, as it is a curious one, and I have not only many of the 
 costumes, but sketches of nearly all. Thus my last scrap of paper was 
 consumed, and on the morrow we were to make our departure. 
 
 “ The horses were in the courtyard at six ; breakfast over, luggage packed, 
 and now adieu to my old friend, the Aga. If not the best, he certainly was 
 not the worst of men. We parted with regret : God knows if we ever meet 
 again. It is very unlikely that I shall again visit a place that afforded me so 
 much pleasure. Tlos ! I like your scenery, your melancholy tombs, your 
 grand acropolis, your running streams and noble trees. I like your half- 
 civilised natives, your little Turkish children (my little coin-finders), — I like 
 them all ; and as I descended the hill amidst the adieus of the inhabitants, it 
 was with sorrow I took my last look at the fortress, and made my last salaam 
 to the Aga. And now for the Mangerchi and the pine forests. 
 
 “ Did you, reader, ever cross a rapid river with uncertain bottom on horse- 
 back, and a bad horse too ? Well, if you have, you do not want to do it 
 again ; and if you have not, it is not quite so agreeable as you may imagine. 
 
 In particular, when the water is well above the chest of your horse — he, in 
 short, all but swimming ; and when he is swimming, you are much better 
 pleased to be on his back on terra firma. How. the old knights managed to 
 get over, with armour and all, I don’t know. 
 
 “ We reached the Mangerchi, a rapid river, or series of broad streams, 
 which in heavy rain unite, and at times it becomes impassable. As it is, it 
 costs many lives annually. Gradually descending from the pine forests, we 
 saw it like a sheet of silver winding its way through the bottom of the valley. 
 Occasionally it was hidden behind the dark foliage ; at other times it shone 
 forth, brilliant and beautiful. About a river seen through a wood there is a 
 sort of hide and seek ; one moment you look after it, the next it is lost ; you 
 admire it, another step and it is gone. In a quarter of an hour we should be 
 on its borders. I wished to hasten on, for by the clouds in the sky a storm 
 was coming on, and already the wind had stripped off pieces of bark from the 
 
360 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. tall pines, which, as we passed through the forest, came tumbling about our 
 heads. All told of a storm, and I wanted to cross the river previous to its 
 coming. The serungee hastened on the cattle with the baggage, and in a 
 more close column we put our best foot forward. Tree after tree passed, and 
 at last we came near to the shore, just when a vulture rose into the air: I 
 
 looked below, and never shall forget the sight ! There must have been close 
 upon a hundred of these gigantic birds (measuring as much as nine feet four 
 inches from tip to tip of the wing), some on the body of a camel that had 
 been drowned ; others, that had either come to partake of the feast or had 
 finished, surrounded the beast ; some, evidently well gorged, sat in a stupid 
 state, until our near approach warned them to be off, and then with a flap of 
 the wing they rose, making as much noise as a discharge of rockets. I longed 
 
 for a ball in my gun, or more so for my favourite rifle ‘Tom.’ In my 
 
 lifetime I have shot many vultures and eagles, but I think amongst this 
 number there was one a size larger than ever fell to my lot to point muzzle at. 
 I watched them with the same regret, or nearly allied to it, as when an artist 
 sees a beautiful spot, and he has no material by which he can ‘ take it off.’ I 
 have foregone many sketches in that way, and with a sigh left the spot, making 
 firm resolves to visit it again ; but effects are no more to be found the same one 
 day after the other, than are large vultures on the borders of the Mangerchi. 
 
 But I thought I had said I was in a hurry to get on before the storm 
 that threatened should arrive. The reader must think otherwise, if I stay 
 
 talking about sketches and vultures; but I was and am in earnest, so on. 
 
 That’s a drop that fell on my hand — yes, there’s another, and another ; off 
 horse, and arrange the luggage. The river is deeper than it has been of late, 
 and we are within a quarter of a mile of the fording-place. Our guide now 
 gathers up a long cane, and measures the depth in the part near to where we 
 are, so as to judge of the best place of security. He looked a little dismayed 
 when it was about six feet, but with promptitude he determined to go lower 
 down. He once more mounts his horse; the baggage is arranged, the rain 
 falling pretty hard. The black water rushes over the stones ; it is water 
 rapid, like that that one dreams of ; it is water that, reflecting the dark tones 
 of the sky, is solid, and seems to have no bottom ; it is water that one would 
 expect each minute to turn up some corpse, and as the large drift timber is 
 washed down at times, little imagination is wanting to make one believe 
 such is the case. We now continue our road, or rather track, amongst 
 long grass and bog. This soon changes to pebbles, and, as if the rain 
 thought it desirable to do the same, we now have hail, and it beats in our 
 faces as the strong wind sweeps ’it against us, and the cold is intense ; but all 
 at once the horses start, — we are blinded, and at the same moment a crash as if 
 the mountains had fallen together. It is lightning near us, but how grand ! 
 its echoes roll on, fainter and fainter ; it hardly ceases, it dies away gently. 
 What is that smoke in the distance ? It is the wood on fire; a tree has been 
 struck by the electric fluid. But this is common. 
 
 “ We now find the first post indicating the way across. The guide, with a 
 firm foot in the stirrup, rides in ; the baggage-horses one by one follow ; it is 
 shallow, it soon deepens, it now rises nearly to the belly of the horses, deeper 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 361 
 
 still. In vain one attempts to keep one’s feet high and dry ; the only fear is App. V. 
 
 for the baggage-horses, — the camels go on well. Each servant, on reaching the 
 
 bank of sand in the middle of the river, takes hold of a bridle ; the rain and 
 
 hail fall nearly to blind one ; and when in a rapid on horseback there is a 
 
 giddy feeling in the head, from the movement of the water around, that can 
 
 hardly be explained. At this instant there was a check and confusion to our 
 
 party, from a piece of drift-wood striking one of the horses and nearly 
 
 upsetting him ; had it been a minute later, in the deeper part, good-bye to 
 
 my tent, &c. Wet and cold, we see the opposite bank. Pleased that no 
 
 accident has occurred, we once more plunge into the last current, and 
 
 although deeper than the former, safely reach the opposite shore. Here we 
 
 halt. The fury of the storm seems over, as well as ourselves the river, and by 
 
 the sky it promises to dear, which promise it keeps, and glad shall we be of a 
 
 little sunshine to dry our ‘feathers’ in. It is past mid-day, and as our little 
 
 troop enters the forest, the idea strikes me that a fire — our semeca (bread), 
 
 the everlasting cold fowl, and on this occasion eggs, to be roasted by the 
 
 tire — would be desirable ; and if any moment in the world was pleasant to 
 
 me, this was the one. We made a tire in less time than one could crack an 
 
 egg-shell, and then such a fire! In nearly all the forests of Lycia the 
 
 inhabitants blaze the trees at the bottom, light a fire, and allow it to burn as 
 
 long as it can. This plan brings the turpentine down, and produces the 
 
 wood which they (when cut) use as candles. It is not an unpleasing sight to 
 
 see a party, with their camels and baggage, passing through a wood at night 
 
 with the pine torches; it is a subject that the savage and glorious painter, 
 
 Salvator, might have delighted in. 
 
 “ Our fire was not a stingy one, for the forest was at our use ; and in no 
 time we collected the sharp thin leaves into a large pile, and then the stray 
 boughs, taking the precaution to cut off the communication with the leaves on 
 the ground, or we should have made a pretty job of it. How much I wish 
 some of those whose stomachs are consulted with such care could have seen 
 how we delighted in our plain cookery ; it would have done them good. I 
 have in many countries made my meal in the air, with the sward for a table- 
 cloth, my fingers for knife and fork, and hunger for sauce ; and on this 
 occasion, the sauce being excellent, we enjoyed our meal in perfection. We 
 dried up, steamed away, and after all smoked away. Jokes were passed on 
 the clumsy manner of one, and stories told by another ; Turk and Frank 
 forgot their prejudices (would that all mankind could do the same !), and we 
 passed a happy hour. But that illuminator of the day, the sun, told us he 
 would not stay for us ; and knowing he is as imperative at least as a railway 
 train, we thought we would take the hint, just out of good nature, so to saddle. 
 
 With regret I left that jovial fire ; but on we went, and, after a slow ride of four 
 or five hours through a beautiful country, we reached Xanthus ; and there, 
 perhaps, a little rest may recruit one’s strength for fresh exertions. So, 
 folding myself well in my blanket, and listening to the pattering of the rain 
 on the tent, I said good-night ; and so I say to you. 
 
 “ Yours ever, 
 
 “W. Muller.” 
 
362 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. 
 
 Letter No. III. 
 
 “ Packet-boat Lycurgus, 1844. 
 
 “ My dear Hall, — I promised to give you some account of a wrestling- 
 match, which good fortune enabled me to see during my stay at Xanthus ; and, 
 not to take up too much time, I shall begin at once by saying that in conse- 
 quence of some information I had gained of a marriage with the Cingaries, 
 and that there would be some games performed in honour of the nuptials, 
 amongst these a wrestling-match by torchlight, I was more than commonly 
 anxious to visit it, as it would be illustrative of the manners of the people. On a 
 splendid evening, when the dark orange-colour of the twilight faded gradually 
 in the west and seemed to give place to the deep purple of night, star by 
 star shone out, and all was tranquillity, I stood by my small fire and awaited 
 my many companions who had promised to join me, and in a short time, from 
 midshipman up to captain, they arrived ; and after having partaken of some of 
 my coffee, which had quite gained a reputation amongst my kind and ever- 
 merry friends, we settled our order of march, and the marvel-hunters (as a 
 Jack laughably termed the gentlemen of the expedition) light their torches, 
 and, headed by a servant or two, wind down the path from the encampment 
 to the plain below. Now the Cingaries were located a mile or two in this 
 plain, and to find their whereabouts was not one of the easiest things. Their 
 abodes are in the myrtle groves; they cut paths through them which wind and 
 twist about, and at every corner you come upon some tent, whose occupant is 
 a worker in brass, making spoons ornamented with beads of glass, or fire- 
 arms, powder-flasks, &c. They are a clever and industrious people, of no 
 professed religion ; disliked by the regular Turks, yet partly Turks. Their 
 costume is not the same ; their features more marked — a wildness in the eye, a 
 fiery expression, and often a deep, low cunning, which is fully exhibited in 
 any dealings with them. Of this I could give many instances, for I found 
 many ; yet on the whole I like the Cingari : he is a gipsy, and I always had a 
 sneaking partiality for that independent, vagabond tribe. Their home is on 
 the mountain or on the plain, their wants few, and in this country (Asia) 
 those wants are easily supplied. They wander from place to place, as 
 necessity or fancy suggests. 
 
 “ The noise in the distance, of the drums, soon told my nautical com- 
 panions that we must ‘ shape another course,’ or that we had made most 
 serious ‘ leeway.’ So about ship, and after various tacks, holding off and on, 
 it was evident we neared our desired port, and should have done so direct, 
 had it not been for an unfortunate ditch which brought us up. Those who 
 tried to cross, furnished us with much amusement by floundering in the mud ; 
 they cleared themselves, amidst their own execrations on the bad roads of 
 Turkey and our laughter. We now went ‘ right ahead,’ and soon found a 
 more favourable spot to cross at ; and there a council was held if it would not 
 be more correct to forward a messenger to the chiefs. This was of service in 
 two ways, as it cleared the road of nasty barking dogs, and did the thing civil 
 to our neighbours. A few moments elapsed, when out issued from the groves 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 363 
 
 several figures (some of whom I knew) waving their torches in the air, who Arp. V. 
 
 plainly gave us to understand that if we were in want of anything it was not a 
 
 welcome. They conducted us through a labyrinth of green bushes, and all 
 
 of a sudden a spectacle broke upon my sight which, from its novelty, I shall 
 
 never forget. I stood to contemplate it for a second or two, and should have 
 
 done so much longer, but unfortunately the groups that composed the scene 
 
 broke up, and so destroyed the curious picture. Seated round fires sat in 
 
 circle several hundred persons ; their basilisk eyes shining from under their 
 
 white turbans gave them an unearthly appearance : they seemed like some 
 
 vast collection of spirits in council over some mighty deed. Such a group 
 
 might have furnished ideas for the author of ‘ Vathek ’ to people his Hall of 
 
 Eblis with ; or a Danby or a Martin, with a subject for one of their grand and 
 
 poetical pictures. But with our approach they arose ; and it became apparent 
 
 that as the fire-light caught on the gold of the epaulettes of the officers the 
 
 presence of our party was regarded as a compliment, as considerable respect 
 
 is attached to any ornament, and, I believe, is as much coveted by the poor 
 
 Cingari as by the youth who first seeks these baubles amidst the slaughter 
 
 and carnage of his fellow-creatures. The blood of thousands tarnishes not 
 
 the gold ; it shines in the drawing-room, and it glistens in the Cingari camp. 
 
 “ We were conducted to a centre place, and pressed to sit ; but, having an 
 extensive acquaintance amongst these sons of the plain, I had the honour to 
 be placed next my friend, the chief of the wrestlers, Oiel ; and as I may have 
 much to say concerning him, I must in the first place state, in introducing 
 him, that he was one of the handsomest men I have ever seen ; his tall figure 
 moved with ease and grace, and, although one could at a moment see he was 
 a man of herculean strength, there was nothing of that muscular hardness of 
 outline, that too squareness of parts (if I may be allowed to use such an 
 expression), that generally accompanies persons possessed of great strength. 
 
 His dark olive complexion was in keeping with his wild expression ; and as he 
 took his beautiful pipe from his mouth, and with a smile and slight bow 
 offered it me, there was an elegance and ease of action that could not be 
 surpassed in the most polished society. On the right hand of him was a 
 Nubian of distinction ; his diamond-bright eyes rolled from one spot to the 
 other, resting on no object for a second ; dressed in a simple robe of grey, its 
 want of ornament was a fine contrast to the rich dresses that surrounded 
 him. 
 
 “ In a few seconds music commenced. Now when I write the word music, 
 it must be clearly understood Cingari music — drums, and a horrid pipe 
 (wild as a bagpipe) whose sustained note screamed forth and jarred on the 
 ear much like the sensation to the teeth of cutting work ; yet withal there 
 was a wildness that harmonized with the general scene. At last coffee was 
 brought round — what is called coffee. How often I hear people speaking in 
 assumed raptures of Turkish coffee ! Poor innocents, how little do they know 
 about it ! How I should like to see them drink but a little of this thick, 
 gritty, muddy, bitter, choking fluid, for such it is in general ; yet overcome 
 general prejudices, call it by another name (as the Jews do with pork), and 
 you may drink it and like it, and when some black slave presents you with a 
 
364 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. little cup in its silver filigree stand you will confess that, if not altogether 
 what you expected, it is far from bad. I soon liked it, and bought the mill, 
 the iron-roasting pan, the little cups, in short all the contrivances to make 
 coffee comme les Turcs ; and on my return I have tried to give my friends a 
 treat, mats, les ingrats, they will not drink it, and will never believe it can 
 be admired by any person sane. We relished ours, however, on the night I 
 allude to ; and if the officers thought it might have been slightly improved by 
 cream (French), there is no accounting for European taste. 
 
 “ The fires were trimmed, a large circle cleared, and now, all expectation, 
 we awaited the commencement of the performance (as we should say in 
 Drury Lane) ; and the commencement rather disappointed my expectations. 
 An elderly man, with a fine white beard, took the centre of the circle, holding 
 in his hand a wooden vessel with water. Once more the drums and pipe 
 broke the grateful silence with their harsh tones, when out jumped two lads 
 perfectly nude, with the exception of a small cloth round the middle ; they 
 performed some antics round in the middle circle, and, having run here and 
 there, one came to the old man, kneeling down on one knee. He was 
 washed over with the water ; he rose, held out his right hand, which was 
 as a challenge, and, with extreme rapidity, the other youth darted forward 
 and touched it. The second then went through the ablution, when, separating 
 to the opposite sides of the circle, they approached one another with all 
 possible caution, soon closed, and, for lads of fifteen or sixteen, they behaved 
 well ; but then their figures gave no idea of the beautiful or grand. Two or 
 three of these matches were decided, the termination taking place the instant 
 the one could place the other on his back ; they then parted the best of 
 friends, collecting around the ring half or quarter piastres. This was all well 
 enough, but gave me no idea of wrestling ; but I had not long to wait. A 
 man in the prime of life leaped into the ring ; his full and well-rounded 
 limbs shone in the light of the fire : a murmur of applause seemed to greet 
 him. He stood firm and erect for a second, then, with modest self-possession, 
 slightly bent the head, knelt down, received the water, and, as he stood up 
 offering the challenge, how strongly did he remind me of the Apollo ! and 
 he brought the President West’s remark with all its truth strongly to my mind. 
 He was indeed a noble figure, and one might have imagined his offer to the 
 contest would have remained unanswered, as he seemed to possess rather 
 a dangerous beauty. But not so ; it was answered in a minute, and by one 
 in every way worthy to be his opponent. As they evaded one another in 
 the commencement, one could see their forms were elastic, yet strong ; supple, 
 yet firm, with just that right quantity of muscle. But now they close ; the 
 right arm is under the left of each other, the legs apart ; they breathe a 
 second previous to the struggle, and that was nothing but the shifting of fine 
 groups of antique statuary. Oh, for a sculptor to have been there ! How 
 vain the effort to make models imitate action. Now they fall to earth, now 
 again they rise : the one lifts his antagonist high in the air, and you make 
 certain in an instant he will dash him to earfh ; but he evades the fall with 
 the greatest address, and, panting for breath, they rest for a minute. Again 
 they resume the struggle, which was continued for an hour, and at length, 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 365 
 
 conquered by fatigue, the conquest was resigned, neither being victors or App. V. 
 conquerors. 
 
 “ During this long trial good temper seemed to guide their actions, and 
 this was observable in several others who wrestled afterwards ; and one can 
 but be struck with the vast difference of such an entertainment in what is 
 termed savage life and civilised. In the latter, if such a display of manly 
 strength and amusement had taken place in England, would it not have been 
 accompanied with debauchery, beer and spirit drinking, until the senses 
 wrestled with reason? Would not gambling have lent its hideous coun- 
 tenance to the scene, and prostitution have plundered hand in hand with 
 the revellers ? It is strange, but not less true, that open vice accompanies 
 nearly all those amusements which the lower and middling classes take 
 pleasure in. Too often do we find aristocracy lending its aid to these 
 scenes ; but in general their orgies are performed amongst themselves, and in 
 private. Let us hope, however — and I sincerely hope it — that education — 
 education of the millioti — is fast removing the vice of the million. Let all 
 lend their little means towards it, and the result must be secure. 
 
 “ I have mentioned my friend Oiel as being the chief of the Xanthus 
 wrestlers, and I hoped to have seen him matched with a trusty opponent. My 
 servant intimated this to him, but he regretted there was no one present who 
 may be termed his equal ; yet, with a good nature only equalled by his general 
 conduct, he said he would show us his method, and he prepared imme- 
 diately. Piece by piece he laid aside his garments, and at length what a 
 splendid figure stood before us ! How grand is the form of man ! — his 
 majesty or godlike figure stands alone unrivalled. Oiel’s opponent was, as 
 might have been expected, by no means a match for him, and it was too 
 evident that he could do just what he pleased with him, and, as regarded the 
 wrestling, I was not sorry when this one-sided exhibition concluded. We 
 found the hour late, and, after a small present, we rose. We had our retinue 
 of torch-bearers to the confines of the grove, after which we lost our path, and 
 amidst much fun we stumbled our way home ; and the next morning I 
 found, when too late, that we lost the best of the sport, for just after our 
 departure a stranger, jealous of the fame of Oiel, had made an especial visit 
 from the mountains of Adalia to try a fall with him, and I well remember the 
 account Oiel gave of it to me, and his smile of self-satisfaction when he said 
 (with a slight stamp of his foot), ‘ I threw him once, twice, thrice ; and I can 
 throw him when I please.’ 
 
 Departure. 
 
 “ The time was now fast arriving which I had fixed for my departure, and 
 the floods, which had inundated the plains, rendering the scenery only suit- 
 able to the study of a deluge picture, made me anxious to move to another 
 part of the country — Makri. I could not sketch, and I could not sleep dry 
 at night ; and, as I have before said, a week or two of that class of weather is 
 enough, especially when your cooking-house is blown down, your fire out, 
 and you sit day after day surrounded by wet canvas. Even the figures 
 ceased to have an attraction, curious and beautiful as they w'ere, both in 
 
366 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. costume and general character, and perhaps it may not be unacceptable to 
 give some idea of their dress. This is done much better by the few accom- 
 panying sketches than anything I can write. 
 
 “The general appearance of these Turks is at times most striking, from the 
 immense display of embroidery, in which considerable talent is displayed in 
 the pattern, as also from the quantity of arms he carries. A great peculiarity 
 I have noticed in the Xanthian is the manner in which he arranges the loose 
 gown, or ‘ antere.’ This almost always folds well, and adds grace to the 
 figure. His shoes are of calf or deerskin, much like the American mocassin. 
 
 “ Amongst the richer classes no expense is spared, as ladies in Turkey are 
 as fond of silks and rich stuffs as in any part of the world. I have been 
 surprised to notice what beautiful costume may be found even in a tent life. 
 The ‘ salvor,’ or drawers, of a red colour, often of a light beautiful pink ; the 
 ‘antere,’ of a striped material, like the damask silks; so also is the ‘ jelee,’ or 
 short sort of waistcoat ; whilst that most sacred and secret part of ladies’ 
 attire, the chemise (‘ joinelee ’), is of a construction or fabric which, for lightness 
 and delicacy of texture, I can compare to no known European manufacture I 
 am acquainted with. 
 
 Musical Instruments. 
 
 “ I had the good fortune to become possessed of a camel-driver’s violin 
 shortly after my arrival ; he accompanies the voice with it, and, although not 
 what we can exactly term music, at a distance it is anything but unpleasant. 
 One can judge much of the tone or state of civilisation of a country, either by 
 their music or their love of it. Now, throughout all the parts of Lycia in 
 which I have been, they are decidedly fond of music; and it was with consi- 
 derable difficulty I got them to part with a small instrument of home manu- 
 facture, resembling a guitar, the body made of a gourd pierced with holes, 
 instead of the ordinary sound-hole. It had four strings, two of which were 
 tuned as unisons, and were of brass wire. Instead of frets, its scale was 
 formed by pieces of cord tied round the neck, and when I found it decidedly 
 in tune, with intervals correctly marked, as in every true scale. I regretted 
 much my covetous love of novelties obliging me to deprive them of what 
 evidently was a source of great enjoyment ; for round the fire of an evening 
 they continually gave a little concert, and whiled away the long hours in songs 
 of love or war. The friends of the owner of it positively refused his parting 
 with it ; but the temptation of twenty piastres was too great, and a few 
 more to his son completed the bargain, and smoothed down my conscience. 
 Some time after, I found another in general appearance the same, but on 
 minuter inspection I coveted it five times more ; and I hope, with the 
 assistance of the little sketches, to make its merits fully understood and 
 appreciated, for it claims novelty and great ingenuity. On the one side it has 
 the usual number of thread frets ; now the neck is divided into two, and what 
 is usually the back in most instruments is strung, but in another key, so that 
 the player can at his pleasure change his key by turning the instrument. I 
 have shown it to many of my musical friends, who have expressed great 
 pleasure in seeing it ; and in one instance I think it may not be improbable 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 367 
 
 a small instrument of better manufacture will be constructed from it. It is App. V. 
 played with a bit of the bark of a tree, and at times a quarter-piastre. Of the 
 drums I have occasionally alluded to, they are much the same in all countries. 
 
 They have one, however, which is small, and is nothing more than a basin of 
 metal, covered over with parchment ; it is placed on the ground, and struck 
 with sticks with cloth bound round the ends. 
 
 “ I noticed two sorts of pipes — one belonging to the gipsies, the other 
 to the regular inhabitants. It is similar to what I have seen in Egypt, called 
 by Mr. Lane in his ‘Modern Egyptians’ (vol. i. p. 75) ney. I could not 
 produce a single note on it, although my frequent exertions merited better 
 success. The instrument is held on one side of the mouth, and, I believe, the 
 wind forced into the pipe against the side of the instrument. Its effect is 
 exceedingly pleasant amongst the hills, and in particular of an evening, as 
 your flocks are coming home. 
 
 “ But to return, after this long digression of dresses and music. Captain 
 Warden’s arrival having been prefaced by two days’ dry weather, allowed the 
 waters to abate. The first provided me with the horses, and the time seemed to 
 favour our removal. I care not if one has been living in tents, in tombs, in 
 inns, in your own house or in your friend’s, in the ruins of temples or in 
 boats, one becomes attached to the place ; and nine to one but, on leaving it, 
 old associations arise, and regret becomes the feeling predominant. I nearly 
 cried on leaving Thebes ; I did not on leaving Xanthus, but I much regretted 
 parting with a spot where I had spent so many happy days. 
 
 “ Breakfast was going on well. Nicolo, as he put the rice on the table, 
 reminded me it was the last time ; and I do not think my young friend 
 Johnson, whose amiable qualities as a travelling-companion I must ever 
 acknowledge, much regretted it, for with the feelings of youth novelty has 
 fifty times the charm in scenery as well as diet, and the latter needed 
 change. The horses came up ; when all was confusion : beds in oil-cases, 
 canteens to be packed, portmanteaus to be strapped, and, last of all, tents to 
 be struck. The Turks looked on, dozed on, and I can say of them as 
 Marston of his dog, when he wrote that quaint passage on the immortality of 
 the soul, ‘Delight, my spaniel, slept whilst I,’ & c. Then, ‘ whilst I’ made all 
 haste in my power to get packed as early as possible, and mule after mule 
 received his burden, the old cook-house of mats had already written on it, ‘To 
 let ;’ and we soon saw it was not long in being taken by the Turks. Peg after 
 peg, and stay after stay , and the old tent came to the ground : adieu to 
 No. 3, Xanthian Crescent; and adieu to my friends, to the sailors, to the 
 Greeks, and always next to them my dogs. The Turks were, as I before said, 
 numerous to watch my departure, for I do think I had become a bit of a 
 favourite with them, and 1 was pleased to think they had affections for the 
 stranger; but I was not prepared to find them so strongly displayed as I 
 foundthem, as the little anecdote I am about to narrate will prove. 
 
 “ I had been put over the river in the boat, with servants, &c. Its passage 
 was difficult, and all but impossible to ford from its swollen state. 
 
 “ The horses were forced to cross much lower down, where the river, from 
 
368 LIFE OF WILLIAM JAMES MULLER. 
 
 App. V. spreading over the plain, was much more shallow. I knew I should have an 
 hour or so to wait, and I amused myself by gathering flowers. The anemones 
 are most beautiful, the colour as brilliant as the size is large ; the red are 
 remarkable. They in general are finest in a sandy soil, and then they cover 
 the ground like a beautiful carpet. 
 
 “ Whilst so engaged, in the distance I saw a man riding at the top of his 
 horse’s speed. He made for the opposite bank, threw himself from his 
 steed, and spoke to some Turks, who pointed to the other side. He evidently 
 wished to cross ; the boat would be out of his power, as it required skill to 
 manage her. He hesitated a moment, when he disencumbered himself of his 
 garments and arms. He could not be going to swim the stream ; it was a 
 rapid, foaming on to the sea, twisting and twirling if opposed ; its whirlpool 
 told its strength, and the dark markings on its surface were as the frowns on a 
 passionate man’s face, foreboding little good. I had short time to doubt : in 
 he plunged, and with a giant’s strength he cut through the waters, which, 
 notwithstanding, carried him some hundred yards down the stream. He 
 gained the shore, and ran along the sandy bank, extending his hands towards 
 me. It was my old friend Oiel. He had heard of my departure; he had 
 crossed the river to say ‘ good-bye.’ Down we sat, and smoked our last pipe, 
 and hardly was it finished when the horses came up to saddle. The serrugee 
 wants no delay : I pressed his hand, struck my spurs deep in my horse’s 
 flank, and, as I galloped off to join my party, I heard his splash into the 
 water. 
 
 “ ‘There may be many high in life who may blush to call you friend, but 
 your conduct may furnish them a good example.’ Thus moralising, I overtook 
 my companions ; and shortly after our mules, determined to keep up their 
 character for stubbornness, would, despite all we could do to the contrary, 
 tumble all our luggage into a dyke — fortunately a dry one. This prevented 
 our progress for an hour or more, and the very bad ground we had to pass 
 over, from the late rains, prevented our advancing but at a slow pace. Still I 
 hoped by nightfall to arrive at Kestep. The rain began to fall, and I began 
 to indulge in the idea that we might have to spend the night under some 
 tree ; and, as the evening came on, I divided my sympathy between the poor 
 beasts and myself. The rain became thicker, and we all wet ; yet on we went, 
 wishing our jackets, like the rain, thick. It now became dark, and anything 
 but agreeable. The loud shout of the serrugee broke the otherwise perfect 
 stillness of the night, and our little troop passed on. A thick mist encom- 
 passed us. All at once I saw a light, another, and another; they moved and 
 became more and more distinct, and, slowly nearing, they struggled through 
 the general gloom, and I was at a loss to account for their appearing. In the 
 space of a few minutes the gigantic outlines of camels became visible. These, 
 moving through the mist, had a grand appearance, and soon explained the 
 mystery. It was some merchants travelling by night; each leader of the 
 camels had a torch. The effect of this procession, lighting up the trees and 
 shining into the recesses of the woods, was most picturesque, and formed a 
 fine subject for a painting. From these people we gained the information 
 that we were near our resting-place, and indeed the deep barking of dogs 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 369 
 
 soon announced our proximity to a village. These brutes turned out like a App. V. 
 legion of young devils, but we cared little for them ; for with what pleasure 
 does a man hail the meanest resting-place when wet, fatigued, and hungry. 
 
 After having taken care of your poor beast — and good care, with a clear 
 conscience of not having abused his valuable services — you enter the friendly 
 door. This one belonged to a small Turkish cottage used by travellers. I 
 poked my way in the dark into the interior, and with some matches procured 
 a light, and, for want of some wood, began to tear down a sort of fence near 
 the door, when a little Turk, dressed all in red, like a diable rouge ; made such 
 a noise as if I had been going to burn the Kooran ; but, finding I was the 
 master of the party, he allowed me to be his. This information he gained, I 
 imagine, by my servants whispering in his ear ; which had the same effect as 
 is narrated of the Irish horse-tamer, and perhaps he looked to the piastres 
 on the morrow morning. Be it as it may, he became civil, and we had 
 an excellent fire. Our frugal meal produced and dispatched, we wrapped 
 ourselves in our blankets ; and should have had a good night’s sleep, had it 
 not been for the roof of the house, which was not waterproof. I soon awoke. 
 
 I think I had been dreaming I was in the dripping-cave at Knaresborough. It 
 was impossible to sleep in a pool ; so, moving the logs of wood, and making a 
 good blaze, I took a sort of cab-horse sleep ; and as the grey morning broke I 
 shook myself and my friends, who rose from their shower-bath, and all turned 
 their attention to breakfast. That over, once more on the road. It was wet 
 and gloomy, and promised a continuance of bad weather. We wished good- 
 bye to our host, paid him for his civilities, gave a few half-piastres to some 
 half-starved children, who, if not so, looked so — and now, en route. 
 
 “ Wm. Muller.” 
 
 THE END. 
 
 VIRTUE AND CO., PRINTERS, CITY ROAD, LONDON. 
 
 B B 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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