has been acting as my
secretary,' as mentioned in _Aylwin_, was my brother. [Footnote] With
regard to the two circular mirrors surrounded by painted designs
telling the story of the Holy Grail, 'in old black oak frames carved
with knights at tilt,' I do not remember seeing these there. But they
are evidently the mirrors decorated with copies of the lost Holy
Grail frescoes once existing on the walls of the Union Reading-Room
at Oxford. These beautiful decorations I have seen at 'The Pines,'
but not elsewhere. I have often seen 'D'Arcy' in the company of
several of the other characters introduced into _Aylwin_; for
instance, 'De Castro' and 'Symonds' (the late F. R. Leyland, at that
time the owner of the Leyland line of steamers, living at Prince's
Gate, where was the famous Peacock Room painted by Mr. Whistler). I
did not myself know that quaint character Mrs. Titwing, but I have
been told by people who knew her well that she is true to the life.
With regard to 'De Castro,' it is a matter of regret to those who
knew him that, after giving us that most vivid scene between 'D'Arcy'
and 'De Castro' at Scott's oyster-rooms (a place which Rossetti was
very fond of frequenting in those nocturnal rambles that caused 'De
Castro' to give him the name of Haroun al Raschid), the author did
not go on and paint to the full the most extraordinary man of the
very extraordinary group, the centre of which was Rossetti's Chelsea
house. Rossetti was a well-known figure at Scott's and at Rule's
oyster-rooms at the time he encountered 'Henry Aylwin.' That scene at
Scott's is, in my opinion, the most living thing in the book--a
picture that whenever I turn to it makes me feel that everything said
and done must have occurred. 'De Castro' seemed to belong not merely
to the Rossetti group, but to all groups, for he was brought into
touch with almost every remarkable man of his time, and fascinated
every one of them. Literary and artistic London was once full of
stories of him, and no one that knew him doubted he was what must be
called a man of genius--although a barren genius. Among others, he
was brought into close relations with Ruskin, Burne-Jones, and, I
think, Smetham ('Wilderspin'), and others.

[Footnote: This was George Hake, who died in Central Africa a few
years ago.]

Rossetti used to say that since Blake there has been no more
visionary painter in the art world than Smetham. Rossetti had a quite
affectionate feeling towards Sme