he finished, was 'what Gabriel would have thought of it'. So
decisive was his judgement, so dominating his personality.

Morris's period of hesitation ended in 1861, when the first firm of
decorators was started among the friends. Of the old Oxford set it
included Burne-Jones and Faulkner; new elements were introduced by
Philip Webb the architect and Madox Brown the painter. The leadership in
ideas might still perhaps belong to Rossetti; but in execution William
Morris proved himself at once the captain. The actual work which he
contributed in the first year was more than equal to that produced by
his six partners, and future years told the same tale.

In the early part of his married life Morris lived in Kent, at Upton,
some twelve miles from Charing Cross, in a house built for him by his
friend Webb. The house was of red brick, simple but unconventional in
character, built to be the home of one who detested stucco and all other
shams, and wished things to seem what they were. Its decoration was to
be the work of its owner and his friends.

Here we see Morris in the strength of early manhood and in all the
exuberance of his rich vigorous nature, surrounded by friends for whom
he kept open house, in high contentment with life, eager to respond to
all the claims upon his energy. Here came artists and poets, in the
pleasant summer days, jesting, dreaming, discussing, indulging in bouts
of single-stick or game of bowls in the garden, walking through the
country-side, quoting poets old and new, and scheming to cover the walls
and cupboards of the rooms with the legends of mediaeval romance.
Visitors of the conventional aesthetic type would have many a surprise
and many a shock. The jests often took the form of practical jokes, of
which Morris, from his explosive temper, was chosen to be the butt, but
which in the end he always shared and enjoyed. Rossetti, Burne-Jones,
and Faulkner would conspire to lay booby traps on the doors for him,
would insult him with lively caricatures, and with relentless humour
would send him to 'Coventry' for the duration of a dinner. Or he would
have a sudden tempestuous outbreak in which chairs would collapse and
door panels be kicked in and violent expletives would resound through
the hall. In all, Morris was the central figure, impatient, boisterous,
with his thick-set figure, unkempt hair, and untidy clothing, but with
the keenest appreciation and sympathy for any manifestation of beauty in