er than the engraving--of "The Monarch
of the Glen," a picture which Landseer originally painted for the
Refreshment Room of the House of Lords for 300 guineas, but which, much
to the artist's chagrin, was rejected by a Fine Arts Committee, of which
the Prince Consort was chairman. Here is "The Midsummer Night's Dream."

"I was talking to Landseer one day," said Sir Robert, "and I asked him
why he had painted the dwarf yellow.

"'Oh!' he replied, 'that's mustard-seed, _and he must be strong_!'

"You notice the white hare in the picture," continued Sir Robert.
"Landseer never made mistakes, but if anybody imagined he did, he was
very smart in replying to the charge. A lady pointed out to him that she
thought the rabbit was wrong--she had never seen a rabbit's legs placed
like that. Landseer was equal to the occasion, for he replied:--

"'That is not a rabbit, madam; _it's a white hare_!'"

In a corner is the engraving of the portrait of Landseer himself, with a
couple of dogs peeping over his shoulder. It was painted when the artist
was sixty-three years of age with the aid of a looking-glass--and the
retriever and collie came and looked over their master's shoulder to see
what he was doing. What better title could have been found for it than
"The Connoisseurs"? Landseer gave this picture to the Prince of Wales.
We talked for a long time about Landseer. In Sir Robert's earlier days
he was associated with Robert Stephenson, and we remembered a little
story of a picture specially painted for Stephenson by Landseer.

"Stephenson was a man of a very kindly disposition and exceptionally
simple tastes," said Sir Robert, "and some railway people wished to
present him with a piece of plate of the value of 500 guineas. He had
already received some L2,000 worth of plate, and assured his would-be
kindly donors that he would rather have a picture by Landseer. This
remark delighted the artist very much, and he said: 'This is the first
time I ever heard of a fellow who preferred a picture to silver plate.
Well, he shall have a good one.' The result was 'The Twins.'"

[Illustration: THE LANDING.

_From a Photo. by Elliott & Fry._]

I could not help asking Sir Robert to allow me to tell him the sequel to
this incident--a little anecdote related to me by the late Mr. Henry
Graves, the famous print-seller, of Pall Mall, who probably knew
Landseer better than any other man. The picture shows a sheep with twins
by its side, and was