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things to pass; and, no doubt, afforded ground for the painful gossip, of which there has been more than enough,-much of it absurdly untrue, the romancing of ingenious newspaper-correspondents; some of it, the lie that is half a truth. For in these times there were not wanting parasites such as always prey upon creatures in disease, as well as weak admirers who misunderstood their hero’s natural character, and entirely failed to grasp his situation.

“Let such troubles of the past be forgotten: all that I now remember of many a weary night and day is the vision of a great soul in torment, and through purgatorial fires the ineffable tenderness of the real man emerging, with his passionate appeal to justice and baffled desire for truth. To those who could not follow the wanderings of the wearied brain it was nothing but a horrible or a grotesque nightmare. Some, in those trials, learnt as they could not otherwise have learnt to know him, and to love him as never before.”¹

Something else it will be necessary to say on a later page about these attacks; but for the present I must continue the story.

On partially recovering from the illness of 1887, Ruskin posted south with Mr. Arthur Severn, and settled at Folkestone and afterwards at Sandgate, with occasional visits to London, until the spring of 1888. Though he was at times in a very excited state, the change to the seaside brought him some enjoyment. His letters written thence tell of his joy in the sea and in the skies. He found much pleasure, too, in music, and engaged an organist, Mr. Roberts, to play to him, as explained in this letter of invitation:-

“(PARIS HOTEL, 29th Sept. ‘87.)-Your name was given me at Messrs. Wellard’s as that of a master who might be willing to give me a lesson once or twice a week in the playing of old pianoforte music. I cannot play myself, but am most grateful to any master who will play a little Bach, Corelli, or-you will be perhaps shocked to hear-pure Rossini to me. If you could spare the time, I would be at home whenever it was convenient to you to come, and should willingly come to any arrangements agreeable to you as to terms.

“I may say further that I am chiefly interested in this older music, in its connection of principles with those of bell chime, which I want to see introduced into early school education.”

Mr. Roberts, with whom Ruskin speedily became on affectionate terms, used to visit him frequently in connexion with theories he was

¹ W. G. Collingwood, Life and Work of John Ruskin, 1900, p. 382.

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