'Two ladies, Mrs. R---- and Mrs. H---- once paid him a visit in Harley Street, an extremely rare (in fact, if not the only) occasion of such an occurrence, for it must be known he was not fond of parties prying, as he fancied, into the secrets of his _ménage._ On sending in their names, after having ascertained that he was at home, they were politely requested to walk in, and were shown into a large sitting-room without a fire. This was in the depth of winter; and lying about in various places were several cats without tails. In a short time our talented friend made his appearance, asking the ladies if they felt cold. The youngest replied in the negative; her companion, more curious, wished she had stated otherwise, as she hoped they might have been shown into his sanctum or studio. After a little conversation he offered them wine and biscuits, which they partook of for the novelty, such an event being almost unprecedented in his house. One of the ladies bestowing some notice upon the cats, he was induced to remark that he had seven, and that they came from the Isle of Man.'
The Wreck of the _Minotaur_ on the Haak Sands' was a subject after his own heart. I have not seen this sea-piece, which Mr. Wyllie describes as the most 'splendid sea-picture that has ever been painted; the power of the waves and the littleness of man have never been so magnificently suggested.' That is high praise for a Turnerian sea-picture by a modern painter of the sea.
Yes, a quiet year this seems to have been for Turner, marked by the repose of the 'Abingdon' and the 'Windsor,' the stately pictures of 'Lowther Castle' at noon and evening, 'Petworth House, Dewy Morning,' and that golden dream called 'A Mountain Stream,' to which probably he gave no title, a little hard, a little tight, but an augury of the subtle effects of light and vapour that were to float from his brush when the chief had advanced to a complete realisation of his vision of essential beauty.
FROM A JOURNEY TO DEVONSHIRE TO HIS RETURN FROM ITALY
'The Python was a dragon which lived at Crissa, in the vicinity of Delphi, and committed great havoc among cattle and the inhabitants. The Pythian games there celebrated were established in commemoration of the destruction of the Python by Apollo.' So runs the official description in the catalogue appended to 'Apollo Killing the Python.' When it was exhibited in 1811, Turner supplied six lines from the _Hymn of Callimachus._ beginning:--