
Painter and picture arrived in Hampstead a week ago last Friday without any misadventure. The Custom house offices in Liverpool gave me no trouble, and beyond paying heavily for overweight luggage from Liverpool to London I experienced no difficulty.
Before writing I wanted a few people to see the work.
To begin with, Grace is surprised and pleased with it—the
picture comes up closely to her recollection of you & she thinks that your
admirers will be interested and pleased with the portrait. On Sunday i.e. the day
before yesterday some dozen literary men & women looked in. Miss Brooke for
instance (author of "An Heir without a Heritage") thinks you look grand, and that the picture "emanates" a living personality,
and that there is a peculiar light and glow about it at all, as though it was
painted near sundown.
Bernard Shawe (a delightful Irishman who reviews books in the Pall Mall cleverly) it was rather dark—late in the afternoon when he arrived, he thought there was a joyous spirited look about its execution.—asked me if I was not pleased with it myself?
Mrs Arthur Wilson (a spirited socialist—"what a
splendid old lion." In fact it is quite evident that the picture gives people
quite a new and vivid presentation of your personality here. Buxton Forman wouldn't hear of its being "commonplace" thought Bucke's remarks about it out of a mist i.e. to try & give 'a youthful fire to the
eyes.'
Ernest Rhys took high-tea with us yesterday, he only saw
it by lamp-light, but Rhys said it gave him a distinctly new, fresh and enlarged
idea of your personality, & that he was very glad to have seen it before
starting for America. He intends to start in about 3 weeks time, and thinks that he
will be in Camden about the middle of November. I have asked him to call on Talcott
Williams, perhaps you will give him a "leg up" among
newspaper men? He is going out in a cargoe-boat, so I should fear that he will be
pitched and rolled about a good deal.
I had a smooth passage across except the last two or three days when it was quite rough.
I look back upon my visit to the States with great pleasure—it is a lovely country—and I remember the jolly talks & dinners that I've had at your house.
I find that your portrait is searchingly carried through and that there is little more to do to it—except the hands.
Please give my very kind regards to Mrs. Davis & With love to Walt.
Herbert H. GilchristRhys think this work shows more "resource" than anything I have done. I think so too.
[I have yet to deliver Tennyson's & [illegible] remis's gifts for you.]

