After this interview, it is said that he went about muttering to himself—'A great triumph! A great triumph!'
In this year he is apparently fumbling towards lithography. In the 'Brighton and Arundel' Sketch-Book is the following note in his own handwriting in pencil:—
'Lithography—the soap is ... dissolved by the aqua fortis, being saturated to the utmost by pieces of Lith stone, then diluted with water.
'Silicated potash makes gum a white flakey insoluable process (?).'
He had not forgotten his old rivals and masters, as on another page, written against 'Views on Coast,' are these two words followed by a note of interrogation—'Claude Morning (?).'
On the 'Academy Auditing' Sketch-Book, Ruskin has made this curious endorsement: 'Kept as evidence of the failure of mind only.' This Sketch-Book is devoted mainly to figures, probably Academy finance; but Turner soon tires of sums, and turns to matters more congenial—to sketches of a Sleeping Figure, a Running Figure, Nymph with Children, Satyrs at Play, and A Falling Figure, against which he has scrawled the words—'Fall of Satan?' On the wrapper of the 'Paris, Seine and Dieppe' Sketch-Book, Ruskin wrote, 'Containing studies for, I believe, his own house and furniture.' Having done his duty by these domestic details, Turner treats himself to a sketch of a Vessel Sailing, to a design for a Classical Composition, to a Boat with Figures, Cows, etc. And on a later page is this information, written upon a sketch of the back view of a man with a fishing-rod:—
'Provide yourself with plenty of gentles in the ... corner of your jacket pocket. If the aforesaid be old, so much the better because they [the maggots] will work through the same cleaning themselves the while. Wade up to an inclination [?] of 45 or thereabouts in the stream and you are sure to have fish before and behind.'
Turner was never particularly careful about his attire, but to allow maggots to clean themselves by working through the jacket pocket is more than most fishermen would allow.
Turner did not exhibit at the Royal Academy this year. He was busy with The Rivers of England, also called River Scenery and its companion, The Ports of England, afterwards re-published as The Harbours of England, all of which were engraved in mezzotint. These beautiful water-colours have suffered from exposure through many years at the National Gallery. The Rivers of England were published between 1823 and 1827, and the Ports between 1826 and 1828. The latter series ended abruptly: some of them were never issued.