“July 24th.—The musketry instructor, contrary to my sad expectations, was by no means the automaton one expects a soldier to be, but a thoroughly intelligent model, and his attitudes combined perfect drill-book correctness with great life and action. He was splendid. I can feel certain of everything being right in the attitudes, and will have no misgivings. It is extraordinary what a well-studied position that kneeling to resist cavalry is. I dread to think what blunders I might have committed. No civilian would have detected them, but the military would have been down upon me. I feel, of course, rather fettered at having to observe rules so strict and imperative concerning the poses of my figures, which, I hope, will have much action. I have to combine the drill book and the fierce fray! I told an artist the other day, very seriously, that I wished to show what an English square looks like viewed quite close at the end of two hours’ action, when about to receive a last charge. A cool speech, seeing I have never seen the thing! And yet I seem to have seen it—the hot, blackened faces, the set teeth or gasping mouths, the bloodshot eyes and the mocking laughter, the stern, cool, calculating look here and there; the unimpressionable, dogged stare! Oh! that I could put on canvas what I have in my mind!
“July 25th.—A glorious day at Chatham, where again the Engineers were put through field exercises, and I studied them with all my faculties. I got splendid hints to-day. Went with Colonel Browne and Papa.
“July 28th.—My dear musketry instructor for a few more attitudes. He has put me through the process of loading the ‘Brown Bess’—a flint-lock—so that I shall have my soldiers handling their arms properly. Galloway has sold the copyright of this picture to Messrs. Dickenson for £2,000! They must have faith in my doing it well.”
On August 11th I see I took a much-needed holiday at home, at Ventnor; and, as I say, “gave myself up to fresh air, exercise, a little out-of-door painting, and Napier’s ‘Peninsular War,’ in six volumes.” Shortly before I left for home I received from Queen Victoria a very splendid bracelet set with pearls and a large emerald. My mother and good friend Dr. Pollard were with me in the studio when the messenger brought it, and we formed a jubilant trio.
It was pleasant to be amongst my old Ventnor friends who had known me since I was little more than a child. But on September 10th I had to bid them and the old place goodbye, and on September 11th I re-entered my beloved studio.
“September 12th.—An eventful day, for my ‘Quatre Bras’ canvas was tackled. The sergeant-major and Colonel Browne arrived. The latter, good man, has had the whole Waterloo uniform made for me at the Government clothing factory at Pimlico. It has been made to fit the sergeant-major, who put on the whole thing for me to see. We had a dress rehearsal, and very delighted I was. They have even had the coat dyed the old ‘brick-dust’ red and made of the baize cloth of those days! Times are changed for me. It will be my fault if the picture is a fiasco.”
During the painting of “Quatre Bras” I was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour, and I contributed to the Winter Exhibition that large sketch of a sowar of the 10th Bengal Lancers which I called “Missed!” and which the Graphic bought and published in colours. This reproduction sold to such an extent that the Graphic must have been pleased! The sowar at “tent-pegging” has missed his peg and pulls at his horse at full gallop. I had never seen tent-pegging at that time, but I did this from description, by an Anglo-Indian officer of the 10th, who put the thing vividly before me. How many, many tent-peggings I have seen since, and what a number of subjects they have given me for my brush and pencil! Those captivating and pictorial movements of men and horses are inexhaustible in their variety.
I had more models sent to me than I could put into the big picture—Guardsmen, Engineers and Policemen—the latter being useful as, in those days, the police did not wear the moustache, and I had difficulty in finding heads suitable for the Waterloo time. Not a head in the picture is repeated. I had a welcome opportunity of showing varieties of types such as gave me so much pleasure in the old Florentine days when I enjoyed the Andrea del Sartos, Masaccios, Francia Bigios, and other works so full of characteristic heads.
On November 7th my sister and I went for a weekend to Birmingham, where the people who had bought “The Roll Call” copyright were exhibiting that picture. They particularly wished me to go. We were very agreeably entertained at Birmingham, where I was curious to meet the buyer of my first picture sold, that “Morra” which I painted in Rome. Unfortunately I inquired everywhere for “Mr. Glass,” and had to leave Birmingham without seeing him and the early work. No one had heard of him! His name was Chance, the great Birmingham glass manufacturer.
“November 27th.—In the morning off with Dr. Pollard to Sanger’s Circus, where arrangements had been made for me to see two horses go through their performances of lying down, floundering on the ground, and rearing for my ‘Quatre Bras’ foreground horses. It was a funny experience behind the scenes, and I sketched as I followed the horses in their movements over the arena with many members of the troupe looking on, the young ladies with their hair in curl-papers against the evening’s performance. I am now ripe to go to Paris.”