CHAPTER XI. WILKIE AT JERUSALEM. — LETTERS TO MR. PHILLIPS, R. A., MR. THE Letters and Journals of Wilkie continue to exhibit how unforgetful he was, though in a strange land, of the many friends he had left behind him. The interesting sights he saw at Jerusalem reminded him of his friend Phillips, and the happy hours he had spent in his society amid the rich pictorial stores, "And all the green delights of Italy." TO THOMAS PHILLIPS, ESQ., R. A. My dear Sir, Jerusalem, 4th April, 1841. At this distance from England, there are still many circumstances to recall me to those at home engaged in the same pursuit; and the recurrence of to-morrow, the first Monday in April, brings strongly to my mind the whole train of ideas attendant upon the preparation and delivery of the labours of my brother members for exhibition at the Royal Academy. Such thoughts most readily recall one like yourself, so distinguished both as a member, and upon these occasions so strong as a supporter of our Institution; and the more so, as I think you were one of those friends who rather encouraged me, in commencing this journey to a land which our divine art has so much cherished in imagination, and may yet, as we hope, from its reality, derive fresh cause of inspiration. With the wish, therefore, that we of our nation and our time, while other occupations seem so much on the move, should be up and be doing, and, instead of copying only what former schools have supplied, or sinking down to be the mere illustrators of the contemporary pursuits of other people, might find out a new vein unknown to former schools, and which, if desired by the British people, no other pursuit of human ingenuity can render. With such an object as this, in August last, I commenced my journey. On reaching Constantinople, however, there was but one slight unexpected affair to be settled, namely, that Syria had to be conquered, and Jerusalem again delivered, before I could stir a step towards that land I had so much desired to see. The impression produced by first arriving in Jerusalem, by first walking her streets and viewing her massive buildings, the enduring rocks on which she is placed, the deep ravines, valleys, and hills, by which she is surrounded, is beyond what can be again felt in any other place in the world. It is not merely in what they might have supplied to art, if they had been known to the artist, or in what they might furnish if seen by the student or commentator of Scripture, but as the ORIGINALS in conjunction with the great events that have there occurred, from which the sacred writers have drawn their narratives. I understand a leading foreign painter was here, and regretted that Raphael and Domenichino had not in their day seen the place and people, which, with all their power, they had but vainly tried to imagine. In our own country you and I can fancy that some of our talented brethren, from West down to the present time, had their devotion to art been helped by such knowledge, might have begun a style new to the public, and capable of advancing, as an original system of Scripture art. Here the people, as well as their situation, lead you to ages long passed away. The Jewish Synagogue is in their miserable quarter of the city, but it is on Mount Zion, where, existing, as it has done, from the time of the Jebusites, it can be seen now only with the most touching interest; and excluded from the rock and stone walls of their own temple, they still believe that the Tables of the Law, and the Tabernacle, supposed to be buried in its ruins, will yet one day be found, and restored to them. The Arabs, who form the mass of the poor people, look as if they had never changed since the time of Abraham. Their religion, though here in the ascendent, shuns the light of modern civilisation, and appears to take shelter in a system of exclusion from the observation of all strangers, till curiosity loses its interest, except in so far as they come in contact with other systems of faith. But the reminiscences of the New Testament give the great interest to Jerusalem, and the once-despised Mount Calvary is now within the walls, a centre and attractive quarter of the city. The events connected with this place, from the arrival of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem to the crucifixion, entombment, and resurrection, which, as you know, have supplied the great mass of subjects to Scripture painting, may here be traced for every day and hour of that exciting period. If we ask, would the knowledge of these have helped the great painters?-it may be answered, they have done wonders without it. It is true: when they painted, their being incorrect could not be detected, and perhaps will not be felt at present; but now that Syria is open, and that steam-boat navigation is spreading crowds in all directions, may not a system of Scripture painting be required corresponding, not to our ignorance, but to our improving knowledge of Syria? But another style of art will naturally grow out of the opening of Syria. You know our brother member Roberts is both painting most interesting pictures, and publishing his drawings, to show what Syria is at the present time. This, though distinct from Scripture art, may yet, with his great ability, lead to the call for Scripture pictures, and may lead to others visiting the holy territory. It has been with me an often repeated joke with our highly talented friend, Mr. Turner, that he ought to have mounted the staff and scallop-shell for such a peregrination; and he will recollect well where he said I wished to send him, when I tell him I thought of him, and wished for him when I passed the ancient city of Jericho, though then, from the ravages of the retreating army, a smoking ruin. I can fancy what our friend would make of this and the vale of the Jordan, of the Dead Sea, the Wilderness of the Temptation, and, above all, the Mount of Olives, Mount of the Ascension, with all the mystery associated with it, which (like the top of Fiesole over Florence) overlooks Jerusalem. In requesting to be particularly remembered to my excellent friend Mrs. Phillips, and the young ladies the Misses Phillips, I may observe that, wherever I have travelled, ladies have been always most alive to the objects of this journey, and may yet, in our own country, be the most likely to awaken the attention of Protestant England to what is due to Syria. Such elements of agitation as the repealers of Ireland, the anti-rate payers of England, and the non-intrusionists of Scotland, do not promise much; but we must hope for the best. D. W. TO JAMES HALL, ESQ. Dear Mr. James Hall, Jerusalem, 4th April, 1841. In viewing and perambulating the streets, lanes, mounts, and hills of Jerusalem, the admirer of the art of painting will find, at every turn, what ought to have formed the position and background of the finest pictures the art has produced. He will also see, in the people that walk the streets, evidence of their being the native descendants of those who should form the characters in these pictures. From the arrival of Jesus Christ from Jericho, his entrance before the Feast of the Passover, to the time of his arrest, crucifixion, |