Page:The Early Kings of Norway.djvu/248

 238 THE PORTRAITS OF JOHN KNOX. for an omelet, and among these fourteen or fifteen egg-yolks, hardly two of which you could determine even what they wished to resemble. For the last century or so, by far the most famed and trusted of Scottish Knox Portraits has been that in the possession of the Torphichen family, at Calder House, some twelve or more miles from Edinburgh. This Picture was public here in the Portrait Exhibi- tion in 1869, and a photograph or attempt at photo- graph was taken of it, but with little success, the colours having mostly grown so black. By the great kindness of the now Lord Torphichen, the Picture was, with prompt and conspicuous courtesy, which I shall not soon forget, sent up again for inspection here, and examination by artistic judges ; and was accord- ingly so examined and inspected by several persons of eminence in that department; all of whom were, almost at first sight, unanimous in pronouncing it to be a picture of no artistic merit ; — ^impossible to ascribe it to any nameable painter, having no style or worth in it, as a painting ; guessable to be perhaps under a century old, and very clearly an improved