nd as far
north as the Bay of Cromarty, and then returned by way of the Abbeys of
the Lowlands, to look up Turner sites, as he had done in 1845 on the St.
Gothard. From the enjoyment of this holiday he was recalled to London by
a letter from Mr. Wornum saying that he could arrange the Turner
drawings at the National Gallery.

His first letter on the National Gallery, in 1847, has been noticed. He
had written again to _The Times_ (December 29th, 1852), pressing the
same point--namely, that if the pictures were put under glass no
cleaning nor restoring would be needed; and that the Gallery ought not
to be considered as a grand hall, decorated with pictures, but as a
convenient museum, with a chronological sequence of the best works of
all schools,--every picture hung on the line and accompanied by studies
for it, if procurable, and engravings from it.

Now--in 1857--question was raised of removing the National Gallery from
Trafalgar Square. The South Kensington Museum was being formed, and the
whole business of arranging the national art treasures was gone into by
a Royal Commission, consisting of Lord Broughton (in the chair), Dean
Milman, Prof. Faraday, Prof. Cockerell, and George Richmond. Ruskin was
examined before them on April 6th, and re-stated the opinions he had
written to _The Times_, adding that he would like to see two National
Galleries--one of popular interest, containing such works as would catch
the public eye and enlist the sympathy of the untaught; and another
containing only the cream of the collections, in pictures, sculpture and
the decorative crafts, arranged for purposes of study. This was
suggested as an ideal; of course, it would involve more outlay, and less
display, than any Parliamentary vote would sanction, or party leader
risk.

Another question of importance was the disposal of the pictures and
sketches which Turner had left to the nation. Ruskin was one of the
executors under the will; but, on finding that, though Turner's
intention was plain, there were technical informalities which would make
the administration anything but easy, he declined to act. It was not
until 1856 that the litigation was concluded, and Turner's pictures and
sketches were handed to the Trustees of the National Gallery. Ruskin,
whose want of legal knowledge had made his services useless before, now
felt that he could carry out the spirit of Turner's will by offering to
arrange the sketches; which were in such a st