I am much obliged by your note, and read with great satisfaction what you say about Newman's golden ochre. I shall now, until I hear from you further, adopt the motto "Ex uno disce omnes," and assume that the _yellow_ ochre is equally sound and serviceable; although the colour is so much finer than any yellow ochre of my acquaintance that I cannot quite close my mind to a lurking suspicion that it is stimulated or refreshed by some foreign ingredient. * * * * * _March 13, 1894._ Many thanks. You send me good tidings. The yellow ochre is by far the finest I have ever seen. * * * * * I enclose, because we think (Watts and I) that it will interest you, a specimen of purple _lake_ (_not madder_), such as Watts has used _all his life_, which has been baking in the sun for _two_ years; it is slightly browner, but more beautiful than ever, and has, you see, retained its full _body_; this is remarkable. * * * * * _June 22, 1894._ Very many thanks for your interesting and exhaustive investigations on the French lakes. I observe that in several cases you mention lakes having _cracked_. I presume, however, there is no reason to suppose they would do this when embodied with other colours, and that _if_ otherwise safe they might therefore be used. The purple lake used by our friend Watts is furnished to him, I have always understood, by Messrs. Newton of Rathbone Place. I am glad to hear so good an account of the pale boiled linseed oil from May & Baker, Ltd., of Battersea. I do not, however, gather from what you say that there can be any reason for substituting it for Bell's medium, to which I am much attached, and which, as you know, is, with the admixture of one-third rectified essence of turpentine, the only vehicle I use. This note, of course, requires no acknowledgment--anything you may have to say on these various points will abundantly keep until I get a further account of your investigations on the purple lake. * * * * * Many thanks for your valuable caution. Amongst the lakes you tried, did you include the garance _nuance brun_ and do. _brun foncé_? Both are superb colours, and it would be nice to think one might use them. It is very comfortable to feel that one has a _conscience_ one can tune at Shelsley. * * * * * _April 19, 1894._