2nd.--Went to Greenwich, and then to Free Exhibition to ballot for places; evening at Thomas’s.... 13th.--Re-painted one hand of Lear (bad), and his head (not too good): bad day. Evening, carpet (eight hours).... 21st.--Re-painted and finished the head of Cordelia at last; painted the carpet and flowers and shield and divers (eight hours). 22nd.--Took _Lear_ to the Free Exhibition. Found a large white sky came directly beneath it: kicked up a row, and got it taken away, then worked at the picture at divers (three hours). 23rd.--Re-painted the sky, and re-touched many things, and finished it definitely (six hours). 24th.--Went to private view: picture much liked. Started for Gravesend: my child in bed. 28th.--Went to see Baily’s _Graces_ at his studio, and Nichols’ sculpture for the pediment of the Hall of Commerce, Manchester; bad but effective. Also to see some magnificent Dutch pictures at Mr. Theobald’s. 29th.--Went to see young Hunt, and thence to see Millais’s picture, _Isabella_; wonderfully painted, full of expression, sentiment, and colour, and extreme good painting, but somewhat exaggerated in character, and careless in drawing. 31st.--Painted at the view of Windermere. 2nd April.--Evening spent at Rossetti’s: saw his designs and his brother, all up in his little room, fifth storey[60].... 5th.--Painted at _Windermere_, cows and foreground (five hours). 6th.--Painted at idem, horses, etc. (five hours).... 10th.--Painted in the day-time, and in the evening from nine till eleven: finished it, and carried it to the Royal Academy (seven hours’ work).... 27th.--Worked at the outline of Poats:[61] drew-in the page in the foreground from nature (four hours).... 5th May.--Worked at the water-colour sketch;[62] began re-painting it in oil (four hours).... 8th June.--Began painting on the centre compartment of the picture. Painted at the yellow hood in the foreground; painted-in the head of it ...; lemon, chrome, cadmium, and yellow lake, with copal; vehicle, copal and drying-oil (five hours).... 21st.--Painted-in one hand and the head; laying-in the shadows with emerald-green and white and much copal, and the lights with pure white and copal; the outline drawn with water-colours, much hatched (ten hours). 22nd.--Painted-in one hand from Maitland in sunlight: find I can put the models in the sun (three hours). 23rd.--Painted-in the neck and hair and draperies of the admiring courtier, also one hand of the foreground page, always laying-in the flesh with pure white (eight hours).... 25th.--Painted a study of the head of Maitland for the Black Prince, and the head of page from young Deverell[63] (seven hours).... 29th.--Touched the Page’s head, and painted-in the Jester’s from John Marshall (nine hours).... 2nd July.--Set off to Shorn Ridgway. Found some fine scenery overlooking the Thames and Essex; began a study of it for my background to _Chaucer_ (three hours)....