Excerpt from The Bible of Amiens; Valle Crucis; The Art of England; The Pleasures of England Ruskin was, as we have seen, very seriously ill in February 1878 with an attack Of brain-fever.l Early in April he was able to leave his bed, and by July he could report himself as having got into quiet work again, though conscious that he must not again risk the grief and passion Of writing on policy.2 The quiet work consisted largely Of studies Of rocks and owers, for during the latter months Of 1878 and in 1879 he issued two Parts Of Deucalion and one of Proserpina. In August he went with Mr. Arthur Severn to Malham, and presently he was well enough to pay some visits. In September he was in Scotland staying at Dunira with Mr. William Graham, and in October at Hawarden. His health was better, and Mr. Gladstone noted that there was no diminution Of the charm in an unrivalled guest.3 His visit to Dunira is recorded in two pleasant papers which Ruskin contributed at this time to The Nineteenth Cen tury, entitled The Three Colours of pre-raphaelitism. His doctors, as we have seen,4 forbade him to incur the excitement of giving evi dence in his own behalf in the action which Whistler had brought against him (november Early in the following year, he was troubled with other legal proceedings. His name had been forged on various cheques, and he was called to London as a witness for the prosecution. Being in very weak health, says the report Of the pro ceedings, Mr. Ruskin was allowed to give evidence from the bench.5 It was characteristic that when the prisoner had completed his sentence Ruskin gave him the means to start again in a better career. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."