No. 450, "The Magic Circle," J.W. Waterhouse, A.R.A. Prevailing tones of blue. A girl, witch or sorceress, in blue robes, stands by a cauldron, describing a circle on the ground with her divining rod; snakes coil round her neck, and she is surrounded by ravens and the weird instruments of her craft. This is one of the few powerfully imaginative pictures in the Exhibition. Mr. Waterhouse, one of the new Associates, was the painter of a remarkable picture, "Consulting the Oracle," in 1884.

Mr. WATERHOUSE in his 'St. Eulalia' (503) lying dead on the pavement of the Forum at Rome, whilst the miraculous snowstorm covers her from the gaze of the populace, is another striking work of which the execution is very praiseworthy. In this, however, as in so many other works round the walls, one feels that artists nowadays too frequently have recourse to books to furnish them with subjects for their pictures, instead of finding them in their own imagination or by the adaptation of what they see around them.

Among outsiders, Mr. J.W. Waterhouse is the man who has again made a decided hit. "St Eulalia" ranks first-class, whether judged as a dramatic poem or as a picture. The saint lies out-stretched and half-clad in the Roman Forum, and the miraculous fall of snow which came after her martyrdom to shroud the loveliness of her form, already whitens the ground. Roman guards ward off the passionate approach of the Christians pressing forward to the martyr, and among a flock of gentle doves, one on the wing is supposed to hear the spirit of the saint heavenwards. The whole conception rises out of the common, and the treatment is eminently artistic. If we mistake not, Mr Waterhouse has won his election into the Academy. Since these words were written, the prophecy is fulfilled.

At a general assembly of the Royal Academy, held on the 4th of June, Mr. Alfred Waterhouse was elected a Royal Academician, and Messrs. E. Burne-Jones, Henry Moore, and J. W. Waterhouse, Associates. A more satisfactory election could hardly have been made. Mr. Alfred Waterhouse was made an Associate seven years ago, and in that period has over and over again shown his worthiness and right to be accorded the full honours. The selection of Mr. Burne-Jones is even more satisfactory; it shows a desire to conciliate a class of artists whose work has hitherto been deemed antagonistic to Academic teaching; as to his deserts there can be no question. The exhibitions will be immensely strengthened by the presence of his pictures, and a corresponding blow will fall upon those of the Grosvenor Gallery. Mr. Henry Moore’s election has been long delayed, but it still finds the artist at his best, and this long-deserved encouragement should add vigour even to his strong brush. Mr. J. W. Waterhouse is still young both in years and as an exhibitor, and we can only hope that the honour thus early granted to him may not have other effect than to stimulate him to continue in his endeavours to paint for fame only. The election of two persons of the same name is a curious coincidence.