Chapter D: Maclise, R. a (1)

Maclise had been much engaged in book-illustration (sometimes signing himself "Alfred Croquis") when, in 1844, it was proposed that he should provide designs for Dickens's second Christmas Book, "The Chimes." This little story was written in Italy, and, during Dickens's absence, the necessary arrangements respecting the illustrations were made by Forster. It may be incidentally mentioned that, eager to try the effect of the story, the novelist journeyed to England for the express purpose of reading it aloud to his friends at Forster's residence in Lincoln's Inn Fields, the memorable incident being depicted by Maclise in an amusing pencil-sketch, afterwards reproduced for Forster's biography. Maclise became responsible for the frontispiece and decorative title-page of "The Chimes," both of these fanciful designs gracefully portraying elves and fairies, spirits of the bells, and allegorical figures typifying Love, Life, and Death. The original drawings, now in South Kensington Museum, were delicately executed in pencil, and engraved on steel by F. P. Becker. With reference to these illustrations, the artist wrote:--

"MY DEAR FORSTER,--I wonder if it would be possible to make
the paper of the book an inch bigger, that is, to increase
the width of margin around the letterpress, without much
additional expense. I wish you to put the question. I do not
think my design too large, but it would marvellously
increase the elegance of the look of the book. I must say
the 'Carol' book is the very climax of vulgarity in its
_mise en planches_.--_Au revoir._.

"D. M."[40]

Footnote 40: This and the succeeding letters from Maclise to
Forster are now printed for the first time.

It was, of course, considered inadvisable to depart from precedent by acting upon the above suggestion. Dickens was highly pleased with the artist's designs, and, writing to his wife on December 2, 1844, he said: "Mac's frontispiece is charming."

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =The Cricket on the Hearth, 1846.=]

To the third Christmas Book, "The Cricket on the Hearth," Maclise also contributed the frontispiece and decorative title-page, which were engraved on wood instead of steel. These designs are replete with quaint fancy, the frontispiece being especially worthy of attention, comprising, as it does, no less than ten miniature _tableaux_, the chief of these representing a homely scene, where the Carrier and his wife are seated by the fireside, their babe being rocked in its cradle by the fairies, while above the steaming kettle is perched that good spirit, the Cricket. The following undated letter is interesting on account of its connection with this Christmas story:--

"MY DEAR FORSTER,-- ... I write to ask if you have a moment to see
B[radbury] and E[vans] about these blocks for my little designs. I
wrote to D[ickens] Saturday, and there came to me such a small pair
that I instantly sent them back. Then on Saturday evening two more
came; _one of them will do_--but as you understand the matter, and
last year even got the book enlarged a little,[41] I want you to say
that I _must have a block_ for the _frontispiece_ the exact size of
the leaf on which the frontispiece of the 'Chimes' is. I have made a
little sketch to be placed on the wood, and some of the little
shapes come as close to the edge of the page as this line I
make--[Symbol: long vertical line]. I want the wood as high and as
wide as that page--but oh! my I--on, if it could but be--the _page_
I mean, not the _wood_,--a little--_so_ much larger, ah! I should be
happy for life. Tell B. and E. this and ask D. to insist on it.
Mind, I am not exceeding the present paper of the 'Chimes,' but for
the look of the book it would be very important--and they have sent
me a block much smaller than that page, whereas I cannot afford
one-hundredth part of a pin's point. I know 'tis vain to write to
them--so trouble you, and I want the blocks--in an hour!!!--Ever
most faithfully,

"D. M."

Footnote 41: There was practically no enlargement.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =The Battle of Life, 1846.=]

The artist prepared for "The Battle of Life" not only the customary frontispiece and title-page, but two additional designs for the later portion of the story. Dickens, who was in Paris at the time, was delighted when he heard of this, and in a letter to a friend observed: "Forster writes me that Mac has come out with tremendous vigour in the Christmas Book, and took off his coat at it with a burst of such alarming energy that he has done four subjects!" Of these, the principal is the frontispiece, representing the Dance round the Appletree, but the most successful design is that depicting "The Sisters,"--a graceful composition, and the last drawing produced by the artist for Dickens.

Remembering the novelist's keen appreciation of Maclise's illustrations in the preceding Christmas Books, it seems somewhat strange that the artist should have thus emphatically expressed himself to Forster in the following letter, evidently indited in a moment of pique:--

"MY DEAR F.,--It is clear to me that Dickens does not care
one damn whether I make a little sketch for the book or not.
However, if _you_ think that the appearance of the volume
should be as like the former ones as possible, I will with
even pleasure gulp down my jealousy and draw on the wood
that apple-tree, &c, for a frontispiece. In which case you
must _shut up that_ same subject to Doyle--as I saw in his
sketch last night. But I do this at your bidding, and not at
all for D., and on the whole would much prefer not engaging
in the matter at all.--Yours truly,

"D. M."

Apparently some little misunderstanding had hurt the susceptibilities of the artist, but, happily, it was speedily removed, for he presently wrote in a more conciliatory spirit:--

"MY DEAR FORSTER,--I have received the blocks and will make
the design of the apple-tree and the girls dancing--so keep
that subject sacred to me. B[radbury] and E[vans] have sent
the block as large as the last, but as I do not approve the
look of the design without margin, I intend to keep this one
within bounds. They have sent me a smaller one for
title-page. Now I propose, and I know it will improve the
appearance of the little book, not to cram in another design
there with the title--a printed title in type has always
still been necessary--but if you like I will make another
design for the body of the book. That one, perhaps, the
lover of Marion's interview with her--and Clemency. I hope
very much you will see no good objection to this
proposition--or will _you_ propose a second subject?--Ever
yours truly

"D. M."

Again, a few days later:--

"MY DEAR FORSTER,-- ... I write to say that you will find me
at the Athenæum to-morrow at five o'clock. Do not be later.
I hope _then_ to bring with me the drawing on the block for
the frontispiece--the girls dancing; for the other, I will
do what you like, the girls and the Doctor, Marion reading,
&c, or the lover of Marion's interview with her, and
Clemency outside the door, &c. We will agree
to-morrow.--Very truly yours,

"D. MACLISE.

"I hope there may be time enough then not to hurry it."

The following letter probably refers to the allegorical design on the title-page, depicting the triumph of Virtue over Vice, in which the figures (with one exception) are nude: although, from an allusion to "that tree," it might be suggested that it was the frontispiece:--

"MY DEAR FORSTER,--I suppose the stern moralist, Thackeray,
would have described the last design I made lecherous,
libidinous, lustful, lewd, and loose; but I meant it to be
pure and 'mi-ld as the moo-n-beams.'

"... I only write to tell you, if you can exercise any
control over its fate, that it may be placed in the hands of
as good a wood-man as possible, and that he be recommended
to spare _that_ tree-e-.

"I fear that my character is gone abroad, and that I am a
dog with a bad name....--Ever yours,

"DANIEL MACLISE."

Both the frontispiece and title-page were excellently rendered on wood by John Thompson, one of the foremost engravers of the day. Maclise, however, had hoped the work would have been entrusted to others, for he observed to Forster: "I am annoyed that neither Williams nor Dalziel are to do that little design. Some one called here and took it away on Monday, and he said that there was not time (the old excuse) to do it justice." Judging from the following trenchant remarks, the artist was anything but gratified by the engraved reproductions of these drawings when they appeared in print:--

"MY DEAR F.,--I can never hope to get you to understand how
I am mortified and humiliated by the effect of these
damnable cuts. It really is too much to be called upon to
submit to, to be shown up in these little dirty scratches
and to have one's name blazoned as if one was proud of them.
I wish to Heaven you would have my name cut out from the
corners, that at least I might have the benefit of the doubt
as to which of the blots is mine. I would give anything that
I had kept to my original notion and had nothing to do with
the thing.... I wish you had left me that last one; I would
have tried to beguile myself with a belief that it might be
improved. My curses light upon the miserable dog that
produced it--I don't mean myself.--Ever yours,

"D. MACLISE.

"And what is the good of employing Thom[p]son--if the demon
printers are to ruin them with their diabolic press?"

Maclise, like other draughtsmen on wood, doubtless often experienced a sense of disappointment when their delicately-pencilled drawings were hurriedly engraved and submitted to the arbitrary treatment of printer's ink. In this way those subtle touches upon which the artist prided himself were lost for ever, so that the designs appear coarse and crude. Such was obviously the case with regard to the illustrations now under consideration, notwithstanding the fact that they bear the signatures of thoroughly experienced engravers. It is a fact worth recording here that Maclise did not draw from life the figures in his designs for the Christmas Books. Indeed, it was a matter of astonishment to his brother artists that, even when working upon his more important canvases, he very rarely resorted to the use of the living model, his singular facility in composition leading him, perhaps, too often to dispense with the study of the human form; yet his works, although possessing a mannered look, are distinctively marked by characteristics of individual as well as general nature.

As already intimated, the friendship subsisting between Dickens and Maclise was of a kind the most sincere, and it was naturally coupled with a true admiration which each entertained for the genius of the other. Dickens never tired of praising the talent of the artist, whom he thought "a tremendous creature, who might do anything," and recalled with delight those halcyon days when Maclise accompanied Clarkson Stanfield, Forster, and himself on that memorable Cornish trip in 1842, one result of which was a charming painting (now in the Forster Collection at South Kensington) of the Waterfall at St. Nighton's Keive, near Tintagel, into which the artist introduced as the principal feature a young girl carrying a pitcher, the model for whom was Dickens's sister-in-law, Miss Georgina Hogarth. It should be remembered that one of the finest of the early portraits of Dickens himself was painted by Maclise in 1839, at the instigation of Chapman & Hall, with a view to an engraving for "Nicholas Nickleby," the reproduction duly appearing as the frontispiece. The original picture was presented to Dickens by his publishers, and at the sale of the novelist's effects in 1870 this very interesting canvas was purchased for £693 by the Rev. Sir E. R. Jodrell, by whom it was bequeathed to the National Gallery, where it may now be seen. Maclise is responsible also for another excellent portrait of the novelist at the same youthful period--a slight pencil-drawing (executed in 1843) representing him with his wife and her sister.

The premature death of Dickens's raven, immortalised in "Barnaby Rudge," was formally notified to Maclise by the novelist in the form of a letter narrating the details of that domestic calamity. The artist forwarded the missive to Forster, together with a sketch purporting to represent "Grip's" apotheosis, while to Dickens himself he dispatched (March 13, 1841) the following letter, which does not appear in the published collection, and is one of a very few letters extant that were addressed by him to the novelist:[42]--

Footnote 42: Replying to Mr. W. J. O'Driscoll's application
for the loan of any of the artist's correspondence, with a
view to publishing them in his Memoir of Maclise, Dickens
stated that a few years previously he destroyed an immense
correspondence, expressly because he considered it had been
held with him and not with the public. Thus we have been
deprived of valuable records which would have thrown
additional light upon the friendly intercourse subsisting
between the novelist and many of his distinguished
contemporaries.

"MY DEAR DICKENS,--I received the mournful intelligence of
our friend's decease last night at eleven, and the shock was
great indeed. I have just dispatched the announcement to
poor Forster, who will, I am sure, sympathise with us in our
bereavement. I know not what to think of the probable cause
of his death,--I reject the idea of the Butcher Boy, for the
orders he must have in his (the Raven's) life-time received
on account of the Raven himself must have been considerable.
I rather cling to the notion of _felo de se_--but this will
no doubt come out upon the post-mortem. How blest we are to
have such an intelligent coroner as Mr. Wakley. I think he
was just of those melancholic habits which are the
noticeable signs of your intended suicide, his solitary
life, those gloomy tones,--when he did speak, which was
always to the purpose. Witness his last dying speech,
'Hallo! old girl,' which breathes of cheerfulness and
triumphant recognition,--his solemn suit of raven black,
which never grew rusty. Altogether his character was the
very prototype of a Byron hero--and even of a Scott--a
Master of Ravenswood. He ought to be glad he had no family.
I suppose he seems to have intended it, however, for his
solicitude to deposit in those Banks in the garden his
savings was always very touching. I suppose his obsequies
will take place immediately.

"It is beautiful, the idea of his return, even after death,
to the scene of his early youth and all his associations,
and lie with kindred dusts amid his own ancestral graves
after having made such a noise in the world, having clearly
booked his place in that immortality-coach driven by
Dickens. Yes, he committed suicide; he felt he had done it
and done with life. The hundreds of years! what were they to
him? There was nothing more to live for--and he committed
the rash act.--Sympathisingly yours,

"DAN. MACLISE."

It is evident from the following epistle, addressed to Forster at the time when "Dombey and Son" was appearing in monthly numbers, that Maclise, while acknowledging his intense admiration of the novelist's powers, could not bring himself to appreciate certain of his youthful creations:--

"MY DEAR FORSTER,--I think it very great--the old
nautical-instrument-seller novel, and most promising. I'm
never up to his young girls--he is so very fond of the age
of 'Nell,' when they are most insipid. I hope he is not
going to make another 'Slowboy'--but I am only trying to say
something, and to find fault when there is none to find. _He
is absolutely alone._--Ever yours,

"D. M."

In 1870 Maclise's health began seriously to fail him; he appeared languid and depressed, and in April of that year he succumbed to an attack of acute pneumonia, predeceasing the novelist by only a few weeks.

Dickens experienced a severe shock on hearing of the death of this steadfast and genuine friend, and when, three days later, he returned thanks for "Literature" at the Royal Academy dinner (his final appearance in public), he offered a most affectionate, graceful, and eloquent tribute to the memory of him who had just passed away. "For many years," he said, "I was one of the two most intimate friends and most constant companions of the late Mr. Maclise. Of his genius in his chosen art I will venture to say nothing here, but of his prodigious fertility of mind and wonderful wealth of intellect, I may confidently assert that they would have made him, if he had been so minded, at least as great a writer as he was a painter. The gentlest and most modest of men, the freshest as to his generous appreciation of young aspirants, and the frankest and largest-hearted as to his peers, incapable of a sordid or ignoble thought, gallantly sustaining the true dignity of his vocation, without one grain of self-ambition, wholesomely natural at the last as at the first, 'in wit a man, simplicity a child,' no artist, of whatsoever denomination, I make bold to say, ever went to his rest leaving a golden memory more pure from dross, or having devoted himself with a truer chivalry to the art-goddess whom he worshipped." These were the last public words of Charles Dickens, and they were uttered when the speaker was far from well, and when, indeed, he was himself nearing the brink of the Great Unknown.

SIR JOHN TENNIEL

Cartoons for _Punch_--Book Illustrations--A Self-Taught
Artist--Becomes Acquainted with Dickens--Designs for "The
Haunted Man"--A Wonderful Memory of Observation--An
Interview with Dickens--Knighthood.

Sir John Tenniel, the _doyen_ of the _Punch_ staff, is undoubtedly best known as the designer and draughtsman of the cartoon published weekly in that journal. This famous pictorial satirist succeeded Richard Doyle on _Punch_ in 1850, and since 1861 (with the exception of a few brief intervals) he has supplied the subject of the principal engraving with unfailing regularity. Confining himself almost entirely to black-and-white drawing, Sir John has produced, during a long and active career, a large number of book-illustrations, such as those embellishing certain editions of "Æsop's Fables," "The Ingoldsby Legends," "Lalla Rookh," and "The Arabian Nights," while those charming designs in the late "Lewis Carroll's" "Alice in Wonderland," with its sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass," will be readily remembered. In _Once a Week_ may also be found many of his illustrations.

Sir John Tenniel was born in London in 1820. Although for a time he attended the Royal Academy Schools, he is practically a self-taught artist, and exhibited his first picture when sixteen years of age. After this initial success he continued to paint and exhibit pictures both in oil and water-colours, but soon realised that he could exercise his facile pencil with greater advantage, his designs possessing a refinement and good taste, coupled with a sense of humour--characteristics suggesting the thought that to him may be attributed the establishment of the connection between "High" Art and what may be termed "Grotesque" Art.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =The Haunted Man, 1848.=]

Prior to joining the _Punch_ staff--that is to say, in 1847--Sir (then Mr.) John Tenniel became acquainted with Charles Dickens, who invited the young artist to contribute (in conjunction with Clarkson Stanfield, R.A., John Leech, and Frank Stone, A.R.A.) some designs to "The Haunted Man," published in 1848. Accordingly, in this Christmas Book we find him represented by six illustrations, consisting of the frontispiece, engraved title-page, and four other designs, the latter appearing at the opening of the chapters. The frontispiece is a remarkable achievement in respect to the decorative border surrounding the central picture,--a beautifully-fanciful treatment of elf-like and other figures, typifying Good and Evil, the drawing being admirably engraved on wood by Martin and Corbould. In the second chapter the artist has represented the Tetterby family, which it is interesting to compare with a similar group of the Tetterbys by John Leech in the same chapter. Sir John Tenniel's final drawing is a successful attempt to portray, in the form of allegory, Night receding before Dawn.

Except in painting, Sir John Tenniel never resorts to the use of the living model for his figures, but depends entirely upon a wonderful memory of observation. _Apropos_ of his collaboration with the novelist, he has favoured me with the following note:--

"My 'artistic association' with Charles Dickens began and
ended simply with my poor little contributions towards the
illustration of 'The Haunted Man.' There was no written
correspondence between us that I can remember, and I believe
I had but one interview with Dickens on the subject, when he
gave me certain hints as to treatment, &c. &c. &c. Only
that, and nothing more!

"As to what became of the original sketches I have not the
remotest idea; probably I gave them away--or, more probably
still, they were one day consigned to the waste-paper
basket. At all events, and after an interval of about
forty-five years, it is perhaps scarcely surprising that I
should have long since forgotten all about them."

It should be mentioned that, as in the case of Leech, many of Sir John Tenniel's _Punch_ cartoons are adapted from illustrations in the works of Dickens, these happily suggesting the political situation of the moment. This subject is fully treated in my paper on "Dickens and _Punch_" in the _English Illustrated Magazine_, August 1891.

Sir John is one of the oldest members of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colours. In June 1893 the distinction of knighthood was conferred upon the veteran artist, his name having been included in the list of Royal birthday honours, at the recommendation of Mr. Gladstone, whose face and figure he has so frequently delineated; thus for the first time were the claims of black-and-white draughtsmen deservedly recognised. Sir John Tenniel's busy pencil continues to be effectively employed in the pages of _Punch_; but he remains, alas! the sole survivor of the band of clever artists whose designs adorn the Christmas Books of Charles Dickens.

FRANK STONE, A.R.A.

Early Career--Intimacy with Dickens--Illustrations for "THE
HAUNTED MAN"--Selects his Own Subjects--A Letter from
Dickens--His Approbation of the Drawing of "Milly and the
Old Man"--Hints from the Novelist to the Artist--Amateur
Theatricals--Frank Stone's Portrait of Lieutenant Sydney
Dickens--His Election as Associate of the Royal Academy--His
Portraits of 'Tilda Price, Kate Nickleby, and Madeline
Bray--His Frontispiece for the First Cheap Edition of
"Martin Chuzzlewit"--Sudden Death.

Frank Stone, A.R.A., father of Mr. Marcus Stone, R.A., was privileged to join the ranks of Dickens Illustrators. This distinguished artist, born in 1800, was the son of a Manchester cotton-spinner, which business he also followed until twenty-four years of age, when he abandoned mercantile pursuits in favour of Art. During the early portion of his professional career, which was begun in London under very modest and unassuming conditions, he made pencil-drawings for Heath's "Book of Beauty," and presently became successful as a painter in water-colours. His engaging personality and innate abilities caused him to be welcomed in both literary and artistic circles, and in this way he secured the warm friendship of Dickens, Thackeray, and other celebrities of the day.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =The Haunted Man, 1848.=]

Frank Stone's intimacy with Charles Dickens was especially close. In 1845 the artist, with his family, went to reside in Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, remaining there until 1851, when it became the home of Dickens. In the interval the novelist's fourth Christmas Book, "The Haunted Man," was published, for which Frank Stone prepared three designs, representing respectively "Milly and the Old Man," "Milly and the Student," and "Milly and the Children." As indicated by the following letter (dated November 21, 1848), the novelist dispatched proofs of the letterpress to the artist, in order that he might select his own subjects:--

"MY DEAR STONE,--I send herewith the second part of the
book, which I hope may interest you. If you should prefer to
have it read to you by the Inimitable rather than to read
it, I shall be at home this evening (loin of mutton at
half-past five), and happy to do it. The proofs are full of
printer's errors, but, with the few corrections I have
scrawled upon it, you will be able to make out what they
mean.

"I send you on the opposite side a list of the subjects
already in hand from the second part. If you should see no
other in it that you like (I think it important that you
should keep Milly, as you have begun with her), I will in a
day or two describe you an unwritten subject for the third
part of the book."

"_Subjects in hand for the Second Part._

"1. Illuminated page. Tenniel. Representing Redlaw going
upstairs, and the Tetterby family below.

"2. The Tetterby Supper. Leech.

"3. The boy in Redlaw's room, munching his food and staring
at the fire."

* * * * *

A preliminary sketch (in pencil and indian-ink) for the
first subject was immediately submitted to the novelist for
approval, and elicited the following reply:--

"We are unanimous.

"The drawing of Milly on the chair is CHARMING. I cannot
tell you how much the little composition and expression
please me. Do that, by all means.

PLATE LII

"MILLY AND THE OLD MAN"

_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for "The Haunted Man" by

FRANK STONE, A.R.A.

_Lent by Mr. Marcus Stone. R.A._

"I fear she must have a little cap on. There is something
coming in the last part about her having had a dead child,
which makes it yet more desirable than the existing text
does that she should have that little matronly sign
about her. Unless the artist is obdurate indeed, and then
he'll do as he likes.

"I am delighted to hear that you have your eye on her in the
students' room. You will really, pictorially, make the
little woman whom I love...."

The original sketch of Milly on the chair has fortunately
been preserved, and has been kindly lent for reproduction by
Mr. Marcus Stone, R.A. The drawing of the old man in the
published engraving is hardly so satisfactory as the
delineation of him in the sketch. The second illustration,
"Milly and the Student," was duly executed; it is a very
graceful design, the pose of the male figure being
excellently rendered. Respecting the third illustration, the
novelist communicated to the artist the following facts, to
assist him in realising the principal theme:--

"There is a subject I have written to-day for the third
part, that I think and hope will just suit you.
Scene--Tetterby's. Time--morning. The power of bringing back
people's memories of sorrow, wrong, and trouble has been
given by the ghost to Milly, though she don't know it
herself. As she comes along the street, Mr. and Mrs.
Tetterby recover themselves and are mutually affectionate
again, and embrace, closing _rather_ a good scene of quarrel
and discontent. The moment they do so, Johnny (who has seen
her in the distance and announced her before, from which
moment they begin to recover) cries 'Here she is!'and she
comes in, surrounded by the little Tetterbys, the very
spirit of morning, gladness, innocence, hope, love,
domesticity, &c. &c. &c. &c.

"I would limit the illustration to her and the children,
which will make a fitness between it and your other
illustrations, and give them all a character of their own.
The exact words of the passage I enclose on another slip of
paper. Note: There are six boy Tetterbys present (young
'Dolphus is not there), including Johnny; and in Johnny's
arms is Mulock, the baby, who is a girl.... Don't wait to
send me the drawing of this. I know how pretty she will be
with the children in your hands, and should be a stupendous
jackass if I had any distrust of it...."

(_Slip of paper enclosed._)

"'Hurrah! here's Mrs. Williams!' cried Johnny.

"So she was, and all the Tetterby children with her; and as
she came in, they kissed her and kissed one another, and
kissed the baby, and kissed their father and mother, and
then ran back and flocked and danced about her, trooping on
with her in triumph.

"(After which she is going to say, 'What, are _you_ all glad
to see me too! Oh, how happy it makes me to find every one
so glad to see me this bright morning!')"

* * * * *

The amateur theatricals brought author and artist constantly together, Frank Stone being an actor of some ability. The immortal Mrs. Gamp, in describing the members of that famous company of players, alludes to Frank Stone as "a fine-looking portly gentleman, with a face like an amiable full moon." He became the recipient of many nicknames, that of "Pump" (or "Pumpion") being one by which Dickens sometimes addressed him, and it was both pleasantly intended and jocularly received. In 1849 the artist painted the portrait of the novelist's fifth son, Lieutenant Sydney Dickens, who was buried at sea in 1872, his death being due to a sharp attack of bronchitis when on his way home.

Frank Stone exhibited at the Society of Painters in Water-Colours from 1833 to 1846, and was elected a member of that Society in 1842. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1838, his election as an Associate taking place in 1851. The artist, on receiving a commission from Dickens for a picture, painted a presentment of "'Tilda Price," the _fiancée_ of the genial John Browdie in "Nicholas Nickleby," the picture realising the sum of £42 at the sale of the novelist's effects in 1870. This and two other paintings by Stone (portraits of Kate Nickleby and Madeline Bray) were engraved on steel by Finden, and published ("with the approbation of Charles Dickens") by Chapman & Hall in 1848; the plates were intended for insertion in the first cheap edition of "Nicholas Nickleby." Besides his illustrations for "The Haunted Man," he also designed the frontispiece for the first cheap edition of "Martin Chuzzlewit" (1849), which depicts Mark Tapley on the sick-bed; this drawing was engraved on wood by T. Bolton.

The sudden death of Frank Stone in 1859 caused Dickens heartfelt sorrow. "You will be grieved," he wrote to Forster on November 19, "to hear of poor Stone. On Sunday he was not well. On Monday went to Dr. Todd, who told him he had aneurism of the heart. On Tuesday went to Dr. Walsh, who told him he hadn't. On Wednesday I met him in a cab in the Square here [Tavistock Square], and he got out to talk to me. I walked about with him a little while at a snail's pace, cheering him up; but when I came home, I told them that I thought him much changed, and in danger. Yesterday at two o'clock he died of spasm of the heart. I am going up to Highgate to look for a grave for him."

SIR EDWIN LANDSEER, R.A.

First Acquaintance with Dickens--Designs an Illustration for
"THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH"--Elected a Royal
Academician--Receives the Honour of Knighthood--Declines the
Presidency of the Royal Academy--Severe Illness and Death.

Charles Dickens first became acquainted with Sir Edwin Henry Landseer during the "Nickleby" period, and ever entertained the highest admiration and personal regard for this famous artist, to whom Thackeray once referred as "a sort of aristocrat among painters." Sir Edwin was an artist by hereditary right and family instinct, being the eldest son of the well-known engraver, John Landseer, A.R.A. He was born in London in 1802, and at the age of thirteen exhibited two pictures at the Royal Academy, thus proving that he possessed most exceptional powers as a draughtsman even at this early period.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =The Cricket on the Hearth, 1846.=]

It is perhaps not generally remembered that Sir Edwin Landseer has a just claim to be numbered among the Illustrators of Dickens. Though he made but a single design, it is indubitably a masterpiece, and suffices to indicate the admirable skill acquired by this great painter in depicting what may be considered his favourite subject--the dog. The charming little woodcut of "Boxer"--the irrepressible companion of John Peerybingle, in "The Cricket on the Hearth"--defies criticism.

PLATE LIII

SIR JOHN TENNIEL, R.I.

From a Photograph by

MESSRS. BASSANO

_Lent by the Artist._

SIR EDWIN LANDSEER, R.A.

From the Painting by

SIR FRANCIS GRANT, P.R.A.

The dog's head was added by Sir Edwin himself.

In 1825, Sir Edwin (then Mr.) Landseer was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, and five years later he attained the full honours, from which date might be chronicled a long and regular catalogue of pictures exhibited by him, year by year, either at the British Institution or on the walls of the Royal Academy. In 1850 he received the honour of Knighthood, and, at the death of Sir Charles Eastlake in 1865, was offered the Presidency of the Royal Academy,--a distinction which he could not be induced to accept. In 1871 a severe illness paralysed his powerful pencil; from this illness the artist never recovered, and two years later the mournful intelligence of his death was announced, his mortal remains being interred in St. Paul's Cathedral. In private life Sir Edwin was one of the most kind and courteous of men and warmest of friends,--qualities of mind and heart which endeared him to all with whom he came in contact.

SAMUEL PALMER

A Self-taught Artist--Exhibits at the British Institution
and the Royal Academy--Marriage with John Linnell's
Daughter--Visits Italy--His Sketches of Italian
Scenery--Elected an Associate, and afterwards a Member, of
the Society of Painters in Water-Colours--An Etcher and
Draughtsman on Wood--His Designs for "PICTURES FROM
ITALY"--A Letter from Dickens--The Artist's Method of
Work--The Villa D'Este--His Drawings Difficult to
Reproduce--Elaborate Instructions to Engravers--Literature a
Favourite Amusement--Fondness for Reading Aloud--Admires the
Novels of Dickens--Illness and Death.

During Charles Dickens's very brief connection with the _Daily News_, at the time of its foundation in 1846, he contributed to its columns a series of "Travelling Sketches," descriptive of his experiences in Italy, and of his impressions concerning the scenery, institutions, and social aspects of the people in that beautiful country. Shortly after the publication of the concluding paper, these "Sketches" were re-issued in book form, under the title of "Pictures from Italy," with vignette illustrations on wood by Samuel Palmer.

PLATE LIV

F. W. TOPHAM

From a Photograph by

MESSRS. ELLIOTT & FRY

_Lent by Mr. F. W. W. Topham._

SAMUEL PALMER

From a Photograph

_Lent by Mr. A. H. Palmer._

Samuel Palmer, who was born in Newington, London, in 1805, was to a great extent a self-taught artist, his first successes dating from his fourteenth year, when he was represented by two pictures at the British Institution and three at the Royal Academy, his work from that time being frequently seen at one or the other gallery. In 1837 (that is, while "Pickwick" was in course of publication) he married the eldest daughter of John Linnell, the famous portrait and landscape painter, leaving England soon afterwards with his young wife for Italy. Here they stayed two years--years of such persistent and enthusiastic study that the sketches and elaborate drawings of some of the finest Italian scenery which the artist brought back, very numerous though they were, are no measure of the influence which the sojourn in the land of his favourite poet, Virgil, had upon his after-life and upon his artistic labours.

Samuel Palmer is chiefly remembered by his charming water-colour drawings, but it seems that in his early years he preferred painting in oils, whence he afterwards gradually drifted into the use of the former medium, his election as Associate of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours in 1843[43] determining his future career. He was a most successful etcher, his plates being admired by the _connoisseur_ for the beauty of _technique_ therein displayed. Concerning his efforts with the needle, Mr. P. G. Hamerton says that Samuel Palmer was one of the most accomplished etchers who ever lived, and that "there is more feeling, and insight, and knowledge in one twig drawn by his hand than in the life's production of many a well-known artist."[44] It must be admitted, however, that the occasional drawings executed by him for the wood-engraver do not indicate equal ability as a draughtsman on wood. In early days he actually attempted, in emulation of his intimate friend Edward Calvert, to engrave upon wood some of his own designs, this fact testifying to the extraordinary influence exercised by William Blake over the contemporary work of such young artists as Palmer, Calvert, and the rest of the "Ancients," as they jocosely dubbed themselves.

Footnote 43: Palmer was elected a Member of this Society in
1854.

Footnote 44: "Etching and Etchers," 3rd edition, 1880.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: =Pictures from Italy, 1846.=]

The first drawings executed upon the wood-block by Palmer and intended as book-illustrations were apparently the designs for "Pictures from Italy;" these are four in number, representing the Street of the Tombs, Pompeii; the Villa D'Este at Tivoli, from the Cypress Avenue; the Colosseum of Rome; and a Vineyard Scene. One of the artist's memorandum-books contains an entry recording the receipt from the publishers of twenty guineas for these drawings. Samuel Palmer and Charles Dickens were never on terms of intimacy; however the acquaintance originated has never transpired, nor does the artist's son, Mr. A. H. Palmer, remember his father ever referring to the subject. It is probable that the novelist's attention had been directed to Palmer's excellent rendering of Italian scenery, which had attracted considerable notice among artists, and that, having met him, he found a degree of warm enthusiasm for that scenery which was so unusual, that he felt convinced that the illustrating of the "Pictures" could not be placed in better hands. Palmer accepted the commission, but, like all his drawings that were destined to be engraved on wood, it somewhat perplexed him, for reasons presently to be explained. A correspondence of a formal business character ensued, and of the few letters still extant I am enabled to print the following, which endorses the belief that an interview had taken place between author and artist.

"DEVONSHIRE TERRACE,
_Wednesday, Thirteenth May, 1846_.

"DEAR SIR,--I beg to assure you that I would on no account
dream of allowing the book to go to press without the
insertion of your name in the title-page. I placed it there
myself, two days ago.

"I have not seen the designs, but I have no doubt whatever
(remembering your sketches) that they are very good.

"Dear sir, faithfully yours,

"CHARLES DICKENS.

"SAMUEL PALMER, Esq."

Two of the woodcuts, viz., those printed on the first and last pages of the little book, were designed to allow the text to be dropped in. Sketches (or rather finished drawings) were made on paper before the subjects were copied by the artist upon the wood-blocks, which drawings, by the way, are much inferior to the artist's water-colours of the same or similar subjects. It seems evident, from the word "On" being tentatively introduced at the top of the original sketch of the Villa D'Este, that this illustration was at first intended to be placed at the beginning of the chapter entitled "Going through France," instead of appearing (as it eventually did) in conjunction with the opening lines of the preliminary chapter,--"The Reader's Passport." It was apparently Palmer's proposal to insert on the block a decorative letter "S," but Dickens, in a letter to the artist, says, "I am afraid I cannot comfortably manage an S. What do you say to the word 'On'? Could you possibly do that?"

With regard to the treatment of these illustrations, there is no doubt that they are faithful representations of Nature, adapted from sketches made on the spot. As a matter of fact, it was directly contrary to the artist's habit and principles to transcribe a sketch detail for detail. Although the character of his drawing was somewhat involved, rendering more difficult the work of the engraver, the woodcuts (which bear no signature) are most carefully executed. Notwithstanding this, Mr. A. H. Palmer assures me that these designs, and the rendering of them by the wood-engraver, were not of a kind to which the artist could look back with much satisfaction.

Mr. A. H. Palmer still retains in his possession a drawing on wood by his father of the Villa D'Este, the second illustration in "Pictures from Italy," which was apparently discarded because the artist had omitted to reverse his design, and therefore could not be properly adapted to the particular page for which it was prepared. Those who are familiar with the freedom and vigour of Samuel Palmer's work from Nature will realise at a glance that he was not at his ease upon wood. In the margin of this drawing the artist pencilled the following instructions to the engraver, who had not entirely succeeded in producing the more subtle effects:--

"I wish the thin cypress to be very much as it _appears upon the block_--not lighter. Now that the trees have been darkened, it will be necessary to leave the lines of the building _quite_ as thick as they are drawn, letting them gradually gain more strength as they come downwards towards the steps. The degree of sharpness with which the drawing terminates toward the letterpress is just what I wish."

From this and the following notes, minutely written upon the two retouched proofs of the engraving of this subject, we discover how very much too sanguine the artist was as to the result of the translation of his work, the voluminous directions clearly indicating his solicitude respecting the treatment of microscopic details in his design, the alleged importance of which would be quite beyond the comprehension of an ordinary engraver. Palmer subsequently learnt by experience that his drawing on wood was practically untranslatable as he preferred to offer it for engraving.

_MS. Notes on the First Proof._

"(1.) In both proofs the top of the cypress is very indistinct, which greatly injures the design.

"(2.) From A to B the illuminated side of the cypress has lost its tint in both impressions, which is ruinous to the effect, as the eye can no longer follow it as a simple object distinct from the building from the top to the bottom of the design. The top of the building, too, in both impressions, is nearly invisible, as if the inking had failed. It is very important that this should be rectified, so as not to appear in the printing of the work, as otherwise it will spoil the whole work. I have worked upon building and cypress a little in pencil to show how they ought to have come even in a faint impression.

"(3.) Opposite this mark the light on the cypress stems has been carried down a little lower, and two or three fine threads of light have been introduced into the shadowed side (which are intended to be scarcely perceptible) to remove a blottiness in the dark.

"(4.) The touches on the steps, the statue, and the whole of the lower part of the trees and ground, though not very numerous, are very important to the finish of the foreground.

PLATE LV

"THE VILLA D'ESTE"

_Facsimile_ of an Original Design for "Pictures from Italy" by SAMUEL PALMER

_Lent by Mr. A. H. Palmer._

"(5.) The darkest lines in the great vase have been thinned in the _slightest degree_.

"(6.) Close to C the thickness of a black line on the edge of the cypress has been split.

"(7.) From E down to F a minute speck of light has here and there been inserted on the outline of the cypress foliage to split some blots of dark which will be seen on the untouched proofs, and which were rather harsh.

"(8.) The light flashing on the steps ought to make thinner without removing the outline of the arm of the statue. The foot resting upon the pedestal should be indicated. The action of the other leg thrown back is shown in the retouching by the removal of the black line.

"(9.) The getting the upper part of the slender cypress of as full a tint as I have given it here seems to me so important that if it can be done in no other way, I think a piece should be inserted into the block to effect it. In the drawing on the block it was like this, which I have retouched with pencil."

_Second Proof._

"(1.) Opposite are a few touches on the slender cypress--two very thin lines of light on the stem. Specks of light on the foliage.

"(2.) There is a thick black line on the block, thus [Symbol: left-bowing arc] which I have here crossed with specks of white; although it is in the body of the tree, it kills the fine work on the Villa.

"(3.) The thickness of outline on the light side of this vase unfinishes the foreground. I have altered it.

"(4.) The thick outline on this leaf unfinishes everything about it."

* * * * *

Thus we discover how fastidious to a degree was the artist in his desire that every subtle touch of his poetic pencil should be reproduced--a result which, as he quickly perceived, it was impossible to achieve.

Samuel Palmer took a still keener delight in Literature than he did in Art. An insatiable but punctilious reader, the novels of Dickens and Scott were among the very few works of fiction which he read aloud to members of his own household. Mr. A. H. Palmer informs me that he has known his father to be so engrossed by reading aloud one of Dickens's finer and more exciting passages, that the announcement and entry of a visitor served to stop the reading only for a few moments; the crisis past, he laid down the book and apologised. Literature, indeed, constituted the chief pleasure of his simple life--a life that, at one period at least, would have been almost insupportable without the consolation afforded by books. Early in May, 1881, he became, alas! too ill to work, and on the twenty-fourth of that month he passed peacefully away, leaving behind him a reputation which is blameless.

F. W. TOPHAM

Illustrations for "A CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND"--Begins
Life as a Writing-Engraver--Designs for Books--Exhibits at
the Royal Academy--Elected an Associate of the New Society
of Painters--Retires from the Society--Elected a Member of
the Old Society of Painters in Water-Colours--First Visit to
Spain--Fatal Illness--Some Pictures Inspired by Dickens's
Stories--Histrionic Ability--The Artist as a Juggler.

[Sidenote: =A Child's History of England, 1852-53-54.=]

During the years 1851-52-53, there appeared in the pages of _Household Words_ one of Charles Dickens's less familiar writings, "A Child's History of England." On its completion as a serial, the little work was issued in three 16mo volumes, each containing a frontispiece by F. W. Topham. These illustrations were engraved on wood, each consisting of a circular design, printed in black, and surrounded by an ornamental border of a light mauve colour, the latter enclosing familiar scenes from English History, viz., Alfred in the Neatherd's Cot; Canute reproving his Courtiers; Edwy and Elgiva; Eleanor and Fair Rosamond. The decorative border with its four _tableaux_ remained unchanged, but the subject of the central illustration varied, that in the first volume depicting a girl reading to two children; in the second, Alfred the Great receiving instruction in reading from his mother, Queen Osburgha; while in the third there is a more modern representation of a similar incident.

Francis William Topham, who was born at Leeds in 1808, enjoyed the privilege of being numbered among the personal friends of Charles Dickens. He entered professional life as a writing-engraver, and his first design was for a label required by a well-known firm of pin manufacturers. From this modest beginning he advanced to more artistic work, and was soon busily engaged in engraving plates for pocket-books, &c. During the several years he was thus occupied he engraved many original designs for book-illustrations, and in 1832 began to exhibit pictures; his works after this date being frequently seen at the Royal Academy and other London galleries. In 1842 he was elected an Associate of the New Society of Painters in Water-Colours, of which body he became a full member in the following year. He, with several other members, left the New Society after a comparatively short time, and was immediately elected into the Old Society of Painters in Water-Colours--the present Royal Water-Colour Society--to the Exhibitions of which the majority of his more important productions were contributed. It was in Spain, whither he first went in 1852-53, that he found subjects most congenial to his tastes, and there, in that land of sunny skies, he was seized with a fatal illness in 1877, expiring at Cordova on March 31st of that year.

Topham was a great admirer of the works of Charles Dickens, and selected from them the subjects of some of his most successful pictures. One of these--a water-colour drawing executed in 1851--illustrates a scene in "Barnaby Rudge," where children flock round the half-witted hero as he and his mother pass through her native village; the drawing was presented by the artist to Dickens, and realised at the sale of the novelist's effects the sum of £115, 10s. This picture was followed by another from "The Old Curiosity Shop," representing Little Nell and her Grandfather in the tent, making bouquets for the racecourse, which was also a gift to Dickens, being subsequently disposed of at the above-mentioned sale for £288, 15s. It is also recorded that the artist, in 1856, produced a drawing portraying "Little Nell in the Churchyard," which some five years after the novelist's death found a purchaser for £325, 10s.

F. W. Topham proved a welcome addition to Dickens's company of distinguished amateur actors, and concerning his histrionic ability the artist's son, Mr. Frank W. W. Topham (himself an eminent painter), thus writes: "My father had, from quite a young man, a great love of acting, at which he was considered unusually good. One of my earliest recollections of a play was one acted at the St. James's Theatre, in which my father, Sir John Tenniel, the late Francis Holl, A.R.A. (the engraver), and others took part, for the benefit of the Artists' Benevolent Fund. I do not know if my father owed his introduction to Dickens to his acting, but have an impression that he did,--certainly it was the cause of their after intimacy."

_Apropos_ of their "splendid strolling," and the fun incidental thereto, Dickens observed to his wife, in a letter dated from Clifton, November 13, 1851: "I forgot to say that Topham has suddenly come out as a juggler, and swallows candles, and does wonderful things with the poker very well indeed, but with a bashfulness and embarrassment extraordinarily ludicrous."

MARCUS STONE, R.A.

The Artist's Boyish Admiration of Dickens's Stories--His
Delineation of Jo, the Crossing-Sweeper--A Present and a
Letter from Dickens--First Success as a Painter--Death of
his Father--Desires to Become an Illustrator of
Books--Befriended by Dickens--Initial Attempt at Drawing
upon Wood--Frontispiece for the First Cheap Edition of
"Little Dorrit"--The Artist's _Début_ as a Black-and-White
Draughtsman--His Designs for "OUR MUTUAL FRIEND"--The
Pictorial Wrapper--Suggestions from Dickens--Portrait of
Silas Wegg--Preliminary Sketches for the
Illustrations--Valuable Hints for the Artist--Realism in his
Designs--The Prototype of Mr. Venus--Photography upon
Wood--Defective Engraving--Sale of the Original
Sketches--Illustrations for Cheap Editions--Relinquishes
Black-and-White Drawing--Elected a Royal
Academician--Popularity of his Pictures--Intimacy with
Dickens--Private Theatricals.

It will be remembered that "A Tale of Two Cities," the last of Dickens's novels containing Hablôt Browne's designs, was succeeded by "Our Mutual Friend," the initial number of which appeared on May 1, 1864. In this story Dickens repeated an early experience in having woodcut illustrations instead of the customary etchings, availing himself of the services of an artist whose style and method of work differed very considerably from those of "Phiz." The new recruit was Mr. Marcus Stone, who now holds high rank among Royal Academicians.

PLATE LVI

MARCUS STONE, R.A.

From a Photograph specially taken for this Work by

JAMES HYATT