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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: George Cruikshank + +Author: William Makepeace Thackeray + +Release Date: May 21, 2006 [EBook #2648] +Last Updated: December 17, 2012 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE CRUIKSHANK *** + + + + +Produced by Donald Lainson; David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + GEORGE CRUIKSHANK + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By William Makepeace Thackeray + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + * Reprinted from the Westminster Review for June, 1840. (No 66.) + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + Accusations of ingratitude, and just accusations no doubt, are made + against every inhabitant of this wicked world, and the fact is, that a man + who is ceaselessly engaged in its trouble and turmoil, borne hither and + thither upon the fierce waves of the crowd, bustling, shifting, struggling + to keep himself somewhat above water—fighting for reputation, or + more likely for bread, and ceaselessly occupied to-day with plans for + appeasing the eternal appetite of inevitable hunger to-morrow—a man + in such straits has hardly time to think of anything but himself, and, as + in a sinking ship, must make his own rush for the boats, and fight, + struggle, and trample for safety. In the midst of such a combat as this, + the "ingenious arts, which prevent the ferocity of the manners, and act + upon them as an emollient" (as the philosophic bard remarks in the Latin + Grammar) are likely to be jostled to death, and then forgotten. The world + will allow no such compromises between it and that which does not belong + to it—no two gods must we serve; but (as one has seen in some old + portraits) the horrible glazed eyes of Necessity are always fixed upon + you; fly away as you will, black Care sits behind you, and with his + ceaseless gloomy croaking drowns the voice of all more cheerful + companions. Happy he whose fortune has placed him where there is calm and + plenty, and who has the wisdom not to give up his quiet in quest of + visionary gain. + </p> + <p> + Here is, no doubt, the reason why a man, after the period of his boyhood, + or first youth, makes so few friends. Want and ambition (new acquaintances + which are introduced to him along with his beard) thrust away all other + society from him. Some old friends remain, it is true, but these are + become as a habit—a part of your selfishness; and, for new ones, + they are selfish as you are. Neither member of the new partnership has the + capital of affection and kindly feeling, or can even afford the time that + is requisite for the establishment of the new firm. Damp and chill the + shades of the prison-house begin to close round us, and that "vision + splendid" which has accompanied our steps in our journey daily farther + from the east, fades away and dies into the light of common day. + </p> + <p> + And what a common day! what a foggy, dull, shivering apology for light is + this kind of muddy twilight through which we are about to tramp and + flounder for the rest of our existence, wandering farther and farther from + the beauty and freshness and from the kindly gushing springs of clear + gladness that made all around us green in our youth! One wanders and + gropes in a slough of stock-jobbing, one sinks or rises in a storm of + politics, and in either case it is as good to fall as to rise—to + mount a bubble on the crest of the wave, as to sink a stone to the bottom. + </p> + <p> + The reader who has seen the name affixed to the head of this article + scarcely expected to be entertained with a declamation upon ingratitude, + youth, and the vanity of human pursuits, which may seem at first sight to + have little to do with the subject in hand. But (although we reserve the + privilege of discoursing upon whatever subject shall suit us, and by no + means admit the public has any right to ask in our sentences for any + meaning, or any connection whatever) it happens that, in this particular + instance, there is an undoubted connection. In Susan's case, as recorded + by Wordsworth, what connection had the corner of Wood Street with a + mountain ascending, a vision of trees, and a nest by the Dove? Why should + the song of a thrush cause bright volumes of vapor to glide through + Lothbury, and a river to flow on through the vale of Cheapside? As she + stood at that corner of Wood Street, a mop and a pail in her hand most + likely, she heard the bird singing, and straight-way began pining and + yearning for the days of her youth, forgetting the proper business of the + pail and mop. Even so we are moved by the sight of some of Mr. + Cruikshank's works—the "Busen fuhlt sich jugendlich erschuttert," + the "schwankende Gestalten" of youth flit before one again,—Cruikshank's + thrush begins to pipe and carol, as in the days of boyhood; hence misty + moralities, reflections, and sad and pleasant remembrances arise. He is + the friend of the young especially. Have we not read, all the story-books + that his wonderful pencil has illustrated? Did we not forego tarts, in + order to buy his "Breaking-up," or his "Fashionable Monstrosities" of the + year eighteen hundred and something? Have we not before us, at this very + moment, a print,—one of the admirable "Illustrations of Phrenology"—which + entire work was purchased by a joint-stock company of boys, each drawing + lots afterwards for the separate prints, and taking his choice in + rotation? The writer of this, too, had the honor of drawing the first lot, + and seized immediately upon "Philoprogenitiveness"—a marvellous + print (our copy is not at all improved by being colored, which operation + we performed on it ourselves)—a marvellous print, indeed,—full + of ingenuity and fine jovial humor. A father, possessor of an enormous + nose and family, is surrounded by the latter, who are, some of them, + embracing the former. The composition writhes and twists about like the + Kermes of Rubens. No less than seven little men and women in nightcaps, in + frocks, in bibs, in breeches, are clambering about the head, knees, and + arms of the man with the nose; their noses, too, are preternaturally + developed—the twins in the cradle have noses of the most + considerable kind. The second daughter, who is watching them; the youngest + but two, who sits squalling in a certain wicker chair; the eldest son, who + is yawning; the eldest daughter, who is preparing with the gravy of two + mutton-chops a savory dish of Yorkshire pudding for eighteen persons; the + youths who are examining her operations (one a literary gentleman, in a + remarkably neat nightcap and pinafore, who has just had his finger in the + pudding); the genius who is at work on the slate, and the two honest lads + who are hugging the good-humored washerwoman, their mother,—all, + all, save, this worthy woman, have noses of the largest size. Not handsome + certainly are they, and yet everybody must be charmed with the picture. It + is full of grotesque beauty. The artist has at the back of his own skull, + we are certain, a huge bump of philoprogenitiveness. He loves children in + his heart; every one of those he has drawn is perfectly happy, and jovial, + and affectionate, and innocent as possible. He makes them with large + noses, but he loves them, and you always find something kind in the midst + of his humor, and the ugliness redeemed by a sly touch of beauty. The + smiling mother reconciles one with all the hideous family: they have all + something of the mother in them—something kind, and generous, and + tender. + </p> + <p> + Knight's, in Sweeting's Alley; Fairburn's, in a court off Ludgate Hill; + Hone's, in Fleet Street—bright, enchanted palaces, which George + Cruikshank used to people with grinning, fantastical imps, and merry, + harmless sprites,—where are they? Fairburn's shop knows him no more; + not only has Knight disappeared from Sweeting's Alley, but, as we are + given to understand, Sweetings Alley has disappeared from the face of the + globe. Slop, the atrocious Castlereagh, the sainted Caroline (in a tight + pelisse, with feathers in her head), the "Dandy of sixty," who used to + glance at us from Hone's friendly windows—where are they? Mr. + Cruikshank may have drawn a thousand better things since the days when + these were; but they are to us a thousand times more pleasing than + anything else he has done. How we used to believe in them! to stray miles + out of the way on holidays, in order to ponder for an hour before that + delightful window in Sweeting's Alley! in walks through Fleet Street, to + vanish abruptly down Fairburn's passage, and there make one at his + "charming gratis" exhibition. There used to be a crowd round the window in + those days, of grinning, good-natured mechanics, who spelt the songs, and + spoke them out for the benefit of the company, and who received the points + of humor with a general sympathizing roar. Where are these people now? You + never hear any laughing at HB.; his pictures are a great deal too genteel + for that—polite points of wit, which strike one as exceedingly + clever and pretty, and cause one to smile in a quiet, gentleman-like kind + of way. + </p> + <p> + There must be no smiling with Cruikshank. A man who does not laugh + outright is a dullard, and has no heart; even the old dandy of sixty must + have laughed at his own wondrous grotesque image, as they say Louis + Philippe did, who saw all the caricatures that were made of himself. And + there are some of Cruikshank's designs which have the blessed faculty of + creating laughter as often as you see them. As Diggory says in the play, + who is bidden by his master not to laugh while waiting at table—"Don't + tell the story of Grouse in the Gun-room, master, or I can't help + laughing." Repeat that history ever so often, and at the proper moment, + honest Diggory is sure to explode. Every man, no doubt, who loves + Cruikshank has his "Grouse in the Gun-room." There is a fellow in the + "Points of Humor" who is offering to eat up a certain little general, that + has made us happy any time these sixteen years: his huge mouth is a + perpetual well of laughter—buckets full of fun can be drawn from it. + We have formed no such friendships as that boyish one of the man with the + mouth. But though, in our eyes, Mr. Cruikshank reached his apogee some + eighteen years since, it must not be imagined that such is really the + case. Eighteen sets of children have since then learned to love and admire + him, and may many more of their successors be brought up in the same + delightful faith. It is not the artist who fails, but the men who grow + cold—the men, from whom the illusions (why illusions? realities) of + youth disappear one by one; who have no leisure to be happy, no blessed + holidays, but only fresh cares at Midsummer and Christmas, being the + inevitable seasons which bring us bills instead of pleasures. Tom, who + comes bounding home from school, has the doctor's account in his trunk, + and his father goes to sleep at the pantomime to which he takes him. Pater + infelix, you too have laughed at clown, and the magic wand of spangled + harlequin; what delightful enchantment did it wave around you, in the + golden days "when George the Third was king!" But our clown lies in his + grave; and our harlequin, Ellar, prince of how many enchanted islands, was + he not at Bow Street the other day,* in his dirty, tattered, faded motley—seized + as a law-breaker, for acting at a penny theatre, after having wellnigh + starved in the streets, where nobody would listen to his old guitar? No + one gave a shilling to bless him: not one of us who owe him so much. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This was written in 1840. +</pre> + <p> + We know not if Mr. Cruikshank will be very well pleased at finding his + name in such company as that of Clown and Harlequin; but he, like them, is + certainly the children's friend. His drawings abound in feeling for these + little ones, and hideous as in the course of his duty he is from time to + time compelled to design them, he never sketches one without a certain + pity for it, and imparting to the figure a certain grotesque grace. In + happy schoolboys he revels; plum-pudding and holidays his needle has + engraved over and over again; there is a design in one of the comic + almanacs of some young gentlemen who are employed in administering to a + schoolfellow the correction of the pump, which is as graceful and elegant + as a drawing of Stothard. Dull books about children George Cruikshank + makes bright with illustrations—there is one published by the + ingenious and opulent Mr. Tegg. It is entitled "Mirth and Morality," the + mirth being, for the most part, on the side of the designer—the + morality, unexceptionable certainly, the author's capital. Here are then, + to these moralities, a smiling train of mirths supplied by George + Cruikshank. See yonder little fellows butterfly-hunting across a common! + Such a light, brisk, airy, gentleman-like drawing was never made upon such + a theme. Who, cries the author— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Who has not chased the butterfly, + And crushed its slender legs and wings, + And heaved a moralizing sigh: + Alas! how frail are human things!" +</pre> + <p> + A very unexceptionable morality truly; but it would have puzzled another + than George Cruikshank to make mirth out of it as he has done. Away, + surely not on the wings of these verses, Cruikshank's imagination begins + to soar; and he makes us three darling little men on a green common, + backed by old farmhouses, somewhere about May. A great mixture of blue and + clouds in the air, a strong fresh breeze stirring, Tom's jacket flapping + in the same, in order to bring down the insect queen or king of spring + that is fluttering above him,—he renders all this with a few strokes + on a little block of wood not two inches square, upon which one may gaze + for hours, so merry and lifelike a scene does it present. What a charming + creative power is this, what a privilege—to be a god, and create + little worlds upon paper, and whole generations of smiling, jovial men, + women, and children half inch high, whose portraits are carried abroad, + and have the faculty of making us monsters of six feet curious and happy + in our turn. Now, who would imagine that an artist could make anything of + such a subject as this? The writer begins by stating,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "I love to go back to the days of my youth, + And to reckon my joys to the letter, + And to count o'er the friends that I have in the world, + Ay, and those who are gone to a better." +</pre> + <p> + This brings him to the consideration of his uncle. "Of all the men I have + ever known," says he, "my uncle united the greatest degree of cheerfulness + with the sobriety of manhood. Though a man when I was a boy, he was yet + one of the most agreeable companions I ever possessed. . . . He embarked + for America, and nearly twenty years passed by before he came back again; + . . . but oh, how altered!—he was in every sense of the word an old + man, his body and mind were enfeebled, and second childishness had come + upon him. How often have I bent over him, vainly endeavoring to recall to + his memory the scenes we had shared together: and how frequently, with an + aching heart, have I gazed on his vacant and lustreless eye, while he has + amused himself in clapping his hands and singing with a quavering voice a + verse of a psalm." Alas! such are the consequences of long residences in + America, and of old age even in uncles! Well, the point of this morality + is, that the uncle one day in the morning of life vowed that he would + catch his two nephews and tie them together, ay, and actually did so, for + all the efforts the rogues made to run away from him; but he was so + fatigued that he declared he never would make the attempt again, whereupon + the nephew remarks,—"Often since then, when engaged in enterprises + beyond my strength, have I called to mind the determination of my uncle." + </p> + <p> + Does it not seem impossible to make a picture out of this? And yet George + Cruikshank has produced a charming design, in which the uncles and nephews + are so prettily portrayed that one is reconciled to their existence, with + all their moralities. Many more of the mirths in this little book are + excellent, especially a great figure of a parson entering church on + horseback,—an enormous parson truly, calm, unconscious, unwieldy. As + Zeuxis had a bevy of virgins in order to make his famous picture—his + express virgin—a clerical host must have passed under Cruikshank's + eyes before he sketched this little, enormous parson of parsons. + </p> + <p> + Being on the subject of children's books, how shall we enough praise the + delightful German nursery-tales, and Cruikshank's illustrations of them? + We coupled his name with pantomime awhile since, and sure never pantomimes + were more charming than these. Of all the artists that ever drew, from + Michael Angelo upwards and downwards, Cruikshank was the man to illustrate + these tales, and give them just the proper admixture of the grotesque, the + wonderful, and the graceful. May all Mother Bunch's collection be + similarly indebted to him; may "Jack the Giant Killer," may "Tom Thumb," + may "Puss in Boots," be one day revivified by his pencil. Is not + Whittington sitting yet on Highgate hill, and poor Cinderella (in that + sweetest of all fairy stories) still pining in her lonely chimney-nook? A + man who has a true affection for these delightful companions of his youth + is bound to be grateful to them if he can, and we pray Mr. Cruikshank to + remember them. + </p> + <p> + It is folly to say that this or that kind of humor is too good for the + public, that only a chosen few can relish it. The best humor that we know + of has been as eagerly received by the public as by the most delicate + connoisseur. There is hardly a man in England who can read but will laugh + at Falstaff and the humor of Joseph Andrews; and honest Mr. Pickwick's + story can be felt and loved by any person above the age of six. Some may + have a keener enjoyment of it than others, but all the world can be merry + over it, and is always ready to welcome it. The best criterion of good + humor is success, and what a share of this has Mr. Cruikshank had! how + many millions of mortals has he made happy! We have heard very profound + persons talk philosophically of the marvellous and mysterious manner in + which he has suited himself to the time—fait vibrer la fibre + populaire (as Napoleon boasted of himself), supplied a peculiar want felt + at a peculiar period, the simple secret of which is, as we take it, that + he, living amongst the public, has with them a general wide-hearted + sympathy, that he laughs at what they laugh at, that he has a kindly + spirit of enjoyment, with not a morsel of mysticism in his composition; + that he pities and loves the poor, and jokes at the follies of the great, + and that he addresses all in a perfectly sincere and manly way. To be + greatly successful as a professional humorist, as in any other calling, a + man must be quite honest, and show that his heart is in his work. A bad + preacher will get admiration and a hearing with this point in his favor, + where a man of three times his acquirements will only find indifference + and coldness. Is any man more remarkable than our artist for telling the + truth after his own manner? Hogarth's honesty of purpose was as + conspicuous in an earlier time, and we fancy that Gilray would have been + far more successful and more powerful but for that unhappy bribe, which + turned the whole course of his humor into an unnatural channel. Cruikshank + would not for any bribe say what he did not think, or lend his aid to + sneer down anything meritorious, or to praise any thing or person that + deserved censure. When he levelled his wit against the Regent, and did his + very prettiest for the Princess, he most certainly believed, along with + the great body of the people whom he represents, that the Princess was the + most spotless, pure-mannered darling of a Princess that ever married a + heartless debauchee of a Prince Royal. Did not millions believe with him, + and noble and learned lords take their oaths to her Royal Highness's + innocence? Cruikshank would not stand by and see a woman ill-used, and so + struck in for her rescue, he and the people belaboring with all their + might the party who were making the attack, and determining, from pure + sympathy and indignation, that the woman must be innocent because her + husband treated her so foully. + </p> + <p> + To be sure we have never heard so much from Mr. Cruikshank's own lips, but + any man who will examine these odd drawings, which first made him famous, + will see what an honest hearty hatred the champion of woman has for all + who abuse her, and will admire the energy with which he flings his + wood-blocks at all who side against her. Canning, Castlereagh, Bexley, + Sidmouth, he is at them, one and all; and as for the Prince, up to what a + whipping-post of ridicule did he tie that unfortunate old man! And do not + let squeamish Tories cry out about disloyalty; if the crown does wrong, + the crown must be corrected by the nation, out of respect, of course, for + the crown. In those days, and by those people who so bitterly attacked the + son, no word was ever breathed against the father, simply because he was a + good husband, and a sober, thrifty, pious, orderly man. + </p> + <p> + This attack upon the Prince Regent we believe to have been Mr. + Cruikshank's only effort as a party politician. Some early manifestoes + against Napoleon we find, it is true, done in the regular John Bull style, + with the Gilray model for the little upstart Corsican: but as soon as the + Emperor had yielded to stern fortune our artist's heart relented (as + Beranger's did on the other side of the water), and many of our readers + will doubtless recollect a fine drawing of "Louis XVIII. trying on + Napoleon's boots," which did not certainly fit the gouty son of Saint + Louis. Such satirical hits as these, however, must not be considered as + political, or as anything more than the expression of the artist's + national British idea of Frenchmen. + </p> + <p> + It must be confessed that for that great nation Mr. Cruikshank entertains + a considerable contempt. Let the reader examine the "Life in Paris," or + the five hundred designs in which Frenchmen are introduced, and he will + find them almost invariably thin, with ludicrous spindle-shanks, pigtails, + outstretched hands, shrugging shoulders, and queer hair and mustachios. He + has the British idea of a Frenchman; and if he does not believe that the + inhabitants of France are for the most part dancing-masters and barbers, + yet takes care to depict such in preference, and would not speak too well + of them. It is curious how these traditions endure. In France, at the + present moment, the Englishman on the stage is the caricatured Englishman + at the time of the war, with a shock red head, a long white coat, and + invariable gaiters. Those who wish to study this subject should peruse + Monsieur Paul de Kock's histories of "Lord Boulingrog" and "Lady + Crockmilove." On the other hand, the old emigre has taken his station + amongst us, and we doubt if a good British gallery would understand that + such and such a character WAS a Frenchman unless he appeared in the + ancient traditional costume. + </p> + <p> + A curious book, called "Life in Paris," published in 1822, contains a + number of the artist's plates in the aquatint style; and though we believe + he had never been in that capital, the designs have a great deal of life + in them, and pass muster very well. A villanous race of shoulder-shrugging + mortals are his Frenchmen indeed. And the heroes of the tale, a certain + Mr. Dick Wildfire, Squire Jenkins, and Captain O'Shuffleton, are made to + show the true British superiority on every occasion when Britons and + French are brought together. This book was one among the many that the + designer's genius has caused to be popular; the plates are not carefully + executed, but, being colored, have a pleasant, lively look. The same style + was adopted in the once famous book called "Tom and Jerry, or Life in + London," which must have a word of notice here, for, although by no means + Mr. Cruikshank's best work, his reputation was extraordinarily raised by + it. Tom and Jerry were as popular twenty years since as Mr. Pickwick and + Sam Weller now are; and often have we wished, while reading the + biographies of the latter celebrated personages, that they had been + described as well by Mr. Cruikshank's pencil as by Mr. Dickens's pen. + </p> + <p> + As for Tom and Jerry, to show the mutability of human affairs and the + evanescent nature of reputation, we have been to the British Museum and no + less than five circulating libraries in quest of the book, and "Life in + London," alas, is not to be found at any one of them. We can only, + therefore, speak of the work from recollection, but have still a very + clear remembrance of the leather gaiters of Jerry Hawthorn, the green + spectacles of Logic, and the hooked nose of Corinthian Tom. They were the + schoolboy's delight; and in the days when the work appeared we firmly + believed the three heroes above named to be types of the most elegant, + fashionable young fellows the town afforded, and thought their occupations + and amusements were those of all high-bred English gentlemen. Tom knocking + down the watchman at Temple Bar; Tom and Jerry dancing at Almack's; or + flirting in the saloon at the theatre; at the night-houses, after the + play; at Tom Cribb's, examining the silver cup then in the possession of + that champion; at the chambers of Bob Logic, who, seated at a cabinet + piano, plays a waltz to which Corinthian Tom and Kate are dancing; ambling + gallantly in Rotten Row; or examining the poor fellow at Newgate who was + having his chains knocked off before hanging: all these scenes remain + indelibly engraved upon the mind, and so far we are independent of all the + circulating libraries in London. + </p> + <p> + As to the literary contents of the book, they have passed sheer away. It + was, most likely, not particularly refined; nay, the chances are that it + was absolutely vulgar. But it must have had some merit of its own, that is + clear; it must have given striking descriptions of life in some part or + other of London, for all London read it, and went to see it in its + dramatic shape. The artist, it is said, wished to close the career of the + three heroes by bringing them all to ruin, but the writer, or publishers, + would not allow any such melancholy subjects to dash the merriment of the + public, and we believe Tom, Jerry, and Logic, were married off at the end + of the tale, as if they had been the most moral personages in the world. + There is some goodness in this pity, which authors and the public are + disposed to show towards certain agreeable, disreputable characters of + romance. Who would mar the prospects of honest Roderick Random, or Charles + Surface, or Tom Jones? only a very stern moralist indeed. And in regard of + Jerry Hawthorn and that hero without a surname, Corinthian Tom, Mr. + Cruikshank, we make little doubt, was glad in his heart that he was not + allowed to have his own way. + </p> + <p> + Soon after the "Tom and Jerry" and the "Life in Paris," Mr. Cruikshank + produced a much more elaborate set of prints, in a work which was called + "Points of Humor." These "Points" were selected from various comic works, + and did not, we believe, extend beyond a couple of numbers, containing + about a score of copper-plates. The collector of humorous designs cannot + fail to have them in his portfolio, for they contain some of the very best + efforts of Mr. Cruikshank's genius, and though not quite so highly labored + as some of his later productions, are none the worse, in our opinion, for + their comparative want of finish. All the effects are perfectly given, and + the expression is as good as it could be in the most delicate engraving + upon steel. The artist's style, too, was then completely formed; and, for + our parts, we should say that we preferred his manner of 1825 to any other + which he has adopted since. The first picture, which is called "The Point + of Honor," illustrates the old story of the officer who, on being accused + of cowardice for refusing to fight a duel, came among his brother officers + and flung a lighted grenade down upon the floor, before which his comrades + fled ignominiously. This design is capital, and the outward rush of + heroes, walking, trampling, twisting, scuffling at the door, is in the + best style of the grotesque. You see but the back of most of these + gentlemen; into which, nevertheless, the artist has managed to throw an + expression of ludicrous agony that one could scarcely have expected to + find in such a part of the human figure. The next plate is not less good. + It represents a couple who, having been found one night tipsy, and lying + in the same gutter, were, by a charitable though misguided gentleman, + supposed to be man and wife, and put comfortably to bed together. The + morning came; fancy the surprise of this interesting pair when they awoke + and discovered their situation. Fancy the manner, too, in which Cruikshank + has depicted them, to which words cannot do justice. It is needless to + state that this fortuitous and temporary union was followed by one more + lasting and sentimental, and that these two worthy persons were married, + and lived happily ever after. + </p> + <p> + We should like to go through every one of these prints. There is the jolly + miller, who, returning home at night, calls upon his wife to get him a + supper, and falls to upon rashers of bacon and ale. How he gormandizes, + that jolly miller! rasher after rasher, how they pass away frizzling and, + smoking from the gridiron down that immense grinning gulf of a mouth. Poor + wife! how she pines and frets, at that untimely hour of midnight to be + obliged to fry, fry, fry perpetually, and minister to the monster's + appetite. And yonder in the clock: what agonized face is that we see? By + heavens, it is the squire of the parish. What business has he there? Let + us not ask. Suffice it to say, that he has, in the hurry of the moment, + left up stairs his br——; his—psha! a part of his dress, + in short, with a number of bank-notes in the pockets. Look in the next + page, and you will see the ferocious, bacon-devouring ruffian of a miller + is actually causing this garment to be carried through the village and + cried by the town-crier. And we blush to be obliged to say that the + demoralized miller never offered to return the banknotes, although he was + so mighty scrupulous in endeavoring to find an owner for the corduroy + portfolio in which he had found them. + </p> + <p> + Passing from this painful subject, we come, we regret to state, to a + series of prints representing personages not a whit more moral. Burns's + famous "Jolly Beggars" have all had their portraits drawn by Cruikshank. + There is the lovely "hempen widow," quite as interesting and romantic as + the famous Mrs. Sheppard, who has at the lamented demise of her husband + adopted the very same consolation. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "My curse upon them every one, + They've hanged my braw John Highlandman; + + . . . . + + And now a widow I must mourn + Departed joys that ne'er return; + No comfort but a hearty can + When I think on John Highlandman." +</pre> + <p> + Sweet "raucle carlin," she has none of the sentimentality of the English + highwayman's lady; but being wooed by a tinker and + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "A pigmy scraper wi' his fiddle + Wha us'd to trystes and fairs to driddle," +</pre> + <p> + prefers the practical to the merely musical man. The tinker sings with a + noble candor, worthy of a fellow of his strength of body and station in + life— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "My bonnie lass, I work in brass, + A tinker is my station; + I've travell'd round all Christian ground + In this my occupation. + I've ta'en the gold, I've been enroll'd + In many a noble squadron; + But vain they search'd when off I march'd + To go an' clout the caudron." +</pre> + <p> + It was his ruling passion. What was military glory to him, forsooth? He + had the greatest contempt for it, and loved freedom and his copper kettle + a thousand times better—a kind of hardware Diogenes. Of fiddling he + has no better opinion. The picture represents the "sturdy caird" taking + "poor gut-scraper" by the beard,—drawing his "roosty rapier," and + swearing to "speet him like a pliver" unless he would relinquish the + bonnie lassie for ever— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Wi' ghastly ee, poor tweedle-dee + Upon his hunkers bended, + An' pray'd for grace wi' ruefu' face, + An' so the quarrel ended." +</pre> + <p> + Hark how the tinker apostrophizes the violinist, stating to the widow at + the same time the advantages which she might expect from an alliance with + himself:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Despise that shrimp, that withered imp, + Wi' a' his noise and caperin'; + And take a share with those that bear + The budget and the apron! + + "And by that stowp, my faith an' houpe, + An' by that dear Kilbaigie! + If e'er ye want, or meet wi' scant, + May I ne'er weet my craigie." +</pre> + <p> + Cruikshank's caird is a noble creature; his face and figure show him to be + fully capable of doing and saying all that is above written of him. + </p> + <p> + In the second part, the old tale of "The Three Hunchbacked Fiddlers" is + illustrated with equal felicity. The famous classical dinners and duel in + "Peregrine Pickle" are also excellent in their way; and the connoisseur of + prints and etchings may see in the latter plate, and in another in this + volume, how great the artist's mechanical skill is as an etcher. The + distant view of the city in the duel, and of a market-place in "The Quack + Doctor," are delightful specimens of the artist's skill in depicting + buildings and backgrounds. They are touched with a grace, truth, and + dexterity of workmanship that leave nothing to desire. We have before + mentioned the man with the mouth, which appears in this number + emblematical of gout and indigestion, in which the artist has shown all + the fancy of Callot. Little demons, with long saws for noses, are making + dreadful incisions into the toes of the unhappy sufferer; some are + bringing pans of hot coals to keep the wounded member warm; a huge, solemn + nightmare sits on the invalid's chest, staring solemnly into his eyes; a + monster, with a pair of drumsticks, is banging a devil's tattoo on his + forehead; and a pair of imps are nailing great tenpenny nails into his + hands to make his happiness complete. + </p> + <p> + The late Mr. Clark's excellent work, "Three Courses and a Dessert," was + published at a time when the rage for comic stories was not so great as it + since has been, and Messrs. Clark and Cruikshank only sold their hundreds + where Messrs. Dickens and Phiz dispose of their thousands. But if our + recommendation can in any way influence the reader, we would enjoin him to + have a copy of the "Three Courses," that contains some of the best designs + of our artist, and some of the most amusing tales in our language. The + invention of the pictures, for which Mr. Clark takes credit to himself, + says a great deal for his wit and fancy. Can we, for instance, praise too + highly the man who invented that wonderful oyster? + </p> + <p> + Examine him well; his beard, his pearl, his little round stomach, and his + sweet smile. Only oysters know how to smile in this way; cool, gentle, + waggish, and yet inexpressibly innocent and winning. Dando himself must + have allowed such an artless native to go free, and consigned him to the + glassy, cool, translucent wave again. + </p> + <p> + In writing upon such subjects as these with which we have been furnished, + it can hardly be expected that we should follow any fixed plan and order—we + must therefore take such advantage as we may, and seize upon our subject + when and wherever we can lay hold of him. + </p> + <p> + For Jews, sailors, Irishmen, Hessian boots, little boys, beadles, + policemen, tall life-guardsmen, charity children, pumps, dustmen, very + short pantaloons, dandies in spectacles, and ladies with aquiline noses, + remarkably taper waists, and wonderfully long ringlets, Mr. Cruikshank has + a special predilection. The tribe of Israelites he has studied with + amazing gusto; witness the Jew in Mr. Ainsworth's "Jack Sheppard," and the + immortal Fagin of "Oliver Twist." Whereabouts lies the comic vis in these + persons and things? Why should a beadle be comic, and his opposite a + charity boy? Why should a tall life-guardsman have something in him + essentially absurd? Why are short breeches more ridiculous than long? What + is there particularly jocose about a pump, and wherefore does a long nose + always provoke the beholder to laughter? These points may be + metaphysically elucidated by those who list. It is probable that Mr. + Cruikshank could not give an accurate definition of that which is + ridiculous in these objects, but his instinct has told him that fun lurks + in them, and cold must be the heart that can pass by the pantaloons of his + charity boys, the Hessian boots of his dandies, and the fan-tail hats of + his dustmen, without respectful wonder. + </p> + <p> + He has made a complete little gallery of dustmen. There is, in the first + place, the professional dustman, who, having in the enthusiastic exercise + of his delightful trade, laid hands upon property not strictly his own, is + pursued, we presume, by the right owner, from whom he flies as fast as his + crooked shanks will carry him. + </p> + <p> + What a curious picture it is—the horrid rickety houses in some dingy + suburb of London, the grinning cobbler, the smothered butcher, the very + trees which are covered with dust—it is fine to look at the + different expressions of the two interesting fugitives. The fiery + charioteer who belabors the poor donkey has still a glance for his brother + on foot, on whom punishment is about to descend. And not a little curious + is it to think of the creative power of the man who has arranged this + little tale of low life. How logically it is conducted, how cleverly each + one of the accessories is made to contribute to the effect of the whole. + What a deal of thought and humor has the artist expended on this little + block of wood; a large picture might have been painted out of the very + same materials, which Mr. Cruikshank, out of his wondrous fund of + merriment and observation, can afford to throw away upon a drawing not two + inches long. From the practical dustmen we pass to those purely poetical. + There are three of them who rise on clouds of their own raising, the very + genii of the sack and shovel. + </p> + <p> + Is there no one to write a sonnet to these?—and yet a whole poem was + written about Peter Bell the wagoner, a character by no means so poetic. + </p> + <p> + And lastly, we have the dustman in love: the honest fellow having seen a + young beauty stepping out of a gin-shop on a Sunday morning, is pressing + eagerly his suit. + </p> + <p> + Gin has furnished many subjects to Mr. Cruikshank, who labors in his own + sound and hearty way to teach his countrymen the dangers of that drink. In + the "Sketch-Book" is a plate upon the subject, remarkable for fancy and + beauty of design; it is called the "Gin Juggernaut," and represents a + hideous moving palace, with a reeking still at the roof and vast + gin-barrels for wheels, under which unhappy millions are crushed to death. + An immense black cloud of desolation covers over the country through which + the gin monster has passed, dimly looming through the darkness whereof you + see an agreeable prospect of gibbets with men dangling, burnt houses, + &c. The vast cloud comes sweeping on in the wake of this horrible + body-crusher; and you see, by way of contrast, a distant, smiling, + sunshiny tract of old English country, where gin as yet is not known. The + allegory is as good, as earnest, and as fanciful as one of John Bunyan's, + and we have often fancied there was a similarity between the men. + </p> + <p> + The render will examine the work called "My Sketch-Book" with not a little + amusement, and may gather from it, as we fancy, a good deal of information + regarding the character of the individual man, George Cruikshank: what + points strike his eye as a painter; what move his anger or admiration as a + moralist; what classes he seems most especially disposed to observe, and + what to ridicule. There are quacks of all kinds, to whom he has a mortal + hatred; quack dandies, who assume under his pencil, perhaps in his eye, + the most grotesque appearance possible—their hats grow larger, their + legs infinitely more crooked and lean; the tassels of their canes swell + out to a most preposterous size; the tails of their coats dwindle away, + and finish where coat-tails generally begin. Let us lay a wager that + Cruikshank, a man of the people if ever there was one, heartily hates and + despises these supercilious, swaggering young gentlemen; and his contempt + is not a whit the less laudable because there may be tant soit peu of + prejudice in it. It is right and wholesome to scorn dandies, as Nelson + said it was to hate Frenchmen; in which sentiment (as we have before said) + George Cruikshank undoubtedly shares. In the "Sunday in London,"* Monsieur + the Chef is instructing a kitchen-maid how to compound some rascally + French kickshaw or the other—a pretty scoundrel truly! with what an + air he wears that nightcap of his, and shrugs his lank shoulders, and + chatters, and ogles, and grins: they are all the same, these mounseers; + there are other two fellows—morbleu! one is putting his dirty + fingers into the saucepan; there are frogs cooking in it, no doubt; and + just over some other dish of abomination, another dirty rascal is taking + snuff! Never mind, the sauce won't be hurt by a few ingredients more or + less. Three such fellows as these are not worth one Englishman, that's + clear. There is one in the very midst of them, the great burly fellow with + the beef: he could beat all three in five minutes. We cannot be certain + that such was the process going on in Mr. Cruikshank's mind when he made + the design; but some feelings of the sort were no doubt entertained by + him. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The following lines—ever fresh—by the author of + "Headlong Hall," published years ago in the Globe and + Traveller, are an excellent comment on several of the cuts + from the "Sunday in London:"— + + I. + + "The poor man's sins are glaring; + In the face of ghostly warning + He is caught in the fact + Of an overt act, + Buying greens on Sunday morning. + + II. + + "The rich man's sins are hidden + In the pomp of wealth and station, + And escape the sight + Of the children of light, + Who are wise in their generation. + + III. + + "The rich man has a kitchen, + And cooks to dress his dinner; + The poor who would roast, + To the baker's must post, + And thus becomes a sinner. + + IV. + + "The rich man's painted windows + Hide the concerts of the quality; + The poor can but share + A crack'd fiddle in the air, + Which offends all sound morality. + + V. + + "The rich man has a cellar, + And a ready butler by him; + The poor must steer + For his pint of beer + Where the saint can't choose but spy him. + + VI. + + "This rich man is invisible + In the crowd of his gay society; + But the poor man's delight + Is a sore in the sight + And a stench in the nose of piety." +</pre> + <p> + Against dandy footmen he is particularly severe. He hates idlers, + pretenders, boasters, and punishes these fellows as best he may. Who does + not recollect the famous picture, "What IS taxes, Thomas?" What is taxes + indeed; well may that vast, over-fed, lounging flunky ask the question of + his associate Thomas: and yet not well, for all that Thomas says in reply + is, "I DON'T KNOW." "O beati PLUSHICOLAE," what a charming state of + ignorance is yours! In the "Sketch-Book" many footmen make their + appearance: one is a huge fat Hercules of a Portman Square porter, who + calmly surveys another poor fellow, a porter likewise, but out of livery, + who comes staggering forward with a box that Hercules might lift with his + little finger. Will Hercules do so? not he. The giant can carry nothing + heavier than a cocked-hat note on a silver tray, and his labors are to + walk from his sentry-box to the door, and from the door back to his + sentry-box, and to read the Sunday paper, and to poke the hall fire twice + or thrice, and to make five meals a day. Such a fellow does Cruikshank + hate and scorn worse even than a Frenchman. + </p> + <p> + The man's master, too, comes in for no small share of our artist's wrath. + There is a company of them at church, who humbly designate themselves + "miserable sinners!" Miserable sinners indeed! Oh, what floods of + turtle-soup, what tons of turbot and lobster-sauce must have been + sacrificed to make those sinners properly miserable. My lady with the + ermine tippet and draggling feather, can we not see that she lives in + Portland Place, and is the wife of an East India Director? She has been to + the Opera over-night (indeed her husband, on her right, with his fat hand + dangling over the pew-door, is at this minute thinking of Mademoiselle + Leocadie, whom he saw behind the scenes)—she has been at the Opera + over-night, which with a trifle of supper afterwards—a + white-and-brown soup, a lobster-salad, some woodcocks, and a little + champagne—sent her to bed quite comfortable. At half-past eight her + maid brings her chocolate in bed, at ten she has fresh eggs and muffins, + with, perhaps, a half-hundred of prawns for breakfast, and so can get over + the day and the sermon till lunch-time pretty well. What an odor of musk + and bergamot exhales from the pew!—how it is wadded, and stuffed, + and spangled over with brass nails! what hassocks are there for those who + are not too fat to kneel! what a flustering and flapping of gilt + prayer-books; and what a pious whirring of bible leaves one hears all over + the church, as the doctor blandly gives out the text! To be miserable at + this rate you must, at the very least, have four thousand a year: and many + persons are there so enamored of grief and sin, that they would willingly + take the risk of the misery to have a life-interest in the consols that + accompany it, quite careless about consequences, and sceptical as to the + notion that a day is at hand when you must fulfil YOUR SHARE OF THE + BARGAIN. + </p> + <p> + Our artist loves to joke at a soldier; in whose livery there appears to + him to be something almost as ridiculous as in the uniform of the + gentleman of the shoulder-knot. Tall life-guardsmen and fierce grenadiers + figure in many of his designs, and almost always in a ridiculous way. Here + again we have the honest popular English feeling which jeers at pomp or + pretension of all kinds, and is especially jealous of all display of + military authority. "Raw Recruit," "ditto dressed," ditto "served up," as + we see them in the "Sketch-Book," are so many satires upon the army: Hodge + with his ribbons flaunting in his hat, or with red coat and musket, + drilled stiff and pompous, or at last, minus leg and arm, tottering about + on crutches, does not fill our English artist with the enthusiasm that + follows the soldier in every other part of Europe. Jeanjean, the conscript + in France, is laughed at to be sure, but then it is because he is a bad + soldier: when he comes to have a huge pair of mustachios and the + croix-d'honneur to briller on his poitrine cicatrisee, Jeanjean becomes a + member of a class that is more respected than any other in the French + nation. The veteran soldier inspires our people with no such awe—we + hold that democratic weapon the fist in much more honor than the sabre and + bayonet, and laugh at a man tricked out in scarlet and pipe-clay. + </p> + <p> + That regiment of heroes is "marching to divine service," to the tune of + the "British Grenadiers." There they march in state, and a pretty contempt + our artist shows for all their gimcracks and trumpery. He has drawn a + perfectly English scene—the little blackguard boys are playing + pranks round about the men, and shouting, "Heads up, soldier," "Eyes + right, lobster," as little British urchins will do. Did one ever hear the + like sentiments expressed in France? Shade of Napoleon, we insult you by + asking the question. In England, however, see how different the case is: + and designedly or undesignedly, the artist has opened to us a piece of his + mind. In the crowd the only person who admires the soldiers is the poor + idiot, whose pocket a rogue is picking. There is another picture, in which + the sentiment is much the same, only, as in the former drawing we see + Englishmen laughing at the troops of the line, here are Irishmen giggling + at the militia. + </p> + <p> + We have said that our artist has a great love for the drolleries of the + Green Island. Would any one doubt what was the country of the merry + fellows depicted in his group of Paddies? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Place me amid O'Rourkes, O'Tooles, + The ragged royal race of Tara; + Or place me where Dick Martin rules + The pathless wilds of Connemara." +</pre> + <p> + We know not if Mr. Cruikshank has ever had any such good luck as to see + the Irish in Ireland itself, but he certainly has obtained a knowledge of + their looks, as if the country had been all his life familiar to him. + Could Mr. O'Connell himself desire anything more national than the scene + of a drunken row, or could Father Mathew have a better text to preach + upon? There is not a broken nose in the room that is not thoroughly Irish. + </p> + <p> + We have then a couple of compositions treated in a graver manner, as + characteristic too as the other. We call attention to the comical look of + poor Teague, who has been pursued and beaten by the witch's stick, in + order to point out also the singular neatness of the workmanship, and the + pretty, fanciful little glimpse of landscape that the artist has + introduced in the background. Mr. Cruikshank has a fine eye for such + homely landscapes, and renders them with great delicacy and taste. Old + villages, farm-yards, groups of stacks, queer chimneys, churches, + gable-ended cottages, Elizabethan mansion-houses, and other old English + scenes, he depicts with evident enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + Famous books in their day were Cruikshank's "John Gilpin" and "Epping + Hunt;" for though our artist does not draw horses very scientifically,—to + use a phrase of the atelier,—he FEELS them very keenly; and his + queer animals, after one is used to them, answer quite as well as better. + Neither is he very happy in trees, and such rustical produce; or, rather, + we should say, he is very original, his trees being decidedly of his own + make and composition, not imitated from any master. + </p> + <p> + But what then? Can a man be supposed to imitate everything? We know what + the noblest study of mankind is, and to this Mr. Cruikshank has confined + himself. That postilion with the people in the broken-down chaise roaring + after him is as deaf as the post by which he passes. Suppose all the + accessories were away, could not one swear that the man was stone-deaf, + beyond the reach of trumpet? What is the peculiar character in a deaf + man's physiognomy?—can any person define it satisfactorily in words?—not + in pages; and Mr. Cruikshank has expressed it on a piece of paper not so + big as the tenth part of your thumb-nail. The horses of John Gilpin are + much more of the equestrian order; and as here the artist has only his + favorite suburban buildings to draw, not a word is to be said against his + design. The inn and old buildings are charmingly designed, and nothing can + be more prettily or playfully touched. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "At Edmonton his loving wife + From the balcony spied + Her tender husband, wond'ring much + To see how he did ride. + + "'Stop, stop, John Gilpin! Here's the house!' + They all at once did cry; + 'The dinner waits, and we are tired—' + Said Gilpin—'So am I!' + + "Six gentlemen upon the road + Thus seeing Gilpin fly, + With post-boy scamp'ring in the rear, + They raised the hue and cry:— + + "'Stop thief! stop thief!—a highwayman!' + Not one of them was mute; + And all and each that passed that way + Did join in the pursuit. + + "And now the turnpike gates again + Flew open in short space; + The toll-men thinking, as before, + That Gilpin rode a race." +</pre> + <p> + The rush, and shouting, and clatter are excellently depicted by the + artist; and we, who have been scoffing at his manner of designing animals, + must here make a special exception in favor of the hens and chickens; each + has a different action, and is curiously natural. + </p> + <p> + Happy are children of all ages who have such a ballad and such pictures as + this in store for them! It is a comfort to think that woodcuts never wear + out, and that the book still may be had for a shilling, for those who can + command that sum of money. + </p> + <p> + In the "Epping Hunt," which we owe to the facetious pen of Mr. Hood, our + artist has not been so successful. There is here too much horsemanship and + not enough incident for him; but the portrait of Roundings the huntsman is + an excellent sketch, and a couple of the designs contain great humor. The + first represents the Cockney hero, who, "like a bird, was singing out + while sitting on a tree." + </p> + <p> + And in the second the natural order is reversed. The stag having taken + heart, is hunting the huntsman, and the Cheapside Nimrod is most + ignominiously running away. + </p> + <p> + The Easter Hunt, we are told, is no more; and as the Quarterly Review + recommends the British public to purchase Mr. Catlin's pictures, as they + form the only record of an interesting race now rapidly passing away, in + like manner we should exhort all our friends to purchase Mr. Cruikshank's + designs of ANOTHER interesting race, that is run already and for the last + time. + </p> + <p> + Besides these, we must mention, in the line of our duty, the notable + tragedies of "Tom Thumb" and "Bombastes Furioso," both of which have + appeared with many illustrations by Mr. Cruikshank. The "brave army" of + Bombastes exhibits a terrific display of brutal force, which must shock + the sensibilities of an English radical. And we can well understand the + caution of the general, who bids this soldatesque effrenee to begone, and + not to kick up a row. + </p> + <p> + Such a troop of lawless ruffians let loose upon a populous city would play + sad havoc in it; and we fancy the massacres of Birmingham renewed, or at + least of Badajoz, which, though not quite so dreadful, if we may believe + his Grace the Duke of Wellington, as the former scenes of slaughter, were + nevertheless severe enough: but we must not venture upon any ill-timed + pleasantries in presence of the disturbed King Arthur and the awful ghost + of Gaffer Thumb. + </p> + <p> + We are thus carried at once into the supernatural, and here we find + Cruikshank reigning supreme. He has invented in his time a little comic + pandemonium, peopled with the most droll, good-natured fiends possible. We + have before us Chamisso's "Peter Schlemihl," with Cruikshank's designs + translated into German, and gaining nothing by the change. The "Kinder und + Hans-Maerchen" of Grimm are likewise ornamented with a frontispiece copied + from that one which appeared to the amusing version of the English work. + The books on Phrenology and Time have been imitated by the same nation; + and even in France, whither reputation travels slower than to any country + except China, we have seen copies of the works of George Cruikshank. + </p> + <p> + He in return has complimented the French by illustrating a couple of Lives + of Napoleon, and the "Life in Paris" before mentioned. He has also made + designs for Victor Hugo's "Hans of Iceland." Strange, wild etchings were + those, on a strange, mad subject; not so good in our notion as the designs + for the German books, the peculiar humor of which latter seemed to suit + the artist exactly. There is a mixture of the awful and the ridiculous in + these, which perpetually excites and keeps awake the reader's attention; + the German writer and the English artist seem to have an entire faith in + their subject. The reader, no doubt, remembers the awful passage in "Peter + Schlemihl," where the little gentleman purchases the shadow of that hero—"Have + the kindness, noble sir, to examine and try this bag." "He put his hand + into his pocket, and drew thence a tolerably large bag of Cordovan + leather, to which a couple of thongs were fixed. I took it from him, and + immediately counted out ten gold pieces, and ten more, and ten more, and + still other ten, whereupon I held out my hand to him. Done, said I, it is + a bargain; you shall have my shadow for your bag. The bargain was + concluded; he knelt down before me, and I saw him with a wonderful + neatness take my shadow from head to foot, lightly lift it up from the + grass, roll and fold it up neatly, and at last pocket it. He then rose up, + bowed to me once more, and walked away again, disappearing behind the rose + bushes. I don't know, but I thought I heard him laughing a little. I, + however, kept fast hold of the bag. Everything around me was bright in the + sun, and as yet I gave no thought to what I had done." + </p> + <p> + This marvellous event, narrated by Peter with such a faithful, + circumstantial detail, is painted by Cruikshank in the most wonderful + poetic way, with that happy mixture of the real and supernatural that + makes the narrative so curious, and like truth. The sun is shining with + the utmost brilliancy in a great quiet park or garden; there is a palace + in the background, and a statue basking in the sun quite lonely and + melancholy; there is a sun-dial, on which is a deep shadow, and in the + front stands Peter Schlemihl, bag in hand: the old gentleman is down on + his knees to him, and has just lifted off the ground the SHADOW OF ONE + LEG; he is going to fold it back neatly, as one does the tails of a coat, + and will stow it, without any creases or crumples, along with the other + black garments that lie in that immense pocket of his. Cruikshank has + designed all this as if he had a very serious belief in the story; he + laughs, to be sure, but one fancies that he is a little frightened in his + heart, in spite of all his fun and joking. + </p> + <p> + The German tales we have mentioned before. "The Prince riding on the Fox," + "Hans in Luck," "The Fiddler and his Goose," "Heads off," are all drawings + which, albeit not before us now, nor seen for ten years, remain indelibly + fixed on the memory. "Heisst du etwa Rumpelstilzchen?" There sits the + Queen on her throne, surrounded by grinning beef-eaters, and little + Rumpelstiltskin stamps his foot through the floor in the excess of his + tremendous despair. In one of these German tales, if we remember rightly, + there is an account of a little orphan who is carried away by a pitying + fairy for a term of seven years, and passing that period of sweet + apprenticeship among the imps and sprites of fairy-land. Has our artist + been among the same company, and brought back their portraits in his + sketch-book? He is the only designer fairy-land has had. Callot's imps, + for all their strangeness, are only of the earth earthy. Fuseli's fairies + belong to the infernal regions; they are monstrous, lurid, and hideously + melancholy. Mr. Cruikshank alone has had a true insight into the character + of the "little people." They are something like men and women, and yet not + flesh and blood; they are laughing and mischievous, but why we know not. + Mr. Cruikshank, however, has had some dream or the other, or else a + natural mysterious instinct (as the Seherinn of Prevorst had for beholding + ghosts), or else some preternatural fairy revelation, which has made him + acquainted with the looks and ways of the fantastical subjects of Oberon + and Titania. + </p> + <p> + We have, unfortunately, no fairy portraits; but, on the other hand, can + descend lower than fairy-land, and have seen some fine specimens of + devils. One has already been raised, and the reader has seen him tempting + a fat Dutch burgomaster, in an ancient gloomy market-place, such as George + Cruikshank can draw as well as Mr. Prout, Mr. Nash, or any man living. + There is our friend once more; our friend the burgomaster, in a highly + excited state, and running as hard as his great legs will carry him, with + our mutual enemy at his tail. + </p> + <p> + What are the bets; will that long-legged bondholder of a devil come up + with the honest Dutchman? It serves him right: why did he put his name to + stamped paper? And yet we should not wonder if some lucky chance should + turn up in the burgomaster's favor, and his infernal creditor lose his + labor; for one so proverbially cunning as yonder tall individual with the + saucer eyes, it must be confessed that he has been very often outwitted. + </p> + <p> + There is, for instance, the case of "The Gentleman in Black," which has + been illustrated by our artist. A young French gentleman, by name M. + Desonge, who, having expended his patrimony in a variety of taverns and + gaming-houses, was one day pondering upon the exhausted state of his + finances, and utterly at a loss to think how he should provide means for + future support, exclaimed, very naturally, "What the devil shall I do?" He + had no sooner spoken than a GENTLEMAN IN BLACK made his appearance, whose + authentic portrait Mr. Cruikshank has had the honor to paint. This + gentleman produced a black-edged book out of a black bag, some black-edged + papers tied up with black crape, and sitting down familiarly opposite M. + Desonge, began conversing with him on the state of his affairs. + </p> + <p> + It is needless to state what was the result of the interview. M. Desonge + was induced by the gentleman to sign his name to one of the black-edged + papers, and found himself at the close of the conversation to be possessed + of an unlimited command of capital. This arrangement completed, the + Gentleman in Black posted (in an extraordinarily rapid manner) from Paris + to London, there found a young English merchant in exactly the same + situation in which M. Desonge had been, and concluded a bargain with the + Briton of exactly the same nature. + </p> + <p> + The book goes on to relate how these young men spent the money so + miraculously handed over to them, and how both, when the period drew near + that was to witness the performance of THEIR part of the bargain, grew + melancholy, wretched, nay, so absolutely dishonorable as to seek for every + means of breaking through their agreement. The Englishman living in a + country where the lawyers are more astute than any other lawyers in the + world, took the advice of a Mr. Bagsby, of Lyon's Inn; whose name, as we + cannot find it in the "Law List," we presume to be fictitious. Who could + it be that was a match for the devil? Lord —— very likely; we + shall not give his name, but let every reader of this Review fill up the + blank according to his own fancy, and on comparing it with the copy + purchased by his neighbors, he will find that fifteen out of twenty have + written down the same honored name. + </p> + <p> + Well, the Gentleman in Black was anxious for the fulfilment of his bond. + The parties met at Mr. Bagsby's chambers to consult, the Black Gentleman + foolishly thinking that he could act as his own counsel, and fearing no + attorney alive. But mark the superiority of British law, and see how the + black pettifogger was defeated. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Bagsby simply stated that he would take the case into Chancery, and + his antagonist, utterly humiliated and defeated, refused to move a step + farther in the matter. + </p> + <p> + And now the French gentleman, M. Desonge, hearing of his friend's escape, + became anxious to be free from his own rash engagements. He employed the + same counsel who had been successful in the former instance, but the + Gentleman in Black was a great deal wiser by this time, and whether M. + Desonge escaped, or whether he is now in that extensive place which is + paved with good intentions, we shall not say. Those who are anxious to + know had better purchase the book wherein all these interesting matters + are duly set down. There is one more diabolical picture in our budget, + engraved by Mr. Thompson, the same dexterous artist who has rendered the + former diableries so well. + </p> + <p> + We may mention Mr. Thompson's name as among the first of the engravers to + whom Cruikshank's designs have been entrusted; and next to him (if we may + be allowed to make such arbitrary distinctions) we may place Mr. Williams; + and the reader is not possibly aware of the immense difficulties to be + overcome in the rendering of these little sketches, which, traced by the + designer in a few hours, require weeks' labor from the engraver. Mr. + Cruikshank has not been educated in the regular schools of drawing (very + luckily for him, as we think), and consequently has had to make a manner + for himself, which is quite unlike that of any other draftsman. There is + nothing in the least mechanical about it; to produce his particular + effects he uses his own particular lines, which are queer, free, + fantastical, and must be followed in all their infinite twists and + vagaries by the careful tool of the engraver. Those three lovely heads, + for instance, imagined out of the rinds of lemons, are worth examining, + not so much for the jovial humor and wonderful variety of feature + exhibited in these darling countenances as for the engraver's part of the + work. See the infinite delicate cross-lines and hatchings which he is + obliged to render; let him go, not a hair's breadth, but the hundredth + part of a hair's breadth, beyond the given line, and the FEELING of it is + ruined. He receives these little dots and specks, and fantastical quirks + of the pencil, and cuts away with a little knife round each, not too much + nor too little. Antonio's pound of flesh did not puzzle the Jew so much; + and so well does the engraver succeed at last, that we never remember to + have met with a single artist who did not vow that the wood-cutter had + utterly ruined his design. + </p> + <p> + Of Messrs. Thompson and Williams we have spoken as the first engravers in + point of rank; however, the regulations of professional precedence are + certainly very difficult, and the rest of their brethren we shall not + endeavor to class. Why should the artists who executed the cuts of the + admirable "Three Courses" yield the pas to any one? + </p> + <p> + There, for instance, is an engraving by Mr. Landells, nearly as good in + our opinion as the very best woodcut that ever was made after Cruikshank, + and curiously happy in rendering the artist's peculiar manner: this cut + does not come from the facetious publications which we have consulted; but + is a contribution by Mr. Cruikshank to an elaborate and splendid botanical + work upon the Orchidaceae of Mexico, by Mr. Bateman. Mr. Bateman + despatched some extremely choice roots of this valuable plant to a friend + in England, who, on the arrival of the case, consigned it to his gardener + to unpack. A great deal of anxiety with regard to the contents was + manifested by all concerned, but on the lid of the box being removed, + there issued from it three or four fine specimens of the enormous Blatta + beetle that had been preying upon the plants during the voyage; against + these the gardeners, the grooms, the porters, and the porters' children, + issued forth in arms, and this scene the artist has immortalized. + </p> + <p> + We have spoken of the admirable way in which Mr. Cruikshank has depicted + Irish character and Cockney character; English country character is quite + as faithfully delineated in the person of the stout porteress and her + children, and of the "Chawbacon" with the shovel, on whose face is written + "Zummerzetsheer." Chawbacon appears in another plate, or else Chawbacon's + brother. He has come up to Lunnan, and is looking about him at raaces. + </p> + <p> + How distinct are these rustics from those whom we have just been + examining! They hang about the purlieus of the metropolis: Brook Green, + Epsom, Greenwich, Ascot, Goodwood, are their haunts. They visit London + professionally once a year, and that is at the time of Bartholomew fair. + How one may speculate upon the different degrees of rascality, as + exhibited in each face of the thimblerigging trio, and form little + histories for these worthies, charming Newgate romances, such as have been + of late the fashion! Is any man so blind that he cannot see the exact face + that is writhing under the thhnblerigged hero's hat? Like Timanthes of + old, our artist expresses great passions without the aid of the human + countenance. There is another specimen—a street row of inebriated + bottles. Is there any need of having a face after this? "Come on!" says + Claret-bottle, a dashing, genteel fellow, with his hat on one ear—"Come + on! has any man a mind to tap me?" Claret-bottle is a little screwed (as + one may see by his legs), but full of gayety and courage; not so that + stout, apoplectic Bottle-of-rum, who has staggered against the wall, and + has his hand upon his liver: the fellow hurts himself with smoking, that + is clear, and is as sick as sick can be. See, Port is making away from the + storm, and Double X is as flat as ditch-water. Against these, awful in + their white robes, the sober watchmen come. + </p> + <p> + Our artist then can cover up faces, and yet show them quite clearly, as in + the thimblerig group; or he can do without faces altogether; or he can, at + a pinch, provide a countenance for a gentleman out of any given object—a + beautiful Irish physiognomy being moulded upon a keg of whiskey; and a + jolly English countenance frothing out of a pot of ale (the spirit of + brave Toby Philpot come back to reanimate his clay); while in a fungus may + be recognized the physiognomy of a mushroom peer. Finally, if he is at a + loss, he can make a living head, body, and legs out of steel or + tortoise-shell, as in the case of the vivacious pair of spectacles that + are jockeying the nose of Caddy Cuddle. + </p> + <p> + Of late years Mr. Cruikshank has busied himself very much with steel + engraving, and the consequences of that lucky invention have been, that + his plates are now sold by thousands, where they could only be produced by + hundreds before. He has made many a bookseller's and author's fortune (we + trust that in so doing he may not have neglected his own). Twelve + admirable plates, furnished yearly to that facetious little publication, + the Comic Almanac, have gained for it a sale, as we hear, of nearly twenty + thousand copies. The idea of the work was novel; there was, in the first + number especially, a great deal of comic power, and Cruikshank's designs + were so admirable that the Almanac at once became a vast favorite with the + public, and has so remained ever since. + </p> + <p> + Besides the twelve plates, this almanac contains a prophetic woodcut, + accompanying an awful Blarneyhum Astrologicum that appears in this and + other almanacs. There is one that hints in pretty clear terms that with + the Reform of Municipal Corporations the ruin of the great Lord Mayor of + London is at hand. His lordship is meekly going to dine at an eightpenny + ordinary, his giants in pawn, his men in armor dwindled to "one poor + knight," his carriage to be sold, his stalwart aldermen vanished, his + sheriffs, alas! and alas! in gaol! Another design shows that Rigdum, if a + true, is also a moral and instructive prophet. John Bull is asleep, or + rather in a vision; the cunning demon, Speculation, blowing a thousand + bright bubbles about him. Meanwhile the rooks are busy at his fob, a knave + has cut a cruel hole in his pocket, a rattlesnake has coiled safe round + his feet, and will in a trice swallow Bull, chair, money and all; the rats + are at his corn-bags (as if, poor devil, he had corn to spare); his + faithful dog is bolting his leg-of-mutton—nay, a thief has gotten + hold of his very candle, and there, by way of moral, is his ale-pot, which + looks and winks in his face, and seems to say, O Bull, all this is froth, + and a cruel satirical picture of a certain rustic who had a goose that + laid certain golden eggs, which goose the rustic slew in expectation of + finding all the eggs at once. This is goose and sage too, to borrow the + pun of "learned Doctor Gill;" but we shrewdly suspect that Mr. Cruikshank + is becoming a little conservative in his notions. + </p> + <p> + We love these pictures so that it is hard to part us, and we still fondly + endeavor to hold on, but this wild word, farewell, must be spoken by the + best friends at last, and so good-by, brave woodcuts: we feel quite a + sadness in coming to the last of our collection. + </p> + <p> + In the earlier numbers of the Comic Almanac all the manners and customs of + Londoners that would afford food for fun were noted down; and if during + the last two years the mysterious personage who, under the title of + "Rigdum Funnidos," compiles this ephemeris, has been compelled to resort + to romantic tales, we must suppose that he did so because the great + metropolis was exhausted, and it was necessary to discover new worlds in + the cloud-land of fancy. The character of Mr. Stubbs, who made his + appearance in the Almanac for 1839, had, we think, great merit, although + his adventures were somewhat of too tragical a description to provoke pure + laughter. + </p> + <p> + We should be glad to devote a few pages to the "Illustrations of Time," + the "Scraps and Sketches," and the "Illustrations of Phrenology," which + are among the most famous of our artist's publications; but it is very + difficult to find new terms of praise, as find them one must, when + reviewing Mr. Cruikshank's publications, and more difficult still (as the + reader of this notice will no doubt have perceived for himself long since) + to translate his design into words, and go to the printer's box for a + description of all that fun and humor which the artist can produce by a + few skilful turns of his needle. A famous article upon the "Illustrations + of Time" appeared some dozen years since in Blackwood's Magazine, of which + the conductors have always been great admirers of our artist, as became + men of honor and genius. To these grand qualities do not let it be + supposed that we are laying claim, but, thank heaven, Cruikshank's humor + is so good and benevolent that any man must love it, and on this score we + may speak as well as another. + </p> + <p> + Then there are the "Greenwich Hospital" designs, which must not be passed + over. "Greenwich Hospital" is a hearty, good-natured book, in the Tom + Dibdin school, treating of the virtues of British tars, in approved + nautical language. They maul Frenchmen and Spaniards, they go out in brigs + and take frigates, they relieve women in distress, and are yard-arm and + yard-arming, athwart-hawsing, marlinspiking, binnacling, and + helm's-a-leeing, as honest seamen invariably do, in novels, on the stage, + and doubtless on board ship. This we cannot take upon us to say, but the + artist, like a true Englishman, as he is, loves dearly these brave + guardians of Old England, and chronicles their rare or fanciful exploits + with the greatest good-will. Let any one look at the noble head of Nelson + in the "Family Library," and they will, we are sure, think with us that + the designer must have felt and loved what he drew. There are to this + abridgment of Southey's admirable book many more cuts after Cruikshank; + and about a dozen pieces by the same hand will be found in a work equally + popular, Lockhart's excellent "Life of Napoleon." Among these the retreat + from Moscow is very fine; the Mamlouks most vigorous, furious, and + barbarous, as they should be. At the end of these three volumes Mr. + Cruikshank's contributions to the "Family Library" seem suddenly to have + ceased. + </p> + <p> + We are not at all disposed to undervalue the works and genius of Mr. + Dickens, and we are sure that he would admit as readily as any man the + wonderful assistance that he has derived from the artist who has given us + the portraits of his ideal personages, and made them familiar to all the + world. Once seen, these figures remain impressed on the memory, which + otherwise would have had no hold upon them, and the heroes and heroines of + Boz become personal acquaintances with each of us. Oh, that Hogarth could + have illustrated Fielding in the same way! and fixed down on paper those + grand figures of Parson Adams, and Squire Allworthy, and the great + Jonathan Wild. + </p> + <p> + With regard to the modern romance of "Jack Sheppard," in which the latter + personage makes a second appearance, it seems to us that Mr. Cruikshank + really created the tale, and that Mr. Ainsworth, as it were, only put + words to it. Let any reader of the novel think over it for a while, now + that it is some months since he has perused and laid it down—let him + think, and tell us what he remembers of the tale? George Cruikshank's + pictures—always George Cruikshank's pictures. The storm in the + Thames, for instance: all the author's labored description of that event + has passed clean away—we have only before the mind's eye the fine + plates of Cruikshank: the poor wretch cowering under the bridge arch, as + the waves come rushing in, and the boats are whirling away in the drift of + the great swollen black waters. And let any man look at that second plate + of the murder on the Thames, and he must acknowledge how much more + brilliant the artist's description is than the writer's, and what a real + genius for the terrible as well as for the ridiculous the former has; how + awful is the gloom of the old bridge, a few lights glimmering from the + houses here and there, but not so as to be reflected on the water at all, + which is too turbid and raging: a great heavy rack of clouds goes sweeping + over the bridge, and men with flaring torches, the murderers, are borne + away with the stream. + </p> + <p> + The author requires many pages to describe the fury of the storm, which + Mr. Cruikshank has represented in one. First, he has to prepare you with + the something inexpressibly melancholy in sailing on a dark night upon the + Thames: "the ripple of the water," "the darkling current," "the + indistinctively seen craft," "the solemn shadows" and other phenomena + visible on rivers at night are detailed (with not unskilful rhetoric) in + order to bring the reader into a proper frame of mind for the deeper gloom + and horror which is to ensue. Then follow pages of description. "As + Rowland sprang to the helm, and gave the signal for pursuit, a war like a + volley of ordnance was heard aloft, and the wind again burst its bondage. + A moment before the surface of the stream was as black as ink. It was now + whitening, hissing, and seething, like an enormous caldron. The blast once + more swept over the agitated river, whirled off the sheets of foam, + scattered them far and wide in rain-drops, and left the raging torrent + blacker than before. Destruction everywhere marked the course of the gale. + Steeples toppled and towers reeled beneath its fury. All was darkness, + horror, confusion, ruin. Men fled from their tottering habitations and + returned to them, scared by greater danger. The end of the world seemed at + hand. . . . The hurricane had now reached its climax. The blast shrieked, + as if exulting in its wrathful mission. Stunning and continuous, the din + seemed almost to take away the power of hearing. He who had faced the gale + WOULD HAVE BEEN INSTANTLY STIFLED," &c. &c. See with what a + tremendous war of words (and good loud words too; Mr. Ainsworth's + description is a good and spirited one) the author is obliged to pour in + upon the reader before he can effect his purpose upon the latter, and + inspire him with a proper terror. The painter does it at a glance, and old + Wood's dilemma in the midst of that tremendous storm, with the little + infant at his bosom, is remembered afterwards, not from the words, but + from the visible image of them that the artist has left us. + </p> + <p> + It would not, perhaps, be out of place to glance through the whole of the + "Jack Sheppard" plates, which are among the most finished and the most + successful of Mr. Cruikshank's performances, and say a word or two + concerning them. Let us begin with finding fault with No. 1, "Mr. Wood + offers to adopt little Jack Sheppard." A poor print, on a poor subject; + the figure of the woman not as carefully designed as it might be, and the + expression of the eyes (not an uncommon fault with our artist) much + caricatured. The print is cut up, to use the artist's phrase, by the + number of accessories which the engraver has thought proper, after the + author's elaborate description, elaborately to reproduce. The plate of + "Wild discovering Darrell in the loft" is admirable—ghastly, + terrible, and the treatment of it extraordinarily skilful, minute, and + bold. The intricacies of the tile-work, and the mysterious twinkling of + light among the beams, are excellently felt and rendered; and one sees + here, as in the two next plates of the storm and murder, what a fine eye + the artist has, what a skilful hand, and what a sympathy for the wild and + dreadful. As a mere imitation of nature, the clouds and the bridge in the + murder picture may be examined by painters who make far higher pretensions + than Mr. Cruikshank. In point of workmanship they are equally good, the + manner quite unaffected, the effect produced without any violent contrast, + the whole scene evidently well and philosophically arranged in the + artist's brain, before he began to put it upon copper. + </p> + <p> + The famous drawing of "Jack carving the name on the beam," which has been + transferred to half the play-bills in town, is overloaded with + accessories, as the first plate; but they are much better arranged than in + the last-named engraving, and do not injure the effect of the principal + figure. Remark, too, the conscientiousness of the artist, and that shrewd + pervading idea of FORM which is one of his principal characteristics. Jack + is surrounded by all sorts of implements of his profession; he stands on a + regular carpenter's table: away in the shadow under it lie shavings and a + couple of carpenter's hampers. The glue-pot, the mallet, the + chisel-handle, the planes, the saws, the hone with its cover, and the + other paraphernalia are all represented with extraordinary accuracy and + forethought. The man's mind has retained the exact DRAWING of all these + minute objects (unconsciously perhaps to himself), but we can see with + what keen eyes he must go through the world, and what a fund of facts (as + such a knowledge of the shape of objects is in his profession) this keen + student of nature has stored away in his brain. In the next plate, where + Jack is escaping from his mistress, the figure of that lady, one of the + deepest of the [Greek text omitted], strikes us as disagreeable and + unrefined; that of Winifred is, on the contrary, very pretty and graceful; + and Jack's puzzled, slinking look must not be forgotten. All the + accessories are good, and the apartment has a snug, cosy air; which is not + remarkable, except that it shows how faithfully the designer has performed + his work, and how curiously he has entered into all the particulars of the + subject. + </p> + <p> + Master Thames Darrell, the handsome young man of the book, is, in Mr. + Cruikshank's portraits of him, no favorite of ours. The lad seems to wish + to make up for the natural insignificance of his face by frowning on all + occasions most portentously. This figure, borrowed from the compositor's + desk, will give a notion of what we mean. Wild's face is too violent for + the great man of history (if we may call Fielding history), but this is in + consonance with the ranting, frowning, braggadocio character that Mr. + Ainsworth has given him. + </p> + <p> + The "Interior of Willesden Church" is excellent as a composition, and a + piece of artistical workmanship; the groups are well arranged; and the + figure of Mrs. Sheppard looking round alarmed, as her son is robbing the + dandy Kneebone, is charming, simple, and unaffected. Not so "Mrs. Sheppard + ill in bed," whose face is screwed up to an expression vastly too tragic. + The little glimpse of the church seen through the open door of the room is + very beautiful and poetical: it is in such small hints that an artist + especially excels; they are the morals which he loves to append to his + stories, and are always appropriate and welcome. The boozing ken is not to + our liking; Mrs. Sheppard is there with her horrified eyebrows again. Why + this exaggeration—is it necessary for the public? We think not, or + if they require such excitement, let our artist, like a true painter as he + is, teach them better things.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * A gentleman (whose wit is so celebrated that one should be + very cautious in repeating his stories) gave the writer a + good illustration of the philosophy of exaggeration. Mr. — + — was once behind the scenes at the Opera when the scene- + shifters were preparing for the ballet. Flora was to sleep + under a bush, whereon were growing a number of roses, and + amidst which was fluttering a gay covey of butterflies. In + size the roses exceeded the most expansive sunflowers, and + the butterflies were as large as cocked hats;—the scene + -shifter explained to Mr. ——, who asked the reason why + everything was so magnified, that the galleries could never + see the objects unless they were enormously exaggerated. + How many of our writers and designers work for the + galleries? + + The "Escape from Willesden Cage" is excellent; the "Burglary + in Wood's house" has not less merit; "Mrs. Sheppard in + Bedlam," a ghastly picture indeed, is finely conceived, but + not, as we fancy, so carefully executed; it would be better + for a little more careful drawing in the female figure. + + "Jack sitting for his picture" is a very pleasing group, and + savors of the manner of Hogarth, who is introduced in the + company. The "Murder of Trenchard" must be noticed too as + remarkable for the effect and terrible vigor which the + artist has given to the scene. The "Willesden Churchyard" + has great merit too, but the gems of the book are the little + vignettes illustrating the escape from Newgate. Here, too, + much anatomical care of drawing is not required; the figures + are so small that the outline and attitude need only to be + indicated, and the designer has produced a series of figures + quite remarkable for reality and poetry too. There are no + less than ten of Jack's feats so described by Mr. + Cruikshank. (Let us say a word here in praise of the + excellent manner in which the author has carried us through + the adventure.) Here is Jack clattering up the chimney, now + peering into the lonely red room, now opening "the door + between the red room and the chapel." What a wild, fierce, + scared look he has, the young ruffian, as cautiously he + steps in, holding light his bar of iron. You can see by his + face how his heart is beating! If any one were there! but + no! And this is a very fine characteristic of the prints, + the extreme LONELINESS of them all. Not a soul is there to + disturb him—woe to him who should—and Jack drives in the + chapel gate, and shatters down the passage door, and there + you have him on the leads. Up he goes! it is but a spring + of a few feet from the blanket, and he is gone—abiit, + evasit, erupit! Mr. Wild must catch him again if he can. + + We must not forget to mention "Oliver Twist," and Mr. + Cruikshank's famous designs to that work.* The sausage + scene at Fagin's, Nancy seizing the boy; that capital piece + of humor, Mr. Bumble's courtship, which is even better in + Cruikshank's version than in Boz's exquisite account of the + interview; Sykes's farewell to the dog; and the Jew,—the + dreadful Jew—that Cruikshank drew! What a fine touching + picture of melancholy desolation is that of Sykes and the + dog! The poor cur is not too well drawn, the landscape is + stiff and formal; but in this case the faults, if faults + they be, of execution rather add to than diminish the effect + of the picture: it has a strange, wild, dreary, broken + -hearted look; we fancy we see the landscape as it must have + appeared to Sykes, when ghastly and with bloodshot eyes he + looked at it. As for the Jew in the dungeon, let us say + nothing of it—what can we say to describe it? What a fine + homely poet is the man who can produce this little world of + mirth or woe for us! Does he elaborate his effects by slow + process of thought, or do they come to him by instinct? + Does the painter ever arrange in his brain an image so + complete, that he afterwards can copy it exactly on the + canvas, or does the hand work in spite of him? +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Or his new work, "The Tower of London," which promises + even to surpass Mr. Cruikshank's former productions. +</pre> + <p> + A great deal of this random work of course every artist has done in his + time; many men produce effects of which they never dreamed, and strike off + excellences, haphazard, which gain for them reputation; but a fine quality + in Mr. Cruikshank, the quality of his success, as we have said before, is + the extraordinary earnestness and good faith with which he executes all he + attempts—the ludicrous, the polite, the low, the terrible. In the + second of these he often, in our fancy, fails, his figures lacking + elegance and descending to caricature; but there is something fine in this + too: it is good that he SHOULD fail, that he should have these honest + naive notions regarding the beau monde, the characteristics of which a + namby-pamby tea-party painter could hit off far better than he. He is a + great deal too downright and manly to appreciate the flimsy delicacies of + small society—you cannot expect a lion to roar you like any sucking + dove, or frisk about a drawing-room like a lady's little spaniel. + </p> + <p> + If then, in the course of his life and business, he has been occasionally + obliged to imitate the ways of such small animals, he has done so, let us + say it at once, clumsily, and like as a lion should. Many artists, we + hear, hold his works rather cheap; they prate about bad drawing, want of + scientific knowledge:—they would have something vastly more neat, + regular, anatomical. + </p> + <p> + Not one of the whole band most likely but can paint an Academy figure + better than himself; nay, or a portrait of an alderman's lady and family + of children. But look down the list of the painters and tell us who are + they? How many among these men are POETS (makers), possessing the faculty + to create, the greatest among the gifts with which Providence has endowed + the mind of man? Say how many there are, count up what they have done, and + see what in the course of some nine-and-twenty years has been done by this + indefatigable man. + </p> + <p> + What amazing energetic fecundity do we find in him! As a boy he began to + fight for bread, has been hungry (twice a day we trust) ever since, and + has been obliged to sell his wit for his bread week by week. And his wit, + sterling gold as it is, will find no such purchasers as the fashionable + painter's thin pinchbeck, who can live comfortably for six weeks, when + paid for and painting a portrait, and fancies his mind prodigiously + occupied all the while. There was an artist in Paris, an artist + hairdresser, who used to be fatigued and take restoratives after inventing + a new coiffure. By no such gentle operation of head-dressing has + Cruikshank lived: time was (we are told so in print) when for a picture + with thirty heads in it he was paid three guineas—a poor week's + pittance truly, and a dire week's labor. We make no doubt that the same + labor would at present bring him twenty times the sum; but whether it be + ill paid or well, what labor has Mr. Cruikshank's been! Week by week, for + thirty years, to produce something new; some smiling offspring of painful + labor, quite independent and distinct from its ten thousand jovial + brethren; in what hours of sorrow and ill-health to be told by the world, + "Make us laugh or you starve—Give us fresh fun; we have eaten up the + old and are hungry." And all this has he been obliged to do—to wring + laughter day by day, sometimes, perhaps, out of want, often certainly from + ill-health or depression—to keep the fire of his brain perpetually + alight: for the greedy public will give it no leisure to cool. This he has + done and done well. He has told a thousand truths in as many strange and + fascinating ways; he has given a thousand new and pleasant thoughts to + millions of people; he has never used his wit dishonestly; he has never, + in all the exuberance of his frolicsome humor, caused a single painful or + guilty blush: how little do we think of the extraordinary power of this + man, and how ungrateful we are to him! + </p> + <p> + Here, as we are come round to the charge of ingratitude, the starting-post + from which we set out, perhaps we had better conclude. The reader will + perhaps wonder at the high-flown tone in which we speak of the services + and merits of an individual, whom he considers a humble scraper on steel, + that is wonderfully popular already. But none of us remember all the + benefits we owe him; they have come one by one, one driving out the memory + of the other: it is only when we come to examine them all together, as the + writer has done, who has a pile of books on the table before him—a + heap of personal kindnesses from George Cruikshank (not presents, if you + please, for we bought, borrowed, or stole every one of them)—that we + feel what we owe him. Look at one of Mr. Cruikshank's works, and we + pronounce him an excellent humorist. Look at all: his reputation is + increased by a kind of geometrical progression; as a whole diamond is a + hundred times more valuable than the hundred splinters into which it might + be broken would be. A fine rough English diamond is this about which we + have been writing. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's George Cruikshank, by William Makepeace Thackeray + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE CRUIKSHANK *** + +***** This file should be named 2648-h.htm or 2648-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/4/2648/ + +Produced by Donald Lainson; David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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