Dickens and His Illustrators Part 19

The Haunted Man, 1848.

"The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain"--the last of the Christmas stories--contains five designs by Leech, and one of the original sketches is here reproduced, through the courtesy of the Museum authorities at Nottingham Castle. They are not among Leech's happiest efforts, and do not compare favourably with the vignettes in "A Christmas Carol."

PLATE XLVII

"THE TETTERBYS"

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

JOHN LEECH

_By Permission of the Art Museum Committee of the Corporation of Nottingham._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Like Cruikshank, "Phiz," and other contemporary book-ill.u.s.trators, John Leech never worked from models, relying chiefly upon his retentive memory; he seldom made sketches of any kind, but merely jotted down such useful memoranda of bits of scenery and character, details of particular costume, &c, as could be recorded in a little note-book which he invariably carried about with him. When developing an idea for a drawing, he would first make a slight outline of the subject upon paper of the size required, then trace it down upon the wood-block, and finally complete the picture with care and deliberation. The only lessons in etching he ever had he received from George Cruikshank; but it was as a draughtsman on wood that he excelled, his etchings (of which those in the "Carol" are among the best) not being technically equal to those of either Cruikshank or "Phiz," nor do they exhibit that sense of freedom and spontaneity visible in his published drawings. The late George du Maurier, his friend and colleague on _Punch_, tells us that Leech "drew straight on the wood block, with a lead-pencil; his delicate grey lines had to be translated into the uncompromising coa.r.s.e black lines of printer's ink--a ruinous process; and what his work lost in this way is only to be estimated by those who know." In giving an account of Leech's work, Professor Ruskin points out a fact not generally known, viz., that from an artistic standpoint his first sketches for the woodcuts are much more valuable than the finished drawings, even before those drawings sustained any loss in engraving.

"The first few lines in which he sets down his purpose are invariably, of all drawing that I know," says the eminent critic, "the most wonderful in their accurate and prosperous haste." d.i.c.kens remained a constant admirer of Leech's genius, and when, in 1848, there appeared a collection of lithographs, where the artist humorously depicted "The Rising Generation," the novelist indited for _The Examiner_ a glowing eulogium upon the work of his friend, in the course of which he declared that he was "the very first Englishman who had made beauty a part of his art." It was from d.i.c.kens that Leech occasionally accepted happy thoughts for _Punch_, and it will be remembered that he frequently availed himself (as did Sir John Tenniel subsequently) of "Phiz's"

designs for d.i.c.kens, whenever he thought they could be appropriately converted into political cartoons.

John Leech occasionally a.s.sociated himself with the amateur theatrical performances organised by d.i.c.kens, but it must be admitted that, owing to his naturally modest and retiring disposition, he did not achieve great distinction as an actor. In 1849, while on a visit to the novelist at Bonchurch, he was stunned by a huge wave when bathing, and was put to bed with "twenty of his namesakes on his temples." Congestion of the brain ensued, and d.i.c.kens, who proved one of the most attentive of nurses during this anxious time, proposed to Mrs. Leech to try magnetism. "Accordingly," he wrote to Forster, "in the middle of the night I fell to, and after a very fatiguing bout of it, put him to sleep for an hour and thirty-five minutes. A change came on in the sleep, and he is decidedly better. I talked to the astonished Mrs. Leech across him, when he was asleep, as if he had been a truss of hay."

Incessant brain-work induced in John Leech a peculiar irritability, and he was so much affected by street noises, even such as would escape ordinary attention, that he was compelled at length to resort to the device of double windows. Eventually this abnormal sensitiveness told so seriously upon his health that he was ordered to Homburg for change of scene; but, on returning to his London home in the autumn of 1864, he was still strangely susceptible to noise of all kinds. In addition to this, the artist suffered acutely from _angina pectoris_, and on October 29, 1864, he was seized with an attack of that terrible disease, which, alas! proved fatal. d.i.c.kens was sadly overcome by the death of this kindly man, and attributed, thereto his inability to make progress with "Our Mutual Friend," upon which he was then engaged. Around the artist's grave there a.s.sembled, on a bright autumn day, many who were distinguished in Art and Literature, in honour of him they sincerely mourned, grieving for the loss of a spirit, so gentle and graceful, that had just pa.s.sed away.

The portrait of John Leech reproduced for this work is from a beautiful water-colour drawing by his friend, the late Sir John E. Millais, P.R.A., representing the artist in the prime of life. This interesting and valuable presentment of the great pictorial humorist was purchased in 1892 by the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, and during the previous year a reproduction of it was given, at my suggestion, as the frontispiece to the biography of John Leech by Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A.

Another intimate friend of Leech, Mr. Holman Hunt, informs me that he considers this drawing by Millais as undoubtedly the best portrait of the artist.

[Ill.u.s.tration: R. Doyle]

[Ill.u.s.tration: D. Maclise]

PLATE XLVIII

RICHARD DOYLE

From a Photograph by G. JERRARD

_Lent by Mrs. Henry Doyle._

D. MACLISE, R.A.

From the Painting by E. M. WARD. R.A., 1846

RICHARD DOYLE

Inherits a Talent for Drawing--Not Permitted to Study from Models--No Regular Training in Art--A Skilful Amateur--Precocious Sense of Humour--Fanciful Designs--Doyle Joins the _Punch_ Staff--Instructed in Drawing on Wood--His Sign-manual--Retirement from _Punch_--Not Acquainted with d.i.c.kens--His Ill.u.s.trations for "THE CHIMES"--Elves and Goblins--An Oversight by the Artist--"THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH" and "THE BATTLE OF LIFE"--Doyle's Original Sketches for the Christmas Books Dispersed.

With the single exception of John Leech, Richard Doyle contributed the greatest number of ill.u.s.trations to the Christmas Books, three of these little volumes containing, in the aggregate, ten designs by him. He was born in London in 1824, his father, John Doyle, being the famous caricaturist, "H.B.," whose political cartoons created much sensation in their day. At an early age Richard Doyle proved that he inherited a talent for drawing, and was encouraged in this direction by his father, who (strange to say) would not allow him to study from the living model, preferring that the boy should be taught "to observe with watchful eye the leading features of the object before him, and then some little time after to reproduce them from memory as nearly as he could." He had no regular training in art, except such as he was privileged to enjoy in his father's studio, the result being that (as Mr. M. H. Spielmann reminds us in his "History of _Punch_") he never attained a higher position than that of an extremely skilful amateur, "whose shortcomings were concealed in his charming ill.u.s.trations and imaginative designs, but were startlingly revealed in his larger work and in his figure-drawing.... He was saved by his charm and sweetness, his inexhaustible fun and humour, his delightful though superficial realisation of character, and his keen sense of the grotesque."

Richard Doyle's precocious sense of humour is exemplified in his ill.u.s.trations for the Comic Histories, executed by him when fifteen years of age, but which were posthumously published. An extraordinary power of fanciful draughtsmans.h.i.+p distinguishes the majority of his designs, so that his pencil was in frequent request for works which demanded the display of this special faculty, such as Leigh Hunt's "Jar of Honey," Ruskin's "King of the Golden River," "Pictures from the Elf World," Planche's "Old Fairy Tales," &c. In 1843, when the artist was only nineteen, he was installed as a member of the regular pictorial staff of _Punch_, and received instruction in drawing on wood from Joseph Swain, the engraver for that journal. Richard Doyle was familiarly known to his intimate friends as "d.i.c.ky Doyle," which probably suggested his sign-manual of a little d.i.c.ky-bird perched upon his initials, R.D.,--a signature that may be found appended to a very considerable number of cuts designed for _Punch_ during a period of seven years--that is, until his retirement therefrom in 1850.

[Sidenote: =The Chimes, 1845.=]

Although Doyle furnished ill.u.s.trations to three of d.i.c.kens's Christmas Books, there is no evidence that he was ever personally acquainted with the novelist. No reference is made to the artist by Forster, nor does it appear that any correspondence pa.s.sed between him and d.i.c.kens, the necessary instructions being apparently transmitted through the publishers. The earliest Christmas story with which we find him a.s.sociated is "The Chimes," to which he supplied four ill.u.s.trations, viz., "The Dinner on the Steps," "Trotty at Home," "Trotty Veck among the Bells," and "Margaret and her Child." His designs embellish the initial pages of each chapter, and are treated in a decorative and fanciful manner. In the first of these it will be noticed that the upper portion consists of a representation of the tower of St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet Street,--a subject repeated by Clarkson Stanfield, R.A., in a subsequent ill.u.s.tration. In the other woodcuts the artist exhibits his acknowledged skill in delineating elves and goblins, that depicting Trotty among the Spirits of the Bells affording a delightful example of his wonderful power in portraying goblin-like creatures, with their weird expressions and varied postures. _Apropos_ of this engraving, a curious oversight has been discovered by the Rev. H. R. Haweis, for Doyle has introduced only three bells, thus seeming to have forgotten that four are required to ring a quarter! The subject of the remaining design, where Margaret, with her babe, kneels at the river's brink, is replete with pathos, the impression of desolation and despair being admirably rendered by means of a few simple lines.

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

The next Christmas story, "The Cricket on the Hearth," contains three ill.u.s.trations by Doyle, one for each chapter, as before. The first really comprises two distinct subjects, separated by a quaintly-designed initial letter; in the upper drawing is seen John Peerybingle's cart on its journey, preceded by Boxer, while below we are presented with an ideal scene of domestic happiness, where John and Dot are seated before the fire in their humble home. The first page of "Chirp the Second"

contains a capital picture of Caleb Plummer and his blind daughter Bertha, busily at work among the toys; in the last design, ill.u.s.trating the opening lines of "Chirp the Third," the honest carrier is observed reclining his head upon his hand in silent grief, while comforting spirits hover around him.

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

d.i.c.kens's fourth Christmas Book, "The Battle of Life," includes three designs by Doyle, which are also introduced as embellishments of the initial pages of the different chapters. They are much bolder in treatment, however, than the artist's earlier drawings, and do not possess the artistic charm appertaining to his ill.u.s.trations in "The Cricket on the Hearth." The most successful are the vignette subjects at the top of each page, which are charming little studies.

It is unfortunate that no original sketches for these ill.u.s.trations are available for reproduction. A member of the artist's family declares that they were dispersed, princ.i.p.ally as gifts to friends, and that their present destination is unknown.

On December 10, 1883, Richard Doyle was struck down by apoplexy as he was quitting the Athenaeum Club, and died on the following day. Thus pa.s.sed away not only one of the most graceful limners of Fairyland that England has produced, but one who will long be remembered for his many n.o.ble qualities of heart and mind.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

PLATE XLIX

CLARKSON STANFIELD, R.A.

From a Photograph

_Lent by Mr. Field Stanfield._

FRANK STONE, A.R.A.

From a Photograph