the library-第23章

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here　is　little　better　than　these　engravings　of　Clennell's。　｛12｝　Finally；　among　others　of　Bewick's　pupils；　must　be　mentioned　William　Harvey；　who　survived　to　1866。　　It　has　been　already　stated　that　he　engraved　part　of　the　illustrations　to　Bewick's　〃Fables；〃　but　his　best　known　block　is　the　large　one　of　Haydon's　〃Death　of　Dentatus。〃　Soon　after　this　he　relinquished　wood…engraving　in　favour　of　design；　and　for　a　long　period　was　one　of　the　most　fertile　and　popular　of　book…illustrators。　　His　style；　however；　is　unpleasantly　mannered；　and　it　is　sufficient　to　make　mention　of　his　masterpiece；　the　〃Arabian　Nights〃　of　Lane；　the　illustrations　to　which；　produced　under　the　supervision　of　the　translator；　are　said　to　be　so　accurate　as　to　give　the　appropriate　turbans　for　every　hour　of　the　day。　　They　show　considerable　freedom　of　invention　and　a　large　fund　of　Orientalism。

Harvey　came　to　London　in　1817；　Clennell　had　preceded　him　by　some　years；　and　Nesbit　lived　there　for　a　considerable　time。　　What　distinguishes　these　pupils　of　Bewick　especially　is；　that　they　were　artists　as　well　as　engravers；　capable　of　producing　the　designs　they　engraved。　　The　〃London　School〃　of　engravers；　on　the　contrary；　were　mostly　engravers；　who　depended　upon　others　for　their　designs。　　The　foremost　of　these　was　Robert　Branston；　a　skilful　renderer　of　human　figures　and　indoor　scenes。　　He　worked　in　rivalry　with　Bewick　and　Nesbit；　but　he　excelled　neither；　while　he　fell　far　behind　the　former。　　John　Thompson；　one　of　the　very　best　of　modern　English　engravers　on　wood；　was　Branston's　pupil。　　His　range　was　of　the　widest；　and　he　succeeded　as　well　in　engraving　fishes　and　birds　for　Yarrell　and　Walton's　〃Angler；〃　as　in　illustrations　to　Moliere　and　〃Hudibras。〃　　He　was；　besides；　a　clever　draughtsman；　though　he　worked　chiefly　from　the　designs　of　Thurston　and　others。　　One　of　the　most　successful　of　his　illustrated　books　is　the　〃Vicar　of　Wakefield；〃　after　Mulready；　whose　simplicity　and　homely　feeling　were　well　suited　to　Goldsmith's　style。　　Another　excellent　engraver　of　this　date　is　Samuel　Williams。　　There　is　an　edition　of　Thomson's　〃Seasons；〃　with　cuts　both　drawn　and　engraved　by　him；　which　is　well　worthy　of　attention；　and　（like　Thompson　and　Branston）　he　was　very　skilful　in　reproducing　the　designs　of　Cruikshank。　　Some　of　his　best　work　in　this　way　is　to　be　found　in　Clarke's　〃Three　Courses　and　a　Dessert；〃　published　by　Vizetelly　in　1830。

From　this　time　forth；　however；　one　hears　less　of　the　engraver　and　more　of　the　artist。　　The　establishment　of　the　〃Penny　Magazine〃　in　1832；　and　the　multifarious　publications　of　Charles　Knight；　gave　an　extraordinary　impetus　to　wood…engraving。　　Ten　years　later　came　〃Punch；〃　and　the　〃Illustrated　London　News；〃　which　further　increased　its　popularity。　　Artists　of　eminence　began　to　draw　on　or　for　the　block；　as　they　had　drawn；　and　were　still　drawing；　for　the　〃Annuals。〃　In　1842…6　was　issued　the　great　〃Abbotsford〃　edition　of　the　〃Waverley　Novels；〃　which；　besides　120　plates；　contained　nearly　2000　wood…　engravings；　and　with　the　〃Book　of　British　Ballads；〃　1843；　edited　by　Mr。　S。　C。　Hall；　arose　that　long　series　of　illustrated　Christmas　books；　which　gradually　supplanted　the　〃Annuals；〃　and　made　familiar　the　names　of　Gilbert；　Birket　Foster；　Harrison　Weir；　John　Absolon；　and　a　crowd　of　others。　　The　poems　of　Longfellow；　Montgomery；　Burns；　〃Barry　Cornwall；〃　Poe；　Miss　Ingelow；　were　all　successively　〃illustrated。〃　　Besides　these；　there　were　numerous　selections；　such　as　Willmott's　〃Poets　of　the　Nineteenth　Century；〃　Wills's　〃Poets'　Wit　and　Humour；〃　and　so　forth。　　But　the　field　here　grows　too　wide　to　be　dealt　with　in　detail；　and　it　is　impossible　to　do　more　than　mention　a　few　of　the　books　most　prominent　for　merit　or　originality。　　Amongst　these　there　is　the　〃Shakespeare〃　of　Sir　John　Gilbert。　　Regarded　as　an　interpretative　edition　of　the　great　dramatist；　this　is　little　more　than　a　brilliant　tour　de　force；　but　it　is　nevertheless　infinitely　superior　to　the　earlier　efforts　of　Kenny　Meadows　in　1843；　and　also　to　the　fancy　designs　of　Harvey　in　Knight's　〃Pictorial　Shakespeare。〃　　The　〃Illustrated　Tennyson〃　of　1858　is　also　a　remarkable　production。　　The　Laureate；　almost　more　than　any　other；　requires　a　variety　of　illustrators；　and　here；　for　his　idylls；　he　had　Mulready　and　Millais；　and　for　his　romances　Rossetti　and　Holman　Hunt。　His　〃Princess〃　was　afterwards　illustrated　by　Maclise；　and　his　〃Enoch　Arden〃　by　Arthur　Hughes；　but　neither　of　these　can　be　said　to　be　wholly　adequate。　　The　〃Lalla　Rookh〃　of　John　Tenniel；　1860；　albeit　somewhat　stiff　and　cold；　after　this　artist's　fashion；　is　a　superb　collection　of　carefully　studied　oriental　designs。　　With　these　may　be　classed　the　illustrations　to　Aytoun's　〃Lays　of　the　Scottish　Cavaliers；〃　by　Sir　Noel　Paton；　which　have　the　same　finished　qualities　of　composition　and　the　same　academic　hardness。　　Several　good　editions　of　the　〃Pilgrim's　Progress〃　have　appeared；notably　those　of　C。　H。　Bennett；　J。　D。　Watson；　and　G。　H。　Thomas。　　Other　books　are　Millais's　〃Parables　of　our　Lord；〃　Leighton's　〃Romola；〃　Walker's　〃Philip〃　and　〃Denis　Duval；〃　the　〃Don　Quixote；〃　〃Dante；〃　〃La　Fontaine〃　and　other　works　of　Dore；　Dalziel's　〃Arabian　Nights；〃　Leighton's　〃Lyra　Germanica〃　and　〃Moral　Emblems；〃　and　the　〃Spiritual　Conceits〃　of　W。　Harry　Rogers。　　These　are　some　only　of　the　number；　which　does　not　include　books　like　Mrs。　Hugh　Blackburn's　〃British　Birds；〃　Wolf's　〃Wild　Animals；〃　Wise's　〃New　Forest；〃　Linton's　〃Lake　Country；〃　Wood's　〃Natural　History；〃　and　many　more。　　Nor　does　it　take　in　the　various　illustrated　periodicals　which　have　multiplied　so　freely　since；　in　1859；　〃Once　a　Week〃　first　began　to　attract　and　train　such　younger　draughtsmen　as　Sandys；　Lawless；　Pinwell；　Houghton；　Morten；　and　Paul　Grey；　some　of　whose　best　work　in　this　way　has　been　revived　in　the　edition　of　Thornbury's　〃Ballads　and　Songs；〃　recently　published　by　Chatto　and　Windus。　　Ten　years　later　came　the　〃Graphic；〃　offering　still　wider　opportunities　to　wood…cut　art；　and　bringing　with　it　a　fresh　school　of　artists。　　Herkomer；　Fildes；　Small；　Green；　Barnard；　Barnes；　Crane；　Caldecott；　Hopkins；　and　others；quos　nunc　perscribere　longum　esthave　contributed　good　work　to　this　popular　rival　of　the　older；　but　still　vigorous；　〃Illustrated。〃　　And　now　again；　another　promising　serial；　the　〃Magazine　of　Art；〃　affords　a　supplementary　field　to　modern　refinements　and　younger　energies。

Not　a　few　of　the　artists　named　in　the　preceding　paragraph　have　also　earned　distinction　in　separate　branches　of　the　pictorial　art；　and　specially　in　that　of　humorous　design；a　department　which　has　always　been　so　richly　recruited　in　this　country　that　it　deserves　more　than　a　passing　mention。　　From　the　days　of　Hogarth　onwards　there　has　been　an　almost　unbroken　series　of　humorous　draughtsmen；　who；　both　on　wood　and　metal；　play　a　distinguished　part　in　our　illustrated　literature。　Rowlandson；　one　of　the　earliest；　was　a　caricaturist　of　inexhaustible　facility；　and　an　artist　who　scarcely　did　justice　to　his　own　powers。　He　illustrated　several　books；　but　he　is　chiefly　remembered　in　this　way　by　his　plates　to　Combe's　〃Three　Tours　of　Dr。　Syntax。〃　　Gillray；　his　contemporary；　whose　bias　was　political　rather　than　social；　is　said　to　have　illustrated　〃The　Deserted　Village〃　in　his　youth；　but　he　is　not　famous　as　a　book…illustrator。　　Another　of　the　early　men　was　Bunbury；　whom　〃quality〃…loving　Mr。　Walpole　calls　〃the　second　Hogarth；　and　first　imitator　who　ever　fully　equalled　his　original　（！）；〃　but　whose　prints　to　〃Tristram　Shandy；〃　are　nevertheless　completely　forgotten；　while；　if　he　be　remembered　at　all；　it　is　by　the　plate　of　〃The　Long　Minuet；〃　and　the　vulgar　〃Directions　to　Bad　Horsemen。〃　　With　the　first　years　of　the　century；　however；　appears　the　great　master　of　modern　humorists；　whose　long　life　ended　only　a　few　years　since；　〃the　veteran　George　Cruikshank〃as　his　admirers　were　wont　to　style　him。　　He　indeed　may　justly　be　compared　to　Hogarth；　since；　in　tragic　power　and　intensity　he　occasionally　comes　nearer　to　him　than　any　artist　of　our　time。　　It　is　manifestly　impossible　to　mention　here　all　the　more　important　efforts　of　this　indefatigable　worker；　from　those　far…away　days　when　he　caricatured　〃Boney〃　and　championed　Queen　Caroline；　to　that　final　frontispiece　for　〃The　Rose　and　the　Lily〃〃designed　and　etched　（according　to　the　ins