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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 afterwardsa white…and…brown soup; a lobster…
salad; some woodcocks; and a little champagnesent 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。
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 awewe 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。
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 scenethe 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。
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?
〃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。〃
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。
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。
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。
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。
〃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。〃
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。
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。
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。〃
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。
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 ANOTH