CHAPTER IV: SOME ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINES OF THE SIXTIES: II. 'THE

CORNHILL,' 'GOOD WORDS,' AND LONDON SOCIETY'

THE CORNHILL MAGAZINE, which began in 1860 with Thackeray as editor, showed from the very first that the aim of the Magazine was to keep the level of its pictures equal to that of its text. In looking through the forty-seven volumes of the first series it is gratifying to find that this purpose was never forgotten. Many a rival magazine has been started since under the happiest auspices, with the most loyal intention to have the best and only the very best illustrations; but in a few years the effort has been too exacting, and the average commonplace of its padding in prose and verse has been equalled by the dull mediocrity of its pictures. Only those who have experienced the difficulty which faces an editor firmly resolved to exclude the commonplace of any sort can realise fully what a strain a successful effort, lasting over twenty years, must needs impose on the responsible conductors. Thackeray, as we know, soon found the labour too great; but his successors kept nobly to their purpose, and few magazines show more honourable fulfilment of their projected scheme than the classic _Cornhill_, which has introduced so many masterpieces in art and literature to the public.

Curiously enough, the weakest illustrations under the _régime_ he inaugurated so happily are those by the editor himself. Thackeray's designs to _Lovel the Widower_, and the one example by G. A. Sala in the first volume, link the new periodical with the past. They belong to the caricature type of illustrations which had been accepted by the British public as character-drawing. Like the 'Phiz' plates for Dickens's works, and many of John Leech's sketches, they have undoubtedly merit of a sort, but not if you consider them as pictures pure and simple. Later experience shows that an illustration to a story, which catches the spirit of the writer, and realises in another medium the characters he had imagined, may also be fine art--art as self-sufficient and as wholly beautiful as that of a Dürer wood-cut or a Rembrandt etching. The masterpieces of modern illustrations to fiction which the _Cornhill Magazine_ contains would by themselves suffice to prove this argument up to the hilt. The collection of drawings chiefly by Millais, Walker, and Leighton, in a volume of carefully-printed impressions, from one hundred of the original wood-blocks, issued under the title of the _Cornhill Gallery_ in 1864, may in time to come be prized as highly as _Bible Wood-cuts_, _The Dance of Death_, or the _Liber Studiorum_. It is true that the pictures aimed only to fulfil their actual purpose, and it may be argued, reasonably enough, that a picture which illustrates a story is for that very reason on a different level to a self-contained work--inspired solely by the delight of the artist in his subject. But, in their own way, they touched high-water mark. Upon one of Dürer's blocks he is said to have written in Latin, 'Better work did no man than this,' and on many a _Cornhill_ design the same legend might have been truly inscribed.

It is true that most of the etchings and wood-cuts beside which they deserve to be ranked are untrammelled autograph work throughout, and that here the drawing done direct on the block was paraphrased by an engraver. Not always spoilt, sometimes (as even the draughtsman himself admitted), improved in part, but still with the impress of another personality added. And this argument might be extended to prove that an engraving by another craftsman can never be so interesting as an etching from a master's hand, or a block cut by its designer. Yet, without forcing such comparison, we may claim that the engravings in _Once a Week_, _Good Words_, and the _Cornhill_ enriched English art to lasting purpose.

Although sets of the _Cornhill Magazine_ are not difficult to procure, and a large number of people prize them in their libraries, yet by way of bringing together those scattered facts of interest which pertain to our subject, it may be as well to indicate briefly the principal contents of the first thirty-two volumes which cover the period to which this book is limited.

In 1860 we find six full-page illustrations to _Lovel the Widower_, three to _The Four Georges_, two to _Roundabout Papers_, all by Thackeray, to whom they are all formally attributed in the _Cornhill Gallery_. Possibly one, entirely unlike the style of the rest to The _Four Georges_, is from another hand--the fact that it is not included in the reprint seems to confirm this suspicion. Millais' first contributions included _Unspoken Dialogue_, _'Last Words,'_ and the beginning of the illustrations to _Framley Parsonage_, which he equalled often but never excelled. F. Sandys is represented by _Legends of the Portent_ (i. p. 617), and Frederick Leighton by _The Great God Pan_ (ii. p. 84) to Mrs. Browning's poem. _Ariadne in Naxos_, an outline-drawing in a decorative frame, is unsigned, and so strangely unlike the style of the magazine that it provokes curiosity.

In 1861 Thackeray started illustrating his serial story, _The Adventures of Philip_, but, after four full-page drawings, relinquished the task to Fred Walker, who at first re-drew Thackeray's compositions, but afterwards signed his work with the familiar 'F. W.' We may safely attribute eight solely to him. Millais continued his series of drawings to illustrate _Framley Parsonage_, and has besides one other, entitled _Temptation_ (iii. p. 229). A series of studies of character, _The Excursion Train_, by C. H. Bennett, is a notable exception to the practice of the magazine, which printed all its 'pictures' on plate-paper apart from the text, the blocks in the text (always excepting the initial letters) being elsewhere limited to diagrams elucidating the matter and obviously removed from consideration as pictures. This year Doyle began those outline pictures of Society which attained so wide a popularity.

In 1862 Walker concludes his _Philip_ series with eight full-page drawings, including the superb _Philip in Church_, of which he made a version in water-colours that still ranks among his most notable work. The first two illustrations to Miss Thackeray's _Story of Elizabeth_ are also from his hand. Millais is represented by _Irené_, a kneeling figure (v. p. 478), and by the powerfully conceived _Bishop and the Knight_ (vi. p. 100), and the first four illustrations to Trollope's _Small House at Allington_. Richard Doyle continues the series of _Pictures of English Society_; but now that their actuality no longer impresses, we fail to discover the special charm which endeared them to contemporaries. F. Sandys is represented by _Manoli_ (vi. p. 346), the second of his three contributions, which deepens the regret that work by this fine artist appeared so seldom in this magazine. But the most notable feature this year is found in the drawings contributed by Frederick Leighton, then not even an Associate of the Royal Academy, which illustrate George Eliot's _Romola_. With these the _Cornhill_ departed from its ordinary custom, and gave two full-page illustrations to each section of the serial month by month. Consequently in the volumes in 1862 and 1863 the usual two-dozen plates are considerably augmented.

In 1863 twelve more of the _Romola_ series complete Leighton's contributions to the magazine. Millais has twelve more to _The Small House at Allington_, Walker is represented by one drawing, _Maladetta_, another to _Mrs. Archie_, two to _Out of the World_, and one more to The _Story of Elizabeth_. Du Maurier, destined to occupy the most prominent position in later volumes, appears for the first time with _The Cilician Pirates_, _Sibyl's Disappointment_, _The Night before the Morrow_, and _Cousin Phillis_. Possibly a drawing entitled 'The First Meeting' to a story, _The ... in her Closet_, is from his hand; but the style is not clearly evident, nor is it included in the _Cornhill Gallery_ which, published in the next year, drew its illustrations from the few volumes already noticed, with the addition of five others from the early numbers of 1864. Another drawing, signed A. H., to _Margaret Denzil_, is by Arthur Hughes.

In 1864 two other illustrations complete _The Small House at Allington_, and Millais has also two others for _Madame de Monferrat_. Sir Noel Paton appears for the only time with a fine composition, _Ulysses_ (IX. p. 66). _Margaret Denzil_ has its three illustrations signed R. B., probably the initials of Robert Barnes, who did much work in later volumes. Charles Keene, a very infrequent contributor, illustrated _Brother Jacob_, a little-known story by George Eliot. Du Maurier supplies the first four illustrations to Mrs. Gaskell's unfinished _Wives and Daughters_, and Fred Walker contributes five to the other serial, also interrupted by its author's death, the delightful _Denis Duval_. Here we see the artist employed on costume-work, and hampered somewhat by historical details, yet infusing into his designs the charm which characterises his idyllic work. G. J. Pinwell is represented by _The Lovers of Ballyvookan_. G. H. Thomas starts Wilkie Collins's _Armadale_ with two pictures that do not accord with the rest of the _Cornhill_ work, but belong to a differently considered method, popular enough elsewhere, but rarely employed in this magazine. The volume contains also a portrait of Thackeray engraved on steel, by J. C. Armytage, after Laurence.

In 1865 the _Armadale_ illustrations take up twelve full pages, and Du Maurier supplies the remaining twelve stories to _Wives and Daughters_.

In 1866 six _Armadale_ and one _Wives and Daughters_ are reinforced by eleven illustrations to _The Claverings_ by M. Ellen Edwards. Fred Walker is again a contributor with five drawings for Miss Thackeray's _Village on the Cliff_, and Frederick Sandys, with a fine composition illustrating Swinburne's _Cleopatra_ (xiv. p. 331), makes his last appearance in the magazine.

In 1867 M. E. Edwards signs five of _The Claverings_ and seven to _The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly_. _The Satrap_, an admirable composition, is signed F. W. B., but for whom these initials stand is not clear. Fred Walker completes his illustrations to the _Village on the Cliff_, and adds one other to _Beauty and the Beast_, and two to _A Week in a French Country House_ and one to _Red Riding Hood_. F. W. Lawson makes his _entrée_ with the four drawings to _Stone Edge_, and Du Maurier has a curiously massive _Joan of Arc_.

In 1868 Walker has three illustrations to _Jack the Giant Killer_, '_I do not love you_,' and _From an Island_ respectively. M. Ellen Edwards is responsible for ten to _The Bramleighs_, one to a story, _The Stockbroker_, and the first two to _That Boy of Norcott's_. F. W. Lawson has four to _Avonhoe_, and two to _Lettice Lisle_, and Du Maurier two to _My Neighbour Nelly_, and one to _Lady Denzil_.

In 1869 _That Boy of Norcott's_ supplies the subjects for three others by M. E. Edwards, and _Lettice Lisle_ for four by F. W. Lawson. The first chapters of _Put yourself in his place_, Charles Reade's trades-union novel, are illustrated by ten drawings by Robert Barnes, F. Walker has one to _Sola_, for which tale Du Maurier supplies another, as well as one to the _Courtyard of the Ours d'Or_, and the three for _Against Time_.

In 1870 Robert Barnes continues illustrating Charles Reade's novel with seven full pages. Du Maurier contributes ten to _Against Time_, and four to George Meredith's _Adventures of Harry Richmond_, and S. L. Fildes (more familiar to-day as Luke Fildes) comes in with three admirable compositions to Charles Lever's _Lord Kilgobbin_.

In 1871 the latter story engages twelve full pages, and _Harry Richmond_ and eleven others, Du Maurier has the first to a _Story of the Plébiscite_.

In 1872 Du Maurier continues _The Plébiscite_ with one full page (the others to the same story are signed 'H. H.'), and has four others to Francillon's _Pearl and Emerald_, and ten to _The Scientific Gentleman_. Fildes concludes his embellishment of _Lord Kilgobbin_ with three full pages. Hubert Herkomer (the 'H. H.' of _The Plébiscite_ probably) appears as a recruit with two most satisfactory designs to _The Last Master of the Old Manor-House_, and G. D. Leslie, also a fresh arrival, finds, in Miss Thackeray's _Old Kensington_, the themes for nine graceful compositions.

In 1873 to Du Maurier are devoted twelve subjects illustrating _Zelda's Fortune_. G. D. Leslie has four others concluding _Old Kensington_. S. L. Fildes illustrates _Willows_ with two, and Marcus Stone is represented by half-a-dozen idyllic and charming, if somewhat slight, designs for _Young Brown_.

In 1874 H. Paterson, W. Small, and Du Maurier contribute all the pictures excepting one by Marcus Stone. _Far from the Madding Crowd_ by Thomas Hardy, illustrated by the first artist, and _A Rose in June_, and Black's _Three Feathers_ by the second.

In 1875 H. Allingham supplies most graceful pictures to _Miss Angel_. Du Maurier is the artist chosen for another Hardy novel, _The Hand of Ethelberta_. A. Hopkins illustrates Mr. Henley's wonderful achievement, _Hospital Outlines_, as the poems were called when they appeared in July 1875. From this date to the last number of the shilling series, June 1883, the artists are limited to Small and Du Maurier for the most part, and as this record has already exceeded its limits, no more need be said, except that until the last, the high standard of technical excellence was never abandoned. Although the rare mastery of Millais and the charm of Walker were hardly approached by their successors, yet the magazine was always representative of the best work of those of its contemporaries who devoted themselves to black and white, and not infrequently, as this notice shows, attracted men who have made few, if any other, attempts to draw for publication. It is curious to find that, notwithstanding the evident importance it attached to its pictorial department, no artist's name is ever mentioned in the index or elsewhere. In a graceful and discriminative essay 'S. C.' speaks feelingly and appreciatively of Fred Walker just after his death; but that seems to be the only time when the anonymity imposed on the artists was divulged in the magazine itself. It is but fair to add that the literary contents were never signed, or attributed in the index, except that a few articles bear the now familiar initials, 'L. S.', 'W. E. H.', 'R. L. S.', 'G. A.', and others.

GOOD WORDS

This popular, semi-religious, sixpenny magazine, established in 1860, achieved quickly a circulation that was record-breaking in its time. Edited by Dr. Norman Macleod, it was printed by Thomas Constable, and published (at first) in Edinburgh by Alexander Strahan and Co. Although, viewed in the light of its later issues, one cannot help feeling disappointed with the first volume, yet even there the pictures are distinctly interesting as a forecast, even if they do not call for any detailed notice by reason of their intrinsic merit. They rarely exceed a half page in size, and were engraved none too well by various craftsmen. Indeed, judging from the names of the artists, then as afterwards, given fully in the index of illustrations, it might not be unfair to blame the engravers still more strongly. The very fact that the illustrations are duly ascribed in a separate list is proof that, from the first, the editor recognised their importance. Such honourable recognition of the personality of an illustrator is by no means the rule, even in periodicals that have equal right to be proud of their collaborators. Where the artists' names are recorded it is rare to find them acknowledged so fully and thoroughly as in _Good Words_. In other magazines they are usually referred to under the title of the article they illustrate and nowhere else; or their name is printed (as in _Once a Week_) with a bare list of numerals showing the pages containing their pictures; but in _Good Words_ the subject, titles, and artists' names have always been accorded a special index.

In the first volume, for 1860, W. Q. Orchardson--not then even an Associate of the Royal Academy--supplies nine drawings, engraved by F. Borders. Admirable in their own way, one cannot but feel that the signature leads one to expect something much more interesting; and, knowing the quality of Mr. Orchardson's later work, it is impossible to avoid throwing the blame on the engraver. Keeley Halswelle contributes six; in these you find (badly drawn or spoilt by the engraver) those water-lilies in blossom, which in after years became a mannerism in his landscape foregrounds. J. W. M'Whirter has four--one a group of _Autumn Flowers_ (p. 664), cut by R. Paterson, that deserves especial notice as a much more elaborate piece of engraving than any other in the volume. Erskine Nicol supplies two _genre_ pieces, the full-page, _Mary Macdonell and her friends_ (p. 216), being, most probably, a thoroughly good sketch, but here again the translator has produced hard scratchy lines that fail to suggest the freer play of pencil or pen, whichever it was that produced the original. Others by 'J. B.,' J. O. Brown, C. A. Doyle, Clarence Dobell, Jas. Drummond, Clark Stanton, Gourlay Steell, and Hughes Taylor, call for no particular comment.

From 1861 the chief full-page illustrations were printed separately on toned paper. A series of animal subjects by 'J. B.,' twelve 'Illustrations of Scripture,' engraved by Dalziel Brothers, were announced in the prospectus as a special feature. Somewhat pre-Raphaelite in handling they are distinctly interesting, but hardly masterly. But the volume will be always memorable for its early work by Frederick Walker and G. Du Maurier. _A Time to Dance_, by the latter, shows a certain decorative element, which in various ways has influenced his work at different periods, although no one could have deduced from it the future career of its brilliant author as a satirist of society, a draughtsman who imparted into his work, to a degree no English artist has surpassed, and very few equalled, that 'good form' so prized by well-bred people. The drawing unsigned _The Blind School_ (p. 505), attributed to Fred Walker in the index, suggests some clerical error. Like one attributed to Sandys in a later volume, you hesitate before accepting evidence of the compiler of the list of engravings, which the picture itself contradicts flatly. _Only a Sweep_ (p. 609) is signed, and, although by no means a good example, is unquestionably attributed rightly. John Pettie has two designs, _Cain's Brand_ (pp. 376, 422); J. M'Whirter and W. Q. Orchardson, one each; H. H. Armstead, a pre-Raphaelite composition, _A Song which none but the Redeemed ever sing_, which is amongst the most interesting of the comparatively few illustrations by the Royal Academician, who is better known as a sculptor, as his _Music, Poetry, and Painting_ in the Albert Memorial, the panels beneath Dyce's frescoes at Westminster Palace, and a long series of works shown at the Academy exhibitions suffice to prove. T. Morten, a draughtsman who has missed so far his due share of appreciation, is represented by _The Waker, Dreamer, and Sleeper_ (p. 634), a powerful composition of a group of men praying at night by the side of a breaking dyke. John Pettie has two drawings; and J. D. Watson, six subjects--the first, _The Toad_, being singularly unlike his later style, and suggesting a closer discipleship with the pre-Raphaelites than he maintained afterwards. Two by Clarence Dobell, and three by T. Graham--one, _The Young Mother_, a charming arrangement in lines; with others by J. Wolf, Zwecker, W. M'Taggart, J. L. Porter, A. W. Cooper, A. Bushnell, W. Fyfe, W. Linney, and C. H. Bennett, are also included. Altogether the second volume shows marked advance upon the first, although this admirable periodical had not yet reached its high-water mark.

In 1862 we find added to its list of artists, Millais, Keene, Sandys, Whistler, Holman Hunt, E. Burne-Jones, A. Boyd Houghton, Tenniel, S. Solomon, and Lawless, a notable group, even in that year when so many magazines show a marvellous 'galaxy of stars.' To Millais fell the twelve illustrations to _Mistress and Maid_, by the author of _John Halifax_, and two others, _Olaf_ (p. 25) and _Highland Flora_ (p. 393). That these maintain fully the reputation of the great illustrator, whose later achievements in oil have in popular estimation eclipsed his importance as a black-and-white artist, goes without saying. If not equal to the superb _Parables_ of the following year, they are worthy of their author. Indeed, no matter when you come across a Millais, it is with a fresh surprise each time that one finds it rarely falls below a singularly high level, and is apt to seem, for the moment, the best he ever did.

The two illustrations by J. M'Neill Whistler seem to be very little known. Those to _Once a Week_, possibly from the fact of their being reprinted in Thornbury's _Legendary Ballads_, have been often referred to and reproduced several times; but no notice (so far as I recollect) of these, to _The First Sermon_, has found its way into print. The one (p. 585) shows a girl crouching by a fire, with a man, whose head is turned towards her, seated at a table with his hand on a lute. The other (p. 649) is a seated girl in meditation before a writing-table. Not a little of the beauty of line, which distinguishes the work of the famous etcher, is evident in these blocks, which were both engraved by Dalziel, and as whatever the original lost cannot now be estimated, as they stand they are nevertheless most admirable works, preserving the rapid touch of the pen-line in a remarkable degree.

The Charles Keene drawing to _Nanneri the Washerwoman_ is another Dalziel block which merits praise in no slight measure; as here again one fancies that the attempt has been to preserve a facsimile of each touch of the artist, and not to translate wash into line. The _King Sigurd_ of Burne-Jones has certainly lost a great deal; in fact, judging by drawings of the same period still extant, it conveys an effect quite different from that its author intended. Certainly, at the present time, he regards it as entirely unrepresentative; but no doubt then as now he disliked drawing upon wood. To-day it has been said that his Chaucer drawings in pencil were practically translated by another hand in the course of their being engraved on wood. Certainly technique of lead pencil is hardly suggested, much less reproduced in facsimile in the entirely admirable engravings by the veteran Mr. W. H. Hooper. But if the designs were photographed on the block such translation as they have undergone is no doubt due to the engraver.

A drawing by Simeon Solomon, _The Veiled Bride_ (p. 592), seems also much less dainty than his pencil studies of the same period. Many artists, when they attempt to draw upon wood, find the material peculiarly unsympathetic. Rossetti has left his opinion on record, and it is quite possible that in both the Burne-Jones and Solomon, as in the Tennyson drawings, although the engravers may have accomplished miracles, what the artist had put down was untranslatable. For the delicacies of pencil may easily produce something beyond the power of even the most skilful engraver to reproduce. The Sandys, _Until her Death_ (p. 312), illustrating a poem, loses much as it appeared in the magazine; you have but to compare a proof from the block itself, in a reprinted collection of Messrs. Strahan's engravings, to realise how different a result was secured upon good paper with careful printing. A. Boyd Houghton is represented by four subjects: _My Treasure_ (p. 504), _On the Cliff_ (p. 624), _True or False_ (p. 721), and _About Toys_ (p. 753); they all belong to the manner of his _Home Scenes_, rather than to his oriental illustrations. _The Battle of Gilboa_ (p. 89), by Tenniel, is typical. M. J. Lawless is at his best in _Rung into Heaven_ (p. 135), and in the _Bands of Love_ (p. 632) shows more grace than he sometimes secured when confronted by modern costume.

T. Morten has a finely-engraved night-piece, _Pictures in the Fire_ (p. 200), besides _The Christmas Child_ (p. 56) and _The Carrier Pigeon_ (p. 121). The Holman Hunt, _Go and Come_ (p. 32), a weeping figure, is not particularly interesting. _Honesty_ (p. 736), by T. Graham, gives evidence of the power of an artist who has yet to be 'discovered' so far as his illustrations are concerned. H. H. Armstead's _Seaweeds_ (p. 568), and eight by J. D. Watson (pp. 9, 81, 144, 201, 209, 302, 400, 433) need no special comment, nor do the ten by J. Pettie (pp. 264-713). Fred Walker is represented by _The Summer Woods_, a typical pastoral (p. 368), _Love in Death_, a careworn woman in the snow (p. 185), and _Out among the wild flowers_ (p. 657), the latter an excellent example of the grace he imparted to rustic figures. These, with a few diagrams and engravings from photographs, complete the record of a memorable, if not the most memorable, year of the magazine.

In 1863 we find less variety in the artists and subjects, which is due to the presence of the superb series of drawings by Millais, _The Parables_, wherein the great illustrator touched his highest level. To call these twelve pictures masterpieces is for once to apply consistently a term often misused. For, though one ransacked the portfolios of Europe, not many sets of drawings could be found to equal, and very few to excel them. The twelve subjects appeared in the following order: _The Leaven_ (p. 1), _The Ten Virgins_ (p. 81), _The Prodigal Son_ (p. 161), _The Good Samaritan_ (p. 241), _The Unjust Judge_ (p. 313), _The Pharisee and Publican_ (p. 385), _The Hid Treasure_ (p. 461), _The Pearl of Great Price_ (p. 533), _The Lost Piece of Money_[1] (p. 605), _The Sower_ (p. 677), _The Unmerciful Servant_ (p. 749), and _The Labourers in the Vineyard_ (p. 821). To F. Sandys two drawings are attributed; one is obviously from another hand, but _Sleep_ (p. 589) undoubtedly marks his final appearance in this magazine. T. Morten is represented by _Cousin Winnie_ (p. 257), _Hester Durham_ (p. 492), _The Spirit of Eld_ (p. 629, unsigned), a powerful composition that at first glance might almost be taken for a Sandys, and _An Orphan Family's Christmas_ (p. 844). In _Autumn Thoughts_ (p. 743) we have an example of J. W. North, more akin to those he contributed to the Dalziel table-books, a landscape, with a fine sense of space, despite the fact that it is enclosed by trees. John Tenniel, in _The Norse Princess_ (p. 201) and _Queen Dagmar_ (p. 344), finds subjects that suit him peculiarly well. _The Summer Snow_ (p. 380), attributed to 'Christopher' Jones, is by Sir Edward Burne-Jones of course, and the final contribution of the artist to these pages. H. J. Lucas, a name rarely encountered, has one drawing, _The Sangreal_ (p. 454). A. Boyd Houghton, in _St. Elmo_ (p. 64), _A Missionary Cheer_ (p. 547), and _Childhood_ (p. 636), is showing the more mature style of his best period. G. J. Pinwell has but a single drawing, _Martin Ware's Temptation_ (p. 573), and that not peculiarly individual; John Pettie appears with six, _The Monks and the Heathen_ (p. 14), _The Passion Flowers of Life_ (p. 141), a study of an old man seated in a creeper-covered porch with a child on his lap, _The Night Walk over the Mill Stream_ (p. 185), and _Not above his Business_ (p. 272), _A Touch of Nature_ (p. 417), and _The Negro_ (p. 476). To a later generation, who only know the pictures of the Royal Academician, these come as a surprise, and prove the versatility of an artist whose painting was somewhat mannered. Walter Crane's--a fine group of oriental sailors--_Treasure-trove_ (p. 795), and J. D. Watson's six drawings are all capable and accomplished; _A Pastoral_ (p. 32), a very elaborate composition which looks like a copy of an oil-painting, _Fallen in the Night_ (p. 97), _The Curate of Suverdsio_ (p. 333), _The Aspen_ (p. 401), _Rhoda_ (p. 520), and _Olive Shand's Partner_ (p. 774), with the not very important _Sheep and Goats_ wrongly attributed to Sandys, two decorated pages by John Leighton, one drawing by E. W. Cooke and five by T. Graham, complete the year's record.

The volume for 1864 is distinctly less interesting. Nevertheless it holds some fine things. Notably five Millais', including _Oh! the Lark_ (p. 65), _A Scene for a Study_ (p. 161), _Polly_ (p. 248), (a baby-figure kneeling by a bed, which has been republished elsewhere more than once), _The Bridal of Dandelot_ (p. 304), and _Prince Philibert_ (p. 481), another very popular childish subject, a small girl with a small boy holding a toy-boat. Frederick Walker, in his illustrations to Mrs. Henry Wood's novel, _Oswald Cray_ (pp. 32-129, 202, 286, 371, 453, 532, and 604), shows great dramatic insight, and a certain domestic charm, which has caused the otherwise not very entrancing story to linger in one's memory in a way quite disproportionate to its merits. The remaining illustrations to _Oswald Cray_ are by R. Barnes (pp. 691, 761, 827), the same artist contributing also _Grandmother's Snuff_, (p. 411), _A Burn Case_ (p. 568), _A Lancashire Doxology_, (p. 585), _Blessed to Give_ (p. 641), and _The Organ Fiend_ (p. 697). M. J. Lawless is responsible for only one subject, a study of a man and a harpsichord, _The Player and the Listeners_; in this case, as, on turning over the pages, you re-read a not very noteworthy poem, you find it has lingered in memory merely from its association with a picture. Arthur Hughes has a graceful design, _At the Sepulchre_ (p. 728), which seems to have lost much in the engraving; John Tenniel is also represented by a solitary example, _The Way in the Wood_ (p. 552); G. J. Pinwell, in five full-page drawings, _A Christmas Carol_ (p. 30), _The Cottage in the Highlands_ (p. 427), _M'Diarmid explained_ (p. 504), _Malachi's Cove_ (p. 729), and _Mourning_ (p. 760), sustains his high level. Other subjects, animal pictures by J. Wolf, and figures and landscapes by R. P. Leitch, Florence Claxton, F. Eltze, J. W. Ehrenger, R. T. Pritchett, and W. Colomb, call for no special mention. To John Pettie is attributed a tail-piece of no importance.

With 1865 comes a sudden cessation of interest, as seventy of the illustrations are engraved 'from photographs of oriental scenes to illustrate the editor's series of travel papers,' _Eastward_. This leaves room merely for pictures to the two serials. Paul Gray contributed those to Charles Kingsley's novel, _Hereward, the Last of the English_; but the twelve drawings are unequal, and in few show the promise which elsewhere he exhibited so fully. Robert Barnes supplies nine for the story, _Alfred Hagart's Household_, by Alexander Smith of _City Poems_ fame. These, like all the artist's work, are singularly good of their kind, and show at once his great facility and his comparatively limited range of types.

In 1866, although engravings after photographs do not usurp the space to the extent they did in the previous year, they are present, and the volume, in spite of many excellent drawings, cannot compare in interest with those for 1862-64. The frontispiece, _Lilies_, is a most charming figure-subject by W. Small, who contributes also three others: _The Old Yeomanry Weeks_ (p. 127), _Deliverance_ (p. 663), a typical example of a landscape with figures in the foreground, which, in the hands of this artist, becomes something entirely distinct from the 'figure with a landscape beyond' of most others; and _Carissimo_ (p. 736), a pair of lovers on an old stone bench, 'just beyond the Julian gate,' which seems as carefully studied as if it were intended for a painting in oils. To compare the average picture to a poem to-day, with the work of Mr. Small and many of his fellows, is not encouraging. Thirty years ago it seemed as if the draughtsman did his best to evolve a perfect representation of the subject of the verses; now one feels doubtful whether the artist does not keep on hand, to be supplied to order, a series of lovers in attitudes warranted to fit, more or less accurately, any verses by any poet. Of course for one picture issued then, a score, perhaps a hundred, are published to-day, and it might be that numerically as many really good drawings appear in the course of a year now, as then; but, while our average rarely descends to the feeblest depths of the sixties, it still more rarely comes near such work as Mr. Small's, whose method is still followed and has influenced more decidedly a larger number of draughtsmen than has that of Millais, Walker, Pinwell, or Houghton.

Studying his work at this date, you realise how very strongly he influenced the so-called '_Graphic_ School' which supplanted the movement we are considering in the next decade. Despite the appreciation, contemporary and retrospective, already bestowed upon his work, despite the influence--not always for good--upon the younger men, it is yet open to doubt if the genius of this remarkable artist has received adequate recognition. In a running commentary upon work of all degrees of excellence, one is struck anew with its admirably sustained power and its constantly fresh manner.

This digression, provoked by the four delightful 'Small' drawings, must not lead one to overlook the rest of the pictures in _Good Words_ for 1866. They include _The Island Church_, by J. W. North (p. 393), _The Life-Boat_, by J. W. Lawson (p. 248), _Between the Showers_, by W. J. Linton, (p. 424), six illustrations to _Ruth Thornbury_, by M. E. Edwards, and one by G. J. Pinwell, _Bridget Dally's Change_. Perhaps the most notable of the year are the five still to be named: A. Boyd Houghton's _The Voyage_, and a set of four half-page drawings, _Reaping_, _Binding_, _Carrying_, _Gleaning_, entitled _The Harvest_ (pp. 600, 601). These have a decorative arrangement not always present in the work of this clever artist, and a peculiarly large method of treatment, so much so that if the text informed you that they were pen-sketches from life-size paintings, you would not be surprised. Whether by accident or design, it is curious to discover that the landscapes in each pair, set as they are on pages facing one another, have a look of being carried across the book in Japanese fashion.

1867 might be called the Pinwell year, as a dozen of his illustrations to Dr. George Mac Donald's _Guild Court_, and one each to _A Bird in the Hand_ and _The Cabin Boy_, account for nearly half the original drawings in the volume. W. Small is seen in five characteristic designs to Dr. Macleod's _The Starling_, and one each to _Beside the Stile_ (p. 645) and _The Highland Student_ (p. 663). Arthur Boyd Houghton contributes _Omar and the Persian_ (p. 104) and _Making Poetry_ (p. 248); the first a typical example of his oriental manner, the latter one of his home scenes. S. L. Fildes appears with _In the Choir_ (p. 537), a church interior showing the influence of William Small. F. W. Lawson illustrates _Grace's Fortune_ with three drawings, also redolent of Small, and Fred Walker has _Waiting in the Dusk_, a picture of a girl in a passage, which does not illustrate the accompanying verses, and has the air of being a picture prepared for a serial some time before, that, having been delayed for some reason, has been served up with a poem that chanced to be in type.

In 1868 Pinwell and Houghton between them are responsible for quite half the separate plates, and Small contributes no less than thirty-four which illustrate delightfully _The Woman's Kingdom_, a novel by the author of _John Halifax_, together with a large number of vignetted initials, a feature not before introduced into this magazine. Without forgetting the many admirable examples of Mr. Small's power to sustain the interest of the reader throughout a whole set of illustrations to a work of fiction, one doubts if he has ever surpassed the excellence of these. The little sketches of figures and landscapes in the initials show that he did not consider it beneath his dignity to study the text thoroughly, so as to interpret it with dramatic insight. Your modern _chic_ draughtsman, who reads hastily the few lines underscored in blue pencil by his editor, must laugh at the pains taken by the older men. Indeed, a very up-to-date illustrator will not merely refuse to carry out the author's idea, but prefer his own conception of the character, and say so. That neither course in itself produces great work may be granted, but one cannot avoid the conclusion that if it be best to illustrate a novel (which is by no means certain) that artist is most worthy of praise who does his utmost to present the characters invented by the author. True, that character-drawing with pen and pencil is out of date,--subtle emotion has taken its place,--it is not easy to make a picture of a person smiling outwardly, but inwardly convulsed with conflicting desires; the smile you may get, but the conflicting desires are hard to work in at the same time. Appreciation of Mr. Small's design need not imply censure of the work of others; but, all the same, the cheap half-tone from a wash-drawing, in the current sixpenny magazine, looks a very feeble thing after an hour devoted to the illustrations to _Guy Waterman's Maze_, _The Woman's Kingdom_, _Griffith Gaunt_, and the rest of the serials he illustrated. In this volume two others, _The Harvest Home_ (p. 489) and _A Love Letter_ (p. 618), are also from the same facile hand.

The first of the Boyd Houghtons is a striking design to Tennyson's poem of _The Victim_ (p. 18); neither picture nor poem shows its author at his best. Others signed A. B. H. are: _The Church in the Cevennes_ (pp. 56, 57), _Discipleship_ (p. 112), _The Pope and the Cardinals_ (p. 305), _The Gold Bridge_ (p. 321), _The Two Coats_ (p. 432), _How it all happened_ (seven illustrations), _Dance my Children_ (p. 568), a typical example of the peculiar mannerism of its author, and a _Russian Farmyard_ (p. 760); also a number of small designs to _Russian Fables_, some of which were illustrated also by Zwecker. G. J. Pinwell illustrates _Notes on the Fire_ (pp. 47, 49), _Much work for Little Pay_ (p. 89), _A Paris Pawn-shop_ (p. 233), _Mrs. Dubosq's Daughter_ (four pictures), _Una and the Lion_ (p. 361), _Lovely, yet unloved_ (pp. 376, 377), _Hop Gathering_ (p. 424), _The Quakers in Norway_ (p. 504). S. L. Fildes has _The Captain's Story_, a good study of fire-light reflected on three seated figures. Other numbers worth noting are an excellent example of J. Mahoney, _Yesterday and To-day_ (p. 672), Briton Rivière's _At the Window_ (p. 630), R. Buckman's _The White Umbrella_ (p. 473), and seven by Francis Walker to _Hero Harold_, and one each to _Glenalla_ (p. 384), _The Bracelet_ (p. 753), and _Thieves' Quarter_ (p. 553).

With 1869 we lose sight of many of the men who did so much to sustain the artistic reputation of this magazine. W. Small has but one drawing, _The Old Manor-House_ (p. 849). Hubert Herkomer is represented by _The Way to Machaerus_ (pp. 353, 497). J. Mahoney by five designs to _The Staffordshire Potter_, Francis Walker by nine to _The Connaught Potters_ and _A Burial at Machaerus_ and _Holyhead Breakwater_. Arthur Hughes, an infrequent contributor so far, contributes two illustrations to _Carmina Nuptialia_. F. Barnard has two to _House-hunting_; F. A. Fraser has no less than seventy-five: thirty-five to _Debenham's Vow_, and thirty-three to _Noblesse Oblige_, with seven others, none of them worth reconsideration, although they served their purpose no doubt at the time.

With 1870 we reach the limit of the present chronicle, to which Francis Walker and F. A. Fraser contribute most of the pictures. The most interesting are: Arthur Hughes's _Fancy_ (p. 777) and _The Mariner's Cave_ (p. 865); J. D. Linton, _Married Lovers_ (p. 601); J. Mahoney, _The Dorsetshire Hind_ (p. 21), _Ascent of Snowdon_ (p. 201); and _Dame Martha's Well_ (p. 680), and G. J. Pinwell's three very representative drawings, _Rajah playing Chess_ (p. 211), _Margaret in the Xebec_ (p. 280), and _A Winter Song_ (p. 321).

1871 is memorable for three of Arthur Hughes's designs, made for a projected illustrated edition of Tennyson's _Loves of the Wrens_, a scheme abandoned at the author's wish; the three drawings cut down from their original size, _Fly Little Letter_ (p. 33), _The Mist and the Rain_ (p. 113), and _Sun Comes, Moon Comes_ (p. 183), are especially dear to collectors of Mr. Hughes's work, which appeared here with the lyrics set to Sir Arthur Sullivan's music; another by the same artist, _The Mother and the Angel_ (p. 648), is also worth noting. One Boyd Houghton, _Baraduree Justice_ (p. 464), twenty-one drawings by W. Small to Katharine Saunders, _The High Mills_, and one by the same artist to _An Unfinished Song_ (p. 641) are in this volume, besides four by Pinwell, _Aid to the Sick_ (p. 40), _The Devil's Boots_ (p. 217), _Toddy's Legacy_ (p. 336), and _Shall we ever meet again?_ (p. 817).

Without discussing the remaining years of this still flourishing monthly one can hardly omit mention of the volume for 1878, in which William Black's _Macleod of Dare_ is illustrated by G. H. Boughton, R.A., J. Pettie, R.A., P. Graham, R.A., W. Q. Orchardson, R.A., and John Everett Millais, R.A., a group which recalls the glories of its early issues.

LONDON SOCIETY

This popular illustrated shilling magazine, started in February 1862 under the editorship of Mr. James Hogg, has not received so far its due share of appreciation from the few who have studied the publications of the sixties. Yet its comparative neglect is easily accounted for. It contains, no doubt, much good work--some, indeed, worthy to be placed in the first rank. But it also includes a good deal that, if tolerable when the momentary fashions it depicted were not ludicrous, appears now merely commonplace and absurd. A great artist--Millais especially--could introduce the crinoline and the Dundreary whiskers, so that even to-day their ugliness does not repel you. But less accomplished draughtsmen, who followed slavishly the inelegant mode of the sixties, now stand revealed as merely journalists. Journalism, useful and honourable as its work may be, rarely has lasting qualities which bear revival. Aiming as it did to be a 'smart' and topical magazine, with the mood of the hour reflected in its pages, it remains a document not without interest to the social historian. Amid its purely ephemeral contents there are quite enough excellent drawings to ensure its preservation in any representative collection of English illustrations.

In the first volume for 1862 we find a beautiful Lawless, _Beauty's Toilet_ (p. 265), spoilt by its engraving, the texture of the flesh being singularly coarse and ineffectual. Fred Walker, in _The Drawing-room, 'Paris'_ (i. p. 401), is seen in the unusual and not very captivating mood of a 'society' draughtsman. _Ash Wednesday_ (p. 150), by J. D. Watson, is a singularly fine example of an artist whose work, the more you come across it, surprises you by its sustained power. The frontispiece _Spring Days_ and _A Romance_ and _A Curacy_ (p. 386), are his also. Other illustrations by T. Morten, H. Sanderson, C. H. Bennett, Adelaide Claxton, Julian Portch, and F. R. Pickersgill, R.A., call for no special comment. In the second volume there are two drawings by Lawless, _First Night at the Seaside_ (p. 220) and _A Box on the Ear_ (p. 382); several by Du Maurier, one _A Kettledrum_ (p. 203), peculiarly typical of his society manner; others, _Refrezzment_ (p. 110), _Snowdon_ (p. 481), _Oh sing again_ (p. 433), _Jewels_ (p. 105), and a _Mirror Scene_ (p. 107), which reveal the cosmopolitan student of nature outside the artificial, if admirable, restrictions of 'good form.' _The Border Witch_ (p. 181), by J. E. Millais, A.R.A., is one of the very few examples by the great illustrator in this periodical. J. D. Watson, in _Moonlight on the Beach_ (p. 333), _Married_[2] (p. 449), _A Summer Eve_ (p. 162), _On the Coast_ (p. 321), _Holiday Life_ (p. 339), and _How I gained a Wife_ (p. 551), again surprises you, with regret his admirable work has yet not received fuller appreciation by the public. Walter Crane contributes some society pictures which reveal the admirable decorator in an unusual, and, to be candid, unattractive aspect. _Kensington Gardens_ (p. 172), _A London Carnival_ (p. 79), and _Which is Fairest?_ (p. 242), are interesting as the work of a youth, but betray little evidence of his future power. Robert Barnes, in _Dreaming Love and Waiting Duty_ (p. 564), shows how early in his career he reached the level which he maintained so admirably. A. Boyd Houghton's _Finding a Relic_ (p. 89) is a good if not typical specimen of his work. The designs by E. J. Poynter, _Tip Cat_ (p. 321), _I can't thmoke a pipe_ (p. 318), and _Lord Dundreary_ (pp. 308, 472), are singularly unlike the usual work of the accomplished author of _Israel in Egypt_. To these one must add the names of C. H. Bennett (_Beadles_, three), W. M'Connell, C. A. Doyle, George H. Thomas, E. K. Johnson, F. J. Skill, F. Claxton, H. Sanderson, and A. W. Cooper. So that 1862 offers, at least, a goodly list of artists, and quite enough first-rate work to make the volumes worth preserving.

In vol. iii. 1863 there is a drawing, _The Confession_ (p. 37), engraved by Dalziel, that is possibly by Pinwell. Three by T. Morten, _After the Opera_ (p. 39), _A Struggle in the Clouds_ (p. 287), and _Ruth Grey's Trial_ (p. 59), are good, if not the best of this artist's work. Two by George Du Maurier (pp. 209, 216) employ, after the manner of the time, a sort of pictured parable entitled _On the Bridge_ and _Under the Bridge_. _Our Honeymoon_, by Marcus Stone, is interesting. _Struck Down_ (p. 106) and _The Heiress of Elkington_ (p. 345), both by J. D. Watson, are as good as his work is usually. _A May Morning_ (p. 428), by George H. Thomas, is also worthy of mention, but the rest, by E. K. Johnson, E. H. Corbould, W. Brunton, W. Cave Thomas, Louis Huard, etc., are not peculiarly attractive.

The concluding volume for 1863 has a very dainty figure, _Honey-Dew_, by M. J. Lawless (p. 554). The three Du Mauriers are _A Little Hop in Harley St._ (p. 469), _Lords: University Cricket Match_ (p. 161), and the _Worship of Bacchus_ (p. 192) at first sight so curiously like a Charles Keene that, were it not for the signature, one would distrust the index. Nine drawings by T. Morten to _The First Time_ are good, especially those on p. 180, and _A First Attempt_, Charles Green (p. 205), is also worth notice. Two drawings by G. J. Pinwell, _Wolsey_ (p. 311) and another (p. 319), are characteristic. For the rest, C. H. Bennett, Louis Huard, Felix Darley, W. M'Connell, W. Brunton, Matt Morgan, Florence Claxton, T. Godwin, Waldo Sargent, George Thomas, and C. A. Doyle, provide _entrées_ and sweets a little flavourless to-day, although palatable enough, no doubt, at the time.

In 1864, M. J. Lawless's _Not for You_ (p. 85); a fine J. D. Watson, _The Duet_ (p. 268); _Charley Blake_, by G. Du Maurier (p. 385); _At Swindon_ (p. 41), M. E. Edwards, and _Little Golden Hair_, by R. Barnes, are the only others above the average. Adelaide Claxton, W. M'Connell, H. Sanderson, and J. B. Zwecker provide most of the rest. The second half of the year (vol. vi.) is far better, contains some good work by the 'talented young lady,' M. E. E. (to quote contemporary praise); that her work was talented all students of the 'sixties' will agree. _A Holocaust_ (p. 433), _Dangerous_ (p. 353), _Gone_ (p. 185), _Magdalen_ (p. 553), _Milly's Success_ (p. 269), and _Unto this Last_ (p. 252) are all by Miss Edwards. A fine Millais, _Knightly Worth_ (p. 247), and a good J. D. Watson, _Blankton Weir_ (p. 416), would alone make the volume memorable. C. A. Doyle has some of his best drawings to _A Shy Man_, and G. H. Thomas and others maintain a good average. Rebecca Solomon has a good full page (p. 541). In the extra Christmas number you will find E. J. Poynter's _A Sprig of Holly_ (p. 28), J. D. Watson's _Story of a Christmas Fairy_ (p. 24), a notable design, besides capital illustrations by Du Maurier, R. Dudley (_The Blue Boy_), R. Barnes, and Marcus Stone.

1865 is a Du Maurier year. In vol. vii. eleven drawings by this fecund artist on pp. 38, 193, 202, 289, 296, 428, 430, 481, 488, and 697, all excellent examples of his early manner. Arthur Hughes, with _The Farewell Valentine_ (p. 188), makes his first appearance within the pages of _London Society_. A. W. Cooper, J. Pasquier, T. R. Lamont, and A. Claxton are to the fore, and C. H. Bennett has a series of typical members of various learned societies, which, characteristic as they are, might have their titles transposed without any one being the wiser. In vol. viii. 1865, Paul Gray appears with _My Darling_ (p. 253). T. Morten has three capital drawings: _Two Loves and a Life_ (p. 400), _A Romance at Marseilles_ (p. 549), and _Love and Pride_ (p. 16); and Du Maurier has _Codlingham Regatta_ (p. 284), _How not to play Croquet_ (p. 61), _Where shall we go?_ (p. 17), _Old Jockey West_ (p. 288), _The Rev. Mr. Green_ (p. 122), _Furnished Apartments_ (p. 481), and _Ticklish Ground_ (p. 488). G. J. Pinwell is represented by a solitary example, _The Courtship of Giles Languish_ (p. 384), J. D. Watson by _Green Mantle_ (pp. 385, 388, 389), and M. E. Edwards by _Georgie's First Love-letter_ (p. 152), _Faithful and True_ (p. 263), _Firm and Faithful_ (p. 60). The other contributors are A. W. Bayes (_To Gertrude_, p. 460), L. C. Henley, T. R. Lamont, J. A. Pasquier, Kate Edwards, W. Brunton, T. S. Seccombe, John Gascoine, etc.

In 1866, vol. ix., George Du Maurier signs the frontispiece, _Two to One_, and also two illustrations to _Much Ado About Nothing_ (pp. 289, 296), two to _Second Thoughts_ (pp. 385, 391), and two to _Queen of Diamonds_ (pp. 481-488). T. Morten has again three designs: _Mrs. Reeve_ (p. 135), _On the Wrekin_ (p. 1), and _The Man with a Dog_ (p. 239); R. Dudley supplies one, _The Tilt-Yard_ (p. 441), and Kate Edwards one, _The June Dream_ (p. 531). M. Ellen Edwards in three admirable examples, _In Peril_ (p. 450), _Mutually Forgiven_ (p. 228), and _The Cruel Letter_ (p. 364), shows how cleverly she caught the influence in the air. Other artists contribute many drawings of no particular interest.

Vol. x. shows W. Small with two drawings, _Agatha_ (p. 160) and _The Reading of Locksley Hall_ (p. 8). It is curious to see how the sentimentality of the poem has influenced the admirable draughtsman, who is not here at his best. Paul Gray has also two, _An English October_ (p. 289) and _To a Flirt_ (p. 373); G. Du Maurier is represented by one only, _Life in Lodgings_ (p. 516); J. G. Thompson by one also, _Caught at Last_ (p. 80); T. Morten again contributes three: _Marley Hall_ (p. 560), _May's Window_ (p. 432), and _The Trevillians' Summer Trip_ (p. 124); A. Boyd Houghton is represented by _Ready for Supper_ (p. 146), and M. E. Edwards by two drawings to _Something to My Advantage_ (pp. 481-488). The Christmas number contains one Boyd Houghton, _The Christmas Tree_ (p. 80); a J. D. Watson, _Given back on Christmas Morn_ (p. 63); a very good F. W. Lawson, _Did I Offend?_ (p. 32); a delightful Charles Keene, _How I lost my Whiskers_ (p. 27); _Sir Guy's Goblet_ (p. 16), by M. E. Edwards, and one by George Cruikshank, _My Christmas Box_, looking curiously out of place here.

In the eleventh volume (1867) the four by W. Small are among the most important. They are _A Pastoral Episode_ (p. 406), _Quite Alone_ (p. 277), _The Meeting_ (p. 163), and _Try to Keep Firm_ (p. 361); a J. D. Watson, _Changes_ (p. 373); a Paul Gray, _Goldsmith at the Temple Gate_ (p. 392); a J. G. Thompson, _An Expensive Journey_ (p. 36); M. E. Edwards's _Winding of the Skein_ (p. 177), and L. C. Henley's _How I set about Paying my Debts_ (p. 388), are all that need be mentioned. In the twelfth volume (1867) A. Boyd Houghton signs a couple of drawings to _A Spinster's Sweepstake_ (pp. 376, 383), G. J. Pinwell supplies two to _Beautiful Mrs. Johnson_ (pp. 136-248), F. W. Lawson two to _Dedding Revisited_ (p. 433), _Without Reserve_ (p. 440), and four to _Mary Eaglestone's Lover_ (pp. 97, 103, 207, 362). Charles Green is responsible for _The Meeting at the Play_ (p. 276), and J. G. Thompson for a series, _Threading the Mazy at Islington_. The Christmas number is honoured by two fine drawings by Charles Keene (p. 18) and a good double page by J. D. Watson, _Christmas at an old Manor-House_. Sir John Gilbert, a rare contributor to these pages, is represented by _The Rowborough Hollies_ (p. 41), M. E. Edwards by _The Christmas Rose_ (p. 16), and F. W. Lawson by _My Turn Next_ (p. 73).

With its thirteenth volume (1868) _London Society_ still keeps up to the level it established. Among much that was intended for the moment only there is also work of far more sterling value. Charles Keene, in two drawings for _Tomkins' Degree Supper_ (pp. 224, 232), is seen at his best, and how good that is needs no retelling. Sir John Gilbert, among a new generation, keeps his place as a master, and in four drawings (pp. 113, 249, 314, 429) reveals the superb qualities of his work, coupled, it must be said, with certain limitations which are almost inseparable from rapid production. G. Du Maurier is represented by two, _Lift her to it_ (p. 324) and _The White Carnation_ (p. 558). The inscription of _Expectation_ (p. 360), by 'the late M. J. Lawless', marks the final discharge of an illustrator who did much to impart permanent interest to the magazine. It is always a regret to find that Mr. Sandys chose other fields of work, and that death withdrew Lawless so soon; for these two, not displaying equal power, together with Walter Crane maintained the decorative ideal through a period when it was unpopular with the public and apparently found little favour in editors' eyes. M. E. Edwards's _My Valentine_ (p. 114) and _Married on her tenth Birthday_ (p. 206). To this list must be added W. Small, with a delightful out-of-doors study, _'You did not come'_ (p. 368); G. B. Goddard with some capital 'animal' pictures: _Spring of Life_ (p. 353), _Buck Shooting_ (p. 72), and _Dogs of Note_ (pp. 75, 179); Wilfrid Lawson, _A Spring-tide Tale_ (p. 472); F. Barnard, _A Bracing Morning_ (p. 60); A. W. Cooper, _The Old Seat_ (p. 268); and others by Tom Gray, J. G. Thomson, W. L. Thomas, J. A. Pasquier, W. S. Gilbert, S. E. Illingworth, Rice, W. Brunton, H. French, A. Crowquill, Edwin J. Ellis, Fane Wood, and Isaac L. Brown. Vol. xiv., the second of 1868, contains J. D. Watson's _The Oracle_ (p. 457); W. Small's _The Lights on Gwyneth's Head_ (p. 165); A. Boyd Houghton, _The Turn of the Tide_ (p. 458); John Gilbert's _Cousin Geoffrey's Chamber_ (_Frontispiece_), and _Box and Cox in Bay of Bengal_ (p. 392); Birket Foster's _The Falconer's Lay_, probably engraved from a water-colour drawing (p. 529); Wilfrid Lawson's _Crush-room_ (p. 140); _For Charity's Sake_ (p. 112); _Behind the Scenes_ (p. 141), _The Gentle Craft_ (p. 86), and _The Golden Boat_ (p. 579), with many others by the regular contributors. In the Christmas number we find _Linley Sambourne_, whose work is encountered rarely outside the pages of _Punch_, with a design for a _Christmas Day Costume_ (p. 17); Charles Keene, with two drawings for _Our Christmas Turkey_ (pp. 44, 46); G. B. Goddard's full-page, _Knee-deep_ (p. 32); J. D. Watson's _Aunt Grace's Sweetheart_ (p. 19) and _The Two Voices_ (p. 86) deserve noting.

In 1869 Wilfrid Lawson illustrates Whyte-Melville's _M. or N._, and has several other full-page drawings in his best vein (pp. 8, 48, 89, 128, 152, 232, 307, 467, 540); J. Mahoney is first met here with _Officers and Gentlemen_ (p. 284), and J. D. Watson supplies the frontispiece to vol. xv., _Bringing Home the Hay_, and also that to vol. xvi., _Second Blossom_. In this latter Wilfrid Lawson has illustrations to _M. or N._ (pp. 156, 193, 236, 386); T. Morten, a powerful drawing, _Winter's Night_ (p. 550); G. B. Goddard, _The Sportman's Resolve_ (p. 528). The other artists, including some new contributors, are M. A. Boyd, Horace Stanton, E. J. Ellis, T. Sweeting, James Godwin, F. Roberts, A. W. Cooper, L. Huard, and B. Ridley. The Christmas number for 1869 contains a good Charles Keene, _The Coat with the Fur Lining_ (pp. 1, 6); Gilbert's _Secret of Calverly Court_ (p. 4); M. E. Edwards's _How the Choirs were Carolling_ (p. 84); and J. Mahoney's _Mr. Daubarn_ (p. 49), with others of no particular importance.

The numbers for 1870 contain, _inter alia_, in the first half-year, a good J. D. Watson, _Going down the Road_ (_Frontispiece_); _A Leaf from a Sketch-Book_, by Linley Sambourne (printed, like a series this year, on special sheets of thick white paper, as four-page supplements), which contained lighter work by artists of the hour, but none worth special mention.

J. Mahoney's _Going to the Drawing-room_ (p. 321), and _Sir Stephen's Question_ (p. 112), and _Spring-time_, drawn and engraved by W. L. Thomas (p. 375), are among the most interesting of the ordinary full pages. In the second half of the year, volume 18, there is a full page, _Not Mine_ (p. 501), by Arthur Hughes, which links 1855 to 1870; A. W. Small, _After the Season_ (p. 338); the very unimportant drawing by M. J. Lawless, _An Episode of the Italian War_ (p. 97), has interest as a relic; J. Mahoney contributes two to _The Old House by the River_ (pp. 67, 172), and many others by H. Paterson, Wilfrid Lawson, A. Claxton. This year a Holiday number appeared, with a not very good J. D. Watson, _A Landscape Painter_ (p. 47), and two Francis Walkers, _A Summer Holiday_ and _Rosalind and Celia_, and other seasonable designs by various hands. The Christmas number has a coloured frontispiece and other designs by H. D. Marks; J. D. Watson illustrates _What might have happened_ (pp. 8, 17, 19); and Charles Keene, _Gipsy Moll_ (pp. 39, 45); Francis Walker has _The Star Rider_ (p. 59) and _A Tale_ (p. 63); F. A. Fraser, typical of the next decade, and one might say, without undue severity, of the decadence also, and F. Gilbert, that facile understudy of _Sir John_, show examples of work differing as far as it well could; but 1870 is the last stage we need note here in the career of a magazine which did notable service to the cause of illustration, and brought a good many men into notice who have taken prominent part in the history of 'black and white.' Without placing it on a level with _Once a Week_, it is an interesting collection of representative work, with some really first-rate drawing.