224
NOTES AND QUERIES. t n s. x. SEPT. 19, 191*.
Another illustration, ' Exhilaration of Mr
Taketoll ' (p. 307, and Guildhall, p. 287)
Gilbert thought well of, for he has put hi?
monogram to it. There is another to ' The
Poor Girl' (1 Nov., 1862; Guildhall vol.
p. 236), entitled ' Mr. Plantagenet's Gentle
men going through their Fatiguing Duties
a number of fat footmen lolling aboui
doing nothing which is a fine bit of satirica humour that might have satisfied even Douglas Jerrold, who, we are told (see ' D.N.B.'*), got rid of Gilbert because he did not want a Rubens on the staff o: Punch.
In Smith's time Gilbert was always given tho front page, except on rare occasions, as when it was filled by a Crimean war picture, or when, as on 14 April, 1855, his illustration had to give way to a portrait of the Empres; Eug6nie. When he contributed a landscape without figures, the editor must have had some hesitation in giving it the first page. 'This occurred only once, the example being entitled ' The Plantation of Dark Firs,' and placed at the head of the number for 7 Aug., 1858, vol. xxvii. p. 369, to Pierce Egan's tale of ' The Snake in the Grass ' (see chaps, xxvii. and xxx.). This "plantation" is a wild landscape, dark and dreary, with weird- looking parts, in which, one imagines, can be seen figures hiding, though as we try to identify them they fade away. It is the sort of spot in which the dark deeds so loved of The London Journal readers might be imagined to take place. On reading the text I fully believe Gilbert intended it to have this effect, as a deed of horror does seem to have taken place there. Not feeling quite certain that this landscape was Sir John's work, I asked Mr. Sandford to look at it. He writes :
" It is undoubtedly by Gilbert. I could detect no figure in fact, the text does not require any figure. Gilbert apparently was nodding when reading the text a rare thing with him for there is not a single fir tree in the drawing. The 'trees may be elms, beeches, or oaks ; but I should prefer to call them ' Gilbert trees,' as Gilbert had the power of drawing a tree peculiarly his own and very pleasing, too."
Sir John did not always draw all the illus- trations to each story ; thus in ' Stanfield Hall ' any one might well pass the ' En- counter between Prince Rupert and Crom- well,' both on horseback the first illustra- tion for 7 Sept., 1850, in vol. xii. as by Gilbert. It was engraved by W. Gorway ;
but there are in the left corner the initials
" T. H. X.,' ! which show it to be by Xichol-
son.
Some of the cuts are not well engraved
those, for example, to ' Stanfield Hall,' in January and February, 1850 (Guildhall, vol. i. p. 59), by J. Gelder, who now and then simply signs " J. G.," which I at first mistook for J. Gilbert. I can picture Gilbert writing to the editor : " Mr. Gelder spoils my drawings. If you continue to employ him, I can do no more." Gelder did only a few, and when his name is on the cut one can hardly recognize Gilbert's style. But Gelder did other work well, for on 26 Aug., 1848, there is a beautiful landscape, signed " J. Gelder, sc.," of Lewes Castle, Sussex.
The Magazine of Art (1898, p. 59), referring to his best work, says Gilbert was fortunate in his engravers ; but was this not rather purpose and choice ? The contemporary draughtsmen who worked for The London Journal number among them many of the celebrated artists of that time. Some of them were my personal friends, and it quite distresses me that I have had to refrain from mentioning even a few of the since it would seem a slight on those wh< names were omitted. Skilful as they w most of them died disappointed, in pove and neglect, such as is tersely related, in usual trenchant style (11 S. iv. 203), of of the most skilful by MB. HERBERT CLAYTON.* I think it might be said t authors did no better than the artists. Pierce Egan died in 1880 ; ten years after, an effort was made to get his widow into the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution. She was elected in May, 1892, and up to the date of her death, 7 Aug., 1905, received 424Z. Of many persons I name there is no record, even at Somerset House, of the date }f death, and often Mr. Boase in his ' Modern English Biography ' is obliged to put ' probably died about " such " proba- bility " being assumed from the fact of the lame no longer appearing in the directories. Even of Sir John himself there is not much mown, but as I infer from what I have ead about him he led such a curious and olitary life that this is not surprising. I lave made a pilgrimage to see the grave at "rewisham Cemetery which is really at .adywell. Knowing the difficulty one has n finding graves in London cemeteries, I had irepared myself for some trouble. I was so
- In every instance I have quoted the first
authority I have found, but I imagine the ' D.N.B.' took this from a biographical notice I have not
- I have been so long over these articles that I
had forgotten I started them in consequence of MB. CLAYTON'S important reminiscences in his article in 1911 (11 S. iv. 521).
