"The drunkard shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe
a man with rags."--PROVERBS XXIII. 21.
"The hand of the diligent maketh rich."--PROVERBS X. 4.
[Illustration: INDUSTRY AND IDLENESS, PLATE I.]
At the time these twelve prints were published, the business of a
silk weaver was considered as much more respectable and important
than it has been since the general fashion of wearing linen. The
first view we have of the two heroes of our history, is at the looms
of their master, an inhabitant of Spitalfields. The assiduity of
one of these young artisans is manifested in his countenance, and
attention to the business he is engaged in. Over his head hang those
two excellent old ballads, _Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of
London_, and _The Valiant Apprentice_. On the floor near him is the
_'Prentice's Guide_, a book which our citizen probably presented to
every young man he had under his care; for we see the same title
on a mutilated volume at the feet of Mr. Thomas Idle, who, being
asleep, has dropped his shuttle, which a cat is playing with. On
the wall hangs the ballad of _Moll Flanders_, and very near him is
a tobacco-pipe[156] and a porter pot; the somniferous qualities of
these two narcotics have perhaps contributed to close his eyes. His
appearance is consonant to his disposition; hair uncombed, collar
unbuttoned, and worn-out coat, are strong indications of negligence
and sloth. With angry eye, and cane lifted up, the master, just
entering the room, seems very well disposed to punish his indolence
and drowsiness; but these habits are too strongly rooted to be
eradicated by chastisement.
Thus far is admirably thought, and intelligibly depicted; but the
delineation, as far as regards the picturesque effect, is beneath
criticism. The head of Master Francis Goodchild, placed between
two square posts, looks as if it were stuck in the pillory; the
physiognomy of Mister Thomas Idle is correctly correspondent with his
depraved character; but the introduction of such a number of angles
and parallel lines as the scene demanded, the artist's eye could
never have borne upon any other principle than that given in his
introductory declaration, "that the prints were intended for use more
than ornament."