Fairy Tales, converting them into stories somewhat resembling Temperance
tracts. Dickens was greatly incensed, and, half-playfully and
half-seriously, protested against such alterations of the beautiful
little romances, this re-writing them "according to Total Abstinence,
Peace Society, and Bloomer principles, and expressly for their
propagation;" in an article published in _Household Words_, October 1,
1853, entitled "Frauds on the Fairies," the novelist enunciates his
opinions on the subject, and gives the story of Cinderella as it might
be "edited" by a gentleman with a "mission." This elicited a reply from
Cruikshank (in a short-lived magazine bearing his name, and launched by
him in 1854), which took the form of "A Letter from Hop-o'-my-Thumb
to Charles Dickens, Esq.," commencing with "Right Trusty, Well-Beloved,
Much-Read, and Admired Sir," the artist contending that he was justified
in altering "a common fairy-tale" when his sole object was to remove
objectionable passages, and, in their stead, to inculcate moral
principles. There is no doubt, however, that Dickens's rebuke seriously
affected the sale of the Fairy Library.
PLATE XIV
FIRST IDEA AND SKETCH FOR
"FAGIN IN THE CONDEMNED CELL"
AND VARIOUS STUDIES FOR SCENES AND CHARACTERS IN "OLIVER TWIST"
_Facsimile_ of Original Drawings by
GEORGE CRUIKSHANK
[Illustration]
In 1847 Dickens instituted a series of theatrical entertainments for
certain charitable objects, the distinguished artists and writers who
formed the goodly company of amateur actors including George Cruikshank.
On one occasion they made a tour in the provinces, giving performances
at several important towns, and on the conclusion of this "splendid
strolling" Dickens wrote an amusing little _jeu d'esprit_ in the form of
a history of the trip, adopting for the purpose the phraseology of Mrs.
Gamp. It was to be a new "Piljian's Projiss," with illustrations by the
artist-members; but, for some reason, it was destined never to appear in
the manner intended by its projector. Forster has printed all that was
ever written of the little jest, where we find a humorous description of
Cruikshank in Mrs. Gamp's vernacular: "I was drove about like a brute
animal and almost worritted into fits, when a gentleman with a large
shirt-collar and a hook nose, and a eye like one of Mr. Sweedlepipe's
hawks, and long locks of hair, and wiskers that I wouldn't have no lady
as I was engaged to meet suddenly a turning round a corner, for any sum
of money you could offer me, says, laughing, 'Halloa, Mrs. Gamp, what
are _you_ up to?' I didn't know him from a man (except by his clothes);
but I says faintly, 'If you're a Christian man, show me where to get a
second-cladge ticket for Manjester, and have me put in a carriage, or I
shall drop!' Which he kindly did, in a cheerful kind of a way, skipping
about in the strangest manner as ever I see, making all kinds of
actions, and looking and vinking at me from under the brim of his hat
(which was a good deal turned up), to that extent, that I should have
thought he meant something but for being so flurried as not to have no
thoughts at all until I was put in a carriage...." When Mrs. Gamp was
informed, in a whisper, that the gentleman who assisted her into the
carriage was "George," she replied, "What George, sir? I don't know no
George." "The great George, ma'am--the Crookshanks," was the
explanation. Whereupon Mrs. Gamp continues: "If you'll believe me, Mrs.
Harris, I turns my head, and see the wery man a making picturs of me on
his thumb-nail at the winder!" The artist took part in several plays
under Dickens's management, but, although it is not recorded that he
created great sensation as an actor, it seems evident that his
impersonations met with the approval of the novelist, who was a thorough
martinet in Thespian matters.
That George Cruikshank was by no means a prosperous man is perhaps
explained by the fact that he never was highly remunerated for his work.
"Time was," wrote Thackeray, "when for a picture with thirty heads in it
he was paid three guineas--a poor week's pittance, truly, and a dire
week's labour!" The late Mr. Sala declared that for an illustrative
etching on a plate, octavo size, George never received more than
twenty-five pounds, and had been paid as low as ten,--that he had often
drawn "a charming little vignette on wood" for a guinea. On February 1,
1878, this remarkable designer and etcher--the most skilled
book-illustrator of his day--passed painlessly away at his house in
Hampstead Road, having attained the ripe old age of eighty-five. His
remains were interred at Kensal Green, but were ultimately removed to
the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, where a bust by Adams perpetuates his
memory.
[Illustration]
PLATE XV
ROBERT SEYMOUR
From an Unpublished Drawing by
TAYLOR
_Lent by Mr. Augustin Daly._
ROBERT SEYMOUR
Early Years--A Taste for High Art--Drawings on Wood for
_Figaro_ and _Bell's Life in London_--Essays the Art of
Etching--Designs for "Maxims and Hints for an
Angler"--Proposes to Publish a Book of Humorous Sporting
Subjects--A "Club of Cockney Sportsmen"--Charles Whitehead
and Charles Dickens--The Inception of "THE PICKWICK
PAPERS"--Seymour's Illustrations--The Artist Succumbs to
Overwork--Suicide of Seymour--Dickens's Tribute--Seymour's
Last Drawing for "Pickwick"--"The Dying Clown"--His Original
Designs--Seymour's Conception of Mr. Pickwick--Letter from
Dickens to the Artist--"First Ideas" and Unused Sketches--A
Valuable Collection--Scarcity of Seymour's "Pickwick"
Plates--Design for the Wrapper of the Monthly Parts--Mrs.
Seymour's Account of the Origin of "The Pickwick Papers"--An
Absurd Claim Refuted--"THE LIBRARY OF FICTION"--Seymour's
Illustrations for "The Tuggses at Ramsgate."
Concerning the artist who was primarily engaged in the illustration of
"Pickwick," very little has been recorded, owing perhaps to the fact
that his career, which terminated so tragically and so prematurely, was
brief and uneventful. The following particulars of his life and labours,
culled from various sources, will, I trust, enable the reader to
appreciate Robert Seymour's true position respecting his connection with
Charles Dickens's immortal work.
Born "in or near London" in 1798, Robert Seymour indicated at a very
early age a decided taste for drawing, whereupon his father, Henry
Seymour, a Somerset gentleman, apprenticed him to a skilful
pattern-draughtsman named Vaughan, of Duke Street, Smithfield.[7]
Although this occupation was most uncongenial to young Seymour, it
caused him to adopt a neat style of drawing which ultimately proved of
much utility. He aspired to a higher branch of Art than that involved
in the delineation of patterns for calico-printers; but for a time he
remained with Vaughan, pleasantly varying the monotony of his daily
routine by producing miniature portraits of friends who consented to sit
to him, receiving in return a modest though welcome remuneration. Still
cherishing an inclination towards "High Art," he and a colleague named
Work (significant patronymic!) deserted Vaughan, and, renting a room at
the top of the old tower at Canonbury, they purchased a number of
plaster-casts, lay-figures, &c., from which the two juvenile enthusiasts
began to study with great assiduity. In Seymour's case tangible results
were speedily forthcoming, for he presently painted a picture of
unusually large dimensions, quaintly described by his fellow-student as
containing representations of "the Giant of the Brocken, the Skeleton
Hunt, the Casting of Bullets, and a full meal of all the German horrors
eagerly swallowed by the public of that day." This remarkable canvas
was, it seems, a really creditable work, and found a place on the walls
of a gallery in Baker Street Baazar. Seymour, like many other ambitious
young artists possessing more talent than pence, quickly realised the
sad fact that, though the pursuit was in itself a very agreeable one, it
meant penury to the painter unless he owned a private fortune or
commanded the purse-strings of rich patrons. The artist's widow
afterwards declared that he invariably sold his pictures direct from the
easel; but there is no doubt that with him "High Art" proved a financial
failure, and he reluctantly turned his attention to the more lucrative
(if less attractive) occupation of designing on wood, for which he was
peculiarly fitted by his previous practice in clean, precise
draughtsmanship during that probationary period in Vaughan's workshop.
Footnote 7: In another account (written by a contemporary of
the artist) it is stated that Seymour was the natural son of
Vaughan himself, and that the child bore the name of the
mother, under whose care he remained until his father
acknowledged the paternity, when he took the boy into his
workshop.
Seymour was endowed by Nature with a keen sense of the ludicrous, and
this, aided by a knowledge of drawing, enabled him to execute designs of
so humorous a character that his productions were immediately welcomed
by the proprietors of such publications as _Figaro_ and _Bell's Life in
London_, to which were thus given a vitality and a popularity they did
not previously possess. Although at first the recompense was but scanty,
hardly sufficient, indeed, to procure the necessaries of life, yet
Robert Seymour felt it was the beginning of what might eventually
resolve itself into a fairly remunerative vocation. His talent speedily
brought him profitable commissions for more serious publications, while
his pencil was simultaneously employed in sketching and drawing amusing
incidents, especially such as related to fishing and shooting,--forms of
sport which constituted his favourite recreation. Living at this time in
the then rural suburb of Islington, he had many opportunities of
observing the methods of Cockney sportsmen, who were wont to wander
thither on Sundays and holidays, and whose inexperience with rod and gun
gave rise to many absurdities and comic fiascos, thus affording the
young artist abundant material for humorous designs.
Until 1827, Seymour confined his labours to drawing for the
wood-engravers. He now essayed the art of etching upon plates of steel
or copper, simulating the style and manner of George Cruikshank; he even
ventured to affix the _nom de plume_ of "Shortshanks" to his early
caricatures, until he received a remonstrance from the famous George
himself. Having attained some proficiency in both etching and
lithography, he determined to make practical use of his experience, and
in 1833 designed a series of twelve lithographic plates for a new
edition of a work entitled "Maxims and Hints for an Angler," in which
the humours of the piscatorial art were excellently rendered; he also
executed a number of similar designs portraying, with laughable effect,
the adventures and misadventures of the very "counter-jumpers" whose
ways and habits came under his keen, observant eye. These amusing
pictures, drawn on stone with pen-and-ink, and published as a collection
of "Sketches by Seymour," achieved an immense popularity, and were
chiefly the means of rendering his name generally familiar.
Seymour was very fond of horticultural pursuits, and took great pains in
cultivating his own garden; but the result of his efforts in this
direction proved disappointing, and when dilating upon his want of
success, it was suggested that the misfortunes of an amateur gardener
might be made the subject of some entertaining drawings. After pondering
over this idea, and mindful of the fact that he still possessed a number
of unpublished sketches reflecting upon the abilities of amateur
sportsmen, he resolved upon reproducing some of a sporting character.
His original notion was to bring out a work similar in plan to that of
"The Heiress," a pictorial novel which he illustrated in 1830, and he
first proposed the subject to the printseller McLean in 1835, and then
to Spooner, the well-known publisher. The latter highly approved the
project, and in discussing it they concluded it would be desirable to
supplement the pictures with suitable letterpress. The undertaking was
so far advanced that Seymour etched four plates, but, owing to
unforeseen delays on the part of Spooner, the matter was held in
abeyance for about three months, by which time Seymour determined to
issue the work on his own responsibility, and to endeavour to get H.
Mayhew or Moncrieff to write for it.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: =The Pickwick Papers, 1836-37.=]
When, in February 1836, Edward Chapman (of Chapman & Hall) called upon
him with reference to a drawing which the firm had commissioned him to
undertake, the artist mentioned the scheme of a work to be illustrated
by him, having, as a central idea, a "Club of Cockney Sportsmen."
Chapman thought favourably of the notion, and proposed that it should be
brought out in two half-guinea volumes; but Seymour, desiring the widest
circulation, insisted on the plan he originally conceived, that of
shilling monthly numbers. Then came the question, Who should prepare the
requisite text? Leigh Hunt, Theodore Hook, and other prominent writers
of the day declined to undertake it, and shortly afterwards Seymour,
having just been reading "Sketches by Boz," the humour and originality
of which highly delighted him, proposed that Dickens should be
asked to contribute the letterpress.
PLATE XVI
"MR. PICKWICK ADDRESSES THE CLUB"
_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for "The Pickwick Papers" by
R. SEYMOUR
_Lent by Mr. Augustin Daly._
[Illustration]
Mr. Mackenzie Bell has given (in the _Athenæum_, June 11, 1887) a
slightly different version of this part of the narration, and states
that Charles Whitehead, an early friend of Dickens, "used constantly to
affirm that he had been asked to write to Seymour's sketches, and that,
feeling uncertain of being able to supply the copy with sufficient
regularity, he [not Seymour] recommended Dickens for the task. This
appears very likely to have been the case," adds Mr. Bell, "as at that
time Whitehead, who was eight years older than Dickens, was already
known as a facile and fecund writer, his coarse yet powerful romance of
'Jack Ketch' having been very popular for some time. It is even possible
that 'The Pickwick Papers' may have been suggested to Dickens by a
passage in the preface of 'Jack Ketch,' where a humorous allusion is
made to the possibility of the author producing his more mature
experiences under the unambitious title of 'The Ketch Papers,' a work
which never appeared." It may be mentioned that Dickens had just sent in
his MS. of "The Tuggses at Ramsgate" for "The Library of Fiction,"
edited by Whitehead, who was already familiar with the budding
novelist's ability as an author. This carries us to the point whence
Dickens takes up the thread of the story, as printed in the preface to
the first cheap edition of "Pickwick" (1847), where he writes:--
"I was a young man of three-and-twenty when the present publishers
[Chapman & Hall], attracted by some pieces I was at that time writing in
the _Morning Chronicle_ newspaper (of which one series had lately been
collected and published in two volumes, illustrated by my esteemed
friend George Cruikshank), waited upon me to propose a something that
should be published in shilling numbers.... The idea propounded to me
was that the monthly something should be a vehicle for certain plates to
be executed by Mr. Seymour, and there was a notion, either on the part
of that admirable humorous artist or of my visitor (I forget which),
that a 'Nimrod Club,' the members of which were to go out shooting,
fishing, and so forth, and getting themselves into difficulties through
their want of dexterity, would be the best means of introducing these. I
objected, on consideration, that although born and partly bred in the
country, I was no great sportsman, except in regard of all kinds of
locomotion; that the idea was not novel, and had been already much used;
that it would be infinitely better for the plates to arise naturally out
of the text; and that I should like to take my own way, with freer range
of English scenes and people, and was afraid I should ultimately do so
in any case, whatever course I might prescribe to myself at starting. My
views being deferred to, I thought of Mr. Pickwick, and wrote the first
number, from the proof-sheets of which Mr. Seymour made his drawing of
the Club, and that happy portrait of its founder, by which he is always
recognised, and which may be said to have made him a reality. I
connected Mr. Pickwick with a club because of the original suggestion,
and I put in Mr. Winkle expressly for the use of Mr. Seymour."
PLATE XVII
"THE PUGNACIOUS CABMAN"
_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for "The Pickwick Papers" by
R. SEYMOUR
_Lent by Mr. Augustin Daly._
[Illustration]
The first monthly part of "The Pickwick Papers" appeared early in April
1836, consisting of twenty-six pages of text and four etchings by
Seymour. Judging from a letter written by Dickens at the time the scheme
was first proposed, it seems that the illustrations were to have been
engraved on wood. The artist was then excessively busy, for besides
pledging himself to produce four plates for each monthly issue of
"Pickwick," he had numerous other engagements to fulfil, so great was
the demand for his designs. Although a rapid executant, the commissions
he received from publishers accumulated to such an extent, that the
excessive strain resulting from overwork at starvation prices began
seriously to affect his health. Not only did the monthly supply of the
"Pickwick" plates constitute an additional demand upon his mental
resources, but he was harassed by the uncertainty of receiving from the
printer the proofs from which he deduced his subjects, these sometimes
being delayed so that very little time was allowed for the preparation
of the plates. Unhappily his brain was unable to bear such
pressure; constant business worries and anxieties induced symptoms of
insanity, and before he had completed the second quartette of etchings
for "Pickwick," the unfortunate artist committed suicide. This
deplorable act took place on April 20, 1836, in a summer-house in the
garden at the back of his residence in Liverpool Road, Islington, where,
by the aid of a string attached to the trigger of a fowling-piece, he
deliberately sent the charge through his head.
Seymour, we are assured, had not the slightest pecuniary embarrassment;
he was quite happy, too, in his domestic affairs, extremely fond of his
family, and naturally of a very cheerful disposition. His melancholy
fate caused a general feeling of regret among the public, with whom he
was a great favourite, and to whom he was then better known than Dickens
himself. In the second number of "Pickwick" appeared the following just
tribute to the merits of the artist: "Some time must elapse before the
void the deceased gentleman has left in his profession can be filled up;
the blank his death has occasioned in the Society, which his amiable
nature won, and his talents adorned, we can hardly hope to see supplied.
We do not allude to this distressing event, in the vain hope of adding,
by any eulogium of ours, to the respect in which the late Mr. Seymour's
memory is held by all who ever knew him."
In the original announcement of "The Pickwick Papers" we read: "Seymour
has devoted himself, heart and graver, to the task of illustrating the
beauties of 'Pickwick.' It was reserved to Gibbon to paint, in colours
that will never fade, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire--to Hume
to chronicle the strife and turmoil of the two proud Houses that divided
England against herself--to Napier to pen, in burning words, the History
of the War in the Peninsula;--the deeds and actions of the gifted
Pickwick yet remain for 'Boz' and Seymour to hand down to posterity."
This projected collaboration, alas! was speedily frustrated by the
unexpected tragedy, for Seymour had produced but seven plates when he
terminated his life, the following being the subjects of his designs in
the order of their publication:
_First Number._
"MR. PICKWICK ADDRESSES THE CLUB."
"THE PUGNACIOUS CABMAN."
"THE SAGACIOUS DOG."
"DR. SLAMMER'S DEFIANCE OF JINGLE."
_Second Number._
"THE DYING CLOWN."
"MR. PICKWICK IN CHASE OF HIS HAT."
"MR. WINKLE SOOTHES THE REFRACTORY STEED."
The Address issued with the Second Part contains an apology for the
appearance therein of only three plates instead of four, as promised.
"When we state," says the author, "that they comprise Mr. Seymour's last
efforts, and that on one of them, in particular, (the embellishment to
the Stroller's Tale,) he was engaged up to a late hour of the night
preceding his death, we feel confident that the excuse will be deemed a
sufficient one." Dickens had seen the unhappy man only once, forty-eight
hours before his death, on the occasion of his visit to Furnival's Inn
with the etching just referred to, which, altered at Dickens's
suggestion, he brought away again for the few further touches that
occupied him to a late hour of the night before he destroyed himself.[8]
In an unpublished letter (dated April 3, 1866) addressed by the novelist
to a correspondent who required certain particulars respecting
"Pickwick," he thus referred to the artist: "Mr. Seymour shot himself
before the second number of 'The Pickwick Papers' ... was published.
While he lay dead, it was necessary that search should be made in
his working room for the plates to the second number, the day for the
publication of which was then drawing on. The plates were found
unfinished, with their faces turned to the wall. It was Mr. Chapman who
found them and brought them away."
Footnote 8: The artist's son asserts that the last plate
Seymour etched for "Pickwick" (viz., "The Dying Clown") was
submitted to Dickens a fortnight (not forty-eight hours, as
recorded by Forster) before his death. It seems that
Seymour's final drawing was for a woodcut, executed for John
Jackson, the engraver, to whom the artist delivered it on the
evening of the fatal day, April 20, 1836.
PLATE XVIII
"DR. SLAMMER'S DEFIANCE OF JINGLE"
_Facsimile_ of the Original Drawing for "The Pickwick Papers" by
R. SEYMOUR
_Lent by Mr. Augustin Daly._
[Illustration]