Through the courtesy of Mr. J. F. Dexter, I am enabled to reproduce in facsimile one of the original designs for "Master Humphrey's Clock," depicting Master Humphrey and the Deaf Gentleman. This drawing, executed in pencil, differs slightly from the engraving; underneath it Dickens has written, "Master Humphrey ADMIRABLE. Could his stick (with a crooked top) be near his chair? I misdoubt the deaf gentleman's pipe, and wish he could have a better one."

To the first cheap edition of "Barnaby Rudge," 1849, "Phiz" contributed the frontispiece,—a drawing on wood (engraved by W. T. Green) representing Dolly Varden, with Hugh hiding in the bushes. In the Library Edition (1858-59) the stories were published independently, each in two volumes, with pretty vignettes on the title-pages, specially designed by the same artist and engraved on steel. The original drawings were delicately tinted in water-colours, the subjects being Little Nell and her Grandfather, Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness, Dolly Varden and Joe Willet, Barnaby and Hugh. In these engravings the female characters are much more charmingly conceived than are those in the woodcuts.

In 1848, when the first cheap edition of the story appeared, Hablôt Browne made four new designs as "Extra Illustrations" for "The Old Curiosity Shop," viz., Little Nell and her Grandfather, the Marchioness, Barbara, and the Death of Little Nell. They were beautifully engraved in stipple, and issued as an independent publication by the artist and his coadjutor, Robert Young, whose joint venture it was. In the following year they produced a similar set of four plates illustrating "Barnaby Rudge," viz., Emma Haredale, Dolly Varden, Mrs. Varden and Miggs, and Hugh and Barnaby. The portraits of the various characters were engraved by Edwards and Knight, under the superintendence of Browne and Young. The original drawing of Dolly Varden, one of "Phiz's" happiest conceptions, is in the possession of Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans, together with an unengraved study for Emma Haredale. There are extant, in Mr. J. F. Dexter's collection, two other studies for the Dolly Varden plate, neither of which has been reproduced; the same gentleman also owns the drawings of Nell and Barbara, the latter being slightly different from, and superior to, the engraving.

A complete series of original water-colour drawings by "Phiz" for "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge," including an unused design for a tailpiece, were sold at Sotheby's in 1897, and realised £610. These drawings were executed as a commission for Mr. F. W. Cosens.

Martin Chuzzlewit, 1843-44.Browne's versatile pencil was again actively employed in embellishing the story begun by Dickens soon after his return from America in 1842, and to this he contributed forty etchings. Here the figures are drawn on a larger scale than usual, thus affording more scope for the delineation of character.

The frontispiece is a most elaborate design, representing the principal characters and incidents in the story, with Tom Pinch at the organ as a central idea. In the illustration where Mark Tapley is seen starting from his native village for London, "Phiz" exhibits his sense of the picturesque in the old gables and dormers of the ancient tenements in the background, while that depicting "Mr. Pecksniff on his Mission" is an excellent verisimilitude of such a locality as Kingsgate Street of fifty years since. But the etching in "Chuzzlewit" which may be described as the artist's happiest effort as a comic creation is that where Mrs. Gamp "propoges" a toast. Here he has admirably illustrated the text,—the two midwives in friendly chat, surrounded by bandboxes and other accessories, while behind are seen the immortal Sarah's rusty gowns, which, depending from the bedposts, "had so adapted themselves by long usage to her figure, that more than one impatient husband, coming in precipitately at about the time of twilight, had been for an instant stricken dumb by the supposed discovery that Mrs. Gamp had hanged herself."

All the designs for "Martin Chuzzlewit" were etched on quarto plates, two on each plate. Five of these plates were etched three times, these including, besides the frontispiece and vignette title, the first six illustrations in the book, and two which appeared in the fourteenth number, viz., "Mr. Pinch Departs to Seek his Fortune," and "Mr. Nadgett Breathes, as Usual, an Atmosphere of Mystery." A careful examination of different copies of the first edition will disclose minute variations in these particular illustrations, worthy of special mention being the vignette title, where, in the earliest impressions, the £ mark is incorrectly placed after the figures in the amount of reward on the bill.

In the majority of the "Chuzzlewit" etchings there is a vigour and precision of touch indicating the artist's riper experience. It must, however, be admitted that a few of the plates are so feeble in execution in comparison with the rest as to suggest that "Phiz's" drawings were copied on the plate by a less expert etcher. An instance of this poverty of execution will be found in the first design, depicting "The Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and his Charming Daughters," and the fact that this plate is unsigned seems significant; in reply to my enquiry respecting it, Mr. Robert Young assured me that "no one ever copied or etched plates for Browne; he traced the subject on the steel himself, and etched every line before it was bitten in. I know no reason for the omission of his signature to any of his plates."

In a few instances the artist has not strictly followed the text. For example, in the plate where Mr. Pecksniff calls upon Mrs. Gamp, the pie-shop is placed next door, whereas it is clearly described as being next door but one. In the etching of Mark Tapley "finding a jolly subject for contemplation," instead of Mark's name being inscribed in full upon the "Rowdy Journal" door, his initials only should appear, "in letters nearly half a foot long, together with the day of the month in smaller type;" the four horses harnessed to the coach in which Tom Pinch departs to seek his fortune ("Phiz's" horses, by the way, are always well drawn) are described as "greys," while in the plate only one is thus represented. Such discrepancies, however, although interesting to note, are unimportant. As usual, we find in the accessories (such as the titles of books and pictures) sly touches of humour peculiarly àpropos of the principal theme. "Phiz's" design for the wrapper of the monthly parts is emblematical of the story; here "silver spoons" and "wooden ladles," as embodied in the original title, play a conspicuous part.

The "Chuzzlewit" drawings, all of which have been preserved, are executed in pencil, some having washes of neutral tint. They vary but slightly from the etchings, the greatest differences being noted in the first two designs, this doubtless arising from the difficulty experienced by the artist in immediately seizing the author's meaning. In one special instance Dickens favoured his illustrator with very precise instructions. Respecting the American scenes, the artist desired more details than usual, so he received from the novelist the following letter (now in Mr. J. F. Dexter's collection), giving particulars for the plate representing "The Thriving City of Eden, as it appeared in Fact."

"Martin and Mark are displayed as the tenants of a wretched log hut (for a pattern whereof see a vignette brought by Chapman & Hall) in a perfectly flat, swampy, wretched forest of stunted timber in every stage of decay, with a filthy river running before the door, and some other miserable log houses distributed among the trees, whereof the most ruinous and tumble-down of all is labelled 'Bank and National Credit Office.' Outside their door, as the custom is, is a rough sort of form or dresser, on which are set forth their pot and kettle and so forth, all of the commonest kind. On the outside of the house, at one side of the door, is a written placard, 'Chuzzlewit and Co., Architects and Surveyors,' and upon a stump of tree, like a butcher's block, before the cabin, are Martin's instruments—a pair of rusty compasses, &c. On a three-legged stool beside this block sits Martin in his shirt sleeves, with long dishevelled hair, resting his head upon his hands—the picture of hopeless misery—watching the river and sadly remembering that it flows towards home. But Mr. Tapley, up to his knees in filth and brushwood, and in the act of endeavouring to perform some impossibilities with a hatchet, looks towards him with a face of unimpaired good humour, and declares himself perfectly jolly. Mark, the only redeeming feature. Everything else dull, miserable, squalid, unhealthy, and utterly devoid of hope—diseased, starved, and abject. The weather is intensely hot, and they are but partially clothed."

The artist, naturally bewildered by such elaborate directions, has written underneath this note: "I can't get all this perspective in, unless you will allow of a long subject—something less than a mile!"

For the plate, "Martin Chuzzlewit Suspects the Landlady," two drawings were prepared, but the second was probably only to guide the biter-in of the steel as to the effect of light and shade required; for it occasionally happened that "Phiz" had not time to give verbal instructions to his assistant, when he would send a rough indication of what was needed in the matter of chiaroscuro. In the original drawing representing "The Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and his Charming Daughters," the figure of Tom Pinch differs from the plate, and shows signs of having been quickly sketched in, as though the first idea was not to introduce him at all; in a second delineation of the same subject this figure is limned with greater care.

The original designs for "Chuzzlewit" were disposed of at Sotheby's in 1889 for £433, 13s., the beautifully-finished drawing of the frontispiece realising £35, while that of "Mrs. Gamp 'Propoges' a Toast," rightly considered as one of the artist's chef-d'œuvres, was purchased for £35, 10s.

To the Library Edition (1858-59) "Phiz" contributed a vignette for the title-page of each of the two volumes of "Martin Chuzzlewit," which were engraved on steel from the original water-colour drawings. The subject of the first design is almost a repetition of the etching in the original issue, and depicts the "Meekness of Mr. Pecksniff and his Charming Daughters," the ladies being certainly more attractive in the later conception. In the second vignette we see Mrs. Gamp and Betsy Prig, at the moment when the latter, in her wrath, denied the existence of the memorable Mrs. Harris.

Dombey and Son, 1846-48.Among the forty illustrations prepared by "Phiz" for "Dombey and Son" will be found some of the artist's happiest efforts. By this time his experience with the etching-needle enabled him to execute his designs upon the steel plates with wonderful facility and dexterity, and continual practice had made him almost perfect in this particular branch of art. All these plates were etched in duplicate; the greater number were drawn on quarto plates, having two subjects on each as usual, but the frontispiece, the last four illustrations, and the duplicates of three others were etched singly on steels of octavo size.[25]

The duplicates do not vary much; that in which an alteration is most noticeable, although hardly perceptible, is "Abstraction and Recognition," the bills on the wall near Alice in one plate being less mutilated than in the other. There was such a large circulation of the book in part form that the printing from the plates could not be executed quickly enough, the etchings being rarely sent in until the last minute; so that it became necessary to resort to lithographic transfers until the duplicate plates could be etched. In "Dombey and Son" the artist first introduced the oblong form of illustration, this lending itself more appropriately to the subjects so treated, and in succeeding novels we find a fair sprinkling of designs of this shape. When nearing the end of the story he essayed, with considerable success, a new method of obtaining chiaroscuro, and he afterwards adopted it whenever striking effects were required. The only plate in "Dombey" so treated is "On the Dark Road," on which, by means of a ruling-machine, a tint had been placed before the subject was drawn, and, by a process of biting-in, stopping-out, and burnishing, an effect resembling mezzotint was obtained. The machine was kept in Mr. Young's studio at Furnival's Inn, and could be manipulated by a boy, the operation of "ruling" being a purely mechanical one; it was the subsequent treatment by acid and burnisher, in reproducing the tones of the original drawing, that required the knowledge of an expert.

A few anomalies may be discovered in the "Dombey" plates. In the various representations of Captain Cuttle the artist has depicted him, in two instances, with the hook upon the left arm instead of the right. When comparing the three plates portraying Sol Gills's little back-parlour, certain little discrepancies are apparent, such as the altered position of the model of a brig, &c. In the plate entitled "The Wooden Midshipman on the Look-out," Florence is delineated as a well-developed young woman, whereas, according to the text, she was then but a mere child of fourteen. In the same illustration the artist has drawn a pair of horses (or rather their heads) which can have no possible connection with the omnibus near by, although they are evidently intended to be associated therewith. In the etching "Abstraction and Recognition," Alice and her mother standing in the archway are much too tall; it is interesting to note here the advertisement on the wall of Cruikshank's "Bottle," which may be considered as denoting the popularity of that remarkable series of pictures, then being issued. Two palpable errors are discoverable in the illustration entitled "On the Dark Road," for not only does the driver hold the reins in the wrong hand, but it will be seen that the wheels of the rapidly-moving carriage are really represented as stationary, while the "off" wheels are omitted altogether. In the last plate but one, the figure of Florence is not sufficiently visionary, and therefore fails to convey the author's meaning respecting the conscience-stricken Dombey.

Hablôt Browne invariably laboured under some disadvantage when designing his illustrations for Dickens; indeed, he was sometimes compelled to draw his inspiration merely from the author's verbal explanation or reading of a particular passage; so it is not surprising that we discover an occasional discrepancy. In the case of "Dombey," he experienced a difficulty of another kind, for during the writing of the story Dickens was living at Lausanne in Switzerland, and the sketches had to be sent there for his criticism and approval, which not only caused delay, but gave the artist some trouble in understanding the suggestions made by the author when returning the drawings.

Plate XXXV

"MR. CHADBAND 'IMPROVING' A TOUGH SUBJECT"
Facsimile of the Original Drawing for "Bleak House" by H. K. BROWNE ("Phiz")

Several letters from Dickens to Forster at this time express solicitude concerning these plates. Writing from Lausanne on the 18th of July 1846, he said: "The prints for illustration, and the enormous care required, make me excessively anxious." A nervous dread of caricature on the face of his merchant-hero had led him to indicate by a living person the type of city gentleman he would have had the artist select. "The man for Dombey," he explained, "if Browne could see him, the class man to a T, is Sir A—— E——, of D——'s;" and this is all he meant by his reiterated urgent request, "I do wish he could get a glimpse of A., for he is the very Dombey." It seems, however, that the "glimpse of A." was impracticable, so it was resolved to send, for selection by himself, glimpses of other letters of the alphabet—actual heads as well as fanciful ones—and the sheetful of sketches forwarded for this purpose contains no less than twenty-nine typical Dombey portraits, comprising full-length and half-length presentments, as well as studies of heads in various poses, but with the same hard characteristic expression.[26] Against four of them "Phiz" has placed little arrows, to indicate that (in his opinion) they best accorded with the author's conception. The Dombey actually etched was not, after all, an absolute transcript of these tentative ideas, but seems to be a combination of several; and it is curious to note that, in the various representations of the proud city merchant as seen in the plates, "Phiz" did not keep religiously to the same type. That Dickens considered the artist's presentment as satisfactory is proved by his remark to Forster, "I think Mr. Dombey admirable," this doubtless referring to the illustration entitled "Mr. Dombey and the World." In a fragment of a letter preserved by Mr. J. F. Dexter may be read a few instructions to the artist with reference to the delineation of Mr. Dombey and his second wife: "It is a part of his character that he should be just the same as of yore. And in the second subject, I should like Edith Granger to possess the reader with a more serious notion of her having a serious part to play in the story. I really hardly know, however, what [part] beyond an expression of utter indifference towards Mr. Dombey...."

In the letter to Forster already quoted, the novelist sent (for transmission to the artist) a few hints for the earlier designs: "Great pains will be necessary with Miss Tox. The Toodle family should not be too much caricatured, because of Polly. I should like Browne to think of Susan Nipper, who will not be wanted in the first number. After the second number, they will all be nine or ten years older, but this will not involve much change in the characters, except in the children and Miss Nipper." After the completion of the first two plates, Dickens seems to have been in better heart about his illustrator, for, again writing to Forster from Lausanne, he said: "Browne seems to be getting on well. He will have a good subject in Paul's christening. Mr. Chick is like D., if you'll mention that when you think of it." Then, a little later: "Browne is certainly interesting himself and taking pains." He seems, however, to have been greatly disappointed with the designs in the second number, viz., "The Christening Party" (which he anticipated would be a success) and "Polly Rescues the Charitable Grinder," declaring them to be so "dreadfully bad" (in the sense of not keeping strictly to the text) that they made him "curl his legs up." This failure on the part of the artist caused him to feel unusually anxious in regard to a special illustration on which he had set much store, intended for the number he then had in hand. Communicating with Forster anent this, he said: "The best subject for Browne will be at Mrs. Pipchin's; and if he liked to do a quiet odd thing, Paul, Mrs. Pipchin, and the Cat, by the fire, would be very good for the story. I earnestly hope he will think it worth a little extra care." On first seeing the etching of this subject, he was sorely displeased, and could not refrain from thus expressing himself to Forster: "I am really distressed by the illustration of Mrs. Pipchin and Paul. It is so frightfully and wildly wide of the mark. Good Heaven! in the commonest and most literal construction of the text it is all wrong. She is described as an old lady, and Paul's 'miniature arm-chair' is mentioned more than once. He ought to be sitting in a little arm-chair down in the corner of the fireplace, staring up at her. I can't say what pain and vexation it is to be so utterly misrepresented. I would cheerfully have given a hundred pounds to have kept this illustration out of the book. He never could have got that idea of Mrs. Pipchin if he had attended to the text. Indeed, I think he does better without the text; for then the notion is made easy to him in short description, and he can't help taking it in." It is certainly strange that the sketch for this subject was not submitted to Dickens for approval before it was etched. We are told by Forster that the author felt the disappointment more keenly because "the conception of the grim old boarding-house keeper had taken back his thoughts to the miseries of his own child-life, and made her, as her prototype in verity was, a part of the terrible reality." In justice to the artist, it must be conceded that the etching of this subject seems to be an excellent rendering of the description of the scene as conveyed in the letterpress.

"Phiz" sometimes complained that Dickens did not send him more than a few printed lines as a guide to the subject to be illustrated, and, being kept in ignorance as to the context, he found it difficult to delineate the characters as well as the novelist might wish. Occasionally, as we have seen, he received quite a lengthy note when at work upon the designs, these communications sometimes being partly literal extracts from the text and partly condensation, such as the following:—

"Paul (a year older) has left Mrs. Pipchin's and gone to Doctor Blimber's establishment at Brighton. The Doctor only takes ten young gentlemen. Doctor Blimber's establishment is a good hot-house for the young mind, with a forcing apparatus always at work. Mental green peas are produced there at Christmas, and intellectual asparagus all the year round. Every description of Greek and Latin vegetable is got off the driest twigs of boys under the frostiest circumstances. Mrs. Blimber is fond of the boys not being like boys, and of their wearing collars and neckerchiefs. They have all blown before their time. The eldest boy in the school—young Toots by name, with a swollen nose and an exceedingly large head—left off blowing suddenly one day, and people do say that the Doctor rather overdid it with him, and that when he began to have whiskers he left off having brains. All the young gentlemen have great weights on their minds. They are haunted by verbs, noun-substantives, roots, and syntactic passages. Some abandoned hope half through the Latin Grammar, and others curse Virgil in the bitterness of their souls. Classical Literature in general is an immense collection of words to them. It's all words and grammar, and don't mean anything else.

"Subject—These young gentlemen out walking, very dismally and formally (observe it's a very expensive school), with the lettering, Doctor Blimber's young gentlemen as they appeared when enjoying themselves. I think Doctor Blimber, a little removed from the rest, should bring up the rear, or lead the van, with Paul, who is much the youngest of the party. I extract the description of the Doctor. [Here follows a quotation from the eleventh chapter.]

"Paul as last described, but a twelvemonth older. No collar or neckerchief for him, of course. I would make the next youngest boy about three or four years older than he."

A remarkable oversight on the part of "Phiz" with reference to this plate is immediately observable, for while Dickens explicitly states the number of Dr. Blimber's pupils as ten, the artist has introduced no less than seventeen young gentlemen. Concerning the illustration, "Major Bagstock is Delighted to have that Opportunity," there is extant an interesting letter (dated March 10, 1847) from Dickens to "Phiz" (printed for the first time in Mr. D. C. Thomson's Memoir of H. K. Browne), in which the novelist is very explicit respecting his requirements:—

"My Dear Browne— ... The occasion of my coming home makes me very late with my number, which I have only begun this morning; otherwise you should have been fed sooner.... The first subject I am now going to give is very important to the book. I should like to see your sketch of it if possible.

"I should premise that I want to make the Major, who is the incarnation of selfishness and small revenge, a kind of comic Mephistophilean power in the book; and the No. begins with the departure of Mr. Dombey and the Major on that trip for change of air and scene which is prepared for in the last Number. They go to Leamington, where you and I were once. In the Library the Major introduces Mr. Dombey to a certain lady, whom, as I wish to foreshadow dimly, said Dombey may come to marry in due season. She is about thirty, not a day more—handsome, though haughty-looking—good figure, well dressed, showy, and desirable. Quite a lady in appearance, with something of a proud indifference about her, suggestive of a spark of the Devil within. Was married young. Husband dead. Goes about with an old mother, who rouges, and who lives upon the reputation of a diamond necklace and her family. Wants a husband. Flies at none but high game, and couldn't marry anybody not rich. Mother affects cordiality and heart, and is the essence of sordid calculation. Mother usually shoved about in a Bath chair by a page who has rather outgrown and outshoved his strength, and who butts at it behind like a ram, while his mistress steers herself languidly by a handle in front. Nothing the matter with her to prevent her walking, only was once when a Beauty sketched reclining in a Barouche, and having outlived the Beauty and the Barouche too, still holds to the attitude as becoming her uncommonly. Mother is in this machine in the sketch. Daughter has a parasol.

"The Major presents them to Mr. Dombey, gloating within himself over what may come of it, and over the discomfiture of Miss Tox. Mr. Dombey (in deep mourning) bows solemnly. Daughter bends. The native in attendance bearing a camp-stool and the Major's greatcoat. Native evidently afraid of the Major and his thick cane. If you like it better, the scene may be in the street or in a green lane. But a great deal will come of it; and I want the Major to express that as much as possible in his apoplectic Mephistophilean observation of the scene, and in his share of it."

The design was promptly executed and submitted to Dickens, who, in a letter to the artist dated five days later, expressed his approval thereof: "The sketch is admirable," he wrote,—"the women quite perfect. I cannot tell you how much I like the younger one. There are one or two points, however, which I must ask you to alter. They are capital in themselves, and I speak solely for the story.

"First—I grieve to write it—that native—who is so prodigiously good as he is—must be in European costume. He may wear earrings and look outlandish and be dark brown. In this fashion must be of Moses, Mosesy. I don't mean Old Testament Moses, but him of the Minories.

"Secondly, if you can make the Major older, and with a larger face—do.

"That's all. Never mind the pump-room now, unless you have found the sketch, as we may have that another time. I shall 'propoge' to you a trip to Leamington together. We might go one day and return the next.... Don't mind sending me the second sketch. It is so late."[27]

In Mr. J. F. Dexter's collection there is a pencil-sketch by "Phiz" for this subject (evidently an earlier conception than that submitted to Dickens), in which the incident is depicted as occurring at the seaside (probably Brighton), while, curiously enough, the figure of Mr. Dombey is omitted. Another interesting drawing, also owned by Mr. Dexter, is a tentative sketch (in blue ink) for "The Dombey Family," under which the artist has written the following query: "Whether 'twere better to have him [Mr. Dombey] standing thus, stiff as a poker, with a kind of side glance at his daughter—or sitting, as in the other?" In the etching we see that Mr. Dombey is represented as seated, while Florence is transferred to the other side of the picture.

Through the kind courtesy of Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans, I have been enabled to examine the original "working" drawings for "Dombey and Son," all of these, with one exception (viz. "Polly Rescues the Charitable Grinder," which has mysteriously disappeared), being in the possession of her Grace. The majority of the designs were not reversed when copied upon the steels, and this accounts for some of the incongruities already referred to. In certain cases the drawings are sketched with blue ink and the effects lightly washed in; others are in pencil, or pencil and brushwork combined.

Plate XXXVI

DOLLY VARDEN
Facsimile of an Original Drawing by H. K. BROWNE ("Phiz")

The allusion to "the boy in the flannel gown" has reference to a portrait of Little Paul, painted by "Phiz" as a present to Dickens. Miss Hogarth informs me, however, that she has no recollection of this picture, nor of the "Dombey" sketches.

"Phiz," as usual, designed the pictorial wrapper for the monthly parts, concerning which Dickens wrote: "I think the cover very good; perhaps with a little too much in it, but that is an ungrateful objection." The criticism was justified, however, for the design, though ingeniously conceived, certainly errs on the side of over-elaboration.

The success attending the sale of the extra plates for "Master Humphrey's Clock" encouraged a repetition of this form of independent publication, and a similar series of portraits were produced of the principal characters in "Dombey and Son." Four capital plates, consisting of portraits of Little Paul, Florence, Edith, and Alice, were designed by Browne, and engraved on steel (in stipple and line) by Edwards and Knight, under the superintendence of the artist and Robert Young, whose joint venture it was. The engravings were published with Dickens's sanction concurrently with the story; the original impressions are now very scarce, but the plates still exist in good condition, and have recently been reprinted. Dickens was much pleased with these delightful portraits, and in a hitherto unpublished letter to the artist (dated January 5, 1847) he thus referred to the drawings: "I think Paul very good indeed—a beautiful little composition altogether. The face of Florence strikes me as being too old, particularly about the mouth. Edith, not so handsome as in the little drawings, and something too long and flat in the face. The better Alice of the two, decidedly that which is opposite Edith." There are extant as many as six pencil-sketches for the portrait of Alice, presenting slight variations in pose and expression, and Mr. Dexter owns an interesting study (in pencil and red chalk) of Florence Dombey, which has never been engraved.

Almost simultaneously with the production of the above portraits, "Phiz" designed and etched eight additional plates containing full-length presentments of Mr. Dombey and Carker, Mrs. Skewton, Old Sol and Captain Cuttle, Miss Tox, Mrs. Pipchin, Major Bagstock, Miss Nipper, and Polly Toodle. This undertaking was entirely a speculation of the artist, the plates being also issued in sets by Chapman & Hall. Dr. Browne informs me that the original drawings were unexpectedly discovered by him, rolled up and dirty, and were afterwards included in the Memorial Exhibition of his father's works at the Liverpool Art Club in 1883.

The first cheap edition of "Dombey and Son," 1858, includes a frontispiece by "Phiz," representing the flight of Carker. The artist also contributed to each of the two volumes of the Library Edition (1858-59) specially-designed vignettes, engraved on steel, the subjects being Mr. Dombey and the second Mrs. Dombey, and Paul with Florence at the seaside.

HABLÔT K. BROWNE

III

"David Copperfield"—The Designs prepared in Duplicate—"Phiz's" Portrait of Mr. Micawber—Peggotty's Hut—Trifling Errors in the Plates—Original Drawings—Designs for "I Make myself Known to my Aunt"—Variations in the Etchings—Frontispiece for the First Cheap Edition—Vignettes for the Library Edition—"Bleak House"—Plates partly Duplicated—Some Curious Inaccuracies—Skimpole successfully Portrayed—"Phiz" takes Mental Notes—Original Drawings—Alterations in the Plates—The "Bleak House" Illustrations Criticised—Frontispiece for the First Cheap Edition—Vignettes for the Library Edition—"Little Dorrit"—Illustrations Unsigned—"Machine-ruled Designs"—A Letter from Dickens respecting one of the Plates—Original Drawings—Pictorial Wrapper—"A Tale Of Two Cities"—A Letter from "Phiz" to his Son—Dickens Forestalled—An Unpublished Design—Last of Dickens's Stories Illustrated by "Phiz"—The Artist's Conjectures as to the Cause of the Severance—His Tender Regard for the Novelist—His Antecedents—Apprenticeship at Finden's—Exhibits at the Royal Academy—Inability to Draw from "the Life"—Some Letters to Dickens—"The Pic Nic Papers"—An Early Reminiscence of Dickens—"Phiz's" Remuneration—From Prosperity to Adversity—Serious Illness—A Broken-down Old Man—Paralysis—A Pathetic Grievance—Applies for a Government Pension—Recognition by the Royal Academy—Decline of Imagination and Power of Invention—Death of the Artist—Mr. J. G. Fennell's Tribute—"Phiz's" Shyness—An Extraordinary Commission—Water-colour Replicas of the Dickens Illustrations—Vignettes for the Library Edition of "Sketches by Boz" and "Oliver Twist"—"Phiz's" Fellow-Apprentice, Coadjutor, and Friend—Etching the Plates—Mezzotint Effects—Furnival's Inn—A Note from "Phiz" to his Colleague—Mr. Robert Young's Autobiographical Sketch.

David Copperfield, 1849-50.In "David Copperfield," the most fascinating of Dickens's novels, it cannot be said that "Phiz" quite rose to the occasion. Although some of these plates he never excelled, the majority are marked by a certain hardness and stiffness of treatment, and are conspicuously deficient in that vigour and deftness of touch which characterise his previous efforts.

As in the case of "Dombey and Son," the whole of the designs were etched in duplicate, the replicas differing but slightly from the originals. About half of the series were executed singly on octavo steels, instead of in couples on the usual quarto plates. In one of the designs, viz., "The River," the artist has again resorted to the ruling-machine for attaining the desired effect, but the result is poor and meagre. He has succeeded admirably in his presentment of Micawber, respecting which Dickens wrote to Forster: "Browne has sketched an uncommonly characteristic and capital Mr. Micawber for the next number." The most pleasing of all these etchings, however, are those in which the boy-hero figures, such as those depicting him with the "friendly waiter" at the bar of the public-house, and as, with battered hat and ragged raiment, he "makes himself known to his aunt."

It has been asserted that "Phiz" at this period sometimes grew careless, and that Dickens did not exercise that particular surveillance over the artist's work which he customarily bestowed upon it in the early days. For example, the novelist thus describes Peggotty's odd residence, an old boat drawn up on land and fashioned into a house: "There was a delightful door cut in the side, and it was roofed in, and there were little windows in it." He never refers to it as an inverted boat, although it is so delineated by "Phiz,"—indeed, the inference is that the vessel stood upon its keel, for elsewhere it is mentioned as being left "high and dry," as though it were a boat that had been washed ashore. If such was the novelist's conception, it seems strange and unaccountable that he should have accepted without a protest the artist's misrepresentation of Peggotty's home. Curiously enough, there might have been seen within recent years, on the open Denes at Yarmouth, an inverted boat similarly converted into a cosy residence, the existence of which apparently gives actuality to "Phiz's" drawing.

In some of the etchings may be discovered a few trivial errors; for instance, in the plate entitled "Somebody Turns Up," Mrs. Heep is left-handed, an oversight which (as in previous cases) is doubtless the result of the etching being in reverse of the original design, although "Phiz" was generally careful to remember this when preparing his sketches. Strange to relate, in the scene depicting divine service at Blunderstone Church, he has omitted the officiating clergy! In "My First Fall in Life," the horses (especially the leaders) are undoubtedly disproportionate, and the same criticism applies to the figures in the illustration depicting the unexpected arrival of David and his friend at Peggotty's fireside. In the etching of "The River," the scene should have been reversed, and from this point of view (the river-side at Millbank) the dome of St. Paul's is not visible, although it is shown in the picture. Another curious mistake is apparent in the interesting plate entitled "Our Housekeeping;" here David is seen struggling with a loin of mutton, whereas in the text the joint is distinctly described as a boiled leg of mutton. It is amusing to note the appropriate character of the pictures adorning the walls of some of "Phiz's" interiors. In the etching of "The Friendly Waiter and I" he has thus introduced the scene illustrating the familiar fable of the Fox and the Stork; in "Changes at Home" we have the Return of the Prodigal Son and the Finding of Moses in the bulrushes; and in the plate delineating Steerforth and Miss Mowcher will be noticed over the fireplace a scene from Gulliver's adventures in Brobdingnag, an allusion to the diminutive proportions of the remarkable dwarf who was "so volatile."

Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans possesses the complete series of "working" drawings for "David Copperfield." Like the "Dombey" designs, these highly-finished drawings are executed chiefly in pencil and the effects washed in with indian-ink, while a few are in pencil only. Of that well-known design, "I Make myself Known to my Aunt," there exist no less than three tentative sketches; the first (on which the artist has written "Or—so—so?") represents Miss Trotwood sitting "flat down on the garden-path,"—a pose which, although accurate enough according to the text, was rightly deemed inartistic, whereupon the artist prepared another design, and submitted it to Dickens. In the second picture (where "Phiz" has queried, "Or—so?"), the lady stands erect, but the pathetic appearance of David is lost, and the composition of the background proves less fortunate. In the etching "Phiz" combined the two designs,—that is, he used the first drawing, but substituted the standing figure of Miss Trotwood for the seated one. On the margin of the second design the artist (in a humorous mood) has limned an unmerciful caricature of the whole incident. The third tentative drawing for this subject, believed to be the first sketch, was sold at Sotheby's in 1887 for £6, 15s.; it is now in the collection of Mr. Thomas Wright, of Paris.

With the sketch for "The Friendly Waiter and I" the novelist was delighted. "Phiz" originally represented David as wearing a long jacket, but this not being quite in accordance with Dickens's idea, he wrote asking the artist to "put Davy in a little jacket instead of this coat, without altering him in any other respect," which was accordingly done.

In the drawing for the plate entitled "My Magnificent Order at the Public-house," the form of the two large spirit-vessels behind David are more jug-shaped than in the etching. The "little white hat," by-the-way, as here worn by David, is just such head-gear as Dickens himself disported when a boy. In the drawing of David on the box-seat of the coach, "My First Fall in Life," the western towers of Canterbury Cathedral are indicated in the distance, but these are omitted in the etching. In the scene, "Mr. Micawber Delivers some Valedictory Remarks," certain faint lines are observable near the principal figure, indicating that he was originally delineated in a different attitude. The effective sketch of "The Wanderer" portrays more of the woman's figure than is visible in the plate. In the design entitled "Our Housekeeping," the frame of a mirror or picture is introduced on the wall behind David, but this was afterwards considered superfluous; and in the drawing of "The Emigrants," Mr. Micawber grasps a telescope, which does not appear in the plate. The drawing of "Mr. Peggotty's Dream Comes True" varies considerably from the etching, for not only is David seen wearing a hat (which in the etching is placed upon the table), but the artist has included a fourth figure, that of Rosa Dartle, who, seated in the chair, leans her head upon her arms above the table. The introduction of Miss Dartle is, of course, incorrect, as she had left the room before Mr. Peggotty entered; but the error was detected, and the necessary alteration effected in the published design.

"Phiz's" pictorial wrapper for the monthly parts is replete with detail, around the title in the centre being displayed various figures apparently exemplifying the Seven Ages of Man, with Dame Fortune crowning the whole.

The first cheap edition of "David Copperfield," 1858, contained a frontispiece by "Phiz," engraved on wood by Swain, representing Little Em'ly and David as children on Yarmouth Sands; to the Library Edition (1858-59) the artist contributed two vignettes (engraved on steel), the subject in the first volume being Little Em'ly and David by the sea, and for the second, another version of the etching entitled "Mr. Peggotty's Dream Comes True."

Bleak House, 1852-53.In the forty illustrations for "Bleak House" the artist introduced a greater variety of subjects, and resorted more frequently to the use of the ruling-machine, no less than ten being so treated with considerable success. "Phiz" etched one complete set of the plates and duplicates of the machine-ruled designs, which were repeated probably because they could not so readily withstand the wear-and-tear of the printing.

A very few of the "Bleak House" illustrations are signed. In some of them the details do not entirely accord with the letterpress, a noteworthy instance of this inaccuracy being found in the etching entitled "Miss Jellaby," who is represented as dipping her forefinger in the egg-cup, whereas we are told that it was her "inky middle finger." A more important oversight in the same picture is the introduction of the infant Jellaby in the bed, who was not in the room at all, as a careful reading of the text readily discloses. In two instances, Turveydrop père is depicted without the false whiskers he customarily wore, and in the illustration of "The Smallweed Family," the son is incorrectly omitted. It is perhaps worth noting an odd mistake on the part of the artist—in the etching entitled "Consecrated Ground" he has represented the iron gates in a manner to lead one to suppose they could not be opened; it is unfortunate, too, that, in this pathetic scene (in which, by the way, the chiaroscuro is curiously forced) he partly destroys its sentiment by inappropriately introducing on the left the comical shadow of a man in the act of drinking from a tankard. With reference to one of the characters in "Bleak House" Dickens wrote to Forster: "Browne has done Skimpole, and helped to make him singularly unlike the great original." The "great original" was, of course, Leigh Hunt, a fact which the novelist himself did not so successfully disguise, and subsequently paid the penalty for his indiscretion.

"Phiz" invariably depended upon his imagination or memory for his scenes and characters; as the artist himself expressed it, he would merely go "to have a look at a thing," and then be able to prepare his picture without further aid. For instance, before designing the weird illustration of "The Lonely Figure" in "Bleak House," he visited a lime-pit, in order to see what the big crushing-wheels were like that he desired to introduce, and made a mental note of them without leaving the seat of his trap.

Besides the original "working" drawings for "Dombey and Son" and "David Copperfield," Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans also possesses those for "Bleak House." They vary considerably in treatment, some being carefully rendered, while those reproduced with the mezzotint shading are very broadly and vigorously executed by means of a soft lead-pencil, the lights heightened with chinese-white. In comparing the drawings with the etchings, slight variations may here and there be noted; for example, in the design for "Mr. Guppy's Entertainment," Mr. Jobling was first seen wearing his hat, but this was partly obliterated and the contour of the head afterwards drawn in; in "Visitors at the Shooting Gallery," the figure of Mr. George is slightly different in pose, while the sword rests on his shoulder; in "Mr. Smallweed Breaks the Pipe of Peace," Miss Smallweed stands a short distance from her father's chair, holding his "long clay;" in the charming design representing "Lady Dedlock in the Wood," we see Ada coming up behind her ladyship, the figure of Charley (differently posed) being transferred to the other side of the picture. A more remarkable alteration, however, occurs in the design "Mr. Chadband 'Improving' a Tough Subject." Chadband's attitude is entirely changed from that in the etching, and Jo is placed on the other side of the drawing, with his back to Guster, while a cat reposes upon an ottoman near Mrs. Snagsby. In the drawing of "Attorney and Client," the face of Mr. Vholes is of a type differing from the published version, and his arms rest upon the desk; also, there is no waste-paper basket, and the deed-box is nearer the table. Mr. J. F. Dexter has another sketch for this illustration (presumably an earlier one), in which Richard Carstone stands with his back to the table, with his right hand pressed despondingly against his forehead. The original drawings for the sombre scenes, although more effective than the etched reproductions, are remarkably crude in treatment—a criticism which applies more especially to those depicting, "The Lonely Figure" and "The Night." The etchings of these subjects are technically superior to the drawings, their quality, however, being principally owing to the results obtained by means of the ruling-machine. The late Mr. James Payn once expressed the belief that it was "Phiz's" selection of subjects such as these which made him so acceptable an illustrator to Dickens.

In 1882, a writer in The Academy, who considered the illustrations in "Bleak House" as being practically perfect, said of them: "Not only is the comic side, the even fussily comic, such as 'The Young Man of the Name of Guppy,' understood and rendered well, but the dignified beauty of the old country-house architecture, or the architecture of the chambers of our Inns-of-court, is conveyed in brief touches; and there is apparent everywhere that element of terrible suggestiveness which made not only the art of Hablôt Browne, but the art of Charles Dickens himself, in this story of 'Bleak House,' recall the imaginative purpose of the art of Méryon. What can be more impressive in connection with the story—nay, even independently of the story—than the illustration of Mr. Tulkinghorn's chambers in gloom; than the illustration of the staircase of Dedlock's own house, with the placard of the reward for the discovery of the murderer; than that of Tom All Alone's; the dark, foul darkness of the burial-ground under scanty lamplight, and the special spot where lay the man who 'wos wery good to me—he wos!'? And then again, 'The Ghost's Walk,' and once more the burial-ground, with the woman's body—Lady Dedlock's—now close against its gate. Of course it would be possible to find fault with these things, but they have nothing of the vice of tameness—they deliver their message effectually. It is not their business to be faultless; it is their business to impress."

The design for the monthly wrapper is emblematical of the Court of Chancery, the artist availing himself of this opportunity of indulging in humorous pencillings reflecting upon the integrity of lawyers. "Phiz" contributed the frontispiece to the first cheap edition, 1858, representing Mr. Jarndyce and his friends in Bell Yard. He also designed the usual vignettes for the two volumes in the Library Edition (1858-59), which were engraved on steel; in the first is delineated Lady Dedlock and Jo, and in the second we behold Lady Dedlock and Esther Summerson in the wood, the latter composition much resembling the original etching of the same incident.

Little Dorrit, 1855-57.Among the illustrations in "Little Dorrit" there are some as feeble in execution as there are others remarkable for exceptionally vigorous treatment; and it is worthy of note that, whereas in "Bleak House" the artist began partly to relinquish the custom of appending his familiar nom de guerre to the plates, in "Little Dorrit" not a single design bears his signature.

An examination of the "Dorrit" etchings discloses the fact that no less than eight are toned by means of the ruling-machine, the result being even more satisfactory than usual. The first of these "ruled" plates represents the interior of a French prison, and the effect of deep gloom, enhanced by a few bright rays of light darting through the barred window, is remarkable for its Rembrandt-like chiaroscuro. Pleasantly contrasting with this sombre subject there is the plate depicting "The Ferry," a delightfully rural view, with trees and winding river, and that entitled "Floating Away," where the moon, rising behind the trees, imparts a romantic aspect to the scene. The old house in the last illustration but one, "Damocles," indicates "Phiz's" power in expressing the picturesqueness of ancient architecture, and his appreciation of the effect of light as it falls upon quaintly-carved door and window. The plate entitled "Mr. Flintwinch has a Mild Attack of Irritability" is probably one of the most forcible etchings ever executed by "Phiz," and it is difficult to conceive that the same master-hand was responsible for the apparently inexperienced work to be found in an earlier illustration, "Little Mother," the execution of which is as timid and lifeless as the other is bold and expressive.

"Phiz" etched one complete set of the plates, and duplicated the tinted subjects, the variations from the originals being slight and unimportant. Of the forty illustrations, thirty-four are on octavo plates containing single subjects, and three are quarto plates having two subjects on each.

Plate XXXVII

STUDY FOR MISS HAREDALE
Facsimile of an Original Drawing by H. K. BROWNE ("Phiz")