Dickens and His Illustrators Part 27

PICTURES FROM ITALY--_Library Edition_, 1862. Four Ill.u.s.trations.

AMERICAN NOTES--_Library Edition_, 1862. Four Ill.u.s.trations.

A CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND--_Library Edition_, 1862. Eight Ill.u.s.trations.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES--_First Cheap Edition_, 1864. Frontispiece.

From this record it will be seen that (with the exception, perhaps, of the frontispiece for "A Tale of Two Cities") all the above-mentioned designs were executed prior to those for "Our Mutual Friend." It was hardly to be antic.i.p.ated that Mr. Stone's pencil would rival the work of his more experienced contemporaries, yet it will be seen that these ill.u.s.trations are characterised by the very essential quality of always telling their story. Mr. Stone much regrets that he never had the opportunity of doing himself justice in black-and-white Art. Needless to say, he revels in subjects appertaining to a bygone age, as they afford considerable scope for pictorial treatment, and one of the novels he would have most enjoyed to ill.u.s.trate is "Barnaby Rudge," because of the picturesque period in which the story is laid. In response to my enquiry why he did not undertake the ill.u.s.tration of d.i.c.kens's next and final romance, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," Mr. Stone explains: "I had entirely given up black-and-white work when 'Edwin Drood' was written, and was making an ample income by my pictures. I was not in the field at all." Indeed, black-and-white drawing possessed little to attract the young artist, who, preferring the more alluring charm of colour, had already begun to acquire a reputation as a painter. In 1877 he was elected an a.s.sociate of the Royal Academy, and ten years later was advanced to the full rank of Academician. During the last twenty years his most popular pictures have been his groups of interesting lovers and pathetic maidens; for, after exhibiting in eighteen Academy Exhibitions various presentments of human pa.s.sion, he at last decided to limit himself to the one which makes the widest appeal to all sorts and conditions of men and women, such as those subtle domestic dramas in which love plays the leading _role_.

Mr. Marcus Stone's intimacy with Charles d.i.c.kens originated while his father, Frank Stone, and the novelist were living not more than a couple of houses apart; but it should be understood that the elder artist and the author of "Pickwick" were friends many years before they were neighbours. From the days of his childhood until the famous writer breathed his last, Mr. Stone spent a portion of every year of his life at d.i.c.kens's abode. "I saw him," he observes, "under the most natural and simple conditions, and my affection and regard for him were intense.

d.i.c.kens was one of the shyest and most sensitive of men, as I have reason to know, for I saw him constantly at his own home, often for weeks together. He used to treat me as though I were his son. Nothing was more delightful than the way in which he shared our pleasures and pursuits. His influence was like suns.h.i.+ne in my life whilst his own lasted." Mr. Stone occasionally took part in private theatricals at Tavistock House, where the novelist had installed "The Smallest Theatre in the World," and the artist has pleasant recollections of his own share in the various plays, such as Planche's fairy extravaganza, "Fortunio," in which he impersonated the Captain of the Guard, and Wilkie Collins's "The Frozen Deep," where, as an Officer in the British Navy, he had but three words to say.

LUKE FILDES, R.A.

An Ill.u.s.trator Required for "THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD"--Charles Alston Collins Offers his Services--His Design for the Wrapper--He Prepares Sketches for the First Number--Ill-Health--The Project abandoned--Death of Mr.

Collins creates a Dilemma--"The Fellow for 'Edwin Drood'"

Discovered--Luke Fildes, R.A.--His Drawing of "Houseless and Hungry"--Specimens of his Black-and-White Drawings Submitted to d.i.c.kens--A Complimentary Letter from the Novelist--Mr.

Fildes Elected to Ill.u.s.trate "Edwin Drood"--First Meeting of Author and Artist--A Pen-Portrait of d.i.c.kens--A Memorable Interview--Pictorial Exactness--Working under Difficulties--Studies from the Life--Successful Realisation of Types--The Opium-Smokers' Den--Cloisterham--The Artist's Method of Executing his Designs--The Engraved Reproductions--The _Finale_ of the Story Hinted at--Mr.

Fildes Invited to Gad's Hill--Suggestion for the Last Drawing--Death of d.i.c.kens--"The Empty Chair"--A Visit to John Forster--A Curious Coincidence--Pleasing Reminiscences of d.i.c.kens--Mementoes of the Novelist--Unpublished Drawings for "Edwin Drood."

PLATE LXI

LUKE FILDES, R.A.

From a Photograph specially taken for this Work by

JAMES HYATT

[Ill.u.s.tration]

When Mr. Marcus Stone, R.A., had completed his designs for "Our Mutual Friend," he determined to relinquish black-and-white drawing and to concentrate his energy upon painting; but for this, it is probable that his skilled pencil would have been requisitioned for Charles d.i.c.kens's last story, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." That the re-engagement of Hablot Browne as ill.u.s.trator of that unfinished romance was not contemplated may be attributed chiefly to the fact that, in 1867, the clever artist whose name and fame will ever be a.s.sociated with the writings of d.i.c.kens was unhappily struck with severe paralysis, and consequently his hand had lost its cunning. The a.s.sistance of either of these draughtsmen being, therefore, out of the question, the novelist was compelled to seek a new ill.u.s.trator, and at this crisis his son-in-law, Charles Alston Collins (brother of Wilkie Collins), intimated that he would like to undertake the necessary designs for "Edwin Drood," or rather to test his powers in that direction. Although he occupied himself, in a desultory fas.h.i.+on, with both Literature and Art, Charles Collins had been bred a painter, and achieved a notable position among the young artists of the Pre-Raphaelite School. He favoured the pen, however, rather than the pencil, his fugitive pieces being distinguished for the most part by humour of a charming quality.

d.i.c.kens had great faith in his artistic talent, and accordingly (on September 14, 1869) sent his publishers the following note: "Charles Collins wishes to try his hand at ill.u.s.trating my new book. I want him to try the cover first. Please send down to him at Gad's Hill any of our old green covers you may have by you." The pictorial wrapper was satisfactorily completed, whereupon Charles Collins began to prepare sketches for the first number, an undertaking which he looked upon rather as an experiment. Ill-health, alas! proved a serious obstacle, and, after making a futile endeavour to realise his conceptions, he was compelled to abandon the project altogether. It has been suggested that, as the leading incidents portrayed by him on the cover were intended to prefigure the course of the narrative, Charles Collins must have obtained a clue to the "mystery" involved in the story. As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that he had the faintest notion of the meaning of the enigmatical little _tableaux_ of which his design consists; on the contrary, it is a.s.serted that he merely received the novelist's verbal directions without obtaining any hint as to their real significance. Charles Alston Collins died in 1873 in his forty-fifth year, having "borne much suffering, through many trying years, with uncomplaining patience." He was a son-in-law of Charles d.i.c.kens, whose younger daughter, Kate, he married in 1860, the occasion being signalised by much rejoicing on the part of the novelist's friends and neighbours at Gad's Hill.

The speedy relinquishment by Charles Collins of the ill.u.s.trating of "Edwin Drood" caused something of a dilemma. d.i.c.kens being again without an ill.u.s.trator, he appealed for advice to his friends Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Millais, R.A., and Mr. W. P. Frith, R.A., who promised to aid him in searching for a suitable artist. Shortly afterwards there was published in the initial number of _The Graphic_ an engraving ent.i.tled "Houseless and Hungry," depicting a crowd of vagrants of both s.e.xes awaiting admission to the workhouse,--a picture at once so powerfully conceived and so pathetic in sentiment that it immediately attracted the attention of Sir John Millais, who immediately hastened in a cab to d.i.c.kens's rooms at Hyde Park Place, bearing in his hand a copy of the new journal. Striding into the study, and waving _The Graphic_ above his head, the famous painter exclaimed, "I've got him!"

"Got whom?" inquired the novelist.

"The fellow for 'Edwin Drood,'" replied Millais, as he threw the paper down on the table.

No sooner had d.i.c.kens examined the picture than he became similarly enthusiastic in his praise, and wrote forthwith to his publishers, requesting them to communicate with the artist, Mr. Samuel Luke Fildes, now a popular Royal Academician, but who was then comparatively unknown in the world of Art. At the period referred to, Mr. Fildes was a young man of five-and-twenty, who had but just begun to make his mark as a draughtsman in black-and-white. After some desultory study of drawing and painting at Chester and Warrington, he came to London in 1862 for the purpose of seeing the Great Exhibition, and was so impressed that he determined to make his future home in the Metropolis. In the following year he gained a scholars.h.i.+p at the South Kensington Schools, and afterwards became a student of the Royal Academy. _The Cornhill, Once a Week_, and other magazines then in the ascendant, owed much of their popularity to the beautiful designs by Millais, Leighton, and similarly distinguished artists, and these remarkable productions inclined Mr.

Fildes to adopt book-ill.u.s.tration as a stepping-stone towards painting.

Good-fortune attended his efforts, and in June 1869, by which time he had achieved a position as a black-and-white draughtsman, he received an intimation from Mr. W. L. Thomas that he had conceived the idea of publis.h.i.+ng a new ill.u.s.trated paper, eventually called _The Graphic_, and suggested that he should draw something effective, the subject to be the artist's own choice, for publication therein.

PLATE LXII

STUDY FOR THE HEAD OF

NEVILLE LANDLESS

_Facsimile_ of an Original Sketch for "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" by

LUKE FILDES, R.A.

_Lent by the Artist._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"I went home," says Mr. Fildes, "and, at ten o'clock on a terribly hot night, I sat with a piece of paper and sketched out the idea for 'The Casuals.' Some few years before, when I first came to London, I was very fond of wandering about, and remember beholding somewhere near the Portland Road, one snowy winter's night, the applicants for admission to a casual ward." Recollecting the incident, Mr. Fildes endeavoured to reproduce this scene as a subject likely to prove acceptable to the manager of _The Graphic_, and it was that very picture which, as already related, led to the artist's introduction to the famous novelist.

Messrs. Chapman & Hall, who had been authorised to write to Mr. Fildes respecting the ill.u.s.tration of "Edwin Drood," desired him to submit specimens of his black-and-white work, and at the same time expressed a hope that, as they had no recollection of having seen representations of beautiful women in any of his drawings, he would enclose a few examples of his ability in that direction, for the very important reason that in Charles d.i.c.kens's new story would appear two attractive heroines. Mr.

Fildes immediately dispatched a parcel containing various ill.u.s.trations designed by him for the magazines, and promised to execute, for the novelist's inspection, two or three drawings of scenes from one of his stories. A few days later the artist became the recipient of a very complimentary letter, in which d.i.c.kens said: "I beg to thank you for the highly meritorious and interesting specimens of your art that you have had the kindness to send me. I return them herewith, after having examined them with the greatest pleasure. I am naturally curious to see your drawing from 'David Copperfield,' in order that I may compare it with my own idea. In the meanwhile, I can honestly a.s.sure you that I entertain the greatest admiration for your remarkable powers."

In accordance with his own proposal, Mr. Fildes prepared two or three designs from "Copperfield," one of which fulfilled the requisite condition that it should contain a representation of a pretty girl, the subject selected being the scene depicting Peggotty embracing Little Em'ly after the announcement of her betrothal to Ham. d.i.c.kens considered these drawings so eminently satisfactory that he desired the artist to call upon him at his temporary residence, No. 5 Hyde Park Place, for the purpose of consulting him regarding the ill.u.s.trations for "Edwin Drood."

The eventful day at length arrived when author and artist met for the first time, and the auspicious occasion is thus pleasantly recalled in the following note from Mr. Fildes (written for "Charles d.i.c.kens by Pen and Pencil"), in response to my inquiry respecting his earliest impressions of the novelist's personality:--

"I can tell you so little of d.i.c.kens that is 'terse, graphic, or vivid.'

It's so long ago! He pa.s.sed by me so like a vision. At least it seems so to me now. When I first saw him, I felt a little oppressed--I don't know why--he loomed so large, and was so great in my imagination. He rose from his writing-table to greet me. He was dressed in dark clothes; I cannot quite recall the cut of coat, but it was loose and unb.u.t.toned,--a black silk neckerchief was loosely tied, with hanging ends, round his throat. His general appearance, with the 'cut' of his head, gave me the idea--perhaps reminded me somehow--of one who was, or had been, connected with the sea. But I thought so much of the Man, and had so affectionate a respect, that it never occurred to me then nor since to take an inventory of his features or the details of his clothes. I could possibly be contradicted on nearly every point were I to attempt it.

What I do remember--and it is as clear to me as yesterday--is the indescribable sweetness and kindness of manner--a frank affectionate way that drew me towards him the moment I saw him. I don't know what it was, or how--perhaps his smile, the clasp of his hand, the drawing me down to sit beside him--but I felt like one does with one's own father, that you 'get on with' when a boy. That impression never left me."

PLATE LXIII

STUDIES FOR

EDWIN DROOD

_Facsimile_ of Original Sketches by

LUKE FILDES, R.A.

This figure appears in the Ill.u.s.tration ent.i.tled 'At the Piano.' _Vide_ "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

_Lent by the Artist._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

When, at this memorable interview, d.i.c.kens had expressed his requirements, Mr. Fildes (as he himself informs me) explained to the novelist that, while fully appreciating the honour of being selected as ill.u.s.trator of "Edwin Drood," he would be compelled most reluctantly to forego the privilege if it were really a _sine qua non_ that the designs should be of a humorous character, following the lead of the versatile "Phiz." He conceived it advisable to make it clearly understood, there and then, that comic drawing was not his _metier_, and ventured to remind the novelist that his stories, in view of the fact that they possessed an intensely serious side as well as a jocular one, lent themselves admirably to a graver style of Art. After pondering for a moment, d.i.c.kens observed that he was "a little tired" of being regarded by his ill.u.s.trators mainly as a humorist,--a remark, however, which he qualified in a manner that did not at all suggest dissatisfaction with those artists, but implied, rather, that he was not averse to the more solemn incidents in his writings being considered by his pictorial interpreters; his agreement with Mr. Fildes in this respect might well have arisen from what he knew would be the leading characteristic of his last romance (certainly not humorous), which would give scope only to the "serious" artist. The interview resulted in the appointment of Mr.

Fildes as ill.u.s.trator of the forthcoming story, and in a letter to James T. Fields (of Boston, U.S.A.) the novelist said: "At the very earnest representations of Millais (and after having seen a great number of his drawings), I am going to engage with a new man; retaining, of course, C.

C.'s [Charles Collins's] cover." So content was d.i.c.kens with his choice of this artist, that he could not refrain from expressing his satisfaction to his friends.

[Sidenote: =The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 1870.=]