Produced by Ben Courtney, Keith M. Eckrich and the PG Online
Distributed Proofreaders
[Frontispiece: Mr. and Mrs. Candle.
From the original drawing by JOHN LEECH. In the possession of JOHNKENDRICK BANGS. Esq. The lower portion has never before beenreproduced.]
By GEORGE DU MAURIER,
Author of "Trilby" "The Martian" &c.
Mr. and Mrs. Caudle
John Leech
"In the Bay of Biscay O"
A Specimen of Pluck
One of Mr. Briggs's Adventures in the Highlands
Thank Goodness! Fly-fishing has begun!
"The jolly little Street Arabs"
Doing a little Business
A Tolerably Broad Hint
Charles Keene
The Snowstorm, Jan. 2, 1867
Waiting for the Landlord!
A Stroke of Business
"None o' your Larks"
An Affront to the Service
"Not up to his Business"
George du Maurier
Feline Amenities
The New Society Craze
A Pictorial Puzzle
Refinements of Modern Speech
"Reading without Tears"
The Height of Impropriety
Things one would wish to have expressed differently
It is my purpose to speak of the craft to which I have devoted thebest years of my life, the craft of portraying, by means of littlepen-and-ink strokes, lines, and scratches, a small portion of theworld in which we live; such social and domestic incidents as lendthemselves to humorous or satirical treatment; the illustratedcriticism of life, of the life of our time and country, in its lighteraspects.
The fact that I have spent so many years in the practice of this craftdoes not of itself, I am well aware, entitle me to lay down the lawabout it; the mere exercise of an art so patent to all, so easilyunderstanded of the people, does not give one any special insight intoits simple mysteries, beyond a certain perception and appreciation ofthe technical means by which it is produced—unless one is gifted withthe critical faculty, a gift apart, to the possession of which I makeno claim.
There are two kinds of critics of such work as ours. First there isthe wide public for whom we work and by whom we are paid; "who livesto please must please to live"; and who lives by drawing for a comicperiodical must manage to please the greater number. The judgment ofthis critic, though often sound, is not infallible; but his verdictfor the time being is final, and by it we, who live by our wits andfrom hand to mouth, must either stand or fall.
The other critic is the expert, our fellow-craftsman, who has learnedby initiation, apprenticeship, and long practice the simple secrets ofour common trade. He is not quite infallible either, and is apt toconcern himself more about the manner than the matter of ourperfo