Among the early drawings by John Leech that passed through our hands were those he made for Thackeray's "Irish Sketch Book," which were probably copied from Thackeray's own pencil work, for he was not above having help on his drawings, the result not always being such as he expected. One day he said to Joseph Swain, "Why don't you engrave my drawings to come out like John Gilbert's—his work always looks so strong and mine so weak and scratchy?" Swain tried other helping hands, but seldom with satisfactory results. It was in this way that Fred Walker's connection with Thackeray began, Swain having induced him to work on the author's drawings, which he did on one or two, but very soon declined to go on with them. Walker asked that he might make original drawings direct from the story in his own manner, to which Thackeray agreed; and the result was a fine set of drawings for "Philip" and for other stories, as well as a close friendship between author and artist, only broken by the death of the great novelist.
We engraved many of Leech's drawings, notably the first he did for Punch—"Foreign Affairs" (as before mentioned). It was a full page, and had to be worked at from the moment it came into our hands till it was given to the printer.
John Leech, speaking of Frith's picture of "The Derby Day," could not understand how it was that Frith, in this carefully thought out and elaborate work, had missed one of the most notable facts at such places—inasmuch as he had not depicted anyone of the crowd smoking a pipe or cigar.
A Lay of St. Dunstan. By George Cruikshank.
FROM THE "INGOLDSBY LEGENDS."
By permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.
The vain, versatile George Cruikshank believed himself another "Admirable Crichton." He really thought he could do anything, and that most of his time having been spent as an illustrator was the result of circumstance and not of choice. He was impressionable in the highest degree, and depending on the subject under notice, immediately realised and expressed his ideas of what "should be done, and what he would have done if things had favoured him for a career in that direction." Once, the question being of a naval character, he said, "It was by the merest chance that I did not go into the Navy; and with my knowledge of such matters, no doubt I would have been a Rear-Admiral." He was great, also, on the Army, and no doubt felt that had circumstances drifted him in that direction, he would have become another Duke of Wellington. No man ever had greater faith in self than the clever, excitable George Cruikshank.
On the occasion of his exhibiting a small oil picture at the British Institution, called "The Dropped Penny," the fact that it was purchased by Prince Albert no doubt called extra special attention to it, to the extent that it might have been sold many times over. One gentleman was most anxious to have it; or, if this was impossible, would he make a replica? This George declined to do, but undertook a commission, only on the understanding that choice of subject and of size were to be left to him. This was readily agreed to. "The Dropped Penny" was a little thing about 18 by 24 inches. It was a comic picture—two urchins in church, one of whom having dropped a penny on the stone floor is about to pick it up, but they are observed by the Beadle.