Forty years of 'Spy'

by Sir Leslie Ward

"Yus—what abart the dockers," shouted a navvy next to him, and immediately pandemonium followed, Brookfield's hat being squashed in, his coat ripped up, and a few minutes later, two very dishevelled actors emerged from the melée, wondering vaguely why "the dockers" had proved such a sore point!

When I made my drawing of Sir Edgar Boehm, the famous sculptor, I depicted him working in a characteristic attitude upon his bust of Ruskin, which was in the rough clay and half finished. He was engaged also at the time upon a bust of Queen Victoria, to whom he was "Sculptor in Ordinary." Imagine my surprise when I received the following letter from Sir Edgar:—

"Feb. 2nd, 1881.

"Dear Mr. Ward,

"... Did you hear that the Queen when she saw your excellent portrait of me was under the impression that Ruskin's bust was meant for one of herself! till some time after the mistake was pointed out to H.M. I have heard it now from three different people who know, else I should not have believed that we could be for one instant suspected of being disloyal....

"Yours sincerely,

J. E. Boehm.

Very shortly after the deaths of Boehm, Millais, and Leighton (who died within a very short time of one another) it interested me to visit their tombs in St. Paul's, and I was almost staggered when I beheld on Sir Edgar Boehm's tomb a crude reproduction in brass of my Vanity Fair cartoon! Some time after I met Linley Sambourne (who was a particular friend of his), and when I asked him if he knew who was the designer, he replied, "His son—I thought you were aware of that. Have you never heard that Sir Edgar said that he should never give any friend his photograph in future, but always send the Vanity Fair representation of himself instead."

The sketch of George du Maurier I made for him while he was busily engaged at his drawing-table illustrating Trilby.

SIR EDGAR BOEHM, BART., R.A. 1881.

From the brass on Sir Edgar Boehm's tomb in St. Paul's Cathedral. The idea evidently was suggested, though without my knowledge, by the cartoon here reproduced.

I also made a caricature of his son, Gerald du Maurier, for Vanity Fair, who told me that Dana Gibson in his early days had such a great admiration for his father's work that he had founded his own largely from its study. When the two artists met many years after in London, du Maurier, who was not only a great artist but a man of singularly sweet and generous disposition, paid Dana Gibson the compliment of telling him that if, as a student, he had used him as a guide the follower had certainly outstripped the leader. The story reflects the modesty and generosity of George du Maurier, but, of course, it does not follow that this view is taken by the public.