NORTH ITALIAN FOLK.

The Gaming Tables at Monte Carlo.The Gaming Tables at Monte Carlo.

From the fashionable crowd and the heated atmosphere of the Casino the artist takes us along the cool shores of the Mediterranean, where, in one of the best sketches in these letters, full of air andlight, he brings two figures into unexpected contrast. "Walking one afternoon along the Mentone road, we reached a point commanding a fine view of sea, hills, and olive trees. There was a stone seat, and on it an aged round-backed man. On the wall and bench before him were spread out many cards dotted with the results of numerous twirls of the roulette ball. He was studying his chances for the future. As we turned away we met a priest reading in a little book as he passed."

As the landscapes suffered in reproduction in the newspaper, and were the least successful part in these letters, it may be well to mention that some of Caldecott's landscape studies in oils and water colours, on the shores of the Mediterranean, were the best he ever did, attracting much attention at the sale of his works in 1886.

That he did not put a high estimate on his powers as a landscape painter at that time may be gathered from a few words in a private letter declining some commissions.

"The drawings that G. so kindly enquires about are not in my line. I would rather not attempt to paint what I imagine he wants—proper professional water-colour landscape painter's work.

Priest and Player."Priest and Player."

"Please say that my line is to make to smile the lunatic who has shown no sign of mirth for many months (see theGraphicof Saturday last, 6th January, p. 7, right-hand column—I tumbled upon it in the reading room of the Casino), and not to portray the beauties of this southern clime—not but what I would if I could!"

It was in the same winter, during his journey in North Italy, that Caldecott made twenty-eight illustrations for a book onNorth Italian Folk.[9]Here Caldecott's studies, and his habit of sketching the peasantry wherever he went, served him well. Take the picture of the priest and his faithful servant Caterina; the latter, reproaching her master for bringing home a neighbour, Maddalena, "to eat twolasagnewith us!" Caterina is "a gaunt threadbare-looking woman of some five-and-thirtyyears, and theprevostois gaunt too, and sallow; the two match well together. Caterina's hair is smooth though scant, and her faded print dress is neat, but the bright yellow kerchief round her shoulders is soiled, and the cunning plaits of her grey hair are not as well ordered as the women's are wont to be on mass days.

The Priest's Servant Administers a Reproof.The Priest's Servant Administers a Reproof.

"Presently Caterina bustles into the darkened parlour, where sits theprevostolazily smoking hispipe and reading the country newspaper. He has put aside even the least of his clerical garments now, and lounges at ease in an old coat and slippers, his tonsured head covered by a battered straw hat."'Listen to me,' breaks forth the faithful woman, and she is not careful to modulate her voice even to a semblance of secrecy, 'you don't bring another mouth for me to feed here when it is baking day again.Per Bacco, no indeed!... It sha'n't happen again, do you hear? And I have the holy wafers to bake besides. For shame of you! Come now to your dinner in the kitchen!' And Caterina, the better for this free expression, hastens to dish up theminestra."'Poor old priest! What a shrew he has got in his house,' says some pitying reader. Yet he would not part with her for worlds! She is his solace and his right hand, and loves him none the less because of her sharp tongue and uncurbed speech. In many a lone and cheerless home of Italian priest can I call to mind such a woman as this—such a fond and faithful drudge, with harsh ways and a soft heart."

"'Listen to me,' breaks forth the faithful woman, and she is not careful to modulate her voice even to a semblance of secrecy, 'you don't bring another mouth for me to feed here when it is baking day again.Per Bacco, no indeed!... It sha'n't happen again, do you hear? And I have the holy wafers to bake besides. For shame of you! Come now to your dinner in the kitchen!' And Caterina, the better for this free expression, hastens to dish up theminestra.

"'Poor old priest! What a shrew he has got in his house,' says some pitying reader. Yet he would not part with her for worlds! She is his solace and his right hand, and loves him none the less because of her sharp tongue and uncurbed speech. In many a lone and cheerless home of Italian priest can I call to mind such a woman as this—such a fond and faithful drudge, with harsh ways and a soft heart."

Another picture inNorth Italian Folkseems to give the character of the peasantry and the scenery exactly. "The sun glitters on the pale sea that isdown and away a mile or more beyond the sloping fields and gardens, and the dipping valley. Giovanni pauses to rest his burthen upon the wall just where the way turns to the right again, leaving the mountains and chestnut-clad hills behind it."

The Husbandman.The Husbandman.

Gossip.Gossip.

Here in the sketch we are made to feel the sunlight and the glare from the sea on the southern slope; every detail of the pathway, to the stones in the old wall, being accurately given.

Never, perhaps, in any book since Washington Irving'sOld ChristmasandBracebridge Hallwas the illustrator more in touch with the author than inNorth Italian Folk; but for some reason—probably because Caldecott's work and style had become identified with English people and their ways, both abroad and at home—the illustrations made little impression. The completeness of the pictures, and the local colour infused into them by the author, left little to be done; moreover, Caldecott was not on his own ground, and to draw buildings and landscape in black and white, with the finish, and what is technically called the "colour," considered necessary for a book of this kind, was always irksome to him.

Less characteristic, but charming as a drawing, is the group of country girls under the cherry trees, reproduced on the opposite page. It is a picture worth having for its own sake, whether it aid thetext or not, and one with which we may fitly leave this volume.

Dignity and Impudence."Dignity and Impudence."

Spaniels, King Charles's Breed."Spaniels, King Charles's Breed." Sir E. Landseer, R.A.

Early in the year 1877 Caldecott made several drawings for an illustrated catalogue of the National Gallery. Amongst the best in the English section were the two sketches from Sir Edwin Landseer's pictures, reproduced here. The grave portrait of an old bloodhound in "Dignity and Impudence," and the animation and movement in the diminutive poodle by his side,are indicated in a few expressive lines. The bright eyes of the two little spaniels of King Charles's breed glitter under his hand in the original pen and ink sketch.

Portrait of a Lawyer by Moroni.Portrait of a Lawyer by Moroni.

For the foreign section of the book on theNational Gallery he made many sketches, notably one of the "Portrait of a Lawyer" by Moroni. Here the touch and method of line are different; quality was more considered, and an attempt made to give something of the effect of the picture.

But neither he, nor those with whom he worked in those days, had mastered the best methods of drawing for mechanical reproduction, as they are understood now; fascinating as it seemed to him, and to many other illustrators also, to learn that the time had come when, by mechanical—or more properly chemical—engraving, the touch of the pen could be printed on the page.

It may be said generally in 1877, that Caldecott disliked drawing for "process," and that after years of experience, and having achieved most successful results by photographic engraving, he remained faithful to the wood engraver. The delicate little drawings in brown ink, which were dispersed in hundreds under the auctioneer's hammer in June, 1886, had nearly all been photographed on to wood blocks.

In June, 1877, Caldecott—staying at Shaldon,Teignmouth, South Devon, for the benefit of his health, chafing under enforced idleness and "debarred by the doctors from all sport," as he says—writes a letter with the following little sketch of "Waiting for a Boat."

Waiting for a Boat."Waiting for a Boat."

"The weather has been unwell for many of the days, and has much interfered with the intellectual occupation of enticing 'dabs' on to hooks let down into the sea by pieces of string and concealed by shreds of mussels."On only one occasion have I been engaged in this exciting pursuit—all chases and pursuits are more or less exciting—but this one on that account can hardly be considered 'detrimental' tomy health. There were three of us in the boat when I engaged in the sport. We had a large can of fine mussels. We threw out the lines and hauled them in every now and then, for three good hours, being about a mile out to sea. Two whole dabs were the result. I was quite calm as we rowed home."I do not boast of this exploit, although the larger dab was at least seven inches long by four and a half wide, and fully 3/8 of an inch thick. Still I glow a little as I recount his measurements."

"On only one occasion have I been engaged in this exciting pursuit—all chases and pursuits are more or less exciting—but this one on that account can hardly be considered 'detrimental' tomy health. There were three of us in the boat when I engaged in the sport. We had a large can of fine mussels. We threw out the lines and hauled them in every now and then, for three good hours, being about a mile out to sea. Two whole dabs were the result. I was quite calm as we rowed home.

"I do not boast of this exploit, although the larger dab was at least seven inches long by four and a half wide, and fully 3/8 of an inch thick. Still I glow a little as I recount his measurements."

Many illustrations were made in the autumn of 1877 for theGraphicand other publications which need not be detailed. A painting of one of his favourite hunting scenes was also in progress, in spite of dark days and delicate health.

Cleopatra"Cleopatra."

For Mr. Frederick Locker-Lampson, the poet, Caldecott made in the years 1877-8, twelve drawings to illustrateBramble Rise,A Winter Phantasy,My Neighbour Rose, and other verses. These illustrations, most delicately drawn in pen and ink, have not yet been published. One was used in 1881 in a privately printed edition of theLondon Lyrics, and three in 1883, in a little volume of theLyricsprinted by the "Book Fellows Club" in New York. Caldecott afterwards made four illustrations for Mrs. Locker-Lampson's child's book,What the Blackbird Said, and two years afterwards, in 1882, an illustration to herGreystoke Hall. These two books are published by Messrs. Routledge.

In 1878 he exhibited his picture of "The Three Huntsmen" riding home in evening light. It was hung rather high in Gallery VII. at the Royal Academy Exhibition, and technically could hardly be pronounced a success; but it was a distinct advance on previous exhibited work, and drew the serious attention of critics to Caldecott as a painter. The sketch appeared in an article on the Academy inL'Art, vol. xx. p. 211. Of this oil painting, Mr. Mundella, the late President of the Board of Trade writes:—

"The picture was bought by me of poor Caldecott in 1878. I think it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in that year, but I bought it from his easel. It is an oil painting, 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 9 in., and the subject is the 'Three Huntsmen.' I remember his bringing the song to my house after the purchase, and reading the song with great enjoyment, pointing out to us how he had illustrated the verse, 'We hunted and we holloed till the setting of the sun.' My little granddaughter (Millais' 'Dorothy Thorpe') was his model for several of his Christmas books. She is the little girl inSing a Song of Sixpenceand several others, and possesses copies sent by him with little sketches and dedications. He is indeed a national loss."

The Three Huntsmen (Oil Painting).The Three Huntsmen (Oil Painting).Royal Academy, 1878.

In the Grosvenor Gallery of the same year Caldecott exhibited a small metal bas-relief of "A Boar Hunt," of which he made the following sketch inGrosvenor Notes.

"A Boar Hunt" Bas-relief."A Boar Hunt" (Bas-relief).Grosvenor Gallery, 1878.No. 232. 8 in. × 18 in.

Special interest attaches to this design, also to "The Horse Fair in Brittany," reproduced on page137, for the insight it gives of Caldecott's varied artistic powers, which, by force of circumstances, were always held in reserve. If, as a writer remarks, "The treatment of reliefs is a test of the state of a school of sculpture," these examples mayhelp to "place" Caldecott amongst contemporary artists.

Early in 1878, Mr. Edmund Evans, the wood engraver, came to him with a proposal that he should illustrate some books for children to be printed in colours. The plan was soon decided upon, and the first of thePicture Bookswas begun. In the summer of the same year, Caldecott went with the writer for a second time to Brittany.

It was at first intended to take a gig and drive through and through, the country, giving an account of adventures from day to day, and Caldecott (who was more at home perhaps, in a gig than in any other position of life) favoured the idea; but time and other circumstances prevented.

The next proposal was to give a general description of the country and its people, its churches and ruined castles, as they exist to-day. But Caldecott did not take to this idea; he never in his lifetime drew buildings with the same facility as figures, and, at that time, to attempt to make drawings of chateaux, cathedrals and the like, would have been unsuccessful. So the book,Brittany Picturesque, which had already been partly written, was laid aside to give space for sketches ofBreton Folk.[10]

The Trap."The Trap."

"We obtained a trap in a few days"—not the gig, independent of a driver, which Caldecott always sighed for. His delight and high spirits on the first journey, in 1874, are seen in the sketch where he is waving farewell to some astonished peasantry. To be "on the road" was always a pleasure to Caldecott, from the "old Whitchurch days," whichhe often described to his friends—driving home in the dark at reckless speed after a late supper, in a dog-cart full of rather uproarious company—down to 1885 at Frensham, when as host, he would drive his friends in the lanes of Surrey.

At least 200 sketches must have been made in these journeys; besides jottings of heads, figures and the like, and several drawings in water colours.

Sketching under Difficulties.Sketching under Difficulties.

The summer fêtes and "pardons," all through thecountry, furnished capital material for his pencil, the women's caps of different districts were each recorded, and here and there a solemn suggestive landscape noted for a picture which was never to be completed.

Breton Farmer and Cattle.Breton Farmer and Cattle.

The circumstances under which some of the sketches were made is indicated on page171.

One of the first drawings made in Brittany, both in colour and black and white (a scene of which Caldecott was always desirous of making a finished picture), was the buckwheat harvest, with the women at work in the fields. Many similar scenes were put down in note-books, many were the studiesof clouds careering over the wind-blown land, which were never engraved or published.

A Wayside Cross.A Wayside Cross.

Two of the principal events in these journeys were visits to a horse fair at Le Folgoet, and to a cattle fair at Carhaix, where Caldecott made the following sketches:—

"Le Folgoet is in the north of Finisterre, in the north-west corner of Brittany. The country is forthe most part flat and dreary in aspect; a few fields of buckwheat, corn, and rye are passed on the road, protected by banked-up hedges, and skirted by pollard trees.

At the Horse Fair, Le Folgoet.At the Horse Fair, Le Folgoet.

"On the road as we approach the fair, a mile and a half from the town, is a characteristic figure, a barefootedgaminwith red cap and grey jersey trotting out an old chestnut mare." As he stopsand turns to look back, he is thus rapidly recorded in a sketch.

Trotting out Horses at Carhaix.Trotting out Horses at Carhaix.Trotting out Horses at Carhaix.

Apart from the artistic material so abundant everywhere, Caldecott's love for animals and knowledge of them, his interest in everything connected with farming, markets, country life and surroundings, roused him to exertions at Carhaix which none but the most hardy "special artist" would have attempted.

It was an exciting time for Caldecott, both on the road and at the fair; materials for his pencil were everywhere, and for three days there was little rest.

Cattle Fair at Carhaix.Cattle Fair at Carhaix.

Carhaix being in the centre of Brittany, far remote from railways, had special attractions in the variety of character and costume. Here, weak in health as Caldecott then was, he stood and worked all day, being especially interested in the trotting out and sale of horses. Turning to our diary:—

"The horse fair was held in a large square orplace. Under the trees was a crowd of men and women in the dust and heat; horses, cattle, pigs and dogs, in confused movement; with much drinking and shouting at the booths which lined one side of the enclosure."

A Typical Breton.A Typical Breton.

A Bretonne.A Bretonne.

It was in this year (1878) that he made some extraordinarily rapid sketches in colour with the brush direct, without a touch of the pencil or anything to guide him on the paper. Few sketches of this kind exist, excepting rough notes in books not intended for publication. In the evening the figures in the streets and at the inns had to be noted down.

The next day, which Caldecott called "a rest," was devoted to visiting two farms in the neighbourhood, seeing as much as possible of the interiors of the old houses near Carhaix, with their carved bedsteads, cabinets and clocks, old brasswork and embroideries. It was a rather anxious time for his travelling companion, for there was no restraining Caldecott with such material before him, and he was overworked.

It was in this district that he made one of his most successful sketches; a typical Breton (p.177), in ancient costume with long hair andknee breeches; a figure rarely met with in these days.

In the south-west corner of Brittany, a few miles south of Quimperlé, at a point where the river spreads out into a narrow estuary four miles from the sea, is the primitive little village called appropriately Pont Aven.

Caldecott was much amused, and scandalised at the aspect of the village on our arrival one afternoon; a scene which he thus records on a letter, and afterwards drew forBreton Folk.

Writing from Pont Aven and recounting "the places which we have visited, done, sketched, interviewed and memorandumed"—he adds:—

"On this journey I have seen more pleasing types of Bretons (and Bretonnes, especially) than in my former rambles in the Côtes du Nord; but there is generally something wrong about each hotel. This particular inn is comfortable. Seven Americans, two or three of them ladies, and about four French people dined with us, mostly of the artist persuasion.

A Cap of Finisterre.A Cap of Finisterre.

"The village and the river sides, the meadows and the valleys reek with artists. A large gang pensions at another inn here."On approaching Pont Aven the traveller notices a curious noise rising from the ground and from the woods around him. It is the flicking of the paint brushes on the canvasses of the hardworking painters who come into view seated in leafy nooks and shady corners. These artists go not far from the town where is cider, billiards and tobacco."

"The village and the river sides, the meadows and the valleys reek with artists. A large gang pensions at another inn here.

"On approaching Pont Aven the traveller notices a curious noise rising from the ground and from the woods around him. It is the flicking of the paint brushes on the canvasses of the hardworking painters who come into view seated in leafy nooks and shady corners. These artists go not far from the town where is cider, billiards and tobacco."

Returning from Labour—Pont Aven, 1878.Returning from Labour—Pont Aven, 1878.

One of the best of Caldecott's sketches here was "Returning from Labour," a quiet spot on the banks of the Aven where he made several studies.

"Here we feel inclined for the first time to stay and sketch, wandering along the coast to the fishing villages, and visiting farms and homesteads."

From another inn, in an "out of the way" part of Finisterre, he writes:—

"The Hotel du Midi where we put up is conducted in a simple manner; ladies would not like its arrangements. Several inhabitants, and a visitor or two, dine at the table d'hôte, but all are unable to carve a duck excepting the English visitor, who is accordingly put down as a cook."

Many works, such as the frieze of a horse fair (p.137), models in terra cotta and paintings, were the outcome of the Brittany journeys in 1874 and 1878; but Caldecott did not give himself a chance to do what he wished in France; other work crowded upon him in 1878, and before he had time to finish the sketches forBreton Folk, he had to return to London to complete drawings for hisPicture Books, and other work in hand for theGraphicnewspaper.

A Breton.A Breton.

In a letter from London, received at the Abbey of St. Jacut in Brittany on the 29th August, 1878, he says:—

"I have not been able to settle well down to work yet. Sitting about on hotel benches for a month with Mr. Blackburn is unhinging. * * * "I fancied somehow that, after the wild career of dissipation in other parts of Brittany, he might find the calm of a cloister insufficiently exciting, and consequently might drag you round to more lively places. I am glad that I am wrong."

The drawings of the "Family Horse," (of "Cleopatra" on page165,) the sketch in Woburn Park, and several others, were made when on a visit in the neighbourhood in October 1878. A letter referring to his visit to Woburn says:—"On the last evening of Mr. Caldecott's visit here, he was sitting at the dining-room table with the two little boys on his knees, and the rest of the family standing round him. We asked him to draw us each something, and he made us choose our own subjects. The sketch of himself riding in the park is one of them; it amused him very much to see the deer standing gazing at us."

A Family Horse."A Family Horse."

Sketch In Woburn ParkSketch In Woburn Park

At another time there comes a coloured birthday card to a child in London who was fond of flowers; a dark red carnation the size of life, presented by a Lilliputian figure in old-fashioned green coat, with white frill and periwig.

A Carnation.A Carnation.

Side by side with Caldecott's missives to little children might be printed many a kindly letter to ayoung author who had sent him manuscripts to read. These letters had to be read and answered always in the evenings. A long letter of this kind was written to a lady at Didsbury, near Manchester, in 1878, from which the following extracts are taken[11]:—

"Dear Miss M.,—Your packet reached me safely, and as I call to mind very readily my feelings in times gone by, after I had posted a piece of literary or artistic composition to some friend acquainted with the dread editor of some magazine, or even to the dread editor himself, I think it only your due that I should write to you without delay about the sketches of country life which you have kindly allowed me to read, and my opinion of which you flatter me by desiring to know. You asked me for my candid opinion; in these cases I always try to be candid.... I think that your papers are, as they stand, hardly interesting enough for the mass of readers, though to me they draw out pictures which please, and also revive old associations.... Their fault, however, if I may speak of faults, is not so much in subject as in style. You have chosen simple subjects, in which is no harm of course; but simple subjects in all kinds of art require a masterly hand to delineate them. The slightest awkwardness of execution is noticed, and mars the simplicity of the whole. When a thrilling story is told, or a very interesting and novel operation described, faults of style are overlooked during the excitement of hearing or reading. Is it not so?...

"R. C."

In another letter some remarks on the misuse of old English words (a subject on which he says, "I am very ignorant") are worth recording.

"As regards the misuse of certain words, I consult the authorities when a doubt crosses my mind, and I find with sorrow, in which I am joined by other anxious spirits, that the English language is being ruined, chiefly by journalists, English and American. Words of good old nervous meaning, because common, are discarded for words of less force but finer sound, borrowed from other tongues. The use of these new words is often a difficulty to all but classical scholars, for the pronunciation, the accent, the quantities, are varied even amongst equally educated people."On the introduction of a new word there is always a halo of pedantry about it. Some admire the halo and adopt the word. The journalists cuddle it. The readers ask what it means, think it sounds rather fine—perhaps genteel—throw over the humble friend who has done them and their conservative forefathers such good service."The poor ill-used old fellow of a word then only finds friends amongst the lowly and the loyal; and if in course of time the usurping word, as he rolls by in his carriage and footmen, hears the former wearer of his honours come out from the passing pedestrians, he curls his proud lip, pulls up his haughty collar, distends his Grecian nose, andwonders where vulgar people will go to—albeit this vulgar word is better born, and has a higher instep than the carriage word."

"On the introduction of a new word there is always a halo of pedantry about it. Some admire the halo and adopt the word. The journalists cuddle it. The readers ask what it means, think it sounds rather fine—perhaps genteel—throw over the humble friend who has done them and their conservative forefathers such good service.

"The poor ill-used old fellow of a word then only finds friends amongst the lowly and the loyal; and if in course of time the usurping word, as he rolls by in his carriage and footmen, hears the former wearer of his honours come out from the passing pedestrians, he curls his proud lip, pulls up his haughty collar, distends his Grecian nose, andwonders where vulgar people will go to—albeit this vulgar word is better born, and has a higher instep than the carriage word."

In the late Autumn of 1878 Caldecott is again in the south of France, sending home letters—one with a portrait of himself (back view), seated next to a young lady, "whose father is rather deaf."

Hôtel Gray et d'Albion Cannes, 15 Nov. 1878.Hôtel Gray et d'Albion Cannes, 15 Nov. 1878.

"I have come here," he says, "in order that rheumatism may forget me and not recognise me on return to Albion's shores. * * *

"I open my bag and take out your letter of 20th November, 1877, which has been ready at hand for reply ever since I received it with a welcome. Letters ought always to be replied to within the twelve months."

At Mentone.At Mentone.

From the Riviera in 1879 came the following pictures in letters to friends.

"This hotel is indeed a calm spot, but the food is good, and I have a pleasant little room or two, where I can work comfortably. I know the inhabitant of one villa here, an American; and I think there are two people whom I know in an hotel, so when I feel very lonely I shall hunt them up. There is much snow on the rocky hills near thetown, and the weather is rather cold, but the aspect of everything around (nearly) is very fine and worth coming to see."

In another letter he sends the following sketch of himself at table in the vastsalle à mangerof the hotel.[12]

"Splendide Hotel, Menton,"11th January, 1879.

"Dear——,—The above view will give you a more correct idea of thesplendourof this hotel than a page of writing, I think, could possibly do. It represents ourtable d'hôtelast night. I fled yesterday from Cannes, which—although called a veryquiet place by most visitors—I found to be too lively for one who has much work to do and a desire to do it."

Much drawing was accomplished in the spring of this year, both abroad, and on return to London. The success of his first Picture Books (on which he writes, "I get a small, small royalty") was beyond all expectation, and theElegy of a Mad Dogwas now in progress.

Not such Disagreeable Weather after all—some People Think."Not such Disagreeable Weather after all—some People Think."FromPunch, August 2nd, 1879.

Writing on the 20th June, in the wet summer of 1879, from 5, Langham Chambers, Portland Place (a studio that he had taken temporarily from an artist friend, Mr. W. J. Hennessy), he heads the letterwith the sketch on page192, which is interesting as the first idea for the drawing which appeared inPunchon the 2nd August, 1879, reproduced on the preceding page by permission of the proprietors.

A Pig of Brittany (Terra-cotta).A Pig of Brittany (Terra-cotta).The Property of Mr. Armstrong.

The illustration on the opposite page is an example of Caldecott in a style which will be new to most readers. The book plate was drawn for an old and intimate friend in Manchester, and itis curious to note how closely the style of the family crest is followed in its various details. If it were not for certain satirical touches this ingenious design might easily pass for the work ofother hands; the touch and treatment have little in common with Caldecott as he is known; but the artistic completeness of the little book plate is another evidence of his power as a designer.

In September Caldecott modelled some birds, forming part of the capitals of pillars for Sir Frederick Leighton's 'Arab Hall' in his house at Kensington. They were done for the architect, Mr. G. Aitchison, A.R.A. Besides these he was at work on other modelling; one subject (the outcome of his Brittany travels) is given on page194.

In 1879 he took a small house, with an old-fashioned garden, at Kemsing, near Sevenoaks. This was his first country home, "an out-of-the-way place," as he expressed it, "but exactly right for me." Here, surrounded by his four-footed friends, he could indulge his liking and love for the country.

Writing to a young friend on the 13th October, he sends the following:—

"I am just now obliged to decline invitations to go and be merry with friends at a distance, because I am now living in this quiet, out-of-the-way village in order to make some studies of animals—to wit, horses, dogs, and other human beings—which I wish to use for the works that I shall be busy with during the coming winter."I have a mare—dark chestnut—who goes very well in harness, and is very pleasant to ride; and a little puppy—a comical young dachshund. My man calls the mare 'Peri,' so I call the puppy Lalla Rookh."

"I have a mare—dark chestnut—who goes very well in harness, and is very pleasant to ride; and a little puppy—a comical young dachshund. My man calls the mare 'Peri,' so I call the puppy Lalla Rookh."

In a letter to his friend Mr. Locker-Lampson, written about this time, in 1880, he expresses surprise at not hearing from America respecting certain drawings by Miss Kate Greenaway and himself, which had been sent across the Atlantic to be engraved on wood. "I wonder why?" he says—[Therestis reproduced opposite].

Caldecott was soon found out in his country home, his wide reputation as an illustrator bringing him ever-increasing work, some "not very profitable."

At this time he was taxing his energies to the utmost, working a long morning always indoors, and afterwards making studies in the garden or in the country; the evening occupied by reading and correspondence.

But he found time always—and until the end—to remember and to write to his old and dear friends. One more extract (the last in this book) from a letter from Venice, to an invalid friend in Manchester in 1880:—

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