That regiment11 of heroes is "marching to divine service," to the tune12 of the "British Grenadiers." There they march in state, and a pretty contempt our artist shows for all their gimcracks and trumpery13. He has drawn14 a perfectly15 English scene—the little blackguard boys are playing pranks16 round about the men, and shouting, "Heads up, soldier," "Eyes right, lobster," as little British urchins17 will do. Did one ever hear the like sentiments expressed in France? Shade of Napoleon, we insult you by asking the question. In England, however, see how different the case is: and designedly or undesignedly, the artist has opened to us a piece of his mind. In the crowd the only person who admires the soldiers is the poor idiot, whose pocket a rogue18 is picking. There is another picture, in which the sentiment is much the same, only, as in the former drawing we see Englishmen laughing at the troops of the line, here are Irishmen giggling19 at the militia20.
We have said that our artist has a great love for the drolleries of the Green Island. Would any one doubt what was the country of the merry fellows depicted22 in his group of Paddies?
"Place me amid O'Rourkes, O'Tooles,
The ragged23 royal race of Tara;
Or place me where Dick Martin rules
The pathless wilds of Connemara."
We know not if Mr. Cruikshank has ever had any such good luck as to see the Irish in Ireland itself, but he certainly has obtained a knowledge of their looks, as if the country had been all his life familiar to him. Could Mr. O'Connell himself desire anything more national than the scene of a drunken row, or could Father Mathew have a better text to preach upon? There is not a broken nose in the room that is not thoroughly25 Irish.
We have then a couple of compositions treated in a graver manner, as characteristic too as the other. We call attention to the comical look of poor Teague, who has been pursued and beaten by the witch's stick, in order to point out also the singular neatness of the workmanship, and the pretty, fanciful little glimpse of landscape that the artist has introduced in the background. Mr. Cruikshank has a fine eye for such homely27 landscapes, and renders them with great delicacy28 and taste. Old villages, farm-yards, groups of stacks, queer chimneys, churches, gable-ended cottages, Elizabethan mansion-houses, and other old English scenes, he depicts29 with evident enthusiasm.
Famous books in their day were Cruikshank's "John Gilpin" and "Epping Hunt;" for though our artist does not draw horses very scientifically,—to use a phrase of the atelier,—he FEELS them very keenly; and his queer animals, after one is used to them, answer quite as well as better. Neither is he very happy in trees, and such rustical produce; or, rather, we should say, he is very original, his trees being decidedly of his own make and composition, not imitated from any master.
But what then? Can a man be supposed to imitate everything? We know what the noblest study of mankind is, and to this Mr. Cruikshank has confined himself. That postilion with the people in the broken-down chaise roaring after him is as deaf as the post by which he passes. Suppose all the accessories were away, could not one swear that the man was stone-deaf, beyond the reach of trumpet31? What is the peculiar32 character in a deaf man's physiognomy?—can any person define it satisfactorily in words?—not in pages; and Mr. Cruikshank has expressed it on a piece of paper not so big as the tenth part of your thumb-nail. The horses of John Gilpin are much more of the equestrian33 order; and as here the artist has only his favorite suburban34 buildings to draw, not a word is to be said against his design. The inn and old buildings are charmingly designed, and nothing can be more prettily36 or playfully touched.
"At Edmonton his loving wife
From the balcony spied
Her tender husband, wond'ring much
To see how he did ride.
"'Stop, stop, John Gilpin! Here's the house!'
They all at once did cry;
'The dinner waits, and we are tired—'
Said Gilpin—'So am I!'
"Six gentlemen upon the road
Thus seeing Gilpin fly,
With post-boy scamp'ring in the rear,
They raised the hue37 and cry:—
"'Stop thief! stop thief!—a highwayman!'
Not one of them was mute;
And all and each that passed that way
Did join in the pursuit.
"And now the turnpike gates again
Flew open in short space;
The toll-men thinking, as before,
That Gilpin rode a race."
The rush, and shouting, and clatter38 are excellently depicted by the artist; and we, who have been scoffing39 at his manner of designing animals, must here make a special exception in favor of the hens and chickens; each has a different action, and is curiously40 natural.
Happy are children of all ages who have such a ballad41 and such pictures as this in store for them! It is a comfort to think that woodcuts never wear out, and that the book still may be had for a shilling, for those who can command that sum of money.
In the "Epping Hunt," which we owe to the facetious42 pen of Mr. Hood43, our artist has not been so successful. There is here too much horsemanship and not enough incident for him; but the portrait of Roundings the huntsman is an excellent sketch, and a couple of the designs contain great humor. The first represents the Cockney hero, who, "like a bird, was singing out while sitting on a tree."
And in the second the natural order is reversed. The stag having taken heart, is hunting the huntsman, and the Cheapside Nimrod is most ignominiously44 running away.
The Easter Hunt, we are told, is no more; and as the Quarterly Review recommends the British public to purchase Mr. Catlin's pictures, as they form the only record of an interesting race now rapidly passing away, in like manner we should exhort45 all our friends to purchase Mr. Cruikshank's designs of ANOTHER interesting race, that is run already and for the last time.
Besides these, we must mention, in the line of our duty, the notable tragedies of "Tom Thumb" and "Bombastes Furioso," both of which have appeared with many illustrations by Mr. Cruikshank. The "brave army" of Bombastes exhibits a terrific display of brutal46 force, which must shock the sensibilities of an English radical47. And we can well understand the caution of the general, who bids this soldatesque effrenee to begone, and not to kick up a row.
Such a troop of lawless ruffians let loose upon a populous48 city would play sad havoc49 in it; and we fancy the massacres50 of Birmingham renewed, or at least of Badajoz, which, though not quite so dreadful, if we may believe his Grace the Duke of Wellington, as the former scenes of slaughter51, were nevertheless severe enough: but we must not venture upon any ill-timed pleasantries in presence of the disturbed King Arthur and the awful ghost of Gaffer Thumb.
We are thus carried at once into the supernatural, and here we find Cruikshank reigning52 supreme53. He has invented in his time a little comic pandemonium54, peopled with the most droll21, good-natured fiends possible. We have before us Chamisso's "Peter Schlemihl," with Cruikshank's designs translated into German, and gaining nothing by the change. The "Kinder und Hans-Maerchen" of Grimm are likewise ornamented56 with a frontispiece copied from that one which appeared to the amusing version of the English work. The books on Phrenology and Time have been imitated by the same nation; and even in France, whither reputation travels slower than to any country except China, we have seen copies of the works of George Cruikshank.
He in return has complimented the French by illustrating57 a couple of Lives of Napoleon, and the "Life in Paris" before mentioned. He has also made designs for Victor Hugo's "Hans of Iceland." Strange, wild etchings were those, on a strange, mad subject; not so good in our notion as the designs for the German books, the peculiar humor of which latter seemed to suit the artist exactly. There is a mixture of the awful and the ridiculous in these, which perpetually excites and keeps awake the reader's attention; the German writer and the English artist seem to have an entire faith in their subject. The reader, no doubt, remembers the awful passage in "Peter Schlemihl," where the little gentleman purchases the shadow of that hero—"Have the kindness, noble sir, to examine and try this bag." "He put his hand into his pocket, and drew thence a tolerably large bag of Cordovan leather, to which a couple of thongs59 were fixed60. I took it from him, and immediately counted out ten gold pieces, and ten more, and ten more, and still other ten, whereupon I held out my hand to him. Done, said I, it is a bargain; you shall have my shadow for your bag. The bargain was concluded; he knelt down before me, and I saw him with a wonderful neatness take my shadow from head to foot, lightly lift it up from the grass, roll and fold it up neatly61, and at last pocket it. He then rose up, bowed to me once more, and walked away again, disappearing behind the rose bushes. I don't know, but I thought I heard him laughing a little. I, however, kept fast hold of the bag. Everything around me was bright in the sun, and as yet I gave no thought to what I had done."
This marvellous event, narrated62 by Peter with such a faithful, circumstantial detail, is painted by Cruikshank in the most wonderful poetic63 way, with that happy mixture of the real and supernatural that makes the narrative64 so curious, and like truth. The sun is shining with the utmost brilliancy in a great quiet park or garden; there is a palace in the background, and a statue basking65 in the sun quite lonely and melancholy66; there is a sun-dial, on which is a deep shadow, and in the front stands Peter Schlemihl, bag in hand: the old gentleman is down on his knees to him, and has just lifted off the ground the SHADOW OF ONE LEG; he is going to fold it back neatly, as one does the tails of a coat, and will stow it, without any creases67 or crumples68, along with the other black garments that lie in that immense pocket of his. Cruikshank has designed all this as if he had a very serious belief in the story; he laughs, to be sure, but one fancies that he is a little frightened in his heart, in spite of all his fun and joking.
The German tales we have mentioned before. "The Prince riding on the Fox," "Hans in Luck," "The Fiddler and his Goose," "Heads off," are all drawings which, albeit69 not before us now, nor seen for ten years, remain indelibly fixed on the memory. "Heisst du etwa Rumpelstilzchen?" There sits the Queen on her throne, surrounded by grinning beef-eaters, and little Rumpelstiltskin stamps his foot through the floor in the excess of his tremendous despair. In one of these German tales, if we remember rightly, there is an account of a little orphan70 who is carried away by a pitying fairy for a term of seven years, and passing that period of sweet apprenticeship71 among the imps26 and sprites of fairy-land. Has our artist been among the same company, and brought back their portraits in his sketch-book? He is the only designer fairy-land has had. Callot's imps, for all their strangeness, are only of the earth earthy. Fuseli's fairies belong to the infernal regions; they are monstrous72, lurid73, and hideously74 melancholy. Mr. Cruikshank alone has had a true insight into the character of the "little people." They are something like men and women, and yet not flesh and blood; they are laughing and mischievous75, but why we know not. Mr. Cruikshank, however, has had some dream or the other, or else a natural mysterious instinct (as the Seherinn of Prevorst had for beholding76 ghosts), or else some preternatural fairy revelation, which has made him acquainted with the looks and ways of the fantastical subjects of Oberon and Titania.
We have, unfortunately, no fairy portraits; but, on the other hand, can descend77 lower than fairy-land, and have seen some fine specimens78 of devils. One has already been raised, and the reader has seen him tempting79 a fat Dutch burgomaster, in an ancient gloomy market-place, such as George Cruikshank can draw as well as Mr. Prout, Mr. Nash, or any man living. There is our friend once more; our friend the burgomaster, in a highly excited state, and running as hard as his great legs will carry him, with our mutual80 enemy at his tail.
What are the bets; will that long-legged bondholder of a devil come up with the honest Dutchman? It serves him right: why did he put his name to stamped paper? And yet we should not wonder if some lucky chance should turn up in the burgomaster's favor, and his infernal creditor81 lose his labor82; for one so proverbially cunning as yonder tall individual with the saucer eyes, it must be confessed that he has been very often outwitted.
There is, for instance, the case of "The Gentleman in Black," which has been illustrated83 by our artist. A young French gentleman, by name M. Desonge, who, having expended84 his patrimony85 in a variety of taverns86 and gaming-houses, was one day pondering upon the exhausted87 state of his finances, and utterly88 at a loss to think how he should provide means for future support, exclaimed, very naturally, "What the devil shall I do?" He had no sooner spoken than a GENTLEMAN IN BLACK made his appearance, whose authentic89 portrait Mr. Cruikshank has had the honor to paint. This gentleman produced a black-edged book out of a black bag, some black-edged papers tied up with black crape, and sitting down familiarly opposite M. Desonge, began conversing90 with him on the state of his affairs.
It is needless to state what was the result of the interview. M. Desonge was induced by the gentleman to sign his name to one of the black-edged papers, and found himself at the close of the conversation to be possessed91 of an unlimited92 command of capital. This arrangement completed, the Gentleman in Black posted (in an extraordinarily93 rapid manner) from Paris to London, there found a young English merchant in exactly the same situation in which M. Desonge had been, and concluded a bargain with the Briton of exactly the same nature.
The book goes on to relate how these young men spent the money so miraculously94 handed over to them, and how both, when the period drew near that was to witness the performance of THEIR part of the bargain, grew melancholy, wretched, nay96, so absolutely dishonorable as to seek for every means of breaking through their agreement. The Englishman living in a country where the lawyers are more astute97 than any other lawyers in the world, took the advice of a Mr. Bagsby, of Lyon's Inn; whose name, as we cannot find it in the "Law List," we presume to be fictitious98. Who could it be that was a match for the devil? Lord —— very likely; we shall not give his name, but let every reader of this Review fill up the blank according to his own fancy, and on comparing it with the copy purchased by his neighbors, he will find that fifteen out of twenty have written down the same honored name.
Well, the Gentleman in Black was anxious for the fulfilment of his bond. The parties met at Mr. Bagsby's chambers99 to consult, the Black Gentleman foolishly thinking that he could act as his own counsel, and fearing no attorney alive. But mark the superiority of British law, and see how the black pettifogger was defeated.
Mr. Bagsby simply stated that he would take the case into Chancery, and his antagonist100, utterly humiliated101 and defeated, refused to move a step farther in the matter.
And now the French gentleman, M. Desonge, hearing of his friend's escape, became anxious to be free from his own rash engagements. He employed the same counsel who had been successful in the former instance, but the Gentleman in Black was a great deal wiser by this time, and whether M. Desonge escaped, or whether he is now in that extensive place which is paved with good intentions, we shall not say. Those who are anxious to know had better purchase the book wherein all these interesting matters are duly set down. There is one more diabolical102 picture in our budget, engraved103 by Mr. Thompson, the same dexterous104 artist who has rendered the former diableries so well.
We may mention Mr. Thompson's name as among the first of the engravers to whom Cruikshank's designs have been entrusted106; and next to him (if we may be allowed to make such arbitrary distinctions) we may place Mr. Williams; and the reader is not possibly aware of the immense difficulties to be overcome in the rendering107 of these little sketches108, which, traced by the designer in a few hours, require weeks' labor from the engraver105. Mr. Cruikshank has not been educated in the regular schools of drawing (very luckily for him, as we think), and consequently has had to make a manner for himself, which is quite unlike that of any other draftsman. There is nothing in the least mechanical about it; to produce his particular effects he uses his own particular lines, which are queer, free, fantastical, and must be followed in all their infinite twists and vagaries109 by the careful tool of the engraver. Those three lovely heads, for instance, imagined out of the rinds of lemons, are worth examining, not so much for the jovial110 humor and wonderful variety of feature exhibited in these darling countenances111 as for the engraver's part of the work. See the infinite delicate cross-lines and hatchings which he is obliged to render; let him go, not a hair's breadth, but the hundredth part of a hair's breadth, beyond the given line, and the FEELING of it is ruined. He receives these little dots and specks113, and fantastical quirks114 of the pencil, and cuts away with a little knife round each, not too much nor too little. Antonio's pound of flesh did not puzzle the Jew so much; and so well does the engraver succeed at last, that we never remember to have met with a single artist who did not vow115 that the wood-cutter had utterly ruined his design.
Of Messrs. Thompson and Williams we have spoken as the first engravers in point of rank; however, the regulations of professional precedence are certainly very difficult, and the rest of their brethren we shall not endeavor to class. Why should the artists who executed the cuts of the admirable "Three Courses" yield the pas to any one?
There, for instance, is an engraving116 by Mr. Landells, nearly as good in our opinion as the very best woodcut that ever was made after Cruikshank, and curiously happy in rendering the artist's peculiar manner: this cut does not come from the facetious publications which we have consulted; but is a contribution by Mr. Cruikshank to an elaborate and splendid botanical work upon the Orchidaceae of Mexico, by Mr. Bateman. Mr. Bateman despatched some extremely choice roots of this valuable plant to a friend in England, who, on the arrival of the case, consigned117 it to his gardener to unpack118. A great deal of anxiety with regard to the contents was manifested by all concerned, but on the lid of the box being removed, there issued from it three or four fine specimens of the enormous Blatta beetle119 that had been preying120 upon the plants during the voyage; against these the gardeners, the grooms121, the porters, and the porters' children, issued forth122 in arms, and this scene the artist has immortalized.
We have spoken of the admirable way in which Mr. Cruikshank has depicted Irish character and Cockney character; English country character is quite as faithfully delineated in the person of the stout123 porteress and her children, and of the "Chawbacon" with the shovel124, on whose face is written "Zummerzetsheer." Chawbacon appears in another plate, or else Chawbacon's brother. He has come up to Lunnan, and is looking about him at raaces.
How distinct are these rustics125 from those whom we have just been examining! They hang about the purlieus of the metropolis126: Brook127 Green, Epsom, Greenwich, Ascot, Goodwood, are their haunts. They visit London professionally once a year, and that is at the time of Bartholomew fair. How one may speculate upon the different degrees of rascality128, as exhibited in each face of the thimblerigging trio, and form little histories for these worthies129, charming Newgate romances, such as have been of late the fashion! Is any man so blind that he cannot see the exact face that is writhing130 under the thhnblerigged hero's hat? Like Timanthes of old, our artist expresses great passions without the aid of the human countenance112. There is another specimen—a street row of inebriated131 bottles. Is there any need of having a face after this? "Come on!" says Claret-bottle, a dashing, genteel fellow, with his hat on one ear—"Come on! has any man a mind to tap me?" Claret-bottle is a little screwed (as one may see by his legs), but full of gayety and courage; not so that stout, apoplectic132 Bottle-of-rum, who has staggered against the wall, and has his hand upon his liver: the fellow hurts himself with smoking, that is clear, and is as sick as sick can be. See, Port is making away from the storm, and Double X is as flat as ditch-water. Against these, awful in their white robes, the sober watchmen come.
Our artist then can cover up faces, and yet show them quite clearly, as in the thimblerig group; or he can do without faces altogether; or he can, at a pinch, provide a countenance for a gentleman out of any given object—a beautiful Irish physiognomy being moulded upon a keg of whiskey; and a jolly English countenance frothing out of a pot of ale (the spirit of brave Toby Philpot come back to reanimate his clay); while in a fungus133 may be recognized the physiognomy of a mushroom peer. Finally, if he is at a loss, he can make a living head, body, and legs out of steel or tortoise-shell, as in the case of the vivacious134 pair of spectacles that are jockeying the nose of Caddy Cuddle.
Of late years Mr. Cruikshank has busied himself very much with steel engraving, and the consequences of that lucky invention have been, that his plates are now sold by thousands, where they could only be produced by hundreds before. He has made many a bookseller's and author's fortune (we trust that in so doing he may not have neglected his own). Twelve admirable plates, furnished yearly to that facetious little publication, the Comic Almanac, have gained for it a sale, as we hear, of nearly twenty thousand copies. The idea of the work was novel; there was, in the first number especially, a great deal of comic power, and Cruikshank's designs were so admirable that the Almanac at once became a vast favorite with the public, and has so remained ever since.
Besides the twelve plates, this almanac contains a prophetic woodcut, accompanying an awful Blarneyhum Astrologicum that appears in this and other almanacs. There is one that hints in pretty clear terms that with the Reform of Municipal Corporations the ruin of the great Lord Mayor of London is at hand. His lordship is meekly135 going to dine at an eightpenny ordinary, his giants in pawn136, his men in armor dwindled137 to "one poor knight," his carriage to be sold, his stalwart aldermen vanished, his sheriffs, alas138! and alas! in gaol139! Another design shows that Rigdum, if a true, is also a moral and instructive prophet. John Bull is asleep, or rather in a vision; the cunning demon55, Speculation140, blowing a thousand bright bubbles about him. Meanwhile the rooks are busy at his fob, a knave141 has cut a cruel hole in his pocket, a rattlesnake has coiled safe round his feet, and will in a trice swallow Bull, chair, money and all; the rats are at his corn-bags (as if, poor devil, he had corn to spare); his faithful dog is bolting his leg-of-mutton—nay, a thief has gotten hold of his very candle, and there, by way of moral, is his ale-pot, which looks and winks142 in his face, and seems to say, O Bull, all this is froth, and a cruel satirical picture of a certain rustic30 who had a goose that laid certain golden eggs, which goose the rustic slew143 in expectation of finding all the eggs at once. This is goose and sage58 too, to borrow the pun of "learned Doctor Gill;" but we shrewdly suspect that Mr. Cruikshank is becoming a little conservative in his notions.
We love these pictures so that it is hard to part us, and we still fondly endeavor to hold on, but this wild word, farewell, must be spoken by the best friends at last, and so good-by, brave woodcuts: we feel quite a sadness in coming to the last of our collection.
In the earlier numbers of the Comic Almanac all the manners and customs of Londoners that would afford food for fun were noted144 down; and if during the last two years the mysterious personage who, under the title of "Rigdum Funnidos," compiles this ephemeris, has been compelled to resort to romantic tales, we must suppose that he did so because the great metropolis was exhausted, and it was necessary to discover new worlds in the cloud-land of fancy. The character of Mr. Stubbs, who made his appearance in the Almanac for 1839, had, we think, great merit, although his adventures were somewhat of too tragical146 a description to provoke pure laughter.
We should be glad to devote a few pages to the "Illustrations of Time," the "Scraps147 and Sketches," and the "Illustrations of Phrenology," which are among the most famous of our artist's publications; but it is very difficult to find new terms of praise, as find them one must, when reviewing Mr. Cruikshank's publications, and more difficult still (as the reader of this notice will no doubt have perceived for himself long since) to translate his design into words, and go to the printer's box for a description of all that fun and humor which the artist can produce by a few skilful148 turns of his needle. A famous article upon the "Illustrations of Time" appeared some dozen years since in Blackwood's Magazine, of which the conductors have always been great admirers of our artist, as became men of honor and genius. To these grand qualities do not let it be supposed that we are laying claim, but, thank heaven, Cruikshank's humor is so good and benevolent149 that any man must love it, and on this score we may speak as well as another.
Then there are the "Greenwich Hospital" designs, which must not be passed over. "Greenwich Hospital" is a hearty150, good-natured book, in the Tom Dibdin school, treating of the virtues151 of British tars152, in approved nautical153 language. They maul Frenchmen and Spaniards, they go out in brigs and take frigates154, they relieve women in distress155, and are yard-arm and yard-arming, athwart-hawsing, marlinspiking, binnacling, and helm's-a-leeing, as honest seamen156 invariably do, in novels, on the stage, and doubtless on board ship. This we cannot take upon us to say, but the artist, like a true Englishman, as he is, loves dearly these brave guardians157 of Old England, and chronicles their rare or fanciful exploits with the greatest good-will. Let any one look at the noble head of Nelson in the "Family Library," and they will, we are sure, think with us that the designer must have felt and loved what he drew. There are to this abridgment158 of Southey's admirable book many more cuts after Cruikshank; and about a dozen pieces by the same hand will be found in a work equally popular, Lockhart's excellent "Life of Napoleon." Among these the retreat from Moscow is very fine; the Mamlouks most vigorous, furious, and barbarous, as they should be. At the end of these three volumes Mr. Cruikshank's contributions to the "Family Library" seem suddenly to have ceased.
We are not at all disposed to undervalue the works and genius of Mr. Dickens, and we are sure that he would admit as readily as any man the wonderful assistance that he has derived160 from the artist who has given us the portraits of his ideal personages, and made them familiar to all the world. Once seen, these figures remain impressed on the memory, which otherwise would have had no hold upon them, and the heroes and heroines of Boz become personal acquaintances with each of us. Oh, that Hogarth could have illustrated Fielding in the same way! and fixed down on paper those grand figures of Parson Adams, and Squire161 Allworthy, and the great Jonathan Wild.
With regard to the modern romance of "Jack162 Sheppard," in which the latter personage makes a second appearance, it seems to us that Mr. Cruikshank really created the tale, and that Mr. Ainsworth, as it were, only put words to it. Let any reader of the novel think over it for a while, now that it is some months since he has perused163 and laid it down—let him think, and tell us what he remembers of the tale? George Cruikshank's pictures—always George Cruikshank's pictures. The storm in the Thames, for instance: all the author's labored164 description of that event has passed clean away—we have only before the mind's eye the fine plates of Cruikshank: the poor wretch95 cowering165 under the bridge arch, as the waves come rushing in, and the boats are whirling away in the drift of the great swollen166 black waters. And let any man look at that second plate of the murder on the Thames, and he must acknowledge how much more brilliant the artist's description is than the writer's, and what a real genius for the terrible as well as for the ridiculous the former has; how awful is the gloom of the old bridge, a few lights glimmering167 from the houses here and there, but not so as to be reflected on the water at all, which is too turbid168 and raging: a great heavy rack of clouds goes sweeping169 over the bridge, and men with flaring170 torches, the murderers, are borne away with the stream.
The author requires many pages to describe the fury of the storm, which Mr. Cruikshank has represented in one. First, he has to prepare you with the something inexpressibly melancholy in sailing on a dark night upon the Thames: "the ripple171 of the water," "the darkling current," "the indistinctively seen craft," "the solemn shadows" and other phenomena172 visible on rivers at night are detailed173 (with not unskilful rhetoric) in order to bring the reader into a proper frame of mind for the deeper gloom and horror which is to ensue. Then follow pages of description. "As Rowland sprang to the helm, and gave the signal for pursuit, a war like a volley of ordnance174 was heard aloft, and the wind again burst its bondage176. A moment before the surface of the stream was as black as ink. It was now whitening, hissing177, and seething178, like an enormous caldron. The blast once more swept over the agitated179 river, whirled off the sheets of foam180, scattered181 them far and wide in rain-drops, and left the raging torrent182 blacker than before. Destruction everywhere marked the course of the gale183. Steeples toppled and towers reeled beneath its fury. All was darkness, horror, confusion, ruin. Men fled from their tottering habitations and returned to them, scared by greater danger. The end of the world seemed at hand. . . . The hurricane had now reached its climax184. The blast shrieked185, as if exulting186 in its wrathful mission. Stunning187 and continuous, the din35 seemed almost to take away the power of hearing. He who had faced the gale WOULD HAVE BEEN INSTANTLY STIFLED," &c. &c. See with what a tremendous war of words (and good loud words too; Mr. Ainsworth's description is a good and spirited one) the author is obliged to pour in upon the reader before he can effect his purpose upon the latter, and inspire him with a proper terror. The painter does it at a glance, and old Wood's dilemma188 in the midst of that tremendous storm, with the little infant at his bosom189, is remembered afterwards, not from the words, but from the visible image of them that the artist has left us.
It would not, perhaps, be out of place to glance through the whole of the "Jack Sheppard" plates, which are among the most finished and the most successful of Mr. Cruikshank's performances, and say a word or two concerning them. Let us begin with finding fault with No. 1, "Mr. Wood offers to adopt little Jack Sheppard." A poor print, on a poor subject; the figure of the woman not as carefully designed as it might be, and the expression of the eyes (not an uncommon190 fault with our artist) much caricatured. The print is cut up, to use the artist's phrase, by the number of accessories which the engraver has thought proper, after the author's elaborate description, elaborately to reproduce. The plate of "Wild discovering Darrell in the loft175" is admirable—ghastly, terrible, and the treatment of it extraordinarily skilful, minute, and bold. The intricacies of the tile-work, and the mysterious twinkling of light among the beams, are excellently felt and rendered; and one sees here, as in the two next plates of the storm and murder, what a fine eye the artist has, what a skilful hand, and what a sympathy for the wild and dreadful. As a mere191 imitation of nature, the clouds and the bridge in the murder picture may be examined by painters who make far higher pretensions192 than Mr. Cruikshank. In point of workmanship they are equally good, the manner quite unaffected, the effect produced without any violent contrast, the whole scene evidently well and philosophically193 arranged in the artist's brain, before he began to put it upon copper194.
The famous drawing of "Jack carving195 the name on the beam," which has been transferred to half the play-bills in town, is overloaded196 with accessories, as the first plate; but they are much better arranged than in the last-named engraving, and do not injure the effect of the principal figure. Remark, too, the conscientiousness197 of the artist, and that shrewd pervading198 idea of FORM which is one of his principal characteristics. Jack is surrounded by all sorts of implements199 of his profession; he stands on a regular carpenter's table: away in the shadow under it lie shavings and a couple of carpenter's hampers200. The glue-pot, the mallet201, the chisel-handle, the planes, the saws, the hone with its cover, and the other paraphernalia202 are all represented with extraordinary accuracy and forethought. The man's mind has retained the exact DRAWING of all these minute objects (unconsciously perhaps to himself), but we can see with what keen eyes he must go through the world, and what a fund of facts (as such a knowledge of the shape of objects is in his profession) this keen student of nature has stored away in his brain. In the next plate, where Jack is escaping from his mistress, the figure of that lady, one of the deepest of the [Greek text omitted], strikes us as disagreeable and unrefined; that of Winifred is, on the contrary, very pretty and graceful203; and Jack's puzzled, slinking look must not be forgotten. All the accessories are good, and the apartment has a snug204, cosy205 air; which is not remarkable206, except that it shows how faithfully the designer has performed his work, and how curiously he has entered into all the particulars of the subject.
Master Thames Darrell, the handsome young man of the book, is, in Mr. Cruikshank's portraits of him, no favorite of ours. The lad seems to wish to make up for the natural insignificance207 of his face by frowning on all occasions most portentously208. This figure, borrowed from the compositor's desk, will give a notion of what we mean. Wild's face is too violent for the great man of history (if we may call Fielding history), but this is in consonance with the ranting209, frowning, braggadocio210 character that Mr. Ainsworth has given him.
The "Interior of Willesden Church" is excellent as a composition, and a piece of artistical workmanship; the groups are well arranged; and the figure of Mrs. Sheppard looking round alarmed, as her son is robbing the dandy Kneebone, is charming, simple, and unaffected. Not so "Mrs. Sheppard ill in bed," whose face is screwed up to an expression vastly too tragic145. The little glimpse of the church seen through the open door of the room is very beautiful and poetical211: it is in such small hints that an artist especially excels; they are the morals which he loves to append to his stories, and are always appropriate and welcome. The boozing ken24 is not to our liking212; Mrs. Sheppard is there with her horrified213 eyebrows214 again. Why this exaggeration—is it necessary for the public? We think not, or if they require such excitement, let our artist, like a true painter as he is, teach them better things.*
* A gentleman (whose wit is so celebrated215 that one should be
very cautious in repeating his stories) gave the writer a
good illustration of the philosophy of exaggeration. Mr. —
— was once behind the scenes at the Opera when the scene-
shifters were preparing for the ballet. Flora216 was to sleep
under a bush, whereon were growing a number of roses, and
amidst which was fluttering a gay covey of butterflies. In
size the roses exceeded the most expansive sunflowers, and
the butterflies were as large as cocked hats;—the scene
-shifter explained to Mr. ——, who asked the reason why
everything was so magnified, that the galleries could never
see the objects unless they were enormously exaggerated.
How many of our writers and designers work for the
galleries?
The "Escape from Willesden Cage" is excellent; the "Burglary
in Wood's house" has not less merit; "Mrs. Sheppard in
Bedlam," a ghastly picture indeed, is finely conceived, but
not, as we fancy, so carefully executed; it would be better
for a little more careful drawing in the female figure.
"Jack sitting for his picture" is a very pleasing group, and
savors217 of the manner of Hogarth, who is introduced in the
company. The "Murder of Trenchard" must be noticed too as
remarkable for the effect and terrible vigor159 which the
artist has given to the scene. The "Willesden Churchyard"
has great merit too, but the gems218 of the book are the little
vignettes illustrating the escape from Newgate. Here, too,
much anatomical care of drawing is not required; the figures
are so small that the outline and attitude need only to be
indicated, and the designer has produced a series of figures
quite remarkable for reality and poetry too. There are no
less than ten of Jack's feats219 so described by Mr.
Cruikshank. (Let us say a word here in praise of the
excellent manner in which the author has carried us through
the adventure.) Here is Jack clattering220 up the chimney, now
peering into the lonely red room, now opening "the door
between the red room and the chapel221." What a wild, fierce,
scared look he has, the young ruffian, as cautiously he
steps in, holding light his bar of iron. You can see by his
face how his heart is beating! If any one were there! but
no! And this is a very fine characteristic of the prints,
the extreme LONELINESS of them all. Not a soul is there to
disturb him—woe222 to him who should—and Jack drives in the
chapel gate, and shatters down the passage door, and there
you have him on the leads. Up he goes! it is but a spring
of a few feet from the blanket, and he is gone—abiit,
evasit, erupit! Mr. Wild must catch him again if he can.
We must not forget to mention "Oliver Twist," and Mr.
Cruikshank's famous designs to that work.* The sausage
scene at Fagin's, Nancy seizing the boy; that capital piece
of humor, Mr. Bumble's courtship, which is even better in
Cruikshank's version than in Boz's exquisite223 account of the
interview; Sykes's farewell to the dog; and the Jew,—the
dreadful Jew—that Cruikshank drew! What a fine touching224
picture of melancholy desolation is that of Sykes and the
dog! The poor cur is not too well drawn, the landscape is
stiff and formal; but in this case the faults, if faults
they be, of execution rather add to than diminish the effect
of the picture: it has a strange, wild, dreary225, broken
-hearted look; we fancy we see the landscape as it must have
appeared to Sykes, when ghastly and with bloodshot eyes he
looked at it. As for the Jew in the dungeon226, let us say
nothing of it—what can we say to describe it? What a fine
homely poet is the man who can produce this little world of
mirth or woe for us! Does he elaborate his effects by slow
process of thought, or do they come to him by instinct?
Does the painter ever arrange in his brain an image so
complete, that he afterwards can copy it exactly on the
canvas, or does the hand work in spite of him?
* Or his new work, "The Tower of London," which promises
even to surpass Mr. Cruikshank's former productions.
A great deal of this random227 work of course every artist has done in his time; many men produce effects of which they never dreamed, and strike off excellences228, haphazard229, which gain for them reputation; but a fine quality in Mr. Cruikshank, the quality of his success, as we have said before, is the extraordinary earnestness and good faith with which he executes all he attempts—the ludicrous, the polite, the low, the terrible. In the second of these he often, in our fancy, fails, his figures lacking elegance230 and descending231 to caricature; but there is something fine in this too: it is good that he SHOULD fail, that he should have these honest naive232 notions regarding the beau monde, the characteristics of which a namby-pamby tea-party painter could hit off far better than he. He is a great deal too downright and manly233 to appreciate the flimsy delicacies234 of small society—you cannot expect a lion to roar you like any sucking dove, or frisk about a drawing-room like a lady's little spaniel.
If then, in the course of his life and business, he has been occasionally obliged to imitate the ways of such small animals, he has done so, let us say it at once, clumsily, and like as a lion should. Many artists, we hear, hold his works rather cheap; they prate235 about bad drawing, want of scientific knowledge:—they would have something vastly more neat, regular, anatomical.
Not one of the whole band most likely but can paint an Academy figure better than himself; nay, or a portrait of an alderman's lady and family of children. But look down the list of the painters and tell us who are they? How many among these men are POETS (makers), possessing the faculty236 to create, the greatest among the gifts with which Providence237 has endowed the mind of man? Say how many there are, count up what they have done, and see what in the course of some nine-and-twenty years has been done by this indefatigable238 man.
What amazing energetic fecundity239 do we find in him! As a boy he began to fight for bread, has been hungry (twice a day we trust) ever since, and has been obliged to sell his wit for his bread week by week. And his wit, sterling240 gold as it is, will find no such purchasers as the fashionable painter's thin pinchbeck, who can live comfortably for six weeks, when paid for and painting a portrait, and fancies his mind prodigiously241 occupied all the while. There was an artist in Paris, an artist hairdresser, who used to be fatigued242 and take restoratives after inventing a new coiffure. By no such gentle operation of head-dressing has Cruikshank lived: time was (we are told so in print) when for a picture with thirty heads in it he was paid three guineas—a poor week's pittance243 truly, and a dire244 week's labor. We make no doubt that the same labor would at present bring him twenty times the sum; but whether it be ill paid or well, what labor has Mr. Cruikshank's been! Week by week, for thirty years, to produce something new; some smiling offspring of painful labor, quite independent and distinct from its ten thousand jovial brethren; in what hours of sorrow and ill-health to be told by the world, "Make us laugh or you starve—Give us fresh fun; we have eaten up the old and are hungry." And all this has he been obliged to do—to wring245 laughter day by day, sometimes, perhaps, out of want, often certainly from ill-health or depression—to keep the fire of his brain perpetually alight: for the greedy public will give it no leisure to cool. This he has done and done well. He has told a thousand truths in as many strange and fascinating ways; he has given a thousand new and pleasant thoughts to millions of people; he has never used his wit dishonestly; he has never, in all the exuberance246 of his frolicsome247 humor, caused a single painful or guilty blush: how little do we think of the extraordinary power of this man, and how ungrateful we are to him!
Here, as we are come round to the charge of ingratitude248, the starting-post from which we set out, perhaps we had better conclude. The reader will perhaps wonder at the high-flown tone in which we speak of the services and merits of an individual, whom he considers a humble249 scraper on steel, that is wonderfully popular already. But none of us remember all the benefits we owe him; they have come one by one, one driving out the memory of the other: it is only when we come to examine them all together, as the writer has done, who has a pile of books on the table before him—a heap of personal kindnesses from George Cruikshank (not presents, if you please, for we bought, borrowed, or stole every one of them)—that we feel what we owe him. Look at one of Mr. Cruikshank's works, and we pronounce him an excellent humorist. Look at all: his reputation is increased by a kind of geometrical progression; as a whole diamond is a hundred times more valuable than the hundred splinters into which it might be broken would be. A fine rough English diamond is this about which we have been writing.
The End
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1
jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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2
pretension
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| n.要求；自命，自称；自负 | |
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3
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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satires
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| 讽刺，讥讽( satire的名词复数 )； 讽刺作品 | |
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5
flaunting
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| adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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crutches
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| n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑 | |
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10
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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12
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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13
trumpery
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| n.无价值的杂物；adj.（物品）中看不中用的 | |
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14
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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16
pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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urchins
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| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
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18
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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19
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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20
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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21
droll
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| adj.古怪的，好笑的 | |
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22
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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23
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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ken
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| n.视野，知识领域 | |
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25
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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26
imps
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| n.（故事中的）小恶魔( imp的名词复数 )；小魔鬼；小淘气；顽童 | |
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27
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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depicts
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| 描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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31
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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32
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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33
equestrian
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| adj.骑马的；n.马术 | |
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suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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35
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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36
prettily
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| adv.优美地；可爱地 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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38
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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39
scoffing
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| n. 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄 v. 嘲笑, 嘲弄, 愚弄, 狼吞虎咽 | |
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40
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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41
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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42
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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43
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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44
ignominiously
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| adv.耻辱地，屈辱地，丢脸地 | |
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45
exhort
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| v.规劝，告诫 | |
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46
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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47
radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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48
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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49
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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50
massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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52
reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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54
pandemonium
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| n.喧嚣，大混乱 | |
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55
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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56
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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illustrating
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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58
sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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59
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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62
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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65
basking
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| v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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67
creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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68
crumples
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| 压皱，弄皱( crumple的第三人称单数 )； 变皱 | |
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69
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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70
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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71
apprenticeship
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| n.学徒身份；学徒期 | |
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72
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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73
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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74
hideously
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| adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地 | |
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75
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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76
beholding
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| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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77
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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78
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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79
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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80
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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81
creditor
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| n.债仅人，债主，贷方 | |
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82
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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83
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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84
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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85
patrimony
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| n.世袭财产，继承物 | |
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86
taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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87
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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88
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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89
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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90
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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91
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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92
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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93
extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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94
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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95
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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96
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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97
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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98
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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99
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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100
antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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101
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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102
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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103
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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104
dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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105
engraver
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| n.雕刻师，雕工 | |
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106
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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108
sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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109
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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110
jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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111
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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112
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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113
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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114
quirks
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| n.奇事，巧合( quirk的名词复数 )；怪癖 | |
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115
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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116
engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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117
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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118
unpack
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| vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货 | |
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119
beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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120
preying
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| v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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121
grooms
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| n.新郎( groom的名词复数 )；马夫v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的第三人称单数 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗 | |
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122
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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124
shovel
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| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
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125
rustics
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| n.有农村或村民特色的( rustic的名词复数 )；粗野的；不雅的；用粗糙的木材或树枝制作的 | |
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126
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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127
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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128
rascality
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| 流氓性，流氓集团 | |
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129
worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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130
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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131
inebriated
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| adj.酒醉的 | |
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132
apoplectic
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| adj.中风的；愤怒的；n.中风患者 | |
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133
fungus
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| n.真菌，真菌类植物 | |
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134
vivacious
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| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
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135
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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136
pawn
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| n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押 | |
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137
dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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138
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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139
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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140
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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141
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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142
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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143
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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144
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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145
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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146
tragical
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| adj. 悲剧的, 悲剧性的 | |
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147
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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148
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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149
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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150
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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151
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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152
tars
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| 焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 ) | |
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153
nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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154
frigates
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| n.快速军舰( frigate的名词复数 ) | |
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155
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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156
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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157
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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158
abridgment
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| n.删节，节本 | |
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159
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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160
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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161
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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162
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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163
perused
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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164
labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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165
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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166
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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167
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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168
turbid
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| adj.混浊的，泥水的，浓的 | |
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169
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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170
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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171
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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172
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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173
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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174
ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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175
loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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176
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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177
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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178
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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179
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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180
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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181
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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182
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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183
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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184
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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185
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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186
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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187
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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188
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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189
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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190
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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191
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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192
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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194
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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195
carving
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| n.雕刻品，雕花 | |
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196
overloaded
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| a.超载的，超负荷的 | |
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197
conscientiousness
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| 责任心 | |
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198
pervading
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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199
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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200
hampers
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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201
mallet
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| n.槌棒 | |
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202
paraphernalia
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| n.装备；随身用品 | |
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203
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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204
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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205
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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206
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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207
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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208
portentously
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209
ranting
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| v.夸夸其谈( rant的现在分词 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨 | |
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210
braggadocio
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| n.吹牛大王 | |
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211
poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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212
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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213
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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214
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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215
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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216
flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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217
savors
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| v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的第三人称单数 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝 | |
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218
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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219
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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220
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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221
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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222
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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224
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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225
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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226
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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227
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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228
excellences
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| n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的 | |
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229
haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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230
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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231
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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232
naive
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| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
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233
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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234
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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235
prate
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| v.瞎扯，胡说 | |
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236
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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237
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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238
indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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239
fecundity
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| n.生产力；丰富 | |
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240
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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241
prodigiously
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| adv.异常地，惊人地，巨大地 | |
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242
fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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243
pittance
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| n.微薄的薪水，少量 | |
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244
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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245
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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246
exuberance
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| n.丰富；繁荣 | |
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247
frolicsome
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| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
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248
ingratitude
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| n.忘恩负义 | |
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249
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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