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george cruikshank-第5部分
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of information regarding the character of the individual man; George
Cruikshank: what points strike his eye as a painter; what move his
anger or admiration as a moralist; what classes he seems most
especially disposed to observe; and what to ridicule。 There are
quacks of all kinds; to whom he has a mortal hatred; quack dandies;
who assume under his pencil; perhaps in his eye; the most grotesque
appearance possibletheir hats grow larger; their legs infinitely
more crooked and lean; the tassels of their canes swell out to a
most preposterous size; the tails of their coats dwindle away; and
finish where coat…tails generally begin。 Let us lay a wager that
Cruikshank; a man of the people if ever there was one; heartily
hates and despises these supercilious; swaggering young gentlemen;
and his contempt is not a whit the less laudable because there may
be tant soit peu of prejudice in it。 It is right and wholesome to
scorn dandies; as Nelson said it was to hate Frenchmen; in which
sentiment (as we have before said) George Cruikshank undoubtedly
shares。 In the 〃Sunday in London;〃* Monsieur the Chef is instructing
a kitchen…maid how to compound some rascally French kickshaw or the
othera pretty scoundrel truly! with what an air he wears that
nightcap of his; and shrugs his lank shoulders; and chatters; and
ogles; and grins: they are all the same; these mounseers; there are
other two fellowsmorbleu! one is putting his dirty fingers into
the saucepan; there are frogs cooking in it; no doubt; and just over
some other dish of abomination; another dirty rascal is taking
snuff! Never mind; the sauce won't be hurt by a few ingredients
more or less。 Three such fellows as these are not worth one
Englishman; that's clear。 There is one in the very midst of them;
the great burly fellow with the beef: he could beat all three in
five minutes。 We cannot be certain that such was the process going
on in Mr。 Cruikshank's mind when he made the design; but some
feelings of the sort were no doubt entertained by him。
* The following linesever freshby the author of 〃Headlong Hall;〃
published years ago in the Globe and Traveller; are an excellent
comment on several of the cuts from the 〃Sunday in London:〃
I。
〃The poor man's sins are glaring;
In the face of ghostly warning
He is caught in the fact
Of an overt act;
Buying greens on Sunday morning。
II。
〃The rich man's sins are hidden
In the pomp of wealth and station;
And escape the sight
Of the children of light;
Who are wise in their generation。
III。
〃The rich man has a kitchen;
And cooks to dress his dinner;
The poor who would roast;
To the baker's must post;
And thus becomes a sinner。
IV。
〃The rich man's painted windows
Hide the concerts of the quality;
The poor can but share
A crack'd fiddle in the air;
Which offends all sound morality。
V。
〃The rich man has a cellar;
And a ready butler by him;
The poor must steer
For his pint of beer
Where the saint can't choose but spy him。
VI。
〃This rich man is invisible
In the crowd of his gay society;
But the poor man's delight
Is a sore in the sight
And a stench in the nose of piety。〃
Against dandy footmen he is particularly severe。 He hates idlers;
pretenders; boasters; and punishes these fellows as best he may。
Who does not recollect the famous picture; 〃What IS taxes; Thomas?〃
What is taxes indeed; well may that vast; over…fed; lounging flunky
ask the question of his associate Thomas: and yet not well; for all
that Thomas says in reply is; 〃I DON'T KNOW。〃 〃O beati PLUSHICOLAE;〃
what a charming state of ignorance is yours! In the 〃Sketch…Book〃
many footmen make their appearance: one is a huge fat Hercules of a
Portman Square porter; who calmly surveys another poor fellow; a
porter likewise; but out of livery; who comes staggering forward
with a box that Hercules might lift with his little finger。 Will
Hercules do so? not he。 The giant can carry nothing heavier than a
cocked…hat note on a silver tray; and his labors are to walk from
his sentry…box to the door; and from the door back to his sentry…box;
and to read the Sunday paper; and to poke the hall fire twice or
thrice; and to make five meals a day。 Such a fellow does Cruikshank
hate and scorn worse even than a Frenchman。
The man's master; too; comes in for no small share of our artist's
wrath。 There is a company of them at church; who humbly designate
themselves 〃miserable sinners!〃 Miserable sinners indeed! Oh; what
floods of turtle…soup; what tons of turbot and lobster…sauce must
have been sacrificed to make those sinners properly miserable。 My
lady with the ermine tippet and draggling feather; can we not see
that she lives in Portland Place; and is the wife of an East India
Director? She has been to the Opera over…night (indeed her husband;
on her right; with his fat hand dangling over the pew…door; is at
this minute thinking of Mademoiselle Leocadie; whom he saw behind
the scenes)she has been at the Opera over…night; which with a
trifle of supper afterwardsa white…and…brown soup; a lobster…
salad; some woodcocks; and a little champagnesent her to bed quite
comfortable。 At half…past eight her maid brings her chocolate in
bed; at ten she has fresh eggs and muffins; with; perhaps; a half…
hundred of prawns for breakfast; and so can get over the day and the
sermon till lunch…time pretty well。 What an odor of musk and
bergamot exhales from the pew!how it is wadded; and stuffed; and
spangled over with brass nails! what hassocks are there for those
who are not too fat to kneel! what a flustering and flapping of gilt
prayer…books; and what a pious whirring of bible leaves one hears
all over the church; as the doctor blandly gives out the text! To
be miserable at this rate you must; at the very least; have four
thousand a year: and many persons are there so enamored of grief and
sin; that they would willingly take the risk of the misery to have a
life…interest in the consols that accompany it; quite careless about
consequences; and sceptical as to the notion that a day is at hand
when you must fulfil YOUR SHARE OF THE BARGAIN。
Our artist loves to joke at a soldier; in whose livery there appears
to him to be something almost as ridiculous as in the uniform of the
gentleman of the shoulder…knot。 Tall life…guardsmen and fierce
grenadiers figure in many of his designs; and almost always in a
ridiculous way。 Here again we have the honest popular English
feeling which jeers at pomp or pretension of all kinds; and is
especially jealous of all display of military authority。 〃Raw
Recruit;〃 〃ditto dressed;〃 ditto 〃served up;〃 as we see them in the
〃Sketch…Book;〃 are so many satires upon the army: Hodge with his
ribbons flaunting in his hat; or with red coat and musket; drilled
stiff and pompous; or at last; minus leg and arm; tottering about on
crutches; does not fill our English artist with the enthusiasm that
follows the soldier in every other part of Europe。 Jeanjean; the
conscript in France; is laughed at to be sure; but then it is
because he is a bad soldier: when he comes to have a huge pair of
mustachios and the croix…d'honneur to briller on his poitrine
cicatrisee; Jeanjean becomes a member of a class that is more
respected than any other in the French nation。 The veteran soldier
inspires our people with no such awewe hold that democratic weapon
the fist in much more honor than the sabre and bayonet; and laugh at
a man tricked out in scarlet and pipe…clay。
That regiment of heroes is 〃marching to divine service;〃 to the tune
of the 〃British Grenadiers。〃 There they march in state; and a
pretty contempt our artist shows for all their gimcracks and
trumpery。 He has drawn a perfectly English scenethe little
blackguard boys are playing pranks round about the men; and
shouting; 〃Heads up; soldier;〃 〃Eyes right; lobster;〃 as little
British urchins 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 rogue 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 giggling at the militia。
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 depicted in his group of Paddies?
〃Place me amid O'Rourkes; O'Tooles;
The ragged 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 thoroughly 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 p
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