he letterpress description (a very long one), from
which the above is an extract, is borrowed of course from Dr.
Arbuthnot.

[77] See Chapter III. (1817).

[78] See Chapter III. (1817).

[79] She was fond of adopting children, and it was proved that she
had adopted a daughter of the man Bergami.

[80] Byron's "Age of Bronze."

[81] Lockhart's "Life of Scott," vol. v. p. 203.

[82] "E. O." was another name for roulette, and forms the subject of
one of Rowlandson's early and best caricatures.

[83] The following are the words of the original inscription: "To
Arthur, Duke of Wellington, and his brave companions in arms, this
statue of Achilles, cast from cannon taken in the battles of
Salamanca, Vitoria, Toulouse, and Waterloo, is inscribed by their
countrywomen."

[84] See Chapter IV.

CHAPTER VIII.

_GEORGE CRUIKSHANK AT HIS PRIME._

ALTERATIONS IN CRUIKSHANK'S STYLE.

Those who have studied the work of George Cruikshank from its
commencement to its close (and those only can be said to have done so
who are familiar with the satires described in the previous chapter),
cannot fail to be struck with the alterations which took place in his
style at different periods of the career we have already been
considering. George Cruikshank's peculiar style and manner, which enable
us to recognise his work at a glance, was the outcome of a very slow and
gradual process of development. In the first instance he closely copied
Gillray, but soon acquired a manner of his own, blending the two styles
after a fashion which is both interesting and amusing to follow. Soon,
however, the style of the master was discontinued, and gradually the
artist began to discover that the bent of his genius lay in altogether
another direction. Unlike Thomas Rowlandson, the moment Cruikshank
became an illustrator of books, he realized the fact that the style
adapted to graphic satire was unsuitable for the purposes of this branch
of art, and thenceforth he adopted a style differing from anything which
had gone before. The revolution thus accomplished (a singular proof of
the genius of the man) was effected without effort, and is strikingly
manifest in an early book illustration representing the execution of
Madame Tiquet and her accomplice, in 1699. The design to which we refer,
which we believe is rare and little known, was engraved by H. R. Cook,
from a design by the artist for the fr