ver 280 pounds in
all. Nay, the leather case was put up, and brought three guineas. We
recall Andrew Halliday displaying one to us, with a sort of triumph.
Charles Dickens, the younger, got two, I think; Messrs. Agnew the others.

CONCERNING THE PLATES AND EXTRA PLATES AND "STATES" OF PICKWICK.

It is an interesting question what should be the relation of illustration
to the story, and of the artist to the story-teller; and what are the
limitations of their respective provinces. Both should work
independently of each other; that is, the artist should tell the story
from his own point of view--he is not merely to servilely translate the
situations into "black and white." He should be, in fact, what the actor
is to a drama. When Eugene Delacroix's illustrations to Goethe's "Faust"
were shown to the great author, he expressed admiration of their truth
and spirit; and on his secretary saying that they would lead to a better
understanding of his poem, said: "With that we have naught to do; on the
contrary, the more complete imagination of such an artist compels us to
believe that the situations as he represents them are preferable to them
as described. It is therefore likely that the readers will find that he
exerts a strong force upon their imagination." This shows, allowing
something for the compliment, what a distinct force the great writer
attributed to the artist, that he did not consider him an assistant or
merely subsidiary. The actor becomes, after his fashion, a distinct
creator and originator, supplying details, etc., of his own, but taking
care that these are consistent with the text and do not contradict it in
any way.

This large treatment was exactly "Phiz's." He seems to "act" "Boz's"
drama, yet he did not introduce anything that was not warranted by the
spirit of the text. He found himself present at the scene, and felt how
it _must_ have occurred. He had a wonderful power of selecting what was
essential and what should be essential. Nor did he make a minute
inventory of such details as were mentioned in the text. Hence the
extraordinary vitality and spirit of his work. There is action in all,
and each picture tells its own story. To see the merit of this system,
we have only to contrast with it such attempts as we find in modern
productions, where the artist's method is to present to us figures
grouped together, apparently talking but not _acting_--such things as we
have week by week