oy and pride that
they could not bear the street, and were not fit to be seen."

This was followed by several other articles in the _Monthly Magazine_,
the last in February 1835 was the first to bear the immortal signature of
Boz, {206} and in 1836 the series of _Sketches by Boz_ was published.

In the same year, 1836, a notice appeared in the _Times_ of 26th March
"that on the 31st would be published the first shilling number of the
_Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club_." The original plan had been to
make Pickwick an essentially sporting book, but to this Dickens demurred
on account of his ignorance of such matters, and poor Mr Winkle remains
as a sacrifice to the idea.

It is curious how important the illustrations of his books seemed to
Dickens; there are constant references to the subject in his _Letters_,
nor does he seem to have been generally satisfied.

Illustrations in fiction are in my judgment only tolerable when a book is
read for the first time in an illustrated edition, _e.g._ Du Maurier's
_Trilby_. But when a reader has formed his own idea of a character,
those of the artist jar on preconceived impressions. Seymour was
selected to illustrate _Pickwick_, but he committed suicide between the
appearance of the first and second numbers; then a single number was
illustrated by Mr Buss; and finally Hablot Browne was selected, and he
was, in Forster's words, "not unworthily associated with the masterpieces
of Dickens' genius."

Personally I feel nothing but astonishment that the illustrations should
have been liked by anybody. Dickens was, however, saved from a worse
fate--that of being illustrated by Thackeray, who, in speaking of Dickens
at a Royal Academy dinner, said, "I recollect walking up to his chambers
in Furnival's Inn with two or three drawings in my hand, which strange to
say, he did not find suitable."

Forster's chapter on the writing of _Pickwick_ contains some personal
recollections of the author which may find a place here. "Very different
was his face in those days, _circa_ 1837, from that which photography has
made familiar to the present generation. A look of youthfulness first
attracted you, and then a candour and openness of expression which made
you sure of the qualities within. The features were very good. He had a
capital forehead . . . eyes wonderfully beaming with intellect and
running over with humour and cheerfulness, and a rather prominent mouth
strongly marked wit