the real founders of _Punch_, and by far the greatest of its
illustrators both in force of art and range of thought") "in the
precision of the use of his means, and the subtle boldness to which he
has educated the interpreter of his design."[62] In point of fact, the
engraver has had to "interpret" Mr. du Maurier's drawings far less than
those of many of his colleagues, for his line is too delicate,
sympathetic, and precise to leave room for anything but the strictest
possible facsimile. This was quite as true in the old days when he drew
upon the block, as in later times, when, yielding to the stern demands
of failing eyesight--which, for a period, forced him to suspend work
altogether--he drew with the pen upon paper several times larger than
the ultimate reduction effected by means of photography. It is curious
in tracing his hand through _Punch_ to see how his work gradually
strengthened; how his early vigour of subject and activity of mind,
expressed in strong black-and-white, gave way to a daintier touch when
the grace and prettiness of his _dramatis personae_ came to demand
greater refinement of the drawn line; and how this again constantly
widened out into a broader method, under the inspiration of Charles
Keene. And yet from first to last, in the smallest sketch as in the most
elaborate picture, his hand is unmistakable.

In common with Keene and others, Mr. du Maurier has suffered from time
to time from printers' errors. One of the most curious, perhaps, is that
in which three little boys are shown in a drawing playing upon a sofa,
evidently very much in the way of their elder sister, who is receiving a
visit from an admirer. The sister asks her brothers with pardonable
point if they will not go and play downstairs. No, the oldest replies,
Mamma has sent them up "to play forfeits." The joke, utterly pointless
as printed, becomes intelligible when it is explained that "forfeits"
is an error for "propriety." Many of the artist's jokes, as already
explained, have come from various friends; indeed, in this case, they
are probably less often manufactured than in that of others. All the
same, it may be of interest to record that the oft-quoted joke of the
aesthetic young couple who agreed that they must "live up to" their blue
and white tea-pot, was not "made up," but was spoken in downright,
imbecile earnest.

[Illustration: "CHANG."

(_Drawn by G. du Maurier. By Courtesy of the Fine Art Society._)]

Like Keene