emon did not conceal from me that 'he was not knocked over by
them.' But they were drawn on the block--not on paper--and from the
strangeness and discomfort of it came the tight-elbowed style of the
work. Of what I did altogether, only about a third were printed; half
were paid for; but what they paid for they did not print, and what they
printed they did not pay for." At that time Mr. Ellis caught the fever
of decorative art, classic and romantic, which culminated in the
"interpreted" edition of Blake's "Prophetic Books," in collaboration
with Mr. Yeats; and _Punch_ lost a promising recruit.

The experience of Mr. Ernest Griset, who is first seen on p. 61 of Vol.
LIV., was more extensive but less gratifying. He excelled at comic
animals--his human figures are most of them of one ragged type--but on
Bennett's sudden disappearance he was quickly encouraged to take up the
dead man's work, and was enabled to show in many of his three-and-sixty
drawings of that year the full range of his talent, his remarkable
invention and ingenuity. Mr. Griset, though born in Boulogne, was
educated in England, and after studying art under Gallait, intended to
follow water-colour painting, taking subjects by preference of a Glacial
Prehistoric kind. But the foundation of "Fun" gave him the opportunity
of comic draughtsmanship, and the work he did for the paper brought him
Mark Lemon's invitation to call upon him. A cordial reception and a
flattering tribute to his ability were followed by an understanding of
regular employment, and the young draughtsman became a _Punch_ artist
unattached. But he did not remain long in favour. His work, perhaps, was
not highly popular, and Mark Lemon perceptibly cooled towards him. So,
finding he was no longer wanted, Mr. Griset, who was then no more than
twenty-four years of age, retired, and consoled himself in other
directions--notably by illustrating "AEsop's Fables," which had attracted
Bennett and Sir John Tenniel before him.

[Illustration: ERNEST GRISET.

(_From a Photograph by W. G. Parker and Co._)]

[Illustration: MR. ERNEST GRISET OBEYS THE EDITOR'S SUMMONS.]

At the end of the index to Vol. LIII. is a little tail-piece that marks
the advent of Mr. A. Chasemore. This draughtsman was welcomed by Mark
Lemon with the words: "You may try your hand at a large drawing, but let
it be broad fun. We don't want any more ladies and pretty children."
That was in 1868--yet ladies and pretty children do n