ck"_

A DESIGN FROM "LYSISTRATA" 50

D'ALBERT IN SEARCH OF IDEALS 54
_From "Mademoiselle de Maupin." Reproduced from the
original in the possession of Mrs Bealby Wright_

AUBREY BEARDSLEY

Aubrey Beardsley was born on August 21st, 1872, at Brighton. He was a
quiet, reserved child, caring little for lessons, though from an early
age he shewed an aptitude for drawing. He began his education at a
Kindergarten. He was seven years old when the first symptoms of delicacy
appeared, and he was sent to a preparatory school at Hurstpierpoint,
where he was remarkable for his courage and extreme reserve. Threatened
with tuberculosis, he was moved for his health to Epsom in 1881. In
March 1883 his family settled in London, and Beardsley made his first
public appearance as an infant musical phenomenon, playing at concerts
in company with his sister. He had a great knowledge of music, and
always spoke dogmatically on a subject, the only one he used to say, of
which he knew anything. He became attracted at this time by Miss Kate
Greenaway's picture books, and started illuminating menus and invitation
cards with coloured chalks, making by this means quite considerable sums
for a child.

In August 1884 he and his sister were sent back to Brighton, where
they resided with an old aunt. Their lives were lonely, and Beardsley
developed a taste for reading of a rather serious kind--the histories
of Freeman and Greene being his favourite works. He could not remain
a student without creating, so he started a history of the Armada! In
November of the same year he was sent to the Brighton Grammar School as
a day boy, becoming a boarder in January 1885. He was a great favourite
with Mr King, the house-master, who encouraged his tastes for reading
and drawing by giving him the use of a sitting-room and the run of
a library. This was one of the first pieces of luck that attended
Beardsley throughout life. The head-master, Mr Marshall, I am told,
would hold him up as an example to the other boys, on account of his
industry. His caricatures of the masters were fully appreciated by
them, a rare occurrence in the lives of artists. He cultivated besides
a talent for acting, and would often perform before large audiences at
the Pavilion. He organized weekly performances at the school, designing
and illustrating the programmes. He even wrote a farce called "A Brown
Study," which