at credit to the
age--in Penny Dailies!!!

"The Nursery Nonsense of the Birds," "A Stratified Chronology of
Occupancies," "Waves of Whims," etc., etc., are the work of a man who
can use his tools with a master's hand, or at least a _skilled_
worker's!

I am reading another French novel, by Daudet, _Jack_. So far (as I
have got) it is marvellous _writing_. "Le petit Roi--Dahomey" in the
school "des pays chauds" is a Dickenesque character, but quite
marvellous--his fate--his "gri-gri"--his final Departure to the land
where all things are so "made new" that "the former" do not "come into
mind"--having in that supreme hour _forgotten_ alike his sufferings,
his tormentors, and his friends--and only babbling in Dahomeian in
that last dream in which his spirit returned to its first earthly home
before "going home" for Good!--is superb!!! The possible meanness and
brutality of civilized man in Paris--the possible grandeur and obvious
immortality of the smallest, youngest, "gri-gri" worshipping nigger of
Dahomey oh it is wonderful altogether, and I should fancy
SUCH a sketch of the _incompris_ poet and the rest of the
clique!! "_C'est_ LUI."

* * * * *

_Ecclesfield, Sheffield._ July 23, 1880.

MY DEAR MR. CALDECOTT,

I am sending you a number of "Jackanapes" in case you have lost your
other.

I have made marks against places from some of which I think you could
select easy scenes; I mean easy in the sense of being on the lines
where your genius has so often worked.

I will put some notes about each at the end of my letter. What I now
want to ask you is whether you _could_ do me a few illustrations of
the vignette kind for "Jackanapes," so that it might come out at
Christmas. Christmas _ought_ to mean October! so it would of course be
very delightful if you could have completed them in September--and as
soon as might be. But do not WORRY your brain about dates. I
would rather give it up than let you feel the fetters of Time, which,
when they drag one at one's work, makes the labour double. But if you
will begin them, and _see_ if they come pretty readily to your
fingers, I shall only too well understand it if after all you can't
finish in time for this season!

In short I won't press _you_ for all my wishes!--but I do feel rather
disposed to struggle for a good place amongst the hosts of authors who
are besetting you; and as I am not physically or mentally well
constituted for sur