The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-23 00:00:00

THE ANNUALS.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE KEEPSAKE.
Hodgson, Boys, and Graves. London, 1834.
The " Keepsake," if not the best, is at least the
most aristocratic of the Annuals, for among its con-
tributors are always to be found the names of half-a-
dozen Barons, to say nothing of a stray Earl or two, and
full twenty Right Honourables. Of course, with
many people, such an " illustrious" array of writers,
is quite sufficient guarantee for the intellectual excel-
lence of the " Keepsake ;" those especially who covet
gentility, and have a lust for what is called high so-
ciety—and it is to the majority of these that the
Annuals, with their glitter and their prettiness, and
their small verse and still smaller prose, appeal—
are exceedingly apt to be overpowered by the tran-
scendent merits of titled authors. In the opinions
of such people, rank makes all the difference
in point of intellect. Thus, they would pro-
nounce a poem written by a Duke, unparalleled in
ability—one written by a Lord uncommonly clever—
one by a Right Honourable, clever—one by a mere
Commoner, cleverish or otherwise, just as might happen
to suit the mood of the moment. A titled author has
a wonderful advantage over an untitled one. The
former may plead—and his plea is generally success-
ful—the privilege of the Peerage, in mitigation or ex-
emption of criticism ; the latter must submit to its
blackest frowns, and most withering sneers. We
look, it is vain to deny it, with an eye of favour on
the one ; with the other, we are strongly tempted to
be over candid and dictatorial. The reason, we
take it, is this. We may possibly one clay be authors
ourselves ; therefore it is expedient to sweep a rival
from our path, or, at any rate, to prevent him get-
ting so far ahead as to monopolize public favour ; but
we are never likely to be Lords, nor are Lords ever
likely to do us any serious injury in the way of con-
tinuous literary competition ; they have so many
pleasures to absorb their attention, that the odds are,
they will never be anything more than occasional
scribblers ; in their case, therefore, we have nothing
to fear from rivalry, and when to this is added the
dazzle of the coronet, who can wonder that the
titled author is treated with more favour than the un-
titled one ? Pope has well described this feeling,
where he says—

" What woful stuff this madrigal would be
In some poor, half-starved sonnetteer or me !
But let a Lord once own the happy lines,
How the style brightens ! how the wit refines ;
Before his sacred name flies every fault,
And each exalted stanza teems with thought."
But to come to the subject before us. The Illustra-
tions to this year's " Keepsake" are seventeen in num-
ber, the majority of which are engraved by Heath—an
artist of great celebrity in his day, but whose star is
now a little on the wane. The " Viscountess Beres-
ford," which has been engraved from the well-known
painting of Sir Thomas Lawrence, is, so far as the
countenance is concerned, skilfully and lightly
touched ; the ringlets, too, have a graceful, easy wave,
in perfect keeping with nature ; nor is the position in
which the figure is placed, wanting in ease and ele-
gance ; but the dress is stiff and scratchy, and the folds
of the turban look just as if they were fashioned out
of buckram. In the " Discovery," by Rolls, the
engraver has wholly failed to give effect to his most
prominent object—the female figure who has just
fainted in the arms of, no doubt, her lover. The poor
lady, instead of looking interesting, as all ladies in
such a condition do, or are generally thought to do,
looks quite the reverse, inspiring sentiments rather of
ridicule than pity. The whole figure is huddled up
into a confused mass, and the arms, instead of
hanging loose and flaccid by the side, are half drawn
up, as if under the influence of a slight paralysis .
Add to this, the whole engraving, to use a technical
phrase, has a sooty appearance. " The Spirit of the
I Wye" abounds in picturesque effects. In front stands
the spectre figure guiding her boat along—and a more
finely rounded, undulating outline than this form pre-
sents, or one more worthy to vie with Titian's Ariadne
we have not lately met with—while the back-ground
is made up of the still, majestic ruins of Tintern Ab-
bey, through whose ivied windows streams in the pale
moon-shine. The painting from which this engraving
has been executed, is by Stephanoff, and judging from
the poetic spirit which lie has infused into his subject,
we should say it was one of his best. " Lord Surrey
and the Fair Geraldine" is a more carefully finished
engraving than any we have seen in this year's
Annuals. The richness and variety of its details—
the singular depth of perspective that it exhibits—
and, above all, the grandeur and harmony of its archi-
tecture, remind us strongly of Martin in his best mo-
ments ; while the light thrown in by the moonlight on
the face of the fair Geraldine, who is alone in her
bed-chamber perusing some favourite work, completes
the charm of the picture. We question not but this
will be the most admired engraving in the " Keepsake."