The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-13 00:00:00

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THE LATE CHARLES H. BENNETT.

In a letter addressed by Air. J. M. Ludlow to the
editor of the Spectator, that gentleman writes :
" Lord Derby was no doubt singularly unfortu-
nate in dispensing of the Queen's Bounty Pension
Fund in favour of Mr. Young. However estimable
that gentleman may be, no human being besides
himself can now pretend that his literary merits de-
served that he should be maintained at the public
expense. But there seems a danger lest the misuse
of the Royal Bounty on this occasion should tend
to undue strictness in the distribution of what is,
after all, but a beggarly dole of national charity in
favour of exceptional cases of merit and misfortune.
It is even rumoured that the I'ren►ier has announced
his intention of granting no more pensions on the
Fund.

" To make the deserving suffer for the undeserving
is surely most unreasonable. One instance of un-
questionable desert is, I believe, before the public,
that of the family of the late C. H. Bennett. It is
not for one as ignorant of art as myself to attempt
to estimate his artistic merits. Certain it is that he
had struggled on, an entirely self-made man, to the
foremost rank of humorous design ; that those who
know least about art are capable of appreciating
the rich drollery of his fancy, and that quaint
thoughtfulness, tending to over-subtlety of
purpose, which was pre-eminently and almost ex-
clusively his own among contemporary draughts-
men. But the fact was, beneath this designer of
comic illustrations and writer of children's books
there was a powerful and almost tragic artist, whose
only revelation to the world, so far as I am aware,
lies in some of his illustrations to that edition of the
' Progress,' published seven years ago,
for which Mr. Kingsley wrote a preface ; and who
that ever has seen it can forget the Madam Bubble'
of that volume ? And indeed, while he was wearing
his frail body out to make his fellow-creatures
laugh, the artistic dream of his life lay far
away. It was—all his best friends know—to de-
sign a series of large Scripture prints for schools,
such as children should understand and delight in.
To reach the leisure to do this he slaved away at
his desk, working till his legs failed under him.
And he seemed nigh to his aim at last, when his
permanent engagement on Punch placed him for the
first time in the enjoyment of an adequate and cer-
tain income. But it was too late. His life had long
been uninsurable. Within the last two years ill
health had grown on him apace. He died of atrophy
a month after removal to a new and more comfort-
able home. Pure of life—a husband since the age
of 19—the father of eight children, the eighth not
perhaps the last, he leaves a family entirely un-
provided for, but with no liabilities to dis-
charge. Not a shadow flows over his name,
none ever knew him but loved him. The
day will come, I am firmly convinced, when a
scrap of print by Charles Bennett will be as much
sought after as one by Bewick is now. But no profit
will accrue from thence to those who bear his name.
To them the poor artist leaves no copyright in those
subtle thoughts and delicate fancies which most of
us have enjoyed. His family must be helped now, if
at all. His friends have been doing their best within
the sphere of their abilities. Laughter is profitable ;
and so the world has been invited, by those who sor-
row for him, to come and laugh over his grave. But
surely this is a case, if any, in which the bounty of
a Royal Widow could be fitly bestowed on a bereaved
mother and her fatherless children. They deserve
some better provision than out of the careless mirth
of an audience of playgoers. A mecd of public aid
to them would gracefully efface the unwelcome
memory of the agricultural poet's grotesque stroke
of luck. The Premier may rest assured that it
would be remembered in his favour, and not against
him, that he pensioned Charles Bennett's widow."

Punch has secured the services of Ernest Griset,
the artist—in place, we suppose, of the late Mr. Bennett.
STURGEON AT WESTMINSTER BRIDGE!—As a
proof of the improved condition of the Thames, Mr.
Grove, fishmonger, Charing-cross, has at this moment a
fine sturgeon, weighing upwards of 601 b., alive in a tank,
which was caught on Saturday at Westminster Bridge.—
Observer.

THE DOG-TAX AND THE STATE OF THE THAMES.
—Just as we are beginning to congratulate ourselves on
the greater purity of our river, owing to the main drainage
scheme being in a great measure carried out, there is at the
present time a great cause of pollution, owing, I conjec-
ture, to the uewdog-tax having lately come iuto operation.
The river literally swat:lH with the carcases of dead
dogs. lam generally ou the Thames twice a day, and
know the river well between Mack-wall and Battersea, and
these disgusting objects may be seen floating in clusters of
five or six in a small space. I was assured this morning by
a man who is stationed on the river all day that there were
at least a thousand dead dogs floating up and down with
the tide. A. waterman also told me that ho would under-
take to fill his boat with them in half an hour. Unless
something is done to remove them we shall have them
floating about for a month or six weeks. In the pre-
sent sultry state of the weather they are daily becoming
a more intolerable nuisance, and a disgusting object to
every one. Dilly I beg of you to use the power of your
influential journal by calling the attention of the Con .
servators of the Thames to this subject ? A few men
and boats might, at a small expense, do away with a
nuisance which is not only offensive, but alto extremely
detrimental to the public health.