The Portland daily press., 1872-03-22
The Pencil that Is Mightier than the Pen
A SKETCH OF THOMAS MAST.

A SKETCH OF THOMAS MAST.
Thomas Mast, the caricaturist, has now be-
come national celebrity us much ms Horace
Greeley or Charles Sumner. Since he is COM
parativey new candidate for popular favor,
the following somewhat elaborate review of his
character, history and works, fiom the New
York Times, viii prove Interesting:
There is great merit which belongs to Mr..
Mast, and of which the public generally have
a tolerably fair appreciation already. 1t is
that he always works in the interests of the
great body of the people. His sympathies are
instinctively with the popular cause. Some
persons may remember his Tammany pictures
more distinctly than any others, but the good
and hearty work he performed during the war
ought never to be forgotten. In 1864 when
compromise with the South" was the great
cry at Chicago, Mast drew terrible picture, in
which he explained what such a compromise
would mean. There were graves of the Union
dead, and weeping women bending over them.
On these graves was broken sword, signify
ing the broken Union--a Confederate officer
was triumphing over manned Union soldier
and ON the tombstones was inscribed SIN
memory of our Union heroes who fell in use
less war" The negroes, in chains, formed a
melancholy background to picture which did
more harm to the compromise party than all
the leading articles that could be written
Throughout the war, and the long contest which
followed in and out of Congress, Mr. Mast was
always ON the right side. In his own way, he
did far more for the popular cause than some
where of their "heart that never quails," and
their 'inestimable services to the country.
Nor has Mr.. Mast devoted his talents exclu-
sively to political life His social sketches
have been Numerous, and always aimed at
some fault or vice of the age. He is the artist
of home life-he never tires of depicting the
happiness of the fireside, aud the miseries of
that selfish and artificial existence which too
many persons (even in married life) pursue. In
one of his sketches, "Marriage a la mode" he
represents a dejected-lo looking bridegroom lead
ing a gorgeously-attiredf female from the church
in the guise of a white elephant-the husband
looking already as if he We're rather at a loss to
know how to manage his bargain. In another
powerful sketch published in 1861 he depicts
the ''Wife of the period" She is seated in
box at the opera, surrounded by male hatter
ers, one of whom is slipping note into her bou-
quet. With her disengaged hand she is wav-
ing off her husband, and little children with
their hands clasped before them appeal
to her in vain The picture has a depth
of pathos in it which must move all
who, look at it it--except, perhaps, the
''wife of the period. ''Like Mistress, like
Maid" represents the model housewife sleep
ing away her day on the sofa, while 'Biddy''
is snoring outside the door with her duster in
hand, and her broom lttering up the staircase.
Here, too, the moral is no less obvious than
true. Scores of such sketches as these have
ly-the paper in which he generally does his
work, and which is fortunate in having secured
the services of one of the greatest caricaturists
the century has produced .ar .T6lE *
Mr.. Mast can score very deep marks with his
pencil-as witness his caricatureS of Hall,
Tweed, Sweeney, Connolly and many others
who have been unlucky enough to become his
subjects. The qualities which a man has
shown in life Mast manages to throw into the
expression of his face. The sensuality and
greed of Tweed, and the cunning of Sweeny
were to be read plainly enough in Nast's
drawings of them. 1t is this power of
accurately describing men in a picture
which renders Mast so formidable A sneak
is a sneak as he comes from Nasts pen
Gil. AS for his drawings of the Irish dema-
gogue, they are an epitome of the history of
New York city during the last dozen years.
Future historians could better afford to pass
over files of newspapers than Nasts drawings
of scenes in which the Irish politicians and their
dupes have taken so prominent q part His
sketch of the st. Patrick's Day of 1867 repre-
sents terrible scene The way in which he
has opposed the attacks of the Catholics ON our
public schools must be fresh in the recollection
of most of our readers. Decidedly the Irish
priesthood has no cause to bless Mr.. Mast
He is thorough Protestant, and is not in favor
of allowing any one sect in the community to
harass OF Cypress another sect. In all these
fields of labor Mr. Mast has not only shown
himself to be an artist gifted with very
remarkable powers but he has also
done a vast amount of good, and done
it in very modest and manly manner
When it is remembered that he is now only
thirty-two years of age, most people will feel
surprised that so much memorable work has
been done by a man who is yet only at the
threshold of active life. Much may be expect
ed from the career which lies before him. 1t
is scarcely possible that Mr.. Mast can fail to
create for himself name and reputation not
inferior to that of the most eminent artists of
his own school who have f1ourished abroad. 1t
may be that in time of angry political contro-
versy opinions may differ with regard to some
of his pictures. He will inevitably be assailed
because he has opinions of his own, and does
not choose to take a ready made set from the
hands of interested factions But candid ex-
animation of his works will convince everybody
that Mr. Mast is a man of deep and conscien-
tious convictions, that he is animated by sin
cere desire to promote the interests of the great
body of his fellow-citizens, and that he is op-
posed to every form of misgovernment inius
tice, or corruption.