All those beautiful sounds and thoughts which Miss Cann conveys to him
out of her charmed piano, the young artist straightway translates into
forms; and knights in armour, with plume, and shield, and battle-axe; and
splendid young noblemen with flowing ringlets, and bounteous plumes of
feathers, and rapiers, and russet boots; and fierce banditti with crimson
tights, doublets profusely illustrated with large brass buttons, and the
dumpy basket-hilted claymores known to be the favourite weapon with which
these whiskered ruffians do battle; wasp-waisted peasant girls, and young
countesses with oh, such large eyes and the lips!--all these splendid
forms of war and beauty crowd to the young draughtsman's pencil, and
cover letter-backs, copybooks, without end. If his hand strikes off some
face peculiarly lovely, and to his taste, some fair vision that has shone
on his imagination, some houri of a dancer, some bright young lady of
fashion in an opera-box, whom he has seen, or fancied he has seen (for
the youth is short-sighted, though he hardly as yet knows his
misfortune)--if he has made some effort extraordinarily successful, our
young Pygmalion hides away the masterpiece, and he paints the beauty with
all his skill; the lips a bright carmine, the eyes a deep, deep cobalt,
the cheeks a dazzling vermilion, the ringlets of a golden hue; and he
worships this sweet creature of his in secret, fancies a history for her;
a castle to storm, a tyrant usurper who keeps her imprisoned, and a
prince in black ringlets and a spangled cloak, who scales the tower, who
slays the tyrant, and then kneels gracefully at the princess's feet, and
says, "Lady, wilt thou be mine?"
There is a kind lady in the neighbourhood, who takes in dressmaking for
the neighbouring maid-servants, and has a small establishment of
lollipops, theatrical characters, and ginger-beer for the boys in Little
Craggs Buildings, hard by the Running Footman public-house, where father
and other gentlemen's gentlemen have their club: this good soul also
sells Sunday newspapers to the footmen of the neighbouring gentry; and
besides, has a stock of novels for the ladies of the upper servants'
table.
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