Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/618

600 of l‘ubertsou, Gillies was appointed historiograliher-royal of Scotland. In his old age he retired to Clapham. where he died 15th February 1836, in the 90th year of his age.

1em  GILLRAY, (1757—1815), one of the most eminent of carieaturists, was born at Chelsea in 1757. His father, a native of Lauark, had served as a soldier, losing an arm at Fontenoy, and was admitted first as an inmate, and afterwards as an out-door pensioner, at Chelsea Hospital. Gillray commenced life by learning letter-engraving, in which he soon became an adept. This employment, how- ever, proving irksome, he wandered about for a time with a company of strolling players. After a very checkered experience he returned to London, and was admitted a student in the Royal Academy, supporting himself by en- graving, and probably issuing a considerable number of caricatures under fictitious names. Hogarth’s works were the delight and study of his early years. Paddy on Horse— back, which appeared in 1779, is the ﬁrst caricature which is certainly his. Two caricatures on Rodney’s naval victory, issued in 1782, were among the ﬁrst of the memorable series of his political sketches. The name of Gillray’s publisher and printseller, Miss Humphrey— whose shop was first at 227 Strand, then in New Bond Street, then in Old Bond Street, and ﬁnally in St J ames’s Street—is inextricably associated with that of the cari— caturist. Gillray lived with Miss (often called Mrs) Hum- phrey during all the period of his fame. It is believed that he several times thought of marrying her, and that on one occasion the pair were on their way to the church, when Gillray said :——“ This is a foolish affair, methinks, Miss Humphrey. We live very comfortably together; we had better let well alone.” There is no evidence, however, to support the stories which scandalmengers have invented about their relations. Gillray’s plates were exposed in Humphrey’s shop window, where eager crowds examined them. A number of his most trenchant satires are directed against George III., who, after examining some of Gillray’s sketches, said, with characteristic ignorance and blindness to merit, “ I don’t understand these caricatures.” Gillray revenged himself for this utterance by his splendid caricature entitled A Connoisseur '--Examining a Cooper, which he is doing by means of a candle on a “ save-all”; so that the sketch satirizes at once the king’s pretensions to knowledge of art and his miserly habits. The excesses of the French Revolution made Gillray conservative; and he issued caricature after caricature ridiculing the French and Napoleon, and glorifying John Bull. He is not, however, to be thought of as a keen political adherent of either the Whig or the Tory party; he dealt his blows pretty freely all round. His last work, from a design by Bunbury, is entitled Interior of a Barber’s Shop in Assize Time, and is dated 1811. While he was engaged on it, he became mad, although he had occasional intervals of sanity, which he employed on his last work. The ap- proach of madness must have been hastened by his intem- perate habits. Gillray died on the 1st of June 1815, and was buried in St J ames’s churchyard, Piccadilly. The times in which Gillray lived were peculiarly favour- able to the growth of a great school of caricature. Party warfare was carried on with great vigour and not a little bitterness; and personalities were freely indulged in on both sides. Gillray’s incomparable wit and humour, know- ledge of life, fertility of resource, keen sense of the ludi- crous, and beauty of execution, at once gave him the ﬁrst place among caricaturists. He is honourany distinguished in the history of caricature by the fact that his sketches are real works of art. The ideas embodied in some of them are sublime and poetically magniﬁcent in their intensity of meaning; while the coarseness by which others are dis- ﬁgured is to be explained by the general freedom of treat— ment common in all intellectual departments in the eighteenth century. The historical value of Gillray’s work has been recognized by accurate students of history. As has been well remarked: “Lord Stanhope has turned Gillray to account as a voracious reporter of speeches, as well as a suggestive illustrator of events.” llis contem- porary political inﬂuence is borne witness to in a letter from Lord Bateman, dated November 3, 1798. “The Opposition,” he writes to Gillray, “are as low as we can wish them. You have been of infinite service in lowering them, and making them ridiculous." Gillray’s extraordinary industry may be inferred from the fact that nearly 1000 caricatures have been attributed to him; while some con-- sider him the author of 1600 or 1700. He is invaluable to the student of English manners as well as to the political student. He attacks the social follies of the time with scathing satire; and nothing escapes his notice, not even a triﬂing change of fashion in dress. The great tact Gillray displays in hitting on the ludicrous side of any subject is only equalled by the exquisite ﬁnish of his sketches—the ﬁnest of which reach an epic grandeur and Miltonic sublimity of conception.

1em {{11fine|A selection of Gillray’s works appeared in parts in 1818; but the ﬁrst good edition was Thomas M‘Lean's, which was published with a key, in 1830. A somewhat bitter attack, not only on Gillray’s character, but even on his genius, appeared in the Alhcuwum for October 1, 1831, which was successfully refuted by J. Landscer in the Athrnamm a fortnight later. In 1851 Henry G. Bohn put out an edition, from the original plates, in a hand- some folio, the coarscr sketches being published in a separate volume. For this edition Thomas Wright and R. H. Evans wrote a valuable connncntary, which is a good history of the times embraced by the caricatures. The next edition, entitled The {Var/1's of James Gillray, lhc Caricatu-rist: with the Story of his Life and Tian}}