Page:Life of William Blake, Gilchrist.djvu/346

 especially as Mr. B. is an, old well-known and acknowledged engraver.

The size of the engraving will be three feet one inch long, by one foot high. The artist engages to deliver it, finished, in one year from Septeniber next. No work of art can take longer than a year: it may be worked backwards and forwards without end, and last a man's whole life; but he will, at length, only be forced to bring it back to what it was, and it will be worse than it was at the end of the first twelve months. The value of this [the?] artist's year is the criterion of Society; and as it is valued, so does Society flourish or decay.

The price to Subscribers, ; two to be paid at the time of subscribing, the other two, on delivery of the print.

Subscriptions received at No. 28, corner of, where the Picture is now exhibiting, among other works, by the same artist.

The price will be considerably raised to non-subscribers.'

Singularly artful announcement,—surely a suggestion of brother James's! The swan walks very ungracefully. Cromek had little cause for alarm at such naive self-assertion; so innocent an attempt to divide the public favour. In reading this, and similar effusions of Blake's, allowances must be made for a want of early familiarity with the conventions of printed speech, parallel to his want of dexterity with those of the painter's language; which explains a good deal of the crudeness and eccentricity.

It was a favourite dogma of Blake's, not, certainly, learned of the political economists, that the true power of Society depends on its recognition of the arts. Which is his meaning when, pardonably regarding himself as a representative of high art, he mysteriously announces, 'The value of this artist's year is the criterion of Society, and as it is valued, so does society flourish or decay.' Society had little to congratulate itself upon in its recognition of ' this artist's year.' Miserably