Page images
PDF
EPUB

pleasure he had had in reproducing the features of the fine old Saxon orator, and spoke with interest of a statue of the same statesman, which was to be placed in the House of Commons, by his gifted and attached friend and pupil, Mr Gilbert, A.R.A. The latter occupied the adjoining studio to that of Sir Edgar in Fulham Road, and the elder sculptor was never more happy than when speaking confidently and with his usual generous warmth of the future awaiting his brother artist.

Sir Edgar Boehm was fortunate in having been brought up in an art-charged atmosphere. His father, who was director of the mint in Vienna, was the possessor of a celebrated collection of works of art; and as this grew, it brought him into touch with most of the connoisseurs of the day. These early learnt to notice the slender bright-faced boy, whose shapely supple hand was already eagerly playing with brush and modelling-tools.

The aim of the elder Mr Boehm was to represent the progress of art from the earliest historical date down to the present day, proposing ultimately to present it to his native city of Pesth. It was, however, unfortunately scattered on his death; and one of the interests of his son has been to trace the household gods of his youth into the great galleries of Europe which have since acquired them. As an example of their value, it may be mentioned that the collection included Albert Dürer's " Crucifixion,' now in the Holbein Cabinet at Dresden.

[ocr errors]

The Boehm family suffered, as did most Hungarians, in the 1848 rebellion. One of the brothers

being implicated in it, took refuge in England with Kossuth and other patriots; and partly for that reason, partly on account of the interest and admiration which Mr Boehm, in common with many of his countrymen, felt for our institutions and customs, the future sculptor was sent to finish his education among us.

The next three years he spent in Paris, receiving there a medal for a group of rearing cart-horses. After that he went to Italy, where he obtained the "Prix de Rome," an imperial gift. This success was important, as it freed him from military conscription, the country looking on the recipient of the distinction as worthy of a better fate than being made a billet for some stray

bullet.

Honours were from the first cast freely to the popular young sculptor by different cities; but England remaining the land of his choice, he was naturalised here in 1862, though he continued to look on his birthplace with affectionate interest.

He became Associate of the Royal Academy, and full Academician in turn, and in 1889 her Majesty was pleased to bestow on him the title of baronet, an act, it may be presumed, which gave some pleasure to herself, as she had for long condescended to look on the sculptor with special favour.

A public magazine is a place in which matters of domestic interest may only be lightly touched; but this sketch cannot be concluded without an allusion to the bereavement which Sir Edgar sustained in the death of his wife, a death which was only by four short months to precede his own. touching letter, written early in September of last year, he alludes to his irreparable loss, and the

In a

thirty years of happy married life he enjoyed with her, the best of wives and mothers. Lady Boehm's last days were clouded by terrible physical suffering; but this never seems to have prevented her from sympathising with her husband's successes, and proving herself his best and most far-sighted critic. Her knowledge of art was not exceptionally great, but her judgment was sound, and she had a wonderful power of gauging the popularity any work was likely to enjoy.

"If my wife approve, the public will," remarked Sir Edgar on one occasion; "but if she condemn, I may as well give the thing up."

No memoir of Sir Edgar Boehm would be complete without mention of his great affection for and power of delineation of animal life. An equestrian statue was with him a labour of love, for the sake of the noble animal to be placed on the pedestal; and some of the earliest, and therefore, doubtless, the dearest of his triumphs, were won in this field. His Wellington war-horse has heard great praise. The Duke of Westminster has at Eaton a splendid equine group from his hand. The Duke of Portland, Lord Rosebery, and Lord Rothschild are the fortunate possessors of others. A colossal lion and lioness are to be seen at Holkham; and a fountain with a sea-lion in black marble has been placed by Sir Edgar on the staircase of the beautiful house of his friend, Sir John Millais. A lifesize group of a bull and herdsman, and one of St George and the Dragon, have carried his fame to

the other side of the world, and now adorn the National Gallery of Melbourne.

These and many another noble work by which the list might be swelled, remain with us to bear testimony to the power and the versatility of the genius of Sir Edgar Boehm; and such as believe in the transmission of hereditary characteristics will consider that those Hungarian ancestors of his, who spent their existence in sweeping over the plains beyond the Danube, have not been without their influence in determining the career of the Landseer of marble.

The last of his completed works was one with which it was well he should bid farewell to this world for the increase of whose beauty he has added his mite: the statue of Frederick of Germany, which has been placed within the chapel at Windsor by our Queen, and was unveiled by her three days after the sculptor's death.

And now nothing remains but, in our turn, to say farewell to one who endeared himself to all who knew him by the gentleness and lovableness of his nature, who lived with a hand outstretched to help and encourage strugglers in his own profession, who spoke ill of none, and who rated his own powers low and those of others high; one to whom art was a religion, and who died happy, in that age had not yet curbed the flight of his idealism, or marred the subtlety of his touch, and that as yet he had taken no step from the full meridian of his glory towards his setting.

CONSTANCE EAGLESTONE.

[ocr errors][merged small]

It is scarcely possible to look through a Portuguese comic paper without making acquaintance with "Zé Povinho," and the portrait, however unflattering, varies as little as that of our own John

A short, square-shouldered, poverty-stricken figure, a face in which stupidity and cunning are skilfully blended; "the one who pays for all," that is, for all the mistakes and peculations of his superiors, but without getting any advantages himself, such is the typical "José," the Paddy of Portugal, the representative of the people. As in all caricatures, some characteristics have been exaggerated, and many have been entirely omitted. Any one who knew the Irish as they were twenty years ago, before the present agitation had gathered way, will require but little personal description of the Portuguese peasant of to-day, as the similarity is most striking. One sees the same delight in makeshifts, the same ingenuity in applying objects to any and every use but that for which they were intended, the same kindness of heart, civility, readiness to tell a lie "to plaze yer honor," or any other reason, and also the same want of cleanliness; but where Paddy would be in rags, José's working suit is patched with divers materials until it resembles his namesake's coat of many colours. A marked difference also at once appears when the too common drunkenness of the one nation is contrasted with the sobriety of the other; but on this subject I shall have more to say further on.

A fine day in spring or summer

is the time to see the rising generation, as represented by urchins of all ages up to six or eight, who are generally busily engaged in making "mud," or more probably "dust pies," by the roadside. Few of them have on more than a short shirt, which at this time of the year is considered sufficient clothing, and on rare occasions the younger ones have not even that. At eight or ten they begin to work, sometimes trotting along ahead of the oxen if their father is a carter, or they fetch and carry and hold the hod for masons, or assist in the fields. One way or another, they begin very young to add something to the family earnings. This, be it remarked, is in direct opposition to the education laws, a study of which would lead to a belief that Portugal was, in this respect, one of the most advanced countries in Europe, whereas actual experience shows that few countries are so backward. By the system of education which became law in 1878, attendance at a Government school is obligatory on all children from six to twelve years of age living within a radius of a mile from the school, and not receiving instruction at home or elsewhere. The school hours are to be regulated so as to interfere as little as possible with the daily work of the children, and those of nine years old and upwards, employed in agriculture or manufactures, may, by special leave, attend only half the regular school hours. A noteworthy clause is that which authorises parochial authorities to furnish to those who are extremely poor wearing apparel, books, or other ab

[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors]

solute necessaries, to enable them to attend school. Teachers are obliged to show certificates of qualification received at examinations held under Government supervision. They are paid a fixed salary, minimum £22, and grants regulated by the attendance and the number of pupils who pass the final examination. The total amount is generally very small, and the payment by Government constantly in arrears. One of the favourite subjects of satire in the comic papers is the Prime Minister, or other high Government official, grown fat and rich, while the unfortunate schoolmaster, reduced to a skeleton by want, approaches and begs for payment of his hardearned salary to keep him from actual starvation. In the daily papers one constantly sees indignant notices that in some country district the salaries are months overdue, and drawing attention to the hardship thereby inflicted on the teachers. The subjects of instruction are "reading, writing, arithmetic to fractions, elements of Portuguese grammar, principles of the metric and decimal systems, elements of drawing, and the doctrines of morality and Christianity." For girls needlework is added to the above.

So much for the law, which appears to be a well-organised, practical plan for the education of the lower classes, and one which, allowing sufficient time for a new generation to grow up, should make it difficult to find a boy who had not some knowledge of the subjects included in the elementary curriculum. It is of course difficult to form a correct judgment on the subject, but when one sees children aged eight and nine years employed in daily work from sunrise to sunset, without yet knowing the

alphabet, it is but natural to conclude that, for many years to come, the Education Act will have but comparatively slight effect on the general ignorance. The fact is that this law, like most others in Portugal, is only partially enforced, so that probably half the children within the limits of age, especially in the rural districts, never see the inside of a schoolhouse. There are no recent education statistics; but from personal experience of many hundreds of working men, I should say that at present not above ten per cent can read a newspaper, or write a note or memorandum of any kind. I constantly have my attention drawn to the fact, that if a man shows more than average ability he is almost certain to know how to read and write, and I cannot help concluding that even the limited instruction he received has developed his general intelligence, and raised him above his more ignorant companions. The English clodhopper is generally depicted as one of the most stupid of mankind, and he is probably worse than the Portuguese, who has a great deal of natural shrewdness which serves him on all subjects of which he has personal experience. It does not, however, help him to the most simple notions of cause and effect, so that if given work out of his usual routine, only constant supervision will prevent him from making the most stupid blunders. Amongst Portuguese workmenand I now allude to those who have learnt a handicraft-there is what I may style, without exaggeration, a national want of the perception of accuracy. There is an unfortunate expression "a little more or less," and this is in constant use, verbally and practically. A door may gape at the top or bot

tom, windows almost invariably rattle in their sashes, but you will never persuade the carpenter that his work is badly done: he will acknowledge the existence of what are pointed out as defects, and answer, "That's no harm-what does it matter?" From the same cause, straight or parallel lines and right angles, the careful carrying out of which makes all the difference in the finished look of work, are also "a little more or less"; and the vagaries of a furrow in any ploughed field must be seen to be appreciated. The actual supply of first-rate workmen is practically nil, and the artisan is not only unequal to the production of excellence in his special line, but, what is worse, does not possess the moral faculty of judging and enjoying the sight of perfect specimens of workmanship. Stonecutting seems to have been for centuries an art in which the Portuguese have excelled; this and silversmith's work are the two crafts which may be exempt from the sweeping condemnation passed on the artisan of the present day.

The amusements of the peasant are very limited, the principal one being the festas, which take place at intervals all over the country. The traveller will often see tiny chapels perched on the summits of hills, or studded promiscuously in the lowlands. At each of these, as well as at the parish church, the day of the patron saint is celebrated by a fête, and the whole country-side collects and passes the time in a curious mixture of religion and worldliness. Some of these festas-as Nossa Senhora d'Agonia at Vianna, Matthosinhos near Porto, and S. Torquato between Guimarães and Fafe-last several days, and are attended by people from all parts of the of the

country. There is little or no variation in the play-bill: rockets in the blazing sunlight, sometimes a religious procession, and this is a spectacle which José loves, and of which he never tires. Mass is celebrated at intervals, and one or more amateur brass bands delight the crowd with music more noisy than artistic. At the small gatherings the people are acquainted with one another, and pass most of the time in discussing the gossip of the neighbourhood: this is an unfailing resource, for the Portuguese is as naturally loquacious as the Englishman is silent, and expresses himself with ease and fluency. A friend of mine lately met a Brazilian on board one of the large mail-packets, and in the course of conversation the latter remarked: "I have heard your best speakers at Westminster, I have been to the French Chamber, I have attended debates in my own country, but none of them can compare with the Portuguese. In your Parliament you have a few men who can speak; in the Cortes they all can. Though José often takes his own provisions, yet there is a great demand for refreshments, such as cakes, watermelons, and light wines, which are consumed in quantities. Perhaps some one speculates in a cock, which is hung from a rope so that its head may dangle about eight feet from the ground; a rusty sword is produced, and each person provided with a ticket has a right to a stroke. Owing to the bluntness of the sword, success is more due to luck than skill, as a great deal of hacking has to be done before the head is severed, and the body becomes the property of the lucky swordsman. Nowadays the cock is killed before being hung up, but cruelty is a word not un

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »