Camp and studio

Preface

In introducing Camp and Studio to the reader, I do so with mixed feelings of confidence and anxiety — confidence begotten of the complimentary way in which the press and public accepted a recent work of mine, Wanderings of a War Artist — and anxiety to know if in this latter effort I shall continue to hold the good opinion they have formed. I have at least endeavoured, while sustaining my own individuality, to profit by those just, generous, and in some cases exhaustive, criticisms which I have received.

These rambling reminiscences pretend to nothing more than they are. Those who would have military detail or political point will find it elsewhere.

Camp and Studio may be read as a distinct work, or in the light of a sequel to Wanderings of a War Artist, the early experiences introduced into that book being balanced by the later ones to be found in the present volume.

Having trodden the war-path together, I would ask those who are sufficiently in accord with me to join me in Bohemia, that I may afford them a glimpse behind the shifting scenes of artistic life, thus conveying to them some idea of my doings at home as well as abroad.

viii PREFACE.

May I also be permitted to say to those who are inclined to suppose any of these experiences extravagant, that not only must the circumstances be taken into consideration but, since fact is often so much " stranger than fiction,'* that it has never been necessary to go beyond its limits.

As I would be most careful not to offend the susceptibilities of any, I have, in touching on studio life, advisedly altered the names of some of those to whom I have referred.

I have also endeavoured throughout to avoid too frequent reference to those amongst the good, great, wise, or witty with whom my life has been associated, save where the interweaving of their experiences have been necessary to a description of my own, for while feeling strongly how much at all times we are indebted to others, I prefer standing on my own small merits to borrowing plumes which should be worn by them alone. Thus hopefully committing Camp and Studio to the criticisms of the press and the public, do I lay down for the moment my pen and pencil and await their verdict.

CAMBRroGE Studios,

42, Linden Gardens, W.

March 1890.

Contents

PAGE

Introduction -- --xv

THE RUSSO-TURKISH WAR.

Chapter I

The Declaration of War. — En route for Constantinople. — In the Enemy's Gamp. — A Russian Spy. — BetAveen two Fires. — Arrested. — Rustchuk. — The Cossacks. — Varna. — On the Black Sea. — Constantinople.— Hobart Pasha. — The Manchester Guardian. — Trebizond. — An Eastern Reception. — To Kars via Erzeroum - - - -

Chapter II

Mukhtar Pasha. — A Pasha's Tent. — A Village Idiot. — Brigandage. — A Method for Dispersing Brigands. — A Hard March. — Our Guide Deserts. — Erzeroum. — Consul Zohrab. — Vultures. — A Price on "Pith Helmets." — Baksheesh. — The Devil's Firestone. — Anatolia 32

Chapter III

Bail Up."— Chased by Brigands.— The Devil's Bolts.— Wolves in Sheep's Clothing. — The Temple of Evil. — A Pasha of Many "Tales."— A Bloodless Battle.— Little Worries.— Fire Water.— My Refractory Steed. — Exit Barkis. — The Devil's Own. — Celestial Artillery. — Dead Spies. — " Sans Everything." — ^White Demons - 58

CONTENTS,

Chapter IV. PAGE

The Cossacks ! The Cossacks !— British Pluck.— With Mukhtar Pasha. — Not Dead Yet. — Kars. — A Bright-eyed Amazon. — Hairy Moses. — Favourites of Fate. — The Gentlest of her Sex. — Mukhtar's Retreat. — An Unclean Army. — Maddening Titillation. — A Deserted Village. — Famishing. — Utterly at Sea --.--- 91

Chapter V

On the Brink of Destruction. — A Miraculous Escape. — A Middle- Aged Spider. — A Lovely Liliputian. — A Prolific Land. — Curious Cipher. — Slavery. — A Charming Bargain. — Consul Zohrab. — Power of the Press. — Eaten Alive. — Sitting on the Daili/ News. — Erzeroum. — Sir Arnold Kern ball. — A Harem en Deshabille. — The Merry Major. — Pitched from a Precipice. — Superstitions. — ^Doomed. — The Beauty of Bagdad 116

Chapter VI

Sleeping Beauty. — Dreams of the Future. — Sorely Tempted. — An Earthly Paradise. — Unscrupulous Arabs. — A Night Alarm. — Saved by His Nose. — Consul Billiotti. — Hobart Pasha. — Dancing on Cayenne Pepper. — A Mutiny. — An Impending Massacre. — A Friend Indeed. — Three Days in Old England. — A Terrible Fix. — An Artful Dodge.— We Took to Trade. — A Galvanized Impulse. — Smashed to Atoms ___. 143

Chapter VII

Lively Latitudes. — A Lovely Danseuse. — " Down Amongst the Dead Men." — That Historic Bridge. — McGhan's Dinner Party. — Mountains of Mud. — With the Imperial Guard. — Fire or Water. — We Took to Trade.— "A Tramp Abroad."— Camp-Fire Stories.— Music Hath Charms 171

CONTENTS. xi

Chapter VIII. PAGE

Qualifications of a War Correspondent. — " Wanted." — A Refined Cruelty. — Caprice of War. — A Memorable Omelette. — Our Great " International " Stew. — The Montagu Dinner. — Wonderful Wolves. — Lost in a Fog. — In the Grip of the Enemy. — Saved by the Muezzin. — Round About the Redoubt. — Painfully Pointed Attentions. — How I Reach the Gravitza. — Making Hay while the Sun Shone. — How a Messenger of Death met the Messenger of War. — Radishevo Redoubt. — A War Dance. — Something About Picketing. — Quality of Courage. — A Sad End to a Brave Beginning. Rations. — ^War Prices. — Gorny Dubnak. — A Simile: War and the Elements. — Thirsting for Fame. — An Admirable Huse de Guerre. A Queer Bulgarian Custom. — Lost in a Snowdrift . . . 199

Chapter IX

A Problem at Porodim. — Turned out by the Grand Duke. — The Czar's Permit. — A Present to Osman. — A Barricade of Bullock Waggons. —The Last Charge.— General Skobeleff.— The Flag of Truce.— Tewfik Bey. — The End Inevitable. — Osman Wounded. — His Surrender.— The Gentler Sex. — The Holy Red Cross (Poem). — Quality of Osman's Men. — Cambridge Studio, S.W. — The Pipe of Peace.— Bones ! 223

BACK IN BOHEMIA.

Chapter X

Bohemia. — "Princess Alice." — De Profundis. — Colliery Disasters. — Scenes at the Pit's Mouth. — The Prince Imperial. — A Floral Tribute.— Prince Leopold. — Ghostly Revelations. — Poor Blenkensop. — A Phantom Friend. — Chuckling in the Spheres _ - - 247 xii CONTENTS.

Chapter XI. PAGE

Struggling Hnmanity. — Artists' Models. — Doubtful Antiquities. — Waifs and Strays. — " Hemma's Two." — An Admirable Model. — Ada's Prettiest Pose. — A Scandalized Community. — Sketches from Life. — Muffins. — Poor Nellie the Model. — Love at First Sight. — Eau De Vie. — The Colonel. — A Hammersmith Desdemona. — A Terrible Accident. — The Story of a Guitar. — Somerville and Crunch Again. — A Medley of Models. — A Royal Model. — Behind the Scenes 262

3/7

Chapter XII

Kensington Vampire. — Cant. — Angling. — An Artful Dodger. — Man- Traps. — Cupid and Pluto. — Beware ! — Love in a Cottage. — In the Meshes of Satan. — How I Escaped. — Caught at Last. — Going to the Derby. — Passing Pictures. — Society's Shadows. — A Clever Scamp. — A Gold Mine. — Art Critics. — Dividing the Spoil. — Artistic Shams under the Cloak of Religion 295

Chapter XIII

Prince Albert. — Timely Incentives. — Countess Cowper. — A Little Animal Painter. — Sir Edwin Landseer. — Dr. Christopher Irving's Advice. — Art and Enterprise. — A Representative Bohemian. — Helping Lame Dogs over Stiles. — Sweet Seventeen at the Aquarium.— Smitten. — Love's Arrows. — How this Book came about. — Inexplicable Impressions. — The Night before the R.A. — Wooden Pavements. — Experiences as a Lecturer. — Drury Lane. — Addressing a Lamp-post. — Charles Duval. — The Grossmiths, pere et Jils. — Curious Proclivities. — Tombstones. — Professional Nurses. — Revelations. — My First Academy Patron. — George Augustus Sala. — Plevna in Piccadilly. — Groans of the Wounded. — A Curious Christmas Eve. — Love and War. — " To the Banquet we ' Press.'" — Edward Draper. — A Supercilious Critic. — Society's Shams. — Au Revoir 356

P'

ST OF f

LATES.

PORTRAIT OF THE A.UTHOR

CAPE KALI AKRA

A TURKISH RECEPTION

A CORDON OP CORRUPTION

ERZEROUM ,

A BRITISH CONSUIi

E. O'DONOVAN

THE RELIEF OF KAR8

BATAZED

SIR ARNOLD KEMBIiE

AN EXODUS

THE QUEEN OF HIS HEART

ON THE TRACK

A STORY-TELLER

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

'TWEEN DECKS ON A TURKISH IRONCLAD .

HOBART PASHA

A SEA OF MUD

THE VALLEY OF DEATH

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD

AT THE FRONT

BEFORE PLEVNA

SNOWED UP

A RUSSIAN NON-COMBATANT

NO ROOM

THE AUTHOR OF THE TRAGEDY

AT THE pit's MOUTH ,

THE FUNERAL OF THE PRINCE IMPERIAL

SKETCHES IN STUDIO-LAND

SUNFLOWER SOCIETY

To face page Frontispiece.

241 249 251 255 fist 0f lltostatas.

PAGE

A BU8SIAN SPY 4

MAECHED OFF TO PBISON 10

A COSSACK 13

BOUND THE COENEB— GALATA ... 19

A VTLIiAGE IDIOT 37

BAKSHEESH ! 44

NO MOEE THANK YOU— I COULDN'T ... 47

MEET ME BY MOONLIGHT— ALONE ... 60

A PASHA OF MANY " TALES " 68

CIBCASSIAN CAVALEY 70

INDIAN FILE 73

POOB BAEKIS 76

INCOMPATIBILITY OF TEMPEE ... 77

PENDING DIVOECE 79

THE FATE OF SPIES ' ... 84

WHITE PASHAS 88

"NOT DEAD YET" 98

A COENEE IN BAES 100

A PBOVIDENTIAL ESCAPE 118

"ECHO "SIB I 123

I'M VISITED BY DB. CASSON 125

*' ILLUSTBATED NEWS " SITTING ON

"THE DAILY NEWS" 127

SALUTING "THE ILLUSTBATED" IN

ASIA MINOB 132

" INKLE TINKLE, ICKLE TAB" ... 138 MELANCHOLY MARKED HTM FOB HEB

OWN 141

SAVED BY HIS NOSE 151

THE ANTIDOTE 152

COOL AS A OUCUMBEE 156

TEBBIBLE SUSPENSE 159

FABEWELLi 161

MOTHEE! 166

A GALVANIZED IMPULSE 167

SHELLED 169

KATINKA 175

APARTMENTS TO LET 177

CAMPHOEATED HEBOES 180

A GENTLE PEESUADEE 189

WE TOOK TO TEADE

THEY WASH IN THE WTNTEE TIME

A TIT-BIT

HOME, SWEET HOME A MYSTIC CONCOCTION ...

PLEVNA FEOM POEODIM...

THE MESSENGEE OF DEATH

SAD EXAMPLES

IN THE BANKS OF DEATH BEING OUT YOUE DEAD...

A WEABY WATCH

BY OBDEE OF THE CZAR

A SOUVENIB FOE OSMAN PASHA

PLEVNA AND PENTONVILLE

A FLAG OF TEUCE

IDENTIFYING THE LITTLE ONES

IN THE SHED

BLENKENSOP

'TILDA AND ELIZA

A BIT OF ANTIQUITY

" HEMMA'S two"

MISS MONTMOEENCY ADA'S PEETTIEST POSE ...

FIVE MINUTES' INTEEVAL

POOB MARY ANN

MAID OF ATHENS

ITALIAN MODELS

"THE COLONEL"

HE LIVED ON HIS HAER...

SOME CHAEACTEEISTIC MODELS

MY LANDLADY

THAT WILY BUEGLAE ...

A BLOODTHIRSTY FOOTPAD ON A TOUE OF INSPECTION QUEEN HELEN A LONG COTTAGE ...

A BAEGEE

A MIDNIGHT MEETtNG

A FAMILIAB FACE ...

" IT CHILLS ONE TO THE MABBOW

PAGE

,. 212 ,. 218

,. 231

,. 235 ,. 249

. 264

270 271 276 278

331 333 336 341 350 351