Welsh Journals

of the young he would be the youngest of them all, bubbling with high spirits, light-hearted, flip- pant, serious, all in turns; and he made contem- poraries like myself seem antiquated in his pre- sence. Not many lecturers can hold as he did, not only the attention but the respect of the "First Hundred" at Eton. One outstanding feature, then, of his life was his kindness to the young, his sympathy with the problems and per- plexities and aspirations of youth. Many of those students to whom he taught the art of teaching in the Royal College of Art (his exact title was Lecturer in charge of the Course for Intending Teachers) from 1921 to 1927 will re- call not only his inspiring influence as an in- structor, but the generosity-and often, as I know, he could ill afford it-with which he opened a purse, never too full, and helped many •* lame dog over a stile. He had a genius for friendship; wherever he went, whether in Wales, London, Egypt or Persia, he made friends-he was a "collector" of friends as another man is a collector of prints or drawings-and he won their friendship not only by his art but by his own sterling qualities, his vivacity and genial- ity, his humour and sympathy. His next characteristic was his intense vitality and energy, leading to enterprise and activity displayed in an infinite variety of fields. There was always something quixotic in his temper- ament at his own cost and sacrifice he was eager to bring into any surroundings where chance called him his own ideal of perfection, and his sense of the unity of life and Art. While a student in the Royal College of Art from 1908 to 1913 he acted as editor of a Students' Maga- zine which, in its finely designed format, was a shrine for displaying the best work produced in the College at his time. This was part only of his work in developing in the students a sense of their responsibility as a corporate body; and it was his personal influence with the authorities of the Board of Education which helped to estab- lish a Common Room where the students should hold a territory of their own. When he was elected a Member of the Royal Society of Painter- Etchers and Engravers, or the Imperial Arts League, or the Omar Khayyam Club (he used to love its Dinners, and often brought his friend Tom Jones, then Secretary to the Cabinet) he was not content to sit and think; he wanted notepaper, invitation cards, programmes, menus, and all the working paraphernalia, to have the stamp of individuality and to set a definitely high standard of Art. So, in each case, he gratuit- ously made designs which are still used by Club or Society with contentment and pride. In all these matters the little niceties meant as much to him as the permanent beauty of a facade to an architect. Any small piece of work where design or ornament were concerned absorbed him; it became all-important in his life till the result was successfully accomplished. Then, paid or not paid, he went on eager and refreshed tc the next job. He saw no reason why the colouring and in- scriptions on a motor van should not be a work of art; he saw no reason why a chocolate box should be gaudy and banal, or a trade label ugly and commonplace; so in off moments he decor- ated motor vans, designed chocolate boxes and advertisement cards and labels. More than has ever been realised, he was one of the forces which have led during the last twenty years to what is a revolution in the application of the principles of Art to commercial purposes, and particularly with regard to fine and dignified lettering. In this sort of connection he designed the King's Proclamation dealing with Food Economy during the War, bes:des publications for the Welsh Edu- cation Department, a book on Hampstead for the Underground Railways Company, Rolls of Honour, and much similar work where good lettering and design made simple things look lasting and beautiful. In a letter written to me in 1920 he says "I am executing your wish under protest. I am behind hand with a private commission and with jobs for the London Univer- sity, the Central Welsh Board, the United Cham- ber of Shipping, etc. What would they say I wonder. Your prayer did it, not your diplom- atic letter, please understand." Obviously I had claimed his help, as too many of us too often did, in some unprofitable task; but against this I like to set two sentences from the last letter he wrote to me, a few weeks before his sad and unexpected end: "I am so grateful. I'll do something for you some day-but I am very tired now." So far I have dealt, in a shadowy way, with the things which, however real, fall into the background of his life, but are needed to give atmosphere and environment to any picture of the man. In the foreground must come his work as a draughtsman and etcher. I like to think that twenty-two years ago I secured for him his first commission in London, to make pencil draw- ings for a Sketchbook Series which Messrs A. and C. Black had agreed to produce under my editorship. The drawings of Oxford which he made for the first volume, with their power of selection and their refinement of line, ensured the initial success of the Series. These, and other sketches in volumes on Venice, Rome and Florence, were the forerunners of similar work which steadily grew in power till it culminated in the magnificent illustrations to his "Persian Journey" which occupied him during the last two years of his life. At the time when he made the Sketchbook drawings he was working in the