THE ROMANCE OF ACCIDENT. 



573 



poems, which, though adding little to their sub- 

 sequent fame, at least gives us another instance 

 of how much of what is called chance has often to 

 do with the carrying out of literary projects. It 

 was the burning of Drury Lane Theatre that led 

 to the production of "The Rejected Addresses," 

 the success of which, says one of the authors, " de- 

 cided him to embark in that literary career, which 

 the favor of the novel-reading world rendered 

 both pleasant and profitable to him." Most of 

 us know how that famous fairytale "Alice in 

 Wonderland " came to be written. The characters 

 in " Oliver Twist " of Fagin, Sikes, and Nancy, were 

 suggested by some sketches of Cruikshank, who 

 long had a design to show the life of a London 

 thief by a series of drawings. Dickens, while 

 paying Cruikshank a visit, happened to turn over 

 some sketches in a portfolio. When he came to 

 that one which represents Fagin in the con- 

 demned cell, he studied it for half an hour, and 

 told his friend that he was tempted to change the 

 whole plot of his story — not to carry Oliver 

 through adventures in the country, but to take 

 him up into the thieves' den in London, show 

 what this life was, and bring Oliver through it 

 without sin or shame. Cruikshank consented to 

 let Dickens write up to as many of the drawings 

 as he thought would suit his purpose. So the 

 story as it now runs resulted in a great measure 

 from that chance inspection of the artist's port- 

 folio. The remarkable picture of the Jew male- 

 factor in the condemned cell, biting his nails in 

 the torture of remorse, is associated with a happy 

 accident. The artist had been laboring at the 

 subject for several days, and thought the task 

 hopeless ; when sitting up in his bed one morn- 

 ing with his hand on his chin and his fingers 

 in his mouth, the whole attitude expressive of 

 despair, he saw his face in the cheval glass. 

 " That's it ! " he exclaimed ; " that's the expres- 

 sion I want." And be soon finished the picture. 



The sudden prosperity of many a famous 

 painter has resulted from some fortunate acci- 

 dent. Anthony Watteau, when a nameless, strug- 

 gling artist, timidly offered a painting to a rich 

 picture-dealer for six francs, and was on the eve 

 of being scornfully rejected, had not a stranger 

 who happened to be in the shop, come forward, 

 and seeing some talent in the work, spoke en. 

 couragingly to the youth, and offered him one 

 hundred and fifty francs for the picture ; nor was 

 this all, for he became Watteau's patron and in- 

 structor. One day a little shepherd-boy was 

 seated near the road-side on the way from Yes- 

 pignano to Florence drawing upon a polished 



stone, his only pencil another polished stone 

 which he held in his tiny fingers. A richly, 

 dressed stranger, who had descended from a con- 

 veyance that was following him, chanced to pass, 

 and, looking over the boy's shoulder, saw that he 

 had just sketched with wonderful truth and cor- 

 rectness a sheep and its twin lambs. Surprised 

 and pleased, he examined the face of the young 

 artist. Certainly it was not its beauty that at- 

 tracted him. The child looked up, but with such 

 a marvelous light in his dark eyes, that the 

 stranger exclaimed : " My child, you must come 

 with me ; I will be your master and your father : 

 it is some good angel that has led me here." The 

 stranger was Cimabue, the most celebrated paint 

 er of that day ; and his pupil and protege be- 

 came the famous painter, sculptor, and architect, 

 Giotto, the friend and admiration of Dante and 

 Petrarch. 



How the fortunes of painters may hinge upon 

 the most trifling circumstances has another ex- 

 ample in that of ftibera or Spagnoletto, which was 

 determined by a very simple incident. He went 

 to reside with his father-in-law, whose house, it so 

 happened, stood in the vast square, one side of 

 which was occupied by the palace of the Spanish 

 viceroy. It was the custom in Italy, as formerly 

 among the Greeks, that whenever an artist had 

 completed any great work, he should expose it in 

 some street or thoroughfare, for the public to 

 pass judgment on it. In compliance with this 

 usage, Ribera's father-in-law placed in his balcony 

 the " Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew " as soon as 

 it was finished. The people flocked in crowds to 

 see it, and testified their admiration by deaf- 

 ening shouts of applause. These acclamations 

 reached the ears of the viceroy, who imagined 

 that a fresh revolt had broken out, and rushed 

 in complete armor to the spot. There he beheld 

 in the painting the cause of so much tumult. The 

 viceroy desired to see the man who had distin- 

 guished himself by so marvelous a production ; 

 and his interest in the painter was not lessened 

 on discovering that he was, like himself, a Span- 

 iard. He immediately attached Spagnoletto to 

 his person, gave him an apartment in his palace, 

 and proved a generous patron ever afterward. 



Lanfranco, the wealthy and munificent artist, 

 on his way from the church H Gesii, happened to 

 observe an oil-painting hanging outside a picture- 

 broker's shop. Lanfranco stopped his carriage, 

 and desired the picture to be brought to him. 

 Wiping the thick dust from the canvas, the de- 

 lighted broker brought it, with many bows and 

 apologies, to the great master, who on nearer in- 



