Howard Pyle, a chronicle by Charles D. Abbott, with an introduction by N. C. Wyeth and many illustrations from Howard Pyle's works.

HOWARD PYLE: A CHRONICLE
and of which his Patrons may, without doubt, have as per-.
fect an Acquaintance as he himself may boast of possessing."
Then there follow descriptions of the various pictures, each
one written in quaint old English. For example, the paragraph for the picture "They Read Only upon Occasions
When the Weather Darkened," which Professor Wilson
had particularly liked, was as follows: "It is the intention
of the Artist in this Picture to represent the Life of a comfortable and well-circumstanced Planter of Virginia of the
Period of 1740. From the particular Nicety with which
he is dressed, you are to suppose him waiting for some
Friends to come and join him at a Game of Cards. Meanwhile he is entertaining himself with reading some sly and
merry Tale while he awaits their Arrival." These pictures,
after their exhibition in Boston, were bought by a group
of prominent men for the Public Library, where they now
hang in the Children's Room.
In the meantime he was being importuned by the Century
Magazine to illustrate Hugh Wynne, the new novel by S.
Weir Mitchell, which was to run there as a serial. Since
this novel treated the same period which Howard Pyle had
handled so successfully in the "George Washington," the
publishers were very desirous of having him do the pictures. The artist himself, however, who had had some experience in illustrating the productions of Dr. Mitchell, was
not very eager to undertake this. Dr. Mitchell was a man
hard to satisfy and extremely determined to have things
just as he wanted them, regardless of what anyone else
thought. Howard Pyle was too sincere an artist to allow
his ideas to be changed and confused by another man.
Therefore, it was with considerable trepidation that he un[ 16oJ]