mediævalesque, he creates a line that is Beardsley’s own voice and hand--neither the hand of Esau nor the voice of Jacob. When Beardsley laid down the book of _Salome_ he had completed it with a final decoration which opened the gates to self-expression. When Beardsley closed the book of _Salome_ he had found himself. His last great splendid mimicry was done. And as though to show his delight in it he sat down and drew the exquisite _Burial of Salome_ in a powder-box in the very spirit of the eighteenth century whose child he was. _Salome_ finished, however, was not _Salome_ published. Elkin Mathews and John Lane realised that the drawings could not appear without certain mitigations, though, as a matter of fact, there were but two gross indecencies in them. Both men were anxious to achieve public recognition for the gifted young fellow, and they knew him to be “difficult.” However, Gleeson White was consulted and he consulted me amongst others as an outside and independent opinion. Being greatly pleased by the suggestions that I made, Gleeson White put them forward, and told me they were warmly welcomed by the two troubled men who would have had to bear the brunt of the obloquy for any mistake or indiscretion. It was agreed to the satisfaction of all concerned that Beardsley should not touch the originals but should make alterations on the few offending proofs and that new blocks should then be made from the altered proofs, which, when all is said, required but little done to them, thereby preserving the original drawings intact. Thus the publication would offend no one’s sense of decorum--however much they might exasperate the taste. Odd to say, one or two ridiculously puritanical alterations were made whilst more offensive things were passed by! By consequence, the _Title Page_, and _Enter Herodias_ were slightly altered simply to avoid offence to public taste; but I was astonished to find, on publication, that of the only two drawings that were deliberately and grossly obscene, _The Stomach Dance_ appeared without change--was accepted without demur by the public and in silence by the censorious--indeed the lasciviousness of the musician seems to have offended nobody’s eye; while the _Toilette of Salome_, a fine design, which only required a very slight correction, had been completely withdrawn with the quite innocent but very second-rate design of _John and Salome_, and in place of the two had been inserted the wretched _Black Cape_ and Georgian _Toilette_ which were not only utterly out of place in the book but tore the fabric of the whole design to pieces, and displayed in Beardsley a strain of inartistic mentality and vulgarity whereby he was prepared to sacrifice a remarkable achievement to a fit of stupid spleen and cheap conceit--for it was at once clear that he resented any attempt to prevent his offending the public sense of decency even though his supporters might suffer thereby. Now, whether the public were canting