About Christmas his edition of _Les Liaisons Dangereuses_ was taking shape in his brain with its scheme for initial letters to each of the 170 letters, and ten full-page illustrations, and a frontispiece to each of the two volumes; but it was to get no further than Beardsley’s enthusiasm. At this Yuletide appeared _The Book of Fifty Drawings_, in which for the first time were seen the _Ali Baba in the Wood_, the _Bookplate of the Artist_, and the _Atalanta in Calydon_ with the hound. This book holds the significant revelation of Beardsley’s own estimate of his achievement up to this time, for he chose his fifty best drawings; it holds therefore the amusing confession that he did not always know what was his best work. It is interesting to note that Beardsley includes the mediocre and commonplace _Merlin_ in a circle, yet omits some of his finest designs. It is all the more interesting in that Beardsley not only laid a ban on a considerable amount of his early work, but made Smithers give him his solemn oath and covenant that he would never allow to be published, if he could prevent it, certain definite drawings--he particularly forbade anything from the _Scrap Book_ then belonging to Ross, for he shrewdly suspected Ross’s malicious thwarting of every endeavour on Beardsley’s behalf to exchange good, and even late drawings, for these early commonplaces and inadequacies. And Smithers to my certain knowledge had in my presence solemnly vowed to prevent such publication. When Beardsley was dead, it is only fair to Smithers to say that he did resist the temptation until Ross basely overpersuaded him to the scandalous betrayal. However that was not as yet.... Evidently, though the fifty drawings were selected and decided upon in September, Beardsley changed one October drawing for something thrown out, for the October _Ave atque Vale_ appears; and it may be that the _Atalanta in Calydon with the hound_, sometimes called _Diana_, and the Beardsley _Bookplate_ together with the _Self-portrait silhouette_ that makes the Finis to the Iconography, may have been done as late, and replaced other drawings. Beardsley dedicated the book of his collected achievement to the man who had stood by him in fair weather and in foul from the very beginning--Joseph Pennell. It was the least he could do. [Illustration: ATALANTA--WITH THE HOUND] [Illustration: BEARDSLEY’S BOOK PLATE]