And the critic proceeds to cite an example of that "prodigious finish" which Théophile Gautier subsequently recognized as the most _popular_ characteristic, so to speak, of his noble talent: "In two of these miniature vignettes, measuring less than four centimetres, two engravings can be made out, hanging upon a library wall; one of them interprets quite scrupulously _The Pariah thinking of the English Doctor_, and the other _The English Doctor thinking of the Pariah_. Between these engravings can be made out, hanging on a nail, and possessing all the characteristics described in the text, _the pipe of English leather, the mouthpiece of which was of yellow amber, and that of the Pariah, the stem of which was of bamboo and the bowl of terra-cotta_." The success of this _de luxe_ edition was rapid and important. The first step along the path of glory was taken,--and on that path the first step costs more than anywhere else. Henceforth, no more need of soliciting work; far otherwise. The artist still continued to do illustrating. Mention must be made of the drawings that he did for _Frenchmen Painted by Themselves_, and later--here ends this chapter of his artistic career--the plates that served as illustrations for _The Fallen Angel_, by Lamartine (edition in two volumes, already unobtainable twenty years ago), and the _Contes Rémois_, by M. de Chevigné; this last series bears date 1858. ETCHINGS Let us add, for the sake of being complete, without wasting undue space upon side-issues, that Meissonier also experimented in etching. Authoritative critics assert that these attempts, in which the master modestly refused to see anything more than "essays," will eventually become "the most precious treasures that bear his signature." [Illustration: PLATE IV.--1814 (Chauchard Bequest, Musée du Louvre) This picture, so masterly and so dramatic in composition, is assuredly one of the most widely known in existence. The sombre visage of the Emperor, the severity of the landscape, the prevailing tone of sadness, admirably rendered, explain the wide favour enjoyed by this celebrated work, further popularized in engravings.] Besides, with one exception,--_The Smoker_, popularized by a large printing,--they are quite limited in number, and already eagerly sought after by collectors. And with all the more reason, because, at the fairly distant period of which we speak, the perfected processes for preserving the burined lines on the copper plate in all their original fineness and precision had not yet been invented; accordingly, the later proofs in his series of etchings betray a wearing of the copper which could not fail to lower their value. At the time of Meissonier's death, a proof of _The Preparations for the Duel_, in which the signature was legible, "in the lower left corner," brought upward of one thousand francs.