His little studies of queer bits of gnarled humanity are splendid; witness his _Femmes Fidèles_, _La Femme qui prise_, his droll lady who declares _There is nothing like a good swig_, his _Woman with a Dog_, his _Woman with the Cats_, or the group called _Types of Electors in the Ville Lumière_. We recognise all those electors at first sight; there is the heavy, obstinate man, who gets his way by force of sheer dead-weight, there the suave complaisant “good-sort,” there the pugnacious, quixotic fellow, who adores a riotous meeting, there the pensive philosopher, and so on. There is no mistaking the true character of any one of them; to a companion page of _Femmes Infidèles_ the same remarks apply. A noteworthy quality in Malteste’s work is the invariably excellent drawing of the hands. To any but the surest draughtsmen hands are a veritable _bête noire_, to be avoided whenever possible. Besides his reputation as an illustrator, Malteste has made his mark as a painter of note, and in collaboration with Gélis-Didot has executed a charming poster for _L’Absinthe Parisienne_; while his poster for the Théâtre Antoine is one of the finest things of its kind yet produced. [Illustration: DE TOULOUSE LAUTREC] X J. L. FORAIN The collection of two hundred and fifty sketches, published in book form under the title “La Comédie Parisienne,” at once established Forain as a firm favourite both with the public and with artists. It could not well have been otherwise. For these tender, graceful, little sketches touching on the private life and foibles of dancers, bankers, lawyers and others, appealed to the risible faculties and the sympathies of all Parisians; while artists admired the delicacy of touch and apparent facility with which the little scenes were “flicked in.” The expression “apparent facility” is purposely employed; for despite the appearance of careless ease of execution conveyed by the slightness of these sketches, those who have seen the artist at work know that for each sketch presented to the public three or four have been rejected by their author as unsatisfactory. A very large proportion of the drawings in “La Comédie Parisienne,” treat of matters to which it is quite customary to refer in French publications, but which in England are discreetly relegated to the confidential whisper of intimates; so that it is rather difficult here to give specimens of the delicate wit displayed therein,--lest it should be classed as indelicate wit. The standard of delicacy topples over at such very different angles in England and on the Continent.