"Christopher Willibald Ritter von Glück, in order to warm his imagination and to transport himself to Aulis or Sparta, was accustomed to place himself in the middle of a field. In this situation, with his piano before him, and a bottle of champagne on each side, he wrote in the open air his two "Iphigenias," his "Orpheus," and some other works.' I tremble to think what critics would say had I introduced those bottles of champagne. And yet we do not call Gluck a decadent. "Yours obediently "AUBREY BEARDSLEY. "THE BODLEY HEAD, "VIGO STREET, W. "_April_ 27." _The Daily Chronicle_ on the occasion of the publication of "Plays" by John Davidson, in criticising Beardsley's frontispiece,[2] deplored the introduction of "two well-known faces of the day." In the following day's issue Beardsley wittily excused himself in the following letter to the editor: "AN ERROR OF TASTE" "SIR,--In your review of Mr. Davidson's plays, I find myself convicted of an error of taste, for having introduced portraits into my frontispiece to that book. I cannot help feeling that your reviewer is unduly severe. One of the gentlemen who forms part of my decoration is surely beautiful enough to stand the test even of portraiture, the other owes me half a crown. "I am, yours truly, "AUBREY BEARDSLEY. "114 CAMBRIDGE STREET, S.W. _"March_ 1, 1894." [Footnote 1: A reproduction of this appears on page 71.] [Illustration: Design for Title-Page of "The Yellow Book" Volume I] [Illustration: Frontispiece to "Plays" by John Davidson] [Illustration: "Arbuscula" From "A History of Dancing," by Gaston Vuillier. Reproduced by permission of Mr. William Heinemann.] [Illustration: Portrait And other Sketches Hitherto Unpublished Reproduced by permission of Miss Nellie Syrett.] [Illustration: Design for Frontispiece to Zola's "L'Abbé Mouret" Hitherto Unpublished] LIST OF VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED BY AUBREY BEARDSLEY THE EARLY WORK OF AUBREY BEARDSLEY WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY H. C. MARILLIER Price 42s. net (originally published at 31s. 6d. net) _Also an Edition printed upon Japanese Vellum, limited to one hundred and twenty copies for England and America. Price_ 84_s. net (originally published at_ 63_s. net_). _Now out of print._