in
Literature
and Art.
293
beating and hurling headlong from his chair. They feem to be pro-
claiming their joy at his fall by all forts of playful attitudes. It is a fort
of demon fair. Some of them, to the left of the picture, are dancing
and Handing upon their heads on a tight-rope. Near them another IS
playing fome game like that which we now call the thimble-rig. The
monkeys are dancing to the tune of a great drum. A variety of their
mountebank tricks are going on in different parts of the fcene. Three of
thefe playful aetors are reprefented in our cut No. 156.
Breughel alfo executed a feries of fimilarly grotefque engravings,
reprefenting in this fame fantaflic manner the virtues and vices, fuch as
Pride (jizperbia), Courage (jbrtitudo), Sloth (dgfidia), 86c. Thefe bear the
date of 1558. They are crowded with figures equally grotefque with
thofe juli mentioned, but a great part of which it would be almoli
impoliible to defcribe. I give two examples from the engraving of
" Sloth," in the accompanying cut (No. 157).
From making up figures from parts of animals, this early fchool of
grotefque proceeded to Create animated figures out of inanimate things,
fuch as machines, implements of various kinds, houfehold utenfils, and
other fuch articles. A German artifc, of about the fame time as Breughel,
has