His aptitude for the art of design was probably greater than might be
inferred from the many comic woodcut-drawings which he has left. These
are irresistibly ludicrous--(who would not laugh over "The Spoiled
Child"--"What next? as the Frog said when his tail fell off"--and a
host of others?)--and all the more ludicrous and effective for being
drawn more childishly and less artistically than was within Hood's
compass. One may occasionally see some water-color landscape-bit or the
like from his hands pleasantly done; and during his final residence in
England he acted upon an idea he had long entertained, and produced
some little in the way of oil-painting. He was also ingenious in any
sort of light fancy-work--such, for instance, as carving the scenery
for a child's theatre which formed the delight of his little son and
daughter. His religious faith was, according to the writers of the
_Memorials_, deep and sincere, though his opposition to sectarian
narrowness and spite of all sorts was vigorous, and caused him
sometimes to be regarded as anti-religious. A letter of his to a
tract-giving and piously censorious lady who had troubled him
(published in the same book) is absolutely fierce, and indeed hardly to
be reconciled with the courtesy due to a woman, as a mere question of
sex. It would be convenient, I may observe, to know more plainly what
the biographers mean by such expressions as "religious faith,"
"Christian gentleman," and the like. They are not explained, for
instance, by adding that Hood honored the Bible too much to make it a
task-book for his children. "Religious faith" covers many very serious
differences of sentiment and conviction, between natural theology and
historical Christianity; and, on hearing that a man possessed religious
faith, one would like to learn which of the two extremes this faith was
more nearly conversant with. In respect of political or social opinion,
Hood appears to have been rather humane and philanthropic than
democratic, or "liberal" in the distinct technical sense. His favorite