Unfortunately I am far less professional with writing down the sources for all of the snippets of information I get than I should be. Working at a library means I have access to a huge amount of Pre-Raphaelite literature, and I should be better about writing resources.
Today I will post the last two of my "Boys Will Be Boys" examples. Sadly, though I could probably go on talking about the mischief of the Pre-Raphaelites for a long time to come, I should probably move on to other topics. These are two of my favorite examples, but sadly I don't have a reference for either. Both are about Topsy, and both take advantage of his tendency to react in such an overblown (and, to his friends, hilarious) way when a practical joke was played on him.
-In a mischievous plot, at one point, a friend of William Morris decided to send him a package to his workshop at Morris & Co. The contents: Nothing but packaging. Apparently the look on Topsy's face as he pulled more and more packaging from the package was priceless.
-My favorite practical joke I've heard, of all the ones I've read about from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoood.....This was in a published book I read, so take its credibility from that.
Apparently during the raucous early years of decorating Red House, a jokester decided to paint over the motto on a set of scrolls. Topsy's famous personal motto was "Si Je Puis" which means "If I can." The latin inscribed on the scrolls poor Mr. Morris woke to discover the next morning?
"As I can't."
Oh how I wish I could have seen his face....
Poor Topsy! He must have been terribly fun to tease.
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