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diff --git a/old/51978-0.txt b/old/51978-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7367c70..0000000 --- a/old/51978-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12116 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hogarth's Works, Volume 2 (of 3), by -John Ireland and John Nichols - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Hogarth's Works, Volume 2 (of 3) - With life and anecdotal descriptions of his pictures - -Author: John Ireland - John Nichols - -Release Date: May 3, 2016 [EBook #51978] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOGARTH'S WORKS, VOLUME 2 (OF 3) *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - - Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=. - - A superscript is denoted by ^; for example ESQ^R. - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within - the text and consultation of external sources. - - Footnotes have been moved to the end of the book text, and before - the publisher's Book Catalog. Some Footnotes are very long. - - The 3-star asterism symbol in the Catalog is denoted by ⁂. - - More detail can be found at the end of the book. - - - - - HOGARTH'S WORKS: - - WITH - - _LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES_. - - - SECOND SERIES. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE A LA MODE. PLATE I.] - - - - - HOGARTH'S WORKS: - - WITH - - _LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF - HIS PICTURES._ - - BY - - JOHN IRELAND AND JOHN NICHOLS, F.S.A. - - [Illustration] - - _THE WHOLE OF THE PLATES REDUCED IN EXACT - FAC-SIMILE OF THE ORIGINALS._ - - Second Series. - - London: - - CHATTO AND WINDUS, PUBLISHERS. - (_SUCCESSORS TO JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN._) - - - - -LIST OF PLATES - -DESCRIBED IN THE SECOND SERIES. - - - PAGE - MARRIAGE A LA MODE-- - - PLATE I. The Marriage Settlement, _Frontispiece_ - - PLATE II. The Viscount and his Lady at Home, 24 - - PLATE III. The Viscount's Visit to the Quack Doctor, 28 - - PLATE IV. The Countess's Morning Levee, 36 - - PLATE V. The Husband killed in a Bagnio, 40 - - PLATE VI. Death of the Countess, 44 - - FIRST STAGE OF CRUELTY, 54 - - SECOND STAGE OF CRUELTY, 56 - - CRUELTY IN PERFECTION, 58 - - THE REWARD OF CRUELTY, 62 - - BEER STREET, 66 - - GIN LANE, 68 - - PAUL BEFORE FELIX (Burlesqued), 74 - - PAUL PREACHING BEFORE FELIX, 76 - - THE SAME--ANOTHER ENGRAVING, 78 - - MOSES AND PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER, 82 - - FOUR PRINTS OF AN ELECTION-- - - PLATE I. The Entertainment, 88 - - PLATE II. Canvassing for Votes, 98 - - PLATE III. The Polling, 106 - - PLATE IV. Chairing the Member, 112 - - THE MARCH TO FINCHLEY, 122 - - THE INVASION-- - - PLATE I. France, 140 - - PLATE II. England, 142 - - THE COCKPIT, 146 - - CREDULITY, SUPERSTITION, AND FANATICISM, 160 - - THE TIMES-- - - PLATE I., 180 - - PLATE II., 208 - - JOHN WILKES, ESQ., 222 - - THE REV. C. CHURCHILL, 228 - - BOYS PEEPING AT NATURE (2 Plates), 244 - - THE LAUGHING AUDIENCE, 246 - - THE LECTURE, 250 - - THE ORCHESTRA, 254 - - THE COMPANY OF UNDERTAKERS, 258 - - CHARACTER AND CARICATURE, 266 - - SARAH MALCOLM, 268 - - COLUMBUS BREAKING THE EGG, 276 - - THE FIVE ORDERS OF PERIWIGS, 284 - - THE BENCH, 290 - - THE BEGGARS' OPERA, 292 - - THE INDIAN EMPEROR, 300 - - THE BATHOS, 312 - -[Illustration: (end of section floral icon)] - - - - -HOGARTH ILLUSTRATED. - - - - -MARRIAGE A LA MODE. - - "'Tis from high life our characters are drawn." - - -In his preceding prints Mr. Hogarth generally pointed his satire at -persons in a subordinate situation, and took his examples from the -inferior ranks of society. From the situation of his characters, and -the minute precision with which he displayed the scenes he professed -to delineate, we sometimes see little violations of that decorum -which is perhaps necessary in engravings professedly designed for -furniture. For this neglect of delicacy some of his prints were -censured; to remove all apprehensions of this series being liable to -the same objections, they were thus announced in the _London Daily -Post_ of April 7, 1743:-- - - "Mr. Hogarth intends to publish, by subscription, six prints - from copperplates, engraved by the best masters in Paris after - his own paintings; the heads, for the better preservation - of the characters and expressions, to be done by the author, - representing a variety of modern occurrences in high life, and - called 'Marriage à la Mode.' - - "Particular care is taken that the whole work shall not be liable - to exception, on account of any indecency or inelegancy; and that - none of the characters represented shall be personal, etc." - -The artist has adhered to his engagement: he has struck at an -higher order, and displayed the follies and vices which frequently -degrade our nobility. He has exhibited the prospect of a fashionable -marriage, where the gentleman is attracted by riches, and the lady -by ambition. That misery and destruction succeeded an union founded -upon such principles is not to be wondered at; the progress of that -misery, and the final destruction of the actors, is so delineated -as to form a regular and well-divided tragedy. In the first act -are represented five principal characters; and three of them, by a -regular chain of incidents naturally flowing from each other, fall -victims to their own vices. The young nobleman, for attempting to -revenge the violation of his wife's virtue, which he never cherished, -is killed by her paramour, who for this murder suffers an ignominious -death; and the lady, distracted at the reflection of having been -the cause of their lives terminating in so horrid a manner, makes -her own quietus with a dose of laudanum. This is painting to the -understanding, appealing to the heart, and making the pencil an -advocate in the cause of morality. It is doing that poetical justice -which our dramatists have sometimes neglected, and in which they have -perhaps been justified by the common events of human life; for it -must be acknowledged, that while virtue is frequently unfortunate, we -often see vice successful. Notwithstanding this, those pictures are -surely best calculated to encourage men in the practice of the social -duties which display the evils consequent upon their violation. -Whatever poetical justice may allow, morality demands that some -examples should be held up to prove "that the omission of a duty -frequently leads to the perpetration of a crime; and that crimes of -so black a dye as are here represented, almost invariably terminate -in wretchedness, infamy, and death." - -The original pictures were, on the 6th of June 1750, purchased by -Mr. Lane of Hillingdon, near Uxbridge, for one hundred and twenty -guineas!--a price so inadequate to their merit, and to what it might -have been fairly presumed they would have produced even at that -time, that it becomes difficult to account for it in any other way -than by supposing that the strange way in which Mr. Hogarth ordered -the auction to be conducted puzzled the public, who, not exactly -comprehending this new mode of bidding, declined attending or bidding -at all. - -The following particulars relative to the sale were communicated by -Mr. Lane to Mr. John Nichols:-- - -"Some time after the pictures had been finished, perhaps six or -seven years, they were advertised to be sold by a sort of auction, -not carried on by personal bidding, but by a written ticket, on -which every one was to put the price he would give, with his name -subscribed to it. These papers were to be received by Mr. Hogarth for -the space of one month, and the highest bidder at twelve o'clock, -on the last day of the month, was to be the purchaser: none but -those who had in writing made their biddings were to be admitted on -the day that was to determine the sale. This _nouvelle_ method of -proceeding probably disobliged the public, and there seemed to be -at that time a combination against poor Hogarth, who, perhaps, from -the extraordinary and frequent approbation of his works, might have -imbibed some degree of vanity, which the town in general, friends -and foes, seemed resolved to mortify. If this was the case (and to -me it is very apparent), they fully effected their design; for on -the memorable 6th of June 1750, which was to decide the fate of -this capital work, about eleven o'clock, Mr. Lane, the fortunate -purchaser, arrived at the Golden Head, when, to his great surprise, -expecting (what he had been a witness to in 1745, when Hogarth -disposed of many of his pictures) to have found his painting room -full of noble and great personages, he only found the painter and -his ingenious friend Dr. Parsons, secretary to the Royal Society, -talking together, and expecting a number of spectators at least, if -not of buyers. Mr. Hogarth then produced the highest bidding, from a -gentleman well known, of £110. Nobody coming in, about ten minutes -before twelve, by the decisive clock in the room, Mr. Lane told Mr. -Hogarth he would make the pounds guineas. The clock then struck -twelve, and Hogarth wished Mr. Lane joy of his purchase, hoping it -was an agreeable one. Mr. Lane answered, 'Perfectly so.' Now followed -a scene of disturbance from Hogarth's friend the Doctor, and what -more affected Mr. Lane, a great appearance of disappointment in the -painter, and truly with great reason. The Doctor told him he had -hurt himself greatly by fixing the determination of the sale at so -early an hour, when the people in that part of the town were hardly -up. Hogarth, in a tone and manner that could not escape observation, -said, 'Perhaps it may be so!' Mr. Lane, after a short pause, declared -himself to be of the same opinion; adding, that the artist was -very poorly rewarded for his labour, and if he thought it would -be of service to him, would give him till three o'clock to find a -better purchaser. Hogarth warmly accepted the offer, and expressed -his acknowledgments for this kindness in the strongest terms. The -proposal likewise received great encomiums from the Doctor, who -proposed to make it public. This was peremptorily forbidden by Mr. -Lane, whose concession in favour of our artist was remembered by him -to the time of his death. About one o'clock, two hours sooner than -the time appointed, Hogarth said he could no longer trespass on his -generosity, but that if he was pleased with his purchase, he himself -was abundantly so with the purchaser. He then desired Mr. Lane to -promise that he would not dispose of the pictures without previously -acquainting him of his intention, and that he would never permit any -person, under pretence of cleaning, to meddle with them, as he always -desired to take that office on himself. This promise was readily made -by Mr. Lane, who has been tempted more than once by Mr. Hogarth to -part with his bargain at a price to be named by himself. When Mr. -Lane bought the pictures they were in Carlo Maratte frames, which -cost the painter four guineas a-piece." - -On the death of Mr. Lane the six pictures became the property of his -nephew Colonel Cawthorne, and were in the summer of 1792 put up by -auction at Mr. Christie's, and the proprietor bought them in at nine -hundred guineas. - -They were a short time afterwards purchased by Mr. Angerstein, at one -thousand guineas, and are now in his very fine collection. - -If considered in the aggregate,--in conception, character, drawing, -pencilling, and colouring,--it will not be easy, perhaps not -possible, to find six pictures painted by any artist, in any age or -country, in which such variety of superlative merit is united. - - * * * * * - -Since the publication of the first edition of these volumes, the -following description of "Marriage à la Mode" was found among the -papers of the late Mr. Lane of Hillingdon; and his family believe it -to be Hogarth's Explanation, either copied from his own handwriting, -or given verbally to Mr. Lane at the time he purchased the pictures. -It is subjoined, that the reader may form his own judgment:-- - - -EXPLANATION - -OF THE PAINTINGS OF THE LATE MR. HOGARTH, CALLED - -MARRIAGE A LA MODE. - - "Where Titles deign with Cits to have and hold, - And change rich blood for more substantial gold; - And honour'd trade from interest turns aside, - To hazard happiness for titled pride."--GARRICK. - - -_The First Picture._ - -"There is always a something wanting to make men happy: the great -think themselves not sufficiently rich, and the rich believe -themselves not enough distinguished. This is the case of the Alderman -of London, and the motive which makes him covet for his daughter the -alliance of a great lord; who, on his part, does not consent thereto -but on condition of enriching his son;--and this is what the painter -calls marriage _à la mode_. - -"These sort of marriages are truly but too common in England; and -it is, moreover, not unfrequent to see them unhappy as they are -ill chosen. The two figures of the Alderman and the Earl are in -every respect so well characterized that they explain themselves. -The Alderman, with an air of business, counts his money like a man -used to this employment; and the Earl, full of his titles and the -greatness of his birth, which he lets you see goes as high as William -the Conqueror, is in an attitude which shows him full of pride; you -think you hear him say _me_, _my_ arms, _my_ titles, _my_ family, -_my_ ancestors: everything about him carries marks of distinction; -his very crutches, the humbling consequence of his infirmities, are -decked with an earl's coronet; these infirmities are introduced -here as the usual consequence of that irregularity of living but -too frequent among the great. The two persons who are betrothed, on -their parts are by no means attentive to one another: the one looks -at himself in the glass, is taking snuff, and thinking of nothing; -the other is playing negligently with a ring, and seems to hear with -indifference the conversation of a kind of a lawyer who attends the -execution of the marriage articles. Another lawyer is exclaiming with -admiration on the beauty of a building seen at a distance, and upon -which the Earl has spent his whole fortune, and has not sufficient to -finish the same. A number of idle footmen, who are about the court of -this building, finish the representation of the ruinous pageantry in -which the Earl is engaged." - - -_The Second Picture._ - -"That indifference between the parties which preceded marriage _à -la mode_ has not been wanting to follow it. We unite ourselves by -contract, and we live separately by inclination. Tired and fatigued -one of another, such husbands and wives have nothing in common but a -house, tiresome to the husband, and into which he enters as late as -he can; and which would not be less tiresome to the lady, was it not -sometimes the theatre of other pleasures, either in entertainments -or routs. There is here represented a room where there has just been -one of these routs, and the company just separated, as you see by the -wax candles not yet extinguished. The clock shows you it is noon; and -this anticipation of the night upon the day is not the slightest of -those strokes which are intended to show the disorder which reigns in -the house. Madam, who has just had her tea, is in an attitude which -explains itself perhaps too much. Be that as it will, the painter's -intention is to represent this lady neglected by her husband, under -dispositions which make a perfect contrast with the present situation -of this husband, who is just come home, and who appears in a state -of the most perfect indifference; fatigued, exhausted, and glutted -with pleasure. This figure of the husband, by the novelty of its -turn, the delicacy and truth of its expression, is most happily -executed. A steward of an old stamp, one of those, if such there be, -who are contented with their salary, seizes this moment, not being -able to find another, to settle some accounts. The disorder which he -perceives gives him a motion which expresses his chagrin, and his -fear for the speedy ruin of his master." - - -_The Third Picture._ - -"The bad conduct of the hero of the piece must be shown here; the -painter for this purpose introduces him into the apartment of a -quack, where he would not have been but for his debauchery. He makes -him meet at the same time, at this quack's, one of those women -who, being ruined themselves long since, make afterwards the ruin -of others their occupation. A quarrel is supposed to have arisen -between this woman and our hero, and the subject thereof appears -to be the bad condition, in point of health, of a young girl, from -a commerce with whom he had received an injury. This poor girl -makes here a contrast, on account of her age, her fearfulness, her -softness, with the character of the other woman, who appears a -composition of rage, madness, and of all other crimes which usually -accompany these abandoned women towards those of their own sex. The -doctor and his apartment are objects thrown in by way of episode. -Although heretofore only a barber, he is now, if you judge by the -appearance he makes, not only a surgeon, but a naturalist, a chemist, -a mechanic, a physician, and an apothecary; and to heighten the -ridicule, you see he is a Frenchman. The painter, to finish this -character according to his own idea, makes him the inventor of -machines extremely complicated for the most simple operations; as, -one to reduce a dislocated limb, and another to draw the cork out of -a bottle." - - -_The Fourth Picture._ - -"This piece is amusing by the variety of characters therein -represented. Let us begin with the principal; and this is Madam at -her toilette: a French _valet de chambre_ is putting the finishing -stroke to her dress. The painter supposes her returned from one -of those auctions of old goods, pictures, and an hundred other -things which are so common at London, and where numbers of people -of condition are duped. It is there that, for emulation, and only -not to give place to another in point of expense, a woman buys -at a great price an ugly pagod, without taste, without worth, and -which she has no sort of occasion for. It is there also that an -opportunity is found of conversing, without scandal, with people -whom you cannot see anywhere else. The things which you see on the -floor are the valuable acquisitions our heroine has just made at -one of those auctions. It is extremely fashionable at London, to -have at your house one of those melodious animals which are brought -from Italy at great expense; there appears one here, whose figure -sufficiently distinguishes him to those who have once seen one of -those unhappy victims of the rage of Italians for music. The woman -there is charmed, almost to fainting, with the ravishing voice of -this singer; but the rest of the company do not seem so sensible of -it. The country gentleman, fatigued at a stag or a fox chase, is -fallen asleep. You see there, with his hair in papers, one of those -personages who pass their whole life in endeavouring to please, but -without succeeding; and there, with a fan in his hand, you see one of -those heretics in love, a disciple of Anacreon. You see likewise, on -the couch, the lawyer who is introduced in the first picture, talking -to the lady. He appears to have taken advantage of the indifference -of the husband, and that his affairs are pretty far advanced since -the first scene. He is proposing the masquerade to his mistress, who -does not fail to accept of it. The next piece proceeds to present to -you the frightful consequences of this step." - - -_The Fifth Picture._ - -"The houses of bagnio-keepers are yet at Paris what they were -heretofore at London: but now the bath is but the accessory, the -appendix of the bagnio-keepers of this country, and excepting two -or three of their houses, the others have for the principal view of -their establishment the reception of any couple, well or ill sorted, -who are desirous of a chamber, or a bed, for an hour or a night. -The price is fixed in each house: there are some where you pay five -shillings, in others half a guinea: you enter both into one and the -other at any time with a great deal of safety, and are received there -with all the complaisance imaginable. Nothing is better furnished, -more clean, and better conducted than these houses of debauchery. The -masqueraders often make assignations at these places; and it is for -such an assignation that our heroine has accepted of the ticket which -her lover offers her in the former piece. A husband, whose wife goes -to the masquerade without him, is not without his inquietudes; it is -natural that ours here has secretly followed his wife thither, and -from thence to the bagnio, where he finds her in bed with the lawyer. -They fight;--the husband is mortally wounded: his wife, upon her -knees, is making useless protestations of her remorse. The watchmen -enter; and the lawyer, in his shirt, is getting out of the window." - - -_The Sixth Picture._ - -"We are now at the house of the Alderman. London Bridge, which is -seen through the window, shows the quarter where the people of -business live. The furniture of this house does not contribute to -its ornament;--everything shows niggardliness; and the dinner, which -is on the table, the highest frugality. You see the tobacco-pipes -set by in the corner: this, too, is a mark of great economy. Some -pictures you see, upon very low subjects, to give you to understand -by this choice that persons who, like the Alderman, pass their whole -life in thinking of nothing but enriching themselves, generally want -taste and elegance. Besides, everything here is contrasted with -what you saw at the Earl's: the pride of one, and the sordidness -of the other, are always equally ridiculous by the odd subjects of -the pictures which are there seen; but generally in the choice of -pictures, neither the analogy, taste, or agreement one with another -are consulted. The broker only is advised with, who on his part -consults only his own interest, of which he is much more capable of -being a judge than he is of painting; like a seller of old books, -who knows how to say, Here is an Elzevir Horace, or one of the -Louvre edition,--and who knows all this without being acquainted with -poetry, or capable of distinguishing an epigram from an epic poem. -There is only one difference between a bookseller and a broker: the -first has certain marks by which he knows the edition; and the other -is obliged to have recourse to inspiration, which is the only way -whereby he is able to judge infallibly, as he does, whether a picture -is an original or no. But to return to our subject. The daughter of -the Alderman, now a widow, is returned to her father. Her lover has -been taken and hanged for the murder of her husband: this she has -learned from the dying speech which is at her foot upon the floor. A -conscience disturbed and tormented with remorse is very soon driven -to despair. This woman, who by the consequence of her infidelity has -destroyed her husband, her lover, her reputation, and her quiet, -has nothing to lose but her life. This she does by taking laudanum. -She dies. An old servant in tears makes her kiss her child, the -melancholy production of an unfortunate marriage. The Alderman, more -sensible of the least acquisition than of the most tragical events, -takes, without emotion, a ring from the finger of his expiring -daughter. The apothecary is severely reprimanding the ridiculous -footman of the house who had procured the poison, the effects of -which finish the catastrophe." - -Thus ends this explanation; and whether it was copied from what -Hogarth wrote, or, as is more probable, made up from verbal remarks -which he had made at different times, it does not in any material -points differ from the following description of the plates, which -was published some years before the editor saw or heard of the above -paper. - - -PLATE I. - - While the proud Earl of Rollo's royal race - Points to the peers his pompous parchment grace; - Builds all his honours on a noble name, - And on his father's deeds depends for fame; - The wary citizen, with heedful eye, - Inspects what's settled on posterity; - Pours out the pelf by rigid avarice pil'd, - To gain an empty title for his child. - In vain the pomp, in vain the gold, - Love cannot thus be bought and sold; - Such sordid motives he disdains, - Nor can be bound in Mammon's chains. - With cold contempt, disgust, and deadly hate, - The new-made wife regards her tawdry mate; - While he, Narcissus-like, with eager gaze, - Eyes those fine features which his glass displays, - In his own person centres all his pride, - And as his bride loves him, he loves his bride. - Like Satan, whispering in the ear of Eve - (By nature form'd to ruin and deceive), - A black-rob'd, smooth-tongued son of Belial see, - That would betray his Saviour for a fee; - With base, insidious smile, and tender air, - Bend o'er the inexperienc'd, thoughtless fair, - Assaying by his devilish art to reach - The organs of her fancy, and to teach - Pernicious, wicked tenets, that would taint - The pure chaste virgin or the hallowed saint; - Tenets of baneful, deadly, sinful dye, - That lead to shame, remorse, and infamy.--E. - -It has been observed that woman, among savages, is a beast of burden; -in the East, a piece of furniture; and in Europe, a spoiled child. -Under the last denomination we may safely class the heroine of this -history. She has all the pouting humours of a boarding-school girl. -This alliance originated in her father wishing to aggrandize his -family, and the sire of the Viscount wishing to clear his estate. -These purposes answered, the two patriarchs troubled themselves -no further. A similarity of disposition, or union of hearts, the -nobleman considered as too vulgar an idea for a man of rank; and in -the citizen's ledger of happiness there were no such items. Their -dispositions are strongly marked by the different objects which -engage their attention. - -The portly nobleman, with the conscious dignity of high birth, -displays his genealogical tree, the root of which is "William Duke -of Normandy, and conqueror of England." The valour of his great -progenitor, and the various merits of the collateral branches which -dignify his pedigree, he considers as united in his own person, -and therefore looks upon an alliance with his son as the acme of -honour, the apex of exaltation. While he is thus glorying in the -dust of which his ancestors were once compounded, the prudent -citizen, who in return for it has parted with dust of a much more -weighty and useful description, paying no regard to this heraldic -blazonry, devotes all his attention to the marriage settlement. The -haughty and supercilious Peer is absorbed in the contemplation of -his illustrious ancestry, while the worshipful Alderman, regardless -of the past, and considering the present as merely preparatory for -the future, calculates what provision there will be for a young -family. Engrossed by their favourite reflections, neither of these -sagacious personages regards the want of attachment in those who are -to be united as worthy a moment's consideration. To do the Viscount -justice, he seems equally indifferent; for though evidently in -love--it is with himself. Gazing in the mirror with delight,[1] and -in an affected style displaying his gold snuff-box and glittering -ring, he is quite a husband _à la mode_. The lady, very well disposed -to retaliate, plays with her wedding-ring, and repays this chilling -coldness with sullen contempt; her heart is not worth the Viscount's -attention, and she determines to bestow it on the first suitor. An -insidious lawyer, like an evil spirit ever ready to move or second -a temptation, appears at her right hand. That he is an eloquent -pleader, is intimated by his name, Counsellor Silvertongue: that he -can make the worse appear the better cause, is only saying in other -words that _he is great in the profession_. To predict that with -such an advocate her virtue is in danger, would not be sufficiently -expressive. His captivating tones and insinuating manners would have -ensnared Lucretia. - -Two dogs in a corner, coupled against their inclinations, are good -emblems of the ceremony which is to pass.[2] - -The ceiling of this magnificent apartment is decorated with the -story of Pharaoh and his host drowned in the Red Sea. The ocean -on a ceiling proves a projector's taste,[3] and attention to the -costume; the sublimity of a painter is exemplified in the hero -delineated with one of the attributes of Jove. This fluttering figure -is probably intended for one of the Peer's high-born ancestors, and -is invested with the Golden Fleece and some other foreign orders. -To give him still greater dignity, he is in the character of -Jupiter; while one hand holds up an ample robe, the other grasps a -thunderbolt. A comet is taking its rapid course over his head; and in -one corner of the picture two of the family of Boreas are judiciously -blowing contrary ways. To some such supernatural cause we must -attribute the drapery and long peruke flying in opposite directions. -Immediately before him a cannon is represented in the moment of -explosion: to leave the spectator no doubt of its being intended for -serious business, and not as a mere _feu-de-joie_, the ball is seen -in its progress. All this is ridiculous enough, but not an iota more -absurd than many of the French portraits which Hogarth evidently -intended to burlesque by this parody.[4] Their painters have mistaken -extravagance for spirit, and violence for freedom. Fine as are many -of their engravings, they frequently give us lines that resemble -the flourishes of a writing-master more than the free strokes of an -artist. - -In the painting which represents Goliah slain by David, the gigantic -Philistine is stretched on the earth, and, in truth, appears to -cover many a rood. Beneath is the _merciful_ Judith: one hand grasps -the sword with which she decollated Holofernes, and the other rests -upon his bleeding head. The adjoining picture exhibits a view of St. -Sebastian pierced with arrows, and that on the other side of the room -displays Prometheus and the vulture; beneath is a representation of -Cain slaying Abel. St. Lawrence upon the gridiron is placed under a -painting of Herod's cruelty. As the ornament of a chandelier, over -the sofa on which the hymeneal pair are seated, is a relievo of -Medusa's head; both this and other _agreeable_ subjects may possibly -have some covert allusions, but to me they are not obvious. - -Hogarth's leading object in them all seems to be a ridicule of -those who gave these barbarous delineations a preference to his own -paintings. - -The self-important consequence of the noble inhabitant of this -mansion is displayed in every part of his furniture. The coronet -glitters not only upon the canopy, but the crutches; is mounted upon -the frame of the mirror, and marked on the side of the dog. - -Mr. Nichols observes, that "among such little circumstances as might -escape the notice of a careless spectator, is the thief in the -candle, emblematical of the mortgage on his lordship's estate."--As -the mortgage is now paying, one thinks the thief might have been -spared. The artist, however, might mean to intimate that his -lordship's estate was run to waste by the negligence and carelessness -of the proprietor. The same commentator properly remarks that the -unfinished edifice seems at a stand for want of money, no workman -appearing on the scaffolds, or near them; and adds, that a number of -figures which are before the building were designed for "the lazy -vermin of his lordship's hall, who, having nothing else to do, are -sitting on the blocks of stone, or staring at the building." - -The characters in this print are admirably marked. Nothing can be -better contrasted than the cautious, calculating countenance of the -Alderman, and the haughty overbearing air of the Peer. To this may -be added the stare of the Serjeant, astonished at so magnificent -an edifice, and the cunning craft of the Usurer delivering up the -mortgage. - -The plate was engraved by G. Scotin, and published April 1, 1745. - - -PLATE II. - - Behold how Vice her votary rewards, - After a night of folly, frolic, cards, - The phantom pleasure flies,--and in its place - Comes deep remorse and torturing disgrace, - Corroding care, and self-accusing shame, - A ruin'd fortune, and a blighted fame.--E. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE A LA MODE. PLATE II.] - -Wearied, languid, and spiritless from the dissipations of the night, -with his sword broken in a riotous frolic, the modish Viscount -comes home at noon, and finds his lady just arisen, and seated _en -déshabillé_ at her matin meal. From the melancholy cast of his -countenance, and both hands being in his pockets, we may infer that -he has been unsuccessful at the gaming-table. A cap and riband, -which hang out of his coat pocket, lead us to suppose that part of -his night has been passed in the company of a female; and from the -attention a dog pays to the cap, we are led to suspect that he may -have originally belonged to the lady who is its proprietor. - -The Viscountess[5] has been contemplating her face in a -pocket-mirror, and is scarcely recovered from the fatigue of a rout, -which by the cards, instruments, and music book on the floor, we -conclude to have been the preceding night's amusement.[6] - -An ungartered servant, who is yawning in the background, pays little -attention to his master or mistress, and is totally regardless of a -chair, which is in great danger from the blaze of an expiring candle; -this, with those left burning in the sockets since the conclusion -of their nocturnal revelry, must give a pleasing perfume to the -breakfast-room. - -The old steward's attitude and countenance clearly indicate that -he foresees the gulf into which an united torrent of dissipation -will inevitably plunge this infatuated pair. He has brought a great -number of bills for payment: to one, and only one, is a receipt, -which, being dated January 4, 1744, determines the time when vulgar -tradesmen are extremely troublesome to men of rank. - -Of the paintings in this stately saloon, that of which we see only -a part is properly concealed by a curtain. The four cartoons, very -judiciously placed in the same line, are, I believe, intended for the -four evangelists. Next to that which is opposite the chandelier is a -faint representation of another picture. The lines are ambiguous, but -seem intended to represent a ship in a storm: a very proper emblem of -the wreck which is likely to succeed the negligence and dissipation -of this noble family. A marble head, in a cut wig, perhaps intended -for one of the Cæsars, with the nose broken, to show that it is a -genuine antique, decorates the centre of the chimney-piece. In most -of the other grotesque and fantastic ornaments, - - "Gay china's unsubstantial forms supply - The place of beauty, strength, simplicity; - Each varied colour of the brightest hue, - The green, the red, the yellow, and the blue, - In every part the dazzled eyes behold, - Here streak'd with silver, there enrich'd with gold." - -A painting over the chimney-piece represents Cupid playing upon the -bagpipes. Both subject and frame prove the classical taste of the -proprietor. The ornaments round a clock are equally elegant and -peculiarly appropriate. It is encompassed by a kind of grove, with a -cat on the summit and a Chinese pagoda at the bottom. If the branches -were tenanted by the feathered tribe, it would be no more than we see -every day; it would be vulgar nature. To make it uncommonly grand, -and peculiarly magnifique, they are occupied by two fishes.[7] - -The crowned chandelier, candlesticks, chairs, footstool, -chimney-piece, and grate, are evidently made from the designs of -William Kent.[8] To that fashionable architect they are indebted -for the plan of the stupendous saloon, which has an air of grandeur -and magnificence that is not often seen in Mr. Hogarth's works. It -produces such a sensation as Pope describes on seeing Timon's villa, -"Where all cry out, what sums are thrown away!" - -This plate was engraved by Baron, but the old steward's face is, I -think, marked by the burin of Hogarth. - - -PLATE III. - - "To Galen's great descendant list,--oh list! - Behold a surgeon, sage, anatomist, - Mechanic, antiquarian, seer, collector, - Physician, barber, bone-setter, dissector. - The sextons, registers, and tombstones tell, - By his prescriptions, what an army fell; - Med'cines--by him compos'd will stop the breath, - And every pill is fraught with certain death."[9]--E. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE A LA MODE. PLATE III.] - -This has been said to be the most obscure delineation that Hogarth -ever published: how far the short explanation copied from Mr. Lane's -papers may contribute to sanction my previous description, I do not -presume to judge. Hitherto there have certainly been many different -opinions as to the meaning of this print, and Churchill is said to -have asserted, that from its appearing so ambiguous to him, he once -requested Hogarth to explain it, but that the artist, like many other -commentators, left his subject as obscure as he found it. "From this -circumstance," added the poet, "I am convinced he formed his tale -upon the ideas of Hoadley, Garrick, Townley, or some other friend, -and never perfectly comprehended what it meant." - -How it was possible for Hoadley, Garrick, and Townley, or any other -friend, to furnish Hogarth with ideas to compose the third plate of -an historical series, I cannot comprehend. - -I can suppose it possible that the artist might not choose to -explain to Churchill what he himself thought obvious, and therefore -declined giving him any explanation. I can suppose that, admirably -as Hogarth told a story with his pencil, he might not be qualified -to express his verbal meaning with equal accuracy, and therefore be -misunderstood; but, above all, I can suppose it not only possible, -but probable, that this bitter satirist, making the declaration -_after_ the publication of "Wilkes' Portrait," "The Bruiser," and -"The Times," might, from resentment to the artist, be provoked to -give a poetical colouring to the story about the "Marriage à la Mode." - -I think it must be considered as a sort of episode, no further -connected with the main subject than as it exhibits the consequences -of an alliance entered into from sordid and unworthy motives. In -the two preceding prints the hero and heroine of this tragedy show -a fashionable indifference towards each other. On the part of -the Viscount, we see no indication of any wish to conciliate the -affections of his lady. Careless of her conduct, and negligent of -her fame, he leaves her to superintend the musical dissipations -of his house, and lays the scene of his own licentious amusements -abroad. The female heart is naturally susceptible, and much -influenced by first impressions. Formed for love, and gratefully -attached by delicate attentions; but chilled by neglect, and frozen -by coldness,--by contempt it is estranged, and by habitual and -long-continued inconstancy sometimes lost. - -To show that our unfortunate victim to parental ambition has -suffered this mortifying climax of provocation, the artist has made -a digression, and exhibited her profligate husband attending a quack -doctor. In the last plate he appears to have dissipated his fortune; -in this he has injured his health. From the hour of marriage he has -neglected the woman to whom he plighted his troth. Can we wonder at -her conduct? By the Viscount she was despised; by the Counsellor -adored. This insidious, insinuating villain, we may naturally suppose -acquainted with every part of the nobleman's conduct, and artful -enough to make a proper advantage of his knowledge. From such an -agent the Countess would probably learn how her lord was connected: -from his subtle suggestions, being aided by resentment, she is -tempted to think that these accumulated insults have dissolved the -marriage vow, and given her a right to retaliate. Thus impelled, -thus irritated, and attended by such an advocate, can we wonder -that this fair unfortunate deserted from the standard of honour, -and sought refuge in the camp of infamy? To her husband many of her -errors must be attributed. She saw he despised her, and therefore -hated him; found that he had bestowed his affections on another, and -followed his example. To show the consequence of his unrestrained -wanderings, the author, in this plate, exhibits his hero in the -house of one of those needy empirics who play upon public credulity, -and vend poisons under the name of drugs. This quack being family -surgeon to the old procuress who stands at his right hand, formerly -attended the young girl, and received his fee as having recovered -his patient. That he was paid for what he did not perform, appears -by the countenance of the enraged nobleman, who lifts up his cane -in a threatening style, accompanying the action with a promise to -bastinado both surgeon and procuress for having deceived him by a -false bill of health. These menaces our natural son of Æsculapius -treats with that careless nonchalance which shows that his ears are -accustomed to such sounds; but the haggard high priestess of the -temple of Venus,[10] tenacious of her good name, and tremblingly -alive to any aspersion which may tend to injure her professional -reputation, unclasps her knife, determined to wash out this foul -stain upon her honour with the blood of her accuser. - -The nick-nackitory collection that forms this motley museum is -exactly described by Doctor Garth; one would almost think Hogarth -made the dispensary his model in designing the print. - - "Here mummies lie, most reverently stale, - And there, the tortoise hung her coat of mail: - Not far from some huge shark's devouring head, - The flying fish their finny pinions spread; - Aloft, in rows, large poppy-heads were strung, - And near, a scaly alligator hung: - In this place, drugs in musty heaps decay'd, - In that, dry'd bladders and drawn teeth were laid." - -An horn of the sea unicorn is so placed as to give the idea of a -barber's pole; this, with the pewter basin and broken comb, clearly -indicate the former profession of our mock doctor. The high-crowned -hat and antique spur, which might once have been the property of -Butler's redoubted knight, the valiant Hudibras, with a model of -the gallows, and sundry nondescript rarities, show us that this -great man, if not already a member of the Antiquarian Society, is -qualifying himself to be a candidate. The dried body[11] in the -glass-case, placed between a skeleton and the sage's wig-block, -form a trio that might serve as the symbol of a consultation of -physicians. A figure above the mummies seems at first sight to be -decorated with a flowing periwig, but on a close inspection will be -found intended for one of Sir John Mandeville's _anthropophagi_, a -sort of men "whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders." Even the -skulls have character; and the principal mummy has so majestic an -aspect, that one is almost tempted to believe it the mighty Cheops, -king of Egypt, whose body was certainly to be known, being the only -one entombed in the large pyramid.[12] - -By two machines, constructed upon the most complicated principles, -though intended for performing very simple operations, we discover -that our quack studies mechanics. On one of them lies a folio -treatise descriptive of their uses; by which we are informed that the -largest is to reduce a dislocated limb, the smallest is to draw a -cork!--each of them invented by Monsieur De la Pilulæ, and inspected -and approved by the Royal Academy of Paris. - - -PLATE IV. - - The new-made Countess treads enchanted ground, - And madly whirls in pleasure's airy round; - From Circe's cup delicious poison quaffs, - And, drunk with pomp, at cold discretion laughs. - While the soft warbling of a senseless song, - Pour'd from a neutral nothing,[13] charms the throng; - To love's fond tale the fair her ear inclines, - To Satan's agent all her soul resigns. - Beware his soft insidious smiles, - Fly from his glance, and shun his wiles; - Avoid the serpent's poisonous breath, - 'Tis fraught with infamy and death.--E. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE A LA MODE. PLATE IV.] - -By the old Peer's death our fair heroine has attained the summit of -her wishes, and become a Countess. Intoxicated by this elevation, -and vain of her new dignity, she ranges through the whole circle -of frivolous amusements, and treads every maze of fashionable -dissipation. Her excesses are rendered still more criminal by the -consequent neglect of domestic duties; for, by the coral on the -back of her chair, we are led to suppose that she is a mother. Her -morning levee is crowded with persons of rank, and attended by her -paramour, and that contemptible shadow of man, an Italian singer, -with whose dulcet notes two of our right honourable group seem in -the highest degree enraptured. This bloated animal, carelessly and -consequentially leaning back in his chair, is dressed in a richly -embroidered coat, and every finger is loaded with a diamond. Though -in a morning, his solitaire, kneebands, and shoes are decorated with -gems.[14] He is quavering, - - "The seeming echo of what once was song, - Sweet by defect, and impotently strong." - -That our extravagant Countess purchased the pipe of this expensive -exotic in mere compliance to the fashion of the day, without any real -taste for his mellifluous warblings, is intimated by the absorbed -attention which she pays to the Advocate, who, with the luxuriant -indolent grace of an Eastern effendi, is lolling on a sofa at her -right hand. By his pointing to the folding screen, on which is -delineated a masquerade revel,[15] at the same time that he shows his -infatuated _inamorato_ a ticket of admission, we see that they -are making an assignation for the evening. The fatal consequences of -their unfortunate meeting is displayed in the two succeeding plates. -A Swiss servant, who is dressing her hair, has all the grimace of his -country; he is the complete Canton of the _Clandestine Marriage_. -The contemptuous leer of a black footman, serving chocolate, is -evidently directed to the singer, and forms an admirable contrast to -the die-away lady seated before him,[16] who, lost to every sense but -that of hearing, is exalted to the third heaven by the enchanting -song of this pampered Italian. On the country gentleman,[17] with a -whip in his hand, it has quite a different effect; with the echoing -"Tally ho!" he would be exhilarated; by the soft sounds of Italia, -his soul is lulled to rest. The _fine feeling_ creature, with a fan -suspended from _its_ wrist, is marked with that foolish face of -praise which understands nothing, but admires everything that it is -the _ton_ to admire! The taper supporters of Monsieur _en papillote_ -are admirably opposed to the lumbering pedestals of our mummy of -music. The figure behind him[18] blows a flute with every muscle of -his face. A little black boy in the opposite corner, examining a -collection of grotesque china ornaments which have been purchased -at the sale of Esquire Timothy Babyhouse, pays great attention to -a figure of Acteon, and with a very significant leer points to his -horns. Under a delineation of Jupiter and Leda, on a china dish, is -written, "Julio Romano!" The fantastic group of hydras, gorgons, and -chimeras dire, which lie near it, are an admirable specimen of the -absurd and shapeless monsters which disgraced our drawing-rooms until -the introduction of Etrurian ornaments. By the fantastic decorations -upon a chimney-piece in the second plate, we saw that our fashionable -pair had a taste, and this taste may have been one source of their -embarrassments. Another of their follies which, when gaming is united -to it, will level their lofty forests and lay their proudest mansions -in the dust, is displayed in the cards of invitation scattered on -the floor. They afford a good specimen of polite literature, and the -writers deserve a niche in the catalogue of royal and noble authors. -The list follows:-- - -"Count Basset desire to no how Lady Squander sleep last nite." - -"Lord Squander's company is desired at Lady Townley's drum. Monday -next." - -"Lady Squander's company is desired at Miss Hairbrain's rout." - -"Lady Squander's company is desired at Lady Heathen's drum-major. -Sunday next." - -The pictures in this dressing-room are well suited to the profligate -proprietor, and may be further intended as a burlesque on the -strange and grossly indelicate subjects so frequently painted by -ancient masters: Lot and his daughters; Ganymede and the Eagle;[19] -Jupiter and Io; and a portrait of the young Lawyer, who is the -favourite--the _cicisbeo_--or more properly, the seducer of the -Countess. - -This print was engraved by Ravenet, who has preserved the characters. - - -PLATE V. - - Her dream of dissipation o'er, - The bubble pleasure charms no more; - The spell dissolv'd--broken the chain, - Reason too late resumes her reign.-- - In vain the tear and contrite sigh, - In vain the poignant agony.-- - Henceforth--thy portion is despair, - Remorse, and deep corroding care; - Misery!--to madness near allied, - And ignominious suicide, - Thy minion's meed, by law's decree, - Is death--a death of infamy!--E. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE A LA MODE. PLATE V.] - -Our exasperated Peer, suspecting his wife's infidelity, follows her -in disguise to the masquerade, and from thence traces these two -votaries of vice to a bagnio. Finding they are retired to a bedroom, -he bursts open the door, and attacks the spoiler of his honour with -a drawn sword. Too much irritated to be prudent, and too violent to -be cautious, he thinks only of revenge; and, making a furious thrust -at the Counsellor, neglects his own guard, and is mortally wounded. -The miscreant who had basely destroyed his peace and deprived him of -life is not bold enough to meet the consequences. Destitute of that -courage which is the companion of virtue, and possessing no spark of -that honour which ought to distinguish the gentleman; dreading the -avenging hand of offended justice, he makes a mean and precipitate -retreat. Leaving him to the fate which awaits him, let us return to -the deluded Countess. Feeling some pangs from a recollection of her -former conduct, some touches of shame at her detection, and a degree -of horror at the fate of her husband, she kneels at his feet, and -entreats forgiveness. - - "Some contrite tears she shed." - -There is reason to fear that they flow from regret at the detection -rather than remorse for the crime; a woman vitiated in the vortex -of dissipation is not likely to feel that ingenuous shame which -accompanies a good mind torn by the consciousness of having deviated -from the path of virtue. - -Alarmed at the noise occasioned by this fatal _rencontre_, the -inmates of the brothel called a watchman: accompanied by a constable, -this nocturnal guardian is ushered into the room by the master -of the house, whose meagre and trembling figure is well opposed to -the consequential magistrate of the night. The watchman's lantern we -see over their heads, but the bearer knows his duty is to follow his -superiors; conscious that though the front may be a post of honour, -yet in a service of danger the rear is a station of safety. - -Immediately over the door is a picture of St. Luke; this venerable -apostle being a painter, is so delineated that he seems looking at -the scene now passing, and either making a sketch or a record of the -transaction. On the hangings is a lively representation of Solomon's -wise judgment.[20] The countenance of the sapient monarch is not -sagacious, but his attitude is in an eminent degree dignified, -and his air commanding and regal. He really looks like a tyrant in -old tapestry; and the arm of a chair is ornamented by a carving -fraught with that terrific grace peculiar to the ancient masters. We -cannot say that the Hebrew women who attend for judgment are either -comely or fair to look upon. Were not the scene laid in Jerusalem, -they might pass for two of the silver-toned Naiades of our own -Billingsgate. - - The grisly guards, with faces all awry, - Like Herod's hang-dogs in old tapestry: - Each man an Askapart, with strength to toss - For quoits, both Temple-bar and Charing-cross. - -The grisly guards have a most rueful and tremendous appearance. The -attractive portrait of a Drury Lane Diana,[21] with a butcher's -steel in one hand and a squirrel perched on the other, is hung in -such a situation that the Herculean pedestals of a Jewish soldier may -be supposed to be a delineation of her legs continued below the frame. - -Our Counsellor's mask lies on the floor, and grins horribly, as if -conscious of the fatal catastrophe. Dominoes, shoes, etc., scattered -around the room, show the negligence of the ill-fated Countess, -unattended by her _femme de chambre_. From a faggot and the shadow of -a pair of tongs, we may infer that there is a fire in the room.[22] A -bill near them implies that this elegant apartment is at the Turk's -Head bagnio. - -The dying agony of the Earl (whose face is evidently retouched -by Hogarth), the eager entreaty of the Countess, the terror of -mine host, and the vulgar inflected dignity of Mr. Constable, are -admirably discriminated. - -I have stated in the former editions that the background of this -plate was engraved by Ravenet's wife, but am since informed by Mr. -Charles Grignion, the engraver, that this is a mistake. See vol. iii. -of this work. - - -PLATE VI. - - Forlorn, degraded, and distrest, - The furies tear her tortur'd breast. - Remorse, with agonizing sigh, - And sullen shame with downcast eye; - Anguish,--by cold reflection fed, - And wan despair, and trembling dread, - In guise terrific hover round, - And ring the knell of thrilling sound. - Scar'd Reason totters on her throne, - And Hope is fled!--and Peace is gone. - Shuddering at phantoms ever in her sight, - Hating the garish sun, and trembling at the night; - To poison,--sad resort! she frantic flies, - And, self-destroy'd, the wretched Countess dies!--E. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE A LA MODE. PLATE VI.] - -The last sad scene of our unfortunate heroine's life is in the house -of her father, to which she had returned after her husband's death. -The law could not consider her as the primary cause of his murder; -but consciousness of her own guilt was more severe punishment than -that could have inflicted. This, added to her father's reproaches, -and the taunts of those who were once her friends, renders society -hateful, and solitude insupportable. Wounded in every feeling, -tortured in every nerve, and seeing no prospect of a period to her -misery, she takes the horrid resolution of ending all her calamities -by poison. - - "Dreadful deed, unbidden thus - To rush into the presence of her Judge, - And challenge vengeance. 'Tis said - Unheard-of tortures are reserved - For murderers of themselves. They herd together: - The common damn'd shun their society, - As fiends too foul for converse." - -Dreadful as is this resolve, she puts it in execution by bribing the -servant of her father to procure her a dose of laudanum. Close to -the vial, which lies on the floor, Hogarth has judiciously placed -Counsellor Silvertongue's last dying speech, thus intimating that he -also has suffered the punishment he justly merited.[23] The records -of their fate being thus situated, seems to imply, that as they -were united in vice, they are companions in the consequences. These -two terrific and monitory testimonies are a kind of propitiatory -sacrifice to the manes of her injured and murdered lord. - -Her avaricious father, seeing his daughter at the point of death, -and knowing the value of her diamond ring, determined to secure -this glittering gem from the depredations of the old nurse, coolly -draws it from her finger. This little circumstance shows a prominent -feature of his mind. Every sense of feeling absorbed in extreme -avarice, he seems at this moment calculating how many carats the -brilliants weigh. - -From a gown hung up near the clock we know him to be an alderman; -and from his sleek appearance, we have some right to infer that -he is constant in his attendance at city feasts, for so comely a -countenance could never be supported by the scanty and meagre viands -of his own table. His domestic care is intimated by the gaunt and -hungry appearance of a dog, who, taking advantage of this general -confusion, seizes the brawn's head.[24] - -A rickety child, heir to the complaints of its father, shows some -tenderness for its expiring mother; and the grievous whine of an old -nurse is most admirably described. These are the only two of the -party who exhibit any marks of sorrow for the death of our wretched -Countess. The smug apothecary, indeed, displays some symptoms of -vexation at his patient dying before she has taken his julap, the -label of which hangs out of his pocket. Her constitution, though -impaired by grief, promised to have lasted long enough for him to -have marked many additional dittos in his day-book. Pointing to the -dying speech, he threatens the terrified footboy with a punishment -similar to that of the Counsellor for having bought the laudanum. The -fellow protests his innocence, and promises never more to be guilty -of a like offence. The effects of fear on an ignorant rustic cannot -be better delineated; nor is it easy to conceive a more ludicrous -figure than this awkward retainer, dressed in an old full-trimmed -coat, which in its better days had been the property of his master. -By the physician retreating, we are led to conceive that, finding -his patient had dared to quit the world in an irregular way, neither -abiding by his prescriptions nor waiting for his permission, he cast -an indignant frown on all present, and exclaimed in style heroic, - - "'Fellow, our hat!'--no more he deign'd to say, - But stern as Ajax' spectre, stalk'd away." - -The leathern buckets immediately over the Doctor's head were, -previous to the introduction of fire-engines, considered as proper -furniture for a merchant's hall. Every ornament in his parlour is -highly and exactly appropriate to the man. The style of his pictures, -his clock, a cobweb over the window, repaired chair, nay, the very -form of his hat, are characteristic. A silver cup upon the table, and -jug on the floor, show us his style of living. The scantiness of his -own table is well contrasted by the plenty exhibited in the picture -over the old nurse's head, where iron pots, brass pans, cabbages, -and lanterns, are indiscriminately huddled together, with no other -meaning than to show how highly a Flemish artist could _finish_. The -_attic_ delicacy of this patient and laborious school is displayed in -the adjoining picture; and their humour, in that of a fellow wittily -lighting his tobacco-pipe by the red nose of his companion.[25] -The pipe and bottle placed under the day-book and ledger, and the -whole crowned by a broken punch-bowl, intimate that this venerable -gentleman united business with pleasure. The view through an open -window marks the situation of our plodding merchant's house to be -near London Bridge, and represents that absurd and ill-contrived -structure in its original state, loaded with houses. A clock points -the hour to be a little after eleven, which at this highly polished -and refined period would be deemed an early hour for a citizen's -breakfast; at that, it was his hour of dinner! - -Thus has our moral dramatist concluded his tragedy, and brought his -heroine from dissipation and vice to misery and shame, terminating -her existence by suicide! - -The drama of Shakspeare has been said to be the mirror of life, which -to-day we see lighted up with gaiety, and to-morrow clouded with -sorrow. Shakspeare had the power of exciting laughter or grief, not -only in one mind, but in one composition. That Hogarth had the same -power, and exerted it with the same disdain of the little cavils of -little minds, is evinced in this series of prints; from the study -of which, a peasant, who has never strayed beyond the precincts of -his own cottage, may calculate the consequences of dissipation; and -he who has lived secluded from society, may form an estimate of the -value of riches and high birth when abused by prodigality or degraded -by vice. - -In the year 1746 was published a coarse and vulgar poem, in doggerel -verse, with the following title: "_Marriage à la Mode_, an humorous -tale in six cantos, in Hudibrastic verse, being an Explanation of the -six Prints lately published by the ingenious Mr. Hogarth. London, -printed for Weaver Bickerton, in Temple Exchange Passage, Fleet -Street. Price One Shilling." - -The _Clandestine Marriage_ is professedly formed upon the model of -these prints. - - - - -THE FOUR STAGES OF CRUELTY. - - "The poorest beetle that we tread upon, - In corporal sufferance feels a pang as great - As when a giant dies." - - -This pathetic lesson of humanity is given by the poet of nature. -Aiming at the same end by different means, our benevolent artist here -steps forth as the instructor of youth, the friend to mercy, and -advocate of the brute creation. - -In the prints before us, an obdurate boy begins his career of cruelty -by tormenting animals; repeated acts of barbarity sear his heart, he -commits a deliberate murder, and concludes in an ignominious death. -These gradations are natural, I had almost said inevitable; and that -parent who discovers the germ of barbarity in the mind of a child, -and does not use every effort to exterminate the noxious weed, is an -accessory to the evils which spring from its baneful growth. To check -these malign propensities becomes more necessary from the general -tendency of our amusements. Most of our rural and even infantine -sports are savage and ferocious. They arise from the terror, misery, -or death of helpless animals. A child in the nursery is taught to -impale butterflies and cockchafers. The schoolboy's proud delight is -clambering a tree - - "To rob the poor bird of its young." - -Grown a _gentle_ angler, he snares the scaly fry, and scatters leaden -death among the feathered tenants of the air. Ripened to man, he -becomes a mighty hunter, is enamoured of the chase, and crimsons his -spurs in the sides of a generous courser, whose wind he breaks in the -pursuit of an inoffensive deer or timid hare. - -Many of our town diversions have the same tendency. The bird, whose -melodious warblings echo through the grove, is imprisoned in a -sort of a _Bastille_, where, like an unplumed biped in a similar -situation, it frequently perishes through anguish or want of food. -The high-crested chanticleer, whose courage is innate, and only -vanquished by death, is furnished with weapons of pointed steel, -when, set in opposition to one of the same species, armed in a -similar style, these two champions, for the diversion of the _humane_ -lords of the creation, lacerate each other until one or both of them -are slain. - -The faithful dog, whose attachment and gratitude are exemplary, and -worthy the imitation of man, when in the possession of a farmer, or -country 'squire, is well fed, and has no great cause of complaint, -except his ears and tail being lopped to _improve nature_, and -having a rib now and then broken by a gentle spurn; but if the -poor quadruped falls into the hands of a tanner, a surgeon, or an -_experimental_ philosopher, of what avail are his good qualities?[26] - -The Abyssinian cruelties of our slaughter-houses[27] and kitchens[28] -I do not wish to enumerate. The catalogue would fill a volume. -Humanity demands that the brute creation should be protected by the -Legislature. - -The Mosaic Law, to guard against tortures being inflicted on animals -which were slaughtered for sustenance, ordained them to die by a -highly polished and pointed instrument; if the bone was pierced, or -the beast mangled, it was deemed unclean, and burnt. - - -FIRST STAGE OF CRUELTY. - - "While various scenes of sportive woe - The infant race employ; - And tortur'd victims bleeding, show - The tyrant in the boy. - - "Behold a youth of gentler heart! - To spare the creature's pain, - O take, he cries--take all my tart, - But tears and tart are vain. - - "Learn from this fair example, you - Who savage sports delight, - How cruelty disgusts the view, - While pity charms the sight." - -[Illustration: FIRST STAGE OF CRUELTY.] - -Let us suppose a disciple of Pythagoras to contemplate this print, -how would it affect him? He would imagine it to represent a group -of young barbarians qualifying themselves for executioners; would -raise his voice to Heaven, and thank the God of mercy that he is not -an inhabitant of such a country; would lament that these degenerate -little beings should not have been informed that the animals on -whom they are now inflicting such tortures, might, previous to -transmigration, have been their fathers, brothers, friends. - -The delineation of such scenes must shock every feeling heart, -and their enumeration disgust every humane mind. I hope, for the -honour of our nature and our nation, that they are not so frequently -practised as when these prints were published. - -The hero of this tragic tale is Tom Nero: by a badge upon his arm, -we know him to be one of the boys of St. Giles' Charity School. The -horrible business in which he is engaged was, I hope and believe, -never realized in this or any other country. The thought is taken -from Callot's "Temptation of St. Anthony." A youth of superior rank, -shocked at such cruelty, offers his tart to redeem the dog from -torture. This Hogarth intended for the portrait of an illustrious -personage, then about thirteen years of age; the compliment was -rather coarse, but well intended. A lad chalking on a wall the -suspended figure, inscribed TOM NERO, prepares us for the future fate -of this young tyrant, and shows by anticipation the reward of cruelty. - -Throwing at cocks might possibly have its origin in what some of our -sagacious politicians call a natural enmity to France, which is thus -_humanely_ exercised against the allegorical symbol of that nation. -A boy tying a bone to the tail of his dog, while the kind-hearted -animal licks his hand, must have a most diabolical disposition.[29] -Two little imps are burning out the eyes of a bird with a -knitting-needle. A group of embryotic Domitians, who have tied two -cats to the extremities of a rope and hung it over a lamp-iron, to -see how _delightfully_ they will tear each other, are marked with -grim delight. The link-boy is absolutely a Lilliputian fiend. The -fellow encouraging a dog to worry a cat, and two animals of the same -species thrown out of a garret window with bladders fastened to them, -completes this mortifying prospect of youthful depravity. - - -SECOND STAGE OF CRUELTY. - - "The generous steed in hoary age, - Subdued by labour lies, - And mourns a cruel master's rage, - While nature strength denies. - - "The tender lamb, o'er-drove and faint, - Amidst expiring throes, - Bleats forth its innocent complaint, - And dies beneath the blows. - - "Inhuman wretch! Say, whence proceeds - This coward cruelty? - What interest springs from barbarous deeds? - What joy from misery?" - - - If, as the Samian taught, the soul revives, - And shifting seats, in other bodies lives, - Severe shall be the brutal coachman's change, - Doom'd in a hackney horse the town to range; - Carmen, transform'd, the groaning load shall draw, - Whom other tyrants with the lash shall awe! - -[Illustration: SECOND STAGE OF CRUELTY.] - -Tom Nero is now a hackney coachman, and displaying his disposition -in his conduct to a horse. Worn out by ill-usage, and exhausted by -fatigue, the poor animal has fallen down, overset the carriage, and -broken his leg. The scene is laid at Thavie's Inn gate:[30] four -brethren of the brawling bar, who have joined to pay threepence each -for a ride to Westminster Hall, are in consequence of the accident -overturned, and exhibited at the moment of creeping out of the -carriage. These ludicrous periwig-pated personages were probably -intended as portraits of advocates eminent in their day; their names -I am not able to record. - -A man taking the number of the coach is marked with traits of -benevolence, which separate him from the savage ferocity of Nero or -the guilty terror of these affrighted lawyers. - -As a further exemplification of extreme barbarity, a drover is -beating an expiring lamb with a large club. The wheels of a dray -pass over an unfortunate boy, while the drayman, regardless of -consequences, sleeps on the shafts.[31] - -In the background is a poor overladen ass: the master, presuming on -the strength of this patient and ill-treated animal, has mounted -upon his back, and taken a loaded porter behind him. An over-driven -bull, followed by a crowd of heroic spirits, has tossed a boy.[32] -Two bills pasted on the wall advertise cock-fighting and Broughton's -Amphitheatre[33] for boxing, as further specimens of national -civilisation. - -Parts of this print may at first sight appear rather overcharged, -but some recent examples convince us that they are not so. In the -year 1790, a fellow was convicted of lacerating and tearing out the -tongue of a horse; but there being no evidence of his bearing any -malice towards the proprietor, or doing it with a view of injuring -_him_, this diabolical wretch, not having violated any then existing -statute, was discharged without punishment. - - -CRUELTY IN PERFECTION. - - "To lawless love, when once betray'd, - Soon crime to crime succeeds; - At length beguil'd to theft, the maid - By her beguiler bleeds. - - "Yet learn, seducing men, not night, - With all its sable cloud, - Can screen the guilty deed from sight: - Foul murder cries aloud! - - "The gaping wounds, the blood-stain'd steel, - Now shock his trembling soul; - But ah! what pangs his breast must feel - When death his knell shall toll!" - -[Illustration: CRUELTY IN PERFECTION.] - - -An early indulged habit of wanton cruelty strengthens by time, -chokes every good disposition, corrupts the mind, and sears the -heart. We cannot say to the malevolent passions, - - "Thus far shall ye go, and no further." - -The hero of this print began by torturing a helpless dog; he then -beat out the eye of an unoffending horse; and now, under the -influence of that malignant rancorous spirit, which by indulgence -is become natural, he commits murder--most foul and aggravated -murder!--for this poor deluded girl is pregnant by the wretch who -deprives her of life. He tempts her to quit a happy situation; to -plunder an indulgent mistress, and meet him with the produce of her -robbery. Blinded by affection, she keeps the fatal appointment, and -comes loaded with plate. This remorseless villain, having previously -determined to destroy her, and by that means cancel his promise of -marriage, free himself from an expected encumbrance, and silence one -whom compunction might at a future day induce to confess the crime -and lead to his detection, puts her to death! - -This atrocious act must have been perpetrated with most savage -barbarity, for the head is nearly severed, and the wrist cut almost -through. Her cries are heard by the servants of a neighbouring house, -who run to her assistance. 'Tis too late. The horrid deed is done! -The ethereal spirit is forced from its earthly mansion, - - "Unhousell'd, unappointed, unaneal'd!" - -but the murderer, appalled by conscious guilt, and rendered -motionless by terror, cannot fly. He is seized without resistance, -and consigned to that punishment which so aggravated a violation of -the laws of nature and his country demand. - -The glimpses of the moon, the screech-owl and bat hovering in the -air, the mangled corpse, and above all, the murderer's ghastly and -guilty countenance, give terrific horror to this awful scene.[34] - -By the pistol in his pocket and watches on the ground, we have -reason to infer that this callous wretch has been committing other -depredations in the earlier part of the evening. The time is what has -been emphatically called "the witching hour!"--the iron tongue of -midnight has told ONE! - -The letter found in his pocket gives a history of the transaction; it -appears to be dictated by the warmest affection, and written by the -woman he has just murdered, previous to her elopement:-- - - "DEAR TOMMY,--My mistress has been the best of women to me, and - my conscience flies in my face as often as I think of wronging - her; yet I am resolved to venture body and soul to do as you - would have me; so do not fail to meet me as you said you would, - for I shall bring along with me all the things I can lay my hands - on. So no more at present; but I remain yours till death. - - "ANN GILL." - -This is the simple effusion of a too credulous heart; whatever would -lessen the solemnity of the scene is carefully avoided; neither bad -spelling, nor any other ridiculous circumstances that might create -laughter are introduced. - - -THE REWARD OF CRUELTY. - - "Behold, the villain's dire disgrace, - Not death itself can end; - He finds no peaceful burial-place, - His breathless corpse--no friend. - - "Torn from the root that wicked tongue, - Which daily swore and curst; - Those eye-balls from their sockets wrung, - That glow'd with lawless lust. - - "His heart exposed to prying eyes, - To pity has no claim; - But dreadful! from his bones shall rise - His monument of shame." - -[Illustration: THE REWARD OF CRUELTY.] - -The savage and diabolical progress of cruelty is now ended, and the -thread of life severed by the sword of justice. From the place -of execution the murderer is brought to Surgeons' Hall, and now -represented under the knife of a dissector. This venerable person, as -well as his coadjutor, who scoops out the criminal's eye, and a young -student scarifying the leg, seem to have just as much feeling as the -subject now under their inspection.[35] A frequent contemplation -of sanguinary scenes hardens the heart, deadens sensibility, and -destroys every tender sensation. - -Our legislators, considering how unfit such men are to determine in -cases of life and death, have judiciously excluded both surgeons and -butchers from serving upon juries. - -Hogarth was most peculiarly accurate in those little markings which -identify. The gunpowder initials T. N. on the arm, denote this to -be the body of Thomas Nero. The face being impressed with horror -has been objected to. It must be acknowledged that this is rather -"o'er-stepping the modesty of nature;" but he so rarely deviates from -her laws, that a little poetical licence may be forgiven where it -produces humour or heightens character. - -The skeletons on each side of the print are inscribed "James -Field" (an eminent pugilist), and "Maclean" (a notorious robber). -Both of these worthies died by a rope. They are pointing to -the physician's crest which is carved on the upper part of the -president's[36] chair, viz. a hand feeling a pulse; taking a guinea -would have been more appropriate to the practice. The heads of -these two heroes of the halter are turned so as to seem ridiculing -the president, "Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp." -Every countenance in this grisly band is marked with that medical -importance which dignifies the professors. Some of them we discover -to be "from Caledonia's bleak and barren clime." - -A fellow depositing the intestines in a pail, and a dog licking the -murderer's heart, are disgusting and nauseous objects. The vessel -where the skulls and bones bubble-bubble, gives some idea of the -infernal caldron of Hecate. - -Of this print, and that preceding it, there are wooden blocks -engraved upon a large scale, invented and published by "William -Hogarth, Jan. 1, 1750; J. Bell, sculpt." They were executed by order -of Mr. Hogarth, who wished to circulate the salutary examples they -contain, by making the price low enough for a poor man's purse; but -finding engraving on wood much more expensive than he had calculated, -he altered his plan, and engraved them on copper. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -BEER STREET AND GIN LANE. - - "The nature and use of aliments maketh men either chaste or - incontinent; either courageous or cowardly; either meek or - quarrelsome: let those who deny these truths come to me; let them - follow my counsel in eating and drinking, and I promise them they - will find great helps thereupon towards moral philosophy. They - will acquire more prudence, more diligence, more memory."--GALEN. - - -Fully impressed with the truth of this axiom, Mr. Hogarth engraved -the two following prints, in which he has considered porter as -the liquor natural to an English constitution; and that villanous -distillation, gin, as pernicious and poisonous. While that noble -beverage properly termed British Burgundy[37] refreshes the weary, -exhilarates the faint, and cheers the depressed, an infernal -compound of juniper and fiery spirits debases the mind, destroys the -constitution, and brings its thirsty votaries to an untimely grave. - -These, as well as the four preceding prints, are calculated for the -lower orders of society, and exhibit such a contrast as must strike -the most careless observer. In the first, we see healthy and happy -beings inhaling copious draughts of a liquor which seems perfectly -congenial to their mental and corporeal powers; in the second, a -group of emaciated wretches who, by swallowing liquid fire, have -consumed both. - - -BEER STREET. - - "Beer, happy product of our isle, - Can sinewy strength impart; - And wearied with fatigue and toil, - Can cheer each manly heart. - - "Labour and art, upheld by thee, - Successfully advance; - We quaff the balmy juice with glee, - And water leave to France. - - "Genius of health, thy grateful taste - Rivals the cup of Jove; - And warms each English, generous breast, - With liberty and love." - -[Illustration: BEER STREET.] - -This admirable delineation is a picture of John Bull in his most -happy moments. In the left corner, a butcher and a blacksmith are -each of them grasping a foaming tankard of porter. By the _King's -Speech_ and the _Daily Advertiser_ upon the table before them, -they appear to have been studying politics, and settling the state -of the nation. The blacksmith having just purchased a shoulder of -mutton, is triumphantly waving it in the air. Next to him a drayman -is whispering soft sentences of love to a servant-maid, round whose -neck is one of his arms; in the other hand a pot of porter. Two -fish-women, furnished with a flagon of the same liquor, are chaunting -a song of Mr. Lockman's[38] on the British Herring Fishery. A porter -having put a load of waste-paper[39] on the ground, is eagerly -quaffing this best of barley wine. - -On the front of a house in ruins, is inscribed "Pinch, pawnbroker," -and through a hole in the door a boy delivers a full half-pint. -In the background are two chairmen.[40] They have joined for -threepenny-worth to recruit their spirits, and repair the fatigue -they have undergone in _trotting between two poles_ with a ponderous -load of female frailty. Two paviors are washing away their cares -with a heart-cheering cup. In a garret window a trio of sailors are -employed in the same way; and on a house-top are four bricklayers -equally joyous. Each of these groups seem hale, happy, and well -clothed; but the artist, who is painting a glass bottle from an -original which hangs before him, is in a truly deplorable plight, -at the same time that he carries in his countenance a perfect -consciousness of his talents in this creative art.[41] - - -GIN LANE. - - "Gin, cursed fiend! with fury fraught, - Makes human race a prey; - It enters by a deadly draught, - And steals our life away. - - "Virtue and Truth, driv'n to despair, - Its rage compels to fly; - But cherishes with hellish care, - Theft, murder, perjury. - - "Damn'd cup! that on the vitals preys, - That liquid fire contains; - Which madness to the heart conveys, - And rolls it thro' the veins." - -[Illustration: GIN LANE.] - -From contemplating the health, happiness, and mirth flowing from -a moderate use of a wholesome and natural beverage, we turn to -this nauseous contrast, which displays human nature in its most -degraded and disgusting state. The retailer of gin and ballads,[42] -who sits upon the steps with a bottle in one hand and a glass in -the other, is horribly fine. Having bartered away his waistcoat, -shirt, and stockings, and drank until he is in a state of total -insensibility; pale, wan, and emaciated, he is a perfect skeleton. A -few steps higher is a debased counterpart of Lazarus, taking snuff; -thoroughly intoxicated, and negligent of the infant at her breast, -it falls over the rail into an area, and dies an innocent victim to -the baneful vice of its depraved parent. Another of the fair sex -has drank herself to sleep. As an emblem of her disposition being -slothful, a snail is crawling from the wall to her arm. Close to her -we discover one of the lords of the creation gnawing a bare bone, -which a bull-dog, equally ravenous, endeavours to snatch from his -mouth. A working carpenter is depositing his coat and saw with a -pawnbroker. A tattered female offers her culinary utensils at the -same shrine: among them we discover a tea-kettle pawned to procure -money to purchase gin.[43] An old woman, having drank until she is -unable to walk, is put into a wheel-barrow, and in that situation -a lad solaces her with another glass. With the same poisonous and -destructive compound, a mother in the corner drenches her child. -Near her are two charity-girls of St. Giles', pledging each other -in the same corroding compound. The scene is completed by a quarrel -between two drunken mendicants, both of whom appear in the character -of cripples. While one of them uses his crutch as a quarterstaff, -the other with great goodwill aims a stool, on which he usually -sat, at the head of his adversary. This, with a crowd waiting for -their drams at a distiller's door, completes the catalogue of the -_quick_. Of the _dead_ there are two, besides an unfortunate child -whom a drunken madman has impaled upon a spit.[44] One a barber, who, -having probably drank gin until he has lost his reason, has suspended -himself by a rope in his own ruinous garret; the other a beautiful -woman, whom by direction of the parish beadle two men are depositing -in a shell. From her wasted and emaciated appearance, we may fairly -infer she also fell a martyr to this destructive and poisonous -liquid. On the side of her coffin is a child lamenting the loss of -its parent. - -The large pewter measure hung over a cellar, on which is engraved -"Gin Royal," was once a common sign; the inscription on this cave of -despair, "Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for twopence, clean straw -for nothing," is worthy observation; it exhibits the state of our -metropolis at that period. - -The scene of this horrible devastation is laid in a place which was a -few years since properly enough called the Ruins of St. Giles'.[45] -Except the pawnbroker's, distiller's, and undertaker's, the houses -are literally ruins! These doorkeepers to Famine, Disease, and Death, -living by the calamities of others, are in a flourishing state.[46] - -Mr. Hogarth seems to have received the first idea of these two prints -from a pair by Peter Breughel (frequently called _Breughel d'enfer_), -which exhibit a similar contrast. In the one entitled "La Grosse" -are a number of comely and well-fed personages; in the other, which -is baptized "La Maigre Cuisine," the characters are meagre and -wasted: seated on a straw mat are a mother and child, which very much -resemble the wretched female we see upon the steps in the print under -consideration. - -To the perspective little attention is paid, but the characters are -admirably discriminated. The emaciated retailer of gin is well drawn. -The woman with a snuff-box has all the mawkish marks of debasement -and drunkenness. The man gnawing a bone, a dog tearing it from him, -and the pawnbroker, have countenances in an equal degree hungry and -rapacious. - -A print entitled the "Gin Drinkers," which bears strong marks of -being one of Hogarth's early productions, may perhaps have been the -first thought on which this print was built. - -On the subject of these plates was published a catchpenny compilation -from Reynolds' "God's Revenge against Murder," entitled "_A -Dissertation on Mr. Hogarth's six prints--'Gin Lane,' 'Beer Street,' -and the 'Four Stages of Cruelty.'_" - - - - -PAUL BEFORE FELIX. - - _Designed and etched in the ridiculous manner of Rembrandt, by - William Hogarth. Published according to the Act of Parliament, - May 1, 1751._ - - "Each hero is a pillar of darkness, and the sword a beam of - fire."[47]--FINGAL, Book I. p. 21. - -[Illustration: PAUL BEFORE FELIX.] - - -For the etchings of Rembrandt, and a herd of servile imitators who, -without any of his genius, copied his defects, Hogarth had the most -sovereign contempt. He considered their productions as unmeaning -scratches, as dingy and violent combinations of light and darkness, -which would not bear to be tried by the criterion of either nature -or art. How far he was right in his opinion is not my inquiry; but -certain it is, that at the time of this publication they had the -sanction of those who were deemed good judges, and produced most -enormous prices. To correct this vitiated taste, and bring men back -to reason and common sense, our whimsical artist etched this very -grotesque print. - -The Apostle, conformable to the general practice of the Flemish -school, is represented as a mean and vulgar character. Among the -Lilliputians he might have been a giant; among the Romans he must -have been a dwarf. In the true spirit of Dutch allegory, a figure -fat enough for a burgomaster, invested with wings "that clad each -shoulder broad," is seated on the floor behind him as a guardian -angel. At this unpropitious moment the guardian angel is asleep, and -a little imp of darkness,[48] ever active in mischief, is busily -employed with a hand-saw cutting through the leg of the Apostle's -stool, which falling, must inevitably bring the orator to the ground, -where he will probably be seized by the snarling dog on whose collar -is engraved "Felix," and who seems to have an eye to the saint, -though his nose is evidently pointed at his appalled master. Seated -in a wicker chair, with the Roman eagle over his head, and the fasces -at his left hand, Felix indeed trembles. On an adjoining seat is the -all-accomplished Drusilla and her lap-dog. Her olfactory nerves, -as well as those of her companion, are violently affected. With a -sacrificing knife in his right hand, his left clenched, and a -countenance irritated almost to madness, the High Priest appears -ready to leap from the bench and put the Apostle to death, but is -prevented by a more prudent senator. The audience are worthy of the -judges; male and female, young and old, are in dress, deportment, -and feature, perfectly Dutch. Of the same school is the statue of -Justice, with a bandage over one eye, and grasping, in the place of -a flaming sword, a butcher's knife.[49] She stands in awful state, -laden with bags of gold, the rewards of legal decisions. - -At a table beneath the bench are five curious characters. The first, -maugre the thundering eloquence of St. Paul, is asleep; the next, -mending a pen; two adjoining are highly offended with a noxious -effluvia, while their bearded associate is grinning and pointing -at the cause from which it emanates. Regardless of all other -objects, an Hebrew counterpart of Shylock is expanding his hands in -astonishment at the unguarded vehemence of the preacher. Not less -exasperated is Tertullus, who, arrayed in the habit of an English -serjeant-at-law,[50] has nothing Roman but his nose. Boiling with -rage, and irritated almost to madness, he tears his brief: this, -a devil, who to give him peculiar distinction has three horns, is -carefully picking up and joining the remnants together.[51] The vase, -and silver plates in a recess, the violent stream of light which -dazzles the eyes of a priest _who stands with his back to it_, the -boat, bark, and white sail glittering in the wave, and a village and -windmill in the distance, are all of Rembrandt's school. - -The plate was originally intended as a receipt-ticket to the large -"Paul before Felix," and "Pharaoh's Daughter;" and the artist stained -many early impressions with that yellow tint which time gives to -old prints. For the Paul, and Moses, he afterwards engraved another -design, and presented this to any of his friends who requested -it; but finding applications increase, he fixed the price at five -shillings.[52] - - -PLATE I. - - _Engraved by William Hogarth, from his original painting in - Lincoln's-Inn Hall, and published as the Act directs, Feb. 5, - 1752._ - - "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to - come, Felix trembled." - -[Illustration: PAUL PREACHING BEFORE FELIX.] - -This print Mr. Hogarth intended as a serious and sublime -representation of the scene which he had so inimitably burlesqued; -yet so little are we qualified to judge of our own powers, that he -has here produced a print as destitute of elevation and sentiment as -are the works of those masters he so successfully ridiculed. With -the Roman eagle he could not soar, and has drawn the royal bird -like a sparrow-hawk, nailed to the bottom of a writing-desk. The -Apostle, with his right foot resting on a lower step than the left, -has neither grace, dignity, nor firmness. Felix has the appearance -of a vinegar-faced apothecary feeling the pulse of a nervous female -patient, and shocked at the velocity of our circulation, dropping -the prescription from his left hand. The haughty High Priest -biting his nails, is deficient in everything except his drapery: -the Jew immediately behind him bears a strong resemblance to an -old-clothes-man. The standard-bearer, and woman with her hands -closed, are a degree better; but the Herculean advocate, with a -brief in his right hand, looks like a journeyman hatter that has -drank porter till he is drowsy; by the strength of his muscles and -the stupidity of his countenance, he seems better fitted for a -bruiser than a pleader. - -The listening soldier, at the opposite corner, is meanly conceived -and ill drawn. - -At the bottom of one of the copies I once saw the following -memorandum in the handwriting of Hogarth: "A print of the plate that -was set aside as insufficient. Engraved by W. H." - - -PLATE II. - - _From the original painting in Lincoln's-Inn Hall, painted by Wm. - Hogarth._ - -[Illustration: PAUL PREACHING BEFORE FELIX.] - -This is engraved from the same design as the former, but the -situation of the figures is reversed, and Drusilla omitted, it being -thought that St. Paul's hand was rather improperly placed. - -It is somewhat superior to the former, but the light is ill -distributed, and the characters too individual for the dignity of -historical composition. - -Upon this and the following print Doctor Joseph Warton, in his _Essay -on the Genius and Writings of Pope_, made the following remark. -Trusting to his memory, he confounded two prints together, and -remembering to have seen a dog snarling at a cat in the fourth -print of "Industry and Idleness," from an error in recollection, -transferred them to the "Paul before Felix:"-- - -"Some nicer virtuosi have remarked, that in the serious pieces into -which Hogarth has deviated from the natural bias of his genius -there are some strokes of the ridiculous discernible, which suit -not with the dignity of his subject. In his Preaching of St. Paul, -a dog snarling at a cat; and in his Pharaoh's Daughter, the figure -of the infant Moses, who expresses rather archness than timidity, -are alleged as instances that this artist, unrivalled in his walk, -could not resist the impulse of his imagination towards drollery. -His picture, however, of Richard III. is pure and unmixed, without -any ridiculous circumstances, and strongly impresses terror and -amazement." - -On the publication of this criticism, Hogarth engraved the whole -quotation under the two prints alluded to without any comment; but on -the appearance of the following very ample and candid apology, erased -them:-- - -"The author gladly lays hold of the opportunity of this third edition -of his work to confess a mistake he had committed with respect to -two admirable paintings of Mr. Hogarth,--his Paul Preaching, and -his Infant Moses,--which on a closer examination are not chargeable -with the blemishes imputed to them. Justice obliges him to declare -the high opinion he entertains of the abilities of this inimitable -artist, who shines in so many different lights and on such very -dissimilar subjects, and whose works have more of what the ancients -called the ΗΘΟΣ in them than the compositions of any other modern. -For the rest, the author begs leave to add, that he is so far from -being ashamed of retracting his error, that he had rather appear a -man of candour than the best critic that ever lived." - -Hogarth did not understand Greek, and was for some time doubtful -whether the ΗΘΟΣ was meant as complimentary or satirical. - -If the original painting in Lincoln's-Inn Hall were destroyed, -Hogarth's reputation would not be diminished. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. - - "And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, - and he became her son. And she called his name Moses."--EXODUS - II. 10. - -[Illustration: MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER.] - - -Among the many benevolent institutions which do honour to this -nation, the hospital for maintaining exposed and deserted infants may -be ranked as one of the most humane and political. Let the austere -enthusiast censure it as an encouragement to vice, and the rigid -moralist declaim against giving sanction to profligacy, it is still -an useful and a benevolent foundation. - -To protect the helpless, give refuge to the innocent, and render that -unoffending being a useful member of society whose parents may be too -indigent to give it proper sustenance, or wicked enough to destroy -it, is fulfilling one great precept of religion, and must afford a -pure and exalted gratification to every philanthropic mind.[53] - -That it is found necessary to restrict the plan, and confine the -charity in such narrow limits, is much to be lamented. Compassion and -policy demand that the doors should be open to every proper object. - -To this asylum for deserted infancy Mr. Hogarth was one of the -earliest benefactors,[54] and to their institution presented the -picture from which this print is engraved; there is not perhaps in -holy writ another story so exactly suitable to the avowed purpose -of the foundation. - -The history of Moses being deserted by his mother, exposed among the -bulrushes, and discovered and protected by the daughter of Pharaoh, -is known to every one who has read the Bible: those who have not, -may find it there recorded, with many other things well worthy their -attention. At the point of time here taken, the child's mother, -whom the Princess considers as merely its nurse, has brought him to -his patroness, and is receiving from the treasurer the wages of her -services. The little foundling naturally clings to his nurse, though -invited to leave her by the daughter of a monarch. The eyes of an -attendant, and a whispering Ethiopian, convey an oblique suspicion -that the child has a nearer affinity to their mistress than she -chooses to acknowledge.[55] - -Considered as a whole, this picture has a more historic air than we -often find in the works of Hogarth. The royal Egyptian is graceful, -and in some degree elevated.[56] The treasurer is marked with austere -dignity, and the Jewess and child with nature. The scene is superb, -and the distant prospect of pyramids, etc. highly picturesque and -appropriate to the country. To exhibit this scene, the artist has -placed the groups at such a distance as crowd the corners and leave -the centre unoccupied. As the Greeks are said to have received the -rudiments of art from Egypt, the line of beauty on the base of a -pillar is properly introduced. A crocodile creeping from under the -stately chair may be intended to mark the neighbourhood of the Nile, -but is a poor and forced conceit. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -FOUR PRINTS OF AN ELECTION. - - -I think it is Voltaire who observes that the English nation are -mad every seven years: he might have added that there are local -fits which seize some parts of the country at other times; but this -madness, like the fermentation of liquors, proves the spirit of the -people. - -In the following series of prints Mr. Hogarth has delineated the -progress of this malady, in four of its most remarkable stages, with -that broad and characteristic humour peculiar to himself. He has -presented us with the mirror of a contested election, the British -Saturnalia; in which is displayed what Abbé Raynal most emphatically -calls "the majesty of the people!"--an expression, says the same -writer, "which would alone consecrate a language." - -The first print was published February 24, 1755, and inscribed to the -Right Hon. Henry Fox.--Plate II., February 20, 1757, to Sir Charles -Hanbury Williams, Ambassador to the Court of Russia.--Plate III., -February 20, 1758, to the Hon. Sir Edward Walpole, Knight of the -Bath.--Plate IV., January 1, 1759, to the Hon. George Hay, one of -the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. - -The original pictures are now in the possession of Mrs. Garrick, at -Hampton. - -It appears from the _Grub Street Journal_ of June 13, 1734, that -the same subject had been previously attempted by another artist, -under the title of "The Humours of a Country Election." It must be -acknowledged that the inscriptions to some of the compartments have -a striking similarity to the scenes represented by Hogarth. "The -candidates very complaisant to a country clown," etc. "The candidates -making an entertainment for the electors and their wives; at the -upper end of the table the parson of the parish," etc. - -In 1759 was published, in four cantos, a poetical description of -these prints, introduced by the following remarkable advertisement, -dated - - "CHEAPSIDE, _March 1, 1759_. - - "For the satisfaction of the reader, and in justice to the - concealed author, I take the liberty, with the permission of Mr. - Hogarth, to insert in this manner that gentleman's opinion of the - following cantos, which is--That the thoughts entirely coincide - with his own; that there is a well-adapted vein of humour - preserved through the whole; and that though some of his works - have been formerly explained by other hands, yet none ever gave - him so much satisfaction as the present performance. - - "JOHN SMITH." - -Had Mr. Hogarth's taste for poetry been in any degree equal to his -skill in painting, he would scarcely have given so strong a sanction -to this wretched attempt at Hudibrastic humour, which is coarse, -dull, mean, and very unworthy of the scenes which it professes to -celebrate.[57] - - -PLATE I. - -AN ELECTION ENTERTAINMENT. - - "Here tumult wild and rude confusion reign, - And hoodwink'd party heads the senseless train; - Here meets her motley tribe--here holds her court, - For pamper'd Gluttony, the grand resort. - From orgies so profane--stern Freedom flown, - Corruption mounts her abdicated throne. - Unhappy Britain--thy degenerate tribe, - Like Esau, barter birthright for a bribe."--E. - -[Illustration: THE ELECTION, PLATE I. THE ENTERTAINMENT.] - -The first act of this popular farce is very properly a dinner, which -in all public transactions ought to precede every other business.[58] -The scene is laid in a country town, at an inn, which in these piping -times of peace is kept open for the friends of the Court candidate. -All the party, except the divine and the mayor, have ended their -repast; but episcopal dignity, or prætorian distinction, gives a -right to more indulgence than is allowed to the unhallowed multitude. - -The highly polished and accomplished gentleman[59] who aspires to the -honour of a seat in the British senate demands our first notice. He -has what an Hibernian would call a face of much promise. His dress, -air, and grace proclaim that he has travelled. Pope has described him -exactly as if he had sat for the picture: - - "He saunter'd Europe round, - And gathered every vice on Christian ground, - Saw every court, heard every king declare - His royal sense of operas, or the fair.-- - See now half-cured, and perfectly well-bred, - With nothing but a solo in his head, - As much estate, and principle, and wit, - As Jansen, Fleetwood, Cibber, shall think fit; - Stol'n from a duel, follow'd by a nun, - And if a Borough choose him,--not undone," etc. - -At this time of general equality and universal levelling, when -knight and vassal, esquire and mechanic, are of equal rank, our -paragon of politeness is lending an attentive ear to a disgusting -old beldam, who from her rotundity may be a descendant of Sir John -Falstaff's. In her hand, which is behind him, she holds a letter -directed to Sir Commodity Taxem; this we may naturally suppose -contains either a request of a favour or an offer of a service, in -the sure and certain hope of a return to it. Be that as it may, the -gallant knight shows her every attention, and has stretched his long -arm half round her ample waist: - - "Thus the bold eagle leaves his azure way, - And takes the carrion carcase for his prey; - There dips his beak--but when the banquet's done, - Replumes his wings, and rises to the sun." - -While a little girl dazzled with the splendour of his brilliant -ring attempts to make it a prize, a fellow who stands upon a chair -behind him, with all that easy familiarity which the time warrants, -strikes the Baronet's head against that of the old woman, and shakes -the ashes out of his tobacco-pipe upon his powdered hair. This is -election wit. - -The next group form a trio, and are made up by a grinning cobbler, a -dirty-faced barber, and a mawkish gentleman, whose hand the son of -St. Crispin grasps with an energy that almost cracks the bones. The -barber, equally friendly, pinches his arm, and resting one hand upon -his shoulder blows the hot fumes from a short tobacco-pipe into his -eye. This also is election wit. - -A pyramidical group behind is composed of an officer, a drunken -counsellor, and a pleasing young woman, over whose head the maudlin -advocate, flourishing a bumper of wine, roars out an obscene toast. -This is the third and most finished specimen of election wit. At -a table a little beneath, stewing "the last lov'd remnant of the -forest haunch," sits an oily divine,[60] holding his canonical -periwig in his right hand, and wiping his forehead with the left. -Behind him is a Scotch bagpiper, who, at the same time that he is -pressing out his harsh and unmusical tones, enjoys the _royal_ -luxury of scratching.[61] A female player on the violin,[62] and a -most consequential performer on the bass viol, when aided by the -Caledonian pipe, must form a most melodious concert. - -A fourth votary of St. Cecilia holds his musical instrument under his -arm, ceasing all dulcet sounds, while he drinks a glass of Burgundy -with a gentleman who seems much gratified at seeing a chin of more -extravagant length than his own. Adjoining are two country fellows -delighted beyond measure at a person[63] making the representation -of a face by wrapping a napkin round his hand, and singing, "An old -woman clothed in grey," etc. This face, ingeniously designed with -charcoal blots for eyes and mouth, bears a strong resemblance to the -poor gouty old fellow on his left hand, whose violent contortions -lead us to suspect that he feels some disagreeable internal emotion. -Behind, is a fellow pouring the contents of a vessel through a -window amongst a crowd made up of the opposite party, in return for a -shower of stones they are hurling into the room. To annoy and repel -these troublesome assailants, a man at the opposite corner throws out -a three-legged stool. At the upper end of the table sits a gentleman -in a tye-wig, whom we presume to be the Right Worshipful Mr. Mayor. -He has ate oysters until his breath is stopped, and is now under -the hands of a barber-surgeon. This village _Sangrado_ attempts to -breathe a vein; "But ah! the purple tide no more will flow." - -Notwithstanding this suspension of vital powers, our absolute monarch -of his own corporation, true to the cause, and actuated by his ruling -passion, even in death, grasps a fork, on which he has impaled an -oyster. Immediately behind him an electioneering agent offers a -bribe to a puritanic tailor; but this conscientious wielder of the -needle, lifting up his eyes with horror, refuses the money, maugre -the terrific threats of his _amiable_ wife, who, while she raises her -right fist in a menacing style, rests her left hand on the head of -their barefooted boy. - -On an opposite chair is an unfortunate man of the law, who, intent on -casting up the sure and doubtful votes, is, like the mighty Goliah, -struck in the forehead with a stone, and falls prostrate to the -floor. "Where be his quirks and quiddits now?" - -A champion of the same party, generally called a bludgeon-man,[64] -having met with a similar accident in the cause of his country, is -taken in hand by a patriotic butcher, who, assuming the office of -surgeon, pours gin into the wound. A little boy filling a mashing-tub -with punch,[65] and a trading Quaker reading a promissory note, -conclude the catalogue. This note is from the candidate to Mr. Abel -Squat for fifty pounds, payable six months after date, and probably -offered in payment for ribands, gloves, etc., which are to be -presented to the electors' wives and daughters. With this note honest -Abel is much dissatisfied; and by the manner one hand is laid upon -his little bale of goods, it does not seem probable that he will part -with them for paper security. - -Coming in at the door we see a band of assailants from the opposite -party, determined to attack the enemy in their entrenchments; most -of them flourish their cudgels, but one of the heroes brandishes a -sword. The stag's horns over the door may perhaps be intended to -convey some allusion to the trembling Puritan. A party, whom their -enemies at that time distinguished by the name of Jacobites, to -show _their_ respect for Revolution principles, have mangled the -portrait of King William the Third. The escutcheon with the Elector's -arms, A CHEVRON SABLE BETWEEN THREE GUINEAS OR, with the crest of a -gaping mouth, and motto "Speak and Have," is very applicable to a -parliamentary canvas. The landscape over the candidate's head may, -it has been observed, be intended as a representation of the town -where this business is transacting. On the flag, which is entwined -with laurels, is inscribed "Liberty and Loyalty," which cabalistic -words, like the Abracadabra, are a sort of charm to the eyes of -your Englishman. On another flag, which lies upon the ground, is -written, "Give us our Eleven Days."[66] In the tobacco tray is a -paper of Kirton's best,[67] and a slip from the Act against Bribery -and Corruption is torn to light pipes with. A lobster appears to be -creeping towards a mutton chop, which lies unheeded in a corner. A -procession in the street are following an effigy,[68] on the breast -of which is inscribed, "No Jews." The mottoes on their flags are -equally curious: "Liberty and Property, and no Excise;" and, "Marry -and Multiply, in spite of the devil." - -An inscription on the butcher's cockade is infinitely more classical -and elegant: "Pro Patriæ" has a chance of general admiration, because -it is not generally understood. - -As to the characters of the _dramatis personæ_. The face and air of -the Baronet are perfectly of Lord Chesterfield's school; a fellow -scattering ashes on his head, and the cobbler at the table, are -marked with mischief. The fat old woman is of Mother Cole's family; -and the divine has the corpulence and consequence of a bishop. He -must "lard the lean earth as he walks along." The two country fellows -looking with delighted eyes at Mr. Parnell, and an old man tortured -by the gout, are admirably discriminated. The barber-surgeon and his -brother butcher have so much _sang froid_, and display so little -feeling for their suffering patients, that we naturally infer each -of them is in great practice. - -Hogarth was fond of making experiments; and it has been said, that -when engraving this plate he determined to attempt what no artist -had ever performed, _i.e._ to finish the plate without taking a -single proof during the process. The consequence was such as might -be expected; he made some mistakes that it was scarcely possible -to rectify, and on discovering the errors, violently exclaimed -that he was ruined. On his passion subsiding, a brother engraver -assisted him to correct the faults occasioned by trying to perform -an impossibility. It is, however, the highest finished print he ever -engraved. - -In the first state of the plate were some lemons and oranges lying -on a paper by the side of the tub; but Hogarth being informed that -vitriol and cream of tartar are the usual acids in election punch, -erased them from the copper. - - -PLATE II. - -CANVASSING FOR VOTES. - - "Although bare merit might in Rome appear - The strongest plea for favour,--'tis not here; - We form our judgment in another way, - And he will best succeed who best can pay." - -[Illustration: THE ELECTION, PLATE II. CANVASSING FOR VOTES.] - -The centre group in this print represents a rustic freeholder between -two innkeepers, each of whom, as agents for their respective parties, -are dropping money into his hands. From the arch and significant -cast of his eye, we see that though interest induces him to take -all that either of them will give, _conscience_ obliges him to vote -for the best paymaster.[69] One of the candidates, considering how -necessary it is to conciliate the favour of the fair, is purchasing -trinkets from a Jew pedlar for two ladies, who express their virtuous -wishes in a balcony. Though neither of them have votes, their -interest may be very extensive. By the direction upon a letter which -a porter, in the hope of a more liberal gratuity, delivers with a -bended knee, we perceive that this gentleman is of the numerous and -ancient family of the party tools, who have flourished in this -island ever since the Revolution. A packet on the ground consists of -printed bills to be dispersed among the electors, intimating that -Punch's theatre is opened,[70] the company of the worthy electors -humbly[71] and earnestly requested, etc. etc. In election business, -eating is a leading article; of this, two hungry countrymen in the -Royal Oak larder seem perfectly sensible. One of them is voraciously -devouring a fowl, and the other slashing away a round of beef. -Seated upon an old stern of a ship, which is placed as a kind of -national trophy at the inn door, and represents the British lion -swallowing the lily of France, is the buxom landlady (at this time a -very important personage), counting the money she has received for -_her_ interest in the borough; a grenadier watches her with that -kind of eagerness which seems to intimate a desire of dividing the -spoil. Settling the nation while they drink their ale, a barber and -a cobbler are engaged in a dispute upon politics at the door of the -Portobello[72] alehouse. The former seems describing, with pieces -of broken tobacco-pipes, the great exploits of Admiral Vernon with -six ships only. In the progress of this voluble harangue he has -advanced something contrary to the cobbler's creed, and Crispin, -being no great orator, offers to back his opinion by a wager. This -the eloquent flourisher of a razor is either unwilling or unable -to answer, and the self-important mender of bad soles triumphantly -sweeps his cash from the table to his pocket. A fellow mounted on -a cross-beam at the end of the Crown signpost deserves particular -notice. Eagerly exercising his hand-saw, he strains every nerve to -cut through the beam, totally negligent of his own situation, and -forgetting that when the Crown drops--he must fall. To accelerate -this operation, and bring the business to a more speedy crisis, two -zealous coadjutors are exerting all their strength in pulling at a -rope which is tied round the beam. This is one of the neatest pieces -of allegory that Hogarth has delineated. - -The crowd beneath are a fair representation of what we had occasion -to notice before--the majesty of the people. Delighting in -devastation, and blind to its consequences, they with one voice "cry -havoc, and let slip the dogs of war." The landlord, enraged at this -wanton attack upon his _castle_, opens his window and discharges a -blunderbuss amongst the assailants. Painted on the upper part of a -show-cloth, and hung before the sign of the Royal Oak,[73] is a view -of the Treasury, out of which a stream of gold is poured into a bag, -which, when filled, will be hoisted into a large waggon now loading -with guineas to defray the expense of the approaching elections. -Next to this is a view of that _solid_ specimen of Mr. Ware's taste -and talents in architecture, the Horse Guards. To the cupola of this -ponderous pile the artist has, with very little exaggeration, given -the form of a beer barrel. In the centre arch the builder forgot -proportion and neglected utility, so that the state coach could not -pass through until the ground was lowered. To satirize this violation -of the laws of Palladio, and inattention to the dictates of common -sense, Hogarth has represented the royal carriage on the point of -entering the arch, and the king's _body-coachman_ without a head.[74] -Beneath is delineated that ancient favourite of a puppet-show, the -facetious Mr. Punch, with a barrow full of guineas, which, with a -wooden ladle, he tosses up and scatters in the air, to the great -delight of two sylvan freeholders who attempt to catch them in their -hats. One of these _simple_ swains,[75] having had his head broken -with the gold, endeavours to guard his _caput_ from future mishaps. -An old woman standing behind them with a magic wand, I suppose to -be Mrs. Punch. Underneath is a very applicable inscription, "Punch, -a candidate for Guzzledown." A view in the background, between -the Crown and Portobello, of a cottage embosomed in a wood, and -a village in the distance, is highly picturesque. The tree, which -spreads its foliage before the walls of the Royal Oak, has one -withered bough; and enveloped by the luxuriant branches of a vine, -hangs a wooden bunch of grapes. - -The characters are admirable. Nothing can be superior to the haughty -and oracular self-importance of the cobbler; the barber has all his -professional volubility; and the leer of the countryman lets you into -his whole soul. It is evidently directed to mine host of the Oak,[76] -who, added to his superior weight of _metal_, has a superior weight -of body, and a much more persuasive aspect. The Jew has the true -countenance of his tribe. Of his customer, we may say in the language -of Shylock, - - "How like a fawning publican he looks!" - - -PLATE III. - -THE POLLING. - - "Time was,--our freeholders, a stout rustic band, - Inhal'd the fresh breeze as they till'd their own land; - Their hearts beam'd with honour, their faces with health, - Their toil gave them strength, and their diligence wealth. - But these sons of misery, disfranchis'd by fate, - Resemble a group at an hospital gate, - All huddled together in one little clan, - To display the calamities common to man. - Yet deaf, blind, or lame, we must trust to their choice; - _Sans_ ears, eyes, or hands,--each may have a good voice. - And--gasping for breath,--it deserves special note, - The _expiring Elector_ is deem'd a _dead vote_."--E. - -[Illustration: THE ELECTION, PLATE III. THE POLLING.] - -With the glorious ambition of serving their country, added to an -eagerness of displaying their own importance, the maimed, the lame, -the blind, the deaf, and the sick, hasten to the hustings to give -their _independent_ votes.[77] The contending candidates, seated at -the back of the booth, anticipate the event. One of them, coolly -resting upon his cane in a state of stupid satisfaction, appears to -be as happy as his nature will admit, in the certainty of success. -Very different are the feelings of his opponent, who, rubbing his -head with every mark of apprehensive agitation, contemplates the -state of the poll, and shudders at the heavy expense of a contest in -which he is likely to be the loser. Such are the cares of a candidate. - - "A man, when once he's safely chose, - May laugh at all his furious foes, - Nor think of former evil: - Yet good has its attendant ill, - A seat is no bad thing,--but still, - A contest is the Devil." - -The first person that tenders his oath to the swearing clerk is an -old soldier, and probably a brave one, for he has lost a leg, an arm, -and a hand, in the service of his country. They were severed by the -sword of an enemy, but the trunk and heart remain entire, and are -entitled to more respect than is paid them by the brawling advocate, -who, with that loud and overbearing loquacity for which Billingsgate -and the bar are so deservedly eminent, puts in a protest against his -vote. The objection is not founded upon this heroic remnant of war -having forfeited his franchise by any improper conduct, but upon -the letter, the black letter of the law, "which," says our quibbling -counsellor, "ordains, 'that the person who makes an affidavit shall -lay his right hand upon the book.' Now, this man having had his -right hand severed from his arm, and, as he informs us, left it in -Flanders, cannot comply with the letter of the law, and therefore -is not competent to make an affidavit; that being once admitted, -which I do contend must be admitted, he cannot be deemed competent -to vote." "That," replies another gentleman of the black robe, "I -most pointedly deny; for though this valiant veteran, who is an -half-pay officer, has lost much of his blood and three of his limbs -in the service of his king, and defence of his fellow-subjects, yet -the sword which deprived him of his hand has not deprived him of his -birthright. God forbid it should! It might as well be argued and -asserted, that this gentleman is excluded from the rites of matrimony -because he cannot pledge his hand. Thanks to our religion and our -constitution, neither law nor gospel holds such language, and it -is beneath me to waste any more words in the confutation of it. I -will only add,--and I do insist upon my opinion being confirmed by -every statute upon the case,--that the law must and will consider -this substitute for a hand to be as good as the hand itself; and -his laying that upon the book is all which the law ought to -require,--all the law can require,--all the law does require." - -Leaving these two bright luminaries of their profession to throw -dust, and render that obscure which without their explanation would -have been perfectly clear, let us attend to the son of Solomon, who -is fastened in his chair and brought to give his voice for a fit -person to represent _him_ in Parliament. This is evidently a deaf -idiot, but he is attended by a man in fetters,[78] very capable of -prompting him, who is at this moment roaring in his ear the name of -the gentleman for whom he is to vote. Behind him are two fellows -carrying a man wrapped in a blanket, apparently in so languid a -state, that he cannot be supposed to feel much interest in the -concerns of a world he is on the point of leaving.[79] The catalogue -of this motley group of electors is concluded by a blind man and -a cripple, who are slowly and cautiously ascending the steps that -lead to the hustings. In the group an artist is drawing a profile of -one of the candidates, and in both air and character this Sayers of -his day has given a very striking resemblance of his original. The -constable, fatigued by double duty, is at peace with all mankind--a -deep sleep is upon him. Many of the crowd are attentively listening -to the soft sounds of a female siren, warbling forth a brown paper -libel on one of the candidates in that universal language which those -that cannot read may yet understand,--the hero of this satire being -delineated as suspended to a gibbet on the top of the ballad. - -In the sinister corner is a view of Britannia's chariot oversetting, -while the coachman and footman are playing at cards on the box. Here -is one of the few instances where Hogarth has mounted into the cloudy -heights of allegory; and here, as Mr. Walpole justly observes, he is -not happy: it is a dark and dangerous region, in which almost every -aeronaut of the arts has lost himself, and confused his earth-born -admirers. On a bridge in the background is a carriage, with -colours flying, and a cavalcade composed of worthy and independent -freeholders advancing to give their suffrages with all possible -_éclat_. - -The village in the distance has a pretty effect. Of the church we may -fairly say, as Charles the Second did of that at Harrow on the Hill, -"It is the _visible_ church." - -Part of this plate was engraved by Morrilon le Cave, who was a -scholar of Picart's. In the year 1733, he engraved from Hogarth's -design a small print of Captain Coram, etc., as the headpiece to a -power of attorney for the Governors of the Foundling Hospital: he -also engraved a head of Doctor Pococke, which is the frontispiece to -Twell's edition of the Doctor's works. - - -PLATE IV. - -CHAIRING THE MEMBER. - - When Philip's warlike and victorious son - A kingdom conquer'd or a battle won, - His legions bow'd the head, and bent the knee, - And cried, exulting,--Lo, a Deity! - Bore him triumphant in a glittering car, - While thundering plaudits rent the echoing air. - So,--the Election being finish'd, - His borough gain'd, his coin diminish'd, - Our Knight in mock heroic state - Is now exalted,--but not great. - Beyond all doubt the people's choice, - Ah!--could he check the people's voice? - For some exclaim,--A venal knave! - And others,--A time-serving slave! - While this roars out,--A party tool! - That, sneering cries,--A party fool! - These are hard words, and grating tones; - But what are words to broken bones? - And broken bones he'll soon bewail, - For there's no fence against a flail. - Oh hapless wight!--ah, luckless fray, - Down drops this pageant of the day. - Thus, he most raised above his fellows, - By one rude blast from Fortune's bellows, - Falls, like a tempest-riven tower, - From pomp, pride, circumstance, and power.--E. - -[Illustration: THE ELECTION, PLATE IV. CHAIRING THE MEMBERS.] - -The polling being concluded, the books cast up, and the -returning-officer having declared our candidate[80] duly elected, he -is now exhibited in triumph. Seated in an arm-chair, and exalted upon -the shoulders of four tried supporters of the constitution, he is -borne through the principal streets, which are promiscuously crowded -with enemies as well as friends. In this aerostatic voyage there -seems to be some danger of a wreck; for a thresher having received -an insult from a sailor, in the act of revenging it flourishes his -flail in as extensive an orbit as if he were in his own barn. The -end of this destructive instrument coming in contact with the skull -of a bearer of our new-made member, the fellow's head rings with -the blow, his eyes swim, his limbs refuse their office, and at this -inauspicious moment the effects of the stroke, like an electric -shock, extend to the exalted senator. He trembles in every joint; the -hat flies from his head--and--without the intervention of Juno or -Minerva, he must fall from the seat of honour to the bed of stone. -Terrified at his impending danger, a nervous lady, who with her -attendants is in the churchyard, falls back in a swoon. Regardless -of her distress, two little chimney-sweepers upon the gate-post are -placing a pair of gingerbread spectacles on a death's head. Their -sportive tricks are likely to be interrupted by a monkey beneath, -who, arrayed _en militaire_, is mounted upon a bear's back. The -firelock slung over this little animal's shoulder, in a fray between -the bear and a biped, is accidentally discharged in a direction -that, if loaded, must carry leaden death to one of the gibing soot -merchants above.[81] - -The venerable musician, delighted with his own harmony, neither takes -a part nor feels an interest in the business of the day. Let not his -neutrality be attributed to a wrong cause; nor be it supposed that, -in a country where every good citizen must espouse some party,[82] -this ancient personage would remain an indifferent spectator were he -not totally blind. At an opposite corner a naked soldier is taking -a few refreshing grains of best Virginia, and preparing to dress -himself after the performance of a pugilistic duet. On the other side -of the rails a half-starved French cook, a half-bred English cook, -and a half-roasted woman cook, are carrying three covers for the -lawyers' table. Near them is a cooper inspecting a vessel that had -been reported leaky, and must speedily be filled with home-brewed -ale for the gratification of the populace. Two fellows are forcing -their way through the crowd in the background with a barrel of -the same liquor. Coming out of a street behind them, a procession -of triumphant electors hail the other successful candidate, whose -shadow appears on the wall of the court-house. In Mr. Attorney's[83] -first floor are a group of the defeated party glorying in their -security, and highly delighted with the confusion below. One of -these, distinguished by a riband, is said to be intended for the -late Duke of Newcastle, who was eminently active on these occasions. -A poor old lady is unfortunately thrown down by a litter of pigs, -which, followed by their _mamma_, rush through the crowd with as -much impetuosity as if the whole herd were possessed. One of this -agreeable party has leaped, not into the ocean, but the brook, and -the whole family are on the point of following its example. - -Hogarth had surely some antipathy to tailors; in the background he -has introduced one of these knights of the needle disciplined by his -wife for having quitted the shop-board to look at the gentlemen. -In Le Brun's "Battle of the Granicus," an eagle is represented as -hovering over the plumed helmet of Alexander; this thought is very -happily parodied in a goose,[84] flying immediately over the tye-wig -of our exalted candidate. - -Mr. Nichols, in his _Anecdotes of Hogarth_, very shrewdly observes -that "the ruined house adjoining to the attorney's is a stroke -of satire that should not be overlooked, because," adds the same -writer, "it intimates that nothing can thrive in the neighbourhood -of such vermin."[85] In this inference I most sincerely join, but am -afraid that in the present instance we cannot establish our data. -The house is not in ruins from the inhabitant having been unable to -keep it in repair, neither has it been torn by the teeth of time; -for it is apparently the wreck of a modern edifice, which has been -thus destroyed by a riotous mob, because it belonged to one of the -opposite party. - -An inscription on the sun-dial, when joined to the mortuary -representation on the church gate-post, has been supposed to imply -a pun hardly worthy of Hogarth, but which yet I am inclined to -suspect he intended. "We must,"[86] on the sun-dial, say some of his -illustrators, means--We must die all (_dial_). - -All the incidents in this very whimsical plate are naturally and yet -skilfully combined: the whole is in the highest degree laughable, -and every figure stamped with its proper character. The apprehensive -terror of the unwieldy member, the Herculean strength of the -exasperated thresher, and the energetic attitude of the maimed -sailor, deserve peculiar praise. - -Previous to the publication of this series, Mr. Hogarth's satire was -generally aimed at the follies and vices of individuals. He has here -ventured to dip his pencil in the ocean of politics, and delineated -the corrupt and venal conduct of our electors in the choice of their -representatives. That these four plates display a picture in any -degree applicable to the present times must not be asserted, because -it might, by the help of _innuendo_, be construed into a libel on -the present upright and independent House of Commons: but from the -floating memorials of some little transactions that took place some -thirty or forty years ago, there is reason to think that the people -of Great Britain were so far from being influenced by a reverence for -public virtue, that they began to suspect it had no existence. Their -faith in violent professions of the _amor patriæ_ had been staggered -by several recent instances of political depravity. They had a few -years before seen a William Pulteney, the champion of patriots, the -idol of the people, the dread of ministers, desert from the party -of which he was a leader, quit the cause for which he had been the -most violent advocate, and accept a peerage. This, and some similar -circumstances, gave an example and an apology for universal venality. - -How different was the spirit which actuated the Earl of Bath, -from that independent dignity, that patriotic ardour, that holy -enthusiasm, which has emblazoned the name of Andrew Marvel[87] with -a saint-like glory! Let his name be consecrated by the reverence and -the gratitude of every Englishman, and may we live to see a band -of senators who will emulate his virtues! Could we have faith in -speeches, many which we have heard and read are of much promise; let -us hope that the day of performance is at hand. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -THE MARCH TO FINCHLEY. - - "Now I behold the chiefs in the pride of their former deeds; - their souls are kindled at the battles of old, and the actions - of other times. Their eyes are like flames of fire, and roll in - search of the foes of the land. Their mighty hands are on their - swords, and lightning pours from their sides of steel. They - came like streams from the mountains; each rushed roaring from - his hill. Bright are the chiefs of battle in the arms of their - fathers."[88]--FINGAL, Book I. p. 7. - -[Illustration: THE MARCH TO FINCHLEY.] - - -That so admirable a representation of the manners of England should -be dedicated to the King of Prussia,[89] is one of those odd -circumstances which must surprise a man who is not acquainted with -the history of the plate. Before publication it was inscribed to -his late Majesty, and the picture taken to St. James's, in the hope -of royal approbation. George the Second was an honest man and a -soldier, but not a judge of either a work of humour or a work of art. -The corporal or sergeant he considered as employed in a way which -dignified their nature, and gave them a title to the name and rank of -gentlemen. The painter or engraver, however exquisite their skill, -however elevated their conceptions, were on the King's scale mere -mechanics. - -When told that Hogarth had painted a picture of the Guards on their -march to Finchley, and meant to dedicate a print engraved from it to -the King of Great Britain, his Majesty probably expected to see an -allegorical representation of an army of heroes devoting their lives -to the service of their country; and their sovereign, habited like -"the mailed Mars," seated upon a cloud, where he might, - - "With a commanding voice, - Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war." - -If such was his expectation, we may readily conceive his -disappointment on viewing this delineation. His first question was -addressed to a nobleman-in-waiting: "Pray, who is this Hogarth?" "A -painter, my liege." "I hate _bainting_; and _boetry_ too! neither the -one nor the other ever did any good! Does the fellow mean to laugh at -my Guards?" "The picture, an please your Majesty, must undoubtedly be -considered as a burlesque." "What! a _bainter_ burlesque a soldier? -he deserves to be picketed for his insolence! Take his trumpery out -of my sight." - -The print was returned to the artist, who, completely mortified -at such a reception of what he very properly considered as his first -work, immediately altered the inscription, inserting, instead of the -King of England, the King of Prussia (as an encourager of the arts). - -Though the fine arts were never much encouraged in Prussia, the -painter received a handsome acknowledgment for his dedication, -and afterwards circulated proposals for publishing his print by -subscription. Thus was it announced in the _General Advertiser_ of -April 14, 1750:--"Mr. Hogarth is publishing by subscription a print, -representing 'The March to Finchley' in the year 1746; engraved on a -copperplate 22 inches by 17: the price, 7s. 6d. - -"Subscriptions are taken in at the Golden Head, in Leicester Fields, -till the 30th of this instant, and no longer, to the end that the -engraving may not be retarded. - -"_Note._--Each print will be half a guinea after the subscription is -over. - -"In the subscription-book are the particulars of a proposal, whereby -each subscriber of three shillings over and above the said seven -shillings and sixpence for the print will, in consideration thereof, -be entitled to a chance of having the original picture, which shall -be delivered to the winning subscriber as soon as the engraving is -finished." - -_General Advertiser_, May 1, 1750.--"Yesterday Mr. Hogarth's -subscription was closed: eighteen hundred and forty-three chances -being subscribed for, Mr. Hogarth gave the remaining hundred and -sixty-seven chances to the Foundling Hospital, and the same night -delivered the picture to the Governors." - -By the fortunate number being among those presented to a charity -which he so much wished to serve, the artist was highly gratified. -In a private house it would have been in a degree secluded from the -public, and by the lapse of time have been transferred to those -who could not appreciate its merit, and from either negligence or -ignorance, might have been destroyed by damp walls, or effaced from -the canvas by picture-cleaners. Here, it was likely to remain a -permanent and honourable testimony of his talents and liberality. -Notwithstanding all this, Hogarth soon after waited upon the -treasurer of the hospital, and acquainted him, that if the trustees -thought proper, they were at liberty to dispose of the picture by -auction. His motives for giving this permission it is not easy -to assign. They might have their origin in his desire to enrich -a foundation which had his warmest wishes, or a natural though -ill-judged ambition to have his greatest work in the possession of -some one who had a collection of the old masters, with whom he in no -degree dreaded a competition. Whether his mind was actuated by these -or other causes is not important; certain it is that his opinion -changed--he requested the trustees would not dispose of it, and -never afterwards consented to the measure he himself had originally -proposed. The late Duke of Ancaster's father wished to become a -purchaser, and once offered the trustees three hundred pounds for -it. I have been told that a much larger sum was since proffered by -another gentleman. - -The scene is laid before the Adam and Eve, in Tottenham Court Road, -and entitled, "A Representation of the March of the Guards towards -Scotland in the year 1745." - -A handsome young grenadier has been denominated the principal figure, -but may with more propriety be called the principal figure of the -principal group. His countenance exhibits a strong contest between -affection and duty; for the manner in which his Irish helpmate -clings to his arm, and at the same time with threatening aspect -lifts up her right hand grasping the _Remembrancer_,[90] proves to -a moral certainty that to her he has made a matrimonial vow; while -the tender, entreating distress of the poor girl at his right hand, -seems to intimate that, though she possesses his heart, she can make -no claim except to his gratitude and affection, both of which her -present situation seems to demand. Her face forms a strong contrast -to that of the fury who is on the other side; for while one is -marked with grief and tender regret, the other has all the savage -ferocity of an unchained tiger: she is an accomplished masculine -tramp, perfectly qualified to follow a regiment, and would be as -ready to plunder those that are slaughtered as to scold those who -escape: being by no means of the class described by Dr. Johnson when, -speaking of superfluous epithets, he says, "they are like the valets -and washerwomen that follow an army, who add to the number without -increasing the force." The papers of which these two claimants -are the vendors determine their principles. The mild-tempered, -soft-featured _gentlewoman_ with a cross upon a cloak, is evidently -a hawker of the _Jacobites' Journal_, _Remembrancer_, and _London -Evening Post_, papers remarkable for their inflammatory tendency; -while a portrait of the gallant Duke of Cumberland, and the now -popular ballad of _God save the King_, hang upon the basket of her -rival. - -An old woman immediately behind, with a pipe in her mouth and a child -on her back, appears to have grown rather ancient in the service; -but notwithstanding her load and her poverty, puffs away care, and -carries a cheerful countenance. - -Near the child's head a meagre Frenchman is whispering an old -fellow, whom Mr. Thornton in his description of the plate calls an -Independent; but as in the original painting part of a plaid appears -under his greatcoat, the artist most probably intended it for an old -Highlander in disguise. Rouquet, who perhaps had his explanation from -Hogarth, describes it as follows:-- - -"A droite du principal group paroit une figure de François, qu'on -a voulu représenter comme un homme de quelque importance, afin de -lui donner plus de ridicule; il parle à un homme dont la nation est -indiquée par l'étoffe de sa veste, qui est celui dont s'habillent -les habitans des montagnes d'Ecosse: le François semble communiquer -à l'Ecossois des lettres qu'il vient de recevoir, et qui ont -rapport à l'évenement qui donne lieu à cette marche. Les Anglois ne -se réjouissent jamais bien sans qu'il en coute quelque chose aux -François: leur théatre, leur conversation, leurs tableaux, et sur -tout ceux de notre peintre, portent toujours cette glorieuse marque -de l'amour de la patrie: les Romans même sont ornés de traits amusans -sur cet ancien sujet; l'excellent auteur de _Tom Jones_, a voulu -aussi lâcher les siens. Mais le prétendu mépris pour les François -dont le peuple de ce pais-ci fait profession, s'explique selon moi -d'une façon fort équivoque. Le mépris suppose l'oubli; mais un -objet dont on médit perpétuellement occupé: la satire constitue une -attention qui me feroit soupçonner qu'on fait aux François l'honneur -de les haïr un peu." - -A drummer, sick of the remonstrances of his wife and child, each -of whom made a forcible seizure of his person, actuated by a spirit -similar to that of our third Richard, beats a thundering tattoo upon -his own warlike instrument; and aided by the ear-piercing fife[91] -at his right hand, drowns the noise of the tell-tale woman who thus -endeavours to check his ardour and impede his march. A war-worn -soldier contemplating a quack-doctor's bill, and a woman peeping out -of a pent-house above, end the group at the left corner. - -Under a sign of the Adam and Eve a crowd are gathered round two -combatants, who appear to be adepts in the noble science of boxing. - - "Amid the circle now each champion stands, - And poises high in air his iron hands; - Hurling defiance; now they fiercely close-- - Their crackling jaws re-echo to the blows." - -A man, who from his dress seems to be of a rank superior to the -crowd, inflamed with a love of glory, enters with great spirit into -the business now going on, and tries to inspire the combatants with -a noble contempt of bruises and broken bones. This is said to be a -portrait of Lord Albemarle Bertie, who is again exhibited in "The -Cockpit." The scene being laid in the background, the figures are -diminutive; but every countenance is marked with interest, and no -one more than a little fellow[92] of meagre frame but undaunted -spirit, who with clenched fists and agitated face deals blow for -blow with the combatants. Somerville, in his _Rural Games_, has well -described the passions which agitate the audience in a similar scene -at a country wake: - - "Each swain his wish, each trembling nymph conceals - Her secret dread; while every panting breast - Alternate fears and hopes depress or raise. - Thus, long in dubious scale the contest hung," etc. - -With a humour peculiar to himself, the painter has exhibited a figure -shrinking under the weight of a heavy burden, who, preferring the -gratification of curiosity to rest, is a spectator, and in this -uneasy state waits the issue of the combat. - -Upon the sign-board of the Adam and Eve is inserted, "Tottenham Court -Nursery," allusive to a booth for bruising in the place, as well as a -nursery for plants, and the group of figures beneath. - -A carriage laden with camp equipage, consisting of drums, halberds, -tent-poles, and hoop petticoats, is passing through the turnpike -gate. Upon this, two old female campaigners are puffing their -pipes, and holding a conversation in fire and smoke. These grotesque -personages are well contrasted by an elegant and singularly delicate -figure upon the same carriage, suckling her child; which, it has been -said, proves that the painter is as successful in portraying the -graceful as the humorous. This very beautiful figure is, however, -almost a direct copy from Guido's "Madonna." To show that a little -boy at her feet is of an heroic stock, the artist has represented him -blowing a small trumpet. The sergeant on the ground beneath seems -exerting the authority with which his post vests him in calling his -men to order: he has a true roast-beef countenance, and is haughty -enough for a general. - -The foreground in the centre is occupied by a group of figures, which -tell their own story in a manner that perhaps no other artist of any -age could have equalled. While an officer is kissing a milk-maid, an -arch soldier, taking advantage of her neglected pails, fills his hat -with milk: this is observed by a little chimney-sweeper, who, with a -grin upon his face, entreats that he may have a share in the plunder, -and fill his cap. Another soldier pointing out the jest to a fellow -who is selling pies, the pastry-cook, gratified by the mischief, -forgets the luscious cakes in the tray on his head, and the military -Mercury seems likely to convey them all to his own pocket. The faces -of this group are in a most singular degree descriptive of their -situations, and consonant to their mischievous employments. - -An old soldier, divested of one spatterdash, near losing the other, -and felled to the ground by all-potent gin, is now calling for more; -his uncivil comrade, supporting him with one hand, endeavours to pour -water into his mouth with the other; this the veteran toper rejects -with disdain, and lifts up a hand to his wife, who is bearer of the -arms and the bottle, and being well acquainted with his taste, fills -another quartern. - -A child with emaciated face extends its little arms, and wishes -for a taste of that poisonous potion it is probably accustomed to -swallow: "And here" (says Mr. Thornton in the _Student_), "not to -dwell wholly upon the beauties of this print, I must mention an error -discovered by a professed connoisseur in painting. 'Can there,' says -this excellent judge, 'be a greater absurdity than introducing a -couple of chickens so near such a crowd; and not only so, but see -their direction is to objects it is natural for them to shun.--Is -this knowledge of nature? Absurd to the last degree!' And here, -with an air of triumph, ended our judicious critic. How great was -his surprise, when it was pointed out that the said chickens were -in pursuit of the hen, which appears to have a resting-place in a -sailor's pocket!" - -An honest tar, throwing up his hat, is crying "God save our noble -King, God save the King:" immediately before him an image of drunken -loyalty vows de--de--destruction on the heads of the rebels. - -A humane soldier perceiving a fellow heavy laden with a barrel of -gin, and stopped by the crowd, bores a hole in the head of his cask, -and kindly draws off a part of his burden. Near him is a figure of -what may, in the army, be called a fine fellow.[93] As I suppose the -painter designed him without character, I shall only observe that he -is a very pretty gentleman; and happily the contemplation of his own -dear person guards him from the attempts of the wicked woman on his -right hand.[94] - -The invention of a new term must be pardoned--I shall include the -whole King's Head in the word Cattery; the principal figure is a -noted fat Covent Garden lady,[95] who, with pious eyes cast up to -heaven, prays for the army's success, and the safe return of many of -her babes of grace. An officer having placed a letter on the end of -his pike, presents it to one of the beauties in the first floor; -but the fair _enamorata_, evidently disgusted at the recollection -of some part of his former conduct, flutters her fan and rejects -it with disdain. Above her, a charitable girl of an inferior order -is throwing a piece of coin to a cripple, while another kindly -administers a glass of comfort to her companion as a sure relief -against reflection. The rest of the windows are crowded with similar -characters, and upon the house-top is a Cat coterie, a fair emblem of -the company in the apartments beneath. - -The substance of the preceding remarks are, in this as in the first -edition, taken from the _Student_, vol. ii. p. 162, and were made by -the late Bonnell Thornton. In the _Old Woman's Magazine_, Doctor Hill -has given an explanation which places it in a point of view somewhat -different; I have therefore subjoined the greatest part of it. - - _To the Editor._ - - "SIR,--As you desire my sentiments on Mr. Hogarth's picture, I - shall begin with pointing out what is most defective. Its first - and greatest fault, then, is its being new, and having too great - a resemblance to the objects it represents: if this appears a - paradox, you ought to take particular care of confessing it. - This picture has yet too much of that lustre,--that despicable - freshness which we discover in nature, and which is never seen - in the celebrated cabinets of the curious. Time has not yet - obscured it with that venerable smoke, that sacred cloud which - will one day conceal it from the profane eyes of the vulgar, that - its beauties may only be seen by those who are initiated in the - mysteries of art. These are its most remarkable faults: and I - am next going to give you an idea of the subject, which is the - march of some companies of the foot guards to their rendezvous at - Finchley Common, when sent against the Scottish rebels, who were - advancing on that side. - - "Mr. Hogarth, who lets no opportunity escape him of observing the - picturesque scenes which numerous assemblies frequently furnish, - has not failed to represent them on the spot where he has drawn - the scene of his picture. - - "The painter is remarkable for a particular sagacity in seizing - a thousand little circumstances which escape the observation of - the greatest part of the spectators, and it is a collection of a - number of those circumstances which has composed, enriched, and - diversified his work. - - "The scene is placed at Tottenham Court, where, in a distant - view, is seen a file of soldiers marching in tolerable order up - the hill. Discipline is less observed in the principal design; - but if you complain of this, I must ingeniously inform you, - that order and subordination belong only to slaves; for what - everywhere else is called licentiousness, assumes here the - venerable name of liberty. - - "A young grenadier, of a good mien, makes the principal figure in - the first group; he is accompanied, or rather seized and beset, - by two women, one of whom is a ballad-singer, and the other a - news-hawker: they are both with child, and claim this hero as the - father, and except this circumstance they have nothing in common; - for their figures, their humours, their characters, appear - extremely different: they are even of opposite parties, for the - one disposes of works in favour of the Government, and the other - against it. - - "On the left hand of this group is an officer embracing a - milk-woman; but her greatest misfortune is, not her being hugged - by a young cavalier, but in having one of her milk-pails seized - by a wag, who pours her milk into a hat, while he is pretending - to defend her. Near them is a pieman, who is mightily rejoiced - at this roguery; while a soldier, who is fleering in his face, - slily steals the pies he carries on his head. The humour of this - group is greatly heightened by a chimney-sweeper's boy, who comes - laughing to receive some of the milk into his hat, which he - carries in his hand. - - "On the right hand of the principal group is a Frenchman, who, to - give him a more ridiculous appearance, is represented as a man of - some importance. He is speaking to a very odd person, to whom he - seems communicating the contents of some letters relative to the - event which is the cause of this march. - - "Behind the Frenchman just mentioned is seen an old sutler, who - carries her child at her back, and is smoking a short pipe. In - the front, at a small distance, is a drummer, who by the noise - of his drum seems to endeavour to stun all thoughts of the fate - of his family, who seek in vain to soften him by taking a tender - leave. - - "One of the young pipers whom the Duke of Cumberland has - introduced into several regiments, joins his noise to that of the - drum, and by the agreeable appearance of his little person, is a - contrast to the rudeness of the objects who are near him, etc. - etc." - -To the dramatic effect of the picture, the late Mr. Arthur Murphy, -whose acknowledged judgment give weight to his praise, bears the -following honourable testimony in the _Gray's Inn Journal_, vol. i. -No. 20:-- - - "The era may arrive, when, through the instability of the English - language, the style of _Joseph Andrews_ and _Tom Jones_ shall - be obliterated, when the characters shall be unintelligible, - and the humour lose its relish; but the many personages which - the manner-painting hand of Hogarth has called forth into mimic - life will not fade so soon from the canvas, and that admirable - picturesque comedy, 'The March to Finchley,' will perhaps divert - posterity as long as the Foundling Hospital shall do honour to - the British nation." - - - - -THE INVASION; OR, FRANCE AND ENGLAND. - - -In the two following designs Mr. Hogarth has displayed that -partiality for his own country, and contempt for France, which formed -a strong trait in his character. He neither forgot nor forgave the -insults he suffered at Calais, though he did not recollect that this -treatment originated in his own ill-humour, which threw a sombre -shade over every object that presented itself. Having early imbibed -the vulgar prejudice that one Englishman was a match for four -Frenchmen,[96] he thought it would be doing his country a service -to prove the position. How far it is either useful or political to -depreciate the power or degrade the character of that people with -whom we are to contend, is a question which does not come within the -plan of this work. In some cases it may create confidence, but in -others leads to the indulgence of that negligent security by which -armies have been slaughtered, provinces depopulated, and kingdoms -changed their rulers. - -These two glaring contrasts were designed at a time when there was a -rumour of an invasion from France. The sober politician treated this -idle report with contempt; but by the credulous it was believed, and -the timid trembled when they heard it. To dispel this phantom of the -day was one motive for Hogarth's publication of these prints. They -are not addressed to the philosopher or the legislator, but to the -soldier and the sailor. They are not designed for the contemplation -of the informed and travelled man, who considers himself as a citizen -of the world; but for the true-born and true-bred Briton, that -believes this to be the only country where man can enjoy happiness, -and thinks an Englishman is the boast of the universe, the glory of -creation, and the paragon of nature! - - -PLATE I. - -FRANCE. - - "With lantern jaws, and croaking gut, - See how the half-starv'd Frenchmen strut, - And call us English dogs! - But soon we'll teach these bragging foes, - That beef and beer give heavier blows - Than soup and roasted frogs. - - "The priests, inflam'd with righteous hopes, - Prepare their axes, wheels, and ropes, - To bend the stiff-neck'd sinner; - But should they sink in coming over, - Old Nick may fish 'twixt France and Dover, - And catch a glorious dinner." - -[Illustration: FRANCE PLATE I.] - -The scenes of all Mr. Hogarth's prints, except "The Gate of Calais" -and that now under consideration, are laid in England. In this, -having quitted his own country, he seems to think himself out of the -reach of the critics, and in delineating a Frenchman, at liberty to -depart from nature, and sport in the fairy regions of caricature. -Were these Gallic soldiers naked, each of them would appear like a -forked radish, with a head fantastically carved upon it with a knife. -So forlorn! that to any thick sight he would be invisible! To see -this miserable woe-begone refuse of the army, who look like a group -detached from the main body and put on the sick-list, embarking to -conquer a neighbouring kingdom, is ridiculous enough, and at the -time of publication must have had great effect. The artist seemed -sensible that it was necessary to account for the unsubstantial -appearance of these shadows of men, and has hinted at their want of -solid food, in the bare bones of beef hung up in the window, the -inscription on the alehouse sign, "Soup maigre à la sabot Royal," -and the spider-like officer roasting four frogs which he has impaled -upon his sword. Such light and airy diet is whimsically opposed by -the motto on the standard, which two of the most valorous of this -ghastly troop are hailing with grim delight and loud exultation. -It is indeed an attractive motto, and well calculated to inspire -this famishing company with courage: "Vengeance, avec le bon bier, -et bon beuf d'Angleterre." However meagre the military, the church -militant is in no danger of starving. The portly friar is neither -emaciated by fasting, nor weakened by penance. Anticipating the -glory of extirpating heresy, he is feeling the sharp edge of an axe -to be employed in the decollation of the enemies to the true faith, -which if any one doubt, he shall die the death. A sledge is laden -with whips, wheels, ropes, chains, gibbets, and other inquisitorial -engines of torture, which are admirably calculated for the -propagation of a religion that was established in meekness and mercy, -and inculcates universal charity and forbearance. On the same sledge -is an image of St. Anthony, very properly accompanied by his pig, -and the plan of a monastery to be built at Blackfriars. - -In the background are a troop of soldiers so averse to this English -expedition, that their sergeant is obliged to goad them forward with -his halberd. To intimate that agriculture suffers by the invasion -having engaged the masculine inhabitants, two women ploughing a -sterile promontory in the distance complete this catalogue of -wretchedness, misery, and famine. - - -PLATE II - -ENGLAND. - - "See John the Soldier, Jack the Tar, - With sword and pistol arm'd for war, - Should _Mounseer_ dare come here; - The hungry slaves have smelt our food, - They long to taste our flesh and blood, - Old England's beef and beer! - - "Britons, to arms! and let 'em come; - Be you but Britons still, strike home, - And lion-like attack 'em, - No power can stand the deadly stroke - That's given from hands and hearts of oak, - With liberty to back 'em." - -[Illustration: ENGLAND PLATE II.] - -From the unpropitious regions of France, our scene changes to the -fertile fields of England. - - "England! bound in with the triumphant sea, - Whose rocky shores beat back the envious siege - Of wat'ry Neptune." - -Instead of the forlorn and famished party who were represented in -the last plate, we here see a company of well-fed and high-spirited -Britons, marked with all the hardihood of ancient times, and eager to -defend their country. - -In the first group, a young peasant who aspires to a niche in the -Temple of Fame, preferring the service of Mars to that of Ceres, and -the dignified appellation of soldier to the plebeian name of farmer, -offers to enlist. Standing with his back against the halberd to -ascertain his height, and finding he is rather under the mark,[97] he -endeavours to reach it by rising on tiptoe. This artifice, to which -he is impelled by _towering ambition_, the sergeant seems disposed to -connive at--and the sergeant is a hero, and a great man in his way; -"your hero always must be tall, you know." - -To evince that the polite arts were then in a flourishing state, and -cultivated by more than the immediate professors, a gentleman artist, -who to common eyes must pass for a grenadier, is making a caricature -of _le Grand Monarque_. The sovereign of France was in that day as -general a subject for copper satire as Mr. Fox is in this. I have -seen engravings, where his Gallic Majesty made one of the party, -that were not a degree better than the grenadier's drawing, where, -to render the meaning obvious, and supply the want of character, or -story, every figure had a label hanging to its mouth. That given to -this king of shreds and patches is worthy the speaker, and worthy -observation: "You take a my fine ships: you be de pirate; you be de -teef: me send my grand armies, and hang you all." - -The action is suited to the word, for with his left hand this most -Christian potentate grasps his sword, and in his right poises a -gibbet. The figure and motto united, produce a roar of approbation -from the soldier and sailor, who are criticising the work. It is -so natural, that the Helen and Briseis of the camp contemplate the -performance with apparent delight; and while one of them with her -apron measures the breadth of this Herculean painter's shoulders, -the other, to show that the performance _has some point_, places her -forefinger against the prongs of a fork. The little fifer, playing -that animated and inspiring tune "God save the King," is an old -acquaintance: we recollect him in "The March to Finchley." In the -background is a sergeant teaching a company of young recruits their -manual exercise. - -This military meeting is held at the sign of the gallant Duke of -Cumberland, who is mounted upon a prancing charger, - - "As if an angel dropt down from the clouds, - To turn and wield a fiery Pegasus, - And witch the world with noble horsemanship."[98] - -Underneath is inscribed, "Roast and boiled every day;" which, with -the beef and beverage upon the table, forms a fine contrast to the -_soup maigre_, bare bones, and roasted frogs, in the last print. The -bottle painted on the wall, foaming with liquor which, impatient -of imprisonment, has burst its cerements, must be an irresistible -invitation to a thirsty traveller. The soldier's sword laid upon -the round of beef, and the sailor's pistol on the vessel containing -the ale, intimate that these great bulwarks of our island are as -tenacious of their beef and beer as of their religion and liberty. - -These two plates were published in 1756; but in the _London -Chronicle_ for October 20, 1759, is the following advertisement:-- - - "This day are re-published, price 1s. each, Two prints designed - and etched by William Hogarth: one representing the preparations - on the French coast for an intended invasion; the other, a view - of the preparations making in England to oppose the wicked - designs of our enemies; proper to be stuck up in public places, - both in town and country, at this juncture."[99] - -The verses which are inserted under each print, and subjoined to this -account, are, it must be acknowledged, coarse enough. They were, -however, written by David Garrick, who, had he thought the subject -worthy of his muse, could, I believe, have produced more elegant -stanzas. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -THE COCKPIT. - - "It is worth your while to come to England, were it only to - see an election and a cock-match. There is a celestial spirit - of anarchy and confusion in these two scenes that words cannot - paint, and of which no countryman of yours can form even an - idea."--_Sherlock's Letters to a friend at Paris._ - -[Illustration: THE COCKPIT.] - - -Mr. Sherlock is perfectly right in his assertion, that neither of -these scenes can be described by words; but where the writer must -have failed, the artist has succeeded, and the Parisian who has never -visited England may, from Mr. Hogarth's Prints, form a tolerably -correct idea of the anarchy of an election, and the confusion -of a cockpit. To the right learned and laborious successors of -Master Thomas Hearne, it would be matter of curious speculation, -and worthy of deep research, to inquire which of these "popular -sportes was fyrste practysed in fair Englonde." To their grave and -useful investigations I leave the decision of this knotty point. -The earliest information of this _gentile_ and _royal_ game which -my reading supplies, I find in a treatise, published in 1674, and -entitled _The Complete Gamester_, containing instructions how to play -at Billiards, Trucks, Bowls, Chess, etc. "To which is added, The -Artes and Mysteries of Riding, Racing, Archery, and Cock Fighting. -Printed by A. M. for R. Cutler, and to be sold by Henry Brome, at -the Gun, at the west end of St. Paul's." To this curious little -_vade mecum_ there is a frontispiece divided into five compartments. -One of them represents a cockpit, in the centre of which two of -the feathered tribe, not unlike ducks, are fighting. The pit is -surrounded by a company of crop-eared figures in round hats, with -faces as demure and sanctified as are to be seen at a Quakers' -meeting. Before many of these most sedate personages are heaps of -gold, and (alluding to the print) the following sublime verses:-- - - "After these three, the cockpit claims a name; - A sport _gentile_, and call'd a royal game. - Now see the gallants crowd about the pit, - And most are stock'd with money more than wit; - Else sure they would not, with so great a stir, - Lay ten to one on a cock's faithless spur." - -To the respect which our ancestors had for this _kingly_ amusement, -the author beareth ample testimony in his 38th chapter, some extracts -from which I venture to insert, with the hope that they will be both -pleasant and profitable to the lovers of this very refined and humane -divertisement:-- - - "It is a sport or pastime so full of delight and pleasure, that I - know not any game in that respect is to be preferred before it; - and since the fighting cock hath gained so great an estimation - among the gentry, in respect to this noble recreation, I shall - here propose it before all the other games of which I have afore - succinctly discoursed. That, therefore, I may methodically give - instructions to such as are unlearned, and add more knowledge - to such who have already gained a competent proficiency in this - pleasing art, I shall, as briefly as I can, give you information - how you shall choose, breed, and diet the fighting cock, with - what choice secrets are thereunto belonging, in order thus:-- - - "In the election[100] of a fighting cock, there are four things - principally to be considered; and they are: shape, colour, - courage, and a sharp heel. - - "Observe the crowing of your chickens; if you find them crow too - soon, that is, before six months old, or unseasonably, and that - their crowing is clear and loud, fit them as soon as you can for - the pot or spit, for they are infallible signs of cowardice and - falsehood: on the contrary, the true and perfect cock is long - before he obtaineth his voice, and when he hath got it, observeth - his hours with the best judgment." - -After much more which I have not room to insert, the author addeth, -"To conclude, make your choice of such a one that is of shape strong, -of colour good, of valour true, and of heel sharp and ready." - -Leaving the book to the study of those whom it may concern, let us -now attend to the plate. - -The scene is probably laid at Newmarket;[101] and in this motley -group of peers, pickpockets, butchers, jockeys, ratcatchers, -gentlemen,--gamblers of every denomination,--Lord Albemarle -Bertie,[102] being the principal figure, is entitled to precedence. -In a former print[103] we saw him an attendant at a boxing match; -and here he is president of a most respectable society assembled -at a cockpit. What rendered his Lordship's passion for amusements -of this nature very singular, was his being totally blind. In this -place he is beset by seven steady friends, five of whom at the same -instant offer to bet with him on the event of the battle. One of -them, a lineal descendant of Filch, taking advantage of his blindness -and negligence, endeavours to convey a bank note, deposited in our -dignified gambler's hat, to his own pocket. Of this ungentleman-like -attempt his Lordship is apprised by a ragged postboy and an honest -butcher: but so much engaged in the pronunciation of those important -words, "Done! done! done! done!" and the arrangement of his bets, -that he cannot attend to their hints; and it seems more than probable -that the stock will be _transferred_ and the note _negotiated_ in a -few seconds. - -A very curious group surround the old nobleman, who is adorned -with a riband, a star, and a pair of spectacles. The whole weight -of an overgrown carpenter being laid upon his shoulder, forces our -illustrious personage upon a man beneath; who being thus driven -downward, falls upon a fourth; and the fourth, by the accumulated -pressure of this ponderous trio--composed of the _upper and lower -house_--loses his balance, and tumbling against the edge of the -partition, his head is broke, and his wig, shook from the seat of -reason, falls into the cockpit. - -A man adjoining enters into the spirit of the battle--his whole -soul is engaged. From his distorted countenance and clasped hands, -we see that he feels every stroke given to his favourite bird in -his heart's core, ay, in his heart of hearts! A person at the old -Peer's left hand is likely to be a loser. Ill-humour, vexation, and -disappointment are painted in his countenance. The chimney-sweeper -above is the very quintessence of affectation. He has all the airs -and graces of a boarding-school miss. There are those who remember -the man, and declare that his character is not heightened in the -portrait. The sanctified Quaker adjoining, and the fellow beneath, -who, by the way, is a very similar figure to Captain Stab in "The -Rake's Progress," are finely contrasted. - -A French marquis, on the other side, astonished at this being called -amusement, is exclaiming _Sauvages! sauvages! sauvages!_ Engrossed by -the scene, and opening his snuff-box rather carelessly, its contents -fall into the eyes of a man below, who, sneezing and swearing -alternately, imprecates bitter curses on this devil's dust, that -extorts from his inflamed eyes "a sea of melting pearls, which some -call tears." - -Adjoining is an old cripple with a trumpet at his ear, and in this -trumpet a person in a bag-wig roars in a manner that cannot much -gratify the auricular nerves of his companions; but as for the object -to whom the voice is directed, he seems totally insensible to sounds, -and if judgment can be formed from appearances, might very composedly -stand close to the clock of St. Paul's Cathedral when it was striking -twelve. - -The figure with a cock peeping out of a bag is said to be intended -for Jackson, a jockey. The gravity of this experienced veteran, and -the cool sedateness of a man registering the wagers, are well opposed -by the grinning woman behind, and the heated impetuosity of a fellow, -stripped to his shirt, throwing his coin upon the cockpit, and -offering to back Ginger against Pye for a guinea. - -On the lower side, where there is only one tier of figures, a sort -of an apothecary, and a jockey, are stretching out their arms and -striking together the handles of their whips in token of a bet. An -hiccuping votary of Bacchus, displaying a half-emptied purse, is not -likely to possess it long; for an adroit professor of legerdemain has -taken aim with an hooked stick, and by one slight jerk will convey it -to his own pocket. The profession of a gentlemen in a round wig is -determined by a gibbet chalked upon his coat. An enraged barber, who -lifts up his stick in the corner, has probably been refused payment -of a wager by the man at whom he is striking. - -A cloud-capt philosopher at the top of the print, coolly smoking -his pipe, unmoved by this crash of matter and wreck of property, -must not be overlooked: neither should his dog be neglected; for the -dog, gravely resting his fore-paws upon the partition,[104] and -contemplating the company, seems more interested in the event of the -battle than his master. - -Like the tremendous Gog and terrific Magog of Guildhall, stand the -two cock-feeders; a foot of each of these consequential purveyors is -seen at the two extremities of the pit. - -As to the birds whose attractive powers have drawn this admiring -throng together, they deserved earlier notice-- - - "Each hero burns to conquer or to die, - What mighty hearts in little bosoms lie!" - -Having disposed of the substances, let us now attend to the shadow on -the cockpit, and this it seems is the reflection of a man drawn up -to the ceiling in a basket, and there suspended[105] as a punishment -for having betted more money than he can pay. Though suspended, he -is not reclaimed; though exposed, not abashed; for in this degrading -situation he offers to stake his watch against money in another wager -on his favourite champion. - -The decorations of this curious theatre are, a portrait of Nan -Rawlins,[106] and the King's arms. - -In the margin at the bottom of the print is an oval, with a fighting -cock, inscribed "Royal sport," and underneath it is written, "Pit -ticket." - -Of the characteristic distinctions in this heterogeneous assembly, it -is not easy to speak with sufficient praise. The chimney-sweeper's -absurd affectation sets the similar airs of the Frenchman in a most -ridiculous point of view. The old fellow with a trumpet at his ear -has a degree of deafness that I never before saw delineated; he might -have lived in the same apartment with Xantippe, or slept comfortably -in Alexander the coppersmith's first floor. As to the nobleman in the -centre, in the language of the turf, he is a mere pigeon; and the -Peer, with a star and garter, in the language of Cambridge, we must -class as--a mere quiz. The man sneezing, you absolutely hear; and the -fellow stealing a bank note has all the outward and visible marks of -a perfect and accomplished pickpocket; Mercury himself could not do -that business in a more masterly style. - -I hope it will not be thought irrelevant to my subject if I here name -a man whose periods have polished the English language, and given to -poesy a harmony before unknown. - -To Alexander Pope, Hogarth had an early dislike. Pope was the friend -of Lord Burlington,--Lord Burlington was the patron of Kent, and Kent -was the rival of Sir James Thornhill, who was the father-in-law of -William Hogarth. In two of his miscellaneous prints, our mellifluous -poet is exhibited in very degrading situations. In one[107] he is -represented as whitewashing the gate of Burlington House, and in the -violence of his operation bespattering the carriage of his Grace of -Chandos, etc.; and in the other, picking John Gay's[108] pocket. - -Had the artist been acquainted with a circumstance mentioned by Mr. -Tyers in his _Rhapsody_, our British Horace would very probably have -had a place in this group. Tyers tells us that "Pope, while living -with his father at Chiswick, before he went to Binfield, took great -delight in cock-fighting, and laid out all his schoolboy money, and -little perhaps it was, in buying fighting cocks. From this passion, -but surely not the play of a child, his mother had the dexterity to -wean him." - -Admitting the fact, for which I have no other authority than the -pamphlet above quoted, it does not tell in favour of that delicate -and tender humanity which this elegant poet so much affected. On his -conduct to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Lord Bolingbroke, Mr. Addison, -and Mr. Broome, I will make no comment; but his bitter satire on the -Duke of Chandos,[109] while it exalts his poetical powers, dishonours -his moral character. The animation, energy, and elegance of the -stanzas would atone for almost anything--but _ingratitude_! - -Lord Orrery observes: "If we may judge of Mr. Pope from his works, -his chief aim was to be esteemed a man of virtue." When actions -can be clearly ascertained, it is not necessary to seek the mind's -construction in the writings; and I regret being compelled to believe -that some of Mr. Pope's actions, at the same time that they prove him -to be querulous and petulant, lead us to suspect that he was also -envious, malignant, and cruel. How far this will tend to confirm -the assertion, that when a boy he was an amateur[110] of this royal -sport,[111] I do not pretend to decide: but were a child in whom -I had any interest cursed with such a propensity, my first object -would be to correct it; if that were impracticable, and he retained -a fondness for the cockpit, and the still more detestable amusement -of Shrove Tuesday,[112] I should hardly dare to flatter myself that -he could become a merciful man. The subject has carried me further -than I intended. I will, however, take the freedom of proposing one -query to the consideration of the clergy, should any of that sacred -order do me the honour of perusing this volume. Might it not have a -tendency to check that barbarous spirit, which has more frequently -its source in an early acquired habit arising from the prevalence -of example than in natural depravity, if every divine in Great -Britain were to preach at least one sermon every twelve months on our -universal insensibility to the sufferings of the brute creation?[113] - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -CREDULITY, SUPERSTITION, AND FANATICISM. - -A MEDLEY. - - "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they - are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the - world."--1 JOHN IV. 1. - -[Illustration: CREDULITY SUPERSTITION AND FANATICISM.] - - -Whoever reads history with a view of tracing the progress of the -human mind,--which, by the way, is the great object that renders -history useful,--whoever reads history with that regard, must be -astonished and shocked at the slow progress of philosophy, and the -universal prevalence of credulity, superstition, and fanaticism. If -antiquity would give a claim to reverence, this destructive band -have a date prior to Christianity; their united power shed baneful -influence on the earliest ages. - -In the pagan temples there was a kind of incantation for conjuring -down deities, to whom were assigned niches according to their -different degrees of rank. The histories of Greece and Rome (for -the sake of human nature, I wish that the parallel did not reach -modern times) display an innumerable host of all ages, sexes, -descriptions, and characters, enlisted under the banner of the -priesthood, together with a select _corps de reserve_ of augurs and -soothsayers, who, by inspecting the entrails of beasts, foretold -future events, and from the flight of birds the defeat of armies. -Succeeding ages beheld their heathen temples solemnly consecrated; -and being thus metamorphosed into Christian churches, the sculptures -representing Jupiter, Minerva, Venus, and Diana, by virtue of a new -baptism, became saints.[114] - -Here also were a legion of arrogant priests, who insolently dictated -the terms of salvation, fixed a standard for universal belief, and -introduced their own inventions as divine precepts; who forced -monarchs to pay tribute by ecclesiastical privilege, assumed the -dominion of empires by divine right, and claimed three-fourths -of the known world as heirs-at-law to St. Peter. To secure their -acquisitions, they entrenched themselves behind ramparts raised on -the credulity and folly of mankind. He who attempted to scale these -hallowed mounds was deemed guilty of sacrilege; he who questioned -the catholic infallibility was an atheist; and whosoever doubted the -divine mission of a priest--an infidel.[115] - -Finding the multitude were so well inclined to believe that whatever -they could not comprehend was supernatural, they construed each -phenomenon of nature into a portentous menace from Heaven. An eclipse -became the omen of a revolution; an inundation the prognostic of a -defeat; and an hurricane foretold the fall of every power that made -any opposition to papal authority. By arts like these, the people -were brought into a mental vassalage; and the powerful Baron having -previously enslaved their persons, they readily gave the care of -their souls to the confessor. To him they applied as the proper -interpreter of every difficult case; and fraught with a full portion -of credulity, each individual considered every cloud that passed over -the sun, and every raven that expanded its ebon wing, as bearing -some particular direction to himself. Hence arose the doctrine of -demonology; and apparitions, witches, dreams, and divinations, -formed a creed of superstition. On this was built that notable -system, properly enough called "The Philosophy of the Distaff." This -mythology of weak minds has been carried through every age and -country by oral tradition and unfounded record. - -Our earliest histories abound in augury and prediction; the most -fabulous tales had credence, not only with the unlearned and -ignorant, but with the educated and sagacious. The grave Duke de -Sully seriously narrates those which had relation to Henry the Fourth. - -It is recorded by Victorius Sirri, that Louis the Thirteenth was from -his infancy surnamed Just,--"because he was born under the sign of -the Balance!" - -Even sorcery was made a leading branch of religion; and one of a -priest's duties was to exorcise ghosts by talking Latin, which was -considered as a never-failing antidote for a troublesome spirit, and -invariably concluded by the ghost being _laid in the Red Sea_. - -Some of these glaring errors have been obliterated, but absurdities -of equal magnitude have supplied their place; and modern credulities -are nearly as destructive to the interests of society as ancient -superstitions. - -Though this nation, as well as others, was at an early period -enveloped by ignorance, superstition, and their consequent -accompaniments, we had some right to expect the clouds would have -been dispelled by the Reformation; but credulity kept its ground, -and at a still later period--when we had a most learned and sedate -monarch, and a most sententious and grave Parliament--an Act was -passed for the punishment of witchcraft! By this sagacious union of -royal and national wisdom, if a woman lived to a greater age than her -neighbour, she was tried, proved guilty of commercing with a familiar -in the shape of a tabby cat, and eased of all her sufferings by the -ordeal of fire or water. - -It is not many years since a fanatic in one of our colonies took a -fancy to accuse a neighbour of witchcraft: the crime was clearly -proved, and the poor culprit suffered according to law. In credulity -and superstition there is something epidemical. The contagion spread; -and this being found a summary process for removing a competitor -in trade, or revenging an insult, informations for sorcery became -frequent. Their sessions-house was crowded with witches, as is that -at the Old Bailey with pickpockets. It however brought fees, and so -far was well: but these sapient legislators at length discovered that -the province was likely to be depopulated; and what affected them -still more, their own fraternity were liable to the consequences. -A man, who had been cheated by his lawyer, made an affidavit that -said lawyer was a wizard. This was too much: the court had a special -meeting, and unanimously determined that they would not receive any -more informations against wizards. The bye-law had the effect of a -charm, and sorcery was no more! - -Lord Bacon somewhere remarks that superstition is worse than atheism. -It takes from religion every attraction, every comfort; and the place -of humble hope and patient resignation is supplied by melancholy, -despair, and madness! - -To the best minds, credulity is the source of much misery. Our -first Charles, who, with all his errors as a king, had the manners -and mind of a gentleman, was so much under its influence, that -he never enjoyed a day's happiness after consulting the _Sortes -Virgilianæ_.[116] - -In our age--an age in many respects enlightened by the beams of -philosophy--the effects resulting from credulity, superstition, -and fanaticism are dreadful; but while the evils are contemplated -with horror, the system is too ridiculous for sober reasoning. It -induces the infatuated votary to believe that being in the pale of -a particular church will ensure his salvation. The ignorant are -confounded with metaphysical subtleties which the wisest cannot -comprehend; and by combining different texts of holy writ, we are -insulted with conclusions contrary to common sense.[117] - -To check this inundation of absurdity, which deemed carnal reason -profane, and was not to be combated by argument, Mr. Hogarth engraved -this print; it contains what must ever operate as a complete -refutation of those who, because they were his opponents in politics, -have impudently asserted that he lost his talents in the decline -of life: for though the delineation was made in his sixty-fourth -year, in satire, wit, and imagination, it is superior to any of his -preceding works. - -The text "I speak as a fool" is a type of the preacher, whose -strength of lungs is a convenient substitute for strength of -argument. He is literally a Boanerges; his tones rend the region, -and the thunder of his eloquence has cracked the sounding-board. His -right hand poises a witch astride upon a broom-stick, and in his -left he suspends an emissary of Satan: this embryotic demon wields a -gridiron as a terror to the ungodly, and at the witch's breast is an -incubus in the shape of a cat.[118] Considering action as the first -requisite of an orator, our ecclesiastical juggler throws his whole -frame into convulsions: he shakes as the lofty cedar in a storm. Like -Milton's devil, - - "With head, hands, wings, or feet, he works his way, - And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies." - -By these violent agitations his gown flies open, and discovers that -this Proteus of the pulpit is arrayed in a Harlequin's jacket; and -his wig falling off, displays the shaven crown of a Jesuit. But -the loss of a periwig is not attended to, his denunciations are -redoubled, his fulminations hurled indiscriminately around; he -scatters about firebrands; and darts, pointed with destruction, -and barbed with death, pierce the hearts of his terrified hearers. -Wrought up to the highest pitch of seraphic fervour, fevered by the -heat of his own ecstasies,--the whole man is inspired,--and mounted -upon the clouds of mystery, he soars through the dark regions of -superstition, settles in the third heaven, and breathes empyreal air. - -The train is fired,--the contagion spreads, the cup of delusion is -filled to the brim, and each of his infatuated auditors intoxicated -with the fumes of enthusiastic madness. - - "Broken each link of reason's chain, - Witchcraft and magic hold their reign; - Terror and comfortless despair, - And fond credulity is there. - Circling all nature's vast profound, - Imagination takes her round, - Starting at spectres,--painting fairies, - Fancy, with all her wild vagaries, - Dances on enchanted ground. - Now with wings sublime she flies - Where planets roll in azure skies; - Now o'er clouds where tempests low'r, - To where the rushing waters pour: - Thence through the vasty void descends, - Where Chaos warring atoms blends, - To darksome caves of deepest hell, - Where sullen ghosts and torturing demons dwell." - -With a postboy's cap upon his head, to denote that he is a special -messenger from above, a little cherubimic Mercury flies through the -clouds, and bears in his mouth an express directed to Saint Money -Trapp. - -Immediately beneath the pulpit are two lambs of the flock in an -ecstasy. The young man with a round head of hair is probably a lay -preacher; for though he has not a sable coat, he has a black collar. -Piously entreating a young maiden, who meets his advances with an -holy zeal, he puts the waxen model of a female saint down her bosom. - -In the same pew are two fellows very differently affected: one of -them, with a despairing countenance, sheds iron tears; the other, -like the wet sea-boy on the mast, sleeps through the terrors of the -storm, though a malignant imp of darkness, envying his serenity, -endeavours to awake him by a whisper,[119] that he also may share -such curses as would serve for a supplement to St. Ernulphus.[120] - -Between two duck-winged cherubs, who are studying the laughing -and crying gamut, is the harpy clerk. This crook-mouthed echo of -absurdity, and associate in villany, has the true physiognomy of a -Tartuffe: every feature is charged with hypocrisy. - -The congregation,[121] many of whom have been imported from Liffey's -verdant banks, bear their parts in this enchanting serenade; and the -bull roar of the preacher, combined with a chorus of sighs, groans, -and shrieks, must produce a symphony that might vie with the Irish -howl or Indian war-whoop. - -Among the crowd we discover a youthful convert under the guidance -of his spiritual confessor,[122] who, pointing to Brimstone Ocean, -unfolds a tale which terrifies his disciple to a degree that - - "Must harrow up his soul; freeze his young blood; - Make his two eyes like stars start from their spheres; - His knotty and combined locks to part, - And each particular hair to stand on end, - Like quills upon the fretful porcupine." - -The sanguinary Jew, while he leans upon an altar, on which lies a -knife inscribed "bloody," sacrifices to his revenge an unfortunate -insect which he caught carelessly wandering on the environs of his -head. - -Beneath is Mrs. Tofts, of Godalming, well known in the annals of -credulity; in the violence of her paroxysm, she breaks a dram glass -with her teeth.[123] - -Next to Mrs. Tofts is a possessed shoeblack, coolly clearing his -stomach of a quantity of hob-nails and iron staples.[124] In his hand -he holds a quart bottle, in which the model of a spirit is closely -cribbed--confin'd; but the imprisoned sprite forcing the cork, -mounts into the regions of air with a lighted taper in its hand.[125] -The book on which our sable professor of necromancy has deposited his -basket, is King James's _Demonology_;[126] this, with Whitfield's -_Journal_, which lies among the implements of his art, covertly -intimate the sources where he had sought and found inspiration. - -The ridicule is wound up by a Turk, whom we see through a window -smoking his tube of Trinidado; lifting up his eyes with astonishment -at the scene, he breathes a grateful ejaculation, and thanks his -Maker that he was early initiated in the divine truths of the Koran, -is out of the pale of this church, and has his name engraven on the -tablets of Mahomet. - -As all the decorations which are displayed in this temple of -credulity, superstition, and fanaticism are suitable to the -congregation, the carved figures on the pulpit are worthy of -the preacher. We are in the first compartment presented with -the apparition which warned Sir George Villiers of the Duke -of Buckingham's danger from the knife of Felton;[127] in the -second, with Julius Cæsar's ghost reproaching Brutus; and in -the third, with the ghost of Mrs. Veale, which appeared to Mrs. -Bargrave,[128]--because a very large impression of _Drelincourt upon -Death_ lay in the bookseller's warehouse, and would not move without -a marvellous relation of an apparition. - -Beneath is a figure of the Tedworth drummer, who so wickedly -disturbed the family of Mr. Mompesson;[129] and in the frame -below, a representation of Fanny, the phantom of Cock Lane, with -her hammer in her right hand. These two notable memorials of -credulity are placed as a kind of headpiece to a mental thermometer, -which ascertains the different degrees of heat in the blood of an -enthusiast. When the liquid ascends, it rises from lukewarm to -love-heat,--ecstasy! convulsion fits,--madness,--and terminates in -raving, which is properly obscured by clouds, and above the ken of -human comprehension. In its falling state, the progress of religious -depression is most accurately marked. From low spirits it sinks to -sorrow, agony, settled grief, despair, madness,--suicide! The whole -rests on Wesley's _Sermons_, and Glanville _On Witches_.[130] - -On the preacher's left hand, suspended to a ring inserted in a human -nostril, hangs the scale of vociferation. A _natural tone_ is at the -bottom, but the _speaker's tone_ is described by the distended mouth -above the scale, crying Blood! blood! blood! and inscribed "Bull -roar." - -To the hook of the chandelier hangs a small sphere, on which is -engraven, "Desarts of new Purgatory." On the globe, out of which -spring the branches for candles, is written, "A globe of hell, as -newly drawn by R----ne" (Romaine). It is so formed as to give the -caricature of a human face, and baptized "Horrid Zone." Round one -of the eyes is inscribed "The Bottomless Pit;" round the other, -"Molten-lead Lake." On one cheek is "Brimstone Ocean;" on the other, -"Parts Unknown;" and round the mouth, "Eternal Damnation Gulf." -Horribly profane as are these mottoes, they are mere copies of -Tabernacle phraseology. In the same class comes the hymn, which is -placed before the clerk: - - "Only _love_ to us be given; - Lord, we ask no other heaven."[131] - -The poor's box is a mouse-trap, which very fairly intimates that -whatever money is deposited will be secured for the _faithful -collectors_. It may be further meant to insinuate, that whosoever is -caught in this necromantic snare will be in the state of Sterne's -starling, and cannot get out, for it is planted with pointed steel, -and tears in pieces those who attempt an escape. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -THE TIMES. - - -PLATE I. - - "The gods of old were logs of wood, - And worship was to puppets paid: - In antic dress the puppet stood, - And priests and people bow'd the head." - -[Illustration: THE TIMES. PLATE I.] - -There are three things of which your Englishman deems himself the -best of all possible judges: the art of stirring a fire, religion, -and politics. His infallibility in the first no one will presume to -question, except his wife; and with her he will dispute as long as -disputing is good. The mysteries of the second he understands better -than the Archbishop of Canterbury. As to the intricacies of the -third, which thinking men are apt to consider in some degree hidden -from those who are not admitted into the arcana, he can unravel them -with more ease, and point out with more precision what steps ought to -be taken, than can the Prime Minister, with all the aggregate wisdom -of the Cabinet. - -So many of his Majesty's good subjects being thus gifted with an -intuitive knowledge of state affairs, it is no wonder that Britain -holds so high a rank among the nations; for each act of government is -stated and debated, not only in the two Houses of Parliament, but in -every tavern, coffeehouse, and porter-house in the metropolis. - -To these eloquent leaders of the numerous clubs, we may add a myriad -of political writers, who are all but inspired. Without studying -either Machiavel, Locke, or Sidney, they pour forth a torrent of -lucubrations on the floating subjects of the hour; that hour past, -their letters, replies, remarks, and rejoinders are heard of no more. - -In the hope of giving their puny offspring a longer life, some of -these learned Thebans, or their booksellers, called in the aid -of artists, to adorn their labours with _taking_ frontispieces. -These graphic ornaments were in general about as _lively_ as the -pamphlets they decorated; and it was found that the united efforts of -author, printer, painter, engraver, and publisher, could not ensure -immortality. Notwithstanding this general failure in their intended -operation, they had one very awkward effect. A sort of political -influenza was communicated to our engravers, and they also became -deep statesmen and profound politicians. While part of this band -sharpened their burins, and defaced much good copper in caricaturing -the members of administration, their opponents were equally -industrious, and equally pointed, in _taking off_ the _honourable -gentlemen_ on the other side of the house. - -The buzzing of these insects of a day was little attended to: their -dulness preserved them from laughter, their weakness protected them -from resentment; they excited no passion except contempt. - -Very different was the public expectation when it was found that -Hogarth intended to publish a series of political prints. From his -former productions they knew his powers, and considered him as able -to throw any party into ridicule. That which he was expected to -attack dreaded the strength of his aquafortis, which they apprehended -would have the effect of a caustic, not only on his copper, but on -the objects of his satire. - -Previous to the publication of "The Times," Mr. Wilkes, who was then -at Aylesbury, was informed that the print was political, and that -Lord Temple, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Churchill, and himself, were the leading -characters held up to ridicule. Under the impression which this -intelligence conveyed, he sent Mr. Hogarth a remonstrance, stating -the ungenerous tendency of such a proceeding; which would be more -glaringly unfriendly, as the two last-mentioned gentlemen and the -artist had always lived upon terms of strict intimacy. This produced -a reply, in which Hogarth asserted that neither Mr. Wilkes nor Mr. -Churchill were introduced, but Lord Temple and Mr. Pitt were, and -the print should be published in a few days. To this it was answered, -that Mr. Wilkes would hardly deem it worth while to notice any -reflections on himself; but if his friends were attacked, it would -wound him in the most sensible part, and, well as he was able, he -should revenge their cause. This was a direct declaration of war: the -black flag was hoisted on both sides, and never did two angry men of -their abilities throw mud with less dexterity. - -"The Times" was soon after published, and on the Saturday following, -in No. 17 of the _North Briton_, a most unmerciful attack was -directed against the King's Serjeant Painter. Since that period, -marvellous have been the variations of the patriotic needle; the -Colonel of the Buckinghamshire Militia has filled the first offices -in the city of London, and is now become chamberlain. Having in -these situations seen the errors of his former politics, he would, -I must think, be the first to acknowledge that the attack was not -only unmerciful, but in many respects unjust. The hand of time having -worn down political asperities, I hope--I believe--Mr. Wilkes will -have no objection to this nettle, forced in the hotbed of a party, -being plucked from that hallowed sod which covers the dust of William -Hogarth. - -Should the artist and the chamberlain meet in Elysium, why may -they not drink oblivion to former feuds in a glass of Lethe? The -chamberlain would, I fancy, prefer champagne; but when a gentleman -travels in a strange country, he must take up with such beverage as -the place affords. - -The attack commences with a ridicule of the _Analysis of Beauty_, or -rather of Hogarth's honesty in acknowledging that he was indebted to -a friend for a third part of the wording. The artist was sensible of -his own strength; but what is much more rare, he was conscious of -his own weakness. He knew the principles of his art; but not being -accustomed to explaining them with a pen, very prudently asked the -aid of those who were, to give his ideas such language as would -render them worthy public attention. This was at least honest; but as -the author of the _North Briton_ presents us with only part of the -apology, let us do the artist justice by inserting the whole. - -After some leading remarks on the system which it was his wish to -establish, he continues as follows:-- - -"But observing in the fore-mentioned controversies that the torrent -generally ran against me, and that several of my opponents had turned -my arguments into ridicule, yet were daily availing themselves of -their use, and venting them even to my face as their own, I began to -wish the publication of something on this subject; and accordingly -applied myself to several of my friends, whom I thought capable of -taking up the pen for me, offering to furnish them with materials -by word of mouth. But finding this method not practicable, from the -difficulty of one man's expressing the ideas of another, especially -on a subject which he was either unacquainted with, or was new in its -kind, I was therefore reduced to an attempt of finding such words as -would best answer my own ideas, being now too far engaged to drop the -design. Hereupon, having digested the matter as well as I could, and -thrown it into the form of a book, I submitted it to the judgment -of such friends whose sincerity and abilities I could best rely on, -determining on their approbation or dislike to publish or destroy -it. But their favourable opinion of the manuscript being publicly -known, it gave such a credit to the undertaking as soon changed the -countenances of those who had a better opinion of my pencil than -my pen, and turned their sneers into expectation, especially when -the same friends had kindly made me an offer of conducting the work -through the press; and here I must acknowledge myself particularly -indebted to one gentleman for his corrections and amendments of -at least a third part of the wording. Through his absence and -avocation, several sheets went to the press without any assistance, -and the rest had the occasional inspection of one or two friends. -If any inaccuracies shall be found in the writing, I shall readily -acknowledge them all my own, and am, I confess, under no great -concern about them, provided the matter in general may be useful -and answerable, in the application of it, to truth and to nature; in -which material points if the reader shall think fit to rectify any -mistakes, it will give me a sensible pleasure, and be doing great -honour to the work."--_Preface to Analysis_, p. 20, edit of 1772. - -The author of the _North Briton_ continues: "We all titter the -instant he takes up a pen, but we tremble when we see the pencil in -his hand." - -As this essay was written in consequence of the artist giving a -pictured shape, it seems rather extraordinary that so good a logician -as Mr. Wilkes should drag in Hogarth's pen merely to titter at, and -acknowledge that he trembles at his pencil, which instrument, by the -way, drew forth this paper:-- - -"I will do him the justice to say, that he possesses the rare talent -of gibbeting in colours, and that in most of his works he has been -a very good moral satirist." That he has, it is most true. "His -forte is there, and he should have kept it. When he has at any time -deviated from his own peculiar walk, he has never failed to make -himself perfectly ridiculous. I need only make my appeal to any one -of his historical or portrait pieces, which are now considered as -almost beneath all criticism." - -_Some_ of his portraits might have been exempted from this censure: -what does Mr. Wilkes think of Captain Coram, now in the Foundling -Hospital? - -"The favourite 'Sigismunda,' the labour of so many years, the boasted -effort of his art, was not human. If the figure had a resemblance -of anything ever on earth, or had the least pretence to meaning -or expression, it was what he had seen, or perhaps made, in real -life, his own wife in an agony of passion, but of what passion no -connoisseur could guess." - -After asserting that the figure was not human, this is rather too -much! From any gentleman, the daughter of Sir James Thornhill -had a claim to more politeness; but that so gallant a man as -Colonel Wilkes--a perfect knight-errant in all that related to the -sex--should make an estimable and respectable woman a party "in the -poor politics of the day, and descend to low personal abuse" (I use -his own language), because her husband had in these poor politics -adopted an opposite creed, excites astonishment! - -Had this transaction passed in the year 1791, instead of the year -1762, it would have been less extraordinary; for, alas, - - "The days of chivalry are no more."[132] - -"All his friends remember what tiresome discourses were held by him, -day after day, about the transcendent merit of this 'Sigismunda,' and -how the great names of Raphael, Vandyke, and others, were made to -yield the palm of beauty, grace, expression, etc. to him, for this -long-laboured yet uninteresting single figure. The value he himself -set on this, as well as on some other of his works, almost exceeds -belief; yet from politeness, or fear, or some other motives, he has -actually been paid the most astonishing sums, as the price, not of -his merit, but of his unbounded vanity." - -That the artist demanded too high a price for his painting of -"Sigismunda," I am free to acknowledge; but it has not been peculiar -to Mr. Hogarth to mistake his talents, and overrate his worst -performances. Mr. Wilkes must know that Milton, and many other great -men, have erred in the same way. I do not think that "Sigismunda" -was worth what he required; but that he has actually been paid the -most astonishing sums for his other pictures, as the price, not -of his merit, but of his unbounded vanity, I am yet to learn. The -remuneration he received for many of his works is to be found in -these volumes; it was seldom in any degree equal to their merits. -The painter is no more, but several of his pictures remain; and were -the "Marriage à la Mode," "Rake's Progress," etc., now upon sale, -the present age would, I am persuaded, sanction my opinion, and the -pictures produce much more astonishing sums than were originally paid -to the artist. - -"He has succeeded very happily in the way of humour, and has -miscarried in every other attempt; this has arisen in some measure -from his head, but much more from his heart. After 'Marriage à la -Mode,' the public wished for a series of prints of a Happy Marriage. -Hogarth made the attempt; but the rancour and malevolence of his mind -made him soon turn away with envy and disgust from objects of so -pleasing contemplation, to dwell, and feast a bad heart, on others of -a hateful cast, which he pursued, for he found them congenial, with -the most unabating zeal and unrelenting gall." - -Should any one assert that the strength of colouring, and astonishing -powers, which gave the name of Churchill so exalted a rank among -satirists, originated in malevolence and rancour, and that he could -not write a panegyric because he delighted in feasting a bad heart on -a bad theme, Mr. Wilkes would, I am certain, be the first to defend -him from such an aspersion. - -That he did not succeed in an attempt to delineate a Happy Marriage, -I can readily believe. Hogarth was a painter of manners as they were, -not as they ought to be. He considered nature in the abstract, and -usually adhered to what he saw. Among those friends with whom Hogarth -lived in habits of intimacy, and whose domestic situations he had the -best opportunity of studying,--though Mr. Churchill and the Colonel -were of the number,--he might not know a family from whence such a -scene could be copied. - -"I have observed some time his setting sun. He has long been very -dim, and almost shorn of his beams." - -For a confirmation of the above assertion, see the print of "The -Medley," published this very year. My opinion of it the reader is -already in possession of, and that opinion corresponds with an -authority which, I believe, even Mr. Wilkes will consider as very -high:--"For useful and deep satire, 'The Medley' is the most sublime -of all Hogarth's works."--_Walpole._ - -"He seems so conscious of this (_i.e._ that his sun is setting, etc.) -that he now glimmers with borrowed light. 'John Bull's house in -flames' has been hackneyed in fifty different prints; and if there is -any merit in the figure on stilts, and the mob prancing around, it is -not to be ascribed to Hogarth, but to Callot." - -Callot's was, I acknowledge, the first thought, but Sir Joshua -Reynolds will tell Mr. Wilkes that happy appropriation is not -plagiarism. - -"I own, too, that I am grieved to see the genius of Hogarth, which -should take in all ages and countries, sunk to a level with the -miserable tribe of party-etchers, and now in his rapid decline -entering into the poor politics of the faction of the day, and -descending into low personal abuse, instead of instructing the world, -as he could once, by manly moral satire." - -I too am grieved that Hogarth, or any other man of talents, should -descend to the poor politics of the faction of the day. But be it -remarked, that this was the first political print he designed; and -if so contemptible as it was before stated to be, it is rather -singular that this one little satire, the first he engraved on the -subject, and "destitute of every kind of original merit, in every -part confused, perplexed, and embarrassed, where the story is not -well told to the eye, and where we cannot discover the faintest ray -of genius," should excite so warm a resentment. - -Mr. Wilkes goes on to ask, "Whence can proceed so surprising a -change? Is it from the frowardness of old age? or is it that envy and -impatience of resplendent merit in every way, at which he has always -sickened? How often has he been remarked to droop at the fair and -honest applause given even to a friend?" etc. - -I am told, by those who lived in habits of intimacy with Mr. -Hogarth--never! But let us remember, that what is deemed fair and -honest applause by the person who receives it, may by an impartial -spectator be thought more than he is entitled to. - -"It is sufficient that the rest of mankind applaud; from that moment -he begins the attack, and you never can be well with him, till he -hears an universal outcry against you, and till all your friends have -given you up." - -That Hogarth should have wished to render a man infamous in the eyes -of society, before he would admit him to the honour of his regards, -is a paradox I cannot solve. I believe this kind of preparation for -friendship was never practised by any other person, of any age or -country. - -"The public had never the least share of Hogarth's regard, or even -goodwill. Gain and vanity have steered his little bark quite through -life. He has never been consistent but with respect to these two -principles." - -Hogarth was no hypocrite. By the word "public," is frequently meant -that party who are immersed in the violent factions of the day. For -them he never professed goodwill. But if by the public is meant -society in its various branches and different ranks, almost all his -works had as great a tendency to make the world wiser and better, -as had those of men who made more violent professions. His little -bark having been steered through life by gain and vanity, I hardly -know how to understand. He lived a long and laborious life; he was -admitted to be the first, the very first, in his walk; and died -worth a sum that a Jew broker will acquire before breakfast. As to -vanity,--of talents superior to any other artist,--he had a right to -be vain. - -"But all genius was not born, nor will it die, with Mr. Hogarth; -and notwithstanding all his ungenerous efforts to damp or chill it -in another, I will trust to a discerning and liberal spirit in the -English nation to patronize and reward all real merit. It will in the -end rise superior to the idle laugh of the hour," etc. - -Of this discerning and liberal spirit there is not a stronger -instance than the estimation in which Hogarth's works, not excepting -the _Analysis_ (however it may be worded), are held thirty years -after the publication of the _North Briton_. - -"In the year 1746, when the Guards were ordered to march to Finchley -on the most important service they could be employed in,--the -extinguishing a Scottish rebellion which threatened the entire -ruin of the illustrious family on the throne, and, in consequence, -of our liberties,--Mr. Hogarth came out with a print to make them -ridiculous[133] to their countrymen, and to all Europe; or, perhaps, -it rather was to tell the Scots, in his way, how little the Guards -were to be feared, and that they might safely advance. That the -ridicule might not stop here, and that it might be as offensive as -possible to his own sovereign, he dedicated the print to the King of -Prussia, as an encourager of arts. Is this patriotism? In old Rome, -or in any of the Grecian States, he would have been punished as a -profligate citizen, totally devoid of all principle." - -These are heavy charges; but mark how a plain tale shall put them -down. From the effects which are described as likely to result from -this most seditious print, we are tempted to think it must have -been designed, etched, engraved, printed off, and dispersed with so -much expedition as to arrive in Scotland before the Guards whom it -holds up to ridicule; for one of its designs was "to tell the Scots, -in his way, how little the Guards were to be feared, and that they -might safely advance." The march was in 1746, and the publication -of this print in 1750; therefore[134] it could not have these most -direful and dangerous effects! That he dedicated it to the King of -Prussia, as an encourager of arts, is true; but this dedication -was not inserted until another had been rejected, because it was -misunderstood by the King of England; and George the Second, with -all his virtues, was neither a judge of humour nor an encourager of -the arts. These premises granted, I think we may fairly draw this -conclusion: Had old Hogarth been a citizen of old Rome, or a member -of any of the Grecian States, and published such a representation -of his own times, he would not have been punished as a profligate -citizen: he would neither have been flagellated, impaled, decollated, -nor thrown from the Tarpeian rock; but his print would have been -laughed at by every member of the State who had the least ray of -humour, though--as in some cases that we have seen--the length of a -grave orator's beard might hide the risible emotions of his muscles, -and the amplitude of his robe conceal the shaking of his sides. - -To detail the conclusion of this paper, about the dishonour of -his being appointed pannel-painter to the King, never suffered to -caricature any of the royal family, etc., is scarcely necessary. -If the appointment was less respectable than his merits demanded, -the disgrace did not fall upon him; but be it remarked, that the -office was afterwards held by Sir Joshua Reynolds; and however -elevated his taste, however superior his talents, his genius was long -distinguished and admired by the public before he had the honour of -taking the portraits of their Majesties. - -Trusting that Hogarth's own works will sufficiently ascertain his -character, I shall not attempt his further vindication, but proceed -to the print. - -A globe, which must here be considered as the world, though it -appears to be no more than a tavern sign, is represented on fire, -and Mr. Pitt, exalted on stilts, which are held by the surrounding -multitude, blowing up the flames with a pair of large bellows.[135] -His attendants are composed of butchers, with marrow-bones and -cleavers, an hallooing mob armed with clubs, and a trio of London -aldermen in the act of adoration. From the neck of this idol of -the populace is suspended a millstone, on which is inscribed -£3000 per annum, allusive to his pension, and intimating that so -ponderous a load must in time sink his popularity.[136] While he -is thus increasing the conflagration, a number of Highlanders,[137] -grenadiers, sailors, etc., are busily working a fire-engine to -extinguish it. The pipe is guided by a Union Office fireman at the -top. Defended by an iron cap, and decorated with a badge inscribed -"G. R.," this intrepid engineer pays no regard to three streams of -water which are furiously driven at his rear from the windows of the -Temple Coffeehouse. The Liliputian engines, through which these tiny -showers descend, are directed by a nobleman and two garretteers. An -inscription over the door determines the title of the former, who -is delineated without features: the two gentlemen in the attic were, -I believe, originally intended for Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Churchill, but -previous to publication the faces were altered.[138] A surplice is -still left on the figure over Lord Temple, and the Colonel's coat -is lapelled. Upon a sign-iron beneath them is a slaughterman,[139] -with a lighted candle in his hat, and a large knife in his pocket; -thus intimating that he is ready either to fire a city or murder a -citizen. Mounted to the situation he now occupies by a ladder, he -is drawing up a sign of the Patriot's Arms, and in this good work -is assisted by two strong-sinewed coadjutors, who are dragging the -ropes to which it is suspended. The blazonry is four clenched fists -in opposition to each other; the date, 1762.[140] This curious -delineation will be placed in the front of the Temple Coffeehouse, -for _the world to wonder at_. The Newcastle Arms, nearly broken -down, bears allusion to the Duke's resignation.[141] A Highlander, -carrying two buckets of water from the fire-plug to the engine, -is likely to be impeded by a fellow with a wheelbarrow full of -political papers, which are intended to feed the flames. This type -of the distressed poet, said to be intended as a representative of -the Duke of Newcastle, endeavours to overset the Scot, and burst the -engine-pipe by the same operation. - -Wholly engrossed by avarice, the crafty Dutchman, with a hand in -each pocket and a pipe in his mouth, sits on his bales of goods, and -laughs at the destruction raging around him. A fox, fair emblem of -his cunning, is creeping out of a kennel beneath. - -Close to him is a patriotic trumpeter, blowing the spirit-stirring -tube, and pointing to a show-cloth, on which is painted a wild -Indian. By the magisterial robe in which this trumpeter is arrayed, -and the city arms on the banner of his windy instrument, he is -decisively intended to personify Mr. Alderman Beckford, thrice Lord -Mayor of London. Beneath the savage to whom he points, is written, -"Alive from America." This grotesque figure is placed before two -tobacco hogsheads, grasps in each hand a purse inscribed "£1000," -and has tied round him, so as to form a sort of Indian dress, eight -or ten little bags equally well filled. His countenance leads us to -judge that he delights in the devastation by which he is a gainer; -and seems to imply that our American brethren, like our Amsterdam -allies, were eager to furnish friend or foe with the product of their -respective countries. It may further intimate the Alderman's immense -riches, and that a leading article of his trade was tobacco. - -A table clock, inscribed "Airs by Harrington," representing a company -of soldiers in a regular march, has an evident allusion to the -military doctrine of man being a machine. "The Norfolk jig, G. T. -_fecit_," hints at the Norfolk Militia, and Mr. George Townshend, who -paid unremitting attention to the discipline and appearance of the -corps raised in Norfolk. - -"The Post Office," painted on a cracked board fastened against the -wall, may possibly signify the office of Postmaster-General being -then divided.[142] - -In the opposite corner of the print, surrounded by his miserable -and famished subjects, sits the heroic Frederick of Prussia. -Regardless of their distress, and unmoved by their cries, tears, and -execrations--like Nero, who fiddled while Rome burnt--he is lost to -every feeling, except those which arise from the fine tones of his -Cremona. The effects resulting from his insatiable thirst of glory -are not confined to his own subjects. Fired by vaulting ambition, -he scatters destruction through surrounding states; depopulates -provinces, and lays waste kingdoms, to prove himself--a philosopher. - -How far the rest of the figures in this group may refer to particular -persons or nations, I cannot determine. The female, with clasped -hands and eyes raised to heaven, has been supposed to be intended for -the Empress Queen; a venerable matron, stealing away with a trunk -under her arm, for the late Empress of Russia, Frederick's most -inveterate enemy, who ended her earthly reign on the 2d of January -1762. They may be so intended, though I must acknowledge I do not -discover anything which will wholly establish the supposition, but am -more inclined to consider them as merely exemplifying the horrors of -war. - -The _fleur-de-lis_ hung from one of the houses in flames, and the -black eagle from the other, sufficiently indicate the powers intended -to be pointed out. The sign of the Salutation alludes to the treaty -between France and Spain, for the dexter figure is Louis Baboon; and -the sinister, Lord Strut. - -The flames rage with so much violence as to prevent the fluttering -dove from alighting on any of the buildings; notwithstanding which, -this bird of peace, with an olive branch, hovers over them in the -midst of ascending smoke. - -The exact point of time is determined by the waggon, inscribed -"Hermione," in the background.[143] - -Such is my general idea of the preceding plate;[144] there may be -those who will discover many things which I do not see, and which -possibly never entered into the contemplation of the artist. As the -whole alludes to the politics of his own day, all the characters -introduced were his contemporaries, and several of them had been -his intimate friends, he might intentionally leave some parts -obscure;[145] or conceiving his meaning sufficiently obvious to those -who lived at the time, forget that it would become impervious to -posterity. - -I have before observed that in allegory he was not happy; and the -dissimilar combinations here brought together are a proof of the -assertion. Soldiers and sailors, whose business it is to increase -the flames of war, carrying water to extinguish them, is not quite -consonant to our general ideas of their dispositions. Highlanders, -being universally considered as the soldiers of Europe, make but an -awkward appearance in the character of peacemakers. - -A sign of the globe on fire, flames bursting out of the Globe Tavern -and three other buildings, with each an alehouse sign, to explain -what nations are meant, borders upon the bathos. Another nation -personified by the sovereign fiddling to his expiring subjects, -is not a bad thought, but here it is incongruous. It has not that -general unison with the other parts of the picture which either -writing or painting demands. Separated from the accompaniments, -this group might have made a good print; with the Globe Tavern, the -Temple Coffeehouse, the garretteers, and the aldermen, it does not -assimilate. - -My last remark I shall take the liberty of borrowing from Mr. Wilkes, -for in this one point I have the honour of agreeing with him: "The -print is too much crowded with figures." - - -PLATE II. - - "The Times are out of joint." - -[Illustration: THE TIMES. PLATE II.] - -A painter engaging in the political disputes of his day, is in a -situation similar to a gentleman beginning to rebuild a family -mansion. The pencil of one, dipped in these troubled streams, or the -fingers of the other but touch-brick and mortar,--it is not in the -tables of De Moivre to calculate the conclusion of their labours. -Each of them sets out upon a certain plan, determines that he will go -so far, and no further: but the gentleman is induced to make a first -addition to his original plan, because it will be more convenient; a -second, because it will be _magnifique_; and a third and fourth _must -be_, because without them the building will not be uniform. - -The artist engraves a political print, which raises an host of -enemies, who buzz about him like a nest of disturbed hornets. To -them, wording not being the painter's province, he replies by a -second print, which produces a second volume of abuse; "another and -another still succeeds," and he must either sink under this load of -obloquy, or devote the residue of his days to the defence of his -character. Such at least was the political progress of Hogarth. - -By his first print of "The Times" he roused two very formidable -adversaries, and they treated him with as much ceremony as two -deputies from the Bow Street magistrates would an incendiary or -an assassin. They did not consider him as a man whose conduct it -was needful to investigate, or whose opinions it was necessary to -confute, but as a criminal, whose aggravated crimes had outraged -every law of society, and whom they would therefore drag to the place -of execution. To defend himself from these furious assailants, -he had no shield but a copperplate, no weapons but a pencil and a -burin. The use he made of them may be seen in the two last prints; -but though this was engraved during the time of the contest, it was -not published while he lived. Whether a sudden change in politics, a -supposed ambiguity in part of his design, or the advice of judicious -or timid friends, induced him to suppress his work, cannot now be -ascertained; but whatever were the reasons, his widow's respect for -his memory induced her to adopt the same conduct. She retained a -reverence for even the dust of her husband, and dreaded its being -raked from the sepulchre where he had been quietly inurned, mixed -with the poisonous aconite of party, and by sacrilegious hands -cast into the agitated cauldron of politics. If we add to this the -specimen of political candour which she had experienced in her own -person, can we wonder that she cautiously avoided whatever could be -tortured into a provocation to the renewal of hostilities? From these -considerations she never suffered more than one impression to be -taken, and that was struck off at the earnest request of Lord Exeter. - -In withholding this plate from the public she acted prudently; in -attempting to describe it, I may be thought to act otherwise. To -enter into a discrimination of characters who now live, "or step upon -ashes which are not yet cold," is liable to invidious construction. -Let it be remembered, that though I have endeavoured to point out -the characters delineated by Hogarth, it does not follow that my -explanation will always be right. - -Though several of the figures are marked in a style so obtrusive that -they cannot be mistaken, there are others where I can only guess at -the originals. From those who were engaged in the politics of that -day I have sought information, but their communications have been -neither important nor consistent with each other. They generally -ended in an acknowledgment, that "in thirty years they had forgotten -much which they once knew, and which, if now recollected, would -materially elucidate." To this was added what I am compelled to -admit, that parts of the print are obscure. I have before observed -that neither politics nor allegory were Hogarth's _forte_, and this -delineation was made under the impression of resentment. - -The exact time of its being engraved I cannot positively ascertain, -but conjecture it must have been some time in the year 1762. A small -part of the sky was left unfinished, and in that state still remains, -as the present proprietors would not suffer any other engraver to -draw a line on the copperplate of Hogarth. - -On a pedestal in the centre of the print is a statue of the present -King in his coronation robes, inscribed "A Ramsay delt;" his right -hand is placed on his side, and the left leans upon a plummet, -which seems to have been Mr. Ramsay's guide in the delineation; -for the drapery is in squares, decided as the ground glass stopper -of a decanter, and the whole figure is composed of straight lines. -Of these upright figures Hogarth had given his opinion in the -_Analysis_;[146] and Mr. Ramsay being portrait-painter to his -Majesty, a post Hogarth thought himself better qualified to fill, he -took this opportunity of throwing his manner into ridicule.[147] The -head of a lion in _bas relief_ with a leaden pipe in his mouth,[148] -being on the front of the pedestal, intimates its connection with a -reservoir; and the royal statue on the top denotes this to be the -fountain of honour. The able-bodied figure turning a fire-plug is -evidently intended for Lord Bute; his employment seems to intimate -that he has the power of accelerating or retarding the stream of -royal bounty, and wheresoever he willeth it shall flow, there it -floweth. A baronial escutcheon, keys, stars, coronets, croziers, -mitres, maces, lie close to the pedestal, around which are placed a -number of garden pots with shrubs. Two rose trees most plentifully -sprinkled by streams from the fountain of favour have been originally -inscribed "James III.;" but James being now blotted out, George is -put above it, and by a little hyphen beneath the lowest figure, -marked as belonging to the lowest line. Three orange trees have the -initials "G. R.," and beneath the letters is inscribed "Republican." -These also receive drops of favour; but a large laurel planted in -a capacious vase, raised upon the base of a pillar, and inscribed -"Culloden," is watered by the dew of heaven,--by a copious shower -poured from the urn of Aquarius. Besides these six flourishing -plants, there are a number of yew and box trees, clipped into true -taste by a Dutch gardener. Some of them retain their old situations, -but an active labourer is busily clearing the grounds of all these -ancient formalities. Many of them he has already wheeled out of their -places, and thrown into the ditch that surrounds the platform, into -which situation he is now tumbling two venerable box trees of a most -orderly and regular cut: each of them having the letters G. R., may -apply to the favourites either of George the First or Second. This -I suppose is meant to express, by an allegorical figure, the great -number of old place-men who resigned on the accession of his present -Majesty. - -The late Henry Fox, afterwards Lord Holland, being at that time a -leading character in the House of Commons, and deemed the partisan of -Lord Bute, is here represented as removing these antiquated plants -from the vivifying hothouse of royalty to the cold and dank ditch of -despair. Hogarth, not thinking a sable countenance and ebon eyebrows -would sufficiently indicate the person meant, has given the outline -of a fox's head to his cap. In his reforming business he is somewhat -impeded by a garden roller, on which is written "£1,000,000,000," -meaning possibly the national debt. On the platform lies a broom, -shovel, and rake, necessary implements in clearing gardens; and in -the surrounding _fosse_ such a collection of fantastic _nevergreens_, -as decked the pleasure-grounds of our ancient sovereigns, "trimm'd -with nice art," and cut into the shapes of pyramids, fortifications, -globes, and birds. On one of them, clipped into the form of a human -head, is a mask, well expressing the taste of our ancestors. - -It is observable that Lord Bute and Mr. Henry Fox are the only -persons on the platform: one of these gentlemen was, I believe, -supposed to have the highest confidence of his sovereign; and the -other, a most powerful influence over the people's representatives. - -A group in the dexter corner is principally made up of members of -the Upper House. A senatorial figure in the chair under the king's -arms is intended for Sir John Cust, then Speaker. That beneath him, -wiping his forehead, evidently from perturbation of mind, for William -Duke of Cumberland. Below him is Lord Mansfield, and still lower Lord -Temple, presenting his snuff-box to his Grace of Newcastle, who had -a short time before joined the opposition. We also recognise Earl -Winchelsea, and George Doddington, afterwards Lord Melcombe. - -Who are intended to be hinted at by a number of persons asleep, I -do not know: it, however, proves that there were at that period men -who were not to be kept awake by the most important interests of -their country. Had this print borne relation to the orators of 1790 -instead of the speakers of 1762, there would have been no cause for -astonishment. Considering the hour at which our present race of -senators meet to do business, and that one oration frequently lasts -from the twilight of evening to the crowing of the cock, could it -excite wonder if half the assembly were under the dominion of Somnus -before what one of our fashionable prints so familiarly calls the -peroration? - -On the other side of a rail, intended, I believe, to divide the -Commons from the Lords, are a number of figures firing at the -emblem of Peace, which is fluttering in the air near the signs of -the zodiac. Mr. Pitt we are enabled to identify, not only by his -features, but by his gouty legs. His gun has much the longest barrel, -and while he fires it off he prudently turns away his face, fearing -a flash in the pan may scorch his eyebrows; or perhaps acting as a -waterman, looking one way and rowing another. A figure behind him -discharges a blunderbuss; and in the sinister hand of one immediately -before him is a horse-pistol. The household artillery of all the -band (and from the smoke which is diffused over the centre of the -group it appears they are numerous) is directed to the same object. -One prudent personage, a little before Mr. Pitt, seems to be in the -act of desertion; for though yet seated on the gunpowder bench, he -has got his head under the rail, and is half on the other side. This -may be pointed at one of that class who go under the denomination -of Trimmers, or may intimate that the gentleman is in the way of -getting a place or a peerage; but what is his name, or was his future -title, I am not enough read in the red book[149] to determine. The -next figure resembles Henry Bilson Legge. A hand with an ear-trumpet -may perhaps allude to Lord Chesterfield, whose deafness was at this -period proverbial. Two figures above him are distinguished, one by -a muff, and the other by a pair of spectacles; "to whom related, -or by whom begot," baffles my conjecture: the lowest figure has a -resemblance to the first Lord Holland, but _he_ is exhibited on the -platform. A dog immediately behind Lord Bute, having his eye fixed -on the urn of Aquarius, I suppose to be barking at the shower which -pours on the laurel inscribed "Culloden." He is a Caledonian cur, -and on his collar is written the word "Mercy," allusive, perhaps, to -the cruelties said to have been exercised in Scotland in 1745, which -accounts for the natives of that country thinking the Duke had more -liberal rewards and more distinguished honours than he fairly merited. - -Thus much must suffice for the dignified personages who then drove -the state machine: to regret that I cannot point out more of the -characters would be useless. I am not deeply studied in the political -history of that day; to those who are, must be delegated the task of -more particular explanation. - -The two most distinguished persons in the opposite group are exalted -to the pillory. Over a figure of Fanny the Phantom, who is dressed -in a white sheet, the engraver has written "Conspiracy." In one -hand she holds a small hammer, and in the other a lighted taper, -with which she sets fire to a _North Briton_ that is fastened on the -breast of Esquire Wilkes, above whose head is written "Defamation." -The patriot is depicted with a most rueful countenance and empty -pockets. On the steps below are such a company as we generally see -assembled on these great occasions. Two Highlanders, one of whom is -grasping a purse, and with most significant grin pointing to the -_profane cheeld_ who had dared to abuse his clan, and reprinted -Howell's _Description of Scotland_:[150] by his belt and lapels he -appears to be military, and is perhaps meant for Colonel Martin. -Close to him is a Liliputian chimney-sweeper, and a fellow blowing -a cow's horn with force that gives a Boreas-like distension to his -cheeks.[151] This resounding clangour is softened by the cheering -notes of the sweet-sounding violin, while the growling bagpipe gives -a thorough bass to the whole. Still further to keep up the spirits -of the company, a woman is retailing gin from a keg inscribed with -the two initials "J. W.," and a schoolboy amusing himself, _à la -Teniers_, with Mr. Wilkes' shoes. To complete his degradation, the -Bishop's Abigail so skilfully trundles her well-soaked mop, that he -enjoys the full benefit of her mud-coloured drops. - -The group behind is partly made up of British sailors and soldiers, -each of whom exhibit a most melancholy spectacle of the fortune of -war. One lion-hearted veteran, having had both legs and arms lopped -off in the service of his country, has his oak-like trunk borne to -the borders of the platform upon a porter's knot,[152] where, with -three other disabled warriors, he waits in the hope of catching a -few drops from the fountain of honour; but alas! the stream which -ascends from a fire-plug behind the gate falls on the heads of a mob -who are in the background. Some of these may possibly be cripples, -for a crutch as well as several bludgeons is flourished in the air. -At a window, over which is painted "Dr. Cant's," and "Man Midwife," a -bishop is confirming two adults by the imposition of hands. Whether -by this representation the artist intended to hint that this father -of the church confirmed them in their political errors, the reader -must determine according to his political creed; but thus far we -may venture to decide, Doctor Thomas Seeker, then Archbishop of -Canterbury, was the person intended to be delineated. At the rooms -where the Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and -Commerce then met, a number of persons, by the help of a crane, are -dragging up a large silver palette, on which is written "Premium." -The man instructing the workmen is, I believe, intended for Mr. Peter -Templeman, then Secretary to the Society; as one of the figures in -the first floor is probably Lord Romney, then their President. - -Behind this we discover the New Church in the Strand; and on -the opposite side a triumphal column; a structure with the word -"Hospital" inscribed on the front, and a scaffolding, with workmen -completing a very large new building. These, I apprehend, Hogarth -intended as descriptive of the great things which were to be -undertaken and carried on during the reign of a monarch who gloried -in the name of Briton. That the workmen and scaffolding bear allusion -to those extensive and ponderous premises now known by the name of -Somerset Place, there can be little doubt: the artist, with an eye -of prophetic anticipation, has placed his scaffolding nearly on the -spot where the building now stands;[153] and conscious of the time it -must take to pile up such a quantity of stone, has not represented it -built, but building. - -The figure of Lord Bute is a strong likeness, and in the turn of head -very similar to Ramsay's portrait which Mr. Ryland engraved. Pointing -out the first Lord Holland by making the outline of his cap in the -form of a fox's head, is a whimsical idea. Even the sculptured lion's -shaggy front has strong markings. He is by no means pleased with the -distribution of those honours that he is made a party in bestowing, -but goes through his business with a very wry face. To the poor -maimed sailors and soldiers, Callot could not have given much more -spirit. Though upon so small a scale, they have all the hardihood -of their order; and both in them and the elevated party[154] on the -opposite side, variety and distinction of character is accurately and -nicely discriminated. - - - - -JOHN WILKES, ESQ. - - _Drawn from the Life, and etched in aquafortis, by William - Hogarth. Published according to Act of Parliament, May 16, 1763._ - - "Enough of Patriots,--all I ask of man - Is only to be honest as he can. - Some have deceiv'd, and some may still deceive, - 'Tis the fool's curse at random to believe. - Would those who, by opinion plac'd on high, - Stand fair and perfect in their country's eye, - Maintain that honour,--let me in their ear - Hint this essential doctrine--PERSEVERE." - - --CHURCHILL. - -[Illustration: JOHN WILKES ESQ^R.] - - -The bitter satire upon Hogarth's domestic habits, talents, taste, -originality, and orthography, which has been before noticed, would -have discomposed a less irritable man, and warranted any retaliation -in the power of the pencil; but he seems to have felt little -uneasiness, and under a conviction that the overcharged blunderbuss -which had been aimed at him had burst in the explosion and wounded -his assailant more than himself, did not think it necessary to -point fire-arms at an adversary whose intemperate zeal had defeated -his avowed purpose. Under the influence of these impressions, the -artist has not attempted to be severe; nor can I comprehend upon -what ground this plate has been denominated a satire, for it is not -a caricature, but a very accurate and striking resemblance, with the -identical accompaniments which I most firmly believe Mr. Wilkes would -at that time have chosen as the decorations of his portrait. The cap -of liberty, "Heaven-descended, godlike liberty," above his head, and -two political papers which he acknowledged himself to have written, -on his right hand. One of these papers is marked with that memorable -number, which was in its day a kind of shibboleth to the party.[156] -On the same table with the two _North Britons_ is a pen and ink, -importing that the person delineated is an author, a character the -Colonel could hardly be ashamed of. These premises granted to the -artist,--and - - "The very head and front of his offending - Hath this extent, no more,"-- - -what crime has he committed? He has given an engraving, which cannot -indeed be considered as a compliment, because it is not a flattering -likeness; but I do not see why it should have been received as a -sarcasm. If we add to this the time when, and place where, it was -taken; if we consider how glorious the situation!--how interesting -the moment!--it is delineating a general at the instant of victory; -and so far from bearing any marks of satire, that it might be almost -mistaken for a panegyric. To say the truth, though his friend -Churchill has thrown the picture into shadow, and given only the dark -tints, Mr. Wilkes seemed willing enough to receive it as such;[157] -and I am informed, frequently told his friends that he every day -grew into a stronger resemblance. The pleasant and philosophic -indifference with which he spoke of it at the time, did honour to -his good humour and his good sense. He declared himself very little -concerned about the case of his soul, as he was only tenant for life, -and that the best apology for his person was, that he did not make -himself.[158] - -Such was the style of Mr. Wilkes. As to Mr. Churchill, his temper -must have forsaken him; and every circumstance taken into the -account, when describing this transaction, he seems to have forgotten -that satire ought to be at least seasoned with truth. Brilliant -diction, animated verse, and high-sounding words, are very apt to -impose. Churchill's is a muse of fire, and dazzles the eye like the -sun in its meridian splendour; it fascinates the mind, and carries -the most sober reason into the airy regions of imagination. This -considered, before I insert his bitter satire, it will be but fair to -give a candid and dispassionate relation of that which provoked it. - -When Mr. Wilkes was the second time brought from the Tower to -Westminster Hall, and had in one day an honourable acquittal, an -universal acclamation, and a proud triumph, Mr. Hogarth attended in -the court of Common Pleas, and, as was his constant custom, carried -a port-crayon in his pocket. Surrounded by a crowd of spectators, -who came to see how the cause would terminate, he took a portrait -of Mr. Wilkes: delineated a patriot at the moment when he was in -his own person asserting the cause of liberty, and by his own trial -ascertaining the law of his country. But, replies an advocate for -Mr. Wilkes, "Hogarth certainly intended to make a caricature."[159] -To this I have no other answer than pointing to the print, which, -being compared with the original, will prove to every dispassionate -inquirer what it is my wish to establish, _i.e._ that it has been -mistaken for a caricature, from the world knowing the provocation -which Hogarth had previously received, and which every man felt would -have justified the most severe retaliation. - -What! Consider it as a satire to hand down to posterity a patriot at -the moment of inspiration! "While every breast caught the holy flame -of liberty, and all his fellow-citizens were animated in his cause, -for they knew it to be their own cause, that of their country, and -of its laws. It was declared to be so a few hours afterwards by the -unanimous sentence of the Judges of that Court; and they were all -present." - -From the style in which the bard relates this transaction, a plain -reader would be tempted to think that Hogarth had stolen into -Westminster Hall with a quiver full of poisoned arrows hung to his -girdle, and, like a murderous ruffian, hid himself behind the arras, -that he might seize the first opportunity of assassinating this -paragon of patriotism. - - "When Wilkes, our countryman, our common friend, - Arose, his king, his country to defend; - When tools of power he bar'd to public view, - And from their holes the sneaking cowards drew; - When Rancour found it far beyond her reach, - To soil his honour, and his truth impeach,-- - What could induce thee, at a time and place - Where manly foes had blush'd to show their face, - To make that effort which must damn thy name, - And sink thee deep, deep in the grave with shame! - Did Virtue move thee? no, 'twas pride, rank pride, - And if thou hadst not done it, thou hadst died. - Malice (who, disappointed of her end, - Whether to work the bane of foe or friend, - Preys on herself, and driven to the stake, - Gives virtue that revenge she scorns to take) - Had killed thee, tottering on life's utmost verge, - Had Wilkes and Liberty escaped thy scourge. - "When that great charter which our fathers bought - With their best blood, was into question brought; - When big with ruin, o'er each English head, - Vile Slavery hung suspended by a thread; - When Liberty, all trembling and aghast, - Fear'd for the future, knowing what was past; - When every breast was chill'd with deep despair, - Till reason pointed out that PRATT was there. - Lurking most ruffian-like behind a screen, - So plac'd all things to see, himself unseen, - Virtue with due contempt saw[160] Hogarth stand, - The murderous pencil in his palsied hand. - What was the cause of Liberty to him, - Or what was Honour! let them sink or swim, - So he may gratify without control, - The mean resentments of his selfish soul, - Let Freedom perish, if, to Freedom true, - In the same ruin Wilkes may perish too." - -This animated and high-coloured rhapsody, beautiful and fervid as it -is, when reduced to plain prose, ends in Liberty, Virtue, and Honour -being all aghast, because Hogarth took Mr. Wilkes' portrait without -the customary fee! But my readers may be weary of the subject. -Enough-- - - "Enough of Wilkes,--to good and honest men - His actions speak much stronger than my pen." - - --CHURCHILL. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -THE BRUISER, CHARLES CHURCHILL (ONCE THE REVEREND), - - _In the Character of a Russian Hercules, regaling himself after - having killed the Monster Caricatura, that so sorely galled his - virtuous friend, the heaven-born Wilkes.--Published Aug. 1, 1763._ - - "But he had a club, - This dragon to drub, - Or he had ne'er don't, I warrant ye." - - --_Dragon of Wantley._ - -[Illustration: THE REV. C. CHURCHILL.] - - -Enraged by the publication of Mr. Wilkes' portrait, Mr. Charles -Churchill drew his gray goose quill, and wrote a most virulent and -vindictive satire, which he entitled _An Epistle to William Hogarth_. -The painter might be a very good Christian, but he was not blest with -that meek forbearance which induces those who are smote on one cheek -to turn the other also. He was an old man, but did not wish to be -considered as that feeble, superannuated, helpless animal which the -poet had described. He scarcely wished to live - - "After his flame lack'd oil, to be the snuff - Of younger spirits." - -Apprehensive that the public might construe his delaying a reply to -proceed from inability, he did not wait the tedious process of a new -plate, but took a piece of copper on which he had, in the year 1749, -engraven a portrait of himself and dog, erased his own head, and in -the place of it introduced the divine with a tattered band and torn -ruffles,--"No Lord's anointed, but a Russian bear." - -In this I must acknowledge there was more ill-nature than wit.[161] -It is rather caricature than character, and more like the coarse -mangling of Tom Browne than the delicate yet wounding satire of -Alexander Pope. For this rough retort he might, however, plead -the poet's precedent. His opponent had brandished a tomahawk; and -Hogarth, old as he was, wielded a battle-axe in his own defence. A -more aggravated provocation cannot well be conceived. The attack was -unmerciful, unmanly, unjust. Let the following extracts speak for -themselves:-- - - "Amongst the sons of men, how few are known - Who dare be just to merit not their own! - Superior virtue and superior sense, - To knaves and fools will always give offence: - Nay, men of real worth can scarcely bear-- - So nice is jealousy--a rival there." - -Such is the introduction to Churchill's Epistle, and I believe the -reader will grant that it is quite as applicable to the poet as the -painter. After some lines which would apply to any other subject as -well as that under consideration, he thus proceeds: - - "Hogarth,--I take thee, Candour, at thy word, - Accept thy proffer'd terms, and will be heard; - Thee have I heard with virulence declaim, - Nothing retained of Candour but the name; - By thee have I been charg'd in angry strains,[162] - With that mean falsehood which my soul disdains." - -How furious the onset! but if the lines are brought back to plain -prose, they will run thus: "Hogarth, thy word is candour. I adopt -the same word, and having heard _thee_ declaim with a virulence that -retained nothing of candour but the name, thou shalt hear me declaim -in the same style." - -That this is the precise meaning which the poet intended, I will not -presume to assert; but that he has pursued his theme in a manner that -amply justifies my supposition, the following lines will abundantly -prove:-- - - "Hogarth, stand forth,--nay, hang not thus aloof, - Now Candour, now thou shalt receive such proof, - Such damning proof, that henceforth thou shalt fear - To tax my wrath, and own my conduct clear. - Hogarth, stand forth,--I dare thee to be try'd - In that great court where Conscience must preside: - At that most solemn bar hold up thy hand; - Think before whom, on what account you stand. - Speak, but consider well--from first to last - Review thy life, view every action past: - Nay, you shall have no reason to complain,-- - Take longer time, and view them o'er again: - Canst thou remember from thy earliest youth,-- - And as thy God must judge thee, speak the truth,-- - A single instance where, self laid aside, - And justice taking place of fear and pride, - Thou with an equal eye didst genius view, - And give to merit what was merit's due? - Genius and merit are a sure offence, - And thy soul sickens at the name of sense." - -If Hogarth had so marked an aversion to all genius, merit, and sense, -it is rather singular that he should have lived on such intimate -terms with Mr. Churchill and Mr. Wilkes. - - "Is any one so foolish to succeed? - On Envy's altar he is doomed to bleed. - Hogarth, a guilty pleasure in his eyes, - The place of executioner supplies: - See how he gloats, enjoys the sacred feast, - And proves himself by cruelty a priest." - -What does the bard prove himself? - - "Whilst the weak artist to thy whims a slave, - Would bury all those powers which nature gave, - Would suffer blank concealment to obscure - Those rays that jealousy could not endure; - To feed thy vanity would rust unknown, - And to secure thy credit, blast his own: - In Hogarth he was sure to find a friend; - He could not fear, and therefore might commend. - But when his spirit, rous'd by honest shame, - Shook off that lethargy, and soar'd to fame; - When with the pride of man resolv'd and strong, - He scorn'd those fears which did his honour wrong; - And on himself determin'd to rely, - Brought forth his labours to the public eye, - No friend in thee could such a rebel know, - He had desert, and Hogarth was his foe." - -He must be a very weak artist indeed who would bury the talents which -Nature gave, to gratify the whims of another man; but admitting a -painter had been found "who suffered blank concealment to obscure -those rays which jealousy could not endure," I cannot comprehend how -it concerned Hogarth. His walk was all his own: even now he need not -dread a rival there. Mr. Churchill acknowledges that in walks of -humour - - "Hogarth unrivall'd stands, and shall engage - Unrivall'd praise to the most distant age!" - -Being unrivalled, I do not see why he should dread a rival; nor can -I conceive he could be jealous of talents which he must be conscious -were inferior to his own. - -After some very harsh lines on envy, in no degree applicable to -Hogarth, and the rhapsody about Wilkes and Liberty, which I have -noticed in the preceding plate, this high priest of the Temple of -Cruelty, rejoicing in his strength and triumphing in the pride of his -youth, without any reverence for gray hairs or respect for superior -talents, sets up the war-whoop, and springs upon a feeble old man -with the ferocity of a hungry cannibal: - - "With all the symptoms of assur'd decay, - With age and sickness pinch'd and worn away, - Pale quivering lips, lank cheeks, and faltering tongue, - The spirits out of tune, the nerves unstrung, - The body shrivell'd up, the dim eyes sunk - Within their sockets deep; the weak hams shrunk, - The body's weight unable to sustain, - The stream of life scarce trembling through the vein: - More than half kill'd by honest truths which fell, - Through thy own fault, from men who wish'd thee well; - Canst thou e'en thus thy thoughts to vengeance give, - And dead to all things else, to malice live? - Hence, dotard, to thy closet; shut thee in, - By deep repentance wash away thy sin; - From haunts of men, to shame and sorrow fly, - And on the verge of death learn how to die." - -That a man in the vigour of life--for Churchill was not much more -than thirty years old--should draw so pitiable a picture of age -and decrepitude, and then attack that age and decrepitude with a -barbarity so savage, is horrible! But the baleful spirit of party -overthrows the barriers of truth, eradicates philanthropy, and severs -those social, I had almost said sacred, bonds which ought to unite -and attach men of genius to each other. Had Churchill felt his own -beautiful apostrophe, he would have blotted the lines with his tears: - - "Ah! let not youth to insolence allied, - In heat of blood, in full career of pride, - Possessed of genius, with unhallowed rage, - Mock the infirmities of reverend age. - The greatest genius to this fate may bow." - - --_Churchill's Epistle to Hogarth._ - -After advising the painter to learn how to die, the bard proceeds; -repeats and amplifies what he had before written on Hogarth's envy, -gives a metrical version of that _North Briton_ which ridicules the -artist's love of flattery, and beautifully versifies Mr. Wilkes' -prosaic abuse of poor "Sigismunda." - -In the lines which follow, he first throws the gauntlet, and then -draws such a picture of the man he has challenged as must have -subdued the rancour of an assassin; so far from being a stimulus to -revenge, it excites pity, and concludes in the form of an apology: - - "For me, who, warm and zealous for my friend, - In spite of railing thousands, will commend; - And no less warm and zealous 'gainst my foes, - Spite of commending thousands will oppose; - I dare thy worst, with scorn behold thy rage, - But with an eye of pity view thy age; - Thy feeble age, in which as in a glass - We see how men to dissolution pass. - Thou wretched being, whom on reason's plan, - So chang'd, so lost, I cannot call a man, - What could persuade thee at this time of life - To launch afresh into this sea of strife? - Better for thee, scarce crawling on the earth, - Almost as much a child as at thy birth, - To have resign'd in peace thy parting breath, - And sunk unnotic'd in the arms of death. - Why would thy gray, gray hairs resentment brave, - Thus to go down with sorrow to the grave? - Now by my soul it makes me blush to know - My spirits could descend to such a foe. - Whatever cause thy vengeance might provoke, - It seems rank cowardice to give the stroke." - -Seems, Churchill!--nay, it is! - -The following address to the artist may, with infinitely more -propriety, be applied to the bard; whose name I have therefore -ventured to insert in the place where he has left the name of Hogarth: - - "With so much merit, and so much success, - With so much power to curse, so much to bless, - Would he have been man's friend instead of foe, - Churchill had been a little god below. - Why, then, like savage giants fam'd of old, - Of whom in Scripture story we are told, - Dost thou in cruelty that strength employ, - Which Nature meant to save, not to destroy? - Why dost thou, all in horrid pomp array'd, - Sit grinning o'er the ruins thou hast made? - Most rank ill-nature must applaud thy art, - But even Candour must condemn thy heart." - - --_Epistle to Hogarth._ - -The whole of this unfeeling composition is dictated by the same -spirit, and written in much the same style, as the lines I have -quoted; it reflects more dishonour on the satirist than on the -subject of his abuse. - -To enumerate further examples would be painful as well as tedious: -the _graven image_ must be attended to. - -It represents Mr. Churchill in the character of a bear hugging a -foaming tankard of porter,[163] and like another Hercules, armed with -a knotted club, to attack hydras, destroy dragons, and discomfit -giants! - -From the two letters "N. B." inscribed on the club, it appears that -the painter considered Churchill as a writer in the _North Briton_; -and from the words "infamous fallacy, Lie the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th," -etc., on each of the knots, that he also considered him as a poet who -did not pay the strictest regard to truth. - -To designate more positively the object of his ridicule, and render -this rude representative still more ludicrous, it is decorated with a -band and a pair of ruffles; and with these characteristic ornaments, -though it remains a good bear, it becomes a sort of overcharged -portrait of the reverend satirist, and I really think resembles him. - -Hogarth's favourite dog Trump, who had been his companion in the -portrait from which this is altered, retains his original situation -on the outside of the picture frame, but is now contemptuously -treating and trampling upon the Epistle to his master. Near him lie -two books, on one of which is written, "_A New Way to Pay Old Debts_, -a comedy, by Massinger:" on the other, "_A List of Subscribers to the -North Briton_." To intimate the poverty of those who wrote it, the -pyramid is crowned by a begging-box; and beneath, as emblems of art, -lie a pencil and palette. - -In this state the print was published; but the gentleman whom it -offended asserting that it proved the painter in his dotage, he -refuted their calumny by the following spirited addition:-- - -In the form of a framed picture on the painter's palette, is placed -a small drawing, which may serve as a sort of political postscript -to his first plate of "The Times," or a kind of prelude to the -second. It represents Mr. Pitt reclining in a similar position to -that of Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey, and is probably meant -as allusive to his having retired from public business, to enjoy -the _otium cum dignitate_, a short time before. The background is -composed of a pyramidical piece of marble, from the top of which -is suspended a millstone, inscribed "£3000," in allusion to his -saying that "Hanover was a millstone round the neck of England," and -afterwards increasing the public burdens by accepting a pension of -£3000 a year. It is suspended by a thread, and must, if it falls, -dash him to pieces. This was Hogarth's idea of crushing popularity. -To heighten the ridicule, though recumbent, he is firing a mortar -at the symbol of peace, "a dove with an olive branch" perched on -the standard of England; but his artillery is not powerful enough -to reach the mark; the powder fails in its effect, the ball falls -short of its object. In most of his measures Mr. Pitt was supported -by the city of London, and to this our great metropolis Hogarth -appears to allude, in making the two Guildhall giants, with each of -them a pipe of tobacco in his mouth, supporters of the Monument. The -tubes with Indian weed evidently hint at his great Creolian friend, -Mr. Alderman Beckford. To denote that Mr. Pitt was the sovereign of -their affections, and kept the master-key of their iron chests, one -of these representatives of the city is giving him supreme rule, -by placing upon his head "the likeness of a kingly crown." The -other holds a shield, on which is emblazoned the arms of Austria, -which the statesman indignantly spurns. At an opposite corner, the -painter has exhibited himself, in the humble character of a showman, -drilling Messrs. Churchill and Wilkes through the varying steps of -a political minuet. The first he has represented under the type -of a bear in a laced hat, and the last as a monkey astride upon a -mop-stick, with the cap of liberty at the top of it. In his left hand -he holds a check-string, which being fastened to his two pupils, -answers the purpose of a bridle, and in his right brandishes a -cat-o'-nine-tails. That the two quadrupeds may dance to some tune, -a figure without features, intended as a second delineation of Earl -Temple, is playing on the fiddle.[164] - -Such is Hogarth's representation; and in the poem of _Independence_, -which Churchill published in September 1764, he admirably parries -the caricature by a most spirited description of himself. In this he -has evidently taken Hogarth's print for his model. Having described -a lean, long, lank, and bony figure, designed for a then unpopular -nobleman, he thus proceeds: - - "Such was the first. The second was a man - Whom Nature built on a quite different plan: - A bear, whom from the moment he was born, - His dam despis'd, and left unlick'd in scorn: - A Babel, which, the power of art outdone, - She could not finish when she had begun: - An utter chaos, out of which no might - But that of God could strike one spark of light. - Broad were his shoulders, and from blade to blade - A H---- might at full length have laid. - Vast were his bones; his muscles twisted strong; - His face was short, but broader than 'twas long. - His features, though by nature they were large, - Contentment had contrived to overcharge, - And bury meaning; save that we might spy - Sense low'ring on the pent-house of his eye,[165] - His arms were two twin oaks; his legs so stout, - That they might bear a mansion-house about. - Nor were they,--look but at his body there, - Design'd by fate a much less weight to bear. - "O'er a brown cassock, which had once been black, - Which hung in tatters on his brawny back, - A sight most strange and awkward to behold, - He threw a covering of blue and gold. - "Just at that time of life when man by rule - The fop laid down, takes up the graver fool, - He started up a fop, and fond of show, - Look'd like another Hercules turn'd beau; - A subject met with only now and then, - Much fitter for the pencil than the pen. - Hogarth would draw him, Envy must allow, - Ev'n to the life,--were Hogarth living now."[166] - -In the following letter written to his friend Mr. Wilkes, and dated -August 3, 1763, Churchill considers Hogarth as already dead:-- - - "I take it for granted you have seen Hogarth's print against me. - Was ever anything so contemptible? I think he is fairly _felo - de se_. I think not to let him off in that manner, although I - might safely leave him to your notes.[167] He has broken into - my pale of private life, and set that example of illiberality - which I wished; of that kind of attack which is ungenerous in the - first instance, but justice in return.[168] I intend an elegy - on him, supposing him dead; but *---- *---- tells me, with a - kiss, he will be really dead before it comes out; that I have - already killed him, etc. How sweet is flattery from the woman we - love![169] and how weak is our boasted strength, when opposed to - beauty and good sense with good-nature." - -Mr. Churchill died at Boulogne in his thirty-second year, and was in -November 1764 buried at Dover: at which place, on a small stone in -the old churchyard, formerly belonging to the collegiate Church of -St. Martin, is the following inscription: - - "Life to the last enjoy'd, here Churchill lies." - - - - -APPENDIX, - -CONSISTING OF - -ENGRAVED HEADPIECES FOR RECEIPTS, ETC. - - -At the time that Hogarth lived, we were not compelled to have our -receipts sanctioned with a royal stamp; but upon the receipts given -by Hogarth, there was "the stamp of genius, the broad seal of -nature!" Whoever paid a subscription had a written acknowledgment -beneath a little print. This invariably abounded in wit, but had -seldom any immediate allusion to the series with which it was -presented.[170] His great works I consider as giving not only a -general mirror of the human mind, but a history of the local and -temporary customs of the day when they were published. I have -therefore arranged them in the order they were engraved; and thinking -that the receipts, or less important prints, would break the chain by -which they are in a degree connected, I have reserved the following -short memoranda for an appendix:-- - - -BOYS PEEPING AT NATURE.[171] - - "Thou, Nature, art my goddess." - -[Illustration: BOYS PEEPING AT NATURE.] - -This plate was engraved in 1733, and intended as the -subscription-ticket to "The Harlot's Progress;" but in the original -design Nature was habited in a petticoat, and the boy who now points -to a three-quarters portrait was placed before her, and represented -as curiously stooping down to examine the fringe. Some of the -artist's friends, suggesting that this was too ludicrous an idea for -the public, the copper was thrown aside. - -In the year 1751, Hogarth etched his burlesque "Paul," as a -receipt-ticket to the large "Paul before Felix." In a printed -catalogue of his works, dated 1754, I find "Paul before Felix" marked -£0, 7s. 6d., and "Paul before Felix, in the manner of Rembrandt," £0, -0s. 0d. Applications for the gratis etching were very frequent; and -he found, to his great mortification, that the public were more eager -to possess his little print than either of the large ones. To punish -their want of taste, he gave away no more, but fixed the price at -two-thirds of the sum at which he published the large print. - -This alteration of his first plan left the great "Paul" without a -ticket. To have given him the "Peeping Boys" in their original -state, would have been a species of sacrilege; they were chastened, -grouped as they now are, and transferred from the "Harlot" to the -"Apostle." - -Though the circumstance from which it received a name was done away, -and very little either novel or striking remains, he retained the -original title of "Boys Peeping at Nature."[172] - - -FIVE GROUPS OF HEADS. - -THE LAUGHING AUDIENCE. - - "Let him laugh now, who never laugh'd before; - And he who always laugh'd, laugh now the more." - -[Illustration: THE LAUGHING AUDIENCE.] - -From the first print that Hogarth engraved to the last that he -published, I do not think there is one in which character is more -displayed than in this very spirited little etching. It is much -superior to the more delicate engravings from his designs by other -artists, and I prefer it to those that were still higher finished by -his own burin. - -The prim coxcomb with an enormous bag, whose favours, like those of -Hercules between Virtue and Vice, are contended for by two rival -orange girls, gives an admirable idea of the dress of the day; when, -if we may judge from this print, our grave forefathers, defying -nature and despising convenience, had a much higher rank in the -temple of Folly than was then attained by their ladies. It must be -acknowledged that since that period the softer sex have asserted -their natural rights; and, snatching the wreath of fashion from the -brow of presuming man, have tortured it into such forms--that were it -possible, which certes it is not, to disguise a beauteous face!--But -to the high behest of fashion all must bow. - -Governed by this idol, our beau has a cuff that for a modern fop -would furnish fronts for a waistcoat, and a family fire-screen might -be made of his enormous bag. His bare and shrivelled neck has a close -resemblance to that of a half-starved greyhound; and his face, -figure, and air, form a fine contrast to the easy and _degagée_ -assurance of the grisette whom he addresses. - -The opposite figure, nearly as grotesque, though not quite so formal -as _its_ companion, presses _its_ left hand upon _its_ breast,[173] -in the style of protestation, and eagerly contemplating the -superabundant charms of a beauty of Rubens' school, presents her with -a pinch of comfort.[174] Every muscle, every line of his countenance, -is acted upon by affectation and grimace, and his queue bears some -resemblance to an ear-trumpet. - -The total inattention of these three polite persons to the business -of the stage, which at this moment almost convulses the children -of Nature who are seated in the pit, is highly descriptive of that -refined apathy which characterizes our people of fashion, and raises -them above those mean passions that agitate the groundlings. - -One gentleman, indeed,[175] is as affectedly unaffected as a man -of the first world. By his saturnine cast of face and contracted -brow, he is evidently a profound critic, and much too wise to -laugh. He must indisputably be a very great genius; for, like -Voltaire's Poccocurante, nothing can please him; and while those -around open every avenue of their minds to mirth, and are willing -to be delighted, though they do not well know why, he analyzes -the drama by the laws of Aristotle, and finding those laws are -violated, determines that the author ought to be hissed instead of -being applauded. This it is to be so excellent a judge; this it is -which gives a critic that exalted gratification which can never -be attained by the illiterate: the supreme power of pointing out -faults where others discern nothing but beauties, and preserving a -rigid inflexibility of muscle while the sides of the vulgar herd are -shaking with laughter. These merry mortals, thinking with Plato that -it is no proof of a good stomach to nauseate every aliment presented -them, do not inquire too nicely into _causes_; but, giving full scope -to their risibility, display a set of features more highly ludicrous -than I ever saw in any other print. It is to be regretted that the -artist has not given us some clue by which we might have known -what was the play which so much delighted his audience: I should -conjecture that it was either one of Shakspeare's comedies, or a -modern tragedy. Sentimental comedy was not the fashion of that day. - -The three sedate musicians in the orchestra, totally engrossed by -minims and crotchets, are an admirable contrast to the company in the -pit. - - -THE LECTURE. - -DATUR VACUUM. - - "No wonder that science, and learning profound, - In Oxford and Cambridge so greatly abound, - When so many take thither a little each day, - And we see very few who bring any away." - -[Illustration: THE LECTURE.] - -I was once told by a fellow of a college that he would never purchase -Hogarth's works, because Hogarth had in this print ridiculed one of -the Universities. I endeavoured to defend the artist, by suggesting -that this was not intended as a picture of what Oxford is now, but -of what it was in days long past: that it was that kind of general -satire with which no one should be offended, etc. etc. His reply -was too memorable to be forgotten: "Sir, the Theatre, the Bench, -the College of Physicians, and the Foot Guards, are fair objects of -satire; but those venerable characters who have devoted their whole -lives to feeding the lamp of learning with hallowed oil, are too -sacred to be the sport of an uneducated painter. Their unremitting -industry embraced the whole circle of the sciences, and in their -logical disputations they displayed an acuteness that their followers -must contemplate with astonishment. The present state of Oxford it -is not necessary for me to analyze, as you contend that the satire is -not directed against that." - -In answer to this observation, which was uttered with becoming -gravity, a gentleman present remarked as follows: "For some of the -ancient customs of this seminary of learning I have much respect; -but as to their dry treatises on logic, immaterial dissertations on -materiality, and abstruse investigations of useless subjects, they -are mere literary legerdemain. Their disputations being usually -built on an undefinable chimera, are solved by a paradox. Instead -of exercising their power of reason, they exert their powers -of sophistry, and divide and subdivide every subject with such -casuistical minuteness, that those who are not convinced are almost -invariably confounded. This custom, it must be granted, is not quite -so prevalent as it once was: a general spirit of reform is rapidly -diffusing itself; and though I have heard cold-blooded declaimers -assert that these shades of science are become the retreats of -ignorance and the haunts of dissipation, I consider them as the great -schools of urbanity, and favourite seats of the _belles lettres_. By -the _belles lettres_ I mean history, biography, and poetry; that all -these are universally cultivated, I can exemplify by the manner in -which a highly accomplished young man, who is considered as a model -by his fellow-collegians, divides his hours. - -"At breakfast I found him studying the marvellous and eventful -history of _Baron Munchausen_; a work whose periods are equally -free from the long-winded obscurity of Tacitus, and the asthmatic -terseness of Sallust. While his hair was dressing, he enlarged his -imagination and improved his morals by studying Doctor what's his -name's _Abridgment of Chesterfield's Principles of Politeness_. -To furnish himself with biographical information, and add to his -stock of useful anecdote, he studied the _Lives of the Highwaymen_; -in which he found many opportunities of exercising his genius and -judgment in drawing parallels between the virtues and exploits of -these modern worthies, and those dignified and almost deified ancient -heroes whose deeds are recorded in Plutarch and Nepos. - -"With poetical studies he is furnished by the English operas, which, -added to the prologues, epilogues, and odes of the day, afford him -higher entertainment than he could find in Homer or Virgil: he has -not stored his memory with many epigrams, but of puns has a plentiful -stock, and in _conundra_ is a wholesale dealer. At the same college I -know a most striking contrast, whose reading"---- But as his opponent -would hear no more, my advocate dropped the subject; and I will -follow his example. - -It seems probable that when the artist engraved this print he had -only a general reference to an university lecture; the words _datur -vacuum_ were an after-thought. I have seen prints without the -inscription, and in some of the early impressions it is written with -a pen. - -The scene is laid at Oxford, and the person reading, universally -admitted to be a Mr. Fisher of Jesus College, _registrat_ of the -university, with whose consent this portrait was taken, and who lived -until the 18th of March 1761. That he should wish to have such a face -handed down to posterity in such company is rather extraordinary; -for all the band, except one man, have been steeped in the stream -of stupidity. This gentleman has the profile of penetration; a -projecting forehead, a Roman nose, thin lips, and a long pointed -chin. His eye is bent on vacancy: it is evidently directed to the -moon-faced idiot that crowns the pyramid, at whose round head, -contrasted by a cornered cap, he with difficulty supresses a laugh. -Three fellows on the right hand of this fat, contented "first-born -transmitter of a foolish face," have most degraded characters, and -are much fitter for the stable than the college. If they ever read, -it must be in Bracken's _Farriery_, or _The Country Gentleman's -Recreation_. Two square-capped students a little beneath the top, one -of whom is holding converse with an adjoining profile, and the other -lifting up his eyebrows and staring without sight, have the same -misfortune that attended our first James--their tongues are rather -too large. A figure in the left-hand corner has shut his eyes to -think; and having, in his attempt to separate a syllogism, placed the -forefinger of his right hand upon his forehead, has fallen asleep. -The professor, a little above the book, endeavours by a projection of -his under lip to assume importance; such characters are not uncommon: -they are more solicitous to look wise than to be so. Of Mr. Fisher it -is not necessary to say much: he sat for his portrait for the express -purpose of having it inserted in the "Lecture!"--We want no other -testimony of his talents. To the whole tribe I bid a long and last -adieu. - - "Ye dull deluders, truth's destructive foes, - Cold sons of fiction, clad in stupid prose; - Ye treacherous leaders, who, yourselves in doubt, - Light up false fires, and send us far about; - Still may the spider round your pages spin, - Subtle and slow, her emblematic gin! - Buried in dust, and lost in silence dwell, - Most potent, grave, and reverend friends--farewell!" - - -REHEARSAL OF THE ORATORIO OF JUDITH. - - "O cara, cara! silence all that train; - Joy to great chaos! let division reign." - -[Illustration: THE ORCHESTRA.] - -The oratorio of _Judith_ was written by Esquire William Huggins,[176] -honoured by the music of William de Fesch, aided by new painted -scenery and _magnifique_ decoration, and in the year 1733 brought -upon the stage. As De Fesch[177] was a German and a genius, we may -fairly presume it was well set; and there was at that time, as at -this, a sort of musical mania, that paid much greater attention -to sounds than to sense. Notwithstanding all these points in her -favour, when the Jewish heroine had made her theatrical _début_, -and so effectually smote Holofernes, - - "As to sever - His head from his great trunk for ever, and for ever," - -the audience compelled her to make her exit. To set aside this -partial and unjust decree, Mr. Huggins appealed to the public, -and printed[178] his oratorio. Though it was adorned with a -frontispiece designed by Hogarth and engraved by Vandergucht, the -world could not be compelled to read, and the unhappy writer had -no other resource than the consolatory reflection, that his work -was superlatively excellent, but unluckily printed in a tasteless -age:[179] a comfortable and solacing self-consciousness, which hath, -I verily believe, prevented many a great genius from becoming his own -executioner. - -To paint a sound is impossible; but as far as art can go towards it, -Mr. Hogarth has gone in this print. The tenor, treble, and bass of -these ear-piercing choristers are so decisively discriminated, that -we all but hear them. - -The principal figure, whose head, hands, and feet are in equal -agitation, has very properly tied on his spectacles; it would have -been prudent to have tied on his periwig also, for by the energy of -his action he has shaken it from his head, and, absorbed in an eager -attention to true time, is totally unconscious of his loss. - -A _gentleman_--pardon me, I meant _a singer_--in a bag-wig, -immediately beneath his uplifted hand, I suspect to be of foreign -growth. _It_ has the engaging air of _an importation from Italy_. - -The little figure in the sinister corner is, it seems, intended for a -Mr. Tothall, a woollen-draper, who lived in Tavistock Court, and was -Hogarth's intimate friend. - -The name of the performer on his right hand, - - "Whose growling bass - Would drown the clarion of the braying ass," - -I cannot learn; nor do I think that this group were meant for -particular portraits, but a general representation of the violent -distortions into which these crotchet-mongers draw their features on -such solemn occasions. - -Even the head of the bass viol has air and character: by the band -under the chin, it gives some idea of a professor,[180] or what is I -think called a Mus. D. - -The words now singing, "The world shall bow to the Assyrian throne," -are extracted from Mr. Huggins' oratorio; the etching is in a most -masterly style, and was originally given as a subscription-ticket to -"The Modern Midnight Conversation." - -I have seen a small political print on Sir Robert Walpole's -administration, entitled, _Excise, a new Ballad Opera_, of which this -was unquestionably the basis. Beneath it is the following learned and -poetical motto: - - "Experto crede Roberto." - - "Mind how each hireling songster tunes his throat, - And the vile knight beats time to every note: - So Nero sung while Rome was all in flames, - But time shall brand with infamy their names." - - -ET PLURIMA MORTIS IMAGO. - -THE COMPANY OF UNDERTAKERS, - -[Illustration: THE COMPANY OF UNDERTAKERS.] - -"Beareth sable, an urinal proper, between twelve quack heads of -the second, and twelve cane heads OR, consultant. On a chief[181] -nebulæ,[182] ermine, one complete doctor[183] issuant checkie, -sustaining in his right hand a baton of the second. On his dexter -and sinister side, two demi-doctors, issuant of the second, and two -cane heads issuant of the third: the first having one eye couchant, -towards the dexter side of the escutcheon; the second faced per pale -proper, and gules guardant, with this motto, 'Et plurima mortis -imago.'" - -It has been said of the ancients, that they began by attempting to -make physic a science, and failed; of the moderns, that they began -by attempting to make it a trade, and succeeded. This company are -moderns to a man; and if we may judge of their capacities by their -countenances, are indeed a most sapient society. Their practice is -very extensive, and they go about taking guineas, - - "Far as the weekly bills can reach around, - From Kent Street end, to fam'd St. Giles's pound." - -Many of them are unquestionably portraits;[184] but as these grave -and sage descendants of Galen are long since gone to that place where -they before sent their patients, I am unable to ascertain any of -them, except the three who are for distinction placed in the chief -or most honourable part of the escutcheon. Those whom, from their -exalted situation, we may naturally conclude the most distinguished -and sagacious leeches of their day, have marks too obtrusive to be -mistaken. He towards the dexter side of the escutcheon is determined -by an eye in the head of his cane to be the all-accomplished -Chevalier Taylor,[185] in whose marvellous and surprising history, -written by his own hand, and published in 1761, is recorded such -events relative to himself and others[186] as have excited more -astonishment than that incomparable romance, _Don Belianis of -Greece_, _the Arabian Nights_, or _Sir John Mandeville his Travels_. - -The centre figure, arrayed in a harlequin jacket, with a bone, or -what the painter denominates a baton, in the right hand, is generally -considered designed for Mrs. Mapp, a masculine woman, daughter to -one Wallin, a bone-setter at Hindon, in Wiltshire. This female -Thalestris, incompatible as it may seem with her sex, adopted her -father's profession, travelled about the country, calling herself -_crazy Sally_; and like another Hercules, did wonders by strength -of arm! An old gentleman, who knew this lady, assures me, that -notwithstanding all the unkind things which her medical brethren -said of her ignorance, etc., she was entitled to an equal portion of -professional praise with many of those who decried her; for not more -than nineteen out of twenty of her patients died under her hands. - -The _Grub Street Journal_, and some other papers of that day, -are crowded with paragraphs[189] relative to her cures and her -consequence. - -On the sinister side is Doctor Ward, generally called Spot Ward, -from his left cheek being marked with a claret colour. This gentleman -was of a respectable family,[191] and though not highly educated, had -talents very superior to either of his coadjutors. - -For the chief, this must suffice; as for the twelve quack heads and -twelve cane heads OR, consultant, united with the cross-bones at the -corners, they have a most mortuary appearance, and do indeed convey a -general image of death. - -In the time of Lucian, a philosopher was distinguished by three -things: his avarice, his impudence, and his beard. In the time of -Hogarth, medicine was a mystery,[192] and there were three things -which distinguished the physician: his gravity, his cane head, and -his periwig. With these leading requisites, this venerable party -are most amply gifted. To specify every character is not necessary; -but the upper figure on the dexter side, with a wig like a weeping -willow, should not be overlooked. His lemon-like aspect must curdle -the blood of all his patients. In the countenances of his brethren -there is no want of acids; but however sour each individual was in -his day-- - - "A doctor of renown, - To none but such as rust in health unknown, - And save or slay, this privilege they claim, - Or death, or life, the bright reward's the same."[193] - -Ward, Taylor, and Mapp were considered as a proper trio by other -persons besides Hogarth: some lines beginning as follows, were -written about the latter end of 1736:-- - - "In this bright age three wonder-workers rise, - Whose operations puzzle all the wise; - To lame and blind, by dint of manual slight, - Mapp gives the use of limbs, and Taylor sight. - But greater Ward," etc. - - -GROUP OF HEADS - -INTENDED TO DISPLAY THE DIFFERENCE BETWIXT CHARACTER AND CARICATURE. - - For a further explanation of this difference, see the Preface to - _Joseph Andrews_.[194] - -[Illustration: CHARACTERS CARICATVRAS] - -"In Lairesse; still more in Poussin; and most of all in Raphael; -simplicity, greatness of conception, tranquillity, superiority, -sublimity the most exalted! Raphael can never be enough studied, -although he only exercised his mind on the rarest forms, the grandest -traits of countenance. - -"In Hogarth, alas, how little of the noble, how little of beauteous -expression, is to be found in this, I had almost said, false prophet -of beauty! But what an immense treasure of features, of meanness in -excess, vulgarity the most disgusting, humour the most irresistible, -and vice the most unmanly!"--Lavater's _Essays on Physiognomy_. - -In this rhapsody there is some truth; but the philosopher of Zurich -should have recollected that Hogarth could not be expected to attain -what he never attempted. Sublimity exalted, simplicity angelic, -and the ideal grandeur of superior beings, he left to those who -delineated subjects which demanded such characters; and contented -himself with representing Nature, not as it ought to be, but as he -found it. That he had little reverence for the dreams of those who -portrayed imaginary beings, I have had occasion to remark; but that -he respected their waking thoughts is evinced in this print, where -the heads of three figures from Raphael's Cartoons are introduced -under the article character, in opposition to the fantastic -caricatures of Cavalier Chezze, Annibal Characi,[195] and Leonard -da Vinci: the last of whom, I am very sorry to see so classed; for -to his anatomical knowledge the late Dr. Hunter gave the strongest -testimony, by declaring his intention to publish a volume illustrated -by the designs of this artist, as anatomical studies. - -I have often seen three engravings from the same picture, by an -Italian, an English, and a French artist, which, with a tolerable -correctness of outline, have in their general characters a -dissimilarity that is astonishing. Each engraver gives his national -air. The three heads from Raphael, at the bottom of this print, are -etched by Hogarth, and sufficiently marked to determine the master -from whence they are copied; but their grandeur, elevation, and -simplicity is totally evaporated. - -With angels, apostles, and saints, he was not happy. In the group -placed above them he has been more successful. Hogarth was less of a -mannerist than almost any other artist; for though there are above -a hundred profiles, I discover no copy from another painter; no -repetition of his own works: they are all delineated from nature, and -the most careless observer must discover many resemblances: to the -physiognomist, they are an inexhaustible study. - -This print was given as a subscription-ticket to the six plates of -"Marriage à la Mode." - - -SARAH MALCOLM. - - _Executed opposite Mitre Court, Fleet Street, on the 7th of March - 1733, for the murder of Mrs. Lydia Duncombe, Elizabeth Harrison, - and Anne Price._ - - "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?" - -[Illustration: SARAH MALCOLM.] - -The portrait of this sanguinary wretch Mr. Hogarth painted in -Newgate; and to Sir James Thornhill, who accompanied him, he made the -following observation: "I see by this woman's features that she is -capable of any wickedness." - -Of his skill in physiognomy I entertain a very high opinion; but -as Sarah sat for her picture after condemnation, I suspect his -observation to resemble those prophecies which were made after the -completion of events they professed to foretell. She has a locked-up -mouth, wide nostrils, and a penetrating eye, with a general air that -indicates close observation and masculine courage; but I do not -discover either depravity or cruelty; though her conduct in this, as -well as some other horrible transactions,[196] evinced an uncommon -portion of both, and proved her a Lady Macbeth in low life. - -Her infatuation in lurking about the Temple after perpetration of the -crime for which she suffered, it is difficult to account for upon any -other principle than that general remorse and horror which tortures -the minds of those who shed a brother's blood; and that overruling -Providence, which by means most strange brings their guilt to light -and their crimes to punishment; - - "For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak - With most miraculous organ." - -The circumstances which attended her commitment and execution were -briefly as follows:-- - -At noon, on Sunday the fourth of February 1733, Mrs. Duncombe, a -widow lady, upwards of eighty years old (who lived up four pair -of stairs, next staircase to the Inner Temple library); Elizabeth -Harrison, another elderly person who was her companion; and Anne -Price, her servant, about seventeen years of age, were found murdered -in their beds. The maid-servant, who was supposed to be murdered -first, had her throat cut from ear to ear; but by her cap being off, -and her hair much entangled, it was thought she had struggled. The -companion, it was supposed, was strangled; though there were two or -three wounds in her throat that appeared as if they had been given by -a nail. Mrs. Duncombe was probably smothered, and killed last, as she -was found lying across the bed with a gown on; though the others were -in bed. A trunk in the room was broke open and rifled. - -About one o'clock at night, a Mr. Kerrell, who had chambers on the -same staircase, came home, and to his great surprise found Sarah -Malcolm, who was his laundress, in his room: he asked her how she -came to be there at so unseasonable an hour, and if she had heard of -any one being taken up for the murder? She replied, "that no person -had yet been taken up; but a gentleman who had chambers beneath, and -had been absent two or three days, was violently suspected." "Be that -as it may," said Mr. Kerrell, "you were Mrs. Duncombe's laundress, -and no one who knew her shall ever come into these chambers until her -murderer is discovered: pack up your things and go away." While she -was thus employed, Kerrell observing a bundle upon the floor, and -thinking her behaviour suspicious, called a watchman to whom he gave -her in charge. When she was taken away, and he searched his rooms -with more care, he found several bundles of linen, and a silver pint -tankard, with the handle bloodied. This confirmed his suspicions, -and, accompanied by a friend, he went down stairs, and asked the -watchman where he had taken Malcolm? This faithful guardian of the -night very coolly replied, "that she had promised to come again -next day, and he had let her go." Mr. Kerrell declaring that if she -was not immediately produced he would commit him to Newgate in her -stead, the fellow went in search of her; and though her lodging -was in Shoreditch, he found this infatuated woman sitting between -two other watchman at the Temple gate. She was then committed to -Newgate; and there was found concealed in her hair, eighteen guineas, -twenty moidores, five broad pieces, five crown pieces, and a few -shillings.[197] - -On her examination before Sir Richard Brocas, she confessed to -sharing in the produce of the robbery, but declared herself innocent -of the murders; asserting upon oath, that Thomas and James Alexander, -and Mary Tracy, were principal parties in the whole transaction. -Notwithstanding this, the coroner's jury brought in their verdict of -wilful murder against Sarah Malcolm only, it not then appearing that -any other person was concerned. Her confession they considered as a -mere subterfuge, none knowing such people as she pretended were her -accomplices. - -A few days after, a boy about seventeen years of age was hired as -a servant by a person who kept the Red Lion alehouse at Bridewell -Bridge; and hearing it said in his master's house that Sarah Malcolm -had given in an information against one Thomas and James Alexander, -and Mary Tracy, said to his master, "My name is James Alexander, and -I have a brother named Thomas, and my mother nursed a woman where -Sarah Malcolm lived." Upon this acknowledgment, the master sent -to Alstone, turnkey of Newgate; and the boy being confronted with -Malcolm, she immediately charged him with being concealed under Mrs. -Duncombe's bed, previous to letting in Tracy and his brother, by -whom and himself the murders were committed. On this evidence he was -detained; and frankly telling where his brother and Tracy were to -be found, they also were taken into custody, and brought before Sir -Richard Brocas. Here Malcolm persisted in her former asseverations; -but the magistrate thought her unworthy of credit, and would have -discharged them; but being advised by some persons present to act -with more caution, committed them all to Newgate. Their distress was -somewhat alleviated by the gentlemen of the Temple Society, who, -fully convinced of their innocence, allowed each of them one shilling -per diem during the time of their confinement. This ought to be -recorded to the honour of the _law_, as it has not often been the -_practice_ of the profession. - -Though Malcolm's presence of mind seems to have forsaken her at the -time when she lurked about the Temple, without making any attempt -to escape, and left the produce of her theft in situations that -rendered discovery inevitable, she by the time of trial recovered -her recollection, made a most acute and ingenious defence,[198] and -cross-examined the witnesses with all the black-robed artifice of a -gentleman bred up to the bar. The circumstances were, however, so -clear as to leave no doubt in the minds of the court, and the jury -brought in their verdict--guilty. - -On Wednesday the 7th of March, about ten in the morning, she was -taken in a cart from Newgate to the place of execution, facing Mitre -Court, Fleet Street,[199] and there suffered death on a gibbet -erected for the occasion. She was neatly dressed in a crape mourning -gown, white apron, sarcenet hood, and black gloves: carried her -head aside with an air of affectation, and was said to be painted. -She was attended by Doctor Middleton of St. Bride's, her friend -Mr. Peddington, and Guthrie, the ordinary of Newgate. She appeared -devout and penitent, and earnestly requested Peddington would print -a paper she had given him[200] the night before, which contained, -not a confession of the murder, but protestations of her innocence; -and a recapitulation of what she had before said relative to the -Alexanders, etc. This wretched woman, though only twenty-five years -of age, was so lost to all sense of her situation, as to rush into -eternity with a lie upon her lips. She much wished to see Mr. -Kerrell, and acquitted him of every imputation thrown out at her -trial. - -After she had conversed some time with the ministers, and the -executioner began to do his duty, she fainted away; but recovering, -was in a short space afterwards executed. Her corpse was carried to -an undertaker's on Snow Hill, where multitudes of people resorted, -and gave money to see it: among the rest, a gentleman in deep -mourning kissed her, and gave the attendants half-a-crown. - -Professor Martin dissected this notorious murderess, and afterwards -presented her skeleton, in a glass case, to the Botanic Gardens at -Cambridge, where it still remains. - -The portrait from which this print was engraved is remarkably well -painted, and now in the possession of Mr. Josiah Boydell, at West -End. It was probably copied from that which was painted in Newgate, -which was in the collection of Mr. Horace Walpole, at Strawberry -Hill. It will not appear extraordinary that Hogarth should have -delineated her twice, when we consider, that from the print he -published there were four copies, besides one in wood, which was -engraved for the _Gentleman's Magazine_. - -Thus eager were the public to possess the portrait of this most -atrocious woman. All these delineations were what the painters call -half-lengths; her whole figure was never engraved, except for this -work. - - -COLUMBUS BREAKING THE EGG. - - "Why on these shores are we with pride survey'd, - Admir'd as heroes, and as gods obey'd! - Unless great acts superior merit prove, - And vindicate the bounteous powers above; - That when, with wond'ring eyes, our martial bands - Behold our deeds transcending our commands, - Such, they may cry, deserve the sov'reign state, - Whom those that envy dare not imitate?" - -[Illustration: COLUMBUS AND THE EGG.] - -Such is the animated apostrophe of Sarpedon in the energetic numbers -of Alexander Pope, and it is not more appropriate to Glaucus than to -the illustrious character who gives the subject of this print. Had -a Greek discovered America, Sculpture would have erected statues and -raised altars to his honour; Architecture built temples to perpetuate -his fame; and by Poetry he must have been deified. - -The new creation of Columbus--for a new creation it may be -denominated--absorbed every former discovery, and sunk to -insignificance the boasted conquests of Alexander. Previous to this -voyage a world of water formed what was deemed an insurmountable -barrier between the inhabitants of one planet;--"He spread his canvas -wings, and pass'd the mound." - -As our own Newton unveiled the celestial globe,[201] and removed that -cloud which had before shadowed the face of heaven, Columbus, from -the bare inspection of a map of one world, concluded that there must -be another. He sailed west, brought together continents that nature -had severed, and was the first adventurer in a voyage which, from its -consequent enterprises, has added more square miles to the dominions -of European powers than the sovereigns by whom he was employed -possessed acres.[202] His perseverance must have been equal to -his genius; for he had to struggle with the rooted prejudices of his -contemporaries,[203] as well as the freezing indifference of those -monarchs to whom he tendered his service. - -Genoa, which was his native country, treated his scheme as visionary. -Our seventh Henry, mean, cold-blooded, and avaricious, would not -hazard the loss of that treasure which he adored; and the Emperor had -neither gold to fit out a fleet nor harbours to receive shipping. -The attention of John the Second of Portugal was engrossed by -the coast of Africa, and Charles the Eighth of France was in his -minority. The Venetians had maritime power, and maritime spirit; -but Columbus was a Genoese, and had too much of the _amor patriæ_ -to throw such advantages as he foresaw would accrue to those who -prosecuted his plan into the hands of the rivals and enemies of his -country. He fixed his hopes on the court of Spain, and his hopes -were not disappointed. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile -had by their marriage united all Spain under one dominion: to them -he applied; and, with a perseverance that could only be supported -by a conscious certainty that his project, if undertaken, must be -successful, attended their court eight tedious years! At the end of -this time, two merchants, trusting to royal security, and advancing -seventeen thousand ducats towards fitting out the vessels, Columbus -received his patent; and on the 23d of August 1492 set sail, with -three ships only, from the port of Palos in Andalusia.[204] - -In less than a month after his departure from the Canaries, he -discovered the first island in America;[205] and like our immortal -Admiral Drake, found the fair harvest he had hoped to reap in great -danger of being blighted by the murmuring and discontent of his -crew. To check this mutinous spirit required both resolution and -address, and in Columbus they were united. He quieted his companions, -and, with true catholic formality, baptized his new discovery St. -Salvadore. He soon after made the Lucayan Islands, together with -those of Cuba and Hispaniola, now called St. Domingo; and, at the -end of nine months, returned with some of the natives, a quantity -of gold, and sundry curious productions of the places he had -visited,--all of which he laid at the feet of Isabella and Ferdinand. - -Their Majesties were neither insensible of his merit nor ungrateful -for his services: they suffered him to be seated, and added a -privilege heretofore confined to grandees--the honour of being -covered in their presence; and crowned their favours by creating him -admiral and viceroy of whatever he should add to their dominions. - -Columbus having found a new empire, and explored a new world, was -now considered as more than mortal. Those who had loudly decried -his plan as the chimerical project of a madman, were most eager to -patronize the heaven-born navigator, and embark under his command. He -a second time set sail, not with three small vessels, but an armament -of seventeen ships, manned by a crew who almost adored him, and -discovered Jamaica, the Caribbees, and several other islands. - -His elevation had been too sudden to be permanent; his talents -were too transcendent to be seen without envy. Notwithstanding the -services which he had rendered to Spain, the dignities with which he -was invested, and the flattering prospects with which he set sail, he -was brought home prisoner, by judges who had been sent on board the -same vessel as spies upon his conduct; and arrived at the court where -he had a short time before been covered with laurels--loaded with -chains. - -For this mortifying degradation he was indebted to Fonseca, Bishop of -Burgos, the intendant of the expedition. Isabella, ashamed of seeing -a man to whom she was indebted for the brightest jewel in her crown -thus dishonoured, ordered him to be immediately set at liberty; but -it does not appear that either queen or king punished the person by -whose machinations he had been so ignominiously treated. Whether -his royal protectors feared that he would retain whatever he might -acquire, wished personally to scrutinize his actions, or had any -other inducement, he was not suffered to leave Spain for upwards of -four years. At the expiration of that time he was sent upon another -voyage, discovered the continent at six degrees distant from the -equator; and saw that part of the coast on which Carthagena has been -since built. - -After several years' absence he returned to Spain, and in the year -1506 died at Valladolid. By the king's command, he was honoured with -a magnificent funeral; and on the marble which covered his remains -was the following concise and characteristic epitaph: COLUMBUS GAVE -CASTILE AND LEON A NEW WORLD. - -By the success of his first voyage, doubt had been changed into -admiration; from the honours with which he was rewarded, admiration -degenerated into envy. To deny that his discovery carried in its -train consequences infinitely more important than had resulted from -any made since the creation, was impossible. His enemies had recourse -to another expedient, and boldly asserted that there was neither -wisdom in the plan nor hazard in the enterprise. - -When he was once at a Spanish supper, the company took this ground; -and being by his narrative furnished with the reflections which -had induced him to undertake his voyage, and the course that he -had pursued in its completion, sagaciously observed, that "it was -impossible for any man a degree above an idiot to have failed of -success. The whole process was so obvious, it must have been seen by -a man who was half blind! Nothing could be so easy!" - -"It is not difficult, now I have pointed out the way," was the answer -of Columbus; "but easy as it will appear, when you are possessed -of my method, I do not believe that, without such instruction, any -person present could place one of these eggs upright on the table." -The cloth, knives, and forks were thrown aside, and two of the party, -placing their eggs as required, kept them steady with their fingers. -One of them swore there could be no other way. "We will try," said -the navigator; and giving an egg, which he held in his hand, a smart -stroke upon the table, it remained upright.[206] The emotions which -this excited in the company are expressed in their countenances. In -the be-ruffed booby at his left hand, it raises astonishment; he is -a DEAR ME! man, of the same family with Sterne's Simple Traveller, -and came from _Amiens only yesterday_. The fellow behind him, beating -his head, curses his own stupidity; and the whiskered ruffian, with -his forefinger on the egg, is in his heart cursing Columbus. As to -the two veterans on the other side, they have lived too long to be -agitated with trifles: he who wears a cap exclaims, "Is this all!" -and the other, with a bald head, "By St. Jago, I did not think -of that!" In the face of Columbus there is not that violent and -excessive triumph which is exhibited by little characters on little -occasions: he is too elevated to be overbearing; and, pointing to -the conical solution of his problematical conundrum, displays a calm -superiority, and silent internal contempt. - -Two eels, twisted round the eggs upon the dish, are introduced -as specimens of the line of beauty; which is again displayed on -the table-cloth, and hinted at on the knife blade. In all these -curves there is peculiar propriety; for the etching was given as a -receipt-ticket to the _Analysis_, where this favourite undulating -line forms the basis of his system.[207] - -In the print of Columbus there is evident reference to the -criticisms[208] on what Hogarth called his own discovery; and in -truth the connoisseurs' remarks on the painter were dictated by a -similar spirit to those of the critics on the navigator: they first -asserted there was no such line, and when he had proved that there -was, gave the honour of discovery to Lomazzo, Michael Angelo, etc. -etc. - - -THE FIVE ORDERS OF PERIWIGS. - -AS THEY WERE WORN AT THE LATE CORONATION, MEASURED ARCHITECTONICALLY. - -[Illustration: (the five orders of periwigs)] - - _Advertisement (inserted under the Print)._ - - "In about seventeen years[210] will be completed, in six volumes - folio, price fifteen guineas, _The Exact Measurements of the - Periwigs of the Ancients_; taken from the Statues, Bustos, and - Basso Relievos of Athens, Palmyra, Balbec, and Rome; by Modesto, - Periwig-meter, from Lagado. _N.B._--None will be sold but to - Subscribers.--Published as the Act directs, Oct. 15, 1761, by W. - Hogarth." - -Previous to this print being published, Mr. Stuart, generally -denominated Athenian Stuart, advertised that he intended to publish -by subscription a book, entitled _The Antiquities of Athens_, -measured and delineated by himself and Nicholas Revitt, painters -and architects.[211] The first volume of this excellent work -was published in 1762; it received, and we may add it deserved, -approbation from every man who had taste enough to relish those -stupendous monuments of ancient art, which the barbarians who now -possess the country either destroy or suffer to moulder into dust. -"To leave a trace behind" was the object of Stuart's book; but -Hogarth had so long accustomed himself to laugh at the grand gusto of -the Grecian school, that I can readily suppose he at length thought -any plan which might damp the public ardour for antiquity would be a -correction of national taste.[212] With this view he published the -print now under consideration; and if ridicule were a test of truth, -it must have effected his purpose. Minute accuracy is the leading -feature of Stuart's book; minute accuracy is the leading point in -Hogarth's satire. - -Under the shadowy umbrage of his remarkable wigs he has introduced -several remarkable characters. - -Two profiles in the upper row, under the title "Episcopal," or -"Parsonic," are said to be intended for Doctor Warburton, late Bishop -of Gloucester, and Doctor Samuel Squire, then Bishop of St. David's. - -The next row is inscribed "Old Peerian," or "Aldermanic;" the first -face, in every sense _full_, is said to be meant for Lord Melcombe; -but considering the class he is placed in, may as well represent some -sagacious alderman of the day. At the opposite end of the same line -is that remarkable winged periwig, worn by Sir Samuel Fludyer, Lord -Mayor of London, at the coronation. - -A row beneath is made up of the "Lexonic," and under it is the -"Composite," or half-natural, and the "Queerinthian," or Queue de -Renard. Even with them is a barber's block, crowned with a pair -of compasses, and marked "Athenian measure." This I believe was -intended as a caricature of Mr. Stuart, and considered as such is an -overcharged resemblance. Above the block is a table of references, -and facing it a scale, divided into nodules, or noddles; nasos, -or noses; and minutes. To enter fully into the spirit of this -whimsical print, the spectator must be acquainted with the terms of -architecture. - -At the bottom is a portrait of her Majesty, distinguished by the -simplicity of her head-dress, and five right honourable ladies, -whose different ranks are pointed out by their coronets, and who -all wear the _tryglyph membretta_ drop, or neck-lock. Those who -knew their persons will find no difficulty in ascertaining their -respective titles. The bed-chamber ladies in 1761 were--Duchess of -Ancaster, Duchess of Hamilton, Countess of Effingham, Countess of -Northumberland, Viscountess Weymouth, Viscountess Bolingbroke.[213] -About the centre of the print is the following inscription:-- - -"Lest the beauty of these capitals should chiefly depend as usual on -the delicacy of the engraving, the author hath etched them with his -own hand." - -They are etched with spirit, and in spelling--incorrect as can be -desired by Mr. Hogarth's greatest enemy. The word Advertisement is, -in latter impressions, corrected by an _e_ being inserted on the -Countess of Northumberland's left shoulder. - - -THE BENCH. - - "CHARACTER, CARICATURE, AND OUTRE." - -[Illustration: THE BENCH.] - -"There are hardly any two things more essentially different than -character and caricature; nevertheless they are usually confounded -and mistaken for each other, on which account this explanation is -attempted. - -"It has ever been allowed, that when a character is strongly marked -in the living face, it may be considered as an index of the mind, to -express which with any degree of justness in painting, requires the -utmost efforts of a great master. Now, that which has of late years -got the name of caricature, is, or ought to be, totally divested of -every stroke that hath a tendency to good drawing; it may be said -to be a species of lines that are produced rather by the hand of -chance than of skill: for the early scrawlings of a child, which do -but barely hint an idea of a human face, will always be found to -be like some person or other, and will often form such a comical -resemblance, as in all probability the most eminent caricatures of -these times will not be able to equal with design; because their -ideas of objects are so much the more perfect than children's, that -they will unavoidably introduce some kind of drawing: for all the -humorous effects of the fashionable manner of caricaturing chiefly -depend on the surprise we are under at finding ourselves caught with -any sort of similitude in objects absolutely remote in their kind. -Let it be observed, the more remote in their nature, the greater is -the excellence of these pieces. As a proof of this, I remember a -famous caricature of a certain Italian singer, that struck at first -sight, which consisted only of a straight perpendicular line, with a -dot over it. As to the French word _outré_, it is different from the -foregoing, and signifies nothing more than the exaggerated outline of -a figure, all the parts of which may be in other respects a perfect -and true picture of human nature. A giant or a dwarf may be called a -common man _outré_; so any part, as a nose, or leg, made bigger or -less than it ought to be, is that part _outré_, which is all that is -to be understood by this word, injudiciously used to the prejudice -of character."--_See_ Excess, _Analysis of Beauty_, chap. 6. - -The unfinished group of heads in the upper part of this print was -added by the author in October 1764, and was intended as a further -illustration of what is here said concerning character, caricature, -and _outré_. He worked upon it the day before his death, which -happened the 26th of that month. - -The system which Mr. Hogarth has laboured to establish in the above -inscription, and which I think the genuine system, he has not -illustrated with his usual felicity in the print to which it is -annexed. - -It was published in 1758, and in its first state exhibited a view of -the Court of Common Pleas, and portraits of the four sages who then -sat on that Bench.[214] Lord Chief-Justice Sir John Willes is the -principal figure; on his right hand is Sir Edward Clive, and on his -left Mr. Justice Bathurst, and the Honourable William Noel. - -In this state the print gave character only; for though the robes of -my Lord Chief-Justice may have a shade of the _outré_, they in no -degree approach to that caricature which the unfinished group added -to the plate in 1764 was intended to display. Had the artist lived to -finish them, they might have given weight to his assertions, but in -their present state do not much illuminate his doctrine. - -The picture, from which each of the prints considerably vary, -was originally the property of Sir George Hay, and is now in the -possession of Mr. Edwards. - - -THE BEGGARS' OPERA. - - "The charge is prepar'd; the lawyers are met; - The judges all rang'd (a terrible show!) - I go undismayed,--for death is a debt, - A debt on demand,--so take what I owe. - Then farewell, my love,--dear charmers, adieu; - Contented I die,--'tis the better for you. - Here ends all dispute the rest of our lives, - For this way at once I please all my wives." - -[Illustration: BEGGARS' OPERA ACT III.] - -From the third act of this very instructive and popular opera, Mr. -Hogarth has selected the subject of this print. The scene is laid in -Newgate, and the point of time seems to be about the fifty-third air, -which is sung by the elegant and accomplished - - -CAPTAIN MACHEATH. - - "Which way shall I turn me? how shall I decide? - Wives, the day of our death, are as fond as a bride. - One wife is too much for most husbands to hear; - But two at a time, there's no mortal can bear. - This way, and that way, and which way I will, - What would comfort the one, t'other wife would take ill. - -POLLY. - - "But if his own misfortunes have made him insensible to mine,--a - father, sure, will be more compassionate. Dear, dear sir, sink - the material evidence, and bring him off at his trial,--Polly - upon her knees begs it of you. - - "When my hero in court appears, - And stands arraign'd for his life, - Then think of poor Polly's tears, - For ah! poor Polly's his wife. - Like the sailor he holds up his hand, - Distress'd on the dashing wave; - To die a dry death at land - Is as bad as a wat'ry grave. - And alas, poor Polly! - Alack, and well-a-day! - Before I was in love, - Oh! every month was May. - -LUCY. - - "If Peachum's heart is hardened, sure you, sir, will have more - compassion on a daughter: I know the evidence is in your power. - How then can you be a tyrant to me? - - "When he holds up his hand, arraign'd for his life, - O think of your daughter, and think I'm his wife! - What are cannons, or bombs, or clashing of swords? - For death is more certain by witnesses' words. - Then nail up their lips: that dread thunder allay; - And each month of my life will hereafter be May." - -For more of Mr. Gay's moral dialogue I have not room. - -In the year 1727, it was performed sixty-three nights successively, -and in the year 1791 retains its primitive attractions, and is become -what the Drury Lane diary styles a stock play. - -That it is countenanced by the public is an apology for the managers: - - "For they who live to please, must please to live;" - -but that it should have the sanction of the Chamberlain is -astonishing.[215] - -We are told in Mr. Boswell's _Johnson_, that when Gay showed this -opera to his patron, the late worthy Duke of Queensberry, his Grace's -observation was, "This is a very odd thing, Gay; it is either a very -good thing, or a very bad thing." It proved the former, beyond the -warmest expectations of the author or his friends; though Quin, whose -knowledge of the public taste cannot be questioned, was so doubtful -of its success, that he refused to play the part of Macheath, which -was therefore given to Walker. In the same volumes I learn that Dr. -Johnson did not apprehend that the performance of this opera had the -pernicious influence which is ascribed to it.[216] For the Doctor's -talents and virtues I have a reverence bordering upon idolatry: in -questions of morality he can seldom be contradicted, and without -the strongest conviction that in this point he is wrong, I should -tremble to dissent from his opinion; but my deductions are drawn -from examples that to me are conclusive. With three instances that -I had an accidental opportunity of seeing, I was very forcibly -impressed. Two boys, under nineteen years of age, children of worthy -and respectable parents, fled from their friends, and pursued courses -that threatened an ignominious termination to their lives. After much -search they were found engaged in midnight depredations, and in each -of their pockets was the _Beggars' Opera_. - -A boy of seventeen, some years since tried at the Old Bailey for -what there was every reason to think his first offence, acknowledged -himself so delighted with the spirited and heroic character of -Macheath, that on quitting the theatre he laid out his last guinea -in the purchase of a pair of pistols, and stopped a gentleman on the -highway.[217] - -The accumulation of similiar facts is not necessary. Those who think -that lively dialogue, and natural though vulgar repartee, can atone -for what gives new attractions to vice, will, I suppose, continue -to sanction this performance by attending the representation. If -anything could balance the baneful influence it is calculated to -disseminate, Gay must be allowed the praise of having attempted to -stem Italia's liquid stream, which at that time meandered through -every alley, street, and square in the metropolis; the honour of -having almost silenced the effeminate song of that absurd exotic, -Italian opera, which a little previous to this time was the grand -pursuit of the fashionable world. For to the dishonour of true -taste, to the disgrace of common sense, the discords and jarrings of -Cuzzoni, Faustina, and Senesino, excited as much attention, and were -entered into with as much party zeal, as were the political contests -between Lord Chatham and Sir Robert Walpole, or those still more -recent, between Mr. Charles Fox and Mr. William Pitt.[218] - -The method Gay took to rout this army of unnatural auxiliaries -does great honour to his generalship. A new disorder had been -imported from the Continent, and like the plague which was wont to -be imported from Turkey, infected our capital. To lay an embargo -upon sound was impossible; to make an echo perform quarantine, -ridiculous!--he took a better mode, drew up song against sing-song, -and to the soft sonnetteering stanza of Italy, opposed the nervous -old ballad of Britain. He brought into the field the whole force -of three kingdoms, and took his tunes from the most popular songs -of the ancient bards of England, Scotland, and Wales. _Britons -strike home_ was the word; _Chevy Chase_ led the van, was followed -by a _Soldier and a Sailor_ singing _All Joy to great Cæsar_, and -chorussed by _Shenkin of a Noble Race_; when _An old Woman clothed -in Gray_, with a _Bonny Broom_ in her hand, swept the whole swarm -of buzzing caterpillars _Over the Hills and far away_. Goldoni's -opera, I VIAGGIATORI RIDICOLI TORNATI IN ITALIA,[219] was in a degree -realized.[220] - -For Italian music, William Hogarth had about as much respect as John -Gay, and was therefore so well pleased with a subject which threw it -into ridicule, that he not only painted it three times, but has in -several of his miscellaneous prints made these senseless sounds one -great object of his satire. - -The picture from which this is copied was painted in the year 1729, -for Mr. Rich of Covent Garden Theatre; at the sale of his effects -in 1762, it was purchased by the late Duke of Leeds,[221] and is -at this time (1806) in the collection of the noble peer who now -bears that title. When the late Duke permitted Messrs. Boydell to -copy it, the print was engraved by Mr. Blake. To these volumes -is annexed an outline descriptive of the characters, which it is -therefore unnecessary to enumerate in this page.[222] They afford a -good example of the dresses, and what was then called the dignified -manner, of the old school. That any woman should admire such a figure -as Mr. Walker in Macheath, must excite a degree of astonishment; -but to believe for a moment that so attractive a female as Miss -Fenton would choose such an Adonis,[223] must, even in the year 1727, -require a very large portion of dramatic faith. Her charms have -fascinated the Duke of Bolton: his eye is fixed on her face, and his -mind wholly engrossed by the contemplation of that beauty which he -afterwards made his own. Mr. Rich, and Mr. Cock the auctioneer, are -properly enough represented as totally inattentive to the scene. -The poet immediately behind them, saturated by public approbation, -pays no greater regard to the performance than is displayed by -the manager. It had made _Gay rich_, and _Rich gay_, and that was -sufficient. - -As Hogarth was invariably faithful in delineating what he saw, I dare -believe the characters are represented as they were. Considered in -that point, without regard to other merit, it has quite as much value -as many groups of portraits which are published in this our day, and -denominated "Historical Pictures." - -In the beginning of the year 1729, Hogarth painted for a Sir -Archibald Grant two original pictures, "The Committee,"[224] and the -"Beggars' Opera;" but though Sir Archibald paid half-price for them -at the time he gave the order, I cannot positively assert that they -were ever in his possession, for they afterwards got into the hands -of Mr. Huggins, at the sale of whose effects the latter was purchased -by Doctor Monkhouse, of Queen's College, Oxford. It has a frame with -a carved bust of Gay at the top. The late Horace Lord Orford had a -sketch of a scene in the same play. - - -THE INDIAN EMPEROR; OR, THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO: - -[Illustration: THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO.] - -_As performed at Mr. Conduit's, Master of the Mint, before the Duke -of Cumberland, etc._ - - DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. - - CORTEZ. CYDARIA. ALMERIA. ALIBECK. - -ACT. IV.--SCENE 4th.--_A Prison._ - -CYDARIA. - - "More cruel than the tiger o'er his spoil, - And falser than the weeping crocodile; - Can you add vanity to guilt, and take - A pride to hear the conquests which you make? - Go; publish your renown, let it be said - You have a woman, and that lov'd betray'd." - -CORTEZ. - - "With what injustice is my faith accused! - Life! freedom! empire! I at once refus'd; - And would again ten thousand times for you." - -ALMERIA. - - "She'll have too great content to find him true; - And therefore since his love is not for me, - I'll help to make my rival's misery. - Spaniard, I never thought you false before; - Can you at once two mistresses adore? - Keep the poor soul no longer in suspense, - Your change is such, it does not need defence." - -The scene of Hogarth's last drama was Newgate; and in this it is a -Mexican prison, where his pigmy personages are playing their little -parts in one of Dryden's heroic tragedies. - -That these minor performers should prefer rhyme to prose, I can -readily conceive--the jingling of verse is a great help to your short -memory; but that Dryden, "the great high priest of all the Nine," -should so far deviate from nature and outrage common sense as thus -to fetter his dramatic dialogue, is to be accounted for on no other -principle than the vile taste of Charles the Second's vile Court. The -play is dedicated to the most excellent and most illustrious Princess -Anne, Duchess of Monmouth and Buccleuch, wife to the most illustrious -and high-born James Duke of Monmouth; and by that dedication[225] -appears to have been warmly patronized by the most eminent persons of -wit and honour. - -It is a sequel to the _Indian Queen_, written by Dryden and Sir -Robert Howard, which was published two years before. Of this -connection between the two tragedies, notice was given to the -audience by printed bills distributed at the door,[226]--an -expedient which the Duke of Buckingham very happily ridicules in -_The Rehearsal_, when Bayes boasts of the number of bills he has -printed, to instil into the audience some conception of his plot. By -the age of the warlike William of Cumberland, I conjecture that these -embryotic heroes and heroines strutted away their little hour about -the year 1731; and though the play which they are enacting is beneath -the blazing genius of John Dryden, it is well worthy the puny powers -of these puny performers.[227] Lady Sophia Fermor, who plays the -part of Almeria, in 1744 married Lord Granville, and died in 1750. -The prompter was a Mr. T. Hill; and though this reverend gentleman is -in rather too conspicuous a situation, he is not quite so obtrusive -an object as the prompter at the Opera House. The governess playing -with one of the children was Lady Deloraine. Miss Conduit, who -appears as Alibeck, was daughter to Catherine, the niece of Sir Isaac -Newton, and in 1740 married Lord Lymington, eldest son to John first -Earl of Portsmouth. - -The names and additions of three of the auditors are inserted under -the small print. One of the figures has a resemblance to the courtly -Lord Chesterfield. Upon the chimney-piece is the bust of Sir Isaac -Newton, and it is fair to conjecture that the two framed portraits -represent Mr. and Mrs. Conduit. - -The figure leaning on the back of a chair is said to be intended for -the Duke of Montagu; and the two in the background, for the Duke and -Duchess of Richmond. - -Hogarth's original painting is the property of Lord Holland. - -[Illustration: (end of chapter floral icon)] - - - - -THE END. - - -The writer of this catalogue is now come to his last chapter, and has -before him the last plate that Hogarth engraved, which is properly -denominated the _Finis_ to that great painter's works. - -Of the various opinions which the numerous readers of these his -volumes will form at this his conclusion, he can have no certain -judgment; but fears that some of them may be thus anticipated. - -The votary of comedy, who considers Hogarth as a mere burlesque -painter, with whom he only wishes to laugh, will deem this book -too grave; while the saturnine spirit, that looks at him as a -mere sermonic moralist, will say it is not grave enough. The man -who supposes that every character was individual, and expects the -scandalous chronicle of those who were satirized by the artist, will -probably complain that there is too little anecdote; while he that -considers this as a frivolous, gossiping, and anecdotish age, will -say there is too much. - -Some will observe that these volumes are too long, and in the -style of a tired mariner, exult that they see land. In this their -exultation the writer most sincerely participates, but at the same -time acknowledges (so predominant is vanity) that he trusts there -are who would not regret if the work were still longer, who will -correct what they find erroneous without triumphing in their superior -sagacity, and candidly forgive the writer's weakness without too much -glorying in their own strength. - -From the pedantic and quizzical connoisseur I expect no mercy, but -suppose that the book and the writer will be arraigned and condemned -in manner and form following:-- - -"I took up these volumes with the expectation of seeing all the -characters that Hogarth introduced determined, and all his variations -recorded. With respect to the characters, some are mistaken, and -others are omitted; and as to the variations, few are noticed.[228] -Concerning a multitude of invaluable prints, which have singly -produced three times as much as the volume of his prints in their -present state sells for, there is not even a catalogue; there are -many pages of extraneous matter, which I had not patience to read; -every iota of Hogarth I understood without the assistance of this -book." - -With all possible humility the author declareth, that for your use or -benefit he did not compile it. - - "Laugh where you may, be candid where you can." - -That you may know some of the characters of which the writer is -ignorant, he willingly acknowledges; that you may guess at many, -where he sees no ground for conjecture, he cheerfully admits; and -that both you and himself are very frequently mistaken, he firmly -believes. - -The prints are described as they are copied from the present state -of the plates, and the material alterations incidentally noticed. -However great the merit of the tankards and teapots, the waiters and -coats of arms, to reduce them did not come into the present plan; to -commemorate them was unnecessary.[229] The author of these volumes, -from the day he has written man, inspected the works of Hogarth with -delight, but was not fully conscious of their superlative merit -until the compilation of these remarks, in the progress of which -his duty to the public obliged him to examine their design, and -endeavour to illustrate their tendency. In this he has engaged with -the consciousness that there would be error,--which to such a work is -necessarily attached. - -To those readers who are not too fastidious to peruse it with this -allowance, or who have not hitherto looked at Hogarth with the -attention he merits, it is addressed. If it impels them to more -minute inspection of his works, the purpose is answered. - -Yes, great and unrivalled genius! every contemplation of thy works -must be succeeded by admiration! - - -THE BATHOS, OR MANNER OF SINKING IN SUBLIME PAINTINGS.[231] - - _Inscribed to the dealers in dark pictures._ - -[Illustration: THE BATHOS.] - -In five compartments beneath the title are the following -inscriptions:-- - -In the dexter corner is a pyramidical shell inscribed: "The conic -form in which the Goddess of Beauty was worshipped by the ancients -at Paphos in the Island of Cyprus. See the medal struck when a Roman -emperor visited the temple." - -"Simulacrum Deæ non effigie humana, continuus orbis latiori initio -tenuem in ambitum meta modo, exsurgens et ratio in obscuro."--TACIT. -_Hist._ lib. 2. - -In the sinister corner is a white pyramid, round which is twisted the -favourite serpentine line inscribed:-- - -"A copy of the precise line of Beauty, as it is represented on the -first explanatory plate of the 'Analysis of Beauty.'" - -"Venus a Paphiis colitur, cujus simulacrum nulli rei magis assimile, -quam albæ Pyramidi."--MAXIMUS TYRIUS, _Ann._ 157. - -"_Note._--The similarity of these two conic figures did not occur -to the author till two or three years after the publication of the -_Analysis_ in 1754." - -Thus conclude the inscriptions. We will next inquire into the motives -by which the artist was actuated, and the subjects he has intended to -satirize in this his concluding enigmatical and pun-ical print. - - * * * * * - -The labours of this great painter to the passions are now at an end; -and this is the last page of his eventful and instructive histories. -Those which he had formed into a series, added to the single prints, -portraits, etc., had become so numerous as to form a large volume. -A concluding plate seemed necessary; and we are told that, a few -months before he was seized with that malady which deprived society -of one of its greatest ornaments, he had in contemplation a last -engraving. After a dinner with a few social friends at his own table, -enjoying - - "The feast of reason, and the flow of soul," - -the board crowned with wine, and each glass circulating convivial -cheerfulness, he was asked, "What will be the subject of your next -print?" "The end of all things!" was his reply. "If that should be -the case," added one of his friends, "your business will be finished, -for there will be an end of the painter." With a look that conveyed -a consciousness of approaching dissolution, and a deep sigh, he -answered, "There will so; and therefore, the sooner my work is done -the better." With this impulse he next day began this plate, and -seeming to consider it as a terminus to his fame, never turned to the -right or left until he arrived at the end of his journey. - -The aim of this _Omega_ to his own alphabet was twofold; to bring -together every object which denoted the end of time, and throw a -ridicule upon the bathos and profundity of the ancient masters. - -That the bathos is not confined to the poet, but hath at sundry times -and in divers manners been of sovereign use to the painter, I am well -convinced. My opinion was originally formed upon the inspection of -many ancient and modern pictures, innumerable volumes of ancient and -modern prints, and an annual attendance at the Royal Exhibition: it -was confirmed by the perusal of some papers on the arts, which came -into my possession by one of those fortunate accidents that happen -to few men above once in their lives. Walking some years ago through -Harp Alley, I observed a porter carrying an old trunk without a -cover, in which was a little picture in a broad and deep ebony frame, -a few mutilated pamphlets, a parcel of prints, and an old manuscript -volume bound in vellum. He laid down his load at a broker's shop; I -inspected it, and seeing the book inscribed "Mart. Scrib.," purchased -the whole lot, took a hackney coach, and joyfully conveyed my prize -home. Eagerly inspecting the contents, I found the picture was Dutch, -and turned to a tint sombre as the frame: by the help of clear water -I brought out the colours, and-- - - "Oh! Jephtha, judge of Israel,--what a treasure!" - -To have painted it, must have been the labour of a long life. Such a -green stall!--such a cabbage!--a cauliflower!--a string of Spanish -onions!--a bunch of carrots!--a lobster!--a brass kettle!--and -a sunflower!--I never beheld before. So clear! transparent! -vivid!--It was forcible as Rembrandt! brilliant as Rubens!--and for -finishing--the most accurate works of Denner!--the most delicate -pencilling of the Chevalier Vanderweff!--compared with this charming -_tableau_, would appear hasty sketches. - -The pamphlets were German, and touched of the transmutation of -metals; to discover which, who can calculate the loads of charcoal -that have been burnt, the retorts that have been burst, or the heads -that have been turned? That this grand arcanum of nature will at -some future day be revealed, I have no doubt; and there is little -reason to fear but the benefit of the discovery will be reaped by -this island;--because, Britain is highly favoured by the gods; and -several great calculators have clearly proved, that without some -such miraculous assistance, Britain must be undone by her enormous -national debt. - -The prints were Flemish; but these subjects are foreign to my -manuscript. First craving pardon for the digression, to that I -proceed. - -By time[232] it was turned to the colour of old parchment, but that -it was written by the righte cunnynge hand of Martinus Scriblerus -there can be little doubt. - -When he sent some literary memoranda to Arbuthnot,[233] he -recommended to the Doctor "the recovery of others which lay -straggling about the world."[234] - -Let it be also remembered, that though this prodigy of science -presented to our English Cervantes numerous tracts, he might not -think the Doctor would have a proper value for those on painting. -That Martinus was a competent judge of the fine arts, is proved by -his fifth chapter on Sinking in Poetry. Now as the family of the -Scribleri, with all their alliances and collateral relations, have -time immemorial been distinguished for the _cacoëthes scribendi_ of -whatever he was a judge, certes he would write, and that which he -hath written I have happily preserved. A few extracts[235] which -I have inserted will give a general idea of the whole, which is -entitled, THE ART OF SINKING IN PAINTING; and is thus introduced in -the _Prolegomena_:-- - - "Great and manifold have been the benefits (my dear countryman) - which poesy hath derived from that innumerable army of critics - and commentators, who fabricated fences to keep her in bounds, - and bore blazing torches to irradiate her path. Lamentable is it - to consider how few lights have been held out to her sister art; - who, notwithstanding an equal or prior claim, hath been suffered - to wander through her dreary night with no other illumination - than the glow-worm on the bank, or the _ignis fatuus_ in the - ditches. For the use and service of the poet there is an ocean - of commentary; while the painter hath no other stream in which to - slake his thirst for instruction than that which creeps among the - weeds in the meadow, or gurgles over the pebbles in the valley. - - "From intense application to the mysterious tablets of my great - ancestors, for ages professors of astrology and chemistry in the - universities of Germany, I am empowered to see by anticipation. - - "For me it is decreed to strike the rock of nature with the rod - of science, and liberate the fountain of truth, whose waters - shall fertilize this ungenial isle. Ye whose well-poised pinions - enable you to soar above this our terrestrial globe, and dip your - pencils in the rainbow! come and contemplate the magic mirror of - Martinus Scriblerus. - - "Conscious am I that this our divine muse, who hath not unaptly - been styled journeywoman to Nature, is now in a profound sleep; - but in the coming century she shall awake from her trance, - shake the dust from her many-coloured mantle, and dazzle the - surrounding nations. Blest with the power of penetrating the - cloud of time, which is impervious to vulgar sight, I see, as - in a vision, the wonders of another age; and should these my - lucubrations be neglected by my contemporaries, happy am I in - the confidence that by their posterity they will be properly - estimated, and sought for as were the Sibyl's leaves, regarded as - the oracles of Apollo, and considered as the touchstone of true - taste. To the age of whom they are worthy, and who are worthy of - them, I dedicate these my labours. - - "The few who have written upon the fine arts have endeavoured to - inculcate simplicity of action, anatomical correctness, symmetry - of parts, harmony of colouring, easy folding of drapery, and due - attention to the grouping of figures. These rules can only be - classed among the idle dreams of visionary speculation; resign - yourselves unto my guidance, and listen unto the lessons of truth. - - "In every animal there is an original instinct, tending towards - that for which it was by nature designed. In man, there is a - natural bias to the bathos; but he must be instructed, or rather - compelled into any relish or taste for what is denominated the - sublime. - - "To prove this my position, show a collection of drawings or - paintings to a child: it will be irresistibly attracted by - glittering colours, forced expressions, and grotesque, or what - are commonly called caricatured countenances. Let the savage, who - is not vitiated by idle rules, and has never seen painted canvas, - be taken into a picture-gallery,--his natural taste will lead him - to similar objects. What the artists call a quiet picture, he - will quietly pass; but let the figures be crowded, the attitudes - extravagant, and the colours gaudy,--his attention and admiration - are ensured. - - "These facts being admitted, and they cannot be denied, why - should we not take the genuine undebauched disposition of man - in his original state of simplicity, as a better criterion of - truth than that ideal nature which hath misled many painters - and writers; of whose fantastic dogmas I cannot too strongly - caution you to beware. Should you, in the course of your early - studies, have contracted any of this ancient _ærugo_,--it is - corrosive,--consider it as the dross of science, and scatter - it in the air, for with my precepts it cannot coalesce. Ideal - beauty is a childish absurdity. Painting is, or ought to be, an - imitation of nature; and that can never be a good picture which - representeth things that never did or can exist." - -After many more pages to the same purport, this great philosopher -divideth his subject. The table of contents to a few of his chapters, -which will give a general idea of his plan, is hereunto annexed:-- - - "CHAP. 1.--_Of the Story._ - - "The principal character in your piece should be an illustrious - person; but as great men may sometimes, for their recreation and - diversion, or worse purposes, be taken up in mean and trivial - matters, in such situations, it is proved from many right worthy - examples, they may and ought to be delineated. The Emperor - Domitian should be represented killing flies; Nero, playing upon - the fiddle; Julius Cæsar, kicking a football; and Commodus, at a - bull-baiting. - - - "CHAP. 2.--_Relateth unto the Allegory._ - - "To raise an historical picture above vulgar expression, it - should be seasoned with allegory, and elevated with metaphorical - allusions and figures. - - - "CHAP. 3.--_Of the Time._ - - "In this there should be variety; and if your story have not - a sufficient number of great and famous persons to render it - important and interesting, you may embellish it with such - portraitures as suit your purpose. Their not having lived in the - same age or nation is of little import. - - - "CHAP. 4.--_Of the Machinery._ - - "The machinery, _id est_, the celestial and infernal powers, - must be brought into your picture on every great or difficult - occasion. This will not only give your delineation a classical - and learned air, but account for any wonderful action which - the world might think your hero could not perform without - supernatural assistance. - - - "CHAP. 5.--_Treateth of the Episode._ - - "To vary the pleasure of the spectator, an historical picture - should be diversified with an episode; especial care being taken - that it have no congruity with the main subject; for the name - deriveth from that which is superadded to the original plan, and - ought no more to appear a part of it than an insect appeareth as - a part of the animal unto which it adhereth. - - - "CHAP. 6.--_Describeth the nature and end of the Hyperbola, or - Impossible._ - - "This image is of eminent use in giving a cast of grandeur and - greatness to what would, without it, appear trivial and mean. - It excites astonishment; and the majority of mankind being most - delighted with that which is most marvellous, is a good and - sufficient cause for your works being well strewed with wonders." - -For the contents of eighteen succeeding chapters, treating of the -cumbrous, the inflated, the glittering, the infantine, the pun-ical, -the vulgar, and sundry other styles, I have not room, but quitting -the bathos of Martinus Scriblerus, must proceed unto that of William -Hogarth. - -It is well worthy of the title, for a more heterogeneous compound of -ludicrous and serious objects was never displayed in one print. - -Some of his images the artist has gleaned from the common field of -the poor company of punsters, and for others hath soared into the -lofty regions of mythological allegory. He ascends from an inch of -candle setting fire to a print, to the chariot of the sun, which, -with Apollo Pæan and his three fiery coursers, sinks into endless -night. Mounts from the cobbler's end, twisted round a wooden last, -to the world's end, elegantly exemplified by a bursting globe on an -alehouse sign. He has contrasted the worn-out brush with the broken -crown; and opposed to the empty purse a commission of bankrupt, -which, sanctioned with the great seal of a hero upon a white horse, -is issued and awarded against Nature,--by Heaven knows who! He has -joined the huge cracked bell of the cathedral to the broken bottle of -the tavern; and set in opposition to the mutilated column and capital -of Ionia, the rope's end of a man-of-war. The bow which, drawn by -the old English archer, gave force fraught with death to the barbed -arrow, is unstrung and broken. The mutilated firelock, divested of -its tube, shall no more thin the ranks of contending armies. The -tottering tower, funeral yew, death's head, cross-bones, and "_Hic -jacet_" of a country churchyard, are opposed by the hard-worn besom, -blighted oaks, falling sign-post, and unthatched cottage. In what -painters call the sky, we have not only the son of Latona, but Luna -in a veil: in the distance a ship is sinking into the bed of the -ocean, and a gibbet is erected on the shore; to this, in conformity -with the wise institutions of our polished ancestors, and for the -luxury of those strong-beaked birds that feast their young with -blood,--a lord of the creation is suspended.[236] ONCE,-- - - "On our quick'st decrees - The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time - Stole, ere we could effect them." - -NOW,--his scythe, tube, and hour-glass being broken, his progress is -ended! his sinews are unstrung! his hour of dissolution arrived!--and -with those five _capital letters_ that have concluded the labours of -so many learned authors, and which conjoined form the word FINIS,-- - - "He ends his mortal coil, and breathes his last!" - -By his will,--The great globe itself, and all which it inherits, is -bequeathed to Chaos,--appointed sole executor;--and this, his last -act, is witnessed by the _Parcæ_. - -The print of "The Times," that gave rise to so much unmerited -abuse of this wonderful painter and excellent man, is in a blaze. -The palette on which he spread the varying tints of many-coloured -life--broken;--the whip of satire, armed with which he - - "Dar'd the rage - Of the bad men of this degenerate age," - -and scourged those that were safe from the law, and laughed at the -gospel;--the whip of satire--divested of its lash, lies unheeded on -the earth. - -The book of Nature, in which he was so deeply read, and from whence -he drew all his images, is open at the last page. The characters that -compose his pictured tragi-comedies have passed in review before us, -and with the words engraven on the last leaf of that volume which he -so well studied, I will conclude this-- - - -EXEUNT OMNES. - -[Illustration: _HOGARTH'S CREST._] - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] From some late examples in our courts of justice, I have thought -it barely possible that this dignified descendant of crowned heads, -at the same time that he is admiring his own person, may be observing -the Counsellor's attention to his lady, and hoping that he shall find -some future opportunity of detecting her infidelity and obtaining -a divorce. But this is merely conjecture. I wish, for the honour -of human nature, that there had been no example to justify such a -suspicion. - -[2] The following whimsical imitation of Chaucer was written, I -believe, by Hermes Harris:-- - - "Right welle my lerned clerkis it is said, - That womanhoode for manne his use was made; - But naughtie manne liketh not one, or soe, - But wisheth aye unthriftilie for mo; - And when by holie church to one he's tied, - Then for his soule he cannot her abide. - Thus when a dogge first lighteth on a bone, - His taile he waggeth,--gladde thereof y-growne; - But if thilke bone untoe his taile thou tie, - Pardie, he fearing it, away doth flie." - - -[3] Hogarth might intend by this, and the improprieties and -violations of order in the unfinished building seen out of a window, -to hint at the absurdities of the then fashionable architect, William -Kent. As a painter Kent was beneath satire, as an architect he was -above it; but he was protected by Lord Burlington, patronized by Lord -Pembroke, and employed by all who aspired to a character for _virtu_. -Hogarth saw with disgust bordering upon indignation that his taste in -one art, modern gardening (of which he was the acknowledged father), -procured him the reputation of excellence in another, in which he -was grossly ignorant and glaringly erroneous. In some of the grounds -laid out by Kent's directions, he realized that Paradise which Milton -had described; his patrons saw that he could improve nature in their -plantations, and very kindly gave him credit for a power which he -never possessed--that of giving an imitation of nature on his canvas. -By the Dryades his sacrifice had been accepted; but the offering -he laid upon the altar sacred to the fine arts was rejected with -disdain. It was the praise of Hercules that he destroyed monsters and -discomfited giants; it was the praise of William Kent that he cleared -our gardens of their representatives. Before his time the plantations -round the seats of our nobility were a kind of vernal menagerie: -the lion shook his shaggy mane in yew; the dragon waved his wings -in evergreen; and in box, the wild boar displayed his bristled neck -and tusks terrific. Our disciple of true taste cleared away these -fantastic forms, and in their place gave us nature,--"nature to -advantage dressed." But when consulted about interior decorations, -his taste evaporated. The heavy canopy over the nobleman's head, the -ponderous chairs and massy frames which decorate the room, are from -his designs. In some of the old houses of our ancient nobility we see -furniture of a similar appearance, though the greatest part of it, -after passing through the purgatory of a broker's shop, has either -been placed in very inferior situations or consigned to the flames. - -Of Kent's abilities as a painter the public thought so highly, -that he was absurdly enough opposed to Sir James Thornhill. This -circumstance might be one source of Hogarth's dislike; he, however, -took an early opportunity of showing it, by what is called a -"Burlesque of Kent's Altarpiece at St. Clement's Church," but which -Hogarth declared to be a fair delineation of the original. A reduced -copy is in vol. iii. of this work; see p. 17 of the 2d edition. - -[4] Some of the portraits of Louis XIV. are quite as absurd. We are -told that he once sent to Rome for Poussin, to paint him in the -character of Jupiter. This great artist obeyed the summons, and -prepared his canvas and colours; when, to his extreme astonishment, -the monarch informed him that, although he was to be delineated as -the representative of Jove, etiquette did not permit him to appear -without his major peruke, and he must consequently be so painted. -Poussin, not able to conceive any way of giving appropriate dignity -to the thunderer of Olympus with this flowing appendage, declined -beginning the picture, and returned to Rome without making his -_congé_. - -[5] By the loose negligence of her habit, and some circumstances, -I am inclined to think the artist intended to represent her as -pregnant. It has been said that after Baron had finished the plate, -Mr. Hogarth added a lock of hair with Indian ink, but after a few -impressions were taken off, inserted this supplemental ornament with -the graver. In his _Analysis of Beauty_, he makes a remark which -in some degree accounts for the introduction of this fascinating -attraction:-- - -"It was once the fashion to have two curls of equal size, stuck at -the same height close upon the forehead, which probably took its rise -from seeing the pretty effect of curls falling loosely over the face. - -"A lock of hair falling thus across the temples, and by that means -breaking the regularity of the oval, has an effect too alluring to -be strictly decent, as is very well known to the loose and lowest -classes of women; but being paired in so stiff a manner as they -formerly were, they lost the desired effect, and ill deserved the -name of ornaments." - -Moralists of different nations have considered hair as calculated to -entangle hearts, and one of our pious writers of the last century -wrote a furious treatise on the _un_loveliness of love-locks. - -[6] A chair kicked down, an _Essay on Whist_, cards scattered on the -floor, and the general confusion of everything in the room, seem -to intimate that this _right honourable society_ were actuated by -passions somewhat similar to those which inflame the gentlemen in the -sixth plate of "The Rake's Progress." Though a genuine gamester is -not apt to lose his presence of mind on slight occasions, yet when a -man of rank is stripped of sums that will draw into their vortex many -anticipated years of his revenue, he is liable to lose his temper, -and on such occasions apt to vent his spleen on inanimate objects. -Such things sometimes happen even now. - -[7] Absurd as this may seem, yet until Mr. Wedgwood introduced those -beautiful Etruscan forms which now decorate the rooms, and form the -taste of the possessors, these shapeless monsters disgraced the most -splendid apartments in the metropolis. - -[8] "Kent was not only consulted for furniture, as frames of -pictures, glasses, tables, chairs, etc., but for plate, for a barge, -for a cradle. So impetuous was fashion, that two great ladies -prevailed on him to make designs for their birthday gowns. The one -he dressed in a petticoat decorated with columns of the five orders; -the other, like a bronze, in copper-coloured satin, with ornaments of -gold."--Walpole's _Anecdotes_, 2d edit., vol. iv. p. 239. - -[9] This race still roll round the metropolis; and while some put -their trust in chariots, horses, and impudence, others depend on the -credulity of his Majesty's liege subjects. - -The following epitaph was written for one of them:-- - - Beneath lies lean old Fillgrave, once M.D., - Who hunger felt much oft'ner than a fee; - These were the last, last words the doctor spoke - (And, believe me, sirs, the sentence was no joke), - "The world I leave, but can't the world forgive, - For by my patients I could never live." - In this rejoin'd a friend, "You'd but your due; - Your patients, doctor, ne'er could live by you."--E. - - -[10] It is said to have been designed for the once celebrated -Betty Careless, and the remark is supposed to be countenanced by -the initials E. C. on her bosom. This woman, by a transmigration -as natural as is that of the chrysalis, from being one of the most -fashionable of the Cyprian corps, became keeper of a brothel; and -after repeated arrests and many imprisonments, was buried from the -poorhouse of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, April 22, 1752. In many of -the elegant Latin odes of Loveling her name is immortalized; and of -her person and appearance Fielding thus speaks in his _Amelia_:-- - -"I happened in my youth to sit behind two ladies in a side-box at -a play, where, in a balcony on the opposite side, was placed the -inimitable Betsy Careless, in company with a young fellow of no very -formal or indeed sober appearance. One of the ladies, I remember, -said to the other, 'Did you ever see anything look so modest and so -innocent as that girl over the way? What pity it is such a creature -should be in the way of ruin, as I am afraid she is by being alone -with that young fellow.' - -"Now this lady was no bad physiognomist: for it was impossible to -conceive a greater appearance of modesty, innocence, and simplicity -than what nature had displayed in the countenance of that girl, and -yet, all appearances notwithstanding, I myself (remember, critic, it -was in my youth) had, a few mornings before, seen that very identical -picture of those engaging qualities in bed with a rake at a bagnio, -smoking tobacco, drinking punch, talking obscenity, and swearing and -cursing with all the impudence and impiety of the lowest and most -abandoned trull of a soldier." - -Hogarth noticed this woman in a former print: one of the madmen in -the last plate of "The Rake's Progress" has written "Charming Betsy -Careless" on the rail of the stairs, and wears her portrait suspended -to a riband tied round his neck. Mrs. Heywood's _Betsy Thoughtless_ -was in MS. entitled _Betsy Careless_; but, from the infamy at that -time annexed to the name, had a new baptism. There are those who -say that the letters upon this woman's bosom are not E. C. but F. -C., and intended to designate Fanny Cock, daughter of Mr. Cock the -auctioneer, with whom the artist had a casual disagreement. After -all these conjectures, I think it is probable that these gunpowder -initials are merely the marks of a woman of the lowest rank and most -infamous description. - -[11] From the gallows, immediately over his head, we are led to -suppose the artist intended to hint that this gentleman died for -the good of his country; but from the records of some of our -mortuary historians, it appears that about the time this set of -prints were published, a number of bodies thus preserved, which had -been exsiccated by some mode of embalming at present unknown, were -discovered in a vault in Whitechapel Church. - -[12] This royal mummy, being once the sole tenant of one of the -largest pyramids, might be more positively ascertained than any of -the Cleopatras. It was, however, profanely removed by a wild Arab, -who, after he had stolen it, sold it to the Consul of Alexandria, -by whom it was transmitted to England: and a right grave antiquary -quotes a passage in Sandys' _Travels_ to prove its being genuine; -where that learned and accurate voyager assures us that he saw the -sepulchre empty, "which agrees exactly," saith he, "with the theft -above mentioned." He omits to observe that Herodotus tells the same -thing of it in his time. - -[13] Carestini. - -[14] A short time before the publication of these prints, the -greatest part of our nobility acted as if they had been bitten -by a tarantula. The sums lavished upon exotic warblers would -have supported an army; the applause bestowed upon some of them -would have turned the brain of a saint. It was little short of -adoration. Persons of inferior rank caught this jingling contagion, -and all orders of the people were infected with a musical mania, -totally foreign to our national taste, and highly dishonourable -to our national character. In one of Hogarth's former prints is a -list of the rich presents Signior Farinelli, the Italian singer, -condescended to accept from the English nobility and gentry for one -night's performance in the opera of _Artaxerxes!_ comprising gold -snuff-boxes, diamond rings, diamond buckles, etc. That such presents -were actually made is ascertained by the newspapers of the day. - -[15] The group of which this is composed is worthy observation. -The Counsellor is pointing to a friar and a nun who are in close -conversation. - -[16] Mrs. Lane (afterwards Lady Bingley). - -[17] Fox Lane, her husband. - -[18] Weideman. - -[19] This curious delineation is whimsically placed immediately over -the head of the Italian. - -[20] Of the wisdom displayed in this judgment much has been said; -I have sometimes thought that a decision of the great Frederick of -Prussia's was equally deserving of record. When a list of criminals, -who had forfeited their lives by violating the laws of their country, -was once brought to him to sign, he observed the name of a soldier -convicted of sacrilege.--"That a soldier of mine should be guilty of -so atrocious a crime," said the king, "astonishes and distresses me. -I will not, however, sign his death-warrant until I have examined him -in person." The man was accordingly brought into the royal presence, -and two monks, who were his accusers, declared that he had come -into their church during the time they were celebrating mass, and -placed himself under an image of the Virgin Mary, from whose shoes -he had privately taken two pearl bows, and carried them out of the -church: they pursued him, and found them in his pocket. The king, -turning to the criminal, desired to know what he had to say in his -defence? which was simply this: that he was a disbanded soldier, and -in great distress for a dinner: that he walked into the churchyard, -and earnestly prayed to the Virgin Mary that she would put him in -the way of getting one: that she appeared to him, and told him she -heard his supplications, and pitied his distress; to relieve which, -she begged him to accept of some pearls which were on the feet of -her image in the neighbouring church. When the doors opened, he -walked into the church and took them out of her shoes, with an -intention of converting them into money. "This," said the king, -"alters the face of the business; but tell me, most reverend fathers, -for you undoubtedly know, is it according to your canons possible -that the Virgin could, to relieve distress and preserve a life, -appear to this poor man in the way he describes?"--"Undoubtedly, -my liege, she could, but it is not probable that she did." "Is it -possible?"--"Certainly." "Very well. I will not let a soldier of mine -suffer death upon probabilities. He shall be discharged this time; -but observe what I say to you, young man; if at any future period I -find that you accept another present from either virgin, saint, or -angel, you shall be hanged." - -[21] It is said to be copied from the frontispiece to a twopenny -history of the notified Moll Flanders; but I do not remember -seeing it among Mr. Gulston's two-and-twenty thousand portraits of -illustrious characters. - -[22] This is one among many proofs of Mr. Hogarth's close attention -to those little markings which have been generally disregarded -by other artists. By a fire in the room he fixes the time to be -winter,--a season in which those exotic amusements, masquerades, are -most frequent in the metropolis. - -[23] "If he do not become a cart as well as another man--a plague on -his bringing up!" - -[24] A brawn's head, with an orange in its mouth, was at that time a -fashionable winter dish; and it was a standing dish which might be -marched from the pantry to the parlour, and give the semblance of -plenty for forty days. This was perhaps one reason for our votary of -Mammon making it the leading article in his bill of fare; the rest -and residue of his feast is made up by a solitary egg. - -A boiled egg was the usual dinner of Sir Hans Sloane. When he once -complained to Dr. Mortimer that all his friends had deserted him, the -Doctor observed that Chelsea was a considerable distance from the -residence of most of them, and therefore they might be disappointed -when they came to find he had so slight a dinner. This gentle -remonstrance put the old Baronet in a rage, and he exclaimed, "Keep a -table! Invite people to dinner! Would you have me ruin myself? Public -credit totters already, and if (as has been presaged) there should be -a national bankruptcy, or a sponge to wipe out the national debt, you -may yet see me in a workhouse." His landed estate was at that time -very considerable, and his museum worth much more than the twenty -thousand pounds which was, however, given for it by Parliament. - -Scanty as is our citizen's dinner, his table-cloth is ample. The -founder of Guy's Hospital, which is the first private foundation in -the world, was not so extravagant. His constant substitute for a -table-cloth was either a dirty proof sheet of some book or an old -newspaper. - -[25] Let not any censure fall upon Mr. Hogarth for these indelicate -representations. He evidently means to burlesque the gross and -ridiculous absurdities of the Dutch painters. - -[26] These canine unfortunates are not only useful when living, but -frequently _die for the good of mankind_. Some have their throats -cut, to prove the efficacy of a styptic; others are bled to death for -a philosophical transfusion; and very many resign their breath in the -receiver of an air-pump. _Unhappy Dogs!_ - -[27] "It appears to have been a part of that curse which the -disobedience of the first man brought upon his posterity, that we -were compelled to stain our hands in blood, and to subsist on the -destruction of other animals. But surely, if the necessity of our -nature obliges us to deprive an innocent being of life, it ought to -be done in the easiest and speediest manner! and such was the custom -among the peculiar people of God. What shall we say to that luxury -which, for a momentary gratification of appetite, condemns a creature -endued with feeling, perhaps with mind, to languish in torments, and -expire by a protracted and cruel death?"--_Sermons by George Gregory, -D.D., F.A.S._, 2d edit. p. 100. - -[28] How much are we the creatures of habit! Those who would shudder -at tying a lobster to a wooden spit, and roasting it alive, will -_coolly_ place a dozen oysters between the bars of a slow fire; and -yet these oysters, notwithstanding their supposed torpor, may have an -equal degree of feeling with their armoured brother. - -[29] I remember once seeing a practical lesson of humanity given to -a little chimney-sweeper, which had, I dare say, a better effect -than a volume of ethics. The young soot merchant was seated upon -an alehouse bench, and had in one hand his brush, and in the other -a hot buttered roll. While exercising his white masticators with a -perseverance that evinced the highest gratification, he observed a -dog lying on the ground near him. The repetition of "Poor fellow, -poor fellow," in a good-natured tone, brought the quadruped from -his resting-place: he wagged his tail, looked up with an eye of -humble entreaty, and in that universal language which all nations -understand, asked for a morsel of bread. The sooty tyrant held his -remnant of roll towards him; but on the dog gently offering to take -it, struck him with his brush so violent a blow across the nose as -nearly broke the bone. A gentleman who, unperceived, had been a -witness to the whole transaction, put a sixpence between his finger -and thumb, and beckoned this little monarch of May-day to an opposite -door. The lad grinned at the silver, but on stretching out his hand -to receive it, the practical teacher of humanity gave him such a rap -upon the knuckles with a cane as made them ring. His hand tingling -with pain, and tears running down his cheeks, he asked "What that was -for?" "To make you feel," was the reply. "How do you like a blow and -a disappointment?--the dog endured both! Had you given him a piece -of bread, this sixpence should have been the reward; you gave him a -blow, I will therefore put the money in my pocket." - -[30] By a strange and inapplicable mistake, this has sometimes been -written Thieves Inn. It was at that time the longest shilling fare -from the great fountain of law in Westminster. - -[31] Though contrary to an express Act of Parliament, this is done -every day. - -[32] To the dishonour of our police, the savage custom of driving -cattle through the streets, even at high noon, is still continued, -though scarce a week passes without a consequent accident. Might not -the Fleet Market be removed to Smithfield, and that for live cattle -be held in the skirts of the city, with a penalty upon any person -driving a beast through the streets after nine in the morning? This -may be impracticable; but the number of accidents which happen from -the present custom show the necessity of some reform. - -[33] Instead of Amphitheatres, these Gymnasia are now more elegantly -called Academies. - -[34] The scene has been said to be laid in Pancras Churchyard: I -think it bears more resemblance to that of Marybone. The building in -the background may be on the same eminence where now is the Jew's -Harp House. This is only conjecture, and as such let it be received. - -[35] Shakspeare saw this in its true light: - - "_Hamlet._ Has this fellow any feeling of his business? - - "_Horatio._ Custom hath made it in him a matter of easiness. - - "_Hamlet._ Tis e'en so: the hand of little employment hath the - daintier sense." - -[36] The president much resembles old Frieake, who was the master of -Nourse, to whom the late Mr. Potts was a pupil. - -Mr. Frieake was originally a member of the Barbers' Company, and -lived in Salisbury Square. Being desirous of building a carriage -on the most reasonable terms, he employed a number of journeymen -coachmakers in his own garret. They performed their task, but found -it was not possible to get this appendage to modern practice into the -street by any other means than unroofing the house. This was done, -and a bricklayer's bill for re-covering the attic storey rendered his -_saving_ scheme much more expensive than it would have been if he had -employed the king's coachmaker. - -[37] The importance of the brewery to the revenue will appear by the -following statement:-- - -MALT AND BREWERS. - -The duty on malt from July 5, 1785, to the same day 1786, produced -a million and a half of money, from a liquor which invigorates the -bodies of its willing subjects to defend the blessings they enjoy, -while that from Stygian gin enervates and incapacitates. - -One of the brewers (or Chevaliers de Malte, as an impertinent -Frenchman styled Humphrey Parsons, when the King of France inquired -who he was) within one year contributed fifty thousand pounds to -his own share. The sight of a great London brewery exhibits a -magnificence unspeakable. The vessels evince the extent of the trade. -Mr. Meux of Liquorpond Street can show twenty-four vessels containing -thirty-five thousand four hundred barrels of wholesome liquor, -which enables our London porter-drinkers to perform tasks that ten -gin-drinkers would sink under. - -[38] This gentleman has been very properly baptized the _Herring -Poet_. - -[39] It is directed to the Trunkmaker, and contains five enormous -folios, titled as follows:--_Lauder on Milton_. _Politics_, vol. -999. _Modern Tragedies_, vol. 12. _Hill on the Royal Society_, and -_Turnbull on Ancient Paintings_. The two last are worthy of a better -fate, for one has some wit, and the other many sensible remarks. - -[40] It is not 400 years since a Baron of this realm was tried for -high crimes and misdemeanours, and one of the chief accusations -exhibited against him was, that he suffered himself to be carried -about his garden by two of his own species. - -[41] It is said, I don't know upon what authority, to be intended as -a burlesque delineation of John Stephen Liotard, of whom Mr. Walpole -thus writes in p. 195 of his _Anecdotes_:-- - -"Devoid of imagination, and one would think of memory, he could -render nothing but what he saw before his eyes. Freckles, marks of -the small-pox, everything found its place; not so much from fidelity, -as because he could not conceive the absence of anything that -appeared to him." - -This miserable personage may, however, be only intended to show the -state of the arts at that time, when an English painter, if not -excellent in portraits, had no other patronage than that of those -gentlemen who put out signs of Blue Lions, Green Dragons, and Red -Harts. Thanks to the talents of our immortal bard, it is not so now. -Whether the artists of the present day drain copious draughts of -humble porter, or fill their flagons with Falernian or French wines, -let not the memory of their patron poet be forgotten. "He merits all -their wonder, all their praise!" - -[42] This wretched being was painted from nature. His cry was, "Buy -my ballads, and I'll give you a glass of gin for nothing." - -[43] This _infernal broth_ is vulgarly called "Strip-me-naked," and -has almost invariably that effect. - -[44] This is an unnatural and violent exaggeration. - -[45] The church in view is _St. George's, Bloomsbury_. Ralph, in his -_Critical Review of the Buildings in London_, properly observes that -"this structure is ridiculous and absurd even to a proverb. That the -builder mistook whim for genius, and ornament for taste, and that -the execrable conceit of displaying a statue of the king on the top -of it excites laughter in the ignorant, and contempt in the judge of -architecture." - -[46] Two of these harpies have names highly descriptive of their -professions--"Gripe" and "Killman." - -[47] I hope I shall not be censured for inserting a quotation from -Fingal as the motto to an imitation of Rembrandt. Both poet and -painter delighted in darkness, and each of them sometimes introduced -a sublime and majestic figure, which beamed through the gloom "like -the new moon seen through a gathered mist, when the sky pours down -its flaky snow, and the world is silent and dark." - -[48] This little winged periwinkle is engraven in a very different -style from the rest of the plate, much of which is a sort of _aquæ_ -tint. Many impressions were taken off without this figure. - -[49] On the blade is engraven a dagger, the arms of our metropolis. - -[50] This has been generally thought intended for a portrait of -Hume Campbell, who, like some of his boisterous brethren of the -present day, distinguished himself by a sort of savage elocution more -consonant to Billingsgate than a court of law. Others have said it -was designed for Doctor William King, Principal of St. Mary Hall, -Oxford, and in proof of their assertion refer to an ascertained -portrait in Worlidge's view of "Lord Westmoreland's Installation," -1761, to which it has a striking resemblance. - -[51] On the scraps are inscribed, "We have found this man a pestilent -fellow, a mover of sedition among the Jews, ringleader of the sect," -etc. etc. etc. - -[52] While the plate remained in the hands of Mrs. Hogarth -impressions were sold at that price, but were afterwards reduced to -three shillings. - -[53] With each infant was then sent some little memorial by which it -might be known at a future day. The following lines were written by -an unfortunate widow, and pinned to the breast of a child who was -received into the hospital: - - "Go, gentle babe, thy future life be spent - In virtuous purity and calm content; - Life's sunshine bless thee, and no anxious care - Sit on thy brow, and draw the falling tear; - Thy country's grateful servant may'st thou prove, - And all thy life be happiness and love." - -Some fifteen or sixteen years ago, a person of respectable appearance -went to the hospital, and requested to see the chapel, great room, -etc. He then desired to speak with the treasurer, to whom he -presented a ten-pound bank note, expressing a wish that it might be -recorded as a small but grateful memorial from the first orphan who -was apprenticed by the charity. He added, "I was that orphan, and in -consequence of the education I here received, have had the power of -acquiring an independence with integrity and honour." - -[54] Several other pictures were presented to the hospital by the few -eminent painters who then lived in London. - -"The donations in painting which several artists presented to the -Foundling Hospital were among the first objects of this nature which -engaged the public attention. The artists observing the effects that -these paintings produced, came, in the year 1760, to a resolution -to try the fate of a public exhibition of their works. This effort -had its desired effect. The public were entertained, and the artists -were excited to emulation."--_Strange's Inquiry into the Rise and -Establishment of the Royal Academy_, p. 63. - -This gives Hogarth a right to be classed, if not among those who were -founders of the Royal Academy, as one of the first causes of its -establishment. - -[55] Be this as it may, certain it is that the boy, who was -afterwards so great a Jewish legislator, bears a very strong -resemblance to the Egyptian princess. That the artist meant by this -family likeness to hint that he was of royal descent, I do not -presume to assert. - -[56] The head is said to be copied from a youth of the name of -Seaton. The attitude and general air very much resemble that of -Delilah, in a picture painted by Vandyke, of Samson seized by the -Philistines, now in the Emperor's gallery at Vienna. - -[57] These prints were promised to the subscribers sooner than they -could be completed; and in consequence of their being delayed, the -following advertisement was inserted in the _Public Advertiser_ of -February 28, 1757:-- - - "Mr. Hogarth is obliged to inform the subscribers to his Election - prints that the three last cannot be published till about - Christmas next, which delay is entirely owing to the difficulties - he has met with to procure able hands to engrave the plates: but - that he neither may have any more apologies to make on such an - account, nor trespass any further on the indulgence of the public - by increasing a collection already sufficiently large, he intends - to employ the rest of his time in portrait-painting; chiefly this - notice seems more necessary, as several spurious and scandalous - prints have lately been published in his name," etc. - -This fretful appeal must have been written under the influence of -momentary spleen, which might possibly originate in his coadjutor's -disappointing, and by that means forcing him to violate his -engagements with the public. There is no other apology for his -indulging a thought of quitting that walk in which he indisputably -led, for another in which he must not only follow, but be far behind -some of his contemporaries. - -[58] Sir George Saville saw this in its true light. One of the -supporters of the Bill of Rights being desirous of introducing Sir -George's name among the members of the society, made application to -the worthy Baronet for his permission to propose him. Sir George -declined the honour, and pleaded his engagements being so numerous -that he had not time to attend, etc. etc. "We do not expect your -attendance," replied his friend; "we do not expect your constant -attendance; but the sanction of your name would be a tower of -strength to the society; and as you see by the public prints, the -manner we conduct ourselves, and the business we do, you must -approve, I think you cannot refuse us your name." "I do not," said -Sir George, "make any objection to your conduct, which I have thought -very regular and systematic, but I really dislike the title you have -adopted; I observe that you meet, read a string of observations, and -then make a motion for adjourning to dinner in the next room; there -each man drinks his two bottles to most patriotic and constitutional -toasts. In the next paper appear advertisements, that on the -following Monday the supporters of the Bill of Rights will meet -again. Dinner on table precisely at four o'clock. You dine, and -drink your wine; your secretary gives us the same information in the -succeeding prints, and again adds, that--dinner will be on the table -precisely at four o'clock. All these circumstances induce me to think -you should alter your title; instead of 'Supporters of the Bill of -Rights,' call yourselves what you really are, 'Supporters of the Bill -of Fare!'" - -[59] This has been pronounced, I know not upon what authority, to be -intended for the late Thomas Potter, Esq. - -[60] In page 21 of a quarto pamphlet published in 1755, and entitled, -"The Last Blow, or an unanswerable vindication of the society of -Exeter College, being a reply to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. King, -and the writers of the _London Evening Post_," is the following -paragraph:-- - - "The next character to whose merits we would do justice is the - Rev. Dr. C--ss--t (Cosserat). But as it is very difficult to - delineate this fellow in colours sufficiently strong and lively, - it is fortunate for us and the Doctor that Hogarth has undertaken - the task. In the print of 'An Election Entertainment,' the public - will see the Doctor represented sitting among the freeholders, - and zealously eating and drinking for the sake of the new - interest. His venerable and humane aspect will at once bespeak - the dignity and benevolence of his heart. Never did aldermen at - Guildhall devour custard with half such an appearance of love to - his country, or swallow ale with so much the air of a patriot. - These circumstances the pencil of Hogarth will undoubtedly make - manifest; but it is much to be lamented that his words also - cannot appear in this print, and that the artist cannot delineate - that persuasive flow of eloquence which could prevail upon - copyholders to abjure their base tenures and swear themselves - freeholders. But this oratory (far different from the balderdash - of Tully and Doctor King, concerning liberty and our country), - as the genius of mild ale alone could inspire, this fellow alone - could deliver." - - -[61] I think it is recorded in Mr. Joseph Miller's _Reports_, that -our British Solomon often asserted that scratching was too great a -luxury for a subject to enjoy. - -[62] This woman was remarkable for performing at fairs, country -hops, etc. in the neighbourhood of Oxford, and known by the name of -Fiddling Nan. - -[63] This is a portrait of the present Sir John Parnell, nephew to -the poet. He was introduced into this print by his own request, -declaring at the same time that, from his being so generally known in -Ireland, his face would help the sale of the engraving. - -[64] It is supposed to be the portrait of an Oxford bruiser who went -by the name of Teague Carter. - -[65] A mashing-tub seems a sufficiently capacious vessel, but sinks -to nothing when compared with a bowl which, it is recorded, was -filled with punch on the 15th of October 1694, at the expense of -Admiral Russel. The Admiral's punch was made in a fountain situated -in the centre of a large garden, the terminus to four long gravel -walks, canopied with orange and lemon trees. In each walk was a table -the length of the avenue, covered with a cold collation, consisting -of every luxury which the season produced; and in the basin of -the fountain, which the gallant seaman chose to call a little -basin, for the entertainment of a few friends, were the following -ingredients:--Four hogsheads of brandy, eight hogsheads of water, -twenty-five thousand lemons, twenty gallons of lime juice, thirteen -hundredweight of fine Lisbon sugar, five pounds of grated nutmegs, -three hundred toasted biscuits, and lastly, a pipe of dry mountain -Malaga. Over the fountain was erected a large canopy to keep off the -rain, and in a little boat, built for the purpose, a boy belonging to -the fleet rowed round the basin, and served this cordial beverage to -the company. More than six thousand men partook of this mighty bowl. - -[66] This alludes to the alteration of the style in the year 1752, a -measure which gave great umbrage, and excited a violent clamour among -the advocates for old customs and adherents to ancient forms. - -[67] Kirton was a tobacconist in Fleet Street, but injured his -circumstances and destroyed his constitution by his active zeal in -the Oxfordshire election of 1754. - -[68] This is said to be intended for the late Duke of Newcastle, -his Grace having exerted all his influence in support of the -Naturalization Bill: the nose of the effigy gives some probability to -the conjecture. - -[69] Under the portrait of a Mr. Cholmondeley of Vale Royal, in -Cheshire, engraved about the same time with these prints, are the -following quaint lines: - - "In this plain garb a senator is shown, - Who never bought a vote, nor sold his own." - - -[70] This print undoubtedly gave the hint for a transaction in which -Punch was made the principal agent at a late Shaftesbury election. - -[71] By the condescending humility of men of high rank, and the -aspiring ambition of men of no rank, they to all appearance become -equal at every general election. The following is one among the few -instances of an independent spirit in a candidate's address:-- - - "TO THE GENTLEMEN, CLERGY, AND FREEHOLDERS OF THE COUNTY OF YORK. - - "GENTLEMEN,--I have had the honour to represent the county of - York in three successive Parliaments: I have been diligent in my - attendance, and have performed my duty with a clear and unbiassed - conscience. I have now an opposition declared against me, for - what reasons I do not know, except that I am not disposed to obey - the dictates of the associators at York. I do not wish to serve - you upon such terms. I will never go to Parliament in fetters; - nor did I, nor ever will I disguise my principles, which all go - to the support of our excellent constitution in Church and State. - I avow myself an enemy to tumults, sedition, and rebellion, and - will never support any but a British interest. Consistently with - that, I am a friend to the people, and am determined to preserve - my independency, yielding neither to any influence of ministers, - nor to any clamours of a faction. - - "Upon these principles I shall esteem it a high honour to be - returned for this great county, and shall be thankful for your - support.--I am, gentlemen, etc., - - "EDWIN LASCELLES. - - "_September 12, 1780._" - -In Mr. Edmund Burke's speech to the electors of Bristol, on the 3d -of November 1774, he gave such cogent reasons for not signing any -engagement to obey in all cases the instructions of his constituents, -that I cannot resist the temptation of inserting an extract, for the -contemplation of those who are advocates of a contrary system:-- - -"Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory -of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest -correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his -constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their -opinion high respect; their business unremitted attention. It is -his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfaction -to theirs; and above all, ever and in all cases to prefer their -interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, -his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any -men, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your -pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a trust -from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your -representative owes you not only his industry, but his judgment; -and he betrays instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your -opinion. - -"My worthy colleague says his will ought to be subservient to -yours. If that be all, the thing is innocent. If government were a -matter of will upon any side, yours, without question, ought to be -superior. But government and legislation are matters of reason and -judgment, and not of inclination; and what sort of reason is that in -which the determination precedes the discussion, in which one set -of men deliberate and another decide, and where those who form the -conclusion are three hundred miles distant from those who hear the -argument? - -"To deliver an opinion is the right of all men; that of constituents -is a weighty and respectable opinion, which a representative ought -always to rejoice to hear, and which he ought always most seriously -to consider. But authoritative instructions; mandates issued, which -the member is bound blindly and implicitly to obey, to vote, and to -argue for, though contrary to the clearest conviction of his judgment -and conscience; these are things utterly unknown to the laws of the -land, which arise from a fundamental mistake of the whole order and -tenor of our constitution. - -"Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and -hostile interests; which interests each must maintain, as an agent -and advocate against other agents and advocates; but Parliament is a -deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the -whole; where not local purposes, not local prejudices ought to guide, -but the general good resulting from the general reason of the whole. -You choose a member, indeed; but when you have chosen him, he is not -a member of Bristol, but he is a member of Parliament. If the local -constituent should have an interest, or should form an hasty opinion, -evidently opposite to the real good of the rest of the community, -the member of that place ought to be as far as any other from any -endeavour to give it effect." - -[72] In the year 1739 Admiral Vernon took Portobello with six ships -only. The public gratitude to him was boundless: he was sung in -ballads; at the ensuing general election in 1741 he was returned for -three different corporations; but above all, his portrait covered -every signpost; and he may be, figuratively, said to have sold the -ale, beer, and purl of all England for six years. - -[73] This sign has a very whimsical appearance: it represents our -merry monarch in a great tree, enveloped in a black wig, decorated -with a point lace cravat, and environed with three crowns. Two -Parliamentary troopers, riding beneath the branches, do not perceive -that this faithless "Defender of the Faith," and so forth, is -immediately above them. This curious delineation is evidently copied -from some country sign, and gives a very exact representation of -one I remember to have seen in a village in Shropshire, with the -following _poetical_ inscription:-- - - "This oak, the glory of the wood, may well be called a royal thing, - For once upon its branches there perched a great king; - And while the king was perched upon the branches so high, - The Roundhead rebels under him they all passed by." - - -[74] When Ware the architect was told of this piece of satire, he -said the artist must be a very foolish fellow; for if he had painted -the coachman as a shorter man, or made him stoop, he might have -driven through the gateway with his head upon his shoulders. - -[75] John Shoreditch, in the reign of Edward III., sued the county of -Middlesex (for which he was returned to Parliament) to recover his -wages. In some letters from the dead to the living, published about -the year 1761, one signed with his name concludes as follows: - - "If I was now upon earth--either nobleman or commoner--I should - choose peace and quiet, both public and private: I should be - happy in preserving religion and morality among my countrymen, - instead of suborning them to take the oath falsely about bribery - and corruption; debauching their minds, by giving them money that - is of no use to their families, and keeping them in continual - drunkenness, that renders them incapable of serving themselves or - their country. - - "To this I attribute the loss of that which was common in my - time, but in yours is found only in romances and novels--I mean - simplicity of manners among the country people. Rustic innocence - was then as common among the men as among the women; but there - is scarce any mode of vice or folly which is not at this period - equally known and practised by both sexes; and in the most - obscure villages to as great a degree as in the most polished - cities. Let us consider that a million of money was spent in - treats and bribery at the last general election; and if we take - into the calculation the contested elections, for some of which - there were three or four candidates, and the money that is spent - by their friends on these occasions, we shall not find the - computation too high. What place, then, will not the influence - of this immense sum extend to? Not even the smallest hamlet can - escape; and you may as well look for purity of manners, innocence - and simplicity, among the Capuans of old, or in your Covent - Garden, as in any place that an election guinea has found its way - to.--I am, etc." - - -[76] I am tasteless enough to prefer this to Garrick between Tragedy -and Comedy. From Hogarth the hint was indisputably taken; but -exquisite as is the face of Thalia, the countenance of the actor, -from the contention of two passions, has assumed a kind of idiotic -stare, of which our honest farmer has not an iota. In the true spirit -of Falstaff, he says, or seems to say, "D'ye think I do not know ye? -Ha! ha! ha! he! he! he!!" - -[77] Swift boasted that he made it a rule never to give his voice -for the appointment of any man to any situation for which that man -was not better qualified than his opponent. Being once applied to -for his interest in the recommendation of a curate, because he was -a very good sort of man, though a very vile preacher, he said he -would willingly, if in his power, recommend him to be a bishop, -because that was a business in which preaching was not wanted, but -in a curate it was wanted every week. Being once asked by one of his -parishioners which of two candidates he would advise him to vote for -as a Parliament man, in a warmly contested Irish election, Swift -desired he would first consider what was the business of a Parliament -man; and secondly, which of the parties was best qualified for that -business; and then he would want no advice. If your vote, added he, -could make a lord or a duke, as they are people who need not do any -business at all, you might toss up a halfpenny, and vote for the man -who came up heads. - -[78] By a letter we see out of his pocket, this appears to be Doctor -Shebbeare, who was put on the pillory, and confined in prison; -not for writing in the cause of his country, but for printing and -publishing the sixth letter to the people of England, in which -he most impudently and audaciously abuses George the First and -the present royal family. The Doctor frequently said in a public -coffeehouse, that he would have a pillory or a pension. In each of -these points he was gratified; Lord Mansfield complimented him with -the first, and Lord Bute rewarded him with the second. The honour he -enjoyed long ago, the emolument he died in the receipt of a very few -years since. - -[79] The late Doctor Barrowby persuaded a dying man, that being much -better he might venture with him in his chariot to the hustings in -Covent Garden, to poll for Sir George Vandeput. The unhappy voter -took his physician's advice, and in less than an hour after his -return--expired. - -[80] This sagacious-looking gentleman is said to be intended as a -portraiture of the late Bub Doddington, afterwards Lord Melcombe. - -[81] It has been thought that this carries some allusion to a -circumstance which happened at the contested Oxfordshire election -in 1754, when an outrageous mob, in the old interest, surrounded a -post-chaise and attempted to throw it into the river; but Captain -T----, who was in the carriage, shot a chimney-sweeper that was a -ringleader in the assault, and his followers dispersed. - -[82] About the year 1740, when party disputes ran very high, a -gentleman of superior talents and undeviating integrity offered -himself as a candidate for a town in the West of England. The first -person whose vote he solicited asked him if he was a Whig or a Tory? -"Neither," was the reply; "I profess myself a moderate man, and when -administration act right, will vote with them,--when wrong, against -them." "And be these really thy principles!" said the elector; "be -these really thy principles! Then thou shalt not have my vote; but -I'll give thee a piece of advice. Thou seest my door; it leads into -the street, the right-hand side of which is for the Tories, the left -for the Whigs; and for a cold-blooded moderate man like thee, there -is the kennel, and in it I advise thee to walk, for thee be'st not -decided enough for any other situation." - -[83] This must indisputably be considered as the lawyer's mansion, -not merely because it has a better appearance than any house we have -seen in the foregoing prints, but because a parchment label, which -hangs out of an upper window where a clerk is writing, is inscribed -"Indintur." Had the artist thought it worth while to have consulted -Master Henry Dilworth, or any other eminent schoolmaster, this -orthography had been corrected. - -[84] When many of those gentleman who had been very active in the -Revolution, and materially contributed to the success of our great -deliverer, applied to a nobleman high in office for the first places -in the State, he answered their requests by referring them to the -Roman history: "There," says he, "you will find that geese twice -saved the Capitol; but I never heard that those geese were made -Consuls." - -[85] "Vermin" is a coarse phrase, but I think in a degree -appropriate. How similar are the effects attendant on a swarm of -pettifogging lawyers settling in a country town, to those resulting -from a swarm of noxious and destructive insects settling in a garden! - -[86] A nobleman, whose name it is not necessary to record, was so -struck with the wit of this motto, that he had it inscribed upon a -common eight-day clock. - -[87] The life of Andrew Marvel forms a fine contrast to the life -of a modern patriot. He was the son of a clergyman who resided -at Kingston-upon-Hull, in Yorkshire, at which town he was born -in the year 1624. His first appearance in public business was as -an assistant to John Milton, when that inspired poet was Latin -secretary to the Protector. A little before the Restoration he was -chosen representative for his native town, and afterwards re-elected -for the same place, and had a seat in that Parliament which began -at Westminster, May 8, 1661. In this station he discharged his -trust with the utmost fidelity, and always displayed a particular -regard for those by whom he was elected; for he regularly sent the -particulars of every proceeding in the House to the heads of the town -which he represented, and to these accounts always joined his own -opinion. This gained so much upon their affections, that they allowed -him an honourable pension during the whole time he sat in Parliament, -which was until his death. By his actions and writings he rendered -himself obnoxious to the ruling powers; notwithstanding which, -Charles the Second much delighted in his company. Having one evening -passed some hours with this good-humoured monarch, his Majesty next -morning sent Lord Treasurer Danby to find out his lodgings. Mr. -Marvel's apartments were up two pair of stairs, in a little court -in the Strand, where he was writing when the Lord Treasurer rather -abruptly opened the door. Surprised at so unexpected a visitor, Mr. -Marvel told his Lordship he believed he had mistaken his way. Lord -Danby replied, "Not, now I have found Mr. Marvel;" adding, "I come -with a message from his Majesty, who wishes to know what he can do to -serve you." "I know," replied Marvel, "the nature of courts too well -to lay myself under the obligation; for whoever is distinguished by -a prince's favours, is certainly expected to vote in his interest." -Lord Danby told him that his Majesty was sensible of his merits, and -on that account alone desired to know if there were any place at -Court which he would be pleased with. These offers, though urged with -the greatest earnestness, had no effect. He told the nobleman, that -to accept them with honour was impossible; because, added he, "I must -either be ungrateful to the King in voting against him, or false to -my country in giving in to the measures of the Court. The only favour -therefore which I beg of his Majesty is, that he will esteem me to be -as dutiful a subject as any he has; and more in his proper interest -by refusing these offers than if I had accepted them." The Lord -Danby, finding that no argument would prevail, told him that the King -had ordered him a thousand pounds, which he requested him to receive -as a token of royal favour. This last offer was rejected with the -same stedfastness as the first, though, soon after the Lord Treasurer -was gone, he was under the necessity of sending to a friend to borrow -a guinea. The greatest temptations of riches or honours could never -bribe him to depart from what he thought the interest of his country, -neither could the most imminent dangers deter him from pursuing it. - -He died, not without strong suspicions of being poisoned, August the -16th, 1678, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and was interred in -the Church of St. Giles' in the Fields. Highly to the honour of the -inhabitants of Kingston-upon-Hull, they in the year 1683 contributed -a sum of money for a monument to the memory of this best of men and -most incorruptible of senators; but the then minister of St. Giles' -forbade its being erected in that church, on account of the following -epitaph which was inscribed on it:-- - -"Near this place lieth the body of Andrew Marvel, Esq., a man so -endowed by nature, so improved by education, study, and travel; -so consummated by experience and learning, that joining the most -peculiar graces of wit with a singular penetration and strength -of judgment, and exercising all these in the whole course of his -life with unalterable steadiness in the ways of virtue, he became -the ornament and example of his age; beloved by good men, feared -by bad, admired by all, though imitated, alas, by few, and scarce -paralleled by any. But a tombstone can neither contain his character, -nor is marble necessary to transmit it to posterity; it is engraved -in the minds of this generation, and will be always legible in his -inimitable writings. Nevertheless, he having served near twenty years -successively in Parliament, and that with such wisdom, dexterity, -integrity, and courage as became a true patriot, the town of -Kingston-upon-Hull, from whence he was constantly returned to that -assembly, lamenting in his death the public loss, have erected this -monument of their grief and gratitude. - - "Heu fragile humanum genus! Heu terrestria vana! - Heu quem spectatum continet urna virum!" - -In Mr. Mason's animated _Ode to Independency_, the dignified virtue -of this truly patriotic character is described - - "In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." - - -[88] "Such were the words of the bards in the days of song, when the -king heard the music of harps, and the tales of other times."--_Songs -of Selma_, p. 302. - -[89] In the early impressions it is spelt _Prusia_. It has been said -with great confidence, that after twenty-five were worked off, this -error in orthography was discovered and amended. I have seen at least -fifty, and think it probable that all which were subscribed for were -delivered before any alteration was made in the spelling. - -[90] This word is explained in the _Slang Dictionary_ as a cant -expression for the threat of a blow. - -[91] The fifer is designed for the portrait of a young lad who was -much noticed by the late William Duke of Cumberland; and who, from -the propriety of his conduct, was first rewarded with a halberd, and -afterwards promoted to a pair of colours. - -[92] This is said to be the portrait of a fellow known by the name -of Jockey James, a most frequent attendant on the nursery for -bruising, under the management of the mighty Broughton. Jockey had -a son who rendered himself eminent by boxing with Smallwood, and -many other athletic pugilists. The French pieman, grenadier, and -chimney-sweeper, are also taken from the life, and said, by those -who recollect their persons, to be very faithful resemblances of the -persons intended. - -[93] This gentleman displays the great difference between _an_ -officer, and _a officer_: he comes under the latter description. - -[94] This is Mr. Thornton's remark, and rather too severe. Lord North -once declared in the House of Commons that he saw no harm in the -officers of the Guards. "They have nothing to do," added he, "but -walk in the park, kiss the nursery-maids, and drink the children's -milk." - -[95] This figure is introduced in the very curious print of -"Enthusiasm Delineated," and in the eleventh print of "Industry and -Idleness," and was designed as a portrait of Mother Douglass of the -Piazza. - -[96] Lavater's character of this people is not exactly similar to -Hogarth's delineation; it is, however, curious: "The form of a -Frenchman is different from that of all other nations, and difficult -to describe in words. No other man has so little of the firm or -deep traits, or so much motion. He is all appearance, all gesture; -therefore the first impression seldom deceives, but declares who and -what he is. His imagination is incapable of high flights; and the -sublime in all arts is to him offence. Hence his dislike of whatever -is antique in art or literature, his deafness to true music, his -blindness to the highest beauties of painting. His last most striking -trait is, that he is astonished at everything, and cannot imagine how -it is possible men should be any other than they are at Paris." - -[97] Among the number of ingenious allusions which the seekers of -Hogarth's meanings have pointed out, I have never heard it remarked -that the standard waves immediately over this under-sized hero, who -is consequently _under the standard_! - -[98] Let not the reader imagine that this quotation alludes to -the Duke's ponderous equestrian statue in Cavendish Square. That -glittering monument of burnished brass bears no very striking -resemblance to either an angel or a fiery Pegasus. It must, however, -be considered as a monument of the taste, vanity, and gratitude of -Colonel Salter. - -[99] Grotesque delineations have more influence upon the populace -than the philosopher is apt to imagine. Sir Robert Walpole inspected -every political print and political ballad that was published, -and said that from these vulgar effusions he could form a certain -judgment of the genuine spirit and local prejudices which actuated -the multitude. - -[100] Election is, I believe, in its general sense, the act of -choosing. We see by the application of the word in this book, it was -not then confined to choosing a member of Parliament, but applied -indiscriminately to either bird or beast. - -[101] This is mere conjecture; but from Jackson the humpbacked -jockey, and some other sedate personages who were present, I think it -is more likely to be designed for that place than any other. - -[102] A man of rank with these plebeian propensities might in the -year 1759 be considered as a phenomenon: in this age of elegant -accomplishment and universal refinement, the thing is common. We -now see men of family and fortune ambitious of becoming umpires in -battles between Big Ben and the Ruffian! - -[103] The "March to Finchley." - -[104] When Garrick first came on the stage, and one very sultry -evening in the month of May performed the character of Lear, he in -the first four acts received the customary tribute of applause. At -the conclusion of the fifth, when he wept over the body of Cordelia, -every eye caught the soft infection--the big round tear ran down -every cheek. At this interesting moment, to the astonishment of -all present, his face assumed a new character, and his whole frame -appeared agitated by a new passion: it was not tragic, for he was -evidently endeavouring to suppress a laugh. In a few seconds the -attendant nobles appeared to be affected in the same manner; and -the beauteous Cordelia, who was reclined upon a crimson couch, -opening her eyes to see what occasioned the interruption, leapt -from her sofa, and with the majesty of England, the gallant Albany, -and tough old Kent, ran laughing off the stage. The audience could -not account for this strange termination of a tragedy in any other -way than by supposing the _dramatis personæ_ were seized with a -sudden frenzy; but their risibility had a different source. A fat -Whitechapel butcher, seated on the centre of the front bench in the -pit, was accompanied by his mastiff, who being accustomed to sit on -the same seat with his master at home, naturally thought he might -enjoy the like privilege here. The butcher sat very back, and the -quadruped finding a fair opening, got upon the bench, and fixing his -fore-paws on the rail of the orchestra, peered at the performers -with as upright a head and as grave an air as the most sagacious -critic of his day. Our corpulent slaughter-man was made of melting -stuff, and not being accustomed to a playhouse heat, found himself -much oppressed by the weight of a large and well-powdered Sunday -peruke, which, for the gratification of cooling and wiping his head, -he pulled off, and placed on the head of his mastiff. The dog being -in so conspicuous, so obtrusive a situation, caught the eye of Mr. -Garrick and the other performers. A mastiff in a churchwarden's -wig (for the butcher was a parish officer) was too much: it would -have provoked laughter in Lear himself, at the moment he was most -distressed; no wonder, then, that it had such an effect on his -representative. - -[105] In the second canto of a poem entitled _The Gamblers_, are the -following notes:-- - -"By the cockpit laws, the man who cannot or who will not pay his -debts of honour, is liable to exaltation in a basket." - -"Stephen's exaltation in a basket, and his there continuing to bet -though unable to pay, is taken from a scene in one of Hogarth's -prints, humorously setting forth that there are men whom a passion -for gaming does not forsake, even in the very hour that they stand -proclaimed insolvents." - -[106] Frequently called Deptford Nan, and sometimes dignified with a -title--Duchess of Deptford! She was a famous cock-feeder, well known -at Newmarket, and did the honours of the gentlemen's ordinary at -Northampton, while a bachelor presided at the table appropriated to -the ladies. - -[107] A small print published in the year 1732, of which there are -three copies. - -[108] I have inserted the name of Gay on the authority of Mr. -Nichols' _Anecdotes_, in page 177 of which is the following remark -from a correspondent:-- - -"That Pope was silent on the merits of Hogarth (as one of your -readers has observed) should excite little astonishment, as our -artist's print on the South Sea exhibits the translator of Homer in -no very flattering point of view. He is represented with one of his -hands in the pocket of a fat personage, who wears a horn-book at his -girdle. For whom this figure was designed is doubtful; perhaps it was -meant for Gay, who was a fat man, and a loser in the scheme, etc. -The horn-book he wears at his girdle perhaps refers to the fables he -wrote for the Duke of Cumberland. The conclusion to the inscription -under this plate--'Guess at the rest, you'll find out more'--seems -also to imply a consciousness of such personal satire as it was not -prudent to explain." - -The conjecture that this is designed for Gay is fair, but I think not -quite conclusive. Hogarth would not have represented the translator -of Homer diving into the coat pocket of a brother bard for coin, and -Gay could not be robbed of anything else. May not the label with -A--B--, etc., be intended to point out Arbuthnot: he also was a fat -man, and so careless of fame, that he suffered Pope, and some other -eminent contemporary authors, to plunder him of the best part of his -writings, which they afterwards modestly published as their own; -_vide_ a very large portion of _Martinus Scriblerus_, particularly -Pope's own edition, published in 1742. - -Pope is again introduced in a print published about the year 1728, -entitled "Rich's Glory, or The Triumphant Entry into Covent Garden," -improperly said to be the production of Hogarth. - -[109] This satire is wound up with a well-turned apology for the -folly, but even here a dart must be hurled at the Duke.--The dart -recoils, and returns to him who threw it; for although his Grace was -vainly ostentatious, and absurdly extravagant, he was kind-hearted -and beneficent to a fault:-- - - "Yet hence the poor are cloth'd, the hungry fed: - Health to himself, and to his infants bread, - The lab'rer bears: what his hard heart denies, - His charitable vanity supplies. - Another age shall see the golden ear - Embrown the slope, and nod on the parterre; - Deep harvests bury all his pride has plann'd, - And laughing Ceres re-assume the land." - -It is a singular circumstance that the prophecy in the last four -lines (for a prophecy it must be called) should be fulfilled, I had -almost said in the poet's lifetime. A very few years after his death, -when Hallet the upholsterer purchased Canons, the park was ploughed -up and sown with corn. - -I have somewhere seen an epigram, written soon after the publication -of this epistle:-- - - "What Chandos builds let Pope no more deride, - Because he took not Nature for his guide, - Since, mighty Bard--in thy own form we see - That nature may mistake, as well as he." - - -[110] We have amateurs of boxing, and why not of cock-fighting? - -[111] This noble diversion may with more propriety be called royal -in India than in England, for it is not peculiar to Great Britain, -neither is it confined within the narrow boundaries of Europe. In -a picture which Mr. Zoffani designed from nature, he has exhibited -the Nabob of Oude, and a crowd of his courtiers, dressed in their -robes of state surrounding a cockpit. The Asiatic Sovereign, his -brother, and his attendants, display as much eagerness for gain, and -rapacity of physiognomy, as is to be seen in the most notorious of -our Newmarket gamblers. - -[112] Throwing at cocks on this day is, I hope and believe, a less -prevalent custom than it once was. Our ancestors must have formed -strange notions of the duties that were acceptable to the Deity on -commencement of Lent, when they set apart the eve as a proper time -for the martyrdom of this inoffensive animal. - -[113] - - "Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods, - Draw near them then in being merciful; - Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge." - - -[114] "A beautiful Diana, with her trussed-up robes, the crescent -alone wanting, stands on the high altar to receive homage in the -character of St. Agnes, in a pretty church dedicated to her (_fuor -della Porte_), where it is supposed she suffered martyrdom: and why? -Why, for not venerating that very goddess Diana, and for refusing to -walk in her procession at the new moons, like a good Christian girl. -Such contradictions put one from oneself, as Shakspeare says."--Mrs. -Piozzi's _Letters_. - -[115] A catalogue of the massacres, slaughters, and assassinations -which have taken place for little differences of opinion, would fill -a library. Superstition has been the general cause of man destroying -man. - -[116] The infatuation of the lower order of the people during the -drawing of a lottery is hardly to be conceived. They cannot consult -Virgil, but they consult every star in the firmament, and every male -and female astrologer in the parish, to find out lucky numbers. -Figures chalked on the wall, and dreams, have great credit; and much -respect is paid to the year of their birth, a husband's or wife's -death, etc. etc. The destructive consequences of this thirst for -divination it is not necessary to enumerate,--they are recorded in -the annals of Bethlehem Hospital and the Newgate Calendar. - -[117] A field preacher in one of the provinces, from the strength of -his lungs and length of his extemporary harangues, being for some -months attended by a more numerous congregation than the parson of -the parish, began to think himself the more orthodox man. Fraught -with this idea, he one Sunday evening went to the vestry-room, waited -until the service concluded, and then very rudely attacked the -clergyman, telling him he came to convince him, to confound him, and -to convert him by the word! This was followed by the recital of a -thousand texts from various parts of the Holy Scriptures, so combined -as to prove whatever he wished; and concluded by, "This is all from -the Bible, and by the Bible I desires to abide.--Answer me by the -same book." The clergyman being a man of some humour, after hearing -him with much patience, very coolly asked this labourer in the -vineyard if he recollected a text in the book of Kings, where it is -written, "Then Ahithophel set his house in order, and went and hanged -himself." "Certainly," replied the man, "I know it to be scripture." -"Good," added the divine; "examine the Gospel of St. Luke, and you -will find it written, 'Go and do thou likewise.' This I earnestly -recommend, and so farewell." - -[118] "Some witches, examined and executed at Mohra, in Sweden, in -1670, confessed that the devil gives them a beast about the bigness -and shape of a young cat, which they call a carrier, etc."--Glanville -_On Witches_, p. 494. - -"For their being sucked by their familiar, we know so little of -the nature of demons and spirits, that it is no wonder we cannot -certainly divine the reason of so strange an action. And yet we -may conjecture at some things that may render it less improbable. -For some have thought that the Genii (whom both the Platonic and -Christian antiquity thought embodied) are re-created by the reeks and -vapours of human blood, and the spirits that proceed from them: which -supposal (if we grant them bodies) is not unlikely, everything being -refreshed and nourished by its like. And that they are not perfectly -abstracted from all body and matter; besides the reverence we owe -to the wisest antiquity, there are several considerable arguments -I could allege to render it probable: which things supposed, the -devil's suckling the sorceress is no great wonder, nor difficult to -be accounted for. Or perhaps this may be only a diabolical sacrament -and ceremony to confirm the hellish covenant."--_Glanville_, p. 10. - -In the above, and any future quotations I may find it necessary to -make from this great and sagacious author, I beg it may be observed -that I quote from the fourth edition, published in 1726. - -[119] Master Lilly remarketh that angels (and he must unquestionably -mean to include fallen angels) very rarely speak unto any -one; but when they do, it is like the Irish--very much in the -throat.--_Lilly's Life_, p. 88. - -[120] Curses are not peculiar to one church; John Boys, D.D., Dean of -Canterbury, 1629, educated at Clare Hall, in Cambridge, was famous -for his postils in defence of our liturgy, and was also much esteemed -for his good life. He gained great applause by turning the Lord's -Prayer into the following execration, when he preached at Paul's -Cross:--"Our Pope which art in Rome, cursed be thy name; perish may -thy kingdom; hindered may thy will be, as it is in heaven, so in -earth. Give us this day our cup in the Lord's Supper, and remit our -monies which we have given for thy indulgences, as we send them back -unto thee; and lead us not into heresy, but free us from misery, for -thine is the infernal pitch and sulphur, for ever and ever. Amen." - -[121] "Several of the female devotees have waxen images in their -hands. Master Glanville observeth that the devil frequently bringeth -unto witches a waxen picture, which they, having christened it by -the name of the person they wish to torment, thrust pins into; -using these words as they perform their ceremonies, _Thout tout, -a tout, tout, throughout and about.--Rentum, tormentum, etc. -etc._"--_Glanville_, p. 297. - -How wonderful has Shakspeare appropriated these idle tales in his -tragedy of _Macbeth_! He did not build upon the fables of Greece -and Rome; but leaving the mob of heathen deities to range over the -classic ground which gave them birth, leaving those writers who draw -all their supplies from the fountain of antiquity to take their -copious draughts unmolested, he adopted the creed of his own nation, -and on the dim legends of superstition, and oral traditions of -credulity, raised a superstructure which has stood the test of ages, -become more admired as it has been more minutely examined, and is now -gazed at with an almost idolatrous veneration. - -[122] The influence of these men is astonishing. They have the mind, -body, and outward estate of their proselytes under their absolute -direction; all their assertions are considered as prophecies, and -every request has the force of a command. - -Men seem to have a natural tendency to a belief in divination; and -we have many instances where the commanders of armies have made -great use of this easy faith. When Cromwell was in Scotland, a -soldier stood with Lilly's _Almanac_ in his hand, and as the troops -passed him, roared out, "Lo! hear what Lilly saith: you are promised -victory! Fight it out, brave boys; and when you have conquered--read -the month's prediction." - -[123] Whosoever wisheth to know more of this Surrey Semiramis and her -brood of rabbits, may consult the _Memoirs of M. St. Andre_, and some -twelve or fifteen ingenious pamphlets, published about the year 1726, -at which time a number of surgeons subscribed a guinea each to Mr. -Hogarth, for a print from a whimsical design he had previously made -on this very philosophical subject. - -[124] The figure is, I believe, intended for the boy of Bilson, -who, with an ostrich-like appetite, swallowed as many tenpenny -nails as would have furnished a petty ironmonger's shop. This young -gentleman, who in his day deceived a whole county, was only thirteen -years of age. His extraordinary fits, agitations, and the surprising -distempers with which he seemed to be afflicted, induced those who -saw him to believe he was bewitched, and possessed with a devil. -During the time he was in fits, he appeared both deaf and blind; -writhing, groaning, and panting; and although often pinched, pricked -with needles, tickled, severely whipped, and otherwise corrected, -never seemed sensible of what was done to him. When he was thought -to be out of his fits, he digested nothing that was given him for -nourishment, but would often astonish those present by bringing up -thread, straw, crooked pins, nails, needles, etc. At this period -his throat swelled, his tongue grew rigid, and he appeared to be -incapable of speaking. - -This juvenile impostor accused a poor honest industrious old woman -of witchcraft, and asserted that she had bewitched him. By his -artful behaviour when she was brought into the room where he was, he -raised in the minds of those about him a strong presumption of his -accusations being founded. Under these impressions, the woman was -tried at Stafford assizes, but the jury had sense enough to acquit -her. By the judge's recommendation, the boy was committed to the care -of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, who happened to be present -in court. His Grace took him to his palace at Eccleshall, and there, -having the previous advice of several physicians, intended to try the -effect of severity; but being in the meantime informed that the boy -always fell into violent agitations upon hearing that verse of St. -John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word," etc., resolved to try -another experiment. Assuming a grave and austere countenance, he thus -addressed him:-- - -"Boy, it is either thou thyself or the devil that abhorrest these -words of the Gospel; and if it be the devil, there is no doubt of his -understanding all languages, so that he cannot but know and show his -abhorrence when I recite the same sentence out of the Gospel in the -Greek text; but if it be thyself, then thou art an execrable wretch, -who playest the devil's part in loathing that portion of the Gospel -of Christ, which above all other scripture doth express the admirable -union of the Godhead in one Christ and Saviour, which union is the -arch pillar of man's salvation. Wherefore look unto thyself, for now -thou art to be put unto trial, and mark diligently whether it be -the same scripture which shall be read unto thee out of the Greek -Testament, at the reading whereof in the English tongue thou dost -seem to be so much troubled and tormented." - -This experiment succeeded, for neither the boy nor the devil -understood the Greek version. - -[125] It was deemed an approved remedy for witchcraft, to put a small -wax model of any one under this baneful influence into a quart bottle -with water, cork it up to confine the spirit, and place it before the -fire. Notwithstanding all these precautions, the spirit sometimes -forced the cork, and cast the contents of the bottle a considerable -height. - -[126] Of the writings of this paragon of English monarchs--so wise -that he was called the Solomon of Great Britain--it has been truly -said, "They are to be found in chandlers' shops even unto this day." - -[127] A very grave historian relates, that the ghost of Sir George -Villiers appeared to one who had been his servant, charging him to -inform his son of the plan laid to destroy him! The servant obeyed -his instructions, and informed his Grace, but the Duke wanted -faith--was negligent--and was assassinated: though it does not seem -probable that the crazed enthusiast who committed the murder had -sufficient coherence of mind to lay any regular plan. - -[128] Drelincourt's _Defence against the Fears of Death_ is well -written; and in the confidence that a translation would sell, the -bookseller struck off a very large impression. They lay undisturbed -in his warehouse until Daniel Defoe added this ridiculous narrative, -which carried the book through one-and-twenty editions. - -[129] This drummer was in the early part of his life a trooper in -Cromwell's army; and as almost all this regiment of saints considered -themselves in St. Paul's dragoons, our drummer occasionally -preached, exhorted, and expounded. When the Parliamentary army -was disbanded, or put under other commanders, the manners of the -people had a sudden and violent change; extreme strictness was -succeeded by universal dissipation, and the whole nation displayed -their abhorrence of their late rulers, and loyalty to their new -sovereign, by general licentiousness. A drum beat to a psalm tune -would no longer attract an audience; but still it was a favourite -instrument, and our heroic trooper, being free from military -engagements, drummed his way through the kingdom with a forged pass. -Happening to beat up in the neighbourhood of Tedworth, he attracted -the notice of a Mr. Mompesson, who seized the martial instrument, -and punished the bearer. From that time his ears were assailed by a -perpetual drumming, and his house for two or three years haunted by -apparitions. It attracted the notice of several of the neighbouring -clergy, and his Majesty Charles the Second, wishing to be satisfied -about every particular, sent down a number of persons to converse -with this noisy spirit; but during the time they stayed no spirit -appeared, neither was the sound of a drum heard. Notwithstanding -this, poor dub-a-dub was tried at Salisbury assizes, found guilty of -being a wizard, and luckily escaped with only transportation for life. - -Upon this story was founded Addison's play of _The Drummer, or -the Haunted House_, which has too much good sense to be generally -relished at the theatres. - -The Cock Lane ghost was engaged in scratching and hammering a very -short time before the plate was published. This ridiculous imposture -attracted the notice of many respectable characters. That one man, -whose writings are a mirror of truth and philosophy, and whose life -was an honour to human nature, should be so far under the influence -of superstition as to attend this nocturnal nonsense, draws a pitying -sigh. - -[130] On the late John Wesley's particular opinions I do not presume -to make any comment; but his zealous and unremitting exertions in -what he deemed a good cause, added to the primitive simplicity of his -manners, entitled him to high respect. - -Mr. Glanville was the patriarch of witchcraft, and therefore a very -proper high priest in the temple of credulity. As his book gained -him a good benefice, and as a number of his proselytes consider -_Sadducismus Triumphatus_ entitled to equal credence with holy writ, -I have subjoined a few extracts for the edification of those who may -not think the volume from which they are taken worth perusal. It -abounds with examples of barbarity, flowing from a blind and bigoted -credulity, at which human nature shudders. - -A relation of the strange witchcraft, discovered in the village of -Mohra, in Swedeland, about the year 1670:-- - -"The news of this witchcraft coming to the king's ear, his Majesty -was pleased to appoint commissioners, some of the clergy and some of -the laity, to make a journey to the town above mentioned to examine -the whole business. The commissioners met on the 12th of August at -the parson's house, and to them the minister and several people -of fashion complained, with tears in their eyes, of the miserable -condition they were in, and therefore begged of them to think of some -way whereby they might be delivered from that calamity. They gave the -commissioners very strange instances of the devil's tyranny among -them: how, by the help of witches, he had drawn some hundreds of -children to him, and made them subject to his power; how he hath been -seen to go in a visible shape through the country, and appeared daily -to the people; how he had wrought upon the poorer sort, by presenting -them with meat and drink, and this way allured them to himself; -with other circumstances to be mentioned hereafter. They therefore -begged of the Lords Commissioners to root out this hellish crew, that -they might regain their former rest and quietness; and the rather, -because the children, which used to be carried away in the country -or district of Esdaile, since some witches had been burnt there, -remained unmolested. - -"Examination being made, there were discovered no less -than three-score and ten witches in the village aforesaid; -three-and-twenty of which, freely confessing their crimes, were -condemned to die; the rest, one pretending she was with child, and -the others denying, and pleading not guilty, were sent to Faluna, -where most of them were afterwards executed. - -"Fifteen children, which likewise confessed they were engaged in -this witchery, died as the rest; six-and-thirty of them, between -nine and sixteen years, who had been less guilty, were forced to -run the gauntlet: twenty more, who had no great inclination, yet -had been seduced to these hellish enterprises, because they were -very young, were condemned to be lashed with rods upon their hands -for three Sundays together, at the church door; and the aforesaid -six-and-thirty were also doomed to be lashed this way once a week -for a whole year together. The number of seduced children was -about three hundred, etc. The above narrative is taken out of -the public register, where all this, with more circumstances, is -related."--_Glanville_, p. 494. - -"At Stockholm, in the year 1676, a young woman accused her mother of -being a witch, and swore positively that she had carried her away at -night; whereupon both the judges and ministers of the town exhorted -the old woman to confession and repentance. But she stiffly denied -the allegations, pleaded innocence; and though they burnt another -witch before her face, and lighted the fire she was to burn in before -her, yet she still justified herself, and continued to do so till -the last; and remaining obstinate, was burnt. A fortnight or three -weeks after, her daughter, who had accused her, came to the judges -in open court (weeping and howling), confessed that she had accused -her mother falsely, out of a spleen she had against her for not -gratifying her in a thing she desired, and had charged her with a -crime of which she was perfectly innocent. Hereupon the judges gave -orders for _her_ immediate execution."--Horneck's _Introduction to a -Narrative of Witchcraft, etc._--_Glanville_, p. 481. - -These are the horrid effects of credulity. For the dreadful -devastations made among the human race by superstition, we may read -the history of the Inquisition. Among myriads of examples, I was much -struck by the following:-- - -"Along with the Jews that were to be burnt at an _auto-da-fe_, -there was a girl not seventeen years of age, who, standing on that -side where the queen sat, petitioned for mercy. She was wonderfully -pretty; and looking at the queen, while her eyes streamed with tears, -in a most pathetic tone of voice exclaimed, 'Will not the presence -of my sovereign make an alteration in my fate? Consider how short a -period I have lived, and that I suffer for adherence to a religion -which I imbibed with my mother's milk. Mercy! mercy! mercy!' The -queen turned away her eyes,--was evidently moved by compassion, -but--durst not ask the holy fathers for even a respite."--_M. -d'Aunoy_, p. 66. - -What unlimited power! A queen dares not intercede for the pardon of -a young girl, guilty of no other crime than adhering to the faith of -her ancestors! - -One of the most shocking circumstances that attend these consecrated -murders, is the indulgences which the Roman pontiffs have attached -to the executioners. Those who lead the poor condemned wretches to -the fire, and throw them into the flames, gain indulgences for one -hundred years. They who content themselves with only seeing them -executed, obtain fifty. What horror! The most detestable crimes, the -most unnatural cruelties, are made a means of obtaining pardons from -the God of mercy! - -[131] Whitfield's _Hymns_, p. 130. - -[132] See Mr. Burke's pamphlet on the French Revolution. - -[133] This is a fair representation of what the Guards were then. The -highly-disciplined troop commanded by his Royal Highness of York defy -satire. - -[134] See John Wilkes' history of the man after God's own heart. - -[135] Hogarth seems to have thought that Mr. Pitt wished to be a -perpetual dictator; and, in truth, the Secretary's own assertion in -some degree justified the supposition: "He would not be responsible -for measures which he was no longer allowed to guide." Whether the -artist was right or wrong in his opinion, I do not presume to assert: -I have endeavoured to describe characters as he has delineated them; -but with respect to this great man, the safest way will be to quote -his contemporaries. I have subjoined two portraits, drawn in his -own day; let the reader adopt that which pleases him best. They -prove how difficult it is to ascertain what were the abilities of a -statesman from any accounts given during his life. One party assert -that Mr. Pitt unites, with the eloquence of Cicero and the force of -Demosthenes, the conciseness of Sallust and the polished periods of -Isocrates! Another,--but to extract a part is not doing justice to -the writers. - - -CHATHAM. - -"As this lord has long been dead to the world, we shall speak of him -as a man that has been. - -"A remarkable reflection, arising from the character of Lord Chatham, -strikes us: No statesman was ever more successful, and no statesman -ever deserved less to have been so. - -"This man entered into the army very early in life, and there he -ought to have remained. His enterprise, his rashness, and his -scrupulous sense of honour, were qualities extremely proper in the -profession of arms, and would have adorned any military station, -except that of a chief commander. But the field he renounced for -the Cabinet, and ceased to be a good soldier that he might be a -bad statesman. In nature, he was rash, impetuous, haughty, and -uncontrollable; and these dangerous properties were neither tempered -nor improved by education. To those advantages which are acquired -by study, and those great views which are communicated by habits -of reflection, he was entirely a stranger. His quickness was not -corrected by judgment, and his mind frequently was tired of the -objects presented to it before it could perceive or comprehend -them. In a country where eloquence is little known, his noise and -vociferation acquired that name; and without the experience of -common sense, he was extolled as superior to Demosthenes or Tully. -His speeches were not wanting in fire, but they were innocent of -thought. He was perhaps the only man of his time who could harangue -for many hours without communicating one distinct and well-digested -idea to his audience. In estimating his own merit he knew no bounds. -His vanity was excessive: he saw every man inferior to himself: on -every man, therefore, he lavished his contempt. Capricious to the -most boyish excess, he was perpetually forming resolutions, which he -abandoned before he could put them in execution. Yet his instability, -through a fortuitous and whimsical concurrence of circumstances, -generally led the way to success. The happy blunders of his -administration procured him a reputation to which he had no title. -Every scheme he planned ought to have miscarried. We admire his good -fortune, not his wisdom. Popularity was the idol to which he bowed--a -certain proof that his conduct was not influenced by those superior -ideas which arise in high, liberal, and virtuous minds. Yet to this -idol he would have sacrificed everything: it would have sacrificed -everything to him. He possessed that intemperate pride which, instead -of guarding him from indecent errors, led him to indiscretions; and a -respectable character was seldom a security from the licentious fury -of his tongue. In private life he was restless, fretful, unsocial, -and perpetually affecting complaints which he did not feel: in public -life he was weak, headstrong, imprudent, and had no quality of a good -minister but enterprise. If he had continued in his first profession, -he might have served his country with honour; but his ambition -prompted him to assume the character of a statesman, and he abused it. - -"On the whole, he possessed virtues; but his passions hurried them -into excess, and he did not even wish to restrain them." - - -Hear the other side:-- - - -CHARACTER OF THE LATE EARL OF CHATHAM. - -"The Secretary stood alone; modern degeneracy had not reached him; -original and unaccommodating--the features of his character had the -hardihood of antiquity. No State chicanery, no narrow system of -vicious politics, no idle contest for ministerial victories, sunk him -to the vulgar level of the great; but overbearing and persuasive, -his object was--England; his ambition--fame! Without dividing, he -destroyed party; without corrupting, he made a venal age unanimous. -France sunk beneath him. With one hand he smote the house of Bourbon, -and wielded with the other the democracy of England. The sight of his -mind was infinite; and his schemes were to affect, not England and -the present age only, but Europe and posterity. Wonderful were the -means by which these schemes were accomplished; always seasonable, -always adequate, the suggestion of an understanding animated by -ardour, and enlightened by prophecy. The ordinary feelings which -make life amiable and indolent--those sensations which allure and -vulgarize--were unknown to him. A character so exalted, so strenuous, -so various, so authoritative, astonished a corrupt age, and the -Treasury trembled at the name of Pitt through all her classes of -venality. Corruption imagined, indeed, that she found defects in -this statesman, and talked much of the inconsistency of his glory, -and much of the ruin of his victories; but the history of his -country and the calamity of his enemies answered and refuted her. -Nor were his political abilities his only talents; his eloquence -was an era in the senate, peculiar and spontaneous, familiarly -expressing gigantic sentiments and instinctive wisdom: not like the -torrent of Demosthenes, or the conflagration of Tully; it resembled -sometimes the thunder and sometimes the music of the spheres. He -did not conduct the understanding through the painful subtlety -of argumentation; nor was he for ever on the rack of exertion, -but rather lightened on the subject, and reached the point by the -flashings of the mind, which, like those of his eye, were felt, -but could not be followed. Upon the whole, there was in this man -something that could create, reform, or subvert; an understanding, a -spirit, and an eloquence to summon mankind to society, or to break -the bonds of slavery asunder, and rule the wildness of free minds -with unbounded authority: something that could establish or overwhelm -empire, and strike a blow in the world that should resound through -the universe." - -At the time of Lord Chatham being interred, it was intimated in the -public prints that an epitaph descriptive of his talents and services -was to be inscribed on his tombstone; and that any one writing such -an epitaph would render an acceptable service to the committee who -had the management of his monument. The following was sent, but as it -was unkindly rejected by them, it is here inserted:-- - - "HERE LIES THE BODY OF WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM; - A GREAT AND ELOQUENT STATESMAN, - WHOM THE KING DID NOT CONSULT OR EMPLOY, - AND WHOM THE KING WAS RESOLVED NEVER TO CONSULT - OR EMPLOY; - A MOST INFORMED AND ENLIGHTENED SENATOR, - A MOST CONVINCING AND PERSUASIVE ORATOR, - WHOSE OPINIONS AND ADVICE THE PARLIAMENT HEARD WITH MOST - ILLIBERAL IMPATIENCE, - AND WHOSE ARGUMENTS THEY TREATED WITH MOST - SOVEREIGN CONTEMPT. - THESE WERE THE SENTIMENTS, - AND THIS THE CONDUCT, OF BOTH KING AND PARLIAMENT. - TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF HIS ABILITIES, - AND THEIR WISDOM, - THAT KING AND THAT PARLIAMENT HAVE - ERECTED THIS MONUMENT." - - -[136] It has been generally called a Cheshire cheese. Having never -seen this pride of the English dairy with a hole bored through the -middle, I have ventured to pronounce it a millstone. - -[137] Lord Bute is said to be personified by one of the Highlanders: -as I cannot ascertain which, my reader must discover it--if he can. -The fireman is probably intended for the Duke of Bedford. - -[138] If Hogarth must be so unmercifully abused for what he inserted, -he is entitled to some credit for what he erased. I hope this blot in -his original design will not be considered as an additional blot on -his escutcheon. - -[139] The small pyramid upon a little pedestal immediately behind -him is, I think, an afterthought. It much resembles the ornament -inscribed "Cyprus," which was painted on Hogarth's chariot, and might -possibly be intended to carry some allusion to himself, for the -stream of water from one of the garretteers just touches the point. - -[140] Hogarth seems to have had a strong antipathy to the politics of -this year. In later impressions of Plate 8 of "The Rake's Progress" -will be found a halfpenny with the same date, in which Britannia is -represented in the character of a maniac, with dishevelled hair, etc. - -[141] If this sign of the Castle were not inscribed "_New_castle -Inn," we should take it for a very old castle indeed. Its being in so -ruinous a state, the frame shattered, and off one hook, describes the -Duke's interest at that time. His Grace might be termed a Father of -the Church, for he had promoted almost every bishop in the kingdom, -and during the continuance of his administration an archbishop's -levee could not have a more sable appearance. He resigned, or -was turned out, which the reader pleaseth; and at his succeeding -levee--there was not one ecclesiastic! - -[142] Lord Besborough and the Honourable Robert Hampden were, I -think, joint Postmasters-General this year; a short time after, Lord -Egmont had the situation of Lord Besborough, but soon resigned. - -[143] The Prince of Wales was born on the 12th of August 1762. -Just after her Majesty was safely in her bed, the waggons with the -treasure of the Hermione entered Saint James's Street, on which the -king and the nobility went to the window over the palace gate to see -them, and joined their acclamations on two such joyful occasions. -From hence the procession, consisting of twenty waggons, etc., -proceeded to the tower.--_Annual Register, 1762, Art. August_. - -[144] In the _London Magazine_ for September 1762, I find the -following explanation:-- - - "The subject of this print is, as its title expresses it, 'The - Times.' The first object is a quarter of the globe on fire, supposed - to be Europe; and France, Germany, and Spain, denoted by their - respective arms, are represented in flames, which appear to be - extending themselves to Great Britain itself. And this desolation - is continued and increased by Mr. P----, who is represented by the - figure of Henry VIII., with a pair of bellows blowing up those - flames which others are endeavouring to extinguish. He is mounted - on the stilts of the populace. There is a Cheshire cheese hanging - between his legs, and round the same '£3000 per annum.' The manager - of the engine-pipe is L---- B----, who is assisted in working the - engine by sailors, English soldiers, and Highlanders; but their good - offices are impeded by a man with a wheel-barrow, overladen with - _Monitors_ and _North Britons_, brought to be thrown in to keep up - the flame. The respectable body depictured under Mr. P----, are the - m---- of London, who are worshipping the idol they had formerly set - up; whilst a German prince, who alone is sure to profit by the war, - is amusing himself with a violin among his miserable countrymen. It - is sufficiently apparent who is meant by the fine gentleman at the - dining-room window of the Temple Coffeehouse, who is squirting at - the director of the engine-pipe, whilst his garretteers are engaged - in the same employment. The picture of the Indian alludes to the - advocates for the retaining our West India conquests, which, they - say, will only increase excess and debauchery; and the breaking down - the Newcastle Arms, and the drawing up the patriotic ones, refer to - the resignation of a noble Duke, and the appointment of a successor. - The Dutchman smoking his pipe, with a fox peeping out beneath him, - the emblem of cunning, waiting the issue; the waggon with the - treasures of the Hermione; the unnecessary marching of the militia, - signified by the Norfolk jig; the dove with the olive branch; and the - miseries of war, are obvious, and need no explication." - - In a newspaper of the day is the following whimsical description of - the characters the writer chooses to say were really intended:-- - - "The principal figure, in the character of Henry VIII., appears - to be not Mr. P----, but another person, whose power is signified - by his bulk of carcase, treading on Mr. P----, represented by - 3000. The bellows may signify his well-meant though ineffectual - endeavours to extinguish the fire by wind, which, though it will - put out a small flame, will cherish a large one. The guider of the - engine-pipe I should think can only mean his M----, who unweariedly - tries, by a more proper method, to stop the flames of war, in which - he is assisted by all his good subjects both by sea and land, - notwithstanding any interruption from _Auditors_ or _Britons_, - _Monitors_ or _North Britons_. The respectable body at the bottom can - never mean the magistrates of London: Mr. H---- has more sense than - to abuse so respectable a body. Much less can it mean the judges. I - think it may as likely be the Court of Session in Scotland, either - in the attitude of adoration, or with outspread arms, intending to - catch their patron should his stilts give way. The Frenchman may - very well sit at his ease among his miserable countrywomen, as he - is not unacquainted that France has always gained by negotiating - what she lost in fighting. The fine gentleman at the window, with - his garretteers, and the barrow of periodical papers, refers to the - present contending parties of every denomination. The breaking of - the Newcastle Arms alludes to the resignation of a great personage; - and the replacing of them by the sign of the Four Clenched Fists - may be thought emblematical of the great economy of his successor. - The Norfolk jig signifies in a lively manner the alacrity of all - his Majesty's forces during the war; and G. T. (George Townshend) - _fecit_, is an opportune compliment paid to Lord Townshend, who, in - conjunction with Mr. Wyndham, published _A Plan of Discipline for - the use of the Norfolk Militia_, quarto, and had been the greatest - advocate for the establishment of our present militia. The picture of - the Indian alive from America, is a satire on our late uncivilised - behaviour to the three chiefs of the Cherokee nation who were lately - in this kingdom, and the bags of money set this in a still clearer - point of view, signifying the sums gained by showing them at our - public gardens. The sly Dutchman with his pipe seems pleased with the - combustion, from which he thinks he shall be a gainer; and the Duke - of Nivernois, under the figure of a dove, is coming from France to - give a cessation of hostilities to Europe." - -[145] In the first impressions, considering Mr. Pitt as a tyrant, he -introduced him in the character of Henry VIII.; this was afterwards -properly altered. - -[146] "There are strong prejudices in favour of straight lines, as -constituting true beauty in the human form, where they never should -appear. A middling connoisseur thinks no profile has beauty without -a very straight nose; and if the forehead be continued straight with -it, he thinks it is still more sublime. The common notion that a -person should be straight as an arrow, and perfectly erect, is of -this kind. If a dancing-master were to see his scholar in the easy -and gracefully turned attitude of the Antinous, he would cry shame -on him, and tell him he looked as crooked as a ram's horn, and bid -him hold up his head as he himself did."--_Preface to the Analysis of -Beauty_, p. 8. - -[147] Of Ramsay's manner, Churchill had an opinion similar to -Hogarth's. Speaking of Scotland, he says, - - "From thence the Ramsays, men of 'special note, - Of whom one paints as well as t'other wrote." - - --_Prophecy of Famine._ - - -[148] The British Lion seems by no means delighted at the -distribution he is forced to make. The strong arm, drawing a long -lever, has distorted his mouth, and, though gagged, his wry face -shows his agony. - -[149] Among the admirable things recorded as Mr. Wilkes' jests, is a -remark upon this same _red_ book: "Sir, it is the only book now red" -(_read_). - -[150] See the _North Briton_. - -[151] As a paint-pot and brushes are placed in the corner, it is -supposed Hogarth intended to represent Himself as one of the group: -perhaps this may be the figure. - -[152] The porter with his knot upon his head, and a pipe in his -mouth, leans against the pillory. - -[153] Let it be observed, that in this, as well as in many more of -Mr. Hogarth's prints, the buildings are reversed: in the drawing from -whence the engraving was made they were right. - -[154] To be told that I am wrong in some of their names will not -surprise me. The figure presenting a snuff-box, I judged to be -Earl Temple, from his face having been originally etched without -features, and a nose and chin added. Another with a riband, whose -back only is seen, from its similarity to an engraving after the -design of a noble marquis, I have denominated Lord Winchelsea. A -higher figure, on his left hand, is possibly the Duke of Bedford; the -interrogating profile, with a hat on, somewhat lower, has the air -of Mr. Rigby.[155] I have conjectured that a gentleman remarkably -rotund is intended for Lord Melcombe; the noble lord beneath him may -be designed for the Duke of Devonshire; and the grave senator in -spectacles, above the ear-trumpet, is perhaps Earl Bath. - -[155] The rail, which I have said was perhaps intended to divide the -Commons from the Lords, might yet be designed to divide the men most -active in the Opposition from the Ministry. To either supposition -there are objections which I cannot solve. - -[156] A man in a porter-house, classing himself as an eminent -literary character, was asked by one of his companions what right -he had to assume such a title? the reply was remarkable: "Sir, I'd -have you know, I had the honour of chalking Number 45 upon every door -between Temple Bar and Hyde Park Corner." - -[157] The public must certainly have had the same opinion, for at -that period Mr. Wilkes was in the meridian of his popularity. Though -not exactly like Gay's hare in the fable, he had many friends, and -Mr. Nichols relates, that a copperplate printer informed him near -four thousand copies of this etching were worked off in a few weeks. -These must necessarily have been sold, and we may naturally infer -were bought by his friends. - -[158] Equally memorable was his reply to a friend who requested -him to sit to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and have his portrait placed -in Guildhall, being then so popular a character that the Court of -Aldermen would willingly have paid the expense. "No," replied he, -"No! they shall never have a delineation of my face, that will carry -to posterity so damning a proof of what it was. Who knows but a time -may come when some future Horace Walpole will treat the world with -another quarto volume of historic doubts, in which he may prove that -the numerous squinting portraits on tobacco papers and halfpenny -ballads, inscribed with the name of John Wilkes, are 'a weak -invention of the enemy,' for that I was not only unlike them, but, if -any inference can be drawn from the general partiality of the fair -sex, the handsomest man of the age I lived in." - -[159] If Hogarth at first intended it for a caricature, who knows but -the old lion might have repented himself, for he afterwards threw the -original drawing into the fire; it was snatched out by Mrs. Lewis. - -[160] That Hogarth should be unseen by all, and yet seen by Virtue, -if not a blunder, is very nearly allied to it. - -[161] This remark extends no further than to the figure of Churchill. -In the little design on a palette, which was added some time after -the print was published, there is much wit. - -[162] These angry strains had, I suppose, their origin in Hogarth -having on some occasion charged Churchill with falsehood. The -accusation might probably allude to personal satire, and the bard's -warmest admirers must admit, that though his characters are highly -drawn, and still more highly coloured, they are rather political than -historical, rather poetical than biographical. An uneducated painter, -who had not taste enough to conceive that poetry, however animated, -could make that truth which he knew to be falsehood, might possibly -give his opinion in very displeasing terms. - -[163] Porter was the poet's favourite beverage; but though he quaffed -more _entire butt than bard beseems_, he drank still deeper draughts -from the fountain of Helicon. Many of his stanzas breathe inspiration. - -[164] Much wretched writing, in both verse and prose, concerning this -contest between the pencil and the pen, was inserted in the prints of -the day. The following explanation, indifferent as it may be thought, -is the best I happen to have seen:-- - -"The bear with a tattered band represents the former strength and -abilities of Mr. Hogarth; the full pot of beer likewise shows that -he was in a land of plenty. The stump of a headless tree, with the -notches, and on it written 'Lie,' signifies Mr. Hogarth's former art, -and the many productions thereof, wherein he has excelled even nature -itself, and which of course must be but lies, flattery, and fallacy, -the painter's prerogative; and the stump of a tree only being left, -shows that there can be no more fruit expected from thence, but that -it only stands as a record of his former services. The butcher's dog -trampling on Mr. Churchill's Epistle alludes to the present state -of Mr. Hogarth, who is now reduced from the strength of a bear to a -blind butcher's dog, not able to distinguish, but degrading, his best -friends; or perhaps giving the public a hint to read that Epistle, -where his case is more fully laid before them. The next matter to be -explained is the subscription-box, and under it is a book said to -contain _A List of Subscribers to the North Briton_, as well as one -of _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_. Mr. Hogarth mentioned the _North -Briton_ to avoid the censure of the rabble in the street, who he knew -would neither pity nor relieve him; and as Mr. Churchill was reputed -to be the writer of that paper, it would seem to give a colour in -their eyes of its being intended against Mr. Churchill. Mr. Hogarth -meant only to show his necessity, and that a book entitled _A List of -Subscribers to the North Briton_ contained in fact a list of those -who should contribute to the support of Mr. Hogarth in old age. By -the book entitled _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_, he can only mean -this, that when a man is become disabled to get his livelihood and -much in debt, the only shift he has left is to go a-begging to his -creditors. - -"There are likewise in this print some of his old tools, without any -hand to use them." - -[165] This thought might possibly be suggested by one of Shakspeare's -witches: - - "Sleep shall neither night nor day - Hang upon his pent-house lid, - He shall live a man forbid," etc. - -How admirable a contrast is formed by Robert Lloyd's description of -an opposite character! - - "Dull folly,--not the wanton wild, - Imagination's younger child, - Had taken lodgings in his face, - As finding that a vacant place." - - -[166] "Little did the sportive satirist imagine that the power of -pleasing was so soon to cease in both! Hogarth died in four weeks -after the publication of this poem, and Churchill survived him but -nine days. In some lines which were printed in November 1764, the -compiler of these anecdotes took occasion to lament that - - "'Scarce had the friendly tear, - For Hogarth shed, escap'd the generous eye - Of feeling pity, when again it flow'd - For Churchill's fate. Ill can we bear the loss - Of Fancy's twin-born offspring, close allied - In energy of thought, though different paths - They sought for fame!--Though jarring passions sway'd - The living artists, let the funeral wreath - Unite their memory!'" - - --_Nichols' Biographical Anecdotes of Hogarth._ - - -[167] In Mr. Churchill's will was the following item:-- - -"I desire my dear friend John Wilkes, Esq., to collect and publish -my works, with the remarks and explanations he has prepared, and any -other he thinks proper to make." - -Could Mr. Churchill really think it was possible that notes by Mr. -Wilkes, or any other man, would justify his malignant attack upon -Hogarth? - -[168] What a satire upon himself! What an apology for Hogarth's print! - -[169] This is a very singular acknowledgment: it is, I believe, the -first instance of a person feeling himself flattered at being told -that he had murdered an old man. - -[170] He frequently engraved a ticket for one series of prints, and -presented it with another. - -[171] See the engraved title-page to vol. ii. - -[172] In the reduced copy I have ventured to abridge this title, -though the very ingenious baptisms of sundry modern prints would have -given ample countenance to the old inscription. For example: A girl -hugging a dog in her arms is, with great attention to analogy, called -"Nature;" and a woman with a large mallet in one hand, and a tenpenny -nail in the other, "Art." - -A female with a consumptive curd-and-whey countenance, that would not -have got her a lover even in Otaheite, they have miscalled "Beauty;" -and a little gorged misshapen boy, with swollen cheeks, and a bow and -arrow, they kindly inform you is "Love." - -A farmer's daughter with a basket on her arm, in which are two -pigeons quarrelling for a straw, and drawing it different ways, is -christened "Conjugal Peace;" and a very picturesque landscape, with a -crowd of figures in the background, baptized "Solitude!" - -Innumerable other instances might be given; but these are sufficient -to prove, that in erroneous inscription Hogarth is not alone. - -[173] This good gentleman was undoubtedly designed to place his hand -upon his heart; but Hogarth had either heard of some examples similar -to one which was lately seen at Dr. John Hunter's, or has, as in many -other instances, reversed the drawing. - -[174] The Countess Spencer, who has dignified the arts by making -several very elegant drawings, has given a sanction to this baptism -in a print lately engraved by Bartolozzi. - -[175] The pit was formerly the seat of the critics, and dread of -authors; our critics of the present day have _taken to_ the green -boxes. - -[176] The father of Huggins was warden of the Fleet Prison, and in -that office guilty of extortion, cruelty, breach of trust, and many -other crimes; he accumulated a considerable fortune, and died at -ninety years of age. His son William was educated for holy orders, -and sent to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took the degree of -M.A., but on the death of his elder brother gave up all thoughts -of entering into the church. In 1757 some flattering verses were -addressed to him on his version of Ariosto: they are preserved in -the _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. xxvii. p. 180; but, except by the -author and the person to whom they are written, were probably never -read through. A specimen of his translation from Dante, which was -published in the _British Magazine_ for 1760, exhibits an unequivocal -proof that Mr. Huggins was worthy of his encomiast. He died the 2d -of July 1761, and left to posterity a MS. tragedy, a MS. translation -of Dante, a MS. farce, and though last, not least in estimation--two -thousand pounds per annum. - -[177] He was a respectable performer on the violin, some years -chapelmaster at Antwerp, and several seasons leader of the band at -Marybone Gardens. He published a collection of musical compositions, -to which was annexed a portrait of himself, characterized by three -lines from Milton: - - "Thou honour'dst verse, and verse must lend her wing - To honour thee, the priest of Phœbus' quire, - That tun'st her happiest lines in hymn or song." - -He died in 1750, aged seventy years, and gives one additional name -to a catalogue I have somewhere seen of very old professors of -music, who, saith my author, "generally live unto a greater age than -persons in any other way of life, from their souls being so attuned -unto harmony, that they enjoy a perpetual peace of mind." It has -been observed, and I believe justly, that thinking is a great enemy -to longevity, and that, consequently, they who think least will be -likely to live longest. The quantity of thought necessary to make an -adept in this divine science must be determined by those who have -studied it. - -[178] In thus bringing to shame the ignorant or prejudiced audience -who could be blind to his genius, he hath been right worthily -imitated by sundry great writers in this our day. - -[179] I once saw the following MS. note in the marginal leaf of this -oratorio: "If the writer of this had his desserts, - - "Full soon would injur'd Judith slay him, - Or pious Jael, Siser-a him." - - -[180] At a time when Doctor Shippen, I mean the astronomical Shippen, -was principal of Brazennose College, the musical professor died, -and the Doctor offered himself as a candidate for the place. To the -science he was a total stranger, but by strength of interest carried -the election, though opposed by a gentleman highly eminent for his -musical abilities. - -In less than twelve moons the professor of astronomy died, and the -electors, ashamed of their former conduct, went in a body to the -musical gentleman they had before rejected, and offered him the -vacant astronomical chair. He was weak enough to refuse; because, -forsooth, he did not understand astronomy, and died without place, -pension, or university honour. - -Even now these things are managed in much the same way. A nobleman -who had the privilege of appointing a chorister to Christ Church, -Cambridge, sent them one who was not only ignorant of music, but -croaked like an old raven, because the fellow had a vote for a -Huntingdonshire borough. This gave rise to the following epigram:-- - - "A singing man, and cannot sing! - From whence arose your patron's bounty? - Give us a song!--Excuse me, sir, - My voice is in another county." - - -[181] "A chief betokeneth a senatour, or honourable personage, -borrowed from the Greek, and is a word signifying a head; and as the -head is the chief part in a man, so the chief in the escocheon should -be a reward of such only, whose high merites have procured them chief -places, esteem, or love amongst men."--GUILLIM. - -[182] "The bearing of clouds in armes (saith Upton) doth import some -excellencie." - -[183] Originally printed _docter_, but altered. - -[184] One of them, but I know not which, is said to be intended for -Doctor Pierce Dod, physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, who died -August 6, 1754. Another for Doctor Bamber, a celebrated anatomist, -physician, and accoucheur, to whose estate the present Gascoyne -family succeeded, and by whose surname two of them have been baptized. - -[185] When very young, I was once in company with the Chevalier at -the house of a Doctor Cheyne Harte, in Shrewsbury, and I remember his -person having a strong resemblance to this print. I also recollect -that he carried his gold, silver, and copper coin in his coat pocket. -He had uncommon skill in his profession, but was ridiculously -ostentatious, and is said to have expended near a thousand guineas -in a set of gold instruments. At this species of foppery Hogarth has -well hinted, in the laced or Dresden ruffles with which he alone is -decorated. His portrait was painted at Rome by the Chevalier Riche. -Beneath it is the following inscription: "Joannes Taylor, Medicus in -Optica expertissimus, multisque in Academiis celeberrimis Socius." - -[186] To this volume there is the longest title I remember to have -seen: it might serve for a table of contents; and containing a sort -of brief abstract of his adventures, I have inserted it:-- - - "_The Life and Extraordinary History of Chevalier John Taylor_, - Member of the most celebrated Academies, Universities, and Societies - of the learned--Chevalier in several of the first courts of the - world--illustrious (by patent) in the apartments of many of the - greatest Princes,[187] Ophthalmiater Pontifical, Imperial, and - Royal--to his late Majesty--to the Pontifical Court--to the Person - of her Imperial Majesty--to the Kings of Poland, Denmark, Sweden, - etc.--to the several Electors of the Holy Empire--to the Royal - Infant Duke of Parma--to the Prince of Saxe-Gotha, Serenissime, - brother to her Royal Highness the Princess Dowager of Wales--to the - Prince Royal of Poland--to the late Prince of Orange--to the present - princes of Bavaria, Modena, Lorraine, Brunswick, Anspach, Bareith, - Liege, Salzbourg, Middlebourg, Hesse Cassel, Holstein, Zerbst, - Georgia, etc.--Citizen of Rome, by a public act in the name of the - senate and people--Fellow of that College of Physicians--Professor - in Optics--Doctor in Medicine, and Doctor in Chirurgery, in several - universities abroad; who has been on his travels upwards of thirty - years, with little or no interruption, during which he has not only - been several times in every town in these kingdoms, but in every - kingdom, province, state, and city of the least consideration--in - every court,[188] presented to every crowned head and sovereign - prince in all Europe, without exception: containing the greatest - variety of the most entertaining and interesting adventures, that, - it is presumed, has ever yet been published in any country or in any - language." - -[187] When he was once enumerating the honours he had received -from the different princes of Europe, and the orders with which he -had been dignified by innumerable sovereigns, a gentleman present -remarked that he had not named the King of Prussia; and added, "I -suppose, sir, he never gave you any order?" "You are mistaken, sir," -replied the Chevalier: "he gave me a very peremptory order to quit -his dominions." - -[188] On his return from a tour on the Continent, he once met a plain -man, who, addressing him with great familiarity, was repulsed with -a cold formal frown,--and, "Sir, I really don't remember you." "Not -remember me! why, my goodness, Doctor! we both lodged on one floor in -Round Court." "Round Court,--Round Court,--Round Court?--Sir, I have -been in every court in Europe, but of such a court as Round Court I -have no recollection." - -[189] _September 16, 1736._ "On Thursday Mrs. Mapp's plate of ten -guineas was run for at Epsom. A mare, called Mrs. Mapp, won the first -heat, when Mrs. Mapp gave the rider a guinea, and swore, if he won -the plate she would give him a hundred." - -_September 23, 1736._ "Mrs. Mapp continues making extraordinary -cures: she has now set up an equipage, and on Sunday waited on her -Majesty." - -_October 19, 1736, London Daily Post._ "Mrs. Mapp being present -at the acting of _The Wife's Relief_, concurred in the universal -applause of a crowded audience. This play was advertised by the -desire of Mrs. Mapp, the famous bone-setter from Epsom." - -_October 21, 1736._ "On Saturday evening there was such a concourse -of people at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln's-Inn Fields to see the -famous Mrs. Mapp, that several ladies and gentlemen were obliged to -return for want of room. The confusion at going out was so great, -that several ladies and gentlemen had their pockets picked, and many -of the former lost their fans, etc. Yesterday she was elegantly -entertained by Doctor Ward, at his house in Pall Mall." - -"On Saturday, and yesterday, Mrs. Mapp performed several operations -at the Grecian Coffeehouse, particularly one upon a niece of Sir Hans -Sloane,[190] to his great satisfaction, and her credit. The patient -had her shoulder-bone out for about nine years." - -_December 22, 1737._ "Died last week, at her lodgings near Seven -Dials, the much talked of Mrs. Mapp, the bone-setter, so miserably -poor, that the parish was obliged to bury her." - -[190] I have heard it suggested that this harlequin figure, received -as Mrs. Mapp, was really intended for Sir Hans Sloane. - -[191] He was originally in partnership with his brother, a drysalter -in Thames Street. By a fire which broke out in an adjoining house, -their joint property was destroyed, and Mr. Ward escaped by -clambering over the tops of several houses in his shirt. - -In the year 1717 he was returned member for Marlborough, but by -a vote of the House of Commons declared not duly elected. It is -imagined that he was in some manner connected with his brother John -Ward (immortalized by Mr Pope) in the South Sea Bubble, for he left -England rather abruptly; and during his residence abroad, is supposed -to have turned Roman Catholic. - -It was during his exile that he acquired such a knowledge of medicine -and chemistry as was afterwards the means of raising him to a state -of affluence. About the year 1733 he began to practise physic, and -combated for some time the united efforts of argument, jealousy, and -ridicule, by each of which he was opposed. By some lucky cures, and -particularly one on a relation of Sir Joseph Jekyl, Master of the -Rolls, he triumphed over his enemies; was, by a vote of the House of -Commons, exempted from being visited by the censors of the college, -and called in to the assistance of George the Second, whose hand -he cured; and in lieu of a pecuniary compensation, was, at his own -request, permitted to ride in his gaudy and heavy equipage through -St. James's Park, an honour seldom granted to any but persons of -rank. Besides this, the King gave a commission to his nephew, the -late General Gansel. - -He distributed medicine and advice to the poor gratis. There is as -bad a print as I have seen representing him thus employed. By such -conduct he acquired great popularity, and was, indeed, entitled to -great praise. - -He died December 21, 1761, at a very advanced age, and left the -receipts for compounding his medicines to Mr. Page, member for -Chichester, who bestowed them on two charitable institutions, which -have derived considerable advantage from the profits attending their -sale. - -In the _London Chronicle_ for February 27, 1762, is the following -intimation:-- - - "A monument is going to be erected in Westminster Abbey, next to that - of Mr. Dryden's, to the memory of Joshua Ward, of Whitehall, Esq., on - which will be placed a fine bust of the deceased, that had been long - in his possession." - -[192] The veil which was then spread over this science has been -partly removed by the publication of Doctor Buchan's _Domestic -Medicine_,--a treatise which I have frequently heard reprobated by -gentlemen of the Faculty, for laying open to the world, in language -so perspicuous, those mysterious secrets which had been before -disguised in dog Latin: it has, however, gone through more editions -than any book in this language, except _Robinson Crusoe_ and the -_Pilgrim's Progress_. - -[193] The poet, in this instance, laboureth under a mistake; for I -am informed by a gentleman learned in the law, that if a physician -neglecteth to receive his fees, and his patient recovereth, he hath -no legal claim, neither will an action lie; but if his patient dieth, -an action against the executors is good: the Court will admit the -claim, and the jury find a verdict, with full costs of suit. - -This is very proper, and proveth that _law_ and _equity_ are the -same; and that if a physician _doth his business_, he can recover his -reward; but if he neglecteth, and _his patient doth not die_, why -should he have any remuneration? - -[194] What caricature is in painting, burlesque is in writing; and in -the same manner the comic writer and painter correlate to each other. -But here I shall observe, that as in the former the painter seems to -have the advantage, so it is in the latter infinitely on the side of -the writer; for the monstrous is much easier to paint than describe, -and the ridiculous to describe than paint. And though perhaps this -latter species doth not in either science so strongly affect and -agitate the muscles as the other, yet it will be owned, I believe, -that a more rational and useful pleasure arises to us from it. - -"He who should call the ingenious Hogarth a burlesque painter, would, -in my opinion, do him very little honour; for sure it is much easier, -much less the subject of admiration, to paint a man with a nose or -any other feature of a monstrous size, or to expose him in some -absurd or monstrous attitude, than to express the affections of men -on canvas. It has been thought a vast commendation of a painter to -say, his figures seem to breathe; but surely it is a much greater and -nobler applause, that they appear to think." - -This is Fielding's opinion, and the _fiat_ of such a writer ought -to have great weight; for his characters and Hogarth's pictures are -drawn from the same source. - -[195] I have adhered to Hogarth's orthography. - -[196] She was suspected to have been concerned in the murder of Mr. -Nesbit in 1729, near Drury Lane, for which one Kelly, _alias_ Owen, -suffered death. The only ground of his conviction was a bloodied -razor, that was known to be his property, being found under the -murdered man's head. Kelly died protesting his innocence, and -solemnly asserted that he had lent the razor to a woman whose name -and habitation he did not know. - -[197] It appeared on the trial that Mrs. Duncombe had only fifty-four -pounds in her box; and fifty-three pounds eleven shillings and -sixpence were found upon Malcolm. - -[198] One part of her defence was, it must be acknowledged, rather -weak: she declared that seventeen pounds of the money found in her -hair was sent to her by her father; but on inquiry, it was proved -that he lived in a state of extreme and pitiable poverty in the city -of Dublin, where she was born. - -[199] The crowd was so great, that a Mrs. Strangeways, who lived in -Fleet Street, near Serjeants' Inn, crossed the street from her own -house to Mrs. Coulthurst's, on the opposite side of the way, over the -heads and shoulders of the populace. - -[200] This paper he sold for twenty pounds; and the substance of it -was printed in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1733. Peddington died -September 18, 1734. - -[201] The late Mr. Barry, whose works are an honour to his age and -country, and would alone give celebrity and immortality to the -English school, in his picture of "Elysium," or the state of final -retribution, has introduced Sir Isaac Newton looking at the solar -system, which an angel is to him uncovering. This is one of the most -sublime and poetical thoughts I ever saw expressed upon canvas. - -[202] That his conquests have in their consequences rendered the -people he subdued unhappy, must be admitted, and is to be lamented. -Though I am inclined to suspect that the narrations of Bartholomew -de las Casas, and some other writers, are greatly exaggerated, we -have indisputable evidence of such oppression, murder, and massacre, -as must make every reader shudder. If the same system is still -pursued,--and I fear it has been but little softened,--the evil will -correct itself; and who will not rejoice at the total extirpation -of these merciless tyrants, and emancipation of that unhappy race -whom they have so long enslaved? Let us not, from this, censure the -extension of commerce, or civilisation of the savage; for both these -great objects ultimately tend to make men wiser, better, and happier. -To the beardless philosopher, who adopts the fascinating visions -of Rousseau, is an advocate for the blessings of barbarism, and -contends for the superiority of the savage to the civilised animal, -I earnestly recommend the perusal of Mickle's _Introduction to the -Lusiad_. If the arguments adduced by that excellent writer--and, from -intimate personal knowledge, I venture to add, excellent man--will -not convince him, and he still languishes for pathless wilds, let him -retreat from civilised society to the frozen rocks of Kamtschatka, or -join the Aborigines of New Holland. - -[203] "When he promised a new hemisphere, it was insisted upon -that no such hemisphere could exist; and when he had discovered -it, asserted that it had been known long before. The honour was -given to the Carthaginians; and, to prove they deserved it, a book -of Aristotle's was quoted, which Aristole never wrote. It was -further said, that one Martin Behem went from Nuremburg to the -Straits of Magellan, in 1460, with a patent from the Duchess of -Burgundy, who, as she was not alive at that time, could not issue -patents."--VOLTAIRE. - -[204] Some authors have said from the port of Gomera, and dated his -departure on the 6th of September. This _momentous_ point must be -decided by those who study minute chronology; and we are so fortunate -as to live in the same age with a writer who can determine the day of -the month and day of the week when Adam was created: - -"Adam created, Friday, October 28, 4004; died, 3034 before Christ, -aged 930."--Trusler's _Chronology_. - -[205] Americus Vespucius, a merchant of Florence, had the honour -of giving his name to this new half of the globe, in which he did -not possess one acre of land; and pretended to be the first who -discovered the continent. Admitting it true that he first discovered -it, the glory is due to the man who had the penetration to see that -the voyage was practicable, and the courage to perform it. Columbus -made three voyages, as viceroy and admiral, five years before -Americus made one as a geographer; but Vespucius writing to his -friends at Florence that he had discovered a new world, they took his -word, and the citizens decreed that a grand illumination should be -made before the door of his house every three years, on the feast of -All Saints. Such are the accidents by which honours are attained. A -merchant gives his name to one half of the globe from happening to be -on board a fleet that in 1489 sailed along the coast of Brazil! - -[206] This story has been told of Brunelleschi, who improved the -architecture of Florence many years before Columbus was born, and it -has been since related of many others. These ambulatory anecdotes are -transferred from one traveller to another, like the wishing-cap of -Fortunatus, that was made to fit every head on which it was placed. - -[207] "There is scarce an Egyptian, Greek, or Roman deity, but hath a -twisted serpent, twisted cornucopia, or some symbol winding in this -manner, to accompany it."--_Preface to Analysis of Beauty_, p. 18. - -[208] Some of these were in wood, and some in copper. The painter, -when once asked why he did not answer them, replied, that "he had not -seen one which promised to live so long as it would take to engrave -a plate." A few of these poignant satires I have seen; but they have -now attained a black letter value, and are seldom to be found except -in the cabinets of the curious. A series of six or eight, beginning -with one entitled "The Butifyer, or a Touch on the Times," Plate I., -were designed and engraved by an artist of deserved celebrity.[209] -With a frankness for which he is remarkable, and which does him -honour, he once acknowledged to me, that being a very young man, he -was deceived by the loud clamours of certain veterans, at that time -leaders in the arts; but had he seen Hogarth's merit then as he does -now, nothing should have induced him to attempt the ridicule of such -talents. - -[209] Mr. Paul Sandby. - -[210] This alludes to the time Hogarth thought would elapse before -Stuart's plan was completed; and the prediction was amply verified, -for the second volume of _Athens_ was not published until 1789 or 90, -though the title-page is dated 1787. - -[211] Stuart being once questioned by Frank Hayman upon his right -to assume both these titles, said that "Poetry was his wife, and -Architecture his mistress." "You may call them so," said Hayman, "but -I never heard that you had living issue by either." - -[212] The mortification Hogarth naturally felt at seeing more money -given for a drawing of an ancient pig-sty than he received for his -most capital work, was unquestionably the strongest inducement. - -[213] A description of this print was published in _The Beauties of -all the Magazines_ for 1761; part of it I have subjoined:-- - - "Over the first row is written the title Episcopal. The first capital - discovers only a forked nose, lips, and one eye; the rest of the - face is eclipsed by the wig's protuberance. The next three etchings - are only the hinder parts of heads; by these Mr. Hogarth satirizes - the present age for their immoralities, which are so notorious, that - three-fifths of the religious orders turn their backs upon us, not - being able to behold such wickedness. - - "The last visage in the line is marked with true pedantic contempt; - the wig's fore-top is like the forked hill of Parnassus, and there is - a roll round the forehead, like a MS. scroll; the eyelids are almost - closed, which denotes _the wise man's wink_, or that he can see the - world with half an eye. The muscles of the countenance are curled up - into disdain, and he seems to say, 'I despise ye, ye illiterati!' - - "The immense quantity of grizzle which is wove into the wigs carries - a twofold design--for reverence and for warmth. The make of these - canonicals evinces the care this order take of themselves, for the - sake of those committed to their trust; and the profusion of curls or - friz in each denotes the wearer must be most learned, because, as the - country folk say, Why should they put a double coat of thatch upon a - barn, without there was a greater proportion than ordinary of grain - housed therein? - - "The next row is inscribed Aldermanic. The first wig has two ends, - exactly like the dropsical legs of some over-gorged glutton; and the - three-quartered face indicates Plenty, Porter, and Politics. On the - brow, domestical significancy is seated; a look necessary to each - master who dozes in his arm-chair on the Sunday evening, while his - lady reads prayers to the rest of the family. It is a countenance - which carries dignity with it even at the upper end of a table at a - turtle-eating. - - "The second has one lock dependent like a sheep's bushy tail. This - man could make speeches, knew the nature of debentures, and was much - harassed by cent. per cent. commerce. Many are the sleepless nights - he has passed in scheming how to fix, if for only half a day, the - fluctuating chances of 'Change Alley. - - "The third wig is, as the sailors say, 'all aback.' By the swelling - of the full bottom, we have an idea of Magna Charta consequence, and - guess that the wearer would say something--if he could but see it. - - "The next is parted triangular-wise, to fall each side the shoulders. - This design was originally taken from a nutting-stick. Thus one of - our finest capitals was delineated from a square tile, a weed, and a - basket. - - "With all modest conjecture we presume, from our intense application - to mathematics, that the semicircular sweep at the end of the last - full bottom signifies a gold chain. But as we are Englishmen, and - will have nothing to do with chains, we shall hasten to the wigs and - chins in the third, entitled 'Lexonical.' - - "Great men are always celebrated for great things: Cicero for his - wart; Ovid for a nose almost equal to Slawkenbergius'; and this - portrait seems to be ushered into notice by the curvature of the - chin. How venerably elegant do these Lexonicals appear! Here is - indeed law at full length. Special pleadings in the fore-top; - declarations, replications, rejoinders, issues, and demurrers in - every buckle. The knotty points of practice in the intricacies of the - twisted tail, and the depth of the whole wig, emblematically express - the length of a Chancery suit, while the black coif behind looks like - a blister." - -[214] A term peculiarly appropriated to the Court of Common Pleas. - -[215] To the honour of Sir John Fielding, he once attempted to -prevent its being performed, but the attempt failed. Since that time -it has been so completely disfigured by Mr. Charles Bannister being -disguised in the character of Polly, and Macheath personated by Mrs. -Cargill, etc. etc. etc., that no person who had the least pretensions -to taste would be seen at such a drama in masquerade. - -[216] "_Johnson._ I am of opinion that more influence has been -ascribed to the _Beggars' Opera_ than it in reality ever had; for I -do not believe that any man was ever made a rogue by being present at -its representation. At the same time, I do not deny that it may have -some influence, by making the character of a rogue familiar, and in -some degree pleasing." Then collecting himself, as it were to give a -heavy stroke; "There is in it such a labefaction of all principles, -as may be injurious to morality."--Boswell's _Johnson_. - -[217] A very eminent physician, whose discernment is as acute and -penetrating in judging of the human character as it is in his own -profession, remarked once at a club where I was, that a lively young -man would hardly resist a solicitation from his mistress to go upon -the highway, immediately after being present at the _Beggars' Opera_. -I have been told of an ingenious observation by Mr. Gibbon, that "the -_Beggars' Opera_ may perhaps have sometimes increased the number of -highwaymen, but that it has had a beneficial effect in refining that -class of men, making them less ferocious, more polite, in short, -more like gentlemen." Upon this Mr. Courtenay said, that Gay was the -Orpheus of highwaymen.--Note upon Boswell's _Johnson_, vol. i. p. 488. - -[218] Glory be to great Apollo! At that auspicious period his lyre -should have been new strung, and exalted in Britain; for her nobles -were as much interested in the disputes between a trio of Italian -singers, as they now are in those on which depends the salvation of -the empire. - -[219] The Ridiculous Travellers returned to Italy. - -An Italian I was once talking with upon this crotchet contest, -concluded an harangue, calculated to throw Gay's talents and taste -into ridicule, with "Saire, this simple signor did tri to pelt mine -countrymen out of England with _Lumps of Pudding_," another of the -_Beggars' Opera_ tunes. - -[220] Doctor Arbuthnot, describing the declining state of operas (in -a letter printed in the _Daily Journal_), says, "I take the _Beggars' -Opera_ to be the touchstone to try British taste on, and it has -accordingly proved effectual in discovering our true inclinations, -which, how artfully soever they may be disguised by a childish -fondness for Italian poetry and music, in preference to our own, -will, in one way or other, start up and disclose themselves." - -[221] In the _London Chronicle_ for April 6, 1762, is the following -paragraph: "On Friday last, at the sale of the late Mr. Rich's -pictures, jewels, etc., a clock by Graham was bought by the Right -Honourable the Earl of Chesterfield for £42; and a scene in the -_Beggars' Opera_, where Lucy and Polly are pleading for Macheath, -painted by Hogarth, was sold for £32, 14s. to his Grace the Duke of -Leeds. The money arising from the whole sale amounted to £683, 14s." - -[222] The name of that right cunning workman, Filch, is not -introduced in the description of the outline; by an edition of the -opera, published in 1729, I find he was personated by a Mr. Clark. - -[223] The part of this hero of the highway being originally cast for -Quin, intimates the style in which it was thought characteristic to -play it. Walker was praised for performing it with dignity! - -[224] In this are several portraits; one of Sir Francis Page of -severe memory, with a halter round his neck-- - - "Hard words or hanging, if your judge be Page." - - -[225] In this, as in almost all his dedications, the poet is very -lavish of his panegyric. Thus does it begin:-- - -"MAY IT PLEASE YOUR GRACE,--The favour which heroic plays have lately -found upon our theatres, has been wholly derived to them from the -countenance and approbation they have received at Court. The most -eminent persons for wit and honour in the royal circle having so far -owned them, that they have judged no way so fit as verse to entertain -a noble audience or to express a noble passion. And among the rest -which have been written in this kind, they have been so indulgent to -this poem, as to allow it no inconsiderable place. Since, therefore, -to the Court I owe its fortune on the stage; so, being now more -publicly exposed in print, I humbly recommend it to your Grace's -protection, who by all knowing persons is esteemed a principal -ornament of the Court. But though the rank which you hold in the -royal family might direct the eyes of a poet to you, yet your beauty -and goodness detain and fix them," etc. etc. etc. - -In the fourth act is the line about which Dryden has been so -unmercifully laughed at, and which I have invariably seen quoted: - - "I follow fate, which does too fast pursue." - -This might be, and has been defended, by supposing that the race was -run in a circle; but the line in a song, warbled by an Indian woman -at the side of a fountain, is as follows:-- - - "Ah, fading joy, how quickly art thou past! - Yet we thy ruin haste: - As if the cares of human life were few, - We seek out new, - And follow fate, which would too fast pursue," etc. - - -[226] The following was given to me by a collector of dramatic -curiosities, who in the course of a long life has raked together -as many quires of ancient and modern play-bills as would cover -every dead wall in the metropolis, and I am assured that of the -above-mentioned handbill it is - - A TRUE COPY. - - "Connection of the _Indian Emperor_ to the _Indian Queen_. - - "The conclusion of the _Indian Emperor_ (part of which poem was - written by me) left little matter for another story to be built - on, there remaining but two of the considerable characters alive, - viz. Montezuma and Orazia: thereupon the author of this thought it - necessary to produce new persons from the old ones; and considering - the late Indian Queen, before she loved Montezuma, lived in - clandestine marriage with her great general Traxalla, from those - two he has raised a son and two daughters, supposed to be grown up - to man and woman's estate, and their mother Orazia (for whom there - was no further use in the story) lately dead. So that you are to - imagine about twenty years elapsed since the coronation of Montezuma, - who in the truth of the history was a great and glorious prince, - and in whose time happened the discovery and invasion of Mexico - by the Spaniards (under the command of Cortez), who joined with - the Traxallan Indians, the inveterate enemies of Montezuma, wholly - subverted that flourishing empire, the conquest of which is the - subject of this dramatic poem. - - "I have neither wholly followed the story, nor varied from it, and, - as near as I could, have traced the native simplicity and ignorance - of the Indians in relation to European customs: the shipping, armour, - horses, swords, and guns of the Spaniards, being as new to them as - their habits and manners were to the Christians. - - "The difference of their religion from ours, I have taken from the - story itself; and that which you find of it in the first and fifth - acts, touching the sufferings and constancy of Montezuma in his - opinions, I have only illustrated, not altered from those who have - written of it. - - "JOHN DRYDEN." - - -[227] Some eighteen or twenty years ago, a person of quality in -the neighbourhood of Lichfield, dragged together a shoal of little -holiday fry, to give an infantine exhibition of a new sentimental -comedy. - -A spacious Gothic gallery made an admirable theatre, and for -scenery--there was an excellent substitute, in many a mouldering -breadth of ancient tapestry, which represented in horrid guise the -direful tale of Herod's Cruelty. By the hour announced for the -theatrical _début_ of these unfledged actors, the house overflowed. -Though the circumstance is not recorded by either Boswell or Sir -John Hawkins, a late celebrated moralist was one of the audience. -To the beginning of the fifth act he stayed with more patience than -could have been expected; at this time he exhibited evident marks of -_ennui_ and lassitude--yawned three times, and attempted to make his -exit. The lady of the mansion cut off his retreat with, "'Pon honour, -Doctor Johnson, you must not go! How can you think of leaving the -theatre when my Dicky is in so interesting a situation?" "Madam," -replied the sage, "with the plot of your play I was unacquainted, and -have waited thus long in the hope that it would turn out a tragedy; -I might then have seen how naturally little Dicky and his dramatic -associates would have died! I now perceive that the author will -neither introduce aconite nor a bare bodkin, and have no prospect of -a pathetic termination but in Herod or some of his tapestry hang-dogs -starting into life. Should these murderous ruffians once step upon -the stage, all your pretty innocents will most assuredly be put to -the sword!" - -[228] In the third volume of this work, which was compiled from -Hogarth's manuscripts, and published some time after the two which -precede it, there is a catalogue of all his prints, and the editor -has endeavoured to add a more perfect list of the numerous variations -than has been hitherto given to the public. - -[229] In a marginal leaf of the late Doctor Lort's _Trusler_, I -found a piece of a newspaper with the following remarks (neither -the date nor title of the paper were inserted): "Whether the late -extraordinary sums paid for the works of Hogarth at Mr. Gulston's -sale are to be regarded on the whole as proofs of our artist's merit, -or of extravagance in our modern collectors, I shall not venture to -determine; and yet the following statement of the rapid advance in -the value of prints from this celebrated master may furnish notices -to assist the judgment of your readers:-- - -"In 1780, Mr. Walpole obliged the world with a fourth volume of his -_Anecdotes of Painting in England_. In this entertaining performance -was comprised the first catalogue of Hogarth's pieces. I say the -first, for every preceding enumeration of them was defective in -the extreme. This was succeeded in 1781 by a publication from the -ingenious and accurate Mr. Nichols, who considerably enlarged and -amended the list made by his predecessor. - -"In the same year, Mr. Bailley's collection, which would now be -deemed an imperfect one, was sold at Christie's for £61, 10s. In 1782 -it was resold, with some additions, at Barford's for £105. - -"In 1785, the late Mr. Henderson of Covent Garden Theatre disposed of -his collection, by far less complete than either of the foregoing, -for £126. - -"In 1786, Mr. Gulston's was sold piecemeal by Mr. Greenwood; and -though the condition of all such articles in it, as real taste and -common sense would style the most valuable, were very indifferent, -the whole series is reported to have brought in upwards of £600.[230] -At this auction, the plates now to be particularized were knocked -down at the following rates, though taken altogether they were scarce -worth the money paid for the cheapest of them:-- - - Two engravings on plate £4 14 6 - Three ditto 3 10 0 - Small arms of the Duchess of Kendal 4 0 0 - Large ditto 6 0 0 - Arms of Lord Aylmer 7 10 0 - Arms unknown, with women as terms 6 10 0 - Two ditto 1 11 6 - Impression from a tankard 10 0 0 - Hogarth's shop-bill and another 11 15 0 - Rape of the Lock; impression from a gold snuff-box - presented to Mr. Pope 33 0 0 - Scene of Evening, without the girl 40 8 6 - -"Should the celebrity of the delightful mock heroic poem, or the -rareness of an imperfect play tending to show that a complete design -is not always to be hit at once even by a Hogarth, furnish some -apology for the purchase of the two last articles, what excuse can be -invented for the collectors who bought the preceding trash on terms -so ridiculously high? Of all the trifling works of art, coats of -arms must be reckoned the most contemptible. These early productions -of our author on silver tea-tables, mugs, and waiters, have no sort -of merit to recommend them, nor were ever meant to be impressed on -paper (except as in momentary satisfaction to the engraver); for -being there reversed, like the prayers of witches, they must be read -backwards. Besides, what taste or genius can be manifested in the -disposition of a cat's whiskers or a fox's tail; in the emblazonry of -a black swan with two necks, or a blue boar with gilded tail? What -abilities are requisite for the expansion of an old woman's furred -cloak (very pompously denominated a mantle) at the back of a shield, -or for inscribing some bright sentence or wretched pun (yclep'd a -motto) in Gothic Latin on a ribbon fantastically waved? For the -design in which nature and manners are displayed, no praise can be -too exalted; but as for his heraldry,--his representation of birds -and beasts that never had existence,-- - - "A dragon, and a finless fish, - A clip-wing'd griffin, and a molten raven, - And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff,"-- - -these can never be allowed to contribute a single leaf to the chaplet -he has so long and so deservedly worn. - -"I have dwelt the more on these things, because I am assured there -are print-dealers now rummaging the books of our oldest engravers, -in the hope that a still greater number of useless and insignificant -particulars consisting of arms, etc., imputable to Hogarth, will -be found; nor are their hopes less sanguine that the madness of -collectors will be confirmed instead of cured by the examples hung -out at the late auction in Leicester Fields. - -"Let me hope, however, that for the future every sensible collector -will think his assemblage of Hogarth's prints sufficiently complete, -without the foolish adjuncts already described and reprobated. For -the authenticity of these trifles being obvious to no kind of proof, -they principally tend to expose their purchasers to the frauds of -designing people, who will laugh at their credulity while they pocket -their cash." - -[230] A short time before this, the writer of these volumes had the -honour of furnishing his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales with a -set of Hogarth's works. They consisted of remarkably fine impressions -from his most valuable plates, many of the variations, and some which -were deemed scarce (though not one of either the large or small coat -of arms). For the two volumes he charged and received £84. - -[231] See the manner of disgracing the most serious subjects in many -celebrated old pictures, by introducing low, absurd, and obscure, and -often profane, circumstances into them. - -[232] - - "What shall withstand old Time's devouring hand? - Where's Troy? and where's the Maypole in the Strand?" - - -[233] I may be told that this is a mistake, and that it was either to -Pope or Swift. It was the fate of Arbuthnot to twine laurel for the -brows of his friends. I know it was a partnership account, but surely -the Doctor was first in the firm. - -[234] See the introduction to the _Memoirs of Scriblerus_. - -[235] Should any Lord, Knight, Esquire, or spirited Bookseller, -choose to purchase the whole copy, I am ready to treat with him upon -proper terms. - -[236] The writer of a modern book of travels, relating the -particulars of his being cast away, thus concludeth: "After having -walked eleven hours without tracing the print of a human foot, to -my great comfort and delight I saw a man hanging upon a gibbet: -my pleasure at this cheering prospect was inexpressible, for it -convinced me that I was in a civilised country!" - - - - - * * * * * - - - - - _SEASON 1874._ - -[Illustration] - - -A LIST OF BOOKS - -PUBLISHED BY - -CHATTO & WINDUS - -(_Successors to John Camden Hotten_), - -74 & 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W. - - -THE FAMOUS FRASER PORTRAITS. - -MACLISE'S GALLERY OF ILLUSTRIOUS LITERARY CHARACTERS. - -With Notes by the late WILLIAM MAGINN, LL.D. - -Edited, with copious Notes, by WILLIAM BATES, B.A., Professor of -Classics in Queen's College, Birmingham. The volume contains the -whole 83 SPLENDID AND MOST CHARACTERISTIC PORTRAITS, now first issued -in a complete form. In demy 4to, over 400 pages, cloth gilt and gilt -edges, 31_s._ 6_d._; or, in morocco elegant, 70_s._ - - "What a truly charming book of pictures and prose, the - quintessence, as it were, of Maclise and Maginn, giving the very - form and pressure of their literary time, would this century of - illustrious characters make."--_Notes and Queries._ - - -[Illustration] - -THE PRINCE OF CARICATURISTS. - -THE WORKS OF JAMES GILLRAY, - -_The Caricaturist_, - -With the Story of his Life and Times, and full and Anecdotal -Descriptions of his Engravings. - -Edited by THOS. WRIGHT, Esq., M.A., F.S.A. - -Illustrated with 90 full-page Plates, and about 400 Wood Engravings. -Demy 4to, 600 pages, cloth extra, 31_s._ 6_d._; or, in morocco -elegant, 70_s._ - - -BEAUTIFUL PICTURES BY BRITISH ARTISTS. - -A Gathering of Favourites from our Picture Galleries, 1800-1870. By -WILKIE, CONSTABLE, J. M. W. TURNER, MULREADY, Sir EDWIN LANDSEER, -MACLISE, LESLIE, E. M. WARD, FRITH, Sir JOHN GILBERT, ANSDELL, MARCUS -STONE, Sir NOEL PATON, EYRE CROWE, FAED, MADOX BROWN. All Engraved -in the highest style of Art. With Notices of the Artists by SYDNEY -ARMYTAGE, M.A. A New Edition. Imperial 4to, cloth gilt and gilt -edges, 21_s._; or, in morocco elegant, 65_s._ - - -UNIFORM WITH "BEAUTIFUL PICTURES." - -COURT BEAUTIES OF THE REIGN OF CHARLES II. - -From the Originals in the Royal Gallery at Windsor, by Sir PETER -LELY. Engraved in the highest style of Art by THOMSON, WRIGHT, -SCRIVEN, B. HOLL, WAGSTAFF, and T. A. DEANE. With Memoirs by Mrs. -JAMESON, Author of "Legends of the Madonna." New and sumptuous -"Presentation Edition." 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Profusely -Illustrated with fine Wood Engravings. Small crown 8vo, cloth extra, -4_s._ 6_d._ - - -UNIFORM WITH THE 2_s._ EDITION OF HIS WORKS. - -=Carlyle (T.) on the Choice of Books.= With a New Life and Anecdotes -of the Author. Brown cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._; paper cover, 1_s._ - - -=Chips from a Rough Log.= Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, 1_s._ - - -=Christmas Songs and Ballads.= Selected and Edited by JOSHUA -SYLVESTER. A New Edition, beautifully printed and bound in cloth, -extra gilt, gilt edges, 3_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Clerical Anecdotes and Pulpit Eccentricities.= An entirely New -Gathering. Square 16mo, in illustrated paper wrapper, 1_s._ 4_d._; or -cloth neat, 1_s._ 10_d._ - - -=The Country of the Dwarfs.= By PAUL DU CHAILLU. A Book of Startling -Interest. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated with full-page Engravings, in fancy -wrapper, 1_s._ - - -=Cruikshank's Comic Almanack.= FIRST SERIES, 1835-43. A Gathering -of the BEST HUMOUR, the WITTIEST SAYINGS, the Drollest Quips, and -the Best Things of THACKERAY, HOOD, MAYHEW, ALBERT SMITH, A'BECKETT, -ROBERT BROUGH, &c. With about One Thousand Woodcuts and Steel -Engravings by the inimitable CRUIKSHANK, HINE, LANDELLS, &c. Crown -8vo, cloth gilt, a very thick volume, price 7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration] - - -=Cruikshank's Comic Almanack.= SECOND SERIES, 1844-53, Completing the -work. Uniform with the FIRST SERIES, and written and illustrated by -the same humorists. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, a very thick volume, price -7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration] - - *** _The two volumes (each sold separately) form a most - extraordinary gathering of the best wit and humour of the past - half-century. The work forms a "Comic History of England" for - twenty years._ - - -THE BEST GUIDE TO HERALDRY. - -[Illustration] - -=Cussans' Handbook of Heraldry=; with Instructions for Tracing -Pedigrees and Deciphering Ancient MSS.; also, Rules for the -Appointment of Liveries, &c., &c. By JOHN E. CUSSANS. Illustrated -with 360 Plates and Woodcuts. Cr. 8vo, cloth extra, gilt and -emblazoned, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _This volume, beautifully printed on toned paper, contains - not only the ordinary matter to be found in the best books on the - science of Armory, but several other subjects hitherto unnoticed. - Amongst these may be mentioned_:--1. DIRECTIONS FOR TRACING - PEDIGREES. 2. DECIPHERING ANCIENT MSS., ILLUSTRATED BY ALPHABETS - AND FACSIMILES. 3. THE APPOINTMENT OF LIVERIES. 4. 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So - crammed is the book with pictures, that even the contents are - adorned with thirty-three Illustrations._ - -A few copies of the FRENCH ORIGINAL are still on sale, bound -half-Roxburghe, gilt top--a very handsome book--price 12_s._ 6_d._ - - -=The Danbury Newsman.= A Brief but Comprehensive Record of the Doings -of a Remarkable People, under more Remarkable Circumstances, and -Chronicled in a most Remarkable Manner. By JAMES M. BAILEY. Uniform -with Twain's "Screamers." Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, 1_s._ - - "A real American humorist."--_Figaro._ - - -=The Derby Day.= A Sporting Novel of intense interest, by a -well-known writer. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, 1_s._ - - -=Disraeli's (Rt. Hon. B.) Speeches= on the Conservative Policy of the -last Thirty Years, including the Speech at the Literary Fund Dinner, -specially revised by the Author. Royal 16mo, paper cover, with -Portrait, 1_s._ 4_d._; in cloth, 1_s._ 10_d._ - - -=D'Urfey's ("Tom") Wit and Mirth;= or, PILLS TO PURGE MELANCHOLY: -Being a Collection of the best Merry Ballads and Songs, Old and New. -Fitted to all Humours, having each their proper Tune for either Voice -or Instrument: most of the Songs being new set. London: Printed by W. -Pearson, for J. Tonson, at Shakespeare's Head, over-against Catherine -Street in the Strand, 1719. - -An exact and beautiful reprint of this much-prized work, with the -Music to the Songs, just as in the rare original. In 6 vols., large -fcap. 8vo, antique boards, edges uncut, beautifully printed on laid -paper, made expressly for the work, price £3 3_s._; or LARGE PAPER -COPIES (a limited number only printed), price £5 5_s._ - - *** The PILLS TO PURGE MELANCHOLY _have now retained their - celebrity for a century and a half. The difficulty of obtaining - a copy has of late years raised sets to a fabulous price, and - has made even odd volumes costly. Considering the classical - reputation which the book has thus obtained, and its very - high interest as illustrative of the manners, customs, and - amusements of English life during the half century following the - Restoration, no apology is needed for placing such a work more - within the reach of general readers and students by re-issuing it - for the first time since its original appearance, and at about - a tithe of the price for which the old edition could now be - obtained._ - - _For drinking-songs and love-songs, sprightly ballads, merry - stories, and political squibs, there are none to surpass these in - the language. In improvising such pieces, and in singing them_, - D'URFEY _was perhaps never equalled, except in our own century - by_ THEODORE HOOK. _The sallies of his wit amused and delighted - three successive English sovereigns; and while his plays are - forgotten, his songs and ballads still retain the light_ abandon - _and joyous freshness that recommended them to the wits and beaux - of Queen Anne's days. Nor can the warm and affectionate eulogy of - Steele and Addison be forgotten, and_ D'URFEY _may now take his - place on the bookshelves of the curious, side by side with the - other worthies of his age._ - - -=The Earthward Pilgrimage=, from the Next World to that which now is. -By MONCURE D. CONWAY. Crown 8vo, beautifully printed and bound, 7_s._ -6_d._ - - -=Edgar Allan Poe's Prose and Poetical Works=; including Additional -Tales and the fine Essays by this great Genius, now FIRST PUBLISHED -IN THIS COUNTRY. With a Translation of CHARLES BAUDELAIRE'S "Essay -on Poe." 750 pages, crown 8vo, with fine Portrait and Illustrations, -cloth extra, 7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration: POE'S COTTAGE AT FORDHAM.] - - -=Mrs. Ellis's Mothers of Great Men.= A New Edition of this well-known -Work, with numerous very beautiful Portraits. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, -over 500 pages, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - [_In preparation._ - - -THE STANDARD WORK ON THE SUBJECT. - -=Emanuel on Diamonds and Precious Stones=; Their History, Value, -and Properties; with Simple Tests for ascertaining their Reality. -By HARRY EMANUEL, F.R.G.S. With numerous Illustrations, Tinted and -Plain. A New Edition, with the Prices brought down to the Present -Time. Crown 8vo, full gilt, 6_s._ - - "Will be acceptable to many readers."--_Times._ - - "An invaluable work for buyers and sellers."--_Spectator._ - - *** _The present, which is greatly superior to the first edition, - gives the latest market value for Diamonds and Precious Stones of - every size._ - - -=The Englishman's House=, from a Cottage to a Mansion. A Practical -Guide to Members of Building Societies, and all interested in -Selecting or Building a House. By C. J. RICHARDSON, Architect, -Author of "Old English Mansions," &c. Second Edition, Corrected and -Enlarged, with nearly 600 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 550 pages, cloth, -7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration] - - *** _This Work might not inappropriately be termed "A Book of - Houses." It gives every variety of house, from a workman's - cottage to a nobleman's palace. The book is intended to supply - a want long felt, viz., a plain, non-technical account of every - style of house, with the cost and manner of building._ - - -=Our English Surnames=: Their Sources and Significations. By CHARLES -WAREING BARDSLEY, M.A. Crown 8vo, about 600 pages, cloth extra, 9_s._ - - -INDISPENSABLE TO EVERY HOUSEHOLD. - -=Everybody Answered.= A Handy Book for All; and a Guide to the -Housewife, the Servant, the Cook, the Tradesman, the Workman, the -Professional Man, the Clerk, &c., &c., in the Duties belonging to -their respective Callings. One thick volume, crown 8vo, cloth gilt, -4_s._ 6_d._ - - [_In preparation._ - - -=Family Fairy Tales=; or, Glimpses of Elfland at Heatherstone -Hall. Edited by CHOLMONDELEY PENNELL, Author of "Puck on Pegasus," -&c. Adorned with beautiful Pictures of "My Lord Lion," "King -Uggermugger," and other Great Folks, by M. ELLEN EDWARDS, and other -artists. Handsomely printed on toned paper, in cloth, green and gold, -price 4_s._ 6_d._ plain, 5_s._ 6_d._ coloured. - - -=Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle.= Lectures delivered to a -Juvenile Audience. A New Edition of this well-known volume, which has -been so long out of print, Edited by W. CROOKES, Esq., F.C.S., &c. -Crown 8vo, cloth extra, with all the Original Illustrations, price -4_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Faraday's Various Forces of Nature.= A New Edition, with all the -Original Illustrations, Edited by W. CROOKES, Esq., F.C.S., &c. Crown -8vo, cloth extra, 4_s._ 6_d._ - - -FLAGELLATION AND THE FLAGELLANTS. - -[Illustration] - -=A History of the Rod= in all Countries, from the Earliest Period -to the Present Time. The use of the Rod in the Church, Convent, -Monastery, Prison, Army, Navy, in public and private; the use of the -Birch in the Family, Ladies' Seminaries, Boys' Schools, Colleges, -the Boudoir, Ancient and Modern. By the Rev. W. COOPER, B.A. Second -Edition, revised and corrected, with numerous Illustrations. Thick -crown 8vo, cloth extra gilt, 12_s._ 6_d._ - - "A remarkable, and certainly a very readable volume."--_Daily - Telegraph._ - - -=The Fiend's Delight=: A "Cold Collation" of Atrocities. By DOD -GRILE. New Edition, in illustrated wrapper, fcap. 8vo, 1_s._; or -crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3_s._ 6_d._ - - "A specimen of 'American Humour' as unlike that of all other - American humourists, as the play of young human Merry-Andrews is - unlike that of a young and energetic demon whose horns are well - budded."--_New York Nation._ - - -=The Finish to Life in and out of London=; or, The Final Adventures -of Tom, Jerry, and Logic. By PIERCE EGAN. Royal 8vo, cloth extra, -with Spirited Coloured Illustrations by CRUIKSHANK, 21_s._ - - *** _An extraordinary picture of_ "LONDON BY NIGHT" _in the - Days of George the Fourth. All the strange places of amusement - in the neighbourhood of Covent Garden and St. James's are fully - described, and very queer places they were too!_ - - -WALK UP! WALK UP! AND SEE THE - -=Fools' Paradise=; with the Many Wonderful Adventures there, as seen -in the strange, surprising - -=PEEP-SHOW OF PROFESSOR WOLLEY COBBLE=, - -Raree Showman these Five-and-Twenty Years. - -Crown 4to, with nearly 200 immensely funny Pictures, all beautifully -coloured, bound in extra cloth gilt, price 7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration: THE PROFESSOR'S LEETLE MUSIC LESSON.] - - -A SECOND SERIES IS NOW READY, CALLED - -=Further Adventures in Fools' Paradise=, - -with the Many Wonderful Doings, as seen in the - -=PEEP-SHOW OF PROFESSOR WOLLEY COBBLE=. - -Crown 4to, with the Pictures beautifully Coloured, uniform with the -FIRST SERIES, in extra cloth gilt, price 7_s._ 6_d._ - - -A COMPANION TO ALL FRENCH DICTIONARIES. - -=French Slang=; or Eccentricities of the French Language. - -A DICTIONARY OF - -=PARISIAN ARGOT=, including all recent expressions, whether of -the Street, the Theatre, or the Prison. Handsomely bound in -half-Roxburghe, illustrated with 30 large Wood Engravings. Price -7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _This book is indispensable to all readers of modern French - literature. It is, besides, amusing in itself, and may be taken - up to while away an idle half-hour. It does for French what our - "Slang Dictionary" does for English._ - - -=Fun for the Million=: A Gathering of Choice Wit and Humour, Good -Things, and Sublime Nonsense, by DICKENS, JERROLD, SAM SLICK, CHAS. -H. ROSS, HOOD, THEODORE HOOK, MARK TWAIN, BROUGH, COLMAN, TITUS A. -BRICK, and a Host of other Humourists. With Pictures by MATT MORGAN, -GILBERT, NAST, THOMPSON, CRUIKSHANK, Jun., BRUNTON, &c. In fcap. 4to, -profusely illustrated, with picture wrapper, 1_s._ - -[Illustration] - - -=The Genial Showman=; or, Show Life in the New World. Adventures with -Artemus Ward, and the Story of his Life. By E. P. HINGSTON. Third -Edition. Crown 8vo, Illustrated by BRUNTON, cloth extra, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _This is a most interesting work. It gives Sketches of - Show-Life in the Far West, on the Pacific Coast, among the Mines - of California, in Salt Lake City, and across the Rocky Mountains; - with chapters descriptive of Artemus Ward's visit to England._ - - -RUSKIN AND CRUIKSHANK. - -=German Popular Stories.= Collected by the Brothers GRIMM, and -Translated by EDGAR TAYLOR. Edited by JOHN RUSKIN. With 22 -Illustrations after the inimitable designs of GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. Both -Series complete. Square crown 8vo, 6_s._ 6_d._; gilt leaves, 7_s._ -6_d._ - - *** _These are the designs which Mr. Ruskin has praised so - highly, placing them far above all Cruikshank's other works of - a similar character. So rare had the original book (published - in 1823-1826) become, that £5 to £6 per copy was an ordinary - price. By the consent of Mr. Taylor's family a New Edition is now - issued, under the care and superintendence of the printers who - issued the originals forty years ago. A few copies for sale on - Large Paper, price 21s._ - - -=Gesta Romanorum=; or, Entertaining Stories, invented by the Monks as -a Fireside Recreation, and commonly applied in their Discourses from -the Pulpit. A New Edition, with Introduction by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., -M.A., F.S.A. Two vols. large fcap. 8vo, only 250 copies printed, on -fine ribbed paper, 18_s._; or, LARGE PAPER EDITION (only a few copies -printed), 30_s._ - - -=Gladstone's (Rt. Hon. W. E.) Speeches= on Great Questions of the Day -during the last Thirty Years. Collated with the best public reports. -Royal 16mo, paper cover, 1_s._ 4_d._; cloth extra, 1_s._ 10_d._ - - -=Golden Treasury of Thought.= The Best Encyclopædia of Quotations and -Elegant Extracts, from Writers of all Times and all Countries, ever -formed. Selected and Edited by THEODORE TAYLOR, Author of "Thackeray, -the Humourist and Man of Letters," "Story of Charles Dickens' Life." -Crown 8vo, very handsomely bound, cloth gilt, and gilt edges, 7_s._ -6_d._ - - *** _An attempt to put into the hands of the reader and student a - more varied and complete collection of the best thoughts of the - best authors than had before been made. It is not everybody who - can get the original works from which the extracts are taken, - while a book, such as this is within the reach of all, and cannot - be opened without finding something worth reading, and in most - cases worth remembering._ - - -=Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.= 1785. A genuine -unmutilated Reprint of the First Edition. Quarto, bound in -half-Roxburghe, gilt top, price 8_s._ - - *** _Only a small number of copies of this very vulgar, but very - curious, book have been printed, for the Collectors of "Street - Words" and Colloquialisms._ - - -=Hall's (Mrs. S. C.) Sketches of Irish Character.= With numerous -Illustrations on Steel and Wood, by DANIEL MACLISE, R.A., Sir JOHN -GILBERT, W. HARVEY, and G. CRUIKSHANK. 8vo, pp. 450, cloth extra, -7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration] - - "The Irish sketches of this lady resemble Miss Mitford's - beautiful English Sketches in 'Our Village,' but they are - far more vigorous and picturesque and bright."--_Blackwood's - Magazine._ - - -COMPANION TO "THE SECRET OUT." - -=Hanky-Panky.= A New and Wonderful Book of Very Easy Tricks, Very -Difficult Tricks, White Magic, Sleight of Hand; in fact, all those -startling Deceptions which the Great Wizards call "Hanky-Panky." -Edited by W. H. CREMER, of Regent Street. With nearly 200 -Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, price 4_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Hans Breitmann's Ballads.= By J. G. LELAND. The Complete Work, from -the Author's revised Edition. Royal 16mo, paper cover, 1_s._; in -cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Hatton's (Jos.) Kites and Pigeons.= A most amusing Novelette. With -Illustrations by LINLEY SAMBOURNE, of "Punch." Fcap. 8vo, illustrated -wrapper, 1_s._ - -[Illustration] - - -=Hawthorne's English and American Note Books.= Edited, with an -Introduction, by MONCURE D. CONWAY. Royal 16mo, paper cover, 1_s._; -in cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Holidays with Hobgoblins=, and Talk of Strange Things. By DUDLEY -COSTELLO. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated boards, with Picture by GEORGE -CRUIKSHANK. 2_s._ - - -OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES' WORKS. - -=Holmes' Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.= An entirely New Edition of -this Favourite Work. Royal 16mo, paper cover, 1_s._; in cloth, neat, -1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Holmes' Poet at the Breakfast Table.= From January to June. Paper -cover, 1_s._ - - -=Holmes' Professor at the Breakfast Table.= A Companion Volume to the -"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table." Royal 16mo, paper cover, 1_s._; -cloth neat, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Holmes' Wit and Humour.= Delightful Verses, in the style of the -elder Hood. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated wrapper, 1_s._ - - -THE MOST COMPLETE HOGARTH EVER PUBLISHED - -[Illustration] - -=Hogarth's Works=; with Life and Anecdotal Descriptions of the -Pictures, by JOHN IRELAND and JOHN NICHOLS. The Work includes 150 -Engravings, reduced in exact facsimile of the Original Plates, -specimens of which have now become very scarce. The whole in Three -Series, 8vo, cloth, gilt, 22_s._ 6_d._ Each series is, however, -Complete in itself, and is sold separately at 7_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Hogarth's Five Days' Frolic=; or, Peregrinations by Land and Water. -Illustrated with Tinted Drawings, made by HOGARTH and SCOTT during -the Journey. 4to, beautifully printed, cloth, extra gilt, 10_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _A graphic and most extraordinary picture of the hearty - English times in which these merry artists lived._ - - -=Hood's Whims and Oddities.= The Entire Work. Now issued Complete, -the Two Parts in One Volume, with all the Humorous Designs. Royal -16mo, paper cover, 1_s._; cloth neat, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Hunt's (Leigh) Tale for a Chimney Corner=, and other charming -Essays. With Introduction by EDMUND OLLIER, and Portrait supplied by -the late THORNTON HUNT. Royal 16mo, paper cover, 1_s._ 4_d._; cloth -neat, 1_s._ 10_d._ - - -=Hunt's (Robert, F.R.S.) Drolls of Old Cornwall=; or, POPULAR -ROMANCES OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND. New Edition, Complete in One Volume, -with Illustrations by GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. Crown 8vo, extra cloth gilt, -7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** "Mr. Hunt's charming book on the Drolls and Stories of the - West of England."--_Saturday Review._ - - -[Illustration] - -=Jennings' (Hargrave) One of the Thirty.= With curious Illustrations. -Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 10_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _An extraordinary narrative, tracing down one of the accursed - pieces of silver for which Jesus of Nazareth was sold. Through - eighteen centuries is this fated coin tracked, now in the - possession of the innocent, now in the grasp of the guilty, but - everywhere carrying with it the evil that fell upon Judas._ - - -=Jennings' (Hargrave) The Rosicrucians: Their Rites and Mysteries.= -With chapters on the Ancient Fire and Serpent Worshippers, and -Explanations of the Mystic Symbols represented in the Monuments and -Talismans of the Primeval Philosophers. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, with -about 300 Illustrations, 10_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Joe Miller's Jests=; or, The Wit's Vade Mecum. Being a collection of -the most brilliant Jests, the politest Repartees, the most elegant -Bon-Mots, and most pleasant short Stories in the English Language. -London: Printed by T. Read, 1739. A remarkable facsimile of the very -rare ORIGINAL EDITION. 8vo, half-Roxburghe, 9_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _Only a very few copies of this humorous and racy old book - have been reproduced._ - - -=Josh Billings: His Book of Sayings.= With Introduction by E. P. -HINGSTON, Companion of Artemus Ward when on his "Travels." Fcap. 8vo, -illustrated cover, 1_s._ - - -=Kalendars of Gwynedd=; or, Chronological Lists of Lords-Lieutenant, -Sheriffs and Knights for Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth. With -Lists of the Lords-Presidents of Wales, and the Constables of the -Castles of Beaumaris, Caernarvon, Conway, and Harlech. Compiled by -EDWARD BREESE, F.S.A. With Notes by WILLIAM WATKIN EDWARD WYNNE, -Esq., F.S.A., of Penairth. Only a limited number printed. One volume, -demy 4to, cloth extra, 28_s._ - - -=Lamb's (Charles) Essays of Elia.= The Complete Work. Beautifully -printed, and uniform with the "Essays of Leigh Hunt." Royal 16mo, -paper cover, 1_s._; cloth neat, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Leigh's Carols of Cockayne.= Vers de Société, mostly descriptive of -London Life. By HENRY S. LEIGH. With numerous exquisite Designs by -ALFRED CONCANEN and the late JOHN LEECH. Small 4to, elegant, uniform -with "Puniana," 6_s._ - - -UNIFORM WITH "DR. SYNTAX." - -[Illustration] - -=Life in London=; or, The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn -and Corinthian Tom. WITH THE WHOLE OF CRUIKSHANK'S VERY DROLL -ILLUSTRATIONS, in Colours, after the Originals. Crown 8vo, cloth -extra, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _One of the most popular books ever issued. It was an immense - favourite with George IV., and as a picture of London life fifty - years ago was often quoted by Thackeray, who devotes one of his - "Roundabout Papers" to a description of it._ - - -=Literary Scraps.= A Folio Scrap-Book of 340 columns, with guards, -for the reception of Cuttings from Newspapers, Extracts, Miscellanea, -&c. A very useful book. In folio, half-roan, cloth sides, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Little Breeches=, and other Pieces (PIKE COUNTY BALLADS). By Colonel -JOHN HAY. Foolscap 8vo, illustrated cover, 1_s._ 6_d._ - - -=The Little London Directory of 1677.= The Oldest Printed List of -the Merchants and Bankers of London. Reprinted from the Exceedingly -Rare Original, with an Introduction by JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. 16mo, in a -beautiful binding, after the original, 6_s._ 6_d._ - - -=The Log of the Water Lily=, during Three Cruises on the Rhine, -Neckar, Main, Moselle, Danube, Saone, and Rhone. By R. B. MANSFIELD, -B.A. Illustrated by ALFRED THOMPSON, B.A. Fifth Edition, revised and -considerably enlarged. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, 5_s._ - - -[Illustration] - -=Longfellow's Prose Works=, Complete, including his Stories -and Essays, now for the first time collected. Edited, with an -Introduction, by the Author of "Tennysoniana." With Portrait and -Illustrations, drawn by VALENTINE BROMLEY, and beautifully engraved, -650 pages, crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - -=Lost Beauties of the English Language.= An Appeal to Authors, -Poets, Clergymen, and Public Speakers; with an Introductory Essay. -By CHARLES MACKAY, LL.D. In crown 8vo, cloth extra, uniform with the -"Slang Dictionary," 6_s._ 6_d._ - - -UNIFORM WITH "THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK." - -=Magic and Mystery.= A Splendid Collection of Tricks with Cards, -Dice, Balls, &c., with fully descriptive working Directions. Crown -8vo, with numerous Illustrations, cloth extra, 4_s._ 6_d._ - - [_Preparing._ - - -COMPANION TO "THE SECRET OUT." - -=The Magician's Own Book.= Containing ample Instructions for -Performances in Legerdemain with Cups and Balls, Eggs, Hats, -Handkerchiefs, &c. All from Actual Experience. Edited by W. H. -CREMER, Jun., of Regent Street. 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These volumes having in - turn become exceedingly scarce, the Publishers venture to put - forth the present new edition, in which, while nothing has been - omitted, no pains have been spared to render it more complete - and elegant than any that has yet appeared. The type, plates, - and woodcuts of the originals have been accurately followed; - the notes of the Editor of 1817 are considerably augmented, - and indexes have been added, together with a portrait of Sir - John Mennis, from a painting by Vandyke in Lord Clarendon's - Collection._ - - -=The Mystery of Mr. E. Drood.= An Adaptation. By ORPHEUS C. KERR. -Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, 1_s._ - - -=The Mystery of the Good Old Cause:= Sarcastic Notices of those -Members of the Long Parliament that held Places, both Civil and -Military, contrary to the Self-denying Ordinance of April 3, 1645; -with the Sums of Money and Lands they divided among themselves. 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A very -handsome volume, crown 4to, cloth gilt, 700 pages, 31_s._ 6_d._ A few -Large Paper copies have been printed, price 50_s._ - - -=Parochial History of the County of Cornwall.= Compiled from the best -authorities, and corrected and improved from actual survey. 4 vols. -4to, cloth extra, £3 3_s._ the set; or, separately, the first three -volumes, 16_s._ each; the fourth volume, 18_s._ - - -COMPANION TO THE "BON GAULTIER BALLADS." - -=Puck on Pegasus.= By H. CHOLMONDELEY PENNELL. In 4to, printed within -an India-paper tone, and elegantly bound, gilt, gilt edges, price -10_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _This most amusing work has passed through Five Editions, - receiving everywhere the highest praise as "a clever and - brilliant book." In addition to the designs of_ GEORGE - CRUIKSHANK, JOHN LEECH, JULIAN PORTCH, "PHIZ," _and other - artists_, Sir NOEL PATON, MILLAIS, JOHN TENNIEL, RICHARD DOYLE, - _and_ M. 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Crown 8vo. beautifully bound in -cloth, with Emblematic Design, extra gilt, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - -PICCADILLY ANNUAL FOR 1874. - -[Illustration] - -=The Knowing Ones at Home.= Stories of their Doings at a Local -Science Meeting, at the Crystal Palace, at St. Paul's, at a -Foresters' Fête, &c., &c. A New and entirely Original Humorous -Story, crammed with Fun from the first page to the last. Profusely -Illustrated by BRUNTON, MATT MORGAN, and other Artists. 4to, handsome -wrapper, 1_s._ - - -=Policeman Y: His Opinions on War and the Millingtary.= With -Illustrations by the Author, JOHN EDWARD SODEN. Cloth, very neat, -2_s._ 6_d._; in paper, 1_s._ - - -FOR GOLD AND SILVERSMITHS. - -=Private Book of Useful Alloys and Memoranda for Goldsmiths and -Jewellers.= By JAMES E. COLLINS, C.E., of Birmingham. Royal 16mo, -3_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _The secrets of the Gold and Silversmiths' Art are here - given, for the benefit of young Apprentices and Practitioners. It - is an invaluable book to the Trade._ - - -"AN AWFULLY JOLLY BOOK FOR PARTIES." - -[Illustration] - -=Puniana:= Thoughts Wise and Otherwise. By the Hon. HUGH ROWLEY. Best -Book of Riddles and Puns ever formed. With nearly 100 exquisitely -Fanciful Drawings. Contains nearly 3000 of the best Riddles, and -10,000 most outrageous Puns, and is one of the most Popular Books -ever issued. New Edition, small quarto, uniform with the "Bab -Ballads." Price 6_s._ - - "Enormous burlesque--unapproachable and pre-eminent. 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Small 4to, handsomely printed and -bound, 15_s._ - - *** _Genealogists and Antiquaries will find much new and curious - matter in this work. An elaborate Index refers to every name in - the volume, among which will be found many of the highest local - interest._ - - -[Illustration] - -=Ross's (Chas. H.) Unlikely Tales and Wrong-Headed Essays.= Fcap. -8vo, with numerous quaint and amusing Illustrations, 1_s._ - - -=Ross's (Chas. H.) Story of a Honeymoon.= A New Edition of this -charmingly humorous book. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated boards, 2_s._ - - [_Nearly ready._ - - -=School Life at Winchester College=; or, The Reminiscences of a -Winchester Junior. By the Author of "The Log of the Water Lily;" and -"The Water Lily on the Danube." Second Edition, Revised. COLOURED -PLATES. 7_s._ 6_d._ - - -[Illustration] - -=The Secret Out=; or, One Thousand Tricks with Cards, and other -Recreations; with Entertaining Experiments in Drawing Room or "White -Magic." By the Author of the "Magician's Own Book." Edited by W. -H. CREMER, Jun., of Regent Street. With 300 Engravings. Crown 8vo, -cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _Under the title of "Le Magicien des Salons," this book - has long been a Standard Magic Book with all French and German - Professors of the Art. The tricks are described so carefully, - with engravings to illustrate them, that not the slightest - difficulty can be experienced in performing them._ - - -=Shaving Them=; or, The Adventures of Three Yankees. By TITUS A. -BRICK. Fcap. 8vo, illustrated cover, 1_s._ - - -=Shelley's Early Life.= From Original Sources. With Curious -Incidents, Letters, and Writings, now First Published or Collected. -By DENIS FLORENCE MAC-CARTHY. Cheaper Edition, crown 8vo, with -Illustrations, 440 pages, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _A most interesting volume of new biographical facts. The - work possesses special interest to Irish readers, as the poet's - political pamphlets, advocating Home Rule and other rights, - are here for the first time given in a collected form. These - pamphlets Shelley and his wife threw from the balcony of a window - in Sackville Street, as the best means of publishing the poet's - political principles._ - - -THE POCKET SHELLEY. - -[Illustration: SHELLEY, FROM THE GODWIN SKETCH.] - -=Shelley's Poetical Works.= Now First Reprinted from the Author's -Original Editions. In Two Series, the FIRST containing "Queen Mab" -and the Early Poems; the SECOND, "Laon and Cythna," "The Cenci," and -Later Poems. In royal 16mo, over 400 pages in a volume, price 1_s._ -8_d._ each, in illustrated cover; 2_s._ 2_d._ each in cloth extra. - -_The Third Series, completing the Work, will shortly be ready._ - - -=Sheridan's (Richard Brinsley) Complete Works=, with Life and -Anecdotes. Including his Dramatic Writings, printed from the Original -Editions, his works in Prose and Poetry, Translations, Speeches, -Jokes, Puns, &c.; with a Collection of Sheridaniana. Crown 8vo, cloth -gilt, with Portrait and Illustrations, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - [_Preparing._ - - -=Shirley Brooks' Amusing Poetry.= A Collection of Humorous Poems. -Selected by SHIRLEY BROOKS, Editor of _Punch_. Fcap. 8vo, paper -boards, 2_s._ - - [_Preparing._ - - *** _This work has for many years been out of print, and very - scarce._ - - -=Signboards=: Their History. With Anecdotes of Famous Taverns and -Remarkable Characters. By JACOB LARWOOD and JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. -SEVENTH EDITION. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 580 pp., 7_s._ 6_d._ - -[Illustration: BULL AND MOUTH.] - - "It is not fair on the part of a reviewer to pick out the plums - of an author's book, thus filching away his cream, and leaving - little but skim-milk remaining; but, even if we were ever so - maliciously inclined, we could not in the present instance - pick out all Messrs. Larwood and Hotten's plums, because the - good things are so numerous as to defy the most wholesale - depredation."--_The Times._ - - *** _Nearly 100 most curious illustrations on wood are given, - showing the various old signs which were formerly hung from - taverns and other houses._ - - -CHARLES DICKENS' EARLY SKETCHES. - -=Sketches of Young Couples=, Young Ladies and Young Gentlemen. By -"QUIZ" (CHARLES DICKENS). With 18 Steel-plate Illustrations by "PHIZ" -(H. K. BROWNE). A New Edition, crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 4_s._ 6_d._ - - [_Preparing._ - - -[Illustration] - -=The Slang Dictionary=: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal. 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The man who - smokes, thinks like a sage, and acts like a Samaritan."--_Bulwer._ - - "A tiny volume, dedicated to the votaries of the weed; - beautifully printed on toned paper, in, we believe, the smallest - type ever made (cast especially for show at the Great Exhibition - in Hyde Park), but very clear, notwithstanding its minuteness.... - The pages sing, in various styles, the praises of tobacco. - Amongst the writers laid under contribution are Bulwer, Kingsley, - Charles Lamb, Thackeray, Cowper, and Byron."--_The Field._ - - -WEST-END LIFE AND DOINGS. - -[Illustration] - -=The Story of the London Parks.= By JACOB LARWOOD. With numerous -Illustrations, Coloured and Plain. In One thick Volume, crown 8vo, -cloth extra, gilt, 7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _A most interesting work, giving a complete History of these - favourite out-of-door resorts, from the earliest period to the - present time, together with the fashions, the promenades, the - rides, the reviews, and other displays._ - - -=Summer Cruising in the South Seas.= By C. W. STODDARD. With about -Thirty Engravings on Wood, drawn by WALLIS MACKAY. Crown 8vo, cloth, -extra gilt, 5_s._ - - *** _Chapters descriptive of life and adventure in the South - Sea Islands, in the style made so popular by "The Earl and the - Doctor."_ - - -ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE'S WORKS. - -[Illustration] - -=Swinburne's William Blake=: A Critical Essay. With facsimile -Paintings, Coloured by Hand, after the Drawings by Blake and his -Wife. Thick 8vo, cloth extra, price 16_s._ - - -=Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon.= New Edition. Foolscap 8vo, price -6_s._ - - -=Swinburne's Bothwell.= A New Poem. - - [_In preparation._ - - -=Swinburne's Chastelard.= A Tragedy. New Edition. Price 7_s._ - - -=Swinburne's Poems and Ballads.= New Edition. Price 9_s._ - - -=Swinburne's Notes on his Poems=, and on the Reviews which have -appeared upon them. Price 1_s._ - - -=Swinburne's Queen Mother and Rosamond.= New Edition. Foolscap 8vo, -price 5_s._ - - -=Swinburne's Song of Italy.= Foolscap 8vo, toned paper, cloth, price -3_s._ 6_d._ - - -WILLIAM COMBE'S BEST WORK. - -=Dr. Syntax's Three Tours.= WITH THE WHOLE OF ROWLANDSON'S VERY DROLL -FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, IN COLOURS, AFTER THE ORIGINAL DRAWINGS. -Comprising the well-known TOURS-- - - 1. IN SEARCH OF THE PICTURESQUE. - 2. IN SEARCH OF CONSOLATION. - 3. IN SEARCH OF A WIFE. - -The Three Series Complete and Unabridged, with a Life of the Author -by JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. 8vo, cloth extra, gilt, in one handsome -volume, price 7_s._ 6_d._ - - *** _One of the most amusing and laughable books ever published._ - -A SMALLER EDITION, with Eight Coloured Plates, the text complete, -price 3_s._ 6_d._ - - -[Illustration: THEODORE HOOK'S HOUSE, NEAR PUTNEY.] - -=Theodore Hook's Ramsbottom Papers.= The whole 29 Letters, complete -and unabridged, precisely as they left the pen of their genial and -witty Author. 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