Chapter 15

[5]Theearliest impressionsof this plate in its second state, have the same inscription.

[6]Morellon Le Cave. Mr.Walpole, in his catalogue ofEnglishengravers, (octavo edit.) professes to know no more of this artist than that he was "a scholar ofPicart" and "did a head of Dr.PocockebeforeTwells'sedition of the Doctor's works." In the year 1739, however, he engravedCaptain Coram, &c. at the head of the Power of Attorney, &c. (a description of which see p.254. of the present work) and afterwards wasHogarth'scoadjutor in this third of his Election plates. At the bottom of it he is only styledLe Cave.

[7]Some of these scenes having been reversed by the engraver, the figures in them are represented as using their left hands instead of their right.

[8]Query, what were the scandalous prints to which he alludes?

[9]ThisA. R.wasAllan Ramsay, but having never met with his performance, I can give no account of it.

1.FranceandEngland, two plates; both etched by himself. Under them are the following verses, by Mr.Garrick:

Plate I. France.With lanthern jaws, and croaking gut,See how the half-starv'dFrenchmenstrut,And call usEnglishdogs!But soon we'll teach these bragging foes,That beef and beer give heavier blowsThan 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 Nickmay fish 'twixtFranceandDover,And catch a glorious dinner.Plate II. England.SeeJohnthe Soldier,Jackthe 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,OldEngland'sbeef and beer!Britons, to arms! and let 'em come,Be you butBritonsstill, Strike home,And lion-like attack 'em;No power can stand the deadly strokeThat's given from hands and hearts of oak,With Liberty to back 'em.

2. The Search Night, a copy.J. Fielding sculp.21st March, 1756.[1]"A very bad print, and I believe an imposition." On this plate are sixteen stupid verses, not worth transcribing. It was afterwards copied again in two different sizes in miniature, and printed off on cards, byDarly, in 1766. The original, in a small oval, was an impression taken from the top of a silver tobacco-box; engraved byHogarthfor one CaptainJohnson, and never meant for publication.

[1]There is also a copy of this print, engraved likewise byFielding, and datedAugust11, 1746.

1. His own portrait,[1]sitting, and painting the Muse of Comedy; Head profile, in a cap. The Analysis of Beauty on the floor.W. Hogarth, serjeant-painter to his Majesty.The face engraved byW. Hogarth.

I should observe, that when this plate was left with the person employed to furnish the inscription, he, taking the whole for the production of our artist, wrote "Engraved byW. Hogarth" under it.Hogarth, being conscious that the face only had beentouched by himself, added, with his own hand, "The Face" Engraved, &c.

In the second impression "The Face Engraved byW. Hogarth" is totally omitted.

In the third impression "Serjeant-painter, &c." is scratched over by the burin, but remains still sufficiently legible.

The fourth impression has "the face retouched, but not so like as the preceding.[2]Comedy also has the face and mask marked with black,[3]and inscribed,Comedy, 1764.No other inscription but his name,William Hogarth, 1764."

The original from which this plate is taken, is in Mrs.Hogarth'spossession atChiswick. A whole-length of herself, in the same size, is its companion. They are both small pictures.

[1]Among the prints bequeathed by the late Mr.Forrestto his executor Mr.Coxe, is this head cut out of a proof, and touched up withIndianink byHogarth. Mr.Forrest, in an inscription on the back of the paper to which it is affixed, observes it was a present to him from Mrs.Hogarth.With these prints are likewise several early impressions from other plates by our artist; and in particular a March toFinchleyuncommonly fine, and with the original spelling ofprusiauncorrected even by a pen. I am told that both the head and this, with other engravings in the collection of the late Mr.Forrest, will be sold by auction in the course of the Winter 1786.

With these prints are likewise several early impressions from other plates by our artist; and in particular a March toFinchleyuncommonly fine, and with the original spelling ofprusiauncorrected even by a pen. I am told that both the head and this, with other engravings in the collection of the late Mr.Forrest, will be sold by auction in the course of the Winter 1786.

[2]i. e. the two first.

[3]So in both the third and fourth impressions.

2. The Bench. Over the top of this plate is written in capitals—CHARACTER. Under it "of the different meaning of the wordsCharacter, Caracatura,andOutrè, in painting and drawing," Then follows a long inscription on this subject. The original painting is in the collection of Mr.Edwards.

1. The Cockpit.Designed and engraved by W. Hogarth.In this plate is a portrait ofNan Rawlins, a very ugly old woman (commonly calledDeptford Nan, sometimes theDuchess of Deptford), and wellremembered atNewmarket. She was a famous cock-feeder, and did the honours of thegentlemen'sordinary atNorthampton; while, in return, a single gentleman was deputed to preside at the table appropriated to theladies. The figure with a hump-back, was designed for oneJackson, a once noted jockey atNewmarket. The blind president is LordAlbemarle Bertie, who was a constant attender of this diversion. His portrait was before discoverable in the crowd round the bruisers in the March toFinchley.

By the cockpit laws, any person who cannot, or will not pay his debts of honour, is drawn up in a basket to the roof of the building. Without a knowledge of this circumstance, the shadow of the man who is offering his watch would be unintelligible.

The subject of The Cockpit had been recommended toHogarthso long ago as 1747, in the following lines, first printed inThe Gentleman's Magazineof that year, p. 292.

"WhereDudston's[1]walks with vary'd beauties shine,And some are pleas'd with bowling, some with wine,Behold a generous train of Cocks repair,To vie for glory in the toils of war;Each hero burns to conquer or to die:What mighty hearts in little bosoms lie!"Come,Hogarth, thou whose art can best declareWhat forms, what features, human passions wear,Come, with a painter's philosophic sight,Survey the circling judges of the fight.Touch'd with the sport of death, while every heartSprings to the changing face, exert thy art;Mix with the smiles of Cruelty at painWhate'er looks anxious in the lust of gain;And say, can aught that's generous, just, or kind,Beneath this aspect, lurk within the mind?Is lust of blood or treasure vice in all,Abhorr'd alike on whomsoe'er it fall?Are mighty states and gamblers still the same?And war itself a cock-fight, and a game?Are sieges, battles, triumphs, little things;And armies only the game-cocks of kings?Which fight, in Freedom's cause, still blindly bold,Bye-battles only, and the main for gold?"The crested bird, whose voice awakes the morn,Whose plumage streaks of radiant gold adorn,Proud of his birth, on fairSalopia'splain,Stalks round, and scowls defiance and disdain.Not fiercer looks the proudHelvetianswear,Though thunder slumbers in the arms they bear:NorThracia'sfiercer sons, a warlike race!Display more prowess, or more martial grace.But, lo! another comes, renown'd for might,Renown'd for courage, and provokes the fight.Yet what, alas! avails his furious mien,His ruddy neck, and breast of varied green?Soon thro' his brain the foe's bright weapon flies,Eternal darkness shades his swimming eyes;Prostrate he falls, and quivering spurns the ground,While life indignant issues from the wound.Unhappy hero, had thy humbler lifeDeny'd thee fame by deeds of martial strife,Still hadst thou crow'd, for future pleasures spar'd,Th' exulting monarch of a farmer's yard."Like fate, alas! too soon th' illustrious prove,The great by hatred fall, the fair by love;The wise, the good, can scarce preserve a name,Expung'd by envy from the rolls of fame.Peace and oblivion still through life secure,In friendly glooms, the simple, homely, poor.And who would wish to bask in glory's ray,To buy with peace the laurel or the bay?What tho' the wreath defy the lightning's fire,The bard and hero in the storm expire.Be rest and innocence my humbler lot,Scarce known through life, and after death forgot!"

[1]A gentleman's seat, about a mile fromBirmingham, fitted up for the reception of company, in imitation ofVaux-hall Gardens.

2. A small oval of BishopHoadly, ætat. 83.Hogarth pinx. Sherlock sculp.

1. Frontispiece toTristram Shandy. Of this plate there are two copies; in the first of which the hat and clock are omitted.S. Ravenet sculp.In this plate is the portrait of Dr.Burton, ofYork, the Jacobite physician and antiquary, in the character of Dr.Slop.

Sterneprobably was indebted for these plates (especially the first of them) to the following compliment he had paid our author in the first volume ofTristram Shandy. "Such were the outlines of Dr.Slop'sfigure, which, if you have readHogarth's Analysis of Beauty, and, if you have not, I wish you would, you must know, may as certainly be caracatured, and conveyed to the mind by three strokes as three hundred."

2. Frontispiece toBrook Taylor'sPerspective of Architecture.[1]With an attempt at a new order.W. Hogarth, July1760.W. Woollet sculp.Lest any reader should suppose that this idea of forming a new capital out of the Star of St.George, the Prince ofWales'sFeather,[2]and a regal Coronet, was hatched in the mind ofHogarthafter he had been appointed Serjeant Painter, the following passage in theAnalysiswill prove that many years before he had conceived the practicability of such an attempt: see p. 40. "I am thoroughly convinced in myself, however it may startle some, that a completely new and harmonious order of architecture in all its parts might be produced, &c." Again, p. 46. "Even a capital, composed of the aukward and confined forms of hats and perriwigs, as Fig. 48. Plate I. in a skilful hand might be made to have some beauty." Mr.S. Irelandhas the original sketch.

[1]Published in two volumes, folio, 1761, byJoshua Kirby, Designer in Perspective to his Majesty.—"Here is a curious frontispiece, designed by Mr.Hogarth; but not in the same ludicrous style as the former (see p.333): it were to be wished that he had explained its meaning; for, being symbolical, the meaning of it is not so obvious as the other. To me it conveys the idea, whichMiltonso poetically describes, of the angelUrielgliding down to Paradise on a sun-beam; but the young gentleman has dropped off before he had arrived at his journey's end, withPalladio'sbook of architecture on his knees. A ray of light from the sun, rising over a distant mountain, is directed to a scroll on the ground, on which are two or three scraps of perspective; over which, supported by a large block of stone, is the upper part of a sceptre, broke off; the shaft very obliquely and absurdly inclined, somewhat resembling theRomanfasces, and girt above with the Prince ofWales'scoronet, as an astragal, through which the fasces rise, and swell into a crown, adorned with embroidered stars; this is the principal object, but most vilely drawn. The ray passes through a round temple, at a considerable distance, which is also falsly represented, the curves being for the distance too round, and consequently the diminution of the columns is too great. It appears to pass over a piece of water; on this side the ground is fertile and luxuriant with vegetation, abounding with trees and shrubs; on the other side it is rocky and barren.[A]What is indicated by this seems to be, that, where the arts are encouraged by the rays of royal favour, they will thrive and flourish; but where they are neglected, and do not find encouragement, they will droop and languish."Malton'sAppendix to his Treatise on Perspective.[A]The idea of this contrast between fertility and barrenness is an old one.Hogarthprobably took it from the engraving known by the name ofRaffaelle's Dream.

[A]The idea of this contrast between fertility and barrenness is an old one.Hogarthprobably took it from the engraving known by the name ofRaffaelle's Dream.

[2]Mr.H. Emlynhas lately realised this plan, by his Proposals for a new order of architecture, 1781.

3. Mr.Huggins. A small circular plate.Hogarth pinx. Major sculp.On the left, a bust, inscribed,"Il divino Ariosto." "Dante l'Inferno, il Purgatorio, il Paradiso."Mr.Huggins(of whom see p.19.) had this portrait engraven, to prefix to his translation ofDante, of which no more than a specimen was ever published.

The bust ofAriostowas inserted by the positive order of Mr.Huggins(after the plate was finished),though much against the judgement of the engraver, who was convinced that a still ground would have shewn the countenance of the person represented to much greater advantage. Mr.Major'scharge was only three guineas, and yet eleven years elapsed before he received even this trifling acknowledgement for his labour. Dr.Monkhousehas the plate.

1. Frontispiece and tail-piece to the catalogue of pictures exhibited atSpring Gardens. W. Hogarth inv. C. Grignion sculp.There is a variation of this print; aLatinmotto under each in the second edition. In the earliest impressionsobit, corrected afterwards toobiit. The same mark of ignorance, however, remains unamended over the monument of the Judge in the first plate of theAnalysis.

2.Timeblackening a picture. Subscription-ticket for hisSigismunda. "This, and the preceding tail-piece, are satires on Connoisseurs."

3. The Five Orders of Perriwigs at the Coronation ofGeorgeIII.[1]Many of the heads, as well as wigs, were known at the time. The first head of the second row was designed to represent LordMelcombe; and those of BishopsWarburton, Mawson,andSquire,are found in the groupe. The advertisement annexed, as well as the whole print, is said to have been a ridicule on Mr.Stewart'sAntiquities ofAthens, in which, with minute accuracy, are given the measurements of all the members of theGreekArchitecture. The inscription under the print affords a plentiful crop of false spellings—volumns—advertisment—baso—&c. The secondein advertisement was afterwards added on the neck of the female figure just over it. The first and subsequent impressions will be known by this distinction.

[1]A Dissertation on Mr.Hogarth'sprint of the Order of Perriwigs, viz. the Episcopal, Aldermanic, and Lexonic, is printed inThe Beauties of all the Magazines, 1761, p. 52.

4. Frontispiece to the Farmer's Return fromLondon, an Interlude by Mr.Garrick,[1]acted atDrury Lane. W. Hogarth delin. J. Basire sculp.In Mr.Foster'scollection is a bad copy of this plate, no name, the figures reversed. The original drawing was given to Mr.Garrick, and is supposed to be in the possession of his widow atHampton. Mr.S. Irelandhas a sketch of it. An excellent copy of this plate is sometimes sold as the original.

[1]Mr.Garrick'publication was thus prefaced: "The following interlude was prepared for the stage, merely with a view of assisting Mrs.Pritchardat her benefit; and the desire of serving so good an actress is a better excuse for its defects, than the few days in which it was written and represented. Notwithstanding the favourable reception it has met with, the author would not have printed it, had not his friend, Mr.Hogarth, flattered him most agreeably, by thinkingthe Farmer and his Familynot unworthy of a sketch of his pencil. To him, therefore, this trifle, which he has so much honoured, is inscribed, as a faint testimony of the sincere esteem which the writer bears him, both as a man and an artist."

5. Another frontispiece toTristram Shandy(for the second volume). His christening.F. Ravenet sculp.

6. The same engraved byRyland. This, as I am informed, was the first, but was too coarsely executed to suit that prepared for the first volume of the same work.

1. Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism. "Satire on Methodists." "For deep and useful satire," says Mr.Walpole, "the most sublime of all his works."

This print, however, contains somewhat more than a satire on Methodism.Credulityis illustrated by the figure of the Rabbit-breeder ofGodalming, with her supposed progeny galloping from under her petticoats.St. André'sfolly furnishedHogarthwith matter for one of his latest, as well as one of his earliest performances.

Primâ dicte mihi, summâ dicende Camænâ.

2. The Times. Plate I. In one copy of this printHenryVIII. is blowing the flames; in another Mr.Pitthas the same employment: As this design is not illustrated inTrusler'sAccount ofHogarth'sWorks, I shall attempt its explanation, and subjoin, by way of note, a humourous description of it, which was printed in a news-paper immediately after it's first appearance in the world.[1]

Europeon fire;France, Germany, Spain,in flames, which are extending toGreat Britain. This desolation continued and assisted by Mr.Pitt, under thefigure of KingHenryVIII. with bellows increasing the mischief which others are striving to abate. He is mounted on the stilts of the populace. ACheshirecheese depends from his neck, with 3000l.on it. This alludes to what he had said in Parliament—that he would sooner live on aCheshirecheese and a shoulder of mutton, than submit to the enemies ofGreat Britain. LordBute, attended byEnglishsoldiers, sailors, andHighlanders, manages an engine for extinguishing the flames, but is impeded by the Duke ofNewcastle, with a wheel-barrow full ofMonitorsandNorth Britons, for the purpose of feeding the blaze. The respectable body under Mr.Pittare the aldermen ofLondon, worshiping the idol they had set up; whilst the musical King ofPrussia, who alone is sure to gain by the war, is amusing himself with a violin amongst his miserable countrywomen. The picture of theIndianalludes to the advocates for retaining ourWest Indianconquests, which, it was said, would only increase excess and debauchery. The breaking down of theNewcastle-arms, and the drawing up the patriotic ones, refer to the resignation of that noble Duke, and the appointment of his successor. TheDutchmansmoking his pipe, and aFoxpeeping out behind him, and waiting the issue; the Waggon, with the treasures of theHermione; the unnecessary marching of theMilitia, signified by theNorfolkjig; the Dove with the olive-branch, and the miseries of war; are all obvious, and perhaps need no explication.

To those already given, however, may be added the following doggrel verses:

Devouring flames with fury rollTheir curling spires from Pole to Pole,Wide-spreading devastation dire,Three kingdoms ready to expire;Here realms convulsive pant for breath,And quiver in the arms of death.Ill-fated isle!Britanniableeds;The flames her trait'rous offspring feeds:Now, now, they seize her vital parts—O save her from his murd'rous arts!In air exalted high, behold!Fierce, noisy, boisterous, and bold,Swol'n, like the king of frogs, that fedOn mangled limbs of victims dead,With larger bellows in his hand,Than e'er a blacksmith's in the land,The flames that waste the world to blow,He points unto the mob below:'Look,Britons, what a bonfire there!Halloo, be d——'d, and rend the air.'Aldermen, marrow-bones and cleavers,Brokers, stock-jobbers, and coal-heavers,Templars, and knaves of ev'ry station,The dregs ofLondon, and the nation;Contractors, agents, clerks, and allWho share the plunder, great and small,Join in the halloo at his call.Higher they raise the stilts that boreThe shapeless idol they adore:He, to increase his weight, had slungAMill-stoneround his neck, which hungWith bulk enormous to the ground,And adds theretoThree Thousand Pound;That none may dare to say henceforth,He wanted either weight or worth.He blows,—the flames triumphant rise,Devour the earth, and threat the skies.When lo! in peaceful mien appears,In bloom of life, and youthful years,George, Prince of Men; a smile benignThat goodness looks, prognostic signOf soul etherial, seems to bode,A world's deliv'rer sent from God.Array'd in Majesty serene,Like heav'nly spirits when they deign,In pity to mankind, to come,And stop avenging judgement's doom;Behold, and bless! just not too lateT' avert a sinking nation's fate,He comes, with friendly care to stayThose flames that made the world their prey.Born to reform and bless the age,Fearless offaction'smadd'ning rage,Which, with united malice, throngs,To reap the harvest of our wrongs,He labours to defeat our foes,Secure our peace, and ease our woes.Before himFactiondare not shewHer ghastly face and livid hue,But back retires toTemple-Bar,Where the spectator sees from farMany a traitor's head erect,To shew what traitors must expect.Upon thatbarefac'dfigure look,With empty scull and full peruke;For man or statue it might pass;Cæsarwould call't a golden ass.Behold the vain malicious thing,Squirting his poison at his king,And pointing, with infernal art,Th' envenom'd rancour of his heart.Higher in parts and place appearsHis venal race of Garretteers;A starving, mercenary tribe,That sell, for every bidder's bribe,Their scantling wits to purchase breadAnd always drive the briskest trade,WhenFactionsounds with loudest din,To bring some new Pretender in.This tribe from their ærial station,Deluge with scandal all the nation:Below contempt, secure from shame,Sure not to forfeit any fame,Indifferent what part to choose,With nothing but their ears to lose.Not Virtue on a throne can beFrom tongues below resentment free.Of human things such the distraction,With Liberty we must have Faction.But look behind theTemple-gate,Near the thick, clumsy, stinking seat,WhereLondon'spageant sits in state;What wild, ferocious shape is there,With raging looks and savage air?Is that the monster without name,Whom human art could never tame,FromIndianwilds of late brought o'er,Such as noBritonsaw before?I mean the monsterP* * * presentedTo the late King, who quickly sent it,Among his other beasts of prey,Safe in a cage with lock and key.Some said he was ofBritishblood,Though taken in anIndianwood.If he should thus at large remain,Without a keeper, cage, or chain,Raging and roaming up and down,He may set fire to half the town.Has he not robb'd theBank?—Behold,In either hand, what bags of gold!Monsters are dangerous things let loose:OldCambrian, guard thy mansion-house.But here, what comes? A loaded car,Stuff'd, and high pil'd, fromTemple-Bar.The labouring wretches hardly moveThe load that totters from above.By their wry faces, and high strains,The cart some lumpish weight contains.'North Britons—Gentlemen—come, buy,There's no man sells so cheap as I.Of theNorth Britonjust a score,And twentyMonitorsor more,For just one penny——North Britons—Monitors—come, buy,There's no man sells so cheap as I.''North Britons! Monitors!be d——'d!Is that the luggage you have cramm'dInto your stinking cart? Be gone,Or else I'll burn them every one.''Good Sir, I'm sure they are not dear,The paper's excellent, I swear—You can't have better any where.Come, feel this sheet, Sir—please to choose—They're very soft, and fit for use.All very good, Sir, take my word—As cheap as any can afford.The Curate, Sir, Lord! how he'll foam!He cannot dine 'till we get home.The Colonel too, altho' he beSo big, so loud, so proud, d'ye see,Will have his share as well as he.'While on a swelling sack of cheeseThe frugalDutchmansits at ease,And smokes his pipe, and sees with joyThe flames, that all the world destroy,Keep at a distance from his bales,And sure thereby to raise the sales;Good Mr.Reynard, wiser still,Displays you his superior skill:Behind the selfish miser's back,He cuts a hole into the sack,His paunch well cramm'd, he snugly lies,And with himself the place supplies;And now and then his head pops out,To see how things go round about;Prepar'd to run, or stand the fire,Just as occasion may require,But willing in the sack to stay,And cram his belly while he may,Regardless of the babbling town,And every interest but his own.On yonder plain behold a riddle,That mighty warrior with his fiddle,With sneering nose, and brow so arch,A-scraping out theGermanmarch;Bellonaleading up the dance,With flaming torch, and pointed lance,And all theFuriesin her train,Exulting at the martial strain;PaleFaminebringing up the rear,To crown with woe the wasteful year.There's nought but scenes of wretchedness.Horror and death, and dire distress,To mark their footsteps o'er the plains,And teach the world what mighty gainsFromGermanvictories accrueTo th' vanquish'd and the victors too.The fidler, at his ease reclin'd,Enjoys the woes of human kind;Pursues his trade, destroys by rules,And reaps the spoils of Knaves and Fools.* * * *Multa desunt.

The first impressions of this print may be known by the following distinction. The smoke just over the Dove is left white; and the whole of the composition has a brilliancy and clearness not to be found in the copies worked off after the plate was retouched.

I am told thatHogarthdid not undertake this political print merelyex officio, but through a hope the salary of his appointment as Serjeant Painter would be increased by such a show of zeal for the reigning Ministry.

He left behind him a second part, on the same subject; but hitherto it has been withheld from the public. The finished Plate is in the possession of Mrs.Hogarth.

There seems, however, no reason why this design should be suppressed. The widow of our artist is happily independent of a court; nor can aught relative to the politics of the year 1762 be of consequence to any party now existing. Our Monarch also, as the patron of arts, would rather encourage than prevent the publication of a work byHogarth, even though it should recall the disagreeable ideas of faction triumphant, and a favourite in disgrace.

[1]The principal figure in the character ofHenryVIII. appears to be not Mr.P.but another person whose power is signified by his bulk of carcase, treading on Mr.P.represented by 3000l.The bellows may signify his well-meaning, 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 fromAuditorsorBritons, MonitorsorNorth Britons. The respectable body at the bottom can never mean the magistrates ofLondon; 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 inScotland, either in the attitude of adoration, or with outspread arms intending to catch their patron, should his stilts give way. TheFrenchmanmay very well sit at his ease among his miserable countrywomen, as he is not unacquainted thatFrancehas always gained by negociating what she lost in fighting. The fine gentleman at the window with his garretteers, and the barrow of periodical papers, refer to the present contending parties of every denomination. The breaking of theNewcastlearms 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 œconomy of his successor. TheNorfolkjig signifies, in a lively manner, the alacrity of all his Majesty's forces during the war; andG. T. [George Townshend] fecit, is an opportune compliment paid to LordTownshend, who, in conjunction with Mr.Windham, published "A Plan of Discipline for the Use of theNorfolkMilitia," 4to. and had been the greatest advocate for the establishment of our present militia. The picture of theIndianalive fromAmericais a satire on our late uncivilized behaviour to the three chiefs of theCherokeenation, 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 shewing them at our public gardens. The slyDutchman, with his pipe, seems pleased with the combustion, from which he thinks he shall be a gainer. And the Duke ofNivernois, under the figure of a dove, is coming fromFranceto give a cessation of hostilities toEurope.

3.T. Morell, S. T. P., S. S. A.W. Hogarth delin. James Basire sculp.From a drawing returned to Mr.Hogarth. Of this plate there is an admirable copy, though it has not yet been extensively circulated.

4.Henry Fielding, ætatis 48.W. Hogarth delin. James Basire sculp.From a drawing with a pen made after the death of Mr.Fielding. "That gentleman," says Mr.Murphy, "had often promised to sit to his friendHogarth, for whose good qualities and excellent genius he always entertained so high an esteem, that he has left us in his writings many beautiful memorials of his affection. Unluckily, however, it so fell out that no picture of him was ever drawn; but yet, as if it was intended that some traces of his countenance should be perpetuated, and that too by the very artist whom our author preferred to all others, after Mr.Hogarthhad long laboured to try if he could bring out any likeness of him from images existing in his own fancy, and just as he was despairing of success, for want of some rules to go by in the dimensions and outlines of the face, Fortune threw the granddesideratumin the way. A lady, with a pair of scissars, had cut a profile, which gave the distances and proportions of his face sufficiently to restore his lost ideas of him. Glad of an opportunity of paying his last tribute to the memory of an author whom he admired, Mr.Hogarthcaught at this outline with pleasure, and worked, with all the attachment of friendship, till he finished that excellent drawing which stands at the head of this work, and recalls toall, who have seen the original, a corresponding image of the man." Notwithstanding this authentic relation of Mr.Murphy, a different account of the portrait has been lately given in one of the news-papers. Mr.Garrick, it is there said, dressed himself in a suit of his old friend's cloaths, and presented himself to the painter in the attitude, and with the features, ofFielding. OurRoscius, however, I can assert, interfered no farther in this business than by urgingHogarthto attempt the likeness, as a necessary adjunct to the edition ofFielding'sworks. I am assured that our artist began and finished the head in the presence of his wife and another lady. He had no assistance but from his own memory, which, on such occasions, was remarkably tenacious.[1]

[1]To this sketch so great justice was done by the engraver, that Mr.Hogarthdeclared he did not know his own drawing from a proof of the plate before the ornaments were added. This proof is now in the collection of Mr.Steevens.

1.John Wilkes, Esq.Drawn from the life, and etched in aquafortis by Wm. Hogarth.Price 1s. It was published with the following oblique note. This is "a direct contrast to a print ofSimon Lord Lovat."[1]

Mr.Wilkes, with his usual good humour, has been heard to observe, that he is every day growing more and more like his portrait byHogarth.

In the second impressions of this plate there area few slight variations, sufficient at least to shew that the face of the person represented had been retouched. I have been told, by a copper-plate printer, that near 4000 copies of this caricature were worked off on its first publication. Being kept up for two or three following nights on the occasion, he has reason to remember it.

[1]The original drawing, which was thrown byHogarthinto the fire, was snatched out of it by Mrs.Lewis, and is now in the possession of Mr.S. Ireland.

2. The BruiserC. Churchill,[1]in the character of aRussian Hercules, &c. TheRussian Herculeswas thus explained, inAugust, 1763, by an admirer ofHogarth: "The principal figure is aRussian Bear(i. e. Mr.Churchill) with a club in his left paw, which he hugs to his side, and which is intended to denote his friendship to Mr.Wilkes: on the notches of the club are wrote,Lye1,Lye2, &c. signifying the falsities inThe North Briton: in his other paw is a gallon pot of porter, of which (being very hot) heseems going to drink: round his neck is a clergyman's band, which is torn, and seems intended to denote the bruiser. The other figure is aPug-dog, which is supposed to mean Mr.Hogarthhimself, pissing with the greatest contempt on the epistle wrote to him byC. Churchill. In the centre is a prison begging-box, standing on a folio, the title of which is,Great George-Street. A list of the Subscribers to theNorth Briton: underneath is another book, the title of which is,A New Way to pay Old Debts, a Comedy, byMassinger. All of which allude to Mr.Wilkes'sdebts, to be defrayed by the subscriptions toThe North Briton."

The same design is thus illustrated by a person who thought somewhat differently of our artist: "TheBear, with the shattered band, represents the former strength and abilities of Mr.Hogarth: the full pot of beer likewise shews that he was in a land of plenty. The stump of a headless tree with the notches, and on them wroteLye, Signifies Mr.Hogarth'sformer art, and the many productions thereof, wherein he has excelled even Nature itself, and which of course must be but lies, flattery, and fallacy, thePainter's Prerogative; and the stump of the tree only being left, shews that there can be no more fruit expected from thence, but that it only stands as a record of his former services. TheButcher's Dogpissing upon Mr.Churchill'sepistle, alludes to the present state of Mr.Hogarth; that he is arrived at such an age to be reduced so low,as, from the strength of aBear, to a blindButcher's Dog, not able to distinguish, but pissing upon his best friend; 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 containa list of the Subscribers to theNorth Briton, as well as one ofa New Way to pay Old Debts. Mr.HogarthmentionedThe North Briton, to avoid the censure of the rabble in the street, who, he knew, would neither pity nor relieve him; and as Mr.Churchillwas 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.Hogarthmeant only to shew his necessity, and that a book, entitledA List of the Subscribers to theNorth Briton, contained, in fact, a list of those who should contribute to the support of Mr.Hogarthin old age. By the book entitledA 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 some of his old tools in this print, without any hand to use them."

On the same occasion were published the following verses, "on Mr.Hogarth'slast delicate performance:"

"What Merit could from native Genius boast,To civilize the age, and please us most,In lasting images each scene to grace,And all the soul to gather in the face,In one small sheet a volume to conceal,Yet all the story finely to reveal,Was once the glory of ourHogarth'sname;But see, the short-liv'd eminence of fameNow dwindles like the exit of a flame,From which when once the unctuous juice is fled,A stinking vapour rises in its stead:So drops our Painter in his later day,His former virtue worn, alas! away,What busy dæmon, for thy cursed design'd,Could thus induce the rancour of thy mindTo strike so boldly, with an impious hand,Against the blessings of thy native land?Open and unabash'd thy fury flies,And all regard for liberty denies."WhenCatiline, with more than human hate,Resolv'd the ruin of theRomanstate,In secret he pursu'd the hellish plan,Nor did his wickedness survive the man.His cruel arts are all by others shown,And thou the brave assertor of thy own:Nay, thy grim sheets thy principles will show,WhenCharonwafts thee to the realms below,Where all like thee shall unlamented go."

And also what the writer called,

"ASlapatBoth Sides.""WhilstBruinandPugcontend for the prizeOf merit in scandal, would parties be wise,And with honest derision contemn the dispute,TheBearwould not roar, and theDogwould be mute:For they equally both their patrons betray,No sense of Conviction their reasons convey;So neither may hope one convert to gain,For the Rhime makes me sick, and the Print gives me pain."[2]

This plate, however, originally contained our artist's own portrait (see p.295). To shew the contempt in which he held the "Poetical Epistle toHogarth,[3]he makes the pug-dog water on it, but in a manner by no means natural to his species. Perhaps thereis the same error relative to the Monkey in the print of theStrollers. This kind ofevacuation, however,appears to have been regarded byHogarthas a never-failingjoke. On the palette he exhibits theNorthBritons, and a begging-box to collect subscriptions for them.Designed and engraved by W. Hogarth.

In the first impression of this print three of the upper knots on the club or ragged staff (viz. 1. 3. 5.)are left white. In the second impression they are completely shaded; the ruffle on the hand that claspsthe pot of porter is likewise hatched over, and the shoulder of the animal made rounder. Minute differencesoccur in the other knots, &c. The inscription, instead ofRussian, readsModernHercules.

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