Chapter 2

Our artist's reputation was so far established in 1731, that it drew forth a poetical compliment from Mr.Mitchell, in the epistle already quoted.

An allegorical cieling by SirJames Thornhillis at the house of the late Mr.Huggins, atHeadley Park, Hants. The subject of it is the story ofZephyrusandFlora; and the figure of a Satyr and some others were painted byHogarth.

In 1732 (the year in which he was one of the party who madeA Tour by land and Water, which will be duly noticed in theCatalogue) he ventured to attack Mr.Pope, in a plate called "The Man of Taste;" containing a view of the Gate ofBurlington-house; withPopewhitewashing it, and bespattering the Duke ofChandos'scoach.[27]This plate was intended as a satire on the translator ofHomer, Mr.Kentthe architect, and the Earl ofBurlington.It was fortunate forHogarththat he escaped the lash of the former. EitherHogarth'sobscurity at that time was his protection, or the bard was too prudent to exasperate a painter who had already given such proof of his abilities for satire. What musthehave felt who could complain of the "pictured shape" prefixed toGulliveriana, Pope Alexander's Supremacy and Infallibility examined,&c. byDucket, and other pieces, had our artist undertaken to express in colours a certain transaction recorded byCibber?

Soon after his marriage,Hogarthhad summer-lodgings atSouth-Lambeth; and being intimate with Mr.Tyers, contributed to the improvement ofThe Spring GardensatVauxhall, by the hint of embellishing them with paintings, some of which were the suggestions of his own truly comic pencil. Among these were the "Four parts of the Day," copied byHaymanfrom the designs of our artist. The scenes of "Evening" and "Night" are still there; and portraits ofHenryVIII. andAnne Bullenonce adorned the old great room on the right hand of the entry into the gardens. For his assistance, Mr.Tyersgratefully presented him with a gold ticket of admission for himself and his friends, inscribed

in perpetuam beneficii memoriam.

This ticket, now in the possession of his widow, is still occasionally made use of.

In 1733 his genius became conspicuously known. The third scene of his "Harlot's Progress" introduced him to the notice of the great. At a boardof Treasury which was held a day or two after the appearance of that print, a copy of it was shewn by one of the lords, as containing, among other excellencies, a striking likeness of SirJohn Gonson.[28]Itgave universal satisfaction; from the Treasury eachlord repaired to the print-shop for a copy of it, andHogarthrose completely into fame. This anecdote was related to Mr.HugginsbyChristopher Tilson, esq. one of the four chief clerks in the Treasury, and at that period under-secretary of state. He diedAugust25, 1742, after having enjoyed the former of these offices fifty-eight years. I should add, however, that SirJohn Gonsonis not here introduced to be made ridiculous, but is only to be considered as the image of an active magistrate identified.

The familiarity of the subject, and the propriety of it's execution, made the "Harlot's Progress" tasted by all ranks of people. Above twelve hundrednames were entered in our artist's subscription-book. It was made into a pantomime byTheophilus Cibber; and again represented on the stage, under the title ofThe Jew decoyed, or a Harlot's Progress, in a Ballad Opera. Fan-mounts were likewise engraved, containing miniature representations of all the six plates. These were usually printed off with red ink, three compartments on one side, and three on the other.[29]

The ingenious AbbéDu Boshas often complained, that no history-painter of his time went through a series of actions, and thus, like an historian, painted the successive fortune of an hero, from the cradle to the grave. WhatDu Boswished to see done,Hogarthperformed. He launches out his young adventurer a simple girl upon the town, and conducts her through all the vicissitudes of wretchedness to a premature death. This was painting to the understanding and to the heart; none had ever before made the pencil subservient to the purposes of morality and instruction; a book like this is fitted to every soil and every observer, and he that runs may read. Nor was the success ofHogarthconfined to his persons. One of his excellencies consisted in what may be termed the furniture[30]of his pieces; foras in sublime and historical representations the fewer trivial circumstances are permitted to divide the spectator's attention from the principal figures, the greater is their force; so in scenes copied from familiar life, a proper variety of little domestic images contributes to throw a degree of verisimilitude on the whole. "The Rake's levee-room," says Mr.Walpole, "the nobleman's dining-room, the apartments of the husband and wife in Marriage Alamode, the Alderman's parlour, the bed-chamber, and many others, are the history of the manners of the age."

It may also be observed, thatHogarth, both in the third and last plate of theHarlot's Progress, has appropriated a name to his heroine which belonged to a well-known wanton then upon the town. TheGrub-street JournalforAugust6, 1730, giving an account of several prostitutes who were taken up, informs us that "the fourth wasKate Hackabout(whose brother was lately hanged atTyburn), a woman noted in and about the hundreds ofDrury, &c."

In 1735 our artist lost his mother, as appears by the following extract from an old Magazine: "June11, 1735. Died Mrs.Hogarth, mother to the celebrated painter, of a fright from the fire which happened on the 9th, inCecil Court, St. Martin's Lane, and burnt thirteen houses;[31]amongst others, one belonging toJohn Huggins, esq. late Warden ofThe Fleet, was greatly damaged."

The "Rake's Progress" (published in the same year, and sold atHogarth'shouse, theGolden HeadinLeicester Fields), though "perhaps superior, had not," as Mr.Walpoleobserves, "so much success, from want of novelty; nor is the print of the arrest equal in merit to the others.[32]

"The curtain, however," says he, "was now drawn aside, and his genius stood displayed in its full lustre. From time to time our artist continued to give those works that would be immortal, if the nature of his art will allow it. Even the receipts for his subscriptions had wit in them. Many of his plates he engraved himself, and often expunged faces etched by his assistants, when they had not done justice to his ideas. Not content with shining in a path untrodden before, he was ambitious of distinguishing himself as a painter ofhistory; and in 1736 presented to the hospital ofSt. Bartholomew, of which he had been appointed a governor,[33]a painting of thePool of Bethesda, and another of theGood Samaritan. But the genius that had entered so feelingly into the calamities and crimes of familiar life, deserted him in a walk that called for dignity and grace. The burlesque turn of his mind mixed itself with the most serious subjects. In thePool of Bethesda, a servant of a rich ulcerated lady beats back a poor man that sought the same celestial remedy; and in hisDanae[for which the Duke ofAncasterpaid 60 guineas] the old nurse tries a coin of the golden shower with her teeth, to see if it is true gold. Both circumstances are justly thought, but rather too ludicrous. It is a much more capital fault thatDanaeherself is a mere nymph ofDrury. He seems to have conceived no higher degree of beauty." Dr.Parsonsalso, in his Lectures on Physiognomy, 410. p. 58, says, "Thus yieldedDanaeto the Golden Shower, and thus was her passion painted by the ingenious Mr.Hogarth."

The novelty and excellence ofHogarth'sperformances soon tempted the needy artist and print-dealerto avail themselves of his designs,[34]and rob him of the advantages which he was entitled to derive from them. This was particularly the case with the "Midnight Conversation," the "Harlot's" and "Rake's" Progresses,[35]and the rest of his early works. To put a stop to depredations like these on the property of himself and others, and to secure the emoluments resulting from his own labours, as Mr.Walpoleobserves, he applied to the legislature, and obtained an act of parliament, 8GeorgeII. chap. 3°, to vest an exclusive right in designers and engravers, and to restrain the multiplying of copies of their works without the consent of the artist.[36]

This statute was drawn by his friend Mr.Huggins,[37]who took for his model the eighth of QueenAnne, in favour of literary property; but it was not so accurately executed as entirely to remedy the evil; for, in a cause founded on it, which came before LordHardwickein Chancery, that excellent Lawyer determinedthat no assignee, claiming under an assignment from the original inventor, could take any benefit by it.Hogarth, immediately after the passing the act, published a small print, with emblematical devices, and the following inscription expressing his gratitude to the three branches of the legislature:

"In humble and grateful acknowledgmentOf the grace and goodness of the LEGISLATURE,ManifestedIn the ACT of PARLIAMENT for the EncouragementOf the Arts of Designing, Engraving, &c.ObtainedBy the Endeavours, and almost at the sole Expence,Of the Designer of this Print in the Year 1735;By whichNot only the Professors of those Arts were rescuedFrom the Tyranny, Frauds, and PiraciesOf Monopolizing Dealers,And legally entitled to the Fruits of their own Labours;But Genius and Industry were also promptedBy the most noble and generous Inducements to exert themselves;Emulation was excited,Ornamental Compositions were better understood;And every Manufacture, where Fancy has any concern,Was gradually raised to a Pitch of Perfection before unknown;Insomuch, that those ofGreat-BritainAre at present the most ElegantAnd the most in Esteem of any inEurope."

This plate he afterwards made to serve for a receipt for subscriptions, first to a print of an "Election Entertainment;" and afterwards for three printsmore, representing the "polling for members for parliament, canvassing for votes, and chairing the members." The royal crown at the top of this receipt is darting its rays on mitres, coronets, the Chancellor's great seal, the Speaker's hat, &c. &c. and on a scroll is written, "An Act for the Encouragement of the Arts of Designing, Engraving, and Etching, by vesting the Properties thereof in the Inventors and Engravers, during the Time therein mentioned." It was "Designed, etched, and published as the Act directs, byW. Hogarth, March20, 1754." AfterHogarth'sdeath, the legislature, by Stat. 7Geo.III. chap. 38. granted to his widow a further exclusive term of twenty years in the property of her husband's works.

In 1736 he had the honour of being distinguished in a masterly poem of a congenial Humourist. The Dean ofSt. Patrick's, in his "Description of the Legion Club," after pourtraying many characters with all the severity of the most pointed satire, exclaims,

"How I want thee, humorousHogarth!Thou, I hear, a pleasant rogue art!Were but you and I acquainted,Every monster should be painted:You should try your graving toolsOn this odious group of fools;Draw the beasts as I describe them;Form their features, while I gibe them;Draw them like, for I assure ye,You will need nocaricatura.Draw them so, that we may traceAll the soul in every face."

An elegant compliment was soon after paid toHogarthbySomervile, the author ofThe Chace, who dedicates hisHobbinolto him as to "the greatest master in the burlesque way." YetFielding, in the Preface toJoseph Andrews, says, "He who should call the ingeniousHogartha 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 preposterous size, or to expose him in some absurd or monstrous attitude, than to express the affections of men on canvas. It hath 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."[38]

Vincent Bourne, that classical ornament ofWestminster School, addressed the following copy of hendecasyllables

"AdGulielmum Hogarth, Παρουνετικόν [Greek: Parounetikon]"Qui mores hominum improbos, ineptos,Incidis, nec ineleganter, æri,Derisor lepidus, sed & severus,Corrector gravis, at nec invenustus;Seu pingis meretricios amores,Et scenas miseræ vicesque vitæ;Ut tentat pretio rudem puellamCorruptrix anus, impudens, obesa;Ut se vix reprimit libidinosusScortator, veneri paratus omni:Seu describere vis, facete censor,Bacchanalia sera protrahentesAd confinia crastinæ diei,Fractos cum cyathis tubos, matellamNon plenam modò sed superfluentem,Et fortem validumque combibonemLætantem super amphorâ repletâ;Jucundissimus omnium ferêris,Nullique artificum secundus, ætasQuos præsens dedit, aut dabit futura.Macte ô, eja age, macte sis amicusVirtuti: vitiique quod notâris,Pergas pingere, & exhibere coràm,Censura utilior tua æquiorqueOmni vel satirarum acerbitate,Omni vel rigidissimo cachinno."

By printed proposals, datedJan. 25, 1744-5,Hogarthoffered to the highest bidder "the six pictures calledThe Harlot's Progress, the eight pictures calledThe Rake's Progress, the four pictures representingMorning, Noon, Evening,andNight,and that ofA Company of Strolling Actresses dressing in a Barn; all of them his own original paintings, from which no other copies than the prints have ever been taken." The biddings were to remain open from the first to the last day ofFebruary, on these conditions: "1. That every bidder shall have an entire leaf numbered in the book of sale, on the top of which will be entered the name and place of abode, the sum paid by him, the time when, and for which picture.—That, on the last day of sale, a clock (striking every five minutes) shall be placed in the room; and when it hath struck five minutes after twelve, the first picture mentioned in the sale-book will be deemed as sold; the second picture when the clock hath struck the next five minutes after twelve; and so on successively till the whole nineteen pictures are sold. 3. That none advance less than gold at each bidding. 4. No person to bid on the last day, except those whose names were before entered in the book.—As Mr.Hogarth'sroom is but small, he begs the favour that no persons, except those whose names are entered in the book, will come to view his paintings on the last day of sale."

The pictures were sold for the following prices:

Six Harlot's Progress, at 14 guineas each£.8840Eight Rake's Progress, at 22 guineas each184160Morning, 20 guineas2100Noon, 37 guineas38170Evening, 38 guineas39180Night, 26 guineas2760Strolling Players, 26 guineas276042770

At the same time the six pictures ofMarriage à-la-modewere announced as intended for sale as soon as the plates then taking from them should be completed. This set of Prints may be regarded as the ground-work of a novel called "The Marriage Act," by Dr.Shebbeare, and of "The Clandestine Marriage." In the prologue to that excellent comedy, Mr.Garrickthus handsomely expressed his regard for the memory of his friend:

"Poets and painters, who from nature drawTheir best and richest stores, have made this law:That each should neighbourly assist his brother,And steal with decency from one another.To-night, your matchlessHogarthgives the thought,Which from his canvas to the stage is brought.And who so fit to warm the poet's mind,As he who pictur'd morals and mankind?But not the same their characters and scenes;Both labour for one end, by different means:Each, as it suits him, takes a separate road,Their one great object,Marriage à 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.The painter dead, yet still he charms the eye;WhileEnglandlives, his fame can never die:But he, 'who struts his hour upon the stage,'Can scarce extend his fame for half an age;Nor pen nor pencil can the actor save,The art, and artist, share one common grave."[39]

Hogarthhad projected aHappy Marriage, by way of counterpart to hisMarriage à la Mode. A design for the first of his intended six plates he had sketched out in colours; and the following is as accurate an account of it as could be furnished by a gentleman who, long ago enjoyed only a few minutes' sight of so imperfect a curiosity.

The time supposed was immediately after the return of the parties from church. The scene lay in the hall of an antiquated country mansion. On one side, the married couple were represented sitting. Behind them was a group of their young friends of both sexes, in the act of breaking bride-cake over their heads. In front appeared the father of the young lady, grasping a bumper, and drinking, with a seeming roar of exultation, to the future happiness of her and her husband. By his side was a table covered with refreshments. Jollity rather than politeness was the designation of his character. Under the screen of the hall, several rustic musicians in grotesque attitudes, together with servants, tenants, &c. were arranged. Through the arch by which the room was entered, the eye was led along a passage into the kitchen, which afforded a glimpse of sacerdotal luxury. Before the dripping-pan stood a well-fed divine, in his gown and cassock, with his watch in his hand, giving directions to a cook, drest all in white, who was employed in basting a haunch of venison.

Among the faces of the principal figures, nonebut that of the young lady was completely finished.Hogarthhad been often reproached for his inability to impart grace and dignity to his heroines. The bride was therefore meant to vindicate his pencil from so degrading an imputation. The effort, however, was unsuccessful. The girl was certainly pretty; but her features, if I may use the term, were uneducated. She might have attracted notice as a chambermaid, but would have failed to extort applause as a woman of fashion. The parson, and his culinary associate, were more laboured than any other parts of the picture. It is natural for us to dwell longest on that division of a subject which is most congenial to our private feelings. The painter sat down with a resolution to delineate beauty improved by art; but seems, as usual, to have deviated into meanness; or could not help neglecting his original purpose, to luxuriate in such ideas as his situation in early life had fitted him to express. He found himself, in short, out of his element in the parlour, and therefore hastened, in quest of ease and amusement, to the kitchen fire.Churchill, with more force than delicacy, once observed of him, that he only painted thebacksideof nature. It must be allowed, that such an artist, however excellent in his walk, was better qualified to represent the low-born parent, than the royal preserver of a foundling.

The sketch already described (which I believe is in Mrs.Garrick'spossession) was made after the appearance ofMarriage à la Mode, and many years beforethe artist's death. Why he did not persevere in his plan, during such an interval of time, we can only guess. It is probable that his undertaking required a longer succession of images relative to domestic happiness, than had fallen within his notice, or courted his participation.Hogarthhad no children; and though the nuptial union may be happy without them, yet such happiness will have nothing picturesque in it; and we may observe of this truly natural and faithful painter, that he rarely ventured to exhibit scenes with which he was not perfectly well acquainted.

Let us, however, more completely obviate an objection that may be raised against the propriety of the foregoing criticism. Some reader may urge, that perhaps, all circumstances considered, a wedding celebrated at an old mansion-house did not require the appearance of consummate beauty, refined by the powers of education. The remark has seeming justice on its side; butHogarthhad previously avowed his intent to exhibit a perfect face, divested of vulgarity; and succeeded so well, at least in his own opinion, that he carried the canvas, of which we are now speaking, in triumph to Mr.Garrick, whose private strictures on it coincided with those of the person who furnishes this additional confirmation of our painter's notorious ignorance in what is styled—the graceful. From the account I have received concerning a design for a previous compartment belonging to the same story, there is little reason to lamentthe loss of it. It contained no appeal either to the fancy or to the heart. An artist, who, representing the marriage ceremony in a chapel, renders the clerk, who lays the hassocks, the principal figure in it, may at least be taxed with want of judgement.

Soon after the peace ofAix la Chapelle, he went over toFrance, and was taken into custody atCalais, while he was drawing the gate of that town, a circumstance which he has recorded in his picture, intituled, "O the Roast Beef ofOld England!" publishedMarch26, 1749. He was actually carried before the governor as a spy, and, after a very strict examination, committed a prisoner toGrandsire, his landlord, on his promising thatHogarthshould not go out of his house till it was to embark forEngland. This account, I have good authority for saying, he himself gave to his friend Mr.GostlingatCanterbury, at whose house he lay the night after his arrival.

The same accident, however, has been more circumstantially related by an eminentEnglishengraver, who was abroad when it happened.Hayman, andCheerethe statuary, were of the same party.

WhileHogarthwas inFrance, wherever he went, he was sure to be dissatisfied with all he saw. If an elegant circumstance either in furniture, or the ornaments of a room, was pointed out as deserving approbation, his narrow and constant reply was, "What then? but it isFrench! Their houses are all gilt and b—t." In the streets he wasoften clamourously rude. A tatter'd bag, or a pair of silk stockings with holes in them, drew a torrent of imprudent language from him. In vain did my informant (who knew that manyScotchandIrishwere often within hearing of these reproaches, and would rejoice at least in an opportunity of getting our painter mobbed) advise him to be more cautious in his public remarks. He laughed at all such admonition, and treated the offerer of it as a pusillanimous wretch, unworthy of a residence in a free country, making him the butt of his ridicule for several evenings afterwards. This unreasonable pleasantry was at length completely extinguished by what happened while he was drawing the Gate atCalais; for though the innocence of his design was rendered perfectly apparent on the testimony of other sketches he had about him, which were by no means such as could serve the purpose of an engineer, he was told by the Commandant, that, had not the peace been actually signed, he should have been obliged to have hung him up immediately on the ramparts. Two guards were then provided to convey him on shipboard; nor did they quit him till he was three miles from the shore. They then spun him round like a top, on the deck; and told him he was at liberty to proceed on his voyage without farther attendance or molestation. With the slightest allusion to the ludicrous particulars of this affair, poorHogarthwas by no means pleased. The leading circumstance in it his own pencil has recorded.

Soon after this period he purchased a little house atChiswick; where he usually passed the greatest part of the summer season, yet not without occasional visits to his dwelling inLeicester Fields.

In 1753, he appeared to the world in the character of art author, and published a quarto volume, intituled, "The Analysis of Beauty, written with a view of fixing the fluctuating Ideas of Taste." In this performance he shews, by a variety of examples, that a curve is the line of beauty, and that round swelling figures are most pleasing to the eye; and the truth of his opinion has been countenanced by subsequent writers on the subject.

Among the letters of Dr.Birchis the following short one, sent with the "Analysis of Beauty," and datedNov.25, 1753; "Sir, I beg the favour of you to present to the Royal Society the enclosed work, which will receive great honour by their acceptance of it. I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,Wm. Hogarth."

In this book, the leading idea of which was hieroglyphically thrown out in a frontispiece to his works in 1745, he acknowledges himself indebted to his friends for assistance, and particularly to one gentleman for his corrections and amendments of at least a third part of thewording. This friend, I am assured, was Dr.Benjamin Hoadlythe physician, who carried on the work to about athirdpart, Chap. IX. and then, through indisposition, declined the friendly office with regret. Mr.Hogarthapplied to his neighbour,Mr.Ralph; but it was impossible for two such persons to agree, both alike vain and positive. He proceeded no farther than about a sheet, and they then parted friends, and seem to have continued such. In theEstimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times, vol. I. p. 47, published in 1757 by Dr.Brown, that author pays a compliment to Mr.Hogarth'sgenius. Mr.Ralph, animadverting on the work, amongst other things, says, "It is happy for Mr.Hogarth, in my humble opinion, that he is brought upon the stage in such company, rather for the sake of fastening some additional abuse upon the public, than of bestowing any special grace upon him. 'Neither the comic pencil, nor the serious pen of our ingenious countrymen (so the Estimator or Appraiser's Patent of Allowance runs) have been able to keep alive the taste of Nature or of Beauty.' For where he has chosen to be a niggard of his acknowledgements, every other man would chuse to be a prodigal: Nature had played theProteuswith us, had invited us to pursue her in every shape, but had never suffered us to overtake her: Beauty all had been smitten with, but nobody had been able to assign us a rule by which it might be defined: This was Mr.Hogarth'stask; this is what he has succeeded in; composition is at last become a science; the student knows what he is in search of; the connoisseur what to praise; and fancy or fashion, or prescription, will usurp the hacknied name of tasteno more. So that, whatever may be said in disparagement of the age on other accounts, it has more merit and honour to claim on this, than any which preceded it. And I will venture for once to prophesy, from the improvements already manifested, that we shall have the arts of designing to value ourselves upon, when all our ancient virtues are worn out."

The office of finishing the work, and superintending the publication, was lastly taken up by Dr.Morell, who went through the remainder of the book.[40]The preface was in like manner corrected by the Rev. Mr.Townley. The family ofHogarthrejoiced when the last sheet of theAnalysiswas printed off; as the frequent disputes he had with his coadjutors, in the progress of the work, did not much harmonize his disposition.

This work was translated intoGermanby Mr.Mylins, when inEngland, under the author's inspection; and the translation, containing twenty-two sheets in quarto, and two large plates, was printed inLondon, price five dollars.

Of the same performance a new and correct editionwas (July1, 1754) proposed for publication atBerlin, byCh. Fr. Vok, with an explanation of Mr.Hogarth'ssatirical prints, translated from theFrench; the whole to subscribers for one dollar, but after six weeks to be raised to two dollars.

AnItaliantranslation was also published atLeghornin 1761, 8vo, dedicated "All' illustrissime Signora DianaMolineux, DamaInglese."

"This book," Mr.Walpoleobserves, "had many sensible hints and observations; but it did not carry the conviction, nor meet the universal acquiescence he expected. As he treated his contemporaries with scorn, they triumphed over this publication,[41]and irritated him to expose him.Many wretched burlesque prints came out to ridicule his system. There was a better answer to it in one of the two prints that he gave to illustrate his hypothesis. In the ball, had he confined himself to such outlines as compose awkwardness and deformity, he would have proved half his assertion; but he has added two samples of grace in a young lord and lady, that are strikingly stiff and affected. They are aBathbeau and a county Beauty."

Hogarthhad one failing in common with most people who attain wealth and eminence without the aid of liberal education. He affected to despise every kind of knowledge which he did not possess. Having established his fame with little or no obligation to literature, he either conceived it to be needless, or decried it because it lay out of his reach. His sentiments, in short, resembled those ofJack Cade, who pronounced sentence on the clerk ofChatham, because he could write and read. Till, in evil hour, this celebrated artist commenced an author, and was obliged to employ the friends already mentioned to correct hisAnalysis of Beauty,[42]he did not seem to have discovered that even spelling was a necessary qualification; and yet he had ventured to ridicule[43]the late Mr.Rich'sdeficiency as to this particular, in a note which lies before the Rake whose play is refused while he remains in confinement for debt. Previous to the time of which we are now speaking, one of our artist's common topicks of declamation was the uselessness of books to a man of his profession. InBeer-street, among other volumes consigned by him to the pastry cook, we findTurnbull on ancient Painting, a treatise whichHogarthshould have been able to understand, before he ventured to condemn.Garrickhimself, however, was not more ductile to flattery. A word in favour ofSigismunda, might have commanded a proof print, or forced an original sketch out of our artist's hands. The furnisher of this remark owes one of his scarcest performances to the success of a compliment, which might have stuck even in SirGodfrey Kneller'sthroat.

The following authenticated story of our artist will also serve to shew how much more easy it is to detect ill-placed or hyperbolical adulation respecting others, than when applied to ourselves.Hogarthbeing at dinner with the greatCheselden, and some other company, was told that Mr.John Freke, surgeon ofSt. Bartholomew's Hospital, a few evenings before atDick's Coffee-house, had asserted, thatGreenewas as eminent in composition asHandel. "That fellowFreke," repliedHogarth, "is always shooting his bolt absurdly one way or another!Handelis a giant in music;Greeneonly a lightFlorimelkind of a composer."—"Ay," says our artist's informant, "but at the same time Mr.Frekedeclared you were as good a portrait-painter asVandyck."—"Therehe was in the right," addsHogarth; "and so by G— I am, give me my time, and let me choose my subject!"

With Dr.Hoadly, the late Chancellor ofWinchester, Mr.Hogarthwas always on terms of the strictest friendship, and frequently visited him atWinchester, St. Cross,andAlresford. It is well known, that Dr.Hoadly'sfondness for theatrical exhibitions was so great, that few visitors were ever long in his house before they were solicited to accept a part in some interlude or other. He himself, withGarrickandHogarth, once performed a laughable parody on the scene inJulius Cæsar, where theGhostappears toBrutus. Hogarthpersonated the spectre; but so unretentive was his memory, that, although his speechconsisted only of two lines, he was unable to get them by heart. At last they hit on the following expedient in his favour. The verses he was to deliver were written in such large letters, on the outside of an illuminated paper-lanthorn, that he could read them when he entered with it in his hand on the stage.Hogarthpainted a scene on this occasion, representing a sutling booth, with theDuck of Cumberland'shead by way of sign. He also prepared the play-bill, with characteristic ornaments. The original drawing is still preserved, and we could wish it were engraved; as the slightest sketch from the design of so grotesque a painter would be welcome to the numerous collectors of his works.

Hogarthwas also the most absent of men. At table he would sometimes turn round his chair as if he had finished eating, and as suddenly would return it, and fall to his meal again. I may add, that he once directed a letter to Dr.Hoadly, thus,—"To the Doctor atChelsea." This epistle, however, by good luck, did not miscarry; and was preserved by the late Chancellor ofWinchester, as a pleasant memorial of his friend's extraordinary inattention.

Another remarkable instance ofHogarth'sabsence was told me, after the first edition of this work, by one of his intimate friends. Soon after he set up his carriage, he had occasion to pay a visit to the lord-mayor (I believe it was Mr.Beckford). When he went, the weather was fine; but business detained him till a violent shower of rain came on. He waslet out of the Mansion-house by a different door from that at which he entered; and, seeing the rain, began immediately to call for a hackney-coach. Not one was to be met with on any of the neighbouring stands; and our artist sallied forth to brave the storm, and actually reachedLeicester-fieldswithout bestowing a thought on his own carriage, till Mrs.Hogarth(surprized to see him so wet and splashed) asked where he had left it.

Mr.Walpole, in the following note, p. 69, is willing to expose the indelicacy of theFlemishpainters, by comparing it with the purity ofHogarth. "When they attempt humour," says our author, "it is by making a drunkard vomit; they take evacuations for jokes; and when they make us sick, think they make us laugh. A boor hugging a frightful frow is a frequent incident, even in the works ofTeniers." Shall we proceed to examine whether the scenes painted by our countryman are wholly free from the same indelicacies? In one plate ofHudibras, where he encounters aSkimmington, a man is making water against the end of a house, while a taylor's wife is most significantly attending to the dirty process. In another plate to the same work, a boy is pissing into the shoe ofRalpho, while the widow is standing by. Another boy in theEnraged Musicianis easing nature by the same mode; and a little miss is looking earnestly on the operation. In theMarch to Finchley, a diseased soldier has no better employment; and a woman is likewise staringat him out of a window. This circumstance did not escape the observation ofRouquetthe enameller, whose remarks[44]on the plates of our artist I shall have more than once occasion to introduce. "Il y a," says he, "dans quelques endroits de cet excellent tableau, des objets peut être plus propres à peindre qu'à décrire. D'ou vient que les oreilles sont plus chaste que les yeux? Ne seroit ce pas parce qu'on peut regarder certains objets dans un tableau, et feindre de ne pas les voir; et qu'il n'est pas si aisé d'entendre une obscénité, et de feindre de ne l'entendre pas! L'objet, dont je veux parler, est toutefois peu considérable; il s'agit seulement d'un soldat à qui le voyage deMontpelierconviendroit mieux que celui d'Ecosse. L'amour lui a fait une blessure, &c." Was this occurrence delicate or precious enough to deserve such frequency of repetition? In the burlesquePaul before Felix, when the High Priest applies his fingers to his nose, we have reason to imagine that his manœuvre was in consequence of some offensive escape during the terrors of the pro-consul ofJudea, who, as he is here represented, conveys no imperfect image of a late Lord Mayor, at the time of the riots inLondon. In this last instance, indeed, I ought to have observed thatHogarthmeant to satirize, not to imitate, the painters ofHollandandFlanders. But I forbear to dwell any longer on such disgusting circumstances; begging leave only to ask, whether the canvas ofTeniersexhibits nastierobjects than those of the woman cracking a louse between her nails in the fourth plate of theHarlot's Progress; aScotchbag-piper catching another in his neck while he is performing at the Election feast;Auroradoing the same kind office for aSyrenorNereid, in theStrollers, &c.; the old toothlessFrenchbeldams, slobbering (Venusforbid we should call it kissing) each other in the comic print entitledNoon; the chamber-pot emptied on the Free Mason's head, in theRejoicing Night; or theLilliputiansgiving a clyster toGulliver? In some of these instances, however, the humour may compensate for the indelicacy, which is rarely the case with suchDutchpictures as have justly incurred the censure of Mr.Walpole. Let us now try how far some of the compositions ofHogarthhave befriended the cause of modesty. In theHarlot's Progress, Plate VI. we meet with a hand by no means busied in manner suitable to the purity of its owner's function.Hogarthindeed, in three different works, has delineated three clergymen; the one as a drunkard; the second as a glutton; and the third as a whoremaster, who (I borrowRouquet'swords) "est plus occupé de sa voisine que de son vin, qu'il repand par une distraction qu'elle lui cause." He who, in the eyes of the vulgar, would degrade our professors of religion, deserves few thanks from society. In theRake's Progress, Plate the last, how is the hand of the ideal potentate employed, while he is gazing with no very modest aspect on a couple of young women who passbefore his cell numbered 55? and to what particular object are the eyes of the said females supposed to be directed?[45]Nay, in what pursuit is the grenadier engaged who stands with his face toward the wall in Plate 9. ofIndustry and Idleness? May we address another question to the reader? Is the "smileofSocrates," or the "benevolenceof the designer," very distinguishable in the half dozen last instances? It has been observed indeed by physiognomists, that thesmileof the realSocratesresembled thegrinof asatyr; and perhaps a few of the particulars here alluded to, as well as the prints entitledBeforeandAfter, ought to be considered as abenevolenceto speculative old maids, or misses not yet enfranchised from a boarding school. Had this truly sensible critic, and elegant writer, been content to observe, that such gross circumstances as form the chief subject ofFlemishpictures, are only incidental and subordinate in those of our artist, the remark might have escaped reprehension. But perhaps he who has told us that "St. Paul'shand was onceimproperlyplaced before the wife ofFelix" should not have suffered more glaring insults on decency to pass without a censure. On this occasion, though I may be found to differ from Mr.Walpole, I am ready to confess how muchregard is due to the opinions of a gentleman whose mind has been long exercised on a subject which is almost new to me; especially when I recollect that my present researches would have had no guide, but for the lights held out in the last volume of the Anecdotes of Painting inEngland.

Hogarthboasted that he could draw a Serjeant with his pike, going into an alehouse, and his Dog following him, with only three strokes;—which he executed thus:

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