I lived within sight, etc. At Wem, in Shropshire, within sight of
the Welsh hills. Cf. a passage in the first paragraph of ‘My First Acquaintance with
Poets.’
‘Yarrow unvisited.’ Wordsworth’s three poems, Yarrow Unvisited,
Yarrow Visited, and Yarrow Revisited, were published in 1807,
1814, and 1835 respectively.
‘Unmould their essence.’ Cf. ‘Unmoulding reason’s mintage.’ Comus,
529.
‘A mighty stream of tendency.’ Wordsworth, The Excursion, IX. 87.
‘A tide in the affairs of men.’ Julius Caesar, Act IV. Scene 3.
‘With sails and tackle torn.’ ‘Though shrouds and tackle torn.’ Paradise
Lost, II. 1044.
‘Such tricks hath,’ etc. Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act
V. Scene 1.
‘Thing of life.’ ‘She walks the waters like a thing of life,’ Byron, The
Corsair, Canto I. Scene 3.
‘Like some gay creature,’ etc. Comus, 299.
Mr. Leigh Hunt has treated it, etc. In an essay entitled ‘A nearer
view of some of the shops,’ The Indicator (1850 edition), Part I. p. 81.
The Indicator ran from Oct. 13, 1819, to March 21, 1821.
‘There’s sympathy.’ The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act II. Scene 1.
—, the editor of a Scotch magazine. The reference here and three lines below
seems to be to Lockhart, who was accused of being editor of Blackwood’s
Magazine. See Mr. Lang’s Life of Lockhart, vol. I. chap. ix.
‘Those faultless monsters,’ etc. John Sheffield, Duke of
Buckingham, Essay on Poetry.
‘The web of our lives,’ etc. All’s Well that Ends
Well, Act IV. Scene 3.
ESSAY XXVII. ON CORPORATE BODIES
Many instances of variation between the MS. and the text of this essay are given
by Mr. W. C. Hazlitt in his edition of Table Talk. ‘The MS. and the printed
copy’ (he says, p. 380) ‘scarcely correspond in two consecutive words.’
‘Corporate bodies have no soul.’ ‘They [corporations] cannot commit treason, nor
be outlawed nor excommunicate, for they have no souls.’ Sir Edward Coke, Case of
Sutton’s Hospital, 10 Rep. 32.
‘Self-love and social.’ Pope, Essay on Man, IV. 396.
‘A pestilent fellow.’ Cf. ‘What a pestilent slave is this same!’ Romeo and
Juliet, Act IV. Scene 5.
The town-hall reels, etc. Mr. W. C. Hazlitt says that ‘it appears
from a rough memorandum on the back of one of the leaves of the MS. that the Mayor’s Feast at Basingstoke was in the writer’s mind
when he wrote this,’
‘The very stones prate.’ Macbeth, Act II.
Scene 1.
‘Dressed in a little brief authority.’ Measure for Measure, Act
II. Scene 2.
The Barrys, etc. James Barry (1741–1806) quarrelled with his
brother Academicians and was expelled in 1799; Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786–1846), to
whom Hazlitt probably refers as ‘H—,’ also quarrelled with the Royal Academy, and was
never made a member; Charles Cotton (1728–1798), coach-painter to George III., was by him nominated one of the foundation members of the
Academy.
‘The Raphael grace,’ etc. Cf. Tristram Shandy, III. 12.
‘Must live within,’ etc. Hamlet, Act I. Scene 5.
‘Dandled,’ etc. ‘I was not, like his Grace of Bedford, swaddled,
and rocked, and dandled into a legislator.’ Burke, A Letter to a Noble Lord
(Works, Bohn, V. 124).
Sir Thomas Lawrence, etc. Lawrence had been commissioned to paint
the members of the Congress at Aix-la-Chapelle, and had afterwards visited Rome. He
returned to England in 1820.
Mr. Dawe. George Dawe (1781–1829) who went to Russia in 1819 and painted for the
Emperor a great number of portraits. Lamb contributed an account of him to The
Englishman’s Magazine (Sept. 1831) entitled Recollections of A Late Royal
Academician.
Mr. Canning somewhere, etc. See his Speeches on the occasion of his
reelection at Liverpool, March, 1820.
Mr. Matthews, in his ‘At Home.’ Probably Hazlitt refers to ‘The Trip to Paris,’
by James Smith and John Poole, Mathews’s second At Home, produced in 1819.
‘O’er the stage,’ etc.
‘Dread o’er the scene, the ghost of Hamlet stalks;
Othello rages; poor Monimia mourns;
And Belvidera pours her soul in love.’
Thomson, The Seasons, Winter, 646–8.
‘No; let him pass,’ etc.
‘Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! he hates him
That would upon the rack of this tough world
Stretch him out longer.’
King Lear, Act V. Scene 3.
Abel Drugger. In Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist, one of Garrick’s great
parts.
‘The graves yawn,’ etc. A composite quotation from Much Ado
About Nothing (Act V. Scene 3) and Macbeth
(Act III. Scene 4).
The Copper Captain, etc. In Fletcher’s Rule a Wife and have a
Wife; Bobadil, in Ben Jonson’s Every Man in His Humour; Ranger, in
Hoadly’s The Suspicious Husband; Young Rapid, in Morton’s A Cure for
the Heart-Ache; Lord Foppington, in Vanbrugh’s The Relapse.
‘My brain would have been,’ etc. ‘I declare, quoth my uncle Toby,
mine are more like a smoke-jack!’ Tristram Shandy, vol. III. chap. 18.
‘Then sweet,’ etc. ‘Then sweet, now sad to mention.’ Paradise
Lost, II. 820.
Mrs. Garrick. Mrs. Garrick died in 1822 at the age of 98.
Sterne’s stop-watch. Tristram Shandy, vol. III. chap. 12.
‘Cried out upon,’ etc. Cf. ‘An eyrie of children, little eyases,
that cry out on the top of question.’ Hamlet, Act II. Scene 2.
Note. See The Spectator, No. 235. Mr. Smirke, afterwards Sir Robert Smirke
(1781–1867) rebuilt Covent Garden Theatre (1809), and Benjamin Dean Wyatt (1775–1850?)
rebuilt Drury Lane Theatre (1811). Hazlitt implies that at both theatres the galleries
commanded an imperfect view of the stage. At Covent Garden this was one of the grievances
which led to the O. P. riots of 1809.
Mr. Powell’s court. In St. Martin’s Street. Cf. ante, p. 88.
Mr. Knight’s performance of Filch. For reference to Edward Knight (‘Little
Knight’) and for Hazlitt’s remark on Simmons’s Filch, see the volume containing dramatic
criticisms. The article in The Examiner appeared on Nov. 6, 1815.
One Cavanagh. See ante, pp. 86–89.
A character of him. See Political Essays, vol. III. p, 325.
Scholars should be sworn at Highgate. See Brand’s Popular
Antiquities, II. 195. Part of the oath taken by the
person sworn was ‘never to kiss the maid when he could kiss the mistress.’
‘Not pierceable,’ etc. The Faerie Queene, Book I. Canto I. Stanza 7.
‘To succeed at the gaming-table,’ etc. The sentiment is Peachum’s.
See The Beggar’s Opera, Act I. Scene 1.
‘To have a good face,’ etc. ‘To be a well-favoured man is the gift
of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.’ Much Ado About Nothing,
Act III. Scene 3.
When I formerly, etc. For the matters referred to in this and the
two succeeding paragraphs, cf. the volume containing Hazlitt’s dramatic criticisms.
Poor Perry. James Perry (1756–1821), editor and proprietor of The Morning
Chronicle. See Hazlitt’s A View of the English Stage for his article
on Miss Stephens as Polly.
Mrs. Billington. Elizabeth Billington (1768–1818), the great singer.
‘Life knows no return of spring.’ The song (Act II.
Scene 1) begins ‘Let us drink and sport to-day.’
‘My final hopes,’ etc. A characteristic reference to the fall of
Napoleon.
Master Betty’s acting. See The Spirit of the Age, vol. IV. p. 233.
‘Some gay creature,’ etc. Comus, 299.
‘And in my mind,’ etc. Home’s Douglas, Act IV. Scene 1.
Enfield’s Speaker. William Enfield’s The Speaker, or Miscellaneous Pieces
selected from the best English Writers, originally published in 1774 and
frequently reprinted.
Mrs. Radcliffe’s Romance of the Forest. See English Comic Writers,
vol. VIII. p. 125.
The Marriage of Cana. The Marriage at Cana in the Louvre.
Madame M—. Mr. W. C. Hazlitt fills this blank with the name of Mérimée. When
Hazlitt went to Paris in 1802 he took with him a letter of introduction from Holcroft to
Mérimée the painter, whose son Prosper was born in the following year, 1803.
I have never seen death but once. See Memoirs of William
Hazlitt, I. 170.
At my breast. A paragraph in the MS. of this essay is
here omitted:
‘I did not see my father after he was dead, but I saw death shake him by the palsied
hand, and stare him in the face. He made as good an end as Falstaff; though different as
became him. After repeating the name of his R(edeemer) often, he took my mother’s hand,
and, looking up, put it in my sister’s, and so expired. There was something graceful and
gracious in his nature, which showed itself in his last act.’
Chantry’s monument, etc. Chantrey’s ‘Sleeping Children’ in
Lichfield Cathedral.
‘Sea-sick, weary bark,’ etc. Romeo and Juliet, Act
V. Scene 3.
‘To lose it afterwards,’ etc.
‘To lose it, may be, at last in a lewd quarrel
For some new friend.’
Otway, Venice Preserved, Act IV. Scene 2.
MR. NORTHCOTE’S CONVERSATIONS
James Northcote (1746–1831), was the son of Samuel Northcote, a Plymouth watchmaker. He
was brought to the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds by the Mudges of Plymouth (see note to
p. 366). Sir Joshua befriended him and he sat as one of the figures in Ugolino. After
study in London and abroad he began to acquire reputation as a portrait-painter. He
exhibited at the Royal Academy first in 1781, and of that body he was elected an
Associate in 1786, and an Academician on Feb. 13, 1787. He painted many historical and
sacred subjects, but his reputation will rest upon his portraits, many of which may be
seen in the National Portrait Gallery. He wrote the Memoirs of Sir Joshua
Reynolds (1813–15) wherein several of the anecdotes which occur in the
conversations first appear, and was helped in two other pieces of literary work by
Hazlitt, viz., The Life of Titian, with Anecdotes of the Distinguished Persons of
his Time (1830), and One Hundred Fables, Original and Selected
(1828), the wood-cuts to which, by William Harvey, from Northcote’s designs, are of value
with respect to the art of English wood-engraving. A Second Series was issued in 1833,
after his death. He spoke Devonshire all his life and never married. See Memorials
of an Eighteenth Century Painter (James Northcote): by Stephen Gwynn, 1898;
Conversations of James Northcote, R.A., with James Ward on Art and Artists:
edited by Ernest Fletcher, 1901; P. G. Patmore’s My Friends and
Acquaintances; Hazlitt’s essay ‘On the Old Age of Artists’ in The Plain
Speaker; Ruskin’s Præterita; and The Examiner, May 4th,
1833.
The circumstances under which the ‘Conversations’ were reported and printed will be found
set forth in the ‘Memoirs of William Hazlitt,’ vol. II. pp.
198–213. After six issues had appeared in The New Monthly Magazine a Mr.
Rosdew protested on behalf of the Mudges against some remarks that appeared therein. The
passages, which are given below in the Notes for the first time since they appeared in
the Magazine (they were omitted when Hazlitt collected the papers
for a volume), may explain this protest. The publication of further issues seems to have
been stopped by the Editor, Thomas Campbell. Four Conversations (see note to p. 394),
were contributed to Richardson’s London Weekly Review, and their existence
there does not seem to have been noted until the present edition. Their publication was
transferred to The Atlas (see note to p. 420), and finished therein.
Unfortunately, the British Museum file of The Atlas is defective, and it has
not so far been possible to check every ‘Conversation’ with its first appearance in
magazine form. Where possible, however, this has been done, and a few passages are given
below which were not reprinted by Hazlitt.
Conversations I.-VI. first appeared in The New Monthly
Magazine and Literary Journal. They begin in vol. 17, 1826, Part II. ‘Original Papers,’ under the title of ‘Boswell Redivivus’ and may
be found as follows:—
No. I. August vol. 17 No. 68
„ II. September „ „ „ 69
„ III. October „ „ „ 70
„ IV. November „ „ „ 71
„ V. February „ 19 „ 74 (1827, ‘Original
Papers,’ Part I.)
„ VI. March „ „ „ 75
The motto (‘The precepts here,’ etc.) appears at the head of No. I.
The following explanatory footnote was not reproduced when the Conversations
were published in volume form:—
‘I differ from my great original and predecessor (James Boswell, Esq., of Auchinleck), in
this, that whereas he is supposed to have invented nothing, I have feigned whatever I
pleased. I have forgotten, mistaken, mis-stated, altered, transposed a number of things.
All that can be relied upon for certain is a striking anecdote or a sterling remark or
two in each page. These belong as a matter of right to my principal speaker: the rest I
have made for him by interpolating or paraphrasing what he said. My object was to catch
the tone and manner, rather than to repeat the exact expressions, or even opinions; just
as it is possible to recognise the voice of an acquaintance without distinguishing the
particular words he uses. Sometimes I have allowed an acute or a severe remark to stand
without the accompanying softenings or explanations, for the sake of effect; and at other
times added whole passages without any foundation, to fill up space. For instance, there
is a dissertation on pp. 75–6, the particulars and the Tory turn of which are entirely my
own. My friend Mr. N— is a determined Whig. I have, however, generally taken him as my
lay-figure or model, and worked upon it, selon mon gré, by fancying how he
would express himself on any occasion, and making up a conversation according to this
preconception in my mind. I have also introduced little incidental details that never
happened; thus, by lying, giving a greater air of truth to the scene—an art understood by
most historians! In a word, Mr. N— is only answerable for the wit, sense, and spirit,
there may be in these papers: I take all the dullness, impertinence, and malice upon
myself. He has furnished the text—I fear I have often spoiled it by the commentary. Or
(to give it a more favourable turn) I have expanded him into a book, as another friend[98] has
continued the history of the Honeycombs down to the present period. My
Dialogues are done much upon the same principle as the Family Journal: I
shall be more than satisfied if they are thought to possess but half the spirit and
verisimilitude,’
Cosway. Richard Cosway, R.A. (1740–1821), painter in water-colour, oil and
miniature.
Miss Reynolds. Frances Reynolds (1729–1807), youngest sister of Sir Joshua. She
also was an artist and wrote an ‘Essay on Taste’ of which Dr. Johnson thought highly.
Burying Lord Byron in Poet’s Corner. The application of Lord Byron’s relatives
that he should be buried in Westminster Abbey was refused, and he lies in the church of
Hucknall-Torkard, near Newstead. The Abbey would not receive even his statue by
Thorwaldsen, which is now in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Hoppner. John Hoppner, R.A. (1758–1810). He and Sir Thomas Lawrence took the
places of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Romney as fashionable portrait painters.
G—. William Godwin (1756–1836). ‘His daughter’ would probably be Mary
Wollstonecraft Shelley, who returned to England after Shelley’s death. As the initial
occurs constantly throughout the Conversations it will save some repetition
in the notes if for G— Godwin is always understood, except where otherwise stated.
H—. Leigh Hunt. His Recollections of Lord Byron and Some of His
Contemporaries appeared in 1828, but this Conversation appeared in the New
Monthly Magazine in 1826. In the Magazine the initial is F— not H—.
Mr. S—. Shelley.
Like the tree in Virgil. Aeneid, III.
37–40.
Mr. Moore has just written a book. Moore’s Life of Byron was
published in 1830. This note was added when the Conversations were collected
into a volume.
Stat nominis umbra. ‘Stat magni nominis umbra.’ Lucan,
Pharsalia, I. 135.
Tom Paine. The opposition to Paine’s Rights of Man (1791–1792) was
so great that it involved those circulating it in imprisonment. Paine’s escape to Paris
saved him.
Dr. Watts ... the encomiums passed on him by Dr. Johnson. See Dr. Johnson’s
Letter to Mr. Edward Dilly, July 7, 1777: ‘his name has long been held by me in
veneration.... I wish to distinguish Watts, a man who never wrote but for a good purpose.’
Mr. Northcote ... a portrait of himself. A portrait of Northcote, painted by
himself in 1821, is in the National Portrait Gallery. There are two or three others in
existence.
West, Barry. Benjamin West (1738–1820), historical painter, and James Barry
(1741–1806), whom Allan Cunningham described as ‘the greatest enthusiast in art which
this country ever produced.’
Master Betty. William Henry West Betty or the Young Roscius (1791–1874) who
began to act at the age of eleven. Pitt adjourned the House of Commons to enable the
members to see his impersonation of Hamlet. See Vol. IV.
The Spirit of the Age, p. 233 and note. Northcote painted his portrait.
Humphreys (the artist). The remark was probably made by Ozias Humphry
(1742–1810); ‘Master Betty’ acted as a boy eight years before Humphry’s death, and the
conversation is concerned with Betty’s acting when a boy. See also Conversations of
James Northcote, R.A., with James Ward, page 86: ‘Can you tell me,’ said Ward, ‘if
Betty the boy-actor—the young Roscius—was as extraordinary as some people have
represented, for I myself never had an opportunity of seeing him act?’ ‘His
gracefulness,’ replied Northcote, ‘was exquisite; I never saw anything like it before.
When Humphry saw him, he cried out, “Oh, ’tis the young Apollo come down from his
pedestal!”’ The only doubt lies in the fact that Humphry’s eyesight seems to have failed
in 1797.
Mr. Harley. George Davies Harley (Davies was his real name), author and actor,
who never rose above useful work, and who died in 1811. He wrote ‘An Authentic
Biographical Sketch of the Life, Education, and Personal Character of William Henry West
Betty, the Celebrated Young Roscius’ (1802).
Alexander the Great. The sub-title of Nat. Lee’s tragedy (1655–1692) The
Rival Queens (1677).
Romney. George Romney (1734–1802), portrait painter. Lord Thurlow said that the
town was divided into two factions—Romney and Reynolds.
Opie. John Opie (1761–1807), portrait and historical painter, of Cornish birth.
He was discovered by Dr. Wolcot (Peter Pindar), himself a west-countryman.
Miss C—. Possibly Miss Cotterell. See note to p. 450.
Gandy. William Gandy (born second half seventeenth century, d. 1729), portrait
painter. He was the son of James Gandy, also a portrait painter (1619–1689). See
ante, p. 21 and note.
Hudson. Thomas Hudson, portrait painter (1701–1779), the master of Sir Joshua
Reynolds.
Mengs. Anton Rafael Mengs, of Bohemian birth (1728–1779), portrait and fresco
painter.
The Duke of Ormond. James Butler, second Duke of Ormonde (1665–1746).
Stringer. Daniel Stringer, portrait painter, a student of the Royal Academy
about 1770.
Cignani. Conte Carlo Cignani, a painter of the Lombard School (1628–1719).
Going with Wilkie to Angerstein’s. Sir David Wilkie (1785–1841). John Julius
Angerstein (1735–1823), who acquired an immense fortune ‘in the city,’ and made the
collection of pictures in his house in Pall-Mall which developed into the National
Gallery by the purchase of them by the government after his death for some £60,000.
Edwards. Edward Edwards, historical painter (1738–1806).
Masaccio. Tommaso Guidi, or Masaccio (= Slovenly Tommy, from his careless
manners) (1401–1428), Florentine painter, noted especially for his works on the walls of
the Carmine church.
Note. ‘The blacksmith swallowing the tailor’s news.’ King John, Act
IV. Scene 2.
Prince Hoare. Portrait and historical painter and dramatist (1755–1834),
son of William Hoare, R.A. Haydon said of his timid expression of face, that ‘when
he laughed heartily he seemed to be crying.’
Lord B— to dine with Dr. Johnson. In the Magazine the name is given
in full as that of Lord Boringdon. John Parker (1735–1788), first Baron Boringdon, father
of the first Earl of Morley.
One of the cages at Exeter-’Change. See vol. IV.
The Spirit of the Age, note to p. 223.
The Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz. These Mémoires appeared in
1717, and English translations were published soon after. They throw much light on the
time of the Wars of the Fronde, and are excellent in character-drawing.
Matthews, the comedian. Charles Mathews (1776–1835), actor and, above all, mimic.
The Prince leaving Sheridan to die in absolute want. Although Sheridan was the
‘official mouthpiece’ of the Prince Regent, he was allowed to die in extreme poverty and
with the bailiffs in his house.
Do you believe the modern periodicals. These are specified in the
Magazine as ‘John Bull’ and ‘Blackwood,’ the former the Tory paper started
in 1820 by Theodore Hook. See vol. IV. The Spirit of the
Age, note to p. 217.
H—me. Probably Joseph Hume of the Pipe Office. See ante, note to p. 195.
Kelly’s ‘Reminiscences.’ Michael Kelly’s ‘Reminiscences, including a period of
nearly half a Century; with Original Anecdotes of many Distinguished Personages,’
appeared in 1820. A second edition was published in 1826. It is a valuable store-house
for the historian of the English theatre.
Mrs. Crouch. Anna Maria Crouch (1763–1805), the beautiful vocalist, whose
‘appearance was that of a meteor, it dazzled, from excess of brilliancy, every spectator.’
Love in a Village. Isaac Bickerstaffe’s operatic farce, with music by Arne
(1762).
Canova. Antonio Canova, a sculptor and painter after the manner of the Venetian
School (1757–1822).
Bernini. Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, sculptor and architect (1598–1680).
Mandeville. Bernard de Mandeville, satirist (1670–1733), author of ‘The Fable of
the Bees; or, Private Vices as Public Benefits’ (1705–1723), an ironical attack upon
Shaftesbury’s theories of virtue, the fallacy of which, according to Dr. Johnson,
consisted in that Mandeville defined neither vices nor benefits. He it was who described
Addison as ‘a parson in a tye-wig.’
The Ireland controversy ... Dr. Parr. Dr. Samuel Parr (1747–1825), clergyman and
schoolmaster, and possessed of an inexplicable reputation for scholarship, was one of the
believers in the Shakespeare forgeries of Samuel William Henry Ireland (1777–1835).
Northcote uses the same phrase about Dr. Parr in a conversation with James Ward. See his
Conversations with James Ward, p. 88.
Tresham. Henry Tresham, painter and amateur picture dealer (1749–1814).
Caleb Whitefoord (1734–1810), wit and diplomatist. See the epitaph Goldsmith
left among his papers for ‘Retaliation.’
Start back with affright. After this sentence the following passage occurs in
the Magazine:—‘This has often struck me in West, how happy it was for him
that he lived and died in the belief that he was the greatest painter that had ever
appeared on the face of the earth. Nothing could shake him in this opinion, nor did he
ever lose sight of it. It was always “My Wolfe, my Wolfe”:—I do assure you literally, you
could not be with him for five minutes at any time, without his alluding to this subject:
whatever else was mentioned, he always brought it round to that. He thought Wolfe owed
all his fame to the picture: it was he who had immortalized Wolfe, not Wolfe who had
immortalized him.’
Woollett. William Woollett (1735–1785), a great engraver. He is said to have
begun his career by a careful study of a Turk’s Head on a pewter-pot in his father’s
public-house; he was also credited with the habit of firing a cannon from the roof of his
house when he had finished a great plate. On his mean tombstone in Old St. Pancras
churchyard some one wrote:—
‘Here Woollett rests, expecting to be saved;
He graved well, but is not well engraved.’
There is now a memorial to him in Westminster Abbey.
Dance. Sir Nathaniel Dance Holland, Bart. (1734–1811), portrait and landscape
painter, son of George Dance, builder of the Mansion House. Since Angelica Kauffmann
would not marry him, he married a rich widow, took the name of Holland, became a baronet,
entered Parliament and gave up art.
Farington. Joseph Farington, landscape painter (1747–1821).
‘As you do sometimes?’ After this sentence the following passage occurs in the
Magazine:—‘But the thing that provoked me was, I knew West was only thinking
of the engraving of Wolfe, who had already a monument erected to him in the most select
part of Westminster Abbey, and West thought, if he could get a monument to Woollett there
also, he should come in between them.’
Round his gallery. Add the following from the Magazine:— ‘And yet,’
said N.—,’he thought in his pictures he had accumulated an invaluable property, and that
they would be caught up at his death like so many Correggios. It was this that kept him
alive. If he could have seen how much he wanted, he would, perhaps, have done nothing.’
The death of poor —. The Magazine gives the initial F, which
indicates, in all probability, Thomas Foster, Irish portrait-painter (1798–1826), who
committed suicide.
C—. John Wilson Croker (1780–1857), who was appointed Secretary of the Admiralty
in 1809, for his services to the Duke of York.
Poor Bird. Edward Bird (1762 or 72–1819), genre painter, who began life
as an ornamenter of tea-trays.
If — was likely to have succeeded. The Magazine gives the initial
F. See first note to this page.
Mr. Locke (of Norbury Park). William Locke (1732–1810), a wealthy art amateur,
on whose estate at Norbury, near Mickleham, Surrey, Fanny Burney built ‘Camilla Cottage.’
His son, William Locke (1767–1847), was an amateur artist, and his grandson also, William
Locke the third (1804–1832).
Old Dr. Moore. Dr. John Moore (1729–1802), physician, and author of the novel,
Zeluco: Various Views of Human Nature, taken from Life and Manners,
Foreign and Domestic (1786), which suggested to Byron the idea of Childe
Harold (see Preface to this latter).
Old Alderman Boydell. John Boydell (1719–1804), engraver. His book of plates of
views in England and Wales was the first book, so he said, that ever made a Lord Mayor of
London. He was a good friend to young artists, and greatly furthered the art of engraving
in England.
Sir R. P—. Sir Richard Phillips (1767–1840), author, bookseller and publisher.
He established The Monthly Magazine in 1796.
Annibal Caracci. Annibal Caracci (1560–1609), the decorator of the Farnese
Palace, Rome, and painter of the celebrated picture of ‘Christ being taken down from the
Cross.’
Ludovico Caracci. Ludovico Caracci (1555–1619), uncle of the above.
Angelica Kauffmann. Maria Anna Angelica Catharina Kauffmann (1741–1807),
portrait painter and etcher.
Simple Story ... Nature and Art. Elizabeth Inchbald’s (1753–1821) books were
published in 1791 and 1796 respectively.
Mrs. Centlivre. Susannah Centlivre (c. 1667–1723), the authoress of
nineteen vivacious plays. See The Dunciad, Book II.
411 and note: ‘wife to Mr. Centlivre, Yeoman of the Mouth to His Majesty. She writ many
Plays, and a Song (says Mr. Jacob) before she was seven years old. She also writ a Ballad
against Mr. Pope’s Homer before he began it. P.’
Old Baxter. Richard Baxter, the Nonconformist Divine (1615–1691). The same
illustration is used in The Plain Speaker, p. 243.
A Dissenting Minister (a Mr. Fox of Plymouth). John Fox (1693–1763). He was
given in charge of his father’s first cousin, Isaac Gilling, minister at Newton Abbot, to
see if Gilling could remove his objections to the ministry. After many shifts he got his
license on Oct. 17, 1717, and he began to preach, but apparently he was never ordained.
He gave up the ministry after his father’s death, married Isaac Gilling’s daughter and
turned biographer.
Malone. Edmond Malone (1741–1812), the editor of Shakespeare.
Old Mr. M—. Given in the Magazine as Mudge. The Mudges of Plymouth
were the family by whose means Northcote was introduced to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Zachariah
Mudge (1694–1769), divine, Sir Joshua described as the wisest man he had met in his life,
and he painted his portrait three times. His ‘character’ was written by Dr. Johnson in
the London Chronicle, June 2, 1769. He taught at a school kept by John
Reynolds (grandfather of the painter), at Exeter, hence the acquaintance between the two
families. He was a friend of Smeaton’s, the builder of the Eddystone lighthouse, and it
was he who joined Smeaton in the lantern, upon its completion, in chanting the Old
Hundredth. The first Mrs. Mudge was the lady who remonstrated with Dr. Johnson when he
proceeded to his eighteenth cup of tea. ‘What, another!’ she said; and the Doctor
replied: ‘Madam, you are rude,’ and proceeded to his twenty-fifth. John Mudge
(1721–1793), physician, was the fourth and youngest son of the above.
I heard no more of the Life. Add the following from the Magazine,
p. 85:—‘for it contained stories of Mudge having run away from the Academy where he was
brought up, because Moll Faux, the housemaid, would not have him; of his sleeping in a
sugar-cask all night at Wapping, finding a halfpenny in the street, with which he bought
a loaf to prevent himself from starving, and returning home in the greatest
distress, where he soon after left the dissenters to go over to the church, because the
former would not give him some situation that he wanted.’ N— said, ‘Sir Joshua took no
further notice, and I believe he burned my MS., for it was not
to be found among his papers at his death, though Malone at my request had made every
search for it. The truth is, they were mortified to find one whom they had been in the
habit of crying up not only as a person of the highest capacity (which he was) but as a
saint and the model of a Christian pastor, turn out little better than a vagabond and
mountebank. It was besides an imputation on their own sagacity.’
Kneller. Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bart. (or Kniller), 1646–1723. He painted
portraits of nearly every person of importance in his day.
It would do for anybody. Add the following from the Magazine:— ‘N—
then showed me a print of him after Sir Joshua, which appeared to me a complete
high-priest, bullying and insincere. His wife (the same Moll Faux, whom he afterwards
married, and who continued a violent Dissenter to the last) used to say—“There he gets up
into the pulpit, and prates away as if he knew all the secrets of heaven and earth, and
all the time does not believe one word of it.” My father who knew him, said there was
always to him a look of insincerity in his very high-flown orthodoxy, for once when
Smeaton, the great engineer, was making a remark on some circumstance in the Old
Testament, he cut him short by saying, “Oh! if you give up any part, the whole must
follow!” He used also to say, in speaking of the arguments on natural religion, that in
an infinity of chances everything was possible. If he had been at Rome, he would have got
to be a Cardinal as sure as I am standing here. He had ambition and abilities enough for
any thing. Yet it was like pride in a corner too. His wife would always put a brick
behind the fire to keep it low, and would come in and boil the saucepan by his
study-fire, just as when they had been in poverty and mean circumstances, and yet he
never objected. He grew indolent at last, and spent his time in playing at cards with old
ladies who were rich and pious. He hated writing sermons (though it was what he was
chiefly admired for), and preached the same set over and over again, till the
congregation nearly had them by heart. I said it was what he did not feel, and he
therefore set about it reluctantly.’
Dunning, Gay, Lord Chancellor King. John Dunning, first Baron Ashburton
(1731–1783), Solicitor-General in 1768, and one of the most powerful orators of his day.
John Gay (1685–1732), of Barnstaple, the poet.
Peter King (first Lord King, Baron of Ockham in Surrey) 1669–1734, lord chancellor 1725.
Pope’s Lord Lansdowne, ‘What Muse for Granville,’etc. George
Granville or Grenville (1667–1735), follower of Waller in English verse. He was created
Lord Lansdowne in 1711. He was a descendant of Charles I’s
general, Sir Richard Granville (1600–1658). See Pope’s Windsor Forest.
Foster, the celebrated preacher. James Foster (1697–1753) who was appointed in
1728 Sunday Evening Lecturer at the Old Jewry.
Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. Philip Yorke (1690–1764), first Earl of Hardwicke.
Let modest Foster. Pope’s Epilogue to the Satires, Dialogue, lines
131–2. After the couplet the following passage may be inserted from the
Magazine:—‘I had made,’ said N—, ‘a pretty picture of the worthies of the
Devon, till — spoiled it by making me stick his ugly boy in it, and would not
have it after all.’ ‘I asked if the family of the Mudges still continued; and he said
they did, but were not equal to the two that he had mentioned, old Zachary Mudge, and Dr.
Mudge his son, who was a physician. The last had been his father’s most intimate friend,
and he remembered him perfectly well.’
Warburton ... Dr. Doddridge ... the Divine Legation of Moses. William Warburton
(1698–1779). The Divine Legation of Moses (1738–40) was described by Gibbon
as ‘a monument, already crumbling in the dust, of the vigour and weakness of the human
mind.’ Philip Doddridge (1702–1751), eminent nonconformist divine and twentieth child of
an oilman.
Female Seducers. One of the Fables for the Female Sex (1744)
published by Edward Moore (1712–1757), the fabulist. This particular Fable was the work
of Henry Brooke, author of The Fool of Quality.
Mr. Agar. Welbore Ellis Agar, referred to by Boswell (ed. G. B. Hill, III. 118 note), in a note to a letter to Johnson (July 9, 1777). In
the Magazine the name is given as Ellis only.
An expression of Coleridge’s. The remark seems to have been made in a lecture
delivered by Coleridge on Jan. 27, 1818, on the ‘General Character of the Gothic Mind in
the Middle Ages.’ See ‘Mr. Green’s note taken at the delivery’ in Coleridge’s
Literary Remains vol. I., p. 69, 1836.
The beautiful Mrs. G—. Mary Horneck, the ‘Jessamy Bride’ of Goldsmith, married
to Colonel Gwyn. Her elder sister Goldsmith nicknamed ‘Little Comedy.’
Ninon de l’Enclos (1616–1706). A famous French beauty, who lives in her letters
to St. Evremond. She had many lovers and read Montaigne at the age of ten.
As Swift said. ‘But principally I hate and detest that animal called man,
although I heartily love John, Peter, Thomas, and so forth.’ Letter to Pope, Sept. 29,
1725.
The same complaint was made of the Academy in Barry’s time. James Barry was not
able to agree with his brother Academicians and he was expelled in 1799.
Lord G.— ? Robert Grosvenor, second Earl Grosvenor and first Marquis of
Westminster (1767–1845). He shocked the House of Commons in his first speech by quoting
Greek and he added the Agar collection of pictures to the Gallery at Grosvenor House.
Nollekens. Joseph Nollekens (1737–1823), who modelled busts of nearly all the
‘persons of importance’ in his day.
Giardini. Felice Giardini, a Piedmontese musician, who flourished in England in
the latter half of the eighteenth century. Northcote seems to have been much impressed
with Giardini’s statement. He repeated it to James Ward. See Conversations of James
Northcote, R.A., with James Ward on Art and Artists (1901) p. 219.
R—, the engraver. Samuel William Reynolds, mezzotint engraver (1773–1835).
Lord John Boringdon. See ante, note to p. 349. Lord Boringdon added
many valuable pictures to the collection at his family seat, Saltram, near Plymouth.
Sir John Leicester’s. Sir John Fleming Leicester, First Lord de Tabley
(1762–1827), art patron. He often allowed the public to see his fine collection of
British pictures, in his house in Hill Street, Berkeley Square.
Barrett. George Barret (1728/32–1784) landscape painter and decorator of the
great room at Norbury Park. His son George ‘the younger’ (1774–1842) was one of the first
members of the Water Colour Society.
Pirated by an Irish bookseller. The copyright act was not extended to Ireland
until the Union.
Conversation the Ninth appeared in the London Weekly
Review (Richardson’s), under the heading ‘Real
Conversations,’ March 14, 1829, from the beginning of the Conversation to ‘to
obtain redress’ on p. 384. The names are disguised, Northcote as A; G as F.
H—. Haydon.
Admiral Blake. Robert Blake (1599–1657) one of the greatest of English Admirals
and a supporter of the Commonwealth, hence the reference.
‘We pay,’ continued Northcote. This forms the beginning of ‘Real Conversations’ in the London Weekly Review, April 11,
1829. The names are disguised as before, Northcote under A. I—’s, on p. 385 is given in
full, Irving’s. The failure of a great bookseller is, briefly, ‘Constable’s failure.’
Poor Goblet. Alexander Goblet, Nollekens’ carver.
Oh! ho, quoth Time to Thomas Hearne. Thomas Hearne (1678–1735), a dull but
learned antiquarian, of whom Gibbon wrote: ‘His minute and obscure diligence, his
voracious and undistinguishing appetite, and the coarse vulgarity of his taste and style,
have exposed him to the ridicule of idle wits.’ See The Dunciad, III. 185.
Mr. Moore (brother of the general). Sir Graham Moore, admiral (1764–1843).
The Pilot. James Fenimore Cooper’s (1789–1851) novel was published in 1823.
I—. Washington Irving (1783–1859). His History of New York,
Sketch Book, Bracebridge Hall and Tales of a
Traveller, had appeared when this criticism was uttered. See also vol. IV. The Spirit of the Age, p. 367.
Mr. Alderman Wood. Sir Matthew Wood (1768–1843), M.P. for the City from 1817
till his death—notorious as the champion of Queen Caroline.
Suffered a sea-change, etc. The Tempest, Act I. Scene 2. [rich and strange].
He did not do so well. Add from the London Weekly Review—‘But the
whole was so thoroughly Yankee in grain (even the hardness and dryness), that I
was surprised to find the writer was the son of the celebrated Cooper of
Manchester. The father was himself, however, of a very stern republican genius.’[99]
Horrors accumulating on horror’s head. Othello, Act III. Scene 3.
Brown’s Romances. Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810), said to be the first
American who adopted literature as a profession. His novels (Wieland,
Ormund, Arthur Mervyn, Edgar Huntly, Clara
Howard and Janet Talbot) are full of imagination.
Zoffani. Johann Zauffely or Zoffany (1733–1810), portrait painter, especially of
actors in character.
The Queen’s trial, and the scenes at Brandenburg House. Lord Liverpool’s bill of
pains and penalties against the Queen was abandoned in 1820 much to the people’s delight.
Brandenburg House, which was formerly on the banks of the Thames, where the Middlesex
entrance to Hammersmith Bridge now is, was occupied by Queen Caroline, who died there in
1821.
Conversation the Eleventh. This is the first of the ‘Real Conversations’ which appeared in the London Weekly
Review, March 7, 1829. After the title occurs the following explanatory note:—‘The
Conversations here presented to the reader are real not ‘Imaginary.’ How we
became possessed of them, it is not necessary to disclose. Suffice it that they are set
down almost exactly as they passed from the lips of the speakers; and that those speakers
are living persons, sufficiently distinguished from the crowd by their name, talents, and
acquirements, to render whatever they may have to say worthy attention, on whatever topic
their talk may turn. We will only add, that the Conversations here reported were entirely
unpremeditated, and consequently spoken without the remotest view to anything but their
immediate effect on the person addressed.—Ed.’
Northcote is disguised as usual under A.
Kendall’s Letters on Ireland. ‘Letters to a friend on the State of Ireland,’
1826. By Edward Augustus Kendall (? 1776–1842), founder in 1819 of The Literary
Chronicle, which was afterwards incorporated with the Athenæum.
A thing no more difficile. Butler’s Hudibras, Part 1. Canto I. ll. 53 and 54.
Old Mr. Tolcher. Henry Tolcher, alderman of Plymouth and friend of Northcote’s
father. Northcote left an unfinished portrait of him.
Canning’s assertion. In a debate in the House of Commons, on March 1st, 1826, on
a Petition for the Abolition of Slavery in the Colonies (Hansard’s Parl.
Deb. XIV. 973, et seq.).
M——’s, the landscape painter. Given as ‘Martin’s’ in the London Weekly
Review. John Martin, landscape and historical painter (1789–1854), whom Lytton
characterised as more original than Raphael and Michael Angelo. He had a lifelong
struggle with the British Academy and was one of the founders of the Society of British
Artists, at whose gallery he exhibited for many years.
Grandi, the Italian colour-grinder. Sebastiano Grandi, who was imported from
Italy to be Sir Joshua Reynolds’s colour-grinder. He is ‘Warwick’ in the ‘Death of
Cardinal Beaufort.’
L——. Sir Thomas Lawrence, (1769–1830) portrait painter and President of the
Royal Academy.
Some demon whisper’d. Pope’s ‘Epistle IV. to Richard
Boyle, Earl of Burlington,’ l. 16.
Raphael Smith. John Raphael Smith (1752–1812), painter and mezzotint engraver.
His Life and Works by Julia Frankau have recently been published in two
vols. by Messrs. Macmillan.
Signora Cecilia Davies (1750?–1836). After a brilliant career, especially abroad
(she was the first Englishwoman to appear on the Italian stage), she died ignored,
deserted and forgotten.
Madame Catalani. Angelica Catalani (1779–1849) retired from the stage in 1827.
Storace. Anne Selina Storace or Storache (1766–1817), a favourite singer and
actress. Her brother Stephano Storace (1763–1796) was composer to Drury Lane Theatre.
The Duchess of ——. Possibly Elizabeth Chudleigh, afterwards Countess of Bristol
and soi-disant Duchess of Kingston. Reynolds told Northcote he had never seen so
delicate a beauty.
The Three Tuns. A famous tavern in Guildhall Yard. See Webster’s A Cure
for a Cuckold, Act IV. Scene 1.
The Judge (Lord Kenyon). Lloyd Kenyon, First Lord Kenyon (1732–1802) Master of
the Rolls. It is said that no judge who presided so long in the King’s bench has been as
seldom over-ruled.
Bitter bad judges. Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, Act I. Scene 1.
A poem with engravings of Dartmoor. Possibly Noel and Thomas Carrington’s
‘Dartmoor, a Descriptive Poem’ with notes by the late W. Burt, Esq., and twelve prints,
1826. [W. C. H.].
The Panorama of the North Pole. Possibly at Burford’s ‘Panorama,’ now the
Catholic Church in Leicester Square. It was erected in 1793 and was originally Robert
Barker’s (d. 1806). Views of famous places were printed on the inner surface of a hollow
cylinder, the spectators occupying a central platform.
The Seven Champions of Christendom, Guy of Warwick. ‘The Seven Champions’ by
Richard Johnson (1573–1659?) published 1596–7; Guy of Warwick, the hero of many romantic
adventures: see Drayton’s Polyolbion.
Richardson (Sheridan’s friend). William Richardson (1743–1814) author of ‘Essays
on Some of Shakespeare’s Dramatic Characters’ (1774–1812). See vol. I. Characters of Shakespear’s Plays, p. 171.
Note, a paper ... in the Tatler. No 95, November 17, 1709.
Vanbrugh. Sir John Vanbrugh (c. 1666–1726) dramatist and architect. His comedy
The Provoked Husband was left unfinished. He built Castle Howard in
Yorkshire.
Richards (the scene painter). John Inigo Richards (born first half of eighteenth
century, d. 1810). He was one of the original members of The Royal Academy. His
reputation was greatest as scene painter at Covent Garden and especially in one of the
scenes for The Maid of the Mill which Woollett engraved.
‘The City-Wives Confederacy.’ The Confederacy was first played at
the Haymarket in 1705.
‘The Trip to Scarborough.’ Sheridan’s adaptation (acted 1777, printed 1786)
of Vanbrugh’s Relapse.
Let loose the grey-hound. The Relapse, Act III., Scenes 3 and 4.
Lord Mansfield. William Murray Earl of Mansfield, (1704–1793) Lord Chief-Justice.
Bowkitt the dancing-master. In O’Keeffe’s Son-in-Law (1779). See
under Edwin in The Dictionary of National Biography for a tale of his acting
in the part.
Mrs. Wells. Mrs. Mary Wells, afterwards Mrs. Sumbel (fl. 1781–1812). She was the
first actress of ‘Cowslip’ in O’Keeffe’s Agreeable Surprise, Sept. 3, 1781.
‘Peeping Tom of Coventry.’ A Comic Opera by John O’Keeffe, a success at the
Haymarket, 1784.
B—. John Bannister.
‘Lenitive in the Prize.’ A musical farce by Prince Hoare, produced at the
Haymarket, March 11, 1793.
Munden. Joseph Shepherd Munden (1758–1836). See Lamb’s Elia, ed.
Ainger, p. 201, ‘On the Acting of Munden.’
Weston. Thomas Weston (1737–1776).
Scrub. In The Beaux Stratagem (1707) by George Farquhar (1678–1707).
Dr. L. Foote and Bickerstaffe’s farce, Dr. Last in his chariot
(1769).
Abel Drugger. In Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist (1610).
Mr. Theodore Hook’s ‘Sayings and Doings.’ Theodore Hook’s (1788–1841) ‘Sayings
and Doings’ fill nine volumes (1824–8).
Curll. Edmund Curll (1675–1747), the bookseller of whose biographies Arbuthnot
said ‘They add a new terror to death.’ He was best known as a publisher of ‘curious’
literature and has his place in the Dunciad.
President Bradshaw. John Bradshaw (1602–1659), who presided over the ‘trial’ of
Charles I. That post led to his being made President of the
Council of State.
Rosa de Tivoli. Philipp Peter Roos (1657–1705), called Rosa da Tivoli from his
having established himself at Tivoli, ‘where he kept a kind of menagerie, for the purpose
of drawing animals with the greater correctness.’ (Bryan.)
A whimsical production. Possibly Amory’s John Buncle; See vol.
I. The Round Table, p. 51 et seq., and
notes thereto.
‘Lazarillo de Tormes.’ The authorship of this romance (?1553) is generally
attributed to Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503–1575), the representative of Charles
V. at the Council of Trent. An English edition appeared in 1576.
Cheats of Scapin. Otway’s version (1677) of Molière’s farce (1671).
Scarron. Paul Scarron (1610–1660), author of Le Roman Comique
(1651–7), the ‘only begetter’ of the novels of Le Sage, Defoe and their successors, one
of the brightest, bravest cripples who ever lived. His works were translated by T. Brown,
Savage and others in 1700. The sentence reads as though Molière’s comedy were attributed
to Scarron.
Conversation the Sixteenth. This Conversation to ‘his infirmity’
on p. 422, was published in The Atlas, April 19, 1829, as No. 1 of
‘Conversations as good as Real’ (following the ‘Real Conversations’ in Richardson’s
London Weekly Review, No. IV. of which had appeared
the day before). See note to p. 397. N is J and H is T throughout. The rest of the
‘Conversation’ appeared as No. 11 in the issue for April 26, 1829.
Ramsay. Allan Ramsay (1713–1784), portrait painter, son of the poet.
You’re not so far out. Add, from The Atlas, after this line:—‘K—
wanted him to sit on the Sunday as he was hurried for time, and I proposed it to him with
some hesitation—he answered, “Oh! yes; you ‘re not to suppose that I am such a
Presbyterian as to refuse to sit for my picture on the sabbath-day, I’ll sit with the
greatest pleasure—after divine service.” And so he came.’
A devoted enthusiast notwithstanding. Add, from The Atlas:—‘It is
not his Toryism neither, that I object to, but his manner of defending it. Neither party
has a right to use poisoned weapons, or to resort to under-hand means. If the Whigs or
reformers were to deal in wholesale calumny and squalid abuse against their opponents,
they would be scouted as blackguards; but the Court party think themselves screened from
this imputation (Sir Walter, I am afraid, among the rest), and
that they have a right to say and to do what they please, cum privilegio
regis.
J. I can’t agree with you on that subject. Whenever politics are concerned, your passions
run away with your understanding. I don’t believe Sir Walter had
ever any thing to do with the Blackwood set.
And looked round on them with their wolfish eyes. ‘The longings of the cannibal
arise (Although they spoke not) in their wolfish eyes.’ Don Juan, Canto
II. 72.
Lord Exmouth (Sir Edward Pellew). Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth (1757–1833),
whose bombardment of Algiers in 1816 procured him his title.
The Colosseum. The Colosseum in Regent’s Park was erected in 1824–6, for a
panorama of London from the top of St. Paul’s, which occupied 46,000 square feet of
canvas. It was demolished in 1875. Rogers said the
building was ‘finer than anything among the remains of architectural art in Italy.’
Lackington. James Lackington (1746–1815), whose ‘Memoirs of the Forty-Five First
(sic) Years’ of his life as a bookseller was published in 1791, ‘with a Triple
Dedication; 1. To the Public; 2. To respectable; 3. To sordid, Booksellers.’ His premises
in Moorfields, ‘The Temple of the Muses,’ were ‘so capacious that a mail-coach and four
was easily driven round the counters when it was opened.’ Adam Black, the Edinburgh
publisher, gained his early experience in the house of Lackington, Allen and Co.
E— the architect. ? James Elmes (1782–1862), architect, and contributor to art
and antiquarian periodicals. He was a friend of Haydon’s.
Drelincourt on Death ... till Defoe put a ghost-story into it. Charles
Drelincourt’s The Christian’s Defence against the Fears of Death, 1675, a
popular work by a Calvinist minister. Defoe’s A True Relation of the Apparition of
one Mrs. Veal....’ is often bound up with it, but as to its influence on the sale
see G. A. Aitken’s Introduction to Defoe’s ‘Due Preparations for the Plague,’ etc., 1895.
W—l. Westall, and on the next page also.
Jack T—. John Taylor (1757–1832), proprietor of The Sun, a Tory
paper, from 1813 to 1825. The editor (William Jerdan), he bought out in 1817.
Payne Knight. Richard Payne Knight (1750–1824), numismatist, miscellaneous
writer, and art connoisseur. His collection of bronzes, now in the British Museum, to
which he bequeathed it, obtained for him from Walpole the name of ‘Knight of the Brazen
Milk-pot.’
As Mr. Locke observed. An Essay concerning Human Understanding,
Book IV. chap. XX.
Ramsay’s picture of the Queen, i.e. Queen Charlotte. The picture is
in the National Portrait Gallery.
Shield ... Flitch of Bacon. Composed (1778) by Henry Bate, afterwards the Rev.
Sir Henry Bate Dudley (1745–1824), with music by William Shield (1748–1829). Its success
brought the latter the post of composer to Covent Garden Theatre.
Dignum. See ante, note to p. 388.
Come unto these yellow sands. The Tempest, Act I. Scene 2.
(After a pause.) From this paragraph to the end of the ‘Conversation’ appeared
in The Atlas, June 28, 1829, as ‘A Discursive Dialogue on Arts and Artists.’
Somerset-House. The rooms of the Royal Academy of Arts were here from 1780–1838,
under the vestibule on the right as you enter. The last of Sir Joshua Reynolds’s
Discourses was delivered here in the great room of the Academy.
Lord Gwydir. Peter Burrell (d. 1820), created Lord Gwydyr in 1796. He married
(1779) Lady Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth Bertie, daughter of the Duke of Ancaster. Wraxall
(Historical and Posthumous Memoirs, ed. Wheatley, III. 352–4)
refers to the ‘prosperous chain of events’ which happened to the Burrell family. Gwydyr
House in Whitehall, the habitation of the Charity Commissioners, was named after him. See
Wheatley and Cunningham’s London, Past and Present.
Mr. Peel. The great Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850) the best part of whose fine
collection of pictures (including The Snake in the Grass) is now in the National Gallery.
Gainsborough. Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), one of the greatest of English
landscape and portrait painters.
Watteau. Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), painter of idyllic landscapes.
An eminent counsellor. This appears in The Atlas as ‘Loughborough,’
Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Baron Loughborough (1733–1805), Lord Chancellor 1793–1801.
C—. Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, R.A., fashionable landscape and marine painter
(1779–1844).
Marchant. Nathaniel Marchant (1739–1816), gem engraver and medallist. He was
engraver of gems to the Prince Regent.
Virtue may choose. Pope, Epilogue to Satires, Dialogue I.
When Sir Joshua. From these words to ‘Sir Walter Scott frequently,’ on p. 443,
appeared in The Atlas for August 16, 1829, as No. X. of ‘Conversations as good as Real: The Immodest in Works of Art.’
Guido. Guido Reni, of the school of Bologna (1575–1642). The ‘silvery’ nature of
his colouring was a characteristic of the third period of his art.
Albano. Francesco Albani, also of the school of Bologna (1578–1660). He was a
fellow student of Guido Reni’s, and the faces of his twelve children, who were gifted
with great beauty, may be seen in his subjects.
Sir W. W. Given in The Atlas as Lord C—. But in all probability Sir
Watkin Williams Wynn (1749–1789), 4th baronet, is meant, for whom Reynolds painted St.
Cecilia and Dance Orpheus. See Leslie and Taylor’s Life of Reynolds, II. 74.
A remark of Coleridge’s. Hazlitt sat up all night at Tewkesbury, reading
Paul and Virginia, when he was on his way to visit Coleridge. See ‘My First
Acquaintance with Poets,’ where Coleridge’s remark is again quoted. No doubt he made it
during Hazlitt’s visit.
Brother Van. See Swift’s verses on Vanbrugh’s house:—
‘Now, poets from all the quarters ran
To see the house of brother Van.’
Richards, the scene painter. See ante, p. 414, and note.
‘The Journey to London.’ The name by which Vanbrugh’s unfinished comedy,
The Provoked Husband (1726), was first known. It was finished by Colley
Cibber.
‘Lord Foppington.’ In Vanbrugh’s The Relapse (1696).
‘Devin du Village.’ Rousseau’s successful opera (1753), which contains the air
now known as ‘Rousseau’s Dream.’
Beattie. James Beattie, poet and essayist (1735–1803). His Essay on
Truth (1770), which was enormously popular, was an attack on Hume.
The Margravine of Bareuth. An English translation of the amusing
‘Memoires de Frederique Sophie Wilhelmine de Prusse, Margrave de Bareith Soeur
de Frédéric-le-Grand, écrits de sa Main’ appeared in 1812. The Duchess of Kendal is
attributed to George II. in The Atlas.
‘Conversations as good as Real,’ No. IX., begins with this
sentence in The Atlas for August 9, 1829. And the following passage after
‘new situation’ may be added:—‘A great person is said to mimic George II., and make sport of his bad English (though it can only be from
hearsay); he used to call out when he was provoked at any thing—“God d—mn what I am, God
d—mn what you be.” He laid great stress on the minutest trifles, and insisted on wearing
his shirts in the order in which they were numbered, and flew into a violent passion if
they brought him the wrong number. “Why am I to wear No. 16, when I have not had No. 15?
Why am I to do nothing that I like? Am I king of England, or am I not? That is what I
want to know.” And then he would fall to kicking his hat about the room to vent his
anger, and rating any of the ministers that came in in his outlandish jargon. Once he was
going to kick the Duke of Argyll, who laid his hand upon his
sword, and withdrew in high dudgeon. Meeting Sir Robert Walpole
on the staircase, he complained of what had happened, to which the other replied, “Oh!
that’s nothing, he has treated me so a hundred times.” “Yes, but” (said the Scotch peer)
“there is some difference between John, Duke of Argyll, and Robert Walpole.”’
The Life of Sir Joshua. Allan Cunningham’s ‘Lives of the most Eminent
British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects’ appeared in 1829–1833 in six vols. This is
No. XII. of The Atlas ‘Conversations’ (August 20,
1829)
The famous Pulteney. William Pulteney, later Earl of Bath (1682–1764), Walpole’s
bitterest antagonist in the House of Commons.
Mr. Lamb ... Hogarth. See the essay ‘On the Genius and Character of Hogarth’ in
The Reflector, No. 3, 1811.
Dr. Tucker, Dean of Gloucester. Josiah Tucker (1712–1799), the recipient of
Butler’s remark that nations, as well as individuals, may go mad. He was a writer on
Economics.
The newspaper critic. Conversation No. XII. in
The Atlas had ended with ‘rational account of,’ four lines above, and No.
XIII. began here, entitled ‘The St. Giles’ in Art,’ in the
number for Sept. 13, 1829.
Sir John Hawkins (1719–1789), writer on music and predecessor of Boswell in a
life of Johnson.
Bright particular star. All’s Well that Ends Well, Act I. Scene 1.
Tyke. John Emery’s (1777–1822) greatest part, a character in Morton’s comedy,
The School of Reform, or How to Rule a Husband (1805). See Hazlitt’s
Dramatic Essays.
Dollalolla. Queen Dollalolla, wife of King Arthur, in Fielding’s Comic Opera,
Tom Thumb.
Capella Bianca. Bianca Cappello, Grand-duchess of Tuscany, d. 1587; mistress and
then wife of Francesco de Medici, both of whom are supposed to have been poisoned by his
brother Ferdinand.
Of defects we wish to balance. Add:—‘I have known a man turn Tory to prove he
was not a bastard. Lord Nelson probably performed such prodigies
because, as he passed along the quay to take command of his ship, the mob sneered at him,
and said, “Is that poor wisen-faced thing going to fight the French?” Do you suppose,’
etc.
Lady Sarah Bunbury. Lady Sarah Lennox (1745–1826), daughter of the second Duke
of Richmond, married, 1762, Thomas Charles (afterwards Sir Thomas Charles) Bunbury, from
whom she was divorced in 1776. In 1782 she married George Napier (son of the fifth Lord
Napier), by whom she became mother of Sir Charles James and Sir William Napier. George
III. was in love with her in 1761. Her
Correspondence has recently been published in two vols. by Mr. Murray.
Gilray. James Gillray (1757–1815).
Lord Macartney. George, Earl Macartney (1737–1806). He was the head of the first
Embassy from England to China (1792–4).
Conversation the Twenty-first. This, to ‘briefs pour in’ on p.
459, is ‘Conversation XVII.’ in The Atlas for
November 8, 1829.
The election of the new Pope. Pius VIII. was elected in
1829.
Monmouth-Street finery. Monmouth Street, St. Giles’s, was noted in the
eighteenth century for its second-hand clothes’ shops. ‘On Lord Kelly, a remarkable,
red-faced, drunken lord, coming into a room in a coat much embroidered but somewhat
tarnished, Foote said he was an exact representation of Monmouth Street in flames.’
Prior’s Life of Malone.
The mind has still a link ... the beloved object. For this sentence substitute
from The Atlas:—‘It was she who sat and sang to me as I painted the portrait
of her son that died.’ (See p. 391).
The Miss B—s. Mary Berry (1763–1852) and her sister Agnes, who lived together
for nearly eighty-eight years. Horace Walpole described Mary as ‘an angel both inside and
out’ and both as his ‘twin wives.’ Their names are given in full in The
Atlas.
The milk of human kindness. Macbeth, Act I. Scene 5.
Shadwell. Thomas Shadwell (1642?–1692), dramatist and poet-laureate.
Dennis. John Dennis (1657–1734), Pope’s antagonistic critic. See his The
Advancement and Reformation of Modern Poetry (1701) and The Ground of
Criticism in Poetry (1704).
Other things between heaven and earth. Hamlet, Act I. Scene 5.
Ugolino. The story of Ugolino, leader of the Guelfs in Pisa, and of his
imprisonment in the ‘Tower of Famine’ will be found in Chaucer’s Monk’s
Tale. See also Dante’s Inferno, XXXIII.