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THE 
 
 WORKS 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 EDWARD DAYES: 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 AM EXCURSIOI 
 
 through the 
 
 PRINCIPAL PARTS 
 
 or 
 
 DERBYSHIRE and YORKSHIRE*,' 
 
 With Illustrative Notes 
 
 BY 
 
 E. W. BRAYLEY; 
 
 ESSAYS ON FAINTING 5 
 INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FOR 
 
 DRAWING and COLORING LANDSCAPES; 
 
 AND 
 
 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN ARTISTS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by T. Maiden, Sherbourn-Lane, Lombard-Street. 
 PUBLISHED BY MRS. DAYES, 42, DEVONSHIRE-STREET, gUEEN-SQU AR E ; 
 WHITE, FLEET-STREET; VERNOR AND HOOD, POULTRY; LONGMAN, 
 HURST, SEES, AND ORME, PATERNOSTER-ROW; W. J. AND J. 
 RICHARDSON, ROYAL EXCHANGE; ASPERNE, CORNHILL; 
 5TOCKDALE, PICCADILLY; CARPENTER, OLD BOND- 
 STREET; AND E. W. BRAYLEY, WILDERNESS-ROW. 
 
 1800. 
 
TO 
 
 Her Royal Highness 
 
 THE 
 
 BUCHESS OF YOUIL, 
 
 WHOSE EXPANSIVE BENEVOLENCE GIVES LIJSTKE TO HER 
 
 EXALTED RANK, AND WHOSE BENIGN CONDESCENSION 
 
 ENHANCES EVEN THE AWAEDS OF HER CHARITY, 
 
 THIS VOLUME, 
 
 COMPREHENDING 
 
 THE ENTIRE WORKS 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 MR, EBWAfiD DAYES 3 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY 
 
 HER ROYAL HIGHNESS's 
 
 MUCH OBLIGED AND 
 
 VERY HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 E. W. BRAYLEY. 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Her Royal Highness the DUCHESS OF YORK. 
 
 The Right Hon, Lord Viscount Lowther, 4 Copies. 
 
 The Right Hon. Earl Ossory. 
 
 The Right Hon. Henry, Earl of Caernarvon. 
 
 The Right Hon. George, Earl of Warwick. 
 
 Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart. Stourhead, Wilts. 
 
 The Hon. Percy Wyndham. 
 
 The Hon. W. IrbY. 
 
 R. Arkwright, Esq. Willersley 
 
 Castle, Derbyshire. 
 George Anderson, Esq. F. S. A. 
 
 Coluey House, Herts. 
 W. M. Alexander, Esq. Royal 
 Military College, Great Mar- 
 low. 
 John William Adam, Esq. Brom- 
 ley, Middlesex. 
 The Rev. J. Allason, Upping- 
 
 ham, Rutlandshire. 
 Mr. Allen. 
 
 Mr. Angus, Gwynn's Buildings. 
 Mr. Armstrong. 
 Mr. G. Arnald, Suffolk. 
 Mr. Ashby, St. Andrew's Court, 
 
 Holbom. 
 Mr. E. Atkinson, 37, Compton 
 Street. 
 
 B 
 
 Henry Bone, Esq. A. R. A. Ena- 
 mel Painter to the Prince of 
 Wales, Berner's Street. 
 
 William Baillie, Esq. 41, Chapel 
 Street, Lisson Green. 
 
 J. Bacon, Esq. Newman Street. 
 
 John Bannister, Esq. Gower 
 Street, Bedford Square. 
 
 William Bray, Esq. F. S. A. Rus- 
 sel Street, Bloomsbury. 
 
 H. B. Barnard, Esq. Cave Cas- 
 tle, Yorkshire. 
 
 William Barrymore, Esq. 
 
 William Bryant, Esq. Ryegate. 
 
 Dr. Bateman. 
 
 Lieutenant Brooke, Walworth. 
 
 Rev. W. Bingley, Christ Church, 
 Hants. 
 
 Mrs. Baily, 15, Bridge Street, 
 Lambeth. 
 
 Mr. J. T. Barber, Southampton 
 Street. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Barrow, Pancras. 
 
 Mr. James Bayley, 90, Long 
 Acre. 
 
 Mr. T. Bedder, Little St. Thomas 
 Apostle. 
 
 Mr. R. Bloomfield, City Road. 
 
 Mr. Edward Blore. 
 
 Mr. H. Brayley, Pentonville. 
 
 Mr. J. Britton, Wilderness Row. 
 
 Mr. W. Aberuethy Brown, Bed- 
 ford Row. 
 
 Mr. R. Brown, Derby. 
 
 Mr. Brownell, IS, Francis Street. 
 
 Mr. T. Burgess, 46, Sloane Street, 
 Chelsea. 
 
 Mr. E. W. Brayley, Wilderness 
 Row, 25 Copies. 
 
 A 3 Isaac 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 •Sf/fa**^- 
 
 Isaac Clementson, Esq. 14, Cle- 
 ment's Inn. 
 George Clint, Esq. Hind Court, 
 
 Fleet Street. 
 Jarues Cole, Esq. Grove, Thet- 
 
 ford. 
 Mr. J. Caulson, 10, Portman 
 
 Place, Paddington. 
 
 Capel, Esq. Artillery Place, 
 
 Finsbury Square. 
 Mr. Clark, Church Row, Pancras. 
 Mr. Collier. 
 Mr. W. Cooke, Clarence Place, 
 
 Pentonville. 
 Mr. G. Cooke, Clarence Place, 
 
 Pentonville. 
 Mr. John Cooke. 
 Mr. Cooper, 70, Welbeck Street. 
 
 T. Davis, Esq. Gray's Inn. 
 J. Denton, Esq. Russel Square. 
 C. Dibdin, Esq. Sadler's Wells. 
 Jeremiah Dyson, Esq. Junior, 
 
 Twickenham. 
 Mr. Dallas. 
 Mr. Dobson, King Street,Bloorns- 
 
 bury. 
 Mr. Dennis, Redman's Row, Mile 
 
 End. 
 
 E 
 
 H. Ellis, Esq. British Museum. 
 
 Edridge, Esq. 
 
 The Rev. J. Evans, Author of a 
 
 Tour through North Wales, 
 
 &c. Bristol. 
 
 Mr. G. Fowke, Upper Thames 
 
 Street. 
 Mr. T, Fisher, Hoxton. 
 
 Mr. Fillingham, Newington 
 
 Causeway. 
 Lewis Francia, Drawing Master, 
 
 5, Lower Phillimore Place, 
 
 Kensington. 
 
 Mr. Gilliland, Clerkenwell Green. 
 Mr. Girtin, New Street, Covent 
 
 Garden. 
 Mr. E. Goodwin, Draughtsman. 
 Mr. Greenwood, James Street, 
 
 Clerkenwell. 
 Mr. J. Greig, Chapel Street, 
 
 Pentonville. 
 
 H 
 
 James Houlditch, Esq. Long 
 Acre. 
 
 Edward Houlditch, Esq. Caro- 
 line Street, Bedford Square. 
 
 John Houlton, Esq. Grittleton, 
 Wilts. 
 
 Miss Holmes, St. James's Street. 
 
 Mr. W. Hart. 
 
 Mr. Henderson. 
 
 Mr. William Herbert, Globe 
 Place, Westminster Road. 
 
 Mr. Higton. 
 
 Mr. W. Holl, Engraver, 46, Tay- 
 lor's Buildings, Islington Road. 
 
 Mr. I. G. Holmden. 
 
 Mr. G. Holmes, Bristol. 
 
 Mr. J. Hornsey, Scarborough. 
 
 Mr. E. Hundley, 20, Dover 
 Street, Piccadilly. 
 
 I & J 
 
 Mr. T. Inskip. 
 
 Mr. I. T. James, Christ Church, 
 
 Oxon. 
 F. Jukes, Esq. Howland Street, 
 
 Tottenham Court Road. 
 Mr. Jones, Leadenhall Street. 
 
 Mr. 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 K 
 
 Mr. King, Highgate. 
 Miss King, Highgate. 
 
 Mr. B. Lambert, Soho, 
 
 Mr. J. Lambert, Engraver, 12, 
 
 Furaival's Inn Court, Holborn. 
 Mr. Landseer, Engraver to the 
 
 King. 
 Mr. W. Lee. 
 Mr. Lesam, 21, Church Row, 
 
 Newington Butts. 
 Mr. Love, Haymarket. 
 Mr. Lowry, tipper Titchfield 
 
 Street. 
 
 M 
 
 Robert Mangles, Esq. 
 
 J. Morgan, Esq. Charlotte Street, 
 Bloomsbury. 
 
 Francis Morton, Esq. Bishops- 
 gate Street. 
 
 William De la Motte, Esq. Royal 
 Military College, Great Mar- 
 low. 
 
 J. Munden, Esq. Kentish Town. 
 
 Dr. Monro. 
 
 Mrs. Macklin. 
 
 Mr. Maudsley, Margaret Street. 
 
 Mr. Medland. 
 
 Mr. De Mole, Margaret Street. 
 
 Mr. H. Moore, Drawing-Master, 
 Derby. 
 
 Mr. Moore, Woodstock Street. 
 
 Mr. P. S. Munn, New Bond 
 Street. 
 
 N 
 
 John Nichols, Esq. F. S. A. at 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 J. North, Esq. Caroline Street, 
 Bedford Square. 
 
 Mr. F. Nash, Asylum Buildings, 
 Westminster Road. 
 
 Mr. F. Nicholson, Upper Titch- 
 field Street. 
 
 Mr. S. Noble, Devonshire Street, 
 Queen Square. 
 
 O 
 
 Mr. Ogilvy, 6, Winchester Street, 
 Pentonville. 
 
 ■ Paget, Esq. Blandford 
 
 Street, Portman Square. 
 
 Peter Paulleau, Esq. 
 
 J. B. Picard, Esq. Leicester 
 Square. 
 
 Henry Pilleau, Esq. Newington 
 Place, Surrey. 
 
 — — Pope, Esq. Frith Street, 
 Soho. 
 
 Dr. Pugh. 
 
 Miss Maria Pixall, Wargrave, 
 Berks. 
 
 Mr. Parkinson, 14, Tavistock 
 Row, Covent Garden. 
 
 Mr. D. Parkes, Shrewsbury. 
 
 Mr. R. Pauchaud, 13, Chapel 
 Row, Bath. 
 
 Mr. R. Phillips, Bridge Street. 
 
 Mr. J. Pidgeon. 
 
 Mr. P. Powell, 34, Pall Mall. 
 
 Mr. Pugh, 180, Terrace, Tot- 
 tenham Court Road. 
 
 R 
 
 J. Richards, Esq. Royal Acade- 
 my. 
 
 Thomas Reeve, Esq. 
 
 Michael Russel, Esq. 37, Bernard 
 Street, Brunswick Square. 
 
 Dr. Remington, Guildford, Sur- 
 rey. 
 
 Mr. Rawson, 8, William Street, 
 Manchester Square. 
 
 Mr. Renton, Frith Street, Soho. 
 
 Mr. Reviere, Upper Titchfield 
 Street. 
 
 Mr. Richards, Chancery Lane. 
 
 Mr. Charles Rivers, Chad's Row, 
 Gray's Inn Lane. 
 
 Mr, 
 
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Mr. J. Rolfe, Newman Street. 
 Mr. R. Rolfe, Boswell Court, 
 Devonshire Street. 
 
 P. Sandby, Esq. St. George's 
 
 Row, Paddiugton. 
 AV. Scrope, Esq. Castle Corube, 
 
 Wilts. 
 D. Stevenson, Esq. Newcastle 
 
 upon Tyne. 
 Dr. Shaw. 
 
 Mrs. Shukard, Brighton. 
 Mr. Samuel. 
 Mr. R. W. Satchwell, 4, Great 
 
 Marlborough Street. 
 Mr. S. Shelley, 6, Great George 
 
 Street, Hanover Square. 
 Mr. \Y. Sheppard, Newark. 
 Mr. G. Shepherd, Draughtsman, 
 
 Ratcliffe Row. 
 Mr. Simpson. 
 
 Mr. W. Slade, Shrewsbury 
 Mr. J. C. Smith, Upper Titch- 
 
 field Street. 
 Mr. Smith, Newman Street. 
 Mr. Staines, 5, Ironmonger Lane. 
 Mr. F. Stockdale, East India 
 
 House. 
 Mr. J. Storer, Chapel Street, 
 
 Pentonville. 
 Mr. Srubbs. o2, Long Acre. 
 Mr. J. Swan. Printer, Fleet Street. 
 
 J. M. W. Turner, Esq. R. A. 64, 
 Harley Street. 
 
 Bache Thornhill, Esq. Stanton, 
 Derbyshire. 
 
 Alexander Tilloch, Esq. 
 
 Dr. Thornton, Hind Street, Man- 
 chester Square, 25 Copies. 
 
 Mr. Teasdale, Barnard Street, 
 Brunswick Square. 
 
 Mr. I. W. Thompson. 
 
 Mr. Edward Treveneu, 5, Crane 
 Court, Fleet Street. 
 
 Mr. J. Tyrie, 4, Islington Road. 
 
 w 
 
 Benjamin West, Esq. P. R. A. 
 Historical Painter to His Ma- 
 jesty. 
 
 Holland Watson, Esq. Work- 
 sop, Nottinghamshire. 
 
 General Watson. 
 
 John Williams, Esq. Architect. 
 Pall Mall. 
 
 Mrs. Whitelock, Portsmouth. 
 
 Mr. E. Walmsley, 19, Grace- 
 church Street. ~ 
 
 Mr. Webb, Vauxhall Walk. 
 
 Mr. S. Wilson, Army Pay Of- 
 fice. 
 
 Mr. W. Wilson. 
 
 Directions for placing the Engravings. 
 
 Portrait of Mb. Daves, to front the Vignette Title. Page 
 
 Dmve Dale, to front 6 
 
 Roche Abbxy 22 
 
 KikkstAll Abbey 43 
 
 Middleham Castle 104 
 
 Hack-Fall llfj 
 
 Rippox Mixster 123 
 
 Fountain's Abbey 127 
 
 Ouse Bp.idge 179 
 
 Examples to illustrate the Essay on Grace, Plate 1. . . 222 
 
 Ditto Plate II. . 26C 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 BY 
 
 THE EDITOR* 
 
 A H E eminent professional Abilities of the late 
 Mr. Dayes, as well as the Strength of his Literary 
 Talents, are already known to the Public: the 
 former, through the numerous Productions of his 
 Pencil exhibited at the Royal Academy, or 
 engraved to illustrate the Topographical History 
 of Great Britain in various Publications; the 
 latter, through the Medium of that esteemed 
 Journal, the Philosophical Magazine, in which 
 the Essays on Painting have composed a very 
 distinguished Feature. In offering, therefore, a 
 complete Edition of his Works to general Pa- 
 tronage, besides the more immediate Purpose of 
 benefiting his Family, I am actuated by a Hope, 
 that this Publication will prove particularly ac- 
 ceptable at a Period when the Arts are held in 
 such high Repute, and when Topographical 
 Inquiries so particularly accord with the prevail- 
 ing Taste. The Excursion through Derbyshire 
 and Yorkshire, the Instructions for Drawing and 
 
 Coloring 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Coloring Landscape, and the Professional Sketches 
 of Modern Artists, are now for the first Time 
 made Public, from the original Manuscripts. 
 The Excursion was undertaken in the Autumn 
 of 1 803 ; its principal Object was to contemplate 
 the romantic Character of Dove-Dale; and to 
 inspect, and to make Drawings of the sublime 
 and picturesque Scenery of the North and West 
 Ridings of Yorkshire. The Observations made 
 by Mr. Dates, during his Progress through 
 these enchanting Tracts, were afterwards con- 
 nected by him with various Historical and Biogra- 
 phical Notices, and the Whole formed into a con- 
 nected Work but a very short Time previous to 
 his sudden and lamented Decease. 
 
 The Essays on Painting have received the 
 Approbation of the most eminent Artists. Under 
 the various Heads of Composition, Taste, Beauty, 
 Grace, Invention, Disposition, Drawing, Manner, 
 Penciling, and Style, they comprehend the most 
 important Precepts for the Advancement of the 
 Art to a State of Perfection ; while the Perspi- 
 cuity and Depth of Thought by which those Pre- 
 cepts are illustrated, cannot fail to impress the 
 1 Inquirer 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Inquirer with due Ideas of the Importance of the 
 Study, and of its vast Influence both on the In- 
 dividual, and on the National Character. Where 
 the Arts are despised, Humanity suffers ; and the 
 Principles that regulate the Conduct, become 
 illiberal and mean. 
 
 The Instructions for Landscape Painting 
 are equally valuable with the Essays. They in- 
 clude complete Directions for Sketching, Coloring, 
 and the proper Management of Light and Shade. 
 The young Artist will find them particularly ac- 
 ceptable ; inasmuch as they not only furnish him 
 with the Knowledge of the best Methods of attain- 
 ing his End, but also develope the Principles on 
 which those Methods are founded. If an Ac- 
 quaintance with Cause is not an absolute Essential 
 to the Production of Effect, it is at least a very 
 useful Qualification, and renders that Design, 
 which would otherwise be either Habit or Acci- 
 dent. The Professional Sketches must be 
 considered as peculiarly interesting, when it is re- 
 membered that they contain Anecdotes of all the 
 following Artists, combined with Strictures on the 
 Merits of their chief Productions. 
 
 b 2 Anderson 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Anderson 
 
 Hamilton 
 
 Reynolds 
 
 Barry 
 
 Hay man 
 
 Rooker 
 
 Bartolozzi 
 
 Hodges 
 
 Shelley 
 
 Beechey 
 
 Hoppner 
 
 Sherwin 
 
 Benwell 
 
 Ibbetson 
 
 Smith of Chichester 
 
 Bi gg 
 
 Kirk 
 
 J. R. Smith 
 
 Bone 
 
 Lawrence 
 
 Stothard 
 
 Bourgeois 
 
 Loutherbourg 
 
 Turner 
 
 Brooking 
 
 Marlosv 
 
 Wale 
 
 Carver 
 
 Morland 
 
 Ward 
 
 Cipriani 
 
 Mortimer 
 
 Webber 
 
 Cozens 
 
 Northcote 
 
 West 
 
 Daniell 
 
 Opie 
 
 Westall 
 
 Farington 
 
 A. Pether 
 
 Wheatley 
 
 Fuseli 
 
 W. Pether 
 
 Wilson 
 
 Gainsborough 
 
 Proctor 
 
 Wright of Derby 
 
 Girtin 
 
 Reinagle 
 
 Zoffani. 
 
 In preparing these Papers for the Press, I have 
 occasionally departed from the previous Arrange- 
 ment, and made whatever verbal Corrections ap- 
 peared to be essentially necessary : yet, wherever 
 this has been the Case, the meaning of the origi- 
 nal Passages has been strictly attended to; and 
 no further Alterations have been admitted, than 
 what have resulted from a full Consideration of 
 their Propriety. The Marginal Notes to the Es- 
 says on Painting, and on Landscape, were added 
 as a Means of Reference, and that the Reader 
 might be enabled to trace the Subjects of the 
 Text with greater Facility. In the Sketches of 
 
 Modern 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Modern Artists, a few personal Anecdotes have 
 been suppressed, chiefly from the Reflection, that 
 the subject Matter was more particularly Profes- 
 sional than Biographical 
 
 The first Prospectus that was issued, announced 
 only the ' Excursion into Derbyshire and York- 
 shire,' with a ' Description of the Road between 
 London and Dove Dale,' which I had myself in- 
 tended to prefix, but which I have been induced 
 to omit, from the Conviction, that a complete 
 Edition of the Works of Mr. Dayes will be far 
 more conducive to the Interests of his Widow, 
 than if I had printed the Volume according to 
 the original Design. The Alteration has occa- 
 sioned a small Advance on the Prices that were 
 first proposed; yet no Subscriber will, I trust, 
 feel dissatisfied, when it is understood, that this 
 increase is scarcely adequate to the additional 
 Expense that has been incurred in giving three 
 Engravings, and four or five Sheets of Letter- 
 press, more than was primarily intended. 
 
 All the Views, but that of Rippon Minster, 
 have been Engraved from Paintings made by 
 
 Mr. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 Mr. G. Arnald from the original Sketches by 
 Mr. Dayes: the Engraving of Rippon Minster 
 was executed from a Drawing by Mr. F. Nichol- 
 son; but this also was made from a Sketch by 
 Mr. D. The Manner in which the Engravings 
 have been executed, demands my peculiar Ac- 
 knowledgments : nor must the Expression of my 
 Gratitude be withheld from the Printer, for the 
 very particular Attention which he has given to 
 all the Concerns connected with his Department 
 
 As the exclusive Advantage of Mrs. Dayes has 
 been my great Object in bringing forth this Pub- 
 lication, I trust that my Efforts will be seconded 
 by a liberal Patronage. My own Attention has 
 been bestowed gratuitously: the several Artists 
 employed have done Credit to their Abilities; and 
 highly to their Honor, their Charges have been 
 mostly regulated by the pure Principles of Bene- 
 volence. The intrinsic Merit of the Work, how- 
 ever, is in itself sufficient to secure it an extensive 
 Circulation; and I hesitate not to affirm, that its 
 pre-eminent Value will be allowed wherever the 
 Arts are cultivated. 
 
 Wildemas-fow, E. W. BRAYLEY. 
 
 June the 9th, 1805. 
 
AN 
 
 EXCURSION 
 
 THROUGH THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL PARTS 
 
 OF 
 
 DERBYSHIRE and YORKSHIRE. 
 
AN 
 
 EXCURSION 
 
 THROUGH THE 
 
 PRINCIPAL PARTS 
 
 OF 
 
 £ 
 
 X HE great object of this pedestrian Excursion, 
 was to visit the North and West Ridings of York- 
 shire ; but not having seen the beauties of 
 Dove-Dale, I had determined, previouslyto ram- 
 ble through that part of Derbyshire. 
 
 He who has a heart to feel, and can derive 
 pleasure from viewing some of the most stupen- 
 dous scenes in Great Britain, or be delighted by 
 
 B contemplating 
 
contemplating its most magnificent ruins, or has 
 a taste to admire its rich and luxuriant vallies, 
 will find ample gratification from pursuing the 
 route I am going to describe. The lover of draw- 
 ing, in particular, will be highly gratified : he 
 will occasionally visit scenery as romantic as any 
 in North Wales ; water-falls of the very first cha- 
 racter ; religious houses, which, for preservation 
 and extent, are unrivalled ; and castles, highly 
 picturesque. Nor is this all; contrasted to the 
 steril, he will meet with the most fertile vales, 
 highly enriched with wood and Avater. 
 
 It is not uncommon for tourists, in describing 
 some one favorite spot, to say, it possesses all 
 the wildness of Salvator, the majesty of Poussin, 
 and the softness of Claude ; words that evince a 
 total incapacity to judge. Though I cannot pro- 
 fess that any such monstrous cmrrbination will be 
 met with, yet I do aver, that the country I pass- 
 ed over, afforded scenes as wild and romantic as 
 any from the pencil of Salvator Rosa; some 
 equally as grand as Poussin ; and others, as ele- 
 gant as Claude. 
 
 But, not to detain the reader any longer, I 
 shall immediately proceed with the narrative of 
 my journey, which I commenced from 
 
 ASHBOURN, 
 
DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 ASHBOURN, 
 
 A respectable town in Derbyshire, pleasantly 
 situated on the river Dove. It has a handsome 
 Church, with a fine spire; and contains some cu- 
 rious ancient tombs of the Cokaines,* the Brad- 
 burns, and theBoothbys;t several of which appear 
 
 B -2 to 
 
 * One of this family, of the name of John, represented Derby- 
 shire in several Parliaments and Councils, during the reigu of 
 Edward the Third. Another, of the same name, was knighted 
 at the Battle of Shrewsbury, anno 1403, and killed in that con- 
 flict. His youngest son, who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 
 and a Justice in the Common Pleas, in the reigns of Henry the 
 Fourth, and Sixth, lies buried in Ashboum Church, where his 
 own effigies, and that of his Lady, are displayed on the tomb. 
 Sir Aston Cokayne, whose loyalty to Charles the First occasioned 
 the complete ruin of his inheritance, was also of this family ; and 
 the last of them that resided at Ashboum. He was the author of 
 various Poems, some of which have merit ; but his chief subject 
 was Genealogical History, a theme but ill adapted to accord with 
 the smooth current of the Pierian spring. E. 
 
 t Asheouen Hall, the family seat of the Boothbys, and 
 now the property of Sir Brooke Boothby, was purchased of the 
 Cokaynes, by Sir William Boothby, in the reign of Charles the 
 Second. The Park and Gardens were laid out by Sir B. Boothby, 
 in a style of great elegance ; and though the situation is low, the 
 views are not unpleasing. The classic taste, and refined sensibility, 
 of this gentleman, have been made known to the world, through 
 the publication of a splendid volume of poems, under the title of 
 
 Sorrows, 
 
4 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 to be as old as the time of Edward the Third. 
 In this town are several charitable endowments 
 for poor men and women. Though it is agree- 
 ably situated to the eye, it being in a fertile vale, 
 with the hills rising rather bold, yet the objects 
 are too much scattered for a picture. 
 
 I quitted Ashbourn, full of impatience to visit 
 Dove-Dale, the beauties of which are spoken of 
 by every one. After proceeding about a mile 
 on the Buxton road, I descended suddenly to 
 the left, and crossed the river Dove by a small 
 bridge, when pursuing the road up an ascent 
 to the right, it conducted iu a. place called .Four- 
 Lanes-End : here I again turned suddenly to the 
 left, and shortly came in sight of Thorp-Cloud, a 
 large conical hill, which forms a fine back ground 
 to the scenery in its neighbourhood. It unites 
 most happily with a mill, called by its name, and 
 which Avill be -worthy the attention of the pictu- 
 resque traveller. 
 
 The road leading forward conducts to Ilam- 
 Vale, in Staffordshire ; the beautiful seat of the 
 same name appearing in the distance, crowned 
 
 by 
 
 Sorrows, Sacred to Penelope. In this work, which originated in 
 the death of Penelope, the only child of Sir Brooke, is a neat en- 
 graving of the tomb erected to her memory in Ashbourn Church ; 
 and on which is a figure of the much-lamented girl, from the 
 ehissel of Banks, the late eminent sculptor. E. 
 
DERBYSHIRE. 5 
 
 by majestic woods. Ham is at present the resi- 
 dence of Henry Bateman, Esq. its delightful 
 grounds are generally visited by strangers, for 
 the purpose of enjoying a ramble in its romantic 
 walks.* I was content with viewing the beauties 
 of Ham-Vale at a distance: the effect was uncom- 
 monly fine, from the immense masses of shadows 
 projected from various clouds, which served to 
 unite the smaller parts, and adapt the scene to 
 the purposes of study. 
 
 Leaving 
 
 * The Hall atlLAM is a square stone building, of no particular 
 character.; but the grounds, though principally consisting of a 
 meadow, Of inconsiderable extent, surrounded by lofty rocks, are 
 particularly beautiful, from the contiguity of a rich hanging wood, 
 and the views which they admit of the surrounding coun- 
 try. Their great celebrity, however, has arisen from the sin- 
 gular circumstance, of the rivers Hamps and Manifold, here 
 emerging into day within fifteen yards of each other, after flowing 
 in distinct subterraneous channels ; the former from the vicinity of 
 Wetton Mill, a distance of nearly five miles northward ; and the 
 latter from Leek Water-Houses, about six miles to the south-west. 
 That the streams which rise here are actually the same that are en- 
 gulphed in the fissures of the rocks at the above places, has been 
 proved by experiment ; and that their waters do not intermingle 
 during their under-ground course, is evident, from the difference 
 of temperature, which, on trial with the thermometer, in October, 
 1802, I found to be two degrees ; the water of the Hamps being 
 at 46°. and those of the Manifold at 48°. The temperature of 
 the air was 51°. In a little recess, or chasm, in the lime-stone 
 rocks which overhang the hole whence the former stream issues, 
 and incorporated with the lime-stone, are some singular petrifica- 
 tions like clwrt, exhibiting the correct forms of eels, flat-fish, &c. 
 In a grotto in these rocks, Congreve is recorded to have written 
 his comedy of the Old Batchelor. E. 
 
6 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 Leaving the direct road, the traveller descends 
 to the right hand into a deep hollow, called 
 Bunster-Dale ; one side of which is bounded by 
 a steep acclivity, covered with wood ; the other 
 presents the face of bare and rugged rocks, of 
 wild and uncouth appearance. This ravine con- 
 tinues for the space of about half a mile, when, 
 by a sudden turn to the left, the mind is enrap- 
 tured by an instantaneous display of the beauties 
 of 
 
 DOVE-DALE. 
 
 The Dale opens by presenting uncouth and 
 rugged rocks, that lift their vast heads to the 
 clouds, and whose grey and weather-beaten fronts 
 contrast most happily with the foliage: to the 
 right, the character, from being less bold and 
 abrupt, produces a fine opposition of lines. The 
 grandeur of this scene was greatly augmented by 
 the clouds which passed at the time of viewing it, 
 and which threw the whole of the distance into 
 shadow, sinking it into one immense hollow, and 
 giving a quickness and vigor to the light on the 
 fore-ground, that was uncommonly happy. In 
 proceeding up the Dale, the mind is amused by 
 agreeable falls of water, and rich foliage; the 
 whole presenting such an assemblage of objects, 
 as both delight and surprise. 
 
 After 
 
XI 
 
 Jfe 
 
DERBYSHIRE. f 
 
 After rambling- about a mile, by a narrow and 
 broken path, which winds along the margin of the 
 river Dove, and that requires to be trod Avith cau- 
 tion, for fear of being precipitated from its slip- 
 pery craggs into the stream, the Dale is seen to 
 expand into a fine amphitheatre of gigantic rocks, 
 that seem to have shot out of the bowels of the 
 earth. They rise into high and massy pinnacles, 
 from amidst rich clusters of foliage, which, on 
 the Staffordshire side of the river, is particularly 
 thick ; producing an effect truly magical. 
 
 The Dale once more closing, the road continues 
 to wind under impending masses of rocks, that 
 almost shut out the face of Heaven, and appear to 
 forbid all further progress. Here the river, pent 
 up into a narrow channel, struggles for vent, 
 and rages and roars till it disengages itself from 
 its confinement. Shortly gaining a more expan- 
 sive sky, one huge solitary rock, perfectly insu- 
 lated, attracts attention: this massy block, from 
 the singularity of its form, has obtained the name 
 of Dove-Dale Church. Nearly opposite, but high 
 up from the river, is an opening in the rocks, 
 called Reynard's Hall: and another smaller open- 
 ing below it, has been named Reynard's Kitchen. 
 Beyond this point the river sweeps round an open 
 green; but on crossing the sward, it is soon met 
 again. Here the Dale loses its interesting cha- 
 racter, and is generally quitted near a consider- 
 able cavern on the right, called the Fox-Holes. 
 
 1 To 
 
8 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 To recapitulate the merits of Dove-Dale in a 
 picturesque point of view, were to say in a few 
 words, that it possesses an union of grandeur and 
 beauty, not to be equalled by any thing I ever 
 beheld. It is of that high cast of character, 
 which Pallas holds among the females in poetry. 
 Borrowdale, in Cumberland, is sublime from its 
 magnitude; yet, being destitute of wood, it wants 
 the power to please : all there is barren and deso- 
 late; here beauty reigns triumphant. Delightful 
 Dove-Dale! In thee Nature exhibits one of the 
 finest of her productions ! Beautiful spot ! Well 
 may Cotton have spoken so rapturously of thy 
 stream — 
 
 " none so bright, 
 So pleasant to the taste, none lu the sight; 
 None yields the gentle angler such delight." 
 
 Happy is the man, who, divested of care, finds 
 himself enabled to retire to such scenes as these, 
 and who at the same time possesses sensibility to 
 enjoy their excellence. To be feelingly alive to 
 such wonderful works, is true piety; such as is 
 not to be found in the bustle and artifice of socie- 
 ty, where all pray to be forgiven their sins, ra- 
 ther than for that power which might enable them 
 to avoid committing any. Great and beneficent 
 Creator of the universe ! deign to accept of this 
 tribute of a feeling heart, while my soul overflows 
 with gratitude : Thou who in thy goodness hast 
 
 bestowed 
 
DERBYSHIRE. 9 
 
 bestowed on me a sensibility to distinguish the 
 perfection of thy works'! Without this blessing, 
 all Nature would become a blank; ' nor hill, nor 
 dale, nor shady grove, nor the enlivening sun, 
 nor limpid stream,' could charm the sense to rap- 
 ture.* 
 
 Night coming on, I left this enchanting place 
 with a sigh, at the melancholy reflection, that, 
 probably, I might never more behold its beauties ! 
 
 Inclining to the right, up a glen near the Fox- 
 Holes, and following an imperfect path by a wall, 
 
 C I arrived 
 
 * Every step in Dove-Dale will present the lover of drawing 
 ■with a picture, each of which forms a perfect whole. The soli- 
 tude of the place, as also the impulse arising from the beautiful 
 in nature, induced me to color some of my sketches on the 
 spot. This is a practice I would most seriously recommend to 
 the tyro, whenever a convenient opportunity may occur : nor need 
 he be under the least apprehension of being too particular in 
 giving each object its proper character. The contrary practice is 
 too much recommended by those who profess to give advice on a 
 subject they appear to be insufficiently acquainted with, or who 
 view nature with too superficial an eye. An attention to the va- 
 rious forms and characters of trees, will add a considerable grace 
 and beauty to the sketch ; and 1 cannot, by any means, agree 
 with those who say, that " Among trees, little distinction need be 
 made, unless you introduce the pine, or cypress, or some other 
 singular form. The oak, the ash, and the elm, which bear a dis- 
 tant resemblance to each other, may be all characterized alike." 
 This advice would excite the ridicule of a farmer's boy. One of 
 the greatest beauties of Dove-Dale, consists in the variety of its 
 rich and luxuriant foliage. 
 
10 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 I arrived at a farm-house, called Hanson -Grange. 
 Here I enquired for the Buxton road ; but, from 
 either mistaking the direction, or having been 
 wrong informed, I was in the end obliged to 
 trust to my own penetration, and a pocket com- 
 pass, by the assistance of which, and by exerting 
 an additional degree of activity, I soon found 
 myself in the right track.* 
 
 About six miles from the Dale, after passing- 
 over a moorish country, I came to New-Haven,\ 
 
 a commodious 
 
 * The pedestrian may proceed this way from the Dale, but he 
 will have many stone walls to scramble over ; and this road to 
 Bakewell has little to interest a traveller. I would therefore ad- 
 vise, should there be ladies in company, that they leave their 
 horses, or carriages, on the Ham road, before mentioned, and, 
 instead of following my route, to go back to Ashbourn, and pro- 
 ceed to Bakewell by the way of Matlock. They will there find 
 scenery little inferior to the romantic Dove-Dale. From Ashbourn 
 it will be found about twelve miles of moorish country to Mat- 
 lock-bath. Though it is some years since I visited it, yet travel- 
 lers may be assured of meeting with objects well worthy of their 
 attention. Rocks, highly decorated with hanging-woods, and the 
 most romantic walks, calculated for the purpose of enjoying the 
 beauties of nature. Between the bath and the village, every twen- 
 ty yards will afford a new scene, from the sudden turns of the 
 river, and the majestic elevation of Matlock High-tor, which forms 
 a fine abrupt contrast to the opposite and more gentle bank of the 
 Derwent. From Matlock it may be about ten miles of delightful 
 country to Bakewell. 
 
 f The country round New-Haven is very bleak and open, 
 and was formerly a barren waste ; but the good effects of a bill of 
 
 1 inclosure, 
 
DERBYSHIRE. 11 
 
 a commodious inn, built at the charge of the 
 Duke of Devonshire, where every requisite ac- 
 commodation will be found, accompanied with 
 civility and attention. The road hence to Bake- 
 well is bleak and moorish, with but little to 
 entertain. At about five miles from New-Haven, 
 I struck across the meadows, into the Matlock 
 road to Bakewell, to visit 
 
 HADDON HALL. 
 
 This structure is completely enveloped in trees, 
 and situated on a bold eminence, above the Wye, 
 about two miles from Bakewell. When viewed 
 from a distance, it assumes a great air of gran- 
 deur, from its embattled turrets : but on a nearer 
 approach, its true character, that of a castellated 
 dwelling, appears; and though at present total- 
 ly neglected, it strikingly exhibits the ancient 
 
 C 2 baronial 
 
 inclosure, passed a few years ago, are already apparent in the 
 cultivation of several thousand acres. A plantation of firs, and 
 other hardy trees, has also been made near the inn, and is now 
 in a very flourishing state. The inclosures have a singular appear- 
 ance to a stranger, from the south ; as, instead of hedges, the 
 boundaries are all stone walls, from three to five feet in height, 
 formed of broken masses of lime-stone, rudely piled upon each 
 other. In the country round New-Haven, are several ancient en- 
 campments and barrows. Between two and three miles to the 
 north-east is also a Druidical remain, called the Arbor-low, or 
 
 Arbelows; 
 
12 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 baronial style of living, after the building of re- 
 gular fortresses bad ceased. 
 
 » 
 
 Not any thing can show in so strong a point 
 of view, the improved condition of society, as 
 this Hall ; the poorest person at present possess- 
 ing apartments, not only more convenient, but 
 at the same time better secured against the severi- 
 ties of the weather. Excepting the gallery, all the 
 rooms are dark and uncomfortable. They con- 
 vey but a poor idea of the taste of our ancestors, 
 or of their domestic pleasures : yet was this place 
 for ages considered as the very seat of magnifi- 
 cence. Massive and solid, this fabric would 
 resist all the effects of the winter storms; but the 
 door and windows are of most execrable work- 
 manship: immense hinges of iron support the 
 former, and these are fastened on with large spike- 
 nails, clenched clown ; the wood-work also is so 
 badly jointed, that the hand can pass between 
 
 the 
 
 Arbelows; a circle of stones, surrounded by a ditch and rampart. 
 Through the latter are two entrances, each of the width of ten or 
 twelve yards ; and on the east side of the southern entrance is a 
 large barrow, in which the horns of a stag have been found. The 
 stones which compose the circle, are apparently about thirty ; but 
 as several of them are broken, this cannot be determined with 
 certainty ; they all he upon the ground, in an oblique position. 
 Most of them are from six to eight feet in length, and from three 
 to four in breadth. The circumference of the rampart, which 
 seems to have been formed with the earth thrown up from the 
 ditch, is about 270 yards on the highest part. E. 
 
DERBYSHIRE. 13 
 
 the planks; and round the extremities, are great 
 fissures, through which the wind whistles in the 
 most disagreeable manner. To remedy this in- 
 convenience, the doors were covered with arras, 
 which still hangs in tattered remnants round ma« 
 ny of the apartments; and, to save the trouble 
 of putting it back at each time of passing in or 
 out, clumsy iron-hooks have been driven into the 
 walls. 
 
 The principal entrance is the north front, which 
 appears of about the date of Edward the Third. 
 The other parts of the dwelling are as late as Eli- 
 zabeth. The whole of the chambers are ranged 
 round two quadrangular courts. In one of the 
 rooms is a quantity of rusty armour. Near the 
 chapel is the Roman altar mentioned in Gibson's 
 Camden, where the inscription is given ; it is now 
 nearly defaced. 
 
 Haddon was for a long time the seat of the 
 Vernons, not only an ancient, but a very famous 
 family in these parts ; insomuch that Sir George 
 Vernon, the last male, by his magnificence and 
 hospitality, gained the name of King of the Peak, 
 among the vulgar. On his death, in the seventh 
 year of Elizabeth, his possessions descended to 
 his two daughters, Margaret and Dorothy : the 
 former married to Sir Thomas Hanley, Knt. and 
 the latter to Sir John Manners, Knt. second son 
 
 of 
 
14 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 of Thomas, first Earl of Rutland, of that name: 
 by that marriage, Haddon descended regularly 
 to the present Duke of Rutland. " So lately as 
 the time of the first Duke of Rutland, (so created 
 by Queen Anne,) seven score servants were main- 
 tained here; and during the twelve days of 
 Christmas, the house was kept open, with old 
 English hospitality."* All the furniture is now 
 removed. This building is not a very picturesque 
 object, the external appearance being heavy. 
 The best point of view is the north entrance, 
 which, by including some fine trees, adds greatly 
 to the interest of the scene.f 
 
 BAKEWELL 
 
 Is an ancient market-town, situated on the 
 western banks of the river Wye. The houses are 
 neat, and for the most part built with stone. 
 Parts of the Church appear to be very old ; the 
 whole building being iu different styles of archi- 
 tecture. The plan is in the form of a cross, and 
 the tower is crowned with a fine spire. In the 
 
 Church 
 
 * Bray's Tour. 
 
 -f A very minute description of Haddon Hall, illustrated by a 
 ground-plan, has been given by Edward King, Esq. the learned 
 author of the Munimenta Antiqua, in the Sixth Volume of the 
 Archaeologia. E. 
 
DERBYSHIRE. 15 
 
 Church is a number of ancient tombs of the fami- 
 lies of the Foljambes, the Vernons of Haddon, 
 and the Manners' ; and also one to the memory 
 of Sir Thomas de Wednesley, who was mortally 
 wounded at the Battle of Shrewsbury, under King 
 Henry the Fourth.* 
 
 The road from Bakewell to Sheffield afforded 
 but little to engage attention. At the village 
 
 of Hyssop is the extensive mansion of Eyre, 
 
 Esq. and four or five miles further, is Stoke Hall, 
 the handsome seat of Lady Burford. Four miles 
 from Sheffield, at the sign of the Hammer and 
 Pincers, I turned into an indifferent cross road, 
 which, at the end of two miles of pleasant coun- 
 try, conducted me to 
 
 BEAUCHIEF 
 
 * In the Saxon Chronicle, Bakewell is mentioned by the name 
 Badecanwyllam ; a circumstance that led Mr. Bray to conjecture, 
 that the Bath which gave name to the town, must have been long 
 in use before Edward the Elder ordered this place to be strongly 
 fortified. (Anno 924.) The site of the bath is now occupied by 
 the residence of Mr. White Watson. The arch, at the west en- 
 trance into the Church, is of Saxon architecture, sculptured with 
 rude heads, and figures of animals : some other parts of the build- 
 ing are also in the same style. The beautiful little monument to 
 the memory of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, and his Lady, who found- 
 ed a Chantry here in the reign of Edward the Third, has been 
 repaired, and the arms on it restored, under the direction of 
 T. Blore, Esq. F. S. A. E. 
 
\6 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 BEAUCHIEF ABBEY, 
 
 Which is situated hi a delightful vale, near the 
 northern boundary of Derbyshire. The remains 
 of the Abbey, though inconsiderable, are never- 
 theless sufficiently attractive, by the aid of the 
 rich surrounding scenery; the back-ground being- 
 formed by bold hills, richly decorated with wood. 
 What now remains of the building, is the west 
 end of the Church, which still serves for divine 
 service ; but the ramifications of the great window 
 having been destroyed, the chasm is filled up with 
 bricks. The style of the architecture is irregular, 
 the great west door having a pointed arch, while 
 other parts are round. 
 
 This Abbey was founded by Robert Fitz- 
 Ranulph, Lord of Alfreton, about the year 1172 
 or 1176, for Canons of the Premonstratensian 
 order. It was dedicated to Thomas a Becket, 
 and the Virgin Mary ; and from the former pa- 
 tron, some have supposed it to have been founded 
 in expiation of his murder. The Church is a lay 
 impropriation, which, as well as the whole parish, 
 is the property of Peter Pegge Burnell, Esq. 
 Beauchief being highly enriched with wood, will 
 afford some excellent studies, in which the build- 
 ing will happily unite. 
 
 From 
 
YORKSHIRE. 17 
 
 From Beauchief I wandered two miles through 
 the fields, to a romantic place, called Smithy-wood 
 Bottom, on the Chesterfield road ; two miles fur- 
 ther brought me to 
 
 SHEFFIELD. 
 
 This is a large manufacturing town, reckoned 
 to contain about 30,000 inhabitants ; though the 
 Avhole parish is said to give a population of 45,900 
 souls. Every thing here wears the air of bustle 
 and business : all the people appear in pursuit of 
 their worldly interest. The houses are uniformly 
 built with brick, but are not over clean, from the 
 constant smoke in which the town is enveloped. 
 
 Sheffield is situated on a gentle eminence, at 
 the confluence of the rivers Sheaf and Don, over 
 each of which is a stone bridge. Attached to the 
 town, Avas formerly a Castkv built about the time 
 of Henry the Third. This was razed by order of 
 the Parliament, after the death of Charles the 
 First, and its situation is now only known by 
 name. Here are three Churches: that of Trinity 
 was erected about the year 1100, and contains 
 many monuments of the Earls of Shrewsbury : St. 
 Paul's is a modern structure, began in the year 
 1720, and finished in 1771 : St. James's was con- 
 secrated August the 5th, 1789. In this town is 
 
 D an 
 
18 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 an Assembly-Room, a Theatre, and other public 
 
 buildings. 
 
 Sheffield has been long famous for its iron- 
 works: this is evinced by the town-seal; and by 
 Chaucer, the poet, who speaks of a Sheffield 
 zehittle, an ordinary sort of knife.* The approach 
 to the town is distinguished by the blackness of 
 the roads, which is owing to their having been 
 mended with the refuse from the forges. 
 
 The adjacent country is poor and flat; proceed- 
 ing northward, it greatly improves, and becomes 
 well wooded, and the hills bold, round 
 
 ROTHERHAM. 
 
 This is a considerable manufacturing town, 
 pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Ro- 
 ther, and near its confluence with the Don. 
 Much cutlery is made here ; and a great trade in 
 lime is carried on by the canal from Barnsley. 
 The Church is a beautiful specimen of the Gothic, 
 with a fine spire ; the ornaments are in a good 
 taste, and very sharp : the building is perfectly 
 
 uniform ; 
 
 * Military weapons were made at Sheffield in abundance, as 
 early as the thirteenth century ; when the manufacture of hard- 
 ware appears to have been established here. E. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 19 
 
 uniform ; the ground-plan is in the form of a 
 cross. The houses are respectable ; the inhabi- 
 tants gay ; and the neighbouring country pleasant 
 and diversified.* This town has given birth to an 
 Archbishop of York, in the person of Thomas of 
 Rotherham, whose paternal name M'as Scott. 
 He lived in the reign of Edward the Fourth, and 
 was a great benefactor to his native place, where 
 he endowed a College, with three masters, for 
 instructing boys in grammar, writing, and music. 
 Dr. Robert Saunderson, Bishop of Lincoln, 
 was also born here, according to Walton. Being 
 an esteemed preacher, Charles the First appointed 
 him his Chaplain in ordinary. During the Com- 
 monwealth, he experienced all the hardships of 
 poverty ; but at the Restoration, he was elevated 
 to the See of Lincoln. 
 
 D 2 From 
 
 * In the suburb of Masbrough, which is only separated from 
 Rotherham by the bridge over the river, are the extensive 
 Iron- Works of the Messrs. Walkers, who, by a continued perse- 
 verance in the honorable paths of industry, have acquired consi- 
 derable property and influence, though their original station in life 
 was very humble. In these works great quantities of cannon are 
 cast for Government, as well as numerous articles of other de- 
 scriptions : here also was cast the Iron-Bridge invented by Mr. 
 Thomas Paine, the celebrated author of the Rights of Man ; and 
 likewise those of the improved construction, that have been erected 
 at Bishop-Wearmouth, Yarm, and Staines. The neighbouring 
 country abounds with coal and iron-stone. E. 
 
20 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 From this town, a pleasant excursion may be 
 made to Wentworth Castle,* the seat of the 
 Earl of Strafford, where the traveller will be gra- 
 tified with the sight of a noble building, elegant 
 furniture, fine pictures, and the beauties of its or- 
 namental environs. Nearer Rotherham is Went- 
 ■worth House,! late the seat of the Marquis of 
 
 Rockingham, 
 
 * Wentworth Castle is a spacious quadrangular pile, occupying 
 the site of an ancient fortress. It was built about the year 1730, 
 by Thomas, Earl of Strafford ; a marble statue of whom, executed 
 by Rysbrack, stands in the centre of the area. The grounds pos- 
 sess great natural beauty. E. 
 
 f Wentworth House is an elegant building, consisting of a cen- 
 tre, and two wings, and measuring upwards of 600 feet in length. 
 Many of the apartments are extremely elegant. The Hall is a 
 quadrangle of sixty feet in extent, and thirty-eight in height : a 
 gallery, supported by beautiful Ionic columns, projects from the 
 sides about ten feet : in the niches within the columns, are fine 
 marble statues, copied from the ancients. Other statues also orna- 
 ment tills apartment; and the ceiling is stuccoed iu compartments. 
 In the Ante-Room is a fine antique figure of the Egyptian Isis, 
 bearing the lotus. The Vandyclc Draiuing-Room contains several 
 exquisite paintings by that artist, and particularly the famous pic- 
 ture of Lord Strafford, and his Secretary. Some portraits by Sir 
 Peter Lely, D. Mytens, and Cor. Jansen, are also preserved here. 
 Iu the Chapel, among others, is a large and beautiful painting of 
 Samson slaying the Philistines, by Luca Giordano ; the Head of 
 Our Saviour, crowned with Thorns, by Guido ; and a boldly ex- 
 pressive representation of the Preparations for St. Bartholomew's 
 Martyrdom, by Spagnoletto, in which all the horrible grace of 
 that master shines eminently conspicuous. Many other fine pic- 
 tures ornament the various apartments in this mansion : among the 
 
 most 
 
YORKSHIRE. 21 
 
 Rockingham, but now of Lord Fitz-William. 
 These buildings are situated on the road to 
 Barnsley. 
 
 From Rotherham I proceeded about six miles 
 through a pleasant country to Maltby, which is 
 agreeably situated under the side of a hill, and 
 has a good Church, with a spire. Here the road 
 suddenly turns to the right, along the height 
 above the town. Below, in the vale, at about 
 the distance of one mile and a half, and embo- 
 somed in trees, is 
 
 ROCHE 
 
 most conspicuous, is a Sleeping Cupid, by Guido ; Boys blowing 
 Bubbles, and eating Oysters, by Lely ; a Portuguese Courtesan, 
 by Paul Giordano ; Christ taken from the Cross, by Carracci ; a 
 Portrait of Rembrandt, by himself; a reputed origiual of Shake- 
 speare, formerly in the possession of the Poet Dryden ; Lucretia 
 stabbing herself, by Guido; and a Magdalen, by Titian. In the 
 Museum are some very valuable antiques, and copies after them. 
 Wentworth Park includes an area of 1600 acres, comprising a 
 »reat variety of ground, richly clothed with wood, and animated 
 by fine expanses of water. Several ornamental buildings have also 
 been erected in different parts : the principal of these is a superb 
 Mausoleum, to the memory of the late illustrious Marquis of 
 Rockingham, one of the most eminent statesmen that ever di- 
 rected the Councils of Britain. It consists of three divisions, in the 
 centre of the lowermost of which, is a statue of the Marqiu's, in 
 his robes, by Nollekins, standing on a square pedestal, which is 
 inscribed witb a long, but deserved, eulogium, on the talents and 
 virtues of the deceased. In recesses in the wall of this apartment, 
 are busts of eight of the Marquis's principal friends, and associates 
 in state affairs. E. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 
 
 ROCHE ABBEY. 
 
 Evkry thing a traveller can wish, to render a 
 place delightful, will he found concentrated in 
 this most enchanting spot : majestic woods, ex- 
 pansive water, romantic rocks, an agreeable ruin, 
 and, withal, most commodious Avalks, for the 
 convenience of viewing its various beauties. The 
 ruins of this Abbey are not extensive ; but that is 
 amply compensated, by the superior quality of 
 the surrounding scenery. 
 
 The day being particularly fine, every thing 
 appeared to be alive around this venerable re- 
 main : parties of pleasure were taking their repast 
 upon the grass ; others were wandering leisurely 
 in the shade, to avoid the extreme heat ; and oc- 
 casionally flitted past, a female figure or two, 
 whose white and expanded drapery flowing after 
 them in easy, undulating folds, made them 
 appear to skim along like sylphs. They must be 
 cold-hearted mortals, who could think much of 
 any trouble that would enable them to enjoy such 
 an assemblage of rich and fascinating views as 
 this place abounds with. Advancing up one of 
 the walks, my eye was caught by a most beauti- 
 ful effect of light and shade ; indeed, the great 
 interest of the view arose out of it entirely. It 
 
 1 was 
 
V 
 
 ^ 
 
 \: 
 
 ^ 
 
YORKSHIRE. 23 
 
 was one of those fortunate incidental combina- 
 tions that the artist is so anxious to preserve. 
 The walk, in which I stood, was dark ; its trees 
 formed the fore-ground, and hung pendulous 
 over the scene, just clearing the objects, in part, 
 from the sky. Beyond appeared a Gothic gate, 
 highly illuminated by the setting sun, the recess 
 of the gate being quite dark ; a cart, and two or 
 three figures, were seen just touched by the even- 
 ing ray, sparkling against it in the most lively 
 and mao'ical manner.* 
 
 Roche, or De-Rupe, a Cistercian Abbey, was 
 founded by Richard de Builli, and Richard Fitz- 
 Turgis, or De Wickerslai, A. D. 1147, and was 
 dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its yearly 
 
 revenues 
 
 * While busy in securing the transitory beauties of this scene, a 
 stranger asked permission to sit down by me to sketch. He had 
 been much perplexed, he said, with the dark under the arch of the 
 gate, to know how to force it back ; to obtain which end, he had 
 made the trees on the fore-ground very black ; but this had made 
 his sketch muddy and heavy. I observed, that he should have left 
 the recess the darkest, as it appeared m nature, and all would have 
 been well ; as neither light nor dark had, in themselves, the power 
 to advance in a picture. Besides, he must recollect, what Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds had some where observed, " that the best effect would 
 not result from the strongest dark being on the fore-ground, but 
 the contrary." The strongest relief will often be obtained by the 
 great dark being thrown into the middle distance, and perhaps the 
 most natural. A young lady once asked me, " if a landscape 
 could be made without a tree in the corner ?' She might have put 
 the same query of dark fore-grounds. I never think of " a tree 
 in the comer," but it makes me tremble for the arts, when thus 
 subjected to the unnatural caprices of bad taste. 
 
S24 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 revenues were rated, in the twenty-sixth of Henry 
 the Eighth, at 2241. 2s. 5d. according to Dug- 
 dale; and at 2711- 19s. 4d. by Speed. The site 
 was granted, in the thirty-eighth of Henry the 
 Eighth, to William Ramsden, and Thomas Vava- 
 sor.* Here were seventeen monks, who, with 
 Henry Cundell, the last Abbot, subscribed to the 
 oath of supremacy, and afterwards to the surren- 
 der, June 23, 1539. t The estate is now the pro- 
 perty of Lord Scarborough, whose good taste di- 
 rects him still to improve this terrestrial paradise. 
 I departed from this charming spot with the 
 heart ache, that all the people I loved in the 
 world, had not been present to partake in the 
 enjoyment of its beauties. 
 
 In my return to Maltby, I pursued a romantic 
 footway down the middle of the valley. In some 
 places it passed large masses of rocks, from which 
 the trees Mere shooting out in a manner extremely 
 wild and picturesque. A pleasant walk, of about 
 a mile, terminated in the road just above the town. 
 From Maltby, it is seven miles of rich pastoral 
 country, by Bravel and Clifton, to 
 
 CONISBOROUGH. 
 
 This town lying at a short distance between 
 Rotherham and Doncaster, does not afford a 
 
 post- 
 
 * Tanner. f Willis's History of Abbies. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 25 
 
 post-chaise. It is situated on the side of a 
 hill, and near the river Don, whence the Castle 
 is seen to the best advantage ; though by no 
 means a picturesque object, either in itself, or 
 from its situation, the country here losing its 
 rich character. The Castle is built on a rocky 
 eminence, overgrown with trees: it was called by 
 the British, Caer Conan. 
 
 If I might be permitted to judge, I should 
 pronounce this Castle a Roman work ; not only 
 on account of its figure, which (speaking of the 
 Keep) is a circle, divided as an hexagon, and at 
 each division a strong square buttress, running 
 from the bottom to the top of the building; the 
 whole spreading regularly down to the base, from 
 about a third of the height of the keep; but the 
 workmanship itself, seems also to indicate its 
 being Roman; it being built of wrought stone, 
 laid in regular courses, stratum super stratum. 
 The little Castle at Bowes, in this county, is cased 
 with stone smoothed with the chissel, in the same 
 way as the above; and if not Roman, has been 
 built with materials prepared to hand, and pro- 
 bably taken from some Roman building. The 
 outer walls are polygonal, with round towers at 
 some of the angles : the whole is very strong : 
 some parts, that I measured, M'ere ten feet thick, 
 and upwards. In these walls are the remains of 
 chimnies, distinctly to be seen ; but this part I 
 
 E imagine 
 
9.6 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 imagine to be more modern than the keep, which 
 is situated at the north-east angle of the area, 
 where the access has been the most difficult. 
 The ascent into the keep is by an exceedingly 
 high flight of steps, four feet and a half wide, 
 which leads to a low door : the area within forms 
 a complete circle, of twenty-one feet diameter; 
 and the walls are fourteen feet thick : this part of 
 the Castle must have been a place of great strength. 
 The principal entrance is very distinct; and also 
 the ditch, which tradition says, was supplied with 
 water by leaden pipes from the opposite hills. 
 
 Hengist retired hither after being defeated at 
 the battle of Maisbelly, where the Saxons had 
 been put to a disorderly flight by Aurelius Ara- 
 brosius.* Shortly after, taking the field against 
 the Britons, his troops were defeated, and himself 
 taken prisoner, and beheaded;')' if the authority 
 of Matthew of Westminster can be deemed suffi- 
 cient; though the Saxon annals are silent as to 
 that particular. Coningsburg, from which term 
 the present name is derived, was the property of 
 Harold, afterwards King of England. At the 
 Conquest, it came into the possession of William 
 de Warrene, with all its privileges, which are said 
 
 to 
 
 * Gibson's Camden. 
 
 t Near the Castle is a tumulus, which tradition reports to be 
 the burial-place of Hengist. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 27 
 
 to have extended over twenty-eight towns. How 
 Edmund de Langley became possessed of this 
 Castle, is not certainly known. He dying, left 
 it to his son Edward, afterwards Duke of York, 
 Avho, for want of issue, devised it to his nephew, 
 Richard, surnamed De Coningsburg, from whom 
 it again came to the Crown. It is at present the 
 property of the Duke of Leeds. Though the 
 lover of the picturesque will find but little here 
 to entertain him, yet the antiquary will receive 
 great delight from viewing this ancient building.* 
 Crossing the ferry over the river Don, I pro- 
 ceeded "to Melton on the Hill, the road in part 
 being only a bridle-way. From hence I proceeded 
 to Marr, and through Marr-xvood, where the road 
 is inclosed by a long grove of high trees, but 
 withal so straight, as to admit a view of Marr 
 and Pigbourn Churches, though several miles dis- 
 tant from each other. After passing Pigbourn, I 
 
 E 2 soon 
 
 * The third volume of the Munimenta Antiqua contains a very 
 particular and interesting description of Conisborough Castle, illus- 
 trated by various plates, and ground-plans. Mr. King's disserta- 
 tion on the era of its origin is extremely curious ; and the opinion 
 of its having been built in an age when Phoenician and Phrygian 
 ideas of architecture still prevailed in this country, united with 
 conceptions of Roman improvements, is, by his arguments, ren- 
 dered very plausible. He concludes, by assigning the period of 
 its construction, either to the time of Cartismandua, Queen of the 
 Brigantes, about the middle of the first century, or to that of the 
 departure of the Romans, about the commencement of the fifth. 
 
 1 E. 
 
28 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 soon fell into the great north road at the Red- 
 House. At little more than a mile further, I 
 passed Robin Hood's JVell, which lies on the right 
 of the road, and where the traveller is invited to 
 drink. This spot, rendered remarkable by the 
 exploits of that hero, is called Barnsdale, and 
 presents to the eye a most beautiful, fertile and 
 extensive tract of country. 
 
 So they parted, Robin and John ; 
 
 And John is gone to Bamesdale, 
 The gates* he knoweth eche one. 
 
 But when he came to Bamesdale, 
 
 Great heaviness there hee hadd, 
 For he found two of his owne fellows 
 
 Were slaine both in a slade. 
 
 And Scarlette he was flying a-foot 
 
 Fast over stocke and stone, 
 For the proud SherifFe, with seven score men, 
 
 Fast after him is gone. 
 
 Robin Hood and Guy of Gisboene. 
 
 Robin Hood appears to have lived about the 
 time of Richard the First. " The said Robert 
 entertained an hundred tall men and good archers, 
 with such spoils and thefts as he got, upon M'hom 
 four hundred, were they ever so strong, durst 
 
 not 
 
 * Ways, passes, or paths. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 29 
 
 not give the onset. He suffered no woman to be 
 oppressed 3 violated, or otherwise molested : poor 
 mens' goods he spared, abundentlie relieving them 
 with that which by theft he got from Abbeys, 
 and the houses of rich Earls : whom Maior (the 
 historian) blameth for his rapine and theft; but 
 of all theeves, he affirm eth him to be the Prince, 
 and the most gentle theefe."* It is doubtful 
 whether this hero was born in Yorkshire, or Not- 
 tinghamshire. He appears to have been one of 
 those intrepid spirits, that resisted the oppressive 
 forest-laws of the Normans. He is said to have 
 been bled to death by the treachery of a Monk, 
 (at Kirkley or Kirklees' Nunnery,) to whom he 
 had applied for medical assistance. His tomb, as 
 reported, is still to be seen at Kirklees, on the river 
 Calder, in this county; with a long epitaph, con- 
 cluding with " Obit. 24 kal. Decembris, 1247." 
 At about two miles from the above Well, I struck 
 across a common to the left, and then by a cross 
 road proceeded to 
 
 PONTEFRACT, 
 
 Or Pomfret, a handsome borough-town, plea- 
 santly situated on the side of a hill. The inha- 
 bitants are gay and genteel: the market-place is 
 open and spacious ; and the whole town assumes 
 
 an 
 
 * Stow, 
 
30 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 an air of respectability unusual to places of but 
 little trade. In tbis neighbourhood is grown 
 great quantities of liquorice, wbicb furnishes 
 some traffic to the inhabitants. 
 
 Tanner mentions several religious fouudations at 
 Pontefract; and, among others, a Cluniac Priory, 
 founded by Robert de Lacy, temp. William Rufus: 
 its tutelar patron was St. John the Evangelist. 
 Its yearly revenues were rated, the twenty-sixth 
 of Henry the Eighth, at 3371. 14s. 8d. according 
 to Dugdale; and 4721. 14s. 8d. by Speed. The 
 site was granted to William Lord Talbot, in the 
 seventh of Edward the Sixth. 
 
 What remains of the once magnificent Castle 
 of Pontefract, is a mass almost unintelligible. 
 There are several round towers attached together, 
 which conjecture presumes to have been the keep. 
 Other fragments occur in different situations; but 
 to what part of the building they belonged, is 
 uncertain. The part shown as the place where 
 the ill-fated King Richard was confined, appears 
 to be equally doubtful. " The keep is circular, 
 about sixty-four feet in diameter. A narrow 
 damp chamber, formed in the thickness of the 
 wall, M'ith two small windows next the court, is 
 shown for the place of Richard's confinement and 
 murder."* 
 
 Leland 
 * Gough's Camden. 
 
YORKSHIRE, 31 
 
 Leland observes, that " the Castelle of Ponte- 
 fract, of sum called Snorre Castelle, containeth 
 eight round toures, of the which the dungeon 
 cast ynto six roundelles, three bigge and three 
 small, is very fair, and hath a fair spring. There 
 is the dike, by the north the Constable's toure. 
 King William the Conquerer gave the town of 
 Brokenbridge, and very much land lying there- 
 about, to Hilbert de Laceis, a noble Norman. 
 This Hilbert founded the College of St. Clement 
 in the Castelle. The Castelle, town and lands 
 about Brokenbridge, longed, before the Conquest, 
 to one Richard Archenald ; Richard had Ailrick, 
 and he had Swane, &c." 
 
 This place has been the scene of many tragical 
 events. Here Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was 
 taken by King Edward the Second, and beheaded; 
 but he was afterwards sainted by the mob. Here 
 Richard the Second was barbarously destroyed by 
 hunger, cold, and other torments, according to 
 Stow; though other authors state that he was 
 slain by ruffians, purposely hired. Here also the 
 Earl of Salisbury, having been taken, on the de- 
 feat of the Yorkists, at Wakefield, was dragged 
 from the Castle by the common people, and de- 
 capitated. The uncles of King Edward the Fifth 
 also bled here. 
 
 " Rest, 
 
32 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 " Rest, gentle Rivers! and ill-fated Grey! 
 
 A flower or tear oft strews your bumble grave, 
 Whom Envy slew, to pave Ambition's way, 
 
 And whom a Monarch wept in vain to save." 
 
 This Castle made a stout resistance against the 
 Parliament troops under Sir Thomas Fairfax and 
 Colonel Sands, but surrendered upon articles, 
 (July 24th, 1645,) " which were the more favor- 
 able, by reason the plague was hot in Pomfret 
 town."* 
 
 In 
 
 * The following extract from Stow, may serve to convey some 
 idea of the ancient style of living in these Castles. It is an account 
 of one year's expenses of the above Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 
 from Michaelmas, in the seventh of Edward the Second, to the 
 same period in the following year : the whole " sum amounting to 
 79571. 13s. 4fd. 
 
 " To wit; in the pantry, buttery, and kitchen, 34051. &c. 
 
 " For 184 tuns, one pipe of red or claret wine, and one tun of 
 white wine, bought for the house, 1041. 17s. 6d. 
 
 " For grocery ware, 1801. 17s. Od. 
 
 " For six barrels of sturgeons, 19I. 
 
 " For 6S00 stockfishes, so called, and for dryed fishes of all 
 sorts, as lings, haberdines, and other, 411. 6s. 8d. 
 
 " For 1714 pound wax, with vermilion and turpintine, to make 
 red wax, 3141. 7s. 4di. 
 
 " For 2319 pound of tallow candles for the houshold, and 1870 
 of lights for Paris-candles, called perchers, 311. 14s. 3d. 
 
 " Expences on the Earl's great horses, and the keeper's wages, 
 4S61. 4s. 3|d. 
 
 •" Linen cloth for the Lord and his Chaplains, and for the pan- 
 try, 431. 17s. " For 
 
YORKSHIRE. S3 
 
 In the lower part of Pontefract stands the old 
 Church, which was reduced to its present ruinous 
 condition during the siege in the Civil Wars. It 
 is said that 30001. was raised to repair it, but 
 that the money was embezzled by the collectors. 
 It is now a mere shell, a small part only serving 
 for divine service. Those who may like to draw 
 
 P architecture, 
 
 " For 129 dozen of parchment, with inke, 4l. 8s. 3£d. 
 
 Summe, 12301. 17s. 7id. 
 
 " Item, for two clothes of scarlet for the Earle against Christ- 
 niasse, one cloth of russet for the Bishop of Anjou, seventy clothes 
 of blew for the knights, (as they were then tearmed,) fifteen 
 cloathes of medley for the Lord's Clerks, twenty-eight clothes for 
 the esquires, fifteen clothes for officers, nineteen clothes for 
 groomes, five clothes for archers, four clothes for minstrels and 
 carpenters, with the sharing and carriage for the Earl's liveries at 
 Christmas, 460I. Is. 3d. 
 
 " Item, for seven furs of variable minerver, (or powdered er- 
 min,) seven hoods of purple, 395 furs of budge, for the liveries 
 of barons, knights, and clerkes, 123 fures of lambe, for esquires, 
 bought at Christmass, 1471. 17s. 8d. 
 
 " Item, sixty-five clothes of saffron colour, for the barons and 
 knights in summer : twelve red clothes mixt for clerks, twenty-six 
 clothes of ray for esquires, one cloth ray for officers' coats in sum- 
 mer, and four clothes ray for carpets in the hall, 3451. 13s. 8d. 
 
 " Item, 100 peeces of greene silk for the knights, fourteen 
 budge furs for surcotes, thirteen hoods of budge for clerkes, and 
 seventy-five furs of lamb for the Lord's liveries in summer, with 
 canvas and cords to trusse them, 721. 19s. 
 
 " Item, saddles for the Lord's liveries in summer, 511. 6s. 8d. 
 
 " Item, for one saddle for the Earle of the Prince's armes, 40s. 
 
 Summe, 10791. 18s. 3d. 
 " Item, 
 
S4 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 architecture, will find the south-west angle a good 
 study; including, by way of fore-ground, the 
 houses on each side the street. The surrounding 
 country is pleasant, but wants a boldness of cha- 
 racter to render it interesting in a picturesque 
 point of view. It is also destitute of water, an 
 indispensible beauty in all landscape scenery. 
 
 Near the town, in Pomfret Park, is an exten- 
 sive flat, on which is an excellent race-course, 
 
 where 
 
 " Item, for things bought, whereof nothing can bee read in my 
 note, 2411. 14s. If d. 
 
 " For horses lost in service of the Earle, 81. 6s. 8d. 
 
 " Fees paid to Earles, Barons, Knights, and Esquires, 6231. 15s. 5d. 
 
 " In gifts to Knights of France, the Queene of England's Nurces, 
 to the Countesse of Warren, Esquires, Minstrels, Messengers, and 
 Riders, 921. 14s. 
 
 " Item, lfjS yards of russet cloth, and twenty-four coats for 
 poor men, with money given to the poor on Maunday Thursday, 
 81. 16s. 7d* 
 
 " Item, twenty-four silver dishes, so many sawcers, and so 
 many cups for the buttery : one pake of pater-nosters, and one 
 silver coffer, bought this year, 1031. 5s. 6d. 
 
 " To divers messengers about the Earle's business, 341. lps. Sd. 
 
 " In the Earle's chamber, 51. 
 
 " To divers men for the Earle's old debts, 881. lfjs. 0|d. 
 
 Summe, 12701. 7s. ll|d." 
 
 Here follows an account of the expenses of the Countess at 
 Pickering Castle, for the same period ; making the sum total as 
 above stated. Sloiv, page 7\. 
 
 -' Stow says, he had seen this cloth sold at 4d. the yard, at half yard 
 and half quarter broad : good cloth of a mixed color. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 35 
 
 where a capital stand is now building. From 
 Pontefract, nine miles of a good road, and plea- 
 sant country, lead to 
 
 WAKEFIELD, 
 
 One of the most opulent and genteel of the 
 clothing towns in Yorkshire. It is situated on 
 the banks of the navigable river Calder; and hav- 
 ing greatly improved in trade, of late years, the 
 inhabitants have been enabled to ornament it with 
 many respectable houses. The streets are clean, 
 and the walk on each side flagged. The great 
 object of curiosity here, is the bridge, and the 
 beautiful Chapel which stands on it; said to have 
 been built by King Edward the Fourth in memo- 
 ry of his father. Gough, however, observes, 
 that this King seems to have been rather the re- 
 pairer, or rebuilder, than the founder of the Cha- 
 pel : for it appears by charter, of the thirty-first 
 of Edward the Third, dated at Wakefield, that 
 Edward the Third, by that instrument, settled 
 ten pounds per annum on William Kaye, and 
 William Ball, and their successors for ever, to 
 perform divine service in a chapel of St. Mary, 
 newly built on the bridge at Wakefield. This 
 Chapel, after being applied to various uses, is now 
 a library. On the front are remains of some cu- 
 rious sculpture, in compartments. 
 
 F 2 " There 
 
36 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 " There was a sore batell fought in the South- 
 fields by the bridge, in which the troops of the 
 Duke of York were worsted ; and, in the flight, 
 the Earl of Rutland, his son, was slain. The 
 commune saying is there, that the Earl would 
 have taken to a poor woman's house for socour, 
 and that she for fere shet the do re, and strait the 
 Earl Avas killed. The Lord Clifford, for killing 
 of men, Avas called the Boucher."* Clifford, a 
 young man, of a brutal spirit, is said to have 
 killed the Earl in cold blood. He Avas slain him- 
 self shortly after, in the battle of ToAVton. The 
 sons of Clifford, quite infants, Avould haA^e been 
 sacrificed to the manes of Rutland, had not the 
 prudence of the mother provided for their safety: 
 she sent one of them beyond sea; and concealed 
 the other at the house of a shepherd, where he 
 Avas brought up as a peasant, Avithout education, 
 and remained in that state till the accession of 
 Henry the Seventh, Avhen he obtained restitution 
 of his possessions. 
 
 Wakefield Avas the birth-place of that eccentric 
 character, the Avealthy and Avitty Dr. John Rad- 
 cliffe, an eminent Physician, and the founder 
 of Radcliffe Library at Oxford. He Avas born in 
 1650. At fifteen years of age, he A\ r as entered in 
 University College, Oxford, Avhere he resided till 
 he had acquired a considerable reputation. One 
 
 means, 
 * Leland's Mu 
 
YORKSHIRE. 37 
 
 means, by which he succeeded, was by applying 
 a cool regimen in the small-pox; and his cure of 
 Lady Spencer finally established his credit. In 
 ]684 he settled in London, whither his fame had 
 preceded him. In that city his practice became 
 so great, that in less than a year it produced him 
 more than twenty guineas a day : the truth of 
 this was averred by Mr. Daudridge, his apothe- 
 cary, who himself died worth 50,0001. obtained 
 through the Doctor's means. In 1688 he was ap- 
 pointed principal physician to the Princess Anne, 
 of Denmark; but he forfeited that situation, by 
 refusing, when over his bottle, to attend the 
 Princess: on being sent for a second time, he 
 swore that the disorder of her Highness was nothing 
 but the vapours, and that she was in as good a state 
 of liealth as any xooman breathing, could she but be- 
 lieve it. King William the Third, being ill at 
 Kensington, sent for Dr. Radcliffe, who found 
 him reading Sir Roger L'Estrange's new Edition 
 of iEsop's Fables. The King told him he had 
 once more sent for him, to try the effect of his 
 great skill; though, added he, my body physi- 
 cians, who are not sensible of my inward decay,, 
 tell me I shall do very well, and live many years. 
 The Doctor having put some interrogations to the 
 King, begged leave to turn to the book before 
 him, and read to him in these words : " Pray, 
 Sir, how do you find yourself?" says the Doctor 
 to his patient. — Why truly, says the patient, 
 
 I have 
 
38 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 I have had a most violent sweat. — " Oh! the best 
 sign in the world. " — In a little time he sees the 
 patient again. — Pray how do you findj'our body? 
 — Alas ! I have just had such a terrible fit of hor- 
 ror and shaking upon me ! — Why that is just as it 
 should be; it shows a mighty straight of Nature. 
 —The Doctor again puts his questions. — Why, I 
 am all sM r elled, as if I had a dropsy. — Best of all, 
 quoth the Doctor, and goes his way. — Shortly 
 after, comes in one of the sick man's friends, who 
 puts the same question, how he felt himself. — 
 "Why, truly so well, that I am even ready to die of 
 I do not know how many good signs and tokens." 
 Such, he said, was precisely the King's situation. 
 
 He then assured his Majesty, that he could re- 
 lieve him for the present, if he would adhere to 
 the prescriptions, and perhaps prolong his life for 
 three or four years : in the end, the King recover- 
 ed so well, as to be enabled to visit Holland. He 
 lost his Sovereign's favor by a rude reply : on the 
 King's showing him his swollen legs, and asking 
 what he thought of them, Why truly, said the 
 Doctor, / would not have your Majesty's two legs 
 for your three Kingdoms. 
 
 He was a man of ready wit, with a great com- 
 mand of temper. On Dr. (afterwards Sir Edward) 
 Hannes settling in London, ,an acquaintance, to 
 teaze Radcliffe, told him of the great business 
 
 obtained 
 
YORKSHIRE. 39 
 
 obtained by the former, and that his merit had oc- 
 casioned him to be appointed a principal physi- 
 cian at court; to which the Doctor coolly replied, 
 " So much the better for him; for now he has a 
 patent for killing." But, rejoined the other, to 
 try if it were possible to ruffle his temper, " What 
 is more surprising, he has two pair of the finest 
 horses that ever were seen." "Then they will 
 sell for the more," said Dr. Radcliffe, with the 
 utmost indifference. 
 
 I cannot resist giving the following anecdote, 
 as it serves strongly to illustrate the Doctor's pri- 
 vate virtues. About the year 1704, one Jonathan 
 Savil, who had robbed the Doctor's country-house, 
 lay under sentence of death for a similar offence. 
 In this dreadful situation he formed the resolution 
 of writing to the Doctor, who received the letter 
 from the criminal, while in company with a party of 
 nobility and gentry, at the Mitre Tavern, in Fleet- 
 Street. The letter specified the injury done, ex- ' 
 pressing great shame for it, and withal intreating 
 for pardon and intercession, with strong promises 
 of restitution, should it ever be in his power. 
 The company were amazed on hearing the con- 
 tents of the letter, and expected something witty 
 from the person it was addressed to. On the con- 
 trary, the Doctor very seriously bid the messen- 
 ger to call at his house for an answer in two days. 
 Then taking Lord Grenvilleinto another room, he 
 1 declared, 
 
40 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 declared, that the letter he had received, had 
 given him great satisfaction, in clearing an inno- 
 cent man from his suspicion; and that he must 
 become a petitioner to his Lordship, to use his in- 
 terest with the Queen in the criminal's behalf. 
 The application was successful; a reprieve was 
 granted, and the culprit was transported to Vir- 
 ginia. The Doctor's humanity did not stop here; 
 he gave him letters to the Governor; and Savil, 
 who was alive in the year 1715, in flourishing cir- 
 cumstances, had actually made the Doctor restitu- 
 tion of 1501. the computed amount of the loss. 
 
 In 1713, Dr. Radcliffe was returned Member 
 of Parliament for the town of Buckingham, and 
 on this occasion he gave up much of his business 
 in favor of Dr. Mead. He died on the first 
 of November, in the year 1714, and was buried 
 in St. Mary's Church, Oxford, leaving the bulk 
 of his fortune to found the noble Library there ; a 
 work that will render his name dear to society 
 as long as a taste for literature shall prevail, and 
 which can only be extinguished with time itself, in 
 the destruction of the universe. 
 
 From Wakefield to Leeds, a distance of about 
 ten miles, the country will be found black with 
 coal-pits, and the smoke of various engines; many 
 large manufactories having been established here. 
 
 LEEDS 
 
YORKSHIRE. 41 
 
 LEEDS 
 
 Is a large and populous town, situated on the 
 river Aire, and full of bustle and trade. It ap- 
 pears to be chiefly composed of one large street, 
 with others branching from it. Its size is daily 
 increasing, and the new buildings are formed 
 with an attention to both elegance and conveni- 
 ence ; the modern parts being uniform and gen- 
 teel. Leeds is rendered rather unpleasant by the 
 smoke arising from the furnaces of smitheries, 
 and other works. It may be called the Metro- 
 polis for that great staple manufacture the woollen- 
 trade, which furnishes a source of wealth more 
 certain than the mines of Peru. 
 
 A charter of incorporation was granted to this 
 town by Charles the First. Its present charter 
 was granted by Charles the Second. In Leeds 
 are four Churches, and several Chapels for Dis- 
 senters ; besides the Halls for the sale of the va- 
 rious sorts of cloths : the total number of houses, 
 in the year 1793, as counted from the workhouse- 
 book, amounted to 669 1. This town was garri- 
 soned for Charles the First, at the commencement 
 of the troubles in that reign ; but was taken by 
 storm, by the troops under Sir Thomas Fairfax. 
 Not the least vestige of the Castle is remaining ; 
 
 G and 
 
42 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 and its situation is but imperfectly known, though 
 said to be at a place now called Mill-Hill. The 
 population of Leeds, as ascertained under the act 
 of 180J, amounted to 53,162; the number of 
 houses to 11,599- Three miles from this town is 
 
 KIRKSTALL ABBEY. 
 
 Though the scenery round this building is not 
 remarkably rich, yet it is unquestionably pleasant, 
 and, on the whole, well diversified. Those who 
 take the trouble to ascend the high grounds, will 
 be gratified by the sight of some fine open scenes, 
 that will amply repay them. Should close views 
 be preferred, there are many situations, where 
 the water can be brought in, that will afford most 
 happy compositions. The river Aire, approach- 
 ing near to the Abbey, adds much to the beauty 
 of the views. The most picturesque side of the 
 building itself, is the west ; the front of which 
 presents a noble Saxon doorway ; and above it 
 two elegant windows, curiously ornamented ; the 
 whole is crowned with three handsome pinnacles. 
 This front is richly and elegantly decorated with 
 ivy, which increases the beauty, without destroy- 
 ing the form. On the south side are various 
 ruined apartments, of which the dormitory, and 
 some other parts, yet remain covered. 
 
 The interior is not very interesting, it being 
 
 destitute of foliage ; and it has altogether an ill 
 
 1 effect, 
 
NX, 
 
 ^ 
 
 ho 
 
YORKSHIRE. 43 
 
 effect, from its being too long for its width. 
 The columns are massive, and support heavy 
 pointed arches. The side aisles are complete, as 
 also the nave, transepts, and choir, except some 
 of the columns and capitals, which were destroyed 
 by the falling of part of the great tower, in the 
 night of the twenty-seventh of January, 1779: 
 only the south side of the tower now remains, 
 and that is in so dangerous a state, as to threaten 
 the remaining parts with destruction. Grose men- 
 tions a considerable quantity of Roman brick, as 
 having been found among the ruins of this Abbey. 
 
 This was a Cistercian Abbey. Henry de Lacy, 
 A. D. 1147, placed at Bernoldswyk a Convent 
 of Cistercian monks from Fountains, who, after 
 they had struggled with great inconveniencies for 
 five or six years there, desired to be removed to 
 a place in Airedale, called Kirkstall, which their 
 founder procured for them from William of Poitou, 
 and where they settled, and began to build a fine 
 Abbey, A. D. 1152, to the honor of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary. It was endowed with 3291. 2s. lid. 
 per ann. according to Dugdale ; and 5121. 13s. 4d. 
 according to Speed. The site was granted to 
 Archbishop Cranmer, and his heirs, in the thirty- 
 fourth of Henry the Eighth.* It afterwards 
 passed to the family of the Saviles, Earls of Sussex, 
 and by an heiress of that house to the Bmdenells, 
 
 G 2 Earls 
 
 * Tanner's Notitia. 
 
44 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Earls of Cardigan, in which family the property 
 remains.* Kirkstall will be found highly interest- 
 ing to the picturesque traveller, as it affords a 
 variety of subjects for the pencil, both architec- 
 tural, and where the ruins will unite finely with 
 the landscape. 
 
 On ascending the hill behind the Abbey, I had 
 a fine view of the whole building; but this agree- 
 able feature was not visible from the Otley road. 
 Here the country losing its engaging aspect, I 
 wandered leisurely along, in that state of indiffe- 
 rence which made the way appear tedious. Hav- 
 ing passed four or five uninteresting miles, my 
 attention Avas suddenly roused by the beauties of 
 Wherfe-Dale bursting on the sight. I stood 
 gazing in an extacy on the shady groves and ex- 
 tensive meads below me, till the eye became too 
 feeble to pierce through the mighty expanse. 
 My mind revelled in perfect voluptuousness, and 
 all the faculties of my soul were absorbed in the 
 contemplation of this most delectable spot. The 
 Chevin Hill, on which I stood, formed a bold 
 fore-ground : below me appeared the town of 
 Otley i and the river Wherfe was seen meandering, 
 in the most playful manner, through the bosom 
 of the Dale ; now broad and close ; then stretch- 
 ing away into long reaches, or lost among masses 
 
 of 
 
 * Moore's Monastic Remains. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 45 
 
 of trees. Beyond the town, to the west, the an- 
 cient seat of the Vavasors was conspicuous; the 
 village of Burley, and the seat of Sir H. Ibbetson, 
 with corn-fields and inclosures that tire the eye, 
 till it rests on the mountains about Skipton, 
 which bound the horizon. Looking in the op- 
 posite direction, as rich a scene is displayed, till 
 the hills about Knaresborough and Harrowgate 
 show their tops. Coining upon this scene in the 
 evening, and the valley being richly illuminated 
 by the setting sun, gave an effect to it that sur- 
 passes description. Wandering slowly down the 
 hill, I continued to enjoy the lovely prospect till 
 I had nearly entered the town of 
 
 OTLEY. 
 
 This, though a small place, has a very consi- 
 derable market for eatables, which being collect- 
 ed here, are afterwards sent to Leeds, York, 
 Manchester, and other towns. Tunstall, Bishop 
 of Durham, who visited this place in the reign of 
 Henry the Eighth, declared it exceeded in beauty 
 every thing he had seen during his travels in 
 France or Italy. 
 
 Tanner says, " Here was an Hospital for Lepers, 
 4th Edward II. who were obliged to repair the 
 bridge over the adjoining river Wherfe." 
 
 In 
 
46 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Ill proceeding through Wherfe-Dale, I was ac- 
 companied by the river on my right, which some- 
 times nearly approached the road. This Dale is 
 one of the richest and most fertile spots in Britain; 
 it extends in a direction nearly east and west, for 
 the space of between forty and fifty miles. The 
 inhabitants speak most rapturously of this delight- 
 ful garden, and say that it affords them fire, wa- 
 ter, and food, in abundance; and that the air is 
 uncommonly salubrious and healthful. 
 
 About four miles from Otley, on the other side 
 of the river, is Denton Hall, the handsome 
 seat of Sir H. Ibbetson, Bart. This place was 
 formerly the residence of Ferdinand, Lord Fair- 
 fax, General in Chief of the Parliamentary forces. 
 
 The villages in this neighbourhood are unu- 
 sually respectable, which strongly mark the com- 
 fort of the inhabitants. Ilkley, a considerable 
 one, is remarkable from having been formerly a 
 Roman station, called Olicana. " That it was an 
 ancient town, appears from the pillars of Roman 
 work in the Church-yard, and elsewhere."* tt 
 appears to have been rebuilt in the time of Seve- 
 rus, by Varius Lupus, Lieutenant and Pro-pra;tor 
 in Britain. Some inscribed stones, that have been 
 dug up at this station, are given in Horsley's 
 Britannia Romana. This 
 
 * Gibson's Camden. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 47 
 
 This station was on the great Roman Way from 
 Manchester to Aldborough, (nearBoroughbridge,) 
 passing to the westward of Halifax. Near this 
 place, another Roman road crossed the above, at 
 nearly a right angle ; from Eboracum, (York ;) it 
 proceeded to Calcaria, (or Tadcaster ;) and then 
 passing a little to the south of Ukley, to Skipton. 
 The next village is Addingham, at which place 
 the road suddenly turns to the right. Continu- 
 ing to follow the river Wherfe, when at about 
 eleven miles, the traveller will arrive at Bolton 
 Bridge. Here is a decent house of accommoda- 
 tion, the Burlington Arms ; but it does not offer 
 the convenience of a carnage. One short mile 
 further is 
 
 BOLTON PRIORY, 
 
 Called Bolton Priory, in Craven. This build- 
 ing being surrounded by bold and majestic high 
 grounds, is scarcely seen till the traveller arrives 
 on the spot. The ruins, embosomed in trees, 
 stand on the banks of the river Wherfe ; on the 
 opposite side of which rises a bold mass of rocks, 
 that, in a general view, adds a dignity to the 
 whole. Though the building is in itself inconsi- 
 derable, yet its romantic situation makes ample 
 amends ; as it affords several fine subjects for the 
 pencil. The principal remains now standing, were 
 parts of the Priory Church. 
 
 The 
 
48 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 The west end of the Church is now used for 
 divine service: this end has been highly enriched, 
 and many of the decorative figures remain ; but 
 the sculpture is not to be boasted of. Over the 
 west door are two escutcheons; that on the north 
 displays the Cliffords' arms ; the other, on the south 
 side, a Cross-formee. Besides the west end, parts 
 of the nave and choir are yet standing, though 
 much mutilated. The want of the tower detracts 
 much from the beauty of the building. 
 
 In the year 1 1 20, William Meschines, grand- 
 son to the King of Scotland, and Cecilia de Ro- 
 melli, his wife, Baroness of Skipton, having lost 
 their only son, who was drowned in attempting 
 to lead a greyhound over the Stride, founded a 
 Priory at Emmersey, near Skipton, for Canons 
 regular, of the order of St. Austin, to the honor 
 of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Cuthbert. 
 About thirty years afterwards, this establishment 
 was translated to Bolton, by the daughter of the 
 founders, Adeliza or Alice de Romelli. At the 
 Dissolution, in the twenty-sixth of Henry the 
 Eighth, this Priory was valued at 3021. 9s. 3d. 
 per annum, in the whole ; and 2121. 3s. 4d. clear. 
 Grose says, " The whole, in rents, mills, and 
 tythes, once amounted to 4441. 17s. 4d. annually, 
 as appears from an account printed by Burton, 
 from Michaelmas, 1324, to the same feast, 1325." 
 
 One 
 
YORKSHIRE. 49 
 
 One of the Gates of the Priory remains ; and 
 by stopping up its openings, has been converted 
 into a dwelling, (the ground-floor being one large 
 room, ) and is used as an occasional residence by 
 the Duke of Devonshire. 
 
 The site of this Priory was granted, in the 
 thirty-third of Henry the Eighth, to Henry Clif- 
 ford, Earl of Cumberland. Elizaheth, daughter 
 of Henry, the last Earl, marrying Richard, the 
 first Earl of Burlington, carried the estate into 
 that family. It is now the property of the Duke 
 of Devonshire, by marriage with Charlotte, heiress 
 of Richard, the last Earl of Burlington. 
 
 Four miles up the river Wherfe, is the local 
 curiosity called the Stride, alluded to in the above 
 account. Here the bed of the river is full of 
 shelving rocks, which, when the water is low in 
 the Summer season, make their appearance; and 
 in one place the stream is contracted so narrowly 
 between two rocks, that a person may step over it. 
 
 Above this place is seen Barden Tower, crown- 
 ing the bold banks of the river: it was formerly 
 a hunting residence of the Cliffords, but is now 
 the property of the Duke of Devonshire. In the 
 beautiful and romantic grounds of Bolton Park 
 are many fine woody scenes, admitting occasional 
 peeps at the river, with rich open distances. 
 
 H From 
 
50 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 From Bolton Bridge the distance is about five 
 miles of heavy road, but fine country, varied in- 
 to hill and dale, to 
 
 SKIPTON. 
 
 This is a genteel town, situated in that part of 
 the country called Craven; an appellation given 
 to it on account of its rocky surface. This word 
 is said to be derived from the British Craig, sig- 
 nifying a rock : but whether this derivation is 
 just or not, others must determine. The name 
 of Craven is applied to all that rocky or moun- 
 tainous district, chiefly lying in the centre of the 
 West Riding. 
 
 Skipton is situated in a valley with the hills 
 rising boldly round it, and is chiefly composed of 
 one large street, terminated by the Church, and 
 the Castle on a bold eminence. 
 
 In the Church is a Library for the use of the 
 Parish ; founded by Silvester Petyt, Principal of 
 Bernard's Inn, who was born in this neighbour- 
 hood. It consists chiefly of ancient books, that 
 are in terrible bad condition, which arises, accord- 
 ing to report, from the salary of 5\. per annum, 
 not being paid according to the will of the founder. 
 
 The 
 
YORKSHIRE. 51 
 
 The Leeds and Liverpool Canal coming to this 
 town, has contributed greatly to the wealth of 
 the inhabitants ; this being now the general mar- 
 ket, whence the surrounding country is sup- 
 plied with coal. At Leeds it joins the river Aire, 
 which, by being navigable to the Humber, forms 
 a communication with the Eastern Sea; and, 
 when it is compleated to Liverpool, as intended, 
 it will form an immediate connection between the 
 Eastern and Western Ocean. This Canal will tra- 
 verse a track of 107 miles and three quarters, from 
 Leeds to Liverpool; the fall from the central level 
 being reckoned at 525 feet on the Lancashire side, 
 and at 446 on the Yorkshire extremity ; its course 
 being as follows: Liverpool, to Ormskirk, Wigan, 
 Blackrod, Chorley, Blackburn, Burnley, Colne, 
 Gargrave, Skipton, Keighley, Bingley, Kirkstall, 
 and Leeds. This great national work is the effect 
 of the perseverance, industry, and wealth, of pri- 
 vate individuals. In point of magnitude, and of 
 utility, it equals the greatest public work performed 
 at the expense of the Roman State; and will, when 
 compleated,' remain a lasting monument of the 
 skill, perseverance, and opulence of the country. 
 
 Craven first gave title to William Craven, des- 
 cended from a family of that name at Appletre- 
 wick, so created by Charles the Second, having 
 been previously made Baron of Hempstead Mar- 
 -shall, by Charles the First. He died in l6y5, 
 
 H 2 without 
 
52 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 without issue; and the title fell to the heirs of 
 Sir William Craven of Worcestershire, from whom 
 the present Lord is descended. 
 
 The Castle at Skipton is the great object which 
 attracts the attention of strangers. It stands on 
 an eminence, that commands the town, and al- 
 so a good prospect of the surrounding country. 
 The Castle itself is by no means a picturesque ob- 
 ject : its outward appearance is heavy, and ugly ; 
 its form being composed of several round towers, 
 with long sweeping apartments, and heavy stone 
 window frames. 
 
 Several passages wind round the Castle, to va- 
 rious rooms, hung with old tapestry. In one of 
 these chambers is a curious old Family Picture, 
 with whole-length figures, as large as life. This 
 is composed of three parts ; a centre, and two 
 extremes; the latter serving as doors. The 
 wood-work is most clumsily put together, and 
 the picture is poorly painted, in a dry, hard style, 
 and carrying but little interest with it as a work 
 of art.* 
 
 In the centre compartment is George Clifford 
 and his Lady, Margaret Russell, and two of her 
 
 children. 
 
 * If the family value this picture as a memorial of their ances- 
 tors, it should be immediately taken care of, or it will soon pe» 
 rish, from damp, and other injuries. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 53 
 
 children. The former made twenty-two voyages 
 against that blood-thirsty monarch Philip the 
 Second, of Spain, who felt the effect of his prowess 
 against his invincible Armada, in his European 
 dominions, and also in his more distant ones in 
 America. Queen Elizabeth appointed him her 
 champion, in the thirty-third year of her reign. 
 In the exercises of tilting, and the courses of the 
 field, he excelled all the nobility of his time. He 
 died, as the picture informs, " penitently, will- 
 ingly, and christianly, October 50th, 1605." 
 
 The doors exhibit the portraits of their cele- 
 brated daughter Anne Clifford, afterwards Coun- 
 tess of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery. 
 One compartment represents her at about the age 
 of thirteen; the other in a state of widowhood, 
 dressed in black, with a veil. Over the latter 
 portrait are the heads of her two husbands: Rich- 
 ard, Earl of Dorset, (said to have been the patron 
 of men of letters, and bounteous , to distressed 
 worth; ) and Philip, Earl of Pembroke, who cut 
 such a ridiculous figure during the troubles of 
 Charles the First, and who got himself elected to 
 a seat in the House of Commons, after its Mem- 
 bers had voted the House of Lords useless. Her 
 second husband died in 1650, when the character 
 of this extraordinary woman began to show itself, 
 and the greatness of her mind broke forth in its 
 full lustre. She rebuilt, or repaired, six of her 
 
 ancient 
 
54 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 ancient castles; she restored seven churches or 
 chapels; founded one hospital, and repaired ano- 
 ther. She resided occasionally at each of her 
 castles, for the noble purpose of being thereby 
 enabled to dispense her charities, in rotation, to 
 the poor of her vast estates. She travelled in a 
 horse litter, and often took bad ways, to find oc- 
 casion for laying out her money, by employing 
 the indigent in repairing the roads. This amiably 
 great woman died at the age of eighty-six, in the 
 year 1 676, and was interred at Appleby. 
 
 On the pictures are various inscriptions, said 
 to have been written by the above lady, setting 
 forth the names, titles, and other particulars, of 
 the persons represented in them. Her spirit dic- 
 tated the following letter to the minister of an 
 ungrateful court, who wanted to force a disagree- 
 able person into one of her boroughs. 
 
 " I have been bullied by an usurper; I have 
 been neglected by a court ; but I will not be dic- 
 tated to by a subject. Your man sha'nt stand. 
 
 "ANNE, Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery." 
 
 This Castle was built by Robert de Romelli, 
 Lord of the Honor of Skipton. By the failure of 
 issue male, it fell to William Fitz-Duncan, Earl 
 of Murray, who had married Romelli's daughter; 
 
 and 
 
YORKSHIRE. 55 
 
 and it passed with their daughter to William le 
 Gross, Earl of Albemarle. In the reign of Rich- 
 ard the First, it belonged to William de Fortibus, 
 whose daughter, Aveline, Henry the Third be- 
 stowed on his son, Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. 
 They had issue one son, Thomas, who succeeded 
 to this Castle and Honor; but he joining in a re- 
 bellion against Edward the Second, was taken, 
 and beheaded at Pontefract, when all his estates 
 escheated to the Crown. The Castle and Honor 
 of Skipton were granted, in 1309, to Robert de 
 Clifford, an Herefordshire Baron, in which fami- 
 ly they continued for many generations. The 
 estate is now the property of the Earl of Thanet, 
 by the marriage of his ancestor with Margaret, 
 eldest daughter of Anne Clifford. The Castle 
 Avas dismantled in 1648, by order of Parlia- 
 ment ; but it was afterwards repaired by the above 
 mentioned Anne. The entrance is by a heavy, 
 ill-fashioned gate. In the north and south bat- 
 tlements is pierced, in large letters, the motto of 
 the Cliffords, desormais. 
 
 Hence to Gargrave the country is pleasant; 
 and the Leeds Canal winding through the mea- 
 dows, increases the interest of the views. En- 
 tering on the moors at Cold Coniston, I proceed- 
 ed to the village of Hellyjield, then to Long Pres- 
 ton, an opulent place, where the people appear 
 cheerful, their houses clean, and every thing car- 
 1 ries 
 
56 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 ries with it an air of comfort. Great quantities 
 of callico are made here. This place is at least 
 a mile in length. 
 
 *&' 
 
 To the left of the road, on the very verge of 
 the horizon, is seen Pendle Hill, a remarkable 
 feature in this part of the county. Approaching 
 Settle, Ingleborough Mountain appears in view, 
 and the top of Pennygent. From Skipton it is 
 sixteen miles to 
 
 SETTLE. 
 
 This town is seated in the midst of barren hills, 
 which present their rocky fronts to the eye from 
 all points. Romantic as the situation may be, 
 the town itself is equally so; the houses being 
 the most whimsical, picturesque, and odd, any 
 where to be met with. The market-place, in par- 
 ticular, had, to me, the strangest effect imagi- 
 nable; it not appearing like English nature. The 
 evening being fine and clear, the lengthened sha- 
 dows of the houses were swept over the fore- 
 ground, reducing the whole to one expansive 
 dark; except where, here and there, on its verge, 
 a small group of figures glittered, from an elegant 
 touch of the departing rays of the sun. Full in 
 the light appeared the market-house, raised on 
 an arcade, above which, in a gallery that leads 
 to different dwellings, were seen various people, 
 
 busily 
 
YORKSHIRE* 57 
 
 busily employed in humble occupations. Add 
 to the whole, by way of back-ground, a tremen- 
 dous cliff, 300 feet high, which impends fearful- 
 ly over the back of the town, in the most ter- 
 rific manner, and some idea of the scene may be 
 formed. The breadth and simplicity of the light 
 and shade, contributed to aid the beauty of the 
 view; the great mass of dark on the fore-ground 
 being supported by another, prevented its be- 
 coming a spot. The whole of the objects in the 
 light, had their local colors rendered deep and 
 rich, by a gleam of the evening sun, which pre- 
 vented the shadow from cutting abrupt and hard 
 against the light, and giving the whole great 
 mellowness; the general effect receiving vigor 
 from the sparkling of some light draperies.* 
 
 In Settle, many of the houses about the mar- 
 ket-place, have their ascent to the upper story on 
 the outside; and where the cliff, or scar, which 
 hangs frowning over the town, can be brought 
 
 I into 
 
 * So much depends on a judicious light and shade, that many 
 objects will highly delight in the morning, which may appear un- 
 interesting in the evening, or vice versa. Yet, notwithstanding, this 
 the power of imitating the lovely scenery of Nature with " accu- 
 racy," may be acquired by reflection, and by an attention to pic- 
 tures, or drawings, remarkable in that particular, such as those of 
 Titian and Rubens, and works of many modern artists : I do not 
 mean those full of affectation, as if they were illuminated by a par- 
 tial flash of gunpowder : such trash may pass with some for true 
 
 art. 
 
58 YORKSHIRE, 
 
 into the view, a subject highly picturesque will 
 be obtained. On the whole, had I come all this 
 way without meeting one object worthy of my 
 attention, I should have been satisfied for my 
 trouble, with what I found here. 
 
 In this town was born Thomas Proctor, whose 
 merit as a sculptor, justly places him among the 
 first of the British artists. His works, though 
 few, are uncommonly fine. Whoever has his mo- 
 del of Ixion, is in possession of a treasure, which 
 ought to be guarded with the greatest vigilance; 
 it beings without dispute, one of the first pro- 
 ductions of the British school; and would have 
 done honor to the best times of Greece or Rome. 
 He was an exemplary and mighty genius, and his 
 merits have been celebrated by Mr. West in one 
 of his discourses. His fine group of Diomede de- 
 voured by his Horses, would have become a point 
 of national taste; but, alas! he dashed it to 
 
 pieces 
 
 art. Many little shadows joined, will always produce a mass; this 
 may be done by clouds, &c. Any natural means may be resorted 
 to, to enable the student to unite his shadow with shadow, and light, 
 with light, for the purpose of acquiring masses of each, in his 
 work. " Even if" he " should not excel in execution," (which, how- 
 ever, may be expected from proper instruction, and a moderate 
 practice,) then the student may comfort himself with the reflection,, 
 that Claude, and many other great artists, were without it; and 
 also that it is not the first, nor, by any means, the most essential, 
 part of even landscape painting. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 59 
 
 pieces in a fit of despair, because he could not 
 procure fifty pounds for that sublime labor. He 
 died like Raphael, in the meridian of his days, 
 and full of honor. I am happy at having it in 
 my power to pay this small tribute to the memo- 
 ry of a worthy man, and an old acquaintance. 
 He sunk, most unaccountably, under the public 
 neglect, when a small sum would have preserved 
 a valuable life. But peace to his manes ; and may 
 his spirit find that rest in eternity, it was a stran- 
 ger to here ! 
 
 Cross the bridge over the river Ribble, which 
 flows near Settle, and at about the distance of 
 one mile, is 
 
 GIGGLESWICK. 
 
 Here is a prodigious Scar, or ledge of rocks, 
 that goes by the name of the village, and whose 
 bold cliff's rise above the road, accompanying it 
 to a considerable extent. Under these craggs, 
 above some lime-kilns, by the road side, is a Well, 
 that ebbs and flows at uncertain periods, some- 
 times three and even four or five times within the 
 hour. This is considered as a great natural Cu- 
 riosity, the place being at least thirty miles from 
 the sea.* In Giggles wick is a noted and well-en- 
 dowed Free-School, founded by a Mr. Bridges. 
 
 I 2 With 
 
 * In different parts of England, are two or three other ebbing 
 and flowing Wells, of similar character to this at Giggleswick. The 
 
 most 
 
60 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 With a guide, I made an excursion over the 
 
 moors to 
 
 MALHAM- 
 
 most celebrated is that between Chapel-in-the-Frith and Tide well, 
 in Derbyshire, in the description of which, as inserted in the third 
 volume of the Beauties of England and Wales, pages, 454, 455, 
 I attempted to assign the cause of the ebbing and flowing of the 
 water; and as no better explanation has yet appeared, it may 
 not be misplaced, to insert it again here ; as the principles on 
 which the water flows and ebbs, must be the same in all wells si- 
 milarly situated. 
 
 " This curious phenomenon does not appear to have been satis- 
 factorily explained ; as the principles on which the Syphon acts, 
 will only account for the intermittent flowing of the water, the 
 cause of its ebbing being still unresolved. The opinion of a second 
 syphon, as ingeniously advanced by a modern traveller,* which 
 begins to act only when the water rises, or is near its height, is* 
 inconsistent with the appearances at the well, as the water conti- 
 nues to ebb for sixty or eighty seconds after its decrease has left a 
 sufficient opening for the admission of the air into the supposed 
 reservoir in the bill. Now, admitting the existence of one natural 
 syphon, may we not account for the return of the water, by suppos- 
 ing an interior cavity, on a level somewhat lower than the passages 
 which communicate with the well, having a distinct outlet, but 
 too contracted to give issue to all the water that flows from the 
 syphon; the overplus will, in consequence, be discharged into 
 the well, where it finds vent, and flows out till the syphon has 
 ceased to act. When this happens, the interior cavity, no longer 
 receiving more water than its distinct aperture can carry off, be- 
 gins to empty ; and receiving back that portion of the water from 
 the well which lies above the communicating passages, discharges 
 it by its own outlet." M. 
 
 * See an original Journal of a ' Three Weeks Tour to the Lakes ;* 
 by a Gentleman of the University of Oxford, published in the sixth vo- 
 lume of Mavor's British Tourist. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 6l 
 
 MALHAM-COVE, 
 
 Pronounced Maum-Cove, by the natives. This 
 is a stupendous mass of lime-stone rock, something 
 in the form of an amphitheatre, which crosses a 
 valley like a bridge, presenting its bare and almost 
 uniform front to the eye. A human figure, placed 
 at the base of this immense mass, is reduced to 
 a mere point, by comparison, the central summit 
 of the rock, which is the lowest part, being, ac- 
 cording to Mr. Hurtley, 288 feet high. 
 
 At the foot of the Cove, a current of water issues 
 out, called Air-Head; it being, in all probability, 
 one of the streams which feed that river. In floods, 
 the subterranean passage is not sufficient to give 
 vent to all the water, which then pours in a ca- 
 taract from the top of the rocks, forming a most 
 " grand and magnificent cascade." This curious 
 phenomenon is seldom seen by travellers in the 
 summer months. " If the wind blows pretty 
 strongly from the south, or south-west, the whole 
 front of this bluff and age-tinted battlement, 
 standing unsheltered and exposed, very little if 
 any of the expanded current reaches the bottom; 
 but, driven back into the air, or against the pro- 
 jections of the rock, hath the appearance of a 
 curled, foaming mist, impetuously revolving, and 
 
 dissipated 
 
6 C Z YORKSHIRE. 
 
 dissipated as a whirlwind."* Such a spectacle 
 must afford a high gratification ; and it must add 
 greatly to the grandeur of the scene, the almost 
 uniform surface of the rocks wanting such a break. 
 
 Passing through the village of Malham, which 
 is composed of a few scattered houses, some of 
 which afford good studies, as they are very pic- 
 turesque, one mile brought me to 
 
 GORD ALE-SCAR, f 
 
 Here a stupendous mass of rocks forms a ravine, 
 through the bosom of which flows a considerable 
 stream. This opening contracts till you are led 
 into a corner, where every object conspires to pro- 
 duce one of the grandest spectacles in nature. 
 The rocks dart their bold and rugged fronts to 
 the heavens, and impending fearfully over the 
 
 head 
 
 * Hurtley's Malham in Craven. 
 
 f From Settle it will be found about eight miles over the moors 
 to Gordale ; but it will be difficult to hit the way without a guide. 
 A post-chaise may be had at the Golden Lion, at Settle ; and if 
 the traveller «an get John Armstead, an intelligent man, who 
 knows the country weB, to attend him, the pleasantness of his 
 journey will be increased. It is about sixteen miles with a car- 
 riage from Settle to Gordale; but those who come from Skipton, 
 must turn into the road to Malham at Hellyfield. At Malham is 
 a public-house, which affords but slender viands. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 63 
 
 head of the spectator, seem to threaten his im- 
 mediate destruction. Here rock is piled on rock 
 in the most terrific majesty ; and what greatly im- 
 proves the grandeur of the scene, is an impetuous 
 Cataract, that rushes down their dark centre, tear- 
 ing up, with its irresistible force, the very foun- 
 dations of the earth. Good heavens, what a 
 scene, how awful ! how sublime ! Imagine blocks 
 of lime-stone rising to the immense height of two 
 hundred yards, and in some places projecting up- 
 Avards of twenty over their bases ; add to this the 
 roaring of the cataract, and the sullen murmurs 
 of the wind that howls around ; and something 
 like an idea of the savage aspect of this place may 
 be conceived. 
 
 Here the timid will find an end put to their jour- 
 ney: myself and guide, with some difficulty, 
 ascended the craggs up the fall, keeping the water 
 to the right hand, and arrived at a large opening, 
 where massy fragments of rocks are scattered 
 about in the most wild and fantastic manner. 
 Above, through a large hole, at the height of 
 twenty or thirty yards, poured down the collected 
 force of the whole stream, which forms the cas- 
 cade below. This is, perhaps, the finest part of 
 the whole place, and should by no means be neg- 
 lected, however difficult the ascent to it may 
 be. Retreat hence was impossible; we therefore 
 scrambled to the top of the rocks, a heigh tof not 
 1 less 
 
64 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 less than three hundred yards from the stream 
 below: here, on looking back into the yawning 
 gulph we had passed, the words of Shakespeare 
 came forcibly into my mind : 
 
 Stand still how fearful 
 
 And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eye so low ! 
 
 I'll look no more, 
 
 Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight 
 Topple down headlong. 
 
 The opening in the rocks, which gives passage 
 to the stream, is said to have been caused by the 
 force of a great body of water, which collected 
 in a sudden thunder storm, some time about the 
 year 1730. The lover of drawing will be much 
 delighted with this place : immensity and horror 
 are its inseparable companions, uniting together 
 to form subjects of the most awful cast. The very 
 soul of Salvator Rosa would hover with delight over 
 these regions of confusion.* 
 
 None 
 
 * Here Nature offers one of the finest general ideas in the world ; 
 but the student, in sketching these scenes, must preserve a great 
 breadth in the rocks, for the sake of simplicity, as a boldness of hand- 
 ling is essentially necessary to such wild views. A few great and sim- 
 ple lines will mark the contours, and a slight wash of Indian ink 
 will most expeditiously give the breadths ; whilst a tender tinge 
 of Prussian blue, combined with the ink, will easily make the 
 more remote parts recede, provided the blue is added in propor- 
 tion to the distance. The right-hand canopy, including the water- 
 fall, presents a fine upright view, which shape is the best calculated 
 for the disposition of these rocks. Some of the masses will require 
 their forms to be a little improved. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 65 
 
 None of the passes in North Wales equals this ; 
 the water tumbling down its bosom, giving it 
 greatly the superiority. 
 
 A few years ago, two men returning from a cock- 
 match at Kirkby-Malham, in the autumnal sea- 
 son, were surprised by a fog, which came on sud- 
 denly, when unfortunately they missed their way, 
 and one of them, William Hartley, without hav- 
 ing time to utter a single word, slipped into this 
 yawning womb of death. His companion, alarm- 
 ed and terrified, dared no longer to walk erect, 
 but, examining with his hands the way he took, 
 got back to Malham. Hartley's body was fotind 
 next morning, lodged in a bush of ivy, more than 
 half M r ay down the dreadful precipice, it having 
 fallen upwards of seventy yards. Hence I pro- 
 ceeded to 
 
 MALHAM TARN. 
 
 This is a small lake on the moors; but, from 
 being destitute of wood, it is by no means an 
 object of interest to the artist. I must own I 
 looked upon it with indifference, notwithstanding 
 it has been called, in the language of poetry, 
 
 " A Lake embosomed in the cloud-capt mountains." 
 
 K Another 
 
66 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Another disadvantage is, that the mountains that 
 environ the water, are too far removed from its 
 margin to appear grand. . This will effectually 
 prevent its ever rivaling the Lakes of Cumberland 
 or Westmoreland. There are several plantations 
 in the vicinity, but the immediate banks of the 
 lake are not bold enough to show them to advan- 
 tage. Tarn House, on its banks, the property of 
 Lord Ribblesdale, is chiefly used in the sporting 
 season; the moors abounding with foxes, hares, 
 and black game. In the lake are excellent trout 
 and perch. 
 
 The water of this lake runs out in a small stream, 
 which, at about the distance of a mile, suddenly 
 sinks into the earth, among a heap of loose stones, 
 and is lost. The country people, however, af- 
 firm it to be the same that issues out at Malham- 
 Cove, and forms the head of the river Aire; and 
 also that which has forced a passage through the 
 rocks at Gordale. 
 
 These moors are truly wild and romantic; Na- 
 ture here sits in solitary grandeur. The hills are 
 lofty and green to their tops, and rise in irregular 
 heaps on all sides, in their primeval state of pas- 
 ture. They afford excellent feed for cattle, mak- 
 ing them uncommonly fat, and that expeditious- 
 ly. Vast tracts are enclosed with stone walls, 
 for the purpose of sheltering the sheep from the 
 severity of the weather in the winter season. 
 
 It 
 
YORKSHIRE. 6*7 
 
 It would be highly imprudent for a stranger to 
 travel these moors without a guide, as he. would 
 risk the danger of perishing for want; or the 
 probable chance of breaking his neck down some 
 precipice in the dark, or from being caught in a 
 fog. The shepherds themselves know the way 
 only by the hills, or from large masses of stones 
 collected together upon some eminence. 
 
 At Carlton Hall, in the parish of Kirkby-Mal- 
 ham-Dale, was born, on the 7th of September, 
 1619, that most intrepid and skilful Parliamentary 
 General, John Lambert. The estate had be- 
 longed to the family for several generations. His 
 father had been a Justice of the Peace ; and by 
 his third wife, Ann Pigot, had the subject of this 
 brief memoir. At thirteen years of age, he was 
 so unfortunate as to lose his father. In 1639 he 
 married Frances, daughter of Sir William Lister, 
 of Thornton, in this county. 
 
 Whitelocke says, he studied the law some time 
 in one of the Inns of Court. If so, his ardent 
 love of liberty must have early led him from that 
 pursuit, as he was engaged, with his relations and 
 neighbours, at the beginning of the contest, on 
 the popular side. 
 
 To enter into the minute events of his life, 
 Avould be to give a history of the contest between 
 
 K 2 King 
 
68 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 King Charles the First and the Parliament ; all 
 that I intend, is merely a sketch of his character. 
 
 When Charles, by entering the Parliament House 
 with an armed force, had given cause to the 
 Members justly to doubt their personal security, 
 each party became anxious to provide for their safe- 
 ty, by securing the garrisons and arsenals through- 
 out the kingdom: for it is proved, by the joint 
 testimony of the writers on the Civil War, that 
 the great cause of dispute was not about matters 
 of religion, but who should have power over the 
 militia. 
 
 The first hostile movement was on the King's 
 going from York to take possession of Hull, where 
 Sir John Hotham, the governor, in obedience to 
 the command of the Parliament, refused him ad- 
 mittance. The King being disappointed, com- 
 plained of Hotham to the Parliament, and sum- 
 moned the nobility and gentry of the county to 
 attend him at York. This meeting was uncom- 
 monly numerous ; but, after the summons, they 
 were refused admittance to the royal presence, 
 with the exception of a few, and of those the 
 King made a demand on the county of a guard 
 of horse. This conduct lost him the affection of 
 many of his Yorkshire subjects; and, on this oc- 
 casion, many petitions were presented to the King, 
 in which Mr. Lambert was concerned. 
 
 On 
 
YORKSHIRE. 6§ 
 
 On the 22d of August, 1642, about six o'clock 
 in the evening of a very stormy and tempestuous 
 day, the royal standard was erected at Notting- 
 ham, says Clarendon, and the demons of discord 
 and civil war were at once let loose on the nation. 
 
 To a people it should never become an object, 
 what individual or family may reign over them ; 
 but that the government they live under, be 
 founded on equity, should be a great considera- 
 tion. In the course of human events, persons, or 
 families, may perish, and houses cease to govern; 
 but the great principles of Liberty and Justice 
 should be deeply engraven on the hearts of man- 
 kind, till the utmost verge of time. 
 
 The trust reposed in Monarchs is of so extensive 
 and important a nature, that the slightest error is 
 attended with the most fatal consequences. Like 
 cities under the influence of an earthquake, thou- 
 sands are buried in their fall. The unhappy 
 Charles, though possessed of many private virtues, 
 by endeavoring to change a free government into 
 an absolute monarchy, began a Revolution, un- 
 der which the nations of Europe at present groan. 
 By his misconduct, multitudes were induced to 
 leave this country for America; not with a dis- 
 like to the man only, but with a settled hatred to 
 the office of King. The great province of New 
 England was peopled at that period ; and every 
 
 one 
 
70 YORKSHIRE* 
 
 one knows, that it was at Boston where hostilities 
 first commenced; and that the descendants of 
 those who had emigrated, were the most strenuous 
 in their opposition. The consequence may be easi- 
 ly traced; the flame spread to France, where it 
 overturned that Monarchy; and when the effects 
 will cease the Almighty only knows ! 
 
 Every thing has its cause; even the above great 
 event was preceded by another important one, 
 which prepared the way. Henry the Seventh, too 
 proud to claim the Throne by descent, and too 
 timid to demand it by right of conquest, well 
 knew that it was the power of the great Barons 
 which had made him King. Their power was such, 
 that any one of them could alarm, and the com- 
 bination of two or three, overthrow him. Hence 
 it became necessary to use policy, rather than 
 force, to break their power. To obtain his end, 
 he framed the statutes of population ; the statute 
 against retainers; and that for alienation. The 
 first, by its effect, increased agriculture, by or- 
 dering that all farm-houses, to which one hun- 
 dred acres of ground and upwards were attached, 
 should be kept up for ever: this rendered the 
 yeomanry in a certain degree free of the Lords, 
 who thereby lost their foot soldiers. The act 
 
 against retainers, prevented the Lords having 
 in their service the younger sons of good families, 
 who were men of spirit, and well skilled in arms, 
 
 and 
 
YORKSHIRE. 71 
 
 and who served them as cavalry : this being for- 
 bidden under heavy penalties, deprived them of 
 another prop to faction. Hence they became inac- 
 tive, prodigal, and luxurious ; and their immense 
 estates, though more than enough for country 
 hospitality, became too small for the refined plea- 
 sures of the tou'n, and the expenses of a court. 
 But the statute of alienation enabling them to sell, 
 or mortgage, without heavy fines, effectually de- 
 stroyed their power; and accelerated the fall 
 of the old Barons by tenure. By these various 
 means, Henry the Seventh increased his own power 
 with that of the Commons, the Nobility being 
 the only sufferers. The dissolution of the monas- 
 teries under his son, threw a vast property into 
 the public market; and the strides which com- 
 merce was then making, raised up purchasers in 
 the wealthy merchant and trader. 
 
 Let us mark the sequel. James the First had 
 come from a country where the whole power was 
 divided between the King and a turbulent Nobi- 
 lity. Full of the notions of the divinity and ex- 
 tent of royal power, he came to England to go- 
 vern. Unfortunately, he communicated these no- 
 tions to his son Charles, and every means were 
 used through both reigns, to increase the power 
 of the Crown. But as the Crown increased in 
 power, the people increased in wealth and power 
 also ; and as their property was the result of their 
 1 industry, 
 
72 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 industry, they rightly saw, that no power on earth 
 was authorised to deprive them of it without their 
 own consent, either direct or implied. Hence, 
 from the people asserting the right of property, 
 against the state terms "prerogative power," com- 
 menced those disputes in which Mr. Lambert was 
 so materially engaged.* 
 
 When Lord Fairfax was appointed commander 
 in chief of the Parliamentary forces in the north- 
 ern district, he was joined by Mr. Lambert; his 
 brother-in-law, Mr. Lister, of Thornton; and his 
 relation, Mr. Lister of Westby. Both these gen- 
 tlemen were killed within a few weeks from the 
 date of their commissions. The former, Captain 
 William Lister, was shot with a musket bullet in 
 the head, in the battle of Tadcaster, on Wednes- 
 day, the 7th of December.')" How the latter came 
 by his death is not certainly known. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 * In a cause between Mr. Chambers, a merchant, and the Lord 
 Mayor of London, for trespass and false imprisonment, on account 
 of the levying of ship-money, Sir R. Berkeley, one of the Judges 
 of the King's Bench, declared, " That no act of Parliament could 
 bind the King, not to command away his subjects' goods and mo- 
 ney." Need's History of the Puritans, Vol. IF. p. 175. 
 
 f Mr. William Lister, slain at the battle of Tadcaster, left two 
 sons and a daughter. One of the sons travelling through that 
 town many years afterwards, was inquisitive after the place of his 
 father's sepulture. The sexton, who was then making a grave in 
 
 the 
 
YORKSHIRE. 73 
 
 Mr. Lambert's first public employment was the 
 command of a regiment of dragoons, in which 
 station his conduct was marked by moderation, 
 bravery, and skill. The moderation of the Par- 
 liament Generals gained them the good will of the 
 people; while, according to Hume, (the apologist 
 for the Stewarts,) " Prince Rupert, negligent of 
 the people, fond of the soldiers, indulged his 
 troops in unwarrantable liberties." Wilmot, "a 
 man of dissolute manners, promoted the same 
 spirit of disorder;" and " Goring carried it to a 
 pitch of enormity. Wherever he went, universal 
 spoil and havock were committed ; and the whole 
 country was laid waste by the rapine of the sol- 
 diers." 
 
 Mr. Lambert was next appointed Commissary- 
 General of the northern army. It would be te- 
 dious to pursue a military narrative in the detail ; 
 it will be sufficient to observe, that he was con- 
 cerned in most of the engagements of any note, 
 both in England and Scotland, from the battle of 
 Marston Moor, till he defeated Sir G. Booth at 
 Northwich, after the death of Cromwell. 
 
 L When 
 
 flie choir, told him it was thereabouts. He staid for further sa- 
 tisfaction; and, upon taking up a skull, they found in it the 
 bullet that had given the fatal wound. This mortifying and unex- 
 pected object, made such an impression upon the gentleman, that 
 he died shortly afterwards. History of York. 
 
74 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 When he was appointed Major General of the 
 five northern counties, and possessed, at the same 
 time, power of jurisdiction the most unlimited 
 and extensive, he is by all allowed to have used 
 that power " with great wisdom, moderation, and 
 justice."* 
 
 It appears that he aided Cromwell in his views 
 to become Protector; but when the Protector lost 
 sight of the public good, in private aggrandize- 
 ment and ambition, in wishing to assume the title 
 of King, then he opposed him with his greatest 
 vigor. He even refused to take the oath required 
 by the Assembly and Council, to be faithful to 
 the government. Cromwell, on this disappoint- 
 ment, deprived him of all his commissions, by 
 which he lost all rank and power; but, from mo- 
 tives of prudence, granted him a pension of 20001. 
 a year. On this Mr. Lambert retired to his house 
 at Wimbleton, where he amused himself as a 
 florist. 
 
 The conduct of Lambert on this occasion 
 was truly great; living in the strictest habits of 
 intimacy with Cromwell, surrounded, as it were, 
 with honors and emoluments, by his opposition, 
 he sacrificed them all. On the very same princi- 
 ples, therefore, by which he resisted the arbitrary 
 
 measures 
 
 * This is testified by Clarendon, Whitelocke, and others. 
 
 1 
 
YORKSHIRE. 75 
 
 measures of the King, did he now, to his eternal 
 honor, exert himself against the encroachments 
 of the Protector. This is, perhaps, one of the 
 greatest and most hrilliant acts of his life. In the 
 first instance he opposed the King; in the second, 
 he sacrificed a brave and heroic friend at the altar 
 of Justice. To obtain a victory, may require skill 
 and courage; but to be greatly just, marks the 
 highest point of human excellence. 
 
 In the first Parliament called by the new Pro- 
 tector, after the death of Cromwell, Mr. Lambert 
 was returned for Aldborough, by the title of John, 
 Lord Lambert; in this station he appeared an ac- 
 tive supporter of the rights of the people. His 
 opposition to the new House of Peers causing some 
 trouble,* a miscreant offered to assassinate Lam- 
 bert; but, to the honor of Richard, he refused to 
 purchase dominion with blood ! Shortly after- 
 wards, the Protector resigned an office, his talents 
 and power were unequal to. 
 
 The confused instability of the times soon oc- 
 casioned the recall of the exiled Prince Charles. 
 But this procedure was attended by mystery, in- 
 trigue, and the most abandoned dissimulation 
 in its agents, to whom Charles owed but little for 
 such service. 
 
 Monk's character appeals strangely equivocal, 
 and treacherous to both parties. He first served 
 
 L 2 the 
 
76 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 the King, and was taken prisoner at Nantwich. 
 Whitelocke says of him, " Who afterwards served 
 the Parliament, and this was his first turn." For 
 the Parliament he went to Ireland, where he be- 
 trayed his trust, and deserted to the royal party; 
 but he was shortly after taken, and committed to 
 the Tower.* He then took the covenant and ne- 
 gative oath, obtained his liberty, and was a se- 
 cond time sent to Ireland with a military com- 
 mand : but he returned home in disgrace, and 
 his conduct M r as questioned before the House of 
 Commons, who disapproved of his making peace 
 with O'Neal. " Monk was much discontented at 
 the proceeding in the business in relation to him, 
 especially at some passages reflecting upon his ho- 
 nour and fidelity, "f After this he was employed 
 in Scotland, from which place he returned, finally 
 to establish his character and his fortune, by com- 
 pleatirrg his bargain with Charles the Second. 
 
 Lambert, quick to conceive, and prompt to 
 act, two great qualities in a soldier, had defeated 
 Sir George Booth at Northwich, for which ser- 
 vice he received the thanks of the Parliament, 
 and a jewel of 10001. value. He next appeared 
 at Newcastle against Monk ; and had Lambert's 
 advice of fighting him been followed, Monk might 
 have been disappointed of receiving his wages for 
 
 bringing 
 
 * See Whitelocke, p. 89, &e. f Ibid. 
 
YORKSHIRK. 77 
 
 bringing in the King. Whitelocke, who appears 
 clearly to have read the character of Monk, re- 
 commended to Fleetwood to treat with the Prince, 
 and thereby to save their friends, and prevent 
 any convulsions in the nation. 
 
 By Monk's intrigues, Lambert was committed 
 to the Tower, from which he soon made his es- 
 cape ; but was again taken at Daventry, by In- 
 goldsby, a man who had sat as one of the Judges 
 on the trial of Charles the First, and who was now 
 a flaming Royalist.* While in confinement, he 
 was returned Member for Rippon, on the calling 
 of a new Parliament. 
 
 Mr. Lambert, not having had any concern in 
 the trial or execution of the late King, naturally 
 expected to be included in the general pardon 
 
 and 
 
 * Burnet relates the following anecdote of Lambert, which he 
 says he had of Ingoldsby. When he was taken, the people were 
 in crouds, and shouting for the success. " This reminds me (said 
 Lambert, with great good-humour) of what Cromwell once said to 
 us both near this very place, as we were going with a body of officers 
 after our troops, marching into Scotland in the year 1650, the 
 people, as now, shouting, and wishing us success. I observed 
 to Cromwell, I was glad to see we had the nation on our side. 
 Cromwell answered, Do not trust to that ; for these very people 
 would shout as much, if you and I mere going to be hanged. Lam- 
 bert said to Ingoldsby, now he looked on himself as in a fair way 
 to that, and began to think Cromwell prophesied." 
 
 History of Ms own Times, Vol. I. p. 85. 
 
78 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 and oblivion ; but, notwithstanding tliis, he was 
 tried for rebellion, and arraigned at the King's 
 Bench, " For having levied war against his Ma- 
 jesty, in several parts of the kingdom." This 
 charge would have equally applied to the greater 
 part of his subjects.* 
 
 On his trial, he neither denied the cbarge, nor 
 was he mad enough enthusiastically to insult by a 
 frantic and useless justification. The King thought 
 proper to spare his life; but unmercifully sen- 
 tenced him to endure exile and confiscation. His 
 property in this neighbourhood was purchased 
 for him by his relations. At this period he was 
 forty-three years old, and had a wife and three 
 children. 
 
 He endured his fate with a manly and philoso- 
 phical resignation for nearly thirty years, as a pri- 
 soner in the Island of Guernsey. As Mr. Lam- 
 bert appears to have been alive after the Revolu- 
 tion, what a glorious triumph he must have en- 
 joyed, 
 
 * " The bumble petition of tlie Lords and Commons assembled 
 in Parliament, sheweth, that your Majesty having declared your 
 gracious pleasure to proceed only against the immediate Murderers 
 of your Royal Father, WE, your Majesty's most humble subjects, 
 the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament, not finding Sir 
 Henry Vane, or Colonel Lambert, to be of that number, are hum- 
 ble suitors to your Majesty, if they shall be attainted, yet execu- 
 tion as to their fives may be remitted." — Hurtley's Malham, from 
 Commons Journal, Vol. VIII. p. 152. 
 
YORKSHIRE- 79 
 
 joyed, on hearing that the male branches of that 
 wretched family were driven from the Throne for 
 ever; and for those very crimes he himself had 
 opposed, and for which opposition he was then 
 unjustly suffering ! 
 
 Monk, without sincerity, became an Earl; the 
 gallant and honest Lambert, an exile; if banish- 
 ment from a vicious and corrupt court can be 
 termed so. Fortunately for him, he was possessed 
 of an elegant turn of mind. Reading*, and the 
 sciences, had occupied much of his time, and be- 
 came a great support to him while under confine- 
 ment at Castle Cornet. Joined to his taste aud 
 talents for botany, " He was looked upon as a 
 great physician by the people of Guernsey, who 
 constantly resorted to the Castle to consult him 
 on every disorder they were afflicted with ; for at 
 that time there was no physician nor surgeon on 
 the Island; and he gave a number of useful re- 
 ceipts to a gentleman residing in the country, who 
 was known to many persons now living."* Gran- 
 ger classes him among the honorary artists : " He 
 painted flowers, (says he,) which he was also 
 fond of cultivating." 
 
 His two sons died before their father. His on- 
 ly daughter, Frances, named after her grandmo- 
 ther, 
 
 * Hurtley. 
 
80 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 ther, became heir-general at her father's death, 
 in 1701. She married Sir John Middleton, Bart, 
 of Belsay Castle, in Northumberland. 
 
 From Settle I proceeded to Askrigg, a distance 
 of about twenty-four miles. For the first three 
 miles, Ribbledale presents a most rich and ro- 
 mantic appearance. The cottages are highly pic- 
 turesque, and oddly shaped. The river munnurs 
 playfully along, forming several agreeable cas- 
 cades, which both delight and amuse the mind 
 of the traveller. Between Sfainforth and Horton, 
 to the right of the road, is situated a grotesque 
 sort of amphitheatre of lime-stone rocks, called 
 Dowgill-Scar, above which is occasionally seen 
 the grim face of Pennygent.* 
 
 Bray, in his tour through Derbyshire and York- 
 shire, speaking of this vicinity, says, " On the 
 tops of the hills hereabouts, fires are lighted on 
 (I think) the first day of August, the remains of 
 
 a custom, 
 
 * The antiquarian reader need not be told how extensively the 
 topography of England has retained the language of the ancient 
 Britons, in the names of the principal and permanent features of 
 the country, such as the mountains and rivers ; and that more par- 
 ticularly iu the northern districts. Pennygent must be recognised 
 as one of those venerable survivors of the Saxon irruption. This 
 name implies literally the Head or Summit of the Downs; and its 
 original pronunciation is scarcely vitiated, as its original orthogra- 
 phy is Pen y Gvient, or, without the article, Pen G-xent. E. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 81 
 
 a custom, the origin of which is now unknown." 
 This custom, I am informed, still exists in various 
 parts of Yorkshire; but report places it nearer 
 Midsummer. This is, no doubt, a remnant of 
 Druidism : it is well known that it was a custom 
 with the Druids to light fires* on the tops of the 
 
 M hills 
 
 * The custom of kindling fires on solemn occasions, has been 
 universal over the world in all ages ; so that it is difficult to draw 
 any inference of analogy in the customs of different nations from 
 this usage. The Druids of Britain had their fires on the four great 
 festivals of seasons, but more particularly on the two solstices. 
 That on midsummer was to celebrate the luxuriant season of vege- 
 tation, in which a variety of emblematical ceremonies was used. 
 The most general names for the fire in honor of this festival, most 
 probably, were Tan Bdl, and Tan Balant; that is, the Fire of 
 Budding, or Fire of Vegetation : and this appellation is still used 
 for such fires in Ireland ; though wildly made to be the fire 
 of the Babylonian Baal by the antiquaries of that country : but 
 the term now used in Wales, is Coelceeth, or Signal of Certi- 
 tude, and which is applied to the fire on the first of November, 
 or the eve of winter; the midsummer fire being, I believe, quite 
 forgotten there, though the system, which regulated such festivals, 
 be preserved among a few votaries of ancient customs. The fes- 
 tival of the summer solstice being to hail the arrival of the sun at 
 the summit of his power, for producing the fruits of the earth, a 
 great many ceremonies, emblematical of that season, were prac- 
 tised; such as the carrying in procession branches of different trees; 
 and thus we identify it with the Skirophoria, or Bough-bearing 
 Festival among the Greeks, which they acknowledge to have bor- 
 rowed, among a variety of other rites, from the Hyperboreans. 
 Having mentioned this Grecian rite, I am induced to notice, as a 
 remarkable fact, that the same term is still preserved as a common 
 word in the Welsh tongue ; for Yscwr is a branch or bough, 
 whence the plural Yscyr, Yscyron, and Yscyrion. E. 
 
82 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 hills on the eve of a great festival, to announce 
 the same to the people. The great festival of 
 Midsummer-Day was observed by those sages, 
 and was called, by way of excellence, the great 
 Sunday, or Festival. This name it obtained over 
 the common seventh day, or day of the sun, or 
 Sunday, a period of weekly instruction to the peo- 
 ple by the Druids. The great Sunday appears to 
 have been held as a solemn festival, on which they 
 met to examine the songs of the bards, to settle 
 traditions, and withal, to inquire into the con- 
 duct of the lower order of the priests. The Win- 
 ter-Solstice formed another of their great festivals, 
 which was celebrated with mirth and revelling, 
 for joy that the sun had obtained its greatest 
 southern declension. This period went by the 
 name of Y-Hule* which festival the Christians 
 
 applied 
 
 * Writers on northern antiquities have necessarily been often be- 
 wildered in treating of this subject, from a want of documents 
 by which the varying boundaries between the Celtic and Teutonic 
 nations were to be traced out. Any new light thrown over this 
 dark region of history must be important : I should therefore wish 
 particularly to recommend the study of Welsh antiquities to the 
 notice of those who would explore the Hyperborean wilds and 
 Cimmerian shades : for the Cymry of Wales carry among them 
 indubitable evidence of various kinds, of their descent from those 
 regions. This circumstance induces me to attempt to investigate 
 the origin of the Yule as derived from the same people. There 
 is, however, some little difficulty in choosing between several apt 
 terms that are nearly of the same sound ; I shall therefore lay them 
 before the reader, for his own selection. Gwyl, or, with the 
 1 article, 
 
YORKSHIRE. 83 
 
 applied to the birth of our Saviour; and in the 
 northern language, Yule, or Ywl, still signifies 
 Christmas. Bede has recorded, that the last 
 day of the year was observed among the Heathen 
 
 M 2 Saxons 
 
 article, Yr wyl, signifies a Festival, or the holiday. Chwel, 
 implies a turn or reversion. Chwyl, pronounced like the Eng- 
 lish Wheel, and the origin or* it, is a course, a revolve, a turn, an 
 event, Hwyl, signifies, proceeding, that impels, a sail, order, 
 good health : thus Taliesin, the British bard, says — " Peunyz cylch 
 elvyz haul a hwylia." That is — Daily the circle of the elements 
 doth the sun move onward. Htjl, means a covering, a shade. 
 
 Now in accounting for the name of the Yule Feast, or the fes- 
 tival of the Winter Solstice, there is a difficulty in choosing be- 
 tween Chwyl and Hul, owing to the propriety of either term, 
 as agreeing with the explanations given by writers on ancient my- 
 thology. Rudbeck shews that the real meaning of the Yule was 
 a wheel, signifying conversion, or the return of the sun from the 
 winter solstitial point. The Welsh Chwyl, as may be seen, 
 means the same thing: and compounded with the prefixes AKand 
 gor, it forms Archwyl, and Gorchwyl; both of which im- 
 ply the principal circle, or supreme circle; that is, thenar: the 
 latter implies also labor, or employment; and Hercules, called, 
 by the Phoenicians, Ourchol, however personified by the Grecian 
 fabulists, implied the same thing; as is fully proved by the learned 
 Gebelin, in his Monde Primitif. The twelve labors of that ever- 
 rambling hero, implied the corresponding monthly avocations of 
 the year : thus the cutting off the heads of Hydra, was a most 
 expressive emblem of the Harvest season : and it is remarkable, 
 that this very word hydra, is the present appellation in Welsh for 
 Autumn, and is also the name for October. 
 
 The Welsh word Hul, a covering, or shade, corresponds most 
 happily with the various mythological emblems, which represent 
 
 the 
 
84 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Saxons with great solemnity, and they then illu- 
 minated their Louses with fires and candles, as- 
 
 an 
 
 the sun to be in the shades at the time of the Yule Feast; that is, 
 when " Balder was killed by the mistletoe thrown at him ;" or, 
 in plain language, when the sun set, and the shades of night 
 were spread over him. The mistletoe was particularly venerated 
 on the last night of the old year ; and the Christians of northern 
 Europe fondly continue their reverence for this bough. In Hol- 
 stein this emblem of night is called Marentaken, or the Branch of 
 Spectres. Keysler relates that, in Germany and Gaul, on the 
 last day of the year, the youths go about with the mistletoe, cry- 
 ing — " To the mistletoe ! The new year is at hand !" It is also a 
 curious circumstance, that the golden bough, which Eneas finds in 
 Inferis, is compared by Virgil to the mistletoe, and as actually 
 growing upon the oak. (^jieid, 1. VI. v. 40<f.) It was owing to 
 these rites that the Greeks called the north-west by the name of 
 Skiros; and there their Cimmerian Tartarus was placed. And 
 from these Skirians did the Greeks adopt a variety of religious ce- 
 remonies and emblems. The descent of Bacchus ad Inferos, was 
 one thus borrowed, and is elegantly expressed, in an ancient bas- 
 relief, by a boy, or genius, mounted on a dolphin ; the head of 
 the fish is depressed as it swims, to show that it is descending ; 
 whilst the infant Bacchus holds a small umbrella over his head, to 
 denote the object of his voyage. The fabled descent of such as 
 Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, Theseus, and Perithoiis, 
 were all allegories of the descent or departure of the sun. It is 
 also remarkable that a bard of the fourteenth century gives us the 
 same idea from the British mythology, when he makes the. sun to. 
 say— 
 
 " I ochel awel auav, 
 
 I wlad anmvvn zyivnyz av." 
 
 To avoid the winter gale, 
 
 To the region of the profound abyss I will go„ X, 
 
YORKSHIRE. 85 
 
 an emblem of the return of the sun, and the 
 lengthening of the days.* 
 
 The great symbol under which our Saxon an- 
 cestors worshipped the god Thor, was fire; but 
 whether this worship differed from that of the 
 Celtic nations and of the Persians, who under this 
 element appear to have venerated the intelligence 
 animating the sun and fire, is doubtful. Thor was 
 supposed to rule the air, regulate the seasons, excite 
 or allay tempests, and was generally considered 
 as a benign deity. He was said to be the first 
 born of the Supreme God, the first and principal 
 intelligence, proceeding from his union with mat- 
 ter, and the great mediator betwixt God and man. 
 From the description of Thor in the Edda, he ap- 
 pears to signify the sun. The Saxons and Danes 
 sacrificed horses to this divinity, as indicative of 
 the rapidity of his motion. 
 
 Horton is about six miles from Settle, and the 
 last village on the upper road to Askrigg. From 
 
 Horton 
 
 * Anciently the Sheriffs of York used to proclaim, on St. 
 Thomas's day, the Yoole Girthol;* when, after commanding the 
 peace to be kept both by night and by day, the following curious 
 form of words was used : " Also that all manner of Whores, 
 Thieves, Dice-players, and all other unthrifty folk, be welcome to 
 this town, whether they come late or early, at the reverence of 
 the high feast of Yoole, till the twelve days be passed." 
 
 History of York. 
 
 * That is, Hwyl Givrthol, or receding Course. E. 
 
85 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Horton I immediately entered on the moors, where 
 all is dreary, wild, and solitary. Having pro- 
 ceeded about a mile, I was surprised by a most 
 horrid roaring to the right, which I discovered to 
 arise from a considerable stream ingulphed by a 
 chasm, as black as the entrance into the infernal 
 regions.* It is reported, but the tale is rather 
 improbable, that a short time ago, a person was 
 let down into this gulph, by a rope, to the depth 
 of one hundred yards ; but his courage failing him, 
 he roared out lustily, and his companions drew 
 him up again. I threw several large stones into 
 this Stygian gulph, but could not hear when they 
 reached the bottom. 
 
 Scarcely had the surprise excited by the above 
 spectacle subsided, when the road again brought 
 me to the edge of a precipice, where the river Rib- 
 ble is dashed from rock to rock in wild variety, f 
 Here Silence never dwells, but horrid Uproar holds 
 his everlasting reign ! This place does not pre- 
 sent a single fall only, but a succession of them, 
 where cataract tumbles over cataract ; the power 
 of the water having forced a passage under a solid 
 mass of rock, the bulk of which is incredible, and 
 from which it issues with a hideous din, that 
 
 . deafens 
 
 * I think this place is called Hunt-Pot. 
 t Probably the place named Lingill. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 8,7 
 
 deafens the sense. In some places the water, by- 
 undermining the craggs, has precipitated huge 
 fragments into the gulph below. With such a 
 scene under the eye, alone on an open moor, the 
 heavens foreboding a storm, and not a single 
 habitation to be seen as far as the utmost stretch 
 of human ken, what language could be ade- 
 quate to describe its effects on the mind, or 
 the feelings it excited ! A considerable quantity 
 of rain having fallen, it contributed greatly to in- 
 crease the grandeur of the whole. Those who are 
 fond of the wild, will find enough here to satisfy 
 them : but it would be advisable to ene-ag-e the 
 attendance of some person from Horton, who, by 
 possessing a knowledge of the paths, might be 
 able to show them its wonders from below. My 
 being alone, prevented my descending into these 
 scenes of chaotic confusion. 
 
 The road in many places runs along the edge 
 of steep declivities, down which there is great 
 danger of being precipitated, particularly in stormy 
 weather. It is reported, that a lady and gentle- 
 man in a post-chaise venturing this way, were 
 blown over, and narrowly escaped falling to the 
 bottom. The view from the higher parts of these 
 moors is uncommonly vast and extensive, but 
 dreary and melancholy. Scarcely a tree is to be 
 seen, and all the mighty expanse consists but of 
 one tiresome sweep intersecting another* 
 
 Of 
 
88 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Of human art no traces near, 
 I seem alone with Nature here! 
 Mallet. 
 
 To the south, many miles distant, on the very 
 verge of the horizon, is seen Pendle-Hill ; to the 
 east is Penny gent ; and nearer to the west, 
 
 INGLEBOROUGH 
 
 Presents his craggy front.* The immense 
 base on which Ingleborough stands, is said to be 
 between twenty and thirty miles in circumference. 
 The ascent is in some places even and gradual ; 
 but on the north and west sides, rugged, and al- 
 most perpendicular. The summit is a horizontal 
 plain, almost a mile round, and was formerly en- 
 compassed Avith a wall : the ruins of a beacon, 
 and watch-tower, are still visible. On this plain, 
 horse races were formerly held. The top of this 
 mountain is the first land seen in the passage from 
 Dublin to Lancaster ; though it is almost thirty 
 miles from the sea. Ingleborough, from this 
 side, presents fine lines, but it is unaccompanied 
 
 by 
 
 * Inglehorough signifies the fortress of the Angles ; who pro- 
 bably constructed the fortifications, of which some remains still 
 appear on the summit of this mountain. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 89 
 
 by any other striking feature, the moors not pos- 
 sessing; a character to interest an artist.* 
 
 The rain began to descend in torrents, when I 
 had a considerable part of my day's ramble over 
 the moors to perform, and for twelve miles, I 
 courageously endured " the pelting of the pitiless 
 storm." At length, being very wet, I sat down 
 in a most forlorn and uncomfortable mood, to 
 meditate on the objects of my journey, and na- 
 turally digressed to the cause which had operated 
 to place me in such a situation. I blamed myself 
 for suffering a propensity to admire the stupendous 
 and beautiful scenery of nature, to prevail so 
 
 N strongly, 
 
 * The following is the most correct statement of the elevations of 
 Ingleborough, and some other celebrated mountains. 
 
 Wernside 
 Ingleborough 
 Pennygent 
 Pendle-Hill 
 
 5340 Feet 
 5280 ditto 
 5220 ditto 
 3411 ditto 
 
 Measured by 
 JefFerys 
 
 j Craven 
 
 Ditto 
 Ditto 
 Waddingtonj 
 
 in 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 Snowdon 
 Skiddaw 
 Helvellyn 
 Cross-Fell 
 
 Ben-lomond 
 Benewewish 
 Ben-y-bourd 
 
 3568 Feet 
 
 3270 ditto 
 
 3324 ditto 
 
 3390 ditto 
 
 3240 Feet 
 
 4350 ditto 
 still higher. 
 
 Pennant. 
 Donald 
 Ditto 
 Ditto 
 
 Pennant 
 Ditto 
 
 \ 
 
 Wales. 
 
 Cumber- 
 land. 
 
 From the above measurements, it appears that the mountains of 
 Yorkshire are the highest in South Britain. 
 
90 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 strongly, as to induce me to wander so many miles 
 from a comfortable home, and began to condemn 
 it as mere idle curiosity. Influenced by melan- 
 choly, I had painted the evils of life with such 
 strong and deadly coloring, that the mind had 
 become terrified by the gigantic images it had 
 conjured up ; nor could it rest satisfied, till they 
 were reduced to their proper size and color. Un- 
 der these impressions, I thought of Park, and of 
 his Travels in Africa ; without even a road to di- 
 rect him, uncertain but that death might await 
 his approach to the first human habitation, wan- 
 dering through forests almost impervious to the 
 rays of the sun, where his footsteps might lead to 
 the abode of some deadly reptile, or his safety be 
 endangered by wild beasts ; and withal doubtful, 
 from what source he might derive his next meal. 
 These reflections banished all anxiety for my own 
 situation ; I smiled at my former weakness, and 
 Avalked cheerfully on, in the full assurance, that 
 all the evils of life are, in a great measure, ren- 
 dered so by our own feelings. 
 
 The rain still came down in torrents, the moors 
 looked black and dismal ; and Ingleborough, 
 whenever I looked back, presented its grim front; 
 but I had armed myself by reflection, and the 
 storm passed unheeded. 
 
 In my descent to Askrigg, I passed a lake, 
 
 called Semer-mere; this is about three miles in 
 
 i compass ; 
 
YORKSHIRE. 31 
 
 compass ; but it wants wood to give it interest : 
 as it is but a short distance from the above town, 
 a walk round its banks might amuse. A small 
 stream, called the Bain, runs out of this lake, 
 and passing a pleasant village, called Bainbridge, 
 unites with the river Ure. Here was formerly a 
 Roman station, called Bracchium. At the junc- 
 tion of the two streams, the fortifications are vi- 
 sible upon a hill, called the Burgh, occupying 
 about five acres of ground. The sixth cohort of 
 the Nervii was stationed at this place. Several 
 inscriptions have been discovered here, which are 
 recorded in Gibson's Camden, and Horsley's Bri- 
 tannia. The country from Settle has a regular 
 ascent to the top of Cain Mountain, a distance of 
 at least eighteen miles; from the summit of this 
 eminence the road descends into JVcnsley-Dale ; 
 at about six miles is 
 
 ASKRIGG.* 
 
 I put up at the King's Arms Inn in this town, 
 very wet and tired, and received the kindest at- 
 tention from the landlord, and his two amiable 
 
 N 2 daughters. 
 
 * There is another road from Horton to this place, called the 
 Lower road, which is the most ustial way, though four miles fur- 
 ther. But the traveller that is not confined to time, I would ad- 
 vise, instead of taking the lower road, to follow my route, for 
 
 two 
 
92 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 daughters. " Hail ! ye small sweet courtesies of 
 life, for smooth do ye make the road of it !" 
 
 Askrigg is a considerable market-town, on the 
 banks of the river Ure. The inhabitants are 
 chiefly employed in knitting stockings, and 
 making of butter and cheese. About half a mile 
 
 from Askrigg is a water-fall, called 
 
 Mill- 
 
 two or three miles over the moors from Horton, to see the parti- 
 cular places I have mentioned above, (which I imagine to be 
 called Hunt-pot and Lingill ;) and returning to Horton, extend 
 his journey round to Iugleton, to see the curiosities in its neigh- 
 bourhood ; and thence proceed to Askrigg. Some of them I 
 will briefly mention from a work before me, called, " A Tour to 
 the Caves." Leaving Ingleton, take the road to Askrigg and 
 Richmond : at about one mile, turn off for Ingleton-feils, or 
 Chapel in the Dale. At about three miles from Iugleton, the 
 head of the river Greta " gushes out in several fountains at once," 
 on the left-hand side of the road, and only a few yards from it. 
 " Hurtlepot, about eighty yards above the Chapel," is a hole be- 
 tween thirty and forty yards in diameter, and between thirty and 
 forty feet perpendicular : at the bottom " is a deep black-water." 
 About 150 yards up a narrow and grotesque glen, "isa curious 
 natural bridge of lime-stone, over the river Greta." Near the 
 above, at the head of the same glen, is Ginglepot. Weathercoat 
 Cave is near Ginglepot ; it is said to be " the most surprising na- 
 tural curiosity of the kind in the Island of Great Britain." It " is a 
 stupendous subterranean cataract in a huge cave, the top of which 
 is on the same level with the adjoining lands." The height of the 
 rocks in the cave is thirty-six yards : near eleven from the top is- 
 sues a torrent of water, which " falls twenty-five yards at a single 
 stroke on the rocks at the bottom, with a noise that amazes the 
 most intrepid ear." From Ingleton to Askrigg is a good turnpike 
 load. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 93 
 
 Mill-gill Force, which makes one grand 
 vertical fall of about twenty or thirty yards, and 
 then rushes with impetuosity clown the rocky bed 
 of the ravine. This place will afford several in- 
 teresting studies for the pencil. One mile farther 
 is Whitfield's Force, a spectacle highly grati- 
 fying to the lover of romantic scenery. Hard- 
 row Force,* about five miles up the dale from 
 this town, is said to be a grand feature, that 
 would afford great entertainment to the pictu- 
 resque tourist, f 
 
 From Askrigg the road ascending, commands 
 a fine view of a well-wooded country, in a deep 
 vale, with the river Ure meandering through its 
 
 rich 
 
 * Hardrow Force is a cascade of very striking character ; the 
 water falling in one vast sheet, from a ledge of rocks ninety-nine 
 feet in perpendicular height. The ravine, or chasm, which ex- 
 tends below the fall, is bounded on each side, by huge masses of 
 rock, and is about 300 yards in length. Behind the fall is a deep 
 recess, or cavern, whence a good view of it may be obtained with 
 safety. During the hard frost in the year 1740-41, a prodigious 
 icicle is recorded to have been formed here, of the whole height 
 of the fall, and nearly equal in circumference. E. 
 
 f Should a guide be wanting to these scenes, the landlord of 
 the King's Arms will be found an intelligent man, and one who is 
 ready to give every assistance and information to travellers, 
 
94 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 rich meadows, and flowing near the town. At a 
 short distance from Askrigg, is 
 
 NAPPA HALL, 
 
 An - ancient house, formerly the seat of the 
 Medcalfs, who, in Camden's time, were consi- 
 dered as forming the most numerous family " in 
 all England. I have heard (says that author) that 
 Sir Christopher Medcalf, the first of this family, 
 was attended by 300 persons of the same family, 
 and in the same livery, on horseback, when, as 
 Sheriff of the county, he met the Judges, and 
 conducted them to York." The Medcalfs were 
 originally from Flintshire, in North Wales. 
 
 Proceeding from Askrigg on the Richmond 
 road, at about three miles, I struck across a com- 
 mon to the right, and, still inclining forward by 
 an imperfect path, at the end of about a mile, I 
 arrived at 
 
 ASGARTH FORCE. 
 
 Here are several Falls, both above and below 
 the bridge, the whole range occupying an extent 
 of nearly half a mile. This should be particularly 
 remembered, otherwise a stranger might miss the 
 Force, where the whole body of the river, 
 
 collected 
 
YORKSHIRE. 95 
 
 • collected 
 
 Iu one impetuous torrent, down the steep 
 Loud thundering shoots, and shakes the country round. 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 If I may be allowed the expression, I should 
 characterise these as horizontal falls. Above the 
 bridge, the river Ure slides over various ledges of 
 rocks, forming a scene highly delightful. The 
 river here flows through a hollow, inclosed by 
 bold hills, richly decorated with wood, and form- 
 ing a fine back-ground to the tumultuous cas- 
 cades. The bridge is composed of one noble arch, 
 of considerable span, through which the water is 
 seen pouring down over various sloping rocks, 
 presenting a view highly picturesque. An acci- 
 dental cloud threw the fore-ground and bridge 
 into shadow, giving great breadth to the effect ; 
 and a luminous and sparkling appearance to the 
 water, seen foaming under the arch, most magi- 
 cally fine. The venerable mantle of ivy, and the 
 beautiful shrubs and trees which adorned this 
 bridge in Grose's time, have disappeared ; the 
 bridge having undergone a thorough repair; and 
 near it is built a Cotton factory, which greatly 
 detracts from the beauty and solitude of the 
 place. The falls increase in height as they 
 descend the river; the lowest, or Force, as it is 
 called from pre-eminence, being about twelve or 
 fifteen feet high. From the bridge I ascended a 
 
 winding 
 
96 YORSKHIRE. 
 
 winding path on the opposite side to the cotton 
 factory, which, at the end of about half a mile, 
 brought me again into the Richmond road, at 
 the village of Carperby. From this spot, at the dis- 
 tance of two miles, are seen the towers of Bolton. 
 
 BOLTON CASTLE 
 
 Appears, from its ample remains, to have 
 been a place of considerable strength. The plan 
 of this Castle is quadrangular, with a square 
 tower at each angle, and a small one in the cen- 
 tre of the north and south sides ; its greatest 
 length is from east to west. In the centre is 
 an open court, which gives light and air to the 
 internal apartments. The grand entrance was 
 from the east end, and near the southern tower : 
 there were, besides, three other entrances ; one 
 on the north, and two on the west side. Grose 
 says, the walls are seven feet thick, and ninety- 
 six in height. It was lighted by several stages of 
 windows. The tower on the south-M^est angle, 
 where the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, 
 was confined in 1568, is now occupied by a far- 
 mer : another part is also held by a tenant of the 
 same description.* During 
 
 * Perhaps this building was never applied to better purposes 
 than the present: I can only consider such places as dens, from 
 which savages of power sallied forth to prey upon the weak and 
 
 defenceless. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 97 
 
 During the Civil Wars, this Castle was gallant- 
 ly defended by Colonel Scroope, and a party of 
 the Richmondshire militia, for the King; but was 
 surrendered upon honorable terms, November 
 5th, 1645. From neglect, and the damage it 
 received during the siege in the Civil Wars, the 
 tower on the north-east angle became so much 
 injured, that it fell to the ground on the evening 
 of the 19th of November, 1761 : its noise alarmed 
 the contiguous inhabitants; but luckily the ruins 
 
 O did 
 
 defenceless. Behold the dismantled state of this proud bulwark '. 
 perhaps transmitted by its founder to his heirs forever! Here is a 
 lesson for towering ambition ! At this school let Pride humble it- 
 self! What is become of Nero's silver gallery in the Capitol? or 
 the pendant gardens of Semiramis, which are said to have cost no 
 less than twenty millions of gold? Where now is the glittering 
 hall of Atabalipa, King of Peru ? or the gardens of Cyrus, which 
 were fenced round with gold ? Or where shall we seek for Caesar's 
 fountains, ornamented with Dryads, of the same precious metal ? 
 All these things, with their founders, have vanished, leaving no- 
 thing but the mere names, as it were, in mockery of human gran- 
 deur ! Thus passes away the glory of man, like a cloud driven 
 before the wind. Every age brings forth great events; yet, when 
 they are past, the impression is but as a dream. The world itself 
 is, indeed, no better. Even I, while thus employed, am warned, 
 by an internal monitor, that the hand which now writes shatl 
 shortly perish ; and let not this be considered as something which 
 relates to another only, for a small portion of time will sink the 
 reader into the same awful state. After seeing all these changes, 
 wherefore should we repine for the trifles we may have lost, or 
 covet what others may enjoy? Rather let us be satisfied with 
 what fortune may have bestowed upon us, and thus pass away 
 eur fleeting moments in a divine tranquillity. 
 
98 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 did no other damage than blocking up the doors 
 of some of the cottages. 
 
 o v 
 
 Bolton Castle was built by Richard, Lord 
 Scrope, High Chancellor to Richard the Second, 
 whose family had resided in this county from the 
 time of King John. Leland says, " it was mak- 
 yng 18yeres; and the charges of the building 
 cam by yere to 1000 marks." So that, according 
 to this account, the whole amount of the expense 
 was 12,0001. He farther mentions the remark- 
 able contrivance of the chimnies in the great hall, 
 and a curious astronomical clock. " One thinge 
 I muche notyd in the haull of Bolton, how 
 chimeneys was conveyed by tunnills made in the 
 syds of the waulls, betwixt the lights in the haull : 
 and by this meanes, and by no covers, is the 
 smoke of the harthe in the haull wonder-strangely 
 convayed. There is a fair clock at Bolton cum 
 motu solis 8$ lutue, and other conclusions." 
 
 In the Chapel of this Castle a chantry was 
 founded by the abovementioned Richard, Lord 
 Scrope, for six Priests, to celebrate divine service 
 for Richard the Second, and his heirs: one of 
 them to be Warden. Emanuel, Lord Scrope, 
 afterwards created Earl of Sunderland, was the 
 last of that family who resided here: he died in 
 the reign of Charles the First. This Castle came 
 into the Bolton family by the marriage of an 
 i - ancestor 
 
YORKSHIRE. 99 
 
 ancestor with a natural daughter of Emanuel 
 Scrope, Earl of Sunderland. 
 
 Bolton is remarkable as the birth-place of 
 Henry Jenkins, that astonishing and singular 
 instance of longevity. He was born in the year 
 1500, and died at Allerton upon Swale, December 
 8th, 1670, aged 169 years; being just sixteen 
 years older than the famous Old Parr. He was 
 brought up to the business of a fisherman, an 
 employment which he followed 140 years. When 
 he was advanced to the vast age of 160, he used 
 to bind sheaves of corn for the farmers: and 
 what is the most astonishing, he retained his 
 sight and hearing till the last. He is said to 
 have been, at one period of his life, a butler to 
 the Lord Conyers. When summoned on a trial 
 at York, two or three other men, who attended 
 at the same time, said that he was an old man 
 when they were boys, though they themselves 
 were upwards of 100 years old. Being born be- 
 fore parish registers were kept, one of the Judges 
 asked Jenkins, what remarkable battle, or other 
 event, happened within his memory? to which he 
 answered, that when the battle of Flodden was 
 fought, he Avas turned of twelve years of age. 
 He said he was sent to take care of the horses 
 belonging to Bolton, which carried the bows and 
 arrows to the Earl of Surrey's army at North-Al- 
 lerton: that they were sent on horseback, on ac- 
 
 O 2 count 
 
100 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 count of its being harvest time. That shortly 
 after his return home, he heard that the Scots 
 had been defeated, and their King slain. Being 
 farther questioned if he remembered the Abbies, 
 he said that he Mas about forty years of age 
 when the Earl of Shrewsbury received the order 
 to dissolve those in Yorkshire; that he saw the 
 Monks turned out of several convents, and that 
 the country was all in an uproar. It is curious 
 to consider what a number of events are crowded 
 into the period of this man's life. He was born 
 when the Catholic religion was established by 
 law; and he saw the Papal supremacy thrown off; 
 the Monasteries dissolved ; Popery again in fashion ; 
 and the Protestant religion finally established. 
 Three Queens were beheaded* in his time; and a 
 King of Spain resided here in the quality of King 
 of England. In his time the Invincible navy of 
 Spain was destroyed by the English; and the Re- 
 public of Holland formed. A King of Scotland 
 was crowned at Westminster, and his son and 
 successor beheaded before his own palace; the 
 Royal family proscribed as traitors, and again 
 settled on the throne : and finally, the great fire 
 of London, f in 1666, was not among the least of 
 
 those 
 
 * Anne Bolleyn, Catherine Howard, and Mary, Queen of Scots. 
 
 t There is a clever etching of Jenkins by Worlidge, after a pic- 
 ture by Walker. I have seen several pictures by this artist, of 
 persons of note during the Commonwealth, as Cromwell, Lam- 
 bert, Waller, and others. 
 
YORKSHIRE. lOl 
 
 those remarkable events which had occurred with- 
 in his life- time. 
 
 The road which is seen from Bolton Castle, 
 winding up the hill to the left, on looking down 
 the dale, leads to Richmond; an indifferent one 
 to the right, conducts to Wensley and Middle- 
 ham ; which latter Castle is seen from Bolton, at 
 the distance of about seven miles. 
 
 I rambled with delight down the beautiful 
 Wenslev-Dale, which is unquestionably among 
 the richest in Great Britain; it abounds with 
 wood, and has a fine river meandering through its 
 fertile pastures : the air is salubrious, and health- 
 ful ; nor can a further blessing be asked, which 
 could increase the comforts of life, afforded by 
 this enchanting spot. The traveller should by 
 no means miss a delightful walk through Bolton 
 Park, the scenery of which is uncommonly plea- 
 sant; particularly from the openings in the woods, 
 which occasionally afford fine views both up and 
 down the Dale. To this end, he must leave the 
 road at about one mile from Bolton Castle, and 
 striking into a footway, he will shortly find him- 
 self in the midst of the woods. Following the in- 
 tricacies of the walks, he will arrive at 
 
 BOLTON 
 
SOS YORKSHIRE. 
 
 BOLTON HALL, 
 
 Which is situated under a fine grove of trees. 
 The house does not possess any attractive proper- 
 ties, it being plain and heavy. This estate came 
 with the Castle, by the marriage of a daughter of 
 Emanuel, Lord Scrope, as above mentioned. The 
 hall was built by Charles, Marquis of Winchester, 
 created Duke of Bolton by William the Third. 
 He was a man of a singular humour: sometimes 
 he would not speak for weeks together; at other 
 times he would not open his mouth till such an 
 hour of the day, when he thought the air was 
 pure. One of his whims was to hunt by torch- 
 light, which he actually put in practice. With 
 all his oddities, he possessed consummate policy, 
 and managed himself with great art through the 
 troublesome times of Charles the Second, James, 
 and William. 
 
 At Wensley I again met the road, and crossed 
 the bridge over the Ure into the road to Middle- 
 ham. Following the course of the stream by a 
 footway, on looking back over the country I had 
 passed, Bolton Castle appeared raising its majes- 
 tic towers to the clouds : under it was seen the 
 dark woods of Bolton Park; the little Church of 
 Wensley;. and on the fore-ground, sweeping in 
 
 playful 
 
YORKSHIRE. 103 
 
 playful mazes, was the river Ure, whose broken 
 and variegated banks, highly enriched with trees, 
 gave a finish to the scene highly captivating. 
 
 MIDDLEHAM 
 
 Is a small town, and was principally supported 
 by its market; but that having failed within the 
 last eight or nine years, the place is going fast to 
 decay. This evil is owing to the want of a bridge 
 over the river Ure, to enable the country people 
 to have an easy and certain communication with 
 the town. It would be prudent in those who 
 have any property in this neighbourhood, to de- 
 vise some means for the accomplishment of such 
 a work, to prevent its decreasing in value: a re- 
 muneration might be obtained by a toll. Nor 
 might it be unworthy of the patriotic spirit of the 
 gentlemen of the vicinity, to assist in such an 
 undertaking, to save the place from total ruin. 
 The passage is at present by a ford ; but, after 
 rain, the only way to cross, is by going down the 
 river as far as Cover-bridge, or by proceeding up 
 as high as Wensley. 
 
 Richard, Duke of Glocester, had license of his 
 brother, Edward the Fourth, to found a College 
 here, which he appears never to have finished. 
 " The minister of the parish hath yet the title of 
 
 Dean 
 
104 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Dean of Middlehara, and enjoys several privileges* 
 but there probably never were any Chaplains, 
 Clerks, or Choristers. The deanery was valued, 
 twenty-sixth of Henry the Eighth, at 161. 16s. Od. 
 in the whole; and 1 61. 9s. 4d. clearly."* 
 
 An open square, forming a large market-place, 
 is the principal part of the town : it is situated on 
 the side of a hill, above which appears its most 
 striking feature, the gigantic fragments of its 
 once magnificent Castle. These ruins remain a 
 striking proof of the instability of human gran- 
 deur. The founder of this structure might ex- 
 pect, from its strength, that it would have been 
 able to resist the effects of even time itself: but 
 how futile are human hopes and wishes ! Where 
 Princes have sat down in the pride of their hearts, 
 is now the abode of filthy swine ! Let those who 
 are proud of their own works, look on the bulk 
 of these walls, and be dumb! It scowls over the 
 country like a grim and hoary tyrant ; but, thanks 
 be to God! shorn of its mischievous powers! 
 
 The form of this building, which is tolerably 
 entire, consists of an envelope, or out-work, for- 
 tified with four towers, inclosing a body, or keep. 
 This out-work forms a right-angled parallelogram 
 of 210 feet, by 175.| Its greatest length is from 
 
 north 
 
 * Tanner. -f Grose. 
 

 #, 
 
 
 
YORKSHIRE. 105 
 
 north to south ; each of its sides facing one of the 
 cardinal points. All the towers are square, with 
 the exception of the one at the south-west angle, 
 which is round. The keep has been uncommonly 
 strong ; I measured the party-wall, of one of the 
 chambers, which was fourteen feet in thickness. 
 The lower chambers have been vaulted, two 
 vaults having supported the state apartment, 
 which, like them, runs the whole length of the 
 keep ; another vault appears to have had many 
 rooms over it, perhaps ante-chambers, or sitting 
 rooms. Within the area inclosed by the outer 
 Avails, appear many divisions, probably for guard- 
 chambers, stabling, &c. A small fragment, of a 
 lighter character, attached to the south side, 
 marks the spot where the Chapel stood. The 
 keep is considerably higher than the envelope, 
 though similar in shape ; it has small turrets at 
 each angle, with two large towers ; one on the 
 south ; and the other, which is considerably the 
 largest, uniting with the turret at the south-east 
 angle. The principal entrance was beneath a 
 massy tower, on the north-east angle of the out- 
 work, which was defended by double gates, and 
 a portcullis. Hence the way led under the south 
 wall of the keep, to a high flight of steps, con- 
 ducting to a door-way, still visible, and leading 
 to the upper or state chamber. 
 
 P Neither 
 
106 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Neither the ravage of time, nor the avarice of 
 man, has been sufficient wholly to destroy these 
 walls. The foundations having in many places 
 been carried away, the towers above impend fear- 
 fully over the head of the observer, and literally 
 hang in air. Where the broken stairs remain, the 
 boys frequently ascend, and frolic on the top of 
 the mouldering ruins ; a pastime attended by 
 many hair-breadth escapes. 
 
 Oft the pale matron from the threat'ning wall, 
 Suspicious, bids her heedless children fly : 
 
 Oft as he views the meditated fall, 
 
 Full swiftly steps the frighted peasant by. 
 
 Some remains of the Castle-ditch are still visible 
 on the south side, in what is now used as a horse- 
 pond. 
 
 This Castle was built about the year 1 190, by 
 Robert, surnamed Fitz-Ranulph. In the reign of 
 Henry the Third, Ralph, or Randolph, the se- 
 cond of that name, dying without issue male, 
 this Honour and Castle came to Robert de Nevil, 
 in right of Mary his wife, the eldest daughter of 
 the above Ralph. It continued in the family of 
 the Nevils till the reign of Henry the Sixth, when 
 the male line failing in Ralph de Nevil, Earl of 
 Westmoreland, it devolved to his uncle Sir John. 
 The Castle at that time was in the hands of the 
 King ; but Sir John having always sided with the 
 
 House 
 
YORKSHIRE. 107 
 
 House of Lancaster, was appointed Constable. 
 After the battle of Barnet, Edward the Fourth 
 seized it from John, Marquis of Montague. 
 " The inner part of the Castle was builded or 
 ever it came to the Neviles hands. All the utter 
 part was of the very new setting of the Lord Ne- 
 vill, called Derabi, (De Rabi;) the inner part 
 was of au antient building of the Fitz-Randolph."* 
 From that period to the present, this Castle is 
 scarcely mentioned in history. The Constable 
 is appointed by the Crown. 
 
 Edward the Fourth having been surprised, and 
 taken prisoner, in his camp at Wolvey, by the 
 Earl of Warwick, was confined here under the 
 care of the Earl's brother, the Archbishop of 
 York : but he escaped either from design, or 
 through the carelessness of his keeper. If the 
 Prelate assisted the King, he made an ill return 
 for the service, Avhen, a few years afterwards, 
 under pretence of visiting him at his seat at the 
 More, or Mote, in Hertfordshire, he seized all 
 the plate which the Archbishop had got there of 
 his own, or had borrowed, to enable him to en- 
 tertain the King with more magnificence. What 
 was worse, he kept the Archbishop in prison for 
 four years at Calais, where being used ill, it 
 caused his death shortly after his release from 
 
 P 2 confinement. 
 
 * Leland. 
 
108 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 confinement. The above person was the celebrated 
 George Nevil, Archbishop of York, and Chan- 
 cellor of England, Avhose installation-feast ex- 
 ceeded all others in splendor and expense, and 
 also in the number and quality of the guests.* 
 
 After 
 
 * The reader may form some idea of this Feast by the following 
 BILL OF FARE. 
 
 ". In wheat, quarters 300; in ale, tuns 300; in wine, tuns 100; 
 in ipocrasse, pipe 1 ; in oxen, 104; in wild bulls, 6; in muttons, 
 1000; in veals, 304; in porkes, 304; in swanns, 400; in geese, 
 2000; in cappons, 1000; in pigs, 2000; in plovers, 400; in 
 quailes, 1200; in fowls called rees, 2400; in peacocks, 104; in 
 mallards and teals, 4000; in cranes, 204; in kidds, 204; in 
 chickens, 2000; in pidgeons, 2000; in connies, 4000 ; in bittons, 
 204; in heronshaws, 400; in pheasants, 200; in partridges, 500; 
 in woodcocks, 400; in curliews, 100; in egrits, 1000; in staggs, 
 bucks, and roes, 500, and more. In pasties of venison, cold, 
 4000; in parted dishes of jellies, 1000; in plain dishes of jellies, 
 3000; in cold tarts baked, 4000; in cold custards baked, 3000; 
 in hot pasties of venison, 1500; in hot custards, 2000; in pikes 
 and breams, 308; in porpoises and seals, 12; spices, sugared 
 delicates, and wafers, plenty." 
 
 No turkies are mentioned in this enormous list of provisions, 
 because they were then not known in England. Cranes, herons- 
 haws, porpoises, and seals, are seldom seen at modern entertain- 
 ments. 
 
 However extraordinary such an entertainment may appear in 
 our days, all surprise will cease, when we consider the immense 
 extent of estates at that period, as well as the low price of provi- 
 sions in those times. When Hugh Spencer was banished from the 
 
 realm. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 109 
 
 After the seizure of the Castle of Middleham 
 from the Nevils, by Edward the Fourth, it was 
 inhabited by his brother, Richard, Duke of Glo- 
 
 cester, 
 
 realm, in the fourteenth of Edward the Second, the following in- 
 quisition of his property was taken. " In sundry shires he pos- 
 sessed 59 manors; 28,000 sheep; 1000 oxen and steers; 1200 
 kine, with their calves; 40 mares, with their colts ; 1 60 drawing 
 horses; 2000 hogs; 300 bullocks; 40 tuns of wine; 600 bacons; 
 80 carkases of Michaelmass beef; 600 muttons in larder; 10 tuns 
 of cyder ; 36 sacks of wool ; a library of books ; and his armor, 
 plate, jewels, and ready money, better than 10,0001." 
 
 In the seventh year of the above reign, the prices of provisions 
 were as follow : " A fat stalled oxe, 24s. a fat mutton, 20d. a 
 fat goose, 2|d. a fat capon, 2d. a fat hen, Id. two chickens, Id. 
 three pigeons, Id. 24 eggs, Id." The wine, in the seventh of 
 Edward the Third, was at London, " Gascoign, 4d. and Rhenish, 
 6d. the gallon." 
 
 The household establishments of the ancient Barons were equal 
 to their vast estates. In the thirty-sixth of Henry the Sixth, the 
 nobility being summoned to a Parliament at London, the Earl of 
 Salisbury came attended by "500 men on horseback, and was 
 lodged in the Herber. Richard, Duke of York, with 400 men, 
 lodged at Baynard's Castle. The Dukes of Exeter and Somerset, 
 with 800 men. The Earl of Northumberland, the Lord Egre- 
 mont, and the Lord Clifford, with 1500 men. Richard Nevill, 
 Earl of Warwick, with 600 men ; all in red jackets, embroidered 
 with ragged staves, both before and behind, and were lodged in 
 Warwick-Lane : in whose house six oxen were often eaten at a 
 breakfast." Even so late as the time of Henry the Eighth, not to 
 mention the splendid establishment of Wolsey, Archbishop of 
 York, " West, Bishop of Ely, kept continually in his house 100- 
 servants; and the Earl of Derby, 220." Stoiv's London, 
 
110 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 cester, whose only son, Edward, was born and 
 died here prematurely. 
 
 There is an ascent to the top of the great tower 
 of the keep, at the south-east angle, by a flight 
 of broken steps. From the summit of this tower 
 is one of the most extensive and beautiful scenes 
 in nature. The whole of Wensley-Dale is com- 
 prehended in the prospect, combining rich woods, 
 with finely scattered villages, and elegant seats. 
 The river Ure is also seen winding through spa- 
 cious meads in the eastern part of the Dale; while 
 the great plain of Mowbray, (including the coun- 
 try round Bedale, North-Allerton, and Thirsk,) 
 with the more distant hills about Cleveland, bor- 
 dering on the Eastern Sea, are comprehended in 
 the view. 
 
 From Middleton to Masham the country is 
 pleasant, but not particularly interesting ; from 
 Masham a road, diversified with the most charm- 
 ing scenery, conducts to 
 
 RICHMOND. 
 
 The Castle, which forms the principal feature 
 
 at Richmond, is most delightfully situated on the 
 
 banks of the Swale, and near the town; few places 
 
 being more picturesque. Over the bridge, Avhich 
 
 1 forms 
 
YORKSHIRE. Ill 
 
 forms the fore-ground, rise majestically the bold 
 and rocky banks of the river, agreeably diversified 
 with verdure, which being crowned by the massy 
 battlements of the Castle, form a fine coup d'osil. 
 This Castle and town was built by Alan, Earl of 
 Bretagne, nephew to William the Norman, by whom 
 he was created Earl of Richmond, and had be- 
 stowed on him the district called Richmondshire. 
 Grose gives the words of the charter as follows: 
 
 to* 
 
 " I, William, surnamed the Bastard, King of 
 England, do give and grant unto thee, my ne- 
 phew, Alan, Earl of Bretagne, and to thy heirs 
 for ever, all the villages and lands which of late 
 belonged to Earl Edwin in Yorkshire, with the 
 knights fees, and other liberties and customs, as 
 freely and honourably as the said Earl Edwin held 
 them. 
 
 " Dated from our siege before York." 
 
 -o v 
 
 Madox, in his History of the Exchequer, ob- 
 serves, " Here were 140 knights fees, each fee 
 containing twelve plow-lands, or 640 acres." The 
 great square tower of Richmond Castle is ninety- 
 nine feet high, and was built by Conan in the 
 twelfth century. It is three stories high, with a 
 massy column in the centre, which supported the 
 floors.* Charles the Second conferred this Duke- 
 dom 
 
 * Gougk's Camden. 
 
112 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 dom on his natural son, Charles Lenox, in whose 
 family it continues. The scenery in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Richmond will highly engage the 
 picturesque tourist. One mile down the Swale is 
 
 ST. AGATHA's MONASTERY. 
 
 From its situation at the village of Eastby, it 
 is often called Eastby Abbey. Its contiguity to 
 the river, renders it more interesting to the lover 
 of drawing, though the remains of the building 
 are not great. St. Agatha's was founded by Roal~ 
 dus, Constable of Richmond Castle, for Prsc- 
 monstratensian Canons, and dedicated to the Saint 
 whose name it bears. Among the benefactors to 
 this house, were Roger de Mowbray, and Alan 
 Bigod, whose grants were confirmed by Edward 
 the Third. Henry Lord Scrope had the patronage 
 of this Monastery in the tenth year of the above 
 reign, in which he was succeeded by his son Wil- 
 liam, who, for want of issue, devised the same 
 to his brother Richard, who built Bolton Castle, 
 and who was High Chancellor to Richard the 
 Second. This conscientious and virtuous man 
 lost his office for refusing to affix the great seal 
 to a considerable and improper grant made by 
 that King, during his minority, to one of his fa- 
 vorites; the Chancellor urging the King's youth 
 and inexperience as a reason for his refusal. Rich- 
 ard, 
 
YORKSHIRE. 113 
 
 ard, provoked by this conduct, sent for the seal, 
 which the Chancellor refused to give up, as hold- 
 ing it of the Parliament, and not of the King. 
 This further incensed Richard, who went in per- 
 son, and required his obedience : whereupon he 
 delivered up the seal ; at the same time observing, 
 that though, as a loyal subject, he would bear the 
 King true allegiance, he would no longer serve 
 in any public post. He afterwards retired to pri- 
 vacy, and spent the remainder of his days, and 
 much of his fortune, in acts of charity and devo- 
 tion. Among his other deeds, he added ten canons 
 to the usual number of this Monastery; also two 
 secular ones; and twenty-two poor men, to cele- 
 brate divine service for King Richard and his heirs : 
 for their support he gave them the manor of Bramp- 
 ton. He died the fourth of Henry the Fourth, 
 and was interred here; as was also his son Stephen. 
 This Monastery, at the Dissolution, was valued 
 at llll. 17s. lid. per annum, according to Dug- 
 dale; but Speed rates it at 1881. 16s. 2d. Tanner 
 observes, herein were seventeen monks. The site 
 was granted, the fourth of Philip and Mary, to 
 Ralph Gower: and the fourteenth of Elizabeth, 
 to John Stanhope. The remains of 
 
 JOREVAL OR JERVIS ABBEY, 
 
 Between Middleham and Masham, are almost too 
 trifling to attract notice. Scarcely a vestige is 
 
 Q left 
 
114 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 left to convey an idea of its former greatness, 
 avarice having nearly removed the whole fabric, 
 to make fences, and to mend the roads. Even 
 the mansions of the dead have been violated, and 
 the stone coffins converted into troughs for swine. 
 It has been observed, that " a person in the neigh- 
 bourhood remembers to have seen the higliAvays 
 strewed with fragments of inscriptions." Thus it 
 is, the venerable materials of the most consum- 
 mate art, are sacrificed to the convenience of a 
 tasteless spoiler. Such conduct is highly repre- 
 hensible ; for, independently of the want of feel- 
 ing it betrays, what a wretch must that be, who 
 can wantonly destroy, perhaps, the only memo- 
 rial of departed excellence ! What power can re- 
 recover a name, however dear it may have been 
 to society, when it is once swallowed up in the 
 great gulph of oblivion? Small fragments of the 
 ruins are scattered over a vast extent of ground, 
 but they are too indistinct to characterize the parts 
 of the building to which they belonged. Old 
 Time has filched away the slighter glories of this 
 place; and his offspring Avarice, has plundered 
 it of the more substantial part. 
 
 Adam Sudbury, the last Abbot on this foun- 
 dation, with one Astheed, a monk of this house, 
 were hanged.* They had been concerned in the 
 
 great 
 
 * Speed. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 115 
 
 great rebellion, called the Pilgrimage of Grace, 
 and had received the King's pardon; but having 
 again incited the people to arms, they were taken, 
 and executed. The History of York states, that 
 with the above were hanged at Tyburn, the Ab- 
 bots of Fountains and Rivaulx, and the Prior of 
 Burlington. 
 
 *&' 
 
 " The Abbot and Cistercian Monks, who la- 
 bored under great inconveniencies at Fors, were, 
 A. D. 1156, removed by the consent of Herveus, 
 son of Akarias, their original founder, to a plea- 
 sant valley upon the side of the river Jore, (now 
 called Ure,) which was given them by Conan, 
 Duke of Brittany, and Earl of Richmond. Here 
 they built a fine Church, and all offices, which 
 flourished till the Suppression, when their yearly 
 revenues were rated at 2341. 18s. 5d. according 
 to Dugdale ; and at 4551. 1 Os. 5d. by Speed. It 
 was, as most other monasteries of this order, de- 
 dicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The site was 
 granted, in the thirty-sixth of Henry the Eighth, 
 to Matthew, Earl of Lenox."* 
 
 MASHAM 
 
 Has a handsome Church with a fine spire. The 
 manor of the rectory was numbered among the 
 
 Q 2 richest 
 
 * Tanner. 
 
116 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 richest in the kingdom, it being valued, in the year 
 1534, at 1361. a year. It was formerly the en- 
 dowment of a Prebend in York Cathedral, but is 
 now a lay fee. The market-place is open; but 
 the houses are low, and mean ; and the place ap- 
 pears as if destitute of inhabitants. 
 
 Three miles from Masham brought me to 
 
 HACK-FALL. 
 
 This sequestered and romantic spot is the pro- 
 perty of Mrs. Allanson. A small stream, running 
 through a deep and woody glen, has been ob- 
 structed in various places by upright pieces of 
 stone, and thus forms several artificial cascades. 
 Some close walks, winding by the stream, con- 
 duct to the Great Fall, which differs greatly from 
 those mountain cataracts so lately described; it 
 is divided into two parts, and rather steals, than 
 dashes, down rocks richly clad with moss; and 
 wholly divested of that wildness of character be- 
 fore observed, yet it possesses a mildness and 
 beauty peculiar to itself. The foliage about the 
 fall is extremely fine, and may be studied with 
 convenience from a covered seat opposite. Here 
 are several places recommended to the notice of 
 travellers, as Fisher 's-Hall, Mowbray Castle, the 
 Grotto, and others. From Mowbray Point, an 
 
 elevated 
 
"yMi-SQ/.v, 
 
rORKSHIRE. ]I7 
 
 elevated station, is a most extensive view of the 
 surrounding country. It embraces the whole 
 range of Hambleton Hills, the town of Thirsk, 
 York-Minster, the Yorkshire Wolds, Gilling, the 
 
 seat of Fairfax, Esq. and Crake Castle: 
 
 Rosebury-Toppin is also comprehended in the view, 
 though at the distance of forty-five miles. The 
 walks are pleasant, and the grounds well-wooded; 
 but, on the whole, they betray too much of art. 
 Instead of the water sliding over upright stones, 
 a few large masses of rocks, thrown promiscuous- 
 ly in, would produce an effect not only more na- 
 tural, but at the same time more agreeable. 
 About seven miles of pleasant country conducted 
 to 
 
 RIPPON. 
 
 This ancient town is situated on a gentle ac- 
 clivity, between the river Ure on the north, and 
 the little river Skell on the south, and within a 
 small distance of their confluence. It is a large 
 and respectable borough-town, and the inhabi- 
 tants are gay and sociable. The market-place is 
 uncommonly open and spacious, and in beauty 
 would vie with the best in Britain. In the centre 
 is a noble obelisk, ninety feet high, which adds 
 a great elegance to the appearance of the place. 
 It was erected at the sole expense of William Ais- 
 labie, Esq. On it is the following inscription : 
 
118 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 MDCCLXXXI. 
 
 Erected at the Expense of William Aislabie, 
 
 Esq E . 
 Who represented this Borough in Parliament 
 
 Sixty Years. 
 
 This Inscription was ordered by the Mayor, 
 
 Aldermen, and Assistants, 
 
 Of the Corporation, 
 
 MDCCLXXXV. 
 
 The Honourable Frederic Robinson, 
 
 Mayor. 
 
 The origin of Rippon is anterior to the coming 
 of the Danes, who, after ravaging the most fer- 
 tile provinces of the north, and destroying the 
 kingdoms of Northumberland and Mercia, in the 
 reigns of Ethelbert and Ethelred, pillaged, and 
 afterwards burnt this town, in the year 860. 
 According to the account given by William of 
 Malmsbury, it remained sometime in ashes; and 
 the traces of the streets could only be discovered 
 by the ruins. The town was scarcely recovered 
 from this state of devastation, when it received 
 another shock, if possible, more terrible. The 
 Northumbrian Danes had submitted to Edred, 
 King of Wessex, whose General, Edmund, had 
 often subdued them ; but they taking an advan- 
 tage of his youth, revolted. Unexpectedly, Edred 
 appeared in the heart of their country, when they 
 came before him, and made abject professions of 
 peace. This satisfied the youthful Monarch, who, 
 
 1 after 
 
YORKSHIRE. 11$ 
 
 after imposing upon them a small fine, returned 
 into Wessex. Restless and base, they broke out 
 into open hostilities shortly after the King had 
 departed. Their revolt was at first attended 
 by success ; but discord spreading among the 
 Chiefs, Edred was too wise to let slip so fair an 
 opportunity of revenge. Accordingly, he again 
 appeared with an army in the north, where he 
 met with but little opposition, the Danes being 
 eagerly intent on destroying each other. The 
 King threatened to lay waste the whole country, 
 and immediately (anno 950) commenced his 
 desolating plan : among others, he destroyed 
 the town of Rippon, making one general con- 
 flagration of all the buildings, both public and 
 private. The town again rose from its ashes, like 
 a phoenix, by the exertions of the surviving inha- 
 bitants, and the encouragement of Odo, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. That marauding savage, 
 William the Norman, in IO69, laid the whole 
 country waste from York to Durham: devastation 
 so completely attended his footsteps, that all tra- 
 ces of the divisions of property were confounded, 
 and Rippon suffered with the rest. 
 
 In the reign of that weak Prince, Edward the 
 Second, (anno 1316,) the Scots levied on the in- 
 habitants of this town 1000 marks. The next 
 year, being disappointed of the same supply, they 
 completely destroyed the place by fire, and 
 
 butchered 
 
YORKSHIRE. 117 
 
 elevated station, is a most extensive view of the 
 surrounding country. It embraces the whole 
 range of Hambleton Hills, the town of Thirsk, 
 York-Minster, the Yorkshire Wolds, Gilling, the 
 
 seat of Fairfax, Esq. and Crake Castle: 
 
 Rosebury-Toppin is also comprehended in the view, 
 though at the distance of forty-five miles. The 
 walks are pleasant, and the grounds well-wooded ; 
 hut, on the whole, they betray too much of art. 
 Instead of the water sliding over upright stones, 
 a few large masses of rocks, thrown promiscuous- 
 ly in, would produce an effect not only more na- 
 tural, but at the same time more agreeable. 
 About seven miles of pleasant country conducted 
 to 
 
 RIPPON. 
 
 This ancient town is situated on a gentle ac- 
 clivity, between the river Ure on the north, and 
 the little river Skell on the south, and within a 
 small distance of their confluence. It is a large 
 and respectable borough-town, and the inhabi- 
 tants are gay and sociable. The market-place is 
 uncommonly open and spacious, and in beauty 
 would vie with the best in Britain. In the centre 
 is a noble obelisk, ninety feet high, which adds 
 a great elegance to the appearance of the place. 
 It was erected at the sole expense of William Ais- 
 labie, Esq. On it is the following inscription : 
 
118 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 MDCCLXXXI. 
 
 Erected at the Expense of William Aislabie, 
 
 Esq 6 . 
 Who represented this Borough in Parliament 
 
 Sixty Years. 
 
 This Inscription was ordered by the Mayor, 
 
 Aldermen, and Assistants, 
 
 Of the Corporation, 
 
 MDCCLXXXV. 
 
 The Honourable Frederic Robinson, 
 
 Mayor. 
 
 The origin of Rippon is anterior to the coming 
 of the Danes, who, after ravaging the most fer- 
 tile provinces of the north, and destroying the 
 kingdoms of Northumberland and Mercia, in the 
 reigns of Ethelbert and Ethelred, pillaged, and 
 afterwards burnt this town, in the year 860. 
 According to the account given by William of 
 Malmsbury, it remained some time in ashes; and 
 the traces of the streets could only be discovered 
 by the ruins. The town was scarcely recovered 
 from this state of devastation, when it received 
 another shock, if possible, more terrible. The 
 Northumbrian Danes had submitted to Edred, 
 King of Wessex, whose General, Edmund, had 
 often subdued them ; but they taking an advan- 
 tage of his youth, revolted. Unexpectedly, Edred 
 appeared in the heart of their country, when they 
 came before him, and made abject professions of 
 peace. This satisfied the youthful Monarch, M'ho, 
 
 1 after 
 
YORKSHIRE. 1I& 
 
 after imposing upon them a small fine, returned 
 into Wessex. Restless and base, they broke out 
 into open hostilities shortly after the King had 
 departed. Their revolt was at first attended 
 by success ; but discord spreading among the 
 Chiefs, Edred was too wise to let slip so fair an 
 opportunity of revenge. Accordingly, he again 
 appeared with an army in the north, where he 
 met with but little opposition, the Danes being 
 eagerly intent on destroying each other. The 
 King threatened to lay waste the whole country, 
 and immediately (anno 950) commenced his 
 desolating plan : among others, he destroyed 
 the town of Rippon, making one general con- 
 flagration of all the buildings, both public and 
 private. The town again rose from its ashes, like 
 a phoenix, by the exertions of the surviving inha- 
 bitants, and the encouragement of Odo, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. That marauding savage, 
 William the Norman, in 1069, laid the whole 
 country waste from York to Durham : devastation 
 so completely attended his footsteps, that all tra- 
 ces of the divisions of property were confounded, 
 and Rippon suffered with the rest. 
 
 In the reign of that weak Prince, Edward 'the 
 Second, (anno 1316,) the Scots levied on the in- 
 habitants of this town 1000 marks. The next 
 year, being disappointed of the same supply, they 
 completely destroyed the place by fire, and 
 
 butchered 
 
120 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 butchered the greatest part of the inhabitants. 
 Shortly after, Rippon appears to have been in a 
 flourishing condition; as Henry the Fourth chose 
 it for his retreat during the prevalence of the 
 plague in London. 
 
 Here, in September, 1640, the Scotch and 
 English Commissioners met, for the purpose of 
 settling the dispute between the two nations : or 
 rather, as it should appear, to negotiate the 
 Scotch army out of England. Rippon was taken 
 possession of for the Parliament; but their troops 
 were soon afterwards driven out by Sir John Mal- 
 lory, at the head of a party of horse from Skipton 
 Castle. That event closed the catalogue of woes 
 which the inhabitants of this town had suffered. 
 
 No great degree of trade is carried on at Rippon, 
 the people living chiefly within themselves : it was 
 formerly remarkable for manufacturing spurs, the 
 excellence of which had grown into a proverb. 
 The woollen cloth trade must have flourished here 
 formerly; for Leland notices, "on the farther 
 ripe of the Skell, a grete nombre of tainters for 
 woolen cloaths wont to be made in the towne of 
 Ripon:" He further remarks, " that cloath making 
 there, was then almost decayed." Here is a Free 
 Grammar-School, founded by Edward the Sixth, 
 and also a Public Dispensary. 
 
 Rippon 
 
YORKSHIRE. 121 
 
 Rippon received its first charter of incorpora- 
 tion from King Alfred, anno 886. It was for- 
 merly governed by a Vigilarius, or Wakeman, 
 and Elders. It was the duty of the Wakeman to 
 cause a horn to be blown every night at nine 
 o'clock ; after which, if any house or shop was 
 robbed before the rising of the sun the next morn- 
 ing, the loss was to be made good to the sufferers 
 from the receipt of an annual tax of four-pence 
 levied on every house with one door, and eight- 
 pence on such as had two outward doors. The 
 custom of blowing the horn continues, though 
 the tax has ceased, as well as the good effects 
 arising from it. In June, 1604, James the First 
 granted a new charter of incorporation to this 
 town, vesting its government in a Mayor, Re- 
 corder, twelve Aldermen, twenty-four Common 
 Councilmen, and a Town-Clerk: but its pre- 
 sent charter had its existence under James the 
 Second. 
 
 At the east end of the town, and not far from 
 the Minster, is a remarkable tumulus, called Azli's 
 Hill, or Alla's Hill : its shape is conical, the cir- 
 cumference at the base being 900 feet, and the 
 height of the slope about 222 feet : tradition 
 ascribes the raising of it to the Danes. From its 
 base to the apex, it is said to be composed wholly 
 of sand, gravel, and human bones. Thoresby as- 
 
 R serts, 
 
122 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 serts, that it takes its name from Alia, a Nor- 
 thumbrian King, slain in the year 867.* 
 
 At Rippon was a Monastery, built by Wil- 
 fred, Archbishop of York, who presuming on 
 his great wealth and power, behaved with such 
 insolence towards Egfrid, King of Northum- 
 berland, as induced that Monarch to deprive the 
 Bishop of his See; and despising the power of the 
 Pope, to whom the Prelate had appealed, the 
 King put him into prison for daring to apply to a 
 foreign power against his Sovereign. On the 
 death of Egfrid, his successor, Alkfrid, restored 
 him to the See of York ; but the same insolence 
 caused his banishment a second time. He then 
 fled to Ethelred, King of Mercia, who bestowed 
 on him the Bishopric of Leicester; but his con- 
 duct continued so flagitious, that he was shortly 
 degraded. Full of worldly pomp and pride, his 
 attendants were numerous, his plate was of gold, 
 and his furniture rich and sumptuous. His zeal 
 for the Church of Rome procured him the rank 
 of a Saint. Eata, 
 
 * This must be an error, as the Northumbrian Monarchy ter- 
 minated about the year 824, when it became subject to Egbert, 
 King of Wessex, and first sole Monarch of England. Neither 
 does it appear that there ever was a King of that country, named 
 Alia ; there was an Ella, who was slain by the Danes at York. 
 This Ella and Osbright were set up as Kings by the rebellious 
 Northumbrians, who met with their deaths at York, about the 
 year 867, from the Danes. 
 
^ 
 
 J 
 
 
YORKSHIRE. 123 
 
 Eata, an Abbot of Melros, had previously 
 erected a Monastery on the same spot, where, 
 according to several ancient legends, Saint Cuth- 
 bert had received and entertained an angel. Wil- 
 fred's Monastery must have been an elegant work ; 
 Malmsbury says, it was celebrated for its curious 
 arches, fine pavement, and winding entries : when 
 it was dissolved is not certainly known. 
 
 The great object which attracts the attention 
 of the traveller in this town, is the Church, dedi- 
 cated to St. Wilfrid, and called 
 
 Rippon Minster. 
 
 This is a noble Gothic pile, tolerably entire ; 
 the west front presents a rich specimen of that 
 style of architecture. The inside is spacious; but, 
 from the want of its original groined roof, much 
 of the beauty is lost; it having been considerably 
 higher than at present. The screen, M'hich sepa- 
 rates the choir from the body of the Church, will 
 be viewed by the lovers of the Gothic, as an ele- 
 gant example of its kind : it is nearly twenty feet 
 high, and profusely enriched. With the excep- 
 tion of the bust of William Weddell, Esq. of 
 Newby, there is not one tolerable piece of sculp- 
 ture in the Church. 
 
 R 2 This 
 
1£4 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 This building would become an interesting ob- 
 ject to the lover of the picturesque, but unfortu- 
 nately, the situation of the town being on a flat, 
 it almost precludes the possibility of a general 
 view. The west front will engage the attention 
 of those who prefer architectural studies. The 
 south-west angle, over the river Skell, will afford 
 a good view, with the omission of some unsightly 
 stone walls. The Minster is built in the form of 
 a cross, its greatest length being from east to 
 west. At the west end are two uniform square 
 towers, 110 feet high, which had formerly on 
 them spires of timber, covered with lead; but 
 these were removed in the year 1797, by order of 
 the Chapter, and the materials sold. The Great, 
 or Saint Wilfred's Tower, which is over the nave, 
 is 110 feet high ; it had on it formerly a noble 
 spire, of larger dimensions than the other two : it 
 was blown down in the year 1660, to the great 
 injury of the roof of the Church. 
 
 Rippon Minster was erected by the exertions of 
 Melton, Archbishop of York, and the contribu- 
 tions of many persons of distinction, after the de- 
 struction of the town by the Scots, in the reign 
 of Edward the Second. The ecclesiastical govern- 
 ment of this Church was dissolved in the thirty- 
 sixth of Henry the Eighth, and the greatest part 
 of the revenues applied to temporal purposes. 
 The manor of Rippon, with nine others, was de- 
 livered. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 125 
 
 livered, by the Archbishop of York, to the King, 
 by Indenture: and on the same day (February 6) 
 of the following year, this surrender was confirm- 
 ed at York, by the Dean and Chapter of Rippon. 
 
 The following valuation of the seven Prebends 
 of the Church of St. Wilfred, ten years previous 
 to its dissolution, is extracted from Tanner. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Thorp 20 
 
 Stanwyge ------- 40 
 
 Skelton and Yevenhale - - - 15 10 & 
 
 Monketon 24 12 8 
 
 Sharrow -------- 145 2 
 
 Stodley 26 11 4 
 
 Anwyke 221 00 
 
 And six Vicars, each worth - 6 
 The Revenues of the Community 
 
 were valued at----- 35 38 
 
 And the Fabrick Lands at - - 12 12 7 
 
 The above account was taken " out of a trans- 
 cript from the first fruits office, before the rool 
 was lost." The Church has continued under a 
 Dean and Chapter, consisting of a Sub-dean and 
 six Prebends, from its restoration by James the 
 First. The King is the patron of the deanery. 
 
 About two miles from Rippon is 
 
 STUDLEY 
 
126 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 STUDLEY PARK. 
 
 This noble demesne is the property of Mrs. 
 Allanson. It would require a volume to describe 
 all the beauties of this most enchanting place. 
 Had the writers of the Talmud been acquainted 
 with Studley, they must have placed their para- 
 dise here. This is the seat of contemplation. 
 
 Welcome! ye shades, ye bowery thickets ; hail! 
 Ye lofty pines, ye venerable oaks ! 
 Ye ashes, wild, resounding o'er the steep ! 
 Delicious is your shelter to the soul. 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 Here the traveller might wander with delight; 
 but, impelled forward by the attraction of new 
 beauties, . he will proceed through grounds fine- 
 ly diversified, and enriched with the most elegant 
 groups of trees. On entering the Park, take 
 the footway to the left, which, at the end of 
 about half a mile, will terminate at the gates of 
 the Pleasure-grounds; in which the mind will 
 be completely absorbed by the fascinating power 
 of its hallowed perfections. Proceeding by the 
 side of the lake, and turning near a mass of rocks, 
 the eye is immediately struck with the appearance 
 of the majestic tower of 
 
 FOUNTAINS 
 
YORKSHIRE. 127 
 
 FOUNTAINS ABBEY. 
 
 To feel, is to be alive • be only can be said tru- 
 ly to live, who is capable of enjoying the beauties 
 of creation. Here the admirer of nature will 
 receive a high treat, from elegant formed woods, 
 sinking into deep glens; decorative buildings in 
 •various appropriate situations; a fine canal of wa- 
 ter, to add a grace ; and withal, one of the most 
 grand and highly picturesque ruins in the king- 
 dom. It rises in solemn majesty above the sur- 
 rounding scenery with the stately port of a giant. 
 For myself, I appeared to tread on enchanted 
 ground, the mind being kept on the stretch, by 
 a display of new beauties, which ever way I 
 glanced my eye. 
 
 Retire to a respectful distance, ye dull and 
 phlegmatic worldings; this spot is sacred to the 
 arts, prophane it not with unhallowed feet. He 
 who is not an enthusiast towards such scenes as 
 these, may be said to be dead to the finest feelings 
 bestowed on man by a bountiful Creator. Let 
 such frigid mortals as can view this place M'ith 
 apathy, seek for languid pleasures in the artificial 
 amusements of a theatre; or, turning their eye 
 from the great orb of day, retire to prattle in the 
 illuminated and crouded walks of a public garden. 
 
 I Hence, 
 
128 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Hence, avaunt, ('tis holy ground !) 
 
 Comus, and his midnight crew; 
 
 And Ignorance, with looks profound ; 
 
 And dreaming Sloth, of pallid hue ; 
 
 Mad Sedition's cry profane; 
 
 And Servitude, that hugs her chain; 
 
 Nor in these consecrated bow'rs 
 
 Let painted Flatt'ry hide her serpent-train in flowVs : 
 
 Nor Envy base, nor creeping Gain, 
 
 Dare the Muse's walk to stain ; 
 
 While bright-eyed Science watches round : 
 
 Hence, away, 'tis holy ground ! 
 
 Gray. 
 
 Here is ample scope for the moralist; let him 
 hehold here the perishable labors of man. But 
 thou, Almighty Creator of the universe, thy 
 works flourish for ever ! Opposite the high altar, 
 see that sacred repository of the dead. That 
 stone coffin once contained the body of the re- 
 doubted Lord Richard de Percy, who held a prin- 
 cipal charge under Edward the First during his 
 wars in Scotland. Alas ! where now is that tongue 
 that was wont to command? and that hand which 
 was irresistible? Of his ashes not one atom remains 
 to speak of his former greatness. Who hath not 
 seen beauty perish, and renown sink in the midst 
 of his triumphs ? 
 
 We also shall be forgot. This lofty house shall fall. Our 
 sons shall not behold the ruins in grass. They shall ask the aged, 
 ' Where stood the walls of our fathers.' OssiAN. 
 
 The 
 
YORKSHIRE. 129 
 
 The remains of the choir of the Church convey 
 a high idea of its former splendor. The ascent 
 to the altar displays a rich piece of mosaic, formed 
 into diamonds, squares, and other fanciful figures. 
 The morning being uncommonly clear and fine, 
 the north side of the choir presented a fine broad 
 sheet of light, which was happily contrasted by 
 the powerful dark under the arches behind the 
 high altar: the light part being agreeably broken 
 by the clustered columns attached to the wall, 
 and by its rich mantling of ivy, produced altogether 
 a most happy and elegant effect. Nor was the 
 effect of the coloring less attractive : the sky being 
 a deep blue, (only broken with a few fleecy clouds,) 
 served as a fine foil to the greens of the trees, and 
 the flowing herbage which decorated the walls ; 
 while the chaste cool tint of the stones gave a fine 
 harmony to the whole.* 
 
 S The 
 
 * From what cause it might arise, I know not ; but I frequent- 
 ly had occasion to remark, that the coloring of Nature in this part 
 of the country, was unusually bright and vigorous : not only in the 
 vegetation, but also in the cattle ; and the air appeared of a fine 
 clear and deep azure. I first observed this effect in the neighbour- 
 hood of Skipton. Should the beauty of the scenery at Fountains 
 Abbey prompt the student to sketch, the retirement of the place will 
 afford him an opportunity of coloring from nature. The whole ef- 
 fect of the light and shade may be acquired by the aid of Indian 
 ink, indigo, (or Prussian blue,) and Indian red : after which, the 
 tints may be obtained from burnt Terra de Sienna, or Roman 
 ochre, (according to their brilliancy,) combined with more or less 
 
 of 
 
130 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 The west end of the Church is tolerably entire, 
 and is composed of widely pointed arches, and 
 massy Norman columns. The remains of the Ab- 
 bey and Abbey-Church are spread over a vast tract 
 of land: the chapter-house, the refectory, the 
 dormitory, with about one hundred yards of the 
 cloisters, (perfectly weather proof,) are tolerably 
 entire. 
 
 Fountains Abbey, as before observed, is in the 
 pleasure grounds of Studley Park; and in these 
 grounds also is the Banquet ing-House, an elegant 
 room, where companies that bring their viands, 
 are permitted to take refreshments. Every thing 
 is conducted on the most liberal plan, which re- 
 flects the highest honor on the amiable proprietor. 
 
 The 
 
 of the Indigo for the vegetation. The two latter colors will give 
 the tones of the building, provided the parts which require to be 
 kept down, are previously lowered with Indian ink, just warmed 
 with a small quantity of Indian red. After the above process, all 
 that will be requisite, is, to warm and retouch the strong parts of 
 the shadows on the fore-ground, with some Cologne earth, or 
 Van-Dyke brown; playing with it, for harmony' sake, a little 
 among the light parts. These materials are enough in the hand 
 of a master to do any tiling with, from the slightest sketch to 
 the most finished drawing. The interior of the Abbey affords se- 
 veral fine views; and two or three noble external ones may also 
 be found : but it will be nearly impossible to embrace all the ex- 
 cellencies of this terrestrial paradise at a single visit; it would fur- 
 nish ample amusement for a week, particularly to the lover of 
 drawing. 1 
 
YORKSHIRE. 131 
 
 The grounds are kept in the most perfect order: 
 but. here, as at Hack- Fall, the hand of art is too 
 strongly displayed, and the waterfalls, or cas- 
 cades, want the air of nature. 
 
 " Fountains, or De Fontibas. Thirteen Bene- 
 dictine Monks of St. Mary's, near York, left, 
 A. D. 1132, their house, with a design to observe 
 a more strict and reformed rule : whereupon Thur- 
 stan, Archbishop of York, gave them a place 
 then called Skeldale, not far from Rippon, there- 
 upon to found an Abbey of the Cistercian order, 
 to the honor of the Blessed Virgin; which was 
 soon after accomplished, and endowed with great 
 revenues ; said to be worth at the Dissolution, 
 9981. 6s. 8d. Dugdale; 11731. Os. 7d. Speed. 
 The site was granted, the thirty-second of Henry 
 the Eighth, to Sir Richard Gresham."* Burton 
 estimates the income at 1 1 25l. 18s. Ifd. There 
 were lands belonging to this Abbey in 240 dif- 
 ferent lordships. Grose says, King Henry sold it 
 for about the sum of 1 ] 631. to Sir Richard, who 
 disposed of it to Sir Stephen Proctor, whose 
 daughter and heiress conveyed it by marriage to 
 John Messenger, Esq. of one of whose descendants 
 it was purchased by the late W. Aislabie, Esq. 
 who annexed it to his pleasure-grounds. 
 
 S 2 Many 
 
 * Tanner. 
 
132 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Many of our Kings were benefactors to this 
 Abbey : Henry the First granted that the monks 
 of Fountains, their horses, men, and effects, should 
 be exempt from the payment of tolls, for passage 
 and pontage, and be duty free, wheresover they 
 went, by land or by water, and especially to and 
 from Boroughbridge. The Percys were among 
 its greatest benefactors ; and being considered as 
 patrons, were applied to in cases of necessity. 
 In the reign of Henry the Eighth, the monks com- 
 plained against their Abbot, to Henry Percy, sixth 
 Earl of Northumberland, whose letter on the 
 subject to Thomas Arundel, Esq. is preserved in 
 Grose's account of this Abbey. Within a short 
 time after the monks had made their complaint, 
 Layton, one of the visitors sent by King Henry, 
 wrote the following letter to Lord Cromwell, 
 which exactly agrees with the monks' charge, as 
 set forth in the Earl's letter above alluded to, and 
 to obtain which visitation, the monks of this Ab- 
 bey paid a fine of one hundred marks. 
 
 " Please your worship to understand, that the 
 Abbot of Fountaines hath so greatly dilapidated 
 his house, wasted y e woods, notoriously keeping 
 six whores ; and six days before our coming, he 
 committed theft and sacrilege, confessing the 
 same ; for at midnight he caused his chapleyn to 
 stele the keys of the sexton, and took out a jewel, 
 a cross of gold with stones : one Warren, a gold- 
 
 smyth 
 
YORKSHIRE. 133 
 
 Smyth of the Chepe, was with him in his cham- 
 bre at the hour, and there they stole out a great 
 emerode, with a rubye : the sayde Warren made 
 the Abbot believe the rubye was a garnet, and so 
 for that he paid nothing; for the emerode but 
 201. He sold him also plate without weight or 
 ounces. Subscribed your poor priest and faithful 
 servant, 
 
 R. Layton." 
 
 From Richmont (in con. Ebor.) 
 The 9,0th of January. 
 
 The Abbot at this period, according to Willis, 
 was William Thurst; Burton calls him Thirske, ad- 
 mitted B. D. at Oxford, anno 1523; created Ab- 
 bot 1526"; and hanged at Tyburn, January 1537. 
 Some idea of the wealth of this Abbey may be 
 formed from the following list of stores found at 
 the Dissolution. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Plate in the Church 519 15 5 
 
 Ditto, in custody of my Lord Abbot 147 13 7f 
 
 Ditto in the Buttery 30 8 7 
 
 Ditto Frater 3 3 4 
 
 Ditto at Brimbem 7 4 10 
 
 708 5 of 
 Horned 
 
134 
 
 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 
 Horned Cattle 
 
 9,356 
 
 Sheep 
 
 1326* 
 
 Horses 
 
 86 
 
 Swine 
 
 79 
 
 Corn in the Domains , 
 
 Wheat 
 
 1 1 7 quarters 
 
 Rye 
 
 12 ditto 
 
 Oats 
 
 134 ditto 
 
 Hay 
 
 392 loads 
 
 Corn in the Granaries : 
 
 Wheat 
 
 18 quarters 
 
 Rye 
 
 18 ditto 
 
 Barley malt 
 
 90 ditto 
 
 Oats 
 
 2 ditto* 
 
 
 Fountains 
 
 * As this Abbey is altogether the most perfect of any remaining 
 in Yorkshire, it may be gratifying to the curious, to know the di- 
 mensions of the several parts; they are thus given in the History 
 of Rippon. 
 
 " Tlie Sanctum Sanctorum is immediately behind the chequered 
 altar, and to this uone but the heads of the order were admitted; 
 its length is 132 feet, and its breadth thirty-six. 
 
 " In a Chapel to the left is a stone figure of the Earl of Mow- 
 bray, in full armour; arms on his shield. 
 
 "The Transept is 186 feet wide; (long:) at the top of the north 
 comer window is the figure of an angel holding a scroll, with the 
 date 12S3. " The 
 
YORKSHIRE. 135 
 
 Fountains Hall stands about two hundred 
 yards west from the Abbey, and was built out of 
 
 its 
 
 " The nave sixty-five feet wide ; (long ;) the whole length of the 
 edifice, from east to west, is 351 feet. 
 
 "The cloister-garden 120 feet square; is now planted with 
 shrubs and evergreens. 
 
 " The Chapter-House is eighty-four feet by forty-two : the floor 
 has been a tessellated pavement, fragments of which still remain. 
 Several of the Abbots were buried here ; on two of their tomb- 
 stones these inscriptions are legible : 
 
 " Hie requiescit dominus Joannes X 
 
 Abbas de Fontibus qui obiit, VIII die, 
 
 Decembris. 
 
 " Hie requiescit dominus Johannes XII, 
 Abbas de Fontibus. 
 
 " The Scriptorium was over the Chapter-House, and of the same 
 dimensions ; it appears to have been supported by ten pillars of 
 grey marble, their bases still remain. 
 
 " The Kitchen, which is divided, is small when compared with 
 the other apartments. 
 
 " The Refectory is 108 feet by forty-five. 
 
 " The Cloisters are 300 feet long; the roof is supported by 
 twenty-one stone pillars. Near one end is a large stone bason, 
 six feet in diameter. 
 
 " The Dormitory is over the cloisters, and of the same dimen- 
 sions. " A few 
 
135 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 its ruins. Here is nothing deserving of particular 
 notice, except, perhaps, some curious stained glass 
 in the windows of the Chapel, representing the 
 arms of various families. 
 
 STUDLEY HALL 
 
 Is situated in an elevated part of the park, and 
 is sheltered by a fine mass of luxuriant timber : 
 
 the 
 
 " A few yards distant are the ruins of the apartments occupied 
 by the Abbots. 
 
 " The whole of the building, when complete, is said to have 
 covered ten acres of ground. 
 
 On the sides of the great tower are the following inscriptions, in . 
 the old Saxon character : 
 
 East Side, 
 " Soli Deo Jhu. Xto. honor et glia. in scla. sclor. 
 
 West Side, 
 " Agno dei Jhu. Xto. honor et glia. in scla. sclor. 
 
 North Side, 
 
 " Et virtus et fortitudo Deo nostro in secula 
 
 seculorum. Amen. 
 " Soli Deo honor et glia. secula seculorum. 
 
 South Side, 
 
 " Soli Deo honor et glia. in secula seculorum. 
 Amen. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 137 
 
 the views from it are open ; and, among a variety 
 of interesting objects, the town of Rippon appears 
 to great advantage. The edifice has not any 
 thing attractive in its appearance; it being a futile 
 attempt at the Gothic, and totally destitute of 
 either beauty or grandeur. The stables, which 
 are near the house, I should judge not to be the 
 work of the same architect, as they carry with 
 them a classical air. The Pleasure-grounds have 
 too much of art in their appearance; and the wa- 
 ter-falls are abominably unnatural. In the Ban- 
 quetting-house is a vile bronze of the Venus de Me- 
 dicis, cast after some bad copy : these, with the 
 want of taste in the architecture of Studley Hall, 
 form the only exceptionable parts of this delight- 
 ful place. 
 
 While at Rippon, visit Newby Hall ; the re- 
 sidence of the Weddells. This is about four miles 
 from the town, on the road to Boroughbridge. 
 Fame reports that a fine collection of statues, 
 busts, basso-relievos, and other works of art, well 
 worthy of being seen, are preserved in this man- 
 sion.* From Rippon to Thirsk, the country is 
 
 T flat, 
 
 * Newby Hall, the seat of Thomas Philip Weddell Robin- 
 son, Lord Grantham, is situated on the eastern bank of the river 
 Aire. A few good family portraits decorate the interior, but its 
 principal ornament is the beautiful Museum, or Gallery of Statues, 
 which contains a series of the most valuable antique marbles, that 
 
 taste 
 
138 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 flat, and not very engaging, at about six miles is 
 Newby or Topcliffe Park, a handsome seat 
 of Lord Grantham : the house lies at a short dis- 
 tance from the road. Cross the bridge over the ri- 
 ver Swale, and by a gentle ascent enter the plea- 
 sant village of Topcliffe. Three miles further 
 brings the traveller to the town of 
 
 THIRSK. 
 
 Here was formerly a strong Castle, where Ro- 
 ger Mowbray set up the standard of revolt against 
 Henry the Second, who had imprudently divided 
 his power by causing his son to be crowned King. 
 That unnatural rebellion of the son against the 
 father, was extinguished with much blood, and 
 this Castle was destroyed at the same time ; so 
 that when Camden wrote, only the "earth-Avorks" 
 remained. In the reign of Henry the Seventh, an 
 insurrection broke out here, in consequence of 
 an obnoxious tax. This was a subsidy granted 
 by the Parliament to the King, to enable him to 
 carry on the war in Brittany against the French. 
 The Earl of Northumberland had signified at an 
 
 assembly, 
 
 taste could select, or money procure. Among the most eminent 
 are tbe Nereid Galatea; a colossal head of Hercules; the Philo- 
 sopher Epicurus; a Dacian King ; a most beautiful Venus; Bru- 
 tus, the assassin of Caesar; the Empress Faustina, wife of Anto- 
 ninus Pius; the Goddess Pallas; and a dancing Faum. E. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 139 
 
 assembly, that the King would not remit any part 
 of the tax, though the northern people had be- 
 sought it; when they, taking the Earl to be the 
 cause of the answer, fell upon and slew him, to- 
 gether with several of his servants, at the instiga- 
 tion of one John a Chamber. They then placed 
 themselves under a leader, Sir John Egremond ; 
 who, on being defeated by the Earl of Surry, fled 
 into Burgundy. John a Chamber, and some others, 
 were taken, and executed at York. The Roman 
 road from the station at Aldby, on the river Der- 
 went, passed through Easingwold, and this town, 
 to North-Allerton. 
 
 A few miles ramble brought me to the village 
 of Sutton : here the road passes up an immense 
 hill, called Sutton-Bank; the ascent is so re- 
 markably steep, that the road is made to take a 
 considerable SAveep, to avoid its extreme quick- 
 ness. To the left of this road is Gormire, a cu- 
 rious pool of water, as round as a bason, situated 
 on a small conical hill, which has all the appear- 
 ance of the crater of a volcano. 
 
 The traveller will be delighted with the prospect 
 as he ascends the Bank, it being uncommonly ex- 
 tensive and open: the whole country lies like a 
 map unfolded to the sight : the innumerable in- 
 cisures mark a rich land, thriving under the 
 hand of the cultivator. Proceeding onward, the 
 
 T 2 scene 
 
* 
 140 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 scene is changed as by the power of magic ; for 
 having gained the summit of the hill, the gloomy 
 and barren black moors of Hambleton present to 
 the eye a picture of famine. Here from one spot 
 will be viewed a country remarkable for its rich- 
 ness and fertility, (embracing an extent of at 
 least fifty miles,) contrasted by a scene as remark- 
 able for its sterility. When on the top of this 
 Bank, the traveller must take the right-hand 
 road: at a distance he will notice a solitary house, 
 called Hambleton House, which must be kept 
 about a quarter of a mile to the left. As the 
 tracks over these moors sometimes become intri- 
 cate, the stranger must look forward for the ter- 
 race above Rieval, or Rivaulx Abbey ; which, from 
 having temples at each end, becomes a conspicuous 
 object at a considerable distance. On leaving these 
 moors, which may be truly called black-moors, 
 the road declines into a rich wooded valley, 
 highly romantic and sequestered ; it passes within 
 sight of the above Abbey, affording, within a 
 short distance, an infinite variety of scenery. 
 From Thirsk it may be about fifteen miles of 
 cross road to the town of 
 
 HELMSLEY. 
 
 There is not any thing worthy of notice in 
 this town : but the noble remains of the Castle 
 near it, are a most striking object. 
 
 Tys. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 141 
 
 Tis now the raven's bleak abode ; 
 Tis now th' apartment of the toad ; 
 And there the fox securely feeds ; 
 And there the pois'nous adder breeds, 
 Conceal'd in ruins, moss, and weeds; 
 While ever and anon there falls 
 Huge heaps of hoary moulder'd walls. 
 
 Dyer. 
 
 Helmsley Castle has been an uncommonly 
 strong fortress ; the walls of the keep are ten feet 
 in thickness, and the other parts equally substan- 
 tial. One half of the keep is standing; the other 
 has fallen, and, with its ruins, choaked up the 
 Castle-ditch. It appears from the Journals of the 
 House of Commons of 1646, that the "following- 
 Castles in this county were ordered to be dis- 
 armed, and made untenable, viz. Knaresborough, 
 Middleham, Bolton, Crake, Helmsley, Skipton, 
 and Clithero." Besides the keep, there is a long 
 range of apartments on the west side, and nearly 
 the whole of the walls are remaining. Its double 
 gates are tolerably entire, and are rendered plea- 
 singly picturesque by the rich foliage that sur- 
 rounds them. The situation of this Castle is not 
 naturally strong ; a small mass of rock on the 
 west side has contributed to render it command- 
 ing : but this want of natural strength has been 
 compensated for, by the art used in the construc- 
 tion of the Avhole work. Advantage has been 
 taken of the approach of the river Rie towards the 
 
 situation 
 
142 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 situation chosen, and the water has been conduct- 
 ed through a double ditch, which completely en- 
 compassed the whole building, rendering the 
 place impregnable previous to the use of gunpow- 
 der. Considering how little nature has contribu- 
 ted to aid the workman, this appears to have been 
 one of the best fortified Castles in England : it 
 remains an honorable testimony of the skill of our 
 ancestors, and would claim the attention and 
 praise of a modern engineer. From the town, the 
 lofty battlements of its half-ruined tower appeal* 
 over a thick grove of trees. The greatest length 
 of this Castle is from north to south, the princi- 
 pal entrance being from the south by double 
 gates, between towers of uncommon strength. 
 The inner gate is defended by a deep ditch, as is 
 the outer one also, and further strengthened by a 
 round tower at each angle of the Castle. There 
 were two other inferior gates, one on the north, 
 and the other on the west side, which are still 
 apparent. This Castle was built by Robert de 
 Ross, surnamed Fursan, called Lord Ross of 
 Hamlake. It came by marriage to the family of 
 Manners, and is now the property of T. Dun- 
 combe, Esq. Here was a garrison for Charles 
 the First. Whitelocke says, " Sir Thomas Fair- 
 fax was before Hemsley Castle, where he was 
 shot into the shoulder." It surrendered to him 
 shortly afterwards. About a quarter of a mile 
 from Helmsley is 
 
 DUNCOMBE 
 
YORKSHIRE. 143 
 
 DUNCOMBE PARK, 
 
 The noble seat of the family of the Dun- 
 combes, built by Sir John Vanbrugh, as the style 
 sufficiently indicates. The character of the build- 
 ing is Doric ; the east front is rather heavy, and 
 in an indifferent taste ; but the west presents a 
 good specimen of the order : on the latter side is 
 a noble terrace, terminated by two handsome cir- 
 cular temples, from which is a most delightful 
 prospect. Embosomed in trees, appears the noble 
 tower of Helmsley Castle ; and near it occasion- 
 ally peeps forth part of the town ; and deep be- 
 neath, is seen a beautiful valley, with the river 
 Rie winding among hanging woods : the view is 
 bounded by those extensive moors which sweep 
 round the horizon, and which, from their color, 
 give the town the name of Hemsley Black-a- Moor. 
 
 On entering the Hall at Duncombe, the spec- 
 tator is struck with the general air of greatness it 
 conveys : here is a piece of sculpture, ca'led the 
 Dog of Alcibiades, said to be the work of Myron: 
 it cost the late Mr. Duncombe 10001. Notwith- 
 standing the prejudice and illiberal language often 
 used towards the fame of Sir John Vanbrugh as 
 a builder, he certainly contrived to give an air of 
 grandeur to his structures, not often to be met 
 i with. 
 
144 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 with. The Saloon at Duncombe may be adduced, 
 among others, in proof of the assertion, itpossess- 
 ing an uncommon air of magnificence. His great 
 fault was over crowding with ornaments, which is 
 observable here : still, however, I will venture to as- 
 sert, that his works are not the offspring of an ordi- 
 nary genius. In the Saloon is the statue called Dis- 
 cobolus, which cost 10001. In my opinion, it is by 
 no means a first-rate piece of sculpture. Here 
 also are two good busts of Cicero and Horace. 
 
 to"- 
 
 In this House is a good collection of pictures ; 
 to enumerate the whole would be unnecessary, 
 I shall therefore briefly mention those which made 
 the strongest impression on my mind at the time 
 of viewing them. 
 
 'o 
 
 St. Catherine; Guido. This is a finely-painted 
 head, accompanied with a great clearness and 
 brilliancy of coloring. 
 
 The Angel appearin g to the Shepherds ; Giacomo 
 Bassano. This picture is worthy attention for its 
 exquisite tones of color, which are uncommonly 
 clear. . 
 
 A Landscape; Petro de Cortona: the figures 
 imagined to be by Philippo Laura. This inesti- 
 mable landscape is a treasure in art, and will for- 
 cibly attract the attention of the admirers of tha 
 
 part 
 
YORKSHIRE. 145 
 
 part of painting. Nothing can exceed the gran- 
 deur of the scene; the coloring is clear, rich, and 
 chaste ; the handling is unusually free ; and the 
 foliage affords as fine an example of penciling, as 
 the most ardent imagination could wish to behold. 
 This picture is a school for the student, and ex- 
 hibits a union of taste and judgment seldom to be 
 met with. 
 
 Venus and Adonis ; Titian. The coloring is 
 excellent, the flesh being particularly well; and 
 in the relief, the figures are rounded to deception. 
 
 Adoration of the Shepherds ; Guido. Admi- 
 rable in point of composition, and highly finished. 
 
 A Holy Family; Andrea del Sarto. The paint- 
 ing is more mellow than is usual with this master, 
 his works in general being hard; parts of»this 
 picture are clever : it is also curious from its age. 
 
 St. Paul; Leonardo da Vinci. This is a highly- 
 finished head ; but the character is mean ; the 
 hand is drawn and colored to a point of perfection. 
 
 An Angel supporting our Saviour on the Tomb ; 
 Barochio. This is truly a cabinet jewel : the com- 
 position, drawing, and coloring, are highly clas- 
 sical, and an honorable testimony of the deserved 
 esteem this master's works are held in. 
 
 U A Land- 
 
146 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 A Land-Storm ; N. Poussin. This landscape 
 is grandly conceived, it being in the first style of 
 composition: but the coloring is black and heavy, 
 which, as well as the penciling, by no means in- 
 dicates the manner of the master. 
 
 A Magdalen adoring a Glory round a Cross ; 
 Corregio. This head is clever, and the effect 
 broad and masterly. 
 
 A Holy Family; Prospero Fontana.* This may 
 claim attention on account of its being the work 
 of an early master; serving, at the same time, to 
 shew the advancement of the art : it is extremely 
 hard, and dryly painted. 
 
 The Two Nymphs, or Pan overcome by Cupid ; 
 Augustino Carracci. The works of this master 
 are very rarely to be met with. This is a truly 
 classical picture ; and, allowing for the drawing 
 of the female figures, which is rather heavy, it 
 otherwise possesses all the essentials of art; it be- 
 ing well composed and colored, accompanied by 
 an unusual breadth of lioht and shadow. 
 
 "S" 
 
 Though I have mentioned but very few of the 
 pictures, it must not be understood that those 
 
 which 
 
 This artist was aBolognese, bora in the year 1512, and was the 
 master of Ludovico, and Annibal Carracci. 
 
 1 
 
YORKSHIRE. 147 
 
 which are omitted, are deemed unworthy of no- 
 tice : so far from that being the case, every one 
 in the collection will lay claim to the attention of 
 the connoisseur. They have been collected with 
 great judgment ; and the easy access to the see- 
 ing of them, is an honorable testimony of the li- 
 beral spirit of their present owner. If I could 
 admire tapestry, here is some of the most fresh 
 and beautiful in Great Britain : as a specimen of 
 the art, it becomes worthy of notice. Surely it 
 M x as no great proof of taste in Pope Leo, to em- 
 ploy Raphael in making designs, to have them 
 imitated in tapestry, to hang up instead of the 
 originals. 
 
 In a deep and well-wooded dale, called Riedale, 
 about three miles from Helmsley, is situated 
 
 RIEVALE ABBEY. 
 
 The country people pronounce it Rievece : 
 Camden calls it Rhidale ; others Rivaulx. The 
 name is evidently derived from the river Rie, or 
 Rhie, which flows near the Abbey, and gives 
 name to the dale in which it is situated. Though 
 this building is less elegant than Fountains Abbey, 
 yet it possesses a peculiar beauty, arising from its 
 situation, distinct from all others : well-wooded 
 kills tower on all points majestically above its ve- 
 il 2 nerable 
 
148 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 nerable walls, affording the finest back-ground 
 scenery imaginable. Fountains will delight from 
 the beauty of its internal views; here, by uniting 
 the building with its rich surrounding scenery, 
 Avill be formed most highly picturesque scenes. 
 Those who visit this spot for the purpose of stu- 
 dy, will find many fine stations near the building; 
 and, by ascending the higher grounds, will com- 
 mand all the varied features of the dale, that, com- 
 bined with the magnificent ruin, and the river, pre- 
 sent a combination of objects seldom equalled for 
 grandeur. In short, Rievale Abbey, from the fine 
 state of its remains, enriched by weather tints and 
 ivy, its retired situation, and boldly rising grounds 
 covered with wood, will afford ample amusement 
 to those Avho are emulous to delineate after nature. 
 
 The ruins lie scattered over a considerable ex- 
 tent of ground; one large chamber is tolerably 
 entire, but unroofed : here is much room for con- 
 jecture in discovering the refectory, dormitory, 
 and other offices. The Church is the most per- 
 fect part of the whole building ; with the excep- 
 tion of the tower and roof, the parts are not great- 
 ly injured. Inwardly, the masonry is as sharp 
 as if newly built; and the side aisles, from being 
 unroofed, show some beautiful flying buttresses: 
 one singularity is, that the altar end of the Church 
 is nearly south. 
 
 This 
 
YORKSHIRE. 149 
 
 This Abbey, the first of the Cistercian order in 
 Yorkshire, was founded in 1131, or the follow- 
 ing year, by Walter Espec, a great man in the 
 court of Henry the First. This Walter having lost 
 his son and heir, who, by a fall from his horse, 
 broke his neck, built and endowed three monas- 
 teries: Rievale and Kirkham in Yorkshire, and 
 Wardon in Bedfordshire. " Many were the be- 
 nefactions and large possessions of this Abbey; 
 and Pope Alexander the Third by his bull, dated 
 1140, confirmed to the Abbot of St. Mary's at 
 Rievale, his brethren, and successors, all their 
 possessions, with divers privileges.*" The reve- 
 nues of this Abbey were valued, the twenty-sixth 
 of Henry the Eighth, at 2781. 10s. £d. per annum, 
 according to Dugdale; but Speed makes them 
 3511. 14s. Sd. Its site was granted, in exchange 
 for other lands, to Thomas, Earl of Rutland : it 
 is now the property of Duncombe, Esq. 
 
 My approach to the Abbey was by the valley : 
 on leaving it, I ascended the Bank, as it is called, 
 by an intricate path to one of the Temples; here 
 is one of the finest terraces in England, from 
 which the eye embraces a view of the whole dale. 
 The traveller looks down with delight on the no- 
 ble remains of the Abbey, surrounded by com- 
 pact masses of trees, among which, the playful ri- 
 ver 
 
 * Moore's Monastic Remains. 
 
150 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 ver is occasionally seen, with here and there a 
 cottage to give variety ; the view is terminated 
 by bold hills, most of which have their summits 
 crowned with wood. This noble terrace, and its 
 ornamental buildings, were the work of the late 
 Slingsby Duncombe, Esq. and do equal honor 
 to his taste and liberality; one of the buildings 
 being principally intended for the accommodation 
 of occasional visiters to the Abbey. With a view 
 of adding to its elegance, an artist was sent for 
 from Italy to decorate the interior: he has, how- 
 ever, shown but a slender portion of genius in the 
 work ; the centre of the ceiling is a copy of Guido's 
 Aurora, and round the cove he has introduced 
 several passages from Carracci's Farnesian Gallery; 
 the whole is colored in a showy style, the orna- 
 mental parts being heightened with gold. 
 
 By Wass it is about six miles of indifferent cross 
 road to Byland Abbey : part of the -way is over 
 the moors, from the top of which the country is 
 uncommonly open and extensive. Descending 
 from these moors by a rocky road, the eye is 
 agreeably surprised by the sudden appearance of 
 the venerable fragments of 
 
 BYLAND ABBEY. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that this 
 Abbey is situated in a rich valley, as the traveller 
 
 will 
 
YORKSHIRE. 151 
 
 will generally find that to be the case with religious 
 foundations ; in the midst, perhaps, of scenery, 
 which well repays him for the trouble of his jour- 
 ney, Avhether the building be considerable or not. 
 
 These ruins are scattered over a considerable 
 tract of ground : two of the outward gates are 
 still preserved, situated at a distance very remote 
 from each other. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance in the history of 
 human nature, that the same cause which pro- 
 duced these buildings, should, in the end, have 
 worked their destruction ; that is, fanaticism ; 
 religious zeal* having caused their demolition. 
 
 After all, it may be questioned whether there 
 
 were much piety in those kinds of institutions: 
 
 they rather appear to be the works of a set of men, 
 
 who imagined there was a nearer road to Heaven 
 
 than by that of virtue ! As if the Almighty was to 
 
 be bribed by rich gifts, which were often the fruits 
 
 of robbery and injustice! or that the sacrifices 
 
 would become more acceptable, because made on 
 
 altars of gold ! or the prayers reach Heaven the 
 
 sooner, by issuing out of temples of marble and 
 
 precious stones ! 
 
 " What 
 
 * The religious houses are more perfect in this county thau in 
 any other, owing to the respect the people bore towards them; 
 their preservation having furnished a plea for several rebellions.. 
 
152 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 " What did they serve for, but to feed a sort 
 Of lazy Abbots, and of full-fed Friars ? 
 They neither plough nor sow, and yet they reap 
 The fat of all the land, and suck the poor." 
 
 It is recorded by Fitz-Stephen, that Thomas a 
 Becket gave five pounds for one dish of eels, a 
 sum of money equivalent to at least seventy-five 
 pounds at present. "The monks of St. Swithin's, 
 at Winchester, made a formal complaint to Henry 
 the Second against their Abbot, for taking away 
 three of the thirteen dishes they used to have 
 every day at their dinner. The monks of Can- 
 terbury were still more luxurious, for they had at 
 least seventeen dishes every day, besides a desert ; 
 and those dishes were dressed with "spiceries and 
 sauces, which excited the appetite, as well as 
 pleased the taste." 
 
 The most picturesque part of this ruin is the 
 Church, of which the west end, with its curious- 
 ly ornamented door, remains ; also part of the 
 south transept, and a small fragment of the south 
 aisle. The west end will be found to compose 
 best from the west and south-Avest sides ; from 
 those points the building is backed by some well- 
 wooded hills, that unite finely, forming a noble 
 back-ground. The contrast of the building, and 
 the woody grounds behind, produce a good effect, 
 showing the lancet windows, and the fragment of 
 a fine circular window above, to the greatest advan- 
 tage. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 153 
 
 tage. A near view of the west end of the Church 
 will prove worthy the attention of the admirer of 
 architectural studies.* 
 
 " Byland, olhn De Bella-landa, Sec. aCistertian 
 Abbey. Roger de Mowbray, at the instance of 
 his mother Gundreda, A. D. 1143, removed the 
 Convent of Cistertian Monks from Hode to a part 
 of her jointure near the river Rie, almost opposite 
 to the Abbey of Rievale, since called Old Byland, 
 which place being thought inconvenient for the 
 habitation of the religious, four years after they 
 removed to Stocking, near Coxwould ; and at last 
 fixed a little more easterly, near Whitaker, where 
 this Abbey of Byland, dedicated to the Blessed 
 Virgin, continued in a flourishing state till the 
 general Dissolution, when its yearly revenues were 
 valued at238l. 9s. 4d. byDugdale; and295l. 5s. 4d. 
 by Speed. The site, and most of the demesne 
 lands, were granted, 32d of Henry VIII. to Sir 
 William Pickering, "f The Abbey is now the. 
 property of Sir Martin Stapleton, who is taking 
 every means to preserve this interesting fragment 
 of antiquity. 
 
 X One 
 
 * Those who visit this spot for the purpose of drawing, must 
 bring their refreshments with them, as there is not any place 
 nearer than Helmsley, that will afford any thing tolerable. Cox- 
 wold is within a mile, yet it offers but poor accommodations. 
 
 t Tanner. 
 
154 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 One mile from Byland is Coxwold, where the 
 traveller may see Nezvburgh, the seat of the late 
 Earl of Fauconberg. Here was formerly a Priory, 
 but not the least vestige of the ancient building 
 remains. Five miles further, I entered the great 
 north road, at a market- town called Easingwold: 
 here the face of nature losing its picturesque cha- 
 racter, I proceeded, through thirteen miles of 
 flat, uninteresting country, to 
 
 YORK. 
 
 Antiquaries have not been able to settle the 
 period of the origin of this famous city : it ap- 
 pears, from some accounts, to have been the me- 
 tropolis of the JBrigantes, and from all, to be very 
 ancient* This city was of great importance un- 
 der the Romans, who called it Eboracum; a name 
 which Camden derives from its situation on a ri- 
 ver : others, from Ebraucus, a British King, its 
 supposed founder. 
 
 Here the Emperor Severus had a Palace, at 
 which he died, uttering the following words : 
 
 "The 
 
 * Notwithstanding the authority of Caesar and Strabo to the 
 contrary, it seems improbable that the ancient Britons should have 
 been unacquainted with the art of building with stone : war-cha- 
 riots imply a degree of cultivation that could never have preceded 
 the use of stone in building, particularly as this county abounds 
 with such materials. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 155 
 
 " The Commonwealth was disordered in all its 
 parts when I received it; yet I leave it in peace, 
 even to the Britons." 
 
 Camden says, his body was brought forth by 
 the soldiers, and committed to the flames, at a 
 place below the town to the west, near Ackham, 
 where stands a large mount, called Sivers, from 
 Severus. The day was commemorated with races, 
 by his sons and the soldiers. Some of this Em- 
 peror's coins have been found here, with this in- 
 scription on the reverse: Col. Eboracum. Leg. 
 vi. Victrix. 
 
 Here was a Temple dedicated to Beltona, to 
 which Severus was conducted to offer sacrifice, 
 through the mistake of an ignorant augur, on 
 that Emperor's coming to this city : this was re- 
 garded as an unlucky omen, and a presage of the 
 Emperor's death. 
 
 Burton has labored to prove, that Caracalla 
 caused his brother Geta, and his tutor Papinian, 
 to be murdered at Eboracum; and that this place 
 was the scene of his incestuous marriage with his 
 father's widow.* X 2 The 
 
 * No very honorable discovery, by the way. What matters it 
 "where a wretch might have perpetrated crimes which disgrace the 
 nature of man ! It would be much better to consign them, with 
 their actor, to oblivion : such inquiries do not contribute, in the 
 
 least, 
 
155 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 The Emperor Constantius Chlorus also died in 
 this city ; and here his son Constantine was de- 
 clared Emperor by the soldiers. Constantius, by 
 his first wife Helena, had issue, Constantinas 
 Maximus, styled, in inscriptions, Romance Urbis 
 Liberator Quietis fundator ; and Reipublicai instau- 
 rator. From these particulars it may easily be in- 
 ferred, that Eboracum was a place of considerable 
 note under the Roman Emperors. 
 
 Immediately after the Romans had withdrawn 
 their troops from this Island, the Picts and Scots 
 passing the great Wall, carried devastation and 
 spoil wherever they went. The Brigantes suffered 
 most on this occasion, and fled in all directions ; 
 some crossing the sea to Brittany ; others, to 
 North and South Wales, and the south parts of 
 England, leaving the most fertile provinces to the 
 enemy. To add to the other calamities, a most 
 grievous famine and pestilence followed, so that 
 the living were not sufficient to bury the dead. 
 
 Elated 
 
 least, to the advantage of socfety. What is it to us, whether 
 Sappho was a prostitute, or how often Anacreon might go drunk 
 to bed ? It is a great pity that history speaks so often to our pas- 
 sions, and so seldom to our reason. The false morals in poetry 
 have done infinite harm : Homer begat Achilles, whose diabolical 
 actions became the guide to Alexander;, his character inspired 
 Cajsar with a desire to slaughter his fellow-creatures, from a fool- 
 ish and mistaken notion of fame ; and Caesar's pernicious example 
 formed a long list of wretched mortals, who, while they lived,, 
 plagued society with their vices. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 157 
 
 Elated with success, the Picts and Scots proceed- 
 ed as far as Stamford, when the Britons united to 
 resist them, but with little advantage, from hav- 
 ing chosen a commander in the person of Vorti- 
 gern, (whom the British history styles Earl of 
 Cornwall,) a man totally destitute of those quali- 
 ties that ennoble human nature, and which, by 
 being united in a single person, would have 
 proved the most likely means of saving a sinking- 
 state: voluptuous and lascivious, he, by inviting 
 the Saxons as auxiliaries, completed the ruin of 
 his country. 
 
 If the historian Gildas may be credited, the 
 whole country had become one common sink of 
 vice; even the priesthood had fallen into the cor- 
 ruption of the times. Drunkenness and lust paved 
 the way for weakness and effeminacy; and the 
 noble energies of the mind had given place to the 
 grosser sensations of the body : resistance to the 
 common enemy was no longer considered as a 
 virtue, where every one was concerned in the gra- 
 tification of self; hence having once enslaved 
 the mind, that of the body followed of course. 
 
 The ultimate success of the Saxons, in establish- 
 ing themselves in Britain, was grounded on this 
 weakness and corruption of the Britons; for when, 
 from pretended friends, they became open ene- 
 mies, the want of unity, and proper conduct, 
 
 in 
 
158 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 in the British chieftains, proved the final cause 
 of their overthrow. 
 
 Among the few British Princes who resisted the 
 Saxons, one of the most conspicuous was the re- 
 nowned Arthur, who appears to have began his 
 reign somewhere about the year 516. He de- 
 feated the Saxons, and in York besieged their 
 General, Colgerne, who made his escape into 
 Germany, where he obtained succour, and re- 
 turned to Scotland with seven hundred sail of 
 ships; on which Arthur raised the siege, and re- 
 tired towards London, sending for assistance to 
 Brittany. However much the life of King Ar- 
 thur may be involved in fable, there is little doubt 
 of his having been one of the most valiant and 
 successful of the few British Princes who had 
 the spirit to resist the invasion of the savage and 
 ferocious Saxons. His whole life appears to have 
 been spent in the field; he having to contend 
 with Lotho, King of the Picts; Couran, King of 
 the Scots; and the Saxons. The two former hav- 
 ing married his aunts, Anna and Alda, set up the 
 plea of bastardy against him; especially Lotho, 
 who had issue by Anna, Mordred and Gawan. 
 Leland says, that encountering Mordred at Kam- 
 blan, or Cambula, (Camelford,) in Cornwall, 
 Arthur slew him out right, and at the same time 
 received his own death-wound. According to the 
 Chronicles of those times, this renowned Prince is 
 
 said 
 
YORKSHIRE. 159 
 
 said to have fought twelve pitched hattles against 
 the Saxons, in all of which his arms were crowned 
 with success. He was huried at Glastonbury, in 
 Somersetshire, where, six hundred years after- 
 wards, his tomb is said to have been discovered 
 through the curiosity of Henry the Second. 
 
 On the establishment of the Saxons, Yorkshire 
 made part of the kingdom of Diera, which ex- 
 tended from the river Humber to the river Tyne; 
 and York appears to have been its capital. Further 
 north, they extended their conquests to the Frith 
 of Edinburgh, and forming a second monarchy, 
 called it the kingdom of Bernicia : both these 
 were afterwards united, and in that state com- 
 posed the kingdom of Northumberland ; which 
 included the counties of Northumberland, Cum- 
 berland, Westmoreland, Durham, Lancashire, and 
 Yorkshire; its southern boundaries were the rivers 
 Mersey and Humber. The monarchy of Diera 
 was founded by Ella about the year 559; and Ber- 
 nicia by Ida in 547 : they became one kingdom 
 under Ethelfrid, anno 589; and this was subdued 
 by the arms of King Egbert about the year 824. 
 
 The Saxons were scarcely settled under one 
 Monarch, when the Island was invaded by the 
 Danes, who landed in Northumberland in the 
 year 869, the third of King Ethelred; laid the 
 country waste; entered York; slew the two 
 
160 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Kings, Ella and Osbright, whom the rebellious 
 Northumbrians had set up ; and burned the city, 
 with all those who had fled thither for safety. 
 By this victory they settled themselves in the 
 kingdom of Northumberland, making York their 
 head quarters; and all their wars, during the long 
 and glorious reign of King Alfred, were carried 
 on in the south part of the country. 
 
 The above kingdom was wrested from the Danes 
 by Ethelstan, about the year 938 or 939. In the 
 following reign they revolted, and set up Anlaf 
 for their King; but he being subdued by Edmund, 
 King of Wessex, the conqueror gave Cumberland 
 to Malcolm, King of Scotland, to hold in fealty 
 of him. History affords little more than a series 
 of revolts on the part of the Danes. Ed reel, the 
 succeeding King of the West Saxons, had been 
 provoked to carry fire and sword into the heart 
 of their country, and in his rage had burnt Rip- 
 pon; yet, having been excited to mercy, was re- 
 turning southward, when Wolstan, Archbishop 
 of York, instigated the people treacherously to 
 sally from this city on his unsuspecting army, 
 and many of his soldiers were slain : for this base 
 act the Bishop was afterwards imprisoned. 
 
 Anno 1013, in the reign of Ethelred, called 
 the Unready, Swaine landed at the mouth of the 
 river Humber, to whom all the north submitted, 
 and placed it under the care of his son Canute, 
 
 afterwards 
 
YORKSHIRE. l6l 
 
 afterwards Kino- of England. Harold Harfap-er 
 and Tosto besieged and took York, anno 1066, 
 in the reign of Harold, the son of Earl Godwin; 
 but their army was defeated with great slaughter 
 by that hero, and themselves slain. 
 
 In the fourth of William the Norman, this city 
 was again besieged by the Danes, and the troops 
 under Edgar Atheling, from Scotland. This 
 mighty army so alarmed the people of York, and 
 their Archbishop, Aldred, that the latter died 
 from fear or apprehension. The Normans in the 
 garrison, to deprive the enemy of the advantage 
 of the suburbs, set them on fire ; but a high wind 
 causing the flames to communicate with the city, 
 the greatest part of it was reduced to a heap of ruins, 
 and .among the rest the Cathedral, with the famous 
 Library adjoining. Shortly after, taking the field 
 against the Danes, who had possessed themselves 
 of Northumberland, William gained a complete 
 victory ; when that vindictive and blood-thirsty 
 monster laid the whole country waste from York 
 to Durham, leaving it desolate for threescore miles; 
 so that for nine years it was almost destitute 
 of inhabitants, and without tillage.* This cala- 
 mity was followed by so grievous a famine, that 
 historians say, the few remaining Northumbrians 
 were forced to eat human flesh. 
 
 Y The 
 
 * " Et tunc quidem cum civitate, omnis nobilitatis, popularis emer- 
 cuit, fake belli demessa." Gul. Malm. 
 
162 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 The mind becomes fatigued, and sickens at the 
 recital of the atrocities committed by that Nor- 
 man savage. Speed says, that he sold Northum- 
 berland to Walter, Bishop of Durham, who main- 
 tained a band of assassins, and was in the end 
 murdered himself. William then sent Odo, his 
 half-brother, into the north, who, under the pre- 
 tence of revenging Walter's death, committed 
 great cruelties, beheading and dismembering the 
 poor, and imposing heavy fines and ransoms on 
 the rich : such appears to have been the state of 
 this part of the country, that the blood runs cold 
 at the bare recollection. 
 
 On the 4th of June, 1137, this city was again 
 visited by fire, when the greatest part was reduced 
 to ashes ; including the Cathedral, built by Arch- 
 bishop Thomas; St. Mary's Abbey, and thirty- 
 nine Parish Churches. 
 
 If this city has had its afflictions, it has also 
 been the seat of much splendor: here Henry the 
 Second met William, King of the Scots, his pri- 
 soner, to settle his ransom, in the year 1 ] 75. 
 John having conducted an army into the north 
 against the Scots, anno 1209, after concluding a 
 peace, received King William at York, where the 
 King of the Scots promised his daughters in mar- 
 riage to John's two sons, and delivered them as 
 pledges of good faith, with a gift of 9000 marks. 
 
 l Here 
 
YORKSHIRE. 16*3 
 
 Here also, July the 25th, 1221, Joan, the eldest 
 daughter of John, was espoused by Alexander the 
 Second of Scotland, in the presence of Henry the 
 Third. At the same time Hubert de Burgh mar- 
 ried the Lady Margaret, sister to Alexander, in 
 the presence of both Kings. 
 
 In this city, in the year 1252, Alexander the 
 Third, King of Scotland, married, though very 
 young, the Lady Margaret, daughter of Henry 
 the Third. Upon Christmas-Day the King of 
 England conferred the honor of knighthood on 
 the young King of the Scots ; and on the next 
 day the nuptial ceremony was performed. "The 
 Archbishop of York, Walter Grey, who was 
 Prince, as it were, of the northern parts, was, 
 upon this occasion, the common host, which 
 cost him four thousand marks. One article he 
 furnished was six hundred fat oxen, which were 
 consumed at the first course : and whatever could 
 be added to increase the pomp, or delight the ap- 
 petite, was enjoyed at this entertainment." There 
 were assembled to witness the ceremony, two 
 Kings, the chief Nobility and Clergy of both na- 
 tions, above a thousand English Knights, and 
 upwards of six hundred Scots ; besides two Queens; 
 one of them, the mother of the bride; the other, 
 the Queen Dowager of Scotland, who had return- 
 ed from France on the occasion, attended by 
 many of the French nobility. 
 
 Y 2 Edward 
 
164 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Edward the First called a Parliament at York, 
 anno 1299, to which he also summoned the Scot- 
 tish Peers, who not attending, he entered their 
 country with a powerful army, his navy coasting 
 along at the same time, laden with provisions and 
 stores for its supply. It appears that, during- 
 the wars in Scotland, the Courts of King's Bench 
 and Exchequer were held at York, for the pur- 
 pose of being near King Edward: after seven 
 years, they were removed to London, their an- 
 cient residence. 
 
 Edward the Second having made a most shame- 
 ful retreat from Scotland to this city, in the year 
 1322, was followed by the enemy, who took 
 John de Britain, Earl of Richmond, prisoner, and 
 laid the country waste to the very walls of York. 
 The same year, at a Parliament held in this city, 
 the King created his eldest son, Edward, Prince 
 of Wales, and Duke of Aquitaine. 
 
 Edward the Third, in the first year of his reign, 
 lay at York for six weeks, with an army of sixty 
 thousand men : here repaired to him many foreign 
 knights; and, among the rest, John, Lord Beau- 
 mont, of Hainault, with a retinue of upwards of 
 five hundred men. On Trinity Sunday the young 
 King entertained the foreigners with a magnifi- 
 cent feast, and at night honored them with a 
 splendid ball. During the ball, an affray took 
 
 place. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 165 
 
 place, owing to the insolence of the pages and 
 servants of the Hainaulters to some English archers, 
 in which several were slain; but, by the timely 
 interference of the King, the quarrel was for that 
 time ended. Thirsting for revenge, however, and 
 being headed by their commanders, the foreigners 
 rose privatelyin the night, to the numberof 2000, 
 and fell on the archers of Lincolnshire and North- 
 amptonshire, and killed 300 of them. They would 
 have paid dearly for their treachery in the morning, 
 the English being determined to kill every man ; 
 but having secured themselves in their respec- 
 tive quarters, before these could, be forced, the 
 King had time to compose the difference. Here 
 the above Monarch solemnized his marriage 
 with Philippa, daughter of the Earl of Hainault, 
 which was accompanied by justs and tournaments 
 in the day, and masks, revels, and interludes, at 
 night, for the space of three weeks, attended with 
 more than ordinary splendor. Nor was the occa- 
 sion less joyful, when the same Queen, Philippa,. 
 afterwards received at York, David, King of 
 Scotland, taken prisoner at the battle of Nevil's 
 Cross, by John Copland, an Esquire, anno 1350) 
 October the twenty-seventh. 
 
 After the battle of Shrewsbury, fought on Sun- 
 day, July the twenty -first,. 1403, the Earl of 
 Northumberland repaired to York, and submitted 
 to Henry the Fourth, The following year, Thomas. 
 
 Mowbray, 
 
166 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Mowbray, Earl Marshall; Richard le Scrope, 
 Archbishop of York; and the Earl of Northum- 
 berland ; raised a rebellion in the north : the two 
 former being over-reached by the knavery of the 
 Earl of Westmoreland, were presented to the King 
 in this city, who caused them to be beheaded, 
 notwithstanding the Earl had promised them their 
 lives. 
 
 The pretext for the wars between Edward the 
 Fourth and the Earl of Warwick, had its rise in 
 this city, about the pretended abuse of a charity. 
 The Hospital of St. Leonard had been chiefly sup- 
 ported by donations of grain, which the insur- 
 gents said were consumed by the Master and 
 Priests, to the total disregard of the poor. The 
 rebels mustered 15,000 strong, and chose for 
 their leader one Robert Holdern, whom the Mar- 
 quis of Montague took in making an attack on 
 the city, and beheaded before the gates of York: 
 they then chose for Generals, the Lord Fitz-Hugh, 
 and Nevil, Lord Latimer, and immediately pro- 
 ceeded towards London. 
 
 The History of York states, that Richard the 
 Third, and Ann, his Queen, were crowned here, 
 the ceremony being performed in the Chapter- 
 House by Archbishop Rotherham : the King and 
 Queen, when crowned, proceeded through the 
 city, accompanied by the Prince their son ; the 
 
 clergy 
 
YORKSHIRE. 167 
 
 clergy in their richest copes, and the principal 
 nobility attending on the occasion. 
 
 After the rebellion in this county, called the 
 Holy Pilgrimage, Henry the Eighth established 
 at York, without the advice or consent of Parlia- 
 ment, " The Lord President's Court," as it was 
 called. The assumption of power by this Court 
 became so great during the reigns of James the 
 First and Charles the First, particularly during 
 the presidency of Wentworth, that this source of 
 justice, now known as the Star- Chamber Court, 
 became wholly polluted, which brought a general 
 odium on Charles, and eventually caused its own 
 abrogation. 
 
 York was garrisoned for Charles the First by 
 the Earl of Newcastle. In 1644, it was closely 
 besieged by the troops under Lord Fairfax, join- 
 ed to the Scots. The siege was raised by Prince 
 Rupert, who entered York with 20,000 horse and 
 foot, while the Parliament troops drew off to a 
 place called Marston-Moor. On July the third, 
 both armies faced each other on the Moor, and 
 at about seven o'clock in the morning, com- 
 menced a most terrible engagement. " Prince 
 Rupert, with his left wing, fell on the Parlia- 
 ment's right, routed them, and pursued them a 
 great way ; the like did the Generals Goring, 
 Lucas, and Porter, upon the Parliament's main 
 
 body. 
 
168 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 body. The Parliament Generals giving up all for 
 lost, hasted out of the field ; and many of the sol- 
 diers fled, and threw down their arms. The 
 King's forces, especially those of Prince Rupert, 
 too eagerly following the chace, had the victory, 
 nearly achieved by them, snatched out of their 
 hands. For Colonel Cromwell, with the brave 
 regiment of his countrymen, and Sir Thomas 
 Fairfax, having rallied some of his horse, fell up- 
 on the Prince's right wing, where the Earl of 
 Newcastle commanded, and routed them. This 
 success inspiring - courage, the rest Of their com- 
 panions rallied, and falling on the divided troops 
 of Rupert and Goring, completely defeated them, 
 after three hours' fight. From the battle and pur- 
 suit, was reckoned the loss of 7000 Englishmen. 
 Rupert lost 3000 slain in battle, besides those in 
 the chace : 3000 prisoners were taken by the Par- 
 liament army, many of their chief officers, 25 
 pieces of ordnance, 47 colours, 10,000 stand of 
 arms, two waggons of carbines and pistols, 130 
 barrels of powder, and their whole bag and bag- 
 gage."* Cromwell's service on this occasion, was 
 what introduced him to particular notice: in this 
 action he was slightly wounded in the neck with a 
 pistol-shot. Rupert narrowly escaped being taken, 
 but, by the goodness of his horse, got into York, 
 which he was soon after obliged to quit. The 
 city was shortly after surrendered upon articles to 
 
 the 
 * Whitelocke, 
 
YORKSHIRE. 1 69 
 
 'the Parliamentary Generals, who, on entering the 
 town, went to the Minster, where they heard a 
 sermon, and returned thanks for their success. 
 
 I shall now advert to the present state of York, 
 and briefly describe such objects as have the 
 strongest claims to the attention of a stranger. 
 
 Those who expect much regularity in the pri- 
 vate buildings of York, will be deceived : many 
 of the houses are old-fashioned, and the streets 
 narrow, and do not by any means answer expec- 
 tation, in point of modern uniformity. However 
 much the infatuated admirers of what they term 
 the picturesque, may argue in favor of old houses, 
 and irregular streets, and affect to condemn the 
 regularity of modern buildings, yet the latter is 
 both healthful and convenient ; two most essen- 
 tial considerations with all good architects. 
 Micklegate appeared to me to be by far the most 
 pleasant and agreeable part of the city, the street 
 being M'ide, and the houses more uniformly on a 
 line, than in any other part. Fully aware of the 
 inconvenience of narrow streets, the Corporation 
 have removed many such evils, by pulling down 
 a number of old houses whose upper stories almost 
 met, and thereby excluded both sun and air. 
 They have also attended to the paving ; and by 
 the additional drains, and the adoption of the 
 present methods of conducting the rain from the 
 
 Z . houses 
 
170 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 houses through leaden pipes, have rendered the 
 city both dry and clean. The erection of the 
 locks below the city, by keeping the river always 
 full of water, has also prevented the inconvenience 
 which frequently arose from the mud and filth 
 becoming stagnant. 
 
 The JFalls of York are about two miles and 
 three quarters in circumference : they were for- 
 merly commodious for walking on, but are at 
 present in a rapid state of decay. Within the 
 city are twenty-three Churches;* that of St. Mar- 
 garet has a curious ancient portico : St. Helen's, 
 at the bottom of Stonegate-Street, is a handsome 
 specimen of the Gothic. The number of houses, 
 as returned under the act of 1801, was 2479; that 
 of inhabitants, 16, 145. 
 
 The curious in architecture, and the antiquary, 
 as also the admirer of such objects as are enter- 
 taining in a picturesque point of view, will find 
 much to engage their attention in this city : to 
 the former, the Cathedral will appear the 
 most conspicuous. It would be tedious to wan- 
 der through the pages of history, to show the 
 various accidents that have befallen the several 
 structures which have preceded the present noble 
 
 pile; 
 
 * It appears from an ancient register, that, in the reign of 
 Henry the Fifth, there were, in the city of York, no fewer than 
 forty-one Parish Churches. Hist, of York. 
 
 1 
 
YORKSHIRE. 171 
 
 pile; many of them have, indeed, been noticed in 
 the sketch already given. Suffice it, that the first 
 religious foundation raised by the Christians, took 
 place somewhere about the year 625 ; when Ed- 
 win, the great King of Northumberland, being- 
 converted to Christianity, .permitted Paulinus, 
 consecrated Archbishop of York by Justus, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, to found a little Oratory 
 of JVood, on the very spot where the present 
 Cathedral now stands : in this the King, his two 
 sons, and most of the nobility, were baptized. 
 Immediately afterwards, the Archbishop persuaded 
 the King to erect a building more suitable to the 
 worship of the Divinity he now adored, and the 
 Monarch then began a magnificent fabric of 
 stune, in the midst of which was inclosed the lit- 
 tle Oratory just mentioned ; but so many impe- 
 diments retarded the work, that the structure 
 was not completed till about the year 669, when 
 the walls were repaired, the roof fixed on, and 
 the windows glazed. Hence it is plain, as well 
 as from the testimony of Eddius, who wrote the 
 Life of Bishop Wilfrid, and also from Bede, his 
 cotemporary, both living shortly after the com- 
 pletion of this building, that both masonry and 
 glazing were known in England before the time 
 of Benedict the monk, who is reputed to be the 
 first person that introduced those arts into this 
 country. 
 
 Z 2 After 
 
172 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 After the calamitous fire in 1 1 37, the Minster, 
 as the Cathedral was then, and is yet frequently 
 called, lay in ashes till the year 1171, when 
 Bishop Roger, the honest opponent of the infa- 
 mous Becket, built the choir with its vaults, 
 which he lived to complete. This part was after- 
 wards removed to improve the building. 
 
 Walter Grey, in the year 1227, erected the 
 south transept. John le Romaine, Treasurer of 
 the Church, built the north transept in the year 
 126*0. He added also a steeple, which was after- 
 wards removed for the present tower. John le 
 Romaine, Archbishop, son of the above, laid the 
 foundation of the nave about the year 1291. 
 The nave, with its two towers, was finished, 
 about the year 1330, by William de Melton, 
 Archbishop. One of the greatest benefactors to 
 this Church, was the Archbishop, John Thorsby, 
 who took down the choir erected by Bishop Ro- 
 ger, and laid the first stone of the present choir 
 in the year 1361 : he contributed towards the 
 work 16701. and completed it about the year 
 1370. The present tower was added about the 
 same time, by Walter Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham, 
 who had formerly been a Prebendary of York. 
 
 Having thus given a general account of the 
 erection of the Cathedral, I shall add the admea- 
 surements of its several parts, for the satisfaction 
 
 of 
 
YORKSHIRE, 173 
 
 of the curious. The dimensions of the whole 
 pile, as it at present stands, which is in the form 
 of a cross, are as follow i 
 
 Feet. 
 
 The whole length from east to west is - - 524§- 
 
 Breadth from east to west ----- J05 
 
 Breadth of the west end ------109 
 
 Length of the cross aisle, from north to south 222- 
 Height of the lantern tower to the vaulting: 188 • 
 Height of ditto to the top of the leads - - 213 
 Height of the body of the church - - - gg 
 Breadth of the side aisles, north and south 18 
 Height of the side arches of ditto - - - 42 
 From the west end to the choir door - - 26 1 
 Length of the choir from the steps ascend- 
 ing to the door to the present commu- 
 nion table ---------- 157^ 
 
 Breadth of the choir ------- 4QL 
 
 From the choir door to the east end - - 222 
 
 Height of the east window ----- 75 
 
 Breadth of ditto - -------- 32 
 
 Height of the chapter-house ----- 67 
 
 The diameter of ditto --------- 63 
 
 Length of the library ------- 34. 
 
 Breadth of ditto -------- 22jt 
 
 Length of the treasury ------ 30 
 
 Breadth of ditto -------- go* 
 
 Length of the inner vestry ----- 30 
 
 Breadth of ditto -------- 23 
 
 Length 
 
174 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Length of the vestry -__---- 44^. 
 
 Breadth of ditto r~ - 22-J- 
 
 Height of the screen, which divides the choir 
 
 from the nave --------- 24 
 
 This Minster is a most superb building, being 
 highly enriched both within and without. On 
 viewing the west front, the immensity of the pile 
 is what first strikes the imagination ; and when the 
 eye has leisure to settle on the ornamental parts, the 
 mind becomes equally surprised at their profusion. 
 This front is composed of two uniform towers, 
 diminishing regularly upwards by ten several con- 
 tractions, and crowned with pinnacles : the but- 
 tresses at the angles are highly decorated ; and in 
 some of the ornamental niches, still remain sta- 
 tues. These towers appear to support the centre 
 part of the building ; in which is a highly enriched 
 doorway, and above it a magnificent window, 
 full of tracery-work: the whole front presents an 
 image of grandeur highly interesting. Over the 
 west door is the figure of Archbishop Melton; 
 and below, on each side, those of Robert le Vi- 
 vasour, and Robert de Percy, both of whom were 
 great benefactors to this building. 
 
 The South entrance presents an equally noble 
 display of architectural beauty, it being highly 
 enriched with niches and figures. The north and 
 south sides of the nave are divided into eight 
 
 equal 
 
YORKSHIRE. 175 
 
 equal parts, each part containing a window be- 
 tween two buttresses, which support the lateral 
 aisles: from these again spring flying buttresses, 
 sustaining the more elevated walls of the nave ; 
 and between every two is a window, correspond- 
 ing: with the one below. 
 
 -•» 
 
 The east end is a fine piece of uniform work- 
 manship, highly characteristic of the good taste 
 of the builder, and presenting, among other ex- 
 cellencies, one of the most noble windows in the 
 world. Before entering the Church, I cannot 
 forbear observing, that the great tower is consi- 
 derably too low for the vast magnitude of the 
 whole building: as it is evidently unfinished in its 
 present state, it is probable that a spire was origi- 
 nally projected; and if so, it is to be lamented 
 that it was not executed, as it would add consi- 
 derably to the majesty of the whole. 
 
 This Cathedral having, as we have seen, been 
 erected at different periods, is somewhat irregular 
 in its parts: this is particularly observable on en- 
 tering tbe Church, the north and south transepts 
 not corresponding with each other; yet still there 
 is more attention to unity, than is often ob- 
 served in those ancient buildings which have been 
 produced by different hands: from the time that 
 Walter Grey began the South Cross, nearly two 
 hundred years had elapsed before this fabric was 
 completed. After 
 
176* YORKSHIRE. 
 
 After the mind has disengaged itself from the 
 effect produced by the vastness of the structure, 
 it naturally looks for particulars on which it may 
 dwell with more repose. On advancing up the 
 Nave, the first object that arrests the atten- 
 tion, is the beautiful Screen, which separates the 
 choir from the body of the Church. This elegant 
 piece of architecture is divided into a number of 
 canopied niches, highly enriched, in which is 
 placed a regular succession of our Kings, from 
 William the Conqueror to Henry the Fifth : the 
 last niche had formerly held the statue of Henry 
 the Sixth ; yet this was removed, probably, on 
 the final success of his opponent, and the place 
 left vacant for many years; but on James the 
 First visiting this city, the Dean and Chapter 
 filled up the vacancy with his figure. These statues 
 are in a most wretched bad style of sculpture, the 
 execution not evincing the smallest taste in the 
 artist. On entering the door which is in the 
 middle of this Screen, all the beauties of the choir 
 are displayed to the delighted spectator. The 
 most fastidious critic must be charmed with it; 
 nothing can exceed the beauty and sharpness ex- 
 hibited in the wood-work of the stalls; and their 
 rich dark color coming in opposition with the 
 stone, produces a most happy effect. The Screen 
 at the back of the Communion Table forms ano- 
 ther most elegant specimen of the Gothic, it 
 abounding in beauty and fine taste. It is com- 
 posed 
 
YORKSHIRE. 177 
 
 posed of light tracery work, which is now filled 
 up with glass, and when viewed from the oppo- 
 site side, by receiving the reflection of the painted 
 glass of the east window, produces a deception 
 altogether magical, the spectator appearing to 
 stand between two windows. 
 
 There is a great profusion of painted glass in 
 this Church, which may please those who look 
 for no higher excellence than such as merely re- 
 sults from the manufacture of that article ; but 
 should an higher degree of merit be sought for, 
 the spectator will be disappointed. Many igno- 
 rantly suppose that the art of painting on glass is 
 lost; but the fine window of New College Chapel, 
 at Oxford, is in itself sufficient to convince the 
 world, that it was never found till now. 
 
 Among the numberless curiosities in this Ca- 
 thedral, some of the ancient Tombs are well worthy 
 of attention. Those modern performances which 
 profess to give the representations of humanity, 
 are execrable; the best is that to the memory of 
 the Honorable Thomas Watson Wentworth, and 
 bad is the best: they rather disgrace than orna- 
 ment the building. 
 
 The Chapter House is another building to which 
 the attention of strangers is directed, and they 
 are always reminded of the silly motto, 
 
 A a Ut 
 
178 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 Ut Rosa flos florum, die est Domus ista Domorum. 
 
 When in its splendor, " with its shining walls" 
 all glittering with gold and silver, it must have 
 made a most brilliant appearance, such as would 
 captivate the eye; but the proportions of this 
 room by no means correspond with my notions of 
 symmetry; it is all windows; and I imagined 
 myself in a huge bird-cage. It is, however, most 
 profusely enriched with ornaments. Round the bot- 
 tom of the building are the seats for the canons, 
 highly decorated with carving; the canopies over 
 the seats are supported by clusters of small columns. 
 The plan of this structure is an octagon ; the win- 
 dows are filled with painted glass, representing 
 Saints, Kings, and other personages. 
 
 Having thus sketched the general character of 
 this noble building, I must refer those who wish 
 for more ample particulars, to the elaborate de- 
 scription of this Cathedral by Drake. Quitting 
 the Minster, I shall mention such other objects 
 in York City as attracted my attention, either as- 
 antiquities, or from possessing something of the 
 picturesque character. 
 
 The 
 

 S 
 
 ^ 
 
yorkshire. 179 
 
 The Ouse Bridge 
 
 Is an object highly deserving of notice from 
 the lover of drawing ; with the surrounding ob- 
 jects, it composes a scene that would have delight- 
 ed Cannaletti, and rivals many of his finest Ve- 
 netian views. The bridge is composed of five 
 arches; the centre arch is a noble portion of a 
 circle* twenty-seven yards wide, and from the 
 spring of the arch seventeen yards high. On the 
 Bridge is the Great Council Chamber, and the 
 Prison for Debtors and Felons; these, with the 
 various irregular buildings that decorate the 
 A a 2 banks 
 
 * In this assertion, though corroborated by a subsequent re- 
 mark, Me. D ayes appears to stand alone. Among the artists who 
 have made drawings of the Bridge, are the Royal Academician, 
 Faringdon, whose view of it was engraved by Birch; Varley, 
 the Elder; and Girtin, tw : o of whose sketches are now before 
 me ; all of whom have delineated the great arch as pointed. That 
 it should assume a different appearance in the eyes of my deceased 
 friend, who made a sketch of each side of the Bridge, from one 
 of which the annexed view was engraved, is extremely singular ; 
 but that it really did so, is evident, not only from the sketches 
 themselves, but also from a note twice repeated in his sketch- 
 book in these words, the Great Arch is circular. This contrariety 
 of opinion was unknown to me when I visited York in December, 
 1803, or I should have endeavoured to have discovered the cause 
 in which it originated : since the present work was at press, how- 
 ever, the subject has been mentioned to a friend, who, in a letter 
 lately received from York, observes, that he went beneath the 
 arch in a boat, and that it is certainly pointed. E. 
 
180 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 banks of the river Ouse, the craft, and a multi- 
 tude of busy figures employed in loading and 
 unloading the vessels, present a fine set of objects 
 for the attention of the draughtsman. It is in 
 contemplation to remove the buildings on the 
 Bridge; but whenever that takes place, much of 
 the picturesque character of this fine scene will 
 be destroyed. It is a singular circumstance, that 
 most of the persons who have drawn this Bridge, 
 have described the centre arch as a pointed one; 
 perhaps this error may have arisen from the immen- 
 sity of the arch, as the intersection of the oppo- 
 site side, to the spectator, presents an angle so 
 exceedingly sharp, as to deceive a superficial ob- 
 server into a belief of its being really pointed. 
 
 Four principal gates, or bars, and five posterns, 
 compose the various entrances into this City; but 
 the only one deserving of particular notice is that 
 called Micklegate Bar. This is situated in 
 the south-west quarter of the City, on the Lon- 
 don road. The whole is in form a triplet, sup- 
 porting a massy pile of Gothic turrets, &c. An- 
 tiquaries consider the interior gate as a Roman 
 work ; it forms a true segment of a circle, of well- 
 finished masonry, in millstone grit. The outer 
 gate had formerly a massy iron chain across it, 
 and also a portcullis; it has still strong double 
 wooden gates, which are closed every night at 
 ten o'clock. This Bar presents a picturesque fea- 
 ture 
 
YORKSHIRE. 181 
 
 ture from the London road, which is much im- 
 proved hy including the remains of the Hospital 
 of St. Thomas. 
 
 The Castle, as it is called, is a modern build- 
 ing, serving for the County Jail, and other pur- 
 poses : near it is a high Mount, on which is 
 Clifford's Tower. The ground-plan of this 
 building is singular; it is formed by the segment 
 of four circles joined together, and meeting with- 
 in one larger circle. There is no doubt that the 
 mount on which this building stands is artificial: 
 the Tower is said to have been the work of Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, who appointed one of the 
 Clifford Family to be the governor, from which 
 circumstance it has derived its name. On the 
 festival of St. George, in the year 1684, the ma- 
 gazine took fire, and blew up, leaving the Tower 
 a mere shell, which it remains to this day. Over 
 the entrance are the Royal arms, and those of the 
 Cliffords, Chequee and a Fess, ensigned with an 
 Earl's coronet. From the summit of this buildins- 
 is a comprehensive view of the City, and surround- 
 ing country. It is now, with its accompanying- 
 works, in private hands : the ditch having been; 
 converted into a garden, is full of trees. 
 
 On the manor-shore, close by the river Ouse, 
 are the small remains of the once magnificent Ab- 
 bey of St. Mary. The ruins occupy a consi- 
 
 i derable 
 
182 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 derable tract of ground, but present little to en- 
 tertain the eye, excepting some fragments of the 
 Church. This building does not appear to have 
 been in the form of a cross, as is usual in Gothic 
 churches ; for though the west entrance, with the 
 side aisles, may be easily traced, and the north 
 side, and part of the east end, are yet standing, 
 there is no appearance of any transept. The 
 Church seems to have been small; but its remains 
 exhibit specimens of great richness in ornament. 
 
 There is a striking similitude in the character 
 of the Architecture of all the religious foundations 
 in Yorkshire; they form quite a school of the 
 Gothic, whoever was the person it originated 
 with. This is easily observed, by comparing St. 
 Mary's Abbey with Rippon Minster, parts of 
 Fountains, Rievale, By land, and others. Indeed, 
 there is not only a resemblance in the style, but 
 also a classical elegance in the buildings, not to 
 be exceeded by any in Great Britain. The deep- 
 ly recessed doorway does not occur so frequently 
 in Yorkshire as in other parts of the kingdom, 
 •which, in my opinion, is a proof of a superior 
 taste in the builders, who thereby avoided that 
 tiresome repetition of similar mouldings, which 
 fatigue the eye to look on, particularly where the 
 recess is great. 
 
 This was a Benedictine Abbey, and one of the 
 •richest in England. Browne Willis mentions it 
 
 in 
 
YORKSHIRE. 183 
 
 in his list " of Mitred Abbeys. "In the time 
 of William the Conqueror, Alan, Earl of Rich- 
 mond, gave the Church of St. Olave, near this 
 City, with four acres to build offices on, to Ab- 
 bot Stephen, and his Convent of Benedictine 
 Monks, who had been driven away from Whitby 
 and Listingay. But that Church being too small, 
 King William Rufus, about A. D. 1088, gave 
 ground for building a larger ; and laid the foun- 
 dation with his own hand, to the honor of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary, and endowed the Monaste- 
 ry with ample possessions. Its revenues were in- 
 creased by other benefactions; and at the time 
 of the Dissolution (when here were fifty monks) 
 to the value of 20851. Is. 5d. per annum, ac- 
 cording to Speed; and 15501. 7s. Od. Dugdale. 
 But in the original roll of the valor, 26th of 
 Henry VIII. their total yearly income was rated 
 at 20911. 4s. 7^d. and clearly at 16501. Os. 7^d." # 
 At the period of the Dissolution, it appears that 
 there were no fewer than 129 different religious 
 foundations in this county ; and in York alone 
 were eighty-nine of the number, not including 
 the places of worship of the regular Clergy, f 
 
 This 
 
 * Tamier. 
 
 f Speed has given the following list of the religious foundations 
 suppressed by Henry the Eighth. Monasteries 645. Colleges 90, 
 those of Oxford and Cambridge not included. Hospitals 110; 
 with Chauntries and Free Chapels 2374. Their total valuation, 
 as rated at the taxation in the time of Henry the Eighth, being 
 320,1801. 10s. which, according to the above author, were fa- 
 vorably and far under-rated. 
 
184 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 This city is supposed to have been first incor- 
 porated by Henry the First ; but the oldest char- 
 ter existing, is one of King John, dated in 1199: 
 the privileges have been enlarged or changed by 
 many of the succeeding Monarchs ; the present 
 charter was granted by James the Second. York 
 is governed by a Lord Mayor, a Recorder, two 
 City Counsel, twelve Aldermen, two Sheriffs, 
 twenty-four Assistants, seventy-two Common 
 Councilmen, and six Chamberlains. Here is a 
 Mansion-House for the residence of the Lord 
 Mayor; an elegant Assembly-Room, built by the 
 celebrated Richard, Earl of Burlington ; and se- 
 veral other public buildings. 
 
 Two very singular anecdotes are mentioned as 
 being connected with this city, which I cannot 
 forbear relating. Fuller has recorded, that one 
 John Lepton, Esq. of York, servant to James the 
 First, made himself remarkable, by performing a 
 piece of exercise, so violent in its kind, as not to 
 have been paralleled either before or since. For 
 a considerable wager, he undertook to ride, on 
 six days together, the distance between York 
 and London, being not less than 197 miles; 
 and he performed it accordingly. He set out 
 from Aldersgate, May 28th, 1606, and ac- 
 complished his journey every day before it was 
 dark.* The other anecdote relates to one William 
 
 Nevison, 
 
 * See farther, Saudersou's Life of James the First. 
 
YORKSHIRE. 185 
 
 Nevison, who, having committed a robbery near 
 London, about sun-rise, (tradition says at Gads- 
 Hill, in Kent,) crossed the Thames at Tilbury 
 Fort, and finding he was known, fled to York, 
 which place he reached the same day, having 
 performed the whole journey on one mare. This 
 person (whom Charles the Second used to call 
 Swift Nick) saved- his life for that time, by his 
 wonderful expedition ; for though he was appre- 
 hended, and the witnesses swore positively to him, 
 yet, proving himself to have been on the Bowling- 
 Green at York, before sun-set on the same day the 
 robbery had been committed, neither the Judge 
 nor the Jury would believe them. He was after- 
 wards hanged at York, on other charges, May 
 4th, 1684.* About one mile to the south of this 
 City, is a capital Horse-course, said to be one of 
 the best in England, on which is built a noble 
 stand for the accommodation of the company. 
 At York I terminated my Pedestrian Excursion, 
 and proceeded immediately by the coach to 
 London. 
 
 As a corollary to the above particulars, I shall add 
 a few words concerning Yorkshire in general. 
 It is a maritime county, situated on the eastern 
 side of the Island, and by far the largest in the 
 kingdom. Grose observes, that it is equal in 
 
 B b extent 
 
 * History of York. 
 
186 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 extent to several of the Sovereignties in Germany, 
 and superior to the whole of the Seven United 
 Provinces. Under the Britons, it formed the 
 greatest part of the Principality of the Brigantes; 
 as it did that of the province Maxima Cssariensis 
 of the Romans, Avhich extended from the river 
 Humber to the river Tyne. During the domina- 
 tion of the Saxons, it composed the greatest part 
 of the kingdom of the Northumbrians, which be- 
 gan in the year 547, and ended in 827; including 
 a race of thirty-one Kings. In Alfred's division 
 of his Kingdom into Counties, it included Dur- 
 ham and Lancashire. Its present boundaries are, 
 Durham on the north; the river Humber, Lin- 
 colnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire, on 
 the south ; the German Ocean on the east ; and 
 on the west, Lancashire, Westmoreland, and a 
 small part of Cheshire. This extensive tract of 
 country is watered by many considerable rivers, 
 the principal of which are the Derwent, the Ouse, 
 the Hull, the Swale, the Ure, the Nidd, the 
 Wherfe, the Aire, the Calder, the Don, the Tees, 
 and the Ribble: to these may be added the Hum- 
 ber ; though this is more properly an estuary, or 
 gulph, as it receives most of the above rivers. 
 Among the less considerable streams, are the Ro- 
 ther, the Rie, the Skell, the Greta, the Mersey, 
 the Foulness, and the Levan : all the rivers 
 abound with excellent fish. Grose reckons this 
 county to contain seventy-two extensive Parks, 
 i and 
 
YORKSHIRE. 187 
 
 and sixty-two Bridges. It produces cattle, deer, 
 sheep, excellent horses, goats, sea and river fish, 
 fowls of various kinds, game, liquorice, and rape- 
 seed. Here are manufactured woollen cloths, ca- 
 lico, pins, and fine lace. It affords lime-stone, 
 lead, copper, calamine, iron, coal, free-stone, 
 alum, jet, marble, copperas, kelp, wood, and 
 numerous other substances^ By the extensive 
 inland navigations, its produce is circulated over 
 almost every part of England and Wales. 
 
 The inhabitants of this most delightful county 
 appear, in general, to be in a high state of culti- 
 vation; they are polite, hospitable, and attentive, 
 to strangers ; being totally destitute of that nar- 
 rowness of soul, that too frequently gives the 
 most exquisite pain of mind to the observer. 
 The manners of the females are extremely amia- 
 ble ; they are mild as the zephyrs of their own 
 native vales, and fascinate, by their beauty, like 
 the spring. 
 
 The extent and population of Yorkshire are 
 given as below: length, 130 miles; breadth, 90; 
 circumference, 460. It contains 5490 square 
 miles; or 3,513,600 acres. It is usually divided 
 into three Ridings, respectively denominated East, 
 West, and North, containing 68 market-towns, 
 and between 16 and 1700 parishes and townships. 
 The City of York may be regarded as a Capital 
 
 Bb 2 to 
 
188 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 to the north of England. The returns made un- 
 der the late act, are these : East Riding, 26,462 
 houses, 31,544 families, 67,457 males, 71,967 fe- 
 males ; total 139,424. North Riding, houses 
 32,526, families 34,542, males 74,904, females 
 80,602 ; total 155,506. West Riding, houses 
 115,871, familes 117,379, males 276,005, females 
 287,948; total 563,953. This county sends thirty 
 Members to Parliament. 
 
 Before I take a last farewell, my readers will 
 permit me to express a hope, that I have not been 
 found altogether an unentertaining companion. 
 To further merit I can hardly venture to lay a 
 claim, except it be to that of having recommend- 
 ed a visit to some of the finest scenery in Great 
 Britain. Should my aim be disappointed, I must 
 comfort myself with the recollection, that human 
 events are uncertain, and that there is nothing in 
 Nature stedfast ; the world itself being an eternal 
 circulation of vicissitudes and changes. God 
 only, remains immutable in his own essence, and 
 is the centre of all things ! I will therefore con- 
 clude with a wish, that we all may meet hereafter 
 in that happy place, where trouble ceases, change 
 is unknown, and time shall be no more. 
 
 END OF THE EXCURSION. 
 
ESSAYS 
 
 ON 
 
 PAINTING. 
 
 O 1 attend, 
 Whoe'er thou art whom these delights can touch, 
 Whose candid bosom the refining love 
 Of Nature warms, 
 
 And I will guide thee to her fav'rite walks, 
 And teach thy solitude her voice to hear, 
 And point her loveliest features to thy view. 
 
 Akenside, 
 
ESSAY I. 
 
 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION AS CONNECTED WITH 
 LANDSCAPE PAINTING. 
 
 J. HE principles that govern this branch of composition, ex- 
 tend to every other connected with the art of painting, whether 
 the subject be history, or otherwise : thus much it may be neces- 
 sary to premise, as it indicates the dependence of one part on 
 another as to the forming a whole. By inquiring into the obstruc- 
 tions to the obtaining a knowledge of this elegant and pleasing art, 
 we shall find them to arise (as in most other cases) from a want of 
 knowing what plan to pursue, and often from improper instruc- 
 tions ; much of our success depending on being once in a right road. 
 
 Many are taught to believe, that, by copying parts, they will 
 be able to form a whole ; and this error is, in some measure, en- 
 couraged by various publications. Few things are likely to prove 
 so injurious as pursuing petty plans ; to dare much is the charac- 
 ter of genius ; and, if we must fall, let us, at any rate, fall like 
 Phaeton. 
 
 The means most likely to enable us to acquire a knowledge in 
 this art, are, first to study pictures, and then to resort to nature ; 
 remembering to add to the stock we may collect from the wisdom 
 of others, such original matter as may result from our own di- 
 ligence : but though copying pictures may be necessary, very little 
 other knowledge will be obtained by it than what depends on the 
 mechanical parts of the art. He will at all times copy best, who 
 paints best ; nor can we ever hope to become great, by merely 
 imitating another : by such a practice we may learn how to mix 
 colors, but that is very different from a knowledge of coloring. 
 It is true, we must reason from cause to effect; but that is a mode 
 of inquiry seldom pursued by the mere copyist. 
 
 One 
 
 General Ob- 
 servations. 
 
 Best means 
 obtaining a 
 knowledge of 
 the art. 
 
 of 
 
192 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Attention and 
 temperance ne- 
 cessary to theac- 
 quirementof ex- 
 cellence. 
 
 Oue tiling necessary to the acquirement of excellence in this (or, 
 indeed, in any other branch of study) is, to think it an object of 
 sufficient consequence to deserve all our attention : this will pre- 
 vent our falling into a careless habit, and, of course, going from 
 bad to worse. Lord Chesterfield's observation should never be 
 lost sight of — " What is worth doing, is worth doing well :" — to 
 think meanly of the arts, is to want the means to become excel- 
 lent. Let us also guard against the common error, that genius cannot 
 exist unconnected with dissipation : the fact is, the most renowned 
 artists have been the most temperate. Intemperance and study 
 cannot exist in the same mind, or, at least, in such a degree as to 
 produce any sensible advantage. He who begins his career of life 
 in the gratification of his corporeal sensations, will, in time, find 
 the memory of all other delights deadened, and ultimately must 
 sink into a torpor, from which it will be impossible to rouse himself. 
 
 When this the watchful wicked wizard saw, 
 
 With sudden spring he leaped on them straight ; 
 
 And soon as touch'd by his unhallow'd paw, 
 They found themselves within the cursed gate, 
 Full hard to be repass'd, like that of Fate. 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 Materials. 
 
 Inquiry after 
 proper objects. 
 
 Superior forms 
 should be the 
 objects of selec. 
 .tion. 
 
 In treating of composition as it relates to works of fancy, it will 
 be found to involve an inquiry after proper objects, and to the put- 
 ting them together so as to form a picture. 
 
 By proper objects is meant the most perfect of their kind, ac- 
 companied with an application the most judicious. And here be- 
 gins one of our greatest difficulties, the discovering what is proper, 
 as it embraces an extensive field of action : whoever has acquired 
 a knowledge of what is right, is in a fair way to do what is right. 
 The foundation of taste is general inquiry, or an inquiry after 
 the species ; for, though all trees are green, and those of the same 
 genus resemble each other, and though rocks and mountains bear 
 a particular form, yet some are confessedly superior, and should 
 be carefully selected; for painting is not the art of imitating Na- 
 ture merely, but requires the aid of reason in choosing the most 
 -perfect of her works, and rejecting her deformities. He 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 i.93 
 
 He that brings fulsome objects to my view, 
 (As many old have done, and many new,) 
 With nauseous images my fancy fills, 
 And all go down like oxymel of squills. 
 
 Roscommon. 
 
 This principle exten Is equally to color and to every other part 
 of the art, a knowledge of which can only be obtained from na- 
 ture through the medium of art ; that is, by carefully attending 
 to the different excellencies found in the works of the most 
 esteemed masters, and diligently comparing them with nature. 
 By such a practice, we shall in time be enabled to feel their beau- 
 ties, and then we may consider ourselves in a fair way to produce 
 the like. It is not a slight or superficial view of an esteemed pic- 
 ture that can benefit us ; we must fix our mind steadily on it, till 
 we have, as it were, analysed it, or discovered the cause of each 
 particular effect, as the only means to enable us, in our future 
 operations, to work on similar principles. The best method to 
 improve and elevate our thoughts will be, by frequently contem- 
 plating the most noble objects in nature, and taking every oppor- 
 tunity of viewing pictures the most likely to inspire fine ideas. 
 But we shall view fine works of art to very little purpose, if we 
 feel no higher wish than mere imitation : if the noble enthusiasm 
 of rivalship does not possess our breasts, it is much to be feared, 
 that our remarks will be cold, and our exertions languid : let us, 
 then, like Jacob, dare to wrestle even with an angel. 
 
 Composition embraces two considerations : first, as it respects 
 alterations which may take place in a view, and which is, by the 
 artist, termed composing it; and, secondly, as it applies to works 
 of fancy purely. But as the principles of one regulate the other, 
 all that will be necessary is briefly to state, that no license should 
 betaken with the view, so as to affect the general features: diver- 
 sifying masses of earth, agreeably breaking the fore-ground, or 
 the occasional introduction or omission of any inferior object, is 
 allowable. The forms of mountains, should they appear disagree- 
 able, may be thrown into shade, or involved in clouds, in part, 
 to conceal them:; and the shadows may be artfully introduced, so 
 
 C e as 
 
 The knowledge 
 of what is right 
 in art, must be 
 obtained from 
 nature through 
 the medium, of 
 art. 
 
 Principles 
 of Composi- 
 tion. 
 
 No alterations 
 admissible in a 
 view that affects 
 the general fea- 
 tures. 
 
194 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The judicious 
 introduction of 
 figures essential 
 to eminence. 
 
 Examples of ex- 
 cellence. 
 
 as to produce an agreeably-shaped mass of light, though the ob- 
 jects themselves are unpleasant. 
 
 Though we may be thus confined in treating a view, there will 
 be ample latitude for the display of taste in the formation of the 
 clouds, trees, light, and shade, and in the disposition of the ani- 
 mated objects. One thing highly necessary in the introduction of 
 figures is, that they enter into and make part of the scene ; and 
 are not brought in as mere accompaniments, or as having no con- 
 nection with the rest of the picture. This error is daily practised, 
 and argues a most futile imagination. A man and woman talking, 
 a solitary sailor, with a bundle at his back, or miserable fisher- 
 man, with now and then a cow or two to keep each other in 
 countenance, form the utmost stretch of some peoples' fancy. By 
 a little reflection, we shall avoid such absurdities, and be enabled 
 to introduce our little group with fitness. As all ranks of persons 
 inhabit the country, it admits of the utmost diversity in the figures; 
 any degree of elevation or delicacy may be given, if accompanied 
 by an appropriate employ. If the subject is pastoral, though the 
 figures need not be Arcadian, the low and vulgar should be care- 
 fully avoided : it is our duty to raise, not depress, the human 
 species : though our pursuits are humble, they need not be mean. 
 The figures hi the bustling scenes of Vernet are highly appropriate, 
 and will be well worth consulting ; and those in the landscapes of 
 N. Poussin are excellent examples of the higher style. Gains- 
 borough appears to be the only instance of the true pastoral that 
 this country has produced, and is well worthy our attention for 
 the figures. 
 
 With a view to assist our inquiry, it may not be amiss to point 
 out the peculiar excellencies displayed in the works of some of 
 the most celebrated landscape painters. N. Poussin, for dignity, 
 will be found highly deserving attention; his buildings and figures 
 are unequalled. Titiau's coloring is rich, accompanied with great 
 freedom of hand, and fine forms of trees. G. Poussin's mountains 
 are grand, and generally form a fine line of horizon, with a pecu- 
 liarity in the deep parts of the picture, and depth of water truly 
 great. The eccentricities of Salvator Rosa will furnish an exam- 
 
 1 pie 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 195 
 
 pie of great union of parts as to chiaro-oscuro, color, composition, Examples of ex- 
 and figures, while his rocks are sublime, and grandly formed ; ce ence ' 
 the whole accompanied with great freedom of penciling. The co- 
 loring of Claude is fine, accompanied with a lovely tone of air ; 
 but his compositions often appear studied ; or, in other words, 
 over-labored, from the introduction of too many beautiful parts. 
 Wilson's compositions are grand, with a tone of color truly Titian- 
 esque, and a light and shade unequalled. 
 
 The pastoral excellencies must be sought among the works of 
 the Dutch and Flemish masters, particularly in those of Rubens, 
 whose color and chiaro-oscuro are fine; Tenieis, Jun. who, for 
 firmness of touch, and the true silvery tone, stands unrivalled ; 
 Cuyp, for a light elegant touch, fine color, and cattle ; P. Potter 
 for cattle, and, in his best pictures, a deep tone of color ; both 
 the latter for a light elegant pencil, exquisite warm amber color, 
 and elegantly formed trees ; Berghem and Wouverman for animals, 
 with a long string of et ceteras : Canaletti's buildings are boldly 
 handled, with a fine tone of color. To enumerate all the excel- 
 lencies to be found in the different masters were endless. It 
 would be, however, unpardonable to pass over the merits of 
 our countrymen Gainsborough and Barret ; not to mention many 
 justly celebrated living artists, whose works will ever rank among 
 those of the first masters. The former, for lightness of handling, 
 elegant rusticity of figures, breadth of chiaro-oscuro, and sweet 
 silvery tone of color, is highly worthy of attention ; while the lat- 
 ter, for the character of a tree, and the true tone of grey distance, 
 is highly estimable. The three great names of Wilson, Gains- 
 borough, and Barret, form a school for the student, while then- 
 labors reflect the highest honor on our nation. 
 
 Some author calls painting a sixth sense; it certainly adds a de- Advantage ari- 
 light to the existence of the artist, by enabling him to eniov manv sm S from tIle 
 
 . . •,,, J J . J stu dy f t he art. 
 
 beauties unnoticed by the common eye. 
 
 For him the Spring 
 Distills her dews, and from the silken gem 
 Its lucid leaves unfolds : for him the hand 
 Of Autumn tinges every fertile branch 
 With blooming gold. Akenside. 
 
 C c 2 These 
 
196 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Naturethegrand 
 source. 
 
 Objects of the 
 heroic, or high- 
 er style of land- 
 scape. 
 
 Of the pastoral 
 style. 
 
 Exertion and re- 
 flection equally 
 necessary. 
 
 These beauties, as they escape common observation, render it 
 more our bounden duty not to suffer them to pass without 
 making such memorandums as may secure them for future use : 
 unless we do this, and resort frequently to nature for our mate- 
 rials, we shall fall into a habit of repeating ourselves, and our pic- 
 tures will appear as if made up from the same small stock of ideas. 
 It becomes an indispensible duty with us to view even thing with 
 an eye to the art; from the palace to the cottage, from the craggy 
 rock to the humble bank of earth ; and the various kinds of trees, 
 with each species of shrub, must not pass unnoticed. To the artist 
 every tiling is of use ; beautiful or terrific, awfully vast, or ele- 
 gantly little ; all, all must be treasured up for future use : but still 
 in our research, not the individual, but the species, must form the 
 object of inquiry. 
 
 The higher style of landscape is by some termed the heroic, to 
 distinguish it from the pastoral* Among the objects of which the 
 former is composed may be considered temples, pyramids, ruins 
 of ancient palaces and castles, altars, mountains covered with 
 snow, or involved in clouds, hanging rocks, and huge blocks, 
 bursting, as it were, out of the earth, &c. &c. Of objects for 
 the latter, cottages, close woods, with open views of champaign 
 countries, &c. may be noticed. These can only be considered as 
 making the general features ; a further information will depend on 
 industry. 
 
 To act is as necessary as to think : he who spends a life in com- 
 paring the styles of different masters, their peculiarities of color, 
 and effect, or the propriety of their compositions, may, in the end, 
 find himself "a mere critic, but will never raise himself to the rank 
 of an artist. Great advantage will be derived by frequently com- 
 paring our own works with the labors of others : this will give 
 us cause to rejoice at our improvement ; or, what is a great step 
 towards it, will -enable us to discover our detects. 
 
 The arts would be unworthy our pursuit, were they of easy at- 
 tainment; we should, therefore, if we wish to acquire excellence, be 
 
 careful 
 
 * There is a third, a sort of mixed style, which does not deserve par- 
 ticular description, as it is composed of the other two. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 197 
 
 careful not to suffer ourselves to be robbed of our time through an 
 indolence of spirit; something should be done every day, if we ex- 
 pect success. He who feels a desire to act, should be prompt to 
 embrace the golden offer : if we neglect the opportunity to-day, we 
 shall feel less inclined to-morrow ; nor are we sure, at any other 
 time, we shall be able to rekindle the same ardor. To act is far 
 easier than to suffer; let us, therefore, husband that time, the con- 
 tinuance of which is so uncertain, and its loss so irrecoverable. 
 
 Indolence the 
 grand enemy to 
 the attainment of 
 eminence. 
 
 Be wise to-day ; 'tis madness to defer ; 
 Next day the fatal precedent will plead : 
 Thus on, till wisdom is push'd out of life. 
 
 Young. 
 
 In forming compositions it will not be sufficient to bring together 
 materials only ; this can, at best, serve only to indicate a fertility 
 of invention ; they must be combined in such a way, as to preserve 
 a unity in the whole. Imagination is shown in the production of 
 materials, but to arrange them requires the soundest judgment. 
 To make all the parts of the picture tend to excite but one .emo- 
 tion, will require the utmost care. If the scene to be described is 
 solemn, no lively nor fantastic image can be admitted : on the con- 
 trary, if the agreeable is intended, every tiling gloomy or sad 
 should be rejected. The necessity of this union of parts is equally 
 understood by the poet, as the following quotations from Milton 
 will evince : there is the utmost unity of parts in each, though 
 tending to produce different sensations. 
 
 Bight against the eastern gate, 
 Where the great Sun begins his state, 
 Rob'd in flames and amber light, 
 The clouds in thousand liveries dight, 
 While the ploughman, near at hand, 
 Whistles o'er the furrow'd land, 
 And the milkmaid singeth blythe, 
 And the mower whets his scythe, 
 And every shepherd tells his tale 
 Under the hawthorn in the dale. 
 
 L'Allegro. 
 
 How 
 
 Combination 
 
 The proper ar- 
 rangement of 
 objects depends 
 on sound judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Incongruous 
 objects are not 
 admissible in the 
 same piece. 
 
198 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Incongruous 
 objects are not 
 admissible in the 
 same piece, 
 
 Imperfect infor- 
 mation, a conse- 
 quence of the 
 deficiency of 
 knowledge in 
 teachers. 
 
 Utility 
 arts. 
 
 of the 
 
 Methods of as- 
 sisting the ima- 
 ination. 
 
 How animated, how lively is the whole effect, particularly when 
 contrasted with the following : 
 
 Till civil-suited Morn appear, 
 Nor trick'd and frounc'd as she was wont 
 ' With the Attic boy to hunt, 
 But kerchief 'd in a comely cloud, 
 While rocking winds are piping loud, 
 Or usher'd with a shower still, 
 When the gust has blown his fill, 
 Ending on the rustling leaves, 
 With minute drops from off the eaves. 
 [l Penseroso. 
 
 It is evident, from the above examples, that figures, color, and 
 chiaro-oscuro, must all have one tendency, or the picture can never 
 form a complete whole. 
 
 We need not wonder at that want of information in the higher 
 walks of art which at present pervades society, if we consider the 
 want of knowledge in those who make a trade of teaching, and the 
 effect of the number of drawing-books poured on the public. Some 
 consider neatness an object ; others, touch, the form of a tree ; or 
 usher forth, as examples of art, incorrect sketches to copy ; all 
 being content with offering a part, none teaching the combination 
 of a whole ; or that to embody a grand idea is the highest point 
 of human intellect. We are in duty bound to exert ourselves to 
 improve the national taste by every fair and honest means ; and, 
 should we be so unfortunate as not to succeed, we may be com- 
 forted by the recollection, that to labor to obtain excellence is ex- 
 cellent, as well as to endure whatever may be the result. 
 
 Many deny the utility of the arts, while others acknowledge 
 them as remotely useful only ; but this is to question whether 
 sight be preferable to blindness, sense to folly, or life to death. 
 As we exist in the senses, to give them a keener relish through the 
 medium of the sciences, is truly Epicurean. 
 
 Various schemes have been recommended to assist the powers 
 of imagination. One advises contemplating the breaks in the plas- 
 tering of old walls ; another, the veins in marble ; and a third, as 
 
 the 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 199 
 
 the ne plus ultra, has produced a system of blotting : but those 
 methods, however ingenious, are fallacious. Gainsborough is said 
 to have formed landscapes on the table with broken stones, dried 
 herbs, and pieces of looking-glass ; and Chattelain, whose drawing 
 he was fond of, used to design his rocks from lumps of coal. This 
 is a bad practice. If we do not resort to nature for our materials, 
 and connect our inquiry with the best works of art, our composi- 
 tions must not be expected to rise above the pastoral character of 
 those of the former ; and our rocks, like those of the latter, may 
 smell of the coal-hole. 
 
 The Dutch painters, in their local representations, have copied 
 each object as it occurred, without attempting to improve them ; 
 which many imagine gives them a certain natural air, which, by 
 the bye, is absurd, and argues a great want of taste : tliis error 
 equally attaches to the Flemish school, and may be seen even in 
 the landscapes of Rubens. The universal affection for landscape 
 painting does not arise from the love of imitation merely; the pas- 
 toral scenes of the Dutch delight from other motives, and princi- 
 pally because familiar to every imagination ; they exliibit a life of 
 peace, leisure, and innocence, with joy, plenty, and contentment; 
 blessings not to be found in the bustling scenes of active life. One 
 rule we are obliged to observe in the pastoral ; that is, not to re- 
 present scenes of wretchedness, or such objects as may disgust. 
 In composing scenes of rural life, though they do not require any 
 great elevation of thought, or extraordinary capacity in the ar- 
 rangement of the parts, yet they demand the greatest care in the 
 finishing, cleanness and delicacy in the coloring, and the utmost 
 unity and simplicity throughout the whole. To give interest, we 
 should add all that stock of lesser graces dependent on ourselves ; 
 such as a light elegant touch, beauty and clearness of color, and 
 a graceful simplicity of form. Scenes that do not interest from 
 themselves, must be made to do so by the labors of the artist ; 
 but where the subject is grand, we should clothe it with all the 
 dignity of art, accompanied witli a broad, firm, and spirited 
 handling. 
 
 The 
 
 Methods of as- 
 sisting the ima- 
 gination. 
 
 To resort to na- 
 ture is the best 
 practice. 
 
 Pastoral land- 
 scape delights 
 from its domes- 
 tic character. 
 
 Rural scenes re- 
 quire cleanness 
 and delkacy in 
 the finishing, 
 and simplicity 
 in the design. 
 
200 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The choice and 
 forms of objects 
 to be represent- 
 ed, should de- 
 pend on the 
 emotions to be 
 excited. 
 
 All agreeable 
 sensations are 
 founded in tem- 
 perance. 
 
 The use of lines 
 in painting, as 
 indicative of 
 motion and pas- 
 sion. 
 
 The beautiful, in painting, as in poetry and music, is calculated 
 to move the softer passions ; therefore every thing abrupt and hard 
 should be rejected in the forms of the objects, chiaro-oscuro, or 
 color ; as is instanced in Claude's best pictures. But where a 
 stronger emotion is to be raised, the images, forms, color, and 
 light and shade, by possessing contrary properties, will conspire to 
 excite opposite sensations, as in the works of Salvator Rosa, and 
 some of Wilson's grand compositions. Abrupt, angular, and dark 
 objects, associate best with the sublime, accompanied with a cer- 
 tain degree of obscurity and depth of color. Violent passions of 
 the mind are ever accompanied with actions more or less angular ; 
 on the contrary, beauty loves the easy sweeping line of grace, with 
 perspicuity, light, and a richness of color: in fact, one effect 
 should, as much as possible, be calculated to excite painful, the 
 other agreeable, sensations. Mountains involved in clouds, and 
 objects seen through a mist, will always appear with more dignity 
 than if distinctly viewed. Massy and dark skies will best associate 
 with the grand, while the more light and fleecy will ever attend 
 the beautiful. 
 
 All agreeable sensations are founded in temperance : too great a 
 quantity of light, color, or sound, excites pain. It is the temper- 
 ance of eating, drinking, sleeping, nay, of every thing, that makes 
 them delightful. The intemperance of Alexander caused him to 
 weep for more worlds to conquer — Horrid ! 
 
 As lines are strongly expressive of motion and passion, perhaps, 
 in a boisterous sky, the forms ought to intersect each other more 
 angularly than in a tranquil scene ; for, as a straight line is indica- 
 tive of rest, every departure from it must imply motion ; therefore 
 the nearer the forms, in crossing each other, approach to a right 
 angle, the more expressive of violence. But we must use caution 
 in the practice. The slowly gliding river excites the idea of rest in 
 its straight lines, in opposition to the contorted ones in the rushing 
 current : the violent motion of lightning is always in acute angles. 
 It is nearly the same whether the eye or the object moves : if the 
 sight is employed in tracing lines running abruptly in contrary di- 
 rections, it will convey the idea of violent motion, though it is not 
 
 the 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 201 
 
 the lines but the eye that moves* The easy serpentine sweeping 
 lines, expressive of the meandering of rivers or roads, serve won- 
 derfully to carry off the distance. Of this there is a fine example 
 in the picture of " Going to Market," by Rubens, at Buckingham- 
 House. The same thing, if used with caution, in the formation of 
 clouds, will carry the eye into the distance, and help the deception. 
 
 Those who have not the opportunity of frequently applying to 
 pictures, will find their advantage in a good collection of prints ; 
 but they must not be used to steal from, which is beneath the 
 dignity of a great and independent spirit, but to study from, to 
 acquire a knowledge of composition and chiaro-oscuro. An indif. 
 ferent original composition will always be superior to one patched 
 together with stolen materials. 
 
 In arranging the materials of our picture, all that can be recom- 
 mended is, to avoid regular forms in the mass of objects ; as an- 
 gular, circular, or any geometrical figure. That regularity which 
 constitutes a beauty in buildings, would become a deformity in 
 landscape. Should a long line of horizon, or any other objects, 
 occur in a view, to diversify it, some part should be left obscure, 
 if it does not admit of breaking ; and in composing the clouds, 
 and light and shade, we have an opportunity of helping the effect, 
 by giving them a slight tendency to a contrary direction : few 
 things appear so unpleasant or tiresome, as long horizontal lines 
 following each other. But, however desirable variety may be, we 
 should be careful to guard against running into an affected con- 
 trast ; the worst evil of the two. We must be cautious that our 
 composition does not crowd too much into one part of the picture ; 
 but, by way of supporting a sort of balance, some one mass, as a 
 counterpoise, should appear in another part : this is not confined 
 to the objects merely, but equally extends to chiaro-oscuro and 
 color, to prevent a spottiness. It is a fault not uncommon, to 
 have too many parts in the composition : this should be avoided 
 in elevated scenes, whose parts should be simple, and little deco- 
 rated : much finishing would destroy the simple dignity such sub- 
 jects require. The back-grounds to some of Sir Joshua's pictures 
 are in the first style of landscape painting. 
 
 Dd It 
 
 The use of lines 
 in painting* as 
 indicative of 
 motion and pas- 
 sion. 
 
 The judicious 
 selection and r- 
 rangement of 
 materials neces- 
 sary to the for- 
 mation of a good 
 picture. 
 
202 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 To judge pro- It will be our duty to divest ourselves of prejudice as much as 
 perlv of works possible in viewing works of art; if we become partial to one mas- 
 be divested of ter, we lose the benefit we ought to derive from them all : and let 
 p ' us by no means adopt the conduct of those who view old pictures 
 
 to find out their excellencies, and modern ones to discover their 
 defects. Painting, as before observed, is not, what many iguo- 
 rantly suppose, the art of copying nature merely : no, it requires 
 the aid of reason, and strong reason, to judge of what is fit for 
 the art, and that it is which makes it au art indeed : a trifling skill 
 will enable a man to become a mere imitator. It must be ob- 
 served, however, that if our composition does not rise above com- 
 mon nature, it will be less interesting than a more indifferent local 
 scene, fitted to increase our topographical knowledge. 
 The noble and From the whole of our inquiry it results, that the mind should 
 
 lone the proper never cease from its pursuit after whatever is beautiful or grand ; 
 objects of inqui- i et ^ fjjgj^ D y gjj abstract inquiry, endeavor to create a nature 
 of our own, if possible, more dignified and noble than the one 
 that strikes our senses : we should feel an enthusiasm in our pur- 
 suits not to be satisfied with any perfection short of divine. 
 
 ESSAY II. 
 
 ON TASTE. 
 
 'Tis taste, 'tis genius, 'tis heav'nly ray, 
 Prometheus ravish'd from the car of day, 
 Mason's Fresnoy. 
 
 Taste in the arts, Taste in the arts must be considered as originating in that fa- 
 
 thosefaculriesof clu ty or ^ ose faculties of the mind, by which we are affected with, 
 the mind, by anc j f orm a right judgment in, works of the imagination. It is 
 
 which we form . . . 
 
 our judgment that which determines the painter in his choice, and trom that 
 on works of the ^ ; • d whether his taste be good or the contrary. Whe- 
 
 imagination. jo j 
 
 ther this faculty of the mind is to be acquired is doubtful ; that it 
 
 may be improved is unquestionable ; hence it becomes our duty 
 
 to avoid, particularly in our first outset, if possible, the seeing, 
 
 1 - much 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 203 
 
 much less the copying, things deformed and chimerical, as there 
 is an acquired as well as a natural dulness. He whose taste is de- 
 licately just, may be said to have received the highest polish from 
 nature, and one of her choicest gifts ; on the contrary, to want it, 
 is to be dead to all the finer feelings. The man who possesses a 
 justly cultivated taste, enjoys a thousand pleasures unknown to the 
 vulgar: 
 
 His the city's pomp, 
 The rural honours his. Whate'er adorns 
 The princely dome, the column and the arch, 
 The breathing marbles and the sculptur'd gold, 
 Beyond the proud possessor's narrow claim, 
 His tuneful breast enjoys. 
 
 Akenside. 
 
 He that possess- 
 es a true taste, 
 enjoys a thou- 
 sand pleasures 
 unknown to 
 others. 
 
 On the contrary, there are some men bora with feelings so blunt 
 and cold, that they can hardly be said to be awake during life. 
 From a degree of exquisite sensibility arises our notions of beauty 
 and deformity in the natural as well as in the moral world ; and as 
 our different minds happen to be more or less exquisite, the more 
 or less sensibly do we perceive the various degrees of good and 
 bad, and of course, are more or less capable of being charmed 
 with the right and beautiful, and disgusted with the wrong and 
 deformed. Hence it is that this sensibility constitutes what is 
 termed genius, which is only the power or capacity of clearly con- 
 ceiving and properly combining images, and of adding to mere 
 theory, practice : to which a sound head, and a good heart, is as 
 necessary as a delicate imagination ; for we cannot possess true 
 genius, without as exquisite a feeling for moral beauty, as for 
 what is great and beautiful in nature, or masterly in poetry, paint- 
 ing, sculpture, and music. 
 
 The reverse of true taste is shown hi magnificence, parade, and 
 luxury ; and in whatever is horribly glaring, extravagant, and un- 
 natural in the least degree. Gold, showy colors, gaudy tapestry, 
 the heavy, clumsy, and whatever is superfluous, will ever pass 
 with the vulgar for elegance and greatness. So persons of a bad 
 taste will prefer the forced, unnatural, and exaggerated, in ex- 
 
 D d 2 pression, 
 
 Exquisite sensi- 
 bility is the 
 source of more 
 accurate percep- 
 tion: 
 
 and of genius. 
 
 False taste is 
 shown by a 
 fondness for the 
 gaudy, the exag- 
 gerated, and the 
 unnatural. 
 
204 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The error of Sir 
 J. Reynolds in 
 assigning only 
 one principle of 
 taste, corrected, 
 as beingcontrary 
 to nature. 
 
 Truth and taste 
 not the same. 
 
 Taste improves 
 bv increase of 
 knowledge. 
 
 pression, attitude, or color, to the truly simple, noble, or beau- 
 tiful. We should be guilty of an error, were we to attempt to 
 establish one principle of taste only, for were we to establish one 
 as right, all the others must be wrong ; hence the mistake of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, in speaking of the Hercules, Gladiator, and 
 Apollo; for, though each of those figures are perfect in their 
 kind, yet Sir Joshua affirms, that the highest perfection of the 
 human figure is not to be found in any one of them, " but in that 
 form which is taken from them all, and which partakes equally of 
 the activity of the Gladiator, of the delicacy of the Apollo, and 
 of the muscular strength of the Hercules." Such an opinion is 
 contrary to nature, as it goes to destroy that variety arising from 
 the active, the delicate, and the strong : as well might we suppose 
 a fine tree from consolidating the various forms found in nature. 
 
 We must carefully distinguish between truth and taste ; for a 
 thing may be true, and not possess one atom of taste. The Dutch 
 and Flemish pictures are true, as far as mere imitation goes ; but 
 will any one say, that the wretches we see in some of Rembrandt's 
 works are tasty, or can the women of Rubens be considered as 
 such; yet those artists possessed great taste in color, chiaro-oscuro, 
 &c. We should be careful in mistaking tinsel for gold ; many 
 who represent Kings, do it by a great display of ornaments, else 
 make them strut and stare, or have recourse to a crown : even where 
 the greatest profusion of ornaments is admissible, we should be 
 sparing in their use, for fear of making that fine we cannot make 
 good. Taste and genius have been called inspiration, the gift of 
 heaven, and our feelings have been irritated by mere words, that 
 have alarmed and benumbed our faculties ; but let us attend to 
 the progress of our own minds, and we shall find that our taste 
 has improved in proportion to our industry in acquiring knowledge. 
 The old masters have, in their turn, been held up as bugbears to 
 frighten young artists; and the Italian writers on the arts have, on 
 all occasions, used the words heavenly and divine, till they have ope- 
 rated as scare-crows, to create a terror in modem painters, many 
 of whom have ceased to labour as competitors. We should never 
 suppose the most sublime degree of perfection has been attained ; 
 
 the 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 205 
 
 the fact is, the most perfect works are not without their imperfec- 
 tions, and, while that is the case, there is room to improve it. 
 M. Angelo is charged with heaviness ; Raphael as being dry, and 
 possessing a poor chiaro-oscuro ; Titian, as defective in drawing; 
 and Parmegiano, as making his figures too tall : but, while those 
 considerations act as a spur to our industry, we are bound to 
 venerate them for the great catalogue of perfections they have 
 made us heirs to. It is from these they have obtained their re- 
 nown, the imperfections being only foils. We should never forget 
 the obligations we are mider to those who have, by directing our 
 studies, introduced us to the arts ; to our parents we owe our 
 being, but to our teachers we owe the power of making a right 
 use of it, a matter of no small consequence. 
 
 Taste is not an imaginary something, depending on the accident 
 of birth, but arises from, and is immediately connected with, a 
 sound judgment. Were there not in art, as in every thing else, a 
 standard of right and wrong, all opinion must be capricious; but to 
 acquire just notions, we must habituate ourselves to compare and 
 digest our thoughts, be well read in human nature, as connected 
 with the characters, manners, passions, and affections of man ; 
 this, with some knowledge of the human mind, will, in time, en- 
 able us to distinguish right from wrong, which constitutes the true 
 principles of taste. We must distinguish real from apparent truth 
 in our pursuit. Real truth does not depend on opinion ; it is im- 
 mutable, fixed, and permanent, and in it must be sought what- 
 ever is grand and beautiful. Apparent truth depends on fashion, 
 and, like that, is fluctuating and uncertain ; it may be considered 
 as a sort of impostor, for, though it carries the appearance of sci- 
 ence, it is far from having any true connection with it. Such is 
 the constrained air, and erect attitude, taught in dancing, the vio- 
 lent actions used in theatres, and many others not countenanced 
 by nature, but depending wholly on custom for support. The 
 artist must tread in the simple path of nature, and leave those 
 adventitious and forced airs to the persons to whom they belong, 
 as the dancing-master and others. Unfortunately, there is a 
 fashion in art, and which the vulgar would attempt to force upon 
 
 us, 
 
 The deficiencies 
 of the old mas- 
 ters should ope- 
 rate as a spur to 
 industry. To 
 their perfections 
 the moderns are 
 greatly indebted.. 
 
 Taste is imroe- 
 diately depend- 
 enton sound and 
 comprehensive 
 judgment. 
 
 Real and appa- 
 rent truth are to 
 be carefully dis- 
 tinguished from 
 each other ; the 
 one is fixed and 
 permanent, the 
 other fluctuating 
 and mutable. 
 
206 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 .Indistinctness of 
 form to be a- 
 voided. 
 
 Works of secon- 
 dary meritnotto 
 be despised ; 
 perhaps, none 
 are unexception- 
 able, but some 
 benefit may be 
 derived from all. 
 
 The most perfect 
 taste is formed 
 by the union 
 which results 
 from the choice 
 oi the grand and 
 beautiful. Mean 
 and debased taste 
 delights in the 
 trivial and de- 
 formed. 
 
 us. Whatever is slight, crude, or undetermined, is all the rage, 
 and the artists appear to be falling into a habit of painting without 
 form : that decision observable in the old masters, and which is 
 inseparable from the grand style, is almost neglected. To paint 
 for what is termed effect, may answer the purpose of the idle, the 
 ignorant, and those who make a trade of the art, but such a prac- 
 tice will not satisfy the discerning. The only apology the artist 
 can offer is, that he must fish with such baits as will take : unfor- 
 tunately, he does not live to paint, but paints to live. The 
 Greeks had a great advantage over the moderns in having philo- 
 sophers to judge of their works, and states to reward them. 
 
 We must not reject works of art because they do not possess 
 the first degree of taste ; for they may be tasty, though not rank- 
 ing in the first class; just as we say a thing is sweet, though it is 
 only in a certain degree so. It is the condition of man to labor 
 much to obtain little ; this should make us cautious of pronouncing 
 hastily on works of art : none are unexceptionable, and perhaps 
 there are but few from which we may not derive some benefit. 
 
 Of the various degrees of taste, the grand consists in the choice 
 of objects superior to the common, not only in man, but in na- 
 ture, and in the omission of the subordinate and trivial parts. 
 Beautiful taste selects the beautiful for imitation. The union of 
 the grand and beautiful will form the best and most perfect taste. 
 Meanness of taste expresses distinctly all the trivial and little parts 
 of objects, hence the whole becomes little. The debased or cor- 
 rupt, delights in things monstrous, deformed, and ugly: it may 
 be called the grotesque, and the praise bestowed on it should be 
 as limited as the views of the artist. Those who have succeeded 
 most in this way, have been praised by the ignorant in proportion 
 to the ugliness of the objects introduced into their works. Great 
 and noble spirits will ever admire the sublime parts of creation, 
 while the rural, and all the more humble beauties, will best asso- 
 ciate with the domestic virtues. Little minds will ever be em- 
 ployed in the pursuit of trifles, while the elevated soul will seize 
 mountains in its grasp : 
 
 Who 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 207 
 
 Who that from Alpine heights his lab'ring eye 
 
 Shoots round the wide horizon to survey, 
 
 Nilus or Ganges rolling his bright wave 
 
 Through mountains, plains, through empires black with shade, 
 
 And continents of sand, will turn his gaze 
 
 To mark the windings of a scanty rill 
 
 That murmurs at his feet ? 
 
 Akenside. 
 
 Wisdom is the parent of taste and virtue : the offspring of taste 
 is pleasure ; of virtue, happiness. A man without taste, may be 
 said to be without piety, as by not feeling, he is incapable of of- 
 fering that praise which results from an admiration of the beauties 
 of creation ; he has a natural disrelish for what is good ; he be- 
 comes the enemy of all the world ; he feels not for a relative, a 
 friend, or society : the law of the land is his gospel, and his at- 
 torney regulates his conscience ; he lives without love, and dies 
 without pity. 
 
 We have two ways open to us to acquire a good taste ; the first 
 and most difficult is by a reference to nature, the second is 
 through the medium of art. But, as the former would prove too 
 difficult a task without assistance, we must first diligently apply 
 ourselves to discover it in the works of the most celebrated artists, 
 and thereby fit ourselves to pursue the same inquiry in nature. 
 
 Besides a perfection of judgment, we have also a truth of hand 
 to attain. To this end, having selected an object worthy our at- 
 tention, we are bound to imitate it with all the fidelity we are 
 masters of; and, as each master has in him excellencies not to be 
 found in any other, we must avoid a partiality, or we shall lose 
 the benefit to be derived from them all. Thus we shall obtain a 
 mass of information not to be derived from the works of any par- 
 ticular artist. Hence the benefit resulting from viewing galleries 
 of pictures, as the various masters become correctives to each 
 other, and truth results from their general testimony. The com- 
 pany and conversation of men well informed in tlie arts will contri- 
 bute to improve our taste, because artists form opinions on the 
 works of different masters according to their peculiar manner of 
 
 thinking. 
 
 Taste and virtue 
 are the offspring 
 of wisdom; and 
 their fruits are 
 pleasure and 
 happiness. 
 
 Miserable con- 
 dition of a man 
 without taste. 
 
 Way to acquire 
 a good taste. 
 
 Taste may be 
 improved by 
 studying the va- 
 rious excellen- 
 cies of different 
 masters; 
 
 and by attentive- 
 ly viewinggalle- 
 ries of pictures. 
 
JOS 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Taste may be 
 improved by the 
 conversation of 
 men well in- 
 formed in the 
 arts. 
 
 Artists must 
 work from the 
 impression of 
 nature, not from 
 the productions 
 of others. A ser- 
 vile imitation 
 constitutes a 
 mannerist. 
 
 The term schools 
 has arisen from 
 imitation, and 
 theneglect of na- 
 ture. 
 
 The knowledge 
 of what has been 
 done in the arts, 
 a necessary step 
 to the attainment 
 of eminence. 
 
 thinking, which will naturally furnish us with hints that we did 
 not attend to, and enable us to enjoy other mens' parts and reflec- 
 tions as well as our own. Information from this source must not, 
 however, be generally expected ; the artists are not all wise or li- 
 beral ; many produce an effect without knowing the cause; some 
 are morose and reserved, others unwilling to teach another what 
 they have themselves with difficulty learned ; some feu.- will be found 
 easy and communicative. 
 
 When we have made ourselves acquainted with the beauties of 
 art, we may consider ourselves at liberty to act on our own foun- 
 dation ; but we are bound to show in our works, that we act from 
 an impression made on our minds by nature, or we shall never 
 excite similar sensations in the spectator, but ultimately sink into 
 mere mannerists or imitators. A general likeness prevailing 
 through the whole of his works, must stamp the artist a man- 
 nerist ; we mean not, however, such a similitude as may happen 
 by chance. The adoption of a grace or an ornament, by no 
 means implies plagiarism. If they are introduced with fitness, 
 there can be no charge of want of judgment. This is very differ- 
 ent to using a visible or striking part of a composition, which no 
 independent spirit would stoop to. Representations of ancient 
 urns, armour, costumes, buildings, &c. will be of more value to 
 the genuiue artist, than even the finest historical or other compo- 
 sition. A knowledge of the latter he ought to possess before he 
 attempts to compose ; and the utility of urns, armour, &c. will 
 be obvious. Falling into imitation has produced what has been 
 termed the schools, and ultimately proved their ruin; Nature suf- 
 ficiently revenges herself on those who neglect her. 
 
 In the arts, as in every branch of study, the first thing we have 
 to learn, is what others have done, or, in other words, the pre- 
 sent state of human knowledge. Without this necessary informa- 
 tion, we shall stand as children only, and of course our improve- 
 ment will be but slow; besides, we shall have the mortification of 
 finding our imaginary discoveries anticipated, and our labor 
 fruitless. Another advantage will result from such an inquiry, tl>e 
 learning how much experience is within the reach of diligence. 
 
 Imitation 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 209 
 
 Imitation is the first part of painting, the second is a judicious 
 selection ; but even in the imitative part, we must cautiously shun 
 objects deformed and base, if we hope to possess the first taste, 
 and only copy such as will teach us greatness, beauty, or accuracy. 
 Such a conduct will enable us to reflect with wisdom, and also to 
 discover the cause, or from whence arise those perfections by which 
 we are moved. If, in the course of our inquiry, we find a perfection 
 prevail through the whole of an artist's works, so as to become a 
 character, we may depend on it, that was the kind of perfection 
 sought by the master ; as in M. Angelo, greatness of style, know- 
 ledge of the figure, and foreshortening ; in Raphael, expression, 
 composition, and fine drapery; in Titian, coloring; in Parmegiano, 
 grace ; in Rubens, fine chiaro-oscurp. Among the British artists, 
 we may consult Reynolds for grace, color, and a fine chiaro-oscuro ; 
 and in landscape, the great Wilson, Gainsborough, and Barret, 
 and the works of many justly celebrated living artists. Much will 
 depend on industry ; if we see a grace or beauty in a master, we 
 must endeavour to make it our own, not merely by copying it, but 
 by investigating its cause, in which we shall be helped by imita- 
 tion. If a composition strikes, a sketch of the whole may be 
 made ; so also of the general disposition of the coloring : but, after 
 a certain facility of hand is obtained, we must depend on our own 
 exertions ; therefore, laboriously copying great compositions, 
 would be only loss of time. Studies from particular parts may be 
 made, such as are remarkable for some peculiar excellence ; for, 
 unfortunately, the best works have much of common-place matter 
 in them. 
 
 To attain a cor- 
 rect taste,- de- 
 formed and base 
 objects must be 
 avoided. 
 
 The prevailing 
 character in the 
 works of any ar- 
 tist, prove the 
 species of per- 
 fection sought 
 by that artist. 
 
 Grace, or beau- 
 ty, not to be ob- 
 tained by mere 
 imitation, but 
 from the know- 
 ledge acquired 
 by investigating 
 its cause. 
 
 'Tis Painting's first chief business to explore 
 What lovelier forms in Nature's boundless store 
 Are best to Art, and ancient Taste, allied, 
 For ancient Taste those forms has best applied. 
 
 Yet some there are, who indiscreetly stray 
 Where purblind Practice only points the way, 
 Who ev'ry theoretic truth disdain, 
 And blunder on mechanically vain. 
 
 Mason's Fresnoy. 
 Ee 
 
 From 
 
210 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Retrospective 
 view. 
 
 From a retrospective view of what has been observed, it will be 
 evident that we must, in the first instance, either go Id, or suffer 
 ourselves to be guided to, those works of art time has stamped a 
 value on, as it is easier to learn from that in which the choice 
 is already made. Till we can go alone, we must depend on the 
 opinions of others ; but the ultimate end of our inquiry must be, 
 that independence resulting from acting on an original principle, 
 or seeking those perfections in nature with which art abounds, or, 
 in other words, giving those energies to the soul that leave it to 
 act free of all restraint. 
 
 ESSAY III. 
 
 ON THE ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY. 
 
 What art thou, Beauty ? whence thy pow'r, 
 That thus persuasive charms the heart, 
 
 When thy fair hand adorns the roseate bow'r, 
 Or blooming virgin, pride of all thy art ! 
 Langhorne. 
 
 Inquiry as to 
 the cause of 
 beauty. 
 
 On mature consideration, it will appear as if our inquiry 
 should be after the beautiful itself; or, in other words, that which 
 makes every thing beautiful by its presence ; for, should any one 
 assert that beauty is purely external, he must never have consi- 
 dered the subject. Were it asked from whence a man is wise, 
 should we not answer, From possessing wisdom? And should we 
 not say the same of good things, that they were so from having 
 good in them, and that an object is beautiful from possessing 
 beauty? or shall we pronounce those tilings mere non-entities, 
 and the words of no import? 
 
 Perhaps any two persous in opposite hemispheres, who should 
 begin or invent a science, (geometry for instance,) would proceed 
 in their discoveries nearly in the same way. Now, to invent is to 
 find ; and to find something pre-supposes its existence somewhere, 
 internally or externally, scattered or in a mass. Or shall we say 
 
 there 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 211 
 
 there is not any such thing as science? that it is only a knowledge 
 of externals? But how could they assert the power of that Being 
 who operated prior to all externals? If our knowledge is of ex- 
 ternals, we must certainly labor under a deception ; for it is not 
 externals, but their images only, that we are acquainted with, the 
 objects themselves not becoming the subject of speculation. So 
 we shall not possess truth itself, but only certain images of truth, 
 and of course possess what is false ; while truth will abide in the 
 externals. Hence should we not rather conclude that science 
 cannot be taught by man, nor be obtained through the means of 
 externals only, but lies, as it were, latent in every mind, till ex- 
 cited and brought to light by diligent and deep inquiry? For, 
 were the inquiries of art after visible objects, the point would 
 soon be settled by diligently copying the images painted to sense : 
 on the contrary, the artist, recurring to the reasoning energy, aims 
 at a perfection beyond matter. But some, having no knowledge 
 of internal beauty, are constrained to seek it in the objects of 
 sense, and of course present us with all the imperfections of an 
 individual model. Hence, was beauty to remain external to the 
 soul, it could never aftect; but, being well and perfectly con- 
 ceived, we are moved by it with the most exquisite delight. 
 
 As the Great First, or that which is in the most exalted degree, 
 contains all things in the immensity of his being, so all thiugs 
 being referred to and subsisting by him, he is considered as the 
 good of the universe. Hence, all desire the possession of good ; 
 as thinking thereby they shall become sufficient to themselves* 
 But all do not think the possession of beauty will be the comple- 
 tion of their wishes ; not that the good can be destitute of beauty, 
 as in the First must necessarily abide all things; so it will be su- 
 perior to beauty, as not requiring the assistance of the senses. 
 
 The beauty of intellect is superior to that of matter, and ap- 
 pears to have had a previous existence ; just as the conclusion will 
 
 E e 2 remain 
 
 Beauty does not 
 consist in a 
 knowledge of 
 externals. 
 
 but must be 
 sought for by 
 the operations of 
 intellect. 
 
 All things con- 
 tained in the im- 
 mensity of the 
 Great First. 
 
 Intellectual 
 beautyhada pri- 
 or existence to 
 natural objects. 
 
 * The Supreme Author of our being has so formed the soul of man, 
 that nothing but himself can be its last, adequate, and proper hap- 
 piness. Addison. 
 
212 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING?. 
 
 The beauty of 
 works of art 
 is derived from 
 the reasoning 
 energy. 
 
 The perfection 
 of painting de- 
 pends as much 
 on reflection, as 
 on facility of ex- 
 ecution. 
 
 That mere mag- 
 nitude is not 
 greatness, 
 
 remain indubitably certain, whether the syllogistic energy be exert- 
 ed or not, or as true science existed before theory, and that before 
 practice.* It is from this cause the artist can never fashion beau- 
 tiful forms equal to the perfection of reason, from which he acts ; 
 for reason is a superior beauty, since in it is contained the beauty 
 of art. Again, as beauty argues perfection, it were in vain to 
 seek it in sensibles, the objects of sense being imperfect: for, 
 though we should grant it is rendered, in a certain degree, visible 
 in matter, yet the higher degree of perfection is implied in the 
 Venus Urania. 
 
 To carry on our inquiry, works of art cannot derive their beau- 
 ty from the materials of which they are composed, but from the 
 reasoning energy; not because the artist possesses hands and eyes, 
 but that he is endowed with art. For it is the duty of the artist 
 to fashion beautiful forms; as of a man, not any particular one is 
 to be taken as a model, but he is bound to enter into the reasons 
 of art, and produce a perfect assemblage of beauty. 
 
 Painting depends on two powers, the mind and the hand ; or, 
 in other words, reflection and practice. We should, therefore, by 
 an early application to drawing, particularly of regular forms, 
 qualify ourselves to embody our ideas with facility and ease when 
 the mind has attained to maturity. Something further than ma- 
 nual labor is necessary, otiierwise we may mistake seeing and 
 hearing for understanding: 
 
 Some iguorantly mistake magnitude for greatness ; but if bulk 
 is beautiful as bulk, it must follow that active reason, which is not 
 bulk, is not beautiful. But the contrary is the fact; and fine 
 works of art derive their excellence from reason, infused and ex- 
 isting in matter. It is from mistaking the true end of art, that 
 
 many 
 
 * True science belongs only to the great Artificer of the universe : 
 all our exertions only place us in a middle station, between ignorance and 
 perfect wisdom. It is scarcely necessary to observe, that creation could 
 not have been produced through the means of externals, as sensible ob- 
 jects had not then a being. It may be further necessary to remark, 
 that the wise of all nations have thought, that the sciences have va- 
 nished and appeared again under the various revolutions of the universe. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 213 
 
 many fall into painting large pictures, supposing, what is big must 
 also be great in art ; whilst others, from an excess of vanity, give 
 their figures a gigantic proportion, which is highly improper in 
 what may be termed chamber pictures. Wrong or bad tastes 
 delight in things monstrous. The excess of Nero was shown, in 
 his ordering a picture of himself to be painted on cloth, 120 feet 
 high, which was set up in the gardens of Marius; in Ins golden 
 palaces; and in his gilding some fine statues.* 
 
 The love and admiration of beauty is implanted in our natures 
 by the great First Cause, and we are carried to it by an impulse 
 irresistible ; its influence is powerful ; it transports the senses be- 
 yond what is usual, and, if its continuance be long, is accompa- 
 nied with melancholy, and a. silent sadness.. 
 
 demonstrated 
 from the excess 
 of Nero. 
 
 Origin and ef- 
 fects of beauty.. 
 
 She never told her love, 
 
 But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud, 
 
 Feed on her damask cheek : she pin'd in thought, 
 
 And, with a green and yellow melancholy, 
 
 She sat, like Patience on a monument, 
 
 Smiling at Grief. Shakespeare. 
 
 Though the above is one of the effects caused by beauty, yet 
 we wish to be understood, as distinguishing between the satisfac- 
 tion we feel upon contemplating any thing beautiful, of whatever 
 kind it may be, and that passion of the mind arising from desire 
 er lust. 
 
 Many definitions of beauty have been attempted. Johnson 
 calls it " that assemblage of graces, or proportion of parts, which 
 pleases the eye." Locke, " a certain composition of color and 
 figure, causing delight to the beholder." A third, " perfection." 
 The two former appear to come much nearer truth than the lat- 
 ter; for, if beauty was perfection, the toad must be beautiful, it 
 being equally perfect with the rest of creation. 
 
 Fancy, 
 
 Definitions of 
 beauty. 
 
 * I think it was Caligula that detested the works of Virgil, and la- 
 mented he did not live in his time, that he might have had the pleasure 
 of putting him to death. 
 
514 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Qualities of Fancy, or opinion, will go but a little way towards illustrating 
 
 teauty. a subject that seems to influence on some universal principle, 
 
 and to affect all persons, and at all times. It appears pretty 
 generally admitted, that beauty (or the beautiful) is that which 
 moves us with pleasure through the sight or hearing; as, by the 
 eye, we are delighted with pictures, statues, or buildings; and, in 
 music, with the harmony of well-measured sounds ; also, in poetry, 
 with sentiment and measure: but, as whatever is produced by 
 Nature, or art, is the effect of a certain wisdom, hence it follows, 
 that wisdom becomes one of its qualities; and the fascinating 
 power of beauty will appear to arise from an union the most de- 
 lightful — wisdom and pleasure ;* which will affect all persons, and 
 at all times, and will equally apply to painting, statuary, poetry, 
 ethics, and laws. We must not consider apparent beauty as a 
 simple idea, or as existing in proportion, shape, softness, &c. 
 only; one constituent is color, and, in a more abstract way, light 
 and shade ; for, on the latter being well disposed, depends much 
 of the general good effect of the picture, as, from a bad disposi- 
 tion of the light and dark, a fine form may be defaced and 
 i broken. 
 
 Many imagine that the arts operate by imitating nature merely : 
 
 the fact is, they do not simply copy such objects as are seen by 
 
 the eyes, but, recurring to those reasons from which the energy 
 
 of nature subsists, add something, where any thing is wanting, to 
 
 The beautiful the perfection of the whole. Those beautiful forms of the Greeks, 
 
 forms of the which happily exist anions us, are not imitations of any spectacle 
 
 Greeks were the rr J , , r r , ' , ■ 
 
 result of pro- proper to the senses, but are the result of profound contemplation. 
 
 Nation comem " Phidias, when he fashioned his Jupiter, conceived the idea of the 
 
 god such as he would appear if exhibited to our eyes, and, by a 
 
 divine enthusiasm, produced a work said to be more than mortal. 
 
 It is this lovely ideal that stamps such a value on the best works 
 
 of art; it is this ideal perfection which may be truly called the 
 
 goddess 
 
 * Hence the statue of Hercules, as well as the Venus de Medicis, 
 will be beautiful in art from the above union ; but, was the former ani- 
 mated, the pleasure would vanish from a dread of his power. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 215 
 
 goddess of painting; the light of science; the fire from Heaven 
 with which Prometheus animated his statues; it is the loves, the 
 graces, of genuine and legitimate art. 
 
 ON THE SENSIBLE QUALITIES OF BEAUTY. 
 
 Many reasons have been assigned why beauty charms and cap- 
 tivates the senses. The Platonists believed our delight arose from 
 its producing a recollection of those beautiful visions we had en- 
 joyed in a previous and more perfect state of existence. Burke 
 calls it " some quality in bodies acting mechanically upon the hu- 
 man mind by the intervention of the senses." That there is a beau- 
 ty superior to form and color is unquestionable, as light, which, 
 though iu itself formless, is a source of form, and is, perhaps, the 
 only tiling visible : light is life ; its opposite is darkness and death. 
 
 Ignorance of beauty • and taste argues a defective animation, 
 whilst a wTong or bad one proceeds from a weakness of judgment : 
 hence some mistake deformity for beauty, and continue iu that 
 error through life. The young artist should, therefore, learn as Gross and vul- 
 early as possible, to avoid gross and vulgar habits, if he proposes to gar habits to be 
 elevate the character of his works : should his apostles appear as if 
 strayed from Rag-fair, and his heroes and Princes possess the vulgar 
 air of prize-fighters, they can never be expected to interest beyond 
 people of similar habits, and will never attract the attention of 
 those whose sentiments are delicately just : coarse intelligence may 
 surprise the unthinking, but it will not satisfy the discerning. 
 
 Mild, affable, and gentle, are qualities of beauty, and these we Constituents of 
 admire when we see them united (in temperance) with the three beaut y- 
 principal signs of life — heat, motion, and voice; but excess of 
 either destroys. There are three distinct characters of beauty, two 
 of which may be considered as earthly; as the common, which 
 depends on fashion, and satisfies common sense ; the uncommon, 
 as selected by judgment ; and the perfect, which, as before ob- 
 served, subsists in imagination. 
 
 If we diligently attend to the progress of the arts in Greece, or 
 
 after their revival in Italy, we shall observe three distinct periods: 
 
 1 first 
 
216 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 first, when artists went no further than merely copying an object ; 
 secondly, when they selected their object ; and lastly, which marks 
 the highest point of excellence, when they produced works of pure 
 imagination. 
 Proportions of T ue beauty of the naked requires several qualities to its perfec- 
 
 beautiful forms . . . r 
 
 ss existing in tion; as, that the form be in proportion, and well shaped; that 
 it possess a free and easy motion, and be of a sound and fresh co- 
 lor. The two latter will be treated of in their proper places, while 
 here we shall content ourselves with offering the proportions found 
 in De Piles, as some guide in the search of truth : besides, as the 
 painter deals in fore-shortening, they are not altogether of that 
 importance as to the statuary. 
 
 " The ancients have commonly allowed eight heads to their fi- 
 gures, though some of them have but seven ; but we ordinarily di- 
 vide the figure into ten faces * that is to say, from the crown of 
 the head, to the sole of the foot, in the following manner - 
 
 " From the crown of the head to the forehead is the third part 
 of a face. 
 
 " The face begins at the root of the lowest hairs which are up- 
 on the forehead, and ends at the bottom of the chin. 
 
 " The face is divided into three proportionable parts ; the first 
 contains the forehead, the second the nose, and the third the 
 mouth and chin ; from the chin to the pit, betwixt the collar bones, 
 are two lengths of a nose. 
 
 " From the pit, betwixt the collar bones, to the bottom of the 
 breasts, one face. 
 
 " From the bottom of the breasts to the navel, one face.f 
 
 " From the navel to the genitories, one face.J 
 
 " From 
 
 * This must depend on the age and quality of the persons. The 
 Apollo and Venus de Medicis have more than ten faces : the Hercules 
 has seven heads, as suiting great bodily strength. 
 
 f The Apollo has a nose more. 
 
 J The Apollo has half a nose more; and the upper half of the Venus 
 de Medicis is only to the lower part of the belly. — See Audran's An- 
 cient Statues. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 217 
 
 " From the genitories to the upper part of the knee, two faces. .Proportions of 
 
 " The knee contains half a face. as^l^T 
 
 " From the lower part of the knee to the ancle, two faces. works of art. 
 
 " From the ancle to the sole of the foot, half a face. 
 
 " A man, when his arms are stretched out, is, from the longest 
 finger of his right hand to the longest finger of his left, as broad 
 as he is long. 
 
 " From one side of the breasts to the other, two faces. 
 
 " The bone, of the arm called humerus is the length of two faces, 
 from the shoulder to the elbow. 
 
 " From the end of the elbow to the root of the little finger, the 
 bone called cubitus, with part of the hand, contains two faces. 
 
 " From the box of the shoulder-blade to the pit betwixt the 
 collar-bones, one face. 
 
 " If you would be satisfied in the measures of breadth from 
 the extremity of one finger to the other, so that this breadth 
 should be equal to the length of the body, you must observe that 
 the boxes of the elbows with the humerus, and of the humerus 
 with the shoulder-blade, bear the proportion of half a face, when 
 the arms are stretched out. 
 
 " The sole of the foot is the sixth part of the figure. 
 
 " The hand is the length of the face. 
 
 " The thumb contains a nose. 
 
 " The inside of the arm, from the place where the muscle dis- 
 appears which makes the breast, (called the pectoral muscle,) to 
 the middle of the arm, four noses. 
 
 " From the middle of the arm to the beginning of the head, five 
 noses. 
 
 " The longest toe is a nose long. 
 
 " The two outmost parts of the teats, and the pit, betwixt the 
 collar-bones of a woman, make an equilateral triangle. 
 
 " For the breadth of the limbs no precise measures can be given, 
 because the measures themselves are changeable according to the 
 quality of the persons, and according to the movement of the mus- 
 cles." 
 
 Ff The 
 
218 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Proportions of 
 Children. 
 
 The proportions 
 of form should 
 vary according 
 to the character 
 intended to be 
 represented. 
 
 Burke mistook 
 in supposing 
 that proportion 
 was not a cause 
 of beauty. 
 
 The measures of the ancient statues by Audran will be found 
 highly useful, as they are accompanied with outlines of those the 
 most distinguished for correctness. 
 
 The proportions of children differ from the adult as follow : the 
 child of two years old has about five heads in its whole length, 
 three of which go to the upper part, and two to the lower : one 
 of four or five years old, has nearly six heads ; at fifteen or six- 
 teen, seven heads are the proportion. 
 
 In infants, the centre or middle part between the two extremi- 
 ties of the head and feet, is the navel; in the adult it is the os 
 pubis. 
 
 It is the character of the man to be broadest on the shoulders ; 
 the woman on the hips. This will be found to hold good in the 
 male and female in most of the animal race. 
 
 It has been premised that the proportion of the figure must va- 
 ry according to the character, as what would suit an Hercules 
 would by no means agree with Apollo. By proportion we wish to 
 be understood a correspondence and agreement of the measures 
 of the parts between themselves and with the whole. 
 
 Much ingenious argument has been used by the author of " The 
 Sublime and Beautiful" to prove that proportion is not the cause, 
 or rather one of the causes, of beauty. In his inquiry that author 
 appears to have expected, the proportion of one animal being laid 
 down, admitting it beautiful, that it ought to serve as a general 
 standard for the whole of the creation. " Examine the head of a 
 beautiful horse ; find what proportion it bears to his body and to 
 his limbs, and what relation they have to each other; and when 
 you have settled these proportions as a standard of beauty, then 
 take a dog or cat, or any other animal, and examine how far the 
 same proportions, between its head and its neck, between those 
 and the body, and so on, are found to hold." That they differ 
 in every animal is beyond all question, but that there is a general 
 standard of proportion for each, is equally unquestionable ; for, 
 were there not some such standard, nature would in time produce 
 such a jumble of shapes, that it would be impossible to distinguish 
 an ox from a greyhound ; to the confusion of all order and sym- 
 metry. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 219 
 
 metry. Besides, from the proportions laid down as rules of art, 
 though an indifferent artist cannot insure beauty, yet he will be 
 almost certain of general character. 
 
 The author before mentioned further observes, with a view 
 to establish his point, " it seems amazing to me that artists, if 
 they are as well convinced, as they pretend to be, that proportion 
 is a principal cause of beauty, have not by them at all times ac- 
 curate measurements of all the beautiful animals, to help them to 
 proper proportions when they would contrive any thing elegant, 
 especially as they frequently assert that it is from an observation 
 pf the beautiful in nature that they direct their practice." Those 
 measures the artist has by him as far as he can obtain them, the 
 value of which is known to him from their great utility. Even the 
 vulgar appear sensible of proportion ; hence the nick-name of long- 
 slianks, from those parts wanting the customary proportion. The 
 " smoothness" of the skin of a dropsical person will never be 
 pleasing, any more than that of a person over fat, from the want 
 of proportion, the parts appearing too thick for the height. 
 
 That smoothness in painting is not one of the causes of beauty, 
 is apparent from the pictures of Vanderwerf, the excess of which 
 gives the flesh the appearance of ivory : besides, the smoothness 
 must depend on the size of the picture, in a great degree. It is 
 true, we sometimes see a large picture highly finished, and a small 
 one crude and slight; but such a practice is contrary to common 
 sense : large ones require a boldness of handling, not a slightness, 
 or indication of form only ; and small ones, greater delicacy. It 
 must also be evident, that the style of execution must be governed 
 by the nature of the subject : if it be dignified, the handling should 
 be bold ; as what would add a grace to a low subject, would de- 
 tract from a great one, as much as a common and vulgar idea 
 would debase what is lofty. 
 
 It is not a single sensible quality that can constitute an object 
 beautiful, but a combination of them, as we shall find by a reca- 
 pitulation of the foregoing remarks. 
 
 We wish to be understood, as confining ourselves to the beauty 
 of the human figure, the qualities essential to which, will be found 
 
 Ff2 to 
 
 Burke mistook 
 in supposing 
 that proportion 
 was not a caute 
 of heauty. 
 
 Smoothness j- 
 lone, not a cause 
 of beauty. 
 
 The beaaty of 
 the human fi- 
 
220 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 in what it con- 
 sists. 
 
 The Greeks ap- 
 pear to have sa- 
 crificed expres- 
 sion to beauty. 
 
 to consist in a just proportion; that the parts be well shaped; a 
 free, affable, mild, and easy motion ; a sound and fresh color, with 
 the tints melting and tender; that the direction of its lines be 
 gently varied, and by no means approaching to angular; and, 
 lastly, that it is accompanied in a picture with a certain degree of 
 softness and finishing. 
 
 The Greeks seem to have considered the existence of beauty 
 and passion as incompatible : hence so little expression is found 
 in the Niobes ; they appear always to have sacrificed the latter to 
 the former. 
 
 ESSAY IV. 
 
 Gracefulness 
 consists in ease, 
 devoid of re- 
 straint, or angu- 
 lar inflection. 
 
 Expression ap- 
 plies to the 
 whole form, or 
 tntire character. 
 
 ON GRACE. 
 
 From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part, 
 And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Gracefulness, which may be termed the beauty of motion, 
 is an idea not very different from beauty, and almost inseparable 
 from it. It is an idea belonging to posture and motion, and will 
 be found to consist in an ease, unaccompanied with restraint or 
 difficulty ; as, at all times, the most easy will be the most graceful : 
 it is generally attended with a slight inflection of the body, un- 
 broken, that is, not interrupted with sudden angles; and, in sitting 
 figures, with an ease approaching to languor. 
 
 Propriety of action is a tiling of the highest importance to the 
 figure painter, whether he works in large or small. 
 
 Expression does not merely apply to the face, as many suppose, 
 but to the general action and character of each figure, that it be 
 appropriate to the person described ; as the clownish and simple 
 attitudes of peasants, the state and carriage of public officers, 
 heroes, &c. and on this being well performed, depends the very 
 soul of a good picture. 
 
 Much of the merit of Raphael, arises from the superior degree 
 of dignity observable in his apostles, and other great characters : 
 
 on. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 221 
 
 on the contrary, the excellence of Parmegiano results from the 
 elegant turns he gave his female figures. As the arts are no lon- 
 ger exotic, we also find these graces rendered familiar in the works 
 of Reynolds, Mortimer, and other modern artists* 
 
 The whole power of man depends on two motions, flection and 
 extension: those may be again sub-divided into four; the simple, 
 as in walking, eating, and drinking; the active, as in carrying, 
 pulling, thrusting or pushing, and climbing; the violent, arising 
 from fright, rage, despair, or any other sudden emotion; the 
 fourth kind, which may be considered as a sort of passive action, 
 results from disquiet of mind, as love, hatred, sorrow, joy, &c. 
 the effect of which is chiefly shown in the extremities, as the face, 
 hands, and feet. 
 
 It will be generally found, that the violent passions of the mind are 
 accompanied with actions more or less angular than the beautiful 
 or passive ; as, in a man in the act of striking with a club, or stick, 
 the upper and fore-arm will form a right angle; again, in a figure 
 frightened, the arms, from being thrown up, will form an angle 
 with the body; in figures, pushing or pulling, the effect will be the 
 same: on the contrary, elegant, or graceful figures, shake off those 
 violences, and fall iuto attitudes that show a gentle inflection of 
 line. 
 
 We shall find, that a standing figure, to be graceful, must rest 
 on one leg, and the face incline to the hip it rests on, as in the Ve- 
 nus de Medicis, and other statues, remarkable for taste and 
 beauty. As 
 
 The motions of 
 the human frame 
 may be divided 
 into the simple, 
 the active, the 
 violent, and the 
 passive. 
 
 The more vio- 
 lent motions are 
 the least grace- 
 ful, and vice- 
 versa. 
 
 Example. 
 
 * If I have cautiously forborne to speak of the works of living artists, 
 it is not from thinking light of them, but from a nobler motive. In the 
 limits I have prescribed to myself, I could not do justice to the merits 
 of so many, and able professors,, as at present adorn the nation. The 
 prints from the works of British artists, are circulated over the civilized 
 part of the world, and copied as soon as they appear on the Continent. 
 Such being the fact, whatever the ignorant may assert to the contrary, 
 those who wish to encourage historical painting in this country, should 
 aim at cherishing such a spirit as would eventually operate to induce 
 buyers not to give more for works of foreign artists, than they would 
 for works of equal merit, uf the British school. 
 
222 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Gvace is depen- 
 dant on the line 
 of beauty ; or, in 
 other words, on 
 forms that are 
 serpentine and 
 wavy. 
 
 Venus deMedi- 
 cis, why beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 The line of grace 
 affects the seve. 
 ral parts equally 
 as the whole 
 form. 
 
 As beauty loves variety, we shall generally observe, that if the 
 figure is presented in front, the head will appear rather inclined 
 to the side. (See Plate I.) 
 
 Notwithstanding what may have been said about " smoothness, 
 delicacy," &c. we shall find, on inquiry, that much of the grace 
 and beauty of the painter and sculptor arises from what Hogarth 
 has termed, the " line of beauty," and which was not only prac- 
 tised, but recommended, by M. Angelo, as may be seen in the 
 Treatise on Painting by Jo. Paul Loinatius, translated by Richard 
 Haydocke, in 15£)S : " so that his (M. Angelo) meaning is, that it 
 should resemble the form of the letter S, placed right, or else 
 turned the wrong way, as </> ; because then it hath his beauty." 
 
 The graceful parts of the antique statues possess that sweeping 
 line of grace: it may be seen, too, in the figures of Raphael, Par- 
 megiano, &c. and among the more modern artists, as Reynolds, 
 Mortimer, and Cipriani. This beautiful, undulating line of grace, 
 will also be found in the most agreeable sitting figures. 
 
 Three things contribute to the beauty of the Venus de Medicis; 
 its line of grace running unbroken through the whole figure, its 
 form, and the variety and contrast of the parts ; as, the head with 
 the chest, and the arms and lego with parh other. 
 
 Those who suppose this character of line affects the general at- 
 titude only, are wrong ; it will be found to constitute the general 
 form of the muscle, if taken detached, and viewed from its fleshy 
 belly to the tendinous part : this, with its intersecting angle, gives 
 much of that variety of character observable in human nature. 
 We sometimes see, in overcharged figures, the convex fines raised 
 so much beyond the limits of nature, that the power of re-entering 
 them again is lost; and the whole form appears heavy and in- 
 cumbered. This fault sometimes attaches to M. Angelo, but by 
 no means in the extreme asserted by Mengz, who, speaking of 
 that artist, says " who seeking to be always great, was always 
 vulgar." Such language argues great want of either sense or sin- 
 cerity : by the way, his favorite, Raphael, is not entirely free from 
 the charge of heaviness, in his women in particular. 
 
 The 
 
.n.I. 
 
 Examples of grace . 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 223 
 
 The Hercules Farnese of Glicon, is a fine example of the well- 
 ordered raising and intersecting of the muscles, in a figure pos- 
 sessing the appearance of great passive strength : but tew similar 
 examples will occur to the artist in the course of his practice. 
 That figure forms the extreme point one way, and the Apollo 
 Belvidere, (or Pytheus,) the other, for beauty ; beyond which it is 
 impossible to travel without being absurd : the mean between 
 these two, is the Fighting Gladiator, (as it is called,) and which 
 may be considered as the most natural ; the others are more pure. 
 These observations must be considered as applying to the general 
 character of the figures, and not to the parts; the Gladiator being 
 in strong action, the appearance of the muscles is altered ; those 
 in action being short, and, of course, rounded more than those in 
 repose. 
 
 Grace is of so delicate a nature, that it cannot exist in the pre- 
 sence of what is rude, vulgar, or excessive ; it charms, captivates, 
 and overcomes, by its beneficence ; its motions are easy, mode- 
 rate, and lovely ; and it partakes more of the humble than arro- 
 gant : it is seen in the Apollo, accompanied with dignity ; in the 
 Venus de Medicis, with modesty ; and in the Antinoiis, in a more 
 human, and less elevated, degree. 
 
 Parmegiano possessed, in a high degree, the fascinating power 
 of grace ; Corregio felt it in a certain degree ; and the females of 
 Albauo are distinguished by it. Reynolds's portraits abound with 
 it; and it may be sought for, with success, in many of the noble 
 monuments of British art. Raphael understood the grace of mo- 
 tion; but his dry, Gothic manner of execution, did not associate 
 with it : he wanted that sweet mellow pencil necessary to beauty. 
 
 If painting were an imitation of nature merely, as many sup- 
 pose, it would follow, of course, that it should ever be inferior to it, 
 as the efficient must always be superior to the effect : but this sub- 
 sists conditionally; as, in the power of light, and its opposite, 
 darkness, nature has the advantage: but even light is subjugated 
 to the powers of art ; as, in our paintings on glass, of which the 
 the east window of New College, Oxford, stands a most glorious 
 example, and may be justly ranked as the first work of the kind in 
 
 the 
 
 Examples ; in 
 the HercuIesFar- 
 nese, in the A- 
 polJo Belvidere, 
 and in the Fight- 
 ing Gladiator, 
 
 Grace shuns the 
 excessive, but 
 dwells in the be- 
 neficent and de- 
 licate. 
 
 Artists most ce= 
 lebrated for 
 grace. 
 
 Art, though 
 mostly inferior 
 to Nature, supe- 
 rior to it in the 
 just power of 
 combination. 
 
224 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Perfection in art 
 results from 
 greatness of 
 choice. 
 
 Inferior pro- 
 ductions are of 
 use, not as pat- 
 terns to be fol- 
 lowed, but as 
 beacons to be 
 avoided. 
 
 Pictures which 
 outrage sense, 
 and violate de- 
 cency, should 
 not be consider- 
 ed as ornaments. 
 
 the world; but in the article of beauty, and the just power of 
 combination, art has greatly the advantage. 
 
 Matter is imperfect, and all that is left us, is the will to chuse ; 
 and happy, thrice happy, is that artist who knows the value of 
 what is good, and in the early pursuit of his studies, learns to dis- 
 tinguish what is more or less great and amiable, thereby fixing his 
 desires on things worthy. By attentively considering the works of 
 the great, from the Greeks to the present time, we shall find, they 
 fixed their attention on the most noble part of the art, and pur- 
 sued the study of it with unremitting ardor ; on the contrary, in- 
 ferior beings became attached to mediocrity, and believed that in it 
 centered all art, while the little grovelling spirit became enchanted 
 with whatever was minute and trifling, mistaking them for prin- 
 cipals. 
 
 If the works of renowned artists are to be used to stimulate, 
 we shall also derive advantage from those who have sunk from 
 the great to the trifling and useless, nay, even to the ugly, and 
 from that to the false and chimerical, by considering them as so 
 many rocks and quicksands to steer clear of. A well-ordered pic- 
 ture becomes a lesson of polite education, by which our manners 
 are amended ; on the contrary, dirty ragged ruffians, accompanied 
 with trash and common-place objects, are not only beneath the 
 dignity of painting, but may corrupt young minds; nay, may not 
 rudeness be justified by a reference to pictures exhibiting clownish 
 and hoggish examples, or people the most base and corrupt of 
 humanity ? 
 
 It is a poor apology 1 , that because a picture is well painted, it 
 should be hung up in our apartment, when in the arrangement, it 
 may violate sense, and in the choice, decency; or the people re- 
 presented, be such as we should by no means suffer to approach our 
 persons: and yet nothing is more common. Such efforts may 
 please the ignorant, but will not command the attention of learned 
 men and philosophers, with whom the producers can only rank as 
 mechanics, and beings without discrimination. 
 
 What man of taste ever saw a fine picture by Teniers without 
 
 feeling the heart-ache, that so much fine color, ckiaro-oscuro, and 
 
 1 execution, 
 
ESSAYS ON PAIKTING. 
 
 execution, should be bestowed on worthless objects? Most of the 
 Dutch pictures operate as a libel on their country, by the monsters 
 of humanity introduced in them. In a note to the Life of Ho- 
 garth, by Lord Orford,* is the following just remark on the Dutch 
 artists: — " When they attempt humour, 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 in the works of Teniers." We might justly 
 conclude that artist to be mad, or silly, who, leaving in his pursuit 
 the grand or beautiful of nature, should collect for his pictures 
 objects disgusting and unsightly : and yet this is frequently the 
 case; which arises from want of early good instruction, and from 
 being led astray by people writing on the arts, who are perfectly 
 unqualified for so arduous a task. 
 
 Some have even attempted to separate the picturesque from the 
 beautiful, as if that which did not possess beauty could be worthy 
 of painting. By the word picturesque, the artist understands the 
 irregular, but ever accompanied with a beautiful choice, aud it 
 stands in opposition to the simple, or grand ; it does not apply to 
 objects " rough and irregular," or such as are deformed, aged, 
 and ugly. 
 
 We must give up our understanding, if we call that landscape,/^ 
 which represents dirty rugged grounds, scrubby bushes, poor 
 scraggy and ill-formed trees, shapeless lumps of antiquity, and 
 muddy pools ; peopled with gipsies and vagabonds, dirty beggars, 
 clothed with rags, their heads decorated with filthy drapery, skins 
 like tanned leather, and their employ disgusting ; and these ac- 
 companied with poor and old cattle, or nasty swine on filthy 
 dunghills. And shall those be the objects with which we are to 
 decorate, or rather deform, our apartments ? Such a choice ar- 
 gues a taste as depraved, as if a man were to prefer the horrid 
 squeaking of a cart-wheel, to the finest solo on an organ ; and 
 such objects, if at all introduced into pictures, should only be 
 sparingly used, to set off and give value to beauty, as a foil, but 
 should never appear as principals. 
 
 Gg If 
 
 * See Anecdotes of Painters. 
 
 The abilities of 
 Teniers were de- 
 graded by the at- 
 tention he be- 
 stowed on the 
 representation ot 
 worthless ob- 
 jects. Charac- 
 ter of Dutch 
 painters by Lord 
 Orford. 
 
 The truly pictu- 
 resque is ever ao 
 
 com pail led with 
 a beautiful 
 choice. 
 
 Description of 
 the picturesque, 
 as it exists in the 
 works of some 
 of the moderns. 
 
226 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 If a man, producing these kind of pictures, is to be distinguish- 
 ed by the noble appellation of a genius, we should find some 
 other term to bestow on such artists as Raphael, Corregio, Titian, 
 Rubens, Reynolds, &c. in history; and in landscape, Poussin, 
 Wilson, Claude, Barret, and others. One thing we are sure of, 
 which is, that there is no mention of such renowned wrong-heads 
 among the Greeks.* 
 The pastoral It must not be understood, that we reject the pastoral as un T 
 
 in'f whenatteTdl worthy ; on the contrary, it is highly interesting, and, when ac- 
 ed by judicious companied with sentiment, and a judicious selection, as in some 
 of Gainsborough's fine compositions, does honor to the arts. 
 Equally interesting, though in a less degree meritorious, stands 
 the simple representer of nature ; he acquires a new character as a 
 topographer, provided he attach fidelity to his representations. 
 Examples of Two parts of the body that contribute much to the grace of the 
 
 figure, are an easy turned head and neck, (see Plate II.) and a 
 graceful and elegant hand and arm. M. Angelo, Raphael, and 
 others, afford many examples of men ; and Parmegiano, Guido, 
 Reynolds, and Mortimer, of women. To produce this effect of 
 grace, it is requisite that the head should not present the same 
 view as the chest, and that the hand and arm should not come on 
 a line, but that each should contrast the other by an opposing 
 turn : for examples, see the drawings Plate I. and II. Of the 
 feet, our knowledge of beautiful form can only be acquired 
 through the medium of the antique, or fine pictures, being now 
 deformed by the use of shoes. Suffice it to observe, the three 
 foremost toes ought to be the longest ; the small ones close, and 
 turning out ; and the great one a little separated, more or less in 
 proportion to the action of the foot. 
 
 ESSAY 
 
 * The rage for what is termed the picturesque, we should say the 
 deformed, in the modern and misunderstood sense of the ( word, is car- 
 ried so far, that I should not be surprised to hear that groups of filthy 
 gipsies were paid to wander about gentlemen's grounds for what some 
 might term their picturesque effect. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 §27 
 
 ES-S'AY V. 
 
 ON INVENTION. 
 
 Then, bold Invention, all thv powers diffuse, 
 Of all tfiy sisters thou the noblest muse ; 
 Thee ev'rv art, thee ev'ry grace inspires, 
 Thee Phcebus fills with all his brightest fires. 
 Mason's Fresnoy. 
 
 We should never forget that the value of every art arbes from 
 the degree of mental capacity requisite to its production, and the 
 degree of instruction or pleasure resulting therefrom: hence inven- 
 tion is justly ranked as the first and most noble part of the art; 
 by it we distinguish the philosopher from the mere painter, for he 
 whose powers are confined to imitation, deserves no better name. 
 
 Invention not only relates to the way in which the artist tells the 
 story, but, in a higher sense, requires the aid of such probable 
 incidents as may contribute to its further illustration. Raphael, in 
 his Paul at Lystra, has finely contrived to show the miracle 
 wrought, by making one of the spectators, full of wonder and 
 astonishment, lifting up the drapery to examine the limbs that 
 have acquired their proper shape. N. Poussin, to convey an idea 
 of the size of Polyphemus, has placed him on the distant moun- 
 tains, and, by interposing a great medium of air, has separated 
 him from the figures of the same size on the fore-ground, and 
 thereby produced a gigantic effect that surpasses all description. 
 Barry, in his picture of Elysium, has represented spiritual beings 
 conducting the earth, thereby indicating that the world is governed 
 by a supreme intelligence* 
 
 G g 2 The 
 
 * The above is one of a series of pictures preserved in the great room 
 of the Society of Arts in the Adelphi. In these pictures the artist may 
 be said to have invented his subjects altogether, and has so connected 
 them, as to illustrate that great moral truth, " that the attainment of 
 happiness, individual as well as public, depends on the cultivation of 
 the human faculties." They exhibit a fine system of ethics, at the same 
 time that they express, in a most determined and masterly way, the 
 beauty and advantages of legislation. 
 
 Invention is the 
 noblest part of 
 the art, flora the 
 degree of mental 
 capacity it re- 
 quires. 
 
 The admission 
 of probable in- 
 cidents contri- 
 bute to illustrate 
 a subject. 
 
228 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The principles 
 of historical 
 composition ex- 
 tend to all the 
 other branches 
 of the art : 
 
 but are not with- 
 in the reach of 
 common minds. 
 
 The old masters 
 practised most 
 branches of 
 composition, 
 but weak and ig- 
 noble spirits 
 have separated 
 them. 
 
 The great end of 
 painting is to in- 
 culcate moral 
 truths; 
 
 The laws that govern historical painting are not confined to it, 
 but extend to every other species of composition : hence it becomes 
 the most noble part of the art, and from which all the others are but 
 as so many branches. It not only requires a thorough knowledge of 
 the human figure, but its attire, with landscape, architecture, &c. 
 so that we may justly term it the only universal part of the art. 
 
 Some men, who term themselves artists, move in an orbit so con- 
 fined, that their motions are scarcely discernible without die aid of 
 some strong magnifier. Unfortunately for the arts, the trirler meets 
 with the most success ; perhaps the higher parts of the art are not 
 so immediately within the reach of the capacity of the common 
 observer : like jewels, their intrinsic value is known but to few. 
 Sir Joshua justly observes, " that the lowest style will be the most 
 popular, as it falls within the compass of ignorance itself; and the 
 vulgar will always be pleased with what is natural, in the confined and 
 misunderstood sense of the word." Wisdom is rather an unprofit- 
 able commodity ; for we too often find in life, that the ignorant are 
 the most successful, and the most successful the most honored. 
 
 The great artists of former times did not only practise history, 
 but portrait, nay even landscape, and often excelled in architec- 
 ture : then it was that one good work was enough to insure a man 
 success and fortune, while now twenty hasty ones will scarcely 
 furnish him bread. Little and poor spirits have formerly made 
 them separate studies, and their inability disqualified them from 
 teaching on a more liberal and extensive scale ; and even now the 
 practice of many is insignificant and contemptible. 
 
 Man loves himself, and of course is interested in whatever re- 
 lates thereto : hence the great end of painting should be recording 
 actions of great personal patience, sufferance, or heroism; but,above 
 all, embodying some important moral truth for the edification of 
 
 mankind. 
 
 Some lofty theme let judgment first supply, 
 
 Supremely fraught with grace and majesty ; 
 For fancy copious, free to ev'ry charm 
 That lines can circumscribe, or colours warm : 
 Still happier if that artful theme dispense 
 A poignant moral and instructive sense. 
 
 Mason's Fresnoy. 
 
 That 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 229 
 
 That part of painting termed the ornamental, may please and 
 delight ; but he who in his works combines sublimity witii senti- 
 ment, may be justly said to have reached one of the highest 
 points of human felicity, and does an honor to the ignorant, by 
 raising them from their own native insignificance to rank with the 
 highest order of earthly beings : 
 
 The dullest genius cannot fait 
 To find the moral of my tale : 
 That the distinguish'd part of men, 
 With compass, pencil, sword, or pen, 
 Should in life's visit leave their name, 
 In characters which may proclaim, 
 That they with ardour strove to raise 
 At once their art's and country's praise. 
 Prior. 
 
 and to exalt the 
 character of the 
 human species. 
 
 In the choice of our subject, we should prefer those best known, 
 and, if possible, such as may carry with it a general interest. As 
 a poet, Milton was particularly happy in his Paradise Lost : it is 
 not tiie destruction of a city, nor the conduct of a colony, but the 
 fate of worlds, a theme which involves the happiness of all man- 
 kind. The Greek and Roman history, witii dieir fables, also the 
 history of our own nation,, and the works of onr best poets, fur- 
 nish infinite matter for study, as well as those grand and sublime 
 subjects that occur in the Old and New Testaments. Two advan- 
 tages result from going to remote history for our subjects : one is, 
 it becomes more venerable ; anotiier is, that the inaccuracies of 
 costume are not so easily perceived. 
 
 But in our choice from the above, or from any other works, we 
 are not impelled, like cattle, to follow a leader ; the subjects un- 
 handled are endless; those in die Bible abound, from the most 
 simple pastoral to such as are in the highest degree sublime. 
 Besides, by exerting a proper degree of independence, we shall 
 not only be left free to act, but thereby stand the greater chance 
 to give our works the character of originality. What could be 
 more mortifying, than, to have it said, tiiat the best part of our 
 
 picture 
 
 Directions for 
 the choice of 
 subject. 
 
 Original' choice 
 is alone to be 
 commended: he 
 who imitates 
 another, debases 
 himself. 
 
230 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Use of collec- 
 tions of prints 
 and drawings. 
 
 A just confi- 
 dence in our 
 own abilities is 
 necessary to ren- 
 der our studies 
 successful. 
 
 picture was pitifully stolen from another ? This would render us 
 like the poor animal when stripped of his borrowed clothes, in 
 which he looked so formidable, when behold he proved a mere 
 ass! Such a conduct cannot be justified by any example found in 
 a great master, whatever proofs he had given of his powers of in- 
 vention, and it would be equally unpardonable in an artist of less 
 celebrity. Nothing can be so contemptible as that poorness of 
 spirit that goes limping after another, crawling over objects like a 
 slug, and leaving nothing but slime behind : he never can be great 
 that does not greatly dare. The mind, acting from its own im- 
 pulse, will energize with more vigor than it possibly could through 
 the medium of another's feelings : he who imitates the manner of 
 another, debases himself. 
 
 Prints and drawings are useful to please the eye, or enrich our 
 thoughts, or, by having them before us, to keep up the fervour of 
 the mind while employed on similar works of our own : then it is 
 we may catch a grace from a figure, a grand or beautiful cast of 
 drapery, or a thought that may give energy or brilliancy to our 
 own, and that without copying. Collections of good prints are 
 liighly valuable to the artist ; they add a nobleness to his concep- 
 tions, and raise and warm his imagination : so do fine descriptions 
 in history and poetry. The prints after Raphael, M. Angelo, and 
 the Carracci, will afford a fund of entertainment and instruction ; 
 and fine instances of forms in the back-grounds of Titian and Paul 
 Veronese, will be found with occasional good composition. Ru- 
 bens's prints by Bolswert will be highly worthy attention, as well 
 as those after the most celebrated French and British artists. 
 
 We should be careful not to suffer our pursuits to be interrupted 
 by vulgar opinions or prejudices, but pursue our studies full of the 
 conviction, " that patience and perseverance will lead to perfec- 
 tion." Nothing can be more absurd than to imagine one person 
 too lively for such a study, another too grave, or a third too so- 
 ber or honest for a genius : the fact is, if we suffer the opinions of 
 others to affect our choice, or overpower our resolves, we resign 
 ourselves up to the most ignominious slavery, by giving up the 
 right of regulating our own lives. When we have arrived at this 
 
 part 
 
.ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 231 
 
 part of the art, we must place some confidence in our own skill, 
 otherwise we shall be liable to perpetual embarrassment from the 
 various opinions of others ; we should rest satisfied, if our works 
 do not violate any principle in nature or rule of art. He who is 
 doubtful of his own abilities, will derive little advantage from the 
 remarks of others, and the result of his inquiry will produce a 
 mass of crude and independent hints, that cannot possibly be re- 
 conciled, or collected into one point. A proper confidence is ne- 
 cessary ; he cannot hope to succeed, who, before he begins, doubts 
 if his abilities be equal to the undertaking. 
 
 As it is the great end of art to strike the imagination, when we 
 have made choice of a subject that is lofty, grand, or beautiful, 
 we must be careful that it does not suffer in our hands by the in- 
 troduction of poor or mean thoughts, ugly, insignificant, or corn- 
 mon-place objects. Bassan, whatever "subject he chose, repre- 
 sented it by the peasants of his own country ; which deprived it- 
 of every merit, but such as depended on color and effect. How 
 opposite the conduct of Raphael in the Cartoons ! who, knowing 
 how much was expected from those who practised the great style, 
 has infused all the nobleness he was master of into his apostles, 
 notwithstanding history furnishes no authority for so doing. As 
 we cannot make our hero talk greatly, we must make him appear 
 capable of great actions, by adding all the externals of dignity and 
 grandeur, correspondent to high sentiment and great action; a 
 power which all men wish, but few attain. 
 
 As it is in our power, so it is our duty, to produce that unity 
 which nature does not always do. Thomson has finely heightened 
 the death of Amelia by the thunder-storm. A murder perpetrated 
 on a gloomy day, or at night, will affect our feelings more strong- 
 ly than in a broad flaring light. 
 
 Events become more compact, and of course more interesting, 
 by making the inanimate scenes of nature more dreadful or lovely, 
 or by adding a more sublime cast to the human countenance. 
 
 Though many things in nature and art exceed expectation, yet 
 nothing sensible has the power to exceed, or even equal, the capa- 
 city of thought: it is from this power of the mind the artist de- 
 rives 
 
 A lofty or grand, 
 choice, must not- 
 be debased by 
 the introduction 
 of mean or com* 
 mon-place ob- 
 jects. 
 
 Congruity of 
 images is requi- 
 site to improve 
 the effect. 
 
 The capacity of 
 thought is essen- 
 tial to the per- 
 fection of the 
 art. 
 
235 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 History may be 
 divided into the 
 grand style, and 
 the ornamental ; 
 or more proper- 
 ly, the pictu- 
 resquestyle: the 
 constituents of 
 rhsse styles. 
 
 rives his advantage. Mountains may be imagined loftier or more 
 picturesque, lakes more extensive and clear, rivers more rapid or 
 slow, rocks more vast and wild, caverns more gloomy, ruins more 
 majestic, and the whole face of nature dressed in sun or shade, as 
 best suits our purpose, while we may render the human figure more 
 beautiful or grand. The painter of history, like the historian, re- 
 presents the event, not the man, which is the province of the por- 
 trait-painter and biographer. 
 
 The two divisions of history generally rank under the grand style, 
 and what Sir Joshua terms the ornamental, but which, from its 
 delighting in variety, is better described by the word picturesque, 
 which is oftener applied, and not of so debasing a nature. The 
 picturesque is founded on a union of the regular and irregular, 
 the grand or simple, or the regular only : for instance, the arch 
 of a bridge which is uniform, is simple and grand, but being broken, 
 it becomes irregular or picturesque : decorations of ivy have a si- 
 milar effect. A head and body seen in front, with the hair flow- 
 ing uniformly on each side, as we sometimes see in the portraits 
 of Georgione and Titian, is grand ; incline the head, and vary the 
 hair on one side, it changes its character to the picturesque. Simi- 
 lar groups, nay, even single figures, perfectly alike, often charac- 
 terize the highest simplicity of composition, as in some of Raphael's 
 pictures ; and of this there is also a fine instance, by Titian, in the 
 Church of the Friars of St. Francis at Venice ; an etching of which, 
 by Le Febre, is in every one's hand. Poussin showed it in his 
 landscapes, in his buildings, and in the straight and parallel stems 
 and uniform foliage of his trees. The picturesque, on the contra- 
 ry, is seen in the contrasted groups of Rubens; the crossing and 
 winding of the stems, irregular foliage of trees, and in broken 
 buildings; but ever accompanied with a beautiful choice; for, as 
 before observed, if the picturesque was to be separated from the 
 beautiful, there would be nothing left worthy the dignity of paint- 
 ing. The grand style requires the greatest simplicity of conduct; 
 the rejection of all things little is necessary to its completion, not 
 only as to disposition, form, the minutiae of color and effect, but 
 te the total disregard of all the trickery of penciling : above all, 
 X if 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 233 
 
 if our subject be lofty, we must be careful not to admit any thought 
 that is trifling or mean; a fault many of the old masters are not 
 entirely free from. The drapery should partake of the same great 
 character; all the minute parts must be rejected, the folds should 
 be broad and simple, possess an easy communication, and grace- 
 fully follow each other as by chance. 
 
 The application of these styles must altogether depend on the 
 nature of the subject; the choice of the Roman school required 
 a simplicity of conduct which must necessarily run through the 
 whole picture. The subjects of the Cartoons would suffer by a 
 destruction of the unity, from changing the character of any part ; 
 the unaffected composition, solemnity of color, the broad and 
 simple folds of the drapery, form a whole that would be destroyed 
 by attaching showy color, or changing the character of the com- 
 position or drapery to the picturesque. But sportive scenes, feasts, 
 processions, and marriage ceremonies, such as were principally 
 chosen by the Venetians, perfectly agree with that picturesque ef- 
 fect arising from splendour of color, opposition of light and shade, 
 contrast, and variety of draperies. This distinction of character 
 originates, as before observed, from the very nature of the sub- 
 ject. Who that wished to represent an assassination would intro- 
 duce splendid colors, or great vivacity of light ? On the contrary, 
 would he not rather use sad and solemn ones, with darkness, ob- 
 scurity, and great depth? 
 
 What has reduced the Venetian school is want of expression. 
 Paul Veronese, in his picture of Mary Magdalen anointing the 
 feet of Jesus, has made it a mere eating-match of Venetian sena- 
 tors; and Tintoret, in his Marriage at Cana, has made the com- 
 pany scarcely notice the miracle of turning the water into wine.* 
 
 True history should never have its gravity disturbed by any im- 
 probable or impossible circumstance. What can be more absurd 
 than Raphael's flying apostles in the Attila, the angels in the bat- 
 
 H h tie 
 
 The proper ap- 
 plication of the 
 grand and pic- 
 turesque styles 
 exemplified by 
 reference to the 
 ancients. 
 
 The Venetian 
 school defective 
 in expression. 
 
 Improbable or 
 impossible cir- 
 cumstances must 
 not be admitted 
 inthesamepiece. 
 
 * In the Truchessian Gallery is a picture of the Marriage at Cana, 
 by Paul Veronese, in which the circumstance here mentioned is strik- 
 ingly apparent : perhaps the names of the artists in this paragraph, have 
 been reversed through some mistake. 
 
234 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 tie of Constantine, or St. Cecilia in the same picture with St. Paul, 
 St. John, St. Augustine, and Mary Magdalen? The same artist in 
 the School of Athens has confounded all the circumstances of time 
 and place. How unlike is the conduct of a great modern artist, 
 who, in bringing together a number of great characters that lived 
 at remote periods from each other, has wisely placed them in 
 Elysium ! In the picture by Titian, in the Church of St. Francis 
 in Venice, (formerly alluded to,) we find the Virgin and Child, 
 St. Peter, St. Francis, and Venetian senators, to the entire des- 
 truction of chronology. 
 True and tabu- Those who choose to exert their fancy had better invent their 
 
 J ° us , , h ' story . subject altogether, and not falsify a fact by going to true history, 
 confounded in where invention can never justify the introduction of allegoric fic- 
 *he same picture. t j on ^ j t detracts from the merit of Constanthie as a conqueror, 
 by bringing the host of heaven to his aid : without it we may sup- 
 pose he could not have overcome his more powerful partner in the 
 empire. But the highest absurdity is to find Heliodorus plunder- 
 ing the temple of Jerusalem, (as related in the second book of 
 Maccabees,) and Pope Julius present as a spectator. 
 
 I lose my patience, and I own it too, 
 AVhen works are censur'd not as bad, but new ; 
 While, if our elders break all reason's laws, 
 These fools demand not pardon, but applause. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Subjects far bis. Without racking our invention for fables above the compreheu- 
 
 tor y- sion of the vulgar, there are many fine moral stories for the prac- 
 
 tice of those who can afford the time and expense necessary to 
 their completion ; such as the patient resignation of that first of 
 mortal men, Socrates, at his death ; Curtius leaping into the gulph ; 
 the Decii devoting themselves for their country ; the sudden re- 
 verse of fortune in Marius at the ruins of Carthage ; the folly of 
 Candaules in exposing his wife's beauty to his friend Gyges; the 
 desire of fame in Caesar weeping before the statue of Alexander; 
 the virtue of Phocion in refusing the bribes of Alexander ; and the 
 piety of jEneas in preserving his father from the flames of Troy; 
 with numberless others that must occur to every one's recollection. 
 
 The 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 235 
 
 The Florentine and Roman schools have seized on the most 
 prominent parts of the arts, and, having perfected them, left but 
 little to do for those who followed beyond embellishing : whatever 
 was strong and forcible they seized in their mighty grasp ; hence 
 those who have succeeded them, as they polished, have lost vigor 
 and expression. The Carracci attempted it, and with some of 
 their scholars were often successful, and for dignity and expression 
 ranked next after the above great schools. The Venetians appear 
 scarcely to have thought of it in the rich bustle of their pictures. 
 Rubens among the Flemings ranks first : and when the Dutch at- 
 tempted at expression, it was always low and vulgar; Rembrandt 
 was an instance, and with a desperate bad choice of figure. Ra- 
 phael for expression justly ranks before any other painter, of which 
 there are fine examples at hand in the Cartoons at Windsor Cas- 
 tle,* and which by the first judges are ranked among the best of 
 liis works, if not the very best. They are unquestionably prefera- 
 ble to any of his pictures in the Vatican, for purity of invention 
 and historic truth. His easel pictures are generally poor. 
 
 By expression we do not confine ourselves to the face merely, 
 but to the justness of the general action. That expression is just- 
 ly placed at the head of the art is evident from its difficulty, for 
 to express well, we must in ourselves feel the passion we wish to 
 represent. He who wishes to wring another's heart with anguish 
 must feel as exquisitely himself: hence the necessity of recurring 
 to nature, and not depending on the feelings of another, as the 
 mannerist ever must. We shall obtain but little advantage in this 
 instance from a model : we must, therefore, recur to ourselves ; 
 and in so doing the looking-glass will become our best friend : 
 for, as Pope observes, 
 
 Characters of the 
 different schools 
 
 Expression ap- 
 plies to the pro- 
 priety of the ge- 
 neral action, as 
 well as to that of 
 the face. 
 
 He best shall paint them who can feel them most. 
 
 The Passions, as they are called by Le Brun, are so much over- 
 charged, as to have become caricatures. There is no laying down 
 
 H h 2 rules 
 
 * These inestimable pieces have been lately removed to Hampton 
 Court. E. 
 
236' 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Examples of ex- 
 pression, in the 
 works of the an- 
 cients, 
 
 and in those of 
 Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds. 
 
 The knowledge 
 of truth must be 
 obtained from 
 comparison. 
 
 rules for what must ever depend on the feelings. Next to nature, 
 the antique heads of the Laocoon, the dying Alexander, the 
 Niohes, and many others, will be well worth consulting; but ex- 
 pression must be general ; we see agony in the fingers and toes of 
 the Laocoon as strong as in the face. Domenichino and Poussin were 
 great in expression ; but, as before observed, Raphael is the first 
 modern. It would be an unpardonable neglect to overlook a 
 work of British art, that for expression would dispute precedence 
 with the best of the Roman school. Where shall we see paternal 
 despair represented with more force and truth than in Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds's Count Ugolino, or the horrors of death pronounced 
 ill a more determined and masterly manner than in the children? 
 We need say no more : Sweetness and Truth were, his handmaids ; 
 and when he died the Graces would no longer remain on the earth. 
 Where encouragement has been offered, the British artists have 
 done their duty: in portrait and landscape they equal, if not ex- 
 ceed, the best foreign masters ; and in history some works have 
 appeared honorable in the highest degree to the nation. They 
 will be sufficient to show to posterity the powers of the art in the 
 time we live : a few good works are enough, perhaps, in an un* 
 grateful age* 
 
 If we wish to know much, we must see many things of a kind, 
 that by comparing them we may acquire a more perfect idea of 
 the things than the individual object conveys; and those ideas we 
 are bound to improve till we understand the true principles of ge- 
 neral nature, or unaccompanied with those peculiarities that mark 
 the defects of the individuals in each species. 
 
 W 7 hen 
 
 * I am justified in using the words ungrateful age, by the shameful 
 neglect shown at the sale of Macklin's pictures by British artists. Art, 
 like beauty, having once withered, can never be restored. Constantine, 
 with all his wealth and power, could not resuscitate it, but was obliged 
 to rob ancient Rome to adorn his new city. Rouse, countrymen, rouse ! 
 you will add to your own immortality, and give vigor to the labors of 
 the artist, by encouraging the noble walk of history painting. How re- 
 nowned have the Popes Julius and Leo, with the Medici, become from 
 so doing ! The present opportunity lost may never be regained. Why- 
 should we not contend for the empire of wisdom as well as of the sea? 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 237 
 
 When we have determined on a subject, we must with all due 
 expedition make a sketch of the principal persons concerned in the 
 event, or whatever constitutes the feature of the picture, without 
 regard to dress or any of the lesser incidents, as much of the fire 
 and spirit of the actions, as well as the grandeur of the whole, de- 
 pends on the first impression. We must then do by our sketch as 
 Virgil said he did by his works, " lick them into shape ;" for, as 
 the first part depends on the imagination, so the second is the re- 
 sult of judgment : we are then to prune or add till the whole 
 comes into perfect ordonnance, choosing such objects as are strik- 
 ingly noble or beautiful, and adding such accessory circumstances 
 as may best contribute to illustrate the story. In our progress 
 with the sketch we may add a second or third group, settle the 
 dresses and the back-ground, whether landscape or architecture, 
 the disposition of the masses, and complete the whole by slightly 
 tinting it.. 
 
 We are bound to preserve a whole throughout our work, as 
 well as a unity of time and place: we should, therefore, avoid 
 every thing local ; even a well-known face or figure destroys in- 
 terest, by rendering the work familiar. 
 
 Lairesse whimsically describes a picture of the Deluge, painted 
 by an artist of his time, as made up of absurdities. Among other 
 things jumbled together is " the grave of Mahomet, rolls of Vir- 
 ginia tobacco, a Cardinal's cap,, a child in a go-cart, pickled her- 
 rings, a smuteh-pot and pencils, all the toys from a Nuremberg 
 toy-shop, the records of the imperial chamber at Spire," and, to 
 crown the whole, " the Vatican," and the artist's own dear self 
 " sitting on the fore-ground sketching every tiling after the life." 
 The man must be ignorant indeed who could be guilty of such 
 gross errors. An artist possessing common sense, will never act 
 so absurdly as to mix in the same picture things antiqne and mo- 
 dern ; an error common among the Venetian, Flemish, and Dutch 
 masters. The Dutch have treated history under circumstances so 
 purely local, that Christ has appeared in the storm in a common 
 fishing-boat with the tri-colored flag flying ; and Dalila represent- 
 ed as cutting a lock from a huge black peruke of the end of the 
 seventeenth century. If. 
 
 Instructions for 
 completing a 
 sketch when the 
 subject is deter- 
 mined on. 
 
 Every thing lo- 
 cal to be avoid- 
 ed. 
 
 Absurd compo- 
 sition instanced 
 in a picture of 
 the Deluge, and 
 in the works of 
 the Dutch mas- 
 ters. 
 
238 
 
 essAVs on Painting. 
 
 If the subject we mean to handle lies in Egypt, Athens, or 
 Rome, let us endeavour to transport ourselves thither by the 
 warmth and activity of our imagination, and, by removing every 
 tiling local, lead the spectator through the delightful and magical 
 mazes of science, so that he may actually imagine the scene to be 
 transacting before his eyes. 
 
 Perfect or just 
 composition, is 
 the resultof con- 
 summate art, 
 though appa- 
 rently the work 
 of chance. 
 
 An enlarged ac- 
 quaintance with 
 history, and 
 other branches 
 of learning, is 
 essential to good 
 composition. 
 
 ESSAY VI. 
 
 ON COMPOSITION, OR DISPOSITION. 
 
 but in such order all 
 
 As, though hard wrought, may seem by chance to fall. 
 Duke of Buckingham. 
 
 Composition is the forming of a whole by the union of va- 
 rious dissimilar parts ; or, in a more painter-like sense, the art of 
 arranging the figures, and other materials of a picture, in such a 
 manner that the whole may appear as if the result of chance, 
 though produced by the most consummate art. 
 
 Before w r e proceed to offer such rules as are to be extracted 
 from the works of the most esteemed masters, it may not be im- 
 proper to premise, what previous knowledge is necessary to enable 
 us to produce a composition. 
 
 When we have occasion to speak of the works of certain artists, 
 we wish at all times to be understood, as referring through them to 
 nature; for it must ever be remembered, that art cannot furnish 
 its oxvn rules. 
 
 Some who have written on the arts, have recommended parti- 
 cular books for the use of young artists ; which is supposing a cer- 
 tain quantity of information sufficient to make a painter. Where 
 he is to begin his inquiry every one knows ; where to stop, no one 
 can tell : one thing is certain, there is no danger of too much 
 knowledge making him spoil his work. 
 
 It is of the first importance to imagine well our picture. To 
 
 this end, we must take every means to become well acquainted 
 
 with the history whence our subject is drawn, that we may be- 
 
 1 come 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 239 
 
 come familiar with the characters we are to represent : hence a 
 reference to their lives becomes necessary, that we may not mis- 
 take a bad man for a good one from the show of one good action. 
 This is not all ; time and place must be attended to, that we may 
 not confound the customs of one people with the manners of ano- 
 ther. The country, also, should be characterized by its trees, 
 rivers, monuments, and public buildings, as well as the inhabitants 
 by their dress and manners. All this, nay more, being absolutely 
 necessary, how is it possible that an artist with a little reading can 
 accomplish a work like an historical picture ? As well might we 
 suppose, that the merely reading Homer would be sufficient to 
 enable us to design from that author, without any previous histo- 
 rical information. 
 
 He who first acquires a knowledge of geography, will not only 
 better understand history and biography, but receive a higher relish 
 for them than had he followed a different order of reading. What 
 gives us an interest in iEneas, but our supposing him the founder 
 of the mighty empire of Rome ? otherwise, he becomes a mere 
 robber. 
 
 As all this knowledge cannot be obtained without much atten- 
 tion, we shall find great advantage result from making memoran. 
 dums under their respective heads, of the customs, manners, 
 buildings, and other circumstances connected with historical paint- 
 ing ; by which means, we shall collect a mass of information at all 
 times ready to refer to, and that without its interfering in the 
 least with our practical studies. Lord Bacon justly observes, 
 " The proceeding upon somewhat conceived in writing, doth, for 
 the most part, facilitate dispatch ; for though it should be wholly 
 rejected, yet that negative is more pregnant of direction than an 
 indefinite, as ashes are more generative than dust." 
 
 Those who propose to themselves to pursue the great and ar- 
 duous task of history-painting, should be careful to guard against 
 commencing their career too soon, or before they have obtained a 
 stock sufficient to that end : some have started with so slender a 
 capital, that it has been confined to color, chiaro-oscuro, with, now 
 
 and 
 
 Great advantages 
 result from 
 keeping a well- 
 digested com- 
 mon-place 
 book. 
 
 Historical sub- 
 jects should not 
 be commenced 
 on too slender a. 
 foundation. 
 
240 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Acquirements 
 necessary for an 
 historical paint- 
 er. 
 
 The power of 
 extending bene- 
 fits beyond the 
 graveisgod-like. 
 
 and then, a successful composition; requisites that do not sink be- 
 low the superficies. 
 
 The acquirements necessary to qualify an artist to pursue the 
 great and important part of the art we are treating of, are many : 
 he should possess a thorough knowledge of the human figure as 
 far as it regards his art, and its attire, with landscape, architecture, 
 chiaro-oscuro, and color: he should be well read in history, anti- 
 quity, and the best poets ; to which he should join a knowledge of 
 practical geometry, as the foundation of perspective ; with that 
 part of optics called chromatics, as it explains the colors of light 
 and of natural bodies ; and, withal, possess a tolerable facility of 
 hand. Nothing can be more difficult than to fill up the charac- 
 ter of a great artist, particularly if he proposes to raise a just and 
 lasting reputation; and, not content, like the generality of the pro- 
 fession, to produce trifles, extends his views beyond the present 
 generation, by the cultivation of works that may flourish in future 
 ages. To do this, in addition to the above acquisitions, he should 
 be endowed by nature with noble and elevated sentiments ; a ready 
 and warm genius to invent, accompanied with the greatest cool- 
 ness to arrange; penetration to apply a justness of character, with 
 patience and industry to carry bim through the detail : in fact, his 
 nature should be so formed as to possess the contrarieties of hot 
 and cold ; that is, with the greatest vigor should be united the 
 greatest caution. 
 
 O the god-like attribute of extending benefits beyond the grave ! 
 Where are now the ancient heroes? Their names are scarcely re- 
 membered, and their mischiefs have long ceased to trouble ; while 
 the labors of a Homer, a Virgil, a Shakespeare, and a Milton, with 
 a long list of worthies, even now give bread to thousands ! 
 
 Some one has well observed, that " The great end of books is 
 to set the mind a-going:" all indeed we can hope from our first 
 efforts is, to raise in the mind that spirit of inquiry that may ulti- 
 mately lead to an imitation of the great, the noble, or the beau- 
 tiful : all the rest is froth. 
 
 It was their high notions of the art, that led the old masters to 
 such an exalted perfection as to become the admiration of the 
 
 civilized 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 241 
 
 civilized part of the world, and placed them among the first order 
 of mortals, or those who have extended their services beyond 
 their being. Anger, hatred, and revenge, are passions possessed 
 by every one in common with the brute; but to understand that 
 infinitely remote point of perfection which constitutes the founda- 
 tion of true art, is the reward of few. 
 
 It is a misfortune for the art, that every one imagines himself a 
 critic in painting; all are tried by their peers but the poor painter: 
 but let those who are in affected raptures at the touch of a pencil, 
 or the neatness of handling, recollect they are the most trifling 
 and insignificant parts of the art ; criticism should be general in all 
 great works : it is a common precept in art, that an attention to 
 the whole supersedes all consideration for the parts.* 
 
 The old masters 
 derived their 
 power of ap- 
 proaching per- 
 fection from 
 their high no- 
 tions of the art. 
 
 Criticism 
 should apply to 
 the whole ; when 
 it descends to 
 the minutiae, it 
 becomes vapid ; 
 
 In wit, as nature, what affects our hearts 
 Is not th* exactness of peculiar parts ; 
 'Tis not a lip, or eye, we beauty call, 
 But the joint force and full result of all. 
 
 Pope's Essay on Criticism. 
 
 Petty criticism should be punished with silent contempt. We 
 might as well " hew blocks of marble with a razor," or " whistle 
 to mile-stones," as attempt to convince some people. There is an 
 applause which is superior to all others, that is, our own, from a 
 conviction of well doing ; or, in other words, a consciousness that 
 our industry is rewarded with improvement. He who is too 
 anxiously eager for the applause of others, exchanges indepeu- 
 
 I i dence 
 
 and should be 
 punished with 
 contempt. 
 
 * It must not be understood that the above precept goes to recom- 
 mend a neglect of the subordinate parts. Over-finishing (that is, the 
 nicely defining the form of each part of an object, as a hand, a foot, 
 8ec) is not one of the faults of the British school. This fault, of want 
 of care in making out the parts, is by some improperly ascribed to Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds. That great man was not without his defects ; but 
 we, as rational beings, should avoid them. It would be a poor justifi- 
 cation for the practice of a vice, because we saw it in another. It is 
 much to be doubted, whether the perfections of a great master will ever 
 be properly felt by the mere imitator: tije reverse is certain. 
 
242 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 dence for uncertainty, and happiness for disappointment. Besides, 
 he is in danger of falling into a style familiar and common, such 
 as may best suit the ideas of ordinary life and vulgar opinion. 
 We must be careful not to refine our delicacy to too high a pitch, 
 otherwise we shall render ourselves liable to be wounded by every 
 petty criticism. Many with whom our situation compels us to 
 have an intercourse are no judges of art; others are influenced 
 by prejudice ; many delight to wound : but, whether the observa- 
 tion be the result of ignorance or vanity, the best mode of punish- 
 ment will be neglect. 
 General Ob- We have already noticed, under Invention, the two characters 
 
 of composition, as the grand and picturesque ; that die former ap- 
 plies to grave and serious subjects, while the latter appears to as- 
 sociate best with gay and sportive ones. Beauty and grace not 
 only delight in, but derive their greatest power from, mild variety: 
 hence one of the greatest beauties in our common writing characters 
 results from the swell, or the opposition of force and delicacy in 
 the lines, which give grace independent of form: the same thing 
 enriches and adds spirit to a masterly outline, to which, if we join 
 fine (we mean true) form, it will possess the first or highest kind 
 of excellence. Among the profession there is great difference of 
 opinion relative to composition ; we should therefore wish to be 
 understood as offering those rules that relate to matters of taste, 
 with delicacy and modesty, for fear of forcing genius into one par- 
 ticular track of operation. 
 Inquiry as to Nothing can be more false than to suppose the art of composi- 
 
 form should be ^on subject to some positive law, or that the figures of a group 
 observed m should be invariably composed under some particular form. Men 
 
 who look at pictures, and from them obtain all their knowledge, 
 are apt to run into this error, and suppose, because they see a 
 group in some celebrated picture make somewhat of an angle, 
 that all figures to be well put together must assume the triangle. 
 Others, in contradiction to that doctrine, maintain that the true 
 Venetian metLod of composition requires the group to incline dia- 
 gonally, that is, running from comer to corner of the picture, as- 
 serting that the former method is barbarous and French : another 
 
 set 
 
 grouping. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 245 
 
 set of men call the horizontal line simplicity, and the true Roman 
 method, expecting to see a range of heads of an equal height run- 
 ning through the greatest part of the work. It appears pretty 
 certain, that the shape of the group must depend greatly on the 
 nature of the subject. A Triumph must necessarily assume a dif- 
 ferent figure to a spectacle like a Descent from the Cross, because 
 it would be so in nature. 
 
 He who wishes to affect with sorrow or melancholy, can only 
 expect to succeed by the removal of whatever may be likely to 
 please, either from variety and contrast of form, brilliancy of co- 
 lor, or striking effect of light and shade ; and one great aid will 
 result from telling the story with few figures, which greatly adds 
 to simplicity. The chief reason why Raphael is preferred for 
 composition, is his possessing a style more simple and expressive 
 than any other. Simplicity appears to have marked the charac- 
 ters of the Roman and Florentine schools, as also that of the Ca- 
 racci ; after whom, we must place Poussin, Le Sueur, Bourdon, 
 and such others as have affected the same simple and expressive 
 manner, 
 
 Le Brun, though an artist of great merit, has, in many instances, 
 so crowded his composition with incidents, that the attention is 
 entirely taken from what ought to constitute the principal feature, 
 and the mind becomes distracted amidst a multitude of events: 
 witness his Crucifixion, and Slaughter of the Innocents. Expres- 
 sion derives much of its force from simplicity. Sterne, in his Sen- 
 timental Journey, was obliged to take a single captive to give 
 force to his description. What can more strongly affect our feel- 
 ings than his Maria? A multitude of objects rushing on the sight 
 destroy interest, and in single objects, too many parts produce 
 the same effect : hence the necessity of not over-crowding with 
 ornaments. 
 
 Diversity does not carry with it so much art, or the appearance 
 of art, as is generally supposed ; for, if we diligently attend to na- 
 ture, we shall find an infinite variety of formed groups resulting 
 from the disposition of some men to sit, others to stand, the con- 
 trast of children with adults, men on horseback, the irregularities 
 
 I i 2 of 
 
 Pleasing op 
 complex image- 
 ry must be a- 
 voided in com- 
 positions de- 
 signed to excite 
 sorrow or me- 
 lancholy. 
 
 Simplicity give* 
 strength to ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The pyramidi- 
 
 calform appears 
 th>2 most agree- 
 able to nature. 
 
244 
 
 ESSAYS OX PAINTING. 
 
 Rubens the 
 best master 
 study from. 
 
 All contrast that 
 degenerates into 
 affectation, 
 should be a- 
 voided. 
 
 of ground, and a variety of circumstances; all tending to pro- 
 duce a diversified and irregular mass, probably assuming, more 
 frequently than any other, a general figure approaching to the 
 pyramid. 
 
 If we examine the most approved compositions of the Roman, 
 Venetian, or other schools, we shall find not only the general dis- 
 posi'ion tending to the pyramidical figure, but each group taken 
 separately, with this difference, that in the Venetian and Flemish 
 it is rendered more excessive. Hence, from a dash of excess in 
 Rubens, he becomes a better master to study than any other, but 
 he must be studied with caution. The close adhesion of his 
 figures points out the method of composition ; the striking and 
 conspicuous manner of arranging his tints, evinces the plan pur- 
 sued in grouping the colors; while the union of shadow with sha- 
 dow, and fight with light, is seen in the breadth and vastness of 
 his masses. By his excess we may learn, as from Diogenes in 
 morals, who observed, that he acted like musicians, who gave a 
 higher tone in order to indicate a true one. 
 
 The affectation of contrast in some artists is abominable; it 
 looks studiously absurd to see a woman lying on the ground, with 
 a child at her breast, and another playing near her ; besides the 
 common trick of mixing, in quantum sufficit, naked with clothed 
 figures; old men with young ones; side opposed to the full face; 
 the contrast of violent motion with languid attitudes ; and a thou- 
 sand other petty arts to trap the unwary. Such violent opposition 
 will never please the judicious. Where the highest degree of the 
 picturesque is intended, it should never be carried to excess. 
 How ridiculous would it appear in a landscape to see trees cros- 
 sing each other at right angles, or oue vertical and another hori- 
 zontal! In this instance, we may take an example from nature, 
 whose progress from season to season, is by gentle and almost 
 imperceptible degrees, and not by violent opposition from heat to 
 cold. By the same rule, violent fore-shortenings should be 
 avoided ; a little adds dignity ; but, in general, the figures had bet- 
 ter be composed than otherwise. We should be careful of mis- 
 taking bluster and rant for spirit and greatness. " Be not too tame 
 
 neither, 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 245 
 
 neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor; suit the action 
 to the word, with this special observance, that you overstep not 
 the modesty of nature." 
 
 Weak minds are apt, when they attempt the expressive style, to 
 give their figures the wild and extravagant attitudes of lunatics. 
 That grave dignity observable in the works of the Florentine and 
 Roman schools, has entitled them to the first place in composi- 
 tion: the next is justly held by the Caracci, whose pupils, as they 
 lost sight of dignity, substituted bustle and show for simple truth. 
 The style of Guercino is forcible and strong, but less elegant and 
 beautiful than Guido, which is easily perceived in the extremities. 
 Poussin has great simplicity in his compositions, though his figures 
 are sometimes too much scattered. He is remarkable for not 
 suffering any low or vulgar thought to break in on the dignity of 
 his story; an error sometimes committed even by Raphael. There 
 are admirable traits of the true Roman simplicity in the pictures 
 of Le Sueur. They are rare jewels; and Le Bruin's Stoning St. 
 Stephen is highly classical. 
 
 Most of the writers on composition in painting seem to imagine 
 it to depend on contrast, and recommend it in the strongest man- 
 ner ; but violent opposition, as before stated, not only destroys 
 simplicity, but is of all affectations the most disgusting. If oppo- 
 sition or contrast were a criterion of excellence, the most violent 
 would become the most perfect ; and, like a caricature, the more 
 unlike nature, the better it would be. Variety or contraposition is 
 certainly necessary; but the degree cannot be ascertained by 
 weight or measure, it must be learned from the works of esteemed 
 masters. Common sense must dictate the necessity of not making 
 all the attitudes alike, and also keep us from a contrary excess. 
 
 In a fine composition we shall discover, by an attentive exami- 
 nation, all the parts so depending on the whole, that the removal 
 of any object would destroy the general good arrangement. 
 
 That variety necessary to the perfection of a group, should be 
 
 displayed in a single figure, especially if it be a beautiful one. If 
 
 the figure is seen in front, its grace will be increased by showing 
 
 I the 
 
 Composition 
 should be ex- 
 pressiveanddig- 
 nified, but not 
 extravagant. 
 
 Violent opposi- 
 tion destroys 
 simplicity. 
 
 In a judicious 
 composition, all 
 the parts unite 
 to forma whole, 
 
5-i6 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The variety ob- 
 servable in Ra- 
 phael, is the re- 
 sult of deep re- 
 flection. 
 
 In a great mas- 
 ter every action 
 is the result of 
 judgment. 
 
 Examples of 
 composition. 
 
 the face in profile, with a slight inclination in the chest :* one of 
 the legs being straight, the other should be thrown back ; and so 
 of each limb :+ but this variety must depend on the nature of the 
 subject, as such a contrast would ill become a philosopher, apos- 
 tle, or senator. 
 
 A sing' 2 figure may be considered as a group in itself, and such 
 a studied one would by no means unite with many, any more than 
 one taken from a number would do as a single figure. 
 
 The contrast observable in Raphael is not an affectation of va- 
 riety, but the result of consummate judgment, where the erect 
 and inactive figure is introduced to give energy and motion to the 
 active. Contrast in him is the result of necessity arising from deep 
 reflection, not the studied and insipid opposition of an old man, a 
 young woman, a boy and a girl, which we often see in pictures. 
 He knew well that a philosopher or an apostle would not move like 
 a soldier, a virgin like a matron, or children like adults ; which ap- 
 pears to make part of that variety observable in his works. He 
 appears also to have preferred the action to its termination ; which 
 renders the story more clear, and leaves the spectator delighted 
 with a suspended motion, and in expectation of its terminating. 
 A man represented in the act of walking, and as having terminated 
 his step, will not have so animated an effect as one not having fi- 
 nished it. Much of the beauty of the Apollo Belvidere arises 
 from the state of action he is represented under. We almost ima- 
 gine he is actually moving when viewed in front. 
 
 In a great master, every thing is the result of reason : if a limb, 
 such as a hand or foot, is concealed by drapery, it does not arise 
 from idleness or ignorance ; it is done to give beauty to some 
 principal members, by not making too great a display of parts, or 
 to avoid what would otherwise produce an ugly form. 
 
 The grand or expressive style will ever rank first ; the other, as 
 in the hands of Lanfrauco, Cortona, &c. is only the art of agree- 
 ably 
 
 * See Essay on Grace. 
 
 f See the Venus de Medicis, Apollo Belvidere, and others, remark- 
 able for grace. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 247 
 
 ably filling a large picture with figures, or merely pleasing the eye : 
 it may justly be termed ornamental, and ranks infinitely below the 
 pure picturesque. In all works of art, the philosopher will inquire 
 whether the head or the hand is most employed. Poussin, though 
 admirable in composition, often excels in the accessary parts. In 
 his Pyrrhus, the figures, and distant ground over the river, are 
 more beautiful than the principal part ; a prodigality avoided by 
 Raphael ; nor is he so noble in his best thoughts ; and his women 
 are often ordinary. We wish to be understood as always distin- 
 guishing between the grand style and the picturesque. In the for- 
 mer, the utmost simplicity is to be observed in the arrangement, 
 and every thing like artifice avoided ; while the latter admits of, 
 and derives much of its character from, variety. 
 
 In a group the artist generally prefers unequal numbers, as 3, Unequal num. 
 5, 7, or 9, which unite with a better grace, and afford a greater f e e r ' r S e a°i n ^roupl 
 variety, than any other; but, where equal numbers are used, ln s- 
 those composed of two unequal are best, as 6, 10, and 14 ; but 
 double pairs will ill accord, as 4, S, 12, &c. The principal part 
 of the story ought undoubtedly to occupy the centre of the pic- 
 ture ; and the group, by assuming a rotund or semicircular form, 
 will assist the light and shade, and enable us to bring the princi- 
 pal figure in light, as well as. to procure masses by combining the 
 shadows of several objects in one. In this respect Raphael has 
 displayed so much judgment, that it appears, from his works, evi- 
 dent that he would have proved a great master in fight and shade, 
 had he been permitted a longer life : however, he did enough to 
 furnish the hint to the Venetian school. 
 
 In whatever way we may dispose our group, the principal figure The figure in. 
 ought to be rendered conspicuous, either from situation, color, pTincipalshouid 
 drapery, light, or from all these combined. To talk about " effect ever be tne m °st 
 of light and shade," and thereby attempt to justify an impropriety, 
 would be reducing painting to a style merely ornamental indeed ! 
 and make paintings of no use beyond stopping a hole in the wall. 
 
 As in the drama, the hero of the piece has a greater part to 
 sustain to distinguish him, so ours must, as it were, lord it over all 
 the other objects. 
 
 Not 
 
 conspicuous; 
 
248 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Nor paint conspicuous on the foremost plain 
 Whate'er is false, impertinent, or vain; 
 But, like the tragic muse, thy lustre throw 
 Where the chief action claims its warmest glow. 
 
 Mason's Fresnoy. 
 
 but not 
 labored. 
 
 Directions for 
 grouping. 
 
 Treatment of 
 naked figures. 
 
 It must not be understood, however, that the principal figure 
 should be more labored or finished ; that would destroy the unity 
 which ought to prevail through the whole. 
 
 In forming our groups, the greatest mass ought to be in the 
 middle, and the little or scattered parts placed on the edges, to 
 give the whole a lightness; while some places require to be left 
 blank for the sake of repose ; for, though our picture should be 
 filled, it should not be crowded. As we must also seek to obtain 
 profundity proportioned to the greatness of the group, we should, 
 to give the whole a pleasing air from a variety in its form, avoid 
 placing the figures in a file. Rubens, whose art in grouping his 
 figures is great, sometimes runs into excess by attaching them too 
 much together, so as to make them appear to cling as inseparable ; 
 but, as before observed, his vices teach us what is right. The 
 golden mean must form the object of our pursuit ; we should avoid 
 a monotony of forms as well as too great a contrast; a number of 
 extremities following each other in the same line will generally 
 produce a bad effect. We should also avoid showing them in the 
 same point of view. Poussin's Sacrament of Baptism is an excel- 
 lent example, where many figures are pointing, all differing from 
 each other. 
 
 In exhibiting the naked, we are bound to show the most beau- 
 tiful parts, which is, generally speaking, all the joints. The neck 
 and shoulders in the male often form a fine mass in a group. 
 But, above all, we should never conceal the extremities, from the 
 power of expression they display, as well as the room they allow 
 for the skill and abilities of the artist. In the female, the naked 
 is ever pleasing, while an artful concealment will augment the 
 beauty and grace. 
 
 But 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 249 
 
 But treat the goddess like a modest fair, 
 Nor over-dress, nor leave her wholly bare ; 
 Let not each beauty ev'ry where be spy'd. 
 Where half the skill is decently to hide. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 If our story requires more than one group, the same laws must 
 influence us in the conduct of each; they should certainly not 
 exceed three. The principal one should prevail over the others ; 
 and, by placing it near the centre, or in the second stage of the 
 picture, we shall afford the spectator a better opportunity of seeing 
 it, and also furnish ourselves a better opportunity of surrounding 
 the principal group with the other objects. 
 
 As we are bound to support an equilibrium in our composition, 
 we ought not to crowd one part of the picture, nor leave another 
 too naked ; but this must be done without adding weight to weight 
 in a horizontal or perpendicular form. The same holds of chiaro- 
 oscuro and color, where mass must support mass. Two actions 
 or points of time should never be admitted into one picture. M. 
 Angelo, in the Capella Sestini, has represented Adam and Eve 
 mating the fruit, and expelled the garden, in the same piece! 
 Raphael's Peter in Prison, and Delivery, can hardly be called one. 
 
 The painter, speaking to the eye, should, in the choice of his 
 subject, be careful that it admits images striking and grand : it 
 should burst on the spectator like an unexpected peal of thunder. 
 The horses in the pictures of Rubens add much to the dignity, as 
 do also his fine light and shade. As in an epic poem, there should 
 be but one action admitted in our picture : it should be an entire, 
 and, above all, a great one, and require no further aid to its illus- 
 tration than what is contained in the picture ; — it ought to explain 
 the history, not the history the painting. As we are not confined 
 to the mere letter of the story, we may use any means consistent 
 with probability to illustrate our subject ; as we once saw, in a 
 drawing of a Triumph, where the artist, to show the cause was 
 love, decorated a car and the shields with such objects as were 
 symbols of that passion ; and, further, to show it was connected 
 witli Theseus and the Amazons, in the tablet of an arch repre- 
 
 K k sented 
 
 Not more than 
 three groups can 
 with propriety 
 be introduced 
 into one subject. 
 
 In all composi- 
 tions an equili- 
 brium should be 
 observed. 
 
 Grandeur and 
 sublimity ought 
 to be attended to 
 in the choice of 
 subject; and the 
 action should be 
 entile. 
 
25a 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Unity of parts is 
 requisite. 
 
 When the atten- 
 tion is fixed on 
 the higher ex. 
 cellencies, the 
 character is ex- 
 alted. 
 
 sented that hero's battle with those heroines : but enough; an in- 
 genious mind will find a thousand ways of displaying itself. 
 
 It must be obvious that the parts of each figure should agree 
 so as to produce a whole : for instance, a thin face should not be 
 united with fat hands. The same unity is necessary between die 
 figure and its attire, which should suit the degree and character of 
 the person, as well as be adapted to the age and sex. 
 
 We cannot do better than conclude this paper in the words of 
 Sir Joshua:— " My advice is this: keep your attention fixed on 
 the higher excellencies. If you compass them, and compass no- 
 thing more, you are still in the first class. We may regret the in- 
 numerable beauties which you may want : you may be imperfect, 
 but still you will be an imperfect person of the highest order." 
 That great man in another place, speaking of " the well-grounded 
 painter, says, " as his pre-eminence depends not upon a trick, he 
 is free from the painful suspicions of a juggler, who lives in per- 
 petual fear lest his trick should be discovered." 
 
 ESSAY VII. 
 
 ON THE POWER AND USEFULNESS OF DRAWING.* 
 
 I am persuaded, that to be a virtuoso, (so far as befits a gentle- 
 man,) is a higher step towards becoming a man of virtue and good 
 sense, than the being what in this age we call a scholar. 
 
 Lord Shaftesbury. 
 
 Objects or 
 this Essay. 
 
 In this Essay we have two objects in view: to show the connec- 
 tion of Drawing with Painting ; and to exhibit, in as clear a man- 
 ner as we possibly can, its usefulness and influence on society. 
 
 Before 
 
 * The motive whfch influenced me in writing the present Essay, was 
 to endeavour to remove the prejudice of those who consider the arts as 
 a useless study, and their produce as things merely ornamental. But 
 who, in a state of civil society, would be content with the useful or ne- 
 cessary . : Mho is he whose soul seeks not after perfection? 
 
 The 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 251 
 
 Before we proceed, however, if may be necessary to observe, thai 
 those who would question the utility of the arts, would be equally 
 disposed to question the utility of these Essays, that treat about 
 tbera. Of their usefulness we hope to be able to offer numberless 
 proofs; but they rise superior to the merely useful: for that which 
 is necessary, is neither ornamented nor elegant, because necessity 
 implies poverty, while ornament implies abundance. Hence archi- 
 tecture, as au art, does not apply to mere house-building. 
 
 In defence of these Essays, they are serviceable by exhibiting 
 the usefulness of truth; and so far they become an object to all 
 those who wish to be acquainted with the subject handled, and 
 to obtain a knowledge thereiu. But to those who never think or 
 inquire, or concern themselves with matters of speculation, or who 
 take up with speculations without examining them, or read only 
 to confirm themselves in such as they have received, not any thing 
 can become an object of concern, nor any book be useful. 
 
 That man was not intended by nature for purposes base and 
 ignoble, none will deny; and, if arguments were wanted, they 
 might be drawn from that eternal inquiry after whatever is grand, 
 dignified, or exalted; and, finally, after a state superior to our 
 present terrestrial one. For it is not too much to assert, that we 
 approach the Divinity in nothing so much as in wisdom. Hence, 
 as the arts are connected with wisdom, as men become careless 
 of their culture, they become equally incapable of fulfilling the du- 
 ties of social beings. For knowledge is what humanizes mankind ; 
 
 K k 2 reason 
 
 Prelim in a- 
 
 R Y R.EM&RK5. 
 
 The utility of 
 the arts defend* 
 ed, 
 
 by reference to 
 their effects on 
 society, 
 
 The motions of his spirit are dull as night, 
 And his affections dark as Erebus : 
 Let no such man be trusted. 
 
 The subject had long engaged my attention ; but I had dropped the 
 idea of writing on it, in consequence of some intelligent friends observ- 
 ing it would be useless, as no one could be so stupid as not to see the 
 usefulness and influence of the arts on society. Experience, however, 
 has taught the contrary ; and I have been further strengthened in my 
 resolution by observing, that the French National Institute, in their 
 public sitting of April 5, 1802, have thought the inquiry of sufficient im- 
 portance to offer it as a subject foi the premium of a gold medal. 
 
25Z 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 and to the fate 
 of those nations 
 in which their 
 practice was for- 
 bidden. 
 
 reason inclines them to mildness, but ignorance generates preju- 
 dice, which eradicates every tender feeling. 
 
 What has been the fate of those people whose lawgivers forbid 
 the practice of the elegant arts ? It appears they well knew, that 
 where art resides, wisdom will ever be of the party ; and dreaded 
 the downfall of opinions built on a false base. What was the fate 
 of Crete, that was so renowned for her wisdom, valor, and laws r 
 How did she sink under the tyranny and oppression of Rome ? 
 With their freedom departed their arts, their sciences, their valor, 
 and their virtues. With the loss of liberty we lose all the ardour 
 nature has furnished us with to strengthen and support the flame 
 of genius, and the ardent glow of valor : without it we become 
 destitute of vigorous resolution, and sink below the natural virtue 
 and dignity of our species. The wealth of a state, and the degree 
 of civilization of its inhabitants, are shown in the perfection of the 
 elegant arts : no country ever flourished without them. 
 
 Wisdom is power, and power is what preserves a nation : hence 
 those who shut the door against knowledge, are wilfully seeking 
 their own destruction : such is precisely the present state of the 
 Turkish empire. 
 
 Ye Gods ! what justice rules the ball !- 
 Freedom and arts together fall : 
 Fools grant whate'er ambition craves; 
 And men once ignorant are slaves. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 The usefulness 
 of the arts in a 
 national point of 
 view. 
 
 Dtawing pos- 
 sesses a creative 
 power. 
 
 The arts have not only an influence on our manners, but als» 
 on our passions, and, taken in a national point of view, are highly 
 useful. The pictures representing gallant actions, or noble achieve- 
 ments, rouse and stimulate to acts of heroism and public spirit - r 
 while those of a more elegant turn, exhibit examples of graceful 
 address, and incline the mind to acts of beneficence and virtue. 
 
 Drawing may be said to possess a divine virtue in its creative 
 power, and to be a perpetual miracle, as it preserves the images 
 of distant objects, and the likeness of those we love. Without 
 risking our lives on the boisterous ocean, we may enjoy at home, 
 
ESSAYS QN PAINTING. 
 
 S53 
 
 in a small book, representations of the finest productions of nature 
 and art, though situated in the remotest regions of the world. 
 
 By Drawing is meant the exact imitation of all the forms and 
 manners which present themselves to our sight ; and in knowing 
 how to give every thing its proper and corresponding character 
 agreeably to the subject, consists the excellency of what the artist 
 terms a good draughtsman. 
 
 Drawing, as far as it is connected with mere imitation, is a me- 
 chanical operation, and may be acquired by a person of very mo- 
 derate talents. So may a knowledge of bodies, properties, facts, 
 events, and fables, by reading. But the powers of invention, the 
 vis poetica, which distinguishes the bard from the mere versifier 
 or journalist, the genius from the mere imitator and copyist, must 
 be a gift from heaven, bestowed at the formation of the being. 
 Neither this poetic energy, nor the inventive powers of the artist, 
 can be taught in schools or academies ; but they both may be bu- 
 ried in rust and inaction, if proper objects are not presented to 
 call them into motion. So the inventive powers of genius will be 
 futile, if unaccompanied by a skill in drawing. Without this, the 
 learning of the painter or sculptor cannot be shown to advantage : 
 it is the sine qua non by which all the other accomplishments are 
 displayed. 
 
 From what has been already stated, the dependence of painting 
 on drawing must be obvious ; but how limited must their ideas be, 
 who consider it as " the foundation of painting" only ! We know 
 it is such : for without drawing, it would be in vain to think of 
 producing an effect ; as mere color without form, must remain a 
 crude and uudistinguishable mass ; yet it has far better qualities 
 than this. . 
 
 Drawing is not only an accomplishment the most elegant, agree- 
 able, and ornamental, but, at the same time that it is the founda- 
 tion of painting, is of the utmost utility to the sculptor, the civil 
 and naval architect, the engraver, the engineer, the mathematician, 
 and navigator. It also assists the gardener, the cabinet-maker, 
 the weaver, &c. In short, there is scarcely a branch of civil so- 
 ciety that is not indebted to it, from the maker of the iron rails 
 
 before 
 
 Definition of the 
 term drawing. 
 
 Drawing, consi- 
 dered as a me- 
 chanical opera- 
 tion, is of easy 
 attainment; but 
 the powers of 
 invention de- 
 pend on nature. 
 
 The utility of 
 drawing evin- 
 ced by its in- 
 alienable con- 
 nection with 
 many of the arts 
 of social life. 
 
25* ISSAYS OH PAINTING. 
 
 Utility of draw- before our house, to the tea-urn on our table. To it we are in- 
 
 IDET* 
 
 debted for representations of those elegant remains of antiquity 
 that have contributed so much to the advancement of our know- 
 ledge of fine form. Volumes of verbal description will never con- 
 vey so true an idea of a thing, as the most slight sketch. Hence 
 the source of much of our knowledge in antiquity, of which lan- 
 guage could convey no adequate idea. To speak of the power of 
 drawing in a very limited point of view : without it we could not 
 have maps and charts ; without them we could not navigate ; and 
 without navigation, we could not possess the advantages of com- 
 merce. Its application to ship-building must be obvious, as every 
 part is made to a scale. As a mere power of imitation, it unques- 
 tionably sets a man at the head of creation, no other animal 
 having made even the attempt. 
 
 To be able on the spot to make a sketch of a fine building, 
 beautiful prospect, or any curious production of nature or of art, 
 is not only a very desirable and elegant accomplishment, but in 
 the highest degree entertaining. To treasure up whatever may 
 occur in our travels, either for future use, or to illustrate conver- 
 sation, to represent the deeds of the great of former ages, and to 
 preserve the features of our most valued friends, has made this 
 art not only one of the highest embellishments of our nature, but 
 the delight of all ages. The greatest writers have united to praise, 
 and empires to encourage it. It has been in the highest degree 
 morally useful ; and, where it has flourished, conferred honor on 
 the country. In fact, society could not sustain a more severe loss 
 than in being deprived of it ; as many comforts, and all those ele- 
 gancies that adorn- die present state of our being, must depart 
 with it. 
 The powers of Ko one can possibly judge of his powers from mere speculation ; 
 
 vigo'ra'ted bv ex- th* test must be applied, before the value of the gold can be 
 ertion. known. Nor will inactivity ever discover how far our fortitude 
 
 will enable us to overcome difficulties, our patience to bear disap- 
 pointment, or our industry enable us to range the wide field of 
 art. The axiom so necessary to be remembered, that, were the 
 arts of easy attainment, they would be unworthy the notice of a 
 
 great 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 255 
 
 great mind, should induce us to increase our exertions iu propor- 
 tion to our disappointments ; recollecting, that to strive with diffi- 
 culties is noble, but to conquer is one of the highest points of hu- 
 man felicity. It is in painting as in writing : where difficulties 
 occur, they arise from not clearly understanding the subject. 
 Hence, to be able to represent an object justly, we must under- 
 stand its fabrication ; for it would be iu vain to think of drawing 
 the arch of a bridge correctly, without knowing how it was keyed 
 or put together; or even a basket, if we did not know how it was 
 woven. 
 Among the number of our own national advantages, and which National advan- 
 
 . . ta S es arising 
 
 some may think superior to all others, we may observe, that the from the excel- 
 excellence of our artists has turned the balance of trade in our fa- t j"^ e ° oar ar " 
 vor. For though we formerly imported vast quantities of prints, 
 we now supply all Europe, and import very few. Even for the 
 decoration of our books, we were formerly obliged to apply to 
 strangers : but Heath has added a taste to that department of art 
 unknown to former engravers in the historical line : and, among 
 the Topographical Publications, many of those prints that accom- 
 pany the " Beauties of England and Wales" must be highly inte- 
 resting for taste and beauty. 
 
 In the beginning of the last century, the writers on the continent 
 amused themselves in endeavouring to assign a cause for the dul- 
 ness of us islanders in not having produced one historical painter. 
 Our northern latitude, being involved in fogs, was among the rea- 
 sons assigned i but the cause of such absurd inquiries has ceased, 
 and the mental capacity of Britons no one will now dare to question. 
 
 The consequence of our nation and the arts appear to have ad- As the arts have 
 vanced together. The first is evinced in our colonial possessions ; nation has attain- 
 and if we go back to the time of Henry the Eighth, we shall easily ed co " se quence. 
 discover the state of commerce, and the comfortless situation of 
 society at that period, compared with the present. Hollinshed 
 observes, that chimnies were a novelty, as were pewter ornaments 
 for the table. Straw formed the bed, and a good hard block of 
 wood the pillow. Then was the dawn of the arts. Since which 
 time they have been advancing, and are now, thank God ! ma- 
 tured 
 
256 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The arts have 
 been greatly be- 
 nefitted by the 
 patronage of his 
 present Majesty. 
 
 The good effects 
 of the arts ex- 
 emplified by the 
 improvement of 
 national taste. 
 
 tured into a glorious mid-day, uuder the auspices of his present 
 Majesty. 
 
 It is impossible to speak of the arts, without expressing our gra- 
 titude towards their great patron ; and were his name to flourish 
 in no other way, that of George the Third will be sacred to pos- 
 terity with those of Leo, Julius, and all such as have a claim on 
 eternity, as the protectors of art. His Majesty has done for the arts 
 what no Monarch of this nation ever did before : he has given, by 
 his patronage, a turn to the national taste highly beneficial to the 
 profession, which the public are bound to support by a liberal 
 and fair encouragement. With respect to the mere act of buying, 
 we are bound to consider his Majesty in the light of a private gen- 
 tleman, who regulates his expenditure according to his income : 
 and we ought to thank God that it is so. 
 
 Holbein had not taste enough to change the grotesque fashions 
 of the court of Henry the Eighth. He brought about a revolution 
 in architecture ; but he introduced a mongrel style, inferior to the 
 Gothic of that period. Zuccaro was in England in the time of 
 Elizabeth ; and during that long reign, we find little improvement 
 in architecture, dress, or in the general circle of elegancies. It 
 was a court of intrigue and vanity. In the reign of James the 
 Fust, Van Somer and Cornelius Jansen paved the way for Van 
 Dyck — an epoch of taste : but this appears to have been confined 
 to the court, and a few noble collectors ; and the troubles of 
 Charles, his successor, prevented his giving them a more general 
 influence ; yet his reign stands high in the history of architecture, 
 from having produced Iuigo Jones. Under Lely, taste sank into 
 Indian gowns and flowing perukes ; till fashion became a monster 
 in the time of Kneller, and appealed in buckram coats, square- 
 toed shoes, and disproportioned head-dresses in the ladies. This 
 style of dress prevailed till within these few years, when good 
 sense, and a more just taste, broke through the buckram and 
 whalebone, and produced the present easy and elegant mode of 
 attire ; which may be said to mark a point of national excellence. 
 Reynolds contributed much to this change ; his whole life was a 
 struggle with the hydra Fashion, as his works evince. 
 
 The 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 257 
 
 The above statement will be found not to apply only to the ar- 
 ticle of dress, but to extend to every department. Let us, for in- 
 stance, from the period of Henry the Eighth, examine ship-build- 
 ing, civil architecture, our furniture, plate, &c. and we shall find 
 them to have nearly improved together, or to have fluctuated as 
 the taste for dessin prevailed, till the patronage bestowed by his 
 present Majesty, by exciting a love for the arts, improved the na- 
 tional taste to its present great and highly respectable state. 
 
 However much we may lament that historical painting is not 
 sufficiently encouraged, yet we must dissent from those who sup- 
 port the old but erroneous opinion, that our love of portrait paint- 
 ing arises from a national vanity. This ridiculous idea has been 
 bandied about, both by foreigner and native, till many, who take 
 up with opinions without examining them, have believed it true. 
 We boldly assert, on the contrary, that it is national virtue that 
 gives it birth, and a desire the most rational, that of preserving 
 the images of those we love and delight in constantly before our 
 eyes. It argues great national beneficence, and goodness of heart. 
 We may in some measure judge of the disposition of the master of 
 a house, from the number of portraits he possesses : they cannot 
 be likenesses of his enemies. Hence his choice must be founded oil 
 love, and not, as that of the ancients' was, on pride and vanity. The 
 portrait painter, therefore, becomes morally useful, by increasing 
 that social tie that binds society together, in keeping before our 
 eyes the images of departed worth, or of existing merit. It is only 
 those who neither love, nor are beloved, that have no need of the 
 portrait painter. 
 
 Before we dismiss the present Essay, we shall endeavour to point 
 out some of the advantages that result from the practice of draw- 
 ing, to those who do not make a profession of it. Many must be 
 obvious from the former part of this paper. To every gentleman 
 who travels, it is absolutely necessary ; for, independently of its 
 teaching him to see accurately, the curious and ever-restless eye of 
 the artist comprehends more, at one view, than the common ob- 
 server will notice in an age. The volume of nature is laid open to 
 him ; his attention is alike directed to the vast and to the minute ; 
 
 L 1 men 
 
 Portrait painti 
 ing defended by 
 adverting to the 
 principles that 
 give it birth. 
 
 Advantages of 
 drawing even to 
 those who do 
 not follow it as 
 a profession. 
 
25S 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The practice of 
 theartsimproves 
 the reasoning fa- 
 culties, 
 
 harmonizes 
 temper, 
 
 the 
 
 and regulates 
 moral conduct. 
 
 men and manners are not concealed from his view, and his imagi- 
 nation clings to perfection with ineffable delight. 
 
 It is not too much to say, that drawing opens the mind more 
 than years devoted to the acquiring of languages, or the mere 
 learning of words : it teaches to think. The artist is a true logi- 
 cian : not content with producing effects, he is ever inquiring after 
 causes foimded on a visible demonstration, to exhibit them in his 
 works. 
 
 We must not rank it among the least of the advantages resulting 
 from the practice of the arts, that it inures the reflecting mind to 
 the most enticing sort of logic. The practice of reasoning upon 
 objects in themselves agreeable, tends to produce such a habit, 
 and habit strengthens the reasoning faculties. Besides, while the 
 mind is engaged in obtaining knowledge, we escape the insipidity 
 and indifference connected with the tediousness of inactivity. 
 Hope attends labor ; a blessing unknown to those who live lazily 
 on the toil of others. The sensualist imagines he enjoys the world, 
 because he eats and drinks, and runs about upon it ; but to enjoy 
 it truly, is to be sensible of its greatness and beauty. 
 
 Independently of keeping the mind employed, the arts contribute 
 to harmonize the temper; and the power of drawing brings with 
 it so much mental enjoyment, that youth, in order to be occupied, 
 is not tempted to precipitate into the ruinous and destructive vices 
 of gaming and drinking. It defends us, in the meridian of life, 
 from the wild schemes of ambition ; and, in old age, it becomes a 
 sure shield against avarice. Shenstone observes, " Wherever there 
 is a want of taste, we generally observe a love of money and 
 cunning." 
 
 The influence it has on our moral conduct is, perhaps, one of 
 the greatest recommendations to the study of the arts. No one 
 can meditate on the order observable in nature, and not reduce 
 his conduct to a similar standard of regularity. To have a just 
 relish for what is elegant and proper in painting, sculpture, or ar- 
 chitecture, must be a fine preparation for true notions relative to 
 character and behaviour. Should such a one be overpowered by 
 passion, or swerve from his duty, we need not fear but he will 
 
 return 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 259 
 
 return on the first reflection, and with a redoubled resolution not to 
 err a second time : for he cannot but observe, that the well-being 
 of nature, as well as of the individual, depends on regularity and 
 order ; and that a disregard of the social virtues will ever be ac- 
 companied with shame and remorse. Passion is a whirlwind, that 
 shakes the human frame, as the convulsions of an earthquake dis- 
 order that of nature. 
 
 Every Briton that travels, should propose to himself pleasure 
 and advantage, and his inquiry should enable him to add to the 
 national stock of knowledge ; for it cannot be said that he travels 
 to enjoy the advantage of a better government, or because other 
 nations have a greater commerce. Hence, then, it must be for 
 arts and learning. And how is he to become acquainted with the 
 former, without a knowledge in painting, sculpture, and architec- 
 ture, any more than he could with the latter, without a knowledge 
 in the languages of the countries he may have occasion to pass 
 through ? Lord Bacon says, " Travel, in the younger sort, is a 
 part of education ; in the elder, a part of experience. He that 
 travelleth into a country before he hath some entrance into the 
 language, goeth to school, and not to travel." The same may be 
 said of those who travel before they have obtained a knowledge in 
 the polite arts. How many noble works of architecture did Lord 
 Burlington bequeath to his country ! They remain monuments of 
 national taste, highly honorable to his memory* 
 
 Thestudyof the 
 arts essential to 
 the improve- 
 ment of those 
 who travel into 
 foreign coun- 
 tries. 
 
 L12 
 
 Though 
 
 * Let us be permitted to mention the honor' the arts at present de- 
 rive from the masterly productions of the Earl of Aylesford, Sir G. 
 Beaumont, Sir R, Hoare, W. Scrope, Esq. of Castle-combe ; Captain 
 Lewis, of the Royal Navy ; Captain Mordaunt, and many others, 
 whose works will ever rank among the first productions of the pencil. 
 Lord Warwick is said to possess the true poetic spirit for composing heroic 
 landscape. While we are recommending to gentlemen to learn to 
 draw, it must not be understood, that we wish to deprive the ladies of 
 the pleasure and advantage that must result from their practising an art 
 that stands, perhaps, before all others for improving our taste, particu- 
 larly in such things as are connected with decoration. 
 
260 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Great caution is 
 requisite in the 
 choice of a mas- 
 ter, to those who 
 are about learn- 
 ing to draw. 
 
 Best modes of 
 tuition. 
 
 In acquiring a 
 knowledge of 
 the fine aits, the 
 foundation must 
 be laid on just 
 principles. 
 
 Though we recommend learning to draw thus generally, we 
 must say it requires the utmost caution in the choice of a master ; 
 for, should his abilities be confined, or Iris taste depraved, there 
 is great danger of the poison being conveyed to the pupil : and if, 
 in the end, his better understanding rise superior to the evil, he 
 will, unfortunately, have much to unlearn. Above all, if he be 
 arrived at an age to discriminate, objects worthy attention should 
 be set as examples of imitation ; he should not be amused, and 
 his time wasted, with gew-gaws and trash, beneath the dignity and 
 attention of rational beings. 
 
 Every one is acquainted with the progress of what may be term- 
 ed common or school education. The masters begin teaching the 
 letters, and then proceed to syllables, which are joined into sen- 
 tences : but the ultimate end is, composing themes to call forth 
 the power of invention, and convey a more exquisite idea of the 
 language. Exactly so should be the progress in teaching drawing. 
 If the knowledge to be obtained be the human figure, we begin 
 with parts ; as eyes, noses, heads, hands, &c. which is the ABC. 
 This, of course, leads to the whole figure, which may be com- 
 pared to spelling ; that naturally conducts to the round, or draw- 
 ing from plaister casts ; then from the life ; and ultimately to 
 composition. Should landscape be the pursuit, the progress is 
 precisely the same. We begin with parts, or single objects ; as 
 trees, bridges, cottages, castles, &c. Here again is the alphabet. 
 This too we quit to copy wholes, or a combination of objects ; 
 and, in the end, we apply to nature, which sets us free from our 
 master. Then we must improve by our own activity ; and, like 
 the bee, cull the honey from every flower. As much of our suc- 
 cess depends on the abilities of the master, the greatest care should 
 be observed in the choice. He is but as a crutch to the lame ; 
 but we ought to make ourselves sure it is sound, and without flaw 
 or shake ; that is, as far as our judgment will permit, or the opi- 
 nion of friends direct. 
 
 He who aspires to a knowledge in the fine arts, can only hope 
 to succeed by turning his attention to the sensitive part of nature, 
 particularly by an inquiry after such objects as are naturally agree- 
 able, 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 2fjl 
 
 able, or tbe contrary : also such as are grand or mean, proper or 
 improper. This is the only foundation of a just and rational taste, 
 and, like morals, may be cultivated to a high degree of refine- 
 ment. The fine arts, where the feelings only are concerned, will 
 please, from then- novelty, in the prime of life ; but the delight 
 will cease in a more advanced period, when the fervour of the 
 imagination goes off. On the contrary, where we are governed 
 by just principles, and a thorough knowledge, they will afford 
 scope for fancy as well as judgment, they will grow into a favorite 
 entertainment,, and their vigor will prevail as strong in the evening 
 as in the morning of life. This only can make the arts truly de- 
 lightful. It is not a few technical phrases, picked up from profes- 
 sional men, which may enable one to babble like a parrot, that 
 can at any time please or be pleasing. Science is a coy lady, and 
 will not grant her favors without being long courted. But, should 
 we aspire to no higher character than that of the mere critic, a small 
 stock of information will suffice ; and practice will increase confi- 
 dence where there is nothing to lose. Criticism is a lady of easy 
 access: the want of meaning slip supplies with words; and the 
 want of knowledge is recompensed with cunning. She flatters all ; 
 and those whom nature has made weak, or idleness keeps ignorant, 
 may feed their vanity at her shrine. 
 
 Genius has been compared to fire from flint, which can only be Perseverance 
 produced by collision : if so, success must follow where nature di- commands suc- 
 
 r J cess where na- 
 
 rects, and perseverance attends. Activity is a necessary ingredient 'ure directs the 
 to enable us to obtain a knowledge in art ; and should we find P ursul ■ 
 others out-step us, let us redouble our diligence, and comfort our- 
 selves with the recollection, that a late spring produces the greatest 
 plenty. 
 
 Explore thro' earth and heav'n, thro' sea and skies,. 
 The accidental graces as they rise ; 
 And while each present form the fancy warms,. 
 Swift on thy tablets fix its fleeting charms. 
 
 Mason's Fresnoy. 
 
 ESSAY 
 
262 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The term, Man- 
 ser, is expres- 
 sive of any pre- 
 vailing 
 teristic. 
 
 charac- 
 
 A mannerist 
 must always be 
 inferior to his 
 archetype. 
 
 ESSAY VIII. 
 
 ON MANNER AND PENCILING. 
 
 Peculiar marks I hold to be generally, if not always, defects , however 
 difficult it may be wholly to escape them. 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
 The word manner may be applied to color, light and shade, 
 and penciling. It is expressive of certain peculiar marks that inva- 
 riably characterize the works of each individual, as in some a blue- 
 ness in the coloring prevails, in others a grey or yellow, while others 
 are distinguished by a harshness in the shadows ; in one the pen- 
 ciling is round ; in another, square or forked. So far is a new man- 
 ner from being a mark of genius, as some assert, that, could per- 
 fection in painting ever be attained, it would be unaccompanied 
 by any peculiarity whatever. 
 
 In that part of our education which is to be obtained by copy- 
 ing, we ought to be particularly careful that the works we copy, 
 or the master we imitate, have, a manner the purest and the least 
 vicious possible; for we may rest assured, that singularity, which in 
 some is glaringly absurd, will be the first portion we shall inherit. 
 He who forms to himself a model in a master, will be always 
 inferior to the archetype : the heads of all the great schools have 
 been superior to their imitators. Nature rises in the same degree 
 over the servile and base. M. Angelo was superior to his disciples, 
 and that in proportion to their dependent habit of thinking. The 
 same cause placed Raphael, Titian, the Caracci, &c. at the head 
 of certain classes of artists, many of whom have followed their mas- 
 ters limpingly and awkwardly. The same baneful desire of invita- 
 tion is equally detrimental to poets ; for the arts cannot be called 
 liberal in the hands of those who want spirit to think for themselves. 
 Not to acknowledge the favors we receive, would be illiberal ; but 
 to sink under them into a state of slavery, is base. The wisdom of 
 the world may inform, but we must improve from ourselves; for 
 precept will do but little if the mind is not susceptible of it; the 
 seed must be suited to the soil. The mind, like a fine spring of 
 water, will become more productive and clear the more it is used. 
 1 Peculiarity 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 2(33 
 
 Peculiarity is what chiefly characterizes the different masters. 
 We say, for instance, the manner of Raphael is dry and hard, 
 thereby indicating the too violent display of outline, the decisions 
 and abrupt divisions in the shadows, with the parts not sufficiently 
 lost in their grounds. That of Spagnoletto is forcible with much 
 red in the flesh ; while in that of Rembrandt we expect little light, 
 with a glow of color, that may too often be called rotten-ripe. 
 We may further observe the dark manner of Guercino and the 
 silver of Guido, with many others not necessary to mention. What 
 are those differences in the various masters, but so many singula- 
 rities that characterize and distinguish the individual ? 
 
 Raphael's first manner was like that of his master Perugino ; 
 but this he soon quitted for a sweeter mode of color, which he 
 caught from Da Vinci and Bartolomeo, and for a more noble and 
 elevated style, which he acquired from M. Angelo. Julio Romano 
 imbibed much of the fire of his master; as did Rosso and Pre- 
 maticio of theirs. The Caracci adopted a most liberal manner of 
 imitation, founded on a combination of the excellencies of all the 
 great schools, and ultimately produced one entirely new. Donie- 
 nichino, Guido, Guercino, and Schidoue, exhibit in their works 
 but slight traces of the school they were formed in. Van Dyck 
 is perfectly original. Our countryman Reynolds is an example of 
 this liberal manner of imitation ; we see in his works the grace of 
 Corregio and Parmegiano combined with the beauty and richness 
 of Venetian coloring, accompanied with the chiaro-oscuro of the 
 Flemish and Dutch. La Sueur's first manner resembled his master 
 Vouet, which he soon quitted, and made himself superior in every 
 part of the art. Le Brun was influenced by the same spirit of in- 
 dependence, and left his master far behind. 
 
 Of those who have been destitute of the pride of independence, 
 and have fallen into a narrow, confined, and illiberal kind of imita- 
 tion, we will point out a few. Guido was imitated by Sirani, 
 Poussin by Verdier, Paul Veronese by his brothers, and Jacoma 
 Bassan by his sons. Rubens was imitated by Jacques Jordans, 
 who has increased the excesses of his master without adding one 
 perfection of his own. Rembrandt was followed servilely by Bra- 
 
 mer- 
 
 The enumera- 
 tion of peculia- 
 rities of various 
 masters. 
 
 Examples of ser- 
 vility of imita- 
 tion. 
 
I6i 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The best works 
 are the most di- 
 vested of any 
 prevailing pecu- 
 liarity. 
 
 The Schools have 
 proved the ruin 
 of art, by gene- 
 rating imitators. 
 
 Penciling; what: 
 its various me- 
 thods pointed 
 out by reference 
 to the works of 
 the best masters. 
 
 uier, Eckhout, De Gelder, &c. We might enumerate many others, 
 which must occur to every one's recollection, whose works pass 
 with the ignorant for those of their masters. Perhaps this difference 
 in the works of artists may arise from the external objects, and their 
 images painted in the eye of some, not agreeing ; which may also 
 account for the variation we observe between the bulk or altitude 
 of bodies and their representations by various artists. This pecu- 
 liar habit of seeing may constitute what we call manner. 
 
 As perfection cannot be attained, every artist, of necessity, will 
 have a manner; but in proportion as he succeeds in approaching 
 perfection will his manner become the more pure. This he can 
 only hope to attain by an extensive inquiry ; that is, by not slavish- 
 ly tying himself down to the imitation of an individual. He is 
 bound to show in his works that he has opinions of his own, and 
 that he dares to think for himself. 
 
 It is certain that too much copying, or too great a devotion to 
 the works of some favorite master, brings on a habit of seeing 
 even nature with his imperfections. Hence it is, that what is term- 
 ed the Schools, have in the end proved the ruin of art ; not because 
 they were bad, but because weak men have been content with na- 
 ture at second-hand : some author calls such people not Nature's 
 sons, but her grandsons. 
 
 Before we conclude this Essay? we will just touch on the manner 
 of Penciling, also called handling. The use of the pencil is dis- 
 tinguished into the smooth or mellow, and the expeditious or bold. 
 The application of those maimers must, in a great degree, depend on 
 the size of the picture to be painted, and also on its situation and 
 subject. As far as subject is concerned, the former method best 
 applies to objects in themselves beautiful ; as elegant female figures, 
 voting and sleek animals, pastoral, and all objects intended to de- 
 light. The latter manner will best associate with aged, broken, 
 and irregular objects, and such scenes as are intended to excite 
 terrible emotions. The bold pencil of Rubens is highly admirable, 
 and is a great beauty in his pictures; while the pencil of Van 
 Dyck is more soft and mellow. Claude had a smooth pencil, 
 6iiiliug his choice of subject ; on the contrary, Salvator Rosa is 
 
 bold, 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 265 
 
 bold, and well impasted with color. The pencil of Titian is 
 a fine example for the heroic in landscape, or what may be 
 termed the historical style, and which, as mentioned in our 
 first Essay, derives its name from the dignity of the objects of 
 which the picture is composed. Those are mistaken who imagine 
 that it derives its character from slightness and indecision, and 
 who dignify their own crude and undistinguishable masses with that 
 noble appellation. The pencil of Titian is firm, bold, and at the 
 same time decisive; and in the higher style of landscape, may be 
 offered as an example worthy of our attention. We shall find 
 numberless examples in the Dutch school to direct our hand in the 
 pastoral; and the pencil of young Teniers is, perhaps, the finest 
 in that part of the art. The pencil is not a mere vehicle for lay- 
 ing on the color, but its motion must express the character of the 
 various objects it may be employed on. As in landscape, the fo- 
 liage of trees, iucrusting of the bark ; on cattle, in representing 
 hair and wool ; the character and folds of drapery, the thinness of 
 flowers, &c. 
 
 As well as the manual practice, painting requires, 1 . A boldness 
 of hand in the dead-coloring : 2. In the second coloring, more cir- 
 cumspection and labor: and, 3. Thorough patience and attention 
 in the retouching and finishing of the picture. These qualities can 
 no more be separated than Venus and the Graces. 
 
 He who wishes to insure to himself a good manner of penciling, 
 should avoid copying such pictures as are imperfect in that respect ; 
 for, if we begin with a slovenly or bad one, every step will plunge 
 us deeper in error. But all attempts at painting will be vain, if we 
 do not possess the power to determine the form at once, which 
 can only be acquired through a previous practice in drawing ; for 
 on this the clearness as well as the firmness of the penciling depends. 
 
 There are two methods of preparing our picture : one is, to draw 
 in the objects with their ground color, carefully laying in the sha- 
 dows, dead-coloring the lights solid, and preserving the shadoivs 
 transparent throughout the work ; in the second stage, to correct 
 the forms, and add to the darks where wanted ; and, thirdly, af- 
 ter oiling out the parts, bringing the whole into harmony by glaz- 
 
 M m ing, 
 
 Essentials of 
 painting inde- 
 pendent of ma- 
 nual practice. 
 
 Mode of obtain- 
 ing a good man- 
 ner of penciling. 
 
 Methods of pre- 
 paring a picture, 
 with directions 
 for finishing. 
 
566 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 ing, scumbling, and finishing, with the extreme lights and darks. 
 This direction is general ; for, after the lights and darks are added, 
 parts may require to be kept down, enriched, &c. as practice must 
 direct. The second method is to dead-color solidly throughout, 
 and to finish the shadows by glazing. The latter method admits 
 of greater changes being made in the work during its progress than 
 the former. 
 
 ESSAY IX. 
 
 ON STYLE. 
 
 Nor, whilst I recommend the studying the art from artists, can I be 
 supposed to mean that Nature is to be neglected. 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
 The perfection PERFECTION in painting requires that the choice, the imitation, 
 
 quires a perfect an< i * ne execution, be directed to the same idea : this only can pro- 
 unity m the (j uce a p er f ec t unity in the whole work. It will appear defective 
 •whole work. * ...... . , 
 
 in proportion as it is deprived of a union of these qualities ; as 
 
 that which possesses the fewest faults will ever be the most perfect 
 work. Hence the foundation of a rational inquiry after excellence 
 in art ; for he who wishes to examine a picture nicely or critically, 
 must make himself acquainted with the first idea, or general in- 
 tention of the whole, then of each part separately, considering 
 them in themselves as relative to each other, and to the whole. 
 
 An inquiry after the origin of the different styles of painting 
 
 would naturally lead to a history of the art itself; but as that is 
 
 a subject that has been so frequently handled, we shall only touch 
 
 so far on it as may immediately answer our purpose. 
 
 All criticism The so-much-boasted criticisms on the works of the ancients, 
 
 the ancients S 'is which are to be found in various authors, can be but little depended 
 
 but of little use, on though often dressed up in the technical phrases of art ; be- 
 as its truth can- ° . • 
 
 not be establish- cause the strongest language will always be used on the most ex- 
 
 to thV^oduT traordinary occasion, but the advantage resulting to the reader 
 
 themselves. w ill depend on the capacity of the writer. All discussion on works 
 
 that have ceased to exist for nearly 2000 years is only loss of time, 
 
 as, 
 
origin inGreece. 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 26*7 
 
 as, from want of reference, it cannot tend to illustrate any one 
 rule of art. Such inquiries may serve to amuse the idle, but will 
 not tend in the least to benefit the artist. 
 
 The Phoenicians are believed not to have carried the arts to any Mediocrity of 
 great degree of perfection. To be sufficiently well for the purpose ^ C ^" s IQ Pho= " 
 of exportation would be the utmost that would be required ; and, 
 perhaps, their merchants would not be inclined to risk much on 
 articles, the buyers of which would be the wealthy, and often the 
 ignorant. What might be requisite for the purpose of ornament, 
 would be more likely to be showy than just. 
 
 No one can deny, however humiliating the thought may be, The finest forms 
 that we are indebted to the Greeks for some of the finest forms ln T art . ha ^ their 
 at present in art. Many have attributed their superior powers to 
 the climate: but we ought rather to ascribe them to the freedom 
 they enjoyed, and to the wisdom of their legislators; not forgetting 
 their enthusiasm for beauty, which they considered as a gift of the 
 gods; and that with them, men were more valued for their 
 personal merit, than for the wealth they possessed. The happy 
 Grecian might rest contented in his poverty, as it was not 
 thought disreputable, and that his abilities would prove a sufficient 
 passport to society, and to the highest honors. The modern artist 
 is solicitous of obtaining money, knowing that it is now the first 
 test of his abilities in the opinion of the world, and a stronger re- 
 commendation than wisdom. Hence the nobler energies of the 
 soul are weakened ; and from want of the stronger motive, honor, 
 the love of fame sinks into the base and selfish desire of wealth. 
 This has induced the weak and pusillanimous to apply to the arts ; 
 and as they aspire after nothing but interest, they are unacquainted 
 with those sublime conceptions the arts require. 
 
 It is always more easy to imitate the style than the reasonings 
 and science of the original : hence those who succeeded the early 
 Greeks, failed by degrees in the most essential parts; which may 
 account for that sort of mechanical harshness, and often want of 
 elegance, observable in some of the works called Roman. 
 
 The Romans appear to have encouraged the arts as a means of 
 adding to their pride, and of feeding their vanity. As a nation, 
 
 M m 2 they 
 
268 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The Romans en- 
 couraged art 
 from principles 
 af vanity ; hence 
 many of their 
 works are des- 
 titute of taste. 
 
 The cause of 
 style among the 
 moderns must 
 be sought in the 
 national charac- 
 ter. 
 
 A knowledge of 
 the diffeient 
 styles is essential 
 to eminence : 
 
 they are rather to be viewed at a distance ; their character is too 
 selfish and oppressive to invite to an intimacy. We have no right 
 to look for true taste among a people who could drag their cap- 
 tives at their chariot wheels, or slaughter them in theatres. They 
 appear to have preferred pomp and show, " barbaric pearl and 
 gold," to true taste ; and thus to exhibit a picture of gaudy and well- 
 disciplined barbarians. A nation which places its first reputation 
 on arms or war, will never have a higher esteem for the peace- 
 able professor of design than a Spartan or a Roman. Many of their 
 most renowned works are recommended more to notice on account 
 of their richness than beauty, as Nero's golden palaces, &c. 
 Pomp and luxury was their object ; and they fell into the common 
 error of ignorance, that of augmenting the matter instead of im- 
 proving the form. The best works produced among the Romans, 
 from Augustus to Trajan, are justly held to be of Grecian work- 
 manship. 
 
 Among the moderns, every country that has formed a school, 
 appears to have had a cause for its style in its national character. 
 The gravity of the Florentines and Romans might require that 
 justness and truth of form which they saw in the antique statues. 
 The Venetians, a wealthy and gay people, would delight in mag- 
 nificence from their commerce with the East; and painting for 
 the rich and luxurious would necessarily introduce splendor and 
 brilliancy of color, with processions, feasts, &c. The Flemish and 
 Dutch were content with superficial or general representations of 
 things. Of the French, the best masters have sought perfection 
 in the Roman school ; while others, complying with the national 
 love for splendor, have sought perfection by bustle and show. Of 
 our own nation, the love of locality and portraiture may be said 
 strongly to mark the amor patriae, and to exhibit our charity and 
 love for each other. 
 
 A knowledge of the different styles is absolutely necessary to 
 enable us to think deeply and freely. No man, however great his 
 powers, was ever capable of subsisting on his own stock : the more 
 wide the field of inquiry, the more we increase our knowledge, 
 and quicken and enlarge our ideas. We cannot doubt but that 
 
 M. Angelo 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 269 
 
 M. Angelo and Raphael possessed all the knowledge of art disco- 
 vered in their time. It is our duty to live, as it were, amidst the 
 great works of art, that, by enriching our minds, we may be able 
 to produce something great and noble of our own. This is the 
 true spirit of imitation, and which we may continue, without fear 
 of its doing us an injury, from infancy till we arrive at the fullest 
 state of vigor. 
 
 By style, as well as manner, we are enabled to judge if a pic- by it we can as- 
 
 ture be the work of a certain master; for, should we remain certain the mas- 
 ter who execu- 
 
 doubtful from the former, a reference to the penciling may deter- ted any paiticu- 
 
 mine the point. For, as in writing or speaking, we shall generally p ' u e ° 
 
 discover in persons a fondness for certain phrases, or a peculiar 
 
 turn or connection of their sentences, by which their style may be 
 
 known, so in painting we shall discover some favorite part forced 
 
 on the eye ; or thought, attitude, or habit occur, which stamps 
 
 the master's style. Every one will possess more or less of the 
 
 style and manner of the master or school from which he comes. 
 
 Raphael, in his oil pictures, never wholly got rid of that littleness 
 
 of style derived from Perugino. 
 
 To insure a good style, we must early habituate ourselves to Qualifications 
 
 , . . , j. . . . _,..., , necessary to the 
 
 contemplate noble works ot imagination. This, it connected with attainment of a. 
 a vigorous mind, a lively fancy, a strong memory, and a good judg- good style- 
 rnent, will be attended with success. That those qualities are ne- 
 cessary to enable us to form a good style, is certain; for, by the 
 imagination we conceive images, and if the impressions be clear, 
 the style will be so too. But should the images be faint and im- 
 perfect, the style will partake of these defects; for it cannot be 
 denied that, as the painter is affected himself, in the same decree 
 will he move the spectator. Hence, if the mind be dull, and in- 
 disposed to receive clear and distinct ideas of things, the style 
 will be stiff and heavy ; or, if the images be irregular and disor- 
 dered, the work will be perplexed and confused. It appears to 
 follow of course, that a lively fancy will be accompanied with a 
 happy memory : through this we are supplied with the vast trea- 
 sures of art and nature ; for without a large stock of images, we 
 shall never be able to diversify our works in the way variety de- 
 1 mands,. 
 
270 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 The difference 
 between taste 
 and style, as ex- 
 hibited fjrom 
 choice of sub- 
 jects, and the 
 modes of treat- 
 ing them. 
 
 Sublime 
 Style. The 
 Sublime Style, 
 though great, is 
 divested of ex- 
 cess or extrava- 
 gance. 
 
 mands, and they would appear insipid from the too frequent return 
 of the same ideas. But, unless all this be accompanied by a good 
 judgment, the imagination will riot at the expense of reason, and 
 we shall never possess a sound and accurate style. Hence it is 
 that we often confound genius with an active imagination, not re- 
 collecting that excess is not its character, and that the more we 
 crowd with incidents, the more we weaken; and that, like great 
 talkers, we may be bad orators. 
 
 Taste and style differ from each other; the former applying to 
 our choice of objects, while the latter appears to arise from our 
 mode of treating them, or the augmenting certain parts, and de- 
 pressing others, as in the figures of M. Angelo, in which we see 
 the convex lines rased so much as to give them a muscular and 
 gigantic air ; by attempting which, many of his imitators have often 
 lost the essential character of the object. We say " the great 
 style of Raphael's drapery," not merely on account of the casting 
 of the folds, which shows taste, but from his dropping the minute 
 parts, and taking only those essential to the great character in 
 painting. The artists who have sought the great style have pur- 
 sued the above conduct; that is, have attended to the great and 
 essential character ; while those who have forced the trifling parts 
 on the eye, have formed a mean or little one. The great style re- 
 quires the human face in its perfection; the other includes the 
 wrinkles, and other marks of the infirmities of nature. 
 
 The Sublime Style is by many connected with a certain degree 
 of intemperance and excess. The attempts of such may justly be 
 termed the hobgoblin style ; for with them nothing is sublime but 
 what will scare a man out of his senses. But scenes terrible or 
 shocking, however admissible in poetry, or where an orator may 
 have occasion to work on the feelings of his audience, do not as- 
 sociate happily with painting; and when attempted, without the 
 greatest care and circumspection, become either ridiculous or dis- 
 gusting. Brueghel, called Hellish, and also Callot, in their whim- 
 sical scenes, intended to aflect us seriously. Rubens, out of the 
 number of representations he has left of the fate of the damned, 
 has rather shown a warmth of imagination than judgment in their 
 
 treatment : 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 271 
 
 treatment: it is true, the machinery he had to use was human fi- 
 gures ; but, instead of making the most of them, by exhibiting their 
 sufferings, and thereby applying to our feelings, he has created a 
 set of fiends that make us laugh. Scenes of horror require great 
 delicacy of treatment, as the mind cannot dwell, without disgust, 
 on representations brought home in that determined way which 
 painting demands. Pilkington relates, from Sandrart, that Spag- 
 noletto represented an Ixion on the Wheel so full of paiu and 
 agony, that the wife of M. Uffel, the possessor, from looking on 
 it when with child, was so affected by it, " that her child, when 
 it was born, had all the fingers distorted exactly as the fingers of 
 the Ixion appeared in the picture." So sensible of the necessity 
 of this delicacy have the best painters been, that they have con- 
 cealed, as much as possible, the shocking parts of a spectacle. 
 In the Slaughter of the Innocents, Poussin would be content with 
 an incident or two, while Le Brun, in the same subject, has ag- 
 gravated all the horrors by an endless variety of butcheries. Ru- 
 bens, in one of the finest sketches of his we have had in this 
 country, has represented, in a disgusting way, a Saint with his 
 hands and feet cut off; and has, most injudiciously, nay, most 
 insensibly and indelicately, introduced dogs licking up the blood. 
 Contrast the above and Titian's picture of the Winding out a 
 Saint's Bowels on a Wheel, with Domenichino's delicate and sen- 
 sible representation of the Death of St. Cecilia. A British artist 
 would display more feeling and delicacy in representing a bull- 
 bait, than either Titian or Rubens have done in the above compo- 
 sitions. Justice must allow, that a want of delicacy is not often 
 chargeable on the Italians. 
 
 In the small compass we have been obliged to prescribe to our- 
 selves, we fear it will become difficult sufficiently to compress the 
 matter, and at the same time render the subject tolerably clear. 
 
 We take it for granted, that the well-informed mind is the 
 true standard of whatever is great and illustrious in any point of 
 view. Hence it will follow, that in works of imagination, we shall 
 derive credit in proportion as we display more or less mental 
 energy. For, though we may not possess the power of coloring, 
 
 or 
 
 Scenes of horror 
 excite disgust : 
 examples. 
 
 Great works 
 command ad- 
 miration in pro. 
 portion to the 
 display of men» 
 tat energy. 
 
2/2 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 or such other excellencies as would captivate the eye, yet we may 
 exert the vigor of the soul in the reasoning and science of the 
 work ; and this energy it is in our power to improve by education 
 and habit. One of our first duties is to enlarge and elevate our 
 notions ; for the dignity and grandeur of our work depend entirely 
 on the dignity and grandeur of our thoughts, and the elevation of 
 the soul. A greater misfortune cannot attend the arts, than for 
 men of mean parts to practise them, either as painters or engra- 
 vers, as they invariably commimicate the same bad qualities to 
 their works. We may look below the superficies,- and not be daz- 
 zled with a gaudy appearance, or suffer our admiration to dwell 
 on what the wise would contemn ; or we may be led away after 
 pageantry and pomp, mistaking them for true honor and glory. 
 The judicious By exerting the mind, we may raise our work into the sublime, 
 
 mtro uction of f rom a judicious introduction of such accessory circumstances as 
 cumstances may add dignity, or contribute to the illustration of the story; 
 
 fhe^ffecJ' 8 ° particularly if they have a skilful connection, and affect the ima- 
 gination. We have noticed some such instances already in our 
 Essay on Inveution, as in Raphael's Paul at Lystra, Barry's pic- 
 ture of Elysium, &c. These accessory circumstances occur fre- 
 quently in the works of the poets, and contribute much to heighten 
 the scene ; as in Lear, where the thunder storm makes the heart 
 bleed for the sufferings of the old King : and how sublime does 
 the vision of the dagger render Macbeth by its judicious in- 
 troduction ! 
 
 Vastness is productive of the sublime, as will appear by consi- 
 dering any object that takes up much room in the fancy. But we 
 must be careful not to fall into a common error, and mistake 
 greatness of bulk for nobleness in works of art : one of Lysippus's 
 statues of Alexander, though no bigger than the life, might give 
 the mind more noble ideas than Mount Athos, had it been cut 
 into the figure of that hero. This subject has been in some mea- 
 sure amplified already in our Essays on Invention and Composi- 
 tion : it may therefore be scarcely necessary to mention, that the 
 sublime requires that the subject of our picture should be a great 
 one, and, if possible, carry with it a universal interest. In the com- 
 position, 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 373 
 
 position, simplicity and gravity are essential to produce grandeur : 
 we cannot wish for better examples than are offered to our view in 
 the Cartoons of Raphael; particularly the Paul at Lystra, his 
 Preaching at Athens, and in the Death of Ananias. We shall ob- 
 serve great grandeur in. those fine compositions by West, of the 
 Departure of Regulus, Mark Antony haranguing over the Body 
 of J. Caesar, and Young Hannibal swearing perpetual Enmity to 
 the Romans : the Death of Stephen, by the same artist, is full of 
 the pathetic. 
 
 Too much contrast destroys the great style ; it associates best 
 with the pleasing. Beauty excites gaiety and pleasure, the sub- 
 lime inclines to seriousness. Elevation of character is also neces- 
 sary; a want of nobleness contributes much to depreciate the 
 works of the Flemish, and particularly of the Dutch school. The 
 Hercules, and the Apollo Belvidere, in their form, approximate 
 most to the sublime, except we be permitted to conjecture what 
 might have been the famous Jove and the Minerva of Phidias. A 
 broad light and shade, or, in other words, a fine chiaro-oscuro, 
 add an effect of sublimity. Some of Rubens' pictures strike won- 
 derfully on that account; and Reynolds's Infant Hercules receives 
 an uncommon air of grandeur from the broad and judicious dis- 
 position of the masses. 
 
 Though this style does not require the soft harmonious glow of 
 Venetian coloring, which agrees best with the beautiful, yet it by 
 no means follows, that it authorizes a disregard of the grouping 
 of the colors, to the total neglect of the general harmony of the 
 picture. The coloring should be sober and dignified; we do not 
 mean black and heavy, but composed of such colors as are full, 
 rich, glowing, and rather deep than light. The penciling should 
 be firm and decisive, with the parts well defined. We should 
 particularly guard against trifling events, poor or mean thoughts, 
 and whatever is low and vulgar;- such tilings mar a good whole, 
 and appear worse by contrast, like the blemishes on beautiful 
 bodies. The most esteemed masters have carefully avoided in- 
 troducing in their works things sordid and base: in the higher 
 style, there should never appear any thing insignificant or unne- 
 cessary, as dogs, cats, parrots, &c. such things as these often add 
 
 N n a grace 
 
 Elevation of 
 character an ad. 
 junct to great, 
 ness. 
 
 Requisites of 
 the great style; 
 in coloring, 
 
 and in the 
 voiding vulj 
 rity. 
 
274 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 a grace to the picturesque, but destroy grandeur. Neither will 
 theatrical splendor, or gaudy apparel, suit the sublime : the rea- 
 son is, they affect not beyond the eye ; and that which leaves no 
 impression on the mind, we may rest assured, is not the thing we 
 seek. 
 Qualities of the A work truly sublime does not merely please : that is the pro- 
 
 u im cy . vlnce f inferior excellence. A grand work will confound, asto- 
 nish, and, with the impetuosity of a hurricane, bear down all be- 
 fore it. The sublime appears founded on a union of the most 
 noble and elevated parts of nature, joined to the most profound 
 efforts of the imagination. Its qualities appear to be simplicity, 
 Tvith a certain uniformity united to solemnity and gravity. Sim- 
 plicity is necessary to nobleness, as ornament destroys greatness 
 of manner. So the parts should be ample, as is effected by large 
 mantles, &c. 
 
 At Agis' summons, with a mantle broad 
 
 His mighty limbs Leonidas unfolds. 
 
 And quits his couch. 
 
 Glover. 
 
 M. Angelo and Raphael approach this style in their ideas and 
 inventions, but neither appears to accord with it in his forms. 
 M. Angelo, from attempting the sublime, produced what may be 
 termed the terrible, in which the attitudes are forced and extra- 
 ordinary, and the figures vast, robust, and muscular : he chose in 
 expression the point most extreme, and generally departing from 
 objects in themselves pleasing. 
 Expressive In the Expressive Style, Raphael stands a shining example, and 
 
 appears to have touched the extreme point of excellence. Hap- 
 
 Style. This 
 style is very hap- 
 
 pily exemplified pily, we have some of his finest works at hand in the Cartoons. 
 
 of Raphad' 0005 Witness his Elymas the Sorcerer, whose figure is most justly 
 expressive of the punishment of blindness, whjch had befallen 
 him; and the astonishment of the spectators is depicted with 
 great judgment. But let us contrast the above with the Death 
 of Ananias, and observe the consternation and terror in the 
 spectators at a punishment so much more terrible. There we 
 
 behold 
 
fiSSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 behold with what a masterly hand the artist has raised the 
 feelings, in proportion to the exciting cause, without the least 
 waste of force in the expression. In the first picture is more re- 
 pose ; in the second, a greater degree of action, corresponding 
 with the interest excited by the event. In the first picture, we 
 see the surprise of an earthly judge at an event beyond the power 
 of his understanding ; in the other, a calm and dignified set of 
 beings, conscious of the interposition of a Divine Power. Much 
 has been said of the Cartoons; every one speaks of the dignity of 
 the Paul, in the picture representing his Preaching at Athens, 
 which, for simplicity and majesty, reaches the sublime. History 
 is the walk that ennobles the art. This calls forth exertions that 
 elevate and dignity our nature. It may be doubted, if the 
 Greeks ever arrived to that degree of perfection in expression 
 which Raphael has shown in his works : they certainly sacrificed it 
 to the beauty of appearance. Still we shall look with delight on 
 the Laocoon, the Dying Alexander, the Niobes, &c. Raphael, 
 to assist the expression in his figures, appears to have marked the 
 tendons ; those who have sought beauty, have attended more to 
 the fleshy parts of the muscles. His style of drapery is simply 
 grand, in the extreme of perfection, and well worthy of being 
 studied. Even Poussin, who is said to excel in it, is, in his best 
 works, inferior. Raphael is more judicious and select; Poussin 
 more natural. Justice must allow, that the former took the hint 
 for this great style of drapery from M. Angelo. Raphael some- 
 times reached the graceful, and but seldom the beautiful, and 
 never exquisitely. We have selected the works of the above ar- 
 tist, esteeming them the first for expression ; but we shall find ad- 
 mirable traits of the same kind in those of the Caracci, Domeni- 
 chino, Poussin, &c. Some who have attempted the expressive 
 style, imagining that the whole merit lay in excess and violence, have 
 writhed their figures into convulsions, when the occasion would 
 not require more exertion than would be necessary to take a pinch 
 of snuff, or to raise a straw ; nay, they will not let them even sleep 
 in peace. Such bombastic stuff may amuse the weak, as fashion 
 
 Nn2 in 
 
 Examples in the 
 works of other 
 aitists. 
 
Z76 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Beautiful 
 Style. Exam- 
 ples. The truly 
 beautiful must 
 be sought in the 
 statues of the an- 
 cients. 
 
 In the Grace- 
 ful Style the 
 antique statues 
 are also the most 
 perfect. 
 
 in art will please for a time even at the expense of truth ; but tile 
 triumph will be transitory as a sun-beam on a winter's day. 
 
 The Beautiful Style requires that the objects be elegant, void 
 of superfluity, and soft in the execution. Perhaps the truly beau- 
 tiful style must be sought in the works of the ancients. The 
 Apollo Belvidere approaches the sublime, and forms, of its kind, 
 a point of perfection : some of the Niobes exhibit exquisite female 
 beauty ; but in the Venus de Medicis, and Apollo, we see it united 
 with grace. It is certain, that in the antique statues we must 
 seek the beauty of symmetry, and that we cannot study them too 
 often to fix the impression of their excellencies on our minds ; for 
 it is next to impossible, but that every re-consideration must un- 
 fold new beauties. The true mode of study, is to impress their 
 beauties so strongly on the imagination as never to be forgotten, 
 and not to stand in need of their presence as a pattern. Boys are 
 too often put to draw after the living model, before they have im- 
 bibed a proper notion of, or relish for, beautiful proportion. 
 There is no danger of such studies injuring, as we are surrounded 
 by fine examples in chiaro-oscuro and color; and of the two, de- 
 cision is more commendable, than that slovenly manner which pre- 
 sents the mere idea of a tiling like a dream : the former displays 
 knowledge, the latter ignorance. There is a grent difference in 
 painting, between taking the ideas of natural things without giving 
 them form, and that determined method arising from a positive 
 knowledge. Guiclo's heads are beautiful; but his choice was often 
 injudicious, many of his objects requiring strong expression, which 
 he lost for fear of destroying beauty. Albano's females are deli- 
 cately beautiful ; and we are surrounded by beauty in the portraits 
 of Reynolds, and others. 
 
 To form the Graceful Style, the motions of the figures should be 
 moderate, easy, agreeable, and unaccompanied by violence* The 
 antique statues will assuredly afford the most perfect examples, 
 because, on a comparison with the ancients, the modems appear 
 to have become a little affected, and too often to have sought 
 
 grace 
 
 * See the Essays on Grace and Beauty. 
 
ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 277 
 
 grace in difficult attitudes, with forced and conceited turns in their 
 figures. There are few of the Greek statues in which grace does 
 not abound; for, as they sought beauty in their works, they cul- 
 tivated grace as its inseparable companion. Very graceful are the Examples of 
 Apollo and the Venus de Medicis ; so are the Meleager and Her- 
 maphrodite. The Hercules is also truly graceful and easy, as is 
 the Antinotis, &c. Raphael understood the grace of motion ; but 
 he had it less in the contours of his figures; and his dry manner of 
 execution contributed much to destroy beauty. Corregio appears 
 the most perfect modern, Parmegiano being sometimes too forced, 
 and bordering on affectation. Reynolds's female portraits appear 
 to have been touched by the Graces themselves. Among the 
 works of our sculptors, the females of Nollekens possess such a 
 combination of grace and beauty, as the Greeks might have acknow- 
 ledged for their own without a blush. 
 
 The Florid Style must be sought amongst the Venetians, also The Florid 
 in Rubens, and those Flemings who have followed him. Those llace d t0 the Ve- 
 who have practised it, have been content to please the eye by a n ^< 2ns a "d 
 
 ... . . Flemings. 
 
 brilliant display of color, contrast in their groups, and opposition 
 in light and shade. They appear to have admitted every descrip- 
 tion of objects into their picture, provided they contributed to the 
 bustle or pleasure of the whole. If this is not the most just style, 
 experience teaches every one that it is the most popular, and per- 
 haps we may add, the most profitable. 
 
 This style is called natural, from the artists practising it, wanting Natural 
 the power to improve on the original, or of choosing the best of Stvle - B . est "" 
 the kind. It is to be seen in the Dutch school in the works of style to be found 
 Rembrandt, G. Douw, Mieris, young Teniers, &c. This school has Butchmasters." 6 
 improved the aerial perspective, and possesses great excellence of 
 color and chiaro-oscuro, to which it has joined great truth, as far 
 as a simple representation would permit. It has excelled in what 
 may be termed the mechanical part of the art ; and those who 
 wish to seek after an elegant power of penciling, will be highly gra- 
 tified in the admirable works of Teniers, Cuyp, Berghem, and 
 others. 
 
 The 
 
278 
 
 ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Each of the a- 
 bove styles has 
 peculiar beauties 
 
 Great works are 
 characteristic of 
 energy, while 
 want of spirit 
 betokens imbe- 
 cility. 
 
 The above masters must not be confounded with those who 
 have practised a style sufficiently easy, but who have been content 
 with giving such an idea of a thing in their works as would serve 
 to distinguish one from another, without regarding their perfection. 
 At the head of this latter class stand P. Cortona and L. Giordano. 
 
 As each of the above styles has its peculiar beauties, we must 
 cautiously guard against falling into the opposite extreme. The 
 sublime is nearly allied to the extravagant ; the expressive may be 
 easily rendered bombastic or pedantic ; and the beautiful, smirk- 
 ing or coquettish. The graceful, with the ignorant, may easily 
 become the affected : perhaps there is but a slight partition between 
 that affectation of grace in the works of Watteau, Bouche, and 
 Le Moine, and the pure representations of Corregio, or those of 
 Parmegiano. The florid may be mistaken for the showy and taw- 
 dry : this is most likely to happen from a cold lifeless imitation. 
 
 Works of genius are ever the result of feeling, to which we must 
 be directed by spirit and judgment. A paiuter, a poet, or a player, 
 that imitates closely, will never excel. To be tamely alive in our 
 works is 'not enough; spirit, vivacity, and vigor, are required. 
 Whatever comes short of this, is but one remove from imbecility, 
 
 END OF ESSAYS ON PAINTING. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FOR 
 
 DRAWING AND COLOKINC 
 
 LANDSCAPES. 
 
 Delightful Art ! how great thy friendly pow'r, 
 That knows to cheer the melancholy hour ; 
 To teach at once the troubled mind to bear 
 Oppressive ills, and soften fell despair. 
 
 Guide through Wales. 
 
 Yes ! thou hast sooth'd my heart in Sorrow's hour, 
 And many a wayward passion oft beguil'd ; 
 
 Thy charms have won me to Reflection's bow'r, 
 When Folly else, with visions false and wild, 
 
 Had Iur'd my footsteps by her witching pow'r 
 From thee, enchanting Nature's loveliest child ! 
 Park's Sonnets, 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 GENERAL INFORMATION, SKETCHING, &C, 
 
 J. HOUGH the following pages are designedly addressed to 
 those who wish to acquire a knowledge of Landscape Paint- 
 ing, and are particularly intended to treat of the use of Trans- 
 parent Colors, yet it should be premised, that those who wish to 
 obtain a high degree of excellence in this, or, indeed, any other 
 branch of the art, would do well to begin with the study of the 
 human figure ; for by accustoming themselves to draw from regular 
 forms, they will get into a habit of copying nature with more firm- 
 ness, and greater accuracy. This practice will also enable the 
 young artist to embellish his landscapes with figures ; an advantage, 
 of which, if the knowledge be not early obtained, the looseness 
 that must necessarily attend the drawing landscape, will be likely 
 to destroy* 
 
 It was premised, that the use of water-colors only was meant 
 to be treated of; for which purpose the following articles will be 
 wanted : a drawing-board, with a pannel, to strain the paper 
 through when damped; a T square, compasses, black-lead and 
 camel-hair pencils, Indian ink, Indian rubber, and the following 
 colors : yellows, gamboge, raw terra de Sienna ; reds, lake or 
 carmine, vermillion, burnt terra de Sienna, Indian red ; blue, dark 
 Prussian; brown, VanDyck. In addition to these, a decoction of 
 bistre, or wood-soot, will be found of excellent use to tone with. 
 
 Oo The 
 
 General Re- 
 
 MARKS. 
 
 Necessary arti- 
 cles for drawing 
 and coloring 
 landscapes. 
 
 * This may be exemplified in Claude, who labored hard to obtain a 
 knowledge of the human figure after he became a landscape painter ; 
 and how he succeeded, may be judged by the circumstance, that Sir 
 P. Lely, who wished to have a picture of that master, desired him 
 to paint one without any figures : this, it may be supposed, was taken 
 in dudgeon ; for he received the well-known picture of the Molten 
 Calf, apiece, unfortunately, full of figures. 
 
282 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 Directions for 
 the young artist. 
 Every object 
 should be first 
 sketched light- 
 ly, and the lines 
 afterwards 
 marked in more 
 vigorous and 
 firm. 
 
 The first thing the young artist must do, is to procure some of 
 the best pictures, or drawings, for the purpose of copying ; or, in 
 lieu of them, some of the best prints ; though the latter will not 
 by any means be so useful as the former.* Strict care must be 
 taken not to imitate the lines of the graver, which some self-taught 
 persons do, and which, in the eye of one of any judgment, must 
 always look as if they had taken so much pains to spoil the whole, 
 Having procured a subject, proceed to sketch lightly, with the 
 black-lead pencil, each part in its respective situation ; to find 
 which, great assistance will be derived from supposing horizontal 
 and perpendicular lines intersecting each other in different parts of 
 the original : these will serve to show what parts are over each 
 other, and also those that may be of an equal height. 
 
 The situations being ascertained, begin to draw with a fine, but 
 sure and firm line, the most remote distance ; then come on with the 
 nearer parts, making each stronger; and, lastly, touch in the fore- 
 ground very strong ; and in the darkest parts, make the pencil 
 mark as strong as possible : this will give great spirit and boldness 
 to the lines, and will also indicate the different degrees of distance, 
 which will be afterwards found of great service in sketching from 
 Nature. This is, undoubtedly, the best practice ; for, though some 
 ignorant people (who cannot draw) assert that it is bad, as there are 
 no lines in Nature, and therefore it is unnatural ; yet, as there is a 
 perfect contour hi Nature, to define form by lines is the highest 
 effort of art. This beauty of line strongly prevails in the drawings 
 of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, as historical painters ; and 
 in those of Berghem and Both, as landscape painters ; and renders 
 their drawings invaluable.! When 
 
 * The large figures, in imitation of red chalk, after Vanloo, will be 
 the best subjects to copy, should the student not be able to get draw- 
 ings ; after which he must copy the best plaister casts, beginning with 
 the most muscular. 
 
 T A lady of 'fashion, who insisted that drawing was unnecessary, 
 wished an artist to put her son to painting : he not wishing to offend, 
 and finding several others had taken the young gentleman before, to 
 
 give 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 283 
 
 When the outline is completed, by every part being marked as 
 correctly as possible, the first part to begin to work on with color, 
 must be the sky, then the distance, next the middle-ground, and, 
 lastly, the fore-ground ; laying each part in with care, but not at- 
 tempting to finish either, only to do what the painter calls to dead 
 color ; taking care to keep the parts more cold and tender than in 
 the original ; and always to work from a cold state to a warm one, 
 as a grey or soft purple may be easily overcome ; but a yellow, 
 brown, or red, never : then, when gone over a second or third 
 time, give the true tone ; and, lastly, put in the spirited touches, 
 or those touches of shadow in shade, that give animation to the 
 picture. 
 
 Great care should be taken, that no one part of the picture is 
 finished before the other ; but that the whole proceeds regularly 
 together, otherwise it will be impossible to judge of the effect as a 
 whole ; that is, how one part will agree with the other when done. 
 The last touches should be put in with great freedom, to give the 
 appearance of ease. Sir J. Reynolds displayed more art in tins 
 part of his pictures, than any other artist ; for, by loosening and 
 easing the different parts of his pictures, he made them appear as 
 if executed with the utmost facility and dispatch : this has induced 
 some ignorantly to suppose, that they were done without thought, 
 and thereby to fall into slovenly habits* It may not be foreign 
 to the purpose to remark, that the English artists are, in general, 
 not only too careless where drawing is concerned, but also too negli- 
 gent in finishing, seldom troubling themselves after the picture has 
 got what is called a good eye, or such an effect as will strike at 
 
 O o 2 first 
 
 Progression in 
 coloring; the 
 best method is 
 always to work 
 from a cold state 
 to a warm one. 
 
 No one part of 
 a landscape 
 should be com- 
 pleted before the 
 other. 
 
 give him an easy task, set him to copy a picture of flowers, which, 
 when done, was so bad as not to be known what it was intended to re- 
 present: on the lady seeing it, she asked what it was : "Why, Madam, 
 (replied the painter,) that is painting ■without drawing!" 
 
 * This is so true, that a slight picture, with a red curtain, always 
 passes with the ignorant as the manner of Sir Joshua, without reference 
 to his reason for introducing it. 
 
2 84. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOE 
 
 In drawing, the 
 hand should be 
 as lightly rested 
 as possible. An 
 unfinished sub- 
 ject should ne- 
 ver be shown to 
 an imperfect 
 judge. 
 
 first sight: to avoid this, the student should be particularly careful 
 not to copy from slight pictures or drawings. 
 
 Much of the ease of the touch will depend on not lounging, but 
 to draw with the hand as lightly rested as possible, just bearing 
 on the little finger, otherwise the play of the wrist will be pre- 
 vented. The student will do well, not to fatigue his mind by per- 
 severing with a subject that runs cross, but rather leave it for a 
 time, and proceed with another : and by uo means show a half- 
 finished subject, except to a person from whom he may expect in- 
 formation : this cannot be looked for from the half-bred connois- 
 seur, who has, perhaps, a little of the theory, and none of the 
 practical part of the art ; but will be best obtained from a profes- 
 sional artist. Fresnoy seems to have been aware of this, when he 
 
 wrote, 
 
 Of all vain fools with coxcomb talents curst, 
 Bad painters and bad poets are the worst. 
 
 Mason. 
 
 Pope had possibly the same object in view in the following lines;. 
 as there is certainly nothing to be more dreaded than opinions of 
 men who have little of art, and nothing of nature : 
 
 'Tis hard to say, if greater want of skill 
 Appears in writing, or in judging ill. 
 
 Essay on Criticism. 
 
 After so much time has been spent in copying, as to get the 
 free use of the pencil, and obtain some knowledge of the modes 
 of combining the colors, the young artist must then go to Nature 
 for his subjects; for should he continue to copy too long, it is a 
 chance but be will fall into a maimer; that is, a method of paint- 
 ing like some one else. This should be avoided as much as pos- 
 sible, if the student look forward to perfection. The decline of 
 ambition is a sure barrier to excellence, 
 
 Who, Jike the hindward chariot-wheel are curst, 
 Still to be near, but ne'er to reach the first. 
 
 Dryden's Persius. 
 
 What 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 285 
 
 What is meant by touch, is not, as many understand it, merely 
 a wanton playfulness of the pencil, but a just power of delineating 
 the form of the object intended, added to the greatest freedom. 
 No stress is meant to be laid on this part of the art ; for though 
 execution is an excellence, it is an excellence of an inferior kind ; 
 its fascinating power ought to be guarded against, and the artist 
 concealed as much as possible, otherwise he will lose more than 
 he will gain. In studying from Nature, it will be found by far 
 the best to begin with single objects, as they will not only be 
 easier to get the forms of, but, from giving (in general) a sufficient 
 quantity of light and shadow, will form a whole with less judgment, 
 and therefore be more likely to insure success. This will be the 
 only method of calling forth ideas ; for, should the student copy 
 till dooms-day, it would not teach him to think, which is the end 
 of the art. Indeed, much of his success will depend upon the 
 clearness of his conception, not only of the picture as a whole, but 
 of each particular part. 
 
 From this period, every opportunity must be taken by the stu- 
 dent, of comparing his works with those of the best masters; for 
 should he neglect to do so, he will be just in the situation of the 
 artists on the revival of the arts in Italy, and his progress to per- 
 fection, of course, will be but slow. He will find frequent oppor- 
 tunities of doing this, by occasionally attending at the best picture 
 sales; and also by viewing the many excellent private collections 
 in this country. The vast importation of fine pictures has, in a 
 great degree, removed the necessity of the young artist going to 
 Italy; and, in any case, he should by no means be sent there too 
 young, (that is, not before he feels Ms profession,) as he should ra- 
 ther go there to finish his studies, than to study. Almost all our 
 landscape painters bring away as much prejudice as spoils them 
 through life; for it is by no means uncommon to see the air of 
 that climate brought into all their English scenes ; a thing just as 
 absurd as Dutch figures in an Italian view ; or, as once occurred 
 in a picture of the Apostles awakening Christ in the Storm, where 
 the figures were Dutch, with a Dutch boat, and even Dutch co- 
 lors. This remark is not made to deter the young artist from 
 
 going 
 
 In studying 
 from Nature, 
 single objects 
 should be the 
 first attended to« 
 
 The student 
 should compare 
 his works with 
 those of the best 
 masters, that he 
 may discoverhis 
 defects, and a- 
 void them. The 
 custom of going 
 to Italy to study, 
 is far less neces- 
 sary than for- 
 merly. 
 
286 IKSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 going thither, but merely to guard him against the adoption of 
 those prejudices that most writers on the subject of painting have 
 too much encouraged; we mean the introduction of Italian skies, 
 without considering climate. Countries, as well as men, have 
 their peculiar character, and should, no doubt, be equally attend- 
 ed to. The beautiful silvery tone of distance that attends some 
 of our tolerably clear days, is highly fascinating, and must interest 
 every one but the coxcomb, who can talk of nothing but the sere- 
 nity of an Italian atmosphere. Some men have carried the infa- 
 tuation so far, as to suppose that a man cannot become an artist of 
 any celebrity, who has not inhaled the air of Italy; as if the atmos- 
 phere had a divine virtue, and could make painters. Indeed, as it 
 will be necessary for the young landscape painter to travel, he 
 cannot do better than by going to Italy ; but should that not be in 
 his power, he may comfort himself by the reflection, that many of 
 our best artists are in the same situation; and that England has 
 The great end of produced her finest sculptor without this foreign aid. The intent 
 travelling is to f \ r \ s travelling should be the enlargement of his ideas; and go 
 
 acquire know- ... 
 
 kdge. where he may, this should be his primary object, both by refer- 
 
 ence to works of art, and to those of Nature. To this end, the 
 sketch-book should be always at hand, to enable him to make 
 each beauty that may occur his own; otherwise they may escape 
 his recollection. 
 
 Wilson used to say, that " Every thing the landscape painter could 
 want, was to be found in North Wales." It is evident, that many 
 of the grandest of his scenes are from ideas collected there, as 
 may be seen in the peculiar character of his rocks. That it is a 
 fine country is beyond all doubt, and would afford subjects for 
 Claude, Poussin, and Salvator Rosa; and should the student do 
 justice to them, he need not fear obtaining a reputation. 
 
 It must not be understood, from the frequent reference to the 
 works of the best masters, that the young artist is desired to pay 
 an implicit respect to them; no, he that judges art by art, will be 
 directed by an imperfect guide ; the rule must be sought in Na- 
 ture. Yet, where a reference may be necessary, it will be an 
 easier and more certain task to point it out in a master, than by 
 
 any 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 2S7 
 
 any application to Nature, whose features being eternally varying, 
 nothing but the occurrence of that particular kind of color or 
 effect wanted would do, and that can only be shown on the spot 
 by some able artist. 
 
 There is a common prejudice among mankind, and which is 
 recommended in many of the books that treat on landscape paint- 
 ing, that to take a view, the person should get on a hill : this will 
 always produce what is called a bird's-eye view, and will never 
 look well; on the contrary, the height of the horizon should sel- 
 dom exceed one third of the picture, except on some extraordi- 
 nary occasion.* Great care should also be taken, not to take in 
 too great an extent of horizon ; the rules of perspective admit of 
 only 45° ; this, if possible, should never be exceeded, as it will in- 
 crease the difficulty in the management ; and one common fault is 
 the including too much. 
 
 As single objects, or not more than two or three, in a picture, 
 will be found the easiest to begin with from Nature, they will also 
 admit of being more exquisitely finished, which is not the case in 
 a picture containing a great many parts, where an attention to the 
 whole supersedes every other consideration; or, as it is technically 
 said, that ' to relieve every thing, you will relieve nothing.' As, 
 therefore, single objects require more detailing, they will also be 
 likely to introduce a habit of care in the future operations of the 
 art. In sketching from Nature, care must be taken not to get 
 too near an object, as, by having too short a point of distance, it 
 will be made to appear under so great an angle as to look quite 
 distorted. This disagreeable effect will be avoided by observing, 
 (unless prevented by circumstances,) never to be nearer the build- 
 ing, &c. than twice its elevation, or length, which will bring the 
 
 object 
 
 The station for 
 sketchinga land- 
 scape should not 
 be taken toohigh; 
 neither should 
 the extent of ho- 
 rizon included, 
 exceed 45 . 
 
 Single, or few 
 objects, admit 
 greater delicacy 
 in finishing, than 
 where the pic- 
 ture is crowded. 
 
 In sketching 
 from Nature, 
 care must be ta- 
 ken not to ap- 
 proach the ob- 
 ject too nearly.. 
 
 * An artist who wanted to make a view of Liverpool, was told by a 
 person, he could show him a good situation, and for that purpose took 
 him to the top of the Exchange ! It is really surprising how many of 
 the old views were manufactured, when it is considered that balloons 
 were not in use, as some of the places (as Durham, &c. in Buck's An- 
 tiquities) are on high hills, which you are looking down on.. 
 
288 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 A certain degree 
 of knowledge in 
 geometry, che- 
 mistry, and op- 
 tics, is necessary 
 to constitute a 
 good artist 
 
 Flattery to be 
 carefully guard- 
 ed against. 
 
 object within an angle of 45°. This rule also holds good with re- 
 spect to looking at pictures, as it is impossible to see the whole at 
 a less distance than twice its longest side. As that may be consi- 
 dered as the focal-point, it will at once account for small pictures 
 requiring more finishing than larger ones, as the eye, at the time it 
 takes in the whole, is capable of distinguishing its most minute 
 parts; therefore, every tiling not seen at that distance, may justly 
 be considered as redundant. It would be happy for the artist, if, 
 in looking at his pictures, the spectator would observe two tilings : 
 first, to place them on the plane of their horizon; and secondly, 
 not to go nearer them than the above focal-point. 
 
 As perspective is materially connected with geometry, inasmuch 
 as it depends on the doctrine of proportions, the properties of si- 
 milar triangles, and the intersections of planes, it will be necessary 
 that the student should consult some abridgment of Euclid. A 
 common book among the painters, is Le Clerc's Practical Geome- 
 try, which, with Priestley's Perspective, will be quite sufficient for 
 the artist ; but those authors he ought well to understand before 
 he goes to Nature. This is mentioned as absolutely necessary. 
 A knowledge of that part of chemistry that relates to colors will 
 be of great service ; and also, that part of optics called chromatics, 
 which explains the colors of light and of natural bodies. This will 
 enable the young artist to work on more certain principles; and 
 will also be productive of another grand benefit, that of extending 
 his knowledge. 
 
 In the practice of the picturesque, the ruler and compasses will 
 be but of little service, as they can only be wanted in finding the 
 vanishing-lines, &c. in perspective, or in setting off the proportions 
 in regular buildings ; but the outlines ought invariably to be done 
 by hand, otherwise they will look stiff and mechanical. 
 
 One thing that the student ought most strongly to guard against, 
 is the flattery of his friends, as every one has his little circle of 
 admirers; the moment he conceives this as the applause of the pub- 
 lic, his progress in the art is stopped ; he should learn to prefer 
 the opinions of the learned few to the praise of the ignorant mul- 
 titude. On the contrary, should he meet with disappointment, 
 
 he 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 289 
 
 he will have the comfort to know, that, as they make him hum- 
 ble, they will make him wise. 
 
 Of all the causes which conspire to blind 
 
 Man's erring judgment, and misguide the mind, 
 
 What the weak head with strongest bias rules, 
 
 Is Pride, the never-failing vice of fools. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 It is said, that Mortimer used to lament his having received the 
 premium of the gold medal from the Royal Society, as from that 
 moment his exertions ceased, from an opinion of greatness. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE. 
 
 The more an art can be simplified, the greater probability 
 will there be to expect success in the study of it. This reverting 
 to simple principles, seems the more necessary in painting, from 
 the variety of inquiries it involves ; and to this end, Light and 
 Shade will be descanted on, without any regard either to the 
 forms or colors of objects. 
 
 The outline having been correctly made, as directed in the for- 
 mer Section, the next tiling will be (with a soft or tender color) to 
 lay in the natural shadows of the objects : by this means will be 
 seen what Light and Shade will be in the picture without the aid of 
 art, and this will enable the student, with more ease and certainty, 
 to determine what further quantity may be necessary for completing 
 his effect.* As much of the success of the picture depends on the 
 
 P p judgment 
 
 * Gradations in the shadows are necessary to indicate distance ; for, 
 suppose a cube to be put in true perspective, its lines do but barely 
 hint the direction that its various faces would take ; but, with the ad- 
 dition of the shadows, the sides recede with the lines ; thus mutuaLly 
 completing the idea of recession, which neither of them could do alone. 
 It may be further observed, that the outline of a globe is but a circle ; 
 yet, according to the manner of filling up the space within it with sha- 
 dow, it becomes either flat, globular, or concave, in any of its positions 
 with the eye. 
 
 Success inartre* 
 suits from the 
 study of simple 
 principles. 
 
 The natural sha- 
 dows of objects 
 should be the 
 first attended to; 
 and afterwards, 
 the greater mass- 
 es, to produce 
 effect. 
 
290 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOE 
 
 Breadth of sha- 
 dow is increased 
 by making the 
 dark parts of the 
 clouds corre- 
 spond with the 
 darker parts of 
 the landscape. 
 
 judgment used in arranging the masses of shade, great care should 
 be taken to keep them broad and simple, otherwise it will be in 
 vain to expect what the painter calls a good whole ; that is, such 
 a union of light with light, and shadow with shadow, as to excite 
 a pleasing sensation to the eye. The French have succeeded worse 
 in this part of the art than any other school, their pictures always 
 conveying to the mind, what is called flutter; or such a distrac- 
 tion of Light and Shadow, as to confuse and disturb the sight. 
 The best examples will be seen in the works of the Flemish and 
 Dutch : and some of our own artists, as Wilson and Gainsborough, 
 have been highly successful. When the natural, as well as their 
 projected shadows, are laid in, as before observed, the next step 
 will be the uniting them together, so as to form them into masses : 
 to this end, the interposition of artificial or accidental shadows 
 will be necessary, (such as those thrown from clouds,) which, by 
 being judiciously used, may be made so to combine the different 
 parts of the picture together, as to produce broad masses ; and 
 which, by being laid in soft, may be easily altered even into light 
 in the working up, should the shadows not appear agreeable. 
 One great advantage may also be obtained by bringing the dark 
 part of the clouds against the dark parts of the landscape, which 
 will considerably increase the breadth; and the lights may be 
 made to assist in the same way. It is a common error among 
 landscape painters, to introduce their slues without any relation to 
 the masses ; yet it contributes more to the breadth than any other 
 part ; for, should the objects give a sufficient quantity of Light 
 and Shade, the sky may be kept down ; or should a further quan- 
 tity of dark or light be required, it may be increased by clouds. 
 By attention to this practice, a breadth will be certain, and at all 
 times will insure a mellow picture : besides, a strength of tone will 
 be acquired without a hardness, which must ever attend dark 
 shades and bright lights eoming into contact with each other. 
 Should, however, this method be carried to excess, it will pro- 
 duce an insipidity ; to prevent which, some small part should be. 
 left cutting and hard, to give contrast, as dark is only known by 
 light, motion by rest, &c. 
 
 One 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 291 
 
 One of the old painters used to wish that white was as dear as 
 ultramarine : indeed, nothing can give a greater air of poverty to 
 a picture than too much light; on the contrary, shadow will 
 give dignity, and make the light, if sparingly used, appear with 
 more vivacity. Of this many of the poets, but Thomson, in par- 
 ticular, seems to have been so well aware, that his best descrip- 
 tions are full of shade : 
 
 At every step, 
 
 Solemn and slow, the shadows blacker fall, 
 And all is awful list'ning gloom around. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Majestic woods, of ev'ry vig'rous green, 
 Stage above stage, high waving o'er the hills ; 
 Or to the far horizon wide diffus'd, 
 A boundless, deep immensity of shade. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Depth of sha- 
 dow contributes 
 greatly to give 
 dignity to a pic- 
 ture ; and to 
 make" the lights 
 more sparkling 
 and lively. 
 Even in poetry, 
 depth of shade is 
 a necessary ad- 
 junct to solemn 
 description. 
 
 but in a night 
 
 Of gath'ring vapour, from the baffled scene 
 Sinks dark and dreary. Autumn. 
 
 It were endless to make quotations, as the whole of the Seasons 
 abound with examples. The following description of Akenside's 
 is much enriched, and the vastness of the scene greatly increased, 
 by the introduction of the mass of shadow, which is perfectly ap- 
 plicable to such an extent of country. The idea of empires black 
 with shade is uncommonly grand. 
 
 Who that from Alpine heights, his lab'ring eye 
 
 Shoots round the wide horizon, to survey 
 
 Nilus or Ganges rolling his bright wave 
 
 Thro' mountains, plains, thro' empires black with shade, 
 
 And continents of sand, &c. 
 
 Pleasures of Imagination. 
 
 From these observations, it must be sufficiently evident, that 
 quantity of dark is necessary, yet, what the precise quantify is, 
 will be difficult to determine ; some of the painters allowing one 
 third, some considerably more ; and some, as Rembrandt, in his land- 
 
 P p 2 scapes, 
 
 The precise 
 quantity of sha- 
 dow must de- 
 pend on the na- 
 ture of the sub* 
 ject. 
 
292 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 scapes, less ; including middle-tint. The nature of the subject will 
 best decide the inquiry ; for, should the scene be beautiful, every 
 thing should tend to excite sensations of pleasure ; therefore, the 
 light should be broad and vivid ; as light is life in its most ani- 
 mated state. On the contrary, should the subject be of the more 
 noble cast, and therefore require treating with dignity, the greater 
 quantity of darkness and obscurity will be necessary, as darkness 
 and obscurity are more expressive of horror, and death. 
 
 And with the majesty of darkness round 
 
 Covers his throne ; from whence deep thunders roar, 
 
 Mutt'ring their rage. 
 
 Paradise Lost. 
 
 In disposing the 
 masses of light 
 and shade, all 
 flutter must .be 
 avoided. The 
 greatest quantity 
 of light should 
 be so disposed, 
 as best to exhi- 
 bit the principal 
 action. 
 
 Burke truly observes, that, " To make any thing very terrible, 
 obscurity seems in general to be necessary :" the remark is perfectly 
 applicable to the sublime in painting, which, as far as effect is in- 
 volved, cannot exist without it* 
 
 In disposing the picture into masses of light and shade, care 
 should be taken not to scatter them, or to make them too numerous. 
 The general rule is, not to exceed three masses of light, and to 
 keep all of them subordinate to the first grand one. Rembrandt 
 seldom had more than one light in his pictures ; and many of Os- 
 tade's best works are on the same principle : though this practice 
 may be making too great a sacrifice, and also be in danger of pro- 
 ducing a weight, yet it may well suit some particular effects, as 
 storms. As every picture should have a principal feature, every 
 art should be used to conduct the eye to it; this is generally done 
 by bringing the greatest power of light on it, or at least in that 
 part, so that it may be distinctly seen at the first glance. This 
 feature should invariably occupy the centre of the picture, and 
 
 every 
 
 * How far (according to the same author's remark) the most lively 
 and spirited verbal description will raise a stronger emotion than the 
 best painting, is matter of doubt : certain it is, that description has one 
 highly flattering quality ; it leaves every one at liberty to form his own 
 picture, and this may probably affect more than that of any other 
 person. 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 293 
 
 every means should be used to prevent the inferior lights from 
 distracting the attention; and on no account should straggling 
 lights be introduced in the remote corners of the picture. Where 
 the eye concentrates itself, and which in perspective is called the 
 point of sight, or centre of vision, there the object will be most 
 distinctly seen, winch is the reason why the lights at the extremi- 
 ties of a picture, should not, by their brightness, attract the sight, 
 and thereby destroy the repose of the whole. In some instances, 
 it may be necessary to depart from this rule, as where the idea in 
 the picture is contrived to lead the spectator to suppose he sees 
 only part of an action, or to convey the idea of vastness : but in 
 this, the good sense of the student must direct. That disposition 
 of the lights may be considered as particularly happy, where the 
 inferior is made to lead the eye to the superior mass. 
 
 In the management of the lights, two methods are used: the Directions for 
 one is to make them equally broad, but not equally bright; the of'hetyrntrini 
 other, to make them equal in brightness, but of unequal breadths, picture. 
 The latter mode will give the most spirit. Where the subject to 
 be treated, may happen not to admit the great body of light to 
 be thrown on it, the student may carry it into the clouds, which 
 will enable him to enrich a bad subject : but, as before observed, 
 the light must be centrical. The brightness may be much in- 
 creased, by bringing (if possible) some terrestrial object in opposi- 
 tion with the light in the sky, which will make it more lively by 
 its dark tone, and its light will, at the same time, give solidity to 
 the landscape. This kind of effect is very fine in some of Gains- 
 borough's pictures, particularly in one where a broad sheet of light 
 cloud rose behind a hill, in the middle distance of the picture, 
 with a mill on it, that looked very solid and fine, in opposition to 
 the effulgence of the sky. In stormy scenes, the light and shade 
 may be made abrupt, as being more expressive of violence. 
 
 It is curious to observe the different means made use of by 
 Claude and Rubens to produce the same end ; that is, to delineate 
 the effect of the sun in their pictures. In the former it is done by 
 a broad effulgent light ; in the latter, by sudden bursts, that almost 
 electrify. The prints of Bolswert, after Rubens, will furnish ex- 
 cellent 
 
29* 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 cellent examples of light and shadow. The student must be care- 
 ful to look with reverence on those works which time has stamped 
 a value on ; for should he become a critic, that is, according to 
 the common practice, one who supposes judgment to exist only in 
 finding fault, the ardor of his pursuit will be checked ; as he would 
 want a stimulus; and he will be likely to share the fate of the 
 common herd. 
 
 Accidental sha- 
 dows, when ju- 
 diciously intro- 
 duced, have an 
 excellent effect: 
 
 Claude, from 
 not having atten- 
 ded to them, has 
 sometimes dege- 
 nerated into in-- 
 sipidity. 
 
 In search of wit, these lose their common sense, 
 And then turn critics in their own defence. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Those accidental shadows that result from the intervention of 
 clouds, may be made to answer the best possible purposes, parti- 
 cularly in open scenes, which can scarcely be made to tell without 
 them: 
 
 Erragon brightened in Tier presence as a rock, before the 
 sudden beams of the sun; when they issue from a broken 
 cloud, divided by the roaring wind. Oss-iak. 
 
 Claude seems not to have availed himself of them ; probably those 
 striking effects did not suit with the tranquillity of his genius. In 
 many of his pictures, and where, indeed, he has bean most success- 
 ful in the choice of objects, grandeur is often destroyed by the insi- 
 pidity of the chiaro-oscuro. Many of his groups of trees seem in- 
 troduced as substitutes for masses of shade : the same reason has 
 probably compelled him, as often as possible, to darken the fore- 
 ground. When such expedients are not employed, there will be 
 great danger of insipidity, as all the parts will be relieved dark off 
 dark.; that is, every object, as it comes forward, will be relieved 
 by its being stronger colored, which will be the progress from the 
 remote distance to the fore-gTOund, and will be as tiresome to the 
 eye, as a monotonous discourse is to the ear. Tins sort of treat- 
 ment will by no means suit with the grand, where every means 
 ought to be used to raise the subject, and which can only be done 
 by producing the most striking effect, so as to fix the mind to the 
 picture only. In this, Rubens was particularly successful, by in- 
 troducing 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 295 
 
 troducing bursts of light, rainbows, storms, &c. so as violently to- 
 arrest the mind of the spectator; making his picture carry with it 
 an interest beyond the mere mechanical representation of Nature. 
 This is not the case with the more ordinary pictures, which only 
 interest for the touch, color, or, as in some of the Dutch works, 
 by the wonderful shine of the kitchen utensils, the whole merit of 
 which depends on the closeness of the imitation, and this fixes the 
 mind merely on the painter, whose duty it should be, in the higher 
 walks of the art, to make the spectator forget him as much as 
 possible in the contemplation of his labors. Some of our artists 
 are so fond of execution, that their handling attracts the attention 
 even in subjects they mean as efforts of the sublime. Woollet's 
 print after Wilson, will be worth consulting for the fine light and 
 shade. 
 
 The following quotation so aptly expresses one of the purposes 
 of shadow, that it were impossible to say more on the subject. 
 
 'Tis wisely done ; 
 
 What would offend the eye in a good picture,, 
 The Painter casts discreetly into shade. 
 
 Blair. 
 
 As the shadows form the repose of the picture, great care should' 
 be taken (as well as to have them broad) that they be kept still ; 
 that is r not to disturb them, by making the parts too distinct, 
 which would not only confuse the eye, but also destroy the brilli- 
 ancy of the lights ; a thing, of all others, the most to be avoided ; 
 for the student must recollect, that the highest point of light he 
 can possibly get is his white paper, which at all times he should con- 
 trive to make the most of. It is from this contrast that every thing 
 must be expected; for should' a bright light be wanted, it can 
 only be acquired by breadth and stillness of dark. Every picture 
 ought in some one part to possess the greatest possible brightness: 
 by this is not meant white, for a tinge of yellow will be brighter. 
 Light has not the property to come forward, but as it is forced on 
 by dark; therefore, bright skies always keep their places. Not- 
 withstanding this, terrestrial objects, as they recede from the eye, 
 
 should 
 
 One of the pur- 
 poses of shadow 
 is to conceal 
 whatever objects^ 
 would offend 
 the eye. 
 
 As the shadows 
 form the repose 
 of a picture, care 
 should be taken 
 to keep them 
 broad and still : 
 they should also 
 be clear. 
 
296 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 The shadows 
 that occur in re- 
 lieving masses of 
 light, must be 
 kept soft and 
 tender; as illus- 
 trated byTitian's 
 BunchofGrapes. 
 
 As objects re- 
 cede from the 
 eye, every part 
 should be gradu- 
 ally less denned. 
 
 should be lowered with the aerial tint, to prevent their coming 
 forward, which they might do, from their being generally sur- 
 rounded by dark colors, and also look spotty, except they be 
 small; such as are sometimes seen sparkling in the distance, which, 
 from their size, cannot interfere with the sky, or any other great 
 light. Though the shadows are required to be kept still, they 
 should be clear. Many suppose this to depend on the colors, 
 and therefore highly gum them : this is not the case, it depends on 
 the object being pretty well defined, and the shadows in shade 
 being pretty smartly touched : but this must be done with caution : 
 for of the two, the want of clearness is better than the want of 
 stillness. The Dutch pictures are in tin's instance unquestionably 
 the best examples. 
 
 The shadows that may occur in the relieving masses of light, 
 must be kept soft and tender, otherwise the effect will be de- 
 stroyed. This is best illustrated by Titian's Bunch of Grapes, 
 where, on the light side, though every grape has its light, sha- 
 dow, and reflection, the whole forms one undisturbed mass. On 
 the dark side, also, the shade of each particular grape uniting to- 
 gether, will form one broad mass, and finely explain the doctrine 
 of shadow uniting with shadow, and light with light : that is, sup- 
 posing the grapes placed so as to receive the light obliquely, there- 
 by making the light and shadow broad. The grapes will serve to 
 show the necessity of letting shadows die softly into the light, by 
 the interposition of middle-tint, otherwise the picture will look 
 hard and edgy. Even projected shadows, which are always dark- 
 er than those of the objects, should be made soft, as they go oft" 
 from the points of contact. Hard shadows produce angles; soft 
 ones are expressive of round surfaces, which are composed of 
 light, shadow, and middle-tint. The highest point of dark and 
 light, is on the parts that come nearest the eye of the spectator, 
 as on a ball. As objects recede from the fore-ground, they lose 
 their power of dark, (and, of course, their light,) till the whole be- 
 comes one undistinguished mass, should the distance be great; 
 and therefore one care will be, to let every part, as it retires, be 
 less defined than those before it. It is erroneous to say, make a 
 
 thing 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 297 
 
 thing start from the cauvass ; if any oue part should appear to come 
 from the surface, it would be out of its place, as it would be be- 
 fore'the base-line of the picture. 
 
 It was an opinion of Sir Joshua Reynolds, that every picture 
 ought to possess the extremes of dark and light : this may hold 
 good in historical ; but, with deference, the extreme of dark would 
 be likely to make a landscape look heavy, and could never be 
 wanted, but in a total deprivation of light, which can seldom hap- 
 pen; and even there a dark brown would look best. This is in- 
 stanced in the fine picture of the Cradle, by Rembrandt, where 
 great force is produced by brown. Wilson, also, thought brown 
 dark enough for landscape, as he used to observe, with refer- 
 ence to Sir Joshua's opinion, that " perhaps that great man might 
 allude to the benefit of black draperies as a set off." It will most 
 certainly be found, by practice, that the strength of a picture de- 
 pends more on the middle-tint than on great depth of shade, and 
 will always carry with it more melody. The figures, cattle, and 
 other objects in the picture, should be treated in the same simple 
 way as is recommended for conducting the whole; that is, not to 
 confuse them by too many parts ; one light, and one dark, for 
 each object, will relieve them stronger than a greater division of 
 parts: indeed, it will be obvious, that if they come off a dark 
 ground, the light should be broad; if off a light ground, they 
 should have broad shadows. 
 
 As to the form of the lights, it must in a great measure depend 
 on the objects: all that can be recommended, is to avoid letting 
 them lake any particular one ; as a square, an angle, or, indeed, any 
 other form that is geometrical. It will be always found in pictures 
 possessing the best light and shadow, that they will tell what they 
 are meant for at almost any distance, as a figure, building, or 
 landscape. On the contrary, where the masses are injudicious, a 
 landscape may at a certain distance appear as a white horse, or 
 any thing but that for which it is intended. 
 
 The extreme of 
 dark ought ne- 
 ver to be intro- 
 duced in land- 
 scape. 
 
 The forms of the 
 lights must de- 
 pend on the na- 
 ture of the sub- 
 ject : if impro- 
 perly used, they 
 will give a dif- 
 ferent appear- 
 ance to the pic- 
 ture than was 
 intended. 
 
 Qq 
 
 SECTION 
 
298 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 COLORING. 
 
 Only a few co- 
 lors are necessa- 
 ry : the student 
 should prepare 
 his own colors, 
 in preference to 
 their being ob- 
 tained for him. 
 
 Colors; how 
 classed : thtir 
 combinations. 
 
 The names of the colors wanted for landscape have been men- 
 tioned in the first Section ; in this it will be necessary to show 
 (as far as possible) their uses and properties. One great inconve- 
 nience the student labors under, arises from the too great quanti- 
 ty of colors put into his hands; an evil so encouraged by the 
 drawing-master and color-man, that it is not uncommon to give 
 two or. three dozen colors in a box, a thing quite unnecessary.* 
 The best way is for the student to prepare his own colors, and this 
 may be easily done, as all that is requisite, after grinding them, 
 if they should be wanted very fine, is to wash them : this is ef- 
 fected by putting the ground color into a bason of water, and 
 letting it stand a few minutes, pouring the top gently off into a 
 second vessel, and letting that stand double or triple the time of 
 the former ; then into a third ; and so on, in proportion to the fine- 
 ness of the color wanted, as each time will afford a finer sediment. 
 This may be preserved dry in a powder, tempered with gum-water 
 for use; or by mixing with gum, and put to dry in little card 
 molds, may be rubbed upon a smooth stone or plate when wanted. 
 To prevent them from cracking in the mold, some fine sugar, or 
 white sugar-candy, should be mixed with them. Sweet-wert will 
 answer the same purpose, and may be drawn from the malt, by 
 boiling it in an earthen vessel till it feels sticky between the fingers. 
 It is a mistake of those who suppose much mucilage (gum) will 
 prevent the colors from fading ; on the contrary, it is highly inju- 
 rious, as when it loses its transparency, which it soon does, it 
 deadens the colors, by prevaiting the transmission of the light. 
 
 Colors admit of several divisions ; as true and false, light and 
 dark, warm and cold, simple and compound, and opaque and 
 transparent. True colors are such as will bear exposure to the 
 
 air 
 
 * Wilson, on being told by a person that he had found out a new color, 
 said he was sorry for it, as there were too many already. 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 293 
 
 air and sun without changing ; false, such as will not. Light and 
 dark ones speak for themselves. Warm colors are browns, reds, and 
 yellows; cold ones, blues, blacks, greys, and purples. Simple 
 colors are such as it is not possible to make by any combination, 
 as red, blue, and yellow, which are also called primitives: by 
 mixing the primitives, the following compound colors will be the 
 result: red and blue produce purple; red and yellow produce 
 orange; blue and yellow produce green; red, blue, and yellow, 
 produce, by different modifications, brown, black, and grey: 
 these comprehend all the colors or tints in Nature, though the 
 degrees of them are endless. 
 
 This sufficiently proves those philosophers mistaken, that make 
 seven original (or primary) colors, as four of them are evidently 
 compounds; the orange, green, purple, and the violet, which 
 partakes of the nature of the last. Besides, the order in which 
 they occur through the prism sufficiently shows it, as the green al- 
 ways comes between the blue and yellow, orange between the red 
 and yellow, and so on. It is a curious circumstance, that an he- 
 terogeueal color, orange, for instance, by being viewed through 
 a prism, will disappear, being resolved into the two homogeneal 
 colors of which it was composed ; that is, red and yellow. The 
 primitive colors have also the property of neutralizing each other; 
 that is, if a blue and a yellow are mixed, they will produce a green, 
 and a certain quantity of red will make that a negative; and so with 
 the other. Opaque colors are such as, when laid over paper, or other 
 substances, cover them fully, so as to obliterate any drawing or 
 stain that may have been previously made there. The others are 
 transparent, or of such n contrary nature, as to leave the ground 
 or drawing on which they are laid, visible through them. The 
 student must therefore be careful to choose for his puipose the most 
 transparent colors, otherwise his drawing will look muddy, from 
 its obliterating the surface of the paper. Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
 from observing the clearness in transparent drawings, thought it 
 impossible to foul or muddle them ; but his mistake arose from 
 his never having practised in that way. 
 
 Q q 2 Mr. 
 
 The primitive 
 colors are only 
 three in number; 
 their properties. 
 
300 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 Transparent co- 
 lored substances 
 do not reflect 
 light. 
 
 Colors com- 
 posed of earths, 
 are more durable 
 than those ex- 
 tracted from ve- 
 getables. Qua- 
 lities of various 
 coloring sub- 
 stances. 
 
 Mr, Delaval* proved, by several experiments, that transparent- 
 colored substances do not reflect light ; and that when the light 
 that passes through such substances is prevented being transmit- 
 ted, they become black. Therefore, as all effect of color is by 
 the light made to pass through it, by what he calls transmission, 
 or, in other words, by being reflected back through the color, it 
 must follow, that the lighter the ground they are laid on, the 
 brighter and more vivid they must appear. This not only holds 
 good with respect to water-colors, but equally applies to oil, and 1 , 
 indeed, to all other modes of painting. 
 
 It is much to be lamented, that the most beautiful colors soon- 
 est perish ; therefore, the student had better sacrifice brilliancy to 
 permanency. To this end, the fewer vegetable colors that are 
 used, the better, as they are the first to fade. The earths will be 
 found to answer the purpose of durability best; and those, if well 
 washed, as before recommended^ will give every degree of bril- 
 liancy necessary : but as. all colors, with an earthy base, are liable 
 to be injured by acids, great care should be taken in preparing; 
 them. As lake and carmine soon fade, a good substitute may be- 
 found for landscape painting, in well-washed Indian red : this v by 
 that process, becomes so fine, as to admit of being used in the 
 face by miniature painters. The raw terra de Sienna is a useful, 
 color, and is capable of becoming a red by calcination : this is a : 
 ferruginous earth, of which a good imitation may be made with 
 green vitriol precipitated by lime. Gamboge is a vegetable, and 
 liable to fade, but may be used with Indian ink, for dark greens, 
 with great success, as it works freer than raw terra de Sienna, 
 which has a tendency to work ropey, particularly when mixed". 
 Vermillion is a metallic color, and being opaque, can only be used 
 sparingly in draperies. Van-Dyck brown, a fine color for fore- 
 grounds, is an earth, and permanent. The decoction of bistre, 
 before mentioned, will be found useful in buildings, and will 
 stand. Prussian blue has iron for its base, is liable to be destroy- 
 ed by fire, or by very pure alkali : lime, and terra ponderosa, ex- 
 tract the color, and show the same phenomena as alkali. Some 
 drawings hung up in a house newly repaired, and near a large new. 
 
 building,. 
 * See Gregory's Economy of Nature. 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 301 
 
 building, lost their blue color, which had become a dirty iron 
 
 grey. Those who may be desirous of improving the brightness of Directions for 
 
 , • i i • r n t. j ■ • ii improving the 
 
 their colors, may do it as follows. Ked colors are improved by brightnessofco. 
 
 acids ; alkalies darken them so as to make them approach to a blue ■ 
 
 or dirty purple. Yellows are brightened by acids ; and by alkalies 
 
 are rendered dull, and of an orange color. Blues mixed with acids, 
 
 turn red with vegetable juices, and green with alkalies. Any effect 
 
 of brilliancy produced by this means, can be only transitory. The 
 
 change of color produced by alkalies, both fixed and volatile, to a 
 
 purple, is brighter with the latter. Solutions of lead debase red 
 
 colors to a dull purple. It must be expected, that all acids are 
 
 not equally powerful in their effects on colors ; the nitrous is the 
 
 most, and marine the' least powerful of any of the mineral acicis. 
 
 Alkalies are also more perishable than acids ; the nitrous most so,, 
 
 the vitriolic less, and the marine least of all.. 
 
 It will now be necessary to proceed with the practical part of General Re- 
 the art ; but it must not be expected, that here will be given a long 
 catalogue of tints to answer every particular purpose, as is the case 
 in some books that fall into the hands of young people, which 
 contribute more to confound than to assist them: and, indeed, if it 
 was to be done, it would' be only a repetition of colors, as all the 
 tints must resolve into the three primitive colors, and their com- 
 pounds, as before observed. This must be obvious to the stu- 
 dent, if, when at a loss for a tint, he should ask himself to what 
 class it belongs, that is, whether it is a kind of orange, or greeD, 
 or purple ; and when this is discovered, the making the precise 
 tint must be the result of practice. Where a tint, however, can 
 be described, it shall be done ; but, after all, it will be but a 
 blind guide, if the party does not feel it himself, as it cannot be 
 determined by measure or weight; 
 
 Supposing the outline complete, and ready to work on, there Directions 
 are two ways of working it up. The first, and most easy way, is J"^*™ 
 to make all the shadows, and middle tints, with Prussian blue^ lors. 
 and a brown Indian ink. The other is, by dead coloring it all 
 over, making light, shade, and middle-tint, as is done in oil paint- 
 ing, (only preserving the lights,) and which is, of course, most 
 
 !• complex, . 
 
302 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 complex, and so proceed strengthening each part, till the whole is 
 finished. In the former method, the clouds being previously 
 sketched in, and as light as possible, the student begins with the 
 elementary part of the sky, laying it in with Prussian blue, rather 
 tender, so as to leave himself the power of going over it once or 
 twice afterwards, or as often as may be necessary ; then with the 
 blue, and a little Indian ink, lay in the lightest shades of the clouds ; 
 then the distance, if remote, with the same color, rather stronger. 
 Next proceed to the middle ground, leaving out the blue in 
 coming forward ; and, lastly, work up the fore-ground with brown 
 Indian ink only. This operation the student may repeat till the 
 whole is sufficiently strong to his mind, marking the dark parts of 
 the fore-ground as dark as the ink will make it; that is to say, the 
 touches of shadow in shade. Great care must be taken to leave 
 out the blue gradually as the objects come forward, otherwise it 
 will have a bad effect. Attention must also be given to the mid- 
 dle tints, that they are not marked too strong, which would make 
 it, when colored, look hard. The same grey color, or aerial tint, 
 may be first washed over every terrestrial part of the drawing re- 
 quired to be kept down ; that is, before coloring ; as color laid 
 over the grey will, of course, not be so light as where the paper 
 is without it. 
 Directionsforfi- In washing up a drawing, the hair-pencils should be used as 
 
 large as the parts worked on will admit. The shadows and middle 
 tints being worked up to a sufficient degree of power, coloring will 
 be the next operation. This must be done by beginning in the 
 distant parts, coming on stronger and stronger, coloring light and 
 middle-tint to the fore-ground ; and, lastly, re-touch the darker 
 parts of the fore-ground with Van-Dyck brown. Great caution 
 will be required not to disturb the shadows with color, otherwise 
 the harmony of the whole will be destroyed : or, at any rate, not 
 to do more than gently color the reflections.* As shadow is a de- 
 privation of light, it follows, that it is a deprivation of color ; 
 
 therefore, 
 
 * All reflected rays of light will be tinged with the color of the reflect- 
 ing object. 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 303 
 
 therefore, care will be required not to disturb the shade with 
 color; that is, not to shadow blue with blue, red with red, &c. 
 for harmony prevails more on shade than light, as may be seen in 
 the pictures of Teniers, Ostade, and other Dutch masters, whose 
 works, in this respect, stand unrivalled. 
 
 As well as in the unity -of shadow, the harmony of the whole 
 depends on restoring, in some other part of the picture, whatever 
 forms the principal mass of color, and which should always be 
 warm. At the same time, whatever kinds of color may prevail 
 in a picture, they must be disposed in masses, to prevent a spotti- 
 ness ; and by no means should a cold color form the principal fea- 
 ture. There is another method practised by some, to procure the 
 same end, that is, by breaking the color in the lights, so that each 
 color may partake, in some degree, of the tone of its neighbour. 
 In the best pictures of Deflegar, Backhuysen, and Vandevelde, the 
 colors are sometimes broke down to nearly a state of black and 
 white : the former method undoubtedly suits best with the grand 
 style. All effects of evening will be harmonious from the lights 
 all partaking of one hue. 
 
 Whether the drawing is made by dead coloring, and worked up 
 as in oil, or the light and shadow made first, with blue and Indian 
 ink, the method of proceeding in both will be the same ; that is, 
 by beginning with the sky, then the distance, &c. Another care 
 will be to color colder than the drawing is intended to be when 
 finished : the necessity of this practice arises from the warm colors 
 easily affecting the cold ones ; but when once a part is made too yel- 
 low, or too red, it never can be overcome. From this it will be easily- 
 seen, that if a drawing is brought up in grey, (that is, in blue and 
 Indian ink,) it will be susceptible of receiving the warm tones of 
 an evening ; the grey being by red convertible into a purple, and 
 the wanner tints of the light operating in an equal proportion. 
 To illustrate the matter further, grey by red (as lake or carmine) 
 will become a purple ; and that by a yellow (raw terra de Sienna, or 
 gamboge) an orange; but an orange can never be made a red, or 
 red a grey. Still, as before observed, the harmony of the whole 
 depends so much on the shadow, that eveu blue, and other cold 
 
 draperies, 
 
 Care should be 
 taken to color 
 from a cold state 
 to a warm one ; 
 as the warmer 
 tints are most 
 powerful: ex- 
 amples. 
 
304 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 draperies, require warm shadows, otherwise they will not unite 
 with the other parts of the picture. The cold colors have also the 
 property of retiring; and of this the artist sometimes so far avails 
 himself, as to clothe his distant figures in draperies of that sort: on 
 the contrary, the warm ones advance; therefore, should an effect 
 of evening be wanting, and the distance made of a yellow tone, 
 (which is a warm color,) attention must be paid to increase the 
 warmth as the parts advance, till die fore-ground partakes of a 
 red, and the shades of a rich brown. Two things to be avoided, 
 are, in mid-day scenes, not to let the silvery tones in tiie clouds and 
 distance fall into an iron grey ; or the warm ones of evening, to 
 become foxey ; but rather to partake of that mellow, or amber-co- 
 lored light, that is sometimes seen in a serene evening, and which 
 is highly expressive of that degree of warmdi most congenial to 
 Nature. The pictures of Both will furnish excellent examples of 
 the warm style of coloring ; and those of the younger Teniers are 
 
 unquestionably superior to all others for die silvery tones. 
 Directions for . ..... 
 
 layinginthetints When the sun sets with a yellow horizon, it will generally be 
 
 of evening in found &at the sha d ws of the clouds, and the distance, (if re- 
 
 mote,) will be either slightly tinged with yellow, or be of a tone 
 that diere is no term of art for, but which is called a negative 
 tone ; and sometimes having a slight tint of blue prevailing, as 
 may be seen in some of the pictures of Penaker : this will form the 
 aerial tint for the shades of the picture, (assisting them in coming 
 forward,) which always depend on the shadows of the clouds and 
 distance. But when die sun sets red, tiien the aerial tint will be 
 more or less of a blue purple, in proportion to its redness. In 
 coloring an evening sky, if the horizontal color is yellow, it must 
 die into a red, and that into the blue, (which should be worked 
 dry over the otiier,) by which means the intermediate tints will 
 come right; that is, between the yellow and red, orange ; and be- 
 tween the red and blue, die violet ; for if the yellows run into the 
 blue, they will give a false color. Green solution of saffron in water, 
 is used by some to produce an evening tint. A great advantage 
 will be gained where a warm effect is wanted, by lowering the pa- 
 per 
 
 sun-set. 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 305 
 
 per after the outline is finished with a color answering to the lights 
 in the sky; but this requires great care, so as not to soil the paper. 
 A cream-colored wash, of either raw terra de Sienna or gamboge, 
 with lake or carmine, may be washed first over any kind of draw- 
 ing with great success, as it much assists the warmth, and improves 
 the brilliancy. Burnt terra de Sienna does as well. It was a 
 bold undertaking of that man who first attempted to imitate light 
 with an earth. Distance not only destroys forms, but confounds 
 all local colors, reducing every thing to one common mass. 
 
 Thebrilliancyof 
 a drawing may 
 .be improved by 
 a slight wash. 
 
 As yon summits, soft and fair, 
 Clad in colors of the air, 
 Which, to those that journey near, 
 Barren, brown, and rough appear. 
 
 Dyer's Grongar Hill. 
 
 Should this rule not be attended to, one great beauty in all open 
 scenery will be lost ; and it will look as if cut out, and stuck on, 
 and not melt into the sky. Some excellent examples will be found 
 in the pictures and drawings of Barret. The effect of distance 
 may be much assisted by an artful management of the clouds, by 
 making them extend in long spiral sweeps across the picture, in 
 something of an horizontal direction, so as to lead the eye back- 
 ward and forwards down to the horizon ; and also by diminishing 
 the size of the breaks as they recede towards the distance. As 
 the distance must melt into the horizon, so every part of the pic- 
 ture will require more making out as it comes forward ; and lastly, 
 the fore-ground will require not only to be well detailed, but also 
 highly enriched with plants, and various kinds of slirubs, and the 
 ground to be finely broken. Thus the bustle of the fore-ground, con- 
 trasted with the soft vacuity of the distance, will contribute highly 
 to increase the effect; a well-disposed group of figures, or cattle, 
 will add to the deception, as well as to the beauty. Cuyp's fore- 
 grounds are inimitable examples to consult ; and the cattle of Berg- 
 hem, and Paul Potter, are fine examples. Vescher's etchings after 
 Berghem, and others, will also afford fine studies. 
 
 R r Great 
 
 Theeffectofdis- 
 tance may be 
 greatly increased 
 by the manage- 
 ment of the 
 clouds : the bus., 
 tie of the fore- 
 ground will also 
 increase the in- 
 terest. 
 
306 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 The fore-ground 
 must not be too 
 much labored, 
 so as to become 
 bard : masses of 
 trees should be 
 diversified both 
 in form and co- 
 lor; as also large 
 tracks of land. 
 
 Great caution must be observed in working up the fore-ground, 
 not to labor the plants, or foliage, so as to look studied, and in- 
 terfere with the other parts of the picture; for the landscape 
 painter is not to describe like a botanist; yet they should be so 
 correct, that their several kinds may be distinguished. Trees 
 must be described by their general character, touch, and color, 
 and not by making out leaves, which would look formal : masses 
 of trees will require to be diversified in then- form and color, to 
 prevent a monotony. 
 
 Below me trees unnumber'd rise, 
 
 Beautiful in various dyes : 
 
 The gloomy pine ; the poplar, blue ; 
 
 The yellow beech; the sable yew; 
 
 The slender fir, that taper grows ; 
 
 The sturdy oak, with broad-spread boughs ; 
 
 And beyond, the purple grove, 
 
 Haunt of Plullis, Queen of Love. 
 
 Dyer's Grongar Hill. 
 
 This quotation will serve to illustrate the principle, though it is 
 
 too much detailed for any mass in a picture; yet the characters 
 
 of the trees are correct, and may serve as a hint to the student. 
 
 The vegetation should not be colored too green ; that is, with a 
 
 raw, hungry color of blue and yellow, but by uniting a red, as 
 
 burnt terra de Sienna, or lake, with it, to give it a more solemn or 
 
 autumnal hue ; as nothing can have a more common or vulgar air, 
 
 than too much green. The student must distinguish between a 
 
 glaring and a glowing color, as we admire what is fine, before we 
 
 can discern what is beautiful ; for color is the attire of the art, and 
 
 not the patches and paint of a courtezan. In coloring large tracks 
 
 of land, as well as masses of trees, to prevent a monotony, several 
 
 sorts of greens should be mingled together; not so as to look 
 
 spotty, but to blend and unite together, as in some of Rubens's 
 
 landscapes. The dark water in the landscapes of G. Poussin will 
 
 be highly worthy attention, both for color, and as assisting the 
 
 masses of dark; and the well-defined reflections in the Dutch scenes 
 
 of Ruysdael, and others, are extremely beautiful. 
 
 It 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 30? 
 
 It will be difficult to determine what quautity of warm and cold Whatever is the 
 
 colors should prevail in a picture; but certainly, not more cold ma picture, the 
 
 color than is just sufficient to eive value to the warmer ones, or to P arc , s 5,1 ° uld be 
 J . made to blends 
 
 support the color of the sky. In general, it must be regulated 
 
 by the subject; but as there are two warm colors to one cold, 
 
 it may serve to regulate the proportion of each; that is, two 
 
 parts warm to one part cold. However, one thing is certain, that 
 
 whatever the prevailing tone is, it should so blend and unite, that 
 
 the whole may harmonize ; for a fine piece of coloring may be 
 
 considered as a concert for the eye; and, as before observed, the 
 
 warm colors should be disposed in masses. Most people prefer 
 
 the warm tones prevailing, and seem to be comforted, as well as 
 
 pleased, by the sight of a sunny picture on a cold day* 
 
 R r 2 The 
 
 * It might be useful to ascertain, how far a patient could be benefit- 
 ed, in an ague or fever, by being placed in a room of a particular co- 
 lor; whether the mind could be tranquillized by it; or how far the 
 emotions produced could be diverted to medical purposes. Let any 
 one sit in a room on a hot day, with the light passing through red cur- 
 tains, and, from the red reflection, the heat will appear intolerable. 
 Every body allows that the rays reflected from a green ground are the 
 most agreeable to sight, which arises from their stillness. It is absurd 
 to suppose that color was meant to answer no other purpose than that 
 of mere ornament. Colors may be considered as indicative of the pas- 
 sions. The fiery red conveys the idea of anger, and in this sense it is 
 often used by the poets. 
 
 O, Portius .' is there not some chosen curse, 
 Some hidden thunder in the stores of Heaven, 
 Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man 
 Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin ? 
 Addison's Cato. 
 
 And again in Milton : 
 
 Should intermitted Vengeance arm again 
 His red right-hand to plague us ? 
 
 Paradise Lost. 
 
 Lfcht 
 
308 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 for without uni- 
 ty, the harmony 
 of the whole 
 cannot be pre- 
 served. 
 
 The unity of light and shadow, and color, with the subject, is 
 so necessary, that the harmony of the whole cannot be preserved 
 without it. The sombre colors must ever attend the sublime; 
 whilst the more brilliant will accompany the beautiful. Few men 
 would be mad enough to represent a storm in all the gaudy co- 
 lors of a stage pageant ; or should any one be hardy enough to do 
 so, it must meet the contempt of every discerning man. 
 
 the low'ring element 
 
 Scowls o'er the darken'd landscape. 
 Milton. 
 
 Gaudy coloring 
 is inadmissible. 
 
 All that has been said to show how inadmissible gaudy coloring 
 is in the higher walk of landscape, and in every other department 
 of the art, is no more than absolutely necessary to guard the stu- 
 dent from being seduced by that unnatural display of finery, that 
 aboimds in the works of some of our artists, and who appear to 
 have formed their style of coloring from the windows of the mil- 
 liner's shops. Fine showy draperies, in historical pictures, are 
 highly injurious to the sober dignity of such subjects. Though 
 the vanity of a few may tempt them, for a temporary fame, to 
 mislead the taste of the public, the sober mind should shun such 
 paltry arts, and leave those to make fine who cannot make good* 
 The temperate in color, as in all other things, will ever be the 
 
 most 
 
 Light grey, and soft green, are indicative of tranquillity ; and dark 
 blue, dark grey, and brown, of sorrow or melancholy : 
 
 me, Goddess, bring 
 
 To arched walks of twilight groves, 
 And shadows brown, that Sylvan loves, 
 
 Of pine 
 
 Milton's II Penseroso. * 
 
 Mellow tones ever associate with the gentle, and sharp ones with vio- 
 lent emotions. 
 
 * Prints in colors have greatly contributed to vitiate the taste of the 
 public, by introducing that love of finery so detrimental to true art. 
 
 This 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
 309 
 
 most agreeable. Every man shows his mind as well in his com- 
 position and coloring, as in choice of subject. If any body 
 doubts this, let him compare the tranquillity of Claude with the 
 roughness of Salvator Rosa, which suit with the different disposi- 
 tions of the men. The most difficult effect to manage will be the 
 mid-day, or white light, as at that time great brilliancy prevails with- 
 out much color, and the shadows are extremely deep; to obtain 
 which, there will be great danger of hardness, except the shadow 
 and light is well supported by a sufficient depth of middle-tint. 
 As depth of middle-tint always gives a great richness to the effect, 
 so in it will be found the true tone of the object ; and on the truth 
 of it depends much of the beauty of the whole. It will often 
 happen on cloudy days, when the distance is under a gloom, that 
 objects from shadow, or some local dark color, will appear so de- 
 ceptive with respect to situation, as to seem quite out of their 
 places, by coming too forward ; this should always be corrected, 
 and the due distance preserved in the picture, to prevent the ob- 
 ject appearing false. Nature soon corrects this apparent error in 
 herself* 
 
 In working up a drawing, if a richness of color is wanted, it 
 will be necessary to repeat it two or three times, or, indeed, as of- 
 ten 
 
 This practice may be borne in mezzotinto or aquatinta prints, many of 
 which do credit to the artists who publish them ; but to see the dotting, 
 and even the stroke prints in colors, and that left to the mercy of a 
 printer, is the devil. 
 
 * All knowledge of distance is habit. Children often catch at re- 
 mote objects; and much of that knowledge is derived from judging im- 
 perceptibly of the quantity of air intervening, as well as the angle un- 
 der which it is seen. A singular circumstance happened to a gentleman 
 in Iceland ; he was standing on a mountain early in the morning, in a 
 situation he well knew, and, to his great surprise, observed a mountain 
 where he had never before seen one : his surprise, however, ceased, 
 when he found that it was only the shadow of the mountain on which 
 he stood "(having the sun at his back) projected on the vapours in the 
 atmosphere, which was very thick. This may account for the report of 
 ships having been seen in the North Seas, and vanishing, after being 
 followed sometimes for two hours. 
 
 Richness of co- 
 loring is produ- 
 ced by working 
 over the parts se- 
 veral times. 
 
310 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
 
 The colors used 
 for shadows 
 should be clear 
 and transparent. 
 
 Dignity, and 
 truth of repre- 
 sentation, must 
 never be sacrifi- 
 ced to meie ef- 
 fect in coloring. 
 
 ten as necessary; this will give a depth and richness, that never 
 can be obtained by a single color. This is what the artist calls 
 glazing, and can only be got by practice ; only the most warm 
 and transparent colors are used for the purpose. Thus a green 
 of blue and yellow would be raw; but burnt terra de Sienna, or 
 lake, glazed over it, will beautify it; not make it lighter, but 
 richer. Again, if crimson drapery is wanted, it should be dead-co- 
 lored with vermilion, and glazed with lake : and if shadows of In- 
 dian iuk are too cold, the bistre would warm and clear them. This 
 practice is often pursued by the artist, from knowing that colors, 
 when mixed, are not so bright as when laid over each other sepa- 
 rate ; and that two colors are brighter than three ; and so on, in 
 proportion to the number mixed. By this practice, great force 
 may be obtained ; as the nearer a drawing can be brought to an 
 oil picture, the better, as it would possess superior clearness : per- 
 haps the perfection of water and oil, should be for one to have 
 all the force, and the other all the clearness, possible. 
 
 The warmer the shadows are kept, the more agreeable the ef- 
 fect will be ; and as shadow is not a body, those colors should be 
 selected for the purpose, that are the most clear and transparent: 
 for this the Van Dyck brown will be found extremely useful in the 
 shadows of the fore-ground objects. In coloriug trees, it will be 
 necessary to make the extremities of the branches tenderer than 
 the middle parts ; and, by letting the light be seen through va- 
 rious parts of the branches, great thinness and beauty will be ac- 
 quired: this will prevent them looking solid and heavy, a thing 
 most to be avoided. Barret excelled in trees; but particularly 
 in his ash and beech, which are remarkably fine. His drawings in 
 black-lead will be well worthy studying, for the beauty of form 
 and foliage. 
 
 Should the student content himself to please by the illusion of 
 color, that is, by nattering the eye with an industrious display of 
 tints, he must content himself with a lesser reputation ; as coloring 
 is only a secondary consideration, and will by no means com- 
 pensate for the want of accuracy, breadth, or dignity, in composition. 
 Like high-finishing, when it engrosses too much of the attention, 
 1 it 
 
DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 311 
 
 it always proves injurious. It is almost a common consequence 
 of laboring the picture, not only to lose stillness, but often force. 
 Gerard Douw, and one or two others, are the only instances 
 to the contrary. It is a proper tribute to the memory of Wilson, 
 (and perhaps it were not improper to add the Great,) to say his 
 coloring is always agreeable; sometimes tine; his compositions 
 equal to most, and his light and shade superior to any other land- 
 scape painter.* 
 
 Before concluding this section, it may not be amiss to recapitu- Recapitulation. 
 late so much of the foregoing part of the work as relates to the 
 progress of the drawing. First, then, in making the outline, every 
 thing that relates to the shapes of the objects must be settled, as 
 the student will then have the advantage of doing it without the 
 interference of light and shadow, or color ; and so far his attention, 
 being less engaged, may be the more vigorously applied. Se- 
 condly, he will consider light and shadow independent of form or 
 color, and carry on the drawing as directed under tight and shade ; 
 and thirdly, having only the coloring to regard, it is but rea- 
 sonable to expect, that his success will be greater, than if had to 
 attend to all the different parts at one and the same time. 
 
 * The French copied his prints, and were so unjust as to put the name 
 of Vernet to them. 
 
 END OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FOR 
 
 DRAWING AND COLORING LANDSCAPES. 
 
PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 MODERN 
 
 ARTISTS. 
 
 S s 
 
PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES. 
 
 Ui 
 
 NCHEQUERED with events, as the lives of artists generally 
 are, it may to many appear superfluous to mention them ; yet it 
 must be remarked, that, to preserve the names of those who have 
 labored to elevate the character of humanity, is but justice ; inde- 
 pendent of the stimulus which the praise of excellence proves to the 
 youth pursuing a similar course of study. All the great arts re- 
 quire reflection, and a perpetual inquiry into the sublime parts of 
 Nature : to which end, it is necessary that the young mind should be 
 roused into action ; and this cannot be done so effectually, as by 
 exhibiting as bright examples, those who have excelled in the pro- 
 fession. No one, I trust, will charge me with want of liberality, be- 
 cause we may happen to differ in opinion as to the merits of certain 
 artists, who are included in these Sketches. As I detail my own 
 particular sentiments, it is probable that they will sometimes run 
 counter to those of others ; in these cases, if my opinion is erro- 
 neous, I hope it will be kindly placed to the right cause — a defect 
 in judgment, and not to intentional ill-nature. I am the more 
 particular, because my object being sincerity, I shall from that cir- 
 cumstance be obliged occasionally to be rather free in my remarks. 
 
 ANDERSON WILLIAM.— Shipping. 
 
 This artist is a native of Scotland, and was originally a Ship- 
 wright. In his leisure hours, he cultivated the art of painting ; 
 and he now practises it as a profession. His style of coloring is 
 clear and bright, and his aerial perspective is well understood. 
 The handling is clean, firm, and decisive : but of his works, the 
 smaller pictures are by far the best : some of them are of the very 
 first degree of eminence. Though it does not appear that his 
 nautical knowledge is equal to that of some of his cotemporaries, 
 yet, in the other excellencies of his line, he goes far beyond them. 
 As a man, he is singularly modest; and as an artist, the last to 
 
 speak of his own merits. 
 
 S s 2 BARRET 
 
316 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 BARRET GEORGE.— Landscape. 
 
 Barret was a native of Dublin, and came to England to im- 
 prove his talents, and better his fortune, some time about the year 
 1763. There are two distinct manners in his pictures; the one 
 gaudy and violent, the other clear and quiet. Of all his pictures, 
 the dark ones are unquestionably the best ; in his warmer ones, 
 the coloring is obtrusive. He handled the ash, and all the lighter 
 sort of trees, with wonderful taste : his touch is light, firm, and 
 spirited : his scenes are generally views, and those mostly of the 
 English Lakes. In the treatment of his distances,, he was gene- 
 rally very successful ; particularly in flat ones, which may justly be 
 considered as superior to those of any other artist : they generally 
 convey die idea of immensity, and form a fine feature in many of 
 his best pictures. His studies of trees from Nature, in black-lead, 
 are some of the finest specimens of the kind in existence. The 
 great inequality that appears in his works, probably arose from the 
 number of people employed by him ; as the call for his works was 
 great. It is reported, that, at the time he failed, he was in the 
 receipt of two thousand a year; though, at the same time, poor 
 Wilson could hardly get a buyer, and with difficulty make both 
 ends meet. His family have endured great distress through his 
 extravagant folly. One of his finest pictures is in the possession 
 of Mr. Harman, a Merchant in the City ; the subject is a Lake r 
 with the sun rising, and the mists dispersing : the aerial perspective 
 is particularly fine. He died and was buried at Paddington, in 
 1787. 
 
 BARRY JAMES.— History. 
 This eccentric genius is a native of Cork; and is better entitled 
 to the appellation of Historical Painter, than any other artist in 
 this country, as his works in the Adelphi sufficiently evince. In 
 my humble opinion, they possess more of that grand quality, 
 mind, than is to be found in the works of any of his cotempo- 
 raries : nay, I know of no other works, ancient or modern, that 
 form so complete a system of ethics. Raphael, in his School of 
 
 Athens^ 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 3 If 
 
 Athens, has violated chronology, to bring his great characters to* 
 gether; Barry has wisely placed them in Elysium. He is not 
 equally happy in his coloring, which is heavy and inharmonious ; 
 nor is his chiuro-oscuro sufficiently massy, as the above pictures 
 testify : neither is his drawing entirely correct. 
 
 As some compensation for his trouble of painting the pictures, 
 the Society voted him 2001. and a gold medal; and chose him an 
 Honorary Member. Very much to his honor, he painted them 
 under all the hardships of extreme poverty, without any view but 
 the credit, and the uncertain return of exhibiting them, which in 
 the end produced but little. During the time he was engaged on 
 these works, four-pence a-day was all that he could allow him- 
 self; though while executing them, he was contracting a debt of 
 several hundred pounds. 
 
 The want of encouragement, which this artist is always lament- 
 ing, I imagine to arise from his unsocial disposition, as people are 
 afraid to offer him commissions, for fear of being affronted. He 
 carries his ideas of independence to such an extravagant length, 
 as always to pay for his dinner at whatever table he sits down. 
 A year or two ago, he dined with Paul Sandby, and laid down 
 eighteen-pence for his dinner ; but, on recollection, paid another 
 six-pence for his additional quantity of grog. This instance is by 
 no means singular. His character may be further illustrated. 
 One evening, at Somerset House, Peters says, on coming in, " How 
 do you do, Mr. Barry? I hope you are well." On which he 
 grumbled out, " Oh ! 1 dont believe a word of it." With all his 
 oddities, he is unquestionably a man of uncommon intellect : every 
 one must be benefited by his conversation; for, as Dr. Walcot 
 has justly observed, "Go where he will; he always leaves a pearl 
 behind him." 
 
 BARTOLOZZI FRANCESCO, R. A —Engraver, &c. 
 
 The amiable artist that forms the subject of the present sketch, 
 
 was born in 1728, at Florence, where he studied with Cipriani; a 
 
 circumstance which laid the foundation of a friendship that has 
 
 continued through life. Had it not been for the benevolence and 
 
 1 philanthropy. 
 
S18 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 philanthropy of his disposition, Bartolozzi at this time might have 
 been in possession of a princely fortune ; but the liberality of his 
 hand has out-stepped even the goodness of his heart, which has 
 left him nothing but his labor to depend on. As a Draughtsman, 
 he stands unrivalled ; his taste in the human figure is exquisite, and 
 has, through the medium of the antique, become a pure represen- 
 tation of intellectual perfection. His drawings in black and red 
 chalk, are the finest tilings of the kind : in the collection of Lord 
 Besborough are two, a Nymph and a Mercury, which do honor to 
 the arts. As an Engraver, his prints of Clive, and Lord Thurlow, 
 confer on him immortal renown. So firmly has the ideal excel- 
 lence of the arts got possession of him, that it is difficult for him 
 to copy an object ; hence the difficulty, as he used to say to Sir 
 Joshua, of knowing what to do with red robes and white wigs, 
 alluding to the plate of the Death of Chatham, and which, after 
 all the trouble bestowed on it, proved but an indifferent perform- 
 ance. Indeed, history or expression is not his forte. Subjects 
 from the heathen mythology are what he best succeeds in: his 
 light, sportive figures, and his children, are unrivalled. Macklin 
 gave him, at the first offer, five hundred pounds for the portrait 
 of Lord Mansfield ! 
 
 Few people have suffered their names to be more prostituted 
 than this artist ; though this has been caused by his contempt for 
 riches, and by his extensive benevolence: his heart was ever open 
 to the calls of distress ; for, 
 
 ' Careless their merits or their faults to scan, 
 ' His pity gave ere charity began.' 
 
 When Cipriani was making the designs for the Orlando Furioso, 
 in a frontispiece, he delineated Time turning an urn of medallions 
 into the waters of Oblivion, with the names of great men on them, 
 but introduced a Swan carrying one away in his mouth, on which 
 he put the name of Bartolozzi: this the elegant mind of the engra- 
 ver caused him to omit, and to insert that of Cipriani in its place. 
 His character may be drawn in a few words: he is great without 
 vanity, and good without ostentation. 
 
 This 
 
MODERN AUTISTS. 319 
 
 This artist left England, on November the eighth, 1802, to go 
 to Portugal, to superintend a National Academy there, on a year- 
 ly salary of 2001. His Majesty, to his honor be it spoken, with 
 a view of inducing him to stay, previous to his departure, offered 
 him a pension of 5001. but he excused himself on account of his 
 engagement. 
 
 BEECHEY SIR WILLIAM, R. A.— Portrait. 
 
 This artist for some time practised in the neighbourhood of Nor- 
 wich. He was originally a house-painter, and contended against 
 the stream of Fortune for many years prior to his gaining his pre- 
 sent celebrity, and that may in some measure be said to arise out 
 of an accident ; from a portrait of a nobleman being returned by 
 the hanging committee of the Exhibition, without being exhibited. 
 This conduct so provoked the Peer, that he had the picture sent 
 for to Buckingham House to be inspected by the Royal Family, 
 who all sat in consequence. This may be considered as the be- 
 ginning of our artist's good fortune ; he afterwards painted the 
 large picture of the King, &c. on Horse-back, for which he was 
 knighted. He may justly be considered as the only original Por- 
 trait painter that we now have, all the others being more or less 
 imitators of Sir Joshua. His coloring is sweet and delicate, 
 particularly in his women and children; but his male characters 
 often want the depth observable in Reynolds and Van Dyck. His 
 three-quarters are preferable to his larger pictures, as the latter 
 frequently want force ; nor are his attitudes iu his whole-lengths 
 sufficiently easy and graceful. His drapery is sometimes flimsy, 
 and ill-cast : yet, with all these drawbacks, he possesses great me- 
 rit. His picture of the King, above alluded to, does him great 
 honor, particularly for the coloring, which infinitely exceeded 
 every one's expectation. His progress in the arts has been pro- 
 gressive, and as he improves every day, it is rational to expect 
 that he will attain a very high point of perfection. 
 
 BENWELL 
 
320 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES Of 
 
 BENWELL JOHN.— History and Portrait. 
 
 This artist, who was pupil to one Saunders, an inconsiderable 
 miniature painter, died at the early age of twenty-one, or twenty-two, 
 of a decline, some time about the year 1785 or 6. He painted in 
 fixed crayons in small, both portraits and history, and possessed 
 great sweetness of color, and grace of action, with a languid me- 
 lancholy in the countenances, highly expressive of his own feelings. 
 Among his portraits was a most excellent one of himself, with a 
 portfolio under his arm ; the other hand over it, and holding a 
 portcrayon. Bunie, the Engraver, had many of his pictures. Se- 
 veral prints have been engraved from his works, as the Children 
 in the Wood, the St. Giles's and James's Beauties, two scenes 
 from Robin Grey, and some others. 
 
 BIGG WILLIAM REDMORE, A.— Fancy Subjects. 
 This artist was a pupil of Penny, and, like him, paints the ef- 
 fusions of his fancy ; and these generally having a moral tendency, 
 must operate to amend the manners of society. Some of his 
 thoughts are pleasing and interesting ; and many of them do great 
 credit to his feelings as a man. Among his best pictures, I rank 
 his Distressed Sailor Boy, and its companion ; and a Sick Lady re- 
 ceiving Milk of Cottagers.- these are not only better colored than 
 usual, but also possess a greater force and breadth of shadow, a 
 part of the art in which he is often defective. His coloring; is some- 
 times chalky and feeble; nor has he the power, but seldom, to 
 interest beyond the subject The familiarity of the incidents has 
 made his productions generally understood, and the prints from 
 them have met with an extensive sale. He who elevates his sub- 
 jects, must of course contract his circle of admirers: few people 
 are capable of feeling, or even understanding, the sublimer efforts 
 of art : this ignorance, and the national vanity, accounts for the 
 little encouragement given to history painting. This artist is mild, 
 modest, and gentlemanlike ; qualities that endear him to all that 
 have the happiuess of his acquaintance. 
 
 BONE 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 321 
 
 BONE HENRY, A. R. A.— Portraits, Enamel. 
 
 This artist is a native of Truro, in Cornwall. Showing an early 
 inclination for the arts, he was engaged in the china manufactory 
 at Plymouth, and with that establishment he removed to Bristol. 
 On the subsequent decline of the manufactory, he came to Lon- 
 don ; and originally painted devices for lockets, and other small 
 ornaments. After the falling off of that employ, he painted mi- 
 niatures in water colors, occasionally directing his attention to 
 painting on enamel ; in which latter branch of the art he has, by 
 his industry and undaunted perseverance, arrived at a degree of 
 unequalled excellence. Petitot, Bordier, and Zincke, though men 
 of merit, sink into mere china painters, when compared to our artist. 
 His pictures of John Hunter, and the Earl of Eglington, after Sir 
 Joshua, and of the Princess Amelia, from Beechey, are fine: and his 
 whole-length of the Queen, after the same artist, stands a noble mo- 
 nument of art: but his General Washington, from Gabriel Stewart, 
 surpasses all encomium, and leaves every work of art in enamel re- 
 motely behind. This picture he painted for the Marquis of Lans- 
 downe, to be sent to America as a present, in return for the origi- 
 nal painting in oil. I never think of this picture, without feeling 
 regret that the finest work of the kind in the world should be sent 
 out of the country.* In the paintings of this artist, with correct 
 drawing is joined a tone of color equal to the best oil pictures, 
 accompanied with great force, chastity, and a richness unexam- 
 pled ; perfectly free of that glare and china-like look, that accom- 
 panies, more or less, all other enamels. Though his merits are 
 beyond my testimony, it is pleasant to record, that his virtues as a 
 man, endear him to all who know him : he is mild, modest, and 
 unassuming; qualities that join love to the admiration of those 
 who rank as his friends. 
 
 T t BOURGEOIS 
 
 * The event here deprecated, I am happy to state, has not taken 
 place. Mrs. Bingham, the niece of General Washington, for whom the 
 portrait was painted, died at Bath, previous to the time appointed for 
 her departure to America ; and the death of her husband soon followed. 
 Their daughter married Mr. A. Baring, (son of Sir Francis Baring,) in 
 whose possession the painting now is. E. 
 
322 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 BOURGEOIS FRANCIS, R. A.— Landscape and Figtjkes. 
 
 This artist, who is a native of London, was a pupil of Louther- 
 bourg. He was knighted by the late unfortunate King of Poland, 
 for a portrait painted of his son. Like most imitators, he has 
 caught the worst part of his master, without adding any thing of 
 his own : and never having studied from Nature, his style has be- 
 come so vicious, as to look like painting run mad. His coloring 
 is poor, and chalky; and he appears to have but a superficial no- 
 tion of the chiaro-oscuro ; the light and shade being ofteu violent, 
 and spotty. His touch is firm and broad ; but his figures and 
 animals are ill drawn, and accompanied with an excess in their at- 
 titudes, bordering on wildness. 
 
 BROOKING.— Shipping. 
 
 I CANNOT learn any thing of the history of this artist, than 
 that he lived for the most part dependant on the picture-dealers, 
 who kept him in a wretched state of obscurity ; from which he 
 emerged but a short time before his death.* His works possess 
 considerable merit: he had an extensive knowledge of naval 
 tactics; his coloring is bright and clear, his water pellucid and 
 transparent, with a firm, broad, spirited touch. Had he lived, he 
 would probably have been one of the finest marine painters that 
 ever appeared in the world of arts. He died prematurely, through 
 injudicious medical advice, given to remove a perpetual head-ach. 
 
 CARVER 
 
 * It is the custom of these retail dealers in art, to decry the merits 
 ef living artists, because they know, that if they practise any knavish 
 trick, on their buyers, (a thing not uncommon,) the person injured may 
 have recourse to the painter; but when they sell a copy for an original 
 of a deceased artist, no such appeal can be made. The picture-dealing 
 tribe carried their assurance so far, as to deny that Cannaletti was the 
 person who painted his pictures at Venice, that is, on his arrival in Lon- 
 don ; and when, by the provocation, he was tempted to sit down, and 
 produce some, to convince the public, they still persisted that the pieces 
 now produced were not in the same style ; an assertion which mate- 
 rially injured him for a time, and made him almost frantic. By this 
 scheme they hoped to drive him from the country, and thereby to pre- 
 vent him detecting the copies they had made from his works, which 
 were in great repute. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 323 
 
 CARVER ROBERT.— Landscape. 
 
 This artist was a native of Ireland, and gained great celebrity 
 by his small pictures in water colors, and his scenes for the Thea- 
 tre there. In consequence of one painted for Dniry Lane, he was 
 invited to England, to paint for that Theatre; but loving his ease, 
 and not possessing that spirit of intrigue necessary to support a si- 
 tuation against a cabal, he was dismissed. The scene he first 
 painted, was in use for years; it was known by the name of the 
 Dublin-drop, and was one of the finest things I ever beheld. 
 Many a time have I looked on it with the utmost delight, and la- 
 mented that such talents should have been buried in a theatre; 
 but unfortunately it is the fate of many an artist, to have his time 
 consumed in the production of trifles, for the obtaining his daily 
 bread, when his labors ought to be directed to the enlightening of 
 society : the scene was a representation of a storm on a coast, with 
 a fine piece of water dashing against some rocks, and forming a 
 sheet of foam truly terrific; this, with the barren appearance of 
 the surrounding country, and an old leafless tree or two, were the 
 materials that composed a picture which would have done honor 
 to the first artist, and will be remembered as the finest painting 
 that ever decorated a theatre. His style of landscape was like G. 
 Poussiu's, grand, with great beauty of touch, especially in his 
 early pictures. His coloring is warm, with great tranquillity of 
 light and shade, which resulted from the depth of middle-tint. 
 He painted for several years at Covent Garden, was rather a free 
 liver, and died a martyr to the gout at his house in Bow Street, 
 in 1792. 
 
 CIPRIANI, R. A.— History, &c. 
 
 Cipriani has laid the English school under great obligations, 
 for the very great assistance afforded by him towards reforming 
 the style of designing the human figure. Previous to the arrival 
 of this elegant Florentine, our artists knew little of the figure, and 
 less of that exquisite ideal excellence so prevalent in his works. 
 He represented Nature as it ought to be, instead of copying the 
 
 T t 2 good 
 
324 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 good and bad indiscriminately, from an individual model, which 
 was too much the practice. He who gives us a representation of 
 an individual object, claims our praise in proportion as it ap- 
 proaches its archetype; but he who, by a noble effort of mind, 
 associates objects of perfection, may be said to dignify and enno- 
 ble our nature, making us approach divinity. If a perfect form is 
 wanted in an historical picture, (and none but such are admissible,) 
 it must be sought in the mind of the artist ; as it would be in vain 
 to look for it otherwise than by a general inquiry; that is, in the 
 species, not the individual ; where else could we hope to find an 
 Apollo, or an Hercules? We certainly are indebted to Cipriani 
 for opening the door of inquiry after truth in drawing, and for a 
 correctness in marking the extremities, that laid the foundation of 
 that emulation, which has gradually advanced the arts to their 
 present state of perfection. Of his works, his drawings are by far 
 the best, and those from fabulous history preferable ; as his figures 
 possess a certain lightness suiting such subjects :. there is a grace 
 and sweetness in his females exquisitely elegant ; and the loveliness 
 of his children is unrivalled. Some of his bacchanalian subjects, 
 in the style of La Fage, are highly spirited, and clever: one of his 
 finest drawings was Apollo and the Muses, in which the heads of 
 the females were designed in -the first style of elegance. With all 
 his perfections, he had no idea of expression; and the few attempts 
 he made at regular history was poor, witness those from the Eng- 
 lish history. He possessed but an indifferent notion of coloring; 
 and, if possible, less of the chiaro-oscuro. Another fault was a 
 too great sameness in his figures, which probably arose from his 
 not keeping Nature in his eye. His oil pictures (except those in 
 imitation of basso-relievo) are feeble and gaudy; among the best 
 may be ranked those that ornament the Royal Academy. Bovi, 
 the Engraver, possessed some fine drawings by this master, com- 
 posed much in the style of Peter de Cortona.. 
 
 COZENS. — Landscape in Water Colors. 
 The works of this draughtsman are marked with originality. His 
 coloring is sombre and grand, though sometimes bordering on 
 
 heaviness : 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 325 
 
 heaviness : his distances are carried off into a fine tone of air. His 
 forms are often defective, and his trees lumpy and ill-shaped ; but 
 this defect is compensated by great breadth in the chiaro-oscuro. 
 He studied under his father, who wrote a Treatise on Bloting, and 
 who was at one time Blotmaster-General to the town. Beckford, 
 of Font-Hill, took this artist to Italy, from which journey he has 
 left some fine views. Previous to his death, which happened about 
 the year 1796, he was siezed with a fit of lunacy; under which 
 affliction he was supported by the humanity of Sir G. Beaumont, 
 a gentleman who does honor to the arts by his labors. 
 
 DANIELL THOMAS, R. A.— Landscape. 
 
 This artist is a native of Kingston on Thames. He pursued 
 his profession for many years with little success; when, like many 
 others, he determined on trying his fortune in the East Indies, and 
 which ultimately proved successful ; as he not only improved in 
 fortune by the trip, but also in abilities. At his return, he pub- 
 lished those fine series of aquatints which fonn the choicest speci- 
 mens of Indian topography ever published. His works possess 
 much beauty, and apparently great Asiatic truth, as to custom 
 and manners ; and the atmospheric tint, which pervades them, 
 appears truly Indian. His coloring is sweet, though not always 
 solid ; and his touch firm, particularly in his buildings. 
 
 FARINGTON JOSEPH, R. A.— Landscape. 
 
 To remark that this artist is among the best of Wilson's pupils, 
 is but a negative compliment; nor do I mean to include among 
 the number, Sir George Beaumont, who is the only one that may 
 be said to do great credit to his instructor. The artist who is 
 the subject of the present sketch, shows but a callow capacity, 
 when he draws upon the stock of his own ideas. When an artist 
 gives a representation of some local spot, we feel obliged by his 
 extending our topographical knowledge ; but if, in his fancy pic- 
 tures, we are ever presented with common-place stuff, such as 
 might ouze out of any futile pate, we feel disgusted, and turn 
 
 away. 
 
326 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 away dissatisfied, and uninformed. What makes the little rural 
 representations of the Dutch school delight, is, in a great mea- 
 sure, their locality, and the idea of the primitive simplicity and 
 happiness we comiect thereto. Faringtou made a long stay at the 
 Lakes of Cumberland ; but the grandeur of those scenes does not 
 appear to have infused any of their dignity into his imagination ; 
 and the representations he has given of those spots are by no means 
 great; nor has he caught any of their fine massy light and shade. 
 Though his composition is poor, his coloring is often clear, bril- 
 liant, and transparent, and sometimes accompanied with a breadth 
 of ckiaro-oscuro : his penciling is free and firm, but at times car- 
 ried to excess; so much so, as to produce a hardness that effec- 
 tually destroys repose. If these are the reflections of a nice critic, 
 they are not those of an ill-natured one ; and it is but justice to 
 remark, that I have seen some firm, spirited, and well-colored 
 pictures by this artist. 
 
 FUSELI HENRY, R. A.— History. 
 All the benefit resulting from the fine taste of Cipriani, has 
 been in a great degree rendered nugatory by the wild effusions of 
 the perturbed imagination of this native of Zurich; and one of the 
 most severe reflections on the understandings of would-be connois- 
 seurs, is the taking this man's ' chimeras dire' for efforts of the sub- 
 lime : they have always appeared to me more like the dreams of 
 a lunatic, than the productions of a sound mind. 
 
 Such frantic flights are like a madman's dream, 
 And Nature suffers in the wild extreme. 
 
 Landsdowke. 
 
 A great deal might be overlooked, but for his excessive vanity, 
 which will not allow merit in others. He asserts that no man in 
 England understands drawing but himself; and that Michael An- 
 gelo was a greater man than God Almighty; alluding to the style 
 of figures of that artist, which he is weak enough to think sur- 
 passes Nature. Enthusiasm in the arts is often mistaken for 
 
 genius, 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 327 
 
 genius, which, if not directed by sound judgment, will answer little 
 purpose, and often end in error: this is precisely the case of 
 Fuseli, whose heat is not tempered with the coolness and judg- 
 ment necessary to an artist. His figures are meagre and poor; 
 and the articulations of the joints so hardly marked, as to appear 
 without flesh on them. The pictures he has painted for the Shakes- 
 peare Gallery, are so full of contemptible whimsies, as to render 
 them unintelligible ; and to understand them, would require a mad- 
 man's glossary ; that is, those from the Midsummer Night's Dream. 
 He who proposes to himself an extensive and permanent reputa- 
 tion, must be careful that his works are founded on the true prin- 
 ciples of Nature. Of the sober dignity of historical painting, he 
 has not the smallest conception ; and to beauty he appears equally 
 a stranger: in this respect his picture of the Night-mare is one of 
 the best. His women, in his Shakesperian works, are the devil. 
 His coloring is chalky and hard, with a great weight in the sha- 
 dows, and little judgment in their disposition. It has been whim- 
 sically asserted, that when he first started as an artist in this coun- 
 try, the R. A's. held a council to consult whether he was a genius 
 or not. Among other reasons assigned for' electing him Professor of 
 Painting, Bacon said he voted for him, that he might once hear 
 him lecture ; but he died before that took place. That Fuseli has 
 injured the taste of our young artists, may be seen in their works, 
 as they mistake his extravagance for grandeur. One year gave 
 birth to three monsters ; but I never could learn who was the le- 
 gitimate father; they all looked like St. Andrew on his cross. 
 Fuseli produced a figure of Macbeth in front, with his arms up ; 
 the back of the same figure was Lawrence's Prospero ; and the 
 idea of the back figure appeared in Reynold's Macbeth ; but in 
 the picture by the latter artist, was introduced that beautiful group 
 of female figures dancing over the cauldron, which amply com- 
 pensates for its other imperfections : if they are meant for witches, 
 they are witches of the most lovely order. 
 
 General Vernon said, that when he was some years ago return- 
 ing from Italy through Switzerland, he was struck with certain odd 
 scramblings of figures on the walls of the inns, and traced them 
 
 all 
 
328 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 all the way to England; and that when he some time afterwards 
 arrived in London, he knew the man by the same extravagancies 
 in his pictures. On the whole, he appears to be justly deserving 
 of the character given of hira by Peter Pindar ; " that he is the 
 fittest artist on earth to be appointed Hobgoblin Painter to the 
 Devil." 
 
 GAINSBOROUGH, R. A. 
 Portrait, Landscape, and Fancy Subjects. 
 
 Though this artist never attempted history, his talents were by 
 no means confined : his fancy subjects possess a wonderful degree 
 of spirit and animation, accompanied with great sweetness of co- 
 lor. Of his portraits, much cannot be said in their praise; his 
 men are deficient in dignity, and his women in grace; and the co- 
 loring of his females is often chalky : their drapery looks like mus^ 
 lin rags rather than attire; and the folds are scratchy, and badly 
 cast, yet ever attended with a great clearness of coloring. All his 
 forms are rather scrambled out than drawn, which certainly arose 
 from a want of knowlege of drawing ; yet, at a certain distance, 
 the effect is true. The best of his landscapes are those painted 
 about his middle time of life, when he seems to have looked with 
 attention at the Dutch school : they afterwards became scratchy, 
 and mannered. His great excellence lay in his coloring : the silvery 
 tones are fine, with a deal of air, and the figures and animals of- 
 ten spirited ; yet, to compare him (as a landscape painter) with 
 Wilson, as Reynolds did, is to put the strength of an infant in 
 competition with Goliath. In the possession of Mr. Tolmash is 
 bis fine picture of the Boys and Dogs Fighting, which, in its way, 
 stands unrivalled ; and also a spirited one of a Cart and Horses pass- 
 ing through some Water, in which the animals seem alive. 
 
 Mrs. Siddons sat for her portrait to a Mr. Scott of North Bri- 
 ton, who observed, the nose gave him great trouble. " Ah! (said 
 she,) Gainsborough was a good deal troubled in the same way." 
 He had altered and varied the shape a long while, when at last 
 he threw down the pencil, saying, " Damn the nose, there is no 
 end to it." The pun was applicable, as that lady has a long nose. 
 
 It 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 329 
 
 It is an idle assertion that Gainsborough was self taught; he 
 studied under Gravilot, with Grignion, and several others, at his 
 house in James Street, Covent Garden, where he had all the 
 means of study that period could afford hira. In his last illness 
 he observed that he felt no regret at dying, but at the leaving his 
 profession, which, he said, he thought he was just beginning to 
 feeL 
 
 GIRTIN THOMAS.— Landscape. 
 
 This artist died November the gth, 1802, after a long illness, 
 in the twenty-eighth year of his age. Biography is useful to sti- 
 mulate to acts of industry and virtue ; or, by exhibiting the con- 
 trary, to enable us to shun the fatal consequences of vice. While 
 our heart bleeds at the premature death of the subject of this pa- 
 per, it becomes equally an act of justice to caution young persons 
 against the fatal effects of suffering their passions to overpower 
 their reason, and to hurry them into acts of excess, that may, in 
 the end, render life a burthen, destroy existence, or bring on a 
 premature old age. Though his drawings are generally too slight, 
 yet they must ever be admired as the offspring of a strong imagi- 
 nation. Had he not trifled away a vigorous constitution, he might 
 have arrived at a very high degree of excellence as a landscape 
 painter.* 
 
 HAMILTON WILLIAM, R. A.— History. 
 This Proteus among artists, changed his manner of painting al- 
 most as often as he changed his dress; as at one period he was 
 all for Fuseli, then Lawrence, Westall, and others; but, with all 
 his alterations, he seldom attained to a higher style than the pretty. 
 He was a pupil of Zucchi, an highly meritorious artist, whose style 
 and design he most frequently adhered to; though not so ri- 
 gidly as Angelica Kauffm an, most of whose pictures I should 
 be induced to suppose were painted from Zucchi's designs, from 
 the closeness of the similitude ; and the drawing being so much 
 
 U u alike, 
 
 * Girtin was a pupil of Mr. Dayes, under whose tuition he made 
 a considerable progress in his profession. E. 
 
330 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 alike, as to make it difficult to distinguish her's from her master's. 
 She is now connected with that gentleman by the more endearing 
 name of wife. 
 
 Hamilton appears not to have had the least idea of dignity in his 
 compositions ; and for the attire of his figures, he seems to have ap- 
 plied to the stage, which led him into tawdriness : indeed, the whole 
 taste of his designs tends so much to the theatrical, that his women 
 look like Opera dolls; and his men, like castratas. He drew very 
 indifferently ; the legs and thighs of some of his figures are at least 
 two thirds of their height, which gives them a most aukward ap- 
 pearance. Some of his drawings of friezes of sportive figures, that 
 I have seen, possessed considerable merit, accompanied with ex- 
 quisite taste in the females. His coloring is often brilliant and 
 lively, but his attitudes are inappropriate, and his expression not 
 always just. Among his best pictures, if not the very best, is the 
 one in the Shakespeare Gallery from the Winter's Tale, of Pauli- 
 na discovering the Lady. He died at his house in Dean Street, 
 Soho, after a short illness, on December the second, 1801. 
 
 HAYMAN FRANCIS.— History and Portrait. 
 
 I consider Hayman as the venerable father of the English 
 school : his character was that of a rough, blunt, sincere, good- 
 natured man, accompanied with a great share of wit and keen sa- 
 tire, which he often played off on Hogarth, so as nearly to bring 
 tears into his eyes. With all Hogarth's merit, he was insufferably 
 vain : at the time he painted the March to Finchley, two ladies 
 called at his house to see it : on their going away, they did not 
 observe that he was following them ; and as they were comment- 
 ing on the extravagant praises he had bestowed on the picture, 
 they thought it so extraordinary, that, before they got out of the 
 house, they had concluded that, from his manner, the artist must 
 be really mad. Hogarth, when he heard their conclusion, wisely 
 slipped into the parlour unobserved. This circumstance he was 
 afterwards weak enough to relate at the Turk's Head, Gerrard 
 Street, (one of the houses resorted to by the painters of that day,) 
 
 and 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 331 
 
 and which furnished a theme for Hayman's esprit that he never 
 lost sight of. The liveliness of his disposition carried him into the 
 company of the bon vivants of the day ;* and excess produced the 
 gout, which harrassed him iu the decline of life, and to which, 
 in the end, he fell a martyr, at his house in St. Martin's Lane, 
 opposite May's Buildings. 
 
 When it is considered how little had been done before by any 
 British artist, we must give Haymau great credit for doing what 
 he did, as from his exertions may be traced that emulation which 
 has raised the arts to their present elevated state, and removed 
 that national odium so unjustly bestowed by the Abbe;s Du Bos 
 and Winkelmann. I cannot help thinking that the pictures of 
 Thornhill, who lived at the same period, are in many points 
 infinitely inferior: his manner was flimsy, trifling, and gaudy; 
 nor could it be expected to be better, as he appears never to have 
 looked above Verrio, his master; but before whom I must cer- 
 tainly place him. It is very extraordinary that Thornhill could 
 never understand the merits of Hogarth, and never forgave, as 
 he said, his daughter's marrying that fellow. Perhaps the insipi- 
 dity of his own manner made him not feel the expression in his 
 son-in-law's works; for at the expression of the passions, Hogarth 
 was one of the first in the world. 
 
 Hayman's manner is decisive, and firm, but hard; and his 
 drawing is incorrect; yet his pictures in Vaux Hall Gardens (I 
 mean the large ones, for the others, though sometimes attributed 
 to him, are not his) possess excellencies that would not discredit 
 an artist of the present day, particularly the one with the Marquis 
 of Granby, and the Triumph of Britannia. His pictures of Don 
 Quixote were so well received, that he had an order to paint two 
 copies for Madrid. If his mamier was not pure, he has the merit 
 of originality, and may be considered as the English Cimmabue. 
 
 U u 2 HODGES 
 
 * Beau Nash and Hayman had one evening been rioting at a tavern, 
 and were returning fresh, when Nash fell into the kennel : his com- 
 panion, in the endeavor to get him up, fell down also ; on which Nash 
 grumbled out, " What's the use of troubling yourself? The watch will 
 come by soon, and they will take us both up." 
 
332 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 HODGES WILLIAM.— Landscape. 
 
 Hodges, who was a pupil of Wilson, is well known on account 
 of his Views in Cook's last Voyage, and those taken in the East 
 ladies, and executed in aquatiuta. As an artist, he chiefly paint- 
 ed scenes from Nature, collected during his travels, some of which 
 may be said to possess considerable merit : but, in the aggregate 
 of his works, the coloring is too monotonous, and sometimes 
 heavy, with an abruptness in the light and shade approaching to 
 hardness. The few compositions he has produced, may rather be 
 called compilations, from their want of originality. He appears 
 to have had but a feeble imagination. One of his best ideal 
 works, is the landscape with the story of Jacques, from As you 
 Like It, and which has been finely engraved by Middiman. Hav- 
 ing realized a small fortune by the arts, he forsook them, and 
 went into the banking line, in which he failed; and died in 1797, 
 leaving a wire and family of children in great distress, which soon 
 caused the former to follow to an untimely grave. 
 
 HOPPNER JOHN, R. A.— Portrait. 
 
 This artist is the best of all the imitators of Sir Joshua, and 
 would deserve great praise, were his pictures his own ; but so far 
 is that from being the case, that they are composed from the 
 priuts of Reynolds; and the attitudes of the sitters made to answer 
 as well as circumstances will permit. It is truly astonishing, that 
 any one can lose sight of the charms of that great mistress of the 
 art, Nature, and tread servilely in the footsteps of any man, how- 
 ever exalted his rank. The loss of ambition is a sure sign of the 
 decline of the arts; as, where every one is content to follow, no 
 one will get before. When a great man appears, weak minds are 
 apt to seek for the rules of art in his works, instead of applying to 
 Nature : this is precisely the case of this artist ; he has not a wish, 
 or an inquiry to make, that does not end in Reynolds; forgetting 
 the old proverb, that when two men ride on a horse, one must be 
 behind. His coloring is clear and bright, his handling free: his 
 small pictures are by far the best. 
 
 IBBETSON 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 333 
 
 IBBETSON JULIUS.— Landscape. 
 
 This artist is a native of Scarborough, in Yorkshire, where his 
 profession was that of a Ship-painter. He accompanied Colonel 
 Cathcart on his mission; but, in consequence of that gentleman's 
 death, returned with the rest of the embassy. Though his works 
 possess considerable merit, he has frequently found it difficult to 
 obtain a market for them. It is truly unfortunate for the arts, 
 that few buy pictures for love, but many to make, money by them. 
 How horrid it is to see the names of some of our prime nobility 
 coupled with those of scoundrel-dealers, jobbers, and mongers of 
 pictures, who play all manner of dirty tricks to deceive the public, 
 and decry the present race of artists! Though the love of the 
 arts in itself, could not draw a guinea from a Bridgewater, a 
 Gower, or a Carlisle, yet was there an Orleans collection to be 
 sold, they would readily become buyers, in hopes, like true deal- 
 ers, to make money by the purchase ! This has lately been the 
 case in respect to a certain noble collection, the active manager of 
 which was an ignorant, ci-devant Draper: it was artfully divided 
 into two parts, and the price of admission fixed at half-a-crown to 
 each. The best pictures were reserved, and marked as sold, with 
 immense ideal prices set on them. The scheme took, the refuse 
 went off like wild-fire ; and before two-thirds were disposed of, 
 the innoble proprietors made seventy thousand pounds ! though the 
 whole collection had not cost them 7?%/ The painters of the 
 present day deserve great praise for what they have done, parti- 
 cularly when it is considered what adverse circumstances they have 
 labored under, from want of due encouragement. The hand that 
 should nurture is destroying! Admitting that the advantage is 
 really on the side of the old masters, how can it be expected 
 otherwise, when there is no opportunity for great exertions, as all 
 the cry is for old pictures ? 
 
 Ibbetson has been much employed in copying Berghem, in 
 which he is very successful, and to whose manner his style ap- 
 proximates. His own manner is clear and firm, but sometimes a 
 little hard ; and his coloring has too much of a clayey hue. His 
 
 cattle 
 
334 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 cattle are touched with great smartness and spirit ; and the pic- 
 tures where they form the principal feature are by far the best. 
 
 KIRK. — History, Miniature, and Engraving. 
 Poor old acquaintance ! " Narrow is thy dwelling now ! Dark 
 is the place of thine abode !" The passage of this artist through 
 life, was rapid as a meteor; but he passed not without illuminating 
 society. He possessed a vigorous and rapid fancy, with great ele- 
 gance in his female figures. His subjects are generally well con- 
 ceived, with great truth of drawing. His coloring is pleasant, but 
 the light and shade feeble ; and his oil pictures are slight. Some 
 few miniatures which he painted, are full of feminine elegance ; 
 and his children are sweet, chubby, and well colored. His engra- 
 vings are in the manner of chalk, and inferior to none. So 
 anxious was he for the success of a plate, that the day before he 
 died, Warren, the Engraver, held him up in his chair, to enable 
 him to touch a working proof. His dissolution was caused by a 
 decline, in 1798. He was buried at St. Pancras. " When shall 
 it be mora in the grave, to bid the slumberer awake?" 
 
 LAWRENCE THOMAS, R. A.— History and Portrait. 
 
 So much has been said of this artist by his friends, in the way 
 of eulogium, that his powers have been infinitely magnified beyond 
 what they really were. This has no doubt contributed to injure 
 his improvement, by checking that desire of fame, which keeps 
 hope and activity alive. Flattery was laid on so thick at one time, 
 as to compel him to step forward, and make a public apology : 
 such a practice has no doubt contributed to injure him, inasmuch 
 as it lelt nothing for future expectation. Highly to his praise, he 
 was a dutiful son, and supported an aged father and mother for 
 years ; but unwisely ; aud this, together with suffering a needy set 
 of brothers and sisters to live on him, almost reduced him to a 
 state of bankruptcy. As a portrait painter, he has considerable 
 merit; but he is apt to destroy the repose of his pictures, by trifling 
 and dispersed lights. This is sometimes carried to such an excess, 
 
 as 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 335 
 
 as to produce the appearance of tinsel, or glass, sparkling on the 
 surface; an effect that totally destroys the tranquillity of the whole. 
 Some of his heads are painted with great spirit ; but in his full- 
 lengths, he is frequently too idle to draw correctly. One of his 
 best, is Kernble in the character of Coriolanus, and certainly does 
 him great honor: the head is particularly well marked, and full 
 of sentiment, the attitude appropriate, and the tout en semble fine. 
 As an historical painter, he has produced but few pieces, and those 
 more remarkable for size than merit. In that of Prospero raising 
 the Storm, (vide Tempest,) he has very injudiciously shewn the 
 back of the figure. The attitude of his Satan calling up his Host, 
 is energetic, and the drawing fine.* 
 
 DE LOUTHERBOURG PHILIP JAMES, R. A. 
 
 History and Landscape. 
 
 This artist is a strange instance of a man possessing opposite 
 qualities. In some parts of the art, he has gone beyond any painter, 
 either living or dead; while in others, he is as defective. As a 
 landscape painter, his mode of handling surpasses description : the 
 parts of his pictures are wonderfully fine ; but they are often spotty, 
 and destitute of repose; a defect which, in all probability, arose 
 
 * This picture reminds me of an anecdote of one Vandermine, 
 a painter, who, between forty and fifty years ago, when artists were 
 more scarce than at present, was taken into Yorkshire by Mr. Aislesby, 
 a man of large fortune, to paint him some pictures; but he committed 
 such excesses, that he was at length turned out of doors. Under those 
 circumstances, he went to a Draper at York, where he had frequently 
 been with his patron, and took goods for clothing on credit; and as, in 
 conversation, he discovered that the man had saved an hundred or two 
 pounds, he persuaded him to part with it, promising him five per cent, 
 then getting a Taylor recommended to make the cloaths, he afterwards 
 decamped in a hurry. It was some months before Mr. Aislesby had 
 occasion to go to York, and when he called on the Draper, the latter 
 ventured to ask after the gentleman ; when the other exclaimed, he 
 had turned the rascal out of doors for his drunkenness and dissolute 
 
 conduct. 
 
336 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 from his early connection with the French school. The selection 
 in his pictures is seldom noble; and when he attempts a view, he 
 is not only deficient in likeness, but it becomes so mannered, as to 
 contain the same objects as occur iu liis fancy subjects. Iiis co- 
 loring is wonderful clear, and often bright to a fault; and as he is 
 foiid of transparency, it is often carried into bis rocks, giving them 
 the appearance of glass. He seems but little acquainted with the 
 chiaro-oscuro, as his darks are never sufficiently massed; and the 
 few drawings he has made are totally destitute of it: this makes 
 his works not happy to engrave after; as the want of grouping in 
 the lights and darks, renders the prints spotty and grey. This 
 artist never condescends to draw from Nature ; all he does, is to 
 make a few crude lines, where he thinks he may not be able to re- 
 collect the scene, on a card, and then he corrects it at night ; but he 
 oftener works entirely from memory. He was employed to make 
 the designs for the scenes of Drury Laue Theatre for many years ; 
 and in that branch of the art showed powers truly astonishing, 
 particularly in contriving the machinery, and in throwing over his 
 scenes different colored lights : on this plan, he afterwards contri- 
 ved his famous Eidophusikon, in which, by means of transparent 
 
 substances, 
 
 conduct. On this an explanation took place, and the man was advised 
 to get a picture for his money, as the painter was no further off than 
 Scarborough. The advice was followed, and he found the artist, who, 
 after a bottle, painted, before he left him, a large head of Satan after 
 the Fait: this was exhibited gratis at the Draper's house at York, and 
 by the company it attracted, amply repaid him. The poor Taylor, 
 who lived opposite, and had made the cloaths, being mortified at the 
 other's success, determined to walk over to Scarborough, to see if he 
 also could get a picture; when, on being introduced to the artist, with 
 many bows and scrapes, he begged, as the artist had painted a picture 
 for his neighbour that was likely to make his fortune, that he would 
 likewise paint one for him; and as his account was not so great as the 
 other's, he observed, that he could not expect so large a one; but ad- 
 ded, if he would be so good as to paint him a little Devil, he should be 
 much obliged. The whim took ; he got a small picture, and returned 
 to York, where both pictures were exhibited with great eclat. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 337 
 
 substances, he contrived, in some of his scenes, to make the moon 
 rise, and the clouds to float across the sky, and occasionally obscure 
 the luminary, which had a fine effect. As an historical painter, 
 he is highly imperfect: he draws ill, and, if possible, conceives his 
 subject worse; and his style of execution is too clean and delicate 
 for such a line of art. Nor is his manner sufficiently firm, nor his 
 shadows broad enough, to give his pictures the consequence re- 
 quired in history. I cannot help considering his picture of the 
 Angel destroying the Assyrian Host, as one of the worst of his 
 attempts; and his Deluge, as the very best that he ever produced. 
 Both these were painted for Macklin's Bible. As to his picture of 
 the Siege of Valenciennes,* instead of its being his chef d'ouvre, it 
 has ever appeared to me but a poor performance ; but, as usual, 
 has fine parts; the animals are particularly spirited: but in this re- 
 spect, his picture of Warley Camp, in the King's Collection, is 
 unquestionably the first, and in my opinion the finest from his 
 hand : another advantage arises from its having a grey effect, as 
 his warm ones are often violent. In agitated water, he is very 
 successful ; and this is a fine feature in his Lord Howe's Victory, as 
 well as a fine tone of coloring throughout. I believe the print- 
 sellers made him an historical painter, and this must operate as 
 some apology; for as those people possess no judgment in matters 
 of art, they foolishly suppose, that if a man paints well in one line, 
 he is equally well qualified to succeed in any other, without con- 
 sidering whether his habits of education have qualified him for the 
 task. There was a time when this artist was drawn aside from 
 his studies, by the fancied warnings of his guardian genius, who 
 enjoined him, through the medium of faith, to make the blind to 
 see, and the lame to go ; and, in consequence of an advertisement 
 in the public papers, the people flocked far and near, to receive 
 the benefit of his inspiration. The result was not equal to his 
 hopes: the cripple was not relieved, nor the blind illumined; 
 
 X x and 
 
 * This picture, and its companion, Lord Howe's Victory, were lately 
 sold in a public auction, for the small sum of one hundred and thirty 
 pounds. The purchaser was one Vernon, a picture-dealer of Liverpool. 
 
338 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 and the whole proved but the whispering of an evil spirit, who- 
 laughingly retired, while the poor Alsatian was left to lament the- 
 demolition of his windows. 
 
 MARLOW WILLIAM.— Landscape. 
 This master's best performances are those of buildings; and 
 the closer the scene, the greater the success, as his skies and dis- 
 tances are generally hard. His landscapes possess the same fault; 
 and the trees are often ill formed. His touch is firm and spirited ; 
 but, by being extended to the remote parts of the picture, it de- 
 stroys distance. The coloring in his pictures is extremely agree- 
 able ; and the warm amber color that pervades some of his build- 
 ing scenes, renders them highly valuable. One of the finest pic- 
 tures of this artist that I ever beheld, was a View of the Bridge and 
 Castle of St. Angelo at Rome. His master was Scott, whose 
 pictures and drawings are very rare ; so much so, that I never saw 
 a picture by him, and but two or three of his drawings. He may 
 justly be styled the father of modern draughtsmen, as he is the 
 first who attempted to make his drawings approach the strength of 
 pictures, instead of leaving them as mere sketches. Those which I 
 inspected, were bustling scenes, enriched with a multitude of figures. 
 
 MORLAND GEORGE.— Landscape. 
 In speaking of this artist, I shall not judge of his works as the 
 world in general do, by the degree of reputation he has attained, 
 but by the intrinsic merit they possess. That much of that repu- 
 tation depends on his singularities is beyond all question ; as he is 
 as much talked of on that account as any other. It is a great 
 misfortune for the arts, when the world entertain an opinion, that 
 a man cannot be a genius without being mad ; or, in other words, 
 be a brute or scoundrel. This makes many a weak head run into 
 i excess to acquire a reputation. The many stories of excess related 
 of this artist, would fili a volume of some magnitude ; yet, I most 
 fervently hope that no one will be at the pains to transmit them 
 to posterity, as the surest way of disappointing all who may set 
 
 out 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 339 
 
 out in life with such views. Whatever his professional talents 
 may be, he is a disgrace to the name of man, and a blot on the 
 credit of the art. An harmless anecdote or two, will serve, per- 
 haps, more to illustrate his character, than any observations, how- 
 ever just. Even when a boy, he was obstinate and wayward. 
 West having called at his father's one evening, found young Mor- 
 land, who was then about five years old, standing naked before 
 the fire. Having spoken to the youngster two or three times, he 
 returned no answer, but looked sulky, on which West asked him 
 if he had no tongue : without making any reply, he immediately 
 looked up, and thrust it out of the corner of his mouth ! His as- 
 sociates have always been of the lowest order. One of these 
 friends, whom he sent to a gentleman for some money for a pic- 
 ture, on being introduced, began with, " Sir, I am Mr. Sparks, the 
 fighter." Of the high quality of mind, his pictures do not possess 
 the smallest share ; nor are his objects even selected, but such as 
 come first to hand, with an eternal repetition of the same in every 
 picture, which renders them all of one family. How he can be 
 mistakenly called, as he is by some, the English Teniers, is asto- 
 nishing ; except it be from his taking his scenes from low life. As 
 well might every portrait painter be called a Reynolds. His co- 
 loring is dirty ; his touch, dry and ragged ; and if it is fair to judge 
 by his open scenes, he has a very superficial notion of the chiaro- 
 oscuro ; and also of aerial perspective, as may be seen in his skies 
 and distances, which are hard and dry. His best pictures are the 
 interiors of stables; these are often spirited; but he has no idea of 
 exhibiting his animals in a state of action ; nor are they anatomi- 
 cally correct. His pigs, calves, and sheep, are unquestionably his 
 best works; and as they are often in interiors, afford shadow of 
 course. Though many of his pictures have obtained a great price, 
 his folly has prevented him from being benefited by it, through 
 his parting with them to the knaves about him for a trifle, when 
 distressed for money. His Dancing Dogs, one of his best pic- 
 tures he sold for seven guineas ; and the buyer sold it to J. R. 
 Smith, the Engraver, for fourteen; who sold it for eighteen to 
 Gaugain; in whose sale it produced twenty pounds. No gentleman 
 
 X x 2 can 
 
340 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 can deal with him; he has often taken half the money for a pic- 
 ture before it was began, and sold it to a stranger for the other half. 
 These hasty reflections are merely intended to place him in his 
 true light; for though most of bis pictures are shamefully slight, 
 he must be pronounced a man of superior abilities ; but his repu- 
 tation, unfortunately for the arts, has made many a slovenly painter* 
 
 MORTIMER JOHN HAMILTON.— History. 
 
 This artist is better known by bis drawings than his oil pictures, 
 which are few in number, in proportion to the former. He was 
 not very successful as a colorist; his paintings being rather heavy, 
 and the tones partaking strongly of an ochery or clay color. His 
 drawings are full of fire and spirit, and possess all the high quali- 
 ties requisite to constitute a master. His compositions are arranged 
 with great judgment; and his drawing is particularly fine : though 
 it is much to be lamented, that, from the dissipated life which he 
 lived, he often devoted his time to the production of trifles, un- 
 worthy of his genius. He used occasionally to frequent the Fea- 
 thers, a house formerly at the back of Cranbourn Alley, where a 
 subscription being proposed one evening for a person in distress, 
 while a collection was making round the room, he drew with pen 
 and ink, compositions round the margin of the newspaper ; and 
 when it came to his turn to subscribe, he gave the paper, which 
 was put up to auction on the spot, and sold for five guineas; so 
 much were his drawings in request at the time. 
 
 As he was a bon vivant, it frequently carried him into company, 
 of which he was always the life, and at which time no thin g was 
 too extravagant for him to undertake. It is said, that in one of 
 these fits of extravagance, he absolutely eat a wine glass, of which 
 act of folly he never recovered. 
 
 Most of his drawings have been finely etched by Blith, who, by 
 living a loose life, so broke bis constitution, that, in a fit of despe- 
 ration, he put an end to his existence, by cutting the blood vessels 
 of his arm with a razor. His picture of the Battle of Agincourt, 
 
 engraved 
 
 * Morland died in October, 180-1, at the age of forty. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 341 
 
 engraved by Ryland, is a copy from (with trifling alterations) a 
 very fine drawing in chalk in the possession of Tassaert, of whom 
 he borrowed it; and when charged with the piracy, excused it, by 
 saying he could not get rid of the idea of the drawing. 
 
 Mortimer was so fascinating a companion, that Barry declared 
 he was afraid to trust himself in his company. Several months be- 
 fore Barry began his great work in the Adelphi, Mortimer called 
 at his house, wishing to see his sketches for those pictures; but 
 he could only get admission as far as the passage. " Go, (says 
 Barry ;) you are a clever scoundrel ; I will not let you see any 
 thing I am about : I don't want to see you these seven years. Go 
 home ; you have ideas enough ; you shall not have any of mine. 
 Go along; go along; I wout trust myself with you;" and pushed 
 him out of the house, for fear, if he staid any longer, that he 
 should be overcome by his pleasantry. 
 
 NORTHCOTE JAMES, R. A.— History and Portrait. 
 
 Nothing can be more difficult, than to attempt the delinea- 
 tion of a character that possesses no striking or characteristic marks, 
 as is the case of this artist. His manner is evidently founded on 
 that of Opie ; but without that firmness, or severity of manner, 
 that accompanies the productions of the latter: nor are his heads 
 by any means so fine. No man can be competent to the task of 
 criticism, that has not taken an extensive view of the arts, to 
 enable him to judge with candour. Merit is comparative, and can 
 only be discovered by a comparison with similar productions. It 
 is on this ground that, by comparing him with the above artist, 
 something like a just value may be obtained; though, in most in- 
 stances, he falls so short of him, as to suffer considerably by it ; 
 for his composition is less judicious, and his coloring less warm : 
 nor does he execute his subjects with that decision which the scenes 
 he attempts require. Some of the pictures which he has painted for 
 the Shakespeare Gallery, are unworthy notice ; as his large ones of 
 ' Bolingbroke entering London with Richard his Prisoner,' and the 
 * Meeting of Edward the Fifth and the Duke of York.' His best 
 
 works 
 
342 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 works are the Smothering of the young Princes in the Tower, and 
 the Conveying them away for Burial : though why the murderer in 
 the former picture should be in armour, I never could guess ; yet 
 it were but justice to add, that the burying of the children is a well- 
 colored picture, accompanied with a good effect Where this ar- 
 tist has attempted Fancy Subjects, his powers have appeared to evi- 
 dent disadvantage; as in his attempt at Illustrating the Progress of 
 Virtue and Vice, in the characters of two servants, whose actions 
 he has traced through a series of pictures, and which I must assert, 
 are more likely to lead young minds astray, than to correct their 
 morals. Indeed, the subjects were so disgustingly handled, that 
 it was not possible to rejoice at the good fortune of one, or com- 
 miserate in the sufferings of the other. Gaugaiu, the Engraver, 
 declared that he gave 10001. for them. They are evidently founded 
 on the novel of Pamela, and on the pictures of the Harlot's Pro- 
 gress; but will by no means bear a comparison with the latter. 
 Northcote is a native of Plymouth, and was bred a watch-maker; 
 but at the age of twenty-four, he became a pupil to Sir J. Reynolds. 
 
 OP1E JOHN, R. A. — History and Portrait. 
 
 Opie, who is a native of Cornwall, was bred a weaver, but 
 afterwards became a painter from choice. On his arrival in Lon- 
 don, he was introduced to notice by Peter Pindar, who is said to 
 have received a poundage from his labors. His manner approxi- 
 mates to that of Rembrandt: his style is bold and vigorous; and, 
 like that master, he has seldom more than one light in his pictures. 
 The subjects in which he succeeds best, are where the rough, un- 
 polished parts of nature appear; with these his dark and forcible 
 manner of light and shade suits admirably ; but where he attempts 
 at characters that require elevation, he is generally deficient. His 
 chiaro-oscuro is broad, and powerful, but destitute of clearness 
 of color; a fault that also attaches to his lights, which are often 
 heavy and cold: his touch is firm, broad, and spirited. Where 
 he feels his subject, no one can enter more into its spirit than him- 
 self; as in the Assassination of James of Scotland, Rizzio, &c. 
 
 which 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 343 
 
 which justly class him among the first masters. Of feminine 
 beauty, he appears not to have the least feeling : his forte is un- 
 doubtedly the terrible, and for this his manner is best calculated : 
 some of his heads are full of spirit, and finely executed. Those 
 scenes of assassination from which he derived his reputation, as- 
 sociate perfectly well with the severe, dark style, which he pursues ; 
 and that from a principle in Nature, as the abrupt, forcible, and 
 dark, will ever accompany acts of horror. As a portrait painter, 
 he has great claims to praise; particularly in his men, which 
 are firm, bold, and freely haudled ; and occasionally well colored : 
 his women are heavy, inelegant, and chalky, accompanied with a. 
 hardness that destroys all beauty. 
 
 PETHER ABRAHAM.— Landscape. 
 This very ingenious little man, independent of his paintiug, is-; 
 an excellent musician, and mechanic ; he makes different optical 
 instruments, as telescopes, air-pumps, and microscopes; and he 
 once read lectures on electricity, with instruments of his own 
 making. His pictures, in point of choice, are of the rural or 
 beautiful cast; his coloring is clear and brilliant, accompanied 
 with great power of haudling. I think I do not assert too much, 
 when I say, that no man, since the days of Claude, could paint a 
 distance with so much sweetness as this artist. He has but little 
 idea of light and shade, through which his pictures are sometimes 
 fluttered ; and as he seldom resorts to Nature for his materials, 
 his forms are often repeated ; this gives his works a great appear- 
 ance of sameness, which operates as a great drawback to their 
 value. He is generally called Moon-light Pether, on account of 
 his painting many pictures of that description, and also to distin- 
 guish him from his cousin William. 
 
 PETHER WILLIAM.— Portraits in Oil & Miniature, &c. 
 
 This artist, like his cousin Abraham, is a man of great abilities : 
 his portraits in oil, which are rare, are painted with a firm, broad 
 pencil, and great force of shade ; those painted in the meridian of 
 
 hk. 
 
344: PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 his life, are the best, his latter ones being indifferent. His minia- 
 tures are clear, firm, and spirited, generally accompanied with 
 great force. I have seen a few of his landscapes in oil, which are 
 tolerably good. He is better known as an engraver in mezzotinto, 
 in which line he is unquestionably the first ; witness his fine prints 
 from Rembrandt, and Wright of Derby ; these will remain the 
 admiration of posterity. I flatter myself, that I have not judged 
 partially of his works, from having myself been his pupil, and 
 from having found him a kind master, and polite gentleman. 
 
 PROCTOR. — History and Sculpture. 
 
 How painful the task of recording the misfortunes of this artist ! 
 How shocking the thought, that the public should have been blind 
 to his excellencies! After spending his small patrimony in the 
 cultivation of his professional abilities, he was reduced to such 
 distress, that, not being able to pay a small bill, it made so great 
 an impression on his mind, that, after wandering from the house 
 of one friend to another, he was induced to return to his lodgings ; 
 where he sighed, languished, and drooped into eternity! He 
 painted some few historical pictures, which will never rank very 
 high; but as a sculptor he will ever be classed among the first; if 
 not regarded as the very first, that have appeared in this country. 
 His model of Ixion is justly considered as the finest piece of work 
 ever produced by a native of Britaiu. Another of his works was 
 the fine group of Diomede devoured by his Horses, and which he 
 destroyed in a fit of despair, because he could not get a purchaser 
 at fifty pounds, after it had cost him twelve months labor. What 
 a loss are the public answerable for in him ! what had we not a 
 right to expect from his great abilities ! He was mild, affable, 
 and modest; properties that ever attend conscious worth and 
 transcendent abilities. But peace to his manes ! May his spirit 
 find that rest in eternity, it was a straDger to here,* 
 
 REINAGLE 
 
 * For additional particulars of this artist, see the Excursion through 
 Derbyshire and Yorkshire, p. 58, 59. E. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 345 
 
 REINAGLE PHILIP, A. R. A.— Landscape, Portrait, &c 
 
 All the pictures of this artist that I have seen, are in the man- 
 ner of some one or other of (he Flemish or Dutch masters ; and 
 his powers of imitation are so great, that he may, with much pro- 
 priety, be included among those painters who live by making old 
 pictures. Foote observes, 
 
 No matter what our modern wits deserve ; 
 They'll thrive as ancients, but as moderns starve. 
 
 His portraits are respectable ; and his birds, which he sometimes 
 paints, are finely colored, and the plumage is touched with great 
 lightness. 
 
 REYNOLDS SIR JOSHUA.— History and Portrait. 
 
 Language is too feeble to do justice to the merits of this very 
 great man. As a portrait painter, he unquestionably ranks before 
 any other ; for though he did not draw equal to Van Dyck, yet 
 for beautiful elegance in his women, and dignity in his men, and 
 for a certain lovely air in his children, he leaves them all behind. 
 In light and shadow, he was a most consummate master: he 
 seems to have possessed the art of combining light with light, and 
 shadow with shadow, in a way superior to any thing of the kind 
 in portraits, and that without reducing the whole to one light, and 
 one dark. He also had the power, in an eminent degree, of 
 giving an interest in his pictures beyond the mere portrait ; and 
 for him it seems to have been reserved, to shake off that stiffness, 
 or portrait-like air, found more or less in all other individual re- 
 presentations. 
 
 His coloring is rich, luxuriant, and glowing ; and if some of his 
 pictures do not stand, it should not, by any means, be allowed to 
 disparage his talents, as the causes arose from the frequent experi- 
 ments which he made to arrive at a high degree of ideal excellence, 
 not to be obtained with the colors in their simple state. No man 
 
 Y y like 
 
346 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 like him, knew how to make his drapery answer the purpose of 
 enriching his figures, as may be seen in his fine picture of Colonel 
 Tarlton ; for though the figure is merely in a close jacket, by 
 making it unite, in a certain degree, with the flags in the back- 
 ground, it assumes a richness unexampled : others may have done 
 the same by accident, in him it was principle. The taste and co- 
 loring in his back-grounds, are among the first specimens of land- 
 scape; and the accompanying ornaments of vases, &c. are very 
 judiciously selected. His historical pictures are not so pleasing ; 
 for though the chiaro-oscuro and coloring are fine, and always ac- 
 companied with strong marks of a classical mind, yet the composi- 
 tion appears artificial, or studied, and the expression is not always 
 elevated. The pictures he painted for the window of New College 
 Chapel, Oxford, of the Nativity, &c. are among the first spe- 
 cimens of art in point of effect and coloring ; and the seven figures 
 of the lower compartment, are equal to any thing in point of com- 
 position. They represent the Cardinal Virtues, with Faith, Hope, 
 and Charity ; the last of which is a lovely group. Many have 
 foolishly said, that the art of painting on glass was lost; the truth 
 is, till now it never was found, as that window testifies; and 
 which will be considered by posterity, as a wonder of the world, 
 if it is rightly valued. 
 
 His beautiful picture of Cupid AND Psyche, which appeared 
 in a recent sale, is most elegantly conceived ; it only wanted the 
 mere name of Corregio, to induce the connoisseurs to give 20001. 
 for it, which is not more than its value. What are we to think of 
 those pretenders, who imagine they know more than the artist ; 
 who assert, that, " a painter cannot be a connoisseur ; and who 
 modestly allow "West to be a tolerable judge, and that Sir Joshua 
 knew a little !" 
 
 I shall always esteem myself happy from having had the pleasure 
 of his acquaintance, and also particularly fortunate in the pleasure 
 of seeing many of his best pictures fresh off the easel. He was mild, 
 affable, and gentleman-like, and highly industrious: winter and 
 summer he breakfasted at rune, entered his painting-room at ten, 
 and never ceased till five, if the weather permitted. Malice has 
 
 charged 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 347 
 
 charged him with avarice; probably, from his not having been 
 prodigal, like too many of the profession. His offer to me proves 
 the contrary. At the time I made the drawings of the King at 
 St. Paul's, after his illness in 1789, Reynolds complimented me 
 handsomely on seeing them ; and afterwards observed, that " the 
 labor bestowed must have been such, that I could not be remune- 
 rated from selling them ; but if I would publish them myself, he 
 would lend me the money necessary, and engage to get me a 
 handsome subscription among the nobility." Such an offer could 
 not have resulted from a person of an avaricious disposition. And 
 in the purchase of pictures, money was never an object ; witness 
 his offering to cover twice with guineas (as the price of purchase) 
 the picture of the Witch coming from Hell, with a Lap-full of 
 Charms, by Teniers ; and which he afterwards possessed, as he 
 modestly declared, by only painting a portrait, a fancy subject, 
 and another of Ins own works. He mentioned the sum it would 
 have taken ; and which, to the best of my recollection, was 900 
 guineas. " He was a man ; take him for all in all, we shall not 
 look upon his like again." By his abilities, he has raised a monu- 
 ment to his memory, which will remain as long as art, founded 
 on the most exquisite wisdom, shall be admired ; and which can 
 only cease by the destruction of Time, in the extinction of the 
 Universe. 
 
 ROOKER MICHAEL ANGELO. 
 
 Landscape and Engraving. 
 
 Poor Michael ! dejected and broken in spirit, for want of due 
 encouragement, drooped into eternity the last day of February, 
 1801, aged about fifty-seven. The ingratitude of a friend, to 
 whom he had lent a sum of money, and the neglect of an undis- 
 cerning public, broke the heart of this highly deserving and me- 
 ritorious artist. The hand of folly is profuse in the purchase of 
 old pictures; but the performances of living artists, however de- 
 serving, are too frequently treated with contempt. While the 
 wealthy and ignorant are suffered to dictate in matters of art, the 
 professor will be left to suffer ; and ultimately the dignity of science 
 
 Yy2 will 
 
348 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 will sink into obscurity and contempt, from its being rendered 
 subservient to little minds. 
 
 This artist was the son and pupil of Ned Rooker, of facetious 
 memory, and who for some time acted as an Harlequin at Drury 
 Lane Theatre. He has left some admirable specimens of engraving, 
 as well as his father :* but his chief delight was drawing, in which, 
 for taste and execution, he stands unrivalled. He appears to have 
 founded his manner on that of Paul Sandby; and though more 
 feeble, yet with a charming eye to nature. Though a new and 
 more dashing style at present prevails, it is less true, and un- 
 questionably more artificial. For some years Rooker painted the 
 scenes of the Haymarket Theatre, in which he acquitted himself 
 highly to the satisfaction of the public. 
 
 SHELLEY SAMUEL. — Portrait and History, in small. 
 
 Shelley was born in Whitechapel ; and may, in some mea- 
 sure, be considered as self-educated. He derived great advantage 
 by copying the works of Reynolds in the early part of life, and on 
 which he may be said to have founded his style. He is one 
 among the few who do not consider the profession in a mercenary 
 point of view; and he has raised himself above the character of a 
 mere miniature painter, by his historical pictures : many of these 
 display a high degree of taste, particularly such as possess female 
 figures ; to which he has the power of communicating great elegance 
 of attitude, accompanied with a rich, harmonious, and deep tone 
 
 of 
 
 * Ned Rooker engraved the plates for Sir William Chambers's Civil 
 Architecture, and many of those for Stewart's Antiquities. This Stewart 
 was a great boaster, without either taste or knowledge, otherwise 
 than in giving a dry detail of the measures of parts of a building. 
 He made a pompous display of what he called his Ionian discove- 
 ries, asserting, that he possessed the only specimens of the true antique in 
 the world. Adams, the architect, with a view to mortify his pride, 
 procured early proofs of the plates, and sent them, with an account of 
 the affair, to Piranesi, at Rome, who published many beautiful examples 
 of the ancient Ionic before Stewart's work made its appearance. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 34& 
 
 of color. His portraits do not admit the same unlimited commen- 
 dation as his fancy subjects, as they often appear flimsy ; and 
 the men want that square determined marking, so justly belong- 
 ing to the male character. The three great characteristic marks 
 that distinguish the different parts of the human species, can scarce- 
 ly be missed by the most superficial observer; the angles that ac- 
 company the male form, the beautiful serpentine sweeps in the 
 female, and the circles of which the lines of children are com- 
 posed, must be obvious to every one. 
 
 No one has labored to acquire celebrity more than this artist, 
 and no one is better entitled to^the respectable rank he holds in 
 society. Intemperance and study so widely differ in their pursuits, 
 as to render it impossible for them to exist in the same mind ; or, 
 at any rate, in such a way as to afford any great or sensible ad- 
 vantage to the agent : Minerva was never known to accept the cup 
 from Circe ! 
 
 SHERWIN JOHN KEYSE.— History and Engraving. 
 
 This artist, who was a native of Sussex, and followed the bu- 
 siness of a wood-cutter till nearly twenty years of age, possessed 
 all that impudent assurance necessary to pushing his fortune in so- 
 ciety ; but what his forwardness procured, his folly lost, as, in the 
 end, he disgusted all his friends, among whom were some of the 
 principal nobility. Though in many respects fortunate, he made 
 so ill a use of his means, that, by running from one excess to 
 another, he broke a good constitution, impaired his mind, and so 
 embarrassed his affairs, that he was afraid to appear abroad : 
 under these wretched circumstances he sunk into eternity, at the 
 house of Wilkinson, the print-seller in Cornhill. His vanity was 
 so great, that he imagined nothing too difficult for him to under- 
 take ; this made him produce such wretched things as the ' Deserted 
 Village,' and the 'Siege of Gibraltar:' but the ne plus ultra, was 
 his attempting a picture in oil, fifty or sixty feet long, of the ' In- 
 stallation of the Knights of St. Patrick,' and which, as far as it 
 was carried, proved a wretched daub. The picture which he painted 
 
 in. 
 
350 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 in water-colors for the print of the ' Death of Chatham,' possessed 
 considerable merit; but his unsettled disposition caused him to leave 
 this, as well as many other things, unfinished : some of the heads, 
 in particular, were finely handled. In his mode of working, he 
 was rapid as fight ; and to this he unfortunately trusted, instead 
 of to industry. In his person he was remarkably well made, with 
 handsome features, and possessed of great muscular power, par- 
 ticularly in the arms. As an engraver, he will ever rank among 
 the first, as the prints he executed soon after he left Bartolozzi 
 sufficiently evince ; witness his ' Christ bearing the Cross,' ' Christ 
 in the Garden with Mary,' &c. all which stamp him a man of con- 
 siderable abilities. He died at the age of thirty-nine, on August 
 the 20th, 1790. 
 
 SMITH GEORGE, OF CHICHESTER.— Landscape. 
 The pictures of this artist are but rarely to be met with, nor 
 are they in particular estimation, though he was fashionable in his 
 day. Those which I have seen, are chiefly rural subjects, pleasing 
 iu point of composition, but heavy in their coloring. The materials 
 of his pictures were chiefly selected from the scenery round Chi- 
 chester, of which place he was a native. His best pieces were 
 those engraved by Woollett ; and the prints are superior to the 
 pictures. This artist was better paid than Wilson, from whom he 
 carried the prize at the Royal Society. There were three brothers 
 of this family, all artists, who form the subject of a picture, 
 painted and engraved by W. Pether : one of the brothers painted 
 portraits ; and the other, fruit and flowers. 
 
 SMITH JOHN RAPHAEL.— Portraits and Mezzotinto. 
 
 This artist is the sou of Smith of Derby, from whose land- 
 scapes Vivaris engraved sundry views in Yorkshire, and a view of St. 
 Vincent's Rocks. He furnishes a proof of how little early propensities 
 can be depended on as indicative of genius; as his father chose 
 his brother Samuel to be the artist, from his steadiness and early 
 application ; but his abilities have proved so confined, that he has 
 
 not 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 35t 
 
 not produced even a tolerable miniature. The subject of this 
 sketch was apprenticed to a Linen-draper, and in that capacity he 
 lived as a shopman in London ; when, wishing to increase his fi- 
 nances, which were but .slender, in proportion to his wants, he 
 amused himself in his leisure hours with painting miniatures; 
 and making an essay at engraving, produced a print, called the 
 Public Ledger; open to all Parties. This had so rapid a sale, 
 that he shortly afterwards commenced Engraver, and ultimately at- 
 tained great celebrity in the mezzotinto style. His prints after Sir 
 Joshua are extremely fine. His Lord Richard Cavendish, and the 
 Primate of Ireland, are two noble monuments of art. He has 
 latterly attached himself to painting portraits in crayons : they are 
 slight, but spirited ; yet they by no means compensate his loss as 
 an engraver. He possesses the address to please all those who 
 are fond of a song and a story, with which he is always ready. 
 As he is not particularly fond of study, painting hasty portraits is 
 better suited to his disposition. The number of slight heads he 
 has painted at a guinea are incalculable : one of the family told 
 me, he had done as many in one week as brought him forty 
 pounds, and each of them, I know, he could finish in an hour. 
 
 STOTHARD THOMAS, R. A.— History. 
 Every eminent artist has some peculiar character of excellence 
 prevailing in his works : in those of Stothard, the highly valuable 
 qualities of female beauty and elegance strongly prevail, and that 
 in a degree infinitely beyond his cotemporaries. His designs for 
 the Novelist's Magazine, and other publications, are superior to 
 any thing of the kind ever produced ; for though the littleness in 
 the French style was formerly supposed calculated for vignettes, 
 yet the masterly way in which Heath has engraved from this ar- 
 tist, has made them universally admired, and infinitely outstepped 
 every thing of the kind produced in Europe. His drawings are 
 highly esteemed, as they are decorated with all the charms of 
 beauty : his female figures are angelic, light, tripping, and full of 
 grace ; and the coloring is warm and brilliant, with a light spirited 
 
 touch, 
 
352 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 touch, highly fascinating. Of his chiaro-oscuro, the light is gene- 
 rally broad, massy, and prevalent. Expression he appears but 
 little acquainted with ; a defect particularly observable in those of 
 his drawings that require energy. His oil pictures are not equal 
 to his drawings; they are slight, crude, and destitute of force; but 
 in them his women fascinate. His best I ever saw are two in 
 Macklin's Gallery ; Solomon, from Prior ; and Aminta and Theo- 
 dora, from Mallet:* the latter was extremely fine. Some of his 
 allegorical subjects are very beautifully executed, and the figures 
 are managed in a style that has ever appeared to me highly poetic, 
 and justly calculated for such subjects. On the whole, I cannot 
 help concluding, by placing him among the few who prefer mind 
 to the lesser excellencies and embellishments of the art; or, in other 
 words, one who prefers thought to action ; for if his works are 
 slight, an ample compensation is made in the general good ar- 
 rangement of the whole. 
 
 TURNER WILLIAM, R. A.— Landscape. 
 Highly to the credit of this artist, he is indebted principally to 
 his own exertions for the abilities which he possesses as a painter, and 
 for the respectable situation that he holds in society. He may be 
 considered as a striking instance of how much may be gained by 
 industry, if accompanied with temperance, even without the assis- 
 tance of a master. The way he acquired his professional powers, 
 was by borrowing, where he could, a drawing or picture to copy 
 from; or by making a sketch of any one in the Exhibition early in 
 the morning, and finishing it at home. By such practices, and by a 
 patient perseverance, he has overcome all the difficulties of the art ; 
 so that the fine taste and color which his drawings possess, are scarce- 
 ly to be found in any other, and are accompanied with a broad, firm 
 chiaro-oscuro, and a light and elegant touch. The man must be 
 
 loved 
 
 * To the disgrace of the age, this picture was positively sold at 
 Squib's Auction Room for 12L 12s. and its companion, Solomon, reject- 
 ed for ten guineas. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 353 
 
 loved for his works; for his person is not striking, nor his conver- 
 sation brilliant. He was born in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, 
 where his father conducted a decent trade. Though his pictures 
 possess great breadth of light and shade, accompanied with a fine 
 tone of color, his handling is sometimes unfirm, and the objects 
 are too indefinite : he appears, indeed, to have but a superficial 
 notion of form. 
 
 WALE SAMUEL.— History. 
 
 The labors of this artist must be known to most people, from 
 the vast number of designs that he made for the different publica- 
 tions of his time, and many of which were finely engraved by Grig- 
 nion, Ryland, and others. His works had little to recommend 
 them, as he drew incorrectly, and had no idea of the chiaro-oscuro . 
 The most admirable part of his pictures consists in the architec- 
 ture of the back-grounds ; and in this I suspect him to have been 
 assisted by Gwin, the Architect, who lived in the house with him, 
 and who has left many specimens of his abilities ; as the Magdalen 
 Bridge, Oxon ; the beautiful Section of St. Paul's, engraved by E. 
 Rooker; and its companion, an Elevation of St. Paul's, the en- 
 graving of which was began by Lowry,* but stopped by the ava- 
 rice of a Bookseller, who sued the poor Engraver for the penalty 
 of fifty pounds, because it was not finished by the time agreed on; 
 a conduct which provoked him to destroy what was done, though 
 considerable. This artist delivered Lectures on Perspective at the 
 Royal Academy. 
 
 WARD JAMES. — Landscape and Figures. 
 
 I speak of this artist merely on account of his picture of the 
 Bull-bait, which may be ranked among the finest modern produc- 
 
 Z z tions, 
 
 * One circumstance in the practice of this artist, and worthy of 
 being recorded, is, that he does not etch with steel point, as is usual, 
 but with diamond, and other tiard stones, (the former being preferred,) 
 set in handles as needles : this, with the assistance of his machine, gives 
 unexampled beauty to his ruling. 
 
354 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 tions, and infinitely beyond any thing from the pencil of Morland : 
 the grouping of the figures is well contrived, particularly of those 
 in the middle distance, which are in a wonderful fine tone of color 
 and keeping: they are full of animation and character. The 
 clouds are finely composed, and, as well as all the other parts, in 
 a most agreeable tone of color. This picture so far surpasses any 
 other produced by this artist, as to excite every one's wonder; and 
 I cannot help thinking, that it is the only picture he ever produ- 
 ced, as all his others are more or less imitations. What a check 
 must it prove to the exertions of an artist, when he considers that 
 the labor and merit of such a performance could only produce 
 the inadequate price of forty pounds ; and that from a dealer, who 
 modestly expects one hundred and fifty, and has refused the hun- 
 dred ! Of all the imitators of Morland, this artist is by far the 
 best; but from that he derives little advantage, as the honest 
 tribe of picture-dealers very conscientiously take out his name, and 
 insert that of Morland, knowing well the value of a name to a 
 true connoisseur. He is w'ell known as an Engraver in mezzotinto, 
 to which he was bred under his brother William, who is an artist 
 of considerable abilities, and was pupil to J. R. Smith. 
 
 WEBBER JOHN.— Landscape. 
 
 Webber, who was one of the artists that accompanied Cap- 
 tain Cook round the world, is well known by the prints done from 
 his drawings for the Illustration of the Voyage in which that great 
 man was unfortunately killed ; and as the artist was within sight 
 of that transaction, he made a drawing of it, that was engraved by 
 Bartolozzi. His Views in the South Seas are by far the best of 
 his works. Though he attempted to paint the figure, he drew in- 
 correctly : his coloring was also too green ; and he often wanted 
 depth of shadow: his touch was firm; and some of his drawings 
 are clean, and well handled. He died of a strangury some time in 
 the year 179^. 
 
 WEST 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 355 
 
 WEST BENJAMIN, P. R. A.— History and Portrait. 
 
 West, the meritorious President of the Royal Academy, was 
 born in America, to which country his grandfather accompanied 
 the benevolent Penu. He very early displayed a strong inclination 
 for drawing ; and through the fruits of his own industry, and the 
 patronage of a military gentleman, he was enabled to repair to Italy 
 for the better prosecution of his studies. Here his progress in the 
 art was very rapid, notwithstanding the interruptions occasioned by 
 two or three illnesses. He afterwards resolved to visit the country 
 of his ancestors, and arrived in London in August, 1763. The 
 success of the pictures which he exhibited at the Great Room in 
 Spring Gardens, in the following year, was the cause of his fixing 
 his residence in the Metropolis. The historical works he has since 
 produced, are numerous beyond precedent ; no other artist in the 
 world having ever completed so many. His best compositions are 
 those from Sacred History : in those from the English History, the 
 central parts are too often left vacant, instead of being most occu- 
 pied, as in the La Hogue, the Battle of the Boyne, and the 
 Landing of Charles the Second ; in all which the groups of figures 
 are at the sides of the pictures. In some instances, his chiaro- 
 oscuro is not sufficiently massed, the fights and shades being too 
 much separated by the great weight of middle-tint. His draperies 
 are much better cast than those of any other artist of the day, 
 and approach the simplicity of the Roman school ; but there is 
 too great a similarity in his heads and figures, through his making 
 too frequent a use of an individual model. His sketches possess 
 great fire and merit, and will justly be held in high estimation, as 
 long as the arts are admired. Of his portraits, much cannot be 
 said in their praise ; but of his productions from history, no living 
 artist can dispute the superiority. 
 
 WESTALL RICHARD, R. A.— History and Portrait. 
 Westall is an artist who, in one sense, is great in little things, 
 as his merit lies in neatness and color ; yet in the latter he is 
 
 Z z 2 sometimes 
 
356 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OF 
 
 sometimes gaudy ; and he too often sacrifices his subjects to hand- 
 ling. It is beyond all question, that the higher walks of the arts 
 are injured by the trickery of execution, or a great show of color; 
 as these practices draw the attention from the subject to the 
 painter, whose duty it should be to keep unseen ; except, perhaps, 
 when the subject is taken from some scene in low life, as in many of 
 the Dutch pictures, where the whole merit may be in the handling; 
 or, in other words, in the artist showing himself. Subjects beau- 
 tiful in themselves, also admit of a high degree of decoration ; 
 and those, in my opiuion, are the sort in which this master best 
 succeeds. His drawing of Sappho is well grouped and colored, 
 with some most lovely female characters. His Storm in Harvest, 
 though more admired, is less perfect, as the violence of the color- 
 ing is obtrusive, and unsuitable to the solemnity of such an awful 
 convulsion of nature. Though I admire some of his little rural 
 representations, yet they want that simple rusticity so admirable 
 in Gainsborough. He most unquestionably has great merit in 
 subjects that admit of decoration ; but his drawing is incorrect ; 
 and his heads want the appearance of variety. Of his oil pictures, 
 they are, for the most part, hard in their shadows; and the lights 
 are overcharged with color. One of the best in this way, was a 
 Thresher, which was clear, brilliant, and silvery ; and so true to 
 Nature, as to astonish me that he did not oftener paint in the 
 same style. Some of his portraits in oil are very spiritedly paint- 
 ed : and his whole lengths on paper are very tasty, and do him 
 great credit for their beauty. I cannot dismiss this article, with- 
 out declaring, that I think his abilities by no means commou : 
 those are not trifling powers, that can carry the arts so far, after 
 the first seven years of his time was passed with a silver engraver. 
 
 WHEATLEY FRANCIS, R. A.— History and Landscape. 
 
 Who this prodigal son commenced his studies under, I know 
 not ; but from his intimacy with Mortimer, he derived great pro~ 
 fessional advantage. Dire necessity once compelled him to take a 
 trip to Ireland, whence he returned with an increased reputation-, 
 
 1 but 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 357 
 
 but little profit. His taste in the arts led him to the pastoral,, in 
 some of which representations he has been successful ; but he often 
 hurt his subjects by over-dressing his rustics, which gave them 
 the flippant air of the French school, and destroyed the simplicity 
 requisite in such scenes. 
 
 Among his oil pictures, the best are those in the Shakespeare 
 Gallery, some of which are highly reputable to the artist. His 
 picture of the * Riots in 1780,' was but an indifferent performance; 
 yet he was fortunate in having it so finely engraved by Heath ; 
 but the plate was afterwards ruined in the printing. His coloring- 
 is rather glaring than true ; nor does he appear to have had a just 
 knowledge of harmony. His drawings are rather destitute of 
 force; but his figures are touched with great smartness and spirit; 
 and some of his scenes of ' Country Fairs' do him very great cre- 
 dit. He died on the fifth of July, 1801, of the gout, with which 
 he had been long harrassed. 
 
 WILSON RICHARD, R. A.— Landscape. 
 This giant of the English school was very unfortunate in his 
 day, as many of the pictures that he sold for six or seven guineas,, 
 now fetch fifty or sixty pounds : but his works are now better 
 understood, and will continue to be admired whilst mind is con- 
 sidered as a test of excellence in art.* In the chiaro-oscuro and 
 color, he was all that Sir Joshua was ; in both he was most con- 
 summately skilled ; and in the former he surpassed every other land- 
 scape painter. His shadows are always broad and massy. His 
 forms are grand, majestic, and well selected; and his compositions 
 
 are 
 
 * As a proof of the knowledge of a Connoisseur at that time, take 
 the following anecdote. A gentleman having a Claude so damaged as 
 to require a new sky, employed Wilson to put it in ; and when done, 
 brought some of his friends to see it, one of whom was the late Dr. 
 Chauncey, who, on beholding the picture, exclaimed, "There! there is 
 a skv ! Where is the artist alive who can paint such a one ?" So much 
 for the judgment of a mere amateur ! The difference between a painter- 
 and a critic is, that die latter ends his inquiries where the former begins.. 
 
358 PROFESSIONAL SKETCHES OP 
 
 are not incumbered with a multitude of parts, a fault often obser- 
 vable in Claude. Among his most classical compositions, is to be 
 ranked that with the story of ' Meleager ;' the ' Ceyx and Alcione,'* 
 engraved by Woollett; and the fine one of' Niobe,' by Smith. 
 
 Wilson was born in Denbighshire. He went to Italy as a portrait 
 painter, having been the pupil of Hudson ; but railing at Venice, 
 on Zuccharelli, while he waited for his coming home, he made a 
 sketch in oil from the window, which so pleased Zuccharelli, that 
 he persuaded him to pursue landscape painting, and this advice 
 he adopted. Afterwards being in great distress at Rome, Vernet 
 not only bought some of his landscapes, but generously placed them 
 with his own, and recommended them to the English nobility and 
 gentry in the strongest manner. " Don't talk of my landscapes, 
 when you have so clever a fellow in your countryman, Wilson," 
 was the observation of this liberal French artist. 
 
 WRIGHT JOSEPH, OF DERBY. 
 History, Fancy Subjects, and Landscapes. 
 
 Among the variety of subjects painted by this artist, I have 
 always given the preference to his effects of fire, and to his moon- 
 lights : of their excellence he has left numberless examples, which, 
 in point of merit, rank infinitely above any thing in the Dutch 
 schools. One of the finest pieces of coloring of a moonlight ever 
 produced, is his picture of the Lady in Comus, engraved by J. R. 
 Smith. In his effects of artificial light, the chiaro-oscuro is broad 
 and massy, and the tone of color true to Nature, as may be seen 
 in his fine representation of the Iron Forge, the Orrery, Smiths' 
 Shops, and others. His landscapes of day-light scenes, though ge- 
 nerally clever, are sometimes hard, and heavy in their shadows. 
 He neither drew his figures correctly, nor designed them in a good 
 taste, in his attempts at history; and his coloring partook of a 
 clayey hue, like Mortimer's, which made them appear heavy. He 
 died at Derby in 1798* a ged sixty-four. 
 
 ZOFFANIJ 
 
 * Wilson is said to have composed this picture for a pot of beer set on 
 the remains of a Stilton cheese. 
 
MODERN ARTISTS. 359 
 
 ZOFFANIJ JOHAN, R. A. — History and Portrait. 
 
 This artist was born at Frankfort. About the year 1764 or 5, 
 he arrived in England, at the age of thirty-two or three, and 
 was for a long while doomed to suffer all the hardships resulting 
 from poverty. From this situation he was happily rescued by the 
 friendly hand of Lord Barrington, who sat to him for his portrait, 
 which he finished with so much success, as to lay a foundation for 
 his future reputation. The most esteemed of his works, are his 
 representations of dramatic performers, which possess great truth 
 of expression, with a fine deep tone of color. Among other pic- 
 tures that contributed to raise his reputation, was the combined 
 portraits of the Academicians, and those of the Royal Family. But, 
 notwithstanding his success, and the liberal encouragement which 
 he received, his circumstances became so embarrassed, that he 
 was under the necessity of going to Italy ; and his Majesty is said 
 to have interested himself so far on this occasion, as to have re- 
 commended him to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. While at Flo- 
 rence, he painted his celebrated picture of the Florence Gallery. 
 On his return to Britain, after a short stay, he got permission to 
 go to the East Indies, where he acquired great sums by painting 
 copper-colored Nabobs : but though he came home with a heavier 
 purse, his faculties appear to have suffered as an artist, which is 
 sufficiently evinced in those miserable works, the Plundering of the 
 French King's Cellar, and the Asiatic Embassy. Indeed, his abili- 
 ties have decayed to such a degree, as to leave few traces of his 
 former great powers. Like Vanderwerf, and other German ar- 
 tists, lie finishes highly ; and may be ranked among the first mas- 
 ters of that school. 
 
 the end. 
 
 Printed by T. Maiden, Sherbourn-Lane, Lombard-Street. 
 
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