mirror of ridicule up, upon this occasion, in which any sapient magistrate administering his portion of justice, might behold his own image. We shall therefore content. ourselves with relating, that after a very grave admonition from their worships, who very minutely examined every drawing and sketch which had been seized upon to prove the guilt of the prisoners; we say, they received a strict admonitory caution never again to be guilty of such dangerous practices as painting and drawing, during their abode in that island, as long as the war should continue. With which very lenient reprimand they were dismissed, and had the very indulgent privilege granted them of marching back again the same way they came, but without the honour of being guarded; consequently at full liberty to choose their own pace.

It is painful to be under the necessity of lamenting the little progress which the fine arts have yet made amongst us; when those who are appointed to fill judicial situations, which certainly require men of enlightened

understanding and general knowledge, are completely ignorant of things which once bid fair to become an ample source of revenue. How truly laughable it would be to those who know the difference, if a man should be indicted for stealing paintings, and these same paintings when produced should turn out to be prints, or impressions taken off from copper plates. Or vice versa, suppose the indictment laid for stealing prints, and they should turn out to be either drawings or pictures. Nor is this a mere supposition, as every person dealing in the fine arts must have experienced; nothing being more common than for some gentlemen wishing to dispose of superfluous. ornaments from their dwelling, for which they have no taste, as they express it, to send their servants to Mr. Such-a-one to come and look at their which he wants to sell.

master's pictures,

When ten to one

but they turn out to be prints; and if the message be for the merchant to look atprints, it is about five to one but they are paintings or drawings. Nor is this the mistake of the servants, for the master or mistress

will accost you with Mr.- ; ah-I've sent for you to purchase my--my—ahprints -I-I've no taste for those things. Without dwelling any longer upon such a paucity of judges of the divine arts, we shall proceed with the sequel of our Memoir of that lamented master, who did more towards diffusing a general knowledge of the arts before mentioned, than any one individual we have ever heard or read of.

CHAP. XII.

JOURNEY FROM YARMOUTH TO THE KING'S BENCH-OUR PAINTER TAKES A HOUSE IN THE RULES-PAINTS A GREAT NUMBER OF FINE PICTURES AND MAKES DRAWINGS-REMAINS THERE TILL DISCHARGED BY AN ACT OF THE LEGIS

LATURE-REMOVES

THE BENEFITOF

TO HIGHGATE FOR

THE AIR, IN CONSE

QUENCE OF A SLIGHT FIT OF APOPLEXY.

NOTWITHSTANDING the caution our painter received from the bench at Newport, he continued to exercise his talents in taking sketches all along the coast, and making both oil pictures and drawings, several of which were sent up to London, during his stay at Yarmouth, and sold remarkably well. In fact, few artists ever

availed themselves more happily of such an opportunity as he possessed of viewing every change that is daily operating wonders upon the face of the great deep. How attentively he observed these changes, and how faithfully he portrayed them, hundreds of beautiful marine pictures left behind him are almost speaking animated proofs.

He remained at Yarmouth till November 1799, when he returned to London, and took lodgings at Vauxhall, from whence he removed to the King's Bench, the last day of December, the same year. Having very soon obtained the rules, he occupied a very neat house in Lambeth Road, St. George's Fields; the pretty garden behind he turned into a general receptacle for asses, goats, sheep, Guinea and other pigs, rabbits, eagles, hawks, and other birds. and beasts, of all which he made numerous sketches. Here, though he principally worked for his brother, several persons, with the hope of being able to procure some of his pictures, constantly flocked to his house;