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be generally known, I determined to visit the country which gave him birth, and to examine carefully the neighbourhood where Wilson not only passed his early youth, but also a considerable portion of the latter period of his life. I accordingly made a journey into that part of North Wales, and after inspecting the neat-looking town of Mould, and examining more particularly its interesting churchyard, arrived at the small village of Loggerheads. "This singular appellation owes its origin to the subject of the sign painted by Wilson for the village ale-house, and upon which are exhibited the heads of two very jolly-looking fellows, grinning and staring out of the picture towards the spectator: underneath are written, in very legible characters, the words, We three Loggerheads be. The painting retains its elevated situation to this day, though, perhaps, little of the original colour may remain, it having been more than once retouched since Wilson's time. The innkeeper, nevertheless, sets a high value upon this appendage to his house, which, no doubt, has induced many a traveller, perhaps from motives of curiosity alone, to step in, and try what sort of entertainment might be found, notwithstanding the extraordinary mode of salutation which greets him on his arrival at the door.”

The sign of the Muleteers, by Correggio, and of the School-master, by Hans Holbein, are noticed in our last. We wish it had occurred to the author, who is known to be expert at the pencil, to have sketched this sign of the Loggerheads, by Wilson; such a subject would have made a curious wood cut for this interesting memoir. George Morland painted the sign of the White Lion, for an Inn at Paddington, which we believe is still swinging on the post before that rendezvous of him, Ibbetson, and Rathbone, the landscape painters, his boon companions. Wale, of historical memory, painted the sign of Falstaff, which was suspended from elegant iron work, before a tavern near Drury Lane Theatre, and Catton's Turk 's-Head, were long known and admired as the Mercer's sign, in York Street, Covent Garden..

can desire to render a place delightful, will be found in this
most enchanting domain,-wood, water, romantic rocks,
verdant lawns, and opening glades; all these various
charms, whether in the distance or in the foreground, may
be enjoyed with equal advantage, the most commodious
walks having been made for viewing their several beauties.
Colomondie is laid out with much taste, and has been
considerably improved by plantations judiciously placed,
which are now of some years' growth. The views from the
house and its neighbourhood are singularly beautiful, and,
as they are enriched with the most agreeable variety and
undulation of ground, afford very inviting subjects for the
pencil. To the contemplative mind of an artist, especially,
the scenery of this place cannot fail to be heightened by
the pleasing, though melancholy associations it conveys;
and cold-hearted mortals must they be, who are not moved
with the train of thought which it must necessarily inspire.
"Ah! who can tell how hard it is to climb

The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar,
Ah! who can tell how many a soul sublime
Hath felt the influence of malignant star,
And waged with fortune an eternal war;
Check'd by the scoff of Pride, by Envy's frown,
And Poverty's unconquerable bar!"'

BEATTIE.

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very far advanced in years, remembered Wilson well, and
"The old gardener of the place, Richard Lloyd, a man
I was his attendant, as he himself informed us, when he
died. According to this man's account the finances of our
artist, at the time of his decease, were not so confined as
upon the death of his brother. It was in consequence of
has been reported, he having succeeded to some property
this acquisition, and the declining state of his health, that
he determined to remove from the metropolis, and spend
the remainder of his days in his native country.
in an unfinished state, with two or three merely in dead
"At Colomondie I observed several of Wilson's pictures
colour; of one of them the subject was the Atalanta, of
which, as is well known, there is an engraving; also a small
picture, a view of the rock and river in the neighbourhood.
from London.
These pictures were brought by Wilson, upon his retiring

"At a little distance from the house, on either side of "Adjoining to this very picturesque and interesting in their forms, said to have been favourite trees of Wilson, the road, are two antient Scotch firs, extremely picturesque village, which within these few years enjoyed the tranquility of a retired valley, and through which runs a beau- and which he more than once introduced into his compotiful stream, is Colomondie, the elegant seat of Miss Gar-sitions; adjoining to them is a station commanding a fine nons, bequeathed to her by her aunt, Mrs. Jones. This view of the rocks above Llanverris, much admired by him. last-mentioned lady was a relation of Wilson; and in this "As every anecdote respecting so distinguished a charachouse, erected upon an elevated and a most lovely situation, ter cannot but be interesting, I shall mention a circumour great artist closed his earthly career. stance relating to him, as I received it from Miss Garnons of Colomondie. In the grounds belonging to this place, at some distance from the house, was a large stone, to which Wilson, in the latter part of his life, often resorted, it being a favourite seat with this great observer of nature. During his rambles, it was frequently his custom to be attended by a Newfoundland dog; and it so happened, that one day, accompanied by his faithful companion, the aged painter slipped from the stone upon which he had been seated, and unable to recover himself, would, in all likelihood, have perished on the spot, had not timely assistance arrived. The sagacious animal, seeing the situation of his master, ran howling to the house, and soliciting the attention of the servants with significant looks, pulling at the same time the skirts of their clothes with his teeth, directed them to the spot, and thus was the means of rescuing his helpless master from a situation of considerable danger.

"At Colomondie, an appellation derived from the Latin word columba, a dove, Wilson spent the latter part of his days, after he retired from London. Subsequently to that period, the house, to which considerable additions have been made, has undergone a thorough repair, and may be looked upon as one of the most elegant villas in this part of the country, well worthy the attention of every lover of the picturesque; indeed, almost every object that a traveller

"In a work printed some years ago may be found the following observation respecting Wilson; viz. It appears that this artist's youth was passed in an obscurity so great, that although he has now been dead little more than one fourth of a century, his early bistory is already left to conjecture. Many have lamented that Reynolds had not an abler master than Hudson; but we have no certainty that Wilson had ever any master; nor have we any date to fix the commencement of his practice as a landscape painter. Barry, with a warm heart, has panegyrised his independent spirit and his genius; Fuseli, with sounder criticism, has defined his great powers; but neither have thrown a light upon his professional career. Perhaps no country is so negligent of its fame as Britain."

bed on which Wilson breathed his last. In showing this "In an upper room in the house at Colomondie, is the apartment, old Richard Lloyd related to us how some painter, upon being told of the circumstance, stretched imself upon the bed, in order that he might be able to say

he had lain where this great artist had terminated his life; so deep was the veneration he entertained for this justly celebrated painter."

The author proceeds to describe the rural simplicity and quiet seclusion which this spot (Colomondie) formerly enjoyed, moralising on his wav, on the changes which commerce has introduced, adding some very sensible and useful observations on the practice of sketching, accompanied by reflections on the delightful pursuits, written with much feeling, for, to use his own words, "the love of nature is in some degree inherent in us all."

"Is an ingredient in the compound of man,
Infused at the creation of the kind."

Cowper.

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"To return, however, to the subject we were considering, viz. the interesting village of Llanverris.-On the occasion alluded to, having finished my sketch, I inquired of a countryman who happened to be passing at the time, the name of the village before us, and, as it may be supposed, was somewhat surprized by his answering, in a broad, blunt tone of voice, and without the least apparent intention of passing a joke, Loggerheads.'

"Though aware that Welsh was the language then generally spoken, the term seemed so remarkable, that I was induced to repeat my question. Still the answer was precisely the same; I therefore, without further hesitation, inscribed at the foot of my drawing, notwithstanding the oddity of such a title, in plain English, Loggerheads; nor did I, until a considerable time afterwards, find out the real meaning of the word, always supposing that it must have been some Welsh appellation, assimilating in sound with our own language, and which at the time appeared a very curious and laughable coincidence of terms.

"Wilson appears to have been partial to his native country, and is known to have declared, that in his opinion the scenery of Wales afforded every requisite for a landscape painter, whether in the sublime or in the pastoral representations of nature. In the possession of Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, Bart. are several pictures painted by Wilson, representing well known places in that country; there are also six views in Wales, engraved from paintings by him.

"In person, Wilson was somewhat above the middle size, of robust make, and rather corpulent,-his head, at the same time, being large in proportion to the rest of his figure. During the latter years of his life, his face became red, and was covered with blotches; he had a remarkably large nose, and was much displeased if any one appeared to observe it. This, perhaps, may be attributed, in a certain degree, to his fondness for a pot of porter, to which it was his custom not unfrequently to resort, and which at all times he preferred to the more expensive beverage of wine,

even though it might be placed before him. He wore a wi tied or plaited behind into a knocker or club, and a triangular cocked hat, according to the costume of the time. "Depression and mortification, awakened by neglect, it may naturally be supposed could not fail to operate severely upon such a mind as Wilson's, in which that sensibility so necessarily allied to a refinement of taste, must have predominated in a very high degree; the consequence of this and manners. Mr. Northcote's impression of Wilson was, was, that he became negligent of himself, both in person as the author has been credibly informed, "that his mind was as refined and intelligent as his person and manners were coarse and repulsive; and that discernment, and familiarity with him were necessary to discover the unpolished jewel beneath its ferruginous coat. He appears, indeed, to have been much respected, and highly esteemed by those who were acquainted with his real nature and d sposition. The late Mr. Stowers of Charter-house Square, an amateur pupil and companion of Wilson, is well known to have entertained the very highest esteem for the man, no less than admiration of his works. The present Mr. Stowers, who has obligingly furnished this information, says that he has often heard his father affirm he regarded Wilson as a very honourable character, and delighted much in his blunt honesty and intelligence of conversation. Mr. S. distinctly remembers, that his father often repeated conversations of his with Wilson, in which the painter would lament the destiny which had denied him the initiation into some trade or profession in which he might have contributed that to the wants of society, which would have supplied the comforts and enjoyments of life to himself, instead of devoting him to an art which, while it fosters the sensibilities of our nature, does not always secure to the artist the remuneration of his anxious endeavours.

"With such sentiments, nevertheless, prompted, as they must too surely have been, by spleen and disappointment, there cannot remain a doubt but that Wilson was influenced by motives of higher consideration, since, notwithstanding his necessities, no hope of rewards could ever tempt him to forsake his art, or forego the consciousness of meriting the approbation of his fellow minds. His address, according to the report of one who was well acquainted with him, was rather pleasing, and he made no mystery of his manner of painting, a liberality, it is to be feared, not always so conspicuous in the conduct of the artist. His method appears to have been slow and full of reflection, especially in finishing his pictures,-frequently receding from them, in order to consider more advantageously their effect."

"Mr. Price." says the author, in his very interesting work on the Picturesque, mentions the following story relating to Wilson, a singular trait, and which evinces, in a high degree, how much the mind of the painter was at all times bent upon the contemplation of his art. "Sir Joshua Reynolds," says Mr. Price, “told me that when Wilson the landscape painter was looking at the view from Richmond Terrace, Wilson was pointing out some particular spot, in order to direct his eye to it; there,' said he, near those houses-there where the figures are.' Though a painter,' said Sir Joshua, I was puzzled; I thought he meant statues, and was looking upon the tops of the houses, for I did not at first conceive that the men and women we plainly saw about, were, by him, only thought of as figures in the landscape.'

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We remember this story in the works of Mr. now Sir Uvedale Price, having adverted to it in our former lucubrations, and confess we thought then, as we do

now, with all our fondness for the memory of our illustrious Reynolds, that he must have been rather daft on this occasion, when with such a brother chip, he should have thus mistaken a "pillar for a post"-the more so, as this prince of portrait painters, was so addicted to looking at landscape with a Wilsonic eye. We remember being told, that when the meetings of the Royal Academy were held at Old Somerset House, at a dinner given on some occasion, in an ancient apartment there, whilst sitting over the wine in the evening, that Sir Joshua interrupted the conversation, by directing the attention of some of the guests across the Thames, to the effect of the approaching twilight, on which he expatiated with enthusiasm, comparing it to the richness and intensity of Titian. A feeling for the highest sentiment of landscape, is manifest in the backgrounds of his fine whole lengths, and in many of his favourite compositions. His palette on these occasions has rivalled those of Titian or Rembrandt.

The author's strictures on the neglect shown to the works of Wilson, by two such distinguished writers as Price and Gilpin, contemporaries of the painter, are creditable to his taste, and too congenial to his subject not to claim our notice. One of these gentlemen still survives, we are happy to say, enjoying his retirement, we believe, in a paradise, partly of his own creating. Could this learned gentleman find leisure, if the pen be not relinquished, we may yet perhaps be favoured with efficient reasons for this remarkable silence; for we could not name an author who has written more ably, on the picturesque of landscape, than Mr. Uvedale Price:

"It is somewhat remarkable, that although the subject of which Mr. Price treats so much at length has very frequently, as might be expected, a reference to pictures, and especially to landscape painting, this should be the only instance in which he has introduced the name of Wilson (that master of the picturesque) into his work, and that, too, merely in a note at the foot of the page! This observation applies still more forcibly to Mr. Gilpin, the ingenious author of essays, together with other publications relating to the subject of art, and landscape scenery in particular, of which he appears to be an enthusiastic admirer, whether in nature or on canvas. The author has in vain looked through the volumes of this writer for even a hint at our countryman, Wilson. Upon the merits of Claude, they both, with equal freedom, offer their sentiments, whether of censure or applause, and the landscapes of Gaspar, Titian, and Salvator, are continually the subjects of their comparison with the scenery which nature presents to their view; while the sublime productions of Wilson seem either to have escaped their notice altogether, or to have been deemed unworthy of their regard. To what, may it be asked, are we to attribute this seeming neglect? The poet has told us: he had not been dead a hundred years.""

of Wilson, without such aid; and at the same time, that we admire the honourable feeling that thus assigns every feather to its proper bird, we cannot allow that the author "shines only in borrowed plumes." His own remarks are pointed, sensible, and just, we mean as they relate to the artist whose character he has so ably drawn, and the elucidation of the principles of the art of which he was so distinguished an ornament; and may add, that the philosophical reflections, and various digressions, with which many of the pages are filled, have a direct tendency to spread a love for the pursuits of art, to assist the judgment, and improve the general taste. Indeed, we are so pleased with the volume, that we purpose having a copy interleaved, in which at our leisure, we shall insert every scrap of information we may henceforth pick up, relating to the illustrious subject of the memoir, and sincerely thank the author for affording us so valuable a stock, on which to engraft something of our own; not that Mr. Wright has now left us much to collect.

Among the traits of character, anecdotes, and artistical matter, which we have marked, in our progress so far, we select the following for the entertainment of our readers. We must, however, first point to a most valuable document-one which describes the process of this original painter-a feature of the work that will be contemplated by the professional student, and the amateur with particular interest.

Wilson, some particulars have been communicated to me "Respecting the palette, and the process adopted by by a friend, derived, as he informs nie, from a very authentic source. According to this statement, the colours used by Wilson were white, Naples yellow, vermillion, light ochre, brown ochre, dark or roman ochre, lake, yellow lake, lamp black, Prussian blue, ultramarine, burnt terra di Sienna.

"Wilson dead-coloured in a very broad simple manner, giving a faint idea of the effect and colour intended, but without any very bright light or strong dark, quite flat, and no handling whatever; the shadows on the foreground thin and clear, air tint prevailing.

"When perfectly dry, he went over it a second time, heightening every part with colour, and deepening the shadows, but still brown, free, loose, and flat, and left in a state for finishing; the half tints laid in, without high lights. The third time he altered what was necessary in the masses of tint, adding all the necessary sharpness and handling to the different objects, and then gave the finish to his picture.

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His great care was to bring up all the parts of his pictures together, and not to finish one part before another, so that his pictures should not, as the painters term it, rụn away with him, and that while working in one part, he should introduce that colour into other parts where it suited, or to lower the tone fit to make it suit, that the different parts might keep company with each other.

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Mr. Wright, in the preface, informs us, that the voHis air tint was blue, burnt ochre, and light red, sometimes a little vermillion, and, in other cases, he made his lume is "made up of thoughts and observations of air tint of the lakes and blue; with the lakes he made his others, much more than of his own." By this candid glazing tints on the foreground very rich and warm, and of disclosure, he deprecates censure for "the vanity of their full force; but all this was moderated by the tints wishing to appear as an author." We know not, how-which he laid on the glazings. If any part was hard, he restored it by scumbling the air tint, suited to the distance ever, how a volume like this could be composed, by one of the part over it, and then added the finishing touches who had not lived in the days, and even in the society and sharpness, to prevent it being smoky or mealy. A

magylph, or majellup, of linseed oil and mastic yarnish, in which the latter predominated, was his usual vehicle, and an oyster shell served him to contain it. He dead-coloured with Prussian blue, but always finished the sky and distance with ultramarine, for it was his opinion that no other blue could give the beautiful effect of air.

"For the chief of the above particulars respecting the colours and the process used by Wilson, I stand indebted to my much valued friend and fellow-traveller, Sir William Pilkington, Bart. a lover of art, possessing at the same time refinement of taste and a practical knowledge such as lew amateurs can boast. To him they were communicated by a gentleman who received them from the late Mr. Farrington, a pupil of Wilson-an authority not to be disputed.

"On various occasions, Wilson did not scruple to take advantage of the talents of Mortimer, and sometimes of Hayman, for the introduction of his figures. The pictures of Meleagar and Atalanta, of Apollo and the Seasons, and several others, furnish examples of this. Though such practice with a landscape painter is by no means unusual, I have nevertheless heard it asserted by some critics, judging no doubt from this circumstance, that Wilson was unequal to this, so essential a part of his art, being, say they, (to use an expression at once the most general and sweeping,) a very indifferent painter of figures; and that, moreover, it was for this reason that, in his best pictures, we so often find them introduced by the hand of some other artist. Now, although such has been the case, in various instances, still I will venture to maintain, that so far from this having been a general practice with our artist, he, on the contrary, almost always introduced the figures himself. The greater part of Wilson's pictures, (and I have had opportunity of inspecting a vast number of his works,) bear ample testimony to this; carrying in the face of them, if one may so say, the most evident proofs that these important additions were executed by the self same hand as that by which the rest of the picture had been painted."

(To be continued.)

An Account of the Principal Pictures belonging to the Nobility and Gentry of England. London: Priestley and Weale.

WE owe to the diligent research, and good taste of the Reverend author of this useful work, many a treatise upon the fine arts, and in respect for the benefits derived from the exertions of his pen, in the cause of virtu, we cannot forego the expression of our thanks to Mr. Dallaway on this occasion.

This worthy amateur, "an elderly gentleman of the old school," as he is pleased to designate himself, has collected together for his winter evening's amusement, an account of all the pictures by the old masters, which have been exhibited in the Gallery of the British Institution from the year 1813 to that of 1823, arranging them by a classification of the utmost assistance to the artist and the connoisseur, and in a shape that cannot fail to interest the amateur, and all those who desire to retain a ecollection of the delight, experienced year after year, in regular succession, on their visits to that national depot of art.

First then, on one page is the master and the school, commencing with the Florentine. The page divided in columns-the next, (both open before us) also divided. By which we have the whole of the works of

any particular artist exhibited at one view, which have been seen in each exhibition as for example :

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LIONARDO DA VINCI.

Cartoon for the great Picture of the Last Sup

From the Aldobrandini Palace, Rome.

ings, folio, 1822. See a Catalogue of his Collection, with Etch

nolds by the late Duke of Leeds.
England. It was given to Sir Joshua
known how this portrait was brought to
anni e non dato mai per finito." It is not
bre ritratto di Mona Lisa, lavoro di quattro
Florence. Lanzi observes, "Il tanto cele-
during four years. There is another at
portrait is said to have employed Lionardo
She was the wife of Francesco Giocondo:

painted for the Duke de St. Simon,
of Vasari, this picture is said to have
In the Supplement to Della Valle's first edit.

Rey

• Marriette (in his

her been

Lett.

Pittor, T. 2. p. 175,) reports this picture to

have been in the collection of Francis I., who gave 4000 crowns for it. In Vassari's time, it was in the collection of Fontainbleau, it was afterwards removed to Versailles, L'Especie, Catalogue Raisonnee des Tableaux du Roy. T. 1. p. 13. Lionardo wrote treatises upon

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Lord Orford greatly disapproved of the amount of the valuation, and the judgment with which they were valued. The Czarina, paid, however, only £36,000; || and in disgust, retained the pictures in their packages during her life. They are now added to many other pictures, preserved in a part of the Imperial Winter Palace at St. Petersburg, called the Hermitage.

Mr. Angerstein gave £4,500 for the Sebastiano del Piombo, and £1,600 for the Emperor Theodosius, by Vandyck.

A Treatise on Civil Architecture, by SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS; with Notes, and an Examination of Grecian Architecture, by JOSEPH GWILT, Architect, F. S. A. London: Priestley and Weale.

(Continued from p. 223.)

THE plates in the folio edition of Sir William Chambers's work on Architecture, have been universally accepted as the most beautiful and correct that ever appeared on the art. That work, however, is now become scarce, and its vast size almost confined it to the office of the professor, as a book of reference. This small edition removes that objection, and at the same time embraces all that is valuable in the original; for although the plates are reduced from the folio, to the imperial octavo size, the proportions of all the engraved examples of architecture, plate for plate, are preserved with the utmost mathematical precision, and are executed with a clearness, spirit, and beauty, equal, and in many respects superior to their prototypes.

The work is finely printed, on superior paper, and we may say with confidence, that when the six parts

painting and Mechanics. The best edition was published by Raffaelle du Fresne, fol. Paris, 1651; translated by J. F. Rigaud, with a life by J. S. Hawkins, 8vo. 1802. Twelve volumes of Tracts and Designs, MSS. were preserved in the Ambrosian Library.

A large volume of his drawings, preserved by Pompeio Leone, which belonged to King Charles I., is now in his majesty's collection, fac-similies of which have been published by J. Chamberlain, Esq. imp. fol. The best criticisms upon his works are those of Marriette and Bottari. Drawings in his majesty's library, by Holbein, L. da Vinci, and the three Caracci, have been engraven and strictly imitated, under the care of F. Bartolozzi, and published in three volumes, imp. folio, by J. Chamberlaine, Esq.

are completed, it will form one of the most elegant volumes, that shall have issued from the British press The notes and illustrations by Mr. Gwilt, adding so much original information, and so ably elucidating the author, renders it more generally useful as a library book: so much so, indeed, that it conveys a mass oi well arranged information upon this sublime art, that cannot fail to delight, at the same time that it instructs. It is a work, which we should recommend particularly to all young persons who would desire to improve their minds, as it will imperceptibly lead them to sufficient knowledge of the distinguishing features of the art, to enable them to judge of the beauty and general character of a building, upon the fixed principles of taste.

The preface to this first part, as far as it extends, we have read with much pleasure, and with due respect for the memory of its distinguished author. We offer the following as a specimen, and shall insert some of the very interesting notes, by which the subject is augmented by the researches of Mr. Gwilt, in a future page.

"As many sorts of knowledge, very opposite in their natures, come under the architect's consideration, his genius must be of a complex sort, endowed with the vivacity and powers of imagination, requisite to produce sublime or extraordinary compositions; and at the same time, with the industry, patience, and penetration, necessary to inves tigate mathematical truths, discuss difficult, sometimes irksome subjects, and enter into details of various sorts, often as tiresome as they are necessary; a genius equally capable of expanding to the noblest and most elevated conceptions, or of shrinking to the level of the meanest and minutest enquiries; as Doctor Johnson expresses it, a mind, that at once comprehends the vast, and attends to the minute.".

"Dispositions of this nature are seldom found, their constituent qualities are in some degree incompatible, and hence, perhaps, chiefly arises the rarity of complete masters in the profession. The lively student naturally strikes into the paths which afford most scope to his fancy; he exercises himself in the arts of composition, and in the different branches of design, improves his knowledge of painting, sculpture, books, and structures; forms his taste, and turns his whole attention towards the sublimer parts of the art, neglecting all the while, the inferior knowledge, so useful, so absolutely necessary in practice, and of which a perfect master can never be ignorant. Ambitious to excel, he must not neglect attainments, without which he cannot operate, while they may be purchased at the expence of industry and steady perseverance.

"A celebrated Italian artist,† whose taste and luxuriance

The architectural student will do well to keep in mind what Sir Joshua Reynolds says on another art, and which is quite applicable in our own. "In this art, as in others, there are many teachers, who profess to shew the nearest way to excellence, and many expedients have been invented by which the toil of study might be saved. But let no man be seduced to idleness by specious promises. Excellence is never granted to man, but as the reward of labour. It argues, indeed, no small strength of mind to persevere in habits of industry, without the pleasure of perceiving those advances, which, like the hand of a clock, whilst they make hourly advances to their point, yet proceed so slowly as to escape observation."-Second Discourse on Painting.

+ Giov. Battista Piranesi, the celebrated engraver, is here alluded to. He was a Venetian, and was born in 1720. His death happenned in the year 1788.

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