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WELLESLEY, EARL OF MORNINGTON.

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the annals of British science, as one of the most accomplished theoretical and practical musicians. Daines Barrington, in his 'Miscellanies,' informs us, that he evinced a most precocious musical talent. "His father," says Mr Barrington, "played well, for a gentleman, on the violin; which always delighted the child while in his nurse's arms, and long before he could speak. Nor did this proceed from a love common to other children, of a sprightly noise: as may appear by the following anecdote. Dubourg-who was, thirty years ago, a distinguished player on that instrument-happened to be at the family-seat; but the child would not permit him to take the instrument from his father, till his little hands were held. After having heard Dubourg, however, the case was altered; and there was much more difficulty to persuade him to let Dubourg give back the instrument to his father; nor would the infant ever afterwards permit the father to play whilst Dubourg was in the house." It was not till his ninth year, that he attempted to play on any instrument. An old portrait-painter, who came at this time to the family-seat, gave him some instruction on the violin; and so rapid was his improvement, that in a short time he was able to take part in a concert. Soon afterwards he commenced composer, "from emulation," says Mr Barrington, "of the applause given to a country-dance made by a neighbouring clergyman. He accordingly set to work; and, by playing a treble on the violin, whilst he sung a bass to it, he formed a minuet, the bass of which he wrote in the treble clef, and was very profuse of his fifths and octaves, being totally ignorant of the established rules of composition. This minuet was followed by a duet for two French horns, whilst the piece concluded by an andante movement: thus consisting of three parts, all of which being tacked together, he called a serenata. At this time he had never heard any music but from his father, sisters, and the old painter." "It is

From the violin our young musician proceeded to the organ. well known," continues Mr Barrington, "that this instrument is more likely to form a composer than any other; and his lordship, in process of time, committed his ideas to writing. As he had, however, never received the least instruction in the abstruse but pleasing science, he wished to consult both Rosengrave and Gemminiani, who, on examining his compositions, told him that they could not be of the least service to him, as he had himself investigated all the established rules, with their proper exceptions." He succeeded to the title of Baron Mornington, on the death of his father, on the 31st of January, 1758. In 1759, he married the eldest daughter of the first Viscount Dungannon; and, on the 2d of October, 1760, he was advanced to the dignities of Viscount Wellesley and Earl of Mornington. He died at Kensington, on the 22d of May, 1781, and was succeeded in his title and estates by his eldest son, Richard, the present marquess of Wellesley. The earl's finest compositions are his glees, especially Here in cool grot,' 'By Greenwood tree,' and 'O, Bird of eve.'

John Hamilton Mortimer.

BORN A. D. 1741.-DIED A. D. 1779.

THIS artist was the son of a miller in Sussex, who used to consider himself the lineal descendant of Mortimer, Earl of March. The family possessed a kind of hereditary attachment to the pictorial art, and young Mortimer early became emulous of distinction in the same line, and prevailed upon his father to pay a premium of one hundred guineas for liberty to place him in the studio of the then celebrated Hudson. He soon, however, lost his esteem for Hudson, and transferred himself to the painting-room of Pine, who was then considered an excellent colourist. But an introduction to Cipriani, at that time employed in painting the ceilings and galleries of the duke of Richmond's house, proved of more service to him than all that he had previously gleaned under both of his masters. The duke allowed him to study his collection of paintings and statues; and he soon after obtained several premiums from the Society for the encouragement of arts, for drawings made from the figures in the Richmond gallery.

"The reputation," says Allan Cunningham, "which all allow that Mortimer about this time suddenly acquired, has been ascribed by the biographers to the picture of Edward the Confessor seizing the treasures of his mother, which, in the opinion of Reynolds, excelled the rival painting by Romney so decidedly as to entitle him to the premium of fifty guineas. The tradition of the studios, however, ascribes his first great start in fame to a source more romantic, or at least accidental. It was the fashion in those days for painters to be largely employed in embellishing ceilings, and walls, and furniture; and it may be remembered that the coach of Sir Joshua Reynolds had the seasons painted on the panels: now the state coach which was to convey the king to the house of lords required repair, and Mortimer was called in by the coach-maker to ornament the panels; which he did so successfully, that the people, who crowded to see their young sovereign, bestowed equal attention on the Battle of Agincourt painted on the carriage. The king, it is added, was so much pleased, that he caused the panel to be taken out and preserved, and extended his notice to Mortimer. To this incident is imputed the king's anxiety for the painter's admission into the Royal academy. His success in the contest with Romney, however, whether this story of the panel be true or not, made him more widely known, and inspired him with new confidence in his own powers. He soon after produced a large picture of St Paul preaching to the Britons; and so well was it thought of that the Society of arts presented him with a hundred guineas, and when exhibited in Spring Gardens it so far excelled the works opposed to it, that some were justified in exclaiming, "We have now got an historical painter of our own!" It was indeed a picture of considerable merit,-displaying no little originality of character in some of the heads,—and above all, it was the work of a very young man fresh from the country, who had never been abroad and had studied but little at home."

From this period Mortimer's reputation and consequent practice steadily increased. He showed great versatility of powers, and painted with astonishing rapidity. Unfortunately for himself and art, he became smit with the ambition of imitating the young men of fashion of his day; and in the pursuit of a name amongst the rakes of London, he at once sacrificed time, health, reputation, and fortune. He afterwards married, and recruited his health by a temporary retirement in the country, during which he painted a number of pieces; but his constitution never fully recovered the blow he had given it by his early excesses, and he died at the age of thirty-eight, soon after having been elected, without solicitation, a Royal academician.

The

Allan Cunningham says of Mortimer: "Had he mastered colour, or turned his mind in time to it, he would have produced pictures worthy of any modern collection. His King John signing Magna Charta,''The Battle of Agincourt,'-'The Origin of Health,' The Tragic and Comic Muses,'- -Sextus consulting Erictho, from Lucan,'Incantation,'' Vortigern and Rowena,'-and his 'Groups of Banditti,' —are all marked with an air which belong to no other painter. He has at least the merit of looking like himself alone-a merit not small in these latter days of sordid imitation in literature and art. It has been remarked, that he impressed nobleness and truth on the countenances of all his figures; and moreover, that with these noble and beautiful characters his imagination was so amply stored, that, in all his numerous paintings and drawings, there never appeared two that were not different."

Allan Ramsay.

BORN A. D. 1713.-DIED A. D. 1784.

THIS artist was a son of the well-known Scottish poet of the same name, and was born at Edinburgh, in the year 1713. Edwards says, he was a self-taught artist. His father, writing to a friend, in 1736, says of him: "My son Allan has been pursuing his science since he was a dozen years auld: was with Mr Hyffidg in London for some time, about two years ago; has since been painting here like a Raphael: sets out for the seat of the Beast beyond the Alps within a month hence, to be away two years. I'm sweer' to part with him, but canna stem the current which flows from the advice of his patrons, and his own inclination." In the summer of 1736, our young artist left Edinburgh for Rome, where he studied three years. On his return to Scotland he commenced portrait-painting, and appears to have been well-patronized, but he soon changed his residence to London, where he was fortunate enough to secure the early patronage of Lord Bute, and of course of the heir-apparent. His high talents, backed by such powerful friends, secured him abundant employment of the most remunerating kind, and he began to amass money so rapidly, that in a very few years he had realized a sum of £40,000. One of his earliest acts, on finding himself

Sweer, i. e. loath.

possessed of the means, was to pay off his father's debts, and settle an annuity on his unmarried sister.

On the accession of George III., Ramsay was appointed portraitpainter to the court, although Sir Joshua Reynolds was high in reputation at this period. As his majesty was in the practice of presenting portraits of himself and queen to his ambassadors and colonial governors, Ramsay had abundant employment in multiplying the royal likenesses, and was obliged to engage a number of assistants; he invariably, however, says Mr Cunningham, painted the head with his own hand. "It often happened that the king desired the painter to convey his easel and canvass to the dining-room, that he might observe its progress, and have the pleasure of his conversation. The painter, a bold, spirited, wellinformed man, perfectly conversant with the state of the various kingdoms of Europe, spoke freely and without disguise; and as he was the only person about the court, save the domestics, who could speak German, the queen more especially found it an agreeable variety to chat with him in her native language. Ramsay, in short, was a great favourite. When the king had finished his usual allowance of boiled mutton and turnips, he would rise and say, 'Now, Ramsay, sit down in my place, and take your dinner.' This partiality produced, of course, abundance of enemies; but they could do him no harm-for he was not dependent upon royal favour; and the extent of his fortune was, at least, as well known, and as sincerely envied, as either his accomplishments, or his courtly success."

Soon after his appointment to be king's painter he revisited Rome, where he chiefly employed himself in copying the Greek and Latin inscriptions in the Vatican,-an employment which, it seems, pleased him much more than strictly professional pursuits. We have the high authority of Dr Johnson for representing our painter as a man of polished education and extensive information. "You will not," says the Doctor, “find a man in whose conversation there is more instruction, more information, or more elegance, than in Ramsay's." Northcote, in his 'Conversations,' speaks of him as follows:-"There was Ramsay, of whom Sir Joshua used to say, that he was the most sensible among all the painters of his time; but he has left little to show it. His manner was dry and timid; he stopped short in the middle of his work, because he knew exactly how much it wanted. Now and then we find tints and sketches which show what he might have been if his hand had been equal to his conceptions. I have seen a picture of his of the queen, soon after she was married, a profile, and slightly done, but it was a paragon of elegance. It was weak in execution, and ordinary in features, but the farthest possible removed from anything like vulgarity. A professor might despise it; but, in the mental part, I have never seen anything of Vandyke's equal to it. I should find it difficult to produce anything of Sir Joshua's that conveys an idea of more grace and delicacy."

Ramsay died at Paris, in 1784. His death was accelerated by an accident in which he dislocated his arm severely, and from the effects of which he never fully recovered.

William Woollett.

BORN A. D. 1735. DIED A. D. 1785.

THIS excellent engraver was a native of Maidstone in Kent. He gave early indications of that talent, by which he was afterwards to acquire so high a reputation in the spirited likenesses he used to sketch upon his slate of his school-fellows and acquaintances. He was apprenticed, at an early age, to a London engraver. Alderman Boydell was one of the first to discover and patronise the talents of the young artist. Mr Smith, in his life of Nollekins, thus relates the story of Woollett's introduction to the worthy alderman, in the words of the latter: "At this time, the principal conversation among artists was upon Mr Wilson's grand picture of Niobe, which had just arrived from Rome. I, therefore, immediately applied to his royal highness, the duke of Gloucester, its owner, and procured permission for Woollett to engrave it. But before he ventured upon the task, I requested to know what idea he had as to the expense; and, after some consideration, he said he thought he could engrave it for one hundred guineas. This sum was to me an unheard-of-price, being considerably more than I had given for any copperplate. However, serious as the sum was, I bade him get to work, and he proceeded with all possible cheerfulness, for, as he went on, I advanced him money; and though he lost no time, I found that he had received nearly the whole amount before he had half finished his task. I. frequently called upon him, and found him struggling with serious difficulties, with his wife and family, in an upper lodging in Green's court, Castle-street, Leicester-fields, for there he lived before he went into Green-street. However, I encouraged him, by allowing him to draw upon me to the extent of £25 more; and, at length, that sum was paid, and I was unavoidably under the necessity of saying, Mr Woollett, I find we have made too close a bargain with each other; you have exerted yourself, and I fear I have gone beyond my strength, or, indeed, what I ought to have risked, as we neither of us can be aware of the success of the speculation. However, I am determined, whatever the event may be, to enable you to finish it to your wish, at least to allow you to work upon it as long as another £25 can extend, but there we positively must stop.' The plate was finished; and, after taking a very few proofs, I published the print at five shillings, and it succeeded so much beyond my expectation, that I immediately employed Mr Woollett upon another engraving, from another picture by Wilson; and I am now thoroughly convinced, that had I continued in publishing subjects of their description, my fortune would have been increased ten-fold."

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Woollett is chiefly famous as an engraver of landscapes. His foregrounds are admirable for depth and vigour, and the distances for softness and delicacy. He died on the 23d of May, 1785.

His character has been thus drawn by one of his friends: "To say that he was the first artist in his profession, would be giving him his least praise, for he was a good man. Naturally modest and amiable in his disposition, he never censured the works of others, or omitted point