Baretti tried for Murder

135

who find themselves insufficiently impressed either by the vastness-rather, perhaps, the weightiness-of his literary power, or by the forceful aggressiveness of his

character.

Baretti had been importuned by a woman of the town, in the Haymarket, on the night of the 6th of October, and brushing her out of the way, was set upon by her bullies, who proceeded to hustle him. Prompt with cold steel, like most of his countrymen, the quicktempered Italian drew a small knife, and, being further pressed, struck with it two of the ruffians, one of whom afterwards died of his wound. The unfortunate homicide at once submitted to arrest, and Sir Joshua, Fitzherbert, Burke, and Garrick were accepted as his bail; while, in addition to these, Johnson, Goldsmith, and Beauclerk gave testimony in his favour, and especially as to his near-sightedness. According to Mrs Thrale, when Johnson and Burke visited Baretti in his prison, and endeavoured to comfort him, and yet to let it be understood that he stood in great danger of his life-"What can he fear," said the savant, placing himself between them, and grasping one hand of each in his "that holds two such hands as I do." He was acquitted, and must have owed his escape in a large measure to the various and powerful influences brought to bear in his favour, since many a good man was, in those days, hanged for a less matter.

It was after his acquittal that Baretti obtained, through the influence of Sir Joshua, the post of Foreign Secretary to the Academy, in connection with which his name has already been mentioned. His famous portrait by our master, in the Holland House collection, was not painted until 1774 when-again through the kind offices of Sir Joshua-he had been appointed

to the post of private tutor in the Thrale family. It was done for Mr Thrale's notable collection of the portraits of his friends, and is one of Sir Joshua's masterpiecesone of those rare pieces of penetrating characterisation which tempt us to prefer his portraiture of men even to his most gracious presentments of female loveliness.

The author of the Italian Dictionary is quite simply depicted, in an attitude peculiarly appropriate to the man of letters; he appears seated, holding with a critical air a book very close to his eyes-those short-sighted eyes which did him such good service at the time of his trial. There is absolutely no attempt here to make a dramatic picture, or to step outside the limits of the portrait proper, and yet the peculiar force and unity of the man's character are revealed with unsurpassed power. Rageur that he was, always tilting at some enemy or rival, always ready to declare war and carry it into the enemy's camp, it must have been this force, this peculiarly Italian intensity, that nevertheless imposed itself upon the illustrious circle of friends whom we have just seen grouped around him.

Mrs Thrale, though certainly not to be ranked as a writer of polished or elegant verse, was, as she has conclusively proved in the series of short poems written on the Streatham portraits, one of the best judges of character of her time; and the acidulated flavour of these audacious little effusions, the well-marked tendency to scratch which they reveal, must not blind us to this fact. Not all the gossip of the memoirs in which the time is so prolific, not all the diverting, sour-sweet comment of Horace Walpole's letters, shows up the personages concerned, as do the dedicatory verses of the Lady of Streatham; and it will be borne in mind that the parlour of the hospitable brewer, to whom we owe the incomparably interesting series of portraits now scattered in every direction, contained in counterfeit

Mrs Thrale on Baretti

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presentment the intellectual élite of the country and the time. Frances Burney has the freshest, liveliest talent for placing human beings before us in the flesh, for making them live and move as, with a cunning naturalness, she evokes them for our amusement; but even she could not, or at any rate did not, dive as deep into their essential individuality as her brilliant friend and protectress showed herself able to do.

Here are Mrs Thrale's lines to the Baretti portrait :

"Baretti hangs next, by his frowns you may know him,
He has lately been reading some new published poem ;
He finds the poor author a blockhead, a beast,
A fool, without sentiment, judgment, or taste.
Ever thus let our critic his insolence fling,
Like the hornet in Homer, impatient to sting,

Let him rally his friends for their frailties before 'em,
And scorn the dull praise of that dull king decorum ;
While tenderness, temper, and truth he despises,

And only the triumph of victory prizes.

Yet let us be candid, and where shall we find

So active, so able, so ardent a mind;

To your children more soft, more polite to your servant,
More firm in distress, or in friendship more fervent ?"

It was on the 11th of December 1769, on the occasion of the first distribution of prizes to the students of the Royal Academy, that the President's Second Discourse was delivered, and thenceforth, to 1772 inclusive, a like Discourse marked and dignified this special occasion; after which, down to the period of his retirement, these lectures were delivered on alternate years. Mauritius Lowe, Cipriani's pupil and Johnson's ne'er-do-well protégé, carried off the gold medal for painting, which, according to Northcote, he owed to the Italian contingent in the Academy, who were determined that a pupil of their fellow-countryman should win. John Bacon took the like medal for sculpture, and

Flaxman, then a recently-admitted student, a silver medal only, for a study from the model.

The often-repeated anecdote, given by Northcote with regard to the robbery committed on the person of Sir Joshua's black servant, is too significant, as illustrating the peculiar mansuetude and the helpful charity of the master, to be entirely passed over. Reading casually in a newspaper that a man was then in Newgate, condemned to death for a robbery committed on the person of this very negro, he interrogated the latter, and found, to his astonishment, that Miss Anne Williams, Dr Johnson's old and blind pensioner, having dined at the house with Miss Reynolds, he had been ordered to attend her back to Bolt Court, and on returning had loitered with some companions until he was barred out of the house. Giving up the attempt to obtain an entrance, he wandered about the street, and, taking shelter in a watch-house, fell asleep and was robbed of his watch and money. He gave the alarm and the thief was taken with the booty about him, was tried, found guilty, and condemned to be hanged. Sir Joshua, upon hearing this, sent food and clothes to the condemned man awaiting death in his filthy cell; then, through Burke, procured the capital sentence to be commuted to one of transportation for life; and finally, before the convict was shipped off, supplied him with further

necessaries.

The portrait-study of this negro (attributed to the year 1767) was No. 15 in the Reynolds Exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery, which also contained (No. 42) a like study, said to be that of Frank Barber, Dr Johnson's faithful black servant, who attended him down to the last hours of his life, and became his residuary legatee.

CHAPTER V.

Opposite Politics represented in The Club-Origin of the "Ugolino "-Second Exhibition of Royal Academy, 1770-"The Archers"-" Children in the Wood"-Goldsmith's "Deserted Village" dedicated to Sir Joshua-The Master again visits Devonshire-Extracts from Diary— Field Sports-Theophila and Mary Palmer-Dilettanti Portrait of Reynolds-The Academy occupies New Apartments at Somerset House-Sir Joshua's Dinner-Parties at Leicester Fields-Courtenay's and Malone's Accounts-Falsely accused of Parsimony-More Excur sions into the great world-Polly Kennedy- Death of Francis CotesExhibition of 1771- "Nymph and Bacchus". Resignation" Benjamin West's "Death of Wolfe"-It makes a Revolution in Historical Art - Sir Joshua again in Paris. - Northcote describes Reynolds working up Draperies-Portrait of Joseph Banks-Dunning -Exhibition of 1772-Zoffany's "Portraits of Royal Academicians" -De Loutherbourg- The Thrales - The Streatham Circle - Mrs Thrale's Lines on Sir Joshua-He is elected Alderman of Plympton -She Stoops to Conquer produced — Goldsmith and Northcote Exhibition of 1773-Sir Joshua's Twelve Pictures Strawberry Girl"—" Count Ugolino and his Children"-Reynolds and Imaginative Art-Dr Beattie's Allegorical Portrait-Reynolds elected Mayor of Plympton.

THIS particular time saw most of Sir Joshua's intimates. busily engaged in political matters, and often on opposite sides. It speaks well for the affectionate character of the friendship which united them, that the harmony of The Club does not appear to have been materially disturbed. by the diametrically opposite character of the views represented by its members. For one burning question there was the great constitutional one of the Middlesex Election. Wilkes was more than ever the popular