Dear knight of Plympton, tell me how Thou say'st, not only skill is gain'd, Thy temper mild, thy genius fine, By constant application. In 1773 Sir Joshua Reynolds received a mark of distinction which gratified him exceedingly, that of being elected Mayor of his native town; whither he repaired, of course, to be inaugurated in due form. On this occasion he presented his portrait to the corporation, by whom it was placed in their town-hall; but the distich, written purposely to be placed under it, by the Reverend Thomas Alcock, was considered by Sir Joshua as bordering too much upon hyperbolic extravagance to be inserted with his knowledge, and in his life time. It was as follows: Laudat Romanus Raphaelem, Græcus Apellem, Soon after his return from Devonshire, Sir Joshua casually meeting the King in Richmond Gardens, was congratulated by his Majesty on his election, at which the Knight felt much surprised, little thinking that such a circumstance could have reached the ears of royalty. Sir Joshua answered, that it was an honour which gave him more pleasure than any he had ever received in his life; except," added he, "that which your Majesty was graciously pleased to confer upon me." 66 Another mark of distinction which he received this year was that of the degree of Doctor of Civil Law, from the University of Oxford, and it was not a little flattering to him to have this academical honour at the same time with Dr. Beattie. Soon after this, Sir Joshua, who had the greatest esteem for Dr. Beattie, painted a very remarkable picture of him, in which he is represented with his volume on Truth under his arm, an Angel going before him, and dispersing a host of errors, headed by Voltaire. This allegorical portrait excited much notice, but gave great offence to Goldsmith, who said, "It very ill becomes a man of your eminence and character, Sir Joshua, to condescend to be a mean flatterer, or to wish to degrade so high a genius as Voltaire before so mean a writer as Dr. Beattie; for Dr. Beattie, and his book together, will, in the space of ten years, not be known ever to have been in existence; but your allegorical picture, and the fame of Voltaire, will live for ever, to your disgrace as a flatterer." Poor Goldsmith was, in this instance, as in most others, solely actuated by envy; for the honour bestowed upon any living writer always proved to him a sting of torment. The present was not the only time that he vented his spleen against Beattie; but he received a most severe retort from Johnson whenever he presumed to do so in his company. Once, when Beattie happened to be mentioned with respect on account of his work, Goldsmith could not help exclaiming, "Here is much ado about a man who has written a single book; and I have published so many!" "Ah, Goldy," said Johnson, "remember, there are forty-two sixpences in a guinea." Of this admirable picture Sir Joshua was pleased to make Dr. Beattie a present, of which he was justly proud, preserving it with the utmost care, and keeping it always covered with a green silk curtain. Dr. Beattie, in his Diary, says, " August 16, 1773, breakfasted with Sir Joshua Reynolds, who this day began the allegorical picture. I sat to him five hours, in which time he finished my head, and sketched out the rest of my figure. The likeness is most striking, and the execution most masterly. The figure is as large as life. The plan is not yet fixed for the rest of the picture. Though I sat five hours, I was not in the least fatigued; for by placing a large mirror opposite to my face, Sir Joshua Reynolds put it in my power to see every stroke of his pencil; and I was greatly entertained to observe the progress of the work, and the easy and masterly manner of the artist, which differs as much from that of all the others I have seen at work, as the execution of Giardini on the violin differs from that of a common fiddler." In another place the doctor has this character of Sir Joshua : "I find him to be a man, not only of excellent taste in painting and poetry, but of an enlarged understanding and truly philosophical mind. His notions of painting are not at all the same with those that are entertained by the generality of painters, and others: artificial and contrasted attitudes, and groupes, he makes no account of; it is the truth and simplicity of nature which he is ambitious to imitate; and these, it must be allowed, he possesses the art of blending with the most exquisite grace and the most animated expression. He speaks with contempt of those who suppose grace to consist in erect position, turned-out toes, or the frippery of modern dress. Indeed, whatever account we make of the colouring of this great artist (which some people object to), it is impossible to deny him the praise of being the greatest designer of any age. In his pictures there is a grace, a variety, an expression, a simplicity, which I have never seen in the works of any other painter. His portraits are distinguished from all others by this, that they exhibit an exact imitation, not only of the features, but also of the character represented.” Another, and still more celebrated picture than the allegorical one of Beattie, painted by Sir Joshua in this year, was that of Count Ugolino, taken from the terrible story of that chief's misfor tunes, in the Comedia of Dante. The idea of this exquisite piece was suggested to Sir Joshua by Burke, on casually observing an old emaciated head in his painting room; which, he observed, struck him as being the precise person, countenance, and expression, of the Count Ugolino described by Dante. The picture, when finished, was exhibited, and afterwards sold to the Duke of Dorset for four hundred guineas. About this time a plan was formed by the principal members of the Royal Academy, to ornament the chapel of old Somerset house, which had recently been given to the Society by the King, with a series of historical pictures; but Sir Joshua Reynolds improved the idea, by saying, "they should fly at higher game, and undertake St. Paul's cathedral." This proposal was readily acceded to, and a negociation took place with Dr. Newton, Bishop of Bristol and Dean of St. Paul's, who most heartily gave his consent, and thus there appeared no obstacle to the magnificent design. An obstacle, however, there was; for whether Dr. Terrick, the Bishop, was piqued at not having been first consulted, or whether he really entertained what he professed, a dread of popery, so it was that he put a negative upon the scheme altogether, and would not even suffer a monument to be erected within the metropolitical church. Had the plan been suffered to proceed, Sir Joshua intended to have painted the Virgin and Infant Saviour in the Manger; but |