pounds to his old and faithful servant, Ralph Kirkley, who had lived with him upwards of thirty years.

The whole property of which Sir Joshua died possessed was estimated at eighty thousand pounds; a convincing proof of his extraordinary application, and of the high value set upon his talents.

Several years after his death, a statue of Sir Joshua, executed by Flaxman, was erected to his memory in St. Paul's cathedral; but it may well be questioned, whether the idea of a single colossal figure was the happiest that could have been adopted for such a character. Mrs. Frances Reynolds, the only unmarried sister of Sir Joshua, survived her brother several years, and died at the advanced age of eighty, in 1807. His niece, Miss Palmer, was the daughter of another sister of Sir Joshua, by an eminent attorney of Great Torrington, in Devonshire. She lived with her uncle many years, and soon after his demise married the Earl of Inchiquin, who was subsequently created Marquis of Thomond, whom she survived, and died in 1820. She possessed an highly-gifted and well-cultivated understanding. Her talents were various and distinguished; her conversation was enlightened and brilliant; her manners easy and affable. The brother of the Marchioness was in orders, and became Dean of Cashel.

Another sister of Sir Joshua Reynolds married the Reverend Mr. Johnson, of Great Torrington,

by whom she had two sons, William and Richard, who went to India; where, under the patronage of Warren Hastings, they both realised good fortunes, which they returned to enjoy in England, and died here some years ago. Sir Joshua was uniformly kind to all his relations; and of his liberality to others numerous instances might be produced.

His

Having taken a fancy to Gainsborough's admirable picture of a girl attending pigs, and asked the price of it; instead of sixty guineas, at which that artist valued his performance, Sir Joshua spontaneously gave him one hundred, saying, he considered the piece as cheap at that rate. Another case is related by the unfortunate Mr. Edward Dayes, who says, "Malice has charged Sir Joshua with avarice, probably from his not having been prodigal, like too many of his profession. offer to me proves the contrary. At the time that I made the drawings of the King at St. Paul's, after his illness, Sir Joshua complimented me handsomely on seeing them, and afterwards observed, that the labour bestowed must have been such that I could not be remunerated by selling them; but if I would publish them myself, he would lend me the money necessary, and engage to get me a handsome subscription among the nobility."

When Zoffany, the painter, came to England, he was but little known here, and without a patron; but the very first picture which he exhibited was

purchased by Sir Joshua Reynolds, at the price set upon it by the artist himself. This picture, which was a representation of Garrick, in the character of Abel Drugger, Sir Joshua soon afterwards sold to the Earl of Carlisle, for twenty guineas more than he had given for it, which additional sum he immediately paid to Zoffany, saying, he thought he had sold the picture at first below its real value.

Sir Joshua having heard of the unfortunate situation of an artist, who could not stir out for fear of being arrested, hastened to his residence, and learned from the man that forty pounds would enable him to settle with his creditors. After some more conversation Sir Joshua took leave, and at the door shook him by the hand, bidding him be comforted, and he would see what could be done for him. When he was gone, the poor man found

that he had left in his hand a bank note for one hundred pounds.

One morning at breakfast, Sir Joshua was very much surprised on reading in the newspaper an account of the conviction of a man for robbing his black servant. On enquiring into the affair, he found that his negro servant had been out all night, and had taken up his lodging in a watch-house, where the prisoner seized the opportunity of his being asleep to steal his watch and money. When the black awoke he missed his property, which, after search, was found upon the thief, who was tried and found

guilty at the next sessions. Sir Joshua was much hurt at the circumstance, and sent his faithful domestic, Ralph, to enquire into the situation of the prisoner, which he found to be deplorable enough. The black was then ordered to take clothes and provisions to the culprit, for whom Sir Joshua soon procured a commutation of his sentence, and he was transported to the colonies.

In the purchase of pictures Sir Joshua spared no expense, as appeared in his offering to cover twice over with guineas the picture of the Witch coming from Hell with a lapfull of charms, by Teniers; which piece he afterwards obtained, as he modestly declared, by only painting a portrait, a fancy subject, and another of his own works. Had his first proposal been taken, the sum would have been little, if any thing short of, one thousand pounds.

Mr. Northcote, in the very entertaining memoir which he has given of his friend and preceptor, tells us that he once asked him if he thought there ever would be in the world a superior to Titian in portrait-painting: to which he answered, that he believed there never would;-that, to procure a really fine picture by Titian, he would consent to sell every thing he possessed in the world to raise the money for the purchase, adding, with emphasis, "I would be content to ruin myself."

Such, however, was his desire of knowledge and intense anxiety to become acquainted with the

mechanical processes by which the old painters rendered their works durable, that he made no scruple of destroying very valuable paintings to discover the nature of the colours. This was the part of painting in which Sir Joshua was supposed to have laid himself open to criticism, by his practice of making experiments; in consequence of which it was wittily observed, that he came off with flying colours. It was his opinion, however, that the ancient mode of durable colouring was lost, and that art was advanced by such experiments, even where they failed of complete success. This is sound philosophical reasoning, and fully justifies the conduct of the illustrious painter from the frivolous charge of acting capriciously; but, perhaps, a better defence of him could not be made than the observation of Gainsborough, that in his opinion Sir Joshua's pictures, in their most decayed state, were better than those of any other artist in their best condition.

The predominant principle of Sir Joshua Reynolds was integrity, and its concomitant, modesty. He carried this into every part of his conduct, and to this he attributed the elevation which he attained; for whenever a new sitter came to him for a portrait, he always began it with a full resolution to make it the best picture he had ever painted. "My success, and continual improvement in my art," said he, may be ascribed, in a good measure, to a principle which I will boldly