In 1730, Mr. Hogarth married the only daughter of Sir James Thornhill, by whom he had no child. This union, indeed, was a stolen one, and confequently without the approbation of Sir James and his Lady, who, confidering the extreme youth of their daughter, then barely eighteen, and the flender finances of the hutband, as yet an obfcure artift, were not easily reconciled to the match. Soon after this period, however, he began his Harlot's Progress; and was advised to have fome of his pictures placed in the way of his fatherin-law. Accordingly, one morning, Mrs. Hogarth undertook to convey feveral of them into the dining-room. When he arofe, he enquired from whence they came; and being told by whom they were introduced, he cried out, Very well; the man who can produce fuch reprefentations as thefe, can alfo maintain a wife without a portion."-All this, however, we have reafon to look upon as founded on misinformation. Hogarth, at this time, lived with his wife under her father's roof, in perfect good understanding with Sir James; who kindly faid, his houfe "would hold them all."

In 1732, he ventured to attack Mr. Pope, in the plate called TASTE; Containing a view of the gate of Burlington-house, with Pope whitewashing it, and befpattering the Duke of Chandos's coach. This plate was intended for a fatire on Mr. Pope, Mr. Kent the architect, and the Earl of Burlington. But Mr. Hogarth being as apprehensive that the pen of the poet was as pointed as the graver of the artift, recalled the impreffions, and deftroyed the plate.

Soon after his marriage, Mr. Hogarth had Summer-lodgings at South Lambeth. Having a natural tafte for gardening, and being in intimacy with Mr. Tyers, he contributed very much to the improvement of The Spring Gardens at Vauxhall; and firft fuggefted the hint of embellishing them with paintings, fome of which were the production of his own comic † pencil.

In 1733, his genius became confpicuously known. The 3d fcene of his "Harlot's Progrefs" introduced him to the notice of the Great. At a Board of Treafury, which was held a day or two after the appearance of that print, a copy of it was fhewn by one of the Lords, as containing, among other excellencies, a ftriking likeness of Sir John Gonfon . It gave univerfal fatisfaction; from the Trea. fury each Lord repaired to the print-fhop for a copy of it, and Hogarth rofe completely into fame.

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The familiarity of the fubject, and the propriety of its execution, made the "Harlot's Progrefs" tailed by all ranks of people. twelve hundred names were entered on his fubfcription-book. It was made into a pantomime, and reprefented on the ftage, Fan-mounts

This is a mistake. Mr. Hogarth had no tafte for gardening;

and was entirely ignorant of it, in all its branches. R.

Among the paintings at Vauxhall were the "Four Parts of the Day," either by Hogarth, or from his defigns. Of thefe the Evening" and "Night" are ftill exifting. They were painted by Hayman, from Hogarth's defigns. R.

The magistrate entering with his myrmidons, whofe vigilance onthofe occafions was at that time well known.

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were likewife engraved, containing miniature reprefentations of all the fix plates.

The Rake's Progrefs" was published in 1735; and "though, perhaps, fuperior, had Lot, as Mr. Walpole obferves, fo much fuccefs, from want of novelty; nor is the print of the Arrest equal in merit to the others. The curtain, however, was now drawn aide, and his genius flood difplayed in its fuli luftre."

The novelty and excellence of Hogarth's performances foon tempted the needy artift and print dealer to avail themfelves of his defigns, and rob him of the advantages which he was entitled to derive from them. This was particularly the cafe with "The Midnight Converfation," "The Rake's" and "Harlot's Progreffes," and others of his early works. To put a top to depredations like thefe, on the property of himself and others, and to fecure the emolument refulting from his own labours, he applied to the Legiflature, and obtained an Act of Parliament, 8 Geo. i. cap. 38. to veft an exclufive right in Defigners and Engravers, and to retrain the multiplying of copies of their works without the confent of the artist. . . . After Mr. Hogarth's death, by Stat. of 7 Geo. III. cap. 38. the Legislature granted to his widow a further exclufive term of twenty years in the property of her husband's works.

In 1745, Hgarth fold about twenty of his capital pictures by auction; and in the fame year acquired additional reputation by the fix prints of Marriage à la Mode.

Soon after the reace of Aix la Chapelle, he went over to France, and was taken into cuftody at Calais, while he was drawing the gate of that town, a circumftance which he hath recorded in his picture, entitled, "O, the Roaft Beeef of Old England!" published March 26, 1749. He was actually carried before the Governor as a spy; and, after a very ftri&t examination, committed a prifoner to Grandfire his Landlord, on his promifing that Hogarth should not go out of his house, till he was to embark for England. This account he himfelf gave to his friend, Mr. Gefling, at Canterbury, at whofe houfe he lay the night after his arival.

• Some

At the conclufion of this narrative, Mr. Nichols relates this accident more circumftantially, on the authority of an eminent English Engraver, who was abroad when it happened. Hayman the painter, and Cheere, the flatuary, were of the fame party.

"While Hogarth was in France, wherever he went, he was fure to be diffatisfied with all he faw. If an elegant circumftance, either in furniture or the ornaments of a room, was pointed out as deferving his approbation, his narrow and conflant reply was-" What then? but it is French!" In the streets, he was often clamorously rude. A tattered bag, or a pair of filk flockings with holes in them, drew a torrent of imprudent language from him. In vain did my informant advite him to be more cautious in his public remarks. He laughed at all fuch admonition, and treated the offerer of it as a pufillanimous wretch, unworthy of refidence in a free country, making him the butt of his ridicule for feveral evenings afterwards.

Soon after this period he purchafed a houfe at Chifwick; where, having now facrificed enough to his fame and fortune, he ufually paffed the greatest part of the fummer-feafon, yet not without vifiting occafionally his houfe in Leicefter-Fields.

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In 1753, he appeared to the world in the character of an Author, and published a quarto volume, entitled, "The Analysis of Beauty, written with a view of fixing the fluctuating Ideas of Tafte." In this performance he fhews, by a variety of examples, that a curve is the line of beauty, and that round fwelling figures are most pleasing to the eye; and the truth of his opinion hath been countenanced by fubfequent writers on the fubject.

In this work, the leading idea of which was hieroglyphically thrown out in a frontifpiece to his Works in 1745, he acknowledges himself indebted to his friends for affiftance, and particularly to one gentleman for his corrections and amendments of at least a third part of the wording. This friend, I am affured, was Dr. Benjamin Hoadley, the Phyfician, who carried on the work to about a third part (chap. ix.), and then, through indifpofition, declined the friendly office with regret. Mr. Hogarth applied to his neighbour Mr. Ralph + but it was impoffible for two fuch perfons to agree, both alike vain and pofitive. He proceeded no farther than about a sheet, and they then parted friends, and feem to have continued fuch.Here is a fimilar mistake. Mr Ralph's tafk was, like that of Dr. Hoadley's, merely verbal.-Nor was Mr. R. applied to for this purpose. It was his voluntary and friendly offer.

The kind office of fuperintending the publication, was taken up by Dr. Morell, who went through the remainder of the book §. The Preface was corrected by the Rev. Mr. Townley. The family of Hogarth rejoiced when the laft fheet of the Analyfis was printed off;

This unfeafonable pleafantry was at length completely extinguished by what happened while he was drawing the gate at Calais; for though the innocence of his defign was rendered perfectly apparent on the testimony of other sketches which he had about him, which were by no means fuch as could ferve the purposes of an engineer, he was told by the Commandant, that had not the peace been actually figned, he fhould have been obliged to have hung him up immediately on the ramparts. Two guards were then provided to convey him on fhipboard; nor did they quit him till he was three miles from the fhore. They then fpun him round, like a top, on the deck, and told him he was at liberty to proceed on his voyage withOut farther attendance or moleftation. With the flightest allufion to the ludicrous particulars of this affair, poor Hogarth was by no means pleafed. The leading circumftance his own pencil has recorded."

• This, we have authority to fay, is not ftrialy the fact. Dr. Hoadley had only to give fome correction to the language: he profeffed not to understand the subject. R.

The celebrated political writer, who lived in the neighbourhood of Mr. Hogarth's country houfe at Chifwick. R.

Dr. Morell only tranflated a Greek paffage. R.

as the frequent difputes he had with his co-adjutors in the progres of the work did not much harmonize his difpofition 1.

A German tranflation of this work was printed at Berlin in 1754, and an Italian one at Leghorn in 1761.

With Dr. Hoadly, the late worthy Chancellor of Winchester, Mr. Hogarth was always on terms of the fricteft friendship, and frequently visited him at Winchester, St. Cross, and Alresford. It is well known, that the Doctor's fondness for theatrical exhibitions was fo great, that no vifitors were ever long at his houfe before they were follicited to accept a part in fome interlude or other. He himself, with Garrick and Hogarth, once perfonated a laughable parody on the fcene in Julius Cæfar, where the Ghoft appears to Brutus. Hogarth perfonated the fpe&tre; but fo unretentive was his memory, that although his fpeech confifled of only two lines, he was unable to get them by heart. At last they hit on the following expedient in his favour: The verfes he was to deliver were written in fuch large letters on the outside of an illuminated paper-lanthorn, that he could read them when he entered with it in his hand on the stage.

Hogarth was also the most abfent of men. At table, he would fometimes turn round his chair, as if he had finished eating, and as fuddenly would return it, and fall to his meal again.

A fpecimen of Hogarth's propenfity to merriment, on the most trivial occafions, is obfervable in one of his cards, requesting the company of a friend to dine with him. Within a circle, to which a knife and fork are the fupporters, the written part is contained. In the center of it is drawn a pye; and the invitation of our Artist concludes with the following fport on three of the Greek letters [, B, .]-10 Eta Beta Pi [eat a bit of pye]. A quibble by Hogarth is furely as refpectable as a conundrum by Swift.

In the "Mifer's Feaft," Mr. Hogarth thought proper to pillory Sir Ifaac Shard, a gentleman proverbially avaricious. Hearing this, the fon of Sir Ifaac, the late Ijaac Pacatus Shard, Efq; a young man of fpirit, juft returned from his travels, called at the Painter's to fee the picture, and among the reft, afking the Cicerone whether that odd figure was intended for any particular perfon; on his replying, that it was thought to be very like Sir Ifaac Shard, he immediately drew his fword, and flashed the canvas. Hogarth appeared inftantly in great wrath; to whom Mr. Shard calmly juftified what he had done, faying, that "this was a very unwarrantable licence; that he was the injured party's fon; and that he was ready to defend any fuit at law:"-which, however, was never inftituted.

About 1757, his brother-in-law, Mr. Thornhill, refigned the place of King's Serjeant-painter in favour of Mr. Hogarth; who foon

It is amazing, that with all this cookery, and fo many cooks, the entertainment which this excellent Artist intended for the Public was not totally spoiled. Hogarth often declared, that he found "no other man's words could completely exprefs his ideas." The work is, nevertheless (we will venture to pronounce), the most masterly performance, of the kind, that ever was produced in the English language. An account of it was given in our Review-Vol. x. p. 100. REV. Dec. 1781. afterwards

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afterwards made an experiment in painting which involved him in" fome difgrace. The celebrated collection of pictures belonging to Sir Luke Schaub, was in 1758 fold by public auction; and the admired picture of Sigifmunda (purchafed by Sir Thomas Sebright for 4041. 58.). excited Mr. Hogarth's en ulation.'

We are informed by Mr. Walpole (whom Mr. Nichols quotes at large on this fubject), that the original Sigifmunda, faid to be painted by Correggio, or by Furino, is at prefent in the poffeffion of the Duke of Newcastle. After beftowing on it the warmeft praife, Mr. Walpole obferves, that, "after many effays, Hogarth, at last, produced His Sigismunda ;—but no more like Sigif munda, than I to Hercules. . . . . He fet the price of 400 I. on it, and had it returned on his hands by the perfon [Lord Grosvenor, then Sir Richard] for whom it was painted 1." Hogarth, however, fays Mr. Nichols, gave directions, before his death, that Sigismunda fhould not be fold under 500l.; and, however he might have been mortified by Churchill's invective, and the coldnefs with which the picture was received by the rest of the world, he never wholly abandoned his defign of having a plate prepared from it.'

"The last memorable event in our artist's life, as Mr. Walpole obferves, was his quarrel with Mr. Wilkes, in which, if Mr. Hogarth did not commence direct hoftilities, he, at leaft, obliquely gave the first offence, by an attack on the friends and party of that gentleman. In September 1762, Mr. Hogarth published his print of The Times. It was answered by Mr. Wilkes in a fevere North Briton. On this the Painter exhibited the caricatura of the Writer. Mr. Churchill, the Poet, then engaged in the war, and wrote his Epifle to Hogarth, not the brightest of his works, and in which the fevereft ftrokes fell on a defect that the Painter had not caufed, and could not amend-his age; and which, however, was neither remarkable nor decrepid; much lefs had it impaired his talents, as appears from his having compofed, but fix months before, one of his molt capital works, the Satire on the Methodits. In revenge for this Epiftie, Hogarth caricatured Churchill, under the form of a canonical bear, with a club and a pot of porter-et vitulâ tu dignus et hic-never did two angry men of their abilities throw mud with lefs dexterity."

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At the time thefe hoftilities (fays Mr. N.) were carrying on, in a manner fo virulent and difgraceful to all the parties, Mr. Hogarth was vifibly declining in his health. In 1762 he complained of an inward pain, which, continuing, brought on a general decay that proved incurable. On the 25th of October 1764. he was conveyed from Chiswick to Leicester Fields in a very weak condition, yet remarkably cheerful, and receiving an agreeable letter from the American Dr. Franklin, drew up a rough draught of an answer to it: bút going to bed, he was feized with a vomiting, upon which he rung his bell with fuch violence that he broke it, and was found in fuch a condition that he expired in two hours afterwards.- - Before he

See our remark on this anecdote, in our Review for March laft, p. 188. N. B. Our Biographer fuppofes that the letter which we have feen of Lord G.'s, and which fpeaks in the higheft terms of Sigif munda, was rather ironical than serious.

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