in London. To London he was accordingly sent on the fourteenth of October, 1741, and on the eighteenth of the same month, the day of St. Luke, the patron saint of painters, he was placed under the care of Mr. Hudson. Of this propitious circumstance, his biographers take particular notice; it keeps the chain of remarkable circumstances unbroken. This favourite of the fates was born three months before the death of Kneller; was named Joshua in a kind of speculation upon Providence; and commenced his studies in London on the day of Saint Luke. Fortune having done her best, young Reynolds had nothing more to do but stand in the way and be pushed silently on to wealth and reputation.

Hudson, the most distinguished portrait-maker of that time, was nevertheless a man of little skill and less talent, who could paint a head, but without other aid was unable to place it upon the shoulders. He was in truth a mere manufacturer of portraits; and as the taste and practice of Reynolds lay in the same line, there was some propriety in the choice. The timely counsel of his neighbour Cranch would have long afterward been rewarded with the present of a silver cup, had not an accident interfered. "Death," says Northcote, "prevented this act of gratitude-I have seen the cup at Sir Joshua's table." The painter had the honour of the intention and the use of the cup-a twofold advantage, of which he was not insensible.

At this time Hogarth was in the full enjoyment of his fame. His works were the wonder of every one, and an example to none. His peculiar excellence indeed was of such an order that rivalry there was hopeless; and no artist had the sagacity to see, that by adopting a style more sober and less sarcastic, with a greater infusion of beauty, a name as great or greater than his might have been achieved. Students consumed their time in drawing incessantly from other men's works and vainly thought, by

gazing constantly on the unattainable excellence of Raphael and Correggio to catch a portion of their inspiration. When any one departed from such tame and servile rules, he was pronounced a Gothic dreamer, and unworthy of being numbered among those happy persons patronised by Saint Luke. This accounts for the name of Hogarth being rarely or never found in the lectures or letters of the artists of his own time. Men who are regularly trained to the admiration of a certain class of works, admit few into the ranks of painting who have not a kind of academic certificate, and lop carefully away all wild or overflourishing branches from the tree of regular art. Among persons of this stamp, to admire Hogarth amounts to treason against the great masters. The painters of those days were worshippers of the "grand style"-a term which would seem to mean something alone and unapproachable, for no man offered to make any approaches to it by works that partook of either dignity or imagination.

Reynolds proceeded with his studies under Hudson; but it seldom happens that a man of no genius and moderate skill can give sound counsel to one who longs for distinction, and has the talent to obtain it. Instead of studying from the best models, he caused his pupil to squander time in making careful copies from the drawings of Guercino. These he executed with so much skill, that it was difficult to distinguish them from the originals; and some of them are, at this present moment, shown in the cabinets of the curious as the masterly drawings of Guercino.

While he remained with Hudson he went to a sale of pictures, and just before the auctioneer commenced he observed a great bustle at the door, and heard "Pope! Pope!" whispered round the room. All drew back to make way for the poet to pass, and those who were near enough held out their hands for him to touch as he went along. Reynolds

held out his, and had the honour of a gentle shake, of which he was ever after proud. This was one of the early anecdotes of his life which he loved to relate; it shows the enthusiasm of the young painter, and the popularity of the great poet.

He continued for two years in the employment of Hudson, and acquired with uncommon rapidity such professional knowledge as could then and there be obtained. He painted during that period various portraits, of which he never gave any account, and made many sketches and studies which would require a minute description to be comprehended. It is enough to say, that in general they contained the germ of some of his future graces, and displayed considerable freedom of handling and truth of delineation. Among the productions most worthy of remembrance was the portrait of an elderly servant-.. woman of Hudson's, in which, says Northcote, he discovered a taste so superior to the painters of the day, that his master, not without displaying a strong feeling of jealousy, foretold his future eminence. It was accidentally exhibited in Hudson's gallery, and obtained general applause. This was more than the old man could endure. Without any warm or angry words, a separation took place, and Reynolds returned into Devonshire.

Had his talents been known, and had his works at that period been publicly exhibited, Reynolds would have remained in London; for patronage is ever ready to encourage skill such as his, exerted in such a department. He returned home, however, in 1743, and passed three years in company, from which, as he informed Malone, little improvement could be got. Of this misemployment of his time he always spoke with concern. He had, however, the good sense to consider his disagreement with Hudson as a blessing; otherwise, he confessed, it might have been very difficult for him to escape from the tameness and insipidity, from the fair tied wigs, blue vel

vet coats, and white satin waistcoats, which his master bestowed liberally on all customers. Of the use of the three years in question Reynolds was certainly a competent judge; yet weight must be allowed to the opinion of Northcote, who says, that during this period he produced many portraits, particularly one of a boy reading by a reflected light, which were undoubtedly very fine. And in truth Sir Joshua himself seems to have acknowledged this, when, on seeing some of these pieces at the distance of thirty years, he lamented that in so great a length of time he had made so little progress in his art.

It was indeed impossible for a mind so active and a hand so ready to continue idle: and there can be no doubt that Reynolds was silently improving himself even though he was not satisfied with the progress. There were few paintings of excellence indeed near him, but it is not on admirable paintings alone that a painter should look; there were beauty and manliness enough in Devonshire for the purposes of his profession, and when he was weary of that, there were the images which he had stored away in his memory, and which his fancy could recall whenever it was desirable. It is more satisfactory to some of his professional friends to think that he studied with profit the works of William Gandy, of Exeter--a painter, some of whose portraits Reynolds certainly spoke of as equal to those of Rembrandt. One of Gandy's works he particularly admired, the portrait of an alderman of Exeter, placed in one of the public buildings of that place; and one of his observations he took much pleasure in repeating, namely, that a picture should have a richness in its texture as if the colours had been composed of cream or cheese.

When he was two-and-twenty years old, Reynolds and his two youngest unmarried sisters took a house at the town of Plymouth Dock: here he occupied the first floor, and employed his time in painting VOL. I.-R

portraits. It must be confessed that many of his productions, up to this period, were carelessly drawn -in common attitudes, and undistinguished by those excellences of colouring and power of expression which have made his name famous. His old master, Hudson, was still strong within him. One hand was hid in the unbuttoned waistcoat; the other held the hat, and the face was looking forwards with that vacant listlessness which is the mark of a sitter ► who conceives portrait-painting to resemble shaving, and that the sine quâ non is to keep his features stiff and composed. One gentleman desired to be distinguished from others, and was painted with his hat on his head; yet so inveterate had the practice of painting in one position become, that-if there be any truth in a story as yet uncontradicted-when the likeness was sent home, the wife of the patient discovered that her husband had not only one hat on his head but another under his arm. It is, however, well known that, even when his reputation was high, Reynolds permitted ladies, and gentlemen too, to select for themselves the positions they wished to be painted in; and his Devonshire patrons of this early period might in all likelihood consider it as desirable to appear, as much as possible, like their fathers and their friends. When left to the freedom of his own will, some of his attitudes, even in these days, were bold enough. A portrait of himself, which represents him with pencils and palette in his left hand, and shading the light from his eyes with his right, was painted at this time, and is, without doubt, a work of great merit.

Miss Chudleigh, a young lady of rare beauty, afterward too famous as Dutchess of Kingston, happened to be on a visit at Saltram in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, and sat for her portrait. This seems to have pleased Reynolds less than another sitter, whom he obtained at the same time, for he could not foresee that she would become a dutchess.