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MEMOIRS 
 
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 EXTRAORDINARY PAINTERS. 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
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 https://archive.org/details/biographicalmemoOObeck 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY 
 
 PAINTERS. 
 
 Aphthoniug progymnai. Pr. 
 
 A NEW EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WILLIAM CLARKE, NEW-BOND-STREET. 
 
 1824. 
 
Printed by J. F. Dove, St. John's Square. 
 
ALDROVANDUS MAGNUS. 
 
 This illustrious artist was one of the first 
 who brought the art of painting in oil 
 to a degree of perfection. It is well 
 known, that Hubert and John Van-eyck 
 in a manner discovered this admirable 
 secret, the finding of which occasioned 
 almost as much trouble as the researches 
 after the philosopher's stone ; but though 
 the Van-eycks succeeded to the admira- 
 tion of all Europe, still the most expe- 
 rienced colourists unanimously allow 
 Aldrovandus to have exceeded ^hem in 
 every respect. His varnish (composed 
 chiefly of nut-oil) gave a superior glow 
 to his paintings, rendered the tints more 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 mellow, and the nice strokes of his pen- 
 cil far more discernible than those of 
 the Van-eycks ; this circumstance alone 
 is sufficient to give the preference to our 
 artist, had not his knowledge of the 
 demi-tints raised him above all his pre- 
 decessors. Bruges claims the honour 
 of his birth, which happened on St. Si- 
 mon s day, 1473. His parents, wealthy 
 merchants trading to the Levant, intend- 
 ed to send him into those countries, that 
 he might acquire the language and be 
 serviceable in their commerce. Every 
 thing v^as agreed upon, and the day fix- 
 ed for his departure. Fortunately for 
 the arts, Jean Hemmelinck, a disciple of 
 the Van-eycks, chanced to pay a visit to 
 the old Aldrovandus, his beloved friend, 
 on the eve of his son s departure. Ob- 
 serving a number of loose papers covered 
 with sketches of animals and figures. 
 
MAGNUS. 3 
 
 scattered about the apartment, Hemme- 
 linck was tempted to take up some of 
 them, and sitting down began to examine 
 them with attention. He had not long 
 contemplated them, before he broke out 
 into exclamations of surprise, and inquir- 
 ed hastily for their author. The father, 
 who was writing at his desk by the fire 
 side, paid little attention to his friend's 
 enthusiasm, and it was not till Hemme- 
 linck had pulled him three times by the 
 sleeve that he cared to give any answer. 
 Being of a very phlegmatic disposition, 
 he replied coolly, " that they were his 
 son's scratches, and that he believed he 
 would ruin him in paper were he to live 
 much longer in such an idle way." 
 " Truly," said his mother, who was knit- 
 ting in a great chair opposite to his fa- 
 ther, and who was resolved to put in her 
 word, " our child is very innocently em- 
 b2 
 
4 
 
 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 ployedj and although he doth marr a 
 little paper, or so, there is no need 
 of snubbing him as you always do." 
 ''Woman," answered old Aldrovandus, 
 " cease thy garrulity, our son will be 
 shipped off to-morrow, so there needs 
 no farther words." Upon this the mo- 
 ther burst into tears, and, as she was 
 always averse to her son's voyage, took 
 this opportunity to give vent to her sor- 
 row, and. with a piteous voice, cried out. 
 You will, then, barbarous man ! Father 
 without bowels ! you will, then, expose 
 our first-born to dwell amongst a parcel 
 of brutal circumcised Moors and infidels. 
 You will, then, have him go over sea and 
 be shipwrecked without christian burial. 
 O Lord ! O Lord ! why cannot folks live 
 every one under his own fig-tree, without 
 roving and wandering through perils 
 and dangers, that make my blood run 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 5 
 
 cold to think of. And all this for the 
 lucre of gain ! Are we not blessed with 
 a competence at home, Avithoiit looking 
 for superfluities abroad ? Yes, my pre- 
 cious baby, you shall not be torn from 
 me. Here, take my ruby cross, my gold 
 bodkins, and all my parafernalia, leave 
 me but Anthony my son . . . Anthony, 
 my son, . . . O ! " — The poor lady pro- 
 nounced these last words with such ve- 
 hemence, that, her spirits failing her, she 
 fell into a swoon ; and whilst proper 
 assistance was called for, Hemmelinck, 
 touched with her situation (for he was 
 full of sensibility), drew his chair near 
 old Aldrovandus, and held the following 
 discourse: " You know, my dear friend, 
 that Providence has been bountiful unto 
 me, and that under its protection my ta- 
 lents have procured me an affluent for- 
 tune, to which I have no heir ; for to say 
 B 3 
 
6 
 
 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 truth, I have had no time to beget chil- 
 dren, and matrimony I have always re- 
 garded as a gilded pill, fair to the eye 
 and bitter to the palate ; therefore I have 
 been several times on the very point of 
 making you a proposition, which per- 
 haps may not be disagreeable." There 
 was a solemnity in this harangue very 
 suitable to the genius of Aldrovandus ; 
 the mention of affluence too and fortune 
 tickled his ears, and the proposition not 
 yet explained roused his attention. So 
 conveying his pen into his wig, and 
 twirling his thumbs round each other, 
 the merchant turned a very placid coun- 
 tenance towards Hemmelinck, who con- 
 tinued : In good truth, I have fixed 
 upon an heir ; I have cast on Anthony the 
 eyes of adoption, and if you will but con- 
 sent, I will defray the expenses you have 
 incurred in equipping him for the voy- 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 7 
 
 age, then I will take him home, nourish 
 him with parental tenderness, and next 
 I will teach him the principles of my art; 
 for his capacity is capacious^ and if the 
 blossoms of his genius are duly cultiva- 
 ted, they will produce such fruit as will 
 astonish the world. After my death he 
 shall inherit all my possessions. Go then 
 unto his mother, and comfort her,for she is 
 grievously afflicted." That I may not de- 
 tain my readers with unnecessary details, 
 I will briefly acquaint them, that Anthony 
 Aldrovanduswas, after some deliberation, 
 placed under the care of Hemmelinck, 
 and the project of his voyage abandoned- 
 Those who, after having been restrained 
 in their warmest inclinations, find them- 
 selves on a sudden free, may conceive the 
 joy of young Aldrovandus, when he found 
 himself at liberty to pursue his beloved 
 studies. He now applied himself with 
 
8 ALDRbVANDUS 
 
 such intenseness, that the kind Hemme- 
 linck was obliged to check an ardour^ 
 which might have proved prejudicial to 
 his health ; but nothing could hinder our 
 young artist from giving four hours in a 
 day to chemistry, his favourite science. 
 Hemmelinck was very assiduous in the 
 laboratory, and had some part in the 
 discovery of many admirable composi- 
 tions, which contributed to the perfec- 
 tion of Aldrovandus's colours, ever fa- 
 mous for their splendour and durability. 
 The judicious Hemmelinck, marking the 
 progress of his disciple, thought him 
 sufficiently grounded in his art to give 
 his paintings to the public^ and purposely 
 to make his talents known, quitted the 
 village of Damme, which had been their 
 residence for eight years, and travelled 
 to Ghent, where they arrived the 6th of 
 Sept. 1492. Hemmelinck immediately 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 9 
 
 hired a house and furnished it with his 
 own and Aldrovandus's paintings, which 
 soon attracted the admiration of the cu- 
 rious, who flocked in crowds to behold 
 them. Adam Spindlemans, a rich 
 burgher of Ghent, purchased five of the 
 most capital performances, which he sent 
 as presents to the Dukes of Parma and 
 Placentia, princes who delighted in the 
 encouragement of arts, and whose cabi- 
 nets began to be filled with the choicest 
 productions of the pencil. Such a ge- 
 nius as Aldrovandus could not long re- 
 main in obscurity. George Podebrac, 
 Duke of Bohemia, formerly the patron 
 of Hemmelinck, desired him to send his 
 disciple to his court, at the same time 
 promising the most ample encourage- 
 ment. An off'er like this was not to be 
 rejected, especially as Hemmelinck was 
 under such obligations to the Bohemian 
 
10 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 monarch that he could hardly have refus- 
 ed it with decency. Besides he had other 
 reasons, of no less consequence to his dis- 
 ciple's advancement. Aldrovandus was 
 not insensible to the charms of the fair 
 sex, and AnnSpindlemans, whose beauty 
 and coyness had been fatal to many 
 lovers, held him in her chains. In vain 
 he presented her with eastern curiosities, 
 which his mother had privately procured 
 him . In vain he laid a pair of silk stock- 
 ings at her feet, at that period a valuable 
 rarity. Not all his assiduity could pro- 
 cure him the least favour, so far was he 
 from hoping ever to garter his present 
 above the knee. It is incredible what 
 elegant closet pictures he lavished upon 
 this haughty beauty. It was for her he 
 finished so exquisitely the adventure of 
 Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, a fable 
 the very reverse of his own unhappy 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 11 
 
 situation. It was at her desire he im- 
 piously changed the sacred story of Bell 
 and the Dragon, begun for the Benedic- 
 tines, into the garden of the Hesperides, 
 guarded by a more sagacious monster. 
 This trait scandalized his master, whose 
 chastity had taken the alarm at several 
 other of his proceedings, and, under pre- 
 tence of visiting his parents, he found 
 means to snatch him from the allure- 
 ments of Ann Spindlemans ; nor was it 
 till after he had left Ghent ten leagues 
 behind, that he perceived the deceit. 
 Such are the reveries into which love- 
 lorn passion plunges his votaries ! 
 
 Hemmelinck, who accompanied his dis- 
 ciple, tried by sage discourses to set his 
 conduct in its proper light, and told him 
 with his accustomed gravity, that what 
 was right could not be wrong, and vice 
 versa. He added, that youth was the 
 
12 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 season of folly, and that passion was like 
 an unbridled horse, a torrent without a 
 dike, or a candle with a thief in it, and 
 ended by comparing Ann Spindlemans 
 herself to a vinegar-bottle, who would 
 deluge the sallad of matrimony with 
 much more vinegar than oil." He con- 
 tinued for two long hours in this figura- 
 tive style, when observing his disciple's 
 eyes nearly closed, he gave another fillip 
 to his imagination, and attempted to ex- 
 cite his attention by more splendid ideas. 
 Now he represented to him what golden 
 advantages would spring from his resi- 
 dence at Prague, what honours, what 
 emoluments ; and next he brought to 
 view^ Duke Podebrac, with great solem- 
 nity appointing him his painter^ and 
 holding forth chains and medals deco- 
 rated with costly gems, as the reward of 
 his labours. These chains and medals 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 13 
 
 the sagacious painter took great care to 
 wave frequently before the eye of his 
 fancy, and this lessened, in some mea- 
 sure, the acuteness of his sorrow. These 
 flattering dreams served to alleviate his 
 grief during the journey, and before he 
 arrived at Prague had almost effaced 
 Ann Spindlemans from his memory. 
 How inconstant is youth, how apt to 
 change, how fond of roving ! But let us 
 return to our artists, who met with the 
 most honourable reception from the 
 Duke. He immediately gave them an 
 apartment in his palace, appointed them 
 a magnificent table, and officers to attend 
 them. 
 
 Aldrovandus, delighted with the ge- 
 nerous treatment he had received, re- 
 sumed his employments with double 
 alacrity, and began an altar-piece for 
 c 
 
14 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 the cathedral, in which he may be said 
 to have surpassed himself. The subject, 
 Moses and the burning bush, was com- 
 posed in the most masterly manner, and 
 the flames represented with such truth 
 and vivacity, that the young Princess 
 Ferdinanda Joanna Maria being brought 
 by the Duchess, for a little recreation, to 
 see him work, cried out, La! Mamma^ 
 I won't touch that bramble bush, for fear 
 it should burn my fingers !" This cir- 
 cumstance, which I am well aware some 
 readers will deem trifling, gained our 
 painter great reputation amongst all the 
 courtiers, and not a little applause to her 
 Serene Highness, for her astonishing dis- 
 cernment and sagacity. All the nurses 
 and some of the ladies in waiting de- 
 clared, she was too clever to live long, 
 and they were not mistaken, for this ad- 
 mirable Princess departed this life Jan. 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 15 
 
 23d, 1493, and it was unanimously ob- 
 served, that had she lived, she would 
 have been indubitably the jewel of Bohe- 
 mia. This may seem a digression ; but 
 as it was her Serene Highness who first 
 gave her spotless opinion of our artist's 
 merit, I could not dispense with men- 
 tioning these few words in relation to 
 her, and consecrating a tear to her me- 
 mory. Aldrovandus was sensibly af- 
 flicted at her loss, and painted her apo- 
 theosis with wonderful intelligence. He 
 represented the heavens wide open^ and 
 the Blessed Virgin in a rich robe of ul- 
 tramarine, seated, according to custom, 
 on the back of the old serpent, whose 
 scales were horribly natural. Mercury, 
 poetically habited, was placed judicious- 
 ly in the off-skip, with an out-stretched 
 arm, receiving the royal infant from the 
 city of Prague. She was draped in a 
 c2 
 
16 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 saffron stole, which seemed to float so na- 
 turally in the air, that a spectator might 
 have sworil the wind blew it into all its 
 beautiful folds. Above were gods and 
 goddesses, saints and angels. Below 
 were forests and gilded spires, nymphs, 
 fauns, dryads and hamadryads, all clas- 
 sically adorned with emblems and sym- 
 bols. This master-piece gained him the 
 esteem of Podebrac and the whole court, 
 to which was added a rich chain with the 
 Duke's picture, and a purse containing 
 1000 rixdollars. Encouraged by this 
 liberality, Aldrovandus exerted himself 
 more and more. It is from this time 
 we may date some of his most capital 
 productions. The tower of Babel, in 
 which he expressed the confusion of lan- 
 guages. Lot's wife, the Duchess of Bo- 
 hemia, and two highly finished land- 
 scapes, since lost in the confusion of war^ 
 
MAGNUS. 17 
 
 were all dispersed among the Bohemian 
 nobles, who vied with each other in load- 
 ing him with presents. His genius was 
 now in its full vigour, his touch spirited, 
 his colours harmonious, and his draw* 
 ing correct. Italy envied the Bohemian 
 court the possession of such an artist, and 
 several of her Princes tried all possible 
 means to engage him to visit them ; but 
 notwithstanding the great desire he had 
 to behold the lovely prospects of Italy, 
 the magnificence of Rome, and the re- 
 mains of ancient grandeur so interesting 
 to a picturesque eye, he refused every 
 offer, and resolved never to quit a mo- 
 narch, from whom he had experienced 
 such generosity. Podebrac, charmed 
 with these sentiments, decorated him 
 with the order of the Ram, and gave him 
 in marriage Joan Jablinouski^ a young 
 lady to whom nature and fortune had 
 c3 
 
18 ALDROVANDUS 
 
 been lavish of their favours. Their 
 nuptials were celebrated by torch light 
 in one of the royal gardens, and their 
 Majesties and the whole court graced 
 the ceremony with their presence ; but 
 this entertainment was unfortunately in- 
 terrupted by the sudden death of Hem- 
 melinck, who had long been troubled 
 with a boulomee^ or voracious appetite, 
 which occasioned him to devour what- 
 ever was set before him with a frightful 
 precipitation. He met his fate in a huge 
 pike, which he soon reduced to a mere 
 skeleton, and soon after feeling a death- 
 like cold at his stomach, called feebly to 
 Aldrovandus, squeezed his hand and ex- 
 pired. The bridegroom was dreadfully 
 disconcerted by this event, for he sin- 
 cerely esteemed his master, notwith- 
 standing the reproofs he had often re- 
 ceived from him; and indeed he had 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 19 
 
 every reason to respect his memory, as 
 all the wealth of Hemmelinck now be- 
 came his own. 
 
 Aldrovandus was now arrived at the 
 summit of prosperity : universally es- 
 teemed and admired, caressed by a puis- 
 sant Prince, solaced by the blandish- 
 ments of a lovely spouse, this happy 
 painter had not a wish unsatisfied. He 
 now began to enjoy his opulence in a 
 palace he had built, and there divided 
 his time between the delights of his art 
 and the pleasures of society. Disciples 
 flocked from very remote parts to seek 
 his instructions ; but he dismissed them 
 all with handsome presents, two only 
 excepted, whose conduct particularly 
 won his esteem. The two elect were 
 Andrew Guelph and Og of Basan, since 
 so famous in the annals of painting. The 
 
20 ALEROVANDUS 
 
 assiduity of these young men was incre^ 
 clible, and their talents astonished Aldro- 
 vandus, who used always to be saying* 
 If Og had lived before the Deluge, he 
 would certainly have obtained permis- 
 sion from Noah to have been of the party 
 in the ark." Andrew Guelph he allow^ed 
 to possess great merit, surprising fire of 
 genius, and an imagination tempered by 
 science, and consequently super-excel- 
 lent. In conversing with his chosen 
 friends, and instructing his disciples, Al- 
 drovandus passed many happy years, 
 diversified by the birth of four children, 
 to whom Ferdinand gave letters of nobi- 
 lity. At length fortune, tired w^ith la- 
 vishing on him her gifts, clouded the 
 evening of his life by an unforeseen mis- 
 fortune. As he and his disciples worked 
 night and day at a suite of paintings 
 which was to contain the whole history 
 
iMAGNUS. 
 
 21 
 
 of the Goths and Vandals, canvas began 
 to grow exceedingly rare, and Ferdinand^ 
 touched with the lamentations of his fa- 
 vourite, summoned a solemn council, at 
 which he ordered him to assist, with An- 
 drew Guelph and Og of Basan bearing 
 the sketches of part of the great histori- 
 cal work. The council assembled ; Po- 
 debrac ascended the throne; the trumpets 
 sounded ; the painters arrived, and the 
 paintings were exposed to the admiration 
 of this august assembly, who conferred 
 on Aldrovandus the title of Magnus, 
 nem, con. Afterwards they proceeded to 
 business, and voted a supply of canvas. 
 Several of the nobles distinguished 
 themselves by very elegant harangues, 
 and his Highness issued forth a procla- 
 mation, whereby he declared it treason 
 for any of his liege subjects to conceal, 
 purloin, or alienate any roll, bundle, or 
 
22 ALDROVAl^DUS 
 
 fardel of canvas within his dominions, 
 thereby impeding the collection which 
 the aforesaid Aldrovandus Magnus, 
 Knight of the most noble order of the 
 Ram, was empowered to make. Now 
 waggons and sledges arrived from every 
 quarter, bringing the tributary canvas 
 to Aldrovandus's palace. He, transport- 
 ed with gratitude, and fired by that en- 
 thusiasm to which we owe so many capi- 
 tal works, resolved to outdo his former 
 outdoings, on the subject of Prince Dra- 
 homire, who in the year 921 was swal- 
 lowed up by an earthquake in that spot 
 where now stands the palace of Radzen. 
 Animated by this glorious subject, he 
 cried aloud for canvas, but instead of 
 canvas, his disciples, with singed beards, 
 brought the news of the conflagration of 
 his warehouse, in which every thread of 
 it was consumed. What a disappoint- 
 
MAGNUS. 
 
 23 
 
 ment to collected genius ! A paroxysm of 
 grief ensued ; and calling out continually 
 
 Drahomire ! Canvas ! and St. Luke ! 
 Aldrovandus Magnus expired. There 
 was hardly a dry eye in Prague. The 
 Duke groaned ; the courtiers wept ; his 
 disciples painted his catastrophe ; the 
 people put on black ; the university com- 
 posed epitaphs, and Professor ClodLum- 
 pewitz exceeded them all. His perform- 
 ance happily escaped the wreck of time, 
 and I have the pleasure of setting it be- 
 fore my readers, with a version, sup- 
 posed to be made by the ingenious 
 Master John Ogilby. 
 
 Pictor Alexandri titulum gerit Aldrovandus; 
 Pictor erat magnus ; magnus erat Macedo. 
 Mortis erat similis (sic fertur) causa duobus : 
 Huic regna, autem illi cannaba deficiunt. 
 
 Magnus, the title of old Alexander, 
 
 Was also that of Painter Aldrovand' here ; 
 
24 
 
 ALDROVANDUS. 
 
 The one for want of* worlds to conquer cried, 
 T' other for lack of canvas nobly died. 
 
 * It is remarkable that the learned Professor 
 Clod Lumpewitz, ever maintained that this re- 
 nowned Conqueror was cruelly aspersed, by those 
 who have killed him by drinking; and instead of 
 merely crying for more worlds to conquer, he in- 
 sisted that he died solely on that account. The 
 critical reader will observe, that the admirable 
 Ogilby, in conformity with the general opinion , 
 has taken a small liberty with his author. 
 
ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 AND 
 
 OG OF BASAN, 
 Disciples of Aldrovandus Magnus. 
 
 The obscure village of Basan, situated 
 on the wilds of Pomerania, gave birth 
 to Andrew Guelph and to Og, from 
 thence denominated, of Basan. Andrew's 
 parents were reputable farmers, who till- 
 ed their own lands, and had the comfort 
 of seeing their numerous herds grazing 
 in their own pastures. Without the de- 
 licacies of life, they enjoyed every neces- 
 sary, and being ignorant of a higher 
 
 D 
 
26 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 station, were amply contented with their 
 own. GeofFry Simons, or Sikimonds, 
 the brother of Andrew's mother, was 
 esteemed the father of Og, tho' there are 
 who assert he was of far more illustrious 
 extraction; as Prince Henry Sucking- 
 bottle and Felt Marshal Swappingback 
 had passed through his native village 
 some nine months before his birth, and 
 had honoured his mother with particular 
 marks of condescension and affability. 
 But whether they really were his earthly 
 fathers I will not pretend to determine ; 
 certain it is that they stood by proxy as 
 his godfathers, Feb. 3, 1519, in the pa- 
 rish church of St. Sigismund^ and by their 
 desire he was baptized by the name of Og, 
 common to their illustrious ancestors. 
 
 The relationship between Og and An- 
 drew afforded them frequent opportuni- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 27 
 
 ties of being together, and the similarity 
 of disposition united them by much 
 stronger ties than those of blood. Their 
 employments frequently called them into 
 the fields, and it was in mutually delight- 
 ing to observe nature, that they first im- 
 bibed the desire of imitating her produc- 
 tions. Seldom did the sun set before they 
 had engraven on the rocks the resem- 
 blance of some of the shrubs that grew 
 from the fissures, or the likeness of seve- 
 ral of the goats that came to drink at the 
 spring beneath. The desire of excelling 
 each other produced many surprising 
 efforts of genius, and it happened after 
 they had amused themselves almost five 
 years in covering the neighbouring rocks 
 with their sculptures, that Og s mother 
 unfortunately lost a sheep, on which she 
 had placed her affections. Searching for 
 her lost favourite she climbed the rocks, 
 d2 
 
28 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 to which her son and his friend were 
 accustomed to resort. The first object 
 that struck her eyes was the portrait of 
 the animal she was looking for, sketch- 
 ed out upon the stone. When she re* 
 turned home she could not help relating 
 what she had seen to a Jew, who fre- 
 quented her house, and who had been 
 educated a painter. The Jew offered to 
 cultivate the talents of Og, and Andrew 
 ardently begged to receive his instruc- 
 tions together with his friend. Their 
 joint request granted, both learnt with 
 the greatest avidity ; but at the end of 
 two years finding they excelled their 
 master, they entreated their parents for 
 permission to travel to Prague, where 
 they might improve under so great a 
 painter as the famous Aldrovandus. — 
 The parents consented, and the young 
 men set out in the depth of winter for 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 29 
 
 Bohemia, and arriving at Prague were 
 received in the manner I have related by 
 Aldrovandus. After his death they sold 
 a cabinet of their own and their master's 
 paintings for a considerable sum, and 
 then set out together for Tyrol, which 
 they had a great desire to see, as the wild- 
 ness of the landscapes and the romantic 
 grandeur of the mountains, promised 
 them excellent subjects for the pencil. 
 A tent, two mules, and an Hungarian 
 servant (whose portrait Andrew took 
 great delight in drawing) was all the bag- 
 gage and suite with which they were en- 
 cumbered. During the summer months 
 they roved from one part of this beautiful 
 country to another ; now pitching their 
 tent in a green valley by a waterfall, now 
 gaining the highlands and living amongst 
 the mountaineers ; whose queer counte- 
 nances and uncouth dresses furnished 
 D 3 
 
30 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 them with admirable studies. The rude 
 scenery of these mountains suited the 
 melancholy of Og's imagination, which 
 delighted in solitude and gloom. He 
 sequestered himself from his companion, 
 hid himself in the forests of pines, and 
 descended into caverns where no one had 
 ever penetrated. Whilst Og was deli- 
 vering himself up to his genius in these 
 wildernesses, Andrew, whose imagina- 
 tion was less fervid, contented himself 
 with the humbler prospects of the val- 
 leys. He took pleasure in the conversa- 
 tion of the peasants, and on a moonlight 
 evening would take his guitar, and ac- 
 companying it with his voice, enliven the 
 assembled peasants before their simple 
 habitations. There are said to have been 
 two pictures in the Dusseldorp collection 
 by his hand, in which he has placed him- 
 self at the door of a hovel, surrounded 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 31 
 
 with a groupe of cliildren ; their eyes 
 beaming with mirth, and looking at a 
 young man, who is capering under the 
 shade of a beech tree, through whose 
 leaves quivers the light of the moon. On 
 a bank sit several young peasants, whis- 
 pering to one another ; their features 
 scarce discernible; their limbs finely 
 proportioned and their attitudes spirited. 
 Behind lies a wide extended country, 
 concealed by a beautiful haze ; the dis- 
 tribution of light and shade are very 
 masterly, the tints soft and mellow, and 
 the aerial perspective admirable. Many 
 connoisseurs give this moonlight the 
 preference to any they have ever seen. 
 Andrew, during his stay in these valleys^ 
 applied himself to botany, and intro- 
 duced a vast variety of plants in the fore- 
 ground of his landscapes, which he never 
 failed of finishing with the most scrupu- 
 
32 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 lous exactness. Monsieur Van Slinge- 
 landt, of the Hague, is in possession of 
 one of these views from Tyrol, where 
 the artist has faithfully imitated the ca- 
 taract of Brawling-bubble, shaded by a 
 Variety of trees, and estimable on ac- 
 count of the innumerable aquatic plants 
 he has placed on the margin of the tor- 
 rent. They are coloured with truth, and 
 touched with such lightness and facility 
 as is truly surprising. A bridge formed 
 of the stumps of fir-trees, and a rainbow 
 produced by the spray of the water, has 
 the finest effect imaginable. The sky 
 is warm and glowing: several golden 
 clouds envelope the setting sun, whose 
 beams pierce through the thickets, and 
 partially enlighten the off'-skip; but a 
 want of keeping in the back ground, 
 where the painter has brought some 
 very distant peaks too near the eye^ of- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 33 
 
 fends the critical spectator. Andrew 
 waited near half the summer for his 
 companion, and had nearly given him 
 up for lost, when one morning, as he 
 was straying by the banks of a rivulet, 
 he saw a strange figure descending a pre- 
 cipice with wonderful alertness. Judge 
 of his surprise, when shortly after he re- 
 collected the well known features of Og 
 of Basan, most reverently mantled in a 
 long beard. Andrew desired his friend 
 to quit this savage state, and then begged 
 to know for what purpose he had under- 
 taken so wild an expedition. " For the 
 love of my art," replied Og with some 
 warmth ; " I have beheld nature in her 
 sanctuary, I have contemplated the tem- 
 pest gathering at my feet, and venting 
 its fury on these contemptible habita- 
 tions. You have idly remained amongst 
 these herdsmen, these unfeeling clowns, 
 
34 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 whilst I have discovered the source of 
 rivers and the savage animals that in- 
 habit them. Here, take my papers and 
 observe what scenes I have imitated." 
 Andrew took the drawings with impa- 
 tience and devoured them with his eyes. 
 "What rocks !"exclaimed the transported 
 painter; "what energy in the strokes of 
 this pencil ! Indeed," continued he, turn- 
 ing to his friend, who was reciting some 
 lines he had composed amongst the moun- 
 tains, " you have acquired a new manner. 
 Our master Aldrovandus never equalled 
 the magnificent forests you have repre- 
 sented. Then what harmony in these 
 tints ! What a gradation of shadow ! But 
 this sketch exceeds them all. What are 
 these visionary beings you have intro- 
 duced ? Is not that august figure, bend- 
 ing over the torrent, Aldrovandus ?" He 
 continued a long while to interrogate his 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 35 
 
 friend, and then began a very serious 
 conversation, in the course of which they 
 agreed to quit Tyrol and pass into Italy, 
 to make their talents known, and to 
 cultivate the society of those illustrious 
 painters, whose fame had reached the 
 very extremities of Europe. This reso- 
 lution taken was not long in executing, 
 and passing over the mountains they 
 discovered the plains of Italy, for the 
 first time, Sept. 1540. 
 
 Every city presented to them a multi- 
 plicity of objects with which they were 
 unacquainted. Venice struck them with 
 surprise, and being long accustomed to 
 scenes of nature, they were astonished, 
 rather than delighted, with those of art. 
 It was in this city, at this period the re- 
 sort of foreigners from every part of the 
 world, they became acquainted with 
 
36 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 Soorcrout and Sucrewasser of Vienna, 
 painters of whom we shall make ho- 
 nourable mention in the subsequent part 
 of our work. These young men, who 
 had already acquired a considerable re- 
 putation by their singular style of paint- 
 ing, totally different from the manner of 
 Aldrovandus and his disciples, attempt- 
 ed to depreciate, by a meanness too re- 
 markable in several great artists, the pic- 
 tures, and studies which Andrew and 
 Og of Basan had brought from the rocks 
 of Tyrol. They deemed them prepos- 
 terous and unmeaning, found great fault 
 with the varnish, peculiar to Aldrovan- 
 dus, condemned oils in general, and 
 strenuously recommended white of 
 egg. Not contented with these cri- 
 ticisms, they openly attacked the me- 
 mory of Aldrovandus, treated him as a 
 vile plagiary, who copied nature instead 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 37 
 
 of the antique models, which alone they 
 regarded as the standards of perfection ; 
 besides that, he had never been at 
 Rome, was ignorant of the divine Ra- 
 phaello, and, to crown all, was born in 
 Flanders. Andrew Guelph, conscious 
 of the ridiculous malignity of these as- 
 sertions, prudently left the public to 
 decide, whether his paintings ought to 
 be condemned without trial ; but Og of 
 Basan, with his usual violence of temper, 
 insisted upon an assembly of the com- 
 scenti being summoned, and claimed the 
 privilege of confronting his works with 
 those of Sucrewasser and Soorcrout of 
 Vienna. Accordingly the conoscenti 
 were convoked, a day appointed, and a 
 casino chosen for the rendezvous of the 
 assembly. 
 
 Andrew Guelph prepared his moon- 
 
38 
 
 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 light for the occasion, and Og of Basan 
 a wilderness, in which he introduced 
 the temptation of our Saviour. His 
 rivals brought each of them pieces, 
 which they esteemed capital. Signor 
 Andrea Boccadolce, president of the 
 society, having taken the chair, and the 
 pictures being placed in a row before 
 him, silence was proclaimed, and Og of 
 Basan commanded to advance and vin- 
 dicate the use his master, Aldrovandus 
 Magnus, had made of nut-oil, preferably 
 to white of egg, defended by Sucre- 
 wasser and Soorcrout. 
 
 Og of Basan obeyed, and with a mo- 
 dest assurance stepped into the middle 
 of the assembly, hemmed three times, 
 cast a terrible eye upon his antagonists, 
 bowed to the president, and began in the 
 following terms. Had I even a third 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 39 
 
 part of my master's merit, I should not 
 without fear hazard my opinion before so 
 respectable an assembly, distinguished 
 by their profession, and still more by that 
 rare knowledge, and that taste in it, 
 which they have displayed on so many 
 preceding occasions. Imagine not, il- 
 lustrious Signors ! I am ignorant of my 
 rivals' merit. Their performances have 
 doubtless met with no more than de- 
 served applause ; and had the hens of 
 your sacred republic ceased depositing 
 their eggs, you would then have unani- 
 mously allowed the beauty evident in 
 every stroke ; for they might have been 
 visible ; but I must confess the splendor 
 of their incomparable varnish has bereft 
 me of eyes to examine what, I doubt not, 
 merits the most exact attention." Here 
 Soorcrout bit his lip, and Sucrewasser 
 scratched his elbow : Signor Boccadolce 
 e2 
 
40 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 whistled gently, and the conoscenti look- 
 ed at one another, as if they had never 
 thought of this before. Og proceeded. 
 
 Aldrovandus, whom the Duke of Bo- 
 hemia regretted to his last moments ; 
 Aldrovandus, the pupil of Hemmelinck ; 
 Aldrovandus, who obtained the title of 
 Magnus, anointed his pictures with nut- 
 oil : shew me a more illustrious example 
 and I will follow it. Ah ! if we could 
 recall this great man from ^ the tomb, in 
 which I saw him interred, how ably 
 would he defend the cause of nut-oil. 
 Had my feeble voice but half the unction 
 of his tongue, I should confound you 
 partizans of white of egg : I should drive 
 you to despair : Ye would hide your- 
 selves from this assembly : Ye would 
 make an omelet of your eggs and bury 
 them in your own entrails." So saying, 
 the artist advanced towards his rivals. 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 41 
 
 who retreated in proportion, and, with a 
 full swing of his arm, tore away the cur- 
 tain from his picture, and exposed his 
 wilderness to view. A murmur of ap- 
 plause ran through the whole assembly, 
 when they beheld this prodigy of art, 
 where the tempter stood confessed in all 
 his wiles, and Signor Boccadolce pro- 
 nounced, that no varnish but nut-oil 
 could smooth a wilderness, or give so 
 amiable a polish to the devil's horn. 
 Andrew immediately uncovering his 
 moonlight, completed the astonishment 
 of the spectators and the confusion of his 
 rivals, who, refusing to disclose their 
 pieces, retired without delay, and left 
 Venice the day following. Now all the 
 conoseenti hurried to compliment our ar- 
 tists upon the exquisite beauty of their 
 performances, and no other varnish but 
 nut-oil was approved. The sketches 
 E 3 
 
42 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 they had brought from Tyrol were pur- 
 chased with avidity, and most of the 
 nobles desired them to make finished 
 pictures after these bold designs, and in 
 a short space of time they found them- 
 selves growing exceedingly rich. The 
 Pococurante family, in particular, com- 
 manded a whole gallery of paintings, 
 which was to immortalize the mighty 
 deeds of their ancestors. The interest- 
 ing conversation of Og of Basan, his 
 natural eloquence and address, procured 
 him access to the first houses in Venice, 
 where he often conversed with strangers, 
 whose discourse was full of the praises 
 of Rome and Raphael, insomuch that 
 he determined to visit that capital of the 
 world, and leaving Andrew to finish the 
 Pococurante gallery, he took the road of 
 Bologna and hastened to Tivoli, whose 
 cascades, cool grottos, venerable temples 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 43 
 
 and refreshing shades detained him 
 during the heats, which continued two 
 months. He spent his mornings in ex- 
 ploring the subterraneous apartments 
 (many of which he was the first that had 
 entered) and in copying the grotesques 
 on the vaulted ceilings, of which he 
 published two volumes in folio, elegant- 
 ly illuminated. He was very fortunate 
 in his researches after antiquities, having 
 discovered some of the most estimable 
 which now grace the Italian cabinets. 
 His evenings were dedicated to music 
 and the reading of Ariosto, then lately 
 given to the world. 
 
 A young native of Tivoli, whose name 
 we are ignorant of, was partly the cause 
 of his lingering in this enchanted region. 
 Her form was perfectly Grecian, and the 
 contour of her face exceeded those of the 
 
44 ANDREW GUELPrt, 
 
 antique Julia ; but it was her taste which 
 captivated the heart of our artist. Like 
 him she delighted in woods and cavernSj 
 and was charmed, like him, with the 
 ruins that lay scattered over her country. 
 She would often lead him to meadows 
 of greenswerd, where she had observed 
 some sculptured marble overgrown with 
 flowers ; when the sun had cast his set- 
 ting gleams on the Sybil's temple, she 
 would hasten to her love and conduct 
 him to a grove of cypresses, and sing 
 under their shades till the moon dimly 
 discovered the waterfalls to her view. 
 Then they would seat themselves to- 
 gether on the brink of the stream which 
 runs foaming through the valleys, and 
 when an universal stillness prevailed, 
 interrupted alone by the waters and the 
 bell of some distant monastery, she 
 would select those stanzas in the Or* 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 45 
 
 lando which expressed her passion, and 
 repeat them with rapture. Many are 
 the nights they passed together, and 
 many the mornings when they ascended 
 the cliffs, and beheld the sun rising be- 
 hind the towers of Rome. At length 
 Og recollected, he was born not to spend 
 all his days at Tivoli, and whilst his be- 
 loved nymph was sleeping by his side, 
 he arose, and without venturing to cast 
 one look behind, fled like a criminal to- 
 wards Rome : But let us leave him a 
 prey to his guilty reflections, and repre- 
 sent the distraction of the unhappy 
 maid, who awoke never to recover her 
 lost happiness. At first she imagined 
 her lover in the neighbouring thicket, 
 and putting aside the brambles with her 
 tender arms, searched every brake in 
 vain. She lifted up her voice, and filled 
 all the valley with her cries. She ran in 
 
46 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 all the wildness of grief to the river, and 
 her troubled imagination represented 
 the body of her lover floating down the 
 floods. A peasant, who was trimming 
 his vines, perceived her agitation, and 
 running towards her, asked her the cause 
 of her affliction. She described her 
 lover in such a manner as to admit of no 
 doubt, and the peasant declared he had 
 seen him at the first dawn on the way to 
 Rome. She started: A cold tremor 
 seized her whole frame : She would have 
 fallen had not an aged pine sustained 
 her. She opened once more her eyes, 
 and casting a last look on the scenes of 
 her former happiness, plunged headlong 
 into the tide, and was seen no more. 
 Whilst this new Olimpia* added an- 
 other victim to love, her Bireno was 
 
 * Alluding to a story in the 10th canto of the 
 Orlando Furioso. 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 47 
 
 graciously received by the Cardinal 
 Grossocavallo, who lodged him in his 
 palace and presented him to his Holi- 
 ness, who was pleased to command two 
 altar-pieces, and to name two famous 
 miracles for their subjects ; the one St 
 Dennis bearing his own head, intended 
 as a present for the King of France ; the 
 other St. Anthony preaching to the 
 fishes, which was to be sent to Frederick 
 the Simple, King of Naples. Og suc- 
 ceeded wonderfully in both perfor- 
 mances. The astonishment in the head 
 at finding itself off its own shoulders was 
 expressed to admiration, and the attitude 
 of the blessed St. Dennis as natural as 
 that of any man, who ever carried such 
 a burthen. In the second picture he 
 placed St. Anthony on a rock projecting 
 over the sea, almost surrounded by 
 shoals of every species of fish, whose 
 
48 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 countenances, all different, were highly 
 expressive of the most profound atten- 
 tion and veneration. Many persons 
 fancied they distinguished the likeness 
 of most of the Conclave in these ani- 
 mals ; but this is generally believed to 
 be a false observation, as the painter had 
 no pique against any of their Eminences. 
 What, however, gave rise to this idea, 
 was, as I learn from the best authority, 
 some dislike he entertained against 
 Cardinal Hippolito d'Est, on account of 
 his stupid treatment of his beloved poet 
 Ariosto. He was even heard to repeat 
 one day, when this Cardinal was ad- 
 vancing towards him^ the following line 
 from the Orlando : 
 
 Vi venia a bocca aperta il grosso tonm^. 
 
 After he had finished the altar-pieces 
 above-mentioned, and presented them 
 to his Holiness, he desired permission 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 49 
 
 to study the works of Raphael, dispersed 
 in the apartments of the Vatican. So 
 reasonable a request was not denied, 
 and our artist, permitted to visit every 
 part of this immense palace, spent two 
 months in straying through the vast 
 saloons, examining the antiques with a 
 critical eye, and copying the paintings 
 of Raphael. Charmed with the solitude 
 of many of the coved halls in this stupeii- 
 dous edifice, he frequently retired to them 
 with a few books he had chosen from 
 the famous library, and his own volumes 
 of designs. It was with difficulty he 
 could be forced from his retirement to 
 take the necessary sustenance. Thus 
 delivered up to meditation, he composed 
 a treatise upon his art, and a disserta- 
 tion upon the plurality of worlds, not 
 published till after his death. He was 
 perfectly serene whilst occupied in this 
 
 F 
 
60 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 manner ; but when his treatise and dis- 
 sertation were ended, and his designs 
 after Raphael completed, he abandoned 
 himself to a melancholy, which overcast 
 all his happiness. He would now walk 
 by moonlight through the lonely gal- 
 leries, and revolve in his mind the in- 
 stability of human grandeur. The mag- 
 nificence of the ancient Romans reduced 
 to heaps of mouldering ruins, objects 
 continually before his eyes, reminded 
 him of the fall of empires, and this idea 
 was attended by a series of others still 
 more gloomy. " So many great cha- 
 racters (said he, as he was reading Taci- 
 tus on the capital of a broken column) 
 passed away like fleeting clouds, of 
 which no trac^ remain, fill me with the 
 most interesting reflections. Where 
 now are those crowds, which assisted at 
 the dedication of the capitol, that rende4 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 51 
 
 the air with their acclamations at the tri- 
 umphs of Pompey, that feasted at the 
 table of LucuUus? All are no more. 
 The time too must come, when these 
 halls will be levelled with the plain, 
 these arches fall to the ground, and that 
 awful period may also arrive when the 
 moon shall cease to cast her gleams over 
 their ruins." The recollection of Tivoli 
 now stole insensibly into his mind : He 
 grew troubled, and reproached himself 
 a thousand times with having deserted 
 one who had sacrificed all for him. 
 Though he was ignorant of her sad fate, 
 the delicacy of her sensations recurred 
 to his memory with innumerable cir- 
 cumstances, which revived all his for- 
 mer tenderness, and many dreadful sus- 
 picions haunted his fancy. If he slept, 
 his dreams represented her in the well- 
 known woods, wailing as in anguish, or 
 F 2 
 
52 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 on the distant shore of rapid torrents 
 beckoning him to console her in vain, 
 for the instant he attempted to advance, 
 tempests arose, and w^hirlwinds of fire 
 snatched her screaming from his sight. 
 Often he imagined himself reclining by 
 her side in meads of flowers, under a 
 sky of the purest azure, and suddenly 
 she would become ghastly pale, and 
 frowning on him, drive him to a flood 
 that rolled its black waves between ter- 
 rifying precipices, and dashing into its 
 current drag him after her, and then he 
 would wake in horror, crying, ^'l drown ! 
 I drown!" Indeed he seems to have 
 been selected as an example of divine 
 vengeance. Alone in this great capital, 
 without a friend to administer consola- 
 tion, or sustain his sinking spirits, he 
 returned to Tivoli, fully resolved to 
 make every reparation to her who had 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 53 
 
 placed such unmerited confidence in his 
 perjured breast. But ye who have any 
 sensibility^ figure to yourselves the poig- 
 nancy of his grief, when the first object 
 he beheld was a young man, the brother 
 of her he had loved, and who had lately 
 taken the monastic habit, shuddering at 
 his sight, and exclaiming, Avaunt, 
 wretch ! my sister plunged into that tor- 
 retit for thee — for thee she is lost for ever 
 — and scarce three days did my mother 
 survive her. Thou too shouldst join 
 them, or I would die a thousand deaths, 
 did not my order forbid me to vindicate 
 my wrongs. 'Tis to my future hopes 
 thou owest thy present safety ; but be 
 gone, lest I break my vow, and sacrifice 
 thee to my revenge." Cowardice ge- 
 nerally accompanies guilt : Og, terrified 
 at the resolute aspect of the young man, 
 and appalled by the lively sense of his 
 F 3 
 
54 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 wrongs, retired without making any re- 
 ply, and remounting his horse, which 
 he had led when he ascended the steeps 
 of Tivolij galloped away with astonish- 
 ing swiftness, without determining where 
 to direct his route. In every passing 
 wind, he fancied he heard voices up- 
 braiding him with his crimes, and cries 
 denouncing vengeance seemed to issue 
 from every thicket he left behind. At 
 length, harassed by continual fears, he 
 stopped towards the close of the even- 
 ing, near the sepulchre of Cecilia Me- 
 tella, and throwing himself from his 
 wearied horse, which he left carelessly 
 to drink at a fountain, sought the in- 
 terior of the structure. There, beneath 
 the covert of a solitary pine, he folded 
 his arms and remained till night in 
 silence, the image of despair. The 
 screeches of noxious birds, which fre- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 55 
 
 quented the edifice, roused him from his 
 trance. He started up, and quitted the 
 ruins with terror, as if he had been per- 
 sonally guilty of the murder, and with- 
 out looking for his horse, turned his steps 
 towards a garden he just distinguished 
 in the twilight. As he had taken no 
 sustenance the whole day, some branches 
 loaded with fruit, that hung over the 
 wall, oifere4 themselves opportunely to 
 allay his hunger. Whilst he was ga- 
 thering them the moon arose, and dis- 
 covered faintly the desolate scene 
 around : There a pillar yet erect with 
 an humble shed beneath, whose roof 
 leaned on its base : Here a tract of un- 
 cultivated ground strewed with the frag- 
 ments of superb edifices, long since laid 
 low: There the remains of fountains 
 and aqueducts, whose hollow arches 
 still echoed the murmurs of rivulets, 
 
56 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 which forced their feeble course with 
 difficulty thro' heaps of mouldering 
 marbles, and roots of fantastick laurels. 
 Rome lay extended beyond, diversified 
 by its domes and spires, and marked by 
 a dim haze, proceeding from the lights 
 in its palaces. Our wanderer listened 
 to the confused sounds of music, of 
 revelry, and triumph, which arose 
 from the numerous habitations, but it 
 was with disgust. He loathed every 
 thing that was allied to joy, and ab- 
 horred all that bespoke festivity. He 
 remained uneasy till the uproar ceased-, 
 and, when the surrounding regions were 
 hushed in the most profound tranquillity, 
 began his complaints. He was on the 
 very point of depriving himself of ex- 
 istence, and walked to and fro, agitated 
 by all the violent emotions of despair. 
 Half the night was spent in vain lamen- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 57 
 
 tationSj and the grey twilight was just 
 beginning to be visible, when, wearied 
 with inquietude, he sunk down on the 
 ground and fell into a slumber, in which 
 the scene hovered before his fancy : A 
 fictitious city was stretched out before 
 him, enlightened by a fictitious moon. 
 The shade of her he loved skimmed 
 along a colonnade, which cast its shadows 
 on the plain, and then stood leaning on 
 the lonely pillar, uttered a feeble groan 
 and glided by his side. Her wet gar- 
 ments clinging round her delicate shape, 
 her swollen eyes and drooping hands, 
 announced a melancholy fate. She 
 seemed to say, Why do my aflfections 
 still linger on thee beyond the tomb ! — 
 Why doth my pale bosom still cherish 
 its wonted fires ! — How comes it that I 
 do not appear riding on a sulphureous 
 cloud, shaking a torch in my hand and 
 
58 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 screaming out Perjury ! — No ! my gentle 
 nature forbids me to injure thee. But 
 mark ! Quit yonder fatal city ; seek the 
 islands of the south, and may'st thou 
 expiate thy crime The form next 
 shed some visionary tears, and seemed 
 to mingle with the mists of the morn- 
 ing. Og, awakened by the sun-beams, 
 recollected his dream, and without even 
 taking leave of the Cardinal Grossoca- 
 vallo, in whose care he had deposited 
 a coffer containing the rewards of his 
 pencil, heedlessly took the road to 
 Naples, resolving to pass into Sicily, 
 and end his days in that island. 
 
 For the sake of brevity, let us suppose 
 him arrived as far as Naples, ignorant 
 of any person to whom he might ad- 
 dress himself, without money and 
 ashamed to own himself in distress. 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 
 
 59 
 
 This was a mortifying situation to one 
 who had been accustomed to affluence 
 and familiarized with prosperity. A 
 kind of false pride prevented his making 
 use of his art to extricate himself from 
 these difficulties, " What," said he, 
 shall I, who have been courted by the 
 nobles of Venice and the princes of Rome, 
 whose pieces have been sought after by 
 the Holy Father himself, condescend 
 to offer them to a Neapolitan rabble for 
 a morsel of bread ? But were I to pre- 
 sent myself to the King, and implore his 
 protection, my mean appearance, so dif- 
 ferent from the idea which has been 
 formed of me, would expose me to the 
 derision of the whole court. What shall 
 I do ? — To whom shall I apply for suc- 
 cour ? Were I to measure back my 
 steps to Rome, that city would remind 
 me of all my misery, and renew all my 
 
60 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 sorrows ; and must I not expect to be 
 received as a man bereft of reason, a 
 slave to inconsistency ?" 
 
 It happened, whilst Og was bewailing 
 himself in this manner, that a vast con- 
 course of people, all hurrying to enter 
 a church, attracted his attention, and, 
 without rightly knowing what he did, 
 he joined the throng and followed it 
 into a chapel, where, to his surprise, he 
 beheld his picture of St. Anthony preach- 
 ing to the fishes placed over the altar 
 and admired with universal rapture. 
 One person was charmed with the posi- 
 tion of the saint, his outstretched arm 
 and enthusiastic countenance. Another 
 praised the amiable physiognomy of an 
 huge thunny, first and foremost amongst 
 the auditors. A third impiously wished 
 such fine fish transferred to his own 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 61 
 
 table, and a wag, who was squinting in 
 a corner of the chapel, would have said 
 a smart thing if he had dared. In short, 
 every body expressed their admiration 
 after their own way, and our painter 
 was so affected with these impartial 
 praises, that he burst into tears, and 
 made such an extravagant outcry that 
 the priest was ready to souse him for a 
 demoniac. But no sooner did he de- 
 clare himself the author of that master- 
 piece which excited such admiration, 
 and produce some designs he always 
 carried about with him as credentials, 
 than the Count Zigzaggi stepping for- 
 wards welcomed him to Naples, in- 
 vited him to his house, and assured him 
 of the King's protection. Though Og 
 was secretly overjoyed at so obliging an 
 offer, yet his delicacy prevented his im- 
 mediately accepting it, and it was not 
 
 G 
 
62 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 till after repeated entreaties and innu- 
 merable compliments, that he could be 
 prevailed upon to accompany Signor 
 Zigzaggi to his palace. As the pride of 
 genius often increases with poverty, 
 Zigzaggi w^as dreadfully perplexed how 
 to treat his guest with sufficient respect; 
 for Og, though encumbered with no great 
 change of raiment, would not accept of 
 any from the Count, and shutting himself 
 dp in a closet that looked towards the 
 Bay, with his pallet and pencils, refused 
 to see any person till he had acquainted 
 Andrew Guelph with his condition. 
 An express was speedily dispatched to 
 Venice, and, in seven weeks after, his 
 faithful friend arrived with a splendid 
 suite, and a coffer filled with 15,000 
 sequines. Andrew had employed his 
 time in a different manner from Og. 
 He had met with no damsel that died 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 63 
 
 for love of him, and afterwards scared 
 him in his dreams. He had whined 
 away no months in shady retirements, 
 nor wasted his youthful hours in saun- 
 tering through deserted galleries, or 
 in moralizing upon the decline of em- 
 pires. Though he had written no dis- 
 sertation upon the plurality of worlds, 
 he had realized, by his application, the 
 plurality of sequines, with which he was 
 far better contented, and Og,in his pre- 
 sent circumstances, thought he had great 
 reason. Andrew had heard of his 
 friend's ridiculous conduct, and la- 
 mented his being carried away by the 
 impetuosity of his imagination ; but he 
 was so happy in being restored to him, 
 that he forgot all his faults, and from 
 this time would never believe he had 
 any. Og related his adventures with 
 such a moving simplicity, that his friend 
 G 2 
 
64 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 dissolved into tears, and mourned the 
 maid of Tivoli with unfeigned affliction. 
 He tried to sooth Og's melancholy by 
 recounting what had happened to him- 
 self, and describing the ingenious pro- 
 ductions of Schooreel, who had travel- 
 led to the Holy Land, where he had 
 painted the sepulchre of Christ. An- 
 drew would not allow his friend to de- 
 pend long upon the Count's benevo- 
 lence : he bought a house and gardens 
 on the shore opposite to the island of 
 Ischia, and provided himself with boats, 
 in which he used to share the diversion 
 of fishing with his friend, whose mind, 
 calmed by the lovely prospects around 
 this agreeable solitude, situated in one 
 of the finest climates of Europe, began 
 to recover its long-lost serenity. Og, 
 willing to leave Zigzaggi a proof of his 
 gratitude, desired Andrew's assistance 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 65 
 
 in composing and finishing" a picture, 
 which should excel all his former pro- 
 ductions. 
 
 They chose a subject capable of dis- 
 playing their various talents, and seclud- 
 ing themselves from all society in their 
 romantic villa, spent a whole winter in 
 bringing their scheme to perfection. 
 The piece which resulted from this 
 application was so transcendent as to 
 merit a very particular description. 
 Our painters had been reading an old 
 Italian poem, which related the deeds 
 of the antediluvian giants and heroes, 
 their astonishing magnificence, and the 
 wars they waged against the cherubim 
 that guarded the sacred mount of Para- 
 dise. It sung of Noah and the inspira- 
 tions he received from the Deity, by 
 whose command he had raised the ark 
 g3 
 
66 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 and preserved himself and his children 
 from universal destruction. The ap- 
 proach of the deluge, the consternation 
 of mankind, the horrid despair of the 
 giants, and the wreck of nature, were 
 all described with such energy as set 
 the imagination of Og all on fire, and 
 totally possessed him with antediluvian 
 subjects. He laboured with his ideas, 
 he could not rest till he had embodied 
 them, and during the whole time which 
 he employed in painting the capital 
 performance I am going to describe, he 
 was in a kind of rapture. 
 
 He represented a vast hall in the ark, 
 supported by tall slender columns of a 
 strange unknown architecture. Above 
 were domes, which admitted a pale 
 watery light, diffusing a sacred gloom 
 over the whole apartment. On the fore- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 67 
 
 ground he placed the venerable patri- 
 arch, in extasy at the sight of an angel, 
 descending majestically on a rainbow, 
 which cast its vivid tints on the cornices 
 of the hall, gleaming with gems. These 
 bright hues were powerfully contrasted 
 with the shade that prevailed in the 
 back-ground, where a line of portals, in- 
 scribed with mysterious characters, 
 seemed just emerging from the dark- 
 ness. The form of the angel seemed to 
 hover in the air. It was lucid and 
 transparent, its hair seemed like wav- 
 ing sun-beams, and its countenance was 
 worthy of a minister of the Deity. The 
 rays which darted from the angel struck 
 upon several altars, vases and golden 
 ornaments dispersed in various parts of 
 the apartment. These Andrew finished 
 with his accustomed delicacy. But it 
 would be in vain to attempt giving an 
 
68 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 idea of the patriarch's countenance ; 
 so many expressions were united in his 
 features. His arms were extended in 
 the very act of veiling his face with his 
 ample robe, which fell around him in 
 variety of folds and partially covered 
 the cedar floor, rendered with the 
 greatest truth. Every person that was 
 admitted to the sight of this perfor- 
 mance, returned struck with astonish- 
 ment. Sig. Zigzaggi, though by no 
 means able to comprehend the subject, 
 or admire its sublimity, gloried in pos- 
 sessing such a treasure, and encouraged 
 Og of Basan to paint its companion, 
 who still adhering to his antediluvian 
 subject, designed another chamber in 
 the ark, less awful than the former, but 
 more pleasing. Noah and his family 
 appeared in a spacious apartment en- 
 lightened by lamps depending from the 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 69 
 
 arched roof, which was studded with 
 stars. The painter had lavished a va- 
 riety of splendid decorations on the ar- 
 cades which supported the edifice, 
 under which Shem and his spouse were 
 seated on beds covered with the furs of 
 animals. Ham and Japhet were tend- 
 ing a number of quadrupeds, who were 
 discovered behind a range of lattices. 
 Heaps of flowers and baskets of various 
 fruits occupied the space nearest the 
 eye ; where two children were sporting 
 with peacocks and other birds, whose 
 plumage seemed to give way under 
 their pressure. Noah, with his hands 
 clasped together, was represented in a 
 transport of gratitude, extolling that 
 Being who guided the ark through the 
 waters, and forbade the waves to dash it 
 against the peaks of the mountains. The 
 imaginary costume was preserved with 
 
70 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 judgment, and the light which the lamps 
 yielded was warm, glowing, and well 
 thrown on the objects. This picture 
 was esteemed above criticism, and its 
 fame reaching the King's ears, Og was 
 sent for and conducted to a private 
 audience by the Count Zigzaggi. His 
 Majesty, charmed with the painter's 
 eloquent conversation, took a rich dia- 
 mond from his finger and presented it 
 to him. Zigzaggi placed the family- 
 piece of the ark in one of the royal 
 apartments, from whence it was soon 
 after transported to Spain, and forms at 
 present the principal ornament of the 
 Escurial. Cardinal Grossocavallo, who 
 had heard of our artist's success^ at 
 Naples, wrote him a very obliging let- 
 ter, accompanied by the coffer he had 
 placed under his care, which his Emi- 
 nence had augmented by a considerable 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 71 
 
 present. The cotFer and letter were de- 
 livered to Og by a young man the Car- 
 dinal recommended to his notice. This 
 was Benboaro Benbacaio, who had 
 studied under Julio Romano, but whose 
 school he had quitted to place himself 
 under the direction of Og of Basan. 
 Benboaro resembled him in many re- 
 spects ; particularly in an imagination 
 wild and singular, and a taste acquired 
 by a particular observation of nature. 
 Above all, an enthusiastic admiration 
 of Og's productions prepossessed that 
 painter in his favour, who received him 
 without any hesitation^ and heard with 
 pleasure his critiques on the Roman 
 school. There they forced me," 
 said he, eternally to repeat the same 
 subjects ; they obliged me to study 
 anatomy, to which science I had ever 
 a disgust ; they pinioned my imagi- 
 
72 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 nation; in short, they enslaved my 
 pencil, which is at present free, and 
 shall be dedicated to your service/' 
 Benboaro had not remained a year with 
 Og before the latter declared his reso- 
 lution to him of going into Sicily, where 
 he proposed spending the remainder of 
 his days in the society of Andrew 
 Guelph. " If," said he to his disciple, 
 ^' a youth like you can forego the plea- 
 sures of this gay city, can spurn the al- 
 lurements of the world and bury your- 
 self in the solitudes of Mongebello, you 
 may follow me ; if not, open my cof- 
 fers, and retire loaded with half their 
 contents." The young man protested 
 the world had no charms to entice him 
 from one to whom he was eternally at- 
 tached, and, throwing himself at his 
 feet, beseeched him not to leave him 
 behind. Og consented; and the week 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 73 
 
 following embarked with his disciple 
 and Andrew Guelph for the island^ in 
 which he was to cast his last look on 
 the face of nature. It was in the be- 
 ginning of summer, the sea calm and 
 reflecting the varied shores of the bay 
 of Naples, when their bark was rowed 
 out of port. At night they touched at 
 the island of Caprea, where they land- 
 ed, and pitched their tents in a little 
 green spot, shaded with wood and in 
 the midst of rocks and ruins. As soon 
 as the morning star appeared on the 
 horizon, they quitted Caprea, and tak- 
 ing advantage of a brisk gale, crowded 
 their sails and reached Cape Policastro 
 before sun-set. The face of the country 
 seemed so delightfully wooded, that 
 they cast anchor off a promontory, and 
 landing, began to penetrate into the fo- 
 rests which covered the shores. Among 
 
 H 
 
74 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 them they found many irregular lawns, 
 hemmed in by thickets of laurel and 
 bay, with here and there a tall pine 
 rising from amongst them, whose stems 
 were loaded with luxuriant woodbines. 
 The sun had just sunk into the ocean 
 when they attained these pleasing re- 
 gions, where the freshness of the breezes, 
 the clearness of the springs, and the 
 odour of the plants and flowers, which 
 began to be diffused in every gale, 
 tempted them to erect their tents and 
 remain there till the full of the moon. 
 Another circumstance which persuaded 
 them to stay was the neighbourhood of 
 a ruin, where some very hospitable pea- 
 sants had erected sheds to screen their 
 herds from the heats. — These good folks 
 supplied them with milk, bread and 
 fruit in abundance. Being rather fa- 
 tigued with their voyage, the lowing of 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 75 
 
 the cattle and the buzzing of night-flies, 
 soon lulled them to sleep. Six days 
 were spent in seeking herbs in the woods, 
 drawing under the shade, and dancing 
 with the peasants on the green. Ben- 
 boaro declared he never knew happiness 
 till now, and being charmed with the 
 wild beauties of some of his rustic part- 
 ners, he would fain have persuaded Og 
 of Basan to fix his abode near their cot- 
 tages ; but his designs were unalterable, 
 and on the full of the moon he ordered 
 him to descend the hillocks and repaif 
 to the shore, where the vessel was ready 
 to receive them. He obeyed, not with- 
 out reluctance, and kept his eyes fixed 
 on the smoke which ascended from the 
 cottages, whose roofs just peeped above 
 the thickets^ till the moon concealed her- 
 self behind a cloud. This moment of 
 darkness plunged Og into a reverie ; he 
 H 2 
 
76 ANDREW GUELPH^ 
 
 thought of Tivoli and sighed. Andrew 
 slept, and Benboaro wished himself with 
 the cottagers. Before morning they 
 were off Policastro, and the next day 
 coasted the shores of Calabria, whose 
 distant mountains were tinged with a 
 deep azure. The vast forests which 
 reached quite from the feet of the high- 
 lands to the water's edge concealed the 
 ruins of Pestum, at that time unknown. 
 Towards evening it fell calm, and our 
 voyagers put their oars in motion till 
 they approached a shady bay, where 
 they rested on them and enjoyed the 
 refreshing fragrance of the vegetation, 
 washed by a gentle shower. The calm 
 continuing, they landed in the bay, with 
 some difficulty on account of the rocks, 
 which bordered the shore. A ridge of 
 cliffs projected into the sea, covered by 
 dark thickets of oak. Below were se- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 77 
 
 veral coves that received the waters and 
 afforded convenient baths. Above were 
 jagged pinnacles, shaded by Italian 
 pines and trodden alone by goats, who 
 were frisking carelessly amongst them. 
 Whilst Og and his companions were ex^ 
 amining this sylvan scene, they per- 
 ceived a flight of birds, pursued by 
 eagles, take refuge in a grotto which 
 had escaped their observation. It was 
 spacious and lofty, its sides seemed 
 worn by the course of waters into va- 
 riety of uncouth shapes, and a rill 
 trickled along the pavement, which was 
 strewed with dry leaves. The whole 
 scene reminded them of Virgil's descrip- 
 tion of a bay in the first Eneid. 
 
 Hinc atque hinc vastoe rupes, geminique mi* 
 nantur 
 
 In ccElum scopuli, quorum sub vertic^at^ 
 -Equora tuta silent ; turn sylyis Scena^poruscis 
 H 3 
 
78 ANDREW GUELPtt, 
 
 Desuper, horrentique atrum nemus imminet 
 umbr^. 
 
 Fronte sub adversa scopulis pendentibus An- 
 trum : 
 
 Intus aquse dulces vivoque sedilia saxo, 
 Nympharum domus. 
 
 Here they kindled a fire and spent 
 the night in conversation. At the first 
 dawn they set sail for the streights, and 
 leaving the Lipari islands behind, ar- 
 rived within sight of Messina just as its 
 magnificent buildings and the galliots 
 in its harbour were illuminated by the 
 setting sun. They enjoyed the perfume 
 of the clover fields which surround the 
 city, and Og smiled with complacency 
 on the island, where he promised him- 
 self many happy years of peaceful re- 
 tirement. No sooner were they landed 
 than some of the Sicilian nobles, who 
 had notice of their arrival, came down 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 79 
 
 to the port to receive them, and desired 
 they might lodge them in their houses. 
 Og drew a favourable augury from this 
 reception, and his disciple, pleased with 
 the gay prospect of the city, and flatter- 
 ed by the compliments of the Sicilians, 
 forgot his cottagers, and began secretly 
 to wish his master might postpone his 
 project of retirement. He could not 
 conceal his pleasure at finding himself 
 in an illuminated palace, at a splendid 
 table, covered with delicacies and spark- 
 ling with wines, environed by fair Sici- 
 lians warbling the soft airs of their 
 country. Andrew, who was of a very 
 social disposition, blessed the art which 
 procured him such company, and Og of 
 Basan thought no more, at present, of 
 the solitudes of Mongebello. After the 
 repast succeeded a lively ball, at which 
 Og danced, though rather untowardly ■ 
 
80 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 but when he was known to be the fa- 
 mous painter, nobody cared to laugh* 
 The next day his kind patrons intro- 
 duced him to the principal citizens of 
 Messina, who delighted in the fine arts : 
 to these he presented several volumes 
 of sketches and designs after nature. 
 During two years which he passed at 
 Messina, he, together with his friend 
 and his disciple, adorned many churches 
 and cabinets with their paintings ; but 
 tired at length with the bustle of a city 
 life he languished after retirement. 
 
 Andrew Guelph, who had lately mar- 
 ried a beautiful Sicilian with consider- 
 able riches, was by no means ready to 
 accomplish this design, and pleaded 
 the cares of a family for his excuse. 
 As for Benboaro, he would never quit 
 his master j neither the charms of Mes- 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 81 
 
 sina, nor its gay inhabitants, nor the 
 amusements of a lively society, could 
 induce him to abandon him, and with- 
 out discovering any reluctance, he fol- 
 lowed Og into the forests and wilds, 
 which skirt the little mountains and ex- 
 tinguished volcanoes around mount 
 Etna. They wandered together over 
 all the regions of this famous mountain, 
 and at last pitched upon a spot near 
 the celebrated chesnut trees, where they 
 built a hut and fixed their residence. 
 After they had remained about two 
 months in this sequestered habitation, 
 Og grew restless and melancholy. The 
 parting injunction of the maid of Tivoli 
 rushed fresh into his mind, and with 
 redoubled force. He had now visited 
 those regions, which he doubted not 
 were meant by the islands of the south, 
 
82 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 to which she had commanded him to 
 fly. Recollecting her last wish, that he 
 might expiate his crime, he was one 
 day overheard to say, " Ah ! those last 
 words, so softened by her affection, were 
 surely not so much a wish as a pro- 
 phecy ; and I, who till this moment 
 fondly thought myself pursuing a calm 
 and long retirement, in this delicious 
 climate, have been making my progress 
 hither but to finish my course. The 
 time of expiating my baseness draws 
 near, and methinks at this instant I see 
 the pale form of her I betrayed hover- 
 ing over me, and beckoning me up to 
 the summit of yonder volcano. Yes, 
 there must be the fated scene of expia- 
 tion. Nor shall it be long, gentle 
 spirit ! ere I obey thy summons. I 
 shall willingly submit to my doom, not 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 83 
 
 despairing it may one day render me 
 worthy of thy society and friendship in 
 a happier world," 
 
 Nothing could exceed the astonish- 
 ment of Benboaro, who caught every 
 syllable of this strange soliloquy. The 
 youth, concluding his master's senses 
 and imagination disturbed, neglected 
 no means in his power to comfort, or 
 assuage him. All his attention, how- 
 ever, failed to alleviate the sorrow 
 which preyed upon Og's mind, and one 
 morning he ordered him in a peremp- 
 tory manner to leave him in entire soli- 
 tude. Benboaro refusing to comply, 
 his master rushed into the thickest of 
 the forests, and was shortly concealed 
 from his sight. Seven days the youth 
 sought him in vain, traversing wilder- 
 nesses where no one had ever penetrated, 
 
84 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 and ascending precipices which the 
 boldest peasant was afraid to scale, sub- 
 sisting all the while on the fruits and 
 berries he casually met with. The re- 
 gion of snow which encircles the Cra- 
 ter did not deter his enquiries. With 
 incredible labour he struggled over 
 rocks of ice, seeking his master's ves- 
 tiges in vain. By night he was directed 
 by the mournful light of those eternal 
 fires which issue from the peak of the 
 mountain, and by day a few straggling 
 crucifixes, erected over the graves of 
 unhappy travellers, yvho had perished 
 in the expedition, served him at once as 
 a mark and a memorial of the perils of 
 his route. On the fourth day, after a 
 night spent almost without sleep, he 
 arose, and lifting up his eyes saw be- 
 fore him the mouth of that tremendous 
 volcano, which the superstition of the 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 85 
 
 times led him to believe the entrance of 
 Hell. The solitude in which he found 
 himself, the sullen murmur of the vol- 
 cano, and all the horrors of the scene 
 worked so strongly on his imagination, 
 that he fancied he beheld strange shapes 
 descending and ascending the steeps of 
 the fiery gulph. He even believed he 
 heard the screams of desolation and the 
 cries of torment issuing from the abyss. 
 Such was his terror, that he neglected 
 to turn his eyes on the vast prospects be- 
 low, and hastening from the edge of 
 the Crater, where he had stood petrified 
 for some minutes, returned over the 
 deserts of snow, fainting with his toils, 
 and in despair of ever beholding his 
 master more. 
 
 As soon as he reached the verge of 
 the woods, he fell on the ground in a 
 I 
 
86 ANDREW GUELPH, 
 
 deep sleep, from which he was awak« 
 ened by some peasants, who were col- 
 lecting sulphur. Of these he eagerly 
 enquired, whether they had seen a man 
 with a long beard and armed with a 
 scymitar ? Yes," answered they, " we 
 have seen him : the vile sorcerer has 
 blasted us with his haggard eyes. He 
 passed us just beneath the cliffs, which 
 hang over the great chesnut-tree, mut* 
 tering execrations and talking to the 
 winds. A violent tempest ensued, which 
 has destroyed three of our cottages, and 
 in the midst of the storm we saw the 
 wretch that occasioned it fall from the 
 clifFj wrapped in a blue flame. The 
 Virgin preserve us from his maledic- 
 tions!" Benboaro wished to hear no 
 more ; and quitting the peasants with- 
 out making any reply, he returned weep* 
 ing to his hut, doubting no longer of 
 
AND OG OF BASAN. 87 
 
 his master's unhappy fate. Having 
 provided himself with chesnuts, he 
 crossed the wilds between the foot of 
 the mountain and Messina, sleeping in 
 the day and travelling in the cool of the 
 evening. All the way he bewailed the 
 dangers and extravagances to which 
 genius is exposed, and arrived pale with 
 grief and fatigue at Andrew's house. 
 His countenance told his tale before he 
 related it. Andrew was almost dis- 
 tracted with the news^ and never ceased 
 till his death, which happened three 
 years after, to lament the despair of his 
 unhappy friend. Benboaro, still in 
 search of instruction, sailed to Italy, 
 shortly after his return from the moun- 
 tain, in the beginning of the year 1 547, 
 where he greatly distinguished himself. 
 The family of Andrew still subsist in 
 Sicily, and have inherited many of his 
 i2 
 
88 
 
 ANDREW GUELPH. 
 
 valuable paintings : his son had a taste 
 for the art, and has left behind him se- 
 veral pieces dispersed in the cabinets of 
 the curious. For distinction, the father 
 is called Old Andrew Guelph. 
 
SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 
 
 Ouii readers must now be presented with 
 scenes and occurrences widely differing 
 from those which last we placed before 
 them. They will no longer behold an 
 artist, consumed by the fervour of his 
 genius and bewildered by the charms of 
 his imagination ; but the most prudent 
 and sage amongst them will admire the 
 regular and consistent conduct of Su- 
 crewasser, which forms a striking con- 
 trast to the eccentricity of Og, 
 
 The family of the Sucrewassers had 
 been long established at Vienna ; they 
 had kept a grocer's shop, which de- 
 scended from father to sgn through a 
 course of many generations. The fa- 
 i3 
 
90 SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 
 
 ther of our artist exercised his heredi- 
 tary business with the same probity as 
 his ancestors. His mother, the daugh- 
 ter of a Lombard pawnbroker^ was the 
 best sort of woman in the world, and 
 had no other fault than loving wine and 
 two or three men besides her husband. 
 Young Sucrewasser was invested, at the 
 age of six years, with the family apron;, 
 and after having performed errands for 
 some time, was admitted to the desk at 
 twelve ; but discovering a much greater 
 inclination for designing the passengers, 
 which were walking to and fro before the 
 window where he was doomed to sit, 
 than noting the articles of his father's 
 commerce in his book, he was bound 
 apprentice to an uncle of his mother, 
 who painted heraldry for the Imperial 
 Court, and his brother was promoted 
 to the desk in his room. Sucrewasser 
 
SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 91 
 
 took great delight in his new situation, 
 and learnt, with success, to bestow due 
 strength on a lion's paw, and give a 
 courtly flourish to a dragon's tail. His 
 eagles began to be remarked for the 
 justness of their proportions and the 
 neatness of their plumage ; in short, 
 an Italian painter, by name Insignifican- 
 ti, remarked the delicacy of his pencil, 
 and was resolved to obtain him for his 
 scholar. The youth, finding himself in 
 a comfortable habitation with a kind 
 uncle, who was in a thriving way, and 
 who offered him a share in his business 
 when the time of his apprenticeship 
 should expire, expressed no great de- 
 sire to place himself under the tuition 
 of Insignificanti ; but as that painter 
 had acquired a very splendid reputa- 
 tion, and was esteemed exceedingly 
 rich, his parents commanded him to ac- 
 
92 SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 
 
 cept the ofFer^ and Sucrewasser never 
 disobeyed. He remained two or three 
 years with this master, which he em- 
 ployed in faithfully copying his works ; 
 generally small landscapes, with shep- 
 herds and shepherdesses feeding their 
 flocks, or piping under Arcadian shades. 
 These pieces pleased the world in gene- 
 ral and sold well, which was all Insig- 
 nificanti desired, and Sucrewasser had 
 no other ambition than that of his mas- 
 ter. The greatest harmony subsisted 
 between them till three years were ex- 
 pired. 
 
 About this time the Princess Dolgo- 
 ruki, then at the Court of Vienna, se- 
 lected Insignificanti and his pupil to 
 paint her favourite lap-dog, whose pen- 
 dent ears and beautifully curling tail 
 seemed to call loudly for a portrait. 
 
SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 93 
 
 Insignificanti, before he began the pic- 
 ture, asked his pupil, with all the mild- 
 ness of condescension. Whether he 
 did not approve his intentions of plac- 
 ing the dog on a red velvet cushion^ 
 Sucrewasser replied gently, that he 
 presumed a blue one would produce 
 a much finer effect. His master, sur- 
 prised to find this difference of opinion, 
 elevated his voice, and exclaimed, 
 " Aye, but I propose adding a gold 
 fringe, which shall display all the per- 
 fection of my art ; all the feeling deli- 
 cacy of my pencil ; but, hark you ! I 
 desire you will abstain from spoiling 
 this part of the picture with your gross 
 touch, and never maintain again that 
 blue will admit of half the splendour of 
 red," These last words were pronounc- 
 ed with such energy, that Sucrewasser 
 laid down his pencil, and begged leave 
 
94 SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 
 
 to quit his master ; who soon consent- 
 ed, as he feared Sucrewasser would sur- 
 pass him in a very short space *of time. 
 The young man was but coolly received 
 by his parents, who chided him for 
 abandoning his master ; but when they 
 perceived his performances sold as well 
 as before this rupture, their anger ceas- 
 ed, and they permitted him to travel to 
 Venice, after having bestowed on him 
 their benediction with the greatest cor- 
 diality. 
 
 His route lay through some very ro- 
 mantic country, which he never deign- 
 ed to regard, modestly conjecturing he 
 - was not yet worthy to copy nature ; so 
 without straying either to the right or 
 to the left, he arrived at Venice in per- 
 fect health, and recommended himself 
 first to the public by painting in fresco 
 
SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 95 
 
 on the walls of some casinos. The sub- 
 jects were either the four Seasons or the 
 three Graces. Now and then a few 
 blind Cupids, and sometimes a lean 
 Fury, by way of variety. The colour- 
 ing was gay and tender, and the draw- 
 ing correct. The faces were pretty 
 uniform and had all the most delightful 
 smirk imaginable ; even his Furies look- 
 ed as if they were half inclined to throw 
 their torches into the water, and the 
 serpents around their temples were as 
 mild as eels. Many ladies stiled him 
 Pittoix amabile, and many gentlemen 
 had their snuff-boxes painted by his 
 hand. He lived happily and content- 
 edly till he became acquainted with 
 Soorcrout, who was a great admirer of 
 Titian, and advised him by all means to 
 copy his performances ; and as he ge- 
 nerally followed the advice of those who 
 
96 SUCREWASSER OF VIENNA. 
 
 thought it worth their while to give him 
 any, he immediately set about it, but 
 did not profit so much as he expected. 
 It was Soorcrout who engaged him in 
 that unlucky dispute with Og of Basan 
 and Andrew Guelph ; a controversy 
 which lowered them considerably in the 
 eyes of the world, and forfeited them 
 the protection of Signor Boccadolce. 
 
 After this disgrace, Soorcrout went 
 to England, and Sucrewasser loitered 
 in the environs of Venice till the storm 
 was blown over. He then returned, 
 lived peaceably there many years, and 
 died at length of a cold he caught at a 
 party on the water. His most splendid 
 performance, Salome, mother of the 
 Maccabees, which he imitated from 
 Titian, was sold by Soorcrout in Eng- 
 and. 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 It is with difficulty we can ascertain 
 the place or even the country where 
 this artist was born ; but we have most 
 reason to imagine it was in Dalmatia, 
 towards the confines of Croatia. Rou- 
 zinski Blunderbussiana, father of him 
 whose adventures will be the subject of 
 the following pages, was captain of some 
 banditti, for many years the terror of 
 Dalmatia and the neighbouring coun- 
 tries. This formidable band exercised 
 the most unlimited depredations, and as 
 they were very numerous, nothing but 
 an army could oppose them. Finding, 
 however, security in defiles amongst the 
 
 K 
 
 m 
 
98 BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 mountains, known but to themselves, 
 the Venetian and Hungarian soldiery 
 attempted their extirpation in vain. 
 Rouzinski, their leader, was one of the 
 haughtiest of mankind ; his uncommon 
 stature, matchless intrepidity, and won- 
 derful success, had raised him to the 
 despotic command of these brave sa- 
 vages, to whom no enterprise seemed 
 impossible, and who executed their 
 projects almost as soon as they were 
 conceived. The caves in which they 
 resided were hollowed in the rocks, 
 forming the summit of a mountain in 
 the wild province of the Morlakes, 
 which they had in a manner subdued ; 
 no one daring to approach the spot 
 where they had established their habi- 
 tations. The peak of this mountain, 
 seen from afar, was regarded by the 
 Dalmatians with horror. Had they 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 99 
 
 known what scenes it concealed, they 
 would have trembled indeed. The plan 
 of this work will not admit a particular 
 description of this mountain and its 
 caves, or else I should certainly have 
 lain before my readers some particulars 
 concerning the residence of these ban- 
 ditti, which, perhaps, might have been 
 worthy their attention ; but at present 
 I must confine myself merely to what 
 relates to the life of Blunderbussiana. 
 His father returning with a rich booty 
 from Turkey, brought with him a lady 
 of some distinction, who had fallen un- 
 fortunately into his hands. He convey- 
 ed her to his cave, attempted to amuse 
 her with the sight of those magazines 
 (immense grottos) which contained his 
 treasures, and by degrees falling deeply 
 in love with her, laid them all at her 
 feet. 
 
 K 2 
 
100 BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 The young Turk, who had seen but 
 little of the world, was charmed with 
 the manly aspect of her admirer, and 
 dazzled by his liberality, after some time 
 forgot the disgust his savage profession 
 inspired. She at length consented to 
 make him happy ; and our hero sprung 
 from this connexion, which was cele- 
 brated with tumultuous festivity through- 
 out all the subterraneous empire. Blun- 
 derbussiana's first ideas, caught from the 
 objects around, cannot be supposed of 
 the gentlest nature. He beheld gloomy 
 caverns hollowed in craggy rocks, which 
 threatened every instant to fall upon his 
 head. He heard each night dreadful 
 relations of combats which had happen- 
 ed in the day, and often, when wander- 
 ing about the entrance of the caves, he 
 spied his father and his companions 
 stripping the slain, and letting down 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 101 
 
 their bodies into pits and fissures which 
 had never been fathomed. Being long 
 inured to such ghastly sights, he by de- 
 grees grew pleased with them, and his 
 inclination for painting first manifested 
 itself in the desire he had of imitating 
 the figures of his father's warriors. 
 
 Rouzinski, as soon as his son was 
 able to dart a javelin or bear a musket, 
 led him to the chace, and exulted in the 
 activity with which he pursued the boar, 
 and the alacrity with which he murder- 
 ed the trembling stag. After he had 
 spent a year in these sanguinary amuse- 
 ments, his father thought him worthy to 
 partake his expeditions, and led him 
 first to the rencounter of a pretty large 
 body of Turks, who escorted some Hun- 
 garian merchants. " Such for the fu- 
 ture must be your game," said the ruth- 
 K 3 
 
102 BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 less robber to his son, who performed 
 prodigies of cruelty and valour. But 
 let me draw a veil over such frightful 
 pictures. Though the truth forbids 
 me entirely to conceal them, humanity 
 pleads strongly for the abridgment of 
 their relation. Two summers passed 
 away in continual rapines and eternal 
 scenes of active oppression. The winter 
 was the season of repose, and the young 
 Rouzinski employed it in recollecting 
 the adventures of the summer months 
 and fixing them by his pencil. Some- 
 times he read a treatise upon painting, 
 found amongst the spoils of some Ita- 
 lians, which assisted him infinitely. 
 They much recommended the study of 
 anatomy, and he did not hesitate to fol- 
 low the advice they gave. His father's 
 band frequently bringing bodies to their 
 caves, he amused himself with dissect- 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 103 
 
 ing and imitating the several parts, till 
 he attained such a perfection in muscu- 
 lar expression as is rarely seen in the 
 , works of the greatest masters. His 
 application was surprising ; for his cu- 
 riosity to examine the structure of the 
 human frame being inflamed, he pur- 
 sued the study with such eagerness as 
 those who are not amateurs cannot 
 easily imagine. Every day discovered 
 some new artery, or tendon to his view ; 
 every hour produced some masterly de- 
 sign, and though without any person to 
 guide him, he made a progress which 
 would have done credit to the most 
 eminent artists. He now began to put 
 his figures together in a great manner, 
 and to group them with judgment ; but 
 colours were wanting, and without ma- 
 terials, Michael Angelo would have 
 conceived the dome of St. Peter's in 
 
104 BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 vain. He had read in his treatise of 
 the works of Italian painters, which he 
 languished to behold, and was deter- 
 mined, if possible, in the ensuing sum- 
 mer, to escape from his father and fly- 
 to a country, where he might indulge 
 his inclinations ; however, for the pre- 
 sent he was charmed with the oppor- 
 tunities of perfecting himself in anato- 
 my, and that occupation diverted his 
 intention of taking flight for some time. 
 In the spring he used early in the morn- 
 ing to quit his cave, and frequently 
 trussing a body over his shoulders, re- 
 paired to a wood, and delighted him- 
 self in exploring it. Instead of carry- 
 ing with him, in his walks, a nice pocket 
 edition of some Elzevir classic, he never 
 was without a leg or an arm, which he 
 went slicing along, and generally ac- 
 companied his operations with a melo- 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 105 
 
 dious whistling ; for he was of a cheer- 
 ful disposition, and, if he had had a dif- 
 ferent education, would have been an 
 ornament to society. 
 
 Summer came, and he was called to 
 attend his father and a select detach- 
 ment of the band, on an expedition into 
 the Hungarian territories ; but some re- 
 gular troops being aware of their inten- 
 tions, lay in ambush for their coming, 
 sallied upon them, and left the old Rou- 
 zinski, with thirty of his comrades, dead 
 upon the field. Blunderbussiana es- 
 caped, and made the best of his way 
 through forests deemed impenetrable, 
 and mountains, where he subsisted on 
 wild fruit and the milk of goats. When 
 he reached the borders of cultivation, 
 his savage mien and the barbarous roll 
 of his eyes^ frighted every villager that 
 
106 BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 beheld him ; and so strange was his 
 appearance, that some said he could be 
 nothing but the Antichrist, and others 
 believed him to be the Wandering Jew. 
 After having experienced innumerable 
 hardships, which none but those accus- 
 tomed from their infancy to fatigues 
 could have sustained, he arrived at 
 Friuli ; where he was employed in cut- 
 ting wood, by a Venetian surgeon, who 
 had retired there to enjoy an estate 
 which had been lately bequeathed him. 
 One day, after he had worked very 
 hard, he seized a cat that was frisking 
 about near him, and, by way of recrea- 
 tion, dissected the animal with such 
 skill, that his master, who happened 
 to pass by, was quite surprised, and 
 mentioned this circumstance to several 
 of his friends at dinner, amongst whom 
 the famous Joseph Porta chanced to 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 107 
 
 be present. This painter, who was 
 a great admirer of anatomy, wished to 
 see the young proficient, and being 
 struck with his uncouth figure, began 
 to sketch out his portrait on some 
 tablets he carried about him. Blunder- 
 bussiana was in raptures during the 
 performance, and begging earnestly to 
 examine it more narrowly, snatched the 
 pencil from Porta's hand, and in a few 
 strokes corrected some faults in the 
 anatomy with such boldness and vera- 
 city, as threw the painter into amaze- 
 ment. Happening to want a servant 
 at this time. Porta desired his friend to 
 permit Blunderbussiana's returning with 
 him to Venice; a request he granted 
 without delay, and the young man joy- 
 fully accompanied him. He did not 
 long remain with his master as a ser- 
 vant, being soon considered in the light 
 
108 
 
 BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 
 
 of a disciple. All possible advantages 
 were procured him^ and after a year's 
 study he gave several pieces to the pub- 
 lic, in which the clair obscure was finely 
 observed. The scenes of his former 
 life were still fresh in his memory, and 
 his pictures almost always represented 
 vast perspective caverns red with the 
 light of fires, around which banditti 
 were carousing; or else dark valleys 
 between shaggy rocks strewed with the 
 spoils of murdered travellers. His fa- 
 ther, leaning on his spear, and giving 
 orders to his warriors, was generally the 
 principal object in these pieces, cha- 
 racterised by a certain horror, which 
 those ignorant of such dreadful scenes 
 fancied imaginary. If he represented 
 waters, they were dark and troubled ; 
 if trees, deformed and withered. His 
 skies were lowering, and his clair ob- 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. 1 09 
 
 scure in that style the Italians call 
 sgraffito (a greyish melancholy tint) 
 which suited the gloominess of his sub- 
 jects. It might be conjectured from 
 this choice of subjects;, that Blunder- 
 bussiana was a very dismal personage. 
 On the contrary, he was, as we hinted 
 before, of a social disposition, and much 
 relished by those with whom he spent 
 the hours he dedicated to amusement. 
 His pleasures, to be sure, were singu- 
 lar, and probably will not be styled 
 such by many of our readers. For ex- 
 ample ; after a cheerful repast, which 
 he never failed to enliven by his sallies, 
 he would engage some of his friends 
 to ramble about at midnight, and lead- 
 ing them slily to some burying grounds, 
 entice them, by way of frolick, to steal 
 some of the bodies, which he bore off 
 with the greatest glee ; exulting more 
 
1 10 BLUNDERBUSSl ANA. 
 
 than if he had carried alive in his arms 
 the fairest ladies in the environs. This 
 diversion proved fatal to him at length ; 
 for he caught a violent fever in conse- 
 quence of a drinking match, which was 
 to precede one of these delicious ex- 
 cursions. The disorder, attacking his 
 robust constitution, reduced him in two 
 days to a very critical situation ; and, 
 burning with heat, he plunged into a 
 cold bath, out of which he was taken 
 delirious, and being conveyed to his 
 bed, began to rave in a frightful manner. 
 Every minute he seemed to behold the 
 mangled limbs of those he had ana- 
 tomized, quivering in his apartment. 
 
 Haste, give me my instruments," cried 
 he, " that I may spoil the gambols of 
 three cursed legs, that are just stalked 
 into the room, and are going to jump 
 upon me. Help ! help ! or they will 
 
BLUNDERBUSSIANA. Ill 
 
 kick me out of bed. There again ; 
 only see those ugly heads, that do no- 
 thing but roll over me ! — Hark ! what 
 a lumbering noise they make ! now they 
 glide along as smoothly as if on a bow^l- 
 ing green. — Mercy defend me from 
 those gogling eyes ! — Open all the win- 
 dows, set wide the doors, — let those 
 grim cats out that spit fire at me and 
 lash me with their tails. O how their 
 
 bones rattle ! Help ! — Mercy! — O !" 
 
 — The third day released him from his 
 torments, and his body, according to 
 his desire, was delivered, with all his 
 anatomical designs, to the college of 
 surgeons. Such was the end of the 
 ingenious Blunderbussiana, whose ske- 
 leton the faculty have canonized, and 
 whose paintings, dispersed in most of 
 the Venetian palaces, still terrify the 
 tender-hearted. 
 
 l2 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 We will now change our scenery from 
 the rocks of Dalmatia to the levels of 
 Holland, and instead of sailing on the 
 canals of Venice saunter a little by those 
 of Amsterdam. It was in the Kalver- 
 straat, opposite to the hotel of Etan- 
 shasts, next door to the Blue Lion, that 
 Watersouchy, whose delicate perform- 
 ances are so eagerly sought after by 
 the curious, first drew his breath. The 
 name of Watersouchy had been known 
 in Amsterdam since the first existence 
 of the republic. Two wax-chandlers, 
 and at least twelve other capital dealers 
 in grease, had rendered it famous, and 
 the head of the family can never be for- 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 113 
 
 gotten, since he invented that admirable 
 dish from which his descendants derived 
 their appellation. Our artist's father, 
 from humbly retailing farthing candles, 
 rose, by a monopoly on tallow, to great 
 affluence, and had the honour of en- 
 lightening half the city. He was a 
 thrifty diligent man, loved a pipe of 
 reflection in the evening, and invented 
 save-alls ; but it was for the sole use of 
 his own family. This prudent charac- 
 ter endeared him so much to Mynheer 
 Bootersac, a rich vintner, his next door 
 neighbour, that he proposed to him his 
 only daughter in marriage^ and from 
 this alliance, which happily took place 
 on the 3d of May, 1640, sprung the 
 hero of these memoirs. 
 
 The birth of young Watersouchy was 
 marked by a decent though jovial meet- 
 
 L 3 
 
114 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 ing of his kindred on both sides. Much 
 wine was drunk, and ten candles assign- 
 ed for home consumption. Such festi- 
 vity had not been displayed in the fa- 
 mily since it first began. Nor were 
 these rejoicings without other founda- 
 tion, as old Watersouchy, who had 
 hitherto toiled and moiled from morn 
 till eve, resolved, at the birth of his 
 child to leave off business, and enjoy at 
 ease the fortune he had acquired. It 
 will be needless to mention particularly 
 the great care that was taken of the 
 young Jeremy (for so he was baptized.) 
 Let it suffice to relate, that two years 
 elapsed before he was weaned — so great 
 was the tenderness of his parents, and 
 such their fears lest a change of diet 
 might endanger his constitution. It 
 was no wonder that this child inspired 
 such affectionate sentiments in his pa- 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 115 
 
 rents, so winning was his appearance. 
 How could they fail to be struck with 
 the prettiest, primmest mouth in the 
 world, a rose-bud of a nose, large roll- 
 ing eyes, and a complexion soft and 
 mellow like his paternal candles ? This 
 sweet baby gave early signs of delight 
 in rich and pleasing objects. The re- 
 turn of his parents from church in their 
 holiday apparel ever attracted his at- 
 tention and excited a placid smile, and 
 any stranger garnished with lace might 
 place him on his knee with impunity. 
 He seemed to feel peculiar pleasure at 
 seeing people bow to each other, and 
 learnt sooner than any child in the street 
 to handle his knife, to spare his bib and 
 kiss his hand with address. This pro- 
 mising heir of the Watersouchies had 
 just entered into his fifth year, when his 
 father ventured for the first time to take 
 
116 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 him about to the Bootersacs and his 
 other relations. These good people, 
 enchanted with the neatness of his per- 
 son and the correctness of his behavi- 
 our, never failed to load him with toys, 
 sugar plumbs, and gingerbread ; but a 
 spruce set of ^Esop's Fables, minutely 
 engraved, and some designs for Brus- 
 sels point, were the presents in which he 
 chiefly delighted. These delicate draw- 
 ings drew his whole attention, and they 
 were not long in his hands before he 
 attempted to imitate them, with a perse- 
 verance and exactness, surprising at his 
 years. These infantine performances 
 were carefully framed and glazed, and 
 hung up in Madam Watersouchy's 
 apartment, where they always pro- 
 duced the highest admiration. Amongst 
 those who were principally struck with 
 their merit was the celebrated Francis 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 117 
 
 Van Cuyck de Mierhop, a noble artist 
 from Ghent^ who, during his residence 
 at Amsterdam, frequently condescended 
 to pass his evenings at Watersouchy's. 
 Mierhop could boast of illustrious de- 
 scent, to which his fortune was by no 
 means equal, and having a peculiar 
 genius for painting eatables, old women, 
 and other pieces of still life, applied 
 himself to the art, and made a consider- 
 able figure. Watersouchy's table was 
 quite an academy in the branches he 
 wished to cultivate, daily exhibiting the 
 completest old women, the most portly 
 turbots, the plumpest soles, and, in a 
 word, the best conditioned fish imagi- 
 nable, of every kind. Mierhop availed 
 himself of his friend's invitations to 
 study legs of mutton, sirloins of beef, 
 and joints of meat in general. It was 
 
118 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 for Madam Watersouchy he painted 
 the most perfect fillet of veal, that ever 
 made the mouth of man to water, and 
 she prided herself not a little upon the 
 original having appeared at her table. 
 
 The air of Amsterdam agreeing with 
 Mierhop's constitution, and Watersou- 
 chy 's table not less with his palate, he 
 was quite inspired during his residence 
 there, and took advantage of these cir- 
 cumstances to immortalize himself, by 
 an immense and most inviting picture, 
 in which he introduced a whole enter- 
 tainment. No part was neglected. — 
 The vapour smoking over the dishes 
 judiciously concealed the extremities of 
 the repast, and gave the finest play to 
 the imagination. This performance 
 was placed with due solemnity in the 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 119 
 
 Butchers-hall at Ghent, of which re- 
 spectable corps he had been chosen 
 protector. 
 
 Whilst he remained at Amsterdam, 
 young Watersouchy was continually 
 improving, and arrived to such perfec- 
 tion in copying point lace, that Mier- 
 ijop entreated his father to cultivate 
 these talents, and to place his son under 
 the patronage of Gerard Dow, ever re- 
 nowned for the exquisite finish of his 
 pieces. Old Watersouchy stared at the 
 proposal, and solemnly asked his wife, 
 to whose opinion he always paid a de- 
 ference, whether painting was a gen- 
 teel profession for their son. Mier- 
 hop, who overheard their conversation, 
 smiled disdainfully at the question, and 
 Madam Watersouchy answered, that 
 she believed it was one of your liberal 
 
120 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 arts. In few words, the father was per- 
 suaded, and Gerard Dow, then resident 
 at Leyden, prevailed upon to receive 
 the son as a disciple. 
 
 Our young artist had no sooner set 
 his foot w^ithin his master's apartment, 
 than he found every object in harmony 
 with his own dispositions. The colours 
 finely ground, and ranged in the neatest 
 boxes, the pencils so delicate as to be 
 almost imperceptible, the varnish in 
 eleg?ait phials, the easel just where it 
 ought to be, filled him with agreeable 
 sensations, and exalted ideas of his 
 master's merit. Gerard Dow on his 
 side was equally pleased, when he saw 
 him moving about w^ith all due circum- 
 spection, and noticing his little pretti- 
 nesses at every step. He therefore be- 
 gan his pupil's initiation with great 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 121 
 
 alacrity, first teaching him cautiously 
 to open the cabinet door, lest any parti- 
 cles of dust should be dislodged and fix 
 lapon his canvas, and advising him never 
 to take up his pencil without sitting mo- 
 tionless a few minutes, till every mote 
 casually floating in the air should be 
 settled. Such instructions were not 
 thrown away upon Watersouchy : he 
 treasured them up, and refined, if pos- 
 sible, upon such refinements. 
 
 Whilst he was thus learning method 
 and arrangement, the other parts of his 
 education were not neglected. A neigh- 
 bouring schoolmaster instructed him in 
 the rudiments of Latin, and a barber, 
 who often served as a model to Gerard 
 Dow, when composing his most sub- 
 lime pieces, taught him the manage- 
 ment of the violin. With the happiest 
 
 M 
 
122 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 dispositions we need not be surprised 
 at the progress he made, nor astonished 
 when we hear that Gerard Dow, after a 
 year's study, permitted him to finish 
 some parts of his own choicest produc- 
 tions. One of his earliest essays was in 
 a large and capital perspective, in which 
 a christening entertainment was display- 
 ed in all its glory. To describe exactly 
 the masterly group of the gossips, the 
 demureness of the maiden aunts, the 
 puling infant in the arms of its nurse^ 
 the plaits of its swaddling-clothes, the 
 gloss of its ribbons, the fringe of the 
 table-cloth, and the effect of light and 
 shade on a salver adorned with custard- 
 cups and jelly-glasses, would require at 
 least fifty pages. In this space, per- 
 haps, those details might be included ; 
 but to convey a due idea of that pre- 
 ciseness, that air of decorum, which was 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 123 
 
 spread over the whole picture, surpasses 
 the power of words. The collar of a 
 lap-dog, a velvet bracelet, and the lace 
 round the caps of the gossips, were the 
 parts of this chef d'oeuvre^ which Water- 
 souchy had the honour of finishing, 
 and he acquitted himself with a truth 
 and exactness that enraptured his mas- 
 ter, and brought him to place unbound- 
 ed confidence in the hair strokes of his 
 pencil. By degrees he rose to the 
 highest place in the esteem of that in- 
 comparable artist, who, after eight years 
 had elapsed, suffered him to group 
 without assistance. An arm chair of 
 the richest velvet, and a Turkey carpet, 
 were the first compositions of which he 
 claimed the exclusive honour. The ex- 
 quisite drawing of these pieces was not 
 less observable than the softness of their 
 tints and the absolute nature of their 
 M 2 
 
124 
 
 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 colouring. Every man wished to sit 
 down in the one, and every dog to re- 
 pose on the other. 
 
 Whilst Watersouchy was making daily 
 advances in his profession, his father 
 was attacked by a lethargy, that, insen- 
 sibly gaining ground, carried him off/ 
 and left his son in the undisturbed pos- 
 session of a considerable sum of money. 
 No sooner was he apprized of this event 
 than he took leave of Gerard Dow, and 
 arrived at his native city time enough 
 to attend the funeral procession, and to 
 partake of the feast which followed it ; 
 where his becoming sorrow and proper 
 behaviour fixed him in the esteem of all 
 his relations. This good opinion he took 
 care to maintain, never shewing more 
 attention to one than to another, but as 
 it were portioning out his compliment^ 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 125 
 
 into equal shares. Having passed the 
 usual time without frequenting the ^ 
 world, and having closed the account 
 of conciolence, he began to take plea- 
 sure in society, and make himself known. 
 His scrupulous adherence to form and 
 propriety procured him the entre of 
 many considerable houses, and recom- 
 mended him to the particular notice of 
 some of the principal magistrates of 
 Amsterdam. These grave personages 
 thought he would do honour to their 
 city in foreign parts, and therefore ad- 
 vised his going to Antwerp for the ad- 
 vancement of his reputation. 
 
 Antwerp was at this period the centre 
 of arts and manufactures ; its public 
 buildings were numerous and magnifi- 
 cent; its citizens wealthy; strangers 
 from every quarter resorted thither, for 
 M 3 
 
126 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 business, or for pleasure. Rubens had 
 introduced a fondness for painting, acid 
 had ornamented his cabinet with the 
 most valuable productions of the pencil. 
 This exa:mple was followed, and collec- 
 tions began to be formed by the opulent 
 inhabitants* Where then could a paint- 
 er, blessed with such talents as Water- 
 souchy, expect a more favourable recep^ 
 tion ? He soon resolved to follow the 
 advice of his respectable friends, and 
 having settled his affairs and passed a 
 month or two in taking leave of his ac- 
 quaintance with due form, he began his 
 journey. Many recommendatory let- 
 ters were given him, and particularly 
 one to Monsieur Baise-la-main, a banker 
 of the first eminence, and an encourager 
 of the fine arts, who united the greatest 
 wealth with the most exemplary polite- 
 ness. All the way he amused himself 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 127 
 
 in the trackskuit with looking over the 
 stock of compliments he had treasured 
 up from his youth, in order to perfect 
 himself in all the rules of that good 
 breeding, he purposed to display at 
 Antwerp* Consider/' said he to him- 
 self, " before whom you are to appear ; 
 reflect that you are now almost arrived 
 at the zenith of propriety. Let all your 
 actions be regular as the strokes of your 
 pencil, and let the varnish of your man^ 
 ners shine like that of your paintings. 
 Regulate your conduct by the fair ex- 
 ample of those you will shortly behold, 
 and do not the smallest thing but as if 
 Monsieur Baise-la-main were before 
 you." Full of these resolutions he drew 
 near to Antwerp. Advancing between 
 spruce gardens and trim avenues he 
 entered the city, not without some pre- 
 sentiment of the fame he was to acquire 
 
128 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 within its walls. Every mansion with 
 high chequered roofs and mosaic chim- 
 nies, every fountain with elaborate dol- 
 phins and gothic pinnacles, found fa- 
 vour in his eyes. He was pleased with 
 the neat perspectives continually pre- 
 senting themselves, and augured well 
 from a regularity so consonant to his 
 own ideas. After a few hours repose 
 at an inn, arranging each part of his 
 dress with the utmost precision, he sal- 
 lied forth in the cool of the evening, 
 (for it was now the midst of summer) to 
 deliver his recommendatory letters. The 
 first person to whose acquaintance he 
 aspired was Monsieur Baise-la-main, 
 who occupied a sumptuous hotel near 
 the cathedral. Directing his steps to 
 that quarter, he passed through several 
 lanes and alleys with slowness and cau- 
 tion, and arrived in a spotless condition 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 129 
 
 at the area of that celebrated edifice, 
 which was enlivened by crowds of well 
 dressed people passing and repassing 
 each other, with many courteous bows 
 and salutations, whilst two sets of chimes 
 in the spire above them filled the air 
 with sober psalmody. Watersouchy 
 was charmed when he found himself in 
 this region of smirking faces, and step- 
 ping forwards amongst them, inquired 
 for Monsieur Baise-la-main. Every 
 body pointed to a gentleman in a mo- 
 dish perruque, blue coat with gold frogs, 
 and black velvet breeches. To this pre- 
 possessing personage he advanced with 
 his very best bow^ and delivered his 
 letter. No sooner did the gentleman 
 arrange his spectacles, and glance over 
 the first lines of the epistle, than he re- 
 turned the greeting fourfold. Water- 
 souchy was as prodigal of salutations, 
 
130 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 and could hardly believe his ears when 
 they were saluted with these flattering 
 expressions. Your arrival, Mr. Wa- 
 tersouchy, is an event I shall always 
 have the honour to remember. And, 
 Sir, permit me to assure you, from the 
 bottom of my heart, that nobody can 
 feel more thoroughly the obligations I 
 have to my most estimable friends at 
 Amsterdam, for the opportunity. Sir, they 
 give me, of shewing any little, trifling, 
 miserable attentions in my power, to a 
 disciple of Gerard Dow. Let me en- 
 treat you to tarry some time in my poor 
 mansion: Indeed, Sir, you must not re- 
 fuse me — I beg, my dear and respect- 
 able Sir, — I beseech" — It was impossible 
 to resist such a torrent of civility. Wa- 
 tersouchy prepared to follow the cour- 
 teous banker, who, taking him by the 
 hand, led him, with every demonstra- 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 131 
 
 tion of kindness, to the door of his 
 hotel. 
 
 Its frontispiece, rich with allegorical 
 figures, of which I never could obtain 
 a satisfactory explanation, was distin- 
 guished from more vulgar entrances, 
 and seats of coloured marble on each 
 side added to its magnificence. Let my 
 readers figure to themselves Monsieur 
 Baise-la-main, leading the obsequious 
 Watersouchy through several large halls 
 and long passages, 'till they entered a 
 rich apartment, where a circle of com- 
 pany, very splendidly attired, rose up 
 to receive them. Half an hour was 
 spent in presenting the artist to every 
 individual. At length a pause in this 
 ceremony ensued, and then the congra- 
 tulations, with which he had been first 
 received, were begun anew with re- 
 
132 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 doubled ardour. Watersouchy, finding 
 himself surrounded by so many solemn 
 ruffs and consequential farthingales, 
 was penetrated with the sublimity of 
 etiquette, and thought himself in the 
 very Athens of politeness. This ser- 
 vice of rites and ceremonies, with which 
 strangers in those times were ushered 
 into Antwerp, being hardly ended, the 
 company began at length to relax into 
 some degree of familiarity . 
 
 Mieris and Sibylla Merian were now 
 announced. These two exquisite artists 
 had carried the minute delicacy of the 
 pencil to the highest pitch, and were 
 pleased with an opportunity of convers- 
 ing with one of the most promising dis- 
 ciples of Gerard Dow. Our artist was 
 equally happy in their society, and a 
 conversation was accordingly set on 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 133 
 
 foot, in which Mons. Baise-la-main join- 
 ing displayed infinite knowledge and 
 precision. Having disserted previously 
 upon his own collection, this great 
 patron of the arts led them into his in- 
 terior cabinet, where Elsheimers, Row- 
 land Saveries, Albert Durers, Brughels, 
 and Polemburgs, collected at an im- 
 mense expence, appeared on all sides. 
 Mieris and Merian had also contributed 
 to render it the most complete in the 
 Netherlands. Their performances en- 
 tirely engrossed the choicest corner in 
 an apartment, which a profusion of gild- 
 ing and carved work rendered superla- 
 tively fine. The chimney-piece was 
 encrusted with the right old porcelain 
 of China, and its aperture, in this sea- 
 son, was closed by a capital Pietd 
 of Julio Romano, which immediately 
 struck Watersouchy as an eye sore. 
 
 N 
 
134 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 He detested such colossal representa- 
 tions, such bold limbs and woeful coun- 
 tenances : conscious they were out of 
 his reach, he condemned them as out of 
 nature. With such sentiments, we may 
 suppose he did not bestow much atten- 
 tion on the Pietd, but expatiated with 
 delight on the faithful representation of 
 an apothecary's shop by Mieris, and a 
 cupid, holding a garland of flowers, by 
 Merian. This ingenious lady was high 
 in his esteem. He adored the extreme 
 nicety of her touch, and not a little ad- 
 mired that strict sense of propriety 
 which had induced her to marriage ; 
 for it seems she had chosen Jean Graff 
 of Nuremburg for her husband, merely 
 to study the Nud in a modest way. 
 After he had felicitated Madam Merian 
 and Mieris upon their innumerable per- 
 fections^ he took a cursory survey of the 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 135 
 
 rest of the collection. He commended 
 Albert Durer ; but could not help ex- 
 pressing some discontent at Polemburg. 
 The woody landscapes, which this paint- 
 er imagined with so much happiness, 
 were in general interspersed with the 
 remains of antique temples, with rills 
 and bathing nymphs in a style our artist 
 could never taste. He liked their mi- 
 nuteness, but condemned the choice of 
 subjects. O !" said Monsieur Baise- 
 la-main, I love Polemburg; he is 
 the essence of smoothness and suavity. 
 But I agree, that there is something 
 rather confused and unintelligible in 
 his buildings, far unlike those comfort- 
 able habitations which our friend Mieris 
 represents with such meritorious accu- 
 racy." Mieris bowed, and Watersou- 
 chy, encouraged by Monsieur Baise-la- 
 main's coincidence with his opinion, 
 N 2 
 
136 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 continued his critique. He shook his 
 head at a picture wherein Polemburg 
 had introduced a group of ruins, and ex- 
 claimed Why not substitute, for 
 
 example, the great church of Antwerp 
 flourishing in the height of its perfec- 
 tion, in the room of those Roman lumps 
 of confusion and decay ? — Instead of re- 
 presenting the flowers of the parterre, 
 he crowds his foreground with all man- 
 ner of woods, and bestows as much 
 pains on a dock leaf as I should on the 
 most estimable carnation in your gar- 
 den. Naked figures too I abhor : Ma- 
 dam Merian's cupids excepted, they are 
 unfit to be viewed by the eye of deco- 
 rum. And what opportunities does an 
 artist lose by the banishment of dress ! 
 In dress and drapery are displayed the 
 glory of his pencil ! In ear-rings and 
 bracelets the perfection of his touch — 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 137 
 
 in a carpet all his science is united — 
 grouping, colouring, shading, effect, 
 every thing! Polemburg might have 
 been a delightful master, had he re- 
 mained with us ; but he removed to 
 Italy, and quitting the manner of El- 
 sheimer for the caprices of Raphael, no 
 wonder his taste should have been cor- 
 rupted." Monsieur Baise-la-main and 
 the artists listened attentively to this 
 harangue, and conceived great ideas of 
 Watersouchy's taste and abilities. The 
 banker thought himself possessed of 
 the eighth wonder of the world, and 
 from this moment resolved to engross 
 it entirely. 
 
 Supper being served up, the company 
 left the cabinet and entered a large hall, 
 ornamented with the decollation of Ho- 
 lophernes by Mabuse, and a brawn's 
 N 3 
 
138 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 head by Mierhop. — In the midst ap- 
 peared a table covered with dainties, in 
 dishes of massive plate, and illuminated 
 by innumerable wax lights, around 
 which the company was assembled. 
 Watersouchy was placed betwixt Mon- 
 sieur Baise-la-main and the Burgomas- 
 ter Van Gulph, a solemn upright man 
 of glowing nose and fair complexion. 
 Our artist could not for some time take 
 his eye from off the Burgomaster's band, 
 which was edged with the finest lace, 
 and took an opportunity, whilst the 
 other guests were closely engaged with 
 the entertainment, to make a sketch 
 from it, that did him honour and served 
 to confirm him in his patron's good 
 opinion. 
 
 The repast was conducted in the most 
 orderly manner. By the time the Hip* 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 139 
 
 pocras and Canary wines were handed 
 about, universal satiety and good hu- 
 mour prevailed. The little disappoint- 
 ments of those, who were too late for 
 one dish, or too full to taste another, 
 were forgotten, and the respectable Van 
 Gulph, having swallowed his usual por- 
 tion of the good things of this world, 
 began to expand, and pledged Water- 
 souchy with much affability, who loudly 
 descanted on the taste and discern- 
 ment of Monsieur Baise-la-main, so ap- 
 parent in his rare collection. Mieris 
 taking the hint, seconded the observa- 
 tion, which was enforced by Madam 
 Merian, whose example was followed 
 by the rest of the ladies — Every one 
 vied with his neighbour in steeping 
 sugar 'd cakes in sweet wine, and bestow- 
 ing the amplest commendations on the 
 cabinet of Monsieur Baise-la-main, who, 
 
140 
 
 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 in the midst of transport, exclaimed, 
 " Now truly my pictures pay me interest 
 for my money !" The desert was usher- 
 ed in with profusion of applause : All 
 was smirk and compliment, whilst this 
 sweetmeat was offered and that declined. 
 At length it grew late, and the com- 
 pany separated after the accustomed for- 
 malities. — Watersouchy was conducted 
 to his apartment, which corresponded 
 with the magnificence of the mansion ; 
 and lulled asleep by the most flattering 
 reflections, dreamt all the night of no- 
 thing but of painting the Burgomaster 
 and his band. At breakfast next morn- 
 ing, he expressed to Monsieur Baise-la- 
 main the ambition he had of distinguish- 
 ing himself at Antwerp, and begged to 
 seclude himself a small space from the 
 world, that he might pursue his studies. 
 Monsieur Baise-la-main approved of 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 141 
 
 this idea, and assigned a room for his 
 reception, where he soon arranged his 
 pallet, pencils, &c. with all the precision 
 of Gerard Dow. Nobody but the mas- 
 ter of the house was allowed to enter 
 this sanctuary. Here our artist remain- 
 ed six weeks in grinding his colours, 
 composing an admirable varnish, and 
 preparing his canvass, for a performance 
 he intended as his chef (Toeuvre. A 
 fortnight more passed before he decided 
 upon a subject. At last he determined 
 to commemorate the opulence of Mon- 
 sieur Baise-la-main, by a perspective of 
 his counting-house. He chose an in- 
 teresting moment, when heaps of gold 
 lay glittering on the counter, and citi- 
 zens of distinction were soliciting a se- 
 cure repository for their plate and jewels. 
 A Muscovite wrapped in fur, and an 
 Italian glistening in brocade, occupied 
 
142 
 
 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 the foreground. The eye glancing" 
 over these figures highly finished, was 
 directed through the windows of the 
 shop into the area in front of the cathe- 
 dral ; of which, however^ nothing was 
 discovered, except two sheds before its 
 entrance, where several barbers were re- 
 presented at their different occupations. 
 An effect of sunshine upon the counter 
 discovered every coin that was scattered 
 upon its surface. On these the painter 
 had bestowed such intense labour, that 
 their very legends were distinguishable. 
 It would be in vain to attempt convey- 
 ing, by words, an idea adequate to this 
 chef dotuvre^ which must have been 
 seen to have been duly admired. In 
 three months it was far advanced ; dur- 
 ing which time our artist employed his 
 leisure hours in practising jigs and mi- 
 nuets on the violin, and writing the 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 143 
 
 first chapter of Genesis on a watch- 
 paper, which he adorned with a minia- 
 ture of Adam and Eve, so exquisitely 
 finished, that every ligament in their 
 fig-leaves was visible. This little jeu 
 d'esprit he presented to Madam Merian. 
 
 When the hour of publicly displaying 
 his great performance was drawing near. 
 Monsieur Baise-la-main invited a se- 
 lect party of connoisseurs to a splendid 
 repast, and after they had well feasted^ 
 all joined in extolling the picture as 
 much as they had done the entertain- 
 ment itself. Were I not afraid of fa- 
 tiguing my readers more than I have 
 done, I should repeat, word for word, 
 the exuberant encomiums this master- 
 piece received upon this occasion ; but 
 1 trust it will be fully sufficient to say, 
 that none of the connoisseurs were un- 
 
144 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 interested, and every one had a pleasure 
 in pointing out some new perfection. 
 The ladies were in extasies. The Bur- 
 gomaster Van Gulph was so charmed 
 that he was resolved to have his portrait 
 by this delicate hand^ and Monsieur 
 Baise-la-main immediately settled a 
 pension upon the painter, merely to have 
 the refusal of his pieces, paying largely 
 at the same time for those he took. 
 
 These were the golden days of Wa- 
 tersouchy, who, animated by so much 
 encouragement, was every week pro- 
 ducing some agreeable novelty. Attach- 
 ing himself strongly to the manner of 
 Mieris, he, if possible, excelled him : 
 his lillies were more glossy, and his 
 carnations softer, and so harmonious, 
 that the Flemish ladies, ever renowned 
 for their fresh complexions, declared 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 145 
 
 they had now found a painter worthy 
 of portraying their beauty. Thus our 
 happy artist, blown forwards by a con- 
 tinued gale of applause, reached a de- 
 gree of merit unknown to his contempo- 
 raries, and soon left Gerard Dow and 
 Mieris behind him. His pictures were 
 eagerly sought after by the first collec- 
 tors, and purchased at so extravagant a 
 rate, that he refused sketching a slipper, 
 or designing an ear-ring under the sum 
 of two hundred florins. Every body de- 
 sirous of possessing one of these trea- 
 sures approached him with purses of 
 gold, and he was so universally caressed 
 and admired, that I (as a faithful bio- 
 grapher) am obliged to say, he soon mis- 
 took his rank among the professors of 
 the art, and grew intolerably vain. 
 
 Become thus confident, he embraced; 
 
 .0 
 
146 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 without hesitation, the proposal of draw- 
 ing the Burgomaster Van Gulph. All 
 his skill, all his minuteness was exhaust- 
 ed upon this occasion. The Burgo- 
 master was presented in his formalities, 
 sitting in his magisterial chair: his 
 band was not forgotten ; it was finished 
 to the superlative degree. The very 
 hairs of his eyelashes were numbered, 
 and the pendent carbuncle below his 
 nose, which had baffled Mieris and the 
 first artists, was at length rendered with 
 perfect exactitude and splendour. Dur- 
 ing the execution of this incomparable 
 portrait, he absented himself from Mon- 
 sieur Baise-la-main, and established his 
 abode at Van Gulph's, whose inflexible 
 propriety surpassed even that of the 
 banker. Watersouchy, flattered by the 
 pomp and importance of this great cha- 
 racter, exclaimed, " You are truly wor- 
 
WATERSOUCHY. 147 
 
 tliy to possess me The Burgomaster's 
 lady, who was a witness to his matchless 
 talents, soon expressed an ambition of 
 being immortalized by his pencil, and 
 begged to be honoured the next with 
 his consideration. He having almost 
 determined never to undertake another 
 portrait after this chef d'oeuvre of her 
 consort, with difficulty consented. 
 
 At length he began : Ambitious of 
 shewing his great versatility, and desi- 
 rous of producing a contrast to the por- 
 trait just finished, he determined to put 
 the lady in action. She was represented 
 watering a capsacum, with an air of 
 superior dignity mingled with ineffable 
 sweetness. Every part of her dress was 
 minutely attended to; her ruffle was 
 admirable ; but her hands and arms ex- 
 ceeded all idea. Gerard Dow had be- 
 o2 
 
148 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 stowed five days* labour on this part of 
 Madam Spiering's person, whose por- 
 trait was one of his best performances. 
 Watersouchy, that he might surpass his 
 master, spent a month in giving only to 
 his patroness's fingers the last touch of 
 perfection. Each had its ring, and so 
 tinted, as almost at first sight to have 
 deceived a discerning jeweller. 
 
 When he had finished this last mas- 
 terpiece, he found himself quite weak 
 and exhausted. The profound study in 
 which he had been absorbed, impaired 
 his health, and his having neglected 
 exercise for the two last years brought 
 on a hectic and feverish complaint. The 
 only circumstance that now cheered his 
 spirits was the conversation of a circle 
 of old ladies ; the friends of Madame 
 * See Vies des Peintres Flamands, vol. 2. 217. 
 
WATERSOtJCHY. 149 
 
 Gulph. These good people had ever 
 some little incident to entertain him, 
 some gossiping narration that soothed 
 and unbended his mind. But all their 
 endeavours to restore him could not pre- 
 vent his growing v^eaker and weaker. 
 At last he took to cordials by their re- 
 commendation^ became fond of news 
 and tulips, and for a time was a little 
 mended ; so much indeed, that he re- 
 sumed his pallet, and painted little 
 pieces for his kind comforters ; such as 
 a- favourite dormouse for Madam Do- 
 zinburg, and a cheese in a China dish 
 with mites in it for some other vener- 
 able lady, whose name has not descend- 
 ed to us. But these performances were 
 not much relished by Monsieur Baise- 
 la-main, who plainly saw in them the ap- 
 proaching extinction of his genius. One 
 day at the Burgomaster's, he found him 
 
150 WATERSOUCHY. 
 
 laid on a couch, andwheezing from under 
 a brocade nightgown. I have been 
 troubled with an asthma for some time," 
 said the artist in a faint voice. " So I 
 perceive/' answered M. Baise-la-main. 
 More of this interesting conversation 
 has not been communicated to me, and 
 I find an interval of three months in his 
 memoirs, marked by no other occurrence 
 than his painting a flea. After this last 
 effort of genius, his sight grew dim, his 
 oppression increased, he almost shrunk 
 away to nothing, and in a few weeks 
 dropped into his grave. 
 
 Printed by J. F. Dove, St. John's Square. 
 
LATELY PUBLISHED. 
 
 VATHEK, 
 
 By Mr. BECKFORD. 
 
 a new edition. 
 
 WITH A FRONTISPIECE, 
 
 Engraved by the late Charles Warren, from a drawing hy 
 R. Westall, R,A. Price 10s. 6c?. 
 
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