means of ſetting at work the reader’s fancy, he diſplays every thing in its native ſimplicity; and for want of a little ſeaſonable concealment deſtroys the whole effect of his exhibition.—
PUBLISHER.
The ſtyle of your pictureſque artiſts is very different. Yorick, for inſtance, by a few careleſs ſcratches, as they would ſeem, often goes beyond the moſt finiſhed piece of another maſter. At the ſlighteſt of his pathetic touches the tender-hearted diſſolve away in ſorrow. The very ſlipper of his fille de chambre is enough to ſet an inflammable imagination all on fire. The fooliſh fat ſcullion meanwhile ſtares unconcerned, even at the ſketch of Maria, and wonders what the by-ſtanders can find in the ſcrawl.
Another favourite of the preſent hour works after a different faſhion. He empties plenty of lamp-black into his pot of rancid oil, whiſks it furiouſly about, ſoaks his bruſh thoroughly, daſhes it dripping wet upon the canvas, ſcrubs away till he becomes faint—and at length, when he exhibits his portrait, the connoiſſeurs laugh in their ſleeves, to find that the right honourable Edmund has varniſhed thoſe whom he only deſigned to blacken.
Our artiſt, who had to draw as well for the multitude as their betters, is plainer than the one, and leſs daſhing than the other. Of neceſſity his portraits may be more antiquated and uncouth than thoſe of many other maſters. But the features of our, anceſtors, in ſpite of their ruffs and farthingales, are human features. The faſhion of dreſs prevailing in different nations,
