The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-29

longing to the Rev. W. Vernon HarcopTt
which was made for Lord Harcourt. n is
rough in handling, probably not wholly free
from restorations, but startling in the look
conveyed OF wasted face, with hollow and
hectically lighted cheeks, large luminous
eyes, glittering in moisture, a narrow slopine
torehead, an Informed nose, and, above all
a too heavy, yet by no means large Uranium.
1t is the face of an over-senstive, irritable.
not over-refined man. He putfed Kneller as
vigorously, and with better reason than Jer-
vas was berhymed. More pathetic is this
letter to Richardson - "My poor mother
is dead. thank God her death was as
easy as her life was innocent and, as IL cost
her not groan, or even sigh, there is
yet upon her countenance an expression of
Tranquility, nay, almost of Pleasure that it
is even amiable to behold it, It would afford
the finest image of Saint expir'd that ever
Painting drew, and it would be the greatest
obligation which even that obliging Art could
ever bestow on friend if you would come and
sketch it for me. / am sure, if there is no
very prevalent obstacle, you will leave any
common business to do this: and hope to see
you this evening, as late as you will, or to-
morrow morning early, before this winter
flower is faded. l will defer her interment
until tomorrow night. l know you love me,
or l could not have written this, l could not
Cat this time) have written at all. Adeu
May you die as happily" Dune 10, 1873,
Twickenham. Mrs. Pope died on the seventh
of this month, aged 93)
We meant to leave Pope in this tender fit,
but there is another note that may well follow
here. There is a letter from Pope to Swift
announcing the death of Gay their common
friend, and containing postscript in Arbuth-
not's handwriting. Arbuthnot attended Gay
at his death. The letter is dated December
s. 1882" and is thus indorsed by the Dean
s'On my dear friend Mr.. Gays death: Re-
oaived nacaYn bar1 Int not raad All 4ba O0f1,
by an impulse foreboding some misfortune"
We have three portraits of Gay here, (173)
by Michael Dahl, (176) by Hogarth, and (177)
by Richardson, as we believe, although it was
sold about forty-seven years ago as a Hogarth:
it belongs to Lady Clifden.
Pope's circle is marked at large on the
walls of this cole ction. ''Mary WOrtley Mon
tagu" is by his friend Richardson (23O,
a tall and slender young dame, with a very
amorous expression in her beautiful eyes,
and face marvellously different from that
which Mr.. Firth painted some years since
in highly popular picture of Pope's luckless
wooing of the lady. Walpole and Pope cele-
brate the dirtiness of her linen.
Richardson also painted that noble portrait
ofthe magnanimous surgeon, William Chesel-
den (237), who agreed to spend the last years
of his life with the old soldiers at Chelsea, lies
buried in their graveyard, and has his grave
miserably defled. This is a superb portrait,
worthy of Venetian. Kneller's best portrait
| here is of Sir Hans Sloane (231) belonging to
the Royal Society, and bequest about the
| time when Walpole-(43S, an unnamed
| painters portrait of the witty letter
writer is here)-wrote thus in his testing
way:-"Sir Hans Sloane is dead, and has
| made me one of the trustees of his museum.
He valued it at fourscore thousand pounds,
and so would anybody who loved hippo
| potamuses, sharks with one ear, and spiders
| as big as geese. 1t is a rent charge to keep
| the toetuses in spirits.'
No. 80, bluff, kindly-faced gentleman, by
Kneller, is Dean Aldrich, of Christ Church,
| the architect of All Saints and Peckwater
| perhaps better known as author of "Good,
| good indeed ~ and, clark the bonny Christ
| Church Bells" The famous Betterton, by
Kneller, is here, in No. 67, much-restored
| picture; also that copy of it on which Pope's
reputation as painter has been founded. All
artistic friends agree that the handling of the
| copy is not due to mere amateur, such as
Pope must have been, but shows signs of
long practice in the squareness, frmness, and
clearness Of the touches, and the brilliancy
of the coloring. Doubtless the better portions
of this copy are by Jervas, Kneller's pupil
and Pope's friend. The copy belongs to Lord
Mansfield, the original to Lady Delawarr. The
Scottish artist Murray-who painted, in No.
161, William Dampier's gypsy face, as tawny
as if all the worlds winds had blown upon it
was friend of Pope. Long-headed Fletcher
of Saltoun (20) is probably by M. Dahl, and
not by Aikman-another of the good northern
portrait painters of that day. The noblest
portrait of Newton is No. 80, by Kneler, the
perfect presentation of an incarnate intellect.
The series of Kit-Cat Club portraits COM
prises those that were painted by Kneler in
his happiest manner for Jacob Tonson (147-
who is himself here, in a red cap and with a
bluff, rosy-hued and well-fed face, knowing
twinkle in his eye, as if he looked about at his
| 0eminent hands, of the literary set who still
gathered round him in effigy. Like Dampier,
| he holds book, but it is "Paradise Lost" of
which he bought the copyright.
Here is Steele (1l1) ''a short-faced gentle
man, very handsome, and with most genial
look and here is Addson's (l15) most gentle
manly cOuntenanoe. CongreYe (l16) is a little
superciliOus in his expression, and partly turns
away from u.s. Sir John Vanbrugh (112) looks
really the able man he was, much less heavily
featured than folks think The Marquis of
Wharton Gl8) was Addson's patron, sup
posed author of "LilliburlerO," the famous
anti-Jacobite song. The portrait 137) of the
fat man, with deep pock-marks, swelled nose,
and napkin tied round his head, is not that
of Mt-Cat himself, the pastry cook at whose
house the splendid company of wits and bards
originally met. 1t IS by Kneller, as the cata-
logue says, but is known, by print by A.
Miller, 1879, to represent lie Beck a tavern
keeper, with glass of wine in his hand. Worst
of all among the errors, that large picture which
many must have noticed as "Members of the
Kit Cat Club" (l45), belonging to Baroness