28. Orator Henley christening a child. John Sympson jun. fecit. Mezzotinto (commonly of a greenish colour), with the following verses under it:
Behold Vilaria lately brought to bed,
Her cheeks now strangers to their rosy red;
Languid her eyes, yet lovely she appears!
And oh! what fondness her lord's visage wears!
The pamper'd priest, in whose extended arms
The female infant lies, with budding charms,
Seeming to ask the name e'er he baptise,
Casts at the handsome gossips his wanton eyes,
While gay Sir Fopling, an accomplish'd ass,
Is courting his own dear image in the glass:
The Midwife busied too, with mighty care,
Adjusts the cap, shews innocency fair.
Behind her stands the Clerk, on whose grave face
Sleek Abigal cannot forbear to gaze:
But master, without thought, poor harmless child,
Has on the floor the holy-water spill'd,
Thrown down the hat; the lap-dog gnaws the rose;
And at the fire the Nurse is warming cloaths.
One guest enquires the Parson's name;—says Friendly,
Why, dont you know, Sir?—'tis Hyp-Doctor[1] H——y.
Sold by J. Sympson, at the Dove in Russel-Court, Drury-Lane. An original sketch in oil, on the same subject, is in the possession of Mr. S. Ireland.[2]
[1] He wrote a periodical paper under that title.
[2] See p. [415]. for an etching from it.
29. A woman swearing a child to a grave citizen.[1] W. Hogarth pinx. J. Sympson jun. sculp. Sold by J. Sympson engraver and print-seller, at The Dove in Russel-Court, Drury-Lane. This Mr. Walpole observes to be a very bad print. Perhaps he had only seen some wretched impression, or copy of it (for there are two, the one in a small size, the other large, but fit for no other purpose than to adorn the walls of a country Inn), and therefore spoke with contempt of a performance which hardly deserves so unfavourable a character. This entire design, however, is stolen from a picture of Heemskirk, which has been since engraved in mezzotinto by W. Dickinson of New Bond-street, and published March 10, 1772. The original picture is in the possession of Mr. Watson, surgeon, in Rathbone Place.
The title given to this plate by the ingenious engraver, is The Village Magistrate. All the male figures are monkies; all the female ones, cats. Hogarth has likewise been indebted to its companion—The Constable of the Night. Few impressions from these plates having been hitherto sold, they are both in excellent condition, and the former of them exhibits an indisputable instance of Hogarth's plagiarism.
While Picart was preparing his Religious Ceremonies, he wrote to some friend here, to supply him with representations illustrative of his subject. His correspondent, either through ignorance or design, furnished him with the two preceding plates by Hogarth. Picart has engraved the former with a few variations, and the latter with the utmost fidelity. The one is called by him Le Serment de la Fille qui se trouve enceinte; the other, Le Baptême domestique. The first contains a supposed portrait of Sir Thomas de Veil. For the conversion of a civil into a religious ceremony, let the Frenchman, or his purveyor, be answerable. The lines under Hogarth's performance are as follows:
Here Justice triumphs in his elbow chair,
And makes his market of the trading fair;
His office-shelves with parish laws are grac'd,
But spelling-books, and guides between 'em placed
Here pregnant madam screens the real fire,
And falsely swears her bastard child for hire
Upon a rich old letcher, who denies
The fact, and vows the naughty Hussif lies;
His wife enrag'd, exclaims against her spouse,
And swears she'll be reveng'd upon his brows;
The jade, the justice, and church ward'ns agree,
And force him to provide security.
Hogarth's picture is in the possession of the Rev. Mr. Whalley, at Ecton, Northamptonshire.