382 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s. VII. May 7. '59. 



years pursuing his studies in the Royal Academy, 

 was employed to edit a new edition, for the trade, 

 of Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters, tried the 

 young painter's pen, who wrote a new and excel- 

 lent memoir of Sir Joshua Reynolds for that work. 

 No two men could be more unlike that Wolcott 

 and Opie : the latter was meditative, inquiring 

 and truthful to an adage, and I believe never told 

 a lie even to flatter a sitter. He was not the rude 

 nncultivated kitchen guest that the priggish pe- 

 dantic antiquary and pedigree hunter, Polwhele, 

 endeavours to make him appear : and the greatest 

 honour that " Polwhele of Polwhele" can boast is, 

 that his ftice has been immortalised by " the Cor- 

 nish boy." 



What Wolcott was, his own memoirs, published 

 in his life-time from materials furnished by him- 

 self, fully show. Born at a small town near 

 Kingsbridge, in Devonshire ; well educated by a 

 clergyman of the Established Church — patronised 

 and sent to travel by an excellent uncle of the 

 medical profession at Fowey, in Cornwall, where 

 he was more celebrated for his wit, his love of 

 poetry and art, than for attention to his profes- 

 sion. After the expiration of his articles to his 

 uncle, he sought fame in London, and obtained a 

 Scotch diploma of M.D., and began to practice as 

 a physician. In the course of his connexions, he 

 became intimately acquainted with Sir William 

 Trelawney, who, in 1767, was appointed Gover- 

 nor-General of Jamaica. He accompanied his 

 patron to that island as his physician, and was ap- 

 pointed Physician- General to the island. The 

 governor's regard for his lively medical friend was 

 so great, that he intended to procure his appoint- 

 ment as Governor of the Mosquito territory ; but 

 the retirement from office of his best friend, Lord 

 Shelburne, prevented its accomplishment. 



Governor Trelawney, however, thinking he 

 could promote Wolcott's interest more effectually 

 by his patronage in the Church, having then a 

 valuable living in his gift likely to become vacant 

 by the severe illness of the incumbent, he recom- 

 mended his client to return to England, enter holy 

 orders, and return and take possession. Although 

 the governor had no very sublime ideas of priest- 

 hood, it was the only way he had of serving the 

 wit. " Away then," ha said, " to England, get 

 yourself japanned. But remember not to return 

 with the hypocritical solemnity of a priest. I 

 have just bestowed a good living on a parson, who 

 believes not all he preaches, and what he really 

 believes he is afraid to preach. You may very 

 conscientiously declare," said the conscientious 

 governor to his admiring pupil, " that you have 

 an internal call, as the same expression will equally 

 suit a hungry stomach and the soul." 



Having accomplished this praiseworthy object, 

 the Rev. (M.D.) Doctor returned to his patron 

 for induction ; but, " between the cup and the 



lip," says a trite old proverb, " there is many a 

 slip," for the ailing incumbent, whose living the 

 Doctor sought, became convalescent, proved a 

 very incumbrance in his path, and the japanned 

 medico was fain to take up with the living of Vere, 

 a congregation exclusively of blacks, which re- 

 ceived little of his pastoral care, and to which he 

 appointed a curate. 



On the death of the governor, he returned to 

 England with Lady Trelawney ; and, to carry on 

 the metaphor, the black lobster was boiled and 

 came out in scarlet and gold. Such was Wolcott. 



Of Opie I have already spoken; and now for 

 the split between Peter and the brushman, as he 

 contemptuously termed him. Opie would not, 

 for he could not, praise Wolcott's sketches and 

 paintings ; which were always presentations from 

 the artist, and some of which I have seen in Kings- 

 bridge and its neighbourhood. " I tell ee, ye can't 

 paint," said the blunt and honest Opie, " stick to 

 the pen." This advice was too much for " the 

 distant relation of the poet of Thebes" to receive 

 from a " painting ape," and the feud was never 

 healed. The Doctor scarified and lanced, but 

 Opie in a more quiet way was quite a match for 

 the satirist, who, as he said : 



" Sons of the brush, I'm here again 

 At times a Pindar, a Fontaine, 

 Casting poetic Pearl (I fear) to swine." 



The painter was then engaged on his great his- 

 torical picture of the " Murder of James the First, 

 King of Scotland, by Assassins suborned by the 

 Earl of Athol his Uncle, Feb. 19, 1437." And 

 during its progress, being greatly irritated by the 

 satirist's malevolence, he painted a portrait of him 

 in one of his most furious rages, and substituted 

 it upon the head of the murderer. The penti- 

 ments is still visible ; and the picture in the wait- 

 ing-room in the Guildhall of the City of London, 

 one of the many munificent presents of my old 

 friend and early patron. Alderman Boydell. 

 Other fine pictures by Opie, Northcote, Hoppner, 

 Beechey, Copley and others, will amply repay the 

 connoisseur's visit to that museum of British Art 

 and civic hospitality. James Elmes. 



Greenwich. 



In reply to P. P. Q.'s Query, whether anything 

 is known of this celebrated person " as an amateur 

 artist f' I beg to say that, about sixty years ago, 

 I saw at the house of a London solicitor, who was 

 a friend and political partisan of Dr. Wolcott, two 

 chalk drawings, the work of that individual ; and 

 to which my especial attention was called, both 

 on that account and because of their artistic pe- 

 culiarity. 



When seen near the eye, they seem to be com- 

 posed only of random scratches and masses of 

 black chalk, of different densities and depths of 

 that colour ; with here and there a streak and 



