244 The Bight Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell [Feb. 6, 



credited with having turned out the first cart with spoked wheels in 

 Furness. Before his day, all the carts had solid or " clog " wheels. 

 But he was a bad book-keeper, negligent in collecting his debts, and 

 remained a poor man all his days. His wife was Anne Simpson, 

 daughter of a Cumberland statesman owning Sladebank. She bore 

 him eleven children, whereof the second was born 15th (26th) 

 December, 1734, and was named George. This lad was sent to 

 school very young at Dendron, where the Eev. Mr. Pell taught him the 

 humanities for the modest fee of 5s. a quarter, and one, Gardner, 

 boarded him at the rate of 4Z. 10s. a year. George was not a pro- 

 mising scholar, and at ten years old his father took him from school 

 and employed him in the carpenter's shop. 



Now " Honest John," besides being a cabinet-maker and farmer, 

 was also a bit of an architect. Tlierefore drawing materials were 

 always to be found in his shop, and George soon showed a natural 

 turn for using them. 



One of the workman in the shop, Sam Knight by name, used to 

 take in an illustrated magazine, which he lent to George, who 

 diligently copied the engravings in the same. 



But this stupid schoolboy possessed another latent gift, which 

 one of his neighbours, a watchmaker named Williams, being an 

 enthusiast in music, helped him to develop. For several years it 

 seemed doubtful of which muse young George Romney was most 

 inclined to become the disciple — the muse of painting or the muse 

 of harmony. Only one thing seemed certain, that he would never be 

 anything but a bad carpenter. This became quite clear w^hen, about 

 the age of eighteen, he took employment under another cabinet- 

 maker, Wright of Lancaster. Wright gave the lad a fair trial, and 

 then informed his father that he could make nothing of him ; that 

 the only thing he did well was sketch portraits of his fellow work- 

 men. He recommended John Romney to apprentice his son to an 

 artist. 



Here then was George, on the threshold of manhood, having 

 failed as a scholar and failed in the calling he had adopted — what 

 chance was there that he should ever be heard of again ? Not much, 

 you will admit. Nevertheless, when opportunity presented itself, 

 George did not miss it. 



Opportunity came to him in the guise of an eccentric character 

 named Christopher Steele, an itinerant portrait painter, who happened 

 to be working in Kendal when George Romney was twenty years old. 

 Steele had been taught painting in Paris by Carlo Vanloo, and 

 having acquired at the same time some of the manners of a third-rate 

 French fop, was known in the neighbourhood as the Count. To this 

 worthy George was entered as ajiprentice in March 1755. 



JSow Count Steele was a flighty, improvident fellow, moving from 

 town to town to avoid his creditcjrs. Nevertheless, he imparted some 

 sound principles of the pre(^^)aration and use of colour, which stood 

 Romney in good stead thioughout his life. Paints in those days 



