Conclusion of a Morning's Walk from London to Kew. 



ihn gallery, and on the pmimd-floor 

 tliere are for«v-eig;lit pews ofljrown oak, 

 adapted for ft)ur and six persons each. 

 Several marble mouiinicnts iulorii the 

 walls of singular heaufy, but the record 

 of a man of {teiiius absorbed every at- 

 traction of oidiiiary rank, and title. It 

 -was a marble slab, to the memory of 

 BrEYER, the painter, with lines by the 

 amiable poet, Uayley; and I was led, 

 by respect for painter and poet, to copv 

 the whole:— ^^ 



Jeremiah Meyer, R.A. 

 Painter in IMiniatuie and Enamel to 

 his Majesty Geo. III. 

 Died January 19, 1789. 

 Meyer! in thy works, the world will ever see 

 View great the loss of Art in losing thee, 

 But Love and Sorrow find the words loo weak, 

 Nature's keen sufferings on thy death to speak; 

 Through all her duties what a heart was thinej 

 In thy cold dust what spirit used to shine, 

 fancy, and truth, and gaiety, and zeal, 

 What most we love in life, and, losing, feel; 

 Age after age may not one artist yield 

 £qual lo thee, in painting's ample field ; 

 And ne'er shall sorry ing earth to heaven com- 

 mend 

 A fonder parent, or a firmer friend. 



IVilliam Huyley, 1789. 

 Troni hence I strolled into" tlie vestrj-, 

 where I found a table of fees, drawn 

 witii a degree of precision Avbicli merits 

 iniilafion. It appears, that the fees for 

 MAKUIAGES witli a licence are \Qs. 6rf., 

 and by banns 5«. 'J'liat tho<;efor burials, 

 to the minister, if the pra3ers are said 

 in the church, aie .0*.; if only at the 

 grave, 2*. Gd. The graves are'six feet 

 deep; and, in tlio church, the coflfin 

 must be of lead. The clerk is eiilltlod 

 to half, and the se\toii to about a third 

 more. A vault in the church is ciiarged 

 21/., and in the church-yard 10/ 10*.; 

 •witli 6/. 5i. and 2/. 2s. respectively for 

 eaclj time of opening. To non-residents 

 they are double. I had scarcely finished 

 this exlract, when the clerk's or sexton's 

 assistant made his appearance ; ar.d on 

 the soMlh side of the (ihurch-jard he 

 brought me to the tomb of Gainsbo- 

 rough. 



"Ah! friend," said I, " this is a hal- 

 lowed spot— here lies one of Britain's 

 favored sous, whose genius has assisted 

 ill exalting her among the liaiions of 

 the earth!"—" Perhaps it was so," said 

 the man, " but we know nothing about 

 the people buried, except to keep up 

 their monumcnls, if the family pjty ; and, 

 perhaps. Sir, you belong to this family ; 

 if so, I'll tell you how much is due." 

 — "Yes, truly, friend," said I, "I atn 

 «ne of tlie great faiiiJIy bound to pre- 



[Jan. 1, 



serve the monument of Gainsborough ; 

 but, if you take me for one of his rela- 

 tives, 3'ou arc mistaken." — " Perhaps, 

 Sir, you may be of the family, bt»t wero 

 not included in the Will, therefore are 

 nut obligated." I could not now avoid 

 looking with scorn at the fellow; but, as 

 the .spot claimed better feelings, I gave 

 him a trifle for his trouble, and mildly 

 told him I would not detain him. 



I'lic monument being a plain one, and 

 making no jialpable appeal to vulgar 

 adn)iration, was disregardcil by these 

 people; for it is in death as in life, if 

 you would excite the notice of the mul- 

 titude, you must in the grave have a 

 splendid mausoleum, or in walking the 

 streets you must wear fine clothes. It 

 did not fall in the way of the half-taught, 

 on this otherwise polite spot, to know 

 that they have among them the remains 



of THE FIRST PAINTER OF THE ENGLISH 



SCHOOL, in the class of history, aiid one 

 OF FIRST in the classes of landscai)e and 

 portrait; — a man who recommended him- 

 self as much by his superiority, as by 

 bis genius ; as much by the mode iif 

 which his genius was first developed, 

 as by the subsequent perfection of his 

 «orks ; and as much by his amiable pri- 

 vate character as by his eminence in his 

 art. There is this difference between a 

 poet and a painter — that the poet only 

 exhibits the types of ideas in words, 

 limited in their sense by his views, or 

 bis powers of expression ; but the painter 

 is called upon to exhibit the ideas them- 

 selves in a tangible shape, and made 

 out in ail their ))at1s and most beautiful 

 forms. The poel maj write with a 

 limited knowledge of his subject, and 

 he ii^ay produce any partial view of it 

 which bis powers enable him to exhibit 

 in a striking manner; but the successful 

 painler must do all this, and he must 

 execute with his hand as well as con- 

 ceive with his mind. 'I'he poet, too, has 

 the adx antage of exhibiting his ideas in 

 succession, and he avails himself of 

 stops and pauses; l)nt the great painter 

 is obliged to s< 1 his entii«! subject be- 

 fore the eye at nnee, and all the parts 

 of his conjpositio.:, bis imaginalinn, and 

 his execution. Challenge tlic judgment 

 as a whole. A great poet is neverthe- 

 less a just object of admiration amongf 

 ordinary persons — but far more so at 

 great jiaiuter, who assumes the power 

 of creation, and of improving on the or- 

 dinary combinations of the Creator. 

 Yet such a man was Thomas Gains- 

 borough, before whose torab 1 stood ! 



The 



