1809.] 
taking his passage to England on board 
a small armed vessel, he prevailed on the 
captain to take charge of his pictures, 
In twenty-one days they arrived at Fal- 
mouth, from Palermo, owing to Captain 
Richardson’s ‘skill and seamanship, da- 
ring'which voyage he outstripped many 
fast-sailing French vessels of greater 
force, that chaced him. Being, how- 
ever, in such extreme haste, Mr. Grig- 
non neglected to give Captain Richard- 
son an account to whom the pictures 
“vere consigned, only, on a scrap of pa- 
per, informing his brother that the two 
Clauds were among them, which note the 
Captain brought him the moment he re- 
turned from W indsor, where he first 
went to lay his dispatches before the, 
king. Thus they were rescued, the 
Clauds having been actually put up to 
sale at Falmouth, and nearly sold, for 
about 5001. Afterwards Mr. Long, of 
Lincoln’s-inn-fields, a friend of the ar- 
tist, took charge of them, and exhibiting 
them in his drawing-room, they were very 
soon after disposed of, with four small 
pictures of eminent masters, for the 
enormous sum of 7000 guineas! afford- 
ing at once a proof of the wealth of the 
country, and the weakness of its collec- 
tors, for these landscapes were never cx- 
pected by their proprietors to procure 
half that money; and it is well known 
that one of them is a very inferior per- 
formance, and the other by no means to 
be ranked among the best works of the 
master. Their size, their having been 
painted for the family, and their situa- 
ation, had procured them a celebrity far 
beyond their merits; and, in fact, the 
best pictures of that delightful colourist 
are not those upon the largest scale, as 
the late Lord Lansdown’s and many 
others will shew. : 
This visit to Palermo was the happy 
occasion of Mr, Grignon’s being intro- 
duced to that great hero, Lord Nelson ; 
who, on his mentioning his anxiety about 
the cases of pictures, with a goodness and 
enthusiasm peculiar to himself, exclaim- 
ed, Grignon, this is a national concern, 
and calling for paper, instantly wrote to 
the governor of Gibraltar, to give Lieu- 
tenant Galway, of the Tigre Polacca, a 
convoy ; this happened at Sir W. Hamul- 
ton’s table. 
Qn the 7th of February, 1799, Mr. 
Grignon had the honour of Lord Nelson’s 
sitting to him for his portrait, at Palermo, 
in’ Sicily ; the pencil bigh-finished study 
Pe which picture is now 1n his brother's 
3 ‘ 
Memoirs of Charles Grignon, E'sq. 
551 
possession, and is accounted ¢ one of the 
vost dignified and expressive likenesses 
of that brave admiral. With this there 
are two exquisite drawings i in pencil, also 
of Lady Hamilton, in attitudes the most 
noble that can be ‘imagined ; 3 and that he 
availed himself industriously of the op- 
portunities which he had of studying from 
a contour of such superior beauty, abun- 
dance of his designs amply testify. 
At Palermo, he became intimately ac- 
quainted with Mr. Joseph Littledale, a 
navy agent, whose friendship was'his in- 
ducement to embark on the 10th of 
August, 1799, on board the Economy, 
Captain Greaves ; they arrived at Leg- 
horn the ist of August; here he re- 
mained four years, happy. in his friends, 
and studious, as well as furtupate. 
In his Diary we read, June 8, 1800, 
“ Lord Nelson’s flag was this day hoisted 
on board the Foudroyant. I dined oa 
board the Vanguard on the 7th, on board 
the Foudroyant, the 8th.” 
At this dinner, he doubtless conceived 
the most admirable compositions, «llezo- 
rically, to commemorate Lord Nelson’s 
victories; on which beghas exhibited his 
classical taste, combined with a just 
appreciation of the value of the antigte, 
and the force of close studies from 
nature, 
They, with others, were received a 
year after his death, by his family, being 
an abundant collection, not only of his 
own studies, but ef many of his contem= 
porary friends, whose talents he admired; 
such as Deare, Woodford, Rebinson,’ 
Fagan, &e. and are a permanent monu- 
ment of his indefatigable exertions of 
both mind and hand; for taking them as 
a selection of accurate studies, and tra= 
cings from drawings from the most cele- 
brated statues, basso-relievos, and bronzes, 
in Rome, they are invaduable to all ge- 
huine artists. 
OF tracings of these studies, the author 
of this paper also has many, as well as- 
of others by Deare, Robins on, and Mr. 
Woodford, who tanked high im the opi- 
nion of each: member’ of this friendly 
group of industrious students; and to 
whom alone Deare, that great draughts- 
man and sculptor, would. sometimes de-' 
fer; for it was a custom that continued 
very long for the writer of these pages to 
go frequently to the villas with these. able 
men, and generally twice a week to make 
mutual tracings at the study of the sculp- 
tor, whose ready lamp, and generous in- 
structions were freely offered with a zeal 
and 
