George Morland 



life and the fair flower of his achievements. Sometimes it was 

 necessary for him to paint out days of worli done when his hand 

 was shaky after a bout of debauchery, and, as his critical faculty was 

 not diminished, he was often disgusted with the result of his labour. 

 While living within the rules he had his first apoplectic fit, which 

 weakened him considerably and filled him with the greatest alarm, 

 though he was unable to resist the temptation which he well knew 

 was the cause of the attack. 



In 1802 he was liberated from the King's Bench by the Insolvent 

 Act, but did not leave his house in the Lambeth Road until a second 

 fit of apoplexy again threatened him with an early death. After 

 this, however, he changed his habitation, and went for a time to 

 lodge at the Black Bull, at Highgate, kept by an old friend of his. 

 Having quarrelled with this man, however, before long, he retreated 

 to the restaurant now kept by his brother in Dean Street. 



At this time he was separated from his wife, who had been 

 persuaded by her friends to live at Paddington for the benefit of 

 her health. This was not due to any strife with her husband, who 

 conscientiously and regularly provided her with money, although 

 he took no trouble to pay off any of the innumerable debts still 

 outstanding against him. To all accounts, indeed, Mrs. Morland's 

 old affection for him was stronger now than ever, and his frequent 

 illnesses gave her the deepest anxiety. It was probable that 

 Morland himself was unable to stay at Paddington, where he would 

 have been surrounded by creditors ready to pounce upon him for 

 old obligations. 



Morland now lived a miserable, disconsolate life, working some- 

 times in a room at Roll's Buildings at the house of a Marshalsea- 

 court officer named Donalty, sometimes at the Garrick's Head in 

 Bond-street, and sometimes at the house of a Mr. Harris in 

 Gerrard-street. Even his spirit of independence departed from 

 him, and he became the paid servant of his brother, working for a 

 salary of two guineas a day. His drinking habits now affected his 

 brain, so that his nerves were shattered, and his spirits were over- 

 clouded by melancholia and delusions. He began to be afraid of 

 being alone in a room, and like a timid child could never sleep 

 unless the room were lit by candles. Strange fears oppressed him, 



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