Painters in the Reign of^een Elizaheth. 255 



but brought to the rare perfe6tion we now 

 fee, by the moft ingenious, painfull and fkil- 

 full rnafler, Nicholas Hilliard, and his well- 

 profiting fcholar, whofe farther commenda- 

 tions I refer to the curiofity of his works." 



The fame author in another place men- 

 tionino; " Mr. N. Hilliard fo much admired 

 by flrangers as well as natives/* adds, " td 

 fpeak truth of his ingenious limnings, the 

 perfedlion of painting (in them) is fo extra- 

 ordinary, that when I devifed with myfelf 

 the befl argument to fet it forth, I found 

 none better than to pcrfuade him to do it 

 himfelf to the view of all men by his pen, 

 as he had before unto very many by his 

 learned pencil, which in the end he aflented 

 to i and by me promifeth a treatife of his 

 own practice that way, with all convenient 

 fpeed." This tra(5l Hilliard adually wrote 

 but never publifhed. Vertue met with a 

 copy of it, which I have among his MSS. * 



Blaife Vigenere mentions Hilliard and 

 the neatnefs of his pencil very particularly ; 

 ** Telle efloit aufli Tecriture et les ti'aits 



* An extraft of it is in Brown's Ars piftoria p. 95, 

 Lond. 1675, and fome of liis receipts in Sanderfon's 

 Graphice, 



I d'un 



