1807, ] 
he painted blazing stars! Duke Wil- 
ham!* King. and. Queen! -and, Mrs, 
Nankivell’s cat ” 
On expressing a wish to behold some, 
of these ruaster- -pieces, the boy, tucking 
his leathern apron around his loins, im- 
mediately bounded across the hedge, and 
returned, not only with the cat. just al- 
luded to ia the catalogue of chis works, 
but also, in addition, with two: most fero- 
¢lous- looking monsters, together with a 
portrait of the devil, sketched out in 
conformity to vulear tradition, being pro- 
vided wich a monstrous pair ot horns, 
two goggle eyes, a long tail, &c. 
Through the mist of these abs urdities, 
the present professor of -physic disco- 
vered the future professor of painting, 
aud exciaimed perhaps to himself, in 
true Horatian ecstacy: 
** Non sine Diis, animosus puer !”? 
On the following Sunday, the Jad 
trudzed to Truro, and, by invitation, 
dined at the house of his new protector ; 
who, impel! led by the most een cd 
motives, presented him with brushes, 
colours, &c, These trifling favours ee 
soon followed by others of a more impor- 
tant nature. In addition to practical 
instructions in his art, he received both 
bed and board, was gecoramurat ed with 
the use of preductions of a superior class 
of artists, fer the purpose of imitation; ' 
while bis own rough sketches were care- 
fully corrected by the hand of friendship, 
aud some little knowledge of light aad 
shadow, for the first time y acquired, 
By ee kindness of his patron, the ac- 
quirements of the young painter were 
now greatly increased, and his fame be- 
gan to be blazoned abroad. He soon 
could pencil out a decent head for five 
shillings, and at the end of a twelve- 
month he undertook small halflengths, 
When he had thus depicted the likenesses 
of half the town of Truro, he determined 
to increase the circle of his practice, 
and accordingly trudged, with his appa- 
ratus, to the neigh beuring villases and 
seats.. From a profitable expedition to 
Padstow, whither he had repaired 
dressed in a peasant’ s shert jacket, after 
painting not only the heads, but the me- 
nial servants, together with the dogs and 
eats, of the ancient family of Prideanx ; : 
he returned with a fashionable cout, 
laced roffles, and silk stockings! On this 
eccasion, with true filial piety, he pre- 
——+_—_ ee 
* William, Duke of Cumberland, the hero 
ef Culloden, 
a 
Memoirs of John Opie, R.A. 
strict 
_ purse. 
453 
sented his mother, ie had been uneasy 
at. his long absence, with the sum ef: 
tweuty guineas, the fruit of his recent 
labours. 
The late I.ord Bateman, one of hig: 
earliest patrons, now employed hon oa 
old men, begvars, &c, and in. 1777, when 
only sixteen years on age, he pated his 
Own portrait for That eke Wena By this 
tie he had.raised the price of ‘his heads. 
progressively to seven sivillings s,. ten and 
sixpence, littec h, and- twenty- one shil- 
lings ; it then remained sometime stae 
tionary at a guinea. 
A great ficid was % now laid open before 
hin and as he had ever been taught by 
his first benefactor to aspire SO as to be= 
come the head of his profession, the boy 
was not destitute of ambition. Some 
pictures which he had painted for Mr. 
Price, of Penzance, have been esteemed 
by the connoissears equal to any of his 
subsequent productions ; ;and the auther 
of fe article, has‘seen an old man, dee 
picted by his ‘pencil about this period, 
which, perhaps, none of the later efforts 
of his life could have sur passed, 
It was now determined by Dr. Wols 
cott, that the young man should remove 
to Exeter, which Hes always heer consi- 
dered as is London of the West of Eng- 
land. Qn, this occasion, he bestowed 
much attention on the person, decora- 
tions, and manners of his a associate; and 
being fully sensibie of the overbearing 
force of vulgar prejudice, he determined 
that he should hanes his surname from 
Hoppy, which it originally had been, 
-and which was conceived to have some- 
th: ng vulgar appertaining to it, to that of 
Opie. the appellation of a very genteel 
fainily i in the Duchy of Cornwall. , 
At length in 1780, the Doctor and his 
patient (for so the latter might be termed 
in a professional point of view), being 
both determined to emerge from the abe 
scurity of provincial practice, determined 
to repair together to the metropelis, and, 
as they were unmarried, their joint 
expences were supplied from a commoa 
This mode of life, however, as 
might have been easily conjectured, ‘did 
not continue long; and Mr. Opie, being 
the first to perceive its inconveniencies, 
communicated his opinion by letter to his 
friend, who happened to be absent. in 
the country : subsequently to this period 
they were never cordially united; they 
indeed met and visited, but all their for 
mer attachment. was wanting; nor during 
the remainder of their joint lives did a 
sincere reconciliation take place. 
We 
