1804 ] 
racter is prefented in the life of the worthy 
citizen whofe name we here record. Unal- 
fuming, induftrious, enterprifing, and inde- 
fatigable ; he began lite under many difad- 
vantages, and at a time fo unp ropitious to 
the fine arts, as would have difcouraged any 
. other man; but impelled by i: snate. energy 
of mind he overcame every difficulty, and 
has in the progrefs of his lite given greater 
encouragement to the artifts of this country, 
than they have received from the whole 
mafs of our Englith nobility ; thus exciting 
among our painters and engrav ers a {pirit of 
emulation, and giving to fuch as had the 
power, a motive and opportunity of remov- 
ing from us the national reproach, that our 
climate was too cold to produce a great 
painter. Ridiculous as it was to aflert, that 
the arts are like plants, the growth only of 
a particular foil, to take their fcale of genius 
from the map of the world, and from the la- 
titude of the country determine upon the ta- 
lents of the inhabitants ; yet by pretenders to 
virtue, thefe reveries were adopted, and be- 
ing dignified by fuch names as Abbe du Bos, 
Abbe Winckeliman, &c. were admitted as 
undeniable truths, received as the creed of 
of connoifeurfhip, and baptifed by the name 
ot philofophical inveftigations. Of the place 
of the Alderman’s birth, and the circum- 
ftances which induced him to adopt the pro- 
feflion which he followed with fo much ho- 
nour to himlelf, and advantage to the pub- 
lic, there is an account infe:ted in a-thort 
memoir of his life, in the volume of Public 
Charaéiers of 1798, which, appears to be 
written by one who was well acquainted 
with the fubjeét. As the writer of the pre- 
fent article knows moft of the particulars 
there inferted to be facts, he has here quoted 
it—He was born on the 19th of January, 
1719 at Dorrington,* in Shropfhire ; his fa- 
ther, who was a land-furveyor, intended his 
fon for his own proteilion ; and had it not 
been for one of thofe little accidents which 
determine ‘the path that men are deftined 
to walk,’ he had wafted that life which bas 
been fo honourable to himtelf, and beneficial 
to his country, in meafuring and valuing tie 
Rg of Shropthire {quires, and the manors 
Wellh baronets. Fortunately for him- 
felt and the arts, a trifling incident gave a 
different direction to his mind ; and led him 
to aim at the delimeation of feenes more pic- 
turefque than the ground-plan of houtes, 
boundaries of fields, or windings of obfcnre 
roads. While he was yet very young, chance 
threw in his way “ daddeley’ s Views of 
different Country Seats ; ” amongt them was 
one of ‘Hawarden Caftle, Flintfhire, which 
being the feat of Sir Join Glynn, by whom 
he was then employed in his profefiional ca- 
* Of this place the late Alderman’s Grand- 
father was vicar; he was afterwards vicar 
of Afhbourne, and reétor of Mapleton, in 
Derbyhhire. 
Account of the late Mr. Alderman Boydell. 
‘549 
pacity, and in the parifh of which his father 
was an inhabitant, naturally attracted Ins 
attention. An exact delineation of a build- 
ing he had fo often contemplated, afforded 
him pleafure, and excited an aftonifhment ea- 
fier to be conceived than defcribed. Confider- 
ing it ag an engraving, aud naturally reflect- 
ing that from the fame copper might be taken 
an alnott indefinite number of impreffions, 
he determined to quit the pen, and take up 
the graver, as an initrument which would 
enable him to diffeminate whatever work he 
could produce, in fo much wider a circle. 
This refolution was no fooner made, than it 
was put in execution ; for with that fpirit and 
perfeverence which he has manifefted in 
every fucceeding icene of life, he, at twenty- 
one years ofage, walked up to the metropolis, 
and bound himtelf apprentice for feven years 
to Mr. loms, the engraver of the print which 
had fo forcibly attracted his attention. Thefe, 
and accidents equally trifling, fometimes 
attract men of ftrong minds into the path that 
leads direct to fame, and have been gene- 
rally contidered as proving that they were 
born with fome peculiar genius for fome pe= 
culiar ftudy ; though after all, genius is per- 
haps little more than what a great moralift 
has defined it—** A mind with ftrong powers 
accidentally directed to fome particular ob- 
Jeet ;” for it is not eafy to conceive that a 
man who can run a given diftance in a fhort 
tine with his face to the eaft, could not do 
the faine thing if he turned his face to the 
veft. Be this as it may—it is recorded of 
Cowley, that by reading Spenter’s Farie 
Queen he became a poet. Pope fays of 
hintel’, that while yet a boy, he acquired 
his firtt tafte for poely by the perulal of 
Sandy’s Ovid, and Ogilby’ s Virgil. Sir Jo- 
fhoa feynolds had the firtt fondnefs for his 
art excited Hy the perulal of Hichardfon’s 
Treatile on Painting; and, as we have be- 
tore obferved, the late Mr. Alderman Boy- 
deli was induced to learn the art of engray- 
ing by the coarfe print of a coarfe artift, re- 
prefeating a misfhapen gothic cafle. His 
conduct during hiv apprenticethip, was emi- 
nenily alliduous ; eager to attain all poflible 
knowledge of an art on which his mind 
was bent, and of every thing that could be 
uteful to him; and impelled by an induftry 
that feems inherent in bis natare,* he, when- 
ever he could, attended the academy in St. 
Martin’s-jane to pertect humlelf in drawing; 
* How ftriking a contrat does his condutt 
forin to that of Chatelaine, who was at the 
fame period employed by Mr. Toms, and * 
the fame work-fhop etched and engraved « 
one fhiilmg an hour; but with all his nn 
and talents, (and he had much of beth) was 
{u diflipated and idle, that at the expiration 
of the firtt half-hour he frequently demanc- 
ed his fix-pence, and retired to a neigh- 
bouring ale-houte to expend it 
his 
t 
