« 
1804.] 
appropriate animals and figures. He was 
extremely fond of vifiting the Ifle of Wight 
in the fummer feafon, and there is (carcely an 
objeé to be met with along the fhore, at the 
back of the iflind, that his pencil has not 
delineated. H's beft piétures are replete 
with fcenes drawn from this fpot. Afire 
rocky fhore, with fifiermen mending their 
nets, careening their boa’s, or fending off 
their ffh to the neighbouring market- 
towns, were fcenes he moft delighted in, 
when he attempted fea-fhore pieces ; and 
the Iffeof Wight afforded abundant oppor- 
funitics to gratify his tafte and fancy, He 
was once recognifed in this his conftant 
fummer excurfion, at a place called Freth- 
water Gate, in a low public-houfe, known 
by the name of The Cabin. A number of 
fifhermen, a few failors, and three or four 
ruftics, formed the homely groupe: he was 
in the midf of them, contributing his joke, 
and partaking of their noify merriment, 
when his fricnd called him afide, and in- 
treated an hour of his converfation. Mor- 
land, with fome reluétance, withdrew from 
the Cabin, and on his friend’s remonfrat- 
ing with him the next day for keeping fuch 
company, he drew from his pocket a 
fketch-book, and afked him where he was 
to find fo true a pifture of humble life, un- 
lefs it was in fuch a place as that from 
whence his friend had withdrawn him. 
The fketch was a correét delineation of 
every thing in the Cabin tap-room, even 
to a countenance, a ftool, a fettee, or the 
polition of a figure. This reprefentation 
his remembrance had fupplied, after leav- 
ing the houfe, and one of his beft pictures 
is that very fcene he then fketched ; a proof 
that his mind was ftill intent on its favour- 
ite puriuit—that of nature in her homelie& 
attire—though his manners at the moment 
betrayed nothing farther than an eagernefs 
to paitake in the vulgar fenfualities of 
his {urrounding companions. The man- 
ner in which he painted rural fubjects ob- 
‘tained fo much notice, that his fortune 
might now have been made; purchalers 
appeared who would have taken any num- 
berof piftures he would have painted, and 
paid any price for them which he could 
have demanded; but here the low-bred 
dealers in“ pictures ftepped in, and com- 
pleted that ruin which low-bred artitis 
had begun. : 
Whaicyer their apologifts may fay in 
extenuation of the fact, it is certain that 
picture-dealers are the bane of every artift 
who comes into contact withthem. The 
dealers in old piétures may buy and feil 
without injuring any but thofe who are 
guped by the common artifices of their 
Monruiy Mac. No, 122. 
= 
Memuirs of Gearge Marland, 
417 
trade; but the moment they find it their 
intereft to deal in the works of a living ar. 
tift, that artiftis doomed to penury, if not 
to deftruétion, unlefs he has the fingular 
good fortune to efcape from their clutches. 
Their ufual plan is to find fome young 
man of talents who is poor and unemploy- 
ed; him they fet to work ata price fo low 
that all his exertions can barely procure 
him the means’ of living, while they fell 
the works which they have thus obtained 
from him for high prices: but this plan 
would not fucceed with Morland ; he always 
knew the value of his own works, and al- 
ways was well piid for them; except when 
he was in diftrefs, which he often was art- 
fully plunged into by thofe who took that 
Opportunity to obtain -his pictures at a 
comparatively chezp rate. 
His unfortunate peculiarities afifted 
them much in this plan; the averfion he 
naturally or at leaft originally had for the 
fociety of gentlemen made him averfe to 
{peak to a genileman who only wifhed to 
purchafe his piétures ; this peculiarity bis 
Sriends the dealers took care to encourage 
to fuch adegree, that men of rank, of for- 
tune, were often denied admittance to tee 
him, when he was furrounded with a ganz 
of harpies, who pufhed the glafs and the 
joke about, zominally at the quiz who was 
refufed admittance, but in reality at the 
fool who was the dupe of their artifices ; 
they, 10 the character of friends, purchafed 
all his pi€tures from him, which they af- 
terwards fold at very advanced prices. 
This was carried to fuch an extent, that 
geatlemen who wifhed toobtain Morland’s 
pictures ceafed to apply to him for them; 
but addrefied themfelves to fuch of his 
Jriends as had them to fell; by this means 
all conneétion between him and the real 
admirers of his woiks ~as cut off, anda 
competition between their friends began ta 
try which fhould get poffeffion of him, and 
exclude all the others from a fhare of the 
prey. 
For this reafon all were anxiows to join 
in his country excurfions, his drinking- 
parties, and haunt his painting-rcom in 
the morning, glafs in hand, to obtain his 
friendfhip: thus his original failicg was 
increafed, his health, his talents injured: 
and, by the united efforts of the crew, his 
grofs debauchery preduced idlene!s, end a 
confequent embarrafiment of his circum. 
ftances, when he was fure to becomea prey 
to fome of this hone? fet. I: trequently 
happened, when a picture had been be- 
{poke by one of his friends who advanced 
fume of the money to induce him to work, 
if the purchafer did not ftand iy to tee it 
3f finifhed, 
