the Earl of Aberdeen, in the Exhibition at the Academy that followed the death of the President. When the painting materials of Sir Thomas were sold, Constable purchased a palette which had belonged to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and had been given by him to Sir George Beaumont, who gave it to Lawrence. He presented this interesting relic to the Academy, with its history inscribed on a silver plate inlaid on it.-Selected from Memoirs of the Life of John Constable, Esq., R.A., composed chiefly from his Letters, by C. R. Leslie, R.A. 1845. "MR. CALMADY'S CHILDREN." This group of two lovely infants, in its history, exhibits Sir Thomas Lawrence in a most amiable point of view. It appears that Mr. Lewis, the engraver, had often suggested to Mrs. Calmady, that her two children, Emily and Laura, would make excellent subjects for a painting; and he assured her that if Sir Thomas Lawrence were to see the children, he would be glad to paint them on any terms. But the question of terms was one of great difficulty with the parents. In July, 1823, Sir Thomas saw the two girls. The terms, upon his card, on his mantelpiece, descended from 600 guineas to 150, which was the price of the smallest head size. Having two in one frame increased the price by twothirds, and thus the regular charge for the portraits would have been 250 guineas. Sir Thomas, captivated by the loveliness of the children, and sympathising with the feelings of the mother, asked only 200 guineas. "I suppose," says Mrs. Calmady, "I must still have looked despairingly, for he immediately added, without my saying a word, 'Well, we must say 150 pounds, for merely the two little heads in a circle, and some skyand finish it at once.' Sir Thomas commenced his task the next morning at halfpast nine; and never did artist proceed with more increasing zeal and pleasure. Upon the mother expressing her delight at the chalk drawing, as soon as the two heads were sketched in, he replied that "he would devote that day to doing a little more to it, and would beg her acceptance of it, as he would begin another." The public, in one sense, must be glad at this liberality; for a more beautiful sketch was scarcely ever made it even gave promise of a more exquisite work than that which Lawrence afterwards completed. Both the faces were full, and that of the child now in profile was more lovely than the side-face; and both were more soft and delicate than in the finished picture. During the progress of the painting, Sir Thomas kept saying that "it would be the best piece of the kind he had ever painted;" and not only would he detain the children many hours, with their father and mother, keeping them in good humour by reading stories to them, or otherwise amusing them, but he often kept them to dinner, that he might get another sitting that day. Sir Thomas was once seen with one child on his knee, feeding it with mashed potatoes and mutton chop, whilst he was coaxing and caressing the other fed by the servant. Whenever he kept the children for the day, he always fed them himself, and played with them; and when the meal and sport were over, they were again placed in the chair, and the business of the portrait proceeded. At one sitting he was interrupted by the arrival of a packet from the King of Denmark, which he opened and read to Mr. and Mrs. Calmady. It contained his election to the rank of Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Denmark, signed by the King. After reading the compliments paid to him by his Majesty, Sir Thomas smiled, and said: "The fact is, they have heard I am painting this picture." At one sitting, after Sir Thomas had the shoe of little Emily Calmady often taken off, and had attempted to catch her playful attitudes and expressions, he could not help exclaiming : "How disheartening it is, when we have nature before us, to see how far-with our best efforts and all our study-how very far short we fall of her." One day having fed the children with their dinner, as they sat on his knees, he drew to the table to take his luncheon; but when he rose, to his surprise, he found that the child had got hold of his palette and paints, and with her hands had daubed her face in a ludicrous manner; and when Mrs. Calmady entered the room, she found Sir Thomas and his servant busily washing the child's face and hands. These anecdotes and traits are trifling, but they show Sir Thomas's kindly nature. Sir Joshua Reynolds's delight at the gambols of children was equally in accordance with his amiable manners and kind heart; and to this we owe his exquisite paintings of infants and children, some of which may survive his best historical or fancy pictures. At length, Sir Thomas finished the painting of the Calmady children, when he declared: "This is my best picture. I have no hesitation in saying so-my best picture of the kind, quite-one of the few I should wish hereafter to be known by." This picture was sent to the Royal Lodge, Windsor Park, for the inspection of the King, who had heard of it from the Duchess of Gloucester. The engraving of it had a very large sale; and so much did that of the chalk drawing please Sir Thomas that he insisted upon the engraver, Mr. Lewis, taking eighty instead of sixty guineas for his production. It has been stated that "Sir Thomas Lawrence lost large sums of money, by trying to bring young engravers into notice, and to get them employed." About the time of engraving these two children, there was a young engraver, to whom Sir Thomas gave a drawing to execute. When he brought the plate, Lawrence, in paying him his demand, observed, "it is of no use to me." The poor engraver, from these words being spoken "in so kind a manner," had no idea that he alluded to the worthless plate, but thought he referred to the money; and he observed that it was very odd, though it was very polite, in Sir Thomas saying when he paid him "that it was of no use to him." the money, PORTRAIT OF THE HON. C. W. LAMBTON. This beautiful picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1828, and the admiration which it then excited was extended by the mezzotinto print from it, which became extremely popular. A smart critic of the time described it as one of the most exquisite representations of interesting childhood that he had ever beheld. The simple action and sweet expression of infantile nature which we see in this portrait, were never excelled by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in his happiest moments. The boy is seated amid some rocky scenery, enjoying, apparently, a waking dream of childhood, and, for the moment, unconscious of external objects. His attitude is simple and natural-just as a child might throw himself down on a green bank, after being fatigued with sport, X when the flow of his animal spirits subsides, without being exhausted. His dress being of crimson velvet, is, of course, very rich; yet it never attracts the attention for an instant from that soft look of innocence, and those engaging eyes, which reflect the loveliest light of a pure and happy mind. It is, indeed, one of those works that make the painter forgotten in the reality of the creation which he has produced. The colouring is warm and chaste; the execution is marked with equal feeling and accuracy. Allan Cunningham, however, gives a very different account of the work. "It is a magnificent piece of colour; but there is a total absence of all simplicity. He has seated the boy on a rock, his legs and arms extended for the purpose of covering space, and his look fixed above, with all the upturned intensity of a Newton." The young gentleman upon whom the painter had bestowed so much of his art, was the eldest son of J. G. Lambton, afterwards Earl of Durham, by his second wife, daughter of Charles, Earl Grey, and was born in January, 1818. He was seven years of age when Sir Thomas Lawrence painted the above portrait: he died in 1831, the year after that in which the painter laid down his pencil for ever. It is hardly possible to look upon this interesting picture of innocent childhood, of imitative art and beautiful nature, without feeling one's heart more than "idly stirr'd" at the brief existence of this graceful scion of a noble house. The reader may lament that Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, But it is better to take refuge in the home philosophy of our great metaphysical poet : Thus fares it still in our decay; And yet the wiser mind Mourns less for what Time takes away Than what he leaves behind. PORTRAIT OF THE HON. MRS. HOPE. This truly splendid portrait of the amiable wife of the author of Anastasius was one of the bright stars of the Academy Exhibition of 1826. Sir Thomas Lawrence's judgment is evinced by choosing a picturesque costume and national character, to which the lady's face was adapted; and the colouring, with every minor adjunct, combines to produce an unity of expression. Mrs. Hope's features and complexion were of the Grecian cast, prominent and aquiline, though delicate, with a fine oval contour; and a lively, intellectual air, heightened by a clear dark complexion. Sir Thomas has represented the lady as an oriental Fatima, in a turban superbly embroidered with gold, and a dress of rich, glowing red, ornamented with splendid jewels. The hands are small and delicate, and free from that dark colour with which the painter so often tinged the hands of his sitters. Time has brought the whole colour of this beautiful picture to an excellent tone: it is glowing, rich, and gorgeous, without being meretricious, or in the least over-painted. By giving the name of an individual to a painting, it is taken from the highest branch of art, and considered only as a portrait; but this work may be enjoyed as the emanation of a rich and fertile fancy-a picture of great art, and in the school of imagination.-(Williams's Life of Lawrence, vol. ii.) This picture is the gem of the family portraits at the Deepdene, in Surrey. Here also is a portrait of Thomas Hope, Esq., in a Turkish dress, a full-length, painted by Sir William Beechey. Sir Thomas Lawrence also painted Master Charles Hope (who died young), as the Infant Bacchus: an excellent mezzotint has been executed from this picture by Cousens. Here likewise are portraits of Lady Decies, (the mother of the Hon. Mrs. Hope,) and her infant daughter, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. COWPER AND LAWRENCE. The following is one of the poet's graceful letters of renewed invitation to the painter to visit him in the country: "DEAR SIR, "As often as I have comforted myself with the hope of seeing you again soon, I have felt a sensible drawback upon that comfort, from the fear of a disappointment, which, considering your profession and your just pre-eminence in it, appeared to me extremely probable. "Your letter, most welcome otherwise, gave me this most unwelcome information the moment I saw your name at the bottom of it. We all feel our loss, and much as I suppose you are beloved by my friend Rose, who has pretty acute discernment, I will venture to say he is not more mortified than myself. You do me justice, if you believe that my in |