fqueezed plaits of linen, to which dangled behind two unmeaning pendants, called lappets, not half covering their strait-drawn hair. Dahl, Dagar, Richardfon, Jervas, and others, rebuffed by fuch barbarous forms, and not poffeffing genius enough to deviate from what they faw into graceful variations, cloathed all their perfonages with a loose drapery and airy mantles, which not only were not, but could not be the drefs of any age or nation, fo little were they adapted to cover the limbs, to exhibit any form, or to adhere to the perfon, which they scarce enveloped, and from which they muft fall on the leaft motion. As thofe cafual lappings and flowing ftreamers were imitated from nothing, they feldom have any folds or chiaro fcuro; anatomy and colouring being equally forgotten. Linen, from what œconomy I know not, is feldom allowed in those portraits, even to the ladies, who lean carelefly on a bank, and play with a parrot

A 2

a parrot they do not look at, under a tranquillity which ill accords with their seeming fituation, the flightness of their veftment and the lankness of their hair having the appearance of their being just risen from the bath, and of having found none of their cloaths to put on, but a loose gown. Architecture was perverted to meer housebuilding, where it retained not a litle of Vanbrugh; and if employed on churches, produced at best but corrupt and tawdry imitations of fir Christopher Wren. Statuary still less deserved the name of an art.

The new monarch was void of taste, and not likely at an advanced age to encourage the embellishment of a country, to which he had little partiality, and with the face of which he had few opportunities of getting acquainted; though had he been better known, he must have grown the delight of it, poffeffing all that plain good-humoured fimplicity and focial integrity, which pecu

liarly

liarly distinguishes the boneft English private gentleman. Like those patriots, it was more natural to George the first to be content with, or even partial to whatever he found established, than to feek for improvement and foreign ornament. But the arts, when neglected, always degenerate. Encouragement must keep them up, or a genius revivify them. Neither happened under the firft of the houfe of Brunfwic. I fhall be as brief as I can in my account of fo ungrateful a period, for though the elder Dahl and Richardfon, and a very few more had merit in fome particulars, I cannot help again advertising my readers, that no reign, fince the arts have been in any efteem, produced fewer works, that will deserve the attention of pofterity. As the reign too was of no long duration, most of the artists had lived under the predeceffors of George the firft, or flourished under his fon, where feveral will be ranked with

more propriety. Of the former clafs

was

LOUIS LA GUERRE,

The affiftant and imitator of Verrio, with whose name his will be preferved when their united labours fhall be no more, both being immortalized by that unpropitious line of Pope,

Where sprawl the faints of Verrio and Laguerre.

The fame redundancy of history and fable is displayed in the works of both; and it is but justice to say that their performances were at least in as good a taste as the edifices they were appointed to adorn.

Laguerre's father was a Catalan, who fettled in France, and became master of the menagerie at Versailles. The fon being born at Paris in 1663, Louis the fourteenth

did

did him the honour of being his godfather, and gave him his own name. At first he was placed in the Jefuits college, but having a hesitation in his speech, and discovering much inclination to drawing, the good fathers advised his parents to breed him to a profeffion that might be of use to himfelf, fince he was not likely to prove ferviceable to them. He however brought away learning enough to affift him afterwards in his allegoric and hiftoric works. He then studied in the royal academy of painting, and for a fhort time under Le Brun. In 1683 he came to England with one Ricard, a painter of architecture, and both were employed by Verrio. Laguerre painted for him moft part of the large picture in St. Bartholomew's hofpital, and fucceeding fo well when little above twenty, he rose into much bufinefs, executing great numbers of cielings, halls, and staircases, particularly at lord Exeter's at Burleigh,