could obtain. But the matter he thus collected was not by himself deemed sufficient to authorize him to go farther than the modest title of his Memoir, namely, "Some Account of the Life and Writings "of Sir Joshua Reynolds." Mr. Malone was a most amiable man, and remarkable for his scrupulous integrity. He knew

that his information was limited, and he declined entering upon subjects which he was conscious he did not perfectly understand. With all his care, he was, however, in some instances, betrayed by incompetent authorities into mistatements, of which an example occurs in his account of an act of the Royal Academy, which caused Sir Joshua, at one period, to resign the Presidency of that Body.

In communicating the information proposed to be here given, it was first thought that it might be done by notes only, with references to the pages of Mr. Malone's account; but it has been judged best to give it as a connected narrative; although in that form, it is possible, some few repetitions

of Mr. Malone's account may chance to

occur.

It has often been remarked that there is no reading more amusing and instructive than the detail of the life of an extraordinary man. In the present instance we see how a character, formed by early habits of consideration, self-government, and persevering industry, acquired the highest fame, and made his path through life a course of unruffled moral enjoyment. Sir Joshua Reynolds, when young, wrote rules of conduct for himself. One of his maxims was, "that the great principle of being happy "in this world, is, not to mind or be "affected with small things." To this rule he strictly adhered; and the constant habit of controlling his mind greatly contributed to that evenness of temper which enabled him to live pleasantly with persons of all descriptions. Placability of temper may be said to have been his characteristic. The happiness of possessing such a disposition was acknowledged by his

"was the most invulnerable man he had "ever known."

The life of this distinguished Artist exhibits a useful lesson to all those who may devote themselves to the same pursuit. He was not of the class of such as have been held up, or who have esteemed themselves to be heaven-born geniuses. He appeared to think little of such claims. It will be seen in the account of his progress to the high situation he attained in his profession, that at no period was there in him any such fancied inspiration; on the contrary, every youthful reader of the memoirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds may feel assured, that his ultimate success will be in proportion to the resolution with which he follows his example.

Joshua Reynolds was born at Plympton, in Devonshire, July 16th, 1723. He was son of the Rev. Samuel Reynolds and Theophila, his wife, whose maiden name was Potter. He was the seventh of eleven children, five of whom died in their infancy. His godfathers were his uncle

Joshua, Mr. Aldwin being his proxy, and

Mr. Ivie.

His godmother was his aunt Reynolds of Exeter, Mrs. Darley proxy. At his baptism he was named Joshua. Upon the authority of Dr. Percy, late Bishop of Dromore, Mr. Malone has given a fanciful account why he was so named. There seems to be no probable foundation for it. It was agreeable to common usage for an infant to be named after one of its sponsors, and may naturally be supposed to have been the case in this instance.

it

Mr. Samuel Reynolds was master of the grammar school at Plympton; and whatever classical instruction Sir Joshua received was under the tuition of his father. Some literary scraps have been published to show that in his youth he was illiterate, and circumstances are mentioned in them which make it probable that they were genuine. They go to prove that, at that period, from 1749 to 1751, when he was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, his orthography was incorrect, and that he was careless in the composition of his letters. What he really gained while instructed by his father,

cannot now be known,

But if he made

little progress in classical attainment in his youthful days, it is a high proof of his inherent ability, and that, after he became occupied by unceasing exertions in his art, he still found time to make up for youthful negligence, and to obtain so large a proportion of general literary knowledge as to be fitted for the society of men conspicuously distinguished for their superior intelligence. Reynolds could never be considered a scholar, but, living in the best society, and availing himself of every opportunity to cultivate his mind by study, he was, by the time he arrived at the middle period of life, qua lified to commence a course of Lectures on his art, which prove him to have made extraordinary proficiency in literary composition.

For a considerable time after his Discourses delivered at the Royal Academy were published, many attempts were made to deny him the honour of being the author of these compositions. His intimacy with Dr. Johnson, and Mr. Burke, and other eminent literary characters, was uni