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Engraved by Robert Cooper from a Drawing by John Jackson.

Plished June 24th1813 by Henry Colburn Conduit Street London.

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My presuming to write the Life of so illustrious a man as Sir Joshua Reynoldsa task which Burke declined and Malone has not performed-a work, also, so formidable in my own view of it-may require some apology; the truth is, that I was drawn into it by degrees, as we commonly are to all the sins we commit. I had at first written a short Memoir, at the earnest request of a friend, which was received with marks of approbation: I had also collected many little anecdotes, which I was told were worth preserving; and at length was persuaded to make the present attempt, or rather, I may say, pressed into the service.

Another motive to my undertaking this subject was, that several of the circumstances which I had to relate might help to

clear Sir Joshua, in respect to the unwarranted ideas, many persons have entertained, that he was not the author of his own Discourses, and that also in his youth he was particularly illiterate. That the latter is far from the truth may be seen in the letter from him to Lord E-, which is demonstrative of a delicate, elegant, grateful, and feeling mind; and is written with admirable simplicity of language.

Familiar letters by Sir Joshua are, however, very scarce: he was too busy and too wise to spend his time in an occupation which is more congenial to the idle and the vain, who are commonly very voluminous in their production of this article.

With respect to the anecdotes which I have inserted in these Memoirs, a few, I hope, may be gratifying to the Artist; others may amuse the leisure hours of my reader; some, I must acknowledge, are trifling, and may not do either: but I have given all I could recollect, and would not make myself the judge by omitting any, especially when I reflected, that minute particulars are frequently characteristic, and that trifles even are often amusing, when they relate to distinguished persons: therefore I felt unwil

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