He elbowed others, and was elbowed himself; and finally,
by dint of intrepidity, fought his way into some notice, painted for
the prize at the Institution, had pictures at the exhibition at Somerset
House, and damned the hanging committee. But poor Dick was doomed to
lose the field he fought so gallantly. In the fine arts, there is scarce
an alternative betwixt distinguished success and absolute failure; and
as Dick's zeal and industry were unable to ensure the first, he
fell into the distresses which, in his condition, were the natural
consequences of the latter alternative. He was for a time patronised
by one or two of those judicious persons who make a virtue of being
singular, and of pitching their own opinions against those of the world
in matters of taste and criticism. But they soon tired of poor Tinto,
and laid him down as a load, upon the principle on which a spoilt child
throws away its plaything. Misery, I fear, took him up, and accompanied
him to a premature grave, to which he was carried from an obscure
lodging in Swallow Street, where he had been dunned by his landlady
within doors, and watched by bailiffs without, until death came to
his relief.
Pages:
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47