[33] "It may be truly observed of Hogarth, that all his powers of delighting were confined to his pencil. Having rarely been admitted into polite circles, none of his sharp comers had been rubbed off, so that he continued to the last a gross, uncultivated man. The slightest contradiction transported him into rage. To be member of a club consisting of mechanics, or those not many removes above them, seems to have been the utmost of his social ambition; but even in these assemblies he was oftener sent to _Coventry_, for misbehaviour, than any other person who frequented them. He is said to have beheld the rising eminence and popularity of Sir Joshua Reynolds with a degree of envy; and, if I am not misinformed, spoke with asperity both of him and his performances. Justice, however, obliges me to add that our artist was liberal, hospitable, and the most punctual of paymasters; so that, in spite of the emoluments his works had procured to him, he left but an inconsiderable fortune to his widow."--_Nichols' Anecdotes_, p. 97. [34] In furniture, decorations, etc., this place has not been altered since his death. There is not one of his own prints, but in the parlour are framed engravings from Sir James Thornhill's paintings in St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Houbraken heads of Shakspeare, Spencer, and Dryden. The garden is laid out in a good style: over the door is a cast of George the Second's mask, in lead, and in one corner a rude and shapeless stone, placed upright against the wall, and inscribed, ALAS, POOR DICK! OB. 1760. AGED ELEVEN. Beneath the inscriptions are two cross bones of birds, surmounted with a heart and death's head. The sculpture was made with a nail, by the hand of Hogarth, and placed there in memory of a favourite bullfinch, who is deposited beneath. [35] This is Doctor Johnson's epitaph, and he wrote only four. He has broken his own rule, that the name should always be inserted in the body of the verse. [36] The verses, as first written by Mr. Garrick, and now in the possession of Mr. James Townley, are as follows:-- "If thou hast genius, reader, stay; If thou hast feeling, drop the tear;-- If thou hast neither,--hence, away, For Hogarth's dear remains lie here. His matchless works, of fame secure, Shall live our country's pride and boast, As long as nature shall endure, And only in her wreck be lost." [37] In the _Daily Advertiser_ of January 27, 1783, I find the following advertisement:-- "HOGARTH'S ORIGINAL WORKS.