Encouraged by the success of their first attempt, they engaged the great room in Spring Garden, and their first exhibition at that place opened on the 9th May 1761. Here they found it necessary to change their mode of admission, which they did by making the catalogue the ticket of admission; consequently one catalogue would admit a whole family in succession, for a shilling, which was its price; but this mode of admittance was still productive of crowd and disorder, and it was therefore altered the next year. This exhibition, which was the second in this country, contained several works of the best English artists, among which many of the pictures were equal to any masters then living in Europe; and so strikingly conspicuous were their merits, and so forcible was the effect of this display of art, that it drew from the pen of Roubilliac, the sculptor, the following lines, which were stuck up in the exhibition room, and were also printed in the _St James's Chronicle_:-- Pretendu Connoiseur qui sur l'Antique glose, Idolatrant le hom, sans connoitre la Chose, Vrai Peste des beaux Arts, sans Gout sans Equite, Quitez ce ton pedant, ce mepris affecte, Pour tout ce que le Tems n'a pas encore gate. Ne peus tu pas, en admirant Les Maitres de la Grece, ceux d l'Italie Rendre justice egalement A ceux qu'a nourris ta Patrie? Vois ce Salon, et tu perdras Cette prevention injuste, Et bien etonne conviendras Qu'il ne faut pas qu'un Mecenas Pour revoir le Siecle d'Auguste. "In the following season," says Edwards, "they ventured to fix the price of _admission_ at one shilling each person, but had the precaution to affix a conciliatory preface to their catalogue, which was given gratis," As it is becoming more and more usual of late years to preface a catalogue with a signed article, or, as in a recent instance, a facsimile letter, it is interesting to know that this "conciliatory preface" was written by Dr Johnson. As a document its value in the history of the British School of Painting demands its reproduction here in full:--