第48章

Shortlegsinaheroicpicturewillneverdo；and，uponthewhole，Ithinkthepainter’sattemptattheheroicinpaintingthemayoroftheoldtownadecidedfailure。IfIamnowaskedwhetherthepicturewouldhavebeenaheroiconeprovidedthepainterhadnotsubstitutedhisownlegsforthoseofthemayor-Imustsay，Iamafraidnot。IhavenoideaofmakingheroicpicturesoutofEnglishmayors，evenwiththeassistanceofNormanarches；yetIamsurethatcapitalpicturesmightbemadeoutofEnglishmayors，notissuingfromNormanarches，butratherfromthedoorofthe’Checquers’orthe’BrewersThree。’Thepainterinquestionhadgreatcomicpower，whichhescarcelyevercultivated；hewouldfainbeaRafael，whichhenevercouldbe，whenhemighthavebeensomethingquiteasgood-anotherHogarth；theonlycomicpiecewhichheeverpresentedtotheworldbeingsomethinglittleinferiortothebestofthatillustriousmaster。Ihaveoftenthoughtwhatacapitalpicturemighthavebeenmadebymybrother’sfriend，if，insteadofmakingthemayorissueoutoftheNormanarch，hehadpaintedhimmovingunderthesignofthe’Checquers，’

orthe’ThreeBrewers，’withmace-yes，withmace，-themaceappearsinthepictureissuingoutoftheNormanarchbehindthemayor，-butlikewisewithSnap，andwithwhiffler，quartpot，andfrying-pan，BillyBlindandOwlenglass，Mr。PetulengroandPakomovna；-then，hadheclappedhisownlegsuponthemayor，oranyoneelseintheconcourse，whatmatter？ButIrepeatthatI

havenohopeofmakingheroicpicturesoutofEnglishmayors，or，indeed，outofEnglishfiguresingeneral。Englandmaybealandofheroichearts，butitisnot，properly，alandofheroicfigures，orheroicposture-making。Italy……whatwasIgoingtosayaboutItaly？

CHAPTERXXXIX

Noauthoritywhatever-Interference-Wondrousfarrago-BrandtandStruensee-Whatalife!-Thehearse-Mortalrelics-Greatpoet-Fashionandfame-Whatadifference-Oh，beautiful-Goodfornothing。

ANDnowoncemoretomypursuits，tomyLivesandTrials。HoweverpartialatfirstImightbetotheselivesandtrials，itwasnotlongbeforetheybecameregulartrialstome，owingtothewhimsandcapricesofthepublisher。IhadnotbeenlongconnectedwithhimbeforeIdiscoveredthathewaswonderfullyfondofinterferingwithotherpeople’sbusiness-atleastwiththebusinessofthosewhowereunderhiscontrol。Whatalifedidhisunfortunateauthorslead!Hehadmanyinhisemploytoilingatallkindsofsubjects-Icallthemauthorsbecausethereissomethingrespectableinthetermauthor，thoughtheyhadlittleauthorshipin，andnoauthoritywhateverover，theworksonwhichtheywereengaged。Itistruethepublisherinterferedwithsomecolourofreason，theplanofallandeveryoftheworksalludedtohavingoriginatedwithhimself；and，beitobserved，manyofhisplanswerehighlycleverandpromising，for，asIhavealreadyhadoccasiontosay，thepublisherinmanypointswasahighlycleverandsagaciousperson；butheoughttohavebeencontentedwithplanningtheworksoriginally，andhavelefttootherpeoplethetaskofexecutingthem，insteadofwhichhemarredeverythingbyhisrageforinterference。Ifabookoffairytaleswasbeingcompiled，hewassuretointroducesomeofhisphilosophy，explainingthefairytalebysometheoryofhisown。Wasabookofanecdotesonhand，itwassuretobehalffilledwithsayingsanddoingsofhimselfduringthetimethathewascommoncouncilmanoftheCityofLondon。Now，howeverfondthepublicmightbeoffairytales，itbynomeansrelishedtheminconjunctionwiththepublisher’sphilosophy；andhoweverfondofanecdotesingeneral，orevenofthepublisherinparticular-forindeedtherewereagreatmanyanecdotesincirculationabouthimwhichthepublicbothreadandlistenedtoveryreadily-ittooknopleasureinsuchanecdotesashewasdisposedtorelateabouthimself。InthecompilationofmyLivesandTrialsIwasexposedtoincrediblemortification，andceaselesstrouble，fromthissamerageforinterference。Itistruehecouldnotintroducehisphilosophyintothework，norwasitpos