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Having spent the Vigour of my Youth
& Genius under the Opression of S Joshua
& his gang of Cunning Hired Knaves
Without Employment & as much as could
possibly be Without Bread. The Reader
must Expect to Read in all my
Remarks on these Books Nothing
but Indignation & Resentment.
While S Joshua was rolling in
Riches Barry was Poor &
Unemployd except by his own Energy
Mortimer was calld a madman &
only Portrait Painting applauded &
rewarded by the Rich & Great. Reynolds
& Gainsborough Blotted and Blurred One
against the other & Divided all the
English world between them Fuseli
Indignant almost hid himself — I am hid
Editorial Note:
"His gang of Cunning Hired Knaves" may refer to The Club, co-founded by Reynolds. The Club began as a cultural discussion gathering in 1764 with the following original members: Sir Joshua Reynolds, artist; Samuel Johnson, lexicographer and essayist; Oliver Goldsmith, author; John Hawkins, author; Edmund Burke, writer; Bennet Langton, scholar of ancient literature; and Anthony Chamier, politician. The Club became a long-standing English tradition, including members like Spencer Walpole, Alfred Tennyson, and Thomas Huxley.
Written in pen.
