LAROON.

CAPTAIN LAROON practised the Arts at the same period as Hogarth; and as he often witnessed the nocturnal revels at Moll King's* and Mother Douglass's, (alias Mother Cole,) which so delighted Hogarth; the Captain's productions often resemble in subject those of the great painter of human character and

manners.

Laroon drew sometimes with red chalk, but more frequently with a black-lead pencil. His drawings are truly spirited, and display a liquid flow of touch peculiar to himself; but what is highly honourable to his memory, is, that his productions are entirely his own, not assisted in the least by the hand of another man.†

* I have seen at Strawberry-hill a large and spirited drawing, in red chalk, by Captain Laroon, exhibiting the inside of Moll King's. Kirgate, Mr. Walpole's domestic printer, bought it for him at an evening auction about forty years ago. There is also an engraving of the same room, in which a whole-length of Mr. Aprice is introduced in a full courtdress. An impression of this plate, which is extremely rare, is carefully preserved by H. P. Standly, Esq. of the Middle Temple, as an addition to Hogarth's first print of the Four Times of the Day, in which that Artist has introduced Moll King's house.

† An ungentlemanlike practice often resorted to by some

Upon reference to Walpole's "Anecdotes of Painting in England," and finding so little of the Laroon family, and fortunately being in possession of a manuscript life drawn up by the Captain, in his own hand, I shall here insert a copy of it, as a curious addition to Mr. Major's late splendid edition of the work of Lord Orford; which the Editor, the Rev. James Dallaway, has rendered more interesting by inserting lists of the portraits executed by some of the principal Painters, and also the names of their present possessors; which is valuable to the traveller and collector, and particularly so to those who illustrate the interesting reign of that splendid patron of the Arts, King Charles the First.

The following is Captain Laroon's state

ment:

"I write the following memorandums, not as a regular account of battles, sieges, or other

of our would-be amateurs, is regularly to invite three or four artists separately to dine with them, in order to coax and wheedle them to touch upon their pictures; which they afterwards have the barefaced audacity to display in public exhibitions, as specimens of their own talented productions, and positively declare themselves slighted if their pictures are not hung in the best places, in preference to the works of those men who avowedly make the Arts their profession, and support their establishments by their labours.

actions I have seen, but for the satisfaction of my particular friends, who, perhaps, might be desirous to know how I have spent my life. I leave out all private occurrences. My father's as well as grandfather's name, was spelt Marcellus Lauron; I was christened by the same, but being called Marcellus Laroon, I wrote my name always so.* I was born the second day of April, 1679, at my father's house in Bow-street, in the parish of Covent-garden, London. My grandfather, Marcellus Lauron, was a native of France, by profession a painter, and lived in Holland many years. It never came to my knowledge where he married, or of what country his wife was. At the Hague, he had several children. My father's elder brother, as well as my father, was a Painter, and remained in Holland and died there; his performances were not greatly esteemed. My father came to England a young man; he died at the age of fiftythree, at Richmond in Surrey, and was buried there. He studied closely and made great improvements, and the impartial must allow him a great degree of merit, as some portraits, and

* C Pliny mentions the city or town of Lauron, and such a place is also mentioned by Plutarch. It was in Spain, and was besieged and taken by Sertorius, in the sight of Pompey."

many easel-pieces, demonstrate. He married an Englishwoman, the daughter of Jeremiah Keene, Builder, of Little Sutton, near Chiswick, and by her had many children. We were three sons left, brought up by him to painting, and my father gave us other necessary learning and accomplishments; we had French-masters, learned writing, arithmetic, fencing, and dancing. He entertained in his house a very good master of music, whose name was Moret, who performed on several instruments,—with design, as my father had a very good ear, to learn of him to play on the six-stringed viol; but my elder brother, ten years old, took up the instrument, and executing Moret's instructions better than my father, he ordered him to teach my brother. We had frequent concerts of music at our house. I was then about seven or eight years of age, and was judged to have an inclination to music, by being often found scraping on a fiddle in some private place. I was then put under Moret's discipline, to learn to play on the violin. We both made such progress, that in about two years we could perform à livre ouverte.

"We still went on with our painting. I was about eighteen years of age, when the Congress met at Ryswick. My father was willing that I should see foreign parts, and I was made

one of the six pages to Sir Joseph Williamson, one of the English Plenipotentiaries. Mr. De la Faye was then his Secretary. We set sail for Helvoet Sluys, in company with a great number of ships; we were surprised by a violent storm, which lasted three days, in a very dangerous situation; the wind blowing into land; we were near the coast of Holland and at anchor; but the storm abating, we got safe on shore. We went to the Hague, where Sir Joseph resided till the peace was concluded. About the time of signing the peace, the Earl of Manchester (then sent Ambassador to the Venetians) passed through the Hague. My father had taken measures to place me with the Earl, and I was made his page. We were one and twenty in family, almost all English. Mr. Slangau was then with us as Secretary to the Embassy.

"We passed through Cleves to Cologne, where we all embarked on board two large vessels (fastened together, with all our baggage) on the Rhine, and were drawn against that strong stream by a great number of horses to Frankfort, from whence my Lord and all his suite travelled in different voitures by Inspruk, and through the Tyrol mountains to Muran; from whence we were transported in proper