aved by Hogarth
himself in 1726.
All that this second designer performed was, to revise the original designs
of Hogarth's, in order to remove some _glaring indecencies_; and this, no
doubt, is what Mr. Lowndes means, when he says that "_Hogarth is much
indebted to the designer of them_."
The following passage in a letter from Dr. Ducaral to Dr. Grey, dated Inner
Temple, May 10th, 1743, printed In Nichols's _Illustrations_, will furnish
us with _the name_ of the artist in question:--
"I was at _Mr. Isaac Wood's the painter_, who showed me the twelve
sketches of _Hudibras_, which he designs for you. I think they are
extremely well adapted to the book, and that the designer shows how
much he was master of the subject."
In the preface to this edition, Dr. Grey expresses his obligations "to the
ingenious _Mr. Wood, painter, of Bloomsbury-square_."
In the fourth volume of Nichols's _Illustrations of Literature_ are some
interesting letters from Thos. Potter, Esq., to Dr. Grey, which throw much
light on the subject of this edition of _Hudibras_.
I cannot conclude these observations without expressing my dissent from the
praise bestowed upon the engravings in this work. Mr. Lowndes says "_the
cuts are beautifully engraved_." With the exception of the head of Butler
by Vertue, the rest are very spiritless and indifferent productions.
J. T. A.
* * * * *
FOLK LORE.
_Overyssel Superstition._--Stolen bees will not thrive; they pine away and
die.
JANUS DOUSA.
_Death-bed Superstitions._--When a child is dying, people, in some parts of
Holland, are accustomed to shade it by the curtains from the parent's gaze;
the soul being supposed to linger in the body as long as a compassionate
eye is fixed upon it. Thus, in Germany, he who sheds tears when leaning
over an expiring friend, or, bending over the patient's couch, does but
wipe them off, enhances, they say, the difficulty of death's last struggle.
I believe the same poetical superstition is recorded in _Mary Barton, a
Tale of Manchester Life_.
JANUS DOUSA.
_Popular Rhyme._--The following lines very forcibly express the condition
of many a "country milkmaid," when influence or _other considerations_
render her incapable of giving a final decision upon the claims of two
opposing suitors. They are well known in this district, and I have been
induced to offer them for insertion, in the hope that if any of your
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