Volume 1

The Farington diary / edited by James Greig.

  • Joseph Farington
Date:
[1922?-1928]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Farington diary / edited by James Greig. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    61/464 (page 23)
    West declared for an exhibition of the work of dead and living artists, Members of the Academy, and a publick breakfast. The difficulties and disadvantages attending this proposal struck me and many other Members. After the meeting broke up G. Dance, Boswell, Hoppner, Hamilton, and myself went to Holylands Coffee House.* December 4.—George Steevens [Critic] is the son of the late Ad¬ miral Steevens. He is judged to be about 6o years of age. His dislike to Mrs. Siddons and Kemble is owing to their not approving his conduct towards their sister, Miss Kemble, now his wife. His behaviour was so unexplained that it was judged necessary by them to communicate their sentiments on it. This separated them. Under the title of Zoilus, Murphy! exhibited a character of Steevens, who he discovered had wrote against his works, though they lived together as friends. Steevens is supposed to be the author of the following lines on Mr. Hay ley I and Miss Seward§ of Lichfield, complimenting each other in a fulsome manner : Epigrammatick Dialogue. She. Tuneful Poet, Britain’s glory, Mr. Hayley, that is you ; He. Ma’am you carry all before you, Trust me Lichfields Swan you do. She. Ode didactic, Epic, Sonnet, Mr. Hayley, your divine ; He. Ma’am, I’ll take my oath upon it You alone are all the nine. December 6.—At the Royal Academy Club I conversed with Bonomi|| and Hamilton [R.A.] relative to Marat. Bonomi said Zucchi became acquainted with Marat at Old Slaughters Coffee House, St. Martin’s-lane, where many foreigners were accustomed to assemble. * On page 49 of Roach’s London Pocket Pilot for 1793, we read : “ Holylands near Somerset House is perhaps one of the first Coffee-houses in Europe. The lower story is divided into two spacious rooms, one within the other, both elegantly illuminated, and each producing internally and externally, a very fine effect In this house every convenience is consistent with appearance ; and if the charges be now and then a little above par, the advance should be excused by the style in which everything is being performed.” t Arthur Murphy (1727-1805), playwright, actor, journalist, edited the Gray's Inn Journal (1752-1754), entered Lincoln’s Inn in 1757, after being refused admission by the Benchers of the Middle Temple because he was an actor; he was called to the Bar in 1762, but continued to write for the stage. t Mr. Hayley wrote indifferent verses, and a Life of Romney, which Hoppner ridiculed in the Quarterly Review. § Miss Seward, known as the Swan of Lichfield, was praised by Dr. Johnson, but Miss Mitford called her “ a sort of Dr. Darwin in petticoats.” || Joseph Bonomi, architect, bom Rome, 1739, was elected A.R.A. in 1789 by the casting vote of Sir J. Reynolds, who subsequently tried to get him made an Academician in order that he might become Professor of Perspective. Sir Joshua’s failure to accomplish this purpose led to his temporary resignation of the Presidency.