The works of William Hogarth Author:William Hogarth Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: as suddenly would re-turn it, and fall to his meal again. I may add, that he once directed a letter to Doctor Benjamin Hoadly, thus: " To the Doctor at Chelsea."... more » This epistle, however, by good luck, did not miscarry, and was preserved by the late Chancellor of Winchester, as a pleasant memorial of his friend's extraordinary inattention. Another remarkable instance of Hogarth's absence was related to Mr. Steevens, in 1781, by one of his intimate friends. Soon after he set up his carriage, he had occasion to pay a visit to the Lord Mayor. When he went, the weather was fine; but business detained him till a violent shower of rain came on. He was let out of the Mansion-house by a different door from that at which he entered, and, seeing the rain, began immediately to call for a hackney-coach. Not one was to be met with on any of the neighboring stands, and our artist sallied forth to brave the storm, and actually reached Leicester Fields without bestowing a thought on his own carriage, till Mrs. Hogarth (surprised to see him so wet and splashed) asked where he had left it. At the latter end of the year 1752, the print of Columbus Breaking the Egg was given to the world by Mr. Hogarth as a subscription ticket for The Analysis of Beauty, and was evidently intended as a sarcasm on those artists who had been accustomed to laugh at his boasted " Line of Beauty " as a discovery which every one might have made. The publication of the valuable work which it announced was expected with great avidity, and the curiosity it excited extended even to the Continent. From his friend Rouquet, who was then at Paris, Mr. Hogarth received the following letter, dated March 22, 1752-1753: "dear Sir: I expected to have been in England about this time, but find myself disappointed by the tediousn...« less