Hampton Court ... Illustrated with forty-three drawings by Herbert ...

BENJAMIN
WEST 201
to say, not a single Reynolds. Perhaps the most interesting
of the Hoppners is the portrait of the first
Marquis of Hastings, better known as Lord Moira
(No. 358), the friend of George IV., who atoned for
political failures in England by a brilliant governorgeneralship
in India. He is in uniform, the tight,
white breeches set off by the red coat — alittle, monkeyfaced
man. The words in which Scott recorded his
death are an admirable comment on thepicture: " Poor
old Honour and Glory dead — once Lord Moira, more
lately Lord Hastings. He was a man of very considerable
talents, but had an overmastering degree of
vanity of the grossest kind. It followed, of course,
that he was gullible. In fact, the propensity was like
a ring in his nose into which any rogue might put a
string. He had a high reputation for war, but it was
after the pettifogging hostilities in America, where he
had done some clever things. He died, having the
credit, or rather having had the credit, to leave more
debt than any man since Cæsar's time. ,£1,200,000 is
said to be the least. There was a time thatIknew
him well, and regretted the foibles which mingled with
his character, so as to make his noble qualities sometimes
questionable, sometimes ridiculous." J There is
a pleasing portrait of the literary lady Mrs.Delany by
Opie (No. 375), and there are many more of the same
period.
But most characteristic of the age of George III.
is the collection of the pictures of Benjamin West
1 Diary, December 22,1826.