Memoirs of William Hazlitt
Chap. I 1778-1811
William Hazlitt to John Hazlitt, March 1788
“Wem, Saturday morning,
“March —, 1788,
“Dear Brother,
“I received your letter this morning. We were all glad
to hear that you were well, and that you have so much business to do. We cannot
be happy without being employed. I want you to tell me whether you go to the
Academy or not, and what pictures you intend for the exhibition. Tell the
exhibitioners to finish the exhibition soon, that you may soon come and see us.
You must send your picture to us directly. You want to know what I do. I am a
busybody, and do many ![]()
| | CORRESPONDENCE OF WILLIAM HAZLITT. | 9 |
![]()
silly things; I drew eyes and noses till about a fortnight ago. I have drawn a
little boy since, a man’s face, and a little boy’s front face,
taken from a bust. Next Monday I shall begin to read ‘Ovid’s Metamorphoses’ and ‘Eutropius.’ I shall like to know all the
Latin and Greek I can. I want to learn how to measure the stars. I shall not, I
suppose, paint the worse for knowing everything else. I begun to cypher a
fortnight after Christmas, and shall go into the rule of three next week. I can
teach a boy of sixteen already who was cyphering eight months before me; is he
not a great dunce? I shall go through the whole cyphering book this summer, and
then I am to learn Euclid. We go to school
at nine every morning. Three boys begin with reading the Bible. Then I and two
others show our exercises. We then read the ‘Speaker.’ Then we all set about our
lessons, and those who are first ready say first. At eleven we write and
cypher. In the afternoon we stand for places at spelling, and I am almost
always first. We also read, and do a great deal of business besides. I can say
no more about the boys here: some are so sulky they wont play; others are
quarrelsome because they cannot learn, and are fit only for fighting like
stupid dogs and cats. I can jump four yards at a running jump and two at a
standing jump. I intend to try you at this when you come down. We are not all
well, for poor Peggy has a great cold.
You spelled Mr. Vaughan’s name wrong, for you
spelled it Vaughn. Write soon again. I wish I could see
all those paintings that you see, and that Peggy had a good![]()
| 10 | A LETTER FROM LIVERPOOL. | |
![]()
prize. I don’t want your old clothes.
I shall go to dancing this month. This is all I can say.
“I am your affectionate brother,
“William Hazlitt.”
Euclid (300 BC fl.)
Greek mathematician who lived in Alexandria; his
Elements forms
the basis of geometry.
Eutropius (363 fl.)
Roman historian; author
Breviarm ad urbe condita in ten
books.
Margaret Hazlitt [Peggy] (1770-1841)
The daughter of William Hazlitt (1737–1820) and elder sister of the critic; her journal
was published in 1967.
Ovid (43 BC-17 AD c.)
Roman poet famous for his erotic
Art of Love and his mythological
poem,
The Metamorphoses.
