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Doctor, you have seen my judgment
of Solomon; I think I may, without presumption--but, I don't choose
to make comparisons; I leave that odious task to other people, and
let my works speak for themselves. France, to be sure, is rich in
the arts; but what is the reason? The king encourages men of genius
with honour and rewards; whereas, in England, we are obliged to stand
on our own feet, and combat the envy and malice of our brethren.
Egad! I have a good mind to come and settle here in Paris. I should
like to have an apartment in the Louvre, with a snug pension of so
many thousand livres."
In this manner did Pallet proceed with an eternal rotation of
tongue, floundering from one mistake to another, until it was the
turn of Poussin's Seven Sacraments to be examined. Here again, the
Swiss, out of the abundance of his zeal, expressed his admiration,
by saying these pieces were impayable; when the painter, turning
to him, with an air of exultation, "Pardon me, friend, there you
happen to be mistaken: these are none of Impayable's; but done by
Nicholas Pouseen.


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