* * * * *

THE POET, CHATTERTON.

_(To the Editor of the Mirror.)_


Should the following notice of Chatterton, which I copy from a _small
handkerchief_ in my possession, be thought worthy of a place in the
MIRROR, you will oblige me by inserting it. The handkerchief has been in
my possession about twenty-five years, and was probably printed soon
after the poet's death; he is represented sitting at a table, writing,
in a miserable apartment; behind him the bed turned up, &c.

SUFFOLK.


_The Distressed Poet, or a true representation of the unfortunate
Chatterton._

The painting from which the engraving was taken of the distressed poet,
was the work of a friend of the unfortunate Chatterton. This friend drew
him in the situation in which he is represented in this plate. Anxieties
and cares had advanced his life, and given him an older look than was
suited to his age. The sorry apartment portrayed in the print, the
folded bed, the broken utensil below it, the bottle, the farthing
candle, and the disorderly raiment of the bard, are not inventions of
fancy. They were realities; and a satire upon an age and a nation of
which generosity is doubtless a conspicuous characteristic. But poor