Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 63.djvu/56

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Worsdale
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Worsley

pended to this excellent biographical and critical work (dedicated ‘To my friend, John Ruskin’) is a valuable catalogue of portraits and drawings by Holbein at Windsor.
  1. ‘Saul of Tarsus; or Paul and Swedenborg. By a Layman,’ London, 1877, 8vo.

Wornum had been a member of the New Church, though as a ‘non-separatist’ he remained in communion with the church of England. In this book he expressed very strongly the notion of conflict between the teaching of Christ and the theology of St. Paul.

In addition to the above works Wornum edited ‘Lectures on Painting’ [by Barry, Opie, and Fuseli], 1848, 8vo, for the ‘Bohn’ Library; Walpole's ‘Anecdotes of Painting in England,’ with copious notes and emendations, London, 1849, 3 vols. (a revised edition of this, which appeared in 1888, is now the standard); ‘The National Gallery;’ a selection of pictures by the old masters, photographed by L. Caldesi (with annotations), London, 1868−73, fol.; ‘Etchings from the National Gallery,’ 18 plates, with notes, two series, 1876−8, fol.

[Gent. Mag. 1852 ii. 549; Times, 18 and 19 Dec. 1877; Art Journal, 1878, p. 75; Athenæum, 1877, ii. 823; English Cyclopædia; Men of the Reign; Bryan's Dict. of Painters and Engravers, ii. 730; Cat. of Eastlake Library at National Gallery.]

T. S.

WORSDALE, JAMES (1692?−1767), portrait-painter, born about 1692, was the son of a poor colour-grinder. He was engaged as a servant to Sir Godfrey Kneller, and subsequently became his apprentice, but was dismissed for surreptitiously marrying Lady Kneller's niece. In later times he claimed to be a natural son of Sir Godfrey. Though possessed of little artistic ability, Worsdale obtained a considerable amount of patronage as a portrait-painter, and was appointed master-painter to the board of ordnance, his success being due mainly to his amusing conversation and clever singing and acting. His portraits of Princess Louisa, Sir John Ligonier, the Duke of Devonshire, ‘Beau’ Nash, and other persons of mark, were engraved by Brooks, Bockman, and Faber. Worsdale was much associated with the stage, both in London and Dublin, and for a time belonged to a travelling company. In 1753 he acted at Drury Lane the part of Lady Pentweazle in Foote's comedy ‘Taste.’ He was professedly the author of a number of songs, plays, and operas, but these seem to have been chiefly the work of others needy writers whom he exploited. Lætitia Pilkington [q. v.], who was one of these, describes him in her ‘Memoirs’ in extremely uncomplimentary terms; and Vertue asserts that he pushed himself into notoriety solely by his artful ways and ‘shameless mountebank lies.’ Worsdale died on 11 June 1767, and was buried in St. Paul's, Covent Garden. A portrait of him, painted by R. E. Pine, was engraved by Dickinson, with the motto ‘Ridendo dicere verum.’ The dramatic works ascribed to Worsdale are:

  1. ‘A Cure for a Scold,’ a ballad opera or farce taken from the ‘Taming of the Shrew,’ 1735 (acted at Drury Lane 25 Feb. 1735, and at Covent Garden 27 March and 26 April 1750).
  2. ‘The Assembly,’ a farce in which he himself played the part of Lady Scandal.
  3. ‘The Queen of Spain,’ 1744.
  4. ‘The Extravagant Justice.’
  5. ‘Gasconade the Great,’ 1759.

Of these only the first and last were printed.

[Walpole's Anecdotes (Dallaway and Wornum); Vertue's collections in Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 23076, f. 37; Memoirs of Lætitia Pilkington, 1748−54; Cooke's Memoirs of Samuel Foote; Baker's Biographia Dramatica; Chaloner Smith's British Mezzotinto Portraits; Genest's Hist. Account, iii. 448.]

F. M. O'D.

WORSLEY, CHARLES (1622−1656), major-general, born on 24 June 1622, was the eldest son of Ralph Worsley of Platt, Manchester, by Isabel, daughter of Edward Massey of Manchester, and widow of Alexander Ford of Wigan (Booker, Ancient Chapel of Birch, p. 25; Court Leet Records of Manchester, iv. 117). Worsley was a captain in some regiment of Lancashire parliamentarians in 1644, but his early military services are not recorded (Booker, p. 39). On 21 June 1650 parliament voted that a regiment of foot should be raised in Lancashire for Cromwell under such officers as he should be pleased to appoint. Of this regiment Worsley became lieutenant-colonel (Commons' Journals, iv. 428; Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1650, p. 308). He joined Cromwell's army with it at Edinburgh on 12 Sept. 1650, just after the battle of Dunbar (Booker, p. 37). In August 1651, when Cromwell returned to England in pursuit of Charles I. Worsley was sent into Lancashire to assist Colonel Robert Lilburne against James Stanley, seventh earl of Derby [q. v.], but arrived too late to take part in the victory at Wigan (Cary, Memorials of the Civil War, i. 339, 343; Life of Captain John Hodgson, 1882, p. 47). Worsley was not at the battle of Worcester, but the regiment was employed under Colonel Duckenfield in the reduction of the Isle of Man. At the lose of 1652 the regiment was stationed