Cromek, in the letter of May, 1807, quoted in the previous chapter, tells Blake incidentally, 'The specimens' (in proof) of Schiavonetti's etchings have already produced you orders that, I verily believe, you would not otherwise have received.' One commission, the credit whereof Cromek may here be assuming to himself, was that which occupied Blake during 1807 for the Countess of Egremont, to whom he had already been made known by Hayley. It was for a repetition, or enlargement rather, of the most elaborate of the Blair drawings—The Last Judgment. In reality, however, the commission was obtained through his staunch friend, Ozias Humphrey, the miniature painter, A letter to him from Blake (18th February, 1808), descriptive of this composition, is, in its commencement, applicable to that in the Blair, but shows the new picture to have contained many more figures and considerable variations from the previous treatment. Smith got hold of this letter from Upcott, Humphrey's godson, or, as some say, son in a less spiritual sense. The original is now in the possession of Mr. Anderdon, and, thanks, to his courtesy, has been here followed; Smith's version being a slightly inaccurate one. To those familiar with Blake's works, a very extraordinary and imaginative composition is indicated.
To Ozias Humphrey., Esq.
The design of The Last Judgment^ which I have completed, by your recommendation, for the Countess of Egremont, it is necessary to give some account of; and its various parts ought to be described, for the accommodation of those who give it the honour of their attention.
Christ seated on the Throne of Judgment: before His feet and around Him the Heavens, in clouds, are rolling like a scroll, ready to be consumed in the fires of Angels who descend with the four trumpets sounding to the four winds.
Beneath, the earth is convulsed with the labours of the Resurrection. In the caverns of the earth is the Dragon with seven heads and ten horns, chained by two Angels; and above his cavern on the earth's surface, is the Harlot, seized and bound by two Angels with
