Mary Hogarth beautiful and light-hearted". When Robert Story visited the Hogarth household in 1836, he described Hogarth as "the fairest flower of spring". Dickens showed particular affection to Hogarth, and described her as "a close friend, an exceptional sister, a companion at home." It is believed that Hogarth was the first person to read "The Pickwick Papers" and "Oliver Twist", as Dickens valued Hogarth's input and feedback more than his wife's. In the early hours of 7 May 1837, after Hogarth had returned from a showing of "Is She His Wife?" at the St James's Theatre with the Dickens couple, she collapsed
Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse pile of old master paintings. The print of "Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse" went through several alterations mostly relating to the inscription at the bottom of the page. In the second state, the inscription read: "W Hogarth Sergeant Painter to His Majesty. The Face Engrav'd by W Hogarth and Publish'd as the Act directs". The third state omits "and", while adding "March 29, 1758" to the end. The fourth state omits "The Face Engrav'd by W Hogarth". In the fifth state, "Sergeant Painter" is scratched out, while changes have now also been made to the engraving itself; the Muse's face