Georgina Hogarth often expressed to her sense of affectionate care and devotion in her home – never more strongly than within the last twelve months. One day in the same year, William Makepeace Thackeray asserted that Dickens's separation from Catherine was due to a liaison with an actress, Ellen Ternan, rather than with Georgina Hogarth as had been put to him. This remark coming to Dickens' attention, Dickens was so infuriated that it almost put an end to the Dickens-Thackeray friendship. With rumours that he and Georgina Hogarth were having an affair circulating, Dickens family history allegedly had it that a doctor's
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