drew up a History of the Chinese, and an account of his three visits to their country. After this, he was rewarded with the bishopric of Lipari, in Italy, by the pope, and with those of Chiapi and Popajan, by the king of Spain. This embassy was rather a religious mission, protected by a civil character or title, than a political delegation. PRIE-LEA'S 'S CONSIDERATIONS. One of your correspondents, vol. xxix. p.341, announces the intention of reprinting Priestley's Considerations for the Use of Young Men; in which case several notes metaphysical and medical will be requisite, to correct the tendency of advice so inconsiderate. Priestley, as well as Kotzebue, assumes the principle, that both sexes have like rights, and like duties. Kotzebue infers from this principle, that women are to practice a masculine morality, and to indulge in promiscuous intercourse. Priest ley infers from this principle, that men are to practice a feminine morality, and to have no sexual intercourse before matrimony, Observation shows, that, of the adult males between eighteen and twenty-five, about nine-tenths practice promiscuous intercourse: and that, of the adult fe males between eighteen and twenty-five, about one-tenth practice promiscuous intercourse: and this in all countries, whatever the climate or the religion. If, from the average conduct of the species, may most securely be inferred the law of nature and of God, that is the moral duty: it is exactly mine to one both that Kotzebue is wrong, and that Priestley is wrong, in the conduct which they teach. ORIGINAL POETRY. It is now about thirty-five years since Mrs. Van Butchell die 1; and the singular mode employed for the preservation of her body by her affectionate husband, occasioned the following Epitaph to be written by the Jate sir George Baker. This gentleman's classical attainments are so renowne, that whatever has been written by him, the public will be e ger to possess; and we believe this is the first time the lines now inted, have been offered from the press. It will be perhaps intresting to most persons, and necessary for many, to have stated the account of the reservation of Mr. Van Butcher's lady. On her death taking place, he applied to Dr. Hunter to exert his skill in preventing, if possible, the changes of form usual after the cessation of lite Accordingly the doctor, assisted by the late Mr. Crickshank, injected the blood vessels with a coloured fluid, so that the minute red vessels of the cheeks and lips were filed, a d exhibited their native hue; and the body. in general, having all the cavities filled with antiseptic substances, it ren aines perfectly re iron corruption, or any unpleasant smell, or as it merely in a state of sleep. But to resemble the app ara ce of live, glass eyes were also ingerted The corpse was then deposited in a bed of this paste of plaister of Paris, in a box or sufficient aimensions, which subsequently crystallised, and produced a picasing elec. A curtain covered the glass lid of the box which would be withdrawn at pleasure; and which box being kept in the common pariou, Mr. Van Butchell had the satisfaction of retaining his de parted wie for many years, frequently MONTHLY MAG. No. 202. displaying the beautiful corpse to his IN RELIQUIAS Et a marito suo superstite Uxor Martini Vanbutchell; O fortunatum martum! G Etiam ADDRESSED TO DR. THORNTON, ON HIS BEAUTIFUL GROUP OF ROSES, PUBLISHED IN NUMBER XXX. OF HIS "TEMPLE OF FLORA " THE CONSECRATION OF THE ROSES. WHEN first, as ancient bards have sung, The queen of love from ocean sprung; With the same living blush that warms The raptur'd gods her form survey'd, Who, till his sister rules the hours, From whence the Maiden's Blush we trac Its cold beams with her glowing star; Terre Terrestrial star! the Yellow Rose PSYCHE. THE POET'S GRAVE. NOW twilight draws her dark'uing veil, The pleasing, pensive hour, I hail, Forth from my humble cot I stray, Or through the vale to take my way, Through trackless plains my steps to urge, Or by the riv'let's rushy verge, Oft it's slow-winding course I trace, To the still church-yard, that sad place, There, where it laves the sacred sod With gently murmuring noise, Full oft the "margent green" I've trod, Beheld the Moon on silver car Slow riding thro' the night; Have seen, with thought sublime, each star Or with some much-lov'd friend convers'd, But ah! by pale Diana's light, Bright Virtue reign'd within his breast, In fashioning his form. Full oft in rural solitude, We've studied Wisdom's ways; Full oft the Muse together woo'd, In simple artless lays. But now those happy hours are past, The bud of genius, Death's rough blast Close at yon solemn yew-tree's root, No sumptuous marble decks the green, But on a rude carv'd stone is seen, WITH ADDITIONAL STANZAS. O! THOU, who lov'st Pindaan heights to , climb, Where, on a cypress tree, my harp is laid; Say, that I droop beneath the touch of Time, That much I long for it's accustom'd aid. I should be happy were my harp but here, I'd hang with rapture o'er its simple frame; O! leave for me the reliek of a tear, Or fix upon its front its owner's fame. Speak to the winds, as o'er my harp they steal, To leave a kiss upon each silent string; Tell (if thou canst) the weight of woe I feel; How frowning winter follow'd smiling spring. O! tell my much-lov'd harp, with what HENRY'S RETURN. O! nay, fair mai en, dry those tears, Laura! suppress those rising fears, Borne safe the foaming surge along, High swell'd his heart with glee; J. R. MONTHLY RETROSPECT OF THE FINE ARTS The Use of all New Prints, Communication of Articles of Intelligence, &c. a requested under COVER to the Cure of the Publisher. TTRACTED to this exhibition by on "the scale of" half as many mi But to the works :-No. 1, is Venus a Diana; ill-drawn, unnaturally coloure and affected in the extreme. 2 The mous View of Hyde Park, above-mentio A advertisements amply circulated, ed, to say the best of it, is as perfect a pic and which stated the principal picture (the View of Hyde Park) to be "painted on a scale of 200 feet," we were led to visit it; although the admission (half-acrown, and catalogue 64.) appeared ra ther out of the bounds of modesty. Yet, judge of the surprise that affec ed every one who were witnesses to the egregious and unblushing imposition that was practised on the public by this Gallic adventurer. The picture of Hyde Park, reader, was only 5 feet and a half in length, aud the whole-length portraits of the principal pe sonages and their equipages little more than an inch in length. It is painful to dwell on such circumstances that serve to deter a generous public -from patronizing arts and artists: but such an impudent shameless imposture never was before practised, and deserves to be placed on record. When the first burst of surprise was over at the imposition, the rest of the "other pictures painted by A. Dubost" were examined, hoping that their merit would compensate for the deficiency in size of the other. But, oh! Shame, where is thy blush? The collection was the most imbecile, trißing, and impudent drivellings of the pencil, that ever were imposed on the public eye; and verily, if Dubost had been summoned before a court of requests for obtaining money under false pretences by any of those who were thus imposed upon by this ungrateful Frenchman, he must have been driven with contempt from the court. A man is the room, who exhibited and explained the pictures, and who called himself the friend of Dubost, said in explanation, the base of the pic ture represented 200 feet, and that if the height of one of the figures were taken, as a scale of 6 feet, and tried along, it would prove it!!! At this rate, many a mix niature drawing at Spring Gardens was of quackery as ever was imposed on t good-nature of John Bull. There are n only portraits and equipages, all nam and to be found in the catalogue, but many more to be introduced as any su scriber to a print from it may wish. Beauty and the Beast. A vile caricatu on a most amiable lady, whose family to liberally encouraged the ungrateful car caturist, and for which he deserved n thing so much as a kicking. Really, to detail the rest of the mise able trash that hung round the room but which shines in description in h catalogue, would be trifling with ou readers' feelings and patience. Suffice to say, that any one to view such drav ing such composition, (pardon the pro titution of the term), and such-ever thing that was there seen, must draw th conclusion that Dubost himself, in th preface to his catalogue, says has been that Damocles, and any thing here exh bited, could not have been the produc tion of the same hand. And howeve moderate the abilities required in draw ing, to be admitted a candidate for student's ticket in our Royal Academ are, yet even this triffing honour woul be refused to any boy who drew no bet ter than the works here shewn as th production of Dubost by himself. In an introduction to his catalogue Mr. Dubost has cast such aspersions o British artists, and their patrons, that would be a reflection on the nationa character to suffer them to go unanswer ed. He says, that "many arts hav been used by envy and malignity to ob struct his progress, and depress his cha racter as an artist." He again asserts that when Mr. Dubost came first to this country from Paris, the praise which his picture of Damocles had obtained for him in that city, had travelled with him acros FARTHER ACCOUNT OF MR. SCHIAVO Louis Schiavonetti was born at Bas- across the Channel, and he met the most Battering reception, &c." and a little farther on: "This reception and those praises, excited however the envy of the London artists; and it would appear that a conspiracy was formed to defame and depress him!! This is nothing but the common cant of foiled imbecility, and proves nothing of either envy or malig nity, except in the writer; which is far ther proved by a series of illiberal abuses of Mr. Hope, who has been to this an, as well as to every artist, a liberal and honorable patron. His charges against Mr. Hope however assume a more tangible shape, and can therefore be more accu rately examined. "Mr. Dubost puts it to the honest and impartial feeling of the public, whether Mr. Hope had a right, after getting the picture of Damocles into his possession, (does Dubost mean to imply by this that he got it surrepti-lisher in Europe. tiously?) to efface the painter's name, and afterwards, with the barbarity of a Vandal, to destroy the picce itself by cutting it in two parts. Although Mr. Dabost sold the picture, he did not sell it to be destroyed"-Very well. So Mr. Hope is not only aVandal, but also a fool; for, according to this account, he gives an immense sum (800 or 1000 guineas we believe) for a picture, and destroys it. But mark, how a plain tale shall put him down. The picture has certainly been cut in two parts; but how? A few inches of sparable canvas from the upper part of the picture is cut off to make it fit a certain place intended for its reception, and the picture (except the circumstance of fitting the place better) is neither better or worse for its cutting-destroyed it is not, as its own existing evidence can As to the effacing his name, prove. if it had been suffered to remain after the evidence of every picture Dubost has produced in England since, would have been lending to an imposture, and it therefore is properly taken off; and there is no doubt the real painter or painters' name, can be affixed there in its stead. Mr. Dubost also complains of the directors of the British Institution refusing to exhibit his picture of Diana and VeBus. In reply to this, all that is neces. sary to be said is, that they would have deserved censure had they acted in a contrary manner. One more quotation, and He we have done with Mr. Dubost. asks, "What can Mr. Dubost therefore do, in defence of his reputation?" He is answered from Shakspeare, "Tell truth, and shame the devil," Mr. Schiavonetti (says Mr. Cromek, from whose excellent account in the Examiner, this is principally taken) possessed in very high perfection a freedom and accuracy of delineation. This power, united with the grace and dignity which were the peculiar characteristics of his style, enabled him to treat every subject with a truth and distinctness of expression rarely to be found in the works of other artists. To sum up his professional merits in afew words, Mr. Schiavonetti classes with Girard Audran, Edelinck, Strange, and Woollet. He not only possessed the powers of delineation-the harmony of lines the union in tones, and general effect, which characterise the works of these eminent men; but he added a brilliancy of execution, and playful undula tion of effect, which approached more nearly to the free penciling of the paint 2 |