works of almost all the English landscape painters, until the period of Turner and Girtin. But this error did not originate with, it was only adopted by, our early artists, from their contemplation of the many second rate pictures that, in their time were, so commonly imported to this country. allowed to communicate instruction in his own way. It is something to have an enlightened preceptor who will condescend to teach: who will patiently again go over the ground as a guide, when he should be seated at ease, having long since travelled to the end of his journey. But, alas! there are no academic bowers; no comfortable fellowships to dispose of to the veteran professor of the fine arts. And here we may, we hope without offence to Mr. Varley, or to the Lambert, the Smiths of Chichester, Chattelain, and many other artists, natives and foreigners, who practised here, fell into this error. Paul Sandby in his compositions, Rooker, and even Hearne, too frequently made the fore-grounds the darkest por-thinking few who know how to appreciate merit in tion of the picture. So did Cozens, Smith and Payne. It was a regular custom to place a bank in the corner of the fore-ground, on which was a pollard oak, or part of a tree with its projecting branches, in deep shadow, intended thereby to throw the distance, by the violence of the contrast, into air. A fallacy no sooner exposed by the observant eyes of Turner and Girtin, than those who had so long proceeded in the error, one by one, almost to a man, abandoned the practice. this or that profession, relate what we lately heard touching this matter. Mr. Varley, some twelvemonths since, had the honour to dine with a nobleman, one of whose family he had recently been retained to instruct in drawing: at his lordship's table on that day it happened the greatest painter of our time was also a guest. What passed over the wine it is not necessary to relate; but this may be told, that on a subsequent visit to the nobleman, adverting to Mr. Varley, the said great painter obThe cause of this erroneous method of shadowing served, "I think, my Lord, it is a national the fore-grounds, is to be found in the false educa-reflection that a man of his powerful talent tion of our early landscape painters, who instead of should, from the want of due patronage, be reduced studying from nature, acquired their notions of to the necessity of teaching drawing." To how painting from the contemplation of pictures and many superior artists may this observation be prints of the Italian, Dutch, and Flemish schools. | equally applied? at a period too when water-colour Indeed, the greater part of their landscapes, were painting, as professed in England, is the admirabungling compositions-chiefly plagiarisms and tion of the whole civilized world! petty piracies. Hence we behold scraps of rocks, and trees, ruins, fountains, and figures, collected together with little consistency, and affording no other satisfaction to the true connoisseur, but that of picking out and appropriating the various thefts to the original proprietors of the first thoughts. But to return to Mr. Varley This digression dismissed, we return to the subject:-In illustration of his comparison, Mr. Varley adds, "The generality of productions of landscape (in water colours) must appear to be executed with dispatch; so general, indeed, is the demand for this quality, that many artists, in their early career, have found it necessary, in order to "With regard to the painter in water colours, a insure the sale of their works, to give them an very great portion of his time is employed in over-appearance of freedom, at the expence of many coming the peculiarities and defects in paper; but the difficulty suggests many expedients connected with general effect, choice and arrangement of his subjects, in his efforts to conceal or supersede occa- This loose practice, thus urged, we cannot help sional blemishes, incidental to the early part of his observing, is a melancholy instance of the perstudies, and which are not easily avoided on his version of taste among that class who should know practice on paper, which has this peculiarity of better how to appreciate talent. It is another, distinction from oil; that while the deliberate pro-among the many proofs, of the want of wellgression of the painter in oil may be compared to Philosophy, the practice of landscape in water colours must assimilate to Wit, which looses more by deliberation, than is gained in truth." Mr. Varley is fanciful in his illustrations, but every man of great and original talent must be excellencies of a different nature, and to trust for their improvement, not to the intensity, but to the frequency of their exertions. directed patronage. Hence the artist is too frequently obliged to curb his fancy, to execute carelessly, and only display as small a portion of his faculty, just as much as amateurs may choose to dictate ere they purchase his works, not daring to copy more. "Paintings in oil and water colours," sensibly wealthy, worthy fellow-citizens of mine, ye merobserves our artist, "have each their peculiar ad-chants, bankers, great commercialists, ye modern vantages in those qualities which are difficult to Greshams, Whittingtons, Gascoygnes, Walworths, the other; for while locality and texture (meaning, and what not. For lo, in sober sadness, let the tale be we presume, a perfect resemblance or fac-simile told, with reverence due to holy mother church-the from the superior capacities of oil paints) are funds for all the reparations of St. Paul's, the pride among the great excellencies of oil painting, clear of London, the marvel of the world, (so saith the skies, distances, and water, in all of which there Dean and Chapter-wise and holy men,) amount is a flatness and absence of texture, are the beauties per annum only to ten hundred pounds! Shall it most sought after ;" and our preceptor might have be recorded by those who shall henceforth enrol added, are the peculiar attributes of painting in your names in the archives of Old Trinobantum, water colours." ye Harmans, Thorntons, Curtis's, and other city worthies, liege men and true, that THIS GREAT PROTESTANT CITY should have the dome of her most noble church, all-glorious as it was, for strangers to behold, begrimed with dirt and smoke, and damps, fast going to decay for want of funds to keep it in repair! (To be continued in No. 2.) CEILING PAINTERS. SIR JAMES THORNHILL.-Who can look upon the name of this English worthy, without a particular feeling of veneration for the man?-as he may be considered the first native painter of talent in the historical department, which our country could boast. Or who can look up into the dome and cupola of our metropolitan cathedral, and behold the decayed state of his masterly enrichments, of that sublime part of the structure, without strong feelings of regret, that the works of the father of the English school of art, should remain the only manifestation of neglect, in the recent reparations of that noble structure? Somehow, there has been all along, since the days of its illustrious builder, a marked disregard for painting in St. Paul's. Would that I could excite the attention of my worthy fellow-citizens to a due consideration of this subject to us virtuosi grey-beards, one of no small import. What right noble notions had our progenitors, within the walls, who were burnt out, in the destructive conflagration of 1666. They did not wring their hands, and weep over the mighty desolation, but kissed the rod of their affliction, and bowed in resignation to the will of God. Thus piously they felt, and being comforted, they fell to work, and cleared the smoking ground, and laid a-new, foundations, and lotted to each neighbour, under the guidance of those upright judges, whose painted effigies at length, still hang upon their Guild-chamber walls, to each his due. And lo! upon the ashes of the old, arose another city, Phonix-like, more glorious to behold, than that which was consumed. I'd have ye think of this, ye Venerable father of the English school! thy genius was but ill rewarded for many of thy works; the sin of that rests on the heads of those who squared thy merits by the yard, in niggard valuation: but with posterity would be the sin, to let those noble records of thy genius perish. What say ye, then, worthy fellow-citizens, to the plan of a subscription to repair the dome, and thus perpetuate the memory of old Sir James Thornhill, the first British painter who was knighted for his skill in art! I love to see your painted ceilings, and your painted halls, said my great uncle Zachary to Garrick, when they were ascending the grand staircase at Hampton Court; and I am concerned to see these splendid decorations grown out of date. Sir, hereafter, when a man, who respects the Fine Arts, shall escort a foreigner of taste about the town, he will blush at the nakedness of our public buildings. How often have I, and many of my old friends, when shewing the lions, admired the sagacity of the worthy old trader's remark-not knowing where to lead a stranger-to see a sight, touching the magnificence of architecture-that I could look upon with national pride. Surely, the Architect and Painter should ever proceed hand-in-hand. What Sir Christopher Wren had projected in the way of ornament, the contracted public spirit of his successors failed to perform; hence the finest, perhaps, of all existing structures, has remained as it were, a mighty mansion, unfurnished-TO BE || LET. Sir Peter Paul Rubens received for his painting of the Grand Plafond at the banquetting house, Whitehall, the sum of four thousand pounds, which is little more than four hundred yards of work; so that he was paid nearly ten pounds per yard. This patronage was bestowed in the days of that great encourager of the Arts, the unfortunate King Charles. Now, our countryman, Sir James Thornhill, received for his laborious and crowded designs, on the ceiling at Greenwich Hospital, only three pounds per yard, and this nearly a century after the painting of Whitehall, when the comparative value of money was so much reduced: and only the sum of one pound per yard for painting the ornaments upon the walls. This employment he was appointed to in the reign of Queen Anne, but the work was not completed until the reign of King George the First. He commenced in the year 1708, and finished in 1727; for which he was paid, altogether, the sum of 6,6851. The valuation of the work, after many attempts to screw the painter to a cheaper contract, was made by the directors of the hospital, after consulting the following eminent artists, natives and aliens, then practising the art with various success in London: Vandervelt, Cooper, Richardson (our old friend Jonathan), Sykes, and Degard, who reported in favour of Sir James, that the performance was equal to any of the like in England, and superior in number of figures and ornaments. "The late Duke of Montagu," says Sir James in his memorial to the commissioners for building the hospital," paid Monsieur Rosso, for his Salon, 2,000l., and kept an extraordinary table for him, his friends, and servants, for two years, whilst the work was doing, at an expence computed at 500l. per annum; which is near four hundred and fifty yards, amounting to about seven pounds per yard. "Signor Varrio was paid for the whole palaces of Windsor and Hampton Court, ceilings, sides, stairs, and back-stairs, 8s. per foot; which is 31. 128. per yard, exclusive of gilding: had wine daily allowed him, lodgings in the palaces; and when his eye-sight failed him, a pension of 2001. per annum, and allowance of wine for life." Signor Rizzi had of the present Duke of Portland, for three rooms, 1,000l.; for the little chapel at Bulstrode, 6001.; of the Lord Burlington, for his staircase, 7001. Signor Pellegrini, of the Duke of Portland, for work at his house, 8007.; and, for a small picture over a chimney, 50%.; of the Earl of Burlington, for the sides of his hall, 2007. [To be continued.] ADVERTISEMENTS. PALESTINE, OR THE HOLY LAND. On one large sheet, price £1 88.; on canvass, with roll canvass and case, £1 16s.; canvass and roller, varnish AN HISTORICAL MAP OF PALESTINE HOLY LAND, exhibiting a correct and master tion of the peculiar Geographical Features of the Coun with Ninety-six Vignettes, illustrative of the most im all Places therein connected with Scripture History; interesting Circumstances recorded in the Old and New introduced Topographically from the best Historical a phical Authorities. Drawn by Mr. Assheton, engraved Published by Samuel Leigh, 18, Strand. TO CLUBS, LITERARY INSTITUTIONS, THE PAMPHLETEER is particularly recomm LITERARY, POLITICAL, and SCIENTIFIC SUBJ a general record of the ablest Pamphlets of the both sides of the question. The Pamphleteer is published price 6s. 6d. No. XLIII. contains the following entire pamphlets :I. Spanish Constitution of 1812.-Discourse on Do. read &c. [Translated exclusively.] II. Obss. on the Vinous Fermentation, &c. III. Henry VIII.'s Love Letters to Anne Boleyn. [Ori IV. Rev. J. W. Cunningham's Obss. on Friendly So their Influence on Public Morals. V. The First Sitting of the Committee on the proposed to Shakspeare. VI. Rev. T. S. Hughes's Considerations on the Gree tion, &c. VII. Authentic Narrative of the Extraordinary Cure Alex. Hobenlohe. By J. Badeley, M.D. VIII. Les Cabinets et les Peuples, depuis 1815 jusqu' 1822. Par M. Bignon. Had a work like the Pamphleteer been commenced tw ago, and been conducted with the same spirit that mark temporary, we should not have had to lament the loss o tracts essential to the illustration of our history, or to r cheap price, a collection of the best pamphlets on liter tics, &c. that appear; and it is often distinguished original pamphlets of great interest and importance. them among the archives of our National Library. It af March, 1823. Sold in Nos. or Sets, by Sherwood and Co., Longma and all other Booksellers, by a general order. Just published by W. Wetton, 21, Fleet-street, Lo THE AID TO MEMORY, being a Comm sisting of upwards of one hundred and fifty heads, suc Book upon a new plan, with an Alphabetical In in general reading; and ample room for other subject alike to the Student, the Scholar, the Man of Pleasure, an of Business. By J. A. Sargant. Ruled with faint line 4to. 10s. 6d. ; foolscap 4to. 6s. bound. 2. THE SCOTTISH ORPHANS. A Moral Tale. F an Historical Fact. Calculated to improve the minds of y ple. By Mrs. Blackford, Author of the Eskdale Herdcond Edition. Price 3s. 6d. extra bds. 3. ARTHUR MONTEITH. A Moral Tale. Found Historical Fact. Being a continuation of the "Scottish By Mrs. Blackford, Author of the Eskdale Herd-Boy, 3s. 6d. extra boards. 4. ANNALS OF THE FAMILY OF MROY. By M ford, Author of the Scottish Orphans, Arthur Monteith 3 vols. 12mo. Price 24s. bds. London: Printed by SHACKELL and ARROWSMITH, son's Court; and published by W. WETTON, 21, FL and may be had of all Booksellers and Newsmen. WEEKLY MISCELLANY OF FINE ARTS, ANTIQUITIES, AND LITERARY CHIT CHAT. By Ephraim Hardcastle. THE OCTOBER FIRE-SIDE. No. II. used to say, "THIS I FOUND IN A BOOK!" which short and simple declaration was uttered with such pure originality of manner-such a mixture of graWHO hath not heard of Master Bernard Lintot vity and waggishness-in short, these his five short he, the worthy and renowned bibliopolist, immor-words, or monosyllables, conveyed so much more talized by Pope? I never read his name, inscribed than I can describe, that the sentence never failed at length, as publisher at the bottom of a title-page, to make his auditors laugh. This, his faculty, then, but, all at once, the social days in which he flou-was one point. rished, good man, seem revived; and Steele and Addison, and Swift and Pope, and Arbuthnot and Garth, and all the wise, and great, and good, who used to hold a morning gossip afore-time in his or Master Jacob Tonson's shop, appear to live again. All hail, then, plodding, sober-sided, worthy Master Lintot!-But when that Lintot's shop was shut, and Master Bernard, as he was wont, at nine o'clock, did cross the Strand to the Turk's-head, then "What a merry old soul was he! He call'd for his bottle, he call'd for his glass ;" Then, again, he would occasionally, as he became an older man, on festival nights,-such as drew together a full meeting of the neighbourly club,-sing them a love ditty, or a political ballad, in a style so purely his own, so inimitable in its way, that the said ditties and ballads remained as much the sole and entire property of his untuneable voice (he had no ear), as though his vocality had been ENTERED AT STATIONERS'-HALL. This, then, gentle reader, was his other point. 66 Worthy Bernard Lintot was a very bulky* man, so that Hogarth, the merry wight, who held his singing to be marvellously droll, used to whisper, Or, peradventure, for the Craftsman, or the Hyp- "call upon the huge man with the little voice." Doctor, or the Grub-street Journal, or the journals" I wish, mine deare Sare, you have but hear him of Fog or Mist; and having got this or that for what he did call, and having put on his spectacles, no sooner did he hit upon any good thing, than he, most civilly, laid down his pipe, and read it out, for the edification of the company, with a humorous sort of gravity, which was right pleasant to hear-at Old Slaughters', when old Colly Cibber was in an act of sociability, held by his neighbours to be very neighbourly. He, moreover, did carry over with him to the said Turk's-head, a notable budget of stories, some of which were matter-of-fact, as he was used to premise; and some were what he had collected, when in idle mood, he sinned-that is to say, when he was wont to read: for your publishers of old held reading, more than title-page and price, one of the DEADLY SINS. When Bernard Lintot lived, 'tis well accredited, scarcely a man of any note of whom you read but had some comicality, or eccentricity, or oddity, or singularity, or point, which did not distinguish him for aught, in his own separate trade or calling. But worthy Bernard Lintot had many a point, that did distinguish him from all and every other noted vender and publisher of books. Among the rest, I purpose to dwell on two, particularly. When he told a story, which was not a matter-of-fact, he No. II. sing Molly Mog," said Roubilliac to Pope, when he was sitting to the sculptor for his bust. Nay,” replied the poet, smiling, and shaking his head, "it might have been the death of me." And so it might, forsooth, had he heard it, as once performed the chair, accompanied by Scheemakers' eager interruptions, when he had just set about reading English poetry. Indeed, I have heard it affirmed, that both Scheemakers and Roubilliact would at any time have left their chisels and mallets, and have trudged on a stormy night all the way from St. Martin's-lane to Whitechapel, to have heard the worthy bookseller's Molly Mog. Lamp, the composer, the master of Ned Shuter, was used to say, that it certainly was Lintot's masterpiece. Fancy the corpulent old trader, at Stationers'hall, laying his pipe aside, half closing his eyes, setting his best wig to rights, and twitching his scarlet Sunday waistcoat, to cover his portly corporation, composing himself to answer the call of the worthies of Paternoster-row. "Come, Brother Lintot, let's have Molly Mog of the Rose." These were days, indeed! Augustan days, as Colley Cibber used to say; aye, and imperial nights. "But never shall I forget," my great uncle Zachary once observed," that meeting, when my old friend, Mr. Bernard Lintot, gave us his parting dinner at the Turk's-head, and Scheemakers again so comically put in what Garrick termed the speaking parts.' Mr. Lintot was afraid of the bottle, and so Garrick was voted to the chair. MOLLY MOG OF THE ROSE. 66 Says my uncle' I pray you discover (Then raising his pipe to a falcetto) 'O! I've seen Molly Mog of the Rose.' "Chorus! gentlemen," vociferated Garrick. 'O! I've seen Molly Mog of the Rose.' "By gar! an excellent song," exclaimed Scheemakers, clapping his hands. "Silence!" cried the chairman. O nephew, your grief is but folly, In town you may meet better prog; Half-a-crown there will get you a dolly, Now there's nothing can give satisfaction, Of nothing but SWEET MOLLY MOG.' self." If I would not give up the graces, I wish I were banged like a dog ; He'd quit, for my own Molly Mog.'" Yes! These were your days, that commenced the winter with such October nights, when Pope and Steele, Swift and Gay used to meet and sip their coffee at Button's and Toms', and Wills' and Jacks'; whilst Tonson and Lintot, and Hogarth and uncle Zachary used to smoke their pipes at Old (These two lines the modest Bernard sung in a Slaughters', the Rainbow, the Shakspeare, or the half whisper.) 6 The school-boy's desire is a play-day, " Will-o'-wisp leads your travellers a gadding Turk's-head. These were the wags of George the Second's days. How different "now-a-days!" So it was, gentle reader, about the self-same time, the whilst your painters, and your other social friends in September, or in the next autumnal month, were flocking homeward to commence their merry meetings in this great town;-those, his Majesty's no less worthy subjects, far and wide, 'gan to make merry, nidst their winter stores-the happy season of the harvest-home. What a heart-cheering season was this, in every farm-house, in every village, in every hamlet, scattered o'er the land; but now, alas! fast wearing out of date for farmers are not now, no more than traders, what they were! Happily, there is peace and plenty, as was said before; but we, old Greybeards, are jealous of the departure of good old customs. Time was-and that not long ago, when the heart expanded at the sight-the thriving yeoman, seated at his board, his worthy neighbour-farmers sitting round, with smoking rumps of beef, and roasted geese, the savory symbols of old Michaelmas, and wine, the produce of his own prolific orchard, made by the virgin hands of Anne and Cicely and Sue, his comely daughters. Perry and cider, too, made by bouncing (This line, accompanied by a cloud from the Bess and Kate, the honest serving maids; and stou smokers, caused a fine effect-old Bernard alwaysOctober, brewed by sturdy Jan and Joe; with making a pause for the occasion, then dropping from the good housewife's store of sweetmeats his voice)jams, pickles, and preserves,-a feast spread out. Like the eyes of my own Molly Mog. |