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and Mr Wright has illustrated the pas-
sage, by the portrait of a sweet placid-
faced child, beaming out innocence and
undisquieted adolescence. But who will
regard its inaptitude!

ceived it, and the influence which the unqualified commendation of persons of cultivated taste is sure to have on the public mind, we have fair reason for believing the object of the publishers will be fully attained, and their efforts correspondingly rewarded. The choicest conceptions of the great minds of Canova, Thorwaldsen, Chantrey, Flaxman, Westmacott, and other noble spirits thus made beautifully manifest on paper, and enriched (it is hardly too extravagant a word) by the gentle effusions of Mr. Hervey's muse, cannot fail to make way.

The subjects of the present number CHANTREY'S Resignation-2. BAILY'S well-remembered group of a mother and child, here called Maternal Love; and 3d. The Hebe of THORWALDSEN, "a name which disputed the palm with Canova, during that great artist's life, and has no Continental rival since his death." A non-extensive circulation for such a work as this would be a dis graceful stain upon the national taste.

MEMORIALS OF OXFORD, &c. No. 2. The
plates in this number are the "Interior
of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Exte-
rior of the Library;" together with five
wood-cuts, all clever and all creditable.
When completed, if completed as it com-
mences, the work will be a very accepta-
ble addition to the library of the historian.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF MODERN SCULP-are-1.
TURE. Part 2. When first we stum-
ble upon the happy thoughts of clever
people, we are always surprised that
they never occurred before, or to our-
selves; and accordingly, when first were
placed before us these illustrations,
we could not, for the soul of us, con-
ceive how this glorious mine of the
rich and the beautiful should have so
long remained unwrought and even un-
thought of. Compared with the sister
arts, sculpture has been hitherto confined
to the admiration of the few; for few
have had the opportunities of appreciat-
ing its true value, which the advan-
tage of multiplied representations would
have afforded. The obscuring curtain,
however, is now drawn aside, and the
vision of all that is noble in form and
excellent in conception-the palpable em-
bodiment of the essential soul in its lof-
tiest flights, and its holiest exercises,
displayed in the imagined perfection of
human configuration, is now in progress
of being disclosed; and very particularly
done. We thank and congratulate you,
Mr. Hervey, upon the task you have so
creditably and chivalrously undertaken.

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The work now before us, in its second number, justifies the high encomium we passed upon the first, considered as the splendid precursor of a publication which we deemed eminently calculated to elevate sculpture to its proper position among the Fine Arts, in the estimation of all classes. From the cordial welcome with which the periodical press has re

Relfe and Unwin.

We have just glanced at the Landscape Annual, and TURNER'S Annual Tour: they both appear to be rich in all that is delightful to the eye, and excellent in art; but the latter, on a rapid survey, seems certainly a production of extraordinary beauty and extraordinary merit. Year after year have we been supposing that the works of this description had reached their climax of perfection, that the lovely in nature had been fairly wrought dry, and that human skill could go no farther; yet, strange to see, every succeeding year throws into comparative shade those which preceded them. Truly nature and art are both exhaustless!

WINTER EXHIBITIONS OF THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS.-The Society's rooms in Suffolk Street have been opened for the winter season; they contain a very excellent selection from the works of Reynolds, Lawrence, Northcote, and other distinguished artists, which will well repay the connoisseur, and be meat for the minds of young aspirants for digesting.

A similar Exhibition is opened at Exeter Hall. We have not yet visited it, but report speaks very favourably of the selection.

THE DRAMA.

EDINBURGH.At the THEATRE ROY-
AL, EDINBURGH, we have had De Begnis'
Italian Company, performing for some
weeks the best Operas to full houses.
We are glad that the reception of this
Company of excellent performers has been

such as they deserved. Since the depar-
ture of the Italians, we have had Rob
Roy, and our other standard Dramas, per-
formed by the Edinburgh Company to
comparatively empty benches. By and
by, however, we expect to see the Theatre

filled in every part with merry faces, expanding with glee at the drolleries of an excellent Christmas Pantomime. Murray gets up these things well.

LONDON. We regret to say that the non-arrival of our London correspondent's remarks on the theatrical events of the month till the last moment allowed us for going to press, prevents our doing more than abstracting the gist of them. At Drury Lane, OTHELLO has been several times repeated, with a success which the resuscitation of Kean's original pow. ers, and the excellent acting of Macready were sure to command. Don Telesforo de Trueba has had the distinguished gratification of bringing out a Drama, which has been very heartily damned every night of its performance; and of being accused of plagiarisms therein, in terms

which must have raised the Hidalgo's blood several degrees beyond the boiling point. Other things have been dragged forth, which, like bubbles on stagnant water, have risen and burst, leaving the surface stagnant still. At Covent Garden, Mr Knowles has been playing his own William Tell and Virginius to full audiences, and creditably to his rising repu tation as an actor. Miss Kelly is engaged at this house, and her powers are undiminished; she is unquestionably the best actress on the English stage. The Ballet of "Masaniello" has been got up gorgeously, and has attracted houses "full to overflowing." These matters, as we have said, we are compelled to divest of their amplitude; and the MINORS must be content with our simple assertion, that they deserve the patronage they receive.

MUSIC.

THE OVERTURE AND INTRODUCTION
TO THE OPERA OF ROBERT LE DIA-
BLE. G. MEYERBEER.
THE PAS DE LA BOUGUETIERE, Danced
by Mlle. Taglioni. G. MEYERBEER,
SOUVENIRS OF MEYERBEER'S CELE
BRATED OPERA, &c. arranged for two
Performers, by W. WATTS. Book II.
SCHAPPLE.

To those who had the good fortune to witness the production of this delightful Opera last season at the King's Theatre, these pieces will be received not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous! It would be something supererogatory to enter just now into a disquisition upon the merits of a composition, after the very able critiques which were elaborated on the occasion of its first introduction; and

we will spare our readers and ourselves the infliction of a repetition. The over ture is arranged for the piano with a flute and violin accompaniment. This and the pas will be found to contain some stiff but very instructive practice; the grand and imposing style of the one, and the delightful measure of the other, are very beautiful exemplifications of the composer's genius.

The Souvenirs of the present book con. tain the chorus of "Nous sommes tous flattés," "O Fortune," and "Malheur sans egal." They are very cleverly arrang ed for two performers on the piano; and while they reflect great credit on the ability of Mr. Watts, their simplicity and con trivance will render them, there is little doubt, very popular.

J. Johnstone, 19, St. James' Squire, Edinburg.

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WITH SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE GRAVE CONSIDERATION OF MINISTERS.

THERE are some things respecting which we do not very well know what to think of our present Ministers. They seem to be assorted like ninepins; if one be impinged upon, it commonly knocks down the others. In this sense, and in this alone it is, that they seem disposed to stand or fall together. They have no common mind, no community of sentiment or opinion, no determinate principles of action, no recognised or coherent system of policy; and hence each does precisely that which seemeth good in his own eyes, without regard to the position of his colleagues, or the consistency and stability of the general government. Every one appears to act for himself; no one seems to concern himself about what may have been said or done by his official confrères. In the West, Lord John Russell menaces the Conservatives with the ballot, and an extension of the franchise; in the midland and eastern counties, Lord Althorp, Mr. Stanley, and Sir James Graham respectively volunteer declarations that the Reform Bill is to be considered as a final measure. According to the former, Reform is only in its infancy; according to the latter, it is full-grown, matured, and incapable of any further increase. By what fell from Lord John Russell, it would appear that the Movement is only be. ginning; but were any weight to be attached to the ultroneous declarations of the Ministerial triumvirate above named, we should be led to believe that it had already ended. Indulgence must, no doubt, be shown, and due allowances made, for the excitement and license of electioneering harangues; and some may not unreasonably think that such unpremeditated sallies ought not to be construed ad pedem literæ. But still some degree of self-restraint and caution is usually expected in a Minister of the Crown; every word uttered by whom will necessarily have importance attached to it; and, certainly, if ever there was a time when the Members of the Government ought most anxiously 2 P

NO, XI.-VOL. II,

to abstain from committing themselves by rash or ill-considered declarations, involving pledges as to the future policy of the State, the present is that time. Contraries cannot be believed. It cannot possibly be true that, while the Government are prepared to entertain projects of further and more effectual Reform, they have at the same time agreed to hold the late measure as a final and conclusive settlement. Somebody must be terribly committed.

But let us attend for a little to the spontaneous declarations of the Ministerial trio above named: they are all-important at the present moment. The Reform Bill, say the triumvirate, is to be considered as a final settlement; and young Stanley is particularly fierce in yelping out this dogma. Now, what right had they, or any one of them, to make such a declaration? Have they the presumption to imagine that they can dictate to a Reformed House of Commons? Do they really fancy that they will be permitted to lay under interdict that great branch of legislation, which most immediately concerns the political rights and interests of the People? Or, are they, in their ineffable presumption, preparing an Index Expurgatorius for the new Parliament, in which are to be inserted all those questions which they chuse to consider as finally settled? One of two things must be true: Either they regard the Reform Acts as so perfect in their first concoction that human wisdom and experience cannot improve them; or they hold that enough has already been conceded to the country, that the people are in danger of becoming too powerful, and that henceforth they must abandon the Movement, and make common cause with the Conservative party.

Now, first, as to the supposed perfection of the late Reform measure, we affirm that, however excellent in principle, it is, in many respects, abominably vicious in its details; and that of these not a few seem to have been devised for the express purpose of defeating its professed objects. Can any thing be imagined more preposterous or incongruous, for example, than to enfranchise tenants at will, without at the same time providing for them some protection against the corrupt influences to which every one must have foreseen that they would be exposed? The man spoken of in the parable, who said to the naked and the hungry, Be ye clothed and be ye fed, without, however, contributing a farthing towards the relief of their necessities, did not act with more insulting cruelty than the statesman who said to the tenants at will, Be ye enfranchised, and yet neglected to make any provision for enabling them to exercise, in a free and independent manner, the rights conferred upon them. The privilege thus bestowed upon them was not a boon but a curse; it was a snare to the conscience, as well as an insult to the understanding; and, even when viewed in the most favourable light, could only be regarded as a power held in trust for behoof of the landlord, and to be exercised just as he might chuse to prescribe. If it be asked, what has been the consequence? Inquire of Mr. Western, and he will tell. That gentleman, on some erroneous theory or conception of his own, voted for the Chandos clause, and has been made its victim. He has paid the penalty of his fatal mistake, and been displaced to make room for a man who, every thing by starts and nothing long, has rendered his name a synonyme for slipperiness and tergiversation. Counties formerly independent have been reduced to the state of nomination burghs; the constituency has been at once degraded and demoralized; all the worst influences of the most corrupt periods of the constitution have been strengthened; and a bonus has been offered for reducing the whole

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yeomanry of England to the condition of serfs, abjectly dependent on the sovereign will and pleasure of their landlords. Again, look to the qualification clause, and the limitations with which it is clogged; examine it by itself, and then attend to the results which it has practically led to. Devised, indeed, it must have been, not in the spirit of enfranchisement, but disfranchisement; for how else could the payment of an impost, against which the country at large raised its voice, and which, in spite of all opposition, must ere long be repealed-how could this have been adjected as an indispensable condition of being admitted to the exercise of an undoubted political right? Had not the taxgatherer sufficient security before? Was not the unlimited power of distraining sufficient for him? And why, then, were persons a few days more in arrears with him than their neighbours interdicted from claiming and obtaining a right constituted on grounds with which he had no earthly concern? Was not this a shocking hardship, as well as a disgraceful anomaly? How could it be viewed in any light, except as an expedient and a most effectual one, too-for preventing the enfranchisement of numbers, who were otherwise as well entitled, and as well qualified, to exercise the franchise as any of those more fortunate individuals who had satisfied the tax-gatherer by the statutory day, and, moreover, escaped the entanglements of pettifogging and chicanery? With these glaring iniquities stamped on its very front, with defects innumerable in its provisions, with omissions not less glaring than its defects, with its arbitrary schedules and its multiplied anomalies, this, then, is the ébauche, as rude in execution as it is undeniably excellent in design, which is to be held as a final measure, and which, like a law of the Medes and Persians, is never to be touched by the hand of im. provement! The first rough, hastily-sketched draught is to be accepted as a finished piece, and as such is to be framed and suspended in the des Althorpiane of modern legislation. We are to hold that as perfected which has only been commenced, and, in deference to ignorance, presumption, or insincerity, to assume that we have got to the end while we are only at the beginning. This is what is gravely required of us by some of those men whom Providence, in its inscrutable wisdom, has raised to be rulers in this great, powerful, and enlightened kingdom. But, happily, we live in an age when such insolent and intolerable nonsense is certain to meet with the scorn which it deserves; and when a doctrine which would have dishonoured the fourteenth century cannot be promulgated with impunity. No man possessed of any understanding, and desirous of being thought capable of combining two ideas together, would, at this time of day, so far impeach his own claim to rationality as to pronounce any effort of the human mind, however anxiously elaborated, final. For who can set limits to the expansive powers of the understanding, when stimulated to vigorous exertion, and afforded full scope for their activity? Who can pretend to stay the onward march of improve.. ment, or to roll back the mighty current of knowledge and opinion, which is every hour gaining additional strength and force, and setting in strongly in a forward direction? Is there any man vain, shallow, or presumptuous enough to imagine that he can anticipate all that experience may hereafter teach, and, with the partial knowledge of the pre.. sent, legislate with certainty or safety for the future? If we cannot tell what a day may bring forth, and if the profoundest sagacity may be as easily baffled as the most confined and narrow perceptions, how can we, without an excess of folly and absurdity, pretend to fix the destinies

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