FINE ARTS.

PUBLICATIONS.

The Parish Beadle. Painted by David Wilkie, R. A. Engraved by W. Raimbach.

WE rejoice once more to see the names of Wilkie and Raimbach in association. They were so, often in by-gone years-the earliest efforts of the great painter were made famous by the union of this our most excellent English engraver. The print before us is one of the rarest merit-it is a picture of the class for which Wilkie has been so long and so widely celebrated-and it has been transferred to copper with admirable skill. Here is the parish beadle exerting his "brief authority," to convey to durance vile the poor person of a juvenile Italian-monkey and all other worldly goods-while his parents vainly protest against carrying the decree into effect. This is the main point of the story which the artist has told; but there are, of course, a variety of minor details which make up the picture. It is, we perceive, published by Messrs. Hodgson, Boys and Graves, of Pall-Mall, an establishment which has greatly contributed, by judgment and liberality, to forward the success of British art.

Finden's Illustrations of the Bible. Part IV.

This most beautiful and interesting publication continues to increase in merit. Part IV. contains engravings from drawings by Turner, Callcot, and Stanfield; the sketches having been furnished by travellers who have taken them on the spot.

Studies from Nature. By James Inskipp. Engraved by Wagstaff.

These "Studies are obviously "from Nature." It is impossible to mistake them for the productions of "the studio." The originals have been met in the green fields or lonely lanes of England; and the artist has not called upon his fancy to clothe them in borrowed raiment. Perhaps there is no living painter so fitted to copy nature as Mr. Inskipp, or one who, after Gainsborough, so skilfully imitates the great mistress without exaggeration. He is never coarse or vulgar, yet he rarely refines on what he has seen. His object is to find and picture truth; and if he seek it where its aspect is agreeable and becoming, he does no more than he ought. Nature is not always pleasant to look upon-she has her deformities as well as her beauties-it is the better and more elegant mind that searches out the latter and leaves the former without notice, or, at least, without comment. Gainsborough and Inskipp-the public judgment warrants us, as well as our own, in coupling the names-could not fail to succeed in achieving popularity, because of the attractive and amiable character of their works, which are not only splendid examples of art but beautiful transcripts of Nature. The "Studies," of which two are before us, have been ably and effectively transferred to copper by Mr. Wagstaff. They are published marvellously cheap, and will certainly have extensive circulation.

Mr. Lemon, of the State Paper-office, has found in his researches a portrait of Luther, in wood, and coloured. It appears to have been sent to England soon after that great Reformer's death, in 1546; and represents him seated in his study, with a skull resting on a bible before him, and a small clasped book in one hand; an hour-glass, and pen and ink are on either side, and a German poem beneath, which amplified the famous prophecy against the Pope.

The exhibition at the Louvre, according to the present catalogue, consists of 1358 pictures; whereof 352 are by 82 French painters; 525 by 155 Flemish painters; and 481 by 228 Italian and Spanish painters. Seventythree pictures have been changed in the course of the year.

THE DRAMA.

HAYMARKET.

Married Life," an original comedy in three acts," is, we regret to say, a mere farcical caricature. We could find in it no pure element of the old or new comedy-no wit, no sentiment, nothing of that knowledge of the influences and signs of character which can alone, in so high a field of literary endeavour, set truth and reality before us. We must discriminate human habits and passions by some other test than that these are covered by a bobwig, and those by a laced livery. Yet we protest that the only criterion which took us through Married Life with anything like intelligibility was the dress of the respective characters. Mr. Coddle, for instance, baffled us completely, notwithstanding Mr. Farren's exertions-all we understood distinctly was that when he was muffled up in his great coats, with nervous fears and flannels, he had a very bad conscience, and ought to have it; but when he came on at last in a full suit of new nankeen, we saw he had got rid of his conscience, though how he had got rid of his East India-bred horror of cold we could not precisely see. The change of dress was all. It stood in the stead of wit, variety or observation. We are sorry to say this of Mr. Buckstone, who has a faculty so really pleasant and so pleasantly real when confined appropriately. Here it is out of place-not native nor endued with this element. His animal spirits are not informed enough to give him sentiment, nor can his lively humour, his relish of the ridiculous in things superficial, his jocose contrast, and capital knowledge of the mere art of his scene, supply the other wants we have expressed. In point of fact, we must pronounce this "comedy," much as we are disposed to give credit for the honest ambition of the effort, to be a failure.

Setting every other objection aside, the subject was badly chosen. Besides, it was unworthy a dramatist, for the mere clap-trap purpose of a bill to restrict the personages of his drama, as Mr. Buckstone was restricted there, to the absolute exclusion of a natural development of character. Married life could have been illustrated, surely, without the circumstance of every character in the piece, down to the servants, going in married couples. It is very easy, to be sure, in such fashion to illustrate a subject of this kind, or, indeed, in any fashion, for such subjects are easy. It is easy to be didactic on the stage, though hard at times to be delightful. It is easy, after illustrating the follies and impossible affinities of married life through two acts, to bring all the couples together with an irresistible impulse in the third; but it's very hard to understand it, and still harder to be taught, in such a way, morality and toleration.

The actors exerted themselves with such success as to save the piece, which, in truth, however, was never in danger. No praise to the author, who had needlessly interspersed it with expressions and allusions of a certain character-intended, perhaps, as mere agreeable alarms to delicacy, but falling on the ear with much gross indecency-and which would have brought down a storm of disapprobation but for some good luck or other. We take leave of Mr. Buckstone on this occasion with regret, but with the hope of soon shaking him very cordially by the hand, on the deserved success of a new farce, pleasant as some of his previous ones have been.

LYCEUM AND NEW ENGLISH OPERA.

The long-talked of opera of the Mountain Sylph has been produced at this theatre-the drama by Mr. Thackery, the music by Mr. John Barnett. The plot differs little from the ballet of Sylphide, so often performed at the King's Theatre, the only difference being that the Sylph is reinstated after her supposed death, and made mortal by the sincerity of her mortal lover's attachment. Those then who are acquainted with the original ballet, when it was in fact a ballet, and not a mere divertissement, as curtailed in the King's Theatre latterly, know that there are many fine dramatic

situations in the piece, and that the passions of the persons represented being highly excited, the subject is eminently calculated for the display of music of a high character. Weber's Oberon is much of the same description; fairies good and bad, and dæmons of all denominations, ugly and powerful, figure away in both.

To compare these two operas, however, which the similarity of their construction might almost provoke us to do, would be, as we feel at present, rank injustice to Mr. Barnett. It would be comparing a hill to the Alps, or Herold to Beethoven. Yet Mr. Barnett has been ambitious, and not always without success: in fact, he has been most fortunate where he has before shone the least, and less successful where he has heretofore shown a good deal of genius. For instance, most of his concerted pieces in this opera are of a high character, and produce some of those charming and grand effects which we look for only in the German school. His ballads, on the other hand, in which he has heretofore been so eminent, will scarcely live out of the theatre. The best concerted pieces are “The Bridal Chorus," the chorus of "Let him begone," the trio "Time will show," and the chorus "The Charm's complete," in the first act; and the trio" This magic wove Scarf," with the Bacchanalian chorus, in the second act. On the whole, we should say, that, with a judicious curtailment of the music (the ladies' share of which, by-the-by, was sung provokingly out of tune), the opera bids fair to be repeated very often; but its only popular melodies will be its concerted pieces, thus inverting the order of operas in general, whose popularity chiefly consists in the solos. The principal singers are, Mr. Wilson, as the lover, whose love was somewhat inanimate; Mr. Phillips as Hela, the Caspar or magician of the story, who sang correctly a well-studied part; Miss Romer as the Sylph; and Miss Somerville as Jessie. The opera was given out by Mr. Wilson for repetition every night till further notice, amidst the loud plaudits of a very crowded house. We ought to mention that in every part of the stage arrangements (and they are often very difficult), the taste and skill of Mr. Serle, the accomplished stage-manager of this theatre, were abundantly evident.

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

The King Penguin.-Mr. G. Bennett read a note on the habits of this bird, as observed by him on various occasions when in high southern latitudes. He described particularly a colony of these birds, which covers an extent of thirty or forty acres, at the north end of Macquarrie Island, in the South Pacific Ocean. The number of Penguins collected together in this spot is immense, but it would be almost impossible to guess at it with any near approach to truth, as, during the whole of the day and night, 30,000 or 40,000 of them are continually landing, and an equal number going to sea. They are arranged, when on shore, in as compact a manner and in as regular ranks as a regiment of soldiers; and are classed with the greatest order, the young birds being in one situation, the moulting in another, the sitting hens in a third, the clean birds in a fourth, &c,; and so strictly do birds in similar condition congregate, that should a bird that is moulting intrude itself among those which are clean, it is immediately ejected from among them. The females hatch the eggs by keeping them close between their thighs; and, if approached during the time of incubation, move away, carrying the eggs with them. At this time the male bird goes to sea and collects food for the female, which becomes very fat. After the young is hatched, both parents go to sea, and bring home food for it; it soon becomes so fat as scarcely to be able to walk, the old birds getting very thin. They sit quite upright in their roosting-places, and

walk in the erect position until they arrive at the beach, when they throw themselves on their breasts, in order to encounter the very heavy sea met with at their landing-place. Although the appearance of Penguins generally indicates the neighbourhood of land, Mr. G. Bennett cited several instances of their occurrence at a considerable distance from any known land.-Athenæum.

VARIETIES.

Poor's Rates, &c.-The return, for the year ending 25th March, 1833, of the monies levied for poor's and county rates, and of the expenditure of the same upon purposes connected with the care of the poor, and with the local expenses of each county, has lately been printed by the House of Commons. The total amount of monies so levied was, for England (with a population, in 1831, of 12,086,675 souls), 8,229,7987., or rather more than 138. 7d. per head; and for Wales (with a population, in 1831, of 803,000 souls), 376,7021., or rather more than 9s. 4d. per head. The total amount of the money levied was 8,606,5017., which, if we take the population as in 1831, at 12,889,675 souls, makes an average of rather more than 13s. 4d. per head. For this object, alone, therefore, England and Wales are taxed twice as much as the Austrian dominions, which do not raise more than 68. 8d. per head for the whole expenses of the state; and three times as much as the Papal dominions, which, for those expenses, do not exact above 48. 5d. per head. It is more than equivalent to their amount in Prussia, whose entire expenditure is about 12s. per head. The whole sum expended upon the poor, in the year 1832-33, was 6,790,7997., which is at the rate of somewhat more than 10s. 6d. a head-namely, in England, 6,486,5347., and in Wales, 304,265/.; the average expenditure for the former, supposing the population to have been 12,086,675 souls, being about 10s. 8d. per head; and for the latter, with a presumed population of 803,000 souls, being about 78. 7d. per head. The county in which the largest expenditure on the poor took place was Middlesex, where 647,0137. was expended amidst a population of 1,358,000, or about 9s. 6d. per head; Lancaster stands next, with a population of 1,335,000 souls, and an expenditure on its poor of 274,981, or about 4s. 1d. per head. The smallest expenditure was in the county of Rutland, where, with a population of 19,400 souls, it amounted to 8,9717. averaging nearly 9s. 3d. per head. Since the year 1818, there has been an apparent diminution of 761,2917. in the whole sum expended for the relief of the poor in England and Wales, making a difference of between 11 and 12 per cent. in favour of 1832-33; but the decline in the prices of the necessaries of life is more than equivalent to this difference.

The Book Trade of England and France.-The celebrated statistician, M. Moreau de Jonnès, has favoured us with the following state of the book trade between England and France:—

Exported from France to England.

Francs.

Imported from England into France.
Kilograms.
19,086

Kilograms (2lbs.) Francs.

1821

20,708

16,784

16,408

17,632

19,036 17,641 18,306 21,907 22,714 15,962

19,682

Sept.-VOL. XLII. NO. CLXV.

110,375

122,352

99,226

96,412

122,453

132,144

120,492

124,984

147,647
154,276
109,856

131,318

I

The number of volumes annually exported from France to England amounts to near 400,000; that is, one volume for every 55 inhabitants. France receives from England 80,000 volumes, or one for every 400 inhabitants. It is afflicting that the interchange of knowledge between the two first civilized countries should be so limited-kingdoms whose mutual interests require a greater intellectual acquaintance. Even China, situated at the other extremity of the globe, with a despotic and illiterate government and a language of 80,000 letters, exports a large number of books.

Researches in the East.-Dr. Gerard is at length returned in safety from his long-protracted travels in the countries between the British frontier on the North-West and the Caspian Sea. A letter has recently been received from him, dated Lodiana, announcing his arrival, with a large collection of coins and minerals, and other objects of curiosity. Besides his own researches, Dr. Gerard is the medium of bringing to the notice of the scientific world some very important discoveries of a Mr. Masson, made during a residence of some years in the country of ancient Bactria. The ruins of an extensive city have been traced at the base of the Hindoo Koosh mountains, supposed to be the city of Alexandria ad Caucasum. Several gigantic images have been seen like those in that neighbourhood already described by Dr. Gerard and Lieutenant Burnes, and various topes have been examined by Mr. Masson, from which he has oollected upwards of 30,000 old coins, mostly copper, and a large portion of them bearing Greek inscriptions in high preservation, some of which are not to be found in any collection in Europe.-Calcutta Courier.

FOREIGN VARIETIES.

Level of the Baltic.-The "Commercial Gazette" of St. Petersburg, of May 28, has the following:-" It has been remarked that, during the last twenty years, the water in this port has become considerably lowered, and affords a new proof of the correctness of the observations made by the ancient inhabitants of the shores of the Baltic, that the bottom of this sea is continually rising; that the level and body of the water is gradually diminishing, and that the land is increasing on every side. According to the researches of the ancient naturalists, phenomena of this nature most frequently occur in the countries near the North Pole. We can quote as an example the lakes of Denmark, which have sunk so low that some of them are almost entirely without water. Sweden and Norway, 2500 years ago, formed one island. The town of Pittea, in forty-five years became distant from the sea two miles, and the water receded from Loulea one mile in twenty-eight years. The ancient port of Lodisa is now four miles from the sea, and that of Westerwich two miles. At the time of the foundation of Torneo, large vessels could come close up to it-now it is in the middle of the peninsula. The islands of Errgsoe and Caroe, Apsoe and Testeroe, have been for many years joined to each other; and Louisoe, Psalmodi, Magdelone, and many more have become part of the mainland. It was upon these facts, connected with other observations, that Linnæus and Celsius concluded that the depth of the Baltic sea diminished four inches in every century, and that in two thousand years it would entirely disappear. Although more accurate observations made in modern times do not confirm the diminution to be so rapid as this, they concur with the generally received opinion, that the bottom of the sea, in the northern hemisphere, rises in a degree, though the level of the water does not sink. It is difficult to decide which of these two opinions is most correct, but it is incontestible that the mainland washed by the Baltic is enlarging; that the rivers and lakes diminish in depth; that banks are forming in the