something of the spirit of the old masters of Italy revived for a brief space. Its founders were Louis Carracci, ter in this department, as well for the simple grandeur of his ideas, as for the marked character which he succeeds in impressing upon all his subjects. The small landscape (95) attributed to this artist, although placed in a bad situation, and tolerably dirty, will richly repay a narrow examination. Great though he be, however, he does not win upon our love like Claude—the rich and The and his two nephews, Augustin and Hannibal ;-the landscape, No. 14, has suffered much, but is still every ments. The great merit of all these artists consists in their having struggled, with more or less success, to free art from the monotonous mannerism which had palsied it, to bring it nearer to truth and nature, and to extend its limits by the introduction of new and original forms and arrangeIt seems, however, the fate of all reformers, to be succeeded by a class of half-learned men, who distort their principles and render them hideous by half apprehending them. Caravaggio and his scholar Spagnoletto stand in this relation to the Carracci. Through a misapprehension of the true meaning of the word "natural," they not only renounced all mannerism, but all particular choice of form. Their Madonnas are mere common women, their Christs mere commonplace boys. Nay, they have carried it so far as to excite an occasional suspicion that they have sought, instead of avoiding, vulgar and disagreeable subjects. They are the Galts of painting. With all their faults, however, their works give evidence of much talent and experience; and their strong contrasts of light and shade are well calculated to allure the many. Spagnoletto's Philosopher (115) is a fair specimen of his style.Francis Mola may be regarded as holding an intermediate place between these two schools. During the earliest and brightest harvest of art in Italy, landscape does not seem to have been cultivated as a separate branch. Beautiful specimens of landscape are to be found in the works of the earlier masters, but, in general, employed only as a subsidiary ornament of some large composition. It is among the Tramontane artists that we must seek the origin of landscape painting. Vasari, when speaking of a landscape by Titian, mentions it as done after the manner of the "Tedeschi," who used to paint such subjects; and the first who devoted themselves in Italy exclusively to landscape painting were natives of Antwerp. The Italians communicated to it somewhat of the ideal character of their country's higher school of painting. Caspar Dughet, who was a brotherin-law of Nicholas Poussin, and who afterwards assumed his name, is deservedly looked upon as the greatest mas Of Rubens, Vandyke, and Rembrandt, who belong to the Netherlands, but whose works are full of Italian genius, we much regret that our limits at present do not permit us to speak as we could wish. There is a fine St Simeon, (137,) and some exquisite sketches, by Rubens ; a noble Belisarius by Vandyke; and by Rembrandt, "The Tribute Money," a work, whose rich mellow tones make every thing near it look feeble, except our favourite Cuyp. Nor must we forget to mention, that an "Allegorical subject," by Jordaens, is the most gorgeous piece of colouring we have seen for many a day. It is with no small pride that we turn from these classical schools to look upon the works of our own island masters which enrich this Exhibition. The portraits of the Duchess of Buccleuch and Lady Mary Montague, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, are, prejudice apart, the finest pictures in the room. The little landscape by Wilson (59) will stand a competition with any of its companions. And "The King," by the lamented Lawrence, notwithstanding all its faults of colouring, is worthy of the subject. The face is superbly modelled, and we see down through the clear transparent eye into the very soul. THE PSALMS OF DAVID. To the Editor of the Edinburgh Literary Journal. writing, in verse as well as in prose, there is no man to Ir good sense, Mr Editor, is the foundation of good whom I should more cheerfully consign the important task of revising our Psalmody, than to your anonymous correspondent in the last Number of the Literary Journal. His Paper gives a simple and most correct view of the subject; it is, in my opinion, worth all the palaver of I mean no disrespect all the enthusiasts put together. to Mr Tennant, however, of whom it may be justly said that he is even more celebrated for his genius than his learning. Though no poet, I have ventured to try my hand, in compliance with the wishes of your anonymous correspondent; and, in doing so, I hope to set an example which men, infinitely my superiors, may not think unworthy of imitation. Here are a few of his exercises, or new readings of certain parts of the Psalms:Ps. i. 3. "He shall be like a goodly tree Ps. iii. 7, 8. "Arise, O Lord, save me, my God! Ps. vi. 1. 8. Ps. vi. 9. 10. Ps. vii. 2. Ps. vii. 9. On cheek-bone thou didst smite Salvation great is his; "In thy great anger, O my God, Depart from me all ye that do In sinful works rejoice; While there is none to save." "But 'stablish sure for aye," &c. 16. On his own head shall come," &c. Better certainly the repetition than the vulgar word pate. Ps. viii. 2. Or, 3. "From mouth of babes and sucklings, thou "When I consider well thy heavens, And look unto the moon and stars, Which were ordain'd by thee," &c. 6. O'er all thy works thou mad'st him lord, And 'neath his feet did'st lay," &c. I have only room to say, that my earnest endeavour has been to be "smooth, plain, and agreeable to the text," though, I fear, not more so than any heretofore." I have shown my good-will to the work, and more worthy labourers, I have no doubt, will be forthcoming in due R. W. &c. am, season.-I Dunbar, 31st March, 1830. THE DRAMA. THE event of the week in the Dramatic world of Edinburgh, has been the retirement of Mrs Henry Siddons from the stage, or, as the bills express it, from "the Edinburgh Stage," the meaning of which equivoque is, that Mrs Siddons conceived it possible she might at some future period be induced to accept of a short engagement in London, or elsewhere, and wished to leave the door open for her doing so. Let nobody contradict this statement "on authority," or in any other way; for we know it to have been the fact, though it is possible Mrs Siddons may have since changed her mind. The house, upon Monday evening, was filled to bursting, and the heart of every individual seemed as full as the house. But, having indulged in some very pretty pathos concerning Mrs Siddons a fortnight ago, we do not intend to draw any farther draughts at present upon our readers' good-nature. She made her final exit with great applause, as was fitting, and is going to spend some time in Paris. In a subsequent page will be found the Farewell Address, which was written for her by Sir Walter Scott. It is fully as poor as such compositions usually are; containing little more than some commonplace observations concerning the word "farewell"-a most threadbare theme, and a particular request that the public would behave as kindly as possible towards Mr Murray. This request is expressed in the highly poetical couplet "When I am far, my patrons, oh! be kind To the dear relative I leave behind." Then follow some lines in which she praises the "dear relative" in a style which appears to us in very bad taste. Had Sir Walter Scott thought more maturely on the subject, we do not believe he would have deemed it consistent with the dignity of the occasion, to make Mrs Siddons foist in by a side-wind a puff collateral to the present manager. All the world is aware, that she will naturally continue to be anxious for the success of her brother, whether he boasted "A Scottish origin-a Scottish name," or not; but why make a parade of this feeling, and thereby distract the attention from the main subject? The audience was assembled to hear her farewell, not to be cajoled into applauding Mr Murray, who must of course stand or fall by his own deserts. Observe, we do not mean to blame Mrs Siddons; we are finding fault with what was written for her. But were we a great actor or actress, and about to make our last public appearance, we should not accept of a poetical address from a conclave of all the best poets living. There is always something artificial, studied, cold, and repulsive, in a set of regular heroic lines. If we felt that our heart was truly touched -our feelings deeply agitated, how could we reconcile it to our conscience to study beforehand a copy of verses, written for us by another, and, when the moment came, march up to the stage-lamps, and pronounce them with becoming emphasis and discretion. Good heaven! if we saw a great multitude assembled to take leave of us, and knew that the slightest indication of a reciprocity of feeling upon our part would melt them all to tears, could we play the frigid declaimer, and take our departure amidst the heartless see-saw of an empty rhyme? No!-a few plain words of unadorned prose, the simple, manly, and sincere expression of the emotions actually passing within us, were worth an Iliad of hexameters. A poetical address is well enough upon certain occasions; but is altogether out of place when a favourite performer bids a final and solemn adieu to public life. Auber's opera of "Masaniello, or the Dumb Girl of Portici," has been produced this week. The music of this piece is, in many respects, very beautiful; and, considering the defective state of Mr Murray's operatic force at present, more justice has been done to it than we expected. The Overture is spirited and good;-the finest passages are those in which the barcarole, the Market chorus, and Masaniello's march, are introduced. The orchestra is not effective enough to do it full justice, but, on the whole, it is respectably executed. The general character of Auber's music, though he is himself a Frenchman, is essentially Italian. He has been accused of imitating Rossini too closely, but we confess we cannot discover any undue resemblance in the opera of "MasanielIn consequence of Montague Stanley, who played lo." Don Alphonso, not being able to sing, a solo, duet, and a very spirited quartett and chorus, have been left out, but we are thankful that this has been done rather than the alternative adopted of entrusting the part to Larkins, who would have murdered it altogether. Wilson plays Masaniello, and the performance, as a whole, has raised him highly in our opinion. As an actor, he is still a little awkward and stiff, but not more so than his want of experience would naturally lead one to expect. As a singer, he unquestionably possesses powers of a high order. Nothing can exceed the distinctness of his articulation, and the clear sweetness of his voice. We think also he is improving in energy, especially where an instrumental accompaniment spurs him on, and bears him out. We wish His much he would infuse a little additional energy into the mo- "Who seeks the general weal, secures his own' Varying in sound from the Athenian's rule. Of a like spirit-fairer and more free- Who doubts the maxim of the Benthamites? Make mouths at Heaven to smirking Folly's bells, Probably the finest music of this opera is arranged for the choruses, and Mr Murray has more than surprised us by the very excellent band of chorus-singers he has contrived to muster. Certain folks have been raving of late about the operatic force at the Caledonian Theatre, which is middling enough after all, or if it is first-rate, then at the Theatre Royal it is more than first-rate, for we defy the Caledonian people, with all their strength, to sing either the barcarole or the Market chorus, as it is sung at the other house. Be it remarked, however, that it is not upon this point that we rest the infinite superiority of the one establishment over the other.-Miss Phillips, as Donna Elvira, sings as well as she can, which is pretty well; and Miss Tunstall, with her high clear pipe, is both of great use in the choruses, and introduces a pretty Tyrolese air," Green hills of Tyrol," which does not belong to the opera at all. The Market chorus is the most striking composition of the whole. It catches the ear at once, like the Hunter's Cho-To rus in the "Freischutz," and bids fair to become almost as popular. Having said so much of the music of Masaniello, which we consider fully as good as any that has been written since the death of Weber, it is but justice to add, that the Manager has taken care to give full effect to the melo-dramatic department. The new scenery and dresses are excellent, and the eruption of Vesuvius, with which the piece concludes, is managed with much splendour. Miss Jarman plays Masaniello's sister, "The dumb girl," and of course does the part every justice. The piece altogether is entitled to great praise. It is a curious fact, that the same gentleman whom we rebuked lately for his too great partiality to the Caledonian Theatre, and who spoke of the rich and chaste humour" of the performers there, has recently found out that they are almost all Cockneys, and thus expresseth himself concerning them :-" Truth to say, it is only the exceptions who do not sport Donnar and Mariar, with most of the other flowers of the Cockney vocabulary." Our excellent friend is evidently coming round to the true faith, and we are glad we did not give him the shake we meditated. We saw an absurd paragraph in one of the newspapers this week, stating “that Mr Murray had received a handsome offer from Charles Kemble to perform at Covent Garden, should circumstances oblige him to leave Edinburgh." We hate small bits of humbug like this. Mr Murray has no more intention of leaving Edinburgh than the Register Office has. He is now the sole lesser of the Theatre Royal, and by it he will stand or fall. Old Cerberus. ORIGINAL POETRY. THE NEW PHILOSOPHY. By William Kennedy, Author of " Fitful Fancies." "VIRTUE is pleasure," said a Grecian sage, "And the most virtuous, the happiest far;" A nobler sentiment upon the page Of Revelation sparkles like a 'star. Tired Reason shall at length spurn Falsehood's sway, In morals 'tis an axiom-here-even here Upon this slippery " bank and shoal of time," I should have said of Mercy-for 'tis meant And dismal were this globe were it not so! And all our household devils running wild, Of sermonizing we have had enough— Cobbett himself hath to the rostrum taken, And would therein all sorts of people cram, But Ill will keep its throne, till doomsday steal, Will find the general lip derisive, curl'd. And maugre all that honest Bentham writes, Marshal, Old Truepenny! a chosen band, And let them furnish practice to thy preaching— Warm and unflinching friends to the old house of man. But more than Mammon's gem, or Honour's feather, A SONG, Not entirely Bacchanalian. To Woman!-a bumper! come pledge me, my boys, Though it needs not the glow of the generous cup Yet, where bumpers are drunk, be the highest fill'd up We love the dark juice of the ruby-hued grape, For the bright thoughts it wreaths round the brain, But the thought of all thoughts is of her we love best, A thought whose effulgence obscures all the rest, Then to her, boys, to her be the bumper now crown'd, If the tone of her voice be a magical sound, If the flush of her cheek be the fairest of sights, Then, believe me, the toast which her beauty invites, If life be a good, 'tis to her that we owe it,~~ If love be a bliss, 'tis through her that we know it,— A bumper to her, both our hope and our pride! SOLITUDE-A SONNET. WITH silence for my comrade, and the chance In thy deep clefts, as in a holy trance, Sir John Sinclair has a work in the press likely to prove exceedingly interesting. It is to consist of his Correspondence with all the most distinguished Personages of his Time, together with his own personal Reminiscences of them. In this work will be included Letters from many of the crowned heads of Europe, from the most distinguished statesmen, both of this and other countries, and from a great variety of literary characters of the highest eminence. Among a list of seventy-six new works announced by Messrs Colburn and Bentley, we observe the following:-Wedded Life in the Upper Ranks.-The Oxonians, or a Glance at Society.-Personal Memoirs of Pryce L. Gordon, Esq.-The Heiress of Bruges; a Tale, by the author of "Highways and Byways."-Travels in Kamtchatka, Siberia, and China, by Peter Dobell, Esq.-The 3d and 4th volumes of Commentaries on the Life and Reign of Charles I., by I. D'Israeli, Esq.-New works by the authors of "Brambletye House," Sayings and Doings," "Tales of the O'Hara Family," and "Flirtation."-East and West, by one of the authors of "Rejected Addresses."-Musical Memoirs, from 1784 to 1829, by W. T. ParkeAn Account of the Subversion of the Constitution in Portugal by Don Miguel, by Lord Porchester.-Notes on Haiti, by C. Mackenzie, Esq.The Tuileries, an Historical Romance.-The Life of Titian, by J. Northcote, Esq. R.A.-A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Commoners of England, qualified by landed property to become County Members of Parliament, but undistinguished by any hereditary title of honour.-Stories from the old Chronicles, by the late Barry St. Leger, Esq.-The Life of John Hampden, by Lord Nugent.-A New Tale of the Sea, by the author of the "Red Rover," &c.-Letters from Switzerland and Italy, by John Carne, Esq.-The Private Correspondence of John Pinkerton, Esq., edited by Dawson Turner, Esq.-Basil Barrington and his friends.-The King's Own, a Tale of the Sea. The Life and Works of Henry Fuseli, by John Knowles, Esq.-Memoirs of Sir James Campbell of Ardkinglass, written by himself. The Spanish Novelists, by Thomas Roscoe, Esq.-The History of the Bible, by the Rev. G. R. Gleig.-St James's, a Satiri cal Poem. Valence, the Dreamer, a Poem, by John Phillips, M.A., is announced. The Pensee, a selection of original poetry, by a Young Lady, is in the press. Captain Sherer is engaged with a Life of the great Gustavus of Sweden. M. de Chateaubriand has announced a new work on the state of France, which will appear shortly. MR YANIEWICZ'S CONCERT.-This concert took place in the Hopetoun Rooms, on Tuesday last. It laboured under the disad vantage of being a Morning Concert, which, in this city, is always a dull affair. It was well attended, but the audience were cold and listless. Why they should have been so, we do not exactly know, for much of the music was excellent. Though Mr Yaniewicz is not so brilliant a violinist as Murray, he is perhaps his superior in delicacy of expression, and his two solos were very admirable specimens of his abilities. Miss Yaniewicz is a mistress of the The piano-forte, and Miss Paulina not inferior at the harp. Misses Patons exerted themselves with their usual success; and Mr Boyle, who made his first appearance in Edinburgh, if he did not electrify, at all events, proved himself a sweet and pleasing singer. THE LATE HUGH WILLIAMS.-We understand that this lamented artist left behind him a very valuable and complete collection of all the drawings made by him when in Greece, and, that they may be made serviceable to the public, and the profession, it is the intention of his executors, we believe, to offer them at a fair price to the directors of the Royal Institution in this city, who will probably willingly avail themselves of the opportunity to make so interesting a purchase. MR KNOWLES'S LECTURES.-We have been astonished to find that these lectures have not as yet been very crowdedly attended, and can attribute it only to the more than usual number of gaieties which have this week distracted public attention. We certainly know of none who could give to the important subject of dramatic Which the wide skies and landscape share with them! literature a higher degree of interest than that with which Mr Blessed reward, my upward toil shall crown; E. O. B. LITERARY CHIT-CHAT AND VARIETIES. OUR readers will learn with pleasure, that Mrs Hemans is preparing another volume for publication. It will probably be called Songs of the Affections, and will include much not originally classed under that title in the Magazines or other periodicals to which Mrs Hemans contributes. Knowles invests it, whether we regard the fine genius which he brings to bear upon it from the stores of his own mind, or the admirable manner in which he illustrates his remarks by his powers of elocution, as exemplified in his readings and recitations. Every lecture is full of varied attractions, but we are inclined to believe that the three he has yet to deliver-to-day, on Monday, and Wednesday-will be the most popular of all, because they relate almost exclusively to the modern drama, and will be enriched by many anecdotes and illustrations, which, from the lips of the author of "Virginius," come to us with tenfold force. We seriously advise those who take an interest in the drama, not to deprive themselves of the present opportunity of hearing it discussed by a master of the art. We are willing to stake our own credit that they will not be disappointed. ELOCUTION. (From our Glasgow Correspondent.)—While you are enjoying in Edinburgh the admirale disquisitions of Mr Knowles upon an art he so much excels in the DRAMATIC-we are led to anticipate, in this city, at least one pleasant evening in the deve lopement of some new principles in another art, to the study of which he was the first to give an impulse among us,-namely, Elocution. Mr Knowles, since he gave up being an instructor here, in the Art of Reading, has been followed by many ambitious of being his successor. Of course, few could justly aspire to be so; but, from the appearance of a Mr J. H. Aitken, a protegé of Dr Chalmers, who announces himself as about to lecture in this town, after having devoted seven years to the study, and reduced its principles to just that number of rules, we hope a fresh impulse may be given to the study of so delightful an accomplishment. CHIT CHAT FROM LONDON.-It is said that Messrs Colburn and Bentley are about to commence a new work on the plan of the Family Library and Constable's Miscellany.-A new Sunday newspaper, called The Intelligence, has made its appearance, under the auspices, it is believed, of the Treasury.-The exhibition of pictures by the Society of British Artists, opened a few days ago, and is better than it has ever hitherto been.-The London Literary Union already extends to 800 members; but what its distinct purposes are, is not yet generally made public.-Mr Westmacott has now concluded his course of lectures on sculpture, all of which have been received with much applause.-Mr Brougham is said to be in a very preca. rious state of health.-The ensuing exhibition of pictures at Somer. set House is to be enriched by eight pictures by the late Sir Thomas Lawrence; and at the close of the present exhibition in the British Institution, the gallery is to be filled with his most finished productions, to be exhibited to the public.- Mr O'Connell has left London to attend his duties in a cause (Blackwood v. Blackwood,) in which he is retained with a fee of 800 guineas.-A new dioramic exhibition, containing views of Venice, of the Pass of Briançon, the Thames Tunnel, and the interior of Durham Cathedral, has been recently opened. What occupies one-half of London? a dun. What occupies more than one-half of Paris? un ris. THEATRICAL GOSSIP.-At Drury Lane, Kean has been playing Hamlet with great eclat. Two new farces have also been produced successfully, the one called" Popping the Question," and the other, "Perfection, or the Lady of Munster;" the latter is by the popular song-writer, Thomas Haynes Bayly. At this theatre, likewise, a new singer of the name of Anderson has made a favourable impression on the public.-The London critics differ as to the merits of Miss Kemble's Portia; but they seem generally to agree that her father's Shylock was very bad. Miss Kemble, whatever be her talents, has been the chief means of adding to the treasury of Covent Garden a sum exceeding L.25,000, in about seventy performances. Her own salary is only L.10 per night.-As Drury Lane has no lessee at present, it has been suggested that either Mathews or Macready should enter upon the speculation next season.-A new opera is in preparation at Drury Lane, in which it is said that Miss Stephens, Vestris, Sinclair, Phillips, and the new singer Anderson, will all have parts. A new Italian opera is reported to be in preparation at the King's Theatre, which has the novel attraction of being the en tire work of an English amateur.-A gentleman of the name of Goldsmid, a name well known in the commercial world, is about to appear on the London stage as a comic actor; his abilities are highly spoken of.-At a meeting of the friends of Mr Arnold, on Monday, a plan for rebuilding the English Opera house was submitted to them. It was found that, on the most moderate computation, it could not be rebuilt for less than 40,000l.; of which it was intended to raise 30,000. by debentures of 250l. each. Ten thousand pounds were subscribed in the room, and the whole sum, it is computed, will be subscribed in a fortnight. The English operatic company will open in the Adelphi. Before this, however, Mr Mathews will give his annual entertainment-a new one; and the Elephant will be marched off to the country.-It would seem, that the seduisante Sontag still adds to her other attractions that of being a spinster. Count Rossi, her alleged husband, has written to some of the French papers to deny the "soft impeachment" of ever having held any lordship over her but that of love! She arrived at Berlin a few days ago, and is now singing there.-Hummel, the pianist and composer, has arrived in Paris, where he is to give several concerts before setting out for London. -Miss Smithson is going to play pantomime and melo-drama in Paris, for which her talents are certainly much more adapted than for the higher walks of either tragedy or comedy.-Macready has repeated, with increased success, his performance of Werner in Dublin, where Miss Kemble is shortly to appear.-T. P. Cooke is at Glasgow, and will come here immediately on the termination of Liston's engagement, which commences on Monday.—Miss Jarman takes for her benefit this evening the play of "Know your own Mind," and the operatic melo-drama of "Masaniello." The house will be crowdedly attended.-The following is the Farewell Address, written for Mrs Henry Siddons by Sir Walter Scott, and delivered by her on Monday last: The curtain drops-the mimic scene is past- SAT. TUES. WED. THURS. FRI. Or o'er the dying couch in whispers spoken, He is your own, and like yourselves may claim All in the Wrong, & A Roland for an Oliver. The Soldier's Daughter, & Masaniello. The Bride of Lammermoor, & Do. Rob Roy, & Do. The Scape Goat, A Concert, & The Day after the Wedding. ENIGME Sur la belle Prisonnière d'Edimbourg. Je commence à vieillir, et suis un peu flétrie; Je ne songeais qu'aux jeux, qu'aux triomphes, qu'aux fêtes, |