cellent, though it must be regretted that, from too great a partiality to the Misnian dialect, he has been rather unjust towards the dialects of other provinces. He was followed by others, who made his labours the ground-work of their own, especially Heynatz, Voss, and Campe. The latter is at the head of those writers, who, unless in cases of the greatest necessity, reject every word that is not of genuine Teutonick origin, and have therefore naturalized, as they express it, a great number of obsolete, neglected, and newly formed words. Of this rigorous purity Campe himself has furnished the best example in his works. His undeniably successful exertions in behalf of the literature of his country, he has now crowned by his great dictionary of the German language, which by this time is probably completed. It contains many thousand words more than Adelung's, and is undoubtedly a work of inestimable value to German literature. Omissions have, nevertheless, been discoverd, but these the worthy author intends to supply in a separate volume.

It now only remains for us to enquire what effect the last four years of war have produced on German literature.

Peace alone is favourable to the man of letters: he requires unmolested leisure, and readers possessing abundant means of encouraging him, that is to say, of purchasing his works. War deprives him of both these, as a great part of Germany has unfortunately experienced; for as the booksellers have in modern times supplied, in a great measure, the place of patrons, literature must naturally suffer, when the devastation of whole provinces cuts off the resources of their trade: and that this has been the case in the last four years, is evident from the meagerness of the Leipzig fair catalogues which have appeared during that time. What a shock the industry of the writers of Germany must have sustained! The injury, however, has been confined to the needy labourers in the field of literature, and has not extended to the good cause of learning. Many an assiduous and deserving author may probably have been put to great inconvenience by not finding a purchaser for his manuscripts; but the more rapid canals for literary communications, and the interchange of ideas, continued to flow. The magazines, almanacks, literary newspapers, particularly the principal of the latter, those of Halle, Leipzig, and Jena; the Heidelberger Annalen; the Göttinger Anzeigen; the Morgenblatt; the Deutsche Mercur; the Berliner Monatschrift,

and many others, suffered no interruption. If the muses were driven for a time from Halle, Frankfurt on the Oder, Erlangen, Würzburg, Königsberg, Jena, Wittenberg, Inspruck, &c. still they remain tolerably quiet at Leipzig, Heidelberg, Kiel, Göttingen, Tübingen, Rostock, Dorpat, &c. ; and the great booksellers, Cotta, Göschen, the Industrie-Comptoir at Weimar, Veiweg, Mohr and Zimmer, Hoffmann of Hamburg, Weid, manns, Fleischer, Kummer, Crusius, and others, continued, even in the midst of war, to publish important works. The printing of scarcely any book of consequence which was to have appeared, was prevented; and at this moment, the universities of Halle, Frankfurt on the Oder, Jena, Erlangen, and others, are already in a certain degree of order. Many German literati have indeed been scared from their former abodes, and fled to distant countries; but according to accounts from the Continent, the shock which German literature has received during the last four years of war, will not be unproductive of benefits. It has given a check to the extravagant multiplication of literary works; it has somewhat cooled the ardour of the booksellers for speculation; it has engaged men of letters in new and more profound researches, and has obliged them, in general, to measure back the paths that have already been explored.

From the London Literary Panorama.

EXHIBITION OF THE FINE ARTS.

1810.

We

T HE Arts will be neglected only by those who are not competent to estimate their importance and their services, in polished society. They are, at the same time, the rudiments and the completion of elegance. There is not a wayfaring traveller who refreshes himself at an alehouse by the road side, who does not owe a part of his enjoyment to the neatness, and the fitness of the vehicle in which it is offered him. know not whether we dare affirm, with the Chinese, that the more elegant beverage, tea, has a superior flavour when drank from cups made of a peculiar kind of porcelain; but we are certain that the beauty of this kind of ware, as now manufactured in England, has justly obtained triumphant popularity; and it adds to the delights of the politest parties. This is one consequence of the rudiments of art being diffused among the mechanick professions of our country. But this could never

have been, had not the higher departments of art been studied with diligence, and practised with exemplary degrees of merit for art is but one, throughout all its branches. This general acquaintance with the arts, what we may term this extensive circulation of them in our country, is likely to be further promoted by Exhibitions established in our principal cities: during some years, Edinburgh has boasted of this elegant enjoyment: Leeds has also obtained equal gratification: Liverpool is about to institute an assemblage of art; and the same, we learn, is meditated in several other places. Thus are we likely to see realized, wishes that we ventured to submit to the publick nearly thirty years ago. We then gave our advice, and offered our assistance. This subject demands a more enlarged consideration than we are able at present to bestow on it our attention must now be directed to what the arts have exhibited to publick inspection in the metropolis.

The first place is due to

THE ROYAL ACADEMY.

We shall in this paper particularize very few articles; but shall rather speak generally of the result of this assemblage of works of art as it determined our judgment on the whole, and according to the impressions remaining after a diligent inspection.

We have seen Exhibitions that pleased us better, than that of this year-they presented more evident proofs of emulation, and of that desire for excellence which is the very animating principle of art. The works of some artists will always command approbation. Even were they less meritorious than they are, they would be applauded, as being the superior of their kind, among those presented to the eye. Whether they be the very best pieces of their authors, or not,-while others are inferior, their reputation is safe.

The PORTRAITS, this year, predominate, as usual; and full as much as usual. Fashion has ruled over most of them, with tyrannick sway. What do they present? a lady's face and neck-white: a (velvet) dress of black, or some colour equally dark; and two long, narrow, members, the arms, depend for the most part-white, again, and in streaks. Hereby the artist has experienced unusual embarrassment in contriving to mass his lights; in supporting them, and leading the eye by attraction, from part to part, according to the relative importance of each. Some few painters, by the help of light

scarfs, artificial shadows, and compliant back grounds, have shewn to what degree they felt the difficulty, rather than their resources to meet it. Not more than two or three pictures can boast of having fairly triumphed over this distressing impediment. The official dresses of some noblemen, &c. present a difficulty of the same class; but by no means equally obstinate and, besides, the spectator knows at sight, the nature and effect of these; and excuses them, from the influence of habit.

The department of LANDSCAPE is not more than equal to what we have seen it. Some of the specimens lead us to fear that the study of old pictures, in which the colouring has suffered from the hand of time, has had rather a detrimental than an improving effect on the incautious artist. The hues of those performances were originally more varied than they now appear; and the close copying of faded shades misleads both the hand and the eye they have stood well, considering their age but what was their state when fresh?

The class of HISTORICAL PICTURES, shews so little greatness of idea, so little majesty of thought, indeed, so little accuracy of reasoning, that we incline to accept with favour the few attempts presented, by way of encouragement: they make a variety they give some relief to the eye: we cannot, however, express our acquiescence in them: we are not satisfied: but we would not dishearten. Even the President's picture of "Christ teaching to be humble," does not please us, as to the manner of conveying the sentiment. The child is raised up and stands three feet above the ground: humility it might be thought would have been better symbolized by a less exalted representative. The child is too large, also; for the text expressly says, "little children," and the persons addressed ought to have formed a part of the composition. Fuseli's immense canvas, representing "Hercules attacking Pluto," will find few admirers. The Pluto has merit: the Proserpine is abominable: the Hercules would excite the ridicule of Glycon, or Lysippus, could either of them behold it, by the discrepancy of its parts: some of its members are not those of Hercules: the figure of night we incline to kick out of the way but the Cerberus is excellent; and admirably introduced. Dawe's "Andromache imploring Ulysses to spare the life of her son," we shall tolerate. Thomson's "Ti

tania," is no representative of the Fairy Queen: it has merit as a picture; but not as that character.

Northcote has introduced the white light of open day into a dark prison scene: the contrast of the Chiaro oscuro is therefore unnatural. This picture may be better some years hence than it now is; as the colours of the lights may assume a more sombre hue, and thereby may more characteristically harmonize with the darks.

Bird has made evident progress since last year: the absence of Wilkie (we are sorry to say through ill health) is very favourable to him. His smaller picture "the game of put," has great merit.

The most instructive picture among the landscapes is Mr. Daniel's "View in China," in this he has contrived to introduce the whole history of the tea plant: and though he may have set strict chronology aside a little, yet we cannot find in our heart, to charge him with technical transgression. The reader will judge of the extent of this subject from Mr. D.'s account of it in the catalogue."

"A view in China, shewing the process of cultivating the tea plant, and preparing the leaves for exportation, viz. 1st, preparing the soil; 2d, watering the young plants; 3d, gathering the leaves; 4th, rolling them; 5th, crisping them by fire; 6th, packing them in chests; 7th, marking and binding them; 8th, weighing them; 9th, registering the weight; and 10th, shipping them on board the vessels that convey them to the port of Canton; which several operations, mostly performed at the same time of the year, and for the London market alone, give employment to about three millions of the Chinese population and to 20,000 tons of English shipping, besides adding three millions annually to the revenue of Great Britain."

Mr. Turner has some excellent views and W. Westall exhibits some honourable specimens.

Of the designs in ARCHITECTURE, we can say but little. The SCULPTURES are this year, more numerous than usual : they are also superior to what we have inspected in many exhibitions. Nollekens seems to have kept back his busts, in order to bring them out altogether: they do him great credit. Several monumental basso-relievos have merit. Bacon's monument to the memory of Mr. Lawson is pleasing; but the bushwig in marble, we would willingly have dispensed with.