The Press. — London, England, 1856-07-26 00:00:00

it would be equally unjust, not to add his testimony to that of other travellers, u to the extraordinary amount and extraordinary accuracy of the information contained in their volumes. It is no exaggeration to say, that travelling in any of the countries to which this series of works is devoted, has become mud) easier, more interesting, and more instructive, than in the times betbre the happy ih• veution which has given us these silent and precious guides: But, tluan,,,esi bong this volume of " Sight seeing," t. What object, did its . author pro pose? He is not deep in picture-talk; he is., not versed in esthetics ; and he is not an eloquent or profound writer. Sir Francis Head could produce an entertaining work on a tour to B u xton viii Clapham, including a lounge on Kennington-common; but Sir John Forbes is not Sir Francis Head, and he is not an adept in bookmaking, like the late amusing "James Johnsou,. gp,p," who appears to be his model. Here is what this volume contains. It commences with the date of leaving London on 30th July, 1855, and in the few weeks of the autumnal season the author undertook to " do" the " sight-seeing " of Aix-la-Chapelle, Dusseldorf, Cassel, Eisenach, together with Gotha, Erfurt, and Weimar, along with ate other grand points of the German tour. •'To LOipsic he allots three pages ; Berlin isidis posed of in a round dozen ; seven pages are allotted to Dresden ; " Saxon Switzerland " is discussed in the same proportion ; 'sienna receives about a score; the author rushes i down the Danube, glancing at Pesth and Buda ; and then he goes up the Danube, and scours here, there, and everywhere, like a perturbed spirit The names of the places he " saw," when swept together into a catalogue of contents, occupy not less than twelve pages. It is obvious that o**a volume can afford neither profit nor pleasure. If, indeed, Sir John Forbes had printed flis hotel bills, he might have rendered some service, but he satisfies himself by saying that his tour " might be accomplished, without any special " regard :to eticitiorny, at 'a less expense than " twenty-four shillings per day." The' par ticulars might have been useful. " Nobody," said Johnson, " can be written " down except by himself " Let us hear Sir John Forbes testify to his competency for describing " sight-seeing." Of "4110 sights " at Vienna he writes:— , Bet the great sights of Vienna, as of moist dee Miler large cities in Germany, are its picture galleries, which are of first-rate excellence. Besides the great National Gallery in the Belvedere Palace, there are several private collections of great value; as those of the Princes Liech tenstein and Esterhazy ; of the Counts Czemin, Schiin• born, Harrach, Lemberg, dca. I had only time to visit the three first named. And he then puts on the critical black cap, and sentenass i „ • .fpliowing fashion J do not pretend to offer ma aeenrate estimate of the re • spective merits of the pictures in these three galleries, as, indeed, I feel myself incompetent to do BO ; but [ suppose there will be a pretty general asses: in giving the first place to the Dresden, mid the second to the Vienna Gallery. In some respects, I think, the latter excels „even the Dresden collection, more particularly in the greater number and in the greater variety of good pictures by good masters; althetigh the former contains a . certain number of masterpieces not to be matched by thlit) 4)kt-believe, any other gallery' r , •I Thought . 4461 ntinnrtlnioivledge, a super traVelltdi t,lll‘derii t talent for deserib • 11 , 4Pg saner • ji try, igit/ ,16'hn 'Forbes on tne mouptaans from Innsprock in the,Tyrol, Mere is the way he portray‘that.‘! sight ": „ . The inegnifieent range of mountains forming • the northern beundery of the valley, is here seen liaise sp, like a gigantic .wall, front the yery border of the 41:y, and filling up with its dark peaks, intermixed with ,snow, the whole sky above it. Such a background, at once so grand and so picturesque, now coming in as an essential Attune in the pie.tivre i :effectually.ehasee frein the, mind of the spectator all the ideas of commonness and tameness which the immediate site of the town might otherwise ex cite, and leaves as the abiding influence an impression of a perfectly opposite kind. And then he goes on .,‘• A,,,,k0. "" i „„,.\ The hour at which the diligenee'reaehed I eh left the passengers but a scanty portion of daylight to look about them. The time, however, sufficed to convey a general impression of the town and its remarkable locality. But need we go on? There is no necessity for doing so. Books of this kind are too leniently treated. Sir John Forbes published 'eft 14 a hasty volume ou Ireland, in which he flip pantly discussed some of the most intricate questions of the sister country ; but r eally he has now appeared sufficiently,. eften in print to gratify his rage for rapid writing. He is ",Physician to the,Queen's Household,' and atienile the servant...9f her Mujesty when they are ailing. He is,. also, a. Knight, and wishes to graduate as alpapelsagi• author ; and let him, by all maafte'hiete"thirtank to which his style of composition' entitles him. In his race against "Murray'a i tlaudbp9k. ". A t completely distanced. i•io, 'um }tuil•Wilt The Sketcher. By the Rev. John Eagles, A.M. London: Blackwoods. IN the introduction to this volume a pleasing sketch is given of the life of the author. He was a contributor to Blackwood's Magazine for twenty-five years, his writings being princi pally on the higher departments of art; but he contributed also essays on classical sub jects in prose and verse, and was the translator of Homer's Hymns. He entered Holy Orders early in life, but never rose above a curacy. For five years he was curate t.) Sydney Smith, at Halberton, in Devonshire. Tt is to ba regretted that, it as unable to finis) the review of the memoirs of that celebrated' Man on which he was engaged at the time of his death. The talents of Mr. Eagles as a painter are highly eulogised in this memoir. He appears to have sketched with great facility. An accomplished and amiable man, .his life was passed in privacy. For the last fourteen years of his existence he performed no paro chial duty, dying in Clifton in 1855. We could have wished i for some faller particulars con cerning hitn.. MI nothing is said on the two points which greatly influence every w*n's course of life—his family and his fortunn.' The " Sketolier 4t if fi: Wake remarkable for Tlyeliness offaneY anditiolThipiial elegance, than; for artistic criticism. M. Eagles seems to,4Sie conceived the ndtiOn thag, i ,*e' t, province of the painter pot only to seleot ;* Nature, but to improve on her. We findint any! such passages as the following:— I have often thought a sketcher would do well to read some delightful tale, say in Ovid's "Metamorphoses" or Spenser, and then, with the diameter of picture vivid in his mind, go forth to the rocks, the woods, and wilds, and sketch and paint in, on the spot,objects, Woes, and colours, as may be most applicable ; and with the poetry in his heart he will not be afraid to heighten a little, for Nature will often give him hut a glimpse, where he must imagine a great deal. He will then have a distinct aim ; and his genius, become oonsrmed, will learn to reject, and no , longer burden itself and the portfolio with unmake ing, vague, or distracting studies. Ovid's" Metamorphoses" is a delight ful book for the landsoape-painter. It takes him back to the fabulous—it endows his pencil with,,the license to create—to divest the earth of its everyday, common look, and cover it with the beauty of a golden t atitiquity, that defies and forbids the scrutiny of the poor butter/1y critic that has flattered over his one short Tor4iii minim; day. b,li • , i 1, . • ' 11 , 1'0, iler 11 • • • • How tehlritre are the spots of real beauty on Its sur face of this earth—the greater part of which is wale and wilderness! At least sketchers find Wealth; and traeallers who go beyond the range of art 4.4,foir,iltsatioa, do not present more flattering accounts:,,,,,w ~.,,t , , ~,..,,. i 1:, In other passages Mr. liaglar.rkows.airuer perception of the principles which should guide the artist. At page 345, for example, there is a description of a natural scene, suffi cient of itself to show that. the ' pairiter ., had much better imitate whp.t'he'sties, than tititftpt to improve on - jiatiird, and s ires, Wet fortletrhat he ituagipes Mi*ht 'be Ipii: l ioete 'perfect beaut i yp t uder otliar conditions'.' ' The exViaite desorytiv i e itrifmg of this chapter, th e , lirth, - will convince most writers that natural beauty should he of- higher service to the artist than "to enliven or display the. wonders of his " ideal." Of all painters, ;• Gaspar Poussin seems tots,' been the favorite of the author. His churitetaristiaware 'admirably seized,. and ', descr ib ed. , 1111,11 t t •,.1.7 t••. • -It Apart frOPOte art-eritieism, the volum'ti Oi.' valuahlethro . ita'alyrinili ''notices Of 'hit et(tal seeneri k Il ii irtiO . ,et tl4 f 1# 0 ..03 . 10til ; ease wAAt IF, t lik,oB , pi*, F*4140, # ght , ( t iit and 1.4 g, of ia, ig4lx tl* thy', l 4e4 i iiiitid. ;,)',' Wanderings among ih7, 7 1414 Aftps,7. By Alfred Wills, of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at- Law. London : Bentley. ' .art t. OF all regions for summer tourisittAlps are decidedly the best "puff e d." guide: ( • SOURDAY, books are numerous, works for the drawing room with views 'of Switzerland :are plentiful, and a noted resort in Piccadilly acts as a standing advertising van for " the monarch of mountains." The author of the volume before us thinks that some more literary gleanings are to be gathered in so rich a field* for the picturesque. So there might be, if the writer had a special talent for description; but Mr. Alfred Wills is s od too matter of feet. , }JO cannot paint fit . ittords, he only par ticularises ; he gives us inventory, not to lively representation. Yet . he saw enough to excite the mind of one with a flue sense of the novel and the grand, and a fair power of re cording his sensations. His volume has value as a guide-book, fur some of less accessible parts of the Alps wevii Vi 11044 by Mr. Wills, Accompanied by his wife, the author traversed parts not usually visited by ladies; and he has also gone over iii'' some interesting excursions which lieirlAitli u niediate neigh bourhood of Chamount ,A444,iititerlaken, and which will repay tomistao In this respect the work will have a utility of its own. Mr. Wills has several tithes visited the Alps, and he may be accepted aii44l,,Sythority for the best mode of walking thin/Ugh an elevated district. His remarks on the knapsack , are excellent . :— ,!; The first necessary fle' i light, durable, waterproof knap iack. Those commonly sold in England are fox too cum bersome and heavy, and are furnished with too many strings and straps. The best material is either cloth or canvas, waterproofed with a solution of Indian rubber, or light varnished leather ; but the fattier' is less heating. A knapsack about fifteen inches long;_tna inches browl, and three and a half filches deep, is quitsiarge enough for any reasonable man. The frsinework,llvuoild .he as light as possible ; every Ounce tells in a long day's 'journey. The top, bottom, and sides or the kimplack, wit stands upright and ftirtened, should be stiff—stw - light as you please, but stiff—the back and front, limp; as it thus- Gia better, sad is more comfortable to Barry ; thefrout.; i.e., the face which outside, When on the batik, 'Whoa &' be fastened down ',With two or three strong , tali itght, straps and buckles. 'When these are undone, the flusicilritioh now terns bask, ',Will prose t6' be ilidaket, with a- nap, buttoning well aver ;the opening ? ! Ty, sag top opens and lies bank ,, in the 'hall Ode wt . • poekev-4liowing the body ef the ' • cif a Slab 'blase, seemed - by . a flap, coming Weil over the opening, , mid fastsaedi , dbwk- -by a light strap running across through -ring* passiag , thssugh ' button-Nibs Hi the flap. This iii the German plan ; and puch a Back is far more convenient, and less liable So.get "but of repair, and opens and shuts more easily*. tionlaione 'ffirrushed with strings or buckles. ' - • • ~/4. knapsack for pedestrian:}; Fk44 i : , 4 ., 1 ,- * for a single season, it atuauta,,siseia ' ~mf being manufactured as if meantfor.st. . pack, whitth is too generally the oast 1 , 430 the straps /itr:,VMii clOServes q - "g ' u ' ..14. The straps le which it is fastened oil the imolr should be strong, but light ; above all, they should be broad enough —a narrow strap cuts the arms and shoulders most un comfortably. They must not be too long, or the knapsack drops half way down the back, in which position the burden is far more fatiguing than if it were up to the shoulders. A strap across the breast, such as our soldiers used to wear, is a great miateke ;. it itontraots the chest, gnd interferes materially . with.the play , of the lungs. One of the shoulder strap 91144 end in a ring, and a hook should be sown on to the'l6Weit e . dge c(f the knapsack, to receive it. The krispiack is !huh' put tin Wad thken off without the slightest difficulty. The wholtappeatos ought noitto weigh above itWo pounds. :,114.110 ,f)lVit 1,- e recommendsll44..shoOki , 4og-• lierriAteonle mountain boots, eistioning against hard new 'shoes ; 'and he says the best walking-socks are made at Chamouni.or Interlaken. , Susists upon flannel or silk next the skinitAnd wo ,think the following remarks worth the notice .of those who .traverse on foot lass .sohlione districts • The most waistcoat, r shepherd's oseti, however, esonot, be and in others sad waistcoat,,. ,vanience of beings, 'being too cold in the ,olf pockets. A shoottni ithe beat adapted P leat head-gear. ,be blown away often found the over the head, necessary.. t,. /0.. of .411 111 • A plaid, or waterproof, is 4aspaairaily t but often a great inconvenience. • 'NOet Wort of an oceasiotoki4opqpiaing to the trouble of carrying the extra weight. it , ,:ei to f, For what the lenstsack shoed• contain we muet refer to the volume,' Contenting our selves with the remark that Mr. Wills is a 1116,. >et comfortable 1144 Or, coat, sad trousers of Asquisi;,; 1%74, NW"' a plaid, all woollen,,iitio f oo ii qi 3 Y ever, . strongly advocate t e or, 1 ,., e - hl" WI eta at egiglset. TlieW,a 49 0 4 rt u d. Approciated till .you have walked th.,* them Thera of a different materiaL Both, Oa post itooat should be double,breaatecit4 it iopon- of being sometimes too warm is acidopg,t,ooMit of cold in the High Alpa—and ithou l ). isawkiginty a. A shooting-coat, with t44s tills ac 4„ ;hp* is ulapted for widkixig. A light vply .ik, li the F -gear. It moat have Wings, or i it wi . probably away at the lop of some color ad the additionalaitalariNig al ,12‘1194fReilllffiiied 1,- ,