The National Register. — London, England, 1811-05-05 00:00:00

; THE NATIONAL REGISTER. removed to New College, where, in 1768, he obtained the de gree of Bachelor of Civil Law. Eight years after this, he pro ceeded Doctor of the Civil Law, and became a Canon of of Christ-church. Dr. Bathurst's original preferment appears to have been the living of Cirencester, which he still holds; and in the vicinage of which the principal property of the Bathurst family lies. He also obtained a prebendal stall in the Cathedral of Durham, after many years of residence at Oxford ; but he resigned this prebend, on his elevation to the See of Norwich. The mitre carne--.After .forty-three years of preparatory stu dies and duties, and nearly thirty-five years of patient looking forward, without the least envy, to nearly the highest dignity of our established church, Dr. Bathurst was, on the translation of Dr. Sutton to be Archbishop of Canterbury, promoted to be Bishop of Norwich. Richard Prosser, D. D. a Prebendary of Durham, was the clergyman who on this occasion preached the Consecration Sermon, at the Archbishop of Canterbury's Chapel, in the Palace of Lambeth, and on the 28th of April, 1805. May 4, 1811. ONKSIMWS. (To be concluded next week.) CLERICAL NOTICES. (FOR THE WEEK.) SUNDAY (this day.)—Rev. H. Pearson, M.A. (Morning) at t the Lock Chape', near Hyde-Park corner; the Rev. Legh R chmot d, M. A. Rector of Turvey (Af i ternoon) It St. James', Church, el.:rkenwell; and the Rev. Thomas Raffles, of Ham atersmith, (Evening) at Union-street Meeting, in the Borough. —The Rev. Hugh Worthington (this day) at Salter's-hall, back of the M Insion-House. MISSIONARY ANNIVERSARY.—The Rev. Edward Parsons, of Leeds, preach( s the first of the annual sermons before the Missionary Society, on Wednesday Morning next, at Surry Cha pel, in Blackfriar's Road ; the Rev Joseph Jefferson, of Basing stoke, the next (Wednesday Evening) at the Tabernacle, near Moorfields ; the Rev. James Steven, A. M. formerly of Crown Court, the third, on Thursday Evening next, at Tottenham- Court Chapel ; the Rev. John Wilcox. A. M. will preach the fourth, on Friday Morning next, at St. Brides's Church, Fleet • street. COUNTRY PREACIIZRS.--The Rev. W. Rowby, from Gros venor-street Chapel, Manchester, is preaching at Tonbritlge Chapel, near Somer's Town. ROYAL ACADEMY. The productions of the British School of Painting during the 'last year are now spread before the public eye. The Exhibition opened, as usual, on the first instant, and was preceded by the Anniversary Dinner of the Members of the Royal Academy, which took place on the Saturday before last. It was honoured with the presence of the PRINCE RECENT, who expressed, in the most encouraging terms, the gratification which the variety and excellence of the specimens of Portrait, Landscape, and Historic Painting, diAplayed in this Exhibition, anrded him. The f. declaration, made at tie! same time by the same elevated character, that " he felt the pride of an Enelishman in declaring his conviction that this country, so distinguished for its Constrtution, its Laws, and its various political and civil advantages, would, with due encouragement, stand equally unrivalled in the Fine Arts," whilst it w ill awaken fresh hope and emulation in the breasts of our Artists, will give wings to their genius, and create in our country a race of painters under the guidance of the venerable patriarch of the art, Mr. WEST, Whose works, rivalling those of antiquity, will become classic nuadels for future generations. We shall begin our remarks on the productions of the year. with one of the three pictures of the Pi esident, 188, Lot and his Iwo etittitn. : Ld bj two Avgels. The ushers co;isist ~'R.5 of, 62, The Omnivincent Amour guiding the three Elements ; and 116, The Death of Lord Nelson. Lot and his two Daughters is one of the 14.rgest paintings of this artist, and one of the most striking productions of the art. The subject indeed is one which opens a wide field for genius, and the image given in the simple narrative of the holy historian is too terrifically grand, to lose a portion of its sublimity when reflected on the canvass. The painter has not only to depict the agitation of the human mind in Lot and his Daughters, under the influence of one of its most powerful affections, ter ror, and to contrast it with the serenity of the Angels, who can pity but not fear; he has to represent the convulsions of nature, writhing under the wrath of its Creator; and the magnificence of heavenly destruction poured upon the guilty part of the earth. But if the difficulties of his subject are great, his means also are great. In the Holy Scriptures he finds a whole ar moury, and can wield all the mighty weapons employed in the visitations of God's judgments on the world, to produce at the distance of so many ages a deep and terrific impression on the minds of men, of the power and awful justice of Him who sends forth among guilty nations his devouring fires. Age has not impaired Mr. WesT's talents. We arc informed that he has entered his seventy-third year, but Lis pictures ex press maturity, not decay of genius. This prolonged existence of earthly powers, so frail in their nature and generally so early withered, may he in some degree ascribed to a judicious policy, which we think we have observed Mr. WesT to adopt as he descended into the vale of years. In order to counteract the freezing influence of age, he has mostly selected subjects capable of violently moving the mind and exciting the imaginanon, which thus strongly affected, reta'n that acute scnsibility which years threatened to blunt, and that creative faculty which, usually departs froM man in the decline of life. In this painting his delineation of the just man and his daugh ters, s ;at,:bed by the interposition of Heaven from a fiery grave, is naturally as well as scripturally just and impressive. Their countenances express terror, but it - is of a different kind. That of Lot is mixed with faith, resignation, and hope; whilst the silent dejtctinn of despair sits on the features of his dauLkters. The seine sentiment, so deeply implanted in our nature, of self preservation, operates with a nearly equal force in the three, Whose motions betray an hurried impatience to remove beyond the sphere of danger; whilst the Angels beam benignity, con solation, confidence, and peace. The flood of Divine wrath poured down upon the justly devoted cities, is sublimely grand and territic. Their towers blaze in the distance, whilst the rain of tire descends on them and rolis , in devouring surges along the ground, forming a lake or a deitige of •fiames. The light of the mighty c flagration glows reflected around the ernslp in the fore ground, and acquires a degree of increased brilliancy from the deep clouds at:d masses of plants and trees whites nearly surround the piece, whilst the sun slowly rising over the horizon, seems like the eye of Heaven opening amidst storms and darknesa to behold the tremendous work of eestruction accomplished. That such a picture will do a lasting honour to tile British School, will he easily conceived ; that it will heighten the fame of Mr. WEST Is scarcely possible; but that it will form a chief object of admiration for posterity is certain, as far as the exist ence of posterity itself. In our next we shall continue our remarks on the other strik ing paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy this season. 13_ LORD NELSON'S 1 1 00N117MENT, IN GUILDHALL. This monument is now opened for public inspecti::n. The pyramid in the back ground is Supposed to be the tomb of the ii;imurtal Nelson, decorated with nay:atrophies, the fruit of his victoxi...s; while the female figure in the ceittre •lytrsortairg the City of LoncLiti), in grateful re ; embrauce of the siva se - Vi..es I e rendered to his country, verpettialcs the-mei: , ly of aids g reatactions to posterity, and Iniishei, with glitaixaticn ~.~ )11"r-• • ••••-, -44 - •• ~~ ei