The National Register. — London, England, 1818-03-02 00:00:00

MARCH 2 FINE. ARTS. lIRTTIVI IN. ft EUTION. No. 109. Lore Makin„ from the sflrio Or " Duncan firitv," by I). WiLKIE, It. A —ln ocr last, we noticed Mr. Wilkie's attempt, oat of his win line, in hit picture of 6 rthshrba, an.l if oor praise was not of that unqua- Wied kind, which we are always glad to bestow on the, cii , rts of genius, we trust to the artist's candour, con scious that our only aim is to do impartial justice. In the performanee now befhre us, the artist is in his own sithcre; and has succeeded in a degree equal to any previour attempt. The picture consists of four figurer, exclusive of the heads of two yoangsicrs,.whose face'; are seen peeping in at the half open door.— The scuroful 11 , iggie, wile is seated in the tbregyoutel., her innate; who is also •atel near her, and her aged Lther, was stands behind her chair, .fin-m a group of 5...-!1 exquisite taste, that we prefer it to any thing we }Ave before witnessed from Mr Wilkie's elaborate pen cll. The expression of the Mit lady s face is, however, a little faulty ; her's is the attitude of admonition, but the features do not bear that character, the head has s onething of the air and stiffness of a portrait. When we have ventured this objection, we have nothing but rraise to bestow. The artist has chosen that stanza of D'atuan Gray" expressive of the maids coyness:- -4- Msg. : * coo t her head fu' heagh I.nok'd ad:Lint and unco skeign Gart pour Duacian stand a:yn;ii. Ha. ha. the %rutting o't." Nothing can surpass the tnixttwe of pride and hash ;fulness which is expressed in the tountenance of the lady. Her fingers are locked in each other in an agony :—she m told look at the young man, but heir pride will n.tt permit her ; her father and mother are both urging her to a more respectful demeanor, but a total heedlessness is strongly depicted among the other passions Danes.ti is seated at a respmfal distance from the objeet of his vows ; the turn of his whole fi gure, and expression "of his free are powerfully inaica five of the passions working within him. His humid bright with vexation, is directed towards Maggie ; his cheek is leaning on his land, the fingers of which, cleeply indent it, in an effort to conceal his disappoint .ntent. We can read the resolution rising: in his breast, expressed in a succeeding stanza, to abandon her 4 ' slighted love is sair to' bide,". but the fire of his eye bespeaks his determination. The colouring of •this pic:ttre, .in all its parts, is in Mr. Wilkie's brightest manner. A rich mellow tone pervades the whole ;• there is nothing raw or crude, but all .the parts are admirably strengthened or subdued according to their importance. SIR FRANCIS IiURDITT AND COOBETT.—Cobbett_ siill continues to repay the many favours which he has received from Sir Francis Burdett by heaping abuse upon him for his surposed abandonment of the cause if Radical Reform. His last number contains a letter to Major Cartwright on the hostility of many persons .n the United States to the Spanish Indepemlants, and, as Reform is always uppermost with him, he drags the subject in here, where it might be least expected, and evidently fir the.snle purpose of having windier blow at his qmondam friend. Speaking of the unamiinity which prevailed 111101 g the people of this country on the aub ject of Reform, he says :—" A million lied a half of men actually rcng in their (Vie Borough-a:ovens) ears night after night, the sound of bribery, corruption, and trafficking in seats as notorious as the sun at noon-day. We were all of one mind ; except, alas I the man whom we had chosen, or, rather, who had a thousand tieies offered himsilf, to be the advocate of our cause ! We wanted Universal Sufferage, and he wanted voting coned to hourcholders. We wanted the People to have their rights ; and he wanted nobody to have their rights, except the owners of the land and the !muses, tor as you told him a hundred times over, if nobody bet the tenants were allowed to vote in addition to the landlords, the rightof -voting would, in filet be mid nfined to the landlords. We wanted a Bill ; and lie would have a Motion for that celebrated thing called a :led Commilree ; that decent thing ; one of these very .'singe, a Report from which had just. produced the gag and the Burgeon. However, tiny was our unanimity 1. stroycil." ; -Farther on, when speaking of what he cabs the tricks, Wlich have b,:en resorted to, to deceive the people of the United Etates with respect to South America, he-says, I have great happiness, my deur Sir, in expressing to y u my firm conviction, that no ruch miserable tricks aid evictions will impose upon the people of the United - States, any inure than the trick of Sir Francis has im pma upon the great body of the Reformers in Eng -I:eid !-' On Thursday, Jones, the Peacstrian, of Oxford, undertook to walk 60 miles in hours, on the road between that city and Rose-hill ;he commenced hic pertimoance about seven o'clo , it in the morning and finished about 18 minutes befi,re eight o'clock in the es-eninee of course I 8 minutes within the. time allowed, akhoegh the afternonu was very wet am' me:ire:liable such an undertaking :Great bets were del:m(1111,g, and the pedestrian appeared very hale tat...vial He 7sted one hour and nine minutesdnring thet tine, there fere he actually walked the 60 miles in 11 Wyss and 83 minutes. 'J'N•T NATIONAL Mr.GISTEtt. COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL. Friday 4 Court of Common Council was held. An order of the House of Commons, bearing date Tuesday, Feb. f 24, was read, requiring an account of the receipts and expenditure of the City of London, ac cording to the terms of Mr. H. Sumner's motion of that day. _ _ _ Mr. S. Dixon strongly recommended the matter to the consideration of th:, Court, and moved, " That the order now read be referred to a Select Committee to be now shoran, for the purpose of examining it, and re portin,,e, their opinion thereon a the Court." After some observations from Mr. Ilureombe, Mr. Waithman, and Mr. Alierman Birch, the motion was agreed to. A petition from Mr. \Voodthorpe, the town-e.erk, praying that his son should be appointed deputy town clerk under him, without any additional charge to the corporation, was received, and its request grunted. . •' NIOCK AUCTIONS. Mr. Waithman said, he should not go over the same grounds on this subject which lie had -co frequently done beflire. He hail before stgted a great number of fhcts of fronds, and even robberies, that had been.com witted at Mock Auctions, and" he might now safely de clare that these evils were not in the least abated. In. deed an idea, had arisen that something had been done against them, and the people still attended them, and. were consequently more easily deluded. The Members' for Bath and Bristol, it had been said, would support any measure that was brought tiirwanii on the subject Communications hail been had from Birmingham, Hull, Sheffield, Liverpool, and Oxford ; and one of the Liver pool Members h,ul armed him he would support the bill, proceedings on which had commenced, ►:ben the subject was last agitated iri Parliament. Nothing could be so irksome, ia his opinion, as to come, year after .year, and make the same statements to the Court, with out any effect. He hoped come measurefar the pre vention of Mock Auctions would be speedily put in force. The worthy Member concluded by moving that the petition on the subject should be read. The Lord Mayor said, he would support the petition, aChe considered Mock Auctions a great evil. After some observations from Mr. Dixon and Mr. Alderman Atkins, and sonic preliminary proceedings, the petition against Mock Auctions, which was to the Flume of Commons, was agreed to. After transacting a good deal of business of minor •importance the Court wljourned. LitUT. CoL. ERSIZINt —This brave young man, youngest son of Lord Erskine, died on' his paawe out to Ceylon. He served throughout the am p:sips in Spain as a captain of light infantry, in the 51st regiment, and behaved with great gallantry in the battle of the Pyrennees, where being shot in the thigh he was sent home by the Medical Board, and on his recovery, was placed by the Doke of York on the Staff of the army in the Adjutant General's department when the Duke of Wellington took the-command in Flan ders. le was in the battle of the 16th of June, and afterwards on the Bth at the battle of Waterloo, where his station placid hint in the dangerous position of be ing attendant on the Duke, around whom almost every officer was either killed or wounded, Among the rest, this brave young man had his left arm carried off by a cannon ball, which passing along the other Lid' bare the whole of it, by which he lust the use of two of his fingers, but that arm was saved. When. the cannon shot bad thrown him from his horse, and as he lay bleeding upon the ground in this mangled condition, the Prussian musketry and tru upeta being beard at a distance, he seised As :tat with his remaining shattered arm, and waving it round aim, cheered his companions in the midst of the dying and the dead.; the Duke of Wellington being then close by him, who desirtd he might be earned to his tent. Cal. Erskine was only 25 years of age ; but has left three sons and a .daughter, and un infant of a few months old. D EST 111 AN S greatmatch for 400 guineas, 150 yards, between Shaw and Leach, was decided on Tuesday on the Lea Bridge Road, and a 'considerable concourse of people attended it. It is supposed that 15001. at least was sported on the ground at 5 and 6 to 4 on Shaw. Leach beat his adversary the same distance, with great nicety, a few weeks ago ; but Shaw's back ers still had confidence in him. In this instance Shaw took the lead and maintained it throughout, beating his adversary more than eight yards. He left him at the .50 yards in great style. The winner did the 150 yards iu the very short space of sixteen seconds. Leach ran without.shoes, and had only a short pair of tirawers, the countryman was as slightly clad, exeeptiug a pair of jean half -booty. Shaw bids fair to beat all England ; he gets over the ground with au the fleetness of a grey hound. _ ..... The ff-stivities at Stow, in conseqnence of Earl Tern pie having attained his Ist year, have hven very splendid, and on an extensive scale. Wednesday even ing there was a grand masquerade. Not less' than 300 of the Nubility and Gentry have partaken of the en tertainments and awns:runts on the oczasion. HENDICITY OF THE METROPOLTS. Wednesday a meeting took place at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, tint the purpose of receiving the Re port of the Committee fitr the suppression of Mendi city in the Metropolis.—Mr. Sturges Bourne in the chair, who stated, that the Committee lmving taltn into consideratiun the intelligence they were able to collect, classed the several points they conceived essen tial, and likely to obtain general concurrence, under the following heads : 1. A central superintending.office for examination in the first in. stance, with local (,:oilimittccs for suloayttent investigation. Y. Accurate accounts of eitiatMg c:.arituble institutions. 3. liiimetliate communication with l'atis:a Weal, soliciting titir assistance und co-operation with the Society. 4. The issue of tickets far distri'oution to street beggars—su...l tickets to contain A reference to Cie office, where the case ufevay dicidual Ise s , 7:tr will undergo a strict invesugation. That ace wain.; to the result of such investigation, application shall be made to Et.. t paniehial or charitable fund us the individual may appear to hay.- claim upon : and that in the mean time, such iminediattreliet be absolut ly necessitty beattlirded.by this Society. 5. That Bach sturdy beggars as persist in asking alms, or reface to submit to be esainintal, shall be dealt with accoriirog to law. 6. That as soon as bite above regulations are bigaeht into a state of etfieiency, the Committee tiotify the same to the Public, eArnestly requesting all persons to abstain hum bestowing alms in the strews, and to adopt the plan of tickets. 7. 'ro adopt measures fur ultimately extending the plan tint:L.l,3l:- oot the kingdom. A desultory conversation then ensued, in which Nlr. Bowen& Mr. Hunt, Mr. C. Barclay, and Mr. Hume bore a part; after which thanks were voted to the Chairman, and to M. Martin, Esq. and the Meeting adjourned. NORTHERN EXPEDITION.—If an open navigation should be discovere.l across the Polar Basin, the passage over the Pole, or close to it, will be one of the most interesting events to science that ever occurred. it will be the first time that the problem was pea nk:111y solved, with which the !careers of geography arc some times puzzled-:-that of going the ahorte.l way between two places lying east awl west of each other, by wisheg a direction of north and south. The passa g e of the. Pole will require the undivided attention of the nevi. gator. On approaching this point, from which the northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America, and every part of them, will bear sonik of him, nothing eu3 possibly assist him in determinitig his course, and keep ing on:the right meridian of his destined place, but a correct knowledge of the time, and vet no means of as scertaining that time will be affiertied him The only time he can have with any degree of certainty, ae long as he remains on or near the Pole, must he that of Greenwich, and this he can kniaw only from good chronometers; for from the general hazy state of the atmosphere, anti particularly :about the .horizon, mad the sameness in the altitude cf the Sun, at every hour in the four-and-twenty, he must not expect to obtain an approximation even of the apparent time; by observa tion, and he will have no stars to assist hint. All his ideas respecting the Heavens, and the reckoning of his time, will be reversed, and the change not gradual, as in proceeding from the east to the west, or the contrary, but instantaneous. The magnetic needle will point to • its unknown magnetic Pole, or fly round from the point of the bowl from which it is suspended, mid that which indicated north will now be south ; the east will become the ,vest, and the hour 9f noon will be that of mid night. The arrangements for the vessels about to explore the Arctic regions are now nearly completed, and it is ex pected they will leave the river about the 24th March. Every precaution has been taken for the general corn fort of the crews, fixed bed-places are fitted, with sliding doors, for men to sleep in ; housings, to form roofs over the ships in the event of being frozen in ; a liberal supply of vegetab!ex, and a proportion of six months' beef, slightly corned, with some preserved meat, will be supplied. The laabella and Alexander are intended to proceed in a north-west direction to Davis's Straits, owl explore there ft ar a passage through, into the great Pacific Oman, by the American conti nent. The Dorothea and Trent, proceeding to the eastward of Greenland, will take a northerly direction, in the hope of reaching the Pole, and fr.en thence to Delwin •r's. Strait s. The Northern Expedition, if' unsuccesAJl, is ex pected to terminate about September, 1819 ; if it he successful, and that the navigators return be the In dian Seas, a reward of 20,0001, .will be distributed amongst the crews. Notwithstanding this, and an allow. ance of 31. per month, a difficulty is faind in obtaining• suitAls bands fir the voyage, amid the vessels will com plete their crews at the. - Orkneys.. the great eendezvons of Krone , for the Greenland.ser vice. Spare rudders, anchors, capstans, masts, spars, and boats, are carried by the VeSlielb j the ox.iners find sails and other things en the same conditions as tier transports. Report states, that the Minister of a great Northern • Power lately pr:seeted en official note, retnanstrating against the marked oijection which has been made to the eresentation ufan i:luterious lady et Court since her arrival-in this country. The note, however, has cot produced the desired effect, and, in consequence of this failure, the Minister of the Sovereign alluded to, did not, on Thursday, attend ll< tlajesty's Drawing room.