The National Register.
London, England, 1812-06-07 00:00:00

JUNE 7.

rate and vulgarise the brightness and sublimity of his mind ; and thus,
it happens, that the most lucrative fields in the department of Painting
are the best cultivated.
No. 89. Eros reriving Psyche. No. g 6. The Witch and the Alloidrake
Uljsses and Ajar ire Tar!arns.—By H. FusLi.i, R. A.—We
cannot help admiring the deep thong:it, the lively fancy, and the know-
ledge of the art, which coalesce to ensure to this Academician, the
fame of a great Painter, but he has not yet found that extralyv:ncics are
oat of the boundaries of good sense; forced attitudes, unpleasing ; and
anatomy pronounced with more than Michael-angelic boldness, more
pedantic than natural ?

• This nonsense has been publicly lic:d out to young artists as a
great fund of instruction.

INSTALLATION

OF THE
KNIGHTS OF THE BATH, AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY,
ON MONDAY, JUNE 1.
(Exclusively written for the National Register.)

We do not intend to fill the columns of uur paper with a long account
of the ceremonial of this solemnity; we intend merely to place in a
proper light the intent and effect of it, and to consider it in a na-
tional point of view. It is almost imp!)ssible to describe the magnifi-

cence of the sight; the chapel of Henry the Seventh was overflowed

with ladies in their most fashionable attire, and with ientlemen in full
dress. An organ had been erected for the occasion, and the orchestra
united in performing several appropriate pieces of sacrtd nitvoic in the
best style. Under the royal canopy, rlaced a little above the altar, two
sons of our venerable Monarch, two of his daughters, his grand-daugh-
ter the Princess CHARLOTTE of WALES, and the Duchess of YORK,
were the principal ornaments of this fete. The elegant dress of the
Knights, Cie plumes waving over their heads; their Esquires in their
chivalresque costume; the Officers of the Ord, r with their mantles of
white silk lined with crimson, with their golden sceptres and badges;
the Kings of Arms and Heralds in their rich tabbards—all contri-
buted to give to this solemnity a pomp and a magnificence which few
nations can display, and none can boast of, wi:h such a sense of public
and individual satisfaction :—for, when we consider the personal merits
of those who were present in their stalls or installed on the occasion, we
cannot help congratulating the nation at large upon so many worthies,
so many brave defenders of our laws and rights, so many heroes who,
stealing for a few moments from the dangers of war, in the field of bat-
tle or at sea, came to receive at the foot of the :liar of the God of Hosts

a seemingly trifling, but highly esteemed, honour, in compensation for
the loss of their blood, and as a reward for their patriotic valour ; and
• to deliver their sword in the hand of Reli•,:,ion, who makes them swear
never to use it but in her behalf, and for the &fence and prosperity of
the country who gave them birth. Surely, consid:_x.:(l in this point of
view, nothing can be more solemn, more impressive than this ceremony.
We were present : and never losing sight of the glory and welfare of
our country; we enjoyed the splendid spectacle with deep interest_; heard
every thing with patriotic feelings, and conceived not a little pride at be-
ing on the same area, and under the same roof, with such a noble col-
lection of worthy individuals ; but, when the band struck up the Dead
mlrc's iu Suul,we could not help looking around ; and the awful thought,
that in a few years the very banners of the Knights there present would
Le buried like those of their predecessors, when, like them, they are cold
in the grave,brougitt tears into our eyes ; yet, we soon recovered, when
we considered that, if man must die, his worth will survive him in the
unnals of history, and be, for ever, the object of the admiration and
gratitude of posterity. Mortals, like oltrselves, but made immortal by
their deeds, they all seemed to us at if soaring ab.ve the vulgar, and
ready to assume, in our view, a majestic, and more than humor ap-
Varalice. When the King of Arms summoned clown fom his stall
every one of the Knights, Fame seemed to fly :.Dove the respective ban-
ners, and tl unfurl an immense scroll, succes4ive:y desert:Jaye of the
exploits which had merited these signal henours to the brave. At the

names of Howl:, Sr.- VINCENT, MALM/.51:01tY, WHI I WOW! n, of all
the formerly-installed Knights, a thousand livt-ly icoaF:es of patriotic
k•dS, of valuable services, arose in our astonished inernory—when
11'-' named Sir DAVID BAIR D, We thougitt we heard, the treinen-
oLus
- -t—Laing of Seringapittain, and Lril.ved that lic should have left

uggi7ir