The National Register.
London, England, 1809-08-13 00:00:00

TIIE NATIONAL ItEGISTER:

There is a report.of a tiring been heard on the opi.,,s.t.e
coast. Neither o' Deal nor Dover letters inenliani any
thing- of it ; though the report adds, iliac it is in conse-
quence of the Preliminarica of Peace }miring hz",...!1 signed
between Austria and France, and that by one of the arti-
cles the Emperor Vraneis consents that Ilie 'French shWi
occupy Vienna,:ind the Archduchy of Auttria for s'ot c,:rx!
--Six 'ears! But it were nhsnrd to comment upon flu
article, till we know whether there is any foundat:on tui
the rumour.

Accounts received by the British Fair, arrived at Yar.
*moth front Heligoland, stale, as part of the new politieni
arrangements, that the Archduke Charles is to be created
King of Bohemia, and the Architike John King of that
part of Poland which was given to Prussia ! !—Should this
prate enrrect, what term ought to he Applied to the
Armistice concluded by the Austrian Commanders ?
It is said, on the anthority'<lf passettg!.!rs who arrived in
the Auckland plcket from Heligoland, that the small body
of ITIVIIAYe had at. Cuxhaven have abandoned it, and that
a I,ody,of French troops has marched into the place.
Parliame# is prorogued to the 2iith olSeptetnber.
Ttis Ntljes!y has recommended the ifis;101) of Chester to
the See .of Bangor.
It k staid tint an Irish brigade forms a part of the r, r ri-
son of ilus:tiug. It is commanded by some of the most
vie leat persons that were compelled to leave Ireland du-
ri4g the Rebellion. ()Twiner is said to be among them,
at. 3 to have the rank of Mnjor. The pay of the soldier
is about three halfpence per day, out of which there arc
some drawbacks, Tiley arc, however, supplied with it
part of their footi,., and 1011 V in barracks. The brigade
was formed in France, since the last peace, from ainolgil
Irish that were found principally in I'ars. Tin: brigade
was originally called The Guide., and were intended In
net as interpreters to the French army, destined to invade
.

();(ki.:4 have verc properf.• been 'riven to prepare Tiospi-
.nt Deal and Itaincwt., for 1,500 sick and wounded.
This 'Wended ris prt,cautiounry only, 150 of the latter
be.ng the u!:nost humbee at present expected from the
lhech coast.

'Me inhabitants of Dover, since the Expeditio-.
Lave been ktpt in a constant state of alarm, by ;; tew ml-
seraUle privateers, which bave had the iusok :::1-
proach the very month of Ike harbour, to fve
tawa, and tarry off some trading vesbeis with the most per-
fect impunity. _ _

The beatitirlil Mrs. B who sa dello ;,is and n:lorns
the vicinity of linker- strevt, k now sitting aVc to
one of our most eminent ;:rLi.,!!:. A personage of it most
w.alted rank, not liowe‘or aman;g. the ,varivext
tlio charms of the y!tx, is assiduous in his ittC•- 14nee,
31Id 9:C1113 to watch with rapture the progrt!ssive :74ie of
the eliivas, as it is breathing into lite, and ble:,ll.lg into
beauty.

The doors of the boxes of the new Cos-,-ri-z.artlen The-
n:: r, are to be made of solid ny,--hogan), and to be finished
tilt! most elegint s!yle.
_ _

Mrs. B. the wi!e of a City grocer, eloped from Margate
Wedneidn-i last, with a gallant knii;i,l of the thimble,
from Tavistoek-street. The enraged husband went in pm--
soil of his faithless rib, and he found her, after two days
search, in the arms of her there male, in the town of
klythe. The affair will afford employ to the gentlemen of
the long robe.
Miss Yorke, who was lately tried at the Old Bailey, for
shouting at a young man, is now acting as a nursery-
maid inlentish Town.
A man of rather genteel appearance, and occasionally
en horseback, is frequently seen, in the vicinity of Lou-
don, to accost and insult genteel females. His conversa-
tion is extremely indelicate. Some measures ought to be
adopted tho poke tv prevog such outrages.

AUG. 13.

70 THE EDITOR OF I'UE N,ITIOAdIL REGISTER.

TDE LATE DUKE OF BEDFORD'a STATUE.

As an artist I should feel much pleasure iu speaking well
of the various works that may be produced in my native
covary, but when I view the ridiculous attempts that are
exhibited from time to time, you must excuse rue if I
should appear a little phlegmatic in the following critique,
opon a most extraordinary specimen which has just dis,
graced the metropolis. The' work I allude to, is the effigy
or imitation of a figure of the late nurse of likwoao,
just opened to public view in Russell Square,. and whether
we ate to determine on its merits in allegory, or execaion,
it certainly is one of the greatest proofs of the laxity of
sculptural taste that this nation has produced, not even
excepting the male and female apgek, which guard the
entrance to the metropolitan cathedral, and injere the me-
mory 01 two of our naval chiefs. •
I well know we are continually told; that eke have risen
!ts a super-excellence in this imitative art, above our an-
cestors. I would that it were iris:', but let him than asserts
it, prove it in any one instance for ten years pail, eAccpt
it maybe from the ingenious chisael of the ueglecicd
kens, I can prove from local circumstances the tsssea.,ion
cannot be true, notwithstanding our boasted aced, tev, nad
the various means held out for the imp: tneinent of `public
genius. I will readily admit, that the architectural Lawn
has much improved, and :t is to that, and that alone, that-
all our late public monuments, and pirticularly such of
them as have been designed by Sinirke and other painters,
a• c eatirely indebted. The general effect has been good,
that is to say, you must confine the eye to the contour or
outline, for if you dare to approach within musket
you are disgusted with incougrutiies in :he poeticai composi-
tion, and itispleased with the execution. [low these vexati
turns are to be avoidel any be the subject of anather tot--
ter. I shall confine myself at present to the nuttier pro-
posed, namely, the supposed statue of the iiune of ISan-
FORD, and although 1 have been told it is beneath cr
yet because wine good may be-accomplished by even drawing
the public attention to works of this nature, 1 shall itazarai
my opinion sans ceremovie. To begin witn the composi•
lion, if composition it may be called, for I defy the artist
:iimself to explain the aile,tory. It is composed of 11%0
figures its two bas-reliefs, alt of which are completely un-
connected, and each out. of its place. The tirC, and
most.glaring fault is, that the whole can mean ; CuD
malady hail an artist been employed to place together $
group of figures, in which no story could be imagmed,„
that artist could not have succeeded better than in the pile,
under consideration. But to descend inure to particular.,
the figure of the Duke is habited in a senatorial- dress, with
a huge clumsy plough under his arm, this impropriety
cannot be better elucidated than by the facts. kor in-
stance, should any whimsical senator, (we will say Mr. k Wks'
or auy other frolicsome Gentleman) appear so ineum-
bered in our House of Commons, would he be consi-
dered sane; or were a Peer of the realm to march into
his field, amongst his labourers, bedecked in parliamentary
robes, would they not pronounce him mad; but as if the
artist had been aware of the blunder he had committed, he
has neither placed him in the Ilouse or the field, but has
adjudged him the Ilerculeau labour of ploughing on a
rock; and to complete the absurdity, he has ripe N;hcat in
the left hand, which seenni to indicate that he bad the pe-
culiar art of bringing seed time and harvest together. The
same inconsistency runs through the whole work. He is
surrounded by the four seasons, which, by the same magic,
are all brought to view at once; and again, on the p.desiA
we have a bas-relief representing !wing on one s;de, and
Autumn on the other, therefore, from the whole, we must
infer that the greatest confusion existed during the life of
that great statesman, and that he gloried it been
the author of it, for we certainly nave a right to infer
what, we-ailease, as then is no inscription Oil Wit tallat