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 (Afiternoon) 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

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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_