The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-08-07 00:00:00

EN;cLrsir

When Piemonte heekons to her favourite shale.
who would not brave the season- ? This. is.. Pre-
sume, was the Soliloquy of the i 11111 l ense sudietsce.
which last night, spite of the sultry atitimphere,
'crowded this theatre. They had, however, this
itlventage an advaistsge not to he found else-
where—that they could occasionally, when the
warmth became oppre-sive, retire for u thou time
amongst the green alleys of the illuminated con-
servatory—a privilege of which great itunihera
glsilly awaited tlwthselves. The opera of The
disseriewirt, which appears. on repetnion, to be-
come mate attreCtive, war folloWed by the re-
vived opera end billet of action, emitted The De-
serter of Nook*. The stage c t boom a more
'arresting entertainment, of this species, end it has
been got up with great care. Mr. T. P. Cootie.
for the first time. supported the character of Henry,
and gave the pUblic d very powerful additional proof
of his talents in serious pantomime. His prison
interview with Louisa was very effecting. In the
combat with his pursuers he evinced uncommon
skill. strength, and activity. Of the excellence
of Miss ICILLY's Louisa. the public are per-
fectly aware. She bas often sustained the part,
and, as often, her exertions have excited the sym-
pathy of the audience for Lorisa's woes. She
played with energy and feeling—uor must we omit
paying a fair tribute of applause to her vocal pow-
era. She sang her first sir, /ho' Prudence eoa.
dema awe," most sweetly. Mr. Wtuttissoles dry
humour is well suited to give effect to the part of
Sinipkin. His performance created much laughter.
When called on by Skirmish to sing, he introduced
the following ludicrous, but not generally-known
love ditty :

a When ay dear leant' does frown upon me,
Down to mu heels,' wt' poor heart doth nee—
But when she is &maw, and does simik and pine,
Like hotter, in July, my poor heart melts away !
• Whew she is absent, I don't know what I nil,
But I feel like a Wee Ay, with is pin in his tail—.
But *ben she is present, goy beset she sets ire-tin,
And I broil, like a mutton-chop, upon a grid-true."

Mr. W. S. CNATTERLET rendered the drunken
importunities of Skirowisk not a little amu.ine—
and gave kis drinking song. with much comic effect.

THE FINE ARTS.

Since the peace, we have had occasion repeatedly
to notice the importations of work, of foreign
sake from the Continent. Those by living artists
have been chiefly attractive sot works of individual
representation: of this class were DAVID's and
LEMBERE'II portraits of the Bonaparte faintly.—
They were not without striking merit, but it was
generally overpowered by a hard and scrupulous
attention to that sort of meretricious and antsonit-
nate ornament which pervades the French School;
the eye was called to admire the ‘aurly trap-
pings of some piece of cabinet furniture. or
article of dress, represented in the piciure. in-
stead of being attracted to, and concentrated
upon, the principal figure; and, as if this
quackery were not sufficiently obtrusive and glar-
ing without the aid of optical mechanism, a magni-
fying glass was generally put into the hand of lie
spectator, to examine the piercing eye of N*po.
LEON, or some other remarkable feature in his
expressive countenance, which, if the artist had
dose his duty. required no artificial aid to be ap-
',reclined and understood.
The last importation of a work of art from tlie
Continent, is * highly-finished full-size Portrait 1.1
the Son of Napoiroa, now exhibiting in the Adelpho,
which is said to be taken from life, by C. SALES,
who is described as being " one of the most cele-
brated artists in Vienna." We hive often heard
of him as a clever man iu his profession, bat whe-
ther he is entitled to the high appellation assigned
to him. it is for the descendants of tile school of
ALBERT MEER to determine. It is said there is
but one other genuine portrait of young NAPO-
LEON extant, and that is in the possession of his
mother. The artist is entitled to *peak for himself,
and the following is the desciiption of the por-
trait :

" This interesting youth is represented as he generally
appears to the immense crowd that lh►aut; to see him at the
Imperial Gardens of Schoenb►aun. He is looking wills sur-
mise sad pleasure at the aassirisig maltase& ; but, roused
by the barking and eagerness of his Gemini, slug, is shunt
to retire iato the Palace. His general costume is strictly
adhered to. his beautiful features most faiihfally delineated.
This young Prince, from the peculiar circumstances of his
fate, anal the 'scones-60as attached to his mauve, excites uni-
versal sympathy assJ lowest among the iuhalsitanis of
Vicuna; while his eximusJissary beauty, quick apprebension,
and amiable dispositims, command intend respect and ad-
mivatioa."

Such is the artist's (or the exhibitor's) fascinating
description of this portrait. To our colder and less
enthusiastic taste, it appears much inferior to one
of Lawßswca's portraits of juvenile subjects; it
has neither his correct delineation of nature. Igor
his execution, either in Form or colouring. Not:
withstanding our notion of its comparative excel.
cellente, we yet think it s portrait entitled to en.
initiation as a laborionsly executed work of the
German School—it is totally divested or those
meretricious oraisments which fritter away the
style of the French School. The back ground
is plain, natural, and not deficient in gran-
deur of effect ; the angular shadow (Jet front
the pillar is fine and appropriate, and gives a
good relief to the white Austrian dress of the
boy. His attitude Ia rather theatrical, but per-
haps independent of its being intended to pourtray
surprise, this sacrifice was seceseasy to impress tlie
spectator with some sense of the dignified station of
the boy, and of the factitious interest which his
statue is calculated to inspire. But what we are
most iodine() to object to is the Cold written hue of
the fate—it tines not represent flesh—we lament
this defect (4. we conceive.) in the colouring she
more, because we feel struck with the iirceessful
delineation of fine and expressive character. which
the. artist his. glee's in the ervoitoti rof the features
of the porireit. It is on iiiterestnig picture, as a
'per linen of the Gerunin School- Ow execution "fr-
-14.4... it. nowt rather herd, but perhaps this effect
may be tobilieresl by the too rich and eliewy cur-
tail,. which rocitinpass the picture in the folds of
itoir droitrry, and preset.' two strong a Ci.lllrda ti
tile pure mid pale colouring of the portrait.