The National Register.
London, England, 1812-04-19 00:00:00

APRIL 19

not fail to inspire the beholders with religious thoughts and cause in his
heart the most devout emotions.

. -
EDINBURGH, APRIL 11.—On Monday last the associated Artists
opened their fifth annual exhibition of Paintings in York Place. We
have looked with increasine pleasure every year on this Institution,
and no small portion of our satisfacticn has been derived from tracing
the gradual improvement of the artists concerned in its commence-
ment. The number of institutions of this sort, formed of late years
all over Great Britain, and the success they have met with, present a
striking teature in this era of improvement, and demonstrates that no-
thing is so well calculated to call forth those powers of the mind, which
otherwise might have lain dormant. 'there is, however, a drawback
to this method of competition of talent, which, to us, appears a very
considerable one, and that is, too evident an attention to the opinions
of the great mass of visitors at an exhibition ; or, in other words, too
strong a desire to please the multitude. It is, doubtless, natural enough
for an artist to wish to draw the attention of visitors as early as pos-
sible to his works, and, as the great proportion of the people, in all
ages, have been attracted more by glitter than real merit, the artist
conceives, that the surest way to secure attention is, the introduction
of powerful effect, furious colours, and size of canvass; but the con-
noisseur knows that art lies deep, and is not to be perceived at a glance.
We wish to impress these truths strongly on the minds of artists, and
recommend them to ponder on them, for such feelings as we now de-
scribe have unhappily been thelmeans of introducing (since the con-.
mencement of the exhibitions at the Royal Academy) a style of colour-
ing and effect more resembling a competition for lan painting, or stu.
dies for hearth rugs ! 'ibis exhibition, from its establishment, has at-
tracted the attention of the public in so eminent a degree as to show,
that, if properly conducted, it will, in a very short time, excite a feel-
ing for art in this country, of more solid advantage to the artist than
, the praises of gazers in the exhibition-room, ur the notices of critics in
a newspaper.
The exhibition of this year is chiefly conspicuous for the number of
admirable portraits, by RAPEURN, WATSON, and Genves, and for
some excellent landscapes, by bla smy TB, Wieeteses, STILVV4 sox , and
others. In familiar subjects, there are some very good performances,
by CARSL and SHIELLs, but we have cause to regret the absence of any
, specimens from the pencil of Fee s eit or of Liz* es.
-----

IVIIISKEROLOGY ;

Mts AN ESSAY ON TUE SCIENCE OF MUSTACIIIOS AND

WHISKERS.

Translated from the German into English.]
BY DR. WHISKERANDOMILIM

Risum teneatis amici.—Hol.
Gardezvous bleu de rire en si grave sujet.—BOlL!.ch

It would be, perhaps, interesting to several of our Readers were we
to trace the origin of this ornament of the human face back to the
Medes and Persians, and even show the great probability that Noah
shaved it off from his face when he entered the ark, lest its immense
bushiness should obtain too much room in his floating menagerie.--
We might, perhaps, assiot the precise time when it began to succeed
the full and forked beard, as a lasting memento of its departed parent;
and show how, like some flaming, but temporary meteor, it waned in-
` An-di-Ay av ay till it entirely disappeared. We could, perhaps, tell why
l and on what occasion it resumed its former station ; and how, at last,
1 by a tour de main, it shifted its place, and became a next-neighbour to
the car, leaving the Vizier Mustachio in full and uninterrupted posses ion
of the upper lip. We could give several interesting quotations from the
fatuous poem of the elegant writer Masnoura-seik, upon the wars which
desolated for many years the delightful provinces of Asia, when the
'Tartars fought so bravely against the Persians, to support or defend the
shape of their Whiskers. We might easily introduceseveral canons of
several Councils ste radendis barbis, and demonstrate to evidence, that
the Council of Catalonia., in 1a.55, decided most gravely, that real beards
and real hair were preferable to false ones—a mighty curious discos cry',
II which surely made ;ll the fathers wag their own beards, either true or
I false, when they fotool it out. But we must reserve these most intro-
ant obsetvati,,els, theses, and questions, for another occasion; and con-
tent ourselves, for the present, with an exact classification, delineation,
il and explanation of the classes, orders, genera, and species of mustachios
and Whiskers.
It is hardly necessary to premise, that as to the importance of this
science for both sexes, for all ages, all classes of society, it cannot be
called into question ; and the perusal of the following paragraphs Will
convince the most obstinate cm_ my to Whiskerism of its indispensable