The National Register.
London, England, 1812-02-02 00:00:00

I FEB. 2.

PRISON MEMOIRS of LIVING GENIUS.

No. 3.
ripm-
Mr. NIUGNIE.

Continued
_from our Lust.

Mr. Muctur had fresh difficulties to encounter before he could effect
Lis escape beyond the reach of pursuit. Compassion had opened the
prison gates, but suspicion watched at those of the city which were
closed to all persons who could not give a satisfactory account of them-
selves and of the business which called them into the country. It is
probable that he would have found this unexpected obstacle iniur-
:mountable, had not the ingenuity of a BASQUE, who had attended him
during his confinement, come to his assistance. This man, who was
perfectly acquainted with every bye path, possessed a rich fund of na-
tive cunning and confidence, which a present of a few Louis d'ors in-
duced him to exert in behalf of Mr. MUGNIE. He represented that
Gentleman as a father desirous of seeing his child, whom he stated to
be nursed by his own wife, at a few miles distance from Bayonne. and
having thus imposed on the credulity of the guards, skilfully avoided
the wandering parties of Republicans who infested the roads and vil-
lages, and reached the borders of Spain in safety with his charge. In a
few hours Mr. Mugnie arrived at the Spanish posts, and was received
tly General Caro, the same who was lately taken by the French
at the battle of Saguntum. This Officer, on learning what si-
tuation the refugee held under Count Fernando Nunes, replenished
his purse, and appointed a soldier to escort him to the next town, e
be was fortunate enough to meet the Count De Moira, whom he had
known at Paris, and who now took him in his carriaz.e to Madrid.—
There lie was soon introluced as a man of talent to the Grandees of
the Court, who vied with each other in their attentions towards him.
The King, himself, wi.hed to hear him, and Nit-. Mugnie per-
formed before his Majesty at the Royal Chapel. Such distin-
guished favour and patronage could not f:dl to excite envy. Ills country
had awakened a popular prejudice against him, for the Spliniards al-
ways entertained a natural dislike to the French, almost pi-uphill.: of
the future calamities which Gallic machery was to inflict on their
country. On account of the dangers to which such a disposition on
the part of the people exposed him, Mr. Mugnie resolved to leave
Spain. Through the recommendation of the Duke of Alva, under
whose roof he had spent nearly a year, and who furnished him with a
sufficient sum to defray the expenses of the voyage, he obtained a pass-
port from Lord St. Helen's, then our Ambassador in Spain, and em-
barked for England.
At his arrival in our metropolis, Mr. MUGNIE was kindly received
by the fugitive nobility of France, who welcomed in him both genius
and loyalty. Adverse fortune had left, however, but little in their
power. Yet the patronage which they could not yield themselves, they
obtained from others. Their recommendation ushered him into notice,
and his abilities and good conduct secured the favour of the distin-
guished families to whom he was introduced, and where he now taught
the piano with success. Out of gratitude for his countrymen, who had
lately opened the Catholic Chapel of St. Patrick, he volunteered his ser-
vices, and during ten years performed gratuitously on the organ belong-
ing to that establishment. The comparative diminutiveness of this
Instrument, whilst it prevented the full expansion of his powers, still
allowed a sufficient display of talent to win this praise from the un-
willing lips of modern artists, 4' that Mr. Mugnie certainly was the first
orgauist in Europe." When the excellence of his compositions for the
piano began to attract the attention of the public, and to enlarge the
sphere of his practical instructions, be was deemed by some of our com-
posers and professors too dangerous a rival to be suffered to proceed un-
checked. Hence, whilst his superior abilities as an organist were
p:ditically extolled, he was artfully represented as only ft fur that in-
strument. In order to demonstrate openly the injustice of this opinion,
and to disarm envy of one of her most powerful weapons, he resolved
tO abandon the organ altogether, and for the last eight years has dedi-
cated all the forvour of his genius to compositions for, and all his execution
and skill to, exercise on the piano : so that whilst in the former he sur-
passes, in the latter he equals, the most renowned masters of the present
day.

If the statement of an anonymous writer be deemed too weak an au-
thority to obtain imrlicit belief, let it be remembered that he has no
other c*.jsc: in vir kin to do c,;,”1.7:14 ;u4:ce to his li.liow-creattires lii

77 .

confinement, and therefore cannot be led astray by any motive of undue
partiality. Surely the labours of a man, who at an in mense distance
follows the example of the greatest friend to humanity which this world
has ever produced, and brings to light the secret gems hid in the gloom
of prisons, cannot fail to prove both interesting and useful, and to
deserve a small portion of credit. He is neither credulous nor inatten-
tive. What he publicly expresses, he privately ascertains and maturely
examines. He greets merit with warmth in whatever state he finds lt.
But when he meets with genius and virtue united, victim to their native
modesty, and contending with envy, or suffering unmerited evils, he
cannot refrain from espousing their cause with enthusiasm, and endea-
vouring to awaken in their behalf the kindred sympathies of the human
heart.

Shortly after his arrival in this country, the powers of Mr. Mug,ni4
were called into action in the most honourable manner, and on a most
important occasion. The fatal expedition to Quiberon was preparing,
and the French Princes, although relying on the promised assistance of
the Vendeans, wished to adopt every possible mode of exciting the
loyalty of the people. The Marsellots Hymn was considered as one of
the causes of the triumphs gained by the republicans, whom it inspired
with a wild and almost unconquerable enthusiasm. To counteract its
effects, a Loyal March was required, calculated to awaken the remem-
brance of the past, and to fire the popular mind with mania
ardour in the cause of its youthful King; for the unfortunane
son of Louis XVI. still dragged at that period his miserable
existence in captivity and suffering. His present lawful successor,
Count De Lille, seloated Mr. Mugnie as the only person whose
abilities were equal to such a task. I have now before me the
66 Marche des Royalistes," which this Gentlein. n produced in obedience
to the Royal command, and which led on the emigrants to battle at
Quiberon. I have had the additional advantage of hearing it played by
him with all the skill which he possesses, and all the glowing energy of
patriotic and loyal feeling which, even at this di tance of time, he is
unalle.to repress. It di,plays not only a great master, but a man deeply
ac'piainted with the human hears. It is not only a musical, it is a poli-
tical composition. The air itself, full of animation and grandeur, would
kindle any mind with warlike ardour : but the introduction of the most
meting parts of three other French national airs, as popular, in the
time of the Moeetel.y, as our 66 God save the King" is with us, and
therefore so well calculated to revive early impressions of loyalty, at a
moment too when the sour, powerfully agitated by hope and rev
•
approaching contest, is less able to reject them, was a stroke of policy
only surpassed by the manner in which it is executed. These introduc-
does consist of the celebrated " 0 Richard, 0 Mon Roi !" " Vive
Henry Quatre," and " Vive le Roi." They are brought in most skil-
fully, and produce a very noble (-fleet. This grand march epen, N.vith
all the inspiring energy of war, as suits men who are rushing to con-
quest or to death ; when suddenly the tumultuous call to battle ceases,
and A softened melody seems, with melancholy cadence, to check the
spirit of revenge and devastation, and to invite to clemency and forgive.
nem' A pathetic strain next addresses the young and captive Sovereign,
I i as the descendant of 66 Henri Quatre," which introduces the beginning
of that air: his appearance and restoration are anticipated, and the whole
concludes with triumphant shouts of " Long live the King," " Vive le
Roi." To create such meaning, to comprise it in a piece of this nature,
and to reconcile those widely different expressions with the dine of
march, were difficulties which genius and a profound knowledge of the
science of harmony could alone conquer. They stein to ha' e vanished
before Mr. Mugnie. The expressiJn of the various sentiments which I
have described is so strongly marked, that it was ably trenstated into
elegant language, without any other guide than the music, to which the
words have since been joined. It would be difficult to find among the
other composers of our days, many passages which could produce any
corresponding idea in the mind, save that of modulated sound. Their
compositions in general vie with the poetry of our moiern bards. Both
may sometimes attain prettiness, but are always equttYy unmeaning.
Mr. Mugnie's " Marche des Royalistas," dedicated to the unforne.
, nate Louis XVII. established his fame as a first rate composer, iy this
country. It was engraved under the direction and at the expense of tl:e
Count de Lille, with a beautiful title-page, representing at the top, the
arms of France half shadowed by a cloud ; in the middle the scene of
war in Britanny where the march was played, and on the s!des me
i'reecli standards, with the escutcheons et the Vandean pee.-inces, stir.
rounded with broken iostronentl of war. 'lbis royal tribute to the
; merits of a man of genius, is as borouralile to the soeerei,:,ll as to ~is
pui)jact. SC.II;

MOM

IN%

EN

FLVE.

ENGRAVING.

Quid vetat apposito lumen de tumble sumi
Mille Heel summit, 4eperit inde

When the Muse of Painting recovered from that long state of lethargy, I
mentioned in our last, and held up the reviving torch of genius over the
classical ground of Magna Grecia, and of the rest of Italy, she was soon
surrounded by numbers of votaries who vied with each other, who could
adorn her altar with the freshest flowers and brightest garlands. She
saw the vaulting cupola glow with the glory of the pallet ; the walls of
every palace shone wi:h ad❑tirable delineations, and the domes of reli-
gious edifices spoke wonders to the eye, she gloried in the marvels she
bad created, but yet her wpire was confined, and still subject to the de-
vastations of time, whose unrelenting scythe had destroyed what her
hand had produced before. As she sat on- her throne, proud with the
consciousness of what she had already done, she grieved at the indivi-
duality and destructibility, of the chef tteuvres she had inspired, and to
prevent the future evils which she foresaw, borrowing the words and
power of the Author of all Good, she, with confidence, exclaimed :
" Let them increase and multiply,"—she said, and the art of Engraving
was born. Soon all hands were at work to copy the beauties which the
public eye admired so much ; and they committed to wood or copper,
fac-similes of those astonishing pictures which fresco had fixed on the
immoveable stone, or other modes of painting had spread on the canvas,
ever to remain where th• y had once been embodied. Not unlike the lamp
which yields light to a th iu,and others, and loses nothing of its own,
(see the epigraph) every piece of workmanship was multiplied, and, im-
pressed on paper, flew on the wings of fame, to all other parts of the
world. Every picture, far from bring impaired by the art of Engraving,
received from it, not only the benefit of being multiplied, but a durabi-
lity which laughs at the destructive frown of time, and indeed several
works which bad utterly decayed, or had been devoured by his rapacity
or other causes, survive now in the copper-plates which have been en-
graved after them. Thus the. tribes of antidiluvian shells, as they are
vulgarly called, being entirely lost in the regions of the deep, survive still
in their representative fo►siles on the tops of high mountains, and in the
bosom of marble quarries.
This encomium upon the Art of Engraving is founded upon the most.
correct truth; and we are happy t@ find, that it has met also in this
country. hands to practise and liberality to reward it. At its dawn,
Et.sena EL thOught it of so great a consequence, that he did not disdain
to instruct MARC ANTOINE, his friend, and to superintend the Engraving
of his own compositions.
From the plains of Italy, winding through the vales of the Tyrol, the
breadth of the beneficent Muse warmed the minds of the Germans, and
AesE RT Dc R ER acquired an immortal fame. The genius flew to Holland,
and at last alighted in France, where he had long been neglected or un-
known. But ANDRAN, PIsCARI 3 MELLAN, DREVET, and fig dads of
others, soon fixed his empire under the canopy of the French Monarch.
Still England could not boast much of his favours. Engaged in politics,-
or distracted with civil wars, she could not find inclination or time to
court the Fine Arts, and it is but lately that she holds a real claim to a
glory which they never fail to reflect upon a great nation. Indeed she
can now boast of being the mother of Artists, who rival the French in
boldness and nicety of Engravine ; STRANGE, WODLET, SHARPE, aud
several others which we could mention, can set at defiance the graver
of any foreign countries. We are even bold enough to say, and feel- a
national sense of well-grounded pride in asgerting, that the art in France.
has not made of late any progress towards perfection, and hardly stands
on a level with our best chalcographers. Let us substantiate our
Thesis.

A print representing NAPOLEON, as he appeared in his Imperial robe
and costly dress in the year 18(15, has of late been imported, and most
kindly exposed to inspection in the metropolis, by the desire of the au-
thor of this admirable piece of workmanship. It is looked upon at this
moment as the ne plus ultra of the graver in France, and becomes,
therefore, a proper standard to judge of the state of the art, not only
in that kingdom, but through all the Continent. Let us examine it
with attention, minuteness, and, chiefly, with impartiality. We cop-4
fess that at first sight the effect is grand, forcible, and wonderful ; but;'
to do justice unequivocally, we must descend into particulars, and con-,
eider it seriously and critically as to its intrilibic merit.

8 1.. • THE NATIONAL. REGISTER.

FEB'. 2

The composition.—Buo N APA RTZ, his head loaded with laorels, and tit;
imperial sceptre in his right hand, stands before the coronation char,
or fauteuil de ceremonie, with his imperial mantle and the coital and
badge of the Legion of Honour thrown around his neck and should, re
A table, well ornamented, stands on his right side, and upon it arc the
insignia of royalty. His feet -rest on the highest of several steps cie
vered with a rich velvet carpet, strewed with bees. If there is any
thing defective and awkward in the arrangement of the whole, sercly
it is not the engraver's fault, and we must chide the painter for the
cumberous load of drapery heaped at the side of the ;'igure, for tTe
clumsiness of the folds of the mantle on the ground, for the diagonasl
position of the step, and several other inaccuracies in the disposition.
Let us only compare this tout ensemble with the print of Bosseee by
DREYET, after the immortal RIGAUD, and even with one of later da.e,
the engraved whole-length figure of the unfortunate Louis XVI. what
a striking difference in the composition as to taste and minute propriety
and yet this is the subject which has been intrusted to the superior ta-
lents of DES NOY ER S, to give the world a specimen of what Engraving
can do ;—let us conclude from this, and draw the undeniable corollary,
that portrait Painters in France are at this moment much inferior to
our LAWRENCE, PHILLIPS, O*'EN, and several others whose works
are constantly the subjects of well-deserved admiration. With re.
gat d to—
The Execution.—lt is undoubtedly very great, and of a powerfd
style; every part is well told; and, we are persuaded, does full justice
to the Painting ; but we cannot disguise that the Artist (as if in
tion of the extraordinary man be intonded to represent) seems to have
been determined to get his point, route qui route, and by whatever
means he found more easily conducive to it—he saw obstacles and dif-
ficulties before his eyes, and used all sorts of tactics to overcome tle-r
The aquafortis of CA Lecer—the swelling and uncrossed line'of MEL-
LA N, could not alone insure him the laurels of victory ; he called to his
assistance the Stippling niggardness of modern and inferior Artists, and
even admitted the hardly allowable tricks of Prince RUPERT'S lifet:o.
(into. Bent upon the ultimate praise due to effect, he was obliged to
hire in his service, as auxiliaries, all the branches of Engraving, and
we are astonished that he did not rouse to his advantage the humble
power of the modest Aquatinta. Did the old French Engravers, who
brought the art to such an acme of pefection, employ such ruses de
guerre to produce effect ? and did they not produce as great, if. Dot
greater, effects without this unnatural coalition ? Any unlawful union
of distinct branches of the art Cannot generate but bastard effsprings,
and we are proud to find, that our own observation has coincided with
the opinion of the best connoisseurs in this country.
We should be very sorry if any one of our Readers was to misunder•
stand our meaning, and to suppose fur a moment, that our intention is
to depreciate the merit of a performance so much talked of and ad-
mired; but we have consecrated our pen oil the altar of truth, and ‘;e
must write down our opinion as genuine as it exists in our breasts:--lf
we are mistaken, let evidence hold up her unfailing light—we are open
to conviction.

Ibkii.