The National Register.
London, England, 1818-03-02 00:00:00

MARCH 2

FINE. ARTS.

lIRTTIVI IN. ft EUTION.

No. 109. Lore Makin„ from the sflrio Or " Duncan
firitv," by I). WiLKIE, It. A —ln ocr last, we noticed
Mr. Wilkie's attempt, oat of his win line, in hit picture
of 6 rthshrba, an.l if oor praise was not of that unqua-
Wied kind, which we are always glad to bestow on the,
cii,rts of genius, we trust to the artist's candour, con-
scious that our only aim is to do impartial justice. In-
the performanee now befhre us, the artist is in his own
sithcre; and has succeeded in a degree equal to any
previour attempt. The picture consists of four figurer,
exclusive of the heads of two yoangsicrs,.whose
face'; are seen peeping in at the half open door.—
The scuroful 11,iggie, wile is seated in the tbregyoutel.,
her innate; who is also •atel near her, and her aged
Lther, was stands behind her chair, .fin-m a group of
5...-!1 exquisite taste, that we prefer it to any thing we
}Ave before witnessed from Mr Wilkie's elaborate pen-
cll. The expression of the Mit lady s face is, however,
a little faulty ; her's is the attitude of admonition, but
the features do not bear that character, the head has
s onething of the air and stiffness of a portrait. When
we have ventured this objection, we have nothing but
rraise to bestow. The artist has chosen that stanza of
D'atuan Gray" expressive of the maids coyness:-
-4- Msg.:* coot her head fu' heagh
I.nok'd ad:Lint and unco skeign
Gart pour Duacian stand a:yn;ii.
Ha. ha. the %rutting o't."
Nothing can surpass the tnixttwe of pride and hash-
;fulness which is expressed in the tountenance of the
lady. Her fingers are locked in each other in an
agony :—she m told look at the young man, but heir
pride will n.tt permit her ; her father and mother are
both urging her to a more respectful demeanor, but a
total heedlessness is strongly depicted among the other
passions Danes.ti is seated at a respmfal distance
from the objeet of his vows ; the turn of his whole fi-
gure, and expression "of his free are powerfully inaica
five of the passions working within him. His humid
bright with vexation, is directed towards Maggie ;
his cheek is leaning on his land, the fingers of which,
cleeply indent it, in an effort to conceal his disappoint-
.ntent. We can read the resolution rising: in his breast,
expressed in a succeeding stanza, to abandon her
4' slighted love is sair to' bide,". but the fire of his
eye bespeaks his determination. The colouring of •this
pic:ttre, .in all its parts, is in Mr. Wilkie's brightest
manner. A rich mellow tone pervades the whole ;•
there is nothing raw or crude, but all .the parts are
admirably strengthened or subdued according to their
importance.

SIR FRANCIS IiURDITT AND COOBETT.—Cobbett_
siill continues to repay the many favours which he has
received from Sir Francis Burdett by heaping abuse
upon him for his surposed abandonment of the cause
if Radical Reform. His last number contains a letter
to Major Cartwright on the hostility of many persons
.n the United States to the Spanish Indepemlants, and,
as Reform is always uppermost with him, he drags the
subject in here, where it might be least expected, and
evidently fir the.snle purpose of having windier blow at
his qmondam friend. Speaking of the unamiinity which
prevailed 111101 g the people of this country on the aub-
ject of Reform, he says :—" A million lied a half of
men actually rcng in their (Vie Borough-a:ovens) ears
night after night, the sound of bribery, corruption, and
trafficking in seats as notorious as the sun at noon-day.
We were all of one mind ; except, alas I the man
whom we had chosen, or, rather, who had a thousand
tieies offered himsilf, to be the advocate of our cause !
We wanted Universal Sufferage, and he wanted voting
coned to hourcholders. We wanted the People to
have their rights ; and he wanted nobody to have their
rights, except the owners of the land and the !muses,
tor as you told him a hundred times over, if nobody
bet the tenants were allowed to vote in addition to the
landlords, the rightof -voting would, in filet be mid
nfined to the landlords. We wanted a Bill ; and lie
would have a Motion for that celebrated thing called a
:led Commilree ; that decent thing ; one of these very
.'singe, a Report from which had just. produced the gag
and the Burgeon. However, tiny was our unanimity
1. stroycil."
; -Farther on, when speaking of what he cabs the tricks,
Wlich have b,:en resorted to, to deceive the people of the
United Etates with respect to South America, he-says,
I have great happiness, my deur Sir, in expressing to
y u my firm conviction, that no ruch miserable tricks
aid evictions will impose upon the people of the United-
States, any inure than the trick of Sir Francis has im-
pma upon the great body of the Reformers in Eng-
-I:eid !-'
On Thursday, Jones, the Peacstrian, of Oxford,
undertook to walk 60 miles in hours, on the road
between that city and Rose-hill ;he commenced hic
pertimoance about seven o'clo,it in the morning and
finished about 18 minutes befi,re eight o'clock in the
es-eninee of course I 8 minutes within the. time allowed,
akhoegh the afternonu was very wet am' me:ire:liable
such an undertaking :Great bets were del:m(1111,g,
and the pedestrian appeared very hale tat...vial He
7sted one hour and nine minutesdnring thet tine, there-
fere he actually walked the 60 miles in 11 Wyss and
83 minutes.

'J'N•T NATIONAL Mr.GISTEtt.

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Friday 4 Court of Common Council was held.
An order of the House of Commons, bearing date
Tuesday, Feb. f 24, was read, requiring an account of
the receipts and expenditure of the City of London, ac-
cording to the terms of Mr. H. Sumner's motion of
that day. _ _ _

Mr. S. Dixon strongly recommended the matter to
the consideration of th:, Court, and moved, " That the
order now read be referred to a Select Committee to be
now shoran, for the purpose of examining it, and re-
portin,,e, their opinion thereon a the Court."

After some observations from Mr. Ilureombe, Mr.
Waithman, and Mr. Alierman Birch, the motion was
agreed to.
A petition from Mr. \Voodthorpe, the town-e.erk,
praying that his son should be appointed deputy town-
clerk under him, without any additional charge to the
corporation, was received, and its request grunted. . •'