The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-14 00:00:00

of the litter of the old Royal Mews. Neither can

we lose a remembrance of the mongrel aspect of

that accumulation of rooms called Buckingham

Palace, of which it would be difficult to say
whether it is of the Gothic, or Tuscan, or Nor-
man, or Doric, or any other order of architecture.
We preserve a dreadfully vivid recollection of the
fact that there are two miserable squirts in Tra-

falgar-square, called by some insane people foun-

tains. Equally distressing is the knowledge that the
Lion and the Unicorn are perpetrating all kinds of

abominable vagaries in front of the town residence
of the SOVEREIGN, in defiance of the laws of heraldry

and of the experiences of the zoologist. It cannot
be forgotten, unfortunately, that while we can
raise up a noble column, we don't know how many

feet high, in honour of a small soldier like H. R.
H. the Duke of YORK, we can't for the life of us

manage, even with the assistance of the charitable
contributions of Russia, to complete, after the
lapse of forty-seven years, a similar monument to

a great sailor like the hero of Trafalgar. Again—
the capital of England has a public statue of

King GEORGE 111., but not one of ALFRED
the GREAT, she has another in memory of

King CHARLES 1., but not one of OLIVER CROM-
WELL,—she has yet a third in homage to King
GEORGE IV., but not One Of ARTHUR, Or EDWARD

111., or ETRELBERT. There are the effigies of
CANNING, and BANKs, and CARTWRIGHT, but

there are not in our streets any at all of either
MILTON, or HOGARTH, or DRYDEN, or CHAUCER,
or SHAKSPERE. It is not thus in Paris, or, in
fact, in almost any of the capitals of the European
Continent. Across the channel, in the metropolis
of our imperial neighbours, they have dedi-
cated a fountain to MOLIERE, and a quay
to VOLTAIRE, and a street to ROUSSEAU. Be-
sides which, look at the sites of their public
buildings. Instead of hiding an exquisite master-
piece like St. Stephen's among a cluster of obscure
and dingy byeways—instead of having the Guild-
hall lost at the extremity of a comparatively nar-
row thoroughfare, they have their Tuileries
in the midst of a magnificent garden, with a
noble avenue of trees in front, conducting into
the gorgeous Place de la Concorde. Beyond this
they have the entire length of the Champs
Elysee, extending in the direction of Neuilly,
as straight as an arrow, crowned by the
Arch of the Star, having to the south of the Place
de la Concorde the beautiful Chamber of the Le-
gislature, and to the north the matchless temple
of the Madeleine. It is not, however, alone in
this particular quarter that Paris is so remarkable
for the position of her national edifices. What a
noble site is that of St. Sulpice; or of the Bourse,
or of the Pantheon, or of the wonderful pile of the
Hotel de Ville 1 Everywhere a similar regard for
the external aspect of the structure appears to be
kept in view by the administrators and the archi-
tects—everywhere, except in the capital of England.
Here we seem to be contented either with some
abominably ugly edifice like the National Gallery,
or with some masterpiece of art thrust away into
a dark corner. The period, we are fain to believe,
however, has at length arrived when this atrocious
want of taste and system must be supplied ; and
this happy change can alone be effected through
the beneficent aid of Her MAJESTY'S Government.
Precisely of this propitious character is the aid
held out in perspective as attainable through the
acceptance of the admirable scheme spoken of
the other evening in the House of Commons
by the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. An en-
terprise of this kind was in a manner foreshadowed
in that well-known sentence in Her MAJEsTY'S last
most gracious Speech from the Throne—" the ad-
vancement of the Fine Arts will be recognised by
you as worthy of the attention of a great and en-
lightened nation." Hence the undertaking which
may be said to have already cost the country the
round sum of just 300,0001., merely to obtain
space in certain market-gardens, situated between
Brompton and Kensington. It would be idle now,
unluckily, to question whether or not the site of the
intended structure has in everywaybeen well selected.
It is too late—the matter has been definitively ar-
ranged. Fortunately, however, there is ample time
left for consideration as to the readiest and surest
method of obtaining a good design for the future
National Gallery, or, to speak more comprehen-
sively, for the whole pile of buildings to be dedi-
cated to the culture of Art, and to the industrial
education of the community. A facetious, yet,
at the same time, sensible proposal in reference
to this problem has been already suggested to
the Right Honourable BENJAMIN DISRAELI by
one calling himself SPIRIDIONE GAMBAR-
DELLA.* We mention the circumstance as indica-'
cative that the enterprise spoken of has even
now awakened some degree of conjecture, and
some amount of speculation. Numerous other
suggestions, we doubt not, will flow in upon the
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—aII advocating
the most various and contradictory arrangements.
The more, not the merrier perhaps, but really
the better in the end, for inquiry will thereby be
provoked upon a matter which (from our national
ignorance in Art) requires, we fear, from our rulers
very considerable investigation.