The Sun.
London, England, 1830-08-13 00:00:00

WILLIAM IRVING,
Inspector General of Imports and Exports.
:rapector General's Office, Custom House,
London, June 24, 1830.

POSTING.
An Account of the Produce of the Duties on Posting, in
each of the Five Years ending January I, 1830.

Year entlint
January I, 1826
January 1, 1827
January 1, MS
January 1, 1829
January 1, 1830

AL Ld.
ent2ol6l 0 4
231,575 19
225,844 5 0
258,868 0 4
235,518 17 $

THOS. LIGHTFOOT, Acct. and C. G.
Accountant and Comptroller.Gencral's Office.
Stamps. July 11, 1830.

HINTS TO PICTURE FANCIERS.

Mr. Gordon, in the course of his rambling narra-
tive, conducts us to Rome, where, of course, some-
thing about pictures is to be said. To all those
noblemen and gentlemen who have been ever
inoculated with the love of virtu, we recommend
the following confessions, which, we have no doubt,
may be the means of a great deal of saving to them,
not merely of money but of ridicule. " I shall
mention an extraordinary instance of the gullubility
of John Bull. A young artist at Florence, a French-
man, Monsieur Averani, had extraordinary talent for
copying miniatures, giving them all the force of oil.
I had frequently seen him at work in the gallery,
and I purchased a clever copy of the Fonarina' of
Raphael, and one from 'the Venus Vesita' of
Titian, in the Pitti Palace, said to be the only
miniature painted by this great man. It had a good
deal of the character of Queen Mary Stuart, was
painted on a gold ground, had great force, and was
highly finished. I gave the artist his price, six
sequins, and brought it to England. When I dis-
posed of my virlu in Sloane-street, previous to my
settling in Scotland, this miniature made a flaming
appearance in the catalogue, and my friend, the late
Mr. Christie, puffed it so well, that a certain Mr.
F-, a sort of broker, became possessed of this
gem for fifty-five guineas. I thought I had done
pretty well by this transaction, until I saw it ad-
vertised in the horning Chronicle; a flaming puff,
stating that an original portrait of Mary, Queen of
Scotland, the undoubted work of Titian, value 1,000
guineas, was to be seen at No. 14, Pall-mall, price
of admission 2s. 6d.' The bait took. Mr. F--
put three or four hundred pounds in his pocket by
the exhibition, and sold the portrait for 7001. or 800/.
Here was I, an innocent accessory to the greatest
imposition that ever was practised on the public.
' As a work of art it was worth all that I got for it;
and I was offered nearly that sum from a friend,
who knew its whole history. I understood that
Lord R--k was the purchaser of this beautiful
miniature. One more anecdote of merchandizing,
and 1 have done. At Naples, during the revolu-
tion, I purchased a superb reek vase for a few
dollars. I sent it to Philips in Bond-street, to be
sold along with some other articles of the same kind.
An intimate friend promised to attend the sale, and
buy it in, if it did not fetch twenty pounds; but
great,iyas my astonishment when I received a note
from liTm to say that he had persuaded his worthy
friend Mr. of St. James's-square, to give
eighty guineas for my vase. Mr, Chinnery, of the
Treasury, also a collector, ran the contractor nearly
up to this sum. It may not be out of place to men-
don a few instances of the extreme fully of our
countrymen, who, in travelling on the continent,
think it incumbent on them to buy pictures, with-
out any previous knowledge of their value or their
merits. Few :of them ever think of looking at a
picture in their own country, the air of Italy alone
makes them amateurs."

We are enabled to repeat, from the best
authority, that the Kura firmly intends to visit Scotland
next Summer, and that the Quxxx and the Duke of
Sussex will accompany him. At present it is their MA.
JRSTIZIe intention to visit Slains castle, in Aberdeenshire,
the seat of the Earl of Exxot, and from thence to hold
a royal progress through Aberdeen, Perth, Stirling, and
Glasgow, to Edinburgh. This news, which, as we have
already said, we do not give on slight authority, will, we
doubt not, excite quite a sensation along the east coast.—
Edinbur9le Observer.

Whilst Louis XVIII. was residing at Hart-
well, he was frequently in the habit of changing horses at
the King's Arms Inn, at Berkhampstead, the landlord of
which has several daughters, with the eldest of whom
(who is represented to be a very sensible woman) Louis
was very fond of chatting ; and to enjoy this pleasure he
would frequently be driven to the inn, when no other pur-
pose called him that way. After the restoration Louts
invited his fair friend to come to Paris, whither she went
and was provided with apartments at the Tuileries. Louis
treated his guest with great respect, but scandal suggested
that his attentions were dictated by a warmer motive than
friendship. On the lady's return from Paris the injurious
rumour reached her ear; and she wrote a letter to a news-
paper denying its truth, in which she pleasantly observed,
that the King's Arms, at Berkbampstead, were the only
King's arms she was ever in. The deposed KlNti was ac-
customed to accompany Louts to the inn.— Times Cor-
respondent.

A ridiculous Spanish custom prevails still in
colemhia, of offering a visiter any thing he may admire
in his house. Mr. CAnE and myself were much amused
one morning at receiving a printed card from the Under.
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, with the following notice :
Senora de has the honour of offering for your
disposal a little 'girl which she has brought into the
world." Having half-a-dosen of my own in England, I
declined the polite offer of receiving the new-born babe.—
Colonel Hamilton's Colombia.

The following is a literal copy of a bill posted
in a neighbouring village :—" Lodgings to Let Gest Down
the Lane thears A parler and A kitchen and 3 Bed rooms
all redy furnekt and A nice Green Lawn in (runt."--
(Signed with the name of the lodging letter.)