The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-08 00:00:00

JAMES DUFFIELD HARDING.

The announcement of the death of the most
eminent teacher of drawing in London, and one of
the most conspicuous water-colour painters of hiB
time, will be received' with deep regret by the
public. Few abler painters in his own liue lived;
a more conscientious master never.

James Duffield Harding was born at Deptford in
1798. His father was a pupil of Paul Sandby's.
He himself had 15 lessons or so from Prout. Once,
by the advice of his mother, he attempted to draw
the trees in Greenwich-park, but failed, and became
a pupil of an engraver. After a year some fresh
sketches of his from nature were painstaking and
successful. At the age of 18 he received the silver
medal of the Society of Arts.
He now became a teacher of drawing, but he was
not content with merely touching up the exercises
of his pupils. He taught drawing so that his pupils
might regard it as a means of studying nature and
the higher branches of art. Most characteristically
he wrote in the preface to his " Guide and Com-
panion to Lessons in Art;"—" I particularly desire
it to be understood that every page has been writ-
ten under the guiding principle that all true educa-
tion, of whatever kind, consists in the cultivation
of judgment. The conviction of the applicability
of knowledge is the starting-point and momentum
of education. By this we arrive at correct opinions
and sound judgment. This is the guiding star of
the dawning mind. It marks its maturity and
adorns its age."
Mr. Harding, as a teacher, was remarkable in
more ways than one. He found great difficulty in
finding examples of foliage for his pupils, and he
turned his attention to the study of lithography.
To his practised hand stone was no more difficult to
work on than paper. Some of Mr. Harding's sketches
are beautiful specimens. He was one of the first
also to work on stone with a brush instead of a
crayon, whereby greater facility in labour was en-
sured. His remarkable work, " Sketches at Home
and Abroad," which he published in 1836, was a
splendid proof of his ability. In his " Park and
Forest" (folio), the studies of trees are inimitable
for fidelity and brilliancy—true to nature, and bril-
liant in artistic effect.

Mr. Harding was one of the prin3ipal member,
of the Old Society of Painters in Watercolours. It
he was not the first to adopt the process of using
body colour instead of transparent colour, he was
the first who carried it out to any great extent, and
it has since been carried out in all figure and land-
scape painting.
Ten or twelve years ago Mr. Harding took to oil
painting, and his works were marked by facile exe-
cution and brilliant touching. He desired admissinl
to honours of the Royal Academy, and, in eompli,
anco with the absurd rule which forbids a candidate
from being a member of any other artistic society,
he severed his connection with the Society of Pain
ters in Water-colours. lie was not admitted A. R"
A.,
and after some time he rejoined his old society, of
whict he was the ornament.

Mr. Harding'a sketches present every val:iety,
ranging from Great Britain to France, the Yyrol,
,he Alps, Italy and Germany, sea and land, mono
,ain and plain, palace and cottage.

TICE ROYAL .tTYLE.—The King of the Greeks ha,
written to congrat-alate his father on his accession to tic,
throne. The letter commences with the usual, formula
among crowned heads, " Monsieur mon FOre,",

-0 •
tiurt y

HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Dec. 7.
The Queen, attended by the Hon. Mrs. Bruce,
walked and drove in the grounds this morning.
__

Her Royal Highness Princess Louise took a car"
riage drive.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Prussia,
attended by Major von Selaweiniiz, and her Royal
Highness the Crown Princess, attended by Countess
Hohenthal and Count Furstenstein, went to
London,

The Prince of Wales.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and
the Crown Prince of Prussia, attended by General
Knollys and Major-General the Hon. A. N. Hood,
left the Windsor terminus of the Great -Western
Railway, in a first-class carriage attached to the
ordinary passenger-train, at 1015 a.m. yesterday'
for Paddington, in order to visit the Smithfield
Club Cattle Show, at the Agrieultural Hall, Islloel°
ton. The train conveying their Royal Highnesses
reached London at eleven o'clock.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, se'
companied by their Royal Highnesses the Prince
Royal of Prussia and the Duke de Brabant,
honoured with their company last evening the
performance of " Bel Demonio" at the Lyceuel
Theatre.

The Duke and Duchess of Manchester, Wl°
arrived in town yesterday from Paris, left in the afternoon
on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, at
leshall, Shropshire.
The Duke and Duchess of Argyll will leave toifd
at the close of the week for Inverary, N. 8., for the 071
weeks preceding the opening of Parliament.
The Earl of Westmoreland, according to the
latest telegram, is progressing favourably, and all danger i 6
supposed to have now passed away.
His Excellency the Earl of Carlisle, the Lardf
Lieutenant of Ireland, will leave town towards the close °f
the week for Castle Howard, Yorkshire, and will depart for
Dublin early in the ensuing week.
The Earl of Sefton arrived in town on Saturdsi
from Croxteth Park, near Liverpool, and yesterday left °llt
a visit to the Marquis and Marchioness of Winchester, '3
Amport House, Hants.
We learn that the Earl of Radnor continues le
excellent health. His lordship has entered his 85th year'
and resides chiefly at his seat in Berkshire, dispensing hoar
pitality to all classes.
The Countess of Listuwel, who came to toso
from the Earl of Carysfort's seat, Elton Hall, I°3
Belgrave-square yesterday for Convamore Park, coauti
Cork.
Lord Wodehouse is expected to leave England
to .morrow on his special mission to Copenhagen, as Alinir
ter Extraordinary to the King of Denmark. The 11°,,.
Mr. Wodehouse, brother of his lordship, is likely to r
selected as secretary to his lordship's mission, and Will
leave the Hague to-day to enter on his duties.
Lord Richard Grosvenor, M.P., has arrived
Calverly Park on a visit to the Earl and Lady Constan°
Grosvenor.

Lord and Lady Rivers passed through Seerl2:
ampton yesterday for their seat Cranbourne Chase,; *-
Dorsetshire,
Sir J. Lawrence, the newly-appointed Viceral
of India, had an interview with the Right Hon. Sir CIS°.
Wood, at the India-office, yesterday. Later in the d3Y:
Sir John had a long audience with the Right Hon. t'"
Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Sir Henry and the Hon. Lady St. John ,viiidoar
are receiving a succession of visitors at their family seat'
Dogmersfield Park, Hants, on the occasion of the coul;t'
assizes.
Mr. W. B. Beaumont, M.P., and Lady Margaret
Beaumont arrived at their residence on the Terrace, Picca-
dilly, last evening, from a Continental tour.
The Dean of Bristol and Mrs. Elliot have re'
turned to their winter residence, York.crescent, Cliftoot
from Ventnor.

THE GALE-LIFEBOAT SERVICES,

ABERYSTWITH, Monday Night.

In addition to the brief report which I forwarded on
Saturday, I am happy to add that the lifeboat of the
National Institution has returned home from her mission
of mercy, having fairly won her laurels for the Qrst doe'

I stated that the lifeboat went out on Saturday about three
p.m., in the direction of Aberayron, a distance of 15 miles'
The night having set in, and being pitch dark, the crow
could see nothing whatever of the vessel supposed to be
in distress, but they bravely hold on until 11 o'cl°clr'
when they went into Newquay, twenty miles from
Aberystwyth. There they heard of the position °f
the vessel, and were told that a boat from Neicque):
had boarded her, and had brought ashore the captaid;
wife and children. Early on Sunday morning the Web°
went off to the ship and put five of her crew on board. After
immense difficulty and great danger they succeeded in
bringing the ship and her crew safely into Aberystvil''
The lifeboat behaved admirably on this occasion, and ;liner
crew have unbounded confidence in her. A great des
'
anxiety prevailed throughout Saturday night and Sal'cl;enl
morning as to the fate of the lifeboat, as well as the sl37'
no tidings having been received of either, but when 13°13.
vr
returned to port they were welcomed by hundreds of cileei;
ful hearts. The vessel proved to be a brig belonging
Scilly, bound from Dublin to Cardiff. The cost of this life'
boat was presented to the institution by Mrs. B. o.°a;
and the boat is called The Evelyn Wood," after au ogle"
of that name who received the Victoria Cross for his die'
tinguished services in the Crimea.

SYMPATHY.—The crew of the lifeboat at Filey, who Well
off to'save two out of three fishermen who had been capsi°-
from their coble during the late heavy storm, have gees'
rously handed over to the widow of the poor fisherman vri3('
.
was drowned on the occasion, the reward of £6los grolteA
-
to them by the National Lifeboat Institution for their
prompt and valuable services. When the coble was upset
the poor man in question sank at once, having probabli
been injured in the head by the capsizing of the coble.
her
will be remembered that the lifeboat had only been on
station a few days, and that her cost was the generous gift
to
the institution of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress °I
York.
The following is a list of the noble services rendered by
the boats of the National Lifeboat Institution during the
fearful gales of last week :—Barquo Ina, of North Shields,
14 men saved ; ship David White Clinton, of New Yor'
8 ; fishing boat of Tenby, 3 ; schooner blargaret and Jaue:
of Dublin, 5 ; barque Duke of Northumberland, 13 ;
ing boat of Filey, 2 ; schooner Economy, of Portmadoct.
saved vessel and crew of 5 ; lugger Vigilant, of Peel, savecir
vessel and crew of 4 ; ship Jupiter, of London, 8 ; schopoc,
Maria, of Amlwch, 4; schooner flurry Russell, of Gissi
gow, saved vessel and crew, 6; schooner L'Esperance,
Nantes, 2; schooner Elizabeth, of Whitehaven, 4 ; barntif
Elizabeth Morrow, of Glasgow, 19 ; barque Confidence/
Liverpool, 23—Total, 125. Making a grand total of 3'7;
lives saved by the lifeboats of the institution during the
present year alone. Besides these services, the lifebost,
of the society at Walmer, Eastbourne, Aberyretwith, Bad%
haven, Southport, St. Ives, Lytham, and Fishguard, Pt/f
off on Thursday and Friday last, in replies to signals °
distress, with the view of saving life from various ves3els.lO
but they were not afterwards required. These services o't
often attended with as much danger as when the lifeb°3o
brings a shipwrecked crew ashore, the gallant men IvijA.
Indeed, in the case of the Walmer lifeboat the crow Were
man the lifeboats oftentimes being thoroughly
out 11 hours, and returned home nearly perished with Co'.:
The Ramsgate lifeboat, which is on the plan of the instil
tution, although not under its charge, was also instalheell.g
during the gales of Thursday and Friday last, in 53°,,113nr
ex batiste;
102 lives from various shipwrecks en the coast! Altob
nearly 14,000 li\ees have been saved from various 41.
wrecks since the first establishment of the Lifeboat in%it
tution, for which it has granted rewards. A boat of its g,r-no
life-saving fleet, now numbering 125 boats, is found
yearlarg e tok.ee
annualp istuunps
issifienoc,t, ii vs
pe leyn,s
ai
bt
nearly every dangerous part of oar coast where' they ‘,411().-a
efficiently worked. As each lifeboat requires about
gzebs in its good work. l'ovittol at
the e°j2icL itiet seen
`)

THE CATII-----EDItAL oF-I,`")T.---------DAVIDTS,-havitlf; bC,c„".
reported by Mr. G. G. S.:;ott t 0 be in a dangerous andoPi
greacm,e_ful cis.ond3ioti,oono,oi.s to be restored. The estimated cost,,
IVla EDITION
PONrOeFss,Oxford, iien
burgh,in p
BISHOP .BERNELEY'SWOI,..i't,
t'
rbk:i A \
mt
e d i brE
to
hrke Cy
Professor Fraser,
stood to !lave given ranch attention to 13erkeley and rebus°
,ofEdrepa who ratio% tudear
e:
temporaries, and their controversies. 6°Ve ral
A young son of Queen Poinar6, and
to Franca8
Tahitians, her relatives, who have gone to
for their education, are now at Nis:nes. They are 1):60
the winter at the educational establishment at
near Auch, under the direction of the Freres do Ploerraot
to whose care they have teen cot:la-led. r, A ;rig,'
DEATH OF A GENTENARIAN.—On. the aa *-- ,t
Thomas Davies, a superannuated pilot, died at Frog.s.t'e-,2!A
Swansea, having attained the age of ICO years, Will'l,l',3.
days. Deceased was born on the 25th of Dccetaber,i.,;,,),
Consequently, had he survived until next Christrao
he would have been 100 years old.
" La PLesie et l'Eicquence a Rome,
" is the
Dille
°f
a new work by Jules Janie.