The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-22 00:00:00

powers. Women have long assumed the right to
wield the pen, and why should they not exhibit
equal talent in the exercise of the sister art. Thanks
are due to the enterprising and gifted ladies who
originated the idea of an exhibition exclusively
feminine, which should be the means of encourag-
ing artistic genius, and of bringing into public
notice works in every way worthy of the honour of
exhibition.

As might be expected, the subjects selected are
mostly graceful and tender. Childhood, fruit and
flower, landscape, and architecture' are of constant
recurrence. Some ladies. however, have taken a
bolder flight, and have grasped more diffi-
cult subjects. The very first picture in the cata-
logue, " The Retaliation Shot," by Miss Thompson,
represents a bandit with uplifted gun, taking aim
at his enemy. Somewhat ambitious in its scope
and design, too, is a large picture that at once at-
tracts the eye on looking up the gallery, "Bri-
tannia Rules the Waves," by Madame Jeric-
han, in which Britannia, a colossal figure
in red robes, is pointing to the subject waters.
This production, although powerful, is, we must
confess, more pretentious than pleasing. Another
lady who has covered a canvas of great extent
is Mrs. Swift, who, in her picture of " The Letter,"
has given us two figures of considerable size. The
meaning of the scene represented is not very clear,
and the faces, though well painted, are inexpressive.
Another figure piece by the same hand, " Portrait
of Miss Townley," would seam to indicate the pos-
session of considerable talent for portraiture. There
is a mistiness about the latter that deteriorates from
the effect, but the air is natural, and the appearance
lifelike. To find the gems of tne exhibition, how-
ever, the visitor must not look at the largest
frames, he must rather tura to the exquisite
fruit and flower pieces of Miss Emma
Walter or the charming figures of Miss Agnes Bou-
vier.

The latter lady, who beersa name fast
rising in artistic celebrity, has a special aptitude
for the felicitous representation of childhood, as
shown in the scene of the " Picture Book," where
a rosy faced little one is smiling over the wonders
of "Tom Thumb," which an elder sister more
gravely reads aloud (No. 99). Another equally
successful group by the same artist is " Coming from
the Farm''—where the little figures are trotting
down the country lane, carrying the tin can
with due solemnity. Other sketches by the same
facile pencil meet us on the wails, all admirably
painted, one in particular, " La Petite Brunette,"
rorming a charming study. If there is a fault to
be found amid so much beauty, it is that there
is a slight sameness in the faces. Each picture,
ssen by itself, is perfect, but looked at after its
fellows, there is a lack of variety in the expres-
sion, a defect which so gifted an artist can readily
supply on another occasion. Miss Walter's fruit
pieces might bear comparison with those by Lance.
The brilliancy of the colouring, and the natural els'
pearance of fruit and flowers, must rivet the atten-
tion of the most careless passer by. The bloom
on the grapes in No. 63 seems as though it might
be brushed by any casual touch, while the bright
yet delicate tints of the geranium leaves are ex-
quisitely pourtreyed. A kindred taste is shown
by Mrs. 'Withers in her study of "Roses," No. 52.
The landscapes are numerous and tolerably sue'
cessful, though there is a certain stiffness about
many of them that seems to indicate an unpractised
hand. Miss Bertram gives us a careful " Sketch of
Krenberg Castle on the Sound," and Miss Rent/.
portrays " A Forfarshire Den" with great spirit.
There is a pretty scene, called " On the Look-out,"
oy Miss Georgina Swift, showing two figures on
the sands. Mrs. Hussey has two companion pie'
tures, Nos. 118 and 138, representing "Evening on
Ulswater Lake," and " Early Morning on Der'
wentwater." They are somewhat ambitious at-
tempts, and not without success, but in the former
the reflection of the mountain in the lake is some'
what too prominent, while in the latter the pre-
valence of the morning mists is suffered to render
o
it indistinct. " Awakened Sorrows, Old Letters,''
by Margaret Gillies, shows considerable power;
the faces of the elder woman and her youthful cote'
tarter are well contrasted, and the sorrowful expres'
slob of the former is forcibly depicted. The length
of the arm round the girl's neck is too great, and the
position somewhat awkward—faults which do eht,
prevent the gazer from recognising the ability 0'
he artist. " The Brothers Grimm," is a very clever
portrait, in which the large sized heads seem almost
nature. It is the work of Madame Jerichau, the
same lady whose " Britannia" we mentioned above'
Miss Caroline Grierson has shown more ingenuity
than taste in painting a lady with a black net vet/
over her face. It is impossible not to admire the
skill of the painter, and equally impossible to all
the picture. It is not supposed that a branch
art in which a lady had acquired such a world-wide
reputation as Rosa Bonheur should be lett untried,
and according'y we have severs, sketches of animal
life. Miss Newcowen's "Shepherd Dog," Mil:,
Keating's "Galantine," and Mrs. Swift's" Blanche
are probably all drawn from life. We alluded to
;Nits. Swift's gift for portrait painting, and it eer:
taiuly extends to the animal world it Blanche se'
for her portrait. To judge from the animation
sparkling in her wonderfully bright eyes, she tullest
have found the task a tedious one. Very charmitni
too, is Mrs. Keating's Song of Praise" on Scree!
1., where a little Robin Redbreast is singing bib
morning song. The same lady has painted vilto
care and faithfulness a pair of dead pheasants--4,
easy task, as any one who has studied their bet/11°i
fully varied feathers, may guess. Mdlle. RaZ
contributes a charming picture, entitled " Lady'
bird, lady bird, fly away home." It is one of those;
delightful scenes of childish life, in which the fee! to
nine pencil especially excels. It is worthy 011101.,
that the pre-Raphaelite school has very few On
lowers. Miss Justine. Deffell's "Rustle among ti/i
Leaves," and Mrs. Thompson's "Ventnor" are tinge t
with its peculiarities. The fair exhibitors are 11°0
devoid of a sense of humour as is proved by 0111.1
of the clever sketches on the screen. Proneine'o
among these are Miss Florence Claxton's " Semis
from the Life of a Governess," and the same 1ec3,1.01
laughable illustrations of England versus Austral
oi
in which the various aspects of home and colel3to
ball-rooms, the different meanings attached is
" 'Wanted a Governess," and finally the loueil,
spinster and her cat, in one hemisphere, and the '4.0
tary bachelor, with his dog, in the other are haPPOI
contrasted. Miss Adelaide Claxton, whose ele'it
illustrations of one of our serials, will be fresh o/
the recollections of its readers, is also among .0
contributors. Sculpture has also her votarlo
Miss Durant having contributed three very able eo
elaborate marble bas-reliefs representing Thetis 60
Achilles. Thetis mourning over the dead 15A3,1001
the hero is, perhaps, the best. Last, but not ieflei
of the works mentioned in the cataloue ere 00
admirably executed bronzes, representing
sheep in various attitudes. They are all excel;sf
but one of the bulls and the " Brebis debout jot o
perhaps the best. It is surprising that the snaps
such successful works should withhold her to
We heartily congratulate. the lady artists
.oes ss
nigh degree of merit which their exhibitiouctis
attained, and which we cannot douht will s'
the support and countenance of the public.
cattle 41

whew.
There are some writers—Fuller, Sir
Browne, Burton, Izaak Walton, Sir Thomas Overttr):o
example—who must be read with the adjuncts of gate
paper, long a's and obsolete spelling, if you would c
the full aroma of their quaintness.
CAMPBELL'S " iiOIIENLINDEN.”—EveIY n 3 4
eishman remembers Campbell's noble p°"-t0
" Hohenlinden ;" but few perhaps had considered, ilinrepil
Edward Cust led the way, how entirely that poem l'vsmeet'
gents all tile circumstances of the battle which it 11.-5 Celt
so famous. it is about as near to tact as is Davi" ocit
brated picture of Bonaparte crossing the Alps on e stoat,A
charger to the reality of the passage of the St• :;,tto,c.;
Ihe essence of the poetical Hohenlinden is a titgPt- re"
But the true battle of Hohenlinden began at eight
o'clock in the morning. It in very likely that the fro
flows swift and dark in winter, bat it flows mallY
liohenlinden It does, indeed, wash the walls '
and banners may have waved upon those walls 'f: rbecoll
their waving have had less influence upon the bettle,rpe
invisible, through distance, from the scene of it. Pc;
;eature common to the real and the imagined 9t. tl
was the snow, which fell heavily during, altheugtbe P°
not cover the ground before, the battle. perhg
never heard that slush and mud were the allies of taus
Hohenlinden, and that Moreau won the battle hlo.'irogl3
.ccurately how long his assailant would stia and 0.010.
in the boggy forest-paths, where it was no 1320terli'dge.
rush to glory than it is to gallop over an AlPille