The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE;

The Seven Ages of Man. Described by William
Shakespeare. Depicted by Robert Smirke.

L. Booth.

We presume that we are to regard this beautiful
little limp-bound quarto volumette but as the pre-
cursor of a far nobler work of a similar character,
now fast preparing for publication by Mr. Booth.
The celebrated Shakespeare Gallery, that is to say,
which that enterprising publisher now announces
as almost immediately forthcoming. In it, that is
in the Gallery thus declared to be upon the eve of
making its welcome and timely appearance—
timely we mean as in opportune anticipation of the
approaching ShaksperianTercentenary—no less than
❑inety-eight Photographs of Engravings from
Pictures by the most eminent of English Masters,
Pictures every one of them, of course, illustrative
of the Dramatic Works of William Shakspere,
are to be comprised. In truth—a noble
gallery ! A superb preliminary celebration of the
glory of S hakspere's genius—before the actual advent
of the date of the grand tercentenary anniversary !
Meanwhile, as an avant courier to this far grander
undertaking of the Shakespeare Gallery,
there has just now been issued from the press
by Mr. Booth, a charming collection of photographs
of the seven beautiful pictures by Robert Smirke,
illustrative of the immortal description (act ii., sc.
vi., of " As you Like it") the wonderful descrip-
tion of " The Seven Ages of Man" These
Seven Ages dating aceording to Arnold's
Chronicle, ed. 1811, p. 157), the First (" Infancy")
from birth to Seven, the Second (" Childhood") to
Fifteen, the Third (" Adolescence") to 7wenty-Five,
the Fourth (" Youth") to Thirty-Five, the Fifth
(" Manhood ") to Fifty, the Sixth (" Maturity") to
Seventy, the Seventh and last (" Old Age") leading to
Death through second childhood and extreme de-
crepitude. Prefixed to the little series of these
same charming photographs from Smirke's original
paintings, are two other photographs represent-
ing the head of Shakspere. One of them, a
minute fac simile of Droeshout's well-known
Engraving, the other of a slight outline sketch of
the still better known Stratford Bust. As for the
seven photographs after Smirke, they are everything
that could really be well wished for, in that way,
as photographs—having been, every one of
them, most carefully, one might almost think,
tenderly manipulated. It is curious to note,
by the way, two very glaring errors of
Smirke's own making as an illustration of the words
of Shakspere—mistakes made by Smirke in conse-
quence of his flourishing himself in an essentially
close-shaving age ! One is, his portraiture of the
Soldier " bearded like the Pard," as a smooth-faced
warrior with the faintest suspicion of the merest
hint of a most delicate moustache ! The other
being Smirke's still more ridiculous limning of the
Justice with " beard of formal cut"—of a cut so
formal, indeed, that it (the beard) is cut
off altogether! Nothing this Christmas-tide could
well have come out more exquisitely a propos,
as a little gift book, than this gracefully thought of
set of embellishments to one of the most world-
famous fragments of poetry—" familiar in our
mouths as household words"—from the Dramas of
Shakspere.

Faith—Hope—Charity. Illuminated. By Mrs.

F.. G. Delamotte.

During the last few years there have been issued
to the public in this country many brilliant evi-
dences of the revival of the long-neglected and at
one time, indeed, almost abandoned art of
illumination. At the head of this revival has
unquestionably stood Mr. Owen Jones. Others have
co-operated in various ways with that eminent
master in the art of colouring and general illumi-
nation, whether as applied to Books or to Build-
ings, whether in connection with Printing or
with Architectural Decorations. And thus—by
the combined efforts of many fellow labour-
ers in the same good and lovely work
of illumination, the reviving art has long
since begun to flourish anew in earnest.
As signally indicative of which, it would really
be enough to direct attention—as we have
here in truth much pleasure in doing—
to these three exquisite exemplars of the
artist's cunning skill of hand and exquisite taste as
an illuminator. If we were to make a choice of
one out of the three, we should be compelled to
acknowledge that Mrs. Delamotte has fairly be-
wildered us ! "Faith" with its deep blue sky studdea
with golden stars—" Hope" with its delicious sprays
of May-blooms, here the pink, here the white blos-
soming hawthorn—" Charity" garlanded with holly
and ivy, the holly with its scarlet, the ivy
with its blue-black berries ! They are each of
them eminently beautiful, and published, as they
are, together, they seem to bring out their very
dissimilar graces and splendours all the more
vividly to the beholder's appreciation by the mere
force of contrast.

Manhattan—Scraps from his Last Letter,

" STILL ALIVE!"

The last words that were spoken by the late
Daniel Webster were, "I still live." It was con-
sidered very remarkable at the time that he should
have possessed such extraordinary knowledge up to
the last moment of his life. The sentence has been
preserved by the Whig prosterity, and filed away
among the archives of great sayings by our great
American men, such as " The Union, it must and
shall be preserved "—by Jackson ; " Don't give up
the ship "—by Lawrence ; " All men are born free
and equal, except niggers"—by Jefferson ; " Mil-
lions for defence, but not a cent for tribute "—by
General Washington. " I shall live," was good in
its day. It applied to Webster then; it applies to
the great Democratic party now. It has been sup-
posed to be dying for some months, but it has said
"I still live," upon two recent occasions.

" EPIGRAM ON OLD ABE."
Some months ago the following epigram appeared.
It is doubly applicable since the. last proclama-
tion :

" Honest Old Abe, when the war first began,
Denied ' Abolition' was part of his plan I
Honest Old Abe has since issued decree,
The war must go on 'till the slaves are all free.
As both can't be honest, will some one tell how,
If ' Honest' Abe then, he is Honest Abe now ?"
" MR. LINCOLN'S LONG FEATHER."

A very curious statement has been made by a
person who must be upon excellent terms with
Minister Adams. I presume the person is Beecher.
He says that when Mr. Seward was absent in the
West skylarking with Lord Lyons and the other
foreign Ministers, Mr. Lincoln got excited and went
to letter-writing. He addressed a letter to Mr.
Adams. It contained this :
What do the British Government mean ? What do they
want ? Do they really want war ? It may be the most
disastrous thing in the world for us ; and it is certainly
what we most earnestly desire to avoid; but if those rams
are permitted to leave England the people will force us into
war, whether we wish it or not. We shall not be able to con-
trol their exasperation, and the British Government ought
to understand this.

Mr. Adams was delighted at getting a letter in
the hand-writing of the President. He called upon
Earl Russell and said :

I do not call upon your lordship in my official capa-
city. But 1 have received a plain, outspoken, sincere
letter from President Lincoln, which, though addressed to
me as a private epistle, and not as an official document, I
am sure was not designed to be withheld from your know
ledge.
Earl Russell listened attentively,
and Adams
concluded :
This is not diplomacy, your lordship, but the honest,
straightforward dealing of a plain, blunt, honest man, as is
Mr. Lincoln.
Within twelve hours after the order for the
detention of the rebel rams was promulgated, and
to the President is duo the credit of effecting what
cap that he will keep it
Seward could never ha, o done. Old Abe consider:,
athheer in his
gets back to Illinois after his
Russell 0 Is— ho made that
letter public ? Was it Minister
fasten it upon the .british Secretary,
thisP locked
res do e long
In
, . )7antfirerl he question .
Iv
I Adams, or Mr.
Lincoln, or Earl
affect
memory
as it does not
thihse,l,had a copy furnished to him ; his
.e could hardly have retained the
exact words,