The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-12 00:00:00

Li T,A4l‘x,

AN INQUIRY into' the AUTIIENTICITY of iiiriotts
PICTITRES and PRfNTS, which, from the decease of the
Poet to our own tirnee, ,have been offered to the public ay
PORTRAITS of SIiiiKPEABE ; containing a ,careful
examination of the evidence onwhich they claim
.to.lr
ceived; by which the pretended Portraitsl!ayl,?gpri redacted,
the genuine confirmed and established. 11lustrated byAccu-
rate and Finished . Pigr,ayings by the ablest Artists, from
such Originals-as were of indisputable attthority...; By 4,..,5t
Boeppi, Esq.

W. have:given the title, page of this,worknt
length, lrecauser the. work • itself, ,consisting, of
minute investigations, references, and consecutive
argninents„ hardly admits.,ef insulated extractg.
The dramatic productions of our great, our uh 4
riValledi Bard, have, been ,examined iwith
elaborate nicety, ,and. refinement, that, criticism
may :fairly be said to -have. ,accomplished. all
that criticism could accomplish. But admira-
tion admits of DO limits in considerin* the
wonderful effusions Of- 17isitOnse.—N6-44ifir—' -
in any age has ever, indeed, even
.approaclked:to
equality of geoius, His .-penetration.. into the
human heart, and his delineations of ail'tts simplest
and most complicated movements and affections,
cannot but excite astonishment. It is the boast
of our conritry to have given. birth to -this ivon.
derful Poet, and his, name, therefore,: is Inti-
mately connected. with the national glory.. All
that criticism coeld effect, as we have said,. has
been done in order, to develope his: meanings,
amidst the mist which time has spread over
his works, though much, very much, still remains
•to illustrate. his beauties. Much also has been
done to trace his history, and, perhaps, we must
.now relinquish all hope of making. new disco-
veries in that respect. Mr. - Mar.oNE, whose
laudable industry deserves the gratitude of every
admirer of SHAKSREA aF,and, of Course, , of every
enlightened reader,_ brought forth mail; valuable
Biographical Notices, which might have been more
successfully pursued if death had not deprived the
world of a sound scholar, an acute critic, and a
worthy man. Having so comprehensive a view of
the mind of our great Bard, it is natural thatman,
kind should be anxious to know something of the
person of this great ornament of human nature:
Mr. BOADEN, whose literary talents are well
known by his dramatic and other works, and
who has always been an enthusiastic admirer
of our Poet, may be fairly considered as well
qualified to make a:satisfactory inquiry upon this
interesting subject, and he has obviously_ spared
no labour in the attempt to asci!rtain the Point.'
Indeed, his entleavours ought grit to be styled an
attempt, for he appears to be completely success-
ful in proving what may be deemed' a certain
similitude of the- great original. We will state
the general contents of the work, because it is
not well susceptible of extracts. After a general
introduction on the interesting and important na-
ture of the inquiry, Mr. Boa Ins: examines, first,
MARTIN DROESHOLIT'S Print of SIIAKAPEARE,oe
the title-page of the first folio of his works, col-
lected and published by his friends and fellow
performers. The lICCU racy of this Print, faithfully
copied in the present Work by SWA I NE, is sup-
ported by some verses, to which • BEN' JoNsest has
annexed his initials. As this Print appeared a few
years after the Poet's death, and when hundreds,
from curiosity, admiration, and personal inter-.
course, must.have been too well acquainted with.
his features to admit of imposition, it must be-
inferred, whatever may be.its demerits in.point
of art, that it bore a complete resemblance of the
poet. 11E11J/sus and CON.D.ILL otherwise would.
.not have attempted to foist it on the world, and
BEN :I OHNSON never would have supported it by.
the authority of his sanction. Mr. BOADEN,
therefore, decides in favour of this Print, but he
examines the pretensions of all other imputed re,
presentations of the Poet with most diii4e nt
tit-
tention, acumen, and candour. The. next of the
general heads into which the volume is- divided
is the bust at Stratford-npon-.Avon, of 'which_
there is a fine'priiit from Rn accurate dfawing by
Mr. JOHN BOSOEN, son of the Author, a
portrait painter of considerable Merit. Then
follows an examination of the Chandos Head
froth the late Mr. 0.-Hustenavv's drawing.--
Both of these prints are admirably engraVed
'for this work by Sctuvra. Then follows a notice.
of the Portrait by ZUCCIIEROS supposed to.be
SIIRKSPEARE. After a slight hut satisfactory dis,
proval, Mr.-Boaoxn proceeds to.examiee the pre-
tensions of the portrait by CORNELIUS J SNSEN,
beautifully engraved iti tnezzotinto by C. Tuallya,
and finally the Felton Head, by an unknown
artist. We have not room for a !note; ample
notice of this interesting work, hark. WOnld be
unjust to Mr. TRIPHOOK, the publiifier, to
conclude without observing that 'by the handsome`
manner in which he has brought' it forward, and
the distinguished Artists who have furnished the
prints which enrich-it, it may be inferred that he
is
iLintthlye
gluaiurdya,
it as s,e,onislicbeirensotfi.iiethpebeitmwprr,tsaont;,.4en-
contributes, to the.
glory.-of our country, anti
whose works must excite. the admiration. of alt.
:future ages. •

A Jabourer, whitriployed iu excava44)g tke
mould, near the barrow. on. the Church Downs .for atones,, dug
op the remains of a human slteleton, :which hi careftik buried:-
If o came also in contact with a large ,amphoraana
Tit:, former he had nearly secured entire, knit-not having beeu
sufficiently cleared from the surrounding earth, it was, in tieing -
raised, unfortunately broken The other was Mutilated in the_
act of digging. There were the, appeniancm of sn.alh bones,
&c. inside.of those vases. It is probable the contents of this
barrow, or tumuli sepulchrak, had been deposited there
centuries.

On Thursday the- whole of the Macclesfiald
weavers returned to their labours, the Maste.p
having.given up the new arrangement which t"hiy
had proposed.

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