The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-17 00:00:00

PUIVATE VIEW of MRS. PARKES'S
(LATE MR. BOWYERS) ILLUSTRATED BIBLE.

In Lamartine's late poem, "La Chute d'un
Ange," he represents his holy hero as having in
his possession an inestimable Bible, which
buckled together with diamonds, and whose co-
verlid blazed with gold. Mrs. Parkes's Bible (at
the private view of which, yesterday, we ma de it
our duty to attend), though it attracts not eqt tally
by external show, yet from its intrinsic contents
is invaluably precious; and the recondite and. re-
markable nature of these, reasonably allow it to
be reckoned an unique and unparalleled book—
the " fins forum" of Bibles. The entirety of
our authorised Bible, including the Apocrypha,
is comprehended in forty-five large folio volumes.
Of these heavy tomes the text-leaves occupy
but an inconsiderable portion, the grand bu2k of
the work
,being swelled out by 7,000 engravings,
which, on every imaginable subject have, by
the labour and research of years, been gradu-
ally accumulated and set in order. bean:6
a solitary bible-point of interest, whether
scientific, geographical, historic, or scenical,
but here assumes to itself some pictured
form. You open a page of Genesis, and forth-
with your eye is greeted with some early charto-
grapher's plan of " Eden I.cl-1 in bdellium and
the onyx-stone,"—or some painter's imagination
of her sparkling primal bowers. The " gopher:-
trees," about which there has been a world of
learned criticism, are so represented from spe-
cies existing in the Holy Land, tha.t you at once
acknowledge them the same with which Noah
timbered his Deluge-ark. Passing par hazard
to the Exody, Bishop Shuckford's or Piideaux's
I elaborate arithmetic on the dimensions of the
Ark and Temple puzzle not the brain a second ;
the " golden measuring-reed" of the artist has
already anticipated all perplexity, and helps you
at once to ell and cubit. Instead of poring over
the prosy " Prolegomena" of Dr. Walton, or the
" Phaleg and Canaan" of Bochart for satisfaction
on some geographical point, here map and chart
ensure your accuracy at a glance, and all localities
from Dan to Beersheba, from the shores of
Joppa to the Hills of Aramoea, appear clear to
the eye, as if the actual country were reflected
on the retina. Pass to the animal department,
and the ant and the unicorn—Queen Sheba's
apes and Zachariah's red horses, are one and all
illustrated. The magna and minima of the
vegetable kingdom, " from the cedar pt. Le-
banon to the hyssop that springeth up on the
wall," are as copiously displayed as ever thOY
were in Solomon's lost book. In fine, a com-
pleter " Apparatus Biblicus" could not be ;
while the Allegories, Types, and Parables—the
scenes or shadows of mysterious or historical
grandeur with which the Bible abounds, from the
times of the Patriarchs to the " latter days of
Revelation," are amply illustrated by transcripts
from the lofty paintings which a host of men,
with Rafaelle, Rosa, and Angelo, imagined.
The original draughts of De Loutherbourg
for Macklin, form spirited attaches to the begin-
nings and ends of the sacred books. They are
struck off in the style of Blake's uncouth imagin-
ings, and are invested with a vague and mystic
symbolism. The Dutch and Flemish schools
most prolifically furnish every page. Next to
these appears the Roman school, with the name
of " Legion ;" while the French and English
studios are comparatively scant of contribution ;
but these, if few, are fine. Mezzotints, etchings,
wood engravings, and the fine steel and copper
productions of the present day, abound iu every
variety, from the largest plate to the minutest
block, in the shape of fleurons, tail-pieces, or
vignettes.

We would briefly observe, in conclusion, that
the obscurity of many texts i 3 far better eluci-
dated by these pictorial commentaries than by
all the annotations of the " Critici Sacri." Con-
troversy as to whether Leah's mandrakes were
lilies or jasmine, colocynth or balsam, is best
settled by seeing the plant itself, and calling it
by its Chaldee name, Dudaim. The Teraphim
of Laban are no longer stumbling-blocks, when
the identical idols appear upon the page.
This invaluable Bible is now advertised for
3,000 guineas; equal it has none : and by the
easy arrangements for its disposal by ten guinea
tickets, will become the property of some one
for comparatively less than a pepper-corn.
Mr. Hilton's picture of the Triumphal Entry
of the Duke of Wellington into Madrid, forms a
second prize, for 500 guineas; there are other
valuable engravings also on view.

FINE ARTS.
CANADIAN SCENERY.
Virtue, London, 1841.

In this Part there are not less than four en-
gravings, one of which, called " The Squaw's
Grave," deserves great praise as a carefully exe-
cuted work of art. It represents a scene on the
Ottawa River, which spreads out, like a huge
lake, to the extreme verge of the horizon, while
its banks, which form the foreground of the
picture, present to the eye as picturesque an ob-
ject as could be desired. The literary descrip-
tions of Mr. 'Willis are passable enough.

SCENERY and ANTIQUITIES of IRELAND.
Virtue, London, 1841.
_ _

Though inferior to Mrs. Hall's splendid work on
Ireland, and far more limited in its plan, yet the
present publication is not without its value, for
its plates are invariably good, and some of them
of superior excellence. Of such a character is
the sketch of Ross Castle, in the enchanting
neighbourhood of the Killarney lakes, which is
touched off with singular grace and delicacy.
The little wooded islands in the background,
whose shadows are reflected in the serene, wave-
less waters, and the bold ruins of the rock-based
castle in front, give great beauty and variety to
the landscape. The letter-press portion of the
work is but indifferent.