The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-25 00:00:00

BRITISH FIRE OFFICE.

A general meeting of the proprietors of this Society,
pursuant to advertisement, was held yesterday, at the
Office, 429, Strand, for the purpose of declaring a divi-
dend. The usual routine business was gone through, and
the meeting adjourned at ono o'clock.

SIR JAMES GRAHAM AND SIR ROBERT
PEEL.—I never heard Sir James and Sir Robert but
once. It was when Sir Robert Peel was in office, and
Sir James Graham was in opposition. George IV. was
dead—but not buried. Sir James Graham chose that
particular period to charge the Government, of which
Sir Robert Peel formed a part, with fraudulently pilfer-
ing, for their own uses, some 80,0001. from the revenue
connected with the West Indies. I shall never forget
the indignation of Sir Robert at the charge, and " at the
unmanliness of making it when the King laid dead in his
palace." "It is too bad," three times reiterated the in-
sulted Baronet; and then he floored his accuser. I
thought he had made an end of him. Row little did I
then expect that those two Baronets would ever meet at
the same Council-Board !—R.O.—Oastler'sFketpaPera.

A breach of promise of marriage action, men-
tioned in the Globe a few evenings since, as uttying been
brought by a lady, aged 18, against a gentlemen of ad-
vanced years, and in opulent circumstances, and in which
the damages are laid at 5,0001., is made speci4l, and
stands for hearing in the Queen's Bench, 7th December.
The brief runs to 2,000 folios, and the case excites great
interest.
DOVER, Nov. 23.---(From our Correspondent.)
Their Excellencies Sir Robert Gordon, Ambassador to
Vienna, and Lord Burghersh, Ambassador to Berlin.
arrived last evening with their respective suites, and
proceeded this morning, in her Majesty's steamer,
Widgeon, Captain Scrivens, for Calais. His Excellency
General Sancho, appointed Ambassador to England
from the Spanish Government, is expected here daily.
Loss OF LIFE ON THE THAMES.—Yester-
day afternoon (Tuesday) about three:o'clock, the follow-
ing melancholy accident occurred in the river, close to
Woolwich. It appears that W. Morris, of White Horse-
street, Stepney, with IL Jabez Partridge, both coal heavers,
and who resided together in the same house, were em-
ployed by Mr. Pantsey to bring a barge of coals to Lime-
house, which they were doing, when Morris, who was
assisting to scull the barge, let his hat fall into the
water, Partridge caught hold of the hat with the scull,
Morris attempted to reach it with his hand, in so doing
be fell overboard, and almost instantly disappeared. -
GREAT FIRES.—The Moscow Gazette says,
that the excessive heat which' has prevailed during the
whole summer in the Government of Kiskama, has caused
extensive fires in the forests, which continued till the
middle of September, in spite of all the exertions made
to stop their progress.

FINE ARTS.

IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN LITHOGRA-
PHY.—HULLMANDEL'S LITHOTINT IL-
LUSTRATIONS.
A most valuable improvement has been made
in lithography, by a German artist, M. Hull-
mandel, which requires only to be known, to be
generally appreciated by all who take an inte-
rest in the progress of the Fine Arts. Like most
important improvements, it is extremely simple;
but simple as it is, it has baffled for a long series
of years the ingenuity of the ablest lithographers
in Europe, some of whom pronounced it im-
possible, and the majority, impracticable. At
i last, after twenty years' sedulous devotion to
the subject, M. Hullmandel has obtained
the desired results ; and as his discovery is one
likely to revolutionize the whole art of engraving,
as at present carried on, we subjoin his own in-
teresting account of it :—"Ever since the infancy
of lithography, hundreds of persons connected
with the art, have endeavoured to produce im-
pressions from stone, executed with the brush, in
the same manner as drawings are made with
seppia or Indian-ink. It was natural enough
that artists should make every effort to super-
sede the tedious and elaborate process by
which alone a liquid could be rendered avail-
able for the purpose of drawing on stone ; all
attempts, however, at producing variety of tints
by using the ink thicker or thinner failed,
the fainter lines either disappearing altogether,
or printing as dark as the thick ones. In the
efforts made to use ink as a wash, the result was
still more disastrous, producing only one dirty
mass of indistinctness, amid which the original
drawing was scarcely to be traced. I also,
among hundreds of other artists," M. Hullman-
del goes on to say, " for nearly twenty years, di-
rected my attention to the brush style without
success, until about a twelvemonth since, when
the means suggested themselves to me of ob-
taining results which had been previously de-
clared impossible. The whole of the prints now
submitted to inspection are executed with a brush
on stone, in the same manner as they would
have been drawn on paper, with seppia, &c.
Hence in these impressions all the raciness, the
smartness, and the beauty of touch are apparent,
hitherto only to be found in original drawings
on paper, the natural consequence of a process
which enables the artist to produce his ideas as
they are conceived. These impressions are, in
fact, all original drawings, and not the concep-
tions of men of talent, transmitted by the en-
graver. That no question may arise as to the
possibility of multiplying them to almost any
extent, I may be permitted to add, that the present
drawings had been printed to the extent of
eight hundred, before these impressions were
taken, without any perceptible deterioration."--
The importance of a discovery like this to the
Fine Arts is incalculable, and we can imagine
what magnificent works would now exist in the
collections of connoisseurs and amateurs, had
Rubens, Titian, Vandyke, and other great mas-
ters of art, been provided with such means of ex-
tending and multiplying their productions. The
extreme beauty of the tints are not among the
least remarkable features in the discovery.
Such lights and shades as it enables the
artist to give ! Such force and richness, and
rare picturesque effects ! How admirably
would it not have suited the purposes of a Rem-
brandt, with his deep, broad shadows; or of a
Claude with his sunny, lustrous perspectives!
We shall confidently hope to see the master-
pieces of Wilkie transferred, by means of this in-
vention, to stone, for nothing can give a more
vivid idea of his broad forcible colouring,
and those exquisite touches of character
for which he is so remarkable. Imagine
copies of his " Chelsea Pensioners," " Blind
Fiddlers," and "Penny Weddings," equal,
or all but equal, in truth and vigour
of effect, to the original paintings—circulated by
thousands among the people, and ornamenting
the humble dwellings of our English and Scottish
labourers ! Here will be a revolution worth
looking forward to—a quiet, social revolution,
not brought about by bloodshed or the strife of
contending factions, but by the ennobling and
beneficent powers of genius; and whose imme-
diate effects will be, to improve, refine, and
elevate the habits of the humbler classes of so-
ciety ! But it is time to give some notice
of the various Plates that are now lying
before us. Here is a sketch from a
painting by Harding, which possesses, by means
of the artful distribution of its tints, and the
spirit with which they are laid on, as much
breadth and force as the original itself. The
subject is a ruined castle, standing on a wooded
eminence which forms the intermediate distance
in the landscape; in the front ground is a bridge,
over which some peasants are passing, and in
the remote distance, blending their faint grey
summits with the horizon, are billowy ranges of
mountains. Nothing can surpass the bold-
ness and vivacity of effect visible through-
out this sketch. The rich foliage of the
wooded heights is not stiff and formal, and
wiry, as it is so apt to be in engraving on
steel and copper, nor sooty, as we often see it in
the ordinary lithographs; but waving, and rest-
less, as we find it in nature, and varying in its
shadows. Just between the ground, in a level
meadow at the base of the hill, and the lower
branches of sonic massive full-foliaged oaks; a
little pool of water is seen, glittering like a
sheet of silver in the sunshine ; and the
light here thrown in, is quite dazzling in its
effect, and has not often been surpassed even by
oils. In another Plate we have a view of the
interior of a ruined cathedral, with its broken,
mildewed columns strewing the ground, and the
rays of an evening sun shining in through its
Gothic windows, making desolation, if possible,
still more desolate. Facing the spectator is a
solitary individual who is busy digging a grave,
and has just thrown up a skull, on which the
sun's rays directly fall, giving a terrible reality
to its ghastly whiteness. The old man seems
well placed in such a situation; for he, too,
is a ruin, as we see by his wan, decrepid
figure, and the relaxed energy of his features,
in which extreme age and weakness are most
effectually shadowed forth. A third Plate re-
uprmebserangtseoau
umbrageous, sylvan
Glade—one
sketches, wof
which w
osehouuslvieedr.
is ~
mans so loved to paint. A fine vista here
visible through an opening in the wood,
and the perspective is managed with the
utmost adroitness. In the foreground, a
tumbling brooklet is seen making its way
in foam over small rocks and mounds of
earth ; but otherwise, all is stillness—perfect
stillness—the repose of the grave without its
gloom. In a fourth Plate, we have a spirited
sea sketch, whose freshness and nature will in-
stantly remind the spectator of Rnysdael and
Vandervelde. A brig is scudding full sail before
a brisk wind, while the risen waves are tossing
her about, as if she were a mere cork on the wa-
masses, there broken'
ter. What a spirit of life and animation breatheselouds
throughout this fine sketch ! The shifting
them_)
s. detached fragments, • with gleams
Illiperieuctoonhig,rieitg,ated in heavy
tell us
of sunshine bursting through
that , it is a bracing, autumnal day, and
that the vessel is making her way safely
and rejoicingly, despite the mad waves that dash
over ter prow. Of a far
different character is
the Plate representing a mother watching b the
sick-bed of her child, which • y
is as full of quiet
pathos, as the sea-piece is of b •
boisterous rejoicing.
The room is lit only by a si •
ngle rush-light, and
the farthest corner of it is consequently in
deep, black shadow. At the foot of the couch,
near a table on which stand one or two
physic bottles, is seated the
solitary figure
of the mother, h w ose face is turned from
the spectator, but we can readily guess at its
expression, when we glance at the features of
the restless invalid, which seem worn down with
pain and disease. The anxious parent evidently
fears that the shadow of the Destroying Angel is
already falling upon her child, else wherefore
that crouching figure, that downcast head,
and that hand spread out, as if in the
agony of despair? We have mentioned some
of those Plates that have most struck us by
the skill and spirit of their execution, _but all
of them deserve notice, for they are dashed
l
off with an ease and a freedom unknown, till
now, to the lithographic art. Mr. l
and most
will gain great celebrity by them;
deservedly so. for his discovery will be the means
,
ments ; and
diffusing a taste for the 03.
of multiplying our intellectual
Fine Arts, in their most
unadulterated fort':, among thousands
sterling,
who hitherto have never devoted so much as a
thought to the subj .
eet When our leisure serves,
we may perhaps take the opportunity of again
referring to these Plates.

DARING OUTRAGES IN HERT-
FOR.
A long inquiry took plaD
ceSHIRE before the Hon. Captain
Hotham, and a full bench of Magistrates, at the Shire-
hall, Hertford, on Monday, into the circumstances of a
daring assault and robbery, that took place in the neigh-
bourhood of that town on the evening of the 13th inst.
In addition to the offence which was the present subject
of inquiry, the parties in custody were suspected of
being concerned in another outrage of a similar character
upon a gentleman named Ford, belonging to the East
nalnedinawCheonllengne
hisat illvaayilefrjo'blnurny,erutfhoord was
tn
tshteopcnpendegeby,
and
knocked down and ill-treated by them. The proceed-
ings, in consequence, created a good deal of interest,
and the hall was filled by the inhabitants of the town
and neighbourhood during the inquiry.
The prisoners, Frederick Francis, alias Farley, Wil-
liam Aylott, alias Naylor, and William, alias Tucker
Smith, were charged with feloniously assaulting and rob-
bing William Edwards upon the Queen's highway.
The prosecutor, who is a veterinary surgeon, residing
at Puckeridge, stated that about a quarter to six o'clock
in the morning of Saturday, the 13th inst., he was riding
on horseback, about a mile and a-half beyond Benger,
on the road to Little Munden, when he came up to four
men, and as he passed them he wished them a good
night, and almost at the same instant one of the men
seized his arms, and another dragged him from his
horse and pinioned him to the ground, and one of them
placed his hand over his mouth while the others rifled
his pockets, and took from him some gold and silver
money; and also a silver watch and some other articles.
The men turned his horse loose, and when they had ob-
tained what they wanted they told him to go about
his business, and they then went towards the town of
Hertford. Having secured his hone witness proceeded
back to Benger, and gave information of the occurrence.
In answer to questions from the Bench, the prosecutor
said he was positive that Aylott and Francis were two
of the men who robbed him. He said that they both
assisted to pull him off his horse, and when he was upon
the ground Francis pinioned him while the others took
the money from his pockets. He could not speak posi-
tively to the identity of Smith, but he had very little
doubt that he was the man who first seized his horse.
William Sheffield, the landlord of the Globe public
house at Benger. proved that on the night of the rob-
bery the prosecutor came to his house, and informed him
of what had happened. He was covered with mud, and his
clothes were very much torn, and his pockets were
turned inside out.

Witnesses were then called, who proved that on the
night the robbery was committed, the prisoners had
been seen going in the direction of the place where it
occurred.

The prosecutor was recalled, and, in answer to a
question from the Bench, he said that, upon being in-
formed by the police that some persons were in custody,
on suspicion of being concerned in the attack upon him,
he went to the police station at Hertford, and he saw all
the parties separately, and he immediately identified
Francis and Aylott.
Mr. Knight, the Superintendent of the Borough Po-
lice, and Inspector Driscoll, of the Hertfordshire.Con-
stabulary, having proved the apprehension of the pri-
soners, the Bench were inform©d that this was all the
evidence that could be produced on the present occasion
in support of the charge.
The prisoners then called some witnesses for the pur-
pose of proving an alibi, but the evidence was not of a
satisfactory description, and the Bench ultimately re-
manded all the prisoners to the county gaol, in order to
afford the police an opportunity to make further inquiries.