The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-08 00:00:00

FINE ARTS.

BURGER'S LEON 0 RA. Translated by Julia M.
Cameron ; with Illustrations by Daniel Maelise, R.A.
Among the numerous offerings of song from Germany,
this noble and celebrated ballad is one of the worthiest,
and it is here produced by Messrs. Longman in a gor-
geous arabesqued binding, printed on glazed paper almost
as massive as cardboard, and in type of the German cha-
racter. Tu the lovers of ballad poetry what a feast is
not here! The genius of Burger, the accuracy of Miss
Cameron, and the imaginatio❑ of Maclise! And who
was not already familiar with the verses of Leonora?
Who had not already hung over that thrilling tale,
rivetted by the horror of its catastrophe, and entranced
by the music of its diction? Who had not already
mourned for, and with Leonora, and followed her breath-
lessly through her flight with the goblin horseman?
Those vsho had nut will find a now field for their ad-
miration in the present version, embellished as it is by
the poetic fancy of Daniel Maclise. Those who, like
ourselves, were, long before its publication in this form,
lovers of this masterly ballad, will derive new pleasure
from its appearance under a guise so novel and so beauti-
fully appropriate. Although there is a glaring absence
of the renowned lines in the translations of Taylor and
Scott—

"Tramp, tramp, across the land they rode,
Splash, splash across the sea ;"
that very omission is admirable as a token of the rigid
manner in which Miss Cameron has adhered to the text
of the original. Besides, as that lady judiciously inti-
mates her preface, the introduction of the sea, in the
interior of Germany, is somewhat of a solecism. The
success. with which Miss Cameron has rendered Burger's
words i.nto English, without scarcely the alteration of a
syllable, is extraordinary : and, although she adheres
strictly to the text of her author, she in no measure
trammels the ideas or fetters the rhythm. Maclise has
drunk deeply of the spirit of the poem, his pencil has
been the truest interpreter of the " sentiment" of
Leonora. The drawings, which have been dexterously
engraved by John Thompson, are exquisitely classical;
two of them are not unworthy of the hand which limned
that splendid cartoon of the Genius of Chivalry which
some time back hung in the south-western corner of
We4minster Hall. In the first delineation there is
an animation in the crowds in the background,
which contrasts charmingly with the pensiveness of
the solitary figure in the foreground. The victorious
battalions are returned, they are marching homeward
through the streets, and the maiden is looking anxiously
among; he warriors for her betrothed—
" But why stands Leonora there
Alone, amongst the rest,
Whilst all embrace? To her pale lip
No loving lip is prest."
The face of Leonora is beautiful as the dreamings of a
poet. Miss Cameron has translated the subsequent
stanzas with singular felicity and power. The ravings
of Leonora in her grief, her wild and blasphemous ex-
clamations in answer to the solace offered by her
mother, and the broken colloquy which ensues between
them is only inferior to the original of Burger, in pro-
portion to the appropriateness of the language in which
the thoughts were conceived. "God is love," says the
mother. "0l mother, mother, lost is lost," cries Leo-
nora. When the mother insists that " All that God
doth is wisely done," Leonora exclaims, almost beside
herself with sorrow, " Oh! mother, God bath not well
done," the mother bids her calm herself by thinking of
God and heaven; and then comes that most impassioned
verse—

" Oh, mother, mother, what is heaven?
Oh, mother, what is hell ?
To he with William, that's my heaven ;
Without him, that's my hell."
It is in the simplicity of the translation that we con-
ceive that the success of Miss Cameron's version consists.
She has contented herself with allowing the language of
Burger to be heard in all its purity without attempting
any alterations of her own. The most admirable draw-
ing by Daniel Maclise, in the collection is, to our think-
ing the one prefixed to the lines:—
" Now, nearer draws the funeral train ;
Like croak of frogs resounds the strain.
Why tolls the bell? Who, solemn, say,
Dust unto dust, and clay to clay ?"
The posture of the horse, and the grouping of the
spectral figures, with which the air is filled, are the pure
emanations of artistic genius. The volume altogether
is a beautiful novelty.

ROYAL GEMS FROM THE GALLERIES

OF EUROPE. Part XII.

Gladly do we observe a continuance of ability
in this interesting serial, and a promise that on
its completion the subscribers will be possessed of
a very valuable treasury of pictorial art. The
celebrated picture by Rubens of " Saint Martin
dividing his cloak" is here given ua by the graver of if.
Robinson. Excepting that there is an inelegant harsh-
ness in the delineation, of the mendicant woman and her
children, and a striking deficiency of expression in the
features of the principal figure, the plate, as a specimen
ot manipulation, is successful. " The Siren "ofJ. G.
Middleton is the second engraving, but although there is
much skill in the management ot the lights and shades,
and in the disposition of the drapery, there is an ab-
sence of espitglerie in the countenance of the Siren
which militates against the production as an accurate
copy. "'The Way-side Fountain," from the original of
Berghem, is a cool and Cuyp•like landscape.

TME CHRISTIAN IN PALESTINE. Part XI.

- .
Often as we have eulogised this periodical, we have
never yet been disposed to do so with more alacrity
than at present. The portraitures of scenery are
iu their way inimitable, and, from the extraordinary
and paramount fascination of Holy Land, they are
always and peculiarly attractive. From the brevity of
our space at this moment, we are compelled to do
nothing more than enumerate the plates contained in the
eleventh part, just published. Those plates are the
" Plain Er-Itahah," the " Mount of Olives," the " Dead
Sea," and " Sarem." The publication deserves success.

LE FOLLET.
Strange as it may appear to notice an ephemeral
hand-book of the fashion under the heading of the
" Fine Arts," we do so with premeditation. Le Follet
is totally different from anything of the kind that has
been hitherto issued. Considered even as a work of art,
it is really beautiful. The sketches are charmingly
pencilled and delicately coloured. No comparison whatever
can be drawn between it and its numerous predecessors.

THE HEROINES OF SHAKSPERE. Part XI.
This ye ry beautiful series of engravings, from fanciful
sketches of the females created by the sublime and
perennial genius of Shakspere, are continued with the
various ability upon which we have so frequently ob-
served. Jessica is scarcely invested with the loveliness
of the fair damsel who sat on the garden grass in the
moonlight by the side of Lorenzo. Isabella, the Nun,
by the same artist, J. W. Wright, is immeasurably
better. In her eyes, and indeed in the whole character
of her physiognomy, there is the deep and loving devo-
tion, the angelic purity, and the pathetic supplication
which are associated with the heroine of Measure fur
Measure. The drawing of Rosalind, by Kenny Mea-
dows, is scarcely feminine enough.

THE PICTORIAL GALLERY 0.
Part XX VI.

Proportionately with the progress and development of
art, the engraviLgs in this periodical become more and
more meritorious. Instead of the crude productions of
an embryo genius, we have representati,,ns of the mas-
terpieces of the greatest painters the civilised moderns
cm enumerate. For example, there are copies from the
" Descent from the Cross," the " Hippopotamus and
Crocodile Combat and Hunt," and the " Rainbow," by
Rubens ; there are the " Fresco of Aurora"—" rosy-
checked Aurora"—who has appeared

" Even as the sun with iurple-coloured face,
Had ta'en his last leave of the weeping morn,"
by Guido, the " Seaport," by Claude, the " Adoration
of the Shepherds," by Spagnoletto, " The Nativity,"
by Rembrandt, a landscape by Wouverman, " Boors
Merry-making," by Ostade, and a multitude of other
compositions. For moderation of price, lavish illus-
tration, minuteness of engraving, and clearness of
printing, the "Pictorial Gallery" has scarcely ever been
surpassed.

con-
sisting of detailed Maps of the differeinVtOPßaLrips
A POPULAR ATLAS OF THE
b yJa7 :eisillVbye/t/t,he
sDescrai
atlas,
ai
so
,nsw. h e End completed,te d
Globe, illustrated by Geographical and Statistical
the Queen and H. R. H. Prince Albert. No. Geographer
Thi
oe
the world, and, judging from the present number
it will be also one of the most beautifully got up, and
one of the most accurate.' It is intended to be
completed
in 24 maps, each of which will be 23 inches by 23
inches, and each number will contain two of these
maps.
The editor states that his object is to republish such a
collection of maps as shall supply the wants of the ma-
jority of the reading, travelling, or trading public. The
maps will all be upon a sufficiently large scale to show
every important place, and enlarged plans of important
localities will be added us appendices, together
with tabular views of the terrestrial and
celestial phenomena. The British colonial depen-
dencies will be delineated on separate sheets, and
all geographical, topographical, and statistical infor-
mation will be given up to the day of publication.
This object has, as far as the present number is con-
' cerned, been fully accomplished. The map of Europe is
one of the most beautiful specimens of map engraving
we have ever seen. Every important place is marked
down in the most beautifully clear and distinct manner
possible. As a school atlas, and an atlas for general
purposes, this will supersede every other.

FIRE AT CLAPHAM-COMMON.—On Saturday night
between eight and nine o'clock, a fire originated in the
second floor front of the premises, No. 17, Polygon-row,
Clapham-common, in the tenure of Mr. J. Marks. Engines
of the London Brigade, West of England, and County Offices
attended, but owing to the exertions of the inmates and
police, under the direction of Inspector Creed and Sergeant
Emmersop, they succeeded in confining the fire to the floor
in which it originated.