Star.
London, England, 1830-08-21 00:00:00

TILE FINE ARTS.

All the public exhibitions of painting and scithoute in this city
have been, with one exception, closed fur some time. The r. etipts
at " the Royal Academy" arc stated not to have been so got.tt this
year as they have on former occasions ; neither was that of the mo.
dem works of art at the spring exhibition of the " Briti.h Institu-
tion." The " British Artists" in Suffolk.s.reet, are said to hay..•
had better receipts than in any former season, but the exhibition
which has succeeded beyond all others this year, is that of O.
works of the late Sir T. Lawrence, at the lt•itish Institution, Pall.
mall ; many circumstances have fortuitomtly combined to product:
this pleasing result; of these the commencztuent of the new rep,
though at first It operated unfavourably ; yet, by keeping the town
full of activity, and attracting absentees towards the rising sun,"
it caused a guater influx of company than has ever bten kilov it
at this season. Another circumstance that insy have produced ed.
ditional visits is, that most of the Monarchs end 3i iittary (Advt.,
who warred against France during 25 years, are here collected, as it
were, in Council, and certainly a very foolish-looking Non of 14
Council it is at the present moment, with the sNception of IW'
pr Monarch. who decidedly had nothing to do with that ert.
sade against the liberties of mankind. which, in the polo.?, v.v...
tioned, caused the slaughter of millions of human being,,
and overspread the fairest portions of the globe with misery
and .desolation. For those insane projects we are loaded
a debt of enormous magnitude and paralysing influe..ce ;
and after the change has been forged, and rivetted on and worn
for fifteen years, it is withered, burst. and dissipated in a moment.
by the great indignation and irresistible expansion of the human
mind; yet here they are now assembled. "the Allied Sove-
reigns," or, as they have been impiously designated, "the ;Heat-
hers of the Holy Alliance." One only is absent, who, by a strange
anomaly, could not be a member, though he was the superior of
this pious fraternity. PROVIDENCE showed great mercy in remov-
ing hint out of the way in good time, just before his favourite object,
that of forcing a King upon a foreign nation, was shivered into a
thousand atoms, like Alnoshku's basket of glass. We cannot sup-
pose that any disrepect was intended to our present sovereign ; but
we could wish that the committee of this institution had not re.
moved the portrait of his late Majesty, who was properly the head
and chief of those empurpled politicians, to make room for one of
our present gracious sovereign, who neither Iliad, nor ever E 141,1
any polideakfeelings in common with men who never showed
mooch for rational We wish this picture had
been allowed to remain in the Palace, and reserved until it
could be seen in better company than Prince Metternich, Oa!
late Charles X. of France, the Cardinal Oonsalvi, &c. whose mole.
like contrivances have, at length, blundered into day, and outshme
the inverted wisdom of the celebrated men of Gotham. But to re-
turn from what some would consider an epirode,we have great satis-
faction in stating that the gallery is extremely well attended, even at
this " eleventh hour," realising, upon an average, 1501. per week ;
and it is believed that, after all the expenses shall have been de.
ducted, the family—that is, the nephews and nieces of the late Sir
Thomas Lawrence, will have to receive from the Treasurer of this
Royal Institution, a sum not Ism than, but probably exceeding,
3,oooL—Morning Pewee.
- ----
SIR ROBERT WALPOLE and COURT PATRONAGE.

When intelligence arrlvetTOrre7leath of George 1. his son and
the Princess were at Richmond ; thither Sir Robert Walpole, then
Minister, hastened immediately, under no little anxiety, for he had
lost a good master ; and he well knew that those to whom he was
going to be very obsequious, had a strong personal dislike to him.
He had, indeed, grossly offended them both in the manner of doing
it, and under circumstances that rendered it doubtful whether it
could ever be forgiven.
At the time when the difference between the late King and the
Prince were at the height, a negotiation was going on between some
of the opposition members and the ministry ; in the course of which
Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath, took upon him to ask Sir R.
Walpole whether any terms had been made for the Prince ? " Yes,"
said Sir Robert, with a sneer, he is to go to Court again, and will
bare his drums, and his guard, and such fine things." Being further
asked whether the Prince would be left Regent in case the King
left England ? the answer was "No ; why should he ? He does
not deserve it ; we have done too much for him already, and if it
were to be done again he should not have so much."
The treatment of the Princess was still mere course. During the
schism among the Whip, Sir Robert, who led his party, objected
to the proposed plan of forming a junction with the Prince ; ob.
serving that, however he might depend upon his Royal Highness,
there was no relying upon the sincerity of his fat of a wife !"
This was reponed, with more offensive exaggerations, to the Ptin-
cess,wlso had so complete an ascendancy over her husbandsthat every
one made sure of the downfall of the Minister in .the event of
the King's demise. Sir Robert was well aware of the error he
had committed, and of the advantages his imprudence had given
to his opponents; but he had address enough to ward off the
danger by an appeal to that feeling which he well knew email
subdue even Royal resentment. Having heard that it was the inten-
tion of Sir Spencer Compton, his intended successor. to propose a
dower of 60,0001. a year for the Queen, he contrived to let her Me.
jesty know, while be waited in the hall of Richmond, that if he was
continued in office he would secure her a settl,ment of 100,0001 and
considerably enlarge the dvil list into the bargain. This had the
desired effect; and Royal Caroline said to the negotiator, " Let Sir
Robert know that the fat has forgiven him I" Accordingly she
seised the first opiortunity of persuading her husband that, consi-
dering how well Sir Robert had served the late King, she thought
he would be equally useful in the present reign. The hint was
taken, and the corrupt minion, to the surprise of the political world,
instead of being dismissed, was allowed to continue his flagitious
course.

UNI VESSITT OF ST. PETIRSIIIRG.—The report
read at a convocation held on the 21st of June, at which the nil.
nista of public instruction, the metropolitan, and other distir..
subbed personages attended, states that the number of studenth,
which was no more than NI in 18211, had now risen to 177. A
great increase had also taken place in the number of scholars fn.
questing the public seminaries within the department of St. Pt.
tenbutg ; they now amount to 10,200, which is 1,300 more than in
the year 11120.—Athenerunt.
POPULATION OP G/lENT.—The recent census of thi.i
" Netherlands Manchester" shows that an increase of one child
Ibas taken place in the number of inhabitants since the year 1814.
Their resent amount is 83,779, exclusively of the garrison and in.
divided* under confinement.—afikeneunt.

HALLAM'S MIDDLS AGES.—A foreign critic, speak-
ing of Leoni's translation into Italian of this excellent work, ob.
etwves—" Hallam has brought to the treatment of his losportact
argument that unwearied diligence, that acuteness of jud nt, and
riety of expression, without which such a task not have
been accompl."—.444swases.
Yesterday morning, Jane Jonas attempted to drown
herself near Bbalicelon.bridgi, bat was saved by a gentleman
11 named Buckley, who jumped in aka her, sad brought her ashore.
LI Police constable, 46, L. took her to the pollee station in Waterloo.
1 rood, and Inspector Smith kindly mat her to his ton house, where,
after having dried bey Hakes, and gives her woo refreahmert, hd
conveyed her to her aunt's, Hrs. Davis, residing in Hishopsgste.
street. She stated the cum for cermahtlitg the rash act was
*Sued by a quarrel wilts her rather, a milkman.