The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-22 00:00:00

THE FINE ARTS.

We had yesterday the pleasure of inspecting, at Mr. Lin-
necer's, two very fine works of art, which will shortly make
their public appearance. The first we shall notice is an
etching from a picture by Mr. Alexander Johnston, a very
rising artist, who had two clever pictures in the exhibition
here just closed, one of which, marked 296 in the catalogue,
and described as " An Interview between Mary and the
Regent Murray," attracted great notice. The picture from
which the etching has been made was hung in the London
exhibition this year. The subject is taken from Allan Ram-
say's rustic drama of the " Gentle Shepherd." The follow-
ing portion of the poem is appended to the plate:—
" Last morning I was gay and early out,
Upon a dyke I lean'd, glow'ring about ;
I saw my Meg come linking o'er the lee,
I saw my Meg, but Meggy saw na'
The publication of the " Gentle Shepherd" placed Allan
Ramsay in a front rank amongst the poets of Scotland, and
the painter has not done him injustice, having carried out
his meaning by producing a picture in which a scene from
humble life is vividly depicted. We find the " gentle shep-
herd" leaning against " the dyke" (a low stone wall), in an
easy and picturesque attitude. The rustic lover has placed
his crook beside him, and appears to be watching with great
intentness the form of his Meg, who comes " linking o'er the
lee." She really seems to " trip, along" in all the joyous-
ness of youth, innocence, and beauty : her figure is so grace-
ful and full of lightness, that, she appears to bound along the
path of her native hills. The dog at the feet of the shepherd
is happily placed : he seems to be on the alert, and to watch,
with an interest as great as his master's, the approaching
lassie. The broken fence and the little pit of water, the
undulating landscape and the farm in the distance, are all
very happily pourtrayed. This work will 'induce many to
read Allan's " Gentle Shepherd," the scene of which is hitt
in the Pentland Hills. If Mr. Bromley, the engraver, pro-
ceeds in the same style of excellence, a very superior and
attractive work of art will be produced.
The other work which we had the pleasure of seeing is a
mezzotiuto from a painting by Lady Burghersh, the niece of
the Duke of Wellington. The subject is his lordship writing
his despatches at Waterloo, after the battle, the story of
which may be briefly told. On the night of the 18th June,
the Duke of Wellington returned to the small inn, in the vil-
lage of Waterloo, where he had lodged the night before. He'
found the bed in which he had slept occupied by his aide-de-
camp, Sir Alexander Gordon, who had been brought there
se% erely wounded. The duke went into an adjoining room,
spread his cloak on some unthreshed corn which he found
there, and laid down to rest : at three o'clock in the morning
of the 19th, he was awakened by the intelligence of the death
of Sir Alexander Gordon ; and feeling he could no longer
continue to rest, he rose and began to write his despatch
describing the battle of Waterloo, which he afterwards finished
at, and forwarded from, Brussels. His grace has given her
ladyship several sittings for the portrait ; and all the accesso-
ries of the picture, the duke's sword, hat, &c., and the articles
upon the table, are exact representations of those used on
that memorable occasion. The back-ground represents the
room where the remains of Sir Alexander Gordon were lying,
with the morning-light breaking. Two officers are watching
the body. The light is admirably thrown through the case-
ment. The duke is seen seated at the table, a cresset lamp
illuminating his fine countenance. He is in a plain dress.
The face wears a cast of deep thought. The likeness, in our
opinion, is one of the truest ever taken. This work is deeply
interesting, and we have no hesitation in prophesying that
the publishers, Messrs. Welch and Gwynne, will be honoured
with a long list of subscribers in every part of this country.
It is a national work, as illustrating an incident in au impor-
tant period of history. The style in which the engraving is
executed by Mr. Hodgetts, deserves great praise : the lights
and shadows are skilfully wrought. Mr. Hodgetts has caught
a spark from the genius of the noble painter, and has, by
handing her ladyship's artistical effort down to posterity,
added a palm to the wreath she is so well entitled to wear.
This engraving will form an appropriate companion to Lady
Burghersh's picture of the Countess of Mornington.