visits England, France, &c., and on his way back is taken | which the graphic satirist has brought out more by a pirate, who carries him to the coast of Africa. Dur- humour and mind than are to be found in the ing this compulsatory voyage, he describes himself as pages he illustrates. How capital, for instance, is affected with a most horrible sea sickness; and here his the awkward expectancy of the "Last Man," representation of a person labouring under that detestable waiting, torch in hand, to descend into the grotto of Antiparos!

malady was so accurate, that I almost fancied inyself

BRETON'S SCANDINAVIAN SKETCHES.

Lieutenant Breton is not unfavourably known as a traveller, by the account he published of his trip to Australasia. The organ of locomotion, which seems strongly developed, subsequently took him to Norway; and the success of his "Excursions" has perhaps induced him to publish his tour.

The direction of the routes of our lieutenant

again in the cockpit of the Actæon, and all the terrors of the voyage across the Adriatic arose fresh to my imagi nation. After many other adventures, he returns safe to Aleppo, his native city, no richer than he set out; but, like the monkey who had seen the world, "full of wise saws" and strange assertions. His hairbreadth escapes, the unlucky scrapes he gets into, the blunders he is incessantly committing from his imperfect knowledge of the languages of the various nations among whom he is thrown, the continual equivoque and play upon words, his absurd misconceptions of the orders he receives, his buffetings, bastinadoes, feasts, imprisonments, and escapes, the odd satirical remarks elicited by the different objects, places, and strange fashions he encounters, all afforded opportunities to the ingenious mimic for displaying the versatility of his powers. The changes, too, of voice, manner, look, gesture, suitable to the various characters he assumed, were infinitely ludicrous and entertaining. In this respect he was little, if at all, inferior to his mirth inspiring brother of the Adelphi; in proof of which, I need only state, that, though utterly unacquainted with his language and enabled to follow the thread of the story only by the hurried explanations of Hodgson, I sat listening and laughing with the greatest satisfaction for more than two hours, without feeling my attention at all beginning to flag. As to the Turks, they were literally convulsed with laughter; shouting, screaming, and uttering a thousand exclamations of delight; and more than once it was evident, from their uproarious mirth, that he had succeeded in satirising the peculiarities of some wellknown individual. At every pause in the story-very necessary for the actor, who was often exhausted by the violence of his gesticulations-wooden trays were handed about, and every one was expected to contribute a few paras. Of course the liberality of the audience was proportioned to the gratification they received; and on the present occasion, he, no doubt, experienced substantial proofs of their approbation in a pretty considerable har-must be) far inferior to those of Switzerland. vest of silver pieces."

RUSSIAN DIPLOMACY.

does not greatly differ from that of Mr. Barrow, junior; nor indeed was there much room for difference. Arriving at Christiana, which was reached in eight days after leaving Southampton, our voyager pushed northwards for Trondhjem, and returned by a different route. He then went to Bergen, on the western coast; and, following the course of Mr. Barrow, but not exactly his track, again (we infer) arrived at the northern capital, by the different conveyances of sea-boats, saddle-horses, and carrioles; and finally reached his first starting-point, but by a fresh road,-for Mr. Breton is a great admirer of the ancient maxim, that no wise man goes back the way he came. As Norway is not greatly distinguished for arts, commerce, or conventional modes, there was nothing to describe, but her scenery; nothing to observe, but her peasantry, who are not numerous; and little, it would appear, to be met with, save short commons, rugged rides, fresh air, and brief slumbers. The landscapes are monotonous; and Mr. Breton describes them as (of course they

Of the people he forms a much less favourable opinion than Mr. Barrow; painting them as dirty, somewhat obtrusive, slothful, and given to impose,

"The American Vice-Consul accompanied a party of Americans to Buyukdere, where he took a caique, and though the last is perhaps traceable to the prorowed alongside the Russian flag-ship. The sentinel at digal folly of English tourists. The inconvenithe gangway immediately ordered them to sheer off; ences of traveling we have indicated, and our and, on demanding the reason, they were told that they author holds that there are no dangers which prumust not attempt to approach without the admiral's per- dence may not guard against; its pleasures, unless mission. Nothing daunted, they desired the man to ask to the most robust of men, we opine to be nonthe officer of the watch to allow them to inspect the inte-existent. Scandinavia is clearly the last resource rior of the vessel; but he flatly refused, because they were Englishmen.'

of the traveling mania, except a journey overland to the North Pole, or a voyage to discover the Southern Continent.

"No sooner, however, was it explained that they were Americans, than they were desired to wait, while the The great merit of the Excursions in New officer reported this communication to his superior; the result of which was, that the admiral himself came on South Wales, was the unpretending manner in deck and took them down to his cabin, where he treated which they conveyed a quantity of new and practhem to a luncheon of bread and cheese, fruit, and porter.tical information upon matters of general interest. When he had shown them over the ship, he ordered his boat to be manned, and conducted them himself to the head-quarters of the camp, sent an officer as their guide, and patiently waited until they had fully gratified their curiosity. But his attentions did not end there; for he took them on board again, gave them another luncheon, and afterwards sent them ashore at Buyukdere in his

boat."

George Cruikshank has drawn and etched some clever scenes, after sketches by the author, in

The literary qualities of our author remain the same, or are perhaps improved; but the uncongenial nature of his matter has to a certain extent prevented their full exhibition. The work-as what work would not?-may also have suffered something from a change of plan. The author originally designed writing a small volume to serve as a guide-book; but changing his mind, produced a bulky octavo-with some disadvantage, we think, as to the clearness of his arrange

whole of the picture is invested with an air of named Cœur de Lion, and the Soldan Saladin.” originality. It is grand in conception, and power-S. A. Hart. This scene represents Richard feelful in execution. The effect of breadth given bying the pulse of the Soldan Saladin, who has enthe light coming across the picture is managed in a most masterly manner.

tered into his camp and obtained admission into his tent in the disguise of a physician, and on the No. 88 is also by Mr. Wilkie, and is called the pretence of assisting in the cure of a fever under First Ear-ring. It is full of humour; the little which the King was then labouring. The story, victim of the trinket bears the pain with all the it will be remembered, is related in Sir Walter fortitude of childish vanity. A lap-dog in the Scott's novel of the Talisman. This is a picture room appears to suffer some of the torture inflict- of considerable power, but we think it deficient in ed by sympathy, and is screwed up most ridicu- refinement. It is theatrical, and not wel! chosen lously. for an historical painting. We much prefer Mr. No. 131. "Gulliver's Introduction to the Queen | Hart's picture, of last year, of Cardinal Wolsey of Brobdignag." C. R. Leslie, R. A. This pic-and Buckingham. Had we not seen that picture, ture," says a critic in a morning newppaper, re-all we should have said would have been in the presents the point of time when the little Gulliver language of praise, which Mr. Hart well deserves. is presented to the gigantic queen of the Brobdig- We cannot however avoid comparing an artist nagians, surrounded by her maids of honour. The with himself. captain in the back-ground is receiving the money No. 270. "The Chivalric Vow of the Ladies which the queen pays for the purchase of the and the Peacock." D. M'Clise. The public is diminutive curiosity. Gulliver is on the table, well acquainted with the powers of this artist. embracing with fervent devotion the tip of her From the "Mokanna" to the "Installation of Capmajesty's little finger. We think the whole of tain Rock," his work of last year, he has produced this picture is a misconception. The artist has a succession of most astonishing works. The not conquered the difficulty with which the subject present, if it possesses all the beauties, has some evidently labours, namely, to make the women of the faults of his former productions. If he is Brobdignagians without making a Lilliputian of prolific in invention and prodigal in fancy, he is Gulliver. Most of the women are but of the 'fair, not the most diligent in studying the arts of comfat, and forty' size, and the only indication that is position. To be a great painter,-and Mr. M'Clise given of their being creatures of a different stature has in him the elements of the greatest,-it is not and nature to those we ordinarily meet is in their only necessary to indulge the bent of a superior terrible eyes; poor Gulliver seems likely to die of genius, but to attend to every minor portion of being gazed at, so ardently do they contemplate detail, from the mechanical work of the pencil to the wondrous mite. But still no notion is given the much more arduous task of composing and arof Gulliver's real size; he looks like one of the ranging a picture. A laughing face, conceived in puppets in the fantoccini, or a Thomas Thumb humour, and dashed off in a masterly style upon the Less. We have with him no sympathies- the canvass, will not, however good it may be, we shudder not at the idea of his falling from the atone for defects that nothing but diligence is reperilous height of the table on which he is placed,quired to avoid. In the Chivalric Vow of the or breaking his neck over the rugged ridges of the Ladies and the Peacock, the figure of the knight table-cover-we fear not the next hurricane of is beautifully painted, but it does not harmonise wind, should the princess chance to sneeze, send- with the surrounding parts. The same fondness ing him lifeless to the distant confines of her spa- for perpendicular lines is evinced, as has been so cious boudoir-no pendant ear-ring of the maids often seen in the pictures of this artist, and which, of honour while inspecting him appears like a rock, be it remembered, is peculiar not to style, but to about to fall and deprive him of existence-no manner. Moreover, the picture is one of episodes, mighty caul, or ponderous plaything, carelessly and lacks the interest of a connected story. There swung by Brobdignagian baby, threatens to dash is sufficient invention in it for six such pictures, him to atoms he is neither man, nor boy, nor but not enough of composition for one. The paintchild, fish, flesh, or good red-herring; and they ing of some of the heads is perfect, and there are are neither ogresses, nor Titans' wives, nor the parts replete with fancy, fun, and merriment. beautiful and stupendous princesses of the great Such is the group surrounding the fool with the island of Brobdignag, so famous for its peculiar bauble. Indeed, wherever we look there are bits latitude and longitude that the ancients did not of the highest order-exquisite touches of feeling know it, and the moderns are still ignorant of its and character. If we have said anything to deexistence. But the wit of Swift and the pencil of tract from Mr. M'Clise, we have done it, we trust, Leslie we must not expect to find in combination; in the spirit of those who ardently admire him. and that the picture is a failure we must attribute Mr. Turner has several pictures. Two more to the insurmountable difficulties the subject pre-particularly beyond the rest demand attention. sented. As a painting, it is in the usual superior No 24. "Keelmen heaving in Coals, by Night," style of Mr. Leslie." We entirely concur with is one, and No. 155, "Venice from the Porch of the opinion here expressed, except that no praise is given where it is richly due, namely, to the painting of a young Brobdignagian child, or dwarf; if all else in the picture were a failure, this portion of it must be acknowledged to be the work of

Madonna della Salute," is the other. The first of these is a moonlight scene, and admirably adapted for displaying the masterly pencil of Mr. Turner. The picture is as light as day, and the only thing that prevents the impression on the mind of the spectator that it is day, is the positive coldness peculiar to moonlight. It is a most extraordinary

piece of effect.

The other picture is equally extraordinary, but in another way. The mid-day sun shining upon the white walls of Venice, innumerable vessels with the flags of all nations, the black gondola and the gay flitting pennon, are all brought into powerful contrast. It is altogether brilliant, dazzling, and original.

From the New Monthly Magazine.

THE TRADE OF ENGLAND.

Reader, be not appalled at this ominous title! You are not about to be irritated or composed by a tedious disquisition upon the decrease or increase of exports or imports,-upon the superiority of a Mr. Mulready unfortunately contributes but one free or protected commerce,-upon the comparapicture-it is No. 105, "The Last In." "The Last tive growth or decline in cotton and woollen In" is no less a person than the boy who, "with manufactures,-upon processes shortened by masatchel on his back," crawled "like a snail un-chinery to the destruction of hand-labour, and the willingly to school." As he enters, he bows to the propriety of multiplying the difficulties of producschoolmaster, who, with mock gravity, profoundly tion in order to employ a population running fast returns the obeisance, while in his looks lurks a towards the destruction of property by a too facile flogging for the urchin who is "last in." It is power of raising and preparing all sorts of neceshumo.ously conceived, though a little confined saries and luxuries;-of all these high topics you in grouping, and admirably painted. will find very little; and what little you do find In the lower room, known by the name of the will rather be intended for your amusement than Antique Academy, are some very beautiful pro-your instruction, for your essay, like the arrangeductions. Among them are the works of Chalon, ments and articles of the trade we are about to Rochard, G. R. Ward and Mis. G. R. Ward, Miss speak of, will be light and ornamental, made quite F. Corbeaux, Miss M. Chalon, and a variety of as much for delight as for profit. We have thought others. But why is a picture in every respect it right to premise thus much for both our sakes, fitted to maintain a place among the best of those lest you should lose the entertainment we hope to of the Royal Academicians, full of beauty of all afford you, and we the chance of being permitted sorts, of all artist-like effects, placed among minia- to entertain you. tures and flowers? Not that we mean to assert But, nevertheless, the trade of England is a any thing in any way tending to deteriorate those great matter, and when we see women and chilelegant branches of art. But for superior oil-dren employed in directing almost invisible threads paintings the Academicians themselves, consult- which inanimate wood and iron set into a motion ing their own interests as well as propriety, have almost as rapid as the passage of light by a subtle assigned the better lights of the Great Room, the mist, and when we reflect that by this is created Painting Academy, and the Ante-Room. Why, an almost equally incalculable number of millions then, is the beautiful picture of Little Red Riding per annum, that nations are clothed by these proHood and Wolf of Mr. Inskipp placed in so un-cesses, and so vast a portion of the people mainworthy a situation as it holds in the Antique Academy? We are not among the captious critics who are ready upon all occasions to assail so honourable and meritorious a body as the Royal Academy. We know their difficulties in dealing with conflicting interests and jealous persons, and should be sorry to aggravate those difficulties. But without encountering the charge of being invidious, we think ourselves entitled to ask why is this superb painting placed here? It is in all respects perfectly beautiful. The back ground alone is a landscape of the highest order. The subject itself is full of feeling, and exquisitely painted. Mr. Inskipp has had great injustice done him; and without bringing any charge against the gentlemen who have this year been entrusted with the hanging, we must affirm our belief in there hav.. ing been great and culpable carelessness, though we will not say gross and intentional partiality.

tained,-when, taking this for the most important example, we glance through all the employments of labour, and think that wealth, in some shape or other, is created to the amount of hundreds of millions: observe, reader,-the hands of man and the minutes of time employed to this intent accumulate hundreds of millions of pounds, which by circulation give the means of life and luxury to millions of our fellow-creatures,-it is a curious speculation to gather up, as it were, these atoms intellectually, till we obtain something like a Pisgah sight of that vast aggregation of men and moveables which we call society,-the civilised society of our empire, which has been thus raised and continues to be sustained and enlarged by the same means. Truly it is a marvellous fabric!

In 1812, Dr. Colquhoun estimated the existing property accumulated by the labours of the population of the British empire, and with a probable In the Model Academy there is less of interest approximation to the truth, at no less an amount than usual; but particularly deserving of notice is than 2,735,640,000l., the annual income of the 1045, Devotion, a statue in marble, R. Westma-country at 430,521,3721. It is curious to compare cott, R. A.: also 1048, a sleeping Shepherd Boy, a statue in marble, J. Gibson, A. There are also some good busts by W. Behnes, by E. Ryley, especially that of the Rev. J. Tate, M. A., Canon Residentiary of St. Paul's; by S. Clint, by W. Weeks, T. Butler, and others.

Many excellent pictures, and no doubt good works of other kind, must, in the limits of a short notice, be necessarily omitted. Should there be another opportunity of continuing this criticism, we shall make atonement in the best way we can.

these computations with those of former dates, and made by the most accurate calculators. In 1664, the national property was computed at 250,000,000l. In 1688, the national annual income at no more than 43,491,8001. What the increase since 1812 has been, both of property and income, we are unable to state, but both must have been enormous.

There are manufactories in England, the property of single firms, that produce, by machinery, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple, what the largest establishments by hand used to prepare.

The

impression would be thus produced without the human touch. The word rag must also be taken to mean the rag reduced to pulp, or paper stuff, by the previous processes of washing and trituration. Still, however, the filaments are rag, and nothing but rag, and the transformation is performed with the rapidity, beauty, and effect of crystalization.

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How many times has the country been ruined in the apprehension of politicians and economists! It was said at one period that if ever the national debt reached one hundred millions, England would

consequences are those which apply to all such concentrations of men, money, and machinery. Capital beats down mere labour, and drives the small maker from the field. But machinery has also had another effect in this branch: it draws the trade around and near to the metropolis. As thus,-when the air alone was employed to dry the goods, the average of time necessary to bring a ream of paper from the rag to the string, as the technical phrase goes, that is, from the raw material to the perfect article in a marketable state, was from two to three months. Now, it is dried by steam upon the machine, and a week will exe-be ruined. When Pitt took the helm the nation cute a large order. How does this affect the dis- was ruined. When the bank restriction again tant mill? Why thus:-The London stationer, took place we were again ruined. The national the middle man, no longer holds the large stock debt is now eight hundred millions; and long he used to do. If a bookseller applies to him for before and ever since the conclusion of the war one hundred reams of a certain paper, he knows we have been pronounced to be ruined. When where he can to a certainty have it made and de- the bank note fell to a discount, or in other words, livered in six or eight days on an emergency. when gold rose to a premium, we were once more When the distant manufacturer comes into the ruined; and ever since the bank has been made market, the stationer is willing to purchase on to pay in cash, the country, so say Mr. Attwood speculation only at a very low price. He is there- and the landlords and the farmers, has been fore driven to a country trade in his own vicinity.ruined. My father used to preach that the surest The same facts apply to the material of the staff way to ruin the nation was to persuade every body of life-to flour. The moment there is a rise in to drink water; and now we have temperance the market, the steam miller in the immediate societies lending their endeavours to effect this neighbourhood of Market-lane sets on all his very purpose. Nothing is so likely to do it; and power and fills the market. The country manu- as it bears upon our subject-trade-let us just facturer is ousted by mere propinquity. While look at its consequences if successful. his commodity is on the water, the dealer near All the land now under cultivation for barley London has reaped the advantage, and he leaves thrown out of tillage, and all the husbandmen the depressed market to the countryman. An im- employed in ploughing, sowing, harrowing, harmense depreciation of the value of distant mill-vesting, and threshing the barley, thrown out of property, no less than an almost total decline of that branch of commerce, has followed this improvement, if such it may be esteemed, in the conduct of mills.

employment.

All the hop lands in the same condition; all the maltsters annihilated; all the distilleries shut up, the capital sunk, and the people turned off.

All the public-houses closed, and the inmates turned adrift. All the merchant's clerks, warehouses, cellars, &c., in the same state. All the coopers out of demand; all the officers of excise, and all the revenue gone.

All the rents circulated and employment arising from the consumption of fermented liquors, not specially enumerated above, at an end!

Our illustration of the paper trade introduces All the ships engaged in the importation and another, and perhaps the most remarkable, possi-exportation of wine, brandies, rum, porter, &c., bility attending mechanical processes. Every useless, and all their seamen idle. All the capital body has heard of the bet laid and won some and people employed in the manufactures exyears ago by a gentlemen of Yorkshire, that he changed for these commodities, and all those would dine in a coat made of wool which should engaged in growing, procuring, or transmitting have been growing on the sheep's back in the them, reduced to vacant idleness. morning of the same day. He did so. The sheep was shorn, the wool combed, spun, and woven, the cloth was dressed, and the coat made before six o'clock. He wore it, but it was wet, and having achieved his promise and won his wager, he begged to be permitted to escape the chance of dying by a cold caught from sitting in his damp garment. He took off his coat, and finished an hilarious evening in his capacity of president of a large agricultural meeting. This was considered to be one of the greatest triumphs of accelerated manufacturing processes. But our proposition goes to this:-It is possible to produce a printed book which one single minute only before was one of the vilest of all substances-rag-and without being touched by human hands. This we may say is the most wonderful of all the wonders of But let us return to the uses of capital and credit. machinery: but it may be done. It must be ad- We have seen what the last can do in the way of mitted that the terms of the problem are stretched substitution for the former; let us now look at to the utmost, but if the printing-machine were what the former is doing to displace the latter. placed for the purpose at the end of the paper- One of the main principles of trade in days of machine, both set to work, and the paper conduct-yore is now, it is to be feared, much avoided, if ed from the last named to the first, the second not absolutely abandoned. Once upon a time, an

Could all these things be accomplished forthwith, the nation might probably be ruined. Who would imagine that the simple act of confining our beverage to water would strike off at least one-fourth of the commerce and employment of the whole kingdom! Yet such would be the effect of the abstinence inculcated by the societies in the name of temperance.