Nor china rich, nor fork of silver, greets
His eye or palate. On his lyric board
A sheet of paper serves for table-cloth ;
An heap of salt is serv'd,-O heav'nly treat!
On odes Pindaric! while his tuneful puss
Scratches his slipper for her fragment sweet,
And sings her love-song soft, yet mournfully.
Mocking the pillar Doric, or the roof

Of architecture Gothic, all around

The well known ballads flit, of Grub-street fame!
The casement, broke, gives breath celestial
To the long dying-speech, or gently fans
The love-inflaming sonnet. All around
Small scraps of paper lie, torn vestiges
Of an unquiet fancy. Here a page
Of flights poetic-there a dedication-
A list of dramatis persons, bold,

Of heroes yet unborn, and lofty dames
Of perishable compound, light as fair,
But sentenc'd to oblivion !

On a shelf,

(Yclept a mantle-piece) a phial stands,
Half fill'd with potent spirits!-spirits strong,
Which sometimes haunt the poet's restless brain,
And fill his mind with fancies whimsical.

Poor poet! happy art thou, thus remov'd
From pride and folly! for in thy domain
Thou can'st command thy subjects; fill thy lines;
Wield th' all conqu'ring weapon heav'n bestows
On the grey goose's wing! which, tow'ring high,
Bears the sick fancy to immortal fame!

STATE OF PAINTING IN ENGLAND.

Of all the countries that have yet been blessed with civilization, England is that in which the arts, in latter times, have most tardily disclosed their growth: and if the remark of Lord Kaimes be true, that "had the art of painting made a slower progress in Italy, it might have continued in vigour to this day," its abode, when it shall be once established among us, may fairly be supposed to promise a duration little short of eternity. The walls of our palaces have been, from the period of the reformation, successively covered with the works of foreign artists. Holbein, Rubens, Vandyck, Lely, Kneller, nay Varrio, Gemari, and La Guerre, have by turns enjoyed the numerous favours of our sovereigns, adorned the halls and filled the cabinets of the nobles; while scarcely a few portraits by the pencils of our own painters, of Dobson, Jameson, Cooper, Greenhill, and Riley, were thought worthy of notice; and some even of these have been thrown aside to furnish moments of surprise to future virtuosi, or some futile topics to pedantic research.

In the present day our country has begun to emerge from this state of insensibility to the merit of her native artists, who, if they have not yet ascertained their superiority in the highest provinces of painting, have at least in portraiture claimed the Jaurel for their brows, approved their native force, and, with the magnanimous spirit of a Chatham,

disdainfully sent home all auxiliaries*. From the time of Highmore and Hudson, in an extensive course through the works of Hoare, Dance, Gainsborough, Reynolds, and others of less distinguished name, to the conspicuous efforts of the present painters, whatever may have been the merits of foreigners, whether drawn hither by ambition in their art, the report of national opulence, or the hope of shelter from domestic violence, the English painter of portraits stands in no dread of competitiont. Nay, far advanced the greatest strength of such accidental visitors, our country may securely look around her, and, during the period that has been mentioned, may challenge the proudest pretensions of all Europe.

If the honest accuracy of Highmore and Hudson, the classic correctness of Hoare, the bold fidelity of Dance, the airy pencil and individual real resemblances of Gainsborough, may be placed above the common level of industrious talents, in what words shall we speak of him who stands pre-eminent in the list? what foreign rival will be found of his transcendent powers? how do the names of Battoni and Mengs, unquestionably the greatest foreign painters

* It would be impertinence to suggest to the reader's recollection, the conduct of the great Lord Chatham on the subject of the foreign troops at one time employed in the service of England.

The English portrait-painters seem to have awakened the highest attention of foreign nations. The French are become llectors of English prints.

of our times, perceive their laurels tremble as they reach our shore! how quickly does the dainty minuteness of the one, and the insipid labour of the other, shrink before the broad, majestic fervour of Reynolds! The triumph, indeed, of superiority over such competitors, adds little boast to the allowed rival of Vandyck and Titian.

The honours deservedly obtained by this great master have been, in various modes and degrees, continued to us by his successors, whose works form annually such a splendid display of justly confident and cultivated talent, as cannot be at present equalled in any other country. The meed of portraitpainting seems as truly our own as that of naval combat, and is so decidedly ascribed to us by foreign critics, that those who have wished to depreciate our merits in the arts, have charged us with this single excellence as a proof of defect in our more general powers.

In landscape, the laurels of Wilson and Gainsborough do not yield pre-eminence to Vernet, Zuccarelli, or any other of their contemporaries. Gainsborough added to the choice of all the fascinating scenery of familiar nature, the exquisite charm of facile execution; and he enriched his landscape with the most interesting groups of cottage-life. The poetic mind of Wilson adopted a more elevated style. Solemnity of composition, selection of form, and a tranquil richness of colouring, are among the attractions of his works, which called forth praises from the contemporary foreign artists above-men

tioned. Besides these two great exemplars, Scott and Brooking (in shipping), Wright of Derby, Moore, Hodges, Barrett, Wheatly, and Morland (the two last also in picturesque and domestic scenery), have left behind them works which do honour to the English school, and which no school would blush to

own.

Nor is the fame of our present day less equal to that of other nations. Every English exhibition presents instances of just and skilful composition, of accurate design, of rich and harmonious colouring, in short, of a successful study of nature in all her various forms, hues, and effects; and amongst the artists of this class, some are found to contest the palm with the celebrated of other ages.

In the particular species of execution also in water-colours, in which modern art stands unrivalled, no pretensions are juster than those of England. In the exhibition rooms of Somerset-house of late years, and in the separate collection of last year in another place, examples have been presented of strength and mellowness of effect, of richness of tint and fullness of colour, which yield little superiority to oil-painting, and leave little farther to be desired.

Two names in this branch of art may be mentioned, which cannot be read without emotions of sensibility by the votaries of genius and art-Cozens and Girtin. The former in the comprehensive, essential seizure of his subjects, usually chosen from amidst the phenomena of nature's semblances; and the latter, in the almost majestic expression of form and