EXHIBITIONS. 217 



Roman Empire. Suddenly a little shrill voice was heard to exclaim 

 ' Madame la Marechale you will not have the 18,000frs. which you ask for 

 your husband; he has already 300,000 crowns a-year, and that is quite 

 enough. He is already Duke and Peer, a Grandee of Spain, and Marshal of 

 France. He has already the collars of the Saint Esprit and of the Golden 

 Fleece. Your family is fairly overwhelmed with court favours, and if you 

 are not satisfied, it is because nothing will content you. I advise you to 

 renounce the idea of becoming a Princess of the Empire ; and you may rely 

 upon it, your husband will not have the Order of the Garter.' 



" The extravagant Marechale was not in the least surprised or discon- 

 certed ; she imagined that it was the infant Jesus who had addressed her ; 

 she therefore cried out ' Hold your tongue, little boy, and let your mamma 

 speak/ A burst of laughter was then heard, which proceeded from that 

 pious madcap Henri Moreton de Chabullon, first page to the Queen, who 

 had hidden himself behind the altar." 



EXHIBITION OF ANCIENT FEMALE COSTUME. 



THESE Dresses, which are certainly very curious and interesting, as speci- 

 mens of costumes, are the property of Mrs. Luson, a remarkable charac- 

 ter, who lived to the age of 116 years. She was born in 1700, and, after 

 shining as a beauty at the courts of the three first Georges, retired from pub- 

 lic life, and lived secluded for the space of fifty years in the enjoyment of a 

 handsome fortune. The excellent state of preservation of these habiliments 

 forms no inconsiderable part of their merit. Inter alia, here is a cloth of 

 gold gown, faced with black Genoa velvet; a black velvet petticoat, with 

 three rows of gold fringe, worn by queen Elizabeth as half-mourning for 

 Mary of Scotland. The dresses of Lady Cromwell and her daughter, but 

 especially those of Lady Fauconberg, Lady Russell, and Lady Fleetwood, if 

 they were displayed with taste upon a fine figure, would appear exceedingly 

 rich and elegant. 



BURFORD'S PANORAMA OF THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 



To all who are anxious to form some notion of the appearance and situa- 

 tion of the stupendous cataract which is represented in this painting, we 

 especially recommend a visit to Mr. Burford's room in Leicester Square. It 

 seems that Captain Basil Hall had recommended the Panoramic, as the only 

 probable style by which any thing like justice could be done to the original 

 scene, for not only might the colossal proportions of the cataract itself be 

 conveyed by this means, but also its beautiful position in the landscape. We 

 have no hesitation in acceding to Mr. Burford the praise of having gone far 

 beyond any former delineation, that we are acquainted with, of this sublime 

 view. Even the fastidious eye of the artist must be gratified with the gene- 

 ral atmospheric hue, and with the admirable execution of the masses of rock 

 and the foliage. The great body of water which occupies so large a space in 

 the picture is exceedingly transparent and clear in the colouring. The vapour 

 arising from the pit of the fall, and the Iris formed by the sun's rays on the 

 mist are painted with the utmost delicacy, and contrast well with the bolder 

 parts. Between Goat Island and the Table Rock, a space measuring three 

 quarters of a mile, rushes the enormous mass of water down a precipice 

 upwards of a hundred and fifty feet in height. The view has been taken 

 from Table Rock, which is on a level with the crest of the fall, and forms the 

 boundary of the Canadian side of the river. Supposing the spectator to be 

 stationed on this rock and facing the cataract he will have to his right the 

 Canadian woods, and the heights where Forsyth's Hotel is erected ; behind, 

 the flowing river wooded to the edge of the banks ; in the distance, Montmo- 

 renci Falls and Goat Island, which complete the circle of the landscape. 

 The principal feature of the painting, which of course is the great Fall, is so 



M.M. No. 92. 2P 



