340 



Fine Arts' Publications. 



his powers his best and ripest powers 

 are spent upon matters, which a score 

 of ladies might be named in a moment 

 able to accomplish to the full as effec- 

 tively. The present portion brings the 

 history to the pacification of the fac- 

 tions of Burgundy and Orleans, in the 

 reign of the insane Charles VI. a pe- 

 riod which corresponds with the acces- 



[MARCH, 



si on of our Henry V. Henry's inva- 

 sion of France, and its effects, will form 

 a conspicuous portion of the next series. 

 Sir Walter delights to dwell upon Eng- 

 lish affairs ; and throughout, indeed, 

 France is made a subject of subordinate 

 interest to England. He is obviously 

 no Frenchman. The book is not writ- 

 ten in or for the latitude of Paris. 



FINE ARTS' PUBLICATIONS. 



Time's Telescope, for 1831, the "parent 

 of the annuals," made its appearance 

 somewhat later than the rest of them, 

 but it may still be considered a " com- 

 plete guide to the almanack." It is the 

 eighteenth volume, and assumes a very 

 different form to that of its predecessors. 

 Its red-letter information is satisfactory, 

 but somewhat more elaborate than might 

 be. There are many who would have 

 put up with a briefer register of the 

 saints' days and holidays, and a less 

 abstruse record of astronomical occur- 

 rences. But the sketches of biography, 

 and the poetical beauties scattered libe- 

 rally through the pages, are not so 

 easily to be spared. To these advan- 

 tages, engravings and wood-cuts are 

 addded, of a more than passable charac- 

 ter, so that Time's Telescope forms a vo- 

 lume that will be as acceptable to the 

 advocates of utility as to the cultivators 

 of the ornamental. 



The Dutch Girl is a very beautiful 

 print, from a picture every way worthy 

 of it. Mr. Newton's exquisite design 

 is here brilliantly given in a line engrav- 

 ing, by George T. Doo. It forms a 

 companion to the Forsaken, by the 

 same artist, and evinces the fine' taste, 

 delicacy, and truth for which most of 

 his productions are distinguished. The 

 fault of it is, that it is almost too beau- 

 tiful to be Dutch. The face is emi- 

 nently lovely, and the costume adds 

 to the whole form a character of 

 perfect grace and simplicity. There 

 appears some little want of correctness 

 in the hand that is putting back the 

 curtain, but it is not observed in the 

 general beauty of the figure. 



The Pointer, a companion to the Spaniel, 

 is from a picture bv M. T. Ward, R.A. 

 The engraving, wnich was commenced 

 by John Scott, and finished by Webb, 

 is a bright and spirited delineation of 

 the dog, and will find favour, we think, 

 in other eyes, besides those of sports- 

 men. 



Richard Coeur de Lion and Saladin is a 

 fine mezzotint, by W. Giller, from Coo- 

 per's bold and animated design. It is 

 full of the life and energy that should 

 characterise such a subject, 



The Characteristic Sketches of Animals^ 

 drawn and engraved by Thomas Landseer^ 

 will form a most important addition to 

 the stock of zoological illustrations. The 

 drawings, from life, are exceedingly 

 spirited and natural, and the execution 

 is the work of a hand that knows how to 

 exhibit the power and delicacy of its 

 own designs with appropriate effect. In 

 the part before us, the Lion and the 

 Polar Bear eclipse all their predecessors 

 in art that we have seen ; and the vig- 

 nette of the monkeys retreating from 

 the Jaguar is inimitably grotesque. 



The ludicrous effect of this vignette 

 forms a very becoming introduction to 

 the next work which we have to notice 

 a third sample of George Cruik- 

 shank's Scraps and Sketches. Here are 

 at least fifty new proofs that Mr. Cruik- 

 shank has not even the shadow of a rival 

 in the whole world, . and that that world 

 is immensely indebted to him. Care 

 comes not near him. We forget such 

 things as the national debt, amidst the 

 whims and wonders that are here con- 

 gregated. We can even give a humoured 

 glance at the fogs, and regard the want 

 of daylight and sunshine with a compla- 

 cent spirit, while a candle remains to 

 light us to such regions of humour as 

 are here opened to us. The first set of 

 scraps presents some tea-kettles singing 

 in the most animated strain, and a num- 

 ber of the pleasantest pairs of bellows 

 possible, all turned into humanities, and 

 assuming various characters. The fat 

 people are almost as facetious as the 

 bellows. The view of an African set- 

 tlement, all tombs and monuments, is 

 satirically conceived ; and the Nobodies 

 are worthy of their associates in this 

 irresistible assemblage. 



We turn now to an amusing little col- 

 lection of Caricatures which have appeared 

 in Paris since the late Revolution. The 

 object is said to be to present " the 

 means of judging how far our sprightly 

 neighbours are likely to succeed in a 

 species of satire, that until now they 

 have had but little opportunity of prac- 

 tising." There are twenty-four of these 

 caricatures, all devoted to Charles and 

 his family, and most of them full of 



