352 CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



drawinjjfs of fish painted upon rice-paper with an accuracy, a delicacy 

 and high finish not to be surpassed. Mr. Yarrell is, evidently well 

 qualified for the task which he has undertaken, and he has come forward 

 in an admirable spirit to enlarge the circle of knowledge respecting the 

 natural history of fishes. 



Mr. Yarrell's descriptions are elaborate without being tediously mi- 

 nute, and his remarks evince a scientific intimacy with his subject : th6 

 style in which they are conveyed is polished and agreeable, but probably 

 a degree more of animation and familiarity would enhance the pleasure 

 of a perusal by the general reader or the incipient Ichthyologist, to whom 

 the track should be rendered as facile and alluring as possible. 



The illustrations, of which there are twenty-one in the number before 

 us, are given with a laudable regard to detail ; they are cut in wood with 

 taste and singular delicacy; indeed for a publication designed for wide 

 circulation, where the impressions must consequently be numerous, it 

 would, in our opinion, be advisable to aim at more force, in order to 

 escape the peculiar disadvantage of worn and broken-up blocks before 

 the requisite supply is obtained.* The necessity is obvious : Old Bowles, 

 the printseller of the "Black horse, ^' in Cornhill, the early employer of 

 Hogarth, Laguerre, and a whole host of engravers, whose labours he pur- 

 chased at little more than the cost of the copper on which they worked, 

 was so sensible of the importance of " depth'* that on the commence- 

 ment of the process of corrosion, his usual cry was " Bite it in deep !" 

 and the completion of the same was sure to produce an eager inquiry 

 of ** Is it black?" alluding to the state of the etching : from the latter 

 circumstance, this hard-fisted chapman in art was, facetiously, designa- 

 ted ** Black Jack," a soubriquet which adhered to him to the day of his 

 death. Now we do not wish the artist to sacrifice every thing to depth 

 for the sake of a multitude of impressions, but we caution him not to 

 lose sight of the fact that minute and very delicate cuts are not susceptible 

 of the •* wear and tear" of any but a very limited demand, and that his 

 professional reputation may suffer injury in consequence of an oversight. 



The late Lord de Tabley, that munificent patron of British Art, 

 some years back, projected a magnificent series of illustrations of Brit- 

 ish Ichthyology, to be engraved in the line manner from original draw- 

 ings by the noble amateur himself; the descriptions were to have eman- 

 ated from the talented pen of W. Jerdan, Esq. ; but the lamented 

 indisposition and subsequent demise of his Lordship, we believe, 

 unfortunately suspended the publication. 



A History and Description of the late Houses of Parliament, and ancient 

 Palatial Edifices of Westminster, By John Britton and Edward W. 

 Brayley. Parts IV. and V. London : John Weale, High Holborn. 



By an Address inserted in the first of these numbers, it seems that 

 the spirited authors have lately obtained access to some important docu- 

 ments relating to the ancient Palace of Westminster ; and as extensive 

 researches are now making among the national archives for further 

 authentic materials, they are anxious to avail themselves of such oppor- 

 tunities, in the hope of giving additional value and increased interest to 

 the work. The quantity of letter-press in these two numbers is in 



* The plates for the Annuals are, invariably, wrought much deeper than is ac" 

 ceptable to the judgment of the connoisseur 



