90 



phael ; Communion of St. Jerome, Martyrdom of 

 St. Agnes, &c. by Domenichino; Vicrge duRosaire 

 by the same ; St. Jerome by Correggio, — the first 

 and last esteemed the masterpiece of those two 

 painters : la Mere de Pitie, the chef d'eeuvre of 

 Guido, that of Titian, of Tintoret, of Rubens, the 

 Descent from the Cross (for which the inhabitants 

 of Antwerp offered 40,000/.), Vandyk's Dead Christ, 

 la Femme Hydropiquc of Gerard Douw, Poussin's 

 Deluge ; &c. The collection is particularly rich in 

 Guidos. There are perhaps forty Guidos, and cer- 

 tainly not so few as a hundred pictures of Rubens ; 

 every church in the Low Countries being pillaged. 

 Any attempt to express what one feels on entering 

 this extraordinary place would be absurd ; I felt 

 all the time quite bewildered with wonder and de- 

 light. We have received great civility from Mr. 

 Jackson, and have lately been introduced to some 

 Russian ladies, — the Princess Galitzin and her sis- 

 ters, who are most delightfully pleasant people. 



You shall hear all our motions ; and with our 

 united regards to yourself and Mrs. Smith, 

 Believe me, ever yours, 



Thomas Talbot. 



From the same. 



My dear Sir, Paris, 19 Ventose, 1802. 



It is really almost setting about an impossible 

 task to give you an account of what is now to be 

 seen in Paris which did not exist when you were 



