RetrofpeSi of Domejlic Literature — Fijie Arts. 63i5> 



in a Series of Letters from a 'Noble- 

 man to a Minijlcr of State," that it is 

 edited by the Author of the Revolu- 

 TiONARv Plutarch ; wliole defamatory 

 productions have been peiufed with too 

 much eagernefs by our touutrynien. The 

 traveller liimfelf", ue are told, was a 

 IBrabant nobleman. He gives no ac- 

 count of the countries or places through 

 which he profelies to have paffed; but 

 contents himfelf with exhibiting a eata- 

 logue of crimes and improbabilities : 

 fuch as may be found in the Memoirs of 

 Talleyrand, and in the Secret Hiftory of 

 the Cabinet of St. Cloud. The prefent 

 work is in four volinnes octavo. 



In this clafs, alfo, we fliall place the 

 " Letters from Paraguai/,'" by John 

 Constance Davie, El'q." 



His voyage ap])cars to have originated 

 in adifappointmeut of a tender nature; 

 and he emiiarked firll lor America. Hav- 

 ing refided fome time at New York, he 

 determined to proceed on a trading voy- 

 age to Botany Bay, and accordingly pro- 

 vided himfelf witii a llock of old cloi/ies. 

 In tho-latitudc of Rio dc Janeiro, how- 

 ever, the fliip was overtaken by a ftgrm, 

 and .forced into Monte Video ; where, 

 after recovering from an illnel's of three 

 months' continuance, IMr. Davie was 

 detained a prifoncr by order of the go- 

 ■» ernment. He aftei-wards Succeeded in 

 procuring an appointment to attend one 

 of the fathers of the convent of St. Do- 

 minic, at Buenos Ayres, on a miflion to 

 Ififija I\Injor; where, during the infur- 

 rection of the Indian*, he was faved by 

 a native, and afterwards got back to 

 Buenos Ayres. The portion of Mr. 

 Davie's corrcfpondcnce here fubmitted 

 to the public, api>ears to have been ad- 

 dielVed to a fiiend at New York, It is 

 light and volatile, and with fewer details 

 which illuftrate (he condition of the 

 country through which lie palTed, tlian 

 ^▼e expeiSted. Indeed, at Buenos Ayres, 

 the good fathers of St. Dominic feem to 

 liave attrai^ed the greatef), fliare of his 

 ftttenfion. The lail time he was heard 

 of was at Conception iu Chili, fo long 

 ago as 1803. 



FINE ARTS. 



Foremoft in this clafs, rather than 

 among the Travels, we place Mr. Tap- 

 PE.v's " J^rofrjftoiial Olfrrvalions on the 

 Architecture of the principal- Ancient arid 

 Atiffern Buildings in France and Italy ; 

 ■tdlh Remarks on the Fainting and Sculp- 

 t'lre ; and a concife Local Defaiption of 

 the Countries." 



They were written from fketdies and 



memoranda, made during the fliort peace 

 which allowed our countrymen to vifit 

 that portion of the continent which has 

 been fo long the belt repolitory of tha 

 Arts. The author is an architect. In 

 tracing the outline of the beauties and 

 defci'is which feem to mark the princi- 

 pal flruclures, the information he gives 

 is at oncQ concife and fatisfadory ; and 

 though his llyle may not in every trif- 

 ling inftancc be corre6t, it does no^ 

 ftaud in need of the apology with v.hich 

 the preface clofes. We have feen few 

 profeflional v.'orks written with more free- 

 dom than the prefent. His retlections 

 on th^ arts a.e found ; and they appear 

 to moll advantage when they relieve the 

 duUnefs of technical defcription. To 

 follow him minutely through his route, 

 would be irapoflible, as it would exceed 

 the limits to which our Retrolpecl con- 

 fines us. A few of the more proininenf; 

 defcriptions, or more ufeful criticifms, 

 are all that we can notice. Omitting all 

 that relates to the modern buildings of 

 France, whether at St. Cloud, the Lou- 

 vi-e, or V'erfailles, it may be enough to 

 fay, that the cathedral of Amiens, the 

 amphitheatre, the temple of Diana, and 

 the aqueduct at Nifnies, appear to have 

 been worthy objects of attention. At 

 Pila, our author canvaflfes the diiTerent 

 opinions which relate to the conitruflion 

 of the celebrated tower, the upper part 

 of which is nearly fifteen feet out of the 

 perpendicular: he attributes its inclina- 

 tion to a partial comprelTion of the earth 

 at the time when the building wus but 

 half finifhed, becaufe from the third fl;ory 

 tiie whole appears to have received a 

 more upright direction. The architedts, 

 he lays, were av,'arc of their danger ; and 

 though they were not deterred from pro- 

 fecuting the work, they here began to 

 counteract the mifchief, by increaling 

 the height of the columns on the inclined 

 fide, fo as to approach by fiow degrees 

 to the level of the other ; and thus throw- 

 ing the centre of gravity, as much as 

 they could, within the bafe of the tower. 

 The Duomo, the Baptiltcry, and the 

 Campo Santo, are the next principal ob- 

 jetts in this neighbourhood. The de- 

 fcription of the Tul'can ladies, however, 

 evinces an attention to fomcthing more 

 than the mere works of art. At Flo- 

 rence, X'iterbo, and Rome, both the de- 

 fcriptions and criticifms are extended ; 

 and in condenfing his remarks Mr. Tap- 

 j)cn appears to have taken advantage of 

 the works of the hell profollional writers 

 who have gone before him ; \'itruviu», 

 4 M'2 burlio, 



