319 



of Sebastian Bourdon, particularly deserve 

 to be cited, as very striking specimens of the 

 union of grandeur and picturesqueness. One 

 picture, in which this union is most hap- 

 pily exemplified, I have had frequent op- 

 portunities of examining, in the houses of 

 its late, and present possessors : and, what is 

 no shght advantage, have often heard their 

 remarks upon it.* The subject is, the ark 

 of the covenant on its progress, when it was 

 recovered from the Philistines. It is repre- 

 sented in its passage over a bridge, on the 

 opposite side of which are several figures ; 

 some of whose attitudes and countenances 

 express profound awe and devotion, and 



* It was left as a legacy to Sir George Beaumont by 

 Sir Joshua Reynolds ; who thought that the grandeur of 

 its style (which he always spoke of with admiration) was 

 of so peculiar a cast, and so far removed from obvious 

 common nature, as to be incapable of being truly relished, 

 except by minds of strong original feeling, and long accus- 

 tomed to contemplate the higher excellencies of the art. 

 Such a legacy from such a man, is a panegyric 



■ Distinct and clear 

 As any muse's tongue could speak. 



