235 
is ejected. Then the handle is turned a second time, which 
closes this valve and opens the first one, leading to the tube that 
is fixed in the stomach, and the operation is continued until no 
poison is left in the stomuch. Mr. Weiss told me, that Some 
weeks ago, by means of this instrument, his son had saved the 
life of a girl, who had taken a considerable dose of arsenic in a 
fit of amorous desperation. 
The English nobility give, at certain times, in the British in¬ 
stitution, Pallmall street, a public exhibition of their collections 
of precious paintings. Just now there was the king’s collection 
of paintings from his palace, Carlton-house, because they were 
about to demolish this palace, and in its place erect an edifice 
after the model of the Parthenon at Athens, which is calculated 
to contain the works of English artists. This is a fine idea, and 
certainly encouraging for the artists of this nation, but it is a pity 
that it causes the destruction of this elegant palace. The British 
institution is a building which consists of three large halls, and 
which receive their light from above. The collection mostly 
contained paintings of Flemish artists, some English, and a few 
Italian and French. There were seven pieces by Rubens, amongst 
which I particularly noticed his own likeness and that of his first 
wife, finished in the same manner as those in the collection of 
Mr. Schamp at Ghent, and at Warwick Castle; besides these, a 
landscape with figures, representing the history of St. George, 
with the portraits of Queen Henrietta Maria and Charles I. 
for whom it was done. Seven paintings by Vandyk, among 
which the portraits of Charles I. in three views, which his 
lady had sent to the statuary Bernini at Rome, to finish the 
bust of the king therefrom. A sketch, studies of horses and 
horsemen, of remarkable value, and a full-size portrait of Gas¬ 
ton de France, and two portraits of Queen Henrietta Maria, 
which, like that of her unfortunate husband, I might call una¬ 
voidable, because it is to be found almost in every collection 
of paintings in England. I found seven pieces by Rembrandt, 
among which were several excellent portraits, and his own; they 
were all easily distinguished by his particular colouring. Four¬ 
teen paintings by Teniers, collections of people; small portraits; 
a view of the towns of Holland, and a couple of landscapes, one 
of which represents likewise, the artist, his wife, and his gardener; 
a real ornament to this collection. One of these pieces, repre¬ 
senting a village festival, had been on the artist’s harpsichord. I 
admired two other pieces, in the same style, by J. Ostade, and 
seven by A. Ostade; six by Jan Steen. One of the latter, very 
excellently finished, represented an elderly man, just rising from 
bed, who is listening to the reproaches of a young girl, for his 
niggardliness; she holds forth to him a trifle of money, and an old 
