1802.] 
pleted by a croup of angels hovering above 
in adoration.”” Once more, I do wih 
thefe angels would take themfelves off, 
Such are the little detcriptions which 
are attached to the Notice of thofe paint- 
ings which moit require explanation: the 
<* Notice des Statues, Buftes, et Bas reliefs, 
de la Galerie des Antiques,” is {till more 
tull and defcriptive: when we defcend into 
the ttatue-gallery, I thall give you a f{pe- 
€imen or two. Fhe Adminifration of the 
“¢ Central Mufeum of Arts,” as the Louvre 
is now called, has it in contemplation to 
publith a Catalogue général et raifonné of 
the paintings in this gallery, which we 
fhall all he very anxious to fee: the pre- 
fent concile one is publifhed at the mode- 
rate price of one tranc ‘‘ én faveur de la 
élaffe la moins fortunée.”’ 
{ thall not enter inco French politics, or 
coniider what degree of favour and atten- 
tion is extended towards the clafe la moins 
Sortunée by Government, in refpe& to civil 
Jiberty: but every one will acknowledge, 
that there is fomething noble in throwing 
open the doors of every public eftablith 
ment, libraries, mufeums, cabinets, gar- 
dens, &c. to the gratuitous admiffion of 
every individual. The meaneft thoc-black 
in the republic may perambulate the halls 
of the Louvre with the fame independent 
ftep that the Firti Conful could: admif- 
fion is equally free for both on the eighth, 
ninth, and tenth of every decade. Fo- 
reigners and ftudents have free ingre{s on 
every day except one, which probably is 
the Decade itteif, a day entirely of civil 
reft, and totally unconnected with reli- 
gious obfervances: ali the offices are then 
fhut up, and no public bufinels is trant- 
atted. 
We took advantage of the polite and 
handfume privilege thus offered to to- 
reigners, 2nd walked into the Louvre 
when none but ourfelves and ftudents had 
admiffion: ot thele latter we always faw 
a confiderable number, fome elevated on 
little {caffolds, others fitting, others ftand- 
ing, employed in copying their favourite 
picture or their favourite ftatue. ‘There 
is fomething extremely claflical and inter- 
efting in this fcene. 
We fhould anticipate in England (tho’ 
in all probability without reafon) much 
confufion and inconvenience from this open 
unlimited admiffion of perfons of every de- 
{cription into fuch galleries as thefe are.* 
* I cannot, in juftice, omit to notice an un~ 
fortunate fact, which is point-blank againft 
me. Mr. Gwynn, in his ** London and 
Weftminfer improved,” has the following 
An Excurfion through France to Geneva. 
41S 
The utmoft decorum prevails here: we 
have been in the Louvre when there could 
fearcely be fewer than two or three hun- 
dred perfons in it—bos, fur, fus, atque fa- 
cerdos—without cence having the oppor- 
tunity to notice the flghteft violation of 
paflage :—‘* In the year 1760, the firft ex- 
hibition of the Artifts of Great Britain was 
made, and another the year following 5 but 
as every Member of the Society was at liberty 
to diftribute what number of tickets for ad- 
mittance he thought fit, that which was in- 
tended only as a polite, entertaining, and 
rational amufement for the public, became a 
jeene of tumult and diforder; and to fuch a 
height was the rage of vifiting the exhibition 
carried, that, when the Members themfelves 
had fatisfied their own curiofity, the room 
was crowded during the hours allotted for the 
exhibition, with menial fervants and their 
acquaintance. ‘This proftitution of the polite 
arts undoubtedly became extremely difagree- 
able to the Profefiors themfelves, who heard 
alike with indignation their works cen- 
fured or approved by kitchen-maids and ftable- 
boys”? ‘The context, however, may fairly 
lead one to fufpect, that this {cene of tumult 
and confufion was merely, that a tafle for the 
polite arts, which kitchen-maids and ftable- 
boys had, for the firit time in their lives, an 
Opportunity of gratifying, drew more of them 
into the exhibition-room than it was calcu- 
lated to accommodate. Mr. Gwyn is ex- 
tremely indignant that fuch perfons fhould 
give an opinion on a work of art: the Artifts 
themfelves thought otherwife, or they would 
not have been fo lavith with their tickets ; 
they. remembered the old ftory of Apelles, 
perhaps, which efcaped the recollection of 
Mr. Gwyn. The ftory goes—that when 
Apelles had finifhed a picture, he publicly 
expofed it, and ufed to hide himfelf behind 
the canvas in order to profit by the critic.fms 
which he heard on his performance: it 
chanced one day that a cobler came to view 
it, and, having an eye to the honour of his 
profeiiion, was a lit.le out of humour in ob- 
ferving, that the fhoes did not fit the feet of 
one of the heroes quite fo well as they fhould 
do, Apelles paid a proper ref{peét to the opi- 
nion of his critic, who certainly knew where 
the fhoe pinched much better than he did, 
and immediately correéted the fault. Thus 
much againft Mr. Gwyn: but the ftory goes 
a little farther, and is more in his favour. 
The cobler happened to pafs by this pi€ture a 
fecond time, and was ftruck with the altera- 
tion, which fo flattered his judgment, that 
he muft now extend his criticifm truly to the 
fhape of the leg! This was too bad—Apelles 
could bear it no longer, but peeping from 
behind his canvas exclaimed, ‘* No, no, 
friend, you may be a very gvod cobler, but 
prithee don’t fet yourfelf up for an anatomift 
—Ne futor ultra crepidam !” 
propriety | 
