86 
of Art from the Conquered Countries by 
the Victors ; Gotha Ellinger, 1803,) larely 
publifhed, that this fubjectis capable ot be- 
ing treated of in a moit interefting man- 
ner. What the French feized with the 
bayonet, Britons purchafed with their 
money. There is likewile a wide diffe- 
rence in the ue that is made of thefe ac- 
quilitions ; for it is to be Jamented, that 
in England there are not fuch public in- 
ftitutions as in Paris, or a Mufeum open 
throughout the year for the free admiffion 
of vifitois; that a view of the Britifh 
Mufeum cannot always be obtained with- - 
out much trouble and difficulty ; and that 
even the golden éatapult of Philip of Ma- 
cedon cannot always-force open the doors 
of private collections, Sir William Ha- 
milton, the moft public-fpirited and com- 
municative of the Exglith ‘collectors, to 
whom the Britifh Mufeum is indebted for — 
its moft valuable antiques, and who, dur. 
ing the thirty-five years he was Ambaffa- 
dor at Naples, purcoafed fo many valuable 
articles for himfelf and his numerous 
friends, died fome time ago. Excepting 
Mr. Charles Townley’s, in London, winch 
truly prineely collection is open for every 
connoifleur, fcarce one of all the private 
cabinets in England (which Dallaway has 
lately fo carefully recorded in his Anec- 
dotes of the Arts; London, Cadell, 1800) 
could be found, the antique treafures of 
which were acceffible to a ftranger— 
Many fuperb collections in the villas and 
country-houfes of noblemen and gentlemen 
are entirely fhut up for years, while the 
owners are ‘on their travels or in the capi- 
tal. The unfocial Briton is nct fond of 
fecing firange faces at his houfe ; and thus 
England becomes the grave of the valu- 
able remains of antiguity, which belony 
to the whele human race ; efpecially when 
they are taken away from countries where 
a more liberal fpirit prevailed. - It mutt be 
owned, however, that whatever is brought 
from the countries fubjeét. to barbarous 
‘Turks, may be confidered as faved from 
the l:me- kiln or the cemetery : and inthis 
pout cf view the works of art purchafed 
there by the Enghth for their private ufe, 
are a real acquifiticn to the arts. 
Lerd Elgin, who is om his way from 
Conftartinople to England, has been for 
fome weeks paft in Rome, whence \he in- 
tends to purfue his journey by land. He 
has brought back with him’ fome of the 
aitifts whom Lord Hamilton more than 
three years ago engaged here and at Na- 
pies to accompany him in his antiquarian 
Account of Lord Elgin’s Grecian Antiques, Fc. [ Aug. 1,’ 
and-artiftical expedition to Greece, Afiay 
and Egypt. I have had the pleafure of 
converfing with fome of them almott dai- 
_ ly, and am able to fend you a few intereft- 
ing particulars relative to this remarkable 
journey, which 1s now finifhed. The 
company confifted of Mr. Feodor, the 
draughtman, a Calmuc ; of M. Balafra, 
the architect, and his affiftant; M. I.ufi- 
eri, the landfcape-paimter, better known 
by the name of Don Tita ot Naples ; and 
of a ftatuary, a moulder in platter of Pa- 
ris, and a man of letters, whom Lord El- 
gin tock with him as his chaplain, but 
who in general accompanied the fociety of 
artis, or was employed in vifiting alone’ 
other claffic, regions of Greece, where 
there were no remains of antiquity to at= 
tract the attention of the former. The 
draughtiman and the architect have col- 
Je&ted the greateft number and moft valu- 
‘able materials for the Account of this 
Journey, which is to be publifhed: the 
former has made drawings of all the an- 
cient remains of the platic arts; and the 
latter has taken plans and_ perfpeétive 
views of allthe architectural monuments. 
Their drawings, which are executed with 
the greateft accuracy and neatnels, amount 
to fevcral hundreds. Don Tita remained 
at Athens,. partly for the purpole of 
finifhing the part affigned to him, confift- 
ing of views of temples, and of the 
country, and partly to fuperintend the 
embarkation of fuch articles as had 
been left behind. On their voyage out- 
wards, after taying fome weeks in Sicily, 
they proceeded between the fouthern pro- 
rnontory of the Morea and the ifland of. 
Cerigo, to Paros, Antiparos, Naxos, De- 
los, and between Tenedosand the Trojan 
fhore, through the ftraits of the Darda- 
nelles, to Conftantinople; where the whole 
company remained a month to make the 
neceflary preparations for their journey to 
Greece. Here the city of Athens, was for 
two years the refidence of. the artifts ; 
during which time Lord Hamilton purfued 
his travels through Afia Minor, Syria,. 
and Egypt. From Athens the artifts ee- 
cafionally made excurfions to the provinces 
of Greece, or voyages to fome of the 
iflands.. They vifited Thebes, Delphi, - 
Corinth, Epidaurus, Argos, Mycene, 
Sparta, Olympia, /Bgina, Salamis, Cape 
Sunium, Marathon ; and the architect went 
by land, through Theflaly and Thrace, to 
Conftantinoplé, whither he was called to 
ere&t- a palace for the Englith embafly ; 
for which it was intended to lay tHe . 
fs 
