—— ee 
416 
on account of the quality of the soil in its 
neighbourhood, and also in regard to 
water, being an angle formed by the 
Jargest stream of fresh water known to 
exist within the colony. A number of 
natives, employed upon the new road, 
which has been already cut to this place, 
having built houses, and collected a quan- 
tity of hve-stoek, at the foot of Leices- 
ter Mountam, about half way between 
the old ana new settlements; they have 
‘been encouraged to settle-in this position, 
and the place has received the name of 
Leicester. Some progress has also been 
made here in the establishment of a 
Monthly Retrospect of the Fine Arts. 
[Nov }, 
school of cadets, in which it is proposed 
to educate a number of Afvican boys, 
-who may hereafter form the officers of an 
African army. A barrack in Fort Thorn- 
ton has been appropriated to the use of 
these cadets ; and in addition to one of 
the schoolmasters sent out by the Bri- 
tish Government, an experienced ser- 
jeant of the African corps has been ap- 
pointed to superintend them, The ha- 
“ven of this settlement is undergoing eon- 
siderable alteration, and it is expected, 
that it will be found practicable to extend 
it to near four times its original size. - 
Sr cee ener . 
MONTHLY RETROSPECT or tue FINE ARTS. 
The Use of all New Prints, and Communication of Articles of Intelligence, &c. are ré- 
guesied under Coven to the Care of the Publisher. 
Fe ‘ 
Phe New Theatre Reyal, Cowent-Garden, erected 
1809, from the Designs of Robert Smirke, esq. 
jun, Associate of the Royal Academy of London. 
(Continued from page 303.) 
FN. passing through the interior of this 
theatre, diiferent feelings’ are ex- 
cited; the passages, avenues, staircases, 
and vomitories, are too complex and nus 
merous ; a greater portion of simplicity, 
and fewer ups and downs, would have 
been a considerable improvement in the 
place. The grand staircase enterjng 
from Bow-street is magnificent, and im- 
posing in its eflect, but it suffers from the 
whiteness of the bases and capitals of 
‘the columns, the shatts, being imitations 
of a species of brecchia of the finest 
scagliola ever executed. On entering 
the vestibule, between the staircase and 
Saloon, the figure of Shakespeare, by 
Rossi, presents itself, in all the austere 
simplicity of the poet. In the saloon are 
some fine casts, after the antique, that 
are above praise, their beauties and per- 
fections being stamped by. fame. In 
these roomsy and in different parts of 
the theatre, are some paintings in chiaro 
scuro, by the academician Smirke, in 
imitations of basso-relievus, from Shake- 
speare, possessing the highest merit, both 
for design and execution; the effect is so 
perfect, that it might well be doubted, 
whether or not they areveal: plasters. 
The auditory or theatre is well adapted 
for the conveyance of sound; the fronts 
of the boxes being plain, without breaks 
or moldings, are well adapted for con- 
veying the voice to the audience. 
back of the pit being also plain, without 
the small boxes that ave in some thea- 
tres, and were at Dyury-lane, teflects, 
The . 
instead of absorbing, the voice, and per- 
mits the actor to be perfectly heard in 
the one shilling gallery. There are yet 
two objections to be made, now we are 
upon the subject of acoustics, which is, 
that were the partitions of the private. 
boxes remeved, and the basket or back 
boxes stopped out by the back partitions 
of the side boxes being carried round, 
the reflection of the sound would be 
still more perfect, as the round of little 
cells (that the private boxes now are), 
and the depth of the basket, or back 
boxes, absorb the sound in a consider- 
able degree, tae 
We now return to the exterior, and 
take Jeave to say afew words on the 
sculpture in the principal front. Ithas been - 
already so often and so well described, 
and is so self-evident to every person of 
taste, that it would be useless to waste 
time and our limited space in describing 
them here. The basso-relievos are de- 
signed by Flaxman, and, like the archi- 
tecture, are executed in the finest Greek 
style; they are highly honourable to the 
arts of England, and are such, proots 
of a high advancement in true taste, 
that every ‘lover’ of his country’s 
fame must glory in calling them the 
works of an English artist. The same 
praise is due to both the statues—Jra- 
gedy, by Rossi, who executed one of 
the basso-relievos ; and Comedy, by Flax- 
man, 
Collection of Portraits sketched from the Life, by 
Geerge Dance, R.A. and engraved by Wn. 
Daniel. A. R. A.’ No. 1, Now 2, and 
No. 3. ; 
Whatever may have been advanced 
generally against portrait painting, as to 
its 
ee 3 
