may throw him again into the crowd, and that the hatred of his successor might send him to pine away in a prison." There is nothing in this reasoning which might not apply to Richelieu, to Wolsey, to Stafford, or any other arbitrary minister, of this or other countries; and as many people here would say, justly or not, to Mr. Pitt. It does not appear, however, that this consideration had much influence on their conduct. April 20-We have had, for the last fortnight, a serene sky, warm sun, and not a drop of rain; the thermometer 60° to 65°. The horse-chestnuts began, about the 15th instant, to burst their large glutinous buds at the extremity of every bough, each unfolding its ample green umbrella, with downy ribs. The Lombardy poplars are not forward, and do not seem to grow well here. The beautiful red tassels of the Judas tree begin to shew themselves through the bark. Honeysuckle and rose-bushes are all in leaf. The first green of the grass is less striking here than in America, as it does not disappear entirely in the winter. The lark is heard, but not the nightingale yet. It is worth while to go to Hampton Court to see Raphael's cartoons. They are admirable for greatness of composition, drawing, and expression. I begin to think that Raphael was a great man sometimes. That of Ananias struck blind, delighted me most. A skilful artist, Mr. Holloway, has been at work some years, engraving these cartoons; he is now employed at a highly-finished drawing of one of them, from which the engraving is afterwards to be made. The palace of Hampton Court is very large, divided into several courts, two gothic, and one modern. It is thought to have beauties, which we could not discover, LONDON-CARTOONS OF RAPHAEL. -121 The site is flat, the garden planted in the old fashion of strait walks, and trees cut into shapes, vases, animals, &c. or rather they have been; for their education having been neglected for some years past, they now suggest the idea of unlicked cubs, with their long hair sticking out on all sides. There are some fine pictures in the apartments by Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Rosa, and other great masters. I noticed four large pictures by Sebastian Richy, Lazarus, the Last Supper, &c. which I thought very good. The Prince of Orange inhabited this palace, when he came over in 1795. A new panorama is now exhibiting in London; it is of Flushing. The spectator is placed in the middle of the town, on the top of some high building: bombs and rockets pierce the roofs of the houses, which are instantly in flames, or burst in the middle of the streets, full of the dismayed inhabitants, flying from their burning dwellings with their effects, and carrying away the sick and wounded. It is a most terrifying picture. At the sight of so much misery, all the common-places about war become again original, and the sentimental lamentations on suffering humanity oppress and sicken the soul, as if they were uttered for the first time. That feeling of lively pity, contrasted with your own safety, painted with such force and nature by one of the best poets of this poetical land, recurs strongly here. "Ask the crowd, Who fly impatient from the village-walk To climb the neighbouring cliffs, where far below Smites their distorted limbs and horrent hair; VOL. I. Catches her child, and pointing where the waves The English are great in practical mechanics. In no country in the world are there, perhaps, so many happy applications of that science, I might say, of that peculiar sense, of that instinct of the human species. A gentleman of the name of Mann has invented a wooden-leg of ingenious construction; an elastic spring wraps round the heel, continues under the sole of the foot, to the extremity of the toes, in such a manner as to imitate exactly the double motion of these parts in walking. There are of course joints. The artificial limb is made on the model of the natural one; it is hollow; the stump hangs in it, but is stopped at the knee, which rests in a sort of funnel, so exactly adapted, that the junction does not appear, and that the part is enabled to bear, without any inconvenience, the weight of the body in walking. I heard, with surprise, of a gentleman of our acquaintance having one of these wooden-legs, without my having observed it; and a young lady in the same situation is so slightly lame, that it is impossible to say on which side it is. Mr. Mann was first led to turn his mind to this subject, from a desire to relieve his own brother, who had lost his leg above the knee; and his fraternal affection has, in the end, made his fortune. I do not know exactly how his invention applies to cases of ampu tation above the knee, and do not believe he can have found so good a substitute in that case. This same ingenious person, or his brother, has invented LONDON-MUSICAL MACHINE. 123 a musical instrument with chords or strings, in the shape of a grand piano-forte, and with the same keys; each key, when touched, lifts one of the chords, which is brought into contact with a bow (archet) or skein of horse hair, moving continually on two wheels or axes, put in motion by a weight. There is here more scope for skill and taste than either in the organ or the forte piano; for although the sound of the pipe of the organ may be prolonged at pleasure, it cannot be modified as to strength, or quality of sound: the piano, on the contrary, is susceptible of modification of sound, by the manner of touching the key, but cannot receive duration; whereas, this instrument unites both advantages, the sound lasts as long as you touch the key, and the quality varies with the strength applied by the finger, precisely as on the violin. The chords being very large, and the bow powerful, sounds are obtained similar to the deep bass stops of the organ, with all the softness and richness of the violoncello. Besides two exhibitions of oil pictures, there are two of water-colours, very superior to the others, and to any thing, I believe, of the sort in Europe. It seems strange that these eminent artists should choose a mode of painting which has great disadvantages, inferior capabilities, and is less lasting. But this is a female mode of painting; the only prac tical amateurs of the art here are women, therefore artists are to look for encouragement from them. Pugilism is a regular science in England, as fen-cing is in France. Fighting for the sake of improvement is called sparring, and in good earnest, boxing. In sparring, the hand is covered with much the same sort of glove as in fencing. I have been taken to a fives-court, where I have seen some of the -- best professors, and some amateurs of this noble art, spar. Two combatants, naked to the waist, aseended a theatre or stage, fifteen or twenty feet square, and three or four high, erected in the centre of the fives-court; each had his second; they shook hands, like the salute in fencing, then on their guard; one foot forward,-knees a little bent, the principal weight of the body on the foremost leg,fist held to the height of the chin, at the distance of about a foot. In this attitude the combatants observe each other, eye to eye, watching their opportunity to place a blow, which is darted, rather than struck, with the back of the hand or knuckles; a moderate blow well planted, gives a fall. The blows are parried with the outside of the arm, or with one hand, while the other returns the blow. The pugilists are very sparing of their strength and their wind; no unnecessary motion, no precipitation, and, above all, no anger. One of the first requisites is impassibility under the severest bodily pain. Notwithstanding the gloves, blood is spilt sometimes. Among the performers at the fives-court, Crib the younger, Gulley, and Belcher, were pointed out to me,-all names of renown in the art. They were not stout men, but remarkable for activity and coolness. The place was very full-a mixed company of people of all ranks,-a considerable proportion of men of fashion; and all went off in a very orderly and quiet manner. The sword or pistol equalize strength and secure politeness and circumspection between individuals in the higher ranks of society; the fist answers the same purpose between the high and the low. A gentleman well taught can by that means repress and punish vulgar insult, when supported by mere bodily strength. There -- |