And, when the heavenly harps inspire The song of praise and prayer; The dream of life is fading fast- The hymn was finished-but the last notes had scarce died away on my ears, when a piercing shriek announced that all was over, that the dreaded, yet inevitable event had come to pass. Exhausted with the exertions which he had made in the performance of his last religious duties, the invalid had sunk back upon his pillow. His eyes were now closed, and his features were almost painfully calm. Indeed, so gradual had been the departure of life, that a faint smile seemed even yet to hover over the lips of the deceased. Zillah leaned over the body of her father; pale, and motionless as a statue. A careless observer would have called her unfeeling, so devoid was her countenance of all external marks of sorrow. But no-hers was not that impatient grief which vents itself in tears and exclamations, and then passes away; but that keener, and more lasting regret, which, like the "worm that dieth not," preys on the heart incessantly, and embitters the happiest moments of future years. The two elders were still standing at the foot of the bed; and in the same position in which I first observed them. The slightly compressed lip, and an almost imperceptible contraction of the brow alone betrayed their consciousness of what had come to pass. Age had blunted their feelings, and destroyed the more sensitive portion of their nature. The old nurse alone seemed wholly unaffected; death was her trade-and she had viewed the grim tyrant in forms too terrible to be moved by him when in his mildest shape. She still sate dozing over the fire. The scene had now closed-and nothing remained which could either excite my curiosity, or require my commiseration. I tore myself with difficulty from the post which I had so long occupied, and sauntered slowly home, to meditate upon all I had seen and heard, and to profit by it. The Comte De Viry was a man of the greatest secresy and reserve. most trifling message delivered to one of his domestics was a mystery to all the others; and if he happened to be indisposed, it was a state secret. He once called a surgeon to dress an ulcer on his leg; and when a similar one broke out on the other, he sent for a different surgeon, that the disordered state of both limbs might not be known-a circumstance which was the cause of his death; when to a person who inquired for him, his secretary said, "he is dead, but he does not wish it to be known." NO. III. 2 c A TEAR. (FROM THE FRENCH OF DE LAMARTINE.) "Tombez, larmes silencieuses Non plus entre des mains pieuses, Down, down to earth, ye silent tears, Oh! let me, then, no longer seek But nurse, with silent tears, my grief,- When at the hour the troubled soul,- When faithless friendship turns aside, Unheedful of our throes; And the last earthly prop gives way, When feeble man, who weakly fears Leaves us far off to face our griefs 'Tis then thy gentle voice, my God! 'Tis then thy hand removes the weight The icy weight of grief. 'Tis then we feel that gentle voice Now like a friend, our weary head Is laid upon thy breast; And eyes that see us sweetly smile, Ask of us, "whence such rest?" The raptured soul absorbed in prayer,— Lost in effulgent light Feels the warm gush of sorrowing tears Sink at the glowing sight. Like the last dew-drop on the rock, Dried by the sun's bright ray; Which neither shade, nor wind, nor storm, Had power to take away! FINE ARTS. BIRMINGHAM EXHIBITION OF MODERN ART. BY WILLIAM CAREY. ON Thursday, the 11th instant, this annual display was opened to the public at that noble edifice, the Institution of the Society of Arts or Artists, in New-street, and owing to its commencement so late in September, any notice of it to be in time for insertion in the allotted pages of "The Analyst," to be published on the 1st of October, can include little more than a cursory glance at a few leading points, and some general remarks on the character of the whole. Owing to this urgency, by far the greater number of the pictures and of the exhibitors must be passed in this brief outline without mention, solely through a want of space and time. The candid reader and the impartial artist, will not, therefore, mistake the omissions for any indication of a want of inclination on my part, or of merit in the works so unnoticed. My will may be judged of by the fact that, although not wholly recovered from the sufferings of an acute illness, I have suspended my own immediate avocations, and journied from a distance here, at some risk of a relapse, but, fortunately, as yet, without any ill consequence, to write my notes for this brief communication, from the exhibited paintings and sculpture. When these things are considered, and that I have no personal interest whatever in the exhibition, or in the publication in which these observations are intended to appear, my wish to be of service will hardly admit of question, although my judgment very justly may. The collection includes 532 productions of the British pencil and chisel, and necessarily, like all other public exhibitions in England and on the Continent, it includes some inferior things, some of a better order, a great majority very excellent, and many master-pieces of the highest class. I may truly say it is a very splendid exhibition. The great national school, the Royal Academy, has lent its powerful aid. The President, Sir Martin Archer Shee, and the following Royal Academicians are exhibitors:-Bailly, Calcott, A. E. Chalon, A. Cooper, Collins, Constable, Daniell, Etty, H. Howard, Leslie, Reinagle, Sir J. Soane, Phillips, Turner, Westall, and J. Ward; added to these are the associate Academicians, G. Arnald, J. J. Chalon, Drummond, F. Danby, Stanfield, and Witherington. These eminent artists, on this muster of British genius, appear, generally, with one or two exceptions, in their strength. There are also one hundred and ten additional London artists exhibitors; fifty of Birmingham and its immediate vicinity, and seventeen more provincials. In the whole number, there are fifteen female artists, fair candidates for public favour. In the great room, there are three subjects from Shakspeare; one of them, "No. 1-Miranda entreating Prospero to allay the Storm," by J. King, is a large picture, which, from the necessity of the arrangements, is hung at the top of the room too high for any detailed observation of its merits. The other two, 124 and 128, are of a small cabinet size, by T. P. Stephanoff, and, with the exception of Desdemona's profile, in the best manner of this popular artist. There are four sacred and scriptural subjects; "15-Abraham and Isaac in thanksgiving after the deliverance from the Sacrifice," by J. King, one of the most successful efforts of his pencil; 137-a capital gallery picture of "Christ disputing with the Doctors," by R. Westall, R. A. The composition is full but not crowded. The various workings of the passions are strongly marked in the old heads, and the meek fervour, in the countenance of Christ, is a fine specimen of expression; the light and shadow are well diffused, and the general effect is solemn and reposive. "152-The Calling of Samuel," by W. Green. This is intended for a gallery, and if the artist has not wholly overcome all the difficulties of the subject, he has evinced much practical skill and originality of invention. 157-Eve," by J. Mills, is rather a small size, and, being hung at the top of the room, is too high for critical inspection. There are, in this room, two interesting scenes from Lord Byron ; "11-Haidee and her Attendants recovering Don Juan after his Shipwreck,' a free, tasteful, sketchy performance, by S. Drummond, A. R. A.; and "57-Haidee aroused from her Trance by the sound of Music," by H. G. Hurlstone. These figures are half-lengths, about the size of life, and cleverly composed. The expression, particularly the vague unsettled gaze which betrays the disturbed mind of the heroine, is very good. The characters of the Corsair and Harper are strikingly defined, and the young attendant is well introduced. There is an ideal elegance in the forms of Haidee's head, neck, shoulders, bosom, and extended arm; and the execution is loose and full. The colouring, in general, is mellow; but the cold purple drapery descending from her shoulders forms a line down the middle of the composition, which disturbs the union, and, as it were, divides the effect into two. As this artist is skilled in the science of scumbling and glazing, a very little effort of his able pencil would bring this cold drapery into tone, and remove the only flaw in this, otherwise, commanding picture. In this first room there are also twenty-eight fancy subjects, single figures or groups, inventions from nature, or striking incidents from modern novels, &c. There is one composition, "25-Hylas and the Nymphs," from "Apollonius Rhodius," by Wm. Etty, R. A.-but that one, though not without some of what Pope, in referring to Homer, has termed, 'brave neglects," is an exhibition in itself. This precious work of art is now the envied property of Vincent Thompson, Esq. This room also contains sixty-nine landscapes, thirty-five portraits of ladies, gentlemen, and children, fourteen pictures of dogs, horses, cows, a Spanish ass and foal, one of fish, and four of dead game. It will be seen from this rough and hasty classification, how the public taste runs ; and sorry am I to observe that the taste for British historical painting is not advancing. On the contrary, judging from this, and other recent exhibitions, in London and elsewhere, it is rather losing than gaining ground. Again I remind the amateur reader, and the candid artist, that the necessity of hastening this manuscript to the Editor, allows only a few opportunities of detail, and obliges me, unwillingly, to confine myself to a very concise and scanty general idea. The superior class of landscapes is numerous, but amidst this rich harvest, I can only name a few, and if some commendation escapes from me on any work of excellence, I feel like a criminal, in being forced to pass the next, perhaps of equal or superior merit, without a name or notice ! Among these treasures of art, are, "9-A landscape," with boatmen in a market-barge on a river, in the dusk of evening, and a sullen gleam of sunny reflection still lingering on the horizon of a sombre sky; a picture of a deep, low tone, and prodigious power. When I first saw it, some years ago, it was much clearer; it is now loaded with smoke, or impure varnish, which gives a degree of heaviness to the effect. "37-Stormy Evening," and "99-The Thames, near Twickenham," are by Wm. Havell, whose whole soul is wrapped up in the poetry of art. These two are fine works of genius. The sun absolutely glitters in the latter; but it is somewhat coarse and mannered in the handling;-the former combines the grandeur of Titian with the phenomenic flashes of light and fierce tones of Mola. The spirit of the storm is abroad, the huge oaks appear to topple, and the whole landscape is in motion. This inspired creation reminds me of "Stormy Twilight," by the same artist, which I noticed in 1809, in my printed letter to "J. A. (Colonel Anderdon), a connoisseur in London.” Mr. Angerstein afterwards purchased that splendid water-colour painting. 99.66 The enchantment of this Havell has almost spell-bound me, but I must proceed to "58-Caernarvon Castle," 61-A Water Mill at Aberayron, Wales," and "73-A Timber Ship ashore, near Aberystwith," by Wm. Earl, three works which reflect high honour on this excellent artist's taste, feeling, and execution. "64-Solitude," the property of John Gibbon, Esq. by F. Danby, A. R. A., is a composition of the very highest quality, replete with beauty and grandeur; the handling vigorous but solid; the colour, the living truth itself, and a truth delivered in such a tone of deep and golden harmony, that no words can convey an adequate idea of its magic effect upon the mind. The breadth is so extensive, so admirable, that without any sacrifice of clearness or form, it presents all the various objects and passages in the landscape as one! Never did the pencil of Nicholas or Gaspar Poussin, at whose altars I am, and ever will be, a worshipper, represent the stillness of the sublime with more majesty and repose. This fine production adds a new glory to the British school. It is a chef d'œuvre by one of the greatest landscape-painters in the world. In the very foremost line of the first class, as a colourist; great as a designer; with the elevated imagination of a poet and painter; what is it that he cannot accomplish if roused by a sacred emulation to the highest pitch of his extraordinary powers? "84 -On the Banks of Loch Lomond," by P. Rogers; the cool, clear, airy serenity of Claude, in his purest silvery style, pervades this delicious landscape; the execution is all in fine taste, and the effect very fascinating. "153-L'Isle Berb on the Soane," C. Stanfield, A.R.A.; this jewel beyond price, is in the collection of the Right Hon. Lord Northwick. Here, also, the cool, airy, local colouring enchants the eye, with the simplicity, truth, and freshness of nature. I never think of it, but I catch myself repeating "oh, how lovely! how very lovely!" 48-The Horse-ferry," by A. Cooper, R.A.; a cabinet picture, which for correct drawing, and general delicacy of penciling, might hang beside a Wouvermans, and not suffer by comparison. "101-Entrance into the harbour of Marseilles," by W. Daniell, R.A. is one of his very attractive pictures. He has, also, "76-A rich romantic prospect in Ceylon ;" and 296, 385, 418, and 489, all well selected picturesque scenes in India, embellished with groups of figures in their native costume, painted with much taste and elegant fancy, and furnishing very interesting and beautiful views in that country. "133The Moorish Tower at Seville, called the Geralada, painted in that city, in 1833," by D. Roberts. The splendour of light in a bright unclouded sky, and the rich colour on the principal building, combined with the singular variety and grandeur of the Moorish architecture, render this one of Roberts's most magnificent prospects. With all Canaletti's exquisite sense of colour, his happy selection of Venetian architecture, and his brilliant execution (to which I do homage and pay the full tribute of admiration), yet, here, he is not only equalled, but surpassed, by this |