yards in the fore ground, form an agreeable contrast to the desolute state of the exhumed city. Here may be seen an extensive colonade broken off at various heights, there a pedestal without a vestige of a statue, and in other places, walls painted in the gayest manner, broken bas-reliefs, and buildings in a more perfect state.

A good panorama is the nearest approach to deception in painting, that has ever been achieved. It is an English invention, of recent date, and has given rise to many other " oramas," the Diorama, the Cosmorama, the Naturama, &c. It is curious that De Loutherbourg, whose extraordinary powers in imitating the effects of nature were fully developed in his Eidophusikon, should never have thought of it. This Eidophusikon was a closer imitation of nature; but the motion and change of colour assisted it: the Panorama is a mere painting, and may be considered as a greater triumph of the art.

Mr. Burford has, in general, shown great judgment in the selection of his scenes, and particularly in this case. Who has not read of the dreadful catastrophe which befel Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabia; and who is there that does not wish to know the relative situations of the theatres, the temples, the fora, and other places in which the unfortunate inhabitants must have been collected, and the gates through which they must all have crowded to seek safety from the impending desolation. Who is there, moreover, that has not some curiosity concerning the manners of the ancient inhabitants of Italy-how they constructed their houses, how they furnished their apartments, and whether in these and other respects any similarity may be traced between them and the moderns? All these desires may be satisfied by walking to the Strand, entering a long passage, paying a shilling, ascending a few steps, and he will find himself amidst the excavated ruins.

The late Mr. Maturin in his beautiful poem, "THE UNIVERSE," has apostrophized Pompeii in some beautiful lines, which commence :

WORKMEN are busily employed in erecting a handsome bridge over the Serpentine, at the eastern extremity of Kensington Gardens, which, when completed will add greatly to the beauty and convenience of Hyde Park.

ACQUIRES its name from being the residence of the Holland Family. It was originally built by Sir Walter Cope, in 1607, and is a venerable and interesting specimen of the architecture of that period. It is situate in the parish of Kensington, about two miles west of London, and is the ancient mansion-house of the Manor of Abbotts, Kensington.

Few private dwellings can boast of higher associations than this antique pile. Here lived, and here died the celebrated Addison; and here also spent the earliest period of his life, the "ultimus romanorum," Charles James Fox. This venerable mansion came into the possession of the poet and moralist Addison in the year 1716, by his marriage with Charlotte, Countess Dowager of Warwick and Holland. It may be considered that here the retired statesman possessed the happiest years of his life; but how fallacious are our hopes of human happiness! When we fancy ourselves most secure, how frequently it is our lot to find that our hopes are the most deceitful. Addison with the Countess wedded rank, influence, and fortune; but not conjugal felicity. From a dissimilarity of disposition, his domestic life was by no means what so amiable a man might have reasonably expected, and so uniform a character rightly deserved. It was here, when on his death bed, the memorable scene occurred between him

and his son-in-law, the Earl of Warwick, a dissolute young nobleman, whom Addison had for a long while attempted in vain to reclaim. Upon the Earl's entering into the sick room, and enquiring of his father-in-law his commands, he received this memorable answer "See in what peace a Christian can die!" The young Earl did not survive him two years.

Upon his death, which occurred in the year 1721, his estate devolved, in default of issue, to Lord Kensington, maternally descended from Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick. The Right Honourable Henry Fox, father of the celebrated statesman, afterwards Lord Holland, acquired possession by purchase; in this family it still remains.

There are few residences of our aristocracy which presents a more genuine specimen of an old English mansion-house of the first class than Holland House. The apartments are in general extensive, and fitted-up by the present proprietor in an appropriate style. The present Lord Holland has added to an extensive collection of books. The library is about one hundred feet in length, and was originally intended for a picture gallery, but changed its destination in consequence of the valuable additions made by his lordship. It still contains some very fine pictures, worthy of the well-known taste of the enlightened occupier. Among them are two fine landscapes by Salvator Rosa, and portraits of Addison, Sir Robert Walpole, Charles James Fox when a boy, and in mature age, by Sir Joshua Reynolds; the first Lord Holland, and many cotemporaries of a later date : among which are portraits of the Marquis of Lansdowne; the Earl of Lauderdale; the Honourable Mr. Canning; and the late Mr. M. G. Lewis, author of the "Monk." Many very valuable busts by Nollekins, ornament the different rooms. The grounds are about three hundred acres in extent, sixty three of which are laid out in garden and pleasure grounds.

ROYAL ACADEMY,

SOMERSET HOUSE.

THIS extensive quadrangular pile derives its name from the Protector, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, maternal uncle to Edward VI, who built a splendid palace here on the site of the ancient church of St. Mary-le-Strand, and of the mansions, or inns as they were called, of the Bishops of Chester and Worcester. On the attainder of that nobleman it fell to the crown. After the expulsion of the Stuarts, the buildings were suffered to decay; and at length the first stone of the present magnificent edifice was laid in 1776, under the superintendance of Sir William Chambers, for the purpose of concentrating on one spot many of the principal departments of public business. The original plan has, however, never been fully executed; but a grant has recently been made by parliament for the erection of the requisite wing. The elegant simplicity of the building as a whole, the proportion of its parts, and their relative accordance, may vie with the noblest public structures in the metropolis; and in some respects may be pronounced superior to any. The exterior of Somerset House is considered to be the perfection of masonry, and the sculptures that decorate the various parts are not equalled by the ornamental acces

sories of any of our great national buildings. The decorations of the interior are no less entitled to applause; indeed, to Sir William Chambers we owe the introduction of that chaste character of ornament in this country, which has since been perfected by the studies of Stuart and others, from the classic stores obtained through their invaluable researches, amidst the remains of Grecian art.

Here are the apartments of the Royal Academy, in which their annual collection of pictures is exhibited. This Academy was established by royal charter in 1768. It consists of forty members, called Royal Academicians, twenty associates, and six associate engravers. The Academy posseses a collection of casts and models from antique statues; a school of colouring; copies by Sir James Thornhill, from the cartoons of Raphael, at Hampton Court, and others from Rubens, &c. The library ceiling on the first floor was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Cipriani. The council room is more richly decorated by the pencils of West and Augelica Kauffman, with grand allegorical designs, medallions, &c. In this room are placed the probationary pictures or sculptures, presented by the members of the academy on their election; also pictures by several of the original members: among which are whole length portraits of George III, and his Consort, painted by Reynolds.

In the month of May the annual exhibition usually opens. The number of works of art exhibited, consisting of paintings, sculptures, models, proof engravings, and drawings, generally exceeds one thousand. The admission is one shilling, and a catalogue may be obtained for the same sum. The rooms are generally filled with gay and fashionable crowds, and they may be considered as the most agreeable loung in the metropolis, whilst the more intellectual visitant cannot fail to be gratified with such exquisite specimens of British art as are usually here assembled.

MODELS OF PARIS,

OLD BOND STREET.

THE citizens of Paris having been gratified with two or three different panoramic exhibitions of London; our own countrymen have now an opportunity to criticize the capital of their French neighbours, by this Model of Paris, which is to be seen in the Bazaar, connecting the Burlington Arcade with Old Bond Street, generally called "The Western Exchange." This exhibition is one of the most extraordinary specimens of human labour and ingenuity ever witnessed. The whole of one of the largest cities in the world, with every one of the public buildings, the tribunals of justice, the abodes of kings, the pavilions of pleasure, and the prisons of guilt and misery each of them distinct from the other in figure, aspect, and destination.

The Model of Paris conveys an admirable idea of every one of its most interesting features. The river Seine, very obviously upon this surface, divides the city into two unequal parts; the larger to the north, the smaller to the south. Over this river, the Pont de Jena, the Pont Neuf, and the several other bridges of the capital, are well represented in all that regards

their several positions, and the avenues and communications which they either form or continue to the principal quarter of the city.

The numerous barriers that guard the entrances of the several sections which pierce the city from all points, are very prettily imitated, and the Boulevards look absolutely fresh swept, to tempt pedestrian enterprize. All the commanding and interesting objects of this enlightened capital are particularly well made out, considering the necessarily small scale upon which any model must represent them. Seen through a glass of a slight magnifying power, the Fountain of the Elephant, the Jardin des Plantes, l'Ecole Militaire, the Luxembourg, the Hospital of the Invalids, with its glittering dome, the Palace of Louis XVth, and the Corousel, the Champs de Mars, the Champs Elysees, the Palais Royal, the Thuilleries, the Temple, the Colonne Vendome, the equestrian statue of Henri Quatre, on the Pont Neuf, the church of St. Sulpice, the magnificent church of St. Genevieve, and the venerable cathedral of Notre Dame, together with the Odeon, and the principal theatres. All these are tolerably well developed, however minute in their dimensions; and in some instances, as, for example, in the facade of the Louvre, and the grand front of the chamber of deputies, you may even rocognize the architectural order which is meant to be represented. Visitors, who have not seen Paris, will feel much obliged to the person who exhibits this model, for his intelligent explanations of the uses and situation of the various structures to which their attention will be principally directed, the new buildings that are going on, &c.

After all, a model of this kind, much as it is calculated to excite the spectator's curiosity to view the original, is really that which creates a thousand not less painful than vague and interesting sensations. After a quarter of an hour's inspection of "this mighty maze, but not without a plan," the eye becomes so habituated to the outline of long drawn streets, triumphal arches, and proud sojourn of luxurious magnificence, that the mind acknowledges the illusion to be complete; and, resigning itself to the abstractions of the moment, imagines mournful realizations of the picture which is spread before it. To a mind thus affected, what image does the model of a metropolis conjure up! Its deserted streets, its silent theatres, its lonely baths, its voiceless palaces, its noiseless exchange, its untenanted gardens, its choirless churches, its slumbering quays, its undisturbed race-course, its desolate pavilions, its absent citizens, its noiseless forums, its hushed tribunals, its tacit senate, its unmurmuring river, its moveless craft-bespeak not the favoured seat of art, the brilliant sojourn of genius, the soft abode of pleasure, the refuge of joy, and the favourite of love-but a city of the dead, a capital of tombs, and a religion of oblivion.

NEW BASIN.

A BASIN is to be excayated in the field, south of Waterloo Road, for the purpose of receiving lighters and small craft, entering the wet Dock now making at Waterloo Bridge. The canal, leading to the basin, will intersect the Belvidere Road, and consequently a bridge will be thrown over the carriage way.