403 Taste and Criticism. about 400lb. weight, with the haire of his head onely. 404 imagination; but they lose their relish gradually with their novelty; and are generally neglected in the maturity of life, which disposes to more serious and more important occupations. To those who deal in criticism as a regu ples, and giving scope to judgment as well as to fancy, the fine arts are a favourite entertainment; and in old age maintain that relish which they produce in the morning of life. "June 16th, 1670. I went with some friends to the Beare Garden, where were cock-fighting, beare and dogfighting and beare and bull-baiting; it being a famous day for all those but-lar science, governed by just princicherly sports, or rather barbarous cruelties. The bulls did exceeding well, but the Irish wolfe-dog greatly exceeded, which was a tall grey-hound, a stately creature indeede, who beate a cruel mastiff. One of the bulls toss'd a dog full into a lady's lap, as she sat in one of the boxes at a considerable height from the arena. Two poor dogs were killed, and so all ended with the ape on horseback, and I most heartily weary of the rude and dirty pastime, what I had not scene, I think, in twenty years before." HELOT. OF TASTE AND CRITECISM. THE art of judging with propriety concerning any object, or combination of objects, is what we call taste and criticism. But in a more limited sense, the science of criticism is confined to the fine arts. The principles of the fine arts are best unfolded by studying the sensitive part of our nature, and by learning what objects are naturally agreeable, and what are naturally disagreeable. The man who aspires to be a critic in these arts, must pierce still deeper: he must clearly perceive what objects are lofty, what low, what are proper or improper, what are manly, and what are mean or trivial. Hence a foundation for judging of taste, and for reasoning upon it: where it is conformable to principles, we can pronounce with certainty that it is correct; otherwise, that it is incorrect, and perhaps whimsical. Thus the fine arts, like morals, become a rational science; and, like morals, may be cultivated to a high degree of refine ment. A thorough acquaintance with the principles of the fine arts redoubles the entertainment these arts afford. To the man who resigns himself entirely to sentiment or feeling, without interposing any sort of judgment, poetry, music, painting, are mere pastime; in the prime of life, indeed, they are delightful, being supported by the force of novelty and the heat of A philosophical inquiry into the principles of the fine arts inures the reflecting mind to the most enticing sort of logic; the practice of reasoning upon subjects so agreeable tends to a habit; and a habit strengthening the reasoning faculties, prepares the mind for entering into subjects more difficult and abstract. To have in this respect a just conception of the importance of criticism, we need but reflect upon the common method of education; which, after some years spent in acquiring languages, hurries us, without the least preparatory discipline, into the most profound philosophy. A more effectual method to alienate the tender mind from abstract science is beyond the reach of invention; with respect to such speculations, the bulk of our youth contract a sort of hobgoblin terror, which is seldom, if ever, subdued. Those who apply to the arts are trained up in a very different manner; they are led, step by step, from the easier parts of the operation to those that are more difficult; and are not permitted to make a new motion till perfected in those which regularly precede it. The science of criticism appears then to be a middle link, connecting the different parts of education into a regular chain. This science furnishes an inviting opportunity to exercise the judgment: we delight to reason upon subjects that are equally pleasant and familiar: we proceed gradually from the simple to the more involved cases: and, in a due course of discipline, custom, which improves all our faculties, bestows acuteness upon those of reason, sufficient to unravel all the intricacies of philosophy. Nor ought it to be overlooked, that the reasonings employed upon the fine arts are of the same kind with those which regulate our conduct. Mathematical and metaphysical reasonings 405 Taste and Criticism.-Jews. have no tendency to improve social intercourse; nor are they applicable to the common affairs of life: but a just taste in the fine arts, derived from rational principles, furnishes elegant subjects for conversation, and prepares us for acting in the social state with dignity and propriety. The science of rational criticism tends to improve the heart not less than the understanding. It helps, in the first place, to moderate the selfish affections; by sweetening and harmonizing the temper, it is a strong antidote to the turbulence of passion and violence of pursuit; it procures to a man so much mental enjoyment, that, in order to be occupied, he is not tempted in youth to precipitate into hunting, gaming, drinking; nor in middle age to deliver himself over to ambition; nor in old age to avarice. Pride and envy, two disgustful | passions, find in the constitution no enemy more formidable than a deli- | cate and discerning taste: the man upon whom nature and culture have bestowed this blessing, feels great delight in the virtuous disposition and actions of others; he loves to cherish them, and to publish them to the world: faults and failings, it is true, are to him not less obvious; but these he avoids, or removes out of sight, because they give him pain. On the other hand, a man void of taste, upon whom the most striking beauties make but a faint impression, has no joy but in gratifying his pride or envy by the discovery of errors and blemishes. In a word, there may be other passions, which, for a season, disturb the peace of society more than those mentioned: but no other passion is so unwearied an antagonist to the sweets of social intercourse: these passions, tending assiduously to their gratification, put perpetually in opposition to others; and dispose him more to relish bad than good qualities, even in a companion. How different that disposition of mind, where every virtue in a companion or neighbour is, by refinement of taste, set in its strongest light; and defects or blemishes, natural to all, are suppressed, or kept out of view! a man Nor does delicacy of taste tend less to invigorate the social affections than to moderate those that are selfish. To be convinced of this tendency, we need only reflect, that delicacy of taste 406 necessarily heightens our sensibility of pain and pleasure, and of course our sympathy, which is the capital branch of every social passion. Sympathy, in particular, invites a communication of joys and sorrows, hopes and fears: such exercise, soothing and satisfactory in itself, is necessarily productive of mutual good-will and affection. One other advantage of rational criticism is reserved to the last place, being of all the most important; which is, that it is a great support to morality. No occupation attaches a man more to his duty than that of cultivating a taste for the fine arts: a just relish of what is beautiful, proper, elegant, and ornamental, in writing or painting, in architecture or gardening, is a fine preparation for the same just relish of these qualities in character and behaviour. To the man who has acquired a taste so acute and accomplished, every action wrong or improper must be highly disgustful: if, in any instance, the overbearing power of passion sway him from his duty, he returns to it, upon the first reflection, with redoubled resolution never to be swayed a second time: he has now an additional motive to virtue, a conviction, derived from experience, that happiness depends on regularity and order, and that a disregard to justice or propriety never fails to be punished with shame and remorse. 407 Fragment of a Day-Book. FRAGMENT OF A DAY-BOOK. (Continued from col. 370.) "Moscow, 1st May, 1797.-THE king has profited by the absence of the court, to look at all the curiosities of the Kremlin. Here one meets with all the splendour of the ancient czaars and patriarchs. Amongst the dresses, richly embroidered with pearls, there are some which weigh exactly as much as the armour of the present knights of the imperial guard, viz. 60 pounds. one showed also to the king a parchment rolled up in a cylindrical form, which contained a kind of law codex of the czaar Alexei Michailowitch, father of Peter the Great, and which was preserved in a golden box, according to the express command of Catherina II. The same empress has bestowed many ecclesiastical ornaments and golden vases on the cathedral, and these objects are not only covered with precious stones, but the enamel-painting and the beauty of the workmanship surpass every thing that France produced of the kind. The monument in silver, which she had made for a lately canonized saint, and the picture and the surrounding ornaments, bear the marks of a very different taste from that which prevailed under the Grecian emperors. The king has also seen the crown of Wladimir the Great, who laid the foundation of the Russian monarchy at Kiew: the most antique dresses are ornamented with little bells, which remind one of Aaron's costume. Amongst the furniture of the czaars, there are also long silver chains, with which the horses were yoked to the chariots on days of ceremony. One of the largest rooms in the Kremlin is filled with the model of a palace (by a Russian architect) which was to contain the whole of this kind of fortress, with all its different courts and churches; because, according to the laws of the Russian church, no temple which has been once dedicated to God can ever be removed. 408 his having worn a monk's cowl during his last illness. The king ascended the steeple of Iwan Welike (John the Great) from whose top one can overlook the whole immense city. There hangs a bell upon it, which was cast under Elizabeth, and which is nine Polish ells in diameter. It is still in use, but it is much smaller than that which the empress Anna had made, and which, falling down, stuck so deep in the earth, that one was obliged to dig around it, in order to show it to the curious. By the piece which was knocked off by the fall, one may perceive the thickness of the metal, which amounts to more than half an ell; the diameter is almost twelve ells, and the height is fifteen: it must have cost at least 100,000 rubles. "Not far from this buried bell is a battery of seven immense cannons, directed on the river, but long cut of use, for fear of shaking the neighbouring buildings. The largest amongst these cannons is said to date from John the Severe, and would fire a ball of 150 pounds. In the armoury one finds amongst others, two swords of Peter the Great, whose length and weight are in proportion with his size and strength; there are also a pair of his boots, and near them the boots and the sword of his grandson Peter II. whose property cuts, however, but a puny figure, as he died at the age fifteen. By the dress, which is according to the French fashion of that time, one perceives, that the star of the order of Alexander was fastened on the waistcoat, and only that of Andreas upon the coat. Amongst the numberless vases and pieces of furniture of the ancient czaars, a clock may be distinguished, of which the grandson of John the Severe is said to have made use, and another on which a cock crows quite as well as that of gilded bronze in the Taurish palace, which is looked upon as a curiosity." of "6th May.-To-day the king rode on horseback up a hill, which is called "The coronation took place in the Worobziwa Gora (Sparrow-mount) largest of these churches, where and from which one has the best prosone shows, amongst other curiosities, pect of the town. Catherine had which have been brought from Con- transported there a wooden palace, stantinople, one of the nails of the which had been erected in town to holy cross. Near to this church are serve during the celebration of the the tombs of the czaars, covered with festivities after the first peace with the rich stuffs: the grave of Iwan Wasile- Turks, but which is now decaying. witch, surnamed the Severe, is covered very fast: this is a pity; because the with black velvet, in remembrance of declivity is so soft, and the situation very charming, the more so as it is increased' on one side by a wood, which had been planted on purpose.' "6th May.-To-day the king gave a grand dinner. The Grand Duke Alexander was prevented from assisting by tooth-ache, and his spouse likewise refrained, to keep him company. The emperor and all the rest of the family arrived soon after two o'clock. Prince Stanislaus and lady Muiszeck received the guests at the coach-door, and the king at the top of the stairs. After the table was served, the king expected that their imperial majesties would advance by themselves; but the emperor wished him to present his arm to the empress, and to take his place betwixt them, as was always the case when he dined at court. But as soon as their majesties were seated, the king placed himself opposite, and served the soup: the plates were presented by the chamberlains Trembocki and Walski; but the emperor would not allow them to continue, and desired them to get their own dinners; the king's stewards handed therefore the dishes over to the imperial pages, &c. There were 36 persons at table. Towards the middle of the dinner their majesties drank to the king's health, and this was soon after returned. After dinner, the emperor conversed yet for some time with the king in private, and invited him then for the next day. (Added with sympathetic ink,) "I do not wish to have my bulletins published in the Warsaw Gazette, because, by the disposition which I observe here, I must desire to be mentioned as little as possible in that quarter. One treats me personally very well, but I have it often repeated to me, that one would not like me to interest myself for others. Our countrymen, hearing of the marks of friendship which the emperor bestows upon me, trouble me with letters and requests, to which I can give no satisfactory answer, however painful my refusals may be." 410 a few hundred labourers and artists, who have so nicely completed the whole, there were no more than four or five strangers; all the others were not only Russians, but even bonsdmen of the count. After the king had admired the rooms, the frontispiece, and the garden, he was led into the theatre, where the Marriages of the Samnites were represented by more than 300 bondsmen and women of the count:declamation and pantomine were borrowed from the French. The very exact costume was uncommonly rich, particularly that of the female performers, who were covered with the count's jewels, to the value of at least 100,000 rubles. In the ballet, two of the females showed themselves to great advantage as dancers. After the play, the king had hardly stopped in the rooms, when he was led down again the same stairs, now covered with scarlet cloth, and he found the saloon changed into a large bathroom. Towards eleven o'clock, one showed him from the balcony the tastefully-illuminated garden, and on one of the pillars he saw his own name. Upon this followed a very splendid supper. The count accompanied him afterwards to the carriage door, and mentioned his hereditary gratitude, as his father as well as himself had received the Polish orders from the king. The whole road from Ostaukina to Moscow was illuminated on both sides by means of burning pitch-barrels. On the journey back to Petersburg, the king saw a remarkable curiosity at Bronika. This was a round hill in the midst of a large plain, about thirty fathoms high, and covered with turf: nearly on the top are two wells, whose water is on a level with the soil. There is no other hill of a greater, or even of the same, height within several miles' distance, and it becomes therefore difficult to account for the wells. Tradition says, that oracles were once delivered on the spot. Catharine II. has had a church erected there." 66 Petersburg, 6th June.-The king has been seeing the triangular palace Tschesme, 7 wersts from here, where Catharine instituted the order of St. George. An inscription in the first hall mentions, that the foundation of the church had been laid in presence of Gustavus the Third of Sweden, and the top in that of Josephus the Second 2 D 411 Fragment of a Day-Book. 412 The rooms of the upper story contain "Pleasure-Seat, Peterhof, 10th June. the pictures of the then living princes-The king has assisted at the celeand princesses, and amongst them, in bration of the Peter-and-Paul Feast bas relief, the ancient czaars. A round in the large chapel near his habitation. saloon is filled with the portraits of the He made here the acquaintance of now reigning family. Under a canopy, senator Von Pushkin, till hitherto which is spread over the portrait of director of the Academy of Arts; from Catharine II. stands upon a table a him he learned that one was now busy golden inkstand, with many enamel with a plan of Peking, which had been paintings, which represent the deeds drawn on the spot, and would have of the Russians on the water. On the that advantage over the original, that first floor of this singular palace there the names of the streets are to be is a table-service of English earthen- added in European language. The ware, painted gray upon gray, and original has been brought to Russia representing the finest country seats by one of the pupils, whom the count in England, and a green frog on the still maintains in China, partly to border of the plates. The palace is educate them for interpreters, and not only called Tchesme, in remem- partly to serve a Russian chapel in brance of the burning of the Turkish Peking: the above institution still fleet, but also Kirkiriki, on account exists, notwithstanding the frequent of the great number of frogs in the disputes and interruptions of trade beneighbourhood. twixt the Chinese and the Russians." "After dinner count Stollberg was introduced to the king; he has been sent hither by the prince bishop of Lubeck, and is a very learned and estimable man; count Bernstoff, prime minister of Danemark, is his brotherin-law." Petersburg, 16th June, 1797.—The king called to-day on senator Soimonoff, whose collection of pictures is not very numerous, but very well chosen. It contains some valuable pieces; amongst others, the combat of the Amazons against the Centaurs, by Luca Giordano, in which one admires the great fidelity with which the artist has followed Ovid's descriptions: one remarks also two figures, of which one is found in the battle of Constantine by Giulio Romano, and the other in the battle near Arbela by Le Brun; with this difference, however, that in the latter cases they represent men, whilst Giardano introduces them as women. There is also a dessert-service of marble and precious stones, such as jasper, crystal, &c. which is very costly, and excellently finished. A similar one, which the king had at Warsaw, is far below it. Most of the stones, which one uses here as ornaments, are furnished at Ekatarinaburg in Siberia, where artists are established to whom one needs only to send the drawings, with the certainty of being well served. The bronzes and golden ornaments are nearly as well done here as in France. Senator Soimonoff distinguishes himself as advantageously by his manners as by his talents.' "3d July.-The king is lodged here in the lower garden, quite near to the sea, and in the building called Monplaisir, which exists, in part, exactly so as Peter the First built it; but Catharine the Second, whose own rooms were got ready for the king, has enlarged it very much. After the parade, at which the emperor always assists, and after the christening of a child of the prince Tscheslatoff, over which their majesties stood as sponsors, one gave notice to the king, that the emperor was waiting for him, and he was, as usual, received in the most cordial manner. As it was Friday, the dishes were all of the meagre kind, yet not prepared with oil. After dinner, the emperor himself showed all the rooms, and particularly his study or working-cabinet, with a brown wainscoting, exactly as in the time of Peter the First. Towards evening, the king took an airing with their majesties in the extensive gardens. The emperor seems to have a great predilection for this finely-situated place, in which one does yet meet with so many antiquated buildings. The water-works in Peterhof surpass the celebrated ones in Versailles. Supper was served on the shore of the sea, in the thick shade of the trees." "15th July. The king has seen, not far from this place, the mechanical institution of Catharine the Second, where, by means of a waterfall, marble and stones are cut and polished. One has found of late in the immediate vicinity of Peterhof, stones of two feet |