General Books

ON PORTRAITS OF DISTINGUISHED ENGLISHMEN. In submitting to you the following brief observations, it is neither my wish nor intention to undervalue or disparage the labours of Horace Walpole, and Granger, and Pennant, and Lodge, and the numerous writers who have followed in their train, and to whom we are so much indebted for their notices of a great variety of original portraits of distinguished... more...

OUR FIRST GREAT PAINTER, AND HIS WORKS. On the 8th of July, 1843, Washington Allston died. Twenty-one years have since gone by; and already his name has a fine flavor of the past added to its own proper aroma. In twenty-one years Art has made large advances, but not in the direction of imagination. In that rare and precious quality the works of Allston remain preëminent as before. It is now so long... more...

Notes and Queries" in Holland. The following extremely interesting, and, we need scarcely add, to us most gratifying, communication reached us at too late a period last week to admit of our then laying it before our friends, readers, and contributors. They will one and all participate in our gratification at the proof which it affords, not merely of that success which they have all combined to... more...

DOMESTIC ANTIQUITIES. The first of these archæological rarities is a pair of Snuffers, found in Dorsetshire sixty-four years since, and engraved in Hutchins's history of that county. They were discovered, says the historian, "in the year 1768, in digging the foundation of a granary, at the foot of a hill adjoining to Corton mansion house (formerly the seat of the respectable family of the... more...

NOTES THE AUTHOR OF THE "CHARACTERISTICS." Lord Shaftesbury's Letters to a young Man at the University, on which Mr. SINGER has addressed to you an interesting communication (Vol. ii., p. 33.), were reprinted in 1746 in a collection of his letters, "Letters of the Earl of Shaftesbury, author of the Characteristicks, collected into one volume: printed MDCCXLVI." 18mo. This volume... more...

ADVENTURES OF A LONE WOMAN. "I will go and see the oil," remarked Miselle, at the end of a reverie of ten minutes. Caleb laid the "Morning Journal" upon the table, and prepared himself calmly to accept whatever new dispensation Providence and Miselle had allotted him. "Whaling?" inquired he. "No, not whaling. I am going to the Oil Springs." "By all means. They lie in... more...

EXETER HALL, STRAND. We rejoice to see the site of Burleigh House partly occupied by the above Building. Its object is to afford accommodation for the meetings of Philanthropic Societies—so that whatever may be the olden celebrity of the spot, it is reasonable to expect that its present appropriation will be associated with the most grateful recollections. This building is, perhaps, the most perfect... more...

SKINNER'S LIFE OF MONK. Reading for a different purpose in the domestic papers of Charles II.'s reign in the State Paper Office, I came upon a letter from Thomas Skinner, dated Colchester, Jan. 30. 1677, of which I will give you what I have preserved in my notes; and that is all that is of any interest. It is a letter to the Secretary of State, asking for employment, and recommending himself... more...

SUSAN'S YOUNG MAN. There seems no reasonable doubt that Myrtle Hazard might have made a safe thing of it with Gifted Hopkins, (if so inclined,) provided that she had only been secured against interference. But the constant habit of reading his verses to Susan Posey was not without its risk to so excitable a nature as that of the young poet. Poets always were capable of divided affections, and... more...

CHAPTER I.MATT HIRES OUT. It was a raw, cold day in early April. Since morning, the clouds had been gathering, and they now hung, dark and heavy, over both land and sea. The wind, too, which had been steadily increasing for hours in violence, now blew little short of a gale. It evidently was going to be a terrible night, and that night was nearly at hand. No one realized this more than the boy who,... more...