Sir,—I have recently had the pleasure of visiting the British Institution, and hope the following remarks on a few of the best works will prove acceptable to those of your readers who are interested in the Fine Arts.

It is customary at this Institution to open, every autumn, a school for the study of painting, in which students have an opportunity of copying the best productions of the greatest masters. The present school opened a few weeks ago, and furnishes some exquisite specimens of art, which were selected by the directors as examples for imitation. In general the students have been very enterprising this season, and their copies, if not quite equal in every respect to the charming originals, are nevertheless very meritorious and masterly attempts.

The Holy Family, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, is a remarkably fine specimen of colour, and has been successfully copied by Messrs. Boaden, Fisk, Child, and Inskipp. Small copies, in water colours, have also been done from it by Miss Sharpe, and Miss Fanny Corbaux. Much praise is due to Mr. Morton, for his whole length Portrait of a Gentleman, after Vandyke; and Messrs. Simpson, Higham, and Middleton, deserve high commendation for executing the best fac similia of Rembrandt's Portrait of a Lady. The Landscape with Boors, is a delightful little picture by Teniers, belonging to his Majesty: numerous attempts have been made to imitate it, but not altogether with success. Mr. Hart's copy, however, is extremely clever. Poussin's Landscape and Figures, has engaged the pencil of Mr. Burbank, who has produced a most elaborate copy in water colours. Mr. Foster displays considerable ability in his Hobbima; and Messrs. Lee, Earl, Watts, and Dujardin, have equally excelled in their copies from the cattle piece by Cuyp. In De Hooge's picture, the Exterior with Figures, we are delighted with the representation of a fine summer evening: a peculiar warmth is diffused over every object, and the lengthened shadows indicate sunset: of this work, Mr. Novice has executed the best finished copy; Miss Dujardin's, however, is exceedingly good, and contains much promise. Another splendid example of art is a Large Landscape, by Gainsborough, good studies from which have been made by Messrs. Watts and Child.

Two small views on the Grand Canal at Venice, by Gwardi, have employed the talents of Miss Dujardin, Mr. E. Child, Mr. Watts, and Master Pasmore. But it is impossible to enumerate, in this hasty notice, all the arduous undertakings of the students: suffice it to say, that they have gained another step towards pictorial fame, and that their copies, from the works of Rubens, Wouvermans, Murillo, Canaletti, Titian, &c., are honourable testimonies of their exertion to excel.

October 19, 1829.

G.W.N.

THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER

A TOUR IN THE ISLAND OF JERSEY

(Concluded from page 262.)

A view of the western side of Jersey, is calculated to impress a stranger with an idea that it is a barren, unproductive island; but no supposition could be more erroneous, as, in fact, a great proportion of it may be described as orchard. The extent of ground planted, with fruit trees—apple, pear, and plumb is prodigious; and consequently cider—and very excellent cider too—is one of the staple products of the country, and a favourite beverage among the natives. At the Union Hotel, St. Helier, boarders were allowed to quaff as much as they had a liking for, without being subjected to any additional charge.

About three miles inland from St. Helier, is a singular structure named Prince's Tower, erected on an artificial mound or tumulus, and embowered in a grove of fine trees. The extensive prospect it commanded, and the indubitable antiquity of the masonry, induced me to apply for permission to ascend it; and I was rewarded with a bird's eye view of nearly the whole island, and a vast sweep of the French coast extending almost from Cape de la Hogue to Avranches. An Englishman had lately taken up his abode in the tower, which, with the adjacent pleasure ground, he rented at forty pounds a-year. His object was to render it a place of resort to the inhabitants of St. Helier, and his advertisements promised that the "delightful emotions excited by its unrivalled scenery, and the harmonious chat of the feathered tribe, should not be counteracted by the comfortless sensations of hunger, thirst, and weariness." The interior of the tower was neatly and appropriately fitted up. One apartment was designated the chapel; and in the highest room were several telescopes, mounted so as to traverse to any point of the compass, for the gratification of visitors.

But it is the traditionary history of Prince's Tower that renders it interesting in the eyes of the islanders. In former times it was known by the name of La Hogue-Bye, and the following legend, quoted from Le Livre noir de Coutances, gives the origin of its celebrity:—In remote times, a moor or fen in this part of Jersey, was the retreat of a monstrous serpent or dragon, which spread terror and devastation throughout the island. At length a valorous Norman, the Seigneur de Hambye, undertook to attempt its destruction, which, after a terrible conflict, he accomplished. He was accompanied in this adventure by a vassal of whose fidelity he had no suspicion, but who, seeing his lord overcome by fatigue, after having vanquished the reptile, suddenly bethought himself of monopolizing the glory of the action. Instigated by this foul ambition, he assassinated his lord, and, returning to Normandy, promulgated a fictitious narrative of the encounter; and, to further his iniquitous views, presented a forged letter, which he said had been written by De Hambye to his widow, just before his death, enjoining her to reward his faithful servant, by accepting him as her second husband. Reverence for the last injunction of her deceased lord, induced the lady to obey, and she was united to his murderer. But the exultation of the homicidal slave was of short duration. His sleep was disturbed by horrid dreams; and at length, in one of his nightly paroxysms, he disclosed the extent of his villany. On being arrested and questioned, he made a full confession, and was tried, found guilty, and publicly executed. De Hambye's widow, in memory of her lord, caused a tumulus of earth, to be raised on the spot where he was buried; and on the summit she built a chapel, with a tower so lofty, as to be visible from her own mansion at Coutances.

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The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 14, No. 396, October 31, 1829

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FINE ARTS

SCHOOL OF PAINTING AT THE BRITISH INSTITUTION, PALL MALL

(To the Editor of the Mirror.)

THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER

A TOUR IN THE ISLAND OF JERSEY

(Concluded from page 262.)

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