favour and support. Consequently he had formed an intimacy with the Duke de Vaudreuil, and lent a willing ear to this man's incessant demands for money, so that when M. de Calonne left the ministry, bills of 800,000 francs, which Vandreuil owed him, were found in his possession. Upon one occasion, the Queen ventured to express to Madame de Polignac the dislike she felt for many persons whom she found in her society. Madame de Polignac, who was quite submissive to those who ruled her, did not hesitate, in spite of her habitual easiness and sweet temper, to say to the queen, I do not think, because your majesty does me the honour to visit my salon, that you have a right to exclude my friends from it. The queen herself related this circumstance to me, in 1790, and she remarked, I do not lay blame to Madame de Polignac for this answer, for she is in the main, a good creature, and loves me, but the people who surround her completely manage her.

"As the Queen discovered that no advantage was likely to accrue to her from joining the society of Madame de Polignac, she gradually withdrew from her salon, and soon fell into the habit of going frequently and unceremoniously to Madame la Countess d'Ossun, who was her lady in waiting, and whose apartments were close to those of her Majesty. Marie Antoinette would take dinner with her, accompanied by four or five other persons; she would get up little concerts, at which she would sing herself, in short, she seemed to be much more at ease, and was much more full of gaiety than she ever appeared to be at Madame de Polignac's.

"Madame la Countess d'Ossun was neither very striking nor gifted with fascinating manners, nor was she remarkably intelligent; but the want of these endowments was amply compensated for, by a good heart and sweet disposition, and she was a most estimable woman. She was devoted, heart and soul, to the Queen, and was the last person in the world to mix herself up in intrigue of any kind; she did not strive to gain the queen's favour, she was only anxious that the Queen should be amused when in her society, and that she should be pleased with her. Her fortune was exceedingly small, and would not, without serious embarrassment, permit her to receive the Queen often at dinner, nor to give soirées in her honor, upon which occasions there was always a ball or concert, so she frankly explained this circumstance to her Majesty, and begged that expenses of this kind might be defrayed from the King's funds. Marie Antoinette preferred offering to give entertainments, in order that she might not lose anything by these royal visits. Many people in Madame d'Ossun's place, would have taken advantage of such a proposal, and would have asked more than was necessary to cover the expense of the Queen's visit, but she did not act in this manner, and only begged that she might receive six thousand livres monthly, which was a very moderate request, for the Queen was frequently in the habit of going to her when she felt her conscience easy about the cost to which she was putting her lady in waiting; the result was, that Madame d'Ossun spent much more than she received.

"The preference which the Queen showed to Madame d'Ossun, was naturally displeasing to the Polignac society; it placed the latter, too, in a peculiarly delicate position, for she was connected with them by marriage; her brother, the Duke de Guiche, afterwards Duke de Gramont, had married the daughter of the Duchess de Polignac, and it was in consequence of this match, that he had the survivorship of the company

of the gardes du corps conferred on him, which at this time was under the command of the Duke de Villeroy. Madame d'Ossun conducted herself with great propriety in this awkward dilemma; she was particularly careful to avoid saying anything which might be likely to injure the Polignacs in the Queen's opinion; she was very reserved on this point, and only excited herself to please the Queen, without harming anybody else, and without, be it said to her honour, taking advantage of the queen's partiality to her in order to obtain favours for herself, her family, or her friends.

"How very different was the conduct of the Polignacs! they seemed to find pleasure in giving vent to the most angry feelings against the Queen. Some of these might be natural, but there are others which can scarcely be understood, namely, that they should have carried their ill-temper to such a pitch, as to spread the most atrocious reports about her. They spoke maliciously of the Queen's delight in dancing Ecossaises with young Lord Strathavon, at the little balls which were given at Madame d'Ossun's. A frequenter of the Polignac salon, who ought on the contrary to have been moved by profound respect and gratitude to the Queen, wrote some very slanderous verses against her; these verses, which were founded on a most infamous falsehood, were destined to be circulated in Paris.

"It is painful to remark, that the unfortunate Marie Antoinette met with some very dangerous enemies, among those who ought to have been her most faithful, devoted, and grateful followers. They were the more dangerous, because it was they who caused the vile calumny to be propagated, which alighted so cruelly upon this poor Princess's head at the outbreak of the French revolution. From these wicked and false reports, which were spread by the court in 1785 and 1788, the revolutionary tribunal found pretexts for the accusations they brought against Marie Antoinette in 1793."

These observations of the Count de la Marck, with regard to the Queen, give us, I think, a very truthful and precise idea of the character of this princess, and of the life she led before the French revolution.

The author of these sketches possesses, at least the merit of being thoroughly informed, as to all that he relates, of having known most of the persons whom he brings on the stage, and of having judged them with impartiality and without bitter feeling, for it must be remarked, that he had no reason to view them otherwise. His position at court raised him above those petty and absorbing jealousies, above those rivalries, which at this period were continually creating disputes, for court favours or influence.

NEW ILLUSTRATED PUBLICATIONS.*

Mr. Bartlett, who has followed, with a pencil and pen equally graphic, the track of the Israelites in the desert, and traced the topography of Jerusalem with reference to the solemn events which invest that ruined city with the most sacred associations, has now followed the footsteps of Jesus and his Apostles through the scenes hallowed by their presence.

It was a happy thought that suggested the pictorial record of these pilgrimages, and Mr. Bartlett, combining the eye and hand of the artist, the experience of a traveller, and the fervour of religious feeling, is peculiarly well qualified to render his labours attractive. His narrative is lively and agreeable; without any display of topographic lore, or parade of Scriptural knowledge, he supplies sufficient information, and recalls with due reverence the incidents which make memorable the places he visited.

Besides Palestine and Syria, the traveller visits Athens and Corinth, Smyrna and Cyprus, Constantinople and Jerusalem, Nain, Nazareth, and the Lake of Tiberias, and then makes the voyage in which St. Paul suffered shipwreck; terminating his course at Rome.

These countries have been so frequently visited and described by travellers of all sorts, from the sentimental Lamartine to the sarcastic Thackeray, by classic explorers and Cockney tourists, that the Pyramids, the Holy Land, and the Golden Horn, Greece, Rome and Jerusalem have become familiar in the ideas of readers, and nothing short of a personal visit to these renowned places can produce new impressions of them. What travellers have failed to describe, our artists, from Allom and Bartlett, to Louis Haghe, and David Roberts, have delineated with surpassing skill and rare fidelity. Nevertheless, Mr. Bartlett, though going over the ground trodden by so many travellers, and among scenes depicted by great artists, does not fail to please both the eye and the mind by his easy, unaffected, and vivacious style of writing, and his graceful and finished pictures. In visiting the several spots hallowed by the Saviour's presence, from Nazareth and Bethlehem to the Garden of Gethsemane, and the "Via Dolorosa" of Jerusalem, Mr. Bartlett never suffers his religious feelings to cloud his judgment; and the common incidents of travel, agreeably relieve the gravity of sacred topics.

As exemplifying his mode of dealing with his subject, we may instance, that he gives a view of the spot well known as Mars's Hill, where Paul preached at Athens, and not only describes, but delineates, the scene that rose before the eyes of the Apostle-the Acropolis towering above, and the Parthenon rising in the background of the view. And in viewing the Lake of Tiberias, he notes the sudden rising of the waves in a storm, such as that in which Christ calmed the fears of his disciples, and the fury of the elements.

There is sunny splendour and serene beauty in Mr. Bartlett's vignette views, that, together with their miniature size and highly wrought effect, render them highly attractive, without loss of local character. The engravings are exquisitely finished, with a delicate. brilliancy and softness never degenerating into monotony; and the little

Footsteps of our Lord and his Apostles, in Syria, Greece, and Italy; a Succession of Visits to the Scenes of New Testament Narrative. By W. H. Bartlett, author of "Walks about Jerusalem,' "The Nile-Boat," &c.

wood-cuts are admirable for freedom of style, breadth of effect, and the crisp touch with which crumbling ruins are indicated.

The superb volume of Parables of our Lord,* has been got up with such cost, and in such a sumptuous style, that, as an ornament for the drawingroom table, it challenges admiration. The exterior alone is a work of art; the red morocco cover being richly embossed with appropriate devices, and bordered (like the altar tombs) with an inscription in Old English letter, that is of itself ornamental. The text is engraved in the same character, and printed in bright red, with initials in blue and black; and the designs, twelve in number, engraved in the line manner, by the first English and French engravers, each occupy nearly an entire page.

Mr. Franklin has evidently studied his subjects with care, and the compositions are as elaborate as some of the cartoons that were exhibited in Westminster Hall by English artists; he has likewise given an architectonic character to some subjects, while others he has treated in a picturesque style. The pervading tone of religious sentiment renders the designs generally impressive, and occasionally elevating ; though, on closer inspection, it may be perceived that the inventive power of the artist is not adequate to express his ideas with the requisite degree of power and pathos. His figures are too conventional; we seem to have seen them all before in pictures of Scripture subjects; nor do the character and expression of the heads redeem the forms and draperies from an imputation of want of originality.

In one respect Mr. Franklin departs from customary usage; that is in introducing Christ himself as an actor in the scene of the parable. Thus the Saviour is successively represented as the King calling his servants to account for their talents; as the Lord of the vineyard, and the good Samaritan. The Bridegroom in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, and the good Shepherd, are both so typical of the Saviour, that the introduction of the person of Jesus is here appropriate; not so, we think, in the other instances. The Last Judgment and the Crucifixion are both introduced; and though it is less surprising that Mr. Franklin should fall short of the grandeur and sublimity of subjects which have baffled the genius and daring of the greatest masters, it is not the less to be regretted that he should have needlessly essayed such mighty themes.

In removing his subjects from the ground of patriarchal life, by the introduction of the Saviour personally, the artist has created a difficulty that did not exist; and rendered the grand style essential to the treatment of all the designs. The two parables of Dives and Lazarus and the Prodigal Son, neither of which admits of the introduction of Christ, have been more successfully rendered; for in simple narrative delineation, Mr. Franklin's power is adequate to a dignified picturesqueness. Yet in these, as in all the designs, there is an appearance of effort and labour, and an absence of creative talent and spontaneous feeling, which prevent the designs from satisfying either critical judgment or the imagination of a reader of Scripture.

In subjects of this class, treated as they are here, nothing short of the highest excellence will suffice; but even in the grouping and drawing of his figures Mr. Franklin is not always felicitous; and as compositions, the effects of light and dark are even less happy than the arrangement of lines.

Parables of our Lord, illustrated by John Franklin,

THE TWELVE BLACK STATUES.

I HAD been without employment for an unusual period. My patience was exhausted with making useless applications, and I began to despair. One evening, I remained till late at a coffee-house in the Strand, to which I had been accustomed to repair: the rain pouring down in torrents without, kept me a prisoner. Listlessly I beguiled the weary hours, by conning the different journals and periodicals. Again I put down, and again I resumed the perusal of the newspaper. It was while carelessly surveying the well-known supplemental sheet of the "Times," that, for the first time, an announcement attracted my notice, that seemed to hold out at least a chance of occupation. I read as follows,

"WANTED.-One hundred Supernumeraries, for the New Grand Historical Legendary, and Romantic Spectacle, about to be produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Apply personally, and immediately, to Corporal D. K., at 301, Drury Lane."

me

As I ruminated over this announcement, it seemed to feed with renewed oil the light of hope that dimly burnt within my breast; and I determined to wait upon the non-commissioned officer, whose initials were so expressive of his superannuation. Next morning saw hurrying in the direction of Drury Lane, in search of the corporal. I duly found D. K. at the given address. He proved to be a seedy, but soldierly looking man, with a stooping gait, a war-medal on his breast, and a face indented with marks of care, and the small-pox. He received me favorably.

"I can't tell, at present," he said, "what you'll have to do, unless you 're up to the ballet business."

"What's that, may I ask?" was my inexperienced inquiry.

"Darncing. Howsomever, I'll put ye down for a ballet super, and chance it. The pay's sixpence a night better."

I acquainted the considerate corporal that I had danced a quadrille

or so.

"Well," he replied. "But p'raps you'll have to do a red-cross knight, and carry a banner. It's the easiest part of it; 'cos no notice is taken of you, only of the banner. The step you 'll soon learn at rehearsal." I expressed my willingness to give every attention to the duties that might devolve on me.

"The ghost walks' on Saturday at twelve. I pays my own men, and in coorse deducts my centums from the salaries."

I gratefully assented to the proposed terms.

"Be at the theatre at ten to-morrow morning."

This injunction was conveyed with a bucolic sigh, and the corporal observed,

"Ah! if you'd only 'listed, you'd have made a capital super, and perhaps have got into the utility business at Drury, with a pound a week at least."

"'Listed, sir!"

"Been a soldier. Cavalry men suit best for the stage, 'cos of the broad-sword combats."

The objection raised somewhat dashed my hopes, but the corporal

VOL. XXXI.

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