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natural productions of this part of Norway, especially about the sea-shore, and met with a congenial spirit in Mr. John Rask, a clergyman settled here, who had visited the West Indies and Africa, and had published an account of his voyage, in which various fishes and plants are described in a very interesting style.' The preparation of various kinds of bread in this part of Norway, is next detailed, some of which give us but a miserable idea of the resources of the country. Our author had a narrow escape at this place, to which he often alluded in the subsequent part of his life; having been fired at by a Laplander, while rambling over the hills, in pursuit of his favourite strawberries. The first volume concludes with some entertaining anecdotes of the timidity and superstition of the Laplanders, and of the scarcely less superstitious severity with which they are persecuted, to give up their magical drums and idols, by the Norwegians.

The second volume opens with Linnæus's return over the Alps, comprehending pretty ample notices respecting the tents, and huts, domestic economy, clothing and diseases of the Laplanders, with much information relative to the reindeer. Their amusements form a part of the subject, especially a game called tablut, somewhat resembling chess. The ceremony of a Lapland courtship and marriage is also narrated with much particularity.

On the 23d of July, Linnæus descended from the Alps into Lulean Lapland. From this part of the journal to August the 5th, we find various miscellaneous remarks on natural history, a description of the Lapland sledge, of the mode of tanning among the lowland Laplanders, and some particulars of their agriculture. On arriving at Tornea, the acuteness and scientific skill of our traveller, were exercised to great advantage, in detecting the cause of a most destructive disease among the horned cattle, of which he had heard some tidings at Lulea, as mentioned in Vol. 1. p. 245. This malady he determined, beyond a doubt, to rise from the animals' feeding on the waterhemlock (cicuta virosa) which they crop while under water; for when it rises above the surface they will not touch it.*

In the course of his route homeward, through East Bothland, numerous agricultural and economical remarks occur. Nothing very material is found in the rest of the tour. Passing through Wasa, Christinestadt, and Abo, Linnæus arrived at the ferry which carried him to Aland, from whence he proceeded to the main land, and arrived at Upsal on the 10th of October. He does not forget in closing his remarks piously to ascribe to the

More ample observations than occur in the journal relative to this subject, (one of those, into which Linnæus was commissioned particularly to inquire,) áre given by the Editor in a copious note translated from the Fiora Lapponica.

Maker and Preserver of all things, praise, honour, and glory for ever.'

The Appendix consists of two parts. The first contains a compendious account of the whole journey drawn up by Linnæus himself, to lay before the Academy of Sciences at Upsal: in which, though partly a repetition of what occurs before, many new circumstances appear, and the whole throws great light upon the preceding pages. The second part of this Appendix is particularly valuable; being an extract from Dr. Wahlenberg's observations made with a view to determine the height of the Lapland Alps. This curious fragment, translated from the Swedish, was communicated to the editor by the late Mr. Dryander, and, with an accurate philosophical style of observation, unites much picturesque effect in botanical geography.

Not the least curious part of this book, are the wooden cuts, about sixty in number,-fac similes of the rude sketches made with a pen in the original manuscript. They represent either agricultural implements, or similar objects, in the rudest possible style; but several insects, and a few plants, as well as two or three Medusa, are done with more care, and with considerable effect; as Cicindela sylvatica, Vol. 1. p. 175; Tipula rivosa, p. 186; Cerambyx Sutor, p. 232.

Upon the whole, though these volumes contain a considerable degree of information, conveyed in an artless and engaging manner, yet we cannot but look upon them as giving too slight a sketch of so interesting a tour. Had the author ever revised his manuscript with a view to its meeting the public eye, there would most probably have been no ground for this complaint; but the hasty observations made by any traveller on the spot, simply for his own use, cannot be supposed to possess the advantage of a regularly digested and corrected journal. The observations, though highly curious and important in themselves, are so disjointed, that it is impossible to get a clear idea of the different objects of curiosity which the country presented, in any regular method. Yet as the admirers of Linnæus have long been clamorous for this account of his tour to Lapland, they ought to congratulate themselves upon the publication of it, even though coming forth with all its imperfections on its head.' The style of the translation calls for no particular remark; it adheres professedly, as near as possible, to that of the original. A strange mistake occurs, as we conceive, in V. 1. p. 127, where the Laplanders are said to be necessitated occasionally to drink warm sea water.' This we presume must mean the water of their lakes, contrasted with that of those cool springs, near which they pitch their tents in summer.

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FROM THE BRITISH CRITIC.

The Works of James Barry, Esq. Historical Painter; formerly Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy, Member of the Clementine Academy at Bologna, &c. containing his Correspondence from France and Italy with Mr. Burke. His Lectures on Painting delivered at the Royal Academy. Observations on different Works of Art in Italy and France. Critical Remarks on the principal Paintings of the Orleans Gallery. Essay on the subject of Pandora, &c. (Now first published from manuscripts, and illustrated by Engravings from Sketches, left by the Author.) And his Inquiry into the Causes which have obstructed the Progress of the fine Arts in England. His Account of the Paintings at the Adelphi; and Letter to the Dilettanti Society. To which is prefixed, some Account of the Life and Writings of the Author. 2 vols. 4to. pp. 1228. 51. 5s. Cadell and Davies. 1809.

THERE are few subjects on which the opinions of artists and connoisseurs have more widely differed, than the merit of Mr. Barry. We know that during his life he filled a considerable space in the temple of living fame, and we have sometimes thought that his works even derived some advantage from a contrast with his personal eccentricities; but since his death, censure has perhaps been too busily employed, and has frequently confounded the oddities of the man with the genius of the artist. The volumes before us, therefore, are highly valuable, as affording that complete evidence which we did not before possess, and which will enable all who have a right to form their decision with strict impartiality. That the decision will, on the whole, be in his favour, we have little hesitation in affirming, while on the other hand we are willing to allow, as clearly proved, that his defects were numerous and conspicuous. If, however, we do not dwell on the latter at much length, it is because in many instances they appear to have arisen from that which ought always to prescribe tenderness and compassion; the irritations of a mind not sufficiently sound.

The life of Mr. Barry in these volumes is formed chiefly from his correspondence, a mode which has lately become common, although we think it may be necessary hereafter to prescribe bounds to it. The biographer, it is true, is hereby relieved from the trouble of narrative, but the reader's attention is too much distracted from the principal object, and such works, unless the compilers will take a little more pains, we must consider as materials for a life, rather than the life itself. The outlines of Mr. Barry's history appear to be these:

He was the eldest son of John Barry and Julian Roerden, and was born in Cork, Oct. 11, 1741. His father was a builder, and

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in the better part of his life a coasting trader between England and Ireland. James was at first destined to this last business, but as he disliked it, his father suffered him to pursue his inclination, which led him to drawing and reading. His early education he received in the schools at Cork, where he betrayed some symptoms of that peculiar frame of mind which became more conspicuous in his mature years. His studies were desultory, directed by no regular plan, yet he accumulated a considerable stock of knowledge. As his mother was a zealous Roman Catholic, he fell into the company of some priests, who recommended the study of polemical divinity, books, we presume, all on one side, for this ended in his becoming a staunch Roman Catholic.

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Although the rude beginnings of his art cannot be traced, there is reason to think, that at the age of seventeen he had attempted oil-painting, and between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two he executed a picture, the subject St. Patrick landing on the sea-coast of Cashell,' which he exhibited in Dublin. This procured him some reputation, and, what was afterwards of much importance, the acquaintance of the illustrious Edmund Burke.

During his stay in Dublin, he probably continued to cultivate his art, but no particular work can now be discovered. An anec dote, however, is preserved, which marks the character of the

man.

"He had been enticed by his companions several times to carous ings at a tavern, and one night as he wandered home from one of these, a thought struck him of the frivolity and viciousness of thus mispending his time: the fault he imagined lay in his money, and therefore without more ado, in order to avoid the morrow's temptation, he threw the whole of his wealth, which perhaps amounted to no great sum, into the Liffey, and locked himself up with his favourite pursuits."

After a residence of seven or eight months in Dublin, an opportunity offered of accompanying some part of Mr. Burke's fa mily to London, which he eagerly embraced. This took place in 1764, and on his arrival Mr. Burke recommended him to his friends, and procured for him his first employment, that of copying, in oil, drawings by the Athenian Stuart. At his early age (twenty-three) we are here presented with letters from him which discover a taste, sentiment, and elegance of style, far superior to what could have been expected from his limited opportunities for

observation.

In 1765 Mr. Burke and his other friends furnished him with the means of a trip to Italy, and his letters while there and in France, constitute no small part of the present memoirs. They abound in observations on subjects connected with his art, and particularly in criticisms on the great masters. The value of some

of them to young artists may perhaps be doubted, but the principles which he appears to have laid down in his own mind, as his future guides, mark a quick discrimination, and an early habit of distinguishing styles, and of bringing them to the criterion of nature. In all matters, however, of individual opinion, there is scope for slight shades of difference as well as polemical contests, especially when the objects are not equally visible to the reader and to the traveller, and care must be taken to avoid imbibing opinions at second-hand. Of this he is himself duly sensible. In a letter to Mr. Burke (vol. i. p. 30,) he says,

"I find there is little use to be made of the general remarks and criticisms of those who have written characters of the artists, and brought their merits and defects to a standard and fixed classes: it is liable to so many exceptions, that one is every day in danger of being misled, who lays any weight upon them. Men are not always the same, they are sometimes attentive to one manner, sometimes to another; different subjects, and a number of other things, often make them very dif ferent from themselves, &c."

With these are interspersed letters from his correspondents, Messrs. Edmund, William, and Richard Burke, Sir Horace Mann, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Nugent, &c. a few of which might have been omitted as too little interesting in themselves, but those of the Burkes do great honour to their taste and judg ment, and especially to their disinterested friendship for Barry. In a letter to Barret, the artist, Mr. Barry gives the following account of one, since well-known in this country:

"I wanted to give you some account of Lutherbourg, a landscape painter here (Paris) whose pictures I had not seen till just now; and I have put off writing to you merely for that reason. It would have made me very happy to have had you with me, &c. Lutherbourg is a young man about thirty, paints pretty much in the style of Berghem, except that the landscape part is more principal than Berghem's. In my opinion he cuts Vernet down all to nothing, so far as one may compare two people together so different in their walks. Lutherbourg has somewhat more dignity than Berghem, and is in every respect nearly as well in his cattle, figures, and other parts of his pictures."

But we hasten to a more valuable extract from a letter of Mr. Burke, an admirable specimen of friendship, candour, and taste.

66 MR. BURKE TO MR. BARRY.

"MY DEAR BARRY, London, no date. "I am greatly in arrear to you on account of correspondence; but not, I assure you, on account of regard, esteem, and most sincere good wishes. My mind followed you to Paris, through your Alpine journey, and to Rome; you are an admirable painter with your pen a

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