fluence the general opinion. As I am moft materially injured by this very unfair proceeding of Mr. Stevens's, I expect from your juice the infertion of the advertisement prefixed to that Book of Songs, which, depending on Mr. Stevens's word as an honest Man, I have been unfortunate enough to publifh. I am, Gentlemen,

Whitehaven, May 23, 1772.

With much Refpect,

Your very obedient humble Servant,
JOHN DUNN,

To the PUBLIC.

"A Book of Songs, entitled, THE CHOICE SPIRITS CHAPLET, &c. compiled by GEOPGE ALEXANDER STEVENS, Efq; printed by me, having been lately published by Meffrs. Hawes, Clarke, and Collins, in Paternofter-row, London, an advertisement has fince ap peared in feveral of the public papers, figned George Alexander Stevens, denying his having had any concern, directly or indirectly, in the compilation of that book; and afferting, that feveral of the fongs wrote by him are taken from mutilated and fpurious copies; which though I cannot believe it to have been inferted by Mr. Ste vens himself, yet I think it incumbent on me to lay the following account before the public, in order to juftify my own character, and thofe concerned in the publication of that book. When Mr. Stevens was in Whitehaven in April 1767, I mentioned to him my defign of reprinting a book of fongs, I had formerly publified; but as there were feveral of the fongs in that collection he did not approve of, he defired I would fend him all the fong-books I had in my poffeffion, and he would mark thofe he thought most proper for a NEW PUBLICATION; which he was fo obliging as to do, and affixed his name to a great number of his fongs, which had been omitted in thofe publications, and alfo corrected feveral errors in them; he afterwards drew up three different titles, and an advertifement, and defired me to make choice of one of the titles, and tranfcribe it over, with the advertisement; and he would, if neceffary, correct it; which I did, and he afterwards made a few alterations in it, which title is now prefixed to the book; nor are there any fongs in the collection (fix Scotch ones excepted, inferted by particular defire) that were not marked by him. He alfo gave me leave to make ufe of his name in the publication of the book, in any manner I might think moft conducive to my intereft; a permiflion, he faid, he had never granted to any other perfon, and which I hold myfelf greatly obliged to him for. While the book was printing I wrote to Mr. Stevens, acquainting him of it, and, at the request of feveral of my friends, I affixed his name to the title-page, agreeable to the liberty he gave me. From the above account the Public will be able to judge of the truth of the advertisement, and to their candour I willingly fubmit the determination of the affair.

Whitehaven, Nov. 26, 1771.

66

JOHN DUNN."

Both thefe copies, together with a few of thofe fongs of Mr. Stevens's which he affixed his name to, and corrected, are left at Meffrs. Hawes, Clarke, and Collins, in Paternofter-row, for the infpection of any gentleman who chufes to fatisfy himself of the truth of the above."

APPENDIX

TO THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

VOLUME the FORTY-SIXTH.

FOREIGN LITERATURE.

ART. I.

Le Pitture antiche D'Ercolano e Contorni incife con qualche spiegazione. The antique Paintings of Herculaneum, engraved, with fome Explanations. Folio. 6 Vols. 18 Guineas in Sheets. Naples.

THE

HE King of Naples, having gratified his royal and illuftrious friends with the fineft impreffions of this work, has now permitted the bookfeller to fell these volumes to all who choose to purchase them; and as the plates have, as we are informed, been engraved at his Majefty's expence, it is not probable any other bookfeller in Europe can ever afford to publifh a copy of this work.

Long before the difcovery of Herculaneum, the antiquaries and artifts of Europe had been enlightened and animated, and the productions of the latter greatly improved, by many fragments of ancient works that were gradually arifing from the earth in which they had been buried :-Venerabie fragments, that truly performed miracles! for they created Buonarotis, Rafaelles, Corregios, and Pouffins. They produced fkilful architects to erect, and excellent painters and fculptors to adorn, noble and magnificent buildings and with the aid of Philofophy, who, conducted by the genius of Bacon, happily began to receive her principles from Nature, as Tafte received hers from the antique and nature united, Ignorance and Barbarifm were powerfully oppofed, and generally gave way to the progrefs of true science, tafte, and humanity.

Almost all the antique paintings that have been discovered, at different times, in Italy, are in frefer, and though the colours generally appeared fresh, and wonderfully preferved at first, yet APP. Rev. Vol. xlvi.

Mm

од

on being exposed to the air, they fuffered extremely, and feveral of the pieces mouldered away but at the fame time it is very happy for the arts that Bartoli and others preferved copies of moft of them in coloured drawings, and that engravings of them have been published. Of these coloured drawings there are feveral ineftimable collections preferved; one of which, by Bartoli, falling into the hands of the late Count Caylus, he obliged the curious with a volume of prints, well engraved and coloured after thefe drawings; and the drawings are preserved in the cabinet of the King of France. This volume gives us a very high idea of the painting of the ancients, as it prefents us with many charming pictures, and beautiful cielings, though they were mostly taken from lower apartments, where it cannot be fuppofed the ancients employed their beft artifts; nay, Pliny tells us, that no fine painters ever painted upon walls: from whence we may conclude the moderns have feen few or no capital specimens even of Roman painting; as almost all the ancient paintings that exift are in fresco.

There are fome other collections of coloured drawings after antique paintings, befides thofe in the cabinet of the King of France; two of which are in England, and were procured at great expence by thofe illuftrious encouragers of the arts, Mr. Topham and Dr. Mead; though it is greatly to be lamented that Dr. Mead's collection of drawings, which was not fold with the rest of his museum, and which was the famous collection of the Mafimi family at Rome, are at prefent inacceffible to the public.

All the works of the ancients that have come down to us are matters of curiofity and utility; and a collection of prints after all the pictures that were found before the discovery of the ruins of Herculaneum, would be a very confiderable and a valuable prefent to the public; yet this collection would be fmall compared with that before us, in which we have four large volumes, in folio, of prints after the paintings in the Royal Museum of Portici. And from the first volume of the cataJogue, which makes the fixth of this publication, we are led to expect many fucceeding volumes of ancient treature, confifting of ftatues, bas-reliefs, altars, vafes of filver, bronze, glass, marble, and earthen-ware; ornaments of drefs and furniture, lamps, candelabri ;-in fhort, fpecimens of almost every thing that exifted in the city of Herculaneum at the time of its dreadful deftruction.

The firft, fecond, third, and fourth prints in this collection. are from paintings in one colour, upon marble; the colour vermillion. To this colour the ancients were very much attached. All the other paintings were upon walls in fresco.Each print is accompanied with a defcription of the original picture,

2

picture, and with large illuftrations from the claffics, and other ancient authors, by way of notes.

Some of the pictures are extremely pleafing, efpecially the dancing Nymphs and Centaurs in the first volume. The draperies of the dancing, or aerial, Nymphs, are wonderfully light and flowing, fo that one fees them fufpended in the air almost without any idea of their gravity. The attitudes of fome of them are extremely elegant, and their motions apparently fmooth and graceful. The plain black grounds make a strong contrast to the figures, and being free from fubordinate objects, that generally spoil the pictures they are intended to embellish, the figures themselves engage the whole attention of the spectator, and have a good effect.

The Chiron and Achilles, the Marfyas and Olympus, and the Domestic Supper, in the fame volume, are ftriking pictures; and . many of the boys at play are extremely agreeable.

The landscapes, of which there are multitudes, are curious, as they furnish ideas of the tafte of ancient Italy, in fea-ports, country buildings, and rural fcenes and diverfions.

In viewing many of thefe landfcapes, as well as the picturefque architecture, our thoughts are irrefiftably led to the Oriental ftyle of gardening and ornament, and particularly to that of the Chinele, which bears fo near a refembiance to that of Herculaneum, that one would almost imagine there had formerly been more connexion between the civilized part of Europe and the East of Afia, than the writings of the ancients would lead us to believe; and we cannot but apprehend that a more perfect knowledge of the prefent manners of Indoftan, and other parts of the Eaft, would throw great light upon Greek and Roman antiquities.

In the fecond volume we meet with a fet of Muses, not finely drawn, but many of them in good attitudes, preceded by a very indifferent character of an Apollo Mufagetes: and a little farther we are prefented with two prints of the expofition of Ariadne on the coafts of the island of Naxos; in the defign and compofition of which there is great merit.

In the former, Ariadne appears alone, feated upon a couch laid upon the fhore, under a tremendous rock, beaten by the waves of the sea. She supports her body with one hand, and extends the other, in which she holds up a part of her garment, towards the veffel that has just left her upon the fhore, and is beginning to move away, with that grace and perfuafive eloquence of gefture that the might hope would make her cruel Thefeus relent: while the action of the only figure seen in the veffel plainly indicates that her eloquence is in vain, and that the only concern on board is to crowd all the fail they can, and to fly as fpeedily as poffible out of her fight,

M m 2

The

The idea of this picture is well expreffed; there are few ot jects, and thofe effentially neceffary: no fubordinate trumpery, and minute divifions, to take off the mind from the principal fentiment. The vaft ocean; the craggy rock; the departing veffel; and a beautiful woman, abandoned by a cruel and ungrateful lover, whofe life she had faved, are all the materials of this picture; and they are fo employed by the judicious painter, who knew where to ftop, as to produce that full, clear, and almoft inftantaneous effect, which all intricate and tumultuous pictures muft for ever want.

In the next picture we fee the fame Ariadne in an agony of grief, with her face and eyes lifted up towards heaven; not vulgar grief, but fuch as might become the daughter of Mines. The fhip is far out at fea: a sweet Cupid, with his bow unftrung, and dartless arrows, weeping by her fide; and a winged female behind, ftretching out one arm towards the veffel, and refting the other upon Ariadne's fhoulder: perhaps meaning to fay that, though this lovely woman is abandoned by a faithlefs man, the fhall be fupported by the gods;"-which does not ill agree with the fequel of her hiftory.

In the third volume we have a great variety of curious pictures, that may ferve to illuftrate the manners and taste of the place and age in which they were executed; but none of them are excellent, though fome few, from the attitudes and compofition, seem to indicate that they were derived from nobler originals.

In the fourth volume No 189, 195, 201, 207, and 211, feem to be fragments of valuable pictures. The rest of this volume has the fame kind of merit as the third.

The fifth volume contains prints of a great number of excellent busts and the fixth, as we faid before, is the first volume of the general catalogue.

Connoiffeurs of the moft critical tafte, who have examined the originals at Portici, inform us that the drawings of the beft pieces in this work are not equal to the originals; and fo far as we can judge, from the copy before us, which we apprehend indeed is not an early impreffion, the engravings in general are far from being excellent, though fome of them are delicately touched, and above mediocrity.

At the fame time we must acknowledge the work to be of immenfe value, confidering the variety and importance of its contents; and we hope to fee the effects of this vaft harveft of antiquities, in the improvement of all the arts that depend upon defign: but we apprehend there may be fome reafon to doubt whether this vaft profufion of materials, publifhed under the venerable name of Antiques, in which good and bad things are indifcriminately blended, may not be a temptation to many of

our