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Read Ebook: The Mirror of Literature Amusement and Instruction. Volume 10 No. 272 September 8 1827 by Various
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Ebook has 82 lines and 17335 words, and 2 pages
THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
DUBLIN POST OFFICE.
The general post-office, Dublin, was at first held in a small building on the site of the Commercial Buildings, and was afterwards removed to a larger house opposite the bank on College Green and on January 6, 1818, the new post-office in Sackville-street was opened for business.
The foundation-stone of this magnificent building, which is built after a design of Francis Johnson, Esq., was laid by his excellency Charles, Earl of Whitworth, August 12, 1814, and the structure was completed in the short space of three years, for the sum of 50,000l.
The front, which extends 220 feet, has a magnificent portico , of six fluted Ionic columns, 4 feet 6 inches in diameter. The frieze of the entablature is highly enriched, and in the tympanum of the pediment are the royal arms. On the acroteria of the pediment are three statues by John Smyth, viz.--Mercury on the right, with his Caduceus and purse; On the left Fidelity, with her finger on her lip, and a key in her hand; and in the centre Hibernia, resting on her spear, and holding her shield. The entablature, with the exception of the architrave, is continued along the rest of the front; the frieze, however, is not decorated over the portico. A handsome balustrade surmounts the cornice of the building, which is 50 feet from the ground. With the exception of the portico, which is of Portland stone, the whole is of mountain granite. The elevation has three stories, of which the lower or basement is rusticated, and in this respect it resembles the India House of London, where a rusticated basement is introduced, although the portico occupies the entire height of the structure.
Over the centre of the building is seen a cupola, containing the chimes and bell on which the clock-hammer strikes. The bell is so loud, that it is heard in every part of the city.
The interior is particularly remarkable for the convenience of its arrangement, and the number of its communicating apartments. The board-room is a very handsome apartment, furnished with two seats, which are for the postmasters-general. Over the chimney-piece, protected by a curtain of green silk, is a bust of Earl Whitworth, in white marble, by John Smyth.
THE TOPOGRAPHER.
HIGH CROSS.
At the intersection of the roads is the pedestal, &c. of a cross which was erected here in the year 1712; on which are the two following Latin inscriptions. On one side is--
Which is thus translated,
The noblemen and gentry, ornaments of the neighbouring counties of Warwick and Leicester, at the instances of the Right Honourable Basil Earl of Denbeigh, have caused this pillar to be erected in grateful as well as perpetual remembrance of Peace at last restored by her Majesty Queen Anne, in the year of our Lord, 1712.
The inscription on the other side runs thus--
Si Veterum Romanorum vestigia quaeras, hic cernas viator. Hic enim celeberrimae illorum viae militares sese mutuo secantes ad extremes usque Britanniae limites procurent: hic stativa sua habuerunt Vennones; et ad primum ad hinc lapidem castra sua ad Stratam, et ad Fossam tumulum, Claudius quidam cohortis praefectus habuisse videtur.
Which may be thus rendered,
If, traveller, you search for the footsteps of the ancient Romans, here you may behold them. For here their most celebrated ways, crossing one another, extend to the utmost boundaries of Britain; here the Vennones kept their quarters; and at the distance of one mile from hence, Claudius, a certain commander of a cohort, seems to have had a camp, towards the street, and towards the foss a tomb.
The ground here is so high, and the surrounding country so low and flat, that it is said, fifty-seven churches may be seen from this spot by the help of a glass.
SONG.
H.B.
ORIGINS AND INVENTIONS.
GOING SNACKS.
ANTIPHONANT CHANTING.
THE NOVELIST
"I HAVE DONE MY DUTY."
She would sit and weep At what a sailor suffers; fancy, too, Delusive most where warmest wishes are, Would oft anticipate his glad return.
COWPER.
"Cast abandoned on the world's wide stage, And doomed in scanty poverty to roam."
Look at yon poor remnant of the tempest, probably reduced to the hard necessity of becoming a wanderer, without a home to shelter him, or one kind commiserating smile to shed a ray of sunshine on the dreary winter of his life. I can remember, when a child, I had an uncle who loved me very tenderly, and my attachment to him was almost that of a daughter; indeed he was the pride and admiration of our village; for every one esteemed him for his kind and cheerful disposition. But untoward events cast a gloom upon his mind; he hastened away to sea, and we never saw him more."
Founded on facts which actually occurred in Devonshire, a short time after the peace of 1815.
STANZAS.
Oh! poverty, thou tyrant of the mind, How eager would I shun thy cold embrace, And try some hospitable shore to find! Some welcome refuge; some more happy place.
But ah! the stars shone adverse at my birth, Tho' boyish pleasures all my youth beguil'd, And little thought amidst those scenes of mirth, That I was doom'd to be misfortune's child.
At last the haggard wretch is come; and I, Like some poor hark, toss'd by the mighty wave, Am solitary left, nor have wherewith to fly Her dread embrace, save to man's friend--the grave.
No hope, alas! possesses now my mind, Plung'd in the deepest gulf of penury; No earthly friend, to pity none inclined; To soothe the bitter pang of misery.
'Tis hope that raises us to heaven, While pure affection breathes no other love, And makes to those to whom it's given A something like a paradise above.
Then hail thou grateful visitant, oh death, And stop the troubled ocean of my breast: Lull the rude waves; nor let my parting breath E'er cause a sigh, or break one moment's rest.
Then when my clay-cold form shall bid adieu, Hid in its parent's bosom, kindred earth, Let not the errors e'er appear in view, But turn from them, and only speak his worth.
J.A.
THE SKETCH BOOK.
THE CONVERSATION OF ACTORS.
of gallant ships, Proudly floating o'er the dark blue ocean.
The eternal theme of one old gentleman is his parrot, and another chatters incessantly about his pupils. Some of the singers--the serious order of singers--are as namby-pamby off the stage as they are on it, unless revelling in "sweet sounds;" they are too fond of humming tunes, solfaing, and rehearsing graces in society; they have plenty to sing, but nothing to say for themselves; they chime the quarters like "our grandmother's clock," and at every revolution of the minute index, strike up their favourite tune. This is as bad as being half-smothered in honey, or nearly
Washed to death in fulsome wine.
FINE ARTS.
THE WORKS OF CANOVA.
Canova, while living, was thought to be the first sculptor of the age, and his works are still greatly admired--for their exquisite finishing, and for their near resemblance to real life. They are certainly very attractive, and may be contemplated a considerable time with delight; but they never impose upon the beholder, and never raise in his mind any of those sublime ideas which he invariably experiences while contemplating the works of the ancients, or the modern productions of Michael Angelo Buonarotti. Canova, in fact, though he possessed the grace, the elegance, and the liveliness of the greatest masters of Italy, could never surmount a certain degree of littleness, which failure predominates in most of his works. The calm, tranquil, and dignified pathos of Leonardo di Vinci cannot be traced in Canova's countenances, which rather approach to those represented by Charles le Brun, Eustache le Seur, and other French artists. Though his men were generally deficient in dignity, the faces of his females were always pleasing, notwithstanding
"The sleepy eye, that spoke the melting soul,"
peculiar to most Italian women, is never found in his productions. It does not appear likely that Canova, although his present admirers are very numerous, will be greatly idolized by posterity. Indeed, if we may be allowed to predict, his name, unlike that of his countryman, Buonarotti, will sink into oblivion. He, however, enjoyed a high reputation as an artist while he lived, and his sculpture is now eagerly sought for by the lovers of the fine arts, both in Great Britain, and on the continent.
Canova died at Venice, in the month of October, 1822. His death was heard with extreme regret in Europe, and indeed in all parts of the globe where his works were known.
G.W.N.
ANECDOTES AND RECOLLECTIONS.
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