the Dean and I should have ventured to have recommended from hence a person who is a surprising instance of the power of application to books. A taylor* of this town, of about 30 years of age, who has within seven years mastered seven languages, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldea, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic. Mr. Professor Ockley being here since Christmas has examined him, and given him an ample testimonial in the Oriental languages. Our Dean also thinks him very extraordinary. But he is very poor, and his landlord lately seized a Polyglot Bible (which he had made shift to purchase) for reut. But there is rare taken to clear his debts, and if a way could be thought of to make him useful, I believe we could get a subscription towards part of his maintenance." A letter of Dr. Tanner's (afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph) to Dr. Rawlinson, "His name was lienry Wild. See some account of him in the Gent. Mag. for March, 1755. The Memoir of his Life is very deficient in point of dates; but it appears that he went to Oxford, and on the recommendation of Dr. Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, was employed in the Bodleian Library, in translating, or making extracts from, the Oriental MSS. Ile reinoved from Oxford to London, about the year 1720, and lived there under the patronage of Dr. Mead. In 1734, was published, his translation, from the Arabic, of Mahomet's Journey to Heaven', a posthumous work, and the only one of his hat was ever printed." dated Norwich, April 30, 1715 (from the same collection as the above) contains the following passage, relating to this remarkable person: "At present I have time only to send you the enclosed, and to present to you a poor man from this city, who is very extraordinary in his way, and, as I conceive, deserving the notice and encouragement of all lovers of learning and industry. Being taught only English in his childhood, apprenticed to a country taylor, and being forced to work journey work for his bread, and to buy a few books, he has attained to competent knowledge in the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic. I don't pretend skill in these latter, but can depend upon the character of our Dean, Dr. Prideaux, and Mr. Oakley, the Cambridge Arabic Professor, have given him. "He had a mighty inclination to come to Oxford to see the books and libraries there, and we have some of us furnished him a little out for his journey. He is modest, aud not prepared to expect any thing at Oxford but civil treatment, and a sight of books and MSS. in his way. Tho' I almost promise myself, that such uncommon application will be taken notice of among the niany encouragers of letters there. He'll not refuse the meanest employment whereby he may be enabled to improve himself, and be more useful to the world." THE ARTS. INTRODUCTORY LETTERS ON THE USEFUL AND POLITE ARTS. LETTER I. Mr. EDITOR-In commencing with the new year, a new and useful periodical work, embracing so wide a circle, you will be led to trace, with care, the map of literature, and to examine progressive improvements in the arts, and new discoveries in the sciences; to follow their respective boundaries, and to form some opinion of their value, as they respect human morals and manners. To cultivate a taste for the arts, and an acquaintance with the sciences, is a pleasure of the most exalted nature; but to do this without a regard to its influence upon the affections of the mind, is to destroy a tree for its blossoms, which is capable of yielding the richest fruit. The cultivation of this taste ought to be subservient to higher and more important purposes; it should dignify and exalt our affections, and elevate them to the admiration and love of THAT BEING, who is the author of every thing that is fair, beautiful, and excellent in nature.-Scepticism and irreligion are not compatible with that sensibility of heart which results from an intimate knowledge of the wisdom, and a lively relish for the hormony, and order, subsisting in the world. In the discussion of such extended subjects, it is natural to begin with the most curious and interesting; considering, with the Poet, that “the proper study of mankind is man!" MAN, therefore, is the centre round which the arts and sciences continually revolve, and for whose comfort they were bestowed, and by whom they are to be employed. Most writers have given it as their opinion, that he is a social being; yet they have described him in a state of nature, which never had an existence, but in their own imaginations; and they appear to have fallen into this universal error, from a wish to embellish the advantages of society in a higher point of view, by comparing them with a fancied state of wildness, as painters give effect to light, by opposing large masses of shade, or as the beauty of melody is more sensibly felt, when succeeding to the imperfect harmony resulting from the proper management of discords. These philosophers seem as generally to have omitted the acknowledgement that such a state of nature in which they are pleased to consider man in the abstract, never had, nor could have had, any actual or physical existence. Some of the most useful arts must, from necessity, have been coeval with the first of the human race. The means of procuring food, raiment, and shelter imply a certain extent of knowledge in the arts; but they are so remote in antiquity, that even tradition does not furnish us with the names of their inventors. We find, however, the first appearance of the arts in THE EAST, and the invention of the bow and arrow, those necessary appendages of the first hunters, is attributed to Scythus, the son of Jupiter; and spinning, the most useful, perhaps, of all the arts, has usually been ascribed to some illustrious inventor: by the Egyptians, to Isis; by the Greeks, to Minerva; the Peruvians ascribe it to Mama Ella, wife to their first Sovereign, Mango Capac; and the Chinese give the invention to their Emperor Yao. -The first attempts at architecture were, indeed, rude and simple; and the hut of the savage was rivalled in neatness and accommodation by the commodious habitations of the more sagacious brutes. The means of attack and defence seem to have appeared among the first essays of human invention, and the miserable and barbarous art of war has, in most ages, called forth the powers of the human mind in a greater degree than any of the more refined arts of peace. The employment of iron was a later discovery than the bow and arrow, and at the siege of Troy, brass was more generally used.-Menestheus was the first general who marshalled an army: he commanded fifty Athenian vessels also at the siege of Troy.-The carliest fortifications were trees interleaved with boughs; to which succeeded the wall, with holes left for missile weapons. The battering ram was the invention of Pericles, and was brought to perfection at the siege of Gades, by the Carthaginians. Parapets, and ditches followed, which led to the invention of various machines to throw weapons at a distance. Other modes of fortification ensued, such as round and square towers. But the invention of cannon created a great revolution in military architecture: they were first made of iron bars, united by rings of copper, and their size was afterwards reduced by the use of iron instead of stone, || for the balls: these destructive engines were at length completed, by making them of cast metal. To resist their force, ingenaity has been employed in the construction of bastions, horn-works, crown-works, half moons, &c. &c. but the arts of attack having kept pace with those of defence, have rendered such inventions of little use. In modern times, the social experiment of associating with military tactics the sci ence of politics has been tried, and the morai nature of man has been successfully employed to convert the members of the same society into instruments of mutual destruction. Indeed the vicissitudes of public opinion, or the spirit arising from it, have had more effect in the revolutions of a late period, than even the collision of armies. NAVAL ARCHITECTURE (that invulnerable bulwark of Great Britain) has had its, gradual progress to a state of great improvement. The vessels of the ancients were constructed with beams, joined together, and covered with planks. To these succeeded trees, hollowed out by fire and. manual labour, called monoxyles; the Greeks formed other vessels of planks, fastened together, to imitate the former. A prow for the head, and a moveable helm for the stern, with oars, was the next improvement: sails were afterwards added, an invention of such remote antiquity that. the author is unknown. Before the middle of the sixteenth century, English ships of war were built without port-holes, and had only a few guns placed upon deck. In this century, a voyage to the East Indies, on this side the Ganges, was three years; but such has been the improvement of navigation, accompanied by the advances made in marine astronomy, the knowledge of winds, currents, and tides, and in geography, that, at present, it is a voyage of no more than eighteen months. From Bombay and Madras, to Falmouth, voyages have been frequently made in less than four months. These circum stances, connected with the arts of writing and printing, facilitate the intercourse of men and minds, and account, in a great degree, for the accelerated progress of knowledge at the present beyond all former periods. The arts enable the learned of all countries to supply mutual deficiencies, to correct mutual errors, and upon subjects of common investigation, to enlarge the knowledge of facts, which, since the days of Bacon and Galileo have converted the learned world from visionary theorists into rational inquirers. As the important arts of writing and printing are the means by which we are principally acquainted with all human knowledge, I shall say a little respecting them in my next Letter, should a continuance of correspondence upon such subjects prove acceptabic, as coming from a. very eccentric individual. I propose to date my Letters from "THE ARK," and to subscribe myself HIRAM. THE BRITISH INSTITUTION. THIS admirable national establishment was opened, for the season, in the early part of the month. Amongst the most prominent pictures are- -No. 57, the subject of which is, Mary anointing the feet of Jesus, by W. HILTON, A. R. A. For this piece, the noble Directors of the Institution have rewarded the artist with a compliment of 560 guineas.- Mr. BIRD, the ornament of Bristol, and the great rival of WILKIE, has two paintings; the first of which is, No. 98, from the book of JOB.— "Therefore I said, hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion."-Chap.32, ver. x. This is mentioned, as a very successful effort, in the style of Rembrandt. Mr. BIRD'S second piece, is No. 189-Newsmongers, after the manner of WILKIE. WM. OWEN, R. A. has a very fine old man's head, No. 31; and P. REINAGLE, the celebrated animal painter, has a piece, entitled the Chase, No. 172, in which a considerable knowledge of canine anatomy is displayed.— The following have also attracted much notice: 32, Joseph sold by his Brethren, A. PERIGAL; 42, Othello, Desdemona, aud Tago, HENRY MONRO; 139, A Heath, D. Cox; 119, A Landscape, P. NASMYTH; 175, View of Westminster Abbey, W. DANIEL, A. R. A.; 178, Pilgrims relieved at the Church of the Trinita del Monte, at Rome, J. FREARSON; 110, View of Perth, W. WILSON; 185, Composition, B. BARKER. Independently of the donation to Mr. HILTON, the Directors of the British Institution intend to award 200 guineas to the best historical, or poetical picture; and 100 guineas for the best landscape, in the collection. By exhibiting the works of the great masters of painting, both ancient and modern, this establishment has contributed much to the improvement of the public taste in the fine arts. The advantages thus afforded to young artists, were formerly unattainable without a visit to the Continent —and, by a transient visit, but little could be acquired. They now have ample opportunity for study-for comparison-for exercise for emulation. The country has, therefore, a right to expect and hitherto the expectation has not been disappointed -proportionate improvement and excellence. Last year, the works of Sir JOSHUA REYNOLDS were exhibited; and we understand it is now in the contemplation of the Directors, to bring forward the finest specimens of Gainsborough's pencil, of which the County of Suffolk is well entitled to be proud. They certainly are such as no productions of the present day (Wilson's, perhaps, only excepted) can stand in competition with; such as must form the noblest studies for the rising generation of artists. When produced, we shall be happy to avail ourselves of the circumstance, in The EAST ANGLIAN REVIEW of the Arts. Some paintings by Hogarth, and by Wilson, it is also said, are to be exhibited. THEATRICALS. NEW THEATRE AT WOODBRIDGE. On the evening of Saturday, February the 5th, a new Theatre was opened at Woodbridge, under the management of Mr. FISHER, whose company is well known in many of the towns of the East Anglian District. The Theatre was built by Mr. THOMPSON, from a plan, we are informed, of Mr. FISHER'S, the Proprietor. Its cost is said to have been altogether about 20007. The construction-as to form, rather old-fashioned than new-is judicious; for the size of the house, the accommodation is, in every respect, good; and the painting, decorations, &c. are such as give it a neat, light, and airy appearance. It is calcnlated to hold from 70 to 80%. The stage, which possesses great depth, is sufficiently large for any scenic representation, not depending on spectacle or procession, On each side of the stage are two tiers of boxes, four boxes in each tier; the lower tier having also three centre boxes, at the back of the pit. The pit contains about ten or eleven seats; and the gallery seems well pro portioned to the other parts of the Theatre. The house is lighted with Liverpool lamps; illuminators which, as is obvious at the Ipswich Theatre, require more attention, to give them their full effect, than they generally receive. The upper tier of boxes seems to require at least one additional lamp on each side. The scenery is said to be the production of either Mr. Fisher, or his sons. As far as we have the means of judging, it is neat and tasteful. On the night of opening-a cold thaw, having just commenced-the weather was particularly unpropitious; in addition to which, a belief unfortunately was prevalent, that the Theatre was so damp as to be unfit for the reception of company. Under these circumstances, it was not surprising, that the curtain rose to a lamentably thin audience. There were, we believe, but four ladies in the boxes, throughout the evening, and, even at second price, the house was not half filled. We were much disappointed, on seeing the performance commence, without an introductory prologue, or address, of any description. Surely, one of the Addresses, rejected by the Drury-Lane Committee of Taste, might have been better than none! Or, on an emergency, Lord Byron, perhaps, if applied to, might have set his muse to work, and have equalled his former sublime effort!-The fact, we understand was, that two gentlemen were expected each to furnish an Address on the occasion; and, each bard, considering the other to be actually so employed, both remained idle, and nothing was produced! Thus, "between two stools"-the proverb is somewhat musty. --Mr. FISHER, however, endeavoured in some measure to atone for the deficiency, by introducing a comic song, between the Play and the Entertainment, in which were two or three applicable points, sufficiently palpable to elicit the cordial applause of the audience. The entertainments of the evening wereEducation, and Lock and Key; and, as the time may come, when the bill of the first night's performances at the Woodbridge Theatre will be regarded as no contemptible curiosity, we shall offer no apology for making The EAST ANGLIAN its depository. NEW THEATRE, WOODBRIDGE. On Saturday, Feb. 5,1814, will be presented a Comedy, CALLED EDUCATION. Count Villars, Mr. RACKHAM -- Sir Gay Stanch, Mr. FISHER-Mr. Templeton, Mr. SMITH. Vincent Templeton, Mr. G. FISHER. Aspic, Mr. HENRY-Damper, Mr. TAYLOR. Suckling, Mr. FISHER, jun. Broadcast, Mr. J. FISHER-George, Mrs. J. FISHER. Attorney, Mr. HIGH-Steward, Mr. COLLINS. Jerry, Mr. MALOM. Mrs.Templeton, Mrs. OLIVER--Ellen, Miss LESUG. Rosine, Miss HIGH. Dame Broadcast, Mrs. HIGH. End of the Play, a Hornpipe, by Mr. Henry. SONG-The Yorkshire Irishman, by Mr. FISHER. After which a Musical Farce, called LOCK AND KEY. Brummagem, Mr. J. FISHER. Cheerly, Mr. C. FISHER- Vain, Mr. SMITH. Ralph, Mr. FISHER. Pages, Messrs. TAYLOR and BURGESS. Laura, Miss LE SUG Fanny, Miss HIGH. Selina, Mrs. HIGH-Dolly, Mrs. OLIVER. VOL. I. The respective pieces went off with great spirit. The Company appears to possess considerable capability, especially for the performance of musical farces; but there is one young lady, who, in pity to the audience, ought to be removed, or at least thrown into the very back of the background. In a provincial theatre, he must be ridiculously fastidious, who would expect the polish of a St. James's drawingroom; but the extreme of awkwardness and vulgarity ought not to be tolerated, even in a barn.-Mrs. OLIVER, the heroine of the Company, is a pretty little figure, and possesses considerable talent. Since the first night, the Theatre, we believe, has been very well attended.-The Company proceed to Thetford, at the time of the approaching Assizes, in that town. LONDON THEATRES. A Mr. KEAN has made his appearance at Drury-Lane Theatre, with much success, in the characters of Shylock and Richard the Third. Judging from the best informed London prints, he has made a more powerful impression on the public, than any actor since the time of the Boy-Roscius-MASTER BETTY. His Richard, in particular, is described as a master-piece; more refined than that of COOKE, more bold, varied, and original, than that of KEMBLE.He is said to be a nephew of the late MoSES KEAN, the mimic. His father, one of three brothers, was an architect, and his mother was a daughter of the facetious and eccentric GEORGE SAVILLE CAREY. Ile was himself educated at Eton, and went from thence to our provincial Theatres, where, like others, he performed every thing -Tragedy, Comedy, Opera, Farce, Dance, and Pantomime. In the early part of the month, a farce, entitled Rogues All; or Three Generations, was brought out at Drury-Lane, Theatre, chiefly for the purpose of displaying the versatility of Mr. ELLISTON's talents. The idea was borrowed from The Three and the Deuce, in which that actor most successfully personates three brothers. In the new piece, to accomplish a swindling matrimonial speculation, he appeared successively as a grandfather, father, and son; but, either the simulation was not happy, or the absurdity was too gross, even for farce, and the piece was decisively condemned, without permission to be heard a second time. -The author, we believe, was Mr. TнOMAS DIBDIN. At Covent Garden, Feb.18, Mr. KEMBLE'S engagement closed, with his performance of Cato. On the 21st of the month, Mrs. JORDAN appeared, for the first time this season, as Rosalind. LITERARY REVIEW. "Sublimest virtue is desire of fame, Where Justice gives the laurel," The Corsair, a Tale. By Lord Byron, 8vo. Murray, 1814. Sickened-nauseated- -as we have long been, with the rough, rumbling jargon of Walter Scott's muse, which has laboured, with indefatigable perseverance, to disfigure the English language, and to carry us back to the ages of barbarism and unintelligibility, it has been cause of deep regret to us, that Lord Byron--a poet of superior order-should have condescended to imitate, and adopt, that which ought never to have been tolerated, much less admired, in the regions of taste, or of common sense. "Why," exclaimed we to a friend, on our perusal of The Giaour, "why does Lord Byron assume the measure of Walter Scott?"-The answer was:-"Perhaps, to shew him with how much greater skill he can employ it."-We assented to the justness of the remark, but could not receive it as an excuse. We do not mean to assert, that Walter Scott is not a poet. No! We fully admit his claims to the Parnassian wreath; but we are disposed to condemn, almost without mercy, the man who, capable of writing so well as Scott can write, will descend, from whatever motive, to write so ill, as Scott has written. Rarely is he guilty of attending to the lima labor ac mora, without which no permanent fame can be acquired; his works are evidently "slubber'd o'er in haste;" yet occasionally, they present us with gems of the first water-beauties of the highest class. But their beauties are only so many isolated spots of verdure, scattered over a widely-extended desart, the sterile sands of which threaten to overwhelm the luckless passenger. The work before us has produced, in our minds, a sensation of mingled pleasure and pain; the former, we admit, predominating; for, though it is not all we could wish-all that we expected-we are not without the hope, that it will tend, in no slight degree, to effect a reformation in the public taste. The Corsair is most handsomely dedicated to the author's friend, Thomas Moore, Esq. the well-known amatory poet. My dear Moore," says his Lordship, "I dedicate to you the last production with which I shall tresspass on public patience, and your indulgence, for some years; and I own that I feel anxious to avail myself of this latest and only opportunity of adorning my pages with a name, consecrated by unshaken public principle, and the most un GLOVER. doubted and various talents. While Ireland ranks you among the firmest of her patriots-while you stand alone the first of her bards, in her estimation, and Britain repeats and ratifies the decrec-permit one, whose only regret, since our first acquaintance, has been the years he had lost before it commenced, to add the humble, but siacere suffrage of friendship, to the voice of more than one nation. It will at least prove to you, that I have neither forgotten the gratification derived from your society, nor abandoned the prospect of its renewal, whenever your leisure or inclination allows you to atone to your friends for too long an absence." That Lord Byron, for a time, resigns his lyre, every lover of poetry will lament; but, for the temporary privation, he endeavours to console them, in the succeeding sentence, by the hope of production from Mr. Moore. "It is said among those friends," continues his Lordship, "I trust truly, that you are engaged in the composition of a poem, whose scene will be laid in the East; none can do those scenes so much justice. The wrongs of your own country, the magnificent and fiery spirit of her sous, the beauty and feeling of her daughters, may there be found; and Collins, when he denominated his Oriental, his Irish Eclogues, was not aware how true, at least, was a part of his parallel. Your imagination will create a warmer sun, and less clouded sky; but wildness, tenderness, and originality, are part of your national claim of oriental descent, to which you have already thus far proved your title more clearly than the most zealous of your country's antiquarians." This is, to say the least of it, clegantly complimentary. What follows is more important." May I add a few words on a subject on which all men are supposed to be fluent, and none agreeable?-Self. I have written much, and published more than enough to demand a longer silence than I now meditate; but for some years to come, it is my intention to tempt no further the award of Gods, men, nor columns.' In the present composition I have attempted not the most difficult, but, perhaps, the best adapted measure to our language, THE GOOD OLD AND NOW-NEGLECTED HEROIC COUPLET:-the stanza of Spencer rative; though, I confess, it is the measure is, perhaps, too slow and dignified for narmost after my own heart; and Scott alone, of the present generation, has hitherto |