1816.] Parallel between the Turks and Chinese. 331 with their foreheads, and never use their with their foreheads, and never use their names except in their writings. names except in their writings. Among the Turks we find no other hereditary nobles than the descendants of the family of Mahomed. The presents of the Emperor of the Turks consist chiefly of caftans and costly apparel. The seals of the Turkish Emperor and of the Turks bear no arms, like ours, but merely engraved letters. The Sultans send to the grandees a silk cord with which they are to strangle them selves or to be strangled. The bow is the principal ancient weapon of the Turks. The red standard is the principal banner of the Turks when they assemble for war. The jugh, or a pole with a horse-tail fastened to it, is a distinguished mark of honour among the Turks. The great drum, which is carried full in front, is an essential part of Turkish music. Among the Turks it is a rudeness to take off the turban or to uncover the head, The left hand is the most honourable among the Turks. The Turks leave their slippers at the door when they enter an apartment, and put them on again when they leave it. The Turks assume the turban at about the age of fourteen years, and are then con ducted to the mosque. The Turks frequently make donanmas, or general illuminations, which last four or five nights. The Turks are accustomed to play with the balls of the rosary which they carry in their hands. The Turks are scarcely ever seen but with pipes in their mouths smoking tobacco. The Turkish women smoke as well as the men. The Turks present coffee to every visitor, and in every house the coffee-pot is constantly upon the fire. The public ians in Turkey are called Han. The Turks are accustomed to drink their coffee without sugar. Pillau or rice is the most common food of the Turks. Grape-wine is prohibited among the Turks. The Turks of both sexes sit cross-legged. Instead of chairs the Turks use pillows, and their rooms are covered with carpets or mats. Among the Chinese we find no other hereditary nobles than the descendants of the family of Confucius. The presents of the Emperor of China consist chiefly of stuffs of gold and costly apparel. The seals of the Emperor of China and of the Chinese have no arms upon them, but merely ancient letters. The sovereigns of China likewise send to their grandees a silk cord with which they are to strangle themselves or to be strangled. The bow is the principal and ancient wea pon of the Chinese. On a standard of red is the inscription "Red Banner," to arrange and direct the troops (to cin hung-ki). The tu, or a pole with a cow's tail fastened to it, is a distinguished mark of honour among the Chinese. The great drum is an essential part of the music of the Chinese, and is also carried exactly in the front of the body. Among the Chinese it is a rudeness to uncover the head. For this reason the Pope was obliged to grant to the missionaries a dispensation for performing mass with their heads covered. The left hand is the most honourable in the northern provinces of China. The Chinese formerly left their shoes at the entrance of an apartment when they went in, and put them on again at their return. The Chinese assume the male barett in their fourteenth year, and are then conducted to the mino, or temple. The Chinese annually celebrate the Feast of Lanterns, an illumination which lasts four or five nights. The Chinese, when conversing with one another, play with the balls of their rosaries. The Chinese are never without pipes in their mouths, smoking. The Chinese women smoke as well as the men. The Chinese present tea to every visitor, and the tea-kettle is always on the fire in every house. The public inns of the merchants who come to China are called hang. Thus the word han, which is spread over all Asia, seems to be of Chinese origin. The Chinese drink their tea without sugar, Rice is the most general food of the Chi nese. Grape-wine is prohibited among the Chi nese. The Chinese of both sexes have been accustomed from remote antiquity to sit cross-legged, Till the dynasty of the Han the Chinese used pillows instead of chairs; and till that 332 Parallel between the Turks and Chinese-America. [May 1, The offices and dignities of the Turks are indicated by their turbans. The Turks place the titles of lord, prince, &c. after their names. The words which we term prepositions, are placed after the words which they govern in the Turkish language. The women in Turkey are shut up in the innermost part of the house, and are not allowed to go abroad, to market, &c. In Turkey the bridegroom never sees his bride before marriage. The marriage contract is concluded by means of a third per son. The Turkish Sultan may have three other wives besides his lawful wife, and as many concubines as he pleases. The Turkish sovereigns have eunuchs to guard their harem. The twelve signs of the zodiac occur in the Turkish calendar. In the Ruz-nameh, or Turkish calendar, the lucky and unlucky days are marked upon which journies may be undertaken, contracts and marriages concluded, and every kind of business transacted or not. The Turks have only lunar months. The Turks strive to introduce into all their tales, stories, and romances, from time to time, one, two, or more poetical lines, to enliven the subject. The moral is said to be the principal object of most of the Turkish tales. The Turks pay the greatest respect to the smallest scrap of paper which they happen to find any where upon the ground. The Koran is so highly venerated by the Turks, that every word as well as every letter contained in it is counted. The burial-places of the Turks are without the towns, and the graves in them are adorned with cypress-trees. God is called in the Turkish language Tenri. time the floors of their apartments were covered with carpets or mats. The offices of the Chinese are indicated by their baretts. The Chinese prefix the titles of lord, prince, &c. to their names. Prepositions are placed after the words which they govern in the Chinese language. The women of the Chinese are shut up'in the innermost part of the house, and are not allowed to go abroad, to market, &c. In China the bridegroom never sees his bride before marriage. The marriage contract is concluded by another person. The Hoang-ti of China may have three other wives besides his lawful wife, and as many concubines as he pleases. The Chinese sovereigns have eunuchs to guard their harem. The twelve signs of the zodiac occur in the Chinese calendar. In the Chinese calendar the lucky and unlucky days are specified upon which business of every kind may be transacted or not. The Chinese reckon only by lunar months. The Chinese strive to introduce now and then in their tales, stories, romances, &c. two or three poetical lines to enliven the subject. The moral is the principal object of the Chinese books and stories. The Chinese manifest the highest respect for the smallest scrap of paper written upon which they find any where upon the ground. The Sciu-King, a canonical book of the first rank, is held in such veneration by the Chinese, that every word and every character in it is counted. The burial places in China must be out of the towns, and the graves in them are adorned with cypresses. Tien-lie in the Chinese language signifies Ruler of Heaven-and is the title which is given to the Emperor, because he, according to the Chinese, is God's vicegerent upon earth. AMERICA. The field of American literature, if British talent were to reclaim all that belongs to it, would be left extremely bare indeed. All English books of any merit are reprinted as fast as they appear, and this circumstance naturally tends to the discouragement of native exertion. But even for the greater part of works of a miscellaneous nature, which -originate with themselves, the Americans are indebted to Europe, and to Britain more particularly. Thus, in the an-nouncement of the Christian Register and Literary and Theological Magazine and Review, which is to appear at New York in half-yearly numbers, the public is informed, that "it is designed to fill its pages with matter chiefly_selected from the best and most recent European publications." Notice is also given, that a religious newspaper, under the title of The Christian Herald;will be commenced in the same city" as soon as a sufficient amount of subscriptions shall be ob tained." The stereotype art has found its way to the United States; COLLINS and Co. of New York, have finished a quarto Family Bible printed in that nianner, and accompanied with engravings, consisting of 23 historical subjects and 1816.] Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Marbles. maps. PINKERTON's Atlas is re-engraving at Philadelphia: it has advanced to the fourth number. Among the original works in preparation are: General WILKINSON'S Memoirs of his Own Times, in 333 three 8vo. volumes; a Life of General Jackson, by Major REID; a History of the War in Louisiana, by LATOUR; and an Emporium of Arts and Sciences, by COOPER. REVIEW AND REGISTER OF THE FINE ARTS. "L'onore conferito da Grandi à bravi Artisti dà vita e vigore alle Belle Arti; come il poco incoragimento, e le critiche severe, e poco discrete, le fanno languire." CONDIVI, Vita di Michel Angiolo Buonarotti. REPORT From the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Earl of Elgin's Collection of Sculptured Marbles, &c. The Select Committee appointed to inquire, whether it be expedient that the Collection mentioned in the Earl of Elgin's Petition, presented to the House on the 15th day of February last, should be purchased on behalf of the public, and if so, what price it may be reasonable to allow for the sanie, consider the subject referred to them as divided into four principal heads: The first of which relates to the authority by which this collection was acquired: The second to the circumstances under which that authority was granted: The third to the merit of the marbles as works of sculpture, and the importance of making them public property, for the purpose of promoting the study of the fine arts in Great Britain: and, The fourth, to their value as objects of sale, which includes the consideration of the expense which has attended the removing, transporting, and bringing them to England. To these will be added some general observations upon what is to be found in various authors relating to these marbles. WHEN the Earl of Elgin quitted Engfand upon his mission to the Ottoman Porte, it was his original intention to make that appointment beneficial to the progress of the Fine Arts in Great Britain, by procuring accurate drawings and casts of the valuable remains of sculpture and architecture scattered throughout Greece, and particularly concentrated at Athens. With this view he engaged Signor Lusieri, a painter of reputation, who was then in the service of the King of the Two Sicilies, together with two architects, two modellers, and a figure-painter, whom Mr. Hamilton (now under-secretary of state) engaged at Rome, and dispatched with Lusieri, in the summer of 1800, from ConstantiRople to Athens. They were employed there about nine months, from August 1800 to May 1801, without having any sort of facility or accommodation afforded to them; nor was the Acropolis accessible to them, even for the purpose of taking drawings, except by the payment of a large fee, which was exacted daily. The other five artists were withdrawu from Athens in January 1803, but Lusieri has continued there ever since, excepting during the short period of our hostilities with the Ottoman Porte. During the year 1800, Egypt was in the power of the French; and that sort of contempt and dislike which has always characterized the Turkish government and people in their behaviour towards every denomination of Christians, prevailed in full force. The success of the British arms in Egypt, and the expected restitution of that province to the Porte, wrought a wonderful and instantaneous change in the disposition of all ranks and descriptions of people towards our nation. Nothing was refused which was asked; and Lord Elgin, availing himself of this favourable and unexpected alte ration, obtained in the summer of 1801 access to the Acropolis for general purposes, with permission to draw, model, and remove; to which was added, a special license to excavate in a particular place. Lord Elgin mentions in his evidence, that he was obliged to send from Athens to Constantinople for leave to remove a house; at the same time remarking that, in point of fact, all permissions issuing from the Porte to any distant provinces, are little better than authorities to make the best bargain that can be made with the local magistracies. The applications upon this subject passed in verbal conversations; but the warrants or fermauns were granted in writing, addressed to the chief authorities resident at Athens, to whom they were delivered, and in whose hands they remained: so that your committee had no opportunity of learning from Lord Elgin himself their exact tenour, or of ascer taining in what terms they noticed or 334 Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Marbles. [May 1, allowed the displacing or carrying away of these marbles. But Dr. Hunt, who accompanied Lord Elgin as chaplain to the embassy, has preserved, and has now in his possession, a translation of the second fermaun, which extended the powers of the first; but as he had it not with him in London, to produce before your committee, he stated the substance according to his recollection, which was: That, in order to show their particular respect for the ambassador of Great Britain, the august ally of the Porte, with whom they were now and had long been in the strictest alliance, they gave to his excellency and to his secretary, and the artists employed by him, the most extensive permission to view, draw, and model, the ancient temples of the idols, and the sculptures upon them; and to make excavations, and to take away any stones that might appear interesting to them." He stated further, that no remonstrance was at any time made, nor displeasure shown, by the Turkish government, either at Constantinople or at Athens, against the extensive interpretation which was put upon this fermaun; and although the work of taking down and removing was going on for months, and even years, and was conducted in the most public mannernumbers of native labourers, to the amount of several hundreds, being frequently employed-not the least obstruction was ever interposed, nor the smallest uneasiness shown, after the granting of this second fermaun. Among the Greek population and inhabitants of Athens it occasioned no sort of dissatisfaction; but as Mr. Hamilton, an eye-witness, expresses it, so far from exciting any unpleasant sensation, the people seemed to feel it as the means of bringing foreigners into their country, and of havng money spent among them. The Turks showed a total indifference and apathy as to the preservation of these remains, except when, in a fit of wanton destruction, they sometimes carried their disregard so far as to do mischief by firing at them. The numerous travellers and admirers of the Arts committed greater waste, from a very different motive; for many of those who visited the Acropolis tempted the soldiers and other people about the fortress, to bring them down heads, legs, or arms, or whatever other pieces they could carry off. Antecedently to Lord Elgin's departufe for Constantinople, he communicated his intentions of bringing home casts and drawings from Athens, for the benefit and advancement of the fine arts in this country, to Mr. Pitt, Lord Gren ville, and Mr Dundas, suggesting to them the propriety of considering it as a national object, fit to be undertaken, and carried into effect at the public expense; but this recommendation was in no degree encouraged, either at that time or afterwards. It may not be unworthy of remark, that the only other piece of sculpture which was ever removed from its place was taken by Mr. Choiseul Gouffier, when he was ambassador from France to the Porte; but whether he did it by express permission, or in some less ostensible way, no means of ascertaining are within the reach of your committee. It was undoubtedly at various times an object with the French government to obtain possession of these valuable remains, and it is probable, according to the testimony of Lord Aberdeen and others, that at no great distance of time they might have been removed by that government from their original site, if they had not been taken away, and sescured for this country by Lord Elgin. The testimony of several of the most eminent artists in this kingdom, who have been examined, rates these marbles in the very first class of ancient art, some placing them a little above, and others, but very little below the Apollo Belvidere, the Laocoon, and the Torso of the Belvidere. They speak of them with admiration and enthusiasm: and notwithstanding the manifold injuries of time and weather, and those mutilations which they have sustained from the fortuitous, or designed injuries of neglect, or mischief, they consider them as among the finest models, and the most exquisite monuments of antiquity. The general current of this portion of the evidence makes no doubt of referring the date of these works to the original building of the Parthenon, and to the designs of Phidias, the dawn of every thing which adorned and ennobled Greece. With this estimation of the excellence of these works, it is natural to conclude that they are recommended by the same autherities as highly fit, and admirably adapted to form a school for study, to improve our national taste for the Fine Arts, and to diffuse a more perfect knowledge of them throughout this kingdom. Much, indeed, may be reasonably hoped and expected, from the general ob servation and admiration of such dis tinguished examples. The end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth 1816.] Report from the Select Committee on the Elgin Marbles. centuries, enlightened by the discovery of several of the noblest remains of antiquity, produced in Italy an abundant harvest of the most eminent men, who made gigantic advances in the path of Art, as painters, sculptors, and architects. Caught by the novelty, attracted by the beauty, and enamoured of the perfection of those newly disclosed treasures, they imbibed the genuine spirit of ancient excellence, and transfused it into their own compositions. It is surprising to observe in the best of these marbles, in how great a degree the close imitation of nature is combined with grandeur of style, while the exact details of the former in no degree detract from the effect and predominance of the latter. The two finest single figures of this collection differ materially in this respect from the Apollo Belvidere, which may be selected as the highest and most sublime representation of ideal form and beauty which sculpture has ever embodied and turned into shape. In the judgment of Mr. Payne Knight, whose valuation will be referred to hereafter, the first class is not assigned to the two principal statutes of this collection; but he rates the Metopes in the first class of works in high relief, and knows of nothing so fine in that kind. He places also the Frize in the first class of low relief, and considering a general Museum of Art to be very desirable, he looks upon such an addition to our national collection as likely to contribute to the improvement of the Arts, and to become a very valuable acquisition; for the importation of which Lord Elgin is entitled to the gratitude of his country. The produce of this collection, if it should be brought to sale in separate lots, in the present depreciated state of almost every article, and more particularly of such as are of precarious and fanciful value, would probably be much inferior to what may be denominated its intrinsic value. The mutilated state of all the larger figures, the want either of heads or features, of limbs or surface, in most of the Metopes, and in a great proportion of the compartments even of the larger frize, render this collection, if divided, but little adapted to serve for the decoration of private houses. It should, therefore, be considered as forming a whole, and should unquestionably be kept entire as a School of Art and study for the formation of artists. The competitors in the 335 market, if it should be offered for sale without separation, could not be numerous. Some of the sovereigns of Europe, added to such of the great galleries or national institutions in various parts of the continent, as may possess funds at the disposal of their directors sufficient for such a purpose, would in all probability be the only purchasers. It is not, however, reasonable nor becoming the liberality of Parliament, to withhold upon this account, whatever, under all the circumstances, may be deemed a just and adequate price; and more particularly in a case where Parliament is left to fix its own valuation, and no specific sum is demanded, or even suggested by the party who offers the collection to the public. Your committee refer to Lord Elgin's evidence for the large and heavy charges which have attended the formation of this collection, and the placing of it in its present situation; which amount, from 1799 to January 1803, to 62,440. including 23,240l., for the interest of money; and according to a supplemen tal account, continued from 1803 to 1816, to no less a sum than 74,000/. including the same sum for interest. Two valuations, and only two in detail, have been laid before your committee, differing most widely in the particulars, and in the total; that of Mr. Payne Knight amounting to 25,000l. and that of Mr. Hamilton to 60,800/. The only other sum mentioned as money price, is in the evidence of the Earl of Aberdeen, who named 35,000!. as a sort of conjectural estimate of the whole, without entering into particulars. In addition to the instances of prices quoted in Mr. Payne Knight's evidence, the sums paid for other celebrated marbles deserve to be brought under the notice of the House. The Townley collection, which was purchased for the British Museum in June, 1805, for 20,000l. is frequently referred to in the examinations of the witnesses, with some variety of opinion as to its intrinsic value; but it is to be observed of all the principal sculptures in that collection, that they were in excellent condition, with the surface prefect; and where injured, they were generally well restored, and perfectly well adapted for the decoration, and almost for the ornamental furniture of a private house. as they were indeed disposed by Mr. Townley in his life-time. In what proportion the state of muti |