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Michal for a season,) but the next in which she is a party concerned; at the same time, remembering that the Books of Samuel do not offer the slightest explanation of the contrast which her former and latter self present, or the least allusion to the change. David brings the ark from Kirjath-jearim, where it had been abiding since it was recovered from the Philistines, to his own city. He dances before it, girded with the priestly or prophetical vest, the linen ephod, and probably chanting his own noble hymn," Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in!" Psa. xxiv. 7. Michal, in that hour, no doubt, felt and reflected the joy of her husband. She had shared with him the day of adversity; she was now called to be partaker of his triumph. How read we? The reverse of all this. "Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart," 2 Sam. vi. 16. Nor did she confine herself to contemptuous silence; for when he had now set up the ark in the midst of the tabernacle, and had blessed the people, he came unto his own household prepared, in the joy and devotion of the moment, to bless that also. How then is he received by the wife whom he had twice won at the hazard of his own life, and who had in return shown herself heretofore ready to sacrifice her own safety for his preservation? Thus it was: "Michal came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!" Here was a burst of ill temper, which rather made an occasion for showing itself, than sought one. Accordingly, David replies with spirit, and with a righteous zeal for the honour of God; not without an allusion (as I think) to the secret, but true cause of this splenetic attack :"It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour," 2 Sam. vi. 21, 22. In these handmaids or maidservants, which are so promi

nently set forth, I recognize, if I mistake not, Abigail and Ahinoam, the rivals of Michal; and the very pointed rebuke which the insinuation provokes from David, appears to me to indicate, that (whatever she might affect) he felt that the gravamen of her pretended concern for his debasement, did in truth rest here. And may I not add, that the winding up of this singular incident, "therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death," ver. 23, well accords with my suspicions; and that whether it be hereby meant that God judged her, or that David divorced her, there is still something in the nature of her punishment appropriate to the nature of her transgression.

On the whole, Michal is now no longer what Michal was; but she is precisely what, from the new position in which she stands, we might expect her to be. Yet it is by the merest glimpses of the history of David and her own, that we are enabled to account for the change. The fact is not formally explained; it is not even formally asserted. All that appears, is a marked inconsistency in the conduct of Michal, at two different points of time; and when we look about for an explanation, we perceive in the corresponding fortunes of David, as compared with her own during the interval, a very natural, though after all only a conjectural explanation.

Herein, I again repeat, are the characters of truth, incidents dropping into their places without care or contrivance, the fragments of an imperfect figure recovered out of a mass of material, and found to be still its component parts, however they might not seem such when individually examined.

And here let me remark, (for I have been unwilling to interrupt my argument for the purpose of collateral explanation, and yet without it I may be thought to have purchased the evidence at some expense of the moral,) that the practice of polygamy, which was not from the beginning, but which Lamech first adopted, probably in the hope of multiplying his issue, and so possessing himself of that "Seed," which was now the "desire of the nations," Matt. xix. 8; a desire which serves as a key (the only satisfactory one, I think) to much of the conduct of the patriarchs-the practice of polygamy, I say, thus introduced, continued, in David's time, not positively condemned; Moses having

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been only commissioned to regulate some of the abuses to which it led; and though his writing of divorcement must be considered as making allowance for the hardness of heart of those for whom he was legislating, (our Lord himself so considers it,) a hardness of heart confirmed by a long and slavish residence in a most polluted land; still that writing, lax as it might be, was, no doubt, in itself a restrictive law, as matters then stood. The provisions of the Levitical code in general, and the extremely gross state of society they argue, prove that it must have been a restrictive law, an improvement upon past practices at least, And when the times of the gospel approached, and a better dispensation began to dawn, the Almighty prepared the world, by the mouth of a prophet, to expect those restrictions to be drawn closer, Malachi being commanded to proclaim, what had not been proclaimed before, that God "hated putting away, Mal. ii. 16. And when, at length, mankind were ripe for a more wholesome decree, Christ himself pronounced it; and thenceforward, a man was cleave unto his wife; and they twain were to be one flesh, and by none were they to be put asunder, God having joined them together, Mark x. 7-9; 2 Cor. xi. 2. A progressive scheme this, agreeable to that general plan by which the Almighty seems to be almost always guided in his government, the developement of that same principle by which the law against murder was passed for an age that was full of violence, and was afterwards sublimed into a law against malice; by which the law against adultery was provided for a carnal and grovelling generation, and was afterwards refined into a law against concupiscence; by which the law of strict retaliation, and no more, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth-a law, low and ungenerous as it may now be thought, nevertheless in advance of the people for whom it was enacted, and better than the law of the strongest-afterwards gave place to that other and nobler law, Resist not evil." And it may be observed, that the very case of divorce (and polygamy is closely connected with it) is actually in the contemplation of our Lord, when he is thus exhibiting to the Jews the more elevated standard of Christian morals, and is ever contrasting as he proceeds, "It was said by them of old time," with his own more excellent

way, "but I say unto you;" as if in times past, according to the words of the apostle, God "suffered all nations to walk in their own ways," Acts xiv. 16, for some wise purpose, and, for awhile, winked at that ignorance, Acts xvii. 30.-Rev. J. J. Blunt.

THE PERAMBULATOR.
THE NATIONAL GALLERY.

THE National Gallery of paintings that I am about to visit, is in the new building there, with the Corinthian-pillared portico, erected on the site of the riding school of the royal mews, Charing-cross. This building, though a fine one, is not considered equal to its national object; and it is expected that another edifice will be erected as a more worthy representative of the taste, enterprise, and resources of the British nation. Had Mr. Angerstein, who collected the principal paintings now placed therein, lived to see them in this national edifice, it might have made him proud; but he is gone where we shall shortly follow, for “ our days upon earth are a shadow," Job viii. 9.

Mr. Angerstein was a gentleman of great property; he was also an ardent admirer of talent, and with an unsparing hand he gave of his abundance to obtain paintings of the first masters. Favourable opportunities presenting themselves, he amassed a splendid collection of pictures, principally of the Italian school. These pictures, after his death, were purchased by the British government, at the suggestion of lord Liverpool, then first lord of the treasury. The foundation of a national gallery of pictures now being laid, munificent donors came forward with their gifts, and thus, with a few other government purchases, the present collection of paintings has been formed.

This is a goodly area, and St. Martin's church, the club houses, Northumberland-house, and the equestrian statue of king Charles, all add to its imposing appearance. But now let me mount up the steps to the entrance of the National Gallery. Many others, besides me, are shaping their course in that direction.

The National Gallery and the Exhibi

tic of the Royal Academy are both under the roof of the same building, and here, in the summer months, especially in May and June, a continual throng of

him, he blundered on till a remark or two from a more diffident character than himself, constrained him to give up his enterprise, and to fall into the rear of the party.

visitors from town and country may be | seen. Nobility in their coroneted carriages; gentry in their several vehicles; | and tradesmen with their wives, country folk, young people, and well-dressed domestics in their holiday clothes, on It is easy to mingle with commonfoot. At this moment, the sunny sky is place remarks such terms as "keeping," covered with dappled clouds, the foot-breadth of light," "chiaro-obscuro," paths are crowded with well-dressed people, and a buoyant heart is bounding in my bosom.

The paintings in the National Gallery are by no means numerous, though in point of excellence they are entitled to high consideration. It is scarcely necessary to say that the difference between the National Gallery and the exhibition of the Royal Academy is this:-the latter contains the works of modern painters, and is opened only for a month or two in the year, on payment of a shilling, while the former consists, for the most part, of the works of ancient masters, and is open for a much longer period, and that gratuitously.

There are very many who affect a knowledge of paintings; very few who really possess it. Among the countless admirers of Rubens, and Raphael, Angelo, Claude, and Titian, not one in ten, perhaps, is able to distinguish a copy from an original. That the generality of people should know but little of an art with which they seldom come into contact, is nothing wonderful, nor is it by any means a reflection upon them. Ignorance is only discreditable to those who have neglected their proper opportunities to become wise. But when we affect to know what we know not, and to explain to others what we do not ourselves understand, we lay ourselves open to just reproach.

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depth of colouring," and "perspective," and to talk of the "formal power of the Florentine school," the " dignity, grace, and matchless majesty of the Roman, " and "the blazing splendour of the Venetian," because these terms may be gained without a knowledge of the things signified. Most of us, in our boyish days, have read in Enfield's Speaker, of the would-be critic, who so learnedly spoke of "the colouring of Titian-the expression of Rubens-the grace of Raphael-the purity of Dominichino-the corregiescity of Corregiothe learning of the Poussin-the airs of Guido-the taste of the Caracci—and the grand contour of Angelo."

Were I to attempt to pass myself off as a painter, it would soon be discovered how little claim I had to such a distinction. The advantage, however, of having visited the National Gallery before, will enable me to make a few observations that may not be useless to the reader who is a stranger to the place. With upright intention and kindly feelings, a very little knowledge may be turned to a good account.

There are those who, catalogue in hand, can go through a picture gallery in a straightforward way, beginning at number one, and proceeding, without omission, to the end; but my pleasure is doubled in feeling at liberty to rove where I list, to wander as freely as I Well do I remember that in walking would in a flower garden. I am now with a party through the different apart- opposite Hogarth's pictures of Marriage ments of a certain castle, many years à la Mode. Hogarth has been called a ago, a young man of agreeable person moralist among painters, aiming, by his and manners took on himself to point productions, to rebuke and benefit manout to us the most valuable paintings in kind, but good and evil are too often the picture gallery-to explain their blended together. In the six paintings subjects, and to make known to the un- before me, great skill is conspicuous, and initiated the style and peculiarities of the lesson, that a course of profligacy the several artists, whose wonder-work-leads to ruin and destruction, is strikingly ing hands had flung on the canvass such vivid representations of breathing things. But though he boldly ventured on his enterprise, it was soon perceived by more than one of his auditory, that he had undertaken much more than he could creditably perform: presuming on the want of knowledge of those around

set forth; but the pencil of Hogarth, like that of many other painters, was not so chaste as a Christian spectator might desire, though in the series before me, it has evidently been under stricter control than ordinary. It would. be a difficult task to draw a boundary line for a painter not to pass, and a

certain degree of freedom must be permitted, perhaps, to the pencil; but, with every desire to avoid prudery and hypercritical remarks, it seems to me, that in a picture, where the artist's object is a moral one, the very appearance of evil, if not necessary to point the moral, should be avoided. It is an adage, that,

"Vice to be hated needs but to be seen."

But this adage is too frequently misunderstood. When vice is seen in connection with all its degradation, sinfulness, and punishment, it may be hated; but, when seen in an alluring shape, without these accessaries, no hatred is excited by its representation.

This is the celebrated picture of the Raising of Lazarus, painted by Sebastian del Piombo, the most valuable in the whole collection. Though painted by Sebastian, it was designed by Michael Angelo, who, it is thought, in his impatience to see his vivid conception embodied, snatched the pencil from the hand of Sebastian, and in a kind of impetuous enthusiasm, dashed on the canvass the admirable figure of Lazarus, leaving untouched the remainder of the group.

How little can we understand the feelings of those who are influenced by emotions we have never experienced! The enthusiasm of the painter, and the fervor and almost frenzy of the musician and poet, are perfectly unintelligible to those who are strangers to the power of music, painting, and poetry.

For this picture, it is said, Napoleon Buonaparte offered the sum of ten thousand guineas, which was refused. Its worth has been estimated at fifteen thousand; but the value of paintings is frequently nominal, and especially in cases where there is no desire to part with them.

This picture, though by no means a pleasing one in its general character, has in it some splendid painting, independent of the figure of Lazarus; and the Christian spectator will not fail, while he gazes on the shadowy representation, to ponder also on the reality of the miracle performed by our Saviour, of raising the dead to life. See how impatient Lazarus is to get rid of his grave-clothes! while his hand is putting off a part of them, one of his feet is busy too, in stripping from his legs the bandage with which they are bound.

had thus spoken, he cried with a lo voice, Lazarus, come forth. And that was dead came forth, bound ha and foot with grave-clothes, and his fa was bound about with a napkin. Jes saith unto them, Loose him, and let hi go," John xi. 43, 44.

And am I really gazing on a portra by Raphael, the first of portrait pain ers? Yes. Between three and fou hundred years ago, the eye of Raphae now turned to dust, was lighted up wit enthusiasm, and his hand, now mingle with the clay, was actively employed i painting this portrait of pope Julius II Julius was the patron of Raphael and Michael Angelo, and a liberal supporte of literature and the fine arts; but perhaps this picture, even more than all the actions he ever performed, has contributed to hand down his name to posterity.

The pictures by Parmegiano, Annibale and Ludovico Caracci, Guido, Correggio, Dominichino, Gaspar and Nicholas Poussin, Both, Paulo Veronese, Salvator Rosa, and Rembrandt, are highly valued. I remember once reading an anecdote of the latter artist, wherein it was asserted that on a certain occasion he used his colours so freely in painting a portrait, that the painted nose stood almost as high above the canvass, as the real nose did on the face of the person whose portrait he was painting.

The visitor to the gallery must pause on the paintings of Vandyke, Teniers, and Cuyp, nor hastily pass those of Wilson, Gainsborough, and Copley, though of a more modern date. The varied excellences of their different styles, will excite pleasure and a disposition to compare one master with another.

There are in the gallery nine or ten pictures of Claude de Lorraine, a costly group, most of them of the highest excellence. One of them represents the halting of Rebecca and her attendants, awaiting the arrival of Isaac. The best judges of Claude are the loudest in his praise. The general warmth, the sunny glow, that pervades many of the paintings of this accomplished master is truly astonishing. Claude, thou wert indeed a painter!

The vigour and vivid colouring of some of the pictures of Rubens are also wonHow sub-derful. There is so much of bloom on the flesh, so much of breathing life and buoyant spirit imparted to the figures,

lime and simple is the New Testament record of this miracle! "And when he

that you seem to be holding communion | painting. with the living rather than with the gifted one. dead.

The painter's pencil with his ardour glows,
And life and spirit on the canvass throws.

The olden masters have an excellent auxiliary in father Time, for he mellows their dazzling colours, harmonizes their strengthy lights and shades, and imparts a richness, a tone, and a finish, that a modern painting cannot possess. The eye sees less than the mind feels in gazing on them.

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There is much to be seen here besides the paintings. Groups of living beings, full of character and originality. Three sailors have just walked in with blue jackets. There! I have hit off a sketch of one of them; a veteran, in a canvass hat, as he now sits, with one leg flung across the other, as independent as a lord. He is gazing on the Holy Family, by Murillo. Well, a rough sailor has some tender touches of feeling in his heart, and that painting of Murillo is as likely as any that I know to call them forth. There are a few among the company walking about with their hats in their hands, and well would it be could they prevail on the rest, by their more civilized, courteous, and respectful demeanour, to follow their example; but, no, it will not do. It is only striving against an irresistible stream. The manners of the poorer and the middle classes of English people are growing freer and bolder every day. The gentleman of fifty years ago is not now very often to

be seen.

I have stood for ten minutes opposite Gaspar Poussin's landscape, representing Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac. Stand in a good light; gaze for awhile, without speaking or stirring, on those influential depths of colour, those glorious masses of dark green foliage, and if you find not yourself breathing the fresh air and holding communion with nature in her rural retreats, conclude at once that you have no soul for painting.

There are capital paintings in the gallery by the three presidents of the Royal Academy, Sir Joshua Reynolds, West, and Sir Thomas Lawrence. The Graces, by Reynolds; Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple, by West; and the portrait of Benjamin West, by Lawrence, are all admirable. The last picture is now before me. It has a speaking face, and is in the very best style of portrait

Sir Thomas's pencil was a

The picture by Nicholas Poussin of the Plague of Ashdod, is of an arresting kind. The Philistines were victors, for they had overthrown the Israelites in battle; but no sooner did they place the captured ark of the covenant in the temple of Dagon at Ashdod, than it fell down, and a loathsome plague raged among the Philistines. See that unconscious babe sucking nourishment from its plague-struck and deceased mother! Struck by the piteous spectacle, there are not wanting those to take away the child from contagion and death.

Some painters of wondrous power do not succeed in producing pleasing pictures. Nature may be correctly represented without affording satisfaction to the spectator. On the other hand, some painters are happy in the selection and execution of their designs, so that you cannot gaze on their productions without pleasurable emotions. Murillo's Holy Family, and Wilkie's Blind Fiddler and the Village Festival, are striking illustrations of this remark.

As the lover of nature gazes with delight on the varied objects of creation, so the lover of art revels in the glowing and. truthful productions of master minds. Five hours ago, I noticed a young man seated on the bench opposite a painting of Carnaletto, a view on the grand canal, Venice; and he is sitting in the same spot now. A ten minutes' conversation with him has told me that he came up from the country almost on purpose to study Carnalletto. Oh how enthusiastically, how extravagantly, he has been pointing out to me the different excellences of the picture, dwelling on them, and especially on the fluidity and luminousness of the water, with extacy! Were Carnalletto alive and present, I doubt not he would willingly bow down, and kiss his feet. There he sits, with a pencil in his hand of a superior kind, which has cost him three shillings and sixpence; and, from a word or two which escaped him, I suspect it was nearly the last three and sixpence he had in his purse.

This picture of Carnalletto is a fine production. Alas! How is the proud and splendid city of the Adriatic now humbled! Venice that was, and Venice that is, are indeed different places. Her greatness is departed!

There are many splendid specimens of

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