r beyond the "ex pede Herculem," rising
up some leagues off far bigger than whole figures close at hand. But we
learn the wonderful fact, that the morning after the Deluge, Moses,
sitting upon nothing, possibly the sky, wrote the book of Genesis with a
Perryian pen, and on Bath-post, and that he was so seen by Mr Turner in
his own peculiar perspective-defying telescope--for so "_sedet,
eternumque sedebit_," in the year 1843. We know that in this account of
it we a little jumble past, present, and future; but so we the better
describe the picture; for when the Deluge went, Chaos came. That we may
the more easily recognize the historian, a serpent is dropping from him,
hieroglyphically. Can Mr Turner be serious? or is he trying how far he
may perpetrate absurdities, and get the world to believe them beauties,
or that his practice is according to any "theory of colour!" His
conceptions are such as would be dreams of gallipots of colours, were
they endued with life, and the power of dreaming prodigies.

There is unquestionably an impetus given to historical talent--and there
is good proof that such talent is not wanting in this year's Exhibition;
Mr Patten has chosen a very grand subject from the Inferno of Dante.
"Dante, accompanied by Virgil in his descent to the Inferno, recognizes
his three countrymen, Rusticucci, Aldobrandi, and Guidoguerra"--_Divina
Commedia, Inferno._ The subject is finely conceived by Mr Patten. Virgil
and Dante stand upon the edge of the fiery surge; they are noble and
solemn figures. There is an abyss of flames below, that sends upward its
whirling and tormenting storm, driven round and round, by which are seen
the three countrymen. They are well grouped, and show the whirling
motion of the fiery tempest; we should have preferred them more
foreshortened, and such we think was the vision in Dante's mind's
eye--for he says--

"Thus each one, as he wheel'd, his countenance
At me directed, _so that opposite
The neck moved ever to the twinkling feet_."

There is great art in placing the large limb of one of the figures
immediately over the fiercest centre of fire--it gives interminable
space to the fiery sea--an this part of the picture is very daringly and
awfully coloured. We rather object to the equal largeness and importance
of all the figures; and perhaps the bodies are too smooth, showing too
little of the punishment of flame--they are too quiescent. Dante says,
"Ah me, what wounds