out confidering it as a Story, or the Imitation of any thing in Nature the Tout-ensemble of the Colours is a Beautiful, and Delightful Object. You know (Sir) the Drawing of Pouffin who have feveral Admirable Pictures of his hand, This we believe is not Inferiour to any to be seen of him. But there is an Overfight, or two in the Perfpective; the Sword Erminia holds appears by the Pommel of it to incline with the point going off, but by the Blade it feems to be upright; the other is not worth mentioning. The Picture is highly finish'd, even in the parts the most inconfiderable, but in one, or two places there is a little heavinefs of Hand; The Drawing is firmly pronounc'd, and Sometimes, chiefly chiefly in the Faces, Hands, and Feet 'tis mark'd more than ordinarily with the point of the Pencil. And (to fay All in one Word,) There is fuch a Grace, and Greatnefs fhines throughout that 'tis one of the most defireable Pictures we have yet feen; There is nothing to be Defired, or Imagined which it has not, nothing to be Added, or Omitted but would have diminish'd its Excellency; Unless we have leave to except thofe little particulars we have remarked,hardly worth mentioning; and whether we are in the Right in Those is fubmitted to better Judgments. But there are a great many Beauties we have not mentioned, and fome that cannot be expreffed in Words, nor known without feeN 2 ing ing the Picture. And perhaps fome of Both kinds we have not penetration enough to obferve. 'Tis hard to quit fo agreeable a Subject. Let us obferve for the honour of Pouffin, and of the Art, What a Noble, and Comprehenfive Thought! What Richnefs! and Force of Imagination! What a Fund of Science, and Judgment! What a fine, and accurate Hand is abfolutely necellary to the production of fuch a Work! That two, or three Stroaks of a pencil (for Example) as in the Face of Argante can exprefs a Character of Mind fo frongly, and fignificantly! We will only obferve further the different Idea given by the Painter, and the Poet. A Reader of Taso that thought less finely than Pouffin would form in his Imagination a Picture, but not Such a one as This. He would see a Man of a less Lovely, and Beautiful Afpect, Pale, and all cut, and mangled, his Body, and Garments fmear'd with Blood: He would fee Erminia, not fuch a one as Pouffin has made her; and a thoufand to one with as pair of Sciffars in her hand, but certainly not with Tancred's Sword: The two Amoretto's would never enter into his MindHorfes he would fee, and let 'em be the fineft he had ever feen they would be lefs fine than Thefe, and fo of the reft. The Painter has made a finer Story than the Poet, tho' his Readers were Equal to himself, but without all Comparison much finer than it can appear to the Generality of them. And he has A more moreover not only known how to make use of the Advantages This Art has over that of his Competitor, but in what it is Defective in the Comparison he has fupply'd it with fuch Address that one cannot but rejoyce in the Defect which occafion'd fuch a Beautiful Expedient.. I confefs we have not always Time, and Opportunity Thus to confider a Picture, how Excellent foever it may be; In Thofe Cafes Let us not employ that Time we have in Amusing our felves with the less confiderable Incidents, but Remark upon the Principal Beauties, the Thought, Expreffion, &c. Mr. Thornhill has lately brought from France another Picture no less worthy a particular Differtation than the former, As will easily be allowed, for |