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22 of progress to perfection in civilization, which is indicated by the encouragement of the useful arts, and then, by a very common error of drawing general conclusions from particular cases, he applies his conclusions to the whole civilized world. At any rate, facts are at war with his theory. What does he mean by saying that " Eloquence, poetry, painting and sculpture do not belong to such an age, they are already declining, and they must give way before the progress of popular education, science, and the useful arts?" This is not true in reference to these arts in Europe. But a complete refutation of this sweeping assertion would lead me into a longer disquisition than either my own time or the patience of my readers will permit. I can only briefly repel the charge that painting and its sister arts of design, are on the decline and refer to the present state of these arts in England, for an answer to the dogma of the Reviewer. Sixty years circumscribe the age of the Arts of Design in that country. Within the memory of some of her living artists, such writers as Du Bos, Montesquieu, and Winkelman, supposed the notion that painting and sculpture were never to rise in Great Britain; and the climate, the prevalence of damps, &c. were asserted to to be insurmountable obstacles to their encouragement; and yet, what does the English school of design now present; it is already the first in the world. The Architectural improvements every where projected in London do not show decline. The Sculpture decorations of a triumphal monument do not show it. The building of two noble piles for the Royal Academy and National Gallery, (with many other improvements, all indicating a popular feeling in favor of the arts,) do not show decline. The language of late English periodicals do not support the opinion when they say, "We see with pleasure the increasing interest with which all ranks, who ever pretend to taste, are discussing and projecting improvements."* And another, in remarking on the fashion of *London Quarterly Review, 1826, p. 196.
