ficer in the light
dress--it is modelled with all the force of nature, and the background
figures being steeped in the deepest hues of subdued colour, give a
strength and richness which nothing can surpass. Of course, there is
a want of interest in the story, which is merely an assemblage of the
Militia of Amsterdam, on occasion of the expected visit of the Prince of
Orange and the daughter of Charles the First, whom he had espoused. The
principal pictures by other great masters receive a greater notoriety
from the interest of the subject--such as "The Transfiguration," by
Raffaelle; "The Peter Martyr," by Titian; "The Miracle of St. Mark," by
Tintoret; "The Martyrdom of St. George," by Paul Veronese; and "The St.
Jerome," by Coreggio. Nevertheless, "The Night Watch," by Rembrandt, may
safely be classed with the choicest productions of the great painters of
Italy and Venice. When we consider that his pictures extend to upwards
of six hundred and fifty, the reader will appreciate the difficulty
I have felt in describing the peculiar merit which has so indelibly
stamped most of them with the passport to posterity.

LANDSCAPES.

The landscapes by Rembrandt, unhappily few in number, possess the
strong mark of truth for which his works are so strikingly fascinating.
They are chiefly small, the largest not exceeding three feet. One of his
best is in the collection of the Marquis of Lansdowne, representing a
mill seen under the influence of an uncertain twilight; the warm light
of the western sky sheds its lustre on the sails of the mill, which
stands on high ground; but the other portions of the picture are of
dark half-tint, except a reflection of the light on the water towards
the foreground. It was exhibited in the British Gallery, in 1815, and
attracted great attention. Another picture peculiar to the genius of
Rembrandt is in the collection of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart.; it
represents a night scene on the skirts of a wood, with a group of
figures seated round a fire, the red gleam of which is reflected in a
stream that flows along the foreground. A few cattle are partially seen
in the obscure portions of the picture, with a peasant passing with a
lantern. Other smaller works are in the collections of Sir Robert Peel,
Samuel Rogers, Esq., Sir Abraham Hume, and the Marquis of Hertford. His
largest picture of this class was formerly in the Louvre, and is now in
the public gallery at Hesse-Cassel. In the landscap