Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 444, by Various

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Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 444
Volume 18, New Series, July 3, 1852

Author: Various

Editor: William Chambers
Robert Chambers

Release Date: April 8, 2007 [EBook #21010]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.

No. 444. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d._

THE ART SEASON.

Returning with the circling year, and advancing _pari passu_ with the
multitude of metropolitan musical attractions, comes the more silent
reign of the picture exhibitions--those great art-gatherings from
thousands of studios, to undergo the ultimate test of public judgment
in the dozen well-filled galleries, which the dilettante, or lounging
Londoner, considers it his recurring annual duty strictly to inspect,
and regularly to gossip in. As places where everybody meets everybody,
and where lazy hours can be conveniently lounged away, the exhibitions
in some sort supply in the afternoon what the Opera and parties do in
the evenings. Nearly all through the summer-day, they are crowded with
a softly-rustling, humming, buzzing crowd, coming and going perhaps,
taking little heed of the nominal attraction, but sauntering from room
to room, or ensconcing themselves in colonies or clusters of chairs,
and lounging vacantly in cool lobbies. At energetic sight-seers, who
are labouring away, catalogue and pencil in hand, they stare
languidly. They really thought everybody had seen the pictures; they
know they have: they have stared at them until they became a bore. But
this sort of people, who only come once, why, of course, they suppose
this sort of people must be allowed to push about as they please. But
it is a confounded nuisance; it is really.

The great army