Tintoretto or Bassano.

Perhaps the most perfect novel that exists in the world, with reference to
the invaluable quality of unity of emotion, as well as the admirable
disquisitions on subjects of taste and reflection which it contains, is
Madame de Stael's _Corinne._ Considered as a story, indeed, it has many
and glaring defects; the journey of Lord Nevil and Corinne to Naples from
Rome, is repugnant to all our ideas of female decorum; and the miserable
sufferings and prostration of the heroine in the third volume, during her
visit to Scotland, is carried to such a length as to leave a painful
impression on every reader's mind. But abstracting these glaring errors,
the conception and execution of the work are as perfect as possible. The
peculiar interest meant to be excited, the particular passion sought to be
portrayed, is early brought forward, and the whole story is the progress
and final lamentable result of its indulgences. It is not the sudden
passion of Juliet for Romeo, the peculiar growth of the Italian clime,
which is portrayed, but the refined attachment of northern Europe, which
is taken in more by the ear than the eye, and springs from the sympathy of
minds who have many tastes and feelings in common. Nothing detracts from,
nothing disturbs, this one and single emotion. The numerous disquisitions
on the fine arts, the drama, antiquities, poetry, history, and manners,
which the novel contains--its profound reflections on the human heart, the
enchanting descriptions of nature, and the monuments of Italy which it
presents--not only do not interfere with the main interest, but they all
conspire to promote it. They are the means by which it is seen the mutual
passion was developed in the breasts of the principal characters; they
furnish its natural history, by exhibiting the many points of sympathy
which existed between minds of such an elevated caste, and which neither
had previously found appreciated in an equal degree by any one in the
other sex. It is in the skill with which this is brought out, and the
numerous disquisitions on criticism, taste, and literature with which it
abounds, rendered subservient to the main interest of the whole, that the
principal charm of this beautiful work is to be found.

Another principle which seems to regulate the historical romance, as it
does every other work which relates to man, is, that its principal
interest must be sought in human passion and feeling. It appears to b