Account of the cure of an extraordinary kind of PALSY, both as to the cause and the part affected, by means of electricity. By M. Allaman. A Girl of thirteen or fourteen years old, being in a houfe alone, heard a violent knocking at the door : the furprife threw her into a fit of ftrong con. vulfions which was fearce over before it was fucceeded by a pally, which deprived her of the ufe of the right hand and wrist, without affecting the arm and fhoulder. The foot and thigh were alfo rendered impotent; but the leg was not hurt. The tongue was rolled up in the lower part of the mouth ; and befides all this the had frequent attacks of an epileply. Thefe terrible fymptoms yielded indeed to proper remedies, all but the tongue, which remained obftinately inactive. If an attempt was made to draw its point forwards with the fingers, it could not be effected without great pain; and being let go, it prefently rolled itfelf up again, with a kind of tpringinefs. M. Allaman, who faw her in this condition, was of opinion, that if electricity could be of fervice in any cafe, it might very probably be fo in this, as the patient was otherwife in found health. He therefore electrified her by drawing sparks from the tongue. The first day of the operation, he fancied that he obferved fome motion. The next day, repeating it, the motion became very fenfible. Upon the fourth experiment, the tongue was unrolled; but continued a little incurvated. On the tenth, continually mending, the could ftraiten it entirely. On the twelfth, fhe could thrust it out of her mouth; and began to speak, though imperfectly and lifping. Seven or eight more electrifications, and conflant exercife of her tongue, brought her perfect ly to her fpeech again. M. Le Roy, the celebrated clock-maker, and a member of the R. Academy at Paris, cured a correfpondent member of the academy of an intolerable toothach, and a profeffor of Strasburg, of an obftinate deafness, both by electricity. Gent, Mag. An account of the PAINTINGS of the Schools of Venice and Lombards, in the collection of the King of France; with a fummary of the lives of the masters. F the Lombard fchool there are thirteen masters; of whom the celebrated Anthony Corregio is, the chief. In the pictures of this mafter the colouring is fo warm, and yet fo tender, and there is fuch an elegance diffufed over the whole, that it is faid, Jupiter intending to have a painting of the gra ces, they petitioned that Corregio only might be the artist: Non alia pingi dextrâ, pater alme, rogawai. This most excellent mafter, whole name was De Allegris, was born in the year 1494, at Corregio, in the Modenefe; and, as a painter, has always been diftinguished by the name of the place at which he was born. He be came a painter without being appointed or invited to the profeffion by others, without the inftruction of any master, without the imitation of the ancients, without a journey to Rome, without defire of making a fortune, and even without ambition to excel. He produ ced pictures as La Fontaine did fables, by a kind of natural inftin&t, and a con fummate tafte, by which he spontane oully distinguished the truly beautiful; a qualification for which he was indebt. ed only to nature, and which indeed na ture only could bestow. His concep tion, his defign, his colouring, the whole of his performance was peculiarly his own. He was not indeed extremely correct in the outlines of his figures: but he atoned for that defect by the manner that Freinoy calls the great, of which he had an expreffion peculiar to himself. He painted a great number of pieces at Parma, particularly the two grand cupolas of the cathedral and St John's. The fubject of the cathedral is the affumption of the Virgin Mary, and that of St John's is the afcenfion of out Lord: both are held in the highest efti mation by the beft judges. To this mas fter the world is indebted for the fine Nativity that has been so much admired in prints. In the back ground, and the top, top, the bottom, and fides of the piece, is expreffed the obfcurity of a very dark night, but from the infant Jefus there iffues a light as ftrong as funfhine; and by this happy and natural oppofition of light and thade, Corregio has given an effect to his compofition, befides that of novelty, which is always ftriking, that fhews him to be fcarce lefs a poet than a painter. The original painting is faid by fome to be at Reggio, and, by others, at Modena. Corregio lived to be no more than forty years of age; and he died poor; because he did not himself fet a proper value upon his labour; and becaufe, while the world was gazing with admiration at his works, every one was content to let his merit fall a facrifice to his modesty. The King of France has eight pictures painted by this masters of which the following are exquifite: 1. The marriage of St Catherine. 2. The Virgin, the infant Jefus, Mary Magdalene, and St Jerome. 3. Virtue victorious over Vice. 4. A reprefentation of a fenfual man. After. Corregio came the Caracci's; of whom there were four, all celebrated painters; Annibal, Lodovico, Anthony, and Auguftine. They were born at Bologna. Lodovico was coufinto Augustine and Annibal, who were brothers, and Anthony was Auguftine's natural fon. Thefe masters have formed, as it were, a particular school; for their pupils and imitators were very numerous. Lodovico, who was the el. deft, took care of Auguftine and Anthony, and inspired them with the fame love for painting that he felt in his own breaft; and, by his prudence and affection, he fo managed their tempers, which were naturally very different, and difpofed them very much to be jealous of each other, that they lived together in great harmony, and concurred to promote the general welfare of the family. Annibal, upon the whole, was the greatest master, and moft in efteem. He was employed eight years in paint 'As it appears that he was much older than Augufline, perhaps he was the fun of their grand father's brother. ing the Farnelian gallery; and was fo ill requited for that noble work, by the wretch whose faftidious vanity he had toiled to gratify, that it broke his heart; and he died at the age of forty-nine years, of vexation, regret, and difappointment. His brother Auftin died at the age of forty-eight, and Anthony at the age of thirty-five; but Lodovico lived to be fixty-three.. Frefnoy, in his Art of painting, after having celebrated Raphael, Romaine, Corregio, and Titian, pays the following compliment to Annibal Caracci, in which he has also expreffed his character: Quos fedulus Annibal om nes In propriam mentem atque modum mira arte coëgit. The diligent Annibal has taken all that was excellent in these great mafters, and has made it his own. It must not, however, be fuppofed, that Frefnoy intended to prefer Annibal Caracci to Corregio and Raphael; he only meant, that, in a certain degree, he had attained the diftinguishing excellencies of each. The King has twenty-two pieces of this mafter; the chief of which are, two Nativities, the placing the body of Jefus in the fepulchre, the affumption of the Virgin Mary, two martyrdoms of St Stephen, a St Sebaftian, and a small piece, fourteen inches by fixteen, called The filence of Caracci, and reprefenting an infant Jefus fleeping in the arms of his mo. ther. Of this piece it is juttly remarked, that its having obtained a characteriftic name is a ftrong prefumption in its favour, and that the general estima tion of it is well founded. There is a very high tafte in the defign, great juftnefs in the expreffion, and great ftrength in the colouring; there is in the whole an elegant fimplicity, that renders it u niverfally striking. The Virgin is reprefented ftanding; the infant fits on a white pillow placed upon a table, and is fupported in her arms; St John is ftretching out bis hand to wake him, but the Virgin makes a fign to him to forbear and be filent. There are five pictures by Lodovico Caracci; the Annunciation, a Nativity, the adoration of the kings, the Virgin and the child Jefus, and Omphale Queen of of Lydia. By thefe pieces, which are excellent, it appears, that Lodovico Caracci had ftudied the manner of Corregio. There is alfo one picture of Anthony Caracci, which is of the greater value, as his pieces are few. It reprefents the univerfal deluge, with great variety of action and justnefs of defign; but the colouring is weak. Michael Angelo Merigi, fometimes call ed Le Caravagio, from the place of his birth, added splendor to the Lombard fchool; not indeed by his merit, as a man; for he was impetuous, quarrelfome, jealous, ill-bred, and contemptuous. He lived in a public houfe, and kept company only with rabble; threw himself into violen paffions for nothing; ran, as it were, through the world, and died miferably at the age of forty years. But, as a painter, he was great; his manner was fpirited, ftriking, and had a great effect. He was a copieft only after nature; and he used to fay, that the originals which he imitated were in the ftreets and fquares of the city. But his figures were often without choice; and in many of them there was a narrownefs and poverty of execution; a fordidnefs, which is feen at once, tho' it can never be defcribed his drapery was often very bad, and he was deficient both in keeping and perfpective. The King has four pictures of this mafter; the chief of which is a portrait at full length of Vignacourt, who was then Grand Mafter of Malta. Caravagio had run away from Malta for murder; it is therefore reasonable to fuppofe, that he drew the portrait of the Grand Mafter with his utmost skill. And it is indeed a moft exquifite piece. It exceeds the pieces of Titian in the juftness, the ftrength, and the fweetnefs of the colouring; in the attitude of the figure there is a noble fimplicity, and the armour is rich, and very highly finished. This extraordinary picce is in one of the halls at Luxenburg. After the Caracci's came Guido; but, by the accounts that have been given of him, he appears to have been fuperior to all the reft. He is faid to have had an accuracy and penetration which rendered his defigns not only juft, but ftriking The beauty of his ideas was without alloy; and his pencil was, in the highest degree, luxurious and expreffive: his ftroke had a freedom and facility which no other could approach, and, at the fame time, a correctness, that elaborate diligence can never ac quire. In his drapery he is admirable, but, in the turn of a head, inimitable. His firit manner was incomparably the moft fpirited, and greatly fuperior to that of Louis Caracci this, there is nothing to be regretted, but that he quitted it too forn, and that the number of his pieces in which it is preferved, is very fmall. With relpect to This manner he changed. for one that was more vague and more fhowy; it was alfo, without doubt, more fuitable to his genius; and being extremely pleafing, it determined his reputation and his fortune. Of this manner the Ita lians fay, that grace and beau'y were at the fingers-ends of Guido, and that, when he painted, they left them, to take up their refidence with the figures which he animated with his pencil. "And indeed he was, in this refpect, fo great a master, that, even in his laft pieces, which appear to have been executed with great negligence, this grace is confpicuous in all its fplendor. It has been faid, that he requires fome indulgence in the want of the laft heightening touches, which are neceffary to take off that equality of colouring, which feldom fails to render a piece spiritless, and which renders Guido's laft pieces inferior to thofe of his firft manner. This mafter was a Bolonefe, and her fometimes been called Reni, which was his family-name. He was always well received among the great, his compa nions were perfons of the first credit,' and he had a foftness of manners that rendered him very amiable. His only fault was the love of play, and this ap peared only in the latter part of his life. It was, indeed, productive of the mot pernicious confequences to poor Guide; as it robbed him of his peace, his for tune, and even his reputation; for it compelled compelled him to finish, in the utmoft hurry, fuch pieces as were belpoke, that he might repair his loffes with the mo ney; and, under this difadvantage, he produced many pictures that are unworthy of his name, He died in the year 1642, at the age of fixty-feven years. The King has twenty-three of his paintings. Mott of them are incompa rably fine; particularly five beautiful Virgins, an head of Christ crowned with thorns, a St Francis in meditation, a Roman charity, and four pieces, reprefeating the labours of Hercules, which, the connoiffeurs fay, are the belt pictures he ever painted.. " Albang was also a painter of graces in the fame school. He was the companion and emulator of Guido; and to this emulation the world is indebted for many of the fine pictures which this mafter produced. He lived fourfcore and two years; and, during that long life, painted a great number of pieces; of which the King has twenty-five: and it has been obferved, that thofe are the belt, in which he has ftudied to reprefent tendernels, modefty, and affection. He excelled in the figures of women and children, in groups, in choirs of angels, in landfcapes, and in whatever was gay, fweet, and accordant and indeed he never touched coarfe or ignoble fubjects at all. He is faid to have wanted expreflion; and that there was too much fameness in his compofitions, arifing either from want of invention, or imitation of the fame models. But the graces of his pencil are more than fufficient to hide all these defects, and many more; and Albano will ever be confidered as one of the best painters of Italy. Dominichino had much more expreffion than Albano; but then he had much lets grace. His pieces appear to be laboured with indefatigable application; and indeed fo they were. Dominichino was born in Bologna in the year 1581, and lived fixty years, always bufy, and almoft always perfecuted by rival artifts. Yet he was the most inoffenfive, the most polite, the most modeft, and the most referved man in the world. The time which he employed in finishing his pieces did not leave him leifure to cenfure the works of others, nor to engage in thofe quarrels which dishonour genius and depreis merit. The King has fixteen of Dominichino's pictures; fome of which are at Luxenburg; particularly a most inchanting landfcape, and a concert, in which the expreffions are equally juft and ftrong, and the attitudes natural and ftriking. Frefoy fays, that Dominichino was a matter, who had a very deep and accurate knowledge of all that relates to painting, but that he had lefs of the great than any other difciple of the Caracci's. Gio Lanfranco was another painter of this fchool, who excelled principally in what the French called the vaft. It was neceffary that he should paint great objects, and great diftances, to give his colours their effect. His aim was, to join the fweetness of Corregio with the mafculine ftrength of Caracci; but nature had fitted him much more for the ftrong than the pleafing. Lanfranco was of an obfcure birth, and in his younger years in mean circumftances; but he knew how to improve the advantage of friends, and patrons, and great works, as opportunity offered them; and having at length acquired a confiderable reputation and an eafy fortune, he died in the year 1647, in the fixty-feventh year of his age. The King has fix pictures of Lanfranco; the most celebrated of which are, St Peter and St Paul taking leave of each other just before their martyrdom, Jefus crowning the Virgin Mary, and Pan and Diana. Freinoy fays, that Lanfranco had great conceptions and great vivacity; but that he wanted a correctnefs, which by application he might have acquired. Guercino, whofe true name was Gia Francifco Barbieri, was born at Cento near Bologna; and at first adopted the manner of Michael Angelo; which he afterwards foftened without lofing any part of its fire and fpirit. He was, upon the whole, very excellent as a painter, and very amiable as a man; re markable markable for his probity, benevolence, refided at Rome, and died about the and the practice of many Christian virtues. He died in 1666, at the age of feventy-fix. middle of the last century. The King has two of his pieces, which have confiderable merit. The first reprefents Jefus driving the buyers and fellers out of the temple; a piece in which there is great fpirit, and the clair obfcure is well managed. The other is an affembly of topers; of which the compofiton is good, but the manner is dry and h boured. Gent, Mags st Extract of a letter from Thomas Stevenfor, Efq; in Barbadoes. I to me thate to its perihelion till the beginning of the year 1759. As the opinion is fomewhat ha gular, I will give you the reafons of which it is founded. T feems probable to me, that the ex The King has four paintings by this mafter, of great beauty: 1. The Virgin and St Peter; the chief excellence of which is in the boldness of the exe cution, and the high tafte in which the figures are defigned and habited. 2. St Jerome waking at the found of a trumpet blown by an angel. This piece is remarkable, as well for the ftriking effect of the light and fhade, as for the boldness of the stroke, the union of the colours, and the great taste of the de fign. 3. Another St Jerome; in the head of which there is the most striking expreffion of dignity and fentiment. 4. A Circe, extremely valuable for the force of the colouring, the great manner of the design, and the fine drapery. Pier Francifco Mola lived only fortyfive years, and was not known till late in life; his pieces therefore are few; which is the more to be regretted, as there are in his manner both the grace and harmony of the Lombard fchool, and the colouring and spirit of the Venetian. This master was employed by the Popes Innocent X. and Alexander VII. Louis XIV, invited him into France, and he was just fetting out when he was furprifed by death in the year 1666. The King has five pictures by this hand, all of which are very excellent. An Holy Family; the preaching of John; St Bruno in the defert; Hermione the Princess of Antioch, in the habit of a fhepherdess; and Tancred wounded, and assisted by a hermit. There is a propriety in the pieces of Mola that immediately ftrikes the eye, as well of those who are connoiffeurs, as of thofe who are not the warmth of the colouring, the true taste, the harmony, and the sweetness of the pencil, make it impoffible to look at them with indifference. The laft painter of this fchool was Barthelemi Manfredi of Mantua, an imitator of Michael Angelo, but very much inferior to his original. Scarce any thing is known of his life, but that he It appears from the history of that co met [xix. 470.], that it was seen, 1 In Eafter 1305 Ye. D. | Dift. of the perinis. 2 Summer 1456 151 74 a double period. 3 Aug. 24 1531 75 60 76y. 14d fhorter. 4 Oct. 16. 1607 76 53 38 days longer. 5 Sept. 4. 1682 74 323 1 y. 95 d. shorter. The variations in these periods feom too confiderable to belong to any one comet, how irregular foever we may fuppofe those bodies to be in their revelutions. I have therefore been inclined to think, that we have here a regitter of two different comets, the one of which is near its aphelion when the other is in its perihelion, and that the pe riod of each is upwards of 151 years. On this fuppofition, the comet that appear ed in 1305, 1456, and 1607, is the comet that we are next to expect. In 1305, Eafter-day fell on the 11th of April. It is most probable, however, that the comet would not be obferved till ten days after it had palad its perihelion, when being about 40o diftant from the fun, and from the earth, it would be very visible. On this fuppofition, the time of its peris lion was April 1.1305, the 91st day the year. From thence to the 16th October, 1607, is 302 years, 198 days The half of which is 151 years, 99 day for the period of the comet. If werd kon forward from the 16th of Octobe |