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DESCRIPTION of the FRONTISPIECE.

THE charming picture, of which our artist has given so admirable a copy, was painted by David Teniers the younger, a pupil of his father and of Adrian Brauwer. This piece appears to have come from the easel of the master when his touch and composition had reached the period of their most refined delicacy and greatest facility: it is full of character, and is valuable as being free from any of that grossness which too frequently intrudes itself into his exquisite productions. The original picture is about 7 inches by 10: Le Bas, who engraved it in 1739, has, oddly enough, christened it 'Solitude,' and subjoined the following verses :

De la tranquillité séjour délicieux,

Lieu champêtre et désert, vous enchantez mes yeux
Et de vivre chez vous tout m'inspire l'envie,

Mais mon plus grand plaisir, ce seroit d'écouter
Ces trois graves docteurs qui me semblent traiter
Des plus sublimes points de la philosophie.

David Teniers the younger was born at Antwerp, in the year 1610: he obtained the sobriquet of the 'Ape of Painting' for there was no style but what he imitated so exactly, as to deceive even the nicest judges. He improved very much on the talents and merit of his father; and his reputation introduced him to the favour of the great. The Archduke Leopold-William made him gentleman of his bedchamber; and all the pictures

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of his gallery were copied by Teniers, and engraved by his direction. Don John of Austria, and the King of Spain, set so great a value on his pictures, that they built a gallery on purpose for them. Prince William of Orange honoured him with his friendship; Rubens esteemed his works, and assisted him with his advice. His principal talent was in landscapes with small figures. He painted men drinking and smoking, chemists, elaboratories, country fairs, &c. His small figures are superior to his large ones, The distinction between the works of the father and the son is, that in the pictures of the latter you discover a finer touch and a fresher pencil, greater choice of attitudes, and a better disposition of figures. David Teniers the younger died at Antwerp, in the year 1694, at the age of eighty-four.

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IN the present volume, we have not contented ourselves with pursuing the beaten path in which we have travelled since the year 1814; but, in compliance with the growing taste for ornamental illustration, we have embellished our work with a highly finished engraving of an exquisite cabinet picture, by David Teniers the younger; and with numerous wood-cuts, after drawings from nature by eminent artists, which, we trust, will prove acceptable to our readers. We need only point to the figures of British birds and fishes, as an evidence of our anxiety to merit a share of that patronage so liberally bestowed upon the very attractive Annuals that have sprung up, in the garden of knowledge, since we commenced our successful career.

We do not intend, however, by the introduction of engravings, to attempt a competition with the splendid and showy works now so universally distributed over the four quarters of the globe; but we confidently hope that our ornamental deficiencies will be amply compensated by the entertaining variety, and general information, to be found in our miscellaneous volume: and that, in this point of view, Time's Telescope will be considered an eligible keepsake for such as would rather mix the useful with the agreeable, than voler de fleur en fleur, in pur

suit of those fugacious objects of admiration which never fail to delight, but which seldom contribute to the instruction of the youthful inquirer.

Our Telescope is, as usual, enwreathed with a freshblowing garland' of some of the sweetest flowers of poesy, culled, with no sparing hand, from the wide-spread garden of the British Muse; and when we record the names of Joanna Baillie, Mary Anne Browne, Felicia Hemans, L. E. L., Eliza Rennie, Mrs. Richardson, and Jane Taylor; of Messrs. Bayley, Blanchard, Bowring, Coleridge, Barry Cornwall, Cunningham, Darley, Delta of Blackwood's Magazine, Hood, the Howitts, Kennedy, Knight, Malcolm, Robert Montgomery, Pringle, D. L. Richardson, Horace Smith, Watts, Wiffen, and Wordsworth,---our readers, we trust, will consider our selection of ornamental plants of this class quite equal to any annual show in the kingdom.

London, Nov. 18, 1828,

TIME'S TELESCOPE for 1814 (third edition), containing a POPULAR VIEW OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, the CALENDAR OF JULIUS CESAR, and METEOROLOGICAL REMARKS, with Twelve descriptive Engravings on Wood.

'This work contains a great variety of very useful information, conveyed in a most pleasing manner. We cannot hesitate to pronounce that it will be popular. It deserves to be so; and it has too many attractions, for every kind of taste, to be overlooked. It will form a delightful as well as instructive present for young persons at Christmas. British Critic for December 1813.

'We cheerfully give to Time's Telescope our warmest recommendation as a pleasing and safe book for the rising generation.'— Eclectic Review for February 1814.

TIME'S TELESCOPE for 1815 (second edition), with an Introduction containing the PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY, and an Account of the FASTS AND FESTIVALS OF THE JEWS.

'We never met with a compilation better calculated for the use of families, and to serve as a portable companion for young persons, than this elegant little volume, which abounds with valuable information on subjects of general interest, and with a pleasing variety of rational entertainment. The book is written in a popular style, the articles are selected with great judgment from the best authorities; and while the scientific illustrations tend to quicken curiosity, the reflections interspersed with the extracts, occasionally given from the most charming of our poets, will increase the delight afforded by contemplating the works of nature, and raise the mind to a devout admiration of the Divine Author.'-New Monthly Magazine, Jan. 1815.

The work before us supplies accurate, though popular, instruction on a variety of topics. It is written in a correct and tasteful style, enlivened by many exquisite quotations from the poets of the day; and is interspersed with such reflections as flow naturally from the conviction that knowledge, to be extensively beneficial, either to its possessor or to others, must be purified by religion, manifested in benevolence, and consecrated to God.'-Eclectic Review for Feb. 1815.

TIME'S TELESCOPE for 1816, with an Introduction containing the ELEMENTS OF BOTANY, a Description of BRITISH FOREST TREES, and a HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY..

'Time's Telescope is compiled with skill and judgment, and contains much desirable miscellaneous information, and many interesting and instructive sketches, particularly on some parts of Natural History. We recommend this work to the attention of our juvenile readers, who will find it an agreeable and instructive companion.'— Monthly Review for November 1816.

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