The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 552, June 16, 1832 — John Shaqi
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 552, June 16, 1832Various
History
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 552, June 16, 1832
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
By the aid of Mr. Burford's panoramic pencil, the sight-hunter of our
times may enjoy a kind of imaginary tour through the world. At one
season he wafts us to the balmy climes of India--next he astounds us
with the icy sublimities of the Pole (a fine summer panorama, by the
way)--then to the glittering spires, minarets, and mosques of
Constantinople--then to the infant world of New Holland--and back to the
Old World, to enjoy scenes and sites which are hallowed in memory's fond
shrine, by their association with the most glorious names and events in
our history. We remember the philosophical amusement of the great Lord
Shaftesbury, in contriving _all the world in an acre_ in his retreat at
Reigate: what his Lordship laboured to represent in his garden, Mr.
Burford essays in his panoramas--in short, he gives us all the world on
an acre--of canvass.
Reader, we do not hold the grand secret of life to be the art of
hoaxing, when we tell you that for a Greenwich fare you may be
transported to the classic regions of Italy--that a walk to Leicester
Square will probably delight you more than a ride to Greenwich, little
as we are inclined to underrate the last of the pleasures of the people.
The contrast is forcible, and the intellectual advantage to be enjoyed
in the metropolis too evident to be overlooked.
At the Panorama, _Florence_ is in the upper circle, and _Milan_ in the
lower one. The main attraction of the latter is the celebrated
cathedral, which forms, as it were, the nucleus of the scene. The point
of view has been objected to, as the spectator is placed about mid-way
up the cathedral, and thus looks down into the streets and squares of
the city; but, it should be remembered, that he also enjoys the distant
country, which he could not have done had the view been from the area of
the city; and, as we have before said, the beauty of the _paysage_ is
one of the perfections of Mr. Burford's paintings. Its present success
may be told from the _Description:_
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