cuirassiers happened to be near the spot. "Comrades," cried one of Schill's hussars, "will you suffer your countrymen to be dragged to prison, and their blood to be shed, by your mortal enemies?" This exclamation was the signal for an attack upon the detachment. A sanguinary conflict succeeded, and several were killed and wounded on both sides. The people, hastening from the neigbouring houses with weapons of every kind, mingled in the fray, and, by their efficient support, enabled at least the greater part of the unfortunate prisoners to escape from the clutches of their discomfited foes.

FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

ORIGINAL LETTERS FROM PARIS,

Addressed by Rembrandt Peale to C. W. Peale, and Rubens Peale.

This interesting correspondence is from the pen of a celebrated painter who is now a resident in the metropolis of the French empire, improving himself with the utmost assiduity in his art. His opportunities are glorious and ample, his genius is ardent and inspired, and his industry never flags. We expect from his enthusiasm the most honourable results to the character of our country; and the paintings by the artist of some of the most illustrious characters in France, together with his invaluable knowledge of the style of Encaustic painting, will render both him and his labours interesting to the public. EDITOR.

SINCE I recovered from my dismal confinement of two months with my sore leg I have got again to work, and my prospects open fair before me. I was not idle during my confinement although I could not paint, and besides reading I pursued my experiments on encaustic, and have finally succeeded beyond my expectations; so that I shall paint all my portraits in that manner, but shall be obliged to finish such as were begun in oil, in the old way. My encaustic leaves me nothing to desire, and in addition to the advantages of a canvass that will not crack nor burn up, and the pre

servation of the colours which cannot embrown, as I have accomplished it, there is a facility of inestimable advantage, no waiting for the colours to dry, no dust spoiling my black-the advantages of miniature, fresco, and oil-painting combined. I have produced the most brilliant effects-my tints surpass the fairest complexions and equal what the imagination can conceiveBeauty shall come to me for immortality, for its texture flows from my pencil as I trace its forms; to create flesh is no longer difficult; to modify it with colour, light, or shadow, no longer tedious; consequently my principal attention may be directed to character and beauty.

Hitherto my materials obeyed reluctantly my obstinate commands, now my will and they are one, and I shall enjoy the glorious prerogative of producing almost as rapidly as I can conceive.

I have done in encaustic Delametherie, Humboldt, Carnot, La Fayette, Dupont de Nemours, Bertholet, Vauquelin, Gregoire, Geoffroi, Jussieu, Beauvois, Gerard. Mr. Warden will immediately write to Lacepede, Lagrange, &c.

Our health is getting better, the weather milder, the days longer and lighter, the children improve at school and talk with us a great deal of you all. Immense preparations are making to celebrate the emperor's marriage-Paris will be in a blazehave you received my letter in which I say I have engaged a set of crystals in wood, at about one hundred and eighty dollars? I shall visit the workmen in a few days. The marquis de la Fayette sends his kind respects and best wishes.

We have had five months of the most dismal weather I ever knew, which was rendered more sad by continual sickness and complaints in my family; myself always one, particularly during January and February, the whole of which I was confined to the sopha, my leg raised, with a dangerous sore. Before this came I had been as busy as I could be with my heads-heads so hard to find with leisure, and had done as much as the darkness and shortness of the days would permit me, since then I have resumed the task with new vigour and improved materials in encaustic. It is only after nine years' experiments that I have succeeded

in vanquishing certain difficulties that stood in the way of the facile execution, for the thing once done is undoubtedly preferable on every score to oil painting. I am pleased to assure you the advantages surpass what I had even wished. No delay from the paint not drying, no cracking, no rotting of the canvass; a rapidity, a facility, a richness, a transparence, that leaves nothing to be desired.

The abbé is still adding to the collection for you, which we must not send till some safe opportunity in the spring. I paid him a visit to-day with Mr. Patterson: we listened with pleasure to his demonstrations to baron Humboldt. As the weather is becoming better I shall resume my visits to the garden of plants, and endeavour to make some remarks that may be of use to you. The treasures of minerals in public and private collections would astonish you. We hear that a treaty has been made in London with Mr. Pinkney, and as a new French ambassador goes out, I indulge hopes that after a little time we shall have better opportunities of writing.

Eleanora hitherto has had little reason to be pleased with France; bad weather, sickness and botheration; I make her hope the spring and summer will repay her.

I employed part of my leisure to finish my long meditated encaustic painting, and have found it crowned with success far surpassing my expectations. For I not only have gained durability in my canvass and colours, but a facility of execution and a splendour of effect that absolutely equal my romantic speculations or waking dreams when I talked of painting with liquid flesh, and of the execution of character and beauty rapid as their conception. This delicious dream which I thought too far removed from human possibility, is now verified. I shall discard oil painting as not congenial with my ardent mind, and shall soon make up for lost time with a long list of more excellent heads.

To the demonstrations in wood of crystals the abbé will add dissected crystals by himself. Before I return I must procure here not only for you and myself the best of many articles of taste and art.

You cannot imagine the difficulty there is and will always be in getting my sitters either to name the day and hour, or to be punctual. To accomplish the object I mould my perseverance into every form, and in the end hope to have triumphed perhaps more completely than any other painter-for I believe no one ever was so devoted to the pleasure and reputation of studying to record the physiognomy of learned characters. All are now begun in encaustic, and besides them I am painting a portrait of Mr. Robert Patterson in leisurely sittings which will enable me to develope the powers of my new art, which requires a practice in many instances so different from oil painting. I paint with the rapidity and fluidity of Fresco, I continue with the richness of oil and the mellowness of crayon, without its mealyness, and with all its splendour, and I can give a finish surpassing miniature. During this progress my pictures catch no dust, are dry in ten minutes or wet for two hours as I please, and finally are never liable to grow brown, or crack or rot. These immense advantages are more than I sought for, and will reward me for all my experiments during nine years. I shall give you more particulars on my pictures by Mr. Ronaldson, who will probably sail in May, before which I hope to get some of your letters which therefore I may answer.

The galleries and museums are yet too cold to visit them; besides we have been five weeks past deprived of the Louvre in which the emperor was yesterday married; we had tickets sent us by general Armstrong, but the expense of dress and the long confinement induced us to prefer seeing their cortége in the garden, with a little close squeezing; the temporary triumphal arches, the temples, balloons, fireworks, illuminated gardens and public places, &c. &c. I am told cost 5,000,000 dollars! It was indeed like enchantment-but might easily be proved not the best mode of employing the money. Baron Humboldt tells me that David desires me to paint him. Humboldt, Dupont, and Beauvois all request me to present their kind respects to you. I am happy and proud of the acquaintance and I hope friendship of Mr. Patterson, in whom I am much interested; so much do I admire his principles, talents, and manners. He will be one of our foremost characters-congratulate his father on having so excellent a son.

My spirits begin to rise, the weather gets better, the days longer, and finally there is great hopes of peace with England through the mediation of Austria. The marriage rejoicings have been wonderfully brilliant; the triumphal arch at the grand entrance of Paris is built in stone above twenty feet above the ground and will be many years before it is finished. But we have enjoyed the effect of it as it will appear when finished; for on the entry of the empress it was finished in frame-work covered with canvass and painted elegantly, it rose as by enchantment in twenty days with the labour of five hundred workmen. It is one hundred and thirty-three feet high, one hundred and thirty-eight broad, sixty-eight thick, the centre arch eighty-seven feet high and forty-five wide, the cornice projects six feet. Another stupendous work on the occasion, likewise of temporary materials, was an immense altar of Hymen, built above the towers of the cathedral of Notre Dame, it appeared to be resting on clouds reaching from one tower to the other, &c. &c. &c.

I have taken two sittings of David the painter, and he appears quite pleased. I believe I shall make a picture of him which will give me a great reputation, he has refused to sit to every painter -I shall exhibit it at the Louvre. I now paint entirely in encaustic-oil painting appears to me too dirty, too sticky, and too stinking. I am doing one of Mr. Patterson which will be the first picture I shall send over. The gallery of the Louvre is now open-I have been through it, and it is indeed most splendid.