go, is scarcely known to his countrymen, unless ainong dilettanti and conoifseurs, will be universally known in time throughout all Europe, long after the memory of the person who now introduces him to their notice in these slight fketches fhall be lost in that dark oblivion, which sooner or later awaits all ublunary things.

Mr Hamilton, who is descended of a respectable family, originally of Fife now in Lanarkshire, discovered from his infancy a great predilection for historic painting, and at a very early period of life went to Rome, there to perfect himself in that Franch of the fine arts. On his return to Britain after several years absence, his friends wished him to apply himself to portrait painting, and he was overpersuaded to do a little in that walk; but feeling his znind impressed with higher ideas of his art than could be thus attained, he abandoned that line, and attached himself entirely to fketches in historic composition, which gave full scope to the developement of those great ideas he had conceived.

Of his portraits few are to be found in Britain. The best of these that have come to my knowledge are two full lengths of the late duke and duchefs of Hamilton. The portrait of the duke with a gun in his hand, is easy, natural, and pofsefses a degree of excellence not usually attained in things of that nature. The figure of the duchefs with a greyhound leaping up on her, is well known by the mezzetinto prints done from it that are to be seen eve ży where. To this, as to most of his female fi

Hamilton of Murdieston,