X. THE RE-UNION OF SOUL

AND BODY..

The Body springs from the grave, the Soul descends from an opening cloud; they rush together with inconceivable energy; they meet, never again to part!

XI. A FAMILY MEETING IN

HEAVEN.

The sweet felicity, the endearing tenderness, the ineffable affection, that are here depicted, are sufficiently obvious. The Husband clasps the Wife; the Children embrace; the Boy recognises and eagerly springs to his Father.

XII. THE LAST JUDGMENT.

Christ coming to judgment in the clouds of heaven, with the "Thrones set, and the Books opened." On his knees lies the Book of Life. The Recording Angels kneel on each side of his throne, and the Elders are also seated on each side of Him to judge the world. Surrounding the throne are the blessed, entering into their joy; and arising from these, on each hand, are two clouds of figures: one with the insignia of Baptism; the other with the insignia of the Lord's Supper, inclosing a glorification of angels, with harps. Beneath, on the right hand of Christ, are the

blessed, rising in the air to judgment; on the left hand are the cursed: Some are precipitating themselves from the face of Him that sitteth on the Throne (among them is Satan, wound round with the Serpent), others are pleading their own righteousness, and others, beneath, fleeing with banners and spears among the rocks, crying to the "rocks to cover them." Beneath these are represented the harlot's mystery, and the dragon, who flee before the face of the Judge. In the centre, standing on the midst of the earth, is the angel with the last trumpet. On each side of him is an angel : that on the left is drawing his sword on the wicked; that on the right is sheathing his sword on the just, who are rising in various groups, with joy and affection, family by family. The angel with the trumpet, and his accompanying ministers of judgment, are surrounded by a column of flame, which spreads itself in various directions over the earth, from which the dead are bursting forth, some in terror, some in joy. On the opening cloud, on each hand of Christ, are two figures, supporting the books of remembrance: that over the just is beheld with humiliation; that over the wicked with arrogance. A sea of fire issues from beneath the throne of Christ, destructive to the wicked, but salutary to the righteous. Before the sea of Fire the clouds are rolled back, and the heavens "are rolled together as a scroll."

IN kindly thanking those Ladies and Gentlemen who have so liberally patronized and befriended the present Work, Mr. CROMEK begs to inform them, that he is the owner of the celebrated Cabinet Picture, painted by Mr. STOTHARD, representing THE PROCESSION OF CHAUCER'S PILGRIMS TO CANTERBURY.

He begs to announce his intention of publishing an Engraving from this interesting composition as speedily as is consistent with the time necessarily required in the execution of so magnificent an undertaking, and respectfully submits to his Subscribers, and to other Amateurs of fine Art, the following Prospectus.

UNDER THE IMMEDIATE PATRONAGE OF

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES.

THE

PROCESSION

OF

CHAUCER'S PILGRIMS

ΤΟ

CANTERBURY.

PROPOSALS FOr publishing, BY SUBSCRIPTION,

A PRINT,

FROM THE WELL-KNOWN CABINET PICTURE ON THAT SUBJECT,

By THOMAS STOTHARD, ESQ., R.A.

TO BE EXECUTED IN THE LINE MANNER OF ENGRAVING, AND IN THE SAME EXCELLENT STYLE AS THE PORTRAIT OF MR. WILLIAM BLAKE, PREFIXED TO THIS WORK,

By LOUIS SCHIAVONETTI, Esq., V.A.

THE GENTLEMAN WHO HAS ETCHED THE PRINTS THAT AT ONCE ILLUSTRATE AND EMBELLISH THE PRESENT VOLUME.

38

THE

PROSPECTUS

66 'Dan Chaucer-grete him wel!"

HE reputation of Chaucer, the reformer of the English language, and the father of English poetry, may, without presumption, be thought to justify the Proprietor in presenting the Public with a work designed to bring together, in one point of view, and to represent, in their true forms, living features, and adventitious appendages, all the characters of the Canterbury Tales. These Tales are the most pleasing of Chaucer's Works. It is the characters which are described in the general Prologue to them which Mr. Stothard has now transferred to the Canvas; and with so much truth and sprightliness, and in a manner so agreeable, that the Poet's humour may, with truth, be said to be revived in the Painter.

It is the particular merit of this Piece, that the Story is immediately brought home to the Spectator. He becomes instantly one of the group, and sees them move before him, marked by their distinctive habits, characters, and sensations, in the same manner as Chaucer has drawn them. The idea of the Poet is impressed at the first view, —a humour unforced, agreeable, and comic; a pleasurable Tour, sanctified by the name of Pilgrimage. The covert ridicule on these eccentric excursions, which Chaucer intended, is very happily preserved in his Face; the quiet indifference of one of the Monks, the hypocrisy of another, and the real piety of a third, are with equal excellency pourtrayed. The gay levity of the Wife of

Bath, and the countenance of the old Ploughman, worn down with age and labour, are finely rendered. The Miller is an admirable character; and his Horse is as much in character as himself. The Fop of Chaucer's Age is exhibited as making a display of his riding; and the Sea Captain bestrides his Nag with the usual awkwardness of the Sailor. The pale and studious countenance of the Oxford Scholar; the stateliness of the Lady Abbess; the facetiousness and homely humour of the Host, as contrasted with the Serjeant at Law, and the Doctor of Physic; all these peculiarities of character are very finely and delicately expressed. The costume of each Person is correct with an antiquarian exactness; 1 and the whole group is so well distributed that each character is sufficiently seen, and in his due place.

The Scene of the Picture is laid in that part of the road to Canterbury which commands a view of the Dulwich Hills-the Time, a beautiful and serene May Morning. The Pilgrims are grouped with a decorum suited to their respective characters, and in the order in which we may suppose Chaucer himself to have seen them, headed by the Miller, playing upon his pipe, under the guidance of Harry Baillie, the Host; who, as Master of the Ceremonies, is represented standing in his stirrups, in the act of commanding attention to the proposal he is about to make, of drawing lots to determine which of the company shall tell the first Tale. Near to

1 Mr. Douce, in his admirable " Illustrations of Shakespeare, and of Ancient Manners," speaking of the zeal which manifests itself among the leading Artists of the present day to obtain correct notions of the manners of former times whenever they have occasion to depict them, observes, that "Mr. Stothard, with every claim to superior talent, has recently finished a Painting of the Procession of Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims, which may be classed among the choicest morsels of its kind. The attention to accuracy of costume which it displays has never been exceeded, and but very seldom so well directed."-Vol. ii. p. 285.