though exaftly the fame,, are equally originals, l/i general the
mailer orders his, bell fcholars- to copy the outlines, which he
corrects and re-touches. The fcholars then lketch the remainder,
and the mailer revifes and finilhes the whole.
The quellion, which is the original 1 is frequently puerile;
for fometimes the fecond is better and more lludied than the
firll. Indeed, when the painter employs his fcholars too much
in thefe copies, as Rubens was accullomedto do, the perfeitiort
of the original ufually fuffers by thefe frequent, repetitions; as
the hally touches of the mailer cannot corredt the defedts of
the fcholars.
It is a well-known anecdote, that Raphael himfelf millook a
Copy of one of his own piftures, done by Andrea del Sarto, for-
the original. Three paintings of his celebrated John the Baptift
are now exilling, of which it is impoffible to difcaver which is
the fineft, or which is the original. One of thefe is in the great
duke’s gallery at Florence, a fecond in a private colledtion at
Rome, and the third in the palais royal at Paris.
Under the fame Circumllances may alfo be mentioned the
■celebrated portrait of Lord Strafford didtating to his fecretary,
o f which I have feen three,, one at Wentworth houfe, the fe-
■cond at Wentworth callle, and the third at Blenheim.
The emprels continues to profecute her great plans for the
interior civilization of her vail empire with unwearied zeal.
But of all the plans formed by her majelly for this purpofe,
there is none more ufeful and pra^fe-worthy than that for
l th e
the eltablilhment of fchools in every government, formed on CH^AP.
the moll comprehenfive fcale and liberal principles. ■ — *
An academy is ellabliihed at St. Peterlburgh for the inllruc-
tion of 200 lludents, defigned to be mailers of the provincial
fchools. This academy is provided with profeffors of hillory,
mathematics, rhetoric, and natural hillory; with a German,
mailer, and a drawing mailer.
The lludents are feledted from the different feminaries of the
Ruffian empire, and, as they have received their education as;
priells of the regular clergy, underltand Latin. They are twenty
years of age, and are to remain at Peterlburgh three years; during
which period they are inilrudted in hillory, geography, the various
branches of natural philofophy, and natural hillory. T h ey '
are all boarded, lodged, and inilrudted at the emprefs’s expence.
A t the conclufion of this term their places are to be fupplied
by others, and they will be diilributed in the different parts o f
RulSa. Two o f thefe lludents will be ellabliihed in the principal
town of each government; one as teacher of mathematics,
the other of hillory, geography, and natural hillory. Each llu-
dent, thus ellabliihed, is to inltrudt other lludents as preceptors
of the fcnaller fchools in the leffer towns.
The regulation of this ufeful ellabliihment is entrulled to a
committee confining of five members, who have the fuperin-
tendence of the whole.
Thus the great fchools- in the principal towns will depend on
the academy of Peterlburgh, and each fchool in the fmaller
towns