The Press. — London, England, 1858-07-17 00:00:00

of the audience, and the parts belonging well sustained, especially that of the Earl by Sig. Majeroni. This artist, who done justice to his part, previous to act iii. (the reception, by her Majesty, destruction of the Spanish Armada and of Cadiz, of the Earl of Howard, the .ssex, and Sir Francis Drake), seemed inspired with energy, when his capri tarch, having conferred honours on his , tells him she shall defer his reward, on of some pretended disobedience of orders. of indignation with which he assails her, which he casts at his more favoured col the vehemence with which he throws his at the feet of the newly made Duke 'ham, his bearing when struck by the l again, when he breaks his sword, and pieces on to the ground before her, and • ordered to the Tower, his utterance of morire, la mia testa sara una di piu the _lla Giustizia vi presenters nell'ora della mord !" show him to be an actor possessed of • than ordinary power. The latter portion abounds with instances wherein the con , feelings of Elizabeth are seen engaged, as wont, in fierce strife. Most eminent amongst struggle between her pride and her love and this struggle, which is wrought out striking ability by the author, was admirably ' by Mme. Ristori. To do justice to it its of the highest order—and it was done The last act brings before us the illness, , and death of, perhaps, the greatest of and the most contemptible of women. The 6 passions strong in death" were here depicted wonderful reality. The curtain drops, for the on the death-scene of Majesty, deprived of usually painful and tragic in such scenes, ttempt inspired by the littleness that such a _ must inevitably assume when stripped of :terns' and earthly strength. We shall return abject of Mme. Ristori's performance in our tber. ROYAL CREMORNE GARDENS. propose ; Dieu dispose," is a trite French which one of the most recent public &fictitious is to be found in the gigantic aristocratic failure of the 9th inst. This was the day for the select fête at Cremorne; this was of which the programme led to so much idence between the many who thought it should be excluded from their favourite amusement, and the editors of journals, who Ipposed to be the redressers of all arievances; the day on which that class of her Majesty's whose only acquaintanceship with aristo arises from visions of powdered flunkies carriages adorned with glittering coronets, be more forcibly reminded of the existence tperior human species by the closed gates of billing-ahead resort ; this was the day whereon been determined that the turf and gravel that plebeian place of assemblage should be honoured exclusively by the tread o's 3,000 ladies and leman, all pm sang, or related to or recognized classe d'ilite ; this was the day on which which is no respecter of persons, unmindful great preparations that had been making for itertainment of those who are " clothed in and fine linen, and fare sumptuously every thought fit to deluge this metropolis with a rain for some twenty.four hours. ever there was a perfect example of perseverance eking pleasure under difficulties, we have it Considering the multitude of wearying amuse and occupations of the day, including a festival at the Crystal Palace, it is more than ling that upwards of two-thirds of the tickets for this fete were delivered at the entrance - those who seemed resolved to enjoy them . all risks. That we, and others whose brtsi . is to chronicle the events of the day, should ,c the danger of drowning on such an occasion, is matter for surprise. Duty takes men into more 7erons, but scarcely into more uncomfortable, But that 2,000 ladies and gentlemen, the the earth, should be found in this metropolis sacrifice personal comfort, brilliant toilettes, more available engagements, just for the • " of the thing—past to be able to say that, of the risks to health and life, and of every obstacle that the elements could beset them 11ty had been to Crentorm (an assertion true f i n the letter, for being crowded together in building on the premises, like sheep in a pen, ' room to turn round, can hardly deserve the Aption of being at the Cremorne fete of the 9th )—that 2,000 ladies and gentlemen should have found ready, willing, and determined to do all we say, is one of those things which, as our Ibours hay) it, " Pour croire, it fast voir." Napoleon may well indulge in extravagant rejoicings that he has completed the great the patience c to it were well of Essex, b: bad har dl y ( scene 5 of ac after the deg the capture Eat) of Esse suddenly ins cious rnonare companions, the ground of The storm of the sneers vet leagues, the gauntlet at o f Nottinghi Queen, and casts the pi, lastly, when "E fatervi l'Angelo dell vostra morti much more of the play e tradictory fe4 was her wont these is the for Essex ; with strikinl delineated I needs talent justice to. imbecility, I Queens and "ruling pas! with wonder last time, or all that is it by the conte character Zr its external to the subje next numb( RO L'llO3l3lE adage, of exemplifica aristocratic appointed 1 the day of correspond, hard they place of am are suppos this was tb subjects w cracy ark , behind ea] were to be of a anperi their chilli it had bel walks of tl honoured gentleman by this ce a Power w of the grei the enter purple an day," Choi soaking ri If ever in seekinE here. Cot ments at musical fl astonishit issued for gates by I selves at ness it is incur the no matte dangeron scenes. elite of tl ready to other m, " pluck " in spite other oh: with, the only in a buildii without deecripti lost.)—t been fon this, we neighbor Louis I , public ri THE PRESS, JULY l7, 1858. arsenal which is intended as a check t 3 the sons of such women as were represented by the fair portiou of the 2,000 Cremornites. Let him take heed ! Soon after the outbreak of the late war with Russia, two sketches were published purporting to represent the Russian fleet in the Black Sea (1) as it was before the allies entered those waters, and (2) as it was after they had done so. The first sketch showed a vast number of gallant ships bearing Russian colours, careering on the waves. The second dis played a vast expanse of water and sky, without one symptom of a vessel in any direction. Nothing could be more expressive than this negative repre sentation of the enemy's fleet. Perhaps some his torical painter may some day exhibit at the Royal Academy a picture of "The Royal Cremorne Gardens, as seen on the afternoon of 9th July, 1858, when attended by 2,000 of the most recherché of the London beau-monde." In imitation of the Russian fleet artist, he will, perhaps, best consult his own fame by a simple delineation of the gardens during a pitiless rain, interspersed with impromptu lakes and with bubbling streams in the place of gravel walks. We feel too much compassion for the victims to the search for pleasnre who had the misfortune to find themselves in Mr. Simpson's hotel and restaurant on that melancholy occasion, to assist in handing their names down to posterity. A contemporary, who has an unfortunate habit of handling persons' names without foundation, has been severely and indig nantly rebuked by some of those whom it had in• eluded in its list of those present. We will not risk the possibility of wounding susceptibilities by men tioning the names of those whom we know, or Ithose we believe, to have been amongst the deluded 2,000. DESPATCHES FROM ST. GEORGE'S CHESS CLUB. FRIDAY NIGHT. THE chess world (for a chess world there is, although it is seldom brought into contact with any other of the fifty worlds into which society is so curiously cross-divided) has received an impulse sufficient to arouse it from its usual meditative tranquillity. A general chess conflagration seems to be kindling just when the political and the fashionable world begin to " pale their ineffectual fires" in the approaching dawn of the recess. The matches which have produced this startling effect are not of the Lucifer order, but will burn longer and more steadily than the patent night-lights or Palmer's best stearine. To convey our views in a more familiar metaphor, Mr. Paul Morphy, the champion of the American chess, is in the field, and prepared to joust with all corners. And putting aside a set match with Mr. Lowenthal (now actually pending), and another with Mr. Staunton also on the tapis—the event of neither of which can we assume to prejudge—thus far ho has kept his ground triumphantly. Though occasionally beaten, he has scored a considerable majority of games against every player whom he has encountered, including several of our first English celebrities. And this with a " gallery " of strangers, and at the age of twenty•or.e. A few years since Mr. Stanley, a Canadian, was supposed to be No. 1. among Trans atlantic chessplayers. But he was never what in the old country we should call first-rate, and soon, unfortunately, fell into habits inconsistent with ex cellence in any intellectual pursuits. When a few months since we read of the appearance of an American phenomenon (our present visitor), who was to " whip all creation " in the chequered field, we confess that we felt somewhat sceptical. The language of the West is singularly tinged with Oriental hyperbole, and puffing under the auspices of Mr. Barnum has attained the dignity of a science. We thought of the Feejee mermaid and the woolly horse—of the hunter who could whip his weight in wild cats, and of the mare whose rapid transit past sue cessive milestones gave the country the appearance of a continuous churchyard. Even the report of the New York " Chess Congress," where the young amateur from New Orleans woo, unless our memory tails us, eighty-one games out of eighty-four, did not completely dispel our prejudices. The games wars brilliant, but they were played chiefly against third rates, with whom it might be safe to take liberties. So dashing a style would perhaps prove fatal when tried against wary veterans, trained in defence and tenacious of the smallest advantage once gained. Such were our previous impressions and those of many abler judges—impressions not destitute of some a priori probability. But we were mistaken —we confess it frankly and deliberately—utterly and absolutely mistaken. Mr. Morphy needs no aid either of "yarn" or "whole cloth" (we adopt the latest American metaphors) to establish his claims as an extraordinary genius in his own line. This is no place for discussing the value of chess, either as a recreation or as a test of intellectual power. 1 Enough to say, that its living votaries are le g ion, including many men (like Messrs. Staun ton and Buckle, now the first names in English chess) of high literary or professional distinction; and that it (383 is historically associated with recollections of Charles XII., Napoleon, and other Dead, but sceptre'd monarchs, who still rule Our spirits from their urns. Our present purpose is to claim for our distinguished visitor, as a gifted and accomplished chessplayer, the praise to which he is entitled in that character even from the non•cbessplaying world. "Not to put too fine a point upon it," as Dickens would say, the qualifications requisite for excellence in chess are principally four-1. Inventive power, for original combinations ; 2. Power of analysis, seen chiefly in working out the possible results of a given position ; 3. Temperament —a word which we pur posely use somewhat vaguely; •I. Memory. Of course it is easy to except to this division as imperfect and inaccurate, but it is our object to write fur mul titudes who are neither finished chessplayers nor metaphysicians. Under the first head, then, we would say that Mr. Morphy's invention seems mar vellous. He is eminently an attacking player, and his schemes for harassing his adversary are as various as they are brilliant. You might play with him for a year without being able to affirm, as Cicero did of Hortensius, " Novi omnes hominis petitioues." Chesaplayers will understand ns when we say that his assaults remind us of the fiery onslaught of Mr. Cochrane, but will bear scrutiny better. And here we may remark (though conscious that we are tres passing en other divisions of our subject) that Mr. Morphy's style of play is singularly fearless—more so, we must confess, than any which we have yet seen opposed to it. He is realy, for instance, to give or accept any of the most critical " gambits," instead of confining himself to the safer openings at present in fashion. This adds greatly to the spectator's pleasure. We remember how much disappointment was caused at the time of Mr. Stannton's conflict with M. St. Amant by the pertinacious refusal of the latter to answer " 1i.P.2 " with " K.P.2." The Ame rican champion dislikes the anomaly of a " close opening." And well he may ; for, secondly, his great power of analysis tells most in involved and compli cated positions. Aided by a wonderful knowledge of chess-books and of the recorded games of the best players, he aims (and generally with success) at looking farther forward than his antagonist's coup d'ail can reach, confident that none of the thousand intermediate variations has been overlooked. Play a dozen back games with him, and you will fail to show him a contingency which he had not contem plated. Mr. Morphy's temperament, thirdly, is much in his favour. Look at him as he plays. You are at first struck principally by the roomy forehead, clear eye, and fine well•placed ear ; but when you have ob served hint long or frequently, you discover that he is never flurried, never nervous— that a defeat does not discourage nor a victory elate him. Young as he is, he is always calm and self-possessed, whether in the quiet circle of the St. George's Club or in the noisier gallery of the Chess Divan, and is, consequently, as sure as any player we ever saw to do his own powers justice under the mental tension of a long match and the trials of temper which frequently attend it. We must here record the pleasure with which we have witnessed both the kind, friendly reception given by the English players to their formidable competitor, and alco the unassuming courtesy which invariably marks Mr.Morphy's demeenonr. Fourthly. A few words under the head of memory and we have done. Mr. Morphy seems to forget nothing, from the game which he himself played yesterday to that which be read in the Chess Chronicle a year ago. He has more than once puzzled English players with " dodges " of their own invention which they had actually forgotten. But perhaps his most wonderful performances have been those in which memory and imagination seem to work together—we mean games played blindfold, or without sight of a board. Phi lidor played three such games at once successfully against skilful antagonists. Horrwitz has more re cently done the same. Mr. Morphy has played seven simultaneously, losing only one, and winning the other sill* , This is indeed astonishing; but we trust that our ingenious visitor will be jcontent with having once done the feat. As Dr. Johnson said of a young lady's masterpiece of fingering on the piano forte, '` It is very difficult; we wish it were impos sible." Sure we are that not even Mr. Morphy's brains can repeatedly endure such a strain without injury. A less degree of the same effort killed Labourdonnais, and had nearly destroyed Horrwitz. And even could it be made with impunity, the spec tacle is rather curious than pleasing. We feel sure that we shall be pardoned for these remarks ; they arise from a sincere wish that Mr. Morphy may long live to practise freely and without arbitrary fetters the art of which he is so distinguished a professor. P.S.—The match with Mr. Lowenthal (of which we expected that the first game would have been concluded er•e this) has been unavoidably postponed till Monday, owing to the illness—we trust not serious —of Mr. Morphy. • We have heard of a yet greater number of blindfold games (ten, we believe) played by another American amateur, Mr Paulsen. I