The Press. — London, England, 1854-07-29 00:00:00

JULY 29, 1854. the qualities which delighted us in " Charles Au chester "; but, on the whole, we think it much interim : to that remarkable novel : its construction and language indicate less maturity of mind, and, though later in order of publication, it was probably produced at an ember period. As to the idea or theory of the story, that love is caused rather by opposition than simi larity .of disposition, it is scarcely worth the pains taken to work it out. The flow of incident, idealism the viva cious dialogue, the of character and senti meat, sustain the attention of the reader, and are much more than sufficient to counterbalance the wildness into which the fancy of the author some times runs. Her novels are among the most pro mising productions of the present day ; and, if it be true that " Charles Auchester " was written later than the "Counterparts," we may, from so great an im provement, form hopeful anticipations of her next work. The Church. An Examination of the Meaning conts;ned in the Bible. By William Atkinson. London : Longmans. Mu. ATKINSON appears to be a pious, earnest man, very anxious to impress upon the public his own views of revealed religion. "It has," he says, "to " be brought out of the region of mist, and to be " taken out of the hands of those who ate lovers of, " and dealers in, mist." To accomplish his task, he c mmences with a commentary on the " scriptural figure" of the fall of man, and proceeds to remark on those various forms of "mist " which have obscured the view of religious truth, down to the publication of Mr. Fronde's " Nemesis of Faith " and Mr. New man's " Phases of Faith." One of his principal posi tions is, that men's minds are led astray by pride arid party spirit, and that it is only by overcoming this kind of perversity, and by subjecting our minds to God's law, and seeking truth according to his will, that we can look for a better agreement on religious subjects and the establishment of a more universal church than now exists. He urges that we should on all occasions learn to distinguish between the use of our powers in submission to God's will, and the abuse of them in opposition to it ; and he supposes that, were this distinction recognised and acted on, it would lead in religion to the substitution of spirit for form, and would effect great and beneficent changes in social action and civil government. He instances, among other things, the gratification of our appe tites " The lauful use of solid and liquid food," he Rays, " is determined by that proportion in quantity and by that species in quality which are adapted for the healthful sus tentation, preservation, and invigoration of the body. Hence we are to ta'te food under a right desire ; not under &desire of gratifying appetite, but of satisfying it. Our duty is to keep ourselves under the influence of a great and necessary law of abstinence. We are to avoid the habit of taking or desiring food, because it is nice or delicious. It is imperatively required of us, under the law .in nature, which is the law in God, that we adopt the habit of satisfying hunger and allaying thirst, without having the motive of gratifying the appetite by means of ' the flavour, the quality, or the quantity of the materials that we eat and drink." Mir. Atkinson will scarcely persuade the world that this doctrine is natural. Why have we taste but for ,its enjoyment? Under certain restrictions it is the most universal and most innocent of all sensual gratifications. The same principle, fairly carried mit, would of course put an end to luxury in all thing~, in dress, in buildings, in arts, and the world would stagnate, content with bread, bacon, and' linsey-woolsey. Without at all meaning to advocate socialism, Mr. ktkinson's tendencies lean that way, and exhibit most of the absurdities of the system. His work displays much ingenuity and talent, hut, for his own' sake, it is to be regretted that he has not exercised these qualities on some simpler subject with more practical aims. • Orr's Circle of the Sciences. Vol. I. London Orr and Co. Tut design of this work is to supply a complete cyclopedia of science, each department being com plete in itself, and written by professors of distinguished attainments. The present volume is on Organic Nature; it is divided into four parts—the first comprises the Physiology of Animal and Vegetable Life,- by the editor; the second, the Principal Forms' of the Skeleton, by Professor Owen ; the third, the Principal Forms of Teeth, also by Professor Owen ; and the foul th, the Varieties of the Human Species, by Dr. Latham. A general introduction concisely describes the nature, connec tion, and uses of the great departments of human knowledgi. The volume is profusely illustrated, the woodcuts being admiiithly drawn and well engraved. In the two great requiisites of excellence and cheap ness this work defies competition. As a scientific manual, fitted equally for popular instruction and the use of students, it is one of the very best we have seen, and as such we have great pleasure in warmly recommending it. • ' - . J' ~~, ,Peo sa- THE PRESS. BOOKS RECEIVED. BOOKS. Pin-money. Mrs. Gore. Poetical IForks of (; rey, Parnell, Collins, 4'c. Turkey, Past and 1 resent. J. H. Morell. Morning, ando ther Poems. R. Harris. Routledge. Ditto. Ditto. Bell. Lectures on _ Education. " The Study of Physiology : " J. Paget, F.R.S. Lectures on Education. Parker and Son. " Economic Science." W. B. --___ _.. ........____. Hodgson, LL.U. - Ditto. The Third Napoleon. An Ode. Hearne The Prudent Man. W. Bridges. Balliere. My Haunts. E.H. Yates. Bogue. The Serf and the Cossack. F. Marx. Trdbner and Co. The Sugar Duties. Richardson. A Waterloo Commemoration. M. J. Barry. Orr and Co. The Eastern War. A Poem. Part I. Hardwieke. Map of Europe. Rowe. Mkt puma. HAYMARKET THEATRE. THE hot weather of the week has proved no stop page to business in this theatre, Mr. Buckstone having produced on Monday a new drama by Mr. Stir ling Coyne, entitled The Old Chateau; or, a Night of Peril. The public will be disappointed it' they imagine from this imposing title that they are about to witness a Princess's melodrama of the bloodiest description ; for the deaths are but one, and that one occurs only in the last act—the French origin and French action of the piece are its only claims to be considered as one of that class of dramas which the Oxford-street management has rendered the rage of the day. The plot is simple, and by no means of a novel character. A lady with a prior attachment espouses a rich marquis to save her father from ruin. After a lapse of three years the husband becomes jealous of his wife, and is per suaded by a villain to attempt the assassination of her former lover. The husband is shot by mistake, and the widow left tree to follow the bent of her inclinations. The play is further lengthened by a species of underplot, in which Mr. Buckstone and Mrs. Fitzwilliam sustain the principal. characters ; but their parts, though intended tobe funny, scarcely amused the audience. If the three acts into which the piece is divided were reduced to two everybody concerned would be much the gainer. The acting was no great things. Miss Reynolds played Julie, the heroine, exceedingly well: her manner was natural, and she repelled an unjust accusation of treachery towards her husband with force and dig nity. Mr. Howe vu more than usually successful, and exhibited so real pathos in the part of the husband, who is what our French neighbours call an ancien milita ire ; but here our commendation must cease. Mr. W. Farren is a most uninteresting lover, and nothing but the most urgent case of ne cessity would seem to have justified the importation of Mr. H. Marston from the wilds of Sadler's Wells. LYCEUM.. Mn. CHARLES MATHEWS had his benefit on Wednes• day night, the performances consisting of a variety of pieces, not only belonging to his own repertoire, but contributed by the managers of the other prin cipal theatres. First there was Sunshine through the Clouds, the Lyceum version of Madame de Girar din's famous little comedy, in which Madame Vestris, Mr. Frenk Matthews, Miss M. Oliver, and Miss Martindale appeared, Then there was the Adelphi piece, The Camp at Chobham. with Mr. Leigh Mur ray and Mr. Keeley. Next there was Patter versus Clatter, which brought Mr. Charles Mathews him self before the audience. He was received with a burst of enthusiastic applause, prolonged for several minutes. This was followed by the incidental ballet from La Favorita, by the performers of the Royal Italian Opera. Then came Box and Cox, from the Haymarket, with Mr. Buckstone, Mr. Harley, and Mrs. Macnamara. Last was given Heads or Tails from the Olympic, with Mr. and Mrs. Wigan, Mr. Robson, Mr. Emery, and Miss Marston. Songs were sung by Miss Featherstone, of the Strand Theatre, and by Madame Caradori, of the Royal Opera, Drury -1 lane. The house was literally a bumper, crowded in every corcer from floor to ceiling. usit. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. ANOTHER disgraceful scene was enacted at this theatre last Monday evening. The opera was Lucrezia Borgia; the part of Lucrezia being sus ►ained by Mme. Grisi, and that of Gennaro by Sig. Mario. The first two acts went off well enough, but a wai►. of endless duration at the conclusion of the second act having rendered the audience first impatient, and then clamorous, the stage manager appeared and informed them • that Sig. Mario was too indispo.4ed to proceed, and that other entertain. ments would be substituted for the third act of the opera. This announcement produced a perfect storm of indignation, which was much increased by the 715 cool impudence with which the stage manager stated that this time Sig. Mario was really ill. Ultimately a sort of compromise was effected by Mme. Grisi singing the aria in La Favorita. Such exhibitions as these are very painful and alike discreditable to managers, singers, and the public. The singers are, to all outward appearance, most to blame, but, prac tically, the public are equally guilty. They spoil the Italians by humouring their caprices and submitting to their insolence, and when, at last, their conduct becomes unbearable, a row takes place ; and what follows! The luckless manager is made to suffer, whilst the overpaid performer goes quietly home to supper and cigar, and is received the next time he appears with as much favour as ever. DRURY LANE. THE Royal Opera evaporated suddenly in the course of Tuesday afternoon, and is now understood to be defunct. Whether this untoward event was caused by the exertion of producing Maaaniello with Mr. Sims Reeves as the hero the previous night, by the heat of the weather, or by the want of a balance in hand, has not yet transpired. Time will show. pre* gtrt, Xittraturt, A SOLUBLE GLASS was applied to the woodwork and scenery in the Munich Theatre, for the purpose of preserving, and, as far as possible, rendering them incombustible. This gliss is, in fact, a solution of free silica in caustic alkali ; and, it' the wood is pro perly seasoned, there can be no doubt of the value of the application, especially if it was injected under pr ssure. DR. EMIL BRAUN has at length succeeded (accord ing to the Builder) in the production of an artificial and fusible material adapted to plastic purposes, which affords the same sharpness of outlines as plas ter of Paris, is scarcely interior in whiteness to the finest statuary marble, and even surpasses it in im permeability of surface, being perfectly impervious to wet, and capable of resisting all inch mencies of wea• they. The inventor has exhibited several busts and statues of this composition, which have been viewed by the sculptors and artists of Borne, who are unani mous in their opinion as to the beauty and va ue of the material, the fracture of which even presents a ctystallised structure. This fusible marble is adapted for the most delicate objects as for works of colossal size; the former exhibiting the utmost refinement of execution, whilst the latter proves that it is capable of resisting any degree ot' weight arising from the bulk of the objects themselves. In this material facsimiles of the most beautiful monuments of an cient or modern times, architectural ornaments, etc., may be reproduced at a price not greatly exceeding that of plaster casts. A PROPOSITION hes been made in the Swiss Fede ral As-ernbly to augment by 25 centimes M i d.) the price of a telegraphic despatch, which led to a lively discussion. Federal Councillor Naeff said that the cheapness of the Swiss telegraphs renders them ac cessible to the population at large, which is not the case in other countries, where Government offices and the high tradealmost exclusively reap the bene fits of the new invention. 20,0001. has been sufficient for covering Switzerland with a net of telegraphic lines, putting in communication all places of any im portance. Switzerland is, in consequence of the low price of despatches, the country where comparatively the greatest use of the telegraph is made. Thus, whilst I'russia, with 10,000,000 inhabitants, has only 103,000 despatches in a year, Switzerland, with 2,340,000 inhabitants, has 84,000 despatches. Bel gium has 52,000, of which Brussels takes 10,000 ; Saxony and Wurtemberg together, 27,000. Hamburg, with 150,000 inhabitants, has only 22,00 deli etches; whilst Bale, Berne, and Zurich, with an average po pulation of 24,000, have together 74,000 despatches. A communication charged '2s. ld. in Germany costs only 10d. (one franc) in Switzerland. The conse quence is that the telegraphic traffic of the latter country exceeds that of the former by more than one half proportionally. The proceeds are yearly in creasing, and are soon expected to exceed the expenses. They amounted, , for.the last five months, to 1,8801. for the internal and to 1,4r414. for the ex ternal traffic. MR. BARNUM has resigned the presidency of the New Y rk Crystal Prlace. The result fell short of his wishes. Financially, the exhibition was a failure afore he knew it; it remains a failure after his spi rited trial to make it otherwise. THE BUILDING FOR THE PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBI• TIDY OF 1855 is of stone externally, and the contract was taken by Messrs. Goldsmid and Co. at 11,327,000 f. M. Viel is the architect. There will be two wings, which will cost 0,000,000 f. more, and various tempo rary buildings. The main structure is a parallelo gram in three spans, about 820 feet long and 354 feet broad. The width of the centre span is 157 feet, and the heikht in the centre 108 feet. The gallery will extend over the whole width of the side divi alone, about 79 feet.