The Press. — London, England, 1858-05-22 00:00:00

ggningwomrarirm 490 practical importance. We must observe, how ever, that as Mr. Hosking could not hope to reverse the present state of things, he would have done better to let the Trustees alone. Our opinion about the authorship of the design may be altered. But, even if he is found to be ever so much in the right, we shall not pull down the reading-room or make use of the King's Library, and therefore the latter point should have been suffered to rest. As it is, he has left the Trus tees, for their own sake, no choice but to make common cause with his adversary. As regards the alleged plagiarism, the case of course stands differently. Few things occasion greater mortification and injury than the with holding of that credit which is justly due to original inventors of any sort, and therefore few rights bught to be more jealously guarded. One would not rashly rob of his fame even " the " great Twalmley who invented the new flood "gate-iron," much less the designer of the magnificent building now in question. And, therefore, we have given Mr. Ilosking's evidence all possible attention. This has not been a very easy task. He has done his best to put himself out of court by the style and tone of his writing, and it is difficult to say whether his grammar or his temper be the worse. Poets are not the only irritable race; and gentlemen of Mr. Hosking's profession are remarkable for a knack of allusive and ironical remark, of which Mr. Albert Smith's Engineer is perhaps the most striking example, but from which "parties," as he would say, of higher pretension are by no means free. The following passage is neither very conciliatory, nor very much to the point:— An exhibition of a new kind was opened to the curious public in the exhibition season of the year 1837. The British Museum had from year to year for many years presented itself in a state of transmutation, from gay old Montague-house, with its gardens behind, and its paved courtyard, flanked by ranges of domestic offices, aril inclosed by a lofty wall, with close carriage -gates, in front, into a quasi counterpart of the Poet Office in St. Martin's-le-Gran!, and like the Post Office expanding laterally as occasion seemed to demand, and as space permitted. lint the building was never obtrusive. It sought no admiration for itself, and obtained none. Its sole object seemed to be, modestly to perform its duty as a storehouse and conservatory of matters having intrinsic value. The above is an ungenerous sneer at the archi tect of the Museum, whose work has both " sought" admiration and " obtained" it. Mr. Hosking proceeds : On the occasion now referred to, however, the British Museum threw open its doors to exhibit, and to claim admiration for, a something that had grown up within itself, but vet not belonging to it,—a bit of finery out of place! A cupola-covered saloon had been built within the bowels of the Museum, for the purposes of study and research by those whose objects require strict seclusion, and from whose place of study the general student,—the common observer—must, therefore, be for the future ex cluded Common observers were invited, once for all, to admire that from which they were to be ever after shut out : and to make the lesson which a walk through the saloon was intended to produce the more impressive, there was provided for sale, and sold for a penny, in the Entrance• hall of Vie building, a small pamphlet, which bears strong internal evidence of having emanated from the innermost recesses of the Museum, and must consequently be received as an authority. It contains a plan of the gaily•painted and rib•gilded saloon, and gives particulars from which the observer may learn not only to admire and to wonder, but t, be grateful. The passages we have italicised—in fact, the whole paragraph —are singularly puerile and captious. Why is "finery" (i.e., orna ment) out of place in a reading-room ? If common observers are to be shut out from a place, there is the more reason why they should have one opportunity of admiring it. And if they were not to be shut out, there could be no reason to " invite" them, because they could always come if they liked it. The "gaily-painted and rib-gilded saloon" is meant for a sneer, but it is both pointless in itself and contradicted by the following sentence a few lines further. After describing the room, the author says : The result is a very noble chamber, which in itself well dePerves much of the admiration it has obtained,—the gilding upon the ribs of the concave coiling relieving, in some degree, the stunted height and squat proportions which the relative dimensions indicate. As a specimen of Mr. Hosking's grammar, take the following : In like manner with Mr. Panizzi,—T—having had the honour, so far back as November, 1819, to submit to the Trustees a project for making a good addition to the British Museum as a building, which they declined at the time, but subsequently adopted, with a difference, indeed, not at all to the advantage of the building, or of the public la the use of the buildin—or of the public purse,—a pro. THE PRESS, MAY 22,1858. ceeding which I thought, u Mr. Panizzi had thought in his own case, rather strange, the proposal—and the main feature of the plan employed, having originated with me. The evidence in support of the accusation of plagiarism is chiefly chronological. Mr. Hosking says that in February, 1848, he laid his design, consisting of a reduced copy of the Pantheon, before Lord Ellesmere's Museum Commission, and that in 1849 he brought it under the notice of the Trustees. That in June, 1850, he pub lished this design in the Builder. That in May, 1852, Mr. Panizzi published a design, consisting of a circular shed supported on a number of iron columns, and totally unlike the present reading room. That on the 14th of June, 1852, Mr. Hosking sent b/ post two copies* of his design, one to Sir C. Eastlake, the other to Mr. Panizzi, but that the former only was acknowledged. That in 1854 Mr. Panizzi put forth his second design (the one since adopted), an d th a t th e works were begun in March of the same year. Mr. Panizzi replies that he put forth two plans in May, 1852, both of which accompanied his report of the sth of that month, and were printed with it on the 30th of June following. That he never put forward nor made any other design whatever, either in 1854 or at any other time. That he did not see Mr. liosking's design till after the works had been begun—that is, in March, 1854—when he found at the Museum " a number" of the Builder, and was told by Mr. Fielder, who was present, who Mr. lloaking was. Mr. Panizzi also remarks that Mr. Hos king did not propose to build a reading-room, but some other room ; that his design was to be built in stone, while the present structure is of iron ; and, consequently, that no plagiarism can have been committed. Mr. Hosking, in rejoinder, draws attention to the fact that Mr. Panizzi represented to Lord John Russell that the Builder was sent anony mously, and asks how it was that his name came to be mentioned by Mr. Panizzi at all. Thus the matter stands at present. Whether there is a prima-facie case for the accusation of plagiarism—that is, whether the modified Pan theon of Mr. Hosking and the present structure are sufficiently alike ibr one to have necessarily been suggested by the other, is a question which each person who sees them must decide for him self. If it could be proved that Mr. Panizzi had seen the Builder before publishing the design of the present reading-room, we could hardly avoid the conclusion that he had been in some way indebted to it ; but we have his word to the contrary, and unless Mr. Hosking can show that it is not to be relied on, his case must remain de ficient in an important point. He promises that the matter shall be brought before Parliament, and if he can prove that he is really entitled to the honour of having designed so grand and con venient a work, no one will be more ready than ourselves to do him justice. But it would, in the present state of the question, be premature to pronounce any decided judgment. PUBLTCATIONS RECEIVED.-MAY 13. BOOKS. For and Against ;or Queen Margaret's Badge. Two Vols. Frances M. Wilbraham. J. W. Parker Hand and Glove. Amelia B. Edwards. J. and C. Brown and Co. What to Read, and How to Read It. E. Stanford Aspects of Paris. Edward Cupping. Longman and Co. ,System of Book-keeping for Solicitors, kc. W. Mackenzie. "Law Times " Office The Practice of Probate and Administration. Charles W. Goodwin, M.A. " Law Times " Office The Passionate Pilgrim ; or, Eros and Anteros. Henry J. Thurston. Chapman and Hall The History and Antiquities of Roxburghshire and Adjacent Districts. Two Vols. Alexander Jeffrey. Hope The Initials. A Novel. By the Author of " Quits." Bentley In and Around Stamboul. Two Vols. Mrs. Edmund Hornby. Bentley A Handy-book on Property Law, in a Scrim! of Letters. Lord St. Leonard.. Blackwoods A Tramp's Wallet. W. Duthie. Dorton and Cu. The Night Side of London. Tweedie Poems. By An Architect. Hardwicke The Heiress of Vernon Hall ; an Autobiography. Country Life in Piedmont. A n t on i o Gallengs.J. Blackwood Chapman an Hall On Medicine and M e di ca l Ed ucation. W. T. Gairdner,d M.D. Simpkin and Marshall Practical and E conom i ca l Cookery. Mrs. Smith. Chapman and Hall • In a letter to the Buitler, 24th of April, 1855, Mr. Hocking seems to imply that he sent only a sheet of the paper to Mr. Panizzi; and that Mr. Panizzi's subsequent discovery of "a number " La impossible, iind therefore diaingeuttons. ~~ A Manual of British Arohteology. Charles Bontell, M.A. A Popular History of Bird's Es. Lovell Reeve gg Richard Laishley. Sonnets. Rev: John Eagles, M Lovell Reeve.A. Blackwood, PAMPHLETS. Russia and the Jesuits, from 1772 to 1820. Seeley and Jackson—Phases in Politics. Boone —The Present State of Egypt. J. W. Parker—Hints on the Reorganizatio n of the Indian Army. By an English Officer. Chapman and Hall —Notes on the Principal Pictures of the Royal Academy. John Ruskin, M.A. Smith and Elder—Guaranteed Seca. cities; their Merits as Investments Considered. John White head. E. Wilson—A Letter to a Noble Lord. By a Com moner. Hatchard—Porte aux Marchandises. Alfred Talan dree. Trubner. London University Magazine. Hall and Virtue —The Irish Quarterly Review. Stmpkin and Marshall —The Ser- vice and the Reward. Oakey—The Comprehensive History of England. Parts IX. and X. Mackie. alitsir. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. OPENING OF THE NEW COVENT.GARDEN THEATRE. CONTRARY to the expectation of most people, Mr. Gye has succeeded in redeeming his promise, and last Saturday, May 15th, " The Garden " once more became a theatrical entity, twentysiz months sad ten days since its last public gathering was brought to so fatal a conclusion. A good deal of money is said to have changed bands on this event—according to the Daily News, not less than 100,000/. Before the doors were opened, a great crowd had assembled, and was every instant increasing. The adjoining streets were full of advancing carriages and groups of curious people. But though there was plenty of bustle and excitement, all appearance of confusion had vanished. The approaches were completely cleared, and everything was regular and orderly. It was nearly half past eight when the doors were thrown open ; but, thanks to the good arrangements and the convenience of the entrances, the visitors to every part of the house found their places with perfect quietness, and in a few minutes the whole theatre was full of people sitting at their ease, and gazing with curiosity at the scene around them. The theatre, inside, is larger than its predecessor, though at first sight this does not seem to be the case. Its proportions are exquisite. The area, which includes the stalls and pit (and of which the stalls occupy at least two-thirds), is much broader than the corresponding part of the old house, but does not extend to so great a distance backwards, so that no portion of the audience appears to be so far removed from the stage. There are only three tiers of boxes ; but the theatre, nevertheless, is more lofty than the former, the boxes in each tier being high-roofed, and consequently spacious and airy. The circles of boxes are richly decorated, the colours (and generally through the theatre) being white and gold. The lower tier (or pit boxes have a sort of latticework of gold, supported by figures; the grand tier has a profusion of foliage, winged figures, and other pretty devices ; and the second tier is similarly adorned. The boxes (as in the old house) have draperies of dark crimson, a colour which is found to reiieve admirably the gay toilette: and blooming faces within. The extraordinary breadth, as well as' depth, of the stage, is calculated to give greater effect than ever to the grand seem spectacles for which the Royal Italian Opera has always been renowned. The proscenium is singu larly magnificent. On each side are richly-gilt and carved pillars ; and over the centre there is a medallion of the Queen, with figures representing the fine arts and music. The ceiling is very lofty, slightly concave, of a sky-blue colour, and without any figures or elaborate decorations; but the eye rests upou it with great pleasure, from its simplicity and effect of refreshing coolness. The great centre chandelier is gorgeous in the extreme. It is said to be eighteen feet high, to contain three tons of cut glass, and to have seven hundred gas-burners. The seating in every part of the house is roomy and comfortable; and from the freshness of the air on Saturday night, notwithstanding the crowd, it ap pears that the building is excellently ventilated. It cannot be doubted that the whole theatre is most skilfully and scientifically constructed. Its form is such as to bring all the spectators as near as possible to the stage, and to afford to every one the fullest possible view of it; while in another requisite, of even greater importance in a musical theatre, the architect has been entirely successful. The acous tical properties of the building are admirable. Every sound uttered--every syllabie articulated --on the stage is distinctly heard. The voices of the per formers are sonorous and emitted with apparent ease ; and the fullest crash of Costa's mighty orchestr a, while it fills the ear with its volume of tone, is ent ire l y free from harshness. u e The opera of Saturday night was The Hug nots , performed exactly as it used to be before the dn. ti7PZ