The Press. — London, England, 1854-04-08 00:00:00

PIIIIIIMI 332 MIS meaning, and seems to have but little reference to Pfeiffer's ode, upon which it is founded, and of which a very poor tran slation was given in the itself The chief defects of Spohr a writer—heaviness, repetition, and want of chiaroscuro--are constantly apparent; and, though every movement contains passag es of great beauty, the symphony is by no means satisfactory as a work of art, and may be con veniently shelved for the next few years. What a contrast to the immense length and ponderous weariness of this symphony was Boethoven's No. 8, in F, the lightest, the gayest, and not the least fanciful of all the master's great orchestral works ! It seemed a relief to the band itself, who executed the music with great spirit, the allegretto being, according to custom, repeated. Mr. Halle played Beethoven's concerto in G with power and feeling, and moreover a quiet, artistic precision which leaves him, in our judgment, without a rival amongst the pianists now before the public. The absurd l en gth of the concert (three hours) proved fatal to Mendelssohn's overture, which was not performed until the room was more than half empty, and the orchestra were probably too tired to take pains. It was imperfectly executed, and, at the conclusion, the trumpets were specially at fault. The vocal portion of the concert was worse than ever ; and we know not which most to condemn—the injudicious selection of the music, Miss Birch's defective intona tion, or the bellowing of the German basso, M. Formes. Our notice of the second concert of the New Philharmonic Society we are compelled to postpone until next week. ..••••• HARMONIC UNION. A CONCERT was given on Thursday night at Exeter hall by the Harmonic Union, in aid of the funds for the support of the wives and children of the soldiers ordered to the East, which was well attended, though not as fully as we could have wish ed. The music, with the exception of Mr. Sterndale Bennett's concerto in F minor, which was well played by Miss A. Goddard, was confined to selections from the Preciosa, Ruins of Athens, and Walpurgis Night, most effectively given by Miss Stabbach, Miss Huddart, and Messrs. Belletti, Formes, and Herberte, supported by a numerous orchestra. We cannot too highly praise the directors for their judgment in select ing this programme, which was admirably adapted for contrasting the works of three great masters, Weber, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn, and, moreover, possessed the merit of being brought to a termina tion by a quarter past ten. SOHO THEATRE.-Mr. Nicholls is less successful in Macbeth than in any character of Shakspeare that he has as yet performed. There is a certain intelligence in every thing he does ; but such of his readings and positions on the stage as are original are not happily conceived, and sometimes even grotesque. We were sorry to find hire, too, adopting the imbecile emen dation, "My May of life," instead of "My way of life." LYCEUM THEATRE.-Mr. Allcroft has announ attractive series of promenade concerts for next ek, having engaged the London orchestra, which e ludes many first-rate artists, among whom are t arrett, Baumann, Richardson, Lazarus, Prospere, Hardy, Thirlwall, Rowland , and the celebrated Herr Ernst. The vocalists engaged comprise Mr. Au gustus Brehm, Miss Rebecca Isaacs, Miss Miller, and Miss Tudor. AT THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY evening meeting, on Monday next, the following papers will be read :-1. " Account of an Expedition to the Sources of the Amazon," by Lieut -Colonel Lloyd, H.B.M. Charge d'Affaires in Bolivia ; 2. " variation of the Magnetic Needle at Aden," by Capt. S. B. Haines, 1. Navy : 3. " Physical G eogr aphy of the Red Sea," by Dr. (J r . Buist, F.R.Z.S. THE COLOONE CHORAL SoczErv.—Mr. Mitchell has announced the re-engagement of this distinguished choir, whose conceits were so successful at Hanover square Rooms last year. They are to give only eight concerts during the present season. REICHARDT'S CYCLORAMA, BAKER-STREET. - The building famous for Madame Tussaud's and cattle shows has had an addition to its attractions in M. Reichardt's very beautiful exhibition. Commencing at Ischel, we pass by Sulzburg, the Koning, see the strange old town of Innsbruck, the little inn kept by Hofer, Trent, Lausanne, and Chillon, to Geneva. Saint Bernard, and the Monte Rosa, the maiden mountain, whose unsealed heights wear, as the name denotes, a virgin blush on their brow of snow, lead to Como, and there its lake , " the beautiful child of the lonely hills," as Bulwer sings, sleeps, in smiles beneath the heaven of Italy. Milan is a good picture, but, to be critical and originally figurative at once, it is the play of Hamlet without, 4tc. The cathedral of pure white marble, with its hundred spires and glorious windows, is far away and searoely visible. By Genoa and Leghorn we pass to THE PRESS. the smokeless city " which Mr. Macaulay describes n old days as " the fair, the happy, the glorious Florence ;" but which the lecturer on this occasion, remembering "the sea, the sea, the open, dec.," and forgetting the reigning Grand Duke, called "the gay, the ever joyous, the ever free." Rome and Naples complete the series. All the land scenes, except one, are well painted, especially the pine-trees in the mountain wind, " tossing in waves of pine ;" but the sea in a brisk gale is more conventional than natural. But the artists are German, and Germany has no navy yet. Indeed, criticism is at present premature; when we witnessed it this beautiful exhibition had not been unpacked more than a week, and was scarcely in fair working condition, but, from what we saw then, we have no doubt it will become highly popular. KAHN'S ANATOMICAL Muszuw.—Several new mo dels have been added to this collection. When it was first opened a prejudice was entertained against it in some quarters ; but why a museum should not exist in which non-professional persons may receive instruction in anatomy we really cannot tell, unless indeed anatomical knowledge is to be a monopoly, and confined to surgeons. There is no reason why mothers should not witness the evil effects of tight lacing, and making children walk too early, demon strated in lectures and illustrated by examples. We lately attended this museum, and heard an instruc tive and interesting lecture delivered by Dr. Leach. It was just what such a lecture ought to be—clear in matter, conversational in manner. tot* ltt, Xittraturt, tit A CITSIOU3 DISCOVERY has been made in Paris. A colossal statue of Louis XVI. had been ordered from a celebrated sculptor early in 1830, for the city of Bordeaux. It was in the mould when the revolution of 1830 broke out, and it appears to have been for gotten, for it was only discovered a few days ago by some workmen who were cleaning the site for some new building, to be erected on the Quartier Beaujon, in Paris. THE first number of a new weekly journal, to be called the Figaro, conducted principally by some re dacteurs of the extinguished Corsaire, appeared in Paris on Saturday last. It promises to be amusing, and if allowed by the Governmenl to live will pro bably command a considerable degree of popularity. Ax additional sum of 40,000 rd. bko. has been al lotted to the new telegraph in Sweden. A short time ago the Swedish Government was as unfriendly to electric telegraphs as it still is to railways. It now begins to see how useful they may be to themselves personally. vas some details relative to THE Bergamo journal gi the funeral obsequies of the celebrated Rubini. On the coffin, which was covered with black velvet hand somely embroidered with gold, was deposited the uniform of Director and Grand Master of the Imperial Schools for Singing, to which he had been appointed by the Czar. On this uniform were the decoration of the Order of St. Ernest of Saxony, and the Grand Medal of Merit in brilliants, and the decoration of the Russian order of St. Andrew, which had been given by the Czar. The Medal of Merit Prussia, and the Medal of the City of Vienna, were also placed on the uniform. Over the portico of the church of Santo. Romano, on which the funeral was service performed, was placed the following inscription : "The poor bless your memory, because, when honourably enriched, you came to their aid in your paternal solicitude, and assuaged their sufferings without ostentation." T HE CHEVALIER FRANcOIS JOSE PH DE GIRARD, for merly deputy for Vaucluse, has just died, at the ad vanced age of ninety-three years. He was the last of the three brothers Girard, celebrated for their im provements of spinning machinery, and last year the Corps Legislatif granted him a pension of 6,000 f., as a national recompense for the services rendered to French industry by him and his family. This pension descends to his niece, the Countess de Corneillan, and her daughter. FOUR kinds of publications are now privileged to pass through the post, viz., n ewsp apers and stamped publica tions, which pass free; unstamped publications are now c harged at the rate of B d. per lb.; parliamentary pro ceedings, charged 4d. and sometimes Bd. perlb. ; and printed books, ls. per lb. Newspapers and stamped publications are privileged to pass to all parts of the world, except to Egypt, Portugal, United States, Chili, China, Turkey, Foreign West Indies, Borneo, Grey. town, Holland, Guatemala, Lucca, Mexico, Modena, Papal States, Parma, Sardinia, Two Sicilies, and Tuscany. The only parts abroad to which unstamped publications are privileged to pass are Belgium, Bremen, France, Hamburg, Holland, Prussia, and the United States. Parliamentary proceedings are only privileged to the British colonies and possessions ; and books are only privileged to Cape town, Mauritius, Ceylon, India, Hong-Kong, Gibraltar, Malta, New Zealand, New South Wales, British West Indies, Canada, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Monte Video, Gold Coast, and Bt. Helena. SATURDAY, Obituarg. PROFESSOR WILSON, the well-known " Christopher North " of Blackwood's Magazine, died in Edinburgh on Monday morning, at the age of 09. The origin and early days of the deceased writer are summed up in a paragraph in a letter from Sir Walter Scott to Miss Baillie : " The author of the elegy upon poor Grahame is John Wilson, a young man of very considerable poetical powers. He is now engaged in a poem called the ' Isle of Palms,' something in the style of Southey. He is an eccentric genius, and has fixed himself upon the banks of Winderm ere, but occasionally resides in Edinburgh, where he now is. Perhaps you have seen him; his tattier was a wealthy Paisley manufacturer—his mother a sister of Robert Sym. He seems an excellent, warm-hearted, and enthusiastic young man; something too much, perhaps, of the latter quality places him among the list of originals." Wilson had been a student at Glasgow University, entering at the age of thirteen, and proceeded, in his eighteenth year, to Oxford, where he entered Magdalen College as a gentleman commoner. Here he began to display his poetic powers, and gained the Newdigate prize. After leaving the university, he became smitten with the genius of Wordsworth, and repaired to the Lakes, bought a small property, called Elleray, and cultivated the acquaintance of the " Great Lake Poet," becoming himself, in latter days, the "Admiral of the Lakes," and acting as such when Bolton entertained Canning and Scott with a splendid water fête on Windermere. In these days Wilson played many wild feats. He attended all the fairs, fights, running matches, races, and so forth, in the country. He was a capital boxer, singlestick•man, and wrestler, no great sportsman, except as an angler, and now and then in pursuit of the red deer. For some time he took up his abode amongst the gipsies, learned a great deal of their slang, and adopted their costume and their habits. Afterwards he partially settled down, and went to study law in Edinburgh. Little profit resulted from this experiment, but he took to literature, and pro duced several isolated works, such as the " Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life," which attained great popularity, and the "Trials of Margaret Lindsay," a pathetic Scottish story. In Edinburgh, about 1818, the Professorship of Moral Philosophy in the Uni versity became vacant, and Blackwood's Magazine was established. Wilson immediately became a candidate for office in the one, and contributor to the other. Sir Walter Scott's patronage mainly con tributed to his success in the first, his own abilities won the second. Later in life the professor is de scribed as a stout, tall, athletic man, with broad shoulders and chest, and prodigiously muscular limbs. His face was magnificent; his hair, which he wore long and flowing, fell round his massive features like a lion's mane, to which, indeed, it was often compared, being much of the same hue. His lips were always working, while his grey flashing eyes had a weird sort of look which was highly character istic. In his dress he was singularly slovenly, being, except on state occasions, attired in a threadbare suit of clothes, often rent, his shirts frequently buttonless, and his hat of the description anciently called shocking. His professorial style of costume was just as odd. His gown, as he stalked along the college terraces, flew in tattered stripes behind him; and, altogether, John Wilson, with all his genius, was personally one of the most strangely eccentric of the many eccentric characters existing in his day in the metropolis of the north. The RIGHT HoN. EDWARD PRICE LLOYD, Baron Mostyn, in the county of Flint, North Wales, died on Monday last, at Pengwern, near St. Asaph. His lordship, who was born in 1708, was the eldest son of the late Bell Lloyd, Esq., ofodfach. He married in 1794, the third daughter o f the late Sir Roger Mostyn, Bart., and succeeded his grand uncle in the baronetcy in 1795. The first baronets as S wi ec they at War, and his baronet c y was gtede mainder to his nephew, the father of the noble lord just deceased. He acqu ired the p eerage by creation in 1839. The deceased lord is succeeded by his son, the Hon. E. Mostyn, M.P. for the county of Flint. COLONEL ARILINE SIMCOE HENRY MOUNTAIN, C. 8., aide-de-camp to the Queen, and adjutant-general to her Majesty's forces in India, died at Futtyghur, in India, on the 18th of February. Colonel Mountain was taken ill when on march with the commander in chief, Sir William Gomm, from Cawnpore to Futtyghur, and died in camp, mourned and lamented by all. The deceased officer served as adj in utant general to the army under Lord Gough China, and was severely wounded during that service. On his return to India he was appointed adjutant-general to her Majesty's; forces serving there, and on the breaking out of the war in the Punjaub had the com mand of a brigade, with which he served with so much distinction at the battles of Chillianwallah and Gujerat that, at the termination of the last battle, he was romoted to te commnd of a division under General Sir Walter h Gilbert, a and sent by him in im mediate pursuit of the enemy. At the conclusion of the war he resumed his appointment of adjutant-