The Press. — London, England, 1854-04-15 00:00:00

:356 noir. NEW PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY. THE programme of the second concert was as follows :•—• PART I.—Overture (Naiades), W. sterndale Bennett—Aria, ' Qui adogno" (Mozart), Herr Formes—Concerto, violin and orottestra,Mendalssohn ; violin, Herr Erost—Aria, "Ah perlido," (Mozart), Madame Caradori—Syniphooy in F. No. 8, Beethoven. PART 11.—Overture (Der Standhafte t'rinz), Lindpaintner— Aria (Mozart), Mlle. Sedlatzek—Serenade, pianoforte and or chestra, Mendelesohn—Pianoforte, Mlle.Grasver—Duet (Hugue nots, Meyerbeer), Madame Caradori and Herr Formes—Fantasia on Hungeris.o airs, violin, Herr Etnst—Overture (Zanette), Auber. We think that the promoters of these concerts are acting a very foolish and impolitic part this year, in placing themselves in open rivalry with the Philhar monic Society, by invariably :electing their music so as to include one or more important compositions that have been performed at the Philharmonic concert immediately preceding. By so doing they are not only departing from that independence which was the basis of their original prospectus, but they are exposing themselves to certain discomfiture, in• asmuch as it is impossible for them (notwithstanding what may be said or written to the contrary by in terested critics) to engage a band which can execute instrumental music as perfectly as that of the old Philharmonic. The selection of Mendelssohn's symphony in A minor at the first New Philharmonic concert, and Beethoven's No. 8 at the second, are sufficient evidence that the spirit of competition exists, and we have reason to fear that, if the pro moters should be so ill advised as to persevere in this system, early decay and speedy death will be the fate of their speculation. We have no fault to find with the execution of Beethoven's No. 8. It was excellently played, though for our part we failed to discover any new readings on the part of the con ductor. The time taken was the time always ob served in this country ; indeed we doubt whether any conductor could induce our orchestras to abandon one set of traditions and adopt another, even if such a result was desirable. The " allegretto" was much applauded and repeated. Be it remembered that the New Philharmonic would have done good service to the cause of art had they prohibited what in musical slang are called " encores" of movements in sym • phonies, but it seems they have not thought fit to de, so. M. Ernst, who was greeted with enthusiastic applause, was very successful in Mendelssohn's violin concerto. Notwithstanding that, his tone is thin and his intonation at times defective, he is undoubtedly a great artist, and, though we by no means concur with those who rank him as the first violinist of the day, lie dis plays in everything that he does an ability and in telleet which cannot fail to command the respect and admiration of every true lover of music. The piano forte concerto was a poor affair. With the exception of " Ah perfido," which was sufficiently well sung by Madame Caradori, the vocal music was wretched. The duet from the Huguenots loses much of its in terest from the absence of the stage situations and business ; and M. Formes' singing was anything but agreeable to our ears. We must not omit to mention that, full justice was done by the orchestra to the three clever overtures which completed the instru mental portion of the programme : that by M. Lind paintner is well written and effective, but withal rather laboured. This concert was full an hour too long, and did not terminate till late. MR. ALLCROFT'S CONCERT. MR. ALLCROFT has provided a musical entertain ment for this week, in the shape of five concerts, given respectively on Monday, Tuesday, Wednes day, Thursday, and to day. These concerts were constructed upon a very good plan, the first part of each being confined to the classical com positions of Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Weber; and the second to instrumental solos, quadrilles, polkas, and every speceis of vocal corn position, the singers being Miss Rebecca Isaacs and Mr. Augustus Braham, and several other artists of less pretension. Mr. Ernst contributed a solo on each evening. The other soloists were Miss Nixon, and Messrs. Lazarus and Prospere, and the London orchestra, under the conductorship of Mr. Frank Mori, discharged their duty most efficiently. We sincereiy hope that Mr. Allcroft's present series of concerts have proved remunerative in a pecuniary point of view, for they are certainly most useful to art, as giving the general public a means of obtain ing some insight into the mysteries of classical music, without disheartening them with its difficulties. Mr. Allcroft should be more sparing in the use of the words " by special desire," which are generally accepted as an intimation that royalty is present, when he had no warrant for so doing. A rownoN of the Egyptian Railway has been used for the first time in the conveyance of the passengers from India by the last overland mail, who came from the Nile to the canal, near Alexandria, about fifty miles, by this more pleasant and more speedy mode of transit. THE PRESS. lortign Sittraturt, &r. ON Saturday last the Emperor and Empress, accompanied by the court, most of the ministers ' the Prefect of the Seine, and municipality or Paris, inaugurated a part of the embellishments of the Bois de Boulogne. The hydraulic apparatus having been prepared, the Emperor touched a spring, and imme diately the Seine waters spouted forth in abundance from an ornamental rock, and commenced filling the new lake. The rock was decorated with flags, streamers, and scutcheons, in the midst of which was the legend Les ouvriers a l'Empereur et trice." The Empress's bust was placed on a pedestal on the summit or the rock. The lake, which is very large and deep, was entirely filled in the course of a few hours, and in a few weeks the artificial river to Auteuil will be completed. The aspect of that part of Paris is altogether transformed by these splendid improvements. Fr is said that the inventor of the infernal submarine machines, stated to be in the possession of the Emperor of Russia, for blowing ships out of the water by the agency of an electric wire, is a Frenchman, and that, when he communicated his invention to the Russian Government for a considera tion, he expressly stipulated that, in case of war between France and Russia, he should be at liberty to give his own country the benefit of his discovery. It is reported in Paris that a few days since this gentleman was received at the Ministry of Marine, and, in the presence of M. Ducos and a board of naval officers, explained the fearful means of destruction which he claims to have originated. The board, incredulous at first, closely examined the matter, and in the end were very much struck by the demonstration, and not a little alarmed. Sir Charles Napier, on the admission of the in ventor, was already prepared for what he might have to encounter. A telegraphic despatch was immediately sent off to warn Admiral Parseval Deschenes. IN the last sitting of the Societe d'Encotuagemen pour 'lndustrie Nationale a paper was read setting forth a plan for making paper from wood. The bark is first taken off the wood, and the wood is then cut in such a way as to be easily made into shavings ; the shavings are then cut very thin ; next they are placed in water for six or eight days, then they are dried, afterwards they are reduced to the finest powder possible by means of a corn-mill. This powder is then mixed with the rags which serve to prepare the pulp of paper, and the ordinary opera tion of paper-making is proceeded to. All white woods, such as the poplar, the lime, and the willow, are suitable for the purpose, but the discoverer ascribes a good deal of his success to the quality of the water he employed—that of the little river Doller, which runs near Mulhouse. For the first ex periment he employed the wood of the trembling poplar, and he presented specimens of paper made from it. MADAME GOLDSCHMIDT (Jenny Lind) gave her third concert on the Bth inst. at the Grand Redouten Saloon in Vienna. Upwards of 2,000 persons were present. The concert went off with immense Mat. SWISS JOURNALS give the following details relative to the discoveries recently made in consequence of the extraordinary fall in the water in the rake of Zurich :—" At about 100 feet from the right bank of the lake, opposite the village of Mellen, there have been found several rows of piles formed of trunks of trees. The piles are about a foot apart, with an interval of sixteen feet between the rows. These piles support enormous beams, which form a very large area. Between the piles there have been found the skeletons of animals which are no longer to be seen in Switzerland, but no trace of any domestic animals. On removing the mud there was discovered an immeese number of heads of arrows and spears made of stone, carefully cut, and very pointed; poignards made of flint, with bnckhorn handles ; a battle-axe in stone ; clay vases, evidently formed by the hand without the aid of any instru ment, and afterwards baked in an oven ; and several other articles in stone and baked clay. A human skull has been also found. These remains, which are considered to have belonged to the ancient Celts, are now under examination by a commission of antiquarians." THE number of beetroot-sugar factories at work in France is 303, or 85 less than this time last year. The quantity of sugar manufactured during March last was 73,987,419 kilogrammes, being an increase of 2,530,318 kilogrammes over the quantity manu factured during the corresponding month of 1853. THE SOCIETY OF CHRISTIAN ART at Cologne is preparing a grand exhibition of the products of mediaeval art. This exhibition will take place during the summer. ROSSINI'S work, Le Satre A Rheims , will be per formed at Vienna upon tl e marriage of the Emperor of Austria. The parts are already distributed among the artists selected. SATURD. AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY has just been made in the neighbourhood of Luneburg, in Hanover, of a deep stratum of quartz sand about four feet below the surface, and which is found to contain quicksilver in the proportion of nearly one pound of that metal to a cubic foot of the sand. The authorities have taken the necessary measures for working this valuable discovery. TIIE PIEDMONTESE GOVERNMENT has granted a sum of 80,000 f. to MM. Sommeiller, Grattoni, and Grandis, for experiments upon an invention for the application of compressed air to locomotion, which will probably be used in the ascent of Mont Cenis and the Col de Tende. _ _ _ THE Europhn, Paris journal (formerly the Presse Religieuse), which recently received a warning, has ceased to appear. COUNT SPARRE'S INVENTION, by which he can at pleasure in a few minutes manufacture bank notes of any kind, has been often asknowledged to be absolutely perfect. He is going to visit England and France to offer his counter-discovery to the banking authorities there. A committee is sitting on his offer to the Swedish banks. AN OPERA, in five acts, called the Santa-Chiara, composed by his Royal Highness Prince Ernest of Saxe Coburg, was performed for the first time at Gotha on the bth inst. The representation was most successful, the opera being received with enthusiastic applause. It will be reproduced very shortly in the Prussian capital. Among the visitors present at the first performance were M. Hulsen, director, and M. Dorn, leader of the orchestra at the Berlin Grand Opera. THE KING OF PRUSSIA has just bought, at the price of 152,000 f., a " Holy Family," by Raphael, which for more than two centuries past has formed one of the chief ornaments in the gallery of the Prince , : Terra Nuova at Rome. The late King of Prussia first commenced negotiating for the purchase of this picture, but difficulties arose, and the Meaty dropped for a time. it was, however, renewed more successfully by his present Majesty. The picture is now on its way to Berlin, where it will be deposited for a brief period at the royal palace, but finally will be transferred, according to the original inten tion of the late King, to the Museum of Fine Arts in the capital. 6ttitsiastitai. PREFERMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS. The Rev. Samuel John Jerram, M A., to the Vicarage of Chob ham, Surrey. The Rev. Win. Richardson, MA., too Canonry Residentiary in the Cathedral Church of St. David's. The Rev. John L. Palmour, M.A., to the Vicarage of Jeffreys ton, near Narberth. The Rev. 'lntense Richardson, M.A., to be a Priest Vicar, and the Rev. J. P. Wilson, M.A., Sub-Dean, of St. Da \ iti'v Cathedral. The Rev. John Wilbraham Hill, to be Chaplain to the High Sheriff of Flintshire. The Rev. Julius Leedes, MA., to the Rural Deanery of Sutton. The Rev. Wm. Vet-don, M.A., to the Incumbency of St. John's Church, Pendiebury. Tue Rev. Henry Martin Lower, MA., to be Archdeacon of Montreal, Lower Canada. The Rev. N. G. Pilkington. M.A., to be Sunday evening Lee turer of St. Andrew's Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The Rev. J. Gilbert Harries, MA., to be Chaplain to the High Sheriff of Brecknockshire. The Rev. Charles Eckersall, M.A., to the Incumbency of Lower Heeding, near Horsham, Sussex. The Rev. W. Alford, M.A., to the Rectory of Folke, Dorset shire. The Rev. Alfred Tatham, M.A., to the Incumbency of Halam, Nottinghamshire. The Rev. C. Taylor, M.A., to the Vicarage of The Rev. John Rustat Crowfoot, 8.D., to the Incumbency of Southwold, near Wangtord, Suffolk. The Rev. J. Sparling, MA., to the Rectory of Eccieswu, near Chorley, Lancashire. The Rev. Henry Griffin Williams, M.A., to the Rectory of Preston, near Sudbury, Suffolk. The Rev. R. Henderson, M.A., to the Rectory of Brompton- Ralph, near Wiveliscombe, Somerset. The Rev. Astley Cooper, BA., to the Curacy of Monckton- Combe, near Bath. The Rev. Stephen Edwardes, MA., to the Vicarage of Wool vercott, Oxfordshire. The Rev. G. A. Poole, M.A., to the Curacy of Holy Trinity Church, Huddersfield. The Rev. John Bartholomew Vale, M.A., to the Curacy of The berton, near Saxmundham. The Rev Dr. Philip Wynter, to the Rectory of South Warn borough, near Odiliam, Hampshire. The Rev. Henry Wright, M.A., to the Rectory of Hambledon, near Godalming. The Rev. Samuel Watson Steadman, M.A., to the Rectory of Fyfield, near Andover. The Rev. William I.eggatt Sharpe. 8.A., to the Incumbency of St. Pa's Church, Whippinhatn, near Newpolsle of Wht. The Rev. George Vareune g Reed, M.A., to the Rectory of ' Hayes, near Bromley, Kent. The Rev. Arthur H. Leech, M.A., to the Vicarage of Emly. The Rev. James Morrie Poole, MA., to be a Surrogate of the diocese of Caehel. The Rev. J. Boyd, MA., to be Minister of the Church and Pa -1 rish of Iron Gray. VACANCIES. The Incumbency of Muchalls, nearStonehaven, in the diocese of Breohin. The Vicarage of Kirtling, near Newmerket. The Liing or iiperton, near Trowbride, Wiltshire ; worth 260/. per y annum, in the gift of Walter L g ong, Esq., M.P., of Rood Ashton. The Living of Whaddon. near Trowbridge, Wiltshire : worth 1901. year, in the gift of Walter Long, Esq., ot Rood Ashton.