The Press. — London, England, 1858-06-19 00:00:00

5F.:4 6 thought, with an easy, wanton carelessness, in which the manner of Horace seems to us to have been caught and expressed with great success : Quinticti ll irrimis, pray forbear To tret me longer with the thought Of aught the Scythian meditates. or aught The fierce untam'd Cantabrian may dare. Since between us and them the wild waves roar Incessant on the Hadriatic shore, And life, which needs but little, sure may spare Her moments such unprofitable care. Soon will the grace of youth be fled : And stern old age with tresses grey Will quickly banish from our bed Light easy sleep and amorous play: For change is nature's rule. The flow'r That bloom'd at sunrise, fades at noon . And varies with each varying hour The semblance of the silver moon. Why with eternal councils tire the mind, For change and circumstance alike designed? Rather 'neath this lofty pine Or the plane tree's ample shade, Let our careless limbs recline On the grassy carpet laid. And with blooming roses crowned Pouring unguents on onr hair, Let us pass the goblet ronrd : Bacchus eases every care ! Who shall temper in the spring Cups of hot Falernian wire? Whose entreaties Lydia bring,— Easy nymph, with voice divine ? Bid her hasten to the feast, Sweeping soft her ivory lyre, Like a Spartan damsel dreat, "honied locks, and loose attire. There are many instances of remarkable happi. ness of expression in these translations ; e.g.:— Yet close thy door betimes: and when That wailing flute is heard again, Back from thy lattice haste : And though he call thee cold and hard, Still keep the shutter firmly bared, Inexorably chaste. Od. 7. lib 3. This last expression is, in our judgment, superior to the difficilis mane of the original. One of the most interesting circumstances connected with the present work is the fact that there are two translations of odes written by Lord Derby, the present Prime Minister. How pleasant it is to know that the same mind which can 'oin in the intellectual, and sometimes somewhat fierce, struggles of political debate and public life, can soothe its leisure—may we not call them its hap pier p—hours by the graceful and beautiful wooing of the classic muse. And is it not impor tant to know that those intellects which are the most renowned for readiness and fertility of thought, for quickness of perception and vigour of expression, have been not only polished and burnished, but moulded and sharpened, by the study of ancient literature ? Lord Derby has translated the thirty-seventh ode of the first book, and the ninth of the third. This last— that exquisite bijou, the " Donec gratus eram tibi"—has been tried by multitudes of scliola-s ; by none so successfully as by Lord Derby. We hope Lord Ravensworth will not be jealous—he has no reason—if we give the translation entire : HORACE. While I was dear to thee, While with encircling arms No youth, preferr'd to me, Dar'd to profane thy bosom's snowy charms; I envied not, by thee ador'd, The wealth, the bliss of Persia's lord. LYDIA. While all thy bosom glow'd With love for me alone; While Lydia there abode Where Chloe now has fix'd her hatefal throne; Well pleas'd, our Roman Malt fume I deem'd eclips'd by Lydia's name. HORACE. 'Tis true, my captive heart The fair-haled Chloe sways, Skill'd with transcendent art To touch the lyre, and breathe harmonious lays ; For her my life were gladly paid, So Heav'n would spare my Cretan maid. LYDIA. My breast with fond desire For 3outhful Calais burns; Toneh'd with a mutual tire The son of Ornithus my love returns: For him I'd doubly die with . oy, So beav'n would spare my Thurian boy. HORACE. What, if the former chain Which we too rashly broke, We yet should weave again, And bow once more beneath th' accuctmn'Ll yoke? If Chloe's sway no more I own, And Lydia MI the vacant throne ? h'N .hh , , THE PRESS, JUNE 10, 1858. Lints. Thongh bright as morning star 711 v Calais' beaming brow ; Though more inconstant far And easier chard than Adria's billows thou ; With thee my life I'd gladly spend, Content with thee that life to end? We should be glad to give further extracts from this elegant and charming volume. But we must have done. We have only to add that it is a beautiful specimen of typography, and that we think his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, to whom the work is dedicated, was wisely counselled, when he was advised to permit so graceful a production to be ushered into the world under his auspices. ERRATUNI.—We regret that in our second notice of the " (Wind Essays," by a slip of the pen we gave Mr. Dasent's name instead of Mr. J. ti. PhiUM:lore's, as the author of au article upon the Canon Law. PUBLICATIONS lICCEIVED.—JUNE 17. BOOKS. The Poor Relation. A Novel. Miss Pardoe. Three Vols. Hurst and Blackett. The Cardinal. A Novel. Archibald Boyd. Bentley. The Ladies of Bever Hollow. By the Author of " Mary Powell." Two Vols. Bentley. A Loal Love. Ashdown Owen. Smith and Elder. The New Zealander's Bradshaw; or, Guide to the Britain of the South. E. Stanford. The Earls of Kildare and Their Ancestors. By the Meiquis of Kildare. Third Edition. Hodges, Smith, end Co. Mg Three Aunts. By the Author . of " Long, Long, Ago." J. and C. Mozley. Royal Rosebuds. Ditto. The People in Church, their Rights and Duties. Josiah Pittman. Bell and Wkly. Hartley doll. A Novel. James Hastings. One Vol. J. Blackwood. The Confessions of a Catholic Priest. T. Chapman. The amnion inThelemarken ; or. Notes of Travel in South- Western Norway. The Rev. F. Metcalfe, M.A. Two Vola. Hurst and 'Beckett. A New Yorker in the Foreign—office, and his Adventures in Paris. H. Wikoff. Trainer. Er Oriente. S3nnets on the Indian Rebellion. J. Chapman. Preaching, Printing, and Puseyisna, with other Peas of the Pod. Faithful) Burphley. J. F. Hope. A Handbook of Dorking. With Numerous Illustralions- Second Edition. Wills and Sotheran. The Ballads of Scotland. Edited by W. E. Aytoun. Two Vol& Blackwood& The History of France. A. B. Edwards. G. lloutledge. PERIODIC OS. Cassell's Art Treasures Exhibition. Kent and Co.—The Ladies' Treasury. Ward and Lock—The Intelligible Railway Guide. Kent and (;o.—The National Magazine. Kent and Co.—Jour/to/ of the Statistical Society of London. J. W. Parker. PAMPHLETS. Four Letters to Sir J. Clarke, Bart., M.D., on Adminix tratice Reform. J. Churchill—The Indian Mutiny. Bos worth—The Five P's. Bosworth—Joseph Addison and Sir Andrew Fountaine ; or, the Romance of a Portrait. Simpkin and Marshall—The Dwellings of the Poor. By Henry Leach, M.A. Heylin—Collectione of the Surrey Archeological Society. Part I. and It. L. Reeves— Vervi SceUi E Iscririoni. Di Antonio Giuffrer—The Equalisation of the Poor-rates. B. Hardwicke. MR. CHARLES DICKENS' reading on Thursday last consisted of " ['he Poor Traveller," " Boots at the Holly-tree Inn," and certain passages from Martin Chuzzlewit," selected for the purpose of ex hibiting the celebrated Mrs. Gamp. The two first are short stories from the Christmas numbers of the Household Words, strongly contrasted in style—the one all sentiment and the other all fun. Mrs. Gamp labours under the misfortune of too great notoriety ; her remarks have lost something of their point from having been so long in everybody's mouth. "Boots " has the advantage of greater freshness, and the ex quisite prettiness of his story and the geniality of his character gained him a very warm reception. There was a fair attendance, though the room was not full. HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.—CLOSE OF M1.1.E. TtTIENS' ENGAGEMENT.—UntiI within the last day or two it was hoped that Mlle. Titiens' engagement, which expires on Saturday, the ::6th of June, might have been prolonged. It appears, however, that her talents are as highly appreciated in Vienna as in this country; and the direction of the Imperial Theatre, with which Mlle. Titiens has an engage ment of long standing, have refused to dispense with her services for a single day after the 20th of June. The consequence of this will be that Mlle. Titiens' performances will be brought to a close on Saturday the 26th. Mlle. Titiens will appear on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday next. MME. ItisTom, who is engaged for twelve nights, made her first appearance on Wednesday. We shall notice her performances in our next number. rusk HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. A VERY full house was present on Thursday , to witness the first representation of Lucretia Borgia , with the present cast. The succe ss o f t h e per : formance was com pl ete. , say on e t h l‘ a i t , of l dw e a after el Lucreziate h i n e n a n e v s sd i naf say much sodbmil e huejGocnuuhesat: Gennaro all that her antecedents had promised. It would be t n bo3 o ,m s Ge l slender i st d lo e . praise r tahned ma Mario, impers onat i on i o o satisfaction to the rendering of those parts by any other living artistes. But, than this—we can say that Signor Giuglini gave us great pleasure as Gennaro, and that Mlle. Titiens as Lucretia excited our warmest admiration. We sill not institute comparistms between the Lucretia of Covent Garden and the Lucrezia of Her Majesty's Theatre, though we might, perhaps, do so with ou t disparaging either prima donna. With feelings towards and opinions of our old friend Mme. Grisi unaltered, we hail, with more than pleasure, the advent into the musical world of a new first-rate Lucrezia, in the person of Mlle. Titiens, whose early departure from this country all lovers of music will deeply regret. This young artiste evidently belongs to that class of individuals who rise with the difficulty they have to contend with. Somewhat tame and languid in the weaker portions of her part on Thursday, she was more than a match for its loftier flights. Her tenderness in scene 3of the prologue—her agitation in scene 5 of act i., when she dissevers that the person whom she has made her husband swear to put to death, in her presence, is no other than her own son—her agonized entreaties, in the following scene, assuming, alter nately, the forms of gentle but earnest supplication, and passionate, frantic menace—her overwhelming grief when, the duke being inflexible, she is com pelled (scene 7) to administer with her own hand the deadly poison to her beloved son, and the deep anxiety with which, in soul-stirring accents, sho implores him to swallow the antidote immediately afterwards—her unutterable anguish (scene 6, act U. when she learns from his own lips that the poisoned cup which she had caused to be sipped by the Negroni-feast guests had been partaken by him also—her uhrinking from his upraised knife—the earnest vehemence with which she, for the second time, beseeches him to drink off the antidote—and, finally, her heart-rending delivery of "Era desso it figlio mio "—are sufficient to entitle Mlle. Titiens to a place in the highest walk of dramatic merit. It is quite clear that this lady's musical powers have been very much underrated. For our own part, we readily confess that, whilst a very short acquaintance enabled us to pronounce a eulogium on her dramatic capabilities, we had, until we heard her in Lucretia, to learn the extent of her vocal cultivation. Her execution, on Thursday, of some florid and most brilliant passages was so finished, so honest, and so decided, as evidently to belong to one capable of even greater things. It is itrpossible to conceive any interpretation of the music of Mnffio Orsint s part more delicious than that of Mme. Ateoni; and, if anything could ever render the impersonation of a soldier by a female thoroughly palatable, it would be the full rich voice of this charming cantatrice. A double encore and a shower of bouquets was the homage paid to her " Il segreto per esser felice. , Both she and Mlle. Titiens received most uproarious applause. Signor Giuglini aid justice neither to ? himself nor the music in "Di pescatore ignobile? and, generally, we thought him somewhat below hie usual self in his solo parts ; but concerted mus ic seemed to revive him. In the delightful trio, in scene 7 act i. (which was most deservedly encored', he threw in his silvery voice with beautiful effect. In the scenes, too, representing his first and second poisoning, be acted well and sang better. Signor Belletti, as usual, left no room for any but favourable criticism of his singing. A little more earnestness . of manner, however, in the scenes 5 and 6 act t. would be far from amiss. ROYAL ITALL&N OPERA. Ax Covent Garden, on Saturday last, Auber'a beau tiful opera, Fra Diarolo, was produced for the first time in the new house. There was no change in th* cast of the opera calling for remark ; but the mag nificence of this house, the new scenery, and other circumstances attending the present representation , give it on eclat that was altogether wanting last year. It is almost unaccountable that one of the best works of a most popular master, given under circumstances of unrivalled excellence, and surrounded with the most romantic local and personal associations, should fail to create a greater sensation than that evinced for the Fra Diavolo of Covent Garden. Although Auber's music does not rank in the first order, yet it may fairly be said that he is second to none in his own school ; and, in his own country, this opera has been always looked upon as a masterpiece. Never theless, it was received on Tuesday with a degree of coldness that was quite undeserved, so far as human