The Press. — London, England, 1853-07-30 00:00:00

open to discussion and incidentally to satire ; but we must say candidly that in the present case the satire appears to be deficient in vigour and coherency. The Camp of 1853; with Hints on Military Matters for Civilians. By Charles MacFarlane. London : Bosworth. CHOBHAN for the past month has been the centre of a strong but somewhat divided interest. Thousands of the gentle and " civil" public have cast longing glances at the camp on the Common, while labour ing under serious uncertainties upon two points : First, how they are to get thither ; and, secondly, what they are to see when there. On both of these points Mr. MacFarlane offers us much welcome in• formation. Assuming the character of travellers' guide and military tactician, he prescribes to his readers the best line of march, and enables them to comprehend, if not to criticise, the various evolu tions wh►ch, if they are lucky, they will witness at their journey's end. A well-constructed plan of the Common, with the adjacent country and various ap proaches, is prefixed to the volume. The Quarterly Review. No. CLXXXV. June, 1t453. London : Murray. Tut: present number, us we intimated last week, contains an article on the Oxford Commission of great length and unusual importance, which, to state summarily a conclusion we shall hereafter re vert to (as occasion offers to discuss the question of University reform), destroys the Commissioners' Report, and explodes the commissioners as enthusi asts who have been overriding a gigantic hobby horse. Internal evidences, as, for instance, the de tails respecting Magdalen, are highly suggestive as to the authorship of an article of which the Quarterly has every reason to be proud. Following this, another article on Lord John Russell's " Life of Moore," as to the authorship of which, rrobably, no one will doubt does deserved execution on the poet, together with those who patronised his libels, or who have exaggerated his generosity, honesty, and conjugal tenderness. We shall ourselves return to Moore in connection with the I'ower correspondence when the session has terminated. In the meantime we call attention to the important literary and political questions of the treatment of Shin idan by George the Fourth, and the suppression of the Byron memoirs, on the former of which the King's own statement, and on the latter Mr. Murray's archives, throw a light as new as it is conclusive with respect to some hack calumnies and misrepresentations of Whig coinage. To our mind our leading reviews have been foregoing their proper position, and have not of late much influenced public opinion. But we should not have to say this si sic amnia. Blackwood's Magazine. London: Blackwood and " Esosv " for the coming mouth assumes the cha• racier rather of a review than a magazine. Six out of the seven articles comprised in the number are devoted to notices of recent publications, British and foreign. Among these the most noticeable are the reviews of Forsyth's " History of the Napoleon Cap tivity in St. Helena," and of the modern "emenda tions " of Shakespeare's plays. Fraser's Magazine. Loudon : J.W. Parker and Son. THE navy of France forms the subject for the prin cipal article in this as in the preceding munber of Fraser. Much interesting intlirmation respecting the state and prospects of the naval armament pos sessed by our neighbour is accompanied by some judicious suggestions for the improvement of our own. The remaining papers are of average merit. The Dublin University Magazine for August. No. 21$. Dublin : Metilashan. Tub: present is an excellent number of a deservedly popular periodical. The opening article, in which verse and prose are pleasantly intermingled, is from the pen of " Slingsby," whose poetry we will review when lesm pre,sed for space. We may here state that " Slingsby " is the nom de plume of Mr. John Francis Waller, an accomplished member of the Irish bar, and a political writer of success. The article on " Belisarius and Marlborough " is one of those milanges of mess-table anecdotes and book learned prosing of which there have been rather too many in this periodical. The reviews of new works, HLorenzo Benoni," and " The Novels of the Coun tess ahn-hahn," are at once carefully and cleverly written. Of " Sir Jasper Carew" we are heartily THE PRESS._ tired. It was said by Schlegel, "If Shakspeare had not killed Merrutin, that 3fercutio would have killed him ;" and in his own self defence we could wish that the author had brought the life of Sir Jasper Carew to its close. The articles on " The Suit " and " The Museum of Irish Industry" are instructive and interesting. The concluding essay on " National Education in Ireland" is of such importance that we may possibly notice it elsewhere. The Church of Scotland Magazine and Review for July. No. :L Edinburgh: Moodie. Tins is the third number of a new Edinburgh magazine. The articles appear to be the production of volunteers, and want the vigour of experienced writers. It contains an engraving of the College of St. Andrew's calculated to increase the prejudice of southerns against that ancient but not illustrious " university," whose " national renown " is in these pages boasted of with provincial ardour. A l'aosrEcrtis has been issued by Mr. Bosworth, the publisher, of an intended digest of the parlia mentary blue-books, to be issued in monthly numbers, at ss. each. The work will be in octavo shape, of the same size, and probably the same type, as Han• sard's Debates. It is to contain the essence of those voluminous reports and documents which in their present form e::tend over sixty fOlio volumes yearly, and which, simply from their bulk, are excluded from all private and many public libraries. It is no. torious that three-fourths of our M.l'.'s sell their copies of these publications—presented to them by the State—as waste paper ; while numbers of me • chanics' institutes and provincial reading-rooms are crying out for their gratuitous distribution. We ap prehend that the difficulties of compression will be greater than are anticipated, although the admirable indexing of all reports furnishes great facilities. Extreme care is necessary in all cases of selection, especially when subjects of minor importance have to be excluded altogether. In dealing with public com mittees the reports should be given in full, together with an analysis of the evidence, such as the index generally supplies. A great deal of what is printed has only a casual and temporary importance, as in the case of evidence taken before election committees, and the like. All matter of this kind should be rejected at once, and only the decision of the committee and the house thereupon inserted. These details may safely be left to Mr. Bosworth's management : his project, if well carried out, deserves all support. BOOKS RECEIVED SINCE. OUR LAST PUBLICATION. 3/minx Isle, de. Poems, by T. J. Ouseley. Woodfall and Kinder. MaeouloWs Sire.. c hes. 3%0 I s. H. Vizetell. Seneca; or, the Twice-betrothed. Parts I end 2. J. Horsey. Story of Mind Blanc. By Albert Smith. D. Bogue. USlt. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. Ix consequence of the cuntinued illness of Mario, on Saturday last the second representation of La Farorita was again postponed, and Rossini's Olen° substituted in its place. We feel that to criticise at this day the music of an opera so well known as Otello is almost a work of supererogation; but we shall, perhaps, be excused if we deliver our opinion, that although it contains some few compositions which are in point of originality and effect of a high order of merit, it is on the whole very unequal, and bears the marks of being care lessly and hastily written. There can be no doubt that twenty years ago this opera enjoyed a very great share of popularity, but its success was in some measure owing to the abili ties of Garcia and his daughter Malibran, who had identified themselves with the principal parts; and also to the reputation and school of Rossini, which at that time carried all before it. In these days, the prestige being gone, and the artists no longer in the public view, there are many reasons why the opera should cease to lie attractive. In the first place, the libretto is a most worthless production, and is re• markable for nothing but the ingenuity of the process of addition, subtraction ,And elimination, by which the Italian adapter has contrived to mutilate and render oppressively tedious one of the hest-constructed plots ever devised. Again, the music is excessively difficult, and all the parts require to be performed by first-rate singers. With such a Roderigo as M. Stigelli, who has neither voice, school, nor execution, it is not surprising that the opera should fail of its accustomed effect. The performance of last Saturday was not, however, without features of great excellence. Orisi was in good voice and sang admirably ; indeed, we doubt whether she ever delivered the finale of the second act with gremer energy and power. Tamberlik's Otello was deserving of great praise. He executed the difficult music with care and certainty, and he took the house by complete surprise by the tome and SATURDAY, volume with which he twice sung (in the duet with /ago) the note, C sharp in alt, with his chest voice. The part of logo, wl►ich is reduced by the librettist to a nonentity, was admirably sung and acted by Ronconi. Here our commendation must cease. We were disap pointed with Tagliafico's Bimini, and the less said of M. Stigelli the better. As an instance of how in this opera Rossini has copied himself, it may be remarked that the accompaniment to Basilio's song, "La Calunnia," in the Barbiere, is introduced into the finale of the third act during the murder scene, and made unnecessarily prominent. tt!t puma. GERMAN PLAYS. THOSE to whom the words " Shakspeare in Germany" have a solemn sound, pregnant with some mysterious signification, must have been not a little surprised at the performance of Othello by the German company of the St. James's Theatre. A belief has been pushed about by the Germano-maniacs of this country that the Germans are more deeply penetrated with the meaning of the immortal bard of Avon than his English compatriots. It is to Germany we are di reeled, by a powerful literary party, when we would seek some new light on Shakspeare—Germany is the land of Shakspearian lore. That in the ripertoires of German theatres Hamlet, Othello, and some other works of our great dramatist are just as much reckoned national as the productions of Oiithe, Schiller, and Lessing, is a known fact. What wonder, then, if many unsophisticated Londoners fancied that, by seeing a Shakspearian play acted by a Ger man company, a perfect blaze of artistic glory would be revealed to them ? They would now see Shakspeare for the first time, not as interpreted by a troop of superficial Britons, but his real beauties would stand out conspicuously, being dug up ad displayed to the gaze by a party of profound, specu lative, art-admiring Germans. The only fear would be that the interpretation would prove a little too recondite; that, having been attained by one mystic sense, it would require another to understand it. So, when old Jacob Mime wrote his works in a state of inspiration, he declared that no one could read them who was not equally inspired with himself. Alas ! when the Othello appeared, terribly were all expectants undeceived. It was not that the German artists went too deep : they had not learned even the commonest points which the humblest English actor has at his fingers' ends. Nor had they any new points to serve as substitutes. The whole play of Othello—if we except the single character of Desdemona, which was gracefully played by Fraiilein Fuhr—was as flat and insipid an exhibition as ever it was our misfortune to witness. We can best give a notion of it by saying that it was like an amateur performance by a company of not first-rate amateurs. It, has reached our ears that the play of Othello was produced in consequence of an express stipula tion on the part of Herr Dessoir that lie should be allowed to play the noble Moor. If this story be true, Herr Dessoir committed a grievous mistake. Neither his appearance nor his manner in the slightest degree corresponds to our conception of Othello. At the same time, of his kind, Herr Dessoir is a very clever actor. Those who, on Monday last, saw him as the Moor in Schiller's Fiesco, and con trasted the relish with which he uttered the ludicrous villany of the character with his inefficient repre sentation of Othello's jealousy, might easily doubt for a while whether the same person stood before them. Either the samples with which we have been presented have been very ill-chosen, or Herr Dessoirs line is more comic than tragic. The Moor of Genoa is more in his way than the Moor of Venice. Pro bably if Herr Devrient had played Othello, and Herr Dessoir had represented lago, the performance would have been more satisfactory. We do not regard Herr Devrient as an actor of the highest genius, but at all events he can produce a noble and ideal repre sentation of any part he undertakes, and a play with him has infinitely more weight than a play without him. Hence Hamlet remains as it was last year, an interesting performance. The fitness of Fieseo for Herr Devrient and Herr Dessoir renders it one of the conspicuous pieces of the season, irrespective of those claims to attention which are advanced by every drama of the classic authors. when presented to the public for the first time. The play is in itself rather tiresome, for, though the stage is constantly in m ovement, the situa tion in the various acts strongly resemble each other, and s the excitement of the actors exceeds that of the audience. But there is something in the artificial style of Herr Devrient which exactly corresponds to the artificial character of Fi(oco; and as for Herr Des soir's Moor, it is one of the most striking specimens of comic actinglweihave seen during the Gelman sea-on.