The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-10 00:00:00

JUNE 10, 1854. Sermon on the Mount. London: Longmans. THE fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of St. Matthew, forming "The Sermon on the Mount," are beauti fully printed in this handsome little thumb-book, and furnished with appropriate headings. The pretty bidding and clasp recommend it as a gift-book : the divisewisclom it contains may perhaps meet with more earnest and frequent meditation from being pre seated in so very convenient and elegant a shape. the Bites of Sepulture. By the Rev. T. D. Bernard, M.A. London : Seeley s. A MEP lecture on the memorials of the dead, acd the various forms of sepulture adopted in different ages and among different nations. The author has some eloquent paragraphs on the sanctity of "God's acre" (the Saxon term for churchyard), but leans to the conclusion that the report the dead leave be hind them is of far more importance than their resting-place or memorials. Addison's Works. Vol. 111. London : H. G. Bohn. THIS volume contains as many of Addition's contri butions to the Spectator as are included from No. JIGS to No. 483, making a handsome book of more jakan 500 pages. Permanence is a test of genius, and the continued popularity of Addison's style is of itself a proof of his extraordinary merit. From the false taste and forced humour of much writing in the present day it is delightful to turn to these pages, where wit steals upon the reader naturally and quietly enshrined in polished yat simple periods. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. BOOKS. The Works of Oliver Goldessith. Vol. 11. P. Cunningham. Murray. Memorials of the Life of Mrs. Opie. C. L. Brightwell. Longmans. Poems by Melanter. Hardwieke. The Sultan of Turkey. Rev. H. Christmas. Shaw. A Treatise on Relics. J. Calvin. Edinburgh, Johnstone and Hunter. Clidia, and other Poems, G. Gerard. Bosworth. History of Missions. Rev. W. Brown. Blackwoods. Songs of the Present. Clark, Beeton, and Co. Erastianism and the Church of England. J. R. Pr etyman. Hope and Co. Gatherings from many Authors. Ditto. Sermons. Rev. A. R. Russell. Ditto. Guide to the Crystal Palace. Routledge. Charles 11. in the Channel Islands. Dr. Hoskins. Bentley. Three Years' Cruise in the Australian Colonies. R. E. Malone. Ditto. Devey's Logic. Bohn. India, Pictorial, Descriptive, and Historical. Ditto. Di Foe's Works. • Ditto. Types of Mankind. Triibner and Co. The Iliadiff Houser. W. G. T. Barter. Longmans. . Hide and Seek. W. W. Collins. Bentley. Tales of Ireland. J. G. Mac Walter. Shaw. Constantinople of To. day. T. Gautier. Bogue. Verbal Inspiration. Rev. J. Bayle, D.D. Beeler'. Light through the Clouds. Ditto. Schamyl and Circassia. Routledge. Popular Lectures on Astronomy. M. Arago. Ditto. To Mont Blanc and Back. W. White. Ditto. 2'he Works of the Rev. Sydney Smith. Longmans. :he Works of Sir J. Mackintosh. Ditto. .13istrper's Poetical Works. Vol. 11. Edinburgh, Nichol. oillindrae. J. B. Norton. Richardson Brothers. ITheologia Germanica. _ Longman'. PAMPHLETS. 'The Case , qf the Baron de Bode. Brettel. dlepurt of Select Committee on the Case si l anon de Bode. Ditto. . The Railway Miscellany. Boniter and Co. The Deluge. Freeman. Gymnastics. Captain Cbiosso. Walton and Maberly. On the Influence of the History of Science upon Intellectual Education. W. W. Whervrell. Parker and Son. Observations on Mental Education. Professor Faraday. Ditto. Report qf the Trial qf Jeremiah Smith for Perjury. Parsons. The Theory and Practice of Landscape Painting. G. Barnard. Orr. Words on the War. A Sermon by W. Drake, M.A. Hope. The Duty of 7'rusting in God. Sermons. Ditto. The Great it'ine.Pras. Strange. Yet there is . Room. Rev. J. V. Lester. Seeleys. Thoughts on Satanic Influence. C. Cowan. Ditto. The Britisisßantroversialist. Honlaton and Stoneman. The War and the Fast. J. G. Manly. Ward and Co. 'Sixteen (/wide Books to the Crystal Palace and Courts. Bradbury and Evans. Among the new books to be issued next week we are glad to see a story intided " Magdalen Hepburn," by the lady who made so favollrable an impression in the reading world by her 'Passages in the life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland!' Lord Jeffrey's praise was sparely given, yet he admired the delineation of Scottish character in this work as being deeper and purer than in the writings of Galt. A life of Marguerite d'Augoilleme, Queen of Navarre, from original documents, is also announced in thatdepart ment of literature which Miss Strickland has rendered so popular, by a lady of considerable literary attain ments. THE PRESS. HOME CIRCULATION. THE Sydenham Palace of Art is the talk of the town. The Court, of course, is alert, because the Queen and the foreigners of distinction are going. The aristocracy always like a fits by day ; the man of business and on 'Change look forward to the cora. monial of to-day as the crowning success of an unique commercial speculation. Cab companies are alive with their advertisements for economic access. Sundry milliners, bonnet makers, tailors, livery makers and livery-stable keepers, and florists, are almost bewildered by despair at the hundred-handed custom which is eagerly asking for their services. The directors have been liberal with their invitations. The municipalities of the kingdom, the various exhibition commissioners, learned societies, and the two Houses of Parliament, will all be represented. The week has been very remarkable both for busi ness and pleasure. There have been failures on the Stock Exchange, simply because the funds have been swinging up beyond 02 for the last settling-day. The admission of 'the London joint-stock banks to the clearing-house is a great feature. The powerful Sampson affirms that this change will cause an amount of circulation to be economised equal at least to 1,000,0001. sterling ! The London and North-Western, and the other metropolitan railway companies, are determined to carry out the partially-tried plan of permitting the engine-drivers to contract for the working expenses of their engines. A correspondent in the Times estimates the addition to the dividend fund of the country from the adoption of such a step at not less than from 700,000/. to 800,0001. per annum ! One of their intelligent traffic superintendents, Captain Bruyeres, suggests a wholesome arrangement for public cabs. He would that the London cabs should charge any fare they please, as long as they publish the tariff at the back of the vehicle per mensem, and deposit a duplicate of the " affiche " with the police. " Any one would gladly pay for a clean cab, a fast " horse, and a civil driver, a trifle more than that " which a moribund back, a crazy brougham, and a " surly Jehu, at present demand of him." Even a Parisian jianneur could have had his full, during the last six days, of festivity and excitement in London. The Marquis of Breadalbane's evening party was a splendid one. The crowd outside. enjoyed the illuminations much better than some of your friends did the crowded rooms, which (in spite of Messrs. Ranting, Holland, and Durley) were rather warm. The flowers were most exquisite, and so were the pretty women. At the King's-road Nursery, Chelsea, is as beau tiful a flower-garden as you may see in a day's march, or stroll rather. Some 3,000 plants in full bloom ; a pond decked with the choicest lilies and aquarious herbage, in which swarm gold and silver fish. Mr. Weeks, the proprietor, who is an architect and horticulturist, has laid out his own grounds with a taste and beauty well worth the attention of any one who loves what Bacon calls "the solace of life." But to return to the round of amusements. On Thursday Madame Viardot resumed Fides, in the Prophite, at Covent Garden, with her usual dra matic genius and wondrous mastery of voice. There was an enormously-crowded house ; but the book sellers overreached themselves by the excessive prices they were charging for boxes and stalls. There is still an addition to the very capital gallery of French pictures in 121, Pall-mall, more than two thirds of which are already sold. Her Majesty, the Duchess of Sutherland, Lords Lansdowne, Elles mere, and Ward, Messrs. Henry Hope, Wallie, Gold amid, and Creswick, R.A., are considerable pur chasers; but no great prices have been paid, for Biard's lovely picture of "Undine" only brought 1051. Letters received at Kew confirm the public ac counts of the Duke of Cambridge's health : he is in the highest spirits, and will go with the division to Varna. Who will not of his London friends be glad to know that the Duke is a thorough military re former, with a horror of the razor, the shako, the pelisse, leather stocks, and pipeclay? Let all our friends who like cheap prints look at the six• shilling drawing of Cronstadt published by Messrs. Colnaghi, from drawings on the spot by Dolby. The same firm are going to present us with a sketch of Sebastopol taken from the drawings so coolly made by Lieutenant O'Reiley, of the Retribu tion. There is also an artist in the Baltic picking up pictures of costume, scenery, national portraitures of the town and country people resident on either side. Mr. Davis lost largely on the " Events of the Week ;" but he paid his losses with "smiles of con tent" and " chaff" unequivocal. Mr. F. Robson, at the Olympic Theatre, has been essaying one of Liston's characters. This gentleman has tragic humour ; but he wants fining down, judg ment, and some intelligent instructor. His play of face is extremely grand ; but be should have seen 547 Bouffe for attitude and self-regulation. The French vaudeville company are gone. Mlle. Luther, Mme. Allan, and Mlle. Fix, and M. Regnier have taken La Joie fait peur with 'em ; and, though Mr. Lewes is said to have translated it for Mr. C. Mathews's house, they haven't the people there, or anywhere else in j.ondon, to play such a dillieult piece. lin* Napoleon has taken a bosse near Boulogne, *oo.Mich town some twelve reginients marched last Monday, previously to encamping on the heights near the sea. There is, as announced, to be another camp at St. Omer. With the advance of the summer season, the cool enjoyment of smoking out of doors is very properly encouraged by the authorities of Greenwich Hospital ; and the old pensioners are being provided with a new shed which faces the river: formerly they were not allowed to smoke in the grounds of the hospital. The Society of Arts has despatched visitors to some of the continental educational establishments to select articles for their exhibition at St.. Martin's hall, and to contribute school statistics. A new edition of Tennyson's Poems is to appear, illustrated by Mulready, E. Landseer, Millais, Clark son Stanfield, Hunt, Creawick, and Alfred Taylor : if that does not promise to be a " Book of Beauty," as the great Mr. Heath used to call his scarlet bound volumes of scarlet ladies and others, what does? Pusit. ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA. A CROWDED house attended on Thursday to welcome the return of true genius to this theatre, in the per son of Mme. Garcia Viardot. This lady is now almost the only artist living who combines in herself to any extent the highest qualities of the singer and actress, and her three years' absence from our opera boards has been to us a never-failing source of regret. A better opera than It Profeta could not have been selected for Mme. Garcia Viardot's reappearance, for she has made the part of Fides her own, and we are certain that no person of reflection who has ever seen her portray the character can divest himself of the impression which her acting and singing has made upon him. Mme. Garcia Viardot's physical appearance and peculiarities may have something to do with this result, but the true cause may be traced to her wonderful power of impersonation, which few other artists who have attempted the part in this country possess in the same degree. We thought that Mme. Garcia Viardot was in good voice and looked well—most certainly she went through her arduous part with great spirit and feeling. Mlle. Marai, as Berta, was a great improvement upon Mme. Castellan : her organ certainly is not a powerful one, but she vocalises very charmingly, and her performance of the character was altogether satisfactory. She introduced the air of Berta written by Meyerbeer subsequently to the production of the opera in Paris : we think its novelty its chief merit. Signor 'ramberlik's present impersonation of John of Leyden is an improvement upon that of last year, and indeed, as a representative of this part, he is second only to Mario in his best da)s. Signor Zelger was respectable as Zaccarin, nothing more : he has a good voice, but his powers of singing are rather limited. On the whole the opera was well given, and but few slips and inaccuracies were per. ceptible. PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY. THE programme of the seventh concert, given on Monday last, by command and in the presence of her Majesty, was as follows : - • - • PART I.—Overture (Leonora), Beethoven—Aria, " Quel plod. sir," big. Gardoni, Boieldieu—Sinfonia in B flat, Scltuutium Aria, "Come scoglio" (Coil tan Tutte), Mum Castellon, Mozart —Overture (Zampa), Herold. PART 11.—Sinfooia in 1), No. 2, Beetboven—Ouetto, " qual rispetto" (11 Conte Ory), Mme. Castellon and big.Uardoni, Rossini—Overture (Buy Bias), Mendelsohn. The only novelty, as will be seen, was the symphony by Schumann ; and a more unsatisfactory composi tion we confess we have never listened to. Destitute of meaning, melody, and instrumental effects, it. pro duced no impression on the minds of its hearers save that of unmitigated disgust; and even the presence of the Court did not prevent the escape of a slight murmur of disapprobation at the conclusion of the last movement. To make amends for this failure the orchestra exerted themselves to the utmost,•and we never heard Beethoven's symphony in D and the Leonora overture, Herold's brilliant prelude to Zantpa, and Mendelssohn's Ruy Bias, more effectively rendered. The vocal department was not less defective than usual. The song of Boieldieu is quite out of place in a concert-room. Mme. Castellan made nothing of the beautiful aria from Cosi fan Twee; and the long duet from the Conk Ory was to the last degree flat, stale, and un profitable. Admitting the propriety of shortening the concert on this occasion, we think a wiser discretion would have been shown in omitting the vocal music instead of the usual instrumental solos. The last t 1