The Press. — London, England, 1856-05-10 00:00:00

MAY 10, 1856. can sa y nothing in praise of the colouring, the ex pression, or the g eneral execution of this work, w hich is in each of these qualities below any of the o a s es previous productions. One glaring fault, the agggorated stature of the lady, strikes every eye. If s he were to stand upright, seven feet would not oeasure her height. " Autumn Leaves (No. 448) s hows a manifest alteration of style, an advanca f ro m the distinctly Pre-Raphaelite minute elabora tion of detail to a more general, and therefore more -uthful, representation, without any loss—indeed, ith an actual gain of natural effect. In the heap of dried foliage which the girls aro burning the indivi • lual leaves aro not as usual imitated with that exces re exactitude, that almost photographic minute ness, which has hitherto characterised the still-life of Millais's works, and which seems to us the great al it, as it is the most distinctive peculiarity, of the 'loot to which he belongs. The sentiment of the tory is well given—the past sunset, the dim twi• tht fast stealing o'er the scene, and the dead leaves the autumn gathered up to be burnt ; but is not melancholy expression of the girls, though cor- A, to bring out the sentiment of this scene, I s e in fact? Who does not remember the 'stems mirth such a bonfire at such an hour the day invariably creates ? A portrait of a gen :man (No. 293) gives us a very little boy, not imarkable for any physior e' moraical indications of ill or breeding, sitting down with a book of tetches on his knees, and looking out of the picture 'nothing particular." " L'Enfant du Regiment" ie. 553) is "pretty." " The Blind Girl" is crude id hard, and its faults of execution are not balanced Ally remarkable sentiment. H. Hunt has four con anions, of which the chief, " The Scapegoat" o. 308), is certainly the most extraordinary, of works. The picture is meant to illustrate the A t, "Surely lie bath iorne our griefs." In the fore ground the " scapegoat," which was sent into the wildemess by the Israelites on the day of atonement, loaded with the sins of the p.ople, stands panting struggling knee-deep in the salt marshes on the 'ores of the Dead Sea. The mountains of Edom, iged with the exquisite roseate hues cf an :astern sunset, hound the horizon. The soil shines tli a dazzling saline whiteness which gives singular iminousness to the picture. Though this exces- we brilliancy produces an almost theatrical effect, ..t, by common consent of travelled authorities, the local truth of Mr. Hunt's work is remarkable and , idoubted. There are fine points in the senti- tent ; the dreary, hopeless . expression in the imal's eye, the bowed-down attitude, as if it ~ere sinking under an invisible but intolerable mrden, are highly suggestive of the meaning which is intended to convey. Two of the three remain works (Nos. 873 and 885) are studies from scenes in the Holy Land. To leave the " Painting of the Future," and come from men and goats to dogs, Sir E. Land seer's •• Saved" (No. 247) is full of power. A .;ewfoundland dog lands a child whom he has rescued from drowning. There is one inaccuracy, however : the child's garments are, or seem, as as if he had been lying in the sun for a wbole ; whereas it is clear from the panting joyfulness . the dog, and the insensibility of the child, that Loth have only just emerged from the sea. In Highland Nurses" (No. 208) we have a group of toes licking the death-wound of a fallen stag. Both iese pictures exhibit that remarkable truth of imal expression for which the artist is so re• iwned; but there is visible in both a great care ,ssness of touch. The first is dedicated to the umane Society, the second to Miss Nightingale. . M. Ward has one fine picture, " The last parting Marie Antoinette and her son " (No. 75). The happy Queen, still beautiful even in premature looks calmly down on the boy, in whose face the struggle between grief and shame is cleverly ex• pressed; the King's sister stands behind the chair the Queen, apparently appealing to heaven, while beautiful fair-haired girl clings to her mother's land; in the doorway stand the members of the , volutionary committee, full of brutal impatience. le fine point of this picture is the power with which delicate features and refined expression of the isoners are contrasted with the hideous savage Isual ferocity of the jailers. The story is well told, the colouring sound and pure, and the drawing gond. We propose to resume our notice next week. Ebt r a ut PRINCESS'S THEATRE. SECOND Visit to this theatre has only confirmed us I. our first impression —that the effect of snch a ase-en-scene as Mr. Kean provides in his revivals of .iakespeare is, in the highest degree, injurious to the , pectator's interest in the drama itself. The beauty if the scenery, the magnificence of the architecture Ind furniture, the richness of the dresses, the lances, the processions, claim so large a share of attention that he has but little left to bestow MAY can say n pr ession, w hi c h is tt v a s es pri exaggors t " she were measure I s hows a f ro m the Lion of tie truthful, r with an ac dried folio d u al leave sive exec: whit Dlr. bliilai fault, as ii sc hool to story is I light fast E of the au the melon rest, to filse in boisterous of the day tleman remarkabl birth or ' sketches o g " nothir (No. 55 3 ) and hard, by any ren tribution s, (No. 308) his works. text, "Sur ground th wilderness loaded wii and strugp shores of tinged w Eastern st with a daz luminousr sive brilli vet, by cot local truth undoubted went ; tl animal's were sink burden, al it is inter ing work! scenes in Tu come fror seer's 4 . S Newfound rescued ft however: dry as if day ; whei of the do; both hay( " Ilighlan does lickit these pici animal nowned; lessness Humane E. M. Wa of Marie unhappy ( age, looks struggle t pressed ; of the flu a beautifi hand; in revolution The fine r the delica prisoners sensual told, the gond. We pro] A SECOND in our fir, mise-en-se Sliskespe: spectator': of the sce and f urn dances, th htyatt4;uu Tilt PRESS. upon the actors, who become mere puppets for the exhibition of classical costume ; while the dialogue fairly sinks down to the level of something which serves to fill up the time during which the stage carpenters are engaged in their work,—something which is hardly as interesting as the cdd music be tween the acts,—something, in short, which, on the whole, rather bores him, and which he finds himself wishing that it were possible to dispense with en tirely. " Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures, quam qufe aunt oculis subjects fidelihus," says Horace; and whoever doubts the truth of the obser vation had better pay a visit to the Princess's Theatre, and note the striking difference between the applause bestowed on the Pyrrhic dance, the "Theatre of Syracuse," the "Allegory of Time," the " Ascent of Phcebus in the Chariot of the Sun," and that accorded even to the most potent rant of Leontes,—which we take to be the shout with which he delivers the conclusion : " Nothing have these nothings, if this be nothing,"—which it most cer tainly is not, in an acoustic sense. In order to confine the time of representation within the limits of human endurance, several large excisions have been made of various portions of the text Gf the play, in consequence of which the whole of many fine passages, with many smaller touches of extreme beauty, have been utterly lost. A transposi tion has been effected of the last scene of act iii. to the beginning of act iv., apparently for the sole purpose of allowing time for the preparation of the " Allegory of Cronos " (why not Chronos ?), " Luna and Phcebus," while the locality of many of the scenes has been altered, in order that Mr. Kean might have an excuse for introducing the results of his research into Smith's "Dictionary of Greek anti Roman Antiqui ties," Donaldson's " Theatre of the Greeks," and other very accessible sources of that sort of information which university men most vulgarly and disrespect fully characterise as " cram," a large dose of which is introduced into the playbills, while the "books of the play " positively overflow with lengthened ex tracts from the same eminent authorities. The re sult of these processes is called a revival of Shake speare. Mr. Kean's idea of revival, or of the means to be adopted for insuring it, seems original ; it is comprised in two operations—cutting up and stifling. _ _ We promised last week a more detailed notice of the performance of each actor, but there is really very little indeed to say of anybody but Mr. and Mrs. Kean. The Hermione of the latter improves greatly on a second hearing. It is full of that gentle firm ness which distinguishes the character. The playful dialogue with Polixenes was given with the utmost delicacy and queenly gracefulness, while in the address to her attendants at the beginning of the second act, and her reply at the trial, Mrs. Kean's finished delivery and clear silvery tones came on the ear in most refreshing contrast to the slovenly enun ciation and harsh, rugged utterance of the King, her husband. From Mr. Kean's performance of Leontes we have failed to disentangle any leading conception : all is disjointed and fragmentary. His vehemence seems to us entirely misplaced in the character. Leontes is irritable, suspicious, tetchy, pettish ; his misbelief dies as quickly as it originated, and his repentance is as sudden as his original offence. All is little, and weak, and capricious. Mr. Kean is certainly unsuccessful in conveying this notion to his audience. He seems to be striving to elevate the character, to lift it to a higher level than that which it is evidently intended to occupy ; and failing in this, as be does fail, he leaves an impression of incom pleteness and want of finish on the mind of the spectator. He still adheres to his system of " strong daubing." His peculiarities of pronunciation remain of course, unaltered : for example, " cordial " is transformed into " cawjle," and a misplacement of em • phasis which seems to be gaining ground unperceived by the actor, is at times both painful and ridiculous. Of the omission of stops and pauses which we noticed last week, an example or two may be amusing :—ln his dialogue with Camillo, Leontes, in answer to the question " Who does infect her ?" replies, "Why he that wears her like a medal hanging about his neck— Bithynia ;" meaning, most evidently, that it is Bithynia, i.e. Polirenes, who infects Hermione. Mr. Kean, by omitting the pause before " Bithynia," makes it appear that he is addressing Bithynia in stead of Camillo, who is a Sicilian. Again, the line " I have tremor cordis on me—my heart dances," is given without any pause at all, and accompanied by an action—a clutching at the breast, which irre sistibly suggests sudden cutaneous irritation. The other characters are fairly supported. Miss Heath is graceful and loving in Florizel, and Miss Leclercq Perdita is a very pretty shepherd's daughter. Mr. Harley's Autolycres, is Mr. Harley, as grotesque as e►er. Mr. Meadows makes a very good fussy shep herd ; while Paulina in the bands of Mrs. Ternan becomes a loud, vulgar termagant, who supports the Queen because it gives her a good opportunity of telling the King a "piece of her mind." Camillo, Pclixenes and Antigonus, are just passable "walking gentlemen." 451 lIMIEllpg THE AMATEUR PANTOMIME.—The gentlemen who last year had the honour of performing their amateur pantomime before her Majesty at Drury Lane are about to appear this season in a new pantomime, written ex pressly for them, and fuunded upon the story of " Wil liam Tell." The Lyceum has been placed at the dis posal of the amateurs by 'lr. Gye ; and the 2nd of June, an "off" or non-opera night, has been fixed upon for the performance, which, it is anticipated, will again receive the Royal patronage. The charitable institution which will benefit by the exertions of the amateurs has, we believe, not yet been decided upon. 'lle selection will probably be left to her Ma jesty, as on the last occasion, when a sum ex ceeding NO/. was paid over to the trustees of the Wellington Cullege. With the exception of the harlequin, the pantomime " cast " will be the same as last year. Mn. HOWARD GLOVER, the distinguished composer, is, we believe, about to open Sadler's Wells for a short English opera season. lie will be assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Sims Reeves, Mr. and Madame Weiss, Mr. Miranda, Miss Poole, Mr. Balfe, Mr. Benedict, and others, forming a strong company. Balfe's Bohemian Girl is to be produced, with additional music, for the first time in this country, and under the personal direction of the composer, who has not appeared before the London public these five years. CREMORNE GARDENS open next Monday with a good supply of novelties. A new panoramic view of Berne, and other pictures, will be exhibited, and considerable variety shown in the selection of enter tainments. The buildings have been entirely re decorated with much taste ; and, if the weather be tine, a good season may possibly be anticipated. - gontg larkti anD Qtit FRIDAY ETZNI23O. DURING the week reports were in circulation that a new loan would be announced before the adjournment of Par liament for the Whitsuntide holidays ; and various specu lations were afloat as to the stock in which it would be negotiated. Some were of opinion that it would be in Consols, others in Terminable Annuities, and others in Exchequer Bonds; whilst others, again, thought that nothing would be done until after the payment of the next quarter's dividends, when better terms for the country might, not unnaturally, be looked fur. All F peculation, however, was set at rest this morning, by the reading of the following notification at the opening of the Stock Ex change : Downing-street, Thursday evening, May 8, 18b6. Gentlemen, I request that you will make it known hi the usual manner that her Majesty's Government propose to con tract ( n Monday, the 19th of May, 1856, for a loan of 5.00u,000t. sterling, to be raised in Consolidated Three per Cent. Annuities. For every• 1901. subscribed in money, the contractors will receive Three per Cent. Consolidated Annuities. The biddings to be made in such Annuities. _ The interest on the Three per Cent. Consolidated Annuities will commence from the ;ithofJail., 1856.. _ The days of payment, and the proportions of the contribu. tions to be paid, will be as follows : On Thursday, May 22, 1: , 5 , 1, a deposit of ICL per cent. On Thursday, June 12, a payment of 201. per cent. On Saturday, June 24, 1856, a payment of 201. per cent_ On Thursday, July 24, 1830. a payment of 201. per cent. On Thursday, August 28, 183 d, a payment of 101. per cent. Ou Thursday, September 18, 106, a payment of 201. per cent. For each instalment after the deposit a proportional amount of stock will !be created for the contributors. The stock for the deposit will be created at the same time with that which will be due on payment of the last instalmeat No discount will be allowed for prompt payment. Script receipts will be issued by the Bank in the usual man ner. The biddings to be made at the Treasury on Monday morn ing, the 19th instant, at ten o'clock. The bidding to be for tL• entire eum. Lord Palmerston and I will be ready to receive. at a rrelimi nary meeting at the Treasury, at one o'clock on Tuesday next. the 13th instant, any gentleman who may be desirous cf obtsin ing.further information on the subject. I am, gentleman, your obedient servant, G. C. LESTI. The Governor and Deputy-Governor of the Bank of England. The reading of this letter caused very little surprise. There was no excitement at all. Indeed the loan and its exact amount had been anticipated a week ago. At the same time ratisfaction was expressed at the moderate re quirements of the Government, and of the policy they have adopted of stating their intentions at once, without waiting to announce them at the Treasury. The loan is expected to be wholly taken up by Messrs. Rothschild. The return of the Bank of England for the week ending May 3rd shows the following changes compared with, that for the week preceding:— Increase in Circulation Decrease in Public Deposits 138.27%1 Decrease in Other Deposits Increase in Government Securities Decrease in Other Securities Increase in Bullion Decrease in Reserve Bullion in Both Departments Circulation, including Bank I'ost Bills Although this comparison shows an increase in the stock of bullion. and although hopes were held out by the Chan cellor of the Exchequer this et ening that the drain upon the Bank will shortly cease, the return in this respect is IMF. lIIMIP