The Press. — London, England, 1856-08-16 00:00:00

THE PRESS. AUGUST 16, 1856. Traviata, is the " apotheosis of prostitution." When the Traviata was brought out, with one exception, and that in THE PRESS, every critic applauded Mr. LUMLEY to the clouds, and Mlle. PICCOLOMINI to those regions M. LEOOUVE is kind enough to send her in the libretto. As for the libretto, it was a model of purity, the dramatic action was according to the unities, and a tremendous success was prophesied for the opera. The prophecy was truellto some extent during the regular season ; and now Mr. LUMLEY has made his money out of it, the Tunes, with a laudable anxiety for public morals, denounces the opera as the most immoral ever seen upon the stage. Mr. Lumixv's defence, on the other hand, is, that. he feels so strongly for morality, that he would not expunge a single objectionable passage from the Traviata—though nothing, he admits, " would have been easier,"—for fear he should injure " the moral tendency of the plot;" and to keep it clear from the debauchery of modern life, he has " thrown it back a century (as if vice a century old was one whit less vicious than the vice of to-day). He would have the stage mirror held up to nature — in a brothel as in a boudoir,—though he would not have vice given in all its grossness, nor rendered too alluring, but the exhibitions of vice, he contends, will rather purify than corrupt the passions of an audience He concludes his defence by denying that ,there is in the Traviata a single " situation" which could suggest " an impure or offensive idea," and that he deliberately believes in adopting the present libretto he " was administering to a good, a right, and a merciful cause " To such a defence very little need be said. Those who have seen the opera, who have watched Violetta, surrounded by her harpies, and, re versing the custom of the Harem, by the gift of a flower confer her favour upon Alfredo and then, after the separation insisted on by Alfredo's papa, appear again under the protection of a gentleman in blue, and fi.ially die of consumption in the arms of Alfredo, beseech ing him, if he should ever marry a virgin pure and true, to Give her this likeness — Tell her that she who gave it thee 'Midst the saints in heaven Pra)s for her and thee ! will be able to decide whether the opera is the best moral to be offered to young wives and daughters, and an exhibition of prostitu tion sinning, and prostitution repentant, more adapted for the im provement than the corruption of their moral feelings But, after all is Mr. LUMLEY so much to blame for bringing out such an opera, and, are the public to be abused for going to see it? We are all weak, erring mortals, prone to impropriety, and especially to impropriety in French or Italian. There is a peculiar flavour in such a medium which enables pit and boxes to swallow it easily, if not eagerly; and managers, moreover, are especially given to bringing out, if they can, anything highly flavoured in this way, and probable to pay. But here is the real point at issue. There is a certain office called the Lord Chamberlain's, where a Reader of Plays decides upon the morality or immorality of each piece, alci licenses or refuses as the case may be. What the Lord Chamber- Lin sanctions the public considers it has equally a right to approve or to damn. The piece comes out with the stamp of official license, for it is to the Lord Chamberlain the public look. He is essentially the keeper of the public morals so far as stage representations go, and on his shoulders the responsibility of the Traviata should rest. Now this great public functionary is sometimes inconsistent : he forbade the appearance of RISTORI in Myrrha, on the ground of danger to the public morals, which may be true enough ; but we question whether the stern tragic acting of RIsTORI in Itlyrrha, at which every passion is Chilled, would have proved half so dangerous to public morality as the high coloured representation of a consumptive " Lorette" by Piccolo MINI, in a libretto with just sufficient sentiment to save it, from in decency. To reject the one while permitting the other was either an act of favoritism, or of indolent neglect ; and if the Lord Chamberlain justifies his Header of Plays in such distinction we must confess that the sooner that public officer aims at a higher standard ~f morality the better for the purity of our stage, and the morals of the people. THE PRETTY BLUE COACH. Safe at St. Petersburg, ready for Moscow, Granville is telegraphed; shout at the news. Quicker did never Love, Houdin, or Bosco, Pop up a puppet the pit to amuse. Smiling, smirking, Strings all working, See our Envoy's proud approach; Ridey pidey (Peel as Man Friday), Granny goes out in his pretty Blue Coach. Nesselrode smiles, but his cold look is sinister; Morny with effort scarce masters a sneer; lie never sees it, our affable Minister, Making his way to his lodgings so dear. We smashed Russia, 0r s‘‘orc to crush her, Now we find her sound as a roach. That's but a trifle ; Thoughts we'll stifle,—; Granny goes out in his pretty Blue Coach. Lucky he's got such an excellent temper, or He'd run a chance of a worrying rub ; They say that he's had, though, a hint from the Emperor, Not to be vexed if he meets with a snub.' He and Napier Must civilly steer, 781 Shunning topics of war to broach ; But helping the show out Both are to go out Riding in state in the pretty Blue Coach. 0, happy indeed is the nation possessing Such puppets to send on a mission to roam ; And happier still in retaining the blessing Of plenty of Minister-puppets at home. Thus represented, We'll be contented, Bearing Europe's scoff and reproach; Perhaps not our weakest, No, nor our meekest, Minister rides in that pretty Blue Coach. BRITISH ASSOCIATION-SCIENCE. [We are enabled from a private and unofficial source to publish a list of contributions to the various sections of this Association, which, for some unexplained reason, have not hitherto appeared in its reports. L—d P—vd—RST—N.—A model illustrative of the new theory of lunar motion, by which it is demonstrated that any body, during any number of successive changes of place, may keep the same face always fixed in the same direction, without any turning rolnd whatever. (Mechanical Section). _ _ . Sir G. C. L—wrs.—A paper on the effect of successively increasing and diminishing by a constant quantity any given small sum ; with an application to the proposed re-arrangement of the Civil Service Super annuation Deduction (Mathematical Section). Also, a complete solution of the problem : To express the minimum of matter in the maximum of words absolutely. (Same.) Mr. MoNsELL . - A proposal for a new system of numeration, in which all computations are to be carried on by sixes and sevens (Same ) Sir R. communication on the recent discovery of a Roman As in St. Petersburg. Sir G--E G—Y.—A ;% -: orking model of an improved gallows, capable of executing several dozen persons by one motion of the drop. Also specimens of the dice, in accordance with the indications of which commutations of sentence are decided on. L—d J—HN Russ—L presented to the Association a copy of " Moore's Biography," and a bust of himself: the Biography was first entered as waste paper, and then, when the mistake was discovered, placed in the hands of the President of the Mechanical Section, who, never having heard of the work, and not having time to examine it, at once consigned it to the class of Heavy Bodies. The bust was for a long time supposed to be a hypothetical cast of the skull of some extinct Saurian, of very much larger size than his Lordship. Sir C. W—D.—On the remarkable discontinuous function express ing the velocity of an Admiralty steamer. (Mathematical Section.) A paper on the substitution of " virtuous indignation" leaders, for " marvellous gooseberry" paragraphs during the recess, was also sent by a contributor of a leading journal,but rejected. A contributor to the Le—der forwarded a short pamphlet, entitled " The Theory of Everything, with an appendix on something else. Addressed to the Hodmen by an Architect," said to have been con densed from a great work in nine vols., Svo., by M. Comte. It excited much amusement. THE "LEADER." Who leads? I, sir, the knave. (AFTER BARRY CORNWALL.) Lead ! lead ! lead! who leads? Which is the journal that everyone heeds? Say ! whose is this power divine ? Quoth the Leader, "'Tis mine ! 'tis mine !" Mighty fine—mighty tine ! Big, burly, and free, Like Falstaff, he Marches on with a very poor company. Read ! read ! read ! who reads The page that pronounces and nobody heeds ? Say where's the misguided few A dozen perchance or two Wade weekly this Leader through ; Except it may be In the post-bag that he Gets sometimes into good company. Wink ! wink ! wink! who winks? 'ris the writer that neither blushes nor thinks, When he nerds a pen, upon " flimsy " to frame New Church, new State (all the same !) Oh Jove, he cries, what a game ! A partner is he You may plainly see In the Anti Creation Company. Dream ! dream ! dream! who dreams That this - leader of men" is the thing it seems? When its subs rail on about progress, they, Don't care about half that they say, But think it's the thing to pay, And it don't—so We Are attacked, you see, In the bcst of successful company. I