The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-24 00:00:00

1126

poses. The conclusion of the tale is soft and pleas-
mg, though tinged with sadness : the man of iron
will is tamed by suffering, solitude, and success.
Happiness is deni.d him ; but, through the triumph
of principle and duty, he cm thank Heaven for
peace. The tale, though extremely simple in con-
struction, will sustain Mr. Lee's reputation, and ex-
hibits him to advantage as a delineator of strongly-
marked character, and of life's hardest trials. The
moral philosophy of the author elevates his narrative,
without detracting in the slightest degree from its
charm.

1. Angelo ; or, the Pine Forests in the Alps. By
Geraldine Jewsbury. With Illustrations by
John Absolon.
2. The Talking Bird ; or, the Little Girl who Knew
what was Going to Happen. By Mary and
Elizabeth Kirby. With Illustrations by Hablot
K. Browne.
3. Tales of Magic and Meaning. Written and Illus-
trated by Alfred Crowquill.
London : Grant and Griffith.
1. Whether this be intended for an account of the
youth of Michael Angelo we know not, but we pre-
sume that it is. At all events, it is nicely written,
and well adapted for the young readers to whose
amusement it is dedicated.
2. We cannot, we think, say quite so much of
" The Talking Bird." The moral, indeed, is excel-
lent, and undue curiosity about childish things meets
with various punishments thoroughly appreciable by
children. But we do not quite like the expedient of
the prophetic dove, which is employed without a
word of explanation, and is very likely to be misun-
derstood. The whole thing, too, is unnaturally
described—as no child, of whatever age, would be
other than frightened to death by such an occur
rence. We think our young friends will one and all
exclaim with Paul Dombey, " I don't believe that
" story "—and so the effect of the moral will be lost.
3. This is a volume of higher literary merit than
either of the above two, and in its best parts is, we
think, fully equal to the fairy tales of the Countess
D'Aulnoy. "Little Sunshine" and "The Redcaps"
are two especially good stories, and throughout the
whole number there is combined with all the require-
ments of children an undercurrent of fun which may
very well amuse their seniors. On the whole, these
three form a nice little batch of children's books.

The Ear in Health and Disease. By William Har-
vey, F.R.C.S., Surgeon to the Royal Dispensary
for Diseases of the Ear. Landon : Henry Ren-
shaw. .

This little book is a most valuable contribution to
the bodily comfort of us all. The distressing com-
plaint of deafness is hero thoroughly investigated,
and rules laid down, by the observance of which
the sufferer may in many instances cure himself. In
our damp and changeable climate sudden affections
of the auricular glands are very frequent; and we
know nothing that is at the same time so irritating
and so depressing. In Mr. Harvey's book will be
found all that medical and surgical science has yet
discovered in the way of alleviation. It will be found
an exceedingly useful appendage to every nursery;
and perhaps, by more general obedience to the
author's precepts while young, we might, avoid many
of those blunders and acts of negligence which lead
to permanent deafness in after life.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.
BOOKS.

The Poetry of Creation. In Seven Parts. Nicholas
Mitchell. Chapman and Hall.
Western Wanderings ; or, a Pleasure Tour in the Ca
nada.
Two Vole.
Ditto.
Family Intetests : a Story Taken from Cife. Hope and Co.
The Last of the Arctic Voyages. Sir John Richardson.
Two Vole. Lovell Reeve.
The Court Album. 1). Bogue.
The Keepsake. Ditto.
The Rhine and its Picturesque Scenery. Ditto.
ilia and Charlie. Illustrated. Ditto.
The Life and Works of Goethe. H. Lewis. Two Vols.
I). Mott.
Lessons on Morals. J. W. Parker.
Travels in Albania, erc. By Lor3 Broughton. Two Vols.
J. Murray.
Two Summer Cruises with the Bailie Fleet. By the Rev.
Robert E. Hughes, M.A. Smith and Elder.

___ _
PAMPHLETS.
French in a Fortnight. Grcombridge.
Bow to Detect Adulteration. Ditto.
Hard Words Mule Easy. Ditto.
Blunders in Behaviour. Ditto.
Mind Your Stops. Ditto.
The Metropolitan Building Act. Butterworth.
A Refutation of the Report of the Contractors of the Railway
from Lisbon to Santarem. Richardson Brothers.
Notes on Monetary Panics and Convulsions.

11•21.-Il.....m.sac •
The British Almanac's. Knight and Co.
The Army and Militia Almanaok fur 18b8. Edited by J. H
!Root/n*ler, Esq. Webster and Co'

THE PRESS.

Pusit.

EXETER-HALL—The season of the Sacred Har-
monic Society commenced on Fridsy, with Spohr's
Last Judgment, and Beethoven's " Service in C,"
the vocalists being Mme. Rudersdorff, Miss Dolby,
Mr. Lockey, and Mr. Thomas. Both oratorio and
mass are sufficiently well known to preclude the
necessity of a detailed description, and the execution
of the first reflects the highest credit on the exertions
of M. Costa, and the members of the orchestra and
chorus. The choruses, especially the solemn open-
ing one, the " Holy, Holy, Holy," and the tremendous
"Destroyed is Babylon the mighty," were given with
full effect, and toe two beautiful quartets" Yes, every
tear," and "Blest are the departed," were sung by the
principal vocalists with consummate taste and feeling.
In Beethoven's mass, from the excessive difficulty of
some of the choruses, there was at times consider-
able uncertainty, which greatly marred the effect of
the magnificent work. On the whole, however, the
performance of both was highly satisfactory.

THE LONDON SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY Com-
menced its season on Monday last with The Messiah.
The performance of this well-known oratorio was
certainly not satisfactory upon this occasion. Since
Mr. Surman's secession from the elder association,
he has contended successfully against many difficul-
ties, but his orchestra, though powerful enough now
in point of numbers, is yet in execution below the
standard of excellence required for the correct per-
formance of an oratorio. Some of the choruses on
Monday night were marked by singular indecision
and imperfect execution ; but these failings must
be overcome, or no one will care to hear a per-
formance of The Messiah by this society. The
solos intrusted to Miss Dolby, Mr. Lawler, Mr.
Cooper, and Miss Stabbach were the best part of the
performance. Mr. Cooper, a debutant with a ques-
tionable tenor voice, feeble in the lower register,
and scanty in volume, may yet show to better advan-
tage when the nervousness of a first appearance is
entirely absent. In "Comfort ye my people," his
voice was harsh and inflexible to a degree. Miss
Dolby was as effective a contralto as usual, while Mr.
Lawler in the bass showed' marks of progress.
From a reduction in prices, the hall was well
filled, and Mr. Surman warmly received upon his
appearance. The seventh annual report of the
society has appeared, and we regret we cannot con-
gratulate the directors upon the satisfactory state of
their financial condition.

THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH MUSICIANS commen-
ced their series of chamber concerts at Erat's
Harp Saloon, in Berners.street, on Thursday evening.
Mr. J. E. Williams sung a romanza by Mercadante
with great taste and feeling, while a trio from Mozart,
played by Messrs. Westlake, Melhish, and Webb,
and a ballad by Miss Palmer obtained an encore.
But the pieces de resistance of the evening were two
compositions for the harp by Parish Alvars, played
by Mr. John Cheshire: the sweetness of the etude and
the brilliancy of the fantasia were rendered with
astonishing feeling and execution by the player.
The applause was unanimous, and the success of
the young harpist creditable to the society which
educated him. The concert was highly successful.
MnILE. CECILIA MARES gave ber introductory con-
cert at Hanover-square Rooms on Thursday evening.
The selection of music was excellent, commencing
with Mendelssohn's quartet in B minor, extremely
well performed by Messrs. Sainton, Reynolds, Lucas,
and Mdlle. Coulon, followed shortly by a solo on the
violin by M. Sainton, played with exquisite feeling,
and encored rapturously by the whole room ; while in
the solo by Mr. Moriatt on Mr. Pask's improved
cornopean, the applause was divided between the
perfect execution of the player and the beautiful
tone of the instrument. Mdlle. Mares, who sang
several favorite airs and duets from the operas of
Verdi, Mozart, and Donizetti, made the most favor-
able impression in a MS. ballad, entitled, " Tho' the
rose on thy cheek." Her voice is a pure, fresh
soprano of considerable compass, and though ex-
tremely nervous on her first appearance, her style,
execution, and expression in singing produced a
very favorable impression. She was encored in the
ballad, and we have no doubt, with practice and hard
work, will succeed in obtaining a very forward posi-
tion in the musical world. Mdlle. Coulon played
Listz's " Patineurs " with considerable execution and
energy, while the remainder of the concert, agreeable
without being tedious, consisted of vocal music.
The room was fully attended, and the performances
throughout gave great satisfaction.

MISS CARPENTER'S REFORMATORY SCHOOL at Kings-
wood, near Bristol, bas been the subject of a very
influential meeting in that city. Resolutions were
carried that the school was worthy of public support,
and a liboral subscription was entered into to extend
its means of usefulness.

SATURDAY,

Ett i:ilma.

HAYMARKET THEATRE.

THE comedy of The Provoked Husband was revived
here on Monday, the character of Lady Townly
being supported, for the first time, by Miss Cushman.
It is certainly a most grotesque exhibition, as odd a
caricature iu its way as her Beatrice or her Rosalind,
her marked peculiarities of voice, manner, and
feature rendering her almost entirely unfit for the
requirements of the part. She appears to think
that the lofty aspirations of her ladyship would be
likely to produce, as one of their effects, a walk
something like the strut of a peacock with a rheu-
matic affection of both legs ; and renders visible the
slight affectation of the " dashing " woman of rank
by carrying her head at a constant angle of at least
forty-five degrees with the line of her shoulders.
Everything is done in strong daubs, after the style
of the most approved models in Oxford-street. It
would be unfair to criticise a voice which no amount
of management could render ladylike or even femi-
nine, and we will only inquire, therefore, is it handed
down among the sacred traditions of the stage that
the first representative of Lady Townly set the
fashion of nasal dialogue in the character? If so, of
course we bow and are silenced; if not, we should really
prefer—though we speak only as a private individual
—to hear her ladyship's capital repartees take the
more conventional course in issuing from her person
and come at once directly from the mouth. Miss
Cushman's practice of sending a sarcasm through
the nose certainly has the recommendation of novelty,
and in some cases may give an additional pungency
to a good "point," but we cannot help saying that we
think we have the majority with us in our preference
for the established custom in this case. We sincerely
admire Miss Cushman's genius, but it is clear that
she has mistaken her " mission" in attempting to
play Lady Townly. Her high comedy, in fact,
produces exactly the same effects as those assigned
by Aristotle to the Tragic Muse, viz., pity and terror;
we feel pity for the actress, and nothing short of
terror at the representation. The rest of the charac-
ters are fairly supported : Mr. Compton and Mr.
Rogers make plenty of fun (such as it is) out of
Squire Richard and Tom Moody, Miss Swanborough
looks very pretty as Lady Grace, Mr. Chippendale is
amusingly stubborn in Old Wronghead, and Mr.
Farren in Manly is as much at home as he is in
anything.

DRURY LAND.—Used Up, in which Mr. Charles
Mathews appears in his old and famous character of
Sir Charles Coldstream, has been revived this week
at Drury Lane with great success. The house is
well filled every night, and Nitocris as a spectacle
appears to have lost nothing of its popularity.

autnors precep
of those blunder
to permanent de
PUB
The Poetry of
Mitchell.
Western Wanderin
Two Vols.
Family Intetests :
The Last of the
Two Vols.
The Court Album.
The Keepsake.
The Rhine and its
MM and Charlie.
The Die and Woe
Lessons on Morals
Travels in Albani,
Two Summer Cru
Robert R. Rag
French in a Fort,
Bow to Detect Ad
Hard Words Mid
Blunders in Behat
Mind Your Stops
The Metropolitan
A Refutation of th
from Lisbon to
Notes on lfonetar
The British Alma
The Army and MI
Stooqueler, Es
1111111