The Press.
London, England, 1854-11-04 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

literature to a great extent. Our novelists excel in the
delineation of scenery by a few rapid, characteristic
touches, and our poets too. Open a novel of thirty years
ago, and the chances are that you will find, cipriTos of
the hero or heroine, that he or she is represented as
standing, walking, or sitting in some grand, Utopian
scene, which it takes the author at least six pages octavo
to describe; and when he has dune his best you have
about as good au idea of the appearance of the place as
when you open the book.
Scott was excellent at describing a landscape, and,
in different styles, Mr. Ainsworth and the authoress
of "Jane Eyre" have great skill in picturing
English scenery. " Songs from the Dramatists"
are reviewed in the next paper; and we are happy
to find that so able a critic corroborates the views
that we have taken of Mr. Bell's meritorious labours.
Amongst other remarks, it is here said

We maintain that he well merits the designation of a
careful editor. For, in the first place, he has on every
occasion reverted to the most reliable and authentic texts
of his authors—whether it be found in an early or a late
edition. He has expunged the errors and amended the
caprices of former editions ; he has rescued many a pas-
sage from the repeated blunders of printers, and—no
trifling service to all parties, the dead as well as the
living--has heedfully adopted a consistent scheme of
punctuation. " Of our pleasant vices the gods make whips
to scourge us," and this is just measure; but it is not
meting justly to twist a rod out of our merits and apply
it to our hacks. Yet this is the measure which, from some
quarters, has been dealt, heaped and running over, to the
editor of this series of English poets.

And some severe remarks are added on the unjust
attacks made on Mr. Bell, already noticed in our
columns. There is, however, a literary error in
reference to Sheridan's song of "Oh! the days when
I was young." The reviewer says :

In some genial moment, when not too full of the grape,
and not more than usually vexed by dune and bailiffs, our
incomparable lirinsley penned his famous song, be-
ginning,

Oh, the days when I was young,

not perhaps without some compunction for his own grizzled
hairs and declining powers of enjoyment. It professes ft
comfortable philosophy, although not of the more rigid
school. If glees be sung in Hades, we can fancy Ana-
creon, Propertius, and Walter de Mapes joining in the
chorus.
But Sheridan's hairs were not then grizzled: he
was not thirty years of age, and he had not then
taken to the bottle. The concluding article is the
" Russian Defeats." But it is written in the see saw
style of a Coalitionist., and we scarcely know what
side the writer espouses. Sir Jots Trolloppe is
complimented by the essayist at the expense of his
party; and we are sure that the worthy baronet
would not accept the equivocal praise offered to him.
Takedaltogether, the ',resent number of Fraser is
interesting, various, and readable.
- -

Tait has not much to recommend it this month
beyond a number of light literary rapers. The best
article is that upon the " Pension List," wherein the
late correspondence between Lord Wrottesly and
Lord Aberdeen upon the subject of pensions to men
of art and science is very ably reviewed. This esti-
mable man, Lord Aberdeen, tells us that " poverty
must accompany the merit " that he rewards, and
that, as far a.: the sum of 1,2001. being insufficient,
literature and science had better not depend upon
receiving even that ! In exposition of which
principles his noble lordship confers a pension of
2001. a year upon Mrs. Fullerton. Who is this Mrs.
Fullerton that she is to receive one sixth of the whole
sum yearly appropriated to the reward of literature and
science ? Mrs. Fullerton is the widow of a late Scotch
judge who for twenty five years had been in the
receipt of 3,0001. a year as salary. And it is under
such circumstances as these that Lord Aberdeen
thinks fit to bestow a pension of 2001. a year ! Truly
there must be some Scotch cousinship here; for to
suppose that a man, and a Scotchman, too, who had
received some seventy-five thousand pounds of public
money during the latter part of his life, should not
have put by sufficient to keep his widow in decent
poverty, is preposterous ; and in these days, when so
many men of talent themselves, and the widows of so
many others, are starving, or at best existing, upon a
paltry pension, perhaps of 501. a year, it is a most
gross injustice to give the widow of such a man as
Judge Fullerton (whom few people ever heard of be-
fore) a pension of such an amount as is rarely doled
out to necessitous merit.

Objects in Art-Manufacture. Edited by Charles
Tomlinson. Issued to Schools by the Board of
Trade Department of Science and Art. London :
Harrison.

THIS first number of a new series of treatises upon
" Objects in Art-Manufacture " is issued by the
Board of Trade, for the instruction of pupils upon
the scientific principles which form "the foundations
"of the useful arts and manufactures." The subject
of this treatise is the history, manufacture, and ap-
plication of paper, accompanied with accurate wood-
cuts of the different machines used in payer•making,
and twelve specimens of English•maaufactured

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1051

paper, from the "yellow-wove" down to the " curl-
and•comb pattern" of bookbinding. The treatise is
well written, at once practical and concise, and the
series, if continued in the same style, will be a va-
luable contribution to educational w orks on an-
manufacture.

How to Nurse Sick Children. London : Longmans.
A LITTLE 1300 K written with the object of pointing
out the special duties of a nurse towards sick chil-
dren, under all circumstances of diseases. Its profits
are intended for the benefit of the Hospital of Sick
Children, established in 1851, in Great Ormond-
street, Queen-square, the funds of which are so
limited that " only thirty beds can be kept open for
in-patients," and this in a metropolis where the
mortality of young children under ten years of age is
upwards of 21,000 per annum. The boos is written
with a thorough knowledge of the forms and symp-
toms of the diseases of ,:hildren, and the necessary
treatment to be pursued by the nurse, and hence
may be widely useful for the instruction of mothers
and the management of nurseries.

No events of any 'war ever undertaken have ever
been so ably illustrated with maps and plans as
have the past and present state of the war in the
Crimea, at the skilful and diligent hands of Mr. Wyld.
Every succeeding plan that issues from his establish-
ment is an improvement upon its immediate prede-
cessor. His new map of the " Environs of Sevastopol,
with the Batteries and Approaches," is admirable for
its clearness of design, its minuteness of detail, and
its precise accuracy, which at a glance explains the
position of the allied forces better than a dozen
letters from " Our own Correspondents." Yet pos-
sibly another week will see the indefatigable " royal
geographer" publishing a plan that will even excel
this, which yet for its subject, seems excellence
itself.
Ax excellent sketch of the battle of Alma, by
Captain Biddulph, of the Royal Artillery, has just
been published by Mr. Stanford of Char►ng Cross.
The extraordinary strength of the Russian position,
the great height of the hills crowned by heavy
batteries, and the immense difficulties attending
the attack, are cleverly shown in this sketch.
Having been made by a gallant office', himself en-
gaged in the action, the plan derives additional
interest apart from its merits for accuracy and
detail.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

May and December. --
Skeet.
Annotated Edition of the English Poets," Walkr."
Yorker and Son.
Platonic Protagoras. W. Wnyte, R.A. Bell.
Ethel. M. James. Oroombridge and Sons.
Bentsen. G. P. R. James, II odgeon.
Habits of Men. Dr. Doran. Bentley.
Matrimonial Speculations. Mrs. Moodie. Ditto.
Haps and Mishaps. Graoe Greenwood. Ditto.
Hecollections of Literary Characters. Mrs. Thompson.
Ditto.
The Prudent Man. W. Bridges. 'Where.
Post. Office London Directory. Kelly.
Commercial and General London Directory. Watkins.
The Fortunes of Colonel Turloch O'Brien. ltoutledge.
Educational Lectures. Ditto.
Domestic Economy. Ditto.
The Old English Gentleman. J. Mills. Ward and Look.
Hogarth's Own Joe Miller. l)itto.
Nick tithe Woods. Ditto.
Johnson's Live. of the English Poets. Vol. 11. P.
Cunningham. Murray.

PAMPHLETS

Letter of the Emperor of the French on the Eastern Question.
Ridgway.
Ballad of the Battle of the Alma.
harry Corerdale's r tehip. Part T. E. F. Smedley.
Virtue, Hall, and Co.
Handerahan, the Irish Fairyman. Mrs. S. C. Hall.
Tweedis.
The Stepping Stone to Animal and Vegetable Philosophy.
Mary Shield. Longman. and Co.

A NEW PLAY, written by Shakspeare's " spirit,"
is announced by the Alta California. It is said to
consist of a regular five-act tragedy, comprising some
4,00 linen, and written, under spirit impulse, by
the hand of Mr. Isaac C. Pray. The play is stated
to have been read to the manager of the Broadway
Theatre and a select number of critics and editors,
and all concurred in awarding to it literary merit of
a very high order. One of them went so far in his
admiration as to declare his belief that no living
writer could equal it. It was written with great ra-
pidity, and very few erasures or alterations are to be
found upon the manuscnpt.
A GREAT CONTEST is going on at the present mo-
ment for the seat in the French Institute vacated by
the death of M. Ancelot. The candidates are MM.
Jules Janin, Emile Angier, Philaret Chasles, and the
Viscomte de Fallout. The three first mentioned
candidates are distinguished in literature; the fourth,
whose claims arc almcst entirely political, will, it is
believed, prove the successful competitor.

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Pusit.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.

TUE remarkable popularity which M. Jullien enjoys
may fairly be attributed to the successful efforts he
has made of late years to raise the standard of
musical taste in this country, by winning attention
to, if not appreciation of, the classical works of the
great composers. While enjoying an unbounded
popularity in his direction of the performance of
popular operas, or of lively polkas and sparkling
valses, M. Jullien, equally effective with his baton,
can Ls successfully conduct the magnificent sympho-
nies of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, or Mozart, and if
not obtaining critical applause from the multitude,
can at least command admiration and attention for
those beauties which are felt, but not understood.
The first concertof this season was given on Monday
evening to an audience who enthusiastically wel-
comed M. Jullien on his return, after atwo ears' ab-
sence. The orchestra, containing many of the old
favourites, with several new performers, appeared
fully equal in quality to any that M. Jullien hal
conducted in former years. The selections upon
that, and upon every evening during the week, have
been partly of classical and partly of operatic and
popular music, consisting principally of Mendelssohn's
" Italian Symplicny," Mozart's Jupiter, Beethoven's
" Pastoral" and "C. Minor," together with the over-
tures of, and selections from, the operas of Egmont,
Le Comte Ory, Euryanthe, Zampa, and The Hugue-
nots, with polkas and valses ad libitum. The per-
formance of Mendelssohn's " Italian Symphony " was
marked by a perfect appreciation of the grandeur,
delicacy, and poetical feeling which characterise the
different movements of this magnificent work. Of the
execution of the operatic selections we need only say
that itha.s been throughout performed with a thorough
regard to the beauties of the music and the intention
of the composer. Of the American music, the
"Atlantic Galop " is decidedly the most popular.
Madame Anna Thillon made her first appearance on
Thursday evening, singing an aria from L'Etoile
die Nord of Meyerbeer, and was warmly applauded.
Among the solo performers is a Signor Robbio, a
pupil of Paganini. His style is distinguished by
skilful execution, combined rather with delicacy of
feeling than with any great power of expression.
However, he is a master of the violin, and we have
no doubt will achieve success a performer. The
National Anthem and " Partant pour la Syrie" have
been nightly performed amidst the most vehement
applause, which on the opening night degenerated
into those frolicsome vulgarities which, under some
circumstances, so peculiarly mark the good humour
of an English audience. The theatre, arranged on
the old system, has been nightly crowded to excess
by an audience who seemed thoroughly pleased with
M. Jullien's efforts to entertain them.
EXETER-HALL.
THE performances of the French Imperial Band on
Saturday last at the Crystal Palace were not suffi-
ciently distinctive from the performances of the
other military bands to be fairly appreciated. The
fête TM not a concert—the music was a mere adjunct
to the Exhibition—people went to hear the music,
but not to criticise the performers, and, until the
separate and distinct performance on Thursday
evening by the imperial band, the public generally
had not a fair opportunity of judging the excellence
of these incomparable performers. The peculiarin-
terest which at this momentis attached to anything re-
lating to our neighbours, the charitable object of the
performance, and the unrivalled reputation of the
band, draw a crowded house and an eager-
audience' whose expectations were realised and sur-
passed by the fine performance that took place.
The band consists of 56 performers, thus distri-
buted :-2 flutes or picolos; 4 small clarinets; 8
great or soprano clarinets, in B flat; 2 oboes;
2 soprano, 2 alto, 2 tenor, and 2 barytone or bass
emaoph ones ; 2 cornets- a.piston ; 4 trumpets; 4 trom-
, banes ; 2 small soprano saxhorns in E flat, and
2 contralto in B flat ; l saxotrombes in E flat ;
2 barytone and 4 bass saxhorns in B flat; 2 contra-
basso saxhorns in E flat, and 2 in B flat, an octave
lower ; with big drum, kettle-drum' and cymbals ;
the whole under the direction of M. Mohr, composer
and band-master, and a musician of acknowledged
ability. The appearance of the members of the
band was hailed with deafening applause, and when
the whole number were assembled, " God save the
Queen" and " Partant pour la Syrie" were given,
and concluded amidst the most enthusiastic cheer-
ing. The concert then commenced, the programme
of which we subjoin
PART I.
Marche de " Macbeth"
Ouverture de "Cluillaunie Tell"
Polka-Mazurka." Souvenirs de Varsovie"
Valle, " Los Herds du Rhin" Strauss
Quadrille, " Des Vieux Airs Francais"
Fantaisie du "Prophite"

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