The Express.
London, England, 1863-02-20 00:00:00

be Court.

i

WINDSOR CASTLE, Fin. 19.
Baron Gros, and Earl and Countess Russell,
arrived at the Castle yesterday.
Lord Russell had an audience of the Queen.
Baron Gros, French Ambassador, war presented to the
Queen at an audience by Earl RusalL
The Judge Advocate-General arrived at the Oaatle to-day,
and had an audience of the Queen.
The Prince of Wales, attended by Lieutenant-General
Knollys and Major Teesdale, went to London this morning.

The christeniog of the infant moo of Count Gleichen
(Prince Victor of Hohenlohe) and the Countess Gleichen
took place yesterday in the Chapel Royal, St. James's.
The sponsors were the Prince of Wales, the Princess of
Leiningen (represented by Rio Emily Gore), and Captain
William Frederick Seymour.

The child was named by the Prince of Wales—Albert
Edward Wilfred.

The ceremony of baptism was performed by the Rey.
Francis Garden, M.A., Chaplain of the Queen's House-
hold, St. James's Palace. . . .

ideputation on the proposed alteration of the tobacco
duties., introduced by Bir H. Cairns, M.P., Mr. Maguire,
M.P., Mr. J. P. Hennessy, M.P., and Mr. B. G. Getty,
M.P., and consisting of Jas. lambkin and Co., Cork ; H.
Murray and Son, Belfast; Mr. Murray, Belfast; and P.
Johnston and Son, Belfast, had au interview with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at hie official
residence in Downing street. .

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sat yester-
day. An appeal from Madras, " Abraham v. Abraham"
(part heard), was resumed. The lords present were Lord
Kinpdown, the Lords Justices Knight Bnioe and Turner,
Sir J. Coleridge, Rir L. Peel, and Sir J. Colvile.
. .

Despatches were sent yesterday from the Colonial-office to
the Governors of Gibraltar, Malta, Ceylon' Hong Kong,
lAlman, the Australian Colonies, and Canada.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE,

PRUSSIA.

1
The Pattie says that the Prusso-Russian conven-
tion, the existence of which has been denied, was
signed at St. Petersburg on Feb. S, the plenipo-
tentiaries being General Alvensleben for Prussia
and Prince Gortchakoll for Russia.

ITALY.
A Turin letter bas the following :

The disown= on the lam will commence next week,

and bids fair to be very animated. Neither the loan in
itself, nor the amount of it, is objected to, for everyone
admitted, from the day when 700 millions were talked of,
that they must be voted, but the Opposition intend on this
occasion to attack the whole policy of the government.
M. Ratassi will probably speak, for the first time since
'he left the ministry. The statement of M. Mingbetti will
doubtless be attended with a good result ; that of urging the
chamber to get on more rapidly with the despatch of business.
Everyone comprehends that if the situation is not fright-
ful, as some represent it to be, it is nevertheless grave, and
that it may become alarming if prompt and effectual reme-
dies are not applied. The bills relative to credit institu-
tions will be voted without difficulty. M. Minghetti has, as
it were, laid down the ministerial question, by insetting
those institutions in his programme. The meeting at Genoa in
favour of Poland went off very quietly. M. de Boni, a deputy,
presided. Some speeches were made, and then, at the re-
quest of the police, the assemblage dispersed. Everyone is
now engaged in the &mune of the Carnival, which is
very gay and animated. The grand lottery for the benefit
of the victims of brigandage has just been drawn. The
net produce will exceed 50,000 fr. The donations have
flowed in with patriotic enthusiasm. The Count de
Sartiges, the Preach Ambeasador, yesterday gave a grand
fete, at which the Hite of Turin society assembled. MM.
Peraszi and Menabrea, sad almost all the other ministers,
with the whole of the diplomatic body, were present.

(uvTlß's TILDGRAIIS.)
THE POLISH INSURRECTION.

POSEN, FIB. 20.

The Posener Zeitung of to-day publishes a de-
claration of the President of the Association for
the promotion of German interests in the Province
of Posen.

After fully stating the grounds of the views
which he puts forward, the president concludes by
saying that all measures taken by the Prussian
government for the protection of the frontier be-
tween Prussian and Russian Poland are to be
thankfully acknowledged by the German inhabi-
tants of the province. They would, however'
consider any special intervention of Prussia in
favour of Russia as dangerous and fatal to the
welfare of the province of Posen.
CRACOW, Fn. 20.
The Russians have attacked Staszsw, but were
repulsed.

THE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 20, 1863.

MUSIC.

THE MADRIGAL SOCIETY.

The one hundred and twenty-second anniversary
festival of this great and ancient society was held yesterday
evening at the Freemasons' Tavern. Sir George Clerk, Bart.,
the president of the society, was in the chair, and there
was • numerous meeting of members and visitors. When
dinner was over, the music-books were laid on the
table, according to the antique fashion so quaintly
described by old Morley ; and, the company being
arranged according to their respective voices, the trebles
consisting of a detachment of young gentlemen of
the Chapel Royal, an admirable selection was sung,
composed chiefly of the secular part.music of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, intermixed with a few modern
compositions. Among them were some of the Ached gems
of the great English madrigalists of the Elizabethan age;
Ward's " Phillis the bright;" Morley's "Lo, where with
flowery head ;" Bennett's pathetic " Flow, 0, my teals ;"
and Wilbye's "Sweet honey-sucking bees," probably the
most beautiful madrigal in existence. The modern pieces
were two part.songs by the late B. L. Pearsall, who died,
at an early age, some two or three years ago ; a composer
little beard of in his lifetime, but now, like m•ay
other artiste, beginning to gain posthumous fame
when be can no longer benefit by it. We need
scarcely tell our musical readers that his charming Part-
Songs are now in general request wherever lovers of English
vocal harmony "do congregate." His Part-Songs sung last
night, "Great God of Love, some pity show," and " Why
with toil thy life consuming," are delightful specimens of his
genius, and, being lately published, must, of course, become
very popular. Mr. Cipriani Potter acted as conductor ; and,
under his firm baton, the music was executed with a steadi.
new, precision, and attention to the nuances of effect and
expression, not a little remarkable, when it is considered
that so large • body of voices sang together without the
support of an instrumental accompaniment.
The musical performances, as is always the case at the
meetings of the Madrigal Society, were mingled with a good
deal of pleasant conviviality. The right honourable prezi.
dent is an expellent chairman—cheerful, courteous, and an

accomplished amateur. His adduces in proposing the
customary toasts were brief, animated, and thoroughly to
the purpose. He proposed that the company, though it
was a departure from the usual practice of the
misty, should begin, at a period so auspicious, by
singing "God save the Queen." It wee sung ac-
cordingly as harmonised by Mr. Pearsall, in so
masterly a manner as to produce an effect equally
new and delightful. The chairman made some allusion'
to the unknown authorship of our national hymn. This
brought forth some observations on the subject from the
learned secretary, Mr. Oliphant, who, on returning thank
for himself and his colleagues, the office!' of the society,
when their health, were proposed, took occasion to mention
some curious particulars respecting the early history of this
song. Nothing, it appears, is known about it earlier than
the time of the Jacobite rebellion, when it was
sung with the same words as the present every night at
the two great theatres of Drury-lane and Covent-
. _

garden, by way of testifying the -loyalty of the pub-
lic at that troubled period. For this purpose it was
harmonised and arranged, for the one theatre by Dr. Arne,
and for the other by Dr. Burney, the historian. From this
it would seem that the melody must have existed earlier ;
but, if so, nothing whatever is known about it. The most
probable supposition is that it was composed by the cele-
brated Henry Carey ; but it does not room likely that this
question, about which so much has been said, will ever be
resolved.

WEATHER REPORT.-(THIS DAY.)

70.11222, THWART 20. 8 1.2 L