The Press.
London, England, 1857-07-18 00:00:00

THE MUSICAL FESTIVALS.

THERE are to be t.vo musical gatherings in the pro-
vinces this year—one at Norwich, in September ;
and the other in the ancient, historical, and pictu-
resque town of Worcester, the last week in August.
The manifesto of the eastern amateurs has not yet
reached us, the committee, and Mr. Kerrison, their
honorary and active secretary, being in a state of com-
bativeness with certain artists as to terms, the sing-
ing birds considering their migratory moments as
those which ought to exact something excessive in
order that the nests may be well feathered. The
Worcester hon. secretary, the indefatigable and Rev.
Mr. Sargeant, has been apparently more fortunate
in his negotiations; his birds have been made,
or rather will be made, to sing, the negotiations for
the piping-time being peacefully concluded. Mme.
Novello, the indispensable soprano, has been secured,
with Miss Gilbert, Mrs. Clare Hepworth, Miss
Louisa Vinning, and Mrs. Weiss, as adjuncts. The
contralti are Miss Palmer and Miss Dolby. The
tenors are Sims Reeves, Montem Smith, and Gar-
doni ; Messrs. Weiss, Thomas, and Herr Formes.
Thera is a first-rate orchestra engaged, the players
being chiefly from Costa's Royal Italian Opera band.
Sainton, R. Blagrove, and W. G. Cusins are
announced as solo performers. Mr. Done, of the
Cathedral, will be conductor; Mr. Amott, of Glou-
cester, presides at the organ ; and Mr. Townshend
Smith, of Hereford, at the pianoforte. On the morn-
ings of the 25th, 20th, 27th, and 28th of August
the performances will be in the Cathedral ; and that
amateur who has not heard oratorios in such an
edifice is certainly not in a position to appreciate
fully the sublime effects of sacred music. The
Elijah and The Messiah will, of course, be given,
and The Hymn of Praise of Meitdelssobn, with
selections from Costa's Eli and liandel's Israel in

Egypt. The schemes of the three evening concerts
in tie College hall have been carefully studied, so as
to present as much variety as possible in all schools
of operatic music, and to exhibit as much as possible
the abilities of the individual singers. Looking at
these programmes from a provincial point of view—
the only way in which, in fact, they ought to be
regarded—the visitors resident in the three counties
which form these festivals have ample reason to
anticipate a great musical treat. We are glad to
perceive that there are no less than thirty ste 'yards,
a list of noblemen and gentlemen, which will gua-
rantee success in every respect. The Lord Bishop is
the President, and the Queen and Pr►nce Consort
patronise this festival, the profits of which are for
the benefit of the widows and orphans of clergymen
in the three dioceses.

MR. GLADS'I'ONI?. UPON CLASSICAL
EDUCATION.
Mn. GLADSTONE was last week present at the annual
examination of the pupils at Trinity College, Glenal.
mond, Perthshire. As such ceremonies in England,
and it appears in Scotland too, end in a lunch or a
dinner, Mr. Gladstone, in replying to a toast proposed
by the Warden, took the opportunity to deliver the
following opinions upon the value of a thorough
classical education. He said
For twenty-five years I have mingled amid the cares
and storms of life—for twenty five years I have seen the
demands made on men—and that chiefly among those who
may be called—and I do not cad theta so invidiatialy—
the utilitarians. the practical people ; and the result of
that experience is that, instead of despising more than
formerly the ancient plans of education, and being ready
to substitute the more novel, the new-tangled ideas upon
the subject, I have every year more intensely wished and
more earnestly prayed that the higher education in this
country may be maintained on the old foundations. I ant
not disposed to give in to the adversary one inch in the
matter of disputation in this question. I hold that their
views are not merely rash and bold, but that the move.
merit altogether is in the wrong direction, and that they
are taking a very narrow view of the exigencies of human
nature, and that in finding fault with the experience of
mankind they are not substituting anything better, but
merely notions manufactured in the brain which will not
stand wind or weather.
We are told that the French language is much more
useful than Latin and Greek. and that the time spent in
acquiring a knowledge of Latin and Greek should he given
to French. I answer this by saying it is much more useful
to make coats or waistcoats than to learn Greek or Latin,
or French either; and it is therefore not necessary to
teach French and Greek, but the thee should be employed
in making coats and waistcoats ; and I believe the mail
who will admit the first argument will also admit the
second. There is an impatience in men's minds of any
result that is distant—a losing hold of the great principles
on which society is based for the shallow views of men
who look for immediate results ; and not seeing the effects
at once of these things—of Latin and of Greek—they are
dissatisfied. In coming down by the railway, by is side
I saw the electric telegraph. Now, it might have been
said by an observer "What is the use of that?" He sees
the use of the railway, but he sees nothing of the uses of
the electric telegraph, and lie might suppose that the pcica
and the wires were erected there for some idle purpose—
if not for ornament, at least not for use. But yet throngh
these wires is passing the mind of the world—the most
wonderful communications ever known. Is not that the
case with ancient classical literature? Ara its results not
seen in the character of the men produced in this
country? If it is found that the minds of men under
that mode of education are better fitted fcr ail the active
duties of life than in other countries where it is disre-
garded, then, is this not a demonstration to satisfy any
reasonable man that, although the results may come
slowly, and may be at the ntoolett invisible, they must
persevere with their labours; and that, although the fruits
are slow, they will come, and that they will gain what is
desired—to enable their children to discharge all the varied
duties of life. That is the practical issue which we must
he content to abide; and all that I ask is that we be not
tried by the test of immediate utility. If only the objector
will be content to take the results of experience—and it is
a comprehensive school—then it would be the tribunal to
which I would be willing to carry it; for I am convinced
that the same amount of practical utility cannot be ob-
tained by the substitution of any other system of educa-
tion.
I confess that, turning your attention to another point
of view, I am by no means satisfied of the value of a
superficial classical education. Whether it is one of those
goods from which results are obtained in exact proportion
to the amount taken, 1 have great doubts. I have a strong
impression that in order to obtain its benefits there must
be a thorough classical education. There must not be any
mere mastery of books, but rather a thorough assimila-
tion of the intellectual habits—we must not give up the
old-fashioned exercises of committing to memory what
we have learned to construe, but go on that our minds
may harmonise with the languages. For my own nart
feel the deep importance of the thorough study of Latin
and Greek—and I am glad to see that in this college
this principle is acted upon. I am willing to make
additions and extensions to that study, but not to imply
the loss of what is indeed a delightful as well as useful
study, or the substitution of anything directly opposite,

however subtle or however plausible may be the arguments
urged.
I frankly admit that I rejoice at the study of the ancient
classics, because T believe that in no small degree is due
to them that love of liberty which is the characteristic of
Englishmen, and which is never associated with those
wild theories of government which have marked the nine-
teenth century, and which, I think, show the necessity of
such teachers. For, after all, liberty must not be mis-
taken for licence ; and it often happens that in countries
with democratic constitutions the freedom of the body and
of the mind is worst understood. If we cross the Atlantic
to that wonderful republic America, we shall find that
their constitution is far more democratic than ours, but
that there is far less true liberty. And I will not shrink
from expressing the opinion that, although this country
has been the happy home of well regulated liberty from a
very early period, yet that the love of that liberty and the
comprehension of that liberty have been in no small
degree fostered and fortified in ua by the great masters of
antiquity and the lessons which they have afforded us.
Mr. Gladstone then insisted that in the cultivation
of a sound taste, as well as in the fitting man for the
severe and practical duties of life, no writers of any
age were comparable to those of Greece and Rome,
and concluded :

I do not hesitate to say that the old studies are the best
studies; and that if you want to find the man—l am not
speaking of individual cases, but as a general rule—if you
want to find the man who has the greatest aptitude, the
greatest facility in acquiring what is new, the most
thorough mind for the acquisition of new forms of thought
and new pursuits, and the greatest facility in the descrip-
tion of them to another—for the solution of this practical
problem and enigma in public life give me the men who
has had a thorough classical training, who has drunk the
writings of the 01l masters into his bones and his
marrow, who has stood in the race of competition with
schoolboys and with collegians, and who has proved his
powers under the course of study there placed before him.