The Press.
London, England, 1853-07-30 00:00:00

THE PRESS._

tired. It was said by Schlegel, "If Shakspeare had
not killed Merrutin, that 3fercutio would have killed
him ;" and in his own self defence we could wish that
the author had brought the life of Sir Jasper Carew
to its close. The articles on " The Suit " and " The
Museum of Irish Industry" are instructive and
interesting. The concluding essay on " National
Education in Ireland" is of such importance that
we may possibly notice it elsewhere.

The Church of Scotland Magazine and Review for
July. No. :L Edinburgh: Moodie.
Tins is the third number of a new Edinburgh
magazine. The articles appear to be the production
of volunteers, and want the vigour of experienced
writers. It contains an engraving of the College of
St. Andrew's calculated to increase the prejudice of
southerns against that ancient but not illustrious
" university," whose " national renown " is in these
pages boasted of with provincial ardour.

A l'aosrEcrtis has been issued by Mr. Bosworth,
the publisher, of an intended digest of the parlia-
mentary blue-books, to be issued in monthly numbers,
at ss. each. The work will be in octavo shape, of
the same size, and probably the same type, as Han•
sard's Debates. It is to contain the essence of those
voluminous reports and documents which in their
present form e::tend over sixty fOlio volumes yearly,
and which, simply from their bulk, are excluded
from all private and many public libraries. It is no.
torious that three-fourths of our M.l'.'s sell their
copies of these publications—presented to them by
the State—as waste paper ; while numbers of me •
chanics' institutes and provincial reading-rooms are
crying out for their gratuitous distribution. We ap-
prehend that the difficulties of compression will be
greater than are anticipated, although the admirable
indexing of all reports furnishes great facilities.
Extreme care is necessary in all cases of selection,
especially when subjects of minor importance have to be
excluded altogether. In dealing with public com-
mittees the reports should be given in full, together
with an analysis of the evidence, such as the index
generally supplies. A great deal of what is printed has
only a casual and temporary importance, as in the case
of evidence taken before election committees, and the
like. All matter of this kind should be rejected at
once, and only the decision of the committee and the
house thereupon inserted. These details may safely
be left to Mr. Bosworth's management : his project,
if well carried out, deserves all support.

BOOKS RECEIVED SINCE. OUR LAST PUBLICATION.
3/minx Isle, de. Poems, by T. J. Ouseley. Woodfall and Kinder.
MaeouloWs Sire.. c hes. 3%0 I s. H. Vizetell.
Seneca; or, the Twice-betrothed. Parts I end 2. J. Horsey.
Story of Mind Blanc. By Albert Smith. D. Bogue.

USlt.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.

Ix consequence of the cuntinued illness of Mario,
on Saturday last the second representation of La
Farorita was again postponed, and Rossini's Olen°
substituted in its place.
We feel that to criticise at this day the music of
an opera so well known as Otello is almost a work of
supererogation; but we shall, perhaps, be excused if
we deliver our opinion, that although it contains some
few compositions which are in point of originality
and effect of a high order of merit, it is on the whole
very unequal, and bears the marks of being care-
lessly and hastily written.
There can be no doubt that twenty years ago this
opera enjoyed a very great share of popularity, but
its success was in some measure owing to the abili-
ties of Garcia and his daughter Malibran, who had
identified themselves with the principal parts; and
also to the reputation and school of Rossini, which
at that time carried all before it. In these days, the
prestige being gone, and the artists no longer in the
public view, there are many reasons why the opera
should cease to lie attractive. In the first place, the
libretto is a most worthless production, and is re•
markable for nothing but the ingenuity of the process
of addition, subtraction ,And elimination, by which the
Italian adapter has contrived to mutilate and render
oppressively tedious one of the hest-constructed plots
ever devised. Again, the music is excessively difficult,
and all the parts require to be performed by first-rate
singers. With such a Roderigo as M. Stigelli, who has
neither voice, school, nor execution, it is not surprising
that the opera should fail of its accustomed effect.
The performance of last Saturday was not, however,
without features of great excellence. Orisi was in
good voice and sang admirably ; indeed, we doubt
whether she ever delivered the finale of the second
act with gremer energy and power. Tamberlik's
Otello was deserving of great praise. He executed
the difficult music with care and certainty, and he
took the house by complete surprise by the tome and

SATURDAY,

volume with which he twice sung (in the duet with
/ago) the note, C sharp in alt, with his chest voice.
The part of logo, wl►ich is reduced by the librettist to a
nonentity, was admirably sung and acted by Ronconi.
Here our commendation must cease. We were disap-
pointed with Tagliafico's Bimini, and the less said
of M. Stigelli the better. As an instance of how in
this opera Rossini has copied himself, it may be
remarked that the accompaniment to Basilio's song,
"La Calunnia," in the Barbiere, is introduced into
the finale of the third act during the murder scene,
and made unnecessarily prominent.

tt!t puma.

GERMAN PLAYS.
THOSE to whom the words " Shakspeare in Germany"
have a solemn sound, pregnant with some mysterious
signification, must have been not a little surprised at
the performance of Othello by the German company
of the St. James's Theatre. A belief has been pushed
about by the Germano-maniacs of this country that
the Germans are more deeply penetrated with the
meaning of the immortal bard of Avon than his
English compatriots. It is to Germany we are di-
reeled, by a powerful literary party, when we would
seek some new light on Shakspeare—Germany is the
land of Shakspearian lore. That in the ripertoires
of German theatres Hamlet, Othello, and some other
works of our great dramatist are just as much
reckoned national as the productions of Oiithe,
Schiller, and Lessing, is a known fact. What wonder,
then, if many unsophisticated Londoners fancied
that, by seeing a Shakspearian play acted by a Ger-
man company, a perfect blaze of artistic glory
would be revealed to them ? They would now see
Shakspeare for the first time, not as interpreted by a
troop of superficial Britons, but his real beauties
would stand out conspicuously, being dug up ad
displayed to the gaze by a party of profound, specu-
lative, art-admiring Germans. The only fear would
be that the interpretation would prove a little too
recondite; that, having been attained by one mystic
sense, it would require another to understand it. So,
when old Jacob Mime wrote his works in a state of
inspiration, he declared that no one could read them
who was not equally inspired with himself.
Alas ! when the Othello appeared, terribly were all
expectants undeceived. It was not that the German
artists went too deep : they had not learned even the
commonest points which the humblest English
actor has at his fingers' ends. Nor had they any
new points to serve as substitutes. The whole play
of Othello—if we except the single character of
Desdemona, which was gracefully played by Fraiilein
Fuhr—was as flat and insipid an exhibition as ever
it was our misfortune to witness. We can best give
a notion of it by saying that it was like an amateur
performance by a company of not first-rate amateurs.
It, has reached our ears that the play of Othello
was produced in consequence of an express stipula-
tion on the part of Herr Dessoir that lie should be
allowed to play the noble Moor. If this story be
true, Herr Dessoir committed a grievous mistake.
Neither his appearance nor his manner in the
slightest degree corresponds to our conception of
Othello. At the same time, of his kind, Herr Dessoir
is a very clever actor. Those who, on Monday last,
saw him as the Moor in Schiller's Fiesco, and con-
trasted the relish with which he uttered the ludicrous
villany of the character with his inefficient repre-
sentation of Othello's jealousy, might easily doubt
for a while whether the same person stood before
them. Either the samples with which we have been
presented have been very ill-chosen, or Herr Dessoirs
line is more comic than tragic. The Moor of Genoa
is more in his way than the Moor of Venice. Pro-
bably if Herr Devrient had played Othello, and Herr
Dessoir had represented lago, the performance would
have been more satisfactory. We do not regard
Herr Devrient as an actor of the highest genius, but
at all events he can produce a noble and ideal repre-
sentation of any part he undertakes, and a play with
him has infinitely more weight than a play without
him. Hence Hamlet remains as it was last year, an
interesting performance.
The fitness of Fieseo for Herr Devrient and Herr
Dessoir renders it one of the conspicuous pieces of
the season, irrespective of those claims to attention
which are advanced by every drama of the classic
authors. when presented to the public for the first
time. The play is in itself rather tiresome, for,
though the stage is constantly in movement, the situa-
tion in the various acts strongly resemble each other,
ands the excitement of the actors exceeds that of the

audience.
But there is something in the artificial style of
Herr Devrient which exactly corresponds to the
artificial character of Fi(oco; and as for Herr Des-
soir's Moor, it is one of the most striking specimens
of comic actinglweihave seen during the Gelman
sea-on.

ULY 30, 1853.

foreign Vittrarg nub gtrtistit gossip.

A THEATRE iS about to be constructed at Algiers.
It is to be the finest ornament of the town, and in-
augurated with great éclat. An excellent troop of
singers has already left Paris.
THE OPERA CORIQUE is rehearsing the Nabal of
Halevy. The Grand Opera will reopen with a ballet,
and begin immediately the rehearsals of Meyerbeer's
Africa in.
A COLLEeTION OF EULOGISTIC POEMS, with which
the elevation of one of their countrywomen to the
throne of the French Emperor has inspired the
Spanish poets Sato.res, Villergas, Culate, Baeza,
Borao, Rapeta, Manini, Hartzenbusch, &c., has been
printed at Paris in a magnificent volume. They
were 'resented in manuscript to the noble lady to
whom they are dedicated, and who encouraged the
publication.
M. HERMANN I,WEISB is publishing at Berlin a
"History of Costume." The first part is devoted to
that of the ancients.

ONE OF THE BEST BELGIAN PAINTERS, M. Debiefve,
has just finished for the newly-built senate house in
Brussels a large composition representing "Belgium
declaring itself a Nation." The allegorical figure of
the country, standing on a perron, covered with a
mantle of crimson velvet sown with golden lions, is
surrounded by emblematic figures of the nine pro-
vinces, and of the chief towns, figured by young
women bearing the historical or industrial attributes
of the locality. The picture, without being equal to
the former productions of the artist, and especially
his "Combination of the Belgian and Dutch Nobles
against the Spanish Domination," is distinguished by
eminent qualities.
THE ART EXHIBITION AT GHENT will open on
August 23. It is affirmed it will be more brilliant
than any that has preceded it. The English school,
which was fairly represented at the last exhibition at
Antwerp, will take a still more important part at
Ghent. A committee for the promotion of the fine
arts has been formed at Ghent, and entrusted with
the organisation of the exhibition.
WE hear of a new and curious application of pho-
tography. At one of the last sittings of the French
Academy of Science, M. Regnault produced a series
of photographic images on paper of objects of natural
history taken with the aid of the microscope. The
invention will be of great utility to naturalists and

GERMAN JorRNALISM.—The transition from censor-
ship to freedom of the press causes many curious
complications in Germany. The New, Preussische
Zeitung, a journal of a pronond character, has had
to encounter many difficulties of late; and the editors
of all the Berlin papers have been summoned before
the police, and "some more caution" recommended to
be taken in reference to the Turkish imbroglio. Dr.
Schweitzer, a Prussian, but now chief editor of the
Vienna official Gazette, has compiled a codex of
editorial duties, which he has submitted to the Aus-
trian Government for acceptance. One of the rules
laid down there is, that no person connected with
any journal published in Austria shall furnish matter
to any foreign periodical, &c. _ _

GERMAN IDEALISM.—the well-known Dr. Enne-
mours has published a work " On the Origin and the
Nature of the Human Mind (Seele) and on the In-
spiration of Mind (Beseelung) in the Human Ftr-
tus." The constant disputes between materialism
and spiritualism are investigated in this work from
a new point of view, the differences between the
animals and man are estimated upon high scientific
principles, and the reconciliation of natural history and
metaphysics attempted on the ground of the identity
of matter and mind.

Ross's' has left his residence at Bologna, and has
purchased a mansion in Florence, where he intends
to end his days.
SWEDISH EXPLORISO PARTY.—The Swedish frigate
Eugenia has returned to StockhiAm after an ab-
sence of two years spent in a circumnavigation of
the world. The acquisitions of natural and ethno-
logical curiosities and specimens have been great.
They will be published in an especial work under
the patronage of the brother of the King, who is an
officer in the Swedish fleet.

ARTS IN RUSSIA.—M. Donner, a distinguished
pupil of Cornelius, has been engaged for several
years past in St. Petersburg on paintings for the
great churches of that city, especially that of St.
Isaac. M. -Donner is now on a journey through
Italy, and will remain a year at Rome to make
sketches and cartoons for some paintings to be ex-
ecuted at Moscow.

TVIMISH DIPLOMATIC TERMS.—AS the present
Eastern crisis makes the fixing of Turkish diplo-
matic terms a matter of importance, the following
Kauai may be interesting :—" Hatti-sheriff," which,
in its literal translation, means a bull of the Kaliff, is
an organic law proclaimed by the Sultan, and which
he promulgates by his own authority, under religious
sanction, and irrevocably, as the Chief of the Faithful.
" Tansimat " is the regulation of the hatti-sheriff of