The Express.
London, England, 1863-09-17 00:00:00

THE CHANNEL FLEET IN LIVERPOOL.

The number of visitors to the Channel fleet yes-
terday wee between 2,000 and 3,000, being still considerably
low than was anticipated. This may be partially due to the
weather, which has been cold and chilly, with rain con-
stantly threatening. Yesterday the vowels open forEm public
to ion were the Black Prince, Edgar, erald,
and Defence. In the afternoon the officers of the
Etesistanee gave an entertainment, which was followed '
by • ball. His Worship the Mayor of Liverpool and'
about 100 ladies and gentlemen were invited. A. similar
entertainment will be given by the captain and offioeis
of the Liverpool today. On Saturday the Mosey
Docks and Harbour Beard will entertain Admiral
Dames and the officers of the fleet to luncheon,
and afterwards convey .them over the estate under their
control The grand banquet to be given by the Royal
Raney Yacht Club in the Philharmonic-hall on Friday will
be one of the most splendid entertainments of the kind ever
given in Liverpool It is expected that Lord Derby and
other members of both homes of parliament will be present
on the occasion. Some astonishment has been created by
the fact that whereas the roads of the fleet were thrown
open for inspection on Sunday in Scotland, where tt cam-
limed considerable heartburnings a. d ill feeling, in Liver-
pool they are to be closed, although there would be little
if any objection made to such a proceeding. Sunday is the
only day upon which thousands of the poorer claims of
Liverpool can possibly have an opportunity of visiting the
fleet.

Lord Derby has invited the officers of the fleet to Known-
ley on Sat y.

COLONEL WHURDO IN NORPOLII.-OREAT
VOLUNTEER REVIEW.

NORWICH, WEDNESDAY.

Yesterday afternoon witnessed a review on a
large scale of all the Norfolk volunteers on Mousehold-
heath, Dear this city. The ground was a difficult, nay, an
impossible, one on which to manteuvre a large body of
hoops la a comparatively tame and ordinary fashion, so
that Colonel M•ltiudo, who commanded in chief, had to
near to tactics rather out of the ordinary volunteer rut
A huge body of spectators had assembled on a rather limited
plateau, on which it was generally supposed that the
manoeuvres would take place. Having with infinite diffi-
culty obtained, as they imagined, favourable positions of
observation, their chagrin mast have beenconsiderable when
the troops moved bodily off to quite another part of the
heath, where their accoutrements and arms could indeed
be discerned &anus in the sun, but where all else
»maned a sealed page. Colonel M`Murcio, who had gone
over the ground on the preceding day, and had then de-
termined on his plan of action, carried it out without any
communication being made as to big designs through the
medium of a programme ; and hence mot only did the great
bulk of the public remain completely in the dark as to
what was going on, bat—and this, no doubt, was the great
, object aimed at—the volunteers were also taken to some
extent unawares, and submitted to unanticipated testa, as
they would be is actual warfare. Household-heath presents
a wide eldest of very broken ground, thickly covered with
prickly furze in many places, which penetrated the uniforms
of many of the volunteers, when, as was often the case,
they had to scramble up steep inclines se well as they
raid. But the Mane which the heath presented early in
the day was a picturesque and delightful one As the at tr-
uce wore on the sun disappeared, and everything assumed
• more sombre tint; but the rapidly shifted bodies of
troops continued for several hours to give animation to the
wide-spread landscape.
This interesting ceremony completed, the order was gives
to 001012100ce the march to Norwich, where a dinner had
been prepared in the Corn Exchange OR very extensive
scale. T • building was greatly aliened in 1861, but it
waved scarcely equal to aroustoodate the immure piety,
for whom twelve tables for 126 each, besides head bible
for fifty, sod about iho ants is the gallery, bad bees pre-
par Behind the chairman's seat, which was occupied by
the Mayor, the plate of the Norwich Town Council, the
colours of the Norwich battalion, dm, bad been grasped,
sod the ball geaseally was decorated, altliongh Dot to any
very great extent. The diaper was what an entertainment
for volunteers should be—simple, but substantial ;
sad although the staple feature' were only cold
beef and mottos, some idea of the magnitude of the ester.
tatomeat may be Wowed from the fact that 3,000 lbs. of
meat alone were placed upoo the tables. The Mayor was
supported on right and left by the Earl of Leksster, the High
sheriff of Norfolk (Mr. J. S. Soots Chad), Lord Iliaffiekl, Sir
S. ff. K. 14" co Is, M.P., Sir W. Russell, M.P., Mr. E.
Warner, M.P., sad most of the offices who had taken tart
hi the review, including of course Colored ktlturdo. Tic
after dinner comedians were principally notiesabis for a
speech by Colonel ht•Murdo, who, is replying to the
toast of the volunteers. dried the vtatemeat made by or
of his gallant friends at the late crusting el the British
Association, that masters of volunteer troops ROM growing
fewer sad fewer. As far as his experience went—and it was ne-
cessarily a largo or on such sabjeom—musters of brigades
were beoorniog greeter and greater Met/ado( fewer end fewer,
and he would answer for it that the of of the 'dun.
tears had progreseed with the numbers of those meters.
The meetiog held that day was intended son as an rapes-
tics than as • review • bat the volunteers assembled had
• new realised nem idea el the Mod el grata which they

might have to go over in actual battle. The season was now
fir advised, the days were becoming shirt and odd, sad
volunteer corps would probably prefer marches into the
usury indeed of remaining on their drill-grounds. In
snob areas he hoped commanding alines would form their
companies as if they were advanced guards. Ina pamphlet
published by Sir C. Napier, in 1852, that gallant Aker re-
commended only seven things to be dose b volunteer, but
' one of these was the formation of regular advanced sad rear
guards, which must not engage in small lights on their own
amount, but simply serve an bodies of observation.
After a few further tout. and speeches of local interest
the gallant party broke up.

MUSIC.

NORWICH MUSICAL FESTIVAL
(nom ova ovm =roams.)
NORWICH, WEDNIBDLY.

The Festival is going on with great brilliancy,
and bids fair to rival in interest and success the
greatest of those magnificent music meetings for
which the ancient city of Norwich has been so highly
distinguished during a long series of yearn. There
once were many provincial musical Festivals in the
three kingdoms—at York, Liverpool, Manchester,
Derby, Edinburgh, Dublin, and other places—but
all of these have gradually become extinct, and there
only remain "the meeting of the three choirs" of
Worcester, Gloucester, and Hereford, and the two
great Festivals of Birmingham and Norwich. What-
ever causes have led to the decay of the others,
these three yet live, and are likely to live. We
trust they will long live and flourish ' • for though
the increased facility and frequency of intercourse
between the metropolis and the provinces has
enabled the provincial population to partake of the
pleasures of the capital much more easily than they
did twenty years ago, yet the two great music
meetings of Birmingham and Norwich have a pecu-
liar interest of their own--en interest compounded
of many elements which are found in combination
on those occasions. For many years Birmingham
and Norwich have striven, stoutly and honourably,
for the palm, and it would be difficult to decide which
of the two has done 'the most for the promotion
of music. If Birmingham has fostered the genius
of Mendelsohn in a manner exceeding anything of
which his own country can boast, Norwich has in
an equal degree encouraged and stimulated the
genius of Spohr. One only of this great master's
works, indeed, the Fall of Babylon, was produced
expressly for Norwich, but all his oratorios, from
the Last Judgmenf? inclusive, were reproduced at
Norwich immediately after their first production in
Germany, and most of them were performed at
Norwich under the personal direction of the illus-
trious author himself, who entertained for Norwich
the same warmth of regard that Mendelasohn felt for
Birmingham. Many other works of great masters,
English as well as foreign, have first become known
to the British public by means of the Norwich Feed-
vals ; and the judicious and well-iirected energy
displayed in this respect by the managers of these
Festivals has undergone no falling off. At no pre-
vious Festival that we can remember have the pro-
grammes of the performances been fuller of novelty,
variety, and interest than those of the Festival now
in progress. The only fault with which we can
charge them is their excessive lecgth, espe-
cially in the cue of the evening concerts,
which are more than sufficient to satisfy
the keenest appetite for music. In this country—
in London as well as the provinces—musical en-
tertainments are constructed too much in accord-
ance with the mercantile feeling, that we ought to
get as much as possible for our money.
Yesterday there was no performance in the morn-
ing, which was occupied by a long and careful
rehearsal. The concert in the evening consisted of
a profuse banquet of miscellaneous music, and did
not terminate till near midnight. There was a
lame assemblage of company, and the hall, filled
with female beauty and elegant toilettes, bad
an exceedingly gay and exhilarating aspect.
The concert began with Beethoven's Pas-
toral Symphony, exceedingly well played,
but scarcely listened to, many portions of it being
drowned amid the noise and bustle of people taking
their seats and talking. This exquisite work, in
fact, was a sort of enfant perdu, or forlorn hope—
sacrificed for the benefit of the things that came
after. A large portion of the programme was com-
posed of things which are familiar to everybody at
all in the habit of going to concerts, and which,
therefore' require no particular notice. But we
may say that they were selected with taste, were
well calculated to display to advantage the talents
of the various performers, and, generally speaking,
were attentively listened to and wermly applauded. A
very prominentfeature of the concert was Mr. Cusins's
Wedding Serenata, composed in honour of the mar-
riage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and
first produced on the opening night of Her Majes-
ty's Theatre last season. On that occasion, it will
be remembered, it was produced under disadvan-
tageous circumstances, and consequently produced
less effect than it ought to have done. Its repro-
duction on this occasion was a judicious step, and
ha careful and admirable performance did full jus-
tice to its merits. The beautiful air sung by
Thiene, "The lord I am of wedded love ;" the
charming duet sing by her and Sims Reeves, "The
pearl and coral of the deep ;" Bentley's song,
"Above there is e star ;" the trio (the
gem of the work), " Daughter of the Baltic, hail I"
and the magnificent final chorus, " Hail, Den-
mark's daughter," made a great impression, and
the piece concluded amidst loud plaudits. Though
a morceatt &occasion, composed for a temporary
purpose, this cantata has beauties which give it a
permanent interest, and the work does high honour
to the genius of the author, one of the most dis-
tinguished among the young English musicians of
the day. Another remarkable feature of the con-
cert was the selection from Gounod's Paust, an
opera which has come into such extraordinary
vogue by its brilliant success throughout Europe
that its very name excites curiosity and interest.
The pieces selected were the air, " Valise legere,"
sung by Mdlle. Trebelli ; the coveting., " Qual
tnrbamento," sung by Sims Reeves ; the chorus
of soldiers, " Glory and love," sung in Eng-
lish ; and the famous scene des bijoux, " E
strana poter," sung by Thiene. All these favourite
morceauz were of course applauded with enthu-
siasm. There were also selections from Howard
Glover's operas, Once Too Often and Buy Bias, in-
cluding the pretty song, " Love is a gentle thing;"
the elegant trio, "Too true were my forebodings;'
and the animated duet, " And is it thus."
The singers were Madame Lemmens-Sherrington,
Miss Palmer, Mr. Montem Smith, and Mr. Weiss.
One of the most charming things in the concert was
the air, "My long hair is braided," from Wallace's
opera, The Amber ;vita, to which Madame Lein-
mans Sherrington used to give so much effect at
Her Majesty's Theatre, and which she nor warbled
as delightfully 'mover. The only instrumental solo
was Mendelssohn's violin concerto, which M. Sain-
ton executed with a richness of tone, power of
execution, and purity of style, which would have
done houour to any violinist of the present time.
The performance of this (Wednesday) morning
consisted of Mr. Silas's sacred drama, Jonah; a
scene from Mr. Henry Leslie's oratorio Immanuel ;
the Rabat Mater by Haydn, Pergolesi, and Rot-
aioi and several miscellaneous sacred pieces.
In the subject of au sacred drama Mr. Silas has
been anticipated by Handel in his Adana, and
partly by Mendelsrohn in his choruses for the cele-
brated tragedy of Racine. Mr. Silas's work is not
constructed according to the conventional oratorio
form. It professes to be entirely dramatic ' • and
in several portions of it, especially in the treat-
ment of the characters of the Queen and
of the priests of Baal, the composer has
not adhered to the style of sacred music.
The dramatis persona are :—Jehoiada, the High
Priest of the Jews ; Mitten, the Chief Priest of
Baal ; Rosh, the youthful King, the last survivor
of the race of David ; Zebia, his mother ; and
I Athena, the usurping Queen. The story—like
' that of the previous dramas on the subject—is
taken from the eleventh chapter of the Second
Book cf Kings, and is (or ought to be) well known
to everybody. We must defer till to-morrow our
remarks on the musical treatment of this subject,
as well as upon the other portions of this morning's
performance, as its conclusion has barely left us
time to despatch the present notice.

SERIOUS FIDES.-(THIS DAY.)

DR3TRUOTION OF THE DUKES HEAD TAVERN,

PUTNEY.

The moat extensive fire that has occurred in the
neighbourhood of Putney for some time broke out about
4 o'clock this morning in the well-known and extensive pre-
mises belonging to Mr. W. Miller, proprietor of the above
place of resort. The police officer on duty in the
district, while patrolling his beat, noticed a dense
main of red smoke rushing through the bar windows.
Having succeeded in making the inmates sensible of their
danger, the officer sent for insistence, sad in the
course of • few minutes two engines of the perish
attended. Pending their 'wriest the inmates had suc-
ceeded in effecting a safe retreat. Mr. Henderson, the
chief officer of the D district, started to the scene with
two engines and a strong muster of firemen. Upon reach.
lug the Lower Richmond-road, they found that the gams
were rolling oat of fourteen rooms and through the roof.
Although just the break of day the fire ooald be seen for
miles distant. The do was not extinguished until the
Duke's Head and all it contained were destroyed, and the
kitchen and scullery of Mr. Nicholl partly oxuntmed and
the roof burned off. The origin of the Are is unknown. Mr.
Miller was insured in the Imperial Fire-office.

FIRE AT ISLINGTON.-NARROW ESCAPE OF
SEVERAL PERSONS.

A fire broke out this morning on the premises of Mr.
J. Rodman., confectioner, No. 18, Upper-street, Islington.
The dames, when first discovered, were raging in the lower
part of the building, which was two storeys high. Police.
constable Clancy knocked violently at the door, and enc.
raided in arousing the inmates, when a fearful scene pre-
anted itself. At one of the second floor windows two men
made their appearance and cried loudly for help. They
were told to remain a few minutes, as the Royal Society's
serape was coming along the road. Just at that moment a
boy appeared at the first floor window and fell out, but he
was caught by Poliw•oonstable Clancy. Conductor Vireo
and Mr. Inspector Baddeley arrived with the Islington
and Sunshiny escapes, and succeeded in rescuing
the two am from the upper floor. By that time the flaw, u
had taken possession of the greater part of the building,
and were streaking the premises of Mr. W. Robins, a
doll•maker, No. 14, and also those of Mr. T. Turner, a
photographer, and Mr. & Crouch, No. 17. The parish
engines quickly attended, ma well u several of the London
brigade, and one of the land steamers by Shand and Mason.
The flame could not, however, be conquered until
the premises in which they began were destroyed.
The origin of the fire, or whether the sufferers
were insured couhl not be ascertained. No. 18k, belonging
to Mr. Robins, the doll-maker, has the front shop and the
contents destroyed. This person was insured in the Lon-
don Fire•offloe. The premises of Mr. S. Crouch and those
of Mr. Turner are also severely damaged by fire, he. For-
tunately the extensive wine-vaults of Mr. A. Gurney,
although exposed to great danger, escaped with only trifling
damage. The tetanus will reach some thousand pounds
sterling.