The Press.
London, England, 1856-02-23 00:00:00

Obituarg.

HIS GRACE HENRY CHARLES DUKE OF NORFOLK,
K.G., F.R.S., Earl of Arundel and Surrey, Baron
Fitzalan, Premier Duke and Hereditary Earl Mar-
shal of England, died, under an attack of paralysis, on
Monday morning last, at Arundel Castle. His late
Grace was born 12th of August, 1701, and married,
27th of December, 1814, Lady Charlotte Leveson
Gower, by whom he had issue three sons and two
daughters. At the general elections of '3O and '3l
his Grace, as Earl of Surrey, was returned for Hors-
ham, being ,he first Roman Catholic who took the
oaths and his seat in the House of Commons after
the passing of the Roman Catholic Emancipation
Act in 1820. In 1832 be was returned, in conjunction
with Lord George Lennox, for the Western Division
of Sussex, and continued its representative up to
1841, when his Grace was summoned by writ to the
House of Lords, during the lifetime of his father, by
the title of Baron Maltravers, and on the 16th of
March, 1842, he succeeded to the dukedom, on the
death of his father. His Grace had filled several
offices in her Majesty's household. In July, 1839,
he was appointed Treasurer of the Queen's house-
hold, and made a Privy Councillor. On Sir Rober
Peel's retirement from office in July, 1846, he suc-
ceeded the Earl of Jersey as Master of the Horse,
which office he held until the formation of the Earl
of Derby's Ministry. On the Earl of Aberdeen
taking office his Grace was made Lord Steward of
the Household, but soon after, in December, 1853,
relinquished that place to Earl Spencer. In
politics his Grace was a Whig. He was highly in-
censed at the Papal aggression, which in some
measure influenced his Grace's decision to renounce
the Roman Catholic faith, and pas,s over to the
Anglican Church. The deceased Duke is succeeded

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in the dukedom and ancient family honours by his
son Henry Granville, Earl of Arundel and Surrey,
born Nov. 7, 1815, and married on the 19th of June,
1839, to Augusta Mary, daughter of Admiral Sir
Edmund Lions, G.C.8., Commander-in-Chief of the
Mediterranean fleet. The present duke, formerly
in the Royal Horse Guards, retired from the army in
1837, and entered the House of Commons as repre-
sentative for Arundel, for which borough he has sat
in several Parliaments. He has also sat for the city
of Limerick for a few months. The Duke is a rigid
Roman Catholic, and highly esteemed by the Romish
clergy.
Silt JOHN STODDART, KNT., D.C.L., late Chief
Justice of Malta, and Judge of the Admiralty Court
of that island, died, at the ripe age of eighty-four, on
the 16th inst., at his residence, Brompton-square.
At a meeting of the Law Amendment Society, on the
following evening, Lord Brcugham, in announcing
the death of this eminent person, took the opportu-
nity to pass a high eulogium on his extraordinary
learning and his great and varied talents.
MR. BRAHABI, the singer, of whom young and cld
all possess some recollection, more or less, died on
Sunday last. Born in 1774, after a career of un-
rivalled success, great misfortunes, and ultimate de-
pendence upon the affectionate care of his children,
he had reached the advanced age of eighty-two. In
1787, under Leoni, Braham made his &hilt, at the
Royalty Theatre, and, though but a child, sang with
such taste and expression, that he excited the interest
of Mr. Abraham Goldsmith, who took him by the
hand, and ultimately bringing him out at Bath, ob-
tained for him the tuition of Rauzzini, the director of
the concerts held in that city. To Rauzzini Brabam
always acknowledged his obligations. In 1796 he
made his appearance at Drury Lane, in Storace's
opera of Mahmoud, and in the same year, with a rising
reputation, young Braham obtained engagements as
principal tenor at the Italian Opera-house and at the
oratorio performances, where his magnificent de-
livery of the " Deeper and deeper still," in Handel's
Jeptha, elevated him at once to high repute as a singer
of sacred music. In 'O7 he started for Italy to com-
plete his education, and remained there till 1801,
singing at the principal theatres. In 1801 he once
more appeared in England, and then commenced
his long career of success. The operas of Storace
were revived, but Braham soon began himself to
compose, and speedily produced The Cabinet, The
Deril's Bridge, False Alarm, and other operas,
with great success. The airs in these operas are
simple, but full of melody ; and, as principal tenor,
Braham threw into them such power, such feeling
and pathos, and endless variety of expression, as
carried the world with him at once. Not only did
he compose his own operas, and sing them with
such amazing success, but he wrote many occa-
sional songs, which obtained immense popularity.
His " Death of Nelson " will be remembered by most
people out of their teens. The intense energy,
power, and animation he used to throw into that
favorite song would bring down the house in tre-
mendous shouts of acclamation. Certainly of all
English singers Brabam was at once the finest and
the most popular—to the last—that thu English
stage has ever seen, though in the theatre he sacrificed
to the "gods" perhaps too much. As an oratorio
singer he was unrivalled ; as the interpreter of
the sublime conceptions of Handel he has never
been equalled, and will never be surpassed. In
1836, atter having amassed a large fortune, he built
the St. James's Theatre, and opened it as an opera-
house. But the speculation failed. Brabam was
ruined, fled to America for some years, and, at a time
of life when repose was needful to him, once more
took to his profession for his bread. His latter
years, however, were passed in comfort and ease by
the kindness of his children, and he has et length
died without seeing a competitor arise to bear off his
honours or weaken his fame.

ARAB WoilEN.—l have often heard that the Arab
women are generally plain in features. I cannot by
any means agree with th;s statement. I have now
seen many of them in different places, and belong-
ing to different tribes, and in general I have found
their features regular and even handsome. Their
bodies are finely proportioned, and their carriage
and walk easy and graceful. All of them have that
rich black lustrous eye that is only seen in perfec-
tion in the East. The forehead is open and high,
and the eyebrows beautifully arched. The mouth is
well formed, with proudly-curved lines ; but this
feature is universally disfigured by the custom of
staining the under lip dark blue. The braided hair
is almost quite covered by a black veil that hangs
gracefully over the shoulders, the corner of which is
frequently brought forward to cover the lower part of
the face. The whole dress consists of a long loose
blue robe of coarse calico. It is drawn closely
round the throat, has wide, hanging sleeves, and
sweeps the ground like a train when they walk. A
profusion of bracelets of gold or silver adorn the
arms, and large rings and drops bang from the
ears ; but only a few of them wear the nose jewel.--
porter's Five Years in Damascus.

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