The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-28 00:00:00

Viardot, "II segreto." And yet Mme. Novello sang
" Come b hello " divinely ; and Mr. Sims Reeves gave
" Di Pescatore " with an unaffected purity of expres-
sion that left nothing to be desired. This simple
genial air passed off with scarcely a hand ! The
rest was to match. Mr. Weiss—the concert Duke
Alphonso—vainly apostrophized revenge in tones
that made the walls of the Shire•hall reverberate
again, ant would have cast dread into the hearts of the
singer's bona•fide enemies. No one seemed to care, nor
was the banter apparently conveyed in the words of
the self-same Duke at the opening of the subsequent

" Guai is ti sfugge un motto,
" Se ti tradMee un detto"—
of any effect. Not a " motto " nor a " detto," nor a
word nor a sign, proceeded from the somnolent
assembly. Even the celerity with which Mme.
Viardot returned to the platform—at the uncon.
sciously expressed desire of some half-dozen
awakening occupants of the reserved seats—and
went a second time through Maffeo Orsini's "It
segreto," met with an acknowledgment which at best
amounted to " Thank you for nothing !" The
" segreto per esser felice " of the amateurs of the
three counties would seem to have been the privilege
of enjoying uninterrupted repose. "Enfin Vase sort
eveillia "—at last, now that the concert was nearly
over, the audience seemed suddenly to remember
that Apollo, not Somnus, was the god of the bcur ;
and as Miss Louisa Vinning, with charming
freshness of voice and appropriate vivacity of ex-
pression, warbled, in her best manner, Arne's truly
English and thoroughly genuine melouy, " Where
the bee sucks," they became more and more attentive,
until, at the end, they burst out into an explosion of
plaudits that brought the young vocalist back again
to the platform, ready and willing to afford them
(little as they deserved it) the same treat a second
time, which she accordingly did, and they appreciated
with the heartiest goodwill. Then followed the
couch-duet between Azucena ana Manrico from It
Trovatore. But Verdi after Arne is like terrestrial
alcohol after empyrean nectar; and when Mr. Sims
Reeves addressed his companion (Mme. Viardot) in
these words—

" Riposa, o madre: Iddio concede
Alen trieti innuagini al tuo eopor "

the audience seemed to think it was meant for them-
selves, and relapsed mince more into a comatose state,
from which even the invigorating sounds of
Meyerbeer's coronation-march failed to relieve them.
The performances at the Cathedral on Thursday
morning began with a selection from Mendelssohn's
Athaliah, including the magnificent overture. The
execution of Rossini's Stabat Mater, which followed,
was by no means so even and satisfactory, although
the solos were delivered in a highly finished and
expressive manner by the principal singers—
Mesdames Novello, Viardot, and Weiss ; Miss
Lascelles ; Messrs. Montem Smith, Thomas, Weiss,
and Sims Reeves. The tenor air, " Lord, vouchsafe
Thy loving kindness " (" Cujus Animam "), and the
' contralto song, " I will sing of Thy great mercy "
(" Fee ut portem ")—the lormer sung by Mr. Sims
Reeves, the latter by Mme. Viardot, Garcia, and both
to perfection—being repeated, in accordance with a
" command" from the same irrenponsibe authority.
The first and second parts from Hadyn's spon-
taneous and always popular oratorio of The
Creation completed the programme, which, though
composed of such apparently uncongenial materials,
afforded the utmost satisfaction.
The last evening concert took place on Thursday.
The Messiah was performed in the Cathedral. The
dress ball took place yesterday evening.

DESPATCHES FROM THE ST. GEORGE'S
CHESS CLUB.—No. 111.
I LEARNED the termination of the match between
Messrs. Morphy and Lowenthal just too late to insert
the result in your columns. As I had anticipated, it
was a hollow thing—nine games to three, and two
drawn. Mr. Morphy, however, though Ire won his
match, lost the bet which I spoke of 'n my last as
"un peu fort." His antagonist won a game, on
taking the field again after a short indisposition.
I had thought of giving you a shore, review of the
games when concluded ; but they have disappointed
me. They do not do justice to the powers of either
party. Mr. Lowenthal is known to be, from tempera
merit, a bad match-player, but did on this occasion
worse than could have been apprehended. He lost
two games which were easily won, from a perfectly
simple position ; and as often retuned to draw a game
which he subsequently threw away. Mr. Morphy,
on the other hand, played sundry games below his
strength. His games with Mr. Bird (whom he
defeated more easily than I could have deemed
possible) were of a far higher order. My belief is,
that Staunton and Anderson are the only two men
who can compete with Mr. Morphy Of his coming
match with the former you shall have lull infor-
mation. That he may encounter the latter is more
to be wished than expected.
St. George's Chess Club, Friday, August 27,