The Press.
London, England, 1856-08-30 00:00:00

THE BIBLE CONTROVERSY.

Dn. CUMMING replies this week to the several criti-
cisms his original remarks have produced. He asks,
" Where at present shall we find fifty-four such men
as those wro made the version in 1611 ? " and
contends that no fifty-four men in the present day
would he unanimous in proposing c"rrections, or
that their version would be so universally accepted
as the present. He concludes :

I cannot look *mond at the broad church, and the low
church, and the high church parties within the Church of
England, or at the keen controversies that rage without
her walls—not to speak of other peculiarities incidental to
our day—without an earnest and anxious wish that our
country may hold fast that which is at present eo widely
accepted—our glorious common version ; and that those
gentlemen who are agitating for a new and improved ver-
sion may at present at least meet with no very full or
hearty response. Difficulties are not impossibilities, but
sometimes they are nearly so. I feel very great sympat'ay
with Mr. Barham in his temperate and judicious reflections.
I feel with him the desirableness of certain emendations.

886

But from tolerably extensive reading on the subject, I am
convinced that any attempt to carry into action even the
moderate corrections which he proposes would unsettle
more than it is likely to establish, and entirely fad to
counterbalance by its good the mischief it would originate.
Scholars sould argue still, the unlearned would be alarmed,
and a translation, which combines the grandeur of Milton
and the felicities of Shakespeare, and carries with it the
devout homage and deep veneration of the millions of our
people, would, in all likelihood, suffer considerably iu the
issue. Let us learn to labour and to wait.

An "East-end Curate " also writes :

No Protestant, I believe, will say that there is even one
error of translation serious'y affecting the faith and duty
of a Christian. Our version as it stands is amply sufficient
to guide plain men iu the " way of life.;" while for those
who desire to know more of the force and beauty of parti
calar passages commentaries are cheap and abundant, and
explanatory and critical remarks are continually heard
from the pulpit. No translation, however near perfection,
would enable us to dispense with these, as there are
beauties and shades of meaning in Greek and Hebrew
words only to be expressed by periphr;►sis, and which the
commentator on the preacher would will feel bound to
explain. While the advantages would be thus small, how
serious would be the evils which an attempt to establish a
new translation of the Bible must introduce.

To this the " Canterbury Incumbent" replies by
asking what text King James's translators followed,
aid continues :

The simple fact is, that since it was executed a vast
number of manu•cripts—some extremely ancient—have
been discovered and examined ; and thus the means
afforded of setting forth a much more correct text, and
consequently a much more correct translation, than was
then possible. Under such circumstances is it, or is it
not., a worthy design to enable the common people to par•
tioip de in the fruits of a century and a half of learned
labour? I should have thought that in a Protestant
country there would have been no hesitation about the
answer; but unhappily we have fallen upon times when it
pays much better to inflame Protestant prejudices than to
act out Protestant principles. That the knowledge
both of Hebrew and Greek is far more accurate at the
present d•ty than it was in the time of King James no
one who has more than a schoolboy's knowledge of either
will deny.

" A Clergyman " remarks that Dr. Cumming has
shifted his ground of objection between his first and
third letters. First, it would be a "party revision ";
now he does not think it likely that the Church of
England contains a body of scholars and div nes who
could revise the Bible in such a manner "as to be
accepted by various denominations within and with
out tile Church." He questions the assertions of
the rev. doctor that a new version would be generally
unacceptable, and maintains that unless the Church
"publish a new version, there will soon be a variety
of versions ":

The forty-seven men (not fifty-four, as Dr. Cumming
states, fur seven of the fifty-four died before the work
commenced) who published our present version were, in-
deed, able masters of the Engl►sh language and of the art
of translation, but they were not critical schol ors. The
Church of England possesses a body of men at this day who
are infinitely superior to the translators of James I.'s
reign in a knowledge of all those niceties of the Hebrew
and Greek languages on which a faithful translation must
mainly depend.
The real truth is, unless the Church of England will
publish an authorised version of the present translation of
the Bible, there will very soon be &variety of versions, and
those versions—however stained by individual instances
of unfairness—will in many respects be superior to our
present translation; and they who resist all attempts at a
revision by authority of the Church incur the fearful re
sponsii.ility of exposing God's Word to the certain dangei
of variety of erroneous interpretation.

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT ARARAT, a ccuTospondent
to the Times this week declarrs, was accomplished on
October 8, 18'20, by Piotessor I'arrot and party. The
pariculars of the ascent will be found in Kelts's
" Scripture Land," M. Automonoff, a Russian tra-
veller, is said to have also achieved the ascent in 1831
THE BRITISH ARCHEOLOGICA: ASSOCIATION have
bald their thirteenth annual meeting at Bridgewater
this week. Yesterday the association adjourned to
Bath. On the opening day (Monday) Mr. J. F.
Pettigrew gave an introductory sketch of the antiqui-
ties of SomerAt t:—
The primeval antiquities of Somersetahire were either
few in number or had been scantily reported. In Roman
antiquities Somersetshire was pronounced to be exceed-
ingly rich, every part of the county appearing to be capable
of yielding examples illustrative of its occupation by the
Romans. Villas have been discovered and pavements ex-
cavated. Many of the churches of Somersetshire were
specially deserving of attention. They were in general
remarkmble by the absence of aisles (except in very large
edifices, much as St. Cuthbert), by the frequent presence
of tranmepts, by the octagonal form of their towers, and by
the abundance of cruciform specimens.
The lecturer then enumerated the leading peculiari-
ties of the churches proposed to be visited—Glas-
tonbury, Wells, Yeovil, and Clevedon—by the asso-
ciation, and concluded by an eloquent vindication of
the study of antiquitiec, in elucidating the history
of former ages, the progress of the arts, the history of
many useful inventions, and the manners and habits
ot our ancestors.

TIIE PRESS.

alusic.

BRADFORD MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

SUCH per'ormances of Mendelssolin's Elijah and
Costa's Eli, as were given in St. George's-hall,
Bradford, on Tuesday and Wednesday last, mark an
epoch in our musical annals. The glories achieved
triennially at Birmingham have been the growth of
half a century's experience and improvement, but it
is, indeed, a curious and striking fact, that a manu-
facturing town like Bradford, without a proper
eddies for concerts ou a large scale, and without
local choral societies of any note, should suddenly
take a proud position amongst festival towns by the
erection of a magnificent music-hall, and by the
organisation of triennial gatherings, second only in
importance to that of Birmingham. Yesterday
(Friday) the second festival was completed in Brad-
ford, and the working committee who have produced
the brilliant artistic results are entitled to unquali-
fied praise from all true lovers of art progress. Sums
miscalculations have been doubtless made, some
mistakes have occurred, but the errors have been
those of enthusiasm and excess ; there have been
no shortcomings, the programmes have been full,
varied, novel, and interesting ; the amount of vocal
and instrumental talent engagAl ha:- been enormous;
the administrative arrangements have been ad-
mirable, and yet financially there will be a deficit in
the receipts to cove: the outlay, and a call must be
'nada on tue guarantee fund. Next week, in the
general sittnniary of the week's doings, some remarks
with be submitted on the difficulties and opposition
thrown in the way of the executive at Bradford; at
present it is the interpretation of Elijah and Eli
which claims morn than a mere record of its general
perfection. Aod, first of all, a word or two as to one
of the finest orchestras Costa ever collected under
his baton.

It seemed as if the balance of sound had never
before been so nicely adjusted. The twenty first
violins, the twenty second violins, the twelve violas,
the twelve violoncellos, and the twelve double-
basses, making in round numbers seventy stringed in-
struments, have been exceeded on the Continent and
in this country over and over again, but *hat has been
gained in quantity has been too often lost in quality.
The seventy-six players at Bradford, in point of tone,
would equal nearly double that number of execu-
tants in France, Belgium, and Germany; and this
opinion is advisedly written. In the first place, as
regards tone, our orchestras are unrivalled ; and this
mainly arises from the pride taken by our executants
in their instruments, which are of rare and costly
workmanship. In polish, in refinement, or the ex-
quisite observance of nuances, Paris and Leipsic
instrumentalists take the lead ; but in dash, fire, and
energy, in the gradual working up to climaxes, Costa's
band cannot be approached. Then he has a pecu-
liar tact in pairing off his players, accurately judging
artistic temperaments, and placing men in their
right places. The wood and brass players, again,
excel remarkably in tone and precision. It is not
the flashy st.doist who always makes the best orches-
tral player; and this tact is often overlooked in
forming a band. It will, therefore, be no surprise to
those who glance at the names of Costa's Bradford
orchestra to learn that the execution of Mozart's
symphony in G minor, and Rossini's Gazza Ladra,
at the first evening concert, fairly astounded ama•
teurs who had listened to the Paris, Leipsic, Berlin,
and Brussels famed orchestras. The overtures and
accompaniments in the two oratorios were as highly
finished, and as elaborately developed ; no inner
working of the score, no masterly undercurrent of
instrumentation, being lost to the ear by coarse
violence and obtrusiveness. There was finesse as
well as finish. Next in point of distinction comes
the northern choral singers, who seem to appertain
to the sunny south in artistic sentiment. How do
justice to these admirably-trained choralists, with
their fresh, tuneful voices, that vigour or attack,
their nice observance of light and shade? How
bright and clear were the organs of the women in
those choruses which Mendelssohn and Costa have
specially appropriated to them! and how the whole
body revelled in the madrigalian compositions,
marking the pianos and fortes with such unerring ex•
actitude !

If the mechanical portion of the singing won
admiration, more potently did the poetry of the

SATURDAY,

Choral singing impress itself on the heart. It was
felt that they were in earnest, and to the London
amateur there was indescribable delight experienced
in being emancipated from the automaton and
shouting style of the ancient choral stagers of the
metropolis. The local chorus master, Mr. Jackson,
has reason to be proud of his troops both in Elijah
and Eli. This last-mentioned work created &power-
ful sensation. It was interesting to watch the
auditory. It was evidently in the first part a suspi-
cious one. It was difficult to give up familiar names.
Handel, Haydn, and Mendelssohn are such house-
hold gods. But there is no finality in art, and
oratorio-writing cannot be confined to Germany.
The canonic, chorus, " The Lord is good," broke the
ice. The revel chorus evidently caused a flutter.
The corale, " How mighty is Thy name," came down
in massive harmonies on the hearers with palpable
effect. The war song of Sims Reeves was the signal
for the smothered volcano to burst forth, and the
hall rang with plaudits until the martial strain was
repeated. The fugued finale of the first part
renewed the excitement. And then, in the second
part, Viard,.t appeared—Viardot, who, the day before,
in the Elijah, had thrilled the audience with her
grand declamation, and who, in the music of Samuel,
affected the auditory to tears by her profound pathos
and intensely devotional fervour. The two prayers,
especially the evening one, " This night I lift my
heart," produced that breathless silence, that all-
absorbing attention, which, more than the noisiest
plaudits, prove the supremacy of the singer of genius.
The unaccompanied quartett sung by Mine. Novello,
Mme. Viardot, Mr. Sims Reeves, and Herr Formes,
was reilemanded at once, so finely sustained was the
execution of this masterly piece of harmony. The
march elicited warm approbation, particularly when
the choralists joined in it. At the close of the
oratorio the ovation to the composer and conductor
wa.s from all parts of the ball, as well as orchestra,
and was loud and protracted, an enthusiastic dean
giving the signal for three cheers to Costa, who was
recalled for the second demonstration.

Of the new compositions at the festival, the notice
must be postponed till next week.

DEATH OF BAUMANN, THE BASSOON PLATER.—
A paintul sensation was created at Bradford on Wed-
nesday last amongst the orchestra of the fsstival by
'he news received that day of the death of the cele-
brated bassoon player, Baumann, who expired at his
house in London last Monday of congestion of the
liver, after an illness of only a few days. Baumann
was a Belgian by birth, and was for the last quarter
of a century a resident in this country. His age was
about fifty-two. He has left a widow and one child.
As a soloist and orchestral player his place will not
be easily filled. To great purity of tone he added an
executive facility of marvellous skill.

CANT.—To listen to some folks, you would think
that all the boys and girls one sees, " like gay
creatures of the element," dancing under a chan-
del.er pendant from the roof, like some starry con-
stellation, were quadrilling away to the sound of
music into the bottomless pit. Is it not, for ex-
ample, most disgusting and loathsome, to hear some
caitiff, of some canting caste, distinguished in private
and public life for the gross greediness with which
they gobble up every thing eatable within reac% of their
hairy fists—preaching and praying, and exhorting
young people, full of flesh and blood of the purest
and clearest quality, to forsake and forswear the
world—to quell within them all mortal vanities,
and appeti.es, and lusts? To whom is the
hound haranguing? What means he by lusts,
while the sweet face is before him of that innocent
girl of fifteen or twenty? For what are years
to her, into whose eyes God and the Saviour
have pitt that light angelical ?—that ineffable
loveliness, as pure from taint as the beauty of the
rose blushing on her lily breast, which she gathered
in the dewy garden a few hours ago, among the
earliest songs of bird, while yet the pensive expres-
sion had not time to leave her countenance, still
lingering there from the piety of her soul•
breathed prayers? Shocking, to hear the ugly
monster coarsely canting to such a creature of
her—corruption ! She knows that she belongs
to a fallen nature. Oftentimes her tears have
flowed to think how undeserving she was of all the
goodness showered on her head from heaven. Often
hath she looked on the lilies of the field and envied
their innocence. Meek and humble is she, even in
her most joyful hgppine-s ; contrite and repentant
even over the shadows of sin that may have
crossed her spirit, as the shadows of clouds suddenly
over " a stationary spot of sunshine." Even for her
sake she knows that " Jesus wept." With what a
reverent touch do these delicate hands of hers turn
over the leaves of the New Testament! Her father
and her mother intensely feel themselves to be
Christians, while she reads to them the story of the
crucifixion. She remembers not the time when she
knew not Him who died to save sinners,--Professor
Wilson's Essays, vol. i.

AUGUST 30, 1856.

inttstotents,

THE DINNER TO THE GUARDS.

THE public dinner given to the Guards upon
their return from the war took place at two o'clock
on Monday afternoon in the Surrey-gardens. The
dinner was to have been originally given in the
Ashburnham Grounds, at Cremorne, and, bearing in
mind that the proprietor of those gardens gratuitously
presented 1,1001. to the Crimean Fund (about the
largest donation on the list), the additional distance
from town should hardly have prevented the original
scheme from having been carried out. The distance
was the only objection, for the grounds are in every
respect more adapted for such fetes than any other
place in or near London.
Monday set in with the severity usual to fete-clays.
It was cloudy and heavy, and occasionally rained.
A glimpse of the sun was hardly obtained the whole
day, and the night closed with a good shower.
The various approaches to the gardens presented,
from an early period of the morning, such an aspect
as might have been anticipated from the nature of
the occasion. The Elephant and Castle was the
grand point of attraction, that being a spot which the
three battalions would necessarily pass on their
route. Here the crowd was so dense as almost to
form a blockade of the several converging roads ;
and the vehicles moving to and fro, at all times
numerous, were swollen on this occasion by an
immense accession of carriages and cabs conveying
spectators to the gardens.
The Grenadiers were first in the order of arrival.
Marching from their barracks in Birdcage walk, over
Westminster-bridge, they reached the Elephant ar.d
Castle at a quarter past one. The receptio i which
they met with from the multitude was rather respect.
ful than enthusiastic ; there was no loud cheering,
and, as the men passed on with their fine soldierly
bearing, bronzed faces, and, in numerous instances,
Oriental beards, one could hardly help feeling that
the greeting would have been more demonstrative,
though not, perhaps, heartier, had the dinner taken
place immediately after their arrival from the
Crimea. The Fusiliers arrived next, having marched
from the Wellington Barracks, behind the National
Gallery, along the Strand, and thence over Waterloo-
bridge, to the same point; acrd these again were
quickly succeeded by the Coldstreams, who came
from the 'l'ower, by way of London-bridge and South-
wark. The whole were Crimean men, and wore their
medals. The bands of the several regiments pre-
ceded them, playing enlivening airs. Each battalion
on arriving at the Elephant and Castle proceeded at
once, without waiting for its comrades, to the
entrance to the gardens on the Walworth side,
where they almost had to fight their way into the
interior, so tremendous was the rush towards the
gate from the adjacent streets.
In the gardens the dinner-tablas were laid in
the music-hall and a tent close on one side—
the lower windows of the hall were taken out,
so that tent and hall were almost one. With
true military punctuality, at a quarter past two,
the exact time appointed, the men, headed by
their non-commissioned officers, entered the hall,
and in a few minutes, it might almost be said a few
seconds, every seat was occupied, both there and in
the tent. The aspect of the room, now, was exceed-
ingly brilliant and picturesque. The twenty long
single tiles of red coats, upon the breast of each of
which glittered a silver medal with one, two, three,
or four clasps, and on several the good-conduct
medal and the Cross of the Legion of Honour in
addition ; the equally long white lines of tables by
which they were divided, covered with plates,
dishes, bottles, and glasses, diversified by the floral
and other decorations ; ihe three bands in their
state uniforms at the head of the room ; the gaily-
dressed company in the galleries, whose loud, en-
thusiastic, and oft repeated cheers of welcome
greeted the brave fellows as they took their seats,
and almost drowned the strains of the musicians,
presented a scene which those who witnessed it will
nit easily forget.
The chair was taken by Sergeant-Major Edwards,
of the Fusiliers, the senior sergeant-major of the
Guards, a fine, stalwart, soldier-like looking man of
about forty-five years, with a most intelligent and
open countenance, awl whose martial appearance is
enhanced by a magnificent beard and moustache, in
which a silvery hair is just beginning here and there
to show itself. On the sergeant-major's right and
left were the sergeant-majors of the Crimean
battalions of the Grenadiers and Coldstreams, and
by the side of these, filling up the cross table, were
the drill sergeants and the pay and colour sergeants.
Of the dinner itself little remained five minutes
after grace. The men were pleased with it, be-
cause they had made up their minds to be
pleased with everything, but it was not a dinner in
the good old English style. There were no
glorious rounds of beef, none of' those gigantic plum
puddings or foaming tankards of ale we are so accus-
tomed to associate with English feasts. The beef