The Press.
London, England, 1858-12-18 00:00:00

THE PRE S S, DECEMBER 18, 1858.

put off those bodies once tormented by night-
mares and made a burden by dyspepsia. It is
left to the New Zealander to re-enact their
patriotic part if he likes, and to repeat to himself
on that spot where he will one day stand, that
thus have all nations perished who feed them-
selves on " kickshaws." In the meantime let us
be thankful, like women, for our " small mercies,"
and pay due honour to that illustrious man who
has spread among the people a taste for petits
diners.

The incidents of Soyer's life are almost too
well known to need repetition here, but we will
briefly run over the salient points in his career.
He was born at Meaux-en-Brie in the year
1809, and was originally intended for the Church;
hut, disliking the prospect, he contrived to get
himself dismissed from school, and set out to join
a brother who was settled at Paris. Here he at
once became a cook; and his genius so rapidly
developed itself that, at seventeen years of age,
he was head cook at one of the most famous
restaurateurs in the city. In June 1830 he was
engaged at the French Foreign-office, and was
employed in preparing a grand entertainment to
be given by Polignac, when the Revolution not
only broke out, but actually burst into his
kitchen, and cut down two of his colleagues.
Alexis, like other great French gentlemen, took
refuge in this country. where he held situations
under various of the nobility till finally installed
at the Reform Club in 1837. In the interval, he
had married; his wife's maiden name being
Emma Jones, a young female artist, whom Soyer,
according to his present biographers. had " fas-
" cinated by his conversation "—a means of con-
quest he may possibly have sought to strengthen
by some such graceful offerings as Sir Francis
Clavering s " chief " relied upon in " Pendennis."
This, however, is mere conjecture.
At the Reform Club, Soyer passed a few years
of unclouded glory. We have tried to construct
" a day with Soyer " out of the materials con-
tained in this volume, but they are so carelessly
flung together that we have found it impossible
to do so satisfactorily. We must suppose him to
have reached the club at a reasonable hour in
the morning, to have inspected the provisions
sent in by the tradesmen, to have arranged the
dinners already ordered, and to have procured
any rare article that might be wanted. The
afternoon, of course, would be devoted to the
real business of the day, grievously interrupted
by the shoals of visitors whom Soyer, however,
would receive with perfect good humour, and
occasionally inform them, with bated breath,
that such and such a dish was for my Lord
So-and-So at eight o'clock, sometimes adding
to the delighted auditor, "Let us taste it." At
four o'clock he was supposed to get a little
rest, and at eight it seems that his labours ter-
minated, and Soyer became the man of fashion
till the following morning—going to the opera,
taking a "go" of brandy between the acts, at
Dubourg's, and supping at the Hotel de Provence.
Soyer left the Reform Club in 1850, in conse-
quence of the extended admission of strangers,
which he thought would give him more to do
than he could achieve with credit. His next spe-
culation was the Symposium at Gore House,
which turned out a losing concern, and Alexis,
on writing for advice to an old friend at the Clnb,
received the following very sensible letter in
reply :-
31st December, 1851.

Dear Sayer,—l am sorry to receive so bad an account
of your speculation at Gore House as that which you Lave
sent me; but, to tell you the truth, I hardly expected
much good, at any time, from that undertaking. When
you left the Reform Club and asked me fur my advice, I
recommended you strongly to take counsel from so expe•
rienced a man and so undoubted a friend of yours as I
know Mr. T. P— to be, and I quite coincided in the
recmnmendation which, as I understood, Mr. P-- gave
you, viz., to take a house and to give therein, without any
clap trap, show, or external demonstration, the best
dinners that a man co•tll get in London. Had you
followed this advice you would have made your fortune,
for your name atom! as high as possible at the time; the
world had faith in Soyer, and you might have commanded
your own terms. As it was, you pursued a course the
very opposite to the one prescribed, and the consequence
has been the vexation, disapptintment, and loss which you
describe.

However, do not think the chance has gone yet. If
you will set aboot repairing past mischief at once, keep
yourself in your own hands,take a quiet place, cook the
very best dinners, give the very bi-at wines, people will
still go to Suyer. But, as a sincere friend, I warn you,
as you value your reqeetability and credit, and desire to
Militallin your position, to 111Vid 44044 that has glo

1241

remotest resemblance to puff and charlatanism ; you
stand in need of neither, and may get on well without
them.

Pray write to me at any time. If I can be of service to
you I will do at all times icon pwgible.
Do not forget, also, that Mr. T. is in London,
and I am sure he will be glad, at any time, to give you
advice if you want it. You cannot tind a better adviser in
England.—Believe me, dear Soyer, faithfully yours,

S. P-.

The next thing that brought Soyer before the
public was his famous soup kitchens in 1852,
after which he rested on his laurels for awhile,
till 1855, when he went out to the Crimea. His
adventures there have already been related by
himself, and reviewed in these columns, and the
composition of the work in question seems to
have occupied most of his time after his re-
turn home.

The last work that he undertook was the
model kitchen at the Wellington Barracks ; but
before it was opened he was seriously ill, and soon
afterwards he began to grow rapidly worse, and
eventually expired on the sth of August last, a
little before ten o'clock in the evening. We our-
selves have heard many anecdotes attesting his
kindness of heart, as well as his bonhommie and
humour. He has really, we believe, conferred
some important benefits on the country, and is
entitled both to the gratitude and the regret of
a very numerous public.

2. " Curiosities of Food " rather strikes us as
a good subject spoiled. Either this is so, or we
have failed to catch the author's leading idea.
We really can see nothing curious in pigs, sheep,
larks, game, oysters, lobsters, and such like old
friends. The peculiar dishes of barbarous
nations are, of course, in one sense, "curiosities
of food." But if Mr. Simmons resolved to make
that the backbone of his work, he should have
treated it in a philosophical spirit, and have
striven to connect it with the great subject of
physiology. The book, however, contains
various useful hints for housewives, travellers,
and sportsmen. The following receipt for testing
eggs may be useful to some of our readers

There is no difficulty whatever in testing eggs; the are
mostly examined by a candle. Another way to tell good
eggs is to put them in a pail of water, and if they are good
they will he on their sides, always; if bail, they will stand
on their small ends, the large ends always uppermost,
unless they have been shaken considerably, when they will
stand either end up. Therefore, a bad egg can be told by
the ;say it rests in water—alway► end up, never on its side.
Any egg that lies flat is good to eat, and can be depended
upon.
An ordinary mode is to take them into a room mode.
rately dark and hold them between the eye and a candle or
lamp. If the egg be pod—that is, if the albumen is still
unaffected—the light will shine through with a reddish
glow; while, it' affected, it will be opaque, or dark.
To dress a partridge in a hurry :

Expedition is the maxim of all sylvan cookery, and
as plucking the feathers of a partridge would be too great
a tax on the time and patience of the voyageur, the method
most in vogue is to run your hunting knife round his
throat and uncles and down his breast, when, taking a leg
in each band, and pressing your thumb into his hack, you
pop him out of his skin, as you would a pea from its pod.
Then make a spread eagle of him on a forked twig, the
other extremity of which is thrust into the ground, and
after wrapping a rasher of bacon around his neck and
under his wings, as lathes wear a scarf, you incline him to
the fire, turning the spit in the ground, and you will have
a result such as Soyer might he proud of. When your
other avocations will not afford time even for the skinning
process, an alternative mode is to make a paste of ashes
and water, and roll up your bird therein, with the feathers,
and all the appurtenances thereof, and thrust the per-
formance in the fire. In dire tine, on breaking the
cemented shell (which is like a sugared almond ), the
feathers, skin, Ste., adhere to it, and then you have the pure
kernel of poultry within.

We find, too, a fact with which we were before
unacquainted concerning the Chinese birds'-
nests, namely, that " the birds feed upon dif-
" ferent kinds of bloodless insects, hovering above
" the stagnant waters, for which their wide
" open beak is very useful. They form their
" nests by vomiting the strongest and best frag-
" ments of the food which they have eaten."
Of course we have plenty of details about the
mode of preparing blubber among the Esqui-
maux, crocodile in the Nicobar Islands (where-
ever they may be), locusts among the Hottentots
&c., &c., but we have found nothing of sufficient
novelty or pungency to justify quotation. As a
series of popular lectures the contents of this
volume probably answered the writer's purpose.
As a serious volume we esMlot lay very much in
its praise,

1242 'I'HE PRE S S, DECEMBER 18, 1858.

The Two Mottoes. By the Author of "Sutnnierleigh

Manor." London :J. W. Parker and Son.
" SHE heti' don- what she could " and " Excelsior "
are "the two mottoes " specified on the titlepage,
and illustrated in the progress, of this tale, the
incidents of which, while keeping within the range of
every-day life and its ordinary occurrences, are well
imagined for the writer's purpose, that of exhibiting
different types of character, and the effects produced
upon them by the discipline of life. As we do not
wish to spoil the enjoyment of such of our readers as
may feel inclined to turn to the little volume itself,
by a skeleton outline of the story, we shall content
ourselves with assuring them that they will find in it
not only the attraction of well-sustained fiction, but
instructicn of the truest and most telling kind, that
which is founded upon experience and the observa-
tion of the moral laws that govern the development of
human character, and the relations between man and
man.

Mark Denni 4 ; or, the En3ine Driver. A Tale of
the Railway. London : Rivingtons.
Tais is a well written little tale of the Hannah
More type; and with this advantage, that the
ground it travels over is comparatively new. The
design of the authoress appears to be to inculcate on
all persons engaged in the perilous avocations of her
hero the necessity of realizing t 9 themselves the
truth that in the midst of life we are in death. The
" setting" of the moral is pretty and tasteful. The
good family and the bad one are contrasted with
skill ; and the character of Lizzie, the young drivel's
wife, is drawn so as to interest us warmly in her
fortunes. The tale does not carry sufficient weight
of metal to make any impression upon railway
companies, whose indifference to human suffering
would do credit to a Red Indian. But circulated
among the schools and cottages attached to their
vast establishments, it may probably work much good.

Struggles in Falling. By Henry John Lester.
London : Bentley.
Tam is a much more ambitious story than the last.
It is written with power, and toe author knows what
he is writing about. We do nor, however, quite
like the tone of the book. The seduction of Miss
Delmar by Charles Vescy is repugnant to modern
taste—not, unfortunately, because such things are
not done, but because experience has taught us the
bad effects of describing them as the result of
passion on the lady's part. Here was no deception
practised, nor was the fall of Agnes due to the in-
fluence of superior rank or station in the seducer.
There can be no doubt of the injurious effects 01
such scenes as that b-tween Vescy and Ague; at
the ball preceding her flight with him. We shall
not, therefore, notice this story at greater length,
though there is much in it that shows great ability
and knowledge of the world.

The Kangaroo Ilunters ; or, Adventures in the Bush.
By Anne Bowman. London : Routledge.
THIS is an excellent little boy's own book in the
style of the " Swiss Family," or those more recent
works which Captain Mayne Reid has written with
so much spirit. A work of this nature presents nu
points for criticism. We need only therefore state
that the scene lies in Australia, that it is full of
stirring incidents which every boy of well•regulated
mind will devour with avidity, and, in one word, that
it will make a most acceptable and stimulating
present to the young schoolboy at home fur his
Christmas holidays, and will lend fresh zest to his
ratbuuts, rabbitine, and sparrow caching.

zetti, with all his tuneful merits, is certainly no
exception to the rule. In Mr. Ilennen's new
version of the very pretty and characteristic
serenade we find, for instance, one passage, where
the melody ascends diatonically on the notes
A, B, C, 11, E, correctly harmonized for the first
time. The fantasia is, moreover, very effec-
tively arranged for the instrument, and in the
hands of a tolerably skilful player is susceptible
of being rendered highly attractive to admirers
of the so-called " brilliant " style of pianoforte
music.

Trois Melodies pour le Piano. Composes par

Arnold Hennen. London : Lon and Co.
DEPENDING wholly upon his own resources, Mr.
Hennen is even more successful than in dealing
with the ideas of others. The three melodies are
original, expressive of the various sentiments by
which the author professes to have been inspired
in composing them, and musicianly in facture.
The somewhat unusual key of G sharp minor in
which No. 1, entitled "Beatrice," is set, may pos-
sibly militate against its success with amateur
pianists, and the almost equally " sharp " diffi-
culties of 13 major may likewise prevent No. 3,
called "Aurae," from becoming generally
popular ; but No. 2, " in E major,
is within the reach of moderately endowed
players ; and the entire series is worthy the
attention of genuine musicians, and can scarcely
fail to advance the growing reputation of Mr.
Hennen as an artist in the best sense of the
word.

rusital gttictir.

Oh ! for the Breezy Shore. Song. Written by
G. E. Carpenter. The Music composed by
W. T. Wrighton. London : Cocks and Co.
MR. CARPENTER'S words are spirited and his
versification smooth ; but Oh ! for the music of
Mr. Wrighton !

Duchesse De Chevreuse. Polka Brillante.—La
Belle Gabrielle. Polka Mazurka.—Le Roi de
la Fiue. Quadrille Mignon.—Composed for
the Pianoforte by Alfonse Leduc. London:
Cocks and Co.

THESE are light, jovial, unpretending dance-
tunes, written in the most ad captandum style,
and easy to play as to understand. They all,
moreover, are adorned with showy pictorial
illustrations, and have, therefore, every chance
of becoming generally popular.

Old Father Christmas. Quadrilles. Composed
for the Piano by Adam Wright. London
Cocks and Co.
Tnzs is also dance-music, consisting of well-
known English tunes, and, like the above-men-
tioned publications of Mr. Leduc, is pictorially
illustrated.

Don Pasquale,

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Christmas
Hymn. Composed and Arranged for Four
Voices, with Organ or Pianoforte Accompani-
ment, by W. Young. London : Cocks
and Co.
T►iis is a creditable specimen of simple four-
part vocal counterpoint in the harmonized cho-
rale form. The music is well adapted to the
words, and the accompaniments judiciously
arranged to support the voices.

11U54.

Rizzio. Song. By H. S. K. and Walter May-
nard. London : Cramer, Beale, and Chappell.
Tuts is a very ambitious song—an attempt at a
grand scena, in fact. We know not, of course,
what portions of it may be attributed respec-
tively to each of the two individuals who jointly
claim the honour of having given birth to the
production. 11. S. K. is altogether a myth to us,
but Walter Maynard is at least well known to the
public as a writer of ballads in the popular style,
althou.2h the name he bears is, we believe, an
assumed one. Walter Maynard would do well
to confine himself to that modest style of compo-
sition in which he has hitherto been successful.
The influence of his mysterious accomplice in the
present instance has not proved felicitous, if we
may justly ascribe to it (as we suspect we may)
all that pretentious dulness which so disagree-
ably characterizes "Rizzio," and which is
assuredly not to be found in Walter Maynard's
other compositions, distinguished as they inva-
riably are by familiar tunefulness and great sim-
plicity of harmony.

LYCEUM THEATRE.
R. RIMIER% CONCERTS.

La Serenade.

Break! Break! Break! Song. The Poetry
by Alfred Tennyson; the Music by F. R.
Cox. London : It. Mills.
A MELANCTIOLY individual, who, listening to the
breaking of the sea upon its " cold grey stones,"
the shouts of the fisherman's boy at play with his
sister, the song of the sailor lad in his boat on
the bay, and watching " the stately ships go on
to their haven under the hill," sighs for the "touch
" of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice
" that is still," and mournfully exclaims, The
" tender grace of a day that is dead will never
" come back to me ! " has been made to sing by
Mr. Cox in appropriately doleful strains, but with-
out that indescribable " tender grace " for which
the verses of Mr. Tennyson, with all their incon-
gruity, affectation, and occasional obscurity, are
remarkable. Mr. Cox, moreover, differs from his
author by lacking originality ; and, on the whole,
although Mendelssohn has been laid under con-
tribution, and there is an evident attempt through-
out the song to accomplish something of a higher
order than the mere English ballad, we cannot
compliment the composer upon his success, or
admit that he has produced music at all worthy
of the words,

THESE highly popular entertainments come to a close
this evening, much to the regret of all who love to
hear good and admirably executed music, and cannot
afford to pay the high prices demanded for admission
to the generality of concerts. It seems to us strange
that M. Julhen does not continue his performances
in some (Aber locality. Most of our theatres
can be kept open and made to pay during several
months of the year. Why should not popular concerts
be as regularly and permanently patronized? Surely
it would be worth while to try the experiment.

By Arnold

Hennen. London : Ltlon and Co.
MR. lIENNEN has here taken the well-known
serenade, "Corn' e gentil," as the subject of a
pianoforte fantasia, and produced a very play-
able and agreeable piece of music, which, con-
sidered as a whole, is certainly more graceful,
fanciful, and musicianly than most things of a
similar kind which come under our notice. Ile
has frequently deviated from the original har-
monization of the air ; but, with all due respect
for the pre-eminently melodious Donizetti, can-
dour compels us to state that the alterations may
far the most part be regarded as decided im-
provements. Modern Italian composers, with their
declared contempt for what they are pleased to
term "La musics dotta e matematica," are not,
geierally speaking, particularly well "up" in
tneir chords. The best of them, even Rossini
himself, the acknowledged head of the "school,"
Is not irreproachable in this respect ; and Doni-