The Express.
London, England, 1849-11-02 00:00:00

MEDICAL

-- - -
ROT tL Conlon or Suitonous.—A numerously attended
meeting of the Fellows of the College took place yesterday
afternoon, in the th f the institution, to elect from
among themselves two gentlemen as members of the coun-
cil, in the vacancies occasioned by the resignation of Mr.
Richard Welbank, and the lamented death of Mr. Aston
Key. The candidates brought forward were Messrs. George
Palcher, of Great George•street, Westminster, and John
Bishop, of Banned-etre, t ; the Fellows laving ballotted,
the president declared Messrs. Filcher and Bishop members
of the Council of the Royal College of Burgeons.

BRAZILS.—There are two days later dates in Liver-
pool from Pernambuco, but no news.
SERMONS NOT COPTRIGHT.—A case, whilish has
excited considerable interest, was decided by the Sheriff-
Substitute, at Paisley, on Saturday. The circumstances out
of which the ease areas are these:—The Rev. John Mae-
nsaghtan, of the Free High Church, lately preached a fare-
well sermon to his congregation, prior to bar departure for
Rosemary-street Church, Belfast. At the delivery of the
dilemma Mr. W. Wilson, editor and proprietor of the Res-
freeedure Advedtser, attended and took full short-hand
notes, with the view of publishing the sermon. After Mr.
Wilson's intenlion became loosen to Mr. Meenaughtan, the i
latter gentleman applied for an interdict to prevent the ap-
propriation of what the reverend gentleman maintained
was copyright. Mr. Wilson held that sermons were
sot copyright. The interdict was, however, i/ranted
In the interim ; the cue went to trial in the
usual wa , and, on Saturday lut, the sheriff-substitute
(Mr. R. , Glasgow), pronounced an interlocutor
recalling the interdict, and finding the pursuer liable in ex-
penses. In his note, the sheriff-substitute says It is
with some hesitation and doubt as to his view of the law,
that in the absence of any authority, directly bearing on the
point, he has pronounced this decision. The statntes don't
embrace compositions of this nature ; and it is, therefore,
necessary to consider the rights of parties at common law. It
is said by the pursuer that a sermon ought to be protected
in the same meaner u plays, which, although made public
by performance in a theatre, ars still, quoad printing,
and, independently of statute, held to remain the
property of the author, and to be still unpublished,
so that the author, or those deriving right through
him, shall have the exclusive right of printing;—
and in affect they remain in the position of a nisnusaipt not
yet given to the world. There is much plausibility in this
reasoning. But there is a difference between the two corn-
mittens, or rather in the mode of the oral publication
wkki, in the Sheriff-substitute's opinion, places them in a
Many different position, so much so as to prevent the argu-
ments applicable to the one having any force in regard to
the ether, and it is this :--The dramatic author (or the
Isms. alike theatre, who must be held to be identified with
the author, as respects the performance, for it is only
through the author that he is entitled to bring it on the
stage) does not give his composition to the public indiscrimi-
nately. He only gives it to each person who pays for that pd.
vilege:the right to hear it. It is a private transaction with
each individual who gains admission to the theatre—a trans.
action for onerous causes—a sale to the hearers. A church,
on the contrary, is open to the public generally. The see-
MOM is given to the public for universal edification—it Is
published to the world, and what is so published can no
lsimer be considered as the private property of the publisher.
Thy view of the cue is strengthened by inference from the
late statute 6th and 6th Will, cap. 66. That act extended
the privilege of copyright to lectures by private lecturers,
but not to those delivered in colleges, to. Thus proving
that it was so given in the tint ones, on account of the pri-
vats sale by the lecturer, to each of those who pays for the
privilege of hearing while, in the latter, the lecture Is given
.o the public, and therefore becomes Wilk property. It is
also of importance, though not conclusive, that sermons are
not included in the statute."— The Sodanoato.
INGENIOUS CAPTURE OP Two HOUSEBREAKER&
—The Lieetpod Courier data that on Friday afternoon, a
ploughman, named Jackson, in the employ of Mr. John
Peers, of Thingwell (Cheshire) had occasion to leave his
team, which were engaged in ploughing a field adjoining hie
master's house, all the inmates of which were absent. Oa
mashing the house he found that the kitchen window had
hem broken, and an entrance effected. Be immediately
west to the stable, where he met one of hie fellow-
servants, and on eating him if he had seen =yolks about, he
was informed that two men were seas coming from the house
in the direction of a wood, situate at a short diatom&
Jukses, then, after detaahleg me of the hones
from the plough, rode in the iikeeletiOn of the field, and
overtook two men, one of when, named Norm Swart,
he succeeded in capturing. floweeal &wren had been
broken open, but the thieves hod only taken away six and
a half sovereign Oa Saturday Zwart was brought up be-
fore the magistrates and eemmitted for trial. During his
I ocassination, Kr. Gleam, tin tridewallkeeper, and Mr.
Inspector Binds, sbeero4 two women in the court, who
mewed to t eke very peat istrreet in the proceedings. The
r was also sees to resegaise them. When the court
trriarTieleu pP. Matthews eessb[Jab, Tegg watched the move-
ments of the eredis,esd 61111111/114 the. to Liverpool, when
they were trailed es a keen in a mart la Upper Beau-street.
At dusk P. C. lii:Fisaltsving the Illistaose of two Liver-
pool police-Asa& tin Issue, and there found a
man named did whose howl were mneh scratched,
and his clotkeSemosesd WI owes witk mud. He was take.
into custedt• end be gin war to Birkenhead, whoa le
was idanU&di as gnaw Ide anis his smite wkos Silut
was captured.

MUSIC.
FUNERAL OF CHOPIN.-PERFORMANCE OF
MOZART'S REQUIEM.
PARIS, OCTOBER 31.—Yesterday was the day of
die of the celebrated Chopin, whose untimely
death has deprived the musical art of one of its
brightest ornaments. i;i! remains had been em-
balmed and deposited in the church of the Madeleine,
where a great funeral service took place previous
their being carried to their final place of rest, in the
cemetery of Pere la Chaise. His devoted friends and
admirer', who had resolved that every honour should
be done to his memory, determined that the Requiem
of Mozart should be performed for his funeral ob-
sequies, he himself having often expressed his en-
thusiastic admiration of that divine work. The doors

of the church were opened at eleven o'clock ; and, at
noon (the time fixed for the compnenoement of the
funeral service), the vast area was filled by an mom-
blage of nearly three thousand persons, all of whom
had received special invitations, as being entitled,
from rank, from station in the world of art
and literature, or from friendship for the la-
mented deceased, to be present on so solemn
and melancholy an occasion. The coffin was under
a catafalque which stood in the middle of the area.
The semicircular epos behind the steps of the altar
was screened by a drapery of black cloth, which
being festooned towards the middle, gave a partial
view of the vocal and instrumental orchestra, dis-

posed, not in the usual form of a gradual ascent from
the front to the back, but all on the level of the floor,
an unusual arrangement which at first surprised and
disappointed me, u I feared its effect in deadening
the sound; but it turned out to be advantageous, es it
lessened the echo or reverberation created by the

peat sonority of the building which, after all, was
occasionally felt in loud and rapid passages. The
solo voices were—Madame Caste Han, as soprano,
Madame Viardot Garcia, as contralto, Alexis Dupont
as tenor, and Lablache as hare. The insiramental or-
chestra end chorus were those of the Conservatoire.

While the body was being slowly brought from
the vaults in which it bad been deposited, the orches-
tra executed a funeral march composed by Chopin
himself, being taken from one of his sonatas, and in-
strumented by Henri Reber, an artist known by
several works of great merit. It was simple and
solemn, and had a very impressive effect. The
funeral service then began, Mozart's " Requiem "
being incorporated with it. This most celebrated
work (as your musical readers know) is a mass for
the dead, and cannot ba properly performed unless in
a catholic country. The different movements are quite
detached from each other, forming parts of the ser-
vice, a large portion of which consists of the prayers
which are simply chanted by the priests. In Eng.and
it can be head only as a concert, performed without
interruption from beginning to end ; a mode which
ruins its design, by bringing together movements
whose spirit and effect depend on the intermediate
matter which separates them. Th( se inspired
strains, the outpourings of a spirit already
almost in the world of spirits—for Mozart felt that
he was composing his own Requiem—had an effect
yesterday which I had not even conceived. The un-
rivalled perfection of the execution, aided by the sad
solemnity of the occasion, produced an impression at
times quite overpowering, and many eyes around mo
were bathed in tears. Lablache appeared in all his
greatness. In the " Tuba mirum spargens @intim" his
voice and expression were awful, and, throughout the
piece, his notes, like the diapasons of an organ,
seemed the basis on which the who'd harmony rested.
No language can do justice to the two quartets—the
imploring " Resardare, Jesu pie," and the sweet and
tranquil " Benedictus qui venit," as sung by four such
exquisite voices ; and the grand choral fugue which
begins and ends the Mass was full of majestic
grandeur. I now, for the first time, understand the
Requiem of Mozart.
The organist of the church, M. Lefebure Wely, per-
formed two touching preludes by Chopin, and a vo-
luntary or improvisation. The organ is magnificent,
and the organist is evidently a great master.
When the service was over, the funeral train left
the church and moved towards the Pere la Chaise.

The chief mourners were the aged and venerable
Prince Adam Czertorielei (who, as well as the
younger memberfBTlMe family, were among the
warmest friends of the lamented artist), Meycrbeer,
Camille Pleyel, and Eugene I)elacroix, the celebrated
painter. The pall-bearers walked on foot, and the
bier was followed by a long train of carriages. When
the body was consigned to the earth, among those
who stood round the grave were several ladies who
seemed absorbed in grief. One of them was
Madame Tendrzejeviez, Chopin's sister, who
had arrived from Warsaw a short time be-
fore his death, and had the melancholy satis-
faction of soothing by her affectionate:care his suffer-
ings in his latest hours. When all was over, the
large assemblage slowly separated ; and thus ended
one of the most striking and affecting solemnities I
have ever witnessed.
It is impossible to give an idea of the sensation
crested here by the death of this highly-Kilted man.
His life and character seem to be the th one of every
conversation ; everywhere the highest tribute is paid
to his qualities as a man, as well as to his genius as
an artist; and everywhere the deepest grief is ex-
pressed for his early death. He was only in his 39th
year. His brief career, though brilliant, has been
quite uneventful. Born in 1810, in the neighbour-
hood of Warsaw, he gained at a very early age,
great reputation in Germany; but having come to
Paris in 1831, he has, ever since, resided almost con-
stantly in this city.— Last year he spent a part of the
summer, first in London, and afterwards in Scotland,
Iwhere he visited several families of distinction, whe
were much attached to him. In London, he gave
several concerts, at which he was listened to with
delight, by the most accomplished lovers of the piano-
forte. In Scotland he was struck by the national
melodies of the country, and took great pleasure in
playing them, which be did with the true Scottish
spirit, throwing into them at the same time the most
exquisite grace and delicacy.
As a composer and pianist, Chopin stood quite
alone, and, in my opinion, unrivalled in some of the
highest qualities of an artist. Thoroughly versed in
all the learning of his art, in the use of its resources,
he followed the track of no predecessor or contempo-
rary. He neither took for his models the great
works of the classical school, which, how-
ever, he regarded with due love and reverence,
nor the " fantastic" productions of more modern date
which have become so absurdly fashionable. He fol-
lowed nothing but the impulses of his own genius,
using the sounds of his instrument as the language of
his thoughts. Hence he did not compose large works
constructed according to conventional forms. He
sought to express a sentiment or a feeling, or to con-
vey image to the laterer's imagination : and
this was done the piece was finished. His
most beautiful pieces, accordingly, are short and con-
densed, but exquisitely finished—diamonds of small
bulk but of the purest lustre. The only forms
he less adopted are those of the national
music of his own country, of which the ro-
mantic melancholy was congenial to his own spirit.
It was in the polonaise., mazurkas, and waltzes, that
be embodied many of his most beautiful and pathetio
Inspirations. His playing was not, any more than
his music, made for spacious halls and numerous as-
semblages. He did not force the tones of his instru-
ment to make them heard by a thousand persons, nor
did he seek to astound his:audienes by mimicking the
thunders of the orchestra. Though his execution
was boundless, yet he never made it the means of
display—a thing which above all others he despised.
Yet his touch, though of matchless delicacy, was not
feeble or monotonous. It was full of variety, and its
energy and strength of expression were as remark-
able at one time, as its refinement and ethereal light-
ness at another. So peculiar was his style of per-
formanee, that the written notes of his mug!" ars
unable to convey it, and hie ideas cannot be Justly
interpreted, save by those whose style he himself has
formed. As be has left, however, several professional
theirpopr ile pupils
generally
mo fes great
Chopin tale,
kuonwtn
mI u
sh mice he ol doubt
be cbecome
a the a
mt r
et r o n
ang hd
His character as a man added lustre to his name as
an artist. Of a delicate frame and most sorties
nature, he mingled little in the eforli; but in the
i
small and distinguished circle n which he moved, he
*terns to have been actually adored. His generosity
was unbounded, and numbers of his suffering fellow-
countrymen have had reason to bless him as their
benefactor. He was noble in spirit, and held in
horror everything like meanness or deceit; and it
is gratifying to know that strong religion,
was a feature of his mind, and that I,'
Christian piety and, fortitude etue -
fated in has last hours,

f II
IBC
it
111
'1

religious feeling
it his calm and
strikingly math-
-1