The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-25 00:00:00

MR, KUHE'S CONCERT

As one of the most gifted and rarely accom-
plished of living pianists, Mr. Kuhe is certain every
successive season of collecting together a very large
and brilliant attendance whenever one of his Re.
citals of Classical and Modern Pianoforte Music is
announced. It was so—as usual—on Thursday
afternoon at the Hanover-square Rooms, where a
numerous and evidently a thorougnly appreciative
audience attested his popularity, and by so attesting,
it proved to demonstration their own taste. Know-
ing, as we all do, that Liszt has withdrawn him-
self into a monastery, almost as finally as his
favourite pupil Herr Hermann (now a Car-
melite monk out at Kensington), and remem-
bering also that Thaiberg has closed his professional
career by formally bidding as Farewell—we
can hardly make too much of an artist so
eminently distinguished (at once as a composer and
as a performer) as Wilhelm Kuhe—the worthy
rival (these words of themselves being a panegyric)
the worthy rival of Halle. Any more exquisite
delicacy of touch than Mr.Kuhe's, one could,not only
hardly wish for, but hardly imagine. Yet—combined
with this most charming delicacy there fall on
the ear at intervals, as we listen to his playing,
tones so firm, so massive, so sonorous, that one
thinks instinctively, upon the instant, of those sounds
Leigh Hunt speaks of, in his wonderful little
poem on Paganini, as having been drawn at
times, froni the fiddle, by that Wizard of the
Bow—sounds " like the built organ .!" At
other momenta, again, Mr. Kuhe makes the
piano, before which he is. seated, sing under his
emotional fingers ! The performances at Thursday's
Recital were—to ourselves certainly—a treat: the
cordiality of the applause which greeted them
seeming plainly enough to indicate that they were
a treat also to the audience generally. Three
among our moat popular concert singers took part
with Mr. Kuhe in affording entertainment to those
who had assembled together especially in his honour.
The soprano, among these three well-known colla-
borateurs, being Madame Lemmens-Sherrington,
the contralto, Madame Sainton•Dolby, and the
tenor, Herr Reichardt. At this mention of the
name of Herr Reichardt we would speak at once of
the cordial plaudits and instant encore won by him
in his simple but charming delivery of his own
plaintive little song, "A Tear." It was a success.
Madame Sainton-Dolby appeared to be suffering
from the after effects of a severe cold, singing very
effectively, nevertheless, in spite of this—more
particularly in Eogel's romanza of " Irene."
Madame Lemmens-Sherrington's happiest achieve-
ment on Thursday, was in her rendering of the
riant, coquettish Air des Bijoux from the" Faust"
of Gounod. As for Herr Kuhe himself he cer-
tainly had, as he ought to have had, as we could
only have wished him to have, the lion's share of
the responsibility of entertaining his friends and
admirers on Thursday. To say nothing of the
et c sres his performances every now and then
drew upon his own head—for the which pe-
nalty he has, of course, only to thank
himself!—there were no less than eight distinct
"recitals" set down for him in the programme.
Twice only he indulged the audience with pieces of
his own composition—once at the close of the con-
cert with a brilliant Fantasia on Irish airs, the first
(and we may confidently add not by any means the
last) time of its performance. Upon the other ccea-
sion on which he was Lisa own interpreter, Kuhe's
marvellous " Song without Words," the .Harpe
Eolienne, was followed by Kuhe's Etudes de Con-
cert. Otherwise his performances were devoted to
admirably well selected compositions by Beethoven,
Mendelssohu, Liszt, Chopin, Thalberg, Scarlatti,
and Blumenthal. Mr. Kuhe's rendering of
Liszt's brilliant Valse from "Faust" was a really
marvellous performance—his refined and dazzling
execution of Les Ailes, by Blumenthal, rousing even
the fashionable audience who were listening to it to
something very much like enthusiasm. Mr. Bene■
diet was, as he ever is, welcome as the accom-
panyiat to the vocalists, or, speaking of him
technically, as the Conductor.

A Charming Tribute to Shakspere.

Prone a long poetical effusion entitled " Invocation
(April 23, 1864)," published in extenso in the Queen of to-
day, we are tempted to make these fragmentary extracts.
The Editor of the Queen, in giving insertion to this anony-
mous poem, remarks:—" We regret that so admirable a
composition as this should have reached our hands so long
after the date when its appearance would have been most
appropriate; but it is never too late for a really excellent
piece of poetry to appear in a public dress, and so we gladly
give it insertion. As regards its authorship, we can only
mention that it is by a Lancashire lady, and was written at
first only for the perusal of private friends. In an age of
mediocre versification and competition prize poems, to meet
with such a performance as this is truly refreshing." And
.affording testimony that these words of praise are in truth
deserved—take the subjoined passages, having particular
regard to the words italicised :
Well didst thou lovo thy England, and thy soul
Which swept the darkest realms of thought unscared,
And saw beneath th' Egyptian's tawny breast,
The Roman's antique mail, the common heart,
The common passions working out their doom,
Came back in peace to this beloved soil,
And found the tranquil setting of thy days
Amidst those simple fields, these tangled lanes
Curtained by hedgerow elms, where Robin pipes
His latest warblings to the golden eve.
Here didst thou walk all careless of thy fame,
With calm gaze open to the universe;
Here didst thou die I Leath closed thy glorious eyes,
And broke the matchless mirror of the world.
Brother I for though the vastness of thy soul
That soared at level with the heights of woe,
And giant passions of the antique world,
And heard the subtlest music of the spheres,
blight sink our smaller souls in barren awe,
I'd with thy greatness breathes a quickening grace—
Si,veot human sympathy that burns for all.
No cloud-lost dreamer thou, strutting above
The daily needs and daily griefs of man,
For, with the blinding splendours of thy gifts,
Thou wondrous blossom of the northern race,
Are knit the solid attributes that make
The greatness of the Anglo-Saxon blood ;
The love of liberty, the love of home,
The hankering for the quiet of the fields,
The noble moderation of a strength
Proved beyond proof, returning on itself,
The patriot's pride, the fixed and steady mind,
So earnest in the business of its day.
Thus true to thy vocation of the stage,
Wert thou who mightet have worn the epic robe
With lofty grace as Homer, or have met
Plato himself upon his heights sublime,
Or purest Socrates, thou who didst pluck
His crown of roses from Anacreon,
A playwright to the end I Who mourns it here I)
Playwright, 'tie true ; but what a playwright ours
Wit, poet, sage, historian, all in one,
Who left in many a fair melodious line,
That smoothly passed the tyrant's jealous ear,
A germ of thought, a dragon's fang of truth ;
Which sprang in riper days an armed man,—
Whose eye was keen for folly, but whose heart
Was warm with love of God and humankind.
King I for by all the glory of thy brow,
Thy crown of deathless fame, thy staff of power,
By every attribute of right and might,
Most surely, Shakapere, thou art King of men I
In days of yore, monarchs, to show their wealth,
Flung silver in the streets, and sent the wine
Red foaming through the common water ways :
Coarse shifts were these, methinks, to prove their worth,
Small deeds to 'stablish greatness among men.
But thou hart flung thy gold to every wind,
And slaked the thirst of ages with thy wine,
Yet is thy store no less; the growing age,
With all appliances of skill and thought,
Ila‘h not yet gauged the fulness of thy depth.

GRISI sang this afternoon, in St. James's Hall,
at Ciabatta's concert.

A PREMIER'S WAR DANCE!—CO at least vre
venture to head the following comment by the
Queen of to-day upon the fact that on Wednesday evening
their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales
dined at the house of Lord Palmerston, and the entertain-
ment was concluded by a dancing party. Their royal
highnesses were received at the door of Cambridge House
by the host, whose infirmities incapacitate him from appear-
ing in the House of Commons to answer questions relative
to important affairs of State, and " the festivities were pro-
longed to an early hour of the morning." That very day
the Conference on the Danish tragedy had, in fact, broken
up in confusion, and there is now but the Queen's indivi-
dual will between this country and a war with Germany—
a war which can only end in handing over the Sound to
the domination of Russia. What is Nero fiddling over the
Was of RQIIIO to this dance at Catahridgo gouse

'
tufa
(girt

HER MAJESTY,

WINDSOR CASTLE, June 24.
The Queen, accompanied by their Royal High.
nesses the Princess Louis of Hesse and Princess
Beatrice, drove out yesterday afternoon in an open
carriage and four, attended by Lieutenant• Colonel
the Hon. D. de Ros.

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred, Prince
Louis of Hesse, and Prince Arthur, drove in a car-
riage and four to Virginia Water.

His Royal Highness Prince Leopold, attended by
Mr. Buff, took a carriage drive.

Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by their
Royal Highnesses Prince Arthur and Prince Leo-
pold walked and drove in the grounds this morn-
ing.

'Their Royal Highnesses Princess Helena and
Princess Louise, attended by Lady Carolina Bar-
rington, Colonel the Hon. A. Liddell, and Lieut.-
Colonel the Hon. D. de Ros, went to London this
morning, and honoured Mr. Holman Hunt
with an inspection of his pictures in Hanover-street,
and afterwards inspected Mr. Simpson's water.
colour drawings of India.

The princesses afterwards were present at the
Bazaar in the Horticultural Gardens, and returned
to Windsor at two o'clock,

His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, attended by
Major Elphinstone, left the Castle to-day for Wool-
wich, to embark for Ostend, whence the prince will
go to Brussels to visit his Majesty the King of the
Belgians.

Prince Arthur will afterwards proceed to Coburg,
and from thence to Switzerland.

The Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Prince of Wales rode on horseback yesterday,
accompanied by Princ& Louis of Hesse, and attended
by Lieutenant-Colonel Keppel.
The Princess of Wales, accompanied by Princess
Mary of Cambridge, and attended by the Mar-
chioness of Carmarthen, went to Westminster
Abbey.
Tie Prince of Wales went to Willis's Rooms and
presided at the meeting of the Society for the En-
couragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce,
and distributed the prizes given by the sooiet3-. His
Royal Highness was attended by the Earl of Mount-
Edgcumbe, Lieut.-General Knollys, and Lieut.-
Colonel Keppel.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by
the Marchioness of Carmarthen and Lieut.-Colonel
Keppel, honoured the Duke of Devonshire with
their company at dinner.

The Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse, attended
hy the Baroness von Grancy and Captain von Wes-
terweller, honoured the Duke of Devonshire with
their company at the ball at Devonshire House in
the evening.

Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to
Devonshire House.
Last evening the Duke of Devonshire was
honoured with a visit from their Royal Highnesses
the Prince and Princess of Wales, at his town resi-
dence, Devonshire House,where a grand banquet was
given on the occasion, succeeded afterwards by a
ball at • which the Prince and Princess Louis of
Hesse were also present.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who were
attended by the Marchioness of Carmarthen and
Lieutenant,Colonel Keppel, arrived at eight o'clock,
and were received by the noble host, the Marquis
of Hartington, and Lady Louisa Cavendish.
The royal guests were soon afterwards conducted
to the diningroom where the banquet took place.
—The table was laid out with the magnificent silver
plateau, and lighted by some elaborately chased sil-
ver candelabra. On the buffet was a rich display
of gold and silver plate, salvers, &c., conspicuous
among which was the celebrated salver made from
the snuff boxes presented to the late Duke of
Devonshire by the sovereigns of Europe.
Another feature worthy of remark was the valu-
able gold dessert service, an heirloom, known as
" The Burlington service," belonging exclusively to
the present duke and his line, which was used on
the occasion, and was greatly admired, more pro-
bably from being considered unique.
The Prince of Wales on the right of the Lady
Louisa Cavendish, and the Princess occupied a simi-
lar position on the side of the Duke of Devonshire.
The dinner party was confined to a circle of 24. In
addition to the illustrious guests and the noble
duke there were present the Duke of St. Alban's,
the Marquis of Hartington, the Earl Granville, the
Earl and Countess of Dalkeith, the Earl and Lady
Constance Grosvenor, Viscount Hamilton, Lord and
Lady George Cavendish and Miss Cavendish,Lady
Blanche Egerton, Colonel Hon. Henry W. J., and
Mrs. Byng, Hon. Henry Bourke, Hon. Charles R.
Carington, Lord Edward and Lady Louisa Caven-
dish, the Hon. and Rev. Francis Grey, and the
Marchioness of Carmarthen end Lieut.-Col. Keppel,
in waiting on the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The noble suite of rooms devoted to the ball was
brilliantly illuminated and decorated with the
choicest exotics and flowering plants, disposed with
much artistic effect, and in such profusion that a
grateful fragrance was diffused throughout the
apartments. The plants here and in other parts of
the mansion were supplied from the extensive con-
servatories at Chatsworth and Chiswick. The saloon
in the centre of the mansion was prepared for danc-
ing, and was illuminated by five crystal lustres, the
light from which was reflected on the large mirrors
in richly carved frames, and it also served admir-
ably to exhibit the vaulted ceiling with its gilt
mouldings and finely executed carvings. An alcove
over ti) portico, adorned with rare plants, was used
as a retiring room for the princes and princesses
during the pauses in the dance. The large ball-room
adjoining the saloon was also prepared for dancing,
having an orchestra at one end. This, the larger
ball-room, was also effectively illuminated by
chandeliers depending from the richly carved roof,
and by clusters of wax lights around.
The remaining apartments, including the library,
which contains an unrivalled collection of plays,
were also made available for promenading during
the evening.
The beautiful white marble staircase, with its
gilded balusters, surmounted bya crystal hand-rail,
was lit by a number of lamps supported by gilt
brackets, and presented a dazzlingly brilliant ap-
pearance as the guests entered.
Few town houses possess such an extensive gar-
den as that at the rear of Devonshire House, and
here, by the aid of coloured lamps disposed around
the beds, and ranged along the borders, a very
effective display was produced. Among other
illuminated devices was a large Prince of Wales's
plume placed at the extremity of tie centre walk,
showing clearly by its distance from the mansion
the great extent of the grounds.
At ten o'clock the company begantoass
arrived
without the ball, and np to midnight carriages
without cessation.
The Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse arrived
about half-past ten. Their royal highnesses were
attended by Captain von Westerweller and Madlle.
de Grancy.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
attended by Colonel the Hon. James Macdonald,
c. 8., arrived shortly before eleven o'clock.
The Princess Mary of Cambridge, with Lady
Geraldine Somerset and Captain A. Ellis in wait-
ing, came soon afterwards. The Duchess of Cam-
bridge and the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-
Strelitz were unavoidably prevented attending the
ball.

It was after 11 o'clock when the ball was opened
with a quadrille by the Prince of Wales and Lady
Louisa Cavendish and the Princess of Wales and
the Marquis of Hartington.
Refreshments were served during the evening in
an apartment adjoining the ball-room. Over the
mantelpiece was the celebrated Devonshire gems,
which the puh;ic lately had an opportunity of in-
specting at South Kensington Museum, were they
formed part of the loan collection of objects of art.
All the plate on the table, both decorative and

~ .
utilitarian, was of frosted and burnished silver, t

centre piece being of clgssie design.
After this temporary cessation dancing was re-
sumed, and was kept up with spirit to an advanced
hour.
The Duke of Cambridge did not retire until
after one o'clock. The Princess Mary and the illus•
trious prince and princess to whom the entertain-
ment was given did not leave until a later hour.

The Duke of Buecleuch has left town for Edin-
burgh, to take the command of the miiitia, of which corps
his grace is colonel.
The Duke of Sutherland arrived at Stafford
House yesterday from the Mediterranean. The Bari t).t,
Sefton returned home with his grace.
The Earl of Devon was unavoidably prevented
from attending her Majesty's Levee on Wednesday last. ,
The Earl and Countess of Darnley were not
present, as was inadvertently stated, at the marriage of Mr
H. Millbanke and Lady Susan Osborne, being prevented by
the death of a relative.

Lord and Lady Frederick Cavendish left DeV°ll'
shire House yesterday on a continental tour.
At the Leven on Wednesday last Lord Harris
was presented by Viscount Sydney, on his appointment so
honorary colonel of the East Kent Regiment of Militia.
Mr. and Lady Evelyn Brudenell Bruce have left
Thomas's Hotel, Berkeley-square, for Woolstone Lodge'
Farringdon.
Sir john and Lady Bowring have left tows for
Paris. Sir John is accredited as Minister Plenipotentiary
and Envoy Extraordinary to the Emperor of the Fiendlb/
the King of the Hawaiin Islands.
The late Earl Poulett, whose death we recently
announced, was the eldest son of John the fourth earl, bY
Sophia, daughter of Admiral Sir George Pocock, K
married August 28, 1820, Charlotte Fanny, only daugu'""
and heiress of the late Mr Henry Edward Berkel,Bl:,
vi
Portman, of Bryanston House. in the county of Dorset)
the Hon. Lucy Elizabeth Dormer, daughter of Chill
eighth Lord Dormer, and by her, who survives Wahl°
issue three sons and one daughter, all of whom aro de-
ceased,