The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-02 00:00:00

long-widowed Penelope, now peremptorily insist on
her choosing a husband from among them, and every
expedientexhausted, she at last pro.
poses the test of the bow, and promises the- the suitor
for delay being
who shall be strong enough to bead the famous wea-
pon of Ulysses, and with sufficient skill to send an
arrow from it through twelve rings, shall obtain her
hand. Ali this, and the scene of the banquet which
follows, is translated with graceful elegance. After the
feast is over, Penelope appears with the terrible bow ;
the suitors all vainly attempting to bend it; when Ulysses
requests leave to examine the well-known arm, and
lo ! in his hands it becomes as flexible as a reed. His
unerring arrow flies from the bow, passing through
every ring without grazing their circlets ; he then
turns to the dismayed and astonished suitors, and ac-
quaits them that he is the returned monarch. After
reproaching them for their pillage and outrages on
his household, he raises the fatal bow, and the hour
of vengeance commences. The fifth act, or epilogue,
finds Ulysses seated on his throne, and the first act
is to punish the hand-maids of the Queen for sharing
in the disorders and libertinism of the fallen suitors.
The cautious Penelope, however, refuses to recognise
her husband, until he gives a description of the
thalamus, the naivete of which frequently excited
the hilarity of the public ; she is, however, at
length convinced ; Minerva makes her appearance in
a cloud, and, after congratulating her favourite on
the successful termination of his labours, ascends to
Olympus, and the piece concludes. We should
perhaps before have mentioned that the tragedy IS
interspersed with chorusses and incidental music
composed by M. Gounod ; an innovation which led
US at first to imagine that AL Ponsard contemplated
a revival of the old Greek tragedy, in which the
chorus played so important a part. This is not
however, the case, as the tragedy would be equally
intelligible without them, thoughand classic M. Gouncd has
performed his task with a taste
which place his contribution to the work among the
most admired parts of the performance. The instu-
mentation, designedly unobtrusive, breathes a spirit
of poetry and freshness, conjoined with an antique
simplicity, admirably characteristic. It was in-
variably rewarded by the audience
Phemius. A martial chorus of swirl
with applause,
save in the instance of a solo hymn by the bard
feeling
how-
ever, of a very different facture, deservedly
whole Ulysse
ob-
tained the honours of the his. On the
will not add anything to the reputation of M. lon-
sand ; it has, indeed, rather the air of a college
prize-poem than a drama for the modern stage. Its
was fairly but not remarkably acted ; Geffroy
judi-
cious the Ulysses, which he performed with swineherds,
his usual
care ; Delaunay looked Telemachus admirably,ar t a
and probably performed it as well as
: eeihe pi‘ladile.
mitted. Medlle. Nathalie was Minerva.
and Madme. Thenard made commendableto their per-
fruitless efforts to give a classical cachet
The
scenery
sonations of Penelope and Euryclea.
1 r; and, as a
by MM. Nolan and Rube was facelieD.,, a
v but
striking
curious antiquarian study, rather than
drama, Ulysse may be classed as
of the
composer names of the author and the
the mmic were each honourably received,
somewhat expres-
sion in favour of the latter possibly
pre-
dominating.
_
successful. The

PORTS ST. MARTIN. -- The greater the amount
of horrors crammed into a melodrama here, the
greater its success. Hence thevery
de la ,Seine,
by of the last novelty, Les Nulls
is raixed u. p with
by M. Marc_Fournier. The trash
a description. of the horrors committed by night on
of the mceurs of
favourable
.re-
the river, and a vivid portraiture
attraction of Les Nulls de la Seine, the nocturnal. population of Paris, ala Sue ; the re.at
the piece, such
scenery,. which is truly admirable, and
as it is, nightly attracts crowds. however,. is its
. Verdi 'a has been produced at Pestb, where
env, and MM. Mazzi, and be Mme. Man-
it.s.receptiun left nothing to be desired.
spoken of in the principal' parts.
M. Sinico,. the tenor, has had great success at Sa-
ragossa, in. La Sonnembula,
anew opera in Antony, are well
At Seville
Fuego, has
met with ii: favourable reception with
Mine. Montenegro and MM. Baraldi and Ecbarte ;
the author is Don Ventura de. la Vega,
M. (zu. but the Spanish, J.ugar con.
com-
poser's
„name is not mentioned.
asco, the well-known tenor,
next spring season at Vienna:
Madame Castellan is said to be engaged for next
season at Lisbon. is engaged for
The Italian journals are loud in their praise of a
Madame Rugger° Antonioli, whose performance of
Abigaile in Verdi's Nabucso they describe as perfec-
tion itself.

M. Mercadante is announced to be engaged on a
new opera to be produced next carnival at the San
Carlo, of N aples.
Donizetti's Marino Faliero has been revived at
Genoa for MM. Didot and Malvezzi, and Madame
Garibaldi Bassi, all of whom are spoken of in terms
of commendation.

At Naples Madame Penco and M:J. Pancani and
Rossi are stated to have made a favourable impression
in Otello.

Madlle. Many has appeared as Rosina in the im-
mortal Barbiere at Vienna, and if the accounts are to
be relied on with extraordinary success. A new
opera by Ricci, Il Marito e l' Amante, has been
favourably received, Madames Medori, De Meric, and
MM. Fraschini and De Bassini, playing the principal
parts. _

Madame George Sand's Claudie has been translated
into Italian, and is now being performed in Turin
with very great success. La Sonnambitia has also
been given at the Naztonale in that city, but with in-
different success, the artistes being Madame Morra
and M. Sacchero.
M. Bremond (ex— of the Grand Opera) has been
engaged for an Italian operatic establishment at Jassy,
in Moldavia.—Galignani.

THE LORDS AND THE COMMONS.
The truth is, and that truth can't be too generally
known, for the very contrary is universally believed,
that the Lords aro ten times better mon of business than
the : Commons. This has particularly struck every
oae who has had occasion to attend committees
during the present session. Go into a railway or
deck committee in the - ommittee in the Commons, and
you'll find a witness discoersing on astronomy, naviga.
Lion, mesinerisca, chemistry, geology, or things in gene-
ral, as the case may be interspersed with copious bio-
graphical details of himself and his respected acquain-
tances, from infancy upwards. It is perfectly imma-
terial what all this has to do with the ostensible subject-
matter of the inquiry:—the Committee conceive that,
as they are there to listen, and witnesses' counsel to
talk, it doesn't much matter (which it certainly
very often does not) what he talks about, and the more
miscellaucous and diversified the greater the chance of
(Ting entertaining, and the greater the certainty of ac-
complishing the grand object of the professional indi-
viduals on either side—killing time and keeping cows
alive. 'Very different, however, is the case with the
Lords. They confine all parties to the point, and bring
them to a full stop at the proper period, despite their in-
terjections and exclamations and notes of interrogation
interminable. In a roster Committee, the other day, o
instance, the Noble Chairman coolly told the counsf el to cut down their briefs one-half if they hoped to get
through the business of the other half; and on a sue.
geon being produced as a witness, Earl iSlorley cau-
terized Limo son of Galen by ordering him to amputate
his loquacity instanter and be off with himself, utiless
ho could show that the hydraulic works in question were
to be conducted on the hydrcpathic princiebs,-ea rQ-
quired medical depositions to elms eivec7; Numberless
.y ono in the
examplea of the sarou es-wet-occur to evei
ra.
habit of at a-1.-s--"CornmitteQs; and if the Commons
do P nto mend their ways next Parliament, "
'qed, we've a House of Lords," will be a generalthank shib-
boleth in the months of universal suffering suffragists.-.
Liverpool Albion.

THE ROYAL YACHTS.
Her Majesty's steam yachts Victoria and Albert,
Ceptain Lord Adolphus Fitzelarence, G.C.H., and the
Fairy tender, have undergone a thorough refit and re-
embellishment alow and aloft. The contractors for their
iLeereal fittings having completed their department last
week, cu Monday last they were given up to her Majesty's
naval servants complete in every essential for melein,7
8, voyaoe
e comfortable and even luxurious at sea. To
attempt a description of the various olegances and con-
vonieucee which everywhere pervade the royal yachts,
would occupy far more space than any newspaper
could devote to such a task, however agreeable it might
new equipment be. The vessels internally and externally have had an en-
tirelyanwdolubledi rfi
look tln efnot: indisplay
o board
anything reofianred.
me a t of taste the
anything else Oat
. The comfort of the Queen
and Royal Family, and
the optical effect has been evi-
dently a subject of
apper-
taining to decoration on
f A pre eund study in every matter apper-
skill in execution, ever design,
anhde-anon etr
iahned
tt
hh
ee ms
poeset
te
tdelie rc ant
as
board the Queen's yachts. The
presence of a master hand it,
he is conducted through, t ruoty.al and generalapartments
b
of the steamers, and it is just the praise should Le
aearded commensurate with the labour performed and
the perfection of the coup cecea
yachts were TTo the Commander
we believe this merit is due,
in-
spected on Monday last on behalf ehlethe Queen by her
Grace the Duchess of Athol, and
the same day the Commander-inn•e
theSrireyTehl ovreesassell3s.iggs, G,rvieGf :L, p„,.,3,
the afternoon of
mcuiand party Captain Crispin received
there distinguished visitors on the quarter-deck, and con-
ducted them over the ship. Whether we look at the decks,
Ports-
mouth,
, visit Admiralto
which are covered fore and aft with oak pattern Car cloth,
and well selected furniture, the machinery, the Land,omely
and eppropriately carved wheelr, binnacle, &c., or at
the material and arrangement of the upholstery be-
low., we are alike struck with the. exceeding beauty and
regal character of each feature, and yet there is nothing
gaudily showy or thoughtlessly extravagant about any
Por I
a,,, ' tin of them. It would be impossible fez-any
Anatures afloat to be aendered more worthy of Royal
eeee bat
ib,, Lot). than her Majesty's steamers Victoria and
and t,
Fairy.
On Wednesday they were meet]
a enli. he
who thiaileet their efficiency before receiving the Court,
PortBmouth embark iti them for the Isle of Wight.— ,
'mei and Naval Gazette. I]

BRISTOL, is.
ilapurd,ls' I.—Win` W.N.W.—Arrd. Liver-
erarara; Fd
oam, and 1.4mu01, Africa.