The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 15, 1863.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

THE NAVY.

VALETTA, Sept. 9.—Her M-jesty's screw frigate.
Phcee, 35, Capt. T. D. A. Fortescue, went out of
port on the 7th inst. to try her engines, and returned
the same afternoon. She left a few hours afterwards
for Athens with a mail and the despatches received by
the overland mail from Marseilles for the Com-
mander-in-Chief. The Queen, 76, Captain C. F.
Hillyar, will take up the next mail, on the 14th, and
the Foxhound, 4, Commander W. H. Anderson,
the following one of the 21st inst. The Queen will
also convey stores and provisions for the fleet. This
ship, which has been so long expecting to be sent
home, is to remain on the station another three
months. A court-martial was held on the sth inst
on board her Majesty's ship Hibernia, in Malta har-
bour, to try W. D. Calder, Royal Marine Light In-
fantry, of the Phoebe, on o. charge of having de-
serted from the said ship on or about the 13th
of December, 1862. The Court was composed of
the following officers :—Capt. C. F. Hillyar, of the
Queen, President; Cape. T. A. B. Spratt, C. 8., of
the Medina ; Commander R. B. Harvey, of the
Hibernia ; Commander W. H. Anderson, of the Fox-
hound; and Commander H. B. Woollcombe, of the
Queen. W. H. Fitz Patrick, Rs, R.N., officiating
Jadge-Advocate. Capt. T. A. D. Fortescue, of
the Phoebe, prosecuted. The Court found the pri-
soner not guilty of desertion, at guilty of ab-
sence without leave, and in consideration of the
high testimonials produced, only adjudged him to
be placed at the bottom of the list, there to remain
for two years, and to be dismissed his ship. Her
Majesty's ship Growler, 2, tender to the surveying
ship Medina, Capt. T. A. B. Spratt, C. 8., left
Malta harbour on the 3d inst,, for Sicily, under the
command of Mr. J. Stokes, R.N., Master of the
Medina. Her Majesty's gunboat Boxer is to be
sent to the Piraeus, in charge of Lieut. F. S. D.
Broughton, of the Queen, for particular service, to
carry despatches and telegrams between the Piraeus
and Syra, &c,

The paddlewheel steam yacht Salamis, 835 tons,
250 horse-power, fitting at Chatham for special
service, took on board at the dockyard yesterday
one 40 pounder and one 9-pounder Armstrong gun,
together with the usual supply of shot and shell.
She is being rapidly completed for sea, but no
orders have yet been received at the dockyard as to
the particular service on which she will be
employed.
The drawings and plans for Mr. Reed's new iron
frigate Bellerophon, proposed to be constructed at
Chatham, have been prepared by the draughtsmen
at that dockyard from the designs sent down from
the office of the chief constructor at Whitehall, in
readiness for the immediate commencement of that
vessel on the completion of the Achilles, which
occupies the same dock at Chatham as that in which
the new iron frigate is intended to be built. In
the construction of the Bellerophon several imper-
taut improvements will be introduced by Mr. Reed,
the result of the experience acquired during the
progress of the Achilles, Research, and other iro❑
ships of war now building. The thickness it is pro-
posed to make the sides of the Bellerophon
has not yet been determined, the Admiralty
awaiting the result of some experiments which
are to be made upon a target constructing
by the Millwall Ironworks Company before
this is finally decided upon. The target which
is now under construction is formed of 10in. iron
frames, about 2ft. apart, covered first with iron
near!) 2in. thick, then with teak 12in. i❑ thickness,
and fit ally with Gin. armour-plating. The utmost
confidence is entertained that this construc-
tion of sides will exceed in shot. resisting strength
every other system hitherto actually adopted in any
ship yet built, and should the proposed arrangement
be found to succeed on the occasion of the trial, the
Bellerophon will be built after the same manner
from stem to stern. The Admiralty have determined
to fit the Bellerophon with engines of the most
powerful description, in order that she may steam
at least 14 knots per hour, and this, coupled with
her enormous strength and her shot-resisting power,
will render her by far the most formidable of the
iron vessels yet constructed.

The whole of the remaining stores have now been
removed from Deal Dockyard to Chatham, prepara•
tory to the yard being handed over to the parties
who have hired it of the Government for conversion
to a private shipbuilding establishment. Among the
stores landed at Chatham are some .50 anchors of all
sizes, from 105 cwt. to 40cwt. each, and these have
been tested and deposited in store in readiness for
reissue. The naval transport Aid is now at Dept-
ford, discharging a cargo of stores belonging to the
victualling department at Deal.
The whole of the armour-plates required for the
iron frigate Achilles, 6,079 tons, building at
been forwarded to that dockyard
Chatham,by the p
a
rhkagvg
ainte Iron works Company, in accord-
arce with the terms of the contract entered into with
the Admiralty, the officer from Chatham Dockyard
who superintended the manufacture of the whole of
the plates supplied by that firm resumed his duties
at the yard yesterday, in accordance with instruc-
tions to that effect. The plates now being fixed to
the remaining portion of the Achilles are those
manufactured by the firm of Brown and Co., of
Sheffield, and are all of a tapered form to fit the
receding sides of the stem and stern of that vessel.
The Dalhousie, cm.vict ship, after embarking up.
wards of 70 convicts from the convict prison at
Portsmouth, sailed from Spithead yesterday after-
noon for Portland, Plymouth, and West Australia.
The following
appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—W. H. Fawckner, master,
to the Asia, for the Hector ; D. H. Wilder, master,
to the Indus, for the Aurora; Thos. E. Biddiecombe,
master, to the Asia, for the Lyra; Robt. Jackson,
master, to the Asia, for the Falcon ; James Brown,
midshipman, to the Earyalus
; Nicholas Giles, pay-
master, additional, to the Cumberland; John V alsler,
assist. paymaster, to the Edinburgh; Richard Cor-
nish, assist. clerk, to the Impregnable; and Samuel
E. Lark, assist. clerk, to the Royal Adelaide, as su-
pernumerary.
The undernamed officers from her Majesty's yacht
Victoria and Albert were yesterday promoted :
Lieut. Charles Parry, to be Commander; Sub.-Lieut.
Hugo J. Pearson, Sub-Lieut. Henry J. Fairlie, and
Sub-Lieut. Hon Edward E. Dawson, to he Lieuts.

The undernamed gentlemen were yesterday no-
minated to naval cadetships :—Hon. Robert W.
Craven, Augustus H. Coker, Gallwey, Cecil R.
Hervey, Richard Keown, Charles Edward Reynard,
Gerald W. Russell, Richard B. Sayce, Leonard Olive
Strachey, Cecil 11. Wish, and Robert Thomas Wood.
At the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth, the fol-
lowing cub lieutenants have successfully passed their
examinations (five yearly), and received certificates
to that effect for the rank of lieutenant :—A. G.
M'Kechnie, H. H, Justice, and J. A. Dashwood.
The following second masters have also passed
thcir examinations, and received certificates for
masters:—John F. Barns, George Royal, E. 11. C.
Smith, and Frederick K. Taylor.

w it
Yesterday a detTacilhEmeAntßfif 21'2. non-commissioned
gmenofthe togetherhathCam
divisionh
officersi‘larin end
es Li
ht Infantry,l7f ioyal
non-com-
missioned officers and gunners of the Royal Marine
Artillery, left headquarters, and embarked on board
the screw corvette Scylla, 21, 1,467 tons, 400-horse
power, commissioned by Captain S. E, Croswell.
Yesterday a detachment of 42 con-commissioned
officers and men arrived at head-quarters, Chatham,
from the Royal Marine establishment, Deal, under
the command of Lieut. Dixon, in readiness for em-
barcation on beard those vessels fitting for foreign
service.
A course of experiments is now in progress in the
Royal Arsenal at Woolwich which promises import-
ant results. A 32 pounder cast-iron service gun,
strengthened on Co.pt Pallieer'a plan, has been

tested by firing a double-proof service charge, of
361 b. of powder, and a cylinder gradually in-
creased in size. The gun was fired upwards of
103 rounds without manifesting the slightest
signs of giving way, and burst. at the 107th round.
The result is considered exceedingly favourable, and
has been reported accordingly to the War Depart-
ment. A number of cast-iron service guns have
been consequently placid at Capt. Paltiser's dis
pesal, to ba bored and altered in accordance with
his principle, and to be similarly tested at the
Arsenal proof butt at Woolwich. Capt. Palliser,
it appears, has for many years applied himself to
te study of cast iron ordnance. His plan consists
in removing a portion of the existing metal from
the interior of the gun and inserting a combination
of steel and iron tubes in such a manner as to re-
lieve the outer cast-iron case from all strain,
whereby the gun acquires all the advantages of the
present wrought-iron ordnance. Capt. Palliser, it
is understood, maintains the principle that steel and
wrought-iron tubes of limited thickness can be so
inserted into cast-iron skins or outer portions of the
existing service guns to relieve th© structure from
all strain, and that only a small portion of the gun
is required to resist explosion, the remaining por-
tion being useful merely to prevent recoil. Several
guns are being prepared on Capt. Palliser's plan,
and, should the issue of farther experiments be such
as to establish more fully the correctness of his
theory, the cast-iron guns nowin store in vast num-
bers may be utilised with economy and advantage.

NORWICH MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

NORWICH, Sept. 14.

The 14th triennial festival, in aid of the principal charities
in the county of Norfolk and city of Norwich, begins this
evening with a grand performance of Handel's " Judas
MacceLseas. "The Jewish Oratorio," as it has been called
—in consequence of the great favour it at one time enjoyed
with the Jews,who recognized in the book the elements of a
national story, and in the hero one of the greatest captains
and deliverers of their often oppressed nation—is well
chosen for Monday evening, the single occasion of which a
large number of very worthy people who cannot meet the
high prices charged for the subsequent performances on
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, morning and
evening, and whose business occupations render it virtually
impossible for them to attend in the morning, are able to
avail themselves. The prices of admission for Monday
night—half a guinea to the reserved seats in the Patron's
Gallery,and ss. to the unreserved seats in area and galleries
—are, it must be allowed, still a little too high, the main
object of this preliminary concert being kept in view.
The present meeting bids fair to be one of the most in-
teresting on record, and let us hope, for the sake of the ad-
mirable charities on behalf of which the triennial festival
was instituted, it may also be one of the most productive.
It would be a great advantage if the use of the splendid old
cathedral, the pride and ornament of the East Anglian
capital, could be obtained for the morning oratorios ; but that
favour is inexorably denied by the ecclesiastical authori-
ties, although while the Bishop of Norwich, as before.
withholds both his influence and name from the proceedings,
the Dean, Archdeacon, and four Canons are conspicuous
among a list of vice-presidents upwards of 70 strong. It is
consoling,at any rate,to know that the Church is not wholly
unrepresented. The president of the festival is the Earl of
Leicester, Lord-Lieutenant of the county ; the patrons are
the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duchess,
the Duke, and the Princess Mary of Cambridge ; and
Lord Suffield is chairman of the general committee of
management, which, with the sub-committee, numbers
about 60 noblemen and gentlemen. In short, not one of
our great festivals is more powerfully represented, if a pro-
fusion of distinguished names from the highest ranks of
society count for anything, It is to be wished that on this
occasion there may be something in " a name," something,
indeed, in more than a name; for it must be borne in mind
that the Norwich Festival, like that of Birmingham, de-
pends entirely on the profits declared in the balance-sheet
of the Lon. treasurer (Mr. J. F. Blake), added to such do-
nations as the wealthy are inclined to bestow—there being
no collections at the door 4, as at the meetings of the Three
Choirs. The number of charitable institutions which de-
rive benefit from these very costly and responsible under-
takings, and the gross amount of the sums received by each
respectively-, at various periods, from 1824 to 1860 (the date
of the 13th and last, festival), inclusive, may be seen in the
following table :
Norfolk and Norwich Hospital .. £5,768 2 0
West Norfolk and Lynn Hospital .. 795 0 0
Yarmouth Hospital 770 0 0
Norwich Dispensary .. .. 387 7 0
Eve Infirmary .. .. 292 7 0
Blind Hospital .. 287 7 0
Sick Poor Society .. 230 0 0
Lying-in Charity .. .. 140 0 0
District Visiting Society .. .. 140 0 0

Shipwrecked Mariners' Association .. 105 0 0
Jenny Lind Infirmary 65 0 0
Benevolent Society fcr Decayed Tradesmen 50 0 0
National Lifeboat Association .. .. 30 0 0

Stanley Home .. • • .. op 10 0 0

£9,070 1 0

The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital further enjoys a per-
manent annual income of £75 from £9,500 Consols invested
after the first festival of 1824.

The zealous and intelligent Mr. H. Kerrison has seceded
from the post of hon. secretary to the festival, the duties of
which he performed so admirably ; but in revenge he con-
tinues to prepare the literary descriptions of the pro-
grammes, which are more than usually full of information.
His place as hon. secretary is filled up by Mr. I. 0. Howard
Taylor, one of the most active members of the sub-com-
mittee.

That the musical arrangements will leave little to desire
the name of Mr. Benedict, director of all the performances,
is a warrant. The services rendered by this accomplished
musician since he was first appointed conductor have been
dwelt upon frequently, and are acknowledged far and wide
by none more emphatically, it should be stated, than by the
general committee of management, who, as is well known,
postponed the festival of 1851 to a year latter in consequence
of Mr. Benedict's absence with the then Mademoiselle Jenny
Lind in the then United States. Mr. Benedict has provided a
company of principal singers hardly to be surpassed in effi-
ciency :—Sopranos, Mademoiselle Tietjens, Madame Lem-
teens Sherrington, Madame Weiss, and Miss Eleonora
Wilkinson ; contraltos, Mademoiselle Trebelli and Miss
Palmer ; tenors, Mr. Sons Reeves, Mr. Montem Smith, and
Signor Bettini ; barytone, Mr. Santley ; basses, Mr. Weise
and Signor Rossi. The band consists of 14 first fiddles (prin-
cipals, Messrs. Blagrove and Sainton) ; 14 second fiddles
(principals, Messrs. Watson and Newsham) ; 11 violas
(principals, Messrs. H. Webb and Glanville) ; 9 violoncellos
(principal, M.Paque) ; 10 double basses (principals, Messrs.
Howell and Severn)-58 "strings," with the usual comple-
ment of wood and brass instruments, &c., represented by
eminent members of the London orchestras,—making in
all a thoroughly competent force of upwards of 80 players.
Messrs. S iinton, Blagrove, and Paquo are each to perform
a solo at the evening concerts ; and Mr. Harcourt, of Nor-
wich, will occupy his accustomed post as organist at the
oratorios in the morning, The chorus—comprising 76 trebles
60 altos, 64 tenors, and 75 basses—total, 275—is derived
from the usual local sources (including the cathedral choir),
ith the addition of some experienced singers from London,
Birmingham, Glocester, and elsewhere. The performances
of sacred music are as follows :—Tonight (Monday) "Judas
Maccatteus ;" Wednesday, the new sacred drama called
" Joash," composed expressly for the festival by Mr. Silas
(who will take the conductor's stick in his own hand), fol.
lowed by a scene from Mr. H. Leslie's " Immanuel," se-
lections from the various settings of the " Stabat Mater" by
Pergelesi, Haydn, and Rossini—so combined as to appear
in the form of a single work (a most infelicitous arrange-
ment, the styles of the three composers having absolutely
nothing in common)—and a miscellaneous compilation from
Handel, Cherubini, Beethoven, and Thouless, whoever
" Thouless" may happen to be; on Thursday " Elijah ;"
and on Friday " The Messiah." Wednesday's selection
looks very long, if not very inviting; but the result will
show whether quantity and quality, in this instance, go
hand in hand. The chief features of interest at the first
evening concert are "Beethoven's " Pastoral Symphony;"
Mr. W. H. ctisies' "Royal Wedding Serenata" (pro-
duced under such unfavourable circumstances at Her
Majesty's Theatre, and deserving of a new and better
chance) ; the overture to " Oberon " ; some pieces from M.
Gounod's "Faust ;" and selections from the opera of " Ruy
Blas," and the graceful little operetta, "Once too Often,"
both the composition of Mr. Howatd Glover. Wednesday
evening's concert includes a promising selection from
;Mozart's operas. " Idonseneo, Le Nozze di Figaro," and
" Cosi fan Tutti ;" a manuscript " war song," by Weber ;
a selection from Mr. Sullivan's " Tempest " music ; and the
overtures to "La Gazza Ladra " and " Fra Diavolo." The
third and last concert, on Thursday evening, besides a
symphony of Haydn (" The Surprise "), includes the over-
ture to Mr. Macfarren's opera, "Don Quixote," and the
" cantata " prepared expressly for the festival by Mr. Bene-
dict, entitled "Richard Coeur de Lion," with the merits of
which rumour is already busy. The chief points in these
miscellaneous concerts have alone been named, the remain-
der being composed of interminable series of songs, duets,
&c., so made out as to afford each of the principal singers a
chance of display, and the audience no chance of repose.
All the performances are to take place, as on former occa-
siens, in St, Andrew's Hal:, the repairs, decoration, and

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superintendence of Mr. T. D. Barry (surveyor to the Coun-
sille9 the last festival. The building itself—aptly designated
as a " noble structure in the perpendicular style of archi-
tecture, with some parts of earlier date"—has mere than once
been fully described in reports of the music-meetings. What
has recently been effected in the way of restoration may be
seen by the subj3ined extract from the official description,
prepared by Mr. Barry :—" The roofs have Len entirely
stripped, thoroughly repaired, and covered with new
lead. The internal decorations of the roof have a vary
light and elegant effect; the panels are coloured deep
blue, filled in with gold stars ; the hollow moulded parts
of the timbers are coloured bright vermilion; those form-
ing the arched ribs of the roof, and those surrounding the
cletestery windows, being ornamented with gilt flowers
at stated distances ; and the lower members of the
arch ribs being coloured alternately dark and oak colour
in a spiral form, to develope its rounded character. The de-
corations of the aisles include the blue panels and gold stars,
together with the vermilion in the hollows of mouldings—
the remainder being oak colour. The lighting of the ball is
effected by nine magnificent brass coronae, pendant from the
centres of the roof timbers—the nave being provided with
three of large size, and the aisles having each three of
smaller diameter—the effect when lighted up being truly
beautiful, bringing out the coloured and gilt decoration of
the roof to the greatest advantage. Several excellent rooms
have been erected on the north side for the use of commit-
tees and as retiringrooms. The whole of the internal stone-
work has been scraped and restored, including the beautiful
moulded bases of the columns, which had been nearly de-
stroyed. The east wall of the neve has been entirely re-
moved, and a magnificent stone arch, nearly the entire
breadth of the nave, has been inserted, by which the space
formerly known as the Tower of the Dutch Church, is added
to the hall; within this increased space, and extending as
far as the dais in front, the organ and orchestra are placed,
by which arrangement accommodation for nearly 300 addi-
tional sittings has been obtained in the hall. A new western
window, of great beauty, has been erected instead of the old
one, and is thrown open to the hall, producing an internal
effect which it is impossible to convey to those who have not
seen the hall with the west window thrown open to the in-
terior. The side windows at the north, south, and east
have been restcred and reglazed, and the walls repaired and
faced with flintwork. A new south porch of suitable cha-
racter has been erected in connection with the principal
door. The west wall has been almost rebuilt and flintfaced,
ac .d a spacious and handsome door provided under the great
west window."

Besides the preliminary rehearsals of the new works un-
der Mr. Wilkins (leader of rehearsals) and Mr. J. F. Hill
(chorus master), Mr. Benedict has attended several in perscn.
The grand rehearsal taking place to-day, and that which is
to take place to-morrow (there being no oratorio on Tuesday
morning), may be regarded as public performances rather
than private rehearsals, inasmuch as the public are
admitted for the moderate consideration of half-a-guinea a
ticket. Those who are lured by this temptation must be
uncommonly fond of music ; but the example is a bad one,
end it is to be hoped may not be imitated elsewhere.
The Norwich Festival has always been honourably dis-
tinguished, among other good qualities, for its spirit of en-
terprise. It has never been afraid of venturing upon new
or unknown works, as was ehown by the production of
Spohr's " Last Judgment," " Calvary," and " Fall of
Babylon," Herr Melique's " Abraham," Mr. Benedict's
" Undine," and other pieces of less importance. This year,
as in 1860, we have a new sacred drama in the morning, and
a new secular cantata in the evening. The Joash of Mr.
Silas ventures on high ground, the subject being so nearly
related to that of Racine's "Athaliah," which inspired
Mendelssohn with some of his most wonderful music. Let
us hope that the clever Dutch composer may not lose ground
by a comparison which is inevitable. The characters intro-
duced in Mr. Silas's work are Jehoiada, the Jewish High
Priest (bass); Mattan,Priest of Baal (barytone) ; Ishmael,
Jehoiada's confidant and captain of the Levites (tenor) ;
Joash, the boy-king (contralto) ; Zebiah, his mother
(soprano) ; and Athaliah, usurper of the throne of Judah
(soprano). How closely the subject is allied to that which
Mendelssohn has treated may be gathered from the follow-
ing argument :—" Ahaziah, King of Judah, having been
killed, his mother, Athaliab, seized upon the crown, and or-
dered every descendant of King David and her own grand-
children to be destroyed ; but Joash, the infant son of the
late king, was wonderfully preserved by Jehosheba—the
daughter of King Joram, the sister of Athaliab, and wife
of the High Priest Jehoiada, who stole him from among
the king's sons who ware slain, and secretly hid him in the
Temple for six years, where he was brought up and edu-
cated by Jehoiada, unknown even to his mother, Zebiah,
who believed that her child bad been murdered with the
rest—(2 Kings, xi., verses 2 and 3.) When Joash was
seven years old, the High Priest, Jehoiada, informed
the Levites that one of the royal house of David
still lived, produced the child, and annointed him King,
and the people ' clapped their hands, and said, God save
the King.'—(ver. 12.) When Athaliah heard the noise of
the guard and of the people, she was informed that her
Jewish subjects were in a state of revolt, and went to the
temple to quell the tumult by her presence. —(ver. 13.)
' And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as
the manner was and the princes and trumpeters by the King,
and all the people of the land rejoiced and blew with
trumpets, and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason,
treason,'—(ver. 14.) ' But Jehoiada the Priest commanded
the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the hest, and
said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges ; and
him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest
had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord,'—
(ver. 15). ' And they laid hands on her; and she went by
the way by-which the horses came in to the King's house;
and there she was slain' (ver. 16) ' And all the people
of the land went into the house of Baal, and broke it down ;
his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly,
and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altar' (ver.
18.)" "And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and
between all the people, and between the King, that they
should be the Lord's people (ver. 16 )"
The introduction of the Pagan element, it is true, dis-
tinguishes " Joash " from " Athaliah," but here again Mr.
Silas will have to encounter Mendelssohn, in his " Elijah."
For Mr. Benedict's "Richard Coeur de Lion" the author
of the book has invented a new and for musical purposes
extremely effective variation on the popular legend of
Blondel de Nesle, the favourite minstrel of the " Lion
King.'' In this cantata the old story has been modified to
admit the introduction of a French character. The castle
in which the King of England is confined jis supposed by
the neighbouring villagers to bo haunted by a spectre
called the White Lady, whose appearance they dread,
while they commiserate her fate as a victim of un-
requited
love. . None regard the legend with greater
interest than Mathilde, daughter of the governor of
the castle, who, though ignorant of the prisoner's rank, has
become deeply enamoured of him, and compares the unhap-
piness of the White Lady with her own. When Blondel,
to the surprise of the villagers, arrives at the place, and nar-
rates the trials he has undergone in his endeavours to dis-
cover a lost friend, he has almost begun to regard his enter-
prise as hopeless. However, the sound of his lute elicits a
response from the castle ; Blondel recognises the person of
his royal master ; and they accompany each other in an old
song of the Minnielied kind. Mathilde overhears the song,
learns the mission of Blondel, and promises to assist him by
assuming the character of the White Lady, and thus terri-
fying the guards. The plan succeeds, and Richard is libe-
rated; but Mathilde, finding too late that the object of her
affections is a king, already blessed with an august consort,
resolves to end her days in the seclusion of a convent. How
Mr. Benedict has dealt with these materials it would be pre-
mature to discuss; for although the cantata is already in
print, what looks admirably well on paper does not always
in performance exactly respond to expectation. Mr. Bene-
dict, nevertheless, to judge by previous efforts, and especially
his re mantic and beautiful " Undine"—with which
"Richard Cceur-de-Lion" will naturally be competed—is
net a musician about whom to be particularly apprehensive.
The scene chosen from Mr. Henry Leslie's oratorio of
"Immanuel" ( Wednesday morning) is the incident of the
widow and her son at the gates of Nain. The selections
from the three settings of the " Stabat" comprise the
" Stabat Mater" (quartet and chorus), " Cujus animam"
(tenor air), " Quis est home" (duet, soprano, and contralto),
and "Pro peccatis" (bass air), of Rossini; "Eia mater"
(contralto air), and "Fac ut ardeat" (duet for soprano and
central*, of Pergolesi; "Fan me were tecum flere" (con-
tralto air), and " Virgo virginum prwclara" (quartet and
chorus), of Haydn ; " Inflarnmatus" (soprano air, with
chorus), and " Quando corpus" (unaccompanied quartet),
of Rossini ; end " Paradisi gloria" (chorus, finale), of
Haydn. In this singular concoction—in which Rossini
has the lion's share, to the detriment of his highly re-
spectable Italian and German predecessors—Madereoiselle
Tietjens, Madame Lemmens Sherrington, Mademoiselle
Trebelli, Miss Palmer, Mr. Santley, and Mr. Sims Reeves
are to take part, besides a second tenor and second bass from
Her Majesty's Theatre. It may be presumed therefore that
the Committee of Manegement view it as a sure card, likely
to support " Joash," which, being a new work by a com-
poser hitherto unknown to Norfolk and Norwich, could
hardly be relied neon as an attraction on the Wednesday,
with "Elijah" to threaten it on Thursday and "Messiah"
to overwhelm it on Friday. If so, "Joash'' may be con-
I gratulated on such an acquisition of strength, however
questionable the procedure by which it has been enlisted.
The sufferers are Pergolesi and Haydn, who being dead
could not be asked their consent to the premeditated
jumbling together of their •' Stabats," and Rossini, who,
though not dead, is indifferent to any liberties that may De
taken with his music, and who, had he been applied to,
would have responded laconically—Faites ce qui lons
plaira.