The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-09 00:00:00

OXFORD MUSIC HALL.

The admirable manner in which the operatic selections
are performed by the well-trained forces of this Hall has
not been without effect on the musical publishers, who are
manifesting a desire to have cantatas and other concerted
pieces made public through the medium of thoroughly
efficient singing. The execution of the cantata of the
" Jolly Beggars," of Burns, is a very recent instance of
able vocal interpretation, and Messrs. Cramer and Beale
have done well to place the " May Day" cantata of Mac-
farren in the same hands. Nothing can be more satisfactory
than the singing of the music, which is so constructed as to
bring out in strong relief the different voices, more espe-
cially the basses and contraltos. The cantata, which was
performed we believe at the St. James's Hall, is divided
into four parts,—" The Choosing of the May Queen,"
" The Hunt's up," " The Queen's Greeting," and "The
Revels,"—Miss Russell taking the part of the May
Queen. There is a delicious flow of melody in the cantata,
which is never unduly encumbered with instrumental
or choral elaborations. Mr. Oxenford's words have dr*
great merit of combining simplicity with beauty, and every
note of the music falls naturally upon its kindred word, to
the complete preservation of the sense. The pastoral
colouring is alike kept up in words and music. The
Chorus—" Lads and Lasses, hasten all—to the rural fes-
tival," which introduces the Maypole "Revels," is deli-
cious in its bucolic playfulness, the noisy little pipes and
tabors vvith ;t opens to a highlY-eharac
teristic and jubilant strain. The execution of the cantata
is excellent. Some celebrities have been added to the com-
pany in Rumsey and Newcomb's Minstrels, who also ap-
pear at the Canterbury Hall, are the most grotesque we
have seen, They give a varied picture of nigger life,
and keep the audience in a roar by their eccentricities.
Messrs. Unsworth and Eugene are conspicuous
in their drolleries. The burlesque dancing of the
latter, a•la-Duvernay is inimitable, hardly reach-
ing the verge of caricature and being wholly with-,
out coarseness. The feminine exaggerations of the`
stage danseuse are given to the life, and not a point of re-
semblance is lost. Not less surprising is the truthfulness
of this artist's imitation of the voice and style of a prima
donna, his falsetto being almost identical with a soprano,
whilst he contrived to parody the little arts and wiles Of
our lady operatic singers with rich effect. Mr. Unsworth
is rapidly becoming famous for his stump speech, " Or Any
Other Man." His address is a series of non Bequeture,
which he enunciates with the additional force required from
the emphasis of an umbrella, which he bangs upon the table
before him, The assumption of the manner of the Roman
orator, in which the artist folds the toga over the shoulder,
added to the Stiggins-like sparriegs of arms and contortions
of legs, to give force to the flashes of his oratorical genius,
stamp the artist as a comedian in no mean sense of the
word. The " Olio of Oddities," in which the rest of the
party figure, is replete with food for laughter.

We are glad to state that the Archbishop of
Canterbury continues to improve in health, without check
or drawback. His grace, however, has not yet been per••
mitted to attend to business, and it will probably be some
time before he is able to preach.

The Countess de Persigny, with her aunt, the
Duchess d'Elchingen and family, will arrive this day in
Lowndes-street, to pass some weeks in London. The count
is expected here shortly.
The Earl Delawarr has arrived in Grosvenor-
street from Ruthin Castle, North Wales.

The Countess of Craven's second dancing party
will take place on Tuesday, the 20th inst., not the 21st, as
announced.

Mr. and Mrs. Matheson have arrived in South.
street, from Ardross Castle.

Mrs. White's (of Woodlands) ball is postponed
to Monday, the 19th inst.
Mr. and Mrs. John Burns have left Fenton's
Hotel for North Britain.

Mr. J. Hall Maxwell, C. 8., has arrived at
Fenton's Hotel from Edinburgh.
THE JAPANESE AMBASSADORS.----Yesterday
morning five of the medical gentlemen attached to the Ja-
panese mission paid a visit to King's College Hospital.
They went over all the wards, examined several of the most
interesting cases, and minutely inspected the arrangements
for the comfort and convenience of the patients and nurses,
which, as this hospital is the most recently constructed in
London, are all of the best and most approved description.
They spent a considerable time in the dispensary, examin-
ing the drugs in most frequent use, many of which were
quite familiar to them, and they seemed struck with the
simple machine used in the manufacture of pills.. They
were also particularly interested with the various descrip-
tions of plasters, the mode of preparing which was shown
to them, and they carried away small pieces as specimens.
They afterwards visited the kitchen, where for the first
time they saw joints cooked by gas; and the machinery of
the hydraulic lifts for sending up patients and diets ap-
peared greatly to interest them, as they all ascended in the
lift to the top of the building. As their visit was quite un-
expected, none of the committee dr principal medical offi-
cers were in attendance, but the strangers were conducted
over the hospital by the secretary. King's College Hospi-
tal is the first London hospital which has been honoured
by a visit from the Japanese, which is probably owing to
the fact that while they were in Paris a discussion was
going on as to the comparative mortality in the French and
English hospitals, and King's College Hospital was fre-
quently alluded to with approbation as!affording the greatest
number of cubic feet of air, namely, 2,500 to each patient.
They were altogether more than two hours in the hospital,
and expressed themselves very much pleased with their
visit. It is probable that they may repeat their visit to wit-
ness some surgical operations.
DEPARTURE OF THE GREAT EASTERN FOR NEW
YORK.—The Great Eastern left Milford Haven on Wednes-
day, under a salute—all well, with fine weather and fair
wind. She had a good many (especially steerage) passen-
gers on board. She had undergone a thorough refit at that
port since her arrival, and had all defects made good, so
there is every reason to calculate upon a prosperous voyage.
She started at 1.30 precisely, London time, paddle and screw
engines being in use. The Duke of Somerset, as First Lord
of the Admiralty, is to receive a deputation on Friday, the
16th inst., of members of parliament and others on the sub-
ject of Milford Haven and its capabilities for iron-clad ship
building.
Messrs. Coutts and Co. have given to each of
their clerks a season ticket for the Exhibition, with three
days' leave of absence,