The Sun.
London, England, 1836-11-09 00:00:00

DRURY-LANE THEATRE

The Siege qf Corinth, an English version of Rossini's
Aelssedio di Corinto, was brought out last night with great
splendour. This opera has been a very Protons in its variety
of shapes. It appeared first of all at Naples, in 1820, under
the title of Maonictto Secondo. The drama, founded on Lord
Byron's poem, was written by the Duke di Ventignano,
who was probably indebted to his high rank for a consider-
able share of poetical reputation. Though the composer
was then in the hey-day of his fame, and the noble poet
was admired by his countrymen as their greatest dramatist,
the piece was coldly received, and laid aside. Three years
afterwards it was revived at Venice, Rossini having en-
gaged to recompose the second act, which had been con-
demned as the feeblest part of it. The maestro, however,
in his usual fashion, thought nothing of his promise, and,
as the day of performance approached without any appear-
ance of his fulfilling it, the rehearsals became scenes of
discord between him and the managers, which rose to such
a height, that on one occasion they appealed to the Aus-
trian bayonets, and Rossini was conveyed to durance vile.
The public were aware of these squabbles, in which they
interested themselves with Italian ardour ; and on the first
night of performance the audience were ripe for a row.
The theatre was crowded at an early hour ; the general ery
was that the managers had produced an old, condemned
opera ; and when it was discovered that all Rossini's altera-
tions consisted of two or three trifles taken from his other
works, the storm broke out in all its violence. The piece,
however, was played out, the audience being determined to
discharge their anger upon the poor performers, whom, from
seven in the evening till three next morning, they hooted
and abused without mercy. Our countrymen Sinclair, we
bcilieve, was one of the victims of this misdirected fury,
which I: this country would never have been submitted to
by a body or :lerformers who had no part in the offence.
arils the Venetians could not bear
For a long time afier;:'
the name of Rossini, nor wc;:±kl listen to any of his music.
In 1826, after he had taken up .!iis abode in Paris, he
brought out a French version of his piece, under the title
of Le Siege de Corinthe. It was considerably altered, both
in the drama and music. Having met with success, the
French piece was rendered again into Italian ; and L'Asse-
dio di Corinto is well known to the frequenters of the Opera-
house. Its success, however, even with the powers of
Grisi, Tamburini, and Lablache, was by no means bril-
liant ; and, though it certainly contains a great deal of
beautiful music, we never should have thought of selecting
it for adaptation to the English stage. But the Drury-lane
manager has thought differently, and perhaps wisely, if we
may judge from its reception last night.
The English drama is written by Mr. Planche, and fol-
lows Lord Byron more closely than the Italian or French
pieces, instead of 114ahomet the Second being the besieger
of Corinth, and the lover of the governor's daughter, Mr.
Planche has introduced Lord Byron's own hero, Alp, the
Venetian renegade, in these capacities, and thus has avoided
the ludicrous absurdity of making the savage Ottoman Em-
peror enact the part of a preztx chevalier. At the open-
ing of the piece, the Turkish troops, commanded by Alp,
are on the point of assaulting Corinth, which is defended
by Cleomenes, the governor, Niocles, and a brave Greek
garrison. Cleomenes wishes to bestow the hand of his
daughter Francesca upon Niocles, but she had loved Alp
before his apostacy, and is not aware of his present charac-
ter. The assault takes place, and is partly successful—
the defenders being driven into the citadel, and Cleomenes
and his daughter captured. An impassioned scene of re-
cognition takes place between the lovers, which ends in
Alp setting the father at liberty, and retaining in his
hands the daughter. In the second act, Niocles enters
the Turkish camp on a mission of defiance from the
defenders of the citadel ; and Alp, finding his mis-
tress resolute in her abhorrence of his apostacy, dis-
misses her along with Niocles. The third act differs
entirely from the Italian piece,,and is much superior. Fran-
cesca, having sacrificed her love to religion and patriotism,
returns broken-hearted, and dies of grief. Then the inci-
dent takes place which is so striking a feature in Lord
Byron's poem. Alp, in his night-watch before the final at-
tack, is visited by the spirit of Francesca, who warns him
of his approaching fate, and urges him to reconcile himself
to Heaven. He is obdurate, and the spirit vanishes. In
the morning he leads his troops to the assault ; the governor
blows up the citadel ; and the assailants and defenders perish
in the ruins.

This piece has the attraction which the Italian Opera
wanted, of beinc, a most magnificent spectacle. The sce-
nery is beautiful, and the assault upon the town and de-
struction of the citadel, are managed with extraordinary
skill and effect. The music of the first and second act is
almost entirely that of the original piece ; but in the third
act the greater part of it seems to be new, and not at all
in the style of Rossini. The most striking musical effects
in this opera are contained in the chorusses and concerted
pieces. The opening chorus of Greeks is full of fire and
martial ardour, and contrasts finely with the pathetic trio,
" Unhappy maiden," which mingles with it. The great-
est beauties of the piece are contained in the finale to
the first act. None of the solos are very striking. Miss
Shirreff's scena, at the beginninc, of the second act, is
a bravura, composed, we think,° by Costa, for the
purpose of showing off Grisi's powers of execution ; and
Miss Shirreff was rather unhappy in putting herself too
much in competition with Grisi in one of her popular songs.
The consequence was a failure. On the whole, however,
Miss Shirreff sang charmingly, and exhibited great powers,
both of execution and expression. Balfe performed the
part of Alp with much energy; and in his singing reminded
us strongly of Tamburini's in the corresponding part of
Maometto. The scene in the last act between Alp and
the spirit of Francesca (the words of which are Lord Byron's
own) was very finely sung : but the composer of the music
(whoever he is) has not been able to realize a wild and un-
earthly conception, which it would have required the genius
of Weber to enter into. Templeton sang very well, and
acted very poorly, in Niocles ; and Wilson did justice to
Cleomenes. The choruses were well supported, and the
magnificent orchestra did its duty admirably.
In the second act there was a very pretty ballet, in which
Mademoiselle Duvernay delighted the audience by the ex-
quisite grace and elegance of her dancing. Tke house was
crowded, and the piece was received throughout, and
announced fOr repetition, with the greatest applause.

About the middle of the 18th century, a natural,
named daft Jamie, lived in the neighbourhood of Denbolm
in Roxburghshire, and was occasionally employed by the
Laird of Cavers and his brother, Captain Douglas, who re•
sided at Midshiels, to transport them on his back across the
water, which flowed between their places of abode. One
day, Captain Douglas, resolved to have a little fun at the
expense of his brother, bribed Jamie with a shilling to let
the Laird down in the middle of the water. Accordingly,
having taken Cavers on his back, and proceeded with him
to the middle of the stream, " Oh, Laird r exclaimed Jamie,
standing stock-still, "my kuit's yeuky." " Well, well, never
mind that." " Ay, but I maun mind it ;" and, notwith-
stand'ng orders entreaties, and threats, Jamie plumped the
Laird down into the water, to the infinite amusement of
the Captain, who stood laughing on the bank, like to split
his sides. Jamie soon returned for the Captain, who, think-
ing of no other trick than his own, immediately mounted,
and was carried into the stream. At exactly the same spot,
Jamie again stood still. " Noo, Captain," said he, " an' ye
dinna gi'e me twa shillings mair, I'll let you doon, too !" It
is needless to say that Captain Douglas had to buy himself
off from the threatened immersion, besides suffering the re-
tributive ridicule of his brother.—Kelso Chronicle.

On Sabbath last, for the first time in this district
of the country, the spectacle was witnessed of a Presbyte-
rian congregation (the Rev. Mr. Renton's of this town)
observing the Lord's Supper without any of the extra sir-
mons or services which are common at the celebration of
that ordinance, among Presbyterians of all denominations
in Scotland. The preachings, as they are termed, on the
Saturday and Monday, and even the additional sermon on
the Sabbath evening, which are customary upon such an
occasion, were all dispensed with. There was no plurality
of communion services, and no assistant minister. The
whole body of communicants, although one of the most
numerous in the south of Scotland, engaged in the sacred
observance at one time. The bread and the cup were not
dispensed together but separately, and thanksgiving was
offered before the distribution of the latter as well as be-
fore the former, according to the inspired words of the in-
stitution. All the services of the day were conducted by
the minister of the congregation, and concluded within a
few rainutes beyond the ordinary time alloted to public wor-
ship. We understand from several persons who were pre-
lent that the spectacle of so large a multitude communicat-
ing at ono time, together with the perfect stillness and
order which prevailed throughout all the parts of worship,
contrasting strongly with the movement and bustle so com-
mon at sacraments, where there are a number of detached
services, conspired to render the effect of the whole very
impressive.—Kelso Chronicle.

WINE DRINKING IN SPAlN.—Whatever may be
said of the abstemiousness of the Spaniards, it must be ad-
mitted that no people on earth partake of the joys and
luxuries of the table with more undisguised gusto, or drink
more wine without its having the slightest visible effect ;
not that either 3VN possesses that hibaceous propensity
which this circumstance would imply, that strength of head
or stomach must, therefore, ho in •sonic degree constitu-
tiodecanters of wino, flasks
of n a l.Amidstchampagne,
and
e v.als;dr.efids o
iced punch flying about, on this
(a grand ball) and similar occasions, when the hour for re-
suming dancing arrived, not
.one Spaniard could be seen
even in that first stage of inebriety, called " elevated,"
while ihany and many a British officer found in the fluency
of his tongue all that be hi gl Jost in the steadiness of his
gait in the " first set after supper." This seems an eYytra-
ordinary quality in the Spanish temperament,

CHURCH-RATES AT BUN GAY ST.

MARY.

Yesterday (Tuesday) a Vestry Meeting was held, pur-
suant to notice, for the purpose of laying a Church-rate.
The Dissenters abstained from attending, but deputed two
of their number—one to protest against the proceedings,
and the other to report them.
Mr. COBB, the Deputy Curate, took the Chair; and when
he had read the notice for convening the Vestry,
Mr. SAMUEL SCOTT rose, and stated that the Church-
wardens had called the meeting in order to make a rate for
their general legal expenses ; and in doing this he did not
conceive lie was calling upon them to follow an unjust or
un-Christian course. He intended to fulfil his duty as an
officer of the Church in a Christian spirit, and he should
not stop to notice the unjust imputations which had been
thrown upon them of unjust or unworthy motices. He
called upon the vestry to do that which they had a just and
legal right to do. The expenses of the Churchwardens he
estimated as under, and with the balance in hand, a rate of
3d. in the pound would be sufficient :

Fees of Archdeacon's Visitation £3 4 6

Clerk, beadle, sweeping the Church, washing the
linen, and bread and wine for the Communion,
candles, coals, &c 2O 10 0
In the Church-yard, rent, mowing, and locking the

gates
Repairs in the fabric l3 0 0
Expenses of the Irestiqr, and of the Registries..." 2 7 0
Collecting and confirming the Rate

£43 1 10
ROBERT BUTCHER, rsq., moved that a rate of 3d. i❑
the pound be granted.
Mr. W. COCK seconded it—and it was immediately
passed.
Mr. JoIIN WEIISTtIi said, that he rose for the purpose
of protesting, in the name of the Dissenters in the parish,
against this rate, as an unjust and wicked impost. The
present proceedings were directed by the spirit which had
shed all the blood, and urged on all the persecution for
conscience-sake, since the time of the eighth Henry. The
history of the Church was written in tears and blood, and
Churchmen were now consistently manifesting the same
spirit which it had shown in the times of their worthy King
Henry, Elizabeth, Charles whom they called a Martyr,
and his successor Charles the Second.

Mr. B. SAYER—That have nothing to do with it.
Mr. WRBSTER—Gentlemen, this act is a purely volun-
tary one on your part, and it is you who impose it upon us.'
Mr. SAYER—If the Dissenters complain of the Church-
rate, they should petition the Board, and I dare say they
will take it off.

Mr. WEBSTER—I am astonished you should take steps
like these, after what has passed all over the kingdom.
Mr. P. WALKER—I am astonished you should have the
absurdity to oppose it.
A collector of the rate wag then appointed, and

Mr. W. Coo; rose, and addressing Mr. Charles Childs,
said, that as he was reporting what took place, he hoped he
would only state what was said. He held in his hand a
report of the last meeting, in which expressions were im-
puted to him which he had never used. It was printed
thus :—" You can't complain on both sides of the church-
wardens for proceeding against Mr. J. Childs, and not
against Mr. Robert Childs. You can't say it is hard
on both sides to enforce the rate from one, and ex.
cure another." But what he had said was, that

if Messrs. Childs complained of persecution against
Mr. J. Childs, they could not complain of it in the case of
Mr. R. Childs, who had not then been made to pay it.
They could not complain of both.
Mr. CHARLES Cimos replied, that he was unable to see
any difference, in spirit, between the report and the present
statement ; but that, if Mr. Cock would allow him to take
down his words exactly, or furnish him with a written copy,
he would give it publicity—which, however, Mr. Cock de-
clined. He added, that the whole report complained of
had, before publication, been submitted to the inspection of
a gentleman of acknowledged impartiality, who had been
present, and it was by him entirely approved. This was
the first time its accuracy had been questioned, and he
could not perceive the value of the correction.
Mr. W. DYBALL—Besides, it is very unpleasant to have
what we say scrutinized, and sept out in this manner. It
was not used to be so ; we used to be quiet and comfortable.
Mr. C. CHILDS—I will take a note of your objection.
A collector was then appointed, and the rate signed.
During the meeting a messenger entered, and inquiring
for the Chairman, presented a letter, directed to him.
Mr. ROBERT EBBAGE stated that that letter was from
Mr. John Childs, for he had seen Mr. Childs give it to the
person who brought it ; whereupon the Chairman, without
breaking the seal, turned round and threw it in the fire ; and
Mr. John Bobbit, the well-known ex-churchwarden, turn-
ing to the messenger, said—There, you have got your answer.
The letter contained a copy of an address which Mr. Childs
has written to the Churchmen of St. Mary's, solemnly cau-
tioning them against the contemplated injustice, and was
prefaced with the following note.—" Mr. Childs wishes to
leave to have the parishioners assembled in vestry without
excuse, if they persist in passing a Church-rate, and lest
any person in the parish should not have seen the enclosed
letter, Mr. Childs requests the chairman will read it to the
meeting.
" To the Chairman of the Vestry, St. Mary's, Bungay."
A meeting of dissenters was immediately afterwards held,
at which it was resolved,

1. That a Church rate having been laid in this parish,
we decline voluntary compliance with a demand so ini-
quitous, and pledge ourselves to adopt all such measures as
the law itself furn►shes for resisting its collection.
2. That Delegates be appointed to communicate with the
central Church-rate Abolition Society, and to attend the
proposed meeting in London, for conference with His Ma-
jesty's ministers.
3. That Mr. Childs and Mr. Delf be such delegates.

CONSECRATION OF THE BISHOP
OF RIPON.

YORK, NOV. 7.—Yesterday having been appointed for
the consecration of Dr. Longley, the first Bishop of Ripon,
our ancient city presented an animated appearance. The
day, although cold, was a fine one, and the sun shone out
pleasantly. At an early hour vehicles and equestrians were
seen entering all quarters of the town, and at about ten
o'clock the avenues leading to the minster, where the cere-
mony was performed, became thronged with persons
anxious to obtain places in the Cathedral. At ten o'clock
the gates of the choir were thrown opon, and that part
of the church appropriated to divine service was soon
filled, excepting the pews which were kept locked (con.
trary, if I mistake not, to the law) for a considerable time
after the service of the day had commenced, for privileged
persons. The Lord Mayor and a great portion of the Al-
dermen and Common Council were present in their scarlet
mantles and decorations, and some lawyers attended in their
wigs and gowns. The archepiscopal throne, the pulpit,
the communion-table, and the desks were hung with crim-
son velvet ornamented with gold, and a gorgeous service of
altar plate, apparently gold, heightened the magnificence
of the scene. When I add to this a congregation of beauti-
ful and elegantly dressed women, the brilliancy of whose
eyes of course eclipsed all those fine things, "as daylight
doth a lamp," you will form some notion of the scene that
burst upon the astonished eyes of the candidate for "lawn
sleeves " on being conducted from the robing-chamber into
the church—that is, if you can fancy such an assembly in
the finest building in England. York Minster is indeed,
as Byron said of St. Peter's at Rome—" a fit temple for the
Deity." Nothing can exceed the magnificence and glory
of the eastern window. Its radiance ')dazzles and astounds
you at first sight, and you contemplate it with redoubled
rapture every time you regard it. The whole is

" A Combination and form indeed
" Where every God did seem to set his seal."
If the ceremonial of consecration failed to produce an
effect there, it must be insipid and intolerable elsewhere.
At about eleven the archbishop, accompanied by the
Bishops of Lincoln and Chester, followed by Dr. Longley
and about a half dozen of the minor clergy, entered the
church. The bells pealed their merry notes, and the or-
gan of the cathedral " brayed forth the triumph" in an an•
them as the princes of the Church approached. The
morning prayer having been read by the minors, the Arch-
bishop and Bishops proceeded to the altar ; and as soon as
the epistle and gospel had been read, the Rev. Mr. Short,
appointed to preach the installation sermon, ascended the
pulpit. He took his text from Zachariah. It was to this
effect—" Not by power, nor by might, nor anything I
can do, but by the spirit." The discourse of Mr. Short
was remarkable for nothing but brevity. He alluded in a
general way to the important duties of a bishop, but as
the subject was a delicate one, did not enter into particu-
lars. He spoke of the CRISIS of affairs in the Church ; how
much its existence depended upon the bishops ; but whether
in combining with Lord Lyndhurst in the House of Peers
or otherwise, he left us to surmise. Once he appeared as
if he meant to speak out. He said that there are two sins
to which the clergy of the Church of England aro more than
any other class of men in the realm exposed, viz., avarice,
and the desire of personal distinctions. There, however,
he halted ; the sermon ended ; the bishop elect, vested
with his rochet, was presented to the Archbishop, who
sat in a chair facing the audience, by the attending
Bishops. His Grace demanded the King's mandate, which
having been read, the oath of §tremacy and the oath of
obedience by the Arclilltsbop o York was taken by Dr.
Longley. The prescribed prayers having been read, the
Archbishop catechised him, and Dr. Langley replied that he
was persuaded he was called to the bishopric " accor-
ding to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
order of this realm." Dr. Longley then retired and
soon returned, dressed in full episcopal habit, still however
without a wig. The translation of " Veni Creator" was
then sung, the hands of the 4rchbishop and the two other