The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-20 00:00:00

MARCH 20, 1851.

SOCIETY OF ARTS.

At the fifteenth ordinary meeting of the Society,
held het evening, the discussion on Mr. Hay's paper
on the " thautiful" was resumed. iNir. Joseph Jop-
ling then read a paper on "Practical Geometric
Curves," And his recent discoveries in reference to
curved sections of cones. In the last report of the
proceedings of the Society, a detailed account is
given of the electro-magnetic clock which, by per-
mission of the Royal Commissioners for the Great
Exhibition, is to he fixed on the transept of the
Crystal Palace. It has been proposed by Mr. Owen
Jones that the figures should be arranged in a semi-
circle, because a circular dial would greatly interfere
with the design of the building. This proposal was
accordingly adopted, the figures being placed on spaces
left at the intersection of the second semicircular rib
from the centre, with the radial bars of the south end
of the transept.

In order to indicate the time on a semicircular dial
thrJughout the twenty-four hours, it was necessary
that the hands should be double, projecting equally
on both sides of the centre. The minute- hand revolves
once in two hours ; and as one end leaves the right
side of the dial at six o'clock, the opposite end com-
mences at six on the left. The minute-haud is six-
teen feet long, and the hour-hand twelve.
The framing of the clock for moving the hands of
this large dial is of cast-iron, gun-metal bushes being
let in to receive the pivots. There are two wheels
between the frames, one large wheel 18 inches in
diameter, with 240 teeth, and the escape-wheel, with
120 ratchet teeth. This wheel is in two ports, the
teeth of each part being arranged in contrary direc.•
tions ; a click falls into each of these sets of teeth,
one preventing the wheel from running back when
moving forward, the other preventing it from moving
forward by the action of the wind upon the hands.
When the escape-wheel is to be moved forwards,
which in this clock is every two seconds, this click
must first be raised, which is effected by a pin pro-
jecting from the motive click, actuated by the electro-
magnet. The stopping click being raised, the motive
click, as it advances, carries the wheel forward;
before it has advanced the wheel to the full extent,
the pin in the motive-click is disengaged from the
stopping-click; the latter being dropped into its
wheel, stops all further motion until again raised by
the motive- click at the next action.

The arbor of the large wheel projects through the
frame, and carries a vertical bevelled wheel twelve
inches in diameter. This wheel takes into the teeth
of a horizontal bevelled wheel of the same size ; from
the arbor of this wheel the motion is to be carried up
to the hands by a rod composed of lengths of brass
tubing screwed together. There will be eight electro-
magnets, composed of charcoal-iron, three quarters
of an inch square ; on each leg of the magnets is
Placed a brass reel, carrying more than 1,500 feet of
copper-wire, or 25,000 feet in all, the weight of which
is about 1 cwt.

This clock, although quite equal ,to that at St.
Paul's Cathedral, occupies far less space, the heavy
weights, with the room necessary for their descent,
being of course dispensed with. Besides this large
dial in the transept, there are to be two smaller ones,
five feet in diameter each : one of these dials will be
placed in front of the galleries at each end of the
building. The whole three will be regulated by one
pendulum.

ST. MARTIN'S HALL.

MR. HULLAH'S MONTHLY CONCERT.

Last evening, the fifth of Mr. Hullah's highly suc-
cessful series of monthly concerts of ancient and
modern music took place in the great room of St.
Martin's-hall, Long-acre. The attendance was not
near so overflooded as on the last occasion, when the
glorious Elijah gave rise to so much expectation,
which, however ardent, did not prevent the surprise,
beyond satisfaction, excited by the magnificent treat.
The hall was not quite so crowded as on the four
previous monthly nights, but still it was sufficiently
full to warrant, in any other concert-room of the
metropolis at this season, the description of a most
numerous and fashionable audience. The reserved
seats were all filled, and they occupy three-fourths of
the room. But in the back seats there were not
more than four hundred and fifty, or at the utmost
five hundred persons. The severity of the weather,
and the circumstances of the season, being now in
the middle of Lent, when many persons of the class
wbo frequent these refined entertainments at St. Mar-
tin's Hall, may object to the performance of secular,
especially of operatic music, of which the second part
of last night's concert entirely consisted.
The first part of the programme introduced the
Credo from the Mass in B Minor, by John Sebastian
Bach, for the produltion of which, as this period, the
musical world is much indebted to Mr. Hullah. This
great composer's excellence, as well as his very marked
peculiarities of doubtful merit, are but little known,
except by vague tradition, or the mysterious re-
port of the initiated and the exclusive. To
those who have fresh in their memory Han-
del's wonderful Credo (Mass in C) it was ex-
caedingly gratifying to have this opportunity of com-
paring the treatment of the same sublime subject, by
two of the greatest of all musicians, who were con-
temporaries moreover, similarly educated, and bring-
ing forth their creations in the same sphere. The
treatment by Handel is incomparably more worthy
of the eulject—more imaginative, more profound,
more religious, in a word, more nearly divine. On
the other, the prodigious mastery of counterpoint dis-
played by Sebastran, excites almost as much admira-
tion (if not delight) as the exalted fancy and devout
feeling of the master of sacred melody. Notwithstand-
ing the very rare difficulties of Sebastian Ilich's work
it was delivered with admirable precision and accu-
racy by the numerous choir of Mr. Mullah's upper
class—and an upper class it is indeed. Miss Kearns
in the duet " Et Di Unum Dominum," with Madlle.
Graumann, had a most difficult, an awful task, to go
through, as a soprano. But she did get through it
and made it a triumph, though in some passages one
trembled for the young prima as she rose through
all the intricacies and difficulties, amidst which an
artist of such youth and less power would have ine-
vitably sunk. Madlle. Graurnann, a contralto of
choice sweetness, flexibility, and power, had, as the

ower voice in the duet, somewhat less arduous work

to labour with, and her perfect mastery of her art
enabled her to make the difficulty still less. She
went through it with great ease. Both ladies were
rapturously applauded. Mrs. Endersobn also dis-
tinguished herself in another part of the entertain-
ment so admirably as to extort, what is in this
place a rare compliment, an encore in Edward
Fitz william's fine offertory, " 0 Salutaris hostia.".
Signor Marchesi and Mr. Herberte were likewise
very warmly applauded, and escaped more than one
encore, through the deference of the audience to the
conductor's manifest repugnance to allow such a de-
parture from the programme. This deference, how-
ever, did not prevent an encore of the overture to
Weber's Oberon, a selection from which exquisite
production of musical magic closed the concert,
affording to the whole of the musical corps, as well
as the orchestra, noble opportunities of fresh laurels,
which they nobly won.
It should have been said that the second part com-
menced with the second act of Gliick's exquisitely
fanciful opera of Orfeo, in which it is difficult to de-
termine whether the poet, the musician, or the
faTourite child of the Graces is most to be admired.

In this fine piece, Madlle. Graumann, as Orfeo, had
the solo part, which she sustained in charming
style. The whole performance may be considered as
giving the greatest proof yet afforded of the capabi-
lities of this institution.

M. CARRE.—FuII often have we indulged in a
hearty laugh when, in talking over old times with a chance
schoolfellow, we have recalled the eccentricities of our
French master. For a term of between four and five years
we received his almost daily instruction, and tormented him
with every variety of schoolboy tricks. His penurious habits
and his contempt of women, whom he used to designate " fly-
traps," are as vivid in our memory as if we had parted with
him but yesterday. We knew him to be rich—we had frequent
exemplifications of his parsimony. Often and often has he
boasted that in the fruit season his dinner was a pint of
damsons purchased for a penny. He once told us that
when he went to a well-off pupil's house to sup, he had " a
glorious tuck-out," and thus rendered breakfast unne-
cessary for the following morning. It was a tradition in
the school that he had but one shirt, and that he was
wont at stated times to wash it himself in the New River,
and walk about the fields with it on a stick until it was dry.
The last time we saw him, now above twenty years ago, he
was dressed in a new suit of black, wore a gold chain, looked
buckish- and said he was about to return to France, and live
comfortably on the handsome fortune, he had amassed.
Gentility and ease probably did not suit him, for he re-
turned to his occupation and his penury. It was impos-
sible, in reason, to anticipate for him a peaceful end, but
little did we dream that his dying hours would be disturbed
by ghostly importunity, and that the property he had made
himself miserable in collecting would be wrung from him at
last by that Church of which he was no more than:a nominal
member. That old French master was Mons. Mathuras
Carre, respecting whose property a law suit is now pending
between Mons. Metairie, a kinsman, we suppose, and Cardi-
nal Wiseman. —Nonconformist.
A HINT FOR NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENTS.—
The Birmingham Mercury, in its " Notices to Correspon-
dents." on Saturday last, as the following:—" F**Via'n.—
The three first folios of your letter arrived on Tuesday, and
the remaining four came to hand on Thursday. Two of the
best men in our office have been engaged Eince three on
Thursday afternoon in trying to make out the meaning of your
MS. It is now 5 r.x. on Friday, and they have not got
farther than the second line on the third folio ! They have
just placed your copy in the hands of a gentleman who has
been for nearly twenty years in the Blind Letter-office;'
but we are fearful he will not be able to assist them out of
their difficulty. The time lost in trying to read your letter
will cost us 155., which amount you will oblige by forward-
ing to our office. Should we succeed in getting through your
copy in time for next week's publication we will insert your
letter."
FLAX CULTIVATION IN IRELAND.—The annual flax
sowing
is
fbUulst tzoooray.erages 60,000 acres. For the rest of Ire-
land it
Supposing each ofthethoe vthearipureoovfintchees
to cultivate flax as extensively as Ulster,
crop for all Ireland would, it is estimated, be 4,500,0001.
Here is a" text for thinkers," and a " topic for more than
table-talk."—Dublin .Evening Express.