The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-02 00:00:00

MAJESTY.

OSI3ORNE, Tuesday.

The Queen went nut in the grounds yesterday
morning, accompanied by their Royal Highnesses
Princess Helena, and Prince Arthur, and drove out
in the afternoon, attended by Lady Churchill and
the Hon. Emily Cathcart. _ _

His Royal Higuess Prince Arthur, attended by
Major Elphinstone, visited the Royal Victoria
Hospital at Netley yesterday.

To-day is the birthday of his Royal Highness
Prince Arthur.

Lady Francis Baillie and the Rev. William
Jolley left Osborne yesterday

The Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by
Viscountess Walden and Major Teesdale, went to
her Majesty's Theatre yesterday evening.

Major Teesdale has succeeded Major Grey as
Equerry in Waiting to the Princess of Wales.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.—Their Royal High-
nesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by
her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, her Royal
Highness the Princess Mary of Cambridge, his Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge, and His Royal Highness
the Prince Teck, honoured the performances of Her Ma-
jesty's Theatre yesterday evening with their presence.
The suit in attendance upon their Royal Highnesses com-
prised the Viscountess Walden (Lady in Waiting to the
Princess of Wales), Major Teesdale (Equerry), Col. Home
Purves (Gentleman in Waiting upon their Royal Highnesses
the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary); and
Colonel Tyrwhitt (Equerry to the Duke of Cambridge).
The Royal party occupied the box of Her Majesty the
Queen. Amongst the general company were the Duke
and Duchess of Newcastle and Lady Susan Vane Tempest,
the Duchess of Manchester, the Marquis of Blandford,
General the Hon. H. Cavendish, the Countess of Westmor-
land, the Countess of Cardigan, the Earl of Mountcharles,
the Earl of Wilton, the Viscount Newport, Lady Henniker,
Lady Francis Gordon, the Right Hon. Sir John and Lady
Pakington, General :Sir George IBowles, K.C.8., Sir
John Lowther, Bart., Colonel and Mrs. Mundy, the
Hon. Frederick Calthorpe, Mr. and Mrs. Poynder, Mrs.
Gardner, Sir Ivor Bertie Gust, Bart., Mr. Montague Gust,
Mr. Arthur Gust, Mrs. Seymour Egerton, Colonel G.
Knox, Mr. Stewart Muirheall, Colonel Leslie, Mrs. F.
Milbanke,
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
as Field-Marshal. Commanding-in-Chief, held a levee yes-
terday at the Horse Guards. Nearly 150 officers attended.
The Earl and Countess of. Dunniore will arrive
in town to-day from Longford Castle, the Hon. Mr. Coke's
seat in Derbyshire.
The Earl of Abingdon had a dancing party last
night at his residence in Grosvenor-street. A select and
brilliant circle of friends assembled. Coote and Tinney's
band was in attendance. An elegant supper was served up
shortly before 1 o'clock, after which dancing was resumed
with every prospect of its being prolonged till an early
hour.

The Countess Cowper will have an assembly on
Friday next at her residence in St. James's-square.
The Countess (Dowager) of Dunmore and Lady
Alexandrina Murray are daily expected in town, on their
return from Cannes, after visiting Lord and Lady Elphin-
stone.

Lord and Lady Poltimore have arrived at 49,
Upper Grosvenor-street, for the season.

MUSIC.

- -.IT -

Mr. Henry Leslie's 4th Subscription Concert, at
St. James's Hall, last week, was a decided success ;
the selection of pieces being highly interesting,
and the choir in excellent voice and tune. The
chief novelties were the three prize madrigals
of the Bristol Society, Mr. Leslie's own
being the first (though, on this occasion, sung
last). We do not, in the least, question the
propriety of the awards, but we could not help
thinking the style of Mr. Leslie's the least madri-
galesque of the three. In some respects, too, we
thought the third prize had the advantage over the
second, in which last the words did not come out
so clearly as we should have liked. A second hear-
ing of all these compositions would have been wel-
come, and have given better opportunity of judg-
ing ; but popular audiences tyrannically insist on
encoring pieces of which the beauty lies on the
surface; and so others have to submit. The other
novelties in part-music were of the modern vocal
school, admirably represented by Henry Smart,
Mr. J. G. Calleot, Signor Pinsuti, and Mr.
Benedict, whose clever and spirited " Hunting
Song" was rendered with marvellous neatness and
accuracy. Mr. Leslie also contributed a part song
somewhat of the hymn cast, but it did not strike us
as altogether equal tothe subject—a beautiful poem
of Miss Procter's—or up to his usual mark in a
musical point of view.

The concert contained, of course, several of those
full choral pieces of the old English school, on the
tasteful performance of which the prestige of this
choir has always mainly rested. With one of the
most famous of these (Wilbye's " Flora gave me"),
the evening's entertainment worthily closed.
We have reserved to the last a notice of two pieces,
in which Mr. Santley admirably sustained the
part of bass solo. One of these was Dr. Crotch's
"Methinks I hear the full orchestral choir ;" and
we have never heard the peculiar effect intended
by the composer so well brought out as on this oc-
casion. This piece deserves to be better known
among choral societies, and will always reward the
pains bestowed in getting it up. The second com-
position we allude to was Monsieur Gounod's
" Nazareth." This, like his " Bethlehem" is intended
for the Christmas Festival, but is altogether a
superior thing. Mr. Santley declaimed the verses
of the hymn with great power and feeling, and the
beautifully perfect unison chorus of men's voices
was quite a treat. Altogether the piece was a
notable feature in the evening's performance, the
more so as it was totally unlike anything else in
the programme. We shall hope to hear it again.

We may notice, among the other musical events
of last week, Mr. Martin's 'performance at Exeter-
hall of " Israel in Egypt." This sublime work never
fails to produce a powerful effect upon the
hearer, even though deficient in some of those
features which render other oratorios so attractive.
" Sing unto the Lord,"
The " Hailstone Chorus,"
and other movements were re-demanded. The
soloists on this occasion (always excepting Mr.
Santley) could not be said to be up to the highest
mark of excellence ; but this, of course, was less
felt in a work which depends so much more upon
its choruses than its airs. Mr. Martin's singers are
excellently trained, and their voices sound remark-
ably fresh and clear, but we desiderate somewhat
of additional power in the trebles. There are
parts in these choruses where anything like feeble-
ness in the upper voices sadly detracts from the
effect. Let Mr. Martin add 20 or 30 soprano voices
and the like number of contraltos to his chorus,
and the improvement will be at once perceptible.
We were glad, however, to find the instruments
kept well under, and to miss that amount of—we
will not calrit noise—but that overpowering use of
instruments of the louder kind, against which a
chorus is too often heard to contend in vain.

SHIPPING INTELLIGE NCB. This Day.

LET ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. j•
GRAVESEND, 17v ednesday Morning.

Sailed—William and Clara, steamer, for Dordt ; Onega,
steamer, for St. Petersburg; Rosa Eliza, steamer, for
Dieppe ; Belgium, steamer, and Vigilant, steamer, for
Ostend.
DEAL, Wednesday Morning.

Passed.—Astracan, for Kurrachee ; Scotland, for Cal-
cutta; True Briton, for Port Phillip; Marshal Pellisier,
for Mauritius—all from London; Sarah Williams, of
Portsmouth, and Marquis of Buto, from the west for the
north.
Anchored.—Leopard, from London, for Antigua.

VIENNA, May 2.—The goods traffic on the rail-
ways between this city and Trieste has been stopped by
order of the Government. _ _

- •
MEDICAL SCHOOLS OF TquiMETROPOLIS.--Yes-
terday morning the medical schools connected with the
great metropolitan hospitals were opened for the summer
session, but generally without the ceremony which marks.
the inauguration of the winter session on the Ist October
At St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, there was a distribu-
tion of prizes to the successful students of past sessions and
in &dames in the theatre Framer ula kdi4.