The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-13 00:00:00

ST. JAMES'S HALL.

The production of Mr. Horsley's " Gideon," which was
given here last night, must be viewed as an important
feature in the musical history of the present season, and as
a praiseworthy attempt to add another to the list of great
compositions that will be repeated from year to year to an
ever increasing circle of judicious admirers.
" Gideon" is a work of great vigour, carefully elaborated,
and based upon a deep study, and evidently a hearty admi-
ration of the best examples. The principal characters, so
to speak, are—Gideon, the Hebrew Champion; Ebed, a
worshipper of Baal ; and Zillah, a Hebrew woman, who
typifies the feminine virtues and goodness of the plot. The
various morceaux allotted to Miss Stabbach, as Zillah, were
sung with taste and feeling. Madame Laura Baxter, also,
was encored in " Oh, Israel, dear Israel," which is admi-
rably suited to her fine contralto voice ; and the manly
voice and sound execution of Mr. -Weiss were most effective
in the passages allotted to Ebed, the worshipper of Baal.
But the chief honours of the evening were reserved, nex to
the composer himself, for Mr. Sims Reeves, for whom the
music of Gideon was composed, and whose splendid acquire-
ments and fine natural qualities it is well calculated to dis-
play.

The Lord Chancellor has appointed Mr. Germain
Lavie, student of Christ Church, Oxford, to the vacant
clerkship in the office of the Registrars of the Court of
Chancery.
ESSAYS AND REVIEWS.—Mr. George A. Denison,
chairman of the committee, in a letter to a contemporary,
says—" I observe a statement in some newspapers that the
report of :the Committee of Convocation on Essays and
Reviews' is not ready. Will you allow me to say in your
columns that there is no foundation for the statement, and
that the report is in print in its complete state."
THE MODLIN IN RUSSIA. It is almost over-
powering to wander about the huge works. Mile after mile
one may explore stores and magazines and batteries—pass
from ravelin to ravelin, from work to work, and one half of
Modlin is not seen. There is something very Russian in
this crowding of fort within fort. At the Malakoff this
fault—l think I may call it one—was apparent : traverse
upon traverse, parapet upon parapet, defence crowning and
crowding defence,'till h seemed as though the labyrinth at
Hampton Court had been thickened and petrified into a
fortress—such was the Malakoff. On a large scale this de-
scription, to a certain extent, holds good for Modlin ; though
on this more extended scale it is less remarkable, and the
defects less appreciable ; there is no crowding certainly, for
there is room for them all, but one within the other are col-
lected the works, and it seems to be the opinion of the
Russians themselves that this great fortress has been some-
what overdone. They are very proud of it nevertheless ;
and well they may be, for they feel sure that no strangers
who visit it have ever seen its like.—Once a- leek.
LIGHTING THE BRITISH MUSEUM BY NIGHT.—
The evidence on this subject of Mr. Braid wood, superin-
tendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, contained
in his letter to Mr. Panizzi, has been printed by order of
the House of Lords. Mr. Braidwood thinks the building
might be lighted with candles or oil with comparative
safety, but he acts himself inflexibly against gas in every form,
but especially the sun-burners now so popular. Gas, by
desiccating everything within its reach, so increases the in-
flammability of a building, and is attended with so much
danger of explosion, even when all precautions are taken,
that he thinks a building intended to last for ages, and con-
taining so much invaluable property as the British Museum
should on no consideration be subjected to the risk of its
introduction. Mr. Sydney Smirke, the architect to the
trustees, in a letter printed with that of Mr. Braidwood,
expresses more mildly his doubts as to the expediency of
introducing gas into the interior of the Museum. The
trustees have accordingly resolved that "they would not be
justified in allowing the collections of the Museum to be
open at any hour which would require gas light."
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS.--It is only due to Mr.
Bentley, the well-known publisher, to contradict a report
which has been circulated, which, if left unnoticed, might
be prejudial to his interests. Not only have all Mr. Bent-
ley's engagements with authors been promptly fulfilled,
but we are assured—and it is the best answer to the report
to which we allude—that he is at all times ready to pay for
any works which he may undertake in cash. Moreover,
his announcements of the publication of such works as the
"Memoirs of Guizot," " The Life of Cardinal Julian," the
Memoirs of Dr. Marshall Hall," &c., afford a proof ;that he
is held in the literary world in that high esteem to which
his liberality and enterprise fully entitle him.—Morning
Post, June 12, 1861.
ECCLESIASTICAL PREFERMENT.—The Lord Chan-
cellor has presented the Rev. Henry Burgess, LL.D., Ph.
D., Member of the Royal Society of Literature, to the
vicarage of St. Andrew, Whittlesey, near Peterborough,
vacant by the death of the Rev. E. Reynolds. The benefice
is worth above £5OO per annum. Dr. Burgess is known to
the learned and theological world by his translations from
the Syriac language,—the first being two volumes of the
" Metrical Hymns and Homilies" of St. Ephraim Syrus,
with philological Notes, and Dissertations on the Syrian
Metrical Church Literature; the second, a translation of
the "Festal Letters" of St. Athanasius, long lost in the
original Greek, but recovered recently in an ancient Syriac
version, and edited by the Oxford Library of the Fathers by
the Rev. H. G. Williams.

THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS.—The flower
show at these gardens took place yesterday. The weather
being fine, there was an unusually large concourse of visitors.
Among them we noticed his Royal Highness the Prince
Consort, the King of the Belgians, the Princess Alice and
the Princess Helena, the Prince Louis of Ilesse, the Duchess
of Cambridge and the Princess Mary, the Bishops of Win-
chester and Lincoln, the Duke and Duchess of Northum-
berland, the Duke of Marlborough, Lords Pomfret, Evers-
ley, Stafford, Heytesbury, Mornington, and Londesborough,
Ladies Torrington, Stafford, Howard, Everaley, Panmure,
&c. There was a magnificent display of orchids and pelar-
goniums, azaleas, and Cape heaths. The following prizes
were awarded :—Extra Gold Medal—Mr. William May, for
16 stove and greenhouse plants; Mr. Stone, for 20 exotic
orchids. Large Gold Medal—Mr. B. Peed, for 16 stove and
greenhouse plants; Mr. G. Baker, for 20 exotic orchids.
Medium Gold Medals—Mr. R. Baxendine, for 16 stove
and greenhouse plants; Messrs. J. and J. Fraser, nursery-
men, Leyton, Essex, for 12 stove and greenhouse plants ;
Mr. Green, for 10 stove and greenhouse plants ; Messrs. H.
Lane, nurserymen, Herts, for 10 roses in pots ; Mr. B.
Peed, for 20 exotic orchids ; Mr. Nutford, gardener to E.
M Worland, Haverstock- hill. Gold Medals—Mr. 0. Rhodes,
nurseryman, Sydenham-park, Kent, for 12 stove and green-
house plants; Mr. H. Chilman, for 10 stove and green-
house plants ; Mr. Jackson, nurseryman, Kingston, Sur-
rey, for 10 Cape heaths ; Mr. B. Peed, for eight Cape
heaths ; Mr. E. P. Francis, nurseryman, Hertford, for 10
roses in pots; to Mr. Woolley, nurseryman, Che shunt, Herts,
for 10 exotic orchids ; Mr. Fags, for 12 exotic orchids ;
Mr. C. Turner, nurseryman, Slough, for 12 pelargo-
niums; Mr. Nye, gardener to Mr. E. Forster, Clewer
Manor, 'Windsor, for 10 pelargoniums. Large Silver-
gilt Medals—Mr. W. C. Cutbush, nurseryman, Barnet,
Herts, for 12 stove and greenhouse plants ; Mr.
Page, for six stove and greenhouse plants ; Mr. 0. Rhodes,
for 10 Capo heaths ; Mr. R. Baxendine, for eight Cape
heaths; Mr. Terrey, for six roses in pots; Mr. Turner,
nurseryman, Slough, for six greenhouse azaleas; Mr. Bun-

, - -
ney, nurseryman, Stratford, for ten exotic orchids ; Mr.
Ronny, for six exotic orchids; Messrs. Dobson and Son,
nurserymen, Isleworth, for 12 pelargoniums; Mr. T. Bailee,
for 10 pelargoniums. Large Silver Medals—Mr. Tegg, for
six stove and greenhouse plants ; Mr. May, for six Cape
heaths; Mr. May, for six greenhouse azaleas; Mr. May,
for six exotic orchids ; Mr. C. Turner, for six fancy pelar-
goniums ; Mr. Wear, for six f incy pelargoniums.
IMMENSE CATCH OF WHITING WITH THE HOOK
AND Ltism.—The Wiltshire Mirror mentions, that Dr.
Tiordet and another gentleman who were fishing with Mr.
Henry Cutler, boatman, of Bournemouth, with hook and
line, during one afternoon caught 240 whiting, besides
' bream, and other fish. Thais, we believe, the largest catch
Lila has neon made in so short a time by two persons.
" The skull of Dick Turpin, under a glass shade,
many years in the Morley family, of York," was one of the
lots put up to auction at a sale of " genuine furniture" last
Fridsy, in Churcn-street, Soho. The lot sold for 14s.—
eau ehade and all.