The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-01 00:00:00

Aire mastery over the ins'
i. He made

iid exec

The song who
May lead to death,
But never to retreating."
nd mellow, took the hot

His tones, thrilling

and the performance
" Concert Stuck," as

finis& to be a finis

died artist, his pi

y encored. In We
10, Mr. Cusins pr

prompt and powerful fingering with fineness of tone
brilliant execution. The second part of the concert v

•em of choice, and admirably displayed.

rked by exquisite tenderness and ap-
propriateness of expression, the sentiment of the music
being brought out in charming relief. A prominent and
delightful feature of the part, and indeed of the evening's
performance, was the " Solo Concerto" on the violin, by
Mr. H. C. Cooper, a native artist of rare excellence. His
bowing and fingering are of the most finished delicacy, his

Its op,

symphony was

tone and expression charming, and his execution of even
the most difficult passages is distinct and marked by fine
taste, and a certainty of delivery ; this latter quality was
beautifully evinced in his transitions from silver-toned
harmonics of ravishing sweetness to the lowest notes of
his instrument. The flute fantasia, by Mr. R. S. Pratten,
rave nleasinz evidence of his studied skill in stopping, and

of his fine embouchure—why, however, should NV e particu-
larize where all was excellent? The combined instrumenta-
tion was as perfect in its unity of effect, as if it had been
but the sound of one instrument, while the richness and
variety of its harmony were full and flowing. As a con-
ductor, Mr. Alfred Mellon displayed much talent and

musical science • and the whole concert was a treat of such
sweetness and beauty, that we hope at no distant day the
members of the London Orchestral Union will be induced
again to visit Liverpool, to meet with, we trust, a larger
audience and a more gratifying welcome than has been
accorded to them on this their first appearance anion.. us.
TIMITRE RorAL.—During the past week the aards
of this theatre have been graced by the performances of
Mr. G. V. Brooke, a gentleman, who, as a tragedian, hav-
ing acquired a respectable status in this country, made a
professional trip to America, where he met with a most
favourable recognition of his talents ; and whence he has
returned, with a reputation which, like the " tide in the
affairs of men," by him " taken at the flood," has led " on
to fortune," or at all events, to the means of achieving it.
Since his re-appearance in London, his performances have

been greeted with a manifestation of favour rarely
accorded to even the highest merit, and, till his time,
hardly even realized by brilliant genius. In the course of
the past week he has appeared as Master Walter in the

" Hunchback"; as Viriiitius, in the tragedy of that name ;
as Claude Melnotte, in the " Lady of Lyons;" as Hamlet ;
and as Sir Giles Overreach. It is but fair to admit we
have not seen his performance of all those characters;
still we have seen enough of him in several of them, to

transatlantic journey—that" While he is an actor with many
excellencies, he is deficient in many qualities, indispensable
to a tragedian of the first rank. He is an extreme actor—
one who seems resolved to play a conspicuous part in every
situation—unable, or unwilling, to lose the slightest oppor-
tunity of creating a sensation—hence his acting is defec-
tive in that light and shade, in those contrasted effects,
which give truthfulness of character, while they stamp the

impress of intellectual excellence upon dramatic represen•
tation. As a practical illustration, we may instance hi
delineation of the character of Claude Melnotte whei

first introduced, the hero of the play, has achieved, what
after all, is but an ordinary affair—the attainment of a
trivial prize, in some rural competition. This common-
place success, in the estimation of Mr. Brooke, seems to
warrant the simple-minded though aspiring peasant to
swagger into his mother's cottage with all the ostentation
and parade of a thorough-paced melo-dramatic hero. This,
it may be averred, is but a trifling fault, and we admit
that taken per se it is so; but remembering the adage e.v
uno ,lisce onznes, it assumes a more imposing aspect.
Yet in many other points of the character he manifested
very considerable discrimination, and an amount of pas-
sionate earnestness and expression not lightly to be esti-
mated. In the scenes where he figures as a prince he was
peculiarly happy—easy, composed, and gentlemanly—qua-
lities he must be admitted to possess—and frequently dis-
plays in very fair degree ; the drawback to his complete
success being a perpetual and restless straining after effect.
Could he cure himself of this habit, think less of his
own appearance, and more of the character he is enacting,
his impersonations would be more pleasing as well as
more generally interesting. His elocution is effective,
and although marred to some extent by the habit to which
we have referred, it is on the whole good. In all the cha-
racters we have seen him act, he has displayed numerous
excellences, yet none of them have been free from the
faults alluded to. The performances of Miss Cathcart,
along with Mr. Brooke, have been generally pleasing and
natural ; her Ophelia was in all respects a highly credit-
able performance. Similar commendation is also due to
Mr. Lorraine ; his represention of the Ghost in " Hamlet,"
although a little whining in the elocution, was neverthe-
less a piece of good acting. We perceive that Mr. Brooke
is engaged to appear at the Royal Amphitheatre, and will
perform there every evening this week. An operatic com-
pany, concerning whom fame speaks favourably, com-
menced an engagement at the Theatre Royal last night,
and during their stay will perform a series of the le-ailing
Italian and. German operas.
THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE has been enjoying a sort
of saturnalia during the benefits. •As those performances
are not unfrequently addressed more to the private friends
of the benefit recipients than to the general public, remark
on them is little called for, unless, indeed, we were to wit-
ness an attempt at trangressing the bounds which are
understood to circumscribe a place of public amusement
and resort.

THE MAIL STEA.MER AMERICA, Captain Shannon,
sailed from the Mersey, on Saturday, for Halifax and Bos-
ton, with the usual mails and 150 passengers. The steamer
Baltic, Captain Comstock, will sail from Liverpool for New
York to-morrow (Wednesday), with the mails, &c.
Tn PA.CSET-SIIIPDocIA., from Liverpool, arrived
at St. John's, N. 8., on the 16th ult., all well, except three
out of eight entire horses, shipped by the New Brunswick
Agricultural Society, which killed themselves during a
tremendous hurricane on the 12th September, the gale
continuing several days. The Eudocia afterwards passed

• several di'i'abled vessels.
ST. PAUL'S SCHOOLS, PRESTON.—On Sunday last, the
•annual sermons were preached in St. Paul's Church,
Preston, by the Rev. Joseph Bardsley, M.A., of Liverpool,
'in-aid of the funds for supporting the Sunday, Night, In-
fant, and Deaf and Dumb Schools belonging to the Church,
in Ithich about 1200 scholars are in course of instruction.
The cnaount collected after the two sermons was upwards
of £32.—Preston Pilot.
Wlsrs LANDS.--The commissioners for the district of
West •Derby *held their annual meeting on Monday last
wok, at the office of the county Magistrates, in Clayton-
square. The chair was occupied by Mr. T. Littledale.
From the report it appeared that there was an amount of
£490 in the hands of the commissioners. Grants were
made in aid of the public schools within the district, and
also for the improvement of roads.
SOUTH AII...nRICAINT AND GENERAL STEAM COMPANY.—
The Lusitania, the third vessel built for this company by
Mr. Laird, is now ready for sea, baring had steam up and
the engines at work in dock. It is expected that she will
make a trial trip in the course of this week. The Lusi-
tania is a sister ship in model to the Brazileira, that has,
on her first trip, made the quickest passage on record to
the Brazils ; and there is reason to expect that the Lusi-
tania will equal, if not surpass, her consort in speed.
S On Saturday night the premises
of goessursriA N R.osgul%
A.Taion.uniand Co., tobacco-manufacturers,
entered by removing some of the
The thieves, after going through eight
sTilattleiesbar off iit-street,
oete, were
floors, decamped with only es. in coppers, leaving a valu-
able stock of tobacco, snuff; mid cigars untouched. The
premises
were entered in a similar manner a few months
ago, when only 3s. in coppers were taken, the stock being
again allowed to remain as before. No attempt was made
upon the safe.
YOoycElocßzralnN73l.—fanYte,s
tsirxdamyoninthosrnoilndg morning, about
bolDf.sposArtu Bseven
Valentine Flood, son of Peter Flood, residing in Belle-
court, *lle-street, Toxteth-park, was found dead in bed
by his mother's side. It appears that the father, about
five, rose to go to his work, leaving the deceased and
another child, two years old, in bed with their mother, who
took deceased close to her side and fell asleep. Ou waking
about half-past seven she found deceased still quite close
to her, but very cold. On further examination the child
was found to be dead, the appearances leaving no room for
doubt that it had been suffocated.
COURT OF PASSAGE.—At the conclusion of the business
on Saturday, as the Assessor was about to retire, the little
monomaniac, the Miss Flite of the Liverpool law courts,
entered the witness-box, and, addressing his Hononr in a
shrill, cracked voice, said : "I hope you will go to York
assizes, and tell all the other gentlemen to get done with
their business. It's now twenty-seven years since I began
to fight for my rights. I think it is a long, long time. It
is• twenty-three years, come midsummer, since possession
was to be delivered up to me by the law of the land, and I
should like every man to clear his conscience." Having
delivered herself of her customary address, she bowed to
the Msossor, and bustled out of court.

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