The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-20 00:00:00

THE THEATRE-R0V11...

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Last evoniag the French CO.iyAnV Or cooredio es cirninenced
th, teret"of their engagement ~t this theatre. As n coalpahy,
th..v are weak, the whole corps dra /nat ;clue consisting
eight persons. The pieces they represent, however, being mere
rer!rri,e;ltec, rto nut require a very numerous company. M. 13.r-
-themanager of the corps, pia ed" the part of Renneeittd
in a one act vaudeville, entitled " Les Pr-rinieres Amonrs,'' and
also of Al.. Jovial, a. jovial Chansonnier,l filling the office of'a
Hassler. He is possessed of considerable comique powers, and
sings well. Both pieces possessed hut little incident and plot:J.
and were, almost wholly conversational between two or three'
octhe characters, miliiened Continually by the merry sallies of
M. Bernard. Mdlle. Clemence and Madlie. Aline, the female
part of the corps, arequetty looking Frenchwomen, but indiffer-
ent actresses. The performance, however, is a novelty, and
attracted a good house, and we doubt not will continue to do so
duritrir, the stay of the company. Many will attend for the put=
pose of hearing the language, and putting to the test their
knowledge of le liugue Francais. Miss Adelaide O'Bryan and
Signor Saxoni are most beautiful and elegant danseats. Their
performance was loudly encored.

Mn. SUTTON'S EXHIBITION AT THE LIVER THEATRE.—
This' is Mr. Sutton's last week of exhibiting. his extraordinary
performances The houses since his commencement have been
both crowded and respectably attended. We have before no-
tked his clever feats of legerdemain, and his talents as a ven-
triloquist, and we can only repeat our former advice, to those
f
who:wish.or an evening's 'amusement, that they, will most as-
suredly find it atAr: Sutton's 'exhibition: Its variety baffles
our descriptive powers; we cannot, however, say too much in
praise of his ability,.

•
LIVER THEATRE.—This theatre, under the management of
Messrs. Raymond and Hammond, will commence its season at
the usual period. As the Theatre-royal is also to be kept. open,
for a season, someapprehensions are entertained by the friends
Of the smaller, but. equally' attractive establishment, that the
:contention with its more powerful rival will result in an unpro-•
ductive season. For our own part, however, we cannot see why
a town like Liverpool should-not be able to support two theatres,
while in London a plurality of them,'out of all proportion, are
successful. An excellent company of performers has, we un-
derstand, been engaged, and the spirit with which-the managers
have conducted their former undertakings is an earnest that the
present season 'will not be barren of interest. The season com-
mences on Monthly next.

SERMON OF THE ItEV. HUGH 11• NEILE AT ST.
MARK'S CHURCH.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

Ste.—On Tuesday evening last, according •to previous an-
nouncement, a sermon was preached at St. Mark's Church, by
the Rev. H. 111'Neite after which a collection was made to de-
fray expenses incurred by the purchase of a new organ ; and
never perhaps at any period did the church present a spectacle
so truly animating. heing.denSely crowded io every part, even
to the filling of all the ait;les; it was with no small difficulty ad-
mission could be alitained with convenience for
.hearing after
the time appointed for divine service. Passing over any re-
marks upon the-choir, so admirably arranged, and the noble in-
strument which ga to the performance all the, grandeuriand
magniticencemf harrnane and aaing, and to thoSe present every-
thing that could oussitly,eticlEint. and delight the ear, I would
briefly advert toThne o r two particulars of the sermon, and
which, 1 fear. frail,' the ,mode of treating -adopted by the rev.
gentleman, will have lea some to -infer that sacred •thusic•-is -a
subject with him rather to be discouraged than .countenanced
in any of our temples of,worship; than which nothing could be
farther from the design of the learned. preacher throughont the
whole of his discourse. The portion of scripture selected for
till& text was taken from the-book of Zhe prophet Ezekiel, 33
chap. xxxii v.; and, as will be seen, highly appropriate to the
-'occasiou. The preacher first adverted to the state of the .Jewish
people in the days of the prophet, and to the' reCeption lie met
with,- as itiSO the mode juvariabiy. adopted by them in bearing
the solemn warnings, rebukes, and athnonitions whiCh at that
time seemed the subjects of his high and holy commission ; and
here, the learned gentleman drew the striking parallel between
the conduct of the-Jews then, and that exhibited by a great por-
tion of the professing christian world now expressing, in their
outward demeanour, !lrch apparent deep anxiety about perso-
nal holitiess, yet destitute of the principle of active virtue.
That music possesses many and pleasing attractions, all ca-.
pable ofadministering to the enjoyment of the more refined and
-sensitive parts of our nature cannot be denied ; but the rev.
gentleman maintained as an objection against this, that it also
possessed over many minds an influence tending to create fal-
lacious ideas respecting its character, as though it stood closely
connected with religious principle, than which nothing can be
farther from the truth for if it be affirmed that music greatly
augments our spiritual enjoyments then may it also be affirmed,
that our organic powers partake of thi oneness with the imma-
terial existent part-of our being, and that, therefore, there can
be- no real distinction between the perceptions of sense, and
that principle of the soul relative to its connexion with essen-
tial holiness ; and there lay the danger of misenderstanding the
rev, gentleman's argument; it was on this part of. his. subject,
where many, I-fear, would be likely to draw an incorrect infe-
rence; hut so manifestly did he make it appear by pleasing and
familiar illustration, that enjoyment of our sensitive organs ter
minated with the oecasien which first provoked them; that I
wonder to find, as indeed I -have-!mind, any who could so far
misapprehend the design and scope of the entire subject, which
evidently went to•show the unhappy consequences resulting to
those who mistake excited feeling for religious principle; and
not, as is reported, in' anywise to discard all music as a mis-
chievous accompaniment of religious worship. It was ob-
served by some who wide preaent, that the rev. gentleman
did not expatiate. upon the merits of musical performances
quite so largely as appears to have been anticipated, but simply
adverted to it, more as accidental than intentional; in reply to
such, it may be observed, that had be done so, in terms of the
most lavish conimendation. where would.have been the advan-
ta,g,es—ney, rather where not the disadvantage?—for there is
reason to fear that had such- been the case, to gratify the few;
many would have left the charch under feelings of grievous
.. disappointment, instead of deriving spiritual edifilmtion from a
well digested discourse, ;It was not, I prOstime, the •preaeher's
intention, when invited to the pulpit of .St. Mark's, to com-
mence a laboured dis.quisition to the Musical world, either to
prove hisknowledgeof 01% enchanting art, or his -skill iu its
• performance ;-far otha:twise,-pulpit elaqiience busies not itself
with -ohjects of mere sensitive erfjoyinents; whether it be music,
vocal, or ins( runiental,- • or' anything, in short,'which merely
..fornas.an acc,onpaninseut, and is not essential-to •religiens. Wort,
ship; the great business of a divine, is to watch wit h_ all care
and vigilance for the spirittil -well beino.; ~f his hearers, to
" rightly divide the word of truth,'' and so leave all anhject of
less .vital importance, to those only whose inclinations lead to
ralmire,', and whose love of- plactice induce to action. Flow
then dldahe Rev..Geutleman in question treat the subject Of his •
discourse ? TrUly, by calling the attention of his hearers to the
fundathroitals,of rcligiott. All biaetiergiea.wereiiirected, and all
his eloquenee etnployedin pointing out and setting forth the
character of deity as exhibited. in his word ; a
.subject so well
calculated to excite the better feelings of our nature, anti to
bring into active exercise those infections Of the soul, which in
their operation result. iu communicating a rich source of spiri-'
teal enjoyment to their happy possessor Thus did he preach
the paramount impotence of the messnge sent. and, while ex-
pa tiatina on God's love—contrasting 'the same with the untie-
servedoes3 of man even in a state of the twist exalted piety—the
loftiness of his style, and the grandeur of his imagination, ap-
peared
so to rivet the attention of. his bearers,. as at times
to produce a stilness throughout.- the vast assemblage, a
solemn silence, characteristic onlY of the grave. It may
reasonably enough be. anticipated—as such I have been
infornied is the case—that the columns of, some of your
esteemed contemporaries are to contain observations oir an
inflammatory nature against the conduct of the. rev. gentle-
man in question, and in the abondthice of their liberality, as we
have seen, are liberal even to profuseness, in fulminating out
their bitter invective, because, fOrsoo.th, the organ, with all its
interim' machinery, &e., did not forth a leading feature of the
learned gentleman's truly Scriptural discourse, and that there-
fore the object for which he was invited proved a complete
failure. I much wonder whether the amount of money pro-
cured, £llO, on that occasion would not have fallen far short of
what it did, had the whole musical world been particularizedin
detail. If the object Of those in attendance, who were so unfor-
tunthe'as to mistake.the subject of discourse so ably and elo-
quently gone through, was only for the purpose of gathering
information touching the construction of organs, &c., then
I can well enough appreciate the angry feelings and dis-
appointed topes of the unenvied few ; with. such anticipa-
tions, the Alessrs. liewsher and Fleetwood were the fittest
persons front whom to gather the required knowledge, and
not from a professed minister of the Gospel, -whose duties
are of a 111,4 e sacred character, and whose provinee it is
to interrneddler not with secular concerns only so fasts it is
needful for the cammoripurpOSes of life. Whenever. therefore,
the same get:tleined•is invited to occupy the pulpit of snore one
of his respected tel let me advise the more petulant
and fastidiousite-arers; 'first to satisfy themselves, if-possible,'as
to the course likely to.he pursued by the learned divine, which
according to truths, that they presume not to retire from the
temple appropriated • for religious worship, under feelings the
most unchristian, and with disappointed and blighted hopes.
Dec. 15th, .1536. J. L:

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

You beipwa friend to the etriture of science and litera-
ture, and also a friend to the niOrfil itripirvetrieut of the lower
classes of the people, allow me IlifiVtiCii.t.qe medians of Joni. ma,
•Irrable and widelpkiircuhlted journal4slittake a few remarks' uni
the subject of the Brougham Institution, which is now milder_
process of formaqn, I M!eroted one tof their preparatory meet-
trigs the other eyeuing.4 'and froutivtrat 1 then heard, it scents
itesr one or the principal
birshing of a ur,:us!toorn, to be :in. eu4plithetiErtrYsMith is library,
suit the delivery of lectsties ,• tlyinikesitOtiS is'glreis.t. pi! v that
news.room should be vonnevtediWithltlits.inStitution. I i.an-
not coneeime why politii.s should ArblinttroltitfOrtat-Ull into an in-
stitution whette the ohject is; or ought the Sistrfal and in
tellecttial improement of Ihoseclass,es of s.a.iety.Tirr which it is,
-intended, aid how these great desitierati-sen-lie. necomplishNl,
by the mechauies his-losing therutelves, the perusal-Oftill that
low and vulgar abuse of persons, which characterises too Inuits,
of our local papers, I cannot divine. It is Mit right, Anti it
gives me a very tniserable opittien of the settse:ef the origioatmS
of this institution, that voungmeei whose whole education .barele
comprises reading and writing, .should be entrusted with' puli
tics, and thus taught to hate their neighbours, because they, do
not agree in some points, of a political character with them-
selves. Besides the ill-educated man, by habitually reading the
newspapers, is liable to fail into errors, which, by giving hirri-a
false notion of his consequence, may make him eventoally
curse to society, and prove the cause of fiis own ruin. Again,
sir, I do not think that a news-room will 'have the effect, as an-
ticipated by some, or preventing young .wen from frequenting
the ale-house; it is said that the object of their meeting to-
get her is for the purpose of enj.,ying.each other's company. '
true, but can they enjoy rich other's company its a news,roatn ?
—No., The news-rOorn, by not imposing any restraint neon
their minds, as a lecture would do. would merely be made a
place, if attended at. all, of akmintyppnl, from mbetwe they
would.repair to the neinithouring nublie-house, and spend their
evening as they do now. in riot and dissipation, Such, sit,
conceive will.be the effects produredrhy establishing a news-
room in connection smith this hrstit Winn, and I would. f! rnestly
recommend that this part Of the design he entirely ahandoned.
If the money which would necesSarily have to lie laid out on the.
news-room was appropriated' to the expense of an increased
Oumber of lectores, I think it would be put to a much miser pur-
pose; and I ain sure, if it is continued, the institution will never
have the support and countenance of those who are friend
only to the lower classes having a moral education.-1 am, ,
your motobodient servant,
.L.
Licerpunl, Dec 19. 1836.. -

TO THP EDITOR •017 sr,i;ilmrao.
An anonytnnt, wile ha vifig appe:, rod in tile Standard of Tues,.
last, in oh i it it is gtated that, the gig formerly belnntring to
,1r Pair was drivi-n nt a tot t calpabie rate, in Vr,pxhidt-rood,
.IV(.(incsilay. the 7th 4f i),o,niber, and that:a suti of Mr.
"" 84.riot:s;'y injorel there!.}; ai:d a note to the same
c ties t. tHit .miltinz inserteit in the illerculy or
ha
,Pt say that the tzig belongifq: to .ariv tote fatherir,“ not used at all between Jim 27th-of. Noverml,e; itt,(l.lllilt .6e
ALFRED PARR:
• Cubifien-street., 16th. December, '1836.