LA BELLE ASSEMBLÉE; 1. A Correct Likeness of MISS CLARA FISHER, Engraved from an original Painting. 2 A beautiful WHOLE-LENGTH PORTRAIT FIGURE in a SUMMER RECESS BALL DRESS. The Chieftain's Daughter.-A Tale. Unbounded applause bestowed on them ib. Her peculiar excellence in Lord Flimnap and Depreciation of Benefits ; in a Letter from A brief History of Music, selected from the Lisguise and no Disguise.-A Tale. Music of France and Italy before the fifteenth The Chevalier de Rabar falls in love with her Anecdotes of Illustrious Females. Stratagem of friendship 5 Instance of Perseverance and Resolution. 6 Timely repentance on taking Monastic vows 92 Historical and Select Anecdotes. Incideat in the life of Abbe La Caille Particulars of Dr. Johnson's Marriage ib, Paris in 1643 and 1644 7 Iniproper treatment of Prisoners Anecdote of the author of Caroline de Licht- ib. Prejudices in favour of Popularity ....... Letter to the Listener on Theatrical Perform- Abridgment of Natural History, in a series 8 36 117 Covent Garden.-Sketch of the Farce of Who Blessings of a happy Marriage .................. 32 can I be? ............. 40 Prudent Mothers make prudent Daughters ... 33 Haymarket Theatre-Opening of, .. English Opera.- Account of the Performers ib. French Comedians at the Argyle Rooms ib. Review of, and Extracts from, The Arctic ............... 35 Theatre de l'Opera Comique.-Sketch of The Little Red Riding Hood Theatre du Vaudeville.-Of Let us be French- Theatre de la Gaite.-Of The Little Beggar Explanation of the Prints of Fashion. Theatre de la Rue de Chartres.-Of Harlequin No. 1. Summer Recess Ball Dress ib. Theatre at Vienna.–Of the Tragedy of Sapho 43 General v bservations on Fashion and Dress ib. Cabinet of Taste; or Monthly Compendium of Foreign Costumes.-Costume of Paris... 38 Review of The Method of Conducting Air by Remarks on the Progressive Improvements · A Practical Guide to the Manage- MONTHLY MISCELLANY; Wonderful Discovery INCLUDING VARIETIES CRITICAL, LITE The Ædephone Singular instance of extraordinary Memory ib. The extreme pressure of New Publications which we have been requested to review, will com- pel us only to notice those of the lighter sort in our monthly Numbers-Works that are either voluminous or scientitic must be now delayed till our annual review. We are sorry to be obliged to defer inserting The Blighted Rose, from that pleasing poet, Miss M. L. Rede, to a future Namber. A review of the interesting pamphlet on The Diseases of the Ear, is unavoidably postponed till Persons who reside abroad, and who wish to be supplied with this Work every month, as published, may have it sent to them to New York, Italifax, Quebec, and to any part of the West Indies, by Mr. THORNHILL, of the General Post Office, at No. 21, Sherborne-lane; to the Brazils, Madeira, Gibraltar, Malta, and all parts of the Mediterranean; to Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal; and to France and Holland, at 178. '6d. per Quarter, by Mr. Cowie, at the Foreign Newspaper Office, No. 22, Sherborne-lane. The money to be paid at the time of Subscribing, for either three, six, nine, or twelve months.-Orders also, post paid, O! the above conditions, will be punctually attended to, if addressed to John BELL, Proprietor of this Magazine, Weekly Messenger Office, Clare-court, Drury-lane, London. LA BELLE ASSEMBLÉE; For JULY, 1818. Pew and Improved Series. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ILLUSTRIOUS AND DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS. Number One Hundred and Twelve. MISS CLARA FISHER. This very young lady, whose extra seventeen nights to crowded houses.ordinary talents may justly be deemed | On the 8th of March, 1818, she appeared wonderful at her early state of infancy, is in the pantomime of Gulliver, at Coventthe fourth daughter of Mr. Fisher, a re Garden, in the character of Richard III. spectable auctioneer; and was born on the and where she performed it before the 14th of July, 1811. Nature endowed her Prince Regent and a numerous list of per. with an uncommon share of intellect; and sons of distinction. Mr Elliston engaged such was her nicety of ear to music, in her for a few nights at Birmingham, where wbich she took great delight, that soon she was received with the warmest ap. after she could walk she would learn any | plause; her success has been equal at Worair with the truest correctness, after hearing cester, Bath, and Bristol. We are credibly it played only once or twice on the piano- informed that she means this summer to forte. Her parents were not frequenters || visit Brighton, Margate, Southampton, of the Theatre, therefore her dramatic ta- || Weymouth, and the principal wateringlents are the more extraordinary: That | places, previous to her engagements at powerful attraction, Miss O'Neill, induced, | Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool, &c. however, Mr. Fisher and his family to visit Our readers caunot but recollect the Covent-Garden, when that lady appeared well-merited encomiums bestowed on this in the character of Jane Shore; and the charming and interesting child in the daily little Clara, on her return home, evinced prints, after her performing in Lilliput and the impression made on her miud by the | Gulliver. Enchained by surprise and adperformance: she retired into a corner of | miration, the lash fell from the hand of the apartment, and went through, in dumb criticism, and all, unanimously, bestowed shew, all she had witnessed ; she was ihen the meed of well-earned praise. under four years of age, and her aptness to Two elder sisters of the interesting Clara, imitate all she saw continued several are very promising young actresses, and months. perform counter characters to the lovely Mr. D. Corri, the celebrated composer, infant. They are constantly noticed by proposed to bring out a drama altered from the higher classes of society, and invited to Garrick's Lilliput: to Miss Clara was the most fashionable parties, where their assigned the character of Lord Flimnap; juvenile talents, devoid of all conceit or and on the 10th of December, 1817, she'' presumption, though they must b conmade her first debut before a London scious of their excellence, ensure them the audience, where she met with the most most flattering reception. flattering reception, and the piece ran for HISTORY OF MUSIC. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSIC, AUTHORITIES. FROM THE BEST (Continued from Vol XVII. page 245.) If we peruse attentively the ancient in that of Provence. Les Grandes Chrohistorians and poets of France, we shall find niques de France inform us, that Thibaut, that their military songs were of the high- || at the age of thirty-five, having conceived est antiquity. In these they celebrated a violent and hopeless passion for Queen the heroic and martial deeds of their great | Blanche, was advised to apply bimself to commanders; and they were sung in cho music and poetry. He did so; and prorus by a whole army when going out to duced the most beautiful songs and meloattack an enemy; which custom they pro. dies ever heard. It is the opinion of the bably derived from their German ancestors. French antiquaries, that the tunes of the Charlemagne was particularly fond of these ancient MSS. of the songs of this Prince warlike songs, and like our own Alfred, were originally set by himself. collected them and learned them by heart. The fourteenth century seems the era It was customary at that time to have a when music in parts, moving in different Herald Minstrel, chosen on account of the melodies, came first in favour. In the prestrength and clearness of his voice, which ceding age we can find no music of more not only qualified him for animating the than two parts, in counterpoint of note soldiers to battle, but also for making pro- | against note. clamations of the public ceremonies ; he From the close connexion of the arts to was also accustomed to sing metrical songs each other, we cannot trace the progressive at public festivals. The famous song of improvement of music in Italy, without Roland, continued in favour among the first speaking of its language. Its sweetFrench soldiers as late as the battle of ness and facility of utterance render it cerPoictiers, in the time of John of France. tainly more favourable to singing than any In the time of Philip de Valois, between other language. The sweet eloquence of the years 1228 and 1250, the French had in the Tuscan dialect renders it superior to use more than thirty musical instruments; all others for expressing words set to muthe form of the greatest part of which is sic; and the lyric verses of Italy were long unknown to the present age. Among known to be superior to every other kind them, however, are the following well- of poetry. known instruments of modern times flutes, Though the French wrote verses in their harps, hautbois, bassoons, trumpets, small own dialect much sooner than the Italians, kettle-drums carried by a boy and beaten yet their language was brought to no perby a man, cymbals, tambour de basque, two | fection till the close of the century before long speaking trumpets, two large hand- | last, but the writings of the Italians even bells, guitars, bagpipes of various kinds, a of the fourteenth century, are regarded as dulcimer, a rielle (or as it is vulgarly called perfect models, both as to diction and cona hurdy-gurdy), and regals, or what we struction : and, indeed, in that century all call portable organs. the nations of Europe began to cultivate In regard to the French vocal music, the the art of poetry; but none were so sweet poets made a particular line of an old song and tasteful on this head as the Italians, the refrain, or burthen to the new. The In the History of Malaspina we find mensongs of Thibaut, King of Navarre, are tioned a chorus of women singing through placed at the head of those that have been the streets, accompanied with cymbals, preserved in the French language, as those drums, flutes, viols, &c. in the year 1208, of Guillaume IX. Duke of Aquitaine, are when Prince Conrad was marching against |