GIFT BOOKS. presumptuous intruder" days.". "Certain seasons of the year examples of reasoning taken from daily life. The were, however, considered dangerous, during ONE of the best publications of its class which pictures" are slight sketches made by the anth which all navigation was absolutely forbidden has appeared during the present season is We cannot say much in favour of the sketches, by law. Already, in the fourth century, the Michael Angelo Buonarroti, Sculptor, Painter, they are decidedly feeble in wit and in art, b magistrates entrusted with naval matters closed Architect, by C. C. Black (Macmillan); a hand- the letter-press we can recommend to those the sea from the third day of the Ides of No-bound volume, containing what the compiler styles English rule. Such persons may, having mastered somely-printed, well-illustrated, and tastefully-like to work hard for amusement, according to vember to the sixteenth of the Ides of March; in the thirteenth century the season opened in his work than is implied by that term, and does than they had reason to expect. a "Story," because he makes no higher claim for Mr. Swinbourne's dissertations, gain by them mor April, and closed in October." "Galleys not consider it a biography. Mr. Black says that, as The Christian Year re-appears in an attractive were frequently used in commercial ventures the Italian Government is about to issue an official form in Messrs. Cassell, Petter & Galpin's lates as soon as they were launched, underwent a life of the artist, no 66 issue before us. The volume is neatly printed, and minute inspection by the overseers, who, after illustrated with agreeable, trivial, and yet suitab satisfying themselves of the solidity of their woodcuts, landscapes, and decorative border which the former are the better. The design for construction, gauged their capacity, and marked the water-line on their side, beyond which it the binding is, although rather formal, both good was illegal to load them." We commend the passage we have marked in Italics to Mr. Plimsoll, his friends and opponents. We cannot but regard as fanciful the sketches given here from Végèce's 'L'Art Militaire,' 1532, of submarine warriors, who fought with helmets, swords, and shields. No means for supplying the soldiers with air are shown in these lively designs. The naked diver who carried air in a bottle was not much better off than the imaginary submarine man-at-arms who had nothing of the sort. Towers built on the decks of ships were surely older than the tenth century. Montfaucon and Winckelman show antique Greek biremes with embattled castles on their decks. The Roman naves turrita were long anterior to the days of Leo, and are mentioned by Cæsar, Florus, Dion, Plutarch, and other writers. The modern term "forecastle" is owing to the structures used in antiquity. As to the Secular Clergy, we have a general history of their development from Apostolic times, including the institution of the parochial ministry by way of relieving the clergy of the cathedrals. It appears that it was not until the sixth century that the parochial clergy celebrated the entire Liturgy of the communion; in the next age they gained complete powers with regard to the subordinates of the Church. We have a curious and highly instructive copy from an illumination of the ninth century, showing how a priest celebrated the offices of his worship in a private oratory, before a family assembled; the differing expressions of the individuals are amusingly characteristic. The priest is censing, with an air of supreme selfsatisfaction. The Roman catacombs reveal the fact that the presbyters, afterwards priests, had special duties allotted to them, besides the service of the altar, e. g., a priest-doctor, guardian, overseer, archivist, and schoolmaster. We need not enter on the details which occur here, suffice it that the text embraces a good general sketch of the history of the secular branch of the Roman Catholic Church. It is very amusing to find that Cajetan is exalted, and Luther styled "the German pervert" in the latter portion of this history. In this portion the reader must be prepared for a decided anti-Protestant leaning on the part of the author. The Albigenses, besides being called Manichees, are styled "an ignorant and brutal populace," on whom the saintly Dominic righteously called down vengeance: "O Lord, let thy hand smite them, that thy punishment may at least open their eyes." should venture into the same field of studies. His object has been to bring together the usually accepted facts of Michael Angelo's career, and to of the artist's works during a lengthened stay in commemorate the benefit derived from close study Florence and Rome. It is needless to say that Mr. Black is a profound admirer of the genius and character of his hero. He has arranged his materials in chronological order, and illustrated them by a good deal of discriminating criticism on the career and tastes of Leo the Tenth, to whom our author is far from paying the usual tribute of weak admiration. Besides the biography, or "Story," this work comprises letters of Buonarroti's, a chronological list of the principal events of his life, notices of his manuscripts, classified catalogues of his principal works in painting, sculpture, and architecture, catalogues of foreign galleries, notices of his poems, a tolerably drawings, paintings, and models in England and in extensive bibliography of Michael Angelo and his works, and a good Index. The book is enriched with twenty excellent permanent photographs from statues, pictures, and drawings. For those who cannot afford to wait for the biography to be issued in Italy, of the approaching publication of which we have made mention in another column, this volume will suffice, for it is about the best work that has appeared on the subject as a whole. It is written with tact and spirit, and its criticisms are intelligent. and tasteful. The Language of Flowers; or, Floral Emblems, Thoughts, Feelings, and Sentiments, by Rober Tyas (Routledge & Sons), and Floral Poetry (Warne & Co.), both illustrated with pictures in colour, have a subject in common. The former treats of the symbolism in question in prose paragraphs, which are descriptive and sentimental the latter comprises extracts from beautiful poems and short pieces of poetry on flowers. The former cannot be called a guide to the so-called language of flowers; the latter contains some of the most charming verses in the language. The former the latter is decorated with conventional llaminaexhibits many prettily drawn groups of flowers; tions of similar objects, like those in late medieval MSS. Prince Perindo's Wish: a Fairy Romance, by T. C. (Edinburgh, Edmonston & Douglas), consista of a pretty tale "for youths and maidens," with poor illustrations, and agreeable vignettes of less pretensions. We have mentioned in another column from whose pen it proceeds. Among the Trees, by W. Cullen Bryant (New York, Putnam & Sons; London, Low & Co., is illustrated with woodcuts from designs by Mr. J. M'Entee, which are very pretty indeed, and er tremely well suited to the poem. The subjects are landscapes, drawn with great neatness and skill, but rather weak in their style.-The_Children's Prize, edited by J. E. Clarke (Gardner), contains tolerably good stories and short paragraphs for the use of infants, and numerous wretched woodcuts.-From Nowhere to the North Pole, by the late Tom Hood (Chatto & Windus), is a readable and amusing story for young children, with woodcuts, some of which are fairly good, the greater number of no account.-A Choice Collection of Queens and Kings and Other Things (same publishers) contains numerous pictures, gorgeously printed in gold and colours, and nonsense rhymes, of which latter it is just to state that we have seldom read such utter rubbish. There is some quaint spirit in the pictures, but it is apt to be of a vulgar rather than a humorous kind. The effective binding, coarse and showy as it is, is the more artistic part of the volume.—Little Wideawake: a Story-book for Little Children, by Mrs. S. Barker (Routledge & Sons), contains many short and spirited little tales, all tending to the improvement of mankind, illustrated with numerous woodcuts, the greater number of which are capital, comprising not a few which are far above the average.-Chatterbox, and Sunday Reading for the Young (Gardner), contain a considerable number of weak woodcut illustrations and readable paragraphs, the latter being acceptable enough for the amusement of children. The Complete Angler; or, Contemplative Man's Recreation, by Izaak Walton, Illustrated (Chatto & Windus), contains sadly worn impressions from the plates of Stothard and Inskipp. The text is that of Sir Harris Nicolas, which is a monument of love for a subject that has taken possession of numbers of people. Being a fairly good reprint of the memorable book in its best form, the volume will be welcome to many readers of the present generation; to these we recommend it. The Vanity Fair Album, by Jehu, Junior (Vanity Fair Office), has reached its sixth series, and in form is an improvement on its forerunners, being better printed, on better paper, and handsomer far, as a whole. The caricatures are not less spirited than formerly; and they are all by "Ape." The biographical notices certainly do not fail in piquancy, and are probably better, because a trifle more bitter, than those of previous series of the work. Some of the satiric touches are exceedingly keen, and not the less amusing, when they glance obliquely from their proper subjects at other men, not named but clearly indicated. Since "Ape" designed and modelled the immortal statuette of the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Robert Lowe, standing on a match-box,-a work which we take to be the consummation of current personal satire, he has done nothing much better than the picture before us of Mr. Albert Grant, M.P., which is in a vein entirely different from that which is so richly displayed in Mr. J. W. Huddleston, and is a masterpiece of characterization, far better than a mere caricature. Messrs. Marcus Ward & Co. send us a box conof much laughter of no ill-natured sort is the scented sachets, illuminated note-paper and enMr. Henley, M.P., is good in its way; provocative taining a capital collection of Christmas Cards, portrait of Mr. Cross. "Earl Stanhope" is, super-velopes, comprising enough to delight a host of ficially, capital; pictorially, "Lord Sandhurst" is boys and girls, mostly printed in gold and colours, very good; but the "Duke of Devonshire "receives with spirited designs, pictorial and decorative, and truer justice in a kindly literary comment than in including Christmas Pictures, by H. S. Marks, the picture, which is good in no respect. A.R.A., which are first-rate in all respects. These pretty trifles cannot fail to charm those for whom they are intended; they constitute a rich collec tion of materials for little surprises to little folks. Picture Logic; or, the Grave made Gay, by A. Swinbourne (Longmans).-This is a well-intended and not namusing attempt, more elaborate than it at first sight promises to be, to popularize "Logic" by combining humorous pictures with 1 JOHN LINNELL, SENIOR'S, PICTURES.-CAUTION. Kensington, Dec. 15, 1874. In an advertisement in last week's Athenæum, headed as above, Mr. E. White, of King Street, St. James's, with the authority of Mr. Linnell him self, cautions the public as to five spurious pictures purporting to be by that painter, and which are now in circulation. These Mr. White characterizes as "vile copies, and the signatures forged." Mr. White's advertisement is not very clearly worded, but the last paragraph implies that the five original pictures of which "vile copies" are in circulation have left Mr. Linnell's easel since 1st October, 1871, and have all been purchased by him. If this be so, one of the originals would appear to be a replica, since I have had in my possession for more than twenty-five years 'A Piping Shepherd,' an undoubted original, by Linnell. It is smaller than the pictures described, being 2 ft. by 1 ft. 6 in. on panel. It came into my hands direct from the original purchaser. Since that time it certainly has never been copied. We ought all to be thankful to Mr. White for exposing these forgeries of late too common. But as the description of the subjects of such forgery will obtain a wide circulation in your valuable paper, I venture, in the interest of my own picture (which I highly prize, and for which I paid a large price), to claim its priority even to the original work which belonged to Mr. White. RICHARD REDGRAVE, Fine-Art Gossip. MESSRS. COLNAGHI & Co., whose publications of engravings after Reynolds, including 'Innocence,' "Penelope Boothby,' and 'Pig-a-back,' we lately reviewed, intend to issue shortly, the plates are in the hands of Mr. S. Cousins, Simplicity' (Miss Gwatkin), 'Miss Bowles,' and 'Lady Caroline Montagu. Thus, within a year or two, not fewer than seven capital engravings, for we must add 'The Strawberry Girl' to the list, will have been made anew from Sir Joshua's gems. THE National Gallery (British School), South Kensington, has just received interesting additions by the bequest of the late Mrs. T. S. Good, of three pictures by her husband, a noteworthy artist, who ceased to paint more than thirty years ago, and yet had, before that time, attained some reputation, but not, however, it must be admitted, so much as he deserved. T. S. Good fell out of memory a quarter of a century since, but his works occur in private galleries, as at Cassiobury, where there is a picture of two old men examining the hilt of a sword, a cottage interior in strong sunlight, marked by admirable yet rather hard modelling and intense characterization. At Alnwick is a picture of a sawyer sleeping in the sun. The Earl of Lonsdale has, at Lowther Castle, 'Smugglers,' seated, a cliff scene, with strong character, by the same. There was, in the Vernon gift, a picture by Good already at South Kensington; the new works are 'A Fisherman with a Gun,' 'No News,' and 'Study of a Boy.' A PORTRAIT of Cardinal Richelieu, by Rigaud, half-length, has been added to the National Gallery. It is placed in a bad light, in the once well-known Octagon Room, which of old belonged to the Royal Academy. AN exhibition of modern pictures, comprising a considerable number of interesting examples, with, it must be admitted, a good deal of trash, was opened in the Royal Pavilion Gallery, Brighton, on the 4th instant. prepared for publication, and though the literary portion of it is said to have been of no great value, it contained many particulars of the artist which one would be glad to consult. A Correspondent, S. T. M.'s,' query respecting these drawings, which appeared in Notes and Queries of the 10th of October, has not yet elicited any reply." It is reported the Duke of Bedford has directed that Bedford Square shall be re-arranged, and, in part, re-planted. And we learn the news not without alarm, for, although there can be no doubt of the good judgment of His Grace, both in ordering the operations and in his choice of a gardener, yet modern taste indulges in so many vagaries that we feel anxious about some very fine and elegant trees which distinguish Bedford Square, especially on the east side. What the place wants, as it seems to us, is to be raised by two or three feet, and to be planted with richly coloured flowers, not such as have delicate, still less pallid, blooms. There is no room for architecture, alcoves, statues, balustrades, and the like, in Bedford Square, and we pray that the trees may be let alone. We have to record the death of Mr. Benjamin Bond Cabbell, one of the most active and genial members of the Artists' Benevolent Fund. He became one of the committee of that serviceable body in 1824, and took an active part in obtaining the charter for incorporating the society. Mr. Cabbell was born in 1781, i. e., when Turner was six years old; he was educated at Westminster School and Exeter College, Oxford; he became a Bencher of the Middle Temple, and was successively M.P. for St. Albans and Boston. Besides the artistic charity above-named, he was actively concerned in many such societies. There is a capital portrait of him, after a sketch by Mulready, engraved by Gibbons, in John Pye's 'Patronage of British Art,' 1859, p. 358. THE French journals announce the death, on the 3rd instant, of M. A. E. Rousseaux, the able engraver, and pupil of M. Henriquel-Dupont, who engraved A. Scheffer's Christ and St. John' in that of the picture, and by means of it M. a style which was considerably more valuable than for the Société Française de Gravure, 'La Poésie' Rousseaux achieved reputation. He reproduced, Delaroche's Martyre Chrétienne' and the 'Vierge and 'La Renommée et la Vérité,' after Correggio. et l'Enfant Jésus,' by M. Hébert, were also subjects of his burin. Ir appears that glass placed before pictures may, under certain circumstances, effectually preserve them against fire of this a remarkable instance occurred at the burning of Woodfield House, Streatham. In this building, Mr. Wallis's picture, 'The Stonebreaker,' was deposited with others, and, being glazed, escaped without the slightest injury; while other works, unglazed, surrounding it, were scorched, blistered, or utterly destroyed. A STATUE to Auber is to be erected in one of the public places of Caen, by subscription, aided by funds of the Société des Beaux-Arts, the Conseil Général, and the town. ful admirer of Mr. Owen Jones. An exceptional design in the collection before us, where the principles in question have been, if not unconsciously, at least cleverly disguised, is in conception very foolish indeed, and in execution simply ugly. This work may improve, and, when it is complete, we hope to be able to commend it as a whole. MUSIC HANDEL'S SOLOMON.' EVERY Handelian must rejoice at the revival of Handel's oratorio, Solomon,' by the Sacred Harmonic Society. Although it is one of the latest works of the "Briareus" of sacred music, having been composed in 1748, when he was in his sixtythird year, it is equal in choral grandeur and in poetic and picturesque tone-painting to any numbers in any one of his former productions; the score contains dramatic setting of the highest order. For breadth and colossal effects, the double choruses have never been surpassed even by Handel himself; it is so voiced for the masses that the sensations from the forcible passages are really been the badness of the book, the authorship of stupendous. But the drawback to Solomon' has which is a disputed point; but, if the Rev. Dr. he never perpetrated greater trash. The scenario Morell concocted the words, as it has been asserted, Piety of Solomon, as shown in the ceremonial of or argument is badly laid out. The first part, the the dedication of the Temple, would have been appropriate if the poetic effusions had been could be taken to the language of the High Priest confined to Jehovah's praise, although objections about his "sacred raptures," his warm enthusisoul." This rhapsody Solomon might have sung, astic fires," his "panting bosom," and his "ravished but not Zadok, who, having an eye to ecclesiastical promotion, declaims artfully: Search round the world, there never yet was seen In the great scene, "The Judgment of Solomon," is centered the interest of the oratorio from the Scriptural point of view; but there is a touch of the late Mr. Fitzball in the melo-dramatic style in which Solomon orders the two women to be ushered in : Admit them straight, for when we mount the throne Our hours are all the people's, not our own. newed in the praises of Israel's ruler. In Part the After Solomon's decision, the fulsomeness is reThird there is the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, which M. Gounod unfortunately selected for his grand opera, 'La Reine de Saba,' in Paris, in 1862. Solomon welcomes the lady from the "spicy shores" in words almost as ecstatic as Zadok's : Thrice welcome Queen! with open arms Our court receives thee and thy charms. The genius of Handel has triumphed over the bombast and bathos of his poet; but in the setting there are mistakes, the leading one being the assignment of the music of Solomon to a contralto. No doubt Handel was tempted thus to assign it by the fine voice and style of Signora Galli, who sang the part at Covent Garden Theatre at the three performances of the THE buildings for the new Academy of the Fine oratorio in 1749; but for a female Solomon Arts at Vienna are now nearly completed. WE have received from Messrs. Cassell & Co. 'Studies in Design for House Decorators, Designers and Manufacturers,' the first part of a work comprising specimens of decorative design of a tolerably good character, and in the mode of Mr. Owen Jones. So far as the principles laid down by the last-named authority are applicable, the works before us, which illustrate them, are satisfactory; but the application of these principles is limited, and the art of applying them in decorative design is scientific rather than MR. THOMS, who is preparing a new edition of the curious and now very rare Memoir of J. T. Serres, late Marine Painter to His Majesty, by a Friend,' with notes, the unpublished autobiographic will, and other documents from the originals now in his possession, has forwarded to us the following inquiry:-"Can any of the art-artistic in its nature; the result is, therefore, loving and art-learned readers of the Athenæum say who was the friend by whom the Memoir of Serres' was written, or where the series of drawings made by Serres during his visit to Scotland in 1808 is now deposited? The work had been mechanical; and, however ingenious and selfconsistent the patterns produced may be, they pall on one and lose their attraction when they cease to be novelties. Dr. Dresser, who is the author of the new book, is well known as a faith to adjudicate between two women about the maternal claim for a child mars the dramatic effect of the judgment-scene, and even the great skill of the mastermind cannot redeem this radical error. The bass part in 'Solomon' is insignificant; it is confined to one air. There are three soprano parts, those of the Queen, the First Woman, and the Queen of Sheba, which are generally "trebled" by one singer, because Signora Frasi, the original artist in the Covent Garden cast, did the same; but it would be more artistic and effective to allot them to three vocalists. The Courtier High Priest, Zadok, falls to the tenor, and heavy work it would be if the original sixty-two numbers in the score were not now reduced to about forty pieces. Handel has taxed the contralto and the tenor too heavily. His 'Solomon' and some of his other oratorios show the absurdity of "" that we should the position taken up by "purists The tants of his period. Hence it was that he himself The solo parts, if not sung with any extraordinary expression as regards the dramatic situations, were carefully done. To Miss Edith Wynne was assigned the music of Solomon's Queen and of the First Woman; Mrs. Suter had the Queen of Sheba and the Second Woman; and Madame Patey's fine voice was heard as Solomon; the only bass solo fell to Mr. Thurley Beale, who sang steadily the Levite's air, "Praise ye the Lord"; and Mr. Henry Guy, at a very short notice and without rehearsal with chorus and orchestra, really distinguished himself in the air, "Sacred raptures," of Zadok, the recitative of the attendant, "See the tall palm," and "Golden columns," of the High Priest. The organ part was played with judgment by Mr. Willing. Sir Michael Costa's difficult task of keeping together a large body of choralists to whom the music of 'Solomon' is not familiar, and of colouring his own masterly instrumentation, was achieved with his habitual self-possession and careful command over all the forces. Barring slight deficiencies, certainly not worth specifying, the ensemble of the execution reflected the highest credit both on amateurs and professors and was worthy of the Society's fame for efficiency. MADAME NILSSON AND THE GRAND.OPÉRA. We are requested by a Correspondent who Our Correspondent makes no comments on the Since the above was in type, our Moscow CONCERTS. HERR RAFF'S "Rhapsodie" for orchestra, Evening,' Op. 1636, was originally a pianoforte piece, which he has scored; but the Sydenham subscribers on the 12th did not exhibit much interest in the work, which is dreamy, but dull also. Coming after the excitement produced by his 'Lenore' symphony, the gloom of the E overture, The Calm Sea and the Prope not to have "Ines de Castro" attached to the ve Madame Norman-Néruda's delicate and finished fiddling was exemplified at the Monday Popriae Concerts in a Sonata da Camera, in a minor, by the old Italian violinist, Pietro Locatelli, of the eighteenth century. As this piece was accepii as classical by Herr David, of Leipzig, its intre duction in the répertoire here is quite justified The lady performer was to have joined Mr. Hal in the Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata, but was suddenly indisposed, and the pianist substituted Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 28, in D major. M Cummings sang Handel's "Waft her, angela," and Schubert's "Ave Maria," in place of Mr. Si Reeves. The advantage of being a good musicia: is shown in the case of Mr. Cummings, whe the shortest notice, can sing music, sacred secular, of all schools, like a true and conscienti artist as he is. The Albert Hall concerts have dwindled down to the proportions of Promenade Concerts. A dis tinctive character is given now to each programme by the designations of “Scotch," "Irish," "Welsh, and "English" Nights, and, if the scheme be classical, there are "Beethoven," "Mendelssohn" Nights, &c. The Shilling which Jullien used to boast was his mainstay has been judiciously com bined with return railway fares to and from Souta Kensington. But Shilling concerts can claim no elevated attributes artistically: hearers must be content with hurried and imperfect execution ef great works, be they sacred or secular; and the ballad will predominate, for publishers must live The Messiah' was announced for Thursday, with Madame Sinico-Campobello, the Misses Spiller sød Sterling, Mr. Sims Reeves, and Mr. Whitney. A At the third of the Musical Evenings of classical chamber compositions in St. George's Hall, the programme comprised the two string Quarte, Mozart's in D, No. 7, and Herr Brahms's in a min No. 2, Op. 51, together with Beethoven's Tri B flat, Op. 97, for piano, violin, and violoncel The usual practised players, Messrs. Holmes, Be mann, Amor and Signor Pezze, formed the quare party; and Mr. E. H. Thorne was the pianist. He selected for his solo Chopin's Nocturne in minor Miss Emrick was the vocalist, a contralto with power, who aims at sensational singing, as in Signor Pinsuti's 'Raft.' Musical Gossip. G THE last of the Saturday Concerts before Christmas at the Crystal Palace will take place this afternoon (the 19th inst.), when the oratori Hagar,' by the Rev. Sir F. A. G. Ouseley, Bart. the Oxford Professor of Music, will be performs for the first time at Sydenham. The work w produced at the Hereford Three-Choir Festival o the 11th of September, 1873, with Mille. Tietjens Madame Trebelli-Bettini, Miss Edith Wynne, Mr. Cummings, and Mr. Santley as the solo singers. THE final Saturday Popular Concert before the new year will be given this afternoon (Saturday), in St. James's Hall. Dr. Von Bülow will be the pianist. Next Wednesday he will give a recital, with the co-operation of M. Sainton, violin; M. Lasserre, violoncello; and Miss Julia Wigan, vocalist. THE forty-third annual Christmas performance by the Sacred Harmonic Society of Handel's 'Messiah' took place last night, in Exeter Hall, with Sir Michael Costa, conductor. The solo singers announced were, Mdlle. Enequist, Miss Sterling, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Whitney. Two National Concerts are announced to take place next Saturday, morning and evening, at the Royal Albert Hall, being Boxing-Day.. THIS will be a memorable day, but not a redletter one, in musical annals. This evening, the 19th of December, 1874, at the Hanover Square Rooms, will be given the final concert that will take place within the time-honoured hall. The lessee, Mr. Cocks, has disposed of his interest in the edifice, and has granted the use thereof to the Royal Academy of Music for a choral and orchestral concert. The building will be converted into a club-house. an He was more Mr. THE late Mr. John Mitchell, who died on the 11th inst., in his sixty-eighth year, has been described as a "Theatrical Agent." than that; he ought to have been designated Opera Capitalist," for, without his financial aid, the Royal Italian Opera and Her Majesty's Opera would have, indeed, fared badly. He was not merely a speculator in boxes and stalls, but in moments of pressure, he assisted Impresarios. So far back as 1835 he started opera-buffa at the Lyceum Theatre, with Sir Julius Benedict as musical director and conductor. For years he was the active manager of the French plays at the St. James's Theatre, where he imported Rachel. He gave up the direction of the French plays at the desire of his wife, expressed on her death-bed. In 1846, Signori Persiani and Galetti, the capitalists in the founding of the Royal Italian Opera, offered Mr. Mitchell the management, but he declined the tempting proposal, and the late Mr. Frederick Beale was then nominated the acting manager, with Sir Michael Costa as musical director and conductor. Mitchell was frequently pressed to take the management of Her Majesty's Theatre, and when that establishment closed, to be at the head of a new Italian Opera-house, combining national opera therewith. As Mr. Mitchell kept a diary, his notes would be most interesting, not only as regards operatic and dramatic events, but because his position as a publisher and as a librarian brought him into close contact with the Queen and the Royal Family, and many members of the "Upper Ten." And to his credit be it recorded, that although he raised himself from the position of a shop-boy in the library of the elder Mr. Sams, he always retained his primitive pleasant bearing. His geniality and kindness made him friends in Paris as well as in London; and he was always active in the cause of charity, whether private or public. Few men have died more respected. His last act of zeal on behalf of an artist was the organization of the Committee to present a testimonial to Sir Julius Benedict, and he lived just long enough to find that his exertions were quite successful. IT was thought that the refusal of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester to allow the Three-Choir Festivals to be continued in the people's Cathedral was final; but whether the proposed petition to Parliament, the intended Memorial to the Queen, the determination of the Worcester Town Council no longer to attend the services in state in the Cathedral, and the daily diminution of the congregation, have combined to make the capitular body feel the their consequences of acts, we know not, but the Dean has written to Lord Hampton to ask for a conference with the stewards for 1875, and it has been agreed by them and the Municipality to suspend hostilities for the present. Perhaps the withholding of the Gloucester contribution of 400l., whereby the allowances of the Worcester widows and orphans of clergymen have been reduced, may have brought about this truce, which it is to be hoped will terminate in a treaty of peace. A VIENNA Correspondent writes that Madame Pauline Lucca had been so successful in her representations at the Opéra Comique, in the Austrian capital, that she had been engaged to sing at the Imperial Grand Opera house, and her first character was to be Leonora in Donizetti's 'Favorita,' in German, of course, but, for some odd reason, the last act was to be sung in Italian. Mr. Adams was to be Fernando; he is called an American tenor, but he was born in Yorkshire. He sang at Covent Garden Theatre, in the English adaptation of Meyerbeer's Africaine.' Mr. Gye has visited Vienna, to see Signor Verdi's 'Aida,' with a view to produce it at the Royal Italian Opera next season; and it is rumoured, whether correctly or not we cannot say, that he has been negotiating for the return of Madame Pauline Lucca to London. It is to be hoped that this report may prove accurate. Two débuts have taken place, with moderate success, at the Italian Opera-house in Paris, Madame Sbolgi (an odd name, assumed it is stated by a lady in society) as Azucema, in the Trovatore,' and Mdlle. Morio as Desdemona. Madame Maria Destin, the successor to Madame Pozzoni, was to make her first appearance as soon as she tenor, was to return in the course of next week. had recovered from illness. Signor Nicolini, the THE unfortunate "Opéra Populaire," at the Châtelet, has been closed. Ar the first concert of the "Singverein," in Vienna, on the 15th, Herr Brahms, who was the conductor, played Beethoven's Pianoforte Concerto in E flat; the other pieces were Berlioz's 'Harold' symphony, and Herr Rubinstein's overture, 'Dimitri Donskoi.' MADAME PATTI played Rosina in the 'Barbiere,' for her benefit at Moscow, and on the 20th will appear in St. Petersburg. Madame Nilsson has re-appeared in Moscow as Margherita in 'Faust,' after Madame Patti's departure. DRAMA original. Joan is in prison alone, swallows twittering outside her window: Thy gladsome voice revives my fainting soul Sweet swallow, rambling rover, like to thee The Avenger's Wife' is a romantic drama, in three acts, original and in verse, by a young author, Don José Echegaray. Forty years since, in the palmy days of Breton, Dumas, and Soulié, it would have been a colossal triumph; to-day its success is doubtful. F. W. C. Bramatic Gossip. THE performance of the 'Trinummus' at Westminster, has, this year, been distinctly successful, the acting being, on the whole, above the average. In the Prologue there was a graceful allusion to Lady Augusta Stanley's recent illness :— Subit et recenti spes e sollicitudine Spes quæ nos propius tangit, spes domestica, Domina ut benigna, miseriae adjutrix bona, Quæ semper mitis hisce favit ædibus, E febre, et ab ipso mortis limine reddita, Vitam ac salutem colligat rursus novam. And the caricature of the new pronunciation of Latin in the Epilogue excited much merriment. A NEW Comedy, in five acts, by Mr. Albery, will be the next novelty at the Olympic Theatre. TO-NIGHT, the Holborn Amphitheatre, now under the management of Mr. John Hollingshead, will re-open with a comic opera, in three acts, entitled Cinderella,' to which a fourth act of pantomime will be added. The same night will witness the performance of 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' at the Gaiety. PANTOMIME will this year be given at Drury Lane, Covent Garden, the Adelphi, and the Holborn Theatre, at the various East-End Transpontine, and outlying houses, and at the Circuses and Amphitheatres. About half the central houses will vary their programmes in honour of Christmas. been given at Drury Lane. On Monday, 'The A SERIES of Shakspearean performances has Merry Wives of Windsor' was produced for the benefit of Mr. Anderson, who played Falstaff; Mr. Creswick, for his benefit on Tuesday, played Hamlet; and on Wednesday, Miss Wallis, also for her benefit, re-appeared as Juliet. THE title of the new comedy of M. Louis the English Adaptation by Robert Reece, Esq. The Opera produced Davyl, at the Odéon, 'La Maîtresse Légitime,' CRITERION THEATRE, Regent Circus.-Spiers and Pond, Sole Proprietors. Every Evening, at Eight (Christmas Day excepted) the new Comic Opera by Charles Lecocq, LES PRES SAINT-GERVAIS, under the direction of Mrs. W. H. Liston. Conductor, Mr. F. Stanislaus. Principal Artistes: Madame Pauline Rita, Catherine Lewis, Florence Hunter, Emily Thorne, Lilian Adair; Messrs. A. Brenner, Perrini, Connell, Loredan, Hogan, Grantham, Manning. Prices of Admission: Private Boxes, from 17. 18. to 31. 38.; Stalls, 78. 6d.; Dress Circle, 58.; Pit, 28.; Amphitheatre, 18.-Doors open at 7:30; commence at 8.-Boxoffice open daily from Ten to Five. The Free List entirely suspended. Acting Manager, Mr. Edward Murray. THE SPANISH STAGE. Two dramatic novelties, of considerable lyrical merit, have lately been produced at Madrid. One, an historical drama, in three acts, original, and in verse, by Don Juan José Herranz, is entitled 'La Virgen de la Lorena' ('Joan of Arc'). History, tradition, the poetry of pen, brush, and chisel, have each contributed to perpetuate the memory of the hapless Maid of Orleans. The present, however, is the first occasion of this historical damsel being produced upon the Spanish stage. Schiller and Soumet, the one in Germany, the other at the Théâtre Français, for Rachel, have treated the same subject dramatically. Señor Herranz has worked independently of both, but remains faithful to historical facts. From the extracts printed, the work appears more of a dramatic poem, and better suited to the closet than the stage. Poetical beauties, however, are numerous, and the versification is rich and harmonious. One Madrid critic ecstatically exclaims, "Poetic beauties abound on every page as sands upon the shore or stars in heaven's vault." I venture to translate one passage, although it is impossible to give any idea of the soft harmonious flow of the has an eighteenth-century ring, but the subject is wholly modern. André Dalesme, an inventor, has lived for years with Marthe, a woman deserted by her husband. The relationship has been equally private and happy, order, economy, and love being the gifts Marthe has brought as dower in her unconsecrated union. A time comes, however, when she has to feel the insecurity of her position. André has imperative need, in order to consolidate his fortune and save himself from ruin, of one hundred thousand francs. Marriage with Geneviève, the daughter of a neighbouring merchant, but too anxious for such a union, will bring him the money he requires, wholly unobtainable, as it appears, at a less price. To save her lover's honour and her own happiness, Marthe makes efforts as frantic as unavailing. When compelled to choose between ruin and infidelity, André accepts the former. Fortunately, Geneviève learns the true state of affairs, and, as she is of age, lends her mother's fortune to our inventor, and consoles herself by espousing another of her numerous admirers. News of the death of the husband of Marthe arriving at the same time, a marriage is forthwith arranged, and the title of "Maîtresse Légitime" is exchanged for that of femme. The piece was fairly supported by Mesdames Léonide Leblanc and Baretta, MM. Porel, Richard, Masset and Fréville. WITH the 'Cocagne,' of MM. Anicet-Bourgeois and F. Dugué, the Ambigu-Comique has scored a success. This piece, which is in five acts and nine tableaux, proved, indeed, sufficiently interesting SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO. GRIFFITH & FARRAN PUBLISHERS. A MAGNIFICENT CHRISTMAS PRESENT. The GOSPEL of ST. MATTHEW. NEW GIFT BOOKS, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, CLOTH ELEGANT The Gentleman Cadet: his Career an to render the public tolerant of its inordinate length. It is a comedy of romantic intrigue, built upon the lines of the early works of Alexandre Dumas. Cocagne, its hero, is a foster-brother of the Duc de Beaufort, known as the roi des halles, to whom he is devotedly attached. For the sake of this brother he consents to espouse a certain countess, whom he is not even to see. Jealousy of Louis the Thirteenth has brought about this marriage, which is a master-stroke of diplomacy on the part of Mazarin. After the ceremony is over, Cocagne is to be separated from his wife, and the bond is to be dissolved so soon as the King, now in infirm health, is dead. Cocagne, however, catches a glimpse of his bride, and is so fascinated that he becomes intractable. The remainder of the FLEMISH AND FRENCH PICTURES. Hurricane Hurry; or, the Adventur Containing Forty-one Etchings. Price to purchasers of the Four Etchings, price 31. 38. can also now be had. Adventures in the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich of the Past. By Lieut.-Col. DRAYSON, R.A. F.R.AS. F price 58. The GOSPEL of ST. JOHN, containing Twenty-seven The Three Lieutenants; or, Naval Life in the Nineteenth Century. By W. H. G. KINGSTON, Impe 16mo. price 68. In reviewing this splendid work the Times said: "We now take leave of this magnificent publication, declaring again that it is extraordinarily subtle, various, and skilful." With Notes concerning the Painters and their Works. By F. G. This Volume contains Twenty Etchings by famous modern French play is occupied with his efforts to rejoin his wife. A NEW dramatic daily, El Eco Teatral, has appeared in Madrid, under the editorship of Don CHINA, and CHINA; or, Ten Years' Travels, Adventures, and Also, for presentation, gilt edges, 22s. 6d. Published price Three-and-a-Half Guineas. Luis Alfonso and Don Carlos Cortázar, both dra- MASTERPIECES of the PITTI matic critics of high standing and ability. THE latest novelties in Brussels are 'La Boule,' at the Galeries Saint-Hubert, and 'Les Dernières Grisettes,' at the Alcazar. MISCELLANEA Jericho.-In Nares's Glossary you will find an earlier instance of the slang use of the name PALACE, and other PICTURE GALLERIES of FLORENCE. By the same Author, uniform in size and price, "Jericho" than that which you quote in a late HOW to BUILD a HOUSE. By Viollet Johnny Miller; or, Truth and Perse Glamour.-In reference to Prof. Cowell's observation on the old Norse word glám or glámr for moon (Athenæum, Dec. 12, p. 793), Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte informs me that the word gloam for moon is not yet extinct in the modern Shetland dialect. During his stay in Shetland he obtained the word from three or four old men, who assured THE SHADOWED HOME and the Home Life in the Highlands. By MACKARNESS, Author of A Trap to Catch a Sunbeam' LILIAS GRAEME. Price 58.; gilt edges, 58. 6d. Shakspeare's Household Words. Each Page printed in Gold and Colours, from Designs by 8. STANESSY with Photograph from the Monument at Stratford-on-Av. and Cheaper Edition. Price 68. gilt edges; 10.64 antique. CELEBRATED PIERROT. 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Let thy spirit rejoice that it is uncumbered and free, where is established the spotless kingdom of the Virtues." J. W. HALES. TO CORRESPONDENTS -R. J.-C. B.-A. H. C.-H. P. M.J. J.-C. F. W.-W.-T. C.-received. ment of Autobiography. By ARTHUR LOCKER, Author of Mutiny of 1857. Small post 8vo. cloth extra, 58. From the French of JULES VERNE. With 52 Page Illustrati by Riou. New Edition. Post 8vo. price 68. The startling story is told with a captivating air of reality, and the illustrations by Riou enter thoroughly into the spirit of the text Daily Telegr The MASTERS of CLAYTHORPE. By Mrs. Trimmer's History of the Robins the Author of Only Eve.' 3 vols. crown 8vo. cloth extra, 318. 6d. [Now ready. "The illustrations will tend to raise the book even higher in the mation of others than the inmates of the nursery."-Times. A ROMANCE of ACADIA TWO CEN- Favourite Fables, in Prose and Verst TURIES AGO. From a Sketch by the late CHARLES KNIGHT. "Charming historical romance."-Athenæum. London: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW & SEARLE, "We hail with great satisfaction Mr. Weir's vigorous and life-t illustrations in this pretty volume."-Saturday Review. GRIFFITH & FARRAN, West Corner of St. Paul's |