ceedings.-A paper was read by Mr. A. G. Butler, containing a list of Diurnal Lepidoptera, collected by Mr. Spaight in Northern India. Communications were read from the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, on some new genera and species of Araneidæ ;-from Mr. W. V. Legge, on a species of Prinia from Ceylon, and from Surgeon F. Day, on the Fishes of the Andaman Islands.

ENTOMOLOGICAL.-Nov. 7.-Mr. H. W. Bates, V.P., in the chair.—Mr. T. H. Briggs was elected a Member.-Mr. M'Lachlan exhibited coloured drawings, by Mr. Buckler, of sixteen different varieties of the larva of Deilephila galii.-Mr. Bond exhibited Nonagria brevilinea from Horning Fen; a male Caradrina cubicularis, captured in company with a female Senta ulve; and specimens of Chlorops lineata, found in swarms in houses at Cambridge. Mr. E. H. Vaughan exhibited three new British species of Phycidæ, recently described by him under the names of Trachonitis Pryerella, Homaosoma senecionis, and H. saxicola; also Acidalia ochrata, from Red Hill; Leucania albipuncta, from Folkestone; Plusia acuta, from Tunbridge Wells; and two remarkably dark varieties of Triphana orbona, from Scotland.—Mr. E. Saunders exhibited Xixuthrus heros, a gigantic Prionid beetle, from the Feejee Islands.-Mr. F. Smith exhibited Meloe rugosa, from Southend, and gave details as to its habits.-Mr. Dunning exhibited Anobium paniceum, both larva and imago, living in and consuming Cayenne pepper.-Mr. A. Müller exhibited some reniform spangles on the underside of oak-leaves, produced by Cynips renum; and galls of Cynips agama, on the underside of leaves of an oak seedling. The following papers were read: 'On Butterflies from Basuto-land,' by Mr. R. Trimen,-On Cerambycidæ, from the Amazon Valley,' by Mr. H. W. Bates,-'On Australian Curculionidae,' by Mr. F. P. Pascoe, and 'Notes on the Eurytomina,' by Mr. F. Walker.

CHEMICAL.-Nov. 3.-Prof. Williamson, President, in the chair.-Messrs. D. Howard, T. Muter, and C. W. Siemens were elected Fellows.-On opening this first meeting in the new session, the President alluded to the loss the Society had recently sustained through the death of two of the most distinguished of its Members.-The following papers were read: 'On the Production of the Sulphates of the Alcohol Radicles from the Nitrites by the Action of Sulphurous Acid,' by E. T. Chapman. When sulphurous acid gas is passed into nitrite of amyl it is rapidly absorbed. The nitrite changes in colour from yellow to green, from green to blue; it then begins to effervesce and at the same time becomes hot, and boils violently. Careful obser

vation showed that the reaction consisted in the re

placement of two atoms of nitric oxide by one of sulphurous acid.—

11

2

11

Cast Iron.' This determination consists in the liberation of the sulphur in the form of sulphuretted hydrogen, absorption of the latter by solution of soda, and estimation of the H, S in the acidified soda solution by means of a standard solution of iodine. -Mr. E. A. Letts, 'On the Composition of Hyposulphites.' Though the salts of the hyposulphurous acid have been comparatively well studied, much difference exists as to their chemical constitution. Mr. Letts undertook some experiments to ascertain whether hydrogen was to be regarded as an essential constituent of the hyposulphites. The salts submitted to investigation were those of sodium, barium, lead, strontium, magnesium, nickel and cobalt; and the result of the experiments was that hydrogen is not necessary for the chemical constitution of the hyposulphates.

ETHNOLOGICAL.-Nov. 8.-Dr. A. Campbell, V.P., in the chair.-The following new Members were announced :-The Earl of Antrim, Messrs. W. Bragge, H. R. Carnac, and J. E. Lee.-A Peruvian implement found beneath 27 feet of guano, in the Island of South Guanape, was exhibited and described by Mr. J. Harris.-Col. A. Lane-Fox exhibited a stone implement recently received from Borneo, the first which has reached this country. Mr. C. R. Markham communicated a note on the name "Aymara" applied to certain tribes in Bolivia and Peru, and Mr. D. Forbes made an elaborate reply to Mr. Markham's note.-A paper was read 'On the Kimmerian and Atlantean Races,' by Mr. H. M'Lean. The Atlanteans were described as a dark race, forming a prominent ingredient in the population of Spain, Southern and Central France, South Wales, and the South and West of Ireland and Scotland; whilst the Kimmerians were a fair people, with ruddy complexion, grey eyes, and red or yellow hair. These Kimmerians occupied the British Isles, and mixed with the Atlanteans previously to the arrival of the Scandinavians and Teutons. After an analysis of the early languages and literature of the British Isles, the author sought to show that the Saxons and Angles were an intermixture of Kimmerians with Teutons, and concluded that the present population of England is more truly British or Kimmerian than the Welsh, whilst our language is not the direct descendant of the language of the Saxon conquerors, but rather the descendant of both that of the conquerors and a kindred native language. The discussion was sustained by Mr. J. F. Campbell, Dr. O'Callaghan, Mr. Hyde Clarke, Mr. Pusey, and Dr. Nicholas.

Are these compounds, properly speaking, sulphates of alcohol radicles, or only isomeric bodies with them? The reaction of the amyl compound with water is very different from that of sulphate of ethyl under similar circumstances; it does not, when boiled with water, form an acid analogous to isothionic acid, but splits up into sulphuric acid and amylic alcohol. This would suggest a different linking of the molecules. Mr. Vacher read a paper by Mr. Elliott On the Determination of Sulphur in

-as Mr. Melville Bell's system is founded-and

advising the Society to encourage the study of Phonetics more among its own members and of public, before taking any practical steps to reformi our spelling. Mr. Furnivall recommended the concurrent use at once of Mr. Ellis's 'Glossic,' with a view to the ultimate adoption of Mr. Melville Bell's Visible Speech.' Mr. H. Nichol supported Mr. Sweet's view. Mr. Danby P. Fry, and Mr. Russell Martineau moved: "That without giving any countenance to a radical revolution in English

Orthography, this meeting is of opinion that ce moderate, and limited, and well-defined chi might be adopted with advantage." The Eas Baron, and Mr. H. H. Gibbs moved: "T this Society, while not prepared to recommend radical reformation, or change of English sp is desirous of giving every assistance tow settling the present or any future moot points English spelling." Mr. Sonnenschein, as a pr tical teacher, called for an immediate refor some kind. The adjournment of the discussion next Friday, the 18th inst., at 8 p.m., was carri, on the motion of Mr. Joseph Payne.

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.-Nor. C. B. Vignoles, Esq., President, in the chair. The paper read and discussed was 'Description of the Cofferdams used in the execution of No. 2Centre of the Thames Embankment,' by Mr. T. D. R

ROYAL INSTITUTION.-Nov. 7.-Sir H. Hola, Bart., M.D., President, in the chair. — Mex J. Forbes, T. M. Rickman, the Rev. A. Reg T. Taplin were elected Members.

and

ANTHROPOLOGICAL.- Nov. 1.- Dr. Charnock, V.P., in the chair.-Messrs. M. Heslop, J. R. M timer, A. V. N. Row, J. Hope, and W. M. Parker were elected Members.-Dr. W. Storey was elected Local Secretary for Malta; and Mr. F. Wil Local Secretary for St. Paul's de Loanda, W. Africa -Mr. S. Wake read a report of the delegates to the meeting of the British Association at LiverpoolA verbal communication was made by Mr. Charlesworth, giving some details of his discovery, and the exhumation from a Tertiary Formation is East Anglia, of a nearly perfect skeleton of one c the gigantic Bovine animals, described by Casar under the names Uri and Bisontes.-Dr. R. C nock, V.P., read a paper On the People of the Isle of Marken.'-A note on some Indian remains found in Venezuela was contributed by Mr. Ernst.

Mox. TUES.

=

MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK.
London Institution, 4.- Chemical Action,' Prof. Odling
Royal Academy, 8.- Anatomy,' Mr. R. Partridge.
Statistical, 73.- Claims of Science to Public Recognition and
Support,' Dr. Guy.

Anthropological, 8.-Condition of the Blood-Corpse n
Certain Races,' Dr. Bakewell; Tribal Affinities of Andre
of Australia,' Mr. C. S. Wake; Description of Austral
Aborigines,' &c., Dr. R. Peel.

Engineers, 8-Water Supply of Paisley, Mr. A. Leslie
Geographical, 8.-President's Address: Last Letters of M
Hayward on Gilgit and Yassin; Letter from Dr. Cayle
Routes between Ladak and the Kuen-Lun.
Zoological, 9.- Form and Structure of the Manatee Ma
Americanus), Dr. Murie; Salmonide in Tast
M. Allport; Anatomy of dilurus fulgens, Prof. Fr
WED. Meteorological, 7.- Heights and Velocities of Shottir St
observed in England, August 1870, Prof. A. S Horses
Influence of the Moon on the Amount of Rainfa
J. C. Bloxam.

Society of Arts, 8.-Address by Lord Henry G. Lennox. THURS. London Institution, 74.-Acoustics of the Orchestra: W Instruments,' Dr. W. H. Stone.

FRI.

Chemical, 8.-Mineralogical Notices by Prof. N. Story Ma kelyne and Dr. W. Flight.

Linnean, 8.- Memoir on the Passiflorex,' Dr. M. T. Mats;
White-beaked Bottle-nose (Lagenorhynchus albirostra), it
Murie.

Antiquaries, 84.- Egyptian Antiquities, with Remarks by Dr.
Birch,' Mr. W. R. Cooper.
Philological, 8.

Science Gossip.

THE Learned Societies House Accommodat.n Committee had, at their recent meeting, plans f buildings of different capacities submitted to the Those of the smaller undertaking are on view at the which are intended for the adaptation of extensive rooms of the Statistical Society. The other pers premises in Victoria Street, Westminster, may, by the kindness of Capt. Bedford Pim, be seen at No. 4, Victoria Street. The Committee have adjourned to the 24th inst.

Ir may be as well to remind Fellows of the Statistical Society that the change of hours for meetings initiated by that Society, and which is likely to be followed, begins next week. The hour of assembly will in future be a quarter to eige instead of eight, so as to allow of an earlier departure for those going by suburban trains.

THE Rev. I. M. Crombie, M.A., of the Scotch Church, Swallow Street, has, we understand, a philological and critical lexicon of Biblical natural science preparing for the press.

THE attention of the Postal Committee of the

Society of Arts will shortly be directed to the question of the Parcel Post.

WE become acquainted with the observations of the Aurora Borealis, at Bagdad, by the strange but not unaccountable circumstance that it deranged the transmission of our despatches over the IndoEuropean telegraph, and upset the telegraphic arrangements in the Ottoman dominions, where its appearance was very general. This circumstance not only prepares us for an extension of the phenomenon not generally expected, but also for its occurrence in the past, when the rare display of the Aurora in the South must have furnished prodigies for the historian. The examination of these, as of recorded comets, is worthy of being pushed.

THERE is a college of dentistry, and a literature

is Done (No. 70). It may be said of Mr. T. Faed that, although a 'valedictory" artist-his pictures so frequently represent farewells, sometimes for the New World, sometimes for another and a better sphere-the only thing he will never leave is, his best idea. For nearly a dozen years he has been

Shaking our hands and then wiping his eye,

yet we never got out of sight of his wet pocket-handkerchief. It may not be denied that his art, at once robust and lachrymose, bears grief better than that of any other painter; nevertheless we could bear to part, at least, with all this wailing, and think it unworthy of Mr. T. Faed's considerable powers and great technical skill that he does not feel with us. "Lassies" writing letters, and thereby furnishing subjects which are not unknown to Mr.

of dentistry, in London, and pamphlets are pub- Faed's patrons, are, at any rate, less lugubrious

lished showing how life is to be prolonged by having teeth pulled out and false ones put in. Nevertheless, dentistry has hardly become a matter of state policy in Europe; but our friends, the dentists, will be glad to hear that the Government of Nicaragua, desirous of advancing this art of civilization, did, two years ago, advance 600 dollars to Don Francisco Leal, of Granada, so that he might proceed to the United States, acquire the art, and introduce it into his own country. We are glad to hear that he has returned, and that aged senators will be made to articulate, the dyspeptic to masticate, and the tormented be relieved from stumps and fangs. Our Government has maintained no dentists since King John employed his in extracting the teeth of the Jews.

AMONG recent scientific books to be noted in Holland are Investigations in the Physiological Laboratory at Leyden,' by Dr. Heijnsius; a new Map of Netherlands India, by S. H. Serné, on the scale of one in 4,000,000; 'Communications relating to the Marine,' by the Department of Marine, 12th part; 'History of Scepticism in the Seventeenth Century in England,' by H. Was, the commencement of a larger work by F. A. Van Braam Houckgeest; Sepp's 'Netherlands Insects,' second series, second part.

FINE ARTS

GUSTAVE DORE-DORE GALLERY, 35, New Bond Street.EXHIBITION of PICTURES, including Christian Martyrs,'' Monastery, Triumph of Christianity, Francesca de Rimini, at the New Gallery.-OPEN from Ten till Six. Gas at dusk.-Admission, 18.

EXHIBITION of HIGH CLASS FRENCH PAINTINGS, at T. M'LEAN'S NEW GALLERY, 7, Haymarket-M. DURAND RUEL, of Paris, having removed most of his Pictures to London, they are entrusted to Mr. M'Lean's care for exhibition, and will be ON VIEW during the next few days.-7, Haymarket. Admission on presentation of Address Card.

WINTER EXHIBITION of CABINET PICTURES in OIL, DUDLEY GALLERY, Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. The FOURTH ANNUAL EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN, from Ten till Five.Admittauce, 18.; Catalogue, 6d. GEORGE L. HALL, Hon. Sec.

EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL WINTER EXHIBITION of CABINET PICTURES by BRITISH and FOREIGN ARTISTS is NOW OPEN, at the French Gallery, 120, Pall Mall, from half-past Ten till Five o'clock.-Admission, 18.; Catalogues, 6d.

than the leave-taking pictures.-Mr. F. Goodall contributes some of his best paintings, in certain sketches made during a brief stay in the East, or rather at Cairo. A great number of such workswe do not recognize those which are now in question-were recently at the Royal Academy, and surprised, by their remarkable display of ease, freedom, and technical power, most of those artists who knew only Mr. F. Goodall's larger, more pretending and elaborated pictures. Of such sketches we have here A Coptic Woman (12) and An Egyptian Shepherd-Boy (76). Of what may be called the "worked-up" fruit of the Cairene tour in question, we have exemplary results in Crossing the Desert (40), i.e., a "camel piece," or rather a man mounted on a camel, with appropriate back and foregrounds. Acceptable on account of the painter's cultivated skill, there is too much of the London studio in this work: it is a "work" rather than a study. Cranmer going to the Tower (62) has not a Cairene subject, neither has it desert accompaniments.

We may turn from these to examine and laud the elaborate and learned work of M. Gérôme, which is styled A Bachi-Bouzouck (25)-a half-length figure of a negro warrior; on his head a high and twisted turban, with pendents; on his body a superbly-painted robe of deep-red-rose colour, which, having a sheeny surface, reflects the light, melts its glowing tints in the shadows, and blushes strongly in the intermediate folds. Thus this work is more potent in colour than usual from the painter; it is not less solidly and finely modelled than before from him. His more interesting picture here is Pifferari (51)-two Neapolitan men and a boy standing in a very inhospitable-looking street, during frosty weather; the house at which the noise of their bagpipes is directed is thoroughly unsympathetic, although probably musical. Recently painted, this picture looks dull and flat, so that most of its subtle wealth of colour is lost for the while, but enough is visible in parts of the whole, to show how strong and beautiful much of the rest must be. The faces are full of

The SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. The striking and suitable expression; the drawing is

NINTH ANNUAL WINTER EXHIBITION of SKETCHES and
STUDIES by the MEMBERS, will OPEN at their Gallery, 5, Pall
Mall East, on MONDAY, November 28th.
WILLIAM CALLOW, Secretary.

WINTER EXHIBITION AT THE FRENCH GALLERY.

THIS is the eighteenth gathering of pictures by British and foreign artists. It is rather inferior in general interest to those of the same series which have preceded it of late years, and by no means equal to those of less recent dates. We have a few sketches, or rather those little versions-one cannot always call them repetitions-of popular pictures by popular English artists which are so common: e. g., Mr. T. Faed appears likely to weary even his admirers by reproducing his masterpiece, with the title of When the Day

worthy of the artist, which is all we need say; the draperies show signs of learned thought and a profound sense of an obligation to be truthful. With these qualities the result stands solid, rich, sound, an artist's work, such as,-when we have been looking at the series of "pot-boilers," to which we have above referred, productions though they are of two of our most successful and able painters, -is certain to give the English critic unpleasant notions of how much better it might be for Art among us if the example of M. Gérôme were all-powerful. He stays among us for a while, and should receive that homage which is due to his honoured, honourably used, and rare power in Art; in no better way could he be welcomed, than by observing his fine example.

A remarkable picture by an Englishman who seems desirous of wearing that Spanish mantle which the late Mr. John Phillip did not live long enough to wear out, is the oddly-called Padre Francisco (138), by Mr. E. Long. This large painting, it is not a picture, is marked "unfinished"; we should advise the painter to let it remain so we fear the risk, to which many of his

works owe not a little injury,-the risk of finishing by a painter whose ideas chill, and whose art becomes dull by the process of elaboration. The work before us is a vigorous sketch for a large picture, with nothing to speak of by the way of subject, and a good deal of its execution merely "filled in," to cover what would be otherwise startling spaces of bare canvas. Padre Francisco, whoever he might have been, has fallen asleep in his convent study, holding a book and having his most disproportioned legs outstretched; his head has sunk back, showing his closed eyelids and dropped jaw; an acolyte is about to rouse the monk; an open door shows a mysteriouslooking person standing in an ante-room. Behind the sleeper spreads his great writing-table, strewn jars; behind this, and standing against the wall, is with documents and decorated with flowers in

a superbly sketched cabinet of brown wood, the colour and tone of which are delicious; near the Padre's feet stands a brazier, a magnificent specimen of its class, so admirably sketched that one can hardly help thinking that, either this or the cabinet originated all the rest of the work.

Among the very ably-wrought pictures here, that by an artist hitherto unknown to us, who is said to be little more than a youth, deserves applause of a high quality. This is called National Cavalry on the March during the Insurrection in Poland, 1863 (122), by M. H. Gierymski. The scene is a snowy landscape; the subject a troop of Lancers, who have just crossed a frozen stream, and now, with pennons rustling, and in eager motion, enter a road on their journey. The composition of the line of riders, at once free and precise, is excellent, even to the treatment of the pennons which flutter at the points of the lances. The landscape is capitally painted, with many phases of commendable local colour.-Mrs. Anderson's Foundling (127), children at play with dolls, &c., is very hard and flat, but finely felt in respect to infantile expression and character. -A brilliant sketch, in the most sparkling French manner, is M. R. Madrazo's Coming out of Church (133)- -a lady descending steps with a parasol over her head, her dress of black contrasting with a scarlet shawl. The grace and freedom of her movements and the tact which is abundantly evident in the execution, quite another thing from the fruit of what English critics call "cleverness"-which means dexterity or trick, are enjoyable in a high degree in this trifle.-The Serenaders (72), by M.J. Bertrand, a group of Neapolitan hired singers, leaning at a wall before a house, at the jealouslyclosed verandah of which a lover stands,—has a great deal of spirit and some good points of composition and tone.-Maternal Care (77), by M. T. E. Duverger, a young mother at a cradle side, is worthy of the artist, and is more than usually simple and pathetic.-A Little Bit of Scandal (95), by Mr. J. B. Burgess, is good: Spanish ladies are gossiping, a priest enters behind. Its excellence consists in the expression of the figures; this is of a common, even rather vulgar, order, and of the most obvious sort, yet it is vigorous and vigorously given. The composition is inferior, the drawing not so good as it might be; of chiaroscuro there is none. A Spanish Lady (195), by the same, is a strongly-painted, rather opaque, and dull-coloured half-length of such a person, with a great deal of merely physical, sensuous beauty, and the expression of an ardent nature at the prime of womanhood.-A Sad Story (105), by Miss S. Beale, is, although technically incomplete and crude in painting, colour and drawing, a charming piece of genre of the best kind, not devoid of a certain kind of humour, and very well put together. The story is admirably told, and shows how a child listens to a grievous tale as read by its mother.-The Young Rosamond (168), by Mr. J. Archer, is far more solidly and carefully painted than is common with him; it represents, at life-size, a three-quarter figure of "Rosamond," in which we do not presume to recognize the immortal "Fair." There is little true beauty, but abundance of life-like expression on the face, much ease in the attitude of the figure; the painting is rather crude.-Henry II. of France and Diana of Poitiers witnessing the Execution of a

THE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.

MR. T. H. WYATT, President of the Institute of British Architects, delivered his opening address to that body on the evening of the 7th inst. Apologizing for his own assumed shortcomings, the speaker described the "battle of the styles' as in abeyance, urged the necessity for diligent studies on the part of the junior members of the profession, stated the growth of the Institute, and regretted the slight increase in the number of its students: all classes of members comprise not more than 624 persons, whereas the Institution of Civil Engineers consists of 1,885, comprising 177 students, that of the Architects having now only 7 (!), with a bare margin of about 110l. income over expenditure. He then adverted to the desirability of appointing a permanent paid Secretary for the business of the Institute. Noting the losses by deaths to the Society, Mr. Wyatt appealed to the members to furnish papers to be read at the meetings, and enumerated the benefactions which had been received. He stated that there are in London not fewer than eight Architectural Societies devoted to studies, benevolence, and publishing. He urged the necessity for unity of action on all professional questions, and for the application of one General Building Act for all English towns with a certain population, instead of upwards of 200 authorities; also the advantages of inducing teachers to make architectural history a portion of all liberal education as a cure for the apathy and ignorance of employers in matters of Art; he expressed his surprise that the latest Royal Academy Commission reported without "one single allusion to architecture," yet pointed out that the Royal Academy, following the times, had, last week, opened a school for architects, to which Mr. R. P. Spiers has been appointed teacher. Mr. Wyatt noticed the number and character of public buildings in progress in London, and hoped that the long delay in beginning the new Law Courts would terminate in the spring of next year. He observed likewise the great extension of architectural works in the provinces, and commended, without reservation, the technical character of most of these. He told his audience that that Briareus of restoration, Mr. Scott, has not fewer than fourteen English and three Welsh cathedrals in hand. He was gently satirical on the remonstrances of archaeologists with regard to the modes of modern "restoring." vate works was also mentioned. After lamenting the war between Prussia and France, the President concluded with well-deserved compliments to the late President and Secretary for Foreign Correspondence of the Institute.

Fine-Art Gossip.

Pri

THE exhibition of pictures, gathered for the benefit of the French peasantry, ruined by the Prussian invasion of their country, to which we

THE course of lectures which Prof. Ruskin will deliver, in Oxford, during the present term, are to be on the subject of Sculpture. The first of them will be given on Thursday, November 24, on 'The Division of Arts.'

MR. FAHEY, jun., has been elected an Associate of the Institute of Painters in Water-Colours.

THE Society of Arts has devoted a course of "Cantor" lectures, this session, to a subject of great interest, and on which little has hitherto been written or said-viz., 'Artists' Colours and Pigments.' The course is to consist of five lectures, commencing on Monday, November 21st, and will be delivered by Frederick Barrff, Esq., who, besides being an accomplished chemist, has a practical knowledge of painting.

THE exhibition of water-colour drawings, on loan, for the benefit of the Hospital for Consumption, at Ventnor, now open in the gallery of the Institute of Painters in Water-Colours, Pall Mall, has been so successful that the Institute has very generously agreed to continue the gratuitous loan of the gallery for the purpose. The private view of the Winter Exhibition of the Institute has, therefore, been postponed from the 10th to the 17th proximo.

NOTICING the publication, by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, of the first volume of the Catalogue of Satirical Prints and Drawings, which has been prepared in the Print-Room, and comprising subjects dating before the coronation of William and Mary, we stated that the second volume of the series is in progress; it now appears that, whereas the first volume dealt with 1,240 works, the second will describe not fewer than a thousand of dates anterior to the death of George the Second, and having for their subjects, among others, the great political events of the reigns of William and Mary, William the Third, Anne, and the first and second Georges. Among the subjects are the wars with France, in Flanders, Spain and Germany, the Mississippi and South Sea Schemes, the squabble about Sacheverell, the various English Ministries, including satires for and against Walpole and his opponents, works by Hogarth and other humorists of the period in question, &c. In these are abundance of historical matter, and great wealth of social illustration.

THE rumoured retirement of Messrs. Burton and Burn Jones from the Society of Painters in Water

Colours would seem to offer to the Royal Academy

an opportunity to continue the policy of encouragement to the water-colour branch of Art, which they inaugurated by devoting a room to Aquarelles

in the last Exhibition.

MUSIC

'ST. PETER.'

I distinctly deny that the subject of my Oratis was suggested by him to me.-It had been b me so long ago as the year 1846; when 'El appeared. Then, when we were in Birmingh together, Mendelssohn did me the honour to i me to work with, and for him; mentioning the paucity of scriptural subjects. Unaware (as I w till his letters were published) of his settled oljetion to the subject, I thought of 'St. Peter, made studies towards the arrangement of the previous to submitting my attempt to him. was never done. When I saw him the year aft at Interlaken, his mind was bent on opera. Hhad already, moreover, entertained the subject f 'Christus ';-so that our talk was of an opera tel on Shakspeare's 'Winter's Tale,'-and not of a third oratorio. I destroyed the original stules for 'St. Peter' I had made, ere going to Switz land in 1847, only last year, 1869.

I

Subsequently, M. Benedict applied to me to provide him with an oratorio book for Norwic naturally reverted to 'St. Peter,' and again went over the story to the best of my ability. He pro fessed himself entirely satisfied and delighted; but according to his manner of working, after keeping it by him for some years, he declared himself too busy to undertake, for the moment, a task of such importance, to which he was anxious to derce his best energies,—and entreated me to write a Cantata in the mean time; adding, that many cumstances rendered him averse to risking any more extensive serious production at Norwich.-t would seem from this that so far he had trust in my capacity. The work arranged by me for him was the 'Legend of St. Cecilia."

Early in last year (1869) M. Benedict received a commission to prepare an Oratorio for this year's Birmingham Festival; and my book of 'St. Peter' having been submitted to the Committee, was handed over to him to compose. At the risk of being tedious, I must insist that I arranged my plans for the year with reference to a commission which I felt to be one of no usual interest: that I returned to town early in October, expressly to be in readiness-three weeks, it now appears, after M. Benedict had begun his portion of the labour. This I can prove by the following note from a witness, whose testimony I suppose M. Benedict will not dispute-namely, himself:

"November 13, 1869.-I was delighted to see your writing once more, and shall certainly avail myself of your permission to call upon you early in the week. The oratorio is progressing, though no so fast as I thought; and the task, if not quite beyond my power, will certainly require my utmost energy to be completed by the end of April."

I wrote to M. Benedict on the 15th of November —after an interview with him, which I will leave him to describe.-I did not receive any reply till the 12th of January. In the interim, as will be has confessed in print to the fact) had been called seen, the Concordance (alias another person, who in-without the slightest reference to myself (I was, indeed, totally unaware of the last fact till the week before the Birmingham Festival), and 'St. Peter' was sold. On hearing in January of the sale, ard also that the Oratorio, words and music, had been shown to others, but not to myself, I wrote a letter of strong remonstrance, to which the following is the reply:

see me

"I wanted to complete the first scene of the oratorio before submitting it to you and my dear friend Costa, and hope you can manage on Sunday morning.. I cannot prevent idle rumours flying about. Not a human soul has heard a note of the music of my oratorio, except two old friends, to whom I played the beginning of one chorus and a fragment of the overture, which is not even written down. . . . . With regard to alterations, such as I may require for musical purposes, I hope you will give me full liberty of introducing them, of course subject to your approval; but I cannot promise a slavish and implicit submission to the selection of the words, nor could you in justice It will be observed that the above passage only refers to words; not to the structure of the story.

demand it."

In the MS. libretto, which had remained in M. Benedict's hands, long accepted and again approved by him, I had expressly provided, as can be easily proved, for retrenchment and alteration; and, in fact, returned to London to be at hand for the purpose. It was natural that after a work, in part mine, had been thus disposed of, I should decline any further participation in a transaction so contemptuous, not to say insulting, to myself. From a subsequent letter dated January 20th, 1870, I offer the following corroboration of what I have stated the witness being again M. Benedict: "I accepted your libretto [N.B.-The libretto was entrusted to M. Benedict, by the Birmingham Committee, as a commission], which, on reading, I liked very much, and which, at first, did not strike me as quite beyond my musical powers. When, after the Norwich Festival [in September, 1869], which gave me an immense deal of trouble, and after the acceptance of the Oratorio by the Birmingham Committee [in March, 1869!], I went to work with a will, I found several difficulties, which I was anxious you should rectify, so as to adapt the situations and words to my very limited capabilities. On calling upon you, and hearing you positively and emphatically assert verbally what you had already done by letter, that on re-examining, carefully, your libretto, you had come to the conclusion that it could not be improved, and that not a word should be changed, though some might be omitted, I endeavoured to enter into your views; but my attempts were not successful. . . . I had no alternative, unless I gave up the work altogether, than to make the changes to the best of my abilities, submitting them, when in a complete and tangible form" [i. e. after the work had been disposed of, already cooked by aid of the Concordance borrowed from a contemporary journal] "to your revision, alteration, or rejection."

Another, and to me the most distasteful, word remains to be said: My Oratorio-book is in three acts. For each of these I was to receive 25l., I believe with a reservation of some right over the published words; but this is a fact of small consequence. On perceiving that M. Benedict was literally writing "from hand to mouth," and aware that by the division of the subject made, each act had its own scene and its own character, in some sort complete within itself, I proposed to the musician to set only the two first parts for the Birmingham Festival; the third to be added subsequently: this, of course, to be distinctly announced and explained. It is stated in print that I received 751. for my work. I did not. On this matter the public shall hear a witness in my behalf-once more M. Benedict: "I am most anxious also to discharge the balance of my debt; the sum agreed upon, so far as I recollect, being 50l., of which, I believe, you received half the amount, and the remainder of which I beg to enclose." So that, having, to suit M. Benedict's confessed incapacity, allowed him to adjourn the completion of an entire work-by his own showing, accepted with admiration-I was paid by a sum representing two-thirds of the sum agreed on for my labour.

I state the above facts in no vindictive spirit. Resentment and Contempt cannot dwell together. On the contrary, on leaving the subject-not to return to it, be the pretext what it may-I am whimsically reminded, by the spasms of those who have injured me, of the immortal anecdote of the Lady and her Lapdog, told by Horace Walpole. The small animal fastened his teeth on the heel of one of the lady's (possibly, too, the dog's) acquaintances.-"Poor dear!" cried the sympathizing Dowager, "won't it make my dog sick?"

HENRY F. CHORLEY.

BEETHOVEN'S SACRED MUSIC. THE Centenary Celebrations in honour of Beethoven's birth will be continued at the Crystal Palace up to the 17th of December, on which day will be the crowning Festival. The selection at the sixth of the twelve Concerts, on the 5th instant, was confined to the sacred works of Beethoven, comprising the Overture in c (Op. 124), and the Mass in c (No. 1, Op. 86). It may seem singular to some

worshippers of the composer to class the Overture in c as appertaining to the sacred school, seeing that its title is Weihe des Hauses,' having been first performed in 1822 for the inauguration of the Josephstadt Theatre in Vienna; it may appear still

more venturesome to assert that Beethoven can no more claim the ownership of this Overture than that of his first Symphony. There were two musicians who, to his mind, occupied the very first rank as the greatest composers of the world-these were Handel and Mozart. He placed Bach third in his category. But, strong as his faith was in Handel and Mozart, there are but few traces to be found in his compositions of his predilections. There are, however, two orchestral pieces which can be cited as evidencing a pronounced bias for his two favourites, and these two samples are to be found-the one at the commencement and the other at the close of his career. The Symphony in c is numbered Op. 21, the Overture in c is numbered Op. 124: the former Mozart could claim for his own, and the latter Handel would have an equal right to maintain that it was his property. Despite the threatened penalty of excommunication, from a Crystal Palace Pope, there are professors and there are amateurs who will venture to assert that Beethoven plagiarized Handel as well as Mozart. No one who has not lost the faculty of hearing can listen to the Symphony in c without having Mozart uppermost in his mind, and to the Overture in c without recognizing Handel. Now, if the word "plagiarism" is to be taken in its extreme sense, that of a theft of another man's ideas, Beethoven will be acquitted of deliberate intent to rob either Mozart or Handel: but it is mere special pleading to exempt even Beethoven from the charge of being a copyist when the proof is so palpable that he who runs may read. In writing the first Symphony, Beethoven had not escaped scholastic influences; if his genius only began to be shown in the second and the third Symphonies, when the giant of the orchestra came out with all his powers. What were the peculiar notions of Beethoven in concocting an overture for the opening of a theatre, based on the "strict style" of Handel, as Schindler states, it is impossible to guess. He was satirical and sarcastic; and perhaps having determined, after Fidelio,' not to compose another opera, so disgusted was he with singers, he wrote in a spirit of grim jesting the Overture in c, which is Handelian to the backbone, the opening taken from the dirges, and the main subject having the stately colouring peculiar to Handel, whose fugal writing is expanded into the double figure in the overture. There is nothing theatrical, dramatic, operatic, joyous, or festive in the prelude. It is one of the severe school, which could serve as an introduction either to 'The Mount of Olives' or either of the Masses. And, a corroboration of our view, Costa chose this very overture in c to be played prior to the Mass in D, at Exeter Hall, in May, 1854, when the Sacred Harmonic Society performed that stupendous, but unpractical work. Schindler himself could not resist the evidence of his senses: this is how he defends his idol from plagiarism: "Many criticisms have been levelled at the work, and Beethoven has been accused of having sacrificed his individuality in it. But most assuredly it was not his intention to copy Handel; and at most he can only have intended to refer to the style of his great predecessor." The prelude in c, despite its learning and its imitation of the ancient writers, is the weakest of Beethoven's twelve Overtures (including the four glorious Leonoras). No practical good to art can arise from the attempt to attach infallibility to Beethoven: he himself would have been the first to check his ardent admirers in a display of blind attachment. Had he not been afflicted with deafness, he would have altered many of the vocal passages in the Ninth Symphony and the Mass in D., replete as these are with such trying progressions and high notes, and he would have listened more patiently if not to the impetuous prima donna Ungher, at least to the gentle remonstrances of Sontag, a thorough lady. The Crystal Palace Choir is not yet sufficiently trained to try the Mass in c; the execution was altogether

unsteady and coarse; the choralists were imperfect in intonation, and uncertain in their attacks; and Herr Manns is not the kind of conductor to help singers when they are in difficulties. The music of the Mass is arduous, it is true,--the more need then of clearness and colouring to give it the due effect in precision and devotional fervour. If it had not been for the organist (Mr. James Coward), who came to the rescue opportunely, some of the numbers would have been disastrous indeed; the player was perhaps forced to be too prominent, but under the circuinstances the organ was a safetyvalve. Between the Overture in c and the Mass, which ought to have been executed consecutively, Mr. and Mrs. Patey sang solos by Handel; and between the Mass and Mendelssohn's 'Athalie' overture, Mr. Nelson Varley sang If with all your hearts' (Elijab), and Miss Edith Wynne, 'O that thou hadst hearkened' (Prodigal Son). It was this quartet of vocalists who sang in the Mass, but they did notrun well in harness: perhaps there had not been sufficient rehearsals.

COVENT GARDEN

Ir is to be hoped the patriarch Planché was not present at the Italian version of 'Oberon,' at Covent Garden Theatre. He would have been horrorstruck at the costumes, and armour, and at the mixed character of the scenery, the stock sets of all operas and pantomimes having been brought into play to illustrate Weber's masterpiece. There was nothing in the musical ensemble to relieve the inconsistencies and incongruities of the mounting, although there were isolated points of fine singing from Mdlle. Tietjens, Madame Trebelli-Bettini, Mdlle. Bauermeister, and Mdlle. Scalchi, who were the representatives of Reiza, Fatima, the Mermaid, and Puck. If we except the Babekan of the veteran Signor Tagliafico, the acting was irredeemably bad; the singing of Signor Bettini in Oberon was decidedly good; Signor Fancelli was more "stickish" than even the celebrated Braham was in Sir Huon, but then the latter had voice and genius, and Signor Fancelli has voice, but has no genius. Signor Arditi gave his Italian reading of the score, which is not the German mode of interpretation; and the Weberian traditions are to be preferred.-Mozart's Don Giovanni' has been given, with Madame Trebelli as Zerlina, Madame Sinico as Elvira, Malle. Tietjens Donna Anna, Signor Cotogni Don Juan, Signor Bettini Don Ottavio, Signor Foli Il Commendatore, Signor Tagliafico Masetto, and Signor Ciampi Leporello. There is no novelty in this cast.-Rossini's 'Barbiere' has introduced a new Rosina, Mdlle. Léon Duval. The new comer is from the Lyrique and Opéra Comique in Paris; her style is essentially French, and her voice is very unequal within its compass; the middle and lower notes are defective in quality, and the upper ones wiry and forced. Her Rosina, taken by the Italian standard, can only be ranked in the third class. With Madame Trebelli in the theatre, a lack of judgment was displayed in the introduction of a comprimaria as a prima donna .The reduction of the orchestra, both in quantity and quality, tells on its tone. It is not right to advertise the band as being that of the Royal Italian Opera, as, since Costa's secession, deterioration has been the order or disorder of the day.

Musical Gossip.

MR. F. H. CoWEN's new Cantata, 'The Rose

Maiden,' will be produced in the course of this

month at the St. James's Hall.

THE newly-started Promenade Concerts at the Alhambra, with Mr. Riviere as conductor, and a band of 150 instrumentalists, are a welcome change in the character of the entertainments.

AT the first meeting of the York Choral Union Mr. Barnby's cantata, 'Rebekah,' was performed, conducted by the composer, with Miss Edith Wynne, Miss J. Elton, Messrs. Cummings and Maybrick.

THE Musical Committee of the Society of Arts have recommended to the Commissioners of the

International Exhibition of 1871 to permit professors having systems of teaching music, to illustrate their schemes by lectures or performances. Although musical instruments as a class will not be exhibited in 1871, pianoforte-manufacturers will

Its

SAMPSON LOW & CO.'S NEW BOOKS.

tion to submit to the Committee of Selection for Class 10 (educational works and appliances) such instruments as are especially adapted for school use. MDLLE. CHRISTINE NILSSON, after a successful trip to Philadelphia and Baltimore, returned to New York, and at her concert Fräulein Krebs, the pianiste, of Dresden, who made such a favourable impression in London a few years since, made her debut. According to the local journals, she created quite a sensation, particularly in one of Rubinstein's difficult works.

MADAME SAINTON-DOLBY, on her retirement from the profession as a public singer, has been presented by the alto chorus of the Sacred Harmonic Society with an address, illuminated on vellum and framed in carved oak, testifying the admiration of the donors of her talents as an artist, and their estimation of the virtues which distinguish her private life.

THREE curious musical scores have been found at Milan, amongst the old papers of a family of the name of Castelli. The scores, which are autograph, are-La Secchia Rapita,' by Zingarelli, performed at La Scala in 1793; 'Un pazzo ne fa cento,' by Mayr, performed in 1798; and 'La Fortunata Combinazione,' composed by Mosca.

AN omission from the list of Balfe's operas, which appeared last week, has to be rectified: this is his best opera, 'The Bohemian Girl.'

DRAMA

--

ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.-EVERY EVENING will be presented, VICTORIEN SARDOU's great Play, 'FERNANDE,' revised by SUTHERLAND EDWARDS, Esq. Characters by Messrs. Farren, Leeson, Lyn Rayne, Gaston Murray, and Lionel Brough; Mrs. Hermann Vezin, Miss Lar kin, Miss Fannie Brough, Miss Sallie Turner, and Mrs. John Wood. To commence at 7, with TO OBLIGE BENSON,' by TOM TAYLOR, Esq.; FERNANDE' at 8 o'clock; to conclude with ONLY ¿d.,' by JOHN OXENFORD, Esq. Box Office 11 to 6. No fees.

THE resemblance, always noticeable, in the entertainments at the Théâtre Déjazet is already visible in those of the Opéra Comique. Whenever Mdlle. Déjazet performs, the bill of fare consists of a pièce de resistance provided by herself, and two or more entrées supplied by her company. The change made on Monday, at the Opéra Comique, is accordingly scarcely a change at all. Malle. Déjazet makes love as the Marquis de Lauzun instead of the Prince de Conti, and a ménage is exhibited a day after marriage instead of two years subsequently; and this is all. No thought of dullness, however, or want of variety enters the mind of the spectator. Such singular grace and delicacy characterize the movements of Mdlle. Déjazet that the eye never fatigues of resting on them. In the 'Marquis de Lauzun' Mdlle. Déjazet makes love as in the 'Prés Saint-Gervais,' and smokes and drinks in precisely

the same manner as in the 'Premières Armes de

Richelieu.' Yet the love-making and the drinking, with such adjuncts as horsewhipping her attendants, or caricaturing to their faces those she has

cajoled, are a source of unfailing amusement. As the Marquis de Lauzun, Mdlle. Déjazet has an end to accomplish in the shape of winning a lawsuit. This end she attains by her customary means. She wooes the wives of those legal dignitaries who have any wives to woo; those who are bookworms she encounters on their own ground, exhibiting as keen an appreciation of the glories of an Elzevir as of the charms of a glancing eye a well-turned ankle.

or

With the sportsman

she drinks, and with the politician she argues. In the end she triumphs, and the votes are unanimously in her favour. Nothing more can be said, than that whatever Mdlle. Déjazet did, she did admirably. The play by M. Carmouch, (who was born in the same year as Mdlle. Déjazet, and remained until his death, last year, associate,) and M. Vermond, has no great value of

her

Ancient Gaul and her Boundaries is given with the Second Part of GUIZOT'S NEW HISTORY of FRANCE, ready.

construction or dialogue. success depends wholly upon the actress. In singing the songs with which it abounds, the purity of tone and beauty of execution of Malle. Dejazet, were very serviceable. 'Je suis chasseur,' a convivial a little song with a curious burden, which was so executed as to obtain a warm encore. Among the remaining actors, M. Legrenay, M. Lacombe, M. Tourtois, and M. Adrien were competent, and the general representation was tolerable. In 'Une Mauvaise Nuit est bientôt Passée,' Mdlle. Reil, Mdlle. NOTICE.-In consequence of the Davenay, and M. Georges, were seen to advantage. The plot of this rather old-fashioned little piece is clever, if not very unfamiliar. M. d'Hervilly has married Lucie. Love however has not presided at the nuptials, and the repugnance of the bride GUIZOT'S NEW HISTORY of FRANCE for the man she has been ordered to espouse is so great, that the bridegroom consents to quit her on the very day of the wedding. Arrangements to this effect are made. In the course of carrying them out, however, the consenting parties become courtship are commenced after marriage. The ART in the MOUNTAINS: the Story of smitten with each other, and the neglected rites of agreement is only made to be torn to pieces. The performance concluded with 'Une Tasse de Thé,' by MM. Ch. Nuitter and F. Berley.

Bramatic Gossip.

Large Demand for LOW'S SHILLING GERMAN DỊCTIONARY, no more Copies can be delivered until the end of the Month.

from the Earliest Times to the Year 1789. Narrated for the Rig Generation, by the Author of The History of Civilization Europe. Illustrated with 100 full-page Engravings. Parts I and II., with Coloured Map of Ancient Gaul, now ready, price cath

HISTORIC DEVICES, BADGES, and WAR CRIES. By Mrs. BURY PALLISER. With 293 Illustrations, beautifully printed on the finest paper. Square 8vo. cloth, al

the Passion-Play. By HENRY BLACKBURN, Author of Tra velling in Spain,' &c. With Illustrations. 8vo. cloth extra, price 1

The GENTLE LIFE. Essays in Aid of the Formation of Character. By HAIN FRISWELL. The QUEEN EDITION, revised and selected from the Two Series. In 1 vol smal 4to. choicely printed on paper specially made, with Title Vignette by Sir Noel Paton, R.S.A., engraved on Steel by C. H. Jeens, bound cloth extra, price 108. 6d.

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The DIAMOND FIELDS of SOUTH

AFRICA: a Guide to Emigrants. By a GRADUATE of CAMBRIDGE, Nine Years' Resident in the Colony. Price 6d.

MR. ALBERY's new play, 'The Coquettes,' has been produced with success at the Prince of The ADVENTURES of a YOUNG NATU Wales's Theatre, Liverpool. It is in four acts, and belongs to that comedy of intrigue which of all classes of drama is rarest upon the modern stage. Several women are engaged in the process of flirtation, and one of them, wife to a man considerably older than herself, brings her husband much unhappiness, and seems indeed to have overpassed the bounds of what is advisable or decorous. In the end, however, she is exonerated from blame, and is shown to have acted throughout on the purest of motives. The piece contains some bright dialogue, and was fairly acted. It will, we understand, be speedily produced in London."

A DRAMA, by Mr. Hazlewood, entitled 'The Seven Years' Secret,' has been produced at the Britannia Theatre.

To dramatic literature has recently been added a romantic play, on a Venetian subject, by Mr. Augustus Dubourg, joint author of 'New Men and Old Acres,' and A Sister's Penance.' This new drama will be produced by Mr. and Mrs. Rousby at Dublin, during their present engage

ment.

result of the interference of the Magistrates with AN unexpected, though not at all improbable the performances at the Alhambra, has been a revulsion of popular feeling in favour of ballets in theatres. At no time during the present reign or the preceding, has ballet enjoyed an amount of favour equal to that now accorded it at several theatres, both in London and the country. At the Standard Theatre, the ballet about to be given at the Alhambra has been produced with complete turings aroused police disapproval and magisterial success, while the nymphs, whose unseemly posinterference, have found a home at the Globe.

Surely if interference to protect public morality and decency is needed, it should be comprehensive, and should have no appearance of being the result of favour or caprice.

THE unanimity in which the American press continues to praise the performances of Madame Seebach seems to indicate that a tragic actress of genuine merit has at length appeared. One of the least gushing of her critics likens her recent performance of Adrienne Lecouvreur, in Legouvé's drama, to that of Rachel, and adds, after employing such words as "infinite pathos" and "prodigious power," "the American stage has never witnessed an impersonation in which fervour, force, and grace were more harmoniously blended."

TO CORRESPONDENTS.-T. C. H.-F. W. T.-H. L.-A. B. -E. L.-J. G.-J. E.-E. M.-J. M.-A. F.-A. V.-C. R. L. -Dr. B.-received.

The WONDERS of ENGRAVING. By

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The WONDERS of EUROPEAN ART, embracing the SPANISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ENGLISHFLEMISHI, and DUTCH SCHOOLS, &c. By LOUIS VIARDOT, Author of Wonders of Italian Art.' Numerous Illustrations and Photographs, beautifully printed on toned paper. [Shortly. SKETCHES from AMERICA. By JOHN

WHITE, Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford. Part 1. Canada. 2. Apie to the Rocky Mountains. 3. The Irish in America. Sva cloth, 128.

The COMING EVENT; or, Freedom

and Independence for the Seven United Provinces of Australia,
By JOHN DUNMORE LANG, D.D. 8vo. cloth extra, 128. With
a Map.
[Shortly.

NOVELS AND STORIES. DAISY NICHOL: a New Novel. BY LADY HARDY, Author of 'A Casual Acquaintance.' 3 vols. post 8vo. LORNA DO ONE.

Second Edition. With

and how one of them in particular sought revenge, and just missed his aim though he almost shut true; how a terrible retribution came upon all the sinners when the peasantry at last rose against them and rooted them out from their accursed stronghold - all these and others are the more exciting parts of the narrative, where the reader at times bolds his breath, so graphically yet so simply does John Ridd tell his tale. Indeed, he tells his tale well all through, and, whether it is love or war, exposition of charac ter or the artistic description of scenes and places, Laura Deone' is a work of real excellence, and as such we heartily commend it to the public."-Saturday Review.