their due season of maturity; it must be fed with proper nourishment, and be reared with care."

Aspiring to a great increase of skill and to consequent fame, he resolved to seek his fortune.-" At length, an internal voice whispered to me, Thou must depart-forward, forward! The artist's sphere of action is the world. What avails thee to bury thyself longer in the narrow-minded circle of thy acquaintance? What would be the gracious favor of some little Mecænas, extended to thee in payment for some tune reluctantly furnished, to suffer from his stupid and heartless rhymes ?-What, the boisterous applause of the multitude on parade, for a successful march? What, even the friendly squeeze of the hand by a pretty neighbour, as the reward of a couple of spirited waltzes? Forward! try thy genius among strangers, and when the exercise of thy talent has given satisfaction to men of judgement-when thou hast advanced their knowlege of thy art, and appropriated to thyself their information-return to thy home of peace, and enjoy the fruit of thy industry.'

"I immediately packed up my instruments, embraced the few individuals whom I counted as friends, requested two or three introductions to families in the next town, and commenced my journey in the humble post-wagen, which the state of my purse very strongly recommended. It was late in the evening; like dumb shadows, my traveling companions sat beside me; not an observation disturbed the deep repose, and I soon settled into a placid sleep, from which I was aroused at early dawn by the ready hand of the driver, who demanded his fee. I beheld the unfolding of day in placid grandeur. The holy crescendo of nature, displaying itself in a beauteous succession of colors, awakened in my youthful breast a glow of devotional feeling. Filled with serenity and confidence, my inmost soul turned to that power who had infused into my mind a disposition for an art which was to stamp my future life, and which, once implanted, could never be rooted out. I felt conscious that I was acting up to my vocation, and enjoyed the internal satisfaction of duty fulfilled.

"Nature operates on me in a peculiar manner. That quality of the mind, in which all the other faculties concentrate

call it talent, vocation, genius, what you will-restricts within its magic circle all our powers of vision. Not only to our physical, but also to our mental eye, is its particular horizon assigned. Both may be varied by change of position; and well is it for the artist, if in his progress he can enlarge it; for, to go out of it is impossible. All objects assume the peculiar coloring of the artist's mind, and imperceptibly partake of the characteristic tone of his life and sensations. At least, I acknowlege that such is the fact in my case with me, every thing is associated with musical forms, and becomes modified accordingly.

me a

"The contemplation of a landscape is, to me, like the performance of a piece of music. I feel the effect of the whole upon my mind, without analysing, or dwelling upon, the individual parts of it. In a word, strange as it may seem, the landscape has upon me the effect of a rhythmical movement; it is to successive enjoyment. But it is equally a source of delight and of pain; of delight, when I calmly contemplate the manner in which interesting objects are harmoniously blended; and of pain, when I see these objects mingled and confused, as they are beheld from the window of a stage-coach. A corresponding confusion is communicated to my mind; all my associations become wild and disorderly. Good Heaven! perhaps at the very moment I am beating out a confoundedly-complicated fugue, a rondeau theme will start up, which in its turn is supplanted by a pastorale, and that again by a furioso, or funeral march. By my fellow-passengers, ignorant of the peculiar workings of my mind, and deterred from conversation by my strange and unsocial demeanor, I am, of course, set down as one of the most stupid fellows in nature."

This was the commencement of that spirited course which, being zealously and steadily pursued, rendered vonWeber one of the most skilful musicians of his time, and one of the best composers.

NOTICES AND OBSERVATIONS FOR
AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.

August.-A ludicrous Hoax.-Some of the magistrates of Kent investigated the

particulars of a deception practised upon a young man named Dale. He had received a letter, apparently written by a lady, professing sentiments of affectionate regard for him. He immediately mentioned this circumstance to his friend Thornton, who, pretending that he knew the lady, promised to recommend him to her in the strongest terms. A great number of letters were delivered at different times by the friend, who said that the lady, having seen Dale by stealth, was pleased with his person, but was prevented by her aunt from admitting him to her presence. One of the letters enclosed a pretended will, made in Dale's favor; and another was written in a style which highly amused the magistrates. Having received a miniature portrait of her lover, she thus addressed him:"My dear and beloved boy,-How can I sufficiently express my gratitude to you for your kind present? Oh! my dear love, you cannot imagine what my emotions were on beholding your much-loved miniature. Ten thousand kisses were

imprinted on it ere I retired for the night. It is a very striking likeness; but the original, to my thinking, is betterlooking; he should have given you rather more of the smile, or else my dearest love was in one of his ill-humors, and would not look pleasing; but, joking aside, I really think he has done you justice. It is-it is like my own dear boy,

EMMA ELIZABETH BAINES."

After long delay and suspense, the sup posed Miss Baines referred her "beloved boy" to a barrister in the Temple, for a draught of the marriage settlement; but the youth could not find the person whom she recommended. He now told Thornton that he was determined to have an immediate interview with the young lady. "That (said the friend) will spoil all-you must wait her pleasure; and, In the mean time, she wishes you to accept a gold watch and other valuable presents." When they next met, Dale began to suspect that he had been deluded; and he was confirmed in his suspicion by the sudden retreat of Thornton out of the window of a public house, after he had produced another letter in the name of the fair Emma. Dale overtook him, and threatened him with personal chastisement, if he did not instantly deliver the presents. Thornton begged

for mercy, and, producing a pincushion, an old snuff-box, and two seals of little value, said, "These are the things." Being knocked down by the exasperated youth, he confessed that the whole affair was a hoax. He had gained his object by being frequently entertained, and even supplied with clothes; and he now begged pardon for his offence; but Dale caused him to be apprehended for detaining the miniature. This was restored by order of the chairman, who, having sharply reprimanded Thornton for sporting with the feelings of a friend, ordered him to make a public apology, and dismissed him.

We cannot reflect on this strange affair without expressing our surprise at the vanity, folly, and credulity of Dale;vanity, in supposing that a lady could suddenly fall in love with him; folly in prosecuting for many months a wild

goose chase in the dark; and credulity

in listening to the nonsense and rhodomontade of a pretended friend.

Another Instance of stupid Credulity.— called himself a doctor of the civil law, Antonio, an Italian adventurer, who found his way to Limerick, and endeavoured to support himself by teaching classical literature and some of the continental languages. He met with a silly waiter at a great inn, who gave him board and lodging, and who even suffered his wife to accompany the learned civilian to Dublin, on his way to Great-Britain, where, he said, prince Esterhazy, who was his debtor, would readily enable him to repay his Irish friend. From Dublin, the wife accompanied the doctor into Scotland, where she consented to be married to him according to the custom of the country; but, when they arrived in England, she was as desirous of leaving him as he was of retaining her. She found that he had deluded her with false hopes; and, though she at first thought she had done no harm or contracted no guilt, she was at length shocked at her folly in having suffered him to inveigle her into a violation of her conjugal vow. Sir Claudius Hunter assured her that her second marriage was invalid, desired her to take the first opportunity of returning to her Irish husband, and menaced the Italian with the vengeance of the law, if he should dare to molest her.

September.-Sorcery not yet exploded in France.-One Dupleune was tried for having plundered many peasants, on pre

tence of relieving their cattle from the spells which, he said, their malignant neighbours had cast upon them. Another charge against him was equally ludicrous. Lafitte, a housekeeper at Bonmeres, deposed, that Dupleune came to his house to cure his daughter of a complaint which had resisted every ordinary remedy. The wizard told him that the complaint had been cast upon her five years before. He demanded 35 francs for the treasury of the devil; then he ordered the trembling father to take the heart of a lamb, which had never eaten, and to prick it with an awl which had never been used. He added, that, in consequence of this enchantment, the evil spirit would suffer so much pain from every prick, that it would be compelled to quit the body of his daughter. The poor father followed this advice; but the daughter, though dispossessed of the spirit, did not recover.-The impostor, beside being fined, was sentenced to imprisonment for two years.

A Sudden Political Change. The ministers of France, for a considerable time, were of the royalist party, but not so warm in their zeal or so bigoted as to preclude a regard for the charter or for the rights and claims of the people. The king was not altogether pleased with their moderation, and therefore resolved to effect a change. He did not long hesitate on the choice of a prime minister. He recalled the prince de Polignac, an ultra-royalist, from his ambassadorial station in England, and appointed him minister for foreign affairs; and such colleagues as he wished to engage were admitted into the cabinet. This change diffused an alarm over the metropolis and the whole kingdom; and almost all the journals commenced an acrimonious op position to the court. Some of the editors and publishers were subjected to prosecutions for libels, and punished by fine and imprisonment. The ferment still continues, and the odium thus excited by the court is extended to the English, as if the intrigues of our ministers had promoted the unpopular change. -a surmise for which there is apparently no foundation.

Progress of the Russian Arms.-Some of our political dictators imputed folly

to those who were of opinion that the invaders of Turkey would make a triumphant progress in this campaign.— "They will never pass the Balkan," said these news-paper sages; "and their farther efforts will be ruinous or at least very injurious to themselves." Yet the Russians have driven their enemies from the field, and have diffused a paralysing terror over the whole country. The sultan has been dispossessed of Adrianople (which was formerly the Turkish capital), and has no hope of defending Constantinople with effect. Thus discouraged and humbled, he has declared that he will accede to the treaty of the 6th of July, in favor of the Greeks, and has solicited the interposition of GreatBritain, France, Austria, and Prussia, to save him from ruin. An armistice has been concluded, and the emperor Nicholas has been requested by the ambassadors of those powers to countermand the advance of his troops to Constantinople, as the most serious mischief might fall upon that city, in consequence of the desperate fury of the incensed Turks. It is now supposed that peace will ensue from this mediation; and, if it should be adjusted on terms less favorable than the czar is entitled to expect, he will content himself, for a time, with having demonstrated his capability of subverting the Turkish empire in Europe.

Distress in the United Kingdom.— Without dwelling on this painful subject, we shall merely observe, that, although the accounts of the stagnation of trade and the want of employment are in some measure exaggerated, general poverty is advancing with hasty strides and with an alarming aspect. The ministers say, that they can do nothing in such a case. Indeed, they think more of the pretended balance of power, than of the means of relieving the subjects of their royal master. It is an old saying, "Where there is a will, there is a way;" but those who have not the will, will not endeavour to find out the way. We beg leave to hint, that, at this crisis, the parliament ought to be speedily convoked, instead of being prorogued (according to custom) to the second month of the ensuing year.

ENGLISH OPERA-HOUSE.

A new piece, called the Recruit, has been favorably received at this theatre. The plot is of the following tenor.Albert Ritzler, at the head of a body of Swiss patriots, had for some time maintained a spirited opposition to the invaders of his country, but at last is entirely subdued, and forced, for the preservation of his existence, to conceal himself amidst the rocks and glens. The French soldiers now propose terms of accommodation, which he accepts, and one of which is, that he should enter the service of the consul of France. His wife Agnes, who boasts of being a lineal descendant of William Tell, and who nourishes the most patriotic hatred of the French, is filled with grief and indignation on learning from her husband the nature of the arrangement which he had made. He had pledged himself to bis commander to join his corps on the following morning, and Agnes, knowing that a failure in that particular would expose him to the penalties of desertion, drugs his drink with opium, in order that, when he should have long overslept the appointed time, he may be obliged to fly with her to some distant quarter. The drug having taken effect, he remains

asleep for two nights and a day, and a detachment of grenadiers, headed by Petard, proceed to his cottage to arrest him. On their near approach, Agnes acquaints her husband that Petard had made proposals to her of a very licentious nature, and this communication provokes Albert to level his rifle at the head of the offender, who falls, rolls down a hill, and is thought to be dead. For this supposed murder, Albert is sentenced to death. A collateral plot is made up out of the following materials:-Hans Frankhausen, who superintends an establishment for young gentlemen, is very atten. tive to Elise, the sister of Agnes. Calling at her cottage one morning, he finds Petard at the door, and the conversation between them induces Frankhausen to believe that his mistress had forgotten the vows of fidelity which she had sworn to himself. He, therefore, resolves to "whistle her down the wind," and, for the purpose of relieving his distress upon the occasion, he enters the French service as a dragoon, but is afterwards found to be two inches short of the regulation size. He is, accordingly, dismissed, and, in his desire to keep at a distance from his late military comrades, he wanders to the foot of the precipice, down which Petard

had fallen, and is astonished to find him sound and unhurt. This fact furnishes a complete answer to the charge of murder, for which Albert was about to be executed. Frankhausen communicates the fact to Agnes, who proceeds in person to lure Petard from the place where he was lying in concealment, until Albert's execution should leave Agnes at his mercy. A band of peasants drag Petard from his concealment, and produce him at the place where Albert is on the point of being executed. The criminal is reprieved, and all differences are made up.

Keeley, in his two characters of pedagogue and warrior, afforded great amusement. His wife is becoming, in her department, one of the best actresses of the present day. She acquitted herself with great excellence in every part of her character, but merited particular applause in the scene where Frankhausen presents himself to her in his military dress, and states to her the grounds of his conduct, and the suspicions which he had entertained of her fidelity. It is superfluous to commend the acting of Miss Kelly, the representative of Agnes. The character of Albert was maintained, with sufficient and not excessive energy, by Mr. James Vining. The drama is of a respectable character. The sentiments are sufficiently diversified and well appropriated, and to the language we do not particularly object.

A grand romantic opera, entitled Der Vampyr, was lately produced in the most effective manner. It is a free translation, by Planché, from the German of W. A. Wohlbruck, and the music appended to it is that of Heinrich Marschner, a composer of high reputation.-The story may thus be given. The Vampire has entered into a contract with Eblis, the prince of evil, by which he covenants to give up his soul, provided that the fiend, for a certain stipulated period, will minister to his desires and pleasures. The term is on the point of expiring, when the evil one consents to relinquish his claim for a year and a day, provided that, within a month, the Vampire should sacrifice a virgin bride at the demon's altar. His first attempt is on Ianthe, the daughter of Yanitza, a Greek chieftain; but the flight of Ianthe is discovered, the fugitive is pursued by her father and his friends, and they arrive in time to rescue her from the gripe of the Vampire, who falls mor

tally wounded. While he is moaning on the ground, his cries are overheard by Zeriny, a Hungarian officer, whose life he had formerly saved. He binds Zeriny by a solemn oath, first, not to reveal, for a month, that he had found him in a dying condition, and next, to place him in a situation where the beams of the moon might fall upon him, that being necessary to his future resuscitation. His wishes are complied with; and Zeriny hastens to the castle of his ancient patron Baron Kassova, for whose daughter Henrika he entertains an ardent affection, which is returned with equal ardor by the lady. He finds, however, that his hopes are likely to be defeated, as the Baron has promised the hand of his daughter to Count Mavrocordo, under which title the Vampire has obtained his consent to the union. Zeriny is astounded, when, in the person of Mavrocordo, he beholds the identical person whom, nearly a month before, he had seen expire. The truth immediately flashes on his mind; but the dreadful oath prevents him from revealing the secret. He, however, endeavours to have the nuptials postponed to the next day, when the month would have expired, and he would consequently be freed from the fatal obligation; but the Baron is inexorable, and orders the marriage ceremony to be performed at midnight. The Vampire, fearful that the ceremony may not be performed in time to enable him to fulfil his compact, seeks the life of Liska, a young peasant, who is about to be married to Wenzel, the Baron's heyduk. He is on the point of accomplishing his object, when the screams of Liska bring Wenzel to her aid, by whom the Vampire is shot. A new resuscitation is effected, and the monster is approaching the altar with Henrika, when the fatal hour of 12 arrives, and Eblis, not having been propitiated by the promised victim, seises his prey.

Marschner is evidently a man of fine talent. He has adopted the style of C. M. von Weber, which could easily be traced in different parts of the opera; but he has, in not a few instances, evinced powers of a bold and original nature. -The overture is a most elaborate composition; and, indeed, the same remark is applicable to the greater part of the music. The choruses are of a grand and lofty character; and very few operas, which we have witnessed, during the last few years, abound more in strains