only the inner part of the gateways and a portion of the wall above the Layerthorpe postern presented any distinct Norman features. In giving a description of the existing remains, Mr. Clark remarked that it was curious to note that the foundations were, for the most part, very shallow, and that many parts of the wall were very thin, so as to afford no possibility of a rampart walk. York had, he considered, been fortunate in its gates, though they had been most injuriously treated. Go where they would, they would now, however, see that a determination prevailed to do that which was right in the preservation of the remains of the ancient defences of the city.

At the conclusion of the discourse, after a wellmerited vote of thanks, Mr. Clark conducted the visitors to various portions of the ancient walls within the grounds of the Philosophical Society, and much discussion ensued on the points maintained in his discourse. The Lord Mayor then entertained a large party, including the principal members of the Institute, at luncheon in the Mansion House, while many members of the Yorkshire Society lunched together at the De Grey Rooms. The visitors afterwards made an inspection of the outlying portions of the fortifications, including the Roman wall uncovered on the premises of Mr. Lund, and the wall at Layerthorpe, now under repair by the Corporation.

and by a curve avoids Northumberland House delssohn and Meyerbeer present no strong altogether, using an easier gradient than the official features of interest. They had not to compose plan promises. Believing, as we do, that there is for their daily bread; they had no worldly no real want of an approach to the Embankment at this spot, we think, if one must be made, the struggles to compete with; their genius was curved line is the better. Writing of approaches recognized from its earliest development; to the Embankment, we may be allowed to say their status was fixed almost without dispute, that it sometimes occurs to us that a sort of mania-for, at all events, it was only a question of occasionally possesses the minds of a few persons degree even with the fiercest opponents to their on the subject of how to reach the river-side claim for distinction ;-and there was not an thoroughfare with the least possible trouble to opera-house in Europe, not a publishing firm themselves, and with the most profound disdain of in any capital, not a festival of importance in the ways and interests of others. The other day a threatening "leader" appeared in the columns any country where their works did not meet of one of our daily contemporaries, in which the with immediate notice, recognition, performSocieties of the Temple were urged to allow a ance, or publication. It is, therefore, only in road, or rather, if we recollect rightly, two roads the domestic circle, in the communications, to be cut through the Inns; so that persons in verbal or epistolary, of such favoured prohaste to reach Westminster might lose the least fessors, that we can meet with points of inpossible portion of their time on the journey. It really appears that some people believe streets terest, personal and artistic. are to be used only for driving Hansom cabs along them. Why should anything stand in the way of that delectable practice?

A GENERAL meeting of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society will be held (by permission of the Bishop of London, patron of the Society) at Fulham Palace, on Tuesday at one

It is not a little singular that round both Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer such a halo of family mystery has gathered. But perhaps the recent death, in Berlin, of the younger brother of the composer, Paul Mendelssohn, may lead to further supplies of family details and other information hitherto suppressed, and it is certain that,

Ripon Meeting that the Institute has fixed upon Canterbury for the place of meeting in 1875.

Fine-Art Gossip.

MR. ALMA TADEMA has been elected member of the Academy of the Fine Arts, Berlin, the choice of the artistic body having been, as the Prussian law requires, confirmed by the Government.

OUR readers will be glad to hear that it seems probable that the authorities are now paying some attention to the art aspect of the medals, if not of the coins, which are prepared for public service. Artistically speaking, there is not much to be said for the British coinage, for the vaunted perfection of the operations of our Mint appear, characteristically enough, only in its mechanical arrangements; the result being that so many coins are struck with unexceptionable accuracy per hour, day after day and month after month. Usually, if anything can be more commonplace, not to say stupid, than our coins, it is our medals. But for the Ashanti War Medal, one of our most capable artists has been invited to make the design required by the die-sinker. Mr. Poynter has accepted the commission, and will, no doubt, produce a fine work. The authorities are to be congratulated on the wisdom of the step they have taken in securing the aid of Mr. Poynter. If we wished to commemorate the taking of Troy itself, we could not find an abler artist than he.

THE removal of Temple Bar is an event which must happen sooner than was anticipated, for although the structure was doomed, few expected it would be taken down before the completion of the new Law Courts rendered the operation imperatively necessary. We cannot affect to regret that this building, dark with blood-stained memories as it is, and possessing no true architectural merit of its own, should be carted away. In every sense it is an obstruction, in some respects it is an offence. We trust that its site, which has historical interest, will be marked by the erection of an iron footbridge, of good design, of course. Such a bridge would be extremely convenient to persons who are now compelled to risk their lives in crossing Fleet Street, and would be serviceable to Templars who have to go to the new Law Courts.

MR. BUTTERFIELD has renewed his appeal, not only for the preservation of Northumberland House, but for the adoption of a better approach to the Northern Embankment than that officially contemplated, and for which such an enormous sum of money has already been expended. This preferable line is that laid down by Sir J. Pennethorne,

will be addressed by his Lordship, the Vicar of Fulham, the Vicar of Chiswick, and others. The Society will also visit Fulham Church, and, should the state of the tide permit, Chiswick Church, over which they will be conducted by the Vicar.

fountain" a wide berth of late, we are delighted As we have given the site of the "New Road to hear what "B. R." has to say:-"The writer of the note on Leicester Square, in the Athenæum of July 4, p. 24, cannot have been in the Temple lately. If he pays it a visit, he will find that (among other judicious improvements) the trumpery fountain has been sent back to the New Road, and the simple jet restored."

MUSIC

Mendelssohn: Letters and Recollections. By Dr. Ferdinand Hiller. (Macmillan & Co.) Cherubini: Memorials illustrative of his Life. By Edward Bellasis. (Burns & Oates.) Beethoven, Liszt, Wagner: Ein Bild der Kunstbewegung Unseres Jahrhunderts. Von Prof. Dr. Ludwig Nohl. (Wien, Braumüller; London, Nutt.) WHOEVER undertakes the task of writing the life of Mendelssohn will find already in print no small amount of information about the various periods of his career. It is only surprising that a biography has not already appeared. But the mysterious attitude assumed after the composer's death by his executors, and the curious withholding for so many years of the MS. music left in his portfolio by Mendelssohn, may have deterred many of his friends, and perhaps members of his family, from giving to the world what the world was looking for - a connected memoir of the musician, whose advent was an epoch in Art, and whose premature death, due to an overtaxed brain and a too excitable imagination, was a calamity which has as yet proved irreparable. There were two intimate friends of Mendelssohn who would have been eminently qualified to write his biography: Charles Klingemann, so long the Hanoverian Consul here, and Mr. H. F. Chorley; but they were both dismayed by the obstacles which stood in their way when they thought of accumulating matter for a complete narrative. The incidents of the lives of such rich musicians as Men

been kept back by the composer's executors, quite enough has seen the light to form most interesting volumes. We are indebted to Dr. Karl Mendelssohn-Bartholdy for the sohn,' a graceful tribute to his father's interesting volume Goethe and Mendelsmemory, which it is to be hoped will be expanded into a complete memoir. The 'Reminiscences' of the composer, by Elise Polko, are brimful of valuable facts, and Devrient's souvenirs of early days are equally important. The recent Life of Moscheles' affords particulars of the London and Leipzig life, and, alas! the affecting account of the last moments of Mendelssohn. The late Mr. Chorley has delssohn, at Interlaken, in August, 1847, in his touchingly described the last days of Men'Modern German Music'; while Sir W. Sterndale Bennett and Mr. G. A. Macfarren have furnished many letters on professional points. Mendelssohn's relations with the Birmingham Festival and with the Sacred Harmonic Society have also been fully described. But in no previous production have the characteristics of the composer and the qualities of the man been more ably, earnestly, and even enthusiastically depicted than in the volume of Dr. Hiller. His first acquaintance with Mendels

sohn dates from 1822, at Frankfort, where Dr. Hiller was born, and was living with his mother; but the intimacy thus commenced in their boyhood lasted only until the winter of 1843. Mendelssohn wrote to Dr. Hiller, in August, 1836, from Gravenhage (near the Hague), "It really is a great pity that we meet so seldom, and for such short times; it would be such a pleasure to us both if it could be otherwise. Or perhaps you think we should quarrel at last? I don't believe it." Yet the two attached friends did quarrel. Dr. Hiller states that there was a "brouille," arising "from social, and not from personal susceptibilities. I think we were both in the wrong, but no angry words passed between us, and certainly the matter would have been smothered over if he had not gone to Berlin in the beginning of December" (1843). Be this as it may, all correspondence ceased. Dr. Hiller refers to a letter written by Mendelssohn to Prof. Hildebrandt five

Weber, and Mendelssohn. Dr. Hiller assigns as a reason for coming forward with his reminiscences that the works of his friend are exposed to the attacks of envy and to want of comprehension and judgment in Germany; but there can be little fear of Mendelssohn's fame being affected. To quote Chorley's words, "with regard to his inspirations, there is neither doubt nor fear of the future. They are, as Beethoven proudly said of his own music, 'safe.'"

We most heartily recommend Dr. Hiller's

weeks before his death, which proves that his feelings remained unchanged. It is a pity this letter is not published in Dr. Hiller's book. But a key is supplied to the cause of the dispute, by the mention of the fact that when Dr. Hiller first met Mendelssohn after the nomination of the former as Director of the Gewandhaus Concerts in Leipzig, the peculiar situation of the two composers, one being the successor of the other, "caused a slight gêne that evening." Dr. Hiller adds, that it disappeared the next day, but probably if he had declined the post of conductor we shouldLetters and Recollections' to the perusal of have had later correspondence from Mendels- every aspiring young musician: they will find sohn. We are, however, grateful to Dr. Hiller there a noble example of a noble life. The for his graphic description of Mendelssohn, genial, kind-hearted author has not exaggerated and for the valuable letters he has appended. when he describes Mendelssohn as a bright He describes his intercourse with Mendelssohn being, in whom the gifts of genius were comin Paris in 1831-2, and his meetings at various bined with careful culture, with a pure heart, times where musicians most did congregate with a firm disposition, and with the most active from 1834 up to 1843. The correspondence sympathy. The work first appeared in Macduring this period is a supplement to the letters millan's Magazine, the translation being by from Italy and Switzerland up to 1847, edited M. E. Von Glehn. Mr. G. Grove has edited by Paul Mendelssohn, in 1861, the first family the volume, and has appended to the text some contribution since the death of the brother, in useful notes and dates. 1847. But the list is not exhausted; there is still an unexplored mine for the biographer, who will have to excise the trivialities of friendly intercourse, to condense insignificant information, and to present us one of the noblest illustrators of the music of Germany, from the first signs of his genius to the last unfinished tokens his Christus' and his 'Loreley,' the numbers of the former intended for an oratorio, and the latter for an opera. The lyric drama has been the greatest sufferer by his death. We have 'St. Paul,' 'Elijah,' and the 'Lobgesang,' to console us for the loss of the 'Christus,' but, despite the setting of Herr Max Bruch, the non-completion of 'Loreley' is an irreparable loss. In one of his letters to Dr. Hiller, Mendelssohn mentions that he had approved of the first and second acts of the libretto furnished by Mr. Planché, 'The Siege of Calais by Edward the Third,' but that the refusal of the author to alter the third act induced him to give up the intention of setting this subject. It is but fair to Mr. Planché to state that in his 'Recollections' he distinctly denies having refused to make the alterations vaguely suggested by the composer. Mr. Planché states that he was bound by his agreement with the publisher, Mr. Chappell, to make alterations to any reasonable extent previous to the first performance of the opera. The correspondence on the knotty point of dispute shows Mendelssohn's hesitation in selecting a libretto; he had at ne time the option of setting the "Tempest' of Shakspeare, which was announced to be produced at Her Majesty's Theatre, before Mendelssohn had the most remote notion of writing a note of the score. The Tempest' would have been peculiarly adapted to the temperament of Mendelssohn, and has certainly a more poetic plot than the Loreley' legend.

{

Cherubini died only in 1842 (March 15), too recently to form one of the resuscitated reputations. But the time may come when there will be a revival of his works and a re-action in his favour, more strongly pronounced than even the Schubertian revival. The recollection of his severity as Principal of the Paris Conservatoire, and of the bitter opinions he expressed about his contemporaries, and even his most favoured pupils, has influenced the judgments of his many biographers in Italy, Germany, and France; but the information thus conveyed has not been afforded by a connected and well-digested narrative of his career. It is principally in dictionaries, periodicals, and pamphlets that notices have been supplied of his productions. Mr. Bellasis's object, therefore, as he states, in publishing the Memoir of Cherubini, has been to bring together the facts of his life, and to quote criticisms from various sources in many countries that have been passed upon the composer's numerous compositions. More than thirty authorities have been consulted by the author, who quotes fairly from the writings he has perused, perhaps too profusely, for repetitions are frequent; and we should have preferred an independent opinion from Mr. Bellasis to the adverse remarks of writers who had perhaps been stung by some repartee or epigram of the caustic Cherubini. The composer was not, however, so cynical as was generally supposed. He was essentially a farceur; and when he was uttering some bitter joke, a close observer of his austere physiognomy could detect a twinkling of the eye and a peculiar play of the mouth, which indicated that it was the privileged jester, and not the ill-natured musician, who was seemingly so severe. He had certainly the courage of his opinions, as might be expected from the Professor who dared to brave the anger of the first Napoleon. Cherubini's independence and spirit were throughout his long life the finest attributes of his character. And, despite his sneers and his sarcasms at the studies of the pupils of the Conservatoire which came under his notice, how many kind and noble acts he is known to have done towards some of those very students, who conceived that Cherubini was their enemy.

Dr. Hiller's volume is dedicated to the Queen, and from the words of the Dedication we suspect that he had in mind the address of an English amateur at the banquet on the Rhine during the last Beethoven Festival at Bonn, in which he claimed credit for the appreciation and hospitality shown by this country to German composers, for our adoption of Handel, and the reception given here to the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Italian by birth (he was born at Florence,

September 14, 1760, and died in Paris), he made his name in Italy, Germany, and France at an early age, and at a period when Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven were his contemporaries. He visited this country twice. Six Nocturnes by him were printed here in 1786; but two years previously he was present at the Handel Commemoration, in July, 1784. He brought out, at the Haymarket Opera-house, 'La Finta Principessa' in 1784, and 'Giulio Sabino' in 1786, the libretto of the latter by Metastasio. Although the former met with success, the latter was a failure, owing to the deficiencies of the singers, according to Dr. Burney; but Mr. Bellasis has not pointed out the results of the discouraging reception of the 'Giulio Sabino.' It is probable that Cherubini would have fixed his permanent residence here had the work succeeded. Instead of doing so, he left London in disgust and settled in Paris, where he was at once lionized. He was here for the last time in 1787. His 'Démophon,' however, which he produced in Paris in the following year, was no success. The overture has been played in England-if Mr. Bellasis will inquire he will find this to be the case.

We have recently noticed the prominent points of Cherubini's career. He was the pupil of Sarti, and his style was, in the first instance, based on that of his master -it was, in fact, the Italian mode of the epoch as illustrated by Paesiello, Cimarosa, Sacchini, Salieri, Piccinni, &c. Cherubini was afterwards influenced by the forms of Gluck, and still later by those of Mozart, but in

Medea' Cherubini is himself-alone in his glory, in his grandeur, in his sublimity. In the 'Deux Journées,' again, Cherubini's individuality is decided. Mendelssohn's admiration of this opera was unbounded. Despite its success at continental opera-houses, the Italian adaptation at Drury Lane, with Sir Michael Costa's masterly setting of the spoken French dialogue, was permitted by Mr. Mapleson to be a failure, because there happened to be a thin house at the first performance, and, despite the enthusiastic reception of the work, it was at once withdrawn-a most unprecedented course. Mendelssohn, referring to the score of the Abencérages,' one of the last operas of Cherubini, in a letter to Moscheles, writes in rapturous terms of its fire, its delicacy, its refinement, its boldness, and its spirit. Mendelssohn went so far as to insist that Beethoven, in his 'Fidelio,' imitated Cherubini's dramatic style-not servilely, but adopting it as a model. Spohr, who was difficult to please, has also recorded his appreciation of the principal effects achieved by Cherubini, His instrumental pieces, so far as regards his overtures, have maintained their position in the concert répertoire, thanks to the Philharmonic Society, and to the Directors of the Crystal Palace concerts. He composed a symphony for the former institution, which ought to be more frequently performed than it has been. M. Sainton, some years since, filled the admirers of chamber compositions with surprise and admiration by having Cherubini's quartets executed. Amateurs can also remember the sensation excited at the second concert of the New Philharmonic Society in 1853 by the production of Cherubini's Requiem, under the direction of the late Lindpaintner of Stuttgart. The 'Memorials' of Mr. Bellasis may have the

effect of bringing about one of those "revivals" which are in vogue at present, and a Cherubini programme exclusively at a Crystal Palace or Philharmonic Concert would show the con

noisseurs of the period that they ought to attach as much value to the works of the Italian composer as Beethoven and other great authorities have done in former days. Mr. Bellasis has been a most industrious and indefatigable compiler, and, if only for his Chronological Catalogue of Cherubini's works, his volume would be valuable, and ought to be in every musical library. The numbers enumerated extend to 430 works, of which, however, only about eighty have been published. Of these the most familiar are his masses, overtures, and instrumental quartets.

Dr. Ludwig Nohl, the able author of Beethoven's Life, has published, in Vienna, a volume on Art progress during the present century. It consists of a reprint of various lectures and essays, a report of the "Liszt Jubiläum in Pest," correspondence during musical trips, &c. Herr Nohl gives a rapid sketch of the present condition and future prospects of sacred music. His heroes are Beethoven, Liszt, and Wagner. He gives us much ingenious speculation, no little dreaming, and a fair quantum of information and instruction in the volume, which must be read and judged from the German point of view. At the same time, with due deference to Dr. Nohl in 1874, we must confess our preference for the remarkable series of papers from the pen of Dr. Gauntlett, published so far back as 1836 -the 'Characteristics of Beethoven.' Dr. Gauntlett was the first writer in this country who discovered and analyzed the artistic attributes of the mastermind, from whose advent the expansion of orchestral boundaries and the resources of Art must be dated.

Musical Gossip.

THE ascendency of the British ballad was shown in the two programmes of the holiday concerts last Monday, at the Crystal Palace, and at the Royal Albert Hall. At Sydenham the solo singers were Madame Ida Gillies Corri, Miss Anna Williams, Mr. E. Lloyd, Mr. Carleton, and Signor Foli. At Kensington the vocalists were Madame Lemmens-Sherrington, Miss E. Wynne, Miss H. D'Alton, Mr. Sims Reeves, and Mr. Lewis Thomas. The audiences were most determined in exacting encores. The united bands of the Grenadiers and Coldstream were in full force at the Albert Hall; whilst the orchestra of Herr Manns, the curious but monotonous performance of the Mountaineers of the Apennines, who play on terra-cotta instruments-scores from stones, the singing of the Cecilian Choir, and the organ-playing of Mr. James Coward, were added to other entertainments at the Glass Palace.

THE operas in English this week at the Crystal Palace were Meyerbeer's 'Dinorah' on Tuesday, and Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' on Thursday.

THE value of such an instructor as M. Jolly in the stage business of opéra-bouffe was proved last Saturday, at the opening performance at the Lyceum Theatre of M. Offenbach's 'Grand Duchess.' If we make every allowance for the deficiency in the cast of the representatives of Wanda and the Maids of Honour, we may say the ensemble was the best yet heard here of modern French parody-a term which is to be distinguished from burlesque, for it must not be forgotten that the composer aimed principally at a caricature of French Grand Opera and of Italian Opera. Miss Emily Soldene, who might have been made a superior prima donna, had she pursued her studies in the erious school of the lyric drama, has sufficient

sensibility and style to rouse the sympathy of her hearers when she does not force her high notes, and when she emits some rich contralto ones. She was the Grand Duchess. Her colleague, Mr. Beverley, cleverly depicted the mingled stupidity and cunas Fritz, if not a Dupuis or Mario Widmer, ning of the soldier. The actors who enacted General Boom (Mr. E. Rosenthal), the Barons Puck (Mr. E. Marshall) and Grog (Mr. Norton), and Nepomuc (Mr. Wallace), were inclined to exaggerate the situations, which are extravagant and of singing too, was the Prince Paul of Mr. of themselves. But the steadiest piece of acting, Stoyle, a realization well-conceived and ably carried out of a part made famous by M. Grenier when the work was first produced in Paris, and which was capitally performed here last year at the St. James's Theatre by M. Jolly.

15th of November, 1,000l. to be paid on the delivery of each act.

IT is through the Revue et Gazette Musicale of Paris we learn that on the 3rd of September a new three-act comic opera will be produced at the Alhambra, called, "provisionally," "La Femme de Satan,' the words "after Byron," by MM. Leterrier and Vanloo, the music by M. Jacobi, the conductor of the Leicester Square Theatre.

ALTHOUGH the subvention of 100,000 francs

for the Théâtre Lyrique has been voted by the National Assembly, as we stated last week, the locality is not yet settled. M. Bagier, ex-director of the Théâtre Italien, has sent in a request to the Minister of Fine Arts to have this grant on the condition of continuing Italian Opera at the Salle Ventadour for 50 nights, and for French national THE run of 'Giroflé-Girofla' at the Strand Opéra opera for 250 representations, the former from Comique will terminate this evening (the 8th January to May, and the latter from September to June. The first new work to be produced at inst.), and M. Humbert's troupe will return to Brussels to the Fantaisies Parisiennes. The Eng-Jeanne d'Arc of M. Mermet. the Grand Opera house in 1875 will be the lish adaptation of M. Lecocq's comic opera will be produced at the Islington Philharmonic Theatre next month, under the direction of M. Rivière, who is named Musical Director and Conductor. The cast at the Renaissance, in Paris, will include Mdlle. Granier, Giroflé - Girofla; La Marquise, Madame Alphonsime; Marasquin, M. Puget; Mursouk, M. Vauthier; and Bolero, M. Pradeau.

be commenced this evening (Saturday), with M. THE Covent Garden Promenade Concerts will Hervé as Musical Director, who is to be "assisted as conductor by Sir Julius Benedict "on special occasions," according to the programme; by G. H. Betjemann, the chef d'attaque; and by Herr Héler Bela, the Hungarian composer from Wiesbaden,

who is to conduct the dance music. The vocalists

already engaged are Mdlle. Benati, from Russia and Austria; Mdlle. Bianchi, of the Royal Italian Opera; Mesdames Lemmens, Rose Hersee, and Edna Hall; Signori Foli, Celli, and G. Garcia; Mr. N. Varley and Mr. Pearson, tenors; Mr. Lewis Thomas, bass; and Mr. Carleton, baritone. The solo instrumentalists mentioned are M. Wieniawski, Mr. Viotti Collins, Master W. Hesse, and Mdlle. Liebe (violin); Mr. Charles Halle, Mdlle. Sturmfels, and Miss Goodwin (piano); Mr. E. Howell, M. Paque, and M. Van Biene (violoncello); Mr. Tyler and Mr. Lazarus (clarionet); Mr. Winterbottom and Mr. Wootton (bassoon); Mr. Howell bottom and Mr. Wootton (bassoon); Mr. Howell (double- bass); Mr. John Thomas (harp); Mr. Levy (cornet-à-pistons); Mr. Harvey (trombone); Mr. J. H. Young (flute); Mr. C. Harper (horn); of note are specified in the Prospectus, but as the and Mr. Pittman (organ). Several other artists negotiations are only pending, we do not deem it right to quote the names.

OPERATIC marriages are the fashion. The example of Madame Sinico and Signor Campobello (Mr. Campbell) has been promptly followed by two other artists of Her Majesty's Opera, namely, Mdlle. Marie Roze (or Marie Ponsin rightly) and Signor Giulio Perkins (Mr. Perkins, the American bass), both of the Drury Lane Italian Opera troupe. A London Correspondent of the New York Arcadian states that Mdlle. Albani (Mdlle. Lajeunesse), of the Royal Italian Opera, is to be married to a son of the Impresario, Mr. Gye.

Ir it be true that Madame la Baronne Vigier, of Nice, once known as Fräulein Sophie Cruvelli, the

prima donna of Her Majesty's Theatre and the Grand Opéra in Paris, has received the Golden Rose this year from the Pope, an honour hitherto confined to royal personages, perhaps after thus recognizing one of the Queens of Song His Holiness may go so far as to comply with the request so strongly urged by Rossini, and withdraw the prohibition against the voices of females being

heard in the choirs at church services.

THE Paris papers state that the sum of 3,000l. has been deposited at a banking-house as the price of a three-act opera to be composed by M. Offenbach for some theatre in London, which is not mentioned. The libretto is by au English author, and the score is to be completed by the

AT the General Assembly of German Musicians in Halle, during the last days of July, the Requiem' of Berlioz, the Faust' of Dr. Liszt, a new cantata by Herr Brahms, 'Rinaldo,' a Pianoforte Concerto by Herr Raff (Madame Erdmannsdörfer performer), a Violin Concerto by Herr A. Dietrich, played by Herr Lauterbach, and a Sonata for piano and violoncello, by M. Saint-Saëns (Herren Hess and Grützmacher), were executed.

DRAMA

THE WEEK. HAYMARKET.-'A Madcap Prince,' a Comedy, in Three Acts. By Robert Buchanan.

A CUSTOM established by Mr. Buckstone, of producing a new play for his benefit, on the last night of the season, has once more been followed at the Haymarket. There seems every probability, judging from the acclamations of the audience, that the play with which one season closes will, as heretofore, serve for the re-opening of another. In spite, however, of the cheers which attended 'A Madcap Prince,' the work has no dramatic fibre, and little literary merit. It will prove, it is to be feared, but an insecure prop for a house against which the tide of ill fortune has of late been beating. 'A Madcap Prince' resembles, indeed, less a comedy than a drawing-room charade. Two acts, thoroughly conventional in idea and treatment, lead up to a third, in which there is some freshness and interest. The admirable acting this crowning act receives gives the whole a hold upon the public stronger than its intrinsic merits seem

to warrant.

The machinery of disguises, secret panels, and the like, once so useful to the dramatist, died with the comedy of Scribe. All the genius of Dumas could not bring back the belief of the public in these old-fangled inventions. 'Angelo' even, the work of a man of genius still more dramatic, failed chiefly to interest the public so much as 'Hernani' or Marion Delorme' on account of the employ

ment of such devices. In the case of Charles the Second this machinery has, at least, the recommendation of probability. After the defeat at Worcester, Charles knew, most probably, the inside of more than one of those secret chambers which old families established to shelter the priest or the Jesuit. treatment of this subject in 'Woodstock' seems, however, exhaustive, since no subsequent writer, Mr. Buchanan included, has done more than follow in his footsteps. So

Scott's

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WILLIAM J. VIAN, Secretary.

H.J. NICOLL, Merchant Clothier to the Queen,

the Royal Family, and the Courts of Europe, ARMY, NAVY, and OIVIL OUTFITTER, 114, 116, 118, 120, Regent-street, and 22, Cornhill, London; 10, Mosley-street. Manchester; 50, Bold-street, Liverpool; and 39, New-street, Birmingham.

FOR GENTLEMEN.-H. J. NICOLL'S Travel

ling, Tourist, Cruising, and Shooting Suits, from Three Guineas. Waterproof Tweed Overcoats, with Registered Pockets, 208. and 218.; in Melton Cloths, 428.

BOYS.-H. J. NICOLL'S Sea-side Novelties

FOR BOYS DH Washing Suits of Regatta Cloth, from

Knickerbocker 108. 6d.; of Serge and Drill materials, from 158. 6d. and Play Suits, in Autumn Angola Cloths, from 21s. Light Tweed Overcoats, from 148.; ditto Melton, from $18.

nation of the Work, by W. H. OVERALL, Esq. F.S.A. FOR LADIES.-H. J. NICOLL'S superior Riding

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
From the Saturday Review.

"Nothing can say more for the exceeding interest attaching to this fac-simile than the fact that we have filled our allotted space without having got beyond the foreground of the picture, and every square inch of what remains would have afforded equal matter for illustration and comment. The reproduction has been effected most successfully. The attendant letter-press is clear and to the point, and the whole is presented in a handy and attractive form. No moderately good library should be without it."

From the Times.

"OLD LONDON.-Messrs. Adams & Francis have just published a very curious and interesting survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of Southwark and parts adjacent, which is attributed to Ralph Agas, and of which only two original copies are now known to exist. It is a survey of London, &c., in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and has, by permission of the Corporation, been reproduced in fac-simile, by Edward J. Francis, from the copy preserved in the Library at Guildhall."

With Lists of Prices, and Plans of the Thirty large Show Rooms, at 39, Oxford-steet, W.; 1, 1A, 2, 3, and 4, Newman-street; 4, 5, and 6, Perry's-place; and 1, Newman-yard, London, W.

The cost of delivering Goods to the most distant parts of the United Kingdom by Railway is trifling. WILLIAM S. BURTON will always undertake delivery at a small fixed rate.

FURNISH your HOUSE or APARTMENTS

THROUGHOUT on MOEDER'S HIRE SYSTEM. Cash prices; no extra charges. Large useful Stock to select from. All goods warranted. Illustrated Priced Catalogue, with Terms, post free. 249 and 250, Tottenham Court-road. Established 1862.

OSLER

SLER'S CRYSTAL GLASS CHANDELIERS.
TABLE GLASS of all kinds.
CHANDELIERS in Bronze and Ormolu.
MODERATOR LAMPS and LAMPS for INDIA.
LONDON-Show-rooms, 45, Oxford-street, W.
BIRMINGHAM-Manufactory and Show-rooms, Broad-street.
DECORATIONS.

"OLD LONDON as VISIBLE in MAPS. One of the WOOD TAPESTRY

earliest, may be the very earliest record of past London, dates about 1547, and is not a plan or map, but a view, and the next is the bird's-eye plan and view, which may be seen in the City of London Library, done in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It dates about the year 1560, as near as may be, and really and truly takes the spectator into the very city itself, and into its quaint and picturesque streets and highways and byeways. It is not in any sense an imaginative production, but a picture of reality as it once was, quite as literal and truthful as anything Hollar ever produced. All the main thoroughfares are shown, and with their names clearly written on them, so that there can be no sort of mistake. There is of course the river Thames, plain enough, with the Queen's state-barge and its following, And then there and the Fleet Ditch, and other water-courses. is what would be called now-a-days the strangest sight of allold London Bridge with its row of timber-built houses on either side of it. A capital perspective of this strange street of houses is given on this map, and it shows more than all else how far off we now are from it and from things as they had existence in that strange and quaint time. . Such should study well this map, so carefully copied and reproduced in fac-simile, that all may see it who care to do so."

ADAMS & FRANCIS, 59, Fleet-street, E.C.

PRESENTATION

Sold by all Stationers throughout the World.

HUBB'S NEW PATENT SAFES, steel-plated Prices, with 130 Illustrations, of all sizes and qualities, of Chubb's Safes, Strong-room Doors, and Locks, sent free by CHUBB & SON, 57, St. Paul's Churchyard, London.

HONEYCOMB SPONGES.-These Sponges are

well adapted for the Bath, and are preferred by many to the finer kind; they are very much lower in price than the fine Smyrna ones. METCALFE, BINGLEY & Co., 181 B. Oxford-street, W.. Toilet Brushmakers (by appointment) to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. THE USE OF GLENFIELD ALWAYS SECURES

THE DELIGHT OF THE LAUNDRESS, THE ADMIRATION OF THE BEHOLDER, AND THE COMFORT OF THE WEARER. SOAP.-PIESSE & LUBIN,

COLD CREAM, Sow Bond street. This SOAP being pre

pared without alkali renders it exceedingly mild; it can be used for the face with great advantage, as it does not make the skin shine like the old-fashioned soaps. Packets, 18. and 28. Cold Cream of Roses fresh daily, in jars, 18. each.

OPOPONAX, the Flower King.-"Sweet issue of

a more sweet-smelling sire."-Shakespeare. Price 2s. 6d. Nome genuine but by PIESSE & LUBIN, 2, Bond-street, London.

OYAL ALBERT INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF FOREIGN WINES. The various Types of Ports and Sherries, in Butts and Pipes, exhibited by me in No. 5 Vault, at the Royal Albert Hall, are Shipped direct from the Lodges of Messrs. SILVA & COSENS, Villa Nova (Oporto), and from the Bodegas of F. W. COSENS, Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz), and can be Tasted by any Gentleman giving his Card to the Attendant. Half-Pint Samples can be taken away on Payment. HENRY HOLL, 18A, Basinghall-street, E.C.

E. LAZENBY & SON, Sole Proprietors of the celebrated Receipts, and Manufarers of the PICKLES, SAUCES, and CONDIMENTS, so long and a vourably distinguished by their name, are compelled to CAUTION he Public against the inferior preparations which are put up and elled in close imitation of their goods, with a view to mislead the public.-92, WIGMORE-STREET, Cavendish-square (late 6, Edwards-street, Portman-square); and 18, Trinity-street, London.

HARVEY'S SAUCE-CAUTION.-The

admirers of this celebrated Sauce are particularly requested to observe that each Bottle, prepared by E. LAZENBY & SON, bears the label used so many years, signed "Elisabeth Lasenby."

HAIR RESTORER.-Large Bottles, 18. 6d. each.

LOCKYER'S SULPHUR HAIR RESTORER (Pepper's Preparation) will restore in a few days Grey or prematurely Light Hair to Its original Colour with perfect safety and completeness.-Sold by all Chemists; and J. PEPPER, 37, Tottenham-court-road, whose Name and Address must be on the Label, or it is not genuine.

HEALTH, STRENGTH, and ENERGY.

PEPPER'S QUININE and IRON TONIC strengthens the Nerves, enriches the Blood, promotes Appetite, and thoroughly restores Health. Bottles, 4s. 6d., 118., and 228.; carriage free, 66 stamps. -J. PEPPER, 237, Tottenham-court-road, London, and all Chemists.

The best remedy for ACIDITY of the STOMACH, HEARTBURN, HEADACHE, GOUT, and INDIGESTION; and the best mild aperient for Delicate Constitutions; especially adapted for LADIES, CHILDREN, and INFANTS.

DINNEFORD & CO. 172, New Bond-street, London:
and of all Chemists throughout the World.