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•N o. 449, October 30,1858.1 THE LEADER....
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. New Fink-Aut Sooietv.—We are glad to b...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Theatres Atsd Public Enter-. ¦ ' Tainmen...
assisted at the opening of Messrs . Phelps and Greenwood ' s season , and the re-revival of Shakspeare s King Henryjhe Fifth ; and we are bound . to add that the management have . ne ' er a jot abated the title to high renown for thorough dramatic completeness which their long exertions have extorted for them from the public . The principal parts were cast as follows : — King Henry V . Mr . Phelps Fluellen Mr . Frederick Robmson Jfym Mr . C . Fenton Xardolph ... Mr . Williams jpistol Mr . Charles Young Williams Mr . J . W . Ray Dame Quickly . Mrs . H . Marston Katharine Miss Grace Egerton while Mr . Henry Marston , as chorus , in the guise of •* ' Old Time , " posed with much dignity amid his traditionary emblems in a gothic niche , most appropriately delivered his commentary and coupled up the story , after the manner of the ancients . As Henry the Fifth , we may briefly say , and that , too , after reflection , that Mr . Phelps was " every inch a King , " , except in apparent age ( a defect for which a remedy might be suggested without difficulty ) , the King of the play . He brought before his audience all the noble , brave , impulsive , and affectionate nature wherewith the poet meant to clothe the monarch who had thrown away , on the throne ' s steps , all the scurf of levity and debauchery that had befouled the Prince Hal . We remember—and , indeed , we shall seek none—no better illustration of what was the chivalry of old than that furnished by Mr . Phelps in his interpretatibri of Benry V . Not in support of this position , which may -only be maintained or disputed by such as will loyally ¦ w atch the actor and the play , from his first appearance on the stage to the fall of the curtain , but as a most choice specimen of his elocutionary power , we must refer to the King ' s soliloquy ; which ends the singular quasi-political discussion with Williams in the camp scene of the fourth act : — Upon the king ! let us our lives , our souls , Our debts , our careful wives , our children , and Our sins , lay on the king . Passion and declamation , again , often make a most unholy alliance ; but in the celebrated address to- ' cousin . Westmoreland , " the actor is great and inspiring ; he is such a leader as all would love to follow , and such a one that the success of his handful of invalids in the ensuing battle against the ¦ whole chivalry of Charles VI . is foreseen . In the love scene with Katharine , the dignity of the king , the simplicity of the wooer , and the conqueror ' s sense of his laughable position , with the ho nesty that could not bear to be misunderstood in the matter , were as finely combined and shaded by the artist as by the dramatist . Of the less prominent characters , who are as the sands of the sea in number , we have little to say beyond that all were satisfactory in their parts . Of those mentioned above , Mr . Robinson makes a very gentlemanlike and pleasant Fluellen ; of his Welsh we confess ourselves incompetent to speak . Mrs . Marston has in Dame Quickly but slight field for her genius . Mr . Kay was judiciously sententious and John Bullish as the soldier Williams , and the comicality of the late General Falstaff ' s three retainers was too heavy for the three gentlemen named to be really successful in . The costume of the play was admirably got up and the scenery very beautiful . The view of Southampton harbour , the landscapes of the camp and battle-fields , were superior works of scenic art , and the splendid panorama of the siege of Harfleur merits all the praise wo could bestow on it as a work of elaborate mechanism as well as a pictorial illusion . KOYAL STRAND THEATRE . —Good houses continue to endorse our oft-repeated verdict of approval of the entertainments offered by Miss Swan borough to her patrons . The Last of the Pigtails , now worn a little threadbare , fills up well enough the interval between the first and second pieces ; but the Bonnie Fishwife is as attractive as ever , and Mr . JByron ' e Maid and the Magpie , which runs perfectly smooth , is beginning to be admired as it Deserves . We have already said so much about the varied excellencies of this burlosquo and its performance that wo will not risk our readers' fatigue by a recapitulation , but content ourselves with general praise of the piece , the performers , the stage management , and of those important and often neglected requisites to the successor such works , the music and singing . MONS . JULLIEN'S CONCERTS . —We have received an elegant official programme jtrMitninaire of M . Jullien ' s arrangements for the forthcoming series of Concerts at tho Lyceum Theatre , to which we have already more than onco alluded in in our columns . It would appear that after duo consideration of tho limited area at hid diunosal , our versatile conductor has turned his attention rather to tho Illustration of several high-class works in a stylo of perfect finish' than to tho elaboration of musical " sound and fury . " Herein , wo think , ho
is as well advised as he was when in his earlier days i he wielded his enchanter ' s wand to gather the British ; public into a circle where quadrilles and waltzes were i the pieces de resistance . ¦ Musical people though we may be , it must be owne d that ten years ago the Symphonies of Beethoven and Mozart , and other classical compositions , were no acceptable pabulum to the public at largo . Strong meat is not for babes ; and we were indeed ungenerous did we omit M . Jullien from the list of those who have materially helped to strengthen the national stomach . He may now reckon on an attentive and—he must not forget this—a discriminating audience for the works of Mendelssohn and of Beethoven , where , in the days we speak of , he could have expected only empty benches or well-bred tolerance . He now , he tells us , proposes to consolidate an orchestra d"elite and , "thus making up for quantity by quality ( N . I 3 . this is hardly fair to the capabilities of his former bands ) , to aim at the realisation of the dream of Beethoven , who said , ' Mon reve du beau pour l ' execution de mes symphonies e ' est un orchestre de soixante . ' " Since M . Jullien and his nuniberless imitators and competitors have created an immense demand for executive talent , there is no doubt that , though the theatres and many other musical establishments will be in full swing this winter , there will still be a fine orchestra at the command of the popular cheif . He has already made ure of some eminent talent . Miss Vinning will commence the season , and will be followed by Mesdames Rudersdorff , Stabbach , Enderssohn , and Madlle . Jetty Treffz . The " Choral Symphony" of Beethoven , Mendelssohn ' s " Xobgesang , " and the " Fuga Fugarum" of Gregory I . are among the compositions of pretension promised , as well as several lighter novelties , and a grand march , introducing the national hymns of every country under the sun , and descriptive of the convocation and assembly of the Universal Congress of International Harmony . CRYSTAL PALACE . — Balaklava Festival . —A large number of iJersons , as we ventured in our last number to predict , assembled at the Palace oil Monday last to" assist at the commemoration of the _ death-ride at Balaklava . Not less than 1500 decorated Crimeans , who had availed themselves of the Company ' s invitation , formed , we need hardly s " ay , the chief attraction , and the bands of the Scots Fusiliers , the Grenadiers , and the Coldstreams , led respectively by Messrs . Boose , D . Godfrey , and C . Godfrey , joined that of the Crystal Palace Company in delighting the visitors . The intervals were filled up by Highland reels , sword , dancing , and pibroch playing , and the last display for the season of the whole sj'Steni of waterworks took place about three p . m .. The most inspiring feature of the programme was the performance of the following selection- by the united bands : — 1 . " The Coronation , " March Meyerbeer . 2 . Overture " The Camp" Lindpaintner . 3 . Quadrille " Alliance" Manns . 4 . Selection " William Tell" Rossini . 5 . " Annie Laurie , " March CavallinL C . " Rule Britannia , " " Partant pour la Syne , " " God Save the Queen . " The superb effect of this ensemble , and the enthusiasm with which it was received , fully justify our often recorded impression that the Crystal Palace is well adapted for military music , and that stringed orchestras of any moderate dimensions are thrown away in its vast reverberating area . Tho assemblage of nearly fifteen thousand persons to hear three brass bands shows clearly enough that the public have formed the same opinion , and will no doubt encourage Mr . Bowloy to provide the same class of i entertainment next season , without misgiving as to i its remuuerativenesa . We must not omit a notice ' of tho Balaklava trophy , constructed out of various i fino-art properties belonging to the company , under < tho direction of Mr . Hayes , of tho Arts dopartiiiont . i It consists of a columnar shaft forty feet in height , I standing on a base from four to five yards square . « It is flanked by casts from the four " Victory" < statues of Rauch in the Walhalla , enriched with tho s colours of tho Allies and captured Russian ordnance , 1 and surmounted by a figure of Victory . i SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM . —Amongst ' objects of Art recently lent to this Museum is a i beautiful series of crystal vases , cups , and . spoons , i & c , mounted in enamelled gold and jewels , belong- i ing to the Marquis of Salisbury , and by him deposited < there . They wore contained in a silver-mounted < case which was found at Hatfleld , aoriio years ago , i in a chest under a bed . Judging from the case , which is , howovor , of a later workmanship , thoy appear to i have come from Spain ; not improbably a trophy of ] war in Queen Elizabeth ' s reign . Togothor with thoBe ; ia a pair of silk stockings , the first made in England , ' , and prosonteil to Quvuu Elizabeth ; these also came . from , Hatfluld .. Dr . Bishop has also lent for exhibition a very beautiful baa-roliof of Italian Art of tho four- i teonth century , a Virgin and Child slightly coloured and gilt , supposed to bo tho work of Giotto . Both i have boon placed iu the division of Ornamental Arta j
Photographic Visitino Cards .- —We are often annoyed by people ' s reluctance to "leave their names . " Like others , we are subject * in our private as well as in our public capacity , to visitors , and once or twice a week we are driven into a fever of excitement by our laundress ' s' announcement of " Please , sir , a gentleman ' s—or , worse still—that gentleman's been : but he wouldn't leave his name . " Not he : our enemy—for a bitter one he is—knows too well the disagreeable sense that crawls over one who has nameless visitors , to put us out of our mis ery by coming when we are at home , or by dropping his incognito . He must positively watch us off our premises , and then make his pestilent calls . Entreaties are in vain—eye of laundress aforesaid never retains his image—she don't know that she ever saw him before—she wouldn ' t know him again—she didn't " partickler" notice his height . Noneofour familiar friends ever own to having met him on the staircase . He never left a letter , a card , or a message : but he said always " it was no matter . " " Mysterious being , be manifest , " we are apt to cry in our desperation . "Do thine office . Present thy long-forgotten unpaid bill . Demand . calls upon our scrip in dead companies , arrears of income-tax , or surcherge in respect of unenumerated Dog Tray when we lived in the country three years ago . Ply the craft of the detective upon us . Investigate us about the last runaway match we abetted , or about the anonymous letters that have scandalised the neighbourhood , but for Heaven ' s sake , fiend of the door-mat , have a name ! For thou hast one , perchance , tormentor . But what a name it must be that thou art so chary of it . It may be , being Paul , Redpath , or Archer , thou art not sweet upon it ; or as Snook , Pook , or Snodgrass , thou abominatest it . It may be De Roppell , or Plantagenet , that thou wouldst not have it noised abroad that thou art of our acquaintance . But whoever tliou art- —whatever be thy business , for pity ' s sake , say thou art somebody . If thou wilt but say Smith or Jones , there is a possibility we may arrive by the exhaustive process at the fact that thou art a stranger ; but pray ^ pray never again say , " it's no matter . * ' We have a suggestion to offer to such as so afflict their friends . We invite their attention to the photographic portrait cards which Herbert Watkins , of Regentstreet , contrives somehow to multiply , ad infinitum , and Which Mr . Marion , of the Papeterie shop in Regent-street also , is able to sell at the ridiculous price of a guinea and a half for a hundred . Of these portrait cards again , other interesting applications must occur to every one . How much waste , curiosity , and suspense we should be saved if , instead of the usual pasty-faced intimation that our familiar friends had dropped out of our orbit into matrimony , they would send us on a plain card the likeness of the happy pair , oiv—all we should be curious about—of the happy fair . How easy , again , are they of enclosure to friends abroad ; how ready a way d o they offer of exchanging Vows between parted lover s , of chiding neglect , preferring humble suit , prettily asking forgiveness ; how sweetly , last of all , by their help , may tho relatives of the departed pay vicariously the last call of all ! We have been so much struck by the evident suitability of photographic portraiture to birth , marriage , and death announcements , that even at the risk of prolixity we have not been able to refrain from helping —though tho talented artist stands far above the need of our tiny aid—to make public what we may almost dignify with the title of an invention .
•N O. 449, October 30,1858.1 The Leader....
• N o . 449 , October 30 , 1858 . 1 THE LEADER . 1159
. New Fink-Aut Sooietv.—We Are Glad To B...
. New Fink-Aut Sooietv . —We are glad to be enabled to announce tho formation , under high and influential auspices , of a " Society fur the Encouragement of tho Fine Arts . " The programme will , we believe , be issued in the course of a few days ; meantime we may say a few words concerning the objocts of tho society , which include tho following : —To create a true sympathy between artists and those to whom thoy minister , and to slcvute tho aspirations of both in tho mutual relations so astabllshcd ; towards this end to attempt tho diffusion of 3 Qund principles of art and criticism amongst the public by means of lectures , discussions , and classes for atudy , illustrated by important examples selected from the works of eminent in as tors of all schools ; to award unnually prizes , medals of honour , and other testimonials to tho producers of works in painting , sculpture , architecture , music , and poetry , Such worka having boon produced in public within tho twelvemonth preceding the distribution ; conversaziones to bo hold monthly during tho season , to which ladies will bo admitted ; two exhibitions of paintings , sculpture , &« ., in onou year—one of ancient the othor of modurn art—to bo opon froo to tho public on certuin days of tho wcqIc , and curtain days on payment ; a permanent exhibition of e » tfravintfHi « n < l a library ol rofuronco illtistrativu oi * tho »/ rlfl of dwthjn of nil ages ; tho osUbJishinout of provincial couWla , witK honorary secretaries , undor whoso nimploos will occasionally be hukl ' muotliitfrt and exhibitions , with distnbution ' of priKoa , In tholr iwpoutlvu loculittoa . Wo wish succusa to thl <* project , wliloli will uaofully occupy new ground . — Illustrated JLondon News .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 30, 1858, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_30101858/page/15/
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