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Leader (1850-1860), 17th August 1850, Edition Town of 1, Page 499, ^ L. (7A 1 ^ * v&JVil M,XXu * V

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      Untitled Article

      Foreign-office in Fans ; 1815-1829 , French Ambassador at the Frankfort Diet ; 1829-1830 , at Paris ; and from 1830-1832 we find him holding the office of French Ambassador at Dresden . The family of Reinhard was of German origin , and , although he was born in France , yet his mind was thoroughly German . His letters now before us prove it abundantly , and his frequent stays in Germany brought him in contact with German literature . The letters themselves are of a purely literary cast , and many of Goethe ' s letters—more particularly those that relate to his own works , such as the Wahlvertoandschqften , the Farbenlehre , Dichtung und Wahrheit —are interesting .

      The Present Age , or Truth-Seeker in Physical , Moral , and Social Philosophy for August . Honlston and Stoneraan . This magazine is utterly unlike any other published in its class of topics and independence of treatment . The article " Of Sincerity , " by January Searle , is an instance of both , and as remarkable for its recognitions . Mr . Hole ' s Lecture on the " Province of Society " will be read for its instruction and variety of treatment . " Selfpossession , " by "W . J . Lin ton , is another of those agreeable papers on the virtues which he contributes to the Present Age . Some notion of its character may be derived from a short extract : —

      • ' He is no true man who is not self-centered , who does not under all circumstances possess himself . * * * If another sway thee , if man or woman can influence thee , or sudden circumstances catch thee off thy guard , to what end are thy virtues' ! When some tyrant disallows thy honesty , ov with subtle flattery—no less tyrannous—cajoles thee ; when he sets thy noblemindedness to base uses , chafes and frets the gentleness , and bullies thy great valour to most impotent submission ? Believe , there are many such tyrants , men and circumstances , striding 1 in our high places , walking daily in our streets , about oar path , and about our bed , seeking whom they may devour , what noble spirit they may enthral and ruin . "

      Religions Mystery Considered . John Chapman . A slender but thoughtful volume , not professing to solve the problem , but simply to set forth some materials which may help the thinker to a solution . Its general scope may be defined as an exhibition of the bewilderment of Reason amidst the manifold contradictions that arise on every side , and the necessity of holding by some other anchorage than that of mere logic . To out minds there is something cheering and significant in the frequent manifestations of what one may call the new spirit of religious philosophy , which separates from the purely negative philosophy of the eighteenth century in its clear recognition of the fact that , the " Soul is larger than Logic , " and , consequently , that we have not reached finality , when , in Locke ' s homely phrase , we have come to the end of our tether .

      Latter - day Pamphlets . Edited by Thomas Carlyle . Chapman and Hall . "We have spoken so frequently of these as they appeared , that we need only now record the fact of their publication in one handsome volume . Letters to my Children on Church Subjects . By the Heverend William T . E . Bennett , M . A ., Perpetual C ' uraie of St . Paul's , Knightsbridge . 2 vols . Cleaver . These letters are the earnest appeals of a High Church clergyman to those whose spiritual welfare he may be supposed to have most nearly at heart , and they contain advice and exhortation upon those subjects which the

      author evidently considers the most important in their bearing on the present and future welfare of the younger members of his flock . Regarded from the author ' s point of view , and by such as sympathize with him , they will be esteemed for their strict adherence to Church principles , and their unfailing orthodoxy , while persons whose views of Christianity are more comprehensive and tolerant than those of Mr . Bennett will consider the work as an useful exposition of the opinions of the Tractarians on those points of doctrine and discipline which divide them from other parties of the Universal Church , and of a strict and uncompromising system of morality .

      Untitled Article

      Life , Poetry , and Letters of Ebenezer Elliott , the Corn-law Rhymer , with an Abstract of his Politics , liy his Son-in-law , John WatkiiiB . John Mortimer . The Working-classes of Great Britain : their Present Condition , and the means of Improvement and Elevation . Prize Essay . liy the Reverend Samuel G . Green , A . B . John Snow . Half Hours with the Best Authors . Part IV . C . Knight . Pictorial Half Hours . Part III . C . Knight . National Education not Necessarily Governmental , Sectarian , or Irreligious : shown in a Series of Papers read at the Meetinns of tite Lancashire Public School Association . C . Gilpin . The Phoenix Library : Extracts for Schools and Families in aid of Moral and Religious Training . Selected by J . M . Morgan . C . Gilpin .

      Ibid ,- The Revolt of the Beet . Fourth Edition . C . Gilpin . John Bull and Government Education . By George Sunter , Jun . Newcastle-on-Tyne . J . Barlow ^ Leaves from Sherwood Forest . By January Searle . C . Gilpin . Cholera and its Cures . An Historical Sketch . By J . Stevenson Buahnan , M . D . W . S . Orr . Penny Maps . Part I . Chapman and Hall . How to make Home Unhealthy . Iteprinted from the Examiner , Chapman and Hall . Les Deux Perroquels ; ouvrage Francais deslini d faciliter aux Anglais la Causeric vleaantc , la Lettre , et le Billet , Par Une Duine . D . Nutt . Religious Scepticism and Infidelity ; their History , Cause , Cure , and Alinsion . By John Alfred Langford . John Chapman . The Natural History of the Varieties of Man . liy Robert Gordon Latham , M . D . Van Voorst .

      Every Day Wonders ; or , Fads hi Physiology which all should know . Illustrated with Woodcuta . Van Voorst . Alton Locke , a Tailor and Poet . An Autobiography , in 2 vols . Chapman and Hall . vnmoDicALs fou august . The North British Jieview .

      Untitled Article

      m COUNTRY COUSINS AT THE OPERA . The Pythagoreans were the progenitors of our «• fashionable circles . '' The assertion astonishes you ? That shows how little the mysteries of Greek philosophy are treated of in the Times and Morning Post . Now listen , and " let no dog bark . " The Pythagoreans , like our upper classes ( an equally mystic race !) , considered music to be the highest form of education , a virtuous life was to them as a _ welltuned l yre ( with moderns an opera box ) cherishing the inward harmonies . Now , if the opera-box is the adytum of our social life , the mystic temple and

      sanctuary wherein are performed the great ceremonies ot our creed , we cannot keep too vigilant an eye upon the priests and their performances . Every profoundly serious mind will desire to penetrate beneath the shows and surfaces into the inner core and meaning of what is there transacted . In other words , a philosophic enquiry should be commenced . We commenced one on Thursday week by taking two Country Cousins to her Majesty ' s Theatre . Country Cousins : neither more nor less . They were our hierophants , They were the Champollion and Rosselini who could deeypher for us , as we thought , the hieroglyphic characters of operatic writing . The smile of incredulity we see stealing over your eyes

      ( politeness keeps your mouth , immoveable ) tells us how little you understand the true sources of judgment . Perhaps you think a few critics would have better served our purpose . Strange infatuation Why , we in our own small person carried a fortycritic power , and what would " all the press" avail us , even were their consciences lightened of opera boxes ? Our choice was perfect : one cousin , a rustic tota ll y unbiassed by critical errors , a naive and simple man whose talk was of oxen , and whose thoughts wandered amid cornfields and meadowlands ; the other a cultivated , travelled fanatico per la musica , with the exquisite privilege of living out of our London circles , and consequently untroubled by its jargon and prejudices . These let us christen for the nonce as Bullocks and Blanford . It was Carlotta ' s

      benefit , and the opera was La Sonnambula , with Sontag and Sims Reeves . While the orchestra was * ' tuning" we raised the expectation of Bullocks by informing him that Sontag was a countess and exambassadress , a f act which predisposed him to be enraptured with her , for B . has the true British love of aristocracy , and we observed a visible deference in his manner towards ourselves when we carelessly let fall the mention of our having dined with that ambassadress at the table of Lord Westmoreland in

      Berlin ( an anecdote which , secured our invitation for the shooting season !) Blanfohd remembered her twenty years ago , and assured Bullocks that she sang then like an angel . The curtain rose . Blanfokd winced at the chorus ; and here let us say once for all that the English tongue is too poor to express the super-superlative badness of those howling rebels Balfe wishes us to believe are under his direction . Except the riotous chorussings of beery haymakers wo know nothing equal to her Majesty's " gentlemen of the chorus . " Bullocks was at home there , and thought it " no mistake ;"

      but after he had worn the skin off his hands , and nearly dislocated his eyes with applauding and staring at the Countess on her first appearance , he soon sunk into a profound slumber . Blanfoud could have done the same . * ' Anything more dreary , feeble , expressionless than this , " he said , " I have not seen on an operatic stage . Sontag ' s ' Amina' is a triumph of mediocrity . That trick of warbling pianissimo which she is eternally repeating may not be a bad screen to conceal the ravages of time and the loss of her voice , but it is very wearisome—yet you sec the public applauds it ! The longdrawn A in alt is a sweet note ; but a little water and a finger * glass will produce a note quite as sweet and

      quite as expressive . Of course the public applaud Any trick succeeds . If she were to stand on her head the pit would shout * Brava ! ' and the papers next morning resound with her musical variety and intensity . You Londoners are strange people . No wonder there can be no art with such a public . Look at Sims Reeves . I heard him when he first appeared , and thought we were to have in him an English tenor : he was coarse , but he had a thrilling voice and abundant energy . Having been warned of his tendency to shout , he now rushes into the opposite extreme , and imagines , because Rubini whispered , he may whisper . But Rubini was a consummate singer ; his phrasing was so large and grand , his expression so delicate and refined , that one forgot that he wag coddling his voice * With Sims Reeyes the

      case iB precisely the reverse ; his voice is only agreeable when he throws it out , and his defective style as a singer needs the compensation of energy . Then , what a contemptible actor he is in this part I I used to fancy he would ripen into an actor . ' Edgardo was very , very superior to this . Observe him now who would imagine his soul was torn with jealousy and rage ? " Before we could reply to this tirade Bullocks awoke . It was the close of the first act , and , feebly as that dramatic finale was given , still the music had excitement enough to make our country cousin throw off some of the stupor which

      the dragging , whispering , and maudlin of the earlier parts had brought down upon him . As the curtain fea storm of applause summoned the two feeble artists to appear , and Buttocks quietly whispered , " Well , well , I dare say its all very fine ; but I ve heard Reeves sing The Bay o'Biscay , ' and I liked it a deal better . " During the second act Blanford kept up his running commentary of objection , pitiless towards the unmeaning delivery of Sontag , and the slackening of tempo and unmodulated whisperingsof Reeves , who did not produce an effect even with " All is lost now "—which can scarcely escape an

      encore . Bullocks slept . And we pondered on the effect of the opera upon an unsophisticated and a cultivated taste : one slept , the other reviled ! But the public ? Oh , the public applauded ; and the press next day assured us there never was such an " Amina" ( not far from the truth that !) , and that Reeves sang with his accustomed dramatic passion ! Reconcile this . Perhaps you will say that our country cousins were simply incompetent . Not so . They were fond of music ; one knew what music was ; accordingly , when the third act of Ernani

      came ( it was given as a makeweight ) , with Parodi , Gardoni , and Belletti , singing and acting in a true dramatic style , our cousins were delighted . Bullocks was not asleep then . We came home and pondered . The result of our excogitation was a wonderment at the power of the press in matters of art . Aided by some accidental circumstance—a coronet let us say—or " chastity "—or •« native talent , " ( things which predispose the public ) it can so puff an artist that the ignorant public shall be willing to believe it is affected , that it is enthusiastic , and that the tricks of an artist are the true manifestations of art .

      Untitled Article

      MADAME FIOBENTINI . On Tuesday we had a new prima donna , who boldly assumed the wreath and reaping-hook of " Norma" before that public which only last week saw the ** Norma" in all her magnificence . To compare Madame Fiorentini with Giulia Grisi would be as idle as to compare Scribe with Shakspeare : the difference is not one of degree but of kind . However , we know the quality of comparisons and forbear . Madame Fiorentini is a young and handsome woman , with a graceful carriage and fine arms ; her voice is a high soprano , clear ,

      ringing , but metallic , very even and very sweet , but with the incurable sin of being as it were separate from herself—an instrument slie jpfoys upon not the breathing melody of her own individuality . This peculiarity may be further illustrated in her acting : she does not play the part , she plays upon it ; she does not throw her emotions into " Norma , " she tries to produce effects , being herself unmoved . Thus in the grand trio with ' Adalgisa" and " Pollione" she sang with considerable spirit , but her face underwent none of the emotions of the situation , and at the close , throwing herself into a fine attitude , she began to pant , as if it had just occurred to her that a sign of inward agitation was necessary ! To prove how mechanical her acting , when this florid

      burst was encored she went through it precisely in the same manner , with the same gestures in the same places , raising and dropping her arms on the same words . This is what we mean by playing upon a part . Another instance of her unimpassioned style : when about to elay her children she has a sweet smile upon her face ! Handsome women may be forgiven if they wish to show their handsome teeth , and present a pleasing aspect to the omnibus box , but , although Richard may smile , and smile , and murder while he smiles , smiling matricide is scarcely acceptable ! These remarks will inform the reader that Fiorentini is no young Grisi ; but in the rank of Frezzolini she will be a valuable acquisition ; she has youth , beauty , grace , and voice . In comedy she may be altogether charming .

      Untitled Article

      THE TWO FARCES . The only novelties on our English boards which the week has produced are the Hippopotamus y in which Wright , as an Othello of private life , jealous of Paul Bedford , disguises himself as a vender of «? apples , oranges , ginger beer" ( bill o' the play not added ) , gives vent to some poor Adelphi fun ; and Without Incumbrances , in which Compton keeps the Strand theatre audience in a roar by hi » overpowered timidity , Because the season is flat managers make it flattei by not producing pieces of any attractive calibre . The Daughter of the Stars is the only novelty of pretension we have bad 8 in . ee Douglas Jerxold's comedy J

      ^ L. (7a 1 ^ * V&Jvil M,Xxu * V

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      Untitled Article

      The British Quarterly Review . Fraser ' s Magazine . The Rambler . Household Words . Peter Parley ' s New Monthly Journal . Tive Free-Thinkers' Magazine . JVovello's Part Song Book . JVovello ' s Oratorios . JVovello ' s Masses . The Musical Times .

      Untitled Article

      Aug . 17 , 1850 . ] © f > * 3 Ltf ** & **? 409

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 17, 1850, page 499, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1850/page/19/