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His execution of the airs , " Consume them all !' and "O Lord , have mercy ! " elicited warm marks of approbation from a very crowded audience , which quite overflowed the Hall . EGYPTIAN HALL . ALBERT SMITH ' S " CHINA . " MR . AND MBS . HOWARD PAUL ' S " PATCHWORK . " The ink was hardly dry with which we prophesied last week the approaching flit of the Howard Pauls and the impending arrival of Mr . Albert Smith from his semi-circumnavigation of the globe , than the former of these events was rendered a certainty by the absolute accomplishment of the latter . On Sunday morning the excited neighbourhood of the
great travelling humourist spread the glad news far and wide through town that he had dropped down amongst them , from Cathay , with a freight of Oriental' dresses , drawings , and rattletraps of all Borts . We will be bound for it—although some of our faineant friends at Hong-Kong declared there were no such things as curiosities to be had in the place , and as for Chinese porcelain it was to be had ever so much cheaper in Hanway-y ard and Wardourstreet than at the five open ports of the Celestial Empire—that our friend of the Egyptian Hall has come home loaded with objects of interest and amusement , and with a budget of literary material for a thousand-and-one Chinese nights . Patchwork , we were therefore sure , would at once be ousted from its temporary home by the willow-pattern plate , and
the show-room handed over to the scene painters , whose hands must just now , by the way , be pretty full . Mr . and Mrs . Howard Paul , in fact , announce that their season closes this day week , after which we believe it to be their intention to migrate countrywards with the other song-birds of the drawingroom entertainment class . We are happy to wish them every success . Thousands have been delighted with their talented performances here , and we doubt not that the provinces will con 6 rm the verdict of the metropolitan public . Mrs . Paul ' s Selina Singleheart and MoUy Doolati must be seen to be appreciated , and her imitation of Mr . Sims Reeves , steering clear aa it does of all oflence , cannot fail to furnish the greatest amusement in all places which have been visited on his starring expeditions by that deservedly celebrated artist himself .
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twenty odd copies—twenty odd , and very odd—of Reynolds ' s " Nelly O'Brien" turned loose upon society , and a dozen "Lady Beaumonts , " after Sir Joshua ; to say nothing of other smaller contributions of Salvator Bosas , and Boths , aiid Annibal Caraccis , and Guidos ! Of the performances themselves , we have no wisli to say a word , for they ideally are below criticism . We observe that a lai'ge proportion of these copyists are ladies . Could they not be better employed ? Do they imagine" that hy their efforts they are doing anything towards the increased renown of the Society of Female Artists ?
TIIE NELSON MONUMENT . If we are to believe report , this tall protracted job is to submit to fresh vicissitudes and further degradation . It seems that it has been discovered ( wonderful discovery !)—discovered when too late —• that Sir Edwin Landseer , the painter of poodles and parrots to the Court and the nobility , and to whom was therefore entrusted the fashioning of the four British lions which are to grace and guard the pedestal of this granite pillar , caimot carve in stone , in short , knows nothing of the sculptor ' s art . NoDody denies Liandseer ' s powers in the delineru tion of animal character ; but why attempt it
through a medium in which , according to all public knowledge , he lias had no experience . _ Many amateurs , as we all know , con dabble a little in modelling , and Sir Edwin probably lias some small talent in this way ; and accordingly he is to model , or will be supposed to model , poor Nelson ' s lions , which are afterwards to be east in bronze . The patchwork resulting will surpass anything of Hie kind before attempted or dreamed of . Nelson up aloft carved out in solid granite , cocked bat , and all ; the lions below in hollow bronze . Probably advantage may be taken of their hollowbor
ness , to make them roar , steam power being - rowed from the pumping machinery close by ; and this would , to a certain extent , serve as a blind to the sad reality of the case . Of the insult thus oflered to art and to public opinion we will say nothing- —to urge anything on that score would be vain . For the sake of posterity , however , let the protest be entered , and the fact recorded . Yes , when after-generations of Englishmen rub their eyes , and gaping foreigners turn up their noses at this monstrous incongruity , and ask the cause of it , let them be told that in the nineteetli century there were no sculptors in England save one ( nascitur , nou fit ) , and that he could not use the chisel .
BRITISH INSTITUTION . COPIES BY STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS . Copying the works of great painters is a sort of imitation little above that of mimics , who ape the peculiarities of popular actors . And what is the ¦ use of either ? Did the professed imitator of Kemble or Kean ever grace the stage as an actor ? Will the copyist of Murillo or Titian ever , by copying , become a painter ? We have a decided opinion to the contrary , and therefore we consider copying , as a part of art-education , to be an error , a delusion , and a fraud . Wo are led to make these
remarks a projios of the exposition of copies by the students in the British Institution , which has just been opened inthe gallery in Pall-mall . Every year a similar display of art-aping is made , and every year to our deep regret—regret at seeing a certain amount of talent misapplied and misdirected—regret at seeing great originals abominably travestied—regret to think how the stream of patronage , which tends toWardourstreet , will be swollen by it , bringing great gains to picture-jobbers , and great loss to the public and to the art of the country . The young painter ,
perhaps , may ask us , " Would you not have us study % he great mastcra—how else are we to get on , P" To which we answer , " Study them by all means ; imitate them , tooj if you can ; but study and imitate , not what they did , but how they did it . " And as for copies of pipturos , wo have no objeotion to food ones ; but to be good , they should bo painted y the hands of masters , not of tyros . Beseech the directors of the British Institution that it be a
condition of these competitions , undertaken under their auspices , that when the relative merits ( I ) of the various performances have been accurately gauged and reported upon , the interesting productions themselves may bo destroyed . Fancy , for instance , a score of oopios of . each of throe of Murillp ' s works—the '• " St . " Rupma , " the " St . frusta" ( the Duke of Sutherland ' s ) , and tho " Infant Ohrist , sleeping on the Emblems of his Passion "fancyaomesixtyMurillQs thus atonofell swooi ) added to the art-treasures of tho country , and fimcy
ward ' s new fresco in the house of commons . Mr . E . Ward , It . A ., has just completed his third fresco in the corridor of the House of Commons ; the subjeot being the "Last Sleep of Argyll , " in other wctrdsj ^ the Earl of Argyll sleeping in his cell in Edinburgh Castle the night before his execution for high treason . Something of the previous history of this Argyll must be told to enable one to understand the picture , for the picture itself tells no story , lias none to tell . Archibald Campbell , second Earl of Argyll , was the most determined opponent , first of the succession of James Ji .,
and afterwards of his acts as king . He was attainted and convicted of high treason early in the reign of James , but managed to escape to Holland , though assured that he should not suffer any of the penalties attached to the convictions . He afterwards connected himself witli the party of tho Duke of Monmoutli , made a descent on tho north of Scotland , was taken , and put to death without further trial , in virtue of the existing sentence against him . Wisliad relates that , on tho night before his execution , a great personage , whom ho docs not name , but whom Macaiilay thinks was ono of his former associates , visited his cell , and found him sleoniner soundly , and rushed away
consciencestruck from tho scene . This is the incident seleotcd by Mr . Ward for treatment ; and it must bo admitted that it was not a fortunate ono , becauso not an easy ono to make anything of . In tho hands of the poet or tho moralist , such a subject might be expatiated on very effectively , but tho painter oannot expatiate upon what is passing in a man ' s mind ; lie must toll a story involving action , and has only an instant to tell it in . How is tho spectntor to know from tho mere contemplation of this picture whether ho sees tho Earl of Argyll in his last sleep ; or his first sleep r And as lor tho two gentlemen in black at tho door , what possible business can they have there P Tho , presence of one of them might havo boon accounted for — without irreverence , be it suggested—if ho carried in his hand a jug of hot water for shaving .
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1256 THE LEADER . [ No . 452 , November 20 ^ 1858 .
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—~*—Lkader Office , Friday Night , November 19 th FRANCE . The MoniUur of yesterday contains a decree relating ta the supply of bread to be kept id reserve by the bakers . The principal article obliges all the bakers in the towns mentioned in the appendix to the decree to lay in a stock equivalent to their manufacture of bread during at least three months . The second article confers the duty of determining—after consultation with the inunici pal 4 dministrations—1 . In what period of time the reserves ought to be collected ; 2 . Whether they shall be grai n or flour , or both conjointly . M . de Thouvenerarrived at Marseilles yesterday . The Presse a"Orient states that the Sultan had received M . de Thouvenel in solemn audience , and expressed to him his best thanks fur having always laboured for the maintenance of friendly relations between France and Turkey .
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PRUSSIA . A Berlin letter says-: —" . The question of the day is whether Berlin shall elect Ministers or not ? This question is variously decided , but opinion , on the whole , seems to incline to the negative . It will be better for both parties—for the representatives and the electorsthat the capital should send independent men to the Chamber . The Ministers will have no difficulty in finding seats elsewhere—indeed their chief difficulty will be to avoid being returned in a great many places at once . There is no doubt , apparently , of the return of Heinrich von Arniixi , the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1848 , and of President Lette . A desire prevails to have some Protestant clergy in the Chamber , to balance the number of priests who are sure to be returned by the Catholic districts . " The so-called Gotha party is preparing to take the field again , and ! we may soon expect to hear from the Berlin correspondents that the agitation against the " Sovereign Bund ' s has recommenced . Among the leaders of the Gotha party are the reigning Duke of Coburg and M . Henry von Gagern , and the two principal features of their programme are : — - The abolition of the present Diet , and the formation of a North-German Bund , with Prussia at its head . The Princess of Prussia is expected at Berlin from Coblentz , and the Prince of Wales to-morrow , in time to keep the birthday of the Princess Frederick-William on the 21 st .
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AUSTRIA . The monument erected at Prague to the memory of the late'Marshal Iiadetzky was uncovered on Saturday , tho 13 th inst .-, in presence of a great concourse of spectators of high aud low degree . Among the persona present were tho Cardinal-Archbishop of Prague , Ma * - shals Prince Wintlisehgrut !! and Count Wratislaw , the Generals who served under . Iiadetzky in Italy , the Estates of Bohemia , and the Burgomaster of the city of Prague . Shortl y before eleven , the Archdukes Albrecht , Ernest , imd * Joseph arrived , and as the clock struck tho hour , their Majesties made their appearance in a carriage drawn by sis beautiful bays . The Empress was conducted to a box which had been prepared for her , but the Emperor went with his suite Into an open tent . As soon as their majesties , who were received with loud and prolonged acclamations were seated , Count Knvein Nostitz , the President of the bociety of tho Friends of Art , addressed the Lmneror , and requested him to put his signature to the document by which the friends of art in Bohemia made over to Uw city of Prague the monument to the memory of the aeceased Marshal . Tho deed of gift having been rend aloud , tho bands struck up tho national anthem , aim salutes were fired while the linen covering was bong W Atuer'Vro m Vienna says :- » The Suez Caiml project , as a speculation , doea not uncl favour with the Vienna public , am * the chances are that not 20 , 000 / . « j l Jj subscribed in this city . The Austnana are ** ° '" g desirous that tho eanal should bo made but they n « i i « too wise to invest capital in an undertaking which can not possibly pay . The Weter Zatung 1 »« recently had some nrticka on tho Sues Canal wluo " Q greatly cooled tho courage of the German «> ocuh tow . The Bremen people would bo delighted to see tliroc-l Jj » of tho world connected by moana of tho canal , bu tuuy are sharp men of business , and feel conymcei 1 at u » persons who may meddle in tho matter ' will bum tuei lingers . '"
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SPAIN . A telegraphic despatch from Madrid , dated J « «[ gJ Informa us that tho Government la pushing for van i preparation * for sending troop * and www Havunna .
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Cuvbtax , Pajuacb .-Return for « l * dftV ^ nXunS day , Nov . 10 th , 1858 : —Number admitted , Inoluuw * season-ticket ' holders , 0880 .
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 20, 1858, page 1256, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2269/page/16/
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