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    F I N E ART S;

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    in Council disavows the act of Major Barrow , in making , a promise contrary to the royal proclamation , and contrary to the express order of the Government , excepting the prisoner from all benefit of pardon . But his Excellency will hot suffer it to be said that the prisoner , having been induced to surrender on the promise of a British officer in Major Barrow ' s position , has in consequence of that surrender been put to death . The miscreant ' s life is therefore spared , but he is banished from British territory .

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    We extract from the Standard the following interesting remarks upon one "whose loss -will be much felt in that circle , of good taste in which he moved during his life time . It is perhaps hardly accurate to say that Sir . Bell kept secret his bequest of pictures to the public ,, his intentions on that head having for a long time been pretty well known . We entirely sympathise with the eulogies of the writer , which all who had the pleasure of Jacob Bell's acquaintance well know to be no more than just . " Mr . Jacob Bell , who has just died at Tunbridge Wells , in his 49 th year , died of hard work . In the lull expectation of death , and in spite of a most painful malady , he could not desist from his labours ,

    and in a half-fainting- state was buckled up to his -work till within an hour before lie breathed his last . The principal part of these labours was directed to the raising of his profession , which was that of a dispensing chemist . He spent a fortune in starting and in advancing the Pharmaceutical Society , which bids fair to embrace before long all the chemists and druggists of Great Britain , and which in the meantime has raised enormously the educational standard of the class . He was the president of the society , and it is some proof of the estimation in which he was held , not only in his profession , but throughout the district where he resided , that on the day of his funeral there was scarcely

    • a . town in the kingdom in which some 'Pharmaceutical chemist had not his shutters closed to mark the event , and in many of the streets in Marylebone- ^ notably all down Oxfordafereet—the same respect was paid to his memory . He was a man of the most unselfish nature , who devoted himself to public objects , who toiled like a galley-slave for other people , and who won the affection of all who knew hi m- One class of the community besides that to which he more immediately belonge d will fieel his death as" a great lossartists of every sort , with whom he had a genuine sympathy , . . for whom he was always planning some anonymous benefit—some pleasant surprise ,.

    It is pretty well known that , subsidiary to the professional views which were the absorbing objects of Ms life , Mr . Jacob Bell was a most generous patron of the arts , and had collected in his . house at Langham-place a very valuable gallery of pictures , many of them from the easel of his friend Sir Edwin Landseer . Those who knew the liberality of the man , and how much good he did in a quiet unassuming way , will hot be surprised to hear , what he kept a profound secret from even his most intimate friends , that lie has bequeathed the best of his pictures to the nation . Among them are the following of Landseer ' s : — " The Maid and the Magpie , " exhibited last year at the Royal Academy ; the

    celebrated picture of tlie Shoeing , " " The Sleeping Bloodhound , " " Alexander and Diogenes , " " Dignity and Impudence , " and the " Defeat of Comus . " In addition to these there is "The Sacking of a Jew ' s House , " by Charles Landseer ; there are a couple of landscapes in which JLee and Sidney Cooper have united their efforts } there is O'Neil ' s picture of «« The Foundling Examined by the Board of Guardians } " there is one of Ward ' s best historical works — <• James II . receiving 1 the news of the Landing pf the Prince of Orange ; " there is the " Derby-day " t > f Mr . Frith , which , however , has to fulfil certain engagements with the engravers before it can appear in the national collection ; and , to crown all , * there is the " Horse Fair " of Rosar Bonheur . This last is not the largo picture of the " Horse Fair , " with ¦ which everybody is fiuniliar , but a smaller edition

    of it painted simultaneously . In everything but sisse it is a fttc simile of the large canvas , and it is the original from which the engraving haa been made . There are thirteen pictures , and a commission for a fourteenth has been given to Mr . Frank Stone , but ¦ wh at is the nature of the subject , and whether any ( progress has boon made in the work , wo arc unable to say , One thing is certain , that the public have received from Jacob Bell a most valuable gift , and -wo may add that the testator has attached no con-• ditiona to the acceptance of his legacy . Several works have within the last few days been Added to the National Portrait Gallery . They consist of portraits of Qowlay , the poet ; Selden , the Marquis of Ormond , Lord Hood , and the seven Wahops -who wore tried and acquitted In James II . ' s x » lgn .

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    OPERAS , CONCERTS , DRAMA .

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    ¦ —^— : . . CRYSTAL PALACE . HANDEL COMMEMORATION FESTIVAL . None that have had the good fortune to assist at the three glorious days of this centenary may doubt that there is magic in a name , or that the managers of the Crystal Palace have splendidly availed themself of what charm there was in that of George Frederick Handel , The "fast " and " loose" classes of society have been to the usual extent at the race m « etiner , their favourite Moulsey Hurst ; so to their

    loye of excitement and display the directors were nothing indebted for the dazzling crowd of beauty and fashion , for the ladies were in the majority that assembled at this triumph of their management . Twenty-five thousand souls , or thereabouts , on Saturday , assembled at the Rehearsal . On Monday , other 17 , 000 met to hear " ¦ The Messiah . " On Wednesday there were 17 , 644 enjoyed the never to be forgotten " Let the Bright Seraphim" of Ifadame Clara Novello ; and yesterday , although her Majesty was not present , the numbers were little short of 26 , 000 .

    much-affected hue surged , fluttered , and swayed round every minor feature of the gathering . There were loom wonders , of all prices , from Lyons and Coventry ; bonnets beyond all price ; embroidered petticoats that would have puzzled a nunnery . There were , as we have said , a few specks—mere islets—of broadcloth ; and the parterre was traversed here and there by a flash of cochineal , madder indigo , or ( in one or two flagrant cases from the tropics ) bright canary colour ; but the hue of the mallow , or mauve , in which we believe that healing plant has less to do than perchloride of tin and alum was the background of all . From the press gallery —for the great accommodation of which , and other politeness on the occasion , our brethren will join us , if right be done , in owning obligations to the management—the view of the orchestra and transept was a thing never to be forgotten .

    The flowers of the garden and the lilies of the field , if not out-done , are rivalled by the craft of the weaver and the dyer of our day . If you were to look at an enormous flowergarden , full of nothing but flowers , through the wrong end of a telescope , you would have some notion of the sight from the second row of galleries . Behind us , looking countiywards , rolled Kentwards that splendid landscape that wants but a thread of water to eclipse for ever the old honours of fair Richmond ; but not for relief , as is often enough the case from fashion ' s hues , did we turn weary eyes to those of nature . The mauve —as it wants no pliilosopher to find out—is pleasant to the eye , and its

    prevalence round arid about every other colour , no doubt lent a feeling of ease arid gratification to that organ which has been often enough absent when we have looked upon similar pictures differently framed . We need say little more about the performance of " The Messiah " than that Mr . Sims Reeves , Signor Belletti , Madame Clara Novello , and Miss Dolby took the solos , and that a vast swell , consisting of choir , orchestra , and organ , in which none preponderated or seemed distinguishable—so perfect was their precision and control—performed the stupendous inspirations wliich have immortalised George Frederick Handel , in a manner that it never could hare entered into his heart to conceive .

    The proprietor of the ricketty old harpsichord , that you may see in that popular corner among the parroquets , near the KTinevitish Court and the Wellingtonia Gigantica at the London end of the building , dreamed a little in his day , too . The profits of the entertainment at Vauxhall , where his firework music was introduced , must have been far above the average of modern receipts at such places of amusement . But he was composing for the then creme de la creme , not for the of nd the Vauxhall

    olla podrida , society ; a managers of that day could get prices from tlie fine folks that made large profits out of small assemblages . Handel no doubt conceived that , with the patronage and money at his disposal for the purpose , he had done all that could be done to win an immortality ; but how little was he aware—if he knew of the grace and beauty—of the majesty and power of sound . The shadow of his greatness is becoming greater and greater as year after year men think they will take its measure . We might use up a dictionary full of expletives ; but , in a very few words , we nover did yet experience so much and so varied emotion during the performance of Handel ' s music as on the occasions under notice . It is customary to observo that tlie huge double velarium suspended over the orchestra damps the sound so as to destroy its imposing quality . It might have been so—most just ana noble critics—and , therefore , you insist that it is so . But it is not so—and there is an end of tlio matter . Mr . Reeves has sung fifties and hundreds of times tm

    the magnificent « Sound an Alarm , " but never , he sang it on Wednesday last , undor that onnvas or calico , did ho give us the notion of . a heavcn-inspireu patriot . He was always Mr . Reeves , tho singer ; but whether the press gallery ( it was one flight o » stairs over the royal box ) was peculiarly weU situated , or that the singer himsolf was more than usually fervid , wo . are bound to pay him tho compliment which he did to the great composer , we forgot Mr . Reeves , und Mr . Reeves forgoC himself in the superb triumph . Madame Clara Novello , again , has courted tho public / avour for these twenty years , ox more it may be ; but wncn enthusiasm

    did Clara Novelio roueo a titho of tho , not alone among tho ignorant and innocont , but . what is no easy task , among tho case-lumlonca wretches whoso business is taking pleasure on < x seeing sights . Tho superlative excellence oi tno duet of Madame Novello with Mr . Harper ' s trumpet was hailed with a wildpneore , and novor was honour better merited . Tho beautiful voice of tho songstress and tho silver notes of tine trumpeter camo morally bounding aoross the wide interval botwoon ourselves and tho orchestra . Tho voice and tho instrument seemed to vlo in grandeur of sentiment , and purity and truth of tone . The " Dead March" wo Jiwvc

    On Friday evening Mr . Costa , whose ardour in this matteris worthy of all recognition , and has been crowned with entire success , put the finishing touch to the drill of the provincial contingent at Exeter Hall , and it was to the homogeneity attained under the master baton by the several excellent trainbands contributed in aid of the Sacred Harmonic Society ' s vast choir , by Yorkshire , Leicester , Liverpool , Glasgow , Birmingham , Edinburgh , the various English cathedral tovns , that the meeting of Saturday was , in point of fact , a rehearsal only in

    name . In that handsome amphitheatre ^ nbw completed after a twelvemonth ' s consideration and progresscalled the Great Handel Orchestra , there were ranged , radiating from the organ , 3 , 500 vocal and instrumental performers of the highest , accomplishments . To the most eminent professors of every conceivable inst-ruinent were added the most . distinguished amateurs , who * on occasions like the present , seek admission to the ranks of a grand orchestra as a favour . The elevation has been tastefully and simply decorated . The solid hemicycle or sounding to

    board towering behind all is coloured so effectively represent a loggia showing blue sky beyond , that the orchestra has ceased to be the eyesore it was in its unfinished state . One third down the slope from the organ to the conductor is poised in air the monster tambourine gong , or drum , made for the festival of 1857 by Messrs . Distin and Son ; and below- this on a proper platform are . three kettle drums of monstrous . growth . Atthese ( which struck us as sometimes a trifle sharp ) the indispensable Mr . Chipp is seen , now flying as if bent on their destruction , and now he soothes them with affectionate stxokings .

    At twenty minutes past eleven the series of experiments commenced with the National Anthem , the ' < Hallelujah" and the " Amen" choruses . Of these " going well" there could be no possibility Of doubt ; but about the " Dettingen Te Deum , " which contains so much choral music of dramatic character , it was necessary to be more careful . It was rehearsed throughout , Belletti taking the bass soloa , of which the chief are , " When Thou took ' st upon thee" and " Vouchsafe ^ Lord . " The choruses of this magnificent service are rich in the grand delineations of triumph and religion , and were splendidly given . " Though sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father , " was electrifying . The only ,

    or nearly the only uncertainty in the execution , both at rehearsal , and at the festival performance on Wednesday , was in the most difficult passage , " Day by day we magnify Theo , " and this we mention lest our readers might imagine that we issue nothing but second-hand and unconsidered notes of admiration . However , to proceed : the " Dettingen " followed by Mr . Weiss ia " Belshazzar ; " tho grand c h orus , JEnvy , eldest born of Hell } " and that master-piece of plaintive expression , the Dead March , from " Saul , " which was handled by tho gifted conductor and his army of musicians in tho most delicate and tolling manner . A selection from " Samson , " and " See the Conquering Hero comes , " from " Judas Maccabeus , " wound up the first part of tlie rehearsal .

    The second consisted of" Israel in Egypt , " played nearly all through . Mesdames Clara Novello < tnd Sfrorrlngton took the principal parts . Thus ended , with the greatest euceees , what was really tojmusical amateurs tho grand day , and for mere siglit-seers tho best day , as being the longest and tho most varied . On Monday the spacious transept was packed , by 1 v . m ., with a yet more stylish , if not dense , mass of ladles . The stronger ¦ vessels wero but the exceptions—rari nantes in gurgita vasto ; and tho -wilderness In which our brother atoms were thus adrift , naay bo described in the one word , mauve . This

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    766 . THE LEADER . [ Fine Arts , Etc .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 25, 1859, page 766, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2300/page/10/