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a9\ rt i (Obn£ 51rt?f Xl/*jv AKlrXU*
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L'ETOLLE DU NORD. The production of Meye...
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The proprietors of the Albert Life Assur...
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BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. BIRTHS. B...
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Madlle. Rachel is announced to appear at...
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FRO.M THE LONDON GAZETTE. Tuesday, July ...
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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Transcript
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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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The Custom Of Dunmow. Fialtads: Lionuiut...
heap of do * grel than this of Mr . Ainsivor h ' s . So much for the book ; 2 sweepiK condemnation U reallv in tins case , more merciful than the Sldest former detailed criticise could possibly be Of an author himself nfTn ^ P li fe * ta sneak except in the way of co mpliment . But Mr . Amsworth has lust been challen ^ nV public notice by one of the most grotesque d £ i £ ^ SS ^ Sd toVpS > Ppi «« a rickety reputation . Let us turn once mwe-only for a mo ment-to Mr . Ainsworth ' s book of son-s ,. j ust to observe Sat the firetand most absurd composition , among many rivals , is a ballad entitled" The Custom of Dunmow . " This custom consisted in the delicate and appropr iate bestowal of a flitch of bacon on any happy pair who should tike oath , in public , that they had been ter-rew to each other for a specified time ; and it would be , of course , a very great pity if a custom which bei ~<> a kv Miiwine to « . rude and remote ase , but winch is so beautituUy
consonant with the feelings and manners of our own , should not be roused from a slumber into which it fell , some time ago , in consequence of the decline of national taste and sentiment . Mr . W . Harrison Ainswortb , -who has done so very much by his writings to elevate the same national taste and sentiment , resolves , first , on " standing" the time-honoured reward of constancy ; and next , on going the whole pig , and instituting a supplementary flitchnot because happy marriages are more numerous than formerly , or because people are more prone to mention their connubial felicities to mixed audiences , or because bacon is cheaper ; but because " an opportunity occurs of celebrating the alliance of England and France 1 " A French literary < rentleman is united to an English literary lady , on whom , he dotes to the
fond extent so desirable for the success of Mr . Ainsworth ' s puff" . The next " feature" of this interesting event is a cheap excursion train , which was advertised to take people from Shoreditch and to brin » them home again the same day , giving them ample time to see the Frenchliterary gentleman ( weather permitting ) climb the greasy pole , and the English literary gentleman ( D . V . ) present the bacon . And all this , or something like it , did actually take place last Thursday . The British Barnum , Mr . E . T . Smith , gave his congenial presence to the " rustic sports and festivities ; " and a Saily paper , with charming alacrity in the cause of " good old English" revivals , published , on the very morning of the event , a carefully prepared narrativetreating the affair as an accomplished triumph !
, The weather was scarcely so mild as the bacon was warranted to be , and large piles of Mr . Ainsworth ' s new novel , the Flitch of Dunmow , were not sold at the different railway stations .
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L'Etolle Du Nord. The Production Of Meye...
L'ETOLLE DU NORD . The production of Meyerbeer ' s latest , we cannot say his greatest , ppera at Covent Garden , on Thursday , was the event of the season : it was in every respect what our friends over the water call a solemnity ; " we only wish our solemnities of home manufacture were half as amusing . We certainly incurred the charge of raising the expectations of our opera-going readers to a high pitch by our preliminary trumpet last week , but we have the satisfaction of feeling assured that the highest expectations were not disappointed . We spoke more particularly of the mise en scene , the orchestra , and the chorus : no one who was present at the Royal Italian Opera on Thursday will deny that the vast scenic , orchestral , and choral resources of that establishment were never more magnificently and triumphantly displayed . As for the mise en scene , we have been accustomed to miracles from Mr . Beverley : we knew the prodigious fertility of expedient and the profound science of " effects" for ever to
be associated with the name of Mr . A . Harris—the Napoleon of " Supers . " But Mr . Bkverlev . has never enriched the stage with pictures more powerfully and delicately real than the Village on the Cpast of Finland of the first act , and the Russian Camp with the mountain gorge in the distance , in the second act of the Etoik du Nord . Nor has Mr . A . Harris , whose exploits of generalship we well remember in the Huguenots , in the Prop hete , in Masaniello , ever inspired his legions with more zeal , animation , and intelligence—ever disposed his groupings with more taste and judgment , with a finer eye for colour and variety of pose than in the two grand scenes which Mr . Leverlev has so brilliantly ' illustrated . The chorus too , which for the last few seasons had rather fallen off in spirit and correctness , has suddenly regained its old celebrity for vigour and precision of ensemble . The presence of the illustrious Maestro has worked wonders , and struck new life into the flagging pulses of the fcroupe .
It has been like the face of" the Chief" to an army demoralised by inaction . We can easily imagine the effect of Meverbeer ' s superintendence in stimulating the jaded energies of the theatre . Not only the prestige of the composer , but the unassuming kindness , the finesse , the bonhomie of the man must be irresistible . As for the principals , let us at once , without any invidious prepossession , particularise Lablache as Gritsenko , a Calmuck converted into a corporal . Not one of his comrades would object to the first place of honour being given to the glorious veteran . Surely it is an example worthy of imitation—the zealous heartiness with Which an artist , whose reputation has long been European , studies a minor part , full of very difficult , laborious , and complicated music , and by the admirable humour of his acting , and the masterly excellence and finish of his singing , gives a new importance to the part and a new pleasure to the audience . Labi , ache ' s make-up as a Calmuck was something terrific and Gargantuan in its grotesque savagery , and as the Corporal he reminded us
of a colossal Bonsse ., jHe acted throughout . withthe careful ^ sseal , spirjt , and vivacity of thirty years ago , and the round richness of his voice contrasted pleasantly with the hard , harsh tones of Formes . Madlle . Bosro looked interestingly as Catherine : once and again she even made a praiseworthy effort to act ; but she cannot get rid of that lady-like lassitude and indifference , which are redeemed by her graceful looks and manners , and by that exquisite voice , clear and sweet as a silver bell , sparkling as a fountain . Mademoiselle Marai as Prascovia has made a decided advance in her art . She was always agreeable , intelligent , and conscientious , and her appearance is singularly engaging ; but on this occasion she looked a true Scandinavian beauty , all archness and simplicity , and she sang with a delicacy and elegance very
delightful to the listener . The two vivandihres were most effectively represented , so far as music was concerned , by Madame Rudbrsdorff and Mademoiselle Jbnxv Bauer : perhaps , however , we observed a certain tameness in the lesser , a certain excess of emphasis in the larger , lady . Returning to the gentlemen , let us say how charming in voice and aspect was Gardoni as Z ) anilowitz , M . Scrisk ' s version of the original Mekbchikofp , the pie-seller : how unaffectedly pleasant and refined was Ldches i as George SAawronski . Peter ( it seems odd we should , be celebrating that imperial savage just now !) claims a sentence to himself . Formes looked the character wonderfully , and played it with remarkable force and intention .- but in the tent scone there was a want of nuance , of transition in the acting , and he seems incapable of expressing the tender emotions .
Need we add our testimony to the universal report of the success of the Etoile du Nord at Covent Garden ? It has been a success all over Europe ; but in the discharge of an honest critical duty—the duty we mean of expressing a calm and serious opinion on the merits of a work without reference to the circumstances of its production , to the prestige of the composer—let us be permitted the audacity of expressing our conviction , which we have formed after hearing this opera repeatedly , and -which we express with the deepest deference and humility , that the Etoile du Nord does not add a laurel to the brow of the illustrious composer of Robert le Viable . Lot us forget for a moment that the Etoile is an opera of Meyerbeer ' s , and in momentary ignorance of the
composer ' s name , let us ask our musical conscience whether its success belongs to the music or to the spectacle ? X > et us ask if there is in the music that coherence , that continuity , that creative energy which belongs to works of genius . Is it not fragmentary , patchy , ceaselessly clever and effective , seldom emotional and affecting 9 Is not tune sacrificed to trick , melody to noise , spontaneous feeling to ingenious combinations ? No doubt all this abominable heresy of ours may be put down by the overwhelming appeal of the technical critics to the consummate science of the music But we have not now to learn for the first time that Meyerbeer is a consummate musician . We only say on behalf of the unlearned public that no amount of cleverness will be accepted as a substitute for
tune . To say that the Etoile du Nord is the greatest work of the composer of JRobert le Diabfe , of the Huguenots , and the Prophete , seems to us simply preposterous . We could not help fancying that the composer had thrown the scores of these immortal works into a crucible , and , like an alchemist , had worked the Etoile du Nord out of the fiery process . There is no law against a man stealing from himself , and there is probably nothing in the Etoile that docs not belong to the composer of the Huguenots and the Camp de Silesie ; but the effect is that of an opera put together , rather thnn composed . All this does not prevent us from recognising every moment the hand of the master in the grace , the strength , the fancy , the invention , the variety scattered over the opera with a prodigality that would exhaust fifty of his imitators . We take the liberty to judge Mbvekbeer by the standard of his own works : to judge him by any lower standard is an impertinence .
We are persuaded that the Opera Comique does not bear adaptation to Grand Opera . There is a certain charm to us in that form of opera in which the speaking is interrupted , at certain pauses in the action , by musict this charm is completely lost in recitatives . We miss M . Scribe's facile and sprightly dialogue , with its thin but pleasant wit , and its sentimental ingenuity . After twenty minutes of recitative , we begin to apprehend the fate reserved for us by the " music of the future . " This transplanting of the Opera Comique , which is to music what the genre school is to painting , is a 9 unfair to the composer as it would be to compel a Wattcau to paint his figures of heroic proportions . But we have already exceeded our space : let us only add that the principal
artists were called for after each act , And one after the other , and all together , enthusiastically cheered ; but that the triumph of the evening , a just and noble one , was reserved for the great composer himself , that modest and retiring man of genius , who has given to the Opera a grander destiny than to be an effeminate relaxation , or an idle luxury , and wlio has already taken rank with the Immortals in the Pantheon of the divinest of all Arts . We trust Mkvkrbk . uk will leave England impressed with the admiration and sympathy wliich have almost laid siege to him during his stay among us , convinced that wo nre not quite barbarians even in music , and resolved to write an opera expressly for Covent Garden .
The Proprietors Of The Albert Life Assur...
The proprietors of the Albert Life Assurance Company , at their annual general meeting on the 10 th instant , voted a sum of 10 O 0 Z . to G . G . Kirby . Esq . / their managing director , in recognition of his valuable services .
Births, Marriages, And Deaths. Births. B...
BIRTHS , MARRIAGES , AND DEATHS . BIRTHS . BARRY . —July 12 , at his residence . Forest-hill , Sydcnham , Kent , the wife of Charles Barry . Esq .: a son . HANSARD . —July 10 , at No . 14 , Park-square , Mrs . Henry Hansard : a son . MARRIAGES . DHAtt—DEAR . —July 12 , at All Saints , Huntingdon , Mr . A Bdnmnd Dear , ot " London , to Catherine , aecond daughter of James Dow , Esq ., of Huntingdon .
"WILSON — TODD . — July 17 , at Bt . George ' s , nanovcrsquare , W . H . Wilson , Esq ., late Captain 30 th Regiment , to Juno Marian Rutherford , only child of the late John Todd . Esq ., of Halnaby 11 all , and Tranby Park , in the county of xork . DEATHS .
LE BLANC—July 13 , at the house of hia eldest son , Cliftondown , Bristol , Colonel Le Blanc , forty-ono year * Major of the Royal Hospital , Chelsea , late Liout .-Colonel of the 5 th Veteran Battalion , and formerly of the 71 at Regiment , aged 79 . MANSFIELD . —Juno 28 , at Sobaatopol , of wounds received in the action of tho 18 th of Juno , Captain William Henry Mansflold , 44 th Regiment , son of tho Into Alexander Mansfield , Esq ., of Morriatovra , JLattln , in tho county * of JvlKlWO .
Madlle. Rachel Is Announced To Appear At...
Madlle . Rachel is announced to appear at the St . James ' s Theatre , under the auspicious direction of Mr . Mitchell , on Monday the 30 th hist ., in her great part of Camille in Les Horaces . On Weduesday , August 1 , in Phbdre ; on Friday , August 3 , in Adrienne Lccouvreur ; on Saturday , August 4 , in Andromnque . As the celebrated tragedienne is en route to America , her cngngement is necessarily limited to these four evenings . We shall be curious to sec what effect the success of her great Italian rival may have had on Madlle . Rachel . By the way , we must demur to the supposition that Madlle . Raciu : l is accompanied by " several of the principal artistes of l ' aris . " This is not quite accurate ; she is accompanied by various members of the Fnxix family , and attended by a select suite of illustrious obscurities .
Fro.M The London Gazette. Tuesday, July ...
FRO . M THE LONDON GAZETTE . Tuesday , July 17 . BANKRUPTS .- Jon William MKKins , Croydon , chominfc—John and GnxnvBB Ellib , Trinity-square . lirixtou . builders—William Wood , Wells-street , South Hackney , grocer — Gbojigb Wild , Oxford-street , grocer —Thomas Kublby , Son ., St . Mary extra , Southampton , butcher—Thomas Totmbse , Slough , borsedeator — Jobbpii and Hodbbt Dknt , Atherstono , Warwickshire , builders — IioiiBBT Ltsham Covkthby , West Bromwioh , auctioneer —William Pooue , Klngaton-upon-Hull , provision merchant—Is a . ao Dbmton , Bradford , Yorkshire , draper—Jonir Obippim and William Robinson Fobotkr , Hook Perry , Cheshire , and Liverpool , ferry proprietors—John Gbbbtt . Liverpool , tobacconist — Fkancib Ljdotd Batjcbt and Bauvxi , Mixxmes Bahtow , Manchester , small ware manufacturer *—Thomai Bobtook , Mjmoheator , maker-up .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 21, 1855, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21071855/page/20/
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