THE most gratifying portion of our duty, in connexion with the past month, is to record the liberal patronage which her Majesty has been pleased to extend to COVENT GARDEN Theatre, where Charles Kemble has reappeared, to our great delight as well as surprise, in two parts which he has made almost exclusively his own-Don Felix, in "The Wonder," and Mercutio, in "Romeo and Juliet." Wonderful to relate, this Nestor of the stage played with almost unimpaired vigour and buoyancy; but how monstrous that Romeo's spirit and

VOL. I.

tenderness should be converted into rant and mawkishness by Anderson, while the theatre can command the services

of one so peculiarly and admirably qualified for the part as Moore.

The most melancholy theatrical incident of the month is the total breaking. up of the DRURY LANE Establishment, and bankruptcy of the late lessee; upon which subject we shall say nothing more, than that it was the inevitable result of embarking on such an enterprise with a total inadequacy of means.

At COVENT GARDEN we have had no

T

novelty whatever, and the operatic department seems to have broken down altogether a break-down at one of the great theatres, and a break-up at the other! We trust that Mr. Cramer may open Drury Lane with English opera as speedily as possible, for there appears to be no hope of its survival elsewhere. In lieu of what should be made one of the most prominent features of the management, we are occasionally favoured at Covent Garden, in the middle of March, with a repetition of the stale old Christmas pantomine. On the 16th of March, we are nauseated with the following bill of fare: "The Rivals," followed by" Harlequin and the Merrie Devil of Edmonton !"

Turn we to a well-managed theatre,

The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing. By the Hon. W. G. Osborne, Military Secretary to the Earl of Auckland, Governor-General of India. With an Introductory Sketch of the Origin and Rise of the Sihk State. Illustrated with Sixteen Engravings. Colburn, 1840.

CAPTAIN OSBORNE sketches with a dashing, yet most descriptive pencil, a great variety of scenes in the court and dominions of the Maharajah; and to this happy illustrative power he unites a most fertile vein of observation; distinguishing, with great accuracy, the characters of the various chieftains who surround the Maharajah's person, as well as the singular and rather contradictory moral and intellectual features of that powerful potentate himself-the old Lion of Lahore. Captain Osborne took a prominent part in the political mission, which he describes, from the government of India to the court of Lahore, in the summer of 1838, and this book is the result. From the first page to the last it abounds with the most interesting parti. culars, of which we shall present our readers with a very few specimens :—

COSTUME OF THE MAHARAJAH :— • Cross-legged, in a golden chair, dress ed in simple white, wearing no ornaments but a single string of enormous pearls round the waist, and the celebrated Koh-y-nur, or mountain of light, on his arm (the jewel rivalled, if not surpassed, in brilliancy, by the glance of fire which every now and then shot from

his single eye, as it wandered restlessly round the circle), sat the Lion of Lahore.'

Behind the glittering throne a large space was filled with Runjeet's chiefs, blazing with gold and jewels, with emeralds, pearls and diamonds, and displaying, in their weapons and armour, an inconceivable splendour.

SPECIMEN OF THE MAHARAJAH'S CONVERSATION:-"How many troops have you got in this country altogether?' 'About two hundred thousand.'-' So I have been told; but you could not bring that number into the field at once, or at any one place?' 'Certainly not; it is unnecessary. Twenty, or, at the most, thirty thousand British troops could march from one end of India to the other, and no power in the country could stop them.'-You are fine fellows; how many Frenchmen can an Englishman beat?'' At school, in England, the boys are always taught to consider themselves equal to three Frenchmen.'—' And how many Russians?' The French beat the Russians, and we beat the French.'— If the Russians cross the Indus, what force could you bring against them?" 'Quite enough to drive them back, with your highness for our ally.'—' Wah t wah! so we will.'

"Is Lord Auckland married?' 'No.' -What! has he no wives at all?' 'None.'-'Why dont't he marry?' 'I don't know.'-'Why don't you marry?' 'I can't afford it.'-'Why not? Are English wives very expensive?" Yes; very.'-'I wanted one myself some time

ago, and wrote to the government about it, but they did not send me one.' 'It would be difficult to find one in this country that would suit your highness.' 'Are there any in England?' 'Plenty.' -'Ah! I often wish for one.""

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN THE EAST." His executions are very prompt and simple, and follow quickly on the sentence: one blow of an axe, and then some boiling oil to immerse the stump in, and stop all effusion of blood, is all the machinery he requires for his courts of justice. He is himself accuser, judge, and jury; and five minutes is about the duration of the longest trial at Lahore."

THE LION'S DRINK." His wine is extracted from raisins, with a quantity of pearls ground to powder, and mixed with it, for no other reason (that I can hear) than to add to the expense of it. It is made for himself alone, and though he sometimes gives a few bottles to some of his favourite chiefs, it is very difficult to be procured, even at the enormous price of one gold mohur for a small bottle. It is as strong as aquafortis." . "The only food allowed you at these drinking bouts are fat quails stuffed with all sorts of spices, and the only thing to allay your thirst, naturally consequent upon eating such heating food, is this abominable liquid fire. Runjeet himself laughs at our wines, and says that he drinks for excitement, and the sooner that object is attained the better. Of all the wines we brought with us as a present to him from the governor-general, consisting of port, claret, hock, champagne, &c., the whisky was the only thing he liked."(The Captain here perpetrates a ludicrous bull.)-ED.

LE ROI S'AMUSE!" We then accompanied Runjeet home to his palace, where he desired me to send for my guns, and on their arrival ordered a small lota, or brass drinking-cup, to be placed upon a pole, at about sixty yards distance, in one of the garden walks, and said, 'Now, hit that.' I humbly suggested, that as the garden was crowded with people, I should probably hit something else. His reply was, 'Never mind; they will soon get out of the way.' I delayed as long as possible till the walk was tolerably clear, and then had the good luck to hit the lota three times running."

"He invariably consults every medi. eal man he may meet with, and almost as invariably neglects their advice.

Their medicine is always given to some of his Sirdars, who are forced to swallow it in his presence, and are then shut up that he may be able to judge of its effects."

The Life and Services of General Lord Harris, G.C.B By the Right Hon. S. R. Lushington, private Secretary to Lord Harris, and late Governor of Madras. Parker.

A record of the services of the conqueror of Tippoo Saib, who commanded at the siege of Seringapatam. He was the son of a simple country curate, and by his own industry and energy fought his way up to the head of his profession, and into the House of Peers. He took his seat as Lord Harris of Belmont and Seringapatam, in the year 1815, and died at the advanced age of 84. Here is a very illustrative anecdote. About half-an-hour before the final assault of Seringapatam, Sir John Malcolm entered General Harris's tent with a cheerful exclamation, when

"Malcolm," said the General, sternly, "this is no time for compliments; we have serious work on hand; don't you see that the European sentry over my tent is so weak from want of food and exhaustion, that a sepoy could push him down? We must take this fort or perish in the attempt. I have ordered General Baird to persevere in his attack to the last extremity; if he is beat off, Wellesley is to proceed with the troops from the trenches; if he also should not succeed, I shall put myself at the head of the remainder of the army, for success is necessary to our existence,"

Lord HARRIS was as amiable in private life as unshrinking in the discharge of his public duty. The following are some extracts from his will, which well sustain his reputation for practical benevolence, united to a contempt of vain and profitless parade, and may be advantageously studied.

"Let decency and proper regard to worldly customs be preserved; let all be cheerful, but without ostentation or waste of any kind.

"To promote ease and enjoyment for a few hours, and encourage the whole of my farming and gardening labourers to go cheerfully about their labours af

terwards, it is my request and desire that they may carry my body to its fellow earth, in a plain oak coffin made of the oaks to be cut down in April, 1823; that they shall each have a scarf of three and-a-half yards of linen made up at Murton's so that it may make a good shirt afterwards; that they shall have double the allowance of mutton and ale they have generally received on Christmas day, with a sovereign to each family that has children, and half a sovereign to those that have none, and a holiday the day chosen for my burial, having it understood that necessary labour must be done, but paid their regular pay, or, in my opinion, it can be no holiday at all..... It is my wish that all pomp and show may be avoided at my interment. That my body may be carried to its long home by the farm servants and the labourers in the garden and on the farm, under the guidance of the bailiff and gardener, with my carpenter to assist them. The latter has received my directions for my coffin to be made of oak felled on the estate, and the planks of which have been some time seasoning or the purpose.

"List of the labourers whom I request to become my bodyguard, when it can no longer guard itself; and may they continue faithful servants to the master I leave over them, and may he deserve their honest endeavours by his kindness to, and protection of them."

"I leave to John Stickens, bailiff, William Davis, gardener, and William Murton, carpenter, fifty pounds each instead of mourning, as a small token of my approbation of their services. Mourning, I am aware, they are provided with, and may appear in at my funeral; but it is my request that the ceremony may take place in the forenoon, and no black work of any kind, or hired carriage to be provided. It is my sincere wish that in this simple style my bodily remains may be conveyed to their mother earth without parade, or any idle pageantry of woe, seldom heartfelt, and which certainly can be of no avail."

Austria. By Peter Evan Turnbull, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A. Two vols. Murray.

The produce of an enlightened mind applying itself con amore, during the progress of a three-year's tour through a country, the interior of which has been little explored by

CHARACTER OF THE VIENNESE POPULATION!

"No beggars are seen.

No appear

In

ance of poverty meets the eye. Vienna-and indeed this remark applies nationally to Germany at large more than it does to any other country-no one appears badly dressed. We learnt from master-tradesmen in every branch, that their work-people and apprentices expend very little in their food, and lodge generally three and four in a room, in order that they may be able, in respectability of appearance, to be equal to their superiors. Tractable, sober, and industrious, they are ever willing to work . . . . . no impartial observer will hesitate to admit of the Viennese, and of the inhabitants of the circumjacent provinces, that they are a most happy and enjoying people. Frugal, cheerful, and contented, they seek no alteration in their condition; they know little of their government but its mild and paternal influences; and they dread change of any kind as fraught with evil. They see their princes mixing among them with all the simplicity and kindliness of private citizens; and they love them with an affection which they believe (and in my opinion justly believe) to be reciprocal. Their general tone of character forms them for tranquil enjoyment in themselves, and for promoting it in others and of the lower classes, as well as the higher, I am bound to say that I have ever found them mild, kind, and obliging."

MONUMENTS OF HAYDN AND PARACELSUS, ATSALZBURG:-"In the church of the Benedictines is the monument of Haydn and a singular one it is. A mass of rough stone in relief represents a natural rock covered with moss ;-it is strewed with loose leaves or books in marble, bearing the titles of the principal works of the composer;-behind these is seen on the rock a small oblong mausoleum, bearing a black slab with this simple inscription: 'Michaeli functo die 10 Aug. 1806. This monuHaydn, nato die 14 Sept. 1737: vità ment has been severely criticised. To me it appeared in good taste, and very pleasing. It is simply expressive; and the noblest epitaph which admiration

could indite on the great composer, is found in the titles of the works which lie strewed about upon the rock.

"In the church of St. Sebastian repose the ashes of the great Paracelsus, who, as a modern addition to his monument expresses it, 'tantam orbis famam ex auro chymico adeptus est.' The more ancient inscription, coeval probably with his disease, makes no mention of his expertness in alchymy, but lauds him as a great and learned physician, 'qui dira illa vulnera, podagram, leprosin, hydropisin, aliaque insanabilia corporis contagia mirifica arte sustulit.' This eminent physician and natural philosopher lived and died at Salzburg; and the front of the house where he breathed his last in 1541 bears a spirited portrait of him sculptured on the wall."

An Historical Sketch of the Law of Copyright. By J. J. LOWNDES, Esq. Saunders and Benning, Fleet Street, 1840.

This is a brief but very satisfactory sketch of the origin of literary property, and of the various modifications which it has undergone from the first establishment of a law of copyright, down to the present period. The justice and expediency of Mr. Serjeant Talfourd's Bill are subsequently well enforced; and the gross misapprehensions which prevail upon this subject are effectively combated. But the most useful part of the book, in our estimation, is the appendix, in which the well-informed author takes all the countries of the continent seriatim, and proves, to our eternal disgrace, that Great Britain is the only country in Europe in which copyright is not continued for some period after the death of an author, for the benefit of his heirs. What will those puny whipsters, Wakley and Warburton-great only in literary larceny, in purloining bread from the mouths of great men's orphans-what will the pilferers say to this startling fact?

Michael Angelo considered as a Philosophical Poet, with Translations. By JOHN EDWARD TAYLOR. London: Saunders & Otley, 1840.

THE works of Michael Angelo have, for their distinguishing characteristic, sublimity of conception with unity and grandeur of design.

The po

etry of such a man possesses necessarily the highest degree of interest, and its study must be attended with the most useful results, in revealing to us

the sources of his feeling for art, and the training which his mental processes underwent. Mr. Taylor has taken a very correct and philosophical view of his subject, and presented us with numerous specimens from the sonnets and other minor pieces, which beautifully reveal the mind of the great artist, tinged with philosophical speculation, and imbued with a prevailing love of the beautiful.

Sir Joshua Reynolds observes, that "Michael Angelo possessed the most eminently poetical imagination; "but deep reflection, and an enlarged and comprehensive study of his art, taught him to direct and control the flights of his genius. The Poet-Artist's rhythm is rather peculiar, but very chaste and beautiful; and the thoughts take a lofty range, and are usually very well expressed. The translator imitates the smooth but massive diction of the original felicitously enough; but we have to regret that he has marred his productions by rejecting the aid of rhyme. The following pretty trifle is a fair specimen :

AMOR, SE TU SE' DIO. "LOVE! if thou art a god, As the world calls thee, and all-powerful, Take from my soul, alas! thy snares:

Hope with the great desire

Of lofty beauty ill accords, In the last years, when parting-time is near: Thy every grace now burdens, weighs on

me;

For, if the joy be short, the pain is doubled, And late enjoyment cannot bring me peace.'

Histoire de la Décadence et de la Chute de l'Empire Romain. Traduite de l'Anglais de Gibbon, par M. GUIZOT. Paris. Nouvelle Edition.

Gibbon, whose infidelity and loose principles of morality made him extremely popular amongst the Parisian esprits forts of the last century, has had his great, but most pernicious work extensively disseminated through the continent in a French dress; and our new French ambassador must evince his admiration for this bigoted hater and unscrupulous assailant of Christianity, by contributing his utmost to the circulation of the poison. Here is a new edition of M. Guizot's translation, polished and perfect in style, doubtless, but with all the villainies of the original so faithfully recorded, and made inviting to French readers by the attractions of an admirable style, that we are little disposed to regret the charivari with which M.