stage, avail himself of the admitted talents of Miss Birch; thus affording the opportunity of a generous emulation. To analyse the artistic peculiarities of Madame Dorus Gras would be supererogatory; but we may not pass by her truly wondrous execution and the brilliant quality of her voice. The music of the gentle Lucia is admirably adapted to her means, and might have been specially written for her. Her acting is gentle and truthful there is intensity without exaggeration, and her action is graceful and unembarrassed. Perhaps the exuberance of her ornaments might be judiciously tempered, as it in some respect weakens the dramatic sentiment. One ruling charm of her singing is the certainty of the intonation, and in this respect she imparts greater pleasure than is afforded even by the vocal marvels of Persiani. Her reception was general, and she has established herself as one of the most refined artists that has appeared on the boards of an English theatre.

Mr. Sims Reeves, the new tenor, was engaged some few years back at Drury Lane as a second, but his voice was then immature, and his style uncultivated. Since which he visited Italy, placed himself under the most renowned masters, studied zealously, and is returned to us with an organ rich, smooth, and powerful, and with a style pure, refined, and instinct with dramatic feeling. The conception of the character of Edgardo was excellent-it was shorn of none of its romance-the passion was well depicted the bounding hope of the opening duet-the vehemence of the curse in the second act, and the deep pathos of the famous "Fra poco," was full of gushing tenderness and tearful grief-the gushing melody of the final scene, were each and all finished with the nicest elaboration, while the art was not visible. A more touching and poetical delineation of the character we have never witnessed. The public felt at once that they now possessed a first-rate tenor, who combined with a naturally splendid voice musical feeling and stage knowledge. We need hardly add that the debût of Mr. Reeve, was eminently successful; that the recals before the curtain were innumerable, and the ovations genial and enthusiastic. Mr. Whitworth, the new barytone, has also studied in Italy, in which land of song he had appeared on many stages. His voice is good in tone, though not always in perfect tune-but he possesses great advantages by the possession of personal appearance and natural action. The choruses were magnificently rendered, and the orchestra, under the direction of the celebrated symphonist and feuilletonist, Hector Berlioz, was irreproachable in its execution and unity. The completeness and correctness of the costumes and scenery were worthy all praise-the old conventionalisms were abandoned, and the entire picture, musically, pictorially, and dramatically, was quite perfect.

One of the promised novelties of the programme has been produced. The new opera by Balfe, The Maid of Honour is founded on the ballet of Henriette, written by M. St. George, for the Academle Royale, and was performed in London with Lucile Grahn as the heroine. It has been cleverly lyricised by Mr. Fitzball, and is mounted with an affluence of numbers and splendour, and a strict attention to the smallest details. Here, then, a true English opera-the music composed by a native, the poem written by an Englishman, the story placed in the reign of good Queen Bess, and all the characters sustained by the Queen's "true and loyal lieges." The nationality is here indisputable, and the interpretation throughout might bear worthy comparison with any work produced at the most famous Continental theatres. This fact speaks volumes in proof of our capability of creating and sustaining a national opera-house, even without foreign aid. The success will act as an impetus to our "native talent," and must convince them that now there no longer exists any bar to the exhibition of their merits. The story has the requisite simplicity and clearness of construction so necessary to opera. It unfolds itself naturally, and the characters are well defined. There are no wide gaps of time to leap over, nor is the mystery "hid in triple steel." There is no necessity to enter into an analysis of the plot, as it is well known as the favourite French ballet of Henriette.

A new opera by so popular a composer as Mr. Balfe necessarily causes some sensation in the musical world. The ballad-singing admirers of that gentleman attend the first night in the hope of hearing some of those sentimental ditties which interesting young ladies love to warble, and to which interesting young gentlemen love to listen. Musicians make it a point to attend, in the hope of discovering some improvement and more serious aim in the mark of a man who is supposed, however erroneously, to represent the state of British musical art in the nineteenth century. That both these classes were disappointed on the present occasion is our honest opinion, for the ballads are for the most part tuneless, and the concerted pieces generally unworthy of the grand opera. The overture is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." It has neither design nor connection, and is, to borrow a Teutonic phrase, Gehaltlas. Upon the rising of the

curtain a madrigal is sung by the chorus. It is written in imitation of the celebrated Elizabethan madrigalists, but lacks the fancy and clearness of design, and contrapuntal effects in which these writers excelled. The scene of the Statue Fair, which is concerted throughout, possesses a clamorousness which is not out of keeping with the dramatic intention. The concluding scene of the first act contains a ballad, "The Red Cross Knight," sung by Miss Birch, in which the composer has striven not unsuccessfully to be original; an effective duet, sung by Mr. Reeves and Miss Birch; a duetino, sung by the same lady and Miss Miran, which is weak even for the situation; and a concerted piece in which the ballad previously sung by Miss Birch is repeated by the tenor, accompanied by three voices. This morceau contains some agreeable progressions of harmony, and is on the whole ingeniously constructed.

The chorus of huntsmen and soldiers in the second act has breadth and vigour; the instrumentation, however, is much too noisy. The music allotted to Queen Elizabeth evidences a tendency to observe the characteristic distinctions without which no work can be said to be dramatic. Mr. Balfe, doubtless, desired to impart a certain power and dignity to the music of the Virgin Queen, and we give him full credit for his good intentions. The masque scene is exceedingly good, and the song sung by Miss Miran has abundant merit. The opera concludes with a rondo for Miss Birch, full of vocal difficulties, and some brilliancy, though without the charm necessary to impress the subject on the memory. The hit of the opera is a ballad, "In that Old Chair." It was exquisitely rendered by Mr. Reeves, but we doubt its ever attaining the same popularity as "We may be happy yet," "You'll remember me," &c., &c. Mr. Balfe's score is marked by the same absence of the higher qualities of musical art which is so obvious in his former works. He appears rather to retrograde than to progress. To sum up, the music is deficient in originality and character, the ensemble meagre, and the orchestration noisy and colourless. He can embellish a dull thought with a kind of orchestral broderie, which may tickle the ears of the uninitiated, but will never satisfy the genuine musician. Who would deck a skeleton in flowers, and think it beautiful? The encores were, however, numerous, and the opera received throughout with enthusiasm.

The principals were called before the curtain, as were Mr. Balfe and M. Jullien.

The theatre has been crowded nightly, and we have no doubt that if the same spirit and liberality of the management continue, that the same patronage will be continuous.

THE THEATRES.

Managers, machinists, s nic artists, and costumiers, and all the thousand-and-one animate and inanimate have been on the qui vive during the last month. Burlesque and pantomime have challenged each other; and we are fain to confess, despite our old affection for the latter, that the former have conquered. The pantomimes, with the single exception of the Surrey and Marylebone comic annuals, have been but poor in thought and feeble in execution. The Italian Pierrot at the Adelphi has been eclipsed by our English clown; and the burlesque at the Haymarket, concocted by the élite of the Punch Club, is scarcely worthy the wit of A'Beckett and his fides achates, Mark Lemon. Planche still asserts his potency at the Lyceum, assisted by the graceful taste of Madame Vestris. The various minors have done their spiriting effectively; and the result is, despite fog and damp, full houses and rich treasuries.

LITERARY MIRROR.

TOWN AND COUNTRY. A Novel, in three volumes. By Mrs. TROLLOPE.

London, 1847.

MRS. TROLLOPE is not a woman of taste. She selects for the subject of her novels incidents the most opposed to the refined, and introduces characters which could not be sketched otherwise than in the most disagreeable terms. One of the principal personages of the present novel is the Prince of Wales, whose gallantries and adventures were not always of the kind most likely to be suitable for the perusal of ladies. The use, however, made of him in the volumes before us is infinitely disgusting. He ought not to have been introduced at all, but when he had been it was unnecessary to make him subservient to designs so infamous. The rage of the novelists of the present day is for disagreeable old husbands with very young wives. In one production, after another we encounter this, and what is still more absurd, the gentlemen are represented as far removed from the confines of humanity as possible. To render them more interesting, they are often crabbed, morose, repulsive in their manners, and possessed of the most peculiar views upon things in general. Mrs. Trollope's old gentleman does not appear under such brilliant auspices at first. No; he is there all refinement, all gentleness, all suavity of manner. But no sooner does he change, than he does so with a vengeance, He is all of a sudden transformed into a monster, perfectly savage and low in his manners. He ill uses his wife, and addresses her in the style of a cabman or coal-heaver. People who were inclined to be severe might say that Harriet, the heroine, only met with a deserved punishment, in thus sacrificing herself in all her youth and beauty upon the shrine of wealth. She married Mr. Cuthbert with her eyes open, she was induced by no romantic ideas of benefiting her family. To exalt self, to become mistress of an establishment, to have many under her sway, to be surrounded by all the paraphernalia of fashion, to see around her gorgeous magnificence of furniture and dress-this was the ambition which slumbered in her heart-for this fancy, this transient feeling, she sacrificed her truest affections and her heart's best interests. Mrs. Trollope may endeavour to impose upon us as she pleases, by telling us that at first she really loved Mr. Cuthbert. We deny that love can exist in such a case. It was a marriage got up upon the spur of the moment. may have forgotten that she had feelings, but she enlisted none of them on her weddingday. They were all left in the arbour where she parted from Charles Maitland, the poet, whom she loved all the time. She forgot her feelings, we say, but only while the first dream of show lasted, and remembered them when, after her marriage, she met her early love in London. Her husband, won at first by her beauty, soon makes it subservient to a most shameful end. He throws her in the way of the Prince of Wales,-constantly, purposely, in the hope that in consequence of the affection he hopes to see spring up between them, he may be exalted. Into a further investigation of the merits of "Town and Country " it is by no means desirable to enter. Mrs. Trollope has made a complete failure in the present instance, has displayed her bad taste to the utmost, and gone out of her way for the purpose of bringing us in contact with immorality and levity.

Harriet

SAVINDROOG; OR, THE QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE. BY CAPTAIN RAFTER.

Longman and Co. 1848.

SINCE the publication of the "Kuzelbash," we have not read an eastern novel more pleasing or exciting than "Savindroog"-more replete with adventure, or containing more splendid descriptions; but with all these recommendations it possesses a few faults, among which we may mention the introduction of innumerable exclamations and sentences in the Oriental languages, and of those long accounts of various revels. We likewise object to that strange mixture of Asiatic and European conversation which we find scattered about the book; we should have all Eastern or all European, and it is better that the latter should have the preference. It is impossible to create a taste for the Oriental style, we should therefore prefer having their language translated into good English.

To those who admire stirring adventure we would especially recommend this novel, for, from the first scene to the last, we have action. The plot, though simple in construction, contains so many ramifications that it would be impossible for us to follow it. We may, however, observe, that the principal parts are borne by Kempè, the Bheel chieftain, Kistna, the hero, and the Begum, the heroine. The story is rapid, and, with the exception of a few tiresome descriptions, but little occurs to distract attention. The character of the heroine is well sustained throughout, and supports the distinction which the

Ragpootani girls have ever obtained. Without being at all masculine, as they are occasionally depicted, she possesses all that natural firmness, united with the most perfect feminine gentleness, which adds so great a charm to woman. These qualities are not dwelt upon, but we feel them whilst reading. Kempè, the robber chieftain, is a bold, reckless character; brave, but cruel and ungenerous; with many other qualities that excite admiration, but tainted with all the vices incident to the nature of his calling. Captain Rafter has written a very able book, but we think that he might do better. He has the power in him-let him use it.

TWO LECTURES ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF MAIMONIDES. By Dr. A. Benisch, Wertheim, 1847.

THE literature of the Jewish nation is but imperfectly known, even to the learned, and is totally forgotten by the general reader. The very names of those great lights that have shone in Israel have for the most part passed from our remembrance, and the writings of such men as Maimonides lie on our shelves oppressed by the weight of cobweb and dust; but Dr. Benisch has used the brush, and distinctly presented to our view the great Hebrew philosopher, of whom Casaubon said, with more bitterness than judgment, "that he was the first of his tribe who ceased to be a trifler."

The spirit of tradition loves to hover over the lives of great men, and tinge with romance those periods of their histories which seem dark and obscure to their biographers. It is therefore a difficult task accurately to disentangle the truth from that finelywoven texture of tradition spun with the hand of time around the various records that have descended to us. Dr. Besnich has performed this labour for Maimonides, and has presented to us a brief but highly interesting epitome of his life. Several legends are however introduced to add another charm to the lectures. In one of these we are told that the Hebrew displayed in his youth no indications of those qualities which afterwards distinguished his manhood, but from the early period at which he commenced his "Perush Hamishurah," we should be of opinion that Maimonides must have studied deeply during the first years of his life. About this period a change came over the position of the Jews, who had previously enjoyed much freedom in the Mahomedan cities of Spain. Flying from persecution, Maimonides wandered through various countries, and finally settled in Egypt, where he was ultimately appointed physician to the sultan. This post he enjoyed to the day of his death.

We would briefly glance at those productions which have rendered his fame imperishable, and added new glory to the Jewish nation. His principal writings may be classed as sacred, philosophical, and medical; in the former he enters at great length into the various religious questions which perplexed and disturbed the minds of many of his countrymen. Collier quaintly remarks that those who desire to learn the doctrine and the canon law contained in the Talmud, should read his 'Perush Hamishurah,' for there he discards the greater part of the fables and impertinences contained in the Talmud."

But the work which excited most attention was his "Moreh Nebuchim, or the Teacher of the Perplexer," a most extraordinary book, in which he endeavoured to explain those passages of Scripture which were obscure, or apparently without meaning. The publication of this profoundly philosophical work produced a great sensation in every synagogue, and the unlearned and bigoted of the Rabbis sounded the alarm, and fulminated excommunications against the author. They did not imagine it necessary to give a reason for the faith that was in them, but considered that "belief in many cases was no less free from doubt than perfect and manifest knowledge," and they therefore condemned all inquiry into the mysteries of their religion. Maimonides, however, had no desire to seek to raise that veil which surrounded what is not intended to be known, but endeavoured to place in a clear light what may be examined and explained without touching on those limits placed to human inquiry. The "Moreh Nebuchim" may be studied with profit by readers of all sects, as it contains explanations of many portions of the Old Testament, which must prove of infinite value to the Scriptural student. The following is Dr. Benisch's account of Maimonides' most popular work. "It is divided into three parts; the first contains seventy-six chapters, and treats of the various synonymes, homonymes, metaphors, allegories, and similes found in Scripture, and, moreover, comments on prophecy, heaven, the universe, and angels. The second part discourses, in forty-eight chapters, on God, on the celestial bodies and their influence, and on the law. The third, divided into eighty-four chapters, treats on the vision of Ezekiel, Providence, and the reasons for all Divine commandments." Tellerman says that he manifests in this production "an acute and enlightened understanding,"* which, though high praise, scarcely conveys a proper idea of the power displayed in the Moreh.

With his medical works we are but imperfectly acquainted; they appear, however, to * Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie.

have been treated with undeserved neglect. But if they display any portion of that genius which characterises the other works of Maimonides, much valuable information might be obtained from them. Among his numerous medical works there is a curious one "The Method of curing those who have been bitten by Venomous Beasts, or have been Poisoned," which, coming from the first physician of Egypt, the land of snakes, would appear to claim some attention. To give our readers an idea of the varied studies of Maimonides, we add the following. He wrote six works on the Talmud, four on philosophy, nineteeu on medical, and nine on miscellaneous subjects.

Dr. Benisch has given us, within the compass of two short lectures, much curious information concerning this greatest of the modern Hebrew philosophers. By thus bringing prominently forward the merits of Maimonides to his people, the author will, no doubt, give some impetus to the movement he so anxiously desires. Among a nation so intelligent, so wealthy, and so numerous as the Jews, it is astonishing they possess no distinct literature. Encouragement is only required; the men capable of effecting this revolution are already bracing up their loins for the combat.

THE BOOK OF BEAUTY FOR 1848. Edited by the Countess of Blessington. THE illustrations in the present volume will at first attract more attention than the text The portraits are many of them representations of the loveliest faces ever beheld in. England, but though not strictly admirable, the crowning beauty of the whole-Mary Queen of Scots, should not have been omitted. It is by far the most beautiful face of which history has spoken, and even Anna Boleyn, Matilda of Scotland, or Eleanor of Provence, lovely as they are, bear no comparison with their unfortunate queen in point of personal attractions. The artists have admirably executed their task, and deserve infinite credit for the skill they have displayed. The Countess of Blessington has contributed a great amount of letter-press in the very best style. The account of the Life of Anne Boleyn is superior to most, if not any, that we have seen.

THE KEEPSAKE FOR 1848. Edited by the Countess of Blessington. THIS beautiful volume is full this year of charming tales and poetic pieces. The skill of the talented editress is apparent throughout. She has contrived to assemble a whole host of very supreme stories and sketches. The first narrative is from the pen of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, and is entitled "The Lawyer who cost his Client nothing," and a very amusing thing it is. "Lady Blessington's Own" is one exemplifying the evils of scandal and gossipping, and deserves to be studied by our readers. One of the best stories in the volume is "A Tale that was told me," by Miss Camilla Toulmin. It is full of natural sentiments and truthfulness. The heroine is a beautiful character. We cannot even briefly allude by name to many able papers. Our readers must be satisfied therefore with our recommendation as a whole of this beautiful volume. The illustrations are some of them very magnificent, especially that of the Gallery of Dianes at Fontainebleau.

PERSIAN PAINTING.

OFTEN does it occur that persons who have a taste and inclination for painting, and who feel that could they but once master the elements they should be able to accomplish something creditable to their genius, are deterred by the prospect of the many long and tedious years of steady application requisite before they can hope to attain any degree of perfection in the art. Many young artists are thus lost to the world. They know that they have but a chance among the many; and that if, after having spent the early portion of their lives in the study of painting, their productions do not answer their own expectations and those of their friends, it is too late for them to bethink themselves of turning their talents into some other channel. But Mr. King, the able and ingenious inventor of the new method known as "Persian Painting," has removed this apparently insurmountable obstacle, Some of the paintings exhibited in his gallery are among the most beautiful specimens of this branch of art we remember to have seen. The depth and accuracy of colouring-the boldness of the outstanding figures-the intervening lines of light and shadow-the elaborate finish—the smoothness of surface,-all these, we say, combine to render his invention one of the most extraordinary of the kind that the present age has brought to light. Whether it be for a large historical painting, or for the miniature of a friend, Mr. King's system is equally applicable. More particularly do we recommend it to the attention of ladies and amateurs, who are deterred from painting in oil by the disagreeable odour and touch of the materials, while paper or canvass will receive these colours equally well. But almost the greatest recommendation to this process is the facility of acquiring it. A person entirely ignorant of this method of colouring may attain a competent knowledge of it by taking but three lessons of Mr. T. R. King, of the high order of whose ability his paintings are the best witnesses.