Royal Society become every year more numerous. Ten years ago the annual average was exactly fifty-four; up to the end of last session it was sixty-one; and this year we learn that the number of candidates is seventy-one. Of these fifty-six are doomed to disappointment.

IT is apparently hopeless now to expect to hear any more of the comet discovered by Mr. Brooks on the morning of January 15th. Both Mr. Barnard and Dr. Swift made diligent searches for it at the Lick Observatory, but without success, so that the nature of its path will most likely for ever remain unknown to us.

Twelve Etchings contributed to the 'Portfolio' by Paul Adolphe Rajon. With Memoir and Notes by F. G. Stephens. (Seeley & Co.) -Mr. Stephens's memoir of Paul Adolphe Rajon adds a special and melancholy interest to the republication of the twelve etchings contributed by that distinguished artist to the Portfolio. The etchings have been very carefully printed, and contain one or two specimens of Rajon's best work. 'Philip IV. after Velazquez, the 'Dutch Housewife' after Nicholas Maes, and 'Prayer' after Mr. Chalmers are examples in which we find not only much of Rajon's great power in dealing with qualities of texture and relations of tone, but also indications of his masterly skill in drawing and modelling. The notes to the plates are excellent, and the memoir, though here and there a little awkward in style, is in substance a model of what such work should be. It contains the necessary facts, related simply and correctly; the character of the man is drawn so as to satisfy those who knew and loved him, whilst of his art Mr. Stephens writes with knowledge, just judgment, and true sympathy. This volume may, indeed, be regarded as a fitting memorial of Rajon, and incidentally it records the name of a much humbler artist, whose only claim to remembrance by the public will probably consist in the fact that he was Rajon's devoted friend. When that chronic ailment which undermined Rajon's constitution first showed itself, Frank Dicey seemed to transfer to him the unselfish devotion by which he had, in years long gone by, prolonged and cheered the last days of his own mother. The circumstances of both these lives were familiar to the present writer, but not even outsiders could help respecting the tie which bound the English gentleman to the brilliant French artist, and which in turn drew Rajon, when unfit for such an exertion, to the side of that friend's grave, where he himself was destined

to receive his death-blow.

MR. M. B. ADAMS carried a good idea into effect when he collected into a volume entitled Examples of Old English Houses and Furniture (Batsford) a considerable number of his drawings, hitherto scattered among the pages of the Building News. Many of the examples are not of the highest order in art, nor are they the best of their kind, while the draughtsman's

manner of drawing without shadows, yet in a picturesque style, is neither one thing nor the other. Apart from this he draws firmly and sincerely, and, as an architect should, in good perspective. His excellent taste in choosing examples has ensured an interesting book, some of his subjects being first rate, such as Borwick Hall, near Carnforth, a simple, yet stately stone edifice, a choice instance of its class, which was common wherever good stone was to be had. Speke Hall and Bramhall are, of course, well known; the latter is a house of glass, so to say. Such sketches as that of Ightham Mote are unsatisfactory and of no use; Woollas Hall, Worcestershire, is an admirable example of a small mansion we do not remember to have seen before. Burford Priory, Mere Hall, and others of the same category illustrate the long-pervading influence of Gothic design in domestic use; their inferior elements, such as the porch with a solar over it in the front of Burford Priory, have less that is Gothic about them than the better parts, and the architecture of these bits is at once pedantic, incongruous, and somewhat vulgar. At the same time the larger bay windows at the sides of the front at Burford, good, well-proportioned, and simple illustrations of the Perpendicular style, are as elegant and graceful as they can be. It is the same everywhere: an ugly and tasteless dormer or gable end, with an outline which is foolish without being spirited, and is evidently due to a mere builder (in the modern sense of the term), possessing no knowledge of architecture, is sure to be of the Jacobean or Elizabethan period, designed without feeling for art, and merely craving to be singular. In spite of the undeniable picturesqueness of most of these instances of the vulgarization of art, few of them but offend critical eyes familiar with the finer models of an older day.

Minor Arts and Industries. - Drawing and Designing. By C. L. Leland. (Whittaker & Co.) To this little text-book much of the criti

cism we bestowed last week on a volume of Mr.

W. W. May's may be applied. Mr. Leland is unfortunate in saying (p. 78) that "the design for a cylinder is in reality that of a square surface or panel." Some of his examples are first

rate.

THE INSTITUTE OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS.

they are not all so good as No. 21.-Lord Gardner's Autumn in Wotton Woods (28), a careful picture of beeches and their fallen leaves, shows his delight in nature, and is full of colour and truly lighted, and if some of the trunks were more finished it would be first rate. - The Gather

ing Gorse (25), moorland in summer, of Mr. C. Hayes is the exact converse of the last, and its atmosphere is remarkably good. Across the Moor (488) and In Surrey (728), which are a little mannered, possess similar subjects and qualities.

The Agnes and Rose (40) of Mr. J. White marks a departure from those legendary themes of which we were tired, and, although the subject is a bad one for painting, the clever figures of ladies conversing are successful; indeed, their faces are the best parts of the picture; their arms want refining; the interior effect is good, but it deserved more care. An accomplished draughtsman, Mr. White has of late, it seems to us, begun to draw before he began to think. It was not so formerly. - A powerful interior of The Chapel of the Kings at Westminster (53) has been sent by Mr. J. Cafe, and shows he has a fine idea of the impressive effect, and his good drawing; the local colouring of the pillars and and tombs is too hot even for the present condition of the place, which, being daubed with shell-lac and spirit of wine, has lost most of its soft and delicious greys, and become shiny, hard, and brown. The slabs of porphyry and marbles on the tombs are weak in colour. A Peep into Henry VII.'s Chapel (357) has fewer faults and is quite as well drawn, but then it is a much easier subject. There is a great deal of spirit and humour in spirit Compulsory Education (58), by Mr. Grierson, a clown and his canine pupils in a garret. It looks, like many other examples of the same popular sort on these walls, as if it had been drawn for an illustrated publication, and, lacking breadth of colour and (although an interior with a confined light) strength of light and shade, it can hardly be called a picture proper and complete.Yew Trees (63), gloomy yews rich in colour and impressive in character, is marred by the loose drawing of the stones in the foreground and coarse handling elsewhere; still it is the best picture Mr. C. R. Aston has exhibited for some time past. An Old-World Palace (394), a noble subject in West Wales, although a little weak in tone and lacking force in the tints, is well and neatly drawn and, being sunlight, bright. The Coast at Kynance (768) is by the same painter, and so is a good picture of pines on a steep hillside (801), which deserved more research. - Mr. Slocombe's capitally painted and modelled group of dead owls in a heap, The Gamekeeper's Prize (73), is a clever study of nature, which might have been made into a picture if the artist had thought it out.-A. Moorland Road (74) is one of those works in which Mr. J. Knight, who is always striving after the pathetic and romanticin landscape, most nearly attains success. A stern and sad feeling of repose pervades the twilight hills stretching along the horizon, the wide and rushy waste, and the road curving past a gloomy bank of trees. The painter's woolly execution mars a noble view, but the whole is majestic. Evening (161) is more

scape, is capital in colour, while it is noteworthy for low tones and tints. The Essex Marsh (325) is another modest and sound work. - In Deck Quoits (5), by Mr. Hatherell, some of the figures watching the sport from under an awning are well designed, and sunlight, with its blue shadows, is dexterously rather than solidly represented. - Mr. MacBride's landscape On the Cluny (15) is flat as a whole, but there is much excellent draughtsmanship in the massed rocks of the foreground. Autumn Gold (37) shows studies of nature deserving of being carried further. - Mr. Pyne's The Medina (21) is scene-like and rather woolly in touch, but bright and simple. This may be said of other drawings by the same, although

A Lone Shore (348), though impressive, is more woolly than ever, trite, and mannered. The Welsh Hillside (475), in shadowless grave and sober twilight, is, like No. 74, one of Mr. Knight's best and least pretentious pictures. On Arthog Moss (541) is rich and powerful in tone and colour, somewhat painty, and less woolly than the others.

It is seldom Mr. A. Severn gives us the pleasure of praising his works, for they are generally more clever than sincere, and more sentimental than pathetic; but we are glad to be able to admire Amiens from the Bank of the Somme (85), just after sundown, while mist is rising from the placid stream and its dark lines of sad trees, and the huge cathedral is

seen in the distance above the smoky city. Of Mr. Severn's sympathy with the poetry of nature there never was a question; of his loyalty in rendering what he sees there has been, alas! infinite question. Sunset Effect, Tréport (555), is another instance of an effect (that of sullen and cloudy light suffusing a dense bank of lurid clouds which rest upon the quiet ocean) poetically recognized and ably painted. See likewise Cloud Effect, Tréport (574), by the same. On the other hand, Sailing into Venice by Moonlight (776) is exasperatingly pretentious and insincere. The Water Bridge Newbury (116), by Mr. Y. King, is a bright, solid, and powerful drawing of the old stone bridge in a vista of rich red-brick houses of the Georgian time, capitally drawn in a large and vigorous style, far better than anything we have before seen by an artist whose works generally err in being pretty and genteel. The shadows, being blackish, indicate the lamp in more than one sense, and lessen the charm of the drawing, which is much bigger than the subject, its colour and effect require.

Mr. W. Langley has used one of Heer Israëls's motives in painting No. 123, a fisherman's widow brooding over her loss while looking over a great bay in the West seen in serene evening light. The figure of the widow is good, her expression suitable and yet not morbid, and the effect is true. Sunshine and Shadow (317), by the same artist, is different in character. It is an expressive portrait of an old woman seated in sunlight, lost in retrospective thought, and with her hands folded in her lap. ap. It is very good and solid, but the seascape would gain by more finish and vigour. Disaster, Scene in a Cornish Fishing Village (710), is Mr. Langley's best work, and in every respect is fine. Women and sailormen are grouped under the lee of the pier of a little port, while a storm rages at sea. They are dreadfully anxious for the boats shut out of shelter; the old men do what can be done, or rather they pretend to try to do something, but it is mainly to keep the women's courage up. The face of the wife seated on a grounded boat is admirably true. She does not heed the storm; the wind shakes her clothing, and has blown the wisps of hair upon her forehead; almost unnoticed the child clings to her apron, hides his face, and seems to dread the roaring of the waves whose crests, leaping the parapet behind the groups, fill the air with brine. The design is admirable, the terrible tale is well told, and the execution, although a little mannered, is quite worthy of so good an idea.

The Fossils (132) of Miss K. M. Whitley is a conspicuous member of a class which we are glad to see, because each of them illustrates the skill, patience, and love of truth (a narrow love, but extremely faithful) of the artists. It is a wonderful specimen of work, but not made pictorial by composing the lines, shadows, colours, or even the masses into harmony with each other, and thus making a whole of a painting which can hardly be called a picture. The same lady's Spoils from the Sea (316) is open to the same criticism. Of Mr. B. W. Spiers's Unconsidered Trifles (331), bric-à-brac and prints, the like may be said, likewise that it is hard, dry, a little flat, and poor in tone. In finish it is a marvel of still life. Its pendant, Peace and War (347), armour and books, needs a dominating element, and deeper colours and tones, for there is no coloration, no tonality, no chiaroscuro. And yet the masters of still life, from Marcellis to Desgoffe, have aimed at giving those very qualities, which naturally commend themselves to an artist's instincts, to their works.

The Stormy Twilight (134) of Mr. A. W. Weedon is a good and energetic rendering of a turbulent sea and cloudy sky. Rough Pasture (563), a flat David Cox-like landscape, with a lofty sky, is brilliant, rich, and well touched, but the sky, though clear, is rather hard. We may commend other pictures by the same artist, numbered 78, 477, and 699. - Morning (152), by Mr.

painted piece. It is flat, and, despite the opportunities portunities offered by a snow-strewn street at dawn, weak in tone and colour; still there is a good deal of vitality and fun in the design, which is of the illustrated newspaper sort at its best. The Banshee (743), an Irish peasant alarmed by a spectre, contains at least one good figure that is cleverly designed and well executed. The landscape suits the motive of the design. - The Pleasant Homestead (167) of Miss A. Squire, old brick buildings, is bright, broad, and solid, and the colours are true. -The Saved (184) of Mr. C. Staniland, though redolent of the lamp, possesses much force and pathos. - Miss M. W. Freeman's Shop on the Quay (211) is one of a class of interiors and fishingport subjects of which we begin to tire. Still it is painted with spirit, force, and humour, and shows just sense of the broken, diffused, and rich interior light. The shadows are blackish and not quite clear.

neat for the occasion, is good. Mr. Kilburne paints with less hardness and more colour than he used to do. His

River, that in silence windest

(517), though a little painty, is delicate and brilliant. - In the Many Wooers sought her Hand (364) of Mr. J. Scott there is spirit and even humour in the faces, but it tells its tale ill. The interior, though hard, shows care and skill. The girl's attitude is stiff, that of the lover retreating at the door is poor, and the whole wants "getting together."-Mr. W. F. Bishop has produced a pretty, richly coloured, and strongly toned landscape under the title of Shiere, Surrey (373). — Mr. K. Halswelle's Banks of a Sussex River (374) shows tellingly the smoothest of water (such as the painter so often treats in a mannered though effective way) flowing slowly between woodlands and under a good sky. The whole is rather spotty.

Among the pieces of humour, of which there are more on these walls than before, Mr. C. Green's Mr. Mantalini and the Brokers (409) is distinguished for fun and true spirit. The subject is sympathetically treated. The air of Mantalini may be somewhat farcical, and he looks more stupid and vain than usual; but Madame Mantalini is the weak element of a good design which lacks concentration, force of colour and tone, and that solidity Mr. Green generally secures in his work. That strength of light and shadow, and the very rich colours of the garments it was Madame's business to make, seem to us indispensable in dealing with the interior of a milliner's shop. They are not here. - In Two's Company and Three's None (395), by Mr. J. Scott, the three young folks have been capitally painted and well designed, but the whole is a failure, and there is nothing to show which of the three is not "company"-a fatal defect. The best figure is that of the damsel in red. Mr. Scott, who often fails to tell his story, never failed more signally than in this instance, and never

A comely, well drawn and painted head (life size) of a damsel with a musing expression in the eyes, is called A Dream (224), by Mr. R. Barber. There are not many such good pieces of work here. - A Lame Duck in the Channel (237) is Mr. J. Fraser's highly technical name for a ship labouring in a rather woolly sea, with her masts and bowsprit gone. It is rich and powerful in tone, somewhat spotty in colour and a little harder than we like, and, with much clearness, wants finish. -Mr. W. L. Wyllie is not quite at his best in the large sketch of A New Colossus (308), the huge hull of the iron "Teutonic" at a quay side, being rigged and finished. Yet it is firmly and deftly drawn, and treated with the painter's characteristic brightness and energy. The student of able draughtsmanship will admire the Sun Pier, Chatham (389), and the good Mersey, from Liverpool (427), by the same artist, who, however, seems to be reserving himself for other galleries than these. - On the Downs, near Polegate (310), by Mr. H. G. Hine, is nature seen with almost classic eyes, so broad, dignified, and ❘ painted so well. -No. 415, A Back Street in Sniek,

simple (though not severe) is it in colour, handling, and choiceness of colour. The time, just before sunset in summer, is a grand one, suiting the dignity and simplicity of the vast chalk hills, clad with verdure, and glowing in golden light, with opaline shadows in their great hollows, that look upon the sea. Fog, Fish Street Hill (334), marks a new departure for Mr. Hine. Holywell, near Eastbourne (388), is a soft, broad study of chalk cliffs in sunlight, and is tenderly coloured. Corfe Castle, Dorset (471), is a noble group of the hills and fortress in a dream-like effect, charmingly modelled. - Contrasting with this is the highly effective work of Mr. E. M. Wimperis called The Ferry (315), a view of a river in rainy weather. It is slighter than it should be, and not quite clear in the shadows. The Old Mill (456) is good. We like, too, A Cornfield (697).

Sir J. D. Linton approaches his best in Beppina (323), in a red German costume, standing with hands folded and a sincere and thoughtful expression on her handsome face. Technically speaking it is rather mannered, but it is softer, broader, and warmer than Sir James's previous works. -Cutting Gorse (327), by Mr. T. Collier, is a grand view of an open moorland, but the blackness of the shadows betrays the lamp. It forms a contrast to Mr. L. Pocock's Winding Rill among the Rocks (332), a rich, warm study of rocks and water in sunlight. - We hope the recovered firmness and clear colouring indicated by Mr. Fulleylove's High Street, Oxford (337), are to be maintained. The architecture is admirably drawn, the light is warm, brilliant, and broad, the shadows are clear, yet strong and effective. The figures are weakly drawn. - The Weary Waiting of Mr. Kilburne (342), a young wife lingering by a fire that has gone out, while her husband gambles with sharpers, challenges comparison with capital versions of similar subjects. The man's action and face are good and spirited in

by Mr. T. R. Way, and A Book-Shop, Vitré (436), by Mr. Spread, are both good, sober, broad, and picturesque. - Mr. E. Bale's Arno below Florence (450) is a bright, soft picture of a rare subject in a beautiful effect. We remember nothing of Mr. Bale's so good as this. -No. 464, The Health of the Bride, by Mr. Dollman, is painted with plenty of skill, much brightness, and a perfectly firm touch. The figures, their clothes and faces, are most deftly delineated, and the artist has evidently taken pleasure in his work; but the subject is not worth the art and spirit expended on it.-In "Cornered!" (477) Mr. F. Dadd has selected a much livelier incident: a highwayman caught and furiously threatened by one of his victims, while the posse comitatus look on in various well-conceived ways. The design is extremely clever, and many of its parts are finely delineated, but others require more care. It lacks breadth and warmth of colour and tone. - We call attention to Mr. F. Walton's picturesque Arran (492); Mrs. Naftel's painty, but tender and pearly For ever flowing to the Sea (500); Mr. J. E. Rogers's hard, but firm and clear Dordrecht (501); Mr. C. J. Lewis's pleasant and pretty vista of the tree-shaded Church Lane, Bosham (472); Mr. Orrock's Copley Fielding-like Naworth (527), an able drawing, which errs in the blackness of its shadows, but shows feeling; Mr. C. Johnson's bright On the Granta (543); and Mr. C. J. Lewis's sunny and pleasant, but rather artificial Hampshire Ferry (552).

Among the best things here is Mr. W. H. Smith's Interior of the Cathedral, Amiens (582), which is well drawn and illustrates the grace of the architecture, an uncommon achievement in such works. - We have often had pathetic pieces like Heer J. Israëls's Coming Home (585), but none sadder than this small picture of a grey waste in grey weather, and an old woman and her dog harnessed to a cart and toiling along a rough new catalogue has not adopted the pedantry of spelling Dutch names with the "ij" (as Cuijp, Van Dijck, Camphuijsen, and the like) instead of the "y" (as Cuyp, Van Dyck, and Camphuysen), which is not only the customary fashion here and everywhere but in Holland, but perfectly suited to the English language, which has in "y" the exact equivalent of that "ij" which our language does not recognize at all. The nationalization of a man's name is one of the greatest honours that can be paid to him, and we are confident the English press will reject the new pedantry.

(590), by Mr. H. Stock, is a sterling allegory, unsuited to such a time as ours and quite out of place here. It would be grand in its way if the stupendous genius standing upon a globe in a blaze of preternatural light had an arm less preposterously long. The nude genius is very well drawn and not ill modelled. -By the Sea (625), two pretty figures of daintily dressed little girls looking at breakers in a storm, is by Mr. Caffieri, and shows deft apposition of tones and colours.-A Few Days to Michaelmas (636), by Mr. C. A. Smith, a good interior, depicts a kitchen strewed with white feathers plucked from geese, and is a just, but rather hard rendering of the effect. It is the converse of Mr. Alma Tadema's exercise in rose colour, the 'Heliogabalus' of last year. It would be better for brighter and richer colour, and more of it.Mr. R. P. Spiers's Bow Window of the Dining Hall, Eton (646), is bright, firm, and well drawn. -The Wayside Inn (654) of Mr. W. F. Stocks depicts powerfully a heath scene and a stormy sunset. The air and colour are good, and the effect of light on the rich greys of stone buildings seen against a lurid sky is well studied.Lost Time (680), by Mr. H. R. Steer, is spirited, day (Saturday) for a private view of an exhibi

and the deftly drawn and cleverly designed figures seem to move, but, like most pictures of the woodcut school, it is spotty. - The Mousehill Downs (682) of Mr. G. L. Luker is very good, luminous, natural, and broad. - Likewise good is a charming representation of light over a haven shining under an evening sky, Radipole Lake (686), by Mr. W. Pye. -In A Retreat with a Casualty (691) Mr. J. Sherrin has bestowed some good draughtsmanship on the rabbits. Shoreham (706) is to be admired among Mr. J. Aumonier's capital landscapes; it is broad and artistic, but slighter than usual with him. -The Falmouth (731) of Mr. C. T. Davidson ; the Trawler off Southwold Harbour of Mr. E. Hayes (733); and Mr. J. Knight's first essay that we know of in painting in water colours a life-size half-length figure, he

Old

here called One of the

Old School (774)-a thoroughly well-drawn and solid figure of a man in a green coat-are noteworthy examples with which we conclude.

Fine-Art Gossip.

THE Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham has accepted the position of President of the Congress of the British Archæological Association, to be held at Lincoln in the week or ten days commencing July 29th next. With the Bishop of Lincoln as a patron, and promised aid of Dr. Trollope, Bishop Suffragan of Nottingham, as well as encouragement of the Dean, Sub-Dean, Precentor Venables, and the clergy of the diocese generally, together with a cordial welcome from the Mayor and Corporation of the old cathedral city, it is to be hoped the meeting may prove most successful. All communications relating to the above meeting should be sent to the honorary congress secretary, Mr. George R. Wright, F.S.A., at the Junior Atheneum Club. We are happy to be able to say, on the best authority, that the long-desired Catalogue of the National Gallery, about which our correspondents have frequently complained, will be published in a few days. It was officially stated in the House of Commons that it is intended to restore the more familiar names of painters to the picture labels in the gallery. As we men

The same

tioned last week, they had been replaced in many instances by the much less known, and not at all more correct patronymics. "Correggio" is the right name of Antonio Allegri, who only got the latter designation by descent. may be said of Domenichino, Fra Angelico, Masaccio, Pontormo, Paolo Veronese, Tintoretto, Titian, Fra Bartolommeo, and a score more. Mr. W. H. Smith was misinformed when, on Monday last, he aylast, spoke of these designations as "nicknames." The greater number of them are really the world's titles. It is to be hoped that the

A NUMBER of water-colour drawings of the Thames, by Mr. F. Coleridge, will be on view in the rooms of the Fine-Art Society for three weeks from to-day (Saturday).

THE April number of the Magazine of Art will contain, besides other papers and many cuts, an account of 'Self-painted Pictures, trated with a portrait of that artist engraved from a picture by himself.

written by Mr. Ford Madox Brown, and illus

THE Society of Lady Artists has appointed to

tion at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.

On the afternoon of Monday next a matinée will be held at the new headquarters of the 20th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteers, Duke's Road, Euston Road, immediately behind St. Pancras Church, when the Prince and Princess of Wales will open the building. Tickets, one guinea each, are to be had of Capt. Gore Brown, at the headquarters. The object is to clear off a debt of about 3,200l., balance of 6,500l., expended on erecting the new building and procuring its fittings and furniture. 3,300l. has been subscribed by the "Artists" themselves. FROM the 28th inst. to the 2nd prox. an art exhibition will, by kind permission of the Earl of Strafford, be held, in aid of working girls in East London and the Girls' Friendly Society, at 5, St. James's Square, the principal contributors being, besides the royal family, the Dukes of Devonshire and Leeds, the Earl of Yarborough,

Earl Cathcart, Baron F. de Rothschild, and Mr. A. de Rothschild.

THE death of an accomplished sculptor, M. V. E. Feugère des Forts, is announced: he obtained medals at the Salons of 1864, 1866, and 1867, and a medal at the Universal Exhibition of that year for his statue of the dead Abel, - also that of M. A. Anastasi, a pupil of Delaroche and Corot, who obtained a Second Class Medal for painting in 1848, and another medal for 1865, and also a medal for engraving in 1852, and the Legion of Honour in 1868. M. Anastasi had been blind for some years past.

AMONGST the inscriptions recently found at Volo there is one of the second century B. C. of

singular importance, as it makes known to us some particulars of the government of the Thessalian city of Magnesia, which proves to be very similar in constitution to the Ætolian League. In this decree of the city in honour of a certain Hermogenes, son of Adymos, who was secretary of the synedroi, appear the names of the chief magistrates of the district of the Magnetes, viz., the Strategos, the Hipparches, the Navarchos, the Tamias, and the priest of the Askrean Zeus. In the excavations of the German Institute in the upper portion of the cavea of the theatre of Dionysus at Athens, besides traces of an ancient road, and of some buildings on the rock before the erection and extention of the theatre under Lycurgus, has been discovered an oinochoe almost entire, bearing black figures representing a bacchanalian scene, with the inscription "Xenokles has made," and "Kleisophos has painted," in letters of an older period than Euclid.

AMONG the paintings destined for the approaching Salon the Moniteur des Arts anM. Lhermitte's decorative composi

nounces

tion intended for the Sorbonne, and entitled 'Une Leçon de Claude Bernard'; M. Tatte

grain, 'Louis XIV. visitant le Champ de Bataille des Dunes'; and the late Alexandre Cabanel, 'Portrait de Madame A--,' his last picture. M. Ringel will send 'Sa Majesté de Hasard,' a statue in plaster.

MUSIC

THE WEEK.

ST. JAMES'S HALL.-Philharmonic Society. Novello's Oratorio Concerts: Dudley Buck's 'The Light of Asia.' M. Grieg's Recital.

A HIGHLY successful commencement was made to the seventy-seventh season of the Philharmonic Society on Thursday last week. The original programme underwent a slight change, Madame Backer - Gröndahl's performance of Grieg's Concerto in A minor being postponed until the second concert. Grieg, however, appeared to conduct his suite Peer Gynt,' and Madame Grieg sang five of his Lieder. The performance of the suite was the most successful feature of the concert. The work itself is now familiar, but for the first time some particulars of the dramatic significance of the movements were vouchsafed, and the audience was thereby enabled to follow the composer's meaning. Further than this, the rendering was extraordinarily picturesque, the conductor having impressed his own individuality on every phrase. The pianissimo close of the second movement, 'The Death of Aase,' was exquisitely touching, and, in an entirely different sense, the finale representing the torments of Peer Gynt by the imps of the Dovre mountains was equally effective. The magnificent qualities of the Philharmonic orchestra were never more fully displayed than in this little work. The rest of the concert was kindly conducted by Dr. A. C. Mackenzie, Mr. Cowen being still absent, and on the whole a large amount of justice was rendered to Beethoven's Symphony in B flat, No. 4; Sterndale Bennett's overture 'Parisina'; and the conductor's Scottish Rhapsody, No. 2. The last-named work, which is built upon three traditional airs to which Burns set verses, shows more musicianly feeling than is usually to be found in a rhapsody, and is brilliantly scored. Madame Geisler-Schubert scarcely so successful in Schumann's Pianoforte Concerto as was expected. Her playing in the first and last movements was rough and unsteady, and some passages were much blurred. The pianist, however, was subsequently heard to the utmost advantage in a fantasia of Bach, and Schubert's Impromptu in F minor, Op. 142, No. 2. The rendering of the latter was unsurpassable.

was

Important choral works are rarely heard for the first time in London, and Mr. Dudley Buck's cantata 'The Light of Asia' is, therefore, an exception to the rule. The performance on Tuesday was remarkable for another reason-it was the first production in England of an elaborate work by an American composer. There are now several musicians in the United States who have achieved local fame with oratorios and cantatas, but they have yet to gain a footing on this side of the Atlantic. Mr. Dudley Buck received his musical education chiefly in Germany, and has since occupied the post of organist in various American towns, and has produced a quantity of music, chiefly choral, including a setting of 'The Golden

Legend.' In 'The Light of Asia' he shows himself a decidedly able musician, the construction of the various numbers, the partwriting for voices, and the orchestration being alike excellent. Indeed, we cannot point to a single flaw of a technical character from first to last. Further than this he has command of a pleasing vein of melody, several of the numbers being elegant and graceful. In short, if the mind is seldom impressed the ear is never offended, and the work must be pronounced a favourable example of what the Germans call Kapellmeister music. It is needless to say, however, that much higher qualities must be brought to bear upon such a poem as that of Sir Edwin Arnold if the result is to be satisfactory. The manner in which Mr. Buck has arranged the work is judicious, and a few of the most fervid and beautiful passages are retained in his libretto. But many more are absent, and he could have utilized some of them if he had adopted a more modern style and had avoided vain repetitions of words. In its general style the music is too solid, and of Oriental colouring there is scarcely a trace except in the female chorus describing the procession of maidens as they pass by Gautama. It is the mission of music to heighten the effect of poetry, and it is because it does not do this, but rather weakens the beauty and force of the original, that Mr. Buck's cantata must be pronounced a failure in spite of the excellent musicianship to be found in the score. With a less exacting

subject to work upon he would have done well, but as it is he has furnished an example of the ambition that o'erleaps itself.

Everything that could be done to place the work in the most favourable light before the public had been done by those responsible for the performance. Only three solo voices are required, and a better trio than Madame Nordica, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Andrew Black could not be desired. The last-named gentleman increased the good opinion previously conceived of him, and is certainly one of the most promising vocalists we have heard for a long time.

Dr. Mackenzie's zealous choir seemed to find no difficulty with the choruses. There was a fair amount of applause in the course of the evening, but little real enthusiasm.

The recital, or rather chamber concert, given by Herr Grieg on Wednesday afternoon contained no works for the first time, although the Sonata in c minor for piano and violin, Op. 45, has not been often played. It is no less characteristic of the composer than the earlier sonatas, and the structure of the first movement is more satisfactory than is usually the case with Grieg when he deals with classical forms. The middle section, a sort of combination of slow movement and scherzo, is in his best manner. Another prominent feature of the programme was the charming set of Norwegian Dances for four hands, Op. 35, in which Madame Grieg showed herself an accomplished pianist. The suite Aus Holberg's Zeit' is now too familiar to require further criticism, and it is equally unnecessary to say in what manner Madame Grieg rendered five of the Lieder. M. Johannes Wolff was the violinist, and he merits great praise for his very refined playing in the sonata.

Musical Cossip.

WE stated some weeks ago that Mr. Hamish MacCunn had been asked to write an opera for Mr. Carl Rosa. It is now said that it will illustrate the massacre of Glencoe, a subject admirably suited to his powers. Mr. Richard Gallienne and Mr. Wilson Barrett are providing the libretto.

THERE were no novelties in the programme of the Crystal Palace concert last Saturday, nor was the performance important in other respects. M. Ernest Gillet, a very able executant, gave an admirable rendering of Raff's Violoncello Concerto in D, Op. 193, a work very showily written for the instrument, but of little intrinsic value. The orchestra was in its best form, and splendid performances were given of Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony and the overtures to 'Oberon' and 'Die Meistersinger. Mr. Lloyd contributed songs by Gluck and Dvorak.

FAMILIAR programmes were supplied at the Popular Concerts last Saturday and Monday. On the former occasion the concerted works were Beethoven's Quartet in a minor, Op. 18, No. 4; Spohr's Duo Concertante in a minor for violins, Op. 67, No. 1; and Schumann's Trio in F, Op. 80. Mlle. Janotha was at her best in Beethoven's so-called 'Pastoral' Sonata, and Fräulein Fillunger was equally acceptable in Lieder by Schubert and Brahms.

MONDAY'S scheme included Mozart's Quintet in G minor, Tartini's 'Trillo del Diavolo,' and Schumann's Sonata in a minor for piano and violin, Op. 105. Madame de Pachmann apparently does not care to venture upon any important pianoforte work. Her rendering of three of Chopin's Études

where the subject needs it-all existing remains of ancient English music, ecclesiastical and secular. The list of members already includes the names of the best-known students of the subject. Mr. H. B. Briggs, of 40, Finsbury Square, is acting as honorary secretary.

THE once famous tenor Enrico Tamberlik died

suddenly in Paris on Wednesday last week. Amateurs of the present generation cannot remember this artist when in his prime. From 1850 until 1864 he was one of the most valuable members of the Royal Italian Opera company, among his great parts being Masaniello, Arnold, Otello, and Manrico. His ut de poitrine was considered marvellous; but by gaining it he injured the rest of his voice, and was always a victim to the vibrato. His last appearance in London was in 1877, at Her Majesty's, when he was fifty-seven years old and time had made inroads on his powers. After this he retired, having amassed a considerable fortune, and it is to his credit that no appeal to public generosity has ever been

made on his behalf.

Mr. Santley was the vocalist.

MADAME ALBANI has written accepting the engagement to sing in the performance of 'Elijah' at the Crystal Palace on June 22nd; Mr. Santley, however, will be abroad at the time, and the title rôle will be taken by Signor Foli.

FOUR subscription concerts of chamber music will be given by Mr. William Buels in the concert-room of the Kensington School of Music on May 17th and 31st and June 14th and 28th. CONCERTS of Irish music were given in St. James's Hall on Saturday last, and at the Albert Hall on Monday.

AMONG the Wagner selections in the forth coming series of the Richter Concerts will be the

beautiful fourth scene from the second act of 'Die Walküre,' where Brünnhilde warns Siegmund of his approaching fate; also the later version of the scene between Venus and Tannhäuser in the first act of the opera.

IT was unfortunate that the pianoforte recital of Miss Margaret Wild, an able executant, which took place at the Princes' Hall on Wednesday afternoon, clashed with Herr Grieg's concert. Miss Wild had an excellent programme, including Bach's 'Italian' Concerto; Beethoven's Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2; Schumann's 'Études Symphoniques'; and pieces by Chopin and Brahms.

MR. WALTER MACFARREN repeated his lecture on pianoforte music at the Westminster Town Hall on Monday afternoon.

MESSRS. MACMILLAN & Co. will issue almost

immediately the appendix to the 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians.' This, which will complete the fourth volume, has been edited, under the supervision of Sir George Grove, by Mr. J. A. Fuller Maitland. A complete index to the work is in an advanced state of preparation, and will be issued as a separate volume.

AMONGST our many antiquarian societies we have not hitherto had one for the study of ancient music. Such a one is now being formed with the title of the Plainsong and Medieval

COURT.- The Weaker Sex,' a Comedy in Three Acts. By A. W. Pinero.

THE experiment of reviving Shakspeare's 'King Richard III.' in its original shape has never wholly commended itself to actors or to managers. Firstattempted by Macready at Covent Garden on the 12th of March, 1821, Shakspeare's 'Richard' was once more represented a week later, and then laid from strict Shakspeareans by reviving Colley Cibber, and various compromises have been attempted. Another has now been added to the list of these. It befits, of course, the budding tragedian to have his own adaptation of a play in which he has to appear. Mr. Mansfield has accordingly added one more to the numerous acting editions of 'King Richard III.' Bolder than most of his immediate predecessors, he acknowledges a certain amount of indebtedness to Colley Cibber; and he has apparently been tempted a little, though he has resisted the temptation, to keep the famous or infamous "Off with his head: so much for Buckingham." The cases are few, however, in which the language is not Shakspeare's, taken from 'King Henry VI.' or other plays.

A version which sins principally in length and is fairly intelligible is the result. No changes whatever will make 'King Richard III.' a good acting play, nor will anything short of high genius in the Richard give it vitality. Whether in the days of Shakspeare the character of Richard was so comic as now it appears cannot be ascertained. Murders, judicial and other, were near at hand in Elizabeth's days. After Henry VIII. had lopped off every head that overtopped its fellows came the persecutions of Bloody Mary; and the deaths of Jane Grey and Mary Stuart, and the massacre of St. Bartholomew-to speak of these alone-were within recent or immediate recollection. King Richard might accordingly be wholly impressive. We can recall no exponent who has not been to a certain extent comic. This feature in the performance is still preserved. Mr. Mansfield makes up Richard well, and presents a physiognomy much more striking and artistic than the be-ringleted Richard of a generation or more ago. He assigns the Crookback, moreover, a martial bearing, a complacent malignity, a tendency to melancholy, a temper really fiendish and so far outside his own control that he all but draws his sword upon his mother. These things may be right; who shall say what is not possible in Richard? We are disposed, however, to regard him as more politic than passionate, and we scarcely understand the affection for rich costume with which Mr. Mansfield endows him. His hand, too, should seek the dagger rather than the sword. Very well worn is Mr. Mansfield's assumed hypocrisy, and his fierce snarl when he casts off his caressing ways and shows his true mind is excellent. The entire performance displays thought and insight. Of the other characters the Prince of Wales of Miss Bessie Hatton is

noteworthy for excellent delivery by a young

actress; Miss Mary Rorke as Queen Elizabeth displays considerable pathos; and Mr. Beaumont, Mr. Fernandez, Mr. Norman Forbes, and Miss Carlotta Leclercq are seen to fair advantage.

Much pains have been taken with the mounting, and competent authorities such as Mr. Seymour Lucas, Mr. Egerton Castle, and Mr. Walter Pollock-have been consulted with regard to the archæological aspects of the play. Some results really remarkable, when the possibilities of so small a stage are taken into account, were reached. The entire representation is interesting in every respect, and is instructive also, and reflects credit upon Mr. Mansfield's energy and enterprise.

Now that it reaches London, Mr. Pinero's play 'The Weaker Sex,' noticed in our columns when first produced in Manchester, has an altered termination. The hero, Ira Lee, the object of pursuit of two women who stand to each other in the relation of mother and daughter, marries neither, and the play ends pathetically in general defeat. This is, perhaps, as good a termination as can be obtained for a theme which, in spite of its adoption by Thackeray in his Esmond,' can never be wholly sympathetic. It is at least not discomforting. Meanwhile Mr. Pinero's admirable dialogue and humorous characterization exercise their full effect, and obtain for the play a warm reception of laughter and applause. Mrs. Kendal acts her best as the mother who has so long dwelt upon an absent love. How good that best is all must know. Mr. Kendal displays earnestness, and is thoroughly natural as her lover. Other parts are well sustained by Messrs. Righton, Lewis, Vernon, and Denison, Misses Olga Brandon, Vanbrugh, and Chapman; and the whole constitutes an attractive entertainment.

DR. WARNKE and Dr. Proescholdt have issued Arden of Feversham (Halle, Max Niemeyer) as the fifth instalment of their excellent collection of pseudo-Shakspearean plays. The editors have done their work with elaborate care. They deserve thanks for reprinting in their introduction the account that Holinshed gives of the murder of Arden. As to the authorship of the play no plausible theory can be advanced. The great scene of the quarrel and reconciliation between Alice and Mosbie is indisputably one of the most powerful scenes in the English drama; and it is hard to resist the conviction that this scene was touched by Shakspeare. It must be remembered that the play was published in 1592. No known dramatist of that early date, with the exception of Shakspeare, could have written such a passage as the following:

Nay, heare me speake. Mosbie, a word or two;
Ile byte my tongue if it speake bitterly.
Looke on me, Mosby, or Ile kill my selfe:
Nothing shall hide me from thy stormy looke.
If thou cry warre, there is no peace for me;
I will do pennance for offending thee,

And burne this prayer-booke, where I here vse
The holy word that had conuerted me.
See, Mosbie, I will teare away the leaues,
And al the leaues, and in this golden couer
Shall thy sweet phrases and thy letters dwell;
And thereon will I chiefly meditate,

And hould no other sect but such deuotion.

It would be quite uncritical to suppose that the play was written throughout by Shakspeare; but there is much to be said in favour of the view that ""Arden,' in its present state, has been retouched here and there by the master's hand." The present editors are of opinion that the play bears no traces of Shakespeare's hand.

William Wycherley, edited with an introduction and notes by W. C. Ward (Vizetelly & Co.), forms

"Mermaid Series." Mr.

Ward's Packnowledges that Wycherley's grossness often "o'erflows the measure," but he adopts the apology that Lamb advanced in the famous essay 'On the Artificial Comedy of the Last Century. To each of the four plays Mr. Ward prefixes some useful notes, which show him to be well acquainted with the stage history of the time.

Thomas Heywood and Thomas Otway have been added to the "Mermaid Series. The plays of Heywood that have been chosen are 'A Woman killed with Kindness,' the first part of 'The Fair Maid of the West,' 'The English Traveller,' 'The Wise Woman of Hogsdon,' and the 'Rape of Lucreece.' If a second volume of Heywood is to follow, this choice may be approved; but if the present volume is to stand alone, we think that a better selection might

have been made. 'The Wise Woman' should certainly give place to 'Love's Mistress'; and one of the 'Four Ages' should be included, even if we have to part with 'The Fair Maid of the West.' But we hope that there will be a second

volume, for Heywood deserves to be fully represented. Mr. J. A. Symonds prefixes an excellent critical introduction; and Mr. A. W. Verity has attended to the text of the five plays. The volume of Otway, containing 'Don Carlos,' 'The Orphan,' 'The Soldier's Fortune,' and Venice Preserved,' is edited by the Hon. Roden Noel, whose introduction is highly appreciative, but somewhat too discursive. It may be questioned whether a whole volume should have been devoted to Otway; a share might have been given to Lee, who must have a place somewhere

in the series.

Gramatic Gossip.

MR. WILLARD has resigned his part in 'The Profligate,' as the piece with which Mr. Hare will open the Garrick is temporarily named. The character he resigns will be taken by Mr. Lewis Waller. In consequence of his retirement from the Garrick, Mr. Willard will produce in May, at an afternoon performance, a drama by Mr. H. A. Jones, in which he will assume a rôle of the Robsonian type.

THE 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' with Mr. Lionel Brough as Bottom, will be revived for afternoon performance at the Haymarket.

A TESTIMONIAL to Mrs. Dallas Glyn, known by many admirable Shakspearean assumptions, and now stricken with serious and, it is said, incurable illness, will command universal sympathy.

MISS ANNIE IRISH has replaced Miss Emery at the Vaudeville Theatre as the heroine of 'That Doctor Cupid.'

A NEW theatre, to be managed by Mr. Brookfield, of the Haymarket, is to be erected in Brighton.

THE Adelphi drama 'The Bells of Haslemere' has been revived at the Grand Theatre.

So bright and clever is 'The Bookmaker,' a three-act comedy of Mr. J. W. Pigott, produced at an afternoon representation on Thursday at Terry's Theatre, so well acted all round is it, and so admirably suited is the character of the hero to Mr. Terry, the transference of the piece to the regular bills can merely be a question of time.

MR. HAWLEY, the librarian of the Shakspeare Memorial Library at Stratford-on-Avon, has died in his sixty-third year. Under the name of Haywell he acted with Phelps and Greenwood at Sadler's Wells, and was acting manager for Knowles, of Manchester, at the time of his Shakespearean revivals. Two plays by him were given at the Gaiety Theatre.

MR. THOMAS JAMES SERLE, who died at the age of ninety on the 18th inst., was acting in 1825 at Covent Garden, where he supported Kean, Young, and Charles Kemble.

actors such as

He soon subsided, however, into the minor theatres. A five-act play by him, entitled 'The Merchant of London,' was given at Drury Lane in 1832, with Macready as the hero. A second work from his pen, the House of Colberg,' came out in the autumn of the same year. Serle wrote many other plays and some novels, and was author of the rhymed address spoken by Mrs. Warner at the beginning of Phelps's season at Sadler's Wells. He was for some years Macready's acting manager. He had lived of late in retirement at Worthing, where he died.

'MES AÏEUx' is the title of a three-act farce