was laid in the same situation as the former, and completely filled with pitch, and the lid put on. There was a plate on the lid, on which was engraved the year of his first interment, and the present date. The whole was then built round with brick. The Lord Chief Baron and a number of gentlemen were present.

12. State of the Country-Meetings of the people to petition for reform in Parlia ment, and to denounce the Manchester Magistrates for their conduct on the 16th August last, continue to be held frequent ly in various parts of the country. The assemblies of those who call themselves radical reformers, have been marked by much violence of language, the people on all occasions giving vent to an abusive philippic against the government, the clergy, and the magistracy of the country, foolishly imputing to them the commercial distress under which the country has been for some time suffering. They have hitherto, however, separated peaceably; and

there has been nothing of novelty in their proceedings, if we except a meeting of ra dicals which took place at Ayr on Saturday last; and at which, in imitation of their sister reformers in England, about thirty females attended, carrying flags with various inscriptions. At a similar meeting at Paisley on the 1st instant, a band of boys appeared, carrying a flag, inscribed, "As the auld cock craws, the young cock learns."

Several county meetings have also taken place in England, solely for the purpose of requesting inquiry into the proceedings at Manchester. At one of those in Yorkshire the Earl Fitzwilliam attended; for which he has since been removed by government from his office of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of that county. This measure seems to have excited a great sensation in that quarter, and has caused several officers of the Yorkshire Cavalry, and one of the magistrates of the county, to resign their commissions.

LONDON.

Drury-Lane.-Mr Kean has returned to this Theatre, having relinquished his intention of going to America, and appeared on Monday 8th Nov. in the character of Richard III. He was received by an overflowing house in the most flattering manner. Mr Elliston performed the part of Richmond.

Covent Garden. Mr Macready has been uncommonly successful in his performance of Richard III. which has raised him at once to the first eminence as an actor. Dryden's masque of Arthur and Emmeline, as altered by Garrick, has been produced at this Theatre with much success.

The Surrey and Cobourg Theatres have just closed, and Astley's Amphitheatre opened on the 26th October under the manage ment of Mr Barrymore.

EDINBURGH.

Theatre Royal-To Mr Kean succeeded Mr Mathews, who for a week drew crowded audiences by his Trip to Paris and Mail Coach Adventures. The Theatre closed on Monday the 18th October for the season, when Mr Murray delivered the following address :

"Ladies and Gentlemen,

"This evening will conclude a season, which, commencing on the third of December last, has, with the intervention of about three weeks, afforded us the honour of appearing before you two hundred and fortysix nights; and as its duration is, I believe,

unprecedented in the theatrical annals of Edinburgh, so, in many instances, has its success been equally unexampled. A passing cloud may have, at intervals, darkened our prospects, but to dwell upon such temporary disappointments would be a very ungrateful return for that full blaze of public favour, which we have generally enjoyed, and which it is our pride most gratefully to acknowledge.

"I cannot help alluding, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the very different situation we were placed in at the termination of the last season;-then almost overpowered by reverses, we scarcely knew how long we might have the honour of remaining in your service. Now, we confidently anticipate the successful issue of our speculation, assured that confidence is not ill founded which firmly relies upon your kindness and support.

In October last, we ventured to pledge ourselves, that neither the failures we had experienced, or the difficulties by which we were surrounded, should damp or impede our efforts for your amusement: and we trust, if you will cast a retrospective glance upon the arrangements of the season-either in regard to the amusements produced during the winter, or to the additional aid we have procured from London to support our summer campaign, you will allow we have not forfeited our pledge, or in any instance failed in that attention and respect so eminently your due. Unwilling further to interrupt the amusements of this evening, 1

shall decline enumerating the various new engagements we have formed for next winter, or the improvements we propose in the decorations of the Theatre, leaving them to your decision in November, when we hope to have the honour of meeting you here again; and now, Ladies and Gentlemen, requesting you will rest assured, that as a failure could not damp our efforts, so neither will success render us neglectful or supine; until the commencement of the next winter season, we very respectfully take our leave."

The Musical Festival.-The Festival began, with a concert in the Theatre, on the night of the 19th. The house was very crowded; but the arrangements of the Directors were so judicious as completely to prevent confusion, or the occurrence of any thing in the least disagreeable. The appearance of the Theatre was beautiful. The stage, converted into a large and ele gant orchestra, brilliantly lighted up, and filled with exquisite performers and the body of the house, crowded with certainly the most brilliant assemblage that ever was within its walls-formed one of the most exhilarating coups d'œil that can be imagined. It was delightful, when the orchestra was filling, to see so many of our old favourites appearing one by one. The very sight of Dragonetti and his glorious double-bass carried us back at once to the time when we first heard those sounds, which none but he ever has been able to produce from it. An intense feeling of expectation seemed to pervade the whole audience; for, when every thing was prepared, and Mr Yaniewicz was looking round upon the band ready to give the first coup d'archet, there was hardly a whisper to be heard in

the house.

Our attention was well rewarded. The performance of Haydn's military symphony, with which the concert began, was absolute perfection. The whole band seemed animated with one soul, and the sounds they produced were like one instrument. Nothing could be more delicious than the mellow sweetness, and exquisite intonation of the wind instruments in the softer passages, nor more electrifying than those sudden and tremendous bursts of sound, from the whole orchestra, by which those passages are, in this piece, so often interrupted. The effect of the andante movement was peculiarly enchanting. smooth and graceful melody which forms its subject, undergoes a total change of character, becoming by degrees stormy and terrible, and affording a fine display of the most powerful effects of the military instruments. All our readers who heard the piece will doubtless remember the effect of the Triangle, towards the close of the movement, if we may judge at least by the impression made on us by this generally insig

The

nificant instrument.-During the whole evening, our delight from the performance of the band was undiminished. It is ad mirable, and complete in all its parts, and its formation does high honour to the judgment of the Directors. The Septetto from Beethoven was altogether exquisite.

To enter into a detail of the different performances is, of course, impossible. Mr Braham's voice is as fine as ever. He sang his part of the beautiful and impassioned duett in Don Giovani, “ Ma-qual mai s'offre," with exquisite taste and feeling. Signor Ambrogetti is one of the gayest men living. This may seem an odd way of beginning a critique on a singer; but as he acts with exquisite felicity even in the orches tra, this advantage produces even there the most powerful and striking effect. His des cription of the various distresses attending the choice of a wife drew peals of laughter from every part of the house. There is nothing remarkable in his voice, except its power in the middle and lower tones, and his great skill in the management of it. Signor Begrez was exceedingly happy in Cimarosa's lovely song of " Pria che spunta in ciel l'aurora."

On Wednesday morning, the performance in the Parliament House consisted of a part of Mozart's Requiem,—a selection chiefly from Handel, and the whole of the Oratorio of The Creation. On Thursday morning The Messiah was performed, with the additional accompaniments of Mozart. And on Saturday morning there was an excellent selection of miscellaneous picces, followed by Beethoven's Mount of Olives, which concluded the whole. The intermediate evenings of Wednesday and Friday were occupied by Concerts in the Theatre, similar in character and attraction to the first performance, of which we have already given some account. The whole of these performances were attended by crowded audiences, and went off with the great. est spirit and effect, leaving the multitudes who witnessed them equally charmed with what they had heard, and pleased with the taste and judgment of the gentlemen to whose exertions they owed so high a gratification. The pleasure was much heightened by the ease and comfort with which, owing to the good management of the Directors, every body was accommodated, there having been no more crowding and confusion than what was inseparable from the assembling of such great numbers.

The opening of the first performance of sacred music, with the solemn and affecting strains of The Requiem, was exceedingly grand and impressive. There is something about this, the dying work of its immortal author, that is singularly touching. It is full of all the profundity and learning of the ancient ecclesiastical style, which still continues to be the model for compositions of

this nature. This style, abounding in fugue, canon, and all the resources of double counterpoint, has been found, by the experience of several ages, to be better adapted than any other to such choral performances as are specially devoted to the service of the church being extremely grave and solid in its effect, and so severe in its structure, as to exclude the introduction of any ornaments that savour in the least of levity. But, with this severity and solemnity of style, Mozart, in The Requiem, has combined the strongest impression of devotional feeling; and many of the movements, though of intricate and elaborate structure, are made up of the most pathetic and beautiful strains, produced, apparently, with as little restraint from technical rules, as the simplest air which he ever composed. The grand and beautiful effects, too, produced by the instrumental parts, performed as they were on this occasion, added an inexpressible charm to the music. The selection from this work was judicious, consisting certainly of the most beautiful parts of it, and comprehending, among others, the Recordare and Benedictus; though we regretted the necesssity of omitting some of the more awful and terrible passages, particularly the "Dies ira”—the quartetto, "Tuba mirum spargens sonum”—and the chorus, "Rex tremendæ majestatis.' good many songs of Handel had, to our feeling, a somewhat heavy effect; but many people thought very differently, who were just as well entitled to be gratified as we

were.

A

The Hymn by Beethoven, performed on this morning, appeared to be in every respect worthy of its great author; expressing, with admirable truth and beauty, the vari ous feelings conveyed by the words, and containing many of those new and unexpected effects for which the works of Beethoven are so remarkable. Handel's divine song, "Angels ever bright and fair," was admirably sung by Miss Corri, whose performance of this air alone is of itself sufficient to establish her character as a very accomplished singer of sacred music. Her voice is beautiful, her execution clear and articulate, and her style remarkably pure, sufficiently florid, but free from unmeaning or vulgar ornament. With these high qualities, and with assiduous study and practice, there is no reason to doubt that she will become one of the first singers this country has produced.

The Creation was exquisitely performed. This great work opens with a symphony of instruments, intended as a representation of chaos; and the strange and mysterious sounds with which it commences produce an effect on the imagination similar to the contemplation of the primeval war and confusion of the elements, when "the earth was without form and void, and darkness

was upon the face of the deep." And here, at the hazard of being thought fanciful, we will notice a very singular effect, which was produced by a very common cause. While the audience were listening, in the deepest silence, to those sublime and appalling bursts of sound, rendered more impressive by the sombre and majestic appearance of the hall in which they sat, the place suddenly became dark, and a violent storm of wind and rain, beating against the large windows, lent a misty horror to the scene, and, mingling in a sort of wild harmony with the sounds from the orchestra, produced an effect which was felt by the whole assembly. It is not less singular, that, with the temporary suspense of the storm, the character of the music changed, by almost imperceptible degrees, the discords became less harsh, and the transitions less abrupt; the sweet melodies of the flutes, clarionets, and horns, became more and more predominant, till, after a momentary pause, the full choir began, in a solemn and subdued tone, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; and God said, Let there be light, and there was light;" at which last word, the whole voices and instruments burst into a thunder of harmony, which forms the finest piece of musical imitation that was ever conceived. Mr Braham had here ample room to display his transcendent powers. In the accompanied recitative, "In splendour bright is rising now the sun"-the effect of his voice was sublime. It burst forth like a flood of light, and seemed absolutely to fill the air, like the beams of the glorious orb whose rising it described and in the passage which followed-" With softer beams and milder light, steps on the silver moon through silent night"-it was as soft and mellow as the light of that beautiful planet. His performance, too, of the exquisite song, "In native worth and honour clad," we should have thought was a combination of every thing that is beautiful in vocal music, had we not heard the same great singer deliver it with even grander effect at the last Festival. We have as. certained that the cause was severe indisposition, and that indisposition inflammation of the side. He was thus compelled to restrain his powers, from the fear of a dangerous result. Miss Stephens, in the song,

"

With verdure clad the fields appear," displayed all the charms of her voice, and gave this beautiful and graceful composition its full effect. The different airs for the bass voice were executed in a masterly manner by Mr Bellamy, particularly the song, "Rolling in foaming billows"-and the inimitable recitation and air in the second part, descriptive of the creation of the different animals. Miss Corri deserved great praise in the song, "On mighty wings uplifted soars the eagle;" nor was Miss

angels, celebrating the accomplishment of man's redemption, terminated the whole So sung they, and the empyrean rung With Hallelujahs!

Thus ended our second Festival. It now appears like a delightful dream-and so delightful, that we could almost “ cry to sleep again." In our Southern neighbours, who have their Festivals every year, and to whom the names of Braham, Dragonetti, and Smart, are like "household words," such ardent expressions of pleasure and regret may perhaps excite a smile. But till they come to know what it is to receive such visitors once in four years, and not even to be sure of that, they ought not to laugh at, because they cannot understand, our feelings.

Being doubtful, in the haste with which these slight notices have been compiled, whether we have sufficiently mentioned them before, we must not omit to state, and we do it with great pleasure, that three of the most important agents in the late Festival belong to ourselves. These are, Mr Yaniewicz, the able leader; Mr Penson, the principal second violin; and Mr Mather, who presided at the organ. The manner in which these gentlemen acquitted themselves in their respective provinces, is sufficiently seen in the result of their labours.-Weekly Journal.

The Pantheon.-As a sort of epilogue to the Festival, Mr Corri brought out, at the Pantheon, on Monday evening, 25th October, a performance of scenes selected from the Italian Operas, Il Don Giovani, and Il Fanatico per la Musica, interspersed with a few detached songs from other pieces. The vocal performers were Signors Ambrogetti and Begrez, Miss Corri, Miss Rosa Corri, and Signora Mori; and the band was led by Mr Mori. Our previous knowledge of Ambrogetti, Begrez, and Miss Corri, led us to expect an entertainment well worthy of going to but having never seen Signora Mori or Miss Rosa Corri, we were not prepared to expect any thing so delightful as the performance on Monday evening turned out to be. The first part was a series of scenes from Don Giovani, in which, of course, the small number of performers precluded any attempt to produce continuity or connection. To those who knew the opera, however, and were acquainted with the situation of the characters in each scene, the effect was very lit tle injured; and even to those who did not know the opera, or even the language, the entertainment was delightful, not merely as singing, but as a dramatic performance. Of Ambrogetti it is superfluous to speak, but of Miss Rosa Corri it is not too much to say, that she both sang and acted it in a way that gave promise of a worthy successor to Madam Fodor, in her own delight fil walk. This young lady (and she is very

The

young) is exceedingly pretty-possesses much gracefulness and simplicity of manner-a charming voice, and an excellent style. She is, in short, a treasure. scene which concludes the first act of this opera was also very effective, both in a dramatic and musical point of view, and was exceedingly well supported by all the performers.

The scenes which followed, from Il Fanatico per la Musica, suffered less from the want of connection, and the other disadvantages of the representation, than those from Don Giovani, as this piece is merely a most whimsical caricature of a moon-struck musician, whose absurdities, in teaching his daughter to sing, turning off her lover because he was not an amateur, and rehearsing a new composition with his band, were rendered as amusing by Ambrogetti, as they could have been had the representation, in other respects, been ever so complete. He is admitted to be by far the finest representative of the fanatico that we have had; and, indeed, the exquisite vis comica of his countenance, and the grotesque extravagance of his voice and gestures,far surpass any thing we had conceived, even on the Italian stage. The "shouts of laughter and applause" with which he was received, however, shewed that his humour was of the most genuine kind, not belonging to any particular school or language, but to the universal school and language of nature. His singing is so entirely an accessory of his acting, that one almost forgets to speak of it. It possesses, indeed, nothing remarkable, but it never mars the music, any more than the meaning of the author. We sincerely hope the success of his first visit will bring him here again.

We have already said a good deal of Miss Corri in speaking of the Festival, and have only to add, that she appeared to still greater advantage at this performance than she did before, her forte being decidedly the singing of Italian music. With Signora Mori we were greatly delighted. Her appearance is very pleasing, and she sings beautifully. We have seldom been more pleased than with her performance of the charming song from Figaro, “Dove sono," or the duett from La clemenza di Tito, which she sung with Signor Begrez. to this gentleman, he had already, most deservedly, become a favourite of the public, from the elegant style of his singing at the evening concerts during the Festival; and his appearance on this occasion shewed that he adds to his fine musical talents the merit of being a very agreeable and spirited actor.

As

The band was ably led by Mr Mori, who performed a concerto in a style of the highest excellence; and what added to the pleasure we derived from his performance was, that he had the good sense to select one of