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Elements of Medical Jurlninulcnce. Bv Theodor*' I
Uoineyn Beck. M. D_ LI.. D., Professor of Materia Med'
' tea lathe Albany Medical College. American Philo- j
sojihtcal Society : Elementary edition, with Xotes by an
i Association of the Mends of Book. The whole revised
by Prof. C. K. Gilman. M. D.. of the College of Physi
' cians and Surgeons of New York. Philadelphia:.). I!, j
Lippincott & Co. *
On Gout and Rhonmatic Gout By A. B. Garrod. M.
D., V. It 8.. Physician to University College Hospital.
With colored and other illustrations. London: Wallan
1 Sc Maberly.
Ulnstrated Register of Rural Affairs. Vol. 11.. contain
i ing 440 Engravings, and Treating upon Country Dwel
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ers, Domestic Animals, and all Farm and Garden Proves- i
i cs. New York; C. M. Saxton, Barker A Co.
Some of My Bush Friends in Tasmania. By Mrs.
Louise Anne Meredith, author of “ Our Wild Flowers
(.English), “My Home in Tasmania,” etc. Containing
14 Plates In Chromo-lithograpliy of the Flow-el's, Berries,
and Insects of Tasmania, and" elegantly designed Bor
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Descriptions of Localities, Botanical Peculiarities, etc.,
( etc, London : Day A Son.
A Popular History of the United States of America :
from the discovery’of the American Continent to the
> present time. By Mary Howiit. Illustrated by numer
ous Engravings. New York : Harper A Brothers.
Evenings at the Microscope ; or. Researches Among
the Minuter Organs and Forms of Animal Life By
Philip Henry Gosse, F. E,S. New Y'ork :D. Appleton i
ACo.
Great Facts : A Popular History and Description of
the Most Remarkable Inventions during the present
i Century. By Frederick C. Bake well, author of " Philo-
V sophical Conversation,” “ Manual of Electricity,” etc., >
illustwted with numerous Engravings. New York : D.
1 Appleton A Co.
Round the World: a Talc for Boys. By W. H. G. !
, Kingston, author of ” Peter the Whaler.” Illustrated, i
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f Shakspcare's Works ; Edited with a scrupulous revi
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. English Literature, from Chaucer to Tennyson. By
( Ilenry Reed, late Professor of Rhetoric and English Lit
erature in Pennsylvania University. London: John F.
‘ Shaw.»
The Fool of Quality. By Henry Brooke. With Bio
r graphical Preface by Kcv. Charles Kingsley. New Y’ork:
Derby A Jackson."
f Oceola. By Capt. Mayne Reid. Illustrated with 8
engravings designed by Charles Keene, and engraved by
Edmund Evans. London: Henry Lee.
Essays of Elia. By Charles Lamb. Boston: William
t Vcazie.’
* Lyrical Poems. By John 8. Blackie, Professor of
Greek in the University of Edinburgh. London: Suth
, erland A Knox.
The Whiskey Demon; or The Dream of the Reveller
r By Charles Maekay, L.L.D., author of “The Balanian
i drlne,” etc., etc. illustrated with numerous Full-Page
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kin, Marshall A Co.
Toems. By the author of “John Halifax. Gentleman,”
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j. London: Hnrst A Blackett.
' The King of the Golden River; or The Black Brothers.
By John lluskin, M. A. With 22 Illustrations. Boston:
, Mayhew A Baker.
Prince Charlie, The Young Chevalier. By Meredith
r Jones, author of “The Boy V Book of Modern Travel,”
I etc. With eight Illustrations, New Y’ork: D. Appleton
* A Co.
Woman’s Right to Labor; or, Low Wages aud Hard
Work. Three lectures delivered in Boston, November,
ISM. 1. Death or Dishonor. 2. Verify your Creden
k tials, 8. “The Opening of the Gates.” By Caroline 11,
S, Dali. Boston: Walker, Wise A Co.
( ID
i CHESS COLUMN.
SOLUTION OF PROBLEM X,
f (Published in our last number, page 237.)
WHITE. BLACK.
h* 1. Queen e s—h 8 f Rook f B—h 8:
» 2. Knight g 4—f 6 f King h 7—g 7
ft 3. Knight f 6 —d 7: f King g 7—h 7
\ 4. Rook f I—f 7+ King h7—g 8
0 5. Rook f 7—g 7 f Mate.
, OPENING VIII.
(From De la Bourdonnais, page 16.)
WHITE. BLACK.
(- 1 1. Pawn e 2—e 4 P. e 7—e 5
k 2. Bishop f I—c 4 B. f B—c 3
ft 3. Pawn c 2—c 3 Q. d B—h 4
4. Queen d I—e 2 Ktgß—f 6
p 5. Pawn d2 —d 3 Ktf 6 —g4
C. Pawn g 2—g 3 Q. h 4—f 6 (1)
\ 7. Knight g I—h 3 (2) P. d 7—d G
f 8. Fawn f 2—f 3 Kt g 4— e 3 (3)
9. Bishop c I—e 3 : B. c s—e 3 :
P 10. Queen e 2—e 3 : B. c B—h 3:
i 11. Knight b I—d 2 Ktb B—d 7 (4)
i NOTES.
p (1) It instead of withdrawing their queen, tho Blacks
had taken the pawn of your king's bishop, you would
v liave taken their bishops with your queen and gained a
V piece.
f (2) Although this square is not the best upon Which to
bring out the Knight, the actual position of tho pieces
makes this move necessary.
r (8) If the Blacks had withdrawn this knight, you
k would have played knight h 3—f 2, and the next move
bishop c I—e1 —e Bin order to rid yourself of their king's
a bishop.
a (4) It is evident that the Whites have here gained
P time on the Blacks. The reason is that tho Blacks
I brought out their queen too soon ; and commenced an
attack which they wore not able to follow up nnd snp
-1 port vigorously.
MATE NO. 4.
(•j King against a King and two Bishops.
k (From De la Bourdonnais, page 178.)
® To effect this mate, the adversary’s king must
A be forced to retreat to one of the corner-squares
f 1 of the chess board, where the two bishops will
k- easily give him check-mate. But the Whites
V • must be careful to avoid stale-mate.
' POSITION.
White. Black.
r King e 6 King g7.
& Bishop c 2
r Bishop f 2
“ MOVES.
[ 1. Bishop f 2—e3 King g 7—f 8
f 2. Bishop c 2—g G King f B—g 7
it 3. Bishop g 6 —h 5 King g 7—f 8
4. Bishop e 3—hG f King f B—g 8
5. Bishop h s—g G 7 King g B—h 8
/ G. King e 6—f G King h B—g 8
I 7. Bishop g 6—d 3 King g B—li 8
8 8. King f o—g 6 King h B—g 8
” 9. Bishop d 3—c 4 f King g B—h 8
10. Bishop h G—g7 f Mate.
it We are gratified to learn (says the Charleston
r Courier) that the Committee on Tournaments
. and Match Games of the Charleston Chess Club
f are now busily engaged in making arrangements
» and in concocting rules and regulations for a
s' grand Tournament. The fairness, great equality
A and liberality of the plan proposed, must give
j 1 entire satisfaction, and elicit universal support,
f- We shall again allude to this subject. Sub-
L joined is what the Spirit says of such:
Just now, “Chess Tournaments” appear to be the
i order of the day; a joust of this nature Is now on the
) J tapis at the “Morphy Chess Rooms,” comer of Fourth
> Sheet and Broadway, where thirty-two competitors
<5 will contend for a handsome Chess-board and Men, pre
l sented by the proprietors of that establishment. It will
A be an nniusing affair, a “rough and tumble” sort of nght;
yi as the combatants, who embrace among themselves play
) ers of every grade, will bo paired by lot, and odds given
and received in accordance with the supposed relative
jV force of each player.
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF CHESS.
r From the Book of the first American Chess Congress.
(Continued from F. and F., p. 287.)
| About the close of the fifteenth century the
y shatranj blossomed into our present phase of the
I game, and the third great period, that of modern
* chess, began. The vast revival of learning, the
a immortal invention of Guttenberg, and the in-
xks sotcxkbs xx&lh &m jsx&sbxbe.
creased intercourse between nations, brought !
about by the spirit of discovery and extensions ‘
of trade, exercised a visible influence upon chess 1
as upon greater things. Although not entirely J
confined to the upper and educated classes, it 1
had still been limited, in a measure, to the
neighborhood of the court and the cloister; now
it became known to all ranks. Further improve- ;
ments, evolved by experience, were made in the
fundamental laws of the game. There is reason
to believe that these were not the work of one
generation, but that they had been gradually
progressing for two or' three centuries. The
growing means of inter-communication, aided by
printing, soon made them comraou to all Europe.
The vizier, or counsellor of the shatranj, by a cu- '
rious philological blunder, became the queen, 1
and was raised from the rank of a minor figure
to that of the most powerful piece on the board,
combining the powers of the rook and the bish
op. The bishop was now allowed the free range
of a diagonal, instead of being restricted in bis
movements to two squares at a time. The pawns
were permitted, on their first move, to advance
one or two squares, at the option of the player,
whereas in the shatranj they were limited at all
times to one step. This was a much needed al
teration, as it brought about a more rapid devel
opment of the contest. To obviate, in a meas
ure, this enhanced [lower of the foot-soldiers, the
non passar battaglia, or right of capturing in
passing, was introduced in many countries. The
privilege of castling, unknown in the chaturanga
aad shatranj, was given to the king, at first ac
cording to the Italian method, and then in the
manner of the Anglo-French school. Near the
commencement of this period the convenient, but
not essential practice of making tlie squares or
houses of the chess-board of two different colors
came into vogue. These changes, once effected,
and firmly established, men commenced to turn
their attention more closely to the theory of the
game. Analyses were made of the different
openings then in use, and the exact powers of tho
pieces and pawns in various positions began to
be carefully studied. Systems of rules were de
vised for the government of players in their in
tercourse over the board with each other, and
penalties laid down to insure their observance.
In short, chess in its new development grew to
be, if not less of a game, at least more of an art
—an art requiring on the part of its successful
cultivators a kind of talent as [>eculiar, and a
spirit of investigation as unwearied, as those
demanded by any other intellectual employ
ment.
FUN, FACT, AND PHILOSOPHY.
(Carefully prepared for the Southern Field and Fireside)
Talleyrand, speaking of a well-known lady,
said, emphatically, “ She is insufferable!” Then
as if relenting, he added, “ But that is her only
fault.”
Nahant was purchased 230 years ago by a
Lynn farmer, for a suit of clothes, and instead of
being a fashionable watering place, it abounded
in wolves and deer.
The best way to avoid being disturbed by an
unpleasant thing, said Dr. Spooner, is to resolve
that it shall not disturb you; but should your
nerves be sensitive and unable to stand the trial,
hasten by the annoyance and don’t see it. A
stinging remark loses all its point when we are
not oonsoious that we are aimed at.
A Yankee with the yellow fever may be very
properly called a Northern man with Southern
feelings.
Fieteen thousand dollars have been subscrib
ed for the erection of a Female College at At
lanta.
Beautiful was tho reply of a venerable man
to the question, whether he was still in the
land of the living “No, but lam almost
there.”
Wiiy is the Ohio River like a drunkard?—Be
cause it takes in the Mononghahela, goes past
Wheeling, gets a licking at Cincinnati, and Falls
at Louisville.
Florida and Louisiana have a less elevation
above the sea thannnyof the other States of the
Union. A considerable portion of Louisiana is
less than a hundred feet above tide water, and
no part of the State has an elevation of more
than five hundred feet above the sea.
Cherish patience as a favorite virtue. Always
keep it about you. You will find use for it of
ten.
The editor of the Eldorado (Texas) Times has
a child named Kansas.
The editor of the Wedowee Mercury says he
would be afraid to call a child Kansas, for fear
it would never have any Constitution.
The administration of the oath in civil cases is
of high antiquity. See Exodus, xxii, 10. Swear
ing on tho Gospels was first used in 528. The
oath was first administered in judicial proceed
ings in England by the Saxons in 600. The
words, “So help me God, and all saints,’’ con
cluded an oath till the year 1550.
It is undoubiedlya duty to acquire riches, not
for the condition which they make, but for the
power they confer. The wisdom, however, pro
perly to employ them, demands even more earn
est study and honest endeavor.
A young member of the bar thought he
would adopt a motto for himself, and. after much
reflection, wrote in largo letters and posted up
against the wall the following: “ Suum Cuique,"
which may be translated, “Let every one have
his own.” A country client coming in cxpres3-
sed himself much gratified with the maxim, but
added, “ You don't spell it right.” “ Indeed!
then how ought it to be spelt ?” The visitor re
plied, “ Sue ’em quick.’’
The Scientific American states that there are
in the city of New York about two hundred
thousand smokers, each using two cigars daily,
making four hundred thousand cigars everyday.
These, at an average of four cents each, make
the enormous sum of $16,000 daily consumed
in smoke, in New York alone.
Fools are ruled by their humor; but wise men
by their interest.
An Irish servant having entered the drawing
room, with the mistress' favorite poodle wringing
wet. —
“Howis this, Bridget; how came Fido to get
so very wet ?" inquired the lady.
“ An’ faith, mum, an’ it was little Tommy that
had tho tiny baste lashed to the end of a powl,
and was washin’ the winders wid him.”
At a late sale of old United States coins in
Philadelphia, the following prices were obtained:
1794 dollar, $11; 1793 ehain-cent, $5.25; 1831
half-cent, $11.50 ; 1791 Washington cent, $G.75.
There are truths which some men despise be
cause they have not examined them, and which
they will not examine because they despise
them.
PERSONAL.
UVepored expressly for the Southern Fielil and Fireside.]
—Hon. K. A. Nisbet, of Macon, Ga., was in
Augusta for a few days this week, called by the
Young Men’s Christian Association of this city
to deliver the third monthly lecture before the .
Association. The subject of his lecture, “The |
Obligation aud Responsibility of Private Judg- j
ment,” was treated by Judge Nisbet as a chris- ■
tian philosopher in his usually able and interest- i
ing manner. The Honorable speaker sustained j
upon this occasion his deservedly high repula- I
tion. He is widely known as a profound think- |
er. a skillful logician and a ripe scholar.
—lntelligence has been received at Washing- ,
ton on the 21st inst. by telegraph, announcing |
the death of the Hon. Linn Boyd, of Kentucky.
—J. C. Gaxuooly, the converted Brahmin, is
writing a book to correct the erroneous ideas of
Americans with regard to Hindoo religion.
—Hon. John Belton O’Xeall has been elec
ted Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, of South
Carolina, and Hons. Job Johnson and Bexj. F.
Duxkin, Associate Judges.
—James L. Petigru, of Charleston, has been
elected Commissioner to complete the Codifica
tion of the Statutes, of South Carolina, vice Bel
linger, deceased.
—Rev. Mr. Cilkey, who recently abducted
from Dexter, Me., the daughter of Rev. Mr.
Witiierell, of that place, lias been arrested in
Illinois. The abducted girl was with him.
—Baron Solomon Rothschild, ajunior mem
ber of the Paris house of that name, arrived in
the Persia on the Bth instant. It is said that
lie will make an extended tour in this coun
try.
—Tho Persia brought the intelligence of the
death of Mrs. Garrick, a wife of the nephew of
the great actor. She died at Sunderland a short
time since, after having been on the stage for
sixty-five years. She is the last of the name
connected with the stage.
—James Hawerth, president of the California
Stage Company, states that he is prepared to
enter into contract with tne Government to run
a daily mail between Sacramento City and St.
Louis, for $1,000,000 per annum, making the
trip in fourteen days.
—The statue of Henry Clay, by Hart, was
shipped from Havre for New Orleans on the sth
of November, on the ship Fanny Fern. It will
be inaugurated with great ceremony on the 12th
of next April, the anniversary of Clay’s birth.
The site for its erection will be on Canal street,
at the intersection of Royal and St. Charles, New
Orleans.
—The New Orleans Christian Advocate an
nounces there the arrival of Bishop Pierce and
family, from California via Texas. The Bishop
has been absent about a year, we believe, and
made tlie trip to California and back by the over
land route from Texas—a long and a fatiguing
journey—without accident. Ilis health is im
proved, but he is not looking as robust as when
he left.
—The members of the House of Representa
tives cannot draw their pay until the election of
a speaker, whose warrant on the treasury is ne
cessary for that purpose. In the meantime, how
ever, Mr. Glosbrexxer, sergeant-at-arms ot the
last House, has advanced various member sums
amounting in the aggregate to forty or fifty
thousand dollars, which he has generously rais
ed on his individual credit.
-Ex-President Pierce left Boston on Thurs
day afternoon, accompanied by Mrs. Pierce, en
route for New York, where, early in January,
they embark for Nassau, tho capital of New
Providence, one of the group of Bahama Islands.
The island has been recommended by the high
est medical authority in Boston as promising,
by its climate and other surroundings, beneficial
results to the health of Mrs. Pierce, which it is
found cannot bear the severity of a New Eng
land winter.
—Minister Yancey, who has just returned
from South America, brings with him a present
from Gen. Urquiza, President of the Argentine
Confederation, to the Hon. James B. Bowlin, of
Mo., who was for some time the guest of Gen. U.
' on his return from Paraguay. This present con
sists of a massive gold snuff box, chased exquis
itely with carved ornaments. Around the rim
of the top are set forty-two large brilliants, (dia
monds,) and upon raised (carved) initials of the
recipient—J. B. B.—are set forty-one smaller
diamonds, covering them entirely. This present
is said to have cost $5,000.
—lt is understood that James T. Nisbet, Esq.,
is about to vacate the Editorial Chair of The Au
gusta Constitutionalist, in order to resume the
practice of Law in the city of Macon, in connec
tion with his father, lion. E. A. Nisbet. He
will be accompanied to his new residence by the
respect of this whole community,of which he has
been for several years a member, and by the
kindest wishes and regrets of all who have had
the privilege of numbering themselves among his
friends in social intercourse. Success and hap
piness attend him, wherever he lives, whatever
his pursuit! He will adorn any Profession to
which he devotes himself.
—Richard Reals, the Englishman, who was
on tho list of John Brown’s Provisional Govern
ment as Secretary of State, has been found in
Austin, Texas. Reals says that, ascertaining the
desperate means that Brown had decided upon,
lie, two years ago, left the conspirators and went
to England. On returning to this country, he
arrived at New Orleans, many months since,
where he sincerely reseauted his abolitionism,
and forever abandoned it. Since then, he has
, resided in New Orleans, Mobile and Texas. Tlie
! Austin Intelligencer says: _
We yesterday suggested to the friends of Mr.
j Reals the propriety of placing himself uncondi
i tioually at the disposition of the President of the
' United States. We are glad to say that he has
done so. and has also offered to surrender him
self to Gov. Wise, and has notified these author
ities that l c shall remain here until their wishes
are known.
William Gilmore Simms was born in
Charleston, South Carolina, April 17, ISOG. Ilis
father, who bore the same name was of Seotcli
! Irish descent, and having failed as a merchant in
Charleston, removed to Tennessee, where he
held a commission in Coffee’s brigade, under
General Jackson, ip the Seminole war. His
mother was Harriet Ann Augusta Singleton,
of a distinguished Virginia family, who early be
came residents of South Carolina, and were ar
dent patriots in the Revolution; Col Singleton,
of the Partisans, having been, if we are not mis
taken, our author’s ancestor. Before he had
passed his infancy ho lost his mother, and was
intrusted to his grandmother. He never re
ceived a collegiate education, we believe; but as
much might be said of Irving, and many of the
most celebrated writers of America and Europe.
— [Art Journal.
Ora FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 27, 1859.
Mr. Editor: I shall endeavor at this place to
jot down the other occurrences of our journey.
By my last we were left near Firano in the Yut
tellraa. Emerging from which region, we soon
came upon the magnificent remains of a stately
feudal castle of those most serene Dukes ”of
Visconti, who, with the Sforza family, were,
during so many generations, the pest and
scourge of the Milanese and circumjacent terri
tories. Arriving at Sondrio in the evening, we
were transferred to a genteel government (now
Sardinian) post-carriage. It was half-past one
o’clock in the morning when we arrived at Co
lico, at the head of like Como. Here we slept
in a wretched inn until the dawn of day, soon
after which we embarked on one of the little
steamers for the lower end of lire lake. The
mountains near by were covered with fresh
fallen snow, though we had had a warm rain on
the road. Arriving at Como after three or four
hours, the town looked as though there were on
all sides a festival. In all directions—on the
boats near the shore, at the hotels and private
houses, and high up on the towers—the green,
red and white colors of Savoy, with the white
cross in the centre, floated gaily, with here and
there the French tricolor keeping it company.—
It was joyous to see the light and life and vi
vacity, ana young hope, of a people that had
lately gone through such vicissitudes.
We had time to take a late breakfast, and
visit the Cathedral and Brolettoof Como, before
taking the mid-day train by Monza to Milan.—
Soon making our toilets, the first thing we did
at Milan was to rush to the superb Cathedral,
and mount to the top, to catch a view of the
panoramas whence we had come and whither
we were going, while the lovely weather lasted.
Thirty or forty miles to the north, in the direc
tion of Como, was the Sierra, or range known
here as the “ llesegone,” so charmingly de
scribed in the “ Promessi Sjmi ” of Manzoni.
Yet much farther and more to the left, was the
magnificent “ Ortler Spitz," and attendant chain
of mountains, while toward the east these Rhe
tian Alps passed into the Julian, and far down
you could see where the “blueFriuli moun
tains” ought to be. North-of-west were the
passeß of the Splugen and Simplon; nearly duo
west the enormous mass of Monte Rosa, with
the needle of Mont Cervin (Matterhorn) shooting
into the skies nearby; and yet further south,
Mont Blanc. Below, on all sides, were the mag
nificent plains, and canals, the far-off cities, vil
lages, and lofty towers of liberated Lombardy,
sparkling and shimmering in the soft radiance.
At your feet the whole city seemed to have
produced an au umnal crop of tri-colored flags ;
all was joy and festivity, and honest exultation,
but mixed with sighs of regret for poor Yenetia,
who literally sits weeping in her palaces on the
Adriatic. The city was alive with officers and
soldiers in varied costumes. Conspicuous among
them were the Zouaves with their easy-flowing
gait and devil-may-care manner—those same
Zouaves who have covered themselves with
glory on every field. That portion of these
troops called Turcos had been here, but were
gone. They were, most of them, of the Moorish
race, but some of them were Abyssinians or of
that breed—powerful as Hercules and as black
as jet. Their wildness and oddity were stil! the
theme of conversation. It was said that in’go
ing into the second or third stories of houses,
they preferred the lightning rods or water pipes,
and, when these were not at hand, they loved
to make a pyramid, or mount over each other’s
shoulders up to the windows. To complete the
population of Milan, were a good many French
women with their families, who had come to
visit husbands, brothers or sons in garrison
there. We stopped to admire the marble roof
of the Cathedral, the lace-like tracery of towers
and pinnacles, the innumerable statues poised
high in air, and the wonderful series of flying
buttresses of this majestic temple, when we
descended to dinner, after taking a few glances
at the stupendous proportions and miraculous
beauty of tire interior. It was well that we
made the ascent; no other chance presented it
self during our stay of seeing the panorama we
had witnessed.
You know that Milan, as a city, is the least
interesting of all the Italian towns. Os Roman
remains, there are almost none except a few col
umns. The authors quoted by Murray tell you
that it was sacked by Attilla, A. D. 452—when
Venice was founded, and that it was razed to its
foundations in 1162, by Frederick Barbarossa.
With the exception of some churches—the Bre
ra and a few other palaces, the Amphitheatre
and arch of triumph of the first Napoleon, it
cannot boast of any architectural display. I
prefer to take your readers to an “ institution ”
—which I regard as one of the highest expres
sions of a refined civilization —I mean the opera
and ballet at the immense “La Scala ” theatre.
The opera was one of the comic ones of Rossi
ni—“ Matilda di Spabraan." There are eighty
five pieces in this orchestra —probably more, as
I count while sitting in the platea. This num
ber is increased according to necessity, to 125
persons. The tenor, base and barytone, and
one soprano are admirable, and Low superior iu
vocalization, in quick impulsive thought, in vi
vacity, pantomine and all that, to the heavy
Germans whom we left behind! And yet let me
do justice to the Germans. Their instrumenta
tion is better than the Italian; but in all other
respects there is nothing to be said. The opera
and ballet are of Italian origin and growtli—
and there are certain characters in it which have
never been well filled except by Italians. In
the present piece, the way in which the charac
ter of the poor dependent, hungry and heart
sick poet was rendered, was never seen north
of the Alps, or in Western Europe, unless it was
done by an Italian. There are some’things that
just as clearly belong to climate, character, and
language with the mental conceptions expressed
by it, as that certain fruits, trees, breeds of ani
mals, &c., are found in particular localities. You
may transplant them to less genial skies and
colder temperaments, but they are no more the
same.
The ballet was Cleopatra. Imagine the in
comparable pantomine of the Italians—the sce
nery and situations displayed on a stage two
or threo hundred feet deep, with a proscenium
of immense height and width. Besides the first
dancers, there is a perfectly educated corps of
sixty or seventy lovely girls, and as many males
—for this is the great European school for these
dancers, and even in Paris and London you see
nothing like it. The first scene is a magnificent
and far seceding Egyptian hall in Cleopatra's
palace. She sits on a throne, with Mark Antho
ny by her side. Ministers, maids of honor,
priests and priestesses of Isis, and numerous at
tendants, all in perfect costume, surround her.
The grouping and dresses of this immense throng
where all is “ order not understood,” are bewil
dering. The orchestra sounds a dance. From
either flank, floating in gossamer, come out two
at a time, the converging lines of the dancers.
AVhile all is joy and festivity, like a thunderclap
comes Proculius, with a summons from Octavius
Cmsar. The second act is in a garden contigu
ous to the palace. Cleopatra gives her relue
tant consent that her troops, in the coming com
bat, shall go over to the Romans. She is dis
tracted between her love for Anthony and her
fear of gracing in the streets of Rome the tri
umphal procession of the Conqueror. Antho
ny suspects her treason, and returua from bat
tle mortally wounded. The third act is in a pub
lic square of Alexandria, which C:csar enters in
triumph, to receive the homage of a subject peo
ple. Cleopatra appears, and kneels at his feet,
hoping to conquer him by her beauty and her
tears. He promises to visit her in her palace.
The fourth act is m a magnificent room of Cleo
patra's palace, with an elevated alcove at the
bottom, partially closed by rich curtains. The
Queen is preparing herself for the interview.—
A voluptuous light, like pink and ashes of roses
combined, pervades the alcove, and the peerless
beauty of the Queen is reflected from various
metallic mirrors. Her sighs and tears change
to radiant smiles, on the appearance of C;esar,
and more dances begin. Will Cicsar sign the
decree which gives to her sons, by Mark Antho
ny, the crown? The Roman is not conquered by
these blandishments. Despair succeeds, but
the proud Queen will never grace a Roman tri
umph, and her minister Egizio has already pro
vided the fatal asp. Casar arrives to find her
dying. Another act, with solemn dances, (can
you imagine such a thing ?) concludes the piece.
In the last act, there were four hundred persons
on the stage!
On another evening, we saw a ballet entitled
“ The Star.'' It is a market day and a merry
making. The villagers celebrate it with dance’s
and feasting. Among the men. are Pacco and
Gaetano. who love Berta and Lucietta, respect
ively. Berta is the pride of the country, and
Pacco is poor, so that her father forbids a be
trothal. Pacco says—“ I will go to distant lands
to seek my fortune, and will not return without
the money your father requires. The exchange
rings after the good old fashion. She promises to
wait for him and does wait. The scene is a sea port
and a vessel drops anchor in the offing. A boat
approaches. The captain steps on shore in
quest of sailors. Pacco and Gaetano, both
moved by the same impulse, gladly take service
with him. They are to sail in the morning and
night is falling. As Berta waves her adieus, she
sees her natal star shining sweetly forth in the
sky. She implores this star to follow and pro
tect her lover. The next Quadro or picture is
called “ the finnamat ,” and it is hardly too much
to say that never did the natural sky with its
soft moonlight and glittering stars appear more
grand and lovely or more distant. Pacco, who
has lingered about the steps of Berta, falls
asleep under her balcony. Noiselessly, as if by
some agency superior to man's, soft clouds de
scend one after the other —the rose tints here and
there passing into the deeper shades of night.
Pacco dreams. He sees, and you see, a silver}-
light gradually pervading these clouds, which
begin to rise and float silently away. Suddenly
a star quicker than thought shoots down from
above diagonally athwart the stage, and imme
diately an image of Berta—the real Berta in pu
rest white—floats in an airy car across the
scene. The clouds have dispersed, and far in
the distance you'See the “brave o'erhanging Ar
mament fretted with golden tires.” You can
distinguish the lively twinkle of the fixed stars
from the milder lustre of the planeis. Pacco
awakes and relates his dream to Gaetano. The
scene has changed again, and encouraged by
this happy augury they set forth. I never saw
.anything equal to the incomparable beauty of
this scone. As an artistic effect, I had seen its
equal in the same La Scala theatre, fourteen
years previously, but that was awful I It was
the incantation scene in the oi>ern of “ Roberto
il Diavolo.” The moon shone sweetly down in
to the court of a ruined convent. Sedges and
parasites are flaunting in the night air on the
walls, and the court is encumbered by funereal
monuments. Open doors here and there lead
into blank darkness, while all along through far
extending corridors and open areas are ranged
fifty or sixty sarcophagi, each with its white,
marble image above —the hands all folded on
the breast. All is as silent as death, when these
images slowly anse, and by the ghastly light
you see other shades, with white drapery sweep
ing the ground, come trooping in, two and two.
from the open door ways, moving forward as if
by no human agency. Slowly they advance, un
til they form an immense throng of wandering
ghosts under the proscenium. In an instant the
gas is let on, the music changes from minor to
major, the white veils have disappeared—you
cannot sec how —in groups through the floor,
and 120 or 130 sylphs in ballet costume stand
before you.
Ido not stop here to explain from the story
the propriety or, ns some of your readers will
say, the impropriety of this scene, for it is high
time to follow our friend Pacco in his adventures.
The third Quadro is a cabin of South sea sav
ages. The luxuriant foliage shows it to be in
one of those “ blissful islands of the Pacific ,” so
well described by Malte Brun in his physical
geography. Savage manners, savage dances.
Ac., —when a horrible tempest bursts over the
scene. Pacco and Gaetano have been ship
wrecked, and are led in, captives, with all kinds
of ill treatment. The fourth picture is the sump
tuous palace of the Prince Abul, with gardens
circumjacent, where are fruits and flowers, vines
that run along trellises, and where fountains
throw up their spray into the sun light. The
chief has condemned our travelers to death, be
cause they cannot purchase their ransom, when
the Star and her suite appear, offering presents
to the savages and entertaining them with
dances. Life is conceded, but not liberty. The
beauty of the harem finds Pacco, gives him rare
jewels and points to a boat prepared for their
flight. The Star appears again and averts the
temptation. Pacco and Gaetano escape alone
in the boat—to fall, in the fifth picture, into a
band of brigands, who take them to a gloomy
cavern, where the rich booty of jewels, Ac., is
al>out to be distributed, when a troop of Gip
seys appears, of which Stella (the Star) is the
queen. It is needless to say that our friends
are delivered from this danger, too. Their
escape is favored this time by Petronilla, the
wife of the chief, whose jealousy prompts the
good action. The sixth and last picture is the
sea port again. Jugglers, charlatans, fortune
tellers, Ac., Ac., encumber the stage, where are
booths with buyers and sellers. A vessel ap
proaches. It is Pacco and Gaetano. Somehow
they have saved their jewels and are received
with a most hearty welcome. Reciprocal em
braces. hand shakings and congratulations.—
Amid universal joy the lovers are united, and
the curtain fulls—“ Cala il Sipario.” as the Ital
ians say.
Yours, J. L. L.
■
.HARRIED.
On the evening of the 15th inst., by the Ecv. Wm. I>.
Martin, Col. B. A. Westbrook, to Miss Iren* McMatii.
daughter of the lute Col. Jno. H. McMath, all of Green
villo. Geo.
Perpetual harmony their life attend,
And Venus still the well-matched i*iir befriend.
May she, when time has sunk him Into years
Love biin still well, and cherish his white hairs
• Nor he perceive her charms through age decay,
But think each happy sun his bridal day.
245