Notes On Art, &C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

THE BOAR ' H EAD DINNER AT OXFORD . — • '' H . " writes to the Times : — "In your interesting account of the Boar ' s Head Dinner , annually celebrated at the Queen ' s College , Oxford , it is stated that the origin of the ceremony is somewhat obscure . It may interest many of your readers to learn that the custom or ceremony , of

which the serving up of the Boar ' s Head at the Queen ' s tabic on Christmas-Day is also a survival , was formerly a universal custom in all England , and that its origin dates back to Pagan Anglo-Saxon rites , and to ancient Germanic rites in general . The most complete account of this origin , founded on full research , appeared in the Gentleman ' s Magazine for January of the present year , fiom the

pen of Karl Blind , under the title ol ' The Boar ' s Head Dinner at Oxford , and a Germanic Sun-God . " We extract the following from the " Mirror" of about fifty years ago , a periodical which was then in the field against ihc * Gentlemen ' s Magazine as a repository of curious" and antiquarian inftrmation : — " Sir , —Passing th ° e village of Hornchurch , near Rcmford , last attention attracted b crowd

Christmas Day , my was y a of villagers sallying foith into a field near the church , led by a man dressed in a farmer ' s frock , with the head of an animal on the top of a long pole , with an orange in its mouth , which I learnt afterwards to bethc head of a boar . I enquired of a person whom I mtt the meaning of so novel a sight , and he informed me that it was wrestled for every Christmas Day by the peasantry .

M , SARDOU . —The " Theatre" states that this week M . Victorien [ Sardou will read a new comedy to company at the Theatre du Vaudeville . Madame Victoria Lafontaine , at the express request of the author , has been engaged to play the principal part . ENGLISH TAPESTRY . —Her Royal Highness Princess Utilise , with the Marquis of Lome , paid a visit

en Thursday week to the Royal Tapestry Manufactory at Windsor , of which her Royal Highness has lately become a vice-president . She was received by tbe director ( Mr . D . Henry ) , who conducted her through the various workrooms to inspect the tapestries in progress ior Her Majesty the Queen , the Duke of Argyll , Mr . Christopher Sykes ,

& c , and a series of panels being made for Messrs Gillow and Co ., and intended for the Royal Commission-house in the Paris Exhibition . Her Royal Highness also visited the stained-glass works lately established near the tapestry manufactory . ART AND OCTROIS . —French art has been

employed on many odd subjects , but none of these has surpassed in strangeness that which is represented in the picture painted for the Municipality of Paris—to wit , "Un Tableau Symbolisant 1 'Octroi de Paris . " AI . Jobbe-Duval , known by certain huge canvasses in various public buildings in Paiis , is the enterprising artist whom fate has chosen to symbolize the Octroi of Paris . —Alhciiwum .

DR . CHARLES MACKAY . —On Thursday week , at St . James's Hall , a testimonial was presented to this well-known writer . Mr . Colin Rae-Brown , who presided at the meeting of subscribers , explained the circumstances which bad influenced the committee originating the subscription . A work now about to be published entitled " The Gaelic Etymology ofthe English Language "

had occupied more of Dr . Mackay ' s time than had been anticipated , and prevented him from following literary work more immediately remunerative . It was therefore decided lhat a fitting time had arrived for an appeal to Dr . Mackay ' s friends to show their sympathy and appreciation of his work . The result of this appeal had been the sum of £ no , including £ 100 subscribed by " The Clan

Mackay . " Dr . Charles Mackay returned thanks for the high compliment paid to him . THE PLEASURES OF HOPE . —On Friday last , the statue lo Thomas Campbell , the poet , was unveiled , in George-square , Glasgow , in the presence of the Lord

Provost and magistrates , in official robes , and a large crowd . The ceremony was performed by Dr . James Campbell , who said that Campbell was a native of Glasgow , and that his " Pleasures of Hope" would last while the English language was spoken . The artist is Messman . This is the eleventh statue in George-square .

A SUCCESSFUL SAVINGS BANK . —The 62 nd annual report ol the Liverpool Savings Bank which has just been issued , shows that at the close of the financial year £ 1 , 735 , 753 was ducto 60 , 072 depositors . During the year 13 , 216 new accounts were opened , 3 , 8 9 6 old aceiunts reopened , and 12 , 511 accounts closed . The deposits , including transfers from other savings-banks , were

£ 676 , 235 , and £ 47 , 403 was added to depositors' accounts or interest . The withdrawals and transfers amounted to £ s i 1 > 9 . The bank possess a surplus of £ 5 , 333 over the amounts due to depositors , and in addition to a surplus fund of £ 10 , 000 , its total funds being upwards of a million and three-quarters sterling . The business is a growing one , the amount due to depositors now being

about £ 80 , 000 more than in 1866 . As compared with last year 2 , 472 more accounts were opened and 2 , 261 more were closed , while . £ ' 43 , 471 more was received and £ 23 , 452 paid away , and 27 , 027 more transactions were made . The amount due to depositors increased by £ 142 , 918 in the year . Branches have been opened at the north and east ends of the town , and these have been much appreciated .

A PLANTAGENET TOMB . —The interesting and beautiful monumental tomb , at King ' s Langley , Church of Prince Edmund of Langley , Duke of York , fifth son of Edward III ., has been removed to a chapel expressly built for its reception , and the Queen has been graciously pleased to grant £ 40 from the privy purse towards placing a stained glass window in the chapel to the memory of the Prince , Her Majesty ' s ancestor .

Notes On Art, &C.

METROPOLITAN PAUPERISM . —The following is a return of the number of paupers ( exclusive of lunatics in asylums and vagrants ) on the last day of the third week of December , 1877 -. —In-door , adults and children 40 , 160 ; out-door , adults , 26 , 381 ; children 16 , 547 — making the total of both in-door and out-door paupers ' 83 , 09 8 . The corresponding total in 1876 was 8 3 , 6 94 '

in 1875 , 88 , 169 ; and in 1874 , 96 , 589 . The total number of vagrants relieved in the metropolis on the last day of the third week of December vvas 778 , of whom 571 were men , 171 , women and 37 children under 16 . The Leeds Mercury states that William Shipman , of Riple , has completed his 100 th year . He worked for " the Butterley Company , he was ninety-seven , and he

now keeps a toll bar near Golden Square . He was for some years engaged in military service , and has been a man of steady habits and temperate living . He has been thrice married , and is at present in possession of all his faculties . THE CITY CHORAL SOCIETY . —Mr . G . W . Martin , wc are informed , has received promises of support from most of the City authorities in his endeavour to

provide within the City the means of enjoying the study and practice of high class music for those engaged in City warehouses and offices . The choir will number about 500 voices , and an instrumental band , selected from gentlemen engaged in the City , will be immediately erganized . A series of concerts will be given in the Guildhall , if permission is granted , in aid of charitable institutions . The meetings of the Choral Society will be held

once a week . ST . CLEMENT ' , EASTCHEAP . —On January ist ., the new memorial window of Thomas Fuller , the Church historian , Bishop Pearson , the author of the " Treatise on the Creed , " and Brian Walton , Bishop of Chester , editor of the " Biblia Polyglotta , " was unveiled in the church of the united parish of St . Clement , near

Eastcheap , and St . Martin , Orgar , of which the Rev . W . J . Hall is the rector . The window vvas unveiled at 1 o ' clock in the presence of a large congregation , and Atwood ' s " Te Deum" in !• ' was afterwards sung by the church choir . The Venerable Archdeacon Hcssey subsequently delivered au address . He said they had met for a ceremony , simple indeed , but unless he greatly

misinterpreted it , fraught with no ordinary interest , the ceremony of unveiling a work of ecclesiastical art , which their eyes told them was iu the best taste , and executed with consummate ability . Two of the men whose memory they had met to honour—Thomas Fuller and Bishop Pearson--were lecturers in the church which till the Great Fire of London occupied the site of lhat building . He then referred briefly

lo their work , and quoted the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge , as to the character of Fuller , and of Dr . Bentley as to Bishop Pearson , whose " -very dross was gold . " Referring to bishop Walton , the Venerable Archdeacon said the " Biblia Polyglotta" was the performance of his life . Many obstacles stood in the way of its accomplishment , but he was greatly aided in it by Pearson , whom he

succeeded as the Bishop of Chester . Learned as these three men were , they were content to lay all their learning at the foot of the Cross , and devote their talents , splendid as they were to the saving of souls . The address was followed by an anthem , the words from St . Luke , ii ., verse 8 and following . SPELLING REFORM . —It is expected that the

memorial of the School Boards asking for a Royal Commission of Inquiry in regard to spelling reform will be presented to the Educational Department about the end of January , and that it will bc supported by another deputation composed principally of philologists . When the memorial ofthe London Board was first proposed 101 provincial Boards gave in their adhesion , including many of

the largest towns in the kingdom . This number has now increased to 130 . Among the recent additions are Brighton , Hull , Swansea . Cardiff , Southampton , Worcester , and Wakefield . Some of these , however , though desirous of inquiry , do not fully endorse all the points of the London memorial , while Birmingham has adopted a memorial of its owu with the same practical object .

FOUCAULT ' S PENDULUM . —Our rondos may recollect the experiment made in i 860 , at the Pantheon in Paris , by the learned Leon Foucault , upon the pendulum . A great metalic globe , which hung by a fine wire from the summit of the dome , demonstrated that the oscillation movements of a heavy mass , freely suspended in space , remain independent of the rotation of the earth . The

pendulum swung very slowly in consequence of the length of the wire , and at the end of each oscillation a point attached to it ate away by degrees a little wall of sand placed there for the purpose of showing the apparent alteration in the plane of oscillation . This experiment , by whichas wc may say—the world can be seen to move round , is to be repeated in the Exhibition of 1878 , with such

new arrangements as can make it comprehensible to the crowd . The pendulum will be 300 kilogrammes in weight , and will hang from a wire 70 metres long , the object of the experiment is to instruct the public in a visible physical phenomena . —Medical Press and Circular . ART COMPETITION . —There will be a competition in April in connection with the Science and Art

Department of the Committee of Council on Education , South Kensington , for prizes offerred by Messrs . Watherston and Son for designs for a loving cup . Three prizes of £ 50 , £ 30 , and £ 20 respectively , are offerred for the three best designs for a three-handled cup , with cover , to be used at a loving-cup . It must be 15 ' m . high , and illustrate the

Biblical story of the Labourers in the Vineyard . The competition is limited to candidates—British born—who are , or have been , bona fide students of schools of art recognised by the Science and Art department , and who have since 1867 ( taken a third grade prize , or a higher prize in the national competition of that Department . ... _ .

Notes On Art, &C.

THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES . —A marked improvement has been effected since Sandringham has belonged to its present Royal owner in the matter o elementary education . Formerly , except at Sandringham and Dersingham , there were no schools of any importance ; but through the liberality of the Prince and Princess of Wales there arc now school-rooms at Sandringham ,

Dersingham , West Newton , and Wolferton , with excellent teachers . The Princess of Wales takes the livliest interest in the welfare of the schools and the progress of the children . Each recurring anniversary of her Royal Highness ' s birthday is marked by a treat to the children of the schools , at each New Year ' s-eve the Princess distributes cloaks antl caps , tec . This year the annual treat could not

be given at the usual time , owing to the prevalence of a contagious disease in the neighbouring villages , and so it was postponed till yesterday . A tent having been erected in front of the Hall , the children of the schools of Sandringham , Dersingham , West Newton , and Wolferton , were soon after noon marched up to the Royal residence , and the Princess , accompanied by the young Princes and

Princesses , distributed the cloaks , & c . ; after which the children had tea . Prince and Princess Christian arrived on Wednesday at Sandringham on a visit to the Prince and Princess of Wales . FEDERICO RICCI . —Letters from Venice announce the death , on December 10 th , at Conegliano in the Province of Venice , of Federico Ricco , the well-known

composer of opera bouffe . He was born at Naples in 1809 , so that he was sixty-eight years of age . His light operatic compositions are still among the most popular in Italy . The chief among them are "Crispino e la Ccmare , " " Con-ado d'Altamura , " " Un duello sotto , " "Una Follia a Roma , " " Griselda , " & c . His last work of this class was " Rolla . " His Venetian popular songs and ballads arc much esteemed . Ten years ago Ricci was Professor of

Music at the Imperial Conservatory of St . Petersburg . He subsequently resided at Paris and Trieste ; but the last years of his life were spent in great retirement at Conegliano . It is pleasant to know that his fame was not barren , but brought him a considerable fortune ; to the last , however , he was incorrigibly eccentric . He had always a great affection for Trieste , where his first successes were achieved , and where he lived for many years . By his direction he has been buried there .

LIFEBOAT WORK IN 1877 . —During the year which has just closed the lifeboats of the National Lifeboat Institution on different parts of the coasts of the United Kingdom rescued 841 lives , besides saving 35 vessels from destruction . In the same period the Lifeboat Institution granted rewards for saving 200 lives by fishing and other boats , making a . grand total of 1041 lives saved

last year mainly through its instrumentality . Altogether since its foundation the society has contributed to the saving of 25 , 400 shipwrecked persons , for which services it has granted 978 gold and silver medals , besides pecuniary rewards to the amount of £ 54 , 030 . The storms of last November will long be remembered for their frequency and violence , and the noble services of the institution ' s

lifeboats , which saved nearly 300 lives iv \ that month alone . After performing these services some of the lifeboat ' s crews returned home absolutely exhausted—in some cases many of the men ' s lives were actually despaired of for several days afterwards . It should be mentioned that the operations of the National Lifeboat Institution now cover the whole coasts of the British Isles , and that , with

the exception of a score or so of lifeboats which belong to Harbour Trustees and other local bodies , the whole of the lifeboats of the United Kingdom belong to the National Institution . The list of services here summarized is the best claim of this institution to continued sympathy

and support . " Oi' THE MAKING or BOOKS , " & C . —From the Synoptical Table of the Publications of the Year 18 77 in the Publisher ' s Circular , it appears there have been issued : New New

Publications . Eihtinns , Theology , Sermons , Biblical 485 ... 252 Educational , Classical , Philological 329 ... 200 Juvenile Works , Tales , & c 287 ... 235 Novels , Tales , and other Works of Fiction 446 ... 408 Law , Jurisprudence , & c 6 3 ... 55 Political , and Social Economy , Trade

and Commerce 123 ... 66 Art , Sciences , and Illustrated Works 125 ... 64 Voyages , Travels , Geographical Research 132 ... 77 History , Biography , & c 241 ... 132

Poetry , Drama , Musical , & c 172 ... 186 Year Books , Serials in Volumes ... 76 ... 144 Medicine , Surgery , & c 143 ... 72 Belles Lcttres , Essays , Monographs 249 ... 115 Miscellaneous , including Pamphlets not Sermons 184 ... 40

3049 2046 American Publications imported ... ... 481 Thus during the year there have been nealry 6000 new books , new editions , and importations . AFRICAN EXPLORATION . —A short announcement has lately reached England concerning the Albert Nyanza , in Central Africa , which will not fail to interest many of your readers just now . It

relates to a recent exploration conducted by an officer in the service of his Highness the Khedive , and is to the following effect : — " Colonel Mason has been round the Lake Albert in a steamer , and corroborates the fact of its being ' a comparatively small land-locked lake . ' " The Address in answer to the Speech from the Throne will be moved in the House of Lords by the Earl of Wbarncliffe / and seconded by the Earl of Loudou n