Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

LOCAL DAINTIES .

( Continued . ) Cornwall and the Scilly Isles send many delicacies in the way of vegetables ; and formerly Deptford onions , Battersea cabbages , Mortlake asparagus , Chelsea celery , and Charlton peas were in high repute . At one time the neighbourhood about Bath was noted for its strawberries ; and Kent still maintains its superiority in the flavour of its cherries , some of its

chief orchards being in the parishes on the borders of the Thames , the Darent , and the Medway . According to Busino , Venetian Ambassador in the reign of James I ., it was a favourite amusement in the Kentish gardens to try who could eat most cherries . In this way one young woman managed to eat 20 lbs ., beating , by 2 J lbs ., her opponent . The merits of certain local articles of confectionery have long been undisputed , and Banbury

cakes are still much sought after , being shipped to most parts of the world . It is noteworthy that " Banberrie cakes " are mentioned in a Treatise on Melancholic , published in 1586 , among the articles that carry with them melancholy ; and Ben Jonson , in his Bartholomew Fair ( 1614 ) , introduces a Banbury man who " was a baker , but he does dream now , and sees visions : he has given over his trade out of a scruple he took that inspired

conscience ; those cakes he made were served in bridalts , may poles , morrises , and such profane feasts and meetings . " There are the Richmond " Maids of Honour , " delicious cheese cakes peculiar to Richmond , and , in all probability , named from its regal days , when there was kept up here a Royal Palace and a Court . George III . seems to have been an admirer of this delicacy , his tables at Windsor Castle and Kew being regularly

supplied with it . It is stated that the large sum of £ 1000 was once paid to the fortunate possessor of the recipe for making this cheese-cake , with the good-will of the business , said to have been originally established in Hill-street , Richmond , Surrey . Shrewsbury too , has long been noted for its Grinnel cakes , which are also made at Coventry , Devizes , and Bury , in Lancashire . Mention should be made of Congleton , which has gained distinction for its cakes and gingerbread .

These cakes are locally known as " Court cakes , " from being eaten at the Quarterly Account Meetings of the Corporation . They are of a triangular form , with a raisin inserted at each corner , representing the Mayor and its justices , who were the governing body , under the charter of James I . Referring to fish dainties , Sussex seems to have been specially favoured , having been renowned for a " Chichester lobster , an Arundel mullet , a Pulborough eel , a Selsey cockle , an Amberley trout , and a Rye herring . " There is an amusing rnyme to this

effect" Arundel mullet—stinking fish , Eats it off a dirty dish . " which is said by the people of Ofl'ham to the folk of Arundel ; but the retort is " Offham dingers Church-bell ringers , Only taters tor your Sunday dinners . "

Few local industries are of older standing than the Colchester oyster fishery , and the annual oyster banquet is a well known institution , the finest British oysters are said to be spawned in the Colne . The Christchurch and Severn salmon have long had a high repute , and the salmon , at Killarney , boiled , toasted , or roasted , on arbutus skewers , is inimitable . The Dublin haddock is another delicacy , peculiar to the sister island , some of the finest being also caught on the Cornish coast . The herring and pilchard pies of

Cornwall have been proverbial , and the herring industry of Great Yarmouth is one of the most important centres of our fishing trade . Then there are the Whitstable oysters , and the finest smelts were formerly considered to come from the Medway , at Rochester . A Norfolk rhyme speaks of "Cromer crabs and Runton dabs , " and Quin thought the inhabitants of Plymouth ought to be the happiest of mortals , from their supply of dories . Plymouth was noted for its red mullet ; and Greenwich whitebait , are still an attraction . Pope long ago spoke of

" The Kennet swift , for silver eels renowned ;" but , as it has been often observed , the Kennet is a slow river ; there are no eels at all in the upper part , and those in the lower part are too large ; but eels in perfection may be eaten at Salisbury , Anderton , or Overton . Local

dainties of one kind or another might be further multiplied , for there has always been a certain amount of rival emulation in this respect , although in some cases they seem to have been largely influenced by fashion . Thus , according to an old proverb , " He who hath breams in his ponds , may bid his friends welcome ; " but this fish nowadays is rarely seen .

Minor Artists In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

MINOR ARTISTS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH .

( Continued . ) The Richard Stevens before mentioned was a Dutchman , and no common artist . He was a statuary painter and medallist , The figures on Lord Sussex ' s tomb were his work , and in a good style . In the family of Lumley are some portraits painted by him , and , among other accounts , some of his receipts , as there are , too , in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire ,

which makes it highly probable that the curious portraits at Hardwicke of Queen Elizabeth in a gown , embroidered with sea monsters , the Queen of bcots , both at full length , and others were painted by this Richard Stevens . But his best performances seem to have been his medals , which are bold and in good taste . Mr . Bryan Fairfax had one , with a lady ' s head in the dress of the times , and this legend :

" Anna Pomes , uxor fhomcu Heneage , under the bust 1562 . " Ste . H . F ., " that is , " Stevens Hollandus fecit . " Dr . Meade had two more : one of William Parr , Marquis of Northampton , the other of Robert Dudley , Earl of Leicester , engravea in Evelyn ' s Discourse on English Medals . The author says that when Leicester quitted Holland he caused several medals to be engraved , which he gave to his friends there . The medal in question

is remarkable for the impertinence of the reverse : Sheep grazing , and a dog turning from them : under his feet , " Inertus desero—round , Non greges sed ingratos . " The more eminent artists of 16 th century practised the arts , universally and equally excelled in painting , sculpture , and architecture . Richard Stevens deserves to be enumerated among them . The Earl of Sussex had bequeathed £ 1500 for his sumptuous funeral and

Minor Artists In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

monument , but Stevens was paid for the figures only . It is probable that he was extensively employed , and that monuments which partook alike of the three arts of vast size and magnificence ( of which Westminster Abbey is the chief repository ) , composed of alabaster , and various marbles , were finished or contracted for by Stevens . Another subject of his art were the magnificent chimney-pieces , similar to the sepulchral monuments , both in

composition , dimensions , and ornament , of which grand specimens remain at Hatfield , Burleigh , Kenilworth , Aud ley End , and other palaces of that age . Robert Adams , surveyor of the Queen's buildings , seems to have been a man of abilities . We cannot specify his works in architecture , but there are two plans extant that he published ; one is a large point of Middleburgh , dated 1588 ; the other , of th e same date , is a small parchment

roll , drawn with the pen , and entitled Thamesis Descriptio , showing by lines crossing the river how far and from whence cannon-balls may obstruct the passage of any ship , upon an invasion from Tilbury to London , with proper distances marked tor placing the guns . Valerio Belli , called Valerio Vicentino , was a celebrated engraver of precious stones . He engraved caskets and vases of rock crystal for Pope Clement VII ., and performed an infinite number of other works . ( To be continued . )

Beer And Brewers.

BEER AND BREWERS .

Our forefathers protected themselves from the possibility of deleterious ingredients in beer by official inspection . The " Ale-conner " was a public servant . He was the national taster , and his fees were paid in kind . Only upon one occasion in our time have the great brewers been attacked for dishonest dealing in their brews . It was said they put strychnine in their vats . On investigation this was proved to be quite unfounded . Indeed , in

brewing honesty seems to be the best policy . Recently an inventor claims that he has been able to concentrate the genuine ingredients of fine ale into a kind of treacle that will stand any climate , and , with the addition of yeast , may be brewed within a few hours anywhere and by anybody . Nevertheless , there is no doubt brewing will always continue to be a difficult

and delicate operation . Within the present century farmers and many private families brewed their own beer . In some of the old country houses and ancient halls there are still in the cellars old ale as strong and clear and powerful as the lustiest wine . In the old ballads there was no pale ale ; it was always nut brown , and pungent with real flavours of hops and malt . It inspired villagers with love and townsmen with

courage" Merry swains who quaff the nut brown ale , And sing , enamoured of the nut brown maid . " In the old days ale was so prevalent a drink that many feasts were named after it , and with reverence . Dr . Paris , in his now more or less unknown book on " Diet , " says the liquor called ale was originally made of barley , malt , and yeast alone . Andrew Boorde ,

one of the oldest writers on medical subjects , declared that to put in any other ingredient sophisticated the liquor . " It is , " he says , " the natural drink of Englishmen ; but beer , on the other hand , which is made of malt and hops and water is the natural drink of Dutchmen , and of late it is much used in England , to the great detriment of many Englishmen . Lat er this prejudice agninst hops was found to be a mistake . Independent of t he

flavour and tonic virtues of hops , they precipitate , by means of their astringent properties , the vegetable mucilage , and thus remove from beer the active principle of fermentation ; without hops we must either drink our beer new and ropy , or old and sour . Before 1730 the malt liquors in general use in London were called ale , beer , and two-penny . H alf of ale and half of beer , or half of ale and half of two-penny became popular . Then came

in a kind of extension of half and half a combination of a third of all three , and this was called " three threads . " Tne publican had to go to three different barrels for every call for a tankard of three threads , An ingenious brewer named Harwood introduced a brew that combined the flavour of all three , and it was called "entire . " This was supposed to be a good drink , and especially nourishing for porters and other working people—hence the name of " porter . "

General Notes.

GENERAL NOTES .

A report that the Italian Government intend to abolish the military bands has proved untrue , but it has caused a good de il of discussion here as to the wisdom of accustoming soldiers in times of peace to what they are never likely to hear in war . As far back as the Crimean War , bandsmen on service

left their instruments at home . The well-known conductor and composer , Gwyllym Crowe , was a hornplayer in the 31 st ( Manchester ) Regiment , and wore the Crimean medal , with clasps for the Alma , Inkerman , and Sevastopol . But he used to declare that he was chiefly employed in cooking , as vi ere his fellow bandsmen . We do not think the abolition of our splendid military instrumentalists would be approved of by the general public .

Don Perosi has nearly completed his new oratorio , " Moses , " and it is in three parts . The first deals with Moses meeting with Zippotah in the Midianate country , and the command to Moses by Jehovah from the

burning bush . The second part depicts the plagues of Egypt , and , in the third part , Moses is represented praying by the Red Sea . Tne young abbe composer's latest composition is said to be fully equal to his former efforts , the choruses and interludes being particularly good . ___ . «»*

It is touching to learn that almost the last work written by the late Sir Arthur Sullivan , is a " Te Deum , " to be sung on the day when we celebrate , with a national thanksgiving , the proclamation of peace in South Africa . The work is , of course , as yet unpublished , and it is in charge of the Dean and Chapter of St . Paul ' s Cathedral , where the celebration will take place .

PROPOSED MONUMENT TO BRO . SIR ARTHUR SULLIVAN . —A proposal is on foot among eminent musicians and the authorities of St . Paul ' s Cathedral to place a statue of the late Bro . Sir Arthur Sullivan in the cathedral , in which the body of the famous composer is interred , as a national monument to his genius . _ The proposal , which , it is understood , was initiated by Bro . Sir George Martin , organist of St . Paul ' s , Sir Hubert Parry , and other friends of the late composer , is highly popular among Bro . Sir Arthur Sullivan ' s contemporaries , and has the full approval of the Dean and Chapter . It is , therefore , highly probable that the project will reach a practical conclusion .