The Theatres.

THE THEATRES .

"The Vicar of Bray , after two postponements , Was brought out on Saturday night , and well received , even though many of the people doubtless were those who were turned away the previous Saturday owin » to the illness of one of the composers . Mr . Grundy , who writes the plot of the ocera , has opened a vein not usually associated with comin operas . No doubt his sly hits on High ,

Low , and Broad Church are not without meaning , neverthe-Iess they are not vicious enough to offend . All of us will remember the story of the Vicar of Bray , how he was at one time a follower of King James , at another of Cromwell , and , like a weathercock , during his tenure of the cure , was Erastian , Puritan and Catholic . And all seemed to him to be right at the time . The story of Mr . Grundy

is a little " prcsy ; " the fun flags , but the verses of the songs are well written . In the opera of "The Vicar of Bray" the hero is more changeable by love than by politics , as his original was . He is at first " Broad , " but to obtain the hand of Mrs . Mcrton he does not scruple to be " High . " His curate Sandford , is disgu ? ted and leaves him , but not before he falls in love with D irothea himself .

Sandford takes himself off to the other end of the world . But being "High" now he ought to be above marriage , and become ascetic . This he soon casts off , and now is a " Low " Church parson . Sandford , while he is in heathen lands , learns something , and , when he returns , wins his Dorothea , and not only that , is inducted into the Vicarage of Bray by the Court of Arches , in the room of its

turncoat vicar . Tommv Mcrton , Mrs . Mcrton ' s son , also marries an old feme , Nelly lily , a ballet girl , of the Bray Theatre Royal . Bro . Hill was , as we knew he would be if he could , very funny as the Vicar ; Mr . Cooper Cliffe , as Tommy Mcrton , throws much life into his part . Mr . Walter Fisher , the Curate , of course , sings well . 'The ladies' characters are well filled . We do not think Mr .

Solomon , the musical composer , has at all out-done'himself ; his " Billie Taylor , " and other operas of his are better and more original ; but , on the whole , " The Vicar of Bray" mav take with the public ; at any rate , seeing the number of theatres closed just now for the season , as detailed by us elsewhere , the Globe may fairly look for

support . Many of its friends would be glad of this , for it was for so long a time the home of several pretty operas . The withdrawal of " Les Cloches de Corneville " has been the subject of regret with hundreds of persons . We need scarcely say the dances and choruses in this new work are prettily performed .

The Pandora Theatre , Leicester-square , to which we alluded some months ago , is now fairly on its way to completion , and is likely to be one of the most attractive places in London . The architect is Mr . Thomas Verity , the architect of the Comedy Theatre . The contractors are Messrs . Ashby and Merritt . The entire plan will be carried out under the direction of Mr . Alfred Thompson , who will

undertake the management of the theatre . The house is to hold 3000 people , representing £ 400 a night , while the lounges and refreshment rooms will be larger and more luxurious than those of any existing theatre in E . irope or America . The Pandora will be opened about Christmas , with a pantomime of great novelty and beauty . Burlesque , ballets , and farcical comedies will then be the style of the house , and the greatest attention will be given to the artistes as well as to the scenic effects .

Mr . Charles Wyndham's new theatre in Northumberland Avenue , when built , will have a marble stage , divided into two revolving portions ; that the curtain will only fall to rise again immediately after each act . This will be the first London theatre with a marble stage .

The Royalty is undergoing most extensive alterations , amounting to almost rebuilding . This is by order of the Lord Chamberlain . * * The houses now closed are the Prince of Wales ' , Royalty , St . James ' , Opera Comique , Haymarket , Lyceum , and the Strand . The Court will shortly follow . Some of these companies have migrated to the provinces , whilst others are dispersed .

Bro . G . R . Sims has written a new comedy , "The Wise Child , " for production at the Prince of Wales' Theatre , Liverpool . * 9 # " Pluck " is to be the name of Bro . Augustus Harris' newest venture , not " Luck , " as he first called it , as it might have led to legal proceedings , there being several claimants for that title . * ' -h ' &

" Aladdin" will be produced at the Gaiety on 7 th August , and not " Dick Whittington , " as has been stated by several of our contemporaries . Bro . Hollingshead " sacred lamp of burlesque , " which has been temporarily removed from London to Glasgow , Yarmouth , and some large towns in England , will once more burn in Londonand is expected to be brighter than ever , Mr . Recce

, promising us another of his capital burlesques , founded on the story of " Robinson Crusoe . " This will be played later in the autumn . Bro . Edwin Terry , Miss Kate Vaughan , Miss Nellie Farren , Miss Connie Gilchrist , Mr . Squire and Mr . Dallas will again be the chief artistes . Bro . Meyer Lutz , as usual , being the conductor . # a #

Bro . Wilhelm Ganz will conduct the music at the Theatrical Fund dinner , at Freemasons' Tavern , on Monday , when Bro . G . A . Sala will preside , on which occasion speeches will be delivered by Bros . Henry Irving and . L . Toole . We hope a goodly sum will be realised . J * * *

Bros . Hare and Kendal have sent a cheque for £ 217 odd to the Syrian Colonisation Fund , of which Bro . ord Shaftesbury is the President , being the result of a performance of "The Squire " at St . James ' s Theatre . This is , we believe , the largest amount contributed m one sum . We have always maintained the theatrical profession is the most liberal and charitable of any .

The Theatres.

" Roasting a I < ogue is the title of a new piece shortly to be produced by Bro . Toole at his theatre . The Novelty Theatre , near our own publishing offices , Great Queen-street , is on its way to completion . It will be devoted , we believe , chiefly to amateur performances . # * #

To-day ( Saturday ) Bro . Henry Irving closes the Lyceum until September . 'The ever-interesting event of Bro . Irving ' s benefit takes place to-day , when " Romeo and Juliet" will he played for the last lime for the present , supplemented , no doubt , with the speech which Bro .

Irving ' s patrons always expect from their popular manager . Until then we must wait to hear the future programme . " Much Ado about Nothing " and ' * * Coriolanus , " of Shakespeare , have long been promised . The Poet Laureate is believed to have written another play for Bro . Irving .

The Prince of Wales ' s Theatre is now numbered amongst the " closed . " By order of the Lord Chamberlain , it is about to undergo changes in its structure , and , we believe , will be rebuilt . We hope this is so , as it is too small for the excellent comedies recently put on its stage .

"The Colonel" has run over a year . Air . Edgar Bruce holds a lease of it from Bro . Bancroft , who , with Airs . Bancroft , played there until they took the larger house in the Haymarket . The Prince of Wales ' s has long been mongst the paying houses .

Music

MUSIC

Saturday last saw the close of the opera season , there being little to record since our previous notes save that Madame Patti received quite an ovation and bouquets well nigh innumerable on the occasion of her gala night ; while Madame Albani was similarl y honoured on hers . Henceforth till March , at the earliest , we have nothing musical to look forward to bevond the usual series of

concerts , varied by such exceptional gatherings as the approaching Alusical Festival at Birmingham . That these will satisfy the public appetite is likely enough , if we may judge from the experience of past years ; yet we see no reason why there should not be a kind of autumnal operatic season , so that the works of the great Italian , French , and German composers might be performed at prices placing

them within reach of people who are below the " Upper Ten , " at least , as far as means are concerned . Opera at cheap prices , under the direction of an experienced manager , ought to be a profitable undertaking , especially having regard to the vastly-increasing love of music

which has made itself apparent everywhere throughout the country , but especially in the metropolis . However , we presume the powers that be know their own business best , and that the patronage of four million Londoners , minus its few thousand votaries of fashion , is not worth the trouble of cultivating .

Bro . Colonel Mapleson is at Mont Dore , arrang - ing for Madame Sarah Bernhardt , and Miss Nilsson to visit the opera house shortly . Bro . Mapleson has offered Madame Crossmond Turner an engagement , but she is unable to accept it .

Dr . Grove , the director of the Royal College of Music , paid a visit to Hastings a few days ago , and addressed a meeting there , by desire of Bro . H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , in aid of the College . A resolution was moved and carried in favour of the scheme , and another , pledging the borough to use its best endeavours to raise a sum worthy of Hastings . It will be seen that the meeting

did not pledge itself to any definite sum . Wc should have thought that £ 3000 , the sum many boroughs of the same size in England have undertaken to raise , might be subscribed in Hastings ; seeing that the Prince and Princess of Wales a few weeks ago , troubled themselves to go down to Hastings to open the Alexandra Gardens . Bro . Sir 'Thomas Brasscy , one of the borough members , has given

£ , 1000 towards the Prince ' s excellent scheme . During a visit we recently paid to a Mayor of one of the southern boroughs , we noticed the papers of the College lying in his house , and learned that he has steadily set himself to work to support it , by calling a meeting of the inhabitants , and obtaining donations . After the holidays , we trust H . R . H . will find himself in a position to really establish the Royal College of Music .

Science And Art.

SCIENCE AND ART .

The Prince of Wales presided on Wednesday week over a meeting of the General Committee of the International Fisheries Exhibition to be held next year in London . The report stated , among other things , that a considerable number of prizes—a list of which wijl shortly be published—had been placed at the disposal of the Committee , by public bodies and private individuals , to be adjudged to exhibitors of objects of special interest . It

was announced that the Netherlands Government had applied for from ten to twelve thousand feet of space in one block , and also that , owing to the retirement , through ill health , of Sir Brandreth Gibbs , from the office of Secretary , the Committee had been obliged to seek assistance , and had been so fortunate as to secure the services of Mr . Mollett , who had had great experience at the International Exhibitions of Vienna and Paris . It was added that circular letters had been sent out by Bro . the Lord Mayor

to the provincial mayors inviting their co-operation . His Royal Highness announced that theAlayor of Yarmouth was taking , as ho did in all relating to fishermen and fisheries , a lively interest in the matter ; that the United States had voted a sum cf £ 10 , 000—not 10 , 000 dollars , as originally stated—and allotted a special fishery steamer for the use of exhibitors ; that the Netherlands had appointed a Special Committee under the presidency of Count de Bylandt , their minister in London ; and that Canada , New

Science And Art.

Zealand , and New South Wales , had already contributed to the fund . The Prince having also announced that the Committee had obtained a site in the Royal Horticultural Gardens , South Kensington , a vote of thanks to H . R . H was passed with acclamation .

* = } .- = s Mr . Boehm , R . A ., has been conmissioned by the Duke of Bedford to execute a colossal statue in bronze of the great and gallant circumnavigator , Sir Francis Drake , for the town of Tavistock . On the pedestal will be reliefs depicting scenes from his life . The statue is already in a forward state .

1 here is now on view at South Kensington a beautiful altar cloth , worked by the pupils of the Royal School of Art in Needlework , which has been presented bv H . R . H . the Princess Christian to the English Churcli Pontrdsina , and also some large wall panels for Eaton Hall , in completion of a large order given by the Duke of Westminster .

* A memorial will shortly be presented to the Government by the Royal Academy with reference to the proposed alterations at Hyde Park Corner , and praying that the late Duke of Wellington ' s statue may be placed anywhere else than on the arch on which it has stood so long .

1 he new City of I ^ ondon School , which has been erected on the Thames Embankment at a cost of nearly £ 200 , 000 , including the value of the land , and occupies , with the playgrounds , some 70 , 000 feet , will be opened in November , when . 1 distinguished company , it is expected , will be present at the ceremony .

\ V e learn from the Academy that in the course of the present year the council of the Camden Society will publish a holograph letter book of Gabriel Harvey , of Saffron Walden , containing rough drafts of his poems and his correspondence—mostly unpublished—with his

friend , Edmund Spencer , under the name of " Immerito , " about 1579 . This part of the book , from its numerous allusions to Sir Philip Sydney , George Gascoigne , Edward Dyer , the jester , Tarleton , and other celebrities of the day , is very valuable and interesting , and is , indeed , the earliest note or scrap bcok of an English poet and author . #

* * According to the Athenwiim . the collection of antiquities in the British Museum has lately been enriched with three beautiful boundary-stones from the neighbourhood of Babylon , covered with inscriptions , hieroglyphs ( those generally held to be zodiacal signs and fine human figures . One contains the name of Mehsikku , who was King of Babylon , about 1175 , n . c . Another is dated in

the reign of Nabu-Kain-abli , who may probably be set down at the beginning of the seventeenth century B . C ., while the third , which has been engraved with great care , and is covered on one side with the so-called zodiacal signs , is said in the inscription to have been set up by order of Nebuchadnezzar as a memorial of the taking back of a piece of land from the Elamites , and its restoration to the country of Akkad .

* « * Testimony has been made to the value of M . Paul Bert's addition to medical science , as to the value of using oxygenised water in surgical cases , the amount of oxygen used varying from twice to six times the volume of the water . This testimony is in the form of a letter lately presented to the French Academy of Science by M . Bert ,

the writers of which , Messrs . Pean and Baldy , have been following up his researches , and in doing so have , in the course of about a hundred observations , arrived at the conclusion that oxygenised water will replace with advantage the use of alcohol and phenic acid . It can be applied externally in cleansing wounds and ulcers , in injections , and in the form of vapour , not only exercising great local benefit ,

but likewise generally improving the condition of the patient and moderating the fever which always accompanies a wound . ? . loreover , according to M . Bert , it is found to destroy parasites , and is invaluable , therefore , in skin diseases . Those who use it , however , are warned to be careful rot to to make the water so as to contain a dangerous quantity of sulphuric acid .

* The professorshi p of surgery at the University of Edinburgh , which has been rendered vacant by the death of Professor Spence was filled on Monday by the election by the curators of Mr . Chiene , the other candidates being Drs . P . H . Watson , Joseph Bell , and John Duncan . 'The election , when announced , was received with much applause .

On the occasion of the recent meeting of the Anthropological Institute , at 4 , Grosvenor-gardens , the residence of General Pitt-Rivers , its President , Lord Talbot de Malahide read an extremely interesting paper on " The Longevity of the Romans in North Africa , " in the course of which his lordship showed from epitaphs and inscriptions on tombs , which he instanced , that numerous

cases had occurred in which people had lived to 100 years and upivards , some having attained to 120 , 130 , and even 140 years . A very interesting discussion followed , after which other papers were read by Captain R . F . Burton and the President himself j the latter treating of the " Egyptian Boomerang , " which was illustrated by several specimens . Mr . M . Hutchinson exhibited a large collection of Bushman drawings .

¦ * s * * V / e often hear extraordinary stories of the amazing intelligence exhibited on occasions by some of the hig her animals , and especially by dogs . So great is this intelligence , that a large numberof people have come to regard it as almost the same as the reason displayed by human beings . Whether or not it is more instinct than reason is a question we shall not attempt to discuss , but we venture to say n °

more extraordinary instance of this remarkable faculty has ever been cited than that mentioned by a Wiltshire contemporary , according to which a clergyman ' s dog was m the habit of going every morning to the railway station to fetch his master's Standard , which was thrown to him hy the guard as the train passed through . One day he returned without any paper at all , and , on inquiry , it turned out that , in mistake , the guard had thrown out a Dauj Telegraph , with which the dog would have nothing to o 0 .