Public Amusements.

is a smart , intelligent little fellow , and does a variety of-difficult things with precision and expertness . His histrionic talent is genuine and versatile , and , being of Yankee birth , it is scarcely necessary to add that excessive modesty does , not prevent the effective display of his powers . OF his performances , it will suffice to

say that they are alternately musical and dramatic , and that they partake of the nature of the representations with which the class of artists known as " entertainers "

are wont to regale the public . Ho imitates the doings of a drunken man , mimics the witless buffooneries d ? an Irish peasant , plays upon the drum , dances a sailor ' s hornpipe , simulates the attitudes of the Grecian statues , delivers a stump oration , represents a variety of dissimilar characters , and does other things too numerous

to mention with an ease and spirit that betoken unquestionable ability . A prosperous career is probably in store for him in this wonder-loving age ; and it is not unlikely that he may share with General Tom Thumb the blissful destiny for which many a man of ordinary stature might sigh in vain—that of having

beeu kissed by a million and a half of ladies . Miss Minnie Warren , with whom he is associated , and who is sister of Mrs . General Tom Thumb , is still smaller than the Commodore , being only 2-1 inches high , and weighing only 19 lbs . Her toilette is superb , and her demeanour bespeaks a due sense of her own importance .

She sings some duets and performs some dances with the Commodore , and materially contributes to the success of the entertainment . The presents bestowed upon Commodore Nutt and Miss Warren are exhibited at the close of the levee , and on the conclusion of each performance the Lilliputian couple are conveyed from

the hall in a carriage which is described as " a splendid miniature coach , drawn by four of the smallest ponies in the world , attended by servants iu livery , the whole a present from General Tom Thumb to Commodore Nutt . " Thus enthusiastically applauded and luxuriously located , the Commodore appears to have a jovial life of it , and is possibly an object of envy to grenadiers .

NATIONAL CHORAL SOCIETY . The fifth season commenced on Wednesday at Exeter Hall with a performance of Mendelssohn ' s "Elijah , " which , although open to exceptions , was by far the best ¦ g iven of that oratorio by the young society since its establishment . The principal singers were Miss Louisa

Pyne , Miss Annie Cox , Miss Palmer Lisle , Miss Palmer , Messrs . Sims Reeves , Walker , L . Thomas , aud E . Murray . Miss Louisa Pyne shines no less in the sacred concert room ithan she does on the stage . Her singing was incomparable from first to last . Not to mention what are termed the especial " points " for the soprano

—such as the great air , " Hear ye , Israel ; " the recitative and duet with Elijah , " Give me thy son ; " and the leading part in the melodious trio , " Lift thine eyes , " in ¦ which the accomplished artist was sure to create an effect—we may instance the responses of the boy to Elijah when he is told to lookout in . the heavens for the cloud which is to bring the longed-for rain , which Miss Pyne gave pianissimo with such beauty , clearness , and

Public Amusements.

purity of voice as to elicit a murmur of applause throughout the hall , even at the risk of spoiling the most splendid passage in the oratorio . These responses have been resigned in her later performances by Madame Lind-Goldsmidt to another singer , why it was not easy to

say . It was fortunate , too , for the performance that Mr . Sims Reeves had entirely recovered from his recent indisposition , and that he was enabled to sing the tenor music iu his grandest and most finished manner . There was not a trace of illness or weakness in the

recitative which precedes the great air " If with all your hearts ; " on the contrary , Mr . Reeves's voice in the upper tones sounded firm and bright as a trumpet , while the air itself—a severe test for the tenor—was never more magnificently sung , oven by the singer himself . The hall rang with applause when Mr .

Reevessat down . Mr . Reeves's other great display iu " Elijah " —as every amateur ef sacred music must know—is the air " Then shall the righteous , " more difficult and exacting even than the first , and which Mr . Reeves declaims

with no less vocal charm , masterly skill , and grandeur of style . Of the tenor recitatives which play so important a part in the oratorio , it is enough to say that they were delivered with that combination of consummate ease and art so essential to their proper expression , in which Mr . Reeves has no superior and very

few equals . Mr . Lewis Thomas sang the music of Elijah carefully and well , and was complimented warmly for his singing of the air "Is not his word like afire , " the florid passages in which ( after the manner of Handel ) he gave with more than usual clearness . Upon Miss Palmer

devolved the contralto music , and to no better hands could it have been entrusted . The smaller parts were most efficiently sustained by Misses Annie Cox and Palmer Lisle , Messrs . Walker and E . Murray . The attendance was very large .

The Week.

THE WEEK .

THE COTTET . —Her Majesty and family , who are at present at Windsor , are expected to proceed to Osborne to-day or Monday . The Prince and Princess of Wales remain in Sandringliam . GENERAL HOME NEWS . —The Registrar-General ' s returns for last week show that the mortality of the metropolis is still on

the decline , though it has not yet fallen to the average of deaths . The deatb 3 for tbe week amounted to 1 , 522 , which is 102 below the previous weel :, but is 55 above the estimated number of the corresponding week for tbe last ten years . Tbe births were 1 . 9 G 1 which was also 55 above the average . It is stated that Parliament will meet " for the despatch of business" on the 7 th

of February . The Lords of the Treasury have issued a minute directing that Monday , the 26 th instant , shall be observed as a holiday at the Customs , the Inland Revenue Office , the Post Office , and generally in all places that are under Government control . They have also given notice to the Bank of England to pay all bills accepted by the Paymaster General on the 24 th if they are presented for payment on that day , but at the same time they are obliged to add that if they are presented'