Royal Arch.

once became a zealous Mason . After serving in inferior offices , he was appointed Junior AVarden of the lodge in June , 1850 ; Senior Warden , 1851 ; and was elected AV . M . in 1852 ; the duties of which he discharged in a highly creditable manner . He was also a Mark Master , and a member of the Royal Arch Chapter of St . Augustine ( No . 766 ) , and had held the offices of P . S . and third Principal . In the Prov . G . Lodge he served the office of Prov . G . Steward iu 1848 , and in 1851 he was appointed Prov . G . Dir . of Cers ., when

he most efficiently conducted the public proceedings in connection with the Masonic inauguration of the statue of " the good " Duke of Rutland , hy the late Sir P . G . Fowke , Prov . G . M ., when , it was computed that upwards of 70 , 000 spectators were assembled in the Market-place , Leicester , to witness the ceremony , and in the streets through which the procession passed . In 1 S 54 he was ju'omoted to the rank of Prov . S . G . AA " . Om- deceased brother was a man of considerable talent and

enlightened views . He was a conservative in politics , and had been several times elected a member of the Town Council of his native borough ; and although a staunch adherent of his party , he was so free from all personal animosities and political rancour , that he was esteemed hy all parties , whether Whig , Radical , or Tory . In his private life he was a man of a most impulsive dispositonkind and' genial in his nature—a warm and sincere friend , a

faithful , loving husband , and an affectionate father . He was the last of four brothers who liave successively fallen victims to that insidious disease—consumption , his brother Robert ( who was also a Mason ) only preceding him to the grave about nine months ago . Bro . Hardy , who was in his 43 rd yeai-, leaves a widow and five youthful daughters , and also two unmarried sisters , to lament

his loss . Peace to his Manes ! He was interred in the Leicester Cemetery on Monday last , several members of the Order being privately present as a mark of respect to his memory .

BRO . THOMAS WEATHERILL . We regret to have to record the death of Bro . Thomas AVeatherill , of Newton-under-Rosebury , P . M . of the Cleveland Lodge ( No . 795 ) , and of the Zetland Lodge ( No . 820 ) , and Prov . G . S . B . for the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire . Bro . Weatherill , who was much respected , both as a man . and a Mason , died on the 14 th inst ., after a long illness , aged 45 years . His memory will be long cherished by a goodly number of his " brothers of the mystic tie " for his many virtues .

Notes On Music And The Drama.

NOTES ON MUSIC AND THE DRAMA .

Many inquiries respecting " Elijah , " set down for the 22 nd inst ., afc Exeter Hall , says the Critic , have sprung oufc of the silence maintained upon the matter . The fact is , all the tickets have been disposed of for some time past , and the managers could not taunt the public with impossible obtainments . The report that the Hanover-square Rooms are about to be pulled down , has , we believe , no foundation in fact . The rooms are simply to he renovated and used for the same purpose to which they

have heen so long applied . Mdlle . Patti and the Sisters Marchisio are to sing in Italian opera , at Berlin , during the winter . A grand concert is shortly to be given at the Paris Conservatoire in aid of the funds for the monument which is about to he erected at Florence to the memory of Cherubini . At this we are positively assured that Signor Rossini is about to break his long and perverse silence , by permitting to be executed there a grand scena for a bass

voice , entitled " Titan . " A competent witness , just returned from Italy , dismayed at the musical decadence everywhere to be found ,- —and not giving a good account of the music by Signor Peri , from which we had hoped something ,. —makes an exception in favour of Signor Mazzoleni as a tenore robusto who recalls the vigorous days of Donzelli , hut who , however robust , does not bawl . M . Gustavo Garcia , the youngest of the great musical famil y , who

sang his first public notes this spring in London , after making a fair debut the other day in Brussels as one in a comic opera company , has gone to Italy to work out his career . Miss Amy Sedgwick , remarks the Fra , has been recruiting her health for the last month at Scarborough , where she delighted the fashionable frequenters of this Brighton of the North with some of her attractive readings . On AVednesday last Miss Sedgwick appeared afc Richmond , Surrey , for a benefit , when she played Pauline , in the " Lady of Lyons . " So great was the demand for admission , that hundreds were turned away . Ou Mondav , Miss

Notes On Music And The Drama.

Sedgwick appears at the New Theatre , Moor-street , Birmingham , in the favourite comedy of the "Unequal Match , " and afterwards proceeds to Bath and Bristol . The prospects of the theatrical season , says the Sunday Times , are by no means depressing ; and theatrical managers are already making- anxious preparations for tlle attraction and accommodation of the large number of visitors who are likely to he brought into

the metropolis in 1862 hy the great Exhibition ot Industry and Art . The competition is likely to he unusually active , and signs of its earnestness begin to show themselves on the surface . This spirit of competition will do no harm ; and it is well that our caterers for the amusement of the people should remember that , though a million or two will have to be provided for , those will succeed best who shall present the best entertainment . AA ' e regret to learn that Mrs . Tomson ( Miss Lizzie Stuart ) , who has for so long a period delighted both metropolitan and provincial audiences with her Scottish entertainments , is lying dangerously ill .

Public Amusements.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS .

ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA . The sixth season of the Royal English Opera , under the management of Miss Louisa Pyne and Mr . AA . Harrison , will commence next Monday evening , the opening piece being Mr . Howard Glover ' s new opera of " Ruy Bias , " the production of wliich was announced at the close of last season , hut unavoidably deferred . The programme , which has been issued , is a very rich one , as regards both

the works to he performed and the executants by whom they are to be rendered . The company embraces most of the old favourites , and has been strengthened by some new additions . The soprani will be Miss Louisa Pyne , Miss Thirlwall , and Madame Guerrahella , whose powers fully recognised in the concert-room , have been as . yet untried upon , the English stage . The contralti will be Miss Susan Pyne , Miss Topham , and Miss Jenny M'Lean , a new-comer , of whom report speaks well . The list of busses and baritones

includes the names of Messrs . Santley , Henry Corri , Patey , Theodore Distin , Eugene Dussek , T . AVallworth , and George Honey ; and the tenors , Messrs . W . Harrison , Henry Haigh , A . St . Albyn , and C . Lyall , complete the strength of a thoroughly efficient troupe . The stage management has been confided to Mr . Leigh Murray , than to whom ifc would he difficult to find any one more eminently qualified for the direction of this important department ; and Mr . Edward Murray retains his post of acting manager , in which during past seasons his zeal and ability have rendered him

invaluable to the management , while his unvarying courtesy and obliging spirit have raised up for him hosts of friends . The creation of the scenery could not be entrusted to a more skilful brush than that of Mr . AA ' . Calcott ; and last , hut hy no means least , the name of Mr . Alfred Mellon as conductor , is an ample guarantee for that orchestral and choral excellence , so essential to the success of the enterprise , which are never found wanting when he is at the helm . Ample scope for the full development of these varied resources will

be found in the operas which are announced for representation . The season will open , as we have already noticed , with Mr . Howard Glover's new opera of " Ruy Bias ; " on the succeeding evening will be produced a new operetta , " The Toymaker , " hy Mr . George Linley . AVe are , moreover , promised many other novelties , among the composers of which figure the names of Messrs . Vincent Wallace , Balfe , Macfarren , Clay , Gounod , and Benedict ; while the list of librettists includes Messrs . J . R . PlancheJohn OxenfordTom

, , Taylor , Dion Boucicault , H . F . Chorley , J . Maddison Morton , and J . V . Bridgeman . It is whispered that one of the novelties , at present announced only as "A Romantic Opera , " will he the evergreen " Colleen Bawn" in a lyric guise . AVith all these new attractions in store , the old repertoire to fall hack upon in case of need , and a company in all respects ofthe highest efficiency . Miss Louisa Pyne and Mr . AA . Harrison may fairly look forward to an eminently prosperous season .

THE GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION . Mi . and Mrs . German Reed , certainly tho most distinguished of that class of artists to whom the designation of" entertainers " has of late years been applied , have returned to town after a brief absence , and , in conjunction with their accomplished associate , Mr . John Parry , resumed their pleasant performances at the Gallery of Illustration , on AVednesday , The favour with which the

entertainment produced at Easter was received in the first instance liaving continued without tho least diminution till the close of the season , it has not been deemed necessary to change the programme ; and the lively dramatic sketches , entitled " Our Card Basket . " and "Tlie