Notes On Music And The Drama.

belonged to the town , —six to towns in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg ; the remaining half-dozen to towns in France . Among the music performed ( some of ivhich had orchestral aasistance ) was a March and Triumphal Hymn by M . Theodore Gouvy ; a composer who belongs to the district , ancl with whom in spite of his acceptance in Germany , we , in England appear resolute to have nothing to do .

The choice of the architect of the new Grand Opera House in Paris is made—M . Charles Gamier having been elected . A new grand organ , on the largest scale , with four manuals , pedals , ifcc ., ancl containing 5256 pipes , has just been erected in the Cathedral at Magdeburg . Herr Hiller ' s oratorio , "The Destruction of Jerusalem , " has been performed lately , we are told , at Middelbourg ( in Zealand ) , at Ratisbon , and twice at Laybach .

Poetry.

Poetry .

PETER PINDAR . Bv BRO . GEORGE MAEEHAM T WEDDEX . 1 , Author of" Shakspere , his Times and Contemporaries , " etc . No verse like AVOICOTT ' S can so make us laugh , For well he knew how folly to deride :

Pity it is that e'er from A irtue's side His muse should wander , or should take a pride In aught of mean or base ; for when we quaff The nectar that fair poetry affords , No gross ideas and no obscene words Should mar the mirth of our intoxication .

Folly and Alee for Satire are free game , Hypocrisy and Tyranny the same , And ifc were well through all the British nation To put their grovelling worshippers to shame . But , AVOICOTT , though admire thy wit we must , AA e eke at times regret thy satire is unjust .

ACK-OF-ALI-TEADES . —In a work of art there may be great variety of detail with perfect unity of action . Every accessory should contribute to the one general result , should illustrate the one leading idea . Every detail that is foreign to the subject is so much sheer waste of strength . And so it is in the conduct of life . AA ith one object set steadily before us , we may have many varying

activities , but they will all assist the main action , and impart strength and consistency to it . Singleness of aim , I repeat , in nowise demands monotony of action . But if you allow yourself to be diverted from this singleness of object , you are little likely to succeed in life . "Art is long—life is short . " Knowing this , there is a universal tendency amongst us to go in search of specialities . General practitioners seldom get beyond a respectable mediocrity

, whilst your specialists attain to eminence and wealth . If an eye or an ear be affected , we seek out the man who has made that particular organ the study of his life . In the pursuit of that one object , the oculist or the aurist may have studied the mechanism of the whole human frame , and the general physiology of man , but only in their relation to the particular organ to the full understanding of whicli he is devoting all the energies of his mind . He cannotindeedunderstand his subject without the aid of this

con-, , tributory knowledge . But all that is not contributory is waste . In the same manner , lawyers succeed by studying special branches of their profession ; and literary men are successful in proportion as they stick to their specialities , or rather as they are fortunate in having any . If a man can write well on any one special subjectno matter what that subject may be—lie is sure to find profitable occupation for his pen , whilst the general dealer in literary wares ,

though more highly gifted by nature , may fail to provide himself with bread . The popular appreciation of this general fact expresses itself in the well-known proverb that , " ajack-of-all-trades is master of none . " The world has no faith in Admirable Crichtons . They may be very pleasant fellows in their way , but mankind in general ivould rather not do business with them . —Cornhill Magazine .

The Week.

THE WEEK .

THE COTTET . —The Prince Consort presided at a meeting of the Council of the Horticultural Society on Friday , and ofthe Fine Arts Committee of the society on Saturday . The Queen ivith the Prince of AA'ales , the Prince of Hesse and party proceeded to the AVhite Lodge , Richmond . On Tuesday Her Majesty , accompanied by the Princess Alice , ancl attended by the Duchess of Athole , called on the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland , ancl her Eoyal Highness the Duchess d'Aumule , at Twickenham . His Eoyal

Highness the Prince Consort , the Prince of AVales and Prince Louisof Hesse , left Buckingham Palace for the Camp at Aldershot , and . were present at a review of the division , under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir J . Pennefather . On AA ' ednesday Her Majesty held a Drawing-room in St . James's Palace . The Queen ancl Prince Consort , accompanied by the Princess Alice , arrived from Buckingham Palace soon after two o'clock . The Duke of Cambridge , Princess Mary of Cambridge the Count of FlandersPrince Louis

, of Hesse , Prince Edward of Saxe-AVeimer , and Prince Frederick of Holstein , were present at the reception , ivhich was very large . IMPERIAE PARLIAMENT . —In the HOUSE OF LOEDS on Thursday ,, the 13 th inst ., the amendments on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill ( by which its whole principle is destroyed ) , were reported and adopted , The AAllls of Personalty of British Subjects Abroad Bill was read a third time . On Friday , after a conversation relative

to the naval forces of France and England , the Public Offices Extension Bill was read a second time . On Monday , the Excise and Stamp Bill was read a second time , and the Public Offices , and some other bills , passed through committee . On Tuesday , the Bankruptcy Bill was read a third time and passed , several additions being made , on the motion of Lords AA ensleydale ancl Cranworth . In the course of the discussion on the motion for the third reading , Lords Derby , Overstone , Cranworth , Lyveden , and

Wensleydale defended the alterations made by the Select Committee , while the Lord Chancellor ancl Lord Granville contended that the so-called amendments were destructive of the principles of the measure . Lord Granville , indeed , intimated that tha Government would not press the House of Commons to accept the extensive alterations made by their Lordships . The Greenwich Hospital and Excise and Stamps Bills passed through Committee . A protest against the Budget Bill has been signed by the Duke of Rutland , and by Lords Lucan , Carnarvon , Monteagle , Clancarty , Normanby , Mayo , Emiisk'dleii , Wynford , ancl Harrington . It is

contended that the surplus does not justify the extensive remission of taxation provided for in the Bill ; that Mr . Gladstone has completely ignored the exigencies which loom up in the future ; that the repeal of the paper duty is unjustifiable ; ancl that the form of the measure is an offensive innovation . In the HOUSE OF COMMONS on Thursday , the 13 th , Mr . Peel in reply to the questions from Mr Gregory and Colonel French , said that the Cunard Steam Packet Companhad not committed

y any breach of their contract in the conveyance of the mails , ancl thafc with respect to the Peninsular and Oriental Company , and theAA est India Mail Packet Company , but two or three breaches of engagement had occurred , and in those cases the companies had been fined , and had paid the penalty . Lord John Russell , in reply to a question from Sir James Fergusson , said it had been arranged that there should be a Christian governor of the Lebanon , and in that

arrangement the representative of England had concurred . The new governor would , he understood , be under the authority of the Pasha of Sidon , but he was not aware that that point had been settled . The East India Loan Bill , the Indian Council Bill , and the East India Civil Service Bill , were respectively read a secoml tune . The Excise and Stamps Bill was read a second time . On Friday , the question respecting the power of magistrates in

boroughs which do not possess a separate Court of Quarter Sessions , to grant licences for the sale of wine and spirits , was brought before the House by Capt . Jervis , and Sir G . C . Lewis intimated that he intended to insert clauses in the Municipal Corporations Act Amendment Bill , with the view of setting the matter at rest in favour of the justices , whose power is undisputed . Mr . Gregory moved for the appointment of a Select Committee

to inquire into the circumstances attending the cancelling of the Galway subsidy . The hon . gentleman , of course , spoke of fche Company as a harshly and unjustly treated body , ancl told the House that the closing of the contract on the part of the Government " only added one to the many resentments which were cherished in Ireland against this country . " Lord John Russell , ou behalf of the Governmentassented to the motionwhichafter

, , , a long discussion , was agreed to . On Monday , the consideration of the Appropriation of Seats Bill was resumed , ancl was marked by some lively combats for the seat designed for Chelsea and Kensington . Mr . T . Buncombe proposed that it be allotted to Burnley , but the motion was opposed by the Government , and was ultimately withdrawn . Mr . Scully ancl Colonel Dunne urged the claims of the