Science and Art.

Her Majesty's Theatre.-The opera is increasing in interest every week. Madame Persiani, Lablache, Mario, and Ronconi, have appeared since our last notice. The latter is new to a London audience, and well may he be welcomed, for he is destined to fill an important situation in the establishment, and that he will fill it to the satisfaction of all lovers of music we are assured, for he is an artist of no common order, and many of the notes of his voice, particularly those in the upper range, are truly exquisite. In "Lucia di Lammermoor," and "Elisir d'Amore," he has been triumphant. Our anticipations of Guasco have been realized. In "Lucia " he displayed his histrionic and vocal abilities more forcibly than on previous occasions. The character in which he appeared makes greater demands on the energies of the performer than the part in which he made his debut, and well did he meet every requisition. We hail Guasco as an ornament to the profession.

Madame Persiani, Lablache, and Mario, acquit themselves with their wonted elegance and force. The lady was never superior in her performances to the first night of her reappearance. Lablache and Mario are too well known to require further notice. Of the latter, perhaps it may be proper to say that he sings with more care than he did last season.

"Giselle," the ballet, still commands admiration. Carlotta Grisi is an exquisite artist-and the play is managed with much skill throughout. The scenery and dresses are all that can be desired.

Drury Lane Theatre. On the 20th of last month, a new play, entitled "Plighted Troth," was produced. It wholly failed to please the audience, and an announcement of its repetition was received with palpable demonstrations of disapprobation. No better proof is needed than this failure, of the folly of managers and actors in trusting to tricks and stage-situations. The auditors who visit the patent houses to see a new play are usually those who are not disposed to let their eyes run away with their ears. They sit down to hear and to judge as well as to see; and rareeshows will not compensate them for the loss of their money and time. This is as it should be; and we shall argue better things for the drama while this spirit continues. If authors will submit to the dictation of actors and managers, so far as to jeopardise their plots and emasculate their language for the purpose of merely pleasing the eye, they should fail. In a less intellectual era, character well depicted and thoughts well chosen, without any great scenic display, suited the tastes of the audiences; and there never was a time when the didactic, as the managers are pleased to call a play chiefly resting on its plot, characters, and language, could more easily be ma de successful by good acting, than at present. There is not, we believe, a single visitor at the minor theatres even, who does not reflect on the melo-dramatic nonsense which he may have witnessed without feelings akin to disgust-we care not how much his delight may have been, during the performance. In proof of this, the thousand dramas which spring into existence and perish for ever, after a short season, may be reasonably adverted to. That which is truly worthy of being exhibited upon the stage, may always be exhibited with profit-and that disposition which leads managers to revive the situations which have been buried and revived a thousand times, assuming each time new shapes, is only a weak and thoughtless one, which is sure to terminate in a destruction of the art-since through it no actor can rise to any great eminence. The situation and the scenery are the principals the actors but the adjuncts.

Now it has been evident to us for a long time that the attempts to incorporate the melo-dramatic school upon what is called the legitimate, must fail. It cannot be otherwise. Audiences perceive the trick and become disgusted. They have paid their money to witness acting, and they see something so different placed before them to court their admiration, that they become filled with indignation.

How evident was it in "Plighted Troth," for instance, that the management rested upon the ball-scene for much of the success of the piece-and how lamentable was the failure!" Ball-room scenes can be seen every night-but a good piece of acting very seldom. Mr. Macready may be induced to carry on the system of display-but all such attempts will be ruinous. The only hope must be in the talents of the company exerted in the pourtrayal of character. Beneath this there can be no hope. The plays which will tell the most will be those which

can be most pleasantly listened to--and we trust that Mr. Macready will not forget the lessons of experience in this matter. It is all important both for the art which he should serve and his own emolument that he should not.

Let Mr. Macready depend more upon his company and less upon his scenepainters and decorators, and he will raise the reputation of his house beyond that of all others. "Where can we see the best actors?" is the first question asked by all lovers of the drama; and he who succeeds in directing the attention of the public to his establishment on this ground must be successful-while he who strives to eclipse the tinsel splendour of one play merely by the scenic effects of another, will but institute comparisons, the effect of which will, in a measure, scatter the attention of the public.

Covent Garden Theatre.-This establishment has closed; and though the season extended to the end of last month, we believe that it has been unprofitable notwithstanding. It was well known that the sole hope of the management lay in the success of Miss Adelaide Kemble; and now that that which was concealed through friendship need no longer be suppressed, it is but proper to say that there was a great fear entertained at Miss Kemble's debut that she would be unable to support the position in which she was placed. The Press was certainly unusually indulgent in behalf of Madame Vestris; and thus we may know why it is that the vocalist has been spared those minute critiques to which it is usually the fate of all artists to be subjected. It is due, however, to Miss Kemble to remark that all she has attempted has been creditably executed-although we must enter our protest against the means resorted to which have enabled her to sustain herself; namely, alterations of operas, and tricks which have set all the rules of music at defiance. We, who have been familiar with every opera in which she has appeared, have been sorely grieved to witness the horrible mutilation of favourite compositions-the destruction of the time-and the sacrifices of harmony. Under other circumstances, both here and elsewhere, we should have passed not in silence or unrebuked, the utter disregard of compositions worthy of admiration as we have heard them. Indeed, when one has seen almost every week, a composer of very high pretensions-the brilliant Mercadanteabused for producing an opera which was no more like his than "Timour the Tartar" is like "Macbeth," it has required no little patience to keep silent. In justice, therefore, to several composers, we beg to state that Miss Kemble's performances have been altogether confined to Mr. Benedict's travesties of popular compositions, thus arranged to suit the abilities of the vocalists.

The German Opera has commenced under the management of Mr. Bunn. The public have most decidedly approved of this elegant entertainment, and the reputation of the artists engaged for this season gives earnest of an ample return to the director. We heartily wish the enterprize that success which an arrangement of so extensive and excellent a character merits. The season opens with Von Weber's Der Frieshutz-an opera which is too well known for its consummate musical strength to need more than a reference at the present time.

Madame Heinefetter sustains the part of Agatha. She is a vocalist of the first class, and the reputation which she has acquired here, unquestionably will be crowned with her usual success.

Haymarket Theatre.-Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean are now performing here with their customary ability. Mr. Kean has made rapid advances in the art. He plays with a more subdued carnestness than formerly, and in spite of captious critics, must be acknowledged a performer of the highest order. Mr. Kean does great injury to himself, however, in our humble opinion, by not rising above the cavils of the censorious by appearing in original characters, which would fully exhibit the depth and strength of his genius. If he would take a hint from his father's life in this particular, the result would be beneficial. It is the fault of actors that they seldom aim to give anything further than simple fac-similes of the styles of other performers. An aspirant for fame should aspire for a new character which may develop his genius. He should create a soul out of coarse materials, if he can obtain nothing better. This once successfully done, he may venture upon old subjects. He must avoid comparisons-they are dangerous. The public are slow to acknowledge talent, and there is ever a secret pleasure with many minds, in referring to the past performances which have been seen, as more exalted than those of the present. It is all fallacy. We are deceived. We dream of the by-gone-we see the present; and it requires no ordinary share of discrimination to judge impartially, from this very cause. Show any one the Apollo Belvidere, he will immediately talk to you of some other statue--more

beautiful! A year after show him the one which he pronounced the more beautiful, and he will talk to you of the Apollo Belvidere-that is the statue of statues! Thus are we the slaves of association. We cannot concentrate our minds on that before us, when it reminds us of something remote.

Mrs. Kean-that exquisite actress, whose tones remind us of other days, on the other side of the Atlantic, when we sat night after night in humble admiration of her genius, and knew not satiety-how can we write of her? It is in vain. The time was we could do so-but it is not now. When we remember her Julia, Rosalind, Mrs. Haller, Ion, Christine, &c., it is impossible to say more than it is a high gratification to behold her again. That she is not sufficiently appreciated here is very evident for certainly a more pathetic, impassioned, soul-stirring actress is not upon the stage. In the "Lady of Lyons," what can be more truthful than her portraiture of the youthful Pauline-the proud and the passion-swayed-the worldchecked yet impulsive creature of a masterly fancy!

We were present on the 24th of last month when Mr. and Mrs. Kean performed in "The Lady of Lyons," and we were truly delighted with the performance. Mr. Kean, in our opinion, has no superior in this character. Others may please as well by their personation of the part, but no one can depict the ardent lover with more truthfulness and effect. Several scenes have made an indelible impression upon our minds. The exquisite touches of nature which were exhibited, show that Mr. Kean understands the springs of the human heart. Mr. Kean performs the character throughout with more nature than any one whom we have seen in it-and has convinced us that he only needs to appear in original characters to be generally acknowledged a great actor. If thus far true to himself, he will reap richer laurels than he has even as yet, gathered. Mrs. Kean exhibited the character of Pauline with all that delicacy and justness which has gained for her such a brilliant reputation in America. Nothing could be finer than the scene with Melnotte in the cottage. The sudden outburst of her feelings in the stifled sobs of a heart in which love is trampling down pride was truly beautiful, and touched a chord in every bosom. The spirit of the author was kept in view throughout, and the nicest intricacies of his imagination were brought forward with great judgment, skill, and effect

Both performers, it is almost needless to add, were summoned after the play before the curtain, to receive the plaudits and acclamations of the audience.

An absurd farce called a "Lover by Proxy," followed-the best merit of which was its brevity and the rapidity with which the scenes were changed. What could be more ridiculous than the position of Mr. Webster when making love to Miss Bromley (Miss Charles)"? The idea was good, but the author failed in the execution. This was the weakest point of the piece, and it should have been the strongest.

St. James's Theatre.-Since our last number, Mlle. Plessy has passed through a portion of her engagement with distinguished success. She is a truly elegant and lady-like actress, and plays in English as well as French with much spirit. Her performance in "Day after the Wedding" has been much admired, and very justly. The other performers, of whom we have formerly written, with the exception of Perlet, are still retained; and the plays are generally performed with much vivacity and power. This is an evidence that Mr. Mitchell has been liberal to most of his artists, at least when performers are not well treated, the public are able almost intuitively to discover it.

Mr. Falvy Williams.-We cannot refrain from calling the attention of all lovers of the dramatic art to the fact that this celebrated American performer is now in London. Perhaps there is no man upon the stage whose claims rank higher than those of Mr. Falvy Williams, in the line of comedy old men. Who that has seen his Sir Peter Teazle, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, or Polonius, can forget his admirable execution and delicate conception of these characters? Mr. Farren may rival him-but he cannot surpass him. Mr. Williams is a man of genius, who so fully identifies himself with the character which he personates, that there is nothing, even for an instant, but illusion-the illusion of reality.

The engagements of Mr. Williams in the first theatre in the United States, for four years, and his success both upon the English and French stage, justify this slight tribute to his talents; and we are certain that the manager under whose auspices he appears will be profited by having extended his hand to such an artist.

The Missourium.-The exhibition at the Egyptian Hall, Picadilly, which embraces this mammoth of skeletons, besides a large collection of fossil remains, must neces

sarily arrest the attention of every naturalist and geologist, as well as the public at large. We never saw a more stupendous skeleton; and there can be no doubt that the learned proprietor and discoverer of it, Mr. Koch, has disinterred the largest specimen in the animal kingdom.

"This gigantic skeleton measures 30 feet in length and 15 in height; the head measures, from the tip of the nose to the spine of the neck, 6 feet; from one zygomatic arch to the other, 4 feet; from the lower edge of the upper lip to the first edge of the front tooth, 8 inches; from the edge of the upper lip, measuring along the roof of the mouth to the socket of the eye, 3 feet; from thence to where the atless joins the head, 10 inches. The whole number of teeth is eightthat is, four upper and four lower, not including the two tusks. The two upper fore teeth are four inches broad and 4 inches in length, and are situated in the head in such a manner that they slant towards the roof of the mouth, insomuch that their outer edge is 14 inch higher than their inside edge. The back teeth in the upper jaw are seven inches in length, and where they unite with the front teeth, they are like those 4 inches broad, and from thence run narrower back until they end almost in a point. The formation of the nose is very peculiar; it consists of a bony substance interwoven with cells, and presents a broad, flat appearance; it projects 13 inches over the lower jaw, and ends in two nostrils, which are somewhat raised on the face. This nose rests partly on the roof of the mouth and partly on the upper lip, which latter is somewhat arched on both sides, and forms a rise in the centre."

OPINIONS FROM AMERICA.

MR. BRAHAM.

WHEN we first heard Mr. Braham in his opening sacred concert we were sadly disappointed. We thought then, as we do now, that he overlaid the majestic simplicity of sacred music with a profusion of useless and unmeaning flourishes, mere tricks of voice and execution, cadences, trills, and absurd repetitions. Wonderful power, the more atonishing at his advanced age (near seventy), and equally wonderful science, we could not help acknowledging, but his pathos appeared laboured and his enthusiasm mechanical. We did recognize a portion of the fine scorn Lamb spoke of in that magnificent piece, "Thou shalt dash them to pieces," wherein his contemptuous tones were jerked out with the same force that the fretted waves break and storm upon a rock in the raging sea. Afterwards at the theatre, on each occasion of our visits there, we were equally dissatisfied. The very indifferent acting was not relieved by any very extraordinary singing. It was the extravagance and (paradoxical, yet true) the constraint of the Italian opera. But a few evenings ago, at the Stuyvesant Institute, we at last discovered the secret of Braham's powers. It is not only the amazing extent or clearness, or melody of his voice, nor the rapid execution, nor the brilliant expression merely, but (as in all men of true genius) it lies in the harmonious sympathy between the spirit of the man and the talent of the singer. He sung admirably, the noble heroic songs from Scott and Burns, not only because he sung with power but also with love. He then and there sung out himself, to speak after the manner of the Germans. The honest, hearty, manly old strains, heroic or naval, or even moral, of England and Scotland are the true songs for Braham to sing. Before we heard Braham, we fancied to our eye a sort of poetical High Priest in Israel, a majestic figure of a man uttering tones of unearthly depth and beauty, and style austere, grand, and solemn. But the Old Hundred was the only specimen of the kind Mr. Braham gave himself to any advantage. To hear Braham in "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled," or "The Blue Bonnets are over the Border," in which his frequent animated calls sound like the acute reports of a rifle, or "the last words of Marmion," where he displays the greater variety, from great force to fine tenderness, slowness and vivacity, spirit and sentiment, we say, to hear these is to hear the finest singing that is to be heard at the present day. The rich philosophy and fine poetry of "A Man's a Man for a' that," was delivered in a proud strain evincing the generous spirit of the singer. The hearty naval songs of Old England are great favourites with Braham. He sings them with all the joyaunce of a jolly Jack Tar, that creature of impulse and heart, and with a spirit of defiance at fortune and a manly cordiality of feeling that smack of the children of the sea.

Mere sentimental songs Mr. Braham sings badly. He has a taste and a faculty above them; he should "chaunt the old heroic ditty o'er," and leave Moore and Haynes Bayley to the lesser lights of the hour. He has force and elevation, but little of mere elegance or softness-he is the Jupiter Tomans and not the graceful Mercurius.

MR. BUTLER.

WE have seen Mr. Butler in the two concluding acts of "The Avenger," and the first three of" Macbeth." The Avenger is a wild, furious melo-drama, with constant peals of passion, shrieks, outcries, dusky woods and passages of murder. It requires of an actor an almost supernatural strength and force to make himself conspicuous in such a performance: he must sweep through the piece like a storm, outroaring the elements, and defying the steps of all his fellows in the play. The genius of the performer must prop up the crumbling and tumbling structure of the author. Some glimpses of such a spirit we detected in Mr. Butler: a novelty and energy of conception that redeemed the glare and tumult of the composition. In the concluding act-the scene on which the curtain falls-we thought we discovered in the actor's murmuring "my child"-mi-m-mi-m dying off into hopeless imbecility, evidences of an original study, and the power to tread on the very verge of grandeur, without 66 o'erstepping the modesty of nature."

The circumstance that Mr. Butler's Macbeth could not hold us beyond the third act, was to us proof that there is something wanting in his performances: the absence of continuous and sustained power as an actor. He furnished frequent points of great excellence-some quite bold and marked-but failed in, what might be called, the intervals of the part. His by-play is not always felicitous, nor do his features always succeed in expressing the emotion which the mind of the performer seems to have mastered. Inequality is the pervading character of his efforts. Flights of a noble pitch and failures of quite as profound downward tendencies. We suspect that his "Hamlet" is the most even and happy effort of the performer. It was not our good fortune to confirm this belief by attendance at its presentation, but it accords best with the style of his thoughts and the general cast of his personations. From the Arcturus.

London: Printed by G. Lilley, 3 Queen's Head-passage, Paternoster-row.