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Leader (1850-1860), 24th December 1858, Edition 2 of 2, Page 14

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      The Society For The Encouitagejient Of T...

      state that as we propose to occupy ground which we believe to be wholly unoccupied , to supply an action of a kind and in a direction which has not yet been attempted , so we propose—and almost as a natural consequence of that right line of conduct—to guard ourselves most scrupulously against rivalry or antagonism with any existing art body or art interest . Our object is not to destroy or impair the action of any fellow labourers in the great field of art ; the strength of our position will not be increased by weakening theirs , and

      we can gain nothing by their loss . On £ he other hand , appealing as we do to the suffrages of the million for the success of our cause , using the intelligence of the public as our means , it is not impossible that our influence , by increasing and improving the feeling for art amongst the community at largeT may be the means of promoting the objects and increasing the practical efficacy of all existing institutions devoted to art , a result of which we shall be but too happy to witness . These statements were received with cordial

      approval , and mast have disarmed opposition it any had been meditated . One observation , and one only , was added , which , though delicately put , might be taken as a suggestion of some reform tendencies as a possible result of the operations of the society -.: — " And if in any way , as a consequence , this should lead to the extension or improvement of the machinery of any such institutions , we should hail the fact as one of the greatest triumphs it could fall within our ambition to contemplate . " After going into various details , the speaker threw the futureeharge and prospects of the society upon public om nion . and concluded , rather srrandilonuentlv , by

      an adjuration to the future -. —" Humble as . . are the hands by which the foundation of this-institution have been laid , we are sanguine enoug h to believe that , supported by public opinion , it will become of utility arid influence worthy of the arts of the age ; and that this day upon which it is established may be considered entitled to honourable record in the history of civilisation and progress . " Bravo , Mr . Ottley . Mr . limbs , the learned compiler of the " Things not Generally Known , " who happened to be present , will , doubtless , make a note of the event for some future ' editionof his " Curiositiesof History . " To conclude with this society for the present : there

      can be no doubt * we think , that it presents novelty and merit in its leading features ; but its scheme is so comprehensive as to require hiffli intelligence , indefatigable industry , and large ana powerful machinery to keep it in action . A great deal will depend upon the men by whom all this is to be directed , and although it would be ungracious at this early period to canvas the merits of . the several gentlemen at present upon the council , we confess that we heard vdth satisfaction from the chairman that at the ; earliest convenient period the constitution ; of the executive would be subject to revision , the officers being elected by the general body of the members .

      1414 The Leader. [Ko V 457, December 2& ...

      1414 THE LEADER . [ Ko 457 , December 2 & iftRft

      Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper. Engrave...

      Leonardo da Vinci ' s Last Supper . Engraved on wood by F . J . Smyth , after a drawing by Thomas I ) . Scott . ( Virtue and Co . )—We have here a remarkably fine specimen of wood-engraving , being , we believe , one of a series of copies of the great masters , intended to be produced by the enterprising publishers . The size is that of Raphael Morgen ' s well-known copper-plate engraving , the e ects of ¦ which are , copied with wonderful accuracy in a medium so different in its conditions . The work is evidently one in which Mr . Smy th , the engraver , has taken pride , and he has lavished upon it nil the resources of his art . The delicacy of finish in all parts is admirable , especially in the expression o the

      faces , and all tho textual treatment as to discriminating the varieties of surface in tho hair , theglnss , and other vessels on the table , the sharp folds of the tablecloth , & c . In some parts minute cross-lmtchings have been introduced with great skill and effect . Though published at a low price , thia really interesting print ia well worthy of framing :. We should like to see it followed by the cartoons of Raphael , and the Transfiguration , and other standard works of the great ItalWh school , produced in a similar style . We want some aids of this kind to counteract tho vicipua influence of maudlin trash , unfortunately too

      popular with the million . Mn . JB , H . B-Aiiyjr . —This gentleman , the favourite pupil of the illustrious Flaxman , nnd the sculptor of one of tho most poetic groups in English art , "Eve at tho Fountain , " has-retired from tho art he advanced— -not too well off" , we are sorry to hoar—fuller of honour than pf riches . His last work was tho model for tho St . Paul ' s statue of Mr . Ruskin ' a Turner . B » t the Turner statue was given to Mr . MacDowell , a younger sculptor , bnt one eminent in his art ; and Mr . Daily has handsomely drawn hjs retiring man tlo around him . Ho will be hoard of hereafter as a master in his HnQ . r—Ifluatratecl London Neios .

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      The Crystal Pai<Ack. The Result Of The C...

      THE CRYSTAL PAI < ACK . The result of the contest between the National Sunday League and the XoTd ' s Day Observance Society * who have made the Sunday opening of the palace their battle-ground , i » yet undecided . After the prelimmary and dividend business of the halfyearly meeting was disposed of , and the chairman had congratulated his fellow shareholders upon having at last weathered the financial storm , a motion was made to rescind the resolution of last July , in virtue Whereof the palace and grounds , have lately been open to shareholders on Sunday afternoons . Each party professed to represent a majority of the

      proprietary , and , further , a very strong feeling throughout England . Both agreed , it appears , to regard the Sunday opening to shareholders as the thin end of the wedge whose thicker end niight open the palace doors to the public on the Sabbath . The usual arguments , jrro and com ., were gone into , of course , at some Ien » th , and though the Archbishop of Canterbury ,-and 661 other , ministers , and 900 shareholders , holding in the aggregate 62 , 000 shares , were claimed as allies by the " closing" party , unanimity seems as far off as ever . The chairman reminded the meeting that the company consisted of 230 , 000 shares , and that the House of Commons were only prevented by fear of their constituencies from a decision in favour of the question . The result of a division was as follows : — .

      For rescinding the resolution 81 Against it ... ... ...... ... ... 105 . Majority 24 A ballot was formally demanded ; to take place at Sydenham , on Wednesday , January . 1 . 2 , ami three following days ; and stamped proxies were ordered to be sent , at " the expense of the company , to every shareholder . Tho battle has , therefore , still to be fought ; and it is to be hoped that all shareholderswhether in favour of Sunday opening or opposed to it—will-. now speak out or hereafter hold their peace . Such a perpetuation of discord and scandal as was due for a long time to the bitter struggle about Sunday travelling in Scotland should surely not be permitted to obtain among sober Englishmen .

      Neither party may claim to have received direct Divine revelation upon the Sunday question . \ Ve may expect no such revelation . We own no infallible interpreter of the law and the tradition we have received . We are gravely at issue upon the meaning of the commandment . Logic , and talent , and virtue are arrayed in favour of latitude as well as of strictness . Church and State action upon , religious matters is at a dead-lock . The question before us must therefore practically Temain one of private judgment , and the majority of private judgments must be allowed to be " public opinion , " , unless we would push matters to extremes , must have the virtue of power . Stet pro rations tohtntaa must for once be admitted for their own sakes by both parties of shareholders . Let them cease from the useless

      and unworthy exchange of such lieavy shots as " fanatic , "" Pharisee , " "infidel , " and "freethinker , " and leave agitation to the outside public and the press , unless they would see that profit and loss accountwhich the speakers on both sides took such cheerful note of and put so prominently forward in the battle —appropriated to proxy stamps , Chancery suits , and other munitions of joint-stock war . When the ensuing ballot shall have been closed we cannot encourage them to make their palace the arena of fresh combats .

      With others of our estate , we are in favour of a liberal—but not , we hope , irreligious—construction of the Divine law . Under tho colour of Christian liberality wo are prepared to triumph or submit without acrimony , and can put up , in cither case , with the censure , pity , or prayers of . our opponents . Wo sincerely believe that public opinion will bo found , with the present majority , in favour of " the thin end of tho wedge , " and wo hope , in time , to meet thousands on Sundays , where now but a few timorous individuals stand on their rights , and assort what we hold to be the good principle .

      Wo Gather From An Amusing Hill Before Us...

      Wo gather from an amusing hill before us , which wo havo no room to transcribe , that the Crystal Palace direction are busy upon the preparation of Christmas revels . Tho fun commences on Monday , the 27 th inst ., under tho management of tho wellknown and , in his way , inexhaustibly f ertile Dykwynkyn , If we remember well , the Christmas festival of last year was produced under Mr . Nelson Leo , and we are glad to eeo the custom kept up , or rather , introduced . There are thousands , ay , tons of thousands , of parents in London , who will , if the direction are wise enough to give amplo publicity to their intentions , rejoice at the opportunity of affording a day ' s Chrlstmaslng to their youngsters , and of joining in it themselves ; nnd wo hope , therefore , that the said directors will , for the sake of their

      shareholders as well as our clients the million r . errWf means at their disposal for ventilating ieir tn ° gramme . Some old-fashioned friends Sf ours & observed that the character of the institutil e likely to be lowered by the disseminSon * f tlf bills , the affixing of posters , and liberal SverS * but , to our thinking , these means must be far r » g ; widely adopted than at present if it is the " iSiTf the board to advance the interests of thteir ™« stituents . The Crystal Palace and its interLSf " contents are not " located" ydenham for th private delectation of shareholders , season tioW holders , and the neighbouring nobility and iWtrl That they are there is hard enough upon peS'J

      taste whom the distance keeps away , and nriluolnr enough for their owners . But that they should be a select show were a disaster The speculation can only look for prosperity to its popularity with « £ masses . Fine folks will find it fast enough- but it must go afield to catch the million ; and th e ' minion , must bo called into the circle of its attractions bv the old invocations . There is notliing but " printers' " ink" for it—that good old recipe of Mr . Barnum anil his legion of successful imitators , who make fortunes by " printers' ink , " though they sometimes knock

      them down by " spekylatinV The punning handbill before us is admirably calculated to diffuse among the million the knowledge of the Christ mas doings at Sydenham , and iF it be circula ted by tens of thousands instead of by dozens , will no doubt produce a large and remunerative crop of shillings .. It announces that each juvenile visitor will be presented with a Christmas offering . A giant pudding is to be cut and eaten by tliose who " come in pudding time . " A monster twelfth-cake is to be cut in due

      season . Mimes and mummers in motley are to be seen ; a Christmas-tree there will be , of course . The Lord of Misrule is to wave his Christmas banner ia the . " Hall of Mince-pic , " and Mr . Punch is to take Judy for an aerial voyage . Fairy balloons are to spar in the transept by day , and a fairy ring of magic-rlanterns is to shine upon the illuminated pudding at dusk , amid the strains of a grand Christmas musical finale . As \ re can be of more service to

      the Crystal Palace Company by one announcement than by half a dozen ^' reports , " we have given the above extract from their Christmas bill of fare . For further particulars our readers must inquire elsewhere , and by this time we hope the town is covered with ample details . " Popularise ! popularise ! popularise ! " is our continued advice to the directors , "i £ you would continue to divide , divide , divide . " princess ' s theatre .

      Compressed into three acts and its story reduced to a thready incident in the cause of Oakly v . Oakly , Coleman ' s Jealous Wife was re-revived here on Wednesday last . Mr . and Mrs . Charles Kean sustained the principal parts in nn admirable manner . The-leading characteristic of Mr . Kean s performance was the well-bred absence of passion , though not of feeling , that we might suppose a 3 natural to a finished gentleman of his epocli as to one of tho present time , and which we can all believe would materially help to work up the nature of a jealous woman to the paroxysms so wondertuiiy portlWed by Mrs . Kean . The Major paklj / of tlie cast excellent

      was Mr . Cooper , who presented an ana unoxnggeratcd study of the old-school military gentleman ; very fur removed from the epaulettcdgrotesquo of tradition , whose function was usualyla former days , and is sometimes , now-a-days , to bujbo a stick at tho other characters , and say , " famine , sir ! " Lord Trinket was veil dressed and non ly plnyed , but without much colour , by Mr . waiter Lacy . Air . F . Matthews made nothing otSgrn lit Jet , nnd Mr . Sakef no more of Sir Ilarr *< Jta gk . Mrs . Kean was ably and satisfactorily scc ° nded by Mrs . Winstanloy , as Lady Freclovc , and th ?»** g of tho comedy was-it could hardly l >«™ ° « 3 otherwise , considering the perfect conception ana unflagging exertions of the three prjncipius-ex received

      tremely agreeable and well . HOYA & ENGLISH Ol'BRA , OOVKNT OA ""** _ , The first of the Pyne and Harrison winter sensons at this superb theatre was inaugurated on Monoaj by the production in tho most splendid and taste ™ nmnner of Mr . Balfo ' s new opera Satanella , or «» ^ Sf thTdo- of the last century , jvljm * Cazotto wrote his novel of the ^'' . f ^ S ^' subject has been a favourite ono Wltl » mT < r bcen tists , Bcene-paintora , and composers , ftnu "" nC 0 treated over and over ngain . Its las \ ;} i' * j e i Piii was , wo believe , sixteen years ago , «« 'XSonlW Theatre , in the shape of a three-act piece c « ii « ttothmn ; by Mr . Stirling Coyne , It now ap ^ prodigally overlaid with musical nnd [ seenw as a mortally long and drenry opdrnroomiauo in nets , of which two , or at least one , should in

      bo abolished . lihrottlflti lin , v (?» Tho critic who remembers tlmt libret t si metaphorically , to < l « noo in ft » ttor » , nnd tniw ,, " poems" are often rohjoot to distortion » composers , Btngo-manngcru , nnd artists , is «» *

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 24, 1858, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24121858/page/14/