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    matters of opinion , they are facts . Even his admirers admit them , but seek refuge in ¦"• Ah ! well , for all that he is a fine actor . " _ In Faust he had a part requiring both thoughtfulness and passion . In the earlier scenes , instead of the thought-wearied student— " air-galloping and questioning the sun , " as Aristophanes says of Socrates—instead ^ of the despairing , baffled Faust , we had an ordinary necromancer stalking about the stage , declaiming divine verses with no sense of their divinity . In the subsequent scenes , when the dust ° f folios is shaken off , and with It all the weariness of iife- ^ -when he has entered upon passionate life—we had a handsome man , beautifully dressed , gesticulating like a tenor singer , and feeling not at all . I ask any one who has seen him play JEgmont and Faust , if they could discover any distinct individuality in these parts r Was not Egmont very like Faust ? the same tones , the same _ gestures , the same look ? I ask any one who may have watched him during those

    exquisite loye scenes with Gretchen , whether there was a pulse of passion , a look or gesture of tenderness , a glimpse of the lover , beyond what tenors are accustomed to exhibit over the footlights P I ask any one who watched the last scene , whether tone , look , or gesture betrayed the slightest agony deeper than the most conventional of stage agonies ? It is necessary to specify these things , for I find myself in a minority as regards the press and the public ; yet when I put direct questions to his admirers I can only get evasive answers , or admission of the very charges I allege ; Herr Kuhn played Mephistopheles , but his conception of the part was vulgar , commonplace , and directly opposed to the distinct indications given by Goethe . He made it a bit of German diablerie—a , sarcastic Zdmiel . Now , Goethe laughs at the idea of the modern devil not being a perfect gentleman : — Auch die Cultur , die alle Welt beleckt

    Hat auf den Teufel sich erstreckt Das nordische Phantom isfc nun nicht melir zu schauen . Culture has robbed the devil of hoofs and horns , and made him a Sen " Baron ! Ich Hn em Cavalier , wie andre Cavaliere ! The devilish nature is exhibited in moral not in physical signs ; in unbelief , in want of sympathy , in mocking sarcasm , in icy coldness . The proper Mephistophelesis that Satan in patent leather boots , of which we had so marvellous a picture in Charles Mathews's well dressed scoundrel in The JDay of JRechoning \ * ,

    Not only does Herr jtuhn ' s conception depart from the plain meaning of Goethe as regards Mephistopheles , but it robs the poem of that profound and exquisite touch of Gretchen s distrust of her lover ' s friend . Ha one but this innocent girl perceives anything in Mephistopheles to shudder at . But she reads on his forehead that he has no sympathy with anything . Innocence instinctively knows and recoils from the Spirit who Denies . As Herr Kiihn dresses , and plays the part , the remark is an absurdity ; no human being could for a moment believe him to be an ordinary mortal . Fiend is written in every line ; and not only Gretchen , but Martha and the jovial citizens in AuerbacJis Keller , ought to turn from him in horror . .

    Waiving this fundamental objection , however , let me say that , as a realization of his conception , Herr K . iihn' 9 performance was admirable . His " make up" is always that of an artist , and many parts of his acting were deservedly applauded ; notably that glorious scene with the student . Herr Kiihn , in my opinion , is by far the best actor of tho troop . Fraulein Schaefer was not the Gretchen we all love , but many parts of her performance were good , and on the whole it was a great improvement upon her

    Ophelia . The house was crammed to suffocation ; the boxes and stalls adorned by an unusual display of aristocracy , natal and intellectual . On the stairs , in coming out , my ears were startled by the sound— " Mrs . Vivian ' s carriage . " Mrs . Vivian P " Am I married P" the thought passed shudderingly across my mind ; but a deep and soothing sense of satisfaction suffused itself through me as I recovered my self-consciousness and found it was not so ! And if there were no other cause of satisfaction at finding myself ( " much virtue in an if ! " ) a bachelor , I should have felt it when the most exquisite of violet eyes in the world looked down upon mo , and a voice said—" Kemember ! the day Vivian marries I give up tho Leader ! " Ah ! soyez tranquille ! Vivian .

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    A BATCH OP CONCERTS . A bain of concert tickets has descended upon my table this last fortnight . Frankly , I do not assist at them all , but content myself with being ably represented when absent . Mademoiselle Clauss ' s Matinde on Saturday last drew a full and loving audience , who welcomed with effusion the young angel of the chords ; for , to say tho truth , this young incarnation of the Sensitive Plant is one of tho idolatries of our present season : she is one of those happy stars which , onco seen , become a sentimont and a passion . Our most eminent musical critic has taken her severely , but , as X believe , with the best and rarest kindness , to task , for some rather ostentatious failures in her moro ambitious attempts . She is young enough in years , and , I trust , in spirit , to profit by counsels as full of genorous wisdom as they are eminently deserving of respect . As for me , who merely rewflsont tho nomilar breath . I blow her a kiss , ( she was nearly devoured

    fast Saturday by tho old ladies near tho platform , ) and whisper into her ear , to cultivate b y solf-donying and severe study a claim to that higher kind of applause which subsides into a moro tranquil admiration . One rare pleasure attaches to her playing : it seems not so rauch an exhibition as a ministration , and this lovo winged by a genius so airy and so dolicato will surely carry her far . At tho ' fifth performance of tho ever welcome

    QUAKTETT ASSOCIATION , the original piece was a quartolt by J . L . Ellorton , an amateur of somo pretension ; but I did not find his effort peculiarly interesting . Spohr ' s J ) uo Concertante , for two violins , playod by Cooper and Sainton , was a true enjoyment . The two great players vied with each other for tho ihaatery with a noblo emulation , and at this moment I know not whether most to admire tho fulness and delicacy of Sainton in the piano paasttgoa ,

    or the intense ' - feeling and < expression of Cooper ^ wherever 1 expression and feeling were desired . This duo- was almost re-demanded ; and by none more warmly applauded than by the many eminent virtuosi present Emile Prudent delighted us with his ele / gant and fanciful Vilanella and JZ&veil des Fiesi touched with his bright , glancingclearness and felicity I must not forget to say , that at the sixth 5 and last concert of this Association , on Wednesday next , Madame Pleyel will " preside at the piano" ( classical style ) , for the last time-r- ( may I say-, # A * V season P ) in England . ' A warning to those who desire to be in hearing distance to be early ; for on Thursday , MADAME PLETEL ' S SECONO MATINEE MtrSICALE was crowded to the staircase . Arriving late , I could only just obtain standing room . But what have I to say of Madame Pleyel save that she " patuit I ) ea : "—she played in every style , and proved herself supreme in all . On Wednesday evening ,

    MISS ARABELLA GODDARD gave what I have heard described as one of the pleasantest concer ts of the season . I regret to have to confess to a most involuntary absence . ; but I shall tell you what the Times says about this young lad y * as I am very anxious to impress upon that numerous class of my countrymen ( and women ) who only believe in exotics , that even in England we can " raise , " as our American cousins say , a young wonder or two . " One of the features of the Grand National Concerts given at Her Majest y ' s Theatre in the winter of 1850 , was the playing of Miss Arabella Goddard , the

    youngest , and decidedly the most promising of our native pianists . Since that period / when her chief attention seemed to be devoted to the modern fantasia school , Miss Goddard has made a striking progress . Originally a pupil of Kalkbrenner , she obtained from that master , unrivalled in his way , the rules of perfect mechanism , and the best method of applying them . More recently , under ThaHierg , she studied the bravura style with great success . The programme of her second public concert , which took place last night , in the Hanover-square Robins , show that the young pianist has begun to take an interest in a higher branch of the art . Among the pieces she performed were Mendelssohn ' s quartett in B minor ( No . 3 , Op . 3 ) , and Beethoven ' s sonata with violin , in G ( Op . 30 ) . The former is one of the most arduous and difficult pieces ever composed for the piano . The

    first , third , and last movements , demand a rapidity of finger , a strength , and a stamina , which few playeis , young or old , possess . Miss Goddard , however , although only 16 , proved herself mistress of all these requisites , and others besides neatness , precision , variety of expression , and a touch at once firm and elastic . She was admirably supported by M . Sainton ( violin ); , Mr . Hill ( tenor ) , and Signor Piatti ( violoncello ) , and the performance was first-rate from beginning to end . The sonata of Beethoven , the violin part of which was sustained by M . Sainton , was equally beyond criticism . The minuetto , played by both artists with the finest ious left

    taste , was warmly applauded j and the finale , taken at prodig speed , nothing to be desired . In addition to these , Miss Goddard played Sebastian Bach ' s prelude and fu * ue in D > the prestissimo in A ( No . 4 of Mendelssohn ' s Seven Characteristic Pieces ) , and Dohler ' s fantasia on themes from Gmllaume Tell ; thus displaying her proficiency in a great variety of styles . The prelude and fugue of the German patriarch could not possibly have been better played ; the execution was faultless , and the expression appropriately simple and unaffected . The ftigue was encored , but Miss Goddard declined to repeat it . The fantasia of Dohler was a brilliant exhibition of manual dexterity , and at the conclusion Miss Goddard was

    loudly recalled by the audience . Next week I shall tell you about Joachim ' s concert . He , too , is young , but not in strings . i ' E chat-hbant .

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    A LESSON OF HUMANITY . Me . T . J . Barker ' s picture—exhibited by Alderman Moon before engraving—is a good specimen of an historical subject treated in the present English manner . The story is well suited to the spirit of the day , audit is well told . The scene is an open space near the town of Bassano , whjeli is in the distance ; the background formed of mountains . In the centre ot the picture lies the dead body of a charger ; and , partly entangled in Jus legs , the body of an Austrian soldier ; a faithful dog crouching on tlie man ' s breast , and loudly expressing his grief . On the dexter aide ot me Dicture . a little behind . ' ia a coirole ' of veteran French soldiers , to whom a

    vivandiere \ s giving some cordial . On the sinister side of the picture , balancing the group just montioned , is Napoleon on horseback , with a lew of his olficers around him : he is pointing to the dog as an example oi affectionate solicitude , which gives a lesson to the heedlessness ot iuo human survivors . The picture , in its subject and treatment , may bo supposed to catch tho " two great parties in tho State "—the glory party anu the peace party . . , . The treatment is one of careful , and , upon the whole , able iimsft . y ° jYj { Eortions are worked up so highly that they may vie with works o b fe . This is more especially the case with tho inaniniato objfbt 3 . as y from them to objects which are either endowed with motion or a -

    pass iect to movement , the handling becomos less felicitous . In tho VP ^ from tho heavy iron of tho gun to tho dead body of the charger , tho costumo of the ouicors , and tho faco of Napoleon , tho presence of lite lin «™ t mastery of tho painter are in an inverse ratio . The- m eta I is P " Tho charger is oxcollont . Tho military coats begin to cxlubit « om 0 J" " of n mannerism ; and the countenance of Napoleon is that rathci o ^ ordinary country gentleman , under tho influence of a melancholy moral fooling , than tho mask-like countenance of tho observing ; , ow > JI 1 U 1 IU IVUIIHIL , ' L 1 HU 1 M 1 U 1 UMBU .-I . lllt ; UUUUIUIUUIVU u * «"" w " , ' " -V , J |> io which appertain t

    flexible "Napoleon . Somo of tho physical traits oj ^ comparative weakness supply a tangible tost of tho aberrationi : ; , A ^ for example , are too close togothor , ; and tho play of the nostrils tai «* large a scope in proportion to tho oi / , 0 of tho face . Even in «" limn " jects tho same tost applies . Tho broken ground , winch ouffiij J liko granulated and indeterminate in substance , haa . a texture lln ** , ' . loathor . Mr . Barker , however , has bestowed immense ) pamB on u \< | ¦ ^ piltition of liis subject , and on its elaboration according to tho bosi i u orthodox Engliali painting . Wh ( 3 ther or not he has liad tho ° "K * V . i his oyo wo do notkiiow , but undoubtedly i ; ho pioturo is one to l ) 0 J *" . r uy into black and white with very grout effect . Conceived in a " * ' ^ English fooling , it will bo thoroughly appreciated by an J ^ nglisn pi

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    618 THE LEADER . ^

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), June 26, 1852, page 618, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1941/page/22/