OUR LONDON LETTER.
London, March 28.. The aspect of affairs is, it seems to me, today at Its very grimmest. It does not appear, except to some exceedingly enthusiastic members of the Peace Society, possible that any outlet to the present deadlock between Russia , and England should he found except war. The persons who least believe in the possibility of preserving peace are those in the public offices, who best know the variety, rapidity, and cost of the preparations made by the Government. , The news of to-day seems to indicate that there is no longer any hope of the Congress assembling, and that a desperate effort will now be "made to induce Austria to agree to the destruction of the Treaty of Paris by the will of the three Northern Powers, leaving England, Prance, and Italy utterly out of account. We seem to have gone back to the state of things when; Poland was partitioned. , “ The, three Northern Powers,” wrote Mr. Burke to a Prussian friend in those day, “have breakfasted on Poland. Where do they mean to dine ? A]as,.poor Peace 1”
_ The Victorian deadlock haa attracted a considerable deiyree of attention despite our grave foreign complications. At first public opinion tended ■ rather to go against the Governor and_ the ■■ Government, But since the publication of the papers laid before Parliament the reaction has been complete, and Sir JL Hicks Beach is heartily applauded for the distinct and decisive character of bis instructions to Sir George Bowen. ; I do not believe there is any part of the bodj politic here in which there is such an utter absence of sympathy for the Council as in the House of Lords, The House of Lords knows perfectly well that if it were to try the experiment of throwing put. the Appropriation Bill every second or third year, there would soon ho an end of the. British Peerage; and they mortally dislike to bear their name, powers, and piece-
donts brought into such a dispute. If it he necessary, as it seems likely it may be, to Apply to the Imperial Parliament for a reform of the Victorian Constitution, I venture to predict that the Upper House here will very willingly concur in clipping the Victorian Council’s wings, or in transforming it into a nominated House. The nominated Councils seem to have worked well everywhere. Sir Julius Vogel’s paper, read at the Colonial Institute last week, was a very great success. The hall was crammed with representatives of all the colonies. Tho paper was well composed, well delivered, and listened to with close and sustained attention. An interesting discussion followed, in which Sir James Ferginson took the principal part, speaking, as he always does, with lively interest of his experience while Governor of the colony. Visits to studios in which the works to be exhibited at the forthcoming “Royal Academy” are in active course of finishing, are the chief occupation of society for the ten days that precede the date for sending in. This year the invitations are spread, by agreement of the leading .artists, over a greater number of days than usual, and the studios are less crowded. Mr. Millais, Mr. Leighton, Mr. Princep, Mr. Long, Mr. Elmore, and Mr. Marks are ou view at present, and the contributions of these artists to the Academy are all of considerable merit. Mr. Frith does not exhibit, and Mr. Fildes has been unable to finish his picture in time. Great pressure has been put upon all the painters in consequence of the demands of the Paris Exhibition, to which they are contributing largely ; in many instances by special request of the Prince of Wales. The public, and his art, have sustained a great loss by the death of Mr. Clarkson Stanfield, tho distinguished landscape painter, which occurred recently. His works have long been valuable ; now they may be expected to fetch very high prices indeed. In strong contrast with the modern school are the ‘ two great paintings of “ The Temptation” and “ The Expulsion,” now to be seen in the last new gallery in Bondstreet. These huge pictures were painted in 1825 for Charles the Tenth, the last King of Franco, by Dubufe, an artist of celebrity in his time, and they have been ontheir travels,with occasional pauses at Paris, almost ever since the revolution of 1830 sent Charles the Tenth ou his. They are, however, in perfect preservation, as if the artist had given the last touch to the marvellous flesh tints only yesterday. They are beautiful specimens of finished workmanship, but thoroughly conventional in treatment, and the offending pair are perfect samples of the romantic, elegant style of the period. “ The Expulsion” Is the finer painting of the two; the defiant glee of Satan, who figures as a hissing serpent in the first picture, but is transformed into a splendid male figure, glowing with infernal lustre, and triumphantly extending his clenched fist towards the terrific lightning-riven sky, in the second, is something to be remembered.
The production of “ Louis XI.” at the Lyceum Theatre has been attended with extraordinary success. There is an almost unanimous opinion ‘among the critics that Louis is the most finished and scholarly Of Mr. Irving’s performances ; and the play has even a greater attraction for the public than it possessed when Charles Kean played the crafty and fanatic king on its first production in London in 1855. The faults of the piece—which are numerous, and among which the weakness of the female interest is conspicuous —are completely forgotten in the enthusiasm aroused by the acting of Mr. Irving, who transforms himself into the part, and acts with realism positively startling. His play of countenance is even more remarkable than in his Richard the Third, and in one scene, when the villagers have been ordered to sing and dance, and to simulate love for their king and ignorance of his presence, he breaks out into a quite wonderful bit of low comedy, with such suddenness and such effect that the andience cannot be restrained by indignant sounds of “ hush, hush ” from vehement applause. This has excited so much curiosity and interest that it is not unlikely Mr. Irving will shortly indulge the public with a comedy, if, indeed, he can get one written or “ adapted” for him.
Very different has been tho fate of the last venture at the Olympic Theatre, where poor Mr. Henry Neville has of late had singular ill-luck. Mr. Gilbert’s “Ne’er-do-Weel,” which was heartily “damned” on its first appearance, has been re-written and re-arranged, and in its renovated form was produced a few nights ago as “ The Vagabond,” only to meet a modified version of the former reception. Incurably low in motive, and offending at once the taste and common sens© of the public by reversing the received order of things which makes women the wooed and won, not the wooers and winners, the play is an utter failure, in spite of the earnest efforts of the actors, who do the impossible with unpleasant and ungracious roles. The piece will be withdrawn in favor of one which Mr. Tom Taylor has written for the rentree of Mr. Dion Boucicaulfc, who is about to reappear, after an absence of two years and a-half from the stage, for a short engagement, on the conclusion of which he will make a farewell tour in America and the colonies, including, it is hoped for the sake of New Zealand, your own, but this point is not yet decided.
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5341, 10 May 1878, Page 3
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1,249OUR LONDON LETTER. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5341, 10 May 1878, Page 3
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