Wounded, feeble, fainting Well the face he knew, Louder hummed an evil voice : "Come, leave him in rue, Your cottage burned, love may be spurned, The gold all will save, His fate it is, not your hand, digs Your Rival his grave." Ah, he came of fathers Who served well their God, And lifting up his wounded foe, XIII. Steadfast upon the cliff That looketh out to sea, Since the morning star arose, That fair maid, is sheKneeling on the tall cliff Guarding fair Moville, Gazing 'gainst the breezy morn And nearing so slow, O whence comes yon small boat Nearer yet, and nearer, It grates on the shore, And ah, that last, sweet, dying smile, She is bending o'er! XIV. Thus and thus-0 thus by the sea, Glad to be dying One spirit stole away He so loved his rival's Great heart that day. Then, the lovers kissed him On the snowy brow, O, and on the kind lips, Stilled for ever now, And all his soul's loving It came to bind their vow, And nevermore, thereafter, Love failed their hearts to fillSo living loved, so loving died, The Lovers of Moville. THE MUSICAL INSTITUTIONS OF DUBLIN. THE system of musical clubs or associations, which has latterly become so general in Dublin, as well as in most other leading cities of the United Kingdom, is not entirely of such recent growth as some may suppose. The "Charitable and Musical Society," the origin of which dates from a very early period in the reign of Anne, was founded by a number of amateurs, who were in the habit of meeting at the "Cross Keys" tavern in Christ Church Yard, its object being to organise funds for discharging the liabilities of confined debtors, whose condition in those days, was very pitiable indeed. It was preceded, however, by a club on a more limited basis, and with a less accurately defined purpose, called the "Bull's Head Society," from the circumstance of its meetings being held at the "Bull's Head” tavern in Fishamble Street. The members of the "Bull's Head" met on every Friday evening, and after the performance of a miscellaneous selection of music, "concluded the night with catch singing, mutual friendship and harmony." The programme was regularly arranged by a committee, and the members paid a subscription of an English crown each. An annual dinner was held in December, and the "season" closed in May, when the funds in the hands of the treasurer were distributed in accordance with the design of the founders. In some instances they were given to the Dublin Society to be awarded as premiums, but "more frequently," says the historian of Dublin City, "a committee was appointed to visit the various gaols of the city, and compound for the liberation of the distressed incarcerated debtors, large numbers of whom were thus restored to liberty." It was in the year 1723, that the club expanded into the "Charitable and Musical Society," with the regularly defined object of procuring the liberation of distressed debtors. The president at this period was John Neal, a music publisher, and the condition of the society while under his sway is the subject of some amusing doggrel by one of its members, of which the following is a specimen. "While honest Neal the mallet bore, Some poets, painters, and musicians, Mechanics and mathematicians. Some gentlemen, some lords and squires, Some Whigs and Tories and highflyers, Some Papists, Protestants, Dissenters, Sit cheek by jole at all adventures. Meanwhile the jug, just like the ocean, Was always in perpetual motion." 66 re This confession by one of its members of the convivial character of the society, is borne out by the fact, that Swift directed his sub-Dean and Chapter, to punish any member of his choir who should appear at "the club of fiddlers in Fishamble Street ;"-an order which does not appear to have had the desired effect, as the Dean in a subsequent manifesto names three members of his bellious choir," Taberner, Phipps, and Church, "who in violation of my sub-Dean's order in December last, at the instance of some obscure persons unknown, presumed to sing and fiddle at the club above mentioned," and then directs the sub-Dean to proceed to the extremity of expulsion if the said vicars should be found "ungovernable, impenitent or self-sufficient." The members of the society having accumulated sufficient funds for the purpose, decided on erecting a building for their future musical performances, and on Friday the 2nd October 1741, the new music hall, (now Fishamble Street Theatre), was opened for the first time with a concert, "for the entertainment of the Charitable and Musical Society." One of the members of the society has left an elaborate description in verse of the new building, with which its present dilapidated state contrasts mournfully : "The architect has here displayed his art I Handel, who arrived in Dublin a few weeks after the hall had been publicly opened, hired it for the purpose of giving a series of concerts, which proved eminently successful, as Handel himself states in a letter to Charles Jennens, by whom the words of the Messiah were selected. Handel says, "the nobility did me the honour to make amongst themselves a subscription for six nights, which did fill a room of six hundred persons, so that I needed not to sell one ticket at the door. cannot sufficiently express the kind treatment I received here; but the politeness of this generous nation cannot be unknown to you, so I let you judge of the satisfaction I enjoy, passing my time with honour, profit, and pleasure." It is still a vexed question as to where the "Messiah" was first publicly produced, and, like the authorship of "Junius," the matter will, in all probability, continue to remain just as it is. The general belief on the subject is, that it was first heard by a Dublin audience; but Mr. Gilbert, in his learned history, is of opinion that " no adequate evidence has yet been adduced to disprove the contrary assertion of Mainwaring, the contemporary and biographer of the composer." There is no doubt, however, that one of the first public performances of this sublime work-if not the very first took place under the direction of Handel himself, at the Music Hall, on the 13th April, 1742, for the joint benefit of Mercer's Hospital and the Charitable and Musical Society, when a sum of nearly four hundred pounds was collected. The audience exceeded seven hundred persons, and the newspapers of the day contain advertisements, in which the stewards of the charitable and musical society request the ladies to attend without their hoops, and the gentlemen without their swords, in order to economise space as much as possible. It is but right to state, that Mr. Horatio Townsend, in his entertaining little work," Handel's Visit to Dublin," leans to the opinion that this was the first public performance of the "Messiah" ever given. Handel left Ireland on the 13th August, 1742, having given another performance of the "Messiah" on the 3rd June preceding. In 1743, Dr. Arne, the composer of the celebrated air, "Rule Britannia," gave a series of concerts at the Hall, and Handel's "Judas Maccabeus" was performed on the 11th February, 1748, for the benefit of the Lying-in Hospital, by the command of the Earl of Harrington, Lord Lieutenant. The cost of a ticket to the concerts of the Charitable and Musical Society itself was half a guinea, and some idea of the good which it effected may be formed from the fact, that from the time of its formation, at the commencement of the century, up to 1750, it procured the release of nearly twelve hundred debtors, whose accumulated debts exceeded nine thousand pounds, besides which, a sum of money was presented to each debtor on his enlargement. The "Musical Academy,” founded by the accomplished Lord Mornington, in 1759, gave its concerts at the Hall. This society was not, as its name would indicate, formed with a view of diffusing musical education-it was purely charitable; and “in four years, by loans of small sums of about four pounds each, it relieved nearly thirteen hundred distressed families." The Academy reckoned among its members "persons moving in the highest spheres of society," and all professors or mercenary teachers of music were excluded. The members met once a week for private practice, once a month in a more public manner, on which occasions a select audience was admitted, by ticket; and once a year a grand public performance took place for the benefit of some charity, and to this all who paid were admitted. The Academy continued its delightful meetings for several years; but eventually, through the death of some and the negligence of others, it gradually died out, and "charity lost a powerful and profitable advocate." We have at present an academy of music, also supported by "persons moving in the highest spheres of society," but constituted for a different purpose-namely, to bring within the reach of persons in moderate circumstances the advantages of a first-class musical education. The academy was founded about ten years since, and is supported by the subscriptions of members and the pupils' fees. An amateur concert is also given for its benefit aunually, in which the ladies and gentlemen of the first rank take part, thus far adopting the principle of the old academy. All the leading professors, vocal and instrumental, in Dublin, are engaged for the instruction of the pupils, whose progress is displayed at an annual concert, to which the public is admitted at a moderate charge. Public assemblies, balls, and exhibitions were also given at the Music Hall, from time to time; and in the year 1771, the "Constitutional Free Debating Society" began its meetings there. John Neal, the president and treasurer of the old "Bull's Head Society," who ultimately became the proprietor of the Hall, died in the year 1769, at a very advanced age. His son, Surgeon John Neal, was esteemed one of the first amateur violin performers in Europe. In 1793, the Hall was converted into a private theatre, having previously fallen a good deal into disuse, owing to the rise of the Rotunda as a place of public entertainment. The company was under the management of the Earl of Westmeath and Frederick Jones, afterwards lessee of the Theatre Royal. A Philharmonic Society existed in Dublin from an early period in the eighteenth century; for in the year 1742, Dr. Arne, his wife, and Mrs. Cibber, gave a series of concerts at the "great room" of the Philharmonic Society, opposite to St. John's Church, in Fishamble-street. The concert of the society for the year 1744 comprised in their programme all the leading classical works then written, with an oratorio-" Solomon's Temple"-written by one Broadway, organist of St. Patrick's Cathedral. This work, we may fairly suppose, can have had little merit, as it is now unknown, save to the musical antiquarian. "The Incorporated Irish Musical Fund Society" was founded in the year 1796, and, like many other successful organizations, had a very humble beginning. It was originated by some half-dozen members of the Crow-street theatre orchestra, the object being to afford relief to distressed musicians, and to provide for destitute widows and orphans. As soon as the funds subscribed amounted to a thousand pounds, an Act of Parliament was obtained and the society incorporated. In a few years the committee was enabled to invest £6,000 in bank stock, and subsequently a further sum of £4,000 was sunk in grand canal debentures, which, owing to the gradual depreciation in their value, are now worth £1,800 only. The affairs of the society are managed in the most effective and unostentatious manner, and its prosperous condition is in the highest degree creditable to the members of the musical profession in Ireland. The talented and zealous secretary, Mr. R. M. Levey, has done much to advance its interest, omitting no opportunity of bringing forward its claims where there is any chance of their being practically recognised. Owing mainly to his exertions a grand performance of the "Messiah" was given for its benefit, in the year 1857, on which occasion the gifted Irish songstress, Catherine Hayes, gave her services gratuitously, as did also all the leading members of the profession in Dublin, Mr. Joseph Robinson conducting. Several hundred pounds were realized by this perform. ance. In the year 1859, the "Messiah" was again performed, for the joint benefit of the society and of Mercer's Hospital, when Madame Lind Goldschmidt sang gratuitously. A very large sum was produced by this performance, as there was a full band rehearsal in the day time, to which the public was admitted, at five shil lings a ticket. Several of the other performers who were brought from England for the occasion, were paid for their services, but Mr. Robinson arranged and conducted the entire performance without any remuneration. Mr. Levey also led the orchestra on the same liberal terms. The Anacreontic Society was founded about the middle of the eighteenth century, for the practice and encouragement of vocal and instrumental music. It was supported by all the lovers of the art in the higher ranks of Irish society, and continued its meetings down to the year 1845-6, when it was dissolved, and merged in the new Philharmonic, which, with the Antient Concert Society, is the principal musical association at present existing in Dublin. The Philharmonic seems to be well managed and successful, and for some years the Antients continued under the direction of its accomplished and energetic conductor, Mr. Joseph Robinson, to follow out strictly the career which its founders proposed for it. All the great choral works were produced at its concerts, season after season, in the most complete and effective manner, sustained by local talent, alone. It is needless to dilate upon the permanently beneficial effects of such performances, conducted in such a style, on the musical taste of the public; that good has resulted from them there can be no question, but it is, unfortunately, the fact, that latterly the Antient Concert Society has been compelled to abandon, partially at least, its original vocation, and to resort frequently to performances which, for want of any more distinctive appellation, have come to be designated "miscellaneous," frequently unaided by any orchestra whatever. Can it be that the same state of things which drove Handel, in despair, from London to the "Hibernian shore," has now arisen in Dublin-that the tide of refined and elevated taste upon which he was so triumphantly upborne here, has receded from us, or abandoned us altogether? It is certain that a positive relapse has occurred in our musical taste, of which this alteration in the course of the Antients is, to some extent, a decided indication. The craving for novelty and variety-the source of many evils-has, for a time, overmastered the higher intellectual instincts which should have the principal share in the guidance and formation of a correct taste, and the result is-what has been stated-a forced abandonment of the regular choral performances of the society, and the substitution of a melange of part singing (admirable, no doubt, but not a fitting test of the Antients' resources,) and violin and piano forte soli at its recent concerts. Is it possible that there can be no remedy for this? We scarcely think so. The Antient Concert Society is, after all, not to be taken as fully representing the existing musical tendencies of the people of Dublin, being, as it is, a select and rather exclusive body. If it were reconstructed on a more liberal and extended basis, so as to become possessed of those expansive principles which would enable it gradually to assume the proportions of a great national institution, instead of a mere local club, there are many reasons to warrant the belief that the experiment would result in complete success. We have an example before us in the Sacred Harmonic Society of London, the aim of which is identical with that which the founders of the Antients had in view. This great society is in a healthy and prosperous state, simply, we believe, because in its management there is nothing of that narrow and exclusive spirit, which, if adhered to in the case of the Antients, must end in its practical dissolution. The Sacred Harmonic Society reckons on its list of members peers, merchants, traders, and shop-keepers; in fact, any person, no matter what his particular trade, calling, or occupation, of respectable character, is admissible to the society on the payment of the requisite subscription. It is difficult to believe that Dublin, the metropolis of a nation whose love of musical art is one of its distinct national characteristics, has not within it the materials of a great choral society, which instead of dragging on a precarious existence on sufferance (the condition being apparently, as before observed, the abandonment of the purpose for which it was constituted), might become a permanent national institution. It is right to guard ourselves from the imputation of supposing or suggesting that the present anomalous condition of the society, is in any degree owing to the influence or wishes of its talented conductor. The very reverse is, we believe, the case; persons with little or no capacity for appreciating the great classical compositions, with which alone the Antients has any legitimate concern, have evidently obtained such a voice in its councils as to lead it gradually but steadily away from the right path, in a foolish and profitless competition with other societies of an entirely different character, merely because they seemed to attract a larger share of public support. That this policy is not a dignified one, it requires no argument to demonstrate that it has, so far, proved unsuccessful as a means of securing increased patronage, is a matter of notoriety. We ardently trust that an effort will be made to rectify this unfortunate state of things before the commencement of the ensuing musical season-if not to the full extent suggested in an earlier part of this paper, at least so far as to bring back the society to its original distinctive purpose, and to keep that purpose continually in view in all its future proceedings. Better to have only two, nay, even one, concert in the season, such as the society gave in the earlier and more flourishing period of its existence, than half a dozen of those miscellaneous" entertainments which it has latterly given, and which were Antient Concerts only in the name. A great choral society, it is to be hoped, Dublin will have, in any case, before long; the vocal material exists in profusion and only requires ordinary training and organization, to render it equal to the highest requirements of art. The disposition to support an institution of the kind, founded on broad popular principles, we believe also exists, and consequently proper exertion only is needed to bring the project, if once entered upon, to a successful issue. H. N. L. THE OLD HOUSE ON THE ESPLANADE. BY FRANCES CROSBY. (Concluded from our last.) "Was it a caprice or a presentiment that made me pause as we stood on the threshold, and implore of my sister not to enter the gloomy pile that had most fitly received the name of the Maison Noire ? What was it that turned my blood cold as the shade of the overhanging roof fell on us in the darkened doorway? Was it fancy that made me hear wailing, mournful voices whispering in the leaves that rustled overhead, warning us to return while it was yet time? Would to God we had done so, my lost sister! "But Estelle only laughed merrily, and told me I was turning coward in broad daylight. She would not return, why should she? So we entered, leaving the heavy door ajar, and passed out into the neglected court-yard and on to the dwelling-house. "All exactly as Estelle had seen it in her strange dreams. "Need I dwell upon our feelings, as, awed and confounded, we passed from room to room, exchanging looks of bewilderment and dismay, no longer daring to raise our trembling voices above a whisper? Estelle's merriment was hushed, and each time I glanced at her face, I could see the shadows deepen into a more solemn thoughtfulness. And yet, when I whispered an entreaty that she would come away, she shook her head, and said she must see all-all. And that with a dreamy fixity of purpose most foreign to her usual gentle manner. At length we had seen every nook and corner of the place, and with a feeling of infinite relief I turned to leave it. In silence Estelle accompanied me. passed out on the terrace on which the house stood, ghastly look came into her face, and clutching my arm tightly, she pointed to the court-yard below, with a wild scared cry of "Look there!" 66 As we "I did look, and this time I saw nothing to alarm me, save indeed the ghastly hue of my sister's face. Standing by the great stone basin in the centre was our father, and with him a stranger of noble and dignified appearance. I was indeed a little surprised that they should be there, but I could see nothing alarming in the matter. I said a few soothing words to Estelle, who already began to look more composed, and in obedience to a sign from my father, I descended the terrace steps and advanced towards him, followed more slowly by my sister. We were at once introduced to the stranger, who, it appeared, had come to look at the old mansion, to see if anything might be made of it as a residence. "Don Alonzo de Penalosa, for such was the stranger's name, was a handsome man of about twenty-five or six, tall, and slenderly made, and with the proud ease of carriage peculiar to his country. His olive complexion, dark, brilliant eyes, softened by their drooping lids, and grave expression, were also Spanish. His hair was black as jet and singularly beautiful, his nose straight, his dark beard and moustache long and silky. I have described him thus minutely, because I would not have you imagine that it was from any personal defect or blemish that arose the distrust and vague feeling of aversion with which he from the first inspired me. Sɔ utterly groundless was it that I did my best to conceal and overcome it. In the first effort I succeeded; in the second my attempts were vain. "Strange to say, he seemed almost as much moved at sight of Estelle as she had been on first seeing him. His brown cheek paled perceptibly, and it was with an evident effort that he was able to employ towards her even the customary forms of politeness. His voice was very soft and musical, and even his foreign accent was rather pleasing than otherwise. As he began to speak, Estelle, whose eyes had been fixed on the ground, raised them timidly, and turned on him an earnest, enquiring glance that I could not at all understand, but before which his dark eyes flashed, and his cheek flushed deeply. Then with blushing face she averted her gaze, and looked no more towards the stranger. "To everyone's surprise, the Spaniard purchased the gloomy old Maison Noire' from my father. Workmen were at once employed to raze the house to the ground. And then, when people were speculating as to the style of mansion the wealthy Don would construct for his future residence; lo! he began and rebuilt an exact copy of the house he had just demolished; the only difference being, that one 'Maison Noire' was new and the other had been old: the one was magnificently furnished, the other had been a total ruin. "And my Estelle? Alas, my Estelle no longer! She was so changed that I could hardly have believed she was indeed my own merry little sister. Her daydreams were more frequent than ever, and of her night-dreams she shrank from speaking. With me, who loved her so well and truly-God knows how well, my child-she was silent, reserved, and dull. Only in the presence of the Spaniard, who had become almost domesticated at our house, did she seem fully to exist. But even then she was no longer her former bright, happy self; she had changed into a timid creature who would tremble and flush if only a gleam of his dark eye rested upon her for a moment. Her love for him was like adoration. Poor child, poor, gentle Estelle ! "For they were lovers from the first; next betrothed; lastly, he took her from me entirely, promising to love and cherish her in all fervour; although, unaccountably to myself, I would have kept her from him if I could. But of course I was powerless to do so, though it nearly broke heart to have her leave me. my "They were married in April, but it was not until the following October they returned to Courtrai. My heart used to sink whenever I thought of my Estelle being brought to live in the strange house that I at times thought to have exercised an evil influence on her life; A house, connected with which there was certainly some mysterious link that joined a corresponding link in her existence. In vain I tried to shake off my fears, to laugh at myself as superstitious. I could not rid myself of the remembrance of the three months during which Estelle's dreams had been of the old housedreams in which she had so wondrously become acquainted with scenes of which she had no other knowledge-dreams leading to the visit to the "Maison Noire," in which she had first met with the man who was now her husband. And to end all, the acquaintance commenced in the Old House was to terminate in a residence beneath its gloomy roof. I could not shake off my apprehensions, do what I would. "How closely I watched my child after her return]! Her words, her actions, her very glances came under my observation, and all were keenly scrutinized. But it ended in my saying to myself, "Thank God! she is happy." "But this was not to last. A couple of months had hardly passed when the shadow of the "Maison Noire" began to fall upon my sister. She could not deceive me. I saw too well that something was troubling and grieving her, weighing upon her mind, and rendering her life restless and unhappy. And yet, when I ventured to question her, she evaded my enquiries by asking how a wife could be unhappy, loving and beloved as she was? or some such light shifting of ground. So I was forced to leave her to herself, and to see her daily growing paler and thinner, and her manner more subdued, and her glance less bright, and her smile less frequent. "One day in the month of December, a messenger came to summon me to the Maison Noire to spend the day with my sister, who was not very well. I found her in her dressing-room, cowering by the fire, and hardly was I within the room when she threw herself into my arms, and laying her head wearily on my bosom, burst into a perfect passion of tears and sobs. In vain I by turns soothed her and scolded her; the tears and sobs continued, and it was a full hour before she was again restored to anything like quiet. I now ventured to ask for her husband, whom I had not seen for some days. "No,' she said, her face darkening as she spoke, 'he has been writing in his study every day for a week now. Do you know, Camille, that even I have never been within that room since I came here as mistress?' "I replied, with an anxious glance at her troubled face, that as she had never before told me so, I was of course ignorant of the fact. "It is so, then, and, Camille, I have sent for thee to tell thee of what has been long preying upon my mind, and which I can no longer bear to keep shut up within my breast. Thou wilt hold the trust sacred, my sister?' "I assured her I would do so, and she continued, leaning all the time against me, with her head drooping on my breast, and her eyes fixed gloomily on the fire "You remember the first time my sister ?' you saw Don Alonzo, |