in the way of composition, with the exception of an Irish composer, whose name unfortunately we forget, but who ought to be immortalized by his describing in music the repair of an old castle, the property of a baronet in the county of Westmeath. In that piece were represented to the ear the rolling of wheelbarrows, the erection of scaffolds, the raising of stones, and other things equally true to nature. But Mr. Bochsa's "DELUGE" Swept before it all the descriptive pieces ever before seen or heard of,-Handel's water-piece not excepted. The quartett, in which he introduced the bray of the ass, the grunt of the pig, the growl of the bear, and the howl of the dog, on their entering the ark, ravished the ear, and was received with corresponding groans by the audience. We were (like many brother critics at a musical performance) particularly attentive to the shrugs, the exclamations, and the contortions, of a foreign gentleman near us, (a celebrated amateur,) of whose knowledge and taste in the science of music we were determined to avail ourselves in the manufacture of our critique. His seat was not, certainly, a bed of roses during the concert. After the conclusion of the performance, he approached the composer, took him by the hand, and whispered in his ear, “Ah! mon cher Bochsa, je suis ravi, mais apres Nous le Deluge." The production of the looking-glass curtain at the Coburg Theatre reflects great credit on the liberality of the proprietor, and the audience, who go to see it and themselves. We could not but admire the new and appropriate inscription above it, "Veluti in Speculum." "The Surrey" has closed after an unproductive season, partly owing to the severe injunction of the rulers of the land, to prevent "the rulers of the Bench" partaking of any theatrical amusement. The little theatre called " the Olympic" was re-opened during the month, and draws good houses. The taste of the managers and the audiences may be correctly inferred from the selection of titles for their pieces, one of which is " Giovanni in Botany" (Bay), but which, in point of merit (in its way) is certainly not inferior to any of the moral and refined productions of the present day. We think the author capable of something better. "Though last not least," "the Adelphi" claims our notice. Here the attraction of " Tom and Jerry" continues undiminished. Never was there exhibited a piece with such success, and never was the stage polluted with such brutality, vulgarity, and licentiousness. The crowds of men who go nightly to witness the ruffianism, miscalled performance, are truly astonishing. Happily, few, very few, respectable females run the risque of contamination, by squeezing through close files of Jew-boys, stagecoachmen, shop-boys, bloods of all qualities, women of character, and the other exquisites of which the audience is invariably and almost exclusively composed, to behold the shocking orgies of beggars and ballad-singers, the low debaucheries of the lowest of the depraved at "All max in the East." With what consistency can the omission of a certain scene in the Beggars' Opera be demanded by the Lord Chamberlain, while the exhibition of that we have just alluded to is permitted? Will it be believed that Mr. Harris is in treaty with the managers of the Adelphi, for permission to perform " Tom and Jerry" at the Dublin Theatre, and for which he has offered a large sum? The Dublin audience, though occasionally a little turbulent, is said to possess good taste, and great respect for decency; we shall be, therefore, much disappointed if this attempt to vary their amusements proves successful. Amongst the amusements of the metropolis, we must include the following exhibitions: Colonel's hat," The big child" -"The in Bond-street,-the Savages from South America,-Lord P.'s brown beard, brown hair, brown coat, brown horse, brown harness, brown tilbury, and brown livery,-the French giant,-the head of an Indian warrior, preserved in spirits,-Lord H-h's unique and tasteful carriage,—(nondescript)-ex-Sheriff,—in his schakos,-(nonpareil)-the Bonassus, and her highness of C We have thus presented to our readers what, we trust, they will denominate a charming coup-d'œil of London and its amusements. Should it be approved, we shall return monthly to the subject. SONNET. Still, tho' divinely beautiful thy face, O deem me not presumptuous, gentle fair, Lady, with maiden purity of soul I love; in endless grief my heart must pine, Oh! that remotest depths of solitude Alone might hear my plaint,-my grief might see; In vales and woods I'd tell my misery; How unrequited love my steps pursued; Σ. AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. RUMOUR, HOPE, and FEAR, in close Conversation. Hope and Fear. (Seeing Rumour both at once) What news? what news? Rumour. I have just learnt from different parts of the country, by informants on whose judgment and veracity I can depend, that all sorts of crops are too far advanced for the season, and that there are at least three chances to one that the year 1822 will be an unproductive year. Hope. So you think this may be depended upon, for in that case by the month of May, wheat will be at 80s. the quarter. Fear. Before then I shall not have a bushel left. I have been rather in too much haste to dispose of my crop, thinking there might be a greater fall in the price on account of Peel's bills. Hope. I'll put my whole family on short allowance, rather than sell another bushel till the cold blight comes on in April. Rumour. (Looking very sheepish) Here comes my greatest enemy, Truth, I wish I were off. Enter Truth. Truth. So, gentlemen, I find you together. The two machines, and him who winds them up. Are you not ashamed, (I speak to you, Fear and Hope,) to listen to that fellow, who by his lies ruins you, regulates the markets by your means, and distresses the country. Rumour. I am sorry, Sir, to be in your company, but as I always give the best account I get, you must not blame me; nobody can give what he has not got. Truth. Yes, but though you may give the intelligence, why do you vouch for it? You make sad dupes of your two friends; and I am sure by their looks you have been telling them some news at this very moment. Hope. So he has, and I dare say you will confirm every word of it. He says the crops are too much advanced, that there is a blight expected, and that before May-day wheat will be at 80s. Truth. It is thus by giving possibilities for probabilities, and asserting uncertainties for facts, that you mislead those who are simple enough to give credit to assertions made with confidence, which ought either not to be made at all, or made with great diffidence. The rises and falls which take place in the prices of grain, are proofs of the falsity of the intelligence you give. Without any just cause prices rose during the last harvest; you had made people believe there would be a scarcity, and you have twice made them believe that there is too great an abundance, and prices have sunk too low in consequence of giving a credit to your assertions, which they do not deserve. Hope. But my friend Rumour says that prices will rise, and if he has done me an injury, he is now going to do me a service. Truth. And if other people are as credulous as you, he may succeed; but if it were not for him, you would, on the whole, be much better off, for thus the prices of grain, like those of other articles, would never vary near so much. By listening to his tales, you all rush to sell, at one time, and then you do not even obtain a fair price; and at another time you are all keeping back your produce, and get more than enough. These variations would neither be so great, nor to you so ruinous if you merely sold to the consumer, who would not give you the great prices so very readily, but the corn-dealers speculate on rumours and reports as well as you do, and they have always the advantage of you. You see that the high prices did not enrich you, though they continued for years, but low prices reduce you almost instantly to want. It is not so with the corn merchants, for they were enriched during the dear years, and even now they are gaining large sums; Rumour is their servant and friend, but he is your master and your enemy. Though Dr. Adam Smith, that great man, explained all this nearly fifty years ago, yet you still act in the same unwise and inconsiderate manner. · Hope and Fear. (both at once,) What should we do? How can we prevent all this? Truth. By never keeping back your grain, when prices are reasonably high, in hopes of getting more, and then you would not have to fear a great fall, and so rush with your grain to market, least it should get much lower: in one word, you should be moderate and steady in your conduct, and then you would find matters much better; but when wheat was at 133, you wanted more still, though then the bow being bent as far as it would bear, you might expect a fall. As all times past have shewn that high and low prices succeed each other like rain and fair weather, you should sell readily when you can get a good price, and not be in too great haste when the price falls low, for there is a natural level in that, as in all other things; when above that they must fall, and when below it they must rise. Hope. But what is that natural level? we do not know it. Truth. When you are fairly and well paid for the expenses of raising your produce with a reasonable profit for your skill, industry, and capital. Hope. Then we shall soon have a rise, for we are not now paid a reasonable price. Truth. You may expect corn will rise, without any rumours of scarcity; but, if you had listened to that lying fellow a few weeks longer, last harvest, you would have had all our ports open for foreign grain, and then great sums would have gone to strangers, and you would have seen your error when too late. Fear. I see that you are right, but, unless others could see it also, my seeing could be of no advantage. Truth. There indeed is the difficulty; but I shall try to convince the legislature of the utility of ascertaining, from time to time, the real quantity of grain in the country, and letting it be publicly known, and then the occupation of Rumour will be gone. Rumour. I wish you good day, gentlemen, I am going to the stock-exchange, and then to the dealers in hops. All. Go along, go along, and the longer you stay away the better. Fear. But, Sir, don't you think that the payments in money, instead of notes, will make prices fall still lower. Truth. Look at the past and you will see that prices fell rapidly and low during the paper payments, at two different periods, and that they rose high before the payments in gold were suspended, namely, in 1794 and 1795; in short, that from one year to another, they were always varying greatly. Paper payments had no doubt an effect, but independently of them, your hopes and fears, and your rash conduct under wrong impressions, were the main causes of all the great variations, that have taken place for centuries. Hope. I am glad I have seen you; but are you certain that government means to publish true statements, and thereby prevent Rumour from leading us into error? Truth. No, I am not certain, but this I know that government means well, and will do for the best, and that it is likely, the advantage of the measure being made certain, that it will be adopted. Hope. When shall we have the pleasure of seeing you again? Truth. On the first of next month, when, perhaps, I shall be able to tell you more; but if I have not something certain to tell you, I shall not tell any thing. I shall never lead you into any error, as that fellow that has left us always does, not only you, but every one who listens to his tales. Hope and Fear. Adieu, good Sir, you have our best thanks for this conversation. OMENS. THE people of every country have, at one period or other, been slaves to superstitions of various kinds. Amongst these the observation of omens has been the most general. We shall |