SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY. Exeter Hall.-A greater proof of the entire success of this society cannot be adduced than in recording the fact that this immense hall is insufficient to accommodate the thousands who flock here on every representation. Handel's Oratorios of Solomon and the Messiah have been produced with extraordinary effect, some of the choruses were at times truly grand. It is somewhat singular that most of the finest musical performances, and certainly the most successful in this country, are those at the cheapest rate of admission, and as a further proof we will instance the

CONCERTS A LA MUSARD AT THE ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE.-These very deservedly successful concerts are nightly filled with a select and fashionable company, who loudly attest their approbation of the selection as well as the execution of the overtures, waltzes, and quadrilles. The solo performances are a principal feature in the entertainments, particularly those by Harper, Willy, Richardson, and Baumann. The selection from Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable, arranged by the conductor Negri with obligato parts for corno ingleze, bassoon and clarinet by Cook, Baumann and Lazarus, is a most effective and meritorious selection.

The Directors of the PHILHARMONIC have decided on altering the arrangements of the orchestra next season; the basses will be thrown back, and the violins will be brought more forward. This plan has been long adopted in France, and has been found to answer extremely well, for the instruments are better balanced-that is, the audience will hear more of the violins and wood instruments, and less of the ponderous basses and brass band. The new symphony by Spohr has been received, and will be shortly rehearsed, as well as Berlioz' new symphony to" Romeo and Juliet."

Among the musical publications lately printed, there is a Treatise on "Singing in Parts; containing Progressive Instructions for the Simultaneous Practice of Two, Three, Four, Five, or a greater Number of Voices. By Thomas Cooke."-This is decidedly the best work we have yet seen on this branch of vocal art. The exercises commence from simple Intervals in Duetto, with some classical but short Duets from Mozart, Haydn, &c. Then follow Trios on the Intervals, succeeded by Webbe's "O come o bella," and three-part Rounds. Among the pieces in four parts are some excellent Rounds and Catches, by the author; Horsley Horncastle's Prize Catch "You've told a story;" a few Canons, one by Sir G. Smart; some Madrigals, with a Hymn of Purcell's, and "Et vitam," by Perti. The observations dispersed throughout the book are sensible and pertinent. If well studied must materially assist those amateurs who are training as choral singers, of which there are not a few, if we may judge by the number of choral societies springing up everywhere.

Select Organ Pieces. Novello's Collection. Number 59.-The novelties in it are a chorus "Et vitam venturi," by Horncastle; it is a Fugal piece of bold construction, well worked, and not too long; a chorus on the same subject by Lotti; and a pleasing Andante by C.

Stokes. We have much pleasure in noticing two very beautiful Trios by a composer whose name has hitherto been unknown to us, a M. Curshman. The one commencing "Addio" is the most effective. The melody is charming, and well sustained throughout.

The Memoirs of Charles Matthews, by Mrs. Matthews, is one of the most amusing biographies we remember to have read; but the writer has one besetting sin, which displays itself in almost every page-that of judging all characters by her own standard of perfection. Thus Mr. George Robins is the acme of perfection; nay, more, he is represented as the most celebrated man in Europe. This would be well did the writer but avoid the other extreme; for it is indeed with pain we observe the necessity which occasioned the publication of Forgotten Facts in the Memoirs of Mr. Charles Matthews, by S. J. Arnold, Esq.

Mr. Arnold, who has deservedly earned a reputation unequalled as a theatrical manager (if we except Mr. Macready), and whose exertions in the cause of English operatic music during a long career will ever merit the thanks of this country, has been called on to refute one of the grossest misrepresentations that have ever been palmed on the public. Mr. Arnold says, and to this the world will bear witness:

"Circumstances, it appears, prevented my young friend Charles from fulfilling his intention (of writing the memoirs of his father); and this I deeply regret, since the task has fallen into the hands of one who has, under some strange delusion, fallen into the great moral error of substituting fiction and misrepresentation for truth, and by strange distortion converted a most liberal and unprecedented engagement into an act of imposition and even deep designing fraud. *** And this is the return to a man whom your husband, during his life, acknowledged as one 'who was ordained to advance his fortune.'"

The manner of dividing in Chanting the Words of the Psalms as used in some of the Churches. By Martin H. Hodges. 4to.]-This printed sheet is intended to apply a remedy to the really irremediable defects in chanting, arising from the impossibility of uniting all the voices exactly together when no regular time can be kept. Mr. J. B. Sale has written a work on the same subject, and both are useful as guides to persons unaccustomed to chant, but it must be evident to all who know any thing of the matter, that merely one inefficient singer introduced into a choir will mar the effect entirely, and no book can obviate the difficulty.

EDINBURGH.

Several Promenade Concerts have been given by Mr. Musgrave in the Hopetoun Rooms, and have been numerously and fashionably attended. Miss Platt's performance on the pianoforte was excellent of its kind. The solo on the cornet à piston, by Mrs. Wood, was exquisite, and received a warm encore. Mr. Musgrave led with his accustomed taste and spirit.

VOL. XXIV. NO. XLVIII.

H H

MISCELLANEOUS LITERARY NOTICES.

FRANCE.

Up to the end of October there had been published, during the present year, in France, 5324 works in the living and dead languages, 287 musical pieces, 1015 engravings and lithographs, and 100 maps and topographical plans.

The newly-discovered apparatus by which sea-water is rendered fresh and perfectly pure has been placed on board several of the government vessels; two and a half gallons of coals are sufficient to convert thirty gallons of seawater into a state of purity and fit for culinary and other uses.

Laborde's Voyage de l'Orient is proceeding rapidly; the last two numbers, the fifteenth and sixteenth, contain excellent views of Aleppo, Jerusalem, Jericho, Aden, &c. &c.; it will be completed in about thirty-six numbers.

Marc Aurel, frères, have just published the first volume of Biographie des premières Années de Napoleon Bonaparte, by the M. de Coston; the second volume and Appendix will complete the work.

A very valuable illustrated geography has just been published by Chauchard and Müntz, of Paris, entitled Cours méthodique de géographie à l'usage des établissements d'instruction et des gens du monde; it has 22 maps and upwards of 400 finely-executed drawings. The 24th volume of the Archives curieuses de l'histoire de France depuis Louis XI. jusqu'à Louis XVIII. has at length appeared.

A work highly interesting to the sporting world is now in the course of publication, l'oyage d'un chasseur dans les différentes parties du monde, revue générale des chasses et des pêches de tous les pays. The first portion of the work, Africa, has already appeared, and consists of forty-one numbers, containing forty engravings.

SAVOY.-The railroad from Chambery to Bourget was opened the early part of October, in the presence of the King of Sardinia; it is two French leagues in length, and runs by the side of a canal and within an avenue of poplar trees, affording a most picturesque view of mountainous country and the shores of the sea near Bourget. It will effect a great improvement in the trade between France and Chambery, as it is connected with the steam-boats which run between Lyons and Bourget.

GERMANY.

BERLIN.-A central society for statistics is in the course of formation at Berlin, with which all the statistical societies in Germany are to correspond. The third centenary of the discovery of printing will be celebrated with great splendour at Leipzig, on the 24th, 25th and 25th of June, 1840. The next Number of this Review will give full particulars as to the several festivities which are to take place. It is generally considered the fetes will exceed anything before witnessed in that part of Germany.

A petition has been presented to the parliament of Saxony, now sitting at Dresden, for permission to construct a railroad from a point in the province of Lusatia (Lausitz) to Dresden, and from thence across the Mountains (Eizgebirge) and the district of Voigtlande to the frontiers of Bavaria.

One of the most interesting Journals published in Germany is the Hannoversches Museum, which appears twice every week at Hanover; it contains both literary and musical intelligence; the subjects are well selected and are written with great care and judgment. Since the death of the editor, Dr. Schröder, it has been continued with the same talent by the widow, who has engaged some of the first literary contributors upon it.

The German Meteorologists have declared the present will be a very severe winter. The Aurora Borealis having been unusually vivid throughout Germany.

GREECE.

The first stone of the new university at Athens was laid on 14th July, with great rejoicing.

ITALY.

Trieste has been much improved within the last few years; and during the past summer innumerable old houses have been demolished and new streets built. In the neighbourhood of St. Andrea large portions of land near the sea have been built over, and even to where hills formerly stood on the land side, the city has extended its limits; in the Guardiella, sixty new houses are in process of building. The city now consists of 4240 houses, and 75,551 inhabitants; the increase of population within a short period being 2527.

A meeting of merchants was recently held at Trieste, at which the Archduke John presided; the object was the construction of a railroad from Trieste to Vienna. According to the plan of the engineer, Sommering, the only interruption to the line is a few miles of very mountainous country, which will be travelled over by horses. At the Castle of Duino, about three leagues from Trieste, the railroad will join the great Lombardy and Venetian branch. The Archduke expressed his approbation in the warmest terms, and added, that it was the earnest wish of the Emperor that this great desideratum should be effected, by which we may bid abieu to the shores of the Adriatic in the morning and sleep in the Austrian imperial capital the same night.

POLAND.

WILNA. The publishers here as well as at Warsaw, are exceedingly cautious in accepting original Polish works; hence the few works which appear are either translations of popular French romances or school books, and the two Polish literary newspapers, Wizerunki and Literatura i krytyka, the latter by Grabowski, are mostly filled with translations from French and German newspapers, giving little attention to native literature.

Joseph Zawadzki, the principal bookseller at Wilna, died at the end of last year; his stock accumulated during thirty years amounted at the period of his death to upwards of 400 very rare and costly works; he commenced a catalogue of works on Polish Literature, the first volume of which has since been published by his sons, " Obraz biblio graficzno historyczny Literatury Polskiej. Within the last two years, Joseph J. Kraszewski, a native of Omelo, in Volhynia, has created the greatest astonishment by his literary and poetical works. Since Moritz Mochnacki, no one has risen so high in public estimation as Kraszewski; the first part of his Poezye and his Wedrowski literackie fantastyczne i historyczne (Literary, imaginative and historical Wanderings), are highly spoken of by Grabowski and other learned authors, as being filled with youthful and vigorous pictures of every-day life. He is now employed in writing a history of Wilna, the first part of which has already appeared.

The first four parts of a history of Lithuania, Dzieje starożytne narodn litewskiego, has appeared from the pen of Theodore Narbutt.

A very highly-wrought and interesting historical tale has been published by the author Balinski, entitled Pamietniki o krolowej Babarze, Memoirs of Queen Barbara Radzivill, consort of Sigismund August; the historical facts and data connected with this extraordinary woman have been carefully collected from the Radzivillian archives.

The Memoirs of Maskiewicza, recently published, Pamietniki Samuela Maskiewicza, who was born in 1594, are highly interesting, and contain many important facts connected with the history of Poland and of Russia. Ustrialow is at present engaged in translating the work into the Russian language. Among the recent poetical publications, the Piesni wiesniaczne z nad Memna, Songs of the People of Niemen, by Czeczot, have met with especial favour; they are translations of the songs sung at the present day by the Lithuanian peasantry, in the white Russian dialect. The Poezye, by Michael Juzierski, contain poetical descriptions of Ukrainian nature and life; and a third collection, Poezye trzech braci, Poems by the three brothers Grzymalowski, are for the most part vivacious, mirthful and amorous poems.

The Encyclopedia Powszechno, a work which was noticed in the last Number of the Foreign Quarterly Review, is so voluminous, that the twentieth volume, now just published, has only completed the letter B. The improbability of this work ever being completed has occasioned the publication of the Mala Encyklopedya, of which two volumes have already appeared, containing all the letters as far as F. The articles are short and concise, and comprise everything interesting to Poland, particularly as to its people, its literature, its celebrated men, its cities, rivers, mountains, &c. The only omissions are its eminent living characters, and all those who figured in the last political events which led to such important changes in the government of this unhappy country. Amidst the numerous works on Polish literature which have emanated from the house of Breitkoff and Härtel, in Leipzig, is a new edition of the celebrated work on Polish Heraldry, which was originally published at Lemberg, in four folio volumes, from the pen of the Jesuit Kaspar Niesiecki, in 1728 to 1743, and who died in 1743. The Austrian cabinet acknowledged the work to be authentic, in a decree dated 6th October, 1800. The new edition, entitled "HERBARZ POLSKI Kaspra Niesieckiego," has been very judiciously curtailed by Johann Bobrowicz, who has at the same time supplied some very important omissions from Wieladek's Heraldik, Krasicki's Zusätzen, and other works.

PORTUGAL.

In no country in Europe has literature so much digressed as in Portugal; even the daily papers are filled up with personal invectives and political disquisitions. In the boudoirs of their ladies nothing, save a few French romances, can be found. German writers ascribe this disgraceful state to the freedom of the press.

RUSSIA.

The Imperial Public Library contains upwards of 425,621 volumes, and 17,236 manuscripts, which are under the care of twenty-seven officials. The University Library has received a valuable acquisition in the library of Professor Schäfer, of Leipzig, including 633 Russian works, which had hitherto been wanting. The University, at the close of its academical year, consisted of 42 professors and 413 students.

Twenty-four works were sent in to the Academy of St. Petersburg, as competitors for the Demidow Prizes of 5000 rubles (£200) and 2500 rubles (£100); of these 5 were Historical, 4 Mathematical, 3 Medical, 3 Agricultural, 2 on Oriental Language, 2 on Military Knowledge, 2 on Jurisprudence, 1 Sta