MENDELSSOHN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 3200, 17 April 1871, Page 3

MENDELSSOHN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.

The original of the following interesting letter by Mendelss >hn has just been published by his son in a Gernion periodica!. It will naturally be peculiarly interesting to English rea lers. We wonder how many more of these charming effusions are lying toncealed ; “Frankfort, July 19. 1842. « VTy dearest little Mother, -1 must tell you a little more about London, and of the days after our trip to Manchester. I could not makeup my-mind to g > to Dublin because of the i2 hours’ sea journey, the thought of which crushed all my ideas. We spent two peaceful days in Manchester with the uncles and aunts, but as soon as we got back to London the whirl began again. 1 shall tell you all about it verbally—how disgracefully Cecile carried on with Sir I dward Bulwer, and how old Eoge s (Sara Rogers you know) squeez-d her band and begged her to bring up her children to be ns charming as her-eif, and to speak English as well (this made a sensation), and how Mr Koebuck came in (ask Uirichlet who he is), and how we played charades at the Beneckes’, and Klingemann acted a West Indian planter and bdr Walter Hcott. and how the directors of the Philharmonic gave me a fish dinner at Greenwich with whitebait and speeches, and how they sang my ‘ Antigone’ music at the Jiuichelea’(l must imitate that on the piano for your benefi I see Rebecca laughing already ; but why does she never write )-and how I waited f r Herr run Masaow at the Brunswick Hotel, and snoke to Herr Abeken at the Bunsens’, and how we bad a great dinner at the Bunsens’ —all this 1 shall describe minutely when I see you ; but I must at once tell y on all the details of my last visit at Buckingham-place, 1 know how it will amuse you, dear mother, and me too. “It is, as G. says, the one redly pleasant and thoroughly comfortable English house, where one feels i son aise. Of course 1 do know a few others, but yet on tjio whole I agree with him. Joking apart, Prince Albert bad asked me to go to him on Saturday at 8 o’clock, so that I might try his organ before 1 left England ; I found him alone, and as we were talking away, the Queen came in, also alone, in a simple morning dress. Hbe said she was obliged to leave for Claremont in an hour, and then suddenly interrnpti' g herself, exclaimed, ‘ But goodness, wbaca confusion I for the wind had littered the wnole room, and even the pedals of the organ (which, by the way, made a very pretty feature in ho room), with leaves of music fr m a large portfolio that lay open. As she spoke she knelt down and began picking up the music ; Prince Albert helped, and I too was t ot idle Then Prince Albert proceeded to explain the stops to me, and she said that she would meanwhile put things straight. I begged that the Prince would first play me something, so that, as I said, I might boast about it iu Germany ; and h* pla<ed a Chorale, by heart, with the pedals, so eburm-

Ssod o!early.aud-flO«|Wtly; tbit it would donecwflit to Any wofbuloritl, and the Queen, hayipt . flpisßed per work, came and bat by him and iMtSnSd 'And loeked-pleased. Then itwaa mytilni, and (began my chorus ippyaro-the mes-; sengert.Before I, got to' the end- of the flrit ve’taa they both joinedTn and all the time Prince Albert'managed 1 the atop* for me so cleverly—4ket a Ante, at the forte the great organ, at the.D maipr -part the whole, then he.madk-iU. lovely.. d[m.infiendp_withtb*L stops, and 10 ontAjibe e “d oOhp. .piece, and' all by heart— Then the yoang;JEWauxi of jQothaloameiin.and there »a* ,mpre Slotting ; and the Queen I hW r 3TOtton day. pew songs and B%idsire vrasTMßJP'd of sikging my published ;6He«..; nmild sing! one to him,” said 3t«nd after adittlP begging. she •aid (flat—‘fifth issta&ere-'’ sisearided, * for all my ’music qp for Claremont.’ Prince Albeft'weht to look for it, but. came back isayingiit' traa ktteady packed. ‘ Bat one might perhaps joapack it,’ saldT,l We must send for . Lady«he ; said. (I'did not catch the nafl)ei)| So the bell was rang, and the servants .Wert , sent after' it, bat without success ;-and at bat the QueeA went herself, and while sheWtfegone Prince Albert said to me, ‘ She begs ym will accept this present as a remembrance,fkmd gave me a little case with a beautiful 1 ring, on which is engraved ‘V.R., 1142.’ Then the Quern came back and said, ‘ Lady -is gone, and has taken all my things with her. It really is most annoying ’ (You can’t think how, that amused me.), I then begged-that I-might not be - made to. suffer for the accident, and hoped she would sing another song. ; After some consultation with her husband, he said, ‘ She will sing you something of' Gluck’s.’ Meantime the Princess of ,Gotha had come in, and we five proceeded through various-cor-ridors and i rooms to the Queen’s sitting-room,N.where there was a gigantic rocking-horse standing near the sofa, and two big birdcSges, and pictures on the walls, and splendidly bound books on the table, and music on the piano. The Duchess of Kent came in too,jMid while they were ell talking I rummaged ajfcut among the music, and soon discovered my first set of songs. So, of course, 1 begged her rather to sing one of those than tn£ Gluck, to which she very kindly consented ; and which did she choose? ‘ Sehdner und; tchoner schmuckt sioh I’ sang it quite channSbgly, in strict time and tune, and with:very good execution. Only in the line ‘ Der Prosa Lasten und Mdb,’ where it goes down to D, and then comes up again chromatically, she sang D sharp each time, and as I gave her the note both times, the last time'she sang D, and there it ought to have been D sharp. But, with the exception of this little mistake, it was really charming, and the last long G 1 have never heard better, or purer, or more natural from any amateur. ■ Then I was obliged to confess that Fanny had written the song (which I found very hard, but pride must have a fall) and beg; her to sing'one of my own also. If I * would: give her plenty of help she would gladly try,, she said, and then she sang the; Pilgerspruch: “ Lass dich nartf ’ really quite faultlessly, and; with dhaxmiqg feeling and expression. I thought to rfiyself, one must not .pay too. many compliments on such an occasion, so I merely thanked her a great mauy times upon which she said “Oh, if only 1 had not 1 been so frightened ; generally, I have such! long breath.” .Then I praised her heartily; and with -ther-hest conscience in the world;! for just that part with the long G at the) close she had done so well, taking the three, following and connecting notes in the same breath, as one : seldom hears it done, andj therefore it amused me doubly that she her-; self should have begun about it. After this; Prince sang the Aerndte-lied “Esisb ein Schnitter;”and then he said I must play him something before 1 went, and gave me as themes the Chorale which he had played on the organ and the song he had just sung. If every thing-hadgone as usual, I ought to have improvised most dreadfully badly, for it is almost always like that with me when I want to go well,, and then I should have gone vexed with the whole morning. But; just as iff. 1 was to keep nothing but the pleasantest, most charming recollection of it, T-never improvised better: I was in the best mood for it, and played a long time, and enjoyed it myself, so'that besides the two themes I brought in the songs that the Queen bad sung; naturally enough ; and it all went off so easily that I would gladly not have stopped ; and they followed me with so much intelligence and attention that 11 felt more at my ease than I ever did in improvising to an audience. She said several times, she hoped I wou'd soon come to England again and pay them a visit, and then I took leave,"and down below I saw the beautiful carriages waiting, with their scarlet outriders, and in a quarter of an hour the flag was lowered, and the Court Circular announced, '.Her Majealy left the palace at 20 minutes past 3;’ and 1 went iff in the rain to the Kliogemanns, and had the doable pleasure of pouring out all my news to them and to Cecile. “I must add 1 that I begged the Queen to allow me to dedicate my. A minor symphony to her, as that had really been the inducement to my journey, and because the English name on the f-cotch piece would look doubly well. Also, I forgot to tell you how just as she was going to begin to sing she snid, ’ But the parrot must go out first, or he will screech loader than I can sing.’ Upon which Prince Alton r ng the bell, and the Prince of Gotha said he would carry it cut, and I said, ‘ allow* me,’ and carried the great cage out, to the astonishment of the servonts. There is plenty more to say when we meet; but if Dirichlet goes and thinks me a little aristocrat because of these long details, I swear I am more radical than- ever, and call to witness Grote, Roebuck, and yon, my dear little mother, who will be as much amused by all these details as I am, myself.”