OPERA GOERS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 274, 5 November 1862, Page 6

OPERA GOERS.

(FROM THIKTY. YEARS? MUMCAL- 15ECOLLECTIOSS

BY HENBY F. CHOKMSY.) There were then conspicuous fissures in the boxes, in tlifir places as reurnlsriy as the" opera-nights came r"und. Among tbe?e were a couple of Royal Dukes, one of whom was resolute to be heard a.3 well as teen,

and whose criticisms on tlrius as they passed in society or on the stage sometimes broke most comically into the midst of pause or cadence—without intention on bis part, since a bettcr-natured and more considerate man never breathed. Then, on Saturday

ni^ht*, the Duke was rarely absent: and the sight of bis eagle profile advancing from behind the red curtains of his box was sure to be accompanied by a motion of eager headd ami eager whispers ia the pir. o{p ; site tbe Royal box was to be seen another celebrity—much observed—as much mis understood; one concerning whom rumour ran more mercilessly riot than concerning most notorious and beautiful women recollected. There

was nothing which people would not say A find belb-ve of La-Iy Blessington. Her queenly and ~ sweet beauty (anim'tted, withal, whenever sii- spoke, i and set off by he peculiar dress) was of it-e!f sufri- € cient to attract remark—and disfavor. Her wit, ton, i which her books in no respect represent, was still less ( pardonable. It enchanted the men; ifc repaid the , women for their slighting curiosity Her own friends , knew her by something better than either her beauty , or wit—by a jgenfrosity antL kindliness of heart, by a ( constancy in gratitude*; rare indeed in one so spo l< Jd j by fortune and misfortune as she had been. I have . never known any one so earnest in defence of the ah- ( sent and unpopular as herself never one placed in a position so peculiar, f-o utterly devoid of caprice ov ] time-m-ving. Her society included distinguished ( men of all 1 auks atid das-es - statesmen, ambassadors, , foreign grandees,—an exiled Prince sinc^ become an ( Emperor—act rs, musicians, painters, poets, histo , rian^, men of science, of renown —and the man of letters as yet without a name, t-» whom .. she opened her circle. For till she had the same attentive natural curiosity. There was no chief guost, no ebb and fl >w in the warmth of her welcome whether sho was alone, and glad of a single listener, or aw rounded by the tuo-t b' illiant talker.-* and th-- deepest thinkers ofthe time. Had thos" whom she h friended with a zeal that knew no limit or prmb-nce, repaid her untiriiur affection aud munificence with only common grati tudc—with only a small sin re of c-msideiation in their cl.iiius on her influence, her time, her money— her life would have been far happier and longer. As it was, there i.s no ro nemberitig her without, regret and pain; as a woman to whom hard measure was dealt, and who hndt> atone for all that, seemed gay in her life nnd brilliant, in her social position by hours ofsuftVring, and disappointment, and hope deferre 1. little dreamed of during1 many a year, at leatfc by those who looked up from the pit-of the Opera, am; saw hr there in ali the -late and bravery of bee dia-nonds—or in the rituple gauze cap, fi.tiiig close to her beautiful head, the siiht of wh:ch nuv'e the outer world insi-t that she was going to turn Qnakir. There too, w..s Count d'Orstiy to he .seen, who had ibr many years been a member of her husband's family It is needless to describe "the Kin«r of the French" {nn the hunting farmers in the Va!e of Aylesbury used to call him), a-> one er.dow. d with rare persoiH bi-aiity, with talents by the thousand never ripened—witli luxurious and original fancies, enough to turn the heads of a good third ofthe gay noble youths of London ;—needles to put on record that be had a readiness and richness of wit, uniting the best qualities of English humour and French esprit, and n buoyancy of spirit, which no embarassinent could pxit down, or reduce into the common laws of prudence. That he was extravagant to recklessness, and beyond any fortune be possessed, is no scret That he was the unprincipled adventurer, which many fancied him when he was living-, and in which cha acter some have described him s nee bis death, is m<'St fal-e. He h-id been set wrong in his veiy cliil l-hood-by tbe doting vanity of those who had pampered and indulged a boy so vivacious, so fascinating, so rarely endowed, to an excess little short of insanity. He was bred to think of enjoyment as not merely tbe business of everyone's life but to order his own, as if be bad an extra right to it. And in tins he was cheered on by every creature who approached biro. His paiety, his fancy, his affectionate nature, his instant wit, were irresistib'e. The rich aud the great, tlie dull who wanted ideas, tbe bright who delighted in repartee for repattee, all agreed (it was next to impossible to help it) to minis er to him. He wa«encouraged, hewasa^is'ed to realise evervwhim as it rose, at no matter what cost, —to organise all

manner of pleasures, and to mv nt new forms for them, by wav of varying tbe monotonous costlines of fashionable routine. Th-re was no oiii at his ear to tell him what tbe certain end of all this must be; or if there uas, the voice was di owned, and the warning was deprived of its authority by some outburst of high spirits in which it was drowned. It seemed impos siVile to him to be melancholy or to take thought. Then he had the sanguine temper of a pnjeclor in peilection. He was always going to increase his fortune tenfold ; long after the fortune was only s heap of debts —always on the point of finding some sure extrication from the labyrinth, the intricacy of which, I truly believe, be never knew. In short, he was a man of genius, fatally, irremediably spoiled on the very threshold of boyhood ; but, sc far as such a man could he —a man of honour—ant! further than many a man of unimpeachable pro* ifc} has been —a man of kind thoughts, generous impulses, and deep affections. It was impossible foi any one who approached him marly, to foibeai becoming attached to him. It would be impos-ibh to count up one tithe of the unprompted and delicate acts of beneficence and kindness, demanding memory nnd time, and performed in secrecy, hy wbicl a life, "which the outer world deemed to be mereh one of reckless license and folly, was varied. Isj eat lof what I know ; —having for many loner year seen as much of this da///.l ng meteoric career as an; bystander could see—whose 01-j'cts and purposes ii life run in a different path, aud were pursued in ; different fashion. I can speak of hundreds of goot offices, small and great, done to those who had no< thing to give-in return—of shrewd couns 1 offered ii difficult-cases—of ready practical sense, that coub pierce to tbe heart of a dilemma. There are man; living besides myself who have cause to- regari the memory of this ill starred victim to indulgene with, such gratitude ns belongs to a real friend wh helped them w:th his best wili, and who harmed ther never. As for wit!—l bave heard more in tha opera-box in one hour than I have heard durin months of latter times, Then, moreover, there wa no want of wit " in town" wilh wliich to compare it — I do not mean the mechanical pleasantry of sue diners-out, men like Theodore Ho k and Jam' Smith, who were never contented excet whan telling some anecdote, or exit biting some snip-snap of words -but the real, genia spontaneous, or intellectual frolics'of Sydney Smit and Thomas Hoo !—not to be ordered like the sou and the ice—which broke out unexpectedly in tl: abundant gaiety ofthe moment. Theie were so mat i true_ brighteners of society—men who enjoyed an made others enjoy - who. when they had thrown til ball, waited till.it.should be tbr»wn back to them in place of monopoH-ing the eves and ears ar latizhter of audiences by any delil crate and exelufii-* ; exhibition. Such wit, of his own original quilii; : Count D'-Orsay commanded, with as much courteoi ; good-nature as irstant readiness I have never heai » so brilliant and impulsive a talker more entire - devoid of bitterness- ' This culd not be sa

of another opera -frequenter in those , days ; whose polished bald bead, pale face wi its closed, eyes, and drooping fhrure, we always, in the* stalls, as .-.tlu-ugh their owner! w dutifuliy exhibiting'tbere some •ct of worship by 1 presence, in which mind and sympathy took smi part. I speak of Mr Rogers, whose connoissemsl of music was represented by himself to be somethi: super-refined—whereas; it was merely slender, ai ; based on a few traditions, and pleasures of memo] IWr bad elegant tastes, no dotrbt—a certain ba'ance i his imaginative faculties, derived from much expe . euce of life and travel oh easy terms : he was cr suited as an authority on poetry, painting, arcbit 5 ture, and music :—but it is difficult, to remembe: ' savin gof bis, en any of these ..subjects, save by so • coven Sarcasm, or open depreciatim. flis'oaguev - as mercilessly cruel as kMiind was generou- Q - p ivate munificence and c'o'urtrsy with which he mit - ered to many; a poor artist, who could ne 1 trumpet abroad the .relief, w«>re not more abut di t than the antipathy with whi-h be persecuted « whom he declined V» admit; into the select sanctin Q of his grace. If Siguor Rossini was the question, " raised his eyebrows'(where eyebrows were not) n c spoke of Paisieilo. When Mademoiselle Grtsi ca " out, and on her cominpt naturally excited con * hopes, which, have not been unfulfilled—-be woi i- wander' far a-fjeld,' and murmur. something ab y Mademoiselle Grid's" aunt, " La'"_Gra«smi,'''or abt >f -Banti.'i How-such advocate ofthe *'gt y old times" could so dUigbntly beiid himself -to kei 0 ing pace with .despised, modern!- pleasures, as Rdg 0 did, was C.as an incpnsi tency. .remarkable, if it >c not imply isdme'resbl v tion ofacting aparfetill 1 last. 1 have never seen' a man so devoted to p .\ lie amhs'inentsj who, *oh priilcip'e, ' appeared *, enjoy them->so little as ; he. He used to sleep at i " ; Opera, at the Exeter-hall .oratoriosii w ich s» religiously-frequented., But the evening.service p j J through furnished remarks lor his .Jbr^akfa»t tal

Another constant frpqnenter of th" opera of a different class is not to bi f. rsfntten, if only be'a use »he prii.t of bis visits there is to be 'bund o i the c pag^stbe graceful, original, coquettish artist. Alfred Chalbn—wlo, during some twenty bright years, was the fashionable painter of English fasuionable female beauty; in. whose bands the most outiareous niode* assumed a "certain pictovia' air. and tlie ..-plainest face was- beautified with a look of high tre j ling or infeliigc cc, without losing its likeness Latterly both bis eye and his band in some measure betrayed him. lie became caree-s and exaggerated as an arti-t; but bis best works wii remtiin aud besought for as illustrations of beauty. fi»iiion, and the theatre in the reigns of William the Fou th. and the earlier years ef nur present Sovereign's sovereignty. Never was there a more quaint, tuore original man than Chalon, — never one whose appearance was lests like that of a bea-ity painter. He was large-featured, ill put. together, and ungainly. When he spoke there was a little lisp ami a play of countenance — seeming to say, "I could be sarcastic if I would," which contradicted tbe first impression. He had no conversation, but vented little odd remarks and civilities, which seemed htrangely unfrted to so larae-boned a mm. He played on the flageolet;— he had agi l's fondness for confection try. Yet be was shrewd, observant—had grand thoughts as an ttrtist; and those tiue, intense family affections manifested without grimace, which, whenever and whereever they are seen, atone for a thoussiml fopperies and foibles, and dispose us to respect and to think kindly of their owner T ;eie are sketches by him extantmere iir-t though's improvised—of a vigor ami bold-ne-s totally amazing, a-coming fr. m one who?e world was that of breast-knots, and bouquets, an I curls, and bracelets, and stage-passion rouged for the foot-lights. One which 1 recollect —•' The liaising of the Dead at tbe Crucifix'on,"—ri curs to me now'as a wild, aw'ul dream painted on p-ip r, which, if signed by some august name, might provoke paves of transcendeu al ecstacies. Among his caricatures—>:nd they were manysome had a vigorous, sarcastic truth, which hit directly home. No one could be more amiable or simple in his d< mystic life than Ciialon. He kept j hi:u c with an unmarried brother (an artist, le-s in j vogue than himself), and with an unma'-ricd sister — large aud masculine to look upon, who affected, ns do m::ny women over whom painters have influence, a singular flaring style of dress. The close, affectionate, real good understau i g of thy c three, —their utter want of advertenct to any possible siuguhtrity in themselves, —was a thing capital to see in a great city dke ours, especially its iv tint lined among ttiose whom oir-umstance and inevitable temptation might have sepHrated, without totally vi uniting tln-m. The three lived long and lovingly together—the sister "lyvtig first; her de-t-th darkening the house and ihe lite of the two survivors, pa-t hope of much future brightness. Ttien the Chal-m, to whom this book is indehtef, had to wait on the slow decay of bis broths, ere be himself disappeared to iie no more seen. The above recollect ions are «> strong y asso-d tted with my impressions ofihi Haymarket iheat.e, that they are. perhaps, not out ot place here, though, if considered as a " curtain tune," they may be foaud something of tl e'or.ge t.

The Mi-kk of Petticoat-Lane.—A few night gni. a policeman noticed a wetc'ied lo king old man i tha neighborhood of SVhitechapel His appearance espoke the mo-t extreme destitu'ion, he was.dirty, nit literally clothed in rags, and was apparently I'orne down >y some heavy weight which he had bout him. The officer, thinking that the poor croauie had some lead or stolen property ia his possession, ,-kcd him what he hid got round his body. The old nan decliin tj to enlighten the policeman, aud he was iccordingly walked off io the police sratioa. At tirs' he Inspector was almost induced to remonstrate wilh he officer for bringing su h a dirtx wi etched out-cast ;>) the station, foe h'w fi'thy rags gave uffMiciau offensive stench as to mi er his pnsence qiite unbearable Tito Inspector, however, told the oil man ihat be hal belt'r let tl'.eni know what it was. The ikl fellow at lengrh muttered out ''money '' From couitil his body were then taken several bundl-'s of [lir.y rags which were found t> contain gold and silver and five Bank of England noies, to ihe amount o*' nearly £200. There was about £luo in silver. The old man said he had been saving it for up ard.s of twenty years, ami that as he accumulated the gohi and silver he secured it in the bags, which he pi .ced round his body for sale keeping, and bail nev r took them off. For many years he cam al clothes! r the Jews in Pettic'al-laiie, doing odd jobs and running errands in the streets ; and he named several persons who had so employed him. They, on being app'ied t), eonti luel bis statement; and, as there wa.-. now no count as to the treasure real y belonging to 'he old man, the police thought oftlM best way of protecting him, as some of bisoldemploytrsiu P. tn'co tlane' suddenly became vc;y much interested in ids beha.f, and prolfere l.tbeir assistance iv ta -ing catc both of liim aud his money. He was tit last t ersuaded tc go to the Bauk of hngland, but his wretched and offensive appearance, and the proce s of turniug the htrge amount of silver out of the dirty rags had such au«.if.-ct upon the cashiers, that they declined to havi anything to do with the old man or his cash. Tlu City detectives tried their good offices and theca-hier «c c at length induced to receive the silver (then being omy one bad half-crown amongst the mass) and to give the old man notes for the amount. AftPi some lurther persuasion he was induced to invest tht whole of his savings He wis taken to Sir Kober ■Carden, who undertook to do the best, he could foi him, and received about £19:: from the obi man. Tin police then further aiv:sedhim to have a good wash and,he return dto his abode, but evidently not so wel afc ease as to the security of his money as when hi carried ib about with him.— Dispatch.

Mrs. (Longwoiitii) Yei.vhrton. -The public generally will be grieved, though Mat surprised, at learning that, since the extraordinary d»-ci«ion of Lord Ardmillan in the Yelverton marriage ca*e. the unhappy victim of it has been confined to her bed in Crawford's Hotel.-iv this city. ■ The shock of that unexpected iitcision was tuo much for the delicate nervous systcfn of a lady who, pr< vious to ib, had been 'called upon to endure and suffer so much at, the hands of her unworthy Imband. and the probabilitb s tire that for a considerable time she will not be able to leave her sick room. In making this announcement we are at tbe same time happy to aid that the amount of sympathy shown towards Mrs Wdveriun since the decision has been at_ oive large and cordial, many of the b^-st of our citizens, lalLs and gentlemen, have called at her lodgings to solace htr and euc-urage her in her determination to bave justice done her. Numerous p esents, so.i.c of them of a very handsome character, have, we understand, reached her irom sympathizers here and in the .tist- r countries, the object of the donors bring to enable her, now that it is believed that her own f rtune must be almost exhausted iv litigatio.i, to 'defend her character, and vindicate.her-rights in the highest Jaw courts ofthe kingdom.— Caledonian Mercury, Hair or-Air.—During tbe trial of one of tlu causes in tbe JVisi Prius Court, at Chester, mi Wednesday,. Mr Justice Cr 'inp fon took occasion ■-more than-once to allude to the ill ventilation of the court, and directed onj of ihe be dies to open a window. This was no sooner done than a stiffish ■ breeze reached the jury-b>x. mucli to the relief of one br two'wool-'y-h<-adtid jurors, hut. to the v ter discomfiture of one of tin ir t.'uiuber, who complained ihat having no hair on his heat be f-lt that there was too much air in the court, which he doild not. endu-v, I unless one of the leaned counsel would lend hi it a - wig. Mr Welshy offred the loan of his wig, but the . foreman,scanning the bald pate of his brother juror, > ohsetved, amid much laughter, that the fa lt was not I in the air, but in the hair, and that h s brother juror -' instead of of haviag too much air, had uot'eauugh of I luiir. .'■-'..•

~ Frightful Railway Accidest near Rugby- —- An accident of a very shocking character, and ats. tended with fatal consequences, oceu red on;V\ elnes- ' B tlay night, at Stretton, near Rugby. At Stret'On I there is a viaduct undergoing repairs; and one side <>f p it being- taken down, only one line of rails is worked g. across it. A dan er signal is ]ntup at some distance j from the spot, ami notice of the repairs had been T sent up and down the line, so that all twins'm y stoj on arriving witliin some hundred yards of t: c viaduct. : The dr vjrof the Scotch goods t-'siia, eiiniag up ab. v, ' haif-pa-t nine o'clock on Wedne-day night, either ,* 'from the darkness ov some other cause, appeals nor ji to have seen the sigual, ami kept on his engine at. full ,' c steam. At the same time -an-u her train aproaching , s in tbe opposite direction on the '• down " rails Wins? )e at the moment on the vialuct, the p inteman specis . a'ly on duty near the bridge, fearing that the colli-ion ._ wliich mustinevitaby ensue wou'd mod cc still more ' r dis strous results if lie tur.ied tha fi.st train on t-) tie H dnvn line, a lowed that train to"continue its cour eon ~ t.-.e up Hue. The cons quence was that, i.istead of .p coming into co'ii ion witli the tlown train, the ',' up" j wasp feci pit t ted over the midge with tearful viol-mc ltt iato tbe load belo v. The t-ain consi-b dof ab.ntt ,1 fifty trucks, and about ten of th-se were dragjed jj over alomr with the engi c. Tbe enuuie-driver, who«e t name was is Pittoin, ami th" fitvman. named Percival,a b th young men from Crewe, were kil ed on .the spot J The engi le-driver was discovered under the engine ° (which was embedded in The earth), ami presented a frightful spe. t icle, from severe scalds and burns. The vi .bo iy of tbe fireman ,wa: sa Uy mv ilat- d. te .The late> Mr Sands sued a wealthy- damsel for b- damages in a case of breach of promise of marriage. (6 He was offered two hundred pounds to heal his hJetdei ing heart. * Two hundred pounds !" exclaimed be, l.c ' "for ruiu°.d hopes, disappointed love, and blasted ne Ife I Two hundred pound- for a'l this I No—-never. ,c. I Make it guineas, audit's a.bargain IV - ' ••■ •