tis and Paganinis, Colbrans and Catalanis, Cramers and Fields. There has been a revolution in the musical world, and all is liberty and equality!-no distinction of musical ranks—no superiority or inferiority of talent and skill! Be it so till a better age of reason commences *.

* As it has been reported that the celebrated Paganini intends to visit England, our readers may perhaps be pleased to have the following account of his personal appearance and performance, which was written at the time by a gentleman who heard him in September, 1818.

It

"At last he appeared on the stage, and was received with furious applause t. I saw before me a little and very thin man, apparently about thirty-five years old, with a pale and rather sickly countenance, and a figure denoting exhaustion. His black hair, in great quantity, and in great disorder, seemed not to have been cut or combed for a year. His features were rather remarkable, and indicated genius. Their expresssion was wild and melancholy, with a mixture of haughtiness. He began his concerto. was a concerto of Viotti; I think that in B minor,—and I am sure, that if the author had heard it as it was then performed, he would have been surprised. The allegro was executed with great fire, and with wonderful neatness and dexterity. In the adagio, Paganini exerted his graver powers, and a serious and pleasing impression remained with the whole audience at the pause preparatory to the final cadence, which was indeed a cadence of a very singular kind. In it, nearly the whole powers of the instrument were brought forth in a surprising variety of tones, and different modes of expression. The cadence was long and elaborate, and when it was finished, the breathless silence that had attended it on the part of the audience was interrupted by a tempest of bravissimos, and absolute shrieks of applause. The finale, written on a curious and whimsical subject, was executed with perfect mastery. The recitative and airs with variations, executed on the fourth string only, afforded another proof of P.'s complete command and knowledge of the violin. Difficulties that would have made most of the great violin players lay down the instrument in despair, were to Paganini accustomed things to be managed with perfect ease and composure. Streghe, (the witches,) set the theatre in a roar of laughter. Whenever P. began to make the first witch speak, which he did with a strange expression of bow, and close shake upon every note, he imitated the tremulous voice of an old woman in a manner perfectly ludicrous. The remainder of this dialogue between the witches, or whatever else it might be, was full of singularity and difficulty. I shall now come to particulars regarding his style and powers. His style is, in general, excellent, though sometimes capricious and broken. He has perfect neatness and distinctness in the execution of the most rapid and difficult passages, whether in single or double ordinary sounds, or in single or double harmonic sounds. His harmonic passages are not those usually heard-not a few notes here and there in a slow or convenient passage-but complete passages of single or double harmonics, with shakes; and it seems to be quite the same to him whether these passages be slow or very quick. He frequently executes a rapid succession of descending notes-pizzicato, with the left hand only. Sometimes,

+ This was in the theatre at Pistoja, on 26th September, 1818.

1.e

We have selected for review, as the ostensible occasion for these remarks, one from among several publications of the same kind, that have appeared in England within the last three years. Ex uno disce omnes. They are emanations of rush-light from the new school of music that was attempted in England under the mighty auspices of certain persons who had a strong family resemblance to the portrait of Hermann von Dousterswivel, painted at full length in the Antiquary.

“I vil teesh moosic to de leetel shild bettermost den all de master in de vorld, because I haf de grand secret! Ah ha! I vas know de grand secret to make de Haydn and de Mozart out of de leetel shild, vid no time and trouble at all! I vas make, in my own countree, de leetel peeg-pork—vat you call? compose two, tree, four concerto, in six week! - Old Furce.

In the "Hints to teach Children," we recognize some of the chief secrets that were communicated with so much parade and so much mystery, to several young persons whose parents paidfor them; but which, unluckily for the secret mongers, lost all their marvel and importance in a few months, even in the estimation of the children themselves. The Hints are evidently the production of some one familiar with the whole arcana of the quondam new school; probably of some one who felt, however, unwilling to encounter the torrent of Billingsgate that

as in the cadenza before-mentioned, he executes a short and rapid succession of ascending harmonics on the higher part of the instrument, and instantly forms a kind of counter-response to it on the lower part of the instrument in a rapid succession of descending notes executed pizzicato with the left hand, or staccatissimo with the bow. The smoothness and clearness with which he executes the most rapid successions of octaves or tenths, and the softness and sweetness with which he blends together the sounds of the quickest chromatic ascent or descent, are indescribable. He imitates the whistling and chirruping of birds, and indeed the variety of tones which he produces from the violin is quite extraordinary. His command of the bow is admirable. In the most rapid and difficult bowing, where the notes start from low to high, and vice versa, Paganini's figure is motionless, excepting the hand and wrist, and we see no labour or exertion in the performer, while the bow produces the sounds with an amazing degree of rapidity and neatness. He is perhaps rather too fond of a kind of contrast, which is common among modern concerto players. I mean that which may be the contrast of activity and sluggishness, or of attention and carelessness. For instance, in executing a rapid passage, some of the sounds are prolonged, and others shortened, irregularly; but still all come within the time of the measure. Paganini, in producing this contrast, seems, sometimes, to be so perfectly careless as to cause an unpleasing impressionthe effect produced by a seeming awkwardness, which, although intentional, is not agreeable. Altogether, however, he is certainly a very extraordinary In the meanperformer. He speaks of visiting Paris and London soon. time, he is going to Naples, and thence into Sicily."

4

would attend the unveiling of these mystifications by any person that rashly employed the καλέομαι τετο.

Not to waste time and words on these silly Hints, we shall briefly observe, that, at the very outset, the nature and use of the stave is miserably and falsely explained. In received musical notation, the notes placed on the stave have no signification whatever of pitch without the adjunct of a clef to determine their relations of gravity and acuteness. The notes written below the lines of the stave, p. 7. are passed over without notice; and still no clef! Page 11, no clef, and G. in alt given as a wonderful novelty. The words face and ace are here great arcana, but they tell little Miss a great story which no one but an ignorant quack would have the face to tell her. Different clefs.

belie all these fine stories. At p. 14, Miss finds out that a semibreve rest is an upper tooth, and a minim rest a lower tooth. Ah! ces dents-là, ils ont mangé beaucoup de guineés! The ideas given to Miss regarding the relative durations of sounds, as these are expressed in musical notation, are false in point of fact, as every musician who looks at the Hints must know. The symbols are stated as indicating durations that are absolutely proportionate to each other in certain ratios, when the truth is that they are only contingently so. At p. 21, two notes are given as new, which are as old as pages 7 and 19. In Dialogue 6, we have at last a glimpse of the treble and bass clefs. Here we see again an old friend with a new face. Of the ace, which occurs again, we might say the deuce is in it from its changeableness, but we leave faces and aces to confound each other in the two clefs treble and bass.

This face reminds us of a most worthy and changeable person called Face, who, when Subtle is dealing out tricky jargon to poor Abel Drugger, says to the latter, "That's a secret, Nab !" The use of flats, sharps, and naturals, is ridiculously stated, pp. 30, 31. All that is worth attending to in Dialogues 8 to 13 inclusive, is much better explained in the French work from which it is so clumsily borrowed. Among other nonsense in Dialogue 15, Miss is falsely told that a major 3d consists of five semitones, and a minor 3d of four semitones. In Dialogue 16, the French work has again afforded the only good hints. In Dialogue 17, Mamma talks like a fool about harmony and melody; and in Dialogue 18, she says, "I may tell you that the root forms also the bass of a chord." She knows nothing about the proper meaning of the word bass, P. 72, "the dominant makes the key note follow it." It does no such thing, although the composer may. P. 75, "The

shake with all the fingers down will unstiffen your joints." Good! what kind of a shake is this? Is it an ague fit recommended to unstiffen the stiff joints of an old woman of ninety? We can understand what it is to perform a shake on the Piano Forte, by the alternate impulses of two fingers of either hand, but Miss Mary herself must find out the nature of the shake recommended to her practice. The whole Hints are most stupidly written by some very vulgar person. Away with all such trashy books; they can serve no other purpose than to keep children exceedingly ignorant, and make them exceedingly conceited of their supposed information.

ART. XVII.-Dissertation I. Parts 1st and 2d prefixed to Vols. First and Fifth of the Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica, exhibiting a general view of the progress of Metaphysical, Ethical, and Political Philosophy, since the revival of Letters in Europe. By DUGALD STEWART, Esq. F. R.S.S. Lond. and Edin. &c. Edinburgh, Constable and Co. 4to.

THE first part of this Dissertation was published some years ago, and does not strictly fall under our cognizance; but the second has been very recently given to the world, and could not remain unnoticed, especially by a Scottish journal. The intimate connection of the different sections of an historical work needs not

be pointed out; but there is a closer union among the successive parts of the history of science than can ever belong to any narration of public events. The common events of history are often successive only, but not connected- -nor is the relation of cause and effect discernible throughout the sequence. The sudden appearance of some gifted individual may advance, or materially retard, the progress of society, and so change the scene, that, in passing from one chapter of history to another, all trace of the natural succession of events shall vanish; and the simple transition shall appear to transport us to some distant nation or remote age. It is different with the history of science; here every thing, if not absolutely progressive, bears a marked reference to what has gone before; and if the march of truth do not correspond with the subtlety of research, the new heresy can, at least, be in general referred to its parent blunder, while the dependence of the inquisitive spirit of man upon the existing stock of science or of prejudice, can be established with an absolute and instructive certainty.

VOL. II. NO. III.

This essential unity of Mr. Stewart's dissertation has induced us to include its different parts under one notice. The first part professes to give the history of metaphysical, moral, and political philosophy, since the revival of letters, down to the close of the 17th century. The second treats of the philosophy of the 18th century, concluding with Dr. Reid; and as the historian found his materials greatly increasing upon him, so far as related to this busy and important period, he has in this lately published section of his work altered his original plan, and, separating metaphysical from moral and political science, confined himself for the present entirely to the first of these. He has expatiated at great length on the philosophy of Locke, of Leibnitz, Berkeley, Kant, Hume, Reid, &c. and has paused, for a time, to survey with more leisure, the wide field of ethical and political science which is included in the history of the last eventful century.

The work, undertaken, as it confessedly was, in imitation, and as it may be conjectured also to have been, in rivalry of the preliminary dissertations to the French Encyclopedie, will be allowed to be one of no common interest. If adequately executed, it is the history of the operation of the greatest spirits of modern times, upon subjects the most deeply important to man. Nor can the value of these preliminary dissertations be a matter of indifference to any man who feels for the literary honour of his country. The chief of them were to be executed by the present author, and by a distinguished friend of his, now no more-a man who long-in a different department indeed-divided with Mr. Stewart, in friendly emulation, the philosophical honours of Scotland. It is not our business at present to speak of the late Professor Playfair; but of Mr. Stewart, it is not too much to say, that for a long series of years his reputation, in our Scottish metropolis at least, was among the very highest; that, as a teacher, he greatly extended the fame of our University, and commanded the homage of a various assemblage of pupils from all corners of the empire, and indeed from all quarters of the civilized world; that he had the talent to veil the proverbial harshness of his favourite pursuits in a graceful eloquence, which had for the greater part been unknown to prelections upon metaphysical science; that his published works, if not distinguished by any unwonted reach of thought, or fertility of inventive power, or raciness of peculiar diction, had about them a charm of easy flowing discussion, which drew readers to metaphysical speculations, whom the hardness of his predecessors would inevitably have repelled; and that, whether from instinctive tact, or discreet compliance with the temper of the age, he shewed himself more able than many of his predecessors, to ap