"Montfdy Theatrical Report. 



203 



gagement in Jones an actor perhaps 

 among the liveliest and the most judicious 

 that the modern stage has seen. Personal 

 respectability, in this instance, gives its 

 aid to public talent ; and every man who 

 feels for the character of the theatres will 

 be gratified by the continuance of this 

 estimable man and most animated per- 

 former on the London stage. Mr. Price is 

 also, we understand, labouring to secure 

 the superiority in opera. With Paton and 

 Braham, he has two first-rate public fa- 

 vourites. But we should be glad to hear 

 of his engaging Sinclair also, who has 

 been too long absent, and whose powers 

 are still in their full vigour. With these 

 three, all competition must give way to 

 Drury Lane. 



Covent Garden is said to have engaged 

 Kean, and at the enormous rate of fifty 

 pounds a night. We feel too strong an 

 interest in the prosperity of the drama, 

 not to hope that the report is exaggerated. 



Enormous salaries have been the acknow- 

 ledged evil of these establishments ; and 

 what can be expected from the popularity 

 of any actor in plays which the public 

 have seen, without intermission, for the 

 last dozen years. A new tragedy, written 

 with the ability that would enable it to 

 keep possession of the stage ; or, still more, 

 a new comedy not plundered from the 

 Continent, but written in the genuine style 

 of English good-breeding and English 

 good-humour would be of more value to 

 even the pecuniary interests of the theatre 

 than any individual, be his merits what 

 they may. Kean will, it is true, always be 

 popular and powerful, while he takes the 

 common trouble to be so. Young is a fine 

 performer and Charles Kemble still with- 

 out a rival in his peculiar line of parts. 

 But novelty and originality are the secrets 

 of stage-success ; and without these, the 

 most established favouritism must end in 

 repulsion. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



DOMESTIC. 

 ROYAL SOCIETY. 



May 3. A paper was read, entitled, 

 "' Rules and Principles for determining the 

 dispersive ratio of Glass, and for computing 

 the radii of curvature for Achromatic Object 

 Glasses," submitted to the test of experiment, 

 by Peter Barlow, Esq. May 10. Some ob- 

 servations were communicated, on the effects 

 of dividing the nerves of the lungs, and sub- 

 jecting the latter to the influence of voltaic 

 electricity, by Dr. Wilson Philip. A paper 

 was also read, " on the change in the plu- 

 mage of some hen pheasants,'' by W. Yar- 

 rell, Esq. From which it appears to be a 

 general law that, where the sexes of animals 

 are indicated by external characters, these 

 undergo a change, and assume a neutral ap- 

 pearance, whenever original malformation, 

 subsequent disease, or artificial obliteration, 

 has deprived the sexual organs of their true 

 influence. 



ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. 



May 11. A paper was read, on tbe ap- 

 proximate places and descriptions of 29,5 

 new double and triple stars, discovered in the 

 course of a series of observations, with a 

 twenty- feet reflecting telescope ; together 

 with some observations of double stars, pre- 

 viously known, by the president, J. F. W. 

 Herschel, Esq. Some imperfect observations 

 made at the observatory of Bombay, on 

 moon-culminating stars, \vere communicated 

 from Mr. Curwin. Then followed a paper, 

 on the determination of azimuths, by obser- 

 vations of the pole star, by professor Littrow, 

 director of the imperial observatory at 

 Vienna. A communication was then read 

 from G. Dollond, Esq., in which he gave an 



account of a singular appearance observed 

 during the solar eclipse, on the 29th of No- 

 vember last. The morning was cloudy, but 

 soon after the commencement of the eclipse 

 there was a partial opening in the clouds, 

 through which Mr. D. saw a considerable 

 part of the limb of the moon, which had not 

 yet .entered on the disc of the sun. Con- 

 tinuing his observations, after a short time 

 as the clouds passed on, he again saw both 

 the sun and a portion of tbe moon's border, 

 which was off the nun's disc. The sky then 

 became cloudless, and he could no longer 

 discern any part of the moon's limb, except 

 that which eclipsed the sun. This unexpected 

 occurrence, Mr. D. thinks, may be turned to 

 advantage, as it seems to show that the re- 

 duction of the sun's light, by the intervention 

 of an opaque substance, may enable an oTj- 

 server to see the moon when she is very near 

 the sun. A letter was then read from Mr. 

 Reeves of Canton, describing a comet which 

 had been seen at sea, in October J&25, be- 

 tween y Eridani, and n Caeti, and another 

 from M. Gambart to the president, contain- 

 ing new elements of the comet which tra- 

 versed the sun's disc, in November 1826. 



FOREIGN. 

 INSTITUTE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Paris. April 23 .A letter was read from 

 M. Darnaud, who mentioned that, from timo 

 immemorial, in part of Greece, deep incisi- 

 ons under the tongue had been employed, 

 and generally regarded as efficacious against 

 hydrophobia- referred to M. M. Portal and 

 Majendie. A communication was made by 

 M. Arago, from professor Delpech, regarding 

 ammoniacal and cyanogen gases, and sul- 



2D2 



