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HANDEL.

IN presenting the very beautiful portrait, in our present number, of the world's greatest musician, our readers will be gratified, we doubt not, with a brief biographical sketch of this eminent man.

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follow the bent of his inclinations. He made the boy a present, and told him if he was attentive to his studies he should not want encouragement.

On his return to Halle, Handel was il-placed by his father under Zachau, organist of the cathedral church of that city; a man of considerable abilities, and proud of his pupil. By the time he was nine years old, our young musician was not only able to supply his master's place at the organ, but began to study composition. At this early period of his life, he wrote a service or spiritual cantata every week, for voices and instruments, and continued this labor for three years successively.

George Frederick Handel, the most lustrious of musical composers, was born at Halle, in Upper Saxony, Feb. 24, 1684. His father was an eminent physician of that city. From his very childhood, Handel discovered a passion for music which could not be subdued by the commands of his father, who intended him for the profession of the law. Notwithstanding that he was forbidden to touch a musical instrument, the boy found means to get a little clavichord conveyed secretly into one of the attics of the house. To this room he constantly repaired when the family had retired to rest, and by his assiduous labors at the midnight hour, made considerable progress in his favorite pursuit.

It happened, when Handel was about seven years old, that his father had occasion to pay a visit to a son by a former wife, who was then serving as an attendant to the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfells. Handel implored that he might be permitted to accompany him, and on being refused, he followed the carriage some way on the road till he overtook it. His father at first chid him for his disobedience; but yielding to his solicitations, at last took him into the carriage. During his stay at the ducal residence, he continued to show the same irresistible inclination for music. He could not be kept away from harpsichords, and he contrived to gain admission into the organ gallery at church, and to play when service was over. Upon one of these occasions the Duke, who happened to leave the chapel later than usual, was attracted by the uncommon style in which the instrument was touched. Inquiring who played, he heard to his as tonishment that it was a boy of seven years of age. The Duke immediately desired to see young Handel, and was so much pleased with his precocious genius, that he prevailed on his father to allow him to

Handel appears to have studied in his native city till he was about the age of fourteen. He then, as Zachau himself acknowledged, far excelled his master, and it was recommended to his father to send him to Berlin, whither he accordingly went in 1698. The opera at Berlin was then in a very flourishing state, under the direction of Buononcini and Attilio. Handel distinguished himself in this city as an astonishing musician for his years, and gave earnest of such great talents that the Elector of Brandenburg offered to take him into his service, and send him to Italy to complete his studies. But his father declining this honor, from a spirit of independence, Handel returned to Halle. Not long after this his father died, and Handel not being able to go to Italy, on account of the expense, removed to Hamburg, in order by his musical talents to procure a subsistence.

Here, says Mattheson, an able musician and voluminous writer on music, “almost his first acquaintance was myself, in the summer of 1703, when I conducted him to my father's house, where he was treated with all possible kindness and hospitality, and I afterwards attended him not only to organs, choirs, and operas, but recommended him to several scholars. His superior abilities were soon discovered, and he showed himself to be a great master, to the astonishment of every one." Mattheson and Handel became intimate friends,

and the former allows that the style of Handel became greatly improved by his constant attendance at the opera; and he was esteemed a more powerful player on the organ than the famous Kuhnau of Leipzig, who was at that time regarded as a prodigy.

Handel, having now acquired by his operas at Hamburg a sum sufficient to enable him to visit Italy, he set out for that seat of the muses. He stayed some time at Florence, where he composed his opera Rodrigo. From that city he went to Venice, where, in 1709, he produced his Agrippina, which was received with acclamation, and had a run of thirty nights. He next visited Rome, where he had an opportunity of hearing compositions and performances of the first class. At Cardinal Ottoboni's, by whom Handel was greatly caressed, he had frequently the advantage of hearing the celebrated Corelli perform his own works. Handel returned to Germany about the beginning of the year 1710, and was made Kapell meister to the Elector of Hanover, afterward George I. He did not long remain in the service of the Elector, but bent his course to London, where a passion for dramatic music had already manifested itself, and to which place he had received invitations from several of the nobility he had seen in Italy and Hanover. His reception in England was flattering to himself and honorable to the nation. To the wit, poetry, literature, and science which marked that period of English history Handel added all the blandishments of a nervous and learned music, which he first brought hither, planted, and lived to see grow to a flourishing state. The first opera he wrote in England was Rinaldo, taken from Tasso's Jerusalem, which at once established his reputation. When the Peace of Utrecht was brought to conclusion, Handel was employed to compose the hymn of gratitude and triumph on the occasion. The grand Te Deum and Jubilate he produced was composed with such force, regularity, and instrumental effect, as to excite universal delight.

On the arrival of George I., Handel was honored with the most flattering marks of royal favor from the King and Queen, who added largely to the pensions previously conferred on him by Queen Anne. We now come to the busiest and most glorious period of Handel's life. His great natural powers had been highly im

proved by cultivation. His genius for composition was unbounded. He stood at the head of his profession, esteemed alike by the sovereign, the nobility, and the public of a great and powerful nation. Such were Handel's circumstances when the royal academy for the establishment of an Italian opera in England was formed. Handel was appointed director and composer, engaged singers, and although he had to contend with several rivals, at length, by the superior grandeur and invention of his operatic music, distanced them all. During the existence of the Academy, Handel composed about thirty operas, the most of which met with great

success.

Subsequently, this great musician composed his sacred dramas. The oratorio of Esther was the first. In 1733, the oratorio of Deborah was given to the public. In 1740, the oratorio of Saul was performed at the theater in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and from this period Handel almost entirely devoted his labors to the service of the Church. Handel visited Ireland, where he remained nine months. In allusion to this Pope is supposed to have composed the following lines:

«Strong in new arms, lo! giant Handel stands, Like bold Briereus, with his hundred hands; To stir, to rouse, to shake the soul he comes, And Jove's own thunders follow Mars's drums, Arrest him, empress, or you sleep no more: She heard, and drove him to th' Hibernian shore."

After Handel returned to London, he produced the oratorios of Samson and the Messiah, which latter was received with universal applause. This truly sublime oratorio was performed annually, at the benevolent instigation of Handel, and under his direction, for the benefit of the Foundling Hospital, and produced, in a succession of years, £10,300.

Toward the close of his life, Handel was afflicted with blindness, which did not affect his faculties, as he continued to play to the last with his wonted vigor. It was affecting to see him, at the age of seventy, led to the organ. The last oratorio he attended and superintended was upon the 6th of April, and he expired on Good Friday the 13th, the very day he had wished that event would happen, in hopes, as he said, of meeting his good God, his sweet Lord and Saviour, on the day of

his resurrection, meaning the Easter Sun- | yond any thing you can conceive." He day following. excelled in almost every style of composition. The best of his Italian operas are superior in variety and ingenuity to those of all preceding and cotemporary composers throughout Europe.

Arbuthnot, speaking of the musical power of Handel to Pope, who asked his opinion, said: "Conceive the highest you can of his abilities, and they are much be

volume, to find him begin at what I had

CHINESE CUSTOMS THE ANTIPODES OF ENGLISH.-The very striking contrarieties | all my life previously considered the end

in comparison with our own, are amusingly given in the following extract from a work published at Macao: "On inquiring of the boatman in which direction Macaolay, I was answered in the west-north, the wind, as I was informed, being eastsouth. We do not say so in Europe, thought I; but imagine my surprise when, in explaining the utility of the compass, the boatmen added that it pointed to the south! Wishing to change the subject, I remarked that I concluded he was about to proceed to some high festival or merry-making, as his dress was completely white.

He told me, with a look of much dejection, that his only brother had died the week before, and that he was in the deepest mourning for him. On landing, the first object that attracted my notice was a military mandarin, who wore an embroidered petticoat, with a string of beads round his neck, and who, besides, carried a fan; it was with some dismay I observed him mount on the right side of his horse. On my way to the house my attention was drawn to several old Chinese standing on stilts, some of whom had gray beards, and nearly all of them huge goggling spectacles; they were delightedly employed in flying paper kites, while a group of boys were gravely looking on, and regarding the innocent occupation of their seniors with the most serious and gratified attention. Desirous to see the literature of so curious a people, I looked in at a bookstore. The proprietor told me that the language had no alphabet, and I was somewhat astonished, on his opening a Chinese

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of the book. He read the date of the publication: The fifth year, tenth month, twenty-third day.' 'We arrange our dates differently,' I observed; and begged that he would speak of their ceremonials. He commenced by saying, 'When you receive a distinguished guest, do not fail to place him on your left hand, for that is the seat of honor; and be cautious not to uncover the head, as it would be an unbecoming act of familiarity. Hardly prepared for this blow to my established notions, I requested he would discourse of their philosophy. He reopened the volume, and read with becoming gravity, The most learned men are decidedly of opinion that the seat of human understanding is the stomach! On arriving at my quarters, I thought that a cup of Young Hyson' would prove refreshing, feeling certain that in this, at least, I should meet with nothing to surprise me; imagine my astonishment when I observed that the favorite leaf the Chinaman was about to infuse looked quite different to any I had ever seen, it being in color a dull olive, having none of the usual bloom on the surface. I remarked on its appearance, when my attendant quitly said that they never use painted tea in China; but, as the foreigners pay a better price for it when the leaves are made of one uniform color, they of course have no objection to cover them with powders. On drinking this infusion made from the pure leaf, I at once resolved to become a convert to this fashion, leaving the other Chinese customs for future consideration.”—London Critic.

A NEW CALCULATING MACHINE. We read in the Moniteur: "M. Thomas, of Colmar, has lately made the finishing improvements in the calculating machine, called the arithmometer, at which he has been working for upwards of 30 years. Pascal and Leibnitz, in the 17th century, and Diderot at a later period, endeavored to construct a machine which might serve as a substitute for human intelligence in the combination of figures, but failed. M. Thomas's arithmometer may be used without the least trouble or possibility of error, not only for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but also for much more complex operations, such as the extraction of the square root, involution, the resolution of triangles, &c. A multiplication of eight figures by eight others is made in eighteen seconds; a division of sixteen figures by eight figures in 24 seconds; and in one minute and a quarter one can extract the square root of 16 figures, and also prove the accuracy of the calculation. The arithmometer adapts itself to every sort of combination. As an instance of the wonderful extent of its powers, we may state that it can furnish in a few seconds products amounting to 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999! A marvellous number, comparable to the infinite multitude of stars which stud the firmament, or the particles of dust which float in the atmosphere. The working of this instrument is, however, most simple. To raise or lower a nut screw, to turn a winch a few times, and, by means of a button, to slide off a metal plate from left to right, or from right to left, is the whole secret. Instead of simply reproducing the operations of man's intelligence, the arithmometer relieves that intelligence from the necessity of making the operations. Instead of repeating responses dictated to it, this instrument instantaneously dictates the proper answer to the man who asks it a question.

"It is not a matter producing material effects, but matter which thinks, reflects, reasons, calculates and executes all the most difficult and complicated arithmetical operations, with a rapidity and infallibility which defies all the calculators in the world. The arithmometer is moreover a simple instrument, of very little volume and easily portable. It is already used in many great financial establishments, where considerable economy is

realized by its employment. It will soon be considered as indispensable, and be as generally used as a clock, which was formerly only to be seen in palaces, and is now in every cottage. Generally speaking, the practical application of any great mechanical improvement involves an injury to certain interests, but that is not the case here. The arithmometer will not cause to the persons employed in banks, counting-houses, and public offices any such prejudices as the knitters suffered from the invention of the stocking frame, the spinners from the spinning jennies, or copyists from the invention of printing. The person who makes use of this machine even daily does not therefore lose his aptitude for calculation in the ordinary way. On the contrary, although a child may be easily taught to perform the most complicated calculations by the use of the instrument, the more expert in figures the operator is the more advantage he will derive from the aid of this machine. The arithmometer is not only a palpable evidence of a great difficulty overcome; it is an element of wealth, a new means of multiplying time, like the locomotive engine and the electric telegraph. The discovery is an event the full importance of which it is impossible as yet to measure."

GEOGRAPHICAL ETHNOLOGY.-When we look over the past, and consider that for the space of nearly 6000 years man has had dominion over the face of the globe, how little has been known of the earth, his destined habitation; and even of many of the known parts there existed but very imperfect acquaintance. Within what late periods have the continents of America and Australia been added to the sphere of man's knowledge. And even now that the whole surface of the world is laid bare before him, how many portions yet remained unrevealed; and others that once were centres of existence have, as it were, to be brought to light once more. The labors of a Layard have exhumed the buried cities of the valley of the Euphrates; and the learning and patient perseverance of a Rawlinson have opened the pages of past languages of the human race, and a Babylon and a Nineveh live again, as when teeming with a population, and ruled over by the dynasties of Babylonia and Assyria; and thus, while the

past life of races has been retraced, a light | in question was to the effect, that if a has been thrown upon those early lan- swallow, intent on suicide, should dash guages, cognate and kin, and emanating from some original type, but which have since been ramified into the many varied languages and dialects that now sever man from man, as when the fiat first went forth that there should be no longer one language on earth.

But, coming down at once to our own immediate times, scarcely had the great question of the existence of a Northwestern Passage been solved under the auspices of Captain Maclure, than the explorations of Dr. Kane and his gallant party revealed the fact that there was a limit to the icebound region, and an open sea and flowing water met the astonished gaze, and revealed a new feature in geographical science. Passing from hence to the torrid zone of the equator, the world has been startled with the discoveries of Dr. Livingston in Central Africa. This continent, which has so long excited the curiosity of travellers and tempted some daring spirits into its interior, has at length been traversed from sea to sea, and lands, hitherto known only as desert and inhospitable, have been found with traces of civilization as singular as unexpected; and a vast region, abounding in mineral and vegetable wealth, and inhabited by a varied population, has been suddenly brought into the human family, and must ere long exert probably an influence for good, as knowledge becomes disseminated throughout its vast interior, even over the more civilized parts of the habitable globe.

full butt at the front of a railway train in rapid motion, the shock experienced by the train would be many thousand times greater than that which our globe would suffer by coming in contact with the largest and most ponderous comet ever seen. This assertion caused so much surprise, that communications fell thick and fast upon the Paris journals, in the form of replies and discussions, while not a few letters were addressed to M. Babinet himself. That gentleman, so far from yielding his position, has repeated and strengthened his assertions by an article in the Journal des Debats. He had called comets mere "visible nothings," " and as that phrase would not go down with the French people, he now repeats the testimony of Herschel, Olbers, and others, who have recorded the appearance of even small stars through the most dense part of the comet's substance. He further states, that the conception we ought to form of a comet is that of a quantity of dust, consisting of widely-scattered and exceedingly minute particles. "With a little less matter," he says, "the comet would cease to exist ;" and then goes on to justify the earnestness with which he writes on the subject, by assuring us that even astronomers sometimes entertain grave apprehensions as to the effect of the shock of a comet upon the earth.

In concluding the article to which we have above referred, M. Babinet adds an interesting piece of intelligence. The ob servations on which modern calculations Two expeditions have been also sent to are founded respecting the great comet of explore the country from whence the Nile 1556 (sometimes called the comet of is supposed to draw its source-one Charles V., because the emperor abdicatthrough Egypt, and another from the easted his throne from terror at its appearcoast of Africa. These can scarcely return without accomplishing some valuable geographical discoveries. The northern part of Australia has also been made thh object of research, and we wait for the result.

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ance) were made by Fabricius, and relying on the accuracy of his observations, the return of that comet was fixed approximately for the year 1858. But a set of observations made by the astronomer Haller, which extended over a great number of days, M. Babinet informs us, have just been found. These "new" (old?) "observations" are now in the hands of Mr. Hind and other astronomers, and it is not improbable that the comet, whose appearance is expected at any time between 1856 and 1860, may have its return predicted with somewhat more accuracy..

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