Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

LOCAL DAINTIES . Peculiar honours have long been accorded to certain localities by epicures , and those versed in culinary lore , for the savoury viands and dainty dishes they supply . In some cases such delicacies have been immortalised in a local proverb or folk-rhymes , while others have gained an equal reputation from their historic associations . Thus the Downs , near Sutton , Banstead , and Epsom produce delicate , small sheep , a luxury which

could delight even a royal connoisseur ; for Richard Sutton is reported to have said , "How the King * ( Charles II . ) loved Banstead mutton !" Despite the lapse of years the meat of the small Southdown still retains its wonted flavour , and it is as delicious as it was in the days of the Merry Monarch . The Dartmoor sheep , which produces the esteemed Okehampton mutton , is a small breed ; and a Northumberland rhyme reminds us of

" Rothbury for goat s milk , And the Cheviots for mutton . " From time immemorial Kent has been noted for its brawn , that made at Canterbury being sent to all parts of the country . It would seem , too , th-it Sussex was once famous for this dish , for an old entry tells ho v Henry VI . directed the Sheriff of Sussex to buy for a Christmas feast "ten brawns

with the heads . " Of English sausages the finest are produced at Epping , Norwich , Oxford , and Cambridge . Sayer speaks in high praise of some presented to him by Sir George Chetwynd , and which were made by a country pork butcher at Atherstone , a small town near Greendon Hal ) . Bologna and Gottingen are celebrated for their savoury sausig ^ s , and in

Theodore Hook ' s amusing Adventures of Peter Priggins , the College Scoitt will be found a recipe for the manufacture of O . xlord sausage meat , which has earned a well-merited distinction . According to an old Cornish rhyme , which is quoted in Dr . King's Art of Cookery , the following dainties were once proverbial :

" Cornwall swab pie , and Devon white pot brings , And Leicester beans and bacon fit for kings . " Melton Mowbray has long been in repute for its pork pies ; and a worldfamed luxury , known to most epicures , are the Pates de fate gras , made at Strasbourg , long esteemed so grcU a delicacy as to be sent to distant countries as presents . Speaking of such savoury dishes , it appears that

the Salters' Company were , in days gone by , noted for their game pies , the recipe for the making of which , as preserved in their books , is deserving of notice : " Take a pheasant , a hare , a capon , two partridges , two pigeons , and two rabbits ; bone them , and put them into a piste in the shape of a bird , with the livers and hearts , two mutton kidneys , forcemeats , and egg-balls , seasoning spice , ketchup , and pickled mushrooms , filled up

with gravy from the various bones . " A pie was so made by the company ' s cook in 1836 , and was found to be excellent . For years pist the city of Gloucester has had a lucrative trade in lampreys ; and from a very early period until the year 1 S 36 it was customary for the city to send , at Christmas , a "lamprey pie . vith a raised crust" to the Sovereign , entries of its regular transmission appearing in the Corporation Records . During the

Commonwealth it appears , from the subjoined minute , that the pie wa-i sent to the members for the city : " Paid to Thomas Sufiield , cook , for lamprey pies sent to our Parliament men , £ S . " Indeed , a well-stewed lamprey has long been esteemed a rare delicacy by most epicures , nnd , as such , it is said , almost excused the royal excess which carried iff Henry I . at Rouen . In 1530 the Prior of Llanthony Abbey , at Gloucester ,

sent " cheese , carp , and baked lampreys" to Henry VIII . at Windsor , for which the bearer received 20 shillings . Tne Berkshire breed of pigs is one of the best in England , and York House , Bath , has long been famous for the mild flavour of the hams dressed there . The fine quality of Yorkshire hams has often been attributed to the superiority of the salt employed ; while Wiltshire bicon his always

been in request , on account of its delicate taste . On th- ; co itiiient , there are the so-called hams of Bayonne , cured at Pan , in the Lower Pyrenees ; whilp the Spanish hog meat , and Westphalia hams , are generally considered to owe "much of their peculiar excellence to swine being fed on beech - mast , which our limited forests cannot , to any extent , allow . " A genuine hure de tanglier , or wild-boar ' s head , from the Black Forest , would , it his

o ' ten been remarked , elevate the plainest dinner into dignity . A late king of Hanover used to send one to each of his most esteemed friends in England every Christmas ; and " it was a test of political c insistency , to remain long upon his list , for all who abandoned his Majesty ' s somewhat rigid creed of orthodoxy in Church and State were periodically weeded out . " Amone specialities , regarding birds , may be mentioned the capon of Surrey

and Sussex , and the turkeys and geese of Norfolk and Suffolk . Passing through Essex , one may see whole " herds " of geese and ducks in the fields there , fattening without thought of the future . Most of these birds , writes Dr . Doran , " are foreigners . They are Irish by birth ; but they aic brought over by steam in order to be perfected by an English education , and when the due state of perfection has been attained , they are trainferred to London . " ( To be continued . )

Minor Painters In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

MINOR PAINTERS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH .

( . Ciiiitiitttcti ) . Viccntino wns certainly in England in this reign , and cirved miny partraits in cameo . Several very small bas-reliefs of his ' . ortes hy this a--tist , cast in copper , are preserved in a frame in the British Museum . Dr . Meade had a fine bust of Oueen Elizabeth on onyx , alto-relievo in profile , and very large , by the hand ul this master . Walpole had a jewel by him , containing

the head of Lord Treasurer Burleigh affixed to the bick of nn antique intaglio of Carncalln , and pendent to it . 1 smaller head of tlie Oueen , both in cameo , on onyx . The Duke of Devonshire has several of his works ; two profih-s , in cameo , of Oueen Elizabeth ; another gem w ' nh the head of Edward V L , cameo on one side and intaglio on the other ; nnd two piiccs of crystal , with intaglio of several figures lrom the antique . To these two last

is the sculptor ' s name . The Duchess of Leeds has a singular curiosity by this hand—it is a pebble in the shape of an oblong button , the upper side brown and very convex , the under red and white and somewhat concave . On the top is a profile of Oueen Elizibctli , encircled with foliage ; at the bottom a knight completely " irmed in the act of tilting ; on the background the front of a castle with columns , on the bases of which are the syllables

Minor Painters In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

Es sex , intimating the earl to be her Majesty s knight . In the Museum Trevisanum is a medallion of him in marble , another smaller in copper , on the back of it Valerio Belle Vicentinae , and a third of his son , dated 1572 . Among the Harleian MSS . is a list of jewels belonging * to Queen Elizabeth . " Item , a flower of gold , garnished with sparkes of diamonds , rubyes , and ophals , with an sgate of her Majestie ' s visnomy , and a perle pendante , with

devises painted on it , given by eight maskers , in the Christmas week , anno regni , 24 . " The agate was , perhaps , the work of Vicentino . It is certain , though the Queen's economy or want of taste , restrained her from affording -treat encouragement to genius , that the riches and fburishing situation of the country offered sufficient invitations to the arts . Archbishop Parker retained in his service at Lambeth a printer , a painter , and more than one

engraver . Of the latter the principal were Berg or Hoyen Berg , and Lyne , who was probably his painter , too . To the archbishop's Life , printed at Lambeth , is a cut of his grace , inscribed R . Berg ; f : ' Above 20 books were published by the archbishop , from his own printing house , but 2 only have this head . At Rucholt , in the parish of Lowlayton , in Essex ( the mansion of the Hicks ) , was a large genealogy of the Kings of England from the Conquest to Queen Elizabeth , with all the line of France and England ,

under these two titles—Linea Valesiorum , et Linea Annlice ; at bottom the workman ' s name Remigius Hogonbsrgius , serous D . Matt , archiep . Cant , sculpsit 1574 . There was another genealogic chart , entitled Regnum Britannia :, tandem plenum in Heptarchiam , reductum a Saxonibus , expulsis Brtannis , Sec , Anno 686 , executed in wood , very plain and well ; the name Richardus Lyne , serous D . Matth : archiep Cant ., sculpsit 1574 . ( To be continued . )

Continental Gallery, 157, New Bond-Street, W.

CONTINENTAL GALLERY , 157 , NEW BOND-STREET , W .

There is a bright little collection of pictures by Hector Caffieri , R . L No . 1 , On the Pier . This is the property of H . R . H . the Princess of Wales , and is exhibited by her gracious permission . If is certainly good , but there are others which we much prefer , notably Nos . 6 , Young Neptune and Grar . ny ; S , Toilers of the Sea—these are full of life and power ; 11 , Fireflies—fancitul ; 12 , A Sea Maiden ; if ) , Fishing Craft ( The Herring Season ) , Boulogne ; 19 , Two Warm for Work . We consider these

excellent . Nos . 5 , The Close of Day ; 21 , Blackberry ing ; 23 , The Busy Quay , Boulogne ; 25 , The Sunny Shrimping Season ; 30 , Out of Deep vVater . These posstss great merit , and are worthy of notice . Mr . Caffieri is a pleasing painter , he evidently is fond of colour ; he draws his inspiration from living subjects , wiich he portrays very successfully . He has made Boulogne his home , and delights in reproducing the inhabitants of lhat seaport .

Thomas Richardson And Co., 43. Piccadilly, W.

THOMAS RICHARDSON AND CO ., 43 . PICCADILLY , W .

Here we have some fine examples of famed modern ar'ists , both at home and abroad . It is a choice collection . We select a few which especially attracted our notice . Nos . 7 , Divided Attention , by J . Weilandt ; 12 , Morning—Glen Eck , Argyllshire , by Wm . Watson—a remarkably fine work ; 14 , Mother ' s Darling , by Arthur Drummond ; 16 , The Valley of the Rother , by E . M . Wimperis , F . P . R . I . —very beautiful ; 21 . The Bag ,

by Stephen Lewin ; 30 , Rio St . Barnabe , Venice ; Sy , A'nalfi . These are the work of the wtll-known artist , F . R . Unterberger ; they are bright and sunny , with a clear atmosphere . 32 , The Pool of London , by W . L . Wylie , A . R . A . —a busy scene ; 34 , An Awkward Incident , by H . G . Glindoni , R . W . S . ; 37 , Revolutionists , by John A . Lomax—this is

apparently a noisy meeting of a Republican club—it is full of vigour ; 41 , Cliffs at Gurnards Head , Cornwall ; 73 , Dark Cliffs , Grey Sky—these two pictures are by J . A . C . Millar—fine sea pieces ; 63 , Voices of Spring , by Professor Menzler ; OS , La Fileuse , by Joseph Israels ; 71 , Dans les Marais , by J . B . Corot—in his well-known style .

Her Majesty's Theatre.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE .

Thc author , Mr . Stephen Phillips , has written a powerful play . It deals with the sterner of the human passions ; jealousy is the pivot on which the action moves . The love for M irUmne wnich Herod exhibits is fierce and dangerous ; it carries him beyond the bonds of reason ; the murder of Manamne ' s brother , which takes place in tho first act , and which is the cause of the tragic ca ' . astrophe , may be attributed to the great affection

which Mariamne entertained for her young bro . her , and of which Herod was so jealous ilint it urged him to the crime which wrecked his domestic happiness . Tne character is well conceived by Mr . Tree ; he gives the varied phases of HeioJ ' s character , and especially the absorbing one , in a masterly manner . The catalepsy with which he is seized in the last act , and which concludes the play , is , no doubt , true to nature , but it is horrible

to see . The acting of Miss Maud J effries as Miriimne is , on the whole , good ; at limes she exhibits great force and energy , but her elocution is defective ; her voice is pitched in too loud a key , and yet it is indistinct and dillicult to follow . Mr . C . W . Somerset , as Gidias , and Mr , F . H . Macklin , as Sohemus , brought out their characters into strong prominence . Cypros , the mother of Herod , found an able exponent in Miss liatctnan

( Mrs . Crowe ) , and Miss Eleanor Calhoun had a magnificent appearance as Salome , sister of Herod , and , thankless as her part was , sne infused a great deal of intelligent vigor , which was of material assistance in the action of the play . We need not dwell upon the plot—the story is told in the excellent booklet which is given to visitors . It dwells upon Herod ' s characterthe important putt he occupies iu history—the sources ofthe play . We

will only add fmther , that the single scene which is represented , is a beautiful picture , some of the effects ot light are cleverly managed . I'll' : osmmes and the accessories are most artistic , and the general mounting of tne piece is in the usual liberal manner which characterises Mr . Tree ' s productions on the stage . The music , by Mr . T . Coleridge Taylor , is singularly appropriate and ilfective .

General Notes.

GENERAL NOTES .

The 150 th performance of " The Private Secretary , " at the Great Quecnstrcet Theatre is reac '^ d , to be followed , at an early date in December , by a revival of the perennial " Charley ' s Aunt . " * » * * Mr . Wm . Mollison will play Pistol in his revival of Henry V ., " at the Lyceum . Miss Lily Hanbury will also be seen in the play , probably as the Princess Katherine . Mr . Riymond Rose is com posing the incidental music .