Science, Art, And The Drama.

Science , Art , and the Drama .

LOCAL DAINTIES . ( Continued . ) Dunstable larks are a dainty much coveted by epicures , and London is annually supplied from the country about Dunstable alone with not fewer than 4000 dozen . But the enthusiasm with which gourmets speak of these birds is far exceeded by the Germans , who travel many hundred miles to Leipzig merely to eat a dinner of larks . Such is the slaughter of larks at

the . Leipzig fair that as many as half a million are annually eaten , principally by the booksellers frequenting the city . Whittlesey Mere , in Huntingdonshire , now drained , once produced the finest ruffs and reeves , a delicacy of which Prince Talleyrand was extremely fond , his regular allowance during the season being tv o a day . An amusing anecdote is told of a young curate , who had come up to be examined for priests '

orders , and was asked to dinner at Bishopsthorpe by Archbishop Markham . Out of modesty he confined himself exclusively to the dish before him , till one of the resident dignitaries observed him . But it was too late ; the ruffs and reeves had vanished to a bird . Another story is told of a Londoner paying a visit to a country friend , who was told by his host previous to dinner that there would be a dish of small birds on the table ;

that two or three were admirable for inducing an appetite fox the viands to follow . The host directed his friend ' s attention to the dainty , which his visitor highly appreciated , but observed , after eating about a dozen of the little birds , that he had no appetite , in fact he was not so hungry now as when he first took his seat at his friend's table . A similar tale has been told of another delicate morsel — the

wheatear , popularly designated "the English Ortolan . " A Scotch officer was dining with a certain Lord George Lennox , then Commandant at Portsmouth , and was placed near a dish of wheatears , which was rapidly disappearing under his repeated attentions to it . Lady Louisa Lennox tried to divert his notice to another dish , but he said : " Na , na , my Ieddy , " was the reply , " these wee birdies will do verra well . " Norfolk and Suffolk

have also been long renowned for partridges , and in years past a Leicestershire partridge was never dressed at Belvoir Castle . Some gastronomic enthusiasts have praised the pochard , or dun-bird , as a special dainty . It is a species of wild fowl , caught in the decoys of Essex and other counties ; the flesh is said to melt in the mouth , like that of the celebrated canvasback duck of America . Then there is the Dorking fowl ; and the Scotch

grouse has never been equalled in the opinion of connoisseurs . Burns , too , it may be remembered , wrote a poem in praise of Scotch " Haggis ; " and Bishop , referring to jack-pudding , humorously speaks of the dainties of different countries . A favourite dish in Shropshire is " bubble and squeak , " of which report goes George IV . was fond . It is generally said that when Prince of Wales he happened to partake of it at a bachelor ' s table in that

county , and was so pleased with it that the homely dish was frequently afterwards seen at the Prince ' s table at Carlton House . The county of Cheshire has for ages past been famous for the excellence of its cheese ; and as far back as the time of Henry II . it is recorded how Countess Constance of Chester kept a herd of kine , and made good cheeses , three of which she

presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury . The pride of Cheshire in the time-honoured superiority of its cheese may be gathered from a provincial song , published with the music about the year 1746 , during the Spanish war in the reign of George II . Next to Cheshire , rank Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , and Somerset , for their cheese ; and in the last county there is a proverbial rhyme current , which runs thus :

" If you would have a good cheese , and hav'n old , You must turn 'n seven times before he is cold . " According to the popular error , Stilton cheese was originally made in the parish of Stilton , Lincolnshire ; in point of fact , it was first produced in Leicestershire , where it continues to be made in the greatest quantity , but derived its name from an inn on the Great North Road , in the parish of

Stilton , where it was first brought into notice . The finest cream-cheese is that of Cottenham and Southam , in Cambridgeshire ; and formerly Banbury , Oxon , was noted for its milk cheese , about an inch in thickness . Thus in The Merry Wives of Windsor ( Act 1 , Scene 1 ) , Bardolph calls Slender a " Banbury Cheese , " and in Jack Drunn ' s Entertainment , we read " You arc like a Banbury Cheese , nothing but paring . " The fame of Banbury

cakes is upheld by all juveniles . Falstaff was more complimentary to Tewkesbury than to Prince Hal , when he said the Prince ' s brain was thicker than Tewkesbury mustard . The cheese known by the name of " Trent Bank " is a good substitute for Parmesan , which is manufactured between Cremona and Lodi , the highest part of the Milanese . The butter of Epping and Cambridge has long been held in the highest repute ; and it

may be mentioned at the famed University town , butter , from the earliest time up to the present , has been sold by " the yard , " a roll of butter about the thickness ot an ordinary round ruler , a pound in weight . As far back as the time of Elizabeth , Devonshire has been noted for its " clouted " ( clotted ) cream . The Hampshire honey , again , is deservedly in demand , and a Sussex rhyme says :

" Amberley—God knows , All among the rooks and crows Where the good potatoe grows . " The famous plums of Pershore , in Worcestershire , are an important source of income to the parishioners , and it is said you can guess what kind of plum crop there is , in any given year , by the way a Pershore man answers the question where he comes from . " Why , from Pershore , to be sure , " lets you see that the plum crop is good . But if he replies , " From Pershore , God help us ! " you may infer that it is a bad year for plums . ( To be continued . )

Minor Artists In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

MINOR ARTISTS IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH .

( Continued . ) We have previously mentioned that those who attended and were wellknown at Court were expected , if they wished to continue in her favour , to make expensive New Year's gifts to Queen Elizabeth . In one of the lists find

we that Bartholomew Campaine presents one piece of cloth of silver , stained ( painted ) with the half-figure of Henry VIII . This might be the same person with one Campion , an engraver or chaser of plate , whose Uf * l P reserved - ° - inventory of the goods , chattels , jewels , & c , of the Earl of Sussex , taken at his death in 1583 . There appeared the names

Minor Artists In The Reign Of Elizabeth.

of the following artists , amongst the gilt and silver plate , one great pair of

gilt vases , richly wrought , by Denck ; others made by Campion ; pots engraved and made by Martin , many other vessels by Derick , and others by Metcalfe . The contract for the tomb of the great peer , Thomas Radcliffe Earl of Sussex , Lord Chamberlain to the Queen , and signal antagonist of Leicester , is still extant . He bequeathed £ 1500 to be expended on it" ; and his executors , Sir Christopher Wray , Lord Chief

Justice of her Majesty's Bench ; Sir Gilbert Gerard , Master of the Rolls j Sir Thomas Mildmay , and others , agreed with Richard Stevens for the making and setting it up in Boreham Church , in Suffolk , where it still remains . The whole charge paid to Stevens for his part of the work was £ 292 12 s . 8 d . In a list of debts to be paid after the earl ' s death by his executors , one was to Horatio Palavicini ; probably for a set of hangings

mentioned in the inventory ; and £ 6 165 . od . to Randolph , the painter . Sir Horatio Palavicini was collector of the Pope's taxes in England in the reign of Queen Mary on whose death , and the change of religion that ensued , he took the liberty of keeping the money himself , and settling in England . He built a house in the Italian style , with a loggia to the second story , with his arms over the portal , at Little Shelford , which was pulled down in 1750 . He

was also possessor of the estate and house at Baberham , near Cambridge , where , in the hall , on a costly chimney-piece , adorned with the history of Mutius Scoevola , his arms still remain . His family were buried at Baberham , as appears by several entries in the parish register , where , also , is recorded the marriage of his widow , exactly a year and a day after Sir Horatio's death ( who died 6 th July , 1600 ) thus " Mr . Oliver Cromwell

and the Lady Anne Palavicini were married 7 th July , 1601 . " In a MS . ot Sir John Crew , of Ushington , a great antiquary and herald , was this epitaph , corroborative of the tradition above mentioned- — " Here lies Horatio Palavazene , Who robbed the pope to lend the queene :

He was a theif : a theif ! thou lyest ; For whi ? he robbed but Antichrist . Him Death with besom swept from Babram , Into the bosome of ould Abraham ; But then came Hercules with his club , And struck him down to Belzebub . " An account of the family of Palavicini , and their connection with that of Cromwell , is given in Noble ' s Mem . of the Cromviells . { To be continued . )

The Grafton Galleries.

THE GRAFTON GALLERIES .

The second exhibition of the works of the famed artist , George Romney , is now held at the above Galleries . Many of the portraits have been lent by their respective owners ; they are admirable specimens of his talent . Those most worthy of notice are—Nos . 15 , Jane Thornton ( Lady Balgonie ) j 19 , Shakespeare , nursed by Tragedy and Comedy ; 36 , Matilda , daughter

of John and Matilda Lockwood ; 47 , the Rev . Saml . Wesley ; 53 , Mrs . Crouch ( actress ) . Perhaps the most important are those which represent the beautiful Emma , Lady Hamilton—3 , as Cassandra ; 23 , Emma reading a Gazette recording one of Nelson ' s victories ; 67 , Emma as a Bacchante ; 66 , Emma as a Bacchante leading a goat ; 70 , Lady Hamilton as " Contemplation . " It is an interesting collection .

Society Of Portrait Painters.

SOCIETY OF PORTRAIT PAINTERS .

NEW GALLERY , REGENT STREET . There is a fine collection of modern portraits , comprising important works by G . F . Watts , R . A ., Herman G . Herkomer , Hon . John"Collier , j H . Loriner , T . B . Kennington , Ellis Roberts , Harold Speed , Louise Jopling ,

and many other well-known artists . In the Hall there is an exhibition of miniatures by Hal Hurst , Dudley Hardy , Tom Browne , Cecil W . Quinnell , Alyn Williams , Alice Latchford , Miss E . T . Clarke , Miss Clara Pauncefote , Mrs . Lizzie Vivian , Miss E . N . Jones , & c , which possess considerable merit .

Garrick Theatre.

GARRICK THEATRE .

The author of the charming plays of " The Professor ' s Love Story " and " The Little Minister " has in his new piece , at the above theatre , entitled " The Wedding Guest , " treated of the errant husband being in trouble , between his old mistress and his new wife , and it may easily be imagined the contention of feeling which occurs between the two women . We need not here give the details of Mr . J . M . Barrie ' s powerful play . The grace

and beauty of the first act is saddened by the unfolding of the mournful story in those which succeed . It is a pitiful tale that is told . There is a strong contrast between the confiding young wife , admirably acted by Miss Dorothea Baird , and the wronged mistress , undertaken by Miss Violet Vanbrugh , who has a trying character to exhibit . This lady ' s acting is far better in the passages of defiant indignation and resentment than in those of touching tenderness ,

The conclusion of the play is unsatisfactory ; there is an element of doubt as to the chief characters still left unsolved . Mr . Martin Harvey , as Paul Digby , played with great feeling . Mr . Brandon Thomas , as the selfish , elderly squire , and Mr . II . Vibart , as the Scotch minister , proved faithful exponents of their parts . Miss Sergeantson , as the maiden lady of rank , acted with ease and refinement , and Miss Joan Burnett was successful as a little , kindly Scotch servant .

Coronet Theatre.

CORONET THEATRE .

" Sweet Nell of Old Drury has been played at the above theatre during the week . Miss Julia Neilson and Mr . Fred . Terry appeared , with all the original company , as at the Haymarket , where it was first produced . We have already noticed the piece , so will merely say that it was a great success , so much so that many people were unable to obtain admission for want of room . The play was staged with that completeness which characterises the management of this popular theatre .

General Notes.

GENERAL NOTES .

The announcement has been made that Miss May Yohe will return to the stage , making her re-appearance at the New York Theatre in a new musical play entitled " The Giddy Throng . " » * * * " The Awakening" is the title of a ncw comedy by Mr . Haddon Chambers , which will probably be the next novelty produced by Mr . Alexander to follow " The Wisdom of the Wise , " at the St . James ' s .