The New York Herald Newspaper, January 27, 1879, Page 3

AROUND THE WORLD, Ex-President Grant in Andalusia. CORDOVA AND ITS MOSQUE, Days of Dreamy Delight in Seville. A CHAT WITH MONTPENSIER. Does the Gambling Spirit Affect a People’s Faith? Corpova, Dec. 3, 1878. Ihave been reading an account of Cordova as it flourished long before Columbus discovered America, Tread that it was built by the Phenicians, and that when Hannibal invaded Italy Cordova followed his standard. Here are the very words from the Latin historian relating that adventure, “Nec decus auri- Jerre—cessavit Corduba terre.” Seneca and Lucan were born at Cordova. The Romans founded a cele- brated university here. After Roman and Goth had had their empire it became a Moorish town, and under the Moors attained the height of its splendor. It you can believe the Moorish chronicles you could travel ten miles from the centre of Cordova, the lights from the dwellings illuminating the way. Buildings ran twenty-six miles in one direction and sixin another. The country dependent on it sup- ported 3,000 towns and villages. ‘The people in those days were proud of their dress, the university, the wine shops, and especially gloried in their mosque. It is all that remains of their forgotten splendor. There were pleasure gardens with all kinds of fruits, among them the luscious peach, the very taste of which has gone from memory. There was a paluce of which not a stone can be discovered, which, ac- sording to the chronicles, must have surpassed any achievement of modern royalty. In this palace were more than four thousand columns, and doors of varied decoration to the number of 15,000. The Romans came and razed it to the ground, and there is no remnant of its glory nor any vestige of its ancient or mediwval splendor but the stone bridges across the river built by the Romans, and the famous mosque, now called a cathedral, built by the Moors. REMNANTS OF ANCIENT SPLENDOR. It was late in the evening and a heavy rain was falling when General Grant and his party reached Cordova. The Governor of the city and the anthori- ties were waiting at the station. After the long ride from Lisbon it was pleasant to rest, even in the in- different condition of comfort provided in a Spanish inn. There was a visit to the theatre, a ramble about the streets, which is General Grant’s modern fashion of taking possession of a town; there was a stroll up the Roman bridge, the arches of which are as stout and fresh as if the workmen had just laid down their tools. There wasa visit toa Moorish mill in which the millers were grinding wheat. There was the casino and the ascent of a tower from which Audalusia is seen spreading out before us green and smiling. And this sums up Cordova. What you read of its ancient Roman and Moorish splendor, all traces of it have vanished, and you feel as you wind and unwind yourself through the tortuous streets that you aro in a forgotten remnant of Spain; that civilization has changed its course, as rivers at home sometimes do, and run into a new channel, leaving Cordova to one side. The only evidence of modern life ie the railway station. THE FAMOUS MOSQUE. It was pleasant while at Cordova to meet Mr. Hett, the American Secretary of Legation at Paris, and his wife, who were returning to France from a holiday in the Peninsula. In the morning the mosqne was visited. Wehad thought that it might be better to vieit the mosque alone, without state or ceremony, but the authorities of Cordova were in an advanced stage of courtesy and our visit was in state. It seemed almost like a desecration—this dress and parade within these unique and venerable walls. The mosque is even now among the wonders of Europe. It stands on the site of an ancient temple of Janue. Eleven centuries ago the Moors resolved to build a temple to the worship of God and Mohammed His prophet, which should surpass all other temples in the world, Out of this resolution came this building. You can see even now thegmosque in its day justified the ex- travagant commendations of the Arabian historians, ‘There was an enclosed courtyard, in which orange trees were growing and priests walking up and down, taking the morning air. This enclosure seemed to ‘be a bit out of Islam, and it looked almost like a profanation of Moslem rites to see men in attendance wearing the garb of Rome—so cool, so quiet, so retired, so sheltered from the outer world that one could well imagine it to have been the place of refuge and rest which Mohammed intended as the special purpose of every mosque. As you enter the first impression is as of a wilderness of low columns that run in all directions. These columns were for- merly whitewashed by the Christians after the tak- ing of Cordova, but under Isabella's government the whitewash was removed, and you now see the ancient red and white brick walls and precious stones of which they are made. There is a tradition that most of these columns were made out of the materials of the ancient Roman temple which stood on this site, and that some were sent from the temples of Carthage. It was easy to s that they were not the work of any one mind, but rather represent the enterprise of the builders in rummaging among other ruins or the generosity of priests and rulers who showed their desire to stand well with the Governor of Cordova by sending a qui tity of columns for the mosque. In this way it hay pens that some of the columns are of jasper, others of porphyry, others of choice marbles, Some you notice are short and have had to be supplomiented by me- chanical contrivances, But although a close exam- ination of the mosque shows these differences and really adds to its interest, the general effect is unique and imposing. You note with impatience that the governors under Charles V. had a large part of this incomparable series of arches removed to build a modern chapel, and, although the chapel was not without interest in respect to wood- work and tapestry, its presence here seems a violence to all the laws of art, and one can understand the chagrin of Charles V., who, when he examined the mosque for the first time in 1525 and saw what had been done in the building of this chapel, said:—“You have built here what any one might have built any- where else, but you have destroyed what was unique in the world,” It in dificult to give an exact description of the mosque. Its value lies in the impression it makes on you, and inthe fact that it is an almost perfect monument of Moslem civilization in Spain. There is the ever recurring Oriental arch, the inventor of which you sometimes think must have found his type in the orange. There are elaborate and gorgeous decorations of the sacred places of the mosqu where the Koran was kept, where the guilty ones sought refuge and unfortunate ones auccor, whero justice was administered and the laws of the Koran expounded, It all seums as clear and fresh— so genial is this Andalusian — atmosphero— as it came from the hand of the faithful kings who built it. As one strolis through the arches, studying each varying phase of Oriental taste, the voices of the priests chanting the morning service and the odor of incense ato borne upon the air. It is startling to find Christians in the perform- ‘ance of their sacred office within the walls of a building consecrated by the patience and devotion of the unfortunate Moors. Tho lesson you always learn in Spain is what you see to-day, and what you wlmire as the work of destiny are only phases of changing and vanishing civilizations. The Moor may havo mused over the rttins of Roman splendor even a8 we aro musing over the monuments of the ' Moor's pride; and even after we are gone others may NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, JA) look with wondering eyes upon that monument of Christian art aud fanaticism, the Escurial. OF ROMANCE AND SONG-—-AN DE MONT- THE GAY CITY AFTERNOON WITH THE DUKE PENSIER, SEVILLE, Dec, 4, 1878. Our stay in Seville was marked by one incident of @ personal character worthy of veneration—the visit of General Grant to the Duke of Montpensier. The day atter General Grant arrived in Seville the Duke called on him, and the next day was spent by the General and his party in the hospitable halls and gardens of St. Telmo. The Duke regretted that, his house being in mourning on account of the death of his daughter, Queen Mercedes, he could not give General Grakt a more formal welcome than @ quiet luncheon party. The Duke, the Duchess and their daughter were present, and after luncheon the General and Duke spent an hour or two strolling through the gardens, which are among the most beautiful in Europe. The Duke spoke a great deal of his relations with America, and esperially of the part which his nephews had played in the war against the South. At the close of the reception the General drove back to the hotel and the next morning left for Cadiz. CHANGES IN SEVILLE, In no part of the peninsula does a traveller return- ing to Spain see so many changes as in Seville, You are reminded of the transformation that has been wrought over Washington—lear, dirty, drowsy old Washington, as it was before the war—a sprawling village of mud and marble, and what it is now, among the most beautiful cities. In the olden days Seville was a beggars’ opera. The streets seemed to have been neglected since the Moorish surrender. The principal occupation was dozing in the sun, Youcould not walk to the church without going through a swarm of beggars. It was beggary militant, almost brigandage. The beggars held the town, and there was nothing but surrender or flight. Ifyou came from the outside world you were their lawful prey, and sight-seeing was, as a general thing, lead- ing a procession of men, women and children in all conditions of misery—cripples, dwarfs, blind. A shrewd friend of mine then resident in Seville told me that his plan was to hire a beggar and pay him three or four francs a week, on condition that the others did not disturb him. His plan wasa success. The moment it was known that he had capitulated and made himself a subject and tribute-payer he was unmolested. That is changed. There are a few beggars in Seville, but not one-half as many as in Dublin. . MEMORIES OF SEVILLE. In those days Seville seemed a city in which to dream. It was so Spanish—I mean in the sense in which the world understands Spanish. It was Span- ish as we see the type in comedies. The whole town was so quaint, so unlike anything in our own world, The streets ran in all directions. There were no side- walks, Men, women, donkeys, water-carriers all streamed along in friendly fashion over narrow, winding ways paved in stone. You saw the warm tints and the glowing color of the South, the beauty of Andalusia. The men wore costumes appertaining to the province, and hud not fallen into French ways. The damsels wore the veil and mantilla, They had not learned the vanity of bonnets. It was like step- ping back two centuries—back to the world of Cer- vantes—to walk along the street called Sierpes, This was the Broadway of Seville, or, to be more exact, the Broadway and Fifth avenue combined for here people came to shop as_ well as stroll. It was the oldest street, only = few feet wide, with the strangest mingling of cos- tumes and decorations. Soldiers in their jaunty uniforms, bull fighters with their queus of hair, and jackets trimmed with braid, peasants with pork pie hats a century old, faded woollen jackets and breeches; peasant lasses with gaudy, jaunty costumes; bakers serving bread from donkeys, the donkey decorated in the Alhambra style, the hair on his hide carved into shapes as curious as the dome in the Alcazar; singing girls with guitars, the hair falling over the shoulders and no adornment beyond 8 rose or a ribbon; shovel-hatted priests with long black robes, au important feature of the society. ‘Thero were the religious processions, some: imaged saint or virgin held aloft, with a swarm of priests and attendants; invcuse Dbeerors, canopy bearers, priests chanting their offices and all the world hurry- ing to its knees as it elbowed its way along. MODERN LIFE IN SEVILLE. Something of this you may still see on the street called Sierpes, but it is only memory. The priests are there, but not so many of them. The beggars have gone, let us hope into better employments. The donkeys hold their place, but the decorated donkey is not so familiar, There are fewer stores in which you can buy scapula and rosary, The sewing machine has come and the walls are covered with placards telling how each machine has won more medals than theother—puzzling, no doubt, to the credulous Span- ish mind, The hotel has assumed Continental airs, especially in charges for coffee in the morning and candles. The narrow streets along which you could stroll and dreain and feel the drowsy insouciance of the place and summon up the legends and potms of Seville—the wandering, tortuons streets in which you went around and about, sure to lose your way and never to regain it until you found the Cathedral tower and worked your way back as though you were working out an obser- vation in navigation—are now given over to hurried business, people and groups talking potitics. Down by the river it was pleasant to stroll and see the beg- gars loll in the sun, watching their fellow beings pack oranges. If one person were really at work over his oranges there were a dozen standing by and looking on, smoking cigarettes, telling him about the bulls that came in the evening, what fun it was sit- ting up all night that that they might see the bulls and poke them with sticks, idling and talking politics. Seville was a republican town in those days. But the republican sentiment has chiiled since it has been discovered that even republicans must work. An illu- sion of this kind was (atal to a missionary enterprise. A clergyman came to Spain and organized » church upon good Presbyterian ideas, the people to rule the church and the pastor be a servant. The church suc- ceeded at first, because the socialists joined it under the impression that this principle of church govern- ment, so unlike the absolute, imperial sway of Rome, was socialism ina new form. But when they found they had to abandon the Virgin and purgatory and the saints and the other comforts of faith, and come down to the dry head of Presbyterianism, with eternal damnation thrown in, the charch vanished. The Spaniard is a gambler. Even in his religion he does not want a lottery in which there are no prizes, PROGRESS EVEN IN SPAIN. As I was saying, you stroll down by the river and see ships in Seville—steamships and sailing vessels— some of them, as you note with quickening heart- throb, under the American flag. And the bridge over which the begyars used to crouch and watch the Guadalquiver is now @ stream of industry—such as it is—not a New York stream, mad, furious, dangerous, rushing, but wonderful for Seville, Chimneys adorn the horizon—chimneys with simoko from furnaces, where men work, and which were not here five years ago. Avenues and gardens are laid out and the trees are young. The new town is en- closing the old one, and Seville—no longer the dreamy Seville of Figaro and Don Juan—is an old town surrounded by a new one—the four- teenth century encompassed by the nine teenth. It seems like losing a familiar friend or the passing away of carly associations, the change that has come upon Seville. It is a violation of all poesy to sce a real smoking chimney and peo- ple at work. It was almost with a pang that I heard of an express train between Madrid and Seville—one a week, and soon to be twoa week, Why could it not live on forever inthis humming, droning fash- ion—« picturesque, inviting town for idle men to visit and dream the hours away in wandering through the naves of St. Griselda and the gardens of the Alcazar? But the clock moves on and on, and you cannot turn back the hands, and the clock of nineteenth century civilization is striking every hour in Spain, MODERN IDEAS SPREADING, And yet lle even now, notwithstanding steam and railways and French cloths—Seville is very beautiful, and if you want to dream there are cosey spots still left, You can see what it must have been in happy days, when people existed with no care of living—trank in the sunshine and ate the fruits of the ground—and cared only for the mass and the bull fight, and know nothing of the outside soaring world of Bonapartes and Wellingtons that blased and burned, But the fire camo to Seville, and from thence we date the new order of things which makes such manifest progress every day. When the Bastile fell old Seville fell with it, like so many other ancient forms, and since Frenchmen came and broke down the Inquisitionand robbed the churches and put their bayonets through the roots of so many august growths it has only been a question of time, this coming of steam and electricity and newspapers and the other attributes of our cold, exacting, debt pay- ing generation, Over Seville how many waves of civilization have rolled—rolled and washed and swept and tossed and left ao little behind! That is the puzzle in those beautiful Spamish lands, What has be- come of it all? The gold of the Americas, for in- stance, that once drenched this land, that comes in even now in a feebler stream from poor buried Cuba—what has become of it all? Has it vanished like the water which washes over the sand and straightway leaves the beach as hard and dry as before? For ages these tides have swept over Seville, over all of Andalusia, laden with the prizes of a prolific civili- zation, First came the Pheenician, and no shadow of Phenicia remains, Then the omans were here, even Julias Cwsar, who took a pride in Seville and pro- posed making it a new Rome. But, beyond some coins and masonry, what trace of Rome remains ? The Goths came and vanished, and were succeeded by the Moors. These two civilizations blend in Se- ville, and the interest of the town dates from their dominion, For five centuries the Moors were mas- ters, and nothing is so attractive to the traveller as the remains of their artand industry. Then came the Austrian Charles, with his faculty of spoiling and patching, of trying to engraft his fierce, stern forms upon the gentle, winning civilization of the Moor. A MEMORY O¥ GOLDEN DAYS. While the waves have washed and flowed, leaving no result—I mean no accumulated result as one would expect from’so much wealth, while Seville has been steadily falling from a population that in the eleventh century was 300,000, in the six- teenth 86,000, and now, even with brighter times, is only 120,000, her beauty remains. That Time has not destroyed. It isa blended beauty. Roman, Gothic, Moorish, Christian, you will find them all here, in faded fashion, without the ancient splendor, but blended, interwoven. What must it have been in the days of commercial prosperity, when the enterprise and arms of Spain were encircling the world! One can fancy these narrow streets thrilling with the last news from Peru, or wondering what untoward storm detains the mail from Mexico. Dolores looks in tears from her lattice window, or is prostrate before the Virgin, thinking of Fernando, who is under ‘Cortes, or Luis, who found his fate under Pizarro. Or go back another age and fancy all Seville fluttering with this strange news from over the seas—that even the dark ocean has been forced, that the cross has been planted on a new continent. And this grave seafaring Italian, who passes on in modest state to the palace to his King and Queen—this man has done the marvel, and the cost of it to the treasury not more than the decora- tions of the palace audience chamber. Behold, all Seville is out to see the strange procession—gold and silver and precious woods and strange fruits and spices—such wonderful things as were never known even in this land, where the ancients placed the Elysian fields, It is the last arrival from the Indies, the Indies of Amer- ica, where God and the Virgin have planted the cross. Those were the glorious, golden days, and we can well imagine, with so much wealth pouring into Seville, and so much enterprise for her sons, fame and fortune for whoever carried a sword—even for swineherds from Estramadura, like Pizarro and Cortes—that it must have been the seat of luxury and power. THE GAMBLING SPIRIT. One wonders, however, if true wealth comes in this fashion. What the sea washes toward us it washes from us—the sand, perhaps, excepted. How much better for Seville if she had found wealth in her own soil, in tho industry of her people—gold in her cornfields and silver in her vineyards! What came from America did no good to any one but the Church, and, as a result, even the Church robbed as it has been by Frenchmen and revolutionists, is the richest in Europe. The money that came from America is not in monuments or in works of utility. The Escurial seems to be the only exception, and as an illustration of how money can be wasted I suppose there is no more striking monument in the world. America did Spain more harm than good, so long as these mines across the sea only trouble the mines at home. Long enjoy- ment of money never earned and luxuries that come without the seeking enervated the people. Then there was the gambling sentiment which pervades Spain, There was the delicious uncertainty of what could be found in America—a mine or & morass, a general's sword or @ grave in the swamps. It was chance, always chance, and as every galloon came with new cargoes and new achievements—Peru, Cuba, Mexico, St. Domingo, Florida, Louisiana—dream succeeding dream, more and more ravishing— you can well see how the world whirled about them, corruscating, flashing, deceptive ; how the mind abandoned humble home duties to look out over the seas; how the modest, sure ways of life—a penny earned and a penny saved—lost their hold; how character was unstrung, undisciplined. The gambling spirit flourished. It reigns still in powerful, but, I hope, diminishing influence. Iteven affects religion. The worship of the Virgin, as you see it in Spain, is only the gam- bling spirit in religion. It is not the devotion which takes the penitent to pray pardon for sin and strength to do right; but all hopes, all wishes, all fears are thrown at her altar, aud prayer becomes an invoca- tion of chance. Instead of doing the Spaniard waits in the sun to see what the Virgin will do for him. To the general Spanish mind the Virgin is not the type of chastity, the fountain of virtue, the immaculate conception, the Mother of God, beautiful, comfort- ing, a pattern to the good, a consolation to th sorrow, a radiant example of all that is high noblest in womanhood. She has it in her power to ive something—a husband, achild, harvest rain, a or a prize in the lottery. She is the Divimty of Chance, and as such is worshipped. THE GAMBLING SYTRIT IN RELIGION, Oh Virgin, well beloved, with those rapt, seraphic eyes, ever hovering over us; coming #0 close to one’s life, to the maiden in her dreams, the warrior in his bivonac, the husbandman over his vines— lady ot consolation and of. hope, who has been so much in all those ages to millions who have suf- fered and believed, is it not a degradation to find you here, even in Catholic Spain, the land of saints, of Laurence and Theresa, merely a goddess of chance, patron of the spirit of yambling ?) And this ix to what the faith of Spain ix rapidly falling. What to me is most striking is the materialization that seems to have fallen on religion in Spain. Its spiritual side ix deadenod. The Church is not a monitor or 4 pattern, as at home, but an influence to be _propitiated, a political influence, a source of money and power, The priest ix not what he is at home—a teacher and fatner to his flock. He is simply a lead- ing influential citizen, educated, and with about the same position in Sprsiah society as a leader in New York politics would have in New York society. He is respected or derided according as he has merit. You meet him in all the walks of fife. You sit next to him in the bull fight, jostle him in theatre, hear him gossip over his cigarettes in the café, walk with him on the Prado, You have no more respect for his shovel hat than for a dapper young. officer's feathered chapeau. ‘The religion which he preaches is not a re- ligion in our sense—something exalted, which all men fespect, even if they not worship, but a custom of the country. Instead of educating the people to a higher standard, instead of taking men up into the mountains and showing them the promised land, the Chureh here brings itself down to the wishes and habits of tho people. It ix a political party, not a power above all parties. The Spaniard attends his church because it ix respectable, becatse he would rather than otherwise be on good terms with the Church, Then, as to him, the greatest power the Church possesses is the power of giving, of working miracles. There is the hope that some day the Vir- yin may hear his prayer and see that his appeal for promotion moves the heart of the King, or that the first number that comes from the wheel is the num- ber that assures him fortune. TAH CHURCH IN SPAi is pose that a country falling under the unchal- Hominton of any one Church would discover off from the higher forms of inherent emule In the longed the same falling faith. Absolute power has its own weakness, There is no indard of tion. In Spain the Church is absolute. Englond, America and other untries churches are on their trial before the pe is ane lation in godliness. Kach wy is anxious te il and sustain his . nd persecutions are refining in- fluences, and wherever churches in rivairy there is always some persecuting agency at work, no mat- ter in how slight a degree. England is a Protestant country, but she has never given the workl such Protestantiam as was shown by the Waldensians or Hugnenots. is a Catholic country; but her Catholiciam is fe and worldly compared with the Catholic spirit you sce in England or America, Where there are too ene, worshippers there are not apt to be many saints. TheChurch becomes worldly 2 and careless, following the wot and not leadin; and ennobling it, ry ¥ GRANT AS A FENIAN. An Irish Detective Shadow- ing the Ex-President. HEAD CENTRE U. S. GRANT. American Students at Dub- lin University. Dustin, Jan. 8, 1879. Your correspondent was this evening an uninten- tional actor ina scene which is one of the most singular incidents connected with General Grant's Irish visit. That the Irish police labor under a sorty of chronic craze about Fenianism, which makes them see in every American who visits these shores a possible emissary from some of the New York organ- izations, is wellknown. But no ove could have supposed that this hallucination could have any scope for exercise in connection with the late Presi- dent and the distinguished persons who ac- company him, Even the fertile imagination of a de- tective, trained by along course of successful State trials, could scarcely have descried any vestige of material for weaving a suggestion of danger to the British Empire in the appearance of men whose identity—even although personally unknown to him—was too well defined by a host of circumstances. However, itis atrite saying that reality transcends romance. Here is a verbatim record of bold facts:— INTERVIEWING THE HERALD CORRESPONDENT. The steamer conveying away the General from these shores was scarcely in motion when aman came up to the Heratp’s represcntative, who was watching the vessel fast receding from the Carlisle pier. Slightly bowing, he said:— “Ibeg your pardon, sir, but I believe you were with General Grant—at least (this in reply to a look of surprise) you came down in the train with him from town, and were with the General's party.” I was not a little astonished at being thus accosted by a total stranger, But he hastened to relieve me by telling me he was a member of the police force, and had come down especially to watch the party off. “We are obliged to be particular,” ho added, and went on:—‘I was, perhaps, too anxious to observe General Grant, as probably I will never sce him again, and did not take sufficient notice of the others. ‘The gentlemen who were with him were, I believe, General Noyes, General Bed——. I do not remember his name exactly.” Cornespoxpent—General Badeau, Derecrive—Yes, that is it. Who was the fourth gentleman, sir? You were speaking to him at the door of the carriage, directly after you got out of the train. CorrEsronpENT—The HERALD correspondent. Dereerive—Oh! I see, ‘Then there was General Noyes. That is the gentleman with black whiskers and mustache, the tallest of the party. He wore a white y\uffler. Coruesroxpent—True; I would not have remem- dered it had you not recalled it. Derrcrive—Yes, sir; we are obliged to watch people pretty sharply. Then there was General Bad— what is this his name is? CorrrsronpeNtT—Badeau, Derectrve—Ob, yes. He is the Consul—the short, stout man in spectacles. And that was all beside the General himself. ConresponpENtT—That is the whole party. Derective—Now, sir, were they all exactly the same persons who came here the other day? ConresronpENtT—Last Friday morning? Derecrive—Yes, sir. I do not remember rightly the morning they came. ConnrEsPonpeNT—It was on Friday they came. DerectivE—Well, sir, were there no more than the four that morning, and were these they? COKRESPONDENT—Of course; they were all the very same persons. WAS THERE A CONSPIRACY ? Derecttve—They were chatting and speaking pleasantly enough to-night and seemed agreeable (cheerful), The other morning they seemed quieter (more reserved); did not speak much, But I suppose they were tired and cold after their journey, and the country was new to them, ‘ CORRESPONDENT—Probably. But all four are the very same persons who came that morning. Derxetive—Thank you, sir. You see we have to be particular, as we must enter down that the same parties (persons) who came the other morning went away this evening. THK SOUR MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS. I need not continue the conversation, the remainder being of a more general character. The nature of the detective’s interest in General Grant and his friends was now transparent. He wished to be assured, on what he considered reliable authority, that the four persons who arrived at Kingstown last Friday morn- ing were, in truth, the persons whom. they repre- sented themselves to be. He desired to be in a posi- tion to report authentically to his superiors that none of them were Fenian emissaries masquerading as American generals. Hence the repeated inquiries as to their identity, in order to be satistied that none who came over as members of General Grant's party had disappeared somewhere in the country, to carry on the work and promote the object of the con- spiracy, while his place was taken by some other member of the brotherhood desirous now of return- ing to America, and profiting for this purpose of the convenient disguise of an ican general, a friend companion of General Grant. ‘0 all who are even vaguely acquainted with the General's character the notion ot a Fenian agent ing in his company, and sheltering himself under the disguise of one of his friends, is comic in the extreme. The acquaintances of General Nove: aud Badean ought to be highly amused at the idea that they might possibly have been only travestied Fenians. MORAL. But the incident has another side. It is plain the British government cannot feel satisfied with the condition of Ireland, however quiet it y seem, whe its polic c suspect that every chance visitor trom Am y be the disguised emissary of a revolution tells Ame r that she 1 Episode,” dealing with a matter nite so airy or generally delightful as that with Mr. Henty James, Jr., has been amusing and the readers of the Corndill Magazine, nor 50 grave as that which has recently been “tof weighty correspondence between Mr. full progress in the Dub- rsity, und promises to furnish incidents and topies of retlection which will fully justi’ tention that any one may be inclined to bestow upon it, ‘The question at issy iether a native-born American citizen, who has never been naturalized in Great Britain, is eligible for prizes and emoluments in the university? The case has arisen out of the fol- lowing circumstances :— “POUNDATION SCHOLARSHT y June 17, 1878, being the “morrow of the feast of the Holy Trinit: the great annual festi- val of the University of Dublin under the charter of the founder, Queen Elizabeth, the result was de- of examinations for a “foundation scholar- ship,” which were held some days previously. The privileges are not worth very much if appraised in money. But the distinction has always been highly vaiued, both becanse the honor ranks next to the Fellowship and also because the examination is of a high standard, so that successful answermg is a ther in the cap of a candidate, On the occas now nearly seven months ago, Mr. Swift Payne | Jo Jared “elected” to the solitary vacant | scholarship and made the prescribed declarations an< signed the roll, Previous to the examination, or at the time of his being announced as the successful com- petitor, no objection had been made to his eligibility. THE CLAIM CONTESTED. Some time afterward it became known to Mr. Lucas, Who was second in order of merit, and who Dut for the superior answering of Mr. Johnson would have obtained the scholarship, that the latter was by birth @ citizen of the United States, and had not been naturalized in Great Britain or this country. Mr. Lucas at once contended that Mr. Jonson was fatally tainted with ineligibility, and he addressed a m rial to the Visitors calling upon them to annual Johnson's election, and to declare himself electod in Jobnson’s place. In support of his pretension he falls back upon the statutes of the Universit contained in the letters patent issued by Charles L. 1617, in the middle pertod of his high prerogative policy. These Mtatites, it may be observed, were mainly compiled by Archbishop Laud, The fitth chapter orders that candidates educated in schools in Dublin shall be preferred to others; and second, those born in counties where the university or col- lege hold lands, mes I, and Charles, it will be re- membered, had greatly eariched the college by lavish grants of land from forfeited estates of the Irish Cath- The statute adds the following words upon Mr. Lucas relies as fatally barring Mr. John- ni ox allie regni partibus aut dominiiscorone | magne Britenni@ subditis indifferenter ad numerum supplendim, qui maxime idonet videbuntur semper r may be translated: — o | has done @ very st “-nterwine (f. ¢. falling thon two classes of prof. erential candidates), let those who sha 1 seem to be the fittest be always chosen from other parts of the Kinudom, or from the dominions subiect to the UARY 27, 1879.-TRIPLE SHEET, Crown of Great Britain without distinction, in order to fill up the number of vacancies.” ‘These words, Lucas contends, exclude the power of choosing any person coming’ from a country “not subject to the Crown of Great Britain.” But it may be contended, with every show of reason and hay- ing regard only to an honest interpretation, that the force of the royal injunction falls upon the words, “Qui "mazime — idenet videbuntur semper sumantur"—“Let those who shall seem to be the fittest be always chosen.” As if to charge the examiners with the obligation of never selecting a candidute merely because he came from & Dublin school or from a country where the college held land. Such persons were to be preferred if otherwise on an equality of literary qualification. But an inferior Dublin man was not to be taken: rather let the examiners take a superior man, if- Jeventer,”” no matter where he came from. If Mr. Lucas is correct in his interpretation of the statute an ac- complished American—such # one as young Ticknor or Longfellow, half a century ago—should be con- temptuously p: over in favor ot some mild Hin- doo whose acquirements are as shady as his face, WHAT WILL BE DONE. It remains to be seen whether the visitors will take this common sense view or adopt the Lucas inter- pretation. They may, however. take a third course and declare that, if Mr. Lucas had raised his objection beforehand, it would have been fatal, but that it is now too late, aud the election of Mr. Johnson cannot be disturbed, This would be conformable to the well known legal axiom—* Fieri non debuit, factum valet’ — the thing should not have been done, but a fait accom- plicannot be disturbed. Mr, Johnson has been alto- gether educated at this side ot the Atlantic, so that it is douply hard now to seek to rob him of his well earned honors. He has wisely secured the services as his lawyer of Mr, Butt, who has had greater experience in’ this class of cases than any other man in Ireland, and who will be sure to omit no point that can be urged in favor of hi te Butt's authority also as 2 lawyer is so very great that his arguinents caunot fail to have great weight with the Visitors. ‘he v ion was to have begun on January 8, but Dr, Longtield, one of the Visitors, being ill, it hag had to be postponed to a future day uot yet settle AMUSEMENTS. THE LIEDERKRANZ CONCERT. The second concert of the Liederkranz took place at the rooms of the society last night. The attend- ance was very large, being limited only by the ca- pacity of the hall. The programme was varied and admirably arranged, including an exceptionally good se ‘ion from the classic and modern composers. ‘The performances of this society, given as they are to perhaps the most critical audience that New York can offer, are to be judged by the highest standard of excellence. Of the efforts that attained almost absolute excellence may be mentioned the Beethoven quintet, played by Messrs. Eller, Bochm, Sohst, Pieper and Rummel; the oboe solos of Mr. Joseph Eller, the pianoforte solos of Mr. Franz Rummel and the singing of the mixed chorus in the finale to Beet- hoven’s “Loreley."” Mr, Rummel, in his solos, which comprised an arrangement by Louis Brassin, the pi- anist’s Belgian teacher, of the three gems of Wag- ner’s “Die Walkiire,” played like a younger Rubin- stein. Such sustained power and fiery abandon as he displayed in the phenomenally difficult “Walkiiren Ritt” are not often witnessed, and it was not a matter of surprise that he was recalled four times amid re- peated cheers. The oboe lacks variety as a solo in- strument, and Mr. Eller, fine artist that he is, would have done wisely have played only Mr. Caryl ‘lorio’s ‘‘Romance, most effective composition. ‘he male chorus of the society did not sing with its accustomed vitality and evenness in the new work by Hans Huber, “Veni Creator Spiritus,” in the render- ing of which it showed need of fuller rehearsal. The piece itself seemed a strong and musicianly specimen of its class, which is not altogether suited to the Liederkranz. The inale chorus did some fine work in Moebring’s “Hymn to Night,”’ and the mixed chorus was more than good in the ‘‘Loreley”’ selection, Miss Laura Stelzner showed by her sing- ing of songs, by E. Lassen, how difficult it is even for a German artist to render the lieder of German composers. Her performance wes dry and monotonous, yet marked by certain mechanical excellences that showed the artist's care in study. Some parts of her solos in “‘Loreley”’ gave evidence that she was more at home in dramatic mnsic. Mr. Sohst, who was called suddenly to fill the place of Mr. Stein, who was unable to appear, sang the baritone solo in the Moehring selection very acceptably at sight. Mr. A. Paur directed the entertainment, which proved, on the whole, rarely enjoyable to the brilliant audience present. * GRAND OPERA HOUSE—GILMORE’S CONCERT. The audience which assembled last night was one of the largest that have occupied the Grand Opera House since the beginning of Mr. Gilmore's musical season. The chief attraction unquestionably was the new fantasie descriptive of the tour of the band in Europe. A second hearing verifies the favor- able judgment that was expressed on its first production. The music is essentially popular, interesting and inspiring. With programme in hand the listener who loves melody may enjoy that which belongs to nearly every portion of Europe, and min- gled with it are strains whereby he will be contin- ually reminded of the distinctive music of America, ‘The remainder of the programme included the fol- lowing numbers :—Overture, “Der Freiachiitz,” Gil- more's Band; song, “I Fear No Foe,” Mr. C. Makin, who, by the way, was quite hoarse and unequal to his task; piano solo, “Fantasie Rigoletto,” Miss Henrietta Markstein; English ballad, “Oh, How Delightful,” Misx Marie Harvey: cornet solo “Una Voce Poco fa,” Mr. J. Levy; chorus from “I Lom- by the Palestrina Italian Choral So. violin solo, variations bravara on th: rv’ from ‘Moses in Egypt,’” performed one string by Mr. Bernhard " Mollenhauer; t solo, transcription of Proch’s difficult air and jations,” Mr. Levy; chorus,“ Warrtors’ ‘by the Palestrina Italian Choral Society ; march, “« The Soldier's Departure,” Gilmore's Band. The violin solo by Mr. Mollenhauer was one of the artistic successes of the evening. Being encored, he played with exquisite effect “Kathleen Mavour- neen.” In the same connection must be mentioned the admirable solo performance of Mr. J. Levy on the cornet, especially his transcrip- tion of Proch’s aria and variations. ‘Che Palestrina Choral Society, while showing the result of practice, is not yet equal in finish and vocalism to other older organizations of a similar kind. Miss Markstein gave the piano solo with her usual grace, and the vocal soloists were fully up tothe average. Mr. Charles Pratt accompanied the artists in his usual tasteful manner, MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC NOTES. Miss Rose Etynge goes to California next week for a three weeks’ engagement. The Park Theatre Company are now in Buffalo, but open here on the 17th of February. Mme. Modjeska at the latest advices was at the Academy of Music, Charleston, 8. C. Mr. John McCullough, Barney MeCauley, Lawrence Barrett and George Knight were in Boston last week. An amateur performance of the ‘Merchant of ico” will be given at the Brooklyn Athen#@um on Wednesday night. Miss Mary Anderson commences an engagement in Dayton, Ohio, to-morrow, and thereafter plays in the principal cities of that State. Miss Ada Cavendish is in her second week at St. Louis; next goes to Chicag » and will thereafter move eastward, She is booked for the Broadway. ‘The Union League Theatre willbe the scene of a theatrical performance in aid.of Miss Leggett’s Home for Working Women on the 22d of Febrnary. A well known society gentleman and a great grand- son of Commodore Paulding, of Revolutionary fame, will, it is said, shortly make his début at one of our metropolitan theatres. Mr, Frank Frayne, after an absence of two years in Europe, will appear at Niblo's Garden Theatre Feb- ruary 3 in “Si Slocum,” with his entire company, in- cluding his horse and dog. Haverly’s Mastodon Minstrels drew crowded houses to every performance at the Arch Street Theatre, Philadelphia, last weok, They remain during the present week at the same establishment. Miss Genevieve Ward will return to Canada next week and play in St. Catherines, Hamilton and To- ronto. She appeared as Queen Katharine at Niagara Falis when the Princess Louise was there. “Ours” is still running at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, where it is entering on its third week. The scenery and cast are good and the military accessories are an attractive feature. ‘There is a movement on foot in New York among mombers of the dramatic profession to secure an carly repetition of Anna Dickinson's new lecture on “The Stage.” It isto be delivered in Boston next Sunday night. Den Thompson, with his play of “Josh Whitcomb,” exeful business through New England, His Boston engagement at the Gaiety ‘Theatre is reported to be the best on record for a number of years. Miss Palk-Auerbach, Miss Emily Winant, Mr. 8. P, Warren, & quartet of vocalists and an orchestra of fifty performers, will assist the composer, 0. B. Boise, at his first symphony concert, at Chickering Hall, on Thursday next, Mr, William Courtney, tho English tenor, has, it is stated, recovered from the severe attack of laryn- itis that affected his singing, and will, early next month, opon @ series of ballad concerts in Chickering Hall. He will be assisted by his wife. Louise Gago 3 Courtney, a mezzo-soprano artist, and a double quartet of mixed voices, trained by him since his are rival here. Acomplimentary performance is to be given on Tuesday afternoon and evening at the Tivoli Theatre for the benefit of Mr. Jacob Aberle, the proprietor and manager. ‘The cast embraces a large number of the favorite variety performers. At the Bowery Theatre “Baba’? has been the draught power for a number of weeks. A new play, entitled “Nathan Hale, the Martyr Spy of the Revo- Intion,” written by a couple of New York journalists, will be produced on Monday, February 3. x An amateur performance, in aid of the industrial school, No. 418 West Forty-tirst street, will be given at the Union League Theatre on the 15th of February. The “Loan of a Lover” and “A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing” will be played, Two generals and four colonels t is said, take part. The “Exiles’’ isto be reproduced at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, this week, This striking play made one of the great successes of tha season at the Walnut last year, where it was su- perbly put on the stage. This revival, it is prom- ised, ia to be on the same scale of magnificence, Atthe fourth public rehersal of the Symphony Society at Steinway Hall, Thursday afterncon next, Herr Wilhelinj will play Beethoven's concerto for violin, and Bach's chaconne. The orchestra will give Saint-Saens’ symphony No. un A minor for the first time here, and selections from Weber, Volkmann and Liszt. The fourth concert takes place on Saturday evening next. Miss Maggie Mitchell is resting at her home in this city. She has just returned from an extended and successful tour, covering the principal Eastern and Western cities of the Union. She will probably open at the Park Theatre, Brooklyn, on the 10th or 15th of next month in a new play written for her by a Boston dramatist, which, it is said, is specially adapted to her lively style, ‘The Strakosch company will give a brief season of opera in Philadelphia this week, at the Academy. It is limited to five performances. On Tuesday evening, “Lucia di Lammermoor’ will be given, and Miss Litta will make her first appearance in Philadelphia as Lucia, On Wednesday evening “Aida” will be per- formed, with Miss Kellogg as Aida and Miss Cary as Amneris. For Friday evening “Mignon” is an- nounced, and a matinée on Saturday will conclude the season. The success of the “Pinafore” at the Broad Street Theatre, Philadelphia, where it was brought out four weeks ago by Messrs. Ford & Zimmerman, still con- tinues to be the phenomenon of the season. The com- pany is not a remarkable one, but they sing and act with much spirit, and the “Pinafore” has become one of the institutions of the town. Everybody goes to see it, and everybody talks about it. A palpable hit has been made by Miss Belle Mackenzie, who plays the part of Hebe, the first of “his sisters and his cousins, whom he reckons by the dozens, and his aunts.’” A grand vocal,and instramental concert is an- nounced to take place in Steinway Hall, under the management of Mr. John Darcie, to-morrow evening. The programme includes the following array of names:—Mme. Iima di Murska; Mrs. Florence Rice- Knox, contralto; Agnes, Laura and Emeline Perring; Miss Maud Morgan, harp soloist; Mr. W. Courtney; Mr. Charles Fritsch, tenor; Signor Susini, basso; Messrs, S. B. Mills and Franz Rummel, pianists; Mr. Arbuckle, cornetist; Mr. J. C. Hill, violinist; Herr W, Popper, violoncellist; Mr. W. F. Mills, pianist, and full grand orchestra of sixty artists, alternately con- ducted by Max Maretzek, Adolph Neuendorff, G. Carl- berg and J.C. Hill. The accompanyists at the piano are Messrs, Charles Pratt, Charles Fradel and Ernest Perring. B'NAI BERITH. MEETING OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION—OR» GANIZATION | EFFECTED—OBJECTS AND PUBe POSES OF THE GREAT JEWISH SOCIETY. y PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 26, 1879, The National Convention of the Independent Order of B'nai Berith assembled here to-day. The B'nai Berith is the great Jewish society, whose objects are benevolence, mutual help and improvement and the elevation and union of the Israelitish race. The society is @ powerful and extensive one, having flourishing branches and thousands of members in every State in the Union. The Order originated in New York about thirty-five years ago, and some of the twelve original founders were present as delegates to-day. Once in every five years @ national convention is held, to discuss and adopt measures for the good of the order. ‘The Convention which assembjed to-day was the third convened since the adoption of the five year rule. It met at St. Goorge’s Hall, and nearly three hundred delegat:s were present—a full repre- sentation. It was evident from a glance at the per- sonnel of the delegations that the members represent the intelligence and the liberalism of the most earnest and practical of their race. Suc- cessftl merchants, prominent lawyers and clergy men and leading Hebrews from al! parts of the coun- try are among the gentlemen present. The first day’s session was merely preliminary, and the work of to- day consisted mainly of the examination of creden- tials, the adoption of rules and forms for business and the choosing of the permanent officers of the Convention, THE PROCKEDINGS, ‘The Convention was assembled for business at half- past eleven o'clock by Julius;Bien, of New York, the president of the Order. He made no speech. M. Hllinger, the Coroner, of New York, the secretary of the Order, then read the list of delegates, about threo’ hundred in number. Josiah Cohen, of Jericho Lodge, Pittsburg, was then nominated for temporary chair- man and elected by acclamation. He made a very brief speech, alluding to important work which the Convention would have before it. Alfred T. Jones, of Philadelphia, and L. Abra ham, of Washington, were chosen temporary secretaries, and then, on motion, the temporary or- ganisation of the Convention was completed by the appointment of @ Committee on Credentials, com- posed of one member at large, who was made chair- mn, and two members from each of the seve dis tricts into which the country is geographically divided by the Order. ‘The names of the committee were as follows :— N. Ducker, chairman-at-large; Joseph Monheimer and 8. M. Roeder, of the First district; Dr. Newland and L. Abraham, of the Second district; Henry Gos- line and Joseph Benedict, of the Third distriet; H. M. Heineman and M. Goodheart, of the Fourth distric ny « Mack, of the Fifth dis- i Mr. Kozminsky, of the ta and Mr. Stenerman, Seventh district. Atter this work the assembly adjourned for a half- hour to enable the committee on credentials so make its investigations of the papers and letters of the ot t! lodge representatives before proceeding with the permanent organization of the body siderably more than a hal mittee Was still ont, so t and, to kill time, list Dr. Sonnenschein, of 8. of Philadelphia; Corporation ¢ the Court of Appeals of the orde of New York; M : Rev. George Jacobs, W. Rosendale, of Albany, ty and president of rt: Corover Ellinger, Louderback, of Mount Sinai rs. Mr. Louderback's speech was an amusing, arnest protest against the waste of time excess of talk which sometimes characterized their Order. He said that the lodge he used to belong to was talked to death, and he appealed for more: ive work and less waste of time over trifling dis-' cussions, ORGANIZATION, wk before the Committee on nrned and the business of hearing their report proceeded with. They announced sev- eral irregularities in credentials and evoked some by their decisions, and that of the hairman ot the Convention, who plainly Tt _was ne Credentials re was not ou fait in Parliamentary laws. | They found fourteen contested seats. The full con- sideration of their report was postponed and the election of permanent officers proceeded with. Simon Wolf, of Washington, was unanimously chosen president. For vice presidents one representa tive from each district was chosen as follows:— Edward 8. Grulston, Nathan Bloom, Isaiah Cohen, H. M. Heineman, William Lowenstein, Albert Koznrins ski and Max Sachse, Secretaries—Alfred T. Jones, editor of the Jewish Record; Adolph Loeb and Lewis Abrahams, Sergeants-at-Arms—Simon Jacoby and Meyer Elsas, President Wolf made a brief speech in taking the chair, after which the organization was proceeded with by the appointment of the following asa com. mittee on tiles and regulations forthe government of the Convention:—Philip Stein, Godfrey Hoisa, A. Kramer, A. Buchman, Alex, Reinstein, E. Berla, HL. Rvekiol, Jacob Berry, 8.8. Neyberg, Charles Herzel- 1.1, Blont and A, BE. he les hicto Convention of 1874 were adopted for ment of the Convention. ncontested seats were then considered y, and three contestants were rejected, ing and acting Upon several invitations to visit different Jewish institutions in the city the Convention adjourned watil ten o'clock to-morrow ey 1 ed in the H the 8 previously announced in PRALD, Con- vention will probably sit for five days,