Haydn; and the Sinfonias of Mozart were unknown to the London performers. The vocal concerts of Harrison, Knyvett, and Bartleman were the fashionable musical entertainments of the metropolis, and the devotion of George III. to the compositions of Handel excluded those of every other master, English or foreign, from the precincts of the court. Attwood, who came over enriched with the works of his master, and eager to introduce them to the notice of his countrymen, found neither sympathy nor help neither performers nor listeners. He assembled some of the best players of the day, and placed before them Mozart's beautiful sinfonia in E flat. After several reluctant attempts, it was thrown aside as an impracticable affair, and many years elapsed before its merits were appreciated by any portion of the English public. It was Mozart's intention to visit England in the year 1791, in conformity with his promise to Salomon, but death closed his short and brilliant career before the stipulated period arrived, and Attwood saw his honoured instructor no more. Such a state of things was singularly unfavourable for the development of Attwood's musical powers. His ardour was dampedhis zeal discouraged. Even the situation he filled at St. Paul's was not the one most suited to him. He had quitted the English school and, in a degree, formed his style of ecclesiastical composition anew. He had become used to the modern music of the Roman Catholic church-to its gorgeous and brilliant orchestral accompaniment, and to the interspersion of operatic passages and operatic effects into the service of the mass. These, perhaps imperceptibly, tinged his own compositions and style of accompaniment, and cathedral music thus received from him somewhat of a new colour. He entered, however, upon his new duty (as he did upon every duty) with alacrity and zeal, and produced many services and anthems for the Chapel Royal and for St. Paul's. his conceptions of the true power and effect of dramatic music. He had to write for Incledon, Sedgwick, and Dignum. Incledon was the child and pupil of nature, endowed with a voice which for tone and compass was unrivalled-gifted with the power of imparting to the simplest melody a degree of expression that went to the heart, because thence it sprang, but unequal to grapple with the more elaborate forms of vocal composition. The same may be said of Sedgwick, whose splendid voice was only surpassed by his musical ignorance. Dignum knew a little more, but his vocal range was very limited. As instructed singers the ladies of the two theatres, at this time, took a higher rank, and among them Mrs. Crouch and Miss Leak. But Attwood, like every writer for the stage, was compelled to adapt himself to the powers of his singers, and hence his productions for the stage exhibit their capabilities rather than his own. Nor did he ever attempt a grand opera, of which he regarded the performance, according to his view of it, as hopeless, contenting himself with the production of a number of musical after-pieces. The first of these was "The Prisoner," of which the libretto was written by the Rev. Mr. Rose, one of the masters of Merchant Tailors' school. It was performed by the Drury-Lane company in 1792 at the Õpera House (Drury Lane Theatre being then in the course of erection), and, according to Oulton, "well received." Here Attwood introduced to his countrymen Mozart's now well-known song, "Non più andrai," which was sung by Sedgwick to words beginning "Where the banners of glory are streaming," and evinced powers both natural and acquired in the rest of the opera, which might, under more favourable circumstances, have advanced the reputation of the English lyric drama. The following list comprises all Attwood's dramatic productions:—" The Prisoner," 1792; "The Mariners," 1793; "Adopted Child," 1793; " Carnarvon Castle," 1793; "Poor Sailor," 1795; " Smugglers," 1796; "Mouth of the Nile," 1798; "Devil of a Lover," 1798; " Day at Rome," 1798; "Castle of Sorrento," 1799; “ Magic Oak" (pantomime), 1799; "Old Clothesman," 1799; "Red Cross Knight," 1799; "St. David's Day," 1800; "True Friends," 1800; "Escapes" (altered from Cherubini), 1801. He also wrote, in 1807, the music for Tobin's posthumous play of "The Curfew," which contains the most popular of his dra In Italy and in modern Germany most of the composers who have excelled in writing for the stage have also devoted their talents to the service of the church. In England three names alone of any eminence appear both as sacred and dramatic writers-Purcell, Boyce, and Attwood: and of these the first only continued to write for the stage to the termination of his brief career; Boyce and Attwood quitted all connection with it at a comparatively early period. Attwood had the power to have done much for thematic compositions, "Hark, the curfew's soEnglish lyric drama, but he was denied the means. He had just quitted a country in which every theatre was supplied with excellent instrumental performers and competent singers. He found at the great London theatres neither the one nor the other. Their orchestras were limited and feeble, and their singers were not able to realize lemn sound." These musical pieces were, for the most part, expected to be short-lived, and they were so; but there is scarcely one devoid of some evidences of their author's inventive powers and attainments. Attwood was always in the power of his singers, to their caprices he was compelled to conform, and often to write down to their level; nor were the intrigues and contentions of the green-room suited to a character of which benevolence and strict integrity formed the principal features. For the last thirty years of his life he had given up dramatic composition. The works which he produced during this period were almost exclusively of a religious character. The Prince of Wales, on Attwood's return to England, appointed him one of his chamber musicians, a situation which he held for many years. On the marriage of the Duke of York with the Princess Royal of Prussia, he was selected as her musical instructor, and he afterwards attended the Princess of Wales in the same capacity. When the differences at Carlton House began to assume a serious form, he was often placed in situations of a very trying kind, in which he was uniformly guided by sound principle and discretion. On the coronation of George IV., it became Attwood's official duty to compose one of the coronation anthems, when he produced "I was glad when they said unto me," which was performed at the coronation, was afterwards published, and sung at every musical festival in the kingdom. It also restored him to the notice of his early patron, who appointed him organist of the private chapel in the Pavilion at Brighton-a place solely of honour, as the expenses attending it far exceeded his salary. On the accession of William IV., he composed for the coronation his anthem, “O Lord, grant the King a long life." He survived the accession of Queen Victoria, and had commenced his anthem for her coronation, which, however, he did not live to witness. 66 His appointment to the office of composer to his majesty took place in 1796, on the death of Dr. Dupuis, on which occasion Dr. Porteus, then dean of the Chapel Royal, separated the place of composer from that of organist, and Attwood did not hold the latter till the death of Mr. Stafford Smith, about thirty years afterwards. The following list comprises all of Attwood's compositions for the church that are now known to exist:-Morning and Evening Service in F, 1796, published in Goss and Turle's Cathedral Music; Morning and Evening Service in A, 1825; Morning and Evening Service in c, 1832; Morning and Evening Service in D, 1833. In addition to the anthems already mentioned-"Teach me, O Lord" (printed); My soul truly waiteth" (ditto); "Bow down thine ear" (ditto); Turn thee, O Lord" (ditto); "Let thy hand be strengthened," with orchestral accompaniments; "Blessed is he that considereth;" Collect for the Epiphany; Collect for the first Sunday after Epiphany; "Grant, we beseech thee;" "Let the words of my mouth;" "Withdraw not thou thy mercy;"" They that go down;" ""O pray for the peace;" "Be thou my judge." The anthem "Blessed is he" was written for the yearly meeting of the charity children at St. Paul's in 1806; the rest bear various dates, from 1814 to 1837. He also set the "Sanctus" and the "Kyrie Eleison" in several different keys, apart from the Services already named. His labours as composer to his majesty were prompted by a sense of duty and a love of his art. From the official dignitaries of the Chapel Royal he experienced only discouragement. His first Service in F alone appears on the choir books; the parts of his other Services he was compelled to have copied at his own expense. When he had finished his second Coronation Anthem, a similar objection was made to the expense of having the necessary orchestral parts copied, and it was only in consequence of his declared intention of appealing directly to the king that the composition was prepared for performance. When engaged in writing his first Coronation Anthem, he received an intimation, from the same quarter, that it must not exceed seven minutes in length; an injunction which, to a man of Attwood's character and station, was equally rude and barbarous. Another department of his art was cultivated by Attwood with equal success: some time after his return to England he became known as a glee writer. The society known by the appellation of the Concentores Sodales," and of which Webbe, Callcott, R. Cooke, Horsley, and other eminent glee writers have been members, was founded in 1798, and Attwood joined it in 1801. There was also a society called "The Harmonists," which used to meet at the Albion Tavern, for the purpose of glee singing, of which Stevens-the Gresham professor of music-was long the director, and for which he wrote many of his admirable glees. On his resiguation Attwood was invited to succeed him, and for these two societies most of his glees were composed. He also followed the example which Stevens was the first to set, and produced several glees with double accompaniment for the pianoforte. Among the most popular of these were "In peace love tunes the shepherd's reed" and "Rise to the battle, my thousands." A long list might be given of his single songs, but there is one which earned a career of popularity which few classical English songs have, of late years, attained. "The Soldier's Dream" is the product of a mind gifted with power to confer upon music its highest attribute and most powerful charm. Attwood was married in 1793 to Mary, only child of Matthew Denton, Esq., of Stotfold, Bedfordshire. His son George, as Senior Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, succeeded to the living of Framlingham, Suffolk, of which he is now rector. Attwood died in March, 1838, and was buried on the 31st of that month in St. Paul's Cathedral, nearly under the organ. His funeral was attended by the members of the three metropolitan choirs, and, as part of the service, his " Magnificat" and "Nunc dimittis" were sung. He was succeeded, as organist of this cathedral, by his pupil Mr. John Goss. In Attwood's character were combined qualities which commanded the respect and won the affection of those who were associated with him either by family ties, by professional intercourse, or by the relations of instructor and pupil. He delighted, from his copious store of knowledge and experience, to guide and animate the young, even the youngest musical student. Instruction was, with him, not only a duty but a pleasure, and in this feeling all who received it from him largely participated. Every evidence of talent among his pupils he cherished with parental assiduity and spoke of it with parental pride. To his art he was enthusiastically attached, and this feeling continued without abatement through his life. Though his exertions were early checked from causes over which he had no control, and though he failed at once to awaken the sympathies of his countrymen for the works of his great master, his confidence in their future popularity was unshaken, and when the time to which he had looked forward did arrive, his aid was promptly rendered to assist in their production. He was one of the earliest members of the Philharmonic Society, and for many years one of its conductors. His compositions were marked by the features of his character "He mark'd in his elegant strain (fol influence on the studies of the university in The graces that glowed in his mind." They are the offspring of a mind naturally susceptible of everything that was graceful, strengthened by the power of knowledge and enriched with the resources of art. Music was with him a passion and a language, rather ATWOOD, WILLIAM, a constitutional than a profession. He loved it for itself, and writer and political controversialist of the in every true votary of it he welcomed a end of the seventeenth and the beginning of friend and a brother. (Gentleman's Maga- the eighteenth century. He had been chief zine; Information received from Mr. T. F. justice of New York, but at what time is not Walmisley and Mr. Goss; Personal Know-distinctly known. The first work attributed ledge.) to him was a defence of the early authority of parliament, called "Jani Anglorum Facies Nova" (erroneously entered by Watt "Jus Anglorum," &c.), printed anonymously in 1680. It was severely attacked in the "Introduction to the Old English History," by Brady, whose great learning in the sources of British history made him a powerful advocate of the prerogative. Atwood is supposed to have been the author of a rejoinder called "Jus Anglorum ab antiquo," and to have written another book against Brady, called " Argumentum Anti-Normanicum; or an Argument proving from Ancient Histories and Records, that William Duke of Normandy made no absolute Conquest of Eng E. T. ATWOOD, GEORGE, fellow and tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge, was born in 1745, took the degree of A.B. in 1769, died in 1807. We can find no recorded details of his life. Atwood's writings are:-1. "A Treatise on the Rectilinear Motion of Bodies," Cambridge, 1784, 4to. This is a very laboured work, embracing much more than the title would suggest, and written with a strong effort to preserve both the form and the reality of ancient rigour. It contains the first account of the machine since called by the name of Atwood, by which the laws of simply-accelerated motion are experimentally verified. This work exercised much The on an excited people, a work written in such land by the sword, in the sense of our modern . He AUBE. [RICHER D'AUBE.] AUBENTON, LOUIS JEAN MARIE D', was born at Montbar in the department of Côte-d'Or, in France, where his father was a notary, on the 29th of May, 1716. He commenced his studies at the College of Jesuits at Dijon, and afterwards went through the course of philosophical studies prescribed by the Dominicans. At an early age he gave those indications of diligence and good nature which so much distinguished him through life. His father destined him for the church, and he accordingly went to Paris for the purpose of studying theology. But he had imbibed a love for the study of natural history, and whilst ostensibly pursuing a course of theological study, he was in secret devoting himself to medicine, a profession which promised him the means of engaging in the pursuits to which he was most devoted. Whilst in Paris, he attended the lectures of Baron, Martiney and Col de Villars, and also those of Winslow, Hunauld, and Antoine de Jussieu. His father died in 1736, and being left at liberty to pursue his own inclinations, he completed his probationary medical education, and graduated at Reims in 1740. He immediately returned to his native town, where he commenced the practice of his profession. He was here distinguished by the skill with which he treated the cases which occurred during the prevalence of an epidemic fever in the district in which he lived. It was at this period of D'Aubenton's life that Buffon, who was also a native of Moutbar, conceived the idea of writing his great | work on natural history. He moreover found that his knowledge of anatomy was too limited to enable him to execute this part of his projected work, and accordingly he made an arrangement with D'Aubenton to assist him in this department. Buffon was soon after called to Paris to assist in arranging the royal cabinet of natural history. Through his influence D'Aubenton was prevailed upon to take up his residence at Paris, and he was speedily appointed curator and demonstrator of the cabinet of natural history. His salary on first engaging in this situation was 500 francs per annum, but it was subsequently increased to 4000 francs. Before the appointment of D'Aubenton to this position the royal cabinet of natural history at the Jardin des Plantes consisted of a very meagre collection of objects in natural history. Its principal contents were a collection of shells which had been made by Tournefort. No sooner, however, had D'Aubenton been appointed curator than he applied with all diligence to collect specimens; and he was materially assisted by the influence of Buffon. He devoted himself to the art of preserving specimens in natural history, and succeeded especially in the stuffing and setting up the skins of birds and quadrupeds. To the labours of his curatorship D'Aubenton was ever sincerely devoted, and to the last days of his long life he gave especial attention to the arrangement and good order of the vast amount of specimens which he had seen accumulate around him, and the museum of the Jardin des Plantes, as long as it lasts, will be a monument of his diligence, genius, and skill. Whatever merit belongs to the anatomy of the animals described in the first thirteen volumes of Buffon's "Natural History," and this, it must be confessed, is very great for the time, is entirely due to D'Aubenton. In this work he has given the anatomical details of 182 species of Mammalia, 58 of which had not been described, and 18 species were entirely new. Since the publication of this work comparative anatomy has made great progress; but whatever may be the defects of these labours of D'Aubenton, they have the merit of being the first in which anything like a system of comparative anatomy had been attempted. His observations were confessedly imperfect, but they were always correct, and in recording with accuracy a great number of facts, of the ultimate value of which he was little aware, the observation of Camper may be justly applied to him, that "D'Aubenton was unconscious of all the discoveries of which he was the author." Such too was the opinion of Cuvier, who of all men knew most the value and made the best use of D'Aubenton's observations. But D'Aubenton was not allowed to finish the work which he had so well commenced. Buffon sought other assistance in the details of the anatomy of the birds and reptiles. All the circumstances that led to the separation of Buffon and D'Aubenton have not transpired. Some attribute it to the jealousy of Réaumur, who was at that time a candidate for the first position amongst naturalists; others, to the jealousy of Buffon himself. Whatever may have been the cause, it is certain that Buffon published a duodecimo edition of the first part of his work on quadrupeds, in which all the anatomical details were left out. It is said that this displeased D'Aubenton so much that he refused to give any further assistance in the completion of the larger work. It seems, however, so natural that the graphic and popular descriptions of Buffon should be published separately for the purpose of obtaining a wider circulation of a scientific book, that we can hardly think that this was the ground of D'Aubenton's declining a further share in the labours of this great work. D'Aubenton did not make any public statement of his grievance, and whatever the misunderstanding might have been between Buffon and himself, it was not permanent, for long before the death of Buffon they were again on the most inti mate terms. In the remaining parts of his work Buffon was assisted by several anatomists, and amongst those who have executed their labours best are Pallas and Lacepède. Many of the editions of this work are reprints of the original duodecimo, and those who wish to obtain D'Aubenton's labours complete must procure the first edition. In the part of the work on minerals Buffon derived much assistance from the manuscripts of D'Aubenton. Up to the time of his discontinuing his researches for Buffon, he had written little, but afterwards during his lengthened life he |