Vtuttiutzt.
Mademoiselle Jenny Lind, on her way from the Continent to America; has paid a brief professional visit to Liverpool:, and the inhabitants of that great mart seem to have had their heads turned by the distinguished honour. Her visit became a sort of royal progress, and the papers have, been_ loaded with the accounts of her hourly doings. Mademoiselle Lind's retirement from the stage had only extended the interest in her vocal performances.; so that it was with not much surprise that the London. public learned she had accepted Mr. Barnum's engagement to sing at one hundred and fifty concerts, before "the most free, enlightened, and liberal- paying citizens on the airth," at the extraordinary rate of two hundred pounds each concert liar journey over the Atlantic lying through Liverpool, the Philharmonic Society of that place conceived the plan of a gigantic concert on behalf of a local hospital. Mademoiselle Lind WU., offered an honorarium. of one thousand' pounds for two perfimmances liz this behalf; the offer was accepted ; and the great events came off on Friday and Monday last.
The arrival of the fair songstress in Liverpool was itself an event of éclat : the Adelphi Hotel immediately became the focus upon which the interest of the whole community was centred. A vast crowd constantly waved in front of the piece; and events which at other times would have had their own interest gained considera- tion only as they might affect her movements. A very considerable fire in the town, instead, of drawing the masses its own. direction, drove people from all parts to the neighbourhood of the Adelphi Hotel, in. hopes of seeing Mademoiselle Lind go forth to look at the fire,— as if that had been part of the. programme of tho entertainment which she- in her turn received from Liverpool! The tickets of admission to the concert were officially raised.in price throe times above their normal value, and by the public they- were further bidden up to a height of eight or nine times the original rate r three guineas were offered to lucky possessors of: a ticket which in ordinary times is issued for seven shilling.
The first concert, on Friday, was attended by upwards of three thou-- sand persons. Mr. Benedict was the conductor. The music was princi- pally pieces from the leading Italian and German operas, sung with Bel- letti, and songs, both Swedish and English, by Mademoiselle Lind her- self; Miss Andrews and Miss T. Williams with their voices, and M.. Vivier with his wonderful harmonistie horn, filling up the programme.. Mademoiselle Lind sang nearly a dozen times ; and though some of her demand immense physical effort, suad the audience were unrelenting: in their encores, yet each time her performance seemed to surpass the- last ; her delicacy-and truth of intimation were as marvellously perfect as ever, while yet her energy rose to a. pitch. tbat worked her hearers into raptures. The performances of the first day were an earnest that ex- ceeded the most wondering expectation. On Saturday, everybody was speculating upon what Mademoiselle would achieve in the sublime strains
of The Messiah, which was to be performed on Monday. The rehearsals were the matter of absorbing gossip even on 'change. It was noted with delight among such practical citizens, that the prima donna was above all the most exact in her attendance and the most careful and krbosious in her practice at these preparations. The absence of the "gentleman to whom the tenor music was allotted" was- marked in the papers with so gravity of condemnation and an emphasis of contrast likely to be remem-- bered by the said tenor.
At this rehearsal, the Philharmonic Society presented to M. Jules- Benedict a written testimonial of their respect and good wishes. The
presentation was unexpected, and well managed : M Benedict acknow- ledged it with spontaneous delight; amid Mademoiselle Lind lent the grace of her smiles and overflowing sympathy to.the pleasant oi easion. The performance of The Messiah, as of course one expects, was beyond' all that one could expect. the accounts of this triumph are briefer than those of the filet, but no less emphatic. The audience was more enor- mous than before, and Mademoiselle Lind' s "fervid devotion" raised them to a speechless ecstacy. The performance was.broken by the pre- sentation of an address,—which one may dismiss at once with the remarks, that both the presentation was artistically ill-placed in the midst of the programme, and the taste of the address itself was bad, being quite as copious in glorification of the Philharmonic Society and the Liverpool Music Hall, as it was overflowing with real enthusiasm at the unmatched powers and services of Mademoiselle Lind. At the end of the performance the songstress was overwhelmed with the usual tributes of admiration to successful song; and her leave-taking was altogether such a one as was never before given even to herselL
On Tuesday morning, Mademoiselle Lind visited the Toxteth Hos- pital, to the aid of which the receipts of the concert are to be devoted. The committee presented her with a silver tea-kettle, very richly orna- mented, and a pair of silver candlesticks. The interest of the populace in her movements even increased : stories by the score are current of the eccentric efforts made by individuals to see her, or, a more supreme hap- piness, to touch her hand. Steamers were chartered to accompany the Atlantic steamer, by which she would cross the ocean, as far as the North Light. In the evening of Tuesday, the expectation of what would hap- pen at her departure on Wednesday was such in the minds of the authori- -ties, that they formally requested, as a favour to the Municipality, that she would start privately, two hours earlier than the hour publicly an- nounced. This favour was accorded by Mademoiselle Lind ; she left the hotel, with her suite, in the quietest manner, and was on board the Atlantic some time before any vast concourse had assembled. At the appointed hour, however, the multitude was as great as the authorities had expected : their precaution had been fully justified ; for the crush -was so heavy that communication with the ship was almost cut off.
"At half-past ten o'clock the mail-boat was seen approaching the Atlan- ; and, after official business had been transacted, conveyed the friends of Mademoiselle Lind back again to shore. The report of a gun, and the smoke that issued from the sides of the vessel, glittering in the sunlight, now an- nounced that the Atlantic was about to start in right good earnest The mighty steamer moved down the river at a stately pace ; and as, one after another, it neared the various boats that were sailing in its vicinity, succes- sive peals of cheers were heard. Soon it reached the neighbourhood of Prince's Pier; about which the body of the vast mob on dry land and the largest and most crowded of the steamers were congregated. The guns of the Atlantic, firing double salutes, answered at intervals from shore on either side of the bay—the loud and continued cheers that rose from land and water, reiterated by the passengers on board—the splendour of the weather (for now the rain had ceased and the sun was shining in all its glory)—the volumes of smoke curling up the sides of the steamer in revolving columns, until at times it seemed lost in a cloud—the docks, with their army of ships of every shape and size,—these, and other objects we [the Times] have no time to par- ticularize, combined in producing a scene which for grandeur, variety, and animation, we have never beheld surpassed."
Mademoiselle Lind now appeared by the captains's side on the paddle- box : it is said that she "sobbed and wept" with excitement at the farewell. She waved her handkerchief again and again in answer to the often re- newed shouts of the multitude ; which were continued till it was no longer possible to distinguish her figure in the remote distance.
At Preston, on Tuesday, Mr. Henry Blackhurst, a solicitor widely known, was arrested on a charge of having forged a codicil to the will of his late wife, who died on the 31st of July last. Mrs. Blackhurst was a widow at her marriage twenty-five years ago with the gentleman now under accusa- tion. Her first husband was a Mr. Maxwell of Glasgow, a gentleman of great wealth ; who left her a rich provision as his widow. In affection for his memory, she had resolved to dedicate her wealth, after the expiration of a life interest which she gave to Mr. Blackhurst if he survived her, to the foundation of a great school in Glasgow, bearing her first husband's name. ' This intention she had carried out by a will dated the 25th September 1847. But on her death, a codicil, dated in the month in which she died, was found, giving all her property absolutely to Mr. Blackhurst. It seems that this codicil was drawn by Mr. Blackhurst himself, and was attested by Mr. Aseroft and Mr. Ambler, an attorney and attorney's clerk, who by chance were at his house on the day of its execution by Mrs. Blackhurst. The forgery now charged consisted in the interlineation of these words—" And lastly, I give, devise, and bequeath all my real and personal estate and effects to my husband, his heirs and assigns, for ever ab- solutely." So singular a clause—universal and absolute—as an interlinea- tion, excited the suspicion of the Bellies of Glasgow, trustees under the former will. Mr. Ascroft and Mr. Ambler swear that the interlineation was not in the original when they attested its execution by Mrs. Blackhurst; and some witnesses depose that during her life Mrs. Blackhurst expressed fears that her husband "would put her hand to paper when she was dead." The Preston Magistrates remanded the prisoner fill Monday, and refused to take bail.
William Ross, whose trial for the murder of his wife by administering arsenic to her we lately described, was hanged on Saturday, in front of York Castle. A strong opinion prevailing in the minds of some persons who examined the history of the case, that Ross was the innocent victim of other really guilty parties—his wife's own relatives—great efforts were made to obtain a repneve. We mentioned that a respite had been granted ; but this was the utmost that Sir George Grey thought proper : in the interval of de- lay further inquiries failed to satisfy him that the sentence of death ought not to be revoked. Ross died firmly, to the last declaring his innocence.
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