For JULY 1819. A New and Improved Series. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ILLUSTRIOUS AND DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS. Number One Hundred and Twenty-five. DELAROM, THE FAIR CIRCASSIAN. THE biographical sketch of a young, governed by Frengi, or Europeans; and slave, destined from childhood by unfeeling parents, for the sake of lucre, to a splendid and perpetual vassalage, while it excites strong sensations of pity, cannot but afford interest to European readers; whose happier lot in a land of freedom, and where civil and moral law is a protection and safeguard to the weak and defenceless, while they turn with horror from the contemplation of female beauty,|| thus secluded, and deprived of those mental endowments which smooth the wrinkled brow of age and sorrow, such gratefully bless their lot, "That they were born on Christian ground." A short account also of the Circassians, in general, cannot fail, we are assured, of being equally interesting to our readers. The Circassians inhabit the country between Astracan and Caspian on the east, and the Euxine on the west; this country is bounded by Russia on the north, and Georgia on the south. They reckon among them princes, nobles, and vassals. The revenue of their princes seems to have consisted in a claim to one sheep from every flock when driven in spring to the mountains, and another on its return, in autumn, to the plains. All public measures are proposed by the prince, and debated by the nobles and deputies of the people. A remarkable tradition prevails among the inhabitants, that their country was once || on this subject they relate an action of one of their ancestors which, however our fair readers may fail to appreciate its merit, forms, at least, a memorable instance of patriotic devotion. One of their princes had a wife of extraordinary beauty: the Frankish governor, captivated by her charms, demanded her of her husband; who, in turn, required a promise, that whatever he should ask in return should be granted. The Frank agreed; and the husband himself took his wife to the governor, and demanded the relinquishment of his country to its native defenders. From this incident came a remarkable proverb among the Circassians—" For this land we gave our wives." The Circassians have no regular tribunals, nor any written laws: certain punishments are, however, annexed to theft and murder, and the power of life and death is possessed by all the nobles over their immediate vassals. Constantly occupied in war or in the chase, they possess, in perfection, the qualities of bravery and cunning to which such occupations give birth: their swiftness is such, that the Cossacks, although by far the fleetest horsemen with which Europeans are acquainted, confess themselves unable to overtake them. On the other hand, the distrust occasioned by their perpetual wars with the neighbouring tribes, is so great, that every man among them goes armed; sidered a breach of decorum; and the estaand it has been remarked, that no Circas-blishment commonly consists of two huts, sian poet can sing the peaceful labours of the one reserved for the wife, the other for the field; for there the business of the the husband and the reception of visitors. plough is performed and the crops guardedDr. Clarke speaks highly of the attachment by armed men. The habit of incessant warfare often exists among half civilized nations, in concert with a generous and romantic hospitality: thus the stranger who confides himself to the honour of the Circassians, experiences support and protection from those who, if they had met him in their predatory excursions, would probably have crossed their boundaries to seize on him, and sell him as a slave. Travellers relate, that if a stranger under their roof is menaced by his enemies, the wife of the host gives him some milk from her breast; and thenceforward the whole family is bound to revenge any violence that may be offered to him. Such events are a fertile cause of war; and unless par- || don is obtained by purchase or by intermarriage, the enmity is carried on through successive generations. To secure a hardy progeny, the sons of their princes are placed for education under the care of one of their vassals, who is rewarded by a portion of what he gains in the chase; the father does not see his son till he is grown up: hence if a stranger inquires of one of their nobles concerning his son, he reddens with indignation, and commonly turns away. of the Circassian female to her husband: we refer our readers to his travels for a very interesting passage on that subject. The Circassian women are reckoned the most beautiful of all the region of Caucasus; their persons are naturally well formed, but their resorting to art to procure a very slender waist, divests the other contours of proportionable beauty, at least in the eyes of Europeans. Their eyes are very fine, but their features, in general, more regular than beautiful. Their hair is a fine glossy black, which they wear braided, and depending in two tresses to the shoulders. A black coif is usually worn on the head, covered with a fine white cloth tied under the throat. Such is the dress of those who, fortunately, are not destined for slavery, and remain in their native country. Those sold in childhood to the slave merchants, and intended for the Turkish seraglio and || harems of the east, generally adopt the dress of the country of their masters. The original of the Portrait we present to our readers has adopted the dress of London and Paris during her sojournment in those cities. Before, however, that we proceed to those particulars concerning the interesting Delarom, with which we mean to conclude this sketch, we shall describe the art al Plain, and almost indigent in their attire, their chiefs form a striking contrast with the neighbouring tribes of Cossacks,||luded to above, to procure a slender waist, whose dress is said to be most theatrical. It is a curious circumstance that the Circassian females may, with great probability, trace their origin to the Amazons of ancient ages. Yet no transformation can be more remarkable than that to which we are here introduced; where, instead of the martial female, mounted and armed with bow and arrow, contending in the field against the hardy Scythians, we behold domesticated || woman, dressed in the more becoming potency of loveliness! We still, however, fancy that we trace some remains of their ancient character in their custom of reproaching their husbands when defeated in battle. The Circassian husband does not visit his wife in the day time, it would be con which gives to all the Circassian females those broad and protuberant shoulders, with that unzoned appearance below the waist, so conspicuous in Delarom. A leathern belt is sewed round every female infant soon after its birth; where it remains till it bursts, when it is replaced by another. By this contrivance their waists are rendered remarkably small; but the shoulders, as we remarked above, are ungracefully large. The King of Persia, who resides at Tahiran, sent with his Ambassador a retinue of one hundred and twenty persons, among whom was Captain Willock, who is in the service of the Prince of Persia. From Ta hiran they travelled to Bucharest, on horseback; their route lay through the follow ing cities:-Tahiran, Sultanee, Tebriz, and | artist of superior eminence, whose works Ervan, which was the last town in Persia. have been justly admired in this Magazine, They then passed through Arz-Roume, has taken the first, and whatever relates the capital of Armenia, a fine country, to the latter has been furnished us by one watered considerably by rivers; proceed-in the constant suite of the Ambassador ing thence through Amasich, Tokat, Bain- from Tahiran, in Persia, to London. The da, Boli, Uscobi, Isnikmid, and Constanti- || few particulars concerning the Circassian nople. This occupied five months, being were obtained chiefly from her own lips. the distance of five hundred leagues. The Persian Ambassador continued two months at Constantinople, and there he purchased his Circassian slave,* at one of the weekly exhibitions of slaves in the market-place. From Coustantinople he sent back all his suite, except fifteen per sons. He then, with these few attendants, proceeded to Adrianople, Bucharest in Molochia, Hermanstadt, Temeshaw, Pesth, and Buda, the capital of Hungary; thence to Vienna, Munich, the capital of Bavaria, Stutgard, Mentz, Chalons, Paris, Calais, and London. The horses sent by the King of Persia as a present to the Prince Regent of England, came under the care of Captain Willock, and Mr. Mitchel, a Greek courier, by sea from Constantinople to Marseilles, and thence across France to their destination. The Circassian travelled in the same coach with the Ambassador from Bucharest to Calais, and from Dover to London. In the states of the Turkish government the Ambassador was supplied with rations, and the Mehmanders provided horses, &c. || From Armstadt, in Transylvania, to Vienna, he travelled at his own expence; and from Vienna to France his travelling expences were defrayed by the respective governments of the states through which he passed. Whoever has beheld her will, we doubt not, be struck with the faithful resemblance of our engraving to the original. Our artist is of opinion that she is far more lovely in countenance than really beautiful; her eyes are black, and remarkably fine; her teeth and mouth peculiarly lovely; her nose is not handsome; and the whole contour of her face very far from Grecian : her complexion is brown, but her skin is soft and very clear, a blush being frequently seen to mantle over her cheek. Her hair is a fine soft and glossy jet. She is known at present by the name of Delarom, which is her native name; surnames of significa. tion are often given to the ladies of the harem. Of her country she retains no recollection but that of wandering over the mountains, when a little child, with her father; whence we may be led to suppose he was a shepherd, and one whose poverty induced him, perhaps, to follow the custom of his country, in selling his daughter at an early age to the Turkish slave merchants. The accomplishments of the fair Circassian, we are fully authorized to say, are not of that superior order which has been asserted in some of our public journals: except being perfect mistress of the modern Greek language, her acquirements are very bounded. She is now learning to write; and though she is fond of hearing the mu The Portrait that we have now the satis-sical clocks presented by the King of France faction of offering to the public, with the above statement, is neither the work of imagination † nor of hearsay. A female *The Persian Ambassador has at home four wives and twenty concubines; the former of illustrious birth. The lot of the Circassian is, no doubt, to augment the number of the latter. A distinguished female correspondent who passed an hour and a half with Delarom one morning, and has since been indulged with other interviews, assures us it was very amusing to hear her remarks on the different soi-disant likenesses that have been taken of her. The imagined costume diverted her much; "it was," she said, "like bundle of rags! And at Dover, I shew but my eyes: no, no-no like Delarom! to her master, yet her own skill in music consists only in playing a few tunes on the harp; and she is learning to perform on the guitar. She is possessed of a sweet and native politeness, which evinces itself in a genteel address, and in a manner perfectly graceful, attended with a most interesting kind of humility, which has, however, no. And I have no white satin with gold fringe; no diamond on my hair."-It is clear that when she stepped into the carriage at Dover, her face was covered with the thick yellow veil adopted by all females of the harem when obliged to go out; this has only two openings for the eyes. thing in it the least degrading to its possessor; and her disposition is extremely gay and lively. Two eunuchs constantly guard her person; they attend her as she passes from one apartment to the other, and are armed with double daggers, or short swords, to oppose the entrance of any one of the male sex; not one of which can possibly have access to her. As we turn from the contemplation of this "barred and bolted" female, we cannot help contrasting the truly English maxim of our countryman, Prior, when giving advice for the treatment of an English wife:"Be to her faults a little blind, "Be to her virtues very kind; "Let all her ways be unconfin'd, "And clap your padlock on her mind.” ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSIC. THE OPERA. voice was at first a soprano, but afterwards descended into a fine contr' alto. The opera prices were raised on his arrival to fifteen shillings for the boxes on the stage, half-aguinea the pit and other boxes, and first gallery five shillings. The voice of Valentini, the next singer, was feeble, and his BY a sudden theatrical revolution in 1708, Betterton and his company of comedians, after the performance of Macbeth, for the benefit of Wilks, on the 11th of January, abandoned their dominions in the Haymarket wholly to foreign invaders, and uniting with their rivals in Drury-execution moderate; but Nicolini was perLane, established themselves in their old quarters. Thomyris, Queen of Scythia, which had been nine times represented before Christmas at Drury-Lane, was now performed with greater splendour. The music of Thomyris, though not of a very high cast, was yet superior to any that had hitherto been heard in this country, in its attempt at operas. In the February of this year Signor Cassani arrived from Italy; and at this time a new subscription was opened, the number of tickets, at half-a-guinea each, not to exceed four hundred: first gallery five shillings, upper gallery two shillings. At the next performance of Camilla, tickets for the pit and boxes were advertised at seven shillings and sixpence; stage boxes ten shillings and sixpence. fect as a singer and as an actor. These two performers, with voices and abilities wholly new to an English audience, acted the parts of Pyrrhus and Demetrius in Italian; while Mrs. Tofts, the celebrated female English singer (except in a duet with Nicolini), Messrs. Ramondon and Cook, kept to their mother tongue. On the 19th of January, 1709, Nicolini had the same opera at the King's Theatre for his benefit; and to this confusion of tongues the public were extremely tolerant and good humoured. Almahide, performed in January, 1710, was the first opera performed in England wholly in Italian, and by Italian singers. There were operas then, as at present, generally twice a week; and Almahide was performed before the summer recess fourteen times. The Italian opera had now obtained a settlement on our island; and the colony has been renovated with fresh supplies from the mother country ever since. In having an Italian opera the English have manifested their good taste in music. The Italian tongue is much more sweet, and of more easy utterance than any other modern The Opera-House opened late the ensu. ing winter, on account of the death of Prince George of Denmark, which took place on the 28th of October. The theatres were all shut till December 14th, when a new opera was brought on the stage called Pyrrhus and Demetrius: and the performance of this drama forms an era in the annals of the lyric theatre in England. It was the first in which the celebrated Ni-language, and therefore it is that the vocal colini appeared. This great singer, and still greater actor, was a Neapolitan: his music of Italy has been more successfully cultivated than any other in Europe: but opera that Handel composed for the Royal Academy. Handel had the songs of this opera finely engraved on copper, and published them himself. The first movement of the overture is remarkably grand and operas could offer more amusement to a modern audience than Radamisto, in which there are so many fine songs in so many different styles. On May 5th, 1726, the opera of Alessandro, set to music by Handel, first appeared; in which a new capital female that vocal music can never be heard in perfection unless sung to its own language, and by its own natives, who give to the language and the music the true accents and expressions. On the 14th of May, 1712, another at-majestic; and, indeed, few of Handel's tempt at an opera in our own language was made by Mr. Hughes, an intimate friend of Mr. Addison's. This opera was entitled Calypso and Telemachus, and was set by Mr. Gaillard, an excellent musician, and, though a German, had been long enough in England to know the language and taste of the country. The dialogue || performer made her first débût in England: and songs of this opera were truly poetical; this was Signora Faustina Bordoni, whose but besides the waut of interest in the in- arrival in this country forms a grand era in cidents of the drama, and the serious cast the annals of music. The umbrage given of the sentiments, Nicolini had no part into Cuzzoni by her coming hither, proves it; it was performed by second and third rate performers, who were not sufficiently captivating to supply the place of such singers as the town had become accustomed to. Calypso supported but five representations. On the 2d of June, 1716, his Majesty George I. commanded the opera of Pyrrhus and Demetrius: and on the 13th an opera was performed for the instrumental music, which his Majesty likewise honoured with his patronage and presence. The opera performed was Amadige. In the year 1720, a plan was formed for patronizing, supporting, and carrying on Italian operas; and a fund of fifty thousand pounds was raised by subscription amongst the first personages in the kingdom; to which as his Majesty George I. had subscribed one thousand pounds, this esta. blishment was called The Royal Academy of Music. And in order to render this design as complete as possible, it was determined by the directors not only to engage a lyric poet in their service, but the best vocal performers that could be found in the several parts of Europe where there was a musical theatre, and the three most eminent composers then living who could be prevailed on to visit this country. The first opera performed after this establishment was Numitor, composed by Giovanni Porta, of Venice; the music of which was superior to that of any other opera previously brought from Italy. After five representations Numitor was superseded on April 27th, 1720, by Radumisto, the first that an aspiring sister is as obnoxious to a theatrical queen, as a brother near a throne is to a Turkish monarch. Alessandro was the first opera in which these rival singers sung together on the stage; and it may not be uninteresting to our readers if we give them a biographical sketch of each of these highly distinguished favourites of the public. Francesca Cuzzoni was a native of Parma, and was the pupil of Lanzi, the most eminent professor of his time, and under whose directions she became a most exqui site performer. Nature had given her a voice equally clear, sweet, and flexible; and it was difficult for her hearers to determine whether she excelled most in slow or rapid airs: a native warble enabled her to execute divisions with such facility that every appearance of difficulty was imperceptible; and the natural tone of her voice was so grateful and touching that she rendered pathetic whatever she sung; and by her manner of conducting, sustaining, increasing, or diminishing, she acquired, among professors, the title of complete mistress of her art. Her shake was perfect, her fancy creative, and her high notes were unrivalled in clearness and sweetness. On her first arrival in England she married a harpsichord master, named Sandoni; he was also a composer of some eminence. In 1749. her voice was reduced to a mere thread, and all its soft mellifluous qualities nearly annihilated: in a room, however, might yet be discovered some very fine remains of her former grace and sweetness |