... . The appointment of Mr. William H. Cummings as Principal of the Guildhall School of Music, vice Sir Joseph Barnby deceased, is invested with peculiar interest (writes a Sketch representative). Mr. Cummings not only succeeds to a chair unusually admirably filled by his predecessor, render ing his new position one of much difficulty and onerous responsibility, but this is the first appointment, ...

... MR, ROBERT BRIDGES. A representative of The Sketch called upon Mr. Robert Bridges at his office in the Scribner Building, on Fifth Avenue, New York, to ask him why he was himself-- in other words, why he was Robert Bridges, and not Thomas or John Bridges. He reminded him that Robert Bridges was the name of a distinguished English poet, whose friends and the English public, such of it as read ...

... THE WORLD OF SPORT. CRICKET. The cricket, and even the general sporting world, has been stirred to its depths by the question of the qualification in an England team of K. S. Ranjitsinji. The famous Sussex amateur was found guilty of not being born in England, and so the selecting committee of the M.C.C. decided to leave him out in the match just played with the Australians at Lord's. There ...

... OUR LADIES' PAGES. FASHIONS, FINERY, AND FURNITURE. The Sandown Meeting that follows Ascot is always a great occasion for the display of smart race-gowns, and last week's 'Thursday and Friday fully bore out these much-trimmed traditions. The lawn was, in fact, a NEW JEWELLERY AT SIAPPIN AND WEBB'S. feast of good things, from the millinery aspect, and one's eye roved distractedly perforce from ...

... THE OPEEA. i Two new productions and a new conductor these sum up the matter for record at the Opera during the past week. The first novelty was Boito's Mefistofele, which was given with partial success on Tuesday week. One writes partial success, because, to a great extent, Boito's curious work depends upon the excellence of the pictorial representation, and in this respect, doubtless ...

... MR. JUSTICE BRUCE. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY II. J. WHITLOCK, HIRMINGHAM. ...

... THE NOTORIOUS JACK 8HEPPARD. Every trace of Old London is rapidly being improved off the face of the earth, and soon nothing will be left to remind us of the good old days when overhanging houses, creaking signboards, and projecting water spouts added to the darkness and danger of the narrow, ill-lighted, ill-paved streets, and when highway rob bers and pickpockets carried on their busi ness ...

... THE LITTLE GENIUS, AT THE SIIAETESBUEY. For a thousand reasons, a good deal of expectation centred itself upon the production of The Little Genius, at the Shaftesbury Theatre, on Thursday night. It was known that the late Sir Augustus Harris had lavished a world of trouble and expense to ensure its success; he had brought from Vienna Miss Annie Dirkens. Postponements had one by one been ...

... MISS MARGUERITE CORNILLE, AT THE PALACE THEATRE. from a photograph by hana, strand. c ...

... . Burns died on July 21, 1796. The centenary of his death-day is to be celebrated by public meetings in Glasgow and Dumfries, in which the Earl of Rosebery, Honorary President of the Burns Federation, will take the leading part. But more truly commemorative of one who was no public man, yet, on the other hand, touched and appreciated with the sympathy of genius every side of the life of his ...

... . So much has already been written about Paderewski that it is very difficult to find a subject which has some aspect of novelty; hence a representative of The Sketch got the following facts about his manner of travelling when he is on an extensive tour in an interview with Mr. Hugo Görlitz, his private secretary, to whom we are indebted for the photograph of the private car in which he ...

... . ADMIRAL THE EARL OF CLANW1LLIAM. ADMIRAL SIR M. CULME-SEYMOU li. ADMIRAL RICHARD WELLS. ADMIRAL LORD WALTER KERR. Photographs by Gregory Strand. ...