Again the same paper said,-- "The Georgia Minstrels have burst upon us like an avalanche. All the reserved seats were sold last evening before the performance commenced; and the house was filled by a fashionable audience,--one rarely seen at a minstrel entertainment. The troupe have made a decided hit, and their performances last night were received with great enthusiasm. Their songs and choruses are excellent; their puns, jokes, and stories, fresh and laughable; and their special acts new, and of a superior order. The performances of the troupe have happily filled a void which existed in the amusement field. "This troupe of native artists has won the very highest praise from every one wherever it has appeared. In England and America over three thousand performances have been given. The troupe has appeared before the Queen of England, and bears the highest testimonials of the press from across the water." "The Boston Advertiser" said,-- "They (the Georgia Minstrels) are at the head of the minstrel business in this country." The "Chicago Post,"-- "The company merits all the praise which has been bestowed upon them." I need only further mention, in conclusion, that several members of this troupe possess musical and histrionic abilities of an order so high as to fit them to grace stages of a more elevated character than the one upon which they now perform. Indeed, one formerly attached to it is now a valuable member of the "Hyers Opera Company." On the minstrel boards his talents as a singer and actor were developed. It is to be hoped (and here I crave the pardon of Mr. Callender, their gentlemanly director, who is requested to try to appreciate the good _motive_, at least, that prompts a suggestion which seems to aim at the disintegration of his famous company) that others of the "Georgias" will follow his example. Their motto should constantly be, "Excelsior!" I have been informed that in the city of Boston, at a certain time, not many years ago, the then directors of the three principal theatre orchestras were persons who had previously been members of minstrel troupes. It is also known that several of the finest operatic singers in this country learned their first lessons at this same school,--the minstrel stage. In their new, higher, and of course far more desirable positions, these persons have achieved artistic results which reflect upon them the highest credit, and which show also that the minstrel profession has some beneficial, elevating uses, notwithstanding all that may be truly said against it. PART SECOND. OTHER REMARKABLE MUSICIANS, AND THE MUSIC-LOVING SPIRIT OF VARIOUS LOCALITIES. I. "They are the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time." SHAKSPEARE.