Obituaries Australia

The musical public will observe in our obituary notices with deep regret the announcement of the death of Mons. [Jules] Meilhan, the musical composer and pianist, who some three months ago left this colony with a view to pursuing his profession in Italy. He was a man of rare talents, and has left behind him many evidences of his refined and cultivated taste. His keen perception of the sublime, the true, and the beautiful may be traced in his compositions, especially in his "Solemn Mass," which it will be remembered was first performed in public about two years ago in the Town Hall. His aim was decidedly cosmopolitan, and hence it can hardly be said that his compositions were of any particular school of art. He was the musical director of the String Quartet Club, the members of which will, we are sure, feel that they have lost a much respected friend. From, the few particulars received by Messrs. Marshall & Sons from Madame Meilhan, it appears that Mons. Meilhan, on arriving at Naples, was met by his parents, and, being of an excitable temperament, was very deeply affected. He complained shortly afterwards of feeling a choking sensation, and died almost immediately. The cause is supposed to have been haemorrhage, accelerated by a severe cold from which M. Meilhan was suffering, and his agitation on again seeing his parents.