A commission to write an Ode for the Crystal Palace in celebration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee now occupied me; and the attempt to make its performance possible in every part of Her Majesty's Dominions on the identical day was accomplished. That it could be written, printed and dispatched in time to be given simultaneously in Canada, Australia, Trinidad and Cape Colony seemed to mean achievement on the part of the publisher and authors. Mr. Manns undertook the preparation for home consumption, and secured an excellent performance at Sydenham; but London offered greater attractions on the great day, and the concert was not largely attended. Cannons were to be fired in the grounds by electric communications from the conductor's desk. The buttons were pressed at the proper moment, but the guns did not always respond at the places marked in the score. << less