The Express.
London, England, 1867-07-16 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 16, 1867.

THE SULTAN AT THE OPERA.

Last evening the Sultan visited the Royal
Italian Opera-house, Covent-garden, in state.
His Imperial Majesty entered by the Fioral-hall,
which had been specially prepared for the occa-
sion. The decorations of the building were at once
simple and appropriate. The central nave was re-
served for the progress of the Imperial pro-
cession, while the aide aisles were appro-
priated to the accommodation of spectators.
At each end of the building there had
been reared large pyramids of hothouse plants,
while the aisles were separated from the nave by
banks of flowers, which, by the richness and luxu-
riance of their blossoms, fully justified the title of
the building. The hall was lighted by clusters
of lamps and festoons of artificial flowers were
carried from the roof to the columns. The central
apace was covered with • carpet, and was strictly
reserved for the use of the illustrious visitors and
their suites.

The doors were opened at eight o'clock, and soon
afterwards the space allotted to the public was
tolerably well filled, but there was no crowding.
For some time the spectators had no occupation except
that of criticising the appearance of the yeomen of
the guard or Beefeaters, about a dozen of whom
guarded the passage from the entrance of the hall
to that of the Opera-house. By-and-bye, however,
the members of the band of one of the regiments
of the Guards dropped in one by one ; and soon I
some of the great officers of state made their ap-
pearance, and gathered together at the head of the
stairs. Among the earliest of these were—the Earl
of Bradford, Lord Claude Hamilton, and Mr.
Spencer Ponsonby, who were for some time en-
tirely engaged in completing the arrangements for
the reception of his Imperial Highness. Thoy
had hardly finished their task when the
first bars of the National Anthem announced the
arrival of some member of the royal family, and
hie Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge en-
tered the hall, accompanied by Colonel Macdonald.
His royal highness was in the full uniform of a
field marshal, and wore the ribbon of the Garter.
Immediately after him came the Prince of Wales
and his suite, and although of course on such an
occasion cheering was out of the question, there
was a sort of buzz and flutter among the
ladies and gentlemen which might stand in
place of the more hearty. but vulgar acclamation.
His Royal Highness was in the uniform of a colonel
of Hussars, and wore across his breast the ribbon of
the Medjidie. The next to arrive was the Viceroy of
Egypt, who was received by the court dignitaries,
and as soon as he entered the hall shook hands
with the Prince of Wales. Almost immediately
afterwards the sound of a band outside playing
the Turkish Imperial air announced the arrival of
the Sultan ; and, as the strains were taken up by the
r musicians within, his Imperial Majesty entered
the hall, preceded by the Chamberlain, Deputy
Chamberlain, and other court officials, and
followed by his variously attired suite.
As the Sultan ascended the steps the Prince
of Wales stepped forward to meet him, and
' greeted him with a cordial salute, to which his '
Majesty responded with the easy and graceful
courtesy of an Oriental. His Majesty's dress was
very similar to, if not the same as, that which he
wore upon his arrivaL His blue surtout was per-
haps more richly embroidered with gold ; but on
his head he wore the plain red fez with a blue
tassel. Accompanying him was his son, a lad of
about ten years of age, who was dressed exactly
like his father, and wore like him the
broad green ribbon of the Medjidie across
his heart. The appearance of the suite was even
more varied and attractive than that which it pre-
sented on Friday last, when many of its members
were in their travelling dresses. The green cloak
and turban of the grand almoner attracted par-
ticular attention, and this distinguished personage
was specially honoured by the recognition of the
Prince of Wales. The Circassian, whose lofty
caftan towered above the heads of all around him,
was attired in a suite of great magnificence, and the
white tunics of two or three Albanians—" the
snowy Gamine" of the poet—stood out in vivid
contrast against the dark uniforms of the more
sombrely attired officials. But a few moments
were spent in the interchange. of courtesies and
the arrangement of the procession before the im-
perial and royal cortege moved onwards towards
i the entrance of the Opera-home. The Sultan and
I
the Prince of Wales walked together, preceded by
the chamberlains and other officials, and were fol-
lowed by the Viceroy of Egypt, the Duke of Cain-
bridge, Fuad Pacha, and the members of their
respective suites. The Sultan has either en-
tirely lost, or for this occasion put aside, the
half-wearied, half-careless air which characterised I
him upon his arrival in London. His Majesty
walked with a brisk but dignified step up the hall,
while his quick, keen glance appeared to take in all
the features of thescene ; and he responded almost
gaily to the respectful salutations which greeted
him as he passed along. The response never passed
beyond a waive of the arm, with a slight inclina-
tion of the head ; but it was given with more
spirit and more appearance of earnestness
' than was discernible in his acknowledgments
of the far more enthusiastic welcome which was
offered to him in the Charing-cross station. The
royal party left the Floral-hall by the steps at the
I north-east corner, and passed through the crush-
! room, which had been elegantly decorated by Mr.
I Noeotti, into the theatre. The royal box was in
the centre of the grand tier, and had been formed
by throwing some half-dozen boxes on that and
the tier above into one. Over the front
there was a handsome canopy of • crimson
velvet, and above this was the royal arms
rof Turkey and England. When the Sultan and
the Prince of Wales came to the front of the box.
I the audience rose from their seats, the ladies waved
their handkerchiefs, the gentlemen clapped their
hands, and some even went so far as to cheer mildly.
The reception was not enthusiastic, but enthu-
. sisam is not to be expected at the opera. The
Sultan had arrived so punctually that many per-
' sons who had calculated upon delay did not reach
the theatre in time to witness his entry ; and many
boxes and stalls were vacant when the royal
cdrty came into the house. Before the applause
subsided the curtain was drawn up, and the
company sang the following ode, written and com-
posed by Mr. Bartholomew and Mr. Costa for the
occasion :

Cod preserve thee, Sultan, long ;
Ever keep thee from all woes ;
May thy State and thee be strong,
To dismay and resist thy foes
0 mar thou continue great,
Of thy nation's love secure,
On thee may all blessings wait,
And remain for ever sure.
O grant this, gracious God,
And, by Thy mighty aid,
Let his potent regal rod
Be willingly obeyed.
Let every art increase
Throughout his beloved land,
And may he deal the fruit, of peace
With an unsparing hand.
God of all glory,
Power, and renown,
Grant be before Thee
May still wear a crown !
Then may be near Thee
Praise and adore,
Joyfully bear Thee,
His Clod, evermore.

The opera was Maaaniello, and the principal
parts were performed by Madame L. Sherrington
and M. Naudin. The Sultan appeared to pay
close attention to the music, but loft his box in the
intervals between the acts, greatly to the disap-
pointment of tl,ose who had anticipated the plea-
sure of staring him out of countenance while
the act drop was down. At the end of the
third act he left the theatre accompanied by
the Prince of Wales, the Viceroy, the Duke a