The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-13 00:00:00

THE ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.

Although " The Huguenots"—postponed the
other day by reason of Herr Schmid's sudden ill-
ness—was at length performed last evening for the
first time this season, it was so performed last even-
ing under two or three rather serious disadvantages.
Signor Mario, it is true, was in splendid voice for
him, and, with his superb acting, excited the
audience more than once to an enthusiastic evidence
of their admiration. But, not thus was it with the
prima donna, Madlle. Pauline Lucca, whose severe
cold had to be apologised for through a little hand-
bill widely circulated through the densely-crowded
house. Even without this little deprecatory handbill,
however, the indulgence at the audience would have
been claimed by the too evident fact of the fair
artiste's indisposition. Herr Schmid, again, was
not sufficiently recovered from his illness of last
week to make his appearance yesterday as Marcel
—this, of course, to the serious disappointment of all
those who had bee❑ looking forward with delight to
hearing hisnoble voice in his impersonation of the old
Puritan soldier with his "piff pall" song of defiance
to the Catholics. As his substitute, Signor Attri
undertook the part of Marcel, but mace no more
sensation as Marcel than he did the first night of the
season in "Norma" as Oroveso. There was, of course,
Didiee's page Urbane last night with that lovely
trilling" No, no, no, no"—and there was Fcure's St.
Bris—and there were the magnificent choruses,
especially the Benediction of the Daggers and the

" Ra-rataplan "—and there was, as ever, that
gloricus orchestra that Mr. Costa's baton seems to
play like one instrument—there were all those ad-
vantages it is true last night to keep Signor Mario,
so to speak, in countenance upon one of his excep•
tionally good nights. Bat—with these advantages
—there were also those rather serious disadvantages
already particularized. The audience had too much
reason to regret the sem) cold of Madlle. Lucca,
and the absence cf Herr Schmid, and the substitu-
tion for the latter of Signor Attri, as the Marcel,
to render the otherwise brilliant performance
of the " Huguenots" yesterday completely enjoy-
able. The anise-en-scene, the costume 3, the scenery,
and the general decorations of this, one of the
grandest of all the grand opera in the repertoire of
the Royal Italiau—were one and all of a piece Ivith
the high reputation of the establishment. The per
formance, therefore, in spite of what has already
been remarked upon, went off brilliantly through-
out. To-morrow evening is set apart for the first
night this season of the same great and lamented
composer's " Roberto i 1 Diavolo"—his first pass-
port to immortality. On Monday, Muffle. Patti
will make her first appearance this season in Bel.

lini's exquisite "Sonnambala." And on Thursday
next, Mario will make his first appearance as
Goethe's Student-hero, in Gounod's masterpiece of
" Faust e Margherita."

SIGNIFICANT !—Mr. Whitesioe, Q.C., during his
brild int speech on Wednesday, remarked :--"I do
not know how matters stood in 1815; I oaly know
what was said by M. 'niers of the results achieved
by Castlereagh, and if he were now our Foreign
Minister England would not be the laughing stock
of Europe. (Loud and prolonged cheering, which
began on the left hand of the Speaker and rolled
round the lower end of the house to the benches
below the gangway at the Ministerial side.)—Times
report of the Parliamentary Proceedings.
THE "A T lIEN .11;31'S " TRIBUTE TO FRANK
SMEDLEY.—In the old electioneering days, when
contests for -Westminster were carried on for a fortnight,
with a formidable riot every day but Sunday, when the
sweet voices of the non-electors were hushed for a brief
breathing-time, Mr Smedley, the High Bailiff of West-
minster, was a name and a power, the former of which was
well known, and the latter unhesitatingly acknowledged
within the bailiwick. Mr Smedley :eft surviving h:m a
son, Francis Edward, who won a respectable name and
position in literature, and who has just departed, also, to
the better land. "Frank Smedley," as he was popularly
known, and affectionately called by friends, was not con-
formed, by nature or inclination, to take his father's °glee,
but he found that the world, to him, was full of compensa-
tions, and he was sensible enough to take and enjoy them.
He was a pleasant and graceful writer, beginninghis
modest career of pleasantness and grace some half dozen
years ago, with " Lewis Arundel; or, the Railroad of Life."
Mr Frank Smedley had written previously, but this work,
remarkably well received by its public of young readers,
gave him a name. He continued to labour withspirit, in
spite of permanent ill-health, each year bringing its new
tale, work which he varied by editing now defunct, maga-
thrty-ltve, or a
the
mohasot a disappeared
manl vh forokm knew
w h
who did not love
zs iunffe
es
r, i
na and, d,
kb,
rya
nk workingsm ed l
ei
yn ,
a th
te9 collaboration with Mr Edmund
Yates. And now, after these dozen years of work and
THE CONFERENCE. age
literarymeiof i
brotherhood,
where littleer
e therere, is n
him, or who will ever reraemlier Frank but with a tender,
brotherlike regard.
The Constitutionnel pub-
lishes the following in conspicuous type :—" The suspen-
and has
mien of hostilities by land and by sea during a month, with
raising of the blockade, has a real importance,
loit
o the
of the war would, in
been most favourably received by public opinion. It
will, perhaps, be remembered that, when the question of a
Conference was mooted for the first time, we endeavoured to
demonstrate that the first candition7the
'essential con-
dition—
was the suspension of in-
s.fhaocatt:llhtt:ve hecontinua-
tion
evitable inconvenience of keeping ul9, if not of increasing
the ambition:and illusions of all parties ; consequently ren-
dering a settlement more difficult. Moreover, it was not in
keeping with the dignity of the Conference to deliberate
upon bases which events might modify in an instant, and
was contradictory to ask from wisdom a solution which the
force of arms might cancel at any moment. Finally, free-
dom of judgment and of decision was not entirely at the
command of the Conference, which, urged by the most
noble sentiments of humanity to put a stop to the effusion
of blood and to the calamities of war, might be led to I re-
cipitate matters, and force a solution which would
have been incomplete, and which a more flee and
matured deliberation would have improved. Thus we
deeply regret to see the Conference meet without
the preliminary condition of a suspension of hostilities,
But we were aware, and that it was which reassured us,
that France and England were uniting their efforts to
obtain at the very commencement of the Conference that
which had not been ebtained before its opening. we are
happy to learn that the efforts of the two Governments have
been crowned with success, and that the convention con-
cluded upon the basis of tell possidetis is in the most abso-
lute sense. No movement of troops nor any concentration
of material on any point whatever will take place, The
suspension of hostilities leaves the belligerents in their
actual positions, Let us hope that this delay of one month
will be turned to good account. Let us hope that a calla
and free discussion will restore the respect for the rights of
all, and that the counsels of wisdom will now be heard, as
they will no longer be drowned by the roar of carmen,"

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

LREUTER'S TELEGRAMS.]

AMERICA.
(Per the Nova Scotian, via Greencastle.)
NEW YORK, APRIL 30 (Afternoon).
There is no political or military news of any

importance.
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE,
Money easy. Gold, 79k premium. Stocks dull.
New York Centrals, 134 ; Illinois, 1261; Erie,
113 i. Business generally is extremely dull,

ARRIVAL OF THE CROWN PRINCESS OF
PRUSSIA kr HAMBURG,
HAMBURG, MAY 13.
The Crown Princess of Prussia arrived here by
special train this morning, and alighted at the
Hotel de l'Enrope.
It is expected that her royal highness will await
the arrival of the Crown Prince from the seat of
war this afternoon.

FRANCE.

SPEECH OF M. ROUHER ON DENMARK

AND POLAND.
PARIS, MAY 13.

In yesterday's sitting of the Corps Legislatif,
M. Rouher, replying to M. Favre, spoke at great
length on the Danish question. The Minister said
he saw with grief the invasion of the Duchies.
He could not discuss certain questions, because
the conference had met. He confined himself,
therefore, to refuting the observations of M. Favre
upon the conduct of France until the meeting of
conference, and pointed out that the treaty of 1852
did not oblige France to make war to defend the
resolution of the Conference and the integrity of
the Danish monarchy. M. Rouher also observed
that to uphold the treaty England wctuld have easy
victories at sea, but France would be obliged to
march upon the Rhine, and traverse Germany to
reach Denmark.

" If (said the Minister) France could embark her
treasure in such an enterprise it is not to Denmark
that we should have gone, we should rather have
moved armies for other misfortunes and other

sorrows.

" But the policy of the Government ia not a policy
of sentiment. When such questions present them-
selves, a government devoted to the country does not
engage in war before having everywhere exhausted
all the combinations which might secure and main.

tain peace.
"We have respected the treaty of 1852. We
have accepted every means for re-establishing

peace."
The Minister concluded his remarks on the Danish
question by expressing the hope that the Confer-
ence would give peace.

With regard to Poland U. Ronher stated that the
question was an European one, and continued as
follows :

lire have suffered deeply by the events in
Poland and Gallicia, but we did not wish to trouble
the peace of Europe. We understood that collective
steps on the part of the Powers being no longer
capable of realisation France should no longer make
vain protests at St. Petersburg, but should leave
to God and to time the care of judgiug on which
side lay the great iniquity and on which side legi.

titnate grievances."
On the subject of Congress the Minister said the
Powers who had refused the Congress had in-
flicted upon themselves the greatest injury. "France
was not less glorious and powerful after the refusal
of the Congress.'

BOURSE, May 12.—Sales for realisation have
rendered the market heavy, but without producing
any material eff:ct on prices, Threes, for the Ac•
count, standing now at 66f. 70c. Mobilier show a
slight improvement, being last quoted at 1,170 f.
Railway Market heavy, with a trifling decline on
some of the lines. The market receded towards the
close, and left off as follows :

Italian Loan 6B
Do. end month 6B
New ditto
Do. end month —
Russian
Austrian
Spanish Threes —
Rome Debt
Deferred
'AltB. -
Cash. Account.
Orleans
Northern
Lyons and Mediterranean 880 .. 885
New ditto 877 50 .. -
Southern 650
Western
eastern
Sardinian
Austrian
Lon-bard
633 75 535
North of Spain
Saragossa o7o 570
Ditto to Barcelona

41 per Cents. 93 --
Do. end
3 per Cents
Do. end month 66 60
Credit Mobilier 1157 50
1)o. end month 1152 50
Bank Shares 3360
Credit Fancier 1255
Roman ~ 76 50
BAIL'

.. 650 -