The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-01 00:00:00

RUSSELL, as usual on such occasions, was very suc-
cessful in his speech. The noble lord said that for
the last forty or fifty years he had had the honour
to be invited to these meetings, and always received
the summons with pleasure. The noble lord is
essentially historic in all his remarks when he is
allowed time to think apart from the whirl and
bustle of Parliamentary debate and the hurry
of political life, and this retrospect of half a
century is a most impressive thing to reflect upon.
The noble lord referred to the sad penalty which
must be paid by all whose length of career or ex-
tended memory enables them to retrace the past,
namely, that every year he missed some old favou-
rite or distinguished artist. DAVID ROBERTS is the
last " missing link," and Earl RUSSELL feelingly
alluded to his merits. The noble lord concluded
his speech by mentioning some amusing incidents
connected with the pictures around them. He called
the attention of the reverend prelates to the picture
of " Queen ELIZABETH'S Toothache," in which that
sovereign refuses to have her tooth extracted until
AYLMER, Bishop of LONDON, consented to have one
of his own teeth taken out to set her the example.
Another entertaining sketch is that of the " Con-
' noisseurs," two dogs looking over Sir EDWIN
LANDSEER'S shoulder in order to criticise his works
Some one appropriately observed that it was better
to be one of Sir EDWIN'S dogs than one of
Queen ELIZABETH'S bishops. The President proposed
" The Interests of Literature," and mentioned that
art had ever owed a debt to letters. Many of the
guests there assembled were celebrated for their at-
tainments of various kinds, and to respond to that
toast the President selected Lord DERBY, one
who represented alike the aristocracy of intellect
and the aristocracy of rank—a nobleman who, as
as he observed, had " solaced the interval of use-
ful and important public labours by a happy in-
tercourse with the greatest poet of antiquity."
Lord DERBY, in the first instance, disclaimed his
right to respond to the toast, and declared that
he was the wrong man in the wrong place. How-
ever, in alluding to the work upon which he has
been engaged, the noble lord said that he had
before him a " masterpiece in art." In illustration
of this he said that, "If it be true that ut pictura
poesis —if it be true that poetry is word
painting, and painting is visible poetry, then
I think I may venture to claim for that
great original I have endeavoured to copy, that he
was among the greatest painters of any country in
the world." In furtherance of this notion, the noble
lord gave an animated description of the require-
ments of the distinguished painter, and then showed
that HOMER was conspicuous as possessing these
attributes in a remarkable degree. In historical
paintings, in landscapes, and in portrait painting,
he is indeed unrivalled. Lord Derby, in that vivid
style and forcible manner which are characteristic
features of his eloquence, drew a comparison
between the manner inwhich the mighty poet of the
past pictured his scenes and delineated his personages,
and the style in which the chief artists of the
present day displayed themselves. In conclusion,
the noble lord declared that he felt how unequal he
had set himself, and what a distance separated his
work from its great original. The noble lord's
speech was received with the warmest applause,
and it was one that displayed the clear Saxon of the
silver style of the RUPERT of Debate to great per-
fection. Lord NAAS discoursed upon the Dublin
Exhibition, and said thatoits establishment was now
a decided success, and that they would welcome
with delight any of that company who honoured
them with their presence. On the whole, it may
be said that a more delightful entertainment could
not have taken place than that which enlivened the
walls of the Academy on Saturday.

The great topic of the day throughout the whole
of the Federal States of America is still the appalling
event which has so completely changed the aspect
of affairs. Business, public and private, is almost
entirely suspended in New York, and the citizens
array themselves and their habitations in the sombre
hues of mourning, as some outward token of the
grief which all feel. It is no wonder that the effect
produced by the sudden and violent death of a man
like ABRAHAM LINCOLN should be deep and wide-
spread. In times of peace and tranquillity, of
assured policy and settled legislation, the shock
would be profound, but at so momentous
a crisis, when the fate of two nations
is trembling in the balance, the loss of the
recognised head of the State, the absence of the
calmest and most moderate voice in the councils, is
a loss to be deeply deplored by the real friends of
both North and South. The effect which will 130
produced on the fortunes of the States is as yet
uncertain, but the immediate consequence has been
to incense the North against the South, and to give
an undue prominence to those extreme Radicals
who disguise a hatred and jealousy of their white
brethren under cover of professions of humanity
for the blacks. The extremity of this feeling is
said to have been already modified in some,
and the wise and good men of all parties will cer-
tainly aim rather at importing moderation into the
prevailing policy than to excite any further irrita-
tion. If the assassin should be arrested, as is de-
voutly to be hoped, and if he should prove, as is
most probable, to have been rather a wild fanatic or
a crazy seeker for notoriety, than the agent of any
political party, we may hope to see the tone of the
public mind grow more temperate and pacific. It
is not fair to scan too closely the words or the
acts of the first moments [succeeding so start-
ling a catastrophe; and in justice to Ame-
ricans of all classes and parties Englishmen
should reserve their judgment until a short time has
elapsed. It is, indeed, a crisis in which American
statesmen will need all their sagacity and coolness,
and we trust they will remember that it is their
duty to lead and not to be led by the people ; to
direct the popular enthusiasm, not to be driven by
it regardless of consequences ; to act not in accord-
ance with the dicates of the excitement of the
moment, but with regard to the prospects of the
future. President JOHNSON has a great op-
portunity, and it will only be fair to
give him time to act before we pre-
prejudge him. The unfortunate exhibition of the
4th of March has prejudiced many against him,
though the indiscretion of which he was then, guilty
is unfortunately no such great marvel among Ame-
rican politicians. His friends say that the excite-
ment of the occasion, combined with previous illness,
was the real cause of his excess, and contend that
he is ordinarily temperate and well conducted.
Judging from his career and his speeches, there
is more reason to fear intemperance in
his policy than in his personal conduct.
An habitual drunkard could never have
worked his own way so steadily ; but his addresses
on several occasions have been so violent and vin-
dictive. Responsibility may, however, bring mode-
ration, and if Mr. SEWARD should recover, of
his
which there now seems to be some hope,
willrain his' unquestionably have weight,
and voicemay
rest
associates from extremes.
JoinstsoN's speech to the deputation from Illinois,
who had presented him with an address, was sensible
and to the purpose, so far as he himself
was concerned.
On the head of treason he gives de:erleanmaatioryt-eramsnd.
violent denunciations, but only in

He declared he would make no professions, and in
this he was prudent, for it is no moment for pro-
fessions, and he will be a wise man if he refrains
from pledging himself to any line of conduct before
he has gained a better knowledge of the feeling of
the people which he represents.
What attitude the Southern leaders may assume
is uncertain. President DAVIS'S last proclamation
declared his unshaken determination to maintain
the flag of independence, but that was prior to
LEE'S surrender. JOHNSTON is said to have opened
negotiations with SHERMAN for the capitulation of
his army, and Mobile, so often threatened, so long
held against all opposition, has been evacuated by
its brave garrison, and occupied by the Federals.
A few weeks ago this news would have been re-
ceived with the wildest enthusiasm in the North,
now it falls flat and insignificant. The great
calamity which has filled all countenances with
gloom, all hearts with sad foreboding, renders men
indifferent to the possession of a city more or less, and
Mobile, so long one of the chief centres of interest
has changed hands without a struggle, and almost
unnoticed. Everything is in fact in a transition
state, and we must wait patiently till men liave re-
covered themselves a little, till the natural reaction
has come, before we can judge of the prospects or
policy of the future. ANDREW JOHNSTON, at the
close of his address, remarked that if any man gifted
with prescience had four years ago foretold the
events of that period, the story would have seemed
more marvellous than anything in the "Arabian
Nights."
The revelations of the seer at the present moment
might be even more astounding, and it is only to be
hoped that those who guide the helm of the State
will have prudence and statesmanship equal to the
grave responsibilities of their position. On the
action of the next few months may depend the
peace of the whole civilised world, and it is no
wonder that men, not only in America, but in
Europe, should be watching the course of events
with breathless interest.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE,

The First Night of the Season.

On Saturday evening Mr. Mapleson's new season
commenced under the most brilliant auspices. It
could hardly for that matter have been inaugurated
more auspiciously. 'The opening night, as all the
town knew, came exactly one week later than had
been originally announced. For this brief delay,
however, Mr. Mapleson was, immediately upon the
opening of the doors of Her Majesty's Theatre on
Saturday last, justified to the full, and at a mere
first glance round the interior of that noble temple
of the divine art. It never, to our recollection,
looked more magnificently. Around the whole
of the graceful sweep of the audience-part of
the building, the amber draperies of the boxes, tier
above tier were recognised as having been replaced—
after the lavish and upon the ceiling especially the
gorgeous decorations of the house had been tho-
roughly cleansed and renovated. Added to which,
the general accommodation of the fashionable
public has been so materially cared for by means of
a series of bold yet judicious improvements, that the
comfort of the frequenters of the house and the
splendour of its appearance have been equally and
simultaneously secured. By the very simple device
of removing a few boxes from each tier, so much
more elbow-room has been secured to each of the
boxes still retained under this new and revised sys-
tem of subdivision, that a box now at her Majesty's
is exactly equal to what a box and a half
would have been there previously. Together with
the opening out thus of the no longer closely-packed
pigeon-holed tiers of boxes, the facade of each has
been so far lowered that the fair occupants with
their brilliant toilettes are now framed there by the
gilding and the amber drapery—singly or in groups
—as if in kit-kat portraits done to the very life !
Rapidly, after the opening of the doors, the house
filled in every part—pit, stalls, boxes, slips, amphi-
theatre. Not a single box within the range of our
vision being unoccupied, with the exception of the
Royal box. To complete the brilliancy of the tout
ensemble, Her Majesty's is now lighted as it has
never before been lighted—by some new arrangement
in regard to the gas jets of the candelabra generally,
but mainly and (literally) above all by an increase of
power in those of the great chandelier. Beyond the
curtain, when it had risen, hardly less than
had been the case in front of it previously, the
conspicuous and comprehensive improvements
adventured upon under Mr. Mapleson's management
were visible almost upon the instant even to the
most careless and superficial of observers. Nor can
this be regarded as in any way an exaggeration of
the fact when it is added that the whole of the old
stage of Her Majesty's theatre has been bodily re-
moved—every beam and lath and nail of it—its place
being now occupied by an entirely new construc-
tion perfected with all the modern stage appliances.
We are here, however, anticipating somewhat, and
that simply out of a natural eagerness to evidence
our recognition at once of the exceptional energyand
enterprise manifested—even in this material way—
by Mr. Mapleson, between the close of the last season
and the inauguration of the one which has now so
very auspiciously commenced. His is an enterprise,
however, in no way restricted to the upholstery and
the carpentery, the adornment anl the illumination
of his great lyrical establishment. It is agreeably
visible in those departments, it is true, but it is yet
more delightfully audible in others—of (may we hint
it ?) just a trifle more importance ! That is to
say, of course, in the general musical organi-
sation of Her Majesty's, both vocal and
instrumental. Without reverting now to
the whole of the varied programme put forth
by the manager for the new season, we may here
accept certain evidences afforded by the first night's
performance as a justification, or rather, let us say
at once, a fulfilment already, of very many of the
fair promises put forth in that programme of his by
Mr. Mapleson. The orchestral and choral depart-
ments have unmistakeably been, as the manager
announced them to have been, materially in-
creased and strengthened. Under the baton of
the accomplished conductor, Signor Arditi, the
band upon the rising of the curtain played—like
one instrument—what Overture ? That test of any
orchestral capabilities, Rossini's chef d'ceuvres among
all his overtures, the overture to Guglielmo Tell.
The execution of it being so nearly an approach to
absolute perfection in its way that from the ascend-
ing notes of the violincello in the opening movement
to the windy, stormfull close of it all, the overture
" went off," from first to last, to admira-
tion ! It was listened to with evident delight
throughout, and rewarded at its close with accla-
mations. The opera. selected for performance on
Saturday, as the first night of the new season at
Her Majesty's, was not, to be sure, Rossini's operatic
masterpiece, was merely preceded by the overture to
" William Tell," in fact, by reason, first of all, of its
having no overture of its own, and, secondly, by
reason of its scene also lying in Switzerland. The
opera selected for Saturday's performance) at
Her Majesty's being one no less familiar or
less welcome hackneyed one might almost
call it, but that " a thing of beauty is (in very
deed) a joy for ever"—one no less old, yet no less
ever new, than Bellini's delicious capo d' opera
"La Sonnambula." And the performance of this
most charming among all love-operas was rendered
doubly, trebly, one of peculiar interest, a,. at the
least one provocative of especial curiosity, 13:y reason
of its having been selected as the med ium for
the introduction to the operatic world of
London of a primo tenore, a tenore rolAusto as
he proved to be when he came to be heard—and
together with him of two debutantes,. one of them
the younger, a prima donna of peculiar eelelyrity.
Peculiar, we say, because of its precocity, and be-
cause of its being Transatlantic. Miss Laura
Harris, in fact—the debutante here iiluded
to—
comes to England direct from the Academy of
Music at New York. Looked at, listened to—she is,
quite manifestly, a mere girl, in spite 44 f the reputation