The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-02 00:00:00

THE ROYAL ACADEMY.

After a careful examination on the Private View
day at the Royal Academy of the collection now
arranged on the walls of those noble galleries, we
came to the.-conclusion quite unhesitatingly that, as
a whole, it is simply about the average, certainly not
above it—although the Academicians, as a rule, have
very greatly distinguished themselves, and although
two or three of the outsiders have by their achievements
leaped per saltum to an eminence far beyond any to
which they had already attained. Three of the
chiefs of the Academy we have to lament as having
passed away since the last year's Exhibition—our Eng-
lish Wouvermanns, Jones, one of the very best of our
battle-scene painters—our later Collins, Creswick, a
most charming painter of landscapes—and, only a
week before the Opening Day, last and greatest, not
merely of the Three, but we are tempted to say of
the whole Forty, Daniel Maclise, the noblest artist
of our generation. It is one of the melancholy in-
cidents of a visit this season to the Academy, stand-
ing in front of the last canvas on which Maclise

lavished the skill of his hand and the wealth of his
" The Earls of Desmond and Ormond" are
there, in the midst of [the Bulvers, on the battle-
field. The Picture (197) hangs upon the identical
spot on which was displayed last year the
great artist's latest achievement, " King Cophetua
and the Bvggarmaid." A bluish, greyish, darkened
hue mars the general effect of the colouring. The
same blemish being observable, by the way, in
Sir Edwin Landseer's (155) rather after date deli-
neation of Queen Victoria meeting Prince Albert
years ago on his royal highness's return from Deer-
stalking. Historically interesting, the group thus
pourtrayed unquestionablyis, but otherwise the huge
ainting is to all intents and purposes an artistic

failure. Sir Edwin's masterhand is, however, re-
spleL dently discernible in two others of his contri-
butions this year to the Academy collection—in his
superb life-size portraiture of the great race-horse (105)
" Voltigeur," and in his marvellously comic, nearly
human, and yet wholly animal delineation (265) of the
Monkeys, one of them nursing a sick little one,
another sucking an orange most voraciously. Millais
is t),is year in full force—the very Georgione of
English colourists. His most ambitious picture (202)
is that cf the " Knight Errant," armed cap-a-pie,
severing with his sword blade the cords by which
some caitiffs have bound a fair damsel clothed only
in her golden hair to the silvery trunk of a lady-
birch. The contrast of the rosiate flesh tints and
the glittering armour is a marvel to bear in remem-
brance. Charming is the same artist's scene of
" The Flood (91) with the wooden cradle afloat,
bearing a happy unconscious baby with a little
woolly spitfire of a kitten. As for (334) " The Boy-
hood of Baleigh," the face, the sweet, radiant, child-
face of the future poet and hero, the great Sir Walter
of the Hereafter fairly haunts as, as he sits there
huddled up with bis chin on his knees on the
beach, and Budleigh Salterton listening to the
Geneva sailor, as the latter tells the boy Raleigh
and his half brother Gilbert of the won-
derful countries teyond the ccean to which he

hns voyaged, and from which he bas probablyonlyjust
returned. " A Widow's Mite" (928), a sempstress
dropping a fenny rather ostentatiously (for she is a
long while about it) into a poor-box, and a portrait
of Mr. Kelk (48) are Mr. Millais' lesser performances
—but each of them in its way is remarkable. Her-
bert has two grand historical and classical landscapes
in the collection, one of them (337), " The Bay of
Salamis," with a singularly atmospheric effect.
Poole has, beyond .all doubt, this year surpassed
himself. He contributes a single picture (176), but

it is a masterpiece. The scene portrayed is a memo-
rable incident from the Decameron—Anastasio's love
story brought to happy consummation at the banquet
in the forest, by the spectral vision of the naked
lady and the armed Huntsman. Such a glory colour
Mr. Poole has never before squandered on any
canvass—not even in Goths, in Italy, or in his Solo-
mon Eagle during the Great Plague in London.
Anything like mannerism has vanished in his delinea-
tion of the whole marvellous spectacle. The dreamy,
spectral, ghost-like apparition of the flying lady and
the pursuing knight, with the scared look of the
ghosts and the dazed and wildered aspect of Signor
Paolo's daughter are all admirable. The background
of the front scene of itself is an achieve-
ment. Frith also, this year, is in a happy vein,
though he prefers for once rather to fritter his
powers away on a number of comparatively minor
contributions. Very felicitous is his rendering (157)
of " Sir Roger de Coverley and the Perverse Widow,"
from the Spectator, and equally so (267) his lim-

nings of Sterne feeling the wife's pulse, and sourly
observant of the husband's grimacing bow en passant.
As for Mr. Frith's portrait of Mrs. Rousby (364)'
well, seeing it, shall we confess as much ? we are
disillusioned ! Mr. Hart's one big picture (135) re-
veals a very Jewy mob, cleanly washed and respect-
ably got up, grovelling at the feet of Ferdinand and
Isabella; with a highly melodramatic Torquereade
interposing. Hook's briny, salt-water views are, ss
.
ever, simply incomparable, He has never surrassee
either (93) " Fish from the .Doggerbank," or (158)
" Brimming, Holland." The latter as a mere effect
of colouring is delicious. Cope's (144) " The Gentle
Craft," would have gladdened the heart of old Izae;
*Walton, and of his son-in-law Charles Cotton. Horsley
never yet produced a finer interior than his (14!)
" Banker's Private Room." Every detail is
inimit-
able. The light through the upper part of the Cur-
tain across the window is an effect absolutely astonish'
ins. Calderon, among other pictures, contributes
two to the collection worthy of the highest admire"
tion ; one of them (143) " The Orphans," hn
,a
street snow scene, the other (369) " The Virgin s
Bower," a sylvan, flowery, watery haunt of besot}''
like some leafy nook in a land of enchantment'
The President contributes as many as five portraits+
but not one of them comparable to Mr. Wells', the
associate's, grand and imposing group of Lot'
llatherley, as Lord High Chancellor, en grande
otherwise in full fig, accompanied by his State l't"
tendants. Redgrave is mainly noticeable this Yer,er
for a quaint little (188) "Jack o' Lanthorn"--";
M. Ward's principal contribution being his animate"
i epresentation of the ruffianly Jeffreys bullyraggleg
Baxter, of the " Saint's Rest," during the latter'.
trial in Westminster Hall, while yonder, in prospective,
one catches a glimpse of the infamous Titus Oates
standing in the Pillory in Palace Yard. Nr. 31.
Ward, on the other hand, has never done anything
better, either in sentiment or manipulation, than
016), the "Interview between the divorced Bel"
press Josephine and the little King of Rome," le
the presence of the Great Napoleon. G coda°
" lochebed" (504) is a noble rendering, in
wholly unconventional way, of that sufficient
trite theme in art the biding of WO
among the bullrushes. Cooler and Lewis are
this season both prolific contributors, but are other-
wise in no way remarkable. Among the illustrious
foreign contributors foremost stands M. Gerorne,
whose (118) " Death of Marshal Ney," is profoundly
affecting, impressive, and even appalling in its severe
simplicity of treatment. The great Marshal, Duke,
Prince, Victor in Eighty Battles, one of the first of
the Paladins of Napoleon, has been just shot down in
the grey of the morning. He lies there prone on his
face. His bat bas rolled off in falling. His close'
cropped reddish hair is discernible. He is arrayed
in no resplendent uniform, but is simply dres'ed°:
a civilian in black, with black silk stockings and
shoes with buckles. The soldiers having just dove
their murderous work, are marching off with their
backs towards us, their commanding officer alone
glancing round at the catastrophe they have wool'
plished. The bullet marks are starred white, one of
these deadly flaws occurring in the very middle of 3
chalked-up Vive l'Empereur I The wadding of the
guns yet smoke on the ground where the muddy foot-
prints of the Marshal are observable at the point from
which he has toppled forward at the moment of
execution. • Marcus Stone's (891) " Henry VIII. and
Anne Boleyn observed by Queen Katherine," is an-
other step onward towards his enrolment as an As'
sociate. C. Goldie, again, in (89) "His Trial of St,
Perpetua" has bettered anything he has ever done
before as a thoughtful, historical illustrator of
Christianity. As for H. S. Mark's (409) " Saint
Francis preaching to the Birds," the picture is ill'
comparably his masterpiece. As a combination of
pathos, and humour, and quaintness, and tenderness
it commands our admiration. Pettie's (412) "
bly the Mayday" is the very thing itself 1 O'Neil is
as unlike himself as possible in (261) " Haidee" and
" Don Juan," and in his limning (134) of Michel
Angelo. Altogether, having nom run through one
by one the principal pictures in the collection, we
must reiterate, or rather endorse, here the opinion
we expressed at the commencement of these remarks
in regard to the general character of the Exhibition.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

The May session of the Central Criminal Court
was opened at the Old Bailey this morning. The
calendar contains the names of 87 prisoners, of whom
3 are charged with arson, 7 with burglary, 17 with
uttering counterfeit coin, 7 with conspiracy, 1 .with
forgery, 9 with misdemeanour, 2 with murder and
attempting to murder, 1 with perjury, 10 with rczh-
bery with violence, 2 with feloniously wounding &c•
The Recorder, in charging the grand jury, ad'
verted to a charge of wilful murder against a mall
named William Parker. It appeared that the pri-
soner called at his mother's house, and she made
some claim upon him for his lodgings. He said Ile
was only able to give some small sum-Is. 3d.
quarrel, therefore, ensued between him and his sister,
and the latter said she would fetch in her hue'
band, which she did. Her husband struck the
prisoner, and twice knocked him down. The
prisoner refused to fight with him, and
asked him to listen to reason, but he refused to do so,
and again struck him. Upon that the prisoner
stabbed him with a knife, causing almost immediate
death. It was quite clear there was not the amount
of peril which would justify the prisoner in using the
knife ; but if he had acted on the spur of
the moment, and without previous malice, the
offence under the circumstances of the case
would not be murder, but manslaughter•
There was also a charge of arson against R. Ross and
G. Jackson, who were inmates of the Wandsworth
Reformatory. The only evidence against the pri-
soner appeared to be their own statements, and the
most important of these would not be admissible on
account of the circumstances under which it was made•
A very serious charge was against a policeman named
Moriarty, who was accused of indecently assaulting
and robbing a woman named Wilson. The evidence
was conclusive that the prisoner followed the woman/
and she was afterwards positive that he was the man.
It would also be shown that he had endeavoured to
induce other witnesses to make misstatements. The
learned Recorder having alluded to several other
minor cases, dismissed the grand jury to their ha-
bours.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—(tHis DAY.)

WESTMINSTER.

Patrick Welsh was charged with assaulting Thus'
llibbs, 38 B R, and further breaking a man's are','
The prisoner was fighting a man, and was separated
from him by the constable, whom he struck three or
four times ; he then rushed at the man, threw bl°l
down, and broke his arm. The man was taken t°
the hospital, but this morning declined to prosecute'
Mr. Selfe fined him 10s. or seven days.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
John. Doherty, a lad, residing in Peter-street, St'
James's, was charged before Mr. Tyrwhitt with, as-
saulting his, sister, Ann Doherty, a tailoress. he
complainant, who had a black eye and some bruise:
on her face, said that on Saturday night she Well,
home and gave her mother the money she had Woe'
as a tailoress, working 16 hours a day, when the Fry
soner, her brother, came in, and called her what slit;
was not, and on her retaliating he took off his coat
and struck her about the face and body, and she was
covered with bruises. She also said that her mother
bad turned her out of doors because she locked ber
brother up. The magistrate fined the prisoner 68',
or one month.

Ise, and sourlY
bow en passant.
Rousby (364)7
much ? we are
cture (135) re-
ad and respect-
Ferdinand and
Torquemad
T views are, 86
lever surjassed
ank," or 050
is a mere effect
) « The. Gentle
rt of old Izaak
orsleY
)otton. H
than his (147)
letail is
krt of the Or"
lutely astonish"
es, contributes
ighest admire"
Irphans," in ,8
The Virgin 6
unt of beantY,
enchant nie°'
five portraits,
Ir. Wells', the
.oup of Lord
n grande tenu°l
his State at'
3able this Year
:,anthorn"--C;
g his animate
°
a bullyragging
ig the latter'.
in prospective,
is Titus Oates
1. Mr.
done anything
Dulation, than
divorced B
; of Rome," i°
n. G oodall's
dering, in
hat suffide°`
g of Alcseo
d Lewis are
but are other-
the illustrious
M. Geretne9
' is profoundly
)g in its severe
larshal, Duke;
of the first 01
t shot down i°
a prone on his
g. His close'
He is arrayed
ply dressed as
stockings and
ing just dove
off with their

officer alone
r have Dona"
white, one of
y middle of a
adding of the
e muddy foot-
he point froln
le moment of
nry VIII. and
ierine," is an"

;nt as an As-
is Trial of St.
las ever done
ilustrator of
:409) " Saie
picture is in'
Imbination of
ad tenderness
s (412) " 'Tie
f O'Neil i 5
Haidee" and
4) of Michel
through one
we

the opinion
'hese remarks
e Exhibition.

THIS DAY.)

ninal Court
maing. The
ers, of wheal
ary, 17 with
racy, 1 with,
murder and
10 with rczb-
mnding &C.
nd jury, ad'
;ainst a man
;hat the pa'
nd she made
He said 11°
—l.s. 3d.
nd his sister,
in her has'
1 struck the

lowa. The
him, and
teed to do sot
the prisoner
it immediate
the amount
in using the
e spur of
malice, the
f the case
Langan g
R. Ross and
Wandsworth
inst the Po'
;tits, and the
dmissible
it was made:

eman name
ly assaulting
['he evidence

the woman,

vas the man•
leavoured to
nen ts. The
everal other
to their IA-