The Sun.
London, England, 1851-05-12 00:00:00

The Duke of WELLINGTON acknowledged the toast of
" the Army and Navy ;" and expressed the pleasure with
which he met the gentlemen of the Royal Academy, and
witnessed the productions of their art.
The toast of " The city of London" called up Lord
J. RUSSELL, who, " in the absence of my Lord Mayor,"
returned thanks; remarked on the importance of such
exhibitions as that of the Royal Academy in contribut-
ing to popular education, and announced his intention,
as a Minister of the Crown, to use every means within
his power to throw open to the people the civilizing in-
fluence of the fine arts.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE returned thanks for the
visitors, and M. VAN DE WEYER for the Foreign
Ministers.

The Chevalier BUNSEN proposed " Success to the
Great Exhibition," which was responded to by Lord
GRANVILLE, with many earnest allu4ions to the unwearied
energy and ability by which its illustrious originator
had secured its success.

Mr. MACAULAY and Sir ROBERT INGLIS returned
thanks for the honorary members of the Academy; and
the toasts of " Literature " and the " Drama" were
acknowled by I.lr. DICKENS and Mr. MACREADY.
" The Royal Society" was (in the absence of Lord
Bosse) acknowledged by Sir RonEnicx MultcrusoN;
" The Society of Arts," by his Royal Highness Prince
ALBERT; " The Society of Antiquaries," by Lord MA-
IION; and " The 13:itish Institution:" by Loft] CARLISLE.
Towards the closo of the evening, in speaking to the
toast of " The Possessors of Collections of Pictures who
occasionally throw open their Galleries to the Pub-
lic," Lord WESTMINSTER stated that his gallery was
open every Thursday to those who honoured him
by desiring to view it, and regretted that he could not
throw open its contents more frequently. He agreed in
all that had fallen from Lord John Russell on the subject,
and expressed the interest with which he viewed the pre-
valence of that good understanding among the artists of
all countries which the Great Exhibition was sure to
extend, and of which the presence of two pictures by
Russian artists in the Academy exhibition of this year
was a gratifying evidence.
Sir Charles Eastlake quitted the chair at ten o'clock,
and the meeting broke up.
Although want of room may be pleaded as an excuse
for the absence of reporters, the regret expressed after
the entertainment by the guests themselves, that no re-
cord would be preserved of such a meeting, will probably
lead the Council of the Academy to reform the timid
and exclusive habits to which they have so long adhered.

DE BERIOT IN PARIS.-CLOSE OF THE
ITALIAN SEASON.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

De Beriot was
Our Italian esason finally closed, on Saturday week,
with a concert, in which thecelebrated
heard in Paris for the first time for many years, and
amply justified the enthusiasm of his ancient admirers,
while his superbdelighted beyond expression
playing
pervaded his entire performance,
all those who had never before heard the groat violinist.
The power and sweetness of his tone, the combined fire
and
musical delicacyfeeii a
go
which
h ci
hs execution, and, above all, the
elicited transports of applause, and fully
e his well-known Tremolo,
me-
rited the warmth of his audience, excessive as it was.
M. de Beriot left us but ono cause of regret—that he
o
galned inergau,
ed with rapturous plaudits by the
whichnly played
w as r
e a
dseina
entire suite. We could have desired to hear some of his
compositions of a later date. The achievements of his
three pupils, who play in unison, went off with the usual
éclat. M. Gottschalk'a execution on the piano is knows
to you in London; I need, therefore, only say that it was
a distinguished feature in tn! soirée. De Beriot's play-
ing carried the evening off triumphantly, and thus closed
the spring season of 1851; the conclusion of which de-
rived an unexpected splendour from the success of
Signora Cravelli, which has been brilliant almost beyond
example; and on the whole, though from the lateness of
the period at which the theatre was placed in the hands
of Mr. Lumley it was found impossible to organize a
troupe, as it would have been under other circumstances,
and will be in future, we have to thank the impresario
for a delightful season. In addition to that greatest of
Parisian favourites, Lablache; he has introduced to us
the matchless Sunteg, Caroline Duprez, Mme.Fiorientini,
Mme. Montenegro, and the brilliant Cravelli, who
though not, so fer as I have heard, a revolutionist, or
even a democrat, seems destined to shatter " long estab-
lished thrones"—operatic, of course—on her advent in
London. The '6 bright particular star" of our season
was, however, La Sontag, whose surpassing powers never
surely shone out so brilliantly, or under such varied as-
pects. As the season advanced she seemed more and
more at home with the Parisian public, and her singing
was attended with that rare and indefinable charm
,of
appearing to yield the gracious vocalist as much plea-
sure as it afforded her hearers. We have to thank Mr.
Lumley for more than all this—for having by his tact,
talent and energy raised
the theatre at once from the de-
plorable state in which it had been thrown by the revo-
lution, and subsequent unfortunate management. It be-
came at once the resort of all the rank, wealth, and
fashion of the capital, and the Theatre Italien was, in
fact, the only spot in Paris which recalled the splendour
of days gone by, Mr. Lumley. commences his next
season on the Ist of October, with every premise of a
brilliant result.

THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

The extensive scaffolding lately erected in front of
,he British Museum, for the purpose of placing West-
macott's group of figures in the tympanum of the por-
tico, has now been almost entirely removed, and a full
view can now be obtained of this beautiful addition to
the exterior of what may be called a rather massive and
ponderous than an elegant and graceful structure. These
figures, which aro intended as allegorical represtntations
of the different arts and sciences, do great credit to the
taste and judgment of the sculptor, both as regards the
way in which they have been designed and executed, and
the postures and positions they occupy in the group.
There is nothing strained, stiff, or unnatural about them,
while they at once strike the eye as the emanations of a
superior mind and the workmanship of a nice
and delicate hand. It may be safely said
that there is no public building in the metropolis
which, in this respect, will be able to com-
pete with the British Museum. The group is made
more effective by the largeness of some of the figures,
and the prominence which is given to them, by the
ground-work being painted blue—a novelty, by the way,
in this country. A small portion of gilding on the
minor matters of detail also forms an agreeable con-
trast. It will not be difficult to conceive, therefore, that the
long faysde of the Museum, destitute as it previously was
of all ornament, has been rendered more cheerful and
attractive, and otherwise greatly improved in appear-
ance. We question, too, whether the effect might not
be heightened by placing some classically designed and
appropriate figure on the plinth or pedestal immedi-
ately over the tympanum, which many regret to
find has been left vacant. Crowds of persons
are daily collected in Great Russell-street, and
seem to examine with considerable interest
this praiseworthy specimen of the sculptor's art. The
figures, we may mention, are all cut out of Portland
stone. The screen work dividing tho building from the
street is proceeding very slowly and is not expected to
be finished before Midsummer, so that a vast number of
visitors to London during this exciting and bustling
season will not have an opportunity of seeing one of the
best of our public structures in a finished and complete
state. Though the officials or managers, in deference to
public opinion, were compelled to abandon their idea of
entirely closing up the area from the public—as it was
generally said for personal motives and private conve-
nience—they have taken great pains to effect se much of
that ridiculous object as possible. The central piers,
which are built of granite, are nearly as large as some
moderately-si;sed cotwges, and the stone work on which
the massive iron railing is to ba fixed, would compel a
lookokthaa amiss
itshsew architecturalhen finit,hed.
little man to stand on his toes in order to get a glance
at the open space within. Notwithstanding, however, these
screen,drawbacks, a
t: it it is
c a
lvl
eedey, w
il l probablenot

whom we had to employ or to reject. Gentlemen,
the productions of all works in art or poetry re-
quires, in their conception or executian, not only an
exercise of the intellect, skill, and patience, but particu-
larly a current warmth of feeling, and a free flow of ima-
gination. This renders them most tender plants, which
will thrive only in an atmosphere calculated to main-
tain that warmth, and that atmosphere is one of kind-
ness—kindness towards the artist personally, us well as
towards his production. An unkind word of criticism
passes like a cold blast over their tender shoots, and
shrinks them up, checking the flow of the sap which was
rising to produce, perhaps, multitudes of flowers and
fruit. But still criticism is absolutely necessary to the
development of art, and the injudicious praise of an infe-
rior work becomes an insult to superior genius. In this
respect our times are peculiarly unfavourable when com•
pared with those when Madonnas were painted in the seclu-
sion of convents; for we have now, on the one hand, the
eager competition of a vast array of artists of every de-
gree of talent and skill, and, on the other, as judge, a
great public, for the greater part wholly uneducated in
art; and this led by professional writers, who often
strive to impress the publio with a great idea of their own
artistic knowledge, by the merciless manner in which
they treat works which cost those who produced them
the highest efforts of mind and feeling. The works of
art, by being publicly exhibited and offered for sale, are
becoming articles of trade, following as such the
unreasoning laws of markets and fashion, and
public, and even private, patronage, is swayed
by their tyrannical influence. It is, then, to an
institutio❑ like this, gentlemen, that we must look for
a counterpoise to these evils. Here young artists are
educated and taught the mysteries of their profession;
those who have distinguished themselves, and given
proof of their talent and power, receive a badge of ac-
knowledgment from their professional brethren by
being elected associates of the Academy, and are at
last, after long toil and continued exertion, received
into a select aristocracy of a limited number, and
shielded in any further struggle by their well established
reputation, of which the letters "B. A." attached to
their names give a pledge to the public. If this body is
often assailed frum without, it shares only the fate of
every aristocracy; if more than another, this only proves
that it is even more difficult to sustain an aristocracy
of merit than one of birth or of wealth, and may serve
as an useful check upon yourselves, when tempted at
your elections to let personal predilections compete with
real merit. Of one thing, however, you may rest as-
sured, and that is the continued favour of the

Crown. The same feeling which actuated George HI. in
founding this institution still actuates the Crown in con-
tinuing to it its patronage and support, recognising in
you a constitutional link, as it were, between the Crown
itself and the artistic body. And when I look at the
assemblage of guests at this table, I may infer that the
Crown does not stand alone in this respect, but that those
feelings are shared also by the great and noble in the
land. May the Academy long flourish, and continue its
career of usefulness.