The Sun.
London, England, 1851-05-02 00:00:00

prevailing spirit of the crowds of yesterday, if we do not de,
sect on all sides a willing and cheerful adnsission,Of-the-otter
superior claims on respect and admiration sums*.
" have a heart very dry and tough"- as one of old has it-to
fully preferred by the foreign exhibitors. Again : he matt
whom this salutary reflection Lid not present itself, that the
great sight of yesterday can never be one of unmixed satisfac-
tion. The unsubstantial character of the building in which we
and cur guests were assembled conveys its own unmistake-
able lesson. It must soon perish-so must its gay and gor-
geous contents ; but the great powers of thought and intelli-
gence which produced these will far outlive the frail glass
and iron which enshrines them ; and if England shall follow
the course of her engines and her implements, the memo* •
of her great and happy attempt to communicate to all the
blessings of an intercommunion of progress and intelligence
will at leas' be undying. It will ever be estimated as at
least a goodly object which arrayed together so vast and
comprehensive a series of facts; the gathering e the day
will be at least a help to many a problem, ethnological, so-
cial, and industrial; nor will it be without its purpose ter
group together the existence of parallel, but varying, types,
of skill and thought, and to assemble under one roof the
living embodiments of mediaval traditions, and the practical
economy of those railroads and those mighty. cylinders
of the press which are fast obliterating the narrow
prejudices of race, and of a sordid and exclusive spirit
of nationality. Neither are we prepared to allow the 'op-
posed anti-religious character of the Exhibition. In these
columns we shall scarcely be suspected of accepting it as an
instalment of some universal brotherhood of creeds. We
arc not asked to view it as an indication of any " Church of
the Future.'' In this sense it will not weaken our allegiance
to our national religion though, if it shall serve, however
indirectly, to force even reluctant forms of religious earnest-
ness better to understand and better to appreciate each other,
we are not disposed to reject whatever serves to disarm pre-
jiulice, or to compel charity. Anyhow, though we are re-
minded that another great gathering and federation-to
which this has been, not without some shad% of profanity,
thatof filtrate and of providential
paralleled- only served in the counsels of God to introduce*
Gospel itself was inau-
goodnees • , h cannotgher
display forget
that the narrowness of a chosen race was dis-
cgounrfautseidon, by w
ae
dis-
placed by the universality of the Catholic faith ; and that
Babel had its counterpoise in Pentecost Far, an
we from saying that this is any new Pente-
cost : were such its claims, we should abhor and
reject them. All that we ask to protest against
range of thought
is the bigoted and confined
,which
can see, in so great a congregation of the gifts o God, any-
thing inconsistent with that larger dispensati,T which Brae
heard all strangers speaking in all tongues the wonderful
works of God." But we pause from these high themes,
which, however congenial to our own feelings, are scarcely
suitable to this place. We may be satisfied with mom..
mending the Great Exhibition on lower grounds-it is
enough to insist that the religions sentiment shall not be in-
voked against it. For ourselves-indeed for all-it has
other and sufficiently solid materials of respect. That it
tends to the great cause of peace and order-that it is a
step towards communicating to ourselves and to others-to
the poor equally with the wealthy-the economical arts of
life. as well as the beauties of taste and refinement-this is,
enough to say ; and in this reflection, as philanthropists and
humble agents of social amelioration, we may take an un-
mixed satisfaction and pleasure in viewing so vast an aggre-
gate of human power and of natural wealth. We rejoice be-
cause the world-wide energy of production has reason to 111"
joice in all its realms,

"Jamque suum
"volvons audax Indastria mundum
Gaudet -.

TIER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.
At the conclusion of La Muta di Portici last evening, a
piece de circonstance of a most graceful and novel character
was produced, in honour of the Great .e.xhibition. Although
styled a divertissement it partook more of the character of
the " masques" with which our ancient aristocracy were
wont to be amused, combining as it does the attractions of
music, poetry, painting, and dancing. The curtain rose and
discovered a beautifully painted isometric view of the
Crystal Palace, in front of which was the whole corps lyric
and Terpsichorean of the theatre, each attired in some
different national costume, thus giving an animated
representation of the assemblage of all nations in Hyde-path.
The diveriissment (the whole of the music of which is by Mr.
lialfe) commences with the following chorus, the words of'
which are by Barry Cornwall :

" All hail Give welcome to this happy day !
War throws his sword and spear and helmet down;
And, wreathed with hawthorn, laughs the Lady May,
And Peace smiles glad beneath her olive crewn.
Welcome to Britain's land !
Welcome with heart and hand I
Welcome to all!"
The music of this chorus is massive and fine, and was given
most magnificently. There are responsive choruses heard
Panimspt greatly
Anthem followed, the
solo verses being sung Madlle. Caroline Duprez, Madame
behind
dtens the
the scenes,
el'ee. andThaenar
tgiao% laernm
Fiorentili, and the Lablaches (pere et fits). The corps de
ballet then advanced, as the vocal corps retired to the
back of the stage, where they sang the following chorus ai
introductory to the dancing:—
" When the merry bells ring round,
And the jocund rebecks sound,
To many a youth and many a maid
Dancing in the checker'd shade."
The music of this chorus is charmingly light, airy, and
graceful, it almost " goes of itself," and will rival in poprls-
rity the most popular of Balfe's former compositions. The
divertissement consists of a selection from the national degas
of all nations, and was sustained by the whole streng.llll of
the Terpsichorean corps, including Amalia Ferraris and Car-
lotta Grisi. The performance had been merely announced
as a divertissement, and came upon the publc quite as a sur-
prise. Its production is one of the most graceful compli-
ments that could have been paid to her Majesty and Prihce
Albert. The house was crowded to suffocation, and every
one present was delighted.