The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-31 00:00:00

AMERICAN NEWS•

LIVERPOOL, MARCH 30.

By the United States mail steam-ship Pacific, Cap-
tain Nye, which arrived in the Mersey shortly before
noon, we have advices from New York to the 17th
inst. She has 65,0001. in specie on freight.
The Havre packet had 150,000 dollars in silver and
58,000 dollars in American gold engaged.
The royal mail steam-ship Asia arrived at New
York at 8 A.M. on the 14th instant. The screw steam-
ship City of Glasgow sailed from Philadelphia on the
14th inst., but has not yet arrived.
We have advices from Mexico to the 15th ult.
There is no news of importance.
We have advices from Havannah to the Bth inst.
Suear continued very firm.

Exchange on London, 5 to 6.
Advices from Hayti to the 16th ult. have been re-
ceived. Coffee was very scarce-85 to 86 dollars
Hay tian per 1001 b. Log wood, 40 dollars per I,ooolb.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

MARCII 19.

Money Market—There has been a fair market for
Government and State stocks during the week, with a
moderate business. The demand has been mostly for
banking purposes. Money continues in active demand
at 5 to 6 per cent. on loan, and 6 to 7 per cent for short
bills.
Foreign exchange has been firm and in good request.
Bills on London, 1091 to 1104, and principally at the
latter rate. Bills on France, 571t0 5 10 for 60 days'
paper, and 5t05 2i for short sight. Amsterdam, 411
to 42; Hamhurgh, 361 to 36k.
Cotton—The cotton market has fluctuated considerably
since our notice of it for the steamer Europa, advancing
and receding as the tenour of the European and the
southern accounts were favourable or otherwise. On Sa-
turday and Monday last the market was dull, and prices
declined 4c. from the rates of Friday last. Yesterday,
however, there was an active demand, and this reduction
was fully recovered. We continue our last quotations,
which on most descriptions now stand higher than on
the Bth inst. The receipts at all the shipping ports are
1,751,328 bales, against 1,615,055 to same date last year
—an increase this season of 136,273 bales. The total
foreign exports this year are 224,911 bales more than
last—say 119,000 bales increase to Great Britain, 54,353
increase to France, 21,824 increase to north of Europe,
and 29.211 increase to other foreign ports. The ship-
ments from southern to northern ports are 115,696 bales
less this season than last, and there is an increase in
stock of '35,215 bales. The sales for the week ending
Friday last were 15,100 bales, and since our last 7,500
bales. We quote inferior Atlantic ports, nominal;
Florida, nominal; other Gulf ports, nominal. Low to
good ordinary Atlantic ports, 10 to 104; Florida, 10 to
101; other Gulf ports, 10 to 11. Low to good middling
Atlantic ports, 11 to 11-s; Florida, 11 to 111; other
Gulf ports, 111 to 121. Middling fair to fair Atlantic
ports, Ilk to 12k; Florida, 12; other Gulf ports, 121 to
131. Fully fair to good fair Atlantic ports, 12i; other
Gulf ports, 14.
Flour—Since the circular of the 25th of February the
movements in the Atlantic have been almost confined to
the home trade, with a heavy market, and the quotations
are now 14-c. per barrel less than at that date.
Grain—Wheat is held so much above its realised
value that the millers purchase sparingly—Genessee,
1120. to 1150.
Iron—We have to report a sale of 200 tons of Scotch
pig at 20 dolls. 50c. to 21 dolls. 75c., six months, ex
ship; 70 tons of Swedes, 84 dolls.; and 56 ditto, com-
prising a large proportion of extra sinders, 92 dolls.,
eight months.
Tobacco—We have but to note sales of 100 hhds. of
Kentucky, at 81c. to 11c.; 20 Maryland, 7 40; two bales
of Havannah, 48 to 53; 75 cargoes of Florida, 17 to 30,
four months; and a lot of Kentucky stems, in bales,
1 doll. per 100 lb. as cash.
Freights are dull. Cotton, to Liverpool, Id. asked;
Havre, id. To London, tobacco, 22 6 to 25; flour, 18.3 d.
to Is 4d., nominal. To Glasgow, cotton, I; ashes, 205.;
to California, 40c. to 60c. per foot, dull.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

Having commenced the season on Saturday week by
the deb4t of Mademokelle Caroline Duprez as Lucia,
and by the production of one of the most charming
ballets, Mr. Lumley has followed up his " most excel-
lent beginning" by producing, on Saturday last, Auber's
most original, most delightful, and perhaps, taken as a
whole, greatest opera, Gustave 111. The plot of this
opera, which is from the pea of Scribe, is well known to
every playgoer in the United Kingdom, and the most
popular of the airs are familiar to every one, for
there is scarcely a theatre in the United Kingdom in
which Mr. Plancl.e's version of it has not been per-
formed. In that version, however, the opera is sadly
curtailed of its fair proportions, the whole of the recita-
tive is omitted, and as it pleased the Covent-garden
management of that day, be considered it necessary to
give the part of Gustavus to as actor who could not
sing, Mr. Plane)] 6 was obliged to introduce a new cha-
racter, a certain Colonel Lillenhorn, whose sole busi-
ness appeared to be to sing the music which
the King could not sing, and whose presence
was felt as a perpetual intrusion. Familiar
therefore, as is the Covent-garden operatic version of
Gustavus 111. to the English public, to Mr. Lumley is
due the honour of having been the first to produce, in
this country, in its original entirety, unmutilated and
without interpolation (save in one instance, to which wo
shall presently allude, and in which the interpolation is
an improvement), this the chef d'cruvre of Auber; and to
produce in a style surpassing, in any respect, even that
in which it was originally produced even at the Grand
Opera in Paris. The cast was as follows:
Amelie ••• ••• Mme. Fiorentini.
Arvedsen (the witch).— Mdlle. Feller. ,
Oscar (page of the King) ... Wle. Caroline Duprez.
Ankastrom ... Signor Lorenzo.
Reborn,
Signor F. Lablache.
I
Ribbing, nobles "' *** M. Poultier.
,Gustave 111. Signor Calzolari.
Madame Fiorentini, who made her debut during the last
week of the last season, but who, during that week,
achieved for herself an European reputation, has
added immensely to that reputation by her
performance of Amelie. Never have we heard
the exceedingly difficult music of this part more
purely Or more sweetly rendered, while her
acting was tragedy of the very highest order. The
trio in the second act, " Dio the in cer mi leggi" was
delightfully rendered, and the grand scena at the com-
mencement of the third act was a superb piece of perfect
dramatic vocalization. Her look and, manner as she
drawi the fatal name from the urn was one
of the most powerful pieces of acting we have
ever witnessed, and Madame Fiorentini has added
immensely to her fame by her representation of this cha-
racter. Mdlle. Caroline Duprez made one of the daintiest
and prettiest of pages, and sang the music of the part
deliciously. It is exactly suited to her voice and style,
and she seemed quite to revel in the saucy melodies of
Auber. Her aria in the first scence was exquisitely ren-
dered, .and the well-known invitation to the ball seemed
to acquire additional freshness and spirit from her admi-
rable manner of rendering it. The great triumph of the
night, however, was in the last act, in which she
introduced an air from Auber's opera Le Serment, com-
posed, as it would appear, for the purpose of condensing
the greatest possible number of vocal difficulties in the
smallest possible compass. In this air Wile. Caroline
Duprez, by her marvellous powers of execution,excited
quite &furore ; never have we heard a more marvellous
and perfect specimen of florid vocalization. Caizolari
sang the music of Gustavus, with exquisite taste and
sweetness, and Lorenzo gave a fine, spirited, and manly
version of the part of Ankastrom. The trio by
the conspirators, by Lorenzo, F. Lablache, and M.
Poultier (who has been engaged from the French
Academie de Musique expressly to take part in this
trio), was the very perfection of part-singing.
Mademoiselle Feller made her debilt in the
character of Arvedsen, and from the manner in which
she performed the part we are most desirous of seeing
her again. Her voice is a contralto of rich and sono-
rous quality, and her intonation is perfect. It is evident
from her manner of performing this little character that
she is a most accomplished artiste. It is not, however,
so much on the solo parts as on the choruses that the
success of Gustave 111. depends. Among the choruses
of this opera are to be found some of the very
finest specimens of Auber's choral writing, and
these were rendered with an exactness and
closeness that left nothing to be desired.
The " Viva el re," at the conclusion of the second act,
was redemanded as a matter of course. The choruses
were not only admirably sung, but they were acted
with infinite spirit. Never have we seen a more
lively scene than that to which we have just
alluded—the sailors' chorus at the conclusion of the se-
cond act. In order to render the production of the opera
as perfect as possible, Madlle. Carlotta Grisi was
brought over from Paris expressly to take
part in the masked ball, and made her dibiit
for the season in a new grand pas composed expressly
for her, and engrafted on the " danse des Folies. Her
reception was most enthusiastic; she looked as lovely, as
graceful, and as fascinating as ever, and danced divinely.
The orchestra, under the direction of Belie, did full
justice to Auber's brilliant,' sparkling, and most expres-
sive music, and the success of the opera was at once
brilliant and complete. All the principal artistes were
called on at the conclusion. The beautiful new Watteau
ballet concluded the evening's entertainments. The
house was crowded in every part; long before the rising
of the curtain there was not a box or a stall unoccupied,
and the pit and.gallery were crowded.

DRURY LANE THEATRE.
A translation from Scribe and Auber's comic opera the
Dame de Pique, which has lately been so successfully pro-
duced in Paris, was announced for performance at this
theatre on Saturday, but shortly before the doors opened
a notice was posted to the effect that the comedy of
Simpson and Co. would be substituted for the Queen of
Spades, in consequence of the sudden indisposition of
Mrs. Nisbett, who was to have taken the principal cha-
racter. The curtain accordingly drew up for Simpson
and Co., which was proceeded with quietly for a few
minutes, but on the entrance of Mr. Simpson, the
audience, especially the "gods," became impatient, and re-
fused to allow it to continue. Mr. W. West, the stage
director, came forward but could not obtain a hearing.
Mr. Anderson himself then appeared, and stated that he
had not been made acquainted with Mrs. Nisbett's in-
disposition until ten minutes to six on that evening, but
if the audience desired it, the Queen of Spades should
be given, as Miss F. Vining had kindly consented to
read Mrs. Nisbett's part. This arrangement appeared to
give entire satisfaction to the audience, and in about
half-an-hour the curtain again rose for the Queen of
Spades. The scene is laid in Russia, and the principal
character is Katinka Nelidorf, who, having been so impru-
dent as to box the ears of the Czar Peter, who bad been
making love to her, had been ordered to bo arrested for
the offence. She, however, has contrived to escape un-
der the disguise of her humpbacked and lame old aunt, the
Princess Beresina, to the castle of the Princess at Polosa.
On her way she accidentally becomes acquainted with Eric
Klamberg (Mr. Craven), a courier in the Imperial service,
whose father bad been unjustly disgraced from the rank
which he held in the imperial army by the machinations
of the Prince Moskau. At the castle he meets the
Prince (Mr. Walter Lacy) and challenges him, but the
Prince declines to fight until Eric has paid a large debt
due to him from his father. In a moment of exaspera-
tion Eric strikes him, and is immediately arrested and
sentenced to be shot. In the meantime he is confined
in a salt mine belonging to the Princess, the superin-
tendent of which, Ivan (Mr, Anderson) has ruined him-
self by his love for gaming, which he seeks to gratify
at every risk on every opportunity. He has heard of a
legend that the Princess Beresina is in possession of a
certain ring which contains the names of three magical
cards, which are always sure to win if the owner of the
ring turns round a secret spring in its interior. Olga (Mrs.
Walter Lacy), the waiting-maid of the Princess and the
betrothed of Ivan, bribes him, by means of the ring and
the secret of the cards, to permit his prisoner to escape
by the panier vhich serves to let down the workmen to
the mine, which is 1,000 feet below the surface. The
escape is accordingly effected, the supposed Princess
tells Ivan the names of the three cardil,—the three, the
ten, and the Queen of Spades,—and gives him the ring,
which, however, is immediately taken from him by the
Prince, who has overheard the secret, although too late
to prevent the prisoner's escape. The second act of the
play passes at the public gardens at Carlsbad, in
Bohemia, where Kopeck (Mr. Barrett), an old
usurer, has set up a gaming house, and taken
into his service Ivan, who has lost at play all the money
given him by the supposed Princess. Prince Moskau,
the Princess, and her waiting-maid, and Eric, are also li
at the gardens on the night of a masquerade, and the
Prince, who wishes to mend his fortunes by marriage,
exchanges a :paper, proving the innocence of Eric's
father, for a contract of marriage with himself, signed,
as ho imagines, by the Princess. He then tries his for-
tune at the faro table, betting on the three cards ; and
Eric, who has raised a portion of the amount of his
debt, stakes it against him. At first the three cards
win, but immediately afterwards they lose, and Eric,
therefore, is enabled to pay off his whole debt, and meet
his enemy upon terms of enmity. They are about to
fight, when Katinka makes her appearance in the dress
of the Queen of Spades, with the real Princess Bere-
sina, and bestows her hand upon Eric, and that of her
waiting-maid upon Ivan, who promises thenceforth to
renounce gambling. The piece was very well put upon
the stage, and was perfectly successful in spite of the
drawback of the principal character having to be read.
Miss F. Vining, however, went through it as well
as it was possible, under such unfavourable circum-
stances, and was called for at the conclusion of the first
act, and at the end of the piece, and loudly applauded.
Mr. Anderson was excellent in the character of Ivan,
never thinking of anything, but maddened at seeing
gambling which ho cannot join, and rushing to the
gaming-table with frantic eagerness when he has got
hold of a little money to stake upon the magic cards.
The other characters were also very well sustained, and
when either Mrs. Nisbett is recovered sufficiently to
sustain the principal character, or Miss F. Vining has
had time to study the part, the piece will, no doubt,
have a long run. The performances concluded with
the magnificent spectacle of Azael, which continues to
draw crowded houses.

Mr. French, publicly addressing the directors of
the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway, said to them, 6, yeire
a dirty crew—a shabby lot! Dirty water upon ye— bad luck
to ye all!"
The essentials of a watering place may be literally
summed up thus :—Sea, salt, sun, sand, shrimps, shells,
steamers, ships, and sailors.
CEYLON PAPERS.—The appendix and index to the
evidence taken before the select committee in Ceylon have
just been published in the form of a blue book, weighing 51b.
12oz. It is composed of rather more than 550 closelyprinted
pages, and contains a great variety of documents connected
withithe affairs of the island.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 31, 1851.

be looked upon as the standard edition of it, having
passed under the hands of its author shortly before his
lamented decease, and having besides this been very
carefully edited by his son, the distinguished repre-
sentative of Buckinghamshire.

A POPULAR NARRATIVE of the GREAT
EXHIBITION. By Peter Berlyn. James

Gilbert.
Within the compass of an elegant pocket volume, the
compiler of the present narrative has contrived to fur-
nish his readers with a very copious history of the
origin, progress, and prospects of the Great Exhibi-
tion. Throughout the work be has written with an
especial regard at once to'simplicity and perspicuity, so
that we rest satisfied his labours will prove eminently
successful, the book being incontestably the narrative
of the great Industrial Exposition. Beginning with
all those preliminary particulars which are absolutely
essential for the comprehension of the entire scheme
of the Prince Consort, the narrative describes very
lucidly the growth of the first crude idea to its present
gigantic dimensions. The share taken in the project
by the Society of Arts is duly celebrated, and the in-
fluence of the successive expositions of French in-
dustry especially notified. One paragraph is eminently
deserving of quotation. It runs as follows :
"On the 30th of June, 1849, Mr. Cole and Mr.
Fuller, with Mr. Scott Russell, attended by his Royal
Highness's comsnand at Buckingham Palace-, where Mr.
Thomas Cubitt was summoned to meet them. It was at
this meeting that his Royal Highness communicated his
views fully with regard to the formation of a Groat Col-
lection of Works of Industry and Art in London in
1851, for the purpose of exhibition, and of competition
and encouragement. It was at this meeting also that
his Royal Highness first stated the four great divisions—
of Raw Material—Machinery and Mechanical Invention
—Manufactures—Sculpture and Plastic Art—of which
he proposed the Exhibition should consist. It was at
this meeting also, June 30, that his Royal Highness
gave to the proposed Exhibition that great feature of
universality which has ever since formed the chief cha-
racteristic of his plan. His Royal Highness' considered
that, whilst it appears an error to fix any limitation to
the productions of machinery, science, and art, which
are of no country, but belong as a whole to the civilized
world, particular advantage to British industry might
be derived from placing it in fair competition with that
of other nations. Thus it will DO seen that although a
Great National Exhibition had been proposed and aimed
at over and over again, yet it was reserved for the
Prince to give the finishing . stroke to the structure
which had been gradually rising, by making the propo-
sition that the Exhibition should comprehend the In-
dustry of All Nations:"
From this it will be sufficiently apparent that his Royal
Highness was literally and actually the originator of
the whole undertaking, and that as its originator
he is, beyond all others, entitled to congratulation
in regard to its successful development. The different
meetings held in the metropolis in furtherance of the
design, are scrupulously recorded, and the speeches
delivered upon those occasions accurately reported. Mr.
Paxton's description of the Crystal Palace is given,
moreover, in the very words in which he himself de-
livered it to the Derby Mechanics' Institution. In

like manner, we have a little further on a reprint of
the brilliant article on the same subject printed in the
weekly miscellany of Mr. Dickens. The subjoined
particulars of the building, extracted from another
portion of the " Popular Narrative," cannot fail to be
regarded with considerable interest by those not al-
ready aware of its dimensions :
" A resume' of the statistics of this marvellous edi-
fice will best convey, at a glance, an idea of its vastness:
—lt consists of a nave 72 feet wide, and 64 feet high,
with a series of side aisles, two of 48 feet, and six of 24
feet wide, of the respective heights of 43 and 23 feet, the
whole spreading to a width of 456 feet; the total length
is 1,848 feet: a transept, 408 feet long and 72 feet wide,
intersects the building at right angles in the centre; this
transept is covered with a semicircular roof, springing at
a height of 64 feet from the level of the ground, and
making the entire height 110 feet. The total area of the
grotheundl
eflroioe rs
ti so e2r7a,llotoo
s7q7u2,ar7eB4 square
feet. The feat, and
g a 1 ertihe
sa t
aroef
24 feet wide and extend nearly a mile. The table space
for exhibitors will be more than 8 miles in length. The
total cubic contents of the building are 33,000,000 feet.
In addition to the timber for joists, flooring, &c., the
glass and supports of iron comprise the entire structure;
the columns, sash-bars, and panes of glass, are similar
in form throughout. There are 2,244 cast-iron girders
for supporting galleries and roofs, in addition to 1,128
intermediate bearers, 358 wrought-iron trusses for sup-
porting roof, 34 miles of gutters for carrying water to
the columns, 202 miles of sash-bars, and 900,000 super-
ficial feet of glass, weighing 400 tons. The average
weight per superficial foot of the ordinary roofing is only
3i lb. The tender for its construction was accepted on
the 26th of July, 1850; possession of the site was ob •
tained on the 30th of July; the first column was fixed
on the 26th of September; and only 145 working days
after the commencement, but little of the vast building
remained to be finished. To give an idea of the enor-
mous extent of the building, it may be noticed, that the
width of the main avenue is within 10 feet double that cf
St. Paul's Cathedral, whilst its length is more than four
times as great. The walls of St. Paul's are 14 feet
thick, those of the • Crystal Palace' only 8 inches. Saint
Paul's occupied 35 years in building, whilst the Hyde-
park building will have occupied less than half that num-
ber of weeks; .the celerity of the construction has been
most remarkable. As many as 308 girders have been
delivered on the ground in one week. Seven of the great
trusses of the nave were raised in one day. Each man
fixed about 200 superficial feet of glass per day. In
order to perform these marvels, it was necessary to de-
vise and employ various contrivances for economising
labour, such as the sash-bar machine, the gutter ma-
chine, the morticing machine, the painting ma-
chine, the glazing machine, besides many others of an
equally ingenious nature. The average number of work-
men employed was about 1,800, amongst whom about
2,5001. was weekly paid in wages. Even in the payment
of the workmen ingenious machinery was called into re-
quisition, by ,which it was found possible to make
nearly 2,000 distinct payments within the space of two
hours!"
Among the subordinate details of the enterprise, we
learn that 3,6001. has been paid as purchase money,
jointly by Messrs. Spicer Brothers and Messrs.
Clowes and Sons, for the privilege of printing and
publishing the Official Catalogue, while Messsrs.
Schweppe and Company have on their part paid
5,5001. as purchase money for the purpose of supply-
ing the refreshments. The volume is altogether a
very clever and most complete compilation.