The New York Herald

The Emeute At the Opera House.—The recent
turmoil at the Opera illustrates the characteristics
which we have, from the beginning, predicted
would be the result of Fry's management. Vanity,
pretension and ignorance, in equal proportions,
are the qualities most in favor, it would seem, with
the Opera Committee, in their selection of a lessee.
The principal achievement of Fry, so far in the
campaign, has been to get up a feud with the best
artists of his company, for which he was signally
rebuked, on Friday evening, by the triumphant de-
monstration from the audience in favor of the great
tenor. To avoid this rebuke, the house was packed,
from the parquette to the amphitheatre, by the
loafers of the free list and the hirelings of the ma-
ager. At least three hundred persons, who, by
the special permit of Fry, were allowed to grace
the Opera for the first time in their lives, went
there, on Friday night, drilled and trained for a
performance before the curtain. The first act was
to applaud Maretzek, as he entered the orchestra;
the second, to hiss Benedetti as soon as he appear-
ed, and to drive him off the stage at all hazards,
in order to prepare the way for the third act, which
was the appearance of Fry. The audience, antici-
pating sport from the ludicrous figure and shaking
knees of this last performer, listened to him for
a moment, when he was promptly sent off the
stage to mind his business. In justice to Fry, it
ought to be said that he fully sustained his favorite
character—of an ape—in which he appeared, by no
means for the first time, on the preceding Wed-
nesday.

Mortified and chagrined by his humiliating fail-
ure in the attempt to elicit sympathy from the pub-
lic, in the quarrel he had provoked with Bene-
detti, the redoubtable manager announced his in-
tention to challenge the tenor, by the following in-
timation, which may be seen in our report of his
speech in yesterday's paper :—“Circumstances
between us, of a private nature, are to be disposed
of elsewhere.” This remark was received with
a shout of derisive laughter, from all parts of the
house. Whether the preliminaries of this grand
duett with pistols and coffee for two, are yet defi-
nitely arranged, we have not heard. It is under-
stood, however, that the meeting will take place at
Coney Island, on Governor Davis's plantation. We
advise Fry to devote all his spare time to careful
practice, for Benedetti is a dead shot. Anticipating,
probably, the eccentric movements of his mana-
ger, Benedetti made himself a most expert marks-
man last summer, by shooting swallows on the
wing, along the banks of the Hudson, and exercis-
ing in the pistol galleries at Newport, with the fa-
mous Count Vasa Smith. Like the Count, he rings
the bell on the bull's eye at every shot; and if the
Opera committee wish to save their manager, we
advise them to implore the prompt interference of
the Chief of Police; but if, as we do not doubt, they
are anxious to get rid of him in some way, no
matter how, leave him, we pray you, gentlemen,
to the steady aim of Benedetti, who never misses
his aim, either in a duello or in a duett.

As for the ravings of the disappointed critics,
whose ignorance and stupidity have encouraged
Fry in a course of conduct which is certain to ruin
the Opera in New York, unless the chastisement
he has already received is followed by punish-
ment, if possible still more severe, we shall de-
vote a paragraph or two to them on Monday. We
will then give the origin, history, and secret mo-
tives of this controversy, glancing, as we pass
along, at the giraffe who represents the Courier
at the Opera; and perhaps bestowing a word upon
the leader of a clique of polka dancers, who does
up the criticism by the job for the Courier des
Etats Unis. We shall not trouble ourselves with
the small fry of the Tribune, Mirror, &c.