The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-28 00:00:00

THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO FRANCE.

HER Majesty, Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, and the
Princess Royal, arrived in Paris (as we stated last week), on
Saturday, the 18th instant, and the following day, Sunday,
was Spent in retirement.

On Monday morning at half-past ten, the Emperor and his
Royal guests left St. Cloud to visit the Palais des Beaux Arts.
There the imperial commission, headed by their president,
Prince Napoleon, the foreign commissioners, and the jurors of
the Exhibition, had assembled to receive them, and amongst
the assembly were several Englishmen. A beautifully executed
bust of Her Majesty stood on a pedestal in the centre of the
reception-room, and the walls were covered with chef d'ceurres
of art. The Emperor,, with the Queen leaning on his arm,
entered the Palace shortly after eleven o'clock. He was fol-
lowed by Prince Albert, who had with him the Princess Royal
and the Prince of Wales, and after them came the suites of
both sovereigns.
The reception over, the cortege, led by Prince Napoleon,
advanced into the principal saloon for the display of German
pictures, and here the works of chief interest were pointed out
by Dr. raagen. The attention of their Majesties was much
distracted by the cheers an cries of " Vice la Reine I" which
greeted them at different points, but the Prince and the royal
children, who felt themselves more at liberty, were so earnestly
bent on seeing all they could, that several times they were left
behind, and but for the energy shown by M. Arles Dufour
and other officials, might have been lost altogether in the
crowd. After inspecting the Belgian collection of paintings,
the Emperor led his guests into the principal saloon of French
painting, and to the French Sculpture Court. Here a display
of artistic excellence was presented to them comprising many
works of rare merit. From the Sculpture Court the Imperial
and royal visitors passed into the saloon devoted to M. Horace
Vernet's chef d'oeuvres.
Passing along the north front of the palace the progress of
the cortege was arrested for some minutes while their Ma-
jesties listened to the performance of a large choir of work-
men, singers trained on a system bearing some resemblance
to that of Hullah in England, and who went through a chorus
in which " God save the Queen" was introduced, led by their
conductor, M. Chivet, with extraordinary precision and
musical effect. At the north-east corner of the building a
pause took place to examine the restoration of the Minerva
executed by Phydias in precious metals, jewels, and ivory,
which was placed in the Parthenon at Athens. Their Ma-
jesties now entered the saloon of M. Ingress. From this
point the Queen was conducted by her Imperial host through
the Gallery of British Artists. Ascending the staircase at
the north-east corner of the palace, the cortege made the
circuit of the upper galleries, in which are displayed the
watercolour drawings, the miniature paintings, the engravings
on wood and steel, and the architectural designs contributed
by different countries. Here England takes a very high
position, from the excellence of the works exhibited by her
artists in several of these departments. After completing the
circuit of the galleries, their Majesties returned to the
central saloon. Here they took a survey of the great works
with which the genius of French art has embellished
the walls. The Last Days of the Reign of Terror, and the
grand picture of the Imperial Guard re-entering Paris after
Waterloo (by Muller), M. Cousins' painting illustrating the
manners of the Lower Empire, Troyon's cattle picture, and
Rosa Bonheur's " Hayfield," were examined, and so delighted
were cur Royal Family with the masterpieces here displayed,
that they made the circuit of the saloon several times. Shortly
group, and whose obeisances to her Majesty and the Emperor
were most profound. One or two other quadrilles were
danced by the company, while the Royal visitors appeared to
admire the noble proportions of the salle, the splendour of its
Vandeliers, and the beauty of its ceiling and decorations. The
mperor then led the Queen through the crowded rooms, fol-
,lowed,by the other members of the Royal party and their
suite, the company making way as they passed, and receiving
their Majesties with the most respectful salutations,
but without cries or exclamations. The whole suite
of rooms of ,tihe Hotel de Ville . were opened to the
company, and iights, mirrors, fountains, statues, and
the choicest flowe.r,s, disposed with exquisite taste, made
the scene one of the mort dazzling beauty and brilliancy that
can possibly be conceived. About 8,000 persons were present.
Every official person appeared in the full uniform of his mili-
tary, naval, or civil rank, and ware the stars or insignia of his
orders. The ladies' toilettes were of singular beauty and
richness, and as there were diplomatists, attaches, and military
1 men from every country in Europe in full costume, the splen-
(lour of the scene was complete. Her Majesty wore