The Press.
London, England, 1855-08-25 00:00:00

MONDAY.

The series of visits to be paid by her Majesty to
the numerous sites and scenes of interest in Paris
commenced on Monday morning, the honour of
priority being appropriately given to the Exposition
des Beaux Arts, attached to the Industrial Exhibi-
tion. The Emperor attended his royal guests on
this visit, leaving St. Cloud at half-past ten, and
reaching the Palais des Beaux Arts at eleven. There
the Imperial Commission, headed by their President,
Prince Napoleon, the Foreign Commissioners, and
the Jurors of the Exhibition, had assembled to
receive them. They had mustered in the saloons
immediately adjoining the principal entrance, and
it was at once remarkable and interesting to see
so great a gathering of men, who, in different
countries and for various specialties, had achieved
reputation and position in the ranks of industry and
science. A beautifully-executed bust of her
Majesty stood on a pedestal in the centre of the re-
ception-room, and on every side the walls were co-
vered with chefs d'ceuvre of art, while masses of ex-
cited spectators were hemmed in from an invasion of
the reserved space by the police of the building.
This small force it was at first believed would prove
sufficient to protect the illustrious visitors from
pressure by the crowd in the course of their
survey; but after a time, notwithstanding their
exertions, the police were overwhelmed, and in con-
sequence it was found requisite to recruit their
numbers by some sergens de vine. The Emperor,
with the Queen leaning on his arm, entered the
palace shortly after eleven o'clock. He was followed
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 inte-
rest were pointed out by Dr. Waagen. The atten-
tion of their Majesties was, of course, much dis-
tracted by the cheers and cries of " Vive la
Reine " which greeted them at different points; but
the Prince and the Royal children, who felt them-
selves more at liberty, were so earnestly bent on
seeing all they could, that several times they were
left behind, and but for the recuperative energy
shown by the officials might have been lost altogether
in the crowd. From the German the royal party
went on to the Belgian and thence to the French
schools. In the latter there came a rush of specta-
tors, and for several minutes all was confusion. The
illustrious party made its way as rapidly as possible
to the next saloon, which was at once cleared for its
reception, and here the scattered cortege was after
some time reassembled. While a reinforcement of
sergens de vile was sent for, the master-pieces
of Delacroix and other painters, suspended in this
inner saloon, were leisurely examined. No great
inconvenience, therefore, arose, and both the Em-
peror and her Majesty sustained the temporary in-
road upon their freedom of locomotion with exem-

plary good nature and self-possession. As soon as
order had been restored, the progress through the
palace was resumed. Passing along the north
front of the palace the progress of the cortege was
arrested for some minutes while their Majesties
listened to the performances of a large choir of
workmen, 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 another point a second pause took place
to examine the restoration of the Minerva executed
by Phidias in precious metals, jewels, and ivory,

SATURDAY,

which was placed in the Parthenon at Athens.
This restoration, which is in complete accordance
with the descriptions of the original by ancient
writers, is the property of the I)uc de Luynes.
The Queen was afterwards conducted by her impe-
rial host through the Gallery of British Artists; and
then, ascending the staircase at the north-east
corner of the palace, the cortege described the cir-
cuit of the upper galleries, in which are displayed
the water-colour drawings, the miniature paintings,
the engravings on wood and steel, and the architec-
tural designs contributed by different countries.
After completing the circuit of the galleries their
Majesties returned to the central saloon, from
which they had been compelled to retreat at au
earlier period by the inroad of spectators. So de-
lighted were our Royal Family with the master-
pieces here displayed that they made the circuit of
the saloon several times.

After leaving the Exposition des Beaux Arts, the
august visitors proceeded to the Palace of the Elysie,
a palace formerly occupied by the Emperor when
President of the Republic. After partaking of lun-
cheon, which was served in the salle-a•manger of the
palace, her Majesty withdrew to the grand saloon,
where the members of the corps diplomatique had the
honour of being presented.
At half-past three the Queen, accompanied by the
Emperor, Prince Albert, and the royal children, pro-
ceeded to pay a visit to one of the most remarkable of
the buildings of Paris, St. Chapelle. Her Majesty
passed along the Rue de Rivoli, and when the
imperial carriages arrived at the central entrance of
the new wing of the Louvre, they were stopped for
a few moments while the Emperor pointed out to her
Majesty the extent of the works which, under his
directions, have been completed. Proceeding on
their way, the crowd increased greatly in number as
far as the Palais de Justice, where there was an im-
mense concourse of persons assembled.
The church of St. Chapelle owes its origin to
Louis XI., who wished to build a suitable temple for
the reception of the Holy Crown of Thorns, which
had been pledged by Beaudoin the Second, of Cour-
tenay, to the Venetians for a loan of money made to
the needy monarch. The first stone was laid by
Louis Xl. in 1245, and this chef d'oeuvre of Gothic
architecture was completed by Pierre de Montreuil in
the short space of three years. During the first
French Revolution, the St. Chapelle was pillaged and
desecrated, the edifice itself being converted into a
storehouse for grain and flour. The work of
restoring the long-neglected building was com-
menced when the Emperor was President, and
latterly has been carried on with great vigour arid
energy. The restoration is now intrusted to MM.
Geoffrey de Chaume, Michael Pascal, Perry, Bureau,
Malezieux, Adams, and Bourguignon.
The illustrious visitors entered the edifice from
the Palais de Justice, of which the chapel was ori-
ginally an adjunct. The whole of the windows in the
courtyard of the palace were removed and filled with
crimson velvet and gold drapery; the magnificent
escalier leading up to the front of the budding was
richly carpeted, flags and banners were ranged
around the courtyard, and the openings in the lower
part were covered with some very curious specimens of
old Bayeux tapestry. Their MAjesties were received
at the foot of the great staircase by their excellencies
M. Troplong, first president of the Court of Cessa-
tion; M. de Boyer, procureur•general ; M. Delangle,
president de la Cour Imperiale; M. Rouland, procu•.
reur-general ; and M. de Belleyme, president of the
Civil Tribunal. M. Lapus, the principal architect
charged with the restoration of St. Chapelle, ex•
plained to her Mikiesty and Prince Albert the nature
of the restorations which he was carrying out, and the
principles which he had taken as his guide in the
polychromatic and other decorations.
After leaving St. Chapelle the imperial carriages
proceeded to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Her
Majesty and the other illustrious visitors were received
by the clergy of the church, attired simply in their
mantles of ceremony—the canons of the Catholic
Church and the etiquette of our royalty alike forbid-
ding that, on the visit of a Protestant monarch, the
clergy should display all those imposing ceremonials
which are exclusively reserved for Catholic crowned
beads. Her Majesty was received at the entrance to
the cathedral by the Archbishop of Paris and the
Bishop of Tripoli. Passing slowly along the great
nave, its noble but simple construction, and the ma-
jestic proportions of the ancient edifice, were greatly
admired. Their Majesties passed through the choir,
and there the series of fine and valuable paintings
were much admired, and her Majesty expressed the
wannest admiration for the richly-stained glass
windows in the sacristy.
Upon leaving Notre Dame, the imperial carriages
proceeded by the Rue Rivoli and the Rue St- Antoine
to the Place de la Bastile, and drove along the whole
line of the Boulevards. Immense crowds of persons
were here assembled, who evinced great anxiety to
see her Majesty and the other illustrious visitors.
Their Mskiesties, on their return to St. Cloud, gave
a dinner of sixty covers, to which the principle niem-