The Express.
London, England, 1862-09-24 00:00:00

CRYSTAL PALACE.

Yesterday was • special fête day at the Crystal
Palace on occasion of Mr. F. htrange'a annual benefit. As
usual on the day on which Mr. Strange asks the s•ffregges of
the public, several extraordinary attractions were added
to those which in general are presented to the visitors at
the Palace. In the first place, weather of summer tempera-
ture and brilliancy had succeeded the somewhat wintry in-
ane/ices of Monday ; the grounds and gardens showed to the
beat advantage, and m the flowers and trees have not yet
begun to exhibit any of the symptoms attendant on the
fall of the year, the primary step to a rooms
was secured. In order to compensate for the coin
parative shortness of the days an hour was stolen
from the morning, the doors having been opened so early
as eight o'clock, and almost at that hour persona began to
assemble, and by eleven there was a decided crowd, which
dispersed itself about the building and grounds, finding
ample sources of amusement and enjoyment until twelve,
when the orchestral bend of the company played • selection
of music, varied by the admirable solos on the cornet-a-
Mateo by Mr. Levy. At one o'clock the band of the Honour-
able Artillery Company was brought into play in the Handel
Orchestra, and at a quarter-pact that hour the Etude
Family, who appeared here at Whitsuntide, went through
their gymnastic exercises, while at half-past one certain
gymnasts of soother description, known as the Rocky Moun-
tain Wonders, exhibited "their marvellous feats."
The special entertainments were then interrupted, about a
quarter before this., when the band of the London Irish
Volunteers performed on the second terrace. At three Mr.
Cox well made an ascent in one of his balloons, the privilege
of short flights into the air having been previously granted
to such persona as felt inclined to trust themselves to au
elevation of a few hundred feet. Then came M. Moodie,
who made what is called his " Niagara ascent" over the
fountains ; and at four o'clock there was a display of the
whole of the great fountains and waterworks. At half-past
four the band of the Artillery Company again per-
formed in the Handel orchestra, keeping in pleasant
humour • vast crowd which bad assembled in
the transept, the galleries, and every place from
which it was possible to see M. Leotard go
through his performance on the trapeze. More music, by
the company's band and on the great organ occupied the
time till half-pest six, when the entertainments of the day
were brought to a close. A. is generally the case on gnat
fete days at the Crystal Palace, the vast assemblage of per-
sons of all classes and degrees, including a large percentage
of babies in arms, was, perhaps, the most interesting fee-'
ture of the occasion. At hall-put three considerably over
30,000 had entered the building, and as the trains beyond
that hour were still full to overflowing, them could not,
from first to last, have been less than 40,000 people as-
'ambled. At five o'clock the return to town was at its
height, and at that hour the approaches to the railway, in-
clusive of the long avenue leading to the entrance staircase,
were blocked up by • more or less patient
crowd awaiting their turn for conveyance to town. A con
siderable number of persons judiciously left the grounds by
one of the lower exits, and made their way to the Anerley
station, which is off the Crystal Palace line • mile or
two. There special arrangements were made for the
transit of such passengers as chose that route, and they
were comfortably conveyed homeward with far less of
waiting and delay than those who remained to take
the trains at the Crystal Palace terminus, many of whom
were necessarily detaioed until • late hour, although may
possible facility was afforded for their accommodation—no
easy task under the circumstances.

Mies Louisa Pyne, of the Royal English Opera,
has been suffering from a most severe attack of gastric
fever; bat her numerous friends and the general public will
be glad to learn that this distinguished ornament of the
lyric drama will soon be enabled to resume her professional
duties.

CITY Sirwras Commismots.—At the weekly meet-
ing of the Commissioners of flowers, held yesterday at Guild-
hall, 1)r. Letheby, the medical officer of health, reported
°Lithe stereo( 194 halms that had been inspected during
the week, and he submitted a list of 79 houses for sanitary
improvement. The medical officer likewise reported that
since the last meeting of the court he had obtained returns
of all the inspections which had been made during the
present year of the places which were said to have been
neglected, and also of the number of orders issued for their
sanitary improvement, from which it appeared that the nine
houses in White Lion-court bad been impacted 24 times,
and 31 orders had been ionised for sanitary improvement.
Holborn-building had been inspected 20 times, and 40
orders had been lamed. Plumtree-000rt bad been visited
23 times, and 72 orders had been issued. Alto-
gether there had been 107 inspections of the
houses in White Lion-court, 107 of Holborn-building, and
2so of Plumtree-court, since theist of January; sod there
bad been 143 orders issued by the court for sanitary im-
provement, and the pai ticulars and dates of the inspections
and orders were submitted to the commission. The markets
and slaughter-houses had been duly inspected in the course
of the week, and the officers had seized 1,372 lbs. of meat
as nufit for human food. It consisted of three pigs, nine
sheep, three quarters of beef, five joints of meat, and 162
head of game sad poultry. The occupiers of two of the
slaughter-houses in Whitechapel had been summoned before
the justices during the week for neglecting the order of the
commission, and had been fined. 'The medical officer sub-
mitted his quarterly report of the illuminating power
and chemical quality of the gas supplied to the City during
the summer quarter, from which it appeared that the Illu-
minating power of the Great Central Gas Company had
been equal to 12.61 standard sperm candles ; that of the
Chartered, 12815; and that of the Commercial, 12.02.
These were the result of 424 examisatioes.
Copper has been discovered in King's Island, an
island about 30 miles in laggth, situated in Ban's Straits. j