The Express.
London, England, 1863-06-11 00:00:00

Mr. Godwin, on the part of the executive com-
mittee of the memorial committee, then read au
address, to which his royal highness read the fol- ,
lowing reply
I have listeued with an interest which I am sure will be
shared by all present to the details you have given in con-
nexion with the memorial to my lamented and revered father,
and which we are assembled this day to inaugurate.
As a son, I cannot but be deeply affected by that part of
your address in which you have referred to the beloved
parent whose aid and counsel were never wanting
where work was to be done or where difficulties were to
be overcome. lam confident that our proceedings in corn-
memoratiog so proud a year in England's annals would have
met with his approval, and I am sustained in the part
which, in obedience to the Queen's commands, I have un-
dertaken by a conviction and grateful muse that the sym-
pathies of the entire nation accompany me. I have now
pleasure in directing that this memorial—of which the
artist may well he proud—be uncovered.
The memorial was then uncovered. A flourish of
trumpets and a salute of artillery from a battery
placed in the park by permission of H.R.H. the
Duke of Cambridge as ranger announced the fact.
The fountains began to play, and the united bands
of the Guards played the Coronation March from
the Pruphite.
The aspect of the garden at this moment was
extremely picturesque. Immediately below and in
front cf the balcony there was a large assemblage
of persons, the ladies preponderating. Then there
were double lines of spectators along the route
"(Well the procession was to take in the
The Ifh• was still more distinctly markedVrhe
banners of the various corporate towns, be-
ginning with those of Aberdeen and Belfast,
which floated gaily in the breeze, and which,
instead of being borne in the procession, were, for
convenience sake, fixed along the route in regular
succession. The whole quadrangle of the garden
was alive with animation, and resplendent with
colours of the richest and most variegated hues,
while the perspective, bounded on every side by
rows of lofty houses of great symmetry and archi-
tectural beauty, gave solidity and repose to the
whole. These cold regular lines of houses formed
as it were the frame work to a beautiful tableau.
It was impossible not to be struck with the scene,
and the expression of admiration was universal at
the perspective presented. The Prince and Princess
of Wales, having on their left the Duchess of Cam-
bridge, the Princess Mary, and the Duke of Cam-
bridge, and on their right the Princess Helena, the
Princess Louisa, and the Princes Alfred, Arthur,
and Leopold, seemed highly gratified with the
beauty of the prospect before them, although the
memorial in front of the royal party must have
awakened memories and struck chords which pro-
bably made

" Borrow more beautiful than beauty's self."

The procession then descended from the balcony,
and entering the garden by the centre arch pro-
ceeded through a double line of gentlemen and
" bevies of fair women " till it reached the great
basin, where a short pause was made for the purpose
of taking a closer view of the memorial, which
may here be described :
It is 42 feet in height and 18 feet across the base
at the angles. These dimensions, it should be said,
refer to the granite memorial alone, and do not
include the Portland stone substructure erected by
the Horticultural Society. The base of the memo-
rial presents four curved surfaces, each containing
a panel of red polished granite. At the angles, and
below the feet of the statues, are bronze reliefs
representing the medals awarded at the Exhibition.
Above this base, seated, and resting against the
sub-plinth, are the statues of the four quarters of
the globe eight feet in height. Furope bears a mural
crown upon her head ; one hand holds a wreath, the
arm resting on a rudder ; in her lap is a sheathed
sword bound with laurel, emblematical of the peace
she enjoyed during the year of the event. The
drapery of Asia is composed of cashmere and
muslin ; and, as characterising the Asiatic who
accumulates wealth in precious stones, she is
adorned with jewels. The head is the portrait of
an Indian princess. Africa is listless and inert ; a
coarse wrapper of native make is thrown around the
lowest portion of the statue. America, the youngest
in form and features, no longer represented as an
Indian in a costume of feathers, may be viewed as
a haughty daughter of Britannia. In one hand
she holds the primitive bow and arrows of the
Indian, the other rests upon an axe, sug-
gestive of clearance and the inroad of civilisa-
tion ; the head is adorned with rice and stars.
Above these statues, and rising from the sub-
plintht are eight columns of polished red granite,
bind eight corresponding mike, all with bronze
capitals and bases. Between the pilasters are four
tablets taking a circular form, and inscribed with
the history of the Exhibition and the dedication of
the memorial. These tablets, as well as the
columns, are monolithic. The columns support
an entablature which breaks round them. In the
frieze of this are incised texts :

---
" Let ell the nations be pthered together, and let the
people be assembled."—lmiah 9.
"I wal remember the works of the Lord ; surely I will
remember the wonders of old."—Pslam lxxvii. 2.

Above the entablature, carrying up the outline of
the tablets, rises the pedestal of the crowning
statue. It is one block of red granite, thus con-
tinuing the line of colour throughout the monu-
ment. In the statue, ten feet in height, the Prince
is represented, by her Majesty's express command,
in the robes of the Great Master of the Batb.
Minute attention has been paid to the detail of
the robes and orders. The inscriptions on the
memorial are very full—thus :
On the south tablet, facing the Exhibition build-
ing, we have the names of those who were mainly
interested in the undertaking of 1851 :—Her Ma-
jesty's Commissioners, with their president, his
Royal Highness the Prince Consort, the Special
Commissioners, and the Executive Committee.
On the east tablet, a list of the exhibiting
' countries, British and foreign.
On the west tablet are the following statistics of
the exhibition :
Opened by her Majesty Queen Victoria, May 1, 1851 ;
closed October 15, 1851 ; number of visitors. 6.03•J495 ; total
receipts, 51M,179f. ; total expenditure, 135,7421. ; uumber of
exhibitors, 13,937: viz., Britieh, 7,381 ; Foreign, 6,558
size of building, 1,848 feet by 456 feet; architect—Sir
Joseph Paxton ; contractors-loz sod Henderson.
On the north tablet is the dedication of the
memorial itself :
Erected by public subscription, originally intended only
to commemorate the International Exhibition of 1831, now
dedicated also to the memory of the great author of that
undertaking the Good Prince, to whose far-seeing and corn-
preheosive philanthropy its first conception was doe ; and
to whose clew judgment and untiring exertions in directing
its execution the world is indebted for its unprecedented
success—Albert Francis Augustus Charles Emmanuel, the
Prince Consort, born August 26th, 1819 ; died December 14th,
1861.

Ile was a man I take him for all in all,
We ,hall not look upon his like again."
In a tablet below, on the south side :
Uncovered by his Royal Higbeaes the Prince of Wale*,
June 10th, 1863.