The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-03 00:00:00

FRENCH CORRESPONDENTS AT THE

OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION.

The Paris journals of to-day contain accounts
of the opening of the Exhibition on Thursday from the pen
of their " own " correspondents. In the Dibeits the descrip-
tion is written by M. J. Lemoinne. The singular uniforms
whioh were worn by different members of the procession
seem to have much amused him ; it is even irreverently
hinted that the high authorities looked very much
as though they bad "left the collection at the Tower of
London." M. Lemoinne strongly condemns the exterior of
the building, and compares the domes to wir►gauze dish-
covers. " Happily," he says, " the warbling is better than
the plumage," and as an Industrial Exhibition, this one is far
superior to that of 1851. "As to the English," he adds, "any
one who bad not seen them aloes the first Exhibition would
scarcely know them again ; one would think they had been
changed at nurse—they all have bear-'a and mustachios !
Where are the old caricatures in which the traditional
Frenchman of Leicester-square used to figure with his
uncultivated whiskers? Now it in the English who
have the aspect of gorilla. The Englishwomen, alone, have
not changed. There they were, with flaming toilets at
noon, always dazzling in freshness, and extravagant in
colours—droved lilies and roses at the Belk Jardinitre."
The correspondent of the Preset characterises the build-
ing as heavy, massive, and without grace. " Ladies," he
says, " were present in great numbers and beauty. Imagine
two or three thousand English women in summer dresses, and
a similar number of Euglishmen,whe are the bee t combed peo-
ple in creation, and you will have an tiles of the spectacle.
For the rest, a half -silence,very different from that confused
buzz which is heard in all public assemblies at Paris ; few
words, few gestures, a grave demeanour, but without stiff-
ness or awkwardness. Really I have never seen anything
more beautiful." The lame correspondent is fully
persuaded that the French industry will take
the first rank, although the American war and the
treaty of commerce have prevented French manufacturers
from devoting much time to the undertaking. The latter
class, moreover, dislike a visit to London. "It is very
costly and still more ennoyenz." This, he thinks, is the
last International Exhibition which will be held in London.
"At heart the exhibitors of all nations, the Eng-
lish excepted, prefer Paris. They are better treated
4 there; they are not overcharged; great pains an
taken to attract them. At London this is all
reversed. The English nation has great qualities ;it is is.
telligent, brave, persevering, intrepid, but it is not boapi-
; table." . - .

The Sleek is more liberal in its prelim and admiration than
any of its cootemporarieL The writer, however,
has slightly misunderstood a portion of the oere-
away. He says, "After Meyerbeer's Overture, spe.
eially composed for the occasion ; after the Orand
March of Auber, which was hailed with frantic ay-

plena. ; after ► cantata, which was equally well re.
oeived ; after a sort of alleluia intoned by the
Bishop of London—the Duke of Cambridge," &a. The per-
formance of the " Hallelujah Chorus," sod the reading of
the prayer by the bishop, appear to have mystified our
friend of the Slick
The Tempe devotes nearly a page to s deecription of the
scene. The uofuruished state of the different department►

is a prominent theme of the writer, and some rumours are
given of internal dissensions of which we have heard nothing.
The moat imposing part of the ceremony was, it is stated, the
music. The correspondent, however, notices an °mina's.
" What has been done with the diplomatic corps If I
am well informed, tbo ambassadors are not very satis-
fied with the neglect, which, to say the least, is very
extraordinary in an international assembly."

A letter from Chantillon-our-Saone state+ that a
shock of an earthquake was felt at half-past 8 on the morn-
ing of the 17th of April. A priest was at that moment
celebrating mum. The congregation in the church was
numerous, but in the twinkling of an eye everybody fed.
The priest alone remained at the altar, with the clerk who
was serving mass. It was thought that the church was
stout to fall. The Merrier de Vogt., state, that a similar
' shock was felt at the same hour in several communes of the
1 canton of Lamarche.