The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-26 00:00:00

THE WEEK AT THE GLASS PALACE.

MONDAT.

This was decidedly one of the great days at
the Crystal Palace. Great In the number of visitors, great
is their ininite variety of countenance andeastame,

peat in the heat of the Interior, which pee a lively Idea
of
the black hole at Calcutta, and great in the exercise of
the sprinkling function in which the various aquarii
were mint zealous, regardless of pumps or petticoats,
throughout the slay. Upwards of seventy thousand
thinking, talking, sightseeking biped carnivore were
at one time congregated within the transparent
walls, resolutely determined upon seeing everything in
the space of three or four hours, and to cat a dinner
besides, at the base of Kiss' Amazon and tiger in the nave,
or close by the ruins of the Font Romano in the Italian
court. It was in truth the pursuit of knowledae under
difficulties. The Kuh-i-noor was in a state of siege; the
Spanish diamonds were unapproachable ; and the precious
metals were rendered doubly precious by the difficulties
with which they were surrounded. Tho company
poured in not by desultory twos or threes, but
in compact hundreds, organised and marshalled,
each detachment bearing some distinctive badge, which
served the purpose of classifying the groups, and giving va-
riety to the general picture. Now, it was some large
body of factory operatives with so much greenery in
their huts as to make one believe that Bernam wood had
truly come to Dunsinanc. Then, it was a close column, in
dingy. scarlet, numbered and ticketed, Mr. Cochrane's
shoe-black brigade to wit, looking exceedingly like the
Spanish legion on its return from Peninsular glory.
These worthies, by the way, were by no means the
most orderly of the company. They formed in
close column and pushed their way through the nave
with more vigour than courtesy, and upon their exit
gave a noisy cheer, which was nigh Isauling to some incon-
venience. The great body of people in the nave, hearing
the great shouting at the western entrance, thought that
some notability was corning. Some said it was the Queen
suddenly returned from Osborne, others that it was the
Duke of Wellington, and a general rush was made upon
the platform upon which America displays her moots:hue
contributions. That respectable couple, the " Driving
Cloud" and "Strutting Turtle," whom Mr Catlin has
placed at the top of the steps, were for the moment
very much incommoded, and but for the vigo-
rous exertions of the police, would have soon fol-
lowed the course of their fated race, and fallen
down under the onslaught of the pale faces. Volunteer
music has been stopped, and so must volunteer cheering,
as it obvious that anything calculated to cause a sudden con-
gestion in such a vast assemblage must be pregnant with
inconvenience and even danger. The boys of the Duke of
York's training school were also present and patterns of
good conduct ; various ragged schools sent their quotas, and
there was no lack of agricultural labourers who looked
as pleasant as the prospect of a bountiful harvest
could make them. Even from Buckinghamshire the
great centre of agrarian despair, a stout contingent
came up under the command of " mine host" of
the White Hart, at Aylesbury, and when we add to these,
foreigners of every clime and complexion, and an excursion
party from Ireland, that took a train of 70 carriages to con-
vey them from Holyhead, it will be conceded that the as-
semblage at the Great Exhibition yesterday was as remark-
able fur variety as it certainly was for numbers. Among
the curiosities of the company were two men who walked
kisurcly about, enveloped in a complete panoply of straw
plait, straw hats, straw paletots, straw gloves, and even
straw boots. They were, of course, the objects of much
gazing and many inquiries, when it turned out that they
were the employi'ss ore straw plait manufacturer in Islington.
who had hit upon that ingenious method of publishing his
wares and of evading the advertisement duty. Another'
novelty in costume came from a great felt manufactory in
Warwieltshire, the operatives of which, to the number of
'2410, had been scot up to see the Crystal Palace. One of
these men had most ingeniously constructed a complete
suit of the material without a single scant in any article,
and he strutted about in this peculiarly appropriate summer
costume, proud as a monarch of his robes, and regardless of
a temperature of 90 degrees, which made him perspire
at every pore. Two of the Spanish dancers from
her Majesty's Theatre were also present in their graceful
national costume, and, we are happy to add, were not
mobbed, except by some of their own sex, who were rather
puzzled to understood how ladies could get on without
bonnets. The only novelty among the articles was Mr.
Belshaw's celebrated elephant, which has at last arrived
from the jungles of Essex, and now gracefully sustains
the Howdah of the Newab Mean. He was much visited
in the course of the day, and his captor received many
iseogratulations on the success of his bunting. It is