The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-12 00:00:00

neat have already favoured the artist with sitting., and
their portraits arc in a sufficient state of forwardness to
enable the visitor to judge of the likeness. They are all
exceedingly accurate, and some of them the very best we
have seen of the persons represented. That of Lord John
Russia, who stands at the foot of the throne, is a perfect
hit. Not only are the well-known features of the Prime
Minister accurately preserved, but the expression and eha,
meter of the grave and thoughtful face are immediately
recognisable by those who have frequently seen his lordship.
Next him stands Lord Granville, also an admirable like-
ness, and prominently in the fore-ground may be recognised
Facili princeps, Mr. Paxton himself, in all the glory of his
court suit, and the flush of well-merited success. In the
_ _ _

same group ono instantly recognises Messrs. Mike, Cole,
Fox, and the other leading promoters of the Exhibition;
and on the opposite side of the throne are the foreign com-
missioners and visitors, the most prominent being our friend
from the flowery land, Tch Sing. We understand that this
distinguished personage was wilting to give any required
number of sittings, and was nervously anxious about the
correctness of the likeness. The portraits of her Majesty
and the Prince have yet to be filled in, but the artist has
confident expectations of being honoured with early sittings
by the illustrious personages to be represented. Of the
picture as a whole it would be unfair to give any opinion in
its present unfinished state, but even from the rough outline
it appeared that Mr. Scions had very skilfully managed
to keep down the hard lines and angles of the glass frame-
work, and to catch the eye with the more picturesque
objects. The famous old tree fills up almost the whole
background, and is nearly as good a portrait as any of the
others. Her Majesty and the Prince spent some time in
examining this picture, recognised many of the likenesses,
and expressed themselves most favourably of its merits.
Prince Albert at once promised a sitting, and there is little
doubt but that the artist will be similarly honoured by her
Majesty. As this picture, which will possess a historical
importance, is to be engraved, we would suggest to the pub-
lishers a more moderate tariff of prices than that which is
affixed to their prospectus. Twelve guineas for proofs be-
fore letters, and four guineas for priats, will not do for a
national picture. The subject is one of interest to the
million, and the price should be such as to place the en-
graving within their reach. If the price were one guinen,
the sale would be as a thousand to one at the present price.
After her examination of Mr. Selous' picture her Majesty

immediately left the building. Mr. Colt's stand of revolvers,
whichhas now become one of the lions of theplace, wassur-
rounded by crowds of spectators. It was really quite amusing
to observe the avidity with which ladies, young and old,
listened to the guardian of these delicate instruments,
while he explained the number of people that each would
kill in a minute. Ile admitted that the principle of the
revolving cylinder, turned by nicking, had been forestalled
by the old petroncl of the time of Charles 11., in the
United Service Museum; but said that Mr. Colt was pro-
tected by so many patents that his monopoly was quite safe.
So great, it appears, is the demand for these pistols on the
other side of the Atlantic, that the patentee, with 300 men
working hard, has six months orders in outer. The roof
of the transept, and part of the nave, was dotted over
during the day with men repairing the damage of the pre-
vious day.
The number of vi,itors yesterday was 30,067.
Cadi account, July 11
Season tickets
At the doors

Total receipts L 3,163 14 6

CONTENTS OF TILE GLASS PALACE

TOPOGRAPHY,

No less interesting to. the civilian than in the
military man, arc the beautiful specimens of topography
exhibited by France, Austria, Saxony, and England.
Though one of the latest of modern sciences, the want of
accurate and extensive surveys which was beginning to be
daily more and more felt in the civilised countries of
Europe, has caused it to be brought almost to the highest
state of perfection. With what delight would Frederick of
Prussia, the great originator of topography for military
purposes, have contemplated the large plan of Vienna and
its neighbourhood (No. 363) : could he have done this, how
differently might not his powerful intellect have combined
those strategical plans which even with the limited informa-
tion at his command are still the study and admiration of
so many? The present specimen is coloured to show the
geological divisions, but the colourist has lost sight of the
true principle of colouring maps, which ought on no ac-
count to conceal the engraving underneath, whilst he has

_
conglomeratol the whole range of hills in one dark brown
mass. The map of the kingdom of Saxony is on a very re-
duced scale, but clearly engraved, although perhaps the
range of kills may be a little hard. It is to be regretted that
at least one plate of the large work has not been sent.
The large French map is coloured by printing on litho-
graphic stone, in the same manner as the one in the Aus-
trian exhibition, a system which appears to be much
adopted on the continent. It is a copy of the large survey
of France with geological demarkation by the " ronts-et-
Chuuss&s." The French survey was begun in the year
1818, and by 1831, the entire chain of triangulation was
completed, and the topographical works commenced. Until
1831 the ground was represented by means of the contour-
ing, or lines traced at short, known and cqui-distant dis-
tances, but the following year it was ordered to be discon-
tinued, thereby retrograding at least thirty years in
scientific principles, consequently in 1839 it was found
necessary to trace on the projections, equi-distant contour
lines at 5, 10, and 40 inches, in order to determine the
length of the " normalcs " previous to sketching in the
hills. In many parts the relief is too strongly expressed,
the mountainous country presenting often ono black

medley, in which it is difficult to make out the
details. This arises from the workshaving been commenced
in the neighbourhood of Paris, the departments bordering
that of the Seine and on the northern frontier. They for-
got that by first operating in a flat country and showing in
the drawings every undulation of ground strongly marked,
that when they should reach the mountainous departments
and had to sketch in the hills proportionally they would be
obliged to employ a black mass in which every detail
would disappear. In the year 1839 it was found that,
owing to each officer employed on the work having repre-
sented the ground as lie thought proper, great difference
had arisen when the several sheets were compared together;
it was therefore found necessary to again make use of the
contour lines. When first commenced, the draught was
made on a scale of 1-80,000, but this was abandoned, on
account of the length of time required for drawing on this
scale. A few sheets were afterwards finished on a scale of
1.20,000, but this was again reduced to 1-40,000, and pre-
'WWl to engraving to 1-80,000. Although a statistical valua-
tion was being carried on at the same time as the survey,
yet the original intention of the map was purely for etre-
tegetical purposes, awl it is therefore far inferior in point of
detail to our Ordnance Survey, so much so, that when the
lines of railway were lately surveyed, several errors were
found in the government maps. The whole of France is,
however, by no means finished, great part of the Alps and
Pyrenees, of the west and south coasts, being not yet
begun.
The Ordnance Survey of Great Britain was begun in the
year 1791, on a scale of one inch to a mile, and the whole
of England and \Vales, with the exception of the six
northern counties, were surveyed awl published on this
scale, at an expense of some four hundred thousand pounds ;
but not only was this found inadequate for engineering pur-
poses, but a Tithe Commutation Survey was afterwards found
necessary. To prevent any further waste of public money
the six northern counties are being surveyed on a seals el
six inches, with the towns on a sixty inch, showing every
ditch, wall, or anything, in fact, which is on the surface
of the ground. The elevations are given by contoured lines
in rural, and by contoured altitudes for towns, by which
means the physical relief of a country is represented most
accurately, and which could not be done by the old system
of bill sketching. This is of the greatest consequence either
to municipal bodies for the calculating of sewerage works, '
or in country districts, for the laying down of drainage.
Although a re-surveying of the remainder of England on
this plan would be attended with enormous expense, being
about 341. per square mile, or 160,0001. for what has
already been done on the one-inch scale; yet as the ex-
pense would be burns by tau, was:dila:l faad, the cast of