The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-22 00:00:00

HER NJ. JE,"

TO PARIS.

PARIS, MONDAY NIGHT.
• Yesterday was observed as a day of rest by the
illustrious visitors at St. Cloud. In the morning
they attended divine service, which was performed
by the chaplain to the embassy, and in the after-
noon they took a drive in the park and through a
portion of the Bois de Boulogne. After dining en
famille with his Imperial Majesty, they were pre-
sent at a concert of sacred music given at the
palace by the Conservatoire de Musique. It is
clearly the Emperor's intention to let the people of
his capital have every reasonable facility for seeing
hieillustrious guests. This was made evident to-
day by the manner in which the visit to the Palais
des Beaux Arts was conducted. Some 6,000 spec-
tators were present at the Beaux Arts, and pro-
menade on the Boulevards was of course witnessed
by. all Paris. The Emperor and his guests left St.
Cloud at half-past 10 o'clock, and reached the
Palais des Beaux Arts at 11. There the Imperial
Commission, headed by their President, Prince
Napoleon, the Foreign Commissioners, and the
Jurors of the Exhibition, had assembled to re-
ceive them. They mustered in the saloons im-
mediately adjoining the principal entrance, and
among Frenchmen we observed M. Renault,
the President of the Institute, M. Horace Vernet
and Isl. Ingres, the artists, M. le Play, M.
Arles Dufour, 111. Salaudronze do Lamornaix, M.
de Renville, M. Michel Chevalier, Baron Roths-
child, M. Perrier, M. Schneider, and M. Trescat.
Among Germans, Dr. Waagen, Professor Liebig,
and M. von Viehahn. Among our own country-
men were Mr. Cole, C. 8., Mr. Redgrave, R.A.,
Dr. Forbes Royle, Professor Wheatstone, Mr.
Fairbairn, Mr. Locke, MY., Mr. Digby Vyatt,
Mr. Warren Delarue, Professor Willis, Mr. Cramp-
ton., Mr. C. Manby, and Mr. Winkworth. A
beautifully executed bust of her Majesty stood on
a pedestal in the centre of the reception-room, and
on every side the walls were covered with chef
d'aiweres of art. The Emperor, with the Queen
lean ing on his arm, entered the Palace shortly after
11 o'clock. He was followed by Prince Albert,
who had with him the Princess Royal and the
Prir ice of Wales, and after them came the suites of
bot" t Sovereigns. The reception over, the cortege,
led by Prince Napoleon, advanced into the prin-
cipal saloon for the display of German pictures,
and here the works of chief interest were pointed
out by Dr. Waagen. There are some very fine
prod luctions in this court, such, for example, as the
thre e powerful paintings by Winantz near the en-
trap ce, and Kiss's great statue of St. George and
the Dragon, which occupies the centre, is a noble
et To rt of sculpture; but the merits of the collection
as a whole scarcely rise to the level of that exhi-
bit( :d by Belgium, which the illustrious party next
pro ceeded to examine. The attention of their Ma-
jese,ies was of course much distracted by the cheers
ant I cries of " Vivo la Reine," which greeted them
at different points, but the Prince and the Royal
children, who felt themselves more at liberty, were
so earnestly bent on seeing all they could that se-
vend times they were left behind, and but for the
recuperative energy shown by M. Arles Dufour and
otLie r officials might have been lost altogether in
the crowd. From the Belgian collection the Em-
peror led his guests into the principal saloon of
French painting, and here they were preparing for
a rich treat, when in rushed the crowd of specta-
tors, and for several minutes all was confusion.
The illustrious party made its way as rapidly as
possible to the next saloon, which was at once
cleaesed for its reception, and the master-pieces of
Dela,croix and other painters, suspended in this
inner saloon, were leisurely examined. As soon as
order had been restored the progress through the
Palace was resumed, and the two Sovereigns now
directed their, steps to the French Sculpture Court.
Hero a varied display of artistic excellence was pre-
sented, comprising many works of rare merit.
From the Sculpture Court the Imperial and Royal
visitors passed into the saloon devoted to M.
Horace Vornet's chef d'ceuvres. There for a con-
siderable time they admired his celebrated Razzia,
his Battle of Isly, and some of the great paintings
in which he has commemorated the victories of the
first Empire. In this Court stands a remarkable
statue of the first Napoleon when a student at
Brienne, the work of M. Ropinet, and which at-
tracted much attention. Passing along the north
front of the Palace the progress of the cortege was
arrested for some minutes while their Majesties
listened to the performance of a large choir of
workmen, singers trained on a system bearing some
resemblance to that of Hullah in England, and
who went through a chorus in which " God save
the Queen" was introduced, led by their conduc-
tor, M. Chivet, with much precision and eincis
At the north-east corner cf the building a pause
took place to examine the restoration of the
Minerva executed by Phidias in precious metals,
jewels, and ivory, which was placed in the Parthe-
non at Athens. Their Majesties next entered the
saloon of M. Ingres, who divides with M. Horace
Vernet the honour of having had a special court
allotted to him for the exhibition of his works.
From this point the Queen was conducted through
the Gallery of British Artists. It is unnecessary
to dilate upon the excellences of a school with
which most Englishmen are familiar. Our painters
are upon the whole well represented, and the ex-
perience of months has in no degree diminished the
interest attached to a collection which exhibits
such strong contrast to the general character of the
works in the Beaux Arts. Ascending the staircase
at th© north-east corner of the Palace, the cortege
described the circuit of the upper galleries, in which
are displayed the water-colour drawings, the minia-
ture paintings, the engravings on wood and steel,
and the architectural designs contributed by diffe-
rent countries. Here England takes a high posi-
tion, from the excellence of the works exhibited by
her artists in several of these departments. After
completing the circuit of the galleries their Majes-
ties returned to are central saloon, from which they
had been compelled to retreat by the inroad of spec-
tators. Here they took a survey of the great works
with which the genius of French art has embellished
the walls. The Last Days of the Reign of Terror, and
the grand picture of the Imperial Guard re-enter-
ing Paris after Waterloo (v Muller), M. Cousin's
painting illustrating the monners of the Lower
Empire, Troyon's cattle pictiere, and Rosa Bon-
heur's " Hayfield," were all carefully examined,
and so delighted were our Royal Family with the
masterpieces here displayed that they made the
circuit of the saloon several times. _
Shortly before 2 o'clock they took their de-
parture amidst loud cheering, and. proceeded for
luncheon to the Elysee. There at half-post two
o'clock there was a reception of the corps diFloma-
tique. The attaches of the British Embassy were
ushered into ono of the state rooms, in which stood
her Majesty and Prince Albert, in the attire n
which they had visited the Beaux-Arts.
As soon as the gentlemen belonging to the Eng-
lish embassy had been presented, her Majesty and
the Prince proceeded to another room, where the
great mass of the diplomatic corps was assembled.
There the presentation of the various ministers of
Foreign Powers took place, these gentlemen in
turn presenting their attaches. The whole of the
proceedings occupied perhaps half an hour, and
immediatey on its being terminated her Ma-
jesty and the Prince withdrew. During the
time occupied by this ceremonial, the Empe-
ror and the Prince of Wales were seen walk-
ing up and down together in the garden of the
palace. They appeared in high spirits, as both
were laughing pleasantly, and the young Prince
was evidently much amused at what the Emperor
was narrating. His Majesty enjoyed his cigar,
and occasionally stopped to look down kindly on
his youthful companion, who only laughed the
more at his august entertainer's conversation.
Immediatsely after the whole of the Imperial
and Royal
party got into their carriages, to pro-
ceed to the Sainte-Chapelle, situated at the other
end of Paris, anci forming part of the Palais de
Justice. It was then near three o'clock. The
illustrious party, as before, occupied eight open
carriages and four, with postilions and outriders.
The route taken was along the Rue de Rivoli, past
the Louvre, over the Pont au Change, to the
Palais de Justice. Along the whole distance
the houses were dressed with flags, escutcheons,
draperies, and emblems ; and an immense
crowd had collected at both sides of the way.
Her Majesty was received with loud shouts of
" Vive la Reine d'Angleterre !" mingled with cries
of " Vive l'Empereur !" " Vivo le Prince Albert ! '
The old edifice of the Palais de Justice bad bee,/!
magnificently ornamented for the occasion..th Au
the
the exterior of the building was hung
flags of France and England, and across word
streetword
leading to the grand entrance
vrsuspended from
VICTORIA. in immense letters
side to side.
It was about a quarter-
- ast three when the
The loudest shouts
cortege appeared in sight.
P
Majesties, and the
greeted the arrival offi their
acknowledgment by
Queen graciously testi eje hregr ajesty, on alighting
bowing to the crowd.
magnificent flight of steps lead-
at
the foot of the Justice, paused for a mo-
ing up
to ci
the Palais de .
ment to admir width and admirable propor-
were
It wascovered all over with rich carpet-
tions.
and the front and sides of the building
ing'amented with. crimson velvet and gold.
OMand
.pro-
Their Majesties ascended the steps,
pro-
ceeded on their way to the left towards the Sainte-
Chapelle, accompanied by the legal functionaries
, by whom she had been received.
The Queen, the Emperor, Prince Albert, and
1
the rest of the party spent some time in examining
the Dmitigul lad original architecture a the au.
_