The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-18 00:00:00

At•
walls are divided into 11 nnnel 0 on which at%
jects, illustrate.. of Chinese life. The principil.pictutt
represents a marriage scene with the bride being conveyed
home in a palenquin. Others represent a Chinese pedlar
offering his wares to a lady ; a lady playing on a guitar,
while a boy is dancing; a mother with her son and daugh-
ter, the boy playing with a macaw; a rich merchant offer-
ing jewels to a Chinese maiden; a lady and child, with
attendant, feeding some gold fish in a basin ; a lady with a
screen, and a boy playing with a puzzle ; a young warrior
preparing to repel invaders, surrounded by his men at arms;
a lady receiving a bouquet from a child ; a boy caressing se
tame snake ; and finally, a group engaged in arranging
the preliminaries for a marriage with a rich man's daughter.
Besides the abovementioned, four narrower panels contain
full length portraits of standard bearers ; and it is curious
that as one of the faces became injured in its journey front
London the artist has inserted an admirable likeness of Mr
Duval, the custodian. The unmistakeable English face der'
tainly does not harmonise with the Chinese dress, but it is a
well deserved compliment to the man through whose sug-
gestions the Pavilion has resumed its former glories. The
costumes were copied from some dresses kindly placed at
Mr Duty's disposal by a French Minister of State. Some of
the figures also are painted from the life.. The remarkable
chandelier, depending from the vaulted ceiling of this room,
is one of the most extraordinary productions of any period,
and cannot fail to attract the attention of the visitors. It is
related that Queen Adelaide ?laving dreamed that it felt
whilst her Majesty was seated at a table beneath, the pon-
derous mass, weighing nearly a ton, was taken down and
was not fixed again for some time. Most of the decorations,
including the arabesque work inserted in the panels of the
canopy at each end of the room, are part of the original de-
corations. The room is lighted by a range of windows open-
ing on to the lawn, but daylight ill serves to bring out the
gorgeous decorations of the apartment, and it was onlywhen
illuminated last night that the full effect of the sculpture and
elaborate adornments could be seen. Over these windows
the original cornice has been placed, and the drapery con•
sista of damask silk curtains of an elaborate patters. The
music room is almost in the same gorgeous condition as when
it left the hands of the original decorator, and it is even more
magnificent than the banqueting room. It is so elaborately
adorned in every part that a detailed description would ne-
cessarily occupy a great space, even if justice could be then
done to it. This apartment forms a square of 42ft, extended
by recesses at either end. The wails are nearly covered
with paintings in imitation of crimson and gold japan, re-
presenting views in the neighb6Urheed of Pekin. The
warm glow spread over the landscapes convey to a Euro-
pean au idea of the climate of the Celestial Empire, and the
general tone of the decorations of the apartment. here..
nise with the effect of these large paintings. Here, as in
the dining-room, Chinese dragons are plentifully introduced,
and serve to preserve the general character of the other
decorations. The whole of the paintings on the walls are
the work of Lambalet, whose reputation has not suffered in
the hands of the artist who has now restored them to the
place they originally occupied.- A beautiful canopy or
cornice adorns the square part of the room, and is orna-
mented with carved shield work, flower-drops, stars, &c.
In the centre is a large glass chandelier, on which are
painted a profusion of Chinese figures, and there are eight
others suspended from other parts of the ceiling. That in
the centre and four of the minor ones are the originals, but
four are new, and have been executed in so admirable a
manner that it is difficult to detect any difference in them.
At the north end of the room is the organ which was pre-
sented to the town by the Queen when the building was
purchased. A large mirror occupies the space over the
mantelpiece, and in some of the minor apartments there are
others. There can be no doubt that a more liberal introduc-

tion of this means of decoration would be a great improve-
ment. Behind the music room are the private apartments
formerly occupied by George IV.; but these, we believe,
have not been restored at present. The other apartments
already mentioned have afforded full scope for the decorative
powers of the designer; and although they are not now
restored to the exact condition in which they formerly were
they afford evidence that, when not required to follow out
and restore the original plan, the artist knew how to intro-
duce adornments which, although more in keeping with
modern ideas, yet harmonise well with the decorations of
the principal rooms. The entrance hall, the staircase, the
corridor, and other portions of the building have also been
restored to their original condition.
To celebrate the completion of the work, a complimen-
tary dinner, given to the mayor, Mr Brigden, took place
last night in the dining room ; and to-night a military,
naval and full dress ball will be hold, followed by a trades-
men's ball on Thursday.

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