The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-13 00:00:00

The Crystal Palace•

Yesterday will be memorable the annals of the
Crystal Palace. On that day the Princess of Wales
paid her first visit to this popular place of instruction
and amusement. It was also the second occasion
this season on which there were a large number of
French excursionists present. By recent arrange-
ments of the London, Chatham,and Dover Railway
Company—which were business-like, because they
were calculated to be advantageous to themselves
and attractive to the public—the French visitors
were enabled to come in the company's steamboats
and trains and have a day's enjoyment for the small
sum of five francs. This can hardly fail to be the
commencement of an Anglo-French interchange of
friendly visits. The former effort of the Crystal
Palace Company in this direction was fromßoulogne.
The visitors on Tuesday were from Calais. At 4
o'clock in the morning that town was all bustle; the
company's steamers were ready for departure, the
voyagers thronging to the place of embarcation,
and their wives, sisters, and friends taking leave of
them, as if they were bound for the antipodes. It
was a feat for the company to bring them to and
fro 200 miles, including the sea passage within a
day. Nearly 2,000 were thus conveyed altogether,
and had not the sail of tickets been stopped in
France, owing to an apprehension that there would
be too many applicants, there would have been more.
The first batch of our neighbours arrived at half-
past 10, the second at 11 o'clock a.m. There were
many Frenchwomen of the working classes, in their
quaint and picturesque costume—white and starched
caps, bright shawls over the shoulders, earrings some
inches long, and remarkable petticoats. These were
chiefly fishwomen and lace girls, many of whom
had never before been three miles from home. What
a sudden and rapid transition it must have been for
them, frcon that lu the Crystal Palace, strange
in itself, in a strange country. They appeared to
enjoy the attractions of the Palace much more than
ordinary English visitors do, and in a different man-
ner. They seemed especially to criticise the statuary
and other works of art.

Between 11 and 12 o'clock their Royal High-
nesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied
by the Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse, the
Princess Hilda, of Anhalt, Lieut.-Colonel Keppel,
who has succeeded Major Teasdale as Equerry in
Waiting to the Prince of Wales, and a large suite of
ladies and gentlemen, arrived at the Palace, and
were shown privately through the various courts by
Mr. Bowley, the manager. Owing to the larger
number of visitors in the building at the time of the
arrival of the Royal party being French they were
not recognized until they reached the great transept.
Their Royal Highnesses and suite subsequently par-
took of luncheon in the new dining-room, from the
windows of which they witnessed the display of the
great fountains. The air being still, these were seen
to great advantage, the water being thrown to a
great height.
The French band, that of the Sapeurs Pompiers
of St. Pierre, which had performed in the orchestra
and been warmly applauded after each piece, when
theyar tnheexard pressofedthae
dperseirseentcoe osfertehneadEne
tghlisemh Roy
under
the windows of the dining-room. They played
there for half an hour, ending with " God Save the
Queen," which was splendidly performed. They
afterwards gave " Vive la Reine," with regular
cheers. The Prince was much pleased with their
demonstrations of amity, and deputed Mr. Bowley
to express his thanks to the members of the band.
The Royal party left as they had come, by a special
train on the high level line to Victoria-station, at
about half-past 4 o'clock.
The fine band of our own Royal Marine Light
Infantry was also present, and performed alter-
nately with that of the Sapeurs Pompiers during
the day, as did also Mr. Mann's Crystal Palace
band.

The French band consists of about 70 men. It
is composed of artisans from St. Pierre, who are
likewise volunteer firemen. They are a most re-

spectable and well-mannered set of men, quite a
credit to their class. Many of them wore large gold
medals, which they had obtained at musical con-
tests, which are held in the north of France on a
principle somewhat similar to our English rifle.
matches.

The band was entertained in the afternoon by the
Crystal Palace Company at a dinner. The health
pf the Queen and the Royal Family were drank
with real enthusiasm, our French neighbours
seeming to take great delight in our English
Hip, hip, Hui :al ! At our toast, however, they
supplemented this with a perfect novelty to the stay
at home Englishmen. We mean a sort of hand.
st regularity, and ending
visitors for
clapping, done with pellet.):
like a volley. -led musical per_
There was a strange and uni 1-4, n _..i... ,
ve a few
departureformance abtyththeegatrtaiheursin. g
Fofirtslt7
afodreruig.m.7
gh.
beats ; then other instruments of walking stragglers
sounded a few notes evidently at random. Pre.
sently, as the members of the band assembled—all
walking rapidly towards the station—snatches of
various tunes were to be heard from all sorts of
instruments. But the curious part of the clever
performance was, that it finally blended into the
,g Marseillaise." It was really a bright and happy
day for all the French and English who were
present; and the more of such days we have the
better for both nations. At 6 o'clock the French
visitors left the Palace, expecting to arrive at Calais
between 10 and 11 o'clock lastnight. If he succeeds
in performing this, it will be the greatest feat of
Captain Daniel, the manager of the London,
Chatham, and Dover excursions.

FURTHER DEMOLITION OF HOUSES IN THE CrTT.
—Yesterday workmen commenced pulling down the ex-
tensive block of buildings formerly known as the York
Hotel, and situate at the corner of Now Bridge-street,
Blackfriare, and Ludgate-hill, the site being required by
the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company for
the approach to the Ludgate station and the ornamentation
of the Ludgate railway bridge. Notices of removal were
served upon the occupiers of those premises on the north
side of Ludgate-hill and on the east side of Farringdon-
street, tha whole of which will be immediately pulled down
for the same purpose.