The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-18 00:00:00

THE DUBLIN EXHIBITION.

DUBLIN, MAY 17.
Owing to the continued rain of yesterday the attend-
ance was not so full as on previous days, yet a con-
siderable number of visitors entered the building in the
course of the afternoon, and, in the absence of any
throng or pressure, the exhibitors and artisans, whose
preparatory labours' have not yet concluded, availed
themselves of the opportunity to prosecute their task
with redoubled energy and effect. During the day the
total number who visited the Exhibition was 3,440, of
whom 231 paid for admission at the doors. The sale of
season tickets still proceeds satisfactorily. Up to the
present the entire number disposed of is 11,655, the
proportions being—ladies' tickets 7,110, and gentle-
men's 5,545. The sum realised by their sale is 16,695/.

In the Southern Hall additional stalls have been
fitted up, and further contributions, including some
beautiful castings and various other specimens of art
and manufactures, have been displayed. A considerable
portion of the collection, however, is yet imperfectly
organised, and the corridor adjoining the Fine Arts
Court is still occupied as a store. In the present state
of the hall a notice of its contents must be deferred.

Several additional packages arrived at the building
yesterday, including a portion of the French collection
and numerous works of art. Amongst the latter are
paintings by Pickersgill and Middleton, and one by
Samuel Lover, which has been suspended under Bur-
ton's celebrated picture of " The Blind Girl at the Holy
Well." In connection with these arrivals it may be men-
tioned that a communication has been received by Mr.
Deane, announcing that the painting by Hage, repre-
senting the banquet scene in Macbeth, which was
specially ordered to be executed by her Majesty, in tes-
timony of the approval of the manner in which the
tragedy was produced in the Princess's Theatre, under
the management of Mr. Charles Kean, is now on its
way to Dublin. It is one of the royal contributions, and
the completion of it was accelerated by the wish of her
Majesty, in order that it might occupy a place in the in-
dustrial temple. The splendid collection of pictures, which
forms so interesting a feature in the Exhibition, has so
outgrown even the spacious dimensions of the Fine Arts
Court, that the committee have found it necessary to
devote additional space to their display, and, in order to
effect this object, it is intended to incorporate with the pre-
sent gallery the adjoining refreshment saloon, and to fit
up another refectory for Mr. Breslin, at the western
end of the large hall adjoining the Royal Dublin Society
House. The present arrangements of the Fine Arts
Court are not to be considered permanent, as the ex-
tended limits which the accession of the new gallery
will afford will enable the committee to modify them
whenever it appears desirable, so as to exhibit to full
advantage the numerous works of art that have not yet
been exposed to view.
The floor of the Great Nave was yesterday strewn in all
directions with packages ready to be opened. Several new
cases and tables have been fitted up, pedestals for addi-
tional statues placed, and other preparations made for
introducing further ornamental and interesting objects.
The principal vase of the second fountain is already raised,
and the first near the eastern end is nearly completed.
In the centre of the hall the cast-iron stand of the Coal-
brook-dale Company, forming in itself a very hand-
some and highly-finished specimen of its class, has been
placed, and occupies a considerable space. Near it
a stall of extensive dimensions, in which articles of fur-
niture will be exhibited, is in progress of construction.
Below the small organ at the entrance a large clock is
suspended, and numerous other improvements have
been effected throughout the hall. During the day the
contribution contained in the royal plate chest, the un-
packing of which attracted so much curiosity on Satur-
day, was displayed in the centre of the dais at the
western end, and was an object of great admiration and
interest. It consists of a magnificent ornament, standing
about two and a half feet in height, and nearly thirty
feet in diameter at the base, representing a Moorish
temple, with silver pillars, supporting a richly-gilt
dome, and having a fountain in the centre, while around
it is a hippodrome, in which are models in silver
of the Arabian steeds presented to her Majesty by
the Pacha of Egypt. The Arab attendants are also
represented, and other devices, elegantly chased and
adorned with brilliant enamels, embellish the whole.
design, of which his Royal Highness Prince Albert is
the originator. This beautiful work is a splendid example
not only of the Prince's artistic genius, but of his muni-
ficent patronage of our Industrial Exhibition, having
been expressly manufactured for it by the eminent firm
of Garrard, of the Haymarket, London, at a cost of
4,0001. There is an additional circumstance, however,
which renders this princely contribution peculiarly gra-
tifying. The artisan who carried out the design, modelled
and finished it, was an Irishman, who first acquired a
practical knowledge of his business in the well-known
and respectable establishment of West and Son, College-
green.
In the Northern Hall exhibitors are still busily en-
gaged unfolding and arranging their various produc-
tions, and have made considerable additions to the
number and attractiveness of the several stands. The
display of textile fabrics in this department will be ex-
tremely ample and creditable. In the Machinery Court,
also, the work of adjusting the innumerable mechanical
combinations of ingenuity and skill which here engage
the attention and interest of the scientific observer, pro-
ceeds with proportionate rapidity, and this section of
the Exhibition is already in a condition to repay exami-
nation.

CRICKET.