The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-02 00:00:00

SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

Never since we remember these gardens have they
been so crowded, as they were last evening. As early
as seven o'clock it was with the greatest difficulty that
the visitor could make his way from one part of the
gardens to the other, and long before nine, the crush in
front of the lake was so great that locomotion became
impossible—volition was in abeyance, and the unfortu-
nate wight, who was in " the press," was ferced to
surrender his free will to the crowd, and to move as

they moved. We had the curiosity to make inqui-
ries as to the number of persons who had
been admitted into the gardens, and ascertained that
there were upwards of 16,000 persons present at nine
o'clock. In addition to the other attractions of the gar-
dens, there was last night exhibited for the first time,
" Calypso's Fairy Grotto," a master-piece of dio-
ramic effect, from the magic pencil of Denson, who has
in this instance completely realised the poetic
dream of the author of Telemachus. The grotto,
which is approached by the gothic bridge, is
illuminated iu part brilliantly, whilst in other parts
dimmed lamps cast a " pale, religious light," enhancing
the poetry of the scene. In the interior we see Tele-
machus relating his adventures to Calypso, and the
grouping of these figures is admirably arranged. This
beautiful grotto will henceforth be a great feature of
attraction in these gardens. As a guide to the visitor,
it is as well to state that it is immediately
behind the gothic bridge, and may be approached
by crossing it, and that it opens at eight, and is closed
before the eruption begins. The eruption appeared to
us to be even grander than on any former occasion, but,
this perhaps may have been owing to the extreme bril-
liancy of the evening. The perilous descent of Signor
Fannelli in his fiery chariot, from the pagoda to the lake,
elicited loud applause, and the immense concourse seemed
highly gratified with the whole of the entertainments.
After the conclusion, there was a stream of human beings
pouring forth from the gardens continuously for upwards
of an hour. Never before have so many persons been
congregated together within the precincts of the Surrey
Zt,ological Gardens. Even the monster audiences at
Jullien's Monster Concerts last year, shrink into com-
parative insignificance.

ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION
(CONTINUED).
100. Pandora—G. Patten, A.—is a picture of great
pretension, and also of considerable merit. From its
immense size, it attracts the attention of every visitor.
The figure of Pandora is a nude of the Rubens rather
than of the Titian school of art, and albeit hypercriti-
cism might have something to say on the subject of the
anatomy of the figure, yet
" Hand ego paucis offendar maculis,"
the picture is, in more senses of the word than one, a
great picture, and proves that Mr. Patten has been no
inattentive or unworthy student in the school of the
Flemish masters.

103. The Supplicant—R. Redgrave, A.—
" Please to give two single knocks."
One of those pictures in the painting of which Red-
grave delights. The motto explains the subject. A
ibneasnatiinfutle reach thelittlegiii knocker.
gat a doer, and endeavouring
117. Cupid and Psyche—Painted for his Royal High-
ness Prince Albert.—T. Uwins, ILA.-- Psyche,
returning from the infernal regions with the vase of
celestial beauty (obtained from Proserpine, at the com-
mand of Venus), is tempted by vanity and curiosity to
lift the lid of the mysterious treasure. Why should I
be so silly as to carry all this beauty to Venus, without
stealing a little for myself ? Alas ! instead of beauty
there issues from the vase a noxious vapour, which
throws poor Psyche into a deep sleep—and she must fall
from the rocks, but that Cupid, always hovering
round the object of his love, flies to her protection, re-
vives her from her trance, and restores her to animation
and enjoyment.—See the Fable of Apvleius." This is a
small cabinet picture beautifully finished. It is an ex-
quisite illustration of the fable.
134. The Departure—Scene in Circassia Sir W.
Allen, R.A. A Circassian chieftain taking leave of his fa-
mily and hastening to the wars. The landscape in the
ambackground i
Early
and
yrdes beautiful
l,ainndrning_
apparentlyaboutexceedingly, t
ocharge
and
down
he e
w. warriorsna
glen,
tiful landscape. The energy.str. g
Collins has three other pictguClreeo
the darkness gradually melting into dawn, is very fine.
pictures
lbiiennts
Hill Sands, Devon ; 106. Shrimpers hastening
e.
home ; and 529. Meadford Bay, Torquay, all beautiful,
theeße Ae
dx.—ahyi asi
nt
i dao
nnb—i a9huo.
4
but scarcely equal to Early Morning.
122. A Candidate for a Portrait—C. Landseer, R.A.

"Paint me Le."

Such was the request of this lovely child to the artist,
and admirably has he executed the commission. It is a
little gem.
_ _

152: The Wounded Smuggler, by the same artist, is
too melodramatic for our taste ; but
337. Mary Avenel showing her trinkets to Mysie
Happer, the only other contribution of this artist to the
exhibition, is an admirable illustration of Sir Walter
Scott's description of the scene ; the good humoured as-
tonishment of the lively Mysie Rapper contrasts ad-
mirably with the composed, dignified, melancholy pla-
cidity of Mary Avenel. .

F. Goodall contributes two pictures-84, Spanish Pea-
sants retreating from the French Army ; and 239,
Going to Vespers. There is some clever grouping
in the first of these pictures ; but the Going to Vespers
as a piece of colouring, is quite Rembrantesque. The
cloisters, up which the figures are hastening to the
chapel, are illuminated by a lamp, the lights from which
are distributed in a most wonderful manner.

REVIEW of the MONEY MARKET
FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 1846.
This has been a somewhat extraordinary month in
matters affecting the value of capital and the condition
of trade. The progress of the American negotiation,
and the passage of the Corn Bill through the Com-
mons, have been calculated to restore confidence and ac-
tivity ; but on the other band, the unaccountable vagaries
of the railway people, and the serious apprehensions
which have lately arisen as to the intentions of the Up-
per House towards the Corn Bill, have more than neu-
tralised these good influences.
The departure of everything like prudence and com-
mon sense from all the classes of persons concerned in
our unfortunate railway difficulties, appears to be com-
plete.At the date of our last review, there was a
general feeling of satisfaction at the prospect of nineteen-
twentieths of the railway schemes before the public
being " wound up" under the Ministerial measure. As
far as our own observation went, we met with nobody who
did not express a hope and desire that an effectual
clearance would be brought about by the Bill.
During the present month, probably one hundred
meetings have been held, and certainly, at not more than
one-fourth of them have resolutions to " wind up," re-
ceived the assent of the majority. In the greater num-
ber of instances there has been an unanimous deter-
mination to proceed. We have observed, that in hardly
any instance are the directors and promoters of the
schemes disposed to "wind up." These parties are
generally the most clamorous in favour of proceeding.
There can be no doubt, that this sudden and radical
change in the disposition of holders of scrip, was very
largely encouraged by an unlooked for rise in the price
of railway shares, which occurred at the beginning of
the present month. The improvement was so decided,
that for a few days the bustle bore a strong resem
blance to the delirium of the dog days of last summer ;
but the fit was altogether transcient and factitious.
There is, indeed, good reason to belive, that it was the
result of a deep laid trick of a few leading capitalists,
who deal in property of this description. The Com-
mittees of the Houses of Parliament on the various
groupes of schemes, appear to be quite as careless of
consequences as the directors themselves. PrearaLles
are passed with the greatest coolness, and the only con•
siderations which appear to prevail are the merits of
each individual line, viewed totally apart from the ge-
neral question of railway expenditure.
We have omitted no proper opportunity of warning
our readers of the danger attending this state of things.
We are at this moment as strongly convinced as ever,
that if the present course is to be followed without check,
within some very short time we shall find ourselves in
such a sea of troubles as we have not experienced for
many years. The first people to suffer, and to suffer
also for the longest time, and with the greatest severity,
will be the directors of the several schemes which obtain
their Bills ; next in order will be the shareholders, and
after them all that portion of the public who happen to
have railway speculators for debtors or creditors.
It is the purest folly to suppose for a moment
at that
at
all afford the
d st
tenth part of the mass' o
pcoasrarbyleon capital of the country can
notf
rtzlitieiwwahyosleli,kebluyt
toevpeansso,n
in
n-
addition to those already in course of construction. We
have seen too much of the incapacity of railway direc-
tors to believe, that any greater discretion will be exer-
cised after the Act is obtained than has been displayed
in the preliminary steps. Every scheme will feel sure
that its peculiar merits justifies a " vigorous prosecu-
tion" of the works, and there will be a general steeple-
chase titer recusant shareholders who cannot, and
wealthy shareholders who can, and who must furnish the
money.

Before the issue
of this number, the decision of the
House of Peers on the second reading of the Corn Bill
will have taken place. We fully expect that that stage
of the measure will pass by a majority of thirty or forty,
but we have great doubts of its success in Committee.
We think it highly probable that the party who will
act under Lord Stanley will be able to effect such altera-
tions as will be fatal to the Bill. In the occurrence of
such an event, the country will be placed in
a situation of great difficulty. The alternatives
under such a state of things appear to be three. (1.) Sir
R. Peel may retain office, and forthwith dissolve Parlia-
ment. (2.) He may quit office, and the Queen may
authorise Lord Stanley to form a Cabinet; Lord Stanley
would doubtless be able to do that. The question would
then become, will Lord Stanley attempt to carry out his
views with the present House of Commons, or will he
dissolve Parliament ? We think decidedly he would
dissolve. (3.) Lord Stanley may decline or be unable
to take office, and Lord John Russell may be sent for;
and there can be little doubt that Lord John would
immediately appeal t the constituencies. Our own
opinion is, that in the event of the failure of the
Bill in the Lords, Sir Robert Peel will remain in
office, and call a new Parliament, and submit his mea-
sures to them as a final effort in their behalf. In this
place, we express no opinion as to the merits either of
Sir Robert Peel, Lord Stanley, or Lord John Russell,
but in a monetary point of view, it is our duty to calcu-
late beforehand, as far as we can, the probable effect of
these political disturbances. The fate of the Bill will be
decided by the end of the first week in June. If it be
lost, we consider a general election inevitable about the
opening of July. Parliament would then meet in August
or September, and the fate of the new measure could not
be fully settled before the middle of October. The rejec-
tion of the Bill will, therefore, certainly entail upon the
four months, probably much longer.—Banker's Magazine.
Money Market a state of uncertainty for not less than

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING-1 JUNE 2, 1n46.