The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-06 00:00:00

HER MAJESTY'S -visa TO
LEEDS.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

This morning her Majesty quitted Osborne for
,eeds.

On arriving at the Royal Clarence Victualling-
yard, Gosport, a special train, under the charge of
the directors 'of the South-Western Railway, was
in readiness to receive her Majesty.

The train arrived at the Falcon junction on the
south-Western Railway at 11.50 a.m. After
changing engines here, the Royal party proceeded
over the Richmond branch of this railway to the
Kew junction, arriving at Kew at 12.10 p.m. The
directors and officers of the North and South-
Western Junction Railway here took charge of the
royal train. Crossing the Thames at this point,
the Queen passed the following stations in succes-
sion :—Acton, Willesden, Kilburn, and Camden-
road, and arrived at the King's-cross goods station
at 12.45 p.m.
After a short delay, the officials of the Great
Northern Railway took charge of the royal train,
and the illustrious party proceeded northward.
It is expected that her Majesty will arrive at
Leeds at about a quarter past six this evening—
the journey of 2921 miles thus occupying about
seven hours and a-half.

LEEDS, SEPT. 4.
Her Majesty's visit to Leeds is the one universal
topic here that never flags or tires. It seems the,
be-all and end-all of everything done or doing. It
is the reason -why you cannot get a cab without an
hour's search ; and why, when you do, unhappily
the driver shows his loyalty and keen appreciation
of the occasion by charging ss. for each stoppage
he makes. It is the reason why dinner is late at
the hotel, the ' attendance a fiction, and why your
bell there commands, on the whole, infinitely less
attention than the muffin man's. It is for this that

the military are arriving, the streets are full, police
abound, and above all, that no beds are to be had,
except at such a figure as if once paid would keep
a man—the victim of economical remorse—without
a wink' of sleep all night. All the good hotels are
full, and those who come late will have a long
drive ere they find a landlord ready to take
them in, though they will then probably, if all
tales are true, also discover that the taking-in
process by no means terminates with their entry.
~The decorations promise to be both rich and
varied—we say " promise to be," for it is quite
impossible to jude of them at present. In
these " town toilets' there is but one step between
dilapidation and decoration, and that is taken in an
hour. Thus at-night you stumble vaguely in and
out of holes, among scaffold-poles, aud over up-turned
pavement, wondering in your own mind if it is in-
tended that the Queen shall behold such ruin,—
when lo ! in the morning, the pavement is set, the
poles are hidden, and the obstruction become an
ornament in the shape of a battlemented gateway,
on to which the workmen are nailing grim towers,
round keeps, and massive donjons. There are plenty
of these arches, and though, as a general rule, a
triumphal arch and a triumph of art are widely
dissimilar things, they are perhaps more nearly re-
lated here than usual. Indeed, a decorative mania
has seized the town, and is spreading rapidly through
lane and suburb. Even glovers and hatters sell gar-
lands and cyphers,evergreens seem to have superseded
fruit and vegetables of all other kinds, haberdashers
and general outfitters do a smart trade in banners
and flaunting draperies, and shirts and neckties are
put aside till the demand for "V. R.'s " and
festoons is over. Under such circumstances, of
course, gas-fitters are masters of the situation,
though where all the gas for the illuminations is to
come from, unless they send it down from London in
balloons, it is hard to imagine. Everybody here,
however, seems to believe that it will be forthcom-
ing at the proper time, and everything goes on, and
pipes and mains of all sizes beset the pedestrian's
path like snares, and compass his overthrow in dark
and unexpected turnings. Both sides of the main
street leading from the central station towards the
Briggatc are planted thickly with Venetiaa banners,
up the poles of all of which run branch gaslights.
The effect of these will be very fine, and the whole
aspect of the town is certain to be striking and
rich. Those who know Leeds well also know that
much must have been done ere its rows of factories
and blackened houses could ever be bedizened into
this. Probably, of all the important towns in
the united kingdom, the-re are few, if any,
which less assist the decorative fiffnVg.,of
c asmon to
speak of the smoke of London ; but your true
Londoner—your genuine metropolitan—knows as
little of smoke as he does of yachting. Except
in the " black country" round Birmingham,
or in Bradford, Leeds, or Sheffield, true smoke is
not to be found, and even the sooty mixture which
one inhales at Manchester is but a poor imitation
after all. Among really smoky towns Leeds has
held an eminent position for some years past, and
this distinction has not been without its effect upon
edifices of every kind. Therefore, when we say
that Leeds will wear a festive and a brilliant aspect
on Monday and Tuesday next we give to the exer-
tions of its inhabitants such praise as only those
acquainted with the town can appreciate.
The Leeds Town-hall is situated in the centre of
the town ; the architect is Mr. Cuthbert BDadieh,
Of Leeds, and the foundation stone was laid in
August, 1853, by the then mayor, Mr. J. H. Shaw.
The whole structure is of the Roman Corinthan
order. It stands on a spacious elevated platform,
surrounded by Corinthan columns of noble propor-
tions and supporting an enriched entablature about
70 feet from the ground. The south facade (the
chief one) has a deeply recessed portico of 10
columns, with a flight of 19 steps, 135 feet in length,
leading up to it. Pedestals at each corner are
placed for groups of statuary, and the spaces between
the columns at the sides of the building are divided
into two ranges of semicircular-headed windows.
From the centre, over the south portico, a noble
tower with chimes and illuminated clock will rise
230 feet from the ground. The hall itself is one of
the largest and finest of its kind in the kingdom.
Its roof is almost as handsome and its architectural
features far more grand and imposing than those of
St. James's Hall, while, for proportions, only St.
George's Hall in Liverpool, or Westminster Hall in
London, will serve as examples. It is 162 feet long by
72feet wide and 75 feet high. Its ceiling is arched,
divided with five bays or compartments by massive
stone ribs which are upheld by lofty columns
painted to resemble Rosso Antico. Ten large bay
windows by day and 10 -of the richest crystal chan-
deliers by night illuminate the whole interior of the
building without that glare which is now a gene-
ral fault in our modern public edifices. At the
same time it by no means errs on the side of dark-
ness, as is the case with all the entrances to the
noble hall at Liverpool. The style of decoration
throughout the building inside is very rich, though
by no means too brilliant or gaudy. The north
end of the hall is occupied by the great organ, of
which, as the best specimen of musical architecture
—if we may so term it—we have seen, we shall
have much more to say by and bye. At the south
end is a rich glass screen separating the hall from
the vestibule under the chief entrance. The vesti-
bule is, in fact, the base of the tower. It is 70 feet
high by 48 feet square. The floor is covered with such
a richly tesselated pavement as proclaims at once
the workmanship of Minton. It is of the same
pattern as the one that firm has made for the Senate-
house at Washington. In the centre of this vesti-
bule stands the Mayor's princely gift te
Majesty.thehall
and town,—Noble's great statue of her
It stands under the dome
geroafnitteh,eanvdestfoibrulmse
aolutoa.
um
pedeStal of richly polished granite,
th aetfwtheetrhuasltl
the threats to remove it into
monument
centre
itself may never be carried into effect. A council
meeting of the corporation was held this afternoon,
when the Mayor of Leeds, Mr. Peter Fairbairn, for-
mally made over by
.deed of gift this splendid statue
to the borough. This ceremony, though of almost a
strictly private nature and lasting only a few minutes,
was of the most enthusiastic kind, and showed at
once both the value the Leeds Corporation attached
to the gift and the earnest and kindly sentiments
they entertained towards the giver. The figure
is, as we have said, Mr. Noble's work, and one of
the most successful of all the many statues which
he has executed of her Majesty. It is of heroic
size, the attitude is commanding and queenly,
though in portraying this the artist has by no
means overlooked that expression of gracious amia-
bility and kindness with which all are so familiar
in the illustrious original. In the left hand is a
sceptre—the right holds easily a roll of papers—
while the drapery, so difficult a subject to treat
with real propriety and effect, is rendered with all
that simple care which makes her Majesty's statue
at Salford so much admired.
Such, in brief, are the general features of the new
hall. Outside it is surrounded with a tolerably
open space, which, however, will bear improving
with regard to the character of its buildings. In
the space in front is a bronze statue of the Duke
of Wellington—an unfortunate effort by Maro-
chetti. This figure is not only unlike the Duke,
but certainly unlike the generality of well-formed
human beings.
At Leeds, the mayor and corporation will be, in
attendance to receive her Majesty, after which his
worship will conduct ,the Royal' party to his resi-
dence.
The Queen, will be receiyed en her urriyal by the