The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-24 00:00:00

Miscellaneous Forego News.

(Front Correspondents qf the Anylo-American Times.)
PAI:IS, Aug. 22.
The Universal Exposition here, even before its

commencement, has been for so long the piece tie
resistance of sketchers and writers of every de-

scription that I fear my experience of a day will
tend little either to the amusement or instruction

of my readers. Nevertheless, I trust so much to

,heir uniform indulgence that I venture to invite
hem to visit with me the interior of the world in

miniature, whose eternal portals we passed together
recently in our walk through Paris. Let us sup-

pose ourselves landed by some means or other of
the thousand and one available, at the Grand Porte.
On entering, the visitor finds himself sheltered from

the heat and dust which the month of August—the
noblest in the year—sheds over Paris, the thermo-

. •
meter marking perhaps 36 in the shade beneath

a broad
.canopy of green velvet powdered with
gold bees, which forms, as it were, a kind of avenue
in that part of the park up to the building itself,
whilst the spray thrown in a thousand refreshing
jets from two gigantic bronze fountains adds a de-
licious coolness to the atmosphere thoroughly ap-
preciated by the voyageur. But we must not pass
the aforesaid fountains without regarding them,

'or they are chefs d'auvre of their kind; one which

comes from the forges of Barbezut and Company,
Val d'Osn'e, presents to the view four gigantic
statues, typical of the four quarters of the world,
leaning against the massive mainshaft of the
fountain, with two cupids lying at the feet of

each ; these in turn support au immense shield
in four compartments, which brought to my

recollection the far-famed one of the Grecian hero

Achilles ; the shaft continued above this shield, and
adorned, as to its fluted sides, with antique head,

supports a smaller shield, the whole completed by a
cupola, and pouring forth sheets of spray from
every imaginable opening. The other, as nearly as
possible of the same size, differs in regard to the
principal group of statues, being upright instead of
in a reclining posture, whilst a very beautiful effect
is produced at the base by a circle of cupids, who,
standing each in the middle of a shell, pour water
from an urn in a basin, whilst numberless lions'
heads, forming the bosses of a similar shield, pour
forth streams of water in the style of the celebrated
fountains of the Alhambra. The latter conies from
the foundries of the Haute Marne.
The park, or general enclosure of the Exposition,
which presents the same analogy as compared with
the building itself as au immense wholesale ware-
house would to a shop in which the same merchan-
dise is arranged for the inspection of the purchaser,
puzzles and perplexes the visitor a good deal. Ile
sees an immense number of buildings and erections
of every kind in the most admired confusion. Royal
pavilions, Egyptian temples, Dutch farmhouses,
Nomade tent, &c., intermixed with large sheds for
the exhibition of machinery at work. Kiosks in-
numerable, cunt multis aliis que 1111 C deseribcre
longion erit. Giving him merely our advice to pass
through this heterogeneous affair as nearly as
possible in a circle with the Palace itself
as a radius, I shall proceed to divert his
attention to those principally worthy of notice. It
is greatly to be regretted, however, that from the
scarcity of sufficiently well-arranged guide books,
as well as from the want of interpreters, some of the
most interesting exhibitions are not, and cannot be,
lucidly explained to the visitor, especially should be

happen to be American or English, the French
having a better chance from their language being
more commonly known in the various parts of the
European and Eastern World. Thus he would not
for some time at least, fully comprehend, simply
from the panorama itself, the progress which has
been already made, as well as the difficulties
which remain to be overcome in the important

and interesting undertaking now going on for
the purpose of connecting the Mediterranean
with the Red Sea by means of a maritime
canal cut through the Isthmus of Suez. The
panorama, however, which transports the visitor
from the warm climate of Prance to the burning soil
of Egypt, shows that commencing from Port Saide,
a port established on the borders of the Mediter-
ranean, and already occupied by about 8,000 in-
habitants, the undertaking has advanced as far as
Lake Timesab, having stations at Cantara, a
point taken by the caravans of the desert, en route
for Syria—at Elfardane, El Guin, and Imailia,
the capital of the Isthmus and residence of the
Viceroy, from which place a river canal will connect
the maritime one with Cairo, whilst the latter will
be continued to Suez. It is estimated that this un-
dertaking, one of the greatest of modern times, will
be completed within the space of two years,
the remaining portion of the work being to conduct
the canal across what we termed the Bitter Salt
Lake, which, being in a great measure dried up,
will form an admirable means for the reception of
the canal. One or two immense blocks of salt in
crystal are exhibited at the entrance of the building.
This panorama is exceedingly interesting, and great
credit is due to the enterprising company by whom
it is carried on for the manner in which they are
accomplishing their stupendous work. But we
must not linger too long in one place. Advancing,
we pass what at first sight appears to be only an
ordinary block of bronze, bearing the inscription,
" Galvanoplastre ;" but let not the visitor pass that
black too hastily, for on one of its sides be will
find a reproduction of one of the most exquisite
specimens of wood carving that it has ever been his
fortune to behold, the door of the sacristy of the
Church of St. Mark, Venice, the chef d'auvre of the
renowned sculptor Sansovini; the two middle panels
represent—the one the Saviour, who has just been
taken down from the Cross, and whom his disciples
are placing in a coffin ; the bodies of the two Thieves
are yet suspended on their crosses, but the middle
cross is vacant, the Roman Guard are defiling
slowly through the mountain tops ; whilst the pea-
sants are seated about in various projections of the
vine-covered rocks, a group of females stand
by the coffin, two supporting in their arms
a third, whose finely depicted anguish ren-
ders easy of recognition she who loves her Lord
so well. The other panel depicts Our Lord rising
from the grave, and standing upright on the coffin,
bearing in his hand the banner of Salvation ; above
his head myriads of angels and cherbuims are
descending, whilst at the foot of the panel Roman
soldiers are recoiling in various attitudes of terror.
The small side panels, though equally beautiful as
specimens of carving, do not possess any remark-
ably distinctive features. As a work of art, the
reproduction of this door is a chef d'ourre, and we
must not forget due praise to the inventor of the
beautiful process by which it has been so admirably

preserved.
The limits, however, of a letter intended for the
general reader will not permit me to dilate too long.
upon a special subject, for there are readers whom
political news attracts most ; there are fair dames
who love to search for news of the Court and the
gossip ; and there are venerable ones whose tender
hearts thrill with horror and compassion at the
recital of all the various moving accidents by flood,
and field, and fireside, announced weekly in Paris,
even as the heart cf the fair Venetian of old thrilled
at those of the interesting Moor, who afterwards so
ruthlessly bolstered her—a fate which some of
my American friends would say with the
Welsh jury who sat on Mrs. David Price,
" Served her right, for taking up with a tarna-
tion nigger." So that with a promise to recom-
mence next week my interrupted experience of the

Great World's Fair in Paris, and stopping only for
an instant at the beautiful bread factory and shop
of our friend Director Bacon for a handful of his
inimitable Boston crackers, we shall take leave of
our reader beneath the shadow of the Stars and

Stripes, which float so gracefully from the pavilions

al which Citizens Dows and Guild, U.S., fabricate

in crystal and silver the smashes and sherry-

cobblers which lick all creation, or the ice-cream
soda couleur de rose beverages, which will create
many a time a grateful souvenir of those great men
in the memory of those who have experienced
its refreshing coolness, even though unappreciated
by the jaded palate of the representative of
the Pall Mall Gezette, only perhaps to be marred

by the latest compound of the Unapproachable Club,
as described perhaps in the " Sybil " of the present
Chancellor of the Exchequer. I must not, how-
ever, finally leavesthe Exposition, especially whilst
speaking of beverages, without speaking of an inci-

dent which has just lengthened considerably many
a bearded visage, viz., the sudden running out of

one of the German breweries. The crowd to-day
was enormous, and after supplying 6,000 chopes, or
half-pints, the cellar ran dry before one o'clock in
the day. Dire was the French and Foreign
consternation, for beer has become one of the
most fashionable beverages of the Parisians
also, and many were the polyglot imprecations
of " Gott in himmel, " Der Tenfel," " Sacre
nom d'un chien," which greeted the unvarying re-
sponse of " ich haben nicht" or " it n y est-plus,"
an answer given by one of the waiters, a simple-
looking Viennese, however, was calculated to afford
considerable satisfaction to the numerous disap-

pointed ones. " Comment" (said an irritable look-
ing little Frenchman). " Pas de biere" (How, no
beer ?) " Oh, que si, monsieur" (Oh yes, sir).

"Eh bien" (Well then). " Elle est encore a Stras-
bourg. Mais soyez tranquille, nous aeons tele-
graphic pour la faire venir par le train express."
(But it is as yet at Strasbourg. We have sent for
it to come by express). It is needless to say the
victim " levanted," taking up the double. The Em-

peror and Empress have paid a visit of condolence to
the Emperor and Empress of Austria at Salzbourg,
arriving there on the 18th inst., the fete day of the
latter potentate. Their Majesties were received at
their royal hosts, accompanied by the Archduke
Louis "Victor, the governor of the province, the
burgomaster of the city, and the military autho-
rities ; and after partaking for a few days the
splendid hospitality of the Austrian sovereign, and
paying a short visit to the Emperor Francis 11.,
their Imperial Majesties returned to Paris on
Thursday last. Some would-be alarmists pretend
to discern in this visit some new political combina-
tions, but the views of Austria, especially as regards
territorial extension, must be considerably modified
by the expenses and experience of the late Italian
war. I believe the visit myself to be a bona fide
one of condolence, though it is probable that even
such powerful monarchs will not have met without
discussing in some manner the political position of
Europe. The city has been thrown into consterna-
tion this week by several of those terrible dramas
which the susceptible temperament of the inhabit-
ants of southern regions so frequently evidence.
The murder of Madame Mertens by her friend
Madame Frigard, in the wood of Fontainebleau,
coupled with the mystery in which the affair has
been enveloped,* and the masculine coolness and self-
reliance evinced by the accused on her trial, have
ranked this affair amongst the celebrated criminal
cases of France. It has received, however, suffi-
cient explanation and comment from the Press to
need any further notice on my part.

On Friday evening last the inhabitants of the
Quartier St. Antoine were aroused by the sudden
explosion of a pistol in the house of a marchand

des vies in the Beautreillis, followed by the appear
ante of a man at the front door, which, after closing
firmly, he retired, his absence being immediately fol-
lowed by another report. Entrance was speedily
forced by the authorities, and upon their arrival
a most distressing and fearful spectacle presented
itself. On the bed lay fully dressed the corpse of
a woman, whilst on the floor, in the agonies of
death, rolled the murderer ; whilst, to add to the
horrors of the scene, in a cradle reposed tran-
quilly examinationtho
founditwesaninfnt a
toifienine monthstthebodi UponsUwonreseof
Monsieur and Madame Minatte, the approximate
cause of the double murder, resulting, it is supposed,
from a fit of jealousy on the part of the husband.
Singular to relate, at almost the same instant many
persons who were passing through the Place Ven-
dome saw appear, all at once, on the top ofgothe
column a man, who repeatedly waved his hat to
them, as if desirous they should get out of the way.
Before, however, they could understand clearly his
movements, he was seen to get astride the balustrade
and precipitate himself headlong on to the street.
It is needless to add that death was instantaneous.
The body was at once conveyed to the Morgue. It
is probable this will have the effect of inducing the
authorities, by some simple method or other, to
render impossible for the future a repetition of such
scenes, the more especially considering the number
of public monuments of this description to which
the people have free access.
During the past week several public buildings
and monuments have been inaugurated at Paris,
amongst which I may mention the churches of the
Holy Trinity of Saint Augustin, and last, not
least, the exterior of the new opera opposite the
entrance of the Rue de Paris, which, for architec-
tural beauty, ranks amongst the very first public
buildings of France. As it would require, however,
the pencil of the artist, as well as the imagination
of a poet, to describe this charming public institu-
tion, I
,shall content myself with referring the
reader to the various photographs and engravings
which he will find on every hand.
The closing of the fete of the 15th has been
marked by a graceful act on the part of the
Emperor in the remission of the various punish-
ments incurred by some 220 of the National
Guard of the department of the Seine—
" The quality of mercy
Is mightiest in the mightiest."
One word to sportsmen. The district of the
South of France was opened for the Chase on the
19th inst. Although the south does not offer so
much attraction as the central. and northern dis-
tricts, the disciples of St. Herbert were on foot with
the rising of the sun. Quail and partridge are, it
is said, abundant this season ; large game, however,
such as the wild boar and roebuck, &c., are dimi-
nishing in the southern district to a considerable
extent. In the Zone du Nord, or northern district,
the chase will commence, as in England, upon the
Ist of September.

PARIS, Aug. 22.

Musical instruments at the Exposition, and the
uncovering of the new Opera-house have been the
subjects of interest in Paris circles this week. I shall
devote a special correspondence to the former in a
subsequent letter, and before I proceed to describe
the new edifice will but mention in the American
department the Chickering piano, now called the
king of all pianos. Hereditary right to title may
be contested, as Messrs. Chickering and Sons, our
contemporaries, have themselves founded this novel
monarchy ; but their factory in Tremont-street,
Boston, if not a regal manor, is a palace
in the factory style, and occupies a space
of no less than 206,000 feet. It would be interest-
ing to lead my readers all over the building, but it
is fearfully complete in every detail, and neither
breadth, width, nor height, could "be given to it
in the few lines I can here dispoze of.

The object of the building be‘ing the manufac-
ture of the pianos themselves, I will simply resume
the points which so essentially make them surpass
others in perfection. Firstly, quality, power, and
unity of sound ; secondly, neat and delicate power
of touch, the kind, quality, and durability of
finish. The following are the names of the artists
who have consecrated the above remarkable
qualities by testimonials of the highest appro-
bation :—Thalberg, Benedict, Black, Gottschalk,
Kehli, Richard Hoffmann, Poznanski, &c. The
latter gives a séance every day at the Champ de
Mars between three and five o'clock, which
draws eager crowds round the American section,
who stand in a large circle listening to the

*Madame Fugard has since confessed that she poisoned
ladame Alex tom with Efrunic acid.