The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-15 00:00:00

THE EXHIBITION OF 1862.

Not more than six weeks since, and the works at South
Kensington were without form and void, and even with
the aid of a mysteriously-dotted chart, termed a " ground
plan," one was fain to give over all attempts at compre-
hending, not only what was doing, but what was meant to
be done. There was a vast amaunt of preparation in the
way of deals and beams, columns and girders, elementary
scaffolding, mounds of concrete and mortar, intersected
now and then with lines of thick brick walls. All this there
was, with signs of more to come, but there was little or
nothing that even:foreshadowed the gigantic structure of
which the piles of loosely strewn material were to form
component parts. Tnis was the case only six weeks ago.
Now not only is the outline of the building perfect, with the
exception of the domes, but the nave and transept are
roofed in, the picture galleries, even internally, almost
completed, and the clerestory and open courts are fast being
glazed and finished in all but painting. In fact, the
greater part of the work—always excepting that connected
with the domes—is already done, and, unless some strange
and unforeseen calamity should occur, there seems
nothing whatever to prevent the easy fulfilment of the
contract of Messrs. Kelk and Lucas, by the formal
delivery of the finished building to the Royal Commissioner
on the 12th of next February. Judging by a superficial
glance, either at the outside or inside, there is not apparently
so very much done to warrant such sanguine expectations
of early completion. The real fact is, however, that nearly
all that has been done, and most of what still remains to be
done, are alike hidden undersuch a labyrinth of scaffolding
that the eye is really unable to ascertain what the actual
progress has been. It is only by penetrating this gigantic
web of timber, and by seeing where, like huge red arteries,
the columns and girders pass through, and over, and under
the mazes of the great framework, that the visitor begins
to understand that these great piles of scaffolding mean
works built as well as building, and that the labour of tak-
ing down these skeleton :structures will not be begun till
the building is finished from base to summit. Little more
than six weeks ago and not a single wooden girder of the
huge " annex" for machinery in motion was fixed. Now its
entire length of 1,200 ft. is completed, roofed, glazed, and,
in short, finished in all but the painting. And not only is
this " annex" finished, but it has been completed a suffi-
cient time to allow another on the eastern side to be de•
tided on, for the reception of agricultural implements, in
motion or otherwise. This latter makes an addition of
nearly three acres in extent at the disposal of the Commis-
sioners ; but this, like the rest, has already gone—as three
more now, or 30 more a week hence, would be certain to go
before the insatiable demands for more space and more
coming ;in from all parts of this kingdom, and, indeed,
from all parts of the world. Since our last notice three
more countries have put in their claims to exhibit—viz ,
Italy, Turkey, and America. The last-named, after a long
time disregarding the invitations of the Commissioners,
has suddenly determined to send, and, it is said, to send
largely. Italy makes an exorbitant claim for space, and
.Turkey, which at first declined to have anything to do
with it at all, is now only too glad to have her cl tim
allowed. These and other unexpected demands have lite •
rally reduced the Commissioners to the necessity of econo-
mising their space to the very Utmost ; but still, with all
their cares and efforts to allow a margin, every foot of dis-
posable surface has been irrevocably disposed of now. The
picture galleries may be said to be finished now, for
another week will see them roofed in and glazed. The
supports under the floor of this portion of the build-
ing, which Were formerly of wood, have been
changed for massive iron columns, strong and
numerous enough to carry the whole building if re-
quired. In fact, on this floor, with its massive outer
walls, as indeed in most other parts of the building, the
works seem of excessive and almst superfluous solidity and
strength. There is only one part of the structure which, to
the eye at least'seems of too light a character, and that is
in what are termed the 60-feet courts, where the double
iron columns rise to a height of 50 feet without interlacing
tie-rods between. It is true that these columns have
nothing to carry but themselves, and a ridge-and-furrow roof
of glass and iron of the lightest possible kind ; but, as wo
have said, to the eye these slender columns appear to want
thrust,
if protection of rods against the chances of lateral h ,
if only from:the force of wind upon the roof during t. e i;
ter. But in all other parts of the structure everyth.mkg ok
the most massive and durable kind. Even in the brie
though erected with wonderful rapidity, not the slightest
settlement of any kind has taken place.
The baierstent floor beneath the picture galleries is to be
devoted entirely to the exhibition of vehicles of all descrip.
dons, and advantage has been taken of the windows which

t'..l

light this ground floor to give the most thorough ventila-
tion to the picture galleries above. For this purpose the win-
dows are prolonged in the side walls to a foot above the floor
of the picture galleries, and the spaces thus gained will bo
filled in with a kind of open ironwork, so as to allow a
thorough current of air from the outside to pass up, and
through the ventilators in the roof. The picture galleries
form a series of noble rooms, each 300 feet long, yet per-
fectly proportioned as to height and width. The brick walls
are covered with timber battens, and on these again is over-
laid the planking on which the pictures will be hung, thus
removed a distance of about 2/ inches from the walls them-
selves. It was intended to hang the works exhibited to a
maximum height of 25 feet from the ground, but it is to be
hoped that there may be some modification of this arrange-
ment. No picture can be seen very well at a height of 25
feet, and least of all are they likely to be well seen in the
picture gallery of the Exhibition, where there is no super-
abundance of light to spare for distant objects. It may well
be that the Exhibition building of 1851, and more recently
the Crystal Palace, have in a manner formed our ideas to
expect as a matter of course a flood of light in all future
structures designed to serve the same purpose. With such
an unconscious prepossession in the mind of the visitor to
the works at South Kensington, the first impression is
that the interior of the building will be almost too dark
to properly show its contents. In fact, the nave and
transepts have now almost the dingy sombreness of some
of our Gothic cathedrals. This, however, will not be the
case when the building is finished. The close framework
of timber scaffold has grown about the works as the days
have become shorter and less sunny. The ponderous towers
of beams raised to erect the domes exclude almost every ray
of light beneath; but it must always be borne in mind that
the spaces thus occupied now will be great centres of light
hereafter, when the building is completed, and a lofty glass
dome occupies the place of the present massive timber net-
work. till, making all these allowances and deductions,
there is no doubt that the interior of the building, as com-
pared with that of 1851, will have much less light, and it
will be necessary to bear this important fact in mind when
the subject of the internal decorations comes to be consi-
dered. Upon this latter point nothing has yet been decided

THE NAVAL ENGAGEMENT AT NEW

ORLEANS.

THE DEEDS OF THE RAM.

We take the following account of the part the ram Ma-
nassas played in the above affair from a New Orleans paper:
" Lieut. Harley had orders from Commodore Hollins to
run ahead of the whole expedition and make a trial of the
ram under any circumstances and at all hazards. Her 9-
inch gun was not used at all, and in fact she only had a
dozen cartridges for it in her magazine. The port-hole for-
ward was closed down, and so was the after hatch. The for -
ward hatch alone was opened four inches, so as to permit
the steersman and pilot to have a good view ahead. Mr.
Austin, who knows every inch of the river, piloted her him-
self, the pilot having left her at the fort.
" It was a peculiar hazard this to try a new invention,
without a precedent on which to form even a conjecture as
to the result, and to run boldly into the midst of an enemy's
fleet on the literal principle of victory or death.' The men
aboard of her were not frightened, or they would not have
deliberately made the venture, but they would not have
been human if they had not felt the oppression of an awful
suspense. Shut up in that iron-bound case they knew that
in a short time it might be their coffin.
"It was pitch dark. Aibetter night could not have been
selected for the purpose, and the ram glided noiselessly down
the current. Never before had she run so well. Ten miles
an hour was supposed to be her maximum speed, but she
was making at least 13 knots. The water ran up over her
bow, and split off on each side with beautiful play, making
a gentle and really musical rippling sound. She had left the
other boats far behind, but still she kept on her swift course.
"All of a sudden Austin discovered the dim outline of a
ship right ahead. He sang out to the engineer, Let her
out, Hardy; let her out now.' Instantly the tar, tallow, and
sulphur that had been prepared were thrown into her fur-
nace, and the hand of her steam gauge ran up to the highest
point. How much pressure on the boilers was given can
never be known, but it was far above her allowance.
"Now she was discovered by the watch on the enemy's
deck, and they gave the alarm, and sent up a blue light
from the Richmond, probably a private signal to the Nia-
gara below. Austin made out the bow of the ve.sel she
was approaching and steered her for it so as to strike be-
tween her hog chains and main chains. The aim was a
true one ; the momentum of the ram was terrific, and the
crash, as she drove her prow 20 feet deep into the ship's
hull, was truly fearful. Every man on board the Manassas
was knocked down by the violence of the concussion, and
the whole boat vibrated like an aspen. Tho engines were
at once reversed, and she backed right out, bringing off on
her prow whole sheets of the Preble's copporing and big
splinters of her solid, live-oak bow.
" The dismay, the consternation, the panic of horror that
ensued upon the deck of the stricken Preble may be ima-
gined, but it cannot be pictured in wor is. Most of the
crew, aroused from slumber. rushed frantically about,
crazy with fright. Some of them must have been wounded
and mangled by the sharp prow of the Manassas, judging
from their piercing, agonising shrieks. A few of thorn
were seen to leap overboard into the river, and upon deck a
perfect saturnalia of frenzied terror reigned. They knew
not what was to follow, and could not understand what had
occurred. In the Manassas their yells were distinctly
heard, with such cries as, We're sinkingl She is going
to blow up I We're all lost I Oh, my God I'
" The Richmond, Vincennes, Preble, and Water Witch
were at anchor in the line of a V, with spring cables, and
steam up on the two steamers. As the Manassas backed off
from the Preble her officers saw the Richmond lying right
before them, with her full broadside exposed. Here was a
splendid opportunity, and they had no doulst from their suc-
cess against the Preble, that they would cut her in two, Not
a single shot had been fired at them yet, and such was the
confusion on board all of the ships that they commenced
ringing their fog bells, which proved that even yet they
were so confused and ignorant of the nature of our attack,
that some of them supposed it to be an accidental collision,
caused by the extreme darkness, and rang the fog bells, so
as to show the Manassas their position and enable her to
to avoid them.

" Again, Mr. Austin sang out to the engineer : ' Now let
her out, Hardy, and give it to her.' It was at this moment
that Mr. Hardy discovered that one of the condensers had
been broken by the shock of the concussion in striking the
Preble, which rendered one of her engines useless, and he
know she had not power enough in the other to run her
into anything else. He therecore passed the word up that
the machinery was disabled, and all she could do would be
to haul off as best she could. Bitter was this disappointment
to Lieut. Warley, as he saw the full side of the Richmond
before him ; but there was no help for it, and might even
be a critical matter to escape.

" Working one engine she made a circuit round to head up
stream, and this brought her right under the Richmond and
the Vincennes. By this time the officers on board those
vessels had recovered their presence of mind sufficiently to
comprehend that this extraordinary collision was no accident,
but a very cool and audacious assault by the enemy, and that
the long, low, black-looking object floating right before them
was the cause of their danger and alarm. Then they manned
their guns, which were already shotted, and now the invul-
nerability of the Manassas was fairly tested. First came
the whole broadside of the Richmond, and directly after the
entire broadside of the Vincennes, followed by the 8-inch
shells of the Water Witch. The roar of cannon was tre-
mendous, and it seemed to those cooped up in the little ram
as if all the thunderbolts of Jove were rained upon them.
" The flag-staff and one of the chimney stacks of the
Manassas were cut off as clean as if by a knife, but the guns
of the ships had not been sufficiently depressed, and all their
balls, except two or three, went over her. She has but one
indentation, near the bow, in her iron armour, to show that
she was struck at all, but it is believed that other shots
reached her and glanced off without leaving a perceptible
mark of their visit. Now the confidence of all on board
returned, and after having passed through such a volley
unscathed they knew they wore safe and sound."

WALKER THE FILIBUSTER ON THE AMERICAN
REPUBLIC.-I told him I did not understand him. " Were
not the United States a Republic ?"—" A Republic ! yes,
—but not an American Republic. A German Republic
an Irish Republic—but not an American Republic. The
American people, the real American people—the educated
classes, the wealthy merchants—are not represented in
Congress, they have no voice in the Government. The
Northern States contain a mixed population, and the old
Americans, whose families were attached to the soil before
the war of independence, are overwhelmed by a horde of
filthy, swinish Germans, or low Irishmen, the very dregs of
their own country, from which they have been driven, either
Ignorant,
drunken, your despotic laws, or by their own crimes.
drunken, worthless vagabonds, who are not fit to live
I
in any country, and who, if I had my way, would have
lashed out of the United States, to feed the gibbets and
people the gaols in their own land. Hero they come in
shoals, they are naturalised, and they become American
citizens, and they rule everywhere. No respectable edu-
cated man need put up for Congress in the United States,
the German,., l rish, and other foreigners will have none but
blackguards :like themselves. The real, true Americans,
men of education and property, seeing this state of things,
leave public affairs to take their course; and attend only to
their own private concerns. It is better, however, in the
South. But mark me, this will and must 'home to an end
before many years pass over. The Southern States will not
for ever consent to be governed by the sweepings of the
gaols, and the scum of foreign countries. We have got a
will of our own, and we'll show it some day.—Once a Week.
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and all pectoral disorders. In ulcerated, sore-
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diphtheria, mumps, quinsey, and similar ailments,
the Ointment should be well rubbed upon the throat and
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I disease,