The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-29 00:00:00

EGYPTIAN HALL.

General Tom Thumb is still the principal exhibition
at these rooms, and the public interest in him does not
seem to abate with acquaintance. Since the presenta-
tion of the little hero at Court, he has become an object
of especial patronage among the nobility and gentry, at
whose soirees he is almost as frequent a visitor as the
American Minister himself. For the %Vhitsun folks
there is no doubt he will be a great card. Not only
does he go through his Grecian statues, sing Yankee
songs, and take snuff as Napoleon, but at half-past
twelve in the morning he paces the platform in the iden-
tical court-dress in which he paid his respects to the two
Queens of England and the juvenile members of the
Royal Family. Think of that ye holiday-makers ! A
pretty sight is the General in this official coat of plum-
coloured velvet, this waistcoat of embroidered satin,
these stockings of silk, and these ruffles of lace. Besides
the attractions of the General, there are other things
worth looking at in the room where he exhibits. There
is Mr. Catlin's celebrated gallery of pictures, contain-
ing multitudinous delineations of the prairie life, war-
fare, and costume of the Red Indians of North America.
General Tom Thumb takes leave of the London pub-
lic on Saturday next, when, it is stated, he goes over to
Paris to make his obeisance to Louis Philippe.

THE EXHIBITION OF THE DECORATIVE WORKS FOR
THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.—This exhibition at
the St. James' Bazaar, although better attended on Mon-
day than on any previous day since its opening gra-
tuitously to the public, was nearly deserted, the number
of persons visiting it not reaching to more than 200 or
300 during the day. The cause for this laxity, as re-
gards numbers, is stated to arise from the fact of its not
being known to be open to all free of charge. The
works of art which attracted most notice was the splendid
specimen of carving by Mr. G. Rogers, the different
styles of fresco painting, and the designs for stained glass
windows.

THE TOWER OF LONDON.—The reduction in the
price of admission to view the armoury, and the crown
and other jewels kept within the Tower of London,
caused a great influx of visitors to that national depo-
sitory yesterday, all of whom appeared delighted with
the evidences of England's former and present greatness.

THE THAMES TUNNEL.--As at Easter, the stalls in
this undertaking were decorated out with ags and ever-
greens, with music at either end of the tunnel, playing
favourite airs during the day. The number of persons
passing through was very great.
BRITISH MUSEUM.—The number of visitors to this
national establishment on Monday was 25,558, being an
increase of 7,148 as compared with Whit-Monday last
year, when the number was 18,410. A few constables
of the A division, under the able direction of Sergeant
Neal, were in attendance, and the gieatest order pre-
vailed throughout the day.

THE RIVER and the RAILWAYS.
(From our Evening Edition of Yesterday.
There was a general turn-out of the working population
of the metropolis yesterday, some on their way to the rail-
roads, others hastening to the wharfs to embark, and many
taking advantage of other conveyances for the purpose of
reaching the suburban fairs at Greenwich, Stepney, and
Wandsworth. In spite of the Lord Mayor's proclamation,
the Woolwich and Greenwich steamers were occasionally
most tremendously overcrowded, particularly after sunset—
for, although the City police were stationed on the wharfs
and piers in the vicinity of London-bridge and also at Black-
friars, his Lordship's jurisdiction did not extend beyond
those-places; and, consequently, there was no one to prevent
the vessels being overloaded at the Adelphi, 'Hungerford,
and Westminster, and also at Greenwich. The " Solid
pier," which is in a very dilapidated and insecure state, and
the Watermen's floating pier at Greenwich, were thronged
with the holiday folks from an early hour till midnight.
Steamer after steamer arrived, and discharged their living
freights ; and no sooner was one cargo got rid of than another
supplied its place. The town, the fair, and the park were
filled with good-humoured mobs; the fair was generally the
first place visited, afterwards the park, and lastly, the
Royal Hospital, and there was plenty of amusement and re-
creation for the multitude in all directions. The showers of
rain which fell at intervals during the day frequently dis-
persed the people, and forced them to seek shelter in the
taverns, tea-houses, and other places of refreshment. The
veterans in the hospital were busily engaged in conducting
the numerous visitors over the painted hall and the wards of
the building.
.The crowds became so great in the afternoon
that numbers were obliged to go away unable to obtain ad-
mission. The fair is precisely similar to the one at Easter,
and indeed of twenty previous years. Richardson's theatre,
and the great Crown and Anchor booth, fitted up for dancing,
and where at one time 400 persons were dancing the Polka,
are the principal attractions. The gingerbread stalls are as
numerous as ever, and the public-houses and tea-rooms are
stocked with enormous quantities of provisions, of which ham
and beef are the staple articles. The consumption was of
course immense. The numbers landed at the two piers
during the day exceeded 40,000. There were thirty steamers
engaged in the traffic, viz., eleven of the Watermen's
steamers, thirteen of the old Company's, the Robert
Hawkes, William Gunston, and Laurel, engaged for the
holidays by the Watermen's Company ; the Flirt and the
Coquette' which kept up a communication with the Black-
wall Railway, and a Gravesend boat called the Prince of
Wales. The Watermen's steamers, and the vessels engaged
by them, made sixty trips between the Adelphi Pier and
Greenwich, and carried down 15,000 persons and brought
back as many. The Greenwich Railway also came in for a
large share of business, and the trains were running every
quarter of an hour with as many holiday folks as the car-
riages could find room for. Thirty thousand souls were
conveyed up and down this line during the day. The
greatest hilarity and good humour prevailed among the vast
assemblage at Greenwich, and we did not hear of any mate-
rial accident.
Stepney fair has been again revived, and the display of
booths, shows, and exhibitions of every description are more
numerous, and immeasurably superior to Greenwich. There
is more room, and the arrangements for the accommodation
of the people are decidedly better. The fair is held in two
large fields close to the Thames-police Court ; in one is an
enormous canvas temple called the Crown and Anchor, be-
longing to the Essex phenomena, Young Gipsy Stevens, and
it was brilliantly illuminated in the evening, when dancing
commenced with great vigour, and that popular pas the
Polka was all the rage. The booth is 300 feet long and 60
in width. Refreshments were supplied in abundance to the
dancers. There are two other dancing-booths in the same
field, and the outside of one of them is decorated with a
large painting of the wife-killing Harry the Eighth, and is
conducted by Mr. Mason, the landlord of the house known
by that sign in the Mile-end-road. The veteran Clark, with
his equestrian company, his corps of acrobats, and his
daughter, Aurora Clark, who displayed most astonishing
feats in the ring, is located in a large circus in the same field.
On the adjoining field there is an immense number of exhi-
bitions of every kind, Peterson's large theatrical booth, not
inferior to Richardson's, where a " tale of enchantment" was
performed to admiring audiences every half hour; Johnson's
theatre on a smaller but very superb scale, living wonders of
every description, ups and downs, swings, and roundabouts.
From an early hour all the roads leading to the fair were
pouring in an incessant stream of visitors, and when it was
lighted up at nine o'clock the scene was one of the most
brilliant and animated ever witnessed. The numbers present
would defy calculation. The Prince of Wales, Maid and
Magpie, Safe Harbour, Sidney Arms, and Star and Garter
Taverns in the vicinity of the fair, as well as the grounds
attached to them, were filled with people, who, from the
noise they made, and the shouts of merriment which ever
and anon proceeded from them, appeared to enjoy themselves
highly. The fair is highly productive to the inhabitants of
Stepney, and from 2/. to 5/. has been freely given for the
use of one or two small rooms during its three days' existence.
In consequence of the competition in the Gravesend trade,
and the low fare by railway and steam-boat, the concourse
of Londoners who have besieged the town during the last two
days is beyond all precedent.
EXCURSION TO COLCHESTER.
A little more than two hours have elapsed since we left the
Shoreditch Station, and here we are making the best of our
time at Colchester, without having experienced any incon-
venience from curves, cuttings, gradients, or inclined
planes, but with many thanks to Mr. Hall, one of the Ma-
naging Directors, for the precaution -he has suggested, and
which is carried out on this line ; we allude to the signal
posts which are placed along the line. It is a post of some
ten feet in height, at the top of which there are five painted
panels or leaves, which are spread out like a fan, or drawn
in as occasion requires ; for instance, when a train is stop-
ping at an intermediate station to take up or set down pas-
sengers, and the train happens to be on the opposite line of
rails to that on which the station is, then all the panels of
the signal are extended, so as to prevent any other train or
engine passing. But if the stopping train happens to be on
the line of rails next adjoining the station, then two panels
only are exhibited, and another engine or train may pass
along the other line of rails, provided the speed be re-
duced to fifteen miles an hour. When the fourth panel is
removed from sight, and any portion of the third is visible,
no engine or train is allowed to pass more than 100 yards
beyond the signal on the same line of rails, until the third
panel is entirely raised. After the train has passed the
signal-post some 14, minutes all the leaves of the signal are
withdrawn from sight., which shows the line to be clear. We
are happy to state that since this simple plan of Mr. Hall's
has been adopted, no accidents of any kind have occurred.
SOUTHAMPTON RAILWAY EXCURSION.
The Directors of the above railway very wisely and
humanely followed the course pursued by them in the
Easter holidays, by allowing the public the advantage of
seeing either Southampton or Gosport at half fare, or, in
other words, any one going down to either terminus yester-
day, paid, in the first instance, full fare, but, on his arrival
at his destination, he was allowed to keep his ticket, a por-
tion of the corner only being torn off by way of check, and
he was at liberty to use it in returning either last night or
to-day, at his pleasure. 'Whether it arose from a due want
of publicity, or from the coldness of the weather we know
not, but there were comparatively few applicants for the
favour. At seven o'clock a train was started, carrying about
300 passengers, but more than half of them were regular pas-
sengers, who had no thought of being mere excursionists.
Other trains followed throughout the day, but they
carried no snore than their usual number of pas-
sengers. The morning, which at an early hour threat-
ened to rain, was cold, but the seven o'clock train
had a fine run down. Notwithstanding numerous stoppages,
the whole distance (78 miles) was completed in three hours
and 20 minutes. Few of the holiday people stopped in South-
ampton. Waiting for the train were two steamboats, ad-
vertised to sail—one to Cowes, the other to Ryde. They
drafted nearly all off, nor had they returned when we came
away ; and, although few in number, were determined to see
the most they could while out.
The directors afforded the same facilities to the people of
Southampton to spend their holidays in a rational manner,
and it appeared as if they had embraced the opportunity with
much more avidity than the people of London, for the early
up-trains were very long ones and every carriage filled.
EXCURSION TO DOVER.
Long before eight. o'clock the London station was crowded ;
and so completely were the officers of the Company taken by
surprise, that it was with the greatest possible difficulty they
managed to accommodate the holiday assemblage; and in-
deed it was only by a prompt yet effective " transmogri-
fication" of cattle and goods " trucks" into third class " car-
riages," that they were enabled to satisfy the claimants for
what the old Jacobins would have termed " the honours of a
sitting." It was pleasing to observe that the holiday folk
were as willing to be accommodated as the Company's
officers were desirous of accommodating. With so much
good feeling the train could not but be a merry one. All
appeared to be gratified at the anxiety manifested to afford
every possible convenience for the trip, and a fe.w minutes
after eight o'clock the first train, containing upwards of
1,000 passengers, cheerful and communicative, was rapidly
wending its way into the " rural districts." The atmos-
phere was a fine clear one, and though a sprinkling of rain
now and then fell, it seemed but to freshen up Nature's
countenance and to render her smiles the gayer
and the more beautiful. Just below the Maidstone sta-
tion we had a glance at the Maidstone branch line, which
appeared to be in a forward state. We understand that it
will be opened, in August next, some months, if we are not
mistaken, before the time which the engineer fixed for its
completion. At the Staplehurst station, where we sojourned
for a short time, availing ourselves of another train by
which to get to Dover, we witnessed what might a short
time since have been deemed by the directors a very strong
evidence of the necessity of a branch to Hastings—viz.,
three coaches with passengers from that town. The pream-
ble of the Dover Company's Bill for a branch to that place
has, however, been declared to be not proved, and the
Brighton Company will, therefore, probably have the felicity
of carrying all those passengers who now prefer travelling by
way of Staplehurst. From the line we could perceive the
works being carried on at the branch line leading into Folke-
stone harbour. This branch appears to be near its comple-
tion. At the present moment about 150 tons of coals per day
find their way into the railway waggons. Greater facilities are
to be afforded, in the shape of cranes worked by steam, for land-
ing coals upon this branch line ; and it is stated that when these
get into work, the average quantity of coals landed daily will
be upwards of 500 tons. We had almost forgotten to observe
that just below the Ashford station we observed the Canter-
bury, Ramsgate, and Margate branch-line marked out. This,
it is expected, will be finished in about eighteen months. At
Folkestone station a considerable number of the passengers
left the train, and availed themselves of the opportunity of
making a steam trip to Boulogne.
Throughout the day the trains were crowded, and none
carried fewer than 600 passengers. The most anxious atten-
tion was paid to the comfort of the passengers by the secre-
tary, Mr. Whitehead, and the superintendent, Captain Charle-
wood, and, indeed, everything that could possibly contribute
to the pleasure of the excursions was most sedulously at-
tended to by those gentlemen.
NORTHERN AND EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.
CAMBRIDGE LINE.)
Previous to the I'llitsun holidays, the directors of this
line wisely, and we may add, generously adopting the course
pursued by some other railway companies, advertised their
intention to issue " holiday day-tickets" for Whitsunday,
Monday (yesterday), and Tuesday (this day), by the pur-
chase of which a person going to Bishop's Stortford, or the
intervening stations, would be taken from London to
Bishop's Stortford and back for the one fare down ; and we
were happy to find yesterday that many hundreds of per-
sons availed themselves of this arrangement ; though from
the repeated inquiries we heard for places by the " third-
class trains," we wish, for the sake of those who were more
immediately interested in the matter, that that portion of
the public had been apprised of the fact, that no third-class
carriages were intended to be run. By the eight o'clock and
by the half-past nine o'clock morning trains a vast number
of individuals took their departure from the " city of smoke
and toil," unawed and " nothing daunted" by the melancholy
appearance of the weather. At the latter hour appearances
were indeed most unpropitious and uncongenial, and re-
mained so through the greater part of the day, at Bishop's
Stortford and along the intermediate line of country; never-
theless, every succeeding train dropped its quota of pas-
sengers at the respective stations on the railway, all light of
heart for the day, and bent upon enjoying their own rational
idea of recreation, and all were alike determined to make the
most of the Whitsun holidays. The number who availed
themselves of their return tickets 04 this *port line of rail-