The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-05-13 00:00:00

THE ,GREAT EXHIBITION,

Her 3lajesty the Queen visited the Exhibition on
Wednesday morning shortly after 9 o'clock, and remained
in the building for more than an hour. Her attention was
chiefly confined to the Tunisian, Chinese, and Indian
collections. From the improvement in the weather there
was a large increase in the number of spectators during
the day, and no less a sum than £l,BOO was taken at the
different entrances. There must therefore have been, in
addition to the vast number of season tickets, 7,200 per-
sons who paid their ss. admission fee, It is estimated

that the total amount netted was not much under 02,500.
The proposed attempt to develope educational uses from
the Exhibition is beginning to attract great attention, and
already Professor Cowper, of King's College, has com-
menced a series of lectures to his class on the buildinc, and
its contents, with a view to a systematic inspection of the
whole display. The apartment for the display of products
from the national manufactories of Sevres, the Gobelins,
Aubusson, and Beauvais, is nearly completed, and will
well repay a visit. Near it are a pair of bronze gates re-
duced from the original at the cathedral at Florence, and
which, with a sideboard and bookcase on either side, must
attract great attention. On the south side of the nave
a splendid specimen of gold and silver work was for the
first time uncovered. The design is a toilet-table and
mirror, with basin, ewer, and dressing-room service com-
plete, all executed in the precious metals, and finished in
the highest style of art.

The following incident is related as having occurred
before her Majesty's arrival :—" Two persons, whose ap-
pearance indicated that they were not exactly of the class
of three-guinea ticket-holders, were observed in the
middle of the crowd in the transept, carefully scrutinis-
ing every one about them ; their conduct had so much
that was suspicious about it that an active detective of the
Birmingham police, who was present, and who had been
watching them for nearly an hour, seeing that they took
apparently little interest in the magnificent spectacle that
was passing in their immediate neighbourhood, and that
they looked harder than, in his opinion, honest men
ought, at the watches and other trinkets so profusely dis-
played, advanced and took them into custody. The
strangers turned out to be Frenchmen, but their explana-
tions, whatever they were, being perfectly unintelligible
to the Birmingham officer, he conducted them into one of
the private offices of the building and searched them.
It was satisfactorily ascertained, by documents found on
them, that they were French police-officers, and a series
of mutual explanations, if they may be so termed where
neither understood the other, ensued. The strangers
were readily satisfied, and the Birmingham detective got
a practical lesson in the old Scotch proverb, that ' Hawks
munna pick out hawks' een.' "
The influx of visitors to the Exhibition, on Thursday,
was greater than ever, and the sum taken at the doors
could not have been much short of £2,000. This is of
course entirely the proceeds of the ss. entrance fee, and
does not include the large amount still accruing from the
sale of season tickets. All connected with the under-
taking are very naturally overjoyed with the success, in a
financial point of view, which thus attends it, and which
is manifested more and more decisively every day. The
improvement in the weather has acted with magical effect
upon the flow of visitors, and brought out the beauty and
fashion of London into Hyde-park just as sunshine
developes butterflies. They take possession of the Crystal
Palace in a manner which must make the Royal Commis-
sion have sundry misgivings about their power to keep it
in their own hands now, or to have it removed a few
months hence. The Executive Committee continue to
receive all kinds of applications front the country with
reference to the terms of admission when the low prices
commence. Among others, several clergymen have writ-
ten to them offering to bring up with them all their
parishioners in a body. Fox and Henderson are contem-
plating a grand entertainment of roast beef and plum-
pudding to be given by their foremen and chief workmen
to the workmen of foreign countries in the building. A
desire seems felt that every facility should be given to the
industrial classes to see and enjoy the magnificent spec-
tacle which their labour has created. The contractors for
the catalogue are selling about 10,000 copies of the small
catalogue per day—an enormous number when the bulk
of the volume is remembered. As yet only one part of
the larger work has appeared. A week has now passed
since the opening, yet France is still far behindhand, and
has many days more of preparation before her. In our
own division of the building a few things are creeping
into spots left unoccupied, or which at the last moment it
was found impossible to complete in time. Among these
was brought in and placed in the nave to-day a beautiful
model, executed• by Mr. Deighton, of Great College-
street, Westminster, of the interior of her Majesty's
Theatre. The decorations are all carefully represented,
and to the multitudes who throng the centre of the Crys-
tal Palace the work will convey a very accurate and pleas-
ing idea of the extremely light and elegant yet rich style
in which " Her Majesty" is fitted up.
On Thursday a communication by the electric telegraph
was completed between the Exhibition Building and
Buckingham Palace, the Admiralty, and the Chief Police
Station at Scotland-yard.

The Crystal Palace was for a moment exposed to de-
struction by fire on Thursday. The flue attached to a gas
stove in one of the offices of the contractors became
heated, and ignited a piece of wood with bunting which
rested upon or touched it. A piece of the burning cloth
fell into a small open cask of Indian corn, which stood,
as the Irish say, " convenient." All this mischief was
brewing in secret in the southern part of the colonial
collection on the east side. The drapery of the counter
concealed what had happened, and it was only when the
smoke began to break forth that an alarm was raised.
Fortunately such casualties have been foreseen and am-
ply provided for. There are no less than a dozen large
fire-engines within the building, besides an ample supply
of water easily obtainable, and a thoroughly organized
force ready to act at a moment's notice. The fire was
extinguished before it had time to do more than slightly
char one plank of wood, and no anxiety need be caused
by an occurrence so trifling.
On Monday the building was thronged with visitors
from the honr of opening till the gongs sounded at half-
past six in the evening. Some additional attractions were
displayed to public view in the southern galleries, includ-
ing a splendid counter of printed fabrics of all kinds,
artistically grouped. Towards the eastern end of this
gallery a huge stand, modestly veiled with green cloth,
hiding painfully-accurate anotomical specimens in wax,
excited general curiosity. Near this, the figure of a man,
with a broken leg, scientifically strapped, was remarkable ;
and a little further on, a man was busily employed through-
out the day blowing a pair of bellows, to fill the sails of
some model vessels, rigged with revolving masts. Late in
the afternoon, Prince Albert, attended by three or four
gentlemen, inspected some of the British compartments.
In the British machinery department, crouds surrounded
Applegarth's printing machine, which was working vigor-
ously, and with 'great noise. Visitors should bear in
mind that there is one entrance to the building exclusively
devoted to pedestrians, and that by entering at this end
they may avoid the unpleasant excitement of scrambling
between rows of carriages. The public may also be re-
minded that on Saturdays the building is not accessible to
visitors.

On Saturday morning the Queen and Prince Albert,
accompanied by their Royal guests, visited the Exhibi-
tion, and remained for nearly two hours. The illustrious
party examined carefully the jewels belonging to the
Queen of Spain, exhibited on the south side of the nave,
in the French division. They also inspected the Swiss
collection, and admired the fine display of artificial flowers
contributed by Constantin. They paid a visit to the
Sheffield Court, and minutely inspected Hoole's and
Stewart and Smith's grates. In the section of woollen
fabrics their attention was attracted to the specimens
shown there of Huddersfield, Bradford, and Leeds ma-
nufactures. The collection of cottons and linens were
also examined, and the Royal party took particular
notice of Mercer's new patent method far increasing
the brilliancy of colours, of Lydiard's chintzes, and
of the contributions of Black, of Glasgow. During
their stay they passed through the agricultural implement
department, in which her Majesty seemed to be most
interested by the display of churns and beehives. The
royal party appeared highly delighted with their visit. At
twelve o'clock the public were admitted to the building,
and flowed in with such eagarness that in the course of
the afternoon more than £l,BOO was taken at the d-nrs.
The Duke of Wellington is a frequent visitor at the
Exhibition. He was there on Saturday, and with Mrs.
Fox, the wife of the contractor, on his AM, examined
several of the departments. However crowded the spot
may be where his grace makes his appearance, a space is
immediately cleared for hlm, and, except the Queen her-
self, no royal personage could be treated with more
distinction.

The report of the King of Prussia being likely to visit
the Exhibition, in London, is without foundation.
The directors of the Atlas Insurance Compeny have
given four days leave of absence to each of their officers, to
enable them to see the Great Exhibition ; and the com-
pany will pay the cost of admission.
Twelve thousand sparrows, a French paper gravely
stated the other day, had been caught in Mr. Paxton's
glass cage; and the water, added the editor, wag oozing

throughthe. roof to such an extent that the workmen were
obliged to pursue their labour in small boats.

Several of the Glasgow teetotal bodies intend to charter
a steamer, and keep it running all the summer, so that
the passengers in each trip to the exhibition may use it as
a sleeping place during their London visits, and sally
forth every morning, like giants refreshed, after a night's
repose on the bosom of the Thames.
It is now stated that the " Chinese mandarin," who
paid such special saluhtion to her Majesty at the opening
of the Exhibition, and was so courteously received by all,
was none other than the cook of the Chinese junk lying
in the Thames, who had dressed himself up for the
occasion 1

On Monday, the price of admission to the Crystal Pa-
lace fell from £1 to 55., and, in consequence, the receipts
at the doors rose from £5OO to about £1,500 or £1,600.
The sale of season tickets also, to use the language of the
Stock Exchange, " continues active," and tb., total re-
ceipts of the Commission during the day considerably ex-
ceeded £2,000.
Amongst the novelties in costume at the Exhibition,
is a shoe which can be instantaneously converted from
white to black satin; and also, in the same manner, a
morning shoe of prunella or kid can be changed into a
satin shoe for evening wear. There is also a lady's boot
of peculiar construction, which, by naPlns of an artificial
instep, gives grace to an ill-formed foot.
It was noticed that in the " God save the Queen," as
in the " Hallelujah Chorus," the tones of Lablache's
voice were easily to be distinguished, as easily, indeed, in
the vast structure of the Crystal Palace as in the smaller
limits of the Opera House. It is likewise worthy of re-
mark that the tones of the great organ were made sensi-
ble at a distance of 1,800 feet, or thrice the length of the
longest cathedral.
London out of doors exhibits many symptoms of ex-
pecting illustrious strangers. One of these symptoms is
the vastly increased prevalence in shop windows of the

' notification, "Id on parle Francais." Also on the out-
side and on the signs of eating houses, taverns, and other
places of refection, the kind of cheer supplied within is
frequently announced in French or other foreign lan-
guage. " X X" has, in some instances, given place to
" Double Biere." In the Crystal Palace foreign exhibi-
tors have been equally complaisant in endeavouring to
make the explanations inscribed on their productions in-
telligible to English readers, and not always with more
success, as to accuracy, than the sign painters out of
doors. Some portable steps for a library, made to shut
up into a compact form, is explained in this style :—" One
begs to exhibit this staircase after this manner. ra---''To
shut this staircase, One draws the rail A over downwards.
One draws the arm B over upwards," &c. It must be
observed, however, that although these directions are
phrased in rather queer English, they are perfectly intel-
ligible, which is more than can always be said of instruc-
tions in a purer idiom.
It is an impression common with many persons fami-
liar with the metropolis, that London is less thronged
with busy crowds in its principal thoroughfares, and less
enlivened with aristocratic and gay equipages in its
fashionable squares and streets, than is usually the case at
this season of the year. It may be that the regular habi.
tues of the London season have, in a considerable propor-
tion, deferred their coming till after the opening of the
Exhibition ; and this supposition is confirmed by the very
general prevalence of painters at work on houses at the
West End, implying the expected advent of occupiers. It
is also certain that the parliamentary business of the ses-
sion has not been of such a nature as to bring up crowds
of railway representatives, with
i their numerous profes-
sional assistants, witnesses, &c., n the overwhelming rush
of previous years. Then, as regards the influx of visitors
to the Exhibition, the time has not yet arrived for the ad-
vent of The Million, who prudently wait for finer weather
and for the period of the shilling admission to the Crystal
Palace, which will commence on and after the close of
next week.