The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-04-08 00:00:00

THE GREAT EXHIBITION.

It is reported that theßOMiiii Catholics have engaged
the Hanover-square .Rooms, for Sunday services, during
the period of the Exhibitian.
Much of the. wet which caused`-"alarnii'lit the
,Crystal'was aslOtted,:throuo broken •panes of *lima, of
which there ireto.-icheti-leit counted, not less than-2.000:
TwO'Chinese merchants, Ahung and Ry, have arrived
at Berlin, on their way, to visit the Exhibition. They
have preferred the overland journey through Russia'to
the sea voyage which some of their associates are making
in a junk. _
The large 'room, Eireter Hall; his•been taken by Dis•
senters for Divine worship, and preaching in the English
language, on Saturdays, during the Exhibition, for the
accommodation of visitors from the provinces and from
America. : • '

The Pope and the King of Naples are unwilling that
their subjects shall visit the Exhibition in London. The
former has determined to grant only a limited number of
passports ; but the latter has evinced a great disinclina-
tion to permit any passports to be used for that object.
Mr. Brown, perfumer, of Bat'n. has prepared a peruke
of a novel description for the Great. Exhibition. It is
made without a single stieh, being entirely fabricated of
hair. 670.000 hairs are all worked in separately, and the
weight of the whole is no more than half an ounce. A
new and peculiar sort of spring, by which to secure it
upon the head of the wearer, has been fitted to it.
_

CARPETS FOR THE GREAT EXHIBITION.—The local
exhibition of articles intended for the World's Fair, in
Hyde Park, was held in Messrs. Henderson's new carpet.
weaving shed, Back-lane. The appearance of this noble
edifice attracted general attention, not only on account
of its great extent, but from the admirable lightness and
beauty of its proportions. It. is said to be the largest
structure devoted to the specific purpose of carpet-weav-
ing to be met with in England. and Is, we understand,
but one of a series which this enterprising firm contem-
plate erecting for the purplse of carrying on their large
and widely-extended trade. The present building, which
has just been completed, was designed by P. C. Hard-
wicke, Esq., the architect of the New Hall, and, seems in
every respect admirably adapted for the object in view.
The room is 164 feet long, by 76 broad, and is about 30
feet high.. It has two roofs with lanterns, which give it
an extremely light and elegant appearance. The roofs
are supported in the centre by a row ;of iron pillars, so
placed as to occupy but little room, and not at all to in
with the operations of the workmen,• In the
entire construction of this spacious salle des ourriers, the
greatest attention has been paid to the health and com-
fort of the workmen. Durham has certainly not much to
boast of, either in regard to the extent or variety of its
contributions. Our cheval de batlaille will undoubtedly
be the carpets exhibited t y Messrs. Henderson, in which,
whether for beauty of design or delicacy of workmanship,
we may fairly challenge comparison with the most cele-
brated of our rivals.--Durham Advertiser.
A•VASE OF SHELLFLOWERS FOR THE EXHIBITION.—
A. very large and splendid vase of shell flowers, destined for
the Great. Exhibition, has been on view at Manchester.
The story of its extremely ingenious and tasteful fabri-
cator is interesting. She is a poor woman, upwards of
40 years of age, and formerly laboured for years far below
ground, in a coal-pit. She had the misfortune to fall
down the shaft, a great depth, and sustained severe and
lasting injury. Subsequently, she married a poor fisher-
man of Southport, and is the mother of eleven children,
eight of whom are still living and around her. With
such a family; andher husband's small earnings, life must
have been a long continuous struggle. But it is said
necessity is the mother of invention, and taste, like
poetry, is often' inborn. Her first attempt to contribute
to the support of the family was, by making little models
of cottages, churches, &c., and adorning them with sand
and shells gummed upon the surface. With the money
thus earned, she tried to form bhel I • fio wers, but only in
a small way, and with limited means, and by no means
good materials ; till one day her husband came home after
a severe storm, and mentioned that he had found and left
on the beach a branch of a true covered with what he
called barnacles adhering to it. She requested him to
bring it home, as she thought she could make something
of it. She found the shells to be of a kind offering ex-
cellent material for the construction of flowers. Each
pair (bi-valve) consists of two large and two smaller over-
lapping plates, and one long taper proboscis-like filament
of shell. These her husband procures for her in large
quantities ; and, having cleansed them and made them
beautifully white, this ingenious and wholly self-taught
artist proceeds to construct flowers from natural models,
with a taste and judgment which would be rich gifts in
any station of life, but which, under the circumstances,
are most extraordinary in a poor fisherman's wife. In a
rich and elegant porcelain vase, are grouped together,
with exquisite taste, both as to elegance of forms and
harmony of colours, a large collection of exotic and other
choice flowers, mingled with wild flowers, and the blos-
soms of some of our flowering plants, trees, and hedges.
We do not profess to be able to name all ; but amongst
them are admirable specimens of the passion-flower, the
large white and the yellow water-lily, the chrysanthemum,
dahlia, ranunculus, anemone, moss and other roses, all
arranged with great taste, and interwoven with many of
the more graceful pensile blossoms, as the fuchsia, labor
num, sweet pea, and even the hawthorn blossom, and the
foliage and cones of the fir. The foot of the vase is , en-
circled with a simply elegant wreath of the hedge or briar
rose. The stems and leaves are procured from the makers
of artificial flowers in London ; and the artist has also
procured thence the pigments with which she tints the
flowers with so much delicacy, and -accuracy as to make
them closely resemble nature:
COUR7'.AND FASHION.

According to the present arrangements the Court will
leave Buckineham Palace for Windsor Castle on the 16th
instant. Her Majesty will remain at Windsor a fortnight,
and then return to Buckineham Palace. The Queen, it is
expected, will also visit Windsor during the Ascot race-
week.

Her Majesty visited the Haymarket Theatre on Friday,

THE QUEEN'S DRAWING-Rooll.—The Queen held a
Drawing-room on Wednesday afternoon, in St. James's
Palace. It was the first public reception for ladies.this
season, and was brilliantly and numerously attended.
Her Majesty wore a white gros de Naples train, trimmed
with white crape and white bugles, and ornamented with
diamonds; petticoat of white gros de Naples, trimmed
with white crape and white bugles. Head-dress, white
feathers and diamonds. Mrs. Cardwell wore a train of
blue moire, trimmed with Mechlittlaoet-petticoat of em-
broidered tarlatan over satin. Heati-dress,tfeathers and
lace lappets; ornaments, diamonds,- •Lady Eltanley wore
a train of rich grey and white looeadet ',trimmed with
Brussels lace ; white crape skirt ovtvglace, trimmed with
Brussels lace and bouquets a pittkisatid•white cactus.
Head-dresQ, feathers and lace lappets; -ornaments, dia-
monds. Mrs. Gladstone wore a train of brocaded sea-
green silk, of Spitalfields manufacture, lined with white
glace, and trimmed with magnificent Mechlin lace; pet-
ticoat of rich white brocaded silk ; body and sleeves a la
Louis XV., richly trimmed with Mechlin, lace to corre-
spond. Head7dress, ostrich feathers, lace lappets, and
diamonds.