The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-05-16
The Peabody Portrait rthe Oneen.

The Peabody Portrait of the Queen,
AS a slight acknowledgment of his munih.
cent benefactions to the poor of London, the
Queen of England rendered to George Peabody,
Esq, the order ofknghthood. But Mr.. Peabody
still considered himself an American citizen,
and for years had been looking forward to the
time when he should return TO his native
land to end his days in peace and quiet He
therefore, felt obliged to decline the offer of
knighthood from her Majesty, who, respecting
the motive which prompted him to do So was
still inclined to manifest in a substantial man
ner her appreciation of his generosity This
was the occasion of her presentation to Mr.. Pea
body of portrait of herseif-and the act was
not without significance, as it was the first In
stance in which she had conferred such q favor
upon private citizen.
The portrait arrived in this country some time
since, and was formally presented to Mr.. Pea
body at the residence of the British Minister in
Washington just previous to the recent depar-
tuTe of the former for England. We published
yesterday correspondence between several of
our most prominent citizens and Mr.. Peabody,
relative to the exhibition of the portrait in this
city, the response of Mr. Peabody consenting to
the proposition, on the condition that one-half
OF the proceeds should be devoted to the
Southern Relief Fund, while the committee
having the matter in hand were authorized to
designate such local charities they might
deem proper as the recipients of the remaining
portion. In accordance with this programme,
the portrait has arrived in this city, and we
had the pleasure this morning of examining it.
Tomorrow it will be thrown open to the public,
between the hours of A. NJ. and p NJ. only,
as it is to be deposited in the vault of a bank
during the remainder of the time.
The place Of exhibition is the second-story
frnnt nf hn toh 1iShT ant of
James S. Earle Sons, at No. SIG Chestnut street
The room is appropriately draped in dark
brown colors, the stand which supports the
portrait being placed opposite the window
where there is an excellent light. The back
ground of this stand is OF dark red silk, with
stripes of blue and of white, blue and red, radi-
ating IN alienation from the centre 1t is sur.
rounded by loose drapery of red silk, with
blue band the margin, and a heavy
fringe Of silver. The drapery is looped above
| and below, with a red rosetle and silver cords
| and tassels the upper corners being decorated
with the American and British flags Sur
mounting the whole Is large cushion Of red
| silk, on which rests the imperial crown, in gilt
On either side of this is heavy gilded mace, the
| two being connected with a chain of medallions,
| the lower one of which bears the inscription of
| ''Honi soft Quf mai y penSe." From this depends
gilded figure of st. George and the Dragon
| for the manner in which they have arranged
| these surroundings of the famous portrait, and
| the taste they have displayed renders them
| fully in keeping with the central object of
| attraction.
| The portrait has frequently been described in
| the newspapers, but not one of these descrip p
| tions has been written by one who has seen it,
| and they have all, therefore, been more or less
in the wrong. The Queen is represented at a
/ ,fNa
| ture, with a background of panel work, ana
| small table at her left The entire painting
| is but eight inches in width, and ten in length,
| but it is sufficiently large to permit the
| artist to give what has been pronounced
| by herself to be the most perfect likeness
aiken of her in late years She is arrayed in
| the only robes of state which she has worn
| since the death of the Prince Consort, being
| those in which she appeared at the recent
| opening of Parliament The dress is Of black
| silk, trimmed with spotted ermine, and long
train ofblack velvet, similarly adorned, demi-
| crown is worn over her Marie Stuart cap, the
Koh-i-noor and a rich jewelled cross, a present
from Prince Albert, constituting her only orna-
ments. over the entire costume is thrown a
white Widows veil and altogether the royal
parsonage has impaired to her a very queen
like presence. On the lower margin of the por-
trait to the left, is the name of the artist who
executed it-Frederick Arnaud Tilt-with the
date, 1867, annexed.
The frame in which the portrait is set is
thirty by thirty-two inches in dimensions, and
displays the most costly material and the most
elaborate workmanship. There are several
circles of pure gold richly chased, surrounding
the portrait, and inlald with light blue vel
vet and two shades of maroon of the same
material On either side. encrcled by an
open wreath, is a represen tatiou of the
rose, thistle. and shamrock, all wrought
in pure gold. Above the portrait is the
coat Of arms OF the House of Guelph, the
four quarters of the shield displaying harp,
one lion rampant and six lions PEASANT, with the
motto, "Dieu et Mon Droit" Above this shield
which is likewise of solid gold, is a golden
crown, in high relief of the same material, Below
the portrait there is another gold shield, bear.
ing an inscription in red and black, designated
by the Queen, and containing the following
words-
presented by the
QUEEN
to GEoRGE PEABODY ESQ.,.
the Beneactor of the Poor OF