Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-06-26
WY, MINNESOTA, THURSDAY, JUNE 2G, 1873
TIIE ALEXANDRA PALACE.

MY, MINNESOTA, T
THE ALEXANDRA PALACE.
It's <;ru mi Opening Sc nd Destruction Nv
From til" N. Y. Graphic.
Tho Alcxandr:. Palace at Muswcll
Hill, near London, Of which u faithful
illustration appears elsewhere. was de-
Stroycd by fire on Monday. involving a
loss OF nearly $4,000, 900. It is, rs it's
name indicntes, named. in compliment
20 the Princess Alexandra, wife of the
Prince Of Wales. The Lonlon Spec-
tator, describing its grand opening ON
tho 9th of May last, thus speaks of the
crowd of notablcs in attendance. and
OF the tsverish expectancy displayed to
vie" hidden beauties and treasures
of r:
There was some discomfort to he
surmounted in the first instance by
those who had been bcguiled into
going down early 10y the announcement
that "thc Park y would be opened to
the public at ten o'clock, and who
found that the beauties of the Park
as yet in tho dawn of existence, and
impaired by an encampment of vans,
"shays," and gigs-werc exhaustible,
except for tho beautiful view, by the
most ardent spectator, in about ten
minutes. Not until twelve might these
malcontents pass the policeman
guarded portals, around which they
hummed and buzzed, struggling for
peeps, which revealed a few yards Of
wet flooring, several stout, rough deaf
and some struggling employees in u
slate bordering ON distraction. At noon
| exactly there came trooping into the
Palace an immense crowd, which
III 4 short time swarmed all over the
building, receiving liberal augmenta.
tons up to the commencement of the
concert, the chief feature of the day,
10y which time tue assemblagc had
attained enormous dimensions. Seen
from point of the gallery near the
great organ, the sudden tumultuous
filling of the spacious building by a
gaily-dressed multitule-the women
seemed to be i'll n vast maj ority-was
an impressive and pleasant spectacle,
but the simplicity of the affair was in
marked contrast to the "inaugura-
tions, which have abounded of late
years. Some guns were fired, but they
were inaudiblc inside the building;
there was no procession, no speech
making; not SO much as tcnth-cousin-
german Of the Royal Family was pres
ent so there was no backing and no
1rn,l Grammar oirou1ot;r,,, ~,yoe,
peded, everybody was at liberty to
pick out royal princes and princcsscs
among tho hats and bonncts which
made brief appearances in places sup
posed to be privileged, and to point
them out with unhesitating accuracy to
their neighbors. At half
past two the luncheon and dining
rooms we're denscly crowded with a
maddened multitude, desperate be-
tween hunger and u fear of being
shut out from tho concert. A few
minutes more, and the music of the
National Anthem was pea]ing through
the building, the organ and the
orchestra producing an almost over
whelming effect, and the whole scene
WIS one which even the hungry must
have enjoyed. The bcwildering
costumes of the ladies, however
their profusion of details and outra-
geous colors may render them int!i-
vidually tastelcss ami even ridiculous,
looked very well II. asasse III the great
space Of the centre transcpt, and
lighted up by bright sunshine, while
the beautiful display Of flowers in the
nave gave all possible richness and
dclicacy to the general effect of color.
OF the palace the same journal says:
ut is Il very handsome building. and,
though one glances upwards mechanic
ally, looking for the lofty glass roof
which is not there, and feels in that
moment that one has hardly understood
the beauty and grandeur of the Crystal
Palace before, it grows upon ones
liking. At first it seems heavy, and
the perpetual encountering Of trans
verse iron poles Ill many directions is
annoying, but by degrees it's proper
| tions please; and when one stands in
the center. looks up into the dome, at
once grand and elegant, and takes in
the great span of the roof anu the long
lines of the galleries, a strong sense Of
beauty comes with the inspection.
The details arc almost all good,
the coloring Of :he walls OF the
dome and of the roof very
delicate and effective; but the dull
brown of the orchestra benches-it was
afterwards happily hidden by their
occu .'ants-injures the lightsomc, re-
fined effect of the great organ, which
is beautiful object. The pipes Of
SILVER grey, pale blue and gold, lightly
touched i'll Il sober pattern at the base
with vivid scarlet, confront and blend
with the hucs Of the great window at
the end, those of the over-arching
roof, most happily; while the groups
OF tall tropical plants and cleaning
white statuary, tistefully disposed ut
the sides, lend just the requisite shade
and GOODNESS. 1t is provoking, where
so much care and taste are displayed,
to observe such discord in color as
that which offends the eye i'll the
fitting up of the togg,c at the respect.
i've corner of the galleries i'll
front Of the orchestra. The purple
lining to the galleries, whose ornamcn-
tation is red and blue all along their
line, is sufficiently trying, aud the stiff,
artificial garl;ln.ls, us ungraceful us
they arc unreal, might he removed
with advantage. But these arc minor
blcmislcs iii comparison with the
hanging of heavy, dark purple curtains
the most lightlcss and absorbent of
shades, against wall paper OF l'a"hluc,
above crimson drapcr,rs, and finishing
the harsh contrast with coarse, faring,
yellow worsted fringe. Among the
permanent decorations there arc sew
er'l very pretty mc'lalllons inserted
above tho .corriccs Of the entrance
doors. They are white relicfs on blue,
and look like Wetlgewood ware II was
hardly day OIL which to. OH
serve tho details of the Pal
ace as place of exhibition,
especially, as the great nave was occu-
pied 10y the faircst and statclicst of
visitors, nzalcas, rosc$ wonderful
tropical ferns, and by superb display
of palms fand ..othcr plants from the
Lands of the Sun. The standard Of
Flanders azalca, and Il Ba,atloes fern
from Sir i. Goldsmid's houses, like !,
pyramid OF dclicale frilled fans sus-
pended by the finest threads, attracted
the attention Of the multitude, even
amid ill tho novelty Of the scene. The
music WIS admirably selected and
supcrbly performed, but tho result OF
the concert was Il confirmation of the
verdict against great open spaces used
! II