The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-06-29

1
in front of the garden of the Trocadero, and
between the English and French sections. On
the French side it Is to be adorned with the
eX- Jewels of the crown, for there being now
neither king nor emperor the jewels must be
SO termed) and the products Of Gobelns and
Sevres When these are well in their places,
| | hope to describe them but since France is
still in dishabillc in the grand entrance hall,
we must pay our respects to England who is
ready to receive. Let us approach and see
what people are looking at with all their
eyes" The objects of their admiration are les
diamants de pAngleterre. Eight policemen,
French and English keep guard over them
might and day, Queen Victoria, up to the last
moment held back from sending this part Of
her rcgalia, and is undertood to have yielded
to the pressure of Lord Granville, Disraeli
and the Prince of Wales, who has made him
self very popular in France by the prominent
part he has taken in the Exhibition. The Gu
riosity Of the French ladies was so great dur.
ing the first weeks of May that in pressing
against each other to look well at the Won
drous gems, they broke through the case shell
tering them. To prevent a recurrence of this
kind of thing, the diamonds are now placed
on Il low platform, square at the base, and rising
with steps around in the form Of truncated
pyramid. On the top of the platform is low
railing to protect the glitterng treasures which
consist Of couple of diadems, some neck
laces, clasps, buckles, rings and hair-pins.
The largest Of the diadems is worn by the
Queen when she holds court at Buckingham
Palace. 1t is formed Of eightyslx briliants
of different sizes, and many large diamonds of
the purest water, The central one extinguish.
es the radiance of all the others as the rising
sun pales the stars, or as an electric hight puts
out gas lamp. Who has not heard of it
1t Is the famous KohinoOr \ legend is at
tached to this mountain of light" TO possess
which, according to the tradition, is to be
bighted. Uneasy is the head that wears it.
Bad luck is bound TO go with it. The Queen
Of England has not broken the evil charm,
the Prince Consort having since she placed it
in her diadem been cut off from her side in
prime. The Kandervassy, in the
second coronet, is larger than the Kohinoor,
and would be three more valuable were it not
for a little flaw, visible only to the eye of the
practised expert. The other gems III this Orn-
ament are diamonds and emeralds, every one
of which is without a blemish. A superb en-
erald, the purest and most beautiful that is
known, Is set in the middle of the necklace
which the Queen has sometimes allowed her
daughters to wear at Ycat solemnites.
The rest of the FestjJule u Honneur be-
tween the diamonds of the British crown and
the Canadian trophy is taken up by the pres
ents which the prince of Wales brought back
from India. The Indian section of the Eng
lish side of the Exhibition is where ladies of
rank most congregate 1t presents many at
fractions. Not to speak of the Prince of
Wales pirtU collection, there are the Cingalcsc
show, and the beautiful Purdon
Clark Pagoda in which Cashmere shawls ar
displayed; not to speak {" the terrace, with
its easy benches, and gardens beyond, all
abloom with azalias and May flowers
Indian shawls are now made to suit the os-
tentatious taste of rich French ladies, who give
the ten to the fair sex wherever fashion Jour
nal penetrates. 1t used to be the boast of the
manufacturers that their shawls were fine
enough to pass through IA wedding ring This,
of course, was figure of speech; but the In
dian shawl OF the Empress Josephines time
had centre of the most eXqusitely fine Cash
mere wool, with a thickly woven and embroi-
dered edge. 1t draped the figure charmingly
and could be worn without inconvenience in
warm weather. What we see here does not
form elegant drapery, it being thick all over.
The shawl which used to be so fine, 81 soft so
flexible, Is of the texture OF a Smyrna carpet,
or more suitable for a table cover than to he
thrown over a lady's shoulders. But as it is
patent that ii costs a mint of money to extend
the heavy pattern of the border over the whole
garment, ungraceful heaviness is preferred to
graceful lightness. The article which passed
through the wedding ring is unknown 10 the
trade, and only to be found in few private
museums. NJ. Lucien Double possesses one
which was given by Napoleon |. 10 the Ouch
ess Arbanter, afterwards stolen from her Shout
der at review in the Place du Carrousel. but
recovered by the police of Fouche. 4 man.
moth shawl, large enough, one would say, to
wrap up carriagefull of sulianas, attracts
Ewes daughters who are lost in wonder at its
Originality. Given the subject worked out up
ON il, an inhabitant of British India alone
could have invested it with decorative beauty.
What is the subjects Why bird's-eye view
of the chief town of Cashmere, in which not
street. bazaar house, garden, monument or
suburban grove is omitted The river with its
old picturesque bridges, winds through the
city A biri'seye view OF one of the manu-
featuring towns of New England, done on a