ease and enjoyment, or again, on the other hand, between political power and distinction and what he knew to be the welfare of the nation, his choice was made at once; and when his choice was once made, no man ever saw him hesitate-no man ever saw him hold back from that which was necessary to give it effect. And, Mr. Mayor, it is the last word which I will address to you when I say this, difficulty rouses himself. His voice is clear and musical, but wanting in tone and volume: it sounds somewhat like a voice clearly heard afar off. His countenance is that of a student, pale and intellectual; his eye is of remarkable depth, and might almost be described as fascinating. Like Disraeli, he wants dignity of gait, and slouches somewhat. But in the House of Commons, personal shortcomings such as these are thought light--may God grant that many of those who ly of. There men are esteemed for their brains, not for their muscles; else how were Lord John Russell's influence to be accounted for? We cannot better take leave of the illustrious subject of this brief sketch, than by quoting his own language, addressed to the people of Manchester a few weeks ago, on the occasion of unveiling the statue of Sir Robert Peel, erected in front of the Royal Infirmary there; and we do so chiefly on this account, that we believe the aims and objects of Sir Robert Peel's life, as thus described by Mr. Gladstone, are those which mainly animate and inspire himself. "It is easy," said he, " to enumerate many characteristics of the greatness of Sir Robert Peel. It is easy to speak of his ability, of his sagacity, of his indefatigable industry; but, great as were the intellectual powers of Sir R. Peel, if you will allow me, as one who may call myself his pupil and his follower in politics, to bear my witness, this I must say, that there was something greater still in Sir Robert Peel-something yet more admirable than the immense intellectual endowments with which it had pleased the Almighty to gift him—and that was, his sense of public virtue-it was his purity of conscience-it was his determination to follow the public good-it was that disposition in him which, when he had to choose between personal shall traverse this crowded thoroughfare, as it in a country that has a great and beneficial part to play in the designs of Providence for the improvement and advancement of mankind." THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.-Appropriate ly does Dr. Lardner quote the singularly beautiful words of Job" Canst thou send the lightnings that they may go and say unto Thee, Here we are!" Job xxxviii. 35. The Electric Telegraph Company alone have now organized communications over 4,625 miles of country--this involves the use of 25,233 miles of wire. In the six months ending June 30, 1854, they had received £62,435. The telegraphic wires of various companies now reach from Aberdeen in the north to Viterbe and Corsica in the south. From Cork in the west to Lemburg and New Orsova in may In our Indian instan From Chambers's Journa THE PARIS EXPOSITION. THE last stone is being laid of the Universal Exhibition of Paris, and the masons, having little more to do, are beginning to admire their handiwork, giving a finishing touch here and there, and anticipating public applause. As yet, however, few persons have been admitted behind the scenes, and curiosity is becoming more eager every day. It is not satisfied with seeing, through breaks in a screen of trees, portions of a beautiful edifice occupying that vast space, the Carré Marigny-formerly covered on Sundays and fête days with crowds, busy in search of amusement amidst shows and whirligigs, and booths and tables, where sweetmeats and playthings were gambled for. It now wants to pry into the internal arrangements of the building, and sit in judgment upon them. Being one of the inquisitive, I recently sought admission within the awful precincts of the boarding which keeps the mysteries of the work secret from the vulgar gaze; and hav ing obtained a ticket, not only got a better view of the exterior, but penetrated into the interior, and examined all its details to my heart's content. The result of my experiences seemed to me worth noting down, especially as by the kindness of one of the contractors, an Englishman, Mr. Yorke -I was furnished with a few figures, and some information of an interesting character. Most persons, doubtless, have heard of the Champs Elysées; but for the benefit of those who have not yet seen them, it may be necessary to say that they form a kind of urban sylvan place of resort, extending between the Place de la Concorde, the Avenue Marigny, and the Seine, but scarcely occupying so large an area as St. James's Park. There is, however, no grass to be seen; and delightful as the shade of the trees may be on a summer-day, the hot and barren ground, trodden hard by innumerable feet, is anything but agreeable to the eye. Fountains are erected here and there, with occasionally a restaurant or a café, where in the afternoon loungers congregate, and sip some cooling beverage; or later in the day, take dinner, coffee, and the inevitable petit verre. At in tervals, open spaces occur, to which the French give the name of carrés, or squares. The largest of these was the Carré Marigny, once, as we have said, the chief rendezvous of pleasure-seekers, where French infants, and infantine French of all ages, were wont to while away the time in the last hours of the long days, and the first hours of the short nights, made balmy and cool by air breathing from the neighboring Seine. This fine open area used to be periodically occupied by a temporary building, containing the Exhibition of French Industry. It has now been permanently appropriated as the site of a solid edifice of stone, iron, and glass, not without a sigh and an occasional com plaint from the old habitués of the place. They say that the choice of this spot is disastrous, and speaking eloquently, exclaim: "It is the condemnation to death within a given time of that magnificent public promenade which Europe envied us the Corso, the Grand Cours, as it was first called, the delight of which Paris appreciated so much, that the poetical name of the Champs Elysées was assigned to it. Bounded on the north by the hotels of the Faubourg St Honoré, it obtained air only from the south, in which direction its lofty clusters of trees spread to the borders of the Seine. The new Palace of Industry suppresses all this-air, space, prospect. It stifles this beautiful promenade, and transforms it into something like a boulevard. In a few years, the Champs Elysées will, indeed, be nothing else than a prolonged boulevard." These lamentations are perhaps a little exaggerated, and are always repeated whenever any change, whether improvement or not, is made in the public promenades of Paris. The principal façade of the Palace of Industry is turned toward the north; and from the north I first approached it. In the centre a large quadrangular pavilion projects some thirty or forty feet in advance of the body of the building. A deep arch, spanning nearly two-thirds of the height of the pavilion, and flanked by double Corinthian columns, with corresponding fluted pilasters, gives a bold expression to the entrance. Over the pedi- | ment, on the summit of the building, a group of colossal dimensions is placed. A statue of France, standing erect, with arms outstretched, as if in the act of touching at the same moment the utmost confines of the earth, is the principal figure. Beneath her sit, in a humble position, two other figures, representing the Genii of Arts and Commerce. The allegory intended to be conveyed is not difficult of interpretation; and perhaps the presumption may create a smile in some. hidden by houses, than is this temple of industry by trees. At each of the four corners is another quadrangular pavilion, named after its position-Pavilion du Nord-est, Pavilion du Sud-est, Pavilion du Nord-ouest, Pavilion du Sud-ouest. There is another on the south side of the Palace, which corresponds with the one on the north. In these pavilions are the staircases which lead from the great body of the building to the galleries, and also rooms, which, it is said, will be appropriated to refreshments. Before going into the interior, it may be as well to observe, for fear of forgetting it, that the entire length of the building is at least 800 feet, and its width 350: it will at once be seen how inferior in size the Palais de l'Exposition Universelle of Paris is to that which now occupies so majestically the summit of Sydenham Hill. At the extremities of the pavilion, on either side of this group, the arms of France and the reigning family have been carved out of huge blocks of stone, and serve in lieu of turrets. Appropriate sculptures and bassreliefs have been distributed over the surface of the façade, and add wonderfully to its richness and elegance. Every effort has An attempt has been made in the construcbeen made to take advantage of the oppor- tion of the present edifice, to combine the tunity offered for doing justice to men of advantages of what may be termed the two genius who have advanced the cause of sci- materials of modern architecture-iron and ence by their labors, or established an emi- stone. The success of Sir Joseph Paxton's nent reputation as contributors to the world design at once opened the eyes of the world of literature and of art. On either side of to the extraordinary efficiency of iron as a the grand arch which forms the entrance, principal material in the construction of vast are inscribed the names of Pliny, Vitruvius, buildings. But Paris abounds in stonePhidias, Apelles, Archimedes, amongst the stone of a beautiful whiteness, and, after a ancient; and of François Arago, Monthyon, short exposure to the air, of considerable Vauban, Bertrand, and Canova, amongst the hardness. The hills that encircle it are modern; whilst beneath these inscriptions pierced by innumerable quarries, and it is to are suspended medallions, containing portraits this fact that this beautiful capital is indebted in bass-relief of these same persons. A simi- for its reputation as a queen among cities. lar compliment is paid to celebrated men of The idea, then, of erecting an edifice entirely every country, whose names are sculptured of metal was abandoned; and it was deterin letters of gold along the cornice that sur- mined to see how well the two could agree rounds the building, but are too numerous to together, each sharing equally in the conbe inserted here. Shields, emblazoned with struction. Accordingly, the exterior walls the arms of upwards of 250 of the principal were made of solid blocks of stone, whilst towns of France, with their names engraved the fittings-up of the interior- the roofing on a bar traversant, are placed as ornaments and the galleries, were formed of iron. How between the intervals of the arched windows, far the trial has succeeded, must be decided and fill up with an agreeable commemoration when the whole is completed. Notwithstandthe otherwise blank space. Paris, Lille, Rouen, ing that the four walls of this great parallelNantes, Lyons Bourdeaux, Toulouse, and Mar-ogram are pierced by nearly 400 windows, seille, first in commercial and manufacturing importance, as in size and population, naturally occupy the post of honor, and grace the chief façade. The leafless, winterly state of the trees, enabled me to take in at a glance the size and proportions of the building. But, unfortunately, so closely do the branches press down upon and envelope it on every side, that when the summer returns and decks them with broad shadowing leaves, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a view of the entire Palace. St. Paul's is not more completely there is still a great heaviness about the tout ensemble. The recollections of the airy proportions in the deep nave, and the open transept of the Palace in Hyde Park, with its walls of glass, may perhaps have predisposed one to receive with a kind of disappointment any falling off in these particulars. But I must confess, invidious as it may seem, that the idea which the interior of the present building conveys to the mind, is that of a huge warehouse or railway station. The unfinished state in which I found the interior may have also, in some measure, have pre vented me from enjoying a correct appreci- | to the present year created considerable disation of its future beauties. Upon the thresh- appointment, prodigious efforts have been old of the entrance there were numerous put forth to hasten its completion. Not less workmen finishing off a boss here, chiseling a rose there, and smoothing down the rough surface of the stone with their scrapers, or polishing a marble slab in another place. Scaffolding remained at various points; and in several quarters the unlevelled earth continued still as it was when heavy carts passed along, and ploughed it into deep ruts. The interior is divided into two sections a vast well-lighted hall, and a corridor which entirely surrounds it, over which ranges the gallery. The height of the lofty glazed roof from the ground is between seventy and eighty feet, while the width of the gallery is about sixty feet. Already the demands for space made by the English exceed the area of the grand hall. than 300,000 cubic feet of stone have been used in the construction of the Palace; and when the works first commenced, 1000 men were employed in bringing daily upon the ground 400 tons. The weight of iron used is also enormous, since it has been determined that no bare security shall satisfy the consciences of the inspectors of public safety, In the Palace of Sydenham, for a surface of 78,459 yards, 9641 tons of that metal were employed; whilst in the Palace of the Champs Elysées, 8100-tons have been supplied for a surface of 45,140 yards only. If there ever was for a moment a suspicion as to the strength of the girders and pillars of the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, for the purposes for which they were used, and the crowds of people they would have to support, in the The whole of the decorations of the interior of the Palace are undertaken by the gov-present instance all apprehension may be laid ernment, who appoint their own artists and aside, especially as former experience has furnish their own designs. It was determin- thus rendered assurance doubly sure. But ed, accordingly, to paint the whole in differ- the French are not very calculating in their ent grays, all of them approaching to stone application of means to bring about an end; color. This may in some measure account and not unfrequently a force fifty fold above for the sombre appearance of the hall, and what is necessary, is introduced to move a its want of lightness. The reason for adopt- small weight. The same thing may be obing this mode of coloring is, that colors served in their draught, either at the cart or too bright detract from objects exhibited; the plough. Often more horses than are reand it is objected to the Owen-Jones system quired are harnessed together, and thus a of coloring-blue, red, and white which great waste of power is incurred. It must was used in the decoration of the Crystal also be confessed, that the French sometimes Palace, Hyde Park, that whilst people ought to have been admiring the beautiful products of art and commerce, their attention was seduced away too much by the brightness and gayness of the decorations, no less than by the airiness and lightness of the building. Perhaps the sombre cast of the present coloring will be relieved by the two painted windows by Maréchal, which are to be insert- The Palais de l'Exposition was more than ed in the eastern and western ends. How-two-thirds finished, when, upon a new calcuever, where the decorative talent of the lation of its size, strength, and capacity, it French has an opportunity of developing itself, there it will still be found vigorous and healthy. The stone staircases that lead from the ground floor to the galleries are very fine; so is the ceiling that covers them; whilst the flooring of the highest landing-place is formed of different colored marbles, inlaid so as to produce a picture. In other parts, the pavement is tesselated. A series of medallions, by M. Devers, of great men, will adorn the principal staircase. Although the Exhibition building was originally intended to be finished by the May of 1854, and the postponement of the event err on the other side; and that much apparent cruelty has been exhibited during the recent improvements and embellishments of the city, from the insufficiency of motivepower used to draw the huge lumbering wagons and massive blocks of stone that may every day be seen obstructing the general traffic of the streets. was found to be too small for the purposes for which it was intended. An Exposition. Universelle, to which all the world was invited, and expected to contribute, it was contended, ought to have ample space to exhibit itself. The great hall alone contained only room enough to meet the demands of the British-probably they were exorbitant in their demands; and although the other nations might not compete so extensively, it was thought proper that Paris should be able to meet all the wishes of her friends, provided they were confined within reasonable limits. Accordingly, two supplementary buildings time. were run up-one along the borders of the might be devoted to prepare something great What the artists may be doing in England Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Egypt, the |