EXTRACT FROM "TRUTH." "I saw an American lady at the International Fur Store the other day trying on a sealskin ulster that had been made for her. It fitted as mathematically as the fur had done its original owner." PRIZE MEDALLISTS, INTERNATIONAL HEALTH EXHIBITION. THE INTERNATIONAL FUR STORE, 163 REGENT STREET, LONDON. (Two doors from New Burlington Street.) T. S. JAY, Manager. opposite to the last named, in St James's Park), and Kensington Palace, have no one character about them which would strike a chance observer as palatial. St James's is only used for state receptions and ceremonials, and Kensington has long since ceased to be the abode of royalty. BUCKINGHAM PALACE, at the western end of the park, commenced by George IV., and finished only in the present reign, is a really fine building, and the town residence of the Queen. The best point of view of Buckingham Palace is at the head of the lake, nearest the Horse Guards. (The magnificent state-coach and the horses may be seen in the Mews adjoining this palace, by an order procured from the Master of the Horse). The apartments of the palace are not shown. KENSINGTON PALACE, the birthplace of Queen Victoria, an edifice of no special interest, is at the western end of Kensington Gardens. THE NEW PALACE AT WESTMINSTER, or THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, are best seen en musse from the river. The chambers in which the debates are carried on can be seen on Saturdays by orders obtainable at the Lord Chamberlain's office, in the court next to the Victoria Tower. To attend the debates in the House of Lords, a peer's order is necessary; for those in the House of Commons, a member's order; either is generally obtainable on application through the messengers. When Law appeals are going on in the House of Lords of which notices appear in the newspapers, no formality is required to enter it, as it is an open court. The decorations of the chambers of both the Lords and Commons are exceedingly profuse and costly. The Victoria Tower, the most conspicuous erection in the Metropolis, is 75 ft. square, and 346 ft. high. The Clock Tower, near Westminster Bridge, is 40 ft. square and 340 ft. high. Its clock face is 23 ft. in diameter; and the bell on which the hours are struck weighs more than 8 tons. The two chambers can be best reached through Westminster Hall, which is 270 ft. long by 74 ft. wide. This hall is famous for the important trials which have taken place in it. Charles I. was here tried and condemned; and here Cromwell was proclaimed Lord Protector. Within eight years afterwards his body was torn from its resting-place in Westminster Abbey, and his head was exposed on one of the pinnacles of Westminster Hall where it remained for thirty years. In this hall William Wallace was condemned to death, and here took place the famous trial of Warren Hastings, which lasted seven years. At the east end of the hall, at the left, a stairway leads to St Stephen's Crypt, originally erected by King Stephen, and recently restored. The higher Courts of Law have been removed to the new Law Courts. In the corridor through which the "Houses" are entered, are some good statues of distinguished statesmen of various periods. The frescoes in the Peers Corridor and the Commons Corridor, eight in each, are very interesting. The subject of each is written underneath it. Whilst in the neighbourhood of the Houses of Parliament, a glance may be given at the Government Offices, in Downing Street; Montagu House, town residence of the Duke of Buccleuch, where there is a good collection of English miniatures,some portraits by Van Dyck, and a picture of Whitehall, which is considered one of Canaletti's finest works. Whitehall, or all that now represents the celebrated palace which once bore that name, was designed by Inigo Jones, and burnt in the reign of William III. The portion preserved was the Banqueting Hall now a Chapel Royal (see page 150). The ceiling pictures, representing the apotheosis of James I., were painted by Rubens, and are best seen from the south end of the apartment. The building has since been used as a chapel, although never consecrated, and the Maundy Thursday charities of the Queen are dispensed here in accordance with old custom. The New Colonial Office and the Treasury buildings, Horse Guards, and the Admiralty, are passed on the left hand on the way to Trafalgar Square. MUSEUMS, &C. by 51 feet, and 30 feet high. The ceiling is cross-beamed, deeply coffered, and enriched with Greek frets and other ornaments painted in encaustic. At the western extremity of the hall is the principal staircase, at the top of which commence the suite of rooms appropriated to natural history. These galleries occupy the eastern portion of the south front, and the whole of the eastern and northern sides of the quadrangle, and are thus divided into five parts:1. The Botanical Museum, 2. The Mammalia Gallery, 3. TheEastern Zoological Gallery, 4. The Northern Zoological Gallery, 5. The Northern or Mineral Gallery. The entrance to the Sculpture Gallery is to the left of the principal entrance. The Sculpture Gallery occupies the western and south-western portion of the quadrangle on the ground floor, and is thus arranged: 1. The Townley Gallery, 2. The Lycian Room, 5. The Grand Central Saloon, The Phigalian Saloon, 4. 5. The Elgin Saloon, 6. The Egyptian Saloon, 7. The Ante-Room. In the baseare exhibited the THE BRITISH MUSEUM, in Great Russell Street, is an imposing structure of Grecian Ionic architecture with columnar façade, 570 ft. in length. The columns are 5 ft. in diameter at the base, and 45 ft. high. It was completed in 1804. This edifice contains a library exceeding 950,000 volumes, being second only to the Imperial Library at Paris. It contains a greater number of American books than any library in the United States. Besides ment books, it has an exceedingly rare Nineveh Marbles. and valuable collection of manu- Ascending a flight of stairs at scripts, (the autographs of dis- the north-west angle we reach tinguished persons are numerous the western Gallery, in which and valuable), and extensive col- the smaller Egyptian, Greek, and lections of prints and drawings; Roman antiquities Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, and ranged as follows:Roman antiquities. Its collec- 1. The Vestibule, tions of specimens of geology, 2. The Egyptian Room, botany, zoology, and mineralogy 3. The Bronze Room, are unsurpassed. The Elgin 4. The Etruscan Room, marbles are unequalled by any 5. The Ethnographical Room. sculptures in existing collections. Crossing the court-yard, the visitor gains admission by the principal entrance. The entrancehall is of the Doric order, 62 feet are ar A catalogue of the contents of the Museum may be bad in the hall for 1s.; but several cheap guides and catalogues are also published. From the 9th May to 8th August inclusive, the public is admitted to view the collections, on Mondays, from 10 until 8 o'clock; on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 10 to 6; and on Saturdays, from 12 to 8. From 9th to 31st August inclusive, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 10 until 6, and on Saturdays from 12 till 6. During the remainder of the year, the hours of admission are from 10 to 4. It is closed from 1st to 7th January, 1st to 7th May, and from 1st to 7th of September. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM, Brompton, is a Museum of art, and of manufactures connected with the arts. It originated in 1852, and has already become one of the most extensive and important museums in the world. Its collections of medieval and modern art, consisting of paintings, sculptures, goldsmiths' work, jewels, carvings, porcelain, armour, tapestries, &c., are exceedingly interesting. Most of the paintings of the celebrated Vernon gallery, the Sheepshanks collection, and the cartoons of Raphael, formerly at Hampton Court, are now exhibited in this museum. (There is a branch of this museum at BETHNAL GREEN, for the benefit of the poorer classes of East London. It has a permanent collection of articles used for food, and of clothing materials, also loan collections of pictures and works of art. Admission Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays free, on other days 6d.) Opposite the western entrance of the museum are the HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GARDENS and the ExHIBITION GALLERIES, containing among other objects of interest the NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, a series of original pictures and busts of celebrated English men. It also contains the INDIA MUSEUM. Open at the same time as the South Kensington Museum. The large new building facing the Cromwell Road contains the NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION of the British Museum. Admission: Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday, free, from 10 A. M. to 10 P.M.; on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 10 to 4, 6d. THE NATIONAL GALLERY of paintings is upon the north side of Trafalgar Square. It was founded in 1824, and the present building was erected in 1832-8. The collection of paintings consists of works of the highest class of all schools, collected without regard to cost. No tourist should omit to visit it. Visitors who wish to examine the pictures in chronological order, should turn to the right on entering by the main entrance, the earlier pictures being at that side, the English works on the left. Each picture has inscribed upon it the name of the artist, the dates of his birth and decease, and the subject represented. An excellent catulogue is sold in the building, one part being of the Foreign Schools, the other of the British, the price of either volume being 18. The great number of works of art in the gallery, renders any detailed notice here impossible. Every school of painting is re presented, and the collection contains many of the best examples of all the great masters of painting. Room XV., called the Select Cabinet, has masterpieces of Raphael, Titian, and Corregio, and cabinet pictures of Bellini and Giorgione. In Room XIV., is one of the best pictures of Paul Veronese (No. 294), and in Room XII., are good examples of Rubens, Rembrandt, and other masters of the Dutch School. The gallery is open to the public |