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THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, HYDE PARK. 
 
ENGRAVED BY V.ROFFE, FROM THE STATUE BY J . H. FOLEY. R.A 
 
THE 
 
 ALBERT MEMORIAL, 
 
 HYDE PARK: 
 
 ITS HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. 
 
 IVith Numerous Illustrations Engraved on Steel. 
 
 By JAMES DAFFORNE, 
 
 A.U I HOR OF " PICTURES BY J. M. W. TURNER, K.A.," " PICTURES BY SIR E. LANDSEER, R.A.," Etc., Etc. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 VIRTUE AND COMPANY, Limited, 26, IVY LANE, 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 ♦— 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1851 
 THE GREAT EXHIBITION STATUE . 
 THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 H.E.II. TILE PEINCE CONSORT, K.G., &c. &c Frontispiece 
 
 HYDE PAEK, 1851 9 
 
 THE ALBEET NATIONAL MEMOEIAL 35 
 
 EUEOPE 45 
 
 ASIA 47 
 
 AFRICA 4!) 
 
 AMEEICA . .".I 
 
 AGrEICULTUKE 53 
 
 MANUFACTUEES 55 
 
 COMMEECE . 57 
 
 ENGINEERING 59 
 
 SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM: 
 
 PALNTEES ill 
 
 SCULPTOES . . . 63 
 
 AECHITECTS Go 
 
 POETS AND MUSICIANS .... . (17 
 
 ANGLE GROUPS 69 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 |jSgj I eus tom of perpetuating the memory of distinguished persons and of important 
 'S|^| events and facts by the erection of some kind of structure may be traced back 
 
 to a very remote period in the world's history. The earliest instance is 
 | recorded in the Book of Genesis, where Jacob set up the stone which had 
 served him for a pillow at Bethel, to commemorate the vision with which he was there 
 favoured, and to be for a witness of the engagement he then entered into : " And Jacob 
 rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set 
 it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it."* A little further on in the life of 
 the Patriarch we find him engaged in a similar act, to mark the covenant made between 
 him and Laban when they met at Galeed. Jacob's brethren also, by his directions, " took 
 stones, and made an heap ; " both the pillar and the heap of stones were to stand as 
 testimonies of their compact : " This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I 
 will not," was the remark of Laban to his son-in-law, "pass over this heap to thee, and 
 that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm." t 
 
 The next example supplied in the Bible of this method of commemorating important 
 events is that of Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai, and " told the people all 
 the words of the Lord, and all the judgments. . . . And Moses wrote all the words of 
 the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and 
 twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel." J Still further, we read in the 
 Book of Joshua, that this successor of the great Lawgiver in the leadership of the 
 Hebrew nation, acting under the direction he had received from God, " called the twelve 
 * Gen. ch. xxviii., v. 18. t Gen. eh. xxxi., v. 52. J Exodus, ch. xxiv., v. 3, 4. 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And 
 Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of 
 Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the 
 number of the tribes of the children of Israel : that this may be a sign among you, that 
 when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these 
 stones ? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the 
 ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were 
 cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 
 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out 
 of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the 
 tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where 
 they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst 
 of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant 
 stood: and they are there unto this day."* Almost the last act recorded of Joshua 
 before his death has reference to a very similar transaction. He " made a covenant with 
 the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua 
 wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up 
 there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the 
 people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us ; for it hath heard all the words of 
 the Lord which he spake unto us ; it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny 
 your God."f 
 
 In addition to the numerous stones, or rather piles of stones — for such they appear 
 for the most part to have been — of which we have spoken, Scripture has incidental 
 reference to what may be assumed to be single stones, memorials of special occasions. 
 Thus in the Book of Joshua mention is made of the stone of Bohan, the son of Eeuben,J 
 though nothing is said of its origin or purport ; and in another place § we read of a well- 
 known and distinguished stone of great magnitude, whereon the ark was placed when 
 brought back from the Philistines, which had previously been known as " the great stone 
 of Abel." David's son, Absalom, "in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself 
 a pillar, which is in the king's dale : for he said, I have no son to keep my name in 
 remembrance : and he called the pillar after his own name : and it is called unto this 
 day Absalom's place." || A monument called "Absalom's Pillar" was some years ago, 
 and perhaps may be now, shown in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, but its identity with that 
 erected by the unhappy heir to the throne of David is something more than doubtful. 
 
 * Joshua, ch. iv., v. 4 — 9. f Joshua, eh. xxiv., v. 25, 26, 27. % Joshua, ch. xviii., v. 17. 
 
 § 1 Samuel, ch. vi., v. 18. || 2 Samuel, ch. xviii., v. 18. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 An engraving of it, taken from a work, " Three Weeks in Palestine," published nearly 
 forty years ago, lies before me as I write ; the structure, for it is nothing less, has the 
 appearance of a temple. The lower portion is quadrangular ; upon the four facades are 
 cut Ionic pilasters, over which is a frieze with Doric metopes and triglyphs ; from this 
 base rises a square piece of masonry of smaller dimensions, the whole being surmounted 
 by a high conical-shaped dome terminating in a point. The entire structure seems to 
 have been cut out of solid rock, though it stands quite detached from the mass of which 
 it once formed a part. It is highly improbable that an edifice exhibiting indisputable 
 signs of Greek architecture should have appeared in Palestine more than a thousand years 
 before the Christian era. 
 
 We find in Scripture another purpose to which stone pillars were applied, and this is 
 monumental, or to indicate the burial-place of the dead. The earliest instance of this 
 is narrated in the book called Genesis, where it is recorded that "Rachel died, and was 
 buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her 
 grave: that is the pillar of Eachel's grave unto this day."* It has, however, been 
 observed, with reference to this custom among the Jews, that inasmuch as " the Hebrews 
 generally placed their dead in excavated sepulchres, wo do not find sepulchral pillars 
 common among them ; and, in fact, they appear to have been chiefly employed for such 
 eminent persons as it was considered necessary to inter remote from the sepulchres of 
 their fathers, as in the case of Rachel. But the custom was very general with other 
 nations, for the Greeks had for many ages no other monuments than such unhewn pillars, 
 which they set up on the top of the barrow or cumulus. Homer, in his " Iliad," alludes 
 to several such monuments. And it may be remarked that monuments of superimposed 
 stones with heaps of stones at their base, or near at hand, are far from being unknown 
 among the most ancient monuments of our own country; but they seem to have served 
 various purposes. In Wales and in Scotland they had the name of earns or cairns. 
 Lhuyd, in his "Additions to Camden's 'Britannia' in Radnorshire," asserts that the 
 Cambro -Britannic kaern is a primitive word, signifying such heaps of stones. Cairns and 
 tumuli of earth were the common monuments erected by the ancient Britons in honour 
 of their great men ; which of the two kinds should be employed was probably determined 
 by the circumstances of the country being stony or otherwise. 
 
 Speaking of these primitive constructions, Pennant says, in his " Voyage to the 
 Hebrides," about a century ago, " These immense accumulations of stones arc the 
 sepulchral protections of the heroes among the ancient natives of our islands ; the stone 
 chests, the depositories of the urns and ashes, arc lodged in the earth beneath; sometimes 
 
 * Genesis, ch. xxxv., v. 20. 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 one, sometimes more, are found thus deposited ; and I have one instance of as many as 
 seventeen of these stone chests being discovered under the same cairn. The learned have 
 assigned other causes for these heaps of stones : have supposed them to have been, in 
 times of inauguration, the places where the chieftain-elect stood to show himself to the 
 best advantage to the people ; or the place from which judgment was pronounced ; or to 
 have been erected on the roadside in honour of Mercury ; or to have been formed in 
 memory of some solemn compact," as in the instances given in Scripture, to which 
 reference has already been made. " These piles," Pennant adds, "may be justly supposed 
 to have been proportioned in size to the rank of the person or to his popularity ; the 
 people of a whole district assembled to show their respect to the deceased, and by an 
 active honouring of his memory soon accumulated heaps equal to those that astonish us 
 at this time. I3ut these honours were not merely those of the day ; as long as the 
 memory of the deceased existed, not a passenger went by without adding a stone to the 
 heap ; they supposed it would be an honour to the dead, and acceptable to his manes. 
 To this moment there is a proverbial expression among the Highlanders allusive to the 
 old practice : a suppliant will tell his patron, Curri mi clock er do charm — 11 1 will add a 
 stone to your cairn;'''' meaning, " When you are no more I will do all possible honour to 
 your memory." 
 
 Travellers in the Holy Land speak of a large number of "mysterious monuments or 
 pillars" in the Wilderness of Sin, near to Mount Sinai; these are evidently of Egyptian 
 origin, being covered with the hieroglyphics of that country. Their purpose seems never 
 to have been accurately determined, though it is generally supposed to be sepulchral. 
 "Not the least singularity about these pillars," it is stated, " is the wonderful preservation 
 of inscriptions upon this soft sandstone, exposed as they have been to the air and weather 
 during the lapse of so many ages. On some of the stones they are quite perfect ; on 
 others, both the inscription and the stone itself have been worn away deeply by the tooth 
 of Time." 
 
 As civilisation advanced and the arts became developed, rude stone pillars, such as 
 these we have been writing of, ceased to be erected ; they were succeeded by sculptured 
 pillars in the first place; and, eventually, by complete structures. Thus, in our own 
 country, after the introduction of Christianity, both the Celts and the Britons used 
 lofty and rudely-carved stones as monumental pillars, instead of the huge and rough 
 stones previously employed by them ; in Egypt and in other nations farther eastward, 
 as Persia and India, sculptured obelisks took the place of former rude memorials. In 
 Syria this change seems to have occurred about the period when kingly government 
 commenced among the Jews. There is some doubt as to the kind of memorial Saul 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 caused to be erected to commemorate his victory over the Amalekites : it is simply 
 called "a place." The Bible narrative records: "And when Samuel rose early to 
 meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, 
 behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down 
 to Gilgal." * It may fairly be inferred, from the use of the word "place" here as 
 significant of the memorial, that the latter was a constructed monument of some kind ; 
 and if so, it may be regarded as the first historical instance in the Scriptures of an 
 object differing from the simple monuments employed in earlier times. 
 
 To Egypt, the "cradle of the Arts," must bo ascribed the credit of giving 
 something that approaches a decorative character to their pillars or obelisks, which, 
 for the most part, were erected in honour of their deities. Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, 
 who spent several years in Egypt studying the antiquities of that country, remarks: 
 " It has been generally supposed that the Egyptian pillars, or obelisks, were dedi- 
 cated exclusively to the Sun, and that they were called (according to Jablonski) 
 Pitebpere, ' the finger of the Sun.' This, however, is a misconception not difficult 
 to explain. The first obelisks removed from Egypt to Eome were said to have 
 come from Heliopolis, ' the City of the Sun,' which stood in Lower Egypt, a little to 
 the south-east of the Delta ; and those of Heliopolis being dedicated to Re, the 
 divinity of the place, the Eomans were led to conclude that all others belonged to 
 the same god. But the obelisks of Thebes were ascribed to Amun, the presiding 
 deity of that city ; and though several of those at Eome came from Thebes, and 
 were therefore dedicated to Amun, the first impressions were too strong to be removed, 
 and the notion of their exclusive appropriation to the Sun continued, and has been 
 repeated to the present day." 
 
 Turning to the earliest records of Greek Art, if indeed it may be dignified by 
 the title of Art, we find it also to have reference to the personification and worship 
 of their deities. "The oldest Pelasgic age of Greece knew no idols. On the mountain 
 height, under the ancient oaks, the imageless worship of the supreme Jupiter Mas 
 performed. When subsequently, through Eastern influence, new and various idolatries 
 wore introduced among the Greeks, the fantastic forms which the East had given to 
 its gods were, with rare exceptions, not accepted with the new worship ; on tin- 
 contrary, the Greeks were satisfied to designate their gods with simple symbols. Rude 
 pillars, heaps of stones, even rough beams and boards, wore all the imagination at 
 first required to convey the idea of a distinct divine being. Thus, in Samos, Juno was 
 represented by a board ; at Lindos, Minerva was symbolized by a rude beam ; and 
 
 * 1 Samuel, eh. xv., v. 1-'. 
 C 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 iii Sparta, the Dioscuri were indicated by two beams connected by a cross-piece of 
 wood. Even the old colossal bronze figure of Apollo at Amyklse, near Sparta, had 
 the appearance of a column, with slight indication of the head, and hands which held 
 spears and bows."* In these primitive works no less than in the statues of their 
 heroes and divinities executed in after ages, and which continue to this day to be the 
 glory of the art of sculpture, we seem to recognise the methods adopted by the Greeks 
 of commemorating the great and the illustrious, whether actually of the earth or the 
 creatures of their own imagination. The Eomans followed their example with respect 
 to their deities, emperors, and victorious commanders ; but their memorials of great events 
 sometimes took an entirely different form, and architecture was combined with sculpture 
 in the commemorative object. Thus arose the magnificent arches, many of which still 
 exist, erected in Borne in honour of their successful warriors and others : the Arch of 
 Constantine, commemorating that emperor's triumph over Maxentius; the Arch of 
 Septimius Severus ; the Arch of Titus, erected in honour of the conquest of Jerusalem. 
 In other portions, too, of the ancient dominions of Eome arches were built as memorials : 
 for example, the beautiful arch of white marble, still standing at Fano, erected in honour 
 of Augustus ; another arch, also of white marble, may be seen at Bimini ; it also bears 
 the name of the Emperor Augustus, to whose honour is yet another arch — that in the 
 Etruscan city of Perugia ; and at Ancona is the celebrated triumphal Arch of Trajan, 
 built to his memory by his wife and sister. 
 
 There is, moreover, another description of edifice which originally was intended 
 for a complimentary purpose, so to speak, yet eventually became places of religious 
 worship : these were the temples found among every heathen nation of antiquity. In 
 Greece and Borne they were dedicated to some distinguished person, as the temples 
 of vEsculapius, of Antoninus Pius, and of Antoninus and Faustina ; all of which are 
 in Borne. The majority of these temples, however, were built in honour of the 
 divinities of the heathen. Some few of them were ultimately converted into Christian 
 churches, as that of Antoninus and Faustina, now the church of S. Lorenzo in 
 Miranda ; and that of the Temple of Ceres and Proserpine, now forming part of the 
 church of Sta. Maria in Cosmedin. Christian churches also occupy many other sites 
 where the edifices of heathen worship once stood. Byron, in " Childe Harold," thus 
 apostrophizes the Pantheon of Borne, one of the most celebrated, as it is one of the 
 most beautiful, of those ancient edifices which, as the traveller Forsyth has remarked, 
 "passed with little alteration from the Pagan into the present worship; and so 
 convenient were its niches for the Christian altar that Michael Angelo, ever studious 
 
 % Lubke's " History of Sculpture." 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 7 
 
 of ancient beauty, introduced their design as a model in the Catholic Church. This 
 is what Byron says of, or rather to, it : — 
 
 " Simple, erect, severe, austere, sublime — 
 
 Shrine of all saints and temple of all gods, 
 
 From Jove to Jesus — spared and blest by time ; 
 
 Looking tranquillity, while falls or nods 
 
 Arch, empire, each thing round thee, and man plods 
 
 His way through thorns to ashes — glorious dome ! 
 
 Shalt thou not last ? Time's scythe and tyrants' rods 
 
 Shiver upon thee — sanctuary and home 
 Of art and piety — Pantheon ! — pride of Rome ! " 
 
 Childe Harold, Canto iv., st. 146. 
 
 And thus there is abundant evidence in the history of the world that, from the 
 earliest period down to the most enlightened and civilised, the practice of raising structures 
 as records or memorials, or for religious service, has been more or less in use. Solomon 
 dedicated the most glorious temple the world had ever seen till then to the Most High 
 God ; the nations of heathendom dedicated their noblest edifices to the deities whom 
 they worshipped ; and we Christians, following the example of both Jew and Gentile, 
 call our churches after the names of the saints and martyrs whose lives are identified with 
 the rise and growth of the religion we profess. Every church in the land is a memorial 
 of one whom it is intended to honour by the act of consecration ; so tar, that is, as 
 regards the building itself ; the rightful appropriations of the services performed 
 therein is entirely another matter. It is in this spirit that Byron eulogizes St. Peter's 
 in Borne : — 
 
 ' ' But thou, of temples old, or altars new, 
 Standest alone, with nothing like to thee — 
 Worthiest of God, the holy and the true. 
 Since Zion's desolation, when that He 
 Forsook his former city, what could be, 
 Of earthly structures, in his honour piled, 
 Of a sublimer aspect ? Majesty, 
 Power, Glory, Strength, and Beauty all are aisled 
 In this eternal ark of worship undefiled." 
 
 Idem, Canto iv., st. 154. 
 
 Looking at the various public memorials of great men or great deeds which have 
 been raised in London, it cannot fairly be said that, taken as a whole, the country lias 
 much reason to be proud of them. They show, with a few exceptions, more of the desir< 
 to do honour to acknowledged merit, than of the taste and genius which alone can fitly 
 accomplish or carry out the intention ; and this, too, notwithstanding all which has been 
 done towards the creation of a better order of things. Every means should be employed 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by a powerful and wealthy nation like ourselves to enlist art of every kind, so long as it is 
 good art, as contributive " to the building up of an orderly, civilised and religious people." 
 And this should especially be the case where the object lies open to the gaze of every 
 passer-by, and is so far common property. It was well said by a writer of nearly forty 
 years ago, in his work on "The Fine Arts in England," — " In glancing for a moment at 
 one of the gravest characteristics of our existing state of society — the enormous disparity 
 of conditions, and all that such disparity involves — we therein perceive another powerful 
 reason why the arts should be employed for purposes of public and general enjoyment and 
 magnificence in which even the poorest should have their right of property." * It seems 
 somewhat strange that although we have made, since those words were written, enormous 
 advances in almost everything which administers to our social and personal comfort — thanks 
 to the International Exhibition of 1851 and its successors — we have made comparatively 
 little progress in those arts which ennoble a country, even if they do not, as they should, 
 help to make a people wiser and better. "The great examples of art," says Sir Joshua 
 Eeynolds in his "Discourses," "are the materials on which genius is to work, and 
 without them the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed." 
 
 * " The Fine Arts in England : their State and Prospects, considered relatively to National Education." 
 By Edward Edwards, of the British Museum. 
 
HYDE PARK, 1 85 1. 
 
q 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1 85 1 . 
 
 f T is beyond a doubt that if the Prince Consort had had no share whatever in 
 ^ the matter of the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851, he had so endeared 
 himself to the British nation from the earliest period of his coming to dwell 
 p among us, that his decease, whenever it should happen, would be immediately 
 followed by some signal endeavour to do honour to his memory. And as soon as the 
 country had somewhat recovered from the shock occasioned by the death of the illustrious 
 Prince, which occurred so unexpectedly towards the close of the year 1861, projects were 
 started in almost every town of importance throughout the kingdom to perpetuate, in 
 some form or other, the people's sense of the irreparable loss they had sustained, and 
 their estimate of the public and private virtues of his Eoyal Highness. In most of these 
 places there exists at the present time some special object— a museum, a charitable 
 institution, a statue, a clock-tower, or a fountain — which owes its origin to the widespread 
 and deep affection felt by all classes for the "Good Prince" whose name is associated with 
 so much of the benevolent and useful undertaken while he was with us. 
 
 But before proceeding to give any account or description of the gorgeous struct hit 
 erected in Hyde Park, where it serves two purposes, one to perpetuate the memory of 
 Prince Albert, the other, as denoting the site of the first Great International Exhibition 
 in 1851, in which the Prince took such marked interest, it may not be out of place to 
 offer a few observations on the latter, and on the circumstances that preceded the event and 
 which in fact led to it. This seems to be the more desirable, inasmuch as more than a 
 quarter of a century has passed away since its existence, and a generation has been born 
 w T ho, for the most part, know little or nothing of its origin. 
 
 Exhibitions of art manufactures were first opened in France towards the close of the 
 
 D 
 
I 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 185 1. 
 
 last century. In an anonymous work published in 1851, when our own Industrial Exhibi- 
 tion was occupying the attention of half the civilised world, certain statements are made 
 to the following effect : — The great Kevolution at the period in question had completely 
 paralyzed the industries of France ; not only those in the hands of private individuals, but 
 the establishments carried on by the Government : the tapestry works of the Gobelins, the 
 porcelain manufactory of Sevres, and that of carpets at the Savonnerie, had fallen into 
 decay, and the ouvriers were starving in the streets. In order to ameliorate if possible this 
 condition of things, the Marquis d'Aveze, then Commissioner of the Government factories, 
 proposed in 1797 that a bazaar for the exhibition of a large stock of tapestry, porcelain, 
 and carpets on hand at those respective establishments should be held, and the goods 
 afterwards disposed of by lottery. This was done at the Chateau of St. Cloud, and it 
 proved so successful that it led to a second of a somewhat similar kind in the year next 
 following ; but on this occasion not only productions of the quondam " royal " factories 
 were contributed, but also those from the principal manufactories of the country were 
 admitted, and prizes were given for excellence in several manufactures, as watches, 
 mathematical instruments, printing, china, &c. This was held in the Maison d'Orsay. 
 Here, then, was the idea or germ of those vast undertakings with which, during the last 
 quarter of a century, the world has been made so familiar. France continued her own 
 national displays all through the wars which raged at the end of the last century and the 
 early part of this. In 1799, or in 1800 — I cannot precisely fix the year — Napoleon, then 
 First Consul of France, caused a building to be erected in the Champ de Mars, Paris, 
 which was called the " Temple of Industry," and in it the third Exhibition took place. 
 Others followed in 1801, 1802, and 1806 ; but afterwards, owing to the disturbed condition 
 of the country, and the wars in which France was engaged, there was no similar display 
 till 1819, about four years after peace had been proclaimed throughout Europe, and 
 Louis XVIII. had mounted the throne of his Bourbon ancestors. That Exhibition was 
 held in the courts of the Louvre and was opened on the Feast of St. Louis, in honour of 
 the restored monarch. Between 1819 and 1849 five similar Exhibitions took place in 
 Paris at intervals varying from four to seven years ; that in 1849, to which nearly 5,000 
 firms and individuals contributed, being by far the most extensive that had yet been held. 
 
 During the whole of this time no attempt was made in England to rival our continental 
 neighbour in a similar way, though our manufacturers were not unmindful of what was 
 taking place there, and some local efforts were made by them in the same direction, as at 
 Manchester in 1846, Birmingham in 1849, and, prior to both of these, the bazaar held 
 in 1845 at Covent Garden Theatre, for a political purpose, in aid of the Free Trade 
 movement. The great object of these and other like displays of minor import, is to create 
 
PURPOSES OF INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS. 
 
 an emulative feeling — one of the great elements of industrial power among our producing 
 population ; to bring them into contact with each other, that each may be able to dis- 
 cover his strength or his weakness, as the case may be; so that mutual advantage may be 
 derived by comparison, the weak gaining accession of strength by what he has the oppor- 
 tunity of learning from that which is superior to his own products, and the strong 
 stimulated by success to greater efforts for improvement. It has been said " the great 
 secrets of a nation are equally its strength and its weakness ; an Industrial Exposition 
 reveals both." Comparisons lead to analysis, and analysis to discovery. At an Exposi- 
 tion, also, the manufacturers have an opportunity of hearing enlightened and independent 
 criticism ; for among the visitors there will surely be found men of taste, of science, and 
 of skill, whose opinions would probably have never been called forth had not such an 
 opportunity been afforded. 
 
 I have remarked that an Exposition gives to the public the means of ascertaining 
 its national strength as well as its national weakness : the great gathering in Hyde Park 
 in 1851 proved the truth of this observation. Until then the country was not fully 
 sensible of the progress our manufacturers had made in some productions, and of their 
 vast inferiority in others. In France, beauty of design appeared to have been the 
 great aim of the producer ; cheapness and durability seemed the objects of the British 
 manufacturer. Both countries began to see their errors, and in time to amend them ; 
 "processes were improving as well as patterns, and the contemplation of results led men 
 to examine and compare the various modes by which they could be produced." 
 
 Conspicuous among the organs of the public press which had given any attention to 
 the progress of British manufacturing art must undoubtedly be placed the Art Journal, 
 whose columns had been open, for several years prior to 1851, to record, and to illustrate 
 to a certain extent, the Expositions of Industrial Art that were held in Paris, Manchester. 
 Birmingham, and elsewhere. And thus it was that by degrees manufacturers bestirred 
 themselves manfully to develop the resources of their establishments, and the public began 
 to manifest no lukewarm interest in their productions. It is not too much to say that the 
 Art Journal had very considerable influence in preparing the way for the great Exposition 
 of the year just mentioned. In an article published in that monthly journal in the earh 
 part of 1848, more than three years before the Exhibition took place, we find the whole 
 scheme of the project planned, as it actually was carried out in 1851 ; except that the 
 writer pleaded only for a display of British manufactures, under the impression that as yet 
 we were not sufficiently advanced to enter into competition — at least in some departments 
 — with our continental rivals. "The great difficulty," he says, " will be to find a person 
 possessing all the qualifications necessary for the direction of such an Exhibition ; the 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1851. 
 
 preliminary arrangements will require great taste, skill, and habits of organization ; lie 
 must have a name and fame that will inspire confidence ; and must have industry to work 
 so large a project, patience to explain it, and knowledge to apply the whole to the practical 
 improvement of British manufacture 
 
 "From Government nothing need be required, but, first, its Sanction — direct and 
 emphatic ; next, the allotment of ground in one of the parks upon which to erect a 
 temporary building; and next, the Award of Honorary Medals, in gold and silver, to 
 those manufacturers who exhibited greatest enterprise and ability, or both combined, or 
 whose productions were calculated to be practically useful to their country. 
 
 "We believe a proposal for such an Exposition would be well received in the highest 
 quarters ; Prince Albert is known to take a deep personal interest in all matters that 
 relate to the Industrial Arts of England, and to cherish an earnest desire for their 
 advancement. We cannot doubt his willingness to place himself at the head of a duly 
 authorised, and properly arranged, Committee of Management. There are many members 
 of the Government who have long admitted the wisdom of some such ' move ' as that 
 we advocate, and who will be more than well disposed to aid it ; and though the time is 
 by no means fully ripe for the development of the project, it is not too soon to consider 
 arrangements for its ultimate accomplishment." 
 
 Here then is the outline sketch of the scheme as it found expression — only with largely 
 extended operation — three years afterwards ; the sketch combines the sanction of Govern- 
 ment, the building in one of the parks, Prince Albert at the head of the movement, and 
 the award of medals. But still further, the article in question says, " We assert, without 
 the least hesitation, that the Manufacturers of Great Britain generally, if not universally, 
 would very cordially co-operate with a Committee formed for conducting such an Exposi- 
 tion. But we consider it above all things essential, that though not directly appointed by 
 the Government, such a Committee should be approved, and in a degree commissioned, by 
 Government. If this be done, and such other aids as we have alluded to be afforded, 
 there would remain no difficulty that might not easily be overcome." 
 
 The merit of having originated exhibitions of home products undoubtedly belongs 
 to France ; but it was to Prince Albert that the more noble and disinterested plan 
 of throwing open an institution of this character to the competition of the whole world 
 is exclusively due, while his suggestion was carried out in a spirit every way worthy 
 of its grandeur and generosity. And there is little doubt that, but for the inde- 
 fatigable perseverance of his Royal Highness, his courageous defiance of all risks of 
 failure, his remarkable sagacity in matters of business, even to the minutest details, 
 and the influence which attached to his support, the whole project, notwithstanding the 
 
THE ROYAL COMMISSIONERS. 13 
 
 great exertions which, were made to secure its realisation, must have been rendered 
 nugatory. 
 
 The first step in the great movement on the part of the Prince Consort was to consult 
 some of the leading and most active members of the Council of the Society of Arts, 
 an institution founded expressly for the encouragement and development of the Indus- 
 trial Arts in particular. Four members — Messrs. Scott Eussell (Honorary Secretary), 
 H. Cole, T. Cubitt, and F. Fuller — had on two occasions audiences of his Eoyal Highness, 
 who communicated to them his idea of the Exhibition, so far as related to its contents, 
 which the Prince suggested should consist — 1st., of Eaw Materials ; 2nd, of Machinery 
 and Mechanical Inventions; 3rd, of Manufactures; and 4th, of Sculpture and Plastic 
 Art generally. It was also deemed advisable that these four gentlemen should visit 
 the great manufacturing districts to ascertain the feelings of the principal manufacturers 
 in reference to the scheme : tw x o of these delegates — Messrs. Cole and Fuller — acted 
 upon the recommendation ; with what result the Exhibition itself showed. Another, and 
 a most important, move was a meeting held, on the 17th of October, 1849, at the 
 Mansion House, London, over which the Lord Mayor presided, who was supported by 
 a very large number of the leading commercial men of the metropolis. 
 
 Early in the year 1850 the names of the Eoyal Commission for carrying out the 
 great and unprecedented undertaking were published : they were H.E.H. the Prince 
 Albert, the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl of Eosse, Earl Granville, the Earl of Ellesmere, 
 Lord Stanley, Lord John Eussell, Sir Eobcrt Peel, Henry Labouchere, W. E. Gladstone, 
 the Chairman of the (then) East India Company, Sir E. Westmacott, E.A., Sir Charles 
 Lyall, Thomas Baring, Charles Barry, E.A., Thomas Bazely, Eichard Cobden, William 
 Cubitt, C. L. Eastlake, P.E.A., T. F. Gibson, John Gait, Samuel Jones Loyd, Philip 
 Pusey, and William Thomson. The gentlemen appointed as the " executive " were — 
 Henry Cole, Charles Wentworth Dilke, jun., George Drew, Francis Fuller, and Eobcrt 
 Stephenson; with Matthew Digby Wyatt as Secretary, and John Scott Eussell and Stafford 
 Henry Northcote as Secretaries to the Commission. 
 
 In July, 1850, letters patent were issued incorporating the Commissioners under 
 the title of "The Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851;" and the charter was 
 accepted on the 15th of August. During all this preliminary business, the money 
 question had not been forgotten by those interested in the project. A guarantee fund 
 of £230,000 was subscribed by a number of gentlemen favourable to the Exhibition; 
 and upon this security the Bank of England undertook to make the necessary advances. 
 In the earlier part of the year, however, the Building Committee ventured to recom- 
 mend that the plot of ground in Hyde Park, upwards of sixteen acres, whereon it 
 
 E 
 
THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 185 1 . 
 
 had been determined to erect the building, should be covered in. "When the time 
 arrived for making definite arrangements for the erection of the building the Commis- 
 sioners had only £35,000 in hand; and notwithstanding the guarantee fund, to which 
 they themselves had largely subscribed, they must have felt themselves committed to a 
 very deep responsibility." Nevertheless, they determined to persevere, and accordingly 
 invitations were addressed, through the public prints, to architects of all nations, to 
 supply designs for an edifice which was to cover 700,000 square feet ; and the area of 
 which, including the open spaces, was not to exceed 900,000 square feet. The time 
 allowed for the preparation of the drawings was only one month, and yet at the 
 expiration of that time no fewer than two hundred and thirty-three architects sent in 
 designs, some of which were of a very elaborate character ; of these competitors thirty- 
 eight were foreigners. The Building Committee, after repeated sittings, arrived ulti- 
 mately at the decision that none of the drawings were so "in accordance with the 
 peculiar objects in view, either in the principle or details of arrangements, as to warrant 
 them in recommending the designs for adoption. But the Building Committee, possibly 
 foreseeing this result, had prepared a plan of their own, and advertised for tenders to 
 erect the building ; the lowest of these amounted to £120,000, and this sum was only 
 for the use of the materials employed in its construction. Moreover, public opinion 
 was decidedly adverse to the design and plan of the proposed edifice as " unnecessarily 
 large, cumbrous, and costly, for a purpose avowedly temporary ; " and the whole under- 
 taking seemed to be in imminent danger of an abrupt and fatal termination. Happily, 
 however, for the Exhibition, and for all future Exhibitions of a similar kind all over 
 the world, the constructive resources of England were not exhausted : and help came 
 from a quarter where it was least expected — from one not an architect by profession. 
 
 It is quite unnecessary to enter upon any detailed history of what occurred respecting 
 the edifice at this particular juncture. It must suffice to state that among the contractors 
 who sent in estimates in answer to the invitation of the Building Committee for their 
 own building were Messrs. Fox and ITcnderson, who, availing themselves of the permis- 
 sion to alter and amend the plan of the Committee contained in the latter part of their 
 report, presented a tender for an edifice of an entirely different character from any which 
 had been hitherto suggested. Mr., afterwards Sir Joseph, Paxton, Superintendent of the 
 Duke of Devonshire's gardens at Chatsworth, was at that time constructing a large 
 conservatory, for the Victoria Rcgia, in the Duke's grounds, and it occurred to him 
 that the principles on which he was erecting the conservatory were capable of application 
 to such a building as was then required. The story is, that Mr. Paxton sketched out 
 his idea on a sheet of blotting-paper, and nine days afterwards he prepared with his 
 
CONTRACTORS FOR THE BUILDING. 
 
 own hand nine plans of details, which were placed before Messrs. Fox and Henderson. 
 It w r as originally intended that the entire roof or roofs should be flat ; but the Committee, 
 desirous to include within the building some large trees on the space of ground forming 
 its site, Mr. Paxton suggested that the transept should have a circular roof, similar to 
 that in the great conservatory at Chatsworth ; the same idea, it would seem, struck 
 Mr. Barry, the architect, who was one of the Committee. These gentlemen, as well as 
 the Royal Commissioners, fully approved of Mr. Paxton's plan, after it had undergone 
 certain modifications and alterations suggested by Mr. Fox, subsequently Sir Charles 
 Fox — whose great experience and scientific knowledge proved most valuable — Mr. Barry, 
 and perhaps one or two more. 
 
 After consulting the iron-masters, glass-manufacturers, and others on whose co- 
 operation they were compelled, in a great degree, to rely for the means of carrying out 
 their proposals, Messrs. Fox and Henderson sent in their tenders for doing the work,' 
 which were accepted; and on the 30th of July, 1850, they took possession of the plot 
 of ground in Hyde Park, and at once commenced operations. It was said at the time 
 that Mr. Fox executed with his own hand all the working drawings, and that they 
 occupied him eighteen hours a day for seven weeks. As he completed them, they were 
 handed over to his partner, Mr. Henderson, who immediately gave directions for the 
 iron-work and other materials required for the construction of the building. It may 
 here be stated, as a singular fact, that the charter for the edifice was not obtained till 
 the year 1851, and that Messrs. Fox and Henderson's contract with the Royal Commis- 
 sioners was not actually completed till the 30th of October, 1850, up to which time 
 the former had received no order for the building, and no payment on account of the 
 work they had done, but had incurred the risk of spending £50,000 without being in 
 a legal position to call upon the Commissioners for the repayment of the smallest portion 
 of the debt; so unlimited was the confidence shown by the builders in the faith of 
 those who employed them. There was, however, nothing to fear on the ground of 
 inability to pay, for ample funds were constantly flowing into the coffers of the 
 executive. 
 
 There are a few matters of detail worthy of being recorded in any history of the 
 Crystal Palace — the name which the edifice acquired and has always retained, even when 
 transferred to another site — if only because it was the largest edifice of its kind the world 
 had ever seen till then. In the construction of it 550 tons of wrought-iron wen; used, and 
 of cast-iron no less than 3,500 tons. The whole of the roof above the highest tier, or 
 storey, of iron framework consisted of wood and glass; and the external enclosures and 
 face-work were composed, for the most part, of the same materials. In the entire edifice 
 
ib 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1851. 
 
 896,000 superficial feet of glass were used; and, including the flooring, 000,000 feet 
 of wood. Owing to the almost superhuman exertions of the contractors, Messrs. Fox 
 and Henderson, the vast and wonderful edifice was ready to be opened on the 
 appointed day, May 1st, 1851 ; and such was the extraordinary eagerness of the public 
 to be present at its inauguration that upwards of £40,000 were expended in the 
 purchase of season-tickets before the opening ceremony took place. Aptly did Thackeray 
 sing of it — 
 
 " But yesterday a naked sod, 
 
 The dandies sneered from Eotten Kow 
 And saunter' d o'er it to and fro, 
 And see, 'tis done ! 
 As though by a wizard's rod, 
 A blazing arch of lucid glass 
 Leaps like a fountain from the grass 
 To meet the sun. 
 
 ' ' A quiet green but few days since, 
 
 With cattle browsing in the shade, 
 And lo ! long lines of bright arcade 
 In order raised ; 
 A palace as for fairy prince, 
 A rare pavilion, such as man 
 Saw never since mankind began 
 And built and glazed." 
 
 More than a quarter of a century has passed since the doors of the Crystal Palace 
 were opened to the public in Hyde Park. We have since had other gatherings, and 
 the example of England has been followed on the continents of Europe and of America ; 
 but the novelty, as well as the splendour, of the first Exhibition will never be forgotten 
 by those who were present when Her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince Consort and 
 the rest of the Eoyal Family, the great Ministers of State, the officers and ladies of her 
 Court, entered the building on that 1st of May, amid the heartiest cheers of thousands 
 of her loyal subjects and the joyous strains of vocal and instrumental music. It may 
 recall to some who were present on the occasion, and perhaps interest many more who 
 were not present — some not even then born — to introduce here a description of the scene, 
 which appeared in the Art Journal of the following month, from the pleasant and graphic 
 pen of Mrs. S. C. Hall. 
 
 "Every attempt to describe the opening of the Crystal Palace to those who were 
 not present must have the same result as that of picturing the sun's meridian glory to 
 the blind; they hear, and listen, and feel — but they cannot comprehend ; in a word, they 
 cannot see! Those who were invigorated by the sunshine of that immortal , " First of 
 May," and heard the deep-hearted shouts of a loyal people, and saw, until tears of 
 
INAUGURATION. 
 
 joy and enthusiasm dimmed their eager eyes, will know that all efforts at description 
 of the pageant — so sublime in its simplicity — must be written in vain. The eloquent pen 
 of Jules Janin has pourtrayecl the sentiment of the gathering of nations by our island 
 Queen — and thousands felt as he did, as they never felt before, aud can never feel 
 again. But it seems to us there is one great object achieved by this reunion of Nations, 
 which has not been sufficiently dwelt upon. We English are, happily, well acquainted 
 with our Queen ; we meet her in our drives, surrounded — not by soldiers, but by her 
 children ; she partakes of our amusements ; she fosters our charities ; she rises with 
 the lark, and blends, in marvellous order, the sacred duties of a sovereign with the 
 no less sacred duties of an English wife and an English mother. Her Court is a model 
 in its purity for all royal Courts ; and if proof were needed of her sympathy with the 
 working-classes, is it not enshrined beneath the covering of the Crystal Palace ? 
 
 "Let us think coolly, if we can, upon this matter, now that the 'opening day' has 
 passed ; let us recall for a moment the pomp and pageantry of the olden time, when 
 monarchs met upon Fields of Cloth of Gold, when neither kings nor nobles, nor knights 
 nor esquires, could meet in love or amity without the pastime of mock blood-shedding — 
 without tilt and tournament, as if the earth thirsted for blood, and the people thereof 
 lived but for slaughter. All pageants in the 1 good old times ' were made by royalty, for 
 royalty — by nobles, for nobles. The Industrial Arts had not only no form, no character, 
 no separate and distinct independence of their own — but they were, in no limited degree, 
 slaves of the lamp, to do the bidding of their masters ; the artisan — as well as the ' born 
 thrall,' who went about in chain and collar — no matter how cunningly he fashioned gold 
 and silver, or invented curious mechanism, or hammered out embellished armour — av;is 
 little better than a bondsman ; not as free, nor held in as much esteem, as a bowman or a 
 merry forester ; he received broad pieces in exchange for his craft, but he achieved no 
 distinction as a man ; he was no place-holder in society. Now upon this, contrasted with 
 the present state of things, rests the grand event of our epoch. 
 
 " The Eoyalty of England calls a meeting of all Nations in the capital of her island ; 
 she calls it fearlessly in the dignity of her own power, and the purity of her good intent. 
 Her summons is heard in far-away districts of the globe. She does not invite kings and 
 princes to this banquet of industry ; they may come if they please ; they will be received 
 as befits the majesty of our country ; but the pageant and the palace arc not for them. 
 She announces no passages of arms, no idle tilting, no soldierly showing off of troops, no 
 parade of her winged sea-kings. She is too self-contained and too self-content for thai 
 now ; but she desires to see the fruits of Peace collected within a palace such as was never 
 before heard of in the history of kingdoms — a palace to receive the treasures of the mine, 
 
 F 
 
t8 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1851. 
 
 of the loom, of the anvil, and of the sea, as well as of the most polished arts — a palace 
 commanded by the Queen for the People — a peace-palace where every nation has its 
 appointed place to show what it can achieve to promote the interests and happiness of the 
 world by its progress in the march of intellectual industry. Of a truth, the Temple for 
 that true power-giving and friendly contention, which only augments esteem and 
 consideration, may well be considered sacred. 
 
 " Long since England buried the hatchet, and now invites the world to partake of the 
 calumet of peace. The Queen of commercial England identifies herself, boldly and bravely, 
 with the working- classes of the universe by her recognition of a power, apart from rank, 
 and wealth, and birth — the power of hard-handed industry — to which rank, and wealth, 
 and birth here render homage. What a proof of the great peace-progress of England ! 
 What evidence of veritable strength and conscious rectitude — England for, and not against, 
 the world ! What a temple for that power-giving contention which brings perfectness to 
 all things ! What means of study to the productive classes ! What opportunities for 
 improvement ! What prejudices shaken and questioned, if not overcome ! What emula- 
 tion excited ! What a full tide of industry recognised, welcomed, feted ! What triumph 
 in the fertility and beauty of our own most fertile and beautiful country ! What proof of 
 the health, and prosperity, and genial influence of our faith and of our laws ! The bright 
 eyes of our Queen met the gaze of thousands to whom she gives welcome ; she needs no 
 hired guards, for every heart is pledged to her in love and loyalty. We say it fearlessly, 
 that nothing the assembled foreigners can teach us, equals in value the great lesson we 
 teach them, in the art of governing ourselves. We keep our Altar and our Throne 
 untouched, unsullied, — hedged round by Liberty such as no other land enjoys ! 
 
 "But, as if all things worked as by a miracle to the perfecting of our industrial 
 gathering, we are indebted to ' one of the people ' for the plan of this Aladdin-like palace. 
 The great men of our time — the seers and soothsayers — were all bewildered, for the 
 invitation had gone forth to the artisan and manufacturer before we had a feasible project 
 as to what building was to receive them. The plan in which we glory did not emanate 
 from those skilled in so-called architecture, or educated on system ; but from one whose 
 days of youth and manhood had passed amid the beauties of Nature. How extraordinary 
 that this Industrial Palace should have risen from the sward of Hyde Park at the bidding 
 of him who had taught so many floral strangers to expand and flourish at Chatsworth ; 
 there is a happy harmony in this unpremeditated arrangement which adds another interest 
 to the noble project so triumphantly accomplished. 
 
 "When all was prepared, and the Queen met her people and the people of other lands 
 within that temple — where the cannons boomed and the trumpets sounded, and the voices 
 
A DAY OF REJOICING. 
 
 of the well-trained choir sent forth the music of our National Hymn, it seemed as if the 
 joyful excitement would never moderate; again and again the people shouted, those 
 without taking up the ' loud hurrah,' when it was led amid the ' long drawn aisle ' of the 
 glittering palace ; and yet when the Archbishop prepared for that fervent prayer which in 
 simple and touching language consecrated the work as a peace-offering to the Almighty, 
 every uncovered head was bowed, every breath hushed. Strangers, those of foreign lands, 
 were overawed ; they wondered how it was such evident piety sanctified, without dulling 
 or dispiriting the enthusiasm of a mighty people — they saw that our religion is not our 
 weakness, but our strength. And when the Hallelujah Chorus burst forth after a deep- 
 hearted 'Amen,' the moistened eyes and clasped hands of the largest congregation ever 
 assembled beneath a single roof testified their earnest devotion ; the short pause which 
 succeeded served but to make the next burst of loyalty more astounding. The Crystal 
 Palace seemed to tremble while the voices taxed the air for space ; and when the proces- 
 sion formed and proceeded down the aisles, the shouts passed onwards like the billows of 
 the ocean, swelling and gathering strength as they advanced. Oh, what a sight and what 
 a sound, invigorated too by the peals of those fine organs which took up each the other's 
 strain as the Queen and her nobles continued their progress ! 
 
 " It was a proud day for England, a day of greater importance in her commercial and 
 social history than she has ever known. The beauty and magnitude of the edifice, the 
 abundance and variety of its contents, the richness and curiosity of its stores, all sink 
 into insignificance when compared with the grandeur of the conception, and the power 
 which perfected the whole, and kept faith, as to the time of its miraculous opening, with 
 all the world. 
 
 "In the temple reared to the Industry of all Nations by our Queen and her illustrious 
 Consort, we see unquestioned evidence of the march of intellect, and of its incalculable 
 advantages over the tramp of war ; we see how times and feelings change ; Ave learn 
 to estimate the 1 peaceful arts,' and the numerous blessings they engender ; we see 
 how perfect and how beautiful is the chain of civilisation, where man is bound to man 
 by reciprocal duties, reciprocal courtesies, and reciprocal benefits ; and we see thai 
 all this has in nothing diminished the chivalry or enthusiasm of our natures. No ' Eoyal 
 Family' were ever regarded with feelings of more intense reverence and love than 
 that of our Queen, when on the glorious first of May she opened the gates of the ( Irystal 
 l'alace to an admiring and sympathizing world." 
 
 The interest shown by the Queen in the International Exhibition of 1851 by no 
 means terminated with the inaugurating ceremony : day after day, till the Court removed 
 from London, the building was visited by Her Majesty, who was generally accompanied 
 
20 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 185 1. 
 
 by the royal children, giving every department minute inspection, often entering into 
 conversation with the exhibitors on the subject of their productions, and selecting from 
 the stalls such objects as gratified her taste, or were, for other reasons, considered to 
 possess claims upon her attention. The whole project had grown into maturity under 
 the fostering care and untiring energy of her beloved husband, the Prince Consort ; 
 this alone would have sufficed to render it specially attractive to the Queen, even if no 
 feeling other than personal, arising from the benefits which the nation at large anticipated 
 from it, had not greatly influenced the royal mind. 
 
 On the 11th of October the doors of the Crystal Palace were finally closed to the 
 public so far as the great Exhibition was concerned. No splendid gathering of princes 
 and nobles, such as marked its opening, met to draw the curtain over the last scene. 
 The good sense of the Commissioners had disregarded all suggestions of pomp or 
 ceremony at the close. The feelings of the people were left to their own natural and 
 spontaneous expression, and no studied demonstration could have been half so impressive 
 as that which their own instincts prompted. For what combination of the most skilful 
 music could equal the chorus which burst from all lips — what eloquence could say so 
 much as that pure resounding cheer which came from the depths of every heart ? It 
 would be folly to attempt to analyze all of that inarticulate shout, but amidst the throng 
 of emotions to which it gave vent the strongest was a sort of wondering joy and gratitude ;' 
 and not without reason, if one reflects what might have occurred — and within the range 
 of probabilities — from a thousand hidden sources, to mar the success, to say nothing 
 of the enjoyment, of the unparalleled enterprise from its commencement to its close. 
 Nothing, however, was, by the decree of Providence, permitted to throw a moment's 
 shadow over the universal satisfaction ; even the weather was extraordinary, and the wet 
 and gloomy climate of London seemed to have changed its character. "With few inter- 
 missions, the summer had been warm and dry, and the closing day was such an eleventh 
 of October as few could remember. 
 
 The Exhibition was regarded by many thinking persons as testing the civilisation 
 and character of the English people — meaning by civilisation, not so much perfection in 
 those material products which it was the ostensible purpose of the institution to display, 
 as the moral and intellectual qualities that command respect and confidence, and raise the 
 entire standard and significancy of human life. " If those who applied this test," remarks 
 an anonymous writer of the time, " have reason to congratulate themselves on their wise 
 and generous confidence, the people have a right to all the satisfaction of a just and 
 noble pride, as having come so triumphantly out of the trial. In no age of the world, 
 and in no country, did brute force ever so completely sink into the background, and 
 
THE QUEEN AMONG HER PEOPLE. 
 
 2 I 
 
 reason, humanity, and honour acquire so striking an ascendancy. So complete, indeed, 
 was this eclipse of the hitherto preponderant element of force that people forgot even 
 to fear it, and the presence of congregated thousands did not alarm the feeblest. I know 
 no higher test of civilisation than this — that a woman, neither of robust health nor 
 intrepid spirit, could, without a moment's hesitation, go alone into the midst of one 
 hundred thousand people of every class, certain of civility, decorum, and, if it were 
 needed, protection. If the reign of Brian Boru was illustrious for the safety in which 
 the maiden, with her staff and ring of gold, could traverse the Green Isle, it is surely 
 one of the glories of our Sovereign Mistress that in her reign the weakest of her subjects 
 were protected by public opinion and public morality; and* that infancy and old age, 
 the timid girl, or the delicate invalid, could venture without a fear or a scruple into the 
 midst of the largest and most miscellaneous crowd ever collected under one roof. 
 
 "And who shall say how much of this glory is due to the Eoyal Lady herself? The 
 perfect calmness and naturalness with which the Queen, from the first, moved among the 
 lowlier of her subjects, neither shrinking from them, nor seeming as if it were an effort of 
 courage to trust herself and her children in the midst of them, must have had a highly 
 civilising effect upon many who want only to be trusted and respected, in order to make them 
 worthy of trust and respect. The Queen had the magnanimity to treat her labouring subjects 
 like gentlemen, and they have taken care not to forfeit the character she ascribed to them." 
 
 It was a perfectly natural desire on the part of Her Majesty to possess some pictorial 
 record of the great " Peace Congress," as it was not inaptly called, which the world 
 saw in London in the year 1851, and that owed so much of its popularity and success 
 to the influence of Her Majesty and the exertions of her illustrious Consort, The 
 " Exhibition of all Nations " called into action a host of artists of all kinds, who illus- 
 trated it internally and externally in all its variety of details, and in almost every known 
 method of treatment ; and doubtless a considerable number of those works found their 
 way into the presence of royalty. But the Queen wished to have a picture painted 
 expressly for herself — one that should be commemorative of the event, and yet not too 
 circumstantial in its details— a picture of the locality and its visitors rather than a portrait- 
 like representation of the building, 
 
 " Which, like a wondrous vision rose 
 "Where the green turf luxuriant grows, 
 
 And stately elm-trees nod : 
 Where, in the pleasant months of Spring, 
 Through the broad boughs young voices ring, 
 
 And o'er the verdant sod, 
 Mingled with roll of chariot-wheels, 
 And tramp of horses' iron heels. 
 
 G 
 
22 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 185 1. 
 
 ' ' It stood all glittei'ing in the day ; 
 No pile of marble, stone, or clay, 
 
 As palaces are reared ! 
 But a vast edifice of glass 
 Through which the merry sunbeams pass ; 
 
 Arched roof and walls appeared 
 As if some hand with magic strong 
 Had stretched those crystal aisles along. 
 
 ' ' And thither from remotest bound 
 Of the wide earth's encircling round 
 
 Came men of every clime 
 Laden with all that mind conceives, 
 Or human industry achieves, 
 
 Or science holds sublime ; 
 From east to west, from south to north, 
 Their tributary gifts poured forth." 
 
 J. Dafforne. 
 
 The artist, the late J. D. Harding, to whom the Queen intrusted the task of painting 
 a picture for her, received the royal commands just as the doors of the Crystal Palace 
 were about to be closed to the public. The honour could scarcely have been conferred 
 on one better qualified for the task ; and yet, with a recollection how often the subject 
 had already been the theme of the pencil, he must have felt the difficulty of imparting to 
 it anything of an original and novel treatment. But this artist was never at a loss 
 where green sward and waving trees were to be the chief ingredients of his pictures, 
 and Hyde Park, then as now, supplies abundant materials of this description. The 
 view of the "Palace" is taken from the western side of the Park, where the trees 
 are larger and more picturesquely situated than on its opposite. We see, as the 
 appended engraving shows, comparatively little of the building : it is almost entirely 
 screened by continuous masses of foliage, under which groups of visitors, native and 
 foreign, rest and regale themselves, giving a Wattcau-like character to the composition. 
 The drawing and disposition of his figures ar.e certainly not the least commendable points 
 in the works of Harding, and these qualities always add to the value, as they 
 undoubtedly enhance the beauty, of his pictures. He knew where to place them, 
 so that they shall constitute a pleasing as well as, from an artistic point of view, almost 
 a necessary part of the subject. They never seem to be introduced for any other purpose 
 than that they ought to be there as an integral portion of the composition ; and they are 
 generally so circumstanced, both in action and costume, as to appear such. 
 
 The painting, from which the engraving was taken, is in the Eoyal Collection in 
 Buckingham Palace. It illustrates, with reference to the time when, and the circum- 
 stances under which, it was sketched, almost the closing scene of that great and real 
 
PROPOSED TRANSFER OF THE BUILDING. 
 
 2 3 
 
 drama which, during so many months, had engaged the attention of every civilised people 
 in the world, either as actors or spectators, or both. The first " Crystal Palace," having 
 fulfilled its purpose of enlightening the nations in the arts of peace, and of engaging them 
 in honourable pacific rivalry, was levelled to the ground, but only to rise again elsewhere, 
 and with more varied attractions than it offered when standing, the world's wonder, in 
 "Hyde Park in 1851." 
 
 It could scarcely have been expected that such an edifice, so original in its plan, so 
 admirable in its constructive mechanism, so vast in its dimensions, and so capable of being 
 used for other and somewhat analogous purposes, would be allowed to disappear from 
 the surface of the earth without some attempts being made at a very early stage of its 
 anticipated dissolution to save it from such an end. Beyond these reasons, which pressed 
 strongly on the mind of the public at that time, were the recollections of the almost 
 universal satisfaction at what the Exhibition had achieved, and the pride which as 
 Englishmen we all felt at its success, to which the building itself had undoubtedly so 
 largely contributed. The " Crystal Palace " had become a feature of the metropolis, and 
 must remain so. Eefore its doors were finally closed, estimates were procured by Mr. 
 Paxton from Messrs. Fox and Henderson of the cost of putting the building into good 
 condition for future use ; and they reported their willingness to undertake to do all that 
 was necessary for future permanent occupation for from £12,000 to £15,000, a sum which 
 was to include the expense of substituting glass for all the boarding, where it had been 
 found necessary to include the latter, and for putting the roof and every other part of the 
 edifice into complete repair, substantial and decorative. This was the first move towards 
 its restoration, though it came to no definite issue in that direction. The building was, in 
 fact, the property of the contractors, of whom the Eoyal Commissioners of the Exhibition 
 had hired it for a specified time, paying for its use out of the accumulated funds, which 
 amounted to rather more than half a million, arising from public subscriptions — a kind of 
 guarantee fund — entrance fees, and receipts of various descriptions. When all pecuniary 
 obligations were discharged, a balance of about £150,000 was stated to have remained in 
 the hands of the Commissioners. We shall find occasion to refer to this presently, for the 
 money was the foundation of most important results to the arts of the country. 
 
 There was in the early part of 1852 some idea on the part of Government to take the 
 building into its own hands, with the object, it was assumed, of converting it into a 
 national gallery, or a national museum, or something of the kind ; for it was well known 
 that the Prince Consort had long entertained the notion of centralizing all our Art collec- 
 tions in the vicinity of Hyde Park. This probably was the reason why, at the period just 
 
2 4 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1851. 
 
 mentioned, the Lords of the Treasury appointed a Commission of three members, Lord 
 Seymour, Sir W. Cubitt, and Dr. Lindley, to ascertain the cost of purchasing the 
 structure, of keeping it in repair, of making it a permanent edifice, of removing it to some 
 other situation, and, generally, the purposes to which, if retained, it could best be applied. 
 The result of the inquiries thus instituted appeared two or three months afterwards in the 
 reply given by Lord John Manners, then First Commissioner of "Works and Public 
 Buildings, to a question put to him in the House of Commons: he said "that under 
 the existing arrangement the contractors were bound to remove the building on the 
 1st of June (1852). An address was presented to Her Majesty for an inquiry as to the 
 expediency of retaining the building, or removing it to some other site. The Commission 
 in consequence was appointed, sat for some time, and after hearing a considerable 
 amount of evidence, presented its report. Both that report and the evidence were now 
 printed for the use of Members of the House, and the report recommended that the 
 existing agreement should not be interfered with, the reasons which induced the Com- 
 missioners to make this report appearing amply sufficient. It was not, therefore, the 
 intention of Her Majesty's Government to propose any interference with the existing 
 arrangements which would necessitate the removal of the building." This, of course, 
 at once sealed its fate, so far as there might have been any intention of employing it for 
 public purposes by the Government, and in Hyde Park. 
 
 But it was taken down and carried away piecemeal, as it were, only to be recon- 
 structed elsewhere. In the spring of 1852 a company w T as formed, with an assumed 
 capital of half a million sterling, by whom the materials were purchased from Messrs. 
 Fox and Henderson, with the intention of rebuilding the edifice where it now stands at 
 Sydenham ; than which a finer spot could not have been selected in the vicinity of 
 London, though the view from the edifice has now lost much of its quiet and picturesque 
 character by the large number of houses which have since been erected in the neighbour- 
 hood : in fact, a vast population has grown up all round, owing in a great measure to the 
 advantages of the Crystal Palace itself as a place of universal attraction throughout the 
 entire year, and scarcely less so as a centre of instruction. On the 5th of August of 
 the year just stated the ceremony of rearing the first column of the resuscitated "palace " 
 took place with no little " pomp and circumstance." A large and influential company 
 was invited to witness the proceedings ; the column being fixed in its place by Mr. W. 
 S. Laing, M.P., the then Chairman of the Crystal Palace Company : when he had finished 
 his task those who had received invitations to be present — about six hundred guests — sat 
 down to a sumptuous dejeuner supplied at the cost of Messrs. Fox and Henderson. The 
 former of these two gentlemen and Mr. Paxton had, soon after the closing of the Exhibition, 
 
THE CRYSTAL PALACE AT SYDENHAM. 
 
 *5 
 
 received the honour of knighthood at the hands of the Queen, and were now known 
 respectively as Sir Charles Fox and Sir Joseph Paxton. The object for which the 
 Crystal Palace was reconstructed at Sydenham was described by Mr. Laing in the course 
 of his speech at the banquet. "If, for the mass of our population," he said, "we could 
 provide some more refined amusements than those of Greenwich or Windmill Hill ; or, 
 worse than all, the gin palace or the saloon, we should go a great way towards advancing 
 the character of the English nation. Its character — the character especially of the 
 labouring population, in regard to moral and intellectual attainments — has made a great 
 advance within our recollection ; and the time had come when the gentlemen of England 
 must look to themselves ; and in truth, to keep their places, they must advance. No 
 doubt they would do so ; and, while elevating the masses of our population to the standard 
 which had attached to the character of the English gentleman, we should see our 
 aristocracy rising to a still greater height of moral and intellectual refinement. The right 
 object to be kept in view was, not to make all equal, by dragging the high down to the 
 level of the low, but to raise the low to the level of the high. "What was wanting for the 
 elevation of our working-classes was that very description of refinement which it might 
 be hoped would be afforded by contemplating the marvels of Nature and Art in a palace 
 like that about to be erected. As the means of recreation, the question turned upon the 
 temptation that could be afforded to those to visit a scene easy of access. Now the 
 experience of the Great Exhibition of 1851 had fully confuted the notion that they were 
 unworthy of a place of amusement — that they were so immersed in the fumes of tobacco 
 and spirit that it was useless to hold out to them any temptation to better things : 
 six millions of visitors in less than six months conducted themselves with a propriety 
 which refuted that calumny, and proved that, if the palace be made worthy of the 
 people of England, the people would flock in millions to it. But, further, it was proposed 
 to combine instruction with amusement. The tendency of the age was, not to appeal to 
 the faculties by dry abstractions or words, but by appeals to the eye ; and the object would 
 be to present, as in an illustrated edition on a large scale, all the marvels of Industry 
 and Art." 
 
 That the directors had this object in view was proved by the fact that they at once 
 dispatched the late Mr. Owen Jones and the late Sir M. Digby Wyatt, Arcades ambo, on 
 an artistic tour through France, Italy, and Germany, for the purpose of collecting 
 illustrations of architecture and sculpture, of which arts the histories were to be represented 
 by copies of ancient and modern specimens, under the direction of these gentlemen. 
 And so by the end of the year 1802, while preparations were being made in Hyde Park 
 for re-covering with turf the site of the first Crystal Palace, the second was gradually 
 
 u 
 
26 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1851. 
 
 occupying its position on the range of hilly ground overlooking a vast extent of 
 landscape in Kent and Surrey. 
 
 Not till the 10th of June, 1854, were its doors thrown open to the public, so gigantic 
 had been the scheme of the directors, and such the amount of labour both inside and out- 
 side, the edifice to perfect all concerning it. The presence of the Queen and the Prince 
 Consort gave to the proceedings of the day a distinction certainly more remarkable than 
 that which attended the opening of its predecessor in Hyde Park ; inasmuch as in the latter 
 case the illustrious visitors inaugurated an undertaking of a national character, while in 
 the former they were conferring grace and honour upon a private enterprise. Moreover 
 the structure was in a measure consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 
 presence of the Ministers of State, foreign ambassadors, and a host of persons conspicuous 
 for rank, or eminent in art, science, and literature. The public had been led to expect 
 much from the reports which had appeared in the daily papers and other publications from 
 time to time, and also from what might have been seen in progress ; but most assuredly 
 men were ready to exclaim on that opening day, somewhat after the manner of the 
 Queen of Sheba's address to Solomon, when she had seen the wisdom of Solomon and the 
 house he had built — " Behold the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not 
 told me." 
 
 Whether the Crystal Palace has, after a lifetime of nearly a quarter of a century, 
 realised the hopes of its projectors, and fulfilled all the conditions set forth at the outset 
 of the undertaking, it is not the province of the writer of this work to inquire. One 
 thing is quite certain : it has afforded, in a variety of ways, unmingled pleasure and 
 recreation every year to thousands of all ranks and conditions, Englishmen as well as 
 foreigners, of almost every civilised nation under the sun. It has combined, and yet does 
 combine, amusement with instruction ; and if the directors permit displays of fireworks, 
 and balloon ascents, and feats of horsemanship, and tight-rope dancing, and other 
 exhibitions of a somewhat kindred character to attract the " gaping crowd," it should also 
 be remembered that the Crystal Palace has too a large and constantly changing picture- 
 gallery containing many excellent works ; that sculpture is well represented by admirable 
 casts of the finest examples the world can show ; that the different courts are valuable 
 studies for the admirers of architecture ; and that there is a well-organized educational 
 school within the building, superintended by masters of reputation in the various branches 
 of the arts and sciences, which is understood to be well supported: the "Palace" having 
 attracted to the neighbourhood a large number of residents, chiefly for the purpose of 
 using it for the educational advantages it offers. The fire which destroyed, a few years 
 ago, the large portion of the eastern end of the building, known as the "Tropical" 
 
SURPLUS FUNDS. 27 
 
 department, was most unfortunate. The damage then done was irreparable, even if 
 the directors had had funds ample enough — which they did not have, and never have 
 since had — to rebuild it as it originally stood; for the collection of tropical plants 
 therein was unique, and could only be replaced in its entirety by others having a century 
 of growth. 
 
 If ever the Crystal Palace should become bankrupt, to use a commercial phrase — 
 and we will sincerely hope it never will come into such an unfortunate position — London 
 would lose one of its greatest attractions : it would, in truth, be a national misfortune, 
 and every Englishman would regret it, for we have all looked upon it with pride 
 from its completion, in 1851, to the present day : Us to perpetua is what we all desire 
 for its motto. 
 
 There is, however, another result arising out of the International Exhibition of 1851 
 far more important in its utility and permanence to the country at large than the splendid 
 edifice at Sydenham and its contents ; and this is the South Kensington Museum, which 
 has already attained such a vastness of proportion, and such influence as an educational 
 centre, wherein are accumulated an enormous mass of stores of every kind, not only for 
 the delight of the eye, but also for the purpose of diffusing useful knowledge among all 
 classes, that it will compare favourably with, if indeed it does not surpass, any similar 
 institution in the world : taking into account our position as a commercial and manufac- 
 turing nation, it is doubtful whether any other country could have gathered together such 
 a large and diversified aggregation of objects as are to be found in that most interesting 
 and popular place of public resort, the Museum at Kensington. 
 
 The Eoyal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 is in existence to this day: it has 
 never been dissolved, though, of course, death and other causes have removed most of tin- 
 original members. His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales now occupies, and worthily 
 too, the part of President so ably represented in time past by his august father the Prince 
 Consort. From the Commissioners' Eeport drawn up to the 1st of November, 1852, it was 
 ascertained that a sum of £170,000 in "round numbers" formed the surplus of funds 
 arising from the Exhibition, after all outstanding liabilities were discharged, and that, in 
 addition to this pecuniary amount, the Commissioners were in possession of a collection of 
 objects presented by exhibitors and foreign governments valued at £9,000. With respect 
 to the appropriation of this surplus, the report gave an abstract of " suggestions and appli- 
 cations on the subject of the disposal, many of them being in favour of Mechanics' Institu- 
 tions and Schools of Design in the respective localities -whence such applications came. 
 Some of the larger manufacturing towns, as Birmingham, Bristol, Hull, Sheffield, the 
 
2 8 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF \ 
 
 Potteries, &c, advocated a 1 Central College of Arts and Manufactures in connection with 
 Provincial Schools.' " The report then proceeds to state that " these applications, and the 
 general tone of public feeling, have confirmed the views of the Commissioners, as before 
 expressed to her Majesty, that the requirement most felt by the country is an institution 
 which, in the words already employed by them, should ' serve to increase the means of 
 industrial education, and extend the influence of Science and Art upon productive 
 industry.' " 
 
 Prompted by each consideration, the Commissioners proceeded to argue upon the 
 policy of founding a large and comprehensive institution in the metropolis, which should 
 combine in it accommodation for some, at least, of the learned, scientific, and artistic 
 societies already in existence, and whose bounds were too narrow for their requirements ; 
 such as the Royal Society, the School of Mines, the College of Chemistry, the Royal 
 Academy, the National Gallery, the British Museum, and many others thus " cribbed, 
 cabined, and confined " in localities where they could not expand even if they had possessed 
 the means of enlarging their borders. The opinion was very generally entertained that 
 the Prince Consort was most desirous of carrying out a scheme he had long cherished in 
 his mind of collecting into one grand centre all our principal Art institutions ; and it 
 was thought this might be effected at South Kensington. The idea was attractive 
 enough, but the difficulties in the way of its accomplishment were too great to be 
 surmounted ; the project, which never took a substantial form, was altogether abandoned, 
 but only to be revived in another shape, which, if it is not entirely artistic, certainly 
 combines the Pine and Industrial Arts. 
 
 "Having regard then to the different questions," the Commissioners go on to remark, 
 " which we have now briefly touched upon, we beg to represent that it appears to us the 
 two things to be aimed at, as the preceding observations will serve to show, are the 
 adoption of a system, and the securing of a locality where that system may be developed." 
 "Whatever may originally have been included in the " system " — and we believe most of the 
 institutions just mentioned formed portions of the scheme — it is almost needless to observe 
 that scarcely one of them ultimately became a part of it. Great stress was laid on the 
 necessity of building a new National Gallery at Kensington, but that which we already 
 had in Trafalgar Square has, by recent enlargement, and by dispossessing the Royal 
 Academy of the wing allotted to it, been found adequate to the suitable exhibition of 
 the national pictures ; the Royal Academy has found a home for itself at Burlington 
 House, Piccadilly, where also the Royal Society and other learned institutions are lodged ; 
 the School of Mines has a fine building in J ermyn Street ; and the British Museum 
 still retains its old site in Bloomsbury. The edifice built out of the funds accruing 
 
THE SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM. 
 
 from the International Exhibition of 1851, parliamentary grants, and other sources, has 
 been devoted to purposes of its own — purposes of vast interest to every class among us, 
 and of great importance to many. 
 
 The report, on which the foregoing remarks are principally founded, states that 21 \ 
 acres of land, having a frontage of between 500 and 600 feet at Kensington Gore, where 
 the mansion of the celebrated Countess of Blessington then stood, had been purchased at 
 the cost of £65,000 ; but inasmuch as this space would be totally inadequate for the 
 purposes proposed by the Commissioners, another portion of ground, 48 acres in extent, 
 contiguous to the first lot bought, was secured for the sum of £153,500. The Commis- 
 sioners, however, did not authorise this latter purchase until they had the assurance of 
 Her Majesty's Government that they would engage to recommend to Parliament the 
 contribution of a sum of like amount towards the purposes contemplated, " either for 
 account of the Eoyal Commission, or for the joint account of the Commission and the 
 Government, or for division between them, as might afterwards be determined." When 
 the opportunity came, Mr. Disraeli, who then held the office of Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer, moved in the House of Commons for a vote of £150,000 for the purposes 
 to which the report refers : it was agreed to after a short discussion. 
 
 Early in 1856 a commencement was made of the building which has by degrees 
 expanded into the spacious and important edifice now known as the South Kensington 
 Museum. Its site is at the Brompton end of the Kensington Gore estate ; from the 
 peculiarity of its appearance towards the south, some of the public journals of the time 
 gave it the sobriquet of the "Brompton Boilers." By the way, it may be stated that 
 the " Boilers " are still in existence, doing excellent duty at the east end of London, 
 under the title of the " Bethnal Green Museum," which contains a large number of 
 most interesting and attractive works. Into the Kensington building were transferred by 
 degrees the objects presented to the Eoyal Commissioners by various contributors to the 
 1851 Exhibition, and the collection which had been gathered together in Marlborough 
 House, then used for the purposes of the Metropolitan School of Art. 
 
 On the evening of Saturday, June 20th, 1857, Her Majesty the Queen inaugurated, 
 but without the least state ceremony, the new National Museum, and minutely examined 
 the various collections of objects there brought together. The royal party included the 
 Prince Consort, the Princess Eoyal, the Princes of Prussia and Austria, with other 
 distinguished persons. Her Majesty was pleased to express her warm interest in the 
 Museum, and her entire satisfaction with the plan and arrangements which had been 
 adopted for its formation. The Prince Consort, as might be expected, interested himself 
 greatly in it, and in everything associated with it. 
 
 i 
 
3° 
 
 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1851. 
 
 From a report made by a Committee of the House of Commons in 1860, formed for 
 the purpose of inquiring into the cost of the Museum, its management, and many other 
 matters connected with it, it was ascertained that up to that date the sum of .£167,805 
 had been expended on the land, the buildings, and the collections. What it has now 
 grown into may be estimated from the fact, that the sum voted last year (1876) by the 
 House of Commons under the head of the Science and Art Department, of which the 
 South Kensington Museum is the head-quarters, was no less than £297,673. 
 
 The Museum appears to be still supported by parliamentary grants, though the Eoyal 
 Commissioners hold in their hands a very large sum of money, arising, it is believed, 
 chiefly from the lands originally acquired out of the funds of the 1851 Exhibition, and 
 with the vote of £150,000 already referred to. In the month of July of the present year 
 (1877) a deputation, representing upwards of fifty of the principal municipal corporations in 
 England, had an interview with the Prince of Wales, as President of the Commission, "to 
 urge upon his Eoyal Highness, and other Eoyal Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851, 
 the desirableness of applying to the direct promotion of Science and Art the funds in their 
 hands which had accrued from the investment of the surplus of the Great Exhibition, and 
 subsequent augmentations from property purchased therewith." It was assumed by the 
 leader and spokesman of the deputation, Mr. Chamberlain, M.P. for Birmingham, that the 
 Commissioners held a surplus of no less a sum than £720,000 ; and it was suggested that, 
 after the property was realised, and all liabilities were discharged, grants should be made 
 towards the erection of provincial museums, and the purchase of objects for exhibitions. 
 It was pointed out that great advantages would accrue to the inhabitants of populous 
 places, and those of manufacturing towns, by the presence of such museums in their 
 midst. The gentlemen forming the deputation stated, through their speaker, that their 
 constituents preferred this mode of disposing of a portion of the surplus to that suggested 
 by the Commissioners themselves; namely, the erection of scholarships for the benefit 
 of advanced students in Science and Art. The Prince of Wales promised that the views 
 of the deputation should be carefully considered by the Eoyal Commissioners. 
 
 From what has already been accomplished as the result of the International Exhibition 
 of 1851, and from what may remain of the harvest still to be gathered in, it is quite 
 evident the country has derived from it substantial benefits, which it is impossible to 
 overestimate; and this the nation owes mainly to the wise counsels, the organizing 
 ability, and the untiring energies of the Prince Consort. 
 
THE GREAT EXHIBITION STATUE. 
 
 m 
 
 t!0 
 
 T was stated by one of the speakers at a meeting held, under the presidency of 
 
 £ the then Lord Mayor, at the Mansion House, on the 7th of November, 1853, 
 
 that " the proposal to commemorate the Great Exhibition, and to place in Hyde 
 W ... 
 
 i, Park a statue of the illustrious Prince, to whom the world was indebted for 
 the mighty impetus given to civilisation in 1851, came rather too late than too 
 early." During the year 1852 the universal expectation was that "something would 
 be done;" but the year passed, and nothing was effected. We had nearly reached 
 the close of 1853 with a like result, and it seemed as if 1854 would have been 
 reached without any progress being made towards an object so desirable ; but 
 Alderman Challis — we believe it was he who occupied the civic chair in 1853 — made 
 a move towards the close of his official career for some memorial, and a sum oi 
 £5,000 was collected almost before the project had been publicly announced. A 
 committee was at once formed, and subscriptions to the amount of more than £6,000 
 were received by the beginning of the following year: these came from the metropolis 
 chiefly, for the towns in the provinces had not yet taken up the matter. 'When the 
 intention of raising a statue of the Prince Consort was made known to his Royal High.ni ss 
 he considered it advisable, or rather he wished, that the money collected — then about 
 £7,000 — should be applied to the endowment of professorships, or to the institution of 
 periodical exhibitions ; to the purchase of fine works of art for the National Museums, or 
 the endowment of prizes for specific objects; but, as he himself stated, that which appeared 
 to him "as the simplest and most effectual method would be to found scholarships, as 
 prizes for proficiency in certain branches of the study connected with Art and Science." 
 Some objection too was made at the time to the proposed memorial taking the form 
 
32 
 
 THE GREAT EXHIBITION STATUE. 
 
 of a simple statue, and especially during the lifetime of his Eoyal Highness, though such 
 a work already existed in Lloyd's Eoom in the Eoyal Exchange. Various forms for 
 the memorial to take were suggested at the outset : one was that of a temple decorated 
 with illustrative literature, painting, and sculpture, and containing full records of the 
 origin and achievements of the Great Exhibition, to be opened to the public and placed in 
 the centre of the site of the late building, at the intersection of the transept and avenue. 
 Another suggestion was that of a fountain, to occupy the same spot, and so arranged as 
 to have various illustrative sculptures associated with it ; while the whole space occupied 
 in the Park by the original building, according to its plan, might be indicated by its 
 being laid out as an ornamental garden, with grass walks for the transept avenue and 
 the other passages, and parterres for the blocks of exhibition space, with vases and 
 illustrative statues interspersed, and four obelisks to mark the angles of the area. In 
 whatever plans were put forth sculpture, rather than architecture, seemed to form the 
 leading idea. 
 
 Among the projects which, in the earliest stages of the proposed undertaking, found 
 some favour with those interested in it was one so eccentric, not to say absurd, as almost 
 to surpass belief : at this distance of time it could scarcely be credited that any number 
 of gentlemen M r ould be so infatuated as to consider that the colossal statue of Eichard 
 Cceur de Lion, by Baron Marochetti, which had been a prominent object in the Exhibition, 
 and which now stands near the royal entrance to the Houses of Parliament, was a fitting 
 embodiment and representation to serve as a memorial of the " world's fair." What ideas 
 are naturally associated with this undoubtedly fine example of art and the use to which 
 it would then have been applied ? A rampant warrior to symbolize the triumph of peace ! 
 The hero of a remote and comparative barbarism to express the sum of all that civilisation 
 which the ages had since been building up ! It was truly said by an anonymous writer 
 that, " in the days of Cceur de Lion, and under the moral of his time, this gathering of 
 the nations would have been simply impossible — and in the age and the land which 
 raised the Palace of Glass, Cceur de Lion could not himself have existed." One of the 
 precise proclamations, made by inference in the Exhibition building, was that Eichard and 
 the age he represents were actually dead. By what strange perversity of thought, then, 
 he could be taken to typify an age of industries, of which the Palace and its contents were 
 the expression, one is utterly at a loss to understand. 
 
 The sum subscribed, and actually in the hands of the treasurer, the late Mr. Alderman 
 Challis, was in the early part of 1857 about £6,000, after paying all expenses. The 
 movement had certainly not made rapid progress, less because the public took no lively 
 interest in it, than from the fact that hitherto there had been no definite proposition before 
 
THE GREAT EXHIBITION STATUE. 
 
 33 
 
 them, while much controversy prevailed among those who had made themselves responsible 
 for the result. But at length, and towards the close of the year just mentioned, the two 
 Honorary Secretaries of the Committee, Dr. Booth of the Society of Arts, and Mr. George 
 Godwin, F.S.A., issued an advertisement inviting " sculptors, architects, and others " 
 to send in designs for the intended memorial, which, it was assumed, might now take 
 another form than that of a statue only ; the sum collected having considerably exceeded 
 what such a work would cost. In answer to the invitation, twenty-two models and 
 twenty-eight drawings were sent in to the place appointed for their reception, the South 
 Kensington Museum. This was in the spring of 1858 ; when the Committee, aided by the 
 following gentlemen as " adjudicators," Lord Mont eagle, Lord Goderich, Messrs. W. Tite, 
 M.P., E. Westmaeott, E.A., and D. Maclise, E.A., had made their selection, it was found 
 that the choice had fallen on a model contributed by Joseph Durham, A.E.A. It was a 
 composition combining both architecture and sculpture ; the latter art, however, largely 
 predominating, as might have been expected from one who is a sculptor by profession. 
 The design may be thus described ; and in certain particulars it will be found to claim 
 some resemblance to the Memorial which now stands in Hyde Park. Mr. Durham's 
 model represented Britannia seated on a massive pedestal distributing to the victors, it 
 may be supposed, crowns of laurel. On her shield was a medallion of the Prince Consort. 
 The four quarters of the world were personified by appropriate figures : Europe, " like 
 another Cybele, crowned with cities," has sheathed her sword and wreathed it with laurel, 
 as we were then at peace. Asia appeared as a female richly attired, and surrendering 
 herself to voluptuous ease. Africa was symbolized by a woman with the characteristics 
 of a negro, and personally and morally in the same state in which her ancestors were a 
 thousand years ago. America was represented, and most fittingly, as a daughter of 
 Britannia ; but instead of a helmet she wore a cap of liberty, and had at her side the 
 national flag with the stars and stripes. 
 
 Nothing, however, was done towards carrying out this or any other design during that 
 year (1858) or in 1859. The principal reason for the delay was stated at a meeting of the 
 General Committee held at the Mansion House in January 18G0, to receive a report of the 
 Acting Committee ; which stated, in substance, that having failed to obtain for the memorial 
 a site in Hyde Park — the memorial here referred to was that by Mr. Durham — on the 
 ground that public erections of any kind were inadmissible there ; and inasmuch as part of 
 the estate purchased by the -Royal Commissioners was about to be laid out in ornamental 
 gardens by the Horticultural Society, the Acting Committee recommended that arrange- 
 ments be made for placing the memorial in the latter advantageous position. It may here 
 be said that the sculptured work was erected in the gardens, and uncovered with much 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 THE GREAT EXHIBITION STATUE. 
 
 ceremony, in June 18G3, by their Koyal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, the 
 latter of whom had then been with us scarcely more than three months. As has been 
 already remarked, Mr. Durham's design originally had a figure of Britannia as its leading 
 feature, the head being a portrait of the Queen ; but at the suggestion of the Prince 
 Consort an alteration was made — a statue of Her Majesty, with the attributes of Peace, was 
 substituted for it. Unhappily, before the alteration was effected, the Prince was lost to the 
 country, and, within a fortnight after the death of his Eoyal Highness, the Queen signified 
 her wish that a statue of him should take the place intended for her ; the Prince of 
 Wales at the same time expressed a desire that it should be a gift from himself. 
 
 This, then, is " The Memorial of the 1851 Exhibition," as it is called. Why it is not 
 in the place originally intended for it, it is now needless to inquire ; it is not, certainly, 
 out of place in the Horticultural Gardens, though but few comparatively are able to see 
 and to admire it, for it is altogether an imposing work ; the statue stands on a lofty 
 pedestal, showing at each angle a projecting architrave supported by two Corinthian 
 columns ; at the base of each pair is a seated figure representing one of the four quarters 
 of the globe. The body of the memorial is of grey granite, the columns, and the panels 
 in the plinth containing the inscriptions, are of polished red granite from the quarries of 
 Aberdeenshire ; the statues are all of them of bronze — that of the Prince Consort shows 
 him in the robes of the Grand Master of the Order of the Bath ; the caps and bases of 
 the columns are also of bronze. The whole is forty-two feet in height by eighteen feet 
 across the base at the angles ; it stands at the head of the lake in the gardens facing the 
 conservatory. The work is, with the exception of the statue of the Prince Consort — 
 presented by his Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales — the result of subscriptions received 
 soon after the close of the Exhibition of 1851. 
 
THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
3 ARMYTAGE 
 
THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 | pflj( S soon as the British people had had time to understand how great was the loss 
 |jp|3^ sustained in the death of Prince Albert it was very generally allowed that, 
 *j|j|P as a national expression of the esteem felt for him by all classes of the community, 
 the statue in the Horticultural Gardens was quite inadequate. It was therefore 
 proposed, at a meeting held at the Mansion House, in January 1862, during the 
 mayoralty of Mr. William Cubitt, "to consider the propriety of inviting subscriptions for 
 the purpose of erecting a lasting memorial to his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, and 
 to adopt such measures for carrying out the object as may then be decided." At the 
 meeting in question the following resolutions were moved, and carried unanimously : — 
 1st, "That this meeting, deeply deploring the loss the country has sustained by the 
 lamented death of his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, whose powerful and well- 
 regulated mind and great abilities have, for more than twenty years, been unceasingly 
 devoted to improving the condition of the humbler classes, to the development and 
 extension of science and art, and to the judicious education and training of the royal 
 family, is of opinion that a lasting memorial should be erected, commemorative of his 
 many virtues and expressive of the gratitude of the people." 2ndly, "That the memorial 
 recommended should be of a monumental and national character, and that its design and 
 mode of execution be approved by her most gracious Majesty the Queen." And ordly. 
 " That committees should be formed throughout the United Kingdom to raise subscriptions 
 for the proposed memorial, and that her Majesty's subjects be invited to subscribe." 
 
 The next step was to communicate to her Majesty the results of the meeting, in order 
 to ascertain from her what her wishes might be with respect to the matter. The Queen 
 requested the Earl of Derby, the Earl of Clarendon, Sir Charles L. Eastlake, P.R.A., and 
 
36 
 
 THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 the Lord Mayor (Mr. Cubitt), to form a committee to assist her Majesty in selecting a 
 suitable design, and to arrange the details of its execution. Ultimately this committee 
 determined to have the advice and assistance of some of the most eminent architects of 
 the time, as Sir William Tite, Sir G. Gilbert Scott, E.A., Sir James Pennethorne, Sir M. 
 Digby Wyatt, Messrs. Sydney Smirke, E.A., P. C. Hardwick, E.A., and T. L. Donaldson, 
 who drew up a report for the information of the committee. To carry out the recom- 
 mendations of the report submitted by these professional gentlemen, they were requested 
 to submit designs for "a personal Monument to be erected on a site between the end of 
 Eotten Eow and the north side of the drive to Kensington, and also for a Memorial Hall 
 to be built to the south of the high road to Kensington, upon the estate of the Commis- 
 sioners of the Exhibition of 1851. All the above-named architects, with the exception 
 of Sir William Tite and Mr. Sydney Smirke, submitted designs for the proposed work ; 
 so also did Messrs. C. and E. M. Barry : from these the Queen, with the advice of her 
 committee, selected that of Sir G. G. Scott; this was in 18G4. The idea of a Memorial 
 Hall was subsequently abandoned, as it was found there were not funds sufficient for 
 erecting that and the personal Memorial also ; but it has since been built with funds 
 arising from a joint-stock undertaking. 
 
 In a very few months' time workmen were employed in enclosing the ground in 
 Hyde Park on which the Memorial was to be erected. Early in the following year the 
 sculptors selected to take part in the execution of the work were preparing models of the 
 various subjects intrusted to them. In the meantime subscriptions continued to flow 
 iu, so that in the spring of 18G6 a sum exceeding £59,000 had been collected. The 
 estimated cost of the Memorial was £110,000 ; the public subscriptions reached £00,000, 
 and the House of Commons, in 1863, voted the balance of £50.000. 
 
 The structural form and architectural effect of the architect's design had been 
 previously indicated by such works as the old Eleanor crosses, Sir Walter Scott's 
 monument in Edinburgh, and some few other somewhat similar edifices on the Continent • 
 the leading idea being an elevated statue of the Prince Consort enclosed in a gorgeous 
 shrine or canopy of costly marbles and wrought ironwork : the statue, seated, becomes 
 therefore an enthroned impersonation. It has been well said, "The special glory of the 
 sculptor's art is, that it seeks for its own grandest expressions their full perfection through 
 an alliance with other arts. The finest statue in the world rises to a more exalted dignity 
 when associated with the finest architecture. A statue of a man, like a man, is not 
 designed to appear in a condition of isolation. A commemorative statue requires, iu 
 an especial degree, to be grouped with various accessories, the productions of other arts." 
 And thus the statue of the Prince is honoured, and the dignity of the Memorial itself is 
 
THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 37 
 
 enhanced, by noble groups of historic sculpture, and by an architectural canopy of 
 unrivalled magnificence. The sculptured groups of figures very happily symbolize the 
 more important incidents with which his Eoyal Ilighness was either directly or indirectly 
 associated during his lifetime with us ; while the canopy, which covers the statue, and rises 
 high in varied richness above it, is a true type of his exalted rank and station, and yet 
 more of his personal dignity and worth. 
 
 The annexed engraving shows the Memorial as it now stands in its complete form : a 
 brief description of it cannot be considered as out of place. The platform whereon the 
 structure rests is composed of a double flight of wide-spread steps ; on a pedestal placed at 
 each angle of the lower range of steps is one of the large sculptural groups representing 
 respectively the four quarters of the world. The podium, or continuous pedestal 
 immediately below the statue of the Prince, is decorated by a frieze-like composition, or 
 historic series of the most renowned artists, poets, men of science, and others, arranged 
 after the manner of the French painter Delaroche's famous " Ilemicycle." On the 
 projecting angles of the podium are placed groups of sculpture typical of commerce, 
 agriculture, manufactures, and engineering, the 11 arts of peace, which the Prince, through 
 International Exhibitions and other public acts, sought to promote." The canopy, that 
 springs from this member of the entire structure, is sustained at the four angles by 
 clustered granite columns, from which spring the arches supporting the vaulted roof, and 
 the four gables or tympana, richly decorated with enamel mosaics. Above rises the 
 lofty spire with its tabernacle work, terminating in a cross at the height of 170 feet from 
 the extreme base. Speaking generally, it may be said that the enrichments of this highly- 
 wrought shrine consist of statues, mosaics, metal-work plain and enamelled, and inlays of 
 rich polished stones, such as crystals, cornelians, granite, porphyry, &c. ; thus is obtained 
 preciousncss of material, richness of polychromy, and the combined splendour and com- 
 pleteness which result from the associated arts. 
 
 A writer, who visited the spot in the early da} T s of the structure, says, " This 
 brickwork skeleton, which will shortly be clothed with marble and with statuary, is in 
 itself an interesting and instructive study. While walking beneath the massive arches 
 that are to sustain many tons weight of superincumbent material, we recollect the crypts 
 of old cathedrals, and even the chambers of the Egyptian pyramids. It has been supposed 
 that we have lost the appliances which ancient peoples employed to the building of the 
 temples of Egypt, the palaces of Assyria, and the tomb of Mausolius. But though we 
 may scarcely know the precise means by which the nations of old moved ponderous masses, 
 yet our own public works, and this Albert Memorial conspicuously among the number, 
 testify to mechanical powers greater than any before brought to bear. It is little to say 
 
 L 
 
38 
 
 THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 that Mr. Kelk, the contractor, is not one whit behind the master-builder of Pharaoh. 
 Interesting comparisons may also be made between the materials at the disposal of builders 
 in ancient and modern times. For example, Egypt contained few quarries, and those 
 yielded, for temples, palaces, and obelisks, little but sandstone and granite. For contrast, 
 let any one walk within the hoarding which encircles the site of the Memorial, and count 
 the materials that wide-world commerce brings to the English shores. On this spot may 
 be seen Irish granite, Eoss of Mull granite, Corrinic granite — a beautiful pink granite 
 from Captain Gordon's estate in the Highlands — and Italian marbles, especially that 
 species of Carrara known as Sicilian. To these will be added, as the work advances, 
 materials which, by their preciousness, may be counted as loving offerings of sacrifice — 
 marbles, stones, enamels, and mosaics, which also serve to give the decorated structure 
 richness and variety of colour." 
 
 But the structure demands more detailed description than we have yet given to it. 
 As already has been remarked, the central object of the whole composition is a statue 
 of the Prince, of colossal size, seated. Around, at different levels, and associated with 
 frieze-like bands of sculpture in high relief, are numerous groups of sculptured figures. 
 In closer proximity to the statue- stand the architectural shafts or supports of the arched 
 and vaulted canopy, by which the figure is covered, protected, and honoured. The main 
 structure of the canopy itself has four great arches, severally opening to the cardinal 
 points. Each arch is surmounted by a lofty pointed gable, and from each gable a ridged 
 roof leads inwards towards a central square tower that partially cuts off their intercourse, 
 and rises above them. This central tower is carried up, spire-like, in tapering outline, 
 in five stages, gradually diminishing in horizontal dimensions, until the whole culminates 
 in a bold shaft, richly adorned, supporting a ball surmounted by a cross. The architecture 
 iu granite, serpentine, alabaster, and marble, Sir G. Gilbert Scott, the architect of the 
 Memorial, caused to be executed under his immediate superintendence. The composition 
 includes a considerable amount of Yenetian mosaic, from the famous establishment of Dr. 
 Salviati, of Venice. Lastly, the canopy, tower, and spire, with all their details, including 
 with them also the four great roofs and gables of the cauopy, are in metal- work, which the 
 architect intrusted for execution to Mr. Skidmore, of Coventry, in whose establishment 
 some of the finest examples of such work, the production of modern times — including the 
 choir-screens of the cathedrals of Lichfield and Hereford — were produced. 
 
 The conditions under which Mr. Skidmoi e undertook his task were calculated to tax 
 his taste and skill and professional knowledge to the utmost. His commission was to 
 execute what is, probably, the most important artistic metal- work that now exists through- 
 out the world : he was required to carry out designs of the highest art, in the treatment 
 
THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 39 
 
 of which colour was to be an element of leading authority, and for which there could be no 
 shelter or protection whatever. Here was a fair trial for the capacity of metal-architecture 
 of the highest order as a living art. Everything combined to increase the severity of the 
 test to which both the art and the artist wore thus exposed. The Memorial was one 
 whereon the critical eyes of the nation would certainly be centred : it was associated with 
 a most noble name, and it was to cherish a most honoured memory ; the ablest artists 
 in other departments of art would exercise upon it their full powers, and the architecture', 
 the sculpture, and the metal-work would each and all be estimated by the same standard. 
 Under such circumstances failure would be the more disastrous, through comparison with 
 surrounding successes ; but success, under these same circumstances, would be the more 
 triumphant. Mr. Skidmore and his staff proved, as the result testifies, most fully their 
 fitness for the work assigned them : wrought-iron was employed for the whole of the 
 framework, and cast-iron for the structural parts that were to be built upon this frame- 
 work. All the more distinguished visible portions of the work, the bases and capitals of 
 columns, the cornices, crestings, finials, and other similar details, and with them the cross 
 crowning the whole edifice, were to be, and are, of bronze. Then it became necessary to 
 take into consideration the principle which was to govern the production of the general 
 surface-ornamentation, and with which the means to be employed for the protection of the 
 iron-work from the atmosphere was to be associated. Like a true master of his art, Mr. 
 Skidmore converted this grave difficulty into a success : he covered with lead the whole of 
 the iron-work that otherwise would be visible and, consequently, exposed to atmospheric 
 action. Lead and bronze are the only visible, and therefore the only assailable, metals. 
 The lead-covering is never less than one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and the whole 
 is soldered together with such scrupulous care that not a single atom of the destructible 
 metal can possibly admit a minute spot of oxidation. In the second service which it has 
 been required to render, the lead-covering is recompensed for doing such effectual duty as 
 a protector ; for it is wrought into an elaborate series of exquisite surface-designs, of 
 which the leading motive is, to form ^■t/iiu/s for innumerable pieces of polished agate, onyx, 
 jasper, cornelian, crystal, marble, granite, and other richly coloured hard substances, to- 
 gether with inlays of enamels of various hues. Gilding has been used freely, but cautiously 
 and judiciously, so as to enrich without overloading; and it extends to the bronze cornices, 
 crestings, finials, capitals, &c, the latter of which are formed of bold and beautiful foliage 
 slightly conventionalised, and executed, by hand and hammer, with an exquisite combina- 
 tion of sharpness, crispness, and delicacy. In due recognition of the ductile and more 
 irrepressible qualities of lead, the objects made of this metal are wrought into designs 
 of a very different character. Abundantly varied, sometimes evidently adapted to their 
 
40 
 
 THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 real and special purposes of receiving inlays of enamel or polished stones, and at other 
 times forming in themselves filigree- work of great beauty, the designs for the lead-work 
 at once contrast and harmonize most effectively with the bronze-work. 
 
 In describing the different stages or compartments into which the upper portion of the 
 Memorial is divided, we begin with the cross that forms the finial of the entire edifice : 
 this is a work of great beauty ; it is in the form of a Latin cross, and is executed in 
 bronze, with inlays of stones and rich gilding. It stands upon a highly ornamented globe, 
 which, in its turn, rests upon the foliated capital of a single cylindrical shaft, wreathed 
 towards its head with spiral enrichment, and lower down wrought to an octagonal 
 section, having four of its faces studded with gem-work, while a statue is placed in front 
 of each of its other four faces. Sixteen bronze statues of various heights are grouped 
 about the several stages of the spire, and add greatly to the dignified beauty of the whole 
 composition. The finials of the four great gables are noble works, all in bronze, 
 gemmed and touched with gold, and they lead grandly up to the cross that rises high above 
 them all. 
 
 The stage immediately below consists of an octagonal centre, girt about by four 
 beautiful spiral columns, which are detached, and act as pedestals to the statues above 
 them. The capitals and bases of these shafts are banded in with the main structure, and 
 the shafts themselves alternate with a trail of simple yet most effective crockets issuing 
 from the central pier. 
 
 Another stage lower has four statues ; above each of these figures rises a trefoil arch, 
 thirteen and a half feet high, from clustered shafts with tall pinnacles ; each arch is 
 crowned by a lofty triangular canopy, with cresting and finial. Within the group of 
 statues the main structure of square section stands, and from its cornice an arched vaulting 
 bends gracefully outwards, to form a canopy above the figures. Smaller statues are set in 
 advance of the angles of this peculiarly fine compartment of the composition, which most 
 effectively diversifies, while it consolidates, the series of tapering stages of the spire. 
 
 The statues incorporated, as it were, with the structure are thus placed. At the angles 
 are eight bronze figures of seven feet six inches high, representing the greater sciences : 
 those typifying Astronomy, Chemistry, Ehetoric, and Medicine are by H. H. Armstead, 
 A.E.A. ; Geology, Geometry, Philosophy, and Physiology are the work of the late J. B. 
 Philip. In the great niches of the spire are representative statues, eight feet in height, of 
 the four greater Christian virtues — Faith, Hope, Charity, and Humility; while at the 
 angles of the niches are placed the four greater moral virtues — Fortitude, Justice, Prudence, 
 and Temperance. The whole of these eight statues are of bronze gilt. They were 
 designed by the late J. Eedfern, and executed by Mr. Skidmore, by whom, moreover, are 
 
THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 41 
 
 the eight angels, also bronze gilt, clustered round the base of the cross in two ranks. 
 They were modelled by the late J. B. Philip. 
 
 The next lower compartment, which is the fourth from the crowning shaft, is square in 
 plan, with angle buttresses of one projection set diagonally, and having well in advance of 
 each buttress a fine spiral shaft eleven feet in height. The four sides of this compartment, 
 with the buttresses and shafts, are ornamented with beautiful designs ; the spiral 
 enrichments of the detached shafts being in happy contrast to the rest. This compartment 
 rests upon the main central tower, with its square angle-shafts and statues. The faces of 
 this tower are elaborately diapered with the monogram of the Prince, an initial A crowned, 
 and with the two principal German crests borne by his Eoyal Highness, the whole in 
 square panels. From the tower the four great gables of the canopy radiate at right angles. 
 The roofs are covered with leaden curved tiles, if they may be called so, studded and 
 enamelled, upwards of one thousand in number, each weighing more than a quarter of a 
 hundredweight. The beautiful bronze cresting of these tiles is about twenty-two inches in 
 height, and that of the roof ridges is somewhat higher. Each of the gables is upwards of 
 nineteen feet in height, without the cresting, and the span at the base of the triangle 
 measures twenty-eight feet, also not including the cresting. Within each of these gables, 
 the enclosed triangular tympanum is filled with Dr. Salviati's mosaics from designs by 
 Messrs. Clayton and Bell. The front of each tympanum is filled with an allegorical figure, 
 representing respectively Poetry and Music, Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture ; and in 
 the spandrils beneath are seen figures practising the art. They are thus described in a little 
 book, descriptive of the Memorial, published by Mr. John Murray : "On the South front 
 the figure of Poetry holds a lyre in her right hand, and in her left hand a scroll, on which 
 are inscribed the names of Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare 1 , and Moliere. The figures of 
 King David and Homer are inserted in the niches of the throne. In the spandrils are 
 shown the poet and the musician. On the East side the figure of Painting holds a palette 
 and brushes in the left hand ; the right hand resting on a strained canvas. The figures 
 of Apelles and Eaphael are shown in the niches of the throne ; the painter and his model 
 fill the spandrils. On the North side the figure of Architecture holds a pair of compasses 
 and a sketch of the Memorial itself; the niches of the throne being occupied by the 
 figures of Solomon and Ictinus. The former holds a model of the Jewish Temple, and the 
 latter a model of the Parthenon. In the spandrils appear the designer and the builder. 
 On the West side the figure of Sculpture holds in one hand a small model, and in the 
 other a sculptor's mallet ; the niches of the throne being occupied by figures of Phidias 
 and Michel Angelo. In the spandrils are figures of the modeller and carver." The 
 portions of the podium below correspond with the designs of these several tympana. 
 
42 
 
 THE ALBERT NATIONAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 inasmuch as they exhibit full-length sculptured portraits of the great artists, musicians, 
 painters, and others, who have flourished in all ages of the world. 
 
 The great cornice of the canopy, which extends about the four sides of the composition 
 above the principal arches, forms the base of the gables, and was produced by the work- 
 men employed by the architect. Above this cornice the work is all produced by Mr. 
 Skidmore ; and, lower down, the four great granite piers, with their clustered shafts, 
 which support the entire superstructure, are banded together with massive zones of 
 wreathed bronze-work, the production also of Mr. Skidmore.* 
 
 Above the spandrils of the great arch is the Dedicatory Inscription, which is executed 
 in mosaic, the letters being of blue glass with black edges placed upon a ground of gold 
 enamelled glass. It reads thus on the respective sides of the structure : — 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA AND HEE PEOPLE 
 TO THE MEMOEY OF ALBEET, PEINCE CONSOET, 
 AS A TEIBUTE OF THEIE GEATITUDE 
 FOE A LIFE DEVOTED TO THE PUBLIC GOOD. 
 
 Though commenced in 18G4, the Memorial was not really completed — that is, the 
 statue of the Prince Consort was not placed in situ — till early in 1876. But the lapse of 
 time expended in erecting it was very far from lost time ; for we have now a work 
 not only worthy, it may be said, of its object — and that is saying much — but one of 
 which any nation might feel proud. It is, unquestionably, a work of the first order, 
 after its kind, inaugurating a new era in architectural metal-work. This " canopied, 
 spire-crowned Memorial " has no counterpart — and, may it not be said ? never had — in 
 the world. The assurance that a work of such excellence was projected, designed, and 
 executed by our fellow countrymen, in our own country, and that it is destined to be 
 associated through all time with England, is productive of peculiar satisfaction. 
 
 It may be added that when the " Mansion House Fund," as it was called, for raising 
 the Memorial was closed in 1872, and a report forwarded to her Majesty, a letter of 
 acknowledgment from Sir Thomas Biddulph conveyed the Queen's grateful thanks to 
 those who had laboured for the completion of a work "which has been watched with 
 affectionate interest by her Majesty, and which has been executed in a manner entirely 
 worthy of the objects for which the public so liberally subscribed." 
 
 * I am indebted for much of this detailed description to a paper by the late Eev. Charles Boutell, 
 which appeared in the Art Journal for 1867, while the Memorial was in course of construction; but that 
 gentleman was in direct communication with both the architect, Sir G. Gilbert Scott, and Mr. Skidmore, 
 from whom he derived his information while the work was in progress. — [J. D.] 
 
H.R.H. THE PRINCE CONSORT, K.G. 
 
 (John Henry Foley, II. A.) 
 
 HIS, to speak metaphorically, is the jewel to contain which the magnificent shrine 
 
 now standing in Hyde Park was erected. The history of the statue may be 
 ^ thus briefly stated. 
 
 The work was originally given for execution to the late Baron Marochetti, who 
 produced a large model, which was placed experimentally on the pedestal in April, 
 18G7. The effect was not considered satisfactory, and the Baron commenced another 
 model ; but he died in December of that year without completing his design. This also, 
 when examined by a committee appointed for the purpose by the Queen, was not 
 considered to be of a character to meet the requirements of the case, and then her Majesty 
 placed the commission for another statue in the hands of the late J. H. Foley, R.A. In 
 the summer of 1870 his full-sized model was transferred to the edifice for the better 
 opportunity of studying its effect in relation to its surroundings, and it was then removed 
 back to the sculptor's studio. A severe illness, continuing from the autumn of that year 
 to the following spring, prevented him from proceeding with his work; but on recovering 
 his health, Mr. Foley resumed his labours with the energy and vigour which always 
 characterized him, working on the figure to an extent that severely taxed his weakened 
 constitution. At the date of his death in 1874, not only was the model completed, but 
 the head and hands were cast in bronze, and successfully chased under his ow n personal 
 inspection. After his decease, the casting of the remainder of the work was carried out 
 by Messrs. Prince and Co., of Southwark, under the responsibility of Mr. (*. F. Teniswood, 
 F.S.A., the sculptor's friend and executor. This process, followed by the most careful 
 chasing of the entire surface, was finished by the end of 1875. When the colossal figure, 
 which weighs nearly ten tons, was fixed in its assigned position, and gilded, in accordance 
 
44 
 
 H.R.H. THE PRINCE CONSORT, E.G. 
 
 with the contract between the committee and the sculptor, her Majesty, on the 9th of 
 March, 1876, inspected the completed work. 
 
 It must he borne in mind that the whole Memorial was designed and constructed for 
 the reception, on a lofty pedestal, of an enthroned figure, robed, and typical of royal rank. 
 In referring to the motive of the sculptor's design, his own words may be quoted: "The 
 seated position which has been chosen, though presenting difficulties of the gravest nature, 
 owing to the distance from the ground at which the work must be viewed, cannot but be 
 regarded as the most suitable for the purpose." If represented standing, the figure would, 
 in position, repeat those by which it is accompanied ; and, moreover, would fail to have 
 the appearance of being enthroned, and presiding over all its surroundings. 
 
 In the attitude and expression, the aim of the sculptor was, undoubtedly, to embody 
 rank, character, and enlightenment, with the individuality of portraiture, and to convey a 
 sense of that special intelligence which indicates an active, rather than a passive, interest 
 in those pursuits of civilisation illustrated in the accompanying figures, groups, and relievi. 
 
 From an art point of view, the statue is grand in form, regal in bearing, and masterly 
 in its lines of composition. The Prince is represented in the rich robes, and with the 
 insignia, of the Order of the Garter, and holding in his right hand what is assumed to be 
 a catalogue of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The figure, if standing, would measure 
 nineteen feet in height ; and yet, notwithstanding its huge actual size, it has, on account 
 of its admirable proportions with regard to surrounding quantities, the appearance of being 
 little more than heroic in stature. One cannot but lament that the gifted sculptor should 
 not have lived to see this, almost his latest work, and certainly among his greatest examples 
 of portrait-sculpture, in its splendid resting-place. The simple word " Albert," cast on 
 the base, is sufficient for the recognition of the statue. 
 
 And this " resting-place," glorious as it is, is but one among the many objects reared 
 in various parts of the kingdom to the memory of the good Prince whom they are 
 intended to honour; for there are but few towns of any importance where a memorial of 
 some kind has not been raised as a tribute of national, yet local, love and esteem for one 
 who, by his virtues, his high principles, his wisdom, affability, and constitutional conduct, 
 if such a term may be used, won the earnest and deep-felt regard of the people of Great 
 Britain. Nearly sixteen years have elapsed since the country had first to mourn the loss 
 of the Prince Consort, whose death was indeed 
 
 " The common grief of all the land." 
 But the good work done by him during his lifetime remains with us to this day, and 
 especially in all matters connected with our national institutions for the promotion of art and 
 science, in which his Eoyal Highness always manifested the warmest and deepest interest. 
 
i 
 
 EUROPE. 
 
EUROPE. 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. HYDE PARK.) 
 ENGRAVED BT "W . ROFFE , FROM THE GROUP IN MARBLE BY P. MAC DOWEIX.R.A. 
 
 LONDON. VIRTUE & C° mkitkc . 
 
EUROPE. 
 
 (Pathick MacDowell, E.A.) 
 
 ♦ 
 
 HIS, one of the four large groups of sculpture occupying the lowermost portion of 
 
 of those familiar with classic history, that the sculptor iu his design of the prin- 
 
 cipal figure has referred to the mythological story of Europa carried off by a bull. 
 Europe, an elegant impersonation, crowned and bearing a sceptre in her right hand and 
 an orb in her left, significant of the influence which our quarter of the world has exercised 
 over the others, is seated queen-like on a noble animal, which, however, appears to be of 
 a small breed of oxen. The sculptor, doubtless, had an object in this, for had the bull 
 been of a larger size, it would have dwarfed the surrounding figures, and obtained too 
 great prominence. 
 
 The four nations which have played the most important parts in the annals of Europe 
 are symbolized in the four subordinate figures. On the right is Britannia, seated on a 
 mass of rock, and holding a trident in the right hand ; the waves of the sea roll up to 
 her feet ; her left hand rests on a shield, bearing the united orders of St. George and 
 St. Andrew. On the left is France, with a sword in one hand and a wreath of laurel in 
 the other; the former emblematical of her military prowess, while the latter may be 
 accepted as denoting her successes in war. By her side, at the opposite angle, sits Italy, 
 resting her left hand on an ancient lyre; a painter's pallet and brushes lie at her feet : 
 these attributes refer to her renown in the arts of music and painting. Her head is 
 upturned, and her right hand raised, as if listening to some sweet melody of song. Certain 
 critics consider that the positions of the head and of the uplifted hand may be taken 
 
 the structure, is placed at the south-west angle, which the composition faces, as 
 do the others also in their respective angles. It will at once occur to the minds 
 
 N 
 
4& 
 
 EUROPE. 
 
 showing Italy awakening from a dream, in allusion to her recent union into one kingdom. 
 She is seated 011 a broken column, typical of her former greatness. The fourth figure (not 
 seen in the engraving) represents Germany, who appears in a thoughtful attitude, with an 
 open volume on her knee, to signify that the country is renowned in literature and 
 science. 
 
 It is thus apparent that Mr. MacDowell, who, unfortunately, did not live to see his 
 work placed in position, has treated the subject most judiciously and appropriately, both 
 in its entirety and in each individual portion ; the result being a combination of matured 
 thought and of very careful execution. 
 
ASIA. 
 
ASIA 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, HYDE PARK \ 
 
 LONDON .VIRTUE &, C? limited 
 
ASIA. 
 
 (John Henry Foley, E.A.) 
 
 ^ \Wf\- : ^ ni>l><>vtiimm<* the various colossal groups of sculpture emblematical of the four 
 !^4L quarters of the world, that of Asia was assigned to the late Mr. Foley. It stands 
 J|p on the south-east angle pedestal. 
 
 )k Like the rest of the series, the composition assumes a pyramidal form ; and in 
 
 each there is an animal as a central object, round which the representative figures 
 are placed, while the chief symbolical figure or personage is seated on its back, as if to 
 show that the creature is under the power and guidance of the rider. Here the figure 
 which represents Asia is a beautiful female seated on a huge animal, that appears to be in 
 the act of rising, as its rider, wearing armlets and necklace of jewels, throws off the veil 
 that concealed the upper portion of her form, and holds it lightly in her fingers. The 
 action is assumed to be in allusion to the important display of the productions of the 
 country which appeared in the Great Exhibition ; and it, as well as the general pose of the 
 figure, is as natural as it is graceful. The docility of the elephant may be accepted as 
 typifying the subjection of brute force to human intelligence. 
 
 The subordinate figures, as they may be termed, are four — all males, while in the 
 preceding group they are all females — representing those nations of the far East which 
 contributed liberally to the Exhibition ; namely, China, Persia, India, and Asiatic Turkey. 
 The first of these is seated on the left of the elephant's head. The characteristic typo of his 
 race is unmistakeable in his features; while the vase he holds in his arms, and that 
 standing by his side, indicate him to be a manufacturer — a producer of ceramic works. 
 The standing figure on the right of the elephant is a Persian. The pen in his hand and 
 the volumes at his feet symbolize his occupation or profession — that of a poet ; a phase 
 
48 
 
 ASIA. 
 
 of literature -which has long held a conspicuous place in the traditions of the county. 
 The other two figures are only partially visible in the engraving. One, India, standing 
 behind the Chinaman, appears as an Eastern warrior armed ; and the other, with his back 
 to the Persian, is an Arab merchant, seated on the saddle of a camel, with the Koran 
 before him. 
 
 The sculptor has studiously avoided allegory in his design, unless the dominant figure 
 may be considered in this light, which it can scarcely be. All the others may be regarded 
 as national portraits of existing races, each being a living man. As a whole, the 
 composition is fine, approaching to grandeur, while each distinct portion would in itself 
 take rank as a striking example of sculptured art. 
 
AFRICA. 
 
AFRICA. 
 
 (William Theed.) 
 
 HIS continent forms a most interesting subject for reflection and illustration, as 
 I that portion of the earth of which we have the earliest records and evidences 
 of civilisation, in Scripture history and in the monuments still existing in Egypt 
 and along the shores of the Mediterranean. In strong contrast with the ancient 
 remains on the northern and eastern borders of Africa are the yet barbarous races 
 of the interior and of the western and southern coast ; few signs of civilisation are to 
 be found in those parts, except where European settlers have made for themselves a 
 home. Hope for the future is, however, excited by the recent researches of travellers 
 who have penetrated long distances into the interior, and by the exertions which England 
 has of late made towards the amelioration of the social and moral Condition of the natives. 
 
 Egypt is the country which, from the earliest records of history, has tin-own a reflected 
 light over the whole region of the "land of Ham," as Africa is repeatedly called in the 
 Old Testament. So much has been written concerning it, and so much even yet remains 
 to be told, that it would require volumes to contain all that could be said of its past history, 
 its stupendous monuments, and its natural productions. It was in ancient times looked 
 upon as a "land of marvels," and to this day it has lost few, if any, of its attractions by 
 comparison with the mighty countries which have since been discovered. 
 
 In embodying the varied phases of African modern life and condition, Egypt, the 
 most venerable and important portion of the continent, has been adapted by Mr. Theed as 
 the centre of the sculptured group. She is personified by a female of rank — a veritable 
 daughter of Pharaoh — habited in the costume recognisable in the ancient statues and wall- 
 painting of the country. The Princess is preparing to dismount from a dromedary, which 
 
 o 
 
AFRICA. 
 
 has knelt down as having completed its journey; thus signifying that the ancient 
 civilisation, of which the female is the type, has come to an end. The dromedary, or 
 camel, it is almost needless to say, is the only tamed animal which could, with any 
 propriety, be associated with Egypt, where it is used universally as a means of inter- 
 communication, and has, in all ages, been characteristic of the country. 
 
 On the left of the mounted figure, as seen in the engraving, is that of a Troglodyte, or 
 inhabitant of the desert lying between the Nile and the Eed Sea, indicating the utmost 
 limits of the continent. His hand rests on the half-buried statue of a sphinx — a remnant 
 of the monumental glories of the past. The object is not seen from the point of view 
 taken by the artist when he sketched the group for the engraver's use : neither is a 
 female figure representing a European instructing a chieftain of one of the South African 
 tribes. The back of the latter is turned towards the spectator in the engraving, and his 
 rapt attention, as he leans upon his bow, suggests the dawn of a rising-up from barbarism. 
 His instructor is assumed to be typical of European civilisation, " in allusion to the efforts 
 made by Europe to improve the condition of these races. The broken chains at his feet 
 refer to the part taken by Great Britain in the emancipation of the slave." 
 
 In the immediate foreground the present commerce of the interior and of the northern 
 coasts of Africa is personified by an Arabian merchant, half-kneeling by the side of his 
 merchandise, which consists of bales of cotton, minerals, vegetable drugs, elephants' teeth, 
 and other native productions. 
 
 It will be obvious from this description of the group that the sculptor well studied his 
 subject before sketching it, or modelling it in the clay, so as to give it historic meaning. 
 Looking at the work from an art-point, it offers many noticeable features in the spirit 
 with which the component figures are brought together, no less than in the studied care 
 and gracefulness of each individual. The animal is excellently modelled, and its rich 
 caparisons, together with the adornments and flowing draperies of the comely rider, and 
 the scarcely less attractive costume of the Arab merchant, and the feathered waist-girdle 
 of the barbaric denizen of Southern Africa, give a picturesque character to the whole 
 composition. 
 
 This group is placed on the pedestal at the north-east angle of the Memorial. 
 
AMERICA. 
 
AMERICA. 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL , HYDE PARK.) 
 ENGRAVED BY W. ROFFE , FROM THE GROUP IN MARBLE BY" JOHN BELL 
 
AMERICA. 
 
 (John Bell.) 
 
 MERICA, the youngest of the four quarters of the globe, so for as the history of 
 
 the world has become known to mankind, is in no degree behind the others in 
 
 what she has to offer in the way of suggestions adapted to represent her 
 symbolically. Mr. Bell, in his sculptured group, has treated the country more 
 geographically than personally. 
 
 Towering above her companions, sits, as on a triumphal car, the presiding figure, 
 America. She is of the Indian type, habited in native costume, and wears a feathered 
 head-dress. She is mounted on a noble bison, which is bearing her onwards through the 
 long prairie grass ; signifying thereby the rapid progress of the country in the march of 
 civilisation. In saying this, however, apart from the consideration of the art-work under 
 notice, it should be remembered that America, so far as her earliest annals are known, 
 could scarcely be called a barbarous nation at any time. The comparatively few 
 inhabitants of the vast continent when first discovered were hardly numerous enough to 
 be designated a people, and they, by degrees, have died out. The "red man 11 has almost 
 vanished from view: he disappeared as the white man advanced, and never became 
 incorporated with him, or grew up into a civilised likeness of him, as have some of the 
 native tribes of other continents. America was, in fact, taken possession of by races 
 acquainted with all the arts and refinements of social life, and thus suddenly sprang forth 
 from a savage state into one that externally, at least, was directly its opposite. But to 
 return to Mr. Bell's work. 
 
 The wild charger on which the central figure of the composition is seated is adorned 
 with the skin of a grisly bear. America holds in her right hand a stone-pointed lance, 
 
52 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
 feathered with Indian "totems" of the grey squirrel and the humming-bird ; and on her 
 left arm she bears a shield emblazoned with the principal divisions of the hemisphere — 
 the eagle for the States, the beaver for Canada, the lone star for Chili, volcanoes for 
 Mexico, the alpaca for Peru, and the southern cross for Brazil. In the rear is a rattle- 
 snake, roused up by the rush of the bison through the long grass. 
 
 The advance of the powerful animal and its rider is directed on the one sile by the 
 United States ; while, on the other, is Canada, pressing the rose of England to her bosom. 
 The features of the former figure — the United States — are of the North- American, Anglo- 
 Saxon civilised type. Her tresses are surmounted by an eagle's plume and by a star, 
 which is repeated on her baldric, or belt, and at the point of the sceptre she carries in 
 her right hand. In her left she holds a wreath formed of leaves of the evergreen oak, as 
 an emblem of the Northern States, and a blossom of the magnolia grandiflora, as that of 
 the Southern. At her foot lies the Indian's quiver, with but one or two arrows only left 
 in it ; showing that the period for using such weapons has almost passed away. 
 
 The figure symbolizing Canada offers features of a more English type. In her head- 
 dress are woven the maple leaf of the mainland and the mayflower of Nova Scotia. In 
 her right hand are ears of wheat, corn being among the most important productions of 
 the country ; and at her feet are a pair of snow-shoes, typifying the coldness of a 
 Canadian winter, and a branch and cone of the pine-tree, in allusion to the growth of her 
 vast timber-forests. Only the head of this figure is visible in the engraving. The female 
 figures here described are assumed to represent three distinct types of womanhood. 
 
 In the composition are two male figures, one of which, Mexico, faces the spectator as 
 he looks at the engraving. lie is characterized by a face somewhat of the Aztec type. 
 His emblems are a Mexican head-dress, staff, and feather cincture, or girdle. The cochineal 
 cactus is at his feet. In his left hand he holds a kind of battle-axe, the end of which 
 partly takes the form of a human head. The man is in the act of rising up, restless and 
 disturbed, from his seat, covered with a panther's skin. 
 
 The other male figure, South America, is not visible in the engraving. It presents 
 the half-breed type of Indian and Spaniard. Seated on a rock, he is habited in sombrero 
 and poncho , and Indian girdle. In his left hand is the horseman's short carbine of the 
 country, and in his right a lasso. Close to him is a Brazilian orchid ; and at his feet are 
 a horn of the wild cattle of the plains and a blossom of the giant lily of the Amazon. 
 
 Mr. Bell's group, so full of incident at once varied, interesting, and dramatic, stands 
 on the north-west projecting angle pedestal. 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. HYDE PARK.) 
 ENGRAVED BY H . C. BALDING , FROM THE GROUP IN MARBLE BY "W. C. MARSHALL. R. A . 
 
 LONDON. VIRTUE & C° limited 
 
AGRICULTURE. 
 
 (William Calder Marshall, E.A.) 
 
 ~-'fWil>- USBANDRY, or the cultivation of land for the means of subsistence, must have 
 
 5ipl been one of the earliest arts practised by man after his expulsion from the 
 fh Garden of Paradise, where, we are told, all things good for food grew 
 spontaneously, though Adam was enjoined to " dress and to keep " the place 
 assigned to him as his home. That it was practised in the remotest periods of the 
 world's history may be taken for granted as an indisputable fact, though its origin, as in 
 all other of the most simple arts of life, is involved in the obscurity which envelops the 
 early history of the human race. In the fables that, in the primeval times, supplied the 
 place of authentic records some conspicuous character was always made the inventor of 
 the various arts of which the origin was unknown; and to such personage a divine 
 existence or birth was frequently applied. Thus Cadmus the Phoenician is said to have 
 invented letters; and Triptolcmus of Argos to have taught mankind how to plough the 
 land, and sow corn, and make bread. Carlyle speaks, in his peculiar and somewhat 
 rhapsodical manner of the virtues of the husbandman, "the toil-worn craftsman, that with 
 earth-made implements laboriously conquers the earth, and makes her man's." " Venerable 
 to me is the hard hand, crooked, coarse ; wherein, notwithstanding, lies a cunning virtue, 
 indefeasibly royal, as of the sceptre of this planet. Venerable too is the rugged face, 
 weather-tanned, besoiled, with its rude intelligence ; for it is the face of man — living 
 man-like ! Oh ! but the more venerable for thy rudeness, and even because we must pity 
 as well as love thee ! Hardly entreated brother ! for us was thy back so bent — for us were 
 thy straight limbs and fingers so deformed. Yet, toil on — toil on. Thou art in thy duty, 
 be out of it who may. Thou toilest for the altogether indispensable — for daily bread." 
 
5+ 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 In his symbolical treatment of "Agriculture" Mr. Marshall has reverted to an early 
 period of the art of husbandry. The group, like all its companions, consists of four 
 figures, the principal one being the genius of Agriculture, who, crowned with a wreath of 
 corn-ears, points out to a husbandman the advantages on the side of modern improvements 
 in field-implements, as exemplified in the plough of the ancients side by side with 
 emblems of the steam-engine — the cylinder and the piston. On the left of the standing 
 figure is a female seated ; her lap is full of corn, and in her left hand she holds a sickle. 
 On the opposite side is a shepherd-boy with a lamb in his arms, a ewe being at his side. 
 This serves as an allusion to the breeding and rearing of cattle as a legitimate and 
 important part of agricultural operations. By thus connecting the link of the present, so 
 to speak, with that of the past, the sculptor has rendered his work instructive ; for the 
 union carries the thoughts from the comparatively easy toil of the labourer of our own 
 time, who possesses all the means and appliances which human ingenuity and mechanical 
 skill offer to facilitate his operations in the field, back to the period when tillage was 
 under difficulties not easily surmounted, and the primeval curse seemed still to rest upon 
 man with unmitigated force, " In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread." 
 
 The sculptor has thrown his group into a very graceful whole. It is here reproduced 
 from the best point of view, which includes the four figures. It will, however, be evident 
 that in doing this some one or more of them must suffer. It would be impossible to give 
 in a picture on a flat surface, with equal advantage to each, a group of figures that, in 
 the original design, form a kind of circle, and which should be examined from several 
 points to do them full justice. 
 
 The group is placed on the south-west angle of the podium* 
 
MANUFACTURES. 
 
MANUFACTURES. 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. HYDE PARK ) 
 HG RAVE D BY H . C . BALDING . FROM THE GROUP IN MARBLE BY H. WE EKES. R.A. 
 
 *D ON, VIRTUE &C°LIMITKD 
 
MANUFACTURES. 
 
 (Henry Weekes, K.A.) 
 
 . ; r^>X the economy of human existence, manufactures, so far as the term applies to tile 
 Jpifl^ fabrication of stuffs for clothing, must have quickly followed the art of 
 ■ y 5 husbandry ; and it may readily be assumed that it was not very long ere man's 
 necessities led to the production of other objects, which come under the denomination 
 of manufactures, and with more justice than they do in the present day, when 
 machinery has to so great an extent superseded hand-work of almost every kind. The 
 earliest mention made of cloth — at least by implication — is the coat of many colours Jacob 
 made for his favourite son Joseph. This would be in about the year 2276 of the world's 
 history. The coat, moreover, is spoken of as being of many colours. This is suggestive of 
 another industrial art — that of dyeing ; though many commentators are of opinion the 
 word "colours" signifies "pieces" as used here. The ceramic art, or pottery, appears to 
 have been about three centuries later than that of cloth-making, for we read that " Moses 
 said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein," &c* Still earlier 
 than these two departments of manufactures was that of the metal-worker, of whom we 
 read in quite a remote period of creation in the person of Tubal Cain, of the seventh 
 generation from Adam, and "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron." Yei 
 later, mention is made of another branch of industry (brick- makers) among the builders 
 of the Tower of Babel: "And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, 
 and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter."t 
 In all these references we see the great antiquity of what may be considered the manu- 
 factures which most conduce to the comfort of mankind. Three of them are symbolized 
 in Mr. Weekes's composition. 
 
 * Exodus, ch. xvi., v. 33. \ Genesis, eh. xi., v. 3. 
 
56 
 
 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 It appears that the instructions originally given to the sculptors of these groups limited 
 the designs to four figures, thereby insuring a certain uniformity throughout the whole ; 
 lmt with a subject capable of almost indefinite expansion, and so comprehensive, so few 
 as four personal types confines the artist to little else than bare allusion. The presiding 
 genius of manufactures is here represented by a female of small and delicate proportions, 
 who holds in her hand an hour-glass, indicative of the value of time to the artisan, and in 
 these days of unwonted activity of essential importance in all manufacturing operations. 
 The right hand of the figure rests upon a bee-hive, significant of industry. On the left 
 of this female is a broad-shouldered bare-armed worker in iron, with his foot resting on an 
 anvil. He is supported behind by a large smith's vice, at the base of which are several 
 heavy "pigs" of iron. This man is unquestionably the principal feature in the group. 
 His stalwart frame reminds one of the famous "Farnese" Hercules, though there is 
 no exaggerated display of anatomy, and his strong muscular limbs are representative of 
 physical power. Eeclining easily at his feet is a potter, who has brought to the gathering 
 some beautiful examples of his art-workmanship, one of which, a jug or vase, he has 
 placed on the smith's anvil, which supports his right arm. A small double-handled vase 
 lies at his side, while his left hand holds what seems to be an ornamental dish of some 
 kind. The fourth figure is that of a factory-girl, too well favoured every way, it is to be 
 feared, to have been modelled after nature. These "hives of industry" in our great 
 manufacturing towns, where the noise of the shuttle almost puts to silence the gossip of 
 the busy workers, is not the most genial atmosphere for fostering such healthy-looking 
 and attractive females as the sculptor has here introduced. She is offering for insj)ection 
 a specimen of some woven fabric. 
 
 Thus we have the three industries of the country — the iron-trade, the textile, and the 
 fictile productions — aptly represented in this composition, which is placed on the south- 
 east angle of the podium. 
 
COMMERCE. 
 
COMMERCE. 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, HYDE PARK.) 
 
 ENGRAVED BY E . STODART. FROM THE GROUP IN MARBLE BY T . THORNYCROFT 
 
 LONDON, VIRTUE & C° limited 
 
COMMERCE. 
 
 (T. Thornycroft.) 
 
 >ti*ffix-'S any great English monument assuming to have a national character it was 
 
 community, should be prominently represented. " Ships, colonics, and commerce," 
 
 has long been a favourite and popular motto in our country. The omission from the 
 Albert Memorial of a representative group of the kind would therefore be a grave error. 
 Mr. Thornycroft's work supplies what otherwise would have been an unaccountable void. 
 
 From the frequent mention made of public roads, fords, and beasts of burden, also of 
 ships, weights, measures, and coin, in the oldest books of the Bible, we learn the great 
 antiquity of the commercial intercourse of distant nations; while the notice of the caravan 
 of Ishmaelites to whom Joseph was sold by his brethren shows that the mode of trading 
 most common at this day in the East is also the most ancient. It is presumed that these 
 Ishmaelites were passing through Palestine from Gilead, with their camels laden with 
 spices — " balm of Gilead," and other rich articles of merchandise — which they were 
 carrying into Egypt, where they would find a profitable market for such commodities, 
 from the quantity used by the Egyptians in embalming their dead. 
 
 As civilisation and luxury increased, men found their wants increasing with them, and 
 what their own land could not supply was sought for in other and often far-distanl 
 countries, and ships were employed in due time for the conveyance of products from one 
 place to another. The Hebrews were never a maritime or commercial people, and their 
 foreign trade appears to have generally been carried on through the Phoenicians, the most 
 celebrated traders of antiquity, whose chief seaport was Tyre. 
 
 Q 
 
 ffljv only right that Commerce, certainly one of the distinguishing features — it may 
 perhaps be said, the most distinguished and important feature — of our diversified 
 
58 
 
 COMMERCE. 
 
 Commerce with England began at a very early period of our history, even before the 
 Romans set foot in the country. Strabo says that the Phoenicians found their way hither 
 to procure tin, lead, and skins, especially the first mentioned, which abounded then as now 
 in Cornwall. In return for these commodities they gave salt, earthenware, and copper 
 goods. We need not now to be indebted to any foreigners for these productions. 
 Wherever a country has the advantage of seaboard, and its inhabitants have become 
 civilised, there has always been a desire and an effort to use it for commercial purposes. 
 Sidon and Tyre, Carthage and Tarshish, bore witness to it among the ancients ; so have in 
 later times the old Italian cities of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa ; and, still later, Holland and 
 our own country have been added to the list of what may be called strictly commercial 
 nations. Other European countries are so only in part ; but America seems disposed to 
 contend with us — or, at least, to share with us — the privileges of being " the carriers of 
 the world," as we have been called. It was absolutely essential therefore that the 
 means by which England has acquired so much of her wealth and her position among the 
 nations of the earth — for there is scarcely a port or a harbour in the five great divisions 
 of the globe where the British flag is not seen — should be, as already remarked, duly 
 recognised in the Memorial. 
 
 Mr. Thornycroft's composition suggests both the luxuries and necessaries of life ; and 
 with both of these commerce has to do. The principal figure, holding a cornucopia in 
 her hand, is typical of prosperity, and shows that commerce is the medium of scattering- 
 wealth and abundance throughout the land. The other standing figure may be accepted 
 as a young merchant, or as the supercargo of a trading vessel. He is habited in a sort of 
 Anglo-Saxon costume, symbolizing the very earliest spirit in England of mercantile 
 adventure. In his right hand he carries an account-book and purse, indicating that, to 
 embark in mercantile transactions, he must possess both capital and credit. In his left 
 hand he bears balance-scales, an emblem of just trade or barter. An Eastern merchant 
 forms the counterpoise to the latter figure. He is offering for sale a casket of jewels, 
 significant of the luxuries of life. Its necessaries are symbolized in the figure of a rustic 
 seated upon a skin, with an open sack of wheat-ears before him, which he also endeavours 
 to persuade the young merchant to buy. Thus the trapezoidal form of the group, which 
 the sculptor evidently intended to give it, is rendered complete. Among the attributes 
 or accessories is a bale of cotton or silk, another emblem of commerce, and serving, where 
 it is here placed, to impart solidity to the lower portion of the composition. It will be 
 observed that all the lines of the group are made subservient, and lead up, to the head of 
 the principal figure. 
 
 This group stands on the north-east angle of the podium. 
 
ENGINEERING. 
 
ENGINEERING. 
 
 (THE ALBERT MEMORIAL. HYDE PARK.) 
 ENGRAVED BY G.STODART. FROM THE GROUP IN MARBLE BY J.LAWLOR. 
 
ENGINEERING. 
 
 (John Law lor.) 
 
 time would do, so as to make it at all expressive of the condition which the science 
 
 has reached within the last half-century. The discovery of steam-power, and the 
 uses to which this agent is applied, have completely revolutionised the whole system of 
 engineering. In ancient times the engineer and the architect were very often, indeed, 
 almost universally, united in the same individual. Engineering is generally assumed to 
 have originated with the earliest application of a lever for the purpose of moving a mass of 
 any material which created a resistance exceeding the unassisted strength of man. 1>\ 
 observing the effects produced in operations of that nature, the laws of the action of bodies 
 on one another were gradually discovered, and mechanics, the science of the engineer, aros< 
 Archimedes is the first person who is known to have applied himse lf to the cultivation 
 of the mixed mathematical sciences, and he acquired great celebrity by the mechanical 
 contrivances which, as related by Polybius, he put in practice for the defence of SyraeiiM 
 Among the Greeks and Romans, and, indeed, even to much later times — to that of Michel 
 Angelo, for example — the engineer had military duties assigned to him as well as civil. 
 One of the earliest books in which engineering occupies much attention is the treatise on 
 architecture by Yespian, who is supposed to have lived in the reign of the Roman 
 emperor Vespasian. lie speaks in that book of the manner of building the walls and 
 towers for fortifying towns, of the construction of temples, basilica?, theatres, and private 
 dwellings ; he describes the principal military engines then in use, and also gives some 
 
6o 
 
 ENGINEERING. 
 
 account of machines for drawing and raising weights, of engines for raising water, and of 
 water-mills for grinding corn. 
 
 By what engineering or mechanical contrivances the ancients managed to raise into 
 position the enormous blocks of stone still visible among the ruins of Thebes and of Tadmor 
 or Palmyra is left only to conjecture ; but that machinery of some kind was used for that 
 purpose is scarcely to be questioned. Of national works executed by the ancients, and 
 which must be con si lered as properly and legitimately falling within the province of the 
 engineer, one of the first of which we have any intimation is the canal uniting the Red 
 Sea and the Nile, which, according to Pliny, was begun by Sesostris ; or, according to 
 Herodotus, by Nechos, the son of Psammeticus, and finished by Darius I. The canal of 
 Xerxes across the isthmus of the peninsula of Athos is another example of works of this kind. 
 
 The variety of uses to which the steam-engine is applied can scarcely be enumerated, 
 for it has now become almost a necessity to our very existence, and affects every condition 
 of our life. In the early part of the last century an engine known as Newcomen's was 
 in use. It formed the connecting link between the engines invented about half a century 
 earlier by the Marquis of Worcester, which were little better than pumps for raising 
 water, and the modern engine, of which it contained the germ, and into which it was 
 ultimately converted by the genius of Watt, though Smeaton, Brindley, and others had 
 successively improved upon Newcomen's invention. 
 
 Portions of the steam-engine, which forms so prominent an instrument in all engineer- 
 ing operations, the sculptor has here introduced as accessories to his composition. 
 The central figure typifies the science itself. She is the directing spirit of those who 
 surround her, as she stands with her right hand resting on a steam cylinder. In front of 
 her is a youth holding a pah- of compasses in one hand, and, with his face upturned 
 towards the female, refers, as for approval, to a plan spread out on the ground. He 
 represents the designer, or creative power. The two other figures are embodiments of 
 the labour grade. On the right is a workman, holding a cog-wheel, typical of the 
 mechanical craftsman who develops the art of the engineer by means of machinery. On 
 the left is a stalwart "navvy," with his furry cap, loose neck-tie, and trousers tucked up 
 and "gartered;" shovel in hand, he waits orders to commence operations for some new 
 line of railway. In further illustration of the subject, two of the greatest modern 
 triumphs in constructive engineering art — the Britannia and Menai bridges — are repre- 
 sented at the back of the group ; while a steam-hammer and a blast furnace are brought 
 in as other accessories. 
 
 The group, which, looking at it artistically, is certainly very elegant, is placed on the 
 north-west angle of the podium. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE PAINTERS. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE PAINTERS. 
 (II. H. Akustead, A.E.A.) 
 
 jmc< . ... . . . 
 
 \ any one of true artistic taste, no individual portion of the Albert Memorial is 
 I likely to prove more interesting than the series of alto-reliefs which, in 
 continuous line, occupy its four sides, and present in chronological order — so far 
 as was practicable — a kind of sculptured portrait-gallery of the artists of all ages 
 who have made their names famous in painting, sculpture, architecture, music and 
 poetry ; the two latter arts being combined. Each of these grouped assemblages is placed 
 beneath the mosaic picture, in the pediment of the gable, that shows an allegorical figure 
 of the particular art of which the figures introduced below were its greatest exponents. 
 The entire series, as it has already been stated, is designed after the manner of Delaroche's 
 celebrated " Hemicycle." The artist who is presumed to stand at the head of his 
 professional brethren occupies the post of honour in the centre ; the others leading up to 
 him, as it were, on each side. 
 
 The eastern side of the podium shows the most distinguished painters of the principal 
 European schools. In the centre is Kaffaelle, as the leader of the earliest school — that of 
 Italy. He is seated, and seems to be studying a sketch. Leaning on the back of his 
 chair is the veteran Michael Angelo, who, by virtue of his diversified genius, is entitled 
 to a conspicuous place also among the representatives of the other arts ; for in him 
 painting, sculpture, architecture, and poetry were combined ; and, with the exception of 
 the last, perhaps, it would be difficult to determine wherein he showed himself the most 
 eminent. At Eaffaelle's right hand is another of his cotemporaries, Leonardo da Yinci, 
 
 it 
 
62 
 
 SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM: THE PAINTERS. 
 
 whose "Last Supper 1 ' is in itself sufficient to confer an immortality upon any painter. 
 On Da Yinci's right are the revivalists of the art of painting : Cimabue, seated in a 
 chair while he converses with his pupil, the shepherd-boy Giotto, whom he found in the 
 field sketching, with a piece of slate on a stone, a sheep of his flock. Kneeling, as in the 
 act of devotion, is the Dominican monk, Giovanni da Fiesole, best known as Fra Angelico, 
 the most spiritualistic painter of his — or, perhaps, any other — time. Near to Michael 
 Angelo are the great pillars of the Venetian and Bologncse schools : Titian, the prince 
 of colourists; Cagliari, or Paolo Veronese, famous for his pictures of "sumptuous and 
 magnificent parade " — both of whom are in the company of Bellini, one of the earliest of 
 the great Venetian painters, and Allegri, or Antonio da Correggio, whose female figures 
 combine grace with grandeur. Mantegna, the Carracci, and others occupy the back- 
 ground. 
 
 On the upper panel — as seen in our plate, necessarily divided — Bubens, who stands at 
 the head of the Netherlandish school, especially as a colourist, holds the place of honour 
 on his left. Behind him stand Bembrandt and Holbein, who, with Albert Diirer, 
 H. and J. Van Eyck, represent the respective schools of Germany and of the Low 
 Countries. On the right of Bubens are three of our own older painters — Beynolds, 
 Gainsborough, and Hogarth with his dog. The sculptor has associated these with the 
 Northern schools rather than with the Southern, or Italian. 
 
 The lower panel introduces the spectator to Niccolo Poussin, one of the earliest and 
 most eminent of the French school of painters, who is here the point d'appui. On his 
 left stands the landscapist Claude Gelee, by whose side is David, the painter whose works 
 are allied with the Great Bevolution in France : he is shaking hands with Gericault, 
 whose famous "Wreck" made a great sensation in London when exhibited here many 
 years since. Behind this pair is a more recent artist, Gerard. By the side of Poussin is 
 Velasquez, and behind the Frenchman is Murillo, the leaders of the school of Spain. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE SCULPTOKS. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE SCULPTORS. 
 (J. B. Philip.) 
 
 i F the imitative arts sculpture is most undoubtedly of greater antiquity than 
 h painting, and was, in all probability, practised to some extent — though, it may 
 '(||f be presumed, rudely enough — even before the time of Moses, who was com- 
 j- manded to forbid the Jews to make "any graven image or the likeness of 
 anything" — for the purpose, as is implicitly expressed, of worshipping it. And 
 yet, during his life and leadership, there is evidence of the existence of sculptured works 
 in the setting up of the molten calf, and the making of the brazen serpent ; and thus 
 there is some ground for the argument frequently adopted, that the art had its origin in 
 idolatry ; for it is probable that the first statues were of men rather than of gods. 
 
 The earliest examples of the art of which we have any knowledge are the remains of 
 the Egyptian and Assyrian sculptures deposited in the British Museum, and it is with 
 presumed portraits of artists of these countries that the late J. B. Philip, who died about 
 three years ago, commenced his series of figures on the western front of the podium. 
 Seated at their right is Dibutades, the first known name in Greek sculpture. He holds a 
 small model in his hand, and is examining it with great attention. Dibutades, who 
 believed to have lived about GG4 years before Christ, is said to have been the inventor of 
 modelling. Behind him stands Bupalus, who nourished about one hundred and twenty 
 years later, and is believed to have been the first sculptor who worked in marble, metal 
 and wood being the materials previously in use. The next prominent figure is Phidias, 
 carrying a model of his famous statue of Minerva, which stood in the Athenian Parthenon. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM: THE SCULPTORS. 
 
 < )n the wall behind him may be seen a portion of the famous frieze of the Parthenon, 
 which is attributed mainly to him. Among the other ancient Greek sculptors on this 
 portion of Mr. Philip's design are Scopas, Bryaxis, and Leochares, whose talents were 
 exercised, according to Pliny, on the famous tomb, or mausoleum, erected at Halicarnassus 
 by Queen Artemisia to the memory of her husband, Mausolius. 
 
 Occupying a central and very commanding position on the portion of the frieze 
 underneath the other is Michael Angelo, who, as we said when writing of him among the 
 painters, merits as foremost a place with the sculptors as he holds among the others. He 
 is seated here in front of one of his most celebrated works, the tomb of Lorenzo de' 
 Medici in one of the churches of Florence. His immediate " supporters " on the left are 
 Yerrocchio and Donatello, both of them Florentines ; and, on the right, Torrigiano, a 
 Florentine too, and cotemporary with Michael Angelo, whom, while they were both 
 studying in the garden of St. Mark, he struck in a fit of angry jealousy and broke his 
 nose. By the side of Torrigiano is Giovanni da Bologna, a Fleming by birth, whose best 
 known statue is a Mercury now in the Museum of Florence. Following the line of 
 figures on the same side, we note the German, Vischer, born at Nuremberg in the middle 
 of the fifteenth century : he was the author of the famous bronze shrine of St. Sebald in 
 the church in Nuremberg called after that saint. Then come Benvenuto Cellini, of 
 Florence, skilled in works of marble and metal; Goujon, a French sculptor; Baccio 
 d'Agnolo, architect and sculptor ; Bernard Palissy, the celebrated French potter, inventor 
 of the ware called after his name. 
 
 On the left of the figure of Michael Angelo, after his two nearest companions, are Luca 
 della Eobbia, whose name is associated with the terra-cottas called " Delia Eobbia Ware "; 
 W. Torel, one of the earliest names among English sculptors, who lived in the latter part 
 of the thirteenth century, and executed the statues of Queen Eleanor and Henry III. in 
 Westminster Abbey ; William of Ireland, cotemporary with Torel, who was engaged on 
 many of the statues that adorn the "Eleanor" crosses erected by Edward I.; Ghibcrti, 
 Niccolo Pisano, and others follow in their train. 
 
 In the panel below the central places are filled by Caius G. Gibber, the Dane ; Bernini, 
 of Italy ; and the Frenchman, Pierre Puget : all of whom flourished in the seventeenth 
 century, as did Grinling Gibbons, the prince of English wood carvers ; F. Bird and 
 J. Bushnell, both Englishmen. On the left of the central group are N. Stone, born near 
 Exeter ; Alonzo Cano, of Spain ; and G. Pilon, of France. 
 
 In following the chronological order of these famous men, the sculptor has given 
 great variety to his design by the costumes of the respective periods in which they lived. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE ARCHITECTS. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE ARCHITECTS. 
 (J. B. PmLir.) 
 
 IffllK EM EE L Y it was not considered unreasonable to claim for the Hebrews, as the 
 
 earliest inhabitants of the earth, the invention of scientific architecture, and to 
 
 PS 
 
 assert that classical antiquity was indebted to the Temple of Solomon for the 
 principles, and man)' of the details, of the art ; but there has never, in fact, been 
 any people for whom a peculiar style of architecture could with less probability be 
 claimed than for the Israelites. There is evidence that the Phoenicians were the principal 
 artisans engaged in the building of the Temple, and probably also in the erection of 
 David's palace. These edifices are the earliest of which we have any authentic information, 
 though it can scarcely be doubtful that there were then in existence Egyptian buildings 
 of magnitude and architectural pretensions. In the sacred narrative relating to the 
 building of David's palace, we read (1 Chron. eh. xiv., v. 1), "Now Hiram king of Tyre 
 sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him 
 an house." This house occupied thirteen years to finish. There was in those days a 
 famous artificer of Tyre, whom we should have judged, from what is recorded of him in 
 Scripture (1 Kings, ch. vii.), to have been almost as much of an architect as an artisan. 
 This man was niram, whom the Tyrian king of the same name recommended to Solomon : 
 the latter " fetched" him out of Tyre. " lie was a widow's son, of the tribe of Naphtali, 
 and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass : and he was filled with wisdom, 
 and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to King 
 Solomon, and wrought all his work." It is with this Hiram that Mr. Philip commenced 
 
66 
 
 SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM : THE ARCHITECTS. 
 
 the series of famous architects. He is represented on the extreme right hand of the lowest 
 panel in a garb significant of his Jewish origin. A most picturesque group is that 
 occupying the remaining portion of this fragment of the frieze ; the central figures being 
 those of Ictinus and Callicrates, both of whom flourished about 450 B.C. The former 
 lias the credit of being the architect of the two most celebrated temples of Greece — 
 the Parthenon at Athens and the Temple of Apollo at Phigalia. Portions of the 
 sculptures of these buildings are in the British Museum. Callicrates, according to Plutarch, 
 was associated with Ictinus in the construction of the Parthenon ; but Pausanius gives 
 the honour solely to Ictinus. Behind these two Mr. Philip has introduced a view of the 
 western pediment of the Parthenon. The two seated figures on the left of Ictinus are 
 Mnesicles, another of the architects of the Parthenon, and Chersiphron, of Crete, who, 
 with his son Mctagenes, leaning on the back of his father's chair, commenced the building 
 of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. The seated figure on the right of Callicrates is 
 Callimachus, holding a tablet on which is drawn a design for a Corinthian capital, to 
 signify that he was the inventor of the Corinthian capital and column ; at least, Yitruvius 
 assigns the invention to him. Apollodorus, born at Damascus, was a Eoman architect 
 living during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. He designed the Forum of Trajan, and 
 the column bearing the name of this emperor — a model of which he holds in his hands. 
 
 The two central figures in the larger portion of the frieze above are two of the oldest 
 known architects of Italy, Giotto — also famous as a painter — and Arnolfo di Lapo; 
 behind them is seen the Cathedral and Campanile of Florence ; both architects were 
 engaged on these buildings. Among the figures introduced along this line are some of 
 the mediaeval architects of England and the Continent : William of Wykeham, Bishop of 
 "Winchester, to whom we owe so much of Winchester Cathedral and other celebrated 
 edifices ; William of Sens, and the architect known as William the Englishman, whose 
 names are associated with the building of Canterbury Cathedral ; Brunelleschi, who helped 
 to adorn Florence with many of its finest edifices ; Bramante, who was engaged on the 
 Vatican and St. Peter's ; San Gallo, his successor at St. Peter's. Of a later date is the 
 French architect Delorme, who commenced the Tuileries and worked on the Louvre. 
 
 On the upper panel we come down to the architects of the last two or three centuries, 
 and even to those contemporary with ourselves : Sir Christopher Wren, Inigo Jones, Sir 
 Thomas Chambers ; John Thorpe, the architect of several old English mansions ; Pugin, 
 the Gothic architect ; Cockerell, the classic ; Sir Charles Barry, and Sir Gilbert Scott, 
 
 This " portrait gallery " of famous architects, like the others of the same series, offers 
 a wide field for examination ; and like them too gives evidence of close study, beauty 
 of composition, and great artistic ability. It is on the northern front of the podium. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE rOETS AND MUSICIANS. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 THE POETS AND MUSICIANS. 
 (II. H. Armstead, A.E.A.) 
 
 HAT portion of the great frieze of the Memorial which occupies the south front 
 
 is filled with figures representing the great poets and musicians of all ages and 
 '" T |^ nations. In his arrangement of the subject the sculptor has adopted a similar plan 
 to that he used in dealing with the painters. He has placed them geographically, 
 so far as was practicable, rather than chronologically ; that is, the figures arc 
 grouped according to their respective nationalities. The two arts — Poetry and Music — 
 are so inseparably intertwined in human thought that it would have been an offence 
 against tradition and belief to have separated them in a work of this kind. Yet 
 Mr. Armstead has done so, but only in degree. He has placed the poets in the centre of 
 the groups, flanking them on each side by the musicians. " When music is conjoined to 
 poetty r it is an art, not of diminished importance, but of a dependent nature, its office 
 then being to enforce the meaning of the words and add a colouring to them. As an 
 adjunct it is a beautiful illustration of language; combined with the sister art it 
 becomes a highly ornamental kind of eloquence." Each has its influence over the minds 
 of men; and it would be somewhat difficult to determine which of the two arts has the 
 greater power — whether words or notes; but when the two are combined, ;is in the 
 patriotic songs of a nation, the effect is often irresistible, and oftentimes men will rush 
 to almost certain death with the music of well-known national songs sounding in their 
 ears, and recalling to their minds the heart-stirring verses to which the tune is wedded 
 indissolubly. So true it is that association of ideas has a large share in the operations of 
 
' s 
 
 SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM : THE POETS AND MUSICIANS. 
 
 the human mind, and often contributes much to the effect of music. There are, in fact, 
 some airs possessing no intrinsic merit which owe their influence solely to this principle. 
 
 It can scarcely admit of question that music is the oldest of all the fine arts; for "it 
 is, more than any other, an immediate work of nature." Hence it has been and still is 
 found among all nations, even those which are totally ignorant of every other art. 
 
 We know far less of the music of ancient times — so far as relates to musical compositions 
 — than we do of painting, sculpture, or architecture. The history of the art mentions 
 names of olden date associated with the construction or invention of certain characteristics ; 
 as Saint Ambrose, who lived in the fourth century of the Christian era, and is said to 
 have brought antiphonal singing from Greece into Europe; Guido d'Arczzo, who, about 
 six hundred years later, founded the present system of musical notation ; and we hear 
 of Joaquin des Pres, who lived in the fifteenth century, and was the inventor of counter- 
 point, and is considered to be the father of modern harmony. The representatives of the 
 art who appear in Mr. Armstcad's composition are the men whose names are, for the 
 most part, familiar to most persons taking any interest in this absorbing and delightful 
 pursuit. Here are the great masters of sacred music — Handel and Haydn, Mozart and 
 Bach, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, and the Englishmen Tallis, Gibbons, Boyes, and 
 others. Among the famous writers of operas and other secular compositions are portrayed 
 Bossini and Weber, Auber, Gluck, Gretiy, and a few more of comparatively minor repute. 
 
 A strikingly picturesque group is that in the centre of the large panel on the 
 engraved plate, where are seen the three poets who, 
 
 " In three distant ages born, 
 Greece, Italy, and England did adorn : " 
 
 Homer, the central figure, Dante, on his right hand, and, on his left, Shakespeare. Milton 
 stands immediately in the rear of our great dramatic poet, and Virgil behind the Italian. 
 Thus, in a single and well-balanced agroupmcnt, the five poets whose names stand foremost 
 in the world's biography are brought into a prominent position. Chaucer appears near 
 by, and so does Pythagoras ; the figure of the Greek philosopher being in such com- 
 panionship — among poets and musicians — is justified by the fact that to him is ascribed 
 the foundation of the theory of music, that he reduced it to mathematical principles, and 
 gave names to the various sounds. Notably among the other figures are those of Goethe 
 and Schiller, Corneille and Moliere, with Cervantes. 
 
 It must have cost the sculptor no little research into the early annals of music to 
 trace out the men most worthy of being commemorated in his work. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 ANGLE GROUPS. 
 
SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM. 
 
 ANGLE GROUPS. 
 (H. II. Armstead, A.R.A., and J. B, Philip.) 
 
 IfHESE four subjects complete the series of one hundred and sixty-nine portrait- 
 J figures, sculptured in marble, which form so striking and beautiful a feature on 
 ' T fejp the four sides of the Albert Memorial. These groups are on the projecting 
 J angles of the base of the structure, and they form the connecting links which 
 unite the whole. With the exception of the group on the north-west front, they 
 bring the artists who are represented down to the present generation. Thus the Musicians 
 and Painters include the greatest landscape-painter the world has over seen, in the person 
 of Turner, who, seated in the centre of the group on the south-east front, is showing a 
 sketch to AVilkie, whose "Blind Fiddler," "Village Festival,' 1 and other compositions of 
 a similar kind will bear favourable comparison with the best works of the most famous 
 masters of the old Dutch and Flemish schools. By the side of Wilkie stands Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds, the first President of the Eoyal Academy, habited in the costume of a Doctor 
 of Civil Laws— the University of Oxford having conferred upon him an honorary degree. 
 The remaining figures of this group are the English musicians, Purcell, Dr. Arne — who 
 wrote the famous national air of "Rule Britannia" in 1740— and Sir Henry Bishop, who 
 forms the connecting link between the last century and our own time. 
 
 In the next group, on the north-east front, the central figure is that of Dclaroche— 
 certainly the most refined historical painter of the modern French school — whose great 
 work, the " Ilemicycle," painted for the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, suggested the 
 idea of the design of this sculptural scries. The companions of Delaroche in the group 
 
 T 
 
7° 
 
 SCULPTURES OF THE PODIUM: ANGLE GROUPS. 
 
 are Horace Vernet, who has glorified — on the walls of the Palace at Versailles — the 
 military deeds of his countrymen ; Ingres, a learned artist rather than a great painter ; 
 and Decamps, a popular landscape painter. 
 
 On the angle of the north-west front is a group of architects of a period so remote 
 as to cause the thoughts to revert to the earliest known era of the world's architecture, 
 which is here represented rather by those who encouraged the art than by the architects 
 themselves. Thus the seated figure is assumed to represent Nitocris, a queen of Egypt, 
 who is supposed to have reigned about 2100 B.C., and is said to have built the third 
 pyramid, of which she holds a small model in her lap : there was a queen of Babylon 
 who bore the same name, and built a bridge over the Euphrates. Behind Nitocris is 
 King Cheops, whose reign dates back to within a thousand years of the Creation : his 
 name is found on the stones of the great Pyramid of Gizeh, considered to be the most 
 remarkable and the oldest structure in the world. Sennacherib, the Assj-rian monarch, 
 stands at the right hand of Nitocris : he is that Assyrian who, as Byron wrote, 
 
 " Came down like a wolf on the fold," 
 
 and whose discomfiture before Jerusalem is so graphically described in Scripture. lie did 
 much in the way of beautifying Nineveh, the capital city of his dominions ; and is 
 represented as holding a plan of the famous palace he built in Nineveh, several sculptures 
 from which are in the British Museum. With his back turned towards the Egyptian 
 queen stands a famous sculptor, Bezaleel, the earliest recorded name associated with that 
 art ; for we read (Exodus, ch. xxxv.) of Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the , 
 tribe of Judah, and of Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, as skilled 
 "in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of 
 cunning work." They were the artists employed to make the ornaments of the Tabernacle. 
 Another workman engaged on the same sacred edifice was Hiram — seen on the extreme 
 left of the group — who has already been spoken of. 
 
 The fourth panel, taken from the south-western angle, introduces us to a few of the 
 latest famous sculptors, as did that we have just left two of the very earliest. Elaxman, 
 an Englishman, whose name is honoured over the wide world, is here associated with 
 the graceful Canova the Italian, with Thorwaldsen the Dane, and with David d' Angers 
 the Frenchman — a judicious assemblage of representative nationalities. 
 
 The height of the figures of the podium is about six feet — a size sufficient to give 
 importance and great artistic value to them. 
 
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