Jane 16, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



431 



undertaking, that its tendency had been to promote useful intercourse | 

 between all peoples, and to induce in them reelings of goodwill towards 

 each other. Money was accordingly subscribed (or the erection ol 

 morial, and active' steps were taken to obtain a place lor the intended | 

 monument on the site of the Exhibition in Hyde Park. Artists of all 

 countries were invited to submit drawings and models in competition, and : 

 ultimately, out of nearlv fiftv. the design sent in by Mr. Juseph Parham 

 was selected. The endeavours to procure a site in the Park Having fa.led, 

 we, the Executive Committee, — who had met with difficulties that might 

 not have been anticipated— sought the aid of the P:inceC nsov:. i.. - 

 at once freelv accorded on the condition, characteristic of his P.oyal High- j 

 ness's noble self-denial, that the Memorial should be in no way pet 

 but one to which he could himself subscribe. Ike 

 Societv granted the fine site before -which we now stand, on land belonging 

 to the'Royal Commissioners for the Great Exhibition, and therefore appro- j 

 priate tne Commissioners themselves concurring in the grant; and from 

 that time til the very last his Eoyal Highness continued to give consoler- | 

 ation and personal assistance of inestimable value in completing and carry- 

 ing out the project. Guided by his cultivate! judgment, and aided by an 

 increase of the tund*. the desiern was charged and improved to its present 

 form • and the last public act o; the Pnnce in Lonr.oa was the approval of 

 the statue o< Her Most Graeio-as M3j=stv the Queen, then mtendea to sur- 

 mount the Memorial. A letter from your Royal Highness after ths 

 eTent that had nlune-ed the nation into grief conveying the will of the 

 Queen that instead of Her Majesty's statue that of her beloved tan 

 =honld crown the Memorial, and offering on your rtoyal Highness's own 

 part to present the statae proposed to be thus placed— a letter which 



touched the heart of the conntr - -.. :- 10 c -try oat the original 



desire of the subscribers, which was emphatically to offer a public and 

 lastin» tribute in connection -with the Great Exhibition of ISol to the good 

 Prince— 'to whose far-seeing and comprehensive philanthropy' (as now 

 recorded on the face of the Memoria.) ' its first conception was due, and to 

 who<e cl»ar jud"n>ent and untiring exertions in directing its execution the 

 world is indebted for its unprecedented success." We take the liberty ot ex- 

 pressing oar Tea* satisfaction with tne admirable manner m which Mr. 

 Durham has executed the commission confided to him. He has produced a 

 ■work that we believe to be honourable alike to 1;. .:... to the country ; 



and we trust Hiis feeling -will he generally shared m, especially by those 

 eminent uersons who assisted in the Great Exhibition, and whose names he 

 has consequently recorded on enduring granite. In concluding tins bnet 

 account of our proceedings, we tender most grateful thanks to tae Q^een 

 for the interest Her Majestv has been pleased to show m the progress ci 

 this work, and the all-important assistance thus rendered ns m our self- 

 imposed labour. And we" pray heartily and devoutly that Almighty God 

 mav, in His eoodness. long preserve Her Majesty's hie— a hie most precious 

 to her loyal and loving neorjle. It onlv remains for us to acknowledge most 

 respectfuiiv the anxious" readiness with which you, Sir, accompanied by the 

 illustrious "Princess whom all the kingdom welcomes with open heart, and 

 by yourRoval brothers and sisters, have graciously taken part in the pro- 

 ceedings 0'" to-day. We crier in the name of the subscribers our earnest 

 thanks; and we solicit that ycur Koyal Highness mil now oe pleased to 

 command the uncovering of the Memorial." 



To this address ths reading of which was interrupted by re- 

 peated applause, the Prince of Wales returned the following 

 answer : — 



" Gentlemen,— I have listened with an interest, which I am sure will be 

 shared bv all present, to the details which yon have given in connection 

 with the Memorial to mv lamented and revered lather, which we are 

 assembled this day to inaugurate. As a son I canna: but be deeply affected 

 bv that part of yonr address in which you have referred to the beloved 

 parent whose aid and counsel were never wanting when work was i0 he 

 done, or when difficulties were to be overcome. (Cheers). I am couhaent 

 that our proceedings in commemorating so proud a year in England s 

 annals would have met with his anproval, and I am sustained in tne part 

 which in obedience to the Queen's commands I have undertaken, by the 

 conviction and grateful sense that the sympathy of the entire nation accom- 

 panies me. I have now the pleasure of directing that the Memorial— ot 

 which the artist may well he prond— be now uncovered." (Cheers) . 



The last words his Royal Highness concluded were scarcely 

 audible beyond the splendid circle which were assembled round 

 him in the' balcony, but, as if intuitively, the whole assemblage 

 turned towards the covered monument, irom which neatly and 

 quickly, as the boom of the first gun sounded, the covering was 

 instantaneously withdrawn, showing a Memorial of which, as the 

 Prince truly said, the artist might well be proud. It is entirely 

 constructed of red and grey granite, as far as relates to the artisf s 

 desien. The under base or Portland stone does not belong to 

 the Memorial proper, and would hare been better if in unison 

 with the granite wort, and the arches, keyed with unmeaning 

 marts, materially detract from the composition. It is, we be- 

 lieve, the first public monument in which both red and grey 

 granite, accompanied with bronze wort, has been combined, at 

 least in this country, and is in other respects new in its archi- 

 tectural features. The bronze statues have been produced by 

 means of electro-deposition, which in this instance gives decided 

 evidence of its importance in rendering the correct h9ndling of 

 the arti3t, as well as preserving the exact size of the original 

 models, which could not be the case where the old method of 

 casting i3 used. 



The form of the Memorial is that of a temple, with projecting 

 bases at four equal distances, of sufficient size to carry seated 

 figures of 8 feet high. The entire height of the Memorial, 

 exclusive of the under work with arches, is 42 feet ; the width 

 across the angles of the granite, 18 feet. The entablature ia 

 broken to correspond with the projections of the base. The four 



seated bronze statues represent the quarters of the world in an 

 allegorical manner, but dives'ed of the old conventional type. 



Beneath, and in front of each statue, there is a bronze me- 

 dallion inserted in the granite base, the four medallions being 

 enlarged copies from the prize medals awarded to successful 

 exhibitors of 1851. Behind each of these statues arise two 

 pilasters and two pillars of the Corinthian order, from stylobates 

 placed above the heads of the statues. The capitals and bases 

 of the columns are ol bronze, the shafts of polished red granite, 

 the effeet of which is very good as an architectural decoration. 

 Polished red granite is also introduced with equal effect in the 

 crescent side panels of the base, and upon the circular side 

 panels of the body of tne temple. Upon the four latter panelB 

 there are inscribed in gilded incised lettering the principal 

 features and facts relating to the first International Exhibition, 

 including a record of all those who were actually engaged in any 

 responsible position connected with the management of that 

 national event, commencing with the Royal President of the 

 Commission, the late Prince, whose statue in bronze surmounts 

 the Memorial. It is 10 feet high, and in the mantle and with 

 the insignia of the Master of the Order of the Bath — the Queen 

 as Sovereign, being head of every other illustrious Order. 



Ihe statue of the Queen, aB personifying "Peace," was in- 

 tended originally to have been the crowning figure, but has been 

 exchanged for that of the Prince by express desire of Her 

 Majesty. 



The frieze of the Temple bears upon it, in gilded lettering, 

 two inscriptions, — one from Isaiah, " Let all the nations be 

 gathered together, and let the people be assembled." The other 

 is from the Psalms, " I will remember the works of the Lord 

 surely I will remember Ihy wonders of old." On the north 

 tablet is the dedication of the Memorial itself, as follows : — 



Erected 



By public Subscription. 



Originally intended only to commemorate 



The International Exhibition 



Of 1851, 



Now 



Dedicated also to the Memory of 



The great Author of that Undertaking, 



The good Prince, 



To whose far-seeing and comprehensive Philanthropy 



Its first Conception was due ; 



And to whose clear Judgment and untiring Exertions 



In directing its Execution 



The World is indebted for 



Its unprecedented Success. 



Albert Fb-mvcis Aitgustus Charles Emanuel, 



The Prince Consort, 

 Born August 26, 1S19. Died December 14, 1861. 



" He was a man ! take him for all in all, 

 "We shall not look upon his like again." 



JOTTINGS FEOIU PAEIS, 1863. 



I'EXPOSITIOaN" DE LA SOCIETE IMPEEIALE ET CENTBALE 



d'hobticcxtube, ETC. 



Vegetables aiyd Eelxts. 



That the Erench people are much greater eaters of vegetables 

 than ourselves a glance at any of. their dinner-tables will suffi- 

 ciently show — of vegetables not eaten, as with us, as adjuncts to 

 more substantial viands, but forming courses by themselves, and 

 served up in ways unknown to the ordinary dinner-tables of 

 English folks. Not that I by any means accord to the Erench 

 any abstemiousness as regards eating. Considering what a 

 substantial meal their dejeuner is, and the number of courses of 

 which their dinners consist, I am quite inclined to think that 

 they are as great eaters as ourselves. Of course it does not look 

 so much to have one dish at a time placed on the table as it 

 does to have it loaded, as it too often is with us. But after all 

 I think even as much meat is eaten with them as with us. 

 However, this is a digression, suggested at any rate by the sub- 

 ject on which I wish to say a few words — the vegetables and 

 fruits exhibited at the Exhibition of the Imperial Society of 

 Horticulture. 



Erance, enjoying as she does in the southern part of the coun- 

 try so warm a climate, and closely connected with Algeria, has 

 the opportunity of obtaining all vegetable productions much 

 earlier than we have; and the great markets at Paris show how, 

 assisted by railroads, those capacities are brought to bear on the 

 wants and luxuries of the great Parisian public : therefore one 

 was surprised at not seeing a larger display of vegetables at any 



