s of the house. In the diplomatic corps there was great splendor
of costume, but no man carried himself more stately than did Mr.
Lawrence, whose fine, manly figure admirably becomes a court dress. I do
not think that I ever saw a collection of ladies so plain and homely as
the court ladies of Queen Victoria, who walked behind her in procession.
The Duchess of Sutherland has been renowned for her majestic beauty; but
she is _passe_, and her friends are, I think, matchless for entire
destitution of personal charms. But there was enough present to atone
for the want of this in the royal circle. Some of the most exquisite
faces I ever saw were there in those galleries, and forms of beauty that
can hardly be surpassed. I was much surprised at noticing in the vast
crowd, known to be about thirty thousand, that there were so few lads. I
do not believe there were more than ten or fifteen in the palace; and,
as we have already said, the absence of lads is owing to their all being
at boarding-schools. Our boys, you may well suppose, are greatly
pleased with having witnessed the greatest pageant of the age, and one
that can never be surpassed. We shall soon be at the exhibition again,
and apply ourselves to a careful survey of its interesting contents.

Yours affectionately,

J.O.C.

Letter 16.

LONDON.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

Now that the excitement consequent on the opening of the Crystal Palace
has in some degree subsided and curiosity to a certain extent satisfied,
we are enabled to obtain more lucid ideas of this extraordinary building
and its wondrous contents. The admission for several days was one pound,
and at this high price the visitors were of the most fashionable
character. We have been much pleased in looking at the very fine
equipages that throng the roads around the park. The carriages, horses,
end liveries are in the best possible taste. When we entered, the palace
was no longer heightened in splendor by the presence of the sovereign
and her brilliant court. The superb canopy which overshadowed the _dais_
on which the gorgeous chair had stood, alone remained to indicate that
there England's queen had performed the inaugural rites; but the great
facts of the exhibition remained. The crystal fountain still played, the
magnificent elms appeared in their spring garniture of delicate green
beneath the lofty transept, and the myriad works of skill, art, and
science lay around, above, and beneath us. I entered