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Leader (1850-1860), 19th May 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 464, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      hasty retreat , giving a general alarm . Before he had time to accomplish this object , the girder , which was ninety-nine feet long , snapped short in the centre , and floor after floor fell to the ground . Upon the roll being called over , it was ascertained that the " only persons missing were those who had been conveyed to their homes ' or to the hospitals . It is thought that all the sufferers are likely to recover .

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      THE PR ESENTATION OF THE CRIMEAN MEDALS . A spectacle , more imposing and affecting than any that has been witnessed in England for several years—appealing to the eye by its military pomp and gorgeousness , but much more strongly moving the heart and the moral sentiment by its associations , at once mournful and triumphant , saddening and exalting , pathetic and jubilant—took place yesterday morning on the Parade at the back of the Horse Guards , where the Queen presented with her own hands the Crimean medals to the noble heroes of that gigantic struggle , which in times to come will take conspicuous position among what might almost be called the mythologies of history . As early as nine o ' clock , a large body of troops took up their position on the ground . They were within barriers , and were stationed as follows : —The 2 nd battalion of the Grenadiers on the right , the 2 nd battalion of the Coldstreams in the centre , and the 2 nd battalion of Scots Fusilier Guards on the left . The invalid and other officers and soldiers entitled to the decoration , comprising detachments from every regiment in the Crimea , Cavalry , Guards , Infantry , Artillery , and Marines , as well as seamen from the fleet , were drawn up according to the seniority of their respective corps , in

      the rear of the line . The boys belonging to the Koyal Military Asylum , Chelsea , had places allotted to them between Dover-house and the Treasury-chambers . The bands of the 1 st and 2 nd Life Guards , the Grenadier , Coldstreain , and Scots Fusilier Guards , were in attendance . In addition to the strong barriers that enclosed the ground occupied by the troops , videttes of the 1 st and 2 nd Life Guards , and sentries from the household infantry , were thickly posted around , together with 9 trong bodies of police from the several divisions , under the immediate superintendence of Sir Richard Mayne .

      Her Majesty arrived about eleven o ' clock . The first medal was awarded to the Duke of Cambridge ; and among those officers who followed were Sir De Lacy Evans , Lord Cardigan , and Lord Lucan . Captain Sir Thomas Troubridge was wheeled up to the throne in a Bath chair . This noble officer had had his right leg and left foot shot away at the Battle of Inkerman , but refused to be moved from , the field until the day Avas won . Sir Thomas was loudly cheered by the people . In Ies 3 than an hour her Majesty had distributed five hundred medals to as many officers and men . The royal suite then departed , and reached Buckingham Palace a little after twelve .

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      EXECUTION OF PIANORI . Piasoki ' s appeal to the Court of Cassation for a reversal of his sentence , on the ground of certain alleged informalities , having been over-ruled , the criminal was guillotined on Monday morning , at the new place of execution in front of the prison of La Roquette , near Pere la Chaise . The Daily News Paris correspondent gives the following account of the execution : — " Although the morning was wet and cold , and although , according to laudable custom , no public announcement of the day of execution had been made , a very large number of people were assembled . ' The spectators were kept at a great distance from the guillotine

      by a square of troops . Up to a late hour on Sunday night , the authorities repeated to Pianorl an offer which has baen frequently made , that hid life should bo spared if he would discover his confederates . His only answer was , that he had no revelation to make . The Abbe " Hugon , tho chaplain , was with him during the night , to afford him spiritual consolation . It ia understood that ho expressed some sort of regret for what ho had done ; but , from his subsequent conduct , it is probable that this regret only referred to tho laws of the church , which the priest told him ho had offended , and not specifically

      to tho crime for which ho was to suffer . When the fatal toilette was made , ho cried in a linn voice , ' Vivo la Ro ' publique ! ' at tho moment when tho executioner bhrew over him tho thick black veil appropriated to tho last moments of a parricide . Ho walked barefoot to tho jcaffold with a . Arm stop , and mounted tho ladder withjut a moment ' s hesitation . When tho veil waa taken ) ff , ho looked calmly round upon tho crowd , and at tho nomont when tho executioner and his assistants seized lim , to bind him to tho plank , ho cried , ' Vive l'ltalie !' \ . moment after tho knifo foil , and all was over . Tho jrowd dispersed in silence . " Tho Paris correspondent of tho Times says : — " In ; ho faubourgs it ia rumoured that it was not I'ianori , aut a mannequin , that was guillotined , and that the real person ( who , of course , was a policu iigint ) has i ) Ocn sent out of tho country with a passport !"

      OPENING OF THE PARIS EXHIBITION . This event took place on Tuesday , and passed off without any untoward accident . Owing to a great amount of rain on the two previous days , the streets were in a most wretched and muddy condition ; and rain fell on the day itself . Paris , however , was full ; a great number of handsome carriages drove towards the Palais ; horse and foot soldiers out of number were to be seen ; and there was a large attendance of visitors . The building itself was in a depressing state of dirt and confusion , the side galleries being

      completely filled with unpacked cases ; but in the centre of the building there was a splendid throne and canopy for the Empress and Emperor , and this , perhaps , made amends . On the arrival of the Imperial party they proceeded to this dais , but did not sit down . Prince Napoleon , President of the Imperisil Commission , then read an address to the Emperor , to which his Majesty briefly replied . The most remarkable part of his speech consisted of the words : "In endeavouring to call together all nations , I desire to open here a Temple of Concord . "

      " The Emperor and Empress ( writes the Daily News Special Correspondent ) descended from the throne , and turned towards the east end of the building , proceeding along the English portion of the nave . They next passed along the French side of the same , returning to the throne , having passed successively by the way the stalls of Bavaria , Wurtemburg , Hanover , Prussia , Austria , and Belgium . Throughout the progress of the procession the crowd was put aside right and left to make way for their Majesties , but only an instant before they actuallv passed ; and I must say that not even in England could there have been less precaution taken against treachery . Had there been any person with evil inclinations , theEmperor might have been struck down a dozen times over . After making the round of the building , the Emperor and Empress returned to the

      throne , where they bowed again to the spectators , and then retired amidst the same cheers which had greeted their arrival . But these cheers , I must say , were by no means enthusiastic . Shortly after their Majesties retired ; the barriers around the interior of the building were taken down , and the exhibition of the Fine Arts was at the same time thrown open to the public I cannot say that throughout the ceremony much interest was shown by the spectators regarding anything connected with the Exhibition . Up to to-day only 5000 season tickets have been sold , and of these 2500 have been purchased by English people and other strangers . The French care little for the Exhibition itself . The Emperor looked very ill throughout the morning . He is certainly twenty years older in appearance than he was three weeks ago in London . The Empress , also , has a most careworn , anxious appearance . "

      The ordinary Paris Correspondent of the Daily Ncvs gives a different impression from the above , and says that the opening was very successful , anil that it was a gay anil joyous scene . The Napoleonic Post of course blows a loud trumpet-note of praise .

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      CONTINENTAL NOTES . THE OPENINCJ OF THE PARIS EXHIBITION . ( From a Private Correspondent . ") 11 .... It would be scarcely possible to exaggerate the disappointment which the ceremony of last Tuesday has generally created amongst those who were present at it . The postponement of the day of opening , from the 1 st to the 15 th , was regarded , in the first instance , especially by foreigners , as a breach of faith towards them ; and though it was excused by tho fact that tho building and its contents were really not in a state of exhibition , great hopes were entertained that the delay of a fortnight would give the Commissioners ample time to eet their house in order . Such , however , has not been the case . Tho interior , with , tho exception of tho Great Hall , presented tho . appearance of a trunk-maker ' s atelier , whore packed and unpacked casos lay huddled together pell-moll against tho partitions of unfinished stalls . In tho Great Hall a little more activity and readiness have been displayed , but when I entered an hour after tho opening of tho doors , workmen wore fltill employed in bringing in , and placing in tho basins of tho fountains , pota filled with flowers . In fact , the only departments

      that can bo said to bo in any stnto of forwardness aro those allotted to British and Belgian exhibitors . Tho blame of this incompleteness has been shifted , like all official blame , from the shoulders of ono person to another ; but it appears at last to have aottlod fairly on those of tho Prineo Napoleon , who , muicq his return from tho Crimea , not having anything olao to moddlo with and show his incapacity Upon , has undertaken to alter tho previous arrangements in tho Palais do l'lndustric . " At twenty minutes past ouo—instead of ono , tho hour

      appointed—the Emperor entered the building . He was accompanied by the Empress , and met at the entrance by the Commissioners . It was expected that , as the whole affair is a national affair , a certain amount of enthusiasm would have been got up on the occasion But with . the exception of the senators and the members of the household , who gave a few stereotyped cheers there was scarcely any demonstration made . There was * no waving of handkerchiefs from the galleries , no lively greeting from the lips of the fair , usually so excited on such occasions . 1 never saw an assembly met together for a special object so negligent , so impassive ; and when the Emperor and Empress , after having received the apology of the Prince President of the Commission , and accepted it in a speech remarkable only for its extreme brevity , passed down through the centre of the building , only

      a' very few voices shouted the imperial cry . It was gene rally observed that the Emperor looked more than ordinarily livid and fatigued , and walked as though he expected to meet at every step the avenger of PianorL By-the-by , putting the justice or the injustice of the act aside , the time chosen for the execution of that patriot was impolitic . An ordinary execution would have passed unchallenged . The eyes of Europe , however , were fixed on the Italian , and the general topic at the breakfast-table the next morning—the morning of the 15 th—was the policy or impolicy of destroying him . The unpleasant feelings created by such a topic could not be shaken off—at least by less than imperial spirits —in an hour or so ; and there is no doubt that the coldness of the whole affair may be attributed in great part to the gloom thrown over the public mind by this judicial murder .

      " The impression produced by the opening of the Exposition Universelle de Paris may be summed up in two words—disappointment and alarm ; disappointment at the utterly incomplete state of the Exhibition , and alarm at the want of enthusiasm manifested towards the Emperor—a feeling which the Emperor himself is shrewdly suspected of sharing , as he did not remain above half an hour , and left the building in apparent disgust . A change is looked forward to . The timid call it a revolution ; the moderates a political crisis ; whatever it bej come it will , and that soon . Everything is working together for that consummation .

      " The ceremony of Tuesda 3 was altogether a curious spectacle . France had called the nations of the world together , and invited them to assemble in her Temple of Peace , and there , as it were , in the midst of her guests " stood the elect of seven million * waiting to receive the tokens of her children ' s loyalty or submission , as you will , that strangers might testify his power abroad ; aiid there , in the hour of his apparent triumph , he stood alone . No burst of loyalty responded to hia appeal , no sympathy bounded to him from the hearts of those around him . Not a few , who at home had been accustomed to hear of the popularity of the Emperor , went away with their eyes opened , and convinced that the Child of Destiny was not tho Idol of France . "

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      Congratulatory addresses to the French Emperor , on his recent escape from assassination , have been presented by the two chief sections of Polish refugees—one signed by Prince Czartoryski and his friends , on behalf of the aristocratic and monarchical party , the other by General Rybinski , who is considered ono of the chiefs of the democratic body . These documents have been published in the official Moniteur , and have on that account created considerable sensation , as they are considered to leave thus assumed the character of an indirect menace to Austria and Prussia . Tho Czartoryski address affirms that the Polish refugees pay with ardour " a tribute of gratitude to the nephew of the hero who was the regenerator of their country— the glorious Emperor who makes evePolish heart beat with hope . " The

      subry joined aro tho most remarkable passages in the Rybinsw address : —" The hope of a calm and grund future which prevails at the present moment in Europe cannot be realised , Sire , except by your truly providential and heroic initiative . Without } 'ou , Europe would stand still , or fall buck into perdition ; with you , its veritable chief , it will advance boldly towards its new destinies . Poland has religiously maintained with love and venerution those glorious traditions which , taken up and developed by your Imperial Majesty , open a n epoch to France and to Poland ; and , by tho union of those two countries , to tho great European family . Hire , 1 olana hopes everything from Divino justico ; and , in her Iftitn in your Majesty , she is convinced that that justiceiwm sentiments wlncli i

      only bo administered by you . The respectfully present to your Imperial Majesty in tuo name of tho officers and soldiers of tho old Polish army are Hhared , 1 am assured , by the whole of Poland , blio would not disavow mo if sho were allowed to cxproaa her mind . Yos , Sire , who suffera , and she looks lownrus tho Went , where sho only beholds and loves your imperial Majesty . " Tho Polos aro now indulging m mo most extravagant hopes with respect to tho restoration of their country > and tho appointment of Com" "y » - lowski as Minister for Foreign Affairs is looked upon by them aa significant . Tho count ' s mother wan a 1 oiisn woman ; and his father , it ia generally believed , w « s "i ° Groat Napoleon himself .

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      ^ THE "LEADER * [ Saturday , ¦— - ¦ _ ¦ _ ¦ ' ' ¦ ¦ ' ' " ' . Z — — - ^ — _ _!__ —

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 19, 1855, page 464, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2091/page/8/