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Palace, and hung up in the gallery for exhibition. The carpet is thirty feet long by twenty feet wide, executed in Berlin wool. It is the production of the leisure hours of a number of ladies, and is a good specimen of their industry and taste, rivalling the finest productions of European looms. Each lady, upon the payment of a guinea, had the material, and a square of two feet, sent her for execution. The square is composed of three hundred and forty stitches on each side. After completion, the squares were returned, and fitted together as a whole. Its cost was £800; but if worked by the loom, it could not have been sold for less than £1000. Her Majesty was so well pleased that the hands of females could thus be more profitably employed than looms, that she insisted on having it carried to the Crystal Palace, and exhibited as a token of the triumphs of her own sex.

The Duke of Northumberland, last Spring, offered a reward of $100 to the inventor of the best Life-Boat. This brought a large number into the Crystal Palace, several of which are exhibited in the western gallery. Amongst these, we notice one presented by Mr. Light, of London. The object of this invention is to render ordinary ships' boats so buoyant, that they become Life-Boats, and are capable of saving the passengers and crew under almost any circumstance. The material employed is extremely buoyant, and is rendered impervious to water or moisture. By filling the spaces between the timbers with this material, and then covering the whole with a thin lining of boards, a boat is rendered so buoyant, that, even when overloaded with passengers, should the seas break over it, there would be no danger of its sinking. Or, should the bottom be stove in, the frame would float and act as a

raft, which the material, from its tenacity and fibrous na ture, would hold together. The process, it is said, can also be applied with advantage to the bulwarks, and between the timbers and ceilings of ships; and it must be evident, that in the event of their going to pieces, each portion would, from its own power of floatation, become a life-buoy. It is also said, that the material can be adapted to any bulk, in any form, and to any part of the ship or boat usually left vacant; and, consequently, that it will not diminish the space for stowing the cargo, and that the mattresses, couches, seats, and all the furniture, can be made the means of saving life in the time of shipwreck. It may also be applied to jackets, belts, life-buoys of all kinds, and for floats for fishermen. The life-belts can be adjusted in ten seconds, and are incapable of being injured by weather or climate.

There was enough in the Palace worth studying. The whole world will derive essential benefit from the new inventions and improvements brought here for the different nations of the earth to profit from. We have not time or room, in this work, for further Walks in the Crystal Palace.

LETTER XXXVIII.

A SCENE NEAR THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

View of the Lake-A miniature Man-of-War-The Queen and her Son coming down from the Crystal Palace-The Embarkation and Sail described.

My Letters, hitherto, have

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LONDON, AUGUST 18, 1851.

contained descriptions &c.

for adult readers; I must write something for the boys - good ones for many such, I trust, are amongst our reading friends. It is unnecessary now to describe the three hundred and sixty acres of Hyde Park, on which the Crystal Palace is erected, or to speak further of the external appearance of this immense and brilliant edifice. But suppose yourself to be standing near its east end. Just now, cast your eye to the right and look through the arching trees and over the verdant lawns to a lake of pure water, called the Serpentine, that is long and narrow like a river, running parallel with the Glass Palace. It is an artificial pond, perhaps two miles long by a fourth of a mile wide. It is deep water. The beach is covered with pebbles of flint. Trees grow upon the shores and shade the margin of the lake. Under these trees are circular seats, and long movable benches and settees. Occasionally there are green-houses, arbors and flower gardens. Boathouses, also, project over the water; and pretty wharves

are built out from the shores, at which lie fancy boats with sails, or oarsmen in row-boats, beckoning you to step on board and take a trip on the placid Serpentine. The fare is sixpence. Nothing can be gayer or more cheerful than this water-scene.

Let us proceed to the shore, and look out upon the lake. Swans, and geese, and ducks are resting upon its bosom, single or in flocks, and the gentle deer stand half leg deep in water, lapping the element, and cooling themselves in the refreshing water breeze. All over the lake are light and fanciful water crafts, some moved by steam, some by wind, some by oars, carrying passengers and parties on excursion to various parts of the lake such as the distant bridges which cross it, to the Kensington Gardens, the Queen's Charity Hospital, &c.

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But what is that object moored yonder in the centre of the lake? It is a veritable ship-a man-of-war rather, as we should say, a boy-of-war. She may be about twenty tons in size,-just large enough for the commission of the young midshipman who commands her. She is indeed named for him," the Prince of Wales" the Queen's eldest son, England's king that is to be, now ten years old. He is already a midshipman in the Navy, and designs to follow a nautical life as did his great-uncle, the late King William IV. In this miniature frigate he begins his professional education. The ship is a three-decker, each deck is mounted with brass cannon corresponding in calibre to the size of the boy-of-war. She is fully rigged and equipped, and her sides shine like polished ebony. From her mizen peak streams the royal ensign of the British crown; and her white sails are bent ready for sea. She is fully manned

by sailors and marines in uniform, all of the young Prince's own age and size, ten years old and her decks seem alive with blue coats, red vests, yellow epaulettes, and black plumes.

But hark! Heard you the boatswain's whistle? — and now the sound of those bugles, and the roll of the drum? And what means that gun just discharged from the weather bow of the ship? There is a commotion even amongst the people on shore, and thousands appear to be hurrying to the borders of the lake. Let us get a good position by this canopied wharf, and see what is coming.

A beautiful little barge or yacht, is let down from the ship. The seats are all cushioned with red silk velvet, and a white satin canopy, with the Royal Coat-of-Arms painted upon it, covers the stern of the boat. Twelve young and nimble oarsmen, clad in uniform, six on a side, take their positions at the thowl. A miniature officer sits at the helm and gives command, and the silver mounted oars dip the silvery surface of the lake, keeping time with wonderful exactness. The barge is making direct for the royal wharf, near which we have taken our seat.

Now turn and look behind you, towards the Glass Palace. Ready policemen have cleared a wide passageway amidst the thousands of people that cover this part of the Park. The private door, on the Palace side, opens, and a mother and her little son, holding each other by the hand, are advancing towards the barge. It is Queen Victoria and her boy, the Prince of Wales. They both bow to the people as they pass; and by the time they have reached the carpeted wharf, and halted

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