EXHIBITIONS.
Via. ADAM LEE, of the Office of Works for Westminster, has recently opened, at the Gallery of the Society of Water Colour Painters, in Pall Wall East, a Cosmoramic Exhibition of the ancient Palace at Westmin- ster, which is well deserving the attention of the curious, and especially of the antiquary. It consists of elevations, sections, and perspective views of the exterior and interior of the Old Palace, as it was restored by Ilenav the Eighth ; and plans and elevations of the building as it appeared in the times of EDWARD the Confessor, Wsaaiti,z Rufus, HENRY the Third, &c., before it was partly destroyed by fire ; showing the old Saxon architecture, and the various changes it has undergone down to the present time. There are eighteen cosmoramic views of the several parts of the Old Palace ; showing the interiors of the Hall, Chapel, Oratory and Chapter-house, the Council-chamber, Painted Chamber, Robing-room, Kitchen, Cellars, &c., in their original state ; very elabo- rate illuminated drawings of the splendid decorations of the walls and painted windows of the Chapel ; views of the staircase of the Speaker's House, and a perspective view of a plan for restoring the Old Palace as it was finished in the reign of EDWARD the Third.
Mr. LEE has availed himself of the opportunities afforded him by his official duties in superintending the repairs, alterations, and restorations of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Hall, &c., during twenty- five years, to make drawings of all that he discovered of the old build- ings in their original state, in order to represent them as they appeared in their several stages of completion. This object he has accomplished at great labour and expense, in the course of fifteen years; and his draw- ings, executed with great care and neatness, form very curious and valu- able illustrations of the architecture, and particularly the taste of deco- ration in the civil edifices of early times.
The motion recently announced by Colonel TRENCH for improving the House of Commons, and the arrangements about to be made for ven- tilating the House of Lords, having called the attention of both Houses to the state of these buildings, the members will feel additional interest in inspecting this very curious exhibition.
In addition to these views, there are five of the Coronation of GEORGE the Fourth, and five of the Pavilion at Brighton, showing the gorgeous and fantastic splendour of its interior decoration.
At the Egyptian Hall (now converted into a Bazaar) is exhibiting a most perfect and ingenious model of the Theatre Fransais. It is con- structed of wood, on the scale of half an inch to a foot ; and its dimen- sions are eight feet in length and five feet in width. The building is an oblong square supported on arches, and 'having four fronts corre- sponding with each other ; and though it has a heavy appearance, the regularity of the massive pile is impressive. The model opens by a transverse section of the audience part, showing the arrangements and decorations of the interior. The former are very complete and regular ; but of the latter, of course, only an imperfect idea can be formed. The outer shell of the scenic department is also removed, and a complete in- sight is afforded into all the mechanism of the stage and scenery. The shifting, raising, and lowering of the scenes, &c. are entirely performed by the simple machinery of balance-weights and pullies ; a very great improvement upon the clumsy and inefficient mode of effecting the changes adopted on the English stage. The walls of the building are of stone ; and the girders, roof, &c. of iron. The construction of the latter is accurately shown in the model, and merits attention for its ingenuity ; as, indeed, do all the mechanical contrivances of the build- ing. Mr. CHARLES Moutisr is the mechanician who has constructed the model, which is particularly deserving the examination of architects and all persons interested in theatres.
At the Egyptian Hall may likewise be seen a picture by Mr. SCRYU" moon, of" The first Sign in Egypt." It is as painful a duty to point Out a mistake as it is a difficult task to convince the party committing it of his error. We would therefore prefer passing by Mr. SCRYMGEOUR'S performance without notice, since we can only say of it that it is an un- successful attempt in imitation of Mr. MARTIN'S style, the only good part of it being the effect of the light streaming into the picture. Mr. SCRYMGEOUR, we should judge from this, has an eye for colour ; but he is sadly deficient in drawing, perspective, and other elementary essen- tials of a picture. He has not been well advised to exhibit so soon.
Notices of NEW PRINTS next week.
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