Scarcely had he gone when
Mrs. Oakford and her daughter came. After sitting a long while, they
took U---- to their house, near St. John's Wood, to spend the night. I
had been writing my journal and official correspondence during such
intervals as these calls left me; and now, concluding these businesses,
S-----, J-----, and I went out and took a cab for the terminus of the
Crystal Palace Railway, whither we proceeded over Waterloo Bridge, and
reached the palace not far from three o'clock. It was a beautifully
bright day, such as we have in wonderful succession this month. The
Crystal Palace gleamed in the sunshine; but I do not think a very
impressive edifice can be built of glass,--light and airy, to be sure,
but still it will be no other than an overgrown conservatory. It is
unlike anything else in England; uncongenial with the English character,
without privacy, destitute of mass, weight, and shadow, unsusceptible of
ivy, lichens, or any mellowness from age.
The train of carriages stops within the domain of the palace, where there
is a long ascending corridor up into the edifice. There was a very
pleasant odor of heliotrope diffused through the air; and, indeed, the
whole atmosphere of the Crystal Palace is sweet with various
flower-scents, and mild and balmy, though sufficiently fresh and cool.
It would be a delightful climate for invalids to spend the winter in; and
if all England could be roofed over with glass, it would be a great
improvement on its present condition.
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