Son, of Stratford-upon-Avon, £1,475; Messrs. Clarke and Son, Wootten Wawen, £1,799; Messrs. Eassie and Co., Gloucester, £2,449. These proposals were fully discussed. and then Mr. Cox arose, and in a very honourable manner proposed that the tender of Messrs. Branson and Murray be accepted. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The builders selected got their engagement perfected, and set to work. The alteration on, and additions to, the original plan (no fault of the architects) were so extensive, that it is believed they will cost as much as the amount of the original tender. But the work was remarkable no less for the rapidity of its execution than the substantiality of its character. Within five months from the laying of the foundation stone the pavilion was erected, fitted up internally, and completely decorated. The building thus rapidly erected challenged general admiration. It was a duodecagon on the plan, 152 ft. in diameter, and constructed of timber on foundations of masonry, with galleries, orchestra, and stage. The area or pit was 100 ft. diameter, the floor of which was carefully laid down for the dancing. The orchestra was constructed to accommodate five hundred and thirty performers, the lower part of which was removed during the theatrical performances; and the stage was 74 ft. x 56 ft. deep, with nine dressing rooms, green room, and other rooms. The stairs leading to galleries were 10 ft. in width, with quarter spaces. They were placed outside the building, not to interfere with the floor entrances. The main roof over area, or inner hall, was constructed of twelve trussed principals bolted to the upright timbers, which supported the same, and had a strong wrought iron band round the whole circumference to resist "the thrust," and was surmounted by a lantern 15 ft. diameter, the lower part of which was filled in with perforated zinc for ventilation. The height from the floor to the top of the lantern was 74 ft. The whole of the roofs were covered with asphalte felt, on one-inch deal boards. The vestibule and covered entrances were 20 ft. wide, with L refreshment rooms, cloak rooms, stalls for opera glasses, &c., on each side. Twenty thousand cubic feet of timber, twelve tons of wrought iron, and upwards of four tons of nails were used in the construction of this building, which no one could have entered without a feeling of regret that an edifice so spacious, handsome, and substantial, was so soon to be demolished. By reference to the annexed plan and subjoined note, a pretty clear and correct notion may be formed both of the internal arrangements, and of the approaches to the building. The Committee voted £300 towards the decorating of the building. Advertisements for tenders were widely published. The proposal of Messrs. Brothers, Leamington, was accepted. Nothing could have been in better taste or more effective than the decorations, the Elizabethan style prevailing throughout. The principal seats were covered with scarlet cloth, the ledges being cushioned, and covered with silk velvet. An ingenious monogram of Shakespeare's name formed a prominent feature in the beautifully painted canvas on the back wall. The front of the boxes was decorated with scroll work, interspersed with Shakespearian medallions and quotations; and the well known passage the "Tempest," "The cloud-capped towers, &c.," was inscribed around the building, sadly suggestive of the temporary existence of the structure. EXPLANATION OF GROUND PLAN OF PAVILION. 1 The Stage. 2 Lower part of the Orchestra, removed during theatrical performances and ball. 3 Gentlemen's Retiring Room during oratorio and ball, but used for spectators during the theatrical representations. 4 Ladies' ditto, ditto, ditto. 5 Retiring Room. 6 Ladies. 7 Gentlemen. 8 Stairs to Gallery. 9 Refreshment Rooms. 10 Offices for Opera Glasses. 11 Cloak Rooms. 12 Stairs to Orchestra. 13 Committee Room. in The lighting by a large centre gasalier, branches, and the foot and wing jets, was very complete, and to their credit it must be here recorded, the local company supplied the gas free of charge. The stage, than which there never was a better constructed for histrionic purposes, was fitted up under the direction of Mr. Wales, stage carpenter of the Haymarket; the scenery, which had been painted principally by Mr. O'Connor, of the same establishment, was under his superintendence. Mr. Fenton painted the proscenium, and Mr. Telbin the drop curtain- -a representation of the statue of Shakespeare in a sort of vestibule, surrounded with pillars and curtains, the Stratford church appearing in the distance. Some of these artistic works, although effective, were hurriedly executed, and conveyed no adequate idea of the talent possessed by their authors. PREPARATIONS OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE. Whilst the building was receiving the finishing touch at the hands of the artistes, the town of Stratford-upon-Avon was undergoing a complete overhaul and renovation ; masons, plasterers, painters, glaziers, and paper-hangers were at work all over it. The front of nearly every house in the town was painted or in some way improved, and specially decorated for the auspicious occasion; vacant houses were taken and fitted up as temporary hotels; the historic old White Lion was resuscitated and filled with furniture; and it is much to be regretted that the inhabitants should have thus taken a great amount of unnecessary trouble in preparing for the reception of a multitude who never arrived. In point of the numbers who visited Stratford on the occasion the festival was a failure, that is compared with anticipations; and this I largely attribute to bad management in the advertising. The first "poster" was necessarily small, in order to have it placed in the railway stations; but for the second there was no such excuse. It was well enough printed on a mere four-sheet bill, crammed with announcements of |