its form might have been less objectionable.

Of the internal arrangements of the palace, little is as yet perfectly
known. On the principal floor of the centre, between the east and west
suites of rooms, runs a splendid picture and statue gallery (the whole
length of the building); the light into which is to be admitted from
the sides, in a slanting direction, by metal skylights. The ceiling
has iron girders thrown across, and is arched with combs, each having
the ends closed, with the exception of a small hole (like an inverted
flower-pot), which admits a current of air to circulate through the
floor. The roof of this gallery is flat, and covered with slate
embedded in a composition of hot coal-tar, lime, and sand: the roofing
of the other parts of the palace is mostly covered with a similar
composition, but _not_ slated. The approach to the gallery is up the
grand stairs, and through several rooms, in which will be disposed the
king's magnificent collection of armour. The floors throughout are
fireproof, formed of iron joists, and arched with hollow bricks of
a singular construction.

The group for the pediment of the _east facade_ of the palace,
representing the triumph of Britannia, by Mr. Bailey, is nearly
finished.

The original gardens of Buckingham House, an extensive space, will
of course continue to be the grounds of the new royal residence; but
considerable alterations have been made to render them eligible for that
purpose. In order to conceal from the windows the great pile of stables
lately erected in Pimlico, near the lower end of Grosvenor-place, a
large artificial mound has been raised, and planted with curious trees
and shrubs.[1] The whole area now assumes all the appearances of natural