Fire

Fire broke out and partly destroyed the famed waxwork exhibition in Marylebone Road, London, known far and wide as Madame Tussaud's. Reconstruction is to begin at once.

The original Mme. Tussaud was a Swiss and, during the French Revolution, was in Paris, with her uncle who had a waxwork salon. She made many replicas of the guillotine victims. In 1802, she went to London, founded the exhibition which still bears her name.

For a shilling, one is permitted to view the wax effigies of Nelson, Napoleon, Wellington, Lincoln and many another celebrity. At the door, stand two policemen who are standing jokes. Bobby No. 1 is asked a civil question, but declines to answer. Sometimes the inquisitor gets angry before he discovers his mistake. The other bobby is less lifelike. A visitor goes up to him, winks to show that he is not taken in and, with much self-assurance, just to show how certain he is, prods him in the abdomen. "Move on there, move on, please," booms the bobby without a smile, while the prodder writhes in the last agonies of a pricked balloon.

For an extra sixpence, the Chamber of horrors can be visited. Amid blood, treadmills, gallows and guillotines may be seen most of England's famed criminals, some in the act of the crime, some just after it, some being executed. It is probably the best value in thrills that London can offer.