TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE EXHIBITION. THE age is an age of physical progress, and there is little gained by criticising the men who only display a truth a little too ostentatiously, or the temples in which they' en- shrine the new deity which it pleases them to set up. There is a true political meaning in this worship of mechanical achievements, which dates from the beginning of the century, or from the rise to power of the tiers-itat. It is but natural that the classes into whose hands the government of most modern states has fallen, after the destruction of feudalism, should have a high opinion of their own performances. Suc- cessful trade, necessarily and justly, is the highest object of the successful tradesman, and mechanical progress the greatest aim of the aspiring mechanic. This, to a consider- able extent, is the source of all the exaggerated praise of in- duatrialism which produces International Exhibitions, and, as it is not based on a lie, we have little to say in reproof. It would be vain, while society is• exulting in the success with which it has devised appliances for physical comfort, and filling its eyes and its heart with the triumphs of art and inventiveness, to point out that there are nobler objects than these, that, to give men machines instead of thoughts, is but the new form of offering stones for bread, that justice will outlast steam, freedom produce more happiness than tele- graphs, and faith secure us nobler lives than well combined machinery. But we may at least be permitted to plead for truth in the description of our achievements, to denounce• the folly which, not content with worshipping iron, must elevate its deity amidst preens of carefully framed and highly artistic fibs. We will not waste time in showing that the dirtiest rabble of pilgrims which ever flocked to Mecca or Rome was moved by a higher ideal than that which governed the procession of Thursday ; but we may at least insist that the accounts of such ceremonial shall not be mere invention.
Anything more dull and tame than this opening ceremo- that the expected magnificence of which had been trumpeted forth for months, it is difficult to imagine. Among the enormous multitude which thronged the ugly creation of Captain Fowke there was not even a trace of enthusiasm visible for the object of the meeting. And it would have been difficult indeed to get up enthusiasm for the occasion. Twenty-four acres of ground, filled by show-cases containing toys, pottery, razors, cotton handkerchiefs, snuff-boxes, guns, and tea-kettles, together with that legion of other objects with which the material progress of the time has stocked the shop-windows of all the towns of Europe, form by no means an inspiriting sight, even if. royalty itself glorifies the scene by its presence. -Undoubtedly, among the thou- sands of show-cases, built up with the evident intention of immortalizing or puffing the name of the particular shop- keeper who supplies the articles, there are a good many worth careful examination, and not a few which honour the talent which constructed them and the genius which gave them life. But these few real marvels of human patience and in- genuity are lost in the sea of vulgar objects and insignificant things. The grand procession of dignitaries of State and Church, foreign ambassadors and native artists, which had been planned with so much trouble and expenditure, was un- able to give lustre to the affair. Not even the strains of Meyerbeer's music or the rhythm of Tennyson's poetry sufficed to destroy the spirit of the shop which pervaded the whole. The procession itself, composed though it was of as many eminent men as could well be collected, had an almost ludicrous aspect, as it moved around the big, building, between hedges of household furniture and glass cases on either side. Besides, there was something strangely incongruous in the composition of the whole corMge :—gilded -Life-Guard trumpeters, closely followed by stout citizen " contractor's superintendents," and others in substantial broadcloth—the real representatives of powerful well-fed tiers-gtat—succeeded by nondescript titled and untitled dignitaries, some stuck into antediluvian court costume, with cocked-hats and ill-fitting breeches ; others in uniforms of the most kaleidoscopic hues. Then came her Majesty's Ministers, the observed of all observers. Not far off stalked the noble chief of the house of Stanley, more gloomy than all the rest; and behind him walked demurely the trusty Benjamin Disraeli, with those shrewd sarcastic eyes of hie, and the almost imperceptible smile on the thin lips. _All manner of foreign celebrities, Chinese envoys with and without tails, Bavarian-Greek consuls, and butter-coloured Japanese ambassadors, preceded the three representatives of royalty, who seemed to be the great point of attraction for the fairer sex. H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief, burly and florid, formed the centre of the illustrious trio, with the pale little crown-prince of Prussia on the right, and the tall heir-apparent of Sweden on the left. Their appearance: elicited a faint cheer from the multitude, which, however, seemed to die off as soon as it had been uttered. The mourn- ful procession, forming in the central nave, slowly made its way, in a jostling, pushing, and very unceremonious manners to the western dome, where the inevitable addresses and re- plies had to be made. This accomplished, the march began, through rows of crockery-ware, candle ornaments, harmo- niums,. and barrel-organs, to the eastern dome, enlivened by the hideous music of six Scotch bagpipers, who had taken up a position immediately in the rear of the three royal highnesses. Arrived at the extreme east of the huge' building, the chief ceremony of the day commenced, in the performance of BOMB prize music, much valued as being "specially composed for the occasion." However, not one- fourth of the visitors to the Exhibition Palace could possibly hear a sound of the prize music. The three thousand mu- sicians announced in the programme might have as well sat in the moon, to all practical purposes. Not three thousand seraphim could have elicited harmony in a shed peeked full of merchandise, extending over twenty-four acres of land. It was a positive relief to all when the news- went forth that the pantomimic musical performance was at an end, and the feeling seemed to be shared by the royal and, illustrious personages of the cort4e, who forthwith appeared in a new character. Instead of jostling along a crowd of lonely discontented men, with six bagpipers in the rear, they each of them took on their arm a fair friend, as companion for the remainder of the journey around the show cases. Now, and now only, the business of the day appeared human and natural_ The procession of ladies and gentlemen walking round the nave looked for all the world like going a shopping. Perhaps it will not be acknowledged at once, but the conviction must force itself ultimately upon all minds, that these great industrial shows involve a partial mistake.. The theory of the thing is certainly laudable, and even noble ; but the practical execution must, for more than one reason, be necessarily beset with insurmountable obstacles. No- doubt, if all that is really excellent in artistic and mecha- nical production could be brought together at stated intervals, within a given space, the show would be exceedingly instruc- tive for national and international purposes, and the teaching, enforced by example, would be that of a polytechnic univer- sity of the highest kind. But, unfortunately, the difficulties. in the way of such a real exhibition appear to be too great to be overcome, and up to the present the execution has not even been attempted. All that has been done is to gather together promiscuously the contents of a thousand shops ia a building as big as a thousand shops. One of the most conspicuous objects in this great International Exhibition. opened on Thursday is a "toy trophy" made up of six- penny dolls, woolly dogs, and drumsticks. To the matt who sells the dolls, and whose name is displayed in letters. of gold on the "trophy," the Exhibition may be highly important; but, it may reasonably be asked, whether it is equally so to the nations invited to the show, and also- whether it is worth while to get three live princes, a score of ministers and ambassadors, and three thousand musicians, to assist the man in selling his dolls. True, the whole of the twenty-four acre building is not filled with dolls ; but it is certainly, to nine-tenths, with articles quite as common, and quite as easily found in every shop in Europe. This much vaunted Exhibition, therefore, comes to be, purely and simply, a big shop. Here lies the secret of the whole. It is the admiration of simply big things, which is the fever of our times. Huge cucumber frames are held up as model crystal palaces ; and huge bands of trumpeters are admired as, musical unions. Quantity is all, and quality is nothing. The artistic disease has come from the western coast of the Atlantic, the country of " almighty " streams, and moun- tains, and newspapers ; and is now fast spreading through Europe. That greatness, and goodness, and beauty, and all noble things which exist in this world, are commonly to be found within a very small compass, is a fact which seems to escape more and more the attention of the present generation. The reaction, however, will come one day, in due course of time ; and meanwhile we must bear with original crystal palaces and ugly stone temples, enshrining the apotheosis Of upholstery.
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