THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 315, 22 June 1889, Page 3

THE PARIS EXHIBITION.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE GRAND PREPARATIONS.

Paris, April 2S. The preparation for the great show is as unique as the show itself. If the world cannot produce another Eiffel Tower or another machine gallery that can lival the amazing ■truoture, forming the largest room in the place, and if the collection of wonders being assembled in the Champs de Mars, on the Qua! d'Orsay, in the Place des Invalides, and on the Trocadero, threaten to be numerous enough to defy examination, the work of making ready the vast affair is, in its way, just as unexampled as the affair’ itself. A visit to the enclosure of the Champ de Mars compels the observer to conclude that the great show will scarcely be ready before June, The work of building may be said to be finished; but no portion of the enormous affair is ready. The ground is full of holos and trenches that are being dug out for the reception of pipes and condui s for water, steam, electricity, &0., and of heaps formed by the excavating of these subterranean passages, and the preparation of the ground for the laying down of the lines of railway that are to do the utmost towards diminishing the distances between the various attractions that the visitors will have to visit. And the party who attempts the arduous feat of crossing the now chaotic expanse has to avoid not only the pits and the hillocks aforesaid, but to keep from getting under the wheels of steam engines, trucks, and the hoofs of horses, from being knocked down by enormous creations in iron, loads bf planks and rafters, masses of barrels, boxes, cases of all shapes and sizes, and out the way of the squads of excited workmen, shouting, holloaing, scolding, in eagerness to penetrate the difficulties around them, and to succeed in reaching the point for which they are bound. Evei-y few yards one encounters a policeman, who cries, “ No one passes I ” (carrying nut the orders transmitted on the instant, in view of some special piece of work being executed somewhere in the direction one is following.) “ Pass this way 1” “ Go round that.building 1” “ Turn to the right of that scaffolding 1” “ You must turn to the left of that group of workmen !” And so on. The sharp ring of steamhammers, the heavy thud of wood under the hands of carpenters and decorators, the noise of steam, the cacophony of excited voices and the occasional “blow off” of the unhappy horses, dragging at their loads as they are forced round holes and qyer hillocks, make up a deafening racket, certainly not to be heard on any other portion of the globe. Here and there one comes upon strips ot incipient pavements, leading to the. entrance of some special edifice or some section more advanced than its neighbors ; the principal restaurants being among the'elaments of the affair most favored in this respect, and doing already among the “ favoured few ” —a good many thousands I —possessed of the magic “ pass ” that gives entrance to the enclosures from which the general public is necessarily exc’uded, a respectable amount of business. For the rest of the enormous surface one has to make one’s way through dust or mud, according to weather, with philanthropical indifference to the coating of one’s shoes and the powdering or splashing of vestments. And as one anxiously makes one’s way, turning. returning, and doing one’s best to follow directions, a playful gust of wind blows into one's eyes a shower of bits ot goldleaf that some aftistio decorator perched on a ladder is diligently applying to some name, some sign, or some piece of ornamentation overhead. All the buildings, large and small, are getting their walls and ceilings ornamented, their stands set up, their cases of goods brought in, with an amount of noisy work and seeming confusion, from which order is being evolved as rapidly as possible. The British section—next in size to that of France —is considerably ahead of all others ; yet still but a little removed from the state of preliminary chaos. The show of the .mother country and its immense dependencies will be, Say a’l concerned, wonderfully fine. The array of signs in gilded letters in the outer oronioes, [giving the names of the principal towns of the three Kingdoms, and. the capitals of the colonies and dependencies, constitutes a marvellous proof of the width of the bond that we must hope will not be weakened until each is strong enough to prosper alone, as one of ths congeries of friendly “ nations " that will have come into being, or renewed their ancient energy and splendour, under the fostering care of the wonderful little Isla that is exercising so great an influence ou the march of [so large a portion .of the earth’s surface, Among the long line of ornamented names in gilded letters one 'cannot but regret ths absence of the name "of the earliest city ol your wonderful southern continent, and ths non-appearance in 'the great competition oi the valuable products of nature and industry fiom New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and New Zealand (the latter form ing, to the European mind, an integral por tun of the Australian whole)! are bard a work, and evilently make a splendid show. The whole length of the inner wall of thi Victorian gallery is already covered by i handsome painting, giving a View of th country, with groups of white farmers, th«i families, cattle etc,, and oi whity-browi aborigines, busy with their special lite am industries; a charming picture, criticised however, by people from your region a " somewhat too equatorial in tone, anlacking gum trees, eucalyptus, and othe specially Australian vegetation," but, never thelees, making a vary handsome show, an that will form a striking background for th exhibits of this Court, One important iter of these will be a block) of wood, richly gilded showing the size of the mass of gold ahead obtained in Victoria. The samples of woe in this Court will, its agents proudly antic! pa*e, surpass in quality all riva’s, thong that of New Zealand will surpass them i quantity. Victoria will be rich in its exhibit of grain, oats, barley, and peas, in tallow, i minerals, and in its fine timbers from th Department of Agriculture and theTechnolc gieal Museum. Its wines, and those c South Australia, will create a sensatior exhibited in a handsome kiosk in the Trocs dero, where jealous rivals of other wins growing regions will be welcomed wit specimen draughts; their application for spas , having been made too late lor obtaining, a - ths Otamp de Mans, all they usw, so ths

they have had to thankfully accept extra allowances on the Quai d’Orsay and in the Trocadero.

South Australia, also, will be rich in wools, minerals, and grain. New Zealand’s display of minerals will be fuller than that of its neighbours; and it is preparing, on the Quai d’Orsay, a native “Mai-Mai” to be tenanted by natives, who will be surrounded by samples of the minerals which they work, and with samples of their weapons and clothing.

France is getting into place part of the trunk of an enormous tree from the forest of Fontainebleau, nearly four yards in diameter, and that cannot be less than 1000 years of ge ; perfectly hollow, a rare example of a tree that has been allowed to live its.life, dying of old age. Another tree his been brought bodily on a barge from the Jura, 45 metres high.

Groves of trees lovely expanses of velvety sward, beds of exquisite flowers under awnings, ready to be planted out as the place is’ brought into order, diversify the scene of hard work and confusion, giving promise of charming gardens to come ; and where the shade of trees will be lacking despite the intelligent zeal of M. Alphand, that commonsense genius is running lines of awnings, under which the gay world will be able to escape from rain, and go from point to point without wet feet pr damage to toilette. In June there will be a special exhibition of roses, including 4500 roots, representing 2500 species. Splendid flower shows, from the same gardens as the Versailles School of Horticulture, will be renewed every fortnight throughout the Exhibition, and will send daily 10,000 cut flowers for sale in the grounds. The three State Schools for the daughters of the Legion of Honor will also exhibit bevies of their pupils, who will be seen executing the embroideries in wool, silk, and gold, the tapestries, screens, hingings, fans, and embroideries of uniforms of officers, for which those schoo's are so widely renowned. Visitors need net fear any lack of meals or ref:e hments. In the Champ de Mars there will be 19 first-rate restaurants, 10 of them French, 1 Romanian, and others of leading nationalities. On the Quai d’Orsay, on the Esplanade of the Invalides, arc 35 restaurants, Europeans, Creole, Auuamite, Tunis! m &c., each managed by natives, and showing the native dishes, dainties, and drinks, without counting the open-air booths for food and drink that will be innumerable,

Sixty nine international congrca.ea are already authorised and preparing to hold their sessions. Half-a-million of Americans h ive already engaged their be: ths ; and new ooeau linos of steamers, new railway arrangements, are making ready for the enormous influx announced as “ coming ” from every quarter. Royal and Imperial visits are expected. The Shah will be here in June. The largo hotels are besieged with demands for rooms ; one of them averages 150 demands daily. Aristocratic owners of handsome apartments and mansions, especially iu the quarter of the Champs Elyseea, are also letting them at very high prices.