OUR EXHIBITION LETTER.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 88, 10 November 1880, Page 2

OUR EXHIBITION LETTER.

BY COSMOPOLITAN. THB "OmX SABPINT "".— THI " DlBT*. Box .". —*i Gtara?, I Lake ". — " Ora, Hbmjcal"*— jtcr AiiHUBiAW "Kmasul — Heavt I).AMiaES— A. \ Dinriu: Ajp>, TBTTMPJKT BSSTOBY— AIF'SOOIESIABTI^ OAI MpDIL.— THJ^NIiarBJ)ATB^-BAfr>. trPES. An antipodtan Exhibition, ifaot.spßrobdijnagitn m proportions, certainly prss#nt» 4 something new arid difif«p«nt.from m, oountrias but a railway journey apart. Ih» v ■ ancient Athenian would find somi new^ thing, th« product of semi-tropical regioni, !to iay nothing of the »trange birdt.' ancC b«astf, and the last new thing m abo^igi- : nean Vnillinery. In London, or Paria, ©r, Vienna, there was alwayi so much that one had seen before at either, or all three of them, "It'» the old Sarpint, your pace, irith a ncwcoat of paint," said the showr! man to the Duke of WelUngtpn when ht\ refused to tale the Hero's shilling when : proffered for » view of the " cob.ra corrugata, or cprruscated snakeof the Tang-tse-I kiang^? We hare seep thf Sai-pint '*. so often since, that i^ at length resembled Joseph's coat of- many cpl ors . • And this rei

group of the " Dirty Boy ". being scrubbed with Pear's transparent soap by Iris-enraged grandpar-ent with an energy that, fortold ie all be ovec m fir« minute*, and which we left two years ago m Paris, surrounded by a crowd of Frenoh peasantry roaring with laughter, turns up again here with that tiresome ablution still m progress. The. refreshment and luncheon bars appear to be far more popular than tho din-ing-rooms—first, or. second class. People ureaiways seen, not only standing m front, but sitting on the furniture exhibits opposite. Its position on th« geographical map of the Exhibition should be marked "Grub Lane."' " " One. touch of nature make! the whole world kinj^and the classic" .nudities m $he French gallery are e.quaUy enjoyed by the lovers of "-high art," and the "provincjaU " f vox* "ur country." One old ladyattar contemplating " Chios v — critically— for some, time, was heard to whisper to her' elderly companion, "just lU?e °ur Hernjwal" ' ' ' ' 'The exhibition is n.a,fc drawing as it should do, or at it deserves to do, when so much is brought to our -very doorstep, so to. speak, that w^uld otherwise require a journey to Europe to study with profit. A daily " performance " perhaps is the onl v remedy. We have the Austrian band . splendidly conducted by Captain Wildner, and two performances, under the baton of M. Caron on other days,' and on two of the "off"- days, cttveroissements by .the permanent staff* assisted by the employ&s. Another attraction has thus been added. Air tastes must be catered for; some like musio, others prefer athletic sports, assaulfcs-pf-armsj fisticuffs, &c. Like the Kilkenny boy who "spiling for. a biting," one gentleman detewniried to tc >apil«" no longer. The. contractor for the supply of «.' the cup.that chews, but not inebriates," movsd apparently by the -same spirit that kads "young Ireland" to stalk up and do mu at the fair with a 'sprig of shillelagh m his grasp, soliloquising aloud, " Wil! any gintleman be kind enough to tread on the tads of- me coat." placed a table on sacred ground. The challenge, was at once taken up, and Bohea ordered to a,t once remove the /objectionable piece of- art-furniture. Thefi cam* the display of Souch9ng-h.er.olcs (without extra charge). Inspired by his classic memories of- how the Roman mother (ovwavit Greek), giving -a shield to her, youthful warrior on his departure .to the wars, intimated affectionately _ what was to bo the manner of nip return, if he desiredto be well received— "With 'this, or on tbis !", the beligererit contractor leaped on the table, and defied them all ; not all the fommissiotiers' horses, or all the commissioners' men, should either remove the table or vanquish him! Then, like the statue of Ajax defying the lightening, or ibtAchillies posed m front of Apsley House at Hyde Park Corner, or;the DiscoVblus m fits,' from the Museum of Free Library, crowed this Arthurian Knight of the Itound Table, Well, there was a ecrinjmagfirria sudden raid — and then, tappj: tkriught, the table itself "was seized and uplifted, and this " Study from the Antique.'V was borne out of the building on Iris table, amjid the screaming laughter of all beholders. This burlesque was so successful, that next day another entertainment was provided of a still more sensational character.' The morrow roovn saw Act 11., Scene' i. The rrero of yesterday haying consulte,d his solicitor, who estimated the damageji s!ustaine % d by loss of dignity at £8000, to be equally divided into four sums of £2000 each, between Me»srs. Pugh, Levey, Munrp, and, the. table-turner Writs from'the Supreme. Cou.rj; we^e duly issued, which the . plaintiff, resolved v pon serving himself. With the suni of £8000 shortly to ha]D^,w» should- ce.rtain.ly at once liave' secured Crutch's beautiful baroTouche (No 903), bir its counterpart, tbcon--reyus. Not so the plaintiff, Jjika. Qoyr.perVhero—• , ■' .. ' . „:■ .. • /T&ousli on^leaanre.Dent, : ' ; Hehadafrnsalttind, ' v $nd preferred walking with those four objectionable pieces of- paper. 1 Mr. Pugh, Levey a^id the foreman, were all highly flattered by this touching mark.of consideration, and accepted them— with thanks — evidently i considering it an excellent joke. Not so Mr. Munro, the Vice-president, • who arriVed; later on the scene. To the plaintiff's proppsat for » short in.fcerrie.w, Mr. M. r«-plied-withi violent negative and- strpde on. The piaintiff then tendered him a copy of the- writ, and Mr. M. acknowledged it by one effective, well-aimed stroke. with his '-•Mvs Glamp'"— ; one.of Gtittus's best paragon silk., ivory-handled. V A distinct interval •lapsed/ says the Argus, like that between the" lightning and. tht following thunder, and then the plaintiff slid to the greund, ancUaj the hard boards like one m a fit. * Most unfeel'ngly tb relate, no one offered, to b,elp any one else, any more thanthey would interfeEe; with J a stage performance, »p a tarriftc combat,' with wooden swords/'bejkween. the, leading tragedians. The plaintiff- -ynarVifk-. lying prone, while a Sydney policeman, notj knowing the Vicepresident'ran off to; aprehend that functionary. Whalb will noTir, be the amount of damages ineuVrod is i matter, upon which two eminent actuaries are busily engaged. Perhaps it' is; all owing, to the plaintiff's *' tii,"-'wh^h; beverage IDii Mplomay affirmed the other, day at the meeting of the. Medical Society, has • most pwniqous. effect on the human conititution j helpa, to fill our IBivlums, and,is thrsource^of untold mischief. V *one would suppose r that impelled by the' great di^nlt^fxpevienced m obtaining men for. the Veginvnti of $c line., the tmnerial Gtorernment was about to' sencl the •■fruiting serjeant to the colonies. Since. opening, Her, Majesty's "Victoria Cross ?'- --collection of paintings has arrived, and has beenhunjt. in'one'of the ealleries. It is Vdrum and trumpet history," highly charged with "battle, mar,d«r, and death.". We saw the othen afternoon, m the, njorth transept, a highly objectionable ecclesiastic grinning with open mouth at we knew not what/ Casfcing'a.glance.oy.er. our own blooming costume of fc he latest mpde, we, felt it could not be at us, and passed on. To-day we ran againest lapa agauij and this- time ■aw it was' a waS; model erected by. Messrs. Simmons and. D.wyer, the dentist, toexhibit their perfect; dentistry. We are farailar with those, shining gold -mounted ivory crescents of tteth' eXDibittd m deßtistg', •irindowi, but to those who see them for the first time the impression is not an tgrjseabla one. We well remembered an incident,. in going up the Nile some, yearp ajo. The Arab boatmen possess an exaggerated idea 6TE the • icient^fic p»wer and knowledge of Enjdpeanf^parfciculftrly Englishmen and Americans, and watch them with great curiosity. <*ne 4*7 • T oun g .-.4-'* b w « patching a cltrgymanlvery like this; wax model m some aspacts, as-the Nile-boat or Dahabeiah proceeded slowly on, when the traveller ' opened his mouth, took out a crescent' of false teath from his gums, looked at them, and quietly put them back m their place. "The Arab immediately leapt overboard and 'swam ashore, and nothing would induce ~him to return to the Dababeeah again. 1 ' He' evidently thought that a man wko could take out his teeth at will, and put them back again, must be m alliance With, the powers of darkness, and euch an uncanny pwipn was not a fit travelling companion ffor'tb^ ' Faithful. ' ' , ■ Our Tis'it Wai to-day brought t« «n abrupt coriclusioh:tbjrough a personal weakness of bur own> distantly allied to the above^'Wan|«rin| amt ng [\ musical insbiuii|eiitg^

wo caught sight of ease marked "R.Giltnorc," containing violins and bagpipes IWe fl«d. "